Apologies

Sorry for the lack of recent updates. I've been sick.

Don't worry, it's not the swine flu.

More NCAA 10 CAS stuff

So, after having heard the news that we are limited to four uniforms (home and away with home and away alternates) I went ahead and changed Oceanside's uniforms a bit. Nothing too major.


Home, Away, Home alternate, Away alternate

Also, user pbplayer178 created a custom Rob Gronkowski cover for me to use if/when I buy the game.

UC Oceanside's uniforms-to-be

We are now 78 days from the release of NCAA Football 10 and I'm starting real preparations for making UC Oceanside. In addition to revising the logo because I remembered that all UC schools have both blue and gold in their logos, I've already drawn up what I want their uniforms to look like.



However, those uniforms are only if I'm limited to just four uniforms.

More NCAA 10 news

As promised, here's the IGN article.

I've decided that my first created school will be a throwback to the created schools I used to make on the last-gen games: UC Oceanside. I've even got a logo for it. Thankfully, there's a real school with the initials "UCO" (the University of Central Oklahoma) so I'm going to use their logo with a different color scheme.

Here is Central Oklahoma's real logo followed by the two color schemes I've thought up so far.

NCAA 10 News: TeamBuilder = Create-a-School

From EA:

NCAA Football 10 introduces TeamBuilder, an all-new, online create-a-school feature that will enhance the user’s ability to produce personalized content. With the capability to upload logos and numerous customization options for uniforms, fields, rosters, and much more, TeamBuilder gives users the opportunity to design completely original teams with infinite possibilities. Plus, preloaded logos for several Football Championship Subdivision schools will help users create authentic teams for NCAA Football 10. With its intuitively designed online database that is searchable across several fields, TeamBuilder allows users to share content with ease. A football fan’s dream, TeamBuilder will enable users to experience the excitement and pageantry of college football, defined by their own personalized creations.

Basically, this is huge for me. I would have gladly taken the last-gen Create-a-School over nothing at all, but this goes above and beyond what I expected. This is absolutely incredible. If there actually is the ability to upload your own logos, the options are basically endless. Of course, when I play, my primary dynasty will be Arizona, but I'll definitely be creating my own schools for sure.

IGN will have a big article about TeamBuilder tomorrow. I'll be sure to have that article here tomorrow ASAP.

The honeymoon is over

Rassmussen reports that Obama's numbers are slipping:

The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Tuesday shows that 34% of the nation's voters now Strongly Approve of the way that Barack Obama is performing his role as President. Thirty-two percent (32%) Strongly Disapprove giving Obama a Presidential Approval Index rating of +2 (see trends).

Thirty-six percent (36%) of women Strongly Approve along with 31% of men. At the same time, 35% of men Strongly Disapprove. That view is shared by 29% of women (see other recent demographic highlights).

...

Overall, 54% of voters say they at least somewhat approve of the President's performance so far. That’s his lowest total approval rating to date. Forty-five percent (45%) disapprove. For more Presidential barometers, see Obama By the Numbers.

This isn't shocking in the least bit. Anyone who sees this as ZOMG~!~! PEOPLE HATE OBAMA has no idea what they're talking about when it comes to politics. Every President experiences high approval ratings at the beginning of their term. Every President loses those high ratings as the months pass. The ratings eventually average out. It's called the end of the honeymoon period. If you want to see whether people really dislike Obama or not, wait and see if the ratings keep slipping. Right now, it's impossible to tell.

"Durban II" = screwed

A little background, in case you’re unaware.

The UN wants to hold another Human Rights conference on racism, and a lot of people are getting concerned that the Arab League might just use it as another platform for their rampant anti-Semitism, like they did in 2001.

Turns out quite a lot of people would rather not attend the conference than see that happen.

US to boycott

Australia to boycott

Sweden to boycott

Netherlands to boycott

Germany to boycott

New Zealand to boycott

Furthermore, Canada, Italy and Israel will not attend.

You know there's a problem when Sweden and the Netherlands are refusing to attend.

Update on Wilbur's jersey in NCAA 10

From one of the EA developers on the aforementioned message board:

His jersey has been corrected for this year. It now says "09" on the front. It was one of the requests from Arizona.

I am extremely happy, to say the least, that EA is paying attention to these little details.

As-yet-unrevealed features for NCAA Football 10 revealed?

