Keepin' it Real

With the true opening day coming in less than eight hours, I figured someone needed to make some predictions for the upcoming season. Here is my attempt to catch lightning in a bottle and some commentary to go along with it.

National League West

1) Arizona - Diamondbacks' pitching looks good with Brandon Webb and Dan Haren and the D-backs young hitting should be improved. The big question is whether or not Brandon Lyon can handle the closer's role.
2) Colorado - The Rockies' magical run of a year ago can certainly be repeated, with a powerful lineup of Matt Holliday, Garrett Atkins, Todd Helton and Troy Tulowitzki. The pitching is talented, but still young.
3) Los Angeles - The Dodgers have a deep, if not star-studded, starting rotation and bullpen. The key is if they can get some more production from a batting lineup mixed with veterans and fresh young talent.
4) San Diego - The Padres can pitch. With Jake Peavy, Chris Young and Trevor Hoffman, there's no doubt about that. It's the anemic hitting that has the Padres fourth in this deep division.
5) San Francisco - The Giants have no chance to do anything but sweep the cellar. The lineup is atrocious, atrocious enough to mask two young talented starting pitchers in Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain.

National League Central
1) Chicago - The Cubs are an increasingly popular pick to win the World Series, especially since its the 100th year anniversary of their last title. Seeing how Kerry Wood does as a closer should be interesting.
2) Milwaukee - The Brewers are young and with Prince Fielder, Ryan Braun, Corey Hart and Rickie Weeks, they can rake. If they can stay healthy in the starting rotation, Milwaukee could be a dark horse.
3) Houston - The Astros, with Miguel Tejada added to a lineup of Lance Berkman, Carlos Lee and Hunter Pence, will score runs. But besides Roy Oswalt, they'll have problems stopping other teams from doing the same.
4) Cincinnati - The Reds are slowly but surely getting better and could very easily top .500. If Homer Bailey and Edison Volquez emerge in the starting rotation, you can bump the Reds past Houston.
5) St. Louis - Has it really been only two years since the Cardinals won the World Series? The lineup is bascially Albert Pujols and nothing else and the pitching staff has all but died. This team is losing 90 easily.
6) Pittsburgh - The Pirates actually have some decent pitching in Ian Snell, Tom Gorzelanny and Matt Capps in the pen. It's the hitting, or lack of it, that will give the Pirates their 16th straight losing season.

NL East

1) New York Mets - After blowing a 7-game lead in 17 days, the Mets are on a mission. With Johan Santana heading the rotation and David Wright heading the lineup, Mr. Met will be smiling.
2) Philadelphia - The Phillies can smack it around with Ryan Howard, Chase Utley and Jimmy Rollins and have two good young pitchers in Cole Hamels and Brett Myers. The Mets just have a bit more.
3) Atlanta - The Braves' lineup is on the verge of explosion, with the rich farm system producing a bevy of batters to protect Mark Teixiera. Its the geriatric starting rotation of John Smoltz, Tom Glavine and Mike Hampton that makes me skeptical.
4) Florida - The Marlins are going to be horrible, but have a great double play combo in Hanley Ramirez and Dan Uggla. It's too bad those guys can't pitch though.
5) Washington - The Nationals have slightly better pitching, led by Don Lugo product Chad Cordero in the bullpen, but their lineup isn't great. Its a toss up with Florida for last.

AL West
1) Seattle - I like the front of the Mariners' rotation with the acquistion of Erik Bedard to go with Felix Hernandez. An underrated lineup and a lights-out closer in J.J. Putz will have the Mariners in the playoffs.
2) LA of Anaheim - The Angels seem to already be dealing with the injury bug. They have a deep rotation and an outfield with power, but there just seems to be a weird karma with them that I can place.
3) Oakland - The A's are definitely down and won't go anywhere, even with a healthy Rich Harden. The lineup doesn't hit for average or power, which is pretty rough.
4) Texas - The pitching stinks as usual and the hitting isn't nearly as potent as it has been in the past. What does that mean? An early countdown to Cowboys training camp.

AL Central
1) Cleveland - I'm a Tigers fan so I hate to do this, but I think the Indians have the best combination of hitting, starting pitching and relief. In fact, this is my pick to win the World Series, especially if they can upgrade past Joe Borowski at closer.
2) Detroit - The Tigers' lineup is a Murderer's Row of the new millenium. They have a deep starting rotation led by my Cy Young pick, Justin Verlander. The bullpen, however, could be a disaster, which is why I can't put Detroit over Cleveland.
3) Chicago - The White Sox faltered last year, but will have a lineup that will hit tons of home runs. The pitching, while not what it was three years ago when they won the World Series, should be good enough to get it over .500.
4) Kansas City - The Royals started to show signs of life in the second half of last year. Their young hitters should be a year better and their pitching has gone from horrible to mediocre. This division is too loaded to put them any higher.
5) Minnesota - Two years ago, the Twins had a great young rotation and a bevy of talented hitters. Now they have a great closer in Joe Nathan, a few young hitters, and not much else.

AL East
1) Boston - The Red Sox have no real weaknesses, as their lineup is solid, their bullpen is good and their starting rotation is pretty decent. Boston doesn't quite have the upside in those categories that other teams do, but will give a good title defense effort.
2) New York - The Yankees, as always, will tear the cover off the ball. Their bullpen, with Joba Chamberlain and Mariano Rivera, is strong. The starting pitching is questionable, which is why the Yanks are here.
3) Toronto - There's not much seperating the Blue Jays from the Red Sox or Yanks. The starting rotation might even be the best of the three. They are a little behind in hitting and the bullpen though, hence the pick.
4) Tampa Bay - Despite trying to destroy itself, the Rays actually have a ton of good talent and could flirt with .500. This year should be decent, but how long until they unload talent to pinch a penny here and there?
5) Baltimore - The Orioles could be the worst team in baseball. Between them and the Nationals, its going to be a tough time to be a baseball fan in Maryland and Virginia.

Posted by TJ Berka at 2:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

When the tournament brackets were released on CBS two weeks ago, CBS analyst Clark Kellogg made what I thought was the stupidest possible prediction, as he prognosticated that all four No. 1 seeds would advance to the Final Four. With only one more day left before the Final Four is set, Kellogg may be right.

With the two No. 1 seeds, UCLA and North Carolina, winning Saturday and two more No. 1 seeds, Kansas and Memphis, favored today, Armageddon may happen. Usually two or less of the top seeds make the Final Four, as Florida and Ohio State last year were joined by No. 2 UCLA and No. 2 Georgetown. In fact, only one year, 1993, saw three No. 1s make the Final Four, with North Carolina, Michigan and Kentucky doing the trick. That seems likely to repeat itself this year.

But will all four make it? Read below to find out.
Midwest Region
No. 10 Davidson vs. No. 1 Kansas
Cinderella is still shaking her thing, as the Wildcats destroyed Wisconsin on Friday to keep their remarkable story. At this point, we have to consider that Davidson, with super sophomore Stephen Curry, is for real. They have taken out the Big East and Big Ten champions in this tourney and came extremely close to beating North Carolina, Duke and UCLA in the pre-conference season. It's a cute story, but if Kansas treats Davidson as cute, it'll be sorry.
I still think a Final Four that involves Bill Self would be bizarre. Self is king of losing in the Elite 8, doing it with three different teams in Tulsa (2000), Illinois (2001) and Kansas (2004, 2007). Is the fifth time the charm. It darn well better be, as Self will have a hard time rationalizing a loss here.
Unless you live in Kansas, you'll be cheering for Davidson. But I think Cinderella finally hits curfew.
Pick: Kansas

South Region
No. 2 Texas vs. No. 1 Memphis
Now that I've picked Kansas to advance, only Texas can prevent the tournament board from being completely chalk. They'll have a heck of a time doing that against the Tigers, who made a good Michigan State team look completely slow and incompetent in the first half of Friday's game.
If Memphis comes out like that against Texas, or whoever it plays from here on out, its holding the championship trophy next Monday. They have an awesome point guard in Derrick Rose, who I was completely impressed and enthralled by Friday, as he dissected the Spartans with ease. They also can go 10-11 deep off their bench.
The coolest matchup of the day, and maybe of the tournament from here on out, will be Rose against Texas point guard D.J. Augustin. Augustin was similarly spectacular against Stanford and can hang with Rose. In fact, I guarantee you he will. If that happens, then I think the pro-Longhorn crowd in Houston will guide Texas to the Final Four.
Pick: Texas

Posted by TJ Berka at 9:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Well, if there's an upset to be had out there, I won't pick it (thanks Davidson). If there's an upset that won't happen, I'll claim it as so (thanks Michigan State). Keep that in mind on my picks the rest of the way, as Memphis continues to make me look bad with every passing second.

