In This Corner

I like calendars. Always have. It often surprises me when I discover that this or that person doesn't really know why the year is 365 days long (except when it's 366 days), doesn't know an equinox from solstice, doesn't know what they mean ... etc.

So, of course, Leap Year Day fascinates me, too.

I've never known anyone born on Feb. 29 -- which happens once every four years, of course. But you hear stories about people in college celebrating their fifth birthday -- because they were born on Feb. 29 ... 20 years before. See, they have a legit "Feb. 29" birthday only once every four years. Personally, I would hate to have been born on Feb. 29. Like, really, when do you celebrate your birthday, when you're 5, 6, 7? That is a key question to little kids. "My birthday party is March 1 but I wasn't really born that day ..."

So, I had the idea of doing a search for Leap Year sports stuff. And it turns out that a columnist in Augusta, Ga., named Scott Michaux has a column that appeared today listing some Leap Day Year sports highlights.

If he did all the research for this himself, well, bravo, because it would have taken hours, days. And even if he didn't, I appreciate that he collected a lot of this stuff in one spot.

Here it is, Leap Year Day in sports, courtesy of Scott Michaux of Auguasta, Ga.

(We're picking up here about 10 paragraphs in; the top of it doesn't deal with sports.)

"Yet as notable dates in sports history go, Feb. 29 is easily the lamest of them all. Granted, it's operating at a little more than a 75 percent disadvantage, but even that hardly excuses its historical weaknesses.

"The most prominent athlete ever born a leapling wasn't even the most prominent athlete in his on house -- hockey player Henri "Pocket Rocket" Richard. Older bother Maurice got more love, though Henri won more Stanley Cups.

"Johnny Leonard Roosevelt "Pepper" Martin of the pre-war era St. Louis Cardinals was born on leap day in 1904. Dinah Shore -- whose celebrity helped raise the profile of women's golf through a tournament that evolved into an LPGA major in 1983 -- was born Feb. 29, 1916. Tony Robbins, the motivational speaker who helped lift Greg Norman out of his post-1996 Masters funk, was born in 1960.

"There was a Braves pitcher named Al Autry (1952), Cowboys guard John Niland (1952), Stanley Cup winner Cam Ward (1984), Swedish tennis player Henrik Sundstrom (1964) and a host of Olympians you've likely never heard of -- German equestrian jumper Alwin Schockemohle, Russian cross country skier Raisa Smetanina, Mexican speed walker Raul Gonzalez, U.S. rower Cyrus Beasley and American divers Chris Devine and Brian Gillooly (no relation to the more infamous spouse of Olympic skater Tonya Harding).

"If there was a great leapling athletic year, it would be the class of 1968 that includes former N.C. State and NBA notable Chucky Brown, 1995 AFC Defensive Player of the Year Bryce Paup and NFL backup quarterback Cary Conklin.

"If that list seems less than inspirational, the ledger of leap day sporting accomplishments will hardly quicken the pulse.

"Gordie Howe, returning to the NHL for one final season with the expansion Hartford Whalers, became the first player to reach 800 career goals, lighting the lamp for the penultimate time in his NHL career on Feb. 29, 1980 against the St. Louis Blues.

"Hank Aaron became the first baseball player to sign a $200,000-a-year contract on leap day in 1972 -- a richly deserved reward on his record-breaking road.

"Australian swimmer Dawn Fraser set her 36th of 39 career world records in 1964, breaking her own mark (again) in the 100-meter freestyle.

"Dick Button won the world men's figure skating title in 1952 in Paris. Sparky Anderson was elected by the veterans committee to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2000.

"In 1964, some guy named Frank Rugani established the badminton shuttlecock distance driving record of 79 feet, 81/2 inches in San Jose, Calif.

"The Professional Spring Football League was supposed to start its inaugural 10-team, 16-game schedule on Feb. 29, 1992. It folded 10 days earlier.

"On the last leap day in 2004, Tiger Woods rolled over Davis Love III to win his second consecutive WGC Match Play Championship and 40th career victory in his 149th PGA Tour start."

Hello. In This Corner is back.

That's a pretty good list. It will be augmented tonight by some CIF basketball championships. And maybe Kobe will score 100 or something, at Portland. We'll see. And four years from now we'll recall it.

Posted by Paul Oberjuerge at 11:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Cal State San Bernardino lost at Humboldt State, which isn't exactly a surprise.

The surprise for the Coyotes came two weeks ago, when they managed to lose at home to Chico State, which is 2-17 in the conference.

Here is the CCAA-generated roundup of CCAA men's action on the second-to-last day of the regular season. Leading off with Humboldt's 65-61 victory over San Bernardino.

Humboldt State 65
Cal State San Bernardino 61

ARCATA, Calif. — Will Sheufelt drained a three-pointer to put Humboldt State back in front with 21 seconds remaining before icing the game with a pair of free throws to preserve the Jacks' 65-61 win over Cal State San Bernardino on Thursday.

The victory pulled the Lumberjacks into a first-place tie with the Coyotes in the California Collegiate Athletic Association standings with only Friday's regular season finale remaining. Humboldt State stays home to host Cal Poly Pomona and Cal State San Bernardino travels to Rohnert Park to face Sonoma State.

"Thank God for seniors," HSU head coach Tom Wood. "They all had their moments tonight for coming up big. I'm happy for them and proud of them."

Sheufelt, one of the four HSU seniors, finished with 16 points to lead the Lumberjacks, who had all five starters in double figures. Devin Peal scored 15 points while Grayson Moyer, Ernie Spada and Cy Vandermeer added 10 for the Jacks. Vandermeer also contributed a game-high 13 rebounds.

Marlon Pierce led Cal State San Bernardino with 15 points, and Jason Gilzene added 10 for the Coyotes, who fell to 21-6 overall and 14-5 in the CCAA. The Lumberjacks, having already clinched a first round home game in the league tournament, improved to 19-7 overall and 14-5 in league.

Humboldt State built an 11-point lead by halftime, the Jacks' defense holding the Coyotes to 27 percent shooting. But CSUSB picked up the pace in the second half, especially from three-point range, with Marlon Pierce and Reggie Brown hitting the mark.

The Coyotes rallied to pull even at 51-51 when Brown hit another three-pointer with eight minutes, 39 seconds on the clock. The game remained tight, but the Coyotes forged their largest lead of the game on Philip Jones' three-pointer, moving up 61-56 with 3:00 on the clock.

The Lumberjacks pulled within a point, scoring first on Sheufelt's pair of free throws and then on Peal's layup. Sheufelt's heroic three put HSU ahead, and the Coyotes squandered their final possession when Pierce lost the ball out of bounds with 2.3 seconds remaining.

Cal State Monterey Bay 84
UC San Diego 66

SEASIDE, Calif. --- Cal State Monterey Bay took one step closer to securing a home postseason game Thursday night, defeating visiting UC San Diego 84-66 to finish the regular season with an 11-9 record in the California Collegiate Athletic Association.

The victory completes a remarkable season for the CSUMB men’s basketball team. The Otters started conference play 1-7 before winning 10 of 12 the rest of the way to finish with a berth in the postseason tournament. CSUMB could finish as high as third in the CCAA when the rest of the teams complete their seasons Friday night.

CSUMB jumped out to a 10-2 lead against the Tritons and led 42-29 at the half. UCSD opened the second half with a 9-3 run to get within 10, at 45-38, and later pulled within a bucket at 55-53 at the 10-minute mark. But a Juston Willis trey put the Otters back ahead by five. That three-pointer was the beginning of 18-2 run that ended with CSUMB ahead 73-55 with 3:54 left in the game. From there, CSUMB coasted to victory.

Willis led all scorers with 24 points on 10 of 15 shooting. D’Shon Cannon scored 17 and made 7 of 10 from the floor. Steve Monreal scored 18 and made 6 of 11. Joe Mitchell led CSUMB in rebounds with 11.

