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Citizen Staff Report

The Arizona men’s and women’s cross country teams finished second behind Arizona State at the Dave Murray Invitational at Dell Urich Golf Course on Friday.

ASU’s Brandon Bethke won the men’s 6,000-meter race in 18 minutes, 29.30 seconds, followed by Pima Community College star Craig Curley in 18:50.66.

Sophomore Victor Zazueta finished third in 18 minutes, 55.81 seconds to lead the UA men. UA redshirt freshman Abdi Hassan opened his collegiate career with a sixth-place finish in 19:11.26, followed by sophomore Mohamud Ige (13th, 19:29.78), junior Brian MacArthur (19th, 19:43.77) and sophomore Reed Blochberger (21st, 19:49.16).

ASU’s Ali Kielty won the women’s 4,000-meter race in 13:39.62, followed by teammate Kari Hardt (13:41.78).

Junior Irine Lagat (13:46.42) paced the UA women in third, followed by freshman Maggie Callahan (sixth, 14:06.35), freshman Hannah Moen (eighth, 14:16.65), senior Shelly Splittberger (10th, 14:24.90) and freshman Hanna Henson (11th, 14:25.62).

Both UA teams will be back in action Oct. 3 at the Notre Dame Invitational in Indiana.

UA soccer team wins

Karina Camacho scored in overtime off an assist by Brianna Caceres to give Arizona a 1-0 win over visiting Michigan.

UA goalie Chelsea McIntyre earned the shutout and had to stop just one shot on goal.

The Wildcats (5-2) host Cal State Northridge at 1 p.m. Sunday.

Pima volleyball

Pima dropped to 6-11 with a 3-1 loss to Eastern Arizona on Friday night. The game scores were 25-22, 20-25, 25-14, 25-16.

Kelsee Rupp (Catalina High School) had 10 kills, and Belinda Tellez (Rincon/University) had 39 assists. Pima visits Mesa at 7 p.m. Monday.

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The Arizona soccer team broke open a close game late in beating host Utah 4-0 on Friday night.

The Wildcats led 1-0 before scoring three times in the final 10 minutes. Renae Cuellar, Leila Amini, Karina Camacho and London King scored for Arizona.

“We were struggling in the first (half),” said sophomore midfielder Camacho in a news release. “In the second, we picked up the speed and got more aggressive.” UA will play at BYU at 3 p.m. Monday.

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Citizen Staff Report

Andy Barnes is back at the University of Arizona.

The former Wildcat golfer (1995-99) has been hired as an assistant on the men’s golf team, according to head coach Rick LaRose.

Barnes returns to UA after playing and serving as a caddie on
multiple pro tours. He spent six years on the Canadian Tour, including
fully exempt status in 2001 and 2002; played in multiple PGA Tour
events, including the 1999 U.S. Open and the 2003 Tucson Open; and has
qualified for more than a dozen Nationwide Tour events in his career.

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Defending champion and Tucsonan Phil Zajicek is in 21st place in the
General Category in the annual Cascade Classic bicycling stage race in
Bend, Ore.

Zajicek is five minutes behind GC leader Levi Leipheimer after the
third-stage time trial. Leipheimer moved into first place as Zajicek
fell to notches after finishing 35th in the time trial.

Zajicek competes for Healthnet/Maxxis. The event concludes Sunday.

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The brother-sister act of David and Sara Swanson claimed road bicycling victories recently at Phoenix-area sites.

David Swanson won Saturday’s men’s Category 2 South Mountain Time Trial, a 5.5-mile hill climb, in 18 minutes, 51 seconds.

Sara Swanson won the women’s Category 1-2-3 in the Cycle de Mayo Criterium on May 4.

Both are Tucsonans and members of team Summit Velo.

Summit Velo’s Denny Vaughan, a Tucsonan, won the San Tan Crit in Masters Men’s 40-Plus on May 3.

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Florida player shot

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Matt Patchan, one of the University of Florida’s
top recruits, who enrolled in January and participated in spring
drills, was shot in the back late Friday in Brandon, Fla.

