Wildcats reach century mark in win over Georgia Southern

Arizona Wildcats Basketball

Alex Barcello came off the bench to score 16 points and Chase Jeter had a career-high 18 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead the Arizona Wildcats to a 100-70 win over Georgia Southern tonight at McKale.

Barcello capped off the game with a 3-pointer that gave the Wildcats 100 points.

The Wildcats also received double-figure scoring from Brandon Williams (14), Brandon Randolph (14) and Dylan Smith (10).

The Wildcats (5-2) travel to UConn on Sunday.

Crowley tough on TOTS' hitters

Tucson Old Timers (TOTS)

60-and-over baseball

Lefty Dennis Crowley worked his way through Team White's hard-hitting lineup not once, not twice but three times en route to Team Blue's 8-2 win at Udall Park today in a 60-and-over Tucson Old Timers game.

Crowley, 69, allowed just two runs over seven innings of work and kept Team White's Big 4 off the base paths. Big John Mathews, Joe Opocensky, Tim Boyd went hitless on the day, while Mike Dawson managed two hits off the crafty lefthander.

"It was a tough day for our hitters," Dawson said. Dawson hurled a complete game for Team White and was saddled with the loss.

The Team White batters hit the ball hard, but right into the gloves of the Team Blue defenders. Mathews hit a shot to deep center but the ball was caught by Lloyd Barzell and Boyd hit two shots to deep left field but both hits were caught by Ron Petersen. The catch of the day came from  81-year-old outfielder  Denny Leonard, who made a basket catch on a Texas Leaguer off the bat of Pigpen Price.

Petersen was the big gun for the winners today with three runs-batted-in. Lead-off batter Bill Mishler made the most out of his three at bats today for the losing team with two hits, a walk and a run scored.

It was just one of those days when the ball found leather, while the other team hit the ball up the middle and into the gaps in the outfield. Still, a competitive game today on a day when the temperature reached a warm 72 degrees before the end of the game.

The TOTS close out the week with a 10 a.m. game on Friday at Udall. Weather permitting. A cold front is heading into the Tucson area on Friday and could bring some rain. If it's only a few sprinkles then the TOTS will take the field.

Photo: Crowley tosses a masterpiece

Sun Devils edge Wildcats, 41-40

Territorial Cup


The Wildcats came out running and throwing for three and a half quarters. And then they decided to sit on the ball. It cost them dearly.

Instead, Arizona State wins the Territorial Cup 41-40 at Arizona Stadium tonight in front of crowd of disappointed Wildcat fans. A last-second field goal attempt goes awry. Arizona carried a 40-21 lead into the fourth quarter. The Wildcats fail to score in the final 15 minutes, while the Sun Devils put 20 on the scoreboard.

If Khalil Tate wasn't passing the ball in the early going, he was handing off to J.J. Taylor, who rushed for 144 yards and finished the game with 244 all-purpose yards.

Meanwhile, Tate was connecting to seven different receivers -- including  two TD strikes to Troy Ellison and another pinpoint bomb to Shawn Poindexter. Tate riddled the Sun Devil secondary for 282 yards and rushed for 46 yards.

And then came the fourth quarter.

Arizona finishes the season at 5-7 and the Arizona State Sun Devils improve to 7-5 and win the Cup and will head for a bowl game.

A terrible loss.

Auburn beats Arizona for third place at Maui Invitational

Arizona Wildcats Basketball


Despite another impressive shooting performance from guard Justin Coleman, Arizona falls to 8th-ranked Auburn 73-57 tonight at the Maui Invitational. Auburn finishes third in the tournament and Arizona, impressive at times during the tourney, finish 1-2 and head home with a 4-2 record.

Coleman scores 16 points tonight and finished the tournament with 62 points in the three games. The hot-shooting guard was 6 for 10 from the field -- including 4 of 7 from three-point land. Brandon Randolph ended up with 18 points and Chase Jeter added 14.

Nebesny gets his first TOTS' win

Tucson Old Timers (TOTS)

60-and-over baseball

Ken Nebesny, 61, the second youngest and one of five players to join the TOTS in 2018, got his call to the mound today at Udall Park. Nebesny pitched into the fifth inning and picked up the win as his team, Team Blue, beat Team White, 16-10.

