👋 GOOD MORNING — Happy Wednesday! We’re halfway home, and I hope your week is going well.

I just got my tickets for Friday’s PHNX Mercury takeover and pregame party, and I’m bringing the whole family! (The baby is TBD, to be fair. Sitter is pending). If you haven’t been to any of our takeovers, they are such a good time. Seriously, what’s better than meeting up with like-minded neighbors?

If you’re on the fence, or haven’t gotten your tickets yet, see the link below! THERE ARE ONLY TWO LEFT!!

If you are coming, I can’t wait to see you there! Whoever comes up to me with their best joke will get a special shoutout in Monday’s newsletter 🙂

On to the show!

— Patrick Brown, PHNX Sports Daily Editor

We’re Taking Over PHX Arena!

Join us on Friday, Aug. 22 as we cheer on the Mercury against Golden State! The takeover includes a pregame meetup with all-you-can-eat food and two drink tickets, lower level center court tickets in section 102, and of course, immaculate vibes. Best of all, Diehards get 20 percent off! Not a Diehard but want that discount? Sign up today for just 36 bucks!

Big 12 Football Power Rankings: Week 0

Photo credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Not sure if I’ve mentioned this before, but have you heard that college football is back this weekend?!

The Big 12 will take center stage right out of the gate, as No. 17 Kansas State and No. 22 Iowa State meet up in Dublin, Ireland on Saturday morning (9 am, ESPN). It’s the only marquee matchup this weekend, and offers an opportunity for the Cyclones and Wildcats to showcase the conference.

We launched the PHNX Sports Daily in the middle of football season last year, so it’s nice to be out in front of it this time around, and as such, I’m going to kick off a weekly series that highlights the best — and worst — in the Big 12.

Welcome to Big 12 power rankings, week 0.

Next week is technically week 1, but Iowa State, Kansas State and Kansas are all playing on Saturday, so let’s kick this thing off!

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Here’s how things are looking heading into the first games of the season.

Week 0 Games:

  • No. 22 Iowa State vs. No. 17 Kansas (Saturday, 9 am, ESPN)

  • Fresno State at Kansas (Saturday, 3:30 pm, FOX)

  • Arizona State: idle

  • Arizona: idle

Big 12 Power Rankings, Week 0: Patrick’s Take vs. National Pundits

  • 1 - Arizona State: Defending champs, and it’s their title to lose. On principle they won’t drop any lower in these standings until they drop a game this season.

  • 2 - Texas Tech: The Red Raiders’ hopes took a hit earlier this week after transfer running back Quinten Joyner was lost for the season with a torn ACL. Even so, this roster is packed with talent, and is set to make some real noise after a 6-3 finish in the Big 12 last year.

    • ESPN: Texas Tech

    • SI: Kansas State

    • Yahoo Sports: Arizona State

    • ESPN FPI: BYU

  • 3 - Kansas State: It just amazes me year after year how Kansas State continues to be relevant. Junior QB Avery Johnson is on the Maxwell Award and Davey O’Brien watch lists, and ranks in the KSU top-10 lists in passing touchdowns, passing yards per game, and passing efficiency.

    • ESPN: Kansas State

    • SI: Texas Tech

    • Yahoo Sports: Texas Tech

    • ESPN FPI: Arizona State

  • 4 — Iowa State: My fellow Cyclone alums may be disappointed with me, and longtime coach Matt Campbell has proven his commitment to the school over and over again. He continues to keep a once-doormat program within the national picture, though their upcoming matchup against KSU is a tough week 1 draw. Should be a good game!

    • ESPN: TCU

    • SI: Iowa State

    • Yahoo Sports: Iowa State

    • ESPN FPI: Kansas

  • 5 — Utah: I really think this will be a bounce-back year for the Utes, who were stunningly ineffective on the field last season. Remember the name Devon Dampier, who is a true playmaker and will make a lot of noise under center this season.

