We know how all this ends, so we’ll start at the beginning. In truth, I never – ever – wanted to be the Arizona men’s basketball beat guy back in the early 1990s. I all but refused, as did Dave Petruska when it was going to be either him or me in taking over for former beat writer Cindy Somers. I had heard many a time that head coach Lute Olson didn’t like the media, and often was surly with the bunch. But I took it and don’t regret one minute of it. Two books and thousands upon thousands of stories later it all ends for the Citizen. I have no regrets. How can there be? In 18 years of covering the team, I’ve covered 625 Arizona games (minus two for the birth of my first child). But this will be a testament to the Arizona program: UA is 476-149 in my time (missed wins not included). That’s an average of 26.4 wins and 8.2 losses a season. Amazing. Thanks for the ride. Thanks for the winning. It’s better to cover a winner than it is a loser. And, Lute wasn’t that bad. He seemed to always return calls. And in this business that’s all you can ask – beginning to end. I have many memories of covering the Arizona basketball team the last 18 seasons, but here are my top three:

1) The national title run

The thing I’ll remember the most is the mad scramble after the game. When Kansas star Raef LaFrentz missed a 3-pointer from the corner in an attempt to tie the game against Arizona in the Sweet 16, the UA Wildcats were overjoyed in the 85-82 win. UA had knocked off what was perceived to be the most dominating team of that season in 1997. Jason Terry jumped on the scorer’s table. Players searched for hugs. It was bedlam crazy. Heck, I remember frantically calling the airlines to see what I needed to do to change the paper’s airplane tickets just in case Arizona defeated its next opponent (turned out to be Providence) in the Elite Eight. C-R-A-Z-Y. It helped Arizona gain confidence, paving the way to a national title. Against No. 1 Kansas, it played near flawless basketball, save for giving up an 11-0 run near the end of the game to make it close. “It had to be a perfect game,’’ Jason Terry said at the time. “We had to do it all.’’ Arizona did, behind freshman guard Mike Bibby’s 21 points in a kid-cool performance. “This was big because the whole nation was watching,’’ Terry said. “We had a lot of doubters and it feels good when you stick a fork in them.’’

2) Wildcats in the pros

Apparently 1997 was a big basketball year. Back in the day when there was a huge following for UA hoops young and old, I spent nearly two weeks traveling back and forth from Chicago to Salt Lake City following the Chicago Bulls. The reason? Former UA stars Steve Kerr, Jud Buechler and Brian Williams were with the Bulls and playing in the NBA Finals. I was able to write about Michael Jordan’s 38-point performance as he played with horrible flu-like symptoms in Salt Lake City in pivotal Game 5. Many thought he wouldn’t play at all, but he found a way and had an incredible game as Chicago won, 90-88, to go up 3-2 in the best-of-seven series. Then came the NBA Finals, Game 6. I can’t remember how I felt, but I do remember the basketball gods had me there to tell the story. And Kerr was the story. With Chicago needing a basket in the game’s final seconds, who will the Bulls turn to? Of course, Jordan. Not so fast. It was Kerr who hit the game-winning shot (with an assist from Jordan), furthering Kerr’s legend as a sharpshooter. He later would say hitting that “big shot was my most memorable moment.’’ When the Bulls had their day to celebrate in front of thousands of fans, Kerr used his typical humor to explain the play. “When we called timeout with 25 seconds to go we went into the huddle and Phil told Michael, ‘I want you to take the last shot,’ and Michael said, ‘I don’t feel real comfortable in these situations. Maybe we need to go in another direction.’ I thought to myself, well, I guess have to bail out Michael out again.’ ’’

3) UA’s collapse vs. Illinois

Sometimes I think back and still can’t believe it. Arizona had a 77-63 lead with 3:20 remaining and an 80-72 lead left with just more than a minute left and couldn’t hold off Illinois in the Elite Eight in 2005. It would have solidified UA coach Lute Olson’s legacy, as it would have been his sixth Final Four. All Arizona needed was one basket to stem Illinois’ late-game run. It couldn’t get it. And eventually it lost, 90-89 in overtime in Rosemont, Ill. Being on the losing side of that game was “unbelievably painful,’’ Olson said in his autobiography, ‘Lute: The Seasons of My Life.’ “This game ranked close to the 2001 loss to Duke in the championship game as the toughest of my career. As hard as it was for me, I’d been through more than a thousand games, for the team this was just devastating. I felt awful for our seniors.”

Moment with Candrea

I also covered two Olympics for the Citizen: 2000 in Sydney and 2004 in Athens. The 2004 Games affected me the most when UA softball coach Mike Candrea led Team USA to a gold medal. Candrea’s team dominated, not that it was a surprise in going 9-0 and outscoring opponents 51-1. It was his humility, poise and pride in the journey. It came just five weeks after his wife, Sue, died of a brain aneurysm while on the pre-Games tour. I remember him in the dugout, hand on chin, taking in the team celebration on the field. Heartfelt and memorable. “I thanked them all for the greatest moment of my life,’’ he said at the time. “I love this team.’’ And, through it all, he didn’t get a medal. Coaches don’t get medals. “That’s not what this is about,’’ he said.

———

RIVERA’S ALL-STARS

FIRST TEAM Mike Bibby, G 1997-98 Gilbert Arenas, G 2000-01 Channing Frye, C 2002-05 Jordan Hill, F 2007-09 Andre Iguodala, F (left) 2003-04

SECOND TEAM Damon Stoudamire, G 1992-95 Khalid Reeves, G 1991-94 Jason Terry, G 1996-99 Luke Walton, F 2000-03 Michael Dickerson, F 1995-98

THIRD TEAM Jason Gardner, G 2000-03 Jerryd Bayless, G 2008 Chris Mills, G 1991-93 Richard Jefferson, F 1999-01 Sean Rooks, C 1989-92

• Includes players from last 18 seasons, when Rivera covered UA.

———

TOP UA PLAYERS BY DECADE

2000s Luke Walton, F ‘00-’03 1990s Mike Bibby, G ‘97-’98 1980s Sean Elliott, F ‘86-’89 1970s Bob Elliott, C ‘74-’77 1960s Warren Rustand, F ‘63-’65 1950s Ernie McCray, C ‘88-’91 1940s Link Richmond, F ‘44-’49 1930s Lorry DiGrazia, F ‘36-’38 1920s Harold Tovrea, G ‘21-’24 1910s James Herndon, NA ‘17-’19 1900s Charles Brown, NA ‘05-’06 As picked by Steve Rivera, based on overall play and intangibles. Rivera’s favorite all-time players Great quote: Channing Frye, Gene Edgerson, Joseph Blair. Quirkiest: Tie, Gilbert Arenas and Bennett Davison. Unbelievable talent but horrible quote: Khalid Reeves. Unflappable: Mike Bibby. Unluckiest: Jawann McClellan. Surly, but good: Salim Stoudamire

Pound for pound – and in his college years he probably could have used extra weight – Tedy Bruschi is the best football player I’ve ever seen.

Covering UA at Stanford in the beginning of “Desert Swarm” in 1992, I recall Bruschi darting untouched and arriving at the quarterback – almost as soon the ball was snapped. His force and right hand stripped the ball in the Wildcat win.

He was just a part-time starter at defensive end, but I knew he was something special.

Fast forward to “the sack,” my term for maybe his greatest college play. It came in the Arizona State game of 1995, his senior season, when he sacked ASU’s Jake Plummer on third-and-19 despite being double-teamed. It was his 52nd career sack, an NCAA record at the time, and the Cats rallied from 14 down to beat ASU 31-28.