“This season has been probably the most special I’ve been involved with,” said CSUMB head coach Pat Kosta. “What you see now is a product of all the hard work when things were going bad.”

Elsewhere in the CCAA, Cal Poly Pomona lost to Sonoma State, dropping their record to 10-9. CSU Dominguez Hills defeated Cal State Stanislaus and improved their record to 11-8. CSU Los Angeles beat Chico State 93-72 and is now 10-9. CSULA holds the tiebreaker with CSUMB, while CSUMB wins tiebreakers with CSU Stanislaus and Cal Poly Pomona.

Cal State L.A. 93
Chico State 72

CHICO, Calif. – A promising first half effort went for naught as the Chico State men's basketball team watched visiting Cal State L.A. make 21-of-26 shots in the second half and run away with a 93-72 victory Thursday night at Acker Gym. Chico State led 38-35 at the break, but the Golden Eagles outscored Chico State 58-34 after the break.

Darroll Phillips scored a game-high 25 points to lead Chico State, and Frank Igbekoyi notched his second career double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds. But Phillips missed seven of his last eight shots while Christofer Hart and Vincent Camper were taking control of the game. They scored seven straight points to turn a 50-48 Chico State lead into a 55-50 Cal State L.A. lead. Hart scored 16 points after intermission and Camper scored 15 after the half.

Chico State fell to 6-20 overall and 2-17 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) with its 14th loss in the last 15 games.

Cal State L.A. improved to 16-10 overall and 10-9 in the CCAA. Camper and Hart finished with 20 points apiece. Christopher Mark chipped in 19 points and seven rebounds. Junior Rodriguez scored 14 points and had nine boards.

Cal State L.A. snapped Chico State's five-game home winning streak against the Golden Eagles. It's their first win in Chico Since Dec. 8, 2001.

Phillips hit five 3-pointers on the night to give him 79 threes on the season and move him into eighth place on Chico State's single-season list. He needs one more to catch Kenny Gleason in seventh place, three more to catch Scott Land and Jon Baird, who are tied for fifth place, and five more to catch Jake Hodges, who is in fourth. Phillips also made both of his free throws to extend his CCAA record to 48 without a miss. He's 78-of-82 (.951) on the season and entered the weekend ranked No. 2 in the nation in free throw percentage.

Sonoma State 64
Cal Poly Pomona 63

ROHNERT PARK, Calif- Of Andrew Kochevar's team-high 20 points, none were bigger than a pair of free throws with two seconds left that clinched a 64-63 win for Sonoma State over Cal Poly Pomona in CCAA men's basketball action on Thursday. Kochevar's free throws gave SSU a four-point lead before a buzzer-beating drew the final margin to one. The Seawolves improve to 11-14, 7-12 CCAA with the win while the Broncos drop to 11-13, 10-9 CCAA.

The win was the 200th on the Sonoma State sidelines for head coach Pat Fuscaldo. In his 14 seasons at the helm, Fuscaldo, the winningest coach in SSU basketball history, is 200-173. His career record stands at 230-222.

Sonoma State jetted to early leads of 8-2 and 17-10 before extending their lead to 30-16 with 5:42 left in the half. The Broncos then went on a 10-0 run to pull to within four at the break, 30-26.

The Seawolves were quick to push the lead back to double digits in the seocnd half and led by as many as 14 at 50-36 with just under 12 minutes to go before the Broncos started their comeback charge. Trailing by eight at 61-53 with 3:28 left, the Broncos outscored SSU 7-1 over the next 3:24, pulling to within two on an Angelo Tsagarakis three-pointer with four ticks remaining.

The Broncos fouled Andrew Kochevar, the top free throw shooter in Sonoma State history, and he swished both free chances to put the lead back to four. Those free throws proved big when Larry Gordon capped off a 27-point night with a three-pointer at the buzzer.

Kochevar had five three-pointers on the night and was 6-of-12 from the field. Freshman Blake Saunders had 16 points on 7-of-8 shooting. Steve Cornett owned game-high honors with eight rebounds and six assists.

Gordon, despite getting off to a slow start, finished the night with a game-high 27 points on 8-of-16 shooting. He had 21 of his points in the second half. Angelo Tsagarakis, who played a year at Casa Grande High in Petaluma, had 13 points.

The Seawolves will close out the 2007-08 season tomorrow night when they host CCAA front runner Cal State San Bernardino. The Coyotes, who lost to Humboldt State on Thursday, are in a first place tie with the 'Jacks.

Cal State Dominguez Hills 88
Cal State Stanislaus 79

TURLOCK, Calif. - Although the Cal State Stanislaus men's basketball team lost to CCAA tournament-bound Cal State Dominguez Hills 88-79 Thursday night for their 20th loss of the season, it was a different defeat than many of the previous 19.

The Warriors hung tough from the opening tip to the final buzzer, leading as late as 9 minutes, 14 seconds to go in the second half and pulling to within two with 5:06 to play, only to see the game slip away in the final minutes.

Senior Duane Jones knocked down two free throws to bring the Warriors within four at 79-83 with 55 seconds to go, but two key turnovers by senior Heath Colvin and sophomore Calvin Westbrook sealed the Warriors' fate.

Jones led all scorers with 20 points. Jones also had two steals on the night to give him 59 on the season, moving him into fourth on the Cal State Stanislaus single season all-time record list. Colvin chipped in 19
points and Westbrook added 16. Senior Rick Cardoso notched his seventh double-double of the season with 14 points and 11 rebounds.

Free throws were key for the Toros, as they went 5 for 6 from the charity stripe in the final minute and 78.6 percent for the game. Cal State Dominguez Hills had five players score in double figures, led by Nonso
Nibo with 19. Jonathan Toliver had 17 points off the bench, Jamaal Barnes and Mike Steed scored 15 points each, and Michael Hernandez contributed 11 points four rebounds and two steals off the bench.

The Warriors fell behind 8-2 in the first three minutes of the game, but climbed back into it and tied the score at 10 at 15:04 in the first half.

Back and forth the teams went with the Warriors taking a one-basket lead, only to fall behind again by seven with 9:33 to play in the half. The Toros would close the first half with an 11-6 run and take a 40-35 lead into halftime.

Cal State Dominguez Hills outshot the Warriors 57.7 percent to 45.9 percent and held a slight edge in rebounds, 32-29. With the win, the Toros improve to 16-9 overall and 11-8 in the CCAA.

The 20th loss makes the 2007-2008 season only the third 20-plus loss season for the Warriors in 23 years, dating back to 1985-1986. The Warriors have not lost 21 games since a 5-21 season in 1984-1985.

The Warriors host Cal State L.A., another CCAA championship tournament team, on Friday at 7:30 p.m. to close out the season.

Posted by Paul Oberjuerge at 11:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

As mentioned below, I went to Caltech's season-ending game on Tuesday night because I thought the Beavers could win a conference game. For the first time since defeating La Verne in 1985.

I wrote about it, an unscheduled column that may not have gotten much exposure in the newspapers.

So, I'm putting it here. Ah, the internet.

PASADENA -– They made the movie.

“Quantum Hoops,” it’s called, and it came out last fall to warm and fuzzy reviews.

Yeah, we get it. Caltech basketball is cute and cuddly, gutsy and inspiring.

All those boy geniuses scratching out time between astrophysics and thermodynamics classes to play a little round ball. IQ titans, hoops tyros.

Accurate. Charming.

Old.

Caltech hasn’t won a conference men’s basketball game in 23 years.

That’s enough.

Caltech has lost 273 consecutive Southern California Interscholastic Athletic Conference games.

That’s more than enough.

Perhaps the best Caltech team in two decades completed its season Tuesday night. It gave Whittier a scare, leading 25-22 in the second half before fading to a 72-60 defeat in a nearly packed gym.

