It was in God's plan. Right?

It was God's plan for the Florida Gators to get the crystal football after Sam Bradford of Oklahoma got the Heisman. I knew it was bound to happen.

From ESPN.com...

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Trademark dominant fourth quarter elevates Tebow, Gators

By Ivan Maisel
ESPN.com


Updated: January 8, 2009


MIAMI -- Give the Florida Gators a team they can dominate, and they will mesmerize you with their speed and athletic gifts. Make them work, however, and the Gators will call on the heart and guts that have become the indelible trademark of Urban Meyer's best teams.

That's why, for the second time in three seasons, Meyer finished the season cradling a crystal football.

No. 2 Florida defeated No. 1 Oklahoma 24-14 in the FedEx BCS Championship Game on Thursday night before 78,458 at Dolphin Stadium. After a sloppy first half that raised hopes among fans of Utah, USC and Texas, the Gators won with defense and a dominant fourth quarter fueled by the human can of Red Bull that is junior quarterback Tim Tebow.

Stymied by an aggressive Sooners defense in the first half, Tebow rallied the Gators by calling on his best offensive player -- Tim Tebow. He finished with 231 yards and two touchdowns passing, and 109 yards on 22 rushes. Not bad for the fourth-best quarterback in the Big 12, as Oklahoma cornerback Dominique Franks tagged Tebow this week.

"We didn't execute offensively as I wanted to for the whole game," Tebow said, "but what I'm so proud of is my teammates came out here and battled for four quarters and played with so much heart, so I'm so proud of them."

Tebow could have meant the defense, which held Oklahoma 40 points and 199 yards below its season average. The Sooners finished with 363 yards and the haunting memory of two drives inside the Gators' 10-yard-line without scoring.

Tebow might have been referring to Percy Harvin, who said after the game the high ankle sprain he suffered against Florida State on Nov. 29 included a hairline fracture. Nevertheless, his 52-yard dash on the first play from scrimmage after Oklahoma tied the game 14-14 in the fourth quarter immediately switched the momentum back to the Gators, and for good.

"I could run but I couldn't quite push off and get that gear I needed," said Harvin, who finished with 122 yards and a touchdown on only nine carries, and added 49 yards on five catches. "But I was able to make some plays to help my team win. You keep faith, and you keep pushing and pushing, it's amazing what can happen for you."

Or Tebow could have been referring to strong safety Ahmad Black, who, four plays after the Gators had taken a 17-14 lead, snatched a deep pass out of the hands of Sooners wideout Juaquin Iglesias at the Gators' 24.

"If my toes are on his toes, I got the right to make the play," Black said. "…I was on him. I put my hands on the ball and grabbed it. He touched it. I guess he wasn't strong enough." Black grinned.

"No, I just pulled it out."

Tebow marched Florida 76 yards for the clinching touchdown, and he scored it with a cherry on top. Offensive coordinator Dan Mullen, in his farewell performance before leaving to become head coach of Mississippi State, called the jump pass. Two years ago, Tebow threw a jump pass for a touchdown against LSU, an early chapter in the Tebow legend.

With 3:07 to play, from the Oklahoma 3-yard-line, Tebow took the snap, started as if he would crash through the left side of the line, then leaped and flipped a pass to 6-foot-5 junior David Nelson. Though Florida never trailed, it was not until Nelson caught the pass that the Gators led by more than seven points.

Sam Bradford, the Oklahoma quarterback who stopped Tebow's bid to win a second consecutive Heisman Trophy, played well by almost any standard but the one he set for himself this season. Bradford completed 26-of-41 for 256 yards and two touchdowns, both to tight end Jermaine Gresham.

But the sophomore will long remember the interception he threw right before halftime that prevented the Sooners from taking a lead. With the score tied 7-7 on third-and-10 from the Florida 17 and less than 20 seconds remaining, Bradford completed an 11-yard pass to Gresham. Oklahoma used its last timeout.

Every quarterback knows you look for a receiver, and if he's not open, you throw it away. Bradford knew it. But when he saw a smidgen of daylight between wideout Manuel Johnson and corner Joe Haden at the 1, Bradford couldn't stop himself.

The ball bounced off Johnson, Haden and another Gator before free safety Major Wright came away with the interception at the 3.

"I tried to force one in there, but I probably should have just thrown it in the back of the end zone and taken the three points," Bradford said after the game.

No field goal, no halftime lead, and thank goodness, only one more play left in the first half. As the years pass, and the memories fade, few will remember how this game began. The first half may have been watched with delight in Salt Lake City, Los Angeles and Austin, but it looked pretty scruffy in South Florida. The Sooners and the Gators both made mistakes uncharacteristic of the brand of football that earned their trips here.

Nothing looked more out of place than the zeroes on the scoreboard after the first quarter.

Blame the rust from a 33-day layoff. But give the defenses some credit, as well.

"They brought a lot of pressure, which wasn't what they had done for 13 games," Florida offensive line coach Steve Addazio said. "…It was a little different schematically than what we anticipated."

The odds of Tebow, who threw two interceptions in 268 attempts this season, matching that pick total in the first half were large, but no larger than the chance that Oklahoma could drive inside in the Florida 10 twice and come away with no points.

This was Oklahoma, an offense that had scored on 76 of 80 trips into the red zone. That's a .950 batting average.

The first whiff came on the heels of Tebow's second interception. On a zone blitz, tackle Gerald McCoy dropped into coverage and Tebow threw the ball right to him at the Florida 26. The Sooners needed only three plays to get to the 1-yard-line, third-and-goal. Chris Brown failed to gain. On fourth down, backup nose tackle Torrey Davis, who plays on the goal-line defense, knifed past All-Big 12 center Jon Cooper to tackle Brown for a 2-yard loss.

"That was my only play in the first half," Davis said. "When I did get it, I made it."

"He kept his feet alive," defensive line coach Dan McCarney said of Davis. "If you're going to win championships, you never know where that next big play is coming from. A lot of guys have to contribute, and that was a huge play at the time."

As much as that hurt, the other red-zone failure, Bradford's first interception, devastated the Sooners.

"We played awfully well for a good part of the game," said Oklahoma head coach Bob Stoops, now 1-3 in BCS Championship Games and loser of five straight BCS bowls. "…It doesn't take much to lose a tight game like it was."

Over the course of its first 12 games, Florida displayed its sheer physical talent. The Gators had more speed on the outside and more strength on the line of scrimmage. They won big.

In their last two games, however, the Gators won with all that stuff you earn in the weight room and the sand pit and the stifling heat of a Gainesville summer. Florida won the SEC championship game 31-20 over Alabama by scoring two touchdowns in the fourth quarter while holding the Crimson Tide to a total of 1 yard.

And on Thursday night, Florida did it again.

"I've been a coach now 23-some years," Meyer said. "and I've had to rank this [team] either 1 or 1-A as far as quality of people, as far as work ethic … I love them, I'm proud of them, and they're national champs."

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Ivan Maisel is a senior writer for ESPN.com. Send your questions and comments to Ivan at ivan.maisel@espn3.com. His new book, "The Maisel Report: College Football's Most Overrated & Underrated Players, Coaches, Teams, and Traditions," is on sale now. For more information, go to TheMaiselReport.com.

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Congratulations, Gators. They said it couldn't be done, but now thanks to you and a convoluted concept touted by a bunch of old farts who stick their middle finger at the mere mention of a playoff system, any unassuming group of rubes in the Football Bowl Subdivision can get away with roughhousing patsies like Richmond, NW Missouri State and (if it's in His plan) Mount Union while lifting with another crystal football.

BoBA Special: An interview with ISML Commissioner Minhtam Nguyen

Earlier this week, I was able to chat with International Saimoe League Commissioner/Administrator Minhtam Nguyen about the ISML. The transcript is shown below.

How did you come up with the International Saimoe League? Was it out of frustration with 2chan Saimoe and other Anime Saimoe Tournaments? Were you unsatisfied with the process? Or did you feel that there needed to be this one HUGE contest that spans the world's tournaments?

