Hansen's Sunday Notebook: USC goes old-school by hiring Swann
- Updated
Star sports columnist Greg Hansen offers his opinion on recent sports news.
- Greg Hansen Arizona Daily Star
- Updated
USC goes old-school by hiring SwannÂ
By hiring 64-year-old novice athletic director Lynn Swann last week, USC told the Pac-12 two things: (1) we are old-school and (2) we are family.
Some thought the Trojans would transition into the 21st century by hiring a younger, more socially-engaged AD, such as Arizonaâs 44-year-old Greg Byrne.
But life in Los Angeles is a world apart from life in Tucson. What Byrne does at Arizona isnât what most other ADs in the Pac-12 do.
For example, last week the UA notified local media that Byrne will be available for interviews Monday at 1:30 p.m. at Arizona Stadium. Itâs part of a session with Rich Rodriguez.
Most of the leagueâs other ADs, with the exception of WSUâs Bill Moos and Utahâs Chris Hill, are not often quoted or even made available for conversation.
On Saturday, for example, Byrne attended a fundraising event in Bisbee, at the old Warren Ballpark.
Not many Pac-12 ADs would spend a spring weekend attempting to generate support in a town of about 5,800 people.
Itâs interesting how the Pac-12 has embraced (or not) social media and similar outreach. ASU media relations director Doug Tammaro last week announced that the Sun Devils surpassed 100,000 Twitter followers on the Sun Devilsâ main athletic department account. Thatâs second to Oregonâs 141,000.
By comparison, Stanfordâs athletic department, located in the Silicon Valley, Americaâs hot spot for social media innovations, is 11th in the Pac-12 with just 26,600 followers.
Stanfordâs powerful football program has 43,000 Twitter followers. Arizona has 45,000.
The socially-savvy Byrne has more Twitter followers (29,100) than any other Pac-12 AD and itâs not close. Other than Byrne and Swann (27,400), no other Pac-12 AD has even 5,000 Twitter followers. Arizona Stateâs Ray Anderson has 4,284. UCLAâs Dan Guerrero and Oregonâs Rob Mullens donât even have a Twitter account.
Some interesting numbers:
Arizona leads the Pac-12 with basketball Twitter followers (62,900). No one else has more than 45,300. ASU has 8,779. In football, Oregon (138,000) has the leagueâs most followers. ASU is next with 81,600.
If you add followers for each of the leagueâs main athletic department feeds, plus football, menâs basketball and AD accounts, hereâs how it stacks up:
Oregon, 324,300; Arizona, 205,100; ASU, 195,600; USC, 170,700; Utah, 135,100; UCLA, 129,900. The fewest? WSU at 71,500.
What these numbers say is that Arizona and ASU are more aggressive in getting their message to the public than any of the leagueâs other schools.
Oregon is the exception. The Ducks were trend-setters in marketing, getting a decade-long jump on the rest of the conference. ASU and Arizona are cutting into UOâs lead.
- Greg Hansen Arizona Daily Star
- Updated
A CDO reunion in far-flung IllinoisÂ
You can make a strong case that CDOâs 2011 softball team (35-1) is the best in Arizona history.
The club was led by senior shortstop-pitcher Mattie Fowler, who hit. 569 and had a remarkable state-record 91 RBIs. She also was 14-0 as a pitcher with an 0.85 ERA. She was the Arizona Player of the Year.
Her catcher was freshman Sammy Nettling, who hit .440 with 40 RBIs.
On Friday in Evanston, Illinois, Fowler and Nettling were opponents; Fowler is a .336-hitting first baseman for Nebraska. Nettling is a .279-hitting catcher for Northwestern. Nettlingâs father, Bill Nettling, a former starting tight end at Arizona, was at Fridayâs game. So was Fowlerâs mother, CDO coach Kelly Fowler, whose current Dorados softball team is 24-1.
The path to this weekend softball reunion between the Nettlings and Fowlers has been both bitter and sweet.
Mattie, a fifth-year senior, has undergone two major knee surgeries, earned a finance degree, is working on an MBA and has been the Cornhuskersâ team captain an unprecedented four times: 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016. April has been a good month for Fowler: The Huskers beat No. 1 Michigan, and she hit a walk-off single to beat Iowa 6-5.
