Fast Break

SOCCER

Zags beat top-ranked UCSB

Gonzaga University senior Grant Lundberg (Lewis and Clark High) scored the only goal of the match in the 82nd minute Sunday as the Bulldogs defeated top-ranked and defending national champion UC Santa Barbara 1-0 at Santa Barbara, Calif.

Lundberg’s 10th career goal provided the Bulldogs with their first victory in two tries against a defending national champion. It was the third time Gonzaga played a top-ranked team and the second time the Bulldogs won in that matchup. They defeated No. 1 Creighton 1-0 in 1999.

Senior keeper Vito Huggins made five saves for the shutout. National player of the year candidate George Josten assisted on Lundberg’s goal, giving the two-time WCC scoring champion his first point of the season.

Gonzaga (1-1) plays its home opener Friday against Washington at 4 p.m. at Martin Field.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

Brennan tosses 6 first-half scores

Colt Brennan had a short night of work, but gave Hawaii all it needed.

Brennan threw for 416 yards and six touchdowns – in the first half – as No. 23 Hawaii opened its most anticipated season ever with a 63-6 win over Northern Colorado on Saturday night in Honolulu.

His six first-half TD tosses gave him 99 for his career, tying former high school teammate Matt Leinart of Southern California for sixth on the NCAA career list. Brennan entered the game in 10th place and quickly passed Brady Quinn, Phillip Rivers and Kliff Kingsbury.

Brennan set or tied school records for completions in a quarter (19) and half (34), as well as TD passes in a quarter (4) and a half (6). Brennan’s 416 passing yards also broke his own school record for a half, set last year.

With the game in hand, the Warriors had their second-string offense in the game to start the second half.

SCIENCE

Athletes have more bad hearts

Cardiac problems like an abnormal heartbeat are exacerbated by rigorous exercise in a way that can be fatal in athletes, and regular testing for the problem could save lives, doctors at a heart conference in Vienna, Austria, said Sunday.

Italy is the only country that mandates heart screening of all its professional athletes, Dr. Domenico Corrado of the University of Padua said at the European Society for Cardiology meeting in Vienna.

Since 1981, Italian authorities have run heart checks on all competing athletes. The incidence of sudden, fatal heart attacks has dropped from four cases per 100,000 to 0.4 cases per 100,000.

Without testing, athletes genetically predisposed to having an irregular heartbeat might not be aware of their condition until it’s too late, doctors said. Adrenaline produced during exercise may overstimulate the heart, causing it to essentially short-circuit.

“Sport acts as a trigger,” Corrado said in research presented at the meeting.

Corrado said he had no ties to companies involved in screening athletes. The research was funded by the Italian government.