Arizona State

The defining moment of the Pac-12 basketball season to date took place Dec. 17 at Wells Fargo Arena, Arizona State's home floor. The Sun Devils' opponent was Northern Arizona, which came into the game with a 2-7 record and a 70-year-old interim coach, Dave Brown, who had been announcing the team's games on the radio when coach Mike Adras quit "to pursue other interests. " The last time Brown had coached a game at any level was in 1990. Final score: Northern Arizona 69, Arizona State 68 as an unheralded freshman named Stallon Saldivar scored a career-high 24 points, including a three-pointer at the buzzer.

Seems like old times. For years, season-ending series between Cal State Fullerton and Long Beach State almost annually determined the Big West Conference baseball title, including three times when the rivals met as the top teams. UC Irvine's emergence as a power and a lull at Long Beach State put that tradition on hold, but it will be renewed for the first time since 2008 when Long Beach plays host to Fullerton in a three-game series that starts Friday at Blair Field. "The energy and the atmosphere should really be something," said Troy Buckley, a former Long Beach assistant who is in his second season as the 49ers head coach.

UCLA next at Arizona State, Saturday at Wells Fargo Arena, 12:30 p.m. PST, Prime Ticket ? The Bruins complete the first half of Pacific 10 Conference play against the cellar-dwelling Sun Devils, who have lost four consecutive games and six of seven. UCLA has dropped its last two games in Tempe, Ariz. ? Ben Bolch

The Minnesota Vikings moved to within a governor's signature of getting a new $975-million stadium on Thursday after the state Senate approved a plan that relies heavily on public financing. Gov. Mark Dayton has said he'll sign the measure, meaning the Senate's 36-30 vote was effectively the final barrier for the stadium. The House had passed it overnight. The team chased a new stadium for more than a decade but had little leverage until its lease expired last year on the 30-year-old Metrodome.

UCLA tonight AT ARIZONA STATE When: 5:30 PST. Where: Wells Fargo Arena, Tempe, Ariz. On the air: Radio: 570. Records: UCLA 15-12, 8-6; Arizona State 8-19, 4-11. Update: UCLA has lost two of its last three games in Tempe, and needed overtime to scratch out a 73-72 victory last season. Those Arizona State teams were significantly more talented. The Sun Devils scored eight points in the first half in a 72-50 loss to Washington State on Saturday.

USC tonight AT ARIZONA STATE When: 5:30 p.m. PST. Where: Wells Fargo Arena, Tempe, Ariz. On the air: Radio: 710. Records: USC 11-9, 3-4 in Pacific 10 Conference; Arizona State 9-10, 1-6. Update: USC has lost three of its last four games and five consecutive conference road games dating to last season. The teams split two games last season, but Arizona State has won four games in a row against USC in Tempe. ?Baxter Holmes

James Harden scored 21 points and No. 17 Arizona State beat Arizona, 53-47, on Wednesday night to win consecutive games at the McKale Center for the first time in 25 years. Derek Glasser scored 13 points, making a pair of late three-point baskets and four free throws in the last 11 seconds to secure it for Arizona State (16-3, 5-2 Pac-10). Jordan Hill scored 16 points and grabbed 15 rebounds for Arizona (11-8, 2-5), off to its worst conference start since 1983-84.

USC recorded an upbeat accomplishment Thursday. Barring a disaster, it can endure no more embarrassing a loss the rest of the season than its 62-53 defeat to an undermanned Arizona State squad. The Sun Devils trailed before they entered the Galen Center, with three players, including leading scorer Keala King (13.7 points a game), suspended for "unacceptable conduct. " Along with King, fellow starter Kyle Cain and reserve guard Chris Colvin didn't make the trip to Los Angeles, leaving Arizona State with only six scholarship players.

Landry Fields scored 20 points and Stanford defeated No. 21 Arizona State, 74-64, on Thursday night at Tempe, Ariz., the Sun Devils' third consecutive loss. Anthony Goods scored 15 points, Lawrence Hill had 13 and Kenny Brown had 12 for the Cardinal (17-11, 6-11 Pac-10), which avenged a 30-point loss to Arizona State in January. James Harden scored 22 points and Jeff Pendergraph had 15 points and 11 rebounds for the Sun Devils (21-8, 10-7), who shot 36%.

After generating lots of excitement during a school-record 22-0 start to the college baseball season, UCLA is 8-10 over the last four weeks, mostly against strong Pacific 10 Conference competition, and what must be of particular concern for Coach John Savage is a dissipating attack. On Sunday, Arizona State completed a three-game sweep of the Bruins, hitting three two-run home runs en route to a 12-3 victory at Jackie Robinson Stadium. The Bruins were limited to six hits in the series finale and scored five runs in three games.

