Hot Sauce Hammered - then Nailed

Hassan Adams, leading scorer for the Cats and an All-PAC10 pick, has been suspended for the PAC10 tourney following his DUI last weekend. Hey, I was a little upset after we blew another lead and lost to Washington, but I didn't feel the urge to party then think I could drive. He escaped any disciplinary action last December when he was arrested for disorderly conduct, but this was just a little too much for Lute to let slip by. Anyone who couldn't see this coming, raise your hand. I didn't think so.

Hot sauce HITS the sauce

Things are getting hotter than a habanero after Hassan Adams gets arrested for DUI Saturday night. Sit him down for the PAC10 tourney, coach. This is his second arrest in the past 4 months.

Cats miss the 2-minute warning

For 38 minutes, AZ looked like world-beaters against #14 Washington.  Leads of up to 13 points.  Steals and hustle everywhere.  Stingy ball-handling.  The Huskies never even got a chance to take the lead - until the end.  Two Wildcat turnovers were the undoing when holding onto the ball mattered the most.  So we get to watch another close loss, another "one that got away."  Very puzzling, though, why Adams took control of the ball and the last shot (which fell a good 3 feet short), especially with his bum wing.  Lute should have suited up the kid that won the car at halftime by sinking one from halfcourt. 

• Wait until next year?  I never thought I'd hear that again in reference to our basketball team.  Like I never thought I'd hear "Wait until football season."
  
• Baseball's 5-game win streak ends to Nebraska in DQ Classic.  Peanut Buster Parfaits for everyone, win or lose.
• Completing the trifecta, women get slapped around by Stanford.  Their season mercifully closes.
  
• North Carolina loses seven players from championship team, can still beat Duke in Durham.  I always get some satisfaction when the Dookies lose - at home, on their Senior Day.  Duke goes 0'fer the week.  hehe.
• Cats get Cardinal in PAC10 tourney opener.  Lucky us.
• Hometown press can be cruel.  Especially if you're a Seattle prep star who signed with the Cats.

Saturday - Finally!

Wilbur hopes the rest of you had a better week than he did, but the sun came up today, our son (I hesitate to call him Wilbur Jr.) is flying in for a surprise visit, and the Cats wrap up their regular season with a Red Out Senior Day game against the Huskies. Yeah - it's the weekend.

• Wildcat women break out of slump -- and break into the PAC10 tourney with a win over those angry Beavs. Beaverettes? Is anything PC when their nickname is the Beavers?
• Huskies find their groove -- but they'll be another notch in Wilbur's belt after today!
• The Red Coats are coming -- at least Lute's newly ordered one is for today's game. Put on those shades, folks, this could be tough on the eyes.
• Hot Sauce got chicken winged -- but the sore shoulder won't keep him out of his final home game as a Wildcat. Look for a Basket 'O' Buckets from Sauce.
• DQ Classic features Minnesota meltdown -- Batcats win first game of my new favorite tourney. So how come the local paper doesn't even mention the name of the tourney?

Get yer Red On!

I didn't even know there was a Dairy Queen Classic

The Wildcat baseball team is set to play in the 22nd Dairy Queen Classic in Minneapolis this weekend. This should be real Dilly!

Tempo Busters

Washington State comes in tonight, bringing their slow-down style of play and lameduck coach with them. The Cats managed to put up 70 points earlier this season against the Cougs, but let's not have a repeat of last year's home loss to these snoozers.

Greg Hansen plays "what if?" -- fun to play, but leaves that empty feeling.

How long 'til football? -- Well, the season opener is just 6 months away.

More coffee.....Bear Down....

Put a Fork in them

The signs were there early for a big Wildcat win- Sparky showing up with a football for a basketball game; Zona Zoo members camping out the night before for first dibbs on seats; Rob Evans still "coaching" asu...
Arizona totally cleaned Tempe's clock at McKale, and time may be running out for the Sun Devils' head coach. Too bad the Pep Band didn't play "Goodbye to You" as Evans left Lute and Bobbi Olson Court for what probably was the last time - unless he sells lemonade better than he sold basketball to the Valley of the Stunned.

• Cats' big wn today could help tourney chances. And ease Lute's load.
• Coach Evans' load just got bigger.
  
• Pendergraph fans the flame. Silly freshman.
• Hammerschmidt takes Hammer Time to Stanford. Ex-Cat linebacker on the fast track.

Later.

Was SC really going for a 3-Peat?

These folks don't think so, and present a good case of *gasp* media bias in perpetuating the myth.

After the regular season ended with Texas and USC both undefeated
and playing in the national championship, the media became enamored
with all things Trojan -- ignoring the fact that there was another team
on their way to the championship. ESPN ran a different segment on USC every
night on Sportscenter. Of course, the result of doing something like
that is predictable…they lost. However, even after they lost to
Texas, the media wouldn’t give up their resolve…

Curling Hits the Big Time

That can be the only explanation after the "Golden Palace.com" streaker hits the ice. Is that a chicken in your pocket or is it just that cold?

Frosh Faces

Tomorrow's game against Tempe boasts the 2 top freshmen in the PAC10. Those crazy Sun Devil fans will say anything to think they have a shot at beating the Cats.

For sure the game won't feature the top two coaches. Rather, it will emphasize again the huge gap between the level of play at the two schools. Bye, Rob.

NCAA streak motivating Arizona down the stretch

Expect a highly-motivated Arizona team to take the floor against Tempe tomorrow, as the Cats seek to extend their NCAA streak to 22 years, the nation's longest.

“We know we have to win these last three games,” center Kirk Walters said. “It’s huge. It’s sort of the tradition of Arizona basketball, and we don’t want to be the team that let this down and was the team that didn’t get the 20 wins and that berth in the NCAA tournament. We definitely want to keep that going.”

