The Associated Press

The Associated Press

U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona and two House colleagues introduced legislation on Wednesday to keep federal lawmakers from receiving campaign contributions from beneficiaries of their earmarks – the budget notes members of Congress often use to send millions each year for special projects back home.

The bill – co-sponsored by fellow Democrats Paul Hodes of New Hampshire and Thomas Perriello of Virginia – would bar contributions to earmark sponsors from entities including corporate executives, political action committees and lobbyists during the two years before the lawmaker was up for re-election.

“I think it is wrong for lawmakers to ask for earmarks then accept campaign contributions,” Hodes said in a teleconference with reporters on Wednesday. “It raises the appearance of a conflict of interest.”

Hodes said he already refuses campaign contributions from companies, their executives and family members of executives for which he has requested earmarks.

Giffords said the bill would impose tough, new ethical requirements on members of Congress.

“We must sever the connection between policy decisions and political influence,” she said.

Giffords’ Web site shows that she requested about $29.7 million in southern Arizona earmarks in fiscal year 2009.

Hodes said his office has an established process for handling the hundreds of funding requests he receives, and he has been disclosing details of his funding requests on his Web site even before the House began requiring members to do so.

He said he is not opposed to earmarks, just the process that raises questions of conflict.

“I think that if done with appropriate accountability and transparency, without the appearance of conflict of interest in an open, fair process, there is a place for this kind of funding in our system,” Hodes said.

Hodes also has supported a call in Congress to investigate links between campaign contributions and earmarks. So far, it hasn’t happened, he said.

At Common Cause in Washington, Vice President of Legislative Affairs Sarah Dufendach said proposals such as Hodes’ are tough, because “the very people who are going to have to make a 180-degree change in how they do things are the ones who are having to vote on it.”

She said the advocacy group applauds anyone trying to clean up “this big mess,” but called earmarks a small piece of the campaign finance problem.

Common Cause would rather have public campaign financing to remove the potential of influence peddling, and Dufendach believes Hodes’ bill might help with that debate.

“The more uncomfortable it makes members of Congress to take that kind of money, the more they get uncomfortable with this system, the more likely they are to go to a public financing system, which is where we think they should go,” she said.

Citizen Staff Writer Garry Duffy contributed to this article.

Giffords wants to sever links between earmarks, campaign contributions

The Associated Press

The Associated Press

PHOENIX – More than three months after he was laid off in a round of massive staff cuts, former East Valley Tribune reporter Paul Giblin learned Monday that he had helped his old newspaper snag a Pulitzer Prize.

Giblin, a graduate of the University of Arizona, and Tribune reporter Ryan Gabrielson, who attended UA but didn’t graduate, earned the award in the local reporting category for their coverage of the Maricopa County sheriff’s immigration enforcement operations.

While he is relishing the honor, Giblin admitted he wondered what it would have been like to find out he won from within the Tribune’s Mesa newsroom.

“It is kind of sad,” he said. “I wish I was still at the Tribune. I’d have a party with them right now.”

Giblin visited the Tribune later Monday to celebrate with Gabrielson.

He said he holds all his former co-workers in high regard.

“The people down there at the Trib are great people. It wasn’t quite as painful for them as it was for me when I got laid off,” Giblin said. “But I know it was painful for them. I don’t harbor any ill feelings.”

Giblin learned the news while covering a U.S. Senate committee hearing in Phoenix on border violence. After his cell phone rang several times and he got “the evil eye” from Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, Giblin finally answered a call.

“It completely caught me by surprise. I’ve been in the business for 24 years. Whoever thinks about something like this? Certainly not me,” Giblin said.

In 2007, Giblin and Gabrielson began examining Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s efforts to focus on illegal immigration, its cost to taxpayers and to public safety. With the help of an editor, the two exposed slow response times to emergencies and reduced law enforcement as the sheriff dedicated more of his agency’s resources to seeking out and arresting illegal immigrants.

The Tribune, owned by Freedom Communications Inc., distributes about 100,000 issues in Mesa, Gilbert, Chandler and Queen Creek.

The suburban Phoenix paper, which plans to eliminate its Saturday print edition on May 16, changed to a free four-day-a-week model in January and laid off about 140 workers, including Giblin.

