Warriors 68-7 with seven games to go

The Golden State Warriors


The Golden State Warriors beat the Utah Jazz tonight and improve to 68-7 on the season. The Warriors need just five wins in their final seven games to break the NBA record for wins in a season.

Wow!

Wildcats 17-8 overall, 3-3 in conference play

Arizona Wildcats Baseball


The Arizona Wildcats split their two-game set with Riverside, losing 6-5 on Tuesday and winning 4-3 today and now head for Utah and a three-game Pac-12 series on Friday, Saturday and Sunday in Salt Lake City.

Arizona is 17-8 this season and sport a 3-3 record in the Pac-12 Conference, after taking 2 of 3 from UCLA last weekend.

Zach Gibbons leads the Wildcats in hitting with 35 hits in 93 trips to the plate, a .376 average. Bobby Dalbec leads the pitching staff with a 5-2 record and an ERA of 1.40.

Team White 12 Team Blue 11

Tucson Old Timers (TOTS)

60-and-over baseball

Team White first baseman Ron Carlson went 2 for 3, scored a run and drove in four runs today at Udall Park in a 12-11 win over Team Blue.

Right-hander Bob Daliege went the distance and picked up the pitching victory. Daliege helped his own cause with a 2 for 4 day and two runs batted in, while Tim Tolson and Pete Peters also had two hits apiece for the winning team.

Lloyd Barzell went 3 for 4 for Team Blue and knocked in three runs.

Jesse Ochoa went 2 for 4 and knocked in three runs as well, while Pigpen Price, out for four weeks with a foot injury, returned to action and went 2 for 4, scored a run and knocked in two runs for Team Blue.

Price knocked in the tying run in the top of the sixth inning to even the score at 11-11, but in the bottom of the sixth, Alan Rasmussen doubled to left field, scampered home on a two-base throwing error and Team White went on to win the game as Daliege shut down Team Blue in the top of the seventh inning.

Price pitched 4 2/3 innings for Team Blue, before giving way to Barzell, who pitched the remaining 1 1/3 innings and was saddled with the loss.

Photo: Ron Carlson, who knocked in four runs for Team White today.

The Final Four is set

The NCAA Final Four is set. After all is said and done just one No.1 seed makes it through -- North Carolina.

The other three: Villanova, Oklahoma and Syracuse.

Now it's on to Houston for the Final Four.

The matchups -- Villanova and Oklahoma

                          Syracuse and North Carolina

Oregon falls!

The Oregon Ducks are done, ripped apart by the Oklahoma Sooners 80-68 in an Elite Eight matchup at the NCAA Basketball Tournament.

Oregon finished the season with a 31-7 record. Pac-12 teams all gone.

Oregon advances to Elite 8

The Oregon Ducks (31-6) took down Duke 82-68 in a Sweet Sixteen matchup in Anaheim and move on to the Elite Eight.

Dillion Brooks poured in 22 points and Elgin Cook netted 16 points and hauled in nine rebounds for Oregon, the only Pac-12 team left in the NCAA Tournament.

The Ducks are rolling and just may waddle their all the way to the Final Four for their first appearance in 77 years.

Congrats, Oregon! Keep those fires burning for the Pac-12!

Bookemdanosports reaches 2,600 posts

A special "thank you" to all the readers of my seven-year-old blog Bookemdanosports.  It's hard to believe it's been seven years since the initial posting in 2009.

Once again, thank you...and let's go for eight years!

Golden State nine wins away from record

The Golden State Warriors won again last night, beating the Clippers 114-98 to move their record to 64-7 -- just nine wins away from the all-time record for wins in an NBA season.

The Warriors need to go 9-2 to get the job done.

Remarkable!  Congratulations are in order already for our former Wildcat Steve Kerr, the current coach of the Warriors...and congrats to Luke Walton as well, the Warriors' assistant coach and another former Wildcat.

Arizona improves to 14-6 with 14-0 shutout of Utah Valley

Arizona Wildcats Baseball


The Arizona Wildcats (14-6, 1-2) had little trouble with visiting Utah Valley Tuesday at Hi Corbett Field.

