UA golfer Ricky Barnes wins U.S. Amateur Championship

BLOOMFIELD HILLS, Mich. ÷ UA senior golfer Ricky Barnes used a dazzling combination of power and finesse to beat Hunter Mahan 2 and 1 on Sunday in the 102nd U.S. Amateur Championship at Oakland Hills Country Club.

Barnes, 21, won the final three holes in the morning round of the scheduled 36-hole final, building a 2-up lead he never relinquished. He increased his lead to 4-up after 26 holes. [Read article]

Maybe it's a coaching strategy by UA head coach John Mackovic or maybe it's a case of tired legs. Whatever the reasoning, veterans barely saw the field in the final football intra-squad scrimmage before the Wildcats opened the 2002 season with Northern Arizona University on Saturday.

"It's good for the young guys to get out here," said UA senior wide receiver Bobby Wade who only saw the field for four plays. [Read article]

With the season less than a week away the UA women's volleyball team took the floor for the first time Saturday in an intra-squad scrimmage that saw a combination of young talent and strong veteran play.

Over 500 fans came out to support the Wildcats to see if this year's team has what it takes to repeat its 2001 Final Four appearance, which was the first in program history. [Read article]

The way sports are being covered is changing before our eyes.

Box scores and game recaps are simply not enough for the general public to open up a sports page or watch the evening sports show on TV.

It's not that the stories aren't well written or well researched ÷ it's that they aren't interesting to the general public. [Read article]

1. Finally: Olson elected to Hall of Fame.

The third time was the charm for men's basketball head coach Lute Olson, who, along with six other candidates, was elected into the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame during a luncheon in Los Angeles.

Olson was selected from a group of 24 finalists, the largest field in history. [Read article]

Arizona women's golfer Laura Myerscough was named to the 2002 United States Women's World Amateur team last week.

Myerscough and two teammates will compete in the 2002 Women's World Amateur Team Championship, Oct. 16 to Oct. 19, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. [Read article]

LINCOLN, Neb. ÷ Jammal Lord threw his first career touchdown pass and ran for 103 yards in his first start for Nebraska as the No. 10 Cornhuskers beat Arizona State 48-10 on Saturday night in the Black Coaches Association Classic.

The Cornhuskers blocked two punts and played strong defensively on a night they were trying to forget closing last season with blowout losses to Colorado and Miami.

Nebraska scored 38 points in the second half as it improved to 6-0 in "preseason'' games. [Read article]

BLACKSBURG, Va. ÷ Bryan Randall ran for two touchdowns and passed for another yesterday as 16th-ranked Virginia Tech opened its season with a 63-7 rout of Arkansas State in the Hispanic College Fund Football Classic.

The Hokies lost 11 starters from last year's team, but they had little trouble giving coach Frank Beamer his 150th career victory.

Seven different Virginia Tech players scored touchdowns in the first half as the Hokies took a 56-0 lead ÷ the most points in school history before halftime. [Read article]

KANSAS CITY, Mo. ÷ If they'd all been this scary, Bobby Bowden might never have stuck around to win 324 games.

Kendyll Pope and Jerel Hudson stopped Iowa State's Seneca Wallace at the goal line on the final play Saturday night, giving Florida State (No. 4 ESPN/USA Today, No. 3 AP) a wild 38-31 victory and nudging Bowden past Bear Bryant on the career victory list with 324.

"I feel like we lost this game,'' said Bowden, who trails only Penn State's Joe Paterno (327) on the Division I-A victory list. "That's how I feel right now.'' [Read article]