Giblin and three other reporters laid off from the Tribune started The Arizona Guardian, a news Web site that focuses on politics and the Arizona Legislature. “When I left, it didn’t make me feel any worse as a journalist,” Giblin said. “I was laid off in really good company. I still think I’m capable of doing good journalism.”

The Associated Press

The Associated Press

PHOENIX – Five simple words concerning college tuition in the Arizona Constitution are sparking confusion, angry debate and talk of lawsuits.

The words – that university instruction should be “as nearly free as possible” – have become a rallying cry for students protesting steep tuition hikes at the state universities.

The Arizona Board of Regents is weighing new tuition charges that it acknowledges would stir up new accusations that it is violating the constitution. The regents want to impose surcharges on top of tuition hikes approved for this fall.

Regents President Fred Boice said he expects the board will be challenged in court over tuition hikes because filing a lawsuit isn’t costly.

Boice said the regents are being forced to act because of an unprecedented $190 million cut in state funding to the state’s three universities.

At first, “as nearly free as possible” suggests the cost of education should be a state responsibility with students paying some of the costs. But the words “as possible” muddy the waters.

Students often interpret the phrase to mean tuition bills should be as low as possible or the state Legislature should pick up more of the tab so tuition bills stay low. The “as nearly free as possible” provision was added to the constitution nearly a century ago. In 1935, the Arizona Supreme Court ruled that a state university could impose charges as long as they weren’t “excessive or other than reasonable.”

Arizona’s universities had low tuition and modest increases that kept them at or near the bottom for years.

Then in 2003, the regents raised tuition by 39 percent in one year, or $1,000 a year, while setting aside more than 14 percent of tuition revenue for financial aid, up from 8 percent.

Four students filed a lawsuit against the board and the Legislature in 2003, arguing they had violated the constitution. The lawsuit, Kromko vs. Arizona Board of Regents, filed by ex-state legislator John Kromko, reached the Arizona Supreme Court, where a four-judge panel in 2007 said the question was a political one, not a judicial one. Judges declined to address whether the tuition hike violated the state constitution. The ruling gave the regents more leverage in justifying tuition hikes. Since 2004, they have raised in-state tuition by up to 54 percent.

Tuition increases raise constitutional question

The Associated Press

The Associated Press

ORLANDO, Fla. – Former Arizona Wildcat Andre Iguodala waited for the clock to tick down, took a few dribbles to his right and let go a high-arching jumper.

Swish! The Magic were stunned, their fans silenced.

For the Philadelphia 76ers, it was the sweet sound of stealing home-court advantage.

Iguodala made a 22-foot jumper with 2.2 seconds remaining, and the 76ers rallied from an 18-point deficit to beat Orlando 100-98 in Game 1 of their opening-round playoff series Sunday.

He then stood at halfcourt waving his hands as teammates joined him to celebrate.

“We won one more game than people thought we would win,” Iguodala said. “I was pretty amped up.”

Iguodala had 20 points, eight rebounds and eight assists, and Louis Williams scored 18 to help the Sixers beat the Magic for the first time in four tries this season – and when it mattered most.

Hedo Turkoglu’s fadeaway 3-pointer missed at the buzzer, and Magic fans stood in disbelief before filing out quietly.

Iguodala had missed two free throws with about a minute left before more than redeeming himself with the game-winning shot.

“He really made up for it, didn’t he?” 76ers coach Tony DiLeo said, smiling. “He’s like our secret weapon.”

Dwight Howard had a career playoff-high 31 points and 16 rebounds, and rookie Courtney Lee scored 18 for the Magic. It was the biggest lead the Magic blew all season, topping the loss on Oct. 31 to Memphis when they were ahead by 15 points. Game 2 in the best-of-seven series is Wednesday night in Orlando.

“I was very surprised at the effort,” Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said. “I was surprised not only for our lack of intensity defensively, but I was really surprised with our lack of focus.”

The 76ers came into the playoffs losing six of their last seven games but were able to put that skid in the past the same way they did last year, when they won Game 1 at Detroit. The Pistons eventually took the series in six games.

Orlando’s inside-out game seemed as if it would too much for Philadelphia

Lee’s shooting and Howard’s muscle highlighted a 15-3 run in the third quarter that built an 18-point lead. With Howard banging on the inside, the Sixers were forced to throw double-teams at him, allowing the Magic’s perimeter players to break free.

