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• Not so fast?

• Rodriguez to stay until 2012

• Delta official retires after long absence

• Man in critical condition after motorhome in Lodi burns

• 'I think we need to sound the alarm'

• Regional Roundup

February 8th, 2010

• Public Meetings

• Locals pick best, most memorable Super Bowl commercials

• Regional Roundup

February 6th, 2010

• The Home Depot hopes to join Costco at Reynolds Ranch

• Meet Larry, Curly and Moe

• Baboon business

• Regional Roundup

• Several Lodi venues let you watch the Super Bowl in style

• Lodi Library celebrates 100 years of serving the community

• Culinary craft

February 5th, 2010

• Kids, teachers help Haiti by collecting pennies for Learning Link

• Lodi, Galt students reach out to help Haiti earthquake survivors

• Tasered suspect claims he is Yosemite Sam

• Hours of sweat and work go into putting on crab feeds

• Things looking up for state's real estate

• Correction

• Regional Roundup

• Stray bullet strikes Lodi home; police suspect gang activity may be factor

February 4th, 2010

• Managers at Geweke Toyota answer questions about recall

• Lodi City Council votes to replace play structure at Century Park

• Lodi extends ban on pot shops for another year

• Mokelumne River triathlon set for June

• Family, friends to run half-marathon in memory of Galt family

February 3rd, 2010

• Correction

• Regional Roundup

• Delta College trustees again collide over stipend committee

• Lodi-area senators Dave Cox, Lois Wolk admit to gifts; Tom Berryhill case pending

• Lodi Unified School District president issues warning to speakers over cuts

• Galt City Council avoids budget cuts — for now

• New Lodi Memorial Hospital emergency room opens to the public without a hitch

• Bad bugs, weeds are hot topics at Grape Day

February 2nd, 2010

• Big rig plows 7 cars

• Local business leaders say tourism, Costco, Home Depot may play roles in city's future

• Former Lodian Erica Davis is first paraplegic woman to summit Kilimanjaro

• Jumpers across California

• Correction

• Regional Roundup

• No snow leopards, otters for Micke Grove

• McNerney leads in campaign cash

• Police: Train victim was a Lodi teen

February 1st, 2010

• Find cuddly alpacas not too far from Lodi

• Public Meetings

• Patients can expect faster, better service when Lodi Memorial Hospital's new emergency room opens

• Man killed by Amtrak train in Lodi

The following stories have received the most reader comments during the last 7 days.

• Will terrorists be given Miranda warnings? (75)
• President Obama's first year (67)
• Lodi Unified School District president issues warning to speakers over cuts (64)
• Local business leaders say tourism, Costco, Home Depot may play roles in city's future (60)
• Islamic symbol in mosaic — what is all the fuss? (49)
• Many reject the politics of 'no' (45)
• Writer comments on Neely column (42)
• The Home Depot hopes to join Costco at Reynolds Ranch (41)
• Time to shed the convenient sham of 'Don't ask, don't tell' policy (34)
• Police: Train victim was a Lodi teen (31)

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The Awakening

Former Tokay High star Julius Thomas and his Portland State teammates

fulfilled a dream in reaching the Big Dance, but now Kansas awaits

By Michael Holst
News-Sentinel sports writer

Julius Thomas' dream has a date with reality.

Thomas and his Portland State teammates clinched the school's first-ever NCAA Tournament berth with a 67-51 victory over Northern Arizona in the championship game of the Big Sky Conference tournament last Wednesday.

Now, the 16th-seeded Vikings play Midwest Region No. 1 seed Kansas — one of college basketball's most storied programs and among the favorites to win this year's tourney — in a first-round game on Thursday at 9:25 a.m. at the Qwest Center in Omaha, Neb. The game will be televised on CBS.

"This is an appreciated opportunity," said Thomas, who starred at Tokay High. "This is something I've been thinking about ever since I first became serious about basketball. Going to the NCAA Tournament is something you dream about as soon as you realize what college basketball is all about."

The Vikings (23-9) have a tough task ahead of them as the Jayhawks (30-3) come in ranked fourth in the country and have several NBA prospects. Portland State is also battling history, as no No. 16 seed has ever beaten a top seed.

But, the Vikings come into the tournament on fire, having won five in a row and 14 of their last 15 games.

"We're going to have to play mistake-free basketball," Thomas said of the matchup with Kansas. "It's going to have to be one of our best games. We're going to have to rebound well and stop them in transition."

Last Sunday, the Vikings waited patiently at a Buffalo Wild Wings Bar & Grill to watch the selection committee release the brackets. When Portland State was finally called, Thomas had mixed emotions.

"We were a little disappointed," Thomas said. "We felt like we would get a 15 seed and we had our fingers crossed for a 14 seed. We were shocked when we wound up at 16, but we're happy for the opportunity."

Last season, Big Sky champion Weber State garnered a 15 seed after finishing 20-11 during the regular season.

"In our conference it's vital to win the tourney. There's no other way to make it," Thomas said. "For a conference like ours, to get an at-large bid, you have to have an amazing non-conference schedule. It's essential to win the conference tournament. The regular-season title really doesn't mean anything."

Thomas scored nine points and collected five rebounds in Portland State's 72-61 win over Idaho State in the Big Sky tourney. He added four points and four rebounds in the title game.

The 6-foot-5 sophomore forward missed six games during the regular season with an injury before coming back for the final five games of the regular season and the conference tournament. He finished the season averaging 4.0 points and 3.2 rebounds in 14 minutes per game and shot over 70 percent from the field.

"A broken rib is not a fun injury," Thomas said. "It was a tedious recovery process because you don't have to opportunity to rehab, you just rest. I did everything I could when I got back to make us better."

Portland State left for Omaha on Tuesday at 3 p.m. and plays in one of the first games of the entire tournament.

"I'm pretty sure I'll be excited. I've played in big games before to help me prepare for this, but I can't imagine being more nervous than I was for the section finals game," said Thomas, who led Tokay to its first section championship in 2006.

"Our mindset is to go out there and play to the best of our abilities. We're going to play the best we can, we're not just going to go lay down for them."