The Front Row: Christmas came early

STOOPS EXTENDED: How’s this for an early Christmas gift?

After bringing Southern Arizona its first bowl victory in a decade, Mike Stoops and the University of Arizona have started hammering out a contract extension that will keep him as UA coach through 2013.

Had this extension been discusse two years ago, Wildcat football fans would’ve gone nuts. Now, they’re welcoming the news with open arms.

Stoops has done a terrific job building this program from the ground up, bolstering recruiting and bringing in a better class of athlete.

In addition, fans will be entering 2009 in a better mood than in any previous season. If offensive tackle Eben Britton elects to return for his senior season, Arizona will be a serious force to challenge USC for Pac-10 supremacy.

Check Sunday’s Green Valley News for a full wrap-up on Arizona’s 2008 football season, and what the future holds for next year.

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GIVE IT A REST: Well, thanks a lot, New York Yankees. You continue to make baseball a little less fun for the rest of us.

After throwing ridiculous sums of money at C.C. Sabathia and A.J. Burnett, the Yankees tossed another $180 million at free-agent slugger Mark Teixeira yesterday.

For whatever reason, the Yankees believe this is a proper way to build a baseball team, even though this “spend first, think later” approach has netted them exactly zero World Series titles since 2000.

Each year, these high-profile free agents hit the market, but only a select few teams even have the financial muscle to enter the conversation. The Yankees seem content to break everyone’s spirits with their checkbooks.

Four Yankees — Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter, Teixeira and Sabathia — make more money than anyone else in the bigs. Who cares whether these guys actually complement one another? Who cares whether they’ll actually get along?

Spend first, think later, right?

nprevenas@gvnews.com | 547-9747