Stanford University

A Stanford law school graduate who allegedly boasted online that she paid off her student loans by working as a high-priced call girl pleaded guilty Monday to tax evasion and agreed to pay $313,134 in penalties. Cristina Warthen, 35, who went by the name Brazil and advertised on a website called TouchofBrazil, traveled across the country to provide her services from 2001 to 2003, according to court documents filed by federal prosecutors in Northern California. She now lives in Los Angeles.

Joining a trend that reinforces the gap between the nation's wealthiest schools and those far short of multibillion-dollar endowments, Stanford University on Wednesday became the latest elite institution to announce a big boost in financial aid for undergraduates from the middle class.

The campus book store might have closed on Stanford's 7-foot Lopez twins had Brook's baseline half-hook with 1.3 seconds left in overtime Saturday not rolled around the rim and kicked home at the Honda Center. Stanford outlasted Marquette by a point, though, offering a real-life reprieve and the chance for the king-sized kids to remain kids until at least today. That's when third-seeded Stanford plays second-seeded Texas in a South Regional semifinal game in Houston.

TAMPA, Fla. -- Candice Wiggins put her name in the record books with her scoring ability this season. She lifted the Stanford women's basketball team into the NCAA finals by excelling across the board. Wiggins scored a team-high 25 points Sunday afternoon against top-seeded Connecticut, but it was also her rebounding and ballhandling abilities that made the difference in the 82-73 victory at the St.

TAMPA, Fla. -- Stanford plans to force Tennessee standout Candace Parker to play with her left hand in tonight's NCAA championship game. Up until this point of her college career, everything has always gone right. As in, she could do no wrong, because she can score with either hand, from up close or from outside, and has the awards to prove it. But an injured left shoulder has thrown a curve at the 6-foot-4 redshirt junior and given the Cardinal at least some kind of idea on how to defend her.

TAMPA, Fla. -- The look of astonishment seen Saturday afternoon is long gone. That's no surprise. Stanford senior guard Candice Wiggins has a way of expressing herself in the moment. There were the tears after she scored 41 points and lifted the Cardinal into the Final Four. There was Saturday's genuine disbelief at being named the nation's top women's basketball player.

at St. Pete Times Forum, Tampa, Fla. * Stanford (35-3) vs. Tennessee (35-2), 5:30 p.m., PDT, ESPN -- Plenty of attention is being paid to the Candice vs. Candace showdown, but there will be plenty of other talent on the floor. Stanford senior guard Candice Wiggins is averaging 27.4 points in five tournament games, the highest of any player in the tournament. But the second-seeded Cardinal also has one of the better back-to-the-basket post players in center Jayne Appel, who is averaging 20.

BERKELEY -- It's nearly dark and football practice is almost over, but not before the California Golden Bears work on their short-yardage plays near the goal line. Audio of amplified crowd noise fills otherwise empty Memorial Stadium, the offense crosses the goal line, shrill whistles signal an end to practice and the Bears are one day closer to atoning for a desultory season. Oh, remember last year? Now, forget it, says Cal quarterback Nate Longshore.

Stanford football Coach Jim Harbaugh is partial to athletes whose fathers coached them, because he used to be one of those athletes. So when his star running back, Toby Gerhart, calls home nearly every day to talk to his father Todd, and maybe hears a nugget of advice about the way his feet were moving or the way he cut right or left, Harbaugh isn't insulted. He's pleased. "Kids who have been coached by their fathers, they are almost always really coachable kids," Harbaugh said.

I've never taken an antidepressant, but if the time comes, I'm hoping the effect will be like that of driving onto the Stanford campus for the first time. As the towering palm trees march past in the raking light of a fall afternoon, the gentle declivity of a grassy oval comes into view, gamboling youths upon it and a cluster of red blossoms in the shape of an "S."