"I threw a lot of pitches," said Nebesny. "It felt like I was shot putting the ball up there in the fifth inning."

Still, Nebesny got the job done with a little relief help from Mike Dawson, who hurled 3 1/3 innings to pick up the save. Nebesny's teammates helped him out defensively and offensively as John Mathews, Tim Tolson and Dawson combined for 11 key hits in the game. Mathews was the big run producer with six RBI.

The highlight of the day came from 89-year-old Billy Heiny. Team White had a few injuries and Heiny was asked to pinch run not once, not twice, but three times. He scored all three times. Joe Opocensky was one of the big guns at the plate for Team White with three hits and a walk.

But the game belonged to Nebesny. Chances are Nebesny will be back on the mound soon as the organization is always looking for players to toe the rubber. "It was time for me to get out of there in the fifth inning," Nebesny. "It's not good to start walking people."

Way to go, Ken!

The TOTS will close out the week at Udall Park on Friday. Game time: 10 a.m.

Photo: Nebesny

Wildcats fall to Gonzaga

Arizona Wildcats Basketball


For twenty-seven minutes the unranked Arizona Wildcats were the best team on the floor.

Then things changed as the third-ranked Gonzaga Bulldogs (5-0) took over and turned a 13-point deficit into a 60-56 lead midway through the second half at the Maui Invitational. Of course a fourth foul on Chase Jeter, followed by a technical foul for arguing the referee's call put the young man on the bench for the rest of the game and Gonzaga held off the surprising Wildcats the rest of the way to win the semifinal matchup 91-74 and advance to the championship game on Wednesday against the top-ranked Duke Blue Devils (5-0).

Arizona's hot-shooting guard Justin Coleman tried to bring the Wildcats back, but suddenly the shots were not falling and everything the Bulldogs threw up went in. Coleman, who tossed in 18 points in the tournament opener, scored 17 in the first half tonight and added another 11 in the second half to finish with 28 points.

With 5:45 left in the game, Gonzaga was in command with a 71-65 advantage. Two minutes later, the Bulldogs were up 79-69 and it turned into a blowout from there. Brandon Randolph finished with 19 points and Brandon Williams added 15.

Gonzaga outscored the Wildcats 54-29 in the second half.

Still, a great showing by the Wildcats (4-1) at the Maui Invitational. Arizona will finish off the tournament with a game against Auburn (4-1) on Wednesday.

Coleman leads Wildcats to quarterfinal win at Maui Invitational

Arizona Wildcats Basketball


Justin Coleman scored 15 of his 18 points in the second half as Arizona turned a nine-point halftime deficit into a 71-66 quarterfinal win over Iowa State today at the Maui Invitational.

Down 36-27, the Wildcats started making their shots in the final 20 minutes as five players ended up in double figures. Arizona went on a 12-2 run midway through the second half to tie the game at 56-56 and went on to beat the Cyclones. Arizona shot 30 percent in the first half, but in the second half the shots began to fall and the Wildcats ended up shooting 40.7 percent on the night.

Brandon Williams finished the game with 14 points and six assists, while Ryan Luther hauled in eight rebounds and scored 12 points. Brandon Randolph added 11 points, while  Chase Jeter  hauled in 12 rebounds and completed a double-double with 10 points.

A great win for the surprising Wildcats as they improve to 4-0 and await the winner of tonight's late game between Gonzaga and Illinois. The semifinal game will get underway Tuesday at 8:30 p.m. (Arizona time).

Disaster in Pullman

Arizona Wildcats Football


The 8th-ranked Washington State Cougars lived up to their ranking last night in Pullman as they manhandled the Arizona Wildcats, 69-28.

Arizona quarterback Khalil Tate threw four touchdown passes. Unfortunately, Washington State rushed for two scores and quarterback Gardner Minshew threw seven touchdown passes.

