Curtis O'Neill, who kicked three field goals, connected on a school-record tying 53-yarder as time ran out to put the Tigers in position to wrap up the title if they can beat rival Fresno City at home next Saturday.

Reedley is 3-1 in conference after the dust cleared Saturday. Fresno City knocked San Joaquin Delta out of a first-place tie with a 28-14 upset; and West Hills did the same to College of the Sequoias in a 10-7 shocker in Visalia.

That leaves Fresno City, Sierra, Delta and Sequoias at 2-2 in conference.

Senior guard Ashley Walker was indefinitely suspended for violation of team rules. No word when she might return. And freshman guard Taylor Thompson, a 3-point specialist, broke her left foot in practice last week and could be out two to four months, Wiggins said.

Both Walker and Thompson can shoot the 3, something the Bulldogs had trouble with against Fresno Pacific in this week's exhibitionwon 57-30 by Fresno State. Wiggins' team made just 6 of 29 shots from beyond the arc. Last season they led the nation in 3-point shooting and Wiggins is about to another quality long-range shooter during the early-

The Bulldogs expect to land Stockton guard Jalei Kinder, the Bakersfield Californian's 2008-09 co-player of the year. Kinder averaged 15.3 points -- including 50 3-pointers -- 4.7 steals and 2.8 assists in Stockton's uptempo style of play. She helped the Mustangs win the Division I championship. She had 13 points in the title-game victory against Clovis West.

Fresno's Casey Olson (11-3) scored a first-round TKO in 2:33 over Sacramento's Chris Culley (4-6) at 145 pounds; Clovis High teacher Ben Holsher (4-0) stayed perfect at 155 pounds with a 30-27 unanimous decision against Johnny Goh (1-3) of Sacramento; Fresno's Cole Escovido (14-4) took out Long Beach's Maurice Eazel (7-11) with a TKO at 1:47 of the first round at 135 pounds; and Madera's Zoila Frausto (4-0) pulled out a 30-27 unanimous decision over Elisha Helsper (0-2) of Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, in a 135-pound women's match.

Boyd Grant, the legend from the Rocky Mountains who showed that Fresno State could compete at the highest level in college basketball, was typical Boyd Grant hours before his 1983 NIT championship team was inducted.

I asked him how his health was at age 76 and, with a twinkle in his eye, said: I had something a while back \[pointing to his head\] and went to the emergency room. They told me I was two ugly to die. So here I am."

Fred Litzenberger, an assistant on Grant's 1983 NIT champions, is in his third season as

"My first coaching job was with Boyd and I still wear the NIT ring," Litz said.

Marvin Carter, a reserve guard on the '83 team, is still living in the area and has two sons playing for Clovis East. He said he was overwhelmed to enter the Hall of Fame.

"I'm excited, full of joy. I can't describe winning the NIT and looking up in the stands and seeing 6,500 fans partying with us. I think we have beaten any team the way we were playing."

About the only bummer to the evening was a computer glitch that preventing the showing of Ron Anderson's video message from France, where the 51-year-old is still playing pro basketball.

Trent Dilfer said being inducted with perhaps the most distinguished class in Hall history, was special because of the people going in alongside him.

"It's such a point of pride for me," he said. "There's Laura Berg, who I worked out with. If I worked as hard as her, I probably would have won more Super Bowls.

"And Marquez Pope. He took me under his wing as a freshman. He was a real pro in college before he ever went to the pros."

Dilfer, who wasn't heavily recruited, became an NFL first-round pick and had his No. 12 jersey retired by Fresno State. He also met his future wife at the school.

Dilfer vividly remembered when it hit him that he had the talent to excel in college.

"I was in the dorms my freshman year and called my stepdad and told him I can play with these people and will be better one day. I began picturing myself as more than an average player."

On Dilfer's new analyst job on ESPN: "It's the next best thing to playing."

Dilfer also praised former Bulldogs coach Jim Sweeney for giving him a chance to play in college.

"He gave me a platform for my athletics and where I could use my energy.

"I remember playing on Lambeau Field \[in Green Bay\]. My fingers were freezing and all I could hear in my head was Coach Sweeney saying "No Dogs Down. People call me a mentor now, but I just take what Coach taught me."

Pope said he's in the process of starting a business called World Sports Zone, a combination of yahoo, google and facebook, and is looking for investors.

He said it will "change the world of sports."

Berg is the only U.S. women's softball player to be a member of four Olympic teams. She won three golds and a silver before retiring after the last Games.

"I'm speechless to be with these great athletes," she told me before the dinner started. "I've watched Trent play on TV and Stephen Abas compete live in the 2004 Olympics."

Berg said she owed her success in part to her Fresno State teammates, especially the ones who won the 1998 NCAA championship.

"I had to compete with great athletes and owe them a lot for this award."

Asked if she missed softball, Berg said, "I don't. I miss hanging out with my \[U.S.\] teammates. There was nothing like being up on the gold medal podium."

Berg said her long range goal is to become an L.A. police officer.