    • ESPN: Utah

    • SI: Baylor

    • Yahoo Sports: Kansas State

    • ESPN FPI: Baylor

  • 6 — Baylor: The Bears improved from 2-7 in 2023 to 6-3 in 2024, and won their last six games of the season before falling to LSU in the Texas Bowl. Senior QB Sawyer Robinson finished last season with a 153.1 rating, throwing for 3,071 yards and 28 touchdowns with eight interceptions.

    • ESPN: Baylor

    • SI: TCU

    • Yahoo Sports: TCU

    • ESPN FPI: Iowa State

  • 7 — TCU: Another steady program, the Horned Frogs are still just a few seasons removed from a College Football Playoff appearance, which included a huge win over Michigan before … well .. a 65-7 loss to Georgia in the Natty (ouch!). Road games in Tempe and Manhattan, Kans. could prove to be very difficult, though.

    • ESPN: Iowa State

    • SI: Colorado

    • Yahoo Sports: Utah

    • ESPN FPI: Texas Tech

  • 8 — Kansas: Every now and then the Jayhawks catch fire in something other than basketball, and this could be primed to be one of those seasons. With a solid contingency of returning players from a season in which Kansas beat No. 17 Iowa State, No. 6 BYU and No. 16 Colorado, they could be poised to announce their re-emergence on the national football stage.

    • ESPN: Iowa State

    • SI: Utah

    • Yahoo Sports: BYU

    • ESPN FPI: TCU

  • 9 — Colorado: Wild card here with the obvious losses of Shadeur Sanders and Travis Hunter, but the 7-2 Buffaloes (last season’s Big 12 record) still have loads of talent and could likely be even a little higher on this list.

    • ESPN: Iowa State

    • SI: Kansas

    • Yahoo Sports: Kansas

    • ESPN FPI: UCF

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Best of the Rest:

  • 10 — Houston

    • ESPN: Colorado

    • SI: BYU

    • Yahoo Sports: Cincinnati

    • ESPN FPI: Utah

  • 11 — BYU

    • ESPN: Cincinnati

    • SI: Houston

    • Yahoo Sports: Colorado

    • ESPN FPI: Colorado

  • 12 — Arizona

    • ESPN: Houston

    • SI: Cincinnati

    • Yahoo Sports: Houston

    • ESPN FPI: Cincinnati

  • 13 — Cincinnati

    • ESPN: Oklahoma State

    • SI: Arizona

    • Yahoo Sports: West Virginia

    • ESPN FPI: West Virginia

  • 14 — Oklahoma State

    • ESPN: Arizona

    • SI: Oklahoma State

    • Yahoo Sports: UCF

    • ESPN FPI: Oklahoma State

  • 15 — West Virginia

    • ESPN: UCF

    • SI: West Virginia

    • Yahoo Sports: Arizona

    • ESPN FPI: Arizona

  • 16 — UCF

    • ESPN: West Virginia

    • SI: UCF

    • Yahoo Sports: Oklahoma State

    • ESPN FPI: Houston

Agree? Disagree? Email me at [email protected] OR by simply responding to this email and sound off!

Keep Your Guard Up: The D-backs got back into the win column with a 6-5 win over the Guardians last night, setting the stage for a rubber match in today’s matinee (12:40 pm). The victory snapped a four-game skid, led by Lourdes Gurriel Jr.’s three-RBI game.

Golden: The Mercury topped Golden State 98-91 last night, led by Kahleah Copper’s 25 points. And if you’re wondering, Alyssa Thomas was close to yet another triple-double, recording 13 points, nine rebounds and eight assists. Phoenix has won two straight and wraps up its road trip in Vegas on Thursday before facing Golden State at home on Friday night (come join us!).

Going Camping: Add a few more honors to the ASU football team’s preseason watch list recognition, as both Sam Leavitt and Jordyn Tyson were named to the Walter Camp Player of the Year preseason watch list. The Sun Devils are one of seven schools that have multiple players recognized. Congrats, guys!

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By Branded Bills

What a great perspective.

Watching other teams on Saturday, but having to wait another week for ASU and Arizona football…

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