Notably, during structure-activity studies of the pyrazole b-amidomethyl-vinyl sulfones, a phenylsulfonamide-5-substituted pyrazole analog 7 was synthesized that appeared to be less prone to intramolecular cyclization. Under cyclization conditions of NaHCO3 (1.0 eq.) in MeOH 1 was 100% converted to 2 in 36 h, but under the same conditions only ~50% of 7 cyclized to 8.