Two other things I won’t forget after 23 years at the Citizen:

• Watching Nancy Evans pitch every inning in five games as Arizona won the NCAA championship in Oklahoma City.

Carrie Dolan, who actually had more victories than Evans going into the Series, was suspended right before the CWS, leaving the Wildcats vulnerable.

“I had to keep myself ready and not get tired,” Evans said. “Fight it off.”

• Hiking the Grand Canyon – from the South Rim to the North Rim, an exercise that sends you almost 6,000 feet down and then back up 4,500 feet of heartbreaking cliffs.

My bones ached along the way – I was toting a 40-pound pack – but the hike was worth it. It’s a shocking yet soothing way to reveal the guts and bones of creation. It stays in your dreams.

The Arizona softball team broke the national home run record as it beat Tennessee-Martin 9-3 on Friday afternoon in an NCAA regional game in Louisville.

The Wildcats advance to play Louisville at 7 a.m. Tucson time Saturday.

The record-breaking blast came from Stacie Chambers in the third inning. That was the 127th home run of the season for UA, breaking the record held by Arizona’s 2001 team.

“I do not think they give a national championship on home runs,” said UA coach Mike Candrea in a news release. “It is games that you have to win.”

Sarah Akamine (20-6) was the winning pitcher for the Wildcats. She pitched the first three innings and then re-entered in the seventh, allowing a run and four hits in four innings. She struck out three and walked one.

The Wildcats (42-14) had 12 hits, scoring four times in the second and three times in the third.

Senior Jill Malina started in right field in place of freshman Karissa Buchanan, who did not play because of a violation of team rules.

Host Louisville advanced with a 4-1 win over Purdue.

High school sports

At Tempe Diablo Stadium, the Canyon del Oro boys baseball team beat Phoenix Sandra Day O’Connor 6-5 on Friday to advance to Saturday’s Class 4A Division I state championship.

It is CDO’s 10th trip to a state title game. The Dorados have won six, most recently in 2002 with an 8-6 win over Tucson High.

• Tanque Verde will play Bagdad in the finals of the 1A state tournament at Surprise Stadium at 3 p.m. Saturday.

The Hawks defeated Phoenix Valley Lutheran 2-1 on Friday to advance.

VOLLEYBALL: No. 1-seeded Sahuaro advanced to the finals of the 4A/5A Division II finals after beating No. 5 Ironwood Ridge on Friday.

The Cougars won in three games 25-16, 25-15, 25-14 and will play either No. 2 Rincon/University or No. 3 Catalina at Mountain View High School at 1 p.m. Saturday.

GEOFF GRAMMER

and RAYMOND SUAREZ

Braves top D’backs

ATLANTA – Yunel Escobar hit a sacrifice fly with the bases loaded in the bottom of ninth, giving the Atlanta Braves a 4-3 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday night after blowing a lead in the top of the inning.

With one out in the ninth, Jordan Schafer hit a single to right off Tony Pena (3-1). Pinch-hitter Kelly Johnson walked and Omar Infante singled to center. Schafer, who hesitated between second and third to see if center fielder Chris Young would catch the ball, had to hold at third.

The Associated Press

Tisdale dies at 44

Wayman Tisdale, a three-time All-American at Oklahoma who played 12 seasons in the NBA and later became a top jazz musician, died after a two-year battle with cancer. He was 44.

Tisdale died Friday morning at St. John Medical Center in Tulsa, hospital spokeswoman Joy McGill said.

After three years at Oklahoma, Tisdale played in the NBA with the Indiana Pacers, Sacramento Kings and Phoenix Suns.

The 6-foot-9 forward, with a soft left-handed touch on the court and a wide smile off it, averaged 15.3 points for his career. He was on the U.S. team that won the gold medal in the 1984 Olympics.

The Associated Press

Manny apologizes to team

MIAMI – An “anxious” Manny Ramirez apologized to his Los Angeles Dodgers teammates Friday, the first time he was around the club since being suspended for 50 games for using a banned substance.

Ramirez used the words “I’m sorry,” said Dodgers manager Joe Torre, although many players said the apology wasn’t necessary.

“It was uncomfortable. I’ll give you that,” Torre said. “We spent some time together before we went into the meeting room and he was a little anxious. That’s the human side of this thing.

“He basically went around, shook everybody’s hand. I think guys were happy to see him. I think there was a little uneasiness on both sides.”

The brief meeting took place in a conference room at the team’s waterfront hotel in South Florida before the Dodgers arrived at the Marlins’ stadium to start a three-game series.

The Associated Press

Phelps wins in return

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Michael Phelps still remembers how to win.

The most decorated Olympian ever won two events Friday night in his first meet since Beijing, showing he’s moved on from the embarrassment of being photographed using a marijuana pipe and serving a three-month suspension.

Phelps touched first in the 200-meter freestyle at the Charlotte UltraSwim in a time of 1 minute, 46.02 seconds. He came back less than an hour later to win the 100 butterfly in 51.72.

In both races, Phelps easily broke meet records he set three years ago, and coach Bob Bowman proclaimed him ahead of schedule as Phelps looks ahead to the world championships this summer.

The Associated Press

Preakness up for grabs

BALTIMORE – Calvin Borel has complete confidence his horse will win the Preakness, the kind of certainty expected from the Kentucky Derby-winning jockey.

Except Borel won’t be riding the Derby winner on Saturday.

He made the unprecedented decision to get off Mine That Bird and onto Rachel Alexandra, the spectacular filly who is the 8-5 early favorite for the second leg of the Triple Crown.

“It’s hard to leave a Kentucky Derby winner,” jockey Robby Albarado said. “You’re the only one with the chance of winning the Triple Crown. It’s a hard decision to make.”

Mine That Bird is the co-third choice at 6-1 with Friesan Fire, the Derby wagering favorite who staggered home next-to-last on the first Saturday in May.”

The 12 other horses are going to have to run the race of their life or me fall off or something stupid happen,” Borel said by phone Friday from Louisville, Ky., where he took a break from mowing his lawn to chat. “I just got to point her in the right direction and she’ll get me there.”

If that happens, Rachel Alexandra would become only the fifth filly to win the Preakness. Ten have tried since Nellie Morse in 1924 was the last to wear the winner’s blanket of black-eyed Susans.

The Associated Press

Favre talks to surgeon

MINNEAPOLIS – With the Minnesota Vikings eagerly waiting, Brett Favre has sought the advice of a noted surgeon about his beat-up throwing arm, according to the latest report on the quarterback’s status.

Citing an anonymous source, ESPN.com reported that Favre consulted orthopedic surgeon Dr. James Andrews about options for healing the partially torn biceps tendon that has caused pain in his right shoulder. Andrews is one of the most consulted surgeons in pro sports.

Favre declared his retirement for the second time in February because of the injury, which he blamed for his poor performance in December while the New York Jets missed the playoffs.

The Associated Press

For a while, my friends blamed me instead of Dick Tomey, John Mackovic or Mike Stoops for the Arizona football program’s demise.

From 2001 to 2007, Arizona went 26-53 after I took over the beat job in the third game of 2001. Finally, I got to cover a bowl game when UA went 8-5 in 2008.

Here are two of my top memories:

• In 2004, the UA baseball team traveled to play Long Beach State in a super-regional with little hope against pitcher Jered Weaver and the 49ers. Weaver struck out 12 Wildcats, but UA won the opener 6-5 on a Trevor Crowe triple. UA lost the second game, but won the deciding contest in the 11th on a Nick Hundley sacrifice fly.

