Fans climb the goal posts after Arizona's home over ASU in 2004, Mike Stoops' first season. Tucson Citizen photo.

There were some good times.

Beating ranked teams. Storming the field. Climbing goal posts.

Arizona football coach Mike Stoops posted 41 victories, which wasn’t enough for him to keep his job through his eighth season, but fans will always some special moments.

Here is one opinion of the five best victories of the Stoops era (with regret, I left off the 2006 win over No. 8 Cal, because I thought some of the others on the list were more significant).

Let’s take them in chronological order:

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Rob Gronkowski running after the catch was one of the best parts of the Mike Stoops era. Tucson Citizen photo

Mike Stoops was the football coach of the Arizona Wildcats for 7 1/2 seasons, during which time he brought in some of the program’s all-time brightest stars.

Cornerback Antoine Cason won the 2007 Jim Thorpe Award as the nation’s top defensive back and was a late first-round pick in 2008.

Wide receiver Mike Thomas is the Pac-12 career leader in receptions.

Tight end Rob Gronkowski was a beast — albeit, all too briefly at Arizona — before quickly becoming a star with the New England Patriots.

Senior quarterback Nick Foles is on pace to rewrite several school season and career passing records in the next six week.

There definitely were some high notes, but in putting together an All-Stoops team, a couple of issues emerge — the dearth of standouts on the offensive line and a lack of explosive playmakers at linebacker.

Here is a look at the best who played for Stoops — the All-Stoops team:

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Rob Gronkowski celebrates his 10th touchdown of his rookie season, which came against Miami on Jan. 2. Photo by Stew Milne-US PRESSWIRE

Updates with the Vikings waiving OL Conan Amituanai, and the Lions waiving RB Mike Bell and S Michael Johnson on Monday. The Bengals, according to a report, reached an injury settlement with DT Lolomana Mikele before releasing him.

As of Monday night there were 19 former Arizona Wildcats football players on NFL rosters; teams have to cut to 80 by Tuesday and then to 53 by Sept. 3.

Several ex-Cats won’t survive those cuts but could end up on practice squads or hook on with other teams.

Since camps began, seven former Arizona players have been waived — rookie free agent OL Conan Amituanai (Minnesota), rookie free agent receiver Travis Cobb (Chicago), rookie free agent DT Lolomana Mikaele (Cincinnati), running back Chris Henry (Seattle), running back Mike Bell (Lions), defensive back Michael Johnson (Lions) and veteran tight end Brandon Manumaleuna, who failed his physical in Chicago.

Here is a breakdown of who is still standing, for now:

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Former Arizona linebacker Spencer Larsen is now a full-time fullback for the Denver Broncos/Photo by Ron Chenoy-US PRESSWIRE

NFL teams have been holding minicamps and other offseason training activities, so let’s take a look at where former Arizona Wildcats stand as everyone gears up for the start of training camp in late July:

Mike Bell, RB, Philadelphia
Earned a Super Ring with New Orleans last season — leading the Saints in carries during the regular season (172 for 654 yards) — before signing a one-year free-agent deal with the Eagles worth $1.7 million. He is expected to back up second-year pro LeSean McCoy and be a more powerful change of pace.

Lance Briggs, LB, Chicago
The five-time Pro Bowl pick will be going for his seventh consecutive 100-tackle season as he welcomes back Brian Urlacher to the Bears’ linebacker corps this season. He’s a popular teammate and popular in the Windy City … hey, how else do you get chosen to be a judge at Chicago’s version of Playboy’s 50th Anniversary Party.

Eben Britton, OT, Jacksonville
A 2009 second-round pick, Britton started 15 games at right tackle last season and looks to be a fixture on the Jags’ offensive line, along with fellow second-year pro Eugene Monroe at left tackle.

Copeland Bryan, DE, Detroit
He was signed by the Lions last year after being cut from Buffalo at the end of training camp. He played in five games for Detroit, starting one, making five tackles, including one sack.

