DON'T THINK. IT CAN ONLY HURT THE BALLCLUB

I was playing basketball at the 24 Hour Fitness in Rancho Cucamonga last night when I noticed a familiar looking player waiting to get in the game. The young, frail looking guy was sporting an unofficial Etiwanda High School basketball T-shirt (the one the team wore in warm-ups for the CIF-SS championship game last season; it says "NO SCHNACKS," which I'm still trying to entirely figure out).

The guy couldn't have been out of high school long, but I couldn't place him on either of the Etiwanda teams I've covered since arriving in Southern California two years ago. I figured he might have been an obscure bench player that slipped from my consciousness - until I saw him play.

It was the hair that threw me off. Darren Collison just didn't look the same sporting a jheri-curl flat top, for lack of a much, much better term. But there was no confusing the UCLA point guard's game.

Collison, a rising senior at UCLA and Etiwanda class of 2005, distinguished himself in the pick-up game of surprisingly high quality (don't worry, I was playing on the other court).

Now, if he can just work on the quality of that hair cut.

Posted by Clay Fowler at 4:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Los Osos High School's Richard Brehaut is one of 12 quarterbacks invited to the exclusive Elite 11 quarterback camp July 21-24 in Mission Viejo. The rising senior committed to UCLA survived an exhustive selection process that included film review and interviews. He and 11 others were selected from a field of over 1,000 candidates from around the country.

Some Elite 11 alumni include Vince Young, Matt Leinart, JaMarcus Russell, Derek Anderson and John David Booty. Past counselers, some of whom are expected to attend this year's camp, include Drew Brees, Carson Palmer, Ben Roethlisberger, Jay Cutler, Matt Schaub and Aaron Rodgers. The current counselers include Chase Daniel (Missouri); Colt McCoy (Texas); Mark Sanchez (USC); Matt Stafford (Georgia); Curtis Painter (Purdue) and Bobby Reid (Texas Southern).

The 11 other quarterbacks invited are as follows: Tajh Boyd (Phoebus High School - Hampton, Va.), Allan Bridgford (Mission High School -- Viejo, Calif.), Raymond Cotton (Meade High School - Fort Meade, Md.), Garrett Gilbert (Lake Travis High School - Austin, Texas), Andrew Maxwell (Midland High School - Midland, Mich.), A.J. McCarron (St. Paul's High School - Mobile, Ala.), Zach Mettenberger (Oconee County High School - Watkinsville, Ga.), Aaron Murray (Plant High School - Tampa, Fla.), Bryn Renner (West Springfield High School - Lorton, Va.), Tom Savage (Cardinal O'Hara High School - Springfield, Pa.), Eugene Smith (Miramar High School - Miramar, Fla.).

Posted by Clay Fowler at 8:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Etiwanda High School graduate Maurice Edu was named to the 18-man U.S. Olympic soccer team on Thursday. The 22-year-old, whom Toronto F.C. selected with the top pick in the 2007 MLS draft, will make the trip to Beijing along with Freddy Adu and Co.

The 2007 MLS rookie of the year attended Maryland for three years before forgoing his final year of eligibility to enter the MLS draft. A 6-foot, 170-pound midfielder, Edu has experience with the national team, having played in various friendlies and in World Cup qualifying, which is currently underway.

Posted by Clay Fowler at 7:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Forget the record books he left in tatters. Let's look at this from a right-now standpoint.

The Packers, fresh off an NFC championship game appearance, aren't welcoming back the quarterback that got them there? For what? So Aaron Rodgers can get the squeak out of his shoes? Even if the guy has a bright future, it's going to take time.The Packers are equipped to win now.

Because Brett Favre made a decision to retire before recovering from the mental strain of the season the Packers don't want to bring back a quarterback fully capable of winning them a Super Bowl in 2009?

After the heat he took for not making the retirement decisions earlier in previous offseasons, he probably felt rushed into this one.

True, Aaron Rodgers will be a free agent after this season. But had he not showed out for a few quarters against the Cowboys in November - his only meaningful playing time in three NFL seasons - what would we know about him? How much did those 206 yards on 18 of 26 passing really tell us? It's one game. Judge Favre on his NFC championship game performance and you wouldn't have imagined he led the league's second-ranked passing offense with 4,155 yards and 28 TD's. Rodgers might have a good year leading the Packers in 2008-09 but would you choose him over Favre?

He might be Alex Smith, too.

Who can blame Favre for reportedly requesting his release from the Packers so he can talk to other teams? He's probably so livid with the franchise he poured his guts out for, he's shopping himself out of pure spite. I understand the Packers are sick of the retirement saga every offseason, but I think Favre legitimately did his best by the team in each instance. It's not an easy decision when you can still play, which he clearly can. In case the Packers haven't noticed, elite quarterbacks are harder and harder to find. Look at the No. 1 pick the year Rodgers was drafted. Think the 49ers would have Favre next season?

I'm not worried about the Hall-of-Fame, face-of-the-NFL, most-popular-player-in-decades stuff. From a football standpoint, why hand the keys to Rodgers when a capable veteran who has been there still wants to play for you? This is what the Packers had to say in a statement:

"Brett earned and exercised the right to retire on his terms. We wanted him to return and welcomed him back on more than one occasion.... Brett's press conference and subsequent conversations in the following weeks illustrated his commitment to retirement. The finality of his decision to retire was accepted by the organization. At that point, the Green Bay Packers made the commitment to move forward with our football team."

