Chad and Elizabeth Mar-chand attended the 2008 Pioneer Las Vegas Bowl last month, getting to cheer their alma mater, the University of Arizona.
     The Wildcats won 31-21 over the BYU Cougars.
     “I think we’ve become acclimated to the Arizona weather because we were freezing in 42 degrees throughout the game,” reports Liz (Sandoval) Mar-chand of the football game. “We got to see David Hasselhoff sing the national anthem. His daughter attends The University of Arizona.”
     At the end of the anthem there was a flyover by F-16s from nearby Nellis Air Force base.
     The Marchands reported the rare sight of snow on their drive from Tucson to Las Vegas.
     Chad graduated from Omak in 1998. Liz graduated in 2000. They were married in July 2000, then graduated from the University of Arizona in 2005 as double majors in political science and history.
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     Larry Widman, who owns and operates Valley Lanes bowling alley in Omak, continues to make great strides in getting back to business.
     Widman was felled by an anaerobic infection following Thanksgiving. He’s since had his aortic valve replaced and a bypass.
     He’s been back about a month now on the road to recovery, which could take up to three more months. He will finish his IV antibiotics Jan. 9.
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     Interviewing Larry Gibson last week about his being inducted into the national wrestling hall of fame brought back many memories.
     Gibson described how he and three others managed to hike out from a plane crash near Republic in November 1973. In the story it was mentioned the other three had broken bones, but Gibson had a broken prosthesis.
     That may make it sound like Gibson was able to walk out easier than the others.
     Nothing could be further from the truth.
     Because the leg was broken and shorter than his good leg, Larry could walk through near waist-high snow for only 20 minutes before his back would spasm from the tilting gate.
     He would then lie in the snow, allowing it to work on his back and spasms. When they got to a logging clearing after working down one mountain and up another, he found a tree stump and said he loved how it helped his back.
     The man has not quit.
     Which I learned many years ago when I tried to grapple with him on the practice mat. He got me into a cradle and squeezed hard enough for me to holler, “Uncle.”
     He laughed, and told me wrestlers don’t know that word. Ouch.
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     Speaking of wrestling, Omak ran into some pretty tough wrestling teams on its trip to a national dual meet tournament in Orland, Fla., over Christmas break.
     Many teams included only seniors or juniors, and one had all seniors.
     News space last week limited a report on how some wrestlers fared. They included:
     Brandon Hughes, 189, and Andrew Miller, 152, went undefeated.
     Brenden Aguilar, 135, went 5-3.
     Robert Miller, 171, went 7-1. The loss was his first this season.
     Jordan Velasco, 215, went 5-3.
     Wrestlers behind starters included:
     Michael Goble, 112, went 7-2.
     Kyle Trudeaux, 189, went 5-0.
     Dylan Green, 171, went 5-0.
     Brad Ives, 215, went 4-1.
     Marcus Adams, 171, went 4-3 (he beat a wrestler who beat him earlier).