Hansen's Sunday Notebook: Friends, teammates rallying around ex-Cat Warner Smith
- Updated
Star sports columnist Greg Hansen offers his opinion on recent sports news.
- Greg Hansen Arizona Daily Star
- Updated
A few months ago, Warner Smith submitted an application to hunt antelope in New Mexico. It tells you all you need to know about the spirit of Arizona’s 1990 Gatorade football Player of the Year.
At the time of his application, about 15 months after he was diagnosed with ALS — Lou Gehrig’s disease — Smith was unable to walk. He has to use an electric cart, and a lift, just to get into his truck for the drive to work at a Tucson GPS engineering and software firm.
A few weeks later, Smith won the hunting lottery; he is eligible to participate in New Mexico’s 2016 antelope season, granted a special handicapped permit that will allow him to hunt from his truck.
“Warner’s got the best outlook anybody in his situation could have,” his friend, Steve Hopkins, said. “He doesn’t want your pity.”
Hopkins, an electrician who graduated from Palo Verde High School in the mid-1970s, met Smith through the local chapter of the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation. Although Hopkins didn’t know Smith when the former San Manuel High School Miner became a first-team All-Pac-10 guard on Arizona’s 1994 Desert Swarm team, they have become the best of teammates.
Hopkins has spent the last few months planning a Warner Smith Weekend. In attempt to raise at least $100,000 for Smith’s future healthcare costs, Hopkins arranged a benefit golf tournament June 24 at Starr Pass Golf Club. Already, 170 of Smith’s friends have registered. A day later, June 25, Hopkins will hold a fundraising dinner, auction, raffle and “Warner Smith Roast” at the JW Marriott Starr Pass.
The goal is to have 400 attendees; by Friday, about 250 had registered.
Smith’s Desert Swarm coach, Dick Tomey, will be the emcee. His old San Manuel coach, Mike Brown, will speak. Support has been widespread. Former UA teammate Chris Lopez is involved in financial planning. Ex-Wildcats Heath Bray, Mani Ott, Doug Pfaff, Rich Ellerson and LaMonte Hunley, among others, have helped.
“If the day comes that Warner won’t be able to work, I want him to be prepared,” said Hopkins. “On Friday, we received a single donation of $5,000. The support is incredible. Warner has a lot of friends.”
Here’s how to register for the golf outing or the dinner: contact Hopkins via email callemin@comcast.net, or phone him at 312-1258. A “Go Fund Me” account has been established at gofundme.com/2m59mcgs
Tucson’s big three of the week in sports:
1. Luis Gonzalez, outfielder: A sophomore from Catalina Foothills High School, Gonzalez was the Mountain West Conference’s co-MVP of the league tournament as New Mexico won the MWC championship. In Friday’s NCAA Tournament opener, Gonzalez was even better: he was 4 for 4 with five RBIs (and three doubles) in a victory over Dallas Baptist. Gonzalez was hitting .379 through Friday.
2. Bill Kinneberg, coach. The Pac-12’s baseball coach of the year guided Utah to the Pac-12 title (the Utes swept Arizona) and an NCAA Tournament victory Friday at favored Ole Miss. Few in the game have a more intriguing background than the son of a mining engineer from Douglas. Kinneberg pitched for Morenci’s state championship team, was a reliever for Arizona’s 1979 NCAA team, has been the head coach at Wyoming and UTEP, and the pitching coach at ASU and Arizona. He also was a pitching instructor in the White Sox system. Kinneberg’s closest friend is probably ex-Wildcat Terry Francona, manager of the Cleveland Indians.
3. Delaney Schnell, diving. The 17-year-old diver from Tucson High will spend 11 days at the U.S. Olympic Trials June 18-26 in Indianapolis. Schnell has been so good — a two-time National Junior platform diving champion — that if she makes it to Rio as part of the USA synchronized diving team, few will be surprised. Her coach is the UA’s Omar Ojeda, who is attempting to get Schnell and former UA All-American Samantha Pickens into the Olympics opposite UA standout Rafael Quintero, who has already qualified. Getting to the Trials isn’t uncomplicated. Schnell has had to raise about $2,500 to cover travel and living expenses, and, as one of the nation’s top prospects, has monitored her training and fundraising endeavors through the NCAA’s compliance system. Schnell has already competed at the Pan American Games and an impressive list of international competitions.