The good news was I got to cover a College World Series, but my family wasn’t too happy. We had to cancel a vacation.

• In 2003, the one Friday night I decided to go to a movie for a rare date with my wife, there were 11 messages waiting for me on my cell phone.

Had the world come to an end?

It turned out to be news of Mackovic banning several players from the team dinner the night before a game. Forty-eight hours later, he was history and UA started a coaching search.

Following tips and Internet rumors became a 24-hour job. One name kept popping up: Mike Stoops.

Although Stoops wouldn’t confirm his interest in the job, I was able to get the first interview with him. You could tell he would be UA’s next coach.

I’m glad I didn’t have to cover a coaching change last year. Despite what some might think, reporters don’t like to write about firings and buyouts. We’d rather write about touchdowns.

Fred W. Enke and Joe Batiste might have been the most versatile athletes in southern Arizona history.

Enke was named all-state in football, basketball and baseball at Tucson High in the 1940s – and starred in all three sports at the University of Arizona before playing in the NFL.

Batiste, also a Tucson High star, set a world record in 1939 in the 120-yard high hurdles at 14.0 seconds. He also was a standout running back.

Abe Chanin, a graduate of Tucson High and the former sports editor of the Arizona Daily Star, marveled in a 1999 Citizen article at the talent of Enke, whose father was the longtime basketball coach at the University of Arizona.

“He was a marvelous athlete all the way around,” Chanin said. “He was the greatest all-around athlete for the University of Arizona ever, as well. He was a great three-sports star, just superb in each of those sports.”

During his years as a Badger, Enke was voted all-state in each sport at least once: football (1941-42), basketball (1943) and baseball (1943). In his three years at the varsity level in three sports, he was on eight state title teams with the Badgers, missing a sweep in 1941 when the basketball team failed to win.

He was the quarterback in football, a guard in basketball and a fleet outfielder in baseball.

Enke was the first Arizonan to play quarterback in the National Football League. From 1948 to 1951 he played for the Detroit Lions. Then he spent a year with the Eagles and finished his career with the Baltimore Colts in 1953-54.

Batiste, an African-American, was not allowed to participate in football at first because of his race. It wasn’t until Mesa High tried to lure Batiste away that Tucson High allowed him to play. His refusal to run track unless he was allowed to play football was another factor in finally getting a shot at football.

Joe’s main talent was track. His 120-yard hurdles world record stood for 18 years.

“He could do almost anything there is in track. He was brilliant in sprints. Today, he would most likely be a decathlon athlete,” Chanin said.

Batiste qualified for the 1940 and 1944 United States Olympic teams as a hurdler and a decathlete, but the war forced the cancellation of those games. He died in 1958.

“Aaron passes Ruth!”

“Nixon resigns!”

Those headlines helped me sell a lot of newspapers in 1974, when my journey with the Tucson Citizen began as an 11-year-old hawker. Wearing my “Citizen Charlie” smock, I pitched the paper – which cost 15 cents back then – in front of my father’s East Side liquor store.

In between begging for tips, I pored over the sports section. I studied box scores and Citizen writers such as Regis McAuley, Corky Simpson, Jack Rickard and Bruce Johnston.

The newspaper bug had bitten me.

I took journalism at Catalina High School under J.G. Carlton, and began calling in prep box scores to the Citizen for $3 a game. By the time I landed a correspondent’s job in 1980, I knew what I wanted to do with my life.

Except for a five-year stint at USA TODAY, I worked many different jobs and many crazy hours at the Citizen until Gannett announced our closure.

Some of my favorite memories:

• High school: Sahuaro quarterback Rodney Peete threw for a then-state record 424 yards and five touchdowns in 1983 against Amphi. It ended in a 34-34 tie but was the greatest game I ever reported. Amphi countered with 361 yards on the ground in a contest that saw three TDs and one field goal scored in the final 3 minutes and 42 seconds.

• College: After covering Sean Elliott for three years at Cholla High, I watched him break Lew Alcindor’s Pac-10 career scoring record in 1989. Elliott needed 34 points and scored 35 – with six 3-pointers. It’s the loudest I’ve ever heard McKale Center, and we had a special section printed after UA routed UCLA.

• Pro: Curt Schilling sprayed champagne on me and other reporters in the locker room after the Diamondbacks beat the Yankees to win the 2001 World Series. When Luis Gonzalez singled in the winning run, strangers began hugging in the aisles at Bank One Ballpark.

• Embarrassing: On a hot night, I fainted in the elevator at Arizona Stadium during UA’s 1986 football home opener vs. Houston. When I came to, then-sports information director Butch Henry stood over me, asking in his Arkansas drawl, “Is he dead?”

• Initiation: Two Cleveland Indians players, who shall remain nameless, tried to stuff me in a locker when I was 19. To the locker-room attendant who saved me, thank you.

• Sadness: When I was an assistant city editor, I had to wake up Lute Olson to tell him that former UA basketball assistant Ricky Byrdsong had been gunned down in Evanston, Ill. After Olson’s wife, Bobbi, yelled, “No, God,” Lute gave me an eloquent quote.

• Proudest: Watching our sports staff pull together some of the biggest stories of the decade: UA football coach John Mackovic’s firing; the death of UA women’s basketball star Shawntinice Polk; Olson’s retirement and Sean Miller’s hiring as basketball coach.

I’m biased, but I considered my sports staff to be one of the hardest-working and professional in the nation.

The Associated Press Sports Editors agreed. It named us a top 10 daily sports section in the nation seven of the last nine years for our circulation category.

Credit goes to my second “family”: Steve Rivera, John Moredich, Anthony Gimino, Bryan Lee, Ken Brazzle, Geoff Grammer, Raymond Suarez and Michael Schmelzle. Correspondents Ash Friederich, Rodney Haas and Christopher Veck deserve high-fives, along with past staffers Dave Petruska, Paul Schwalbach, Michael Caccamise, Shelly Lewellen, David Pittman, Stephen Sharpton, Jessie Vanderson, Charles Durrenberger and Christopher Walsh.

More thanks go out to all the page designers I annoyed with my suggestions, Simpson for his inspiration and guidance, and Peter Madrid, who I succeeded as sports editor in 1999.

Finally, I’d like to pay tribute to all the coaches, players, parents and readers who helped suggest stories and make my job easier.

I’ll miss this place.

Defensive end Tedy Bruschi celebrates UA's 29-0 win over Miami in the 1994 Fiesta Bowl.

So we’re closing. The Big C. We’re done for. The whistle is blowing. The horn is sounding. We’ve run out of extra time. Just took a called third strike.

I’d like to think you will miss us here in Citizen sports, but I don’t want to be presumptuous.

But even if you think that only once a month we nailed a story, a scoop, a column, a feature – and I think our batting average was much higher – well, that’s one story, scoop, column, feature you won’t be getting any more.

That’s not good for anybody.

I asked Arizona athletic director Jim Livengood in February about the Citizen’s impeding demise and how it might affect his department.

“For a great number of years, we’ve had the ability to have things balanced, and all of a sudden you lose that,” Livengood said of this turning into a one-newspaper town.

“It also has an impact on the outside world, about the perception of Tucson when you lose an institution like this. There is an impression that we’re not going forward; we’re moving backward.”

Certainly, Livengood was telling me what I wanted to hear, but he also lamented a financial aspect to the closing and a potential loss of sponsorshi\n\nadvertising dollars from a reconfigured Tucson Newspapers.

