Three

As in three more days until Stoops' Troops take on the Utes. Wilbur predicts a UA victory, 30-18. Here are a few things to ponder until then:

They're off! - Coaches Stoops and Olson both have racehorses named after them, both trained by UA alumn Bob Baffert. Suppose they'll ever go head to head at Rillito?

Jawann McClellan status - losing a father is heartbreak for an adult, let alone a college freshman. Jawann's funk after his father's passing is understood. Will the NCAA see it the way Lute does?

“He told me that he doesn’t care if I play basketball here again, he just wanted me to get better,” McClellan said. “When I heard that I knew I had to come back because he cares about me as a person.”

Salim signs with the Hawks - no attitude problem with holding out, eh?

From the tall pines in Flagstaff - a capsule update of AZ football (and other lesser programs - asu, Cardinals, etc.)

Stoops preaches Red Zone efficiency - and the choir is listening

SIX days to go

Am I ready for football or what? I even watched a high school game at Chuy's today just to get juiced up. Next Friday heralds the public unveiling of my UA scrub top at work. Stay tuned...

Punt - noone really wants to hold the school record for number of punts, but Danny Baugher is handling it well. Let's hope his number of punts dwindles this year as the offense kicks it up a notch.

Side out - with the soccer team back to defend its PAC10 title let's give them some mention, too. That's it.

Cornerback of the future - read about the Texan here.

One week away

Seven days 'til opening kickoff - next Friday finds us sitting in front of the big screen, watching the Cats take on the Utes in HD.

Cats QBs - ranked #76 in this survey (Utah #55)

Deeper offense - first team to 35 points wins in the PAC10

Stoops on billboard irks folks at ASU - maybe because it was right across the way from Karsten Golf Course. Maybe they were just upset that noone could hit it that far.

Basketball notes - can't forget the hoopsters. Remember when we couldn't wait for basketball season to start?

Paltry offense?!?

OUCH! More low blows, this time from the northwest. I'd like to take that Space Needle and stick it where the sun don't shine. Wait. That IS Seattle.

Season preview

This from SFGate - another reference to the sorry state of AZ football with some positive notes, too. Let's see - we're upwards of 35K season tickets sold, the Zona Zoo will pack the sidelines again, Red Zone seats are sold out . I'd wager a few other schools would relish such a sorry state.

10 more days and counting

Now that this year's opener with Utah is within smelling distance the juices are really flowing at the Wilbur household. Here are a few items to keep you busy until that first whistle:

First classy - Lute and his Cats rate mention in this article about classy programs and the way they reach out in their communities.

Cats in a Bowl?? - we may be getting a little ahead of ourselves, but there are plenty of reasons why it could happen this year. And having a meteorologist for a head coach comes in handy during our monsoon season.

More bowl game fodder - this time from our award winning Arizona Daily Wildcat.

Sobering article - just in case our heads do swelleth.

"Sorry state of Wildcats football?" - another reason I'll never move to Pheonix(sic)

Wildcat named nation's best college paper

Muchos kudos to the AZ Daily Wildcat - named the nation's best college newspaper by the Princeton Review. Many articles from the Wildcat have been linked here by Wilbur, with the Sports sections and Police Beat being most popular among the students. Nice to know they don't just look at the pictures.

LOCAL NOTEBOOK: Terry enters music producer business

Interesting little bits and pieces about past, present, and future Cats here.

Cats air it out at scrimmage

Nice display by the offense tonight in the Cats last public scrimmage before sequestering away with their game plan for Utah. Not much running, but plenty of big pass plays from all three QB's and their corps of receivers. The scrimmage opened with a kickoff being returned for a TD, something we haven't seen in the last 81 games. I'm not sure if that bodes well for for our return team or bad for our return defense. Exciting, nonetheless.

Kace and I took in a little of the pre-scrimmage activities, then settled into our seats on the 30-yard line in the shade (of course). In front of us were a mom and daughter, decked out in Wildcat gear. As the evening went on, I noticed that mom jumped up and yelled when Adam Austin completed several long passes, so I asked if he was her son. "Actually, no. But his coach is my husband." We were sitting behind Coach Stoops' wife! Very nice lady, and what a treat to meet her.