- Greg Hansen Arizona Daily Star
- Updated
Arizona 7-foot freshman Lauri Markkanen ends his three-week UA summer school session Monday. He’ll return to Finland to join the Finnish U20 team for games in Serbia and Lithuania in the lead-up to the July 16-24 U20 European Championships. Markkanen’s summer competition, especially against coveted NBA prospects from Turkey and France, should significantly improve his game before he plays at Arizona.
- Greg Hansen Arizona Daily Star
- Updated
Markkanen’s new UA teammates, Chance Comanche and Kadeem Allen, won’t face anywhere near the competition in their so-called Pac-12 All-Star trip to Australia next month. There are only two games on that tour, against Aussie semi-pro teams, and a scrimmage. That trip, which will last about 11 days, to be coached by Mike Montgomery and two of his former Stanford players, is part of the extravagant spending of Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott. At most, Comanche and Allen will probably play about 45 minutes of game action against middlin’ Aussie players. Wouldn’t the $300,000 (or so) it will cost for the “All-Star” tour be better spent if donated to the Banner-UA Cancer Center, or the Boys and Girls Clubs in Los Angeles?
- Greg Hansen Arizona Daily Star
- Updated
The most predictable whine of the week was when the Pac-12 announced the UA-ASU Territorial Cup football game will be played the night after Thanksgiving, 7:30 p.m. at Arizona Stadium. But four of the most notable Territorial Cup games in history — Arizona’s 1982, 1984, 1985 and 1998 victories over the Sun Devils — were also after-dark kickoffs that made local legends out of Ricky Hunley, Max Zendejas, Byron Evans and Trung Canidate.
- Greg Hansen Arizona Daily Star
- Updated
Baseball America ranks UA third baseman/pitcher Bobby Dalbec as the No. 89 overall selection in Thursday’s MLB draft. His return to hitting form the last two weeks might’ve made Dalbec another $200,000 to $400,000 in bonus dollars.
- Greg Hansen Arizona Daily Star
- Updated
Jay Johnson’s top incoming UA recruit, Las Vegas shortstop Nick Quintana, is listed No. 112 overall by Baseball America, and Yavapai College lefty Jojo Romero, who pitched for Johnson at Nevada in 2015, is No. 150. Neither is likely to play here in 2017.
- Greg Hansen Arizona Daily Star
- Updated
Ron Theobald, a second-team All-America second baseman for UA’s 1963 College World Series runner-up, died in California last month. He was 72. Theobald hit .366 for the Cats, and started for the Brewers in 1971-72. After baseball, Theobald umpired high school and college baseball games and drove a bus for the Brea Olinda Unified School District, transporting disabled children.
- Greg Hansen Arizona Daily Star
- Updated
Pulu Poumele, a starter on the offensive line at Arizona in 1993 and 1994, died Sunday in Oceanside, California, where he had been a high school football coach and math teacher for about 15 years. He was only 45, and had been at the Lowell-Stevens Football Facility during the UA’s spring practice sessions. Poumele, who chose Arizona over UCLA in 1989, was the first cousin of the late Junior Seau.
- Greg Hansen Arizona Daily Star
- Updated
Arizona’s men’s and women’s track and field teams are both picked to finish 38th overall in this week’s NCAA meet in the form chart by Track & Field News. That’s a serious plunge for the Wildcats, whose track and cross-country programs have faded notably in recent years. The only UA athletes predicted to place are decathlete Pau Tonnesen, third, and 400-meter hurdles standout Sage Watson, also third.
- Greg Hansen Arizona Daily Star
- Updated
Arizona does not have a player among the 75 listed on the 2016 ballot for the College Football Hall of Fame. After an impressive run, in which the Southern Arizona Chapter of the National Football Foundation stewarded the elections of Chuck Cecil, Rob Waldrop and Tedy Bruschi, it might be a few years before an ex-Wildcat is seriously considered. Ultimately, Lance Briggs, Antoine Cason and Dennis Northcutt should get on the ballot. Rob Gronkowski? Unlikely. He was never a first-team All-American in his two UA playing seasons.
- Greg Hansen Arizona Daily Star
- Updated
In 2006, Houston prep guard Nic Wise, who became Arizona’s starting point guard, was ranked higher than Steph Curry in national recruiting rankings. Wise was No. 89 and Curry No. 245. Who knew? Not many.