And the beatings go on, another 0-14 SCIAC season in the books, and perhaps more to come if Caltech doesn’t do a little something to help itself.

We’re not talking about the players or coach Roy Dow. The former give all they can in an academic climate so rigorous most of us can’t even fathom it. The latter recruits every kid who can walk and compute cube roots at the same time.

They have produced results. To a point.

Caltech basketball no longer is a joke. Ask Redlands, which needed overtime to fight off the Beavers, 97-88. Check with La Verne, also pushed to overtime before escaping Braun Center, 80-74. Or Whittier,
whose 86-84 OT victory over Caltech in 2006 was the was the nerve-racking climax of “Quantum Hoops.”

“That hopelessness they had seven, eight, nine years ago isn’t here anymore,” Whittier coach Rock Carter said. “Every team in our league prepares for Caltech now.”

Most of that is about Dow identifying math and science whizzes who actually played high school basketball. Maybe even started.

“Not league MVPs,” Dow said. “Guys who played.”

That gives you a chance, in the SCIAC, which never will be confused with the Pac-10. The SCIAC is a eight Division III schools with high academic standards and below-the-rim basketball programs.

Though none of the other seven have standards as rigorous as does Caltech.

And none seems so coldly resistant to allowing qualified kids -– who happen to play basketball –- into the school.

Three seniors played their last game Tuesday. They were among four “basketball” players allowed into the Class of 2008. But only two basketball players got past admissions in the Class of 2009. Zero made it for 2010. And only one for the 2011 class.

Paxon Frady, a senior guard from Georgia who will pursue a PhD in neuroscience, conceded to “frustration” as he completed his basketball career, and he said it may not change for upcoming Caltech teams.

“Not unless the administration starts recruiting some basketball players,” he said. “It’s not like players who could play for us aren’t qualified to go to school here. There’s this big pool of people who are all about the same and it’s kind of random who gets in.”

Said star center Bryan Hires: “As you can see, we’ve hit a spot where we have a lack of talent, with guys with experience. There’s a handful of guys out there that Coach (Dow) recruits that have all the test scores, all the extra-curriculars that your average Caltech person has but for some odd reason they don’t get accepted. That’s the most frustrating part of this because they are just as qualified. That is the one thing that can definitely put us over the top.”

Dow knows he works at a school that is academics first, second, third ... and forever.

But he suggests that elite institutions such as Stanford, Harvard, Princeton, MIT, Williams and Amherst manage to find some athletes among eggheads -– with no apparent harm done to the schools’ academic
reputation.

MIT, Caltech’s East Coast doppelganger, has won 11 games this season.

Caltech has won two (non-conference) games since 1996, one this season (Gallaudet) and last (Bard). “First time in school history we’ve beaten an NCAA school in consecutive years,” Dow noted.

But those were baby steps, and didn’t come against Caltech’s traditional SCIAC rivals. An issue that calls for redress.

It is only fair that if a school is going to field teams in sports as popular and competitive as basketball that it should allow those teams a chance of success.

Caltech has not done that. It could. It should.

It would be this easy: Take Dow’s recruiting list and enroll, say, two per year into the 220-some-person freshman class. Two.

Two guys who already have played and practiced basketball. But who also can handle all that being a Caltech student is about. Fill around them with the genius hobbyists. But let Dow have a nucleus.
Give the guys a chance.

Winning SCIAC games isn’t everything. But it’s something ... something Caltech players and coaches and students should taste at least once in their academic careers.

Caltech is all about solving knotty problems. It’s time to fix this one.

Posted by Paul Oberjuerge at 9:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I have this theory about athletes:

If they are unusually colorful, quotable and interesting ... that's not going to be good for the guy, long term.

It's almost always the quirky guys who end up with a drinking problem or a drug problem ... or whatever it is.

It might be the substances that make the guy interesting.

Or maybe interesting guys are more inclined to dabble with drugs.

Scott Spiezio, World Series hero for the 2002 Angels, certainly fit the description. Deliciously random guy, part of a rock band, a guy likely to dye his hair some weird color and say something off the wall. Never dull ...

Who does that remind you of?

Guys like Dennis Rodman, Ron Artest, Randy Moss, Lyle Alzado, Todd Marinovich (just about any of the Raiders from the 1970s and 1980s, actually) ...

If you're TOO interesting ... there's going to be some hell to pay eventually.

Here's the news story on Spiezio's issues, which could end his career.

He was great fun, as an Angel. Thus, we could have seen something like this coming.

I can think of another guy or two like this, fascinating, live wires who haven't gotten in trouble yet ... but I won't defame them before they get nailed for something. Maybe they will escape the curse.

Posted by Paul Oberjuerge at 11:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I went to the Caltech men's basketball game tonight ... because I thought the Beavers could end the Mother of All Conference Losing Streaks.

Caltech hasn't won a Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference game since 1985. Yeah, 23 years ago, for those of you who aren't as good at math as the Caltech kids are.

But they played two overtime home games earlier this month, and they were getting Whittier, which doesn't have a whole lot of size -- which is the strongest part of Caltech's team.

Caltech was tied at the half, and Braun Gymnasium filled up with Caltech students eager to see the Beavers end The Streak ... but, alas, Whittier pulled away to a 72-60 victory. Taking Caltech's SCIAC losing streak to 273 straight.

Wait till next year!

"It's frustrating," senior guard Paxon Frady. "So close ... it seems like nothing breaks our way."

"You would think," senior forward Bryan Hires said, "that when you play a bunch of games that come down to five or six plays ... you would think at least one time the ball would bounce your way and you could win."

Well, we're into some Law of Probabilities Thing here, it would seem. But it isn't working out for Caltech. Or hasn't since Ronald Reagan's second term.

Caltech was whistled for 33 fouls, and Whittier shot 43 free throws (making 30) while Caltech shot 29 (making 18), and there's your game.

Caltech led 25-22 in the opening seconds of the second half on a three-pointer by Matthew Delatorre (who led all scorers with 20 points), but Whittier picked up the pace of the game and Caltech was unable to keep up. Having three key players foul out didn't help, either.

Caltech was as close as 52-46 with 6:12 to play, but their top scorer (Hires) had fouled out by then, and they couldn't keep up with the Poets.

Whittier finishes 14-11 overall, 7-7 in the SCIAC, including victories over co-champs Cal Lutheran and Occidental.

Caltech? The Beavers went 1-24 (they defeated Gallaudet in a non-conference game) and (ack) 0-14 in SCIAC. Again.

Posted by Paul Oberjuerge at 11:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

This thing was supposed to start at 1 p.m. Sunday.

It finished at 12:16 p.m. on Monday.

It was the 24 Hours of Fontana. Which might be OK had any of us been warned beforehand.

At least the right guy won. Edwards had the best car all day Monday, at a track he likes (seven top-six finishes in eight races here) and pulled away from Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon the final 20 laps.

"Carl was strong," Johnson said. "He was so quick."

Said Gordon: "Carl edwards is in another league. He was awesome."

The only real drama occurred with 28 laps left, when Johnson and Gordon beat Edwards out of the pits on a yellow-flag stop.

Johnson had a lead of a few seconds ... but Edwards had the better car and calmly reeled in Gordon, then Johnson, taking the lead for good with 12 laps left.

Too bad the track didn't have this weather on Sunday. Nice and sunny. Not warm, but not cold. And no standing water on the track.

Very few people in the stands ... and we have to assume the TV audience was a fraction of what it would have been had it gone off on Sunday.

But that's the risk you run when you schedule a race in SoCal in February, our wettest month.

Now we're done with this tour until Labor Day. Fine by me.

Posted by Paul Oberjuerge at 2:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It's been a good long while since NASCAR visited Riverside International Raceway. Nearly 20 years, actually.

But Fox commentator Darrell Waltrip just gave a shoutout to the long-gone, nine-turn road-course track.

