……All baseball all the time……

Note: I’m off today but I’ve post-dated these threads to publish even though I’m nowhere near the Pasadena area. Have at it and knock yourselves out.

Time for you to give a crack at the preseason top 10 polls. State your case for the best team to earn a spot in the front page next week when our softball preview runs. Who is the area’s best team? Best pitcher, etc..

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……All softball all the time……

Note: I’m off today but I’ve post-dated these threads to publish even though I’m nowhere near the Pasadena area. Have at it and knock yourselves out.

Time for you to give a crack at the preseason top 10 polls. State your case for the best team to earn a spot in the front page next week when our softball preview runs. Who is the area’s best team? Best pitcher, etc..

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Sunday Tribbin: League not as important

This is your old pal Fred J sneaking in on Miguel because frankly, it’s a lazy day so I thought I would share our Just Tribbin with you. BTW, what’s happening with basketball in Pasadena? Only two boys teams (RHP, La Salle) left in the second week? No Pasadena? No La Canada? No Renaissance Academy? Muir just average? That’s not how I remember it. Hope you have something left for the all-star game, the Trib could have its best team ever.

A few weeks back I mentioned that CIF’s new basketball playoff structure, merging enrollment with competitive value, waters-down the importance of league play. Eric Sondheimer touched on it today in the L.A. Times, there could be three to four section champions from the same league, making you wonder if they need league’s anymore. You might as well just play a schedule, have more tournaments and do everything by enrollment. The Sierra League is looking the strongest around here with Chino Hills, Glendora, Ayala, and Damien alive in three separate divisions. By some miracle should the Sierra wind up with three CIF champions, how would you feel about it? Damien is a prime example. I’m fine with the fact that a fourth-place team can get an at-large, but to win a championship you should have to go through the teams that beat you in league to do it. Don’t get me wrong, I hope they all with section titles, but the system doesn’t sit right.

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Melendez: Blair can’t understand snub

MIGUEL MELENDEZ COLUMN

There will be times when we don’t get what we want.

We can throw tantrums and tell everyone who will listen about how unjustly we were treated, but in the end we have to live with the end result and hope it doesn’t happen again.

When mistakes are made we hope those responsible will offer an apology. It won’t rectify the situation, but at the very least provides closure.

That’s what Blair High School boys basketball coach Gamal Smalley wants from the CIF-Southern Section after learning last week the at-large selection committee left the Vikings out of the playoffs.

Twelve teams were given at-large berths in Division IV-A. Eleven of them finished with sub.-500 records. Blair, which had a winning record of 13-10, finished fourth in the Rio Hondo League at 4-6.

The tournament seeding committee utilizes the following in its selection process for at-large berths: head-to-head competition of teams under consideration; overall strength of the league in which the team participates; overall won/loss record; league finish and strength at end of the season (whether team has lost its last three games or won its last three games, et al).

Some of the teams that earned at-large berths include Santa Ynez (11-14, 3-9); Morro Bay (12-14, 4-8); Valley Christian (13-13, 3-7); Rim of the World (8-16, 2-5) and Notre Dame (9-18, 1-13).

Blair played none of the 12 at-large teams, so head-to-head competition is thrown out.

Blair’s Rio Hondo League had four teams with records above .500. The top three teams finished 19-7, 18-7 and 16-9. By comparison, Santa Ynez and Morro Bay had only one team in its league finish with a .500 record or better.

In league finishes, Notre Dame was seventh with a 1-13 record; Rim of the World fourth; Santa Ynez sixth and Morro Bay fifth.

Strength at end of the season? Blair lost four of its last nine games; Santa Ynez lost eight of its last nine; Notre Dame lost 15 of its last 17 and Rim of the World lost nine of its last 13.

Smalley certainly makes a good argument as to why the Vikings should have been given an at-large berth.

Is it possible the selection committee made a mistake?

Yes.

Is it likely it will admit the mistake and give Blair a sense of closure?

Who knows?
Continue reading “Melendez: Blair can’t understand snub” »

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CIF Postgame: Bulldogs leashed!!! Long Beach Poly defense decisive; La Salle and Rio Hondo Prep still alive in basketball; Monrovia, St. Francis, La Caada, Pasadena Poly and Rosemead survive in soccer

43 51

By Miguel A. Melendez
Staff Writer

LONG BEACH — Who knew they didn’t stand a chance?

Pasadena High School’s boys basketball team turned the ball over numerous times in the first quarter. Then it shot itself in the foot in the second.

Long Beach Poly’s stingy defense blanked the Bulldogs in the first quarter, leading the Jackrabbits to a 51-43 win Friday night in the second round of the CIF-Southern Section Division II-A playoffs.

Pasadena (22-6) appeared dazed and confused in the first quarter and its offense never got into rhythm despite many good looks at the hoop.

And just when it appeared the Bulldogs were gaining momentum in the second quarter, Pasadena’s Darius Johnson drew a technical foul for taunting the home student section after nailing a 3-pointer and pulling Pasadena to within 25-12 with 2:32 left in the first half.

Bulldogs coaches Tim Tucker and Marcus Ford were visibly upset with the drawing of the technical, since it swung the momentum back to the Jackrabbits (23-5).

“Well I don’t know if that’s a technical,” said Tucker, who completed his 13th year at the helm. “He puts up a 3 for knocking down a 3 and, like he said, he’s been doing that all year. All of a sudden you go on the road and in CIF and it’s a technical foul.

“That was a big 3, and although they missed the free throws, they got the ball back and took away our celebration and big moment and put us back down again.”

Pasadena didn’t help itself by turning the ball over 11 times in the first half, many of them resulting in easy buckets for Long Beach Poly.