Sammy, a sophomore, has also undergone two surgeries. The first, for a rib-resection, forced her to miss two months of her freshman season. Her second surgery, for torn thumb ligaments, kept her out of 12 games this season. A year ago she was an NFCA All-America Scholar-Athlete.
The two ex-Dorados will play in a series finale Sunday and then go their separate ways, unless they meet in the Big Ten tournament next month at Penn State.
Berkowitz walks away with one year left on coaching contractÂ
Arizona did not force menâs tennis coach Tad Berkowitz to resign last week. He had one year remaining on his contract, but chose to leave the school after 12 seasons at the top. Coaching tennis in the Pac-12 is about as difficult as it gets for a school not named Stanford, USC or UCLA. Those schools have combined to win 20 of the last 30 NCAA championships and dominate the small recruiting market of elite players. Arizona hasnât had a first-team All-Pac-12 menâs tennis player since 2006 and has never won a Pac-12 singles or doubles title. The next UA coach? The job pays about $70,000, and it wonât be getting any easier. One name to keep in mind is ex-UA assistant coach Tom Lloyd, head coach at Loyola Marymount. He was Arizonaâs team captain in 2002, 2003 and 2004 and won 52 singles matches while a Wildcat. Last month, Lloydâs LMU Lions beat Arizona in Tucson.Â
Remember the name: Misa MalkinÂ
Hereâs a Tucson tennis name to keep in mind: Misa Malkin is 21-2 on the USTA circuit since November, which includes a sweep of doubles and singles titles in last monthâs Junior Masters in El Paso and USTA victories in Tucson and Scottsdale. A seventh-grader in the Tanque Verde school district, Malkin now competes in girls 14U after rising to No. 1 in the Southwest USTA rankings in girls 12U last summer.Â
UA soccer coach Amato on the recruiting grindÂ
UA soccer coach Tony Amato, who took the Wildcats to the NCAA Tournament in 2014 and 2015, has been productive in recruiting since last fallâs Sweet 16. He already has eight commitments from the Class of 2018, including four prospects who have spent time with the USA National Youth Developmental Team.Â
Former Wildcats featured on Pac-12's All-Century golf ballotÂ
Five former Arizona golfers are on the final ballot for the Pac-12âs All-Century womenâs golf team: Annika Sorenstam, Lorena Ochoa, Jenna Daniels, Marisa Baena and Erica Blasberg. As good as Sorenstam was, I think Ochoa and Baena both had more productive college careers at Arizona.
- Greg Hansen Arizona Daily Star
- Updated
Ex-Cat McConnell will have elite company in Pennsylvania hallÂ
Arizonaâs 2015 All-Pac-12 point guard T.J. McConnell will be part of the WPIAL Hall of Fame Class of 2016, which is the top athletic Hall of Fame in Western Pennsylvania. Only nine classes have been inducted, and the list includes Arnold Palmer, Stan Musial, Sean Miller and his father, prep coach John Miller. McConnellâs aunt, Suzie McConnell-Serio, head womenâs basketball coach at Pitt, was inducted in 2007. The ceremony will be held in June; McConnell earned $525,000 as a Philadelphia 76ers rookie this season and played in 81 of 82 games. He almost had a double-double in the season finale, with nine points and nine assists against Chicago.Â
- Greg Hansen Arizona Daily Star
- Updated
Former Tucson rivals Hardy, Wilhelmsen meet againÂ
Friday night in Texas, old high school foes J.J. Hardy and Tom Wilhelmsen faced one another as Hardyâs Baltimore Orioles beat Wilhelmsenâs Texas Rangers. Hardy singled off Wilhelmsen in a nine-run rally in the seventh inning. It was the seventh time the former Sabino High shortstop batted against the ex-Tucson High Badger pitcher. He has two hits. They were rivals in 2000 and 2001, when Sabino and Tucson were two of Tucsonâs top baseball teams. Hardy signed with Arizona and Wilhelmsen with ASU, but both bypassed college for pro contracts. Remarkably, in his 12-year MLB career, Hardy is batting .455 against Hall of Fame pitchers. He is 3 for 7 lifetime against Randy Johnson, 5 for 10 against Greg Maddux, 3 for 6 against Pedro Martinez and 4 for 10 against John Smoltz.Â
- Greg Hansen Arizona Daily Star
- Updated
Sabino grad, ex-Wildcat Brown notches 200th win as coachÂ
Former Sabino High and UA pitcher Tod Brown, who applied to be the baseball coach at Arizona last summer, won his 200th game as a college coach last week at North Dakota State. Brown was the Wildcatsâ top pitcher in 1993 and later became an Arizona pitching coach.