East Region final
No. 3 Louisville vs. No. 1 North Carolina
A No. 1 seed has to lose in this round, right? You would have thought that one of them would have bit the dust by now, but all four of them are still kicking and looking good (well, besides UCLA maybe). Of the top seeds, UNC has been the most impressive.
I wasn't necessarily impressed by the 100-plus point beatdowns of Mt. St. Mary's and Arkansas. No, what really got me was the fact that they beat Washington State at their own game relatively easily. Of course, now that I say that, they'll lose this one.
To be honest, Louisville is a team that could give UNC problems. They have the size on the interior to give Tyler Hansbrough issues and they have quickness on the perimeter. They also have Rick Pitino, which is worth something.
So will I pick Louisville? I'm tempted, but I won't. That could come back to haunt me though.
Pick: North Carolina

Posted by TJ Berka at 8:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I must say Xavier has become my albatross in this tournament, as the Musketeers continue to punish me for my insolence. For two weeks now, I keep talk about how Xavier is ripe for a fall. For two weeks now, the Muskies have given me a middle finger.

Now Xavier going against UCLA, who while winning, isn't exactly earning style points. Last night saw Western Kentucky, with the red blob mascot that looks either like Grimace's cousin or a reject from the Island of Misfit Toys, almost erase a 21-point deficit. Etiwanda graduate Darren Collison looks overmatched against Tyrone Brazelton - being outscored 31-4 before fouling out with over five minutes left in the game. Meanwhile, Xavier coolly dispatched a sneaky-good West Virginia team in overtime.
UCLA seems to be asking to lose, or at least intent on creating drama. Only beating a offensively-meek Texas A&M team by two points thanks to a controversial non-foul? Letting Western Kentucky come back from 21 down to pull within four late? Yikes.
I should pick Xavier. But I’ve been picking against the Musketeers this entire tourney and I’m too stubborn to change now.

Posted by TJ Berka at 3:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This might be the most wide-open of regions going into the Sweet 16, which makes sense because it was the most wide-open region coming in. Unlike other regions, which had the Western Kentuckys and Washington States of the world advance, you can name any of the four teams left and see them in the Final Four. With Memphis, Texas, Stanford and Michigan State, you have teams that have been there before or have an excess of talent.

It'll be interesting to see how this region breaks down. This is my take.

No. 5 Michigan State vs. No. 1 Memphis
The Spartans that were expected to be a force in the beginning of the season came out big time in Denver, as MSU dispatched two red-hot teams in Memphis and Pittsburgh with impressive flair. Michigan State is experienced, has good guard play, athleticism on the wing and a bunch of big guys who, at the very least, can rebound and defend.
Memphis has scads of talent and can probably run circles around any team in the field, except possibly Kansas and North Carolina, in a pickup game. Problem is, college basketball isn't a pick up game and Tom Izzo does a great job of making teams play the Spartans' tempo during tourney time. MSU will keep it close, allowing Memphis' team free-throw percentage of 57 percent to rear its ugly head. One of the No. 1 seeds have to lose before the Elite 8 and Memphis is my pick to do just that.
Pick: Michigan State

No. 3 Stanford vs. No. 2 Texas
I was concerned about this matchup for the Longhorns coming in, as 7-foot twins Brook and Robin Lopez are two inches taller than anyone that Texas plays regularly. I'm not as concerned any more after seeing Stanford almost lose to Marquette. Marquette, despite having 6-6 Lazar Hayward having to guard one of the Lopezes most of the game, was able to come within 1.2 seconds of beating the Cardinal thanks to a backcourt quickness advantage.
The Warriors' threesome of Dominic James, Jerel McNeal and Wesley Matthews had a field day driving by the Stanford guards and creating shots, be it 12-footers or layup opportunties. Texas' backcourt of D.J. Augustin, A.J. Abrams and Justin Mason are arguably more skilled than what Marquette has, while big guys Connor Atchley and Dexter Pittman are undoubtedly bigger than the Marquette interior. Texas has the personnel to beat Stanford and if it paid attention to the Marquette game, now has the blueprint.
Pick: Texas

Posted by TJ Berka at 1:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Except for top-seeded Kansas, who blitzed through its first two opponents, the Midwest Regional was Bizarro World. Kramer had a briefcase full of crackers for his 9-to-5 job, Elaine met Bizarro Jerry, George and Kramer, George dated models and Jerry was disorganized.

Davidson's Stephen Curry and Villanova's Scottie Reynolds could probably date some models, or maybe some hot campus co-eds, after their performances in the first two rounds, allowing No. 10 Davidson and No. 12 Villanova to fill the role of the dual Cinderella.

Can they continue? That's the million-dollar question.

No. 10 Davidson vs. No. 3 Wisconsin
Curry has been out of control during victories over Gonzaga and Georgetown, combining for 70 points - 55 in the second half - in the two wins. The son of former NBA standout Dell Curry was straight ballin' in the clutch as has made the Wildcats, who are located somewhere near Charlotte, into national darlings.
Wisconsin is no one's darling. The Badgers are more likely to hit you with a tire iron then exhibit any sort of graces, as they won the Big Ten with in-your-face defense. Their key player is guard Michael Flowers, who's main skill is taking the opposing team's best guard and subduing him.
It will be hard to subdue Curry, who is averaging 35 points per game in the tourney. If Wisconsin keeps him to his regular season average of 25 though, it'll move on.
Pick: Wisconsin.

No. 12 Villanova vs. No. 1 Kansas
It seems asinine to regard the Wildcats, who are out of the Big East and who are making their third Sweet 16 appearance in four years, as a Cinderella. But Nova was a surprise tournament pick (and a pick dissed at length by me) and got by a hot team in No. 5 Clemson in the first round, thanks to 21 points by Reynolds. Reynolds, a 6-foot-1 sophomore, proceeded to destroy fellow Cinderella Siena with 25 points in the second round.
Can Nova's ride last against the Jayhawks? Me thinks not. Kansas comes at you in waves, going 10 deep and having a roster that the Miami Heat would consider being jealous of. Well, maybe not, but you get my drift. Villanova proved me wrong in getting this far, but I don't see it continuing that trend.
Pick: Kansas

Posted by TJ Berka at 7:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Upland quarterback Josh Nunes, who has already received eight scholarship offers, is rated the No. 45 player in the country according to Rivals.

Nunes has received scholarship offers from Arizona, Arizona State, California, Colorado, Hawaii San Diego State, Stanford and Utah already and is getting interest from UCLA and Notre Dame.
Marlon Pollard, a Cajon cornerback who has already verbally committed to UCLA, clocks in next at No. 86. Arroyo Valley offensive tackle Michael Philipp, who has scholarship offers from Arizona, Arizona State, Cal, Colorado, Oregon, Oregon State, Stanford and Washington, is ranked No. 121, while Los Osos quarterback Richard Brehaut, who has a San Diego State offer, is rated No. 241.

Posted by TJ Berka at 4:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Cajon quarterback Taylor Martinez, who helped lead the Cowboys to a 6-5 record and a victory over Pasadena Muir in the first round of the CIF-SS Central Division playoffs, transferred to Corona Centennial over the winter.

