Olson's Pac-10 views differ from last year

Lute Olson has never been afraid to say what he thinks about the Pac-10 Tournament.

"We'll be there because it's the vote of the conference, and we'll try to win it as we did last year," said the UA men's hoops head coach last year at this time. "I personally think 18 games in-conference is enough."

Olson's remarks regarded a UA team that was a No. 1 seed in last year's NCAA tournament, conference tourney championship or not. [Read article]

Great athletes make great plays when they count.

Sprinting down a runway before hurling your body off a springboard and punching over a pommel horse would result in a trip to the emergency room for the average person. Throw in some antigravity flips, twists and a solid landing, and you have Arizona Gymcat Andi McCabe's afternoon.

"Andi brings Îbig play' mentality to our team. She throws huge difficulty, huge skills and she's a very tough athlete," said head coach Bill Ryden. [Read article]

The first big win of the Mike Stoops era for Arizona football came yesterday, when senior tackle Brandon Phillips was granted a rare sixth year of eligibility by the NCAA.

Phillips, a 6-foot-8 310-pounder, was granted an eligibility extension after spending weeks in limbo, rehabbing his knee and taking the maximum class load.

"I was, I guess, just relieved," Phillips said, laughing. "It's been a stressful ordeal just because I've been putting in a lot of hours, taking 18 units of classes, waking up at 5 a.m. every morning to go through workouts ÷ all the time not knowing if I would even get to play." [Read article]

Even with a win Friday at Arizona State, the Arizona men's rugby team's regular-season finale might be bittersweet.

Though senior turnover will be unusually low going into next season, the team will lose a number of key contributors. Team President Peter Wyatt is among the ruggers riding into the desert sunset this summer.

Junior flyhalf Justin Kunz said that despite the imminent graduation of team leaders, he already fosters high hopes for fall 2004. [Read article]