Palo Verde grad Fallwell blowing opponents away at JC levelÂ
Tyler Fallwell, the Starâs 2014 high school baseball Player of the Year, is making a strong bid to become a first-team junior college All-America pitcher. The Palo Verde High grad, who led the Titans to the 2014 state title, entered weekend play leading all of the NJCAA in ERA (0.88). He was 5-1 with 78 strikeouts in 61 1/3 innings for Cochise College. If the 6-foot-4-inch pitcher is not drafted in June, he has signed to play at Houston.Â
'Cats in the Canyon' aims to raise $250,000 for charitiesÂ
One of the yearâs most significant golf benefits will be played Friday at Phil Mickelsonâs Stone Canyon Club in Oro Valley. The Stone Canyon Community Foundation plans to raise $250,000 for at-risk children in Southern Arizona, as it did a year ago. The âCats in the Canyonâ outing features both the menâs and womenâs golf teams from Arizona. It distributed the $250,000 to 20 Southern Arizona charitable agencies last year.Â
- Greg Hansen Arizona Daily Star
- Updated
Ex-UA standout receiver Criner signs with CFL's RedblacksÂ
Juron Criner, who was Nick Folesâ leading receiver at Arizona from 2009-11, with 31 touchdown catches and 2,771 yards, signed with the CFLâs Ottawa Redblacks last week. Crinerâs NFL career was a disappointment. He caught just 19 passes and hasnât played in an NFL game since 2013.Â
NFL taking notice of ParksÂ
I always thought Will Parks didnât get enough attention/credit outside of Tucson for his UA football career. But the NFL has noticed. The safety/linebacker is visiting the Kansas City Chiefs today and the Denver Broncos on Tuesday. He was in Tucson, attending the UA-Stanford baseball game Friday night after returning from visits with Green Bay, Minnesota and Seattle. It wouldnât be a surprise to see Parks have a productive NFL career.Â
Arizona going after Ferguson's teammatesÂ
About 15 months ago, things got a little dicey for Arizonaâs newest basketball recruit, Terrance Ferguson. The state of Texas closed down his school, Prime Prep, just after New Yearâs 2015, citing theft, financial misconduct and academic improprieties. For a while, Ferguson considered home schooling before his former coach at Prime, Ray Forsett, told him about a new school called Advanced Prep International in Dallas. Now Arizona is recruiting two of Fergusonâs API teammates: five-star point guard Trevon Duval and five-star forward Billy Preston. The calendar rarely slows down for Arizona coach Sean Miller.Â
- Greg Hansen Arizona Daily Star
- Updated
My two cents: Arizona, Arizona State caravans will take different roadsÂ
Arizona and Arizona State separately announced they will have spring caravans, visiting regional cities next month to generate support and help sell football tickets. You couldnât get two more different approaches.
Arizona and its marquee coaches will visit Pinetop, Tempe, Green Valley and Yuma.
ASUâs athletic department leaders will visit Las Vegas; Yuma; Orange County, California; and two Phoenix suburbs. Tucson? No.
This isnât as easy as it sounds. Three years ago, Arizonaâs planned visit to a Tempe sports bar was canceled when the restaurant owners became aware it might create some political damage to host the Wildcats.
Last year, the Sun Devils made their first Tucson stop in memory, but it didnât go down well. The restaurant at which ASU boosters had a rally, El Saguarito, had been part of the UA food service at basketball and football games in 2014-15, and for a dozen years before that.
