From left, Arizona's Ronnie Palmer, Mike Thomas, Delashaun Dean and quarterback Willie Tuitama hold the Territorial Cup and end of the game with Arizona State. Arizona regained possession of the cup by defeating ASU 31-10.

I know now how the sneaky Arizona students felt who changed the gold letter on Tempe’s “A” mountain to red Thursday and then admired their handiwork.

Saturday night’s game at Arizona Stadium, too, was like watching paint dry.

Blame the Sun Devils, who had an opportunity to make this one interesting but instead proved they lacked the manpower. The Wildcats rose to the occasion. ASU barely rose off the sideline bench.

Arizona 31, Arizona State 10.

This game confirmed ASU’s worst fears. Even with much at stake – a bowl game, state bragging rights, pride – it couldn’t find enough emotion to compensate for its shortcomings. Adrenalin can’t make up for an unequipped offensive line, a quarterback who has lost his mojo and an offense that could muster just 162 total yards.

Despite the shouts from Tempe, however, ASU will not get rid of offensive coordinator Rich Olson, a suggestion coach Dennis Erickson called “ridiculous” afterward.

Fair enough. You don’t lose 30 years of knowledge gained in the NFL and college in one season. At the very least, large-scale soul searching is in order because the offense’s lack of innovation was mind-boggling, inexperienced personnel be darned.

“I never thought this would happen to us,” quarterback Rudy Carpenter said. “I thought we could win and manage to do something special this season.”

What’s happened to this series? While it has had its share of dramatic moments, it hasn’t had many great ones recently, not of the Chuck Cecil 100-yard interception return variety, anyway.

The last time both programs came into the game ranked in the Top 25 was 1986. The Wildcats should be pleased with the progress they made this season, but they shouldn’t forget they beat only one team in 2008 with a winning record. Thanks, California.

They do deserve credit for stepping up Saturday night. It guaranteed a winning season for coach Mike Stoops, his first in five years, which in itself is remarkable.

It gave the Wildcats their first victory over the Sun Devils in four tries and shook the monkey off senior quarterback Willie Tuitama’s back.

For Stoops, the victory shed any worry that Arizona Athletic Director Jim Livengood would send him packing. It was a ridiculous thought to begin with. The last thing the university needs is another reclamation project, not to mention footing any part of a buyout.

Stoops caused a stir recently when he put his 5,000-square-foot Tucson house on the market for $1.5 million. Turns out it wasn’t out of job paranoia but a decision to downsize locally and buy a vacation home elsewhere.

That’s his story, anyway, and he’s sticking to it.

For the Wildcats’ sake, it’s good he’s sticking around. This program needs continuity.

ASU needs a lot of things. I have no doubt Erickson still has a lot to offer this program. Many are too quick to suggest he’s lost his edge because retirement is nearing.

I don’t buy it. You don’t win two national titles and successfully rebuild a program like Oregon State unless you have the coaching chops.

He knows this team has work to do. Grooming a new quarterback won’t be easy, nor will landing a top running back who can give this offense much needed balance.

As the game ended, Arizona fans charged onto the field and covered it in a sea of red. It was a much-needed morale boost for an athletic department that has been hit hard, starting with Lute Olson’s retirement.

One player who wasn’t celebrating afterward was Carpenter. His college career has experienced more extremes than most, going from nationally recognized freshman to much-criticized senior.

The Sun Devils’ passing game was anemic Saturday, especially when juxtaposed with the Wildcats’ version. Wildcats fans, and players, successfully climbed the mountain Saturday. The Sun Devils, meanwhile, couldn’t even find their footing.

Sendek prospers at ASU after departing Wolfpack

ASU coach Herb Sendek is 2-2 vs. Arizona and has posted three victories over ranked teams.

All job openings on Tobacco Road should be accompanied by a surgeon general’s warning: Coaching here may be hazardous to your mental health and induce premature departures and rabid expectations.

Really, North Carolina State fans? This is the coach you were so eager to see leave, the one that has the Arizona State men’s basketball team in most preseason Top 25 polls? If this is your idea of a castoff, well, where should the Sun Devils send the thank-you bouquet?

In two seasons, Herb Sendek has made ASU basketball relevant again. It has opened practice under the watch of a national eye thanks to a 13-game turnaround between seasons 1 and 2 and a sophomore guard, James Harden, who is projected to be an NBA lottery pick.

Perspective is a funny thing. ASU athletic director Lisa Love looked at Sendek in 2006 and saw a coach who had run an impeccable program, who was known as one of the sport’s few remaining gentlemen and who had averaged 21 victories and posted consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances in his last five seasons with the Wolfpack.

NCSU fans saw a coach with a losing record against Duke and North Carolina and a demeanor that was a far cry from the Wolfpack’s most recognizable mentor, the late Jim Valvano.

When Sendek took the ASU job, Orlando Wright, the father of then-recruit Chris Wright, now with Georgetown, told reporters Sendek’s treatment by NCSU fans was the equivalent of “a modern-day lynching.” None of that matters to Sendek anymore, and he is too polite to speak negatively about the experience. These days, he barely resembles the Sendek who was portrayed in Raleigh.

His conversations are thoughtful, and he can be open and funny.

“He’s big on old-school jokes,” said Drake coach Mark Phelps, a longtime Sendek assistant. “They’re the type that would be hilarious back in 1960, but now they’re funny just because he’s telling it.”

People forget Sendek was only 33 when he took the Wolfpack job. More than a decade has passed. He is constantly refining.

Those who criticized Sendek for his deliberate offense with the Wolfpack might be surprised to know the Sun Devils will pick up the pace this season.

“Coach wants (just) the point guards to push it, but if I get it, I’m going,” said Harden, who plays on the wing.

Does Sendek know that?

“No,” Harden said, laughing.

When Sendek was offered the ASU job, Phelps tried to talk him out of it. NCSU was coming off a 22-10 season and sported a strong recruiting class. Yet Sendek saw potential in a Tempe program that was an afterthought in a Pac-10 dominated by its Arizona neighbor just two hours south.

