Best Sports Team '96

Best Sports Team

UA Women's Softball

READERS' PICK: Let's see. They lose two All-Americans to graduation (including the all-time NCAA home-run champ), another All-American takes the year off to play in the Olympics, another is out all year with an injury, and still another is on maternity leave. So all the UA women do is win another national championship--their third in four years and fourth in six years--and make it look almost easy in the process. This isn't a dynasty; it's some sort of Faustian deal.

READERS' POLL RUNNER-UP: The UA Men's Basketball Team is never far from our hearts, yet never completely free of our scorn. We take them for granted, sneer when they stumble, yet we always come back to hang our hearts on their runs through the NCAA tournament. This past year was especially gut-wrenching. The Cats were coming off their third first-round exit in four years (sandwiched around a trip to the Final Four) and then they lost center Joseph Blair midway through the season because he was goofing off too much to study. They played tough down the stretch, won their first two games in the tournament, then made a stirring comeback against tough Kansas in the Sweet 16, only to lose the lead and the game in last few seconds. Oh well, they'll win it all one of these years and then maybe--just maybe--they'll get more votes than the softball team.

STAFF PICK: The Tucson Toros didn't see post-season play this year--they only make the play-offs in odd years--but that didn't stop 'em from putting on a great show. Whether it was mighty Dave Hajek's fiery bat, Tuffy Toro's YMCA routine or the kids doing the Cluck-U Chicken Dance atop the dugouts, we always knew we were in for a monumental good time out at Hi Corbett. We'll take this over the Big Leagues any day. And we don't care who pays the damned Rockies to rename the ballpark--it'll always be Hi Corbett Field to us.

1998 Winner: UA Men's Basketball
1997 Winner: UA Men's Basketball
1995 Winner: UA Women's Softball