The injuries were not life threatening and a full recovery is expected.

“Matt Patchan was a gunshot victim Friday night at a Tampa-area
park,” Florida coach Urban Meyer said in a statement Monday. “He was a
bystander and shot in the left shoulder and is expected to fully
recover in three weeks.”

IU wants its own penalties

INDIANAPOLIS – Indiana University told the NCAA on Monday that
self-imposed penalties should be enough to keep the NCAA from having to
punish the school for improper phone calls made by Kelvin Sampson
before he resigned as basketball coach.

Sampson said he was judged before he had a chance to present his side to the NCAA.

The Hoosiers face a hearing in front of the NCAA infractions
committee. Sampson resigned late last season, and new coach Tom Crean
inherited a one-year extension of recruiting restrictions on phone
calls and the loss of one scholarship for the 2008-09 season.

Gould gets extension

LAKE FOREST, Ill. – The Chicago Bears have signed kicker Robbie Gould to a five-year contract extension through 2013.

Financial terms weren’t immediately available.

Gould has made 84 of 99 field goal attempts and 99 of 100 points-after-touchdown with the Bears.

He hit 31 of 36 field goal attempts last season and made the Pro Bowl after the 2006 season, when he scored 143 points.

Zvonareva wins

ROME – Tenth-seeded Vera Zvonareva extended her impressive streak of
clay-court victories, cruising past Ai Sugiyama 6-3, 6-3 Monday in the
first round of the Italian Open.

Zvonareva won the Prague Open earlier this month after losing to
Serena Williams in the final at Charleston in her previous tournament.
In between, Zvonareva posted a three-set win over Vania King on clay to
clinch victory for Russia in the Fed Cup semifinals against the United
States.

Zvonareva improved to 32-7 overall this year.

Also Monday, 11th-seeded Agnes Szavay routed Yan Zi 6-1, 6-1 to
advance on an overcast day at the Foro Italico. Virginie Razzano easily
defeated Julia Vakulenko 6-1, 6-2, while Virginia Ruano Pascual
eliminated Anastasia Rodionova 6-1, 6-3.

Samantha Stosur marked her return to the WTA Tour with a 6-3, 6-2
victory over 42nd-ranked Michaella Krajicek. Stosur, a former doubles
No. 1, was out for several months due to illness. She next will face
seventh-seeded Venus Williams.

The Associated Press

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The University of Arizona doubles teams found success in the second day of the Pac-10 Championships in Ojai, Calif.

The duo of Claudio Christen and Bruno Alcala topped Washington’s
Derek Drabble and Andy Kuharszky 8-3 and UCLA’s Nick Meister and Harel
Srugo 8-5 to advance to the semifinals. They’ll play ASU’s Matt
Brooklyn and TJ Bellama on Saturday.

Pat Metham and Ravid Hazi made it to the quarterfinals but fell 8-4 to USC’s Kaes Vant Hof and Robert Farah.

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Citizen Staff Report and The Associated Press

Pima Community College split a baseball doubleheader with Arizona Western and remains one game out of the final playoff spot with two left.

Cienega High grad Kody Johnson hit a bases-loaded single in the 12th inning to give the Aztecs a 9-8 win Tuesday in the second game.

Pima lost the first game 6-4.

The Aztecs (35-18, 21-15 league) will end the regular season Saturday with a double-header at Central Arizona College in Coolidge at noon.

Rene Garcia (Sunnyside) pitched the last 3 innings of the second game to get the win.

UMass hires Kellogg

BOSTON – The University of Massachusetts has agreed to hire Memphis assistant and former Minuteman player Derek Kellogg as the new men’s basketball coach.

Kellogg, 34, will take over from Travis Ford, who left to coach at Oklahoma State. In other college basketball news:

• Boston College forward Shamari Spears is transferring to Charlotte after finishing as the Eagles’ third-leading scorer last season.

• Mississippi State point guard Jamont Gordon has declared for the NBA draft, but won’t hire an agent.

• Clemson’s K.C. Rivers decided on Tuesday to return to the Tigers for his senior season.