Was he entering another tempest? Maybe not. Sendek already is 2-2 vs. rival UA and has posted three victories vs. ranked teams. In the previous 11 seasons, ASU had gone 2-28 against ranked teams at home.

“When you present an idea to Herb, and you have fought through it from every angle and you give it to him and you’re feeling good that you’ve covered it all, you can be guaranteed he’ll find some holes,” Phelps said.

Does Sendek, 45, think he’s changed?

“I’d like to think I’m different,” he said, “but without forsaking any last chance of humility, it’s difficult to answer. I’ve done my best to continue to learn, and I’m always doing my best to improve.”

ASU fans hope he doesn’t change too much. There was a lot to like at NCSU.

———

ASU 2008-09 SCHEDULE

Nov. 14 Miss. Valley St. 8 p.m.

Nov. 18 at San Diego St. 8 p.m.

Nov. 23 Pepperdine 2 p.m.

Nov. 27 Charlotte-a 6 p.m.

Nov. 28 Baylor/Providence-a TBA

Nov. 28 TBD-a TBA

Dec. 4 Jackson State 7 p.m.

Dec. 7 Nebraska noon

Dec. 14 IUPUI-b 1:15 p.m.

Dec. 20 BYU-c 2:30 p.m.

Dec. 23 Idaho State noon

Dec. 29 Central Connecticut St. 7 p.m.

Jan. 2 at Stanford* TBA

Jan. 4 at California* 6 p.m.

Jan. 8 Oregon State* 8:30 p.m.

Jan. 10 Oregon* noon

Jan. 15 at USC* 8:30 p.m.

Jan. 17 at UCLA* 1:45 p.m.

Jan. 21 at Arizona* 7:30 p.m.

Jan. 29 Washington St.* 7 p.m.

Feb. 5 at Oregon* 8:30 p.m.

Feb. 7 at Oregon St.* 6:30 p.m.

Feb. 12 UCLA* 7 p.m.

Feb. 15 USC* 8 p.m.

Feb. 22 Arizona* 8 p.m.

Feb. 26 at Washington* 8 p.m.

Feb. 28 at Washington St.* TBA

Mar. 5 Stanford TBA

Mar. 7 California TBA

Mar 11-14 Pac-10 tourney$ TBA

a- at Anaheim, Calif.; b- US Airways Center in Phoenix; c- University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale; * Pac-10 Conference game; $ at Staples Center, Los Angeles

ASU QB’s bum ankle, offense both fade as Trojans blank Devils

Arizona State quarterback Rudy Carpenter (center) is helped up by teammate Shaun Lauvao (left) and Southern California's Rey Maualuga after being injured during the second half Saturday in Los Angeles.

LOS ANGELES – This isn’t exactly how Rudy Carpenter imagined his final Los Angeles road trip.

He walked, no, hobbled off the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum field Saturday, his ankle throbbing as he dodged taunts from USC fans after the Trojans’ 28-0 win over Arizona State.

After a strong first half by ASU’s defense, everything went downhill from there, including Carpenter’s health.

The pain from the left sprained ankle that almost prevented him from starting against USC became worse as the game progressed.

He finally left midway through the third quarter because “I couldn’t even walk that well.”

Coach Dennis Erickson hinted all week that junior backup Danny Sullivan might start. Each day, however, Carpenter’s ankle improved. He looked fairly mobile at the beginning of the game, completing 6 of 10 passes in the first quarter, but he later seemed to struggle planting his foot.

He finished 11 of 20 for 126 yards with one interception. Sullivan completed 4 of 17 passes for 28 yards and two interceptions.

Carpenter pestered Erickson all week, insisting he could start. His ankle hurt, he said, “but I tried to put it out of my mind. I tried to stay positive.”

USC defensive tackle Fili Moala wasn’t surprised to see Carpenter take the field.

“Rudy’s a really competitive guy,” he said. “He’s a tough guy, really gung-ho. I’ve known him for a while, so it’s not surprising to see him out there hobbled on one ankle.”

Carpenter and the Sun Devils will benefit from their upcoming off week. They don’t return to action until Oct. 25, when Oregon visits Sun Devil Stadium.

Carpenter’s status is unknown, but with the extra time to heal, it’s likely he’ll start again.

He’s ready to work. Now he needs his ankle to cooperate.

Oregon runs wild

EUGENE, Ore. – Oregon quarterback Jeremiah Masoli didn’t expect to run so much against UCLA, and he probably ran more than he needed to.

He piled up 170 yards on 24 carries, including a touchdown. He only passed for 42 yards – and just 1 yard in the entire second half – in Oregon’s 31-24 victory over the Bruins Saturday night.

“A couple of times I looked to the run a little bit too soon,” Masoli said. “There are still some things I have to work on with the reads and this week I will be looking at the tapes and fine-tuning everything.”

It was the first time an Oregon quarterback has surpassed 100 yards on the ground since Dennis Dixon ran for 141 yards in last season’s opener against Houston. Reggie Ogburn, who had 173 yards against Oregon State in 1980, is the only quarterback to run for more yards in a game.

LeGarrette Blount added 111 yards and a score for the Ducks.

The Associated Press

———

PAC-10 STANDINGS

California 2-0 4-1

Oregon 3-1 5-2

Stanford 3-1 4-3

Oregon State 2-1 3-3

USC 2-1 4-1

Arizona 2-1 4-2

UCLA 1-2 2-4

Arizona State 1-2 2-4

Washington 0-3 0-5

Washington State 0-4 1-6

———

Last week: Stanford 24, Arizona 23; USC 28, Arizona State 0; Oregon State 66, Washington State 13; Oregon 31, UCLA 24

Saturday: California at Arizona, 7 p.m.; USC at Washington State, 12:30 p.m.; Stanford at UCLA, 1 p.m.; Oregon State at Washington, 4 p.m.;

Idle: ASU, Oregon

Well, well, well. Look who is sitting atop the Pac-10 football standings.

Arizona.

A program that was once fighting for its life is sharing first place with Oregon thanks to a 1-0 conference record and a 3-1 overall one. The man who had put the “oops” in Stoops suddenly has his team believing again.