RIR, as it was known for short, sat near the intersection of the 60 and 215 freeways in the Moreno Valley area. It went up when there wasn't much of anything in MoVal except March AFB.

The last NASCAR race run there was on June 12, 1988. Rusty Wallace won.

Soon after, RIR was torn down, and a shopping center pretty much covers most of the old course.

:I loved Riverside," Waltrip blurted, when the talk turned to site of today's race. "When you talk about tracks around here ...

"I raced at Riverside two years before I realized it was paved."

Dirt certainly looms large in my recollection of the Riverside track, too. The parking lots weren't paved. And when it was dry, cars bumping into the vacant acreage they called parking lots would raise huge clouds of dust.

And drivers often got off into the dirt when trying to pass.

It was a lousy track, really. It always felt as if it was never quite finished. Like, eventually they'll pave this, right, and put in some decent seating, yes?

But we tend to remember almost all old things fondly, don't we? We probably could find someone who would talk up Ontario Motor Speedway, too.

The last race at OMS was the season-finale in 1980. The next six season-enders were in Riverside, which always annoyed NASCAR's hard-core fans. They didn't think SoCal race fans cared enough about the magnitude of the last race, and we probably didn't.

Posted by Paul Oberjuerge at 11:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We're back in business, a day later.

Just went green a minute ago after a red flag that lasted 15 hours, 49 minutes and 54 seconds.

It just seemed longer.

Weird atmosphere here.

Well, basically, no one is here. Which perhaps is no surprise, considering most NASCAR fans seem to have jobs and lives ... which might require their attention on a Monday morning.

Even a big chunk of the media is gone. People with plane reservations last night of this morning, I'd guess.

It was a bad crowd on Sunday, because the weather was so miserable ... but today it's just nonexistent. I'd guess maybe 5 percent of the stands across from the start-finish line are occupied. Maybe less. Certainly not more.

It strikes me as something like a makeup baseball game. Moved to a Monday morning late in the season. I mean, this means something ... as much as any of the other 35 races ... but it's hardly being noticed.

f we look at Sunday as little more than a 174-mile exhibition race ... aside from the six guys who fell multiple laps behind because of wrecks or engine problems ... what we have now is a 326-mile, 163-lap event. That is, a really short race, for an oval.

Could be over in two hours.

That is, if the weepers don't rise up and bite someone. Jimmie Johnson was telling Fox just now that he still sees the lines of water in the turns ... the groundwater percolating up from beneath the track and leaking through the seams in the pavement.

The sun is out, but it's not bright, and it's not warm, so the water isn't going to evaporate with any sort of rapidity.

The first 20-25 laps should tell it. If the drivers can get around without slipping and sliding through the weepers ... it could be a quasi-normal race.

Other than it's Monday. And nobody is here.

Posted by Paul Oberjuerge at 10:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

This is silly. Stupid. We all sat around for four hours -- talking here about drivers, crew, officials, track employees, journalists -- waiting for the Auto Club 500 to resume.

And now it won't.

Minutes before the race was set to go back on Fox TV, NASCAR pulled the plug. We found out when the crews on pit road began packing up their gear. A few minutes later, the official announcement came.

A few hundred fans who were still in the house booed -- loudly -- when crews began rolling cars back to the garages.

.

Kerry Tharp, NASCAR director of communications, competition, made the official announcement.

"Despite efforts to work hard to get the race track ready to continue tonight's race, that was our intent, we felt like the fans that hung in there with us deserved to see a conclusion ....

"However, due to the dew point, humidity, we weren't able to get the track into condition to continue racing. ... It wouldn't allow a complete drying of the track."

The race will resume at 10 a.m. and be televised on Fox.

The Nationwide Cup race will run an hour after the Auto Club 500 concludes, and will be televised on ESPN2.

What a mess of a day this was.

The race could have and should have been canceled at noon, when it was pouring rain in Fontana -- but the Monday forecast was for a dry day.

And if the race were stopped at 6 p.m., when everyone knew there was zero chance of the track being ready for two hours (and more like three) ... why not call it a day and send home everyone? Instead, we all waited and waited. And waited.

Weather made it tough. No question. But NASCAR handled badly almost everything around it.

Now we go home, and have to be back in about 10 hours.

Fans who had tickets to today's races will be admitted without charge to Monday's races. If there isn't anyone sick to death with this whole event.

Posted by Paul Oberjuerge at 10:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

OK, the situation:

The rain came back at about 6 p.m. Fairly serious rain. So they red-flagged the race after 87 laps.

Which would have been enough for all of us, except for this: The race isn't official until 126 laps -- more than halfway.

Once the rain doused the track ... we were hours away from a restart. Most of the NASCAR veterans here in the press room were predicting we were done racing. Which meant we all would have been back here tomorrow.

But no! From the moment the rain stopped, the track-drying equipment was out on the track, and now the word is that they will resume the race sometime in the next hour. And hope to go 500 miles.

And that would be very, very weird.

For one, the fans have left. There were never many here, but they're gone now. For good reason. It's been cold and wet all day. So whatever racing goes on here ... will be done in near privacy.

For another, if the race resumes at 10 p.m. ... that's 1 a.m. East Coast.

Let's suggest the Sprint Cup guys have body clocks on EDT.

That means those guys could be going around a track at midnight local time -- and 3 a.m. on their body clocks.

What kind of uproar would we have if somebody got hurt driving 200 mph at 3 a.m.???

Anyway, this isn't going to appear in much of anybody's newspaper. Unless you live in Hawaii, maybe.

But I'm not leaving now. It's a freak show, and I don't walk away from freak shows. Especially when I've been here all damn day.

And, actually, I'm rooting hard that the race resumes and gets at least to Lap 126. Because if it doesn't finish tonight, I'm back out here tomorrow, remember? I don't want that. I want this over with, and I want to see it the proof -- of a checkered flag flying.

Posted by Paul Oberjuerge at 9:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I'm sitting here at Auto Club (nee California) Speedway and going through a countdown:

To Lap 126.

If we can get in 126 laps, that's more than halfway to 500 miles and it's an official race. We have a winner. They distribute points, etc.

And we all go home.

I think everyone is rooting for 126 laps. Fans, organizers, journalists (certainly), even the teams.

Let's get this over with. It's been messy, the rain has made a hash of things ... and let's get the show out of town.

Another yellow flag has gone out, 87 laps in -- leaving us 39 short of an official race.

A rain cell is the problem this time. One of the last in the area, if the radar is accurate. But it's coming down pretty good, and it's going to be hard to dry -- given that night has fallen and it's maybe 50 degrees.

Ack. We may not get to 126.

Some drivers just came off the track, because the cars are parked.

Said Dario Franchitti: "The seams on the track are like ice. Each time I hit one I lost 3-4 spots. It's a shame. Fans have been sitting around all day waiting ... I don't think we're going to do much more racing tonight."

And the weather? "I'm bloody freezing," Franchitti said. "It's California, and I'm freezing."

Said Tony Stewart: "Mother Nature, she's tough today. We didn't need that red flag, for sure. It got us behind. ... The biggest troupers are the ones (fans) over there behind the fence. They're cold and wet and they haven't given up."

There seems to be a consensus this spate of rain could end the racing for the day. I hope not. I don't think anyone wants to come back tomorrow and start from scratch. Not at all.

Posted by Paul Oberjuerge at 6:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Man, this is like pulling teeth. Some rain has fallen on the track here the past few days, particularly last night, and it's a major issue as they try to run the Auto Club 500 in Fontana.

The "weepers" we mentioned earlier have become an enormous issue. Drivers maintain that a four-car tangle on Lap 21 was a direct result of Casey Mears driving over one of the long wet spots, losing control and getting into the wall.