To be honest, the process of 2chan Saimoe and other Anime Saimoe Tournaments itself only played a role in the format of the International Saimoe League, which I will explain later. However, it was because of its results that became part of my desire to run a contest as huge and prestigious as what the International Saimoe League is now, concept wise.

I first was introduced to the concept of Saimoe as a Shana fan, and I was almost captivated by it that I’ve started participating late in 2007. When I went to do some research, I learned about the past matches and realized that there were popular rivalries, such as Shana vs. Suiseiseki, Haruhi vs. Yuki, Fate+Nanoha vs. the Rozen Maidens, etc, as well as matches many have come to expect to happen that have never happened. I thought to myself what might happened if all of the characters, now known as candidates, came together and fought each other one on one for a long time. Hence I made a mock Round Robin schedule taking the top 16 candidates from past tournaments. Then many people from AnimeSuki asked me to run the contest. The rest, as you say, is history.

I guess if you want a short answer, I ran the contest sort of on a whim, so to speak, but standing here one year later, I’m kind of glad I did it.

Give those who are new to the ISML a little background on the selection process. How are the best characters in all of anime and manga selected? I would assume it's a convoluted process, but a comprehensive one as well.

Well, since this is for the people who are new to ISML, I guess I wouldn’t have to explain last year’s process, which was intended for only the first year, but you are right, the process is very convoluted and comprehensive.

This time around, we have a new background checking system. ANYBODY who makes it in would have to pass the new background check rule, which in summary, you have to be female, have a name, represent a series rated below 18+, and have sufficient screentime in the anime being represented. Think of this as showing ID at an airport.

We first take the top 16 candidates from the International Saimoe League the preceding year, or in this case, ISML 2008. That’s 16 candidates right there. Second, we also include any necklace winner who has had at least a .500 record, which unfortunately excludes Topaz winner Setsuna Sakurazaki from Negima?! , who had a .365 record last year.

Third, we take the “top 8” from the main tournaments from Korea and Japan. Excluding candidates already qualified, that adds 8 more. I would like to add to the fact that although Konjiki no Yami of To Love-Ru officially finished 9^th in that contest, as she would have made the top 8 if a very well-documented tie didn’t happen, we have decided to allow Yami an automatic entry as well. We also take the top 8 from AniZone’s exhibition tourney, Korea Super Best Moe, but as those from the top 8 in that tourney are already in or would be out thanks to the new background check rule, that adds no new candidates.

Finally, if there’s less than 48 candidates, we invite all of the .500 winners from the last year who didn’t meet the requirements above to come back to fill up that roster. This year, however, we only have 37 candidates, which means 11 extra spots are open and added to the 16 that were reserved for nominations.

This year, the nomination process will take place as two parts. First, a voter would go on to nominate eight candidates who didn’t make it already using a weighted system, giving 10 points to the candidate one most wants to see in and going down to 1 point. From there, the staff members will sort it out and take the top 48 candidates by points and have them participate in the new preliminary system, in which we divide those candidates to groups, take a winner from them, and reshuffle and repeat the process.

That’s as much as I can say without a reader falling asleep, but it is a very comprehenseive process that it’s so hard to describe it in short. I guess I should invite any reader who wants to know more about the process to contact me using the contact form on the site.

Also, tell us a little bit about the regular season and postseason, including the necklaces, the locations for the battles, and the Tiara. How do you put it all together?

The regular season is a 64 x 64 round robin league, which means all candidates will have to face every other candidate in a head-to-head matchup eventually. This means that every matchup is expected and it also gives voters time to gauge other candidates and prepare for when it is the best time to go campaigning for votes and which matches are shoe-in wins.

The necklaces were actually not in the original plan for this contest, but then again, it would be boring to just have a round-robin contest straight out. It would render some of the early matches “pointless” as there would be nothing at stake. The necklaces provide an incentive to each candidate to try to do her best in a three-week section of the season and also enable her to be recognized for being successful in ISML, even if she isn’t the overall champion.

The postseason is a straight seeded double-elimination contest. This is probably where the frustration of the 2chan Saimoe process comes in. Instead of matches being randomized and strong candidates eliminated early as a result, the matches are seeded and set up due to relative strength parlayed in the regular season. Once again, matches are expected, and the winner gets the final prize, the Tiara. In short, the Necklaces and Tiara are what distinguishes this competition from others because anime characters actually “win” something rather than just finishing first.

The locations of the battles are something new we’ve added for this year. Last year, we’ve just named them Arenas 1 to 32, but again, that’s sort of boring if you think about it, so we actually gave them Cities to be located. The locations are picked solely because geographical location, population (3 million minimum), and absence of political conflict. I would like to add that we are going to try to get the locations to coincide with real world conflicts, meaning that we will relocate matches if one of the venues selected has a strong worldwide conflict during that time.

How has the ISML been received in places like Korea and Japan? Has the feedback generally been positive, or do they feel it just doesn't have the same muscle their tournaments have?

This is a very interesting question, and it’s somewhat hard for me to answer with a straight face. We do indeed have voters from Japan, but I have yet to see that we have yet made an influence in the home country of anime, largely due in part to a lack of an actual Japanese translator, which… we are still looking for at the moment. So the feedback from Japan is certainly nonexistent, and it is currently a target audience we would reach for this year.

South Korea, on the other hand, is ranked second to the US in participation, thanks in large part to one of our most devoted voters, who tries to advertise the Korea Best Moe in the US. As a matter of fact, he was one of those who convinced me to start the International Saimoe League, and as I had done so, he’s done his best to serve as an ambassador of ISML in Korea, as he is the US ambassador of Korea Best Moe. Feedback I generally get from South Korea is mostly positive, up to the point that Koreans are already planning on campaigning days to get others to vote for said candidate on particular days. AniZone, in fact, has considered ISML to be a worthy rival Saimoe contest that they have begun to try to make their own contest better, adding features that ISML will probably never include to try to make their contest as unique as possible.

Other countries do have regular followings, such as China and Vietnam among others. We hope to someday reach a point in which ISML would truly be international, with possibly more languages to be able to accommodate foreign voters.

In your opinion, and this is one where you can go on a spiel on, what makes the International Saimoe League special? Is it the girls competing? The locations? The necklaces and Tiara? What is the one thing that makes the ISML awesome?

Almost everything ISML has to offer makes ISML awesome. Peirod. The only way to truly experience how “awesome” ISML is is to fully participate and visit regularly. What you do with the experience is up to you.

If I changed the word “awesome” to “unique”, then the answer would be different. Though many voters would miss this rather minor detail, if you look at the staff page, you can see that I am also listed as “Story Director”. Yes. International Saimoe League is probably one of the only contests to include an actual storyline, which is what I take out of this competition a lot. The seven necklaces that reveal the heavenly Tiara, the chaos that is round-robin, the rivalries between the candidates themselves, new and revived, etc. It is all part of one central storyline, and it is one that I continually try to form regularly. In fact, my original contribution to the Saimoe community is a storyline based on 2006 and 2007 results, one that has been put on hold for the moment due to real life implications, but I find myself continually writing stories based on the results of these competitions.

This year’s story is a continuation of the 2008 story, which is something a fellow staff member and I continually try to rewrite to come up with the best prologue possible. While the story is still trying to be rewritten detail by detail, the structure of the story is what gives ISML its now pernament image of the seven necklaces and its revelation of the tiara, and one can merely imagine the storyroute of his or her favorite candidate by looking at the results that come out of this contest.

Others will give you a different answer, I am sure, and many of them would definitely say it is the unique round-robin structure, but I am certain that it is the storyline concept and the image that comes with it that sets the International Saimoe League apart from others.

What are your future plans for the International Saimoe League? Is this something that will be here for the long haul? Are tournaments from other countries like China and Thailand in the discussion for having an automatic bid? Tell us what's in store for people following the ISML.

I generally try to think long term as much as possible, but the International Saimoe League, after its successful 2008 season (albeit with the well documented glitch issues and miscounts), is definitely here to say. Does it have a long way to go before it can reach the standards of the Japan Saimoe tournaments, if not surprass, definitely, but I am confident that we will reach that point in which the International Saimoe League will be the one contest everybody talks about.