Deep breath, Arizona State fans. We know the season is early. We know the Wildcats lost to New Mexico. We know they faced UCLA at a vulnerable time for the Bruins.

We also know momentum is a powerful force in college sports. After being off this weekend, Arizona is visited by Washington and then travels to Stanford. Defending Huskies quarterback Jake Locker will be a challenge for UA. Still, both games are winnable.

That would put the Wildcats at 5-1 when they take on the toughest part of their schedule, Cal and USC. Both of those games are in Tucson. UA is catching some breaks from its schedule. Considering how things have gone the last few years, breaks are just what this team needs.

By The Arizona Republic, Paola Boivin

<strong>Dancing in Des Moines </strong>
Drake University alum Amy Zsenai reacts as she watches the NCAA Tournament selection show during a rally with players on Sunday in Des Moines, Iowa. Drake, the Missouri Valley Conference champions, will play Western Kentucky in the West Region on Friday in Tampa, Fla.

TEMPE – Four vs. 301.

That’s why Arizona is in the NCAA Tournament and Arizona State is in the NIT.

Despite what the selection committee says, it’s all about the numbers. The Sun Devils were snubbed because their nonconference strength of schedule was ranked 301st out of 341 teams.

“The reality check is that (Arizona’s) strength of schedule was extremely high,” said Tom O’Connor, the chairman of the NCAA selection committee. “It was way up there. Even though the RPI is a data point collection, it does tell you something.”

It tells you that the committee played it safe, which is tough to reconcile. Did the best 34 at-large teams get in, or the 34 at-large teams with the best numbers? There’s a difference.

Are you telling me if you put ASU on the same court as No. 10 seed South Alabama (which has an overall strength of schedule worse than ASU’s), the Sun Devils don’t win? I don’t buy it.

O’Connor said there is room for subjective observation. So why not take into account how the Sun Devils were victims of their own good intentions?

When they agreed to play in the Maui Invitational, they had high hopes that Illinois, Louisiana State, and to a lesser extent, Princeton, would help their nonconference strength of schedule. But the RPI of all three team took major tumbles this year.

Illinois had an average RPI of 17 the past five years and it fell to 113 this season. LSU went from 41 to 171, and Princeton fell from 170 to 331.

Sunday’s selection show couldn’t have been more painful to watch for ASU fans. Pac-10 representation was slow to come.

Slivers of hope occurred when Washington State was announced as a No. 4 seed, a big nod of respect for the conference. More optimism came when Oregon was awarded a nine seed when many expected it to land a 10 or 11.

Was this a sign that the Pac-10 would get in its much-coveted seven teams into the tournament?

Alas, no. The Wildcats were the last conference team to receive an invitation.

“We know they beat Arizona twice,” O’Connor said. “We’re very cognizant of that. But in the final analysis, when the committee looked at it, while Arizona State was a very good basketball team, the committee didn’t feel that they were one of the 34 best at-large teams in the country.

“(Arizona was) 16-6 with Nic Wise and Jerryd Bayless in the lineup. So that would say when they weren’t in the lineup, they were a different team.”

Sans Smith
For the first time in 15 seasons, the NCAA Tournament will be held without Tubby Smith.

Minnesota did not receive a bid despite winning 20 games in Smith’s first season in Minneapolis.

The Gophers (20-13) more than doubled their win total from a year ago when they went 9-22 during one of the most miserable seasons at Williams Arena in recent memory. But a lack of “quality wins” and falling short during a spirited run in the Big Ten Tournament left them on the outside looking in.

Minnesota will play in the NIT, hosting Maryland on Tuesday, and Smith was plenty proud of that achievement. “We know it will be a challenge, but I’m excited for our program,” Smith said. “I’m happy for our players. I know they’ll be ready to play.”

The last time Smith didn’t make the NCAA Tournament was in 1993, his second season at Tulsa.

The Associated Press

Philadelphia flavor
Villanova was a surprise pick for the NCAA Tournament on Sunday and joined Temple and Saint Joseph’s in the 65-team field, putting three Philadelphia teams in the tournament for the first time since 1999.

“It makes Philadelphia better. It makes the Big 5 better,” Owls coach Fran Dunphy said.

The Owls earned the automatic berth with a 69-64 victory over St. Joseph’s in the Atlantic 10 tournament title game Saturday night.

Temple will play in the tournament for the first time since 2001, when it lost in the regional final. That ended a string of 12 straight tournaments under Hall of Fame coach John Chaney, though he never took the Owls to the Final Four.

The Associated Press

West Coast power
Saint Mary’s joins WCC Tournament winner San Diego and regular-season champion Gonzaga in the field, the first time the conference has placed three teams in the NCAAs.

The little-heralded WCC got in a higher percentage of teams than traditional power conferences such as the Big Ten and the ACC.

That probably riled a few teams, considering the three WCC teams to make the tournament were the only ones in the conference to finish in the top 150 in the RPI.

“Based on their seedings, Saint Mary’s and Gonzaga were clearly not bubble teams,” incoming commissioner Jamie Zaninovich said.

The Associated Press

QUOTABLE
'We don't want to be the first team in the tournament to be the No. 1 seed that loses to a No. 16. That's going to happen someday.'

BEN HOWLAND,

UCLA coach, on his team's opener against No. 16 Mississippi Valley State

———

SPORTS SOUND-OFF

What UA students say about the Cats’ chances
Citizen intern Crystal Garcia and Citizen staff writer Renée Schafer Horton interviewed UA students about the Wildcats:

• I don’t think they’ll get too far, probably first or second round, but for the future you have Lute Olson coming back and the players are going to put a lot of stock into that. . . . The defense at times has been a little shaky, but . . . they haven’t really got a chance (to gel) because of the injuries and stuff like that.

Ramón Carranza, 20, history major, sophomore

• It’s just going to be another disappointment for our students.”

- Stephen Perko, 20, political science major, sophomore

• They don’t have enough big guys to guard other players like the 7-footers. . . . They’ll be better next year because they have two really good players coming in and Lute Olson’s coming back.”

