Fans, elbows, roses and other stuff

Wildcat File Photo Arizona Daily Wildcat Chris Jackson

The guy who climbed to the top of the north goalpost deserves an award, my colleague said. I agree. I'll vote for "most likely to fall into the pit they're digging for the ILC when drunk." Still, what he did took a lot of courage that people like me who are afraid of heights would never, ever do.

A note to Ryan Kealy - this shit is going to go on for a few more years, so get used to it. In case you missed it, he's fed up with Arizona winning. I'm just fed up with the Scum Devils whining. Well, there's always basketball season. Oops, wait, they lost to Northern Arizona by 16 points in Tempe. Ha!

If someone had told me at the beginning of this year that I would be going to the Rose Bowl with the Wildcats, I would have smacked him upside the head. If he would have told me Arizona would be going as the second place team in the Pac-10 with a record of 11-1, I would have asked him to cut back on the crack he was smoking, or to share it.

Memo to Gene Edgerson: keep the elbows down.

Memo to Todd Jepson: don't pick a fight with a guy whose nickname is Mean and has a big Sigma branded on his arm.

Memo to A.J. Bramlett: never wink again.

A sign of bad times came when I read ESPN's college basketball schedule for the year. Arizona will appear on ESPN-2 twice this year. The Tennessee game was the only appearance on ESPN. That's what happens when the Pac-10 gets stupid and terminates its contract with the most popular sports cable network. Oh, well, with the non-conference schedule Arizona is playing this year, it's not like we're missing much.

Talk about a trial by fire. The young women's basketball team has already played No. 1 Purdue. This weekend No. 2 Louisiana Tech is in town for the Insight Women's Classic. My lord, a basketball team playing in its own tournament and it's not guaranteed to win! Who'd have thought such a thing possible?

Memo to everyone who is planning to go to the Rose Bowl (or at least hang out in California around that time): The men's basketball team plays UCLA Jan. 2 and Southern Cal Jan. 4 in LA. Now how's that for a road trip?

Last year Arizona Diamondbacks manager Buck Showalter said he'd like to have his team play an exhibition game or two against the UA baseball team, but then joked "I hope to be a little better by then." Buck now has Randy Johnson and Todd Stottlemyre on board, so he's invited the Wildcats to Tucson Electric Park March 3 at 1 p.m. Hey, if back up center fielder Jason Shroyer can hit a home run off Trevor Hoffman (last year's All-Pro Alumni game) then I'd pay to see Ben Diggins and Shelley Duncan take their shots at the Big Unit. And compared to Diggins, Johnson isn't that big.

So how many people around here are going to be watching the UCLA-Miami game on Saturday? I can't believe I have to root for the Bruins, but it'll be a little easier since I despise the Hurricanes, America's 2nd Most Wanted team (Nebraska is still No. 1).

If a lack of violence is a worry this weekend, the UA-ASU rivalry hits the ice Friday. Last year the Ice Dunces, er, Devils, swept UA for the first time in history, only to have two of the wins forfeited because of an ineligible player. Both teams are bitter, and this year the Icecats are a lot tougher physically. It oughta be a good one.

It's been many days since the NBA season should have started and I still don't miss it.

Overrated: Bernie Williams, Todd Stottlemyre, Brian Jordan.

Bad idea: Albert Belle in Baltimore.

Worse idea: Kevin Brown in Colorado.

And finally, thanks to all the great Arizona athletes whose careers have ended or are about to. Amy, Abdi, Nikki, Keisha, Kelvin, Chris, Edwin, Barrett, Jeremy, Daniel, Ryan and yes, even future poet Jim Wendler, thank you all for the memories of times gone by and times still to come, and good luck wherever life takes you.

May it not be Berkeley. Or Albuquerque. Anywhere else is fine, but trust me, avoid those two cities.

I'm off to check plane fares for an Albuquerque to Los Angeles flight around Dec. 31.

Chris Jackson is a junior majoring in journalism. He can be reached via e-mail at Chris.Jackson@wildcat.arizona.edu.