January 2009 Archives

I've made a friendly wager with one of our advertising executive here at the Star-News. Poor guy. He's already lost one bet with me (De La Hoya "fight") and now he wants to take the Steelers straight up. I'm going with the Cards because they're riding good momentum, and who doesn't like an underdog anyway? To add insult to injury, the Ad Guy also bet Roger Federer would beat Rafael Nadal in Sunday's Australian Open finale. The easiest money I'm going to make this weekend ...

Above: Last year's signees from the Tribune area.

I'm gathering a list of local athletes that are signing national letters of intent next week. Go ahead and list who you know because someone always slips through the cracks. It seems every year there are a few we miss simply because we never have any information passed on from the school or the players. Here's your chance, I want to mention everyone in a story next week.

I have again started writing my weekly columns that run in Friday's sports section. This week's column (published today in the Star-News sports section on page 3) focuses on the lack of transparency in the recent dismissal of Muir track coach Michael Knowles.

MIGUEL MELENDEZ COLUMN

There's always two sides to a story, right?

Well, in this case there are possibly three.

Last week we reported the firing of Muir High School track and field coach Michael Knowles.

Knowles had been the school's track coach in some capacity or another for 28 years, including 10 years as girls head coach and six as the boys head coach.

I went to the Muir High administration for answers and was basically stonewalled until principal Sheryl Orange returned my calls hours later after initially citing a busy schedule and wanting to schedule the interview for the following day.

Even when we heard from Orange, most of the key questions asked were deflected to vice principal Dr. Charles Park. But how was I supposed to get answers when Park would not return repeated calls or respond to messages left on his district-issued cell phone?

Look, I understand school officials -- in this case the Pasadena Unified School District -- want to cover their bases. But as a reporter I am simply doing my job by asking questions, and I understand Orange and even Park wanted some time to figure out their answers.

But to almost completely ignore our calls just makes the situation read like the school and district have something to hide.

A quick "I'd like to help you but I just can't comment at this time" would have sufficed.

This much I said to Steve Miller, the director of human resources at PUSD, and to Binti Harvey, the director of communications at PUSD.

They agreed.

When Park was pressed on specific reasons for Knowles' firing he cited a "personnel issue."

"I have nothing to hide," Knowles said. "If I need to sign anything tell me where. I don't have anything to hide. They can release all my records."

Above: The delicious cake the South Pasadena girls water polo team chowed down after losing to La Canada, 5-2, in Thursday's Rio Hondo League match.

Got a chance to catch a little girls water polo earlier today. There was a big match featuring the La Canada girls water polo team against South Pasadena. Both are ranked No. 4 and 6 in the CIF-Southern Section Division IV polls, respectively. The Spartans won, 5-2. This means La Canada is still in the driver's seat for a league title, but the loss doesn't necessarily mean the Tigers are down and out. This season's performance is much better to last year's when they didn't make the playoffs and finished fourth out of a five-team league. This season, however, South Pasadena is vying for the second-place spot and hoping to peak at the right moment, which is the playoffs. That's the reason why the South Pas girls were not done and out after the match. They shared the yummy cake above (I didn't get a taste myself but I was offered a piece by a South Pas player. I kindly declined). While I was writing down the team's roster I could hear South Pas player Shelby Gogreve singing as she showered. Mind you, the showers were next door and I could still hear her. She was in tune, I'll give her that. But it's obvious these girls were not going to let this defeat put them down. Quite an accomplishment and a step in the right direction for these girls.

Had a chance to catch the Pasadena Poly-Flintridge Prep boys basketball game last night. The Rebels won, 43-30, and at that game was a special visit: Ramses Barden attended the game. I have to admit. I had no idea who the kid was until I asked Flintirdge Prep AD Alex Rivera for more info. Barden led the Rebels to the 2003 CIF-Southern Section Divisional championship. Gotta hand it to the PA announcer for the Rebels who gave him such a long and warm welcome the game was briefly stopped until the introduction ended. Barden got a loud ovation from the home crowd, and even those on the Poly stands. Barden was humble about it. There's talk Barden could be picked somewhere in the fourth round of the NFL Draft. Best of luck to Barden.

More on Barden's success this past season....

Cal Poly senior wide receiver Ramses Barden caught a pair of passes in the second half of Saturday's Under Armour Senior Bowl at Ladd-Peebles Stadium in Mobile, Alabama.

Barden, playing for the North squad, gained 20 yards on the two receptions in the game won by the South 35-18 and televised nationally by NFL Network.

Barden, Cal Poly's first representative in the Senior Bowl, caught a 19-yard pass from Central Arkansas quarterback Nathan Brown for a first down with 5:10 to go in the third quarter.

With eight minutes to play in the game, Barden caught his second pass, a one-yarder from Texas Tech signal caller Graham Harrell.

"I definitely think I improved or helped myself, whatever you want to call it," Barden told KSBY-TV after the game. "I got a chance to get out there and perform in front of people who hadn't seen me do so so far.

"My name's in a couple more people's notebooks and there's a couple more important people asking questions about me, asking who I am, where I came from and if i'll be a good fit for their team," Barden added.

Freddy Robledo, AKA The Best Damn Investigative Reporter period, had a talk with Tip Sanders earlier this morning....

I get all call this morning from one of Duarte's biggest boosters, telling me that Lavelle "Tip" Sanders is interested in taking over at Duarte. My first thought is he would work and do wonders, if Duarte is willing to take on a walk-on coach, because Sanders doesn't have a credential, he's a security guard who happens to be one of the best coaches in the Valley. There's no arguing that. When I was working at the Star-News, I watched him take a nothing team at Marshall and turn them into league champs and a CIF semifinal appearance. Everyone watched him take lowly Blair to the Rio Hondo League title and quarterfinal appearance in just his second season at the school in 2007, earning Star-News coach of the year honors. Tip is a no-nonsense coach that demands respect, and if he doesn't get it, you won't play for him, period. He didn't coach anywhere this past season, and speaking honestly like he always does, he said his first preference is Pasadena. He's been an assistant there off and on for many years, and that's his dream job. But he also like's the thought of Duarte.

Here's a little Q & A from our conversation.

Are you interested in Duarte?

I'm waiting on (P)HS, but I've been getting the run around. They have my application I'm just waiting to get interviewed. I did my eight years (assistant) there and that's a job I've always dreamed of having. But it's getting late in the day now, If I don't hear something in the next week or so, I'll start looking around. And yeah, Duarte is something I would look at, but (P)HS is my first choice.

How have you been able to win at places that couldn't win before you arrived?

Discipline. I know it ain't for everyone, but that's the only way I know how to do it. I almost helped coach Muir last season and I was telling (coach) Ken (Howard) that he needs to get rid of all the dead weight and keep the 30 or 40 guys that are willing to work. He saw it different, his philosophy is to keep everyone around, because you're keeping kids off the street. I get that, I respect that. But I have a different way. In my first year at Blair, we wound up with only 17 kids, but those kids worked their butt off and I never had a problem. The next year everyone was on the same page, we got a few more to come out and won a league title. I'll take 25 kids that work hard everyday over 40 or 50 with a bunch of distractions. That's how I've done it and will always do it. With discipline you get chemistry, and I don't care if you have only 20 guys, as long as those 20 are all on the page.

If Pasadena fell through, what would keep you from looking at Duarte?

I would just have to look into it more. I know Jordan Canada (Falcons RB) since he was in pop warner, but I also have a lot of respect for coach (Wardell) Crutchfield. His players liked him, so I have to find out what happened there. If I wanted to go into a situation where I was fighting inner-city schools, I would apply at Muir. But I'd love to talk to their (Duarte) principal and see what they're thinking. They've always had a lot of talent, so we'll see.

I know, I know, I know .. "Football's over!!!" That may be so, but these are important stories I ran into from a fellow blogger who tipped me on the first story regarding concussions. After skimming through the Time website I found these other stories I thought parents would find intriguing.

By Julie Rawe
Time Magazine

Coming soon to a worried parent near you: a sales pitch for a $1,000 football helmet that can monitor the precise location and severity of impacts to little Johnny's head. Leading helmetmaker Riddell plans to begin flooding high schools with take-home brochures this month and to start shipping this concussion-sensing gear to families in November. Says Riddell marketing chief Jim Heidenreich: "If people buy $1,000 drivers and $500 baseball bats, we hope they'll spend that kind of money on head protection."

The football field, to borrow a phrase from sports-injury researchers, is an impact-rich environment. Players frequently knock heads, but it's hard to predict which of the many hits will result in brain-rattling concussions, which are relatively few in number and--contrary to popular belief--often occur without loss of consciousness. Eight colleges, including three Big Ten schools, are using the team version of Riddell's high-tech helmets, which wirelessly relay real-time data--gleaned from the same sensors found in car air bags--to a sideline computer that can send a pager alert if a player receives a hit or a series of hits that exceed a certain magnitude. The new system for individual consumers works in much the same way except that the helmet uploads impact data onto a PC after a practice or game and a player's family can log in for a Web-based analysis that may suggest seeking medical attention.

Use of these helmets may seem like a no-brainer. But there's one big problem besides cost: every concussion is different. One player may emerge unscathed from a massive hit, while his teammate starts seeing stars after getting clocked with half as much force. So it's unclear what coaches and parents can do with the impact data, at least until more is known about what causes concussions. "We don't pull people out of a game or a practice simply because they registered some high-value hit," says Kevin Guskiewicz, director of the University of North Carolina's Sports Medicine Research Laboratory, who will soon publish five semesters' worth of helmet data from UNC players showing the wide range of force that led to concussions.

To help pinpoint which impacts affect brain function and how, Brown, Dartmouth and Virginia Tech are starting a five-year study using the sensor-laden helmets that is funded by the National Institutes of Health. The study's principal investigator, Richard Greenwald, co-invented the monitoring technology, and his company, Simbex, is already making inroads into other markets. It just completed an Army order for 20 combat helmets equipped with sensors to monitor bomb blasts and is working on a deal to sell ski helmets that can track the head banging that snowboarders often endure on half-pipes and terrain fields. Greenwald's two young sons have been wearing prototypes on the slopes as well as data-streaming wrist guards Simbex is developing. Let the impact monitoring, er, games, begin.

By Alice Park and Sean Gregory
Time Magazine

The life threatening spinal-cord injury that Buffalo Bills tight end Kevin Everett suffered on Sunday while trying to make a tackle adds urgency to a question that gnaws at the NFL with each passing season -- is playing pro football worth the risks?
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Everett, 25, remains sedated and on a respirator at Millard Fillmore Gates Hospital in Buffalo following surgery to relieve the pressure on his spine. His orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Andrew Cappucino, had said Everett's chances of walking again are "bleak or dismal." However, after Everett voluntarily moved his arms and legs on Tuesday, Cappuccino reportedly told a Buffalo TV station "we may be witnessing a minor miracle."

It's only the first week of the season, but already the list of injured players is growing. Both New York quarterbacks -- Eli Manning of the Giants and Chad Pennington of the Jets -- may miss games because of shoulder and ankle injuries, respectively. Orlando Pace, the all-pro offensive lineman from the St. Louis Rams, tore the labrum and rotator cuff in his right shoulder. He will miss the season. A steady stream of injuries marred Cincinnati's thrilling 27-20 win over the Baltimore Ravens Monday night: about a dozen Ravens visited the team doctor Tuesday morning for treatment.

None, however, compare to Everett's tragic injury. The third-year Bill suffered a fracture and disclocation of his spine, in which the C3 and C4 vertebrae in his spinal cord were telescoped when he went in to tackle the Broncos' Domenik Hixon on a kickoff return. Everett's helmeted head made contact with the hard plastic of Hixon's shoulder pad, and he immediately dropped to the ground, his spinal cord shocked by the impact. "He had a compressive load to his spine, and the spine doesn't handle those kinds of loads very well," says Dr. Joseph Kowalski, director of the Spine Center at Erie County Medical Center, and an orthopedic specialist who has spoken with Everett's doctors. "This caused the vertebrae to separate and fracture."

Of immediate concern with such a trauma are the ABCs -- airway, breathing and circulation. Because the nerves that control breathing are located in the C3-4 area of the spine, doctors on the field and in the emergency room were initially focused on making sure that Everett's breathing and blood pressure were maintained. Kowalski notes that in the hours following his injury, Everett did have some sensation in his legs, although he could not move them. That could be an encouraging sign, but spine experts have seen enough spinal cord injuries to know that every case is different, and early response is not always a good indicator of later recovery.

By Sean Gregory
Time Magazine

Too many kids are returning to the playing field too soon after a concussion. How many? According to an alarming new study, from 2005 to 2008, 41% of concussed athletes in 100 high schools across the U.S. returned to play too soon, under guidelines set out by the American Academy of Neurology. The 11-year-old guidelines say, for example, that if an athlete's concussion symptoms, such as dizziness or nausea, last longer than 15 minutes, he should be benched until he's been symptom-free for a week. The most startling data point--uncovered by the same researchers who in 2007 brought to light the fact that girls have a higher incidence of concussion than boys--is that 16% of high school football players who lost consciousness during a concussion returned to the field the same day.

The consequences of going back early can be dire. Last September, Jaquan Waller, 16, suffered a concussion during football practice at J.H. Rose High School in Greenville, N.C. A certified athletic trainer educated in concussion management wasn't onsite, and the school's first responder who examined Waller cleared him to play in a game two days later. During that game, Waller was tackled. Moments later, he collapsed on the sidelines. He died the next day. A medical examiner determined Waller died from what is called second-impact syndrome, noting that "neither impact would have been sufficient to cause death in the absence of the other impact." (See pictures of eccentric college mascots.)

Research indicates that younger, less developed brains are at greater risk of second-impact syndrome, which is why the new concussion study from the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, is so troubling. Submitted to a scientific journal for peer review, the yet-to-be-published study examined 1,308 concussion incidents reported by athletic trainers and found that in girls' volleyball and boys' basketball and baseball, more than half of concussed players returned to play too soon.