Johnny Carrizosa, 20, business major, sophomore

• “There’s a lot of talent . . . but when teams stop our best guys . . . the rest of the team needs to step it up.

Andrew Rosas, 20, pre-pharmacy major, sophomore

• I think they have a cohesion problem on the court.

Steven Otero, 18, political science major, freshman

• I would have gotten over it if they hadn’t made the tournament, but it is going to be way fun now. . . . Whenever you switch head coaches, it’s a huge transition, and it takes a while for the team to jump back up.

Caroline Malkin, 21, nutrition major, junior

———

NUMBER OF THE DAY

8

Teams from the Big East in the NCAA Tournament, the most of any conference. Other leaders:

Pac-10 6

SEC 6

Big 12 6

Big Ten 4

ACC 4

———

TRIVIA CORNER
Which NCAA Tournament at-large team has the worst RPI ranking?

———

Answer: Oregon at No. 58. The Ducks were given a No. 9 seed.

Stay with me. It was 22-6 Arizona. James Harden was breathing heavier than the giving end of a 900 number. It was hard to say what was sinking faster: Jerryd Bayless’ jump shot or ASU’s postseason aspirations.

All that remained was for the referee to deliver his 10 count to the punch-drunk Sun Devils.

Talk about rising from the canvas. Just like that, ASU came back swinging, scoring a 59-54 victory that is a nod to a coach whose most picked-on personality trait also is one of his greater strengths.

Not once during the Sun Devils’ early struggles Sunday did they look defeated. If anything, you could see the mercury rising up Jeff Pendergraph’s 6-foot-9 frame.

Herb Sendek’s even-keeled demeanor has served ASU well. Any team that starts three freshmen and a sophomore needs a coach who is poised, prepared and meticulous. That’s how the Sun Devils played after falling behind early and now find themselves back in the postseason hunt thanks to a victory over a team with a No.9 RPI.

“I’d like to take all the credit for the great defensive effort we put on Bayless tonight,” Sendek said. “What’d we hold him to, under 40?”

Thirty-nine. Heck, Sendek was even funny Sunday.

It’s a shame we didn’t get to see a game this season with both teams at full strength. A virus slowed Harden. The Wildcats clearly missed point guard Nic Wise (knee). Arizona interim coach Kevin O’Neill said he added 10 to 12 more offensive plays this week, but it sure didn’t look like it.

Outside the greatness of Bayless, the offense struggled to find its rhythm. Sendek’s mad-scientist ways also have benefited ASU. He’s always is in the basketball equivalent of a chemistry lab, perusing video and diagramming possibilities. He saw the way the Wildcats fronted Pendergraph in their previous meeting and believed that if the Sun Devils could lob to the forward inside, they would have opportunities. With Arizona’s 6-10 Jordan Hill committing two early fouls, the game plan was in place.

Pendergraph was spectacular. He muscled inside and took on-target passes from his teammates – primarily point guard Derek Glasser – and worked it.

Twenty-nine points on 12-of-16 shooting. Eight rebounds.

“We fed off his energy,” Glasser said.

Pendergraph played possessed. He frequently pounded the floor with his hands after a big offensive play and shot a few glares toward his opponent during heated moments.

For the Sun Devils, it is a pleasure to watch. The senior has withstood this program’s past struggles with professionalism. He has answered endless questions about James Harden without a hint of jealousy. He has teamed with Harden to follow Sendek’s lead and maintain the team’s poise and focus.

“It’s our job to be calm and composed,” Pendergraph said.

Still, it was an impressive effort, considering Bayless’ performance.

The freshman from Phoenix St. Mary’s was brilliant. He has all the traits that NBA scouts love to scribble about in their notepads: explosiveness, fluidity and a terrific first step.

But it’s his jumper, and the confidence that comes with it, that’s jaw dropping.

He can score off the screen, pull up off the dribble and hit a fadeaway from Marana. Defensively, he gives everything, like the game he kept Washington State’s talented Derrick Low scoreless at McKale Center on Jan.24 except for garbage time.

Bayless’ place in the NBA is up for debate. He’s a phenomenal shooting guard, but at 6-3 he’s built more for the point, a position he has yet to demonstrate that he’s well suited to play.

Wherever he ends up in the NBA, he’ll make it work.

Just like the Sun Devils, who on Sunday found another way to get the job done.

MORE ON UA LOSS

Former Arizona State football coach Frank Kush still casts a large shadow over the ASU campus.

COMMENT

TEMPE – It didn’t take long for Dennis Erickson to learn what sharing a building with Frank Kush feels like.

“I’ve got to go up to the sixth floor from the third to see him,” Arizona State football coach Erickson said, “and that ride up there is scary sometimes, because you know you’re going to get either punched or hit or blocked or tackled, and you better make sure your technique is correct.”

I get that. Five years ago, I accidentally parked in Kush’s reserved spot at ASU, and he left a note on my window scolding me for my decision. Even though he didn’t know it was my car, I avoided him for weeks.

Fear always was one of Kush’s best tools during his successful stay in Tempe. The former coach said he’s pleased to see a similar vibe around the football program since Erickson took over eight months ago today.

“There’s an intensity I’ve noticed when I went to spring practices and scrimmages,” said Kush, a director with the Sun Angel Foundation. “Players have a different attitude. It’s not respect, but fear.

“Kids have to be fearful of making a mistake. They’ve got to be held responsible, accountable, and they’ve got to think they’re going to play second- or third-string if they don’t do the job.”

Coach Dirk Koetter fielded four winning seasons in six years, but his teams’ lack of intensity ultimately cost him his job. University president Michael Crow noticed it in the first quarter of last season’s opener. Koetter’s 2-19 record against Top-25 teams reflected it.

If there was one constant in Kush’s 22-year stay, it was the toughness of his teams. It led to 19 winnings seasons, nine conference championships and a 6-1 bowl record. Every coach who has followed Kush has had to live in that shadow.

Erickson will, too. He enjoys working three floors below Kush in the ICA building and calls being around him “the greatest thing that could have happened to me.”

