September 2008 Archives

I knew he was pretty ill and the rumors of cancer rang true when it was announced this morning that Paul Newman, one of his -- or any -- generation's finest actors had died after a long bout with the disease.

Whose movie-watching experiences weren't impacted by Newman?

And, by all accounts, he was a heck of a good man, as well, "liberal" in all the best sense of the word.

I'm sure everyone has their favorite Newman flicks.

Here are some of mine, in no particular order: "Hud", "The Hustler", "Cool Hand Luke", "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid", "The Sting" and "The Verdict". He won the "Best Actor" Oscar for "The Color of Money", the sequel to "The Hustler".

But I thought he was better in "Hud" (in which he played the heel of heels), "Cool Hand Luke" and "The Hustler".

Maybe we'll have a "Paul Newman Night" of DVDs tonight in my household.

God bless you and thanks for the memories.

The Panthers' football is in Mission Viejo and is handling host Capistrano at halftime, 31-7.

Coach Scott Meyer has a nice team and will be tough to keep out of a top four finish in the Moore League this season.

About six miles from here, host Tesoro is pounding Cabrillo 42-7 a few minutes before halftime.

OK, how is Pete Carroll going to explain that one?

"One", as in the 27-21 loss to a Oregon State team just minutes ago that was crushed by Penn State a few weeks ago.

The Trojans didn't seem focused, prepared or disciplined . . . not a national championship combination.

I suspected the Pacific 10 Conference teams would cost the Trojans a shot in the national title game. But I thought it would be because of the conference's overall weakness, not because a team -- especially the Beavers.

There is a pattern here, folks. Pete is going to take a lot of heat for this one.

I get the East Coast ABC feed on my DirecTV package so I've seen the entire two hours of the "Dancing With The Stars" season-debut, featuring, of course, two-time gold medalist and former LBSU standout volleyball player Misty May-Treanor.

She finished with a first-night score of 21 points by the judge and I think that put her third or fourth among the 13 celebrity dancers.

Former NFL standout Warren Sapp was much better than I expected.

Both should safely survive the first two cuts this week and be back againt next Monday night.

Eighty-two year Cloris Leachman was hilarious, by the way . . .

It's halftime at St. John Bosco High and the football game being played here has long been without an iota of competitiveness.

It's Braves 43, visiting Cabrillo 0.

There is nothing witty I can say about this one without belittling the Jaguars.

So, I'll write this: St. John Bosco will have a heck of a test a week from tonight when it plays host to Loyola, which plays defending state champion Concord De La Salle Saturday night at Glendale High.

Thanks to Poly High boys' basketball coach Sharrief Metoyer for this note:

When pitcher James McDonald Jr. made his Major League debut for the Dodgers Wednesday in Pittsburgh, he became the third member of the 2002 Poly CIF Southern Section championship basketball team to play on a major professional level of sports.

He joined Bobby Jones (who has played for several NBA clubs after starting for four seasons at the University of Washington) and Marcedes Lewis (a tight end for the Jacksonville Jaguars, who starred at UCLA).

McDonald's father is an assistant for Metoyer who starred in basketball at Poly and USC before playing tight end in the NFL.

Tom Hoff, David Lee and Scott Touzinsky, gold medal-winning members of the U.S. Olympic volleyball team . . . as well as former Long Beach State standouts . . . will be in O'Malley's on Main Street in Seal Beach tonight, beginning at 6 o'clock.

According to 49ers' coach Alan Knipe, the players are there to mix with the locals, pose for pictures and sign autographs. And, yes, they're bringing the gold with them.

The school's basketball coaches, Dan Monson and Mary Hegarty, will also be on hand in O'Malley's tonight as part of the school's weekly "meet and greet" schedule with Monson and Hegarty.

There was turnout of 75 or so to visit with, and listen to, Monson and Hegarty on the first at Joe Jost's last week.

I'll break the Pac 10 down for you, based on today's performances:

The Good . . .

USC (one of the three best teams in the country, along with Oklahoma and Florida)

Oregon (a very nice come-from-behind win at Purdue but the Ducks are still overrated, thank you very much)

The OK . . .

