Hi All: I just wanted to let you know about my latest entry on Prep Stars: Where are you now? Today I write about former Charter Oak pitching sensation Chuck Tiffany, who re-signed with Dodgers over the weekend. He was assigned to the organization’s spring training complex in Arizona, where the team will determine what affiliate he will pitch for this season.
I get this anonymous call from person at Bassett asking if I want to write about its new weight room, then he casually drops a bomb saying that former Baldwin Park coaching legend and and one of the Valley’s greatest ever, Tony Zane, has agreed to become an assistant football coach at Bassett with head coach Leon Ward. I immediately called Ward, who confirmed it. “I believe I landed a nugget,” Ward said laughing. “Tony and I have been good friends for a long time, I coached with him in some all-star games back in the day and we became really good friends. We stayed in touch and were out with the wives one night when one of the wives suggested that Tony should join me. Tony said he would, which I thought was him just being funny. But a couple days later I approached him about, he was serious and I was serious so here we are. What an incredible person to add to our staff. I’m thrilled.”
Zane Bio: He spent 31 years at Baldwin Park, the last 13 as a head coach when he retired in 2002. During his tenure as an assistand and hea coach he won two CIF-SS championships, won 47 playoffs games, and 16 league titles. Welcome back coach.
Baseball top ten rankings
1. Bishop Amat (15-4) – The Lancers are a perfect 6-0 in the Dely Rey and No. 1 in the Division IV polls. They went 4-0 in the Anaheim Lions’ tournament before losing 3-2 to a strong team from Reno, Nevada, then beat Garfield 8-0 to wrap-up a darn-good week. Considering the teams ranked directly below also lost, the Lancers stay on top.
2. San Dimas (13-3) – – The Saints swept Ganesha last week and get Covina this week before next week’s mammoth home-and-home against Northview. Even though Northview lost twice, we’re jumping the Saints to No. 2 based on their better record than the Vikes, and their head-to-head win.
3. Northview (11-4) – The Vikings go 2-2 in the National Classic, beating Jesuit 7-5 in their final game. Not a great showing, but a good showing, and considering they had a lead going into the sixth inning of every game, that is something to be proud of against such a prestigious field.
4. Glendora (12-5) – After beating Arcadia and pitcher Rutherford to win the Arcadia tourney, the Tartans split with Diamond Bar last week, losing 11-3 at home in the second game, which snapped a six-game win streak. It will be like that in the Sierra, where no playoff spot is guaranteed.
5. Charter Oak (12-5) – The Chargers didn’t play last week, but moved into first all by themselves because of Bonita’s Miramonte league loss to Los Altos. The Chargers have won five straight, and continue to gain confidence.
6. Bonita (12-4) – Don’t know what to make of these recent developments. You can forgive the loss to Wilson as just being one of those things. But after losing to Charter Oak in the championship of the Northview tournament, they split with Los Altos of all teams last week, losing 3-2 after winning 7-2 earlier in the week.
7. Damien (14-4) – The Spartans won the Brian Hamilton tournament, finishing things off with a 7-5 win over Chino in the championship game. Now the fun begins, with a home-and-home against Glendora this week.
8. South Hills (12-6) – Didn’t they use to own the Don Lugo tournament? Well, they didn’t do so bad. After crushing Baldwin Park and losing 3-0 to Chino Hills, they bounced back with a nice 5-3 win over Monrovia to close out the tournament.
9. Diamond Bar (10-7 – You have to respect the fact the Brahmas are 4-3 in the Sierra League, locked in an early four-team race and only a game back of first after splitting with Glendora. We know they can hit, we know their pitching is so-so at times, but they compete and won’t roll over against anyone.
10. Nogales (14-7-1) – The Nobles are hanging on the top ten rankings by a thread. Actually, we probably should have dropped them after losing to Diamond Ranch, Chino Hills and tying Monrovia in their last three games. But they do have credible wins on their resume and with Andrew Melchor on the mound, anything is possible.
Baseball Standings and Schedules
Del Rey League
Miramonte League
Mission Valley League
Montview League
San Antonio League
Sierra League
Valle Vista League
Above: San Dimas’ Ariel Shore. If there is a better leadoff hitter in the Valley, I haven’t seen her.
Girls Softball top ten rankings
1. Glendora (10-2) – The Tartans beat Cantwell Sacred Heart and Temple City to reach the semifinals of the Charter Oak tournament, extending their winning streak to five. They still only have losses to Upland (split) and Etiwanda, and resume tournament action on Friday against El Rancho. In between, a couple of Sierra League games with nemesis, St. Lucy’s.
2. Bonita (15-3-1) – An easy 10-0 win over Diamond Ranch followed 0-1-1 showing against South Hills. After they brush aside Wilson and Charter Oak this week, mark you calendars a week from Thursday when Los Altos comes back to Bo-town. Not only will I predict the outcome, but I’ll give you the final score.
3. Los Altos (12-5) – After beating South Hills 12-0, the Conq’s beat a very good Redlands team 5-4 before losing to Torrance, 4-2 in the Corona Santiago tournament. On Saturday, the Conqs face Mighty Mater Dei in the tournament as well. Los Altos and BAmat have played the toughest schedules … by far.
4. San Dimas (13-3) – The winning streak is now at ten, and they already have punched a ticket to Saturday’s Charter Oak tourney title, facing the winner between Glendora-El Rancho. Please let this be Glendora, I would love to see how the new-and-imporoved Saints fare against our No. 1. Sorry, but the Valle Vista League doesn’t tell us much.
