Arizona reaches Number 1 in AP college basketball poll

 Way to go, Wildcats!

#2 Arizona slams #20 Auburn at McKale, 97-68

Arizona Wildcats Basketball 

from the desk of Dan Price

My Wildcats are rolling!

Arizona took care of business tonight at McKale Center with a 97-68 trashing of #20 Auburn. When the polls come out late Monday, the Wildcats should be No. 1 in the country.

Tonight, in front of a packed house, #2 Arizona scored 60 points in the paint and dismantled Auburn with 18-year-old Koa Peat leading the way with 18 points, four rebounds, and five assists, while Brayden Burries and Jaden Bradley added 16 points apiece as the Wildcats led 44-32 at the half and then enjoyed 30-point leads at times in the second half.

Ivan Kharchenkov scored 12 points and dished out eight assists, and Anthony Dell'Orso chipped in 11 points. Motiejus Krivas played just 24 minutes, grabbed nine boards and scored eight points, while Dwayne Aristode scored eight points in just 13 minutes.

Arizona moves to 8-0 and keeps pace with #3 Michigan and #4 Duke. But this week's No. 1, Purdue, lost by 23 to No. 10 Iowa State, 81-58, as the Boilermakers fell to 8-1. It's very scary at the top, and it may be too early for my Wildcats to be ranked No. 1. But I'll take it!

It has been quite the journey for the University of Arizona over the last few weeks, with both the football team posting a 9-3 record and now bowl-bound, while Tommy Lloyd is all smiles, or should be, with the way his basketball team is performing.

Lloyd would be the first to caution the Arizona fans that it's way too early in the season to be strutting around the Old Pueblo, holding our hands in the air and yelling at the top of our lungs, "We are No. 1!" We are a long way from Big 12 play, and next week we head across the country to face a non-conference foe, Alabama.

Still, I'm a happy camper. Go, Wildcats!

It's time to turn over a new leaf...

 

Amelia, Oh Amelia, you have that eye when you walk along those Colorado highways with that camera of yours -- especially those captured images along the Western Slope.

And you have a knack for getting my juices flowing, so to speak, igniting a thought or two in my head and springing this 80-year-old brain into action.

Lately, that's been a problem. I find myself shying away from my old laptop. It's not that I have writer's block. That has never been a problem. It's more like: do I have anything worthwhile to say, and honestly, does anyone care whether I post my thoughts?

I'll explain my dilemma away and blame it on old age.

But thanks to Amelia, the owner of Priceless Captures Photography by Amelia and the wife of my grandson, Daniel, I'm back for at least a moment.

In Amelia's photo, it's just a lone leaf in the middle of the road. But what if it's the final journey for that wandering leaf? The final sunset. It must be tired, after all, the poor leaf has been around a while. It has bounced around for some time now, joining other leaves from time to time, seemingly at its best when surrounded by other leaves. When they are together, they have a purpose and a direction.

The leaves are powerful in numbers, and the wind doesn't bother them at all, but keeps them alive.

Thanks, Amelia. If I were a leaf, I'd love to be on that highway near you.

Your pictures are my calendar.

Happy holidays to my family.

TOTS Chronicles: In the spotlight -- Dennis Crowley and Spiro Roberts

Tucson Old Timers (TOTS)

60 and over baseball

Honoring two TOTS centerfielders this week who can play the position -- Dennis Crowley, 76, and Spiro Roberts, 69.

Way to go, boys! Well, they aren't boys anymore, but they can cover some ground.

TOTS Chronicles: Cuttler's return

Tucson Old Timers (TOTS)

60-and-over baseball

Gary Cuttler, 70, battled through back surgery in 2023 and is back in the batter's box doing his thing, taking to the pitcher's mound on occasion, while playing a mean first base when called upon.

The New Jersey native joined the TOTS in 2022, and it didn't take long for his new teammates to discover he could play the game. In fact, Cuttler would fast-forward his way to the top of the club's monthly batting statistics.

Unfortunately, the back surgery came calling and has kept Cuttler (photo on the left) from the batter's box regularly... until now.

 Cuttler, who is just weeks away from his 71st Birthday, led the club in November with 15 RBI. He batted .444 with 12 hits in 27 at-bats and played in eight of the 10 games.

Welcome back, Gary!

Dan Gruniesen, the youngest member of the TOTS, led the club in hits in November with 15 (15 for 29), a .517 batting average with 12 RBI, while Jon Beady and Joe Opocensky tied for second in hits with 14 apiece. Beady went 14 for 24, and Opocensky finished 14 for 28. 

John Mathews, still working for a living, played in just five games but batted a blistering .733 with 11 hits in only 15 at-bats. Other top hitters included Randy Livingston and Sam Dean with 13 hits apiece, while Doug Harding and J.B. Bulawin tied with Cuttler in hits with 12. 