Antoine Cason, CB, San Diego
The Chargers traded Antonio Cromartie, so they expect Cason, who has been a nickel back, to take over as a starting cornerback. Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune blogged recently that Cason “is having an excellent offseason. He is always on the ball, is blanketing receivers, knows what he’s doing. Of course, he hasn’t been going against Vincent Jackson or Malcom Floyd (until recently) or even Legedu Naanee.” For sure, check out this great story from Acee in April, talking about how Cason spent several weeks training in Tucson with a UA assistant track coach.

Lionel Dotson, DE, Miami
Was on the Dolphins’ roster all of last season, but was mostly inactive on game days, appearing in two games. The 2008 seventh-round pick again will be fighting for a roster spot in training camp.

Nick Folk, PK, New York Jets
Folk was super in his first two seasons with the Dallas Cowboys, making 46 of 53 field goal attempts and earning Pro Bowl honors as a rookie in 2007. But he had hip surgery after the 2008 season, struggling to regain his form. The Cowboys cut him in December, and then Folk signed with the Jets in February.

Chris Gronkowski, FB, Dallas
He is versatile as a blocker and pass-catcher, willing to do the blue-collar work. Coach Wade Phillips told DallasCowboys.com, “We’ll see when we get the pads on, but he looks good so far.”

Rob Gronkowski, TE, Patriots
The second-round rookie is helping to remake the position in New England, which also drafted Florida’s Aaron Hernandez in the fourth round. While Hernandez is considered more of a pure pass-catcher, Gronkowski has all-around tight end skills and, according to Patriots.com, made the play of the day at a recent full-squad scrimmage on a pass from Tom Brady.

Chris Henry, RB, Houston
He was the 50th overall pick in the 2007, drafted by Tennessee because of his excellent workout at the scouting combine rather than his production on the field. Henry got little use in his first two years, and the Titans released him early last season. He landed with the Houston Texans, but did not have a carry. He’s competing for a roster spot this summer.

Chris Jennings, RB, Cleveland
Jennings has been a nice success story, walking-on to Arizona as a junior college transfer and becoming productive in the running and passing games. Undrafted, he was playing in the Canadian Football League last season when the Browns called, and Jennings was able to stick with the team, rushing 63 times for 220 yards. He’ll be facing a roster crunch at running back in training camp.

Michael Johnson, FS, N.Y. Giants
He won a Super Bowl ring with the Giants in the 2007 season and became a starter in 2008, but neither he nor the team’s secondary was stellar in 2009. Considering the Giants signed ex-Cardinals safety Antrel Rolle to a five-year, $37 million contract, have youngster Kenny Phillips and veteran Deon Grant, and used a third-round pick on LSU safety Chad Jones … Johnson’s days in New York might be numbered.

Spencer Larsen, FB, Denver
The former All-Pac-10 linebacker was a two-way player for his first two seasons in Denver, famously starting at fullback and at linebacker as a rookie. Now, he will be exclusively an offensive player … and you can be sure he’ll do it with a great attitude. “Football is football,” he told reporters earlier this month. “A lot of it is the same techniques. Linebackers have a different personality but to me it is all football. By doing this, I can still be a special teams member and it is something I care about.”

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Sean Miller/Wildcat Sports Report photo

(UA notebook compiled from members of the TucsonCitizen.com Sports Network. Some of these notes first appeared in the weekly “Nothing but the Notes” column on wildaboutazcats.com. Find more notes there in this weekend’s edition.)

So much for the McKale magic.

It’s hard to believe. In less than three Lute Olson-less seasons, Arizona has lost at home to eight of the other nine Pac-10 teams. The only conference team that has failed to win in Tucson since 2008: Washington. Go figure.

Saturday night’s 63-55 loss to Oregon State might have been the most painful, the one that double locks the door against Arizona’s chances of making the NCAA Tournament as an at-large team.

“This crowd and this arena is so spectacular, and they tried to will us to win,” coach Sean Miller said Saturday night. “And we had no answer.” …

Just too young?

