Montana

If Joe Montana had waited much longer to have back surgery, he might have suffered a permanent weakness and loss of feeling in his left foot, the surgeon who performed the operation said yesterday. Montana was "very close to permanent numbness," said Dr. Arthur White. "If we made him wait another week, he would have maybe had some permanent weakness and numbness. " The doctor, appearing at a news conference with Michael Dillingham, the 49ers' team physician, also suggested that Montana could play quarterback again before the end of the 1986 season.

The third time was the charm for Montana. David Bell nailed a three-pointer with 4.3 seconds left to lift the Grizzlies to a 70-68 upset of No. 17 Stanford last night in the first round of the Stanford Invitational. Montana (4-6) was facing a ranked team for the third time after losses to Michigan State and Gonzaga. Bell scored 24 points. Montana will meet Pepperdine in tonight's championship. Stanford (5-2) will play Richmond in the consolation. In other games: At Creighton, Brody Deren scored 14 points to lead the No. 20 Bluejays (8-0)

Montana survived a last-second rally to beat Appalachian State, 24-17, last night in Missoula, Mont., and reach the Football Championship Subdivision title game. Jabin Sambrano had caught a 25-yard touchdown pass from Andrew Selle with 1 minute, 31 seconds left to give the Grizzlies the lead over the Mountaineers (11-3). Montana (14-0) dealt with frigid temperatures and slippery conditions on a snow-covered field to make the championship game for the second straight year. The Grizzlies will play Villanova on Friday night in Chattanooga, Tenn.

Never say Marcus Rosser is afraid to try something different. Having spent two years in Kansas after starring in basketball at University City High, Rosser is primed for a two-year hitch in, gulp, Montana. The 6-8 power forward, who last season averaged 15.1points and 10.2rebounds for Kansas City (Kan.) Community College, has signed with the University of Montana. "I always wanted to get away from home, so I could grow up as a person," Rosser said. "I did OK in the Midwest and now I'm going to try the West, and see how it's different out there.

Two explosions caused by runaway railroad cars rocked Montana's capital city yesterday, cutting off electricity and forcing the evacuation of thousands as wind chills dipped to 70 degrees below zero. The runaway cars derailed and hit a propane tank near the railroad tracks, setting off an explosion. Minutes later, the fire from the blast caused one of the derailed cars containing a highly flammable chemical to blow up, authorities said. A second car containing plastic also burned, producing a cloud of black smoke that prompted the evacuations.

SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. - Cole McKenzie had a two-run double and Billings, Mont., overcame three solo homers by Rapid City, S.D., in a 6-4 victory Thursday in the Little League World Series. The boys from Billings won in the first appearance by a Montana team on Little League's biggest stage. McKenzie's double followed Connor Kieckbusch's two-run single to highlight a five-run fourth. McKenzie allowed six hits over five innings, and Sean Jones pitched a scoreless sixth for the save.

Only in Montana. We arrived in Big Sky, Mont., several days early for my son's wedding. We planned to do some sightseeing first. The day before our tour of Yellowstone National Park, I got a call from my daughter, Jenny, saying her truck (which was pulling her camper) had broken down an hour from her home in Dillon, Mont. My granddaughter told the tow-truck owner how important it was that they get to her uncle's wedding: She was the flower girl, her brother was the ring bearer, and her grandma had bought her a pretty long white dress to wear, and they just had to be in this wedding.

That quiet, frail-looking guy who dominated the NFL in the decade just ended looks like he might do OK in the new one, too. His team isn't doing so badly, either. He still doesn't have a nuclear-powered arm, still isn't 6-5, and still looks far more comfortable running past linebackers than meeting the media afterward to describe how he does it. But Joe Montana still wins. And in the big games, he is downright invincible. In the '70s, in the '80s, now in the '90s. And he probably will keep on winning as long as he can tolerate the inconveniences.

The little team from the Big Sky carried on the winning tradition of No. 12 seeds in the NCAA Tournament. Montana overcame a sizable height disadvantage and became the latest No. 12 seed to pull an upset, beating fifth-seeded Nevada, 87-79, yesterday in the first round of the Minneapolis Regional. Since 1985, at least one 12th-seeded team has upset a No. 5 seed in the tournament every year except for 1988 and 2000. A year after being overwhelmed early in a first-round loss, the Grizzlies (24-6)

David needed a bigger slingshot. UNLV, cast in the Goliath role and booed wildly by the crowd, stomped on little Montana, 99-64, last night in Tuscon, Ariz. to kick off a run for a second consecutive NCAA championship. "They're like an NBA team," a slightly stunned Montana coach, Stew Morrill, said. "Nevada-Las Vegas is for real. " Too real. Too big. Too fast. "You get past one player and there'd be another one waiting for you," Montana forward Kevin Kearney said.