"These levels are way too high," says Dawn Comstock, an Ohio State pediatrics professor and co-author of the new study. She cites several factors that are driving the numbers. Not enough high schools have certified trainers who know how to deal with concussions--just 42% do, according to the National Athletic Trainers' Association. In some instances, overcompetitive coaches, who are not required to be trained in concussion management, are pushing players back onto the field. And too often the players themselves aren't reporting head trauma, with team spirit giving them too much of a warrior mentality.

Above: In healthy brain tissue, virtually no protein tangles, which show up as brown spots, are visible.

Above: The brain of a 45-year-old football player with chronic traumatic encephalopathy shows more brown tangles.

By Stephanie Smith
CNN Medical Producer

(CNN) -- For years after his NFL career ended, Ted Johnson could barely muster the energy to leave his house.
The brain of a 45-year-old football player with chronic traumatic encephalopathy shows more brown tangles.

"I'd [leave to] go see my kids for maybe 15 minutes," said Johnson. "Then I would go back home and close the curtains, turn the lights off and I'd stay in bed. That was my routine for two years.

"Those were bad days."

These days, the former linebacker is less likely to recount the hundreds of tackles, scores of quarterback sacks or the three Super Bowl rings he earned as a linebacker for the New England Patriots. He is more likely to talk about suffering more than 100 concussions.

"I can definitely point to 2002 when I got back-to-back concussions. That's where the problems started," said Johnson, who retired after those two concussions. "The depression, the sleep disorders and the mental fatigue."

Until recently, the best medical definition for concussion was a jarring blow to the head that temporarily stunned the senses, occasionally leading to unconsciousness. It has been considered an invisible injury, impossible to test -- no MRI, no CT scan can detect it.

But today, using tissue from retired NFL athletes culled posthumously, the Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy (CSTE), at the Boston University School of Medicine, is shedding light on what concussions look like in the brain. The findings are stunning. Far from innocuous, invisible injuries, concussions confer tremendous brain damage. That damage has a name: chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).

On Tuesday afternoon, researchers at the CSTE released a study about the sixth documented case of CTE in former NFL player Tom McHale, who died in 2008 at the age of 45, and the youngest case to date, an 18-year-old multi-sport athlete who suffered multiple concussions.

While CTE in an ex-NFL player's brain may have been expected, the beginnings of brain damage in an 18-year-old brain was a "shocking" finding, according to Dr. Ann McKee, a neuropathologist at the Veterans Administration Hospital in Bedford, Massachusetts, and co-director of the CSTE.

"We think this is how chronic traumatic encephalopathy starts," said McKee. "This is speculation, but I think we can assume that this would have continued to expand."

STAR-NEWS BOYS BASKETBALL TOP 10 RANKINGS
Compiled by Miguel A. Melendez

1. Pasadena (14-5)
Still the team to beat in area

2. Temple City (13-6)
Impressive over Spartans

3. La Cañada (16-5)
At South Pasadena on Friday

4. Keppel (14-5)
Aztecs were tested vs. Moors

5. Monrovia (13-7)
Lost to SoPas but beat TC?!?

6. Alhambra (12-7)
Moors peaking at right time?

7. Blair (11-7)
Big game vs. Temple City

8. Flintridge Prep (12-6)
Bring on the Panthers!

9. Pasadena Poly (13-8)
Ready to ruin Rebels' record?

10. La Salle (11-9)
Lost heartbreaker to St. Paul

BOYS BASKETBALL STANDINGS

Click here for the Almont League standings

Click here for the Alpha League standings

Click here for the Camino Real League standings

Click here for the Delphic League standings

Click here for the overall Freelance standings

Click here for the Mission League standings

Click here for the Mission Valley League standings

Click here for the Montview League standings

Click here for the Pacific League standings

Click here for the Prep League standings

Click here for the Rio Hondo League standings

STAR-NEWS BOYS SOCCER TOP 10 RANKINGS
Compiled by Miguel A. Melendez

1. Monrovia (15-1-3)
First loss comes to TC, 1-0

2. Pasadena (9-1-4)
Omar Reyes to the rescue

3. St. Francis (9-3-4)
Don't get enough credit

4. La Cañada (12-5-2)
Loss to San Marino puzzling

5. Rosemead (8-4-3)
Mountain View comes Thurs.

6. Muir (3-6-2)
Is there still time to recover?

7. Temple City (3-2-4)
Rams are 3-0-1 in RHL

8. Alhambra (4-4)
Bell Gardens will test Moors

9. Blair (5-6-2)
Scored six goals vs. South Pas

10. Arcadia (5-6-1)
Plays Pasadena at home today

BOYS SOCCER STANDINGS

Click here for the Almont League standings

Click here for the Alpha League Standings

Click here for the Del Ray League standings

Click here for the Mission League standings

Click here for the Mission Valley League standings

Click here for the Montview League standings

Click here for the Olympic League standings

Click here for the Pacific League standings

Click here for the Prep League standings

Click here for the Rio Hondo League standings

STAR-NEWS GIRLS BASKETBALL TOP 10 RANKINGS
Compiled by Keith Lair

1. Muir (13-3)
Nine consecutive victories

2. Pasadena Poly (13-3)
Plays at Flintridge Prep tonight

3. Keppel (11-10)
Taking care of business

4. Monrovia (10-6)
Top players need to step up

5. La Cañada (16-5)
Plays at South Pas on Friday

6. South Pasadena (13-7)
Keeping pace in RHL

7. La Salle (10-8)
Atop Camino Real League

8. Maranatha (8-11)
Showdown vs. Campbell Hall

9. Alhambra (7-7)
Can it stay with Keppel?

10. Flintridge Prep (9-9)
Needs wins in a big week

STAR-NEWS TOP 10 GIRLS SOCCER RANKINGS
Compiled by Keith Lair

1. Flintridge S.H. (13-3-2)
Tologs keep rolling along

2. La Cañada (10-2-3)
Has control of RHL

3. La Salle (11-2-5)
Taking over in Camino Real

4. San Marino (6-4-5)
Played La Cañada tough in tie

5. Arcadia (5-5)
Needs big second-half move

6. Maranatha (10-6-4)
Key leauge game on Friday

7. Westridge (4-3-2)
Plays Alverno on Friday

8. Ramona Convent (13-5-1)
Must keep pressure on

9. Alverno (11-1-1)
Four double-digit wins

10. Flintridge Prep (7-6)
Resumes league play Friday

Imagine my surprise when I park my car near the soccer field and find the sign below:

I just had to take a picture and ask someone what was up with the sign. I ran into Maranatha athletic director Brian DeHaan during the Campbell Hall-Maranatha girls basketball game.

"Explain this to me," I asked DeHaan. He laughed and said the school raffled off the parking spot. The Schilz family won and instead of a sign reading "This spot reserved for the Schilz Family" the family opted to give it to Matt Schiz, the star quarterback headed to Bowling Green next season.

I ran into Matt Schilz after the game and showed him the picture, too. I asked him to explain that, jokingly, of course, and he laughed, too. I told him I was close to parking there and he replied, "You should have." Maranatha football coach Joel Murphy jokingly said, "I park there all the time."

So I did.

Above: Check out my new and beautiful HID lights on my ride. Thanks for the spot, Matt.

I got to watch Lauren Holiday in action. She's a talented freshman who plays for Campbell Hall. Maranatha lost to the visiting Vikings, 40-31, dropping the Minutemen to 4-1 in Alpha League play. Campbell Hall improved to 16-1, 5-0.

Holiday is the complete package. Well, almost. She slashes past defenders, creates scoring opportunities for her teammates, has a soft shooting touch and is aggressive driving inside. She rebounds well, blocks a lot of shots and dishes the ball well, too. But she fouls a lot and can't seem to hit the free throws. She sat the last three minutes of the second quarter because of three fouls and she made only 2 of 8 free throws. Still, she'll only get much better and she'll be fun to watch. If you don't know, her brother, Jrue, is a highly-touted freshman at UCLA. One funny play happened with 5:18 left in the second quarter. Dingle was trying to in-bound the ball and when she threw it Holiday slapped it back down to Dingle's hands. Her act of catching the ball meant turning the ball over to Campbell hall because Dingle was out of bounds. KNBC-4 was there to shoot Holiday (10 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and four steals) in action, but another young talented player was there, too. Maranatha sophomore Mian Dingle has a strong presence inside for the Minutemen. She finished with 10 points and could have had more if not for the bounces that weren't going her way inside. This rivalry will only get better. Campbell Hall has only two seniors, one junior, four freshman and five sophomores. On the other hand, Maranatha's Mingle is only a sohpmore as is Michell Hsu and Amber Banks. Kristina Newkirk, a junior, will furthermore compliment the offense. She finished with eight points. Lauren McGee, a senior, finished with seven points but I would have liked to see her attack the basket early and often.

Maranatha coach Annie Miller on the blooming rivalry:

"I'm excited for the future. We do both have young teams. It's going to be a great rivalry, I agree."

Miller on Lauren Holiday's style of play:

She's a hustler. a great player like that will get her points. Our goal was to hold her to less than her (17.5 points) average but she works hard. I was so impressed with her.

Campbell Hall coach Toya Holiday on Maranatha's basketball team:

"Maranatha is a strong team. Their point guard really good and Dingle, wow, she's tough."

Holiday on the blooming rivalry:

"The coach has done a remarkable job. I was just saying to her she has whole bench of JV. Most of the teams we play don't have a JV team so she's doing something to get the girls to come out and play. I have to come with something new to beat them (in the next meeting) and that's (our) senior night (at home)."

Arcadia's Todd Golper is ranked the No. 25 best recruit in California and Maranatha's Matt Schilz is ranked No. 91.

Rivals.com California Postseason Top 100 2009 (Last sorted on 1/25/2009)

2009 Rank Pos Ht/Wt School
1 Matt Barkley Santa Ana (CA) Mater Dei QB 6-3/226 USC
Earned MVP Award at Under Armour All American Game by passing for 237 yards and two touchdowns

2 Vontaze Burfict
Corona (CA) Centennial LB 6-2/244 USC
Was the third-leading tackler for the West team in the Army Bowl. He also dominated in all-star game practices, capping off an amazing senior season that saw him lead his team to a CIF title and a state championship.

3 Patrick Hall
Ventura (CA) St. Bonaventure ATH 6-1/181 USC
U.S. Army All-America member averaged 9.69 yards a carry as a senior and had 11 touchdown runs in 2009. He made several dozen tackles from his safety spot.

4 T.J. McDonald
Fresno (CA) Edison DB 6-2/200 USC
His physical presence and ability at the U. S. Army All-American practices was reminiscent of his father, Tim McDonald.

5 Randall Carroll
Los Angeles (CA) Cathedral ATH 5-10/175 USC
Speed kills, and Carroll is one of the fastest in the nation. He has recorded a sub-10.5 100-meters. He also had a tremendous senior season with an average of more than 18 yards per catch.

6 Cliff Harris
Fresno (CA) Edison DB 6-0/165 Oregon
Demonstrated the best cover skills of any defensive back during the U. S. Army All American practices.

7 Michael Philipp
San Bernardino (CA) Arroyo Valley OL 6-3/320 Oregon State
Philipp, who was part of the U.S. Army All-American Bowl, can play guard, tackle or center.

8 Cierre Wood
Oxnard (CA) Santa Clara RB 6-0/192 Notre Dame
Wood, the main offensive weapon for his high school team this past season, rushed for 1,526 yards and 20 touchdowns as a senior.

9 Kevin Graf
Agoura (CA) Agoura OL 6-6/301 USC
A solid senior season was capped off by a strong showing in the Under Amour All-American Game.

10 Morrell Presley
Carson (CA) Carson WR 6-4/215 UCLA
Presley had three catches for 40 yards in the Under Armour All-American Game.

11 Byron Moore
Harbor City (CA) Narbonne DB 6-0/188 list
Moore played his way into the Rivals100 with jaw-dropping performances at the USC Rising Star Camp and FBU Top Gun Camp. He helped Narbonne go deep in the CIF City Section playoffs.

12 Rolando Jefferson
Fresno (CA) Edison WR 6-2/190 list
Averaged more than 24 yards a catch and had 11 TDs in 2007.

13 Richard Brehaut
Rancho Cucamonga (CA) Los Osos QB 6-2/206 UCLA
Completed 65 percent of his passes for 2,248 yards and 22 TDs in 2007.

14 Jemari Roberts
Long Beach (CA) Woodrow Wilson WR 6-3/205 Stanford
Has a 3.97 GPA and speed to burn.

15 Marquis Simmons
Compton (CA) Dominguez LB 6-2/215 USC
Committed to USC as a sophomore and really blew up at the Los Angeles NIKE Camp.

16 Marlon Pollard
San Bernardino (CA) Cajon DB 6-1/160 UCLA
Also an all-state performer in the long jump and triple jump.

17 Shaquelle Evans
Inglewood (CA) Inglewood WR 6-0/203 Notre Dame
Caught 30 passes for 608 yards and three TDs, also returned a kickoff for a score.

18 Tate Forcier
San Diego (CA) Scripps Ranch QB 6-0/184 Michigan
Last two seasons has passed for 4,024 yards while rushing for 1,266 yards.

19 James Boyd
Los Angeles (CA) Jordan ATH 6-4/211 USC
Nicknamed "The Beast". Threw for 2,499 yards and 23 TDs, recorded 72 tackles and 11 sacks in '07.

20 Allan Bridgford
Mission Viejo (CA) Mission Viejo QB 6-3/213 California
Threw for 2,508 yards and 22 TDs in 2007.

21 Sheldon Price
La Puente (CA) Bishop Amat DB 6-2/155 UCLA
Tall, rangy corner that has size to match up with bigger receivers.

22 De'Von Flournoy
Van Nuys (CA) Birmingham WR 6-0/178 USC
Has had 61 catches for 1,482 yards and 22 TDs over the past two seasons.

23 Osahon Irabor
Upland (CA) Upland DB 5-10/178 Arizona State
Earned first-team all-league from his cornerback position as a junior.

24 Levine Toilolo
San Diego (CA) Helix TE 6-8/239 Stanford
Had a steallar performance as a TE at the NUC Combine last year and had 13 sacks from the DE position.

