蜜柚直播

As it became clear the NCAA would shutter its sports competitions 11 months ago, 蜜柚直播 men鈥檚 golf coach听Jim Anderson听hustled to arrange a Senior Day dinner, a bittersweet celebration of what promised to be the UA鈥檚 best season in 15 years.

厂别苍颈辞谤蝉听Brad Reeves,听David Laskin听补苍诲听Briggs Duce听met their coach and teammates at El Corral for a goodbye dinner. All brought their letterman鈥檚 jackets, posed for pictures and listened as Anderson gave an emotional speech.

鈥淚 love you guys,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e might not be together again.鈥�

Now the Wildcats are ranked No. 2 in the latest Golfweek poll and No. 4 in the Golfstat metrics. They won the co-championship of the 24-team Prestige Invitational last week at PGA West near Palm Springs, one of the nation鈥檚 most loaded events, with six teams ranked in the top 15. 蜜柚直播 even beat ASU by six strokes; the Sun Devils are considered a leading national title contender.

Reeves, Laskin and Duce are back 鈥� 鈥渟uper seniors,鈥� as some refer to those whose 2020 eligibility has been restored 鈥� and the Wildcats have won back-to-back tournaments for the first time since 2004.

鈥淏eing ranked No. 2 is something these guys read and hear about,鈥� said Anderson, 鈥渂ut I know one thing: to this group, it means there is still room to climb. We鈥檝e been on the wrong side of the rankings and what鈥檚 more important than being ranked No. 2 is to get everything in place so that May can be a special finish for us.鈥�

Reeves, Laskin, Duce and senior听Trevor Werbylo, a Salpointe Catholic High School grad, have been the core of one of the most challenging and difficult rebuilding jobs in UA sports history. Golf in the Pac-12 is ridiculously good, belonging with swimming, tennis, softball, volleyball, gymnastics and track as probably the nation鈥檚 No. 1 conference for those sports.

Every time you hear ESPN鈥檚听Bill Walton鈥檚 chronic 鈥淐onference of Champions鈥� reference, it is built on golf as much as anything else. Pac-12 teams have won the NCAA men鈥檚/women鈥檚 golf titles 35 times. It is the conference of听Tiger听补苍诲听Phil听(补苍诲听Annika Sorenstam).

From 1987-2005, Hall of Fame coach听Rick LaRose听built 蜜柚直播 men鈥檚 golf into a juggernaut. The Wildcats were either first or second in the Pac-10 nine times, never giving an inch against the ASU, Stanford and UCLA powerhouses.

But when Anderson was hired off the Texas A&M staff in 2012, 蜜柚直播 had stalled. The Wildcats had finished ninth or 10th in the Pac-10 in 2008, 2010 and 2012. There were no more听Jim Furyks,听Rory Sabbatinis,听Ricky Barneses听补苍诲听Robert Gamezes听walking to the first tee.

Anderson鈥檚 Wildcats didn鈥檛 finish in the top seven of the Pac-12 for his first seven years.

But last week at PGA West, Werbylo tied for the championship; darkness prevented a team and individual playoff against North Carolina. Reeves won the title at the 蜜柚直播 Intercollegiate two weeks earlier and was ninth at the Prestige. Sophomore听Chase Sienkiewicz听has emerged as a force, finishing 17th and 21st in the two events.

鈥淥nce we got the green light to play again, the guys were ready,鈥� said Anderson. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 mean to undermine the younger guys on the team, but Reeves, Laskin and Werbylo helped to establish this winning culture. They鈥檙e guys you want in your lineup all the time. I鈥檓 just so glad they got another chance to show what they can do. Pretty cool.鈥�

蜜柚直播鈥檚 remaining schedule is imposing. It plays the Cabo Invitational next month at the TPC San Antonio. It has been invited to be part of an elite field at the Augusta Invitational in early April, and, among others, plays at the stacked ASU Invitational as a lead-up to the Pac-12 championships.

By then, it could be like the 鈥�90s again when ASU and 蜜柚直播 ruled men鈥檚 college golf.

Pima College sports stalled again

The nationally prominent men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 basketball teams from Pima College have yet to open the season. Originally scheduled to start on Jan. 26, both Aztec teams have canceled six games due to COVID-19 protocols. That total will grow to eight this week.

