The D-backs and Yankees wrapped up their series last night (April 18) and the D-backs exciting 12-inning 6-2 win wasn’t the only storyline. There was also Didi Gregorius homering in his first at-bat in a D-backs uniform — on the first pitch he saw, Patrick Corbin dealing in front of family and friends against the team he grew up cheering for, two catcher interference calls and then THIS…

One guy in the stands catching TWO home runs. Yes, that’s right. The same guy caught not one, but two home runs in the same game – and he was wearing D-backs gear at Yankee Stadium! Here’s the story that FOX Sports Arizona shared with its television audience (one that peaked at a 5.8 rating – 104,550 Phoenix households at 8:00 pm) as well as on social media and FOXSportsArizona.com.

Gregorious led off the third inning with the homer to right field that was caught by a man wearing a D-backs hat and shirt. At first, everyone just thought it was a lone D-backs fan who wouldn’t give into Yankees fans demands to throw it back. Then later, it was discovered this “fan” who caught the ball was New Yorker Zack Hample, the notorious baseball collector and author who has now caught over 6500 baseballs at MLB games.

The story then takes a even crazier turn in the bottom of the 9th inning when Hample catches his SECOND home run of the night — New York’s Francisco Cervelli homer to left field that tied the game and forced extra innings.

FOX Sports Arizona stayed on the story during the game and Jody Jackson found Hample after the first home run catch for an interview.  In it, Hample claimed he would have caught a third from D-back Martin Parado  if not for preparing for the interview with Jackson!

@FOXSPORTSAZ was also on top of it to continue conversation on social media — showcasing the first home run catch (when it was believed he was a D-backs fan), the second home run and Hample’s tweet about the first catch and the second one as well. The first catch was highlighted on FOX Sports Arizona’s Facebook page and became its most-liked and shared photo ever.
Then finally, FOXSportsArizona.com wrapped it up with a story and photo of Hample meeting Gregorius after the game.

For “In My Own Words – Shane Doan” that profiles the lifelong Phoenix Coyotes star and captain, the network hosted a first-of-its-kind public premiere – billing it as a “see it in person before it airs on television” type of event. And if that was not enough to create some buzz, interest in the premiere was elevated even further when Doan agreed to appear and watch the show along with fans!

That party took place last Saturday at 18 Degrees Neighborhood Grill which is inside the Scottsdale IceDen – a rink the Coyotes use for their practice facility. The show was played on each of the establishment’s HD televisions as FOX Sports Arizona took over the restaurant for the event! Although  it started at 5:00 pm, the restaurant started to fill up at 3:30 and by the time the premiere began, nearly 400 Coyotes fans packed the place to watch.

FOX Sports Arizona’s Todd Walsh conducted the interview for the show and emceed the premiere as well. The FOX Sports Arizona Girls were on hand to meet fans and assist in the raffle giveaway of Doan-autographed DVD copies of the show. In addition, phoenixcoyotes.com was there to cover it, the Coyotes mascot Howler was on hand, as were members of the Coyotes Paw Patrol and Doan’s teammate Paul Bissonnette (aka @BizNasty2point0 – and a guy with 407,000+ Twitter followers) made a surprise appearance as well.

The event generated a good amount of talk on Twitter from fans who attended it. Since the show debuted two days after the public premiere, it provided  opportunities for pre publicity it wouldn’t have gained without the event (Coyotes PR director Tweet).

Starting this year, our Sunday pre-game and post-game shows will feature a new lineup as the popular Jody Jackson will be joined on the “Diamondbacks Live” set by Cindy Brunson.  The former ESPN SportsCenter anchor joins Jody this year to offer her experience and broadcasting excellence every Sunday when the D-backs play at home for what is believed to be the only all-female hosting duo of a baseball pre-game and post-game show. Prior to coming to the desert, Brunson spent the past 13 years working for ESPN.

Arizona Republic columnist Paola Boivin wrote about Brunson joining FOX Sports Arizona last Sunday and if you missed it, here it is.

In addition to watching Brunson on Sunday’s this year, you can also follow her on Twitter via @CindyBrunsonAZ.

FOX Sports Arizona’s D-backs coverage starts on opening day – April 1 – when they host the St. Louis Cardinals. A special one-hour “Diamondbacks Live” pregame show begins the night’s festivities at 6:00 pm.

Four games will air live on FOX Sports Arizona Plus and two will be delayed on FOX Sports Arizona. Wondering who will play when and on what channel? Here you go:

D-II Girls: Saguaro/Liberty winner vs. Flowing Wells/Seton Catholic Prep winner (10:00 am/FSAZ+)

D-I Boys: Desert Mountain/Corona del Sol winner vs. Pinnacle/Cesar Chavez winner (4:00 pm/FSAZ+)

D-III Boys: Valley Christian/Snowflake winner vs. Scottsdale Christian/Gilbert Christian winner (6:00 pm/FSAZ+)

D-III Girls: Holbrook/Winslow winner vs. Window Rock/Valley (Sanders) winner (8:00 pm FSAZ+)

D-II Boys: Paradise Valley/Sunnyslope winner vs. Agua Fria/Salpointe Catholic winner (10:00 pm/FSAZ/taped)

D-I Girls: Hamilton/St. Mary’s winner vs. Pinnacle/Highland winner (12:00 am/FSAZ/taped)

All six games will also replay later on FOX Sports Arizona and the schedule is as follows:

2/25/2013 – 7:00 pm – Division II Girls

2/25/2013 – 9:00 PM – Division II Boys

2/25/2013 – 11:00 PM – Division I Girls

2/26/2013 – 4:00 PM – Division I Boys

2/28/2013 – 4:00 PM – Division III Boys

2/28/2013 – 11:00 PM – Division III Girls

3/23/2013 – 4:00 PM – Division II Girls

3/23/2013 – 6:00 PM – Division II Boys

3/23/2013 – 8:00 PM – Division I Girls

3/26/2013 – 5:00 PM – Division I Boys

3/26/2013 – 7:00 PM – Division III Boys

3/26/2013 – 9:00 PM -  Division III Girls

Use this link to find FOX Sports Arizona Plus channel listings:

Other notes on the games:

Due to bandwidth capacity, DISH will not carry the 6 and 8 pm high school basketball championships in HD

Due to bandwidth constraints, DirecTV will not offer the basketball championships in SD. These games will only air in HD.

