Arizona knocks off Duke, wins NIT Season Tip-Off

Arizona Wildcats Basketball


Five players scored in double figures and the fourth-ranked Arizona Wildcats beat Duke 72-66 at Madison Square Gardens tonight and walked away with the NIT Season Tip-Off Championship.

Arizona (7-0) received an outstanding performance from guard Nick Johnson who tossed in 15 points, scoring 13 of those points in the second half and had plenty of help from his teammates as Brandon Ashley chipped in 13 points, while Aaron Gordon, T.J. McConnell and Kaleb Tarczewski added 10 apiece. Tarczewski hauled down nine rebounds and Gordon pulled down seven boards, while McConnell did his job from the point guard position with eight assists.

Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and Gabe York completed the Wildcats scoring with seven points apiece as Arizona trailed by three at the half, 36-33, but put together a 24-8 run midway through the second half and held on to beat the Blue Devils, handing them their second loss of the year.

Way to go, Wildcats.

Arizona beats Oregon in football, Duke in basketball and will go for the Trifecta tomorrow night in Tempe when they tangle with the Arizona State Sun Devils in the final regular-season football game of the year.

Could it be a Trifecta?

It's Duke against our Arizona Wildcats basketball team today in the NIT Season Tip-off final at Madison Square Gardens and tomorrow it's the regular-season football finale in Tempe as the 'Cats invade Sun Devil Stadium.

After the Wildcats upset win over Oregon last Saturday at Arizona Stadium, it is now possible for our 'Cats to post a Trifecta. Win all three and the Wildcats plane ride home from New York and the journey south on I-10 back to Tucson may become the post game celebration of all time by the players involved.

Not to mention the Arizona fans who will be taking it all in with a turkey sandwich in one hand and their favorite beverage in the other as they set back in their favorite easy chair and witness the two events on the tube.

Of course, the Las Vegas odds makers aren't giving our Wildcats a chance. For some reason (that Eastern bias for one) has sixth-ranked Duke favored by a slim margin (at least) over the fourth-ranked Wildcats.

As for the football game up in Tempe, well the odds makers have the Sun Devils a two-touchdown favorite. After all, ASU is ranked and the Wildcats are still struggling to get an also-ran vote in the top 40.

Come on Wildcats, bring home the hardware from the Big Apple and grab a hold of the Territorial Cup and roll out of Tempe with a collective fist pump and some "bragging rights" for a year.

This would be one Trifecta ticket worth having.

Go, Wildcats!

Big Man shines as Wildcats come from behind to beat Drexel

Arizona Wildcats Basketball


Drexel was having its way with the Wildcats, until the sleeping giant woke up.

Arizona's 7-foot center Kaleb Tarczewski recorded his first double-double of the season with 15 points, 10 rebounds and four blocked shots to lead the Wildcats to a come-from-behind 66-62 win over Drexel in a semi final matchup tonight at the NIT Season Tip-off Tournament.

Down by 19 points midway through the first half, the fourth-ranked Wildcats rallied behind the play of Tarczewski, along with the guard play of Nick Johnson (20 points) and T.J. McConnell (11 points) and an all-around performance from Aaron Gordon (10 points, 13 rebounds) to pick up their sixth win of the season.

The win puts Arizona (6-0) into the title game on Friday at Madison Square Gardens against the sixth-ranked Duke Blue Devils (6-1).

Wildcats ranked 4th this week in AP Poll

Arizona Wildcats Basketball


The Arizona Wildcats basketball team moved up to fourth in the nation this week, just behind Michigan State, Kansas and Kentucky in the AP Poll.

Kentucky (4-1) has a loss, while the other top four are unbeaten. Duke (5-1) maintains sixth place behind unbeaten Oklahoma State.

That Eastern bias still raises its ugly head. Of course, a win over Drexel today and probably Duke on Friday should serve notice to all those powers-to-be who make up the rankings that Arizona should not only be in the top four, but maybe even higher.

It's possible Duke may not get by Alabama in the NIT semi-finals and it's also possible Arizona could drop their semi final game to Drexel. It wouldn't be the end of world for the teams involved if that scenario pans out, but it certainly would be nice to see our Wildcats go into the Big Apple and take care  of business.

The fact we are still in November and the Arizona Wildcats are ranked in the top five nationally is a good indication that coach Sean Miller has his troops primed for a run to the Final Four.

Good luck, Wildcats! Turn some heads in New York and come home with the trophy.