Martinez, who was commuting to Cajon from Norco every day, left school shortly after the season and enrolled at Centennial, a much shorter commute from his home.
"I know that he left pretty shortly after the season ended," Cajon coach Kim Battin said Thursday. "The commute was really tough on him and his mother. His mother was pregnant with twins and they'd get caught in traffic coming up here and then going back. It would be 45 minutes each way, and that will get to you."
Transferring isn't new for Martinez, who came to Cajon from Norco in January 2007. The 6-1, 185-pound senior will be a senior for the Huskies, who went to the Division I State Championship Bowl in December. Martinez has received early recruiting interest from Iowa State, Michigan State, San Diego State and Vanderbilt according to Rivals.com, though he has not been offered a scholarship as of yet.
While Battin is unclear about what position that Martinez, who is listed as an athlete in his Rivals.com page, will play at Centennial, the Huskies employ a spread offense similar to the one Cajon employs. Centennial's most recent quarterback, Matt Scott, signed with Arizona State in February.
Cajon has had a highly-touted transfer come in, as defensive back Marlon Pollard, a UCLA verbal commit, moved in from Valencia this winter.
"Marlon is quite an acquisition," said Battin, who expects Pollard to play wide receiver and defensive back. "He's so smooth to the ball on defense, I get confused and think he's running routes."
As far as the quarterbacks left, Battin expects Martinez's spot to be filled by incoming senior Ronald Sereno or incoming sophomore Thomas Carter, who sparkled on Cajon's freshman team. Spring practice, which will begin on May 12, will help to establish a quarterbacking hierarchy.

Posted by TJ Berka at 3:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I might not have been right about everything in the West region (far from it actually) but one thing I nailed was that there would be whining about the officiating in a UCLA game. That happened in the Bruins' second-round game against Texas A&M, as a controversial no-call in the final seconds helped UCLA escape with a 51-49 victory Saturday.

Here's a picture of the incident, where UCLA's Josh Shipp appears to rake A&M guard Donald Sloan across the wrists to defend against his game-tying shot attempt, a move that's clearly illegal. Yet there was no whistle.

Anyway, the Aggies are up in arms. There has been a Facebook group called "Refs gave game to UCLA (pics to prove it)" created, with Sloan being one of the key members. Either way, the A&M crowd, and random bitter USC and Pac-10 fans, have another way to vent.

Now to my venting on tomorrow's West Region semifinal games:

No. 12 Western Kentucky vs. No. 1 UCLA
Anyone still upset about the Bruins being here, say your piece now (waiting...waiting...waiting...). Ok, UCLA, while not pretty against the Aggies, shouldn't feel bad about winning that game. Etiwanda graduate Darren Collison was straight ballin', with five 3-pointers and two skillfully-placed driving layups in the final minute, while Kevin Love was dominant both offensively and defensively. UCLA will continue to be a threat to win it all because of that defense, a D that gave up only 49 to the Aggies and 29 to Mississippi Valley State (who might be the worst Division I team I've seen live, by the way).
The Colonels are tied with Villanova for the lowest-remaining seed alive and have the buzzer-beating moment of the tournament, as Ty Rogers hit a 30-foot 3-pointer while almost falling out-of-bounds to shock Drake in the first round. Western Kentucky is good, but all Cinderellas must turn into a pumpkin. A 12 has never beaten a 1, a trend that won't be stopped tomorrow.
Pick: UCLA

No. 7 West Virginia vs. No. 3 Xavier
The Mountaineers might be my best call of the tournament. In this space, I had them beating Duke and playing in the Sweet 16 and they pulled through, stomping the Blue Devils and making millions of Duke-haters across the country rejoice. Shockingly, this is WVU's third foray into this round in four years - something that's only been done by North Carolina, Memphis and UCLA. Pretty high ground for a program that's rarely discussed among the country's elite.
Xavier is back in the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2004 and quite frankly, made me look pretty stupid. The Musketeers, after being called the weakest three seed in a while by myself, have used big second halves to sink Georgia and Purdue.in the first two rounds.
But while I've been impressed with Xavier, I'm sticking to my guns. Make me look smart West Virginia.
Pick: West Virginia

Posted by TJ Berka at 7:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Well, I must say my picks last week were a mixed bag. My upset specials were all horrid and stunk to high heaven and I was completely wrong to say that Villanova was a fraud, but I must say I was right about telling people to stay away from Vandy and Pitt and bet high on West Virginia. Anyone who rolled the dice on Michigan State, like I advocated in the South Region breakdown, is playing with house money at this point.

Well, with the field down to 16, I'll be breaking down each game individually from now on. Let's do this, starting with the East Region.

No. 4 Washington State vs. No. 1 North Carolina
I was skeptical of the Cougars prior to the tourney, as their defense had been spotty during the Pac-10 season. But Wazzu has turned up the defense as high as any team in the tourney has in a long time, holding Winthrop and Notre Dame to 41 points each. Pretty sick stuff if you ask me.
North Carolina has been the opposite, putting up over a hundy on Mount St. Mary's and Arkansas. The Heels are getting production from their entire team and are extremely fun to watch.
So there you have it. One team basically serves as valium and forces the opposition to hit themselves with their own limbs, while the other scores like its chugging Red Bull on a bullet train. As far as matchups go, this could be the best from a pure strategic standpoint. The Cougars will hold Carolina under 100 and cause some tense moments, but the Carolina Blue has too much talent to lose to a team led by a ponytailed pointguard.
Pick: North Carolina

No. 3 Louisville vs. No. 2 Tennessee
I'm not sure if I have as much to write about this one, which is a shame because its a wonderful matchup. Cardinals coach Rick Pitino has been to four Final Fours with three teams and has a group that's rolling. Louisville made short work of Boise State and completely dismantled Oklahoma, which would have been better advised to just lay down and give me one upset that actually came through. The heck with the Sooners and everyone who looks like them.
As far as Tennessee, their trip to the Sweet 16 has been more stressful. American University - not to be confused with the University of the United States in the movie Coming to America - actually was within a score of the Vols with five minutes left before fading and Butler took them to overtime. So Tennessee is battle tested.
The line between battle tested and vulnerable is a thin one. Louisville can match up with Tennessee athletically on the perimeter and will handle the press. Expect the Cardinals to slug this one out and advance.
Pick: Louisville

Posted by TJ Berka at 9:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The final of our four regions is extremely wide-open, as any one of the top five seeds have a realistic shot of making it to the Final Four in San Antonio. Memphis, Texas, Stanford, Pittsburgh and even Michigan State could make a run, depending on how things go down.

Overall theme:
It's all about point of view. No. 1 seed Memphis has the depth and athleticism, but play in a weak conference and have free throw shooting issues. No. 2 Texas has superior guard play and a favorable draw, but is lacking a true post presence. No. 3 Stanford has the Lopez twins in the middle, but haven't played well in tournaments past. No. 4 Pittsburgh is hot coming off the Big East Tournament, but has perimeter shooting issues and seems to get gummed up in the Sweet 16. No. 5 Michigan State has a deep roster and coach Tom Izzo, but has been maddeningly inconsistent away from home. I think you get the point now.

Watch out for: Texas
Yes, I mentioned that Texas lacks a true post presence. Although Damion James rebounds, the Longhorns' center, Conor Atchley, is more of a perimeter presence. That could be a problem if Texas plays the Lopez twins and Stanford in the Sweet 16.
But the Longhorns have much more going for them than drawbacks. The backcourt combination of point guard D.J. Augustin (a probable NBA lottery pick) and A.J. Abrams can score in bunches and the Longhorns will play their Sweet 16 and Elite 8 games at Reliant Stadium in Houston, a venue that's sure to be bathed in burnt orange. Since I don't see Austin Peay or the St. Mary's-Miami winner taking down the Horns, I figure this team is a Final Four squad waiting to happen.

Stay away from: Pittsburgh
A lot of people are on the Panthers' jock after their run to the Big East Tournament championship. I even saw someone on ESPN picking the Panthers to go to the final. To these people, I really suggest that they step away from the plank and take Pitt for what its worth. Right before the Big East tourney, Pitt was beat down by West Virginia. They are tough in the middle (all Pitt teams are) and have a sweet swingman in Sam Young, but the Panthers have had backcourt problems due to inconsistency (Ronald Ramon) and injuries (Levance Fields and Mike Cook).
Sure, Pitt could make the Sweet 16. It has four times since 2002. But there's no way Pitt is getting past Memphis and could even be tripped up by Michigan State or Temple in round two.

High risk, high reward: Michigan State
Coming into the season, the Spartans were the odds-on favorite to win the Big Ten. But as has been the pattern in recent years, Michigan State struggled on the road and finished fourth with an experienced squad. Needless to say, Denver isn't East Lansing and the Spartans run into a red-hot team in No. 12 Temple, the Atlantic 10 champion. MSU could easily lose in the first round, as it did to George Mason in 2006 and Nevada in 2004.
However, this Spartan team has perimeter scoring in Drew Neitzel and Kalin Lucas, an athletic, multifaceted swingman in Raymar Morgan and a cadre of physical post players. They also have Tom Izzo, who led a No. 5-seeded Michigan State team to a Final Four in 2005. If MSU. who beat Texas in Austin in December, steps it up, don't be surprised if Izzo goes back to the Final Four for the fifth time in 10 seasons.

