Get to know Richard Saenz

If you've been lucky enough to run into Richard Saenz in the halls of FOX 10 or at any stadium around The Valley, you probably walked away laughing and a little bit smarter about the Arizona sports scene.

At an early age Richard knew one thing. He wasn't good enough to go pro, "So I decided to become a sportscaster." As a child, he was inspired by the late, great Howard Cosell and would beg his mom to let him stay up to watch the legendary broadcaster present his memorable halftime highlights on Monday Night Football.

Richard joined the Army Reserves to help pay for college. And it's there where a Drill Sergeant called him "Chachi" after the character on the sitcom "Happy Days." When everyone busted out laughing, the nickname stuck. As a young intern at a Texas TV station, a sports producer taught him to "pay it forward." Which is the reason why Richard enjoys guiding aspiring journalists and is a part of Arizona State University's Walter Cronkite School of Journalism mentorship program.

The award winning sports anchor has paid his dues working under former sports broadcaster Jude LaCava. Richard hilariously describes his FOX 10 sports career in this statement. He's gone from, "Hey aren't you Jude LaCava?" to "Look, it's Richard LaCava!" and now finally "Hey, it's the sports guy, Richard Saenz!" And it only took him nearly 20 years to do it.

You can watch Richard Saenz most weeknights on FOX 10 News at 5 p.m., 6 p.m., 9 p.m. and 10 p.m. and every Sunday night on "Sports Night" at 10:30 p.m.

Richard Talks Arizona Cardinals football

Richard Saenz

What kind of impact is playing inside empty stadiums during the Covid-19 pandemic having on players?

Playing in empty stadiums has taken away the so-called home field advantage. The players feed off those fans. Now the players need to pump each other up.

Did any players or coaches actually miss the drudgery of pre-season games?

I don't think the veteran players missed the pre-season one bit. The coaches missed the preseason because those games are a great way to evaluate talent. You can't really recreate a game type situation in practice.

How has lack of preseason impacted Cardinals players on the field, and who did it impact the most?

The young players were hurt the most by no preseason games. The preseason is usually the best chance they have to catch a coach's eye.

What's it going to take for the Cardinals to make the playoffs this year?

A fast start and winning games in their division will help the Cards make the post season. They are in the toughest division in the NFL. They have to win the easier games in the first part of their schedule.

What's Kyler Murray's ceiling and how much better can he get?

Kyler Murray is the "Real Deal" - this guy could be in the league MVP conversation if he continues to play the way he has started this season. Lamar Jackson, who plays a lot like Kyler, won the MVP award last year. Patrick Mahomes won MVP the year before and he was coached by Cards coach Kliff Kingsbury in college.

What do you think fantasy football has done for the NFL? And who are the Cardinals "must haves" for your roster?

I think Fantasy Football has made every game interesting for people that normally wouldn't care about a particular game. Now that they have a FFB player in the game they watch hoping their player scores. Kyler Murray - DeAndre Hopkins and Kenyan Drake are must haves. I wouldn't mind having the Cards defense too.