It is ironic that you mention the Saimoe in China competition. Actually, staff members from China’s competition have already contacted me asking to make their competition an automatic bid for our contest, which is saying a lot. I responded to them that they needed to make an attempt to reach an international fanbase before we start talking about it, but I am sure that they will do just that.

What’s in store for the next few years, I can’t really say much, because we’re not sure if looking ahead to 2013 is a strong priority. But we have almost finished everything for 2009, and I am sure our first attempt at the preliminary rounds will give us success. I guess you can say that we will have to wait and see. Check the news page often for anything that is going on with ISML at this point, because I think that’s the best place to go to follow ISML as close as possible.

The Bedlam on Baltic Avenue thanks Mr. Nguyen for his time talking about the International Saimoe League. For more information on the tournament, the participants, and the upcoming 2009 season, visit the ISML web site at www.internationalsaimoe.com.

Just give up, Minnesota Republicans.

What's the bloody point in litigating and contesting the results, you sore losers? You're wasting your time and the state's money. Give up already.
From the National Post...

Al Franken likely victor in contentious Minnesota Senate recount

Posted: January 05, 2009, 10:39 AM by Shane Dingman

U.S. Politics, u.S. election

Reuters is reporting that Democrat Al Franken will be declared the winner of the tight U.S. Senate contest in Minnesota, emerging from a ballot recount with a slim margin over Republican Norm Coleman, state officials said on Sunday.

“At the moment, Franken has a 225-vote lead,” after the weekend counting of what were deemed the last uncounted absentee ballots, said Minnesota Secretary of State Mark Ritchie, a Democrat who oversaw the process.

Ritchie said unless the supreme court acts on Coleman’s request and orders more ballots to be counted, he will reconvene the state’s Canvassing Board on Monday to certify Franken as the winner of the Nov. 4 contest.

As the Minneapolis Star Tribune writes, Coleman isn't going away quietly.

Coleman, who led Franken on election night, hasn't ruled out a lawsuit challenging the results, claiming there were irregularities that gave Franken an unfair advantage. The Coleman campaign also has a petition pending before the state Supreme Court to include 650 ballots that it says were improperly rejected but not forwarded by local officials to St. Paul for counting.

"We are prepared to go forward and take whatever legal action is necessary to ... remedy this artificial lead that we believe is being shown now for the Franken campaign," Recount attorney Fritz Knaak said.

Franken campaign spokesman Andy Barr said in an e-mail Sunday: "In terms of future planning, we're taking it one step at a time. The next step is the canvass board's meeting tomorrow, where we have every expectation they will declare that Al won the election."

As MSNBC pulled out: "Not surprisingly, Chuck Schumer wants Franken seated, now. And the Wall Street Journal editorial page thinks Franken is the illegitimate winner."

Reuters writes that the recount of some 2.4 million votes cast for the pair has swung back and forth over several weeks. Coleman initially held the edge, but his narrow victory margin necessitated the recount under state law.

The Canvassing Board sifted through hundreds of ballots contested by the two campaigns.

"The recount has been done so precisely, and so transparently," it would be difficult to envision a challenge succeeding, Ritchie said.

But the Washington Post reports that the process itself may come under challenge:

"The Coleman team has laid the groundwork for a real, substantive challenge in front of the Minnesota Supreme Court," said Vin Weber, a former member of Congress from Minnesota and now a lobbyist in Washington. "The race is still a ways from being over."

Photo: Cory Ryan/Getty ImagesAl Franken is a well-known satirist who wrote for and starred on "Saturday Night Live," and more recently hosted a liberal radio show before running for the Senate.

On Assignment: The 2009 Tournament of Roses Parade

I spent the last Wednesday of the old year and the first Thursday of the new year in Pasadena. As soon as I saw the USC Trojans destroy the UCLA Bruins and the Oregon Ducks crush the Oregon State Beavers, I knew that I would be doing something that I had never done, and something no one in my family has ever done either.

I first watched the Rose Parade as a child. The channel that has nonstop coverage was KTLA 5, which still has nonstop coverage today. But what made these two days special for me is that I not only get to watch it live, but actuall see the floats, the horses, the bands, and experience camping by the curb. It is unprecendented my my family to have seen the parade, IN ITS ENTIRETY, LIVE.

I herded enough cash (thanks to some gifts from my family and from my job at the Bar Foundation) to make this possible. The itinerary was as follows. Note: I will also add some side commentary as I go along.

December 31, 2008

4:00 a.m. Alarm bell on my cell phone rings. I wake up.
4:40 a.m. Shower
5:00 a.m. Dress into my special gear: a USC trojan shirt a USC sweater, newly bought brown pants, socks and my reliable black Nike leather sneakers, and my thick black jacket. I also had, at my disposal, a gray beanie with matching gloves and a muffler, my "Alaska hat" (a simple leather beanie with ear flaps and strings), and a few caps.

5:30 a.m. Breakfast. Honey Nut Cheerios, a couple of grilled cheese sandwiches (Monterey Jack toasties), some coffee and water. Oh yes, and also a bowl of Kettle Chips. Lightly salted. The only plain crisps I approve of. By Bonga's Assent.

6:00 Pack up supplies. A few papers to log the fun, a large black blanket, my iPod, Mom's camera, a couple disposables, and three rolls of film. I underestimated the amount of shots I needed, as well as the cold. Next January 1st, I'm bringing a sleeping back and SEVEN rolls of film. Or two boxes of threes and a disposable.

6:30 I walk to the bus stop at the corner of Easy Avenue and Hill Street to take Route 1 on Long Beach Transit to Wardlow Station. They had some road work, so I had to make a detour.

7:00 I arrive at Wardlow Station, and take the Blue Line to 7th Street & Metro/Julian Dixon. At this point, Japan in now in the New Year, with the Philippines soon to follow.
7:40 Transferred to the Metro Red Line heading toward Union Station, but first took a detour to Civic Center to purchase some trinkets from Kinokuniya in Little Tokyo.

8:00 I arrive at Kino's to buy a Konata Izumi accessory for my keychain...but they would not be open for another two hours. Like the Costa MEsa store, they don't open until 10:00 a.m.
I sat on a bench nearby and waited, scribbling some stuff on the log.

10:00 Kinokuniya opens.
10:10 I purchase the accessory, and a volume of a little one-shot by Arina Tanemura, "Mistress Fortune." Arina T. needs to consider drawing more buxom chicks. Seriously. Maybe a little mole or two, but there can only be one Mikuru Asahina.
10:20 Returned to Civic Center Station.
10:36 Took Metro Purple Line to Union Station.
10:50 Got on board Metro Gold Line to Memorial Park Station.
11:25 Arrived at Memorial Park Station.

11:35 Purchased Rose Bowl Game program and a red Tournament of Roses cap.
11:40 A native guy by the name of Will found a spot for me to camp on. Using a piece of pink chalk, I marked my spot: just a few feet from the merchandise stall. This location was great for a number of reasons: it was close to the Norton Simon Museum, where a majority of the grandstand watchers and cable networks were located, and it was just a 15-minute walk from Tournament House.

12:00 p.m. Walked to Norton Simon Museum, took shots of the rose.
12:10 Took photos of Tournament House and some of the bleachers on Orange Grove Avenue.
12:20 Snacked on some clementines by a tree on Orange Grove.
12:30 Walked back to viewing spot while taking another shot of the rose at the museum, now raised. Lunch. Some pasta, a bag of chips, and Blue Diamond Almonds. I should have brought a few more water bottles.

1:45 You see all these different cars going up and down Colorado Boulevard Antique coupes. Horsepower roaring on the asphalt. Broken down, rusted trucks. A limo. Another limo. A stretch Hummer. A caravan of police cars. A few open air convertibles showing their school pride out loud. This place had mostly USC supporters, though.
I was listening to some ZZ Top. I couldn't wait for the sun to go down. New year already passed by most of Asia and Russia.
For the next few hours, I wasn't inclined to leave my spot. I continued to watch the cars go by. Watched over Will's area, with the Oakley MP3 sunglasses blasting reggae music.

