The Padres hire former Sun Devil coach Pat Murphy and Christ Lutheran packs the house. That and more for Friday, brought to you by the Arcadia Tavern.

1. Padre Murphy: Former ASU coach Pat Murphy is back in baseball. Murphy was hired by the San Diego Padres as a special assistant to baseball operations, the San Diego Union Tribune reported this week. "I'm grateful for the opportunity to continue to learn and grow in the game of baseball," Murphy told Yahoo! Sports. "I've coached 1,500 college games in the last 25 years and I've been fortunate enough to have learned a lot. My passion is helping young people believe in themselves."

Murphy was fired Nov. 20. The baseball program is under NCAA investigation, although the athletic department has maintained his firing was not over the investigation.

2. CYAA teams travel well: Christ Lutheran School’s gym was packed for the CYAA eighth-grade basketball championships Tuesday. That was impressive considering CLS didn’t have a team in the championships.

3. Golf winner: Dustin Howerton of Phoenix shot 1-under-par Sunday on the final seven holes to win the Coyote division of the Boy Golf Club New Year’s at Rio Salado Golf Course. Howerton finished with a 70. Jacob Lille of Paradise Valley was second with a 78.

The List for Thursday:

1. Baffling: Ok I don’t get it. USC football is waiting for the NCAA to issue a report that is likely to involve some sort of penalty against the program. The Trojans are coming off a down year (for them), going 9-4. They just lost their iconic coach who was replaced by an unproven and overhyped young coach. Yet somehow, talented young gridders are still flocking to Troy. As signing day drew to a close, USC had edged ahead of Florida in Rivals.com recruiting class rankings.

2. Big news: USC closed fast. The biggest news was the Trojans received a commitment Wednesday from offensive lineman Seantrel Henderson, a 6-foot-8, 300-pound offensive lineman.

3. Not so fast: The New York Times reported on its web site Wednesday night that Henderson had not yet signed his letter with USC. Henderson’s father told the Times that his son was waiting until USC heard from the NCAA infractions committee.

4. Esmay, Devils debut: ASU’s new head coach, Tim Esmay, makes his debut Saturday when the Sun Devils play the alumni at 1 p.m. at Winkles Field-Packard Stadium at Brock Ballpark. Admission is free.

5. High expectations: Rival coaches voted ASU as the favorite to win the Pac-10 baseball title this season.

The List for Wednesday:

1. Trio head to Montana State Northern: The MSU-Northern Lights reportedly have nabbed commitments from three Hamilton High athletes to play football. Quarterback Travis Dean and wide receivers Steven Hanson and Ethan Kipili'i, who helped the Huskies to the 5A-I title will head to Havre to play for the NAIA school. The Lights play in the Frontier conference and are coming off a 2-9 season. The three Hamilton players should be impact players.

2. Add Montana State Northern: MSU-Northern offers a limited athletic menu, but it does compete in men’s and women’s rodeo.

3. Good to see ya again: Arcadia opens the 4A-II girls state soccer tournament tonight, playing host to Williams Field, a team the Titans beat 7-0 on the road last week. Arcadia probably is feeling confident, but strange things can happen in the playoffs.

4. No repeat: Strange things happened to Corona del Sol last year in the boys 5A-I state soccer playoffs. The Aztecs were the No. 1 seed but lost in the first round. Corona was seeded fifth this season and fell behind 1-0 against Mesa in the state playoff opener Tuesday night. This time, the Aztecs rallied and won 5-1.

Three stars of the weekend from The List on Tuesday:

1. Brooke Williamson hit a two-run homer and pitched 5 2/3 innings of relief in the final to lead Desert Kaos to the 16u title of the USSSA Phoenix Open Qualifier softball tournament.

2. Courtney Rohde hit a walk-off homer to lead the Desert Wolves to a victory in the 12u championship game of the USSSA Phoenix Open Qualifier softball tournament.

3. Anna Foreman of the Arizona Cheetahs won the girls bantam (10u) 800 meters in an impressive 2 minutes, 43.65 seconds at a tune-up for the Western regional indoor meet.

The List for Monday:

1. Blazing start: Adora Adams, a 7-year-old with the Arizona Cheetahs, has been a double winner in the girls sub-bantam sprints in the first two meets of the USATF/ Arizona track season. Adams won the 100 meters and the 200 in the opener Jan. 23 and the 60 (10.45) and the 200 (35.91) Saturday at Westwood High in an outdoor meet with indoor distances.

2. Tennis Open is open: The USTA has a new procedure that lets any player 14 or older take a shot at qualifying for the US Open. The US Open Nationals-Southwest Section Qualifying Tournament is June 1-6 at Surprise.  The entry fee for the sectional qualifying tournaments is $125, and you must be a USTA member. The section winners go to the national tournament. The national winner gets into the US Open Qualifying tournament with a shot as a wildcard entry in the main draw.

3. Golf’s version: The U.S. Open has long a qualifying procedure that is open to not all but many. You have to a 1.4 handicap or better. Don’t recall any qualifier contending for the title in recent decades — except for Roy “Tin Cup” McAvoy.  He had a real shot at it except he wouldn’t layup on the last hole and put a bunch balls in the water before holing out with a 12.

Of course, that was a movie.

4. Add to the movie: McAvoy’s is supposedly based on a similar incident involving Gary McCord, a Scottsdale resident and golf commentator.  Legend has it McCord, who has a small role in the film and who taught lead actor Kevin Costner to golf, shot a 15 in the real-life version of the finishing hole splash down.

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