25 Todd Golper
Arcadia (CA) Arcadia LB 6-0/225 UCLA
Totaled 122 tackles, 11 sacks and two INTs last year.

Arcadia's Todd Golper is listed at No. 22 (Note: He opened the season ranked No. 15)

Scout.com Class of 2009 California Top 101 (Final Rankings)

Rank Name Pos High School (City, State) Ht/Wt Verbal
1 Matt Barkley QB Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei 6-3/218 USC
2 Vontaze Burfict MLB Corona (Calif.) Centennial 6-2/235 USC
3 T.J. McDonald S Fresno (Calif.) Edison 6-1/181/4.63 USC
4 Morrell Presley TE Carson (Calif.) Carson 6-3.5/215 UCLA
5 Cliff Harris CB Fresno (Calif.) Edison 6-0/170/4.5
6 Patrick Hall S Ventura (Calif.) St. Bonaventure 6-1.5/185 USC
7 Kevin Graf OT Agoura (Calif.) Agoura 6-5.5/297 USC
8 Byron Moore S Harbor City (Calif.) Narbonne 6-1/200
9 Tyler Gaffney FB San Diego (Calif.) Cathedral Catholic 6-1/215/4.49 Stanford
10 Richard Brehaut QB Rancho Cucamonga (Calif.) Los Osos 6-2/205 UCLA
11 Shaquelle Evans WR Inglewood (Calif.) Inglewood 6-2/192 Notre Dame
12 Zach Ertz TE Danville (Calif.) Monte Vista 6-6/225 Stanford
13 Michael Philipp OT San Bernardino (Calif.) Arroyo Valley 6-4/295
14 Marquis Simmons WLB Compton (Calif.) Dominguez 6-1/225 USC
15 Rolando Jefferson WR Fresno (Calif.) Edison 6-2.5/190
16 James Boyd DE Los Angeles (Calif.) Jordan 6-5/220 USC
17 Randall Carroll WR Los Angeles (Calif.) Cathedral 6-0/195 USC
18 Cierre Wood RB Oxnard (Calif.) Santa Clara 6-0/200/4.5 Notre Dame
19 Levine Toilolo TE La Mesa (Calif.) Helix 6-7/234 Stanford
20 Usua Amanam RB San Jose (Calif.) Bellarmine Prep 5-10/180/4.46 Stanford
21 Tate Forcier QB San Diego (Calif.) Scripps Ranch 6-1/190/4.63 Michigan
22 Todd Golper MLB Arcadia (Calif.) Arcadia 6-1/225 UCLA
23 Derek Carr QB Bakersfield (Calif.) Bakersfield Christian 6-3/190 Fresno State
24 Devon Flournoy WR Van Nuys (Calif.) Birmingham 6-2/180/4.4 USC
25 Diante Jackson WR Walnut Creek (Calif.) Los Lomas 6-3/190 Colorado

I'm really wondering what our area football coaches think about all this. Does this put a strain on your team's workout regiment? Are coaches going to re-schedule workout times for morning and night and nothing in between?

From The Associated Press

LOUISVILLE (AP) -- At a church where he's a deacon and the high school where he coaches football, David Jason Stinson is well-liked enough to find himself surrounded by supporters despite prosecutors charging him in a player's death.

On Monday, Stinson pleaded not guilty to reckless homicide in the death of 15-year-old Pleasure Ridge Park High School offensive lineman Max Gilpin, who collapsed at a sweltering Aug. 20 practice after running sprints, sometimes in pads and helmet.

"They're dragging a very good man through the mud and I don't understand why," football booster Rodney Daugherty said of the coach.

A judge released Stinson without bond at the courthouse that attracted at least a dozen community members voicing their support for the first-year head coach. Gilpin's family also was at the hearing, but did not speak to reporters.

An 11-game winning streak is on the line when Campbell Hall (15-1, 3-0) visits Maranatha (8-11, 4-0) tonight at 7 in an Alpha League showdown. The Minutemen are riding a 4-game winning streak but more importantly they are unbeaten in league with a perfect 4-0 record. I will cover this showdown tonight. This is the first meeting between the two and will play again in the season finale.

There's no surprise Campbell Hall will try to stop the Minutemen's Mian Dingle who is averaging 13.7 points per game. The scary part? She's only a sophomore and is averaging nearly seven rebounds per game. In-N-Out anyone? I kid I kid ...

What is Twitter? Twitter is a free social networking and micro-blogging service that allows its users to send and read other users' updates (otherwise known as tweets), which are text-based posts of up to 140 characters in length.

Updates are displayed on the user's profile page and delivered to other users who have signed up to receive them. Senders can restrict delivery to those in their circle of friends (delivery to everyone being the default). Users can receive updates via the Twitter website, SMS, RSS, or email, or through applications such as TwitterMobile, Tweetie, Twinkle, Twitterrific, Feedalizr, and Facebook.

You can now follow my blog on Twitter.

http://twitter.com/StarNewsPreps

In short, if you add this blog to Twitter you will be sent a notice whenever we post a new thread. There have been a handful of you who have subscribed. Thanks!

A little town, small players with big hearts -- they call it a Cinderella story after 10 years. Do you believe in magic? Keep up the good work. See you in TC soon.

--From Rams09 and JC45Lover

I walked to my desk this morning and found a letter sitting there from a fellow blogger at Temple City High School. When I opened the envelope this is what I found:

It's a small poster with an "I (heart) James Chen" sent to me and signed by James Chen. For those not in the know, dude is averaging an area-best 21.1 points per game for the Rams. I was told Rams09 and JC45Lover were in the works of getting me Chen's autograph but I didn't know they were serious. Now I have to go buy a frame....

Hello Westside, this is your old pal Fred J.. Here is what's happening. After a tip on the blog, I called Duarte High School to find out if the rumors are true and it was confirmed that Wardell Crutchfield has been removed as head football coach at Duarte. Principal Eric Barba apparently told Crutchfield on Friday that the school wants to go in another direction. "Coaching assignments are on a year-by-year basis," Barba said this morning. "Next year we're looking to make a change. We're appreciative of the time Mr. Crutchfield has given to Duarte and our football program, but we want to move in a different direction." Barba wouldn't answer questions about Crutchfield's coaching performance, or offer any further details that led to his decision, saying it was confidential between him and Crutchfield. We'll have more in tomorrow's newspaper. BTW, I talked to Crutchfield about possibly coaching at PHS in December, he said it was tempting, but he wanted to continue coaching Wardell Jr., at Duarte. Now that he's available, wouldn't he make a nice fit.

When reached Monday, Crutchfield said he was surprised when told on Friday that he would not be back. "He gave me the same reasons he gave you (newspaper), that he wants to go in a different direction," Crutchfield said. "I talked to him about our accomplishments, and how we changed the culture, started winning and got kids into college, but apparently that wasn't enough." During Crutchfield's tenure Corey Fluker (UNLV), Mike Harris (UCLA), Chris Harris (Utah State) and Jermaine Thomas (Fresno State) all earned Division I scholarships. They reached at least the CIF quarterfinals in three of the four years he was there, which included a semifinal appearance in 2006.

"I think the school only had one player ever earn a scholarhip in football before I came," Crutchfield said. "I'm going to remain at the school as a (math) teacher and continue to help these kids get go college. I really think Duarte has a great chance to win the Mid-Valley Division next year. I can sit here and say a lot of things, but I'm going to take the high road. I don't want to have this turn into something negative for the kids. I'd like to thank Duarte for giving me my first head coaching job, I think I got everything out of it that I could. I'm disappointed I won't be back, but I'm still going to support the school and help the players in any way that I can."

We'll have more in tomorrow's paper.

There are more than 8,000 comments on the Yahoo! blog.

WARNING: The clip is not a pretty sight to watch.

Discuss anything and everything you want....

Did anybody go to the Muir-PHS game and got turned away at the door? I can't imagine anybody liked the "Sold Out" sign posted on the doors. I found my way in. There's no denying this reporter, I'll tell you that much...

It is with heavy heart that I report the passing of legendary football coach Randall Johnson. Rio Hondo Prep athletic director Ken Drain e-mailed late Thursday to write Johnson did not have much time left.

Drain sent an update today and received this e-mail when I walked into the office just now:

Randall did pass away last evening around 5:30pm. He coached here at the school for 25 years before he was forced to retire due to his illness in 2000. He won eight CIF championships in football and two more in girls basketball.

I will miss him greatly, but I know that every time I walk onto a field or court, for practice or game, the lessons I learned from him will go with me; and that fact alone will give me the strength to carry on no matter how bad things seem to be.

Randall Johnson by the numbers:
*8 CIF football championships ('77, '79, '82, '90, '96, '97, '98, '00)
*4-time CIF runners-up in football ('81, '83, '87, 95)
*First 8-man football coach ever to receive California Small Schools coach of the Year award(1998)
*77 percent winning percentage.
*2 CIF championships in girls basketball ('90, '94)

Memorial service will be held on Saturday, January 31 at 7 p.m. in Rio Hondo Prep's Pavilion.

I never met Randall but have read stories from him written by the great Keven Chavez. It was clear how much Randall meant to coach Drain. He will be missed.

I have again started writing my weekly columns that run in Friday's sports section. This week's column (published today in the Star-News sports section on page 2) focuses on the lack of transparency in the recent dismissal of two prominent coaches.

MIGUEL MELENDEZ COLUMN

What is it with schools wanting to go in a "different direction"?

First, Temple City High School and its football coach and now Muir and its track and field coach.

It just doesn't make sense.

Who fixes something that isn't broken? More troubling is the timing.

If you don't agree you might want to read this sitting down.

First, Temple City High School.

The school decided they are not happy with the direction Randy Backus was taking the football program. He got the ax a couple weeks ago, the decision coming two months after an incident in which school officials said he grabbed a student and cursed at him.

Oddly enough, Backus' firing had little to do with that.

Really? So what was it?

Temple City High School athletic director John Van De Veere said the decision was based on school officials' overall dissatisfaction with Backus' performance as a head coach.

Lets go to the source.

"I'm just going to (say) that we decided to go in a different direction," said Temple City High principal Mary Jo Fosselman-King when finally reached last week for an interview. "I don't want to get into specifics."

Of course you don't, Mary Jo.

And what happens when specifics are not disclosed to the public? They come to their own conclusions, and so far it's not Backus whose been put in bad light.

I'm way too young to have or even be thinking about kids. But I wonder how I would deal with the dilemma of having to cover my son's high school football championship game or my daughter's softball championship game. That's what Larry Fitzgerald Sr. is going through right now. The longtime sportswriter for the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder has covered every Super Bowl since 1981 but this year's Super Bowl will be different. Fitzgerald Sr. will cover his son, Arizona Cardinals star wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald Jr. This is a very good read from one of my favorite sportswriters, Rick Riley, formerly of Sports Illustrated and now at ESPN The Magazine.

By Rick Riley
ESPN The Magazine

It's been six years since Larry Fitzgerald's wife died, and yet when you call his house, it's her voice on the message machine.

"My sons asked me to keep it," says Fitzgerald, father of All-Galaxy wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald Jr., of the suddenly Super Bowl-bound Cardinals. "If they were having a tough day, they wanted to be able to call and hear her voice. It's comforting to them."

That's what makes his son's trip to Tampa bittersweet for him. Every year since 1981, the longtime Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder sportswriter has covered the Super Bowl. Beginning in 1983, his wife, Carol, joined him. "She loved the Commissioner's Party," he says.

Now he's going to be covering a Super Bowl in which their elder son is the most electrifying player in it. He's already broken Jerry Rice's record for receiving yards in a single postseason, and he's still got one game to go. So it's going to be murder for Larry Sr. not to violate that no-cheering-in-the-press-box rule.

"I won't cheer," Fitzgerald says. "I'm going to stay objective. I've come too far to suddenly show up in the press box with pompoms. But if you could put a monitor on my insides, you'd find a whole fan club in there."

If it were my son, I'd go into the bathroom every three minutes and scream into the blow dryer, but not Fitzgerald. He's so old school he's going to be two people during the big week, parent and sportswriter, and never the twain shall meet. "I'm not crossing any lines," he says. He'll take Larry Jr. to dinner at night off the record and interview him during the days on, the first sportswriter anyone can think of to ever cover his own son in the Super Bowl. "I'll be at his interview table, trying to get my questions in, just like everybody else."

I don't want to toot my own horn, but for the record I called last night's Temple City win over La Cañada. It was Temple City's first win over La Cañada since 1999 and the Rams now are 4-0 in Rio Hondo League play. I guess Spartans coach Tom Hofman wasn't just being politically correct when he said Temple City was the team to beat in the RHL this season. Does this mean since the Rams defeated the Spartans, 72-55, they are now the Star-News' new No. 2 team? Common sense would say that's correct but I want to go in a different direction on this one ... I kid I kid ;-)

Some comments from a thread posted yesterday (My comments in italics):

pride said: jesus wat is this the RHL basketball paper..theres other leagues in the area too...

Nobody was complaining when we talked about Maranatha football, Flintridge Sacred Heart girls soccer and so on.

Rams09 said: pride, Miguel can't be everywhere all at once. RHL basketball is exciting one this year and is also really the area that reads the pasadena star news. Tonight the rams won 73-56 by 17 points. La Canada tried their best to contain JC45, but he nailed two long ranged jumpers in the first two possessions for the rams. The Rams began pulling away before the end of the half with a nice jumper before the half ended. Players like Zachary Aquino, Leo Tse, Robert Chuang, Andy Scazzilo, and Derek Lau stepped it up when JC45 was being covered. I think Zach Attack had about 24 points? The Spartans got frustrated and the game pulled away. Does anyone know the standings of Monrovia, South Pas, San Marino, and Blair as of tonight? Watch out M-town we're coming this friday.

Enough said.

JC45Lover said: i think i died in an accident cause this must be heaven. it was a good game for lc, but tc just takes the cake. hofman and his spartans could not keep jc on lock. and miguel.... did you get Mr. Scauzillo's text?? i had a nice talk with him today after the game... hope you did bro.

I did get Mr. Scauzillo's text. We talked about the game two hours before tipoff and told him I gave TC a slight edge. Maybe I do know what I'm talking about, huh?