The Wildcats (5-6 overall, 4-4 Pac-12) return home today. They'll rest up and prepare for the Arizona State Sun Devils (6-5 overall, 4-4 Pac-12) in the regular season finale for both teams Saturday at Arizona Stadium.

The Clinton Boys

Tucson Old Timers (TOTS)

60-and-over baseball

There are three members of the Tucson Old Timers who went to high school together in New York City. And it wasn't just any high school, but one of the most famous of all -- the historical Dewitt Clinton High School in The Bronx.

The oldest of the trio, Lloyd Barzell, played football and baseball for the Governors. Barzell graduated in 1968, while Pete Maldonado ran track and cross country and graduated in 1970 along with Ray Garcia, the newest member of the Tucson Old Timers.

Imagine that. Three thousand miles away from the TOTS' home field at Udall, and the three end up in Tucson on the same amateur baseball team, an organization which has been fielding 60-and-over  teams since 1968.

"I've known Ray since the third grade," said Maldonado. "Ray was a good athlete but we could never get him out for sports."  Barzell, on the other hand, couldn't make the basketball team, but played on the baseball and varsity football teams and was the captain of both teams.

"I couldn't make the basketball team," said Barzell. "The kids were just too good."  After all, Barzell is talking about a high school which produced the likes of Nate Archibald, Willie Worsley and maybe the most famous of all, NBA Hall of Famer Dolph Schayes.

Archibald was a star with the Boston Celtics, Schayes was a star with the Syracuse Nationals back in the 1950s and Worsley played for the Texas Western Miners, the first all-black starting five team, which beat Kentucky and Pat Riley for the NCAA title in 1966. The film "Glory Road" came out in 2006 and starred Josh Lucas as coach Don Haskins and John Voight as the legendary coach Adolph Rupp.

The list of alums from Clinton include Burt Lancaster, Neil Simon, Richard Carmona, Ralph Lauren, Stan Lee, Stanley Kramer and, in the world of sports, great baseball players like Ozzie Virgil, Sr., Eddie Lopat and Pedro Borbon. The list goes on. Clinton was a public school and an all-boys school for nearly 100 years. In 1983 it became a co-ed school.

Maldonado remembers his old high school days. But he wants his old stomping grounds to be referred to as da Bronx. "When I ran cross country we'd do our running at Van Cortlandt Park," he added. The Park is a 1,146 acre park located in the borough of the Bronx in New York City and is owned and operated by the New York City Parks and Recreation Department.

Pete no longer runs -- except from first to second at Udall Park, along with his two high school classmates, Barzell and Garcia, and the rest of the 60-and-over Tucson Old Timers.

The members of the TOTS are happy to have da Bronx connection on the roster of the oldest baseball team in southern Arizona, and maybe in the nation. The TOTS range in age from 60 to 93. The founder Joe Gorman, also from New York, moved to Arizona and formed the club in 1968.

Photos: Barzell (top), Maldonado (middle) and Garcia. The fourth photo is an old photo of Dewitt Clinton High School.

In photos below: It's our own Lloyd "Baby Bull" Barzell, back in 1968, fourth from the left, front row on the Clinton baseball team and number 65, front row, on the football team. He was the captain of both teams. The last photo is the Baby Bull himself, back in the day.

Byars on a blistering pace at the plate

Tucson Old Timers (TOTS)

60-and-over baseball

It's just a matter of time when the hits will start to fall for 70-year-old David Byars.

That's pretty much what all of his teammates on the 60-and-over Tucson Old Timers think.

Well, the time has come.

Byars, a member of the TOTS since 2017, went 3 for 4 today and finished three games this week with  eight hits in 11 at bats. His batting average has shot up over the .500 mark for the month and this is a guy who, by his own admission, has said he's gone through a span of time where the balls he's hit have consistently found their way into an opponent's glove time after time...after time.

The Tucson native, who turns 71 next month, has played baseball and golf most of his life. He's been good at both. As a member of the Tucson High Badgers baseball team back in the mid-60s, Byars made honorable mention all-city. Tucson High of course has always had a knack for coming up with some of the best baseball players in the state. Eddie Leon and Ron Hassey, just to name two. The list is endless.