3:27 33 minutes till London rings in '09. 5 hours snd 33 until the ball is dropped in Times Square.
I saw more copues, still more Eliminator wannabes, motorcycles, mopes, cars with craploads of silly string attached to it, the occasional Metro Rapid bus, and countless chicks going in and out.

A little trivia: this year's court is made up of high school girls and college freshmen. And the Rose Queen, Courtney Chou Lee, has a moe feel to her. This could only mean one thing: all you jocks out there, at least one of these darlings may be available, if they aren't already...Who knows, one of them might end up making it big on Playboy. Whoa. Now THERE'S an ambition.

By the way, Courtney chose USC to win the game. She's love.
Really love. I hope more Asians get selected as Rose Queens and Princesses. It will say a lot about my folks.

Those mufflers are roaring up and down Colorado Boulevard as I write this. Just saw a broken-down Clampett-quality Ford advertising a company called "Rags Car Wash" heading east on Colorado. Ah, Colorado Boulevard. Home to the Weird and Wonderful.

Is it just me, or do all these Parade participant pretenders just want to be seen and heard?


5:00 p.m. A drunken boor who fell in with us a few hours ago was taken away by police after impeding traffic while taking photos, littering on the sidewalk (smashing a bottle of liquor), and fighting a couple near my area. I picked up my backpack, lunch bag and blanket as the guy, who was Will's bro, wrestled him down. Taking a photo, I observed something interesting as onlookers took notice.

"A guy in a red shirt taking down a transient in a blue jacket," I said to one of them, sneaking a contemptuous grin. "That can only mean thing: USC is gonna kill Penn State tomorrow."
He cracked up, shaking his head. I turned to the rest of the crowd and said, "Attention all you Penn State supporters! THIS is what's gonna happen to your team tomorrow! You have been warned."

Bored with the situation, I went to Hot Wings for the last (actually next-to-last) dinner of the year. A simple meal: a burger, fries, and a couple swigs of pink lemonade. $10. I had the owner keep the change as her tip.

Returning to my spot, I had a feeling that the last batch of pasta would be downed tomorrow morning. In reality, it would be consumed a few hours later.

6:15 p.m. A biker with blue sparkling lights passes by. Two hours and 45 minutes until the ball drops in Times Square. Five hours and 45 minutes remaining of 2008, 13 hours and 45 minutes until Rose Parade CXX begins. I am calm, I am collected, I watch a young girl cry in her partner's arms, America-style.
6:40 Professor Wes Weasely of the Division of Theremin Studies explains what a theremin is. It's a device used on the old Hollywood horror flicks of the past. In the spirit of the theme, "Hats off to Entertainment."

The secret invention was tested by me, Will and the rest of his crew, including a stout guy by the name of Kong. He's a load of fun. He makes a prognostication (a correct one, if you will) of USC winning the game. "You know, fuck all this talk about Penn State winning and all that. You might as well give your money to me, because USC is going to win this game." A lot of bookmakers are calling it too. So am I. OoooooOOOOOooooooo....

The next few hours are just relaxing on the concrete, saying hello to other passers by. Will asked me, "What music do you like?"
"Ramones, The Clash, The Rolling Stones," I said. "You are a PUNK! You're awesome!'
Flattering.

9:00 p.m. The ball drops in Times Square. The new year enters the bulk of North America and the USA. I sit back on thge concrete and reflect on what 2008 brought: the personal highs and lows, the tragedies and triumphs, graduation, grad school and other events that have happened. At the same time, I accept the fact that there will be a new agenda, a new administration a new sense of hope.

9:25 p.m. A car utilizing its windshield wipers as arms, and is coated in silly string, rides down Colorado Boulevard eastward. Another string of seven police cars heads east.

10:40 p.m. Half the country is in 2009. A shitfaced reveler hurls a bottle of Bundaberg in the direction of a group of revelers next to me. The cleanup crews head off to clear the shards as I take my spot behind the blue honor line.
That guy is going to be very lucky if he isn't caught for littering and endangering other people. And I mean VERY lucky.
By this time, I have already purchased two other programs: the official Rose Parade program, and a special program combining the game and parade, courtesy of the San Gabriel Valley Newspaper Group. Total in programs: About $19.

11:00 p.m. I now make my move behind the blue honor line. '09 has arrive in the Rockies. God save us all, for we are next.

January 1, 2009

12:00 a.m. 1/1/09. The new year enters Los Angeles. Alaska in one hour. Hawaii in two, American Samoa in three. Everyon on the boulevard is screaming, banging pots and pans, and I am shaking my tin of almonds, dancing like a bloody lunatic, even collapsing on the concrete skyward, pointing to the heavens.

The Rose Parade starts in eight hours.

12:25 a.m. People are sleeping, and so am I. Now I direct my thoughts to the Parade.

1:30 a.m. A riot on Colorado Blvd. ensues, presumably between men and men from Pennsylvania and Southern California. First major arrests of the New Year.

1:45 a.m. A couple more transients preach blasphemous jibjab about the USA that would normally have them sent to the gallows in other, more oppresive lands like puppets on a string.

Up and down, fans express support for their teams. A Penn State supporter laid the boring claim that USC's teams are named after a famous brand condom bearing their name. Boring.

Will and his friends are always fun to hear. The live comedy skit job, the discussions about a former member of their posse, a longtime friend, "burning" (hustling) their alienated friends for $150.00 and Kong talking about getting all his ladies banged silly-only to be denied the opportunity when he came back from his errand-is something I will remember for the rest of my life, along with the Parade. The Colorado Boulevard Young Comedians Club. Keeping it real, honest, and fun. And there is the obvious disclaimer: if you are under 18, you are free to ignore the comedy near where I was spending the first night of the new year.

5:15 a.m. A local streetside entertainer sings his tribute to the new year on his makeshift portable keyboard. Two hours and 45 minutes to the Parade. We're flyin'. Every part of the work has entered 2009. And my back is hurting from lying on the concrete.

5:30 a.m. Parade of the Tow Trucks. While unofficially not a part of the Parade, those trucks are needed in removing cars that are on, or near, the parade route. I took my hat off to them.

6:41 a.m. The sun rises for the first time in the new year. The hawkers got to work. Mexican and US flags (in anticipation of the marching band from Puebla). Champurrado. More programs and cotton candy, as well as hot wings. Scarves, beanies, beads all around.

The Blaxicans - that's the name of their group. They are still at it, and even I joke with them.

6:45 a.m. 75 minutes until the Parade starts. I do a little jogging up and down Colorado to loosen the legs. In a mockery of drug addicts, I take 50 huffs of the fresh San Gabriel valley air.

8:00 a.m. The Parade starts. I start by taking shots of the skywriters, followed by some of the police motorbikes, a few snaps of a B-2 Spirit bomber at 9:00, myself with the expression, "Oh shit! The Parade's gonna start!!!", and then the floats, horses and bands.

As the Trojan Marching Band plays, I take photos, and flash the Victory sign. I was really fired up when they played "Tribute to Troy & Fight On!".

In the end, I used up all my remaining shots on my film, and on my cell phone.

10:30 a.m. I shook hands with the Riverside City College marching band staff and some of the L.A. County Sheriff's deputies and thanked them as the parade concluded. Behind them were some more tow trucks and even some protesters holding signs about predictable Christian fluff. It looked like a peaCE march in the background. I had to get the hell outta there in a hurry. Packing my bags, I left.

10:35 a.m. Took a special bus to Union Station, since the Gold Line was jammed.

10:48 a.m. Took the Red Line to 7th & Metro/Julian Dixon Station.

11:03 a.m. Arrived at 7th & Metro and got on board the Blue Line heading south to Long Beach, with a minute to spare.

11:30 a.m. Got off at Willow Station. Hydrated at McDonald's and walked to the bus stop on Atlantic to take care of some Credit Union business via route 61.

11:50 a.m. Took Route 62 from Atlantic & San Antonio Drive to 5th Street and Long Beach Boulevard.

12:00 p.m. Took Route 1 to Delta and 21st (still having road work done)

12:30 p.m. Arrived home. Mission accomplished.