After 20 games, Ryan Aguilar and Cody Ramer lead the Wildcats with 29 and 28 hits, respectively.

Aguilar is batting .350 with 28 hits in 80 trips to the plate, while Ramer is 29 for 83 for a .349 average.

The UCLA Bruins are up next for the Wildcats.

Remembering TOTS' guest speakers of the past...

Tucson Old Timers (TOTS)

60-and-over baseball

Back in 1999, the Tucson Old Timers ventured away from baseball and selected Arizona football coach Dick Tomey as guest speaker at their annual luncheon.

Tomey, who became the Wildcats' coach in 1987, earned Pac-10 "Coach of the Year" honors in 1992. During his tenure, he coached five NFL first-round draft choices, 20 All-Americans, and 43 first team players. His heralded defenses were labeled the "Desert Swarm".

Tomey resigned after the 2000 season, but his 95 wins are the most in Wildcats history.

Jerry Smarik, who is currently the third oldest active TOT, was the manager of the organization in 1999. Brad Tolson introduced Tomey to the TOTS members and the their families in attendance. The event was held at the Smuggler's Inn. The restaurant is no longer on the corner of Speedway and Wilmot, replaced by luxury apartments.

Remembering TOTS' guest speakers of the past

Tucson Old Timers (TOTS)

60-and-over baseball

The Tucson Old Timers are just weeks away from their 2016 luncheon and awards ceremony. April 21, to be exact, to be held in the Copper Room at the Randolph Park Golf Course.

Greg Hansen, the Arizona Daily Star Columnist, will be our guest speaker.

Remembering our guest speakers from the past, one comes to mind...one who should be very familiar to all Arizona baseball fans. In 2005, the TOTS guest speaker was Chip Hale, who at the time was manager of the Tucson Sidewinders.

Fast forward ten years to the year 2015, and you find Mr. Hale as the new manager of the Arizona Diamondbacks. Hale is just a week and half away from his second season as manager of the D'backs and he'll have a whole new pitching staff to manage, led by newly acquired Zack Greinke.

"It was a joy to have Chip as our guest speaker in 2005," said TOTS' manager, at the time, Jack Graef. Jack is no longer an active player on the TOTS, but was listed as an Associate member until 2015. Jack lives in Saddlebrooke. In 2005, Mr. Graef, who was born in Brooklyn in 1933, was 72 when he managed the TOTS. Jack will turn 83 the 9th of September.

As for Mr. Hale, his first year as a professional manager was in the year 2000. Hale led Rookie-level Missoula to a second-half championship, and he was named the Pioneer League's Manager of the Year the following season.

In 2006, Hale led the Tucson Sidewinders to the Pacific Coast League title, winning 91 games and losing just 53 games. He had a .540 winning percentage in three seasons with the Sidewinders.

Of course, Hale was already well known to University of Arizona fans. He started every game for the Wildcats from 1984 to 1987. In 1986, he batted .345, the year the UofA won the College World Series.

Photo: Diamondbacks' manager Chip Hale

Another Pac-12 team bites the dust

NIT

So much for Washington at the National Invitational Tournament.

After a first-round win over Long Beach State, the Huskies fall to San Diego State 93-78 in San Diego last night. The Huskies were eliminated by the Aztecs and finish the season with a 19-15 record.

Oregon lone survivor, reaches Sweet Sixteen

NCAA Basketball Tournament


The Oregon Ducks (30-6) are the lone survivor from the Pac-12 Conference as they reach the Sweet Sixteen with a 69-64 win over St. Joseph's tonight in Spokane.

Congrats, Ducks!

TOTS return to Udall

Tucson Old Timers (TOTS)

60-and-over baseball

After a week way from their home ball park, the 60-and-over Tucson Old Timers return to Udall Park on Monday, March 21.

With nothing but sunny days in the weather forecast, the TOTS should finish out the month with five more games on March 21, 23, 25, 28 and 30.

Austin wins Tucson Conquistadores Classic

2016 Tucson Conquistadores Classic


Woody Austin shot a 4-day total of 200 to win the 2016 Tucson Conquistadores Classic today at the Omni Tucson National.