Well, he certainly deserves more than an honorable mention with the TOTS, an organization in the midst of its 50th season. Byars doesn't just hit the ball, he crushes it.

No home runs yet. The outfield fence at Udall Park is 300 feet. If Byars ever gets the ball airborne, the homers will come. Right now he's hitting liners, shots, if you will, to left field. A pull hitter for sure who can make a third baseman shake in his baseball shoes.

Today, Byars helped Team Blue to a 10-6 win at Udall. Lefty Dennis Crowley picked up the win, while Mike Dawson was saddled with the loss.  Doc Thompson led Team White in hits today with three. The play of the day came from 60-year-old left fielder Ron Ryan, who made a diving stab in the top of the seventh inning for Team White.

The TOTS return to action on Monday at Udall. Game time: 10 a.m.

Wildcats improve to 3-0

Arizona Wildcats Basketball


Brandon Williams and Brandon Randolph led the way with 21 points apiece at McKale tonight as Arizona improves to 3-0 with a 79-46 non-conference win over the UTEP Miners.

Arizona led by 11 at the half, 34-23, and widened the lead to 57-35 midway through the second half and cruised to an easy win. Chase Jeter chipped in 15 points and five rebounds.

The Wildcats head for the Maui Invitational next and take on Iowa State on Monday.

The aging process

Back in 1972, Neil Young wrote a song entitled: Old Man.

Here we are 46 years later and I feel like Young is still singing to me.

I have a curse...well, I call it a curse. I doubt I'm not the only struggling writer who has it. My mind never takes a day off. I simply think too much for my own good.

Luckily, I'm an old man now and I have slowed down enough to stop and smell the roses and take everything in. My favorite pastime is interacting with people -- especially the senior citizen. After a question or two, I'm off and running and I'm smack dab in the middle of their lifetime, gathering information, and I eventually leave the conversation with so much more than I had started out with.

We are all connected. We battle through life together, from one end of it to the other. A journey -- probably a short journey, if you consider the grand scheme of things. We all have a story to tell and if you take the time to listen...to feel...to absorb, chances are you'll walk away with a better understanding of the person you just said hello to.

In my case, I take it a bit further. The people I have met in the past eventually became characters in a book. Their stories took flight in my head and suddenly I had a beginning, a middle and an ending to the next piece I was writing.

The interesting souls I meet now, may include an old man at the end of a bar, or an old woman, who is sitting on a bench in the park, meticulously going about her business, feeding a gathering of birds. Chances are he, or she, is my age or younger. But, who's counting? Certainly not them.

Instead, I'm doing all the adding up. After a question and answer period, I say my goodbyes and head off. A successful outing. Suddenly, their story is safely tucked away in the back of that overused brain of mine.

This craziness started when I was a little boy. My parents had stopped at a small diner thirty miles north of Phoenix, out in the middle of nowhere. A gas station, a restroom and that was it. Nothing for miles in either direction.

Someday in the future, I'd end up building a town in my head, complete with a courthouse, a library, a cemetery and 10,000 townspeople scurrying in the streets. I'd come up with a hero, a good guy, a bad guy, a catastrophic event and eventually a happy ending. Thus, my third book, The Legend of Bucket Smith.

I no longer write novels. It takes so much time and energy and if you want to know the truth the pay is terrible, unless your name is Grisham or Hemingway. But what is so great about getting older, I can pretty much do what I want...whenever I want to.  I choose to have a conversation with people, sit back and enjoy their tale. And that's it.

And, I have discovered that we are, in fact, all in this thing together. Whether I write down my thoughts or whether I don't. It's the meeting that counts. The interacting. The willingness to listen. To compare and realize we are so different, but yet we are so much the same.

I recently attending my high school's mini-reunion -- 55th to be exact. I went home after the event and journeyed through all my yearbooks. I left the reunion that night with a clear mind. I didn't need to sit down, build characters and write another book. The tale was right in front of me that night. It was a night to cherish...and to remember... and to smile and understand just how far we have come.

Such an amazing journey life is.

Thunder Tim rolls on...