A new meaning to Boxing Day...

I was on my way from doing a shopping run for a new disc burner and a new set of blank DVDs, and I got this news.

It gives a whole new meaning to the phrase "Boxing Day." This guy is gonna be in a box in a few days. As in a casket. The fact that this guy is also from my home town makes it all the more bitter.

===

Jockey dies of injuries after thrown from horse
36-year-old Long Beach man was riding Harems Dynasty she dropped him after race.

BY LARRY BORTSTEIN
Special to The Orange County Register


LOS ALAMITOS – Quarter-horse jockey Sam Thompson, 36, died early Thursday morning at Los Alamitos Medical Center of injuries he suffered Dec. 20 when thrown from a horse after a race at Los Alamitos.

Thompson, a resident of Long Beach, had been on life support since being admitted to the hospital.

Los Alamitos spokesman Orlando Gutierrez said Thompson's family chose to have Thompson taken off life support. He is survived by his father, Samuel Harold; mother, Gloria; brother, Eric; sister, Kim; and longtime girlfriend, Kristen Watanabe.

Thompson recently had returned to competition after missing most of 2008 because of a broken foot. He had 100 mounts this year, winning with 12.

He was injured when Harems Dynasty, a 2-year-old filly trained by Cody Joiner, who was making the first start of her career, dropped him past the wire after finishing seventh in the eighth race Dec. 20.

Thompson won 600 races at Los Alamitos. His two biggest victories came in the Los Alamitos Million Futurity, with This Snow Is Royal in 1997 and Corona Kool in 1999. Both were 2-year-olds trained by Donna McArthur.

Gutierrez said Los Alamitos Race Course, which concluded its 2008 schedule Dec. 21, will have a memorial service for Thompson when the 2009 season begins on Jan. 2.

===

Wonder what the son of Sam thinks about it all. Actually, forget about it, he was 36 and they didn't have kids. Double shame.

The Carson Civil War of 2008 - Battle 5: Grant's Union Uprising

The Carson Civil War of 2008
Battle 5
Grant's Union Uprising

vs.
Grant Union (Sacramento) vs. Long Beach Polytechnic
25 20

The last of three games I watched last night, this was a night where all those close contests Poly had came back to haunt them, and it finally caught up to them. In this case, four out of five for the South isn't bad, it's terrible, even though they won the civil war, the Poly Jackrabbits are going to be ripped apart, and deservedly so.

If you don't have a strong offense to go with a strong defense, you're not gonna win. And such was the case with Raul Lara's team.

From the Long Beach Press-Telegram and the Sacramento Bee.

Outcome: Decisive Southern California victory (4 games to 1)

Grant topples Poly, wins state title

By Quwan Spears
qspears@sacbee.com

Published: Sunday, Dec. 21, 2008 | Page 1C

CARSON – If there was anyone out there who wondered if the Grant High School football team could play on the big stage, who questioned the Pacers' selection to the game or doubted their ability to compete with the state's top ranked team, the answer was revealed Saturday night.

Heavy underdogs entering the California Interscholastic Federation Open Division State Football Championship Bowl Game, the Pacers upset Long Beach Poly, ranked No. 1 in the state by Cal-Hi Sports and second nationally by ESPN Rise, 25-20 at the Home Depot Center.

Darvin McCauley scored the game-winning touchdown on a 15-yard reception from Grant quarterback Kipeli Koniseti with 1:11 to play.

McCauley and Koniseti's effort not only followed a 55-yard scoring run by the Jackrabbits' Melvin Richardson with 9:39 to play, but also capped a hard-fought game that was full of emotion, crushing hits and a back-and-forth final period.

The Pacers, ranked fifth in the state by Cal-Hi Sports and 37th nationally by ESPN Rise, made history, becoming the first team from Sacramento to win a state championship in football before a statewide television audience and an estimated 10,000 fans.

"We told everybody from the get-go that we were going to get a state championship," Pacers senior linebacker Jeremiah Toma said. "We did it because we believed."

They will also remember "the Drive," an eight-play, 65-yard journey that began with 4:19 left and took Grant off Obscure Street and onto Championship Lane. McCauley, who had eight catches for an eye-popping 135 yards and two touchdowns, helped lead the way.

"I had their defensive backs beat all game," he said. "I told coach, just throw me the ball and I'm going to get it for him, and I did."

Grant largely controlled the Sac-Joaquin Section over the last 20 years with a section-leading 18 consecutive playoff berths, 15 league titles and six section titles.

It continued its dominance early thanks to a stingy defense that slowed the Jackrabbits' heralded running attack and the performance of Koniseti, the Pacers' stellar quarterback who plays with a linebacker's mentality.

Koniseti, who completed 13 of 26 passes for 236 yards, constantly showed his emotion throughout the game, especially on big plays in which he was involved.

Before an enthusiastic Grant crowd, which was on its feet shouting a choir-like "Pacers … Pacers … Pacers … " chant on seemingly every play, Koniseti threw a 54-yard touchdown pass to McCauley in the first quarter and scored from a yard out on in the second, giving the Pacers (14-0) a surprising 13-0 lead.

It further proved the Pacers had no intention of wilting under the pressure of the Poly mystique and the watchful eye of Poly alumnus and rap superstar Snoop Dogg, who attended the game wearing the Jackrabbits green and gold.

Poly, which has also produced the likes of actress Cameron Diaz, legendary tennis player Billie Jean King, baseball player Tony Gwynn, and NFL football players Willie McGinest and Gene Washington, entered the game with more tradition and a more decorated résumé. It has 18 Southern Section championships and the claim of having sent more players to the NFL (59) than any other program in the country.

The Pacers, however, didn't care. If pressure and Poly's prominence resembled a Mike Tyson uppercut, the Pacers endured the blow, and landed a few punches of their own.

Resembling the blue-collar mentality of Del Paso Heights, Grant displayed the prolific offense that helped it cruise to its sixth Sac-Joaquin Section championship and a three-game stretch during the regular season in which it outscored its opponents 205-0.

The Pacers racked up 369 yards of offense to Poly's 243. They had 15 first downs and the Jackrabbits' eight. More importantly, the Pacers limited the Jackrabbits' running game to 79 yards.

Poly (14-1) trailed only 13-7 at halftime, though, and Iuta Tepa and the passing tandem of Morgan Fennell and Jordan Johnson were key reasons. Pacers running back Devontae Booker fumbled at the Poly 30, and Tepa recovered and returned it to his own 40. Two plays later, Fennell hooked up with Johnson on a 65-yard score, cutting the Pacers lead to 13-7 with 4:52 left in the second quarter.

Later, the Jackrabbits' Juwuan Brown blocked a Grant punt, and Tyller Robinson picked it up, returned it nine yards for the score and gave the Poly its first lead at 14-13 with 3:16 to play in the third quarter.

The Pacers bounced back.

"We stood up to a very good football team," said Grant coach Mike Alberghini, who strives on the "We versus the world" slogan.

"This was a total team effort, and tonight was our night."

INCHES SHORT

Grant scores in final 90 seconds to upset Poly for the state title

Article Launched: 12/21/2008 12:08:18 AM PST

CARSON - To some, Sacramento Grant High received an early Christmas present when it was picked to play Poly in the CIF Open Division state championship game late Saturday night at Home Depot Center.

Many thought Concord De La Salle, which lost to Corona Centennial in the Division I game Friday, should have been tabbed to play the Jackrabbits.

But the Pacers unwrapped that gift in grand style when Darvin McCauley caught a 16-yard touchdown pass from Kipeli Koniseti with 1:11 to play in the game to lift Grant to a 25-20 victory over the Jackrabbits before 14,122.

The Jackrabbits had taken a 20-19 lead with 9:39 to play on a 55-yard touchdown run by Melvin Richardson. But it did not stand up against a Pacers team that never seemed like it was intimidated by a Poly team that was supposed to win.

After the Pacers (14-0) took the lead for good, Poly started at its 31. Morgan Fennell threw a 19-yard completion to Stanjarivus McKay - a defensive back who had come in to play receiver - for a first down at midfield.

