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Show DAILY C2 M Briefing HERALD TODAY NCAA Men THURSDAY MWC Women UNCatDuke Air Force at BYU 7 p.m. rrrtn. 7 p.m. ESPN MLB deal PHOENIX The Arizona Diamondbacks and outfielder Eric Byrnes agreed to a $4,575,000, one-yecontract Tuesday, avoiding arbitration. Byrnes was trie last Arizona player in arbitration. A hearing had been scheduled for Feb. 15. "Obviously, it's a long process," general manager Josh Byrnes said. "It's nice to sit here and have salaries locked in and get focused on baseball." Eric Byrnes called it "a fair deal." "Unfortunately, it is a business," he said in a telephone interview. "In the process of arbitration this stuff does happen. It's not a delightful process, but whenever you can settle outside of the hearing room I would call it a success." Eric Byrnes hit .267 with career highs of 26 home runs and 25 stolen bases last season, his first with Arizona, to become the first Diamondbacks player to reach 25 homers and 25 steals in a season. Only three other NL players reached those marks last year. But the Diamondbacks weren't interested in signdeal, their GM said, "primaring him to a long-terily because I think our outfield numbers and young talent and prospect talent seems to be an area of strength" In other words, Eric Byrnes could be replaced minor by a youngster from Arizona's talent-lade- n league system after this season. He said he would like to stay in Arizona beyond this year but knows that might not be in the Diamondbacks' plans. "That's their decision. That's nothing that I have control over," Eric Byrnes said. "As far as I'm concerned, everything that I've ever gotten in my baseball career and essentially in my life is something I had to work for and something I had to earn." The outfielder is a fan favorite for his scrappy, hustling play. "Eric played great for us in 2006," Josh Byrnes said. "He's a rare player who can impact the game in a lot of ways with his power, with his baserun-ninwith his defense and certainly every day with his energy." Eric Byrnes played center field last season, but will move to left this year to replace Luis Gonzalez, prob- - Television College Basketball Georgetown at Louisville Illinois at Northwestern North Carolina at Duke Colorado St. at Utah 5 5 7 7 ESPN ESPN2 ESPN p.m. p.m. p.m. p.m. mtn. College Soccer ESPN2 7 p.m. U.S.A. vs. Mexico PAGE Reggie Hayes some salary cap relief for the free agency signing period, which begins March 2. Jansen, who turned 31 last month, was the team's most reliable player during his first five seasons never missing a start but his in Washington past three years have been marred by injuries. His missed the entire 2004 season with a ruptured Achilles' tendon, broke both thumbs in 2005 and labored with a torn calf muscle for much of 2006. The calf caused Jansen to miss one game and limited him in several others. Still, he helped spur a rushing attack that ranked fourth in the league. In addition, the Redskins allowed only 19 sacks this season, Liird fewest in the NFL. 027 THE AIR Byrnes, Diamondbacks agree to Wednesday, febwaty 7. 2007 College Football Radio Evidence testing still under way in College Basketball Colorado St. at Utah 700 7 p.m. punter stabbing case AM GREELEY, Colo. Investigators are still running tests on evidence gathered in the case of a former Northern Colorado backup punter accused of stabbing the starter, attorneys said Tuesday. A judge had planned to set a trial date for Mitch ably the most popular player in the Diamondbacks' brief history. Gonzalez had been Arizona's left fielder since 1999 but left as a free agent after the Diamondbacks told him they had no interest in signing him. He signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers. "You can't replace Luis Gonzalez," Eric Byrnes said. "None of us are going to be able to replace him. He's a type of baseball player and personality who comes in and takes over a city. "He was my best friend on the team. He was my favorite player on the team, and I would never dream of trying to be Luis Gonzalez." With Eric Byrnes in left and youngsters Chris Young in center and Carlos Quentin in left, Josh Byrnes thinks his team will be strong defensively in the outfield. Cozad, charged with attempted first-degre- murder e and second-degre- e assault, but held off so the Colorado Bureau of Investigation could finish its tests. "There's still some more work to be done," said Joseph Gavaldon, Cozad's attorney. "We need to get together with the district