Candrea is the best coach at Arizona

He's at 699 after last weekend's five-game sweep of Illinois-Chicago, New Mexico State and Washington. All those wins were amassed over the past 13 seasons, and he only has 143 losses during that stretch.

But want an even more impressive number?

Of those 143 losses, 101 came in his first six years. Since then he's had 42, or an average of only six losses per season.

Add to that College World Series titles in 1991, 1993-94, 1996-97 and that will answer one question.

Namely, who's the best coach at Arizona?...

Speaking of numbers, UA sophomore shortstop Keoni DeRenne reached 100 hits faster than any player in school history last weekend against New Mexico.

DeRenne got hit No. 100 in his 269th at-bat, as opposed to the 313 it took former Wildcat Chip Hale.

One hundred hits in 269 at-bats translates to a .372 average. Not bad for a guy who's only 5-foot-7.

He gives hope to short people everywhere...

The soccer team went out and landed two recruits from California, ending the stretch of seemingly recruiting only in-state players.

It's not bad for any UA team to bring in some local talent, but the talent of Arizona's prep sports as opposed to states like California and Texas is pretty meager. Population alone dictates there won't be as many impressive athletes in a pool of the less than 4 million people in Arizona.

Athletic director Jim Livengood said this fall the soccer team would be changing its philosophy in many areas, including recruiting.

Always nice to know one can trust a man at his word...

Teams that can contend at a national level this year:

Baseball, softball, women's golf, women's swimming, both men's and women's track and field.

Teams that won't:

Men's golf, men's swimming (except for Ryk Neethling), gymnastics and both men's and women's tennis...

Men's basketball coach Lute Olson has been criticized for his criticism of the freshman on his team this year.

But give Lute a break. How much longer can the Wildcats wait for these kids to get their heads in games?

If it wasn't for Jason Terry and A.J. Bramlett, this team would be at the bottom of the Pac-10 right now.

Mental toughness is not something easily created, but somehow these freshman have to get tough or else their erratic play is going to guarantee Arizona goes no farther than the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

If UA wants a Sweet 16 or Elite Eight appearance, the freshmen have to start playing up to their potential.

Move it or lost it, guys. If you don't believe in all the talk of mental toughness, take a look at a team like New Mexico. The Lobos go out and beat you guys, then promptly get stomped by New Mexico State, UTEP and Utah. UNM has never had a mentally tough group of players, and that's why the Lobos will never be anything more than a 20 and 1 team.

That translates to 20 regular season wins and one NCAA Tournament loss...

Outside of Arizona, the Cleveland Browns had their expansion draft yesterday.

There's not much more to say, other than the Steelers are going to enjoy having two guaranteed wins per year back on the schedule...

Jaromir Jagr is the best hockey player in the NHL right now. Yes, Gretzky is the greatest of all time, but not right now. Now he's old and going to retire. So Jagr is the best right now, and if anyone tries to dispute that, well, how good would any other hockey team be without one player?

The Penguins wouldn't be in playoff contention without Jagr. They'd be dead last...

Ratings for NBA games were up this past weekend. Ah, fans, how fickle you can be. Still, the NBA can count on at least one person not watching a single damned game this year, or next year or ever again.

His name is under the mugshot above...

Pitchers and catchers report in less than two weeks. Hallelujah.

Chris Jackson is a senior majoring in journalism. He can be reached at Chris.Jackson@wildcat.arizona.edu.