Over that same period, boys and girls high school basketball teams from the 蜜柚直播 metro area have combined to play 152 games. Sahuaro鈥檚 boys team is already 9-2. Flowing Wells鈥� girls team is 7-2.

In canceling this week鈥檚 games, PCC last week announced 鈥渙ut of abundance of caution due to COVID-19 cases in Pima County and 蜜柚直播,鈥� the Aztecs are pushing back the tentative start of the basketball season to March 2.

The Aztecs men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 teams continue to practice and scrimmage, complete with referees. Neither team has been shut down by COVID-19 infections. In the meantime, the four ACCAC teams who chose to go ahead with basketball 鈥� 蜜柚直播 Western, 蜜柚直播 College, Eastern 蜜柚直播 and Central 蜜柚直播 鈥� have combined to play 42 games.

Understandably, this does not go over well with the Aztecs players, many of whom are from out of town, paying rent for their apartment leases and unable to do much more than work out against their teammates and otherwise stay home and study remotely.

Pima College chancellor听Lee Lambert听made the difficult decision to pause his school鈥檚 basketball and volleyball operations.

鈥淥ur decision to delay indoor sports is based on guidelines developed by the 蜜柚直播 Interscholastic Association and the Pima County Health Department and considerations from the CDC,鈥� he said Friday.

鈥淭hese guidelines include meeting benchmarks for community spread of COVID-19, hospitalizations, public health tracking and other factors. While cases in Pima County and 蜜柚直播 are declining rapidly, we have not yet reached 鈥榤oderate community spread,鈥� when we would consider a return to indoor sports.鈥�

Lambert allowed the PCC baseball team to play four games last week; coach听Ken Jacome鈥檚 team has four games scheduled this week. The Aztecs鈥� softball team is set to open March 6.

鈥淭he risk of transmission indoors is nearly 19 times more than outdoors,鈥� said Lambert. 鈥淲e are encouraged that COVID-19-like illnesses are now trending (down).鈥�

The most important thing Lambert said is this: 鈥淭o date, Pima Community College has had no reported on-campus transmission of the virus, thanks to strict adherence to safe practices.鈥�

Given increasing vaccination numbers in Southern 蜜柚直播, it seems possible that as COVID-19 numbers improve,听Brian Peabody鈥檚 men鈥檚 basketball team and听Todd Holthaus鈥�听women鈥檚 basketball team can play about eight games in March and qualify for the NJCAA Division II playoffs in April.

That鈥檚 a long-sought light at the end of the tunnel.

鈥淭hese are difficult decisions to make and we understand that our student-athletes are both frustrated and disappointed,鈥� said Lambert. 鈥淏ut Pima Community College will not waiver from our commitment to the health and safety of everyone on our campuses.鈥�

Frese wins 500th game at Maryland

Brenda Frese, who played basketball at 蜜柚直播 from 1989-92 and began her coaching career at Pima College, won her 500th game as Maryland鈥檚 coach last week. She has 547 career victories, including those pre-Maryland games as head coach at Ball State and Minnesota.

It puts Frese close to No. 1 as the most successful coach who graduated from 蜜柚直播. Here鈥檚 my list:

1.Terry Francona. He has won 1,702 games and two World Series championships as manager of the Cleveland Indians, Boston Red Sox and Philadelphia Phillies.

2.听Frank Sancet.听The former UA baseball player/coach, led the Wildcats to an 831-275 record and put the Wildcats on the national map, leading them to the College World Series nine times from 1954-71, including three berths in the national championship game.

3. Steve Kerr.听Through last week, Kerr had coached the Golden State Warriors to a 353-152 record and three NBA championships.

4. Dave Murray.听蜜柚直播鈥檚 head cross country coach and track coach was eight times the Pac-10 coach of the year, twice finishing No. 2 in the NCAA, coaching a hard-to-believe 163 All-Americans in a coaching career at his alma mater that spanned 1968-2000.

5. Frese.听In her UA playing days, Frese was part of Wildcat teams that went 15-57 in the Pac-10.

6. Laura Ianello.听蜜柚直播鈥檚 golf coach, a part of the school鈥檚 2000 NCAA championship team, has been the Pac-12 coach of the year three times, won the 2018 NCAA title, and eight times in 10 years coached her team to finishes of ninth or better at the NCAA finals.