Tucson Old Timers (TOTS)

60-and-over baseball

Thunder Tim Tolson continues to roll this week with his hot hitting at Udall Park.

Tolson hit his second home run of the week with a three-run shot in the first inning today to lead Team Blue to a 8-3 win over Team White in a 60-and-over Tucson Old Timers game.

The hard-hitting lefty went 3 for 3 today and drove in four runs, just 48 hours after he went 4 for 4 on Monday and drove in five runs -- including another three-run homer.

A perfect 7 for 7 and nine runs batted in...and two monstrous home runs.

Tolson's blast today helped his team jump out to a 4-0 lead and the game turned into an uphill battle for Team White the rest of the way. Joe Opocensky picked up the pitching victory for Team Blue, while the reliable Pete Maldonado took the loss. Pigpen Price, Dennis Crowley and Arnie White had two hits apiece for the losing team. Opocensky kept the ball away from Team Blue's big gun, Reed Palmer, who leads the TOTS with 27 home runs this season.

Palmer had just one hit today. He walked once and was called out on strikes on a questionable call. "I thought the pitch was outside," Palmer said. But umpire Mike Steele saw it differently and rang him up.

After the strike out, Palmer and Team White went quietly in the final two innings.

Still, another game in the books at Udall, despite the cold and windy weather.

The TOTS are back at it on Friday. Game time: 10 a.m. A 70-degree day is expected and the heavy winds are expected to subside.

Go, TOTS!

The Doctor, the Judge and the Public Defender

Tucson Old Timers (TOTS)

60-and-over baseball

The 60-and-over Tucson Old Timers are Country Strong or shall I come back to earth and call the following article, Pima County Strong.

The TOTS roster is filled with men who never played baseball for a living...and still don't. I may add.

Some fifty members remain active with the 2018 Tucson Old Timers and  on "game day" you can count on close to 25 showing up regularly at Udall Park on a Monday, Wednesday and Friday to play senior baseball.

The 70 year olds, the 80 year olds...and one member who is 93, no longer work for a living, but some of the 60-somethings still earn a paycheck. Everyone of the players on the TOTS have spent decades out in "the work force." Their credentials, their resumes and their backgrounds in their respective professions are impressive.

Take for instance this trio:  Dr. John Miaiaszek, a retired Superior Court Judge by the name of Chuck Sabalos and the youngster of the group, a Tucson lawyer and a public defender by the name of Reed Palmer -- the most active of the trio who just happens to hold the organization's single-season home record.

Miaiaszek, 69, attended medical school and completed his residency at the University of Arizona. Dr. Miaiaszek is Director of Outpatient Services and the Medical Director of Outpatient Clinic for Banner - UMC Main.

He is highly involved in psychotherapy training with the residents. His interests are in outpatient psychotherapy and psychopharmacology and psychiatry.

Sabalos, 68, turned in his gavel a couple of years back after a "lifetime" as a Superior Court Judge in Pima County, while Palmer, 62, who grew up in Portland, Oregon, spent many years as a public defender in the City of Tucson.

Miaiaszek was born in London, England and has been a member of the TOTS since 2011, Sabalos was born in New York and has been a member of the TOTS since 2010, while Palmer is in his third season with the Tucson Old Timers.

Photos: The Doctor, the Judge and the Public Defender.

Palmer edges closer to a 30 home run season

Tucson Old Timers (TOTS)

60-and-over baseball

It's no secret who the home run hitter on the Tucson Old Timers is. Reed Palmer belts the baseball over the right field fence at Udall Park with regularity.

Many times, the pitchers on the TOTS take the easy way out. An intentional walk is a smart move.

Palmer hit two more home runs last week -- one on November 7th and another two days later. That adds up to 27. Every time Palmer connects with a round-tripper it's a club record.

With 17 days left in November and 31 calendar days in December, there's plenty of time for Palmer to reach the unreachable -- a 30 home run season. Maybe someday, a tall drink of water will come along and break Palmer's home record.  Chances are slim, but it is possible, there's a 40-something Paul Bunyan type out there who just might join the organization in the next 20 years and set their sights on the record.