Here's betting that without Favre the Packers find themselves taking a step back. But at least their shoes won't squeak when they do it.

Posted by Clay Fowler at 10:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Upland High School senior-to-be Osahan Irabor, a 5-foot-11, 183-pound cornerback, verbally committed to Arizona State on Friday despite an unexpected offer from longtime favorite UCLA three days earlier.

Had UCLA offered sooner - the Sun Devils offered him in December - Irabor admitted he may have been swayed by the Bruins. UCLA's offer appearing a direct result of losing commitments from two defensive backs didn't help the Bruins' case either.

"It could've been a different story if (UCLA) had been involved earlier," Irabor said Friday night. "They were looking at other DB's too, which was not the situation at ASU. They were interested in me from the beginning. With UCLA, it was just too little too late."

UCLA was Irabor's 15th scholarship offer. He narrowed the field to three on Saturday - ASU, Arizona and Nebreska - and was set to announce his decision Wednesday before UCLA abruptly entered the mix.

Irabor attended UCLA's junior day March 8, but didn't have any contact with the school leading up to the offer. Irabor also expressed interest in USC and apparently the feeling was mutual. But in a continuing USC recruiting trend, Irabor lost interest when he saw the embarrassment of riches at his position in his class alone.

"USC said if I went to their showcase camp, they'd offer me," he said. "But I figured out I wasn't really an SC guy at their junior day. There were about 12 or 13 guys at the DB meeting ready to compete for playing time."

By comparison, there were six or eight at the UCLA junior day DB meeting, which featured a much less competitive intra-squad atomsphere, Irabor noted.

USC was one of three Pac-10 schools not to offer Irabor. Arizona was the first to offer him in a process that quickly built momentum as the offseason progressed. Ultimately, Irabor, who wanted to put his decision behind him before his senior season began, said he felt most comfortable with the Arizona State coaching staff.

If Colony High School graduate Omar Bolden's freshman experience with the Sun Devils last season is any indication, Irabor may be on the field sooner than later. Bolden started nine games at corner for the 10-3 co Pac-10 champs.

With roughly eight months between now and national signing day, is there any chance Irabor will change his non-binding commitment to ASU? "No," he said firmly. "Not even a little bit."

Posted by Clay Fowler at 2:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

No, they won't be making the long swim across the North Atlantic - or taking a plane for that matter - but here is an update on this story I wrote about two local swimmers who went to the Olympic trials in Omaha last week.

Claremont High School 15-year-old freshman Noelle Tarazona finished 35th in the 200 butterfly and 55th in the 400 individual medley (Only the top two finishers in each event make the Olympic team). Her coach at the Claremont Club, John Ries, said Tarazona has the potential to be a major player at the 2012 trials.

In her second appearance at the Olympic trials, Upland 21-year-old Courtney Eads, a junior-to-be at Nevada, competed in four events. Her finishes are as follows...100 butterfly: 63rd. 200 butterfly: 63rd. 200 IM: 104th. 400 IM: 74th.

Neither swimmer advanced beyond the preliminaries in any of their events. I imagine Eads, who made the 200 butterfly final as a 17-year-old at the 2004 trials, was a little disappointed with her performance (Her goal was to finish in the top eight). But she plans on making another run at the trials in 2012.

Tarazona didn't achieve her goal to make an event final, but the giddy freshman had to be pretty pleased.

It can't be terribly disappointing to lose to Katie Hoff, who won both the 200 IM and 400 IM, setting a world record in the process. Remember that name, you'll be hearing it a lot in a few short weeks. The 19-year-old Maryland product, who made the 2004 team, led the U.S. women with Olympic berths in six events.

Hoff's world record in the 400 IM: 4:31.12. Tarazona's time: 4:55.24. Eads' time: 5:00.33

Posted by Clay Fowler at 5:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The day before Upland High School cornerback Osahon Irabor was to announce which of the 14 scholarship offers he'd accept, the 15th stopped him in his tracks.

Less than a week after he narrowed his potential destinations to theree - Arizona, Arizona State and Nebraska - UCLA offered the 5-foot-11, 183 pound senior-to-be Tuesday night.

"I was ready to make an announcement the following day but I am going to hold on for a few days to consider UCLA's offer and really sit down with my family and think this completely through," Irabor said in an e-mail. "I was totally caught by surprise and to have a chance to play in the Rose Bowl would be something special. The next few days will be tough for me, and I'm going to research and think this through completely. It will be hard to sleep in the next 48 hours."

Seemingly playing a large role in the offer are the recent de-commitments from UCLA of San Bernardino Cajon CB Marlon Pollard, who switched his verbal alligience to Notre Dame after visiting South Bend, and Harbor City Narbonne safety Byron Moore, who accepted an offer from USC.

Irabor, a hot prospect since early this offseason, has been offered by seven Pac-10 schools but expressed the most interest in USC and UCLA, neither of whom had offered until Tuesday.

"(Irabor) has always loved UCLA from early on in his recruitment," Upland recruiting coordinator and assistant coach Mike Esquivel said. "So how can he not explore UCLA a little bit more now that they have come into the picture full swing."

Posted by Clay Fowler at 2:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)