When they did, Howard again took charge.

Rim-rocking dunks, smooth hook shots and even some uncharacteristic crisp free throws by the Magic’s center capped the spurt. The only time Philadelphia actually slowed Howard was when Samuel Dalembert inadvertently scratched both his eyes and was called for a foul. Howard said his eyes were pulsating after the game but shouldn’t be a problem.

“I got backslapped,” Howard said.

Maybe that was all Philadelphia needed.

Howard made the pair of free throws to put Orlando ahead 79-61 and then went to the locker room with a towel to his face. He returned to the game after a few minutes.

The Sixers rolled off eight straight points in the fourth and eventually tied the game at 91 with fewer than four minutes left on a layup by Andre Miller. After Howard’s dunk over Theo Ratliff put the Magic ahead 98-95 with 49.1 seconds remaining, Donyell Marshall answered with a 3-pointer – and 11 points in the four – for Philadelphia and Iguodala did the rest.

MONDAY’S NBA

• Chicago at Boston, 5 p.m., TNT. Bulls lead series 1-0

•Dallas at San Antonio, 7:30 p.m., TNT. Mavericks lead series 1-0

• Sunday’s other games, 4C

The Associated Press
BASEBALL

The Associated Press

ARLINGTON, Texas – Tucson native Ian Kinsler bolted out of the batter’s box as soon as the ball left his bat. He was headed to third base, no matter what.

Texas had a big lead over Baltimore in the sixth, and the Canyon del Oro High grad already had the chance to accomplish the rare feat of a cycle Wednesday with a long flyball into right-center field.

“I wasn’t going to stop at second,” Kinsler said.

He got up and slapped his hands together after sliding head-first into third without a throw for the triple to complete the fourth cycle in team history, and the Rangers went on to a 19-6 win over the Orioles to snap a five-game losing streak.

Texas trailed 2-0 when Kinsler led off in the first. He doubled, then added a solo homer in the third and two singles in an eight-run fourth.

“It’s more special on Jackie Robinson Day,” said Kinsler, a second baseman like Robinson. “He’s a guy that could do everything in the game.”

Red Sox 8, Athletics 2: In Oakland, Calif., Tim Wakefield took a no-hitter into the eighth inning on a day when the Red Sox desperately needed a strong start from their 42-year-old knuckleballer and finished with a four-hitter. Wakefield (1-1) got within five outs of the first no-hitter of his 17-season major league career, nearly becoming the second-oldest pitcher to accomplish the feat after Nolan Ryan.

Mariners 11, Angels 3: In Seattle, Ken Griffey Jr. hit career home run No. 613 and his 400th as a Mariner in his second home game of his return season in Seattle. Ichiro Suzuki had two hits in his season debut after his first career stint on the disabled list, including his first grand slam in six years to tie Isao Harimoto’s Japanese record with hit No. 3,085.

Blue Jays 12, Twins 2: In Minneapolis, Aaron Hill went 4-for-5 with one of Toronto’s four home runs in four innings against Minnesota starter Scott Baker, and the Blue Jays kept up their torrid hitting.

Indians 5, Royals 4: In Kansas City, Mo., Travis Hafner’s second double keyed a three-run seventh inning, and Cleveland picked up its first road win of the year while avoiding a three-game sweep.

Yankees 4, Rays 3: In St. Petersburg, Fla., Andy Pettitte pitched into the eighth inning, Robinson Cano hit a two-run homer and Derek Jeter singled in the go-ahead run in the ninth. New York returned home for Thursday’s debut of the $1.5 billion new Yankee Stadium. N.Y. right-fielder Xavier Nady will be put on the disabled list with a right elbow injury. Nick Swisher will replace Nady in right field.

Tigers 9, White Sox 0: In Detroit, Armando Galarraga threw 6 1/3 scoreless innings and Placido Polanco drove in three runs.

NL: Dodgers down Giants

LOS ANGELES – James Loney drew his second bases-loaded walk with one out in the ninth off Bob Howry (0-1) to give the Dodgers a 5-4 win over San Francisco. Singles by Orlando Hudson and Manny Ramirez gave the Dodgers runners at the corners.