A poster over at the NCAA Strategies board found a promotional display version of NCAA Football 2010 at his local Gamestop. I'm definitely looking forward to this game for obvious reasons, but there are two things that caught my eye.



For one, Wilbur the Wildcat is on there. That is unbelievably awesome but I don't understand it, considering we're not on the same level as Florida or Texas. I'll take what I can get, though.

Most importantly, however, is the fact that Create-a-School is back! Yes! I've been waiting for this for so long! Those of you who don't know my video game preferences should know that I'm a big fan of customization ability in games, and I absolutely love creating my own teams in games like this. I remember back on the last-gen versions of NCAA, my brother and I would always create the UC Oceanside Eagles (him) and the Cal State Oceanside Broncos (me), and play a "rivalry" of sorts against each other (Oceanside's my hometown back in California). This is amazing news.

At the same time, though, there are plenty of typos there (in addition to Wilbur's jersey being inaccurate (it should be 09 instead of 05)) that could call the authenticity of this into question. However, considering it's just a promo box, those typos would be fixed before the actual game went out. EA usually puts out a development podcast every Thursday, and in light of the fact that they've got plenty of ears to the ground at the NCAA Strategies forum, I wouldn't be surprised if we get official confirmation on this come Thursday.

I'm definitely looking forward to this game.

Excuse me while I go puke

It's one thing to seriously negotiate with a psychotic dictator who openly calls for the destruction of our country. The President is expected to be a negotiator.

Barack Obama's meeting with Hugo Chavez was anything but serious.

Handout picture released by the Venezuelan Presidency press office showing the President of the US, Barack Obama (L), and his Venezuelan counterpart Hugo Chavez (R) shaking hands before the opening of the 5th Summit of the Americas in Port of Spain, on April 17, 2009.

Is anyone else completely sickened by this? Hugo Chavez is not the kind of person Obama is supposed to be buddy-buddy with. It's just one mistake after another with this guy. Unbelievable.

Joe Lunardi's bias is stunning

In his column here, Joe Lunardi shows his stunning anti-Arizona bias. I used to respect Lunardi, but now, his bias is absolutely disgusting. I mean, yeah, the guy's a pretty good guide to how the brackets will turn out since he's got a mid-90% success rate, but come on:

I have nothing against Arizona.

...

There's still a place for a 7-9 team, by the way. It's called the NIT.

For the record, Mr. Lunardi, there are 10 teams in the Pac-10. That means that a team's conference record has to add up to 18. 7+9=/=18.

Mr. Lunardi either needs to lay off the bias and/or hackery, or he needs to brush up on elementary school math.

Arizona 13 - New Mexico 5

Another shellacking of the Lobos (28-10, 8-4 MWC) by the Cats (16-16, 3-6 Pac-10), but I wasn't at the game due to prior commitments. What I saw on the gamecast impressed me, though.

Never forget - 4/15/1989

As much as I hate Liverpool, as a soccer fan, it's my duty to recognize the tragedy of the Hillsborough disaster, especially on its 20th anniversary. I may be a die-hard Manchester United fan, but I can't ignore what happened on that day.

We will never forget and Liverpool will never walk alone.

God bless.

Glory Glory Man United!

My RA is a huge Chelski fan and thanks to Chelski advancing to the semifinals of the Champions League yesterday, he was trash-talking me like crazy.

Today, thanks to Manchester United winning 1-0 against FC Porto, becoming the first English team to beat Porto at home, I have yet to see his face.

Where are your taunts now, huh?

Arizona 9 - New Mexico 3

Great effort by the Cats (15-16, 3-6 Pac-10), but somewhat expected since we have a near-80% win percentage against New Mexico (28-9, 8-4 MWC). A shellacking like this wasn't out of the question at the very beginning.

Joe Allison had a great showing in his first career start and went six innings. On the other hand, the Lobos went through a lot of pitchers, and if I remember correctly, their first two pitchers (the former of which went for 1 2/3 innings) combined for four beaned batters, three of which came in one inning.

As I said earlier, it was a shellacking. I'm probably not going to make it to this afternoon's second game of the series due to prior commitments.

For the record, I'm pulling an all-nighter because I can't sleep and I have no idea why.

Solomon Hill "bleeds ... red and blue"

Yes!

Daily Star:

Solomon Hill is back in Arizona’s recruiting class, and this time he’s expected to stay.