States back Mont. campaign law HELENA, Mont. - Twenty-two states and the District of Columbia are backing Montana in its fight to prevent the U.S. Supreme Court's 2010 Citizens United decision from being used to strike down state laws restricting corporate campaign spending. The states led by New York are asking the high court to preserve Montana's state-level regulations on corporate political expenditures, according to a copy of a brief written by New York's attorney general's office and obtained by the Associated Press.

DEER LODGE, Mont. - Montana officials on Friday rejected parole for a notorious "mountain man" who abducted a world-class athlete in 1984 to keep as a wife for his son, and then shot her and left her to die during a rescue attempt. The state Board of Pardons and Parole held its third parole hearing for Don Nichols as federal authorities search for his son Dan, accused this month of new drug and gun crimes. During his 20-minute hearing, Nichols, 81, expressed contempt for the board.

HELENA, Mont. - Three Cups of Tea author Greg Mortenson mismanaged the nonprofit organization he cofounded to build schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan and spent millions of dollars of charity money on charter flights, family vacations and personal items, according to an investigative report released Thursday. Mortenson's control of the Central Asia Institute went largely unchallenged by its board of directors, which consisted of himself and two people loyal to him, the report prepared by the Montana Attorney General's office said.

C.J. McCollum scored 29 points as Lehigh held off Bucknell, 82-77, in Lewisburg, Pa., on Wednesday night to win the Patriot League tournament. The Mountain Hawks (26-7) earned their second trip to the NCAA tournament in three seasons. Mike Muscala finished with 30 points and 14 rebounds for the Bison (24-9). LIU 90, Robert Morris 73 - C.J. Garner scored 21 points as the Blackbirds (25-8) won their second straight Northeast Conference championship over the Colonials (24-10)

NEW DETAILS about the mysterious disappearance and reported death of a small-town Montana math teacher began to trickle out yesterday, as cops asked property owners in parts of North Dakota and Montana to look for signs of her buried body, and released the names of two men being held in the case. The FBI late yesterday said the body of Sherry Arnold, 43, of Sidney, Mont., might be buried in a "shelter belt," or a line of trees that protects soil from the wind. The agency asked that property owners check vacant farmsteads for signs of disturbed soil or matted grass.

Here are travel bargains around the globe, by land, sea, and air. Deals sell out quickly and are not guaranteed to be available. Restrictions such as day of travel, blackout dates, and advance-purchase requirements may apply.   Land Book four nights this winter at 320 Guest Ranch, in Montana's Big Sky , and get half off the usual rates. The Celebrating Snow deal starts at $465 per person double (down from $930) and includes four nights' lodging, a half-day dogsledding ride, a snow-coach tour of Yellowstone National Park and Old Faithful, an evening sleigh ride, daily breakfast, and one dinner.

SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT - Ben Askelson hit a high 0-1 curveball onto the hill beyond the leftfield fence to send the Cinderella team from Billings, Mont., into the U.S. final of the Little League World Series with a 1-0, seven-inning victory over Huntington Beach, Calif., last night. Montana will rest until the U.S. championship game Saturday, while California must face Clinton County, Pa., tonight night. Both teams had chances to prevent the game from going into extra innings. California couldn't break through after loading the bases with two outs in the top of the sixth.

SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. - Ben Askelson hit a high 0-1 curveball onto the hill beyond the left-field fence to send the boys from Billings, Mont., into the U.S. final of the Little League World Series with a 1-0, seven-inning victory over Huntington Beach, Calif., on Wednesday night. Montana gets to rest up until the U.S. championship game Saturday, while California must face Clinton County, Pa., on Thursday night. Both teams had chances to prevent the game from going into extra innings.

SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. - The boys from Billings have the perfect excuse to miss the start of school Wednesday back home in Montana - they keep winning at the Little League World Series. Patrick Zimmer tossed five shutout innings, and Ben Askelson hit a two-out, two-run single in a 3-1 win over Lafayette, La., on Sunday that kept the Northwest region champs undefeated in South Williamsport. California 10, Kentucky 0   Huntington Beach, Calif., pounded out 12 hits, Hagen Danner and Nick Pratto combined on a two-hitter, and the West region champs stayed undefeated in the 2011 Little League World Series with a 10-0 win over LaGrange, Ky., in a game shortened to four innings by the mercy rule.

SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. - The first team from Montana to advance to South Williamsport overcame a shaky start and three solo homers yesterday by the sluggers from Rapid City, S.D., to win its Little League World Series debut, 6-4. Connor Kieckbusch and his Bilings teammates were understandably a little anxious when they first trotted on to the manicured field at Lamade Stadium, with about 11,000 fans watching their every move. Those nerves disappeared after a five-run fourth inning highlighted by Kieckbusch's two-run single and Cole McKenzie's two-RBI double with two outs.