BlairVikingFan said: 6'5" Blair Forward, Brice Hill scored 17 points and grabbed 15 rebounds in the victory over Monrovia Wednesday night. However the Wildcats were without their standout forward Chris Bullock. The Wildcats were down by 20 in the fourth but came back to put the game in overtime with some great outside shooting. Deon Geary did not play until midway in the second quarter? Nevertheless he still managed to pump in 16 points, along with 17 from Katorio Walker and 12 points and 11 rebounds from 6'5" 10th grader, Marcus Bagnerise. The Wildcats had one player in double figures Jay Henderson with 24, as he hit everything from everywhere.

Thanks for the recap.

This e-mail came from Jerry Berres: Whats happened to your paper?
Temple city pulls a masterful win off,against Rio Hondo La Canada.....and not word one
in your sports section ! Thats a joke,somebody doesn't know what their doing in there.
Todays paper is the last i'am gonna waste my time, and money on......

When the rematch comes I'll chip in your 50 cents, but save the receipt so I can tally it on my expense account.

Current Rio Hondo League standings:

1. Temple City (13-5, 4-0)
Next game: at Monrovia, Friday

2. Monrovia (12-6, 2-2)
Next game: vs. Temple City, Friday

3. La Cañada (15-4, 2-2)
Next game: at San Marino, Friday

4. Blair (11-6, 2-2)
Next game: vs. South Pasadena, Friday

5. South Pasadena (6-15, 1-2)
Next game: at Blair, Friday

6. San Marino (3-15, 0-3)
Next game: vs. La Cañada, Friday

Got to catch the Monrovia-Blair girls basketball game. For a game recap click on this link. To me, the Wildcats (11-6, 3-1) seem to be a bit of an enigma. They play well in stretches but at times make bad decisions on the floor that halts any, if not all, momentum. Monrovia got off to a big start thanks to Vanessa Hernandez' seven points. The Wildcats had a 15-13 lead after one quarter. But then came Blair (8-13, 2-2). The Vikings were the surprise thus far in the Rio Hondo League. There's a lot of potential on that team and they have shown they can go toe to toe with the quicker teams. But at some point in last night's game, Blair started playing a half-court offense which played to Monrovia's advantage. The problem was that Jasmine Gordon didn't have time for a good warm-up. She sat out the first quarter for disciplinary reasons. She entered the second quarter cold, got warmed-up in the third and got on a roll in the fourth. Blair's Angeline Jefferson Iesha Fudge and Shaela Flynn are a good tandem. Jefferson has a good outside shot from way beyond the perimeter, though she can launch some in erratic fashion. It was hard to judge whether Blair's defense collapsed late in the game or if Monrovia resurged. It was a scrappy game and the win certainly was an ugly one for Monrovia.

Kiss this picture goodbye?

By Miguel A. Melendez
Staff Writer

Two days since Michael Knowles went public with his firing as Muir High School's track coach, vice principal Charles Park contacted the Star-News late Wednesday afternoon to give his side of the story.

Park acknowledged a meeting with Knowles in November but disputed Knowles' account that the meeting initially was scheduled for an overview of the junior varsity football program. Knowles, part of the JV football coaching staff, said the school wanted to go a different direction.

"I did express to him coaching that positions are year to year," Park said. "The (phrase) new direction - in terms of how that was used - I believe was regarding the interview procedures that our district will use to find the new track coach."

"He is saying a lot of false things," Knowles said. "An overview of the JV football program was the reason he called me to have the meeting and he also mentioned that they're putting a teacher as track coach, that he wanted to let me know up front and that they're looking at people in our family of the Muir staff here on campus.

"He never said it was year to year. That never came out of his mouth. I've been a walk-on for 28 years. I know it's year to year, so I don't need to know that."

Park would not elaborate when asked for specific reasons for Knowles' dismissal.

"I would say that's a personnel issue," he said.

When pressed, Park gave the same answer.

Knowles went to the Pasadena Unified School District last week and spoke to Joanne Abhold, executive director for secondary schools.

When reached by phone Wednesday afternoon, she acknowledged a brief meeting with Knowles and she would get back to him last Wednesday or Friday at the latest.

After not hearing from her, Knowles sent Abhold an e-mail Sunday to find out if there was any progress.

Abhold cited Monday's holiday and Tuesday's conference in Porterville for the delay in getting back to Knowles.

"I have not gotten back to him," she said. "I recently had a conversation with (Muir High School principal Sheryl Orange) and Mr. Parks late last week. I'm just getting back to the office."

Abhold contacted Knowles minutes later.

Having been in this area six months now, I have noticed the vast difference between schools in and around the Pasadena area. Some schools are heavy in minorities while other schools - whether public or private - are not. The basketball games have been fun to watch and there have never been any incidents, certainly not to the extent of what happened recently at a Mater Dei-Servite boys basketball game. Steve Fryer at The Orange County Register reports.

More claims of racial issues at Servite

The school works on improving the situation after racial taunts, but others say the problems aren't new.

By STEVE FRYER
The Orange County Register

Servite's campus was "turned upside down" after racial taunts students directed at Mater Dei players, but the revelations prompted a former athlete and an ex-Servite strength coach to share their experiences with intolerance involving the school.

ESPN broadcaster Doug Gottlieb, a former Orange County player of the year for Tustin High, said Friday what he heard on an ocvarsity.com video from the Jan. 9 varsity boys basketball game was "indefensible and reprehensible."

"But I'd seen it before," said Gottlieb, who said Servite's "Pit Crew" hurled anti-Semitic remarks at him in the '90s.

Lou Smith, a former Servite strength and conditioning football coach, said racial tensions existed at the school and in its football program when he was there less than two years ago. He said he was fired for informing the Servite administration of the situation.

Dr. Ted Lawton, a Servite alumnus and past president of the school's alumni association, said "the campus has rightfully been turned upside down" as Servite deals with the aftermath of racial comments and noises directed at black Mater Dei players.

Servite president Peter Bowen said the school will more closely supervise the "Pit Crew" cheering section and is providing specific directions on what sort of cheering is unacceptable.

"We take full responsibility for our mistakes," he said. "We see this as an opportunity to get at deeper issues that lie within our school and exist at any school."

RELATED LINKS:

Racial taunts directed at Mater Dei players

STEVE FRYER COLUMN: Servite, others must confront problem from all sides

STEVE FRYER COLUMN: Students' actions sad exception to rule at Servite

Enthusiastic Servite fans start to move forward

Got to talking with La Cañada coach Tom Hofman who said besides Blair's talented front line, there isn't much tall presence in the Rio Hondo League and that this season is one of the more heaviest in guards he's seen in a while. Each team is guard-heavy this season, led by Temple City's James Chen. He's the area's leading scorer with 20.5 points per game average. He'll be tough to stop today when La Cañada (15-3, 2-1) visits Temple City (12-5, 3-0) tonight in a Rio Hondo League showdown. The Spartans' Mike McGlashan is averaging 9.4 points per game and Omar Rady is averaging nearly eight points per game, respectively. Monrovia's Chris Bullock is averaging 16.6 points per game, Chris Smith is averaging 14.4 and Isaiah Braime is averaging nearly 10 points. South Pasadena (6-15, 1-2) has two talented guards in Kevin Kohler (10.6 points per game) and Djon Ellams (10.8 ppg, 10.0 rpg). Blair is loaded with a tall front line, led by 6-foot-7 senior Katorio Walker, 6-foot-6 sophomore Marcus Bagnerise, 6-foot-5 senior Brice Hill and four players who measure 6-foot-4: Lance Green, Carlos Valenzuela, and Evan Colbert. But it's clear the source of the Vikings' offense comes from point guard Deon Geary. He's averaging 18 points per game thanks to a soft touch. Bagnerise is the Rio Hondo League's leading rebounder with an average of 10.7 per game. You would think that with all of Blair's (10-6, 1-2) size its record would be better. You would think they could clog the lanes which they've shown what they can do. They were able to keep La Cañada outside for most of the game but the problem was the Spartans were nailing many mid-range jumpers. And when the Vikings concentrated on isolating players beyond the perimeter, La Cañada found a way to sneak backdoor with quick bounce passes. Does that come down to good coaching who can make the adjustments? I would say it did in last week's instance when La Cañada hosted Blair. The Vikings started hot but the Spartans made the adjustments, using its speed and ball-handling skills to their advantage, and it all came down to the quick-thinking guards.

FYI: San Marino has not submitted its stats or roster.

By Miguel A. Melendez
Staff Writer

PASADENA - Nearly two months since Muir High School fired him, longtime track and field coach Michael Knowles was asked to re-apply for his job.

Knowles, who has coached the storied Mustangs program in some capacity or another for 28 years, including the last 10 as girls head coach and six as the boys head coach, said the entire situation has been mind-boggling.

In a meeting in late November, Muir High School vice principal Charles Park informed Knowles of his dismissal as track coach. The meeting was initially set up for an overview of the junior varsity football program which Knowles coached as a favor for varsity football coach Ken Howard.

"I'm very disappointed," Knowles said. "They really haven't given me a reason except for saying they want to go in a different direction. That's what Park has been telling me the whole time but I don't know what direction that is."

Muir athletic director Milica Protic referred all questions concerning Knowles' firing to Park, who was at a conference in Porterville and did not return repeated calls at his school office. He also did not return repeated messages left on his district-issued cell phone.

Muir principal Sheryl Orange did not return repeated messages and when a reporter arrived at her office Tuesday morning she cited a busy schedule and initially scheduled an interview with the Star-News for later today.

Orange called back three hours later and granted an interview but only after the Star-News went to the Pasadena Unified School District seeking comment.

CLICK THREAD TO CONTINUE STORY

As always, I welcome topics from our fellow and loyal bloggers. This one comes from "From The Sidelines" Mayor Goldenarm:

Head Coach Needed:

La Canada
Temple City
Pasadena
Glendale

And that is just our immediate area. With each of these positions likely assistant coaches will be called for duty as well.

Already advertising assistant coaching jobs in "coaches wanted" area of CIF website are:

Maranatha
Blair
Burbank

Discuss anything and everything you want....

I have again started writing my weekly columns that run in Friday's sports section. This week's column (published today in the Star-News sports section on page 2) focuses on my move to South Pasadena and how quickly I acquaint myself to the area courtesy of a jog at nearby Garfield Park.

MIGUEL MELENDEZ COLUMN

SOUTH PASADENA -- When I was a little kid, my mother, Cristina, worked numerous jobs to make ends meet.

One of her many jobs was cleaning the Kinko's office on Colorado and Lake, ironically just less than a minute's walk from where I now sit to write this column.

Our twice-a-week midnight trips in the summer from Los Angeles to Pasadena was a weak version of a road trip for me and my brother, Marco.
But the drive alone was pleasant.

Leaving our gang-infested neighborhood for the much safer and quiet suburbs -- even if it was only for a few hours -- gave us a feeling of that there was more that life had to offer.

Two weeks ago I moved into my new place in South Pasadena. It's been a warm welcome thus far. Those who know my story say I've come a long way.

As a kid, I went to seven schools. It was annoying but eventually I got used to it. It's the reason I plan to make South Pasadena my home because I'm done moving, hopefully for a long while.

And it didn't take long for me to acquaint myself to my new hometown.

I went jogging last Saturday at Garfield Park, only minutes away from my new apartment, although people tell me it's more of a town house.

As I stretched near one of the park benches, I noticed a black plaque which was engraved:

"In memory of Ted Colliau"

After putting two and two together I recognized the last name.

Steven Colliau is a three-sport senior at South Pasadena High School. He was a captain on the football team last season and the Tigers' star wide receiver. Colliau currently is playing soccer and when the season is over he'll pick up a bat and join the baseball team.

I put in a call to Michael Colliau, Steven's dad, and asked him if he had any relation to Ted Colliau.

"Yes. That's my dad," Michael replied.

Bill and Mary Urquhart live in South Pasadena and, among numerous community groups, are big supporters of the South Pasadena Educational Foundation.

Bill, a successful trial attorney, sponsored the bench in memory of Ted for his longtime service at the YMCA Christmas tree lot.

Ted spent 12-16 hours a day between Thanksgiving and Christmas Day. That's how many of the area residents knew Ted, but he also owned "Colliau Chevrolet" from 1945 to 1986.

"I remember when my son was in the fourth grade he would ask, 'Why does everybody know my last name?' " Michael said.

I'm grateful I decided to move here because it's evident South Pasadena is a close-knit community.

Steven's high school principal, Janet Anderson, was one of Michael's best friends growing up. She was one of Steven's first babysitters. Michael and Anderson attended South Pasadena High.

"That's the type of city South Pasadena is," Michael said. "You'll always run into that type of story here."

Ted was a big follower of South Pasadena High athletics and spent a lot of time with Steven.

"His last few years he spent a lot of time with Steven while he was young, teaching him to play golf," Michael said. "(My dad) was thrilled when Steven out-drove and beat him when Steven was in middle school."

Ted got sick and went into a coma the day before hell week in Steven's freshman year. He never got to see Steven play.

"That is a real regret, since I have no doubt he would have been at every game of Steven and his sister Taylor," Michael said.

Steven and Taylor, a freshman, have more than a good idea where their good genes came from.

Ted was a member of the 1949 South Pasadena High School baseball team. He also played football and basketball before making the hockey team his freshman year while at the University of Michigan. He later transferred to Cal.

Michael, like his father, played football, basketball and baseball at South Pasadena High. Michael last played in 1974 and Steven continued the tradition that will end in 2009, 60 years after Ted last played there.

"He probably would have been beaming with pride if he could have seen it," Michael said of his late father.

South Pasadena, like other surrounding cities, offers this type of multigenerational opportunity where children play where their fathers and grandfathers did, with teachers, coaches and even principals who coached, taught and were friends with their parents.