Mears touched the wall, came down the track and was clipped by Dale Earnhardt Jr. Sam Hornish saw the chaos developing ahead of him and clipped the back of Reed Sorenson, bending his hood and eliminating his ability to see where his car was going. Said Hornish: "After that, I was just along for the ride."

Hornish eventually slammed into the rear of Mears, getting underneath Mears and rolling him over onto his roof. Hornish's engine burst into flames, and it looked scary there for a bit before track workers got the fire put out and extricated the two drivers.

Several drivers were very unhappy that the race went off with water leaking, clearly, from the weepers.

None was more blunt that Earnhardt.

"That's a dirty old race track out there," Earnhardt said.

Asked if he were OK, after being flipped around and smacking the wall, he said, "Just frustrating."

"The track isn't ready today. Just a bad move" to try to race.

Denny Hamlin hit the wall a few laps earlier, and he was critical of race conditions, too.

"I think we can get back out there but I think there are 42 other drivers that would agree that we should not be racing on that race track right now," Hamlin said. "I hit a slick spot and my car took off. You can see it on television. Right at the seams it's seeping a lot of water.

"I hit a wet spot and I'm not going to be the last one."

Jimmie Johnson, unscathed so far, said the "weepers" are diabolical.

"It's tough to see those wet spots until you drive over the top of them," he said. "You get on that water and you lose control. ... We might be getting things under control. Unfortunately, we lost a lot of cars in the process."

So, a recap:

Today's race started 2:30 hours late as they dried the track.

It was halted for 67 minutes after the four-car wreck. So it's 5:20 p.m., and the race should have ended something like an hour ago, had it gone off on time.

And now rain is falling again, and a yellow flag has come out. It the rain keeps up ... we're in for a very long night or a very short (and probably postponed till tomorrow) race.

Posted by Paul Oberjuerge at 5:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The rain has stopped. Looks like the bigj storm may have come in a bit early -- and left a bit early. So we might actually have a shot at getting this race (the Auto Club 500) off by 3 p.m. or so. Or two hours late.

The big issue? Well, aside from no more rain coming through?

Weepers.

In Turn 3.

Back on Friday, they had some rain here, but then it stopped, and in theory they could have tried to qualify ...

But there was moisture coming up through the track -- especially near the entry to Turn 3.

Officials here said rain earlier in the winter had left the ground fairly saturated, and that led to moisture percolating up through the seams in the asphalt/concrete.

The process is known as "weeping" ... and the long lines/spots where the water emerges are known as "weepers." And that's what we're talking about a lot here.

Wouldn't seem like that big a deal, a little bit of moisture in one spot. But drivers seemed quite alarmed. They said Turn 3 here is a little squirrely to begin with, they say, and if you have to drive over wet spots just as you're braking and turning ...

So, that's the question. We've got the main track fairly dry, as the jet engines are towed round and round.

But what is the condition back there in Turn 3?

What are the weepers up to? If they're leaking water ... the race may not happen after all. Even without any rain falling.

Posted by Paul Oberjuerge at 2:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I've been saying for a couple of years that Fontana has THE two worst dates possible on the NASCAR schedule.

Right after Daytona, in February, is a horrible idea. February is out wettest month and often the coldest, too. The idea of luring SoCal weather sissies into an outdoor venue to sit and shiver for four hours is laughable.

And the second date is Labor Day, which is Southland shorthand for "hottest weekend of the year." Again, who wants to go through the physical punishment of sitting in the elements (because it isn't really a night race) when they could be in an air-conditiioned room somewhere.

The potential good news is this: Fontana could get at least one different date.

Apparently, Atlanta isn't keen about its late-October date. It's college football season, in Georgia, which has an NFL team in Atlanta, too (which L.A. doesn't), and it also tends to get cold there in October.

Fontana, meanwhile, has a very good chance of being nicely temperate in late October. Also, getting that race would put Fontana into The Chase -- the 10-week season-ending sprint to the season championship.

No one is stepping up and offering to take this February weekend off Fontana's hands. Not yet.

But some relief in October ... that could make a big different in attendance for this track.

Posted by Paul Oberjuerge at 5:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

There is something particularly forlorn about a wet race track. It is astonishingly dead.

Those huge grandstands empty. Cars parked in the garages or covered with plastic.

People sitting around twiddling their thumbs on the off chance that somehow the track can be dried out and cars can start circling it. Well-bundled people, hoping to fend off the wet and cold.

Fontana's track (now known as Auto Club Speedway) didn't need this.

The track already is something of a joke on the NASCAR circuit. Everyone has noticed they haven't sold out the 92,000-capacity grandstand for eight consecutive races and suggest at least one of its two Sprint Cup dates ought to be taken from it.

There is some animus toward the track, too. Hardcore fans hold it responsible for taking Darlington's Labor Day date, killing the hugely popular Southern 500 ... and for stripping a race from Rockingham, which is now closed.

One of the biggest laughs in the media room today went up with word came through that track officials estimated today's attendance at 37,000.

"Maybe 37,000 drove by on the freeway," someone said.

The weather sites I'm looking at has the rain going right through tomorrow night, which means the Auto Club 500 won't happen until Monday morning, at earliest. Probably at about 11. Unless this rain front blows through much faster than expected.

And that will make for thousands of unhappy consumers who had tickets to Sunday's event and can't go to a race on Monday ... and another publicity black eye for the track and one of its two NASCAR races.

Anyway, this place is depressing. Hard to imagine anyone staying here who isn't getting paid to do so.

Posted by Paul Oberjuerge at 5:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Rain washed out qualifying on Friday.

They managed to get the trucks race to the finish line early this afternoon, but now it's raining again ... or drizzling, anyway ... and the Nationwide race appears in peril.

And on top of everything else ... rain is forecast for ALL day Sunday. Which means the main event almost certainly isn't going to happen on time.

The leader in the clubhouse is NASCAR opting for an 11 a.m. start Monday.

And how many of the tens of thousands of ticket holders actually will be able to go to that race?

But no refunds, as I understand it.

That's the peril of scheduling a race for SoCal in February. Historically, our wettest month. It can rain here, in February. And it is.

The website weather.com puts the chance of rain at 40 percent or better for every hour from tonight until 5 p.m. tomorrow. The race COULD start as late as 8 p.m. Sunday, if the rain ends early enough. But that would involve drying the track and hoping it doesn't ooze water, as it did at Turn 3 on Friday.

What few fans were in the stands a few hours ago are gone. Under the grandstands, maybe. Perhaps in their cars driving home.

Just what this track did NOT need. Another underwhelming event. Actually, almost a non-event, if it happens Monday.

Posted by Paul Oberjuerge at 3:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

But this isn't a survey question you want to be mentioned in.

"Which player gets the least out of the most talent?"

Not surprisingly, barking dog Kwame Brown, ex-Laker, leads the way.

Which reminds me of something I was thinking the other day ... how the Lakers HAD to get better just by getting rid of two massive stiffs they gave serious playing time to for two years: Kwame Brown and Smush Parker. Each of them stunningly flawed players with an unwillingness to acknowledge those flaws and severe problems with teamwork. You know, that Branch Rickey saying about "addition by subtraction."

Some day we'll look back and ... wince? ... that Smush started 162 consecutive games for the Lakers the previous two seasons (until Phil Jackson FINALLY benched him, just before the playoffs last year), and that Kwame started 77 games during the same span. It's a marvel the Lakers made the playoffs both seasons.

Here is the SI survey:

Which player gets the least out of the most talent?