But after ASUâs caravan left Tucson, the UA and El Saguarito soon parted ways. As part of litigation in which El Saguarito asked for $110,000 in damages, documents stated that cancellation of the contract âmay haveâ been hastened by ASUâs visit.
I chuckle at the use of the words âmay have.âÂ
USC goes old-school by hiring SwannÂ
By hiring 64-year-old novice athletic director Lynn Swann last week, USC told the Pac-12 two things: (1) we are old-school and (2) we are family.
Some thought the Trojans would transition into the 21st century by hiring a younger, more socially-engaged AD, such as Arizonaâs 44-year-old Greg Byrne.
But life in Los Angeles is a world apart from life in Tucson. What Byrne does at Arizona isnât what most other ADs in the Pac-12 do.
For example, last week the UA notified local media that Byrne will be available for interviews Monday at 1:30 p.m. at Arizona Stadium. Itâs part of a session with Rich Rodriguez.
Most of the leagueâs other ADs, with the exception of WSUâs Bill Moos and Utahâs Chris Hill, are not often quoted or even made available for conversation.
On Saturday, for example, Byrne attended a fundraising event in Bisbee, at the old Warren Ballpark.
Not many Pac-12 ADs would spend a spring weekend attempting to generate support in a town of about 5,800 people.
Itâs interesting how the Pac-12 has embraced (or not) social media and similar outreach. ASU media relations director Doug Tammaro last week announced that the Sun Devils surpassed 100,000 Twitter followers on the Sun Devilsâ main athletic department account. Thatâs second to Oregonâs 141,000.
By comparison, Stanfordâs athletic department, located in the Silicon Valley, Americaâs hot spot for social media innovations, is 11th in the Pac-12 with just 26,600 followers.
Stanfordâs powerful football program has 43,000 Twitter followers. Arizona has 45,000.
The socially-savvy Byrne has more Twitter followers (29,100) than any other Pac-12 AD and itâs not close. Other than Byrne and Swann (27,400), no other Pac-12 AD has even 5,000 Twitter followers. Arizona Stateâs Ray Anderson has 4,284. UCLAâs Dan Guerrero and Oregonâs Rob Mullens donât even have a Twitter account.
Some interesting numbers:
Arizona leads the Pac-12 with basketball Twitter followers (62,900). No one else has more than 45,300. ASU has 8,779. In football, Oregon (138,000) has the leagueâs most followers. ASU is next with 81,600.
If you add followers for each of the leagueâs main athletic department feeds, plus football, menâs basketball and AD accounts, hereâs how it stacks up:
Oregon, 324,300; Arizona, 205,100; ASU, 195,600; USC, 170,700; Utah, 135,100; UCLA, 129,900. The fewest? WSU at 71,500.
What these numbers say is that Arizona and ASU are more aggressive in getting their message to the public than any of the leagueâs other schools.
Oregon is the exception. The Ducks were trend-setters in marketing, getting a decade-long jump on the rest of the conference. ASU and Arizona are cutting into UOâs lead.
A CDO reunion in far-flung IllinoisÂ
You can make a strong case that CDOâs 2011 softball team (35-1) is the best in Arizona history.
The club was led by senior shortstop-pitcher Mattie Fowler, who hit. 569 and had a remarkable state-record 91 RBIs. She also was 14-0 as a pitcher with an 0.85 ERA. She was the Arizona Player of the Year.
Her catcher was freshman Sammy Nettling, who hit .440 with 40 RBIs.
On Friday in Evanston, Illinois, Fowler and Nettling were opponents; Fowler is a .336-hitting first baseman for Nebraska. Nettling is a .279-hitting catcher for Northwestern. Nettlingâs father, Bill Nettling, a former starting tight end at Arizona, was at Fridayâs game. So was Fowlerâs mother, CDO coach Kelly Fowler, whose current Dorados softball team is 24-1.
The path to this weekend softball reunion between the Nettlings and Fowlers has been both bitter and sweet.
Mattie, a fifth-year senior, has undergone two major knee surgeries, earned a finance degree, is working on an MBA and has been the Cornhuskersâ team captain an unprecedented four times: 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016. April has been a good month for Fowler: The Huskers beat No. 1 Michigan, and she hit a walk-off single to beat Iowa 6-5.