I finally understand Norman Rockwell's paintings.

miguel.melendez@sgvn.com
(626) 578-6300, Ext. 4485

I knew Wednesday would be a long day. I got to the office around 9 a.m. and headed for Monrovia around 2:30 p.m. I was going to cover La Canada at Monrovia in boys soccer and later cover La Canada vs. Monrovia in girls basketball at 5:30 p.m. I hadn't ate all day so I steered straight onto Colorado and figured I'd find a good place to eat on Myrtle. Someone mentioned I should try Jake's Roadhouse in a thread I posted last week about the BCS National Championship game being broadcast at the Krikorian Theater in Monrovia. I didn't have a chance to swing by that night but I wasn't going to let the opportunity slip by again. When I got there the place had a great feel to it. The scraps of peanuts on the floor gave the place an instant retro-look. The place reminded me of an eatery in Ojai, a small town 25 minutes south of Santa Barbara. I spent a week in Ojai on assignment every year covering tennis as the tennis reporter at the Orange County Register. One look at the menu and the ribs looked so tempting, but I knew I didn't have much time to enjoy it. I settled for a cheeseburger, and when you tell them medium-well they sure do mean medium-well. It was delicious. I'm going to have to go back and try the BBQ. I struck up a conversation with a couple patrons there. The conversation was pleasant, the food was great and the cheesecake looked tempting but I didn't succumb to the pressure. It was an awesome time and I plan to go back with some friends, that's for sure. I can't imagine how the place gets after a Monrovia football game.

I saw the Monrovia boys soccer team in action. They were 12-0-3 heading into the match against Rio Hondo League rival La Canada. I've covered high school boys soccer now for five years and I've covered Major League Soccer, the U.S. Men's and Women's National Teams as well as the Mexican Men's National Team. It's safe to say I know a little soccer, so when I say Monrovia is good it's because they're good. The lone weakness I see in the Wildcats is lack of physical play. But, as I mentioned in my story in Thursday's paper, Monrovia makes up for that with everything else. I was very impressed with their natural flow. Omar Ramirez is a stud. He's a midfielder though I wonder if he'd better serve the Wildcats playing up front. Ramirez is only a junior so he'll develop a tighter game. The Spartans did some good things well, too, but like Coach Jordan Jones said, they couldn't get into a rhythm and their passing was poor. That much was evident. Brian Blumenfeld is a good player but needs to keep his cool. He was yellow carded and then issued a red card for talking back to the ref. As a result he'll have to sit out La Canada's next game.

I caught the La Canada-Monrovia girls basketball game right after the boys soccer game ended around 5:15 p.m. That gave me 15 minutes to get ready for the game. It was a good game, one I thought La Canada was going to win. The Spartans responded with an 11-0 run in the third quarter but Jasmine Gordon found her swagger in the second half and finished with 14 points, 15 rebounds, two steals and one blocked shot. Maryum Jenkins is loaded with talent but she gets frustrated easily and when that happens she tends to trail the play defensive, especially after a string of missed shots. Not sure why there's not much depth for Monrovia to work with. This could be a problem in the weeks ahead. Regardless, they're 2-0 in league play.

.... Someone mentioned I should now cover Pasadena boys soccer after watching Monrovia, who tied the Bulldogs, 1-1. I'll catch them Friday at Muir. I'll be covering that game and later that day I might head to Blair for its boys basketball game against La Canada, who is coming off a tough loss to Monrovia. That loss surprised me to tell you the truth. Thought the Spartans had more weapons and their offense to me was more finesse.

If I spend time in a town near you I'll be sure to give you my two cents. Not bad city of Monrovia. Not bad.

Congratulations to Rosemead's Tra Sumler for making second team; Arcadia's Todd Golper for making third team; and St. Francis' Dietrich Riley for making Super All-State Underclassman second team.

FYI, here are the final national rankings for Golper, who will be playing football next at UCLA:

Scout.com -- Ranked No. 140 nationally (any position) and No. 9 in the nation at middle linebacker.

Rivals.com -- Ranked No. 238 nationally (any position). Position ranking will be released later today.

Note: These rankings are drops from where he was at the at the beginning of the season but still pretty damn good considering the games he missed due to injury.

From GoldenStatePreps.com

For the second straight year, GoldenStatePreps.com has decided to do two separate teams for each part of the state, an All-Northern California team and an All-Southern California team (which only includes seniors). We'll also have a Super All-State Underclass team, an all SuperSoph Team and the All-State First Team next Monday.

Here is a look at the All-Southern California Football Team for 2008:

Headlining the All-SoCal team is our Player of the Year and like the NorCal Player of the Year, this was an easy choice. San Diego Central Catholic running back Tyler Gaffney. The all-everything back, Gaffney ran for almost 2,900 yards and scored 56 touchdowns and led Cathedral to the CIF-San Diego Section D-III title and then ended his career with a memorable five touchdown, 329-yard game to lead CC to the CIF State Division III title.

Our Offensive Player of the Year is Taylor Martinez of Corona Centennial. Martinez was a big part of the Huskies 15-0 season, both with his arm and with his feet. This is the second year in a row a Husky player was named Offensive Player of the Year, Ryan Bass winning a year ago.

The SoCal Defensive Player of the Year is Corona Centennial linebacker Vontaze Burfict. The top middle linebacker in the country, Burfict led a stout Centennial defense that helped the Huskies go 15-0 and end the season ranked #2 nationally. He finished the year with 146 tackles.

2008 Southern California Player of the Year
Tyler Gaffney, San Diego Cathedral Catholic

FIRST TEAM
OFFENSE

QB- Taylor Martinez, Corona Centennial (SoCal Offensive Player of the Year)
RB- Jontell Reedom, Tulare Union
RB- Arthur Burns, Corona Centennial
WR- James Johnson, Valley Center
WR- James Flynn, Sherman Oaks Notre Dame
TE- Morrell Presley, Carson
OL- Josh Cabral, Los Flores Tesoro
OL- Kevin Graf, Agoura
OL- Michael Philipp, San Bernardino Arroyo Valley
OL- Lars Bramer, Clovis Buchanan
OL- Greg Capella, Visalia El Diamante
AP- Patrick Hall, Ventura St. Bonaventure

DEFENSE

DL- Iuta Tepa, Long Beach Poly
DL- Will Sutton, Corona Centennial
DL- James Boyd, Los Angeles Jordan
LB- Vontaze Burfict, Corona Centennial (SoCal Defensive Player of the Year)
LB- Travis Brown, Fresno Clovis West
LB- Robert Franco, San Pedro
LB- Eric Martin, Moreno Valley Rancho Verde
DB- Bijon Samoodi, Anaheim Servite
DB- T.J. McDonald, Fresno Edison
DB- Marlon Pollard, San Bernardino Cajon
DB- Byron Moore, Harbor City Narbonne
AP- Preston King, Los Flores Tesoro

SPECIAL TEAMS

P/K- Eric Stern, Whittier

CLICK THREAD FOR THE SECOND AND THIRD TEAMS

Joga Bonito.

It's an expression commonly used in fútbol to describe "The Beautiful Game."

The game being soccer, of course.

There was no better way to describe the natural flow through precise passing and textbook play by the top-ranked Monrovia boys soccer team Wednesday.

Through unmatched speed, agility and execution on the long ball and short pass, the Wildcats proved their worth in a 2-1 win over No. 4 La Cañada in Rio Hondo League action.

The game seemed to flow from the beginning for Monrovia (13-0-3, 2-0), which penetrated on each scoring opportunity until the Wildcats finally capitalized, largely in part to senior midfielder Eduardo Ulloa, who slipped past his defender and attempted a shot from 18 yards out that went into the corner of the net to put Monrovia on top early, 1-0.

Like gaining field position in football, the same can be said of fútbol, where developing a string of passes in the final third of the field can create momentum.

That's precisely the problem the Spartans (11-3-3, 1-1) encountered in a game in which they couldn't answer Monrovia's push up front nor create opportunities offensively.

From The New York Times

A US Airways plane that took off Thursday at 3:26 p.m. from La Guardia Airport landed in the Hudson River five minutes later, where it remains mostly submerged. Ferries and other boats converged to help with a rescue effort, as the plane drifted south in the water. Initial reports from police and people at the scene suggest that many of the people on the plane appeared to have escaped.

The plane, US Airways flight 1549, took off from La Guardia Airport at 3:26 p.m. was bound for Charlotte, N.C. and had 148 passengers and 5 crew members. The plane may have hit a flock of birds, according to a Federal Aviation Administration. report, and then descended. The pilot tried to return to the airport when the plane fell into the Hudson.

Several commuter ferries as well as the Coast Guard Cutter Ridley arrived quickly to help rescue passengers on the plane, an Airbus A320. New York Police Department divers dove into the water to assist with the rescue as plane floated southbound on the river, possibly due to the tidal direction.

"There have been scores of survivors," said one police official. The people appeared to be, "cold but not injured. Some were taken to the Jersey side too. They had blankets. They appeared to be uninjured."

Shortly before 4 p.m., a New York Waterways ferry pulled into Pier 79 at 39th Street and 12th Avenue and, led by a man wrapped only in a blanket, about 15 passengers from the airplane were escorted into the ferry terminal. No one was carrying any belongings.

"They look amazingly calm, but I bet their hearts are racing," said Bob Grindrod, of Syracuse, who was waiting to board a ferry for New Jersey.

The divers were dropped into the water from helicopters overhead, police officials said. Some passengers were able to free themselves from the plane. They could be seen on the exterior in televised reports.

Some passengers being plucked from the frigid water were being taken to the Circle Line piers nearby at West 42nd Street. It was less than 20 degrees Farenheit in New York City at the time. Fire and police rescue crews were rushing to the water.

One witness interviewed by WNBC said he saw the plane descending steadily without its landing gear down.

The plane was almost totally submerged at 4:22 p.m., as sunlight of the day ran out. The plane is just across from the Old Marine terminal at Pier 57. All of it was submerged except for the cockpit at that point, at 4:22 p.m. and is midway between New York and New Jersey.

An official in a boat at the scene, said, "It just looks like the very front of the aircraft. The nose; the cockpit, and the left wing. A portion of the left wing. It is just the nose and the cockpit bobbing out of the water, and the rest of it is submerged under the river. The left wing is also visible."

"As far as we believe there is no one on board," the official said.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey has set up a family center at the Crowne Plaza Hotel near LaGuardia Airport. Air traffic officials said they have resumed flights in and out of LaGuardia.

The last fatal crash of a scheduled airliner flight in this country was in Lexington, Ky., on Aug. 27, 2006, nearly 30 months ago.

(Photo courtesy of the Los Angeles Times)

According to the Los Angeles Times' high school blog, La Cañada football coach Rich Wheeler resigned. The Los Angeles Times notes a school press release as its source. It should be noted I never received the press released and have made repeated calls to La Cañada athletic director Tamar Hill as well as Rich Wheeler. (I will see Tamar Hill later tonight when I cover La Cañada at Monrovia at 5:30 p.m.)

Wheeler's resignation follows a 12-year run that included eight playoff appearances and two Rio Hondo League titles, according to the press release received by The Times.

Wheeler compiled a 67-61-5 record with La Cañada and helped guide the Spartans to three divisional quarterfinal appearances in addition to winning league titles in 2000 and 2004. This past fall, La Cañada missed the playoffs after posting a 4-5-1 record.

Wheeler will continue to teach physical education at the high school.

Does Rich Wheeler's resignation as La Cañada football coach come as a surprise? Vote below and elaborate in the comment field. This means there are three (Pasadena, Temple City and now La Cañada) openings for football coach in the WSGV. In case anyone cares, there's also an opening for a head coach at Glendale High School. This comes from the Glendale News-Press. This can't be a good trend for the WSGV, can it?

The question is simple. Give a yes or no and elaborate your answer in the comment section below.

Temple City High athletic director John Van De Veere was asked whether the current coaching staff would stay in place.

"I have not talked to those individuals yet but I've heard that Tim Loya mentioned to the team he was not going to return due to family commitments and have not talked to Marty Valdes," Van De Veere said. "The junior varsity coaches would like to remain on staff."

I asked the same question to Randy Backus and he said he doubts anybody would stay.

If that's the case, Temple City High not only has to find a new head varsity football coach but they'd also have to find an entire coaching staff including the at the lower level.

With spring practice not that far away, does this decision not end up hurting the players more?

They're the Star-News' No. 1 team as selected by our very own Keith Lair (who also ranks girls basketball, btw). Didn't know there was animosity, if you will, between FSHA and the rest of the girls soccer world. Shall we call it a cat fight? Na, it's not that bad. But lets just say they're not quite ready to compliment each other's, uh, uniforms, let alone their style of play or success.

Here's a sample of the "love 'em or hate 'em" comments from a previous thread:

Anonymous: ... glendora 1-0 and maranatha 3-2. Monrovia gets absolutely no credit and they actually want to compete instead of playing safe and easy games just to keep their record. Stats don't mean anything. Sacred Heart's overrated!!

Angel Bec: ... It's official - FSHA is the Yankees of high school soccer. They are the team everyone loves to hate.

My Left Foot: ... Fsha 1-Harvard Westlake 0 .. Harvard Westlake ranked # 1 by Daily News # 1 by CIF D-2 .. FSHA still won't win league, but they are the best team in THIS area.

Lisa: I can understand why some of you feel that Sacred Heart is overrated however, since the start of the season FHSA has played 5 of the teams ranked in this poll. FSHA recorded 3 shut-outs and prevailed in one game via shoot-out. The only recorded tie was against Monrovia. Furthermore, Monrovia lost to Maranantha... Sacred Heart shut them out 2-0... You do the math. It is hard to compare 2 schools when they don't play in the same division or the same league.

high school fan: FSHMA's impressive win over Harvard-Westlake should not be taken lightly either.

Another Voice: Yankees of girls soccer, I like that Angel Bec. I love to hate them too.

soccernut: The previous post is correct, FSHA are the Yankees with respect to buying a team. As many are aware (see recent LA Times article) Frank Pace recruits many players (eg 7 freshman recruits) to play soccer for money (eg paid tuition scholarships) for the school. I thought this only happened at the next level (college and pros). I guess GREED is good for fair competition even at the high school level! No sour grapes here, they still have never won a CIF crown.

R2 Soccer: soocernut...not only has FSHA never won a CIF title it has never won a playoff game under Frank Pace.

from the sidelines: I can understand why so many people love to hate FSHA. Frank Pace no doubt gets on everyone's nerves. He talks the talk, does use his money and connections to his advantages, and probably is extremely underqualified to actually coach top club players year in and year out... But regardless of him, I don't think the girls should suffer such scrutiny because of the bad rep their coach has brought upon their program. They are talented athletes who are probably working really hard to try and battle through a tough Mission league. They just beat two top notch teams. I think they deserve a lot more credit than they are being given. Say what you want about their annoying coach, but don't discredit the actual girls who are working hard for their success.