Kwame Brown, Lakers C...... 17%
Tim Thomas, Clippers F...... 10%
Eddy Curry, Knicks C...... 7%
Vince Carter, Nets G...... 6%
Darko Milicic, Grizzlies C/F...... 5%
Tracy McGrady, Rockets G...... 4%
Darius Miles, Trail Blazers SF...... 4%
Stromile Swift, Grizzlies C/F...... 3%
J.R. Smith, Nuggets SG...... 3%
Gerald Green, Timberwolves G/F...... 2%

Based on a survey of 242 NBA Players

FAST FACTS: Drafted No. 1 out of high school by the Wizards in 2001, Brown has averaged more than 10 points in a season only once (2003-04); this year he was averaging 4.8 points in 20 games through Sunday.... The 6'10" Thomas has played for six teams in 11 years, never averaging better than 5.0 rebounds a season.... Carter has averaged more than 20 points in nine straight seasons.

OK, I'm back.

A note on Tim Thomas: Interesting that the Clippers gave him such a big contract (four years, $24 million) when his reputation as a dog has been so well-known, around the league. Not surprising, considering these are the Clippers, but interesting. And I didn't think the rest of the league would have a sense that Thomas is an underachiever. I mean, don't you have to be higher-visibility for your name to be called out 10 percent of the time? But maybe if you're 6-10 and don't rebound and stand around the three-point line for long enough, people DO notice.

And Kwame ... in a small way, the survey isn't quite fair. Kwame IS a massive (6-11, 270 pounds) disappointment, considering he was the top overall pick in 2001. And his attitude DOES appear to be shaky. He always seemed, to me, utterly indifferent to how he performed. I was a little surprised when he said he was hurt by Lakers fans booing him, not long before the trade.

But his most basic problems are perhaps not something he could have "fixed" with hard work and a good attitude.

The man has horrible hands. He can't catch. He can't dribble. And that is the real basis of his ineffectiveness. Why he can't score, can't pass, can't finish.

I'm not sure you can correct that with more time in the gym. I believe you're born with that. Hand-eye ... you've got it or you don't. You might be able to refine those skills, but if you're starting out at the bottom, like Kwame ...

Amazinng, really. How many dextrous people there are in the world ... but so few of them are a chiseled 6-11. Kwame is a klutz. But a big, muscular one with athletic ability. He just was born with ping-pong paddles for hands.

And now? He's just an expiring contract. A guy whose big salary comes off the books this season, which is why the Grizzlies wanted him, in the Gasol trade. So they can spend that $10 million on a real player.

A year from now Kwame will be playing for the NBA version of peanuts ($2 million, maybe?) ... and I bet that will be his last contract. Hope he's saving his money, because he's not gonna make much more from the NBA.

Posted by Paul Oberjuerge at 1:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Sports Illustrated surveyed a big chunk of NBA players, asking a variety of questions.

Here's one with a Lakers overtone:

"Which opposing player scares you the most to play against?"

The winner? Kobe Bryant. By a wide margin. When I thought it would be LeBron James.

Here are the SI numbers:

Which opposing player scares you the most to play against?

Kobe Bryant, Lakers G...............35%
Shaquille O'Neal, Suns C.............12%
Kevin Garnett, Celtics F............... 6%
LeBron James, Cavs F.................. 4%
Dwight Howard, Magic C.............. 4%
Allen Iverson, Nuggets G...... 4%
Tim Duncan, Spurs F...... 4%
Steve Nash, Suns G...... 4%
Tracy McGrady, Rockets G...... 2%
Dirk Nowitzki, Mavericks F...... 4%

FAST FACTS Poll was completed before O'Neal (page 35) was traded from the Heat to the Suns last week. . . . Bryant particularly unnerves forwards, who gave him more than 41% of their vote. . . . Among players 35 and older, 63% voted for Bryant, who has led the league in points, field goals and field goal attempts in each of the past three seasons

[Based on a survey of 242 NBA Players] • For more on the poll, and to comment on it, go to SI.com/players.

Me again ...

Why does LeBron rate so low? He's the most unstoppable physical force in the league? Kobe might have more skill, but LeBron is just a LOAD ... who would scare me.

Maybe Kobe gets points from players for his rep as having "an assassin's mentality." That must be it. But LeBron isn't exactly a softie, either. Hmm.

Posted by Paul Oberjuerge at 1:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Weird, sloppy, fairly ugly game. But it got San Bernardino closer to the CCAA title, and pushed Pomona a little closer to the danger zone of missing the first conference playoffs.

Cal State (20-5) now has won 20 games for the 10th time in 11 seasons and is 13-4 in the CCAA -- leading 11-5 Humboldt State and UC San Diego -- which plays at Coussoulis Arena on Friday night.

Pomona fell to 11-12 and 9-8, and needs to win only one of its last three to clinch a top-eight finish in the CCAA, which puts it into the new conference tourney ... but its last three are against UC San Diego, and at Sonoma State and Humboldt. And Sonoma is the team with a chance to catch the Broncos -- if it can finish with four victories.

Anyway, good win for San Bernardino because it had a four-game losing streak against Pomona. It just wasn't particularly attractive. Actually, it was passionless and dull. But it still counts.

Pomona took only 27 shots. Larry Gordon scored 12 points ... all at the line. Pomona made 21 turnovers, but Cal State committed 18.

Both teams choked off the other team's offense, pretty much. But San Bernardino occasionally worked it inside (mostly to Jason Gilzene, who had 17 points on 8-for-8 shooting) ... while Pomona eventually got to the line when Cal State hacked somebody. Cal Poly was 26-for-34 at the line.

Cal State got 13 points from curious backup guard Renardo Bass, a guy who doesn't look like he could make a difference but does, in a quiet, inobtrusive way. He's almost invisible.

Smallish crowd; official attendance was listed at 815, which is disappointing for what is supposed to be one of the CCAA's top rivalries. But with school tomorrow and, more significant, a light rain falling (and people have noticed it's a long walk from the Cal State parking lot to Coussoulis) ... well, there you are.

Pomona has issues in the backcourt; that's been talked about all year. Bounce-back guard Angelo Tsagarakis, who was at Oregon State for four seasons, was supposed to be The Man, and he thinks he is, but he's a semi-annoying player who appears to be lecturing teammates during games. Maybe it's because he was born in France.

But Pomona also has issues inside, which the rebounding totals reflected. Pomona had only 17 rebounds in 40 minutes, which is a stunningly low total. San Bernardino had 15 just on the offensive end, 28 total.

What I missed: The Cal State band (where were they?), a competitive Cal Poly team (I know, they'd won the previous four, but you had to wonder "how?", especially this year), a strong game by Cal State leading scorer Marlon Pierce (3-for-10, eight points).

Pomona never got closer than seven down the stretch. That made things a bit less interesting, too.

In the women's game, it was San Bernardino 68, Pomona 64. That game apparently was uglier, which is saying something.

The women shot 69 free throws on 53 fouls, spending even more time hacking and standing at the line than did the men, who shot 56 free throws and were whistled for 43 fouls.

Vanessa Wilt had 19 and 14 for Cal State (20-4), her 23rd double-double of the season.

Posted by Paul Oberjuerge at 11:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Scott Smith is one of the top prep basketball coaches in the Inland Empire ... but perhaps the least-known, given his accommplishments.

If his current team can win in the CIF quarterfinals on Friday, he will have 11 20-victory teams in his 13-year coaching career, and seven CIF semifinalists. That's some serious winning.

Maybe Smith, 42, would have higher visibility had he won a CIF title. None of his teams has done that. And he's played for only one title, in 1998, when his Pacific Pirates lost to Glendora and Casey Jacobsen, 56-50, at Anaheim Arena.

Smith is in his sixth season at Arroyo Valley, and the Hawks play Valencia at 7:30 p.m. Friday for a place in the CIF Division II-A semis.

At Pacific, he had seven seasons of at least 20 victories, including five consecutive semifinal appearances, 1996-2000.

Yes, he had some good players (Bobby Burries, Chris Smith, Demond Huff, Ryan Nece, Michael Hall, Chaun Ballard, Donny Jury, Chris Adams), but he wasn't having transfers parachute in, like most of the elite teams in the Southern Section. Nor did he have kids from prominent club teams with big shoe connections.