Upset special: No. 11 Kentucky over No. 6 Marquette, first round
There are so many possible upsets that could come from this region, but I feel like this one has the best shot of happening. While I'm not a huge fan of Kentucky being in the tourney, it seems as Billy Gillispie's style is starting to pay benefits in Lexington. Gillispie teams lock down on defense and play hardnosed inside. It will be very interesting to see Marquette's three-guard punch of Dominic James, Jerel McNeal and Wesley Matthews take on the Kentucky perimeter of Joe Crawford, Ramel Bradley and Jodie Meeks.
Neither team has an inside attack worth mentioning, but the Golden Eagles haven't won a first-round game since Dwyane Wade led them to the Final Four in 2003. He beat Kentucky to do that, something that the Big Blue's fans haven't forgotten.

Lead-pipe lock: The average SAT score at Honda Center Thursday afternoon will be 1350
The Stanford band's main schtick is to mockingly belittle its opponents, as it did when it wore rednecky overalls to lampoon Mississippi State during the 2005 first round. However, the Cardinal band will be in rare position of being mocked for its academic shortcomings, as No. 3 Stanford will be playing Ivy League champion Cornell at 2 p.m. I really don't know anything about the Big Red (and I refuse to look), but I do know that the valedictorian of my high school went there. There was a girl who went to Stanford in my high school class as well, but she was further down the line. While Cornell will lose, at least they have that going for them.

Posted by TJ Berka at 11:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Here's the region most of you are looking forward to, as UCLA headlines this region. No. 2 Duke and No. 4 UConn also bring the West star power.

Overall theme:
This region should be a UCLA walk in the park. If I'm a Bruins fan, I'm chestbumping everyone I see, as this region seems to set up perfectly for a third straight Final Four. With the first two games virtually at home at Honda Center, UCLA should have a relatively easy walk into the Sweet 16. The region's No. 2 seed, Duke, is a perfect matchup for the Bruins. Although the Blue Devils have plenty of guards that can hit the open three, UCLA's backcourt is much more athletic and can lock down on defense. Duke also will have a problem with Love and Mbah a Moute inside.
The only team I really see that can knock off UCLA is Uconn. The No. 4 Huskies have good guard play in A.J. Price and Jerome Dyson and an intimidating shot blocking presence in 7-foot-3 sophomore Hasheem Thabeet. If anyone poses a threat to UCLA, its the Huskies.

Watch out for: West Virginia
I will admit that I'm not 100 percent on this pick, just because Bob Huggins had questionable tournament success with some pretty darn good teams at the end of his Cincinnati run. But the Mountaineers, albeit under former coach John Beilein, have had some great runs lately, going to the Elite 8 in 2005 as a No. 7 seed and coming a buzzer-beating Texas 3-pointer short of repeating the feat in 2006.
There are some remnants from that team, but the real reason I like the Mountaineers is junior forward Joe Alexander. Alexander is on a serious roll right now, averaging 25 points per game over the last eight games. He's definitely a guy who can take over games against No. 10 Arizona and No. 2 Duke in the first two rounds. With a jumble of No. 3 Xavier, No. 6 Purdue and No. 11 Baylor awaiting in the Sweet 16, it could be WVU awaiting the Bruins in the regional final.

Stay away from: Xavier
The Musketeers are probably one of the weaker No. 3 seeds I've seen in a while. At 27-6, they have a gaudy record, but the majority of their work was done earlier in the season. With a red-hot No. 14 Georgia team fresh of a historic SEC tournament champ, the Muskies could be done pretty early.
I personally think Xavier will take Georgia, but I don't have them surviving the winner of the game between Purdue and Baylor. I feel Purdue, while young, is more battle-tested and I feel that Baylor could be the bubble sleeper. So while I apologize to my cousin Chuck for dissing his alma mater, stay away from Xavier.

High risk, high reward: Drake
Where is Drake you say? Apparently its in Des Moines, Iowa and it's the alma mater of actor Jeremy Piven, best known for his role of Ari Gold in Entourage (he's also awesome in PCU, but that discussion is for another day). The Bulldogs (I had to look that up) are in the tournament for the first time in 37 years, but don't let that fool you. The No. 5 seed can ball.
Drake won the always-tough Missouri Valley Conference (best known as the home of the Southern Illinois Salukis) with a 28-4 record and can flat out shoot the ball. They even have a Korver, as Klayton Korver shows the same shooting touch as his older brother Kyle, a standout on the Utah Jazz. With their shooting, Drake can hang with pretty much everyone.
But as with any shooting teams, especially ones that aren't overly athletic, they are vulnerable if there's a lid on the rim. With No. 12 Western Kentucky looming in the first round, the Bulldogs' stay could be brief. But if the 3-ball is going down, Drake could be darlings.

Upset special: No. 11 Baylor over No. 6 Purdue, first round
I have a soft spot for the Bears. Maybe its because my sister went there. Maybe its because its located in Waco, Texas, the home of Dr. Pepper and the Branch Davidians. Maybe its because of the unspeakably horrible tragedy that affilicted the program five years ago. Either way, I'm down with the Bears.
But its not just emotional. Baylor has an experience point guard in Aaron Bruce and two other guards in Curtis Jerrells and Tweety Carter than can flat out score. Add in forward LaceDarius Dunn, and the Bears can kill you on the perimeter.
Purdue is a good team, having taken second in the Big Ten. But they are a younger team and don't have the inside strength to counteract Baylor's perimeter game. I see the Bears winning this, and beating the Xavier-Georgia winner.

Lead-pipe lock: That there will be lot of complaining about biased refereeing.
This region has two of the heavyweights when it comes to opposing fans complaining about preferential referee treatment - Duke and UCLA. The bellyaching about Duke has taken place since the Danny Ferry/Christian Laettner era, as Coach K and his assortment of clean-cut white boys have always been an object for frustrating fans.
The UCLA thing is more recent. The Bruins have gotten the benefit of the doubt on questionable calls lately, with the "phantom" foul on Darren Collison by Stanford allowing the Bruins to tie and the Cal fiasco - where Ryan Anderson was allegedly fouled on an in-bounds attempt where the ball was deflected out-of-bounds to UCLA despite seeming to go off the Bruins. That doesn't even mention Josh Shipp's totally awesome, but maybe illegal, over the backboard game-winning shot. To make a short story long, expect a lot of whining in this region.

Posted by TJ Berka at 4:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

We'll stay on the right side of the bracket (according the one we are running in the Sun) and head to the Midwest. This region might be the most entertaining of the four, with great teams (Kansas, Georgetown, Wisconsin) combining with great individual players (Kansas State F Michael Beasley, Vanderbilt G/F Shan Foster, Davidson G Stephen Curry) for what should be entertaining theatre. Oh yeah, there's some guy named Mayo playing for USC worth watching.

Overall theme:
Besides what I discussed before, this region is extremely balanced and might have the most teams who have a realistic shot at the Final Four. While No. 1 seed Kansas and No. 2 seed Georgetown are obvious contenders to make it to San Antonio, one would be remiss if they didn't consider teams like No. 3 Wisconsin, No. 4 Vanderbilt, No. 5 Clemson or No. 6 USC.
But what really makes this region a make-or-break entity on your sheet is that each of those teams could easily tumble early. Only Kansas seems to be a no-brainer to make it to the Sweet 16. The Hoyas, who made the Final Four a year ago, could easily be tripped up by the Gonzaga-Davidson winner in the second round, while Wisconsin could be taken out by USC or Kansas State, who could kill a Trojan run before it starts. Clemson could make a run, unless it loses to Vanderbilt, who could lose to Siena. And to borrow a line from Austin Powers, I think I've just gone cross-eyed.

