Original Video- More videos at TinyPic

Links:

• Luke Walton, stalked
• Olson, engaged
• Rudy Carpenter, karma’d (with video)
• GoAzCats.com, Erin Andrews’d
• GoAzCats message boarders, lech’d
• RauRaur.com, can’t blame ‘em



• Spencer Larson, started
• Hassel, Hoff’d
• Arizona Stadium, renovated?
• Standings, rauraur’

From Greg Hansen’s Sunday notebook:

Former UA All-Pac-10 linebacker Spencer Larsen is making an impact in his first season with the Denver Broncos. To open last week’s victory over New Orleans, Larsen delivered an epic hit/tackle that was played, re-played and re-replayed on sports highlight shows all week. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen somebody get hit as hard as Spencer delivered on one of those backs on the kickoff return,” Broncos coach Mike Shanahan told reporters. “That’s the hardest hit I’ve seen since I’ve been in the National Football League. It looked like he decapitated him.”

While I’ve been unable to find video of the hit vs. New Orleans, I have included video of another big Larsen hit vs. the Chiefs (above). Unfortunately, it should be mentioned that Spencer’s day didn’t end with as smashing results — as he “botched” the handling of a crucial on-side kick. Still, he’s certainly earning his keep and it would come as no surprise to us if his role only grew from this point forward.

Way to go, Oregon State. Thanks to your victory over USC, the Pac 10 has officially transformed from Chinese fire drill to cluster fuck in China. I hope you’re happy with yourself, Beaver Nation. You better be celebrating with whiskey and firearms, because that’s what Tucson would have done. Don’t think for a second that we’re happy to see you play the stunner. What a sad state, when 90% of a conference hopes for little more than to ruin the national championship chances of their only super power. But, hey, that’s just the way the Pac rolls. And this year, to the Beavers go the spoils.

So the Conference of Champions is a mess. But is that really so bad? Let me put it this way: If Arizona is ever going to make it to their first Rose Bowl (sigh…), isn’t it going to take a year like this? Now, I’m not suggesting that the 2008(-09?) Wildcats are Rose Bowl bound. New Mexico, etc., etc. But as a team that hasn’t been in the top half of the conference for a decade, shouldn’t we crave chaos? Shouldn’t we praise the Beavers as harbingers of sweet anarchy? The way rauraur sees it, the only sensible way to live in this conference is without rules.

Introduce a little anarchy. Upset the established order, and everything becomes chaos. The Beavers are an agent of chaos.

Oh, and you know the thing about chaos? It’s fair.

Celebrate the Schadenfreude. Bear Down and buck the system. Look past your jealousy and be grateful to the Beavers.

My favorite part of the broadcast vs. UCLA was not the announcers’ pro-LA bias. Nor was it their inability to tell us that our starting left tackle (a future first day draft pick), missed the third quarter to receive fluids. It was at about the 5:55 minute of the video above. Here’s the condensed version: Somehow the announcer goes from scolding Money Mike’s choice in punt return tactics (”Here’s Thomas, doing a little too much dancing here”) to breathlessly screaming, “What a run by Thomas!” Good thing, $ listened to you, Mr. Announcerman.

Lots to catch you up on…

• The October 4th Washington game will be televised on Versus but the game time has changed
• Monday was Lute Olson’s birthday
  
• Gil’s getting hitched
• Salim is a Spur (and he’s open)
• Emerald or Vegas?
• This is too easy. ASU either cheats or can’t count. Wait, no, both! Rimshot! Fish in a barrel, eh?! High five!
• We’re number 1!!

Jay Cutler and Brandon Marshall torched the San Diego Chargers secondary and people’s fantasy teams all day yesterday, but (as usual) Antoine Cason was not the man to blame. Last week when the Chargers trailed late in the 4th, he caused a fumble, which led to the Chargers taking a late lead, though they still blew it. And this week Cason did it again. With his team trailing by one and their backs to the wall, Antoine picked off Cutler in the end zone and returned it out to the 10 (who cares if he fumbled, his teammates recovered it). Check it out in the highlights above. Can someone say rookie of the year?

We could have used his clutch heroics on Saturday… UGH!

P.S. Keep your head up ‘Cat fans. Not all is wrong with the world.

Nope, they’re all bad (except, obviously, USC).

Tough weekend for the Pac 10. Tough weekend for Arizona. I blame Mustafa Shakur.

As Arizona prepares to face New Mexico, RauRaur.com again asks the powers that be to resurrect the tradition of the Kit Carson Rifle, a now defunct firearm-turned-trophy that used to be awarded to the winner of this game. From the Arizona Daily Star:

…the presidents of the two universities decided to discontinue the Kit Carson Rifle trophy out of respect for both schools’ Native American communities.

The Kit Carson trophy is “a bloody rifle,” said Ted Downing, a UA professor and activist who supported the move.

