John Marshall
Arizona Sports Writer for
The Associated Press
Tillman Scholars make connections with each other and the community at annual Pat’s Run
TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — The room intimidates whether it’s the first gathering or the 20th, so much intellect, achievement and initiative squeezed into a confined space. The uneasiness begins to peel away during initial conversations, then dissipates more during the 1-mile...
Condie overcomes back surgery to reach Olympic rings
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Kyra Condie lay on the operating table as doctors broke her back and put it back together. They worked through an incision running from her neck nearly the length of her back, removing, rotating, realigning and resetting each of 10 vertebrae....
Kikuyu rough figures to be a brutal test at Torrey Pines
SAN DIEGO (AP) — Take a bale of spinach, soak it in water, mix in some cabbage bits. Throw in some alfalfa stems and wispy wheat tops. Oh, and a catcher’s mitt. Now drop a golf ball down to the bottom and try to hit it. Actually, just try to find the ball. It’s called...
Small island of Kauai dotted with spectacular golf courses
LIHUE, Hawaii (AP) — Hawaii has some of the most beautiful and memorable golf courses in the world. And the quiet island of Kauai may have the most picturesque courses on the islands — or anywhere else. From Poipu Bay in the south, where Tiger Woods once reigned, to...
Culinary delights found along the Charlevoix Flavor Trail
LA MALBAIE, Quebec (AP) — Danielle Ricard was walking through the woods not far from the shore of the St. Lawrence River when her husband, Jean-Pierre, kicked a patch of mushrooms. It led to an epiphany. Bankruptcies had hit the Charlevoix Region of eastern Quebec...
Special Olympics celebrates 50 years of inclusiveness
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 him to shake off a hard...
Idaho State’s Sam Dowd beats the odds to become DI player
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 player without it. In life, Dowd has a...
Travel an extra grind for Division I’s smallest schools
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, legs stretch across...
Facilities gap an uphill climb for college hoops’ low-majors
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 colder than the already-crisp fall...
Katrina evacuee Hicks takes the long road to DI basketball
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 was the home of Kevin...
Creativity required for low-majors in the recruiting game
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 evaluate a player who just popped up on...
Eye injury created an unlikely Olympic path for Jay Shi
2016 U.S. Olympic Shooting Team Jay Shi Overcomes Eye Injury And Qualifies PHOENIX (AP) — The shirt, with blue short sleeves and U-S-A written above red Olympic rings, remained stashed in the back of Jay Shi's closet yet at the forefront of his thoughts. He would...