Fast Break
College football
Whits’ Allan All-American
Whitworth College senior tight end Michael Allan was named to American Football Coaches Association Division III All-America first-team Monday, the second consecutive year he has earned that honor.
Allan, from Bellevue, Wash., caught 53 passes for 1,100 yards in the Pirates’ best-ever season, which ended 11-1 following an NCAA Division III second-round playoff loss to St. John’s, Minn. He led the Northwest Conference with nine touchdowns and yards per catch (20.8) and was named to the conference’s first team for the third consecutive year.
He ends his Whitworth career with school records in touchdown receptions (29) and yards per catch (18.7).
Allan has been invited to play in the Hula Bowl all-star game Jan. 14 in Honolulu.
College basketball
Westerberg on Naismith watch
Central Valley graduate Emily Westerberg, a senior at Arizona State, is one of 50 women named as preseason candidates for the Naismith Trophy presented by Cingular Wireless.
The list was compiled by the Atlanta Tipoff Club’s board of selectors, comprised of leading basketball journalists, coaches and administrators from around the country.
In January, the list will be narrowed to 30 players. Those players will be eligible for the final ballot in March.
Through Cingular Wireless, fans can help determine the winner. Text message voting will account for 25 percent of the final results, more than any other national award.
Poll question
Kramer reader’s choice at Idaho
When it became clear Dennis Erickson was leaving Idaho to take over as football coach at Arizona State, readers started sounding off on our blogs and voting in our poll.
We asked readers to pick Idaho’s next coach and tossed out some suggestions. Former Idaho player Mike Kramer, now the coach at Montana State and the former coach at Eastern Washington, is the clear choice. John L. Smith is the second choice and Dirk Koetter, the coach Erickson replaces at ASU, is No. 3.
Check out the poll at spokesmanreview.com/ sports.