Canzano: Intrigue, ideas, whispers, and news across the footprint

Spanning the globe (or at least the Pac-12 footprint)

Arizona State has an uptick of enthusiasm this spring. (Photo: Thomas Fernandez)

Spanning the globe…

• Kenny Dillingham’s first year on the job at Arizona State was a doozy, wasn’t it? Let’s see. ASU scrambled into the Big 12’s arms in August. Three weeks later, Dillingham’s program was slapped with a bowl ban. That was followed by an injury that sidelined his freshman quarterback. The backup also got hurt. So did the third-stringer. Dillingham was left trying to figure out how to win with a tight end under center. In October, Dillingham told me he was down eight scholarship offensive linemen. In November, his athletic director resigned.

Given the carnage, 3-9 wasn’t so bad, was it?

• The Sun Devils are going to play in the Big 12 Conference next season. It means they don’t have Oregon and USC on the schedule. The Ducks and Trojans are a combined 15-5 vs. ASU in the last 20 meetings. I know Dillingham isn’t going undefeated next season, but when you examine the peer group on the regular-season schedule there aren’t any obvious and automatic “L’s.”

• I asked Dillingham to tell me one thing he was excited about this spring. He pointed to the team’s competitiveness. Said Dillingham: “The boat is turned around.”

• Hines Ward is the new receivers coach at ASU. The ex-Pittsburgh Steelers great and Super Bowl MVP spilled the tea this week on how he ended up on Dillingham’s staff:

“I was sitting at home on the couch debating if I wanted to continue coaching and stuff. My wife, of course, wanted me to stay at home and watch the Kardashians all day. Out of the blue, I got a call from coach Kenny, who asked me if I was interested in the wide receiver job. I relayed it to my wife … and thank God it was Phoenix.”

Nobody is happier about the addition of Ward than Sun Devils’ senior associate AD Doug Tammaro. He’s a lifelong, die-hard Steelers fan who is now tasked with trying to play cool with Ward around.

• Utah is still my pick to win the Big 12. Bet against Kyle Whittingham at your own risk. He went 3-3 vs. Oregon in the last six meetings and won four consecutive games vs. USC. Utah will be just fine vs. Oklahoma State, Kansas State, TCU, Baylor, etc.

• The Utes are losing safety Briton Allen, center Kolinu’u Faaiu, receiver Sidney Mbanasor, and linebacker Shay O’Kelly to the transfer portal. That’s about it, though. Interesting note: Utah had less transfer portal movement than any program in the Pac-12 before last football season (five players that I counted). Oregon State was second with only seven players. I will never forget asking Jonathan Smith to explain that. His one-word answer: “Culture.”

• I’m fascinated by the messaging that Washington coach Jedd Fisch is pushing publicly as he sells his program. Fisch is leaning into his NFL experience and ties. It’s not a dumb angle.

Said Fisch: “The difference is some programs want to sell the NFL — we can tell it.”

• The Washington football program’s Twitter account offered a photograph of former Seahawks’ coach Pete Carroll observing a UW practice. Fisch has to love having Carroll and Bill Belichick hanging around. They underscore his NFL message in a way that needs no additional words.

Pete Carroll at Washington practice. (Photo: Washington Football)

• Did I ever tell you about the time Belichick bought a stack of football cards from me on eBay? I’m going to repeat it anyway. A couple of decades ago I listed a lot of 1950s football cards on the online auction site. Belichick was the winner — paying a winning price of $68, as I recall. He later told me via email that he was mostly after the Ted Marchibroda 1958 Topps card in the lot. Belichick was collecting the old trading cards of his mentors and friends.

Eventually, the football coach asked: “What do you do for work?”

My reply: “I’m a sportswriter.”

Never heard from the guy again. Belichick paid via check, which I foolishly cashed instead of saving as a collectible. I did keep the envelope. His return address was in the village of Muttontown, NY.

• NFL quarterback Aaron Rodgers said that he believes HIV was created by the US government in the 1980s.

He said: “I know I’m not an epidemiologist. I’m not a doctor. I’m not an immunologist. Whatever the f**k, I can read though. I can learn and look things up like any person. I can do my own research… but that was the game plan back then.”

I laughed out loud when I saw a tweet from my pal Josh Newman, who is a die-hard NY Jets fan. Newman wrote: “I am willing to ignore all of the absolute lunacy in exchange for 4,000 yards and 30 touchdown passes.”

Ain’t it the truth?

• Oregon Ducks football coach Dan Lanning will join me for a 1-on-1 interview on Thursday at 5 p.m. Listen to it live via 750-AM (Portland), 102.9-FM (Eugene), 960-AM (Klamath Falls), 1490-AM (Roseburg), or stream it. The syndicated show (3-6 p.m. weekdays) is also coming very soon to Medford (1300-AM/107.9-FM). What do you want me to ask Lanning? Drop it in the comment section.

• Kai Wheaton is coming to Oregon State’s spring football game on Saturday at Reser Stadium. Gates open at 11 a.m. and the event will air on the Pac-12 Network at noon. Wheaton is a class of 2026 recruit and the son of legendary former Oregon defensive back Kenny Wheaton.

• Does “Kai Wheaton’s gonna score!!!… Kai Wheaton’s gonna score!!…” work for OSU fans? Discuss.

• I spoke 1-on-1 with Trent Bray, the first-year Oregon State football coach on Tuesday on my radio show. He talked about the loss of running back Damien Martinez, who is now in the transfer portal.