• Connecticut forward Curtis Kelly is transferring in hopes of earning more playing time at another school.

Olympic marathon trials

BOSTON – Marathon officials in Boston and New York are already eager to bring the 2012 Olympic trials back to their cities, as long as the sport’s governing body helps them recoup the $1 million it cost to piggyback another event on their races.

“There’s no going back at this point,” said Mary Wittenberg, the president of the New York Road Runners, which organizes the New York Marathon. “We’ve taken the trials to a whole new level. I think we’re shortchanging everybody if we don’t find a way to build on it.”

What New York and Boston organizers wanted most is to fold the trials into their regular race, perhaps with an earlier start that would give the Americans the course to themselves. But that raised the question: Would the trials’ profile be elevated by incorporating it into the most prestigious marathons in the world, or would it be overwhelmed by the international field?

“I know there is no desire among our athletes to push the trial races into the ‘big races,’ ” USATF president Bill Roe said. “We also have no desire to deal with the possibility of a non-American crossing the finish line at our trials first.”

Ex-Olympian drugged

SANTA ANA, Calif. – Former Olympic ice dancer Pasha Grishuk was drugged with the so-called date-rape drug GHB during a business meeting at a southern California resort hotel but she was able to seek help after spotting a pill in her drink, a sheriff’s spokesman said.

Grishuk, who won two Olympic gold medals for Russia in the 1990s, was at the St. Regis Monarch Beach on April 12 when she began to feel ill and numb. She was taken to a hospital by ambulance and later released.

Also Tuesday

SWIMMING: World-record holder Laure Manaudou won’t compete in the 200-meter freestyle at the Beijing Olympics after pulling out of the event at the French national trials. Manaudou was fourth in the heats to qualify for the semifinals but decided not to swim, forfeiting a chance to compete in the race at the Aug. 8-24 games.

SOCCER: Liverpool’s John Arne Riise accidentally headed the ball into his own net in the fifth minute of injury time, giving Chelsea a 1-1 tie in the first leg of the Champions League semifinals.

TENNIS: Novak Djokovic advanced to the third round of the Monte Carlo Masters by defeating Ivan Ljubicic 6-3, 6-3.

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The Associated Press

DORAL, Fla. – The outcome has never been more inevitable. Tiger Woods has never looked so invincible.

The world’s No. 1 golfer faced a 25-foot birdie putt on the final hole at Bay Hill, and the moment he settled over the ball and the crowd grew quiet, it no longer mattered that Woods had not made a putt this long all week.

This one was for the win.

For most players, making such a clutch putt would be a career highlight. For Woods, it’s more like a summer rerun.

“You know what he’s going to do, right?” Arnold Palmer whispered to those around him right before Woods rapped his putt down the slope and watched it turn sharply to the right and tumble into the cup for a one-shot victory.

For Woods, it is the ultimate thrill.

“It’s knowing that you have an opportunity to end the tournament, and it’s in your hands,” he said. “Whether you do it or not remains to be seen. It’s like having the ball with a few seconds to go. Do you want it or not want it? I would much rather have it in my hands.”

Lately, it has been nothing but net.

The Florida swing of the PGA Tour long has been known as the road to the Masters, which is three weeks away. Woods already has his game at warp speed, and he’s lapping the field. His victory Sunday in the Arnold Palmer Invitational was his fifth in a row on the PGA Tour and his sixth straight worldwide, a streak that spans six months and is the longest overall of his incomparable career. When he won seven straight tour events in 2006-2007, second only to Byron Nelson’s 11 in 1945, Woods lost three times overseas.

Now, even the purists must wonder if Woods can go an entire season without losing.

“It’s unbelievable, isn’t it?” Steve Stricker asked Monday. “You think that one of these times, he’s not going to get it done. But he continues to do it. And now you expect it. You just learn with him that nothing is unexpected.”

Nadal advances

INDIAN WELLS, Calif. – Defending champion Rafael Nadal defeated Donald Young in their first meeting, and James Blake evened his record against familiar foe Carlos Moya in third-round matches Monday at the Pacific Life Open.