- Greg Hansen Arizona Daily Star
- Updated
My sports rant of the week: the NCAA allowed Oregon to play host to the NCAA men’s golf championship last week. The Ducks, who were only ranked No. 20, won it all. Local knowledge is so important in golf, and the Ducks, who might not have gotten into the final match-play group of eight on any other golf course, benefited greatly. It’s like Duke getting to play the Final Four at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
- Greg Hansen Arizona Daily Star
- Updated
When the PGA Tour moved the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship from Dove Mountain — it is now in Austin, Texas — it was because Accenture stopped sponsoring golf tournaments. Initially, I thought it was because Tucson wasn’t “big time” enough to stage one of the world’s leading golf events. But when the PGA Tour last week moved the WGC-Cadillac Championship from Donald Trump’s Florida course, Doral, it offered a similar reason. Cadillac left as a sponsor. The PGA Tour found a new sponsor in Mexico City, and now the Doral event, part of the PGA Tour since 1962, is without a tournament. In pro golf, follow the money, not the tradition.
- Greg Hansen Arizona Daily Star
- Updated
It was good to see the Phoenix Suns give former Amphi state championship guard Lester Medford of Baylor a pre-draft workout last week. Medford, who completed his college career at Baylor, is likely to play overseas, joining his longtime prep rivals Terrell Stoglin of Santa Rita and Shakir Smith of Tucson High. Stoglin, who played two seasons at Maryland, completed his fourth EuroLeague season last month, averaging 28.2 points for Sagesse of Lebanon. Smith, who was an All-RMAC guard at Adams State last season after a standout stint at Pima College, has signed to play professionally in Germany.
- Greg Hansen Arizona Daily Star
- Updated
Since Salpointe Catholic sophomore-to-be Majok Deng completed his first season for the Lancers, averaging 9.5 points, he has played 32 games on the AAU circuit for the Arizona Powerhouse Hoops 15U team. Some recruiting analysts believe Deng, a 6-foot-5-inch wing player, will develop into one of the top 10 or 20 prospects in the entire Class of 2019. His AAU team is 31-1, and he is the chief attention-getter.
- Greg Hansen Arizona Daily Star
- Updated
When ESPN last week chose to broadcast the Sept. 3 UA-BYU football opener at 7:30 p.m., it meant those driving to University of Phoenix Stadium from Tucson would return home after 1 a.m.
The late start probably means the game won’t be sold out, or even close.
There is no appeal when ESPN sets its programming schedule.
Most UA games at Arizona Stadium generate about $1.5 million in revenue. In a typical home season, that’s close to $9 million. By comparison, the Pac-12 distributed about $25 million in TV money to Arizona for the 2014 season.
That’s why ESPN calls the shots and doesn’t fret about 5,000 or 10,000 Tucsonans staying home, watching in the comfort of their living rooms.
A few months ago, Warner Smith submitted an application to hunt antelope in New Mexico. It tells you all you need to know about the spirit of Arizona’s 1990 Gatorade football Player of the Year.
At the time of his application, about 15 months after he was diagnosed with ALS — Lou Gehrig’s disease — Smith was unable to walk. He has to use an electric cart, and a lift, just to get into his truck for the drive to work at a Tucson GPS engineering and software firm.
A few weeks later, Smith won the hunting lottery; he is eligible to participate in New Mexico’s 2016 antelope season, granted a special handicapped permit that will allow him to hunt from his truck.
“Warner’s got the best outlook anybody in his situation could have,” his friend, Steve Hopkins, said. “He doesn’t want your pity.”
Hopkins, an electrician who graduated from Palo Verde High School in the mid-1970s, met Smith through the local chapter of the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation. Although Hopkins didn’t know Smith when the former San Manuel High School Miner became a first-team All-Pac-10 guard on Arizona’s 1994 Desert Swarm team, they have become the best of teammates.
Hopkins has spent the last few months planning a Warner Smith Weekend. In attempt to raise at least $100,000 for Smith’s future healthcare costs, Hopkins arranged a benefit golf tournament June 24 at Starr Pass Golf Club. Already, 170 of Smith’s friends have registered. A day later, June 25, Hopkins will hold a fundraising dinner, auction, raffle and “Warner Smith Roast” at the JW Marriott Starr Pass.
The goal is to have 400 attendees; by Friday, about 250 had registered.
Smith’s Desert Swarm coach, Dick Tomey, will be the emcee. His old San Manuel coach, Mike Brown, will speak. Support has been widespread. Former UA teammate Chris Lopez is involved in financial planning. Ex-Wildcats Heath Bray, Mani Ott, Doug Pfaff, Rich Ellerson and LaMonte Hunley, among others, have helped.
“If the day comes that Warner won’t be able to work, I want him to be prepared,” said Hopkins. “On Friday, we received a single donation of $5,000. The support is incredible. Warner has a lot of friends.”