attorney to see if this is a case that has to be tried I'm hopeful to resolve any case. A case not tried is a case not lost." Asked if a plea agreement was in the works, prosecutor Michele Meyer said "I have not spoken to Mr. Gavaldoa" Cozad of Wheatland Wyo., is accused of stabbing Rafael Mendoza in his kicking leg on Sept. 11. Mendoza suffered a 3- - to deep knife wound when he was attacked in a dimly lit parking lot at his apartment complex. Police have said .they believe Cozad stabbed Mendoza in an attempt to get the starting job. The case drew quick comparisons to the assault by Olympic figure skater Tonya Harding's hit man on rival Nancy Kerrigan. Cozad is free on $500,000 bail If convicted he could face up to 48 years in prison. He has been kicked off the football team and suspended from the university. NFL Redskins' Jansen signs new contract ASHBURN, Va. Washington Redskins right tackle Jon Jansen signed a $23 million contract extension Tuesday. Jansen is the team's longest tenured player and had two years left on his previous contract, but he agreed to a new deal that includes more than $10 million in bonus money. It also gives the Redskins five-yea- r, UVSC BASKETBALL Walker's big night helps Wolverines beat UC Davis DAILY m&FJIW Warner Neil K. HERALD if - Utah Valley State's Joe Walker had averaged 4.3 points a game before scoring his career-hig- h of 19 points on Saturday night. How do you top a career game? With another one of course. For Walker's encore, he scored 22 points in just 20 minutes of work. He made - J i Si? shots from the field and led the Wolverines UVSC 88 with eight UC DAVIS 59 rebounds in his big gest game of the year as UVSC cruised to an 9 win over UC Davis Tuesday night in the McKay Events Center. "The nice thing to have is depth We have a variety of guys who can come in and give us a lift. Joe Walker was exceptional in his play and his presence inside," said UVSC coach Dick Hunsaker. "That was a terrific lift and I thought Chris Bailey with his energy and enthusiasm really got us going and moving on offense." 88-5- L U Stf COBB CONDIEDaily Herald UVSCs Joe Walker grabs an offensive rebound on Tuesday, Walker had a 22 points, besting career-hig- h his old high of 19. following the game, but Bailey, the team's senior point guard credited Walker's big night to what he's been doing between games. "Practice makes perfect and Joe's been practicing his butt off," Bailey said. "He's taken his practice to the game and has been a great player." Bailey turned in one of his best overall games of the season. He scored 13 points on shooting from the field. He also handed out five assists. "They were switching and when they're switching we've got to cut without the hall and that's what coach expected me to do and what he expected the whole team to do," Bailey said "It was the spacing of my teammates. It was the spacing out because of the switching that got us some easy baskets." UVSC continued to shoot the ball with remarkable efficiency. The Wolverines averaged 53 percent shooting from the field in their last two games and shot 54 percent from the , field against UC Davis. Despite having a hot hand on offense, UVSC looked to be in trouble early. Led by Thomas Juillerat, UC Davis stormed out to a 7 lead. The Aggies held a 1 lead with seven minutes left in 27-1- Hunsaker did not make Walker available to the media 30-2- the half when UVSC made its move. Walker scored inside and Bailey drove the baseline, scored and was fouled He added the free throw to convert the play. After a David Heck steal, Bailey scored again to trim the lead to The Wolverines continued their run when Ari Warmer-dawas called for an offensive foul and Bailey was fouled and made two free throws to tie the game at 30. Peter Brown free throws followed by another basket from Heck gave the Wolverines a 6 lead just two minutes into the second half . The Aggies battled back to cut the lead to 5 at the 13 minute mark, but Richard Troyer made three straight free throws and Bailey slipped inside the paint and fed Walker for a dunk. Walker followed with baskets to put the game out of reach at 6547 with 10 minutes left in the game. Juillerat, who led UC Davis Toolson made sure the with 17 points, temporarily stopped the bleeding with a Aggies wouldn't come back. basket, but UVSC finished the He scored 20 points on run. Bailey scored half on a shooting from the field. Instead of burning UC Davis again. Ryan Toolson added two free throws, Walker with the Toolson scored five straight