John Spiak made his name as a curator at the Arizona State University Art Museum, in Tempe, where he spent 17 years helping to develop an innovative program dedicated in large part to a socially engaged mode of art-making known as "social practice. " He was born and raised in Orange County, however, not far from downtown Santa Ana, which makes his move last fall - to take over as director and chief curator of the Grand Central Art Center - something of a homecoming. "I grew up running around this neighborhood," he says, and he speaks of it today with a booster's enthusiasm.

Before the season even began for the UCLA women's basketball team, they were without their head coach from the previous three seasons and a senior forward who had helped carry the Bruins for the previous two. That season ended Wednesday, as the fifth-seeded Bruins first lost a double-digit lead and then, ultimately, the game, 61-57, to 12th-seeded Arizona in the first round of the Pacific Life Pac-12 Conference women's basketball tournament at...

Reporting from Phoenix — The Andre Ethier that Cory Hahn knows isn't short-tempered. He isn't moody. The Ethier that Hahn knows was among the first people to visit him in the hospital last year after he broke his neck sliding into second base in a game at Arizona State. "He's a genuine guy," Hahn said. "On the field, he's a gamer. Off the field, he's been nothing but nice and awesome to me and my family. " Hahn and his father visited the Dodgers' spring-training complex Thursday as guests of Ethier, who played college ball at Arizona State.

UCLA's season in transition ended Wednesday in the first round of the Pacific Life Pac-12 Conference women's basketball tournament at the Galen Center. The fifth-seeded Bruins blew a double-digit lead and lost, 61-57, to 12th-seeded Arizona. UCLA finished with a 14-16 record in Coach Cori Close's first season. Close replaced Nikki Caldwell, who left to take over Louisiana State's program. Arizona improved to 15-16 and advanced to Thursday's quarterfinals, where the Wildcats will meet fourth-seeded Arizona State.

It has been a good week for Stanford thus far. On Sunday, the Cardinal beat rival California, denying the Bears a share of the Pac-12 Conference title. On Wednesday the Cardinal hitched up to guard Chasson Randle and rolled to an 85-65 victory over Arizona State at Staples Center in the first round of the Pacific Life Pac-12 Conference tournament. Randle scored 30 points, 27 in the first half. He sat out the final 10 minutes to rest for the Cardinal's rematch with the Bears in the quarterfinals Thursday night.

at Long Beach State 64, UC Riverside 40: Casper Ware scored 17 points for the 49ers, who are undefeated in 14 Big West Conference games. T.J. Robinson recorded his 52nd career double-double, with 10 points and 16 rebounds. Phil Martin had nine points and 10 rebounds to lead the Highlanders, who trailed, 41-18, at halftime. Riverside committed 19 turnovers. at UC Davis 78, Cal State Fullerton 75: In a game they never led, the Titans pulled to within one point in the fourth quarter, but the Aggies hung on for the victory, which ended Fullerton's six-game winning streak.

Jeff Pendergraph scored 15 points, all in the second half, and No. 24-ranked Arizona State defeated Oregon State, 49-38, on Saturday at Corvallis, Ore. The Sun Devils (18-5, 7-4 in Pacific 10 Conference play) won their fourth consecutive conference road game, their longest streak since winning five games in a row in 1980-81. Rickey Claitt had 13 points and was the only player in double figures for the Beavers (10-12, 4-7), who shot only 32% from the field.

From Tempe, Ariz. -- The coach once helped carry his son from tee ball to the top of the high school baseball world, never missing a game, cheering every moment, from midnight batting practice to driveway bullpen sessions to championship glory. Today, the coach gently places his son over his shoulder and carries him from his wheelchair to the front seat of his dusty truck. "We were never much for hugging," Dale Hahn says. "But now I get to hug my son all the time. " The coach once pushed the son to become California's Mr. Baseball, working on his swing, inspiring his hustle and watching him become a powerful outfielder with speed, smarts, a full scholarship to Arizona State and a major league future.

UCLA guard Lazeric Jones said he likes the environment at the McKale Center in Tucson. The environment just doesn't seem to care for him. "They don't like me there for some reason," Jones said, laughing. "I don't know why, but they have a problem with me. Their crowd is like that. It starts pregame, and it can be a little harsh. I just laugh at stuff like that. " Forward David Wear has never played in a college game in Tucson. But, he said, "I know it's a hostile place.