Another Voice: I saw the LA Times article. I didn't read anything in it about FSHA recruiting players. As for paying players, I didn't read anything about that in the LA Times story either. FSHA is run by nuns not George Steinbrenner. The coach actually seemed like a good guy. I'm thinking you have been at happy hour too long on this fine friday night. Did he cut your kid or something? Don't get me wrong. I don't much care for FSHA but they are pretty good. Still I KNOW they won't win their league. They will be lucky to finish .500. Fair is fair and soccer nut is unfair. Maybe he or she should change his or her name to just plain nuts.

The article the folks above are referring to is from a mentor, a friend and from my favorite sports columnist, T.J. Simers of the Los Angeles Times. (I got to talking to T.J. at the Rose Bowl game. He said in seven years I can have his job. I'm holding him to that offer)

Anyway, with all this fuss I had to take some time and catch up with Frank Pace. We met Tuesday morning for a cup of coffee at Starbucks over on Lake and Green Street, just a block away from my office. We spent two hours talking about sports and of course his beloved Tologs.

STAR-NEWS TOP 10 RANKINGS
Compiled by Miguel A. Melendez

1. Pasadena (10-5)
Showdown vs. Burroughs today

2. La Cañada (14-2)
On an 11-game winning streak

3. Temple City (10-5)
Beat Blair in RHL opener

4. Keppel (12-4)
On four-game winning streak

5. Monrovia (9-4)
Big test at La Cañada tonight

6. Blair (9-5)
Three-game losing streak hurts

7. Alhambra (9-7)
Moors need more offense

8. Flintridge Prep (9-5)
Wins over Pas Poly, Rio Hondo

9. Gabrielino (9-7)
Solid win over St. Paul

10. St. Francis (7-7)
Has not won since Dec. 27

BOYS BASKETBALL STANDINGS

Click here for the Almont League standings

Click here for the Alpha League standings

Click here for the Camino Real League standings

Click here for the Delphic League standings

Click here for the overall Freelance standings

Click here for the Mission League standings

Click here for the Mission Valley League standings

Click here for the Montview League standings

Click here for the Pacific League standings

Click here for the Prep League standings

Click here for the Rio Hondo League standings

STAR-NEWS TOP 10 RANKINGS
Compiled by Miguel A. Melendez

1. Monrovia (12-0-3)
9-game winning streak on line

2. Pasadena (6-0-2)
Bulldogs have competition

3. St. Francis (7-2-3)
At Alemany tonight at 5 p.m.

4. La Cañada (11-2-3)
Showdown at Monrovia today at 3:30 p.m.

5. Rosemead (5-2-2)
Impressive vs. Orange County powers

6. Muir (6-0-1)
4-0 in Pacific League play

7. Alverno (8-1-1)
A lot of scoring power

8. San Marino (5-6-1)
Played Monrovia tough, 1-0 loss

9. Arcadia (4-5)
On a five-game losing streak

10. Pasadena Poly (4-6-4)
Gets credit for tough schedule

BOYS SOCCER STANDINGS

Click here for the Almont League standings

Click here for the Alpha League Standings

Click here for the Del Ray League standings

Click here for the Mission League standings

Click here for the Mission Valley League standings

Click here for the Montview League standings

Click here for the Olympic League standings

Click here for the Pacific League standings

Click here for the Prep League standings

Click here for the Rio Hondo League standings

STAR-NEWS TOP 10 RANKINGS
Compiled by Keith Lair

1. Muir (9-3)
Off to 3-0 start in league play

2. La Cañada (13-3)
Showdown vs. Monrovia today

3. Monrovia (7-4)
Impressive in league opener

4. Pasadena Poly (10-3)
Ended Flintridge Prep's streak

5. Keppel (7-10)
League title run begins

6. Pasadena (5-6)
Time to make a move

7. La Salle (7-8)
Won four of last five games

8. San Marino (10-7)
Time to prove it belongs

9. Alhambra (5-6)
Can Moors end Keppel hold?

10. Blair (6-12)
Don't count out '08 champs

STAR-NEWS TOP 10 RANKINGS
Compiled by Keith Lair

1. Flintridge Sacred Heart (11-3-2)
Gave Chaminade first defeat

2. La Cañada (7-2-2)
Beat South Pas in opener

3. La Salle (8-2-5)
Two tough games this week

4. Arcadia (4-3)
Showdown with CV on Friday

5. Maranatha (8-5-3)
Ready for league play

6. Ramona Convent (12-4-1)
Handed Alverno first defeat

7. Alverno (8-1-1)
Unbeaten in Horizon League

8. Flintridge Prep (7-4)
Only unbeaten team in Prep

9. Keppel (7-2-3)
Starts Almont League play

10. San Marino (3-4-2)
Beat Monrovia, 4-2

FROM ====> TO ====> ????

Temple City High School athletic director John Van De Veere confirmed a resume was e-mailed to him from current St. Paul football assistant coach Gil Jimenez. What's puzzling is that Jimenez sent his resume before the Randy Backus decision was handed yesterday.

"To tell you the truth, I got a letter from an individual who is applying for the job and it's not even been flown in the (Temple City Unified School) district yet," Van De Veere said. "I got an e-mail from a guy with his resume last week, Gil Jimenez from St. Paul. I'm looking at his resume and it looks excellent but since we have not flown the job (in-house) we have not made a reference check until that comes about."

There is no guarantee the coaching position will come with a teaching position.

"We the administration at the high school want to get a football coach who is also a teacher but the district has not guaranteed us a slot for a teaching position," Van De Veere added.

You may recall, in December I wrote about Gil Jimenez helping the Rosemead coaching staff with play-selection during its semifinal playoff game at Monrovia last fall.

GIL JIMENEZ PROFILE:

Assistant Head Coach/Defensive Coordinator (Defensive Backs)

Education: Rosemead High School, Utah State

Major: Physical Education

Current Teaching: Freshman Counselor, Physical Ed, NCAA Coordinator

Coaching Experience: 10 years Saint Paul, Wilson of Hacienda Heights, Rosemead, Pasadena City College, John Glenn.

From Roger Murray's blog at the Whittier Daily News:

ST. PAUL SET TO MAKE A FOOTBALL COACHING CHANGE

It was confirmed late this morning that Pete Gonzales will be out as the Swordsmen's football coach as of Friday morning. At present, he is still the coach, but Friday he will react to the "resign or be terminated" ultimatum given him by principal Lori Barr. He has not indicated what his decision will be but it is well known that part of his program's philosophy is to "never quit, never give up." No specific reasons for Barr's decision to oust Gonzalez have been given, other than the usual wanting the program to take a different direction. Neither athletic director Marc Hernandez nor Gonzalez would discuss the situation further, and Barr was not available for comment. Gonzalez posted a 21-16 record in three years as head coach. His teams won the Western Division title in 2007 and reached the semifinals in 2006.

AND ....

ST. PAUL FOOTBALL COACHING POSITION OFFICIALLY UP FOR GRABS

What has been bandied about intensely over the past two weeks became official Friday when Pete Gonzalez met with St. Paul principal Lori Barr and athletic director Marc Hernandez and informed them he had decided not to resign his position as the Swordsmen's head football coach. Ms. Barr then took the alternative and relieved Gonzalez from his coaching responsibilities. Late Monday afternoon, Hernandez faxed a release announcing the final action and informing that St. Paul would begin immediately a search for Gonzalez's replacement. The release was short and to the point and included a one-line sentence explaining that this has been a confidential matter and no further details will be discussed. Ms. Barr has been unavailable for comment.

If the position is open at St. Paul and Jimenez is applying elsewhere, what does that say about St. Paul and its current status? But who's to say Jimenez didn't apply at St. Paul, too? Like Backus, former St. Paul coach Pete Gonzalez was asked to resign. He didn't and was fired instead.

RELATED LINKS:

Temple City High fires football coach

St. Paul coach Gonzalez fired

Football: No word on Backus decision.

Melendez: Backus saga has dragged on much too long.

Temple City, school board coming close to decision.

Temple City coach on leave following alleged incident.

Highly-touted junior quarterback Chase Rettig has filed paperwork to transfer to San Clemente High, La Salle High School athletic director Jon Matheus confirmed Monday evening.

"The reason he gave to school and to me in a letter and phone call was the father has a business and works down in south Orange County," Matheus siad. "He's been down there for a couple years and the drive over 100 miles a day is too a long drive.

"They thought it'd be best for him to see him play and enroll in a school down there. He's going to start in the second semester; we lost a good one."

Rettig (6-foot-3, 195 pounds) threw for 1,275 yards and 13 touchdowns for an injury-plagued La Salle team.

From the Orange County Register's high school blog:

Touted La Salle of Pasadena quarterback Chase Rettig (6-3, 195) has filed preliminary paperwork to enroll at San Clemente, Tritons athletic director Jon Hamro said Monday afternoon.

The South Coast League has been intriguing the past two seasons, and it had four excellent quarterbacks this past season. But Robbie Picazo (Tesoro), Allan Bridgford (Mission Viejo), Sean Schroeder (Dana Hills) and Duke DeLancellotti (San Clemente) all graduate in the spring, so the Tritons could have the best QB in the league - and perhaps the county - next season.

In an unrelated note, La Salle has hired Sheldon Williams to be the school's full-time strength and conditioning coach.

"That'll be a help to all of our sports across the board," Matheus said. "We'll eliminate injuries because we did have key injuries last year. We feel a lot of schools are going that route and we're alway trying to, hopefully, be a step ahead."

The Lancers, who finished 1-9 last season under Antoine Peterson in his first season at the helm, have the same schedule as last year with the exception of Blair who the Lancers will play in Week 3.

By Miguel A. Melendez
Staff Writer

TEMPLE CITY -- Temple City High School fired head varsity football coach Randy Backus on Monday, two months after an incident in which school officials said he grabbed a student and cursed at him.

Temple City High athletic director John Van De Veere said the decision to fire Backus was unrelated to the November incident, which did not involve a football player.

"Randy put his hands on a student inappropriately -- not sexually -- and threatened the individual," Van De Veere said. "The way I understand it, Randy came out of the locker room and the kid wanted to go in. As Randy was about to close the door, the kid threw his backpack to hold the door open, and that's when he grabbed the kid and used foul language."

The student involved was 18 at the time but decided not to press charges and was not himself disciplined, school officials said. No police report was filed, although another student did witness the incident.

Backus said he was "greatly disappointed" about his firing after just two seasons as head coach.

"The reasons were not directly given to me," he said. "I requested a meeting last week to talk about these issues and I have not had a meeting. That is why I had not resigned. I was not given a chance to defend myself."

The high school's administrators and the Temple City Unified School District board of trustees made the decision to fire Backus, who has served as a coach at the school for 14 years.

However, Van De Veere said that decision was based on school officials' overall dissatisfaction with Backus' performance as a head coach.

"We want to go on a different direction," Van De Veere said. "We just felt that some things the past two seasons were not exactly what we wanted, both on and off the field.
"It was kind of one of those things where we're asking ourselves if this is the type of person we want leading our football program."

Temple City High Principal Mary Jo Fosselman-King said Backus never spoke to her directly about meeting.

"He didn't make that request with me," she said. "Randy did a lot of great things. I'm just going to (say) that we decided to go in a different direction. I don't want to get into specifics, but I'd be happy to meet with Randy."

Although Backus won't be coaching anymore, he will remain at Temple City as an English teacher, she added.

"They're completely separate," Fosselman-King said.

Following the incident with the student, Backus was put on leave with one game left in the regular season last fall. He did not coach or take part in practices thereafter. The Rams' memorable playoff run ended in the semifinals of the CIF-Southern Section Mid-Valley Division.

Backus was reinstated into his teaching job on Dec. 15 on the condition that he be involved in no other incidents, Van De Veere said.

Backus had been disciplined once previously. School officials held him out of spring practice last year for using foul language, Van De Veere said.

"It was taken out of context," Backus said of that incident. "I did not use profanity this year."

Backus defended his performance as head football coach.

"I had no complaints whatsoever from parents this year in regards to the language. Could I have taken a better job in attendance? Yes. Was there a lack of supervision? No. Was there a lack of discipline? Definitely not -- it is absolutely false," he said.

Van De Veere said Backus was given the option of resigning before his termination.

"We gave him a chance to go out gracefully. Resignation would have been a graceful way to go out."

miguel.melendez@sgvn.com
(626) 578-6300, Ext. 4485

RELATED LINKS:

Football: No word on Backus decision.

Melendez: Backus saga has dragged on much too long.

Temple City, school board coming close to decision.

Temple City coach on leave following alleged incident.

The last time I was in the Temple City High School gymnasium was roughly eight years ago. It was my first assignment as a cub reporter working as a correspondent for the Star-News. I was 17-years-old at the time. I was scared, nervous and excited all at the same time. I remember waking up the next morning at 6 a.m. to get a copy of the Star-News. At the time I lived in Alhambra and I had to walk from my house on Fifth Street and Ramona Rd. to the nearest newsstand which was near Garfield and Valley Blvd. It was a long walk but worth it. I saw my first byline on page 2 and I felt like I was on top of the world. The game was Temple City vs. Workman, I believe. When I was moving out of my mom's house the first time around, I found the tape recorder where I did my first interview. I almost cried thinking of how nervous I was conducting my first interview. My how time goes by.

Walking into the Temple City High gym last Friday brought back a lot of memories. In fact, I sat just where I did the very first time, center court behind the score's table.

I watched my first league game, this being Temple City vs. Blair in the Rio Hondo League opener. Nothing beats the start of league. You can tell by the excitement that fills the gym minutes before tipoff. I gotta hand it to both cheerleading squads who actually cheered. The crowd was boisterous and the game was exciting to cover.

The Rams won, 53-48, behind James Chen's game-high 23 points, seven rebounds, two assists and one steal. The Rams are much better than advertised. They have a core of players, including Leo Chu, who have a soft touch from mid to long-range. Temple City can play the half court well and use their lack of stature to its advantage with speed and precise passing. More impressive, the Rams held Deon Geary to just seven points, well below his 19.7 ppg average.