Then again, Mr. Palmer is still a kid -- if you consider the current ages of the TOTS. The  players on the roster range in age from 60 to 93. Palmer, from Portland, Oregon, is only 62 and who knows how many baseballs the hard-hitting lefty will hit over the fence in the near future?

It's about time for Palmer to have a drink named after him at a local Pub, somewhere within striking distance of Udall Park. After all, some players on the TOTS go out for a "cool one" after the weekly games and some of the members belly up to the bar and order an Arnold Palmer.

A tall, 16-ounce Reed Palmer is suddenly not out of the question.

Photo: Palmer in swing mode

Thunder Tim leads Team White to 14-11 win

Tucson Old Timers (TOTS)

60-and-over baseball

Thunder Tim Tolson capped off a five-run sixth inning with a three-run homer to lead Team White to a 14-11 win over Team Blue in the 60-and-over Tucson Old Timers dress out birthday baseball game this morning at Udall Park.

Tolson went 4 for 4 and knocked in five runs and right-hander Lloyd Barzell went the distance to pick up the pitching victory. Bob Daliege, Team Blue's starting pitcher, went the distance as well and was saddled with the loss.

Team Blue's Mike Dawson had another big day at the plate in a losing cause. Dawson went 4 for 4 and scored four times.

The TOTS return to action on Wednesday at Udall. Game time: 10 a.m.

Photos: (top) Thunder Tim Tolson, (bottom) Lloyd "Baby Bull" Barzell

Note: The Tucson Old Timers celebrate quarterly birthday's through out the year and honor the players who have reached another milestone in their life. After the dress out game, there's  plenty of food and drink --capped off with a birthday cake to complete the event. Happy Birthday to all the players who have  birthdays during the months of September through December.

Wildcats move to 2-0

Arizona Wildcats Basketball


The Arizona Wildcats improve to 2-0 with an 82-61 win over Cal Poly at McKale tonight. Ryan Luther led the way with 17 points and five rebounds, while Chase Jeter chipped in 16 points and six rebounds. Dylan Smith gave the Wildcats a big lift with 12 points and seven rebounds.

The Wildcats led 41-34 at the end of the first half and enjoyed a 32-point lead at one point during the second half.

Arizona entertains UTEP on Wednesday at McKale.

A work in progress for Wildcats

Arizona Wildcats Basketball


It was an ugly game at times. So much to work on, but the Arizona Wildcats prevail in their opener with a 90-60 win over Houston Baptist tonight at McKale.

Brandon Randolph led all scorers with 25 points, while teammate Chase Jeter logged a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Brandon Williams chipped in 13 and Dylan Smith showed off his talents with nine rebounds, a steal, two blocks and three points. Point guard Justin Coleman added eight points with a couple of steals and two assists.

The Wildcats were without a suspended Ira Lee, who will return on Sunday when the Wildcats take on Cal Poly.

Team White wins back and forth battle with Team Blue

Tucson Old Timers (TOTS)

60-and-over baseball

Today's game at Udall Park was there for the taking. Both teams wanted it.

In the end Team White won the 60-and-over baseball game 7-5 over Team Blue thanks to RBI-doubles from Mike Dawson and Joe Opocensky.

 With the game tied at 5-all in the bottom of the sixth inning, Dennis Crowley reached on a fielder's choice play, advanced to second and scored on Dawson's double to make it 6-5. Team Blue's starting pitcher, Lloyd Barzell, elected to walk power-hitter Reed Palmer and face the music against Opocensky. The hard-hitting Opocensky, who was also today's winning pitcher, delivered a shot to right field for another run-scoring double.

The fifth inning was as wild as the sixth as Team White scored three runs to take a 5-4 lead, thanks to Palmer's club-leading 26th home run of the season -- a two-run shot over the right field fence. Pigpen Price followed with his second hit of the game -- an RBI-single to right field and Team White enjoyed the lead once again. At least for a moment.

In the top of the sixth, Pete Maldonado singled and eventually ended up on third after a fielder's choice play. That brought up Team Blue's hard-hitting Doc Thompson, who already had two hits in the game. Thompson bunted down the first baseline and Maldonado scampered home with the tying run to knot the score at 5-5.

Dawson and Opocensky took care of matters in the bottom of the sixth and Team Blue went quietly in the top of the seventh inning.

Maldonado had three hits on they day for Team Blue and teammate Arnie White, who played in his second game since his return from Montana, had one of the big blows of the day -- a double which rolled all the way to the fence in left-center field.

The game was a real nail biter, nothing like the game on Monday -- a 20-2 lopsided win for Team Blue over Team White.

The TOTS will be back in action on Friday at Udall. Game time 9 a.m. Next Wednesday, the 14th, the TOTS return to winter hours with the ball games all beginning at 10 a.m. and will remain so until sometime next spring when the high temperatures return.

Arnie

Tucson Old Timers (TOTS)

60-and-over baseball

Update for October/2022


Arnie White has been a member of the 60-and-over Tucson Old Timers since 2010. Arnie was born in Fulton, New York, and like so many members of the TOTS, White has led a life that borders on the unbelievable. He's been a fighter pilot, a commercial pilot, a retired professor from the University of Arizona, a golf instructor, and a rancher who lives with his partner, Michelle, outside Red Lodge, Montana.

"I've done a lot of things in my life," White said in an interview recently. I was a pilot in the Navy and in the Army Reserve."

Like all TOTS, Arnie loves to play the game of baseball, and he's back on the field at Udall Park this fall playing ball with a bunch of old-timers. "I love being around the guys. They are great."Arnie has always been a well-conditioned athlete. He looks 20 years younger than his current age of 80. Actually, Arnie turns 81 on November 11, 2018.

Like so many others on the TOTS, Arnie is forced into battling health issues, but, in Arnie's case, it is a real doozy. White developed Parkinson's six years ago, but it hasn't stopped him from playing ball.

"It's frustrating," White said. "I just can't be as mobile as I used to be."

White grabbed a bat and headed for the batter's box yesterday at Udall. A month ago, White was on his ranch ramrodding cattle or saddling up his horse and riding the range. "It's kind of a double life," White said.

Now he's back in town and enjoying the fall weather with Michelle.

When White is in Tucson, he, and Michelle, reside at their second home, near the Star Pass golf course. There was a time he even taught the game of golf at the University of Arizona.

But this October morning, White grabs a bat from the rack, takes a couple of practice swings, and heads for the batter's box. He proceeds to make contact and pulls the ball down the third baseline. "I can't stop the shaking, but I don't shake as much when I take my cuts at the plate. It's in the field where I seem to have trouble."

White's teammates look on in admiration. "Way to go, Arnie," they all say in unison as the rancher rips a shot to left field for a hit.

 


 

It's funny how things can end up at the MSBL World Series

2018 Men's Senior Baseball League World Series

60-and-over Cactus division

The Paladin team


It's funny how things can end up on the "final days" of a divisional playoff round and in a title game that follows at the Men's Senior Baseball League World Series in Phoenix.

For instance, let's take a look at the saga last week of two teams -- the DFW Phillies and the Paladin team from Albuquerque, a team with a roster which included two of "our own" -- Tucson Old Timers' standouts Mike Dawson and John Mathews.

Paladin beat the DFW Phillies 15-7 earlier in the week for their only win and failed to qualify for the playoff round. On the other hand, the Phillies made it through the playoffs and then won the title and all the championship rings that go with it with a 11-6 win in the title game over the Dragons yesterday at Hohokam Park in Mesa.

Go figure.

Those kind of results happen all the time at the Men's Senior Baseball League World Series.

Arizona wins thriller over Colorado, 42-34

Arizona Wildcats Football


Quarterback Khalil Tate threw five touchdown passes for 350 yards and running back J.J. Taylor rushed for 192 yards on 40 carries to lead the Wildcats to a thrilling 42-34 win over Colorado tonight at Arizona Stadium.

The Wildcats for the second week in a row pull off the upset to even their overall record to 5-5 and 4-3 in the Pac-12 Conference.

Tate was the Tate of old, showing off his passing skills as he completes 17 of 22 passes, hooking up with eight different receivers -- including two touchdown passes to Shawn Poindexter.

