Randy Johnson vs. the D'Backs

Man, are the D'Backs off to a lowsy start. Sometimes it seems that my coed softball team could beat them they way they've played so far. Hopefully their bats will come around soon. Two shutouts in 3 games against the Giants. Of course, the Giants aren't hitting much better. They only outscored the D'Backs 4-2 for the 3 game series with all three games being 2-0. The only consolation for Sundays game is that Randy Johnson (it's hard to watch him in any uniform but a D'Backs uniform!) won his 296th game taking a no hitter into the 7th. I really wish we could have kept him around so he could retire as a D'Back with his 300+ wins.....

Super Boal LXII

Wow - what a great game. I was rooting for the Patriots because of Tedy Bruschi (I tend to lean towards teams with Wildcats on them, though both the Pats and Giants had at least one former Wildcat), but I was going to be happy no matter which team won. The Giant defense should have won the MVP last night. They really stopped Brady and the Patriots offense. Eli Manning did what he had to on that last drive, though, and proved that he might just be as good as his older brother. At least it wasn't a blowout game!

And the best thing about the Super Bowl? It means the football season is over and that Pitchers and Catchers will be reporting soon! Play Ball!

S.I.'s College Football's 15 greatest plays

How could S.I.'s "College Football's 15 Greatest Plays" not include Chuck Cecil's 106 yard interception return for a touchdown against the ASU Sun Devils in 1986? You gotta love those interstate rivalries!

Kirby Puckett

Kirby Puckett almost made me into a Minnesota Twins fan. At the least, I rooted for his Twins in the World Series in 1987 and 1991 (since my Mets were not in the Series, that wasn't a problem). He was an amazing ballplayer. Clutch, an all out player, enjoyable to watch and always seemed to be a fan favorite. It's really too bad that things turned out the way they did with his career cut short by glaucoma in his right eye that forced an early retirement. Kirby was human and had a difficult retirement and health issues which unfortunately ended over the weekend with a stroke and his death on Monday. He certainly deserved his place in Cooperstown and should be remembered for his play in the field. He was one of those rare players who stayed with the same team his whole career - a rarity these days. RIP Kirby. You were one of the best to put on cleats and swing a bat.

Arizona 52, UCLA 14

Here's a link to my photoblog where I posted a picture of the crowd rushing the field after the game.

The UofA Wildcat Homecoming weekend was topped off by a remarkable victory over then 7th ranked UCLA in dominating style, 52-14. And the game wasn't as close as the final score indicated. One of UCLA's two TDs came against largely second stringers when the game was over late in the 4th quarter. It was great watching the Wildcats dismantle the previously unbeaten Bruins on both sides of the ball. UCLA had 6 possessions that were 3 and out. The Wildcats scored on their first 4 possessions, taking a 28-0 lead with 10 minutes left in the first half and had a 31-7 score at halftime. With UCLA's reputation for late comebacks, it wasn't until the Cats passed 40 points on Syndric Steptoe's 63 yard punt return for a TD making the score 45-7 that a victory seemed assured. After a fumble recovery in the endzone, the Cats led 52-7 going into the 4th quarter. The UCLA team and their small contingent of fans amongst the 55,000 in attendance at Arizona Stadium on the UofA campus simply looked stunned as the clock ticked to zero and a few thousand energized fans (mostly from a refreshingly full student section) stormed the playing field.

With last weeks win over Oregon State and a close but frustrating loss to Oregon the week before that, the leadership of Freshman QB Willie Tuitama appears to have totally changed the attitude on this team. Willie is 2-0 as a starter and amazingly, the prospects of his leaving school 40-0 seem suddenly a possibility for this team. Probably won't happen that way, but the way the team is playing now, it seems tantalizingly possible. What a difference a couple weeks make. We play hapless Washington this coming Saturday and then the instate rivalry against ASU during Turkeyday weekend and 5-6 seems suddenly possible after starting the season 1-6.....

So long Bank One Ballpark

Well, it's official - Bank One Ballpark is no more. The D'Backs officially renamed the park "Chase Field". The BOB, as we affectionately called it these past 8 years, saw lots of great games including the greatest moment in D'Back history, Game 7 of the 2001 World Series that saw the D'Backs finish off the New York Yankees on a clutch 9th inning comeback win for their first World Series title. I'm sure the ballpark will see many more wonderful moments over the years, but it's going to be tough trying to get used to calling it "Chase Field" rather than "The BOB".....

Wildcats vs. Utes

Well, today is the day - the first game of the 2005 fall football season for my UofA Wildcats. Optimism is running rampant in Tucson at the start of football season for the first time in years (last year we were all hopeful that the new Mike Stoops led team would play well, but I think we were realistic about what Stoops could do with essentially just the remains of a team that went 1-11 the year before). Can this team get to 6-5 or better and go to a bowl game for the first time this Millenium? The reports from fall practice suggest they just might. Mike Stoops is a defensive minded coach. As such, the defense sounds like it is coming along ahead of schedule with a great backfield and a much stronger all around lineup compared to last year. The offense is probably where the big question lies. Can Richard Kovalchek perform the way he did in the ASU game at the end of last season, or will he revert to his less spectacular earlier performances last year? If he plays like he did in the ASU game, he should be able to balance what will probably be an above average defense with an offense than can score enough to be in most games this year. If not, we may be in for a lot of low scoring 17-10 losses. As for tonight, we play the Utah Utes, a team under a new coach and with about 11 starters from last seasons 12-0 team gone. On paper, despite a lot of question marks (like an 18 year old QB making his first start), Utah looks pretty good. We played them last year and if not for a bunch of mistakes in the red zone, we might well have beaten them. I think it was their lowest scoring game of the year. All things being equal, we should be that much better than we were last year. Utah may still win, but if they play a good game, the Wildcats will be in line to be very competative this season. I think they will win tonight in a defensive battle that will probably be low scoring - UofA 17, Utah 14 and the UofA will go on to a 7-4 regular season and its first bowl game since 1999. Go Wildcats! Bear Down Arizona!