Look for the Wildcats to do just that

OUR Marcus Williams

The Wildcat freshman is opening quite a few eyes with his play this year. Include NBA eyes, as the rumblings are beginning about an early exit for Marcus. Say it isn't so!

A surprising development that has taken place over the course of the 2005-06 basketball season at Arizona is how the NBA draft stock of freshman wing Marcus Williams has shot through the roof, according to NBA sources involved in scouting and personnel. Although Williams, a 6-foot-8 scoring machine from Seattle, has never publicly declared any plans to leave school early, the buzz his play has generated as the year has worn on may make his decision a lot more complex....Ben Hansen at GOAZCATS.com

NBADraft.net | Stock Watch

Bill Fritter, anyone?

From MSNBC.com comes the question of the day:

"Q: Who’s the next coach that’s gonna get fired? Rob Evans at ASU?
— Marlene, Tempe, Ariz.
A: Probably so. He has had eight years to get competitive with rival Arizona. He has won one game against the Wildcats. Evans has taken ASU to the NCAA Tournament one time (2003).
Hard to believe, but Evans had better success at Ole Miss where he won an SEC championship before he got to Tempe.
A couple of things look apparent. He doesn’t get the good players in the state; Lute Olson does. Southern California is not a recruiting hotbed for him; neither is Texas (except for Ike Diogu).
And, his supporters would rather be outside in the Arizona warmth than inside.
Inside, by the way, is not an arena but a recreation center that could be hurting Evans’ recruiting.
Finally, this is not a good year for the Pac-10 and ASU is in last place.
If a guy can have success at Ole Miss in basketball and not at Arizona State, there is an issue with more than the coach, but firing the coach is the easier solution."

What was I drinking?

Looks like I jumped the gun a bit on the game against Tempe. Tip-off isn't until Saturday, and I apologize to anyone marveling at their great seats tomorrow when nobody else shows up.

• Not much can save Robbie Evans' job after this season, but actually thinking that Huggie Bear, Mike Montgomery, or even the General himself are lining up to replace him seems a little far-fetched to Wilbur. Just how fat are those heads up there?
• Boiling down the PAC10 race. Does anyone want to win it?
  

Tipsy Tree

Almost missed this story. I didn't see Stanford's mascot much today, and one reason might have been it couldn't get off the bar stool. Seems the little lady - you wouldn't expect any self-respecting guy to put on the needles - who served as Stanford's Tree this year was axed after showing up pickled for the Cal game last weekend. Guess she was three sheets to the limbs.

Cats Chop Down Stanford

Desperately needing a split on this road trip, Arizona came up big when it needed to today. A "back-to-form" second half gave the Cats a big W over Stanford after losing to Cal on Thursday. And since the game was on CBS, I actually got to see it in HD! Flippin' sweet. After Tempe's big win over Cal yesterday, Wednesday's game should be doozy for a change. Or not.

• Second half dooms Stanford, leaving them at a loss for words. So much for the "Ivy League of the West."
• We can dream, can't we? Nice headline.
• Nice story on Polky and Senior Day. We could have really used her this season.

Open Your Golden Gate - and Your Pocketbook

The Cats are off to the Bay Area schools, looking for at least a split of the two games. Cal tonight, then the timbers of Stanford on Saturday. Here's hoping they don't slip into that road funk and drop their 3rd road series of the season.

• Ever wonder how much it costs for one of these little trips? Your "Priority Seating" charge at work.
• Chris Rodgers makes the trip. It'll be interesting to see what kind of minutes he picks up.
• Cal rejoices in their lead over the Cats in the PAC10 standings.
• It's the inside job that's getting it done for the Cats. That's good, especially when you're the worst-shooting 3-point team in the league.
• Lute pops the bubble.
• Dickie V puts us back on the bubble.
• The everchanging linup - for AZ and for Cal.

Git R Done, Cats!

Olson Triggers Rodgers' Return

Chris Rodgers' Happy Trail led him right back to practice yesterday, bringing with him that defensive intensity the Cats have been sorely missing the past few weeks. Whether he gets in the game or rides the pine is irrelevant.

Chris Rodgers was reinstated by Arizona coach Lute Olson on Monday
after the senior guard was kicked off the team three weeks ago for
undisclosed disciplinary reasons. Rodgers started 13 of the 16 games he
played before being dismissed, averaging 10.8 points.

Overheard at the Gonzaga/Stanford game...

Student sections at basketball games are close to the teams, which encourages some pretty interesting remarks, chants, and comments to opposing players. That doesn't count the Scum Devils section (all 37 of them), of course, which reached an all-time low jeering Steve Kerr back in the 80's about his father's death, or shouts aimed at Lute about the recent death of his wife, Bobbi. The Kennel Club at Gonzaga has been overheard referencing a current movie about lonely sheepherders in Montana (filmed in Canada), giving new meaning to ASSists and putbacks.

Cats Scratch Beavers

Ivan Radenoic, the cerebral Serbian, led the Wildcats to a solid pounding of the OSU Beavers, 80-58. Looks like the Cats are back, just after we thought they'd slipped into something more comfortable - a coma. Thus, they avenged their two-game sweep by the Oregon schools on the road. Now they need to take their new-found confidence and momentum to the Bay area schools next week, as they ride the slippery slope of The Bubble.

Splash! goes Tempe -- AZ men's and women's swimming and diving teams sweep the Sun Puddles.

Gymcats win -- beating the OSU Beaverettes on the road. Final score - 195.400 to 194.925. Whew!

Softball takes two in tourney -- Alicia Hollowell (how many years of eligibility does she have?) notched her 14th no-hitter.