Austin beat Jim Carter by one stroke and Bernhard Langer by two.

Good job, Woody!

Arizona salvages getaway game in Seattle

Arizona Wildcats Baseball


The Arizona Wildcats (13-6, 1-2) salvage 1 of 2 in Seattle, beating the Washington Huskies 17-7 today in the getaway game.

Bobby Dalbec picked up the pitching victory and also hit his fourth home run of the season. Catcher Cesar Salazar went 4 for 5 with three RBI and three runs scored.

The Wildcats return home for a single game at Hi Corbett on Tuesday against Utah Valley and then  lock horns at home against UCLA in their second Pac-12 series of the season on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

Game time for the Utah Valley game is 6 p.m. The first two games against the Bruins begin at 6 p.m. and Saturday's contest will get underway at 1 p.m.

Pac 12 teams go 2-5 in first round of NCAA tourney

NCAA College Basketball Tournament


It wasn't exactly what the Pac-12 had hoped for.

And it certainly wasn't what the fans of Arizona wanted.


Two wins and five losses. Colorado falls to UConn, Arizona lays an egg against Wichita State, USC loses in a buzzer-beater to Providence, Oregon State caves in to VCU and California, with the loss of its top scorer, bows to Hawaii. Wow!

Utah stands proud with a win over Fresno State (80-69) and top-seeded Oregon, as expected, moves on to the round of 32 with a lopsided 91-52 win over Holy Cross.

NCAA Update: Utah gets trounced in the second round, falling to Gonzaga, 82-59. Six losses in the books for the Pac-12. Go figure!

Greg Hansen to be guest speaker at TOTS luncheon

Tucson Old Timers (TOTS)

60-and-over baseball

Arizona Daily Star Sports Columnist Greg Hansen will be the guest speaker at the TOTS annual luncheon and award banquet to be held on Thursday, April 21, in the banquet room at the Randolph Park Golf Course.

The luncheon will be held from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m.

Photo: Greg Hansen

Season over for Wildcats

Arizona Wildcats Basketball



The Arizona Wildcats (25-9) turned the ball over 19 times, had the ball stolen nine times and scored a total of 19 points in the first half and went on to lose to Wichita State 65-55 in the first round of the NCAA Basketball Tournament tonight in Providence, Rhode Island.

A disappointing ending to an up and down season for the Wildcats.


Kadeem Allen scored 11 points and had six rebounds for the Wildcats, who were outplayed from the get go by the Shockers.

The Shockers move on to take on Miami on Saturday in the second round.

Golden State still on a blistering pace

The Golden State Warriors (61-6) need just 12 wins in their final 15 games to set the NBA record for the most wins in a season. It's just crazy!

The Warriors won again last night behind Stephen Curry's 34 points in an easy 121-85 win over the New York Knicks.

Dalbec homers twice as Arizona beats NMSU

Arizona Wildcats Baseball


The Arizona Wildcats beat New Mexico State 11-8 tonight at Hi Corbett to improve to 12-4 on the season. Bobby Dalbec, in an early-season batting slump, broke out of it tonight with three hits in four official trips to the plate -- including two home runs.

Dalbec scored four times and knocked in four runs. He also walked once. He also pitched the ninth inning and picked up his fifth save. A good night for the Wildcat third baseman.

Wildcats to face Shockers in first round of NCAA Tournament

Arizona Wildcats Basketball


Wichita State got hot from the field in the second half and took down Vanderbilt 70-50 tonight in Dayton, Ohio, to win the play-in game and advance to play our own sixth-seeded Arizona Wildcats (25-8) on Thursday in Providence, Rhode Island in a first-round matchup of the NCAA Basketball Tournament.

Vandy had the height advantage with three 7-footers on its roster, but the Shockers were able to take them down with a 20-2 run to finish the game. The game was deadlocked 30-30 at the end of the first half.

Wichita State, an 11 seed for the tourney, improves to 25-8.

Wildcats to play a single-game with NMSU Tuesday at Hi Corbett

Arizona Wildcats Baseball


The Arizona Wildcats (11-4), fresh off a three-game sweep of Sacramento State this past weekend, take on New Mexico State tomorrow at Hi Corbett Field. Game time is 6 p.m.