I guess that’s now a story for our pals at the Arizona Daily Star to track down.

I got my start in this crazy business at the Star, back in the fall of 1986. My first byline was on a high school football game, featuring a flash of a running back from Flowing Wells. His name escapes me now.

There have been a blur of running backs, point guards, pitchers and catchers in the years since then.

It was a pleasure to chronicle the Arizona football team through most of the 1990s – the Fiesta Bowl victory over Miami, the Holiday Bowl victory over Nebraska. Waldrop. Bruschi. Bouie. McAlister. Keith and Ortege, the tag-team quarterbacks.

One of my favorite stories: Back in the early 1990s, UA football coach Dick Tomey, upset over something I had written that day, went ballistic on me after practice as the players were leaving the field.

I have never heard someone so copiously and creatively use another term for horse manure.

We agreed to disagree that day, and I feared that a good working relationship would be damaged. Football coaches have been known to hold a grudge.

But the next time I saw Tomey, it was as if nothing had happened. That was his style. Say what you have to say, and then let it go. It’s a life lesson I have never forgotten.

Elsewhere, I covered seven of Arizona’s eight national championships in softball, and had access to the mind of coach Mike Candrea for two decades. Sometimes, this job is so worth it.

No complaints here.

I had a chance to work with, travel with and learn from the twin towers of local sports columnists – retired Corky Simpson of the Citizen and Greg Hansen of the Star. Tucson was lucky to have two such voices for all those years.

So, yeah, it’s been a good ride.

It hit me a while ago, though, that the best part of this job at the Citizen for the past four and a half years had nothing to do with newspapers or journalism.

Recently, for no other reason than boredom, I reached into the closet and pulled out a box I hadn’t opened in years. It was filled with various items from college days.

Two things caught my eye.

One was a 20-year-old edition of the Tombstone Epitaph. A journalism class at the University of Arizona produced – and still does – the newspaper for the Town Too Tough To Die.

In this particular edition, I shared a few bylines with a guy named John Moredich.

As I dug deeper in the box, I found an old address book – the kind of thing we used before we all had cell phones. Thumbing through, I saw I had the old phone number of a guy named Steve Rivera.

Point is, the two writers I have worked most closely with at the Citizen since the start of 2005 – Moredich covering football, Rivera covering basketball – have been friends for more than two decades.

Working with them has been the rewarding part of the job.

Whatever you do for work, I hope you have been as lucky.

Coach Lute Olson and the UA basketball team celebrates their 1997 national title win over Kentucky. The Wildcats made three other Final Four trips under Olson - in 1988, 1994 and 2001.

KING LUTE

Athletic director Cedric Dempsey lured Lute Olson from Iowa in 1983 to rebuild Arizona basketball. Olson did much more, putting UA on the national radar before retiring. His legacy – 589 wins, 23 straight NCAA tourneys, a national title in 1997, 4 Final Fours, 11 Pac-10 titles, 33 NBA-drafted players – will be tough for new coach Sean Miller to follow.

‘THE STREAK’

In basketball, it’s UA’s 25 straight NCAA tourneys, but football fans won’t forget the Wildcats’ 8-0-1 mark over Arizona State from 1982-90, started by the late coach Larry Smith. “The Streak” took the sting out of UA being on probation for a slush fund by ex-coach Tony Mason, and it turned around a rivalry that saw ASU go 15-2 from 1965-81.

‘FOX’ WHO BUILT McKALE

The late Fred “The Fox” Snowden, the first African-American Division 1 basketball coach, ushered in McKale Center with the “Kiddie Corps” – Coniel Norman, Eric Money, Al Fleming, Jim Rappis and Bob Elliott. They took UA to its first NCAA tourney in 1976. Story, Page 6C

SPRING TRAINING

From Hi Corbett Field to Tucson Electric Park, spring training has boosted our economy and prepared three World Series champs: Cleveland (1948), Diamondbacks (2001) and White Sox (2005) and a runner-up, Colorado (2007). In 1975, the Indians’ Frank Robinson became the first African-American to manage a big-league team. But with the White Sox now in Glendale, the future is unclear.

HIGH SCHOOL DYNASTIES

In 1999, Tucson High became the nation’s first school to earn 500 victories in football and 1,000 wins each in baseball and boys basketball. Then there’s Sunnyside wrestling: 12 straight state team titles, 28 overall. Other dynasties: Amphi football, Canyon del Oro baseball/softball, Salpointe tennis and Catalina Foothills swimming/tennis.

‘DESERT SWARM’

Coach Dick Tomey unveiled his run-stopping defense in 1992, led by Tedy Bruschi, and the Wildcats went on to upset No. 1 Washington and beat Miami 29-0 in the Fiesta Bowl and earn Sports Illustrated’s preseason No. 1 ranking in 1994. The success helped recruiting, which led to a 12-1 season in 1998 and a Holiday Bowl win over Nebraska.

PROFESSIONAL GOLF

Ray Magnum edged Byron Nelson to win the first PGA Tour event here in 1945 at El Rio. His prize: $1,000. When Tiger Woods won the 2008 Accenture Match Play title in Marana, he took home $1.35 million! The Tucson Open rose to fame in the 1970s at Tucson National, thanks to three-time winner Johnny Miller and NBC.

RISE OF SOFTBALL

No UA team has dominated more than Mike Candrea’s softball squad: eight NCAA titles since 1991 and 21 College World Series in 22 years. From pitchers Susie Parra to Jennie Finch to Taryne Mowatt, the Wildcats have made Tucson a softball hub and energized the high school scene.

JERRY’S KIDS

Coach Jerry Kindall guided UA to its first major NCAA team title in the 1976 College World Series. The Cats captured two more NCAA crowns in 1980 and 1986, led by Terry Francona and Chip Hale, respectively. Francona managed the Red Sox to two World Series titles, and ex-UA star Trevor Hoffman is baseball’s all-time saves leader.

PACIFIC COAST LEAGUE BASEBALL

From 1915 to 1958, Tucson boasted minor league teams like the Cowboys and Lizards. But it wasn’t until 1969, when the Triple-A Toros made their PCL debut, that fans got a chance to see future major league stars at Hi Corbett. The Toros won titles in ’91 and ’93 before the Sidewinders took over in 1997 at TEP and won the 2006 title. They left for Reno after 2008, but the independent Toros are back.

E ven without a major professional sports team, Tucson can make the case for being a sports town – thanks to success at the college and high school levels and a climate that draws major events. Some highlights:

Colorado's Ubaldo Jimenez meets fans Kim Filip (left) and Tracy Toland in March 2009. The Cactus League was born in 1947, with Cleveland at Hi Corbett and the New York Giants in Casa Grande. The Rockies took over for the Indians in 1993.

A decade of Tucson Sports Photos

Citizen photographers had several sports images over the past decade to show Tucson sports.