Oregon State pounded a very bad Hawaii team (45-7) after two horrendous performances against Cincinnati and Penn State

The Bad . . .

Cal (losing at Maryland in a contest that was nearly as "close" as the 36-28 score)

Washington State (clocked at Baylor)

Stanford (ditto at TCU)

The Awful . . .

UCLA (59-0 at BYU . . . 'nuff said)

Arizona (loses to a medicore team, at best, at New Mexico)

Washington (Sooners enjoyed their stay in Seattle, thank you very much)

Arizona State (loses at home . . . to UNLV!)

But the Trojans haven't played particularly well.

On the subject of Pac 10 teams looking bleary-eyed today: The Washington Huskies, playing in Seattle, are losing to No. 3 Oklahoma, 41-0.

Ty Willingham's job security isn't great.

Oh, yes: And UCLA lost at BYU, 59-0.

And mixed bag for the Pac 10 so far today.

That was a heck of a comeback by the Oregon Ducks, who came from 20-3 down to win in two overtimes in West Lafayette to beat Purdue in double OT.

The Bruins?

Ouch.

The gap between the UCLA and USC programs is still very wide.

The Trojans lead Ohio State 14-3, in large part because of some Buckeyes' penalties.

It would be really interesting to watch those teams play with Chris Wells in uniform for Ohio State.

The USC Trojans may be the best team in the country (and we'll get a better feel for that in a few hours in the Coliseum).

But the rest of the Pacific 10 Conference football programs aren't holding up their end of the "we're the best conference in the country" bargain this afternoon.

UCLA is getting smashed by BYU, Cal lost at Maryland and Oregon is struggling (down 17 points) late in the first half at Purdue.

Stanford lost its second in a row, this time by 17 points at Texas Christian University.

Oh, well . . .

Just checked out the Orange County Register blog/website and saw that Orange Lutheran lost to Bishop Amat, 47-39.

That could have huge repercussions come Pac-5 playoff/at-large bid time in November.

Some believed that the OLu, and not Poly, was the best team in the Southern Section playoff division.

After OLu allowed 47 points, I tend to think "No" on that theory.

When you read my Paramount-Cabrillo football game story in the Press-Telegram's web or print editions on Saturday, consider this:

I wrote it on my BlackBerry 8700!

That is because my Dell Latitude D610 died (as it turned out, it was just a temporary state) two minutes before kickoff at Cabrill tonight) and I had to improvise.

Why am I blogging now? Because, after opening up the backside of my laptop with a Phillips head screwdriver when i got home an hour ago, I was able to jiggle the battery and the laptop is now functional! Look at me: I'm a computer "tech"!

Back to the fourth quarter at Cabrillo:

Cabrillo was up, 12-10, but the visiting Pirates scored all 15 points, with six of those coming on 23-yard pass from Robert Gales to Patrick Hunter with 2:36 to go.

The Pirates' defense was also up to the task, collecting three Cabrillo turnovers and getting a safety that cut Paramount's deficit to 12-8.

Cabrillo Coach A.J. Luke and his players will be kicking themselves for a while, though: That was a very winnable game.

And things get tougher next Friday night at St. John Bosco.

The Los Alamitos football team's offense got impressive performances from its line, as well as quarterback Clark Evans, running back Cody Perez and wide receiver Paul Richardson Thursday night during the Griffins' season-opening 24-3 victory over the Mayfair Monsoons at Hanford Rants Stadium on Gahr's campus.

But, perhaps just as importantly, the Griffins' defense looked much improved over the unit for a team that, despite a 7-3 record, didn't advance to last season's CIF Southern Section Pac-5 playoffs.

If Coach John Barnes' defense is as good as it appeared to be Thursday night, the Griffins will be strong contention for a Sunset League title and are near certainties to be one of the division's 16 playoff clubs in November.

The place?

Hanford Rants Stadium at Gahr High in Cerritos.

The score?

Los Alamitos' football 17, its Mayfair counterpart 3 at intermission . . .

