Torros Return To Tucson

For those of you living in Tucson this may be old news or maybe you just missed it like I had. Starting in 2009 the Torros will be returning to Tucson, this time as a part of the Golden Baseball League. The news became official about a month ago when they finally settled all the negotiations, and have now found a home at Hi Corbett Field. For those of you unfamiliar with the GBL it was formed in 2004 and currently has 10 teams in two divisions. The Torros have been added to the South Division along with the Long Beach Armada, Orange County Flyers, St. George Roadrunners, and Yuma Scorpions. The Torros will be playing an 80 game schedule split evenly between home and away starting in May.

The Torros date back to 1969 and for the sake of simplification played until the Sidewinders took over in 1998. Since the Sidewinders 08’ season was their last in Tucson before moving to Reno, the Torros have returned. I’ll be looking forward to watching these games, and am glad that the tradition of some level of professional baseball in Tucson will live on.
More after the jump...

LSU's Jean-Francois Won't Be In Gainesville

College Football starts at the break of down here in the Southwest, not because you have to get up to Tailgate but because the games literally start at 9 am. So for you just waking up out here, I thought I’d throw up a couple posts and tell you what we missed since the sun rises a little later out here.

Jean-Francois, defensive linemen for LSU, talked a big game early this week regarding the Marquee match up against Florida this week.

If we get a good shot on [Tebow], we're going to try our best to take him out of the game. With his size and his heart, it's hard to get a clean shot. Every lineman wants to get a good hit on a Heisman Trophy winner.

A lot of people took this as offensive, but in reality it is actually a compliment to Tebow. Either way you look at it, it got the Gators fired up. Unfortunately, Jean-Francois will not be able to back up his claims tonight.

A statement was given by LSU from Jean-Francois saying

We never go into any football game trying to hurt a player from the other team. My comments in regard to Florida quarterback Tim Tebow were misinterpreted and were intended to reflect the style of football that we play at LSU. We have great respect for Tim as a player and a competitor. By taking him out of the game, I meant as a defense we are going to try to make him ineffective. I'm sorry that my initial comments were interpreted another way.

The linemen is apparently suffering from a groin injury and did not travel with the team., and thus was not able to give the statement in person It seems pretty funny to me that the player with the most French sounding name was sidelined with lack of testicular fortitude.
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Arizona Baseball Announces New Assistant Coach

Arizona’s head baseball coach, Andy Lopez, has announced that Jeff Pickler will be the new assistant coach next season. This announcement was made yesterday in press conference to name Jeff Casper’s replacement on the coaching staff.

We are losing Casper who was a four year player here at Arizona from 1998-2001. He stayed with us for three more seasons as a “volunteer assistant coach” before heading to Yavapai Junior College, and then back to the U of A for two year as a “Paid assistant coach”.

In return we are gaining Jeff Pickler. Pickler played ball at the University of Tennessee until 1998 when we was drafter by the Milwaukee Brewers. After eight years in the minors and numerous teams he ended up as an advanced scout for the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Casper said that he is off to purse other career opportunities, and we are definitely sad to see him go. He has done a lot for our team, but we are also excited to welcome Pickler into the Wildcat family.
More after the jump...

Pac-10 Power Rankings: Week 6

1. USC: 3-1 (1-1)
The Trojans stumbled over a minor speed bump in a loss to Oregon State that not only hurt their chances for a National Championship, but Sanchez’s chance at being the next in a long line of Heisman QB’s coming out of Southern California. This weekend they posted an impressive win over Oregon who most thought would be the only team giving them a run for the conference. We know USC is good and better than their loss to Oregon State looked but we also know they have weaknesses. I’d put my money on the Trojans losing at least one more game before this season is over.

Next Game: vs. Arizona State

2. Cal: 4-1 (2-0)
It is still unknown how good Cal really is. They have one loss against a surprising Maryland team who has beaten two ranked teams but has also lost to Middle Tennessee State. Not only but the Bears were shut out this weekend by Virginia. The quarterback controversy has done nothing to help this squad, who luckily has a bye before having to travel to Tucson to take on the Cats. That will be the game that separates the conference.