According to StatSheet.com, only two other major-conference Division I schools have at least five freshmen and no more than two upperclassmen (juniors and seniors) like Arizona. They are Iowa (which like the Cats has five freshmen, one junior and one senior) and Washington State (which has eight freshmen, no juniors and one senior). The Wildcats depend on their freshmen far more than the Hawkeyes and Cougars — or any other major-college program for that matter. The UA frosh account for 47.4 percent of the team’s scoring (34.2 points per game out of 72.1 overall). Iowa’s percentage is 34.2 (24.3 points per game out of 70.9) while Wazzu’s mark is 33.2 (25 points per game out of 75.2). With such an influx of talent, and a brand new coaching staff, it’s not really a surprise that Arizona is way on the wrong side of the bubble. …

TucsonCitizen.com video:
Miller talks about his five freshman (Feb. 9)

Miller talks about MoMo Jones (Feb. 11)

Wes Bunting at the National Football Post wrote this recently about ex-UA cornerback Devin Ross‘ performance in the week of the East-West Shrine Game practices: “For a guy who showcases as much closing speed as Ross in coverage, you’d think he would be able to make more plays on the football. However, he isn’t a real instinctive corner and consistently gets caught bailing out of his back-pedal and opening his hips too early in his drop. There’s no doubt this guy has the ability to play on the outside at the next level from an athletic standpoint, but as of now he simply gives up too many plays and lacks the instincts to be trusted on an island in the NFL.” … Don’t expect to hear much from former UA defensive coordinator Mark Stoops, who is now the coordinator at Florida State. New head coach Jimbo Fisher has put his assistant coaches off limits to the media, with a one-time exception for the new guys. Too bad. Stoops is a thoughtful interviewee who is pretty honest in his assessments. …

While it’s true that Arizona has offered a scholarship to power forward Jesse Perry of John A. Logan Junior College of Carterville, Ill., the UA coaches are likely keeping an eye on what Manhattan (N.Y.) Rice High School forward Kadeem Jack decides first. Perry will officially visit Arizona after Logan’s season ends next month. Perry, 6-foot-8 and originally from St. Louis, is averaging 15.6 points, 10.5 rebounds and nearly 2 blocked shots per game this season. In a victory over Olney (Ill.) Central College on Thursday, Perry made 17 of 21 free-throw attempts. Arizona stands apart from its competition for Perry: Southern Illinois, Alabama-Birmingham and Iowa State. Rivals.com reports that the UA is the only school that has offered a scholarship. …

Former UA running back Mike Bell, who fashioned a nice comeback season with a team-high 172 carries for 654 yards for the New Orleans Saints, had a regrettable play in the Super Bowl when he slipped on an off-tackle run on third-and-goal from the 1 late in the first half. The biggest television audience in history watched that play. But what you didn’t see was the exchange that took place as Bell returned to the sideline. Saints coach Sean Payton asks Bell, “What kind of shoes you got on?” and Bell shows him the bottom of his left shoe. Payton then yells as Bell walks away, “That (expletive) figures. Put on the cleats!” Yeah, it helps to have the right shoes. You can watch the NFL Films highlights, with wired sound from players and coaches, at NFL.com. Good stuff. …

TucsonCitizen.com blogger Matt Minkus interviewed ex-UA center and current Phoenix Suns player Channing Frye for his podcast at radioexiles.com. Frye recently had his jersey number retired at his high school, Phoenix St. Mary’s, an event that was attended by Olson. Frye, Olson, friends and family members went to dinner afterward. “Coach O is great,” Frye said. “He is probably in better health now than I’ve seen him in a long time. He’s healthy. He’s relaxed. His memory is great. We were just talking about old times and some of his players. We sat there about 2 1/2 hours and just talked and reminisced about the good old days.” …

