Palo Verde High grad makes the cut at PGA Championship | Greg Hansen

– In an interview with ESPN.com, former Arizona football coach Rich Rodriguez last week said he's not happy, which often seemed to be his demeanor at Arizona from 2012-18. Said RichRod: "I'd say my happiness is based on winning, so I'm pissed off. But we've got a new $50 million football facility. We want for nothing. We get everything we need. My players eat like champions." Now in his second season in his second stint at his alma mater, West Virginia, RichRod hit it on the button when he said "This is the most chaotic time in the history of college sports." His roster has had 152 players in just 18th months with the Mountaineers. Arizona will renew acquaintances with RichRod when it plays Oct. 10 in Morgantown, W.Va.

– Arizona's 2002 golf All-American, Ricky Barnes, 45, won the U.S. Open local qualifier in Phoenix last week and now advances to the final stage of qualifying later this month. Barnes, the 2002 U.S. Amateur champion, has played in five U.S. Opens. Arizona senior golfer Filip Jakubcik also won a U.S. Open local qualifying competition, at the Oro Valley Country Club. Former Wildcat standout Tiger Christensen, who turned pro after his junior year and tried to make the DP European Tour, was in town for the qualifier but shot 73 and missed the cut.

– Former Sahuaro High School all-state outfielder Alex Verdugo’s baseball career appears to be over. The 30-year-old Verdugo was released by the San Diego Padres last week. He had signed a minor-league contract, but a shoulder injury prohibited him from playing and will require surgery. Verdugo has played in 856 MLB games for the Dodgers, Yankees and Braves since leaving Sahuaro, earning $21 million. The only Tucsonans to play in more MLB games were CDO second baseman Ian Kinsler, Sabino shortstop J.J. Hardy, Tucson High catcher Ron Hassey, Rincon catcher Tom Pagnozzi, Palo Verde third baseman Jack Howell and CDO infielder Scott Hairston.

– Arizona 2025 tennis All-American Colton Smith is ranked No. 190 in the most recent ATP listings. He has earned $415,713 as a tour rookie in doubles/singles and recently played in ATP Tour events in Cleveland, Tallahassee, Sarasota and San Diego.

– When coach Rebekah Quiroz’s Pima College Aztecs begin play in the NJCAA World Series on Wednesday in South Carolina, they will encounter heavyweight-type competition. Their opening-game opponent, for example, Des Moines Area College, has hit 80 home runs this season; the Aztecs have hit 28. Among those in the NJCAA tournament is 63-1 Murray State College of Oklahoma, whose only loss was to No. 1-seeded Kirkwood College of Illinois. No one said it would be easy.

– Worry about the future of the NCAA's so-called "minor sports" began to spread this spring when an SEC school buoyed with money, Arkansas, eliminated its men's and women's tennis teams to save money. (The Razorbacks later pivoted and returned tennis to the school's athletic department). Eighteen years ago this week, ASU athletic director Lisa Love announced the Sun Devils were eliminating wrestling, tennis and swimming from the department. Donors quickly raised a combined $18 million to keep those sports at ASU. Love, who was fired in 2012, didn't exhibit much vision. The ASU men's swimming team has gone on to win the 2024 NCAA championship and win the last four league tournaments in the Big 12 and Pac-12. The ASU wrestling program has since won six league championships.