Sammy, a sophomore, has also undergone two surgeries. The first, for a rib-resection, forced her to miss two months of her freshman season. Her second surgery, for torn thumb ligaments, kept her out of 12 games this season. A year ago she was an NFCA All-America Scholar-Athlete.
The two ex-Dorados will play in a series finale Sunday and then go their separate ways, unless they meet in the Big Ten tournament next month at Penn State.
Berkowitz walks away with one year left on coaching contractÂ
Arizona did not force menâs tennis coach Tad Berkowitz to resign last week. He had one year remaining on his contract, but chose to leave the school after 12 seasons at the top. Coaching tennis in the Pac-12 is about as difficult as it gets for a school not named Stanford, USC or UCLA. Those schools have combined to win 20 of the last 30 NCAA championships and dominate the small recruiting market of elite players. Arizona hasnât had a first-team All-Pac-12 menâs tennis player since 2006 and has never won a Pac-12 singles or doubles title. The next UA coach? The job pays about $70,000, and it wonât be getting any easier. One name to keep in mind is ex-UA assistant coach Tom Lloyd, head coach at Loyola Marymount. He was Arizonaâs team captain in 2002, 2003 and 2004 and won 52 singles matches while a Wildcat. Last month, Lloydâs LMU Lions beat Arizona in Tucson.Â
Remember the name: Misa MalkinÂ
Hereâs a Tucson tennis name to keep in mind: Misa Malkin is 21-2 on the USTA circuit since November, which includes a sweep of doubles and singles titles in last monthâs Junior Masters in El Paso and USTA victories in Tucson and Scottsdale. A seventh-grader in the Tanque Verde school district, Malkin now competes in girls 14U after rising to No. 1 in the Southwest USTA rankings in girls 12U last summer.Â
UA soccer coach Amato on the recruiting grindÂ
UA soccer coach Tony Amato, who took the Wildcats to the NCAA Tournament in 2014 and 2015, has been productive in recruiting since last fallâs Sweet 16. He already has eight commitments from the Class of 2018, including four prospects who have spent time with the USA National Youth Developmental Team.Â
Former Wildcats featured on Pac-12's All-Century golf ballotÂ
Five former Arizona golfers are on the final ballot for the Pac-12âs All-Century womenâs golf team: Annika Sorenstam, Lorena Ochoa, Jenna Daniels, Marisa Baena and Erica Blasberg. As good as Sorenstam was, I think Ochoa and Baena both had more productive college careers at Arizona.
Ex-Cat McConnell will have elite company in Pennsylvania hallÂ
Arizonaâs 2015 All-Pac-12 point guard T.J. McConnell will be part of the WPIAL Hall of Fame Class of 2016, which is the top athletic Hall of Fame in Western Pennsylvania. Only nine classes have been inducted, and the list includes Arnold Palmer, Stan Musial, Sean Miller and his father, prep coach John Miller. McConnellâs aunt, Suzie McConnell-Serio, head womenâs basketball coach at Pitt, was inducted in 2007. The ceremony will be held in June; McConnell earned $525,000 as a Philadelphia 76ers rookie this season and played in 81 of 82 games. He almost had a double-double in the season finale, with nine points and nine assists against Chicago.Â
Former Tucson rivals Hardy, Wilhelmsen meet againÂ
Friday night in Texas, old high school foes J.J. Hardy and Tom Wilhelmsen faced one another as Hardyâs Baltimore Orioles beat Wilhelmsenâs Texas Rangers. Hardy singled off Wilhelmsen in a nine-run rally in the seventh inning. It was the seventh time the former Sabino High shortstop batted against the ex-Tucson High Badger pitcher. He has two hits. They were rivals in 2000 and 2001, when Sabino and Tucson were two of Tucsonâs top baseball teams. Hardy signed with Arizona and Wilhelmsen with ASU, but both bypassed college for pro contracts. Remarkably, in his 12-year MLB career, Hardy is batting .455 against Hall of Fame pitchers. He is 3 for 7 lifetime against Randy Johnson, 5 for 10 against Greg Maddux, 3 for 6 against Pedro Martinez and 4 for 10 against John Smoltz.Â
Sabino grad, ex-Wildcat Brown notches 200th win as coachÂ
Former Sabino High and UA pitcher Tod Brown, who applied to be the baseball coach at Arizona last summer, won his 200th game as a college coach last week at North Dakota State. Brown was the Wildcatsâ top pitcher in 1993 and later became an Arizona pitching coach.