Producer: FRANCISCO MEDINA

Slide 1 of 35.
Bullrider Ian Male is sent air mail courtesy Pudd the bull during the 81st Annual Fiesta de Los Vaqueros Rodeo Sunday Feb. 19, 2006.
Source: FRANCISCO MEDINA/Tucson CitizenSlide 2 of 35.
Coach Richard Sanchez joins his team in a prayer before the game the Blue Devils went on to lose 6-0 to the Scottsdale Saguaro Sabercats on Nov. 19, 2004.
Source: FRANCISCO MEDINA/Tucson CitizenSlide 3 of 35.
Isaiah Fox jumps up for the rebound with Wright State's Zach Williams in the first half of the Cats' game in the second round of the NIT.
Source: FRANCISCO MEDINA/Tucson CitizenSlide 4 of 35.
Sunnyside's Mike Smith (right) jumps over some players and evades a tackle by Sandra Day O'Conner's Chad Duncan (33).
Source: RENEE BRACAMONTE/Tucson CitizenSlide 5 of 35.
Glendale Cactus Manny Solarez (1) dives for a pass as Rincon's Bryan Marchbanks defends in the second quarter. The pass was incomplete. Tucson, AZ.
Source: XAVIER GALLEGOS/Tucson CitizenSlide 6 of 35.
Lionel Dotson (54) and Paul Phillip (56) celebrate after a play as Arizona was beating UCLA 31-7 st the half.
Source: FRANCISCO MEDINA/Tucson CitizenSlide 7 of 35.
Bo Casper hangs on at the start of a bareback horse ride on Rooster Cogburn. He scored a 75 at yesterday's La Fiesta de los Vaqueros rodeo.
Source: XAVIER GALLEGOS/Tucson CitizenSlide 8 of 35.
Arms raised in a victory salute, Robbie Ventura of Wildwood, Ill., crosses the finish line first in the 20th El Tour de Tucson in 2002.
Source: XAVIER GALLEGOS/Tucson CitizenSlide 9 of 35.
Victorious Blue Devils from Tucson's Sunnyside High School hoist the trophy from their Class 4A state football championship of 2003.
Source: FRANCISCO MEDINA/Tucson CitizenSlide 10 of 35.
Steam rises off the head of Mountain View's Delbert Gallego after he went to the bench and watched his teammates finish off Canyon del Oro in the final seconds of game on Oct. 29, 2004.
Source: FRANCISCO MEDINA/Tucson CitizenSlide 11 of 35.
UA Students Ricky Garrett, 19, (blue) and Brian Blessing, 19, cheer as they are surrounded by older fans during the University of Washington game. Arizona won 91-82.
Source: FRANCISCO MEDINA/Tucson CitizenSlide 12 of 35.
Jawaan McClellan sits on the the floor with his face covered after their 90-89 overtime loss to Illinois in Chicago at the Allstate Arena.
Source: FRANCISCO MEDINA/Tucson CitizenSlide 13 of 35.
Tucson High School swimmer Stephanie White works out in preparation for 2004 regional state competition.
Source: FRANCISCO MEDINA/Tucson CitizenSlide 14 of 35.
Arizona fans climb the goal post as they celebrate Arizona's win over Arizona State 34-27.
Source: XAVIER GALLEGOS/Tucson CitizenSlide 15 of 35.
Sabino's Michael Dillon weeps as he meets with the Saguaro team after losing to them Saturday afternoon, December 9, 2006, in the Class 4A Division I state championship.
Source: VAL CANEZ/Tucson CitizenSlide 16 of 35.
Rick Wock Jr. tries to hold on to Avalanche for the full eight seconds but came up short during the bull riding event at the 80th annual Tucson Rodeo.
Source: FRANCISCO MEDINA/Tucson CitizenSlide 17 of 35.
Hassan Adams slams the ball during a steal in the first half of their NAU game at McKale Center. UA struggled but pulled off the win 75-66 over NAU.
Source: FRANCISCO MEDINA/Tucson CitizenSlide 18 of 35.
Arizona's Michael Thomas (10) keeps his eye on the ball as it is broken up by Washington's Roy Lewis (28) in the first quarter.
Source: FRANCISCO MEDINA/Tucson CitizenSlide 19 of 35.
Santa Rita's Aubura Taylor (6) and his teammates came back to beat Coronado 38-37 to advance in the the 4A state play off game.
Source: FRANCISCO MEDINA/Tucson CitizenSlide 20 of 35.
Acrobatic Wildcat catcher Jaclyn Coburn catches a foul ball and is prevented from tumbling into the dugout of opponent Lafayette by teammate Kristie Fox. The action took place during the playoffs in Tucson on May 21, 2004.
Source: XAVIER GALLEGOS/Tucson CitizenSlide 21 of 35.
Arizona's Jennifer Klein (3) and New Mexico's Nicole Pitcock (2) fight for control.
Source: XAVIER GALLEGOS/Tucson CitizenSlide 22 of 35.
In the return of boxing to Tucson at the Desert Diamond Casino, David Lopez lands a left hook to the face of Jerson Ravelo, knocking him out in the ninth round of a 10-round middleweight bout on March 2, 2004.
Source: FRANCISCO MEDINA/Tucson CitizenSlide 23 of 35.
Bronco Nick Johnson (51) rallies his team during halftime in the American Youth Playoff Football game against the Redskins at Tucson High on Nov.13, 2004.
Source: RENEE BRACAMONTE/Tucson CitizenSlide 24 of 35.
Chicago's Pablo Ozuna dives to tag out Arizona's Eric Byrnes in a run down between first and second, in a spring training game at Tucson Electric Park, Thursday, March 2, 2006.
Source: RENEE BRACAMONTE/Tucson CitizenSlide 25 of 35.
Arizona State's Audree Johnson and the Utes' Kim Smith fight over a loose ball in the first half.Game action at McKale Center, Tucson, Arizona.
Source: XAVIER GALLEGOS/Tucson CitizenSlide 26 of 35.
Catcher Richard McCorkle goes after the ball as Art Radke makes it safely home during a baseball game at Udall Park, Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2006.
Source: RENEE BRACAMONTE/Tucson CitizenSlide 27 of 35.
Johnny Bessett (22) heads off Cholla defender Eric Nava (14), in Friday's game at Sahuarita High School.
Source: RENEE BRACAMONTE/Tucson CitizenSlide 28 of 35.
Chaparral Firebirds Safety Adam Baily (2) goes after an interception after Sunnyside Blue Devil Wally Altamirano misses the pass in the Sept. 3, 2004, at Sunnyside High School.
Source: RENEE BRACAMONTE/Tucson CitizenSlide 29 of 35.
Hassan Adams goes for a slam during practice in this 2003 photo-illustration.
Source: FRANCISCO MEDINA/Tucson CitizenSlide 30 of 35.
Diamondback Jay Bell jumps into the arms of teammate Matt Williams after crossing home plate with the winning run in the bottom of the ninth inning to defeat the New York Yankees and clinch the 2001 World Series.
Source: FRANCISCO MEDINA/Tucson CitizenSlide 31 of 35.
Tiger Woods shouts after sinking a putt for eagle at No. 17 hole to put him one up and give him the lead as he went on to beat J.B. Holmes.
Source: FRANCISCO MEDINA/Tucson CitizenSlide 32 of 35.
Hundreds of fans rush Fourth Ave after Arizona lost to Duke in the 2001 NCAA Championship.
Source: VAL CANEZ/Tucson CitizenSlide 33 of 35.
UA basketball players mob freshman guard Salim Stoudamire after he led them to the Pac-10 Conference Tournament title on Saturday March 13, 2002.
Source: FRANCISCO MEDINA/Tucson CitizenSlide 34 of 35.
UA's Jason Gardner is fired up after making a play to force ASU to take a timeout in the first half on Jan, 23, 2003.
Source: FRANCISCO MEDINA/Tucson CitizenSlide 35 of 35.
This cowboy got a little muddy during the 1999 Tucson Rodeo.
Source: XAVIER GALLEGOS/Tucson Citizen

Zach Lloyd and his wife, Nicole, throw the shot put for the University of Arizona.

The form was perfect, a classic shot-putter’s spin.

