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We've got a lot planned for Arizona Cardinals fans this season at PHNX Sports. The timing couldn't be better. There is genuine hope on the horizon for this franchise

— CRAIG MORGAN

More Cardinals content coming

We've got a lot planned for Arizona Cardinals fans this season at PHNX Sports. The timing couldn't be better.

Marvin Harrison is the most hyped wide receiver since the Cardinals drafted Larry Fitzgerald 20 years ago. Paris Johnson Jr. could become the franchise's first elite left tackle in 30 years. QB Kyler Murray is healthy and seemingly as happy as he's been since his first couple seasons in Arizona. The Cardinals are a dark horse pick to make the playoffs in GM Monti Ossenfort and coach Jonathan Gannon's second season.

There is genuine reason for hope.

Despite the Cardinals' struggles the past two seasons, Bo Brack, Johnny Venerable and producer Damon Fairall have built a sizable following on the PHNX Cardinals show whose viewership numbers simply outperform the other local media outlets' shows on YouTube. It's a testament to the work they have put in for the past two years.

I told you in early June that I was moving over to the Cardinals beat after covering the Coyotes full-time for the past 15 years. It's not easy making the transition to a new beat. I developed scores of relationships and sources while covering the NHL. I spoke to GMs, coaches, scouts, players, family members, agents, NHLPA staff and NHL executives. I had so much institutional knowledge.

I'm not starting from scratch because I did cover the Cardinals for CBS, FOX Sports Arizona and Arizona Sports from 2010 to 2018, but it's going to take a while to get up to speed on the new personnel, the changes in the game, and the shifting media landscape.

But after working closely with Brock and Venerable over the past six weeks, here's what I can tell you about my beat mates. Their knowledge of this league and its personnel is both exhaustive and impressive. I hear it on the shows and I heard it firsthand when I was putting together nine Cardinals stories over the past four days. Brock and Venerable had great suggestions and great additions to all of those stories and that's why you'll see a triple byline on these stories. It was a true team effort.

As I told you previously, during the season, I will appear on the PHNX Cardinals show in segments to preview games, provide postgame analysis and discuss major stories and news. I will also travel to Cardinals road games, lending an important boots-on-the-ground perspective this season in Buffalo, San Francisco, Green Bay, Miami, Seattle, Minnesota, Carolina and Los Angeles.

I’ll be active in the Cardinals Discord channel, answering your questions and getting to know all of you. I will attend PHNX Cardinals events, including our upcoming trip to Miami which I hope you’ll consider attending. I’ll institute monthly mailbags eventually, and I’ll be open to your feedback and ideas.

What I hope to do on this beat is connect you more deeply to the team and its personalities. A good beat writer is a good storyteller. A good beat writer takes you inside a player’s home or inside a coach’s mind. A good beat writer doesn’t settle for the quotes available to everyone in the news conferences and scrum settings. By and large, the people whom I have covered across all beats are good and interesting people. Their stories are worth telling in depth

Bo, Johnny and I released the first piece in our training camp coverage on Sunday (see below). That starts a two-week run where we will have at least one piece of written content every day (often more), along with five shows per week, an audio-only version of the show, supplemental content and quick video breakdowns of what's happening at camp.

Expectations for the Cardinals have increased so PHNX Sports is beefing up its coverage to keep pace. I hope you'll join us and become a PHNX Diehard.

TRENDING NOW

10 burning questions as the Cardinals open training camp Can Kyler Murray stay healthy? Is Marvin Harrison Jr. Larry Fitzgerald 2.0? Can the defense at least be average? Read article

Diamondbacks trade-deadline primer Beat writer Jesse Friedman tells you what to expect from the Dbacks ahead of MLB's July 30 trade deadline. Read article

A Q&A with former Coyote Oliver Ekman-Larsson OEL discusses winning the Cup, fatherhood, the meaning of his son's name, reuniting with /Brad Treliving and Shane Doan, and his eternal connection to the Valley. Read article

Family affair: Cullen Potter's hockey path was preordained Get to know the guy who is arguably the biggest recruit in ASU hockey history. Read article

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QUOTE OF THE DAY

“I sunk into my seat, had some Dippin’ Dots, had a lemonade and just watched the baseball game that my son happened to be managing. It was a really, really proud dad moment.”   D-backs manager Torey Lovullo on watching his son, Nick, manage the South Bend Cubs against the Quad City River Bandits in Indiana on Friday. GEAR UP ​