points, and took advantage of UC Davis' extended defense on him Bailey finished the scoring in the half with a layup. and took the ball to the rack. He cashed in on seven free "They really knocked us throws and helped UVSC straight on our heals earlier in the game," Hunsaker said shoot 81 percent as a team "We struggled to defend them from the free throw line. The win helped UVSC We had matchup issues and I improve to 16-- 7 on the year, thought they came out with a terrific amount of enthusiasm. while UC Davis fell to 8 I thought they had their way on the season. The Wolverwith us for the majority of the ines now hit the road for a first half." game at Texas before returning home Heck set the tone for the second half when he scored to play North and South Dafour straight points. A Matt kota on Thursday and Saturand a pair of day of next week. Peterson 52-3- 56-4- 30-2- 8. m back-to-bac- k 9-- 2 SHOULD FREE AGENT COLTS STAY OR GO? FORT WAYNE, Ind play armchair Let's manager for the Colts. It's a fun, free game. We get to say who stays and who goes. If we make the wrong calls, who cares? Technically, we don't even have to admit saying a year ago the Colts needed to keep Edgerrin James to win the Super BowL However, I will come clean and confess I wrote that the Colts should keep James at all costs. From what I hear, they did indeed win the Super Bowl without him. I later predicted they'd draft Joseph Addai, so I was half right at running back, sort of. At any rate, let's move on to this year's potential offseason moves. The Colts have 11 unre-- stricted free agents, including defensive end Dwight Freeney, linebacker Cato June, cornerback Nick Harper, running back Dominic Rhodes, linebacker Rob Morris and kick returner Terrence Wilkins. Among eight restricted free agents are offensive linemen Jake Scott and Ryan Lilja and starting cornerback Jason David Others eligible for some sort of free agency include tight end Ben Utecht, wide receiver Aaron Moore-hea-d and safety Mike Doss. The Colts also have decisions to make on whether to retain or release defensive tackle Corey Simon and wide receiver Brandon Stokley. As the armchair GM, I'm dividing these players into three categories: 1. Essential 2. Depends on the price, and 3. Time to move on. 1. Essential Four players belong in this group: Freeney, June, Scott and Lilja. Freeney wants to become the highest-paid defensive end in the game, and he may be worth it. He draws double teams constantly and that attention sets things up nicely for left end Robert Mathis. Freeney's 5.5 regular-seaso- n sacks marked a career low. But there were extenuating circumstances, namely the fact opponents ran the ball to exhaustion or end zone, whichever came first. The Colts might have to "franchise" Freeney, which would bind him to a one-yecontract worth $8.6 million and change. That's a lot of money, well spent. The Colts lost three quality linebackers to free agency over the last few yean Mike Peterson, Marcus Washington and David Thornton. It bit them this year when Gilbert Gardner didn't pan out. June made the Pro Bowl in 2005, he knows Tony Dungy's system and he should be able to be retained at a manageable cost. I'd ' keep him and draft another ar UVSCBYU ROUNDUP strong, quick linebacker. As for Scott and Lilja, they're part of an offensive line that protects the most valuable asset in the game, Peyton Manning. Since they UVSC baseball narrowly falls to No. 25 Arizona the Colts can offer them one-yedeals and then match offer they any free-agemight receive. They should do so, without hesitation. DAILY Hi RAID Utah Valley Tucson, Ari. State got a solid pitching performance and a two-rudouble from Dan Bulow but fell 2 to Arizona on Tuesday in ) the Wolverines' season opener in the desert. Smith tossed four innings and scattered five hits while striking out five but it was his counterpart, Arizona starter David Coulon, that impressed most after carrying a into the seventh inning. Eli bid Slesk broke up the no-hwith nobody out in the seventh on single to center and Adam Openshaw followed that up with a single to right. Dan Bulow then delivered a twoun double to get UVSC on the scoreboard to cut the to 2 and was at third with nobody out before being stranded there to end the inning. Arizona then added a run in the bottom of the seventh to take a 2 lead on an RBI double from TJ Steele. Slesk led off the ninth with a single to bring the tying run to the plate before Jace Brinkerhoff n 4-- (4-0- 3-- 4-- ! are restricted free agents, lined out