Watch out for: Clemson
Right after I talk about how difficult it could be for Clemson, I go and give the Tigers props. Am I schizophrenic? Possibly, but that's what the Midwest region does for you. I really like the Tigers because of their athleticism and their backcourt play. K.C. Rivers can create his shot from the wing, Cliff Hammonds is a seasoned point and Terrence Oglesby's range is anywhere within the time zone from where he's shooting. Their inside guys, Trevor Booker and James Mays, aren't huge, but are athletic and good passers.
The Tigers could easily take out Kansas in the Sweet 16, as I see them cruising past No. 12 Villanova (who shouldn't be in the tournament) in round one and dispatching No. 4 Vanderbilt, who has problems playing away from home. The only thing that concerns me about Clemson is its free throw shooting, but the Tigers hit 7 of 8 late in their ACC semifinal victory over Duke Saturday. If they do that, they'll be money.

Stay away from: Vanderbilt
I hinted at this one above, but I'm not sold on the Commodores. Yes, they beat Tennessee when the Vols were No. 1 a few weeks back and gave Kentucky a prodigious beating in January. But those games were at home in Nashville, which is 705 miles away from Tampa, where the Commodores will be playing Friday, and presumably, Sunday. But even Sunday isn't guaranteed for Vanderbilt, as it plays a tough No. 13 seed in Siena. Daily News columnist Tom Hoffarth has already gone on the record in picking a Siena upset and while I won't go that far, his concern about Vandy is well-founded.
The Commodores, while perfect at home, struggled on the road in SEC play, only winning 2 of 8 games. Losing to Arkansas in their first SEC tournament game didn't alleviate concerns. I think Vandy faces a matchup problem with Clemson in the second round and falls there, if not to Siena in the round prior.

High risk, high reward: USC
This may seem like a hometown pick, but I think the No. 6 Trojans are an interesting swing team. Talent-wise, they can hang with anyone in this region, with only Kansas seeming to have more raw talent. However, the Trojans, while capable of beating teams like UCLA, are also capable of losing to teams like Mercer. Which is why they are in this category.
Looking at the bracket, I can see USC beating No. 3 Wisconsin - which is like UCLA without the elite talent - in round two. The Badgers can lock down on defense, but they don't have the shot creation ability that the Trojans have. I could even seen USC beating No. 2 Georgetown in the Sweet 16, though the Hoyas play a similar style to Trojan nemesis Washington State. But I could also see USC crashing and burning against No. 11 Kansas State and freshman phenom Michael Beasley in the first round.

Upset special: No. 5 Clemson over No. 1 Kansas, Sweet 16
I'm going out at a limb here, just because I really don't feel like being lame and picking No. 10 Davidson over No. 7 Gonzaga. 10-7 and 9-8 matchups are basically toss-ups anyway, so for me to pick that would be a gross misuse of my duties as an edgy sportswriter. So I'm repeating myself with Clemson.
Don't get me wrong, Kansas is good. They have pretty much everything you can ask for - balanced scoring from the inside and outside and a deep bench. But I'm not a big fan of Bill Self at tournament time. He was never able to get Illinois over the hump and into the Final Four and he's been equally as unsuccessful with loads of talent at Kansas. Clemson, having taking North Carolina to the wire three times and beating Duke in the ACC tournament, will not be intimidated by what the Jayhawks have to offer.

Lead-pipe lock: There will be a feeding frenzy of NBA scouts at the USC-Kansas State game
As far as pure entertainment value, it doesn't get much better than Mayo vs. Beasley. NBA scouts tend to agree. While Mayo and Beasley won't guard each other, they will be competing against each other as far as how to disperse the millions that both are sure to see when they declare for the NBA draft, presumably this spring. Beasley looks like a no-brainer No. 1 draft pick while Mayo could valut himself into the top 5 with a big tournament. Add in other NBA prospects, such as USC sophomore post Taj Gibson, USC freshman forward Davon Jefferson and Kansas State sophomore forward Bill Walker, and professional scouts will be plenty busy.

Posted by TJ Berka at 6:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

After yesterday's rambling introduction, we'll start the breakdowns with the East Regional, headlined by overall No. 1 seed North Carolina.

Overall theme:
This region is completely loaded. The Tar Heels may have received the No. 1 seed in the entire tournament, but the committee didn't do them any favors, making the journey to the Final Four exceedingly difficult.
After potentially having to face a talented, if not dysfunctional, No. 8 Indiana team in the second round, the Heels will likely get matched up with a grinding, slow-down team in No. 4 Washington State, a potent No. 5 Notre Dame team or a No. 12 George Mason team that defeated the Tar Heels en route to a Cinderella Final Four in 2006. The other side of the bracket is no picnic either, with No. 2 Tennessee (the SEC regular season champion) and a senior-laden No. 3 Louisville team (led by Rick Pitino and his six Final Four berths with three different schools) headlining that portion of the bracket.

Watch out for: Louisville.
Obviously North Carolina is the favorite in this region, and rightfully so. But the Cardinals are intriguing because they can play a variety of styles offensively and lock down defensively. They equipped themselves well in the hard-nosed Big East, employing the size of 6-foot-11 senior David Padgett, 6-8, 265-pound sophomore Derrick Caracter and 6-9 senior Juan Palacios. They also have solid guard play in Earl Clark, Moreno Valley native Andre McGee and sophomore Jerry Smith. Add in Terrence Williams, who is as athletic as they come, and Louisville can hang with the Tennessee's and North Carolina's of the world.

Stay away from: Indiana.
On the surface, the Hoosiers look like a perfect upstart. They were 25-7 in the Big Ten, have a go-to scorer in freshman Eric Gordon (21.3 points per game) who will be a top 5 NBA draft pick in June and a dominant post presence in senior D.J. White (17.3 points, 10.4 rebounds per game). But this team's karma is horrible. Since Kelvin Sampson resigned under pressure due to possible NCAA violations a month ago, the Hoosiers have lost at a bad Penn State team, been blown out by Michigan State and lost a buzzer-beater to Minnesota in Christian Laettner-esque fashion in the Big Ten Tournament. They almost lost to Big Ten doormat Northwestern as well. The Hoosiers look spent and should fall to No. 9 Arkansas in round one.

High risk, high reward: Notre Dame.
The Irish have all you could ever want in a tournament contender, with a go-to player in sophomore forward Luke Harangody (20.8 points, 10.2 rebounds per game), good guard play from junior Kyle McAlarney and sophomore Tory Jackson, and a squad that shoots 3-pointers at a 41 percent clip. The Irish have all the elements necessary to upset North Carolina and get to the Elite 8, but could also bite the dust against George Mason in round one. Even without Mason's run to the Final Four two years ago, the Colonial Athletic Association is known for its upsets. VCU took out Duke last year and George Mason could do the same to the Irish. But if Notre Dame survives, look out.

Upset special: No. 11 St. Joseph's over No. 6 Oklahoma, first round.
I was tempted to go with No. 13 Winthrop over No. 4 Washington State here, but went with the Hawks. St. Joseph's may have the coolest mascot concept in the country, as their Hawk must keep flapping his "wings" constantly during an entire game. Another thing they have is a history of winning NCAA Tournament games. The Hawks have won their first-round game in four of their last five tournament appearances, most recently going on a run to the Elite 8 in 2004. This Hawks team is led by senior Pat Calathes and junior Ahmad Nivins and defeated Xavier, the No. 3 seed in the West Region, twice.
The Sooners have bounced back nicely from the tumultous end to the Kelvin Sampson era, finishing third in the Big 12 behind freshman foward Blake Griffin. But these Sooners are young and slight overachievers, making them ripe for the upset.

Lead-pipe lock: Bruce Pearl will wear something ridiculous
Ok, so this has nothing to do with the bracket. Or maybe it does, if you base your picks on bizarre clothing. But Pearl, the coach of the No. 2 Volunteers, is known for his outlandish attire, as he has worn a bright orange blazer or scrapped clothing all together, painting his chest orange to support the Tennessee women's team. So expect something crazy from Pearl in the next couple of weeks. As far as his team, the Vols can run and score with anyone, but have a hard time with teams that can break their full-court press. If it gets past Louisville (or even No. 7 Butler),to the Elite 8, I don't like the matchup against North Carolina or even Notre Dame.

Posted by TJ Berka at 3:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The unveiling of the NCAA Tournaments is like the sports version of Christmas in my opinion. I wait anxiously for weeks to see what Santa (a.k.a. the Tournament committee) would bring. Sometimes it sucks, like socks or an 18-14 Arizona team being in the tournament, and sometimes its outstanding (the absolutely loaded for bear East Region).

