Well, only three readers listed me as spam last time.  I wonder how they react when they get real spam. 

For those who have been asking about the Taste For Los Al... save the date, October 13. 

    Even though school's out, the local sports action never slows down.
   No sooner did classes close than summer sports camps started for the high school teams - which of course marks the annual panic season of the incoming freshmen athlete moms and the corresponding annual spike in prozac prescriptions.
    As always, there is a lot of youth all-star happenings, but it's too complicated for me to find all of it on my own anymore. If you have it, send it in.

The Rossmoor Homeowners Association, working hard to continue its 50th anniversary celebration, is hosting Rossmoor Night at Angel Stadium on July 14.  Game time is 6pm, and the RHA is hosting a pre-game tailgate party at 4pm.  Tickets include food (but not beverages or the $8 parking).  If interested, call Sherry Duke at 562-493-1679 or email her at SDUKE3351@YAHOO.COM. 

There are still spots open for the 10th annual Los Al Football Boosters Golf Tournament, to be held Monday, July 9 at Old Ranch.  Interested duffers can call Dick Scott at (714) 414-5596 or go to the LAHS FB website.

As always I have lots of opinions, but instead of here, I'll bore you with them here.   This time I touch on why it was a mistake to dedicate the LAHS football field to John Barnes (where's the spam button, Mildred?!?), on the "secret" early-morning LAUSD Board meetings, Carol Hart's retirement, and the continuing LATV saga. 

CAMPS: Still time to sign up for the Jack Haley Complete Player Basketball Camp which begins next Monday at Los Al (I'm quite sure they'll take sign-ups at the door).  Also, I'm told thge Los Al High Lacrosse coach Kevin Meyran will be still be having a lot of camp action this summer with details available at their new website -- www.griffinlax.com.

ADVERTISERS:  Well, last issue I thanked Scott Andersen of Andersen construction for starting to advertise  but I misspelled his last name.  An error of negligence?  Perhaps, or maybe just possibly it was an incredibly sly way for me to have to repeat his name again this week by correcting the "error."

Vince and Christy Leon's Batting Cage is now open - for baseball and softball players.  Check it out at 10554 Humbolt St (off Cerritos blvd-between Los Al Blvd & Bloomfield).  (562) 598-CAGE.

On to the good stuff.

   In other all-star action, three of the Los Al "Blue" all-star teams (i.e., the "B" teams for those of us who don't engage in politically correct nonsense -- ) had strong showings at the Carpinteria Beach Classic last weekend.
  The 10 Blue successfully won their bracket with victories over La Canada (13-0), West Valley Red (4-2), Goleta (13-0), West Valley Grey (11-0) semi's, and the final game against Seaside of Oxnard (7-1).
   The 14 Blues finished with a strong 2nd Place Victory, winning their pool 2-1. They went on to beat Camarillo in the semi's (7-1) and fell to Seaside in a closely contested Championship Game (8-7).
   The 8 Blues made it to the semi-final game, beating Simi Valley 9-2, and Ventura 5-3 to get there - only to fall to Seaside of Oxnard 3-1.

 

Lots of local girls are competing at the US Volleyball Junior Olympics Tournament which is taking place this week in Minneapolis.

The 12s, 13s and 14s wrapped up play on Tuesday with the older age groups completing play on Friday.

The Mizuno 13 Elites, which had an erratic tournament, finished strong with two winds on the final day of action and finishing 33^rd in its division.   Playing for Mizuno 13s (officially out of Long Beach) are locals Katie Klein and Jillian Kovacevich (both of Rossmoor).

The Mizuno Elite 15s had a tough time of it in Tuesday's action, dropping two tough matches.  The Mizuno 15s have four players from Los Al High: sophomores Allie Coster (5-9, Outside Hitter), Emily Hartong (6-1, Middle Blocker/OH), Allyse Hogan (5-11, OH/MB) and Shelby Maxwell (5-10, MB/OH), junior Meghan Horio (5-8, setter/def sp).  Another local figure on the team is freshman Ali Moskitis, a 5-8 OH/DS who enters St. Joseph's this year.   

The Mizuno 18 Elite team won both its pool matches on Tuesday and is looking to finish pool play with three wins today.  Mizuno 18 Elite's roster features Los Al grads Bethany Keissner (6-2, OH) and Alex Griffiths (5-5, defensive specialist).  The top name on this team is national high school player of the year Alix Klineman - a 6-4 OH who is headed to Stanford.

Another Griffin, UC Irvine-bound Riley Cropper (a 6-1 MB) is playing for Cal Jrs 18, along with UCSB-bound setter Dana Vargas (Seal Beach/St. Josephs).

Playing for defending 18s champion TCA Third Degree are USC-bound Geena Urango and junior defensive specialist Kelly Holford.

 The boys junior Olympic championships begin play this weekend in Atlanta.

Los Al High volleyball player Kevin Carroll and swimmer Amanda Traylor highlighted an outstanding Griffin showing on the spring Dream Teams recently announced by the Long Beach Press-Telegram.

Carroll (right), a 6-4 outside hitter who led the Griffins to the CIF quarterfinals and their second best record of  22-9 was named the Boys Volleyball Player of Year.  Joining him on the first team were teammates Srdjan Nadazdin and Greg Kroneberger.  Also making the second team was Valley Christian senior Macaine Piercy (Rossmoor) who helped lead the Crusaders to a Division III championship.

