Odds and Ends for the End of 2006

As 2006 draws to a close, here are a few Wildcat items that are worth mentioning:

• Cats win 11 straight -- the Lopez twins look to be force for Stanford, but Arizona's experience and speed do in the Cardinal.  Barry Tompkins and Dan Belluomini be damned - they are such homers for Cal and Stanford.
• Hug-a-Lute -- I did notice Lute give Shakur a hug when Staf came to the bench yesterday, but I didn't realize what a big deal it was at the time.
• Oh so close -- AZ's 14-point win failed to cover the spread by 1/2 point.  In the Memphis game the spread was met exactly.  What kind of crystal ball do those point-spread guys have, anyway?
• Gilbert Arenas still cracks me up --  Wizards guard Gilbert Arenas, who sometimes watches infomercials to pass the time in his hotel room: "The last thing I bought was this colon cleanser. I just got talked into it. I'm like, 'Man, he makes it sound so good.' "
• Mike Bell does us proud -- not bad for an undrafted free agent rookie.  And check out the photographer's name....
• It's the chemistry, man -- Less drama, better basketball.  And more wins.  I like it!
• Sneak preview of Air Raid -- With Sonny Dykes bringing his spread offense to UA from Texas Tech, it was of special interest to watch the Insight Bowl the other night.  Can he pull it off here?
• Nice wrap-up -- late Christmas presents to Wildcats.

Happy New Year, and Bear Down!