But Fennell then threw three incompletions - one of which was dropped - before connecting with Kaelin Clay on fourth down. Clay's catch ended up less than a foot short of the first down and the Pacers took over with 36.5 seconds to play.

After the Pacers ran out the clock, the players and coaches from their sideline stormed the field. Some of the Grant players had taken a knee, as if overcome by emotion.

Poly players walked ejectedly onto the field for the traditional shaking of hands.

The Jackrabbits (14-1) trailed, 13-0, early in the second quarter.

They had come back from three 10-point deficits in the Southern Section playoffs, but this time it was not to be.

"I gotta give it up to Northern California," said Poly linebacker George Daily-Lyles, who scored a touchdown off a blocked punt that gave the Jackrabbits a 14-13 lead late in the third quarter. "We thought we had them physically and mentally, but they came to play."

Whereas it has been Poly opponents who haven't been able to keep up at the end of games, Jackrabbits coach Raul Lara suggested it was his team that lost steam.

"I think the defense got worn out," Lara said. "We really didn't move the ball and give them time to rest. We were three and out too much."

Poly took its first lead of the game with 3:16 left in the third quarter. Jaymee Matheny was back to punt for the Pacers from his 17.

The Jackrabbits rushed several players with Juwuan Brown blocking the punt. Daily-Lyles picked up the ball about the 8 and ran it in.

Undaunted, Grant regained the lead when it marched downfield and scored on a 6-yard run by Devontae Butler with 10:36 left in the game.

But on first-and-10 from its 45 on its next possession, Poly saw Richardson break a couple of tackles on his way to what seemed at the time would be the winning touchdown. The 55-yard touchdown run gave the Jackrabbits a 20-19 lead.

The Pacers got on the board first when Koniseti found Darvin McCauley open down the right side for a 53-yard yard touchdown pass at the 6:59 mark of the first quarter.

The 1-play drive came after an 18-yard punt by sophomore Alan Roniss. He was playing for senior David Skara, who suffered a broken ankle in the CIF-SS Pac-5 Division semifinals against Lakewood.

Meanwhile, Poly couldn't do a thing in the first quarter, gaining just 19 yards on 12 plays.

Then things got worse for the Jackrabbits early in the second quarter. On fourth-and-16 from the Jackrabbits' 40, Koniseti dropped back to pass. Howard Warren was open down the left side behind Middleton and Koniseti hit him for a 39-yard gain to the Poly 1-yard line.

Koniseti ran the ball in on the next play for a 13-0 lead 10:44 before halftime.

Koniseti also is the placekicker for Grant - although the Pacers did not have a field goal all season - and after an illegal procedure call moved the ball 5 yards back, Koniseti missed the extra point wide left.

Again, Grant did not have to go far. It started that drive on the Poly 34. Only a sack of Koniseti by Iuta Tepa put the Pacers back on the 40.

Grant appeared on its way to increasing its lead a few minutes later. On a first down at the Jackrabbits' 44, he took off on a keeper. Eighteen yards later, Tepa ripped the ball out of his arms.

Tepa began his return and then he fumbled the ball, but teammate Juwuan Brown recovered and Poly had avoided what could have been an even bigger deficit.

That changed the momentum big-time because after Fennel threw two incompletions, he connected with Kaelin Clay in stride for a 65-yard touchdown to pull the Jackrabbits within 13-7 with 4:52 left before halftime.

The Jackrabbits looked like they might be able to take a lead into the locker room after Koniseti fumbled again after a hit by Matauaina Iosia; the ball flew into the air and Corey Waller recovered for Poly.

On third-and-20, Jordan Johnson made a leaping grab of a Fennel pass for a 22-yard gain and a first down at the Grant 21. But the Jackrabbits went in reverse from there, thanks in part to an offensive pass interference call on Clay in the end zone.

Poly missed a chance to get on the board on its first possession when, on third-and-7 from its 35, Fennel threw just a bit wide to Cory Westbrook at about the 50. Westbrook got a finger on it, but that's about it. Had he caught it, he had clear sailing to the end zone.

The Jackrabbits had just 101 yards of total offense in the first half, compared to 209 for the Pacers. Only six of Poly's yards came on the ground. Richardson carried the ball six times for 12 yards, five of the carries coming in the first quarter.

The Carson Civil War of 2008 - Battle 4: The Cathedral Catholic Crusade

The Carson Civil War of 2008
Battle 4
The Cathedral Catholic Crusade

vs.

St. Mary's (Stockton) vs. Cathedral Catholic (San Diego)

34 37

The second of three games I watched yesterday, the Dons from San Diego came from behind to win the Division II bowl game over a tenacious St. Mary's side. After this game concluded, this victory made the South 4 for 4 heading into the Open Division match.

From the San Diego Union Tribune and the Stockton Record.

Gaffney's 329 yards rushing, 5 TDs lead Dons

By Kevin Gemmell

UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

9:23 a.m. December 21, 2008

CARSON – In Tyler, Cathedral trusts.

Tyler Gaffney, the Dons' beyond-prolific running back, turned in a performance for the ages last night, leading Cathedral Catholic to a come-from-behind, 37-34 win over Stockton St. Mary's in the Division II State Championship Bowl at the Home Depot Center.

Gaffney rushed for 329 yards and five touchdowns – both state bowl game records – and he set the San Diego Section season rushing record with 2,866 yards.

“It's amazingly perfect – 14-0 this season. A (section Division III) championship. League champs. State champs. There's nothing more you can ask for as a senior,” Gaffney said.

It was a night for defense to take a back seat to the stars on offense. The teams combined for 1,051 yards and 44 first downs. While Gaffney thrilled on the ground, St. Mary's quarterback Cody Vaz was equally impressive in the air. He dissected the Cathedral secondary, completing 31-of-46 passes for 336 yards and four touchdowns.

“That kid is unreal,” Cathedral coach Sean Doyle said of Vaz. “Luckily our guy was just as good as their guy was tonight because he kept bringing them back.”

It's the second time a San Diego Section team has won the Division II bowl game. Last year Oceanside defeated Novato 28-14.

Last night's back-and-forth contest featured one big play after another. Gaffney would break a long run, Vaz would convert a critical third-down pass. The Dons would score, the Rams would answer.

Advertisement

“I figured it would be an offensive shootout,” Gaffney said. “Our defense is good, but Vaz has been tearing it up.

“This means everything,” Gaffney said. “Any good team goes to (section). But it takes a real team to win state. That's what we wanted to come out and prove.”

Ultimately, it was an incomplete pass from Vaz on fourth down that turned the ball over to the Dons with 1:59 to play. Needing to convert a third down to run out the clock, Dons' quarterback Parker Hipp looked to – who else? – Gaffney. A 16-yard completion, followed by a victory formation kneel-down, and the win was secured.

“I've never been a part of anything that crazy,” Hipp said. “It's a storybook ending to a perfect season. I couldn't love my teammates any more than I do right now.”

Of the 10 plays that went for 20 yards or more, three came in a breathtaking, two-minute span in the fourth quarter.

Trailing 27-23, the Dons converted a fourth-and-9 at the Rams 32 when Hipp handed off to Gaffney, who passed to Hipp for a 31-yard gain. Gaffney walked in for a 1-yard score on the next play.

“We ran it twice (this season),” Hipp said. “But it never worked that perfectly. It was the perfect call by the coaches.”

On the ensuing kickoff, St. Mary's Chad West put the Rams back on top with a 96-yard touchdown return.

Two plays after the kickoff, Gaffney broke loose on a 51-yard touchdown run, putting the Dons ahead for good.

While it was a watershed night for Gaffney, the offensive line reveled in opening up holes for him.

“That was the best D-line we've seen,” Cathedral tackle Everett Benyard said. “We love the competition. That's what we dream of, a defensive line that comes in and thinks they can hang with us.”

St. Mary's coach Tony Franks, whose team finished 12-3, said Gaffney was as advertised.

“He lived up to the hype,” Franks said. “We weren't real familiar up in our neck of the woods with the kinds of things he'd accomplished this year. But we sure are now.”

