🎄GOOD MORNING

Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024 — Good morning – Happy holidays! It’s officially my favorite day of the year, and I’m not even sure why. Christmas Eve has always been about spending time with family, prepping for everything to come tomorrow, and it has just always meant so much to me. To all those who will be spending the next few days / weeks with family for Christmas, Hanukkah, or any other celebration, I truly hope you are able to enjoy the time with your loved ones.

Make sure to scroll down and take our poll today — I’ll tell you my vote: Yes. Unapologetically yes!

As a reminder, the PHNX Daily will not publish tomorrow or the day after, but we will have the usual weekend sports preview on Friday. Enjoy the next few days, and we will pick it up in a few days.

On to the show!

Assigning Holiday Songs To Arizona Sports Teams

It’s that time of year! Since this is the last edition of the PHNX Daily before the holidays officially kick off, we thought it would be fun to tie a traditional holiday song to each Arizona sports team.

Enjoy, and happy holidays!

Suns Holiday Song: God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen

Nothing would be better right now than a little rest for the Suns, who have suffered more than their fair share of injuries early in the season. Watching members of the Big 3 drop like flies has been maddening, especially after the team’s hot 9-2 start. It has been all downhill since then after (sometimes simultaneous) injuries to Kevin Durant, Bradley Beal, Devin Booker, and Jusuf Nurkić, just to highlight the heavy hitters.

Please, Santa, deliver a strong dose of health to the Suns for the new year, so we can see an extended playoff run from a team that we love so dearly.

Cardinals Holiday Song: Silent Night

There was no joy in Carolina on Sunday following a loss to the Panthers after Arizona was eliminated from the playoffs, and it was almost assuredly a quiet plane ride home. The stunning overtime defeat felt like the Grinch arrived to steal Christmas, but don’t expect to see Kyler Murray, Marvin Harrison Jr. and James Conner join hands to sing, because there is no happy ending in this version of the story.

Instead, Cardinals fans are left to wonder ‘what if,’ after witnessing a 6-4 record evaporate into another early offseason.

Diamondbacks Holiday Song: Silver and Gold

Think: Silver (Sluggers) and Gold (Gloves).

Baseball’s top offense was in need of a little retooling following the departure of Christian Walker and Joc Pederson, and the Diamondbacks found it in a trade with Cleveland for Josh Naylor. There’s still additional needs to address, especially considering how disappointing the club’s starting rotation was last season.

Wildcats Holiday song: It’s The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Ah, basketball season.

The 2024 football season was disappointing in Tucson after the Wildcats underachieved following the success of the 2023 team. Enter basketball season, where Arizona seems to put the pieces together more often than not, even if this year’s schedule hasn’t gotten off to a sparkling start. The Wildcats limped to a 4-5 start before earning back-to-back blowout wins over far lesser opponents, but Monday’s game against TCU kicks off an exciting Big 12 schedule that includes No. 25 Baylor, No. 17 Cincinnati, No. 15 Houston, No. 7 Kansas, and No. 3 Iowa State.

I believe Brent Brennan will figure it out on the football field, but enjoy the basketball season as we head into 2025 — there’s a lot of opportunity there.

Sun Devils Holiday Song: O Come, All Ye Faithful

ASU faithful have come from far and wide to support the Sun Devils’ historic season, in which they captured the conference title in their first year in the Big 12. Their reward? A date with the fifth-seeded (but third-ranked) Texas Longhorns in the Peach Bowl on New Year’s Day.

The Valley has officially been activated, and fans are flocking to see if the Sun Devils can do the unthinkable and run the table in the College Football Playoff. That takes us to one more Christmas song …. All I want for Christmas is a National Championship!

Happy holidays to one and all.

Full PHNX Coverage

🧢 TIP OF THE HAT BY BRANDED BILLS
Nice sequence here from a few of the healthy Suns stars!