Nadal beat his 18-year-old American opponent 6-1, 6-3. Blake took a methodical 6-3, 6-4 victory over Moya.

Two-time women’s title winner Lindsay Davenport bounced back from a second-set loss to defeat Chan Yung-Jan 6-4, 5-7, 6-2. Ana Ivanovic, ranked No. 2 and the top seed since Justine Henin is skipping the tournament, advanced with a 6-3, 6-0 win over Tathiana Garbin.

The 21-year-old Nadal, second in the rankings to Roger Federer, benefited from Young’s inconsistency.

Although he was able to match Nadal stroke-for-stroke in some rallies and also hit several hard winners that brought roars from the crowd, Young’s inexperience was evident at other times.

After hitting a routine forehand out to end a long rally in the second set, Young slammed his racket to the ground in frustration. Soon after, he banged an overhead volley into the net, shaking his head at missing the easy shot.

Young won just seven of 17 points when he went, and he made 38 unforced errors, 13 more than his Spanish opponent.

Although some three years older than Young, three-time French Open champion Nadal obviously has a huge edge in experience.

“Well, I think he’s young,” Nadal said, describing how the match went. “I think he started very nervous. So I tried to score in the beginning, and he had some mistakes.”

49ers sign WR Johnson

SANTA CLARA, Calif. – The San Francisco 49ers signed receiver Bryant Johnson on Monday, adding another veteran pass-catcher from a division rival to new coordinator Mike Martz’s offense.

Johnson spent his first five NFL seasons with the Arizona Cardinals, catching 210 passes for 2,675 yards and nine touchdowns. He was the club’s third receiver for much of that time behind Pro Bowl selections Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin, but he could be a starter in San Francisco.

“Bryant is a young, talented player,” 49ers general manager Scot McCloughan said. “He brings big-play capabilities to the offense, and we feel he will bring in an added dimension to the talent we already have on board.”

The 49ers have had one of the NFL’s most unproductive groups of receivers since Terrell Owens’ departure four years ago, but McCloughan has taken another shot at filling that void this spring. San Francisco also signed Isaac Bruce, who spent his first 14 NFL seasons in the NFC West with the Rams.

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The Associated Press

HAVANA – Cuba called the desertion of seven soccer players at the Olympic qualifying tournament in the United States “dishonorable” and a “low blow” on Friday.

The seven players left the team in Tampa, Fla., after their opening match, a 1-1 draw with the United States on Tuesday night.

On Thursday night, the team started with 10 players when one was suspended for a red card in the U.S. match, and lost to Honduras 2-0.

“After their brilliant performance against the United States . . . Cuba’s Under-23 team suffered the desertion of seven members under the protection of the Cuban Adjustment Act,” read a short note in the Communist Party daily Granma.

Entitled “Low Blow for Cuban Soccer,” the article noted that Cuba was left significantly weakened against Honduras.

The Communist Youth Union newspaper Juventud Rebelde, the island’s other national daily, qualified the desertions as “dishonorable.”

While Cuba hasn’t officially identified the players, Jose Manuel Miranda, Erlys Garcia Baro, Yenier Bermudez, Yordany Alvarez and Loanni Prieto missed practice Wednesday and were absent against Honduras. Yendry Diaz and Eder Roldan also missed the game, with Diaz telling ESPN that the two players left the team Wednesday.

Under the Cold War-era Cuban Adjustment Act that provides special protection to immigrants from the communist-run island, the United States instituted a “wet foot, dry foot” policy that lets Cubans who reach American soil remain in the country and apply for U.S. residency after one year.

Soccer fields to be same size

ZURICH, Switzerland – FIFA accepted a proposal to standardize the size of international soccer fields at all new stadiums.

The governing body’s executive committee Friday adopted a new rule from the International Football Association Board to fix the field size at 105 yards by 68 yards.

The rule will not apply to existing stadiums, and it will not affect the international eligibility of Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., where the United States is negotiating to play Argentina in a friendly match on June 8.

Before the 1994 World Cup in the United States, FIFA said the Giants Stadium could accommodate a field of 103 yards by 63 yards.