This marks the team’s best start since the 2000-01 season. The game versus Minnesota on February 4 delivered a 1.5 rating on FOX Sports Arizona, which is the Coyotes’ highest rated game on FOX Sports Arizona in nine years.

Footnote: ratings are not available for five other Coyotes telecasts that have aired on FOX Sports Arizona Plus this season.

The Coyotes return to action on Saturday afternoon when they are in Edmonton to take on the Oilers. FOX Sports Arizona’s coverage starts at 1:15 pm.

The show is hosted by the D-backs new play-by-play announcer Steve Berthiaume and will have contributions from Todd Walsh, Jody Jackson, Bob Brenly, Jack Magruder, Joe Borowski and Lisa Blanco. Here’s a rundown of what you will see in the 5-show series and part of an interview Todd did with Steve at a Spring training institution – Don & Charlie’s.

* Bob Brenly contributes a video scouting report / breakdown of key D-backs players

*  Longtime Arizona resident Todd Wash takes new Arizona resident Steve Berthiaume to various Cactus League haunts in the “Man About Town” segment

* FOXSportsArizona.com’s Jack Magruder’s News & Notes from around the team

* Jody Jackson files weekly interview profile pieces

* Joe Borowski sits down with J.J. Putz, David Hernandez and new D-back Heath Bell as part of the Bullpen Roundtable

* Kevin Towers provides a “Prospect Watch” on young D-backs who could pay in the Majors as soon as this year

* Game of the Week highlights from Cactus League action

The nationwide Creative University program is formed locally with different FSN regions and prestigious academic and athletic institutions such as ASU. Designed to enhance  relationships with our partners and reinforce our commitment to the community, this effort allows FOX Sports to cultivate the creative minds of the future.

Each semester, the Creative University class at ASU is given a project to create a on-air and off-air campaign for. Typically, the students are broken up into groups of 4-5 and they work throughout the semester to present FOX Sports Arizona with their idea for an all-encompassing campaign that includes on-air promotion,  print, radio, social media and outdoor exposure. One winning group is chosen and that group of students gets to observe as a professional production company makes their idea a reality!

In the past, ASU’s Creative University classes have come up with a new branding campaign for FOX Sports Arizona, as well as campaigns to promote its website & social media platforms, Phoenix Coyotes coverage and the re-branding on FOX Sports Next.

This week, FOX Sports Arizona is rolling out its newest campaign that was hatched by Sun Devil students and it’s an effort to promote the network’s coverage of Arizona high school championship events. The campaign’s theme is “We Bring the Future Home” which is built off of the network’s image campaign a previous class created – “We Bring the Game Home.”

Take a look at the latest spot and get ready to see even more come out of this terrific student-created campaign!

When the Coyotes beat the Minnesota Wild 2-1, the  game produced the highest regular season rating for the Coyotes on FOX Sports Arizona since 2004.

According to Nielsen Media Research, the Feb. 4 telecast generated of 1.5 rating/2 share in the Phoenix market (27,039 Phoenix households).  The game peaked at 2.0 rating during the 9:15 pm quarter hour (36,052 Phoenix HH).  Prior to last night, the last time a Coyotes regular season game on FOX Sports Arizona did a rating this high was on Jan. 9, 2004 at Minnesota. That telecast did a 1.7 and it was the game in which Coyotes goalie Brian Boucher set the NHL’s consecutive shutout record.

In addition to the large television viewing audience, Coyotes fans were active on Twitter last night as well! During the second period, FOX Sports Arizona’s Todd Walsh conducted another popular #toddchat (s) and it became Twitter’s #2 trending topic in Phoenix. Solid night all around for FOX Sports Arizona and the Phoenix Coyotes.

The Coyotes are back on FOX Sports Arizona on Thursday when they host the undefeated Chicago Blackhawks (7-0-2). The “Coyotes Live” pregame show starts at 6:30 pm.

FOX Sports Arizona’s MVP Awards trophy for “Brand Integration”

At last Thursday’s 2nd Annual “D-backs Most Valuable Partner Awards” the network was honored for doing just that.

This red carpet event (which was covered by the FOX Sports Arizona Girls) is a star-studded awards show held at the Wild Horse Pass & Casino’s showroom and was attended by the team’s corporate sponsors, players, broadcasters, employees and season ticket holders. Throughout the evening, awards were given out across nine different categories  and FOX Sports Arizona was honored as the D-backs partner who was best at “Brand Integration.”

Singled out for its work on the D-Backs Fan Express program that brings fans to games from outlying towns around Arizona and helps market the team all around the state, FOX Sports Arizona’s was selected from a group of eight different nominees for the award.

Baxter helped present the award to FOX Sports Arizona’s Brett Hansen (Director of Communications & Marketing), Megan Ayala (Sales & Marketing Coordinator) & Brian Hogan (Sr Vice President & General Manager)