Rockies 5, Cubs 2: In Chicago, Jason Marquis hit a two-run single off Rich Harden to put Colorado ahead against his former team. Marquis (2-0), booed several times, hit a bases-loaded single in the second and allowed one run and five hits in seven innings.

Marlins 10, Braves 4: In Atlanta, Dan Uggla drove in three runs for the second straight game for Florida (7-1), off to its best start since 1997.

Mets 7, Padres 2: In New York, Oliver Perez rebounded from a rough season debut and New York earned its first victory at Citi Field.

Astros 4, Pirates 1: In Pittsburgh, Mike Hampton pitched six shutout innings and Houston snapped a five-game losing streak.

Brewers 9, Reds 3: In Milwaukee, Mike Cameron hit a pair of home runs to spoil the Cincinnati pitching debut of Micah Owings (0-1).

The Associated Press
GOLF

The Associated Press

RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. – Brittany Lincicome never saw a 66 coming in the first round of the Kraft Nabisco Championship.

Likewise, defending champion Lorena Ochoa, an ex-Arizona Wildcat, wasn’t expecting to open with a 73 when she headed out onto the desert course where she was 11 strokes better three years ago.

“It was surreal, really,” Lincicome said after taking the lead in the first LPGA Tour major of the year Thursday with a 6-under 66 at Mission Hills.

Pushed along by playing partner Ji Young Oh in a round she likened to match play, Lincicome hit 16 greens in regulation. Oh hit 14 greens and was tied for second at 67 with Angela Stanford and Brittany Lang.

Lincicome, whose best finish in a major was a tie for second here two years ago, was thinking that something around par would have made for a good day.

“If you would have told me that this morning I would have taken it and ran,” she said about her 66. “Obviously it’s a major, so it’s going to be playing long. The rough is going to be thick. Even par or 1 or 2 under I would have been completely satisfied.”

While Lincicome and Oh fought it out, Ochoa struggled with her driver. The top-ranked Mexican star started on the 10th tee and was 2 under at the turn before carding three bogeys and no birdies on the front nine.

“I got in trouble from the tee,” said Ochoa, who had to save par after pushing her first drive of the morning to the left. “When you’re playing in a major championship, I’m not so good in the morning. I think it was a good way to start a couple under. And then I’m pretty upset that I didn’t take advantage of that.”

Ochoa hit only four fairways.

Three years ago, Ochoa opened with a 62 at Mission Hills to tie an LPGA major championship record.

Ochoa was impressed with the low scores.

“I think it’s really good golf with the pin placement we had today, and I am surprised,” she said. “I think 3, 4 under is good, but I saw the 6s and that’s very impressive.”

Lincicome and Oh started on No. 10. Lincicome birdied Nos. 10, 11, 15 and 18, while Oh birdied 11, 14 and 18. Remarkably, they each went birdie-birdie-bogey-birdie-birdie after making the turn.

“It was like match play, nine holes straight,” Lincicome said. “She would make a 30-footer for birdie and I would top it. I would make one and she would come on top of mine. So it was really just a fun day.

“I was hitting the ball really well, keeping it in play, which has a been a little bit of a struggle lately, and then putting, I was making almost everything I looked at.”

PGA Shell Houston Open

HUMBLE, Texas – The first round of the Shell Houston Open was suspended because of high wind with half the 144-player field on the course.

The round will resume Friday morning.

Lee Westwood shot a 4-under 32 on the front nine to take a two-shot lead before the horns sounded across the course.

PGA Europe

CASCAIS, Portugal – Ross McGowan of England equaled his lowest European Tour score, shooting a 7-under 64 to lead the Estoril Open by two shots over Michael Hoey of Northern Ireland.

Ex-Cat Ochoa opens poorly at championship

The Associated Press

The Associated Press

Border Patrol agents in southern Arizona have made their single-largest arrest of the year.

On Friday, agents patrolling on horseback east of Douglas saw a large number of footprints and began tracking them.

After following the foot signs for several hours, agents arrested a group of 80 from Mexico outside of a ranch about 30 miles east of Douglas.

At least three agents took the group into custody. All were transported by buses to the Border Patrol station in Douglas.

Fingerprint checks showed 21 men had criminal records, including one convicted of vehicular manslaughter in California.

