Dan Bickley

As in, farewell to their 28-day stranglehold on first place in the NFC West.

It was a combo weekend of emotions for Arizona sports fans as the Sun Devils football upset BYU on Saturday before the Arizona Cardinals fell to the Seattl

The Cardinals return from Minnesota with suitcases and emotional baggage. The overhead bins must’ve been loaded with regret.

Surreal is a word often misused. It defines an elevated state of existence, a dreamy place where walls come tumbling down and barriers cease to exist.

It has been over a quarter century since the ASU football program has risen like this and since Sun Devils fans have fallen in love like this.

Dread and disappointment never had a chance. An ominous beginning at the Big 12 championship was nothing but a speed bump.

An ominous beginning at the Big 12 championship was nothing but a speed bump. Cyclones? At this point, there is no force of nature strong enough to derail ASU football.

In the NFL, there’s a big difference between a bad day and a bad team.

GLENDALE — The Cardinals regained a chunk of their credibility. Kyler Murray earned one of the biggest reprieves of his career. After losing a must-win game in Week 14, our NFL team responded with a spirited performance in a can’t-lose contest Sunday at State Farm Stadium.

Shame on the Cardinals. In a sport full of cruelties, they are the cruelest teases of all.