Team Priceless moves into 3rd place in Fantasy Football League

UPC Hood Fantasy Football League

Team Priceless


My fantasy team, Team Priceless, won its third matchup in a row in Week 12 of the UPC Hood Fantasy Football League. With 23 fantasy points from New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees and another 15 markers from Pittsburgh's wide-receiver Antonio Brown, Team Priceless improves to 8-4 in league play -- just two games behind the league leader, Three Feet Right (10-2).

The final week of the regular fantasy season -- Week 13 -- will pit Team Priceless against Peach Fuzz Manholes (6-6) as Brees and San Diego quarterback Philip Rivers will lock horns. Team Priceless is a 20-point favorite in that matchup and should wrap up a three-seed for the playoffs with a win.

TOTS Blue 1, TOTS Gold 0…the date: April 6, 1984

TOTS Senior Baseball Network (TSBN)

60-and-over baseball


Shuffling through the Tucson Old Timers (TOTS) archives, I ran across a box score, if you will, of a game played at Himmel Park on April 6, 1984 -- 29 years and seven months ago!

Back then, some of the players had their own "handle" or nickname, just like the current TOTS. For instance, the cleanup hitter for the Blue Squad was "One Hop" Charlie Catuna. Charlie followed Dick Barnes, Mat del Janovan and Bunny Bechtold in the lineup. The rest of the Blue Squad lineup included Ed Holden, Tommy Phillips, Terry Overgard, Yankee Figueroa, Walt Richmond, Andy Buchner, Bert Hough and Clarence Fieber.

The Gold Squad had Slim Elmer Fisher batting 10th in their lineup. The rest of the 12-player lineup included Joe Tappero, Larry Aguillar, Sam Steg, Bill Tapolscany, Arnie Quintera, J.J. Zeller, Jim Holmes, Jack Harrison, Mike Aicher, Eldon Pickett and Gene Oxholdt.

All the men ranged in age from 60 to 79. In fact, Jim Holmes, was celebrating his 71st birthday on the day of the game. As for Clearence Fieber, well he's a familiar name among the current TOTS. Fieber was 64 years old at the time and he went on to play 27 more years with the TOTS.

The game on April 6, 1984 was won by the Blue Squad by a score of 1-0. The only run scored that day   was on a ground out by Fieber in the top of the second inning. The game went five innings and Tommy Phillips was the winning pitcher. The Blue Squad could muster up just three hits in the game and the Gold Squad finished with just three hits as well.

The oldest player on the field that day was Mike Aicher. Mr. Aicher was the top pitcher for the TOTS back "in the day." A left-hander, Aicher once pitched for Princeton in the 1920s.

You gotta love it.

Nothing has changed with the Tucson Old Timers. Only the dates -- those special moments in time -- are different.

It's Duck Soup on a cold and rainy day at Arizona Stadium

Arizona Wildcats Football


The Arizona Wildcats football team pulls off the upset of the season, upsetting the fifth-ranked Oregon Ducks 42-16 today at Arizona Stadium.

Before the game was over the sun decided to shine after 24 consecutive hours of rain and emerging from the dark clouds over the Catalina Mountains was a Wildcat team which went from a so-so football team just a week ago with a devastating loss on the same field against Washington State to a signature win for Coach Rich Rodriquez today -- the result of which gives them a shot at an eight-win regular season as they head north next Saturday to face in-state rival Arizona State.

All of a sudden, the Wildcats are 7-4 and no longer are they looking at a 6-6 season, but instead, have put themselves in line for a great finish to the season and a chance, if they were to keep the same intensity that they showed today against the Ducks, to beat the Sun Devils and then head to a more prestigious bowl game, possibly on New Year's Day.

Eighteen seniors and more than likely Ka'Deem Carey just played their last game at Arizona Stadium -- a game they all will remember for years to come. Carey pounds his way to 206 rushing yards and four touchdowns and in doing so broke just about every career rushing record at Arizona.

Even with Carey's performance, it was quarterback B.J. Denker stealing the show as he called an almost perfect game, completing 19 of 22 passes for 178 yards and two scores, while rushing for 102 yards on 14 carries.

There's nothing quite like a college football game. It's a game involving 19, 20 and 21-year-old young men and sometimes you just have to scratch your ahead and say, "What just happened?"

What just happened was a Wildcat football team finding itself today for 60 minutes and was by far the best team on the field. The Ducks were favored by three touchdowns and ranked No. 5 in the country.

The Ducks found the water not to their liking at Arizona Stadium today.