On Sept. 7, 1996, FOX Sports Arizona hit the airwaves with our first telecast — a Pac-10 football showdown between Washington and Arizona State. Check back with us daily as we recount some of the top sports moments in Arizona during our 20 years of serving the state’s sports fans.
April 17
2003
Carlos Baerga hits a pair of home runs and drives in 7 in the D-backs 11-2 victory over the Rockies.
2012
Mikkel Boedker celebrates his game-winning overtime goal with his Coyotes teammates.
Mikkel Boedker’s overtime goal gives the Coyotes a 3-2 win and a 2-1 series lead over the Blackhawks. The game was best known for a crushing hit on Chicago forward Marian Hossa by Raffi Torres, resulting in Hossa being taken off the ice on a stretcher and a suspension for Torres that carried over into the following season.
April 16
1997
The Phoenix Coyotes play their first playoff game in the franchise’s brief Arizona history, losing 4-2 to the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim.
2004
Banking and real estate executive Robert Sarver reaches agreement to purchase the Suns for a then-NBA record price of $401 million.
Robert Sarver
April 14
2010
Derek Morris registered his first career playoff goal and added two assists to lead the Coyotes to a 3-2 victory over Detroit in Game 1 of the Western Conference quarterfinals.
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2012
Todd Helton hit a walk-off home run off of J.J. Putz to give the Rockies an 8-7 win over the D-backs and end Putz’s club-record streak of 28 consecutive saves dating back to July 27, 2011.
April 13
2003
The Suns assure themselves of a return to the playoffs after a one-year absence, capping an eight-win improvement over the previous season and securing the eighth spot in the Western Conference with a 92-85 victory over San Antonio.
Amar’e Stoudemire and Shawn Marion share a laugh on the bench.
April 12
2002
The Coyotes beat the Minnesota Wild 7-1 as Sean Burke sets a team record with his 33rd victory of the season and Teppo Numminen registers his 400th career assist with the franchise.
Sean Burke
2012
In the first of an NHL record five consecutive overtime games, Martin Hanzal scores at the 9:29 mark to give the Coyotes a 3-2 win over the Blackhawks in the opening game of their Western Conference quarterfinal series. Chicago sent the game into overtime on Brent Seabrook’s goal with 15 seconds left to play.
Martin Hanzal celebrates his game-winning overtime goal.
April 11
1999
Luis Gonzalez homers off of Greg Maddux in the Diamondbacks’ 3-2 loss to Atlanta, starting a 30-game hitting streak through May 18. He became the 37th player to reach 30-game mark.
Luis Gonzalez began his 30-game hitting streak on April 11, 1999, with a home run off of Greg Maddux.
2010
Chris Young, Kelly Johnson and pitcher Edwin Jackson all hit home runs in a 13-run fourth inning as the Diamondbacks wallop the Pirates 15-6 at Chase Field. The 13-run inning stands as a franchise record.
2011
Channing Frye ties a Suns team record with nine 3-point field goals in a 135-127 overtime victory over Minnesota.
Channing Frye tied a Suns record with nine 3-point field goals on April 11, 2011.
April 10
2001
Todd Walsh is hired as FOX Sports Net Arizona’s pre-game host for Diamondbacks and Coyotes telecasts.
Todd Walsh
April 9
2015
ASU hires Bobby Hurley to replace Herb Sendek as men’s basketball coach.
2016
Devin Booker becomes the fourth youngest player in NBA history to crack the 1,000 point barrier, scoring 16 in a 121-100 victory over New Orleans. Only LeBron James, Kobe Bryant and Kevin Durant have topped 1,000 points at a younger age than Booker (19 years, 162 days).
Devin Booker
April 8
2010
Adrian Aucoin scores in the fourth round of a shootout to give the Coyotes a 3-2 victory over the Kings in Los Angeles, giving the team 50 wins in a season for the first time in the 30-year history of the franchise.
2011
Ilya Bryzgalov is the winning goalie in a playoff-clinching 4-3 victory over San Jose, becoming the Coyotes’ all-time leader with 130 career victories.
April 7
1998
Danny Manning, who would be named the NBA Sixth Man of the Year, tears his anterior cruciate ligament in a 103-97 victory over Sacramento, costing a 56-win team one of its most vital players and leading to a first-round playoff exit vs. San Antonio.
Danny Manning
2001
The Suns defeat Cleveland 102-98 to clinch a 13th consecutive playoff berth.
2002
Curt Schilling tosses a one-hitter and strikes out a career-high 17 in the D-backs’ 2-0 victory over the Brewers in Milwaukee.
2012
The Coyotes defeat Minnesota 4-1 to clinch the Pacific Division championship, their first division title in franchise history.
April 6
1997
Keith Tkachuk scores the Coyotes’ only goal in a 2-1 loss at Colorado, becoming the first Coyote to score 50 goals in a season.
Keith Tkachuk
2009
Felipe Lopez and Tony Clark each hit home runs from both sides of the plate and the D-backs hit five home runs overall in a 9-8 win over the Rockies on Opening Day. Brandon Webb started and gave up six runs in four innings for the D-backs in what would be the last start of his injury-shortened major-league career.
2009
After being rebuffed by several other candidates, Arizona hires Xavier coach Sean Miller to take over a basketball program that had struggled to maintain elite status after Lute Olson’s retirement.
Sean Miller
April 5
1998
After losing their first five games, the D-backs get to Giants starter Shawn Estes for three first-inning runs and hold on for the first victory in franchise history, 3-2 at Bank One Ballpark. Andy Benes, who took the franchise’s first loss, also got the first win, giving up two solo home runs in seven innings.
Andy Benes
2004
Suns chairman and CEO Jerry Colangelo was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass., joining former Suns player Connie Hawkins as a recipient of the sport’s highest honor.
Jerry Colangelo is inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame on April 5, 2004.
April 4
2008
Rookie enforcer Daniel Carcillo, owner of a league-high 324 penalty minutes, notches his first career hat trick in a 4-2 win at Dallas.
Daniel Carcillo
April 3
1998
Teppo Numminen has a goal and three assists in a 6-3 victory over Anaheim, becoming the Coyotes’ all-time leading scorer among defensemen with 336 points — a total that would eventually grow to 534 before Numminen was traded to Dallas in 2003.
Teppo Numminen
2001
Luis Gonzalez hit a two-run homer in the seventh inning to give the Diamondbacks a 3-2 Opening Day victory over the Dodgers in Los Angeles in Bob Brenly’s managerial debut.
Bob Brenly
2012
Mike Smith sets an NHL expansion-era record for most saves in a regulation game by stopping 54 shots in a 2-0 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets. It is Smith’s third consecutive shutout and eighth of the season, tying a franchise record.
Mike Smith makes one of 54 saves in a shutout of the Blue Jackets.
April 2
2001
Arizona’s bid for a second national championship in five years came up empty when the Wildcats fall 82-72 to Duke in the title game in Minneapolis. Arizona’s starting backcourt of Gilbert Arenas and Jason Gardner combined to shoot 0 for 12 from 3-point range, and the Wildcats were held scoreless for the final 2:48 after a Richard Jefferson basket had pulled them within three points of the Blue Devils.
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April 1
2009
Rookie Al Montoya makes 23 saves in a 3-0 win at Colorado, becoming the first U.S.-born goaltender in NHL history to record a shutout in his debut, and the second rookie in Coyotes history to debut with a shutout.
Al Montoya
March
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