SURPRISE, Ariz. (AP) — Bases loaded, a gold medal on the line. Manuel Velasco Jr. stands in the batter’s box sniffling, tears streaming down his face. Seconds earlier, the 19-year-old known as Junior was behind the dugout, his coach imploring…
POCATELLO, Idaho (AP) — Sam Dowd has what coaches call pop, a burst that allows him to jump a little higher, move a little quicker than the players around him. He wouldn’t have become a 5-foot-7, 167-pound, Division I basketball…
POCATELLO, Idaho (AP) — As the bus rolls past mileage signs for places like Malad City, Arimo and Woodruff, the long frames of Northern Arizona’s basketball players splay across the seats. Heads rest on makeshift pillows of jackets and backpacks,…
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — The building, with its high, arched ceilings, could pass for an airplane hangar if it had larger doors. Massive fans span one wall, designed to heat the adjacent offices next door, yet turn the old fieldhouse…
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — The floodwaters’ power erased the carpet on the lower half of the stairs, leaving nothing but exposed wood and nails. Mildew covered what was left downstairs, and a pungent, decaying smell embedded in the nostrils. This…
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Jack Murphy zigzagged across his hometown, ducking into gyms to watch AAU basketball players on all points of the Las Vegas compass. Some stops lasted minutes, long enough for Murphy to stand near a doorway to…