Said Bray: “I don’t get mad at the kid for that. They’ve got a lot of people in their ear and people who are selling them on stuff. They’re just hearing all different points of view from third parties and stuff like that. It’s unfortunate when you lose a guy like that, but it’s the world we live in now. You’ve got to be ready to adapt and make sure you’re developing along the way so when it does happen it doesn’t destroy your team or destroy your position group. We felt good about the position group… Damien leaves and we’ve still got two great backs back there.”

Listen to the podcast here:

• Kyle Bjornstad is the founder of Oregon State’s NIL entity — Dam Nation Collective. Bjornstad confirmed that the $400,000 a year figure that Martinez was set to make is earmarked for football. I asked Bray if he now has some additional money to spend on prospects in the transfer portal.

Said Bray: “It opens up some opportunities to get better as a team.”

• Oregon State athletic director Scott Barnes penned an open letter to fans on Tuesday. The fan base has to be tired of the repeated gut punches since last August. Barnes vowed: “Hear this Beaver Nation, the gloves are on...” I have some questions about the plan for Oregon State. Barnes has agreed to join me at 3:20 p.m. Wednesday on the radio show. Be there.

• A men’s basketball note on the Oregon State front — I’m told by a source that coach Wayne Tinkle has a commitment from 6-foot-9 transfer Parsa Fallah (Southern Utah). Also OSU is in the running for Brandon Love, a transfer from Texas State. Love is visiting Nevada this weekend, per a source. Those players won’t replace the divot left by Beavers’ transfers Tyler Bilodeau and Jordan Pope, but it’s a solid move in the right direction for Tinkle.

• Saint Mary’s guard Aidan Mahaney, an all-conference performer, has entered the transfer portal. Some have him pegged for San Diego State, but I wonder if Mark Madsen at Cal can land him. Mahaney can really play.

The big takeaway is that Randy Bennett at Saint Mary’s doesn’t have enough NIL money to retain talent. One veteran industry source wondered if coaches like Bennett would pivot to recruiting international players on visas. They currently can’t receive NIL funds. But there’s some legislation out there that aims to change that.

Elijah Brown went 42-2 as a starter in high school.

• Stanford true freshman quarterback Elijah Brown is pushing the incumbents for the starting spot, per observers. Brown is an early enrollee who led his high school (Mater Dei) to the state football championship in December. He completed 18 of 23 passes for 310 yards and four touchdowns in the title game.

Ashton Daniels and Justin Lamson are also in the mix at Stanford, but nobody watching closely will be surprised if Brown wins the starting job.

• The Cardinal spring game will be held on Saturday and aired on the Pac-12 Bay Area at 12:30 p.m. USC’s spring game will air (Pac-12 Los Angeles) at noon on Saturday. Cal’s spring game will air at 2:30 p.m. on the Pac-12 Network.

• The conference owns the media rights of the 10 departing schools until June 30. That’s how it works. The full schedule of spring games including Colorado and Oregon is on the Pac-12’s website.

• Andrew Walker worked for more than a decade as the Pac-12’s Vice President of Communications under commissioners Larry Scott and George Kliavkoff. Walker confirmed he’s accepted a position with the ATP as the tennis entity’s VP of brand and marketing. Walker will be based in London.

• The WNBA Draft reeled in 2.5 million viewers on Monday between 4:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. PT. The previous high for the league’s draft was 600,000 viewers in 2004.

• My 9-year-old daughter was particularly interested in the fact that the Chicago Sky drafted both Kamilla Cardoso (No. 3 overall) and Angel Reese (at No. 7). They were bitter rivals in college at South Carolina and LSU. My kid mentioned it to me on Tuesday night, just before her bedtime. It’s anecdotal stuff, but if you’re getting our 9-year-old with the WNBA Draft on her mind a full 24 hours after the event… you’ve won.

• WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert mentioned the growth of her league during Monday’s draft and even name-dropped Portland. It was not accidental. I am told by league sources that two ownership groups have been quietly jockeying for position as it pertains to landing a WNBA expansion team in Portland. Tell your friends about this. You’ll sound smart when it happens.

• Colorado lost Cormani McClain to the transfer portal this week. The five-star defensive back was rated as the No. 1 corner in the 2023 class. It was a jarring departure in Boulder. McClain had originally committed to Miami in high school, then flipped to Colorado. Now, he’s in the portal. Wonder if Mario Cristobal doubles back to get him.

• Colorado coach Deion Sanders is mining social media for talent. Rather, his children are. Shilo, a defensive back, posted a message on Instagram urging defensive players to message him privately and instructing potential offensive transfers to reach out via direct message to his brother, Shedeur, the CU quarterback.

Good idea? Or nah?

• Bobby Hurley’s basketball team at Arizona State will have a new look again next season. There will be at least nine newcomers. Frankie Collins is headed to TCU via the portal. A source close to Collins told me he received $250,000 from Arizona State’s collective last year. Did Collins get a pay bump at TCU? The source wouldn’t confirm, but I think so. Regardless, Hurley’s program now appears to have some available cash to spend.

• Nike’s Sarah Mensah will be the speaker at the University of Oregon’s graduation ceremony on June 17. She’s the president of Jordan Brand and a former chief operating officer of the Trail Blazers. Mensah graduated from UO in 1987 with a degree in journalism and telecommunication and film. The commencement will be live-streamed.

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