Opinion by Greg Hansen : Students deserve an F for language

Livengood has instructed Kevin O'Neill to speak to the Zona Zoo students prior to Thursday's home game against USC. Livengood also is expected to address the students. Let's hope there becomes a zero-tolerance policy against such profanity at McKale Center.

I think some of the responsibility for policing student behavior should be given to Pac-10 referees. Tucsonan Jerry Schuchardt is a longtime high school referee who has taken it on himself to deal proactively with similar situations.

"In a high school game at Willcox a few years ago,'' said Schuchardt, "a group of boys chanted 'Globe sucks.' After the second time, I called a referee's timeout and told the boys, 'If I hear 'Globe sucks' one more time, I will throw you all out of the gym.' … We do have the right to assess a technical foul against the home team in high school, but I wanted to warn the students first.''

Once at Gill Coliseum, I saw Oregon State coach Ralph Miller walk to the scorer's table, grab the microphone and tell Beaver fans to "shut up and behave like civilized people.'' It worked.

Arizona must be proactive in monitoring its student section. Rowdiness is fine. A string of F-bombs, audible on TV broadcasts, is inexcusable.

salpointe alum wins again

Brown top medalist for second time in career, powers Michigan State to title

Salpointe Catholic High School graduate Sara Brown won the 15-team Central District Invitational on Tuesday in Parrish, Fla., helping her Michigan State squad to the team title.

Brown shot 70-70-72 to win by seven strokes. It was the second tournament title of her MSU career, although it still pales compared to her No. 2 finish at the LPGA Futures Tour Qualifying School last fall. The two-time All-Big Ten player won't play again until a March 7 meet at Texas A&M. She is eligible to immediately join the Futures Tour after the NCAA tournament, of which she is expected to be a title contender.

Also last week, returning to competition after recovering from a broken finger for three months, Rincon High grad Michael Thompson led Alabama to the team title at the 15-team John Hayt Invitational in Florida. Thompson, who is the nation's No. 1 ranked amateur, shot 72-71-72 to finish fifth among 85 golfers. Thompson was runner-up at the 2007 U.S. Amateur.

ua softball hits a slump

Key losses from 2007 team can explain difficult start

Given the graduation losses of star run-producers Caitlin Lowe, Chelsie Mesa and Kristie Fox, it's not a total surprise that the Arizona Wildcats softball team opened 3-4 through Friday's games.

What made loss No. 4 Friday against San Diego State notable was that former Salpointe Catholic standout Dani Sidoti drove in the winning run in a 2-1 game. Sidoti is a junior first baseman at SDSU. She redshirted last season while recovering from knee surgery.

In a historical context, four quick losses for the UA is shocking. UA softball teams simply do not lose four games in two weeks at any time. Mike Candrea's 1994 team lost only three games all season (64-3). His 1998 team went 67-4, and his 2001 team finished 65-4. Overall, Candrea coached 11 Arizona teams that lost fewer than 10 games over a full season, including NCAA playoffs.

The Wildcats have an opportunity to rebuild their confidence next weekend when they play five home games. Four are against victims-in-waiting. But the fifth, against Virginia Tech, is a potential home loss. The Hokies come to Tucson with one of the nation's two or three best pitchers, Angela Tincher. They will not, however, have last year's ACC tournament MVP Kelsy Rokey, a Salpointe Catholic grad. Rokey retired from softball last summer and is attending classes at the UA.

short stuff

Two-time Heisman Trophy winner to visit Wednesday

Two-time Heisman Trophy winner Archie Griffin will be in Tucson on Wednesday to speak to the Ohio State Alumni Club of Southern Arizona. Impressive. Can you imagine a UA alumni club in Columbus, Ohio? Griffin will speak from 7-8:30 p.m. at Hacienda del Sol Guest Ranch. Information: 1-800-862-5827. … Former CDO left-hander Jason Stanford, who was released by the Cleveland Indians last season, has resurfaced. He is in spring training with the Washington Nationals. Stanford is competing against, among others, former Sidewinders lefty Mike Bacsik for a roster spot. Bacsik was 11-0 for Tucson's 2006 Pacific Coast League champion and, of course, became forever famous for yielding Barry Bonds' 756th home run. … Former UA All-American shortstop Lovie Jung, who is the starting second baseman on the USA Olympic softball team, is preparing for a life without softball. She plans to become a firefighter in the greater Los Angeles area after the Beijing Olympics. That's the sobering part of being a world class softball player; economic opportunities in the game became few once softball was eliminated from the 2012 Olympics. Jung is probably the best second baseman in global softball. Her former UA teammate, Mackenzie Vandergeest, already is working as a firefighter in L.A.