Carroll was one of 12 high schoolers named to the Mizuno All-American first team and to the final 12-man roster for the US Junior National team which will play for the 2007 FIVB Men's Junior World Championships, to be held July 7-15 in Morocco.  The team, which was training in Lake Placid, N.Y, left last Friday for Milan, Italy, where it will play in the four-nation Friendship Tournament. On July 9, the team plays in the 12-nation World Junior Championships in Morocco.

Girls Swimming - Ohio University-bound Amanda Traylor (CIF Div I champ in the 200 and 500 freestyle; shown right) was the PT's Female Swimmer of the Year and was joined on the first team by 400 free relay teammates Adriana Quezada (sr.), Kaley Dodson (Fr.), and Jessica Dunn (soph.).  Quezada was also the second team100 butterfly swimmer and was also honored for the 200 Medley Relay with teammates Dunn, and seniors
Nadine Shnayderman and Lindsay Buchbinder.  Also earning second team honors was the 200 Freestyle Relay of Traylor, Dodson, Dunn and soph Emily Jensen.

Boys Tennis -- Michael Ramsey and soph Derek Siddiqui (first team doubles); . They won the Sunset League doubles championship, winning 6-1, 4-6, 6-3 and they advanced to the third round of the CIF Individual tournament. They finished the season 15-1.

Boys Golf - sophomore Jonathan Saunders, who had a nine-hole average of 37, and advanced to the CIF Individual finals, made the first team, while senior Jeff Lewis andjunior Miles Cole were named to the second team.

Girls Track & Field - Senior pole vaulter Katelyn Beighton, whoplans to attend Auburn or Long Beach State, won the Division I title and cleared 12-2 to finish second at Masters and move into second on the area s all-time list.  Sophomore vaulter Alexa Ward earned second team honors.

Boys Swimming - Sophomore Jeremy Smith (finished 10th in the Division I final (1:58.40) and was 17th at the Masters Meet (1:59.16)) earned first team honors along with Forrest Watkins  and their 400 Freestyle Relay teammates freshman Alex Merrill, and sophomore Austin Trinkle.  Earning second team honors was freshman diver Steven Jones.

Softball - earning second team honors were senior pitcher Anna Cahn (Cal Poly SLO-bound, 11-1, 1.29 ERA as a pitcher, and as a batter she went.393 with six homers and 18 RBI) and senior shortstop Megan Mawn (.407 with 17 RBI).   Also earning second team honors was LAGSL alum Morgan Bittner (now playing for Poly where she struck out 159 batters in 129 innings to go with a 9-12 record and 1.41 ERA.)

Baseball - seniors Jordan Tripp and Travis Garrett were named to the first team squad.  Tripp, the Sunset MVP, batted .390, with a slugging percentage of .707 and belted six home runs to go along with 25 RBI.  He also had 32 hits and 25 runs. Garrett had even better stats, leading the league in hitting (.425) and RBI (31), with six home runs and scored 29 runs.  Making the second team were Griffin senior Logan Flagg (.402, 24 RBI) and junior pitcher Kyle Simon (7-2, 2.71 ERA).

Los Al grad Antoine Cason (right), who passed on the NFL draft to play one more year at the University of Arizona is listed as the top cornerback by ESPN's Mel Kiper, Jr. in his annual list of top college pro prospects. Cason has also been named a preseason All-American by Playboy and is a member of the Nagurski and Lott award watch lists. Cason is also expected to compete for the Jim Thorpe Award, given annually to the nation's top defensive back.

 BASKETBALL  -- Last issue we mentioned that Los Al basketball players Cameron Jones (right) and Clint Amberry had committed to play ball at Northern Arizona and San Jose State, respectively, but we forgot to put links to the official press releases (which we have now corrected).  We also neglected to mention that this is the first time that Los Al has had two players sign to play with Division I schools.  San Jose State's Spartanhoops.com also linked to an OC register article about Amberry. 

MUSTANG

In a fitting battle of the regular-season division champs, the American League champ Angels (right, click for bigger photo) edged the  National champs Padres 2-1 in a thrilling battle that ended with the winning run at the plate for the Padres.

The Angels finished the regular season with a 14-3-1 mark (3-0 in playoffs), while the Padres topped the National circuit with a 13-4-1 record.

PINTO

In a tense battle that left parents on the edge of their seats, the Astros (right, click for bigger photo) and the Tigers battled through 4 extra innings before the Astros prevailed 8 to 6. The score was 0-0 after the regulation five innings, then both teams scored a pair in the sixth and then again in the eighth before the Pintos closed the door in the ninth.

ST. HEDWIG

   The Dodgers won the Bronco division regular season championship with a record of 14-2, edging the Diamondbacks (12-4-1).  Players on the Dodgers are Blake Carroll, Jacob Coronel, Chase Seesing, Andrew Fitzgerald, Cameron Fitzgerald, Jacob Coffing, Harrison Van Andel, Steve Charmello, Kyle Anderson, Joey Gober and Travis Younkin.

MUSTANG

   The Cardinals and Dodgers tied for the regular season championship, both teams finishing with 12-3-1 records.
   Members of the Cardinals are Drew Patrick, James Prescott, Douglas Shisbey, Teddy Howard, Jake Yarger, Coleman Thompson, Gabe Schaub, Will Ingram, Timothy Ross, Kaden Specht, Ryan Jenkins, Frank Zampino.
   Players on the Dodgers (shown right, click to larger photo) are Curtis Godin, Alec Celestin, Zachary Masterson, Hayden Carr, Nick Saunders, Lucas Page, William Boudreau, Jackson Lytle, Alexander Lytle, Austin Marriott