Jennie Finch

Jennie Finch was selected the 2009 USA Softball Female Athlete of the Year. Finch was the MVP of the Japan Cup, throwing a one-hitter and hitting a two-run double in a 2-0 title game victory over Japan, to (somewhat) avenge a loss to the Japanese team in the 2008 Summer Olympics. Finch also led Team USA to the championship of the Canada Cup, with a two-out walk-off single for a 3-2 win over Canada. In three events — the U.S. also won the World Cup of Softball — Finch was 5-0 with a 0.54 ERA and she hit .447. “I am completely honored all the way around to not only play for our great country but also to be recognized out of a group of extremely talented athletes. I am surrounded by amazing women and feel blessed to be a part of USA Softball,” Finch said in a release. “I feel privileged to still have the opportunity to play the game I love at this stage in my life. Just to wear USA across my chest is a great honor and I am grateful for the opportunities I continue to have.” … UA’s next great pitcher, freshman Kenzie Fowler, struck out 18 batters in a 4-3 win over 15th-ranked Northwestern on Saturday. The school record for strikeouts is 20, set by Alicia Hollowell in a seven-inning perfect game against Indiana in 2004. Yep, she struck out 20 of 21 batters. That will be tough to top.

Random thoughts (and notes) while wondering if Arizona football coach Mike Stoops sent a congratulatory message to Super Bowl-winning coach Sean Payton of the New Orleans Saints. Their connection: They were teammates on the replacement Chicago Bears during the 1987 NFL players’ strike …

Say this, the Arizona basketball team is good at one thing: Giving up career highs.

It started with the season opener, when NAU guard Cameron Jones went for 29 points.

Later in the non-conference season, there was the epic 49 points from BYU’s Jimmer Fredette. And the 34 points allowed to Lipscomb’s superb post player Adnan Hodzic.

More recently, Oregon’s LeKendric Longmire came off the bench to tie his career-best with 18 points. On Jan. 31, Theo Robertson poured in 27 points, his personal best. And, on Feb. 6, Washington State big man DeAngelo Casto had a career-high 19 points to go along with plenty of other mayhem in the paint.

In between those two games, Washington’s Quincy Pondexter lit up the Wildcats for 30 points, one off his career high. In any case, he used that to help grab Pac-10 Player of the Week honors.

Basically, if the other team has an elite scorer, Arizona usually can’t stop him, from Wisconsin’s Trevon Hughes (24 points), to Colorado’s Cory Higgins (28), to UNLV’s Tre’Von Willis (25), to Oklahoma’s Willie Warren (25), to Louisiana Tech’s Kyle Gibson (25) to Stanford’s Landry Fields (31), to all the guys mentioned above. …

Mike Bell

Mike Bell became the ninth former UA player to earn a Super Bowl ring. The New Orleans Saints running back only had two carries against the Colts, slipping on an off-tackle third-and-goal attempt from the 1, but he was a key part in the championship season. Bell actually had the most rushing attempts (172) on the team during the regular season.

As for the other Super Bowl-winning Cats:

*Tedy Bruschi has three rings (Patriots — 2002, 2004, 2005 Super Bowls)
*T Bell has two (Steelers — 1979, 1980)
*The following have one — Ron Gardin (Colts, 1971), Edwin Mulitalo (Ravens, 2001), Chris McAlister (Ravens, 2001), Josh Miller (Patriots, 2005), Michael Johnson (Giants, 2008) and Antonio Pierce (Giants, 2008).

For the complete list of ex-Cats in the Super Bowl, go to our sports network partner WildAboutAZCats.com. …

Scout.com released its initial list of top 150 football recruits for next season. How in the world did CDO running back Ka’Deem Carey not make the list? … Reason No. 5,871 to not get put too much stock into recruiting rankings: There was a lot of buzz when running back Ryan Bass — the 31st-best player in the nation, according to Scout.com — committed to Arizona a couple of years ago, and much angst when he then signed with Arizona State. He spent two unspectacular years with the Sun Devils, was suspended at the end of last season and has now transferred to Idaho. …