Unbelievable! The Wildcats are one win away from becoming bowl eligible.

Way to go, Wildcats!

It was the Palmer, Thompson show in October

Tucson Old Timers (TOTS)

60-and-over baseball

October was a strange month as far as the 60-and-over Tucson Old Timers were concerned.

A hand full of rain outs and a Men's Senior Baseball League World Series in Phoenix, which took away nine players for an extended period of time during the month, left the organization with just seven games.

Reed Palmer and Doc Thompson took full advantage during those seven games. Palmer went 14 for 21 for a .667 batting average to lead all hitters who played in all seven games, while Thompson went 12 for 23, a .522 average.  Palmer led the club  in RBI with 11 and in home runs with two.

The TOTS are back in action in November and have 13 games scheduled at Udall Park.

Go, TOTS!

Crowley hurls a gem, Palmer hits No. 25

Tucson Old Timers (TOTS)

60-and-over baseball

Team Blue cruised to 10-0 win over Team White today at Udall Park in a 60-and-over Tucson Old Timers game. Team Blue had the pitcher and the hitter to get the job done.

Lefty Dennis Crowley, from Boston, says he watched Chris Sale pitch in the World Series and picked up a few pointers on how to mow down opposing teams. Crowley's fastball has nowhere near the velocity of a Sale, but the former electrician and a member of the Tucson Old Timers since 2010, threw plenty of strikes today en route to an easy win.

Crowley, who turned 69 on October the 9th, got all the support he needed when 62-year-old, hard-hitting lefty Reed Palmer nailed a grand slam home run in the the top of the fourth inning. It was Palmer's record-breaking 25th home run of the season -- the most home runs hit in a single season by a member of the TOTS.

It was a beautiful day at the ball park today, especially for Crowley and Palmer.

The TOTS return to action on Monday at Udall. Game time 9 a.m.

Beware of the forfeit at the MSBL World Series

Men's Senior Baseball League World Series

60-and-over Cactus division

As Yogi Berra always said, it ain't over till it's over."

Throw out the won-loss records of round-robin play in the 60-and-over Cactus division at the Men's Senior Baseball League World Series this week in Phoenix.

The Paladin team from Albuquerque had won one game in round-robin play this week. Or was it two, or three? One or two teams in the division had some hanky-panky going on. One of the rules is a team must play 14 guys, or must match the amount of players used by an opponent (the amount of players who were entered by the manager on the roster at the start of a game). Alas, a forfeit! I know here we go again with technicalities.

So, the bottom line: The two players on the Paladin roster from the Tucson Old Timers -- Mike Dawson and John Mathews, may live to play another day. In other words, Paladin may have made the playoffs and with two wins on Friday could find themselves in the championship game on Saturday.

Well, let's not get ahead of ourselves. If all the rules and regulation come to an end by midnight tonight, Dawson and Mathews may find themselves back on the field tomorrow for at least a seventh game. At 1-5, including a tough 9-5 loss today at Riverview Park in Mesa, Paladin is in the running for a playoff berth due to the forfeits.

Of course, things can change in a hurry as teams await the call on the last day of round-robin play, waiting for that all important phone call with the results of all the rule changes, the tiebreakers and the all important runs-scored-against rule...and the forfeits, all which adds up to if a team stays for another day or goes home and prepares for next year.

Well, as Bookemdanosports finishes up this story, it is not quite midnight, and now the call just came in. April fools or better yet, November fools!

"No playoff game," says Big John Mathews. "We were misinformed."

"We're coming home," says Dawson. "We'll be back on the field with the Tucson Old Timers on Monday at Udall.

The TOTS will be glad to have you back.

Photo: Mike Dawson and John Mathews finished up play today at the MSBL World Series. It's official three weeks of fun for the nine members (Bob Daliege, Bill Mishler, Lloyd Barzell, Pete Peters, Pigpen Price, Tim Tolson, Joe Opocensky along with Dawson and Mathews) of the TOTS who had the pleasure of competing in the 31st annual Men's Senior Baseball League World Series.