5. Bishop Amat (10-9) – Hey, at least they’re over .500 again. The Lancers went 2-1 last week with wins over El Modena and Saugus before a loss to a tough Carson squad.
6. Walnut (10-5) – We must pay closer attention in Nutsville. In the Whittier Christian tournament they beat a 9-4 Magnolia team, 10-0. Then they beat at 12-5 Riverside Christian squad, 2-1, before losing 5-0 to 13-1 El Segundo. And remember, they only lost to Bonita, 3-1. After Bonita, they’re most improved.
7. South El Monte (10-5) – With the Eagles No. 4 in the Div. VI rankings, don’t be surprised if they make a deep playoff run and they’re the only team we’re writing about near the end of the season. They are 2-1 in the Charter Oak tournament with a loss to Temple City.
8. Sierra Vista (12-2) – The Dons beat a struggling Harvard-Westlake team, then lost to El Rancho in the second round at Charter Oak, the same El Rancho that entered the tournament with a 3-10 record. Now, Sierra Vista’s coach explained that stud pitcher Brittney Flores didn’t pitch (injury), so again, what do we really know about the Dons?
9. South Hills (10-7-1) – Back to reality in 12-0 loss to Los Altos after split with Bonita. Let’s see what the recent results do to this young team’s confidence. With Walnut on the rise, and West Covina and Rowland respectable, the San Antonio is fun again.
10. St. Lucy’s (8-9) – Forget their overall record, their schedule is tough, so looks at the wins, which include a 4-2 decision over Bishop Amat, 4-3 win over Walnut and a 1-0 win over San Dimas. Yeah, they deserve to be here.
Softball Standings and Schedules
Del Rey League
Miramonte League
Mission Valley League
Montview League
San Antonio League
Sierra League
Valle Vista League
“From what I’m seeing it’s going to be a year we’ll rebuild completely. They tell me some of the kids transferred but I’m looking forward to the challenges,” said coach Tip Sanders.
On Jodan Canada transferring to South Hills: “I don’t take it personal. I coached (Canada’s) dad and he worked with me. They said that was something they wanted to do. They said that it was a change they wanted to do,” said Sanders.
By Miguel A. Melendez, Staff Writer
It’s been nearly two months since Duarte High School named Lavelle “Tip” Sanders as the school’s football coach, replacing Wardell Crutchfield who was abruptly fired because the school wanted to go in a different direction. It hasn’t taken long but already Sanders faces the daunting task of regrouping a divided team.
Continue reading “Duarte’s Tip Sanders ready to start from scratch” »
By Jim McConnell, the man we call King:
YOU’D be surprised how much you can learn – when you listen. And when Jim Brownfield calls, you really need to brush up on your auricular skills. Brownfield, 80, currently is experiencing some health problems, but they haven’t slowed him down. His mind is as sharp as ever.
Our good friend Pete Marshall at the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin posted this on his blog recently. It gives further insight to what might happen when re-leaguing is voted on today at 2 p.m. at Diamond Bar High School. Marshall will be at today’s meeting, and will have a story for us in tomorrow’s paper. I will update the blog when I learn the results.
Marshall writes: It’s down to 2 proposals, but might not be limited to two, for releaguing the Mt. SAC Area in the high schools. There will be plenty of politicking over the next few weeks about which of the two proposals to vote for. If they can’t get a 2/3 vote by the 42 principals in the area on one of the two, then other proposals will be considered. Sticking points that my be an issue at the principal’s meeting April 21:
1) The Baseline League wants Glendora and not Damien/St. Lucy’s, to join their league.
2) One proposal has Charter Oak in the Sierra League. Charter Oak contends that works for baseball and maybe 1 or 2 other sports, but isn’t a good match overall.
3) The red proposal has too many five-team leagues to pass, is my guess
4) Damien/St. Lucy’s is an unpopular school tandem to have in a league, but others have issues with Diamond Ranch and/or South Hills, for various reasons, too.
5) Do people prefer the 6 or 7 league proposal?
Here are the proposals (note: Mt. Baldy, Valle Vista and Montview are the same in the 2 proposals)
RED (7 LEAGUES) *-changed from existing
Baseline(5): Alta Loma, Etiwanda, Los Osos, Rancho Cucamonga, Upland
Sierra (5): Ayala, Chino Hills, Damien/St. Lucy’s, D. Ranch*, Glendora
Mt. Baldy (7): Chaffey, Chino*, Colony, Don Lugo, Garey, Montclair, Ontario
Miramonte (5): Bonita, Charter Oak, Claremont*, Los Altos, S. Hills*
San Antonio(5): Diamond Bar*, Nogales, Rowland, Walnut, West Covina
Valle Vista(6): Baldwin Park, Covina, Northview, Pomona, San Dimas, Wilson*
Montview (8): Azusa, Bassett, Duarte, Ganesha*, Gladstone, La Puente, Sierra Vista, Workman
BLUE (6 LEAGUES) *-changed from existing
Baseline(6): Alta Loma, Etiwanda, Los Osos, Rancho Cucamonga, Upland, Damien/St. Lucy’s*
Sierra (7): Ayala, Chino Hills, Charter Oak*, Claremont*, Diamond Ranch*, Glendora, S. Hills*
Mt. Baldy (7): Chaffey, Chino*, Colony, Don Lugo, Garey, Montclair, Ontario
San Antonio(7): Bonita*, Diamond Bar*, Los Altos* Nogales, Rowland, Walnut, West Covina
Valle Vista(6): Baldwin Park, Covina, Northview, Pomona, San Dimas, Wilson*
Montview (8): Azusa, Bassett, Duarte, Ganesha*, Gladstone, La Puente, Sierra Vista, Workman