WHO'S NOT IMPRESSED WITH MISSOURI SO FAR?? Missouri is currently leading Miami (Ohio) 10-0 at the half. I have not been too impressed with them thus far. As long as ASU can stop their QB from running, we can win this game. Thoughts??

Arizona is beating Washington 62-58 with 9 or so minutes left in the contest. This is a big game for all of us Sun Devil fans; if UA can pull off the upset, we will have a much better shot of winning the Pac-10 championship. Click the link to join AZ Desert Swarm's live game thread. Game is on FSN.

AZ Desert Swarm Open Thread

Last night's Arizona/Arizona State basketball game produced the highest college basketball rating of the season for FOX Sports Arizona. In addition, it generated the best rating for a UA/ASU basketball game since 2002. According to Neilsen Media research, the game received a 2.4 rating/4 share, which means that an average of 43,262 Phoenix households watched the game. The last time an ASU/UA basketball game had a rating higher than this was back on Jan 23, 2002. The rating was a 2.5 as ASU beat No. 10 Arizona 88-72 in Tempe.

Doug Tammaro, ASU Media Relations

"Tyler Hansbrough of North Carolina, Thabeet...UCONN, Griffin...Oklahoma...even a casual college basketball fan knows the names. They're all candidates for player of the year. But those of us on the east coast might want to stay up late one night to see one of the game's most exciting players. James Harden of Arizona State was good enough to head to the NBA after his freshman year last season and coaches in the Pac-10 wish he had. Harden had 15 points and 11 assists helping the Sun Devils sweep UCLA for the first time in six years. It comes with a little crash...he nearly had a triple-double with eight turnovers but he's high-risk high-reward. Harden is a 6'5" shooting guard with point guard skills averaging almost 22 points a game, four assists and five rebounds. Watch Harden one night and you'll have plenty of energy the next day."

Thanks to Doug Tammaro from the ASU Media Department for this great quote from John Saunders, from the end of last Sunday's Sports Reporters.

ASU’s Dennis Erickson Signs 22nd Student-Athlete To National Letter Of Intent Wide receiver Jarrid Bryant added to Sun Devil’s 2009 class, did not play football senior year. We will have a write up on him soon.

Mark Brand, ASU Athtletic Department

"The Super Bowl champions made four roster moves, signing receiver Derek Hagan and linebacker Edmond Miles, while placing linebacker Jonathan Goff (hamstring) and running back Reuben Droughns (neck) on injured reserve." Looks like The New York Football Giants are going to win the Super Bowl again with Derek Hagan commandeering the MVP. His NFL career has been a disappointment thus far, but it is great to see him getting another chance. A former ASU standout, I can't help but be happy for him.

NFL Briefs

"(New York, November 10, 2008) – Sports Illustrated’s 2008 College Basketball Preview issue hits newsstands on Wednesday with six regional covers featuring North Carolina, Connecticut, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, Arizona State and Oklahoma. The Tar Heels are SI’s choice for the No. 1 men’s team in the land, while on the women’s side UConn gets top billing. In the preview issue, college basketball fans will find scouting reports for the top 20 men’s teams, complete with a five-minute guide that includes players to watch, preseason All-America teams and a projected field of 65 for the 2009 NCAA Tournament." ASU gets its own cover? Somewhere in Tucson, Lute Olsen just fell in the shower.

Sports Illustrated Press Release

Randy Lein to be Inducted into GCAA Hall of Fame Arizona State coach lone inductee in 2008 class NORMAN, Okla. — The Golf Coaches Association of America has named Randy Lein of Arizona State as the inductee of its 2008 Hall of Fame class. Lein will be officially honored at the GCAA Hall of Fame Reception and Awards Banquet Monday, Jan. 26 at the Doubletree at Universal Orlando in Orlando, Fla. In his 17 seasons as the head coach at Arizona State, Lein has guided the Sun Devils to 41 tournament victories - including a school record six in 1995-96 - eight Pac-10 titles, four NCAA West Regional wins and eight top-10 finishes at the NCAA Championships. He led ASU to the NCAA title in 1996 with a three-stroke victory at the Honors Course in Chattanooga, Tenn. In addition, Lein has tutored NCAA medalists Todd Demsey and Alejandro Cañizares and 14 PING All-Americans who claimed the honor on 34 occasions. More than 45 players have earned their undergraduate degrees under Lein. He has won Pac-10 Coach-of-the-Year honors five times at Arizona State and twice while at Southern California. "I’m very honored to join such an elite group," said Lein. "To have your peers acknowledge what you have accomplished over the course of your career is most gratifying. To be recognized alongside the great coaches and contributors to college golf is very humbling." Thanks to ASU Media Relations.

FOX SPORTS ARIZONA PICKS UP ASU/WASHINGTON FOOTBALL GAME Fox Sports Arizona announced today that will televise the Arizona State at Washington college football game live on Saturday, Nov. 8, at 5 p.m. to its regional viewers in Arizona and New Mexico. Fox Sports Arizona will air Fox Sports Northwest¹s production of the game. The ASU/UW match-up will be one of five games televised on Fox Sports Arizona on Nov. 8 and the schedule is as follows: 9:30 am: College Football Saturday Kickoff 10:00 am: Big 12 game - TBA (match-up will be announced Nov. 3) 1:30 pm: Stanford at Oregon 5:00 pm: Arizona State at Washington 8:30 pm: Hawaii at New Mexico State (same day tape delay) 1:00 am: Tape delay Big 12 game - TBA (match-up will be announced Nov. 3)