<h4>Scrambling Cat </h4>
Matt Scott finds an opening in the defense and runs the ball for the White team during Saturday's annual Arizona football Spring Game.
Quarterback Matt Scott hasn’t had a chance to show the Arizona Wildcats what he can do with the game on the line and the clock ticking down.
The sophomore had the pressure build during the Spring Game on Saturday with the White team needing a touchdown to pull off a victory.
Scott came through for a 5-yard touchdown pass to Terrell Turner on the final play of the game for a 23-21 victory over the Blue squad.
“It was pretty exciting to do something like that, especially with steaks on the line,” Scott said.
The winners received steaks; the losers got hamburgers and hot dogs.
Scott came back from a shaky first half to throw a pair of touchdowns after a brief halftime intermission.
He drove the team the length of the field on the final drive with 1:47 remaining before connecting with Turner.
“We had to calm him down. He was trying to do a lot of things that were outside of his nature,” Turner said. “He is a great player. If he just does what he does and what he is told to do and stays consistent, he will be all right.”
Scott completed 11 of 20 passes for 206 yards, but threw an interception inside the 10 while forcing the action in the first half.
“I need to make sure I don’t make those kinds of mistakes, especially down there,” Scott said.
Scott appears headed into fall camp battling with Nick Foles and Bryson Beirne for the starting job. Arizona has not named a starter to replace Willie Tuitama.
Foles had his shining moments, completing 16 of 24 passes for 183 yards.
Beirne was 2 for 2 for 27 yards.
“Somebody usually separates, but we are going to go through carefully and evaluate all the film from the spring,” Arizona offensive coordinator Sonny Dykes said. “We will see if we think it is as close as we do now. We are going to let the whole thing play out.”
Patrick has rough start
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Danica Patrick’s season got off to a tough start after she crashed early in the season-opening Honda Grand Prix.
She was running ninth in the 22-car field on Sunday when rookie Raphael Matos tried to pass as the two went into one of the tightest turns on the 1.8-mile, 14-turn temporary street circuit.
Both cars crashed, with Patrick’s Andretti Green Racing entry slamming hard, rear end first into a tire barrier.
As the uninjured drivers walked away, Patrick patted Matos on the helmet as if to say, “Use your head.” The two then waited for a ride back to the pits, with a lively discussion taking place as Matos sat on a wall and Patrick stood in front of him.
Patrick, who has been known to blow up at other drivers in similar circumstances, was calm after she got back to the team’s pit.
“It’s not exactly the ideal spot to pass,” she said. “We were going into the fast chicane there and there’s no room, there’s no room for two people. I was looking in my mirrors and I saw him. He just wasn’t all the way up next to me.”
Matos, making his IndyCar debut with the Luczo Dragon team, wasn’t ready to take the blame.
“We just had a very unfortunate racing accident,” the Brazilian said. “It shouldn’t have happened. Danica made a big mistake passing a lapped car and I really had a good run on her. I was halfway up on her. I thought she’d give me enough room to pass, but she didn’t.”
The Associated Press
Final Four TV ratings up
DETROIT – Television ratings for the Final Four are up 7 percent from last year.
Overnight ratings released Sunday show CBS earned a 9.0 rating and 18 share for the national semifinals, up from an 8.4 rating and 16 share.
Michigan State’s home-state win against Connecticut in the first game drew an 8.7 rating and 18 share, up 12 percent from last year’s UCLA-Memphis game. North Carolina’s win against Villanova drew a 9.3 rating and 17 share, up 2 percent from last year’s Kansas-North Carolina game.
CBS’ overall rating for the NCAA Tournament is 6.1 with a 13 share, up 7 percent from last year.
A ratings point represents 1,096,000 households, 1 percent of the nation’s estimated 109.6 million TV homes.
The share is the percentage of all TV sets in use at the time.
The Associated Press
Calhoun done at UConn?
DETROIT – Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun has always said he would not make any decisions about his future after a tough defeat.
But the disappointment of losing to the underdog Spartans, coupled with frustration over allegations that Calhoun’s program violated NCAA recruiting rules, bubbled over after the Huskies’ 82-73 loss to Michigan State in the national semifinals on Saturday night.
“Those kind of things, that’s why Dean Smith told me at 67 he got out,” Calhoun said, referring to North Carolina’s retired Hall of Fame coach. “It wasn’t basketball. It was the other things.”I love the kids, love the game. I don’t plan to go anyplace. But I’m going to give a lot of reflection, maybe more reflection than normal, because of that,” the 66-year Hall of Famer said.
Asked about Calhoun’s comments, Villanova coach Jay Wright said he hopes Calhoun will not make any decision quickly.”I could probably be talked into retiring were it now,” Wright said after the Wildcats’ 83-69 loss to North Carolina in the late semifinal. “Tomorrow I’ll be excited about next year. I hope he waits a couple days.
“He’s a young, energetic guy who is a big part of our conference,” Wright said. “Their program is a big part of our conference. UConn basketball is Jim Calhoun.
“I really couldn’t imagine UConn without Jim Calhoun.”
The Associated Press
Obama’s bracket better
All you fans who mocked Barack Obama’s NCAA Tournament bracket – care to pick against the president now?
North Carolina, the team Obama chose to win the championship, surged into the title game with an 83-69 win over Villanova on Saturday night.
The Tar Heels’ victory moved Obama into the top third of the 5 million-plus people who entered ESPN.com‘s pool.
Obama’s picks were looking shaky after the first three teams he forecast to reach the Final Four – Louisville, Pittsburgh and Memphis – lost in earlier rounds. Those misses dropped the president into the bottom half of the entries.
North Carolina is the favorite Monday night when it takes on Michigan State for the championship.
The Associated Press
Pima baseball
Pima improved to 26-15-1 thanks to a doubleheader sweep over visiting Eastern Arizona on Saturday.
The Aztecs won 9-1 and 5-4, and will visit No. 3 Yavapai College on Tuesday in Prescott.
Citizen Staff Report
QUOTABLE
'It is hard to play with us when we're playing this well.'
DEON THOMPSON,
North Carolina forward, on playing Michigan State on Monday for the national title.
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SPORTS SOUND-OFF
$2 million not enough for a quality coach?
Re: UA hoops coaching search
• What an embarrassment!
If we want a premier coach, UA has to step it up. Two million is a lot but not enough for a notable coach; Calipari’s pay set the bar and we are not even coming close.
Kentucky’s AD said it best:
“The marketplace that we operate in, to be the premier basketball program in America, you want the best coach, you must pay a premium price. . . . If done correctly, the investment in a coach will pay for itself and yield returns for the overall program in general.”
If we can’t step up then stop the bleeding and hire Pastner!
What a joke!
DALLAS
• Something is wrong here when so many coaches turn this job down.
I do not care if we here think this is a great job or not. Livengood is doing something to ruin the terms of the job, money, years of contract, buy-out, something.
After this is all over, the AD has to go if we are going to progress into a solid Tier 1 overall program. It seems he is just to tight with the money.
TOMMY D
• At first I was down on the Reggie Theus idea, but I slept on it and changed my mind. He is a proven coach and a good recruiter. He is distinguished (like Lute) and has tried the NBA. It sounds like he prefers the college system and would like to rebuild Arizona.
BMW308428
• Invest in the future with Pastner and let him begin a 30-year stay at Arizona.
JCS