Also Friday, FIFA restated its opposition to Bolivia playing international games 11,800 feet above sea level in its capital of La Paz.

FIFA health regulations insist players and officials must adjust for at least two weeks before playing at altitudes above 9,840 feet.

Raiders sign Joseph

ALAMEDA, Calif. – The Oakland Raiders signed free-agent defensive tackle William Joseph on Friday, adding a former first-round pick whose career has been plagued by injuries.

Joseph missed all of last season for the Super Bowl champion New York Giants with a back injury. He was a late scratch for New York’s season opener and then placed on injury reserve the following week.

Joseph was the 25th overall pick out of Miami in the 2003 draft. He played in 55 games his first four seasons before the back injury, recording seven sacks and 52 solo tackles. He also forced two fumbles and had six passes defensed.

The Raiders were looking for help on the defensive line after allowing a league-worst 4.8 yards per carry and finishing second-to-last by allowing 145.9 yards per game.

Vikings sign Pope

MINNEAPOLIS – Derrick Pope signed a one-year contract Friday with the Vikings, leaving the Miami Dolphins and joining a Minnesota team looking to add depth at linebacker.

Pope is entering his fifth season in the league. He will be the fourth linebacker on the depth chart, behind starters Ben Leber, E.J. Henderson and Chad Greenway.

Pope started a career-high nine games for the Dolphins last season. His role with the Vikings will include plenty of work on special teams.

Pope had 64 tackles and two interceptions for the Dolphins last year. He will help fill the void left by the departure of Dontarrious Thomas, who signed with San Francisco.

Giants keep Ward

Oft-injured Derrick Ward re-signed with the Giants on Friday after a season in which he was part of a group of running backs who did an outstanding job in replacing Tiki Barber and helped New York win the Super Bowl.

Ward rushed for 602 yards and three touchdowns before a broken left leg ended his season in December. He shared the halfback spot with Brandon Jacobs, Ahmad Bradshaw and Reuben Droughns.

An unrestricted free agent, Ward tested the market but decided to stay.

“The Giants gave me my start,” he said. “It feels good to come back to hopefully have a good year this year and be a part of the Super Bowl champion Giants. Hopefully, I’ll be able to finish my career here.”

LSU’s Miles gets raise

NEW ORLEANS – LSU will make Les Miles the highest-paid head football coach in the Southeastern Conference under a renegotiated five-year contract agreement signed Friday.

Miles will earn at least $3.75 million plus $1,000 a year in a deal that nudges him ahead of Alabama coach Nick Saban and makes Miles one of the nation’s top-paid college football coaches.

Miles also is eligible to receive more money each year, depending on the team’s performance on the field and in the classroom.

The contract adjustment was signed Friday by Miles and LSU president John Lombardi. The university system’s board must approve the deal at its April meeting to make it official.

Miles is 34-6 at LSU, with three lopsided bowl victories, since taking over for Saban in 2005.

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The Wildcats won at Arizona State for the first time since 1987, beating the Sun Devils 195.925-195.725 on Friday night.

The No. 20-ranked Wildcats improved to 5-2 with the victory.

“I’m pretty speechless about the whole thing, because it truly was a
historic moment in our program,” said UA coach Bill Ryden. “It has
never happened during my time here, and I didn’t know if it ever would.”

UA’s Karin Wurm took her third straight all-around title, finishing with a season-high 39.450.

UA next hosts UCLA at McKale Center at 7:30 p.m. Friday. Citizen Staff Report

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University of Arizona softball senior catcher Callista Balko and senior pitcher Taryne Mowatt were named Wednesday to the Amatuer Softball Association’s watch list for USA Softball National Player of the Year.

Balko will be a fourth-year starter this season. The Canyon del Oro High School graduate has caught every pitch for the Wildcats for the past two seasons.

“It’s an honor to be recognized as one of the potential impact players in the country,” she said. “But at the same time, I think both Taryne and I realize that the work needs to be done on the field.”

Last year, Balko threw out 31 percent of base stealers and allowed only 37 stolen bases, the second lowest total in the Pac-10. She also hit 10 home runs with 32 RBI.

