Carey, Wildcats roll at AdvoCare V100 Bowl

Arizona Wildcats Football

AdvoCare V100 Bowl


Ka'Deem Carey rushed for 169 yards on 27 carries and two touchdowns as the Arizona Wildcats roll over Boston College 42-19 today at the AdvoCare V100 Bowl in Shreveport, La.

Carey had a lot of help from his teammates in this one as Trey Griffey, son of Ken Griffey Jr. caught two touchdown passes, quarterback B.J. Denker ran for another score and defensive back William Parks intercepted a pass and ran it in from 69 yards to give the Wildcats six touchdowns on the day. Wide-receiver Nate Phillips was the setup man today with nine catches for 193 yards and Denker finished his college career, going 17 for 24 for 275 yards and two TD passes to Griffey.

Arizona (8-5) used a balance attack today to get by the Eagles. The Wildcats rushed for 254 yards and passed for 275 yards, while the defense did its job as well, limiting the Eagles to 351 yards of total offense -- just 145 on the ground while giving up just 75 of those yards to Boston College star running back Andre Williams.

Way to go, Wildcats!

And a special note for Mr. Carey. Please comeback!

Ed Rife's base-clearing triple is a crowd-pleaser

TOTS Senior Baseball Network (TSBN)

60-and-over baseball

Game of the Week

Ed Rife, 76, with his family in the stands cheering on his every move, led Team Blue to a 10-7 win over Team White in a 60-and-over Tucson Old Timers (TOTS) baseball game today at Udall Park.

Rife, who throws right handed but bats left, ripped a bases-loaded triple in the bottom of the sixth inning, just inside the first baseline, to cap off a five-run inning as Team Blue came from behind to earn the win.

The ball rolled all the way to the fence and Rife scampered all the way to third base. "They (the third base coach and Team Blue's dugout) wanted to send me home, but I was out of gas."

Right-hander Dan Lundwall pitched all seven innings for Team White and was saddled with the loss, while right-hander Lloyd Barzell picked up the victory.

Ed's family came all the way from Charlotte, North Carolina to spend the Christmas holiday in Tucson and take in an old-timers' game or two while they are here. They certainly weren't disappointed today and more than once you could hear the words being belted out,  "Way to go, Grandpa!"

Of course everyone on the field of play was a "Grandpa." But in the eyes of the Rife family, there is only one grandpa worth yelling for.

Photo: Grandpa Ed.

Note: Ed Rife, born in Akron, Ohio, turns 77 tomorrow, December 28. Happy Birthday, Ed…and nice hit!

Photos: Mr. Smooth, Ed Rife

No. 1 Wildcats wallop NAU

Arizona Wildcats Basketball


The unbeaten and top-ranked Arizona Wildcats head home for the Christmas holiday with a 13-0 non-conference record as they top visiting NAU 77-44 tonight at McKale Center.

Four Wildcats hit in double figures with Nick Johnson leading the way with 20 points as Arizona used a smothering defense to start the game and led 41-17 at the half. Rondae Hollis-Jefferson chipped in 14 points, while Brandon Ashley and Gabe York netted 11 and 10 points, respectively.

T.J. McConnell dished out six assists, while Ashley hauled down nine rebounds and Hollis-Jefferson grabbed eight boards as coach Sean Miller cleared the bench in the waning moments of the game.

The Wildcats had nine steals in the game and turned the ball over just five times.

Way to go, Wildcats!

The Pac-12 Conference awaits.

Team Priceless takes 2nd place in fantasy football league

UPC Hood Fantasy Football League

Team Priceless


My quest for my first ever championship in the UPC Hood Fantasy Football League came to a screeching halt in the first quarter of the Bears-Eagles game on Sunday night.

I held a slim 23-point lead going into the the game, knowing full well my lead wouldn't hold up as my opponent in the league finale, Team Arps, had Nick Foles and LeSean McCoy, while I had Philly wide-receiver DeSean Jackson left on my roster.

Of course, Philadelphia took a 21-0 lead early on and went on to a 54-11 win over Chicago as Foles threw two touchdown passes (none to Jackson) and McCoy ran wild with two touchdown runs and amassed 133 rushing yards to become the first Eagles player since 1949 to lead the NFL in rushing.