Next Game: 10/18 @ Arizona

3. Arizona: 4-1 (2-0):
Arizona is tied with Cal for the conference lead thus far, and the next two games will speak volumes. There is plenty of information on the site, and a Stanford Preview coming up. More then.

Next Game: @ Stanford

4. Oregon: 4-2 (2-1)
Oregon is not doing anything to help the frustration that is the Pac-10. No team is giving us clear cut signs of where they stand or what their real strengths are. So far the ducks one convincingly against Washington (really in just one half of play), beat up on a bad Utah State team, took home the W in OT against a good Purdue squad, lost to a young but talented Boise State, beat WASU by 49, and then took a 34 point loss to USC. All of this why rotating QBs from injured to back on the field and back again. Their next stretch against UCLA, at Arizona State and at California should speak volumes. Well at least I hope it does. In reality they will probably beat UCLA in a close game, win convincingly against Arizona State, and go into overtime against Cal leaving us just as confused as when we started.

Next Game: vs. UCLA

5. Oregon State: 2-3 (1-1)
The Beavers may be better than everyone thinks. They may be 2-3 but they have had a pretty tough schedule so far. They have played three Top 10 teams in Penn State now #6, BYU now #9 (3 point loss) and # 8 USC (6 point win). If Oregon State can learn from these games and continue to fine tune against their next two opponents which luckily for them are Washington and Washington State, they could be headed to a bowl game this year.

Next Game: vs. Washington

6. Arizona State: 2-3 (1-1)
The Sundevils have only looked good in one game this season when they beating Stanford 41-17. Since that victory they have lost three straight to UNLV, Georgia, and Cal. Carpenter may be one of the best QB’s in the conference, but his supporting cast is not getting it done. I think it is safe to say that they have three more losses on their schedule.

Next Game: @ USC

7. UCLA: 2-3 (1-1)
I really don’t know what to say about the Bruins. I was never on this Band Wagon, even after a win over the highly overrated Volunteers. I think they are a year or two away from having a good team, and it is tough to say how many losses they will end up with this year.

Next Game: @ Oregon

8. Stanford: 3-3 (2-1)
Stanfords only notable win this year was against Oregon State, which the Beavers should have won if weren’t for a fumble at the last second. Other than that they beat Notre Dame, who still have not earned my respect. The Cardinal are in the same boat as UCLA.

10.
Washington State: 1-5 (0-3)
Washington: 0-5 (0-3)
The State of Washington is ranked 10th. The Huskies lost Locker, and it appears that they will also be losing Willingham. I think this is only going to set them back even more than they are, but I do understand that changes need to be made. As for WASU, their only win came over Portland State. I think a lot of teams, especially in the Pac are looking forward to playing teams from the Evergreen State.



More after the jump...

Heisman Busters: Week 6

Well I am back for another round of giving mention to those who have yet to be recognized by the big boys of sports coverage. Remember I am using ESPN’s Heisman watch list as the basis for those who aren’t in talks of being immortalized in Bronze.

Quick Recap of Heisman Buster Alum (Those who broke on to the list following my endorsement):

QB Mark Sanchez USC
QB Max Hall BYU
RB Jahvid Best Cal
RB Javon Ringer MSU
RB Donald Brown UConn
Past Weeks: Week 1, Week 2, Week 4

Who else is out there? There will be a point where there are no high caliber players that could possibly bust up the Heisman Race left, but until then I will continue to throw names out there.

RB MiQuale Lewis: Ball State
Week 6 vs. Toledo: 31 Car 157 Yds 2 TD
Season: 143 Car 802 Yds 12 TD
Why and Why Not?: Ball State appears to be the hot new team trying to break on the scene, and they took a big step when they broke into the Top 25 as of this morning. Unfortunately they play in the MAC, and all though they are ranked I would still ask Eugene Jarvis if he thinks a MAC running back can put up good enough numbers to get some recognition.

QB: Zac Robinson: Oklahoma State
Week 6 vs. Texas A&M: 10/13 76.9% 186 Yds 3 TD 15 Car 66 Yds 2 TD
Season: 62/86 72.1 % 1035 Yds 10 TD 3 INT 47 Car 158 Yds 4 TD
Why and Why Not?: His QB Rating is 204.58 which is the third highest in the nation. Unfortunately, the rest of his numbers are not as overwhelming as some of the other quarterbacks in contention. It is not likely that he will be able to compete against the big names from the big programs, but he deserves some recognition for taking Ok State into the Top 25 none the less.