Face the rear of the circle, twist around the left foot, drive the right into the middle of the circle, reach for the front with the left foot and twist the hip and shoulders.

Finally, heave the iron ball and let loose with a primal scream.

Zack Lloyd’s shot landed with a thud of dust a few yards short of the “end zone,” the dirt beyond the 20-meter boundary.

Another training throw. Lots of application and movement but no threat to the man’s 69-foot (21 meters) personal best.

“I never look for it (the 20-meter mark),” Lloyd said. “I just concentrate on what I have to do.”

Lloyd is saving his deepest gut check for “the show,” his last NCAA Championships, which will be held next month.

He’s also busy watching his wife, Nicole, also a senior Arizona shot put and discus thrower. It’s not uncommon for the track and field pros to have a husband-wife combo, but it’s very rare in college.

For Zack to Nicole, it’s more appreciation than advice.

“My job is to keep her happy, not coach her, to give her positive reinforcement, keep her focused,” he said, citing a golden rule of domestic harmony.

The two have different technical styles born of the “spin” moves for shot and discus as opposed to the “glide,” in which one swings the launch leg (left for a right-hander) and violently swings the body toward the target.

“I’m very technically conscious,” said Nicole, who favors the discus, “and it’s been tough since I went to the spin (move) at UA. It took a long time.

“I’m a late bloomer at UA. My trouble used to be sitting around thinking too much.”

Zack is more of pure power thrower.

They met at high school track and field meets. Zack, originally from Redding, Calif., was at White Pine High, in Ely, Nev., and Nicole in the Salt Lake City suburb of Bountiful. They began dating when Zach was a freshman at Utah State in Logan and Nicole at the University of Utah.

They both attended and competed at Mesa Community College before coming to UA last year after mutual friend Craig Carter joined the UA staff in 2007.

“We were married in seven months,” Nicole said. “Fast, I guess an LDS thing.”

Nicole is a Mormon, Zach is not, but Zach said there relationship is “not so much religion, (but) a Utah thing.”

Zack, 6 feet 2 and 305 pounds, is a three-time All-American and Nicole earned her first All-American honor in the NCAA Indoor Championships this year with a shot put mark of 52-3 1/4. Her best for the outdoor season is 49-4 in a qualification for the NCAA regionals, set for May 29 at Eugene, Ore.

Her career bests are 170-1 in the discus and 52-5 in shot put.

Zack has a regional qualification mark this year of 157-8 for the discus.

The two have big plans for the future.

“Our goal is to own a gym somewhere,” Zack said.

Not some sterile, glossy works but a nice, nasty sweat place with lots of echoes and clanging.

“Real old-time style,” he said.

Fred Snowden's first recruiting class, known as the Kiddie Korps and featuring five freshman starters, took Tucson by storm.

University of Arizona basketball does not begin or end with Lute Olson, despite the four Final Fours and one NCAA title to his credit.

Olson’s 24 seasons at the helm of UA basketball cast a giant shadow, one that perhaps obscures another principal contributor to all that is Arizona basketball today.

Former UA star and current Wildcat broadcaster Bob Elliott sums it up this way: “If there’s not a Fred Snowden, there’s probably not a Lute Olson.”

Elliott explains that Olson was already a Final Four coach who had his choice of schools to move on to – and that Snowden’s success here showed Lute the possibilities.

“It’s a lot easier to go to a program where the fire had already been lit. . . . Lute knew the fire had been lit by Freddy,” Elliott says.

Snowden is the man who took the Cats from the 3,000 seats or so of Bear Down Gym to brand new McKale Center and its nearly 15,000 seats in 1973.

It was a lot of pressure for a rookie head coach. Not only was he tasked with filling McKale and creating a national reputation for the program, he also had the added glare of publicity that came from being the first African-American head coach in men’s Division I basketball.

Snowden’s first recruiting class, known as the Kiddie Korps and featuring five freshman starters, took Tucson by storm. By the time McKale opened at midseason, Tucson’s love affair with basketball was in full bloom and sellouts were the norm.

“Fred was the catalyst,” says Jerry Holmes, an assistant coach under Snowden.

“The Fred Snowden regime in that time started the tradition of Arizona basketball, without question,” Holmes says.

Success built quickly, as Snowden’s breakneck offense captivated Tucson.

“The community really bought into this team. . . . It was the most exciting time in UA sports history,” Holmes says.

Two members of the Kiddie Korps, Eric Money and Coniel Norman, left early for the NBA, and another, John Irving, transferred. But two of them remained to take the Wildcats to then-unheard of heights: the final eight in the NCAA Tournament and within eight minutes of the Final Four.

That 1976 team, which featured Elliott at center, was led by Kiddie Korps holdovers Al Fleming and Jim Rappis. In what was certainly Snowden’s finest season, his Cats beat John Thompson’s Georgetown Hoyas in the first round. It was also the first meeting of two black head coaches in the NCAA Tournament.

Next up was Nevada-Las Vegas, ranked No. 3 in the country. The Cats won 114-109 in overtime, propelled by what may have been the finest backcourt performance ever by a Wildcat twosome. Rappis and junior Herm Harris combined for 55 points on 23 of 36 field-goal shooting and 21 assists. They did it without the benefit of the three-point shot.

Then came mighty UCLA in the West Region final, on its home court at Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles. The Bruins broke open a tie game with eight minutes to go and went on to earn the Final Four berth.

“It was the first team in Arizona history to go to the Elite Eight. That set a benchmark,” says Elliott.

Combined with Olson’s first UA Final Four squad in 1988 and the 1997 NCAA title team, they form a trio of milestones that new UA coach Sean Miller will try to surpass.

“The milestone is to win two national titles. Everything else has been done,” says Elliott.

Fred W. Enke played three seasons for the basketball Wildcats, 1945-48, becoming team captain in the 1947-48 season.

Arizona outfielder Hunter Pace easily could have moped and complained, and even left the team because of the lack of playing time.

But he didn’t. He stuck around for three years, sitting behind T.J. Steele, who was a fourth-round selection in the Major League Baseball draft a year ago.

Pace, who graduates with a regional development degree, will start his last home series when the Wildcats play Washington at Sancet Stadium at 7 p.m. Saturday.

The Pac-10 series runs through Monday.

“Hunter Pace is the reason why I enjoy coaching,” UA coach Andy Lopez said.

Pace is one of four seniors playing their last home series, joining pitchers Preston Guilmet and Cory Burns, and outfielder Brad Glenn.

Pace was a standout at Chandler Hamilton High. But Steele took over the center field position and became one of the top outfielders in the country.

“Unfortunately T.J. had to come in the same year, but it was good for me,” Pace said. “I learned a lot from watching T.J. and the way he went about his business.”

Pace wasn’t bad, having been a 28th-round draft choice out of high school.

He just didn’t get too many chances. He had only 83 at bats entering this season.

Pace is making the most of his final season. A starter this year, he’s second on the team with a .369 average, and second in stolen bases with 13.

“It has been rewarding to finally see all the time you put in and the extra work paying off,” Pace said. “At the same time you have to stay hungry and stay humble so nobody else passes you up.”

A couple of times Pace met with Lopez about playing time. He wanted to know what had to happen in order for him to play.

“They were never the kind (of meetings) where he leaves and you say, ‘What a jerk,’ ” Lopez said. “I have always respected the way he has handled that. There is not a guy in this program who would say a bad thing about that guy.”

———

UA BASEBALL

Washington (23-25, 12-9) at Arizona (25-23, 8-13)

Saturday: 7 p.m.

