Fast Break

College football

Whits put four on D3 first team

Led by Northwest Conference Players of the Year Joel Clark and Casey Clifton, Whitworth had five student-athletes named to the D3football.com 2006 All-West Region team Friday.

Clark (Mt. Spokane) and Clifton (University), along with Michael Allan and Jay Tully (Mead), were named to the first team. Ryan Marshall was selected to the second team.

This group led Whitworth to its first 10-plus win season (11-1), first outright NWC title and first postseason victory in school history.

Only regional champion Wisconsin-Whitewater had more players (five) selected to the first team. Saint John’s (Minn.) joined Whitworth with four players on the first team.

Puget Sound senior linebacker Steve Martin (Lewis and Clark), also made the first team.

Baseball

Jose Uribe dies in crash

Former San Francisco Giants shortstop Jose Uribe died early Friday in a car crash. He was 47.

The fan favorite died in his native Dominican National when his sport utility vehicle crashed about 3 a.m. on a highway about 30 miles west of the capital, Santo Domingo.

Uribe wasn’t much of a hitter – his career batting average was .241 over 10 seasons – but fans loved him for his hustle and heart. He was a member of the 1989 National League champion Giants that lost to the Oakland Athletics in the World Series.

Sportslink

Zags vs. Dawgs

Online columnist Vince Grippi will have reports before and after tonight’s men’s basketball matchup between No. 13 Washington and No. 18 Gonzaga at the McCarthey Athletic Center.

Check out SportsLink at spokesmanreview.com/sports and share your thoughts about the game.