QB Daryll Clark: Penn State
Week 6 @ Purdue: 18/26 220 Yds
Season: 80/124 1116 Yds 9 TD 1 Int
Why and Why Not? I had Penn State running back Evan Royster on the last couple installments of this article, but his time splitting has really hurt him numbers wise. One of the biggest reason he made it was because of his squad. It is now becoming more apparent that Clark is one of the biggest reason why Penn State may be the best team in the Big Ten. Eventually someone will start talking about Clark.

We’ll see how the week unfolds, and hopefully I can continue to dig up players for the following weeks. Until then….

4Real Out….




More after the jump...

Arizona Answers Some Questions With Win Over Washington

This weekend our Arizona Wildcats played host to the Locker-less Washington Huskies. To be honest, I had mixed feelings going into this game because of the performances of both squads so far this season. First off I didn’t want to get too excited about our Cats, yet, but coming off a 31-10 win over UCLA didn’t humble my spirits any. This season Arizona is averaging 43.6 points per game while only allowing 13.6 a game. Statistics should always be taken at face value but after a 48-14 win over the Huskies it looks like they are pretty spot on. As far as preparing for the Huskies I had a couple of lingering questions that I knew I would have to wait for game time to have answered. The first was if Washington was as bad as they seemed or if it was their schedule that is just that ridiculous.

Washington opened with #21 Oregon followed by #15 BYU, #3 Oklahoma, Stanford, and finally our Cats. They came out of that stretch 0-5, and maybe they deserve to be at the bottom of the Pac. Now that they have lost their leading passer, rusher and really the face of their squad in Locker I don’t think that we will ever find out if they are better than they look on paper.

The second question in all our minds was how good is Arizona this year? We know now that we are one stumble (Loss to New Mexico) from being close to a Top 25 ranking and that we are in fact a really good squad. Good is relative though, and no we are not on the same caliber as a lot of Nationally Ranked programs. That being said, the way the Pac looks this year I don’t think it is unrealistic to think that we might actually have a legitimate shot at the Rose Bowl.

Quick Stats from this weekend:
QB: Tuitama: 17/21 81% 193 Yds 3 TD 0 INT
RB: Grigsby 14 Car 113 Yds 1 TD
TE: Gronkowski 5 Rec 109 Yds 3 TD

Next week will be heading west to take on Stanford followed by a home game against Cal. As fat as I am concerned we have two more weeks before we can get ahead of ourselves and start planning our Bowl Game road trip possibilities.

I’ll have a preview for the Stanford game up soon.
4Real Out…..

More after the jump...

Bring on Year 100

As with most Cubfans I am the eternal pessimist. A trait that I inherited from my father (a Cubfan), and presumably his father before him (a Cubfan), and so on through the male Domschke Family History. I wasn't expecting a whole lot this year, as with every year. Sure I get excited about the Cubs season after season and get disappointed season after season. As I so aptly described the plight of the Cubs back in July, when I wrote of the Cubfan "lump in the throat" that starts to worry us, Cubfans start worrying because they know things are going to go bad. It's a matter of how bad and where the blame might be placed. I think I can safely say that I was right, though the Cubs turned it back around from that 6-10 slump I wrote of in early July, they still weren't as dominant as they were in May and June. And the bats once again went quiet. No surprise here, I in no way predicted a Cub appearance in the Fall Classic.