Hill, a Top 75 wing forward from Los Angeles Fairfax High School, confirmed via text message this morning that he is committing to Arizona after he de-[committed] to the Wildcats in the wake of Lute Olson’s retirement last October and instead chose USC.

Hill was not immediately available for additional comment but his father, Solomon Crawford, said his son would sign a binding letter-of-intent after the spring signing period begins Wednesday now that he has spoken several times with new UA coach Sean Miller.

...

Hill “committed to Lute but Lute retired and I didn’t want him to go there not knowing who the coach was going to be,” Crawford said. “He always loved the school. He bleeds more red and blue than (USC’s) crimson and gold.”

This is absolutely great news. If Miller is working this fast, he'll definitely get a lot done by the time the recruiting period is over, even if he's got the clock working against him, and just think about how great he'll be when recruiting next year.

Solomon Hill update

The Arizona Daily Star now reports that Hill sent them a text message last night stating that he had not committed yet. I'd definitely prefer him to have committed, but there's no use in rushing something like this. At least he's not a definite commit to USC.

More basketball news

Logo changes at McKale Center:

The unique cactus-and-sunset logos, which for 22 years immediately identified UA basketball to television viewers, will be eliminated. The center circle, which read "Lute and Bobbi Olson Court" will also be redone. The school's block A will be inserted at center court.

I don't mind the cactus/sunset logo being removed, but I definitely disagree with moving the Lute and Bobbi Olson Court logo. That's just not right. I don't care if the logo isn't being completely removed like the cactus/sunset are. Lute and Bobbi gave so much to this program. They deserve to be front and center.

In recruiting news, Solomon Hill, who was originally going to come to Arizona but left for USC after Lute left the team, has come back to Arizona after never having officially signed with USC. Unfortunately, I can't find a good link for a story (Rivals.com requires a subscription) but it's all over the internet. However, they all link back to Rivals.com, thus I'm screwed.

I've heard good things about Hill, so I'm glad he's coming back. The fact that Miller is recruiting this quickly is a really good sign for us. Three weeks ago, we had no recruiting class whatsoever for next year. Things are looking up.

Happy Easter

May the continued blessings of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ continue to shine down upon us all.

Happy Easter, everyone.

Arizona no longer recruiting class-less

Via Bleacher Report:

Sean Miller has [wasted] no time in making an impact at Arizona.

Miller and Whitford had been going after 6'11" center Kyryl Natyazhko from IMG Academy while at Xavier.

In less than a week they convinced the talented big man to join them in Tucson, Ariz.

Natyazhko is the sixth-ranked center, and the number 39-ranked player overall.

Natyazhko is a versatile inside-outside player who will immediately become a starter for Miller.

Natyazhko is a good corner for Miller to build around. He has the big shoes of Jordan Hill to step into.

Miller and his staff are still in play for small forward Solomon Hill, who originally committed to Arizona. He withdrew his commitment when Lute Olson retired, and re-opened his commitment when Miller was named head coach.

Hill appears to prefer Miller's up-tempo system to Tim Floyd's deliberate system.

Victor Rudd, a 6'8" small forward from Las Vegas, is also considering the Wildcats.

Stealing Hill from USC would be great. I'm really happy to see that Miller's getting this program back to stability so quickly. A lot of people are talking about this program not being back on its feet until the 2010-2011 season, but I think that at the pace Miller's going, we could easy be ready to go this coming season. I don't see anything standing in the way of Miller and the program. Plus, what with the Scum Devils losing Pendergraph and Harden, I think that their "streak" of beating us is over.

Oregon State 8 - Arizona 3

Once again, not much to report since I missed part of the game due to prior commitments.

Another disappointing effort by the Cats (14-16, 3-6 Pac-10). It was close, but Oregon State (20-7, 7-2 Pac-10) broke open the game with a pair of home runs combining for three runs.

Of course, getting rained on and soaked because I was wearing shorts and forgot my umbrella made it worse.

Next up is a two-game series against New Mexico on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Happy Good Friday to everyone

While I admit I'm not a perfect Catholic, I'd just like to wish a Happy Good Friday to those observing it.

Just as it went well on Ash Wednesday, the fasting is going fine. I had a bagel with cream cheese for lunch and two cups of applesauce before that. I'm managing.

Arizona 6 - Oregon State 5

Not much to report on this one, since I got there between the 6th and 7th innings due to the game starting at 2 PM and me having class until 4.