Griffins' quarterback Clark Evans (74 yards on seven carries) and running back Cody Perez (74 on 10) have run the ball well but Evans has been picked twice.

Mayfair has run the ball decently, most notably on its field-goal drive in the first quarter that tied the score ever so briefly.

I just received text message confirmation from 6-foot-10 Chaminade High senior Jules Montgomery that he has committed to signing a letter of intent with the Long Beach State mens' basketball program in November.

More details later.

Kyle Richardson, a 6-foot-7 post player at Mayfair High, told me tonight that he plans to tell Long Beach State basketball coach Dan Monson Wednesday that he will sign with the 49ers in November.

It will be quick a pickup for the program, which got another commitment from 6-9 Lin Chang of Mira Costa College on Sunday.

Richardson has improved rapidly from his junior season, when he averaged eight points and 10 rebounds per game for the Monsoon.

For more details, check Wednesday's Press-Telegram.

Mira Costa (Oceanside) College basketball coach Patrick Conahan believes Long Beach State is getting an exceptional prospect in 6-9 sophomore Lin Chang, who committed to Coach Dan Monson's program Sunday.

"He is very skilled, is good off the dribble and has some range (on his jump shot)," Conahan told me Monday afternoon. "And he is a very good passer, both from the low post and facing the basket."

Conahan also said that Chang, originally from Beijing but attended high school in Vancouver, British Columbia as a senior, "is a very good student who had a 3.0 grade point average last semester while taking 18 units. He's also taking 18 units this semester."

The 49ers hope to sign three players in November.

My apologies to Millikan High quarterback Jake Holtz, who played very well in his team's 33-30 loss to the visiting Gahr Gladiators Friday night, 33-30.

I referred to him as "Jack Holtz" in my game story that can be read on-line or in the Saturday print edition of the Press-Telegram.

Deadline pressure will do that to a writer . . .

Holtz completed 16 of 28 passes for 201 yards and two touchdowns, despite missing on his final six attempts.

The Rams are at home to Bellflower next Friday night.

Wow, can I project games or what? Both teams scored at least 30 points but Gahr played just enough defense down the stretch to hold on.

The lights are out at Millikan and I'm starting to panic that maybe gates are being locked.

Check for more details (on the game, not my jaunt back to my car) in Saturday's Press-Telegram.

I underestimated the offense we would get in this game.

Gahr's passing attack has been every bit as advertised in the first half.

Nielsen has completed 15 of 20 passes for 224 yards and each of his team's touchdowns.

The Gladiators' passing offense is their offense: They've run the ball only twice from scrimmage (and Nielsen has been sacked twice).

The Rams have hurt themselves considerably in the penalty department: they've committed 11 of them for 85 yards.

Gahr is up 20-6 a minute into the second quarterback because Nielsen (11 of 14 for 190 yards and three scores) is picking the Rams' defense apart.

Four minutes and 15 seconds into the game, and both Gahr (33 pass from Corey Nielsen to Aaron Bradley) and Millikan (a 3-yard run by Jonathan Sanders) have scored touchdowns. Gahr made its PAT; Millikan didn't.

I arrived at Milliikan about 20 minutes ago . . . or, roughly, 10 minutes before the Gahr football players did.

Hey! It's not that far from Cerritos to east Long Beach, guys . . .

Predictions: It will be high scoring (say 30-something to a smaller 30-something) game and it will take a while to complete. I'd think it could go two hours and 45 minutes, give or take.

Barkley to Derek Campbell for 10 yards and the winning touchdown on the Monarchs' first pop from the 10 in the third OT period.

Mater Dei 46, Carson 43.

I had Barkley 15 of 31 throwing for six touchdowns, four interceptions and 300 yards.

The game went three hours and 39 minutes . . . how many people were still watching in the Eastern time zone?

If the Carson Colts don't win this game, they will only have themselves to blame.

Sorry: Someone had to say it (write it).

Christian Maldonado, who blocked at PAT attempt in the first OT, just blocked a field goal attempt to bail Mater Dei out in the second OT.