Palo Verde grad Fallwell blowing opponents away at JC levelÂ
Tyler Fallwell, the Starâs 2014 high school baseball Player of the Year, is making a strong bid to become a first-team junior college All-America pitcher. The Palo Verde High grad, who led the Titans to the 2014 state title, entered weekend play leading all of the NJCAA in ERA (0.88). He was 5-1 with 78 strikeouts in 61 1/3 innings for Cochise College. If the 6-foot-4-inch pitcher is not drafted in June, he has signed to play at Houston.Â
'Cats in the Canyon' aims to raise $250,000 for charitiesÂ
One of the yearâs most significant golf benefits will be played Friday at Phil Mickelsonâs Stone Canyon Club in Oro Valley. The Stone Canyon Community Foundation plans to raise $250,000 for at-risk children in Southern Arizona, as it did a year ago. The âCats in the Canyonâ outing features both the menâs and womenâs golf teams from Arizona. It distributed the $250,000 to 20 Southern Arizona charitable agencies last year.Â
Ex-UA standout receiver Criner signs with CFL's RedblacksÂ
Juron Criner, who was Nick Folesâ leading receiver at Arizona from 2009-11, with 31 touchdown catches and 2,771 yards, signed with the CFLâs Ottawa Redblacks last week. Crinerâs NFL career was a disappointment. He caught just 19 passes and hasnât played in an NFL game since 2013.Â
NFL taking notice of ParksÂ
I always thought Will Parks didnât get enough attention/credit outside of Tucson for his UA football career. But the NFL has noticed. The safety/linebacker is visiting the Kansas City Chiefs today and the Denver Broncos on Tuesday. He was in Tucson, attending the UA-Stanford baseball game Friday night after returning from visits with Green Bay, Minnesota and Seattle. It wouldnât be a surprise to see Parks have a productive NFL career.Â
Arizona going after Ferguson's teammatesÂ
About 15 months ago, things got a little dicey for Arizonaâs newest basketball recruit, Terrance Ferguson. The state of Texas closed down his school, Prime Prep, just after New Yearâs 2015, citing theft, financial misconduct and academic improprieties. For a while, Ferguson considered home schooling before his former coach at Prime, Ray Forsett, told him about a new school called Advanced Prep International in Dallas. Now Arizona is recruiting two of Fergusonâs API teammates: five-star point guard Trevon Duval and five-star forward Billy Preston. The calendar rarely slows down for Arizona coach Sean Miller.Â
My two cents: Arizona, Arizona State caravans will take different roadsÂ
Arizona and Arizona State separately announced they will have spring caravans, visiting regional cities next month to generate support and help sell football tickets. You couldnât get two more different approaches.
Arizona and its marquee coaches will visit Pinetop, Tempe, Green Valley and Yuma.
ASUâs athletic department leaders will visit Las Vegas; Yuma; Orange County, California; and two Phoenix suburbs. Tucson? No.
This isnât as easy as it sounds. Three years ago, Arizonaâs planned visit to a Tempe sports bar was canceled when the restaurant owners became aware it might create some political damage to host the Wildcats.
Last year, the Sun Devils made their first Tucson stop in memory, but it didnât go down well. The restaurant at which ASU boosters had a rally, El Saguarito, had been part of the UA food service at basketball and football games in 2014-15, and for a dozen years before that.
But after ASUâs caravan left Tucson, the UA and El Saguarito soon parted ways. As part of litigation in which El Saguarito asked for $110,000 in damages, documents stated that cancellation of the contract âmay haveâ been hastened by ASUâs visit.
I chuckle at the use of the words âmay have.âÂ
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