Great effort by the Cats (14-15, 3-8 Pac-10) to keep Oregon State (19-7, 6-2 Pac-10) behind, especially Jason Stoffel who showed no frustration over his lackluster showing last night and absolutely shut Oregon State down in the 9th.

I'll be similarly late to tomorrow's game since it starts at noon and my priority registration for next semester's classes is at 1.

Oregon State 9 - Arizona 5 (otherwise known as the game where Kevin got threatened again)

Another disappointing loss by Arizona (13-15, 2-8 Pac-10), but a good game overall. It was a close one for most of the game. Oregon State's (19-6, 6-1 Pac-10) a good team, no doubt.

Once again, the action in the stands proved just entertaining as the action on the field. Here's what happened.

One of Oregon State's players is originally from Tucson. Jokingly, I yelled to him "Why did you abandon us?" and "Tucson is a much nicer town than Corvallis!" Stuff like that. His family, apparently, was sitting a few seats away. They didn't seem to be too happy about what we're saying. One of them threatened to shoot me. Security dragged him away.

Good times.

The best part was, after dragging him away, security also pulled away several of my fellow fans and the OSU fans started cheering like they were getting thrown out. Our fans came back. Theirs didn't. We cheered as loudly as we could when our fans came back just to annoy the OSU fans. Opposing fans don't seem to like the Hot Corner too much because we don't shut up. We keep it clean, but we don't shut up because there's nothing the opposing fans can do to stop us.

Win or lose, I love Arizona baseball.

Mike Stoops Q&A

ESPN's Ted Miller spoke with Arizona head coach Mike STOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOPS on the state of Arizona football. The one part that stands out the most to me is this:

Has this program turned the corner and how close are you guys to competing for the Rose Bowl berth?

MS: I think we've definitely turned the corner. I think we are a much more confident team, just when we take the field. I think we take the field expecting to play well and expecting to win. I don't know if that has always been the case here. We competed well last year throughout the season. We had an opportunity to win all 12 games [the Wildcats' five losses came by a combined 28 points] in the fourth quarter. We're developing here as a program. Obviously, the win over Arizona State was huge because it was in-state and we hadn't won in three years. But beating BYU [in the Las Vegas Bowl], going into the offseason with that confidence, really helped our football team. All that stuff that festers inside your program leaves once you win. A lot of things will go on inside your program until you win. Now our guys have a great attitude about what they do and it has become a much easier team to coach.

Do you hang the Rose Bowl out as a goal?

MS: We've always set our sights on the Rose Bowl. It will be very challenging but we feel like we have that type of team. Anytime you have a solid defense, you have a

chance to win. We have to get better but I think we have a chance to have one of our best groups on defense when it's all said and done. This is the fastest defense we've had. So if we can stay healthy, we'll have a chance. Obviously, USC has set a very high standard, but we feel like we've matched up with them relatively well the last couple of years. We feel like we're closing the gaps on everyone we play.

I agree with Stoops wholeheartedly. We're not at USC's level yet, but we're definitely on the way up. Of all the teams that lost to USC last year, we lost by the smallest margin. Even Penn State got a bigger whuppin' than we did. We're on the way up and I can see us being a perennial top 5 of the conference for a while. Fighting for the Rose Bowl berth is obviously a few years off, but if this program continues in the direction it's going in, don't be surprised if the Scum Devils' insult about us being the only team never to have played in the Rose Bowl suddenly becomes irrelevant.

¡Ay dios mio!

ESPN:

TUCSON, Ariz. -- Arizona forward Jordan Hill will forgo his senior year and make himself eligible for the NBA draft.

So now it comes down to Nic Wise. If we can hold on to Wise, things might be salvageable. If we lose Wise, then next year will be a rebuilding year for sure. I hope that Coach Miller can do some good off-season recruiting and jump-starts the rebuilding process.

However, I don't care how badly the team does next year. I'll go to every home game I can. Win or lose, I'm doing my part. I'll be there.

The streak was good while it lasted

AZ Daily Star:

Arizona junior forward Chase Budinger will forgo his senior season and enter the NBA draft, his father, Duncan, told the Arizona Daily Star this morning.

The move is irrevocable because Chase Budinger tested the draft process and returned to school last season, which is only allowed once.

Budinger and Jordan Hill will hold a joint news conference at McKale Center this week to discuss their departures for the NBA draft.