Both teams scored on touchdown passes on the first plays from the 10 in OT but both teams' extra point attempts were swatted down.

Special teams' play hasn't been exceptional tonight.

40-all.

Mater Dei played it conservatively on its last possession, so we're in OT.

This puppy is going to end up going something close to 3 1/2 hours . . .

Torres threw into triple coverage and Stephen Lapchak intercepted for Mater Dei at its own 7 with 1:30 to go.

I think this thing is going into OT>

The score is tied at 34 with 2:45 to go and Mater Dei has the ball at its own 16 yard line.

My guess is you're probably watching it on ESPN2.

Of course, at the way these offenses have been moving and scoring, we could have us an OT, as well.

Carson 34-37 going into the fourth quarter but the Monarchs should have great field position after a Carson punt from deep in its own end zone.

As a sidenote, some ribs from Naples Rib Co. would sure taste good right now. A few beers would be nice, too.

Barkley to Winston for 41 yards and a touchdown, and the PAT cuts Carson's lead to 34-27 with 4:57 remaining in the third quarter.

This game is going to be over at about 9:45 p.m. at the rate the teams are scoring and the clock in stopping.

The Monarchs are poor tackles and can't contain the Colts' speed on the perimeter.

Mater Dei is going to need a lot of Barkley heroics to pull this one out and he has already been picked twice.

Carson 34-20 with six minutes to go in the third quarter.

Head coaches Raul Lara (Poly) and Ray Fenton (Cypress) are among the 4,500 or so who are in the Veterans Stadium stands.

The Jackrabbits play Carson on Sept. 26 while the Centurions take on Mater Dei at Santa Ana Stadium next Thursday night.

Yes, the crowd was late arriving . . .

Carson quarterback Daniel Torres scrambled 30 yards for a touchdown with 14 seconds to go in the second quarter to tie the score at 20.

Mater Dei has the ball at the Carson 40 with three seconds to go in the first half. With Barkley's arm, nothing is a given.

Timeout Colts . . .

Barkley throws into double coverage in the end zone . . . and the ball is knocked down.

It's intermission.

Arion Winston couldn't handle a catchable pass from Barkley that was picked off for a Carson touchdown.

But he found himself wide open on the next series and looked Barkley's pass into his hands and coasted 63 yards for a touchdown to put the Monarchs back in front.

But Carson is at the Mater Dei 17 and threatening to score with less than two minutes to go in the first half.

The good news for me is I've now got power charging my computer.

The bad news for Mater Dei's football team is that Carson has gone up, 14-12, after Antonio Crews returned a tipped Barkley pass for 27 yards and a touchdown.

That came just a few minutes after Morrell Presley caught a 31-yard touchdown pass.

Well, my blogging from Veterans Stadium may be coming to an end very shortly.

For whatever reason (I'm no tech wizard), my connection isn't charging my computer and the battery power is down to a few minutes.

If you don't anything else from me tonight, it's been a blast . . .

The first quarter with Mater Dei up, 12-0, and Barkley continuing to throw bullets.

He was five of seven in the first quarter for 80 yards.

It's target practice for that guy unless he gets real defensive heat on him. And Carson doesn't appear capable of putting it on him.

Barkley completed four of six passes on Mater Dei's first drive for 62 yards, the last 18 of those coming on a slant to Blackwell for six points.

And that's all the Monarchs got out of the possession, since they failed on their second PAT attempt.

This is going to get ugly in a hurry.

Mater Dei sophomore Victor Blackwell picked up a squib kick on the kickoff and returned it 92 yards for a touchdown.

He's supposed to be the Monarchs' fastest player.

So the nation will have to wait a while longer to watch Mater Dei's Matt Barkley's flinging footballs.

The answer to that is "at home, watching the game on ESPN2, or watch the Republican National Convention".

They certainly aren't in Veterans Stadium in any kind of big numbers for the Mater Dei-Carson football game, some five or so minutes before opening kickoff.

Oh, well. Maybe it's a "fashionably late-arriving" crowd, eh?