Rory Sabbatini approaches the 18th green during the Kaulig Companies PGA Championship final round, July 12, 2026, at Firestone Country Club in Akron, Ohio.
– Arizona's 1990s golf All-American Rory Sabbatini is having a productive rookie season (age 50) on the PGA Champions Tour. Sabbatini finished third in last week's Kaulig Companies Championship, his second third-place finish in six weeks. Sabbatini has earned $54,000 in six events.
– I keep waiting for the Boston Red Sox to promote Tucson shortstop Mason White from Single-A Greenville in the South Atlantic League to the Double-A Portland Sea Dogs. White had 13 home runs and 40 RBIs through Thursday. Alas, the shortstop for Double-A Portland, Franklin Arias, has 18 home runs and is hitting .325. Arias, 20, is considered the Red Sox No. 1 infield prospect. White, who hit 49 home runs at Arizona from 2023-25, has also been used at second base, which might be his path to the big leagues given Arias' presence.
– This could be the year that Sean Miller breaks through and reaches the Final Four. He was stopped at the Elite Eight at Arizona in 2011, 2014 and 2015. But now that he is blessed with the big money of the Texas Longhorns, Miller should be able to buy a roster as good as any in college hoops. This offseason, Miller has added high-profile, big-money transfers from Auburn, Colorado and TCU, landed two Top 50 high school recruits and last week acquired the No. 1 prospect in the Class of 2027, Marcus Spears Jr. ESPN's most recent Bracketology by Joe Lunardi ranks Texas as a No. 2 seed in next year's March NCAA Tournament. Arizona is also listed as a No. 2 seed.
People are also reading…
– A week after the Big 12 announced its teams would wear Monster Energy jersey patches for all of its teams, Adidas announced it is going to increase the size of its logos on college sports uniforms from 2¼ inches to 4 inches. By the time all college teams complete their own deals for jersey patches, college uniforms will look like the gear worn by NASCAR drivers. The latest to sign a jersey patch deal was Cal, which got an estimated $8 million a year to wear a Dialpad patch. Dialpad is an AI communications venture.
– At the recent Big 12 football media days convention, Arizona State took seven players to Dallas for interviews and photo ops. All seven were outfitted in Art Lewin Bespoke suits. I checked the Art Lewin website, and the lowest-priced suit available sells for $2,695. That's absurd, isn't it? Why not just wear school sports apparel? Ironically, big-money school Texas Tech had its seven players wear golf-type shirts and jeans. What's a college kid doing paying $2,695 for a suit?
– After a disastrous 2-16 season in the Atlantic Coast Conference last year, ex-UA coach Adia Barnes' SMU Mustangs signed the daughter of former Arizona All-Pac-10 guard Gilbert Arenas; Izela Arenas averaged 4.2 points last year at Kansas State and before that played a season at Louisville. She was once considered a Top 50 recruit while playing for the USA's No. 1-ranked high school team in Sierra Canyon, California. Also joining Barnes ' reconfigured coaching staff — what else is new? — is former Rutgers head coach Coquese Washington, who was fired last year after finishing 1-17 in the Big Ten.
– Josh Green, who played one season at Arizona, averaging 12 points in 2019-20, was a "throw-in" in the NBA trade of LaMelo Ball from Charlotte to Minnesota a few weeks ago. Green did not start a game for Charlotte last year and averaged 4.2 points. Yet he accompanied Ball for a media conference last week, which seemed out of place. Green has averaged 6.3 points as an NBA sub for five seasons. He is paid well, however, earning $39.6 million so far. Good work if you can find it. Green was oddly added to the McKale Center Ring of Honor two years ago for being a substitute forward for Australia's bronze-medal-winning Olympic team.
– In the mid '90s, Canyon del Oro catcher Greg Halvorson was an all-state catcher, part of CDO's impressive run of state championships. He accepted a scholarship to ASU, where he became a starting catcher, playing with current ASU head coach Willie Bloomquist. Last week, Halvorson's son, Wyatt, signed a free agent deal to pitch for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Wyatt Halvorson had Tommy John surgery this year and did not play for the Sun Devils after an all-state prep career at Chaparral High School. A year ago, Wyatt struck out 13 Cal-Fullerton hitters in five innings before he injured his arm and was sidelined. His dad played three years in the New York Mets system 30 years ago.
