Arizona

In rejecting PSA screening for prostate cancer, an influential federal panel has chipped a cornerstone of preventive medicine, declaring that it's not always best to catch cancer as early as possible. "At best, PSA screening may help only 1 man in 1,000 avoid death from prostate cancer," the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force said Monday. "Most prostate cancers found by PSA screening are slow growing, not life threatening, and will not cause a man any harm during his lifetime.

Kansas couldn't erase the memory of last spring, but the Jayhawks did the next best thing. They beat Arizona for a small measure of revenge. "I feel a lot better with this being Arizona. Last year, they ripped our hearts out. It was a devastating loss. We watched the tape just to scout Arizona and it was difficult," Raef LaFrentz said after carrying the second-ranked Jayhawks to a tense, 90-87 victory over No. 4 Arizona last night in the Great Eight in Chicago, which features the final eight teams from last season's NCAA Tournament.

Arizona was a unanimous choice as the nation's No. 1 college basketball team in the United Press International poll released yesterday and a near- unanimous choice in the Associated Press rankings. The Wildcats (24-3) collected all 41 first-place votes from the UPI board of coaches and 61 of 66 from the AP's panel of sportswriters and broadcasters. La Salle nearly broke into the polls for the first time this season. The Explorers finished 21st in the AP voting. They also received votes from the UPI board, but totals are not included in that poll.

No sooner had Alabama coach Wimp Sanderson praised the effort the Crimson Tide had set forth against Arizona in the NCAA West Regional and called it a "great win," - no sooner had he spoken those words - when someone asked what he planned to do to stop Loyola Marymont on Friday? Shaking his head in wonder at the 149 points Loyola had scored against defending NCAA champion Michigan - and the 260 points it had totaled in two tournament games over the weekend - Sanderson sighed and said, "I hear the guy who was punching the numbers on the scoreboard is soaking his fingers in ice. " Sanderson paused in thought and added: "They are awfully hard to defend.

Arizona got a scare, until Miles Simon came along. The junior guard scored nine points in a 22-4 run in the final 7 1/2 minutes as the No. 4 seeded Wildcats overcame a 10-point deficit and beat South Alabama, 65-57, last night in the first round of the Southeast Regional. Simon finished with 11 points. The rally allowed Arizona (20-9) to avoid losing in the first round for the fourth time in six years. "We knew that it was going be a war," Arizona coach Lute Olson said.

Arizona has the dubious distinction of being the No. 2 seed in the regional in which Nevada-Las Vegas is the No. 1 seed. That means the two teams might meet in the West Regional final next week in Seattle. But for now, Arizona, which will play 15th-seeded St. Francis (Pa.) tonight, is the top-seeded team for the first and second rounds being played here. Arizona and Seton Hall seem to be the best two teams at this site. Arizona (26-6) was sent here because the first two rounds in the top West bracket are at the Wildcats' home court in Tucson.

ANAHEIM - Lamont Jones spent last spring break staring at his dorm room walls in Tucson, fuming over Arizona's failure to make the NCAA Tournament after 25 straight trips. Kemba Walker had a few similarly sleepless nights in Storrs when Connecticut also missed the tournament. "It happens to all great programs from time to time, but I just decided I wouldn't go through that again," Walker said. So did Jones, Walker's friend since junior high school. Two dynamic guards from New York have played major roles in getting two perennial powers back to the brink of the Final Four just 1 year after they fell out of the field.

Matt Williams, the last of the original Diamondbacks and a five-time All-Star with 378 career home runs, has played his final game for Arizona. The Diamondbacks announced yesterday that the third baseman has been designated for assignment. The move follows the team's acquisition of third baseman Shea Hillenbrand from Boston for pitcher Byung-Hyun Kim. "With the trade for Hillenbrand, it became apparent there just wasn't going to be any meaningful playing time for Matty," general manager Joe Garagiola Jr. said.

The rabid New Mexico fans had been grumbling as new coach Fran Fraschilla got off to a slow start. A 70-68 victory at Arizona should quiet them for a while. "We were 5-5 in here and people were down on us, even in our own city," New Mexico's John Robinson said. "This will help us a great deal. " No kidding. The third-ranked Wildcats had won 37 in succession at home, the fourth-longest streak in major college basketball. "It's just a great win for what has also been a storied basketball program at New Mexico," Fraschilla said "It's a great win for our players because they've got a new coaching staff, and it's a great way to move into the next part of Lobo history.

Hard work and good intentions were just not enough yesterday for the Villanova Wildcats. The Arizona Wildcats, ranked No. 6 in the country, were briefly confused by the hustling Villanova defense. But the visitors regrouped, displaying brutal efficiency in shredding that defense on their way to a 72-64 triumph at duPont Pavilion. The atmosphere was electric at the Main Line gym. An hour and 10 minutes before game time, students were lined up four across from the doors into the street.

