Mark Faller

Phoenix

Sports Director at The Arizona Republic

Former sports editor of The Arizona Republic/azcentral.com. Up next: to be determined!

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Articles

Arizona Republic sports — and sports editor — transitioning into new world

Apr 14, 2024 | azcentral.com | Mark Faller

Sports is always about transition. There is the transition from one season to another. In hockey and soccer, constant transition from offense to defense and back is the flow of those sports. The NBA even has statistical categories that track and measure transition offense and defense. Here at The Arizona Republic, we’re embarking today on a transition of our own.
UConn basketball's 45-year odyssey from lapdogs to leaders of the NCAA pack

Apr 10, 2024 | azcentral.com | Mark Faller

There was a time when some people in Connecticut thought the state university was barking up the wrong tree when it came to college basketball. Today, the UConn men’s and women’s basketball programs are the gold standard in the sport. The women might not have won it all since 2016, their 11th title, but they remain a powerhouse with six Final Four appearances in the past seven tournaments.
Final Four for AZ: UConn, Purdue, Alabama, NC State punch tickets to Glendale

Mar 31, 2024 | sports.yahoo.com | Mark Faller

Arizona's second NCAA men's basketball Final Four is set, and did we get some great storylines. Four conferences are represented: SEC, Big East, Big Ten and ACC. There's a team making it this far for the very first time. The defending champs are returning for another crack at a title. The nation's scoring leader will be playing in the national semifinals for the first time in 64 years. And there is a storied representative from Tobacco Road that is one of the most stunning stories of this postseason.
Diamondbacks Opening Day 2024: Everything to know about the game, MLB schedule

Mar 28, 2024 | azcentral.com | Mark Faller

Welcome to MLB Opening Day, one of the most-anticipated dates on the sports calendar. Once again, all 30 MLB teams were scheduled to play the same day, Thursday, March 28, and that includes the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres, who technically opened the 2024 season by splitting a pair of games last week in Seoul, South Korea.
Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O'Neal and Hall of Famers sparked Phoenix's past NBA All-Star games

Mar 7, 2024 | azcentral.com | Mark Faller

With Phoenix being awarded the 2027 NBA All-Star Game, here’s a look back at the city's three previous NBA All-Star Games:2009 NBA All-Star Game: West 146, East 119Feb. 15, U.S. Airways CenterMVPs: Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers, Shaquille O’Neal, Phoenix SunsRecap: O’Neal, in his final All-Star appearance, was reunited with Bryant for the first time in five years in an All-Star Game.
Guaranteed Rate Bowl in Phoenix: Storylines, key players for Kansas, UNLV

Dec 26, 2023 | azcentral.com | Mark Faller

The 34th edition of the Guaranteed Rate Bowl is set for 7 p.m. Tuesday at Chase Field, bringing together the Kansas Jayhawks (8-4) and UNLV Rebels (9-4). Here’s what to know about the game, which will be broadcast live on ESPN. Kansas, UNLV football historiesHead to head: Kansas and UNLV have met twice, a home-and-home series in 2002-03. The Rebels won the first meeting in Las Vegas 31-20, and the Jayhawks took the rematch 46-24 in Lawrence, Kansas.
Shorthanded Suns can't keep up with Kings in home loss

Dec 8, 2023 | sports.yahoo.com | Mark Faller

The Phoenix Suns fell into too deep of a hole Friday night in the third quarter against Sacramento, and despite Devin Booker's best efforts fell 114-106 to the Kings at Footprint Center in the first meeting of the season between the teams. The Suns (12-10), playing without injured stars Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal, relied on their 1-2 punch of Booker (28 points) and Eric Gordon (19) to try to stay in the game, and got to within 96-90 on a Booker free throw with 6:28 left.
Suns-Kings updates: Phoenix without Kevin Durant, Grayson Allen vs. Sacramento

Dec 8, 2023 | azcentral.com | Mark Faller

The Phoenix Suns host the Sacramento Kings Friday night at 7 p.m., in Footprint Center, for a game that wasn't on the original NBA season schedule. The Suns and Kings both were eliminated from the NBA In-Season Tournament in quarterfinal games this week -- Phoenix falling to the Lakers and Sacramento to the Pelicans. As a result, the two now will meet in a non-tournament game that fills out their 82-game regular season schedules. It's the first meeting of the season for the teams.
ESPN report goes inside Brittney Griner's Russia detainment and her release

Dec 8, 2023 | sports.yahoo.com | Mark Faller

One year ago, Brittney Griner was freed from Russian captivity, released during a prisoner exchange with the U.S. for a notorious arms dealer, Viktor Bout. Griner, the Phoenix Mercury star, had been arrested and convicted on drug charges for being in possession of two vape cartridges containing cannabis oil.
ESPN report goes inside Brittney Griner's Russia detainment and her release

Dec 8, 2023 | azcentral.com | Mark Faller

One year ago, Brittney Griner was freed from Russian captivity, released during a prisoner exchange with the U.S. for a notorious arms dealer, Viktor Bout. Griner, the Phoenix Mercury star, had been arrested and convicted on drug charges for being in possession of two vape cartridges containing cannabis oil.