As I told many friends in the weeks leading up to and the days following James Loney's Grand Slam/Dempster's eruption, or more accurately erosion, the Cubs aren't made for a 5 game set. I'm not saying that they would have won in a 7 game set, but losing Game 1 at Home in a 5 game set pretty much says that the series is over. Where as losing Game 1 at Home in a 7 game set is much less of a death sentence. These Cubs (07-08) are a streaky, streaky team. When things are going good, they are going great, and when things are going bad they get to awful really fast. They are far too emotional for a 5 game series. Both in 2007 and 2008 game 3 didn't even seem like it mattered to Cub player or many Cubfans. The series seemed over when Bill Buckner took over for Lee, Dan Uggla took over for DeRosa, Alex Gonzalez (2003 NLCS Gonzalez) took over for Theriot, and Aramis Ramirez was replaced by his error ridden Pirate Past in the Game 2 loss. That's the way it goes for the Cubs, and always has. I don't feel like posting the stats but look back at 2003's Bartman Game/The Inning. The Cubs still had a chance to win Game 7 in '03 but they were so deflated after after Bartman led to Gonzalez's botch job at short which led to the Golden Boy Prior getting shelled for 8 runs. The bats didn't show up to Arizona last year and when rookie Carlos Marmol had a rough outing in Game 1 (and the ensuing loss) the series ended, all emotion and momentum was gone. Thus the way it goes for the Cubs. But there is one redeeming thought for Cubfans, this was not the 100th season of Cub baseball without a World Series as people talked about all year long. It has been a rough century, but not a full century.

Now, yes "technically" the Cubs haven't won the World Series in 100 calendar years. But the key word there is calendar. True, in 1908 the Cubs won the World Series, and then only went back once, 1945, and lost. These are indelible truths and I won't argue that. But, what everyone is failing to recognize, there was no World Series in 1994. Now the Cubs may have been out of contention by the time of the Strike, but the decision had been made much earlier that a strike was eminent. There was no World Series in 1994 ergo there was no World Series for the Cubs to lose in 1994. In June, had there not been a looming Strike, maybe those Cubs would have made a stronger push for the post-season and been in Wild Card contention by September. Ask the Colorado Rockies about fire headed into the post-season and double digit setbacks in August meaning nothing. I, in no way am saying the Cubs would have won, I am not suggesting or giving credence to the "what if" argument in sports, especially not when looking in the rear-view mirror. All I am saying is that there was no chance for the Cubs to do it. So I guess my point is that while it has been 100 years since the Cubs last World Series Championship, the Cubs aren't 0/100, they're only 0/99. So I guess it hasn't really been 100 missed opportunities for the Cubs and their fans.

And to really stretch it, 1994's Strike shortened season could have just restarted the clock for everyone. Maybe it was like the reset button for everyone. So Good Luck to the 2009 Cubs and Tribe as they try to break their bad luck streaks before they reach 15 seasons without a World Series win.

More after the jump...

Basket Cat News and Notes; The Wedding Edition?

In keeping with the tradition of soap opera tactics and plot lines from the hallowed halls of McKale big news drops straight from Papa Lute's mouth. Apparently, as is being reported by several news sources, last night during a benefit dinner at the student union Papa Lute decided to share his recent "catch" with the crowd. I must say I wish I had as much game as Papa Lute.

The dinner was hosted by Wildcat great and current Suns GM Steve Kerr, who is town with the Suns training camp for the next few weeks. This news coupled with the reneging of a scholarship offer to recent commit Reger Dowell is keeping the nay-sayer's and smack talkers in business.

In other former Basket Cat news, we here at TheBearDown couldn't be happier for long time Cat, Kirk "Big Nasty" Walters; He has signed a deal with the NBA D-League...while this doesn't guarantee him a roster spot it does give him a chance and after a less then spectacular college career (hampered by injuries, Mono, and Kevin O'Neal)that's about all he could ask for.

Another former Basket Cat in the news is one of my all time favorites Michael Dickerson. Apparently a bit of soul searching and some yoga has lead him to rekindle his NBA dream. Once considered a sure-fire prospect, injuries and playing for the Grizzlies derailed what was beginning to be a fantastic pro career. After several surgeries, much rehab and a few years in India...boom...an invite to the Cav's camp. I for one am pulling for one of the coolest guys to grace McKale to make it again and I have a hunch 4Real might be pulling for him also.

That's all for now...Until next time...like sand through an hour glass;these are the days of our wildcat lives.

More after the jump...

Arizona Wildcats News and Notes

So with traveling, conferences, moving, mold, and work weighing me down, as well as playoff baseball and no cable my college football coverage has slipped drastically over the last couple weeks. It's hard to write a decent Top 25 or Heisman column when I haven't seen any of them play in 2 weeks. Hopefully, next week I'll put together some of the award winning college football coverage you have come to expect. But just because I can't cover the national football scene, doesn't mean my Wildcats don't get any love.