Here’s how to register for the golf outing or the dinner: contact Hopkins via email callemin@comcast.net, or phone him at 312-1258. A “Go Fund Me” account has been established at gofundme.com/2m59mcgs
Tucson’s big three of the week in sports:
1. Luis Gonzalez, outfielder: A sophomore from Catalina Foothills High School, Gonzalez was the Mountain West Conference’s co-MVP of the league tournament as New Mexico won the MWC championship. In Friday’s NCAA Tournament opener, Gonzalez was even better: he was 4 for 4 with five RBIs (and three doubles) in a victory over Dallas Baptist. Gonzalez was hitting .379 through Friday.
2. Bill Kinneberg, coach. The Pac-12’s baseball coach of the year guided Utah to the Pac-12 title (the Utes swept Arizona) and an NCAA Tournament victory Friday at favored Ole Miss. Few in the game have a more intriguing background than the son of a mining engineer from Douglas. Kinneberg pitched for Morenci’s state championship team, was a reliever for Arizona’s 1979 NCAA team, has been the head coach at Wyoming and UTEP, and the pitching coach at ASU and Arizona. He also was a pitching instructor in the White Sox system. Kinneberg’s closest friend is probably ex-Wildcat Terry Francona, manager of the Cleveland Indians.
3. Delaney Schnell, diving. The 17-year-old diver from Tucson High will spend 11 days at the U.S. Olympic Trials June 18-26 in Indianapolis. Schnell has been so good — a two-time National Junior platform diving champion — that if she makes it to Rio as part of the USA synchronized diving team, few will be surprised. Her coach is the UA’s Omar Ojeda, who is attempting to get Schnell and former UA All-American Samantha Pickens into the Olympics opposite UA standout Rafael Quintero, who has already qualified. Getting to the Trials isn’t uncomplicated. Schnell has had to raise about $2,500 to cover travel and living expenses, and, as one of the nation’s top prospects, has monitored her training and fundraising endeavors through the NCAA’s compliance system. Schnell has already competed at the Pan American Games and an impressive list of international competitions.
Arizona 7-foot freshman Lauri Markkanen ends his three-week UA summer school session Monday. He’ll return to Finland to join the Finnish U20 team for games in Serbia and Lithuania in the lead-up to the July 16-24 U20 European Championships. Markkanen’s summer competition, especially against coveted NBA prospects from Turkey and France, should significantly improve his game before he plays at Arizona.
Markkanen’s new UA teammates, Chance Comanche and Kadeem Allen, won’t face anywhere near the competition in their so-called Pac-12 All-Star trip to Australia next month. There are only two games on that tour, against Aussie semi-pro teams, and a scrimmage. That trip, which will last about 11 days, to be coached by Mike Montgomery and two of his former Stanford players, is part of the extravagant spending of Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott. At most, Comanche and Allen will probably play about 45 minutes of game action against middlin’ Aussie players. Wouldn’t the $300,000 (or so) it will cost for the “All-Star” tour be better spent if donated to the Banner-UA Cancer Center, or the Boys and Girls Clubs in Los Angeles?
The most predictable whine of the week was when the Pac-12 announced the UA-ASU Territorial Cup football game will be played the night after Thanksgiving, 7:30 p.m. at Arizona Stadium. But four of the most notable Territorial Cup games in history — Arizona’s 1982, 1984, 1985 and 1998 victories over the Sun Devils — were also after-dark kickoffs that made local legends out of Ricky Hunley, Max Zendejas, Byron Evans and Trung Canidate.
Baseball America ranks UA third baseman/pitcher Bobby Dalbec as the No. 89 overall selection in Thursday’s MLB draft. His return to hitting form the last two weeks might’ve made Dalbec another $200,000 to $400,000 in bonus dollars.
Jay Johnson’s top incoming UA recruit, Las Vegas shortstop Nick Quintana, is listed No. 112 overall by Baseball America, and Yavapai College lefty Jojo Romero, who pitched for Johnson at Nevada in 2015, is No. 150. Neither is likely to play here in 2017.
Ron Theobald, a second-team All-America second baseman for UA’s 1963 College World Series runner-up, died in California last month. He was 72. Theobald hit .366 for the Cats, and started for the Brewers in 1971-72. After baseball, Theobald umpired high school and college baseball games and drove a bus for the Brea Olinda Unified School District, transporting disabled children.
Pulu Poumele, a starter on the offensive line at Arizona in 1993 and 1994, died Sunday in Oceanside, California, where he had been a high school football coach and math teacher for about 15 years. He was only 45, and had been at the Lowell-Stevens Football Facility during the UA’s spring practice sessions. Poumele, who chose Arizona over UCLA in 1989, was the first cousin of the late Junior Seau.