Sunday: 6 p.m.

Monday: noon

> At Sancet Stadium, 1290 AM

Corky Simpson and Jeff Smith

The parade’s gone by. No more trumpets. No more drums. No hoofbeats, no streamers.

And the hush of the street is overwhelming.

The death of a newspaper is very much the end of a living, breathing soul. And there’s never been one quite as unique as the Tucson Citizen.

Years from now when you tell young people what the Citizen was like, remember this: It had a heartbeat.

It was the harvest, the milling and the preparation of ideas by people of character, most of whom were characters. They gave the paper its heart, its spirit and its blemishes.

Some had swagger, and over the years many had stagger.

We’ve been peopled by saints and sinners, wise men and flim-flammers and in the old days, a few fall-down drunks who always got up in time to put the old gal to bed.

We’ve had Daniel Boone characters who talked like Jed Clampett and wrote like Stephen Vincent Benet.

We’ve had stutterers who sounded like Mortimer Snerd but had a mind like Carl Sagan.

And there were the legends.

Ted Craig was a gifted editor and writer, but his real talent was the telling of tall tales. Well, that and sizing down human monuments to arrogance.

Ted was a fine athlete, though he didn’t exactly look the part. He was an outstanding golfer because he hit the ball so straight, no matter what club he used.

He also played a good game of tennis and was known to pack the most potent “grapefruit juice” ever tasted in his Thermos bottle.

Phil Hamilton was an Okie. I mean, he dripped Okie. He lived in my part of town and gave me a ride one day after I’d left my old Ford with Bill the mechanic at Palo Verde Automotive out on East 22nd Street.

“Cain’t have a body out in this heat, footback a’ walkin,’ ” Hamilton drawled.

Phil did everything. Reported, edited, wrote a column, covered politics, read copy, wrote headlines. And he was superb.

Bob Campbell was one of the funniest men who ever lived. Our liaison with the back shop when we actually had a back shop, Bob occasionally came to work late – and always had a story to tell to start off the day.

Such as the time, around Halloween, when Campbell announced he knew exactly how many people had come to his house to trick or treat – even though Bob wasn’t at home.

“I went to the bank and got 20 shiny new silver dollars,” he said, “and I spread them out on a card table in my front yard. When I got home, every one of them was gone, so I know conclusively, that there were 20 trick-or-treaters.”

Stu Robertson was a copy editor who occasionally nodded off late in the day. One afternoon he had a cigarette between two fingers and he had that hand on his forehead as he drifted into dreamland – and set his hair on fire.

Micheline Keating wrote the most beautiful movie reviews you’ve ever read. Somebody told me “Mike” had been a friend of the famous writer-poet Dorothy Parker, known for her wit and wisecracks.

John Jennings may not have been the best storyteller on the old Citizen staff, but he could imitate storytellers in such a way that he outdid their talent. Just recently we laid our beloved “J.J.” to rest.

There were so many characters. Such as the guy on the copy desk way back when, who came to the Citizen out of rehab and who thought he was Humphrey Bogart. Had the lisp, the voice and the mannerisms. Unfortunately, he didn’t have Lauren Bacall.

For nearly 140 years the Citizen brought you news from around the community, the state, nation and world. Through war and peace, famine and times of plenty. From the frontier of territorial days through statehood.

Not just anyone can do this job and do it right. Not even trained journalists. Especially trained journalists!

It takes newspaper people, some of whose personal flaws over the years somehow enabled them to create professional refinement.

The awards, the prizes, the hardware from corporate honchos were just trinkets. The Citizen’s real honor was a decoration of the heart – hardworking professionals doing their best to give Tucson its best news coverage and presentation.

Now the little paper at Park and Irvington has been given its summons to join the innumerable once-upon-a-time caravan.

When you remember the time this city had two newspapers competing – and making each other better – don’t think of this one as the loser.

The loser is the community. Tucson has lost an essential voice, living, breathing, ink-stained history recorded by the finest, most competent and dedicated ding-a-lings on Earth.

Things happened, news broke and time passed away. So, now, has the Tucson Citizen.

The parade’s gone by.

And now, final words from Corky and Jeff

Our heart beat as one with the Old Pueblo’s

Corky Simpson is a retired sportswriter who graced our pages regularly from Labor Day 1974 to Dec. 22, 2006.

Jenae Leles fields a grounder during practice at Hillenbrand Stadium Tuesday. Arizona plays its first NCAA Tournament game Friday.

During UA softball team practice sessions at Hillenbrand Stadium this week, Jenae Leles tried not to get too sentimental about the soothing confines.

When she looked around the stadium, there was a pang of regret.

“Just one more (game),” yearns the slugging senior Arizona third baseman, whose team faces Tennessee-Martin in Louisville, Ky., on Friday in an NCAA Tournament regional game.

Proper home season closure was denied the Wildcats. The squad never imagined it would play its last game at Hillenbrand on April 26.

The Pac-10 schedule made UA play its last seven regular season games on the road.

And then the NCAA decision denying the Wildcats’ bid to host an NCAA Tournament regional had them feeling cheated.

For Leles, who has 22 of the team’s NCAA record-tying 126 homers, many of them the skyshot variety, it’s a bittersweet affair.

Sweet because she can hardly ask for a more fruitful senior year; bitter for obvious reasons.

“You know, we’re still hoping we get (to host) a super regional,” she says. “That would next be fantastic.”

The notion might put some extra zing in the Wildcat bats as they go through the Louisville Regional this weekend. It could be a good chip on the shoulder to have.

UA has hit the long balls all year, but it’s not what the team focuses on.

“We never try to hit home runs,” Leles said. “That’s not what we’re taught. Our purpose is to drive the ball, make contact. We’ve been drilled with that from the beginning.”

Leles’ dad, John, played tennis at UA.

Leles, from Sacramento, Calif., said she could hardly believe her fortune when UA offered her the chance to join the tradition. Today she admits it’s a lot better to be wearing the red and blue then not.

“I don’t know if playing against Arizona is as intimidating now as it might have been. There is parity in softball,” she said. “But you like to think we still get people to be emotional about playing us. For us, we have to match it.”

Work with physical trainers allowed Leles to bloom into a power hitter.

Her home runs increased by five this year after she led the team with 17 a year ago.

She’s a problem for opposing pitchers because of her strength and the way she owns the plate. She’s taken an appropriate number of bruises for the Cats by being hit by pitches.

Whatever is needed.

Launching balls for homers has made fans notice her, but she wants her game to be grounded: make the tough plays at third base, take a pitch in the ribs when needed, stay consistent.

Arizona has had a different aura this year compared to others, because offense is the team’s strength.

But the pitching has come around in recent weeks.

“We work all year to peak (in) the postseason,” said Leles, who will play National Fast Pitch pro ball with the Rockford (Ill.) Thunder after her UA career.

“Pitching and defense . . . We’re always learning.”

———

NCAA SOFTBALL

UA’s games in the Louisville Regional won’t be on TV, but will be on 1290 AM. Go to www.tucsoncitizen.com/ua_softball for recaps and analysis.

Friday – Game 1: ARIZONA (41-14) vs. Tennessee-Martin (38-22), 1 p.m. Game 2: Louisville (47-9) vs. Purdue (29-18), 3 p.m.

Saturday – Game 3: Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner, 7 a.m. Game 4: Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser, 9 a.m. Game 5: Game 3 loser vs. Game 4 winner, noon

Sunday – Game 6: Game 3 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 11 a.m. Game 7: Repeat, if needed, 1 p.m.