Hill is also expected to leave, since he is projected as a Top 5 pick in the June NBA draft.

UA guard Nic Wise said he will test the draft this year but not sign with an agent, so as to keep open an option to return to school.

No offense to our current underclassmen, but compared to the Big Three, they haven't gotten much playing time. We have no recruits coming in next year and we're going to be playing a squad full of relatively fresh players with not much playing time. Unfortunately, that means that next year will probably be a rebuilding year and the streak is over.

However, I will gladly suffer through next year being a poor year if it means that the years after will be a return to national prominence for this program. I think Miller can do it, but only time will tell.

Miller accepts Arizona job

It's now official. Arizona now has a coach.

Hallelujah.

The Fry Mumia Chronicles

Good news:

WASHINGTON (AP) — Mumia Abu-Jamal has lost his bid for a new trial in the killing of a Philadelphia police officer in 1981.

The Supreme Court said Monday it will not take up Abu-Jamal's claims that prosecutors improperly excluded blacks from the jury that convicted him of murdering Philadelphia police officer Daniel Faulkner.

The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia upheld Abu-Jamal's conviction but held his death sentence invalid. The appeals court said it would not second-guess state court rulings rejecting Abu-Jamal's claims of bias in the composition of the jury.

So the title's a bit misleading and he's going to rot in jail for the rest of his life instead of getting the needle like he deserves. This whole cause célèbre thing is bullshit. The man killed a cop. The evidence is clear. He deserves to rot in jail.

I suggest reading this letter by Maureen Faulkner, widow of the police officer senselessly murdered by Mumia Abu-Jamal.

Furthermore, there's this quote by Mrs. Faulkner:

A jury of 12 convicted Mumia Abu-Jamal of murdering my husband, and for 25 years Abu-Jamal has been on death row acting as if he was a Hollywood superstar or political prisoner . . . He has a voice, and my late husband doesn’t.

All in all, this whole issue is trumped-up ridiculousness by a bunch of hack academia loonies who are trying to prove that the whole system is RACIST~!~!~!~! Now, I'm not going to deny that there are issues with racism in our legal system. The numbers cannot lie. However, in this single case, calling it racism is a straw man. He killed a cop and there's more than enough proof.

My head is spinning

ESPN is reporting that after rejecting the Arizona job, Sean Miller turned around and changed his mind. We have a coach, apparently.

I'm still very disappointed that the search took this long.

I'm speechless

ESPN:

John Calipari decided to leave. Sean Miller reportedly decided to stay.

Xavier's Miller met with Arizona athletic director Jim Livengood earlier Sunday about the Wildcats' open head coaching job but rejected the school's offer later that night, according to multiple media reports.

Xavier AD Mike Bobinski told ESPN.com's Andy Katz that he expected to speak with Miller late Sunday or early Monday. He wrote in a text message: "Nothing firm at this moment, but I remain very optimistic that Sean Miller will continue as our head basketball coach at Xavier."

I'm seriously running out of ways to describe my frustration.

Please God let it be true

ESPN:

Xavier coach Sean Miller was expected to meet Arizona athletic director Jim Livengood in Albuquerque, N.M., on Sunday to discuss the Wildcats' opening, according to a source.

However, Xavier athletic director Mike Bobinski told the Cincinnati Enquirer on Sunday that the Musketeers were prepared to make a counteroffer -- if necessary.

A source said Miller was scheduled to board a private plane Sunday morning en route to Albuquerque, where he was expected to meet with Livengood about the Wildcats' opening.

Miller would definitely be a good fit for the program. I hope we can grab him because we're running out of options. Pitino, Calipari, Dixon and Few are all out of the question. If we can't get Miller, we could turn to Reggie Theus or Josh Pastner, but our options are severely limited. I hope this turns out well.

USC 15 - Arizona 14

Arizona (13-13, 2-6 Pac-10) lost to USC (12-14, 3-5 Pac-10) 15-14. All in all, a good result after we gave up 10 runs in the first inning. We managed to come so close thanks to a pair of five-run innings, one of which came thanks to Hunter Pace's first career home run being a grand slam.

I'm disgusted by the actions of several USC fans, though. Near the end of the game, in response to some of the stuff us Arizona fans were saying, they came over and attempted to intimidate us. Several of them tried to surround me in the seats and one even threatened to fight one of my fellow fans. They probably would have tried to fight us if security hadn't intervened. Truly thuggish behavior, but then again, I'd expect that from a bunch of stuck-up private school kids.