Ex-Lancer soccer standouts take different career paths

After helping UMass to soccer's version of the Final Four last fall, Salpointe grad Chris Brown debated whether to return to school for his senior season. He was playing on a partial scholarship, even though he started 67 consecutive games for the Minutemen. However, Brown was notified his scholarship would be increased and he has returned for the spring semester. Brown's UMass and Salpointe teammate, Doug Rappaport, is taking classes at Arizona this semester and pursing a career in medicine, choosing to bypass his final year of soccer eligibility. … Got a kick out of the great Jack Nicklaus last week when he visited Tucson to help in construction of the Ritz-Carlton course at Dove Mountain. Nicklaus stood on the fairway of the future home of the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship and indicated he enjoyed the beauty of the desert mountains. "What are they called?'' he asked. Someone told him they are the Tortolita Mountains. "Torta what?'' he replied. … Good to see former Sabino High School pitcher John Bannister back in baseball. He missed all of 2007 with Tommy John surgery on his elbow. An all-star in the Northwest and Midwest leagues, Bannister is likely to open the season on the Texas Rangers' Class A or Class AA team.

Brandon jennings

Guard's torrid scoring pace likely to cool a little at UA

When point guard Brandon Jennings arrives at Arizona in August, he won't be overcome by the transition to college life. He essentially has been living a college life at Oak Hill (Va.) Academy. His team has played in 11 states this year. In his AAU summer season, Jennings is on the road virtually every weekend. One thing he might have to adjust at Arizona: his willingness to shoot. He attempted 40 shots in a game last week — 21 three-pointers — and scored 63 points. His Oak Hill average, 34.9 points, is on pace to break the school record of 30.9 held by former UA signee Orlando Vega, who ultimately played for the Puerto Rican national team but not at the UA. … CDO grad Ian Kinsler's $22.5 million contract to play second base for the Texas Rangers will run through the 2012 season, when he turns 30. At that time, if he continues the pace of his first two seasons as the Rangers' second baseman, he could be in line for three times as much. As in the NBA, it's the second contract that can really pay off. Kinsler will get $500,000 this season plus a $1 million signing bonus. He has hit 34 homers in two years; if he stays healthy, he could hit 30 this season. … Combo guard J.P. Prince has flourished since leaving Arizona for Tennessee. But he is averaging just 18.9 minutes for the Vols. Had he stayed at the UA, he would be wearing out his Nikes with 30-35 minutes a game. He is averaging 8.9 points and has probably shown, under an extended audition, that he doesn't appear to be an NBA prospect.

My Two Cents

Under Ferguson, Eagles have achieved a lofty perch

Santa Rita has supplanted Sahuaro and Salpointe as the premier boys high school basketball program in Southern Arizona over the last 10 years. Jim Ferguson has led the Eagles to four state championship games: 1999 (won), 2005, 2007 and 2008, losing the last three by an average of seven points.

The four big-school state title game appearances in a 10-year stretch is nearly unsurpassed in Southern Arizona, and no one else has done it in 25 years.

Only two schools have ever done better:

● Tucson High with Bud Doolen and Earl McCullar: six from 1940 to 1949.

● Norm Patton's and Art Carroll's Marana teams (six from 1963 to 1972; Patton coached the last five of those).

Ferguson is now 304-115 in his career at Santa Rita. The Eagles lose four of the six players they used in Thursday's 40-36 loss to Desert Edge in the 4A-II state title game, but the returning backcourt combo of Terrell Stoglin and Mark Simmons will be one of the best in the state.

If you can take any consolation from three such sobering losses, Ferguson can at least take heart in knowing his basketball program is as good as it gets in Tucson.