The Wildcats, who scored 34 runs in three days against Sac State, have won six games in a row. The top two hitters after 15 games are JJ Matijevic (22 for 55 a .400 average) and Cody Ramer (22 for 63, a .349 average).

Former distance runner enjoying new gig, playing baseball with the TOTS

Tucson Old Timers (TOTS)

60-and-over baseball

One of the rookies on the TOTS is 66-year-old Alan Rasmussen.

Rasmussen, who joined the TOTS in 2015, grew up in Vernal, Utah -- also known as Dinosaurland. Vernal is home to the largest prehistoric Jurassic dinosaur bones.

As for Alan, he may have out ran a few dinosaurs when he was in high school. He was that fast. Alan ran the regular mile back in 1967 in four minutes and 38 seconds. Make no bones about it, that's not too shabby!

Rasmussen is still pretty fast and can beat out a grounder for a hit from time to time. Alan is 14 for 30  for the months of January and February as he begins his first full season with the TOTS.

Photo:  Alan Rasmussen

Team Blue 10 Team White 7

Tucson Old Timers (TOTS)

60-and-over baseball


Thunder Tim Tolson went 4 for 4, scored twice and drove in three runs to lead Team Blue to a 10-7 win at Udall Park today in a 60-and-over Tucson Old Timers game.

Team Blue put together a four-run rally in the top of the seventh inning, thanks inpart to Tolson's second double of the game.

Lloyd Barzell pitched all seven innings for Team Blue to pick up the win, while lefty Ron Petersen went the distance for Team White and was saddled with the loss. Team White's top blast of the day was a booming double from Petersen. His shot to right center field bounced off the fence, 295 feet from home plate.

The TOTS will be back in action on Wednesday and Friday, but will be forced to set up shop at Jesse Owens Park at 440 S. Sarnoff, located just south of Broadway, between Pantano and Camino Seco. The ball field at Udall Park will be closed due to road construction access.

Arizona Wildcats grab 6th seed for NCAA Tournament

Arizona Wildcats Basketball


The Arizona Wildcats grabbed the sixth seed out of the South Region for their first round game of the NCAA Tournament. The Wildcats opponent?  We will not have an answer to that question until late Tuesday as the Wildcats will play the winner of the play-in game between Vanderbilt and Wichita State, both 11 seeds.

But, we do know how far the Wildcats have to travel, all the way to Providence, Rhode Island.

Oregon is a surprise No. 1 seed, along with North Carolina, Virgina and Kansas.

Wild finish in Las Vegas

Arizona Wildcats Basketball

Arizona (25-8) scored just 29 points in the first half and then spent the rest of the night battling back to tie the game in regulation at 77-77 before falling in overtime to the Oregon Ducks, 95-89, in a semifinal game at the Pac-12 Basketball Tournament tonight in Las Vegas.

Once again, it was a tale of two halves.

Down 44-29 at the half, the Wildcats held the Ducks to 33 points in the second half and had a chance to win the game with 0.4 second left on the clock when Mark Tollefsen stole the ball, was fouled, and went to the line for two foul shots and a chance to give Arizona a comeback win.

Tollefsen missed the first charity toss and made the second to send the game into overtime.

Unfortunately for the Wildcats, they played all the overtime period without Allonzo Trier, who had fouled out in regulation, as well as Parker Jackson-Cartwright and Kadeem Allen, both fouling out in the overtime period.

Gabe York finished with 21 points to lead the Wildcats, while Trier netted 16 points before fouling out. Kadeem Allen ended up with 14 points, while Kaleb Tarczewski finished with 11 points and a game-high 12 rebounds.

Oregon (27-6) advances to the championship game, while the Arizona Wildcats take a break and focus on Selection Sunday. Arizona played with a lot of heart tonight, good enough to grab a five or a six seed for the NCAA Tournament.

Misiaszek misses out on hitting for the cycle

Tucson Old Timers (TOTS)

60-and-over baseball

John Misiaszek, 65, had a chance to hit for the cycle at Udall Park today in a 60-and-over Tucson Old Timers' game. He singled, doubled and tripled and came to bat in the seventh inning with a shot at all the glory.