Blair looked raw at times but showed glimpses of running a fast tempo offense. Katorio Walker will be fun to watch. Dude is only a sophomore a senior and already is 6-foot-7. He's lanky but if he can build some muscle to the frame he can become one of the better players in the area. He missed all his shots in the first half but finished with 12 points. The Vikings have the capability to drive inside and create scoring opportunities but for whatever reason couldn't buy a basket in the first half.

Temple City coach Rich Hollinger said opening league with a victory was nice but the first half of the league season will be the real challenge and keeping the same intensity game after game will be key.

After watching four of the six teams in league, here's my prediction for order of finish in the Rio Hondo League:

1. La Cañada
2. Temple City
3. Blair
4. Monrovia
5. South Pasadena
6. San Marino

I know, I know. Here come all the e-mails/comments.

Discuss anything and everything you want....

Temple City High School athletic director John Van De Veere said Friday no decision has been made on whether Randy Backus will return as head football coach. Van De Veere said earlier this week a decision would come Friday but Backus was not on campus which was why no decision was made. Van De Veere said a decision will be made Monday. I will keep you guys informed on the matter.

Blogger Joe Amat in Freddy's blog suggested they should charge for admission since fans attending would be more than willing to pay if full proceeds go to the Ortega family. That's a pretty good idea, and I plan to attend the game.

From Fred Robledo's blog in the ESGV:

Baseball in January? That's right, thanks to the thoughtful gesture from Covina coach Pete Loaiza, Charter Oak's Tom Quinley, Northview's Darren Murphy and South Hiils' Kevin Smith, who have scheduled a doubleheader on Monday, January 19, to benefit the Ortega family, who had nine family members tragically murdered in what has become known throughout the country as the Christmas Eve Massacre. There will be a snackbar and donation opportunity for those attending the games with all proceeds going to the Ortega Family.

"Basically, all of us got together and decided to use a day of baseball between the four high schools from Covina as a way to raise money for the Ortega family," Northview coach Darren Murphy said. "Everyone raised in Covina or teaching at the Covina schools is somehow affected by this unfortunate tragedy, so it made sense for us to do what we do best and that's play baseball with the fundraiser attached to it."

The doubleheader will be played on Jan. 19 (Martin Luther King Day) at Azusa Pacific University, and both games will be nine innings with no emphasis on who wins.

Charter Oak vs. Covina, 2 p.m.
Northview vs. South HIlls, 5 p.m.

MIGUEL MELENDEZ COLUMN

This column appeared on page C2 in the Star-News sports section on Friday, Jan. 9

It's been almost two months since Temple City football coach Randy Backus was put on paid administrative leave because of an alleged incident involving a student.

Since then, I've called Temple City High School almost on a weekly basis and have gotten little or no new information on how the Temple City Unified school board or the Temple City High administration are coming along.

Repeated messages to Superintendent Dr. Chelsea Kang-Smith went unanswered until someone from her office left a message at my office to say they wouldn't comment. Temple City High principal Mary Jo Fosselman-King also did not return calls.

Athletic director John Van De Veere earlier this week said the school board and administration will come to a decision today (Van De Veere has agreed to call me when a decision has been made. It should be noted Van De Veere has been the only school official to comment on the matter).

As far as his job as an English teacher, Backus has long since been reinstated. Whether he continues as football coach or not is what's being discussed.
I've talked to numerous coaches in the area about Backus and they all had nothing but good things to say about him.

That didn't surprise me.

Just a few days after I accepted the preps sports editor position here at the Star-News, I got my first call on my company cell phone.

It was Backus calling on Aug. 5 just after 10 a.m. I remember vividly because I posted an item on my blog.

Backus dialed former preps editor Scott Galleti's number figuring I'd get the same cell phone, and he was right.

"You mean I beat everybody to the punch," a surprised Backus said at the time.
He did.

We spent a few minutes on the phone as he congratulated me on my new post and briefly interviewed me on my background as a sportswriter.

As a newbie to the area, Backus not only understood the need of having an amicable relationship between coach and reporter but also having a go-to guy for vast knowledge of football in the area. And Backus never was out of the loop.

There are two major football coaching vacancies in the West San Gabriel Valley. We've talked about the progress and near-conclusion at Temple City.

Next on deck? Pasadena.

It's been nearly two months since Kevin Mills resigned as coach at Pasadena High School. We let a month pass by to let the head men at Pasadena High figure out what they wanted to do. The update we got at the time from Pasadena High athletic director Tony Brooks who said the school was "sorting through resumes".

Got to talking to Brooks just a little while ago and not much has changed as you can tell by the same answer I got when Brooks was asked about the hiring progress:

At this point we're collecting resumes. We have quite an extensive amount of resumes. What we'll do is we'll select a committee, which we're now doing and start the interviewing process. (Pasadena High principal) Dr. (Derick) Evans has been very clear he does not want to rush into a decision and wants the committee to go over everything. He wants what's best fit for Pasadena High School. Anytime we go through something like this (Evans) is really adamant about making the right decision for the right candidate.

I replied to Brooks and said it sounded like they're at the same place they were just a few months ago and emphasized he wanted to have a field narrowed by the time they reached January.

We've made progress. The thing is there's a sentiment that we don't want to rush and that we're not trying to find the first candidate; we're trying to find the best candidates. Yes there is a patience that we are exhibiting and that we are trying to be very deliberate about this. We want to cross our "T's" and dot our "I's". We want the best fit but at the risk of sounding redundant a couple of weeks ago, you're right, we're in the same position but we've made progress in that we've accepted a lot of information on a lot of different prospects. the biggest difference is we didn't have any applications (submitted) at that time but now we have quite a number. And we're continuing to accept more. We're going to have a good candidate pool from which to select a coach. We have not made any cuts or any kind of determination at this moment. There's going to be a committee that will conduct the interviews, it will not just be one or two people. it will be a cross reference of the stake holders on this campus.

Will the coaching position come with a teaching position as well?

It depends on who is the best candidate. If it happens to be a teacher we'll go that way. That's always the best case scenario but that will not nullify those who are interested who are not teachers.

You want to take your time making the right decision but at the same time does it not put a strain on you as athletic director giving that spring football is not all that far away?

Absolutely. The thing is that, like i said, Dr. Evans is fully aware of our window that we're working under and that we're trying to put somebody in place so that the season is not stymied or hampered in any way. The way things are done kids are probably going to start their weight lifting first or second week of February. As you get closer to spring and the summer you want to start your spring ball and prepare for the summer. We're fully aware of all the time lines for football. It's not our intention to be full nonchalant or that we fall asleep on the whole matter. More than being patient or nonchalant, we want to be thorough and complete and that we have the right person for the job. We feel it's a very important position on our campus. A football coach is probably the more well-known person on campus other than the administrators. He has a big responsibility to not only put forth a good product on the field but also help young kids grow up as good young man and make good progress academically. You don't want to take this decision lightly and I think Dr. Evans is going about this the right way. He's been very clear to me that he wants to do this the right way and not rush.

How many have applied?

Probably 10-15 applicants.

Who are the 15 applicants who applied for the coaching vacancy?

You always those good questions and I'm gong to defer. You'll be the first to know as we narrow this process. I know you're very interested in this and it's an important position in this community when you think about all the things that go on in Pasadena. We want to make sure that everything is carried out properly. I'm going to hold off on that answer and tell you you'll be the first to know about where we stand on this. You won't have to be searching for me. I'll call you and let you know.

I'm holding you to it, Tony. =)

It's been almost two months since Temple City football coach Randy Backus was put on paid administrative leave.

Since then, I've called Temple City High School almost on a weekly basis with little information to no information on what the school board's decision is regarding the matter.

I put in a call to Temple City athletic director John Van De Veere on Wednesday and it sounds like the school board and the school will come to a decision by Friday (Van De Veere has agreed to call me then when a decision has been made).

As far as his job as an English teacher, Backus has long since long been reinstated. Whether he continues as football coach or not is what's up in the air.

When asked about the progress Van De Veere elaborated a bit.

There's really nothing I can tell you definitely. I know you want to print something but all I can tell you is we're still going through a process of talking to him. (School) administrators are still talking to him. At this time no (decision has been made).

Van De Veere was asked when a decision would be made.

I would say at the end of this week we should come to a conclusion. That would probably be when the decision is made. On going negotiations coming ahead of Friday, at least I hope it does, If he's going to return.

Van De Veere was asked whether this puts the him and the athletic program in some strain given the timetable of having to fill the position.

For me it's a little bit late as we speak. You know how that goes. I'm a little concerned about the time table. We have a policy in our district that we need to fly the job in-house for two weeks before we can open it up outside. I cannot put it up on the CIF website until we float it here for two weeks. As of right now I don't foresee anybody (in-house) that would be interested in the job.

Should the position open up, Van De Veere was asked whether the job would come with a teaching position at Temple City High.

That's up in the air, too. I am really trying to get someone on campus. We want to get a teaching job for that individual. But what makes that very tough is we don't know if the individual would have credentials. That's part of the interview process.

Asked about Backus' teaching position, Van De Veere was quick and to the point.

This decision has nothing to do with his teaching position. He's an English teacher here on campus.

Now we wait.

My $.02:

I've talked to numerous coaches in the area about Backus. They all had nothing but good things to say about him. They all wish he'd return. Heck, the players and coaches on the staff I'm sure feel the same way. The feeling here is none of the assistants will stay on board should Backus be asked to resign. If Backus' alleged incident was so terrible the school board and administration would have come to a conclusion much sooner than where they currently stand. We're not that far away from spring ball. Would it really be wise to rid Backus and bring someone new who has no idea about the nucleus the Rams have developed over the last two months that led to a semifinals appearance in the CIF-SS Mid-Valley Division playoffs? With the core of players expected to return, it would not serve them nor the program to bring someone new to learn on the fly. Remember, nobody on the current coaching staff works on campus, only Backus. The school board and administration have punished Backus enough by making him wonder whether he'll return or not. Given the harsh economy I'm certain losing an extra pay check would hurt us all. Does 14 years of loyalty to the school count for anything anymore? While Backus battled sleepless nights the school board has taken its sweet time and slept on this much too long for a father with a newborn to endure. That's punishment enough.

New house. New job. New car. I definitely can't complain, and I've always said I'm one lucky punk.

I was sitting at my desk working on a feature when I got the call from my managing editor.

I've been assigned to sit and watch the BCS National Championship Game between No. 2 Florida and No. 1 Oklahoma, something I would have done anyway from the comfort of my home. But now I'm getting paid to watch the game and take in on the experience of watching the game in digital 3-D on Thursday evening at the Krikorian Monrovia Cinema 12 (410 S. Myrtle Ave., Monrovia, CA). The game starts at 5 p.m.

The live digital 3-D presentation is the first ever of its kind. Only 82 select locations throughout the U.S. will partake in this event and the Monrovia Cinema 12 will be one of only three Los Angeles market area locations.

"The movie-going experience of the future has arrived," said George Krikorian, president and owner of Krikorian Premiere Theatres. "We believe that the future movie-going experiences will far exceed our greatest expectations. These 3-D presentations represent a pivotal transitional moment in film exhibition history. Live 3-D broadcast of prominent sporting events will be more compelling and appealing to the public than live attendance at those events. We are proud and excited to participate in this historic presentation."

Ticket sales for the special event will be sold for only $20.00 and the game will be presented in KPT's exclusive Digital 3DX technology. Tickets will be on sale at kptmovies.com and on location at the Monrovia Cinema 12.

Feel free to say hello if you see me there. I'll have a story in the Star-News' sports section Friday.

STAR-NEWS TOP 10 RANKINGS

1. Muir (6-3)
Opens league at CV today

2. La Cañada (11-3)
Second in own tournament

3. San Marino (9-5)
Has won five of last six

4. Pasadena Poly (8-3)
Four consecutive victories

5. Temple City (9-3)
Winners of five consecutive

6. Pasadena (4-5)
Has won three of last four

7. Monrovia
Faces San Marino on Friday

8. Keppel (5-10)
Tough preleague schedule

9. Alhambra (4-4)
Split with South Pasadena

10. La Salle (5-8)
Rose court princess returns

From the Los Angeles Times' Gary Klein, the paper's USC beat writer.

Responding to inquiries from media outlets, USC issued a statement regarding a video that captured linebacker Rey Maualuga dancing behind unsuspecting ESPN sideline reporter Erin Andrews before the Rose Bowl game.

"The situation was addressed immediately," the statement said. "Rey both e-mailed and spoke to Erin and apologized to her. He realized he made a mistake and used poor judgment. He deeply regrets his actions."

Andrews has declined to comment. Maualuga could not be reached for comment.

"We appreciate the apology," ESPN spokesman Josh Krulewitz said.

STAR-NEWS GIRLS SOCCER TOP 10 RANKINGS

1. Flintridge Sacred Heart (8-3-2)
Undefeated in December

2. La Cañada (5-1-1)
Young team starts quickly

3. La Salle (7-2-3)
No letdown from last season

4. Maranatha (7-4-3)
Making a mark

5. Arcadia (2-3-0)
Season begins today

6. Flintridge Prep (4-4-0)
Prep League play interesting

7. South Pasadena (4-5-2)
Time to get tested

8. Mayfield (4-6-0)
A banner season in Cub-land

9. Temple City (1-3-0)
Will finally get chance to play

10. Pasadena (0-1-4)
Record is deceptive

STAR-NEWS LEADING SCORERS (According to MaxPreps.com through Tuesday)

NAME SCHOOL YR. PPG
James Chen Temple City Jr. 20.6
Deon Geary Blair Sr. 19.7
Katorio Walker Blair Sr. 16.7
Chris Bullock Monrovia Jr. 15.4
Chris Smith Monrovia Sr. 15.0
Travis Flye Muir Sr. 13.5
Clarke Anderson La Canada Sr. 13.4
Kyle Eaves Marshall Sr. 13.1
Johnathan Hendricks San Gabriel Academy Jr. 12.5
Tim Esguerra Rio Hondo Prep Sr. 12.0

STAR-NEWS LEADING REBOUNDERS (According to MaxPreps.com through Tuesday)

NAME SCHOOL YR. RPG
Djon Ellams South Pasadena Sr. 10.9
Marcus Bagnerise Blair So. 10.5
Randy Castanaza San Gabriel Academy Sr. 9.9
Robert Chuang Temple City Sr. 7.9
Antonio Alaniz Rio Hondo Prep Sr. 7.3
Brice Hill Blair Sr. 6.9
Deon Geary Blair Sr. 6.6
Johnathan Hendricks San Gabriel Academy Jr. 6.5
Katorio Walker Blair Sr. 6.4
Evan Colbert Blair Sr. 6.3
Clarke Anderson La Canada Sr. 6.3
Isaiah Braime Monrovia Fr. 6.0
Kyle Eaves Marshall Sr. 6.0

From Rivals.com

Maranatha quarterback Matt Schilz was originally slated to attend Kansas State, but when Bill Snyder came in, the two parted ways. Now he's found a new home in the MAC.

