Thompson will start for Cougs

Men’s basketball: Washington State coach Ken Bone lifted Klay Thompson’s suspension Monday, saying the Cougars scoring leader will start Thursday’s Pac-10 Conference tournament opener against Washington.

Thompson (pictured) was suspended Friday after receiving a misdemeanor marijuana possession citation the night before. The junior, who leads the conference in scoring (21.4) missed the Cougars’ final Pac-10 regular season game Saturday, a 58-54 overtime loss to visiting UCLA.

Point guard Reggie Moore, who sprained his right ankle in a win over USC Thursday, practiced on a limited basis Monday. His status for Thursday is unknown.

Inside: Thompson and DeAngelo Casto named to All-Pac-10 teams /B3

Vince Grippi

LC grad Varnell NAIA champion

Wrestling: University of Great Falls junior Anthony Varnell (Lewis and Clark High School) won a national championship at the NAIA nationals in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on Saturday.

Varnell, wrestling at 141 pounds, beat Eddie McCray of Nebraska’s Midland College, 5-3.

Noah Hatton (Mt. Spokane) finished second for Great Falls. He lost the 165-pound title match 4-2 to his own teammate, Ross Mosher.

Great Falls finished fourth in the team competition, won by Notre Dame College of South Euclid, Ohio.

Charity game honors slain girl

Baseball: The young girl killed in the attack on Arizona congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords has been honored with a charity game between the Diamondbacks and the Chicago White Sox.

The White Sox beat Arizona 12-1 Monday in the exhibition to benefit the Christina-Taylor Green Memorial Fund.

The game was played in Tucson, where the shooting occurred in January. Both teams used to hold spring training in the city.

The 9-year-old Green was among six people killed. Her father, John, who is a scout for the Los Angeles Dodgers, and her brother Dallas threw out first pitches.

Associated Press