7. Phil Alberts.听A backup quarterback at 蜜柚直播 in 1965 and 1966, he became a Hall of Fame coach at Towson State University, winning 117 games from 1971-92.

8. Rollin Gridley.听After graduating from the UA, Gridley coached 蜜柚直播 High School to five state football championships 鈥� four in succession, 1942-45 鈥� and also coached the Badgers to the 1935 state basketball championship.

9. Luke Walton.听Head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers and now the Sacramento Kings, Walton is 129-189 as an NBA head coach.

10. Ed Nymeyer.听The UA鈥檚 No. 2 career basketball scorer when he graduated in 1958, Nymeyer went on to coach Flowing Wells High School to two state boys basketball championships and another in girls volleyball, winning more than 300 games in both sports.

Washington joins local legends by breaking NCAA record

Canyon del Oro High School grad听Turner Washington, an ASU sophomore who set the NCAA record in the indoor shot put last weekend in Texas, became the fourth athlete from 蜜柚直播 or the UA to set an NCAA track record.

In 1981, 蜜柚直播 All-American听Meg Ritchie听threw the discus 221 feet, 5 inches. No Wildcat since has come within 23 feet of Ritchie鈥檚 record. In 2012,听Lawi Lalang听won the Millrose Games 5,000 meter run in a still-standing NCAA indoor record of 13:08.28. And in 2013, UA high jumper听Brigetta Barrett听cleared 6-6-1/4, which remains the NCAA鈥檚 outdoor record, although Barrett later cleared 6-8 to win the silver medal at the 2012 London Olympics.听

Steve Kerr honors Lute Olson in speech at awards ceremony

Steve Kerr听was the featured speaker last week at the Game Changer Awards ceremony in San Francisco. As part of the Coaching Corps organization, Kerr was asked to speak about the coach that most influenced his career. He chose to speak about听Lute Olson. Kerr also contributed $5,000 to the Coaching Corps organization before his speech.

鈥淣one of this happens unless Coach Olson had recruited me to 蜜柚直播,鈥� said Kerr. 鈥淗e taught me how to build a team, a program and myself. I鈥檝e got a photo of Lute in my office; if not for him, I wouldn鈥檛 be the coach of the Warriors.鈥�

One thing Kerr stressed was creating a culture of joy and happiness in his organization. 鈥淵ou can win at the highest level and behave like a Little League team going out for ice cream after the game.鈥�

Former UA quarterback continues to find success as videographer and producer

Jason Johnson, 蜜柚直播鈥檚 starting quarterback in the 2001 and 2002 seasons under听John Mackovic, continues his career excellence as a videographer and producer. Johnson was the director of photography and a production editor of last week鈥檚 National Geographic Network special 鈥淭he March on Washington: Keepers of the Dream.鈥� Johnson has collaborated with ESPN for more than a dozen documentaries the last few years. He was an Emmy Award winner for his work in 2018.

My two cents: Expect Phil, Furyk who shine at star-stunned Cologuard Classic

With the addition of听Phil Mickelson听补苍诲听Jim Furyk听into this week鈥檚 PGA Tour Champions Cologuard Classic, the field is probably as good as or superior to any of the Champions Tour 鈥渕ajors.鈥�

Aside from Mickelson and Furyk, the top five names in Champions Tour golf are entered:听Steve Stricker,听Ernie Els,听Fred Couples,听Bernhard Langer听补苍诲听Vijay Singh.

Getting a spot in the field limited to 80 golfers is so difficult it鈥檚 crazy. About 100 golfers played in a pre-qualifier last week at Randolph North; five of them advanced to Monday鈥檚 qualifying round at Oro Valley Country Club. That final qualifying field, of about 75 golfers, includes former 蜜柚直播 Open champions听Frank Lickliter听补苍诲听Jim Carter, as well as three of the biggest names in 蜜柚直播 golf history: Sabino High School grad听Willie Wood听and two members of 蜜柚直播鈥檚 1992 NCAA championship team,听Harry Rudolph听补苍诲听David Berganio.

And although the general public will not be allowed on site at 蜜柚直播 National this week, the final rounds Saturday and Sunday will be televised live on Golf Channel beginning at 2:30 p.m.

It鈥檒l be a surprise if either Mickelson or Furyk isn鈥檛 wearing the Conquistadores helmet by sundown on Sunday.