As John picked up his bat of choice and headed for the plate, he heard someone in the dugout yell out, "You need a homer for the cycle."

John figured a homer was out of the question. "Chances are that won't happen," he said. After all, it's 300 feet down the first and third base lines and he is strictly a contact hitter, looking to place the ball either in the gap in left center or right center.

Instead, Misiaszek hit a slow roller to second and was thrown out at first. Still a good day at the plate for the man from London, England, who is one of three players on the TOTS' roster born outside the United States. He went 3 for 5 and kept Team Blue in the game.

Team White went on to win the game 9-8 as Pete Peters and Ted Davis combined for nine RBI -- five by Peters and four by Davis, including an infield hit in the bottom of the seventh, which scored the winning run.

Arizona hangs on to beat Colorado 82-78 in quarterfinals of Pac-12 Tourney

Arizona Wildcats Basketball


Allonzo Trier pumped in 23 points and Ryan Anderson scored 17 points and grabbed 11 rebounds as Arizona held on in the second half to beat Colorado 82-78 in Las Vegas today at the Pac-12 Basketball Tournament.

A tale of two halves.

Arizona was near-perfect in the first half, allowing the Buffaloes a grand total of 20 points and held a 37-20 lead after 20 minutes of play. In the second half (are you sitting down!) Colorado scores 58 points, The Buffaloes got hot from the field, the Wildcats backed off on defense.

Still, it's a quarterfinal win for Arizona as they move on to the semifinals and a matchup tomorrow with the top-seeded Ducks from Oregon (26-6). The Ducks had a tough game today, but outlasted Washington, 83-77.

The 15th-ranked Wildcats improve to 25-7. Colorado falls to 22-11.

The man with the Cycle

Tucson Old Timers (TOTS)

60-and-over baseball

Tim Boyd is the youngest TOT.

He's so young he rides his bike to the ball park before each game.

At any rate, the man is in shape...and certainly ready to play baseball, right after he shows up at Udall Park and exchanges his pair of bike shoes for a pair of baseball cleats.

Today, was another good day at the plate for Tim. He went 3 for 4 and scored three runs to lead Team Blue to a 14-4 win over Team White.

Dick "Double D" Ducklow helped out the Team Blue cause with a 3 for 3 day as well.

Arnie White led Team White with a 4 for 4 day, while Lloyd Barzell picked up three hits in four trips to the plate.

Photo: Tim Boyd, making a catch at first base.

Davis, Reilly top hitter on Dress-Out Day

Tucson Old Timers (TOTS)

60-and-over baseball

Team Blue won the Dress-Out Birthday game at Udall Park today with a 10-5 win over Team White. Ted Davis went 3 for 4 to lead Team Blue, while Brian Reilly had a good day at the plate for Team White with a 3 for 3 day, scored a run and knocked in a run.

Twenty-six players suited up and played in today's game, while a crowd of 60 hung around for the hot dogs, pop and beer after the birthday game, a quarterly event which honors the "birthday boys".

Lefty Ron Petersen went the distance and picked up the pitching victory, while Bob Daliege took the loss.

There was one injury today. Danny "Pigpen" Price went down with a foot injury and is expected to be out for at least three months.

Photo: Brian Reilly, who went 3 for 3, scored a run and drove in a run.

Wildcats prepare for 3-game series with Sacramento State

Arizona Wildcats Baseball


The Arizona Wildcats (8-4) will take on Sacramento State in a three-game series at Hi Corbett Field on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

The Wildcats went 3-1 over the weekend, capping off the Wildcat Invitational Sunday with two wins -- 11-5 over St. Marys and 4-1 over Northwestern State.

Nathan Bannister ended the  Wildcat Invitational by tossing a three-hit gem to improve his record to 2-0. He hurled 6 2/3 innings, walked none and struck out five batters.

Ryan Aguilar is the Wildcats top hitter after 12 games. Aguilar is 16 for 44 with three doubles and one home run.

York on fire!

