Staff Reports
Arizona Daily Wildcat
December 9, 1997

Tuesday's Tidbits

Former Wildcat baseball and basketball standout Kenny Lofton re-signed with the Cleveland Indians yesterday, reuniting the four-time Gold Glove and five-time AL stolen base champion, with the team he led to the World Series in 1995.

Lofton, Cleveland's career steals leader who played for the Indians from 1992-96, agreed to a $24 million, three-year contract. He will get $7.5 million in each of the next three seasons, and Cleveland has an option for 2001 at a minimum of $8 million and a maximum of $9 million, depending on his performance.

Cleveland traded Lofton, who played for basketball coach Lute Olson from 1986-89 and baseball skipper Jerry Kindall in 1988, late in spring training because they were afraid he would sign with another team after the 1997 season. The speedy leadoff hitter had an injury-plagued, sub-par year with Braves, hitting .333 with only 27 steals.

Cleveland got Lofton for significantly less than the four-year deal worth about $40 million he rejected last year.

Lofton was inducted to the Arizona Sports Hall of Fame in 1995. He was originally drafted by the Houston Astros.

In addition, the Indians traded Marquis Grissom and pitcher Jeff Juden to Milwaukee for three pitchers including Ben McDonald and agreed to a two-year deal with pitcher Dwight Gooden worth over $5.6 million

Redshirt freshman quarterback Ortege Jenkins and senior defensive end Jimmy Sprotte won the UA offensive and defensive most valuable player awards at the team's annual awards banquet Sunday night. Jenkins threw 19 touchdown passes, a Pac-10 freshman record, in seven starts. Sprotte was one of the team's leading tacklers. Senior center Rusty James and junior defensive tackle Daniel Greer were named the team's top linemen. Wildcat of the Year honors for the most overall winning performances went to senior wide receiver Rodney Williams and sophomore inside linebacker Marcus Bell

Marcia Saneholtz, the NCAA Division I Volleyball Committee Chair, would not admit the committee put Arizona in an unfair position.

The Wildcats, No. 9 in the country, were assigned to play an Oral Roberts team that did not drop a single conference game, let alone match. The Golden Eagles went a perfect 8-0 in the Mid-Continent Conference, defeating all opponents, 3-0. They beat Arizona, 3-2 Saturday in the first round match held at Boulder, Colo. The Wildcats were the lowest ranked team that was defeated in the first round.

After more than a 10-second pause when asked if the first round NCAA Tournament match was fair, Saneholtz, also a senior associate athletic director at Washington State, replied, "Arizona was fifth and (Oral Roberts) was seeded 12th. Obviously on paper, Oral Roberts shouldn't have beaten Arizona. Just like they shouldn't have beaten Washington State (a 3-0 second round win in 1995). They were ready to play. Maybe (Arizona) overlooked them."

Michelle Fanger, senior right side hitter for the volleyball team, received her Mormon mission call the day after Thanksgiving. Fanger travels to Halifax, Canada for her 18-month mission Jan. 14, where she will teach the Gospel in the Nova Scotia providence. "I already checked the place out on the internet," she said. "I'm excited to get out of the country and get the chance to go to a beautiful countryside."

Icecat freshman center Kory Wagstaff is down and out for the foreseeable future. Wagstaff anchored the team's second line until he broke a knuckle on his right hand during the Icecats' series with Ohio on Nov. 7 and 8. With Icecat coach Leo Golembiewski calling Wagstaff a "non-factor for the rest of the season," the team is actively recruiting a new center to come in next semester in time for the Michigan-Dearborn series on Jan. 3 and 4. Golembiewski wouldn't give any names, only to say the process was ongoing. Wagstaff said the most frustrating part of the whole affair was the fact that the doctors only put a cast on for the first three weeks and then had him come in for surgery to have a metal pin inserted, effectively ending his season.

In an article Sports Illustrated published chronicling the basketball team's trip to the Maui Invitational in its Dec. 8 issue, it paid specific attention to how Miles Simon and Mike Bibby spent their time in Hawaii. The two guards were cooped up in their hotel room with a Sony Play Station. The reason? Bibby said it was because they didn't have a car. The biggest drawback of the lack of transportation, according to Simon, was "we have no way to get to McDonald's." Jason Terry, though, managed to check out the beaches, and he spotted a couple of the UA cheerleaders basking in the sun. So did an SI photographer, who managed to snap a shot of the two young ladies for that same issue.