And he coaches in a district that often struggles to get basic tasks accomplished.

Said Smith: "All the schools in the city have the same kids. The key is to get them to respect you, because if they do, they'll play hard for you.

"I'm very demanding in practice. It's not fun and games. I'm not their friend. I'm not their enemy, either."

He said a dependence on playing with whomever walks into the gym makes for some tough starts. "Every year we get a new team because I don't get recruits in. I start over every year. ... We haven't had a transfer in so long ...

"The reason we win at Arroyo and Pacific is, No. 1, we challenge the best teams year in and year out and don't worry about wins and losses and get better. No. 2, we prepare hard. No. 3, a league title is great, but our focus now is not making the playoffs but winning games in the playoffs."

Smith's teams have been good at that. By his accounting, his teams are 31-12 in the CIF playoffs.

This Arroyo Valley team is winning with guile, cohesion and quickness. The Hawks have 6-6 Joe Richard, who is the school's first D1 basketball recruit (Tulsa), but no other starter stands taller than 6-1.

Valencia, Friday's opponent, goes 6-6, 6-6, 6-6 across the front, Smith said.

If Arroyo Valley can win (and it beat a bigger team, Pasadena, last week), it already is guaranteed a home game Tuesday against the winner of the Colony-Serra game..

More about Scott Smith in Friday's editions of the newspapers.

Posted by Paul Oberjuerge at 7:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Shaquille O'Neal floundered around for a half, but when the Lakers-Suns game was over tonight he looked like a guy who could take the Suns to another level.

To the NBA Finals, that is.

Shaq scored 15 points, took nine rebounds and had three assists in nearly 29 minutes ... and didn't pass out from the exertion.

He was a force late in the game, and a big reason the Suns almost pulled out a game the Lakers led almost throughout.

His arrival seems to have energized the Suns and their fans. They had gone limp, even after winning 61 games last year and being significant contenders these past three seasons.

For starters: The Suns crushed the Lakers on the boards, which is not what the pre-Shaq Suns were likely to do, outrebounding them 46-33.

Said Lakers coach Phil Jackson: "We got beat on the boards. It's one of the features that the Suns have always been vulnerable at. Obviously, now with Shaq and (Amare) Stoudemire they are a much better rebounding team and they showed it tonight.."

The Lakers played very well in an extremely entertaining game that had the energy and intensity of a playoffs game.

Had the Lakers not played so well, they would have lost.

Kobe Bryant scored 41 points on 16-of-25 shooting, Pau Gasol had 29 points and Lamar Odom had 22. The Lakers shot 56.5 percent from the field and commited only nine turnovers.

And the Suns pushed them all the way.

I've written a column about Shaq, mostly, for the Thursday newspapers.

Kobe was impressed by the dive-on-the-floor, hard-charging Shaq. And how he almost took over the game at the end. "When the game was on the line, he went back to ground-and-pound," Kobe said of Shaq. "It was pretty awesome to see."

O'Neal was complimentary toward Kobe, as well.

"He’s the best player in the league," O'Neal said. "He really is. I’ve been saying that since I’ve been playing with him ... a fabulous player."

The thought for the Suns here is ... if they can play this well, with this much energy, with O'Neal not really integrated into their system, how good could they be a month from now?

The flip side? Can Shaq, who will be 36 in a few weeks, keep up the effort he gave tonight against the Lakers on national TV?

If he can, the West just went from tough to ridiculously tough. With 10 good-to-very good teams, two of which won't even make the playoffs, and about a half-dozen legitimate title contenders. Including the Lakers. And the Suns, now that they have what appears to be a revitalized Shaq.

Posted by Paul Oberjuerge at 9:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Shaquille O'Neal hasn't exactly turned around the Phoenix Suns just yet.

OK, yeah, it's hard to expect too much from a nearly 36-year-old big man who hasn't played in one day shy a month.

But so far ... Phoenix is in the game (65-57 Lakers) despite him.

He's been a big, slow lump in the middle of their game.

His stat line at the half:

12 minutes, 1-for-3 shooting, 2-for-6 from the line (it would be 2-for-8, but two FTs were waved off because of people in the lane too soon), 5 rebounds (2 on offense), 2 assists, 3 fouls, 3 turnovers, 1 block, 4 points.

Kobe Bryant played all 24 minutes of the first half. Not sure what that's about. He's been the Lakers' best player, but that's always the case. And he played last night.

Anyway, he's been sharp. 20 points on 7-of-11 shooting. He's tearing up Raja Bell, who usually gives him a bad time. A Phoenix reporters suggests Raja isn't the player he was, say, two years ago.

On the other hand, Steve Nash is destroying Derek Fisher. Fish can't keep up with the little guy. Nash is 7-for-10 (with only two assists; hmm) for 15 points.

Posted by Paul Oberjuerge at 7:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Both coaches talked a bit about Shaquille O'Neal and his Suns debut, before the game.

Well, Phil talked a little bit. Mike D'Antoni of the Suns talked a lot.

Jackson, asked if O'Neal would be comfortable in the Suns offense: "I think he’ll have an idea. As far as minutes, I’m sure his minutes won’t be heavy tonight. I would guess that would happen. With minutes comes the adjustability to play in the system. So I imagine that will happen. He plays more minutes, he’ll adjust more to what the game is about."

On the importance of the game: "This is just our attempt to wrest the season series against them, so if we get close enough or they get close enough to forge a tie (at the end of the regular season) we have an opportunity to step ahead of them. That’s the value of this game. It’s a game on the schedule, yet it’s meaningful because they can tie us with a win and we can win the season series with them with a win."

(The Lakers won two of the first three matchups this season; they're done, unless they meet in the playoffs.)

Asked whether he embraces spectacle or tries to ignore it: "There’s going to be a lot of energy in the arena. You just have to warn the players not to get wrapped up in it too much. Just let the game play itself. Don’t try to do too much in the game. Let basketball be kind of the dictator."

D'Antoni, on Shaq getting a new start in Phoenix: "Steve (Nash) was an 'old' 31 when we got him and now he's a young 34. We really think Shaq will benefit from being here. It might be the sunshine. I just feel like we have a really good chance of Shaq being healthy and playing the next 2-3 years. It’s a gamble, but it’s a gamble worth taking."

About why the trade was made: "As a team, we got stale. It was like we were going up hill. For whatever reason it wasn’t the same. We got stale. We maybe could have made a run, and then Shaq is available and we had to decide if he had something left or not."

On Shaq and Steve Nash: "We just thought they would be a great complement for each other. .... We hope Shaq and Amare will draw some attention down there (in the paint) and free (Nash) up for some open shots."

Asked how comfortable Shaq would be in the offense: "It’s more how comfortable Steve is. Every time he looks down low, you see Shaq because he’s blocking out the guy behind him. Tonight, we’ll probably over-pass."

How long before Shaq is in shape? "It’ll take him about 10 games to really get in game shape."

What does Shaq do for your offense? "We should be better, offensively. We should be more efficient."

On Stoudemire having to move to power forward: "Amare shoots the ball so well now he doesn’t have to be in the paint. He’s a floor-spreader now."

On the Western Conference loading up: "A year ago, we wanted to stay away from Dallas and San Antonio. ... I don’t think it matters this year. I don’t care who you play. You just try to get as good as you can get. Obviously, you’d like to be first and have home-court advantage."

On the competition in the West. "Every game here on out, regular season, you’re going to see great games. That’s great for the NBA."

Posted by Paul Oberjuerge at 6:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

He jumped (if that's the word) against Pao Gasol on the opening tip. Neither guy controlled uit, but Shaq got the second whack at it and Suns controlled.

First time he touched the ball, he threw it back out to Amare Stoudemire, who hit a 17-footer.

Soon after, he got beaten going back up the floor, and Gasol scored on a layup.