<h4>Going green on Irish course </h4>

Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy lines up his shot on the 17th hole in the first round of the Irish Open in Baltray, Ireland, on Thursday.

RALEIGH, N.C. – Greg Paulus is returning home to Syracuse to play football.

The former Duke point guard will enroll in graduate school at Syracuse and try to make a comeback in football for the Orange, he said Thursday.

“My gut and my heart were telling me that (Syracuse) was the best place for me,” Paulus said from Durham, N.C., during a conference call.

The decision ends a month of speculation whether the one-time star high school quarterback from Syracuse would resume his football career.

He worked out for the Green Bay Packers in April, acknowledged meeting with Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez about playing for the Wolverines, also visited Nebraska and said he was contacted by about two dozen programs.

“It got me thinking, got me throwing again (and) once I got doing that, the itch and the desire came back,” Paulus said. “To have this opportunity where I have two sports, and to be able to do them both at the college level, it’s something that’s pretty unique and special.”

He said he called new Orange coach Doug Marrone on Thursday morning to notify him of his decision.

The three-year starting guard graduated from Duke earlier this month. He has one season of eligibility remaining and can play immediately if he receives a waiver from the NCAA.

Marrone could not comment on the announcement because the NCAA paperwork has not been completed.

Paulus was a record-setting quarterback in high school at Christian Brothers Academy, located less than a mile from Marrone’s office, and now has a legitimate chance at Syracuse, a proud program that’s fallen on hard times.

The Orange hired Marrone in December to resurrect the team he once played for – Syracuse has gone 10-37 over the past four seasons. He already has moved former starting quarterback Andrew Robinson to tight end and demoted Cam Dantley, last year’s starter, to backup behind redshirt freshman Ryan Nassib.

Paulus said Marrone has made “no promises, no guarantees” about playing time.

At CBA, Paulus was one of the nation’s top prep quarterbacks. As a senior running a potent spread offense, he threw for 3,700 yards and 43 touchdowns in a 13-0 season. He finished his prep career with 11,763 yards and 152 touchdowns passing.

Miami and Notre Dame offered him football scholarships, and he received a basketball offer from Syracuse before choosing to play basketball at Duke. His younger brother, Mike, is a quarterback at North Carolina.

BC linebacker has cancer

BOSTON – Boston College linebacker Mark Herzlich, who earned Atlantic Coast Conference defensive player of the year honors, has cancer.

Herzlich said Thursday he was diagnosed earlier this week with Ewing’s Sarcoma after feeling pain in his leg and will undergo more tests in his home state of Pennsylvania. Ewing’s Sarcoma is a malignant tumor often found in bone or soft tissue.

Herzlich said he was determined to return to football after fighting the disease.

The Associated Press

Grizzlies’ Miles charged

ST. LOUIS – Memphis Grizzlies forward Darius Miles, who was suspended last season for violating the NBA’s anti-drug program, was free on bond Thursday after being charged with possession of marijuana.

Miles, 27, was alone in his car in suburban Fairview Heights, Ill., Wednesday night when an officer pulled him over for allegedly failing to use a turn signal. During a search of the car, police found a small amount of marijuana in a plastic bag in the passenger compartment.

The Associated Press

Sorenstam to have girl

CLIFTON, N.J. – Hall of Fame golfer Annika Sorenstam, a former University of Arizona standout, is going to have a girl this fall.

The 38-year-old Swede and her husband, Mike McGee, announced the gender of her first baby on her blog Thursday.

“To use golf terms, we just “made the turn” from a timing standpoint and are very excited that everything looks good so far,” Sorenstam said. “We’ll keep you posted.”

Sorenstam retired from the LPGA Tour last year after 72 victories and 10 majors, saying she wanted to start a business and a family.

The Associated Press

Bradley still unhappy

CHICAGO – Milton Bradley’s suspension was reduced from two games to one by Major League Baseball on Thursday, but that didn’t make him any happier.

The Chicago Cubs outfielder still feels he was a victim of his reputation as a hothead.

“It figures,” he said after MLB announced its decision regarding the April 16 incident. “I never get treated fairly. This is me. This is exactly what I expected.

“I’m Milton Bradley, you know what I’m saying? You expect me to be crazy and throw stuff and do whatever.”

Bradley will have to sit out Friday’s game against Houston.

The Associated Press

QUOTABLE

'We're digging ourselves a hole. If we keep digging too much longer, it's going to be tough to get out of.'

MARK REYNOLDS,

Diamondbacks third baseman, on team's 13-22 record

———

SPORTS SOUND-OFF

Fans philosophical as D’backs discuss flight

Re: D’backs down to three Phoenix sites for spring training facility

• It’s time we let the D’backs leave. . . . We’ve dropped too much money and have gained very little. They have the money to have multiple farm teams, scouting divisions and inflated player contracts, so why can’t they build their own training facility? MOTORMOUTH

• The county blew it and the city blew it. If you thought it was tough in Tucson before, wait until spring training baseball is gone. LDONYO

• Tucson can’t compete with Phoenix in baseball, so we can stop trying. Let’s get creative. How about recruiting an Arena Football team for the soon-to-be-built arena? Or a minor league basketball team? Either way, it’ll be nice when the Cactus League rental car tax can go away. IT’SLILA

———

BY THE NUMBERS

1-5

Diamondbacks’ record since they replaced manager Bob Melvin with A.J. Hinch, a front-office executive. Other Arizona numbers this year:

Record: 13-22

NL West: Last place, 10.5 games behind leader Los Angeles

Batting average: .232, worst in the National League

On-base percentage: .307, worst in the National League

Runs scored: 129, ranked 15th out of 16 in the National League

———

ON THIS DATE

1981: Len Barker of Cleveland pitches the first perfect game in 13 years as the host Indians beat the Toronto Blue Jays 3-0.

1993: Prairie Bayou, ridden by Mike Smith, rebounds from a second-place finish in the Kentucky Derby to become the first gelding to win the Preakness in 79 years.

1998: Notah Begay III joins Al Geiberger and Chip Beck as the only players to shoot a 59 on a U.S. pro tour. He does it at the Nike Old Dominion Open.

2003: The Spurs end the Lakers’ three-year NBA title reign with a 4-2 series win in the Western Conference semifinal.

Former Arizona quarterback Willie Tuitama is apparently exploring opportunities in the Canadian and Arena 2 football leagues after failing to land a free-agency shot in the NFL.

The Saskatchewan Roughriders have claimed Tuitama’s negotiation rights, the Stockton (Calif.) Record reported Thursday.

The newspaper also said the Stockton Lightning, an Arena 2 minor league team for the Arena Football League, has offered Tuitama a roster spot. His mother, Nancy, is the Lightning’s travel agent, the Record said, and Tuitama is a Stockton native.

Jeff Sperbeck, an agent for Tuitama, told the Record that he has been in contact with CFL teams but was unaware of the Arena offer.

“We’re talking to some teams in Canada and trying to find an opportunity,” Sperbeck said. “Willie wants to show that he can still play.”

The CFL season begins in June, and Tuitama could negotiate with other teams if he chose not to sign with Saskatchewan, the Record said.

Sperbeck told the paper there’s still a chance Tuitama could be invited to an NFL training camp. Tucson police arrested Tuitama on March 7 on suspicion of extreme driving under the influence, which may have hurt his NFL prospects.

Meanwhile, former UA basketball player Fendi Onobun is still trying to land an NFL free-agency shot after working out for scouts for several teams, including Buffalo.