Jamelle Horne

UA junior forward Jamelle Horne is nothing if not consistently inconsistent, but how in the world has he scored single-digit points in six of the past seven games? Is he injured in some way that has not become public? He began Pac-10 play by averaging 16 points through four games. In the seven games since then, he is averaging 6.3. Something is not right … Four of the 23 football players in Arizona’s recruiting class have spent time on a Division I roster. They are defensive lineman Willie Mobley (redshirted at Ohio State in 2008), defensive end Mohammad Usman (had 10 tackles in nine game with Houston in 2008), linebacker Paul Vassallo (redshirted at Nevada in 2007) and, of course, Texas transfer receiver Dan Buckner. …

Among the football newcomers, long snapper Chase Gorham from Scottsdale is the one most guaranteed of playing time in 2010. The Wildcats lose two seniors on the long-snapping depth chart, and Gorham is supposed to one of the best around. He is the son of Charlie Gorham, a UA kicker in 1972 and 1973. “I know how much I really, really, really love the Cats,” Charlie said in a video interview with Wildcat Sports Report, part of the TucsonCitizen.com sports network. “The minute he steps foot on the football field at the U of A, I am going to be bawling.” …

The father of Arizona basketball commit Jordin Mayes, a point guard from Los Angeles Westchester High School, offered this honest assessment of his son to WildAboutAZCats.com: “Jordin has to learn more about managing the game and getting better at that,” Darryel Mayes said. “He has the skills to score big points when he needs to. As a point guard, he has to get others involved. But as he matures, he will understand more that he must keep the defense on its heels. Sean (Miller) and his staff can see the ability of Jordin scoring when the opportunity presents itself. When the play calls for a bucket, get that bucket. Don’t pass up that shot. That’s called playing too nice.”…

The Arizona softball team begins its season Friday at the Kajikawa Classic in Tempe. Mike Candrea‘s team has its home opener on Feb. 20 with a doubleheader against Missouri. One of the changes at Hillenbrand Stadium is a padded outfield fence, replacing the wooden face that has been a hazard to outfielder’s faces. “I’m really looking forward it,” said junior centerfielder Lauren Schutzler. “I was joking with my family that Coach put that up because he’s getting sick of me not catching the ball. That wood wall was kind of a big omen out there. Any time you would run into that wall, you would get splinters, you would bang your head. It was horrible.” The padding comes a few years too late for Caitlin Lowe, who became a YouTube sensation when she crashed into the fence during postseason play in 2007. The outfielders will now have a little security when going hard after fly balls. “But it’s going to be another thing that raises expectations,” Schutzler said. “Coach is going to be like, ‘I put that padding out there for you, you better be going into it.’”

The Arizona football decade is a wrap, save for the Holiday Bowl against Nebraska on Dec. 30, but it’s safe to make our picks for the program’s all-decade team.

A tough call came at running back. It would have been easy if junior Nic Grigsby had been healthy all season. As it was, a shoulder injury limited him to 75 carries for 559 yards and five touchdowns, the bulk of which came in the nonconference season.

So it came down to Grigsby’s three-year total of 2,416 rushing yards vs. Clarence Farmer’s 2,530 yards, his 2001 All-Pac-10 season, his attitude problems and his eventual dismissal by interim coach Mike Hankwitz during the 2003 season.

I went with Grigsby.

Also joining the list based on a strong 2009 season is Colin Baxter, who moved to center last season when Blake Kerley was injured and continued to excel this season. I went with Baxter over Keoki Fraser, who was a stalwart on some bad teams from 2001-04, starting 41 games, including his final 34. He was honorable mention all-conference as a senior.

Here is our version of Arizona’s All-Decade team for offense (defense to come later):

Willie Tuitama is congratulated by fans after Arizona's 34-24 victory over second-ranked Oregon in 2007/Tucson Citizen photo

QB — Willie Tuitama (2005-08)
He didn’t turn out to be Arizona’s long-sought NFL talent at the position, but Tuitama played long enough and well enough to rewrite the school record books. His commitment helped spark coach Mike Stoops‘ recruiting, and Tuitama further stoked hopes when he came out of his redshirt halfway through his freshman season. Set back by concussions as a sophomore, Tuitama helped usher in UA’s spread offense in his final two seasons, finishing as the UA career leader in passing yards (9,211), passing touchdowns (67), attempts (1,276) and completions (786).