Arizona Wildcats Basketball


Gabe York continued to blast away from three-point land and the Arizona Wildcats (24-7, 12-6) crushed Stanford 94-62 at McKale Center today. York, coming off his best performance of the season on Thursday in Arizona's victory over California, kept up his blistering pace -- hitting a career best nine 3-pointers, all before the midway point of the second half.

York's final numbers -- 32 points, including 9 of 14 from downtown.

What a way to go out! York's final game at McKale.

Arizona coach Sean Miller took his hot shooting guard out of the game with 10 minutes remaining in the game. At that point, York had tied the all-time single game record for three-pointers, held by Salim Stoudamire.

York returned at the seven-minute mark with all five Wildcat seniors on the court. And what happens next is priceless as York tosses a pass to Jacob Hazzard who cans a three-pointer...and then another as the crowd goes wild. Hazzard's second 3-pointer tied the school record for three-pointers in a single game at 16.

Miller then cleared the bench as each senior left the court, each followed by a standing ovation.

By the way, York's 32 points was the most by a Wildcat this season.

And by the way, Hazzard hit another trey down the stretch. Justin Simon added another. Arizona breaks the single-game school record for 3-pointers with 18 of 36 attempts!

Way to go, York! Way to go, Wildcats!

York's 19 second-half points lifts Wildcats to 64-61 win over Cal

Arizona Wildcats Basketball


Gabe York scored 19 points in the second half, including two 3-pointers down the stretch as Arizona goes on an 11-0 run in the final 1 1/2 minutes tonight to beat California at McKale, 64-61.

York failed to score in the first half as Arizona trailed 29-25, but the Wildcats battled back, got the Golden Bears in foul trouble and then held on for the win to improve to 23-7 and 11-6 in the Pac-12.

What a stressful game!

Way to go, Wildcats!

Iron man Smarik breaks a record every time he steps up to the plate

Tucson Old Timers (TOTS)

60-and-over baseball

Jerry Smarik is considered the iron man on the 60-and-over Tucson Old Timers.

Yearly statistics for the club go back to 2003. The organization was founded in 1968. So, for close to 35 years no one worried too much about stats -- games played, hits, runs and batting average. Instead, the old timers just played.

Mr. Smarik joined the TOTS in 1991. We're talking 25 years ago. So, as a rule of thumb, Jerry is the club's measuring stick. Back in the old days, the TOTS played 100 games a year. Now, for example, the most games played in 2015 were 118 by our oldest TOT, 90-year-old Floyd Lance. In 2014, one of the young guns, Pete Peters, played in 121 games.

No matter how you figure it, Smarik has played in the most games ever by a TOT. The 84-year-old Smarik, the third oldest member on the ball club, has played in 1,431 games through the month of February of 2016. If you were to calculate a 100 at bats a year from the beginning of 1991 through 2002, you'd come up with an additional 1,300 at bats. After all, Jerry's heyday would have been during those years. He was a young man between the ages of 60 to 72.

In other words, Jerry Smarik has stepped to the plate as a member of the Tucson Old Timers a grand total of 2,731 times (allowing, of course, for a margin-of-error of 3 percent, one way or the other).

Obviously, Smarik is the club's iron man. Of course, he no longer rushes up to the plate and his teammates jokingly refer to him as "The Rocket."

One thing is for sure. Every time "Iron Man" steps up to the plate his teammates will be looking on. After all, it'll be a record-setting performance.

Bannister shuts down Cal State Fullerton

Arizona Wildcats Baseball

Nathan Bannister hurled 6 2/3 innings of shut out ball and Bobby Dalbec scored a run and collected an RBI-single as the Arizona Wildcats beat Cal State Fullerton 2-0 tonight at Hi Corbett Field.

Arizona improves to 5-3 on the season.

Baby Bull Barzell the "Top Gun" in February for the TOTS

Tucson Old Timers (TOTS)

60-and-over baseball

Tom Cruise was the the main man in the movie "Top Gun" -- the leader of the pack, so to speak. Well, the 60-and-over Tucson Old Timers have their own top gun -- their leader in hits for the month of February, 65-year-old Lloyd "Baby Bull" Barzell.

Wow! That's enough nicknames for this story.

