Cool. We passed. We ran. We won!

Arizona State dominated Stanford in passing and almost all other facets of the game. ASU led not only in passing, but rushing and defense. The defense stopped Stanford's running game. Overall, the Sun Devils played super.

The crowd was big with 59,441 fans and the largest student section I have seen in some time. ASU (2-0, 1-0 Pac-10) has allowed Stanford only 23 points in the last three years, having scored 120 points against Stanford. Their next opponent is UNLV (1-1), who lost to Utah 42-21.

Keegan Herring and Shaun DeWitty entered the game for the first time this year, but Carpenter overshadowed them. Carpenter threw for 345 yards and was sacked only twice, four sacks less than the Stanford game last year.

The play of the game came with 52 seconds left in the first half. Stanford's Travis Golia kicked off out of bounds after the Cardinal scored a field goal to close within 3 points. The Sun Devils had already used their three time outs. The out-of-bounds kick off gave the Devils the ball on the forty and stopped the clock. The Sun Devils went for a touchdown rather that settling for a Thomas Weber field goal. The big play happened after the Cardinal were penalized for roughing Carpenter. Carpenter rolled right and found Kerry Taylor. Taylor outran cornerback Wopamo Osaisai, Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Week, for a 45-yard touchdown and a 20-10 lead.

ASU dominated this game. Carpenter is going great now. It seems as though he is on a mission and if he keeps going, he will be a first round pick. After next week's game with UNLV, ASU dives into probably one of the hardest schedules in all of college football: four ranked teams in a row, not to mention #1 and #2 in the mix.

Stanford is going to be a big game for many other PAC-10 teams this year. This was a great win for the Devils.

Game Photos

2008 Diamondbacks

This year, I bought one of the D-Backs 10th anniversary packages. For $110, a person can buy ten tickets. My son and daughter also bought me one of the packages. The two packages allowed me to see ten games.

I took my grandson, Rob and his wife, Mel, to see one of the games, but for the remainder of the games, Alex went with me. Almost all of the games I chose, the D-backs were having a promotion. We were given T-shirts, duffle bags, bobbleheads of Bob Melvin, Eric Byrnes and Dan Haren, and an Eric Byrnes baseball cap--complete with blonde curls.

Although the tickets were reasonable, parking is $10 and the beers are $8.00 each. The rest of the drinks and food from the concessions were not cheap either. Being a cheapskate, I usually bought two bottles of water and a package of peanuts for $5.00 from a stand by the parking garage. Once in a great while Alex and I would buy a beer. I can't complain though. With the birthday gift tickets and the promotional items, I did alright with my expenses.

During the first seven games, the D-Backs were in first place. But as of yesterday, September 6, the Dodgers moved into first place by 1/2 game.

Not only are the games exciting, but the whole atmosphere is like a carnival with games for kids, tables in areas to visit and have a drink with a fellow sports fan. The organist is located in one of the areas and is approachable. He will sign autographs. And there is always something to arouse your interest. The rally backs throw out souvenirs in between innings; there are races and games on the scoreboard; and there are quizzes to clean out the cob webs in the brain and an opportunity to guess the night's attendance.

I truly enjoyed and am continuing to enjoy by birthday gift from my children, Ken and Jennifer. Thanks kids. I love you.