Likes and dislikes

I figure I should probably list my favorite and least favorite sports teams so you know where I stand on the teams. After all, this is a sports blog, so I might as well set the ground rules.

I may or may not add to this list and/or edit in reasoning behind each one later. Teams (save for the first place listing of Arizona, ASU and the New York Yankees in their respective lists) are not necessarily ranked in order.

College:
Favorites: Arizona Wildcats, Florida State Seminoles, LSU Tigers
Hates: Arizona State Sun Devils, everyone else in the Pac-10, Florida Gators, Miami Hurricanes, Ohio State Buckeyes, Oklahoma Sooners, Texas Longhorns

Soccer:
Favorites: Manchester United, Chicago Fire, Barcelona
Hates: Manchester City, Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea, Real Madrid

NFL:
Favorites: Chicago Bears, San Diego Chargers
Hates: Green Bay Packers, Oakland Raiders, Denver Broncos, New England Patriots, Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants

MLB:
Favorites: Chicago White Sox, San Diego Padres
Hates: New York Yankees, Chicago Cubs, Boston Red Sox, Minnesota Twins/Everyone in the AL Central besides the White Sox, L.A. Dodgers/Everyone in the NL West besides the Padres

Arizona 7 - USC 6

Arizona Athletics has the full report. Here are my thoughts.

Arizona (13-12, 2-5 Pac-10) was down 6-2 going into the 8th. We scored 3 runs and then Jason Stoffel shut down USC's (11-14, 2-5 Pac-10) offense in the top of the ninth. Bottom of the 9th, with two outs and bases loaded, Brad Glenn hit a line drive to left field and Arizona won 7-6. A great game.

Half the fun at that game came from being in the Hot Corner, which is the student section at Sancet Stadium. It's truly a great experience. The trash-talking is epic, but clean and non-vulgar. Near the end, in the last two innings as Arizona was coming back, I kept yelling about how quiet the USC fans were. It was a nice contrast to the lone USC fan who tried, at the beginning of the game, to get us to shut up by yelling something along the lines of "Shut up, you idiot" at one of the more vocal fans, only to be booed in response.

There were several older USC fans (think 40s/50s) and we had a good back-and-forth with them at one point. There were jokes made about midlife crises and I even got a good one in.

"You're like the guy from Lethal Weapon: you're getting too old for this!"

Game two of the series is tomorrow at 6PM PST.

The search continues

Tim Floyd has confirmed that he's staying at USC.

Crap.

Tim Floyd to take over as coach at Arizona - 4/2 UPDATE

ESPN:

Tim Floyd will be named basketball coach at Arizona, Mark Asher of Sports 620 KTAR, ESPN's radio affiliate in Phoenix, is reporting according to multiple sources.

Floyd is meeting tonight with Arizona athletic director Jim Livengood to work out the final details of the deal and an announcement is expected Thursday, according to sources.

Floyd, 55, has spent the last four seasons at USC with an 85-50 record. He led the Trojans to three NCAA tournament appearances -- including the Sweet 16 in 2007.

Floyd is not exactly who I expected, but to be honest, he's a good coach. 85-50 is a great record for four years and 3 tournament appearances in that time frame is really good. I wish him the best and I'll be in the Zona Zoo cheering him and the Wildcats on next year for sure.

UPDATE: So as you can probably see, the ESPN report has been changed because the speculation hasn't actually been confirmed. I repeat: Tim Floyd has not been confirmed as Arizona's coach. It's highly likely, but I'm still crossing my fingers just in case.

Pitino not coming to Arizona

SI:

Despite rumors swirling that he's a possibility to fill the Arizona opening, Rick Pitino said he is definitely not considering a move to Tucson.

"I'm not a candidate for the Arizona job and I never was," he told SI.com on Wednesday. "I am not interested in any job. I am definitely returning to the University of Louisville."

Pitino, who has rebuilt programs at Boston University, Providence, Kentucky and Louisville during his career, was thought to be at the top of Arizona athletic director Jim Livengood's list of full-time replacements for Lute Olson, who retired in October.

This really sucks badly. I mean, there are plenty of other good coaches out there, but Pitino's one of the best. We would have been amazing with him! The guy's a dynamite recruiter and a great coach. I'm getting extremely nervous about where we're going to go from here.