Team Priceless ended up with just 104 fantasy points as quarterback Drew Brees collected just 15 points as the New Orleans Saints loses to Carolina, 13-17.

I'll have to settle for second place, by far the best I've done in four years as a member of the league.

Congrats, Team Arps.

It's an even dozen for the No.1 Wildcats

Arizona Wildcats Basketball


It's an even dozen for the No. 1 Arizona Wildcats basketball team as they cruised to a 69-43 win at McKale tonight over the Southern University Jaguars.

Aaron Gordon went 8 for 11 from the field, but just 4 of 10 from the free throw line and finished with 21 points. four rebounds and two assists, while Nick Johnson knocked down four of eight from the field and nine of 11 from the charity line for 17 points as the Wildcats improve to 12-0 on the season.

Brandon Ashley comes up with a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds, while Rondae Hollis-Jefferson in his first starting role chips in eight points and eight rebounds. Jefferson got the start tonight in place of the injured Kaleb Tarczewski.

The Wildcats led 34-19 at the half and outscored the Jaguars 35-24 in the second half.

Arizona  (12-0) closes out its non-conference schedule with a home game on Monday against Northern Arizona (3-7).

Team Priceless advances to championship game in fantasy league

UPC Hood Fantasy Football League

Team Priceless


For the first time ever my Team Priceless will play for the championship in the UPC Hood Fantasy Football League.

DeSean Jackson led the way this week with 25 fantasy points as the Philadelphia wide receiver caught 10 passes for 195 receiving yards and a touchdown. In the real world the Eagles lost 48-30 to Minnesota on Sunday and wasted an outstanding performance from Jackson and quarterback Nick Foles, who completed 30 of 48 passes for 428 yards and three touchdowns.

Another one of my fantasy players, Pittsburgh's Antonio Brown, capped the day off on Sunday by running wild in the first quarter of the Steelers-Bengals game with a 12-yard TD reception from Ben Roethlisberger and  a 67-yard punt return as he led the Steelers to an early 21-0 lead. Pittsburgh went on to beat the Bengals, 30-20, and Brown finished with 18 fantasy points.

As for Drew Brees, the Team Priceless quarterback, he had a crazy day as New Orleans lost to St. Louis, 27-16, but  the Saints' quarterback racked up 33 fantasy points with a 393-yard passing day, with one touchdown via the airways and another on a quarterback sneak.

I had some help from my running backs today as well as Arizona's Rashard Mendenhall scored two touchdowns and tallied 18 fantasy points, while Dallas running back DeMarco Murray rushed for 134 yards and a touchdown for 20 fantasy points as the Cowboys lost a heart-breaker to Green Bay.

All in all, Team Priceless accumulated 161 fantasy points and knocked Three Feet Right, the league front runner, out of the playoffs and will now play for the league title next week against Team Arps, who edged the No. 2 seeded Assassins, 121-72, this week in the other league semifinal.

It's a crazy finish in the UPC Hood Fantasy Football League this year as the top two seeds are knocked out of the playoffs, leaving the three-seed, Team Arps, to fight it out with the fifth-seeded Team Priceless for the title.

Needless to say, I'm a happy fantasy owner for making it to the final. Now all I have to do is go up against and beat Team Arps and its quarterback Nick Foles, the former Arizona Wildcat.

It's still early and the No. 1 Arizona Wildcats have another win under their belt

Arizona Wildcats Basketball


It's still early in the day and the top-ranked Arizona Wildcats (11-0) have another win under their belt.

The Wildcats travel across the country, play an early morning (Arizona time) game at Michigan and come away with a 72-70 win over the No. 25 Wolverines.

Down 11 points early in the second half, the Wildcats storm back and get double-figure scoring from four players to improve to 11-0 on the season and hang on to their number one ranking.

Brandon Ashley led the way with 18 points, while Kaleb Tarczewski, Aaron Gordon and Nick Johnson rattled the nets for 14 points apiece. Johnson hit a hand full of key free throws down the stretch as Arizona knocked down its first 14 free throws, before missing one on purpose with 1.4 second left on the clock.

Wow! I can sit back in my easy chair and relax the rest of the day.

Way to go, Wildcats! Come on home and prepare for your final two non-conference games of the season against Southern University and Northern Arizona.