Tuesday, January 03, 2006

Cats on a roll - not hot doggin' it

Arizona finds itself in familiar territory - back in the Top 25, on top of the PAC10, and back in their fans' good graces. With Lute's legacy of always putting a spirited competitive team on the floor, year after year, it just took a little longer than usual for this team to find its identity. Much of the credit goes to Lute himself, the "What? Me retire?" Hall of Famer who worked his magic again in last weekend's Washington trip. Hassan also stepped up his game and provided leadership and an enthusiasm that infected the team. It's too early yet to be euphoric (still 16 league games to go), but the feelings around town (and this humble household) are definitely more positive. It's going to be a wild ride, so hang on and buckle up.

Vote of confidence -- back in the national polls again, unity and a little Hot Sauce go a long way.

Speaking of Hot Sauce -- kudos to the senior forward after being named the PAC10 Player of the Week for the second week in a row. Washington can grouse all they want about a snub of Brandon Roy for last week's honor, but Channing Frey knows just how he feels. Looks like to be the MVP for the week your team has to win both games. Sounds fair. Oh, and way to go to Washington for beating hapless 4-8 Cornell last night. Nice schedule, dawgs. To BE the team you have to BEAT the team. Whooooo.

Bring on the bRuins -- I always think of Steve Allen when I hear UCLA. He did a skit on the Tonight Show when he was the host where people would give him the punchline and he'd make up the joke. When the word was UCLA, he asked, "What happens when the smog lifts?" Classic. Just like Thursday night's game should be.

Don't foul -- Lute explains why he didn't have his players foul at the end of regulation and OT #1 against UDubya Saturday. I know I was wondering why we watched the dawgs put up those 3-pointers. Guess that's why I'm not a coach. Doh.

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