Riding a title wave
For people who make their living writing about games,
sportswriters can be a woefully whiny lot.
Much of my experience has been that a sportswriter without
something edible in his/her mouth, is, quite often, spewing something
negative from it.
For some reason, some on the prep beat are unusually bitter,
irked, perhaps, that they’re not covering college of professional
sports, or that the space their publication devotes to their coverage
can often be pasted on a playing card.
So it is that the familiar refrain inside the media room at the
CIF Southern Section office on days when playoff pairings are
announced, amounts to heartfelt hopes that teams within their
cirulation areas lose and lose quickly. More losses, less work, more
time to graze and grouse.
If I shared these sentiments, I’d have long ago fled the
Newport-Mesa market, since, particularly this time of year, playoff
season means piling up mileage, long distance phone bills and column
inches.
For local athletes, it means piling up victories and adding to the
already ample collection of Southern Section hardware Newport-Mesa
schools annually amass.
Girls volleyball, boys water polo and girls tennis figure to
continue this trend in the coming weeks and the football playoffs
will include three local teams. The Newport Harbor field hockey team
already made its now annual trip to the Tournament of Champions
final.
Pass the mustard and keep those championships coming.
*
Though Coach Dan Glenn would prefer things were different, the
top-seeded Newport Harbor High girls volleyball team might have the
least-imposing road to a CIF Southern Section crown.
Required by rule to play within their enrollment-based division,
rather than “play up” to seek the best competition, the Sailors face
a red-carpet ride to the title match in Division II-AA.
With defending champion Mira Costa now in Division I-A, only No.
2-seeded Westlake (19-3) appears to stand between the Tars and their
seventh section crown.
Such a statement may be bold, especially considering the Sailors
dropped a Sea View League match to Aliso Niguel this fall. But Glenn
and his talented team should be playing at Cypress College the
weekend before Thanksgiving.
*
Sportsmanship continues to be a point of emphasis for Southern
Section administrators, but recent events indicate these efforts are
rolling against a mounting societal tide.
Some local athletes refused to shake hands last week after a
contentious league finals tennis match. Mind you, these are girls who
attend the same school.
I recently was stunned to witness a football public-address
announcer for a school outside the Newport-Mesa area, use the
microphone to loudly criticize an official’s call.
*
Leave it to Corona del Mar High football coach Dick Freeman to
inject humor into an otherwise dour situation.
After senior center Jason Kidushim screamed in pain when trainers
repositioned a kneecap that had been dislocated during Friday’s game
against Northwood, Freeman, who openly admires the way Kidushim
competes, offered some good-natured advice.
“I told him when he gets married and his wife starts complaining
about child berth, he’ll have a story for her,” Freeman said.
*
I can’t remember the last time it rained from start to finish at a
Newport-Mesa prep football game, but the fact that a little more than
100 spectators spotted the home stands to watch Corona del Mar play
in the downpour for a piece of the Golden West League championship
Friday night was shameful.
Heck, listening to Offensive Coordinator Ed Blanton’s running
commentary from the press box is worth the price of admission alone.
All the latest on Orange County from Orange County.
Get our free TimesOC newsletter.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Daily Pilot.