Girls Basketball


Above: South Hills stud Melinda Gomez in action against Downey.

Tribune top Ten
1. Bishop Amat (13-2)
Opened Del Rey with win over Serra. Should remain on top all season.
2. Diamond Ranch (10-6)
Played well in loss to Bishop Amat; clearly establised No. 2
3. Covina (15-1)
Only stumble against Downey, but still not as good as top two.
4. South Hills (8-2)
Won Rowland tournament, and looking more than just Melinda Gomez.
5. Wilson (13-3)
Still the areas biggest surprise? But can they win the Miramonte?
6. Walnut (10-5)
Facing South Hills on Friday in what ultimately could decide the San Antonio
7. Azusa (11-3)
Wins over Sierra Vista and South Hills. But are they the real deal?
8. Sierra Vista (11-6)
Righted ship in La Puente tourney, but it was the La Puente tournament
9. Diamond Bar (10-6)
Another one of the area’s surprise teams, but can it compete in the Sierra
10. Glendora (9-7)
Not bad considering schedule

Notes: Unless there are injuries or something dramatic happens, Bishop Amat is the top team and will remain on top all season. But it will be a tougher road that in previous years for the Lady Lancers to win the Del Rey, and there is a lot of anticipation for an upcoming non-league game against rival St. Paul on the horizon. My biggest questions are can Wilson hang with Diamond Ranch in the Miramonte, which I’m guessing they can’t. And how good is Azusa after beating South Hills and opening Montview with a huge win over rival Sierra Vista. And Covina, well, they likely will go undefeated in a watered-down Valle Vista, and the Sierra League is up for grabs.

Games of the week:

Wednesday, Dec. 9
Glendora at Diamond Bar, 5 p.m.
Diamond Ranch at Bonita, 4:45 p.m.
South Hills at Los Altos, 4:45 p.m.

Friday, Dec. 11
Los Altos at Diamond Ranch, 5:15 p.m.
Walnut at South Hills, 4:45 p.m.
Baldwin Park at Covina, 5:30 p.m.

Saturday, Dec. 12
Bishop Amat at Magnolia, 6:30 p.m.

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Boys Baketball

Tribune rankings
1. Damien (13-4)
Moved to top with win over Bonita
2. Bonita (14-3)
Lost two straight after 14-1 start
3. Diamond Ranch (10-5)
Undefeated against area teams
4. Nogales (13-5)
Wins over Diamond Bar, Glendora
5. Glendora (10-6)
Dominic Tiger-Cortes doing it all
6. La Verne Lutheran (12-0)
Will they lose a game? I don’t think so.
7. Los Altos (12-5)
On roll, winning 10 of last 11
8. Northview (12-5)
Looking like the Valle Vista favorites
9. Walnut (10-7)
Solid wins on resume, but can they keep it up?
10. South Hills (10-4)
Winners of Azusa tournament. Nice, but who did they beat?

Notes: Even after December, I’m still not comfortable with the top ten rankings. Damien deserves to be on top after losing to Bonita earlier in the season, then beating the Bearcats in a late tournament rematch. But I have a feeling Diamond Ranch and even Nogales will make a charge. And you can’t forget Glendora, even though its supporting cast is not that solid around Dominic Tiger-Cortes. And what should we think about La Verne Lutheran. They will go undefeated in their league, and will probably make a run in CIF. But are they among the area’s best. After talking to Cameron Murray, I believe they’re.

Games of the week:

Wednesday, Dec. 9
Chino Hills at Damien, 6:30 p.m.
Diamond Ranch at Bonita, 6:30 p.m.
Nogales at Walnut, 6:30 p.m.

Friday, Dec. 11
Glendora at Chino Hills, 7 p.m.
Walnut at South Hills, 6:30 p.m.

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Football: Wilson to begin head football coaching search … The winner gets “Happy Gilmore”

Wilson High athletic director Dave Merrill said the school will officially open the head football coaching position to all applicants on Wednesday, Jan.9, and the position will remain open for one month. Wilson is looking for a new head football coach after the resignation of Robert Oviedo. Merrill said there has been lots of interest in the position, and that it comes with a full-time teaching position. He said it is unlikely the school would hire a walk-on head football coach.