Anyway, ever since I've been in the professional journalism world, I've handicapped the NCAA Tournament with a region-by-region breakdown. In these breakdowns, I'll come up with a general theme for the region, a dark-horse team to watch, a team to stay away from (usually relatively high seed), an upset special and a lead-pipe lock. I'll do one of these per region.

Now, I must stress that there isn't a 100 percent guarantee. However, I did win pools in 2002 and 2003 (where I picked a Carmelo Anthony-led Syracuse team to defeat Kansas in the final) based on what I wrote in these breakdowns, plus picked Georgia Tech to reach the final in 2004. It's generally given me luck and hopefully, it will do the same for you.

As an appetizer, I'll throw out some sample categories of teams from my first glance at the bracket.

1) The "bubble" team done good.
Every year, there are a few at-large teams who people think shouldn't have been in the tournament. Typically, its a bigger school with a record barely above .500 who gets the benefit of the doubt or a smaller school that didn't win its conference tournament that snuck in. While most of these schools shrivel up and die an early death, there's usually one who makes a run to the Sweet 16. The best example of this phenomenon is George Mason in 2006, who went from being a questionable at-large selection from the unheralded Colonial Athletic Association to a Final Four team that knocked off big-conference powers Michigan State, North Carolina and UConn.
While George Mason is an extreme example, its not an isolated phenomenon. In my opinion, the teams that best fit this category are St. Joseph's (No. 11 seed East), Arizona (No. 10 West), Baylor (No. 11 West), Villanova (No. 12 Midwest), Kansas State (No. 11 Midwest), Kentucky (No. 11 South) and South Alabama (No. 10 East).
My preliminary pick in this category would be Baylor. They have an experience backcourt, have a favorable matchup with a young Purdue team in the first round and a winnable game against No. 3-seed Xavier in round two. My second pick would be South Alabama, who will have a homecourt advantage of sorts in Birmingham.
I would stay the heck away from Villanova and Arizona at all costs. Villanova has a horrible first-round matchup against an athletic Clemson team while underacheiving Arizona has to travel east to Washington D.C.

2) The conference tournament champion that shot its wad
The best example of this was also in 2006, as Syracuse went from a bubble team to an inflated No. 5 seed with a ridiculous run through the Big East Tournament. Not only did the Orange use all its energy to just make the tournament, but it got a seed that was a couple of rungs too high. Therefore, their upset loss to No. 12 Texas A&M that year was easy pickings. Kansas also had a similar thing happen that year - unexpectedly winning the Big 12 tournament to earn a No. 4 seed, only to crash and burn against Bradley.
This one has an obvious choice - Georgia. The Bulldogs, a 4-12 team in the SEC regular-season, somehow won four in a row at the conference tournament - including two on the same day - to sneak into the field. As a No. 14 seed, Georgia's stay will be brief.
As far as other less obvious examples, I'm skeptical about Pittsburgh. The Panthers won four straight to take the Big East tourney after struggling for the majority of the conference season. While the Panthers were a tourney team regardless, this weekend run have them seeded fourth in the south. Pitt faces a tournament-tested Oral Roberts team in round one and either Michigan State or Temple in round two. I'm picking the Panthers to be toast by then.

3) The conference tourney sandbagger
This team basically treats its conference tourney with disdain, losing earlier than it should, but comes up with a huge run once the big-boy tourney starts a week later. The best recent example of this is UCLA last year. The Bruins were cruising toward a No. 1 seed in 2007 prior to the Pac-10 tournament, but were shocked by Cal in the first round of that tournament.
That loss dropped the Bruins from a sure No. 1 seed to a No. 2 seed, but didn't affect UCLA's on-court play in the slightest. UCLA cruised to its second straight Final Four before losing to eventual national champion Florida - showing no ill-effects from its early conference tourney gaffe.
I'd say the best candidate for this is Tennessee, who's upset loss in the SEC Tournament dropped it from a probable No. 1 seed to a No. 2 seed in the loaded East regional.

There will be more to come, so buckle up.

Posted by TJ Berka at 5:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The 2008 All-Sunkist League girls soccer team, hot off the e-mail server from Kaiser coach Dave Showalter. Here's the first team...

Sunkist League
2008 All League 1st Team

Player Name Position Grade School

Bobbie Roberts Midfield 12 Kaiser High School
Cathia Sanchez Sweeper 12 Kaiser High School
Brittney Yip Midfield 12 Kaiser High School
Estephany Monroy Forward/Stopper 11 Kaiser High School
Emma Martinez Defense 10 Kaiser High School
Heather Johnson Sweep 12 Patriot High School
Lucy Salas C. Mid 12 Patriot High School
Christina Ascencio Forward 11 Patriot High School
Cristina Guillen L. Mid 12 Patriot High School
Silvia Sanchez Swp 10 Jurupa Valley High School
Stephanie Husted GK 12 Jurupa Valley High School
Becky Finn Def 10 Jurupa Valley High School
Amanda Zurborg Mid 11 Jurupa Valley High School
Ashley Gallegos Center Half 11 Summit High School
Elizabeth Amado Sweep/Forward 10 Summit High School
Briana Turner Forward 10 Summit High School
Crystal Sanchez F/CM 12 Bloomington High School
Heather Landis Stopper 12 Bloomington High School
Briana Silva Def 12 Bloomington High School
Sara Garcia Forward 10 Norte Vista High School

League MVP
Bobbie Roberts Kaiser High School


Coach of the Year
Mike Sanchez Norte Vista High School

Posted by TJ Berka at 6:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In talking to Colton head coach Harold Strauss, who was coaching at a football clinic in Oregon this weekend, he indicated that five Yellowjackets were invited to represent San Bernardino County in the Annual Riverside-San Bernardino County all-star football game on May 10. The game is available only to graduating seniors.

Invited were DE Damien Holmes, S Daniel Sorensen, OL Daniel Bernard and RBs Nick Reyes and Travelle Washington. Sorensen, Reyes and Washington are committed, while Bernard is opting out and Holmes is undecided, according to Strauss. Offensive lineman Tommy Garcia may replace Bernard, who was injured during the Southern California Bowl in late January.

Posted by TJ Berka at 5:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Here are the All-Baseline league teams for the winter sports.

Baseline All-League Boys Soccer 2008
MVP: James Iles Claremont 12 GK; Steven Wagner Los Osos 12 GK
1st Team
Larry Llamas Alta Loma 11 MF
Nathan Ono Alta Loma 12 D
Jonathan Cabrera Alta Loma 12 D
Tim Duir Claremont 12 MF
Matt OH Claremont 12 D
Kyu Hwang Claremont 11 F
Isaac Gomez Etiwanda 12 MF
Jaime Garcia Los Osos 12 F
Alejandro Serrano Los Osos 12 MF
Lee Nishanian Los Osos 10 D
Alex Zapata Los Osos 12 D
Ryan Barksdale Rancho Cucamonga 12 D
Felix Cruz Rancho Cucamonga 12 D
J.P. Hennes Upland 12 MF
Beto Becerril Upland 11 F
Kameron Bechler Upland 12 D
2nd Team
T.J Shaffer Alta Loma 12 GK
Chase Morales Alta Loma 11 D
James Rice Alta Loma 11 MF
Evan Seder Claremont 12 F
Jordan Fisher Claremont 11 F
Jeff Lopez Claremont 11 D
Pablo Castro Etiwanda 12 D
Dane Johnson Los Osos 9 D
Andres Adame Los Osos 11 MF
Steven Melara Los Osos 12 MF
Danny Hidalgo Rancho Cucamonga 12 MF
Kevin Lavatu Rancho Cucamonga 11 MF
Freddie Lopez Upland 12 MF
Steven Bagheri Upland 11 D
Javier Brown Upland 11 MF
Zach Scotton Upland 11 MF
Honorable Mention
Jacob Davies Alta Loma 10 D
George Hewett Alta Loma 11 MF
Spencer Eckert Claremont 11 D
Sean West Claremont 12 D
David Ikeda Claremont 11 MF
Steven Odien Etiwanda 12 D
Ben Dufour Los Osos 12 F
Axel Santana Los Osos 12 D
Dane Sandello Rancho Cucamonga 12 D
Kyle Mandala Rancho Cucamonga 12 GK
Jordan Gibbs Rancho Cucamonga 9 D
Sal Jimenez Upland 12 MF
Kyle Lawrence Upland 11 D
Josh Lavalle Upland 12 GK

