Sports shorts: Arizona softball's 21-year assistant coach Ray resigns

Ray coached at the UA from 1986 to 1995 and returned in 2002 after serving as Florida's first head coach.

He acted as the Wildcats' interim head coach in the 2004 and 2008 seasons, while head coach Mike Candrea coached the U.S. Olympic team.

Ray was arrested April 29 on suspicion of criminal damage domestic violence and two counts of disorderly conduct domestic violence after police said he smashed his wife's car with a sledgehammer at their home.

Operations director Alicia Hollowell was promoted to assistant coach in his place and has remained in that capacity to recruit.

Candrea said he will decide in the "next few weeks" whether to fill Ray's spot with Hollowell or an outside candidate. The UA could hire an operations director if Hollowell remains an assistant.

Ray, whose contract was to expire June 30, did not immediately return a voice mail.

"Larry's a good friend and has been a really good assistant coach here, that's been really loyal to the program," Candrea said. "Any time you lose someone that has done a good job for you, yeah, obviously, you miss him.

"On the other hand, I'm just trying to move forward and put the pieces of the puzzle together that give us the best opportunity to get where we want to go."

UA basketball

Turner's case continued to July 24

A case management conference for former Arizona Wildcats basketball player Josiah Turner was continued Tuesday to July 24 in Pima County Justice Court.

Turner, who spent a tumultuous freshman season with the Wildcats before transferring to SMU last month, has pleaded not guilty to a charge of extreme DUI in Justice Court. He was arrested April 26 by UA police and recorded blood-alcohol breath tests of 0.15 and 0.16, at and above the extreme threshold of 0.15.

A UA Police Department report said Turner was also charged with DUI greater than 0.08 percent, possession (in his body) of alcohol as a minor, and being a minor operating a vehicle with alcohol in the body. Police said Turner also told them he was never issued a driver's license.

Judge Anne Segal issued the continuance Tuesday.

Miscellaneous

Coach Brown's memorial service on July 7

A memorial service honoring Ed Brown will be held from 3-6 p.m. on July 7 at Sean Elliott Gymnasium on the Cholla High School campus.

Brown, the first black coach in Tucson Unified School District history and the first football coach when Cholla opened in 1969, died of leukemia one week ago at age 80.

• UA high jumper Brigetta Barrett was selected Tuesday as one of 10 semifinalists for The Bowerman, awarded to collegiate track and field's best athlete of the year. Three finalists will be named June 29, and the winner will be announced Dec. 19.

European Soccer Championship

Goal waved off, England victorious

DONETSK, Ukraine - Only one goal counted, and it belonged to Wayne Rooney.

The England striker returned from a two-match suspension to head in the lone goal Tuesday and give his team a 1-0 win over Ukraine and a spot in the European Championship quarterfinals.

Needing a win to advance, the Ukrainians thought they had equalized in the 62nd minute when Marko Devic's looping shot appeared to cross the line before it was hooked clear by England defender John Terry. But the goal was not awarded by the referee or his extra assistant.

"The goal that wasn't given really changed our plan because if it was given, I think the whole game could have looked another way," Ukraine captain Andriy Shevchenko said through an interpreter.

• Sweden 2, France 0: In Kiev, Ukraine, France was outplayed, outfought and outscored against a team with nothing to play for. France's 23-game unbeaten streak came to a crashing end as the already-eliminated Swedes exposed frailties in the back four and neutralized the dual attacking threat of Karim Benzema and Franck Ribery.

Patrick Finley Bruce Pascoe Patrick Finley Includes material from a news release