A Lisfranc sprain in his left foot will keep Ryan Torain from taking the field for Arizona State, but the senior running back plans to keep performing his responsibilities as a team captain to the fullest.

His adventurous nature has led him to run with the bulls in Spain as well as explore Antarctica. He's also determined enough to have climbed to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro, the tallest peak in Africa. Three years removed from coaching what he thought would be his final game at Cactus, Jack Altersitz, couldn't resist the challenge to lead the 4A West Valley Region program once again. "I never thought I'd be back doing this," said the man who gave birth to the Cobras soccer program. "The three years I've been retired have been unbelievable. Coaching is such a commitment, but when I got word that Garrison (Harmann) was giving up teaching and coaching, I called to get the details of what they were going to do." After a brief discussion with athletic director Brian Duguid, it became clear that the Cobras wouldn't mind having their old coach back. Altersitz spent the last three years travelling. He was also a familiar face at West Valley high school soccer games. He bounced between Cactus, watching his former assistant Harmann lead the Cobras, or games coached by his former players; Steve Ybarra at Centennial or Tim Beck at Ironwood. "Being a small part of it was enough, but I'm enjoying being back," he said. That was his evaluation as of Monday, one that had been revised. "After the first two days I was thinking to myself, ?what did you do you fool?' I was coaching the way I coached before," said the coach of six champsionship teams. "That had worked because the players knew me. They knew the expectations. I'm the new guy in town to these guys. They don't know what to expect from me. It used to be every year, the older guys taught the newer guys what the expectations were. Now, I've got to reestablish what our expectations are. Since the first two days, I've become more relaxed." As he prepared for his first game in his second stint as Cobras coach Altersitz, who is 322-81 in 23 years of coaching, said the talent is in place for the Cobras to compete. "Garrison left the cupboards full," the coach said. "They went 17-6-1, which is a very good record. I've seen a lot of these guys play the last couple of years, so it's more them getting used to me than me, having to get used to them." Two players Altersitz said his team will be able to depend on night in and night out are seniors Tim Mead and Nick Gaber. Altersitz has converted both players into midfielders. Defensively, junior John Pearman will be the team's sweeper. He'll be joined in the back by a group that includes seniors John Lamoreaux, Devon Beck and Chris Trujillo. Altersitz said the four Cs to Cactus's success during his first go-around were: commitment, communication, composure and confidence. This year's team, he said, has some of those things in place. "Communication is the one I really am stressing," he said. "There is talent, but they lack cohesiveness because they all come from different clubs and playing different styles. Because of that, you have to talk out there if you're going to play well together." While club commitments have kept Altersitz from getting to spend much time with his entire squad, he said making progress on a daily basis will get the Cobras where they want to go. "They want to win which is important," he said. "A lot of people hate to lose. But the question is, are you willing to do the work ahead of time to put yourself in position where you're working towards being a winner. It's easy when things are going well. The question is do you have the fortitude to dig deep when you face adversity." If they need a bit of advice on how to endure such situations, they can assuredly turn to their coach who had the moxie to elude being gourged by bulls. Considering he's reached the heights of 15,100 feet and that he's won six state championships, Altersitz has first-hand knowledge that the sky is the limit.

When Arizona State’s captains take the field for the coin flip before Saturday’s home game against Oregon, senior receiver Moey Mutz will be among them as the coaching staff’s pick as single-game captain.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Phil Harris, the fishing boat captain whose adventures off the Alaska coast were captured on the television show "Deadliest Catch", has died, the Discovery Channel said Tuesday night. He was 53.

Matt Alvarado thought the final game of his junior season would be a springboard.

Transferring to an East Valley high school would have made sense. After all, next fall Sarah Reaves will call Tempe home as a member of the Arizona State Sun Devils volleyball team.

Transferring to an East Valley high school would have made sense. After all, next fall Sarah Reaves will call Tempe home as a member of the Arizona State Sun Devils volleyball team.

The seniors’ chairs aren’t cold yet but the juniors on the Centennial girls volleyball team are already planning how they’ll run things next year.

The Mountain View swim teams looked to their leaders as both team senior captains, Courtney Haney and George Bock, led their squads with pentathlon victories — good for 80 points each — on what was a banner day for the Toros at the Mesa City Swimming and Diving Meet on Wednesday afternoon at the Shepherd Aquatic Complex.

Hamilton held a 10-0 lead and was less than a quarter away from its first state championship on that chilly Saturday afternoon in 2001.

The game was long over Friday afternoon and Chris Crowl was still milling around the Desert Vista softball field.

The game was long over Friday afternoon and Chris Crowl was still milling around the Desert Vista softball field.

Chandler Valley Christian has firmly established itself as a 2A football power. Three state-title game appearances the last three years — and one title — have cemented that label.

February 8, 2005

Josh Gher is now in his sixth year at Sunrise Mountain High School.

 There’s nothing like getting a group of friends together to play their favorite sport and taking on the best teams.

Rachel Geller had a pretty simple job during her first trip to the 4A state girls basketball tournament championship game.

If this is the last game for Sunrise Mountain's seven boys basketball seniors, it's hard to think of many moments that would mean more than Thursday's season-ending 70-61 victory at neighborhood rival Liberty's sold-out gym.