Agents on horseback arrest 80 migrants near Arizona border

The Associated Press

The Associated Press

WASHINGTON – Hundreds of federal agents, along with high-tech surveillance gear and drug-sniffing dogs, are headed to the Southwest to help Mexico fight drug cartels and keep violence from spilling across the U.S.-Mexico border, Obama administration officials said Tuesday.

The border security initiative, which expands on efforts begun during the Bush administration, is aimed at drug traffickers who have wreaked havoc in Mexico in recent years and are blamed for a spate of kidnappings and home invasions in some U.S. cities.

The plan was announced as Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton prepares to travel Wednesday to Mexico for the start of several weeks of high-level meetings between the two countries on the drug violence issue. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and Attorney General Eric Holder are expected to meet with Mexican officials in early April.

The Obama administration’s multi-agency plan includes nearly 500 agents and support personnel. However, officials did not say where the additional agents would come from or how long they would stay at the border.

Napolitano said officials were still considering whether to deploy the National Guard to the Arizona and Texas borders with Mexico, which the governors had requested.

The government will allow federal funds to be used to pay for local law enforcement involved in southwestern border operations, and send more U.S. officials to work inside Mexico. Prosecutors say they will make a greater effort to go after those smuggling guns and drug profits from the U.S. into Mexico.

Among the moves the government is making:

• Sending about 350 additional personnel from the Homeland Security Department for border-related work.

• Adding 16 new Drug Enforcement Administration positions in the southwestern region. DEA has more than 1,000 agents in the region.

• Sending 100 more people from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to the border in the next 45 days.

• Boosting the FBI’s intelligence and analysis work on Mexican cartel crime.

• Increasing the inspection of rail cargo heading from the U.S. into Mexico and putting X-ray units in place to try to detect weapons being smuggled into Mexico.

Arizona’s Republican governor, Jan Brewer, said the additional resources will help, but National Guard troops are needed. The Obama administration should boost funding for local and tribal governments “to respond to the clearly increased threat of violence and kidnappings,” Brewer said.

White House steps up anti-cartel fight on border

Citizen Staff Report
RealFAST SCORES AND MORE

Citizen Staff Report

DULUTH, Ga – Salpointe Catholic High School grad Sybil Dosty led Arizona State with 13 points and nine rebounds to help the No. 6 seed Sun Devils advance to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA women’s basketball tournament with a 63-58 win Monday over No. 3 seed Florida State.

A Dosty layup capped a 21-9 ASU run to give the No. 6 Devils a 52-49 lead late over No. 12 FSU. Danielle Orsillo hit a tiebreaking 3-pointer with 33 seconds left to give ASU the lead (57-54) for good. The Devils will play Sunday in Trenton, N.J., against the winner of Tuesday night’s game between No. 2 seed Texas A&M and No. 10 seed Minnesota.

The Associated Press
GOLF

The Associated Press

HUIXQUILUCAN, Mexico – The extra practice finally paid off for Pat Hurst.

Hurst shot a 4-under 68 Sunday to beat top-ranked and ex-Arizona Wildcat Lorena Ochoa and Yani Tseng by one stroke at the MasterCard Classic.

Hurst sank a long putt on the 18th green at the tough BosqueReal Country Club to finish at 10-under 206. Top-ranked Ochoa (69) had three bogeys and six birdies, and Tseng (70) had three bogeys and five birdies.

She credited her win to the extra work.

“I’ve been working really hard on my putting, and it really paid off,” she said.

Hurst won $195,000 for her first victory since the Safeway Classic in 2006.

“The 17th and 18th coming in was very exciting,” she said. “I just tried not to get ahead of myself out there, and we made it happen.”

Tseng had led until the last hole.

“I just feel really sad,” she said, wiping away tears. “I just don’t know what to say.”

Ochoa also was disappointed, saying she had a “complicated day” and that her frustration at not being able to beat the course got the best of her.

The steep course outside Mexico City has always been tough for Ochoa. She has yet to win the Mastercard Classic in five attempts. Last year, she opened with a 4-over 76 – her worst score in nearly a year – and ended up tying for eighth.

But Ochoa’s fans were convinced this year would be different. They packed the sun-drenched hillsides to watch the Mexican play. And as she walked onto the 18th green, chants of “Mexico!” and “Lorena!” filled the scrubby valleys.

Some of Ochoa’s most enthusiastic fans are preteen, ponytailed Mexican girls who follow her career as if she were a pop star.