The Supreme Court heard arguments Wednesday abo**ut Arizona's attempt to purge itself of all undocumented immigrants — and even those who "look" illegal — and the court's questions suggest that it may support the controversial law that the Grand Canyon State adopted in 2010. Arizona's SB 1070 — the "Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act"— relies on state and local law enforcement to get rid of illegal immigrants. The most controversial provisions require police and other law-enforcement officials to ask about the immigration status of anyone they stop, authorizes local police to make an arrest without a warrant of any person they believe is removable from the United States, makes it a misdemeanor to fail to carry proper immigration documents and makes it a crime for undocumented immigrants to look for work.

WASHINGTON - Supreme Court justices sounded sympathetic Wednesday to Arizona's efforts to crack down on illegal immigrants, while raising some questions about the potential consequences for individuals and for national policy. In an election-year case that inspired chanting demonstrators outside and maneuvering politicians across Capitol Hill, multiple justices hinted or declared outright that Arizona can enforce its own border-control measures. Overall, the tenor of the unusually long argument tilted in favor of the state.

Taking their long-running battle to the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday, Arizona and the federal government are set to square off over the state's bitterly disputed 2010 law designed to crack down on illegal immigration. Among the law's most contested provisions are expanded powers for local police to demand proof of the immigration status of anyone they stop, and to arrest, without a warrant, those they suspect of being here illegally. Advocates for immigrants say such powers invite discriminatory racial profiling based on skin color and foreign accents.

PHOENIX - Two of the seven buildings at Canal Crossing Business Park, one mile south of Phoenix's Sky Harbor International Airport, are vacant. One is available with 90 percent financing. Tucked in the far left corner, behind the companies that produce filter supplies, concrete construction, and electric solutions, is Fischer Sports Therapy. This is where Chase Utley works now. He spends as many as six hours a day in the gym, which caters to a number of professional athletes, to build strength in his chronically injured knees.

IAN KENNEDY took advantage of Arizona's early offensive outburst. Gerardo Parra hit his first career grand slam to cap a five-run second inning and the Diamondbacks beat the visiting Atlanta Braves, 6-4, Sunday, snapping a five-game losing streak. The Phillies open a three-game series at Arizona Monday night. "It's nice having a 5-1 lead going into the third inning," said Kennedy (3-0). "You can be a little more aggressive with the guys in the middle of the lineup.

WHILE THE Phillies get set to start the season in Pittsburgh, Chase Utley is in Arizona taking the next step in his return from knee trouble. In consultation with the Phillies and their medical staff, Utley will work with his personal therapist in Phoenix beginning Wednesday. The hope, general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said, is that Utley would join the team some time during its trip out West. The 10-game swing begins April 16 in San Francisco and also includes stops in San Diego and Arizona.

While the Phillies get set to start the season Thursday in Pittsburgh, Chase Utley will be in Arizona taking the next step in his return from knee trouble. In consultation with the Phillies and their medical staff, Utley will work with his personal therapist in Phoenix beginning Wednesday. The hope, general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said, is that Utley will join the team during its trip to the West Coast. The 10-game swing begins April 16 in San Francisco and includes stops in San Diego and Arizona.

MIKE MUSCALA had 20 points and nine rebounds to lead visiting Bucknell to a 65-54 win over Arizona last night in the opening round of the NIT. Joe Willman had 15 points and Bryson Johnson added 14 for Bucknell (25-9), which dominated from the opening tip. "Going into tonight's game I was confident," said Muscala. "I made sure to tell the others to be confident as well. Coach prepared our team for tonight by making sure he kept our team calm and composed. " Bucknell held Arizona in check, leading by as many as 13 in the first half.

  It has come to this on the Peyton Manning free agency tour - reporters were staking out the empty desert in Arizona on rumors the former MVP quarterback would be visiting the Cardinals. Manning spent nearly six hours in Denver on Friday, and speculation was high that the Cardinals would be next. But where Manning was on Saturday was a mystery, with the Cardinals staying silent.   'Skins get their man The reaction by guard Kory Lichtensteiger said it all for Washington's veterans.

NOVI, Mich. - Mitt Romney won the Michigan Republican primary Tuesday, avoiding a humiliating loss in his native state to conservative insurgent Rick Santorum, and easily captured Arizona. The latter victory was expected, as none of Romney's GOP rivals contested Arizona; he took all 29 delegates at stake there. A Romney loss in Michigan, a swing state where he has deep ties, would have intensified concerns about his ability to win over the Republican base. As it is, the victory may not quiet them: Exit polls showed that Santorum dominated among voters who considered themselves very conservative or evangelical Christians.