I have been TV and internet less for a while now but that didn't stop me from listening to the 2nd half of the UA - UCLA game a couple weeks ago. Sure the temp apartment I'm in has no radio but my car does. So I sat in my car, in the lovely Tucson heat, sweating and listening to the game. And after a week off and 4 games down it's time to take a look at the Arizona football season thusfar and heading into the meat of the schedule.

So the Cats are 3-1 and could be 4-0. Now there's no room for should-be's in sports so I'm not holding a grudge or thinking that the Cats are being unfairly excluded from the Top 25 picture just yet. The Cats had two ways to come back after that disappointing loss to New Mexico A) Fold and call it a season or 2) come back swinging. I for one am glad they chose the latter and took down a fledgling UCLA team. So with 4 games in the book and 8 (or 9?) games left to play it's time to analyze the first trimester of the season for the Kitty Kats.

Week 1 - Arizona looked amazing against the Vandals. Unfortunately for the Cats that 70-0 thumping was less than impressive, Idaho has gone on to beat Idaho St. and lose to Western Michigan, San Diego State and one of the worst teams in Div.I football, Utah State. The plus side of this game was the amount of PT that was afforded to the future Cats, this will payoff next year when Matt Scott is tapped to lead the Cats to Back to Back Bowls for the first time since 1997 and 1998.

Week 2 - Another home game against another overmatched opponent the Cats once again looked strong against the Toledo Rockets (suggestion for UT, Toledo Torpedo's? I love alliteration and they've been under water for the last couple years). The offense looked really potent and the Defense had a great Goal Line Stand to force the Torpedos to kick a field goal and close the gap to 72-9.

Week 3 - This is where Cats fans were nervous. UA hadn't started off a season 3-0 since....well I don't know when but I know it wasn't in the recent future. Hell I remember coming back from Freshman Football Scrimmage in August of 1999 expecting Desert Vista High School Alumni Bobby Wade to pick up where he left off with No. 4 Arizona. The Cats lost 41-7 to Penn State. But back to the point, the Cats don't typically win the first 3. They haven't done it under Stoops, didn't do it under Mackovic, might have done it under Tomey at some point in time, but unlikely. UA was expected to win this game though they lost to UNM last year. The Cats came out sloppy. They gorged on the likes of Toledo and Idaho and forgot that New Mexico might not be a BCS team but they have been in a handful of Bowls of recent (even if they made up their own). I had a bad feeling and the Cats lost. The young Cats no-name D couldn't stop Ferguson and Arizona's 5 Turnovers didn't help anything.

Week 4 - The Cats fans came into week 4 expecting their team to lay down and die, again, for the umpteenth time in recent memory, or come out fighting. The problem, UCLA had motivation too, and they had the home field advantage. They however seemingly didn't have half of their training camp starters. Down to a 3rd QB the Cats came out (red pants and all) and took the field by storm and left with a win.

After 4 weeks the Cats are 3-1. That in and of itself is amazing. So we've got 8 games left to see if they can get 4 more wins and a bowl game. What's ahead?