Ochoa still has two other chances for victory on her home turf this year. She will be back in Mexico next month for the Corona Championship in Morelia. The Lorena Ochoa Invitational is in November in Guadalajara, Ochoa’s hometown.

PGA Transitions

PALM HARBOR, Fla. – Retief Goosen took an important step toward rejoining the elite in golf Sunday by closing with a 1-under 70 for a one-shot victory in the Transitions Championship, his first PGA Tour win in nearly four years.

Goosen had a two-shot lead with three holes to play on the demanding Copperhead Course at Innisbrook, when just like everyone else, he struggled to hang on.

The two-time U.S. Open champion barely made it.

PGA Europe

PORTO SANTO, Madeira Islands – Argentina’s Estanislao Goya won his first European tour title Sunday, holding off Scotland’s Callum Macaulay by a stroke to win the Madeira Islands Open.

Hurst tops Ex-Wildcat Ochoa at MasterCard Classic

The Associated Press
GOLF

The Associated Press

HUIXQUILUCAN, Mexico – Ex-Arizona Wildcat Lorena Ochoa normally comes home to Mexico in March and faces a course that befuddles her: the scrubby, rugged BosqueReal carved into the mountains outside of Mexico City.

The LPGA’s No. 1 player got the best of her nemesis Friday, shooting a 7-under-par 65 to tie the course record and take a two-shot lead in the MasterCard Classic, the first of three tournaments in Mexico this year.

Ochoa has often struggled on the hilly course, and has yet to win this tournament in four attempts. Last year, she opened with a 4-over 76 – her worst score in nearly a year – and ended up tying for eighth.

But this weekend could be different. Ochoa had five birdies and got an eagle on the 541-yard ninth hole, with a green surrounded by water.

“I saw it like in slow motion,” she said of the eagle. “I was thrilled because it was on the ninth, in front of so many people cheering. The adrenaline started pumping.”

Still, she said BosqueReal wasn’t easy.

“I got a lot of bad lies here,” she said. “Also some mud on my ball. But I managed to make birdies anyway.”

Ochoa held a two-stroke lead over Na Yeon Choi.

Brittany Lang, Yani Tseng and Pat Hurst shot 68s and were tied for third.

The tournament’s defending champion, Sweden’s Louise Friberg, had one of the day’s worst scores with a 9-over 81.

This tournament is Ochoa’s third of the season. She won the Honda LPGA Thailand for her 25th tour title, then tied for sixth in Singapore.

Ochoa will be back in Mexico for two other tournaments this year. The Corona Championship is next month in Morelia and the Lorena Ochoa Invitational is in November in Guadalajara, Ochoa’s hometown.

The Mexican champion and national hero normally draws large crowds at home, especially young girls who dream of following in her footsteps.

But Friday’s play on a warm, windy day didn’t draw as many fans as past years.

Ochoa said she didn’t mind.

“To all those who came here, I am very grateful,” she said. “That is why I love to play in Mexico, in front of my people.”

PGA Tour

PALM HARBOR, Fla. – Nick Watney, coming off a wrenching one-shot loss to Phil Mickelson at Doral, kept right on rolling Friday with a 4-under 67 at the Transitions Championship to share the 36-hole lead with Steve Stricker.

Ex-Wildcat Ochoa has happy homecoming in Mexico

The Associated Press

The Associated Press

MIAMI – On the day Jim Boylen became Utah’s basketball coach, four words made Utes guard Lawrence Borha an immediate believer.

It was March 2007, at the news conference to announce Boylen’s hiring, a few days after Utah finished its worst season in a quarter-century. Someone asked about bringing in his own players, and Boylen was lightning-quick with his reply.

“Those are my players,” Boylen said, nodding at the Utes who were in the room.

With that, Borha was sold.

“I never forgot,” Borha said.

Flash forward two years and Boylen and the Utes are champions of the Mountain West Conference and in the NCAA Tournament, a turnaround that few outside of Salt Lake City probably envisioned happening so soon.

“He did his work, believed in us, thought we could win,” Borha said. “That’s when I knew we were going to be a good team.”