“He knows a lot about what it takes to win, because it hasn’t changed,” Erickson said. “It’s no different now than when he was coaching. Maybe the philosophy of what you do is a little bit different, but it’s still about motivation, blocking and tackling, being physical and all those different things.”

Erickson did acknowledge that Kush “wants me to run it every down, so we’re kind of going halfway.”

Intensity, too, has marked Erickson’s teams. His 1989 Miami team was the national champion in big part because of an intense, driven defense that was ranked No. 1 in the country and allowed just 9.3 points per game.

Defense continues to be a primary concern of this coaching staff. Erickson is bringing a lot to the table, but to suggest an 8-0 start, as many fans have because of the Sun Devils’ bottom-heavy schedule, is unrealistic. Since joining the Pac-10, ASU has had just two seven-game win streaks.

This year’s defensive unit has holes, especially in the secondary. Look for the Sun Devils to blitz, stunt and disrupt the quarterback as much as possible.

Erickson’s teams have done that well in the past, although the coach insists that ASU won’t take that passion to an extreme just because two of his recent teams – Oregon State in 2002 and Idaho in 2006 – ranked last nationally in penalty yards.

“We’ll have fun playing the game, and we’ll enjoy it, but we’re not going to have penalties that are going to hurt our opportunity to win and be successful,” he said.

Kush likes what he’s seen.

“I have a little song about it,” the ex-coach said before singing, “He’s done it before, and he’ll do it again.”

He’ll do it again. Coming from Kush, that’s an order.

Kerr must battle fans’ letdown after Garnett deal falls through

Tucker

PHOENIX – Liars and Tigers and Bears, oh my!

While a circus was under way on the main floor of US Airways Center, the Suns brain trust was busy performing a tenuous high wire act a floor above.

How does one balance what’s best for the team with pleasing the public, a public that has spent the past week devouring Kevin Garnett rumors? Impossible, because anything short of acquiring Garnett is perceived as a failure.

So if you feel like you’re nursing a hangover today without ever enjoying the party, you’re not alone.

But if you’re going to be mad at the Suns, make sure you’re mad for the right reasons.

Don’t be made at them for not acquiring Garnett. The speculation that circulated in recent days was mostly misinformation. Teams spreading lies. The Internet spreading rumors.

“The Garnett thing is just really . . . so difficult to even fathom because of those financial implications,” said new Suns general manager Steve Kerr, a former Arizona Wildcat. “We have not pursued anything in that regard. I have not been out there making a lot of phone calls.”

If you want to be mad at the Suns, hold them responsible for past sins that put them in an awkward situation on Thursday.

If they didn’t have $17.6 million committed to Marcus Banks over the next four years (including $3.96 million next season), would they have sold their 24th pick Thursday (Rudy Fernandez) to Portland for $3 million? Doubtful. Would they have had a better chance to get a top-10 pick? Likely.

Think about this: Fifteen minutes before the draft started, a team with the eighth pick that was willing to deal with the Suns (Charlotte) “went in a different direction,” Kerr said. Had the Suns had a bit more flexibility, they likely could have made the deal and ended up with someone such as Florida’s Joakim Noah.

Add their No. 29 pick, Wisconsin forward Alando Tucker – a sound choice who was Big Ten player of the year after averaging 19.9 points a game – and the draft feels a lot better.

“We were really fired up to get Alando when we did,” Kerr said. “He’s tough, he’s a winner. He’s been part of a winning team, so he’s coachable.”

With the 59th pick overall, the Suns chose D.J. Strawberry, a 6-foot-5 guard from the University of Maryland who’s the son of former major league baseball star Darryl Strawberry.

Don’t be mad at the Suns for maintaining their core of Amaré Stoudemire, Marion, Steve Nash, Raja Bell, Boris Diaw and Leandro Barbosa. If this team is really committed to winning a title next season, then any deal involving Stoudemire would have been ridiculous. Trading Shawn Marion would have been ludicrous, too, unless the prize was Garnett.

Suns coach Mike D’Antoni understands that fans might feel a letdown today.

“But remember, the (teams) who are really excited are the people who didn’t have real good years,” he said.

There’s still time for the Suns to flex some off-season muscle. Freeing up money isn’t the worst thing to happen to a team. In 2004, the Suns traded their No. 7 pick to Chicago for cash, a future pick and the draft rights to the 31st pick overall. The move was criticized. Fans were upset because a rumored Tracy McGrady deal never came to fruition.

But the money the Suns saved in the deal helped secure a free agent named Nash two weeks later. That turned out OK.

Reliance on letter of the law rewards rough play by Horry

Diaw

PHOENIX – Throw an elbow, break a limb and earn credit toward the all-NBA team. For a league that professes to be image-conscious, the NBA should be tagged with a flagrant foul.

San Antonio’s Robert Horry checks Steve Nash into the scorer’s table, and the Suns are slapped with a penalty that could cost them a shot at the title.

If I’m an NBA general manager, I’m taking Oscar De La Hoya with my next draft pick.

The league goofed Tuesday by suspending Amaré Stoudemire and Boris Diaw for Wednesday’s Game 5 of the Western Conference semifinals. The league erred by relying on the language of the law instead of the spirit of it.

“I feel we’ve been unjustly penalized for the fact that we just played a good, clean, hard game,” Suns owner Robert Sarver said. “I feel if any team should have been penalized in this series, it should be the Spurs, and I feel bad about it.”

Who knew an incident during Monday’s Game 4 would turn into this? With 18 seconds remaining, Horry committed a hard foul that sent Nash flying into the scorer’s table. It created the perfect storm.

The crowd reacted. Nash became angry. The foul was committed close to the Suns’ bench, which is filled with players who are paid handsomely to have a competitive spirit.

They saw their universally loved point guard in pain. Their instincts got the better of them, and Stoudemire and Diaw ran onto the court.

“I just wanted to see how he was doing,” Diaw said.

Stoudemire didn’t throw any punches. Diaw didn’t come out swinging. They were reined in with no damage done.

