Texas A&M softball lands two players on Softball America’s top 100 players list

A pair of Aggies earn a top 100 ranking from Softball America.

Coach Trisha Ford is past the honeymoon phase in Aggieland and is ready to push her team to the next level. To get there she brought in a few familiar faces from her ASU days and kept the core of her team together which can be a chore on its own.

There will be no shortage of competition on the practice field and they will have two top 100 players leading the way. Softball America named Julia Cottrill (64) and Jazmine Hill (76) as both landed on that list. Both players also came in nationally ranked in their respective positions with Cottrill at No. 6 for catchers and Hill at No. 19 for outfield.

Texas A&M will open the season at Davis Diamond when they host the Aggie Classic from February 9 -11th.

Contact/Follow us @AggiesWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas A&M news, notes, and opinions. Follow Jarrett Johnson on Twitter: @whosnextsports1

Preston Summerhays is the first of two siblings to play in a U.S. Open this summer

Talk about a proud papa.

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LOS ANGELES — Talk about a proud papa.

Boyd Summerhays has not one but two of his golfing offspring competing in a U.S. Open this summer.

First up is son Preston, who just finished his sophomore season at Arizona State. Then in July, Boyd’s daughter Grace will play in the U.S. Women’s Open at Pebble Beach.

Preston will tackle Los Angeles Country Club, having made the field a little more than a week ago after surviving a 3-for-2 playoff at nearby Hillcrest Country Club. He’s one of 19 amateurs (16 of them college players) to make the field. A few days later, Grace punched her ticket to Pebble at a final qualifying stage of her own.

This week marks a first for Preston, as dad Boyd will not be his caddie for the first big event of his young golf career.

“I feel like my game has gotten to a spot where you know my dad will actually be able to help me more if he’s, if he can focus more on me in the practice rounds and in the warmups,” Preston said after his Tuesday practice round with Jon Rahm and Tony Finau. ASU assistant coach Thomas Sutton will be on the bag this week instead. “It’s what’s best for my game. My dad gets spread too thin between being a coach, a father and a caddie.”

2020 U.S. Open
Preston Summerhays and his dad/caddie Boyd during the first round of the 2020 U.S. Open at Winged Foot Golf Club in Mamaroneck, New York. (Photo: Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

Preston has played countless times with Finau, a longtime Summerhays family friend, but he has also logged nearly 20 rounds with the former Sun Devil Rahm.

On the 18th hole Tuesday, Preston’s approach was just off the back of the green. He attempted a flop shot but instead hit the ball right at Rahm, who calmly caught it out of the air and then tossed it back.

Rahm left ASU in 2016 to turn pro, graduating after four years in Tempe, but the Arizona State bond is there. Summerhays is on a similar path, as he intends to play all four years of college golf while working towards his degree.

“I missed him by a decent amount of years [at ASU], but there’s always that connection. He’s come out to our facility a couple of times. Just kind of being, him being an alum, I feel just a little bit more comfortable going up to him, asking him questions,” Preston said. “He’s been great with me, and I know even if I wasn’t at ASU, he’d be great to me.”

Can the 20-year-old Preston, who gained previous U.S. Open experience in 2020, contend in this major championship?

Well, his dad knows anything’s possible in golf.

“People say it, and it’s cliche, but the golf ball doesn’t know who’s hitting it, right?”

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Notre Dame football: Shamrock Series history

Which Shamrock Series game was the best one?

For the 11th time in program history Notre Dame is officially taking a home game to a road location as the [autotag]Shamrock Series[/autotag] is set to take place this Saturday night in Las Vegas as the Irish play “host” to BYU.  As you’re likely aware, Notre Dame has done extremely well all-time in these games going 10-0 to date with really only a couple even being competitive.

Saturday will feature a game against one of the better opponents Notre Dame will have played in this series however with the 3-1 Cougars.

Notre Dame has worn alternate uniforms for the game on nine occasions,  a tradition that wasn’t a part of things when the series began back in 2009.  Here is a quick look back at Notre Dame’s all-time showings in the Shamrock Series.