A trip down a bit later, the Lakers dallied around the basket long enough that Shaq hove into the picture, and blocked a shot. Maybe Lamar?

A bit later, Shaq got the ball semi-low, against Gasol, and a fan right behind me shouted, "Back him down!!"

Instead, Shaq tried to turn and shoot, but Vlad Radmanovic stripped the ball before Shaq could elevate it above his waist.

He had an actual shot, maybe the next trip. A jump hook from about 7 feet that he missed badly. But, then, he he couldn't make in L.A., either.

And then he came out. With 8:58 left in the quarter. He had played 3:02.

He sat down heavily on the Suns bench.

Dude hasn't played since Jan. 21, and he hasn't been in shape during the regular season since about 2000.

Phil Jackson before the game suggested it would take Shaq 5-7 games to get into the Suns' system.

Mike D'Antoni, Suns coach, said before the game he thought Shaq would need 8-10 games "to play himself in shape."

Hah.

So far, he looks like an old chubby guy. He can take up space, maybe rebound. But he can't jump, doesn't run much ... hard to envision him making a difference here.

Posted by Paul Oberjuerge at 6:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Lakers now being introduced. Booed vociferously, of course. Especially Kobe.

Now about to introduce Shaquille O'Neal, a guy we thought was washed up but has taken Phoenix by storm. Like, the people here have been out in the sun too long and think they're getting something vaguely resembling the guy who led the Lakers to three consecutive titles five-plus years ago.

Anyway, they're going nuts.

They've got a video of Shaq already put together ... it shows him towering above the skyline -- Phoenix's, maybe? And letting out a roar. Like King Kong in Manhattan, I guess. Godzilla in Tokyo, maybe.

Intros of the Suns now.

Amare Stoudemire first, then Grant Hill and Raja Bell, then Shaq -- who walked onto the floor, perhaps to save energy. And then Steve Nash last, because he is, after all, a two-time MVP.

Gametime about here. When we get back from ESPN commercials, presumably.

Ack. I forgot Phoenix is one of those places where fans like to STAND for big chunks of the game ... and I can't really see the court from my seat on the south side of the arena, about two-thirds of the way up the main level.

Here we go. Let's see if Shaq has anything left.

PA guy now shouting, "They got bigger, we got bigger! They got better, we got better!"

We'll see.

Posted by Paul Oberjuerge at 6:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Not exactly a shock here. Baseball continues to reel from steroids/HGH announcements and pronouncements, and Barry Bonds' agent is surprised no one has called?

No one is seeking out the Poster Child for Unnatural Growth?

I'm shocked.

Here is the news story.

You would think the agent would understand: Barry Bonds is radioactive. No team wants to have that glowing lump of plutonium sitting in their clubhouse.

Actually, you hardly want Bonds around even if he were clean. Well, for one, he probably would shrivel up like a vampire exposed to sunlight. But also because he commands/demands such special pampering by the home team. The extra lockers, the PR people running interference, the play-when-he-feels-like-playing stuff. Making sure the third baseman, shortstop and center fielder run into left and take any ball they can possibly reach because Barry can't move enough anymore to play defense.

And do you want to win with Barry? Wouldn't it kind of ruin the whole effect, having Big-head Barry around?

You certainly don't want to lose with a 40-something chemically created monster in your lineup.

I'll be shocked if anyone picks up the guy. Shocked.

Posted by Paul Oberjuerge at 9:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Lots of energy in the building tonight as Pau Gasol played a Lakers home game for the first time.

Gasol was cheered when his face appeared on pre-introduction highlights.

He was cheered even more loudly when he was introduced in the starting lineup.

And he got a thunderous ovation when he took a behind-the-back pass from Kobe Bryant (the kind of pass Kwame Brown would have whacked out of bounds with his ping-pong paddle hands), took a few dribbles along the baseline and athletically put up a reverse layup.

The Lakers destroyed the Atlanta Hawks, going up 41 in the second quarter before coasting to a 122-93 victory.

That's five consecutive victories and nine in 11 games. The Lakers are 19 games over .500 (at 36-17) for the first time since the last Shaquille O'Neal team (2003-04).

Gasol and Kobe Bryant each scored 23 points; neither played one second of the fourth quarter as Phil Jackson rested his regulars for the Wednesday night game in Phoenix vs. the Suns and, yes, Shaq, who will make his Suns debut.

"It was great. It was a pretty big deal for me," Gasol said. "I'm excited and honored to be here with my teammates and these fans. The way we came out and played defense in the first half was pretty impressive.

"Obviously the crowd had a lot to do with it. They gave us a lot of energy. I had a chance to play my first home game as a Laker, and I wanted to give the fans a little taste of what it's going to be from now on with me and the team."

Fans seem to expect Gasol to be a difference-maker. He could be He seems like the perfect complementary player for Bryant: A known scorer who doesn't demand the ball and doesn't mind being The Sidekick.

Lakers fans are almost giddy at the thought of how good their team could be if Andrew Bynum (knee) comes back strong.

Definitely, some deep penetrations in the playoffs are coming up. Maybe even this spring.

Posted by Paul Oberjuerge at 11:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

That was a basketball season you don't often see.

A team starts 24-0 ... and finishes 0-3.

From top-ranked in CIF Division II-AA, 32 minutes from at least a share of another Citrus Belt League title ... to second in the league and out in the first round of the playoffs.

"Everybody is still in shock," Redlands coach Brad Scott said today. "If you figure out the number of calendar days ... in 10 days you go from being No. 1 in CIF to losing three straight games at home and being knocked out of a dream you thought would be realistic -- to win the league and go two, three rounds in the playoffs.

"Everybody is in shock. People have come by and said 'You've got nothing to be ashamed of, 24-3 is a great season.' But the kids feel like they didn't accomplish some things. We took a right and a left and then one more (punch), and then it was over."

Scott conceded that the Terriers' first defeat, 83-72 at home to crosstown rival Redlands East Valley, seemed to be a psychological blow Redlands never recovered from.

Another factor? The Terriers had eight very solid prep basketball players, guys who had been together a long time and had great chemistry, guys who were unselfish and expected success.

But it was not a team with remarkable individual talent. The Terriers weren't very big and certainly weren't very fast. They also didn't have that one Go To Guy who could create a shot -- and make it. This is not a team with a Division I college basketball player. Not even a marginal one.

And when this team's belief in itself was shaken ... when some physical problems cropped up, all of its shortcomings suddenly loomed large. At the very time the Terriers were playing some tough and hungry teams.

Other reasons for the stunning turnaround:

1. After growing accustomed to 24 games (26 CBL games, over two seasons) of nothing but success, Redlands never recovered from the jolt of that first loss -- at home to REV, a team the Terriers earlier had rolled over twice, 82-59 and 69-55. Even though REV won by shooting an astonishing 30-of-33 from the line, "that game knocked us on our heels a little, to be honest," Scott said. "We'd beaten them twice and had no reason to believe we wouldn't beat them again and would go into the Ike game with a piece of the CBL (title) already. We were up 58-53, and lost. We finally had a bad game. And hats off to REV. They had everything to play for and we weren't as focused as we might have been."

2. The immediate followup game (two days later) against a very good Eisenhower team, which the Terriers lost, 56-42 when the style of the game turned rough-and-tumble.

"We regrouped for the Ike game," Scott said, "and we were up nine by half, and they made some adjustments, and the second half was called like a college game, and they're more physical than we are. We got knocked off the ball, and a physical game would go ike's way and a finesse game would go our way. That's just how the game was called."

3. The flu that struck Redlands' starting guards, Josh Green and Ricky Peetz, in the days leading up to the first round of the playoffs. Green missed four days, Peetz missed two, and neither started nor played many minutes in the home game against Fullerton -- which won, 51-43. (Alex Wolpe and Tristan Kirk led Redlands with nine points each.)

A team already dealing with a wounded psyche