The problem: The NBA can’t get past the language of its rule that says, during an altercation, “all players not participating in the game must remain in the immediate vicinity of their bench. Violators will be suspended, without pay.”

The NBA likes to play the hard line, but the truth is, this rule is open to interpretation. “Vicinity of their bench” can be anything the league wants it to be.

San Antonio’s Bruce Bowen and Tim Duncan weren’t suspended for running onto the floor earlier in the game after Suns swingman James Jones unknowingly caused a dunking Francisco Elson to crash to the floor, because it didn’t follow an altercation.

But there was the presumption of an altercation, and is it really that different?

In 2002, several Sacramento Kings players rushed to the aid of Doug Christie after he was attacked in a tunnel by the Los Angeles Lakers’ Rick Fox. The NBA excused the incident because it felt most players were unclear of what was happening to Christie.

The bottom line: The league has the ability to interpret the rules as it chooses.

The crazy part of all this is that there is no better representative for the league than the Suns. The NBA is happy to plaster the faces of Nash and Stoudemire on its marketing campaigns, in part because of how well they conduct themselves on the court.

Let’s not forget that this team’s high-energy style of play has given the league some of its best TV ratings.

Yet, here you have the NBA quite possibly handing over the series to the team that committed the cheap shot.

This series has been intense from the get-go. Nash missed the end of Game 1 because of a deep cut in his nose from a collision with Tony Parker.

In Game 2, Bowen positioned himself behind Stoudemire as the Suns’ star went up for a dunk, and Bowen appeared to intentionally kick Stoudemire’s lower leg, prompting Stoudemire to call his opponents “dirty.”

In Game 3, Bowen kneed Nash in the groin.

“I think we had the momentum going, and for Robert Horry to be rewarded like that, to me, it’s unbelievable,” Sarver said. “I can’t see the justice in it.”

Neither can Suns fans.

Stoudemire

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READER RESPONDS
The ruling that was made is disgusting. This just goes to show that if you play dirty you can definitely get away with it.

What stops Mike D’Antoni from putting in a third-string player to throw a elbow in Tim Duncan’s face right in front of the Spurs’ bench?

GAME 5: San Antonio at Phoenix, 7:30 Wednesday night, TNT. Series is tied 2-2.

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RELATED STORY
Suspension of stars makes Suns smaller

NEW ORLEANS – I’ve become obsessed with water lines. They’re everywhere.

When Katrina’s wrath receded, her mark remained on most buildings in this city, like a police chalk line framing an unlucky victim.

That is New Orleans.

The return of regional NCAA Tournament play here has helped put the bounce back in this city’s step. Don’t mistake a respite for recovery, however, because around every corner is another pile of emotional and physical rubble.

Arizona players, who open tournament play today against Purdue, saw it firsthand Thursday morning during a bus ride to St. Augustine High School for practice. They saw the markings on abandoned houses left by National Guard troops that revealed how many bodies were found inside. They saw the empty lots where houses used to be.

“It’s a good experience for someone like me,” said Wildcats freshman Chase Budinger, who grew up on southern California’s beaches. “It’s eye-opening, a reminder that not everything in life is perfect.”

There’s no political agenda here, no desire to rehash a story that began 19 months ago. It’s not even an attempt to find heartbreaking tales because, frankly, they keep finding you.

Like bus driver Diane Silva, who grew up in the Ninth Ward. I met her near the Mississippi River, where she spoke of still having nightmares of the storm after she was assigned to help evacuate nursing home residents.

“I would be driving past these people, homeless, who couldn’t get out of town, and they’d be reaching up at the bus like zombies,” Silva, 58, said as she stretched her arms in her air. “I had no room, I couldn’t let them in. It took me a long time to get over that.”

Inside her bus, her elderly passengers, many close to death, were sliding down their seats, unable to sit upright. They lacked water, oxygen and diapers. For hours, she drove this way.

On a tour of New Orleans, I met a walking tour guide – “streetwalkers” as they’re affectionately called in Louisiana – who, like many residents, evacuated during Katrina. In the hope of not upsetting her grandson, the family told the 3-year-old they were all going on vacation together. They were gone three months.

“He says he never wants to go on vacation again,” Carol Stauder, 62, said. I drove under a bridge where shackled prisoners stood because their facility was unsafe. Several escaped. I drove past a hospital where 30 years of important research was destroyed because the tissue samples reached room temperature.

I drove down West End Boulevard, where the Arizona National Guard assisted in rescue attempts. I knew this because the doors of the shattered homes had the abbreviation “AZ” on them, plus the number of bodies found.

“Seeing all this makes you wish you could do something, help out in some way,” said Wildcats freshman Jordan Hill, who grew up in Georgia. “It feels weird that we’re just here for the NCAA Tournament. But if it helps the city, it’s a good thing.”

It does. The money helps, as does the emotional lift it gives residents who need to know their city is relevant again.

For all its pain, New Orleans has lost none of its charm. Bourbon Street remains delightfully decadent. The restaurants continue to offer the best food and music on the planet.

This is the New Orleans that will show its face this week.

“It’s still a great city,” Stauder said. “But we’re far from healed.”

Actor Matthew McConaughey (left) plays Marshall University coach Jack Lengyel in the film "We Are Marshall." Lengyel lives in Surprise.

What could he do?

The questioned gnawed at Jack Lengyel’s soul. A news crawl at the bottom of his television screen reported a plane crash involving the Marshall University football team and Lengyel felt a powerful pull to do something.

Anything.

It was Nov. 14, 1970.

His life was comfortable. He had found success at the College of Wooster, a tiny program in Ohio that once had its football program disbanded because the school president thought it created a profane atmosphere.

Yet like the residents of Huntington, W.Va., who could smell the unmistakable odor of jet fuel for days after the crash, Lengyel was haunted by an accident 200 miles away.

“My heart sunk,” said Lengyel, now a resident of the Phoenix suburb of Surprise. “I thought, ‘To the grace of God, there goes a football team.’ ”

Lengyel felt an overwhelming need to apply for the head coaching job. After a Penn State assistant turned it down and a Georgia Tech assistant pulled out, the position was offered to Lengyel.