College football top 25 scoreboard: 10 ranked teams fall

So how high will Kansas be after 10 ranked teams fell this week?

It won’t go down as the craziest of college football weekends we’ve ever seen but Week 5 came and went with plenty of happenings.  Although everyone ranked in the top-seven walked out of the weekend with victories, a pair of top-10 teams lost and 10 of the 25 ranked teams lost this weekend.

Meanwhile, number-one looked anything but stellar on the road against an unranked opponent while number-two lost their starting quarterback for an unknown amount of time.

What were all the scores from the USA TODAY Sports coaches poll top 25 during Week 5?

Take a look below to see how each team ranked 1-25 fared on Saturday (or Thursday, Friday):

Arizona State won’t let the Coyotes use their logo at center ice in their embarrassing arena deal

The Coyotes will be under a “good behavior” clause while playing at ASU.

The Arizona Coyotes new arena deal gets more embarrassing by the day.

In case you missed it, the Coyotes will be playing their home hockey games for the foreseeable future at Arizona State University after their previous arena deal with the city of Glendale fell through. Yes, a professional NHL team will be playing 41 games a year in a college hockey arena for at least multiple seasons.

On Tuesday, a report from The Athletic‘s Katie Strang and Sean Shapiro outlined a “good behavior” clause for the Coyotes and owner Alex Meruelo. In said clause, if the Coyotes become part of a public scandal or do anything untoward that reflects poorly on the ASU brand, the school will be able to back out of the deal.

In The Athletic’s report, the clause states that anything that violates “widely held principles of public morality, failing to conduct its business affairs with a high degree of integrity and honesty and/or failing to act as a good corporate citizen” would be cause for the agreement’s termination.

That’s… rough.

The Coyotes have a history of having a less than favorable reputation across the league, from skimping on rent payments to the city of Glendale to knowingly drafting a player who admitted to racially abusing a teammate. Arizona eventually walked that pick back and forfeited it after the backlash from the hockey world at large.

Also of note in this report is that the Coyotes won’t even be able to use their logo at center ice in Arizona State’s arena!

In-ice advertising will be a revenue source for Arizona State, and the Coyotes aren’t allowed to modify the look of the ice surface – including the Arizona State logo at center ice — on broadcasts to protect ASU’s permanent advertisers in the building. It is noted that this doesn’t and shouldn’t impact opposing broadcasts filming at ASU.

While the Coyotes can control the — temporary — branding of the scoreboard and arena boards, the team will have to get approval for any alcohol or beer advertisements and are limited in which sponsors they can partner with.

Look, I get that the Coyotes came into this deal with no leverage whatsoever, but this arena deal becomes more and more embarrassing to the team and the NHL every time it’s in the news. What a shambolic organization.

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Jon Rahm brings U.S. Open trophy to Arizona State game, gets upstaged by a fox on the field

Former Sun Devil upstaged by a fox which somehow made it onto the football field.

Jon Rahm is a proud Arizona State alum so you had to think he was excited to visit Sun Devil Stadium for ASU’s home football game against USC.

And of course he had the U.S. Open trophy in tow.

Rahm and wife Kelley were special guests for the evening, and during one break in the action, went on the field to show off the hardware and take in a little public adoration from the fans.

“Great to be back here,” he said in a selfie video posted later while hanging out on the sideline.

Rahm won the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines in June. While at ASU, he won 11 times, second only to Phil Mickelson’s total of 16. He met Kelley, a track-and-field athlete at ASU so Saturday night brought everything full circle.

ASU won the game, snapping a two-game losing streak.

But neither the victory nor the appearance by a major champion is what had people talking the most. No, that honor goes to a fox that somehow found its way into the stadium and onto the field early in the first quarter.

With the help of stadium officials, the fox was directed through a gate and escaped into the night unharmed.

Draft Rewind: Warriors select Arizona State’s Ike Diogu in 2005 first round

With the No. 9 overall selection in the 2005 NBA Draft, the Golden State Warriors landed power forward Ike Diogu out of Arizona State.

Despite draft season winding down, there’s still little clarity on which direction the Golden State Warriors will go with the No. 2 overall selection in the 2020 NBA Draft. 

With Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and Andrew Wiggins in place, the Warriors are in the position to win now. If the Warriors want to compete at the top of the Western Conference as soon as next season, Bob Myers and Steve Kerr could eye a player that can make an impact in year one. However, the Warriors will have the option to add a prospect with potential that Kerr can develop for the future. 

There’s also the chance the Warriors opt to move the pick for a later selection or a proven veteran. 

Before the Warriors make their highly anticipated pick, Warriors Wire is rewinding through Golden State’s draft history to highlight some of the most memorable selections — trades, surprises, busts, sleepers and everything in between.

June 28, 2005

The Milwaukee Bucks opened the 2005 NBA Draft by selecting future Golden State center Andrew Bogut with the first overall selection. Fast forward eight picks later and the Warriors were on the clock. 

After finishing the 2004-05 season with a 34-49 record, Chris Mullin and Mike Montgomery landed Ike Diogu out of Arizona State with the No. 9 pick. 

On his way to earning a bid to the All-American Second-Team, Diogu averaged 22.8 points on 57.5% shooting from the field with 9.8 rebounds, 2.3 blocks and 1.3 assists per contest. Following his junior year at Arizona State, Diogu was named Pac-10 Player of the Year. 

In his first season in the Bay Area, the 22-year-old tallied 7.0 points on 53.4% from the field with 3.3 rebounds and 0.4 blocks in 14.9 minutes per game. 

Watch highlights from Diogu’s rookie season via YouTube

Despite a steady first impression, Diogu’s time in Golden State didn’t last long. The Warriors included Diogu in a seven-player trade with the Indiana Pacers headlined by Stephen Jackson and Al Harrington. 

Following his stint in Indiana, Diguo continued to bounce around the association for the rest of his career. During his six seasons in the NBA, Diogu averaged 6.0 points on 50.9% shooting from the field with 3.1 rebounds per game. 

 After his time in the NBA came to a close in 2012, Diogu impressed in the D-League. In 2014, the former Golden State first-rounder was named D-League impact Player of the Year. 

Other notable members from the 2005 NBA Draft class included Deron Williams, Chris Paul, Andrew Bynum, Danny Granger, Jarrett Jack and David Lee. Current Warriors broadcasting analyst Kelenna Azubuike is a member of the 2005 class as an undrafted free agent. 

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Former Alabama star Mo Williams becomes Alabama State MBB head coach

Former Alabama basketball star Mo Williams is returning to the state of Alabama to become the men’s head basketball coach at Alabama State. 

Former Alabama basketball star Mo Williams is returning to the state of Alabama, this time to become the men’s head basketball coach at Alabama State.

Dec 11, 2015; Orlando, FL, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Mo Williams (52) dribbles the ball as Orlando Magic guard Elfrid Payton (4) defends during the first quarter at Amway Center. Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Williams played for the Alabama Crimson Tide from 2001-2003 under Mark Gottfried.

For the Tide, Williams started in all 64 games he played. He recorded a total of 838 points in his career for Alabama. As a freshman, he averaged 10.4 points and 4.5 assists per game. In 2003, Williams led Alabama in scoring and assists, averaging 16.4 points and 3.8 assists per game.

Williams went on to be drafted by the  Utah Jazz in the second round (47th overall pick) of the 2003 NBA draft.

In his NBA career, Williams has played for the Jazz, Milwaukee Bucks, Cleveland Cavaliers, Los Angeles Clippers, Portland Trail Blazers, Minnesota Timberwolves, Charlotte Hornets, and most recently the Cleveland Cavaliers from 2015-2017 where he was a part of the 2016 NBA championship team.

In his NBA career, Williams played in 818 games, starting 525 of them. He also averaged 13.2 points per game and 4.9 assists per game. He finished his NBA career with an incredible 10,759 points, 3,990 assists, 2,264 total rebounds, and 721 steals.

In 2018, Williams joined his former college coach, Mark Gottfried for two seasons as an assistant basketball coach for California State University.

Nov 10, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Mo Williams (52) brings the ball up the court during the first quarter against the Utah Jazz at Quicken Loans Arena. Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports