Suns to allow 3,000 fans at Nets game
Boost doubles crowd levels starting Tuesday
Phoenix Suns All-Star Devin Booker likes the feeling of having fans back in Phoenix Suns Arena for the first time in nearly a year amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We want to protect this place, especially that we got the fans in here now,” Booker said. “There’s some energy in there now in the building.”
Booker will feel even more energy when the Suns increase their fan limit from 1,500 to 3,000 starting Tuesday when they play host to Steve Nash and the Brooklyn Nets.
Fans are required to wear masks at all time unless they’re eating or drinking at their ticketed seat. Currently 11 out of 30 NBA teams are having fans for their home games – Atlanta, Cleveland, Dallas, Houston, Indiana, Memphis, Miami, New Orleans, Orlando, Phoenix and Utah – league officials informed The Arizona Republic on Wednesday.
Arena seat capacity can range as high as 20-30% giving social distancing requirements of six feet, guidance from local health officials and pod sizes.
The Suns hadn’t had fans for home games since March 8, 2020 when they upset Milwaukee.
The league decided to begin the 2020-21 season with a 72-game schedule with games at NBA arenas.
A total of 24 games have been postponed this season under NBA health and safety protocols, but only two new players have tested positive for the virus since Jan. 20.
The Suns started having fans for home games Sunday against Boston as they provided complimentary tickets to healthcare workers for their efforts.
The attendance was 1,493.
They started having ticketed fans for Monday’s game against Cleveland as the attendance was 1,485.
The Suns won both games.
“It was great to actually hear fans instead of the audio,” said center Deandre Ayton after Phoenix’s 100-91 victory over the Celtics as the Suns have been pumping in crowd noise for home games.
The ticket prices for that game ranged from $30 to $150. The price may fluctuate from game to game, but the prices haven’t changed, Suns officials told The Arizona Republic on Wednesday afternoon.
The Suns were staying at the 1,500limit for Wednesday’s game against Milwaukee, Saturday’s game against Philadelphia and Sunday’s game against Orlando as they’re in the middle of a seven-game homestand that began
Friday against Detroit.
Tuesday’s game versus the Nets will the final one of the homestand.
When making the initial announcement of having fans back in the arena, the Suns noted this decision was in accordance with guidelines provided by the Centers for Disease Control, the NBA and Arizona Department of Health Services, along with Suns working with “medical experts to ensure fans have a fun and safe experience.”
The Suns having been hosting fans in “two-person and four-person, socially distanced pods.” They’re now adding more two-person and four-person pods in the upper levels, along with a limited number of floor seat pods.
The franchise is also offering “Party Pods” for groups of four to six fans.
Located in the private luxury suites, these pods offer food and beverage packages, a parking pass for the group, “dedicated restroom within the suite,” and a private shopping experience exclusively for Party Pod fans.
The “Party Pods” within suites represent 25 percent of normal capacity. Those who purchase a “Party Pod” this season will receive priority access to buy a Party Pod and/or suite rental during the 2020-21 playoffs following season ticket holders.
Pricing for these pods start at $300$500 per seat and will vary per game.
Have opinion about current state of the Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at dmrankin@gannett.com or contact him at 480-787-1240. Follow him on Twitter at @DuaneRankin.
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PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. – Pebble Beach is one of the few PGA Tour stops where the course is the star of the show regardless of who’s playing. And that’s about all the AT&T Pebble Beach ProAm has going for it this year.
Golf is approaching the one-year anniversary of when the COVID-19 pandemic led to a shutdown and then changed so much about every tournament, at least those that were not postponed or canceled.
Pebble is feeling it this week. No spectators. No amateurs, who bring their own variety of star power from the world of entertainment, sports and Fortune 100 boardrooms. And not much of a buzz that this tournament provides across three golf courses along 17 Mile Drive and in the cozy restaurants at night in Carmel-by-the-Sea.
“It’s a little bit of a letdown,” Patrick Cantlay said. “I hope the (amateurs) are able to come back soon. … It will be a little less hectic. It does get a little crazy out here with 300 or so competitors playing.”
Cantlay stands out as the highestranked player in the field at No. 11. Pebble Beach lost the No. 1 player in the world and a two-time tournament winner when Dustin Johnson decided to withdraw on Tuesday. Johnson is coming off a victory in the Saudi International and decided he would be better off with a week of rest and a busy schedule ahead of him.
The only other players from the top 20 are Daniel Berger (No. 15) and Paul Casey (No. 17).
That’s not terribly unusual. A year ago, only two players from the top 10 were at Pebble Beach – Johnson, who had never missed until this year, and Cantlay, a California native and another Pebble regular. Even so, this is the weakest field at Pebble Beach since the world ranking began in 1986, comparable to domestic PGA Tour events held in the fall.
Johnson has played in Saudi Arabia each of the last two years – a win and a runner-up finish – and still traveled across 11 time zones to play Pebble
Beach the following week.
One difference is that it was his one time playing a tournament with his de factor father-in-law, hockey great Wayne Gretzky. They played the last several years with Jordan Spieth and his partner, country singer Jake Owen.
Now it’s only for the pros, and they are playing on two courses (Pebble Beach and Spyglass Hill), with the private Monterey Peninsula out of the mix.
Among those missing who were in the field last year are Kevin Na and Viktor Hovland, who were in Saudi Arabia last week; Matt Fitzpatrick and Matt Kuchar; and Kevin Kisner, who was always going to miss because his wife gave birth to their third child last week (a son they named George).
Is it scheduling? That hasn’t changed in the last few years? The weather? There is rain in the forecast, but players know to expect anything on the Monterey Peninsula. One year, sunshine gave way to fog and then rain within an hour. Two years ago, the final round was delayed when sleet covered the greens. It was sunny the rest of the day.
“I think maybe weather has a big part to do with it, and then also the upcoming schedule maybe is the biggest issue to do with it,” Cantlay said.
Next week is Riviera, traditionally one of the strongest regular PGA Tour events, followed by a World Golf Championship that has moved this year from Mexico City to Florida. After that is Bay Hill and The Players Championship, all part of a road that leads to the Masters.
“Those are four big tournaments, all in a row, and you just can’t play all of them,” Cantlay said.
The test could be different in other aspects. Without amateurs in the field, there is no need to set the pins toward the center of the green to keep it from being overly difficult and slow the pace of play even more. Rounds that approach six hours because of foursomes should be cut by an hour or so.
“It’s probably not going to play as easy as it can play when it is the pro-am with certain tees that are up,” defending champion Nick Taylor said. “The par 5s typically play a little shorter, too.”
Taylor outplayed Phil Mickelson, last year’s defending champion, to win for the second time in his career. Mickelson, who along with Casey was in Saudi Arabia last week, has missed Pebble Beach only one time and has five victories.
Mickelson still brings plenty of star power even as the 50-year-old has dropped to No. 86 in the world. So does Spieth, who showed signs of life last week in the Phoenix Open when he tied
for fourth,
2019.
And it wouldn’t be Pebble Beach without a few celebrities. They played in an abbreviated pro-am Wednesday morning, a list that included Bill Murray, rap singer Macklemore and retired 49ers quarterback Steve Young. They also were part of a celebrity challenge to raise money for charity in the afternoon.
And then it was time for them to leave.
his
best
finish
since May
GOODYEAR – Joseph Thomas Humphrey (Jay) an entrepreneur and resident of Goodyear, Arizona. An Arizona resident for the past 48 years passed away unexpectedly on January 28th 2021 at the age of 75 years young.
Jay is survived by his loving wife Frances Lorraine Bryant-Humphrey, His son Doy (Carmen), and his granddaughter Frances (Andrew Burt). His great grandson Talon, his great granddaughter Kallie Shay. He in predeceased by his mother Annabelle Christopher Humphrey, father Joseph Thomas Humphrey (Joe B), grandson Joseph Thomas Humphrey and siblings Troy, Roy Lee, Doy R, Billy Don, Sue, Betty, and Shirley.
Jay was born in Maryville Tennessee on June 27th 1945 to Annabelle Christopher Humphrey and Joseph Thomas Humphrey (Joe B). He met Frances Bryant-Humphrey in Clarksville Tennessee in 1963. They fell in love and were married on April 19th 1963, and were blessed with a beautiful baby boy on November 15, 1963. On July 13 1982 he welcomed his grandson into the world. On March 16 1986 he was blessed with his granddaughter. Jays family was the most important thing in his life. Jay’s grandchildren were his life, and he always referred to them as “they are my world.”
Jay was a devoted husband and a loving father, grandfather and great grandfather. He prided himself on his hard work ethics and succeeded in his endeavors despite being severely dyslexic and only achieving a fourthgrade education. He was self-taught and never gave up on anything. Jay wasn’t a quitter. He was a faithful child of God, known to say “I’m in the F.O.G.”(“Favor of God”!). Jay was an incredibly selfless man who was devoted to helping others. His entrepreneurial spirit led him into multiple business ventures. Ultimately these paved the way for his communication company Fiber Force, and consulting company J and F consulting & Out of The Box Solutions. As a spiritual man he spent numerous hours volunteering with Valley Cathedral and Dream Center. Jay was raised in North Carolina near Fort Bragg, where his love and appreciation for military personnel began. This love and appreciation grew and was the motivational spirit behind his starting in 2013 a non-profit he named, “Up By Their Bootstraps”. His charity helped deployed and recently returned veterans and their families to get on their feet by providing such services reliable transportation, job assistance, home repair, housing, vehicle repair, and food assistance. He touched thousands of lives in the past 75 years. Jay’s “larger than life” personality and incredible caring spirit are unforgettable. He will be severely missed by all.
A celebration of life will be held on February 20, 2021 for all family and friends. Masks and social distancing will be required. It will be at 14225 West Baseline Road, Goodyear, Arizona. For more information, please contact Frances M. Humphrey at supercrossbabe13@gmail.com.
In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to his charity at https:// upbytheirbootstraps.org; or his gofund me at http://gofund.me/39b40e4d