NATIONAL LETTER OF INTENT SIGNING DAY

Like a child on Christmas Eve, Arizona head coach Mike Stoops couldn't sleep.

Stoops' Christmas came Tuesday, and he wasn't waiting for gifts. He was waiting for official commitments from recruits.

The Arizona football program signed 18 players to national letters of intent yesterday, putting together the nation's No. 11 recruiting class, according to Scouts.com, a recruiting web site. [Read article]

Bring on the west coast swing

The No. 14 UA men's basketball team takes on California tonight at 8:30 in McKale Center, a game in which they hope to rebound from perhaps their toughest loss of the season.

"After this weekend, we're just ready to go out there and play anybody," senior center Channing Frye said of the team's 70-63 home loss on Saturday to Washington State.

Cal (11-8, 4-5 Pacific 10 Conference) sits in a three-way tie for fourth place with ASU and Washington State . They have won three in a row, a streak that includes a win at UCLA and a sweep of the Oregon schools in Berkeley. [Read article]

Things are not about to get any easier for the Arizona women's basketball team as it heads to Palo Alto, Calif., tonight to take on No. 4 Stanford.

The Cardinal are on a 10-game winning streak, with its most recent victory coming Saturday over Washington State, 69-56.

Arizona (15-6, 7-3 Pacific 10 Conference) was not as fortunate last weekend, as the Wildcats were defeated 84-77 in overtime by No. 20 Maryland in McKale Center in front of 3,316 fans and a national television audience. [Read article]

CRACK, CRACK.

One gunshot-like sound follows another as a skater in red fires a slapshot that sails just right of the goal and slams into the boards at 70 mph.

A defender in green chases down the puck as red skaters trail close behind.

It's a whirlwind of sticks and gloves as the two sides battle for control. No time or score shows on the scoreboard to the side.

A shrill whistle ceases play, and the green and red sides converge at center ice as one cohesive unit. [Read article]

Anywhere outside the West Coast, the name Richard Midgley probably wouldn't raise an eyebrow, but according to Arizona men's basketball head coach Lute Olson, the Wildcats will be paying a great deal of attention to the California point guard.

UA plays the Golden Bears tonight at 8:30 in McKale Center in hopes of bouncing back from an upset loss to Washington State Saturday and containing Midgley, a junior guard, could be key. [Read article]