Oct. 4 - Washington (0-4)
Anything less than a win here and despite a 3-2 record Stoops doesn't make it the the Territorial Cup. Cats Win. 4-1
Oct. 11 - at Stanford (3-2)
Tough game, on the road. Stanford is really turning it around. Last year a loss to Stanford was really disappointing. This year, it will still be disappointing but a lot easier to swallow. The Cats will have to come out fast and hard to have the game in their hands. These Cats aren't going to have a whole lot of comebacks. They need to take a lead early to have any chance. Cats Win. 5-1
Oct. 18 - Cal (3-1)
Too close to call right now, we'll have to see how they fare against Arizona State as a nice barometer. I think Jahvid Best will be too much for UA to handle, even though he may be rusty after missing 2 weeks. Cats lose. 5-2
Oct. 25 - HOMECOMING - USC (2-1)
As much as I want to say the the Cats will win this game based on the past Homecoming/Major Upset track record of Stoops which I have discussed at length. And as much as I want to say it based on the USC looking human last week in their loss to Oregon State. I just can't say the Cats will win. I think this will be the closest USC-UA game in awhile, and if the Kitty Kats are still in it in the 4th Tucson will be going nuts (check out Oregon last season). Cats lose. 5-3
Nov. 8 - at Wazzu (1-4)
After back to back losses the character of the Cats will show right now. I think the Cats are much more talented than Wazzu and the Cougars game couldn't come at a better time for Arizona. Cats win. 6-3 - Bowl Eligible
Nov. 15 - at Oregon (4-1)
Oregon looks like they might actually be the class of the Pac-10 right now and depending on development and injuries Oregon should take this one, especially with some leftover revenge feelings after UA knocked them out of Pac 10 Champ and National Champion contention and knocked out their Heisman QB. Cats lose. 6-4
Nov. 22 - Oregon St. (2-2)
Oregon State will most likely float around .500 the rest of the season with some highs and lows. They just don't have the team to make any kind of serious run, despite what you saw last week against USC. Oregon State's D won't be able to keep up with Arizona's O and barring a mental breakdown from Tui Cats walk with this one at home. Cats Win. 7-4
Dec 6 - Scummies (2-2)
Territorial Cup. Cats Win. 8-4.

Going Bowling.

More after the jump...

Dear Chicago; Breathe

Well I said ask me in October, and well here we are October 1, 2008. The Cubs are going to the playoffs, their first game against the Dodgers tonight- I won’t breathe for many weeks to come. The streets around Wrigley lit up the day the Cubs clinched their division, and in my opinon the city of Chicago is about to shoulder the past in order for the Cubs to secure their future.Go with me on this.

I believe in karma, and signs and things happening for a reason. Yesterday, I took the morning off work for a doctors appointment, I’m down on Clark street in the financial district when I hear somebody yelling on a megaphone through my cab windows. Now maybe it was because of my raging ear infection or the fact that I had tylenol pm’ed myself into a haze but I forgot there was a Cubs rally- and by the chance of where my doctor was located I ended up right in the middle of it.

Of course, I got out of the cab, I could self medicate anyday- I had to be invovled in this. I looked around and there was every type of person imagenable there- my favorite had to be the business men in their suties with their Cubs jersey’s over them standing next to the hot dog vendor in his hat, Harry Carey glasses and “W” shirt on. I laughed I forgot the Cubs fan does not stem from a mold.

The man on the microphone turned out to be Jim Hendry, through the course of his speech he talked about what made a true Cub’s fan and how this organization wouldn’t be anything without their family, ( I apparently I need to find out how to use my family stature to get into the Chicago Tribune will). Hendry also reminded us that Cub’s fans are different because a Cub’s fan never forgets where they came from and that we should all look around because this was Chicago and it was a part of each and every one of us.

What also was evident at the rally was that while we’ve heard a lot about this 100 year drought, the past and the franchise history would not be laid on our players this year. Cheers echoed through the crowd. The world likes to remind the Cubs that they are the orphan children of the MLB, where once they had a sibling in the Boston Red Sox, now they stand alone. That was then -this is now; it’s a new team with heavy hitters, smart coaches and loyal players- it just so happens to be the 100 year mark. Lou Pinella said it best; ''It's not fair to put all the expectations of all the past failures here and all the past successes here on the 2008 team'’.

So in the words of Heath Ledger via his creepy joker character “ and heeere we go”. Cubs start tonight, they host the Dodgers, in a twist of fate the White Sox also made the playoffs and they will be taking on the Tampa Bay Devil Rays tomorrow. It’s safe to say that the city of Chicago is breathing again, and because of this so are the Cubs ( and the Sox). It’s really a full circle event, the fans will hold onto the past failures and successes so they cubs shoulders can be free, and now we watch andwait, all while holding our breath…………….


On a side note: While I won’t declare the Cub’s victorious because that is a sacreligious jinx here are my picks:

Round 1:

NL

Cubs over Dodgers

Phillies over Brewers

AL

Angles over Red Sox

White Sox ( we gotta keep things interesting in Chicago) over Tampa Bay

Round 2:

NL

Cubs over Phillies

AL

Angles over White Sox

World Series

Cubs over Angles

More after the jump...