<h4>Dunking disaster </h4>
Wyoming center Adam Waddell falls to the floor upside down after dunking the ball and slipping off the rim during a first-round College Basketball Invitational game against Northeastern on Tuesday at Arena Auditorium in Laramie, Wyo.
MILWAUKEE – It might be the next big thing in online social networking, but Milwaukee Bucks coach Scott Skiles isn’t a big fan of Twitter.
At least not when one of his players is posting from the Bucks’ locker room during halftime of a critical game.
Bucks forward Charlie Villanueva got a talking-to from Skiles after the coach learned Villanueva posted a message to his Twitter feed from his mobile phone during halftime of Sunday’s home victory over Boston.
“We made a point to Charlie and the team that it’s nothing we ever want to happen again,” Skiles said after practice Tuesday. “You know, (we) don’t want to blow it out of proportion. But anything that gives the impression that we’re not serious and focused at all times is not the correct way we want to go about our business.”
Using the screen name “CV31″ – Villanueva’s initials and jersey number – Villanueva posted the following message during halftime Sunday:
“In da locker room, snuck to post my twitt. We’re playing the Celtics, tie ball game at da half. Coach wants more toughness. I gotta step up.”
And he did. Villanueva finished with a team-high 19 points as the Bucks, who are trying desperately to hold on to the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, beat the Celtics 86-77.
Villanueva said Tuesday that he didn’t think the post was a big deal at the time but now understands that posting to a Web site at halftime can create the impression he isn’t focused on the game.
“That wasn’t the case at all, because I was very into the game – as you can tell, the way I played,” Villanueva said.
Obama makes picks
NEW YORK – President Obama is picking Louisville, North Carolina, Memphis and Pittsburgh for the Final Four in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament.
The First Hoops Fan indulged in one of the week’s most popular pastimes, filling out his NCAA bracket Tuesday for ESPN. The network, which is posting Obama’s bracket online Wednesday and showing Andy Katz’s report on “Sportscenter” at 9 a.m. Tucson time, will reveal the president’s pick for NCAA champion then.
The president stuck primarily with No. 1 seeds. The sole exception was Memphis, seeded No. 2 behind Connecticut in the West regional.
“It was an educated bracket,” Katz said. “He knew what he was doing. It wasn’t some random kind of pick. There were no political favors or anything like that.”
A private campaign promise earned ESPN the hoops scoop.
Katz interviewed Obama during the presidential campaign last October for a story about the president’s brother-in-law, Oregon State head basketball coach Craig Robinson.
After the interview, Obama invited Katz to play in a pickup basketball game on Election Day in Chicago, and he did.
Katz extracted a promise from Obama that if elected, the new president would reveal his NCAA picks to ESPN when the pairings were announced in March.
The Associated Press
Dave’s Run set for Sunday
The annual Southern Arizona Dave’s Run for ALS will switch venues from Foothills Mall to Dove Mountain and Tangerine Road for the road race event Sunday.
There will be a 5K competitive event at 8:30 a.m, followed by the Family Fitness Run/Walk.
Proceeds will go to ALS Research. The event was named after David Filer, a local runner and business owner who died from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. There is no known cure.
Citizen Staff Report
Pima softball
Pima Community College improved to 39-7 with a pair of wins over visiting Paradise Valley on Tuesday.
The Aztecs won 14-3 and 7-2 to move to 14-2 in league play.
Chelsea Evanoff (Sabino) earned the win in the first game; Jordan Trujillo won the nightcap.
Melina Trujillo (Sunnyside) had three hits on the day and drove in six runs.
Pima hosts St. Louis-Merrimac CC at 1 p.m. Wednesday in a doubleheader.
Citizen Staff Report
Pima baseball
Pima split a doubleheader at Chandler-Gilbert on Tuesday, losing 7-1 and then winning 4-3.
Marc Damon (Tucson High) won the second game by allowing two earned runs and four hits in seven innings.
The Aztecs (17-12-1) host Madison Area Technical College for a 3 p.m. game Wednesday.
Citizen Staff Report
QUOTABLE
'We were practically on the plane to Los Angeles (for the next round). . . . It's frustrating and emotional.'
CARLOS DELGADO,
Puerto Rico first baseman, on his team's loss to Team USA on Tuesday in the World Baseball Classic
———
SPORTS SOUND-OFF
Real fans proud of Wildcats
Re: NCAA Tournament
Go get ‘em Cats! This team is a bunch of fighters. They could have transferred, gone to the NBA or given up this season, but they stuck it out and made it to the tournament. Real fans are proud of this team. Bear down!
WILBURROCKS
Utah is in the top 25, we’re the last at-large team and a 12 seed, yet we’re the favorite, according to Vegas. That should tell you something. Chase played well last tourney and I think he got his stinker out of the way against ASU.
4274
I appreciate Arizona’s winning attitude but the team is going to have to play a heck of a lot better than they have in the last six games.
DOGS OF WAR
Poor old (ASU). Best team they’ve had in eons . . . still can’t win a conference title. This despite a down year for the Pac-10 with traditional powers UCLA and Arizona not up to their usual prowess.
MURTAUGH
———
ON THIS DATE
2001: Indiana’s Reggie Miller becomes the first player in NBA history to accumulate 2,000 three-pointers after hitting four in a 101-95 win over Sacramento.
2007: San Jose’s Ron Wilson coaches in his 1,000th game to become the 13th coach in NHL history to reach that milestone.
2008: The Houston Rockets’ 22-game winning streak comes to an end. Kevin Garnett scores 22 points and Paul Pierce adds 20 as the Celtics beat the Rockets 94-74, stopping Houston’s remarkable run. The Rockets hadn’t lost since a 97-89 defeat to Utah on Jan. 27.
The Associated Press