---

Kevin Gemmell: (619) 718-5304; kevin.gemmell@uniontrib.com

St. Mary's brilliant in defeat

St. Mary's leaves it all on the field in Division II championship game

By Stephen Roberson

Record Staff Writer

December 21, 2008 6:00 AM

CARSON - St. Mary's will be remembered for playing in perhaps the best game in the three-year history of the CIF State Championship Bowl Games, but the Rams won't be remembered as Division II champions.

Cathedral Catholic running back Tyler Gaffney rushed for 329 yards on 33 carries with five touchdowns to lead the Dons to a dramatic 37-34 win over the Rams on Saturday in the Division II title game at the Home Depot Center.

St. Mary's, led by quarterback Cody Vaz and receiver Louie Lechich, stayed with Cathedral the entire game.

A potential game-winning drive ended when Vaz's fourth-and-3 pass to Louie Lechich from the Dons' 33-yard line fell incomplete with less than two minutes remaining.

"I knew it was going to come down to a few plays at the end of the game, and that's what happened," St. Mary's coach Tony Franks said. "Our kids are absolute, 100 percent champions. ... I couldn't be more proud of the team and the staff and the effort we put forth tonight."

Vaz finished with a bowl-record 336 yards on 31-of-46 passing with four touchdown passes. Lechich, who had 157 yards receiving and two touchdowns, set a new bowl game record for catches with 15.

The teams combined for more than 1,000 yards of total offense.

Cathedral Catholic set a bowl game record with 590 yards, and St. Mary's had 451, 125 rushing and 326 passing.

St. Mary's took its first lead, 27-23, with 9:38 remaining when Vaz connected with Alex Michaels for the second time.

Cathedral Catholic countered with an eight-play, 70-yard drive that Gaffney capped with a 1-yard touchdown run, his fourth, putting the Dons in front, 30-27.

The Rams took the lead right back when Chad West returned the ensuing kickoff 96 yards for a touchdown.

But Gaffney gave the Dons the lead for good with a 51-yard touchdown run with 4:45 remaining.

Contact reporter Stephen Roberson at (209) 546-8272 or sroberson@recordnet.com.

The Carson Civil War of 2008 - Battle 3: The St. Bonaventure Blitzkrieg

The Carson Civil War of 2008
Battle 3
The St. Bonaventure Blitzkrieg

vs.

Cardinal-Newman (Santa Rosa) vs. St. Bonaventure (Ventura)

6 28

The first of three games I attended last night, St. Bonaventure was a team my Lakewood Lancers faced a few years ago. We won that game, but this year's team would have given us fits. Nonetheless, this was a third straight victory for the South.

From the Ventura County Star and Santa Rosa Press-Democrat.

Secondary delivers first-rate performance

By Loren Ledin (Contact)
Sunday, December 21, 2008

CARSON — St. Bonaventure High defensive backfield coach Andy Gibson has a special nickname for his guys in the secondary.

"I call them the jet fighters," said Gibson. "With their speed, the way they attack and hang with anybody, that's what they are."

Amidst the postgame celebration on the football field at the Home Depot Center, he offered visual representation. Gibson extended his arms horizontally to simulate a flying aircraft.

"They even do this in the pregame warmups to get ready," Gibson said with a broad smile. "They get ready to attack."

On Saturday, with the Seraphs seeking the perfect ending to another stellar season, the secondary shot holes in Cardinal Newman's vaunted pass offense.

The Seraphs limited the high-flying Cardinals to just a pair of field goals, sacked quarterback Randy Wright five times and yielded just 127 passing yards en route to a 28-6 victory in the CIF State Division III championship bowl game.

Even for a program that has piled up eight CIF-Southern Section crowns in the past 10 years, including the last two in the Northern Division, there are more worlds to conquer.

St. Bonaventure, on the heels of last year's victory in the same Division III game, becomes the first California high school team in the modern era to win two bowl games.

"I never would have believed," said Troy Hill, a junior cornerback and two-year starter. "To win two bowl games is an amazing feeling."

Fellow cornerback J.B. Dock happily concurred.

"It was our goal to go back to back in bowl victories," the senior said. "I can't imagine a better way to go out as a high school player than to win another bowl game."

Hill and Dock, the starting cornerbacks, and safeties Tim Bennett and Joe Luna played a vital role in the happy finale.

Entering Saturday's matchup, Cardinal Newman's spread offense had amassed 544 points en route to a 13-0 record, including the North Coast Section Division II championship. Wright, the 6-foot-2 senior quarterback, had completed an impressive 70 percent of his passes while piling up 2,571 yards and 30 touchdowns.

Against the Seraphs, the Cardinals hit a stone wall.

"We knew they were going to test us, and come after us often," said Dock. "What we wanted to do was give up nothing behind us. We really didn't want to give up anything.

"We really played with a lot of confidence, because we've really done the job all season."

Hill said the Seraphs' big asset — prohibitive team speed — proved to be the difference.

"With our speed, we feel like we can make all the plays and get to the ball just as well as any receiver," he said. "We feel like we can stop anybody."

Dylan Davis, the Seraphs' junior linebacker and top tackler, said he is surrounded by playmakers.

"Our defensive line gives such a great push," he said. "They deserve a lot of the credit. But our secondary guys can cover anybody. Not many guys are going to get open."

Cardinal Newman running back Jeff Badger was impressed.

"That's the best defense we have played against all year," he said. "They have so much team speed."

The secondary proved indomitable in the first half, helping the Seraphs overcome two fumbles and one interception.

The Seraphs' five sacks were all "coverage" sacks, or the fact Wright could find no receivers open.

Cardinal Newman's one long sustained drive covered 76 yards in the first half and reached the St. Bonaventure 5-yard line. But incompletions on second and third down forced the Cardinals to settle for a 22-yard field goal.

At game's end, after turning in a stellar day's work on defense, Dock got his chance for two "carries." He helped carry the ice bucket in the waning seconds that first doused head coach Todd Therrien, and then splashed assistant coach Gibson.

"There is a lot to celebrate," Dock said with a laugh.

St. Bonaventure 28, Cardinal Newman 6

At Home Depot Center, Carson

Cardinal Newman 0 6 0 0— 6

St. Bonaventure 14 0 7 7—28

First quarter

SB — Hall 53 run (Kirk kick), 2:56.

SB — Langkilde 2 run (Kirk kick), 0:21.

Second quarter

CN — FG Wright 22, 7:19.

CN — FG Wright 36, 0:00.

Third quarter

SB — Blackledge 25 run (Kirk kick), 4:18.

Fourth quarter

SB — Gibson 14 pass from Lo. Meyer (Kirk kick), 10:15.

FB Teams Stats: CN SB

First downs 19 17

Rushes-yards 40-127 26-196

Passing yards 127 147

Total yards 254 343

Comp-Att-Int 19-31-0 11-16-1

Punts-avg. 3-22.7 1-49.0

Fumbles-lost 0-0 2-2

Penalties-yards 2-10 5-40

Sacked-yards lost 5-28 0-0

RUSHING — Cardinal Newman: Badger 16-79, Ferguson 13-57, Wright 11-(—9). St. Bonaventure: Blackledge 10-89, Hall 7-78, Schouder 3-25, Langkilde 3-9, Rodarte 2-1, team 1-(—2).

PASSING — Cardinal Newman: Wright 19-31-0-127. St. Bonaventure: Lo. Meyer 10-15-1-140, Kirk 1-1-0-7.

RECEIVING — Cardinal Newman: Amaral 10-69, Miller 3-32, North 2-19, Badger 2-9, Ferguson 2-(—2). St. Bonaventure: Rodarte 4-58, Gibson 3-51, Z. Meyer 1-19, Ledesma 1-9, Langkilde 1-7, Hall .

MISSED FIELD GOALS — None.

TEAM RECORDS — Cardinal Newman 13-1, St. Bonaventure 14-1.

===

Newman loses in state final 28-6 to St. Bonaventure


By RICH RUPPRECHT
PRESS DEMOCRAT

Published: Saturday, December 20, 2008 at 3:17 p.m.
Last Modified: Saturday, December 20, 2008 at 7:39 p.m.

THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

CARSON — There was no exciting ending, no overtime like the last time. St. Bonaventure of Ventura was that good.

Cardinal Newman stayed close for a half, but failed to score an offensive touchdown for the first time in three years and St. Bonaventure showed off a big-play offense that ended with a 28-6 Seraphs win in the Division III state football championship game Saturday afternoon at the Home Depot Center.

Cardinal Newman started out good, Jonathan Steele causing a fumble on St. Bonaventure’s first possession, but even after putting together long, time-consuming first half drives, the Cardinals were unable to punch the ball into the endzone. Despite dominating the first half clock and running 40 plays to St. Bonaventure’s 19, Newman trailed 14-6 at intermission.

“At halftime I really thought we could win the game,” Newman coach Paul Cronin said. “They were just so fast and we had a small margin of error.”

Newman wide receiver Wade Amaral had a game-high 10 receptions, but for only 69 yards and he was never able to get away from St. Bonaventure’s lightning quick secondary.

“We came out and thought we could hang with them, but that is a really good team,” Amaral said. “We tried to mix it up.”

Newman quarterback Randy Wright didn’t have time to look for second and third receivers. He was sacked five times and hurried his throws frequently. He was 19-of-31 passing for a season-low 127 yards.

“They blitzed a lot and they were all pretty fast,” Wright said.

Jeff Badger, who led all rushers with 81 yards on 16 carries, said he was exhausted at the end of the game, having to play both offense and defense.

“We just got tired,” Badger said. “By far that was the best team we’ve played this season.”

St. Bonaventure game-breaker, back Patrick Hall, who was used sparingly by coach Todd Therrien, scored on the Seraphs’ third possession, looking like a USC tailback, running 53 yards for a touchdown. Actually, Hall has committed to USC as a defensive back.

A poor punt of only five yards by Wright, set up another St. Bonaventure score at the end of the first quarter.

Starting at Newman’s 20, it only took three running plays for the Seraphs to score, ending with a two-yard burst up the middle by fullback Marcus Langkilde.

Newman’s best quarter was easily the second, but the Cardinals could manage just two field goals by Wright.

A 16-play, 81-yard drive ended with Wright kicking a 22-yard field goal.

The next time Newman got the ball, Joe Ferguson rushed for 11 yards and Badger for 16 as the Cardinals drove to St. Bonaventure’s 35. But the next four plays resulted in minus yardage as Wright was sacked on fourth down for a 10-yard loss.

Teyo Green then intercepted Seraphs junior quarterback Logan Meyer and Newman had yet another scoring chance at the end of the first half.

Wright threw two passes to Amaral for 14 yards and Ferguson ran for 11, putting the ball on the 19, but with under 20 seconds to go. Wright threw incomplete and then kicked a 36-yard field goal as time expired.

Cronin said he told the players at the half to keep doing what they did in the first half and try and score on its first possession. It nearly happened.

After 12- and nine-yard completions to Amaral, yet another Newman drive stalled and St. Bonaventure took over on its own 40 as Newman failed to convert on fourth-and long.

“It’s one thing to be third-and-three against that defense and it’s another to be third-and-long all the time,” Cronin said.

St. Bonaventure made it an uphill climb for Newman by scoring again on its first possession of the second half. Big plays were a 24-yard pass from Meyer to Drew Gibson and a 25-yard touchdown run by Devon Blackledge.

St. Bonaventure made it 28-6 early in the fourth quarter on a 14-yard TD pass from Meyer to Gibson.

Newman put together one more impressive drive, Badger having a 10-yard run and Casey Miller a 16-yard reception to highlight it, but Wright was stopped on a hard hit at the seven on third-and-long and Ferguson was thrown for a three-yard loss on fourth down.

Of Newman’s offense, Therrien said, “They were dinking and dunking us (with short passes), but you can only go so far down the field doing that. I thought we played hard and played together. This is one of the best secondaries in the history of St. Bonaventure.”

Newman came here two years ago and lost in overtime to Oaks Christian.

There were tears and plenty of hugs in Newman’s locker room.

“That’s a great team,” Ferguson said. “We were prepared. It was two great teams and someone had to lose. This hurts. We worked hard together for 11½ months and then it just ends.”

“We had to play a near perfect game to win and we didn’t,” said Newman defensive coordinator Dennis Bruno. “It hurts now, it will hurt a little less in a week and a little less in a month. This season there was a lot of pain and a lot of memories.”

The Carson Civil War of 2008: Battle 2 - The Husky Revenge Tour

The Carson Civil War of 2008:

Battle 2

The Husky Revenge Tour

vs.

De La Salle (Concord) vs. Centennial (Corona)

16 21

Centennial had a bad taste in their mouths after losing last season to Concord De La Salle at the Home Depot Center. So, they decided to make amends by becoming the first-ever team in their history to go undefeated, getting some hard-earned revenge. They will be keen to see what happens between St. Thomas Aquinas and Long Beach Poly. IF both of them fall, the bling is theirs.

Hallmark victory for program
Gregg Patton
01:21 AM PST on Saturday, December 20, 2008
By GREGG PATTON

The Press-Enterprise

CARSON - As prep football legends go, none is bigger than Concord De La Salle.
Friday night, however, no legend was too big for Corona Centennial. The Huskies took one more giant step in their own impressive rise as a powerhouse by winning the school's first state title.
Centennial's exuberant, wide-open offense and its tough-guy defense outlasted De La Salle at the Home Depot Center, as the Huskies avenged a loss to the Spartans in this same venue one year ago to capture the CIF-State Division 1 championship.

"It's great because it's the team that beat us last year, and it's the team that has the best record of all time," said Huskies senior running back Arthur Burns as his teammates celebrated around him.
It was the 21-16 cherry on top that Centennial has been seeking for at least a year.
The school has already found an identity.
Under Coach Matt Logan, the Huskies have ascended to the upper echelons of prep football. They are a regionally renowned program, serving as a magnet for talented players looking for a place to show off and test their own skills.
In the 951 and the 909, Centennial rules. But the Huskies have expanded their brand.
They are celebrated as a CIF power, certified by five division titles in this decade, and sitting on two consecutive appearances in state championship bowl games.
They are ranked in national prep polls, as high as No. 2 on the USA Today chart this past week.
The Huskies routinely send their best players to college football programs you've heard of. Centennial just needed one more pretty bauble for its trophy case.

The Carson Civil War of 2008: Battle 1 - The Tartan Massacre

The Carson Civil War of 2008:

Battle 1

The Tartan Massacre

vs.

Hamilton Union (Hamilton City) vs. St. Margaret's (San Juan Capistrano)

7 59

The first battle of the Carson Civil War was a massacre, to say the least. If there is a special by ESPN on the Braves' season, don't be surprised.

From the Orange County Register:

By STEVE FRYER
OCVarsity.com

The Tartans played very well, taking that big 52-0 lead at halftime, then just running out the clock in the second half. St. Margaret's finished 15-0, the first county football team to do so. And this is the second state championship team in county history.There used to be football state championships in the early part of the 20th century. Fullerton lost to Bakersfield in the 1927 state game – there was only one at the time. Orange Lutheran beat Palo Alto in the 2006 Division II game.St. Margaret's made a lot of history this year, setting county records for winning streak, single-season victories and single-season scoring. The Tartans ended it with an exclamation point on their 15-0 run, with a CIF-Southern Section and CIF state championship.

OCVarsity.com
dalbano@ocregister.com

CARSON – Maybe there was a bit of gamesmanship in Harry Welch earlier in the week when he said he would take a two-point victory against Hamilton Union.

Or maybe Welch really was being conservative out of respect for the Northern Section champion.

Either way, the Tartans still exceeded their coach’s expectations Friday night in the inaugural CIF state small schools bowl game.

In a victory that was anything but small, the Tartans posted a 59-7 victory at the Home Depot Center to complete their third consecutive undefeated season and extend their Orange County winning streak to 43 games.

“I never expected this whatsoever,” Welch said. “Tonight, we executed. … That’s a very good football team. They’re not very big but they’re quite good. I’m very proud of (my team).”