The quest to be a great team starts Friday in Miami, where fifth-seeded Utah (24-9) plays 12th-seeded Arizona (19-13) in a Midwest regional matchup. The Utes haven’t won a tournament game since 2005, and there’s no shortage of bracket-experts saying it’s a game where the higher seed is ripe for an upset.

Boylen doesn’t mind.

“I hope they keep pouring it on,” Boylen said. “We’ve been facing that all year. People look at our schedule and said, ‘Holy smokes, you’re nuts.’ But we won 24 games with our schedule. Our RPI was around the top 10 all year. So my kids have been through it all now. They’re battle-hardened. They’re sick of being picked on, sick of being belittled.”

Boylen was a star at Maine in the mid-1980s, finishing second to Reggie Lewis for the North Atlantic Conference’s player of the year award in 1987. From there, he was a graduate assistant for Jud Heathcote at Michigan State, sharing a cramped apartment with two other young coaches named Tom Izzo and Tom Crean, now with Michigan State and Indiana, respectively.

He worked his way from the Houston Rockets’ video room to their assistant-coaching staff under Rudy Tomjanovich, being part of two NBA championships there. Eventually he returned to Michigan State to be on Izzo’s staff, and finally – after years of waiting and missing out for jobs, most notably at Texas A&M and with the Orlando Magic – Utah picked him to be a head coach.

“When Coach came along, he introduced a new system,” said Luke Nevill, Utah’s 7-foot-2 center from Australia. “And last year, you know, it was difficult to get used to it. But we took last year as rebuilding, growing. We had a great summer together.”

Boylen brought the Utes to Miami on Tuesday night – making them the first of the eight teams picked to play here on Friday to arrive. They had a good practice Wednesday morning, then changed into warm-weather attire and hit the tourist-friendly Coconut Grove section of town for a leisurely lunch. A happy team, Boylen hopes, is a relaxed team.

“Only three of the guys on my team, plus me have been there before,” Boylen said. “So I wanted to get rid of that ooh-aah feeling.”

When the Utes – who started their year with a loss to Division II Southwest Baptist – beat San Diego State 52-50 for the Mountain West Tournament title, Boylen began to cry.

“To see them grow, to see them have success – we were picked fourth by some people and fifth by other people in our conference,” he said. “But we just kept believing.”

Utah coach has team Boylen over with confidence

The Associated Press
NBA

The Associated Press

LOS ANGELES – The Philadelphia 76ers lost six games this season on game-winning shots in the final 5 seconds, including buzzer beaters by Tony Parker, Dirk Nowitzki and Devin Harris.

So how nice it was to celebrate a last-second winner.

Ex-Arizona Wildcat Andre Iguodala beat the final buzzer with a 3-pointer to finish with 25 points, and the 76ers overcame a 14-point fourth-quarter deficit to stun the Los Angeles Lakers 94-93 on Tuesday night for their fourth straight victory.

Fifteen of Philadelphia’s 34 wins have been decided by six points or fewer.

“We cleared it out for Andre and gave him the option,” interim coach Tony DiLeo said. “He could have drove to the basket, he could pitch for a 3, but he said coming out: ‘I’m going to win the game.’ So he knew what he was going to do, and he did it.

“This was a great win for us. I can’t think of a better one. It shows the resiliency of the team.”

The Sixers were trailing 78-67 when DiLeo put in little-used forward Donyell Marshall for the first time, hoping he could provide the same spark he did in Sunday’s 85-77 win over Miami, when Marshall scored 10 fourth-quarter points – his first since Feb. 17.

The 14-year veteran made a 3-pointer 19 seconds later, igniting a 20-2 blitz that turned Philadelphia’s 12-point deficit into an 86-80 lead with 5:24 to play. Marshall capped the rally with another 3-pointer, then hit his third 3 of the game to put the Sixers back in front 91-89 with 2:22 left.

“You never know when your name is going to be called,” Marshall said. “I work out all the time with the strength and conditioning coach. Even though I haven’t been playing much, I still get some side stuff in.”

Pau Gasol hit two free throws for the Lakers with 1:39 to go, and Kobe Bryant – who scored 11 points during a foul-plagued 33 minutes – hit a 23-footer over Iguodala for a 93-91 lead after missing his previous five shots.

Following a timeout, Andre Miller inbounded to Iguodala, who was covered loosely by Trevor Ariza before connecting from the top of the key.