2008 Baseline All-League Boys Basketball
Name School Year Position
MVP Erick Ellis Etiwanda 12 G
1st Team
J.J. O'Brien Alta Loma 10 G
Chris Confair Claremont 12 G
Rome Draper Etiwanda 11 G
Kendall Williams Los Osos 10 G
Nick Bennett Rancho 12 G
Rashad Bowie Rancho 12 G
Kevin Bradshaw Upland 12 F
Danny Redmon Upland 12 G
2nd Team
Kyli Crooms Alta Loma 12 G
Sean Carraway Claremont 12 G
Derrick Rodgers Los Osos 12 G
Justin Long Rancho 10 G
Teminiro E-Nunu Rancho 12 F/C
Thomas Colbert Upland 12 F/C
Christian Katuala Etiwanda 11 F
Honorable Mention
D.J. James Alta Loma 12 G
Nate Griffy Alta Loma 10 G
Omar Faal Claremont 12 F
Tre Brewer Etiwanda 12 G
Jordan Finn Etiwanda 11 G
Chinedu Amajoyi Los Osos 10 G
Mychal Blaylock Los Osos 12 F
Kwasi Mensah Rancho 12 G
Chaz Hayman Rancho 12 G
Zach Robbins Upland 11 F
Brett Manisco Upland 12 G

2008 Baseline All-League Girls Basketball
Name School Year Position
Co-MVP Amber Williams Etiwanda 11 G; Cierra Warren Los Osos 11 F
1st Team
Amber Williams Claremont 12 F
Brandi Brown Claremont 11 C
Page Rhodes Etiwanda 11 F
Natalia Hawthorne Etiwanda 10 G
Amanda Copas Los Osos 11 G
Joanna Matthews Rancho Cucamonga 11 G
2nd Team
Tiana Jones Alta Loma 10 G
Janee Goodman Upland 12 G
Ailine Fonua Rancho Cucamonga 12 F
Sylvia Shepard Alta Loma 10 F
Michelle Dobbs Los Osos 12 F
Jada Blackwell Etiwanda 9 F
Chris Huma Claremont 11 G
Jasmine Bernard Etiwanda 10 C
Honorable Mention
Kearstie Hernandez Alta Loma 11 G
Ashley Hernandez Alta Loma 10 F
Kori Carter Claremont 10 G
Vanessa Wright Claremont 10 G
Laura Ramos Etiwanda 12 G
Kyla Smith Los Osos 12 G
Katie Anderson Los Osos 10 G
Ashley Huggins Rancho Cucamonga 12 G
Kathleen Iwohua Rancho Cucamonga 9 C
Heather Brown Upland 12 G
Emily Brown Upland 12 G

Baseline All-League Girls Soccer 2008
Name School Year Position
CO-MVP Kylie Nicassio Los Osos 12 F; Judy Christopher Upland 12 MF
1st Team
Jordan Cleary Alta Loma 11 MF
Emily Kinsey Alta Loma 12 MF
Jordan Bryant Claremont 11 D
Jessica Garcia Etiwanda 12 GK
Monique Reyes Etiwanda 12 F
Stacy Huddleston Etiwanda 9 D
Shawna Gordon Los Osos 12 MF
Kelsey Holm Los Osos 12 D
McKenzie Dill Los Osos 12 D
Lo Labonta Los Osos 9 F
Jalissa Kluz Rancho Cucamonga 12 D
Kristen Carmichael Upland 12 D
Dana Sanderlin Upland 11 F
Kacie Lacata Upland 10 MF
Rachael Harding Upland 11 D
2nd Team
Kayla Cerda Alta Loma 11 D
Lauren Carpenter Claremont 12 F
Wendy Espejel Rancho Cucamonga 12 GK
Carly Coons Alta Loma 12 MF
Katie Frazer Claremont 12 MF
Alix Gonzalez Etiwanda 12 MF
Kelli Haddock Etiwanda 11 D
Jazmin Reyes Etiwanda 11 MF
Jaclyn Clark Los Osos 12 MF
Paige Silva Los Osos 12 D
Sharlyn Carter Los Osos 12 D
Haylee Eguchi Los Osos 11 MF
Aryn Alex Rancho Cucamonga 9 D
Briana Roman Rancho Cucamonga 11 MF
Raquel Gervas Upland 11 MF
Ashton Horowitz Upland 11 D
Chenin Young Upland 12 F
Honorable Mention
Andrea Gutierrez Alta Loma 12 GK
Danielle Parker Alta Loma 10 F
Kristie Valencia Alta Loma 12 D
Lexi Shapiro Claremont 12 D
Lauren Adez Etiwanda 10 MF
Sarah Dowell Etiwanda 9 D
Kimber Kelsey Etiwanda 9 MF
Ashley Daniels Los Osos 12 D
Lindsey Maricic Los Osos 10 GK
Megan Perry Rancho Cucamonga 9 D
Krystina Aguilera Rancho Cucamonga 12 D
Amanda DiCamillo Rancho Cucamonga 12 D
Kelli Milakovich Upland 11 MF
Katrina Kedzoir Upland 9 D
Savannah Thompson Upland 10 GK

Baseline All-League Girls Water Polo 2008
Name School Grade
Co-MVP Randi Bresee Los Osos 12; Leanne Ford Upland 12
1st Team
Jaimie Jackson Alta Loma 12
Madison McDonald Alta Loma 12
Brittany Strong Los Osos 12
Miranda Furuto Los Osos 11
Caitlyn Stephenson Los Osos 11
Shannon Mckenzie Rancho Cucamonga 12
Alex Gudenua Rancho Cucamonga 11
Lexi Anderson Upland 12
Allison Bartosik Upland 11
2nd Team
Andrea Gomez Alta Loma 11
Katherine Dineen Alta Loma 10
Anne Eagleton Claremont 11
Nicole Koorndyk Claremont 9
Lexi Powell Etiwanda 12
Marisol Hernandez Los Osos 11
Tara Scheibeler Los Osos 10
Alex Reddin Rancho Cucamonga 10
Bethy Ross Upland 10
Nicole Berry Upland 10
Shelby Buchanan Upland 12
Honorable Mention
Kiley Foster Alta Loma 11
Sara Harris Alta Loma 12
Heather Domonoske Claremont 11
Emma Randles Claremont 11
Andrea Carreon Etiwanda 11
Sabrina Samaniego Etiwanda 11
Ashley Armstrong Los Osos 10
Candice Milippelli Los Osos 10
Sam Bennett Rancho Cucamonga 11
Hailey Henderson Rancho Cucamonga 10
Camille Keegan Upland 12
McCall Packer Upland 10

Posted by TJ Berka at 5:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Today was my first taste of a brand-new thing - Southern California Regional soccer. I'm not the only one, as this year marked the first year of the inaugural SoCal regional soccer tournament. I initially thought the tournament, coming a week after CIF and not followed by a state tournament of any kind, was pointless, but my mind changed a bit after seeing it in action.

However, the reason my mind changed was the revelation, via Granite Hills girls soccer coach Mike Bradbury, that the regional tournament is a two-year experiment to see if a state tournament is feasible. With the way the San Diego Cathedral Catholic team - a team with six Division I players and four straight CIF-San Diego Section titles - reacted to winning the first-year event made me yearn for a state tournament.
"No matter what happens from here on out, we made history," Cathedral coach Dawn Lee said. "It's great to be part of something like this and it feels great to be the first to win in this tournament."
In talking to Bradbury, who was also very complimentary of the tournament, he feels this is a step in the inevitable build toward a state tournament - something that I'm always in favor of.
"It works in basketball, there's no reason it can't work in soccer," Bradbury said. "I think this is the beginning of something big."

Posted by TJ Berka at 5:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Lost in the hoopla of the Southern California regional semifinals Thursday - which saw a whopping four county girls teams play - was a development at the CIF-Southern Section offices in Long Beach, as the section's basketball playoff format will be revised.

An article outlining the change in philosophies can be read here. To paraphrase this article, there will be 12 different divisions - a mark up from 10 - with the divisions initially divided by enrollment. However, there is a qualifier which will move teams up and down based on playoff performance over the previous four years. It's that point which I will expound on.