The rest of the story will be told on the big screen Friday when “We Are Marshall” opens nationwide. Lengyel’s character, played by actor Matthew McConaughey, is at the center of the story because the university’s decision to continue football after the loss of 37 players and eight coaches and administrators was controversial.

“I thought I was going down there to rebuild a program,” he said. “I had no idea the crash touched the community the way that it did.

“I’ve worked at 16 universities and the only one I’ve ever been at where the hearts beat as one is Marshall. That community bleeds as one.”

The crash occurred at a hillside near Huntington’s Tri-State Airport on a rainy, foggy night after Marshall had lost to East Carolina. The cause remains a mystery although many believe the pilot may have mistaken the lights of the nearby Ashland Oil refinery for the runway.

All 75 people aboard the DC-9 died in what remains the worst sports-related disaster in U.S. history. What Lengyel didn’t realize at the time was that many of the community’s best known citizens were aboard the charter, from doctors to journalists to members of the state legislature.

“There wasn’t just a void in the university, there was a void in the community,” Lengyel said. “Suddenly, there were 70 children without one parent and 18 without two. It was a tragedy.”

A scene in “We are Marshall” shows a young Huntington boy watching TV when the news breaks. It gave Phoenix resident Russell Meadows, who saw a preview, a jolt because that’s exactly what happened to him.

He was 6 and growing up near the Marshall campus. He followed the Thundering Herd teams closely and has vivid memories of the names of the dead scrolling across the television screen.

“There were so many funerals and I remember funeral processions on the street that had to cross each other,” said Meadows, 43, an executive in the health care industry. “It was pretty intense.

“I’ve talked to kids I’ve grown up with and we were sort of the next generation. We grew up with it and carried it with us.”

Lengyel thought he was coming to Huntington to coach football. Little did he know he was also coming to help heal.

The decision to continue football the following season divided the community. Some feared the results would be disastrous and the season would be an embarrassment to an already distraught community. When Lengyel was hired, Marshall had just a handful of players because freshmen weren’t allowed to compete.

The NCAA made an exception and with the help of walk-ons, ex-servicemen, three basketball players and a soccer player, the team endured. Thirty-one days after he was hired, Lengyel had 43 players available for the spring game.

Because of the team’s inexperience, Lengyel sought out a simplified offense. He admired the Houston Veer run by rival West Virginia, and went to then-Mountaineers coach Bobby Bowden for help. Bowden, now with Florida Sate, opened up his playbook and spent three days with Lengyel and his staff teaching the system.

“He took care of us,” Lengyel said. “I’ll never forget that.”

Recruiting was a challenge, but because he was able to promise immediate playing time, Lengyel was able to get players. Linebacker Nate Ruffin, who missed the flight because of a shoulder injury, became the team’s conscience and is featured prominently in the movie. Ruffin died from leukemia in 2001.

The Young Thundering Herd, as Lengyel called them, lost their first game 29-6 at Morehead State. The lopsided effort was disappointing but not unexpected.

Still, an emotional crowd filled the stadium for the home opener against Xavier. Many expected a blowout but Marshall hung tough, and in an ending made for Hollywood, won 15-13 on a touchdown pass as time expired. The fans stayed in the stands for hours afterward. The local paper called it a miracle.

TEMPE – Arizona State found the ideal prescription for its ailing ways: Take one Stanford and call me in the morning.

A much-needed shot of confidence came in the form of a 38-3 victory over a Pac-10 program wallowing in ungainliness.

Just as the Sun Devils (4-3, 1-3) learned in their previous three games that they don’t belong with the conference’s elite, they learned Saturday against the Cardinal that they don’t belong with the conference’s bottom feeders.

Now come five games against teams more its equal and the opportunity for ASU to shape its season.

The Sun Devils are in salvage mode.

The reality is that with coach Dirk Koetter in his sixth season, the bar of expectations is higher. If ASU can finish 9-3, as several players suggested Saturday, it would be a solid recovery because it would mean players improved each week.

Anything less would be fodder for critics who believe the coach simply meets the barest of expectations each season and can’t win the big game.

No. 11 California 31, Washington 24, OT: At Berkeley, Calif., Marshawn Lynch ran for 150 yards and a 22-yard touchdown in overtime, and Cal recovered from Washington’s improbable tying score on a deflected pass as time expired.

Linebacker Desmond Bishop made 16 tackles and atoned for his disastrous misplay on Marlon Wood’s unbelievable 40-yard TD catch with a game-ending interception for the Golden Bears (7-1, 5-0 Pac-10), who survived for their seventh straight win.

Lynch made a 17-yard TD run with 1:52 to play, and Cal appeared to be safe after trailing much of the day against the Huskies (4-4, 2-3) and new quarterback Carl Bonnell, who threw five interceptions.

TEMPE – Arizona State found the ideal prescription for its ailing ways: Take one Stanford and call me in the morning.

A much-needed shot of confidence came in the form of a 38-3 victory over a Pac-10 program wallowing in ungainliness.

Just as the Sun Devils (4-3, 1-3) learned in their previous three games that they don’t belong with the conference’s elite, they learned Saturday against the Cardinal that they don’t belong with the conference’s bottom feeders.

Now come five games against teams more its equal and the opportunity for ASU to shape its season.

The Sun Devils are in salvage mode.

The reality is that with coach Dirk Koetter in his sixth season, the bar of expectations is higher. If ASU can finish 9-3, as several players suggested Saturday, it would be a solid recovery because it would mean players improved each week.

Anything less would be fodder for critics who believe the coach simply meets the barest of expectations each season and can’t win the big game.

No. 11 California 31, Washington 24, OT: At Berkeley, Calif., Marshawn Lynch ran for 150 yards and a 22-yard touchdown in overtime, and Cal recovered from Washington’s improbable tying score on a deflected pass as time expired.

Linebacker Desmond Bishop made 16 tackles and atoned for his disastrous misplay on Marlon Wood’s unbelievable 40-yard TD catch with a game-ending interception for the Golden Bears (7-1, 5-0 Pac-10), who survived for their seventh straight win.