“Hats off to him. He’s an extremely talented player, and I think the world of him,” Bryant said. “We spent a great deal of time talking in the summer, and I was happy with the way he played. He had a good look at it and he knocked it down. In hindsight, we should have taken the foul.”

Cavaliers 97, Magic 93: At Cleveland, LeBron James drained a long 3-pointer with 47.4 seconds left and added two free throws with 8.7 seconds to go as the Cavaliers improved to 30-1 at home.

Hawks 119, Kings 97: At Atlanta, Al Horford had 23 points and 12 rebounds, and Josh Smith finished with 21 points and 10 rebounds in the Hawks’ sixth straight victory.

Mavericks 103, Pistons 101: At Dallas, Dirk Nowitzki and the Mavericks finally took advantage of an injury-depleted foe, leading the Pistons from start to finish. The Mavs won their eighth straight at home.

Jazz 103, Wizards 88: At Salt Lake City, Deron Williams scored eight of his 12 points in the third quarter and Carlos Boozer finished with 13 points and 15 rebounds as the Jazz ended a three-game losing streak.

Spurs 93, Timberwolves 86: At San Antonio, Tony Parker scored 24 points to once again carry San Antonio against Minnesota, and the Spurs survived without Tim Duncan.

Bulls 127, Celtics 121: At Chicago, John Salmons tied a career-high with 38 points, and the Bulls rallied for another surprising victory despite 37 points from Paul Pierce.

Warriors 127, Clippers 120: At Oakland, Calif., Monta Ellis matched his season high with 29 points, while Corey Maggette had 21 in Golden State’s win.

Ex-Cat Iguodala’s buzzer-beater lifts 76ers over Lakers

The Associated Press

The Associated Press

PHOENIX – The state Transportation Board on Friday approved using federal stimulus funding for dozens of highway projects across Arizona, including eight southern Arizona projects.

The state will get $350 million in stimulus money for highway work, and the Transportation Board allocated roughly $130 million of that for Maricopa County, $46 million for Pima County and $175 million for the other 13 counties.

A total of 41 projects statewide were authorized. Those include five in Maricopa County, eight in Pima County and 28 elsewhere.

Pima County work includes widening of state Route 86 near Brawley Wash, freeway signs on Interstate 10 from Valencia Road to Interstate 19 and a new interchange on I-10 at Marsh Station Road.

Other Pima projects include pavement preservation, shoulder widening and bridge deck repairs on Route 86, pavement preservation on I-10 from Rita to Houghton roads and sign replacement on I-19 from Nogales to Milepost 63 near Green Valley.

Tucson Citizen reporter B. Poole contributed to this article.

Stimulus funds for 8 road projects in S. Ariz. approved

The Associated Press
ARIZONA WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

The Associated Press

LOS ANGELES – Jayne Appel was double-teamed, so Stanford went deep.

That meant the end of the season for the University of Arizona women’s basketball team.

Nnemkadi Ogwumike had 15 points, Lindy La Rocque added a career-high 12 and No. 2 Stanford took advantage of some solid long-range shooting to cruise past Arizona 77-46 in a quarterfinal game of the Pac-10 Tournament on Friday.

Appel, Stanford’s leading scorer with 15.4 points, was limited to four points on 2-of-7 shooting. With their post player receiving pressure, the Cardinal were able to hit open 3-pointers to beat Arizona for the third time this season. Stanford made 10 treys.

“We came in expecting that they would double,” Appel said. “We were looking to pass out right away. That was part of our game plan, to be prepared for that double team.”

La Rocque sure was. The freshman, who matched a career high with four 3-pointers for the Cardinal (27-4), had nine points in the first half during a decisive 18-3 run that put Stanford ahead for good.

Stanford, the top seed in the tourney, will face UCLA in a semifinal Saturday.

Baskets were tough to come by for the Wildcats (12-19), who couldn’t overcome a 21-point halftime deficit. Stanford led by as many as 33 in the second when Ogwumike hit a layup with 2:23 left.

Courtney Clements had 14 points to lead Arizona, which was eliminated from the conference tournament before a semifinal for the fourth consecutive year.

“Whenever a team shoots that well, it’s hard,” Clements said. “We’ve been in games like this before where people have done stuff like that to us, but we’ve come back. I think, really, we beat ourselves.”