The Bulldogs were stymied midway through the first quarter, where they came away empty on eight consecutive possessions. It was then, with less than a minute left in the first quarter, that it appeared Pasadena might actually go scoreless in the first quarter. And it did.

Joe Henson, the 6-foot-9 senior headed to San Jose State, was sent to the line with 18.4 seconds left and a chance to put the Bulldogs on the scoreboard. But he missed both free throws and the Jackrabbits ended on a 9-0 run.

Signs of frustration set in early for Pasadena. When Tyler Barber vigorously attempted to go inside he was called for a traveling violation. Out of frustration, Barber threw the ball against the wall, and though the Poly coaching staff protested to the referees that they should call a technical foul, they didn’t.

But frustration got the better part of Johnson, a senior captain who finished with five points. When he picked up his fifth foul with 47.3 seconds left in the game, he walked out of the gym momentarily. And when the final buzzer came, Johnson grabbed a chair and threw it out onto the court, much to the dismay of Tucker, who demanded that Johnson retrieve the chair and place it back where it was.

Long Beach Poly led by as many as 20 points. The Jackrabbits were led by junior guard Shelton Boykin, who finished with 11 points.

Pasadena got to within 10 points, but by then there was less than 40 seconds left.

“All season long our defense has been a staple,” Long Beach Poly coach Sharrief Metoyer said.

This was Pasadena’s third consecutive second-round exit. They won a CIF title in 2007.

Henson couldn’t shake loose from the smaller and slower Julian Camper in the post. Camper pestered him inside with his heavy frame and Henson finished with 10 points. George Toyama finished with a game-high 18 points.

“You can’t come out and be cold in the first quarter,” Tucker said. “They’re too good for that. We threw the ball away too much and we gave them easy baskets, and if you take away the easy baskets it’s a hell of a game.

“We made a good run in the end. If we had one more quarter we might have gotten them, but the first quarter comes back to haunt you.”

BOYS BASKETBALL RESULTS

DIVISION I-AA
Long Beach Poly 51, Pasadena 43
Mater Dei 85, Upland 52
Rancho Verde 72, Long Beach Jordan 63
Etiwanda 78, Dana Hills 69
Lynwood 70, Los Alamitos 69 (OT)
Dominguez 86, Hesperia 48
Redlands 86, Colony 73
King 71, Long Beach Wilson 64

DIVISION I-A
Capistrano Valley 78, Murrieta Valley 61
Chino Hills 67, El Toro 54
Ventura 74, Los Osos 73
Paloma Valley 56, Cajon 51
Perris 66, Corona Centennial 65
Santa Monica 58,Chaparral 56
West Valley 55, Alhambra 51
Tesoro 63, Lancaster 46

DIVISION III-AA
Anaheim Canyon 61, Savanna 45
Hart 72, Granite Hills 56
Palm Springs 49, La Caada 37
Nogales 73, West Torrance 70
Santa Margarita 72, South Hills 63
North Torrance 79, Western 64
Arroyo Grande 49, Woodbridge 40
St. John Bosco 49, Campbell Hall 46

DIVISION IV-AA
Bishop Montgomery 67, St. Francis 59
Atascadero 69, Tustin 63
Northview 80, Citrus Hill 57
Inglewood 76, JSerra 60
Ocean View 87, Ontario Christian 53
San Luis Obispo 43, Bishop Amat 40
Compton Centennial 68, Lompoc 38
Gardena Serra 93, South El Monte 64

DIVISION IV-A
Orange Lutheran 80, Montclair Prep 46
Chaminade 60, Lawndale 48
Oaks Christian 82, Banning 49
La Salle 55, Laguna Beach 42
Crespi 58, Salesian 30
Santa Clara 59, Cerritos Valley Christian 43
Cathedral 70, Workman 50
Price 76, Fillmore 59

DIVISION V-AA
Pacific Hills 80, Lancaster Desert Christian 38
Cantwell-Sacred Heart 71, Flintridge Prep 69
St. Monica 45, Riverside Notre Dame 43
Woodcrest Christian 79, Desert 71
Verbum Dei 59, St. Paul 58
Santa Ana Calvary Chapel 64, Village Christian 61
Downey Calvary Chapel 64, St. Anthony 32
Morningside 70, Linfield Christian 46

DIVISION V-A
Sierra Canyon 49, St. Margarets 46
Aquinas 47, Bell-Jeff 31
Buckley 71, Pilibos 45
Brethren Christian 45, Pasadena Poly 21
Faith Baptist 50, Arrowhead Christian 49
La Verne Lutheran 79, Bloomington Christian 51

DIVISION VI-AA
Bermuda Dunes Desert Christian 79, Maricopa 40
Rio Hondo Prep 44, Rolling Hills Prep 38
Laguna Blanca 50, Los Angeles Adventist 44
Pacifica Christian 55, California Lutheran 40
Capistrano Valley Christian 51, Santa Clarita Christian 36
Eastside Christian 61, North County Christian 58

DIVISION VI-A
Marywood-Palm Valley 45, Baker Valley 33
Padre Pio 56, Waverly 36
Lee Vining 74, Lake Arrowhead Christian 64
Antelope Valley Christian 64, Bethel Baptist 42
Immanuel Christian 63, New Harvest Christian 47
Hope Centre 84, Mesrobian 20
Vistamar 65, Acaciawood 29

CLICK HERE FOR BOYS SOCCER SCHEDULE
Continue reading “CIF Postgame: Bulldogs leashed!!! Long Beach Poly defense decisive; La Salle and Rio Hondo Prep still alive in basketball; Monrovia, St. Francis, La Caada, Pasadena Poly and Rosemead survive in soccer” »

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