Gotta give the edge to the offense tonight, proving that Coach's commitment to pumping up the offense wasn't just smalltalk.

Cats raising some fur

News of this year's Wildcat gridiron team is spreading fast. And most of it is good press:

Despite a difficult schedule that features two of last season's three undefeated programs, USC and Utah, as well as a trip to California, Arizona is looking to finish bowl eligible for the first time since 1998. With Stoops leading the charge, a first-ever trip to the Rose Bowl might not be so far away.

No pressure, Mike, no pressure.

Will Will make it?

Bynum signs a free agent contract with the Boston Celtics after not being selected in the latest NBA draft.

Tucson to Atlanta to Boston. Nice trip.

PROFILE: Dick Tomey

Nice little piece here about Dick Tomey as he reinvents football at San Jose State. Best of luck, coach. SJS is lucky to have you.

Race for Chase ends at McKale

Like we said here earlier, SD North County's sports phenom Chase Budinger will be a Wildcat, another Top 10 recruit for Lute. Persistence pays off as Olson makes several trips to Carlsbad just to say HI.


And he plays volleyball, too, a la Jud Buechler.

Love those beach boys from San Diego!

Wizards catch on to Wildcat

Former Batcat Nick Hundley is moving up in the San Diego Padres organization, catching now for the Ft. Wayne Wizards. Another good reason (besides the beach) to be a Padres fan.

Wizards catch on to Wildcat - OurSports Central

Diaper Dandies

Once again the Cats reload, but they're facing stiffer recruiting challengers. The Cats incoming class ranks behind Washington and UCLA in this writer's opinion:
Where does the resurging L.A. story leave traditional Pac powerhouse Arizona? The Wildcats return 11 of 13 roster players. But the two departures – first round draft pick Channing Frye and second round selection Salim Stoudemire – left giant voids in scoring and rebounding.
Not to worry.

Does this make me look fat?

The Wildcats new uniforms story was picked up by the LA Times, and here's what they had to say:


America's team?

While most football teams are focusing on offensive and defensive schemes, the University of Arizona is stuck on color schemes.

The Wildcats are getting new uniforms and trying to choose between blue on blue, blue on white, white on blue, white on white, and red on white.

Coach Mike Stoops is flustered because the scheme he really likes isn't in the mix.

"I like red, white and blue," he told the Tucson Citizen. "It's hard not to make those colors good. It's the very best combination you can have."

Tuscon?

Not only does the author spell the name of our fair city wrong, but the asu story comes first in this article.
Slow learners up north, I guess.

San Diego prep star set to sign with Lute

Budinger appears bound for Arizona -- and to think Zonies can't wait to head for the beach.

Cats get some press in the Bay Area

Tim Kish, Arizona Wildcat linebacker coach, shines in this piece about how the Internet has changed college football recruiting. Instead of the film-rooms of days gone by, imagine popping in a DVD of edited highlights into your laptop. Anytime. Anyplace.

"The amount of information available has probably quadrupled in the last 10 to 15 years," said Arizona linebackers coach Tim Kish, who recruits the East Bay for the Wildcats and is a 30-year coaching veteran. "That enables Division I-A coaches to obviously gather more accurate information ... and allows you the opportunity to process things faster."

They don't even have to see the kid to see the kid. Sweet.

Fall Camp Reports

Day 1
Day 3

D-line looks "massive" - These guys sound big, strong, and smart. Look for lots of sacks this year with this group.

An AP story about Kovalcheck ... Oh, and the stanford Tree.

Women's soccer? ... hey, they're showing some promise.

Wait - what's all this talk about offense?

The Sacramento Bee reports that Stoops will take a more hands-on approach to the Wildcat "offense" (next-to-last in the nation in scoring last season), even though....

"..He was hired in Tucson before last season to sharpen some of those Arizona claws, with the booster club and alumni craving any defensive presence to rekindle images of the 'Cats of old."


The theme for the offense? Same as for the defense - attack. I hope so.