to second and Slesk Rhinehart finished with "We had some opportuniwas doubled up. three hits to lead the Wildcats ties to start the match with the Bulow had a two-ou- t single to while Bulow and Slesk had two doubles win," BYU head coach Brad Pearce said "I would again bring up the tying run but hits each for the Wolverines. Daniel Schlereth earned his first have liked to have gone into save of the year retiring Scott I BYU men's tennis gives No. 17 the singles with the doubles Croshaw to end the game. Huskies a run for their money. point. It would have given us Arizona scored its first At Provo. the BYU men's tena great opportunity to puO nis team began a three-matc-h two runs in the third on three out a win or least give the No. consecutive singles from Jon road trip Tuesday against No. 17 team in the nation a good 17 descare. Gaston, Robert Able and Bill Washington, losing Rhinehart and a CJ Ziegler Junior Jonathan Sanchez spite a number of opportunities sacrifice fly. Gaston added the to upset the Huskies. The Couwon his singles match in third run for the Wildcats in gars travel to Oregon today to straight sets for the blue and the sixth on an RBI double. and freshman white, complete the trip in a double-headMarcus Moore threw four Cassidy Mean also pulled out against the University solid innings for the Wolverof Portland and the University a come-- f "W" in a ines as weU, allowing two runs of Oregon. tiebreak in the third set, The Cougars were within (one earned) on four hits while one break of stealing the Pearce said that, although striking out three. "Overall I was pleased with doubles point after Chip Hand his team fought a hard match our effort, especially our pitch- and Jonathan Sanchez won Tuesday, fatigue should not be their third doubles match in a factor in today's matches. ing," said head coach Steve row and fifth on the season. Gardner. 'Smith and Moore "It will be a touch day, but Cassidy Mean and Cale Planck if we can get good starts with gave us a chance and give lost a tough doubles match at doubles points then I like our (Coulon) credit ...he was tough, I do think we were a little the No. 3 spot and it was up opportunities to get a couple of anxious at the place and didn't to senior James Ludlow and wins," Pearce said "If fatigue Dorrunik Kaufhold at No. 1 to make the adjustments we is a factor we are not in good needed to make" enough shape. It shouldn't be pull out the win and the doubles point. Tied at eight all, the The Arizona staff combined factor and if tt is, then our lost the tiebreak to strike out UVSC 15 times in Cougar-duguys need to work harder." the baHgame, led by 11 from and the point went to the BYU fell to 4 on the season Coulon in six innings of work. Huskies. going into today's doublehead- 5-- 2 er 6-- 6-- rom-behin- 4-- o 7-- 3 3-- er. Washington came into the match on the rebound from a loss to No. 2 Ohio State and a record of 1 on the season; they improved to 7-- 0 2. Depends on the price 2-- 3-- 1. I Toolson named Independent Player of the Week: At Orem, Utah Valley State sophomore guard Ryan Toolson has been named Division I Independent Player of the Week for his performances last week against New Jersey Institute of Technology and IPFW. Toolson averaged 25.5 points and shot 15-- f from the field in the two games. He was also from the Jfne. In the 8655 win over New Jersey Institute of Technology he had a career high 28 points on eight of 10 shooting from the field Against IPFW he scored 23 points on seven of 10 or-2- 0 shooting. "Ryan has had a great season and he had an exceptional week," UVSC coach Dick Hunsaker said "It is nice to see him recognized for his efforts." Toolson is averaging 14.3 points this season and shooting 43 percent from the line. This category is the largest, and coven almost everyone m the middle ground You're not going to pay too much for playen like Moore-heabut neither are any other teams. He and Utecht provide the type of backup receivers that help, but dont make or break a team. I'm hesitant to let Harper leave because I think he's an underrated smart, skillful veteran. But the emergence of younger players, such as Martin Jackson and Super Bowl surprise Kelvin Hay den, provides some wiggle room here. The Cofes might not be able to keep Harper at his market value under salary-ca- p configurationl David would probably come a little cheaper, and he has the potential to be as effective as Harper. I'd lean toward keeping David and continuing the grooming of Jackson and d, Set COLTS', C7 a t". |