At any rate, Barzell, who broke the all-time hits record for a season in 2015, is after his own record. For the month of February, Barzell went 28 for 42 in 10 games. That's a hefty .667 batting average. He was first in hits, first in runs scored with 18, fourth in runs-batted-in with 10 and first in doubles with six.

Pete Peters was not too far behind Barzell. Peters went 22 for 34, a .647 average, while the top five hitters for the month also included Pigpen Price (19 for 36, a .528 average), Dennis Crowley (18 for 36, a .500 average) and Dick Ducklow (16 for 32, a .500 average).

The top RBI-man was Danny Boxberger with 13, Ron Petersen was second with 12 and Jesse Ochoa was third with 11.

Tim Tolson batted .600 for the month, but played in just five games and went 9 for 15. Tolson hit the only home run in February and he finished tied for fifth in runs-batted-in. Both Ducklow and Tolson knocked in nine runs.

Ted Davis posted a .650 batting average, but played in just six games. Davis went 13 for 20.

The big winner on the mound for the month was right-hander Bob Daliege, who went 3-1.

So much for February. And now it's on to March.

Photo: Lloyd "Baby Bull" Barzell

Boxberger, Ochoa, Potter rally Team Blue

Tucson Old Timers (TOTS)

60-and-over baseball

It was one of those up and down games at Udall Park today in a 60-and-over Tucson Old Timers game.

Team White led 6-4 after three innings of play, but Team Blue came back to tie the game 7-7 in the fifth. Team Blue took the lead for good in the top of the sixth, thanks to a single to right field by Jesse Ochoa and a booming double to center field by Danny Boxberger. That brought up Tom Potter, who drilled a pitch -- off of Dennis Crowley -- to left field, scoring Ochoa with the go-ahead run.

Team Blue added a couple of insurance runs in the seventh inning to seal the victory.

The big hitter for Team Blue was leadoff hitter Lloyd Barzell, who went 3 for 3, walked twice and scored three runs. Bill Mishler had a good day for Team White with four hits in four trips to the plate.

As for Potter, he was happy with his hit in the sixth. "It felt good. I thank that was my first hit of the day."

Pigpen Price pitched the first three innings for Team White and Crowley pitched the middle innings. Price returned to the mound in the top of the seventh and gave up two runs -- both unearned.

Arnie "The Montana Kid" White pitched all seven innings for Team Blue and picked up the pitching victory.

The TOTS will be back in action on Friday at Udall with a 9:30 start.

Photo: Tom Potter

Butts out as Arizona coach

I had the pleasure of dancing to a rhythm and blues song with a tall, outgoing gal at a tailgate party prior to a University of Arizona football game on a September Saturday in 2008. After the song ended, I shook her hand and thanked her for the three minutes of fun. She smiled and said, "You're old school." She was referring, I assume, to my age and my old jitter-bugging techniques. She was 30 at the time and I was an old coot at 63. As she walked away, I wished her good luck on her upcoming basketball season.

Her name: Niya Butts.

Niya was mingling with a crowd of Arizona fans and how we ended up "cutting a rug" or in this case "dancin' on the grassy knoll"...I don't know. But I do remember everyone around her was also shaking her hand and wishing her the best. I thought to myself, this gal has a lot of spunk. I also figured Butts, a star player on her high school team in Americus, Georgia, and a shooting-guard/forward in her collegiate days at Tennessee, would have her hands full taking over a Wildcats' program that needed a complete revamping.

She did indeed.

Butts moves on after posting a 101-146 overall record in eight seasons at the University of Arizona. Her record in league play 34-110. Butts' final days as head coach will end after the Pac-12 Tournament.

Good luck, Niya...and keep on dancing.

Wildcats take on Cal State Fullerton on Wednesday

Arizona Wildcats Baseball



The Arizona Wildcats (4-3) will host 16th-ranked Cal State Fullerton on Wednesday at Hi Corbett Field.  The first home game of the season for the Wildcats. The game gets underway at 6 p.m.

Arizona cleared the bench today in Scottsdale in a "fun game" with the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Wildcats collected 11 hits, but lost to the Diamondbacks, 12-5.