“We thought it was inappropriate to trade war trophies, especially in the Southwest, given the violent relationships between Indians and non-Indians,” he said. “Kit Carson was involved in some massacres. As far as some Navajos were concerned, he was not a hero. He was a villain.”

Carson, a territorial scout, led U.S. Army troops in driving the Navajos out of Canyon de Chelly and into Fort Sumner, N.M., in 1863. At least 200 Navajo died during the 300-mile trek, known as “The Long Walk.”

The UA and New Mexico played for the first time in 1908. In 1938, Arizona athletic director J.F. “Pop” McKale and UNM’s Roy Johnson agreed to use the Springfield flintlock rifle as a perpetual trophy.

According to legend, McKale acquired the gun from the Apache leader Geronimo — although records show Geronimo had been dead for 31 years before the trophy was first used. Others claim the rifle was taken from a firing range beneath Bear Down gym.

The Kit Carson rifle is now on display inside the Jim Click Hall of Champions on campus.

Yes, etching the final score of two unranked football teams into the side of a weapon that may or may not have killed countless Native Americans is considered by some to be politically incorrect. But I say, until the ballistics report gets back from CSI: Frontierland, we continue the tradition going for old time’s sake.

Traditions don’t kill people, Kit Carson (allegedly) kills people. Bring back the Rifle!!

(Too soon?)

So the Seattle Supersonics have moved to Oklahoma City where they’ll be refered to as the Thunder. Yes, their mascot is a sound. Tucson has some sweet thunder storms too, and what did we do when we picked our mascot? We went with something ridiculously sweet: the Wildcat. It “rauraurs” when it gets excited, for chrissake. The nickname originates from a 1914 L.A. Times article that claimed that Arizona “showed the fight of wildcats.” Now Wilbur and Wilma patrol the sidelines, pumping up the crowd, while wearing cardinal red and navy blue.

OKC… well, they have a sweet sound, I guess.

What ever happened to naming teams after sweet animals. The OKC Thunder sounds like a reject from the WNBA. Thank God Jerry D. Bayless ended up with the Trailblazers.

And how about the Toledo Rockets? A rocket is menacing, sure, but how can a football team be taken seriously with this thing running down the sidelines. And you’re probably thinking, “Well, maybe they fought like rockets in some game in 1754 or something.” Well, no, that’s not how it happened. Their team didn’t even have a name until 1923 and “skyrockets” just happened to be the first thing that popped into some dude’s head (what a nerd, guess he’d never seen a wildcat before).

Even if Toledo did fight like rockets, it wouldn’t matter. A wildcat would beat a rocket in a fight any day of the week (especially a Saturday!). Now, a mud hen… that’s more like it. But apparently that name was already taken.

Bear Down and beat the Rockets!

… and with it the return of many former Wildcats! Tonight’s game features some randoms on the Washington Redskins vs. Antonio Pierce, Michael Johnson, and the rest of the Super Bowl Champion New York Giants. Be sure to look out for #58 and #20 tonight on NBC. And if you cannot watch tonight, you better on Sunday because there are plenty of Wildcats out there getting ready to battle.

Unfortunately we are also going to take this time to send our best wishes to those ‘Cats who did not make the final cuts this year. Louis Holmes was sent to the practice squad by the 49ers, Joe Tafoya, after playing in 7 games last year, was cut by the Cardinals, and Wilrey Fontenot just missed out on the Falcons, and has signed to the practice squad in Arizona. But we know these guys will land on their feet and be back in no time!

In better news, after a strong finish Spencer Larsen made the Denver Broncos and will be looking to show his grit every Sunday. Also making a team was Syndric Steptoe, who had one of the most impressive preseasons, making him a lock for the Browns. Finally Lionel Dotson proved his worth to the Miami Dolphins, who have kept him on the roster.

The University of Arizona has produced some very famous people over the years, and we are not just talking about the athletes that we adore. Tucson has also educated the likes of Jerry Bruckheimer (Pirates anyone?), Greg Kinnear (Actor extraordinare), Linda McCartney (Married a Beatle, genius move), Nicole Richie (Dropped out after learning how to party), Linda Ronstadt (11 Grammies, no big deal!), Geraldo Rivera (You know his show), Kate Walsh (Hottie from Grey’s Anatomy and Cadillac commercials), Joan Ganz Cooney (Sesame Street Creator), Arturo Moreno (Owner of Angels), Robert Sarver (Owner of Suns), and Bob Dole (He is Bob Dole), to name a few.

Now it seems “celebrities” or their kids  are starting their days at the U of A. This includes Taylor Cole from “Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County” and Christiana Barkley, daughter of Sir Charles. But the newest to this list is the daughter of David Hasselhoff, whose Dad, the Hoff, was spotted by RauRaur spies wearing a season ticket Arizona football shirt at the Idaho game this weekend. Rumor has it he is now a Wildcat season ticket holder and loved what he saw at the first game. So welcome to the team, Hoff. Feel free to join the RauRaur revolution.

I hope his addition to the crowd proves the key to Arizona making the Rose Bowl, Rau Raur!