On the surface, its better than the current system. As much as Sunkist League fans might have enjoyed Jurupa Valley and Patriot playing in the Division IV-AA boys final a couple of weeks ago, the fact they those schools - with enrollments of 2,819 (Jurupa) and 3,097 (Patriot) - are matched up with Hesperia Christian, which has 492 students total in grades K-12. Basically the Sunkist schools are given a relatively easy ride because they stunk against schools their size. It gives them a chance at a title against schools which much fewer resources. The smaller schools then suffer, as they don't get a fair shot at a title.

As far as I'm concerned, the Southern Section playoff brackets should be enrollment-based and that's it (with a different stipulation for private schools that I'll explain below). The big schools should go against schools their size, with smaller schools going against smaller schools. It's simple and its how every state I've worked in (Michigan, Illinois and Texas for those counting at home) conducts business. If you stink against schools your size, you try your best to improve your program. Winning CIF championships should be a privilege that comes from hard work, a stable program and a little luck, not because you stink so bad against schools your size that you get put against schools much smaller enrollments and much fewer resources. While lowering a team in a division gives the team being lowered a better chance to win, it also creates a disadvantage for the smaller schools that have to fight an uphill battle to compete with the Patriots and Jurupa Valleys. Usually the best solution is the simplest, and enrollment-based divisions would be just that.

The other issue touched in the attached article is the public/private school separation debate, with a vote on the issue set for April 24. This issue is more of a city/Orange County subject than an IE one, as the county's prominent Christian schools (Aquinas, Ontario Christian, ACA) are on the small side and don't tend to produce Parade or McDonald's All-Americans. The closest our area has to the Mater Deis, Oaks Christians and Servites of the world is Damien. However, schools like Damien and Mater Dei have the opportunity to recruit athletes and can manage and raise athletic funds without a school district or school regulating the distrubution of the funds. Therefore, private schools have to be dealt with differently because they play under a different set of rules. But what is the best way to do that?

Different states have different thoughts on this. The popular sentiment right now is to just seperate private schools completely, something that Texas (with the exception of schools that apply to be in the highest enrollment bracket) does. In Illinois, there is a multiplier which is applied to a private schools which bumps them up to a higher division. That multiplier of 1.65 took effect in 2005. For example, Mater Dei's enrollment of 2309 students would turn into 3810 with the multiplier, bumping them up a few divisions.

If I had my druthers, I'd probably choose the qualifier, but I believe that the seperation of public and private is better than the status quo. Let me know what you think of that, plus any other solutions that you might have toward this and the enrollment debates.

Posted by TJ Berka at 6:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

With the CIF-State pairings coming out Sunday and the first round of the Division I playoffs coming 24 hours later, it doesn't leave much time to scout your opponent. But due to a lucky break, Chino Hills was able to scout tonight's opponent - No. 1 seed and Los Angeles city champion Woodland Hills Taft.

The Huskies' freshman and JV coach just happened to be at Taft's city championship victory over Fairfax as fans, as they just wanted to check out some elite high school basketball.
"Those guys had a day off, so they headed into the city to watch the game," Chino Hills coach Don Grant said. "We had no idea if we'd be playing or who we'd be playing, so they went as fans."
As fate would have it, Chino Hills was matched up with Taft, giving the Huskies an advantage that most teams today won't have.
"I guess we'll try to teach it to them at lunch," Grant said of the information about Taft. "At least we got a little bit to teach."

Posted by TJ Berka at 3:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Arrowhead Christian and Granite Hills may have fallen in their CIF finals yesterday, but they will get new life in the CIF Southern California Regional championships starting Tuesday.

Arrowhead Christian, the No. 4 seed in the Division III boys playoffs, will play Cudahy Elizabeth Learning Center Tuesday at 5 p.m. at Yucaipa High School. Granite Hills, the No. 2 seed in the Division II girls playoffs, will play Los Angeles Eagle Rock at 5 p.m. at Apple Valley High School.

Posted by TJ Berka at 5:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

There's no rest for the weary basketball players in the area, as the thrill of CIF championship play has to now be replicated in the state playoffs, which start today for some teams. Complete brackets can be found at cifstate.org. Here are the games involving Sun/Bulletin teams. All games at 7 p.m.

BOYS
Division I
Monday, March 3
No. 16 Chino Hills at No. 1 Los Angeles Taft
No. 11 Clovis West at No. 6 Etiwanda
Division II
Tuesday, March 4
No. 7 Jurupa Valley at No. 2 Fresno Edison
No. 6 Colony at No. 3 San Diego Hoover
No. 5 San Marcos Mission Hills at No. 4 Riverside Patriot
Division IV
Tuesday, March 4
No. 7 Twentynine Palms at No. 2 San Diego Horizon
Division V
Monday, March 3
No. 9 San Diego Maranatha Christian at No. 8 La Verne Lutheran

GIRLS
Division I
Monday, March 3
No. 12 Bakersfield Stockdale at No. 5 Miller
No. 13 Chaffey at No. 4 Long Beach Millikan
No. 14 Los Osos at No. 3 Los Angeles Narbonne
No. 11 Los Angeles Washington at No. 6 Cajon
Division II
Tuesday, March 4
No. 6 Westview at No. 3 Colony
No. 2 Ayala at No. 7 Centennial
Division III
Tuesday, March 4
No. 6 Summit at No. 3 San Diego Cathedral Catholic
Division V
Monday, March 3
No. 9 Packinghouse Christian at No. 8 Escondido Adventist Academy
Tuesday, March 4
No. 6 Mesa Grande Academy at No. 2 Escondido Calvin Christian

Posted by TJ Berka at 4:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Rebels used tight defense and just enough offense to win their second straight CIF title, taking out Los Osos 51-40. There seemed to be a lid on the Los Osos basket in the fourth, as the Grizzlies only scored four points in the final 6:16 of the game. Star center Cierra Warren battled foul trouble throughout, fouling out with 3:18 left.

Posted by TJ Berka at 9:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Los Osos has scored 6 of the first 9 points of the fourth to move within 43-36. Michelle Dobbs just hit a pair of free throws before a Grizzly timeout.

Posted by TJ Berka at 9:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A 16-3 run to end the third period has the Rebels up 40-30 going into the fourth. Los Osos started the period out well, scoring the first five points to take a 27-24 lead, but the Rebels awoke with consecutive 3-pointers by Chloe Wells and Lola Wells. Tamicka Mackall ended the third with a trey as well for Miller.

Posted by TJ Berka at 9:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Shineque Phillips' layup with roughly 10 seconds left in the first half gives Miller a 24-22 lead at halftime. Los Osos' offense settled down and committed far fewer turnovers in the second period, while the Miller 3-point shooting has been non-existent, as the Rebels only have one trey.

Both Cierra Warren (Los Osos) and Brianna Hall (Miller) are in foul trouble with 3 each. Lola Wells leads Miller with 10 points, while Michelle Dobbs has five for the Grizzlies.

Posted by TJ Berka at 8:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Los Osos scored the last four points of the first quarter to pull within 14-8. However, the Grizzlies have been forced into nine turnovers already.

Posted by TJ Berka at 8:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Rebels up 13-4 with 2:05 left in the first quarter. Cierra Warren received two fouls in the first 1:08 and is on the bench.

Posted by TJ Berka at 8:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Cajon, despite using their starting five the entire 32 minutes, wins the first girls basketball CIF title in school history with a 51-47 victory over Ayala.

Especially impressive for the Cowgirls was junior guard Layshia Clarendon, who scored 25 points and was almost unguardable on the dribble-drive. Junior post Darshae Burnside helped make life miserable for Ayala's Pac-10 combo of Rebekah Gardner and Jasmine Holliday, who combined to score only 12 points. Burnside equaled that, adding 14 rebounds and three blocked shots for good measure. John Murphy will provide even more detail in his story, and definitely add some more in his blog.

Now to Miller-Los Osos in the D2-AA finals in 10-15 minutes. On paper, this should be Miller's game, as the Rebels are one of the top-ranked teams in the state and have already eaten two Baseline League teams - Rancho Cucamonga and Etiwanda - for lunch. But the Grizzlies, in the first team CIF final of any kind in Los Osos history, presents an interesting matchup. Los Osos' main weapon to contend with is 6-foot-4 junior center Cierra Warren, who towers over the tallest Rebel, Keni