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Football: Gano will probably return

After speaking with Los Altos High football coach Greg Gano, I got the impression he will be back on the sidelines next season. Gano has been contemplating his future since the season ended. Asked if he might retire as head football coach, but remain at the school, Gano said. “It has entered my mind. It’s one of those things where I’m still evaluating everything. I’ve got to see if I still have the fire in me. I’ll make a decision soon, but I will probably be back.” Then, after a brief pause, he added. “You know what, I’m probably not going anywhere.” Gano realizes he doesn’t have much coming back next season, but said he would welcome coaching a team that doesn’t have the high expectations of his past teams. “You have to take the good with the bad,” Gano said. “You can’t be good all the time.” Then jokingly, he added. “Maybe we will have to coach a little bit.”

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Who’s lying? Clemens or McNamee

Steve Ramirez walked in the office this morning and said, “I believe Roger.” I’m still not sure, though Clemens’ interview on 60 minutes was persuasive. I still don’t know how steroids makes a pitcher better? Maybe it helps with longevity, but a pitcher has to make pitches, not just throw hard. In any case, I can’t wait until Clemens and McNamee square off in Washington. If it ends up that Clemens is lying, he’ll never make the Hall of Fame after the campaigning he’s doing now. That’s why I’m inclined to believe Clemens. But is he really willing to take a lie-detector test? And what did McNamee and Clemens say during their phone conversation last week? You know someone secretly recorded that conversation, right? Well, don’t be surprised when someone comes out with it. Enough of this, what do you think?

More on Clemens … Clemens filed a defamation lawsuit against his former trainer on Monday, saying Brian McNamee falsely accused him of using performance-enhancing drugs only after he was “threatened with criminal prosecution if he did not implicate Clemens” to federal investigators.
But an attorney for McNamee said Monday that his client was not pressured by federal investigators to name Clemens but that McNamee told Clemens people that he was pressured.
“He lied to them and tried to say, Well, they pressured me, because he wanted to continue to stay in the good graces of Roger,” the attorney Earl Ward said in a telephone interview.
Ward was present during the day of questioning by federal investigators in June, which was described in a lawsuit Clemens filed Sunday. Ward said McNamee will also say, under oath, he was not pressured.

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Girls Soccer

It should be no surprise that the Tribune’s top two-ranked teams come from the Sierra League, which is easily the toughest league in the area and competes in Division I. The Tartans only have allowed ten goals against a pretty tough schedule, which includes a pair of ties against South Hills, which continues to improve each season. St. Lucy’s record isn’t posted anywhere, but they do have a big win over Diamond Ranch, and the soccer people tell me they will be fighting for a league title with Glendora, and several other talented teams in the Sierra. The biggest surprises this year are Bishop Amat and Northview, and the chase for the Miramonte League title is going to be a fight between Los Altos, Wilson, Bonita and Diamond Ranch. Heck, Charter Oak might even sneak a few wins in there.


Tribune Top Ten
1. Glendora (10-2-3)
2. St. Lucys (NA)
3. Walnut (6-2-1)
4. Diamond Ranch (8-4-2)
5. South Hills (7-2-4)
6. Bonita (5-4-3)
7. Bishop Amat (8-3-8)
9. Northview (10-3-1)
10. Los Altos (4-2-2)

This week’s games you don’t want to miss.
Tuesday, Jan. 9
Bonita at Diamond Ranch, 3:15 p.m.
Los Altos vs. South Hills at Covina District, 3:15 p.m.
Bishop Amat at La Salle, 5 p.m.
Wednesday, Jan. 10
Glendora vs. St. Lucy’s at Damien, 3:15 p.m.
Thursday, Jan. 11
South Hills at Walnut, 3:15 p.m.

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This is a bloggers : Top Five questions for the off-season

I saw this question posted on another thread. Feel free to send topic ideas whenever you want. If I like them, I’ll post them.
5. How much better will Barbone get this off-season? The guy is a stud.
4. Will Gano find a way to reload and if not, will LA be able to compete?
3. Will Amat fans have a new head coach to complain about in 08?
2. Is Northview finally going to put that talent to use or are they going to underacheive again?
1. How will the new Wilson coach find a way to keep Gilmore in a Wildcat uniform?

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