"Matt has committed to Bowling Green," Staci Schilz said.

"Matt is happy to have found what seems a perfect fit for him. Both the coaching staff and the offensive scheme they run are just what he was looking for. He committed over the phone to coach Dave Clawson and offensive coordinator Warren Ruggiero."

Schilz was sold on a number of different factors.

"They have a rich history and a college town atmosphere that Matt really likes," Schilz said. "The coaches love to get the ball in the air and their quarterbacks have always been successful. Matt can't wait to get there in June and get started."

He takes his official visit to Bowling Green on Jan. 16.

"Until then, he is working hard on and off the field," Schilz said. "He is studying film, lifting weights and continues his training. As his parents, we are very happy about his choice. It's a huge decision to make and we feel he has made the right one for the right reasons."

STAR-NEWS BOYS SOCCER TOP 10 RANKINGS

1. MONROVIA (11-0-3)
Wildcats blowing lids off

2. PASADENA (5-0-2)
Bulldogs learning to win

3. ST. FRANCIS (4-1-2)
Golden Knights always in contention

4. LA CANADA (9-3-1)
Spartans ready for showdown

5. ARCADIA (3-2)
Pacific League play at Burbank today

6. SAN MARINO (5-4)
Steven Yortsos with five goals

7. MUIR (3-0)
2-0 in Pacific League play

8. SOUTH PASADENA (3-3-2)
Tough opening schedule

9. BLAIR (2-1-1)
Have scored 11 goals, allowed 2

10. ALHAMBRA (2-2)
Opens Almont League at San Gabriel

BOYS SOCCER STANDINGS

Click here for the Almont League standings

Click here for the Alpha League Standings

Click here for the Del Ray League standings

Click here for the Mission League standings

Click here for the Mission Valley League standings

Click here for the Montview League standings

Click here for the Olympic League standings

Click here for the Pacific League standings

Click here for the Prep League standings

Click here for the Rio Hondo League standings

STAR-NEWS TOP 10 RANKINGS

1. PASADENA (7-5)
Bulldogs battling opponents, injuries

2. LA CANADA (12-2)
Spartans on a roll in tournaments

3. MONROVIA (9-3)
Charter Oak will be a good test Wednesday

4. BLAIR (9-4)
Opens RHL play Friday at Temple City

5. TEMPLE CITY (8-5)
Pleasant surprise heading into RHL

6. ALHAMBRA (8-5)
Solid wins over St. Paul, Montebello

7. KEPPEL (10-4)
Aztecs a fun team to watch

8. ST. FRANCIS (7-4)
Wanted: inside presence needed

9. FLINTRIDGE PREP (7-4)
Advanced to San Gabriel Tourny final

10. LA SALLE (7-6)
Lancers struggling with four-game losing streak

Dropped: Maranatha (4-8); Renaissance Academy (6-8)

BOYS BASKETBALL STANDINGS

Click here for the Almont League standings

Click here for the Alpha League standings

Click here for the Camino Real League standings

Click here for the Delphic League standings

Click here for the overall Freelance standings

Click here for the Mission League standings

Click here for the Mission Valley League standings

Click here for the Montview League standings

Click here for the Pacific League standings

Click here for the Prep League standings

Click here for the Rio Hondo League standings

Over the Holidays, my mail box here at the Star-News was flooded with Christmas cards from coaches, athletic directors and parents. Thank you to all who sent them. But there was one Christmas card in particular that got my attention. Written inside the card partly was this:

"Take your mom to breakfast at McDonald's. You know which one ... "

Inside the card was a $10 gift card to McDonald's. I wasn't sure what the card meant. I didn't see who dropped it off and our front-desk receptionist couldn't recognize the woman who dropped it off. It took me a good three hours to figure out what she meant by saying "You know which one ... " And then it hit me. In a column I wrote for Mother's Day at the Orange County Register I mention about a specific McDonald's in Los Angeles. It was the first McDonald's our family of four ever went to. We got all dressed up and took pictures; that's how poor we were when I was a little kid. Anyway, it took me a good three hours to figure out what she wrote in the card when it finally hit me. Just wanted to say thanks to whoever dropped off the card. It was a nice gesture on your part. When I told my mom about it she couldn't stop smiling and she has the card sitting in the living room mantle. Again, thanks.

MARQUISE WILLIAMS

The senior was the complete player on and off the field. No showboating. All talk on the field. The kid rushed for 2,051 yards and scored 25 touchdowns while leading Monrovia to the semifinals of the CIF-SS Mid-Valley Division playoffs. I wasn't impressed when he played against Arcadia but he proved his worth as the season went on. He anticipates the defense well and has all the attributes you'd want in a true running back: speed, agility, toughness and a high football IQ. He has the size (6-foot-1, 220 pounds) to stiff-arm a DB or lower his shoulder for the extra yard. Here's hoping we see Williams carrying the ball for Arizona State next season.

There were players on the Star-News All-Area team who I didn't see as much but would have loved to watch a game or two. Here is the list of players I did thoroughly enjoyed watch play "From the Sidelines":

Jordan Canada, Duarte, Jr., RB -- He'll be a lot of fun to watch next season, too. He needs to stay healthy and if he is, watch out! He'll arguably be the fastest running back next year. Watching him sprint down the sidelines against Monrovia in the playoffs was quite a sight.

Todd Golper, Arcadia, Sr., LB -- As a fellow UCLA Bruin fan I'm glad he's headed to Westwood. Dude can not only take a hit but he can give them as well. You know you're football-smart when your coach lets you call plays from the sidelines while wearing headphones, too. Monrovia vs. Arcadia: Golper took a sick hit to the helmet and popped right back up, fired as ever. I was just three feet away from where the hit happen. Ouch.

Jarron Williams, Muir, Jr., QB -- This kid is going to be something special next season. He's not as mobile as Reuben Thomas but he's patient and doesn't frustrate easily. He has the arm and his play-selection is not predictable. Simply put: he's a play-maker.

Reuben Thomas, Muir, Sr., AP -- He was Mr. Everything but it was fun watching him carry the ball on play action. His elusive speed and toughness easily makes him one of the best in the entire San Gabriel Valley.

Myles Campbell, Muir, Sr., WR -- Coach Howard said he was going to have a breakout season and he did. Caught for nearly 800 yards. Making one-handed catches with a host of defenders (ahem, Arcadia) made him one of the flashiest wide receivers in the area.

Tra Sumler, Rosemead, Sr., RB -- Nothing fancy, just gets the job done, and there ain't nothin' wrong with dat. It was just another day in the office for Sumler against Temple City when I saw him. Trampling over Ram defenders for nearly 300 yards rushing.

Max Ruckle, Temple City, Jr., RB -- Shall we start the battle of Ruckle vs. Canada already? Mark my words, these two kids are going to have an unbelievable season next year. Ruckle is your old-school, retro running back: following his lineman and exploiting the open seams. He's not as fast as Canada but he'll find a way to break the middle. Ruckle turned it into a rushing clinic against Paraclete in the first half.

Scott Dooley, San Marino, Sr., RB -- I interviewed him the week leading up to the Titans' game against Hoover. I thought, "This kid is rushing all these yards?" He looked small but he used his weakness (height) to his advantage (speed). He hid behind his stout offensive line and sneaked up on defenders, who by the time realized where he was were trailing the play into the end zone.

Dietrich Riley, St. Francis, Jr., DB -- When I saw Riley against Crescenta Valley I thought this kid is the real deal. He has a keen eye and his leadership skills on the field were well on display. There's a reason dude was offered a scholarship from USC his sophomore season. Don't be surprised if Riley's role at running back is increased next season. But no doubt he turned heads when he was on defense.

For whatever reason, USC's Rey Maualuga got the urge to freak dance. The innocent victim: ESPN sideline reporter Erin Andrews.

By the way, after USC's thrashing over Penn State, does anybody else still really think there shouldn't be a playoff system? Ugh.

MaxPreps released its California All-State Football teams over the weekend. Congratulations to the four area players who were selected: Dietrich Riley (St. Francis); Eddie Garcia (Rio Hondo Prep): Tra Sumler (Rosemead); and Bobby Maldonado (Rosemead).

California Division II All-State Team
Player of the Year: Tyler Gaffney, Cathedral Catholic (San Diego), 6-0, 215, Sr.
Coach of the Year: Darren Bennett, Tulare Union, Central Section Division 2 Champions, 13-0.

Division II First Team Defense
DB - Tra Sumler, Rosemead, 5-11, 205, Sr
The Pasadena Star-News player of the year, Sumler ran for 2,451 yards on the season with 33 touchdowns and also had 15 sacks on defense. Helped the Panthers post an 11-2 record and reach the Mid-Valley Division championship game.

Second Team, Defense
P - Bobby Maldonado, Rosemead, 5-11, 185, Sr
One of the top kickers in the state, Maldonado could also punt the ball as he averaged 42 yards a kick with 14 landing inside the 20. He also had 47 touchbacks on kickoffs and booted nine field goals during the season.

California Division III All-State Team
Player of the Year: QB - Derek Carr, Bakersfield Christian (Bakersfield), 6-3, 195, Sr.
Coach of the Year: Scott Turner, Sutter, Northern Section Division II Champions, 11-1

Division III First Team Defense

DB - Dietrich Riley, St. Francis (La Canada), 6-2, 175, Jr
Riley has received interest from several major colleges after a strong junior season that saw him earn all-area honors from the Los Angeles Daily News and the Pasadena Star-News. Had 39 tackles on defense, but also rushed for 1,034 yards on offense.

California Division IV All-State Team
Player of the Year: RB - Cierre Wood, Santa Clara (Oxnard), 6-1, 210, Sr.
Coach of the Year: Harry Welch, St. Margaret's, Small Schools State Champs, 15-0

Division IV Second Team Defense

DL - Eddie Garcia, Rio Hondo Prep (Arcadia), 5-10, 200, Sr
Garcia was selected to the Pasadena Star-News all-area second team after helping lead Rio Hondo to the Northeast Division championship. Garcia finished the season with 100 tackles and five sacks.

Click here for the Division I All-State team.

For a complete Division II, III and IV lists, click on thread.

The move is over. I'm officially a South Pasadena resident and it's back to business as usual. Some of you have been annoyed at my absence (Earth to Miguel) but I'm back in full force with the intent to have you covered in every angle: blog, notebook, gamers and columns. It's been a hectic two weeks but it's over now and I'm ready to get my hands dirty. Hope you all had a great holiday season.

While I was gone I.....(feel free to play along)

...Got done moving into my new house

...Tried to figure out how to clean hardwood floors

...Did way too much shopping for one person

...Spent New Year's alone for the fifth straight year; made my final trip unloading

...Covered the La Canada/Temple City Holiday Classic where La Canada and Alhambra played in a fabulous championship game. Clarke Anderson led the Spartans to a frenzy win over the Moors.

...The La Canada girls basketball team advanced to the New Year's Ball Tournament but lost to Agoura in the finals.

...Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy, the Star-News' No. 1 team girls soccer team, finished December undefeated against the area teams they played with wins over Maranatha, Monrovia, La Salle, Pasadena, Mayfield and Flintridge Prep, outscoring those teams, 10-3. Overall, they are 8-3-2 on the season despite starting six freshman.

... The Monrovia boys soccer team is 11-0-3 and are winning with superb defense which has allowed only six goals thus far. The Wildcats won the Bosco Tech Tournament where they did not allow a goal and scored 14 in four games also claimed the Ontario Holiday Tournament championship.

Not mentioned? E-mail your information every Monday to miguel.melendez@sgvn.com and keep me posted. Parents, athletic directors and coaches are encouraged to send weekly updates. This will enhance our coverage.

Happy New Year from the Rose Bowl in Pasadena. Fred Robledo, Steve Ramirez and I are writing stories from today's game, so lets just make this the Penn State-USC game thread. Before the BCS, this was a classic Big-10, Pac-10 showdown, and both teams probably would have been playing for a piece of the national title. It wasn't a consolation bowl, which is the feeling coming out of the USC camp after missing the BCS championship game, played next week between Florida and Oklahoma, two other 10-1 teams. If there isn't going to be a playoff system, go back to the old way and let the writers and coaches decide in the polls. Why do you have to pick two 10-1 teams and say, "This is the national title game." You can't say Penn State or USC isn't just as deserving. You can't say undefeated teams like Utah have no say either. Let's see how Utah does in the Sugar Bowl against Alabama, and then decide. Prior to the BCS, everyone played, and the voters decided after the games who the champion was. We should all be in favor of a playoff, but until that day is here, get rid of the BCS and go back to the way it was.

I've made my New Year's resolution. Have you? Part of my resolution will be that you won't recognize me come football season because I'll be shredding the pounds for good, and no this isn't because I'm dating a cutie pie who will be a future nurse. OK, maybe that's the reason. But she's good enough a reason so leave me alone! Also, come June 2009 I will have come full circle with the high school sports season, which means I'll know what to expect in the upcoming season, meaning better analysis, more updates and better gossip. So stick around for what I promise will be some good years ahead. I'll be reporting live from the Rose Bowl with Fred Robledo and Steve Ramirez. Be safe and enjoy the New Year!!