Arizona’s men’s and women’s track and field teams are both picked to finish 38th overall in this week’s NCAA meet in the form chart by Track & Field News. That’s a serious plunge for the Wildcats, whose track and cross-country programs have faded notably in recent years. The only UA athletes predicted to place are decathlete Pau Tonnesen, third, and 400-meter hurdles standout Sage Watson, also third.
Arizona does not have a player among the 75 listed on the 2016 ballot for the College Football Hall of Fame. After an impressive run, in which the Southern Arizona Chapter of the National Football Foundation stewarded the elections of Chuck Cecil, Rob Waldrop and Tedy Bruschi, it might be a few years before an ex-Wildcat is seriously considered. Ultimately, Lance Briggs, Antoine Cason and Dennis Northcutt should get on the ballot. Rob Gronkowski? Unlikely. He was never a first-team All-American in his two UA playing seasons.
In 2006, Houston prep guard Nic Wise, who became Arizona’s starting point guard, was ranked higher than Steph Curry in national recruiting rankings. Wise was No. 89 and Curry No. 245. Who knew? Not many.
My sports rant of the week: the NCAA allowed Oregon to play host to the NCAA men’s golf championship last week. The Ducks, who were only ranked No. 20, won it all. Local knowledge is so important in golf, and the Ducks, who might not have gotten into the final match-play group of eight on any other golf course, benefited greatly. It’s like Duke getting to play the Final Four at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
When the PGA Tour moved the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship from Dove Mountain — it is now in Austin, Texas — it was because Accenture stopped sponsoring golf tournaments. Initially, I thought it was because Tucson wasn’t “big time” enough to stage one of the world’s leading golf events. But when the PGA Tour last week moved the WGC-Cadillac Championship from Donald Trump’s Florida course, Doral, it offered a similar reason. Cadillac left as a sponsor. The PGA Tour found a new sponsor in Mexico City, and now the Doral event, part of the PGA Tour since 1962, is without a tournament. In pro golf, follow the money, not the tradition.
It was good to see the Phoenix Suns give former Amphi state championship guard Lester Medford of Baylor a pre-draft workout last week. Medford, who completed his college career at Baylor, is likely to play overseas, joining his longtime prep rivals Terrell Stoglin of Santa Rita and Shakir Smith of Tucson High. Stoglin, who played two seasons at Maryland, completed his fourth EuroLeague season last month, averaging 28.2 points for Sagesse of Lebanon. Smith, who was an All-RMAC guard at Adams State last season after a standout stint at Pima College, has signed to play professionally in Germany.
Since Salpointe Catholic sophomore-to-be Majok Deng completed his first season for the Lancers, averaging 9.5 points, he has played 32 games on the AAU circuit for the Arizona Powerhouse Hoops 15U team. Some recruiting analysts believe Deng, a 6-foot-5-inch wing player, will develop into one of the top 10 or 20 prospects in the entire Class of 2019. His AAU team is 31-1, and he is the chief attention-getter.
When ESPN last week chose to broadcast the Sept. 3 UA-BYU football opener at 7:30 p.m., it meant those driving to University of Phoenix Stadium from Tucson would return home after 1 a.m.
The late start probably means the game won’t be sold out, or even close.
There is no appeal when ESPN sets its programming schedule.
Most UA games at Arizona Stadium generate about $1.5 million in revenue. In a typical home season, that’s close to $9 million. By comparison, the Pac-12 distributed about $25 million in TV money to Arizona for the 2014 season.
That’s why ESPN calls the shots and doesn’t fret about 5,000 or 10,000 Tucsonans staying home, watching in the comfort of their living rooms.
View this profile on Instagram#ThisIsTucson 🌵 (@this_is_tucson) • Instagram photos and videos
Most viewed stories
-
A list of places that will be open on Christmas Day 2025
-
Over 40 free events happening in Tucson this December! ⛄
-
Ring in 2026 at these fun local New Year's Eve events 🥳
-
40 exciting things to do in Tucson December 19-21! ⭐
-
A local gift guide for the foodie in your life 🍽️
-
3 teaspoons of anise, 6 cups of flour and lots of love: My grandma's biscochitos recipe is more than a delicious cookie
-
Save the date! Here's the ultimate list of Tucson holiday events 🎄
-
More than 40 fun events in Tucson, December 12-14! ❄️✨
-
‘Less screen time, more hobbies:’ Tucson journaling group helps young adults connect