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.