This is a player who competed harder than anyone on the field. She said she got it from her brother Jeff: "Reaching for the last dinner roll and racing him to the mailbox."

Inductee Tom Goodwin still looks in good shape, like he could steal a few bases in the major leagues. He's currently an outfield/base running coordinator in the Boston Red Sox organization. He was to be inducted last year but couldn't make it here.

"My bad," he said. "Somebody took a right turn."

Golfer Joan Pitcock was inducted, too, and gave thanks to Steve Cleveland -- yeah, that Steve Cleveland -- who coached her at Clovis West when she helped the boys team win two Valley titles.

Swimming inductee Michael Mealiffe spoke about the controversial high-tech suits, that drew attention in the last Olympics after records were shattered by the dozens, and have since been regulated more closely by the sport.

"We swam with no goggles and in speedos," he said. "The institution of the new rules is good. But I'm a little bitter we didn't have those suits. It will bring swimming back to what it should be."

1. Ryan Mathews, Fresno State...........1,316
2. Ben Tate, Auburn..........................1,067
*3. Bernard Pierce, Temple..................1,033
4. Darius Marshall, Marshall.................1,032
5. Dion Lewis, Pittsburgh.....................1,029
6. Mark Ingram, Alabama.....................1,004
7. Anthony Dixon, Mississippi State.........1,001
8. Toby Gerhart, Stanford......................994
*9. Ryan Williams, Virginia Tech...............930
10. Joe Webb, UAB..............................983

*Bernard Pierce and Ryan Williams have already played Week 10, and both had great games, but I'm leaving those stats out since no one else has played yet.

That should be enough to get him real Heisman consideration, but it of course will not. Many men have led the nation in rushing and not even been mentioned in the Heisman race. So we need to look at more. Right now, Mark Ingram seems to be the leading candidate as far as running backs go, and perhaps the leading candidate overall. That's no doubt based on his team being undefeated and highly ranked, which shouldn't be a consideration in the balloting for best player in the nation, unless you believe the best player just happens to be on the best team every year. But it is a consideration, apparently. It's just the way it is.

But Ingram as a front-runner and Mathews (we'll use Mathews as an example here) is also based on the notion that he plays superior competition, and that if the two switched teams, their statistics would probably be reversed as well. If you look at the defensive statistics, though, there are some pretty surprising numbers. Mathews has faced three of the Top 40 rush defenses in the nation, Boise State (#11), Wisconsin (#25) and Cincinnati (#38).

Ingram has faced only one Top 40 rush defense, which was #25 Tennessee*. You see, there are a lot of ideas in college football that aren't necessarily backed up by the numbers. Well what if you consider all the bad defenses Fresno State faces in the WAC? Good question. If you average their entire schedules so far, Fresno State's averages out to having faced the #74 ranked rush defense overall. Alabama, with their mighty SEC schedule included, has faced the #79 ranked rush defense, on average.

*That's not a typo. Tennessee and Wisconsin are tied at 25th, giving up 107.75 rushing yards per game.

What's more, those numbers won't really change much over the final four games. Alabama still has to play LSU (#35), Mississippi State (#70) and Auburn (#96). Fresno State plays Nevada (#34), Idaho (#75), Louisiana Tech (#99) and Illinois (#93). Each team plays one I-AA team, so I didn't consider those two games.

As we all know, statistics are a little like your crazy uncle who did some time, and always has a can't-miss investment idea. They sometimes bend the truth. Teams in a conference like the SEC obviously face a lot more running teams than those in the WAC, so their rankings will be skewed a little. I'm not ready to say that Utah State's run defense is just as good as Kentucky's, even though that's what the numbers are saying. Maybe the Aggies are just as good, I'm just not ready to go palm on the Bible for it.

I think those skewed rankings are more than compensated for by Mathews' better numbers. Again, they aren't even close. (Ingram's projections: 1,506 yards, 12 TDs. Mathews' projections: 1,974 yards, 17 TDs.) But you also have to consider that Mathews has now been held out of the fourth quarter of three different blowouts. He could easily have another 200 yards. He's averaging a yard per carry more than Ingram and two yards per carry more than another supposed Heisman candidate, Jacquizz Rogers of Oregon State.

Is this healthy? I'm not sure. People keep telling me he has absolutely no chance at winning, so it's silly to analyze it, which may be true, but I still don't think we should just ignore it. The Heisman should go to the best player in college football and I want someone to watch the film, look at the statistics and tell me who is better than Ryan Mathews. I want someone to tell me he wouldn't be a star in the SEC.

What a remarkable time to be able to watch Fresno State football. The Bulldogs basketball coaches just told me the other day how dazed they are by what Mathews is doing, how they can't read enough about him. A lot of people are supposedly worth the price of admission, but he really is. He should be selling out the stadium by himself.

None of that will win him the Heisman, but it would be nice to see him get authentic consideration. Frankly, I think if Ingram and Mathews could switch teams, the award would already be decided.