RB — Mike Bell (2002-05)
Fourth on UA’s career rushing list with 3,163 yards, trailing Art Luppino, Trung Canidate and Ontiwuan Carter (the latter two would be your all-1990s running backs). Bell never had a 1,000-yard season, but he had three 900-yard yards and he kept grinding away through some difficult seasons. He was second-team All-Pac-10 in 2003.

RB — Nic Grigsby (2007-09)
He rushed for 1,196 yards and 13 touchdowns in 2008, helping Arizona breaks his bowl drought. Grigsby was on pace to break the UA career rushing record before suffering a shoulder injury early in the 2009 Pac-10 opener against Oregon State. He played sparingly after that but managed to contribute a 57-yard fourth-quarter touchdown run that is arguably UA’s play of the year.

WR — Mike Thomas (2005-08)
Money Mike finished with 259 receptions — getting his final catch as Arizona was killing the clock against BYU in the Las Vegas Bowl — breaking the Pac-10 career mark of 258 held by Arizona State’s Derek Hagan. Thomas had 3,231 receiving yards and 23 receiving touchdowns in his Arizona career, but more than that, he was an all-purpose threat, earning first-team all-league honors as a receiver and punt returner in 2008. He had two punt returns for touchdowns in 2008.

WR — Bobby Wade (1999-2002)
Wade held the UA career record for receptions with 230 until Mike Thomas broke it late in the 2008 season. Wade still has the school mark for receiving yards (3,351), and his senior season was the receiving benchmark for the decade — 93 catches for 1,389 yards and eight touchdowns.

Rob Gronkowski runs free against Stanford in 2007/Tucson Citizen photo

TE — Rob Gronkowski (2007-2008)
Even with a mere two seasons, he is one of Arizona’s legendary players in the Pac-10 era. With his size, strength, speed and hands, he would have been a strong candidate for All-America honors as a junior in 2009, if a back injury hadn’t wiped out his entire season. He had 75 catches for 1,197 yards and 16 touchdown receptions in two seasons.

C — Colin Baxter (2007-09)
It’s been a good decade at the position for Arizona, which had senior Bruce Wiggins in the middle in 2000. Baxter was honorable mention All-Pac-10 in 2008 and earned second-team honors this season.

OL — Eben Britton (2006-08)
The most accomplished UA lineman of the decade, Britton played right tackle for two seasons before switching to the left side as a junior. He earned first-team all-league honors in 2008 before jumping early to the NFL, where he was a second-round pick of the Jacksonville Jaguars.

OL — Peter Graniello (2004-07)
A four-year starter who anchored the line from the left tackle spot for three seasons, including playing through a shoulder injury in 2006. Was honorable mention All-Pac-10 in 2005 and 2007.

OL — Makoa Freitas (1998-2002)
Freitas started 32 games — most of which came at left tackle — this decade, starting with his redshirt sophomore season. Second-team all-conference as a senior, Freitas was a sixth-round NFL draft pick of the Indianapolis Colts in 2003, appearing in 28 games over the next two seasons.

OL — Kili Lefotu (2002-05)
Started 37 games and was able to play any spot along the line, and it was that versatility that attracted the Washington Redskins, who selected Lefotu in the seventh round of the 2006 draft.

PK — Nick Folk (2003-06)
Folk, by virtue of the good work he has done with the Dallas Cowboys, has the bigger name, but this spot could easily have gone to Jason Bondzio, who hit 83.3 percent of his field goals (35 of 42) in 2007 and 2007 with a long of 49. Folk wasn’t as accurate (30 of 47, 63.8 percent) but had more range, more routinely drilled kickoffs into the end zone and, as an added bonus, was the All-Pac-10 punter in 2006 when he averaged 44.0 yards.