Closing in on the Century Award with my ball club

 

Old-timers baseball in 2026

Closing in on the Century Award with my ball club

What will 2026 bring to the table? Will my body hang in there and allow me to play another year of baseball? I'll start my 19th season as a member of the Tucson Old Timers (TOTS) Baseball Club, and probably my 75th season overall playing on one baseball diamond or another.

I was six years old when I first started playing organized baseball as a Little Leaguer. I'll be 81 in July/2026, but my early New Year's resolution is again to play smart. Less diving...less running, and, more importantly, I'll try to remember I'm an old guy. That's hard to do sometimes.

Once you take the field, step over the white line, and head for your position, we oldtimers forget about age and have one common purpose: make the play.

Yes, it is more of an adventure now. Those high-fly balls off an aluminum bat become harder and harder to camp under. Getting in front of a sizzling one-hopper becomes a 50-50 proposition. Throwing to a target more than sixty feet away seems futile at times. But there we are week after week, month after month, doing our best to make the play.

Hats off to the TOTS, the MSBL (Men's Senior Baseball League), and all the organizations that promote baseball for guys and gals in our senior years.

Photo:

At the end of 2024, I had finally reached 1,600 career hits with the TOTS. Getting to 1,700 hits might be too much to ask for. The hits no longer come in bunches. Legging out a slow roller is a thing of the past. Photo above was from two years ago. Funny how the years just fly be now.

G         AB         R         H         RBI         Career batting Average

1,343  4,230     739     1,601     894           .378

Tucson Old Timers win 2025 MSBL World Series title

 The way it went down...

The Tucson Old Timers began their run to the 2025 Men's Senior Baseball League World Series title in the 73-and-over division with a 12-9 opening-round win over the Southern Cal Dodgers. Joe Jimenez started on the mound for the TOTS and Pete Maldonado came on in relief and pitched the final two innings.

The TOTS won their second-round game with a 12-11 nail biter over the Fresno Grizzlies. Joe Opocensky pitched a complete game to lead the TOTS to a 2-0 record. Jim Sears reached on an error in the last inning and scored the game-winning run thanks to a double from Paul Rosthenhausler as the TOTS' fans were discovering early on who their hitting star for the week would be -- the guy with the longest last name.

The Tucson Old Timers made it 3-0  with a 21-0 thrashing of the Cal Vets. Arnold Mares went the distance in this one and everyone in the lineup contributed to the onslaught. By Day 4, it was evident one of the front-runners of the tourney were the TOTS, who then headed for Goodyear on Thursday for a battle with the Virgin Islands.

The Virgin Islands were a pesky bunch and held a 5-2 advantage early on but the TOTS rebounded from a slow start to win going away at 16-7. Rosthenhaulser continued his dominance at the plate with three more hits and Ernesto Escala added three hits to go along with a couple of key walks.

Joe Jimenez pitched seven gutsy inning for the win over the Virgin Islands as the TOTS sailed to the top of the standings as they awaited a showdown with the unbeaten LA Athletics, a National division team, in the final game of pool play. Win or lose the TOTS had already qualified for the playoffs on Saturday.

The TOTS played well but lost 5-1 to the Athletics, but moved on to the playoffs with a 4-1 record and a date Saturday morning with Red Deer, the team from Canada. The TOTS had lost to Red Deer in previous tounaments, but not this time as they won with a walk-off, 9-8, win. An opposite-field blooper by Bob Daliege fell in front of the Red Deer rightfielder, allowing Joe Jimenez to score from third and cap off a come-from-behind, four-run rally.

Joe Opocensky went the distance against Red Deer and key hits came from the usual suspects -- Ernesto Escala, Joe Jimenez, and, of course Paul Rosthenhausler, who held close to a .900 batting average heading into the finale.

The TOTS' fans in attendance went crazy but the best was yet to come. On Sunday at the Gene Autry Complex in Mesa, the TOTS took on Chicago Fire for the MSBL World Series title.

In the championship game, Arnold Mares pitched all nine innings and consecutive hits from Paul Rosthenhaulser, Joe Opocensky and Ernesto Escala gave the TOTS a 3-0 lead in the third inning. The TOTS added two more runs in the fifth to take a commanding lead. The Chicago Fire scored a run in the fifth inning and a lone run in the sixth.

With two outs in the seventh, a lazy pop fly to left field would end it and the Tucson Old Timers won their first-ever Men's Senior Baseball League World Series title.

Photos: The TOTS championship trophy and the team photo with the MSBL World Series championship banner. The TOTS: The winner of the 73-and-over division at the Men's Senior Baseball League World Series held Oct. 27-Nov. 2 in Phoenix. The TOTS played at some of the major league spring grounds, including Maryvale (home of the Milwaukee Brewers), Goodyear (home of the Cleveland Guardians and the Cincinnati Reds) and Salt River (home of The Arizona Diamondbacks and the Colorado Rockies).