For Mowatt, this is the second time she’s named to the preseason watch list. Last year, the National Fastpitch Coaches Association second-team All-America selection captured Women’s College World Series Most Outstanding Player honors after setting WCWS records for innings pitched (60), victories (6), complete games (8) and strikeouts (76).

The watch list is comprised of 50 players from 34 schools and 14 conferences.

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The Arizona men’s tennis team is 3-0 after beating Northern Arizona and Scottsdale Community College.

The Wildcats won both matches 7-0 on Saturday. Arizona is next in action at 1 p.m. Friday against San Francisco at the Tucson Racquet Club.

UA swimming

The No. 4 Arizona women lost 160-121 to No. 3 Stanford on Saturday, dropping the Wildcats to 9-1.

The Wildcats aren’t in action again until the Pac-10 Championships on Feb. 27 in Long Beach, Calif.

UA Icecats

The Arizona club hockey team improved to 16-8 with a 6-5 win over ASU on Saturday in Tempe.

The Wildcats beat the Sun Devils 2-0 on Friday.

The two teams meet again at 7 p.m. Thursday and Friday at the Tucson Convention Center.

Pima baseball

The Aztecs improved to 4-0 with a double-header sweep of Glendale on Saturday.

Pima won the first game 6-4, the second 4-3.

Pima basketball

The Aztecs men’s and women’s teams lost to Arizona Western on Saturday. The men fell 101-50; the women lost 68-56.

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NICK PIECORO

The Arizona Republic

PHOENIX – Representatives from more than 20 teams watched former major league reliever Keith Foulke throw off a mound last week in Tempe.

The Diamondbacks were among them, and they seem to have been adequately impressed to pursue the former All-Star closer.

The Diamondbacks have spoken with Foulke’s agent in recent days and appear poised to make an offer to the right-hander – if they haven’t done so already.

Foulke, attempting a return to the majors after not pitching last season, was one of baseball’s best relievers from 1999 to 2004 before injuries sidetracked his career.

Over the past several years, he has had knee, back and elbow problems. He walked away from a $5 million contract with Cleveland in 2007, retiring before reporting to spring training, saying his body wasn’t responding as it had in previous years.

But Foulke, 35, has been on the comeback trail since undergoing surgery to remove bone chips from his elbow in September.

Indians re-sign Betancourt

CLEVELAND – Rafael Betancourt, one of the AL’s top relievers last season, signed a two-year contract Wednesday with the Cleveland Indians, who avoided going to salary arbitration with the right-hander.

The 32-year-old Betancourt went 5-1 with a 1.47 ERA in 68 appearances, mostly in the eighth inning before handing the ball to closer Joe Borowski.

Shields gets raise

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – The Tampa Bay Rays are counting on James Shields to blossom into one of the top pitchers in the American League.

The 26-year-old right-hander, who has less than two full seasons of experience in the majors, agreed Wednesday to a $11.25 million, four-year contract.

Tulowitzki gets new deal

DENVER – Troy Tulowitzki went into spring training last season hoping to secure a spot on the Colorado Rockies’ roster.

That won’t be a concern this season. Tulowitzki and the NL champions finalized a $31 million, six-year contract on Wednesday that includes a club option for the 2014 season.

Pelini to earn $1.1 million

OMAHA, Neb. – New Nebraska football coach Bo Pelini’s contract is for five years and pays a base salary of $1.1 million annually.

Pelini was hired December 2, and worked out general terms of the contract with athletic director Tom Osborne several weeks ago. It wasn’t signed by all parties until this week.

The contract was made public Wednesday.

Osborne said the contract includes built-in incentives for performance.

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The Associated Press

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — Todd Pletcher, a University of Arizona graduate, earned his fourth consecutive Eclipse Award as trainer of the year with 139 votes, easily outdistancing runner-up Steve Asmussen, who trained Curlin and received 65 votes.

Curlin, the Breeders’ Cup Classic winner, swept Horse of the Year and 3-year-old male honors at the 37th annual Eclipse Awards on Monday night.