Lynch made a 17-yard TD run with 1:52 to play, and Cal appeared to be safe after trailing much of the day against the Huskies (4-4, 2-3) and new quarterback Carl Bonnell, who threw five interceptions.

Arizona Diamondbacks manager Bob Melvin (left) will be sticking around through 2008 after getting a contract extension.

What do Joe Torre and Ozzie Guillen have in common? Nothing, except World Series rings. It’s worth remembering for those about to overreact to Bob Melvin’s new contract extension through 2008.

Personality doesn’t win games, players do. Personality doesn’t lose games, bad decisions do. Before you try to pin the Diamondbacks’ sub-.500 record on the fact that Melvin is about as demonstrative as a kumquat during games, reflect on your lingering image of Torre – a man sitting stoically in the dugout, no emotion visible behind the sunglasses.

Signing Melvin to a new two-year contract extension was the right move. The team needs stability, especially with roster changes on the horizon. If the timing seems odd, know this has been in the works for some time, but concern about such an announcement during a 3-20 slump prevailed.

Guillen, who is as fiery as Melvin is poised, is the first to say his personality played an insignificant role in Chicago’s title last season.

“With all due respect, people forget Joe Torre was a losing manager all his life until he got to New York. What’s he got? Some great players,” Guillen said on HBO’s Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel. “Everybody thinks Phil Jackson (is a good coach)? Why Phil Jackson? (Expletive.) You got Michael Jordan, you got Scottie Pippen and you got Dennis Rodman. ”

Torre has been to the World Series six times in his 10-plus seasons with the Yankees because his demeanor serves a 162-game season well and because of the way he endures challenges like last season, when he successfully milked innings from the Yankees’ broken-down pitching staff.

More than that, though, it’s because George Steinbrenner frequently surrounds Torre with top players. No other market can afford to be the Yankees. So you do your best to build a strong farm system and to manage money wisely in the free-agent market.

It’s then up to the manager to get players to perform at their best – Atlanta’s Bobby Cox does this better than anyone – and to excel at managing the game.

Some of Melvin’s game decisions have drawn criticism, from the way he uses the bullpen to how he’s used Tony Clark and Chris Snyder in the lineup, but nothing world-stopping. The things that matter most – communicating with players, connecting with the general manager, helping young players develop – have been his strengths.

Melvin’s honesty has earned him big points in the clubhouse. In Chicago, White Sox players yell, “beep, beep, beep” to Guillen when they see him in a car because he frequently throws them under a bus when talking to the media. But they say it playfully because the honesty he displays outside of the clubhouse is an extension of the honesty he displays inside.

Melvin doesn’t throw his players under a bus, but he is upfront about where they stand.

In our little desert cocoon of a world, we forget how much Melvin is respected in the game. In November of 2003, the Boston Red Sox requested to interview Melvin for their managerial opening but were turned down by Seattle general manager Bill Bavasi. The team went with its second choice, Terry Francona.

When word got out in Seattle in 2004 that Melvin was close to being fired, Mariners players – from Brett Bret Boone to Ichiro Suzuki – rallied to his defense, knowing full well that a poorly conceived team of mediocre free agents and past-their-prime veterans were to blame.

Melvin is not without flaws. He needs to prove more adept at lifting a team out of a slump. But everything else suggests that if management puts him in a position to succeed, he will.

Marion

By doing nothing, they did everything.

By trading away their two picks during the NBA draft, they gained a lot.

If Wednesday’s draft evoked little more than a shrug, Suns fans, consider this a good thing. The Suns acknowledged their window of opportunity for an NBA championship is small and they affirmed that every move they make this offseason will be predicated on how it can help them win a title in 2006-2007.

And know this: For all the grief owner Robert Sarver has taken for being a businessman first, the decisions made were not driven by money.

Those inside the war room Wednesday said Sarver was willing to spend cash if it would help the team’s quest for a championship, but ultimately, the players the team thought could help it next season weren’t within reach.

“We have a mission as an organization and that’s what we’re dedicated to doing,” said David Griffin, the Suns’ vice president of basketball operations.

“We just didn’t believe that any of the players that were available when we picked would be part of achieving that goal.”

The Suns are now dealing with one of those be-careful-what-you-wish-for scenarios. The core of last season’s team should return intact and will have the benefit of a healthy Amaré Stoudemire. Expectations will be high.

Are the Suns ready?

As much as management is happy the key pieces can remain in place, there remains an undercurrent of concern about next season’s meshing of egos, about having enough points and contentment to go around among three player who will make approximately a combined $37 million next season, or nearly 60 percent of next year’s team salary.

Can Shawn Marion handle the growing stature of Stoudemire? Can Steve Nash continue to keep everyone happy, a skill at which he has proven to be quite adept?

Marion is the key to all this. He will be the one affected most. If he ever feels the least bit slighted, here’s a thought: He should look at next season’s salary and see 16.4 million reasons to feel respected.

That’s 3.2 million more reasons than Stoudemire and 5.1 million more than Nash.

By making the moves they did Wednesday, the Suns have approximately $9 million to work with that they didn’t have at the beginning of the day. That will help in their cause to bring back Tim Thomas.

I hope they do. No one on the team gave the Suns a lift off the bench like Thomas did. If he returns, he can finally quiet the critics who questioned his work ethic and commitment.

Even after his postseason success, the skeptics are waiting for him to fall. What a victory it would be for him – and the Suns – if he thrived again next season.

The many season-ticket holders who attended Wednesday’s draft party at US Airways Center didn’t seem discouraged by the lack of draft action. Maybe it’s because midway through the event, the team paraded out Stoudemire, and suddenly everyone remembered what to look forward to next season.

“We want to go to battle with these guys from last year’s team and we are getting back one of the top players in the league,” coach Mike D’Antoni said.

“We think we are real close to playing for an NBA championship with the team we have.”

The Suns worked hard to trade up Wednesday but no one would bite. Some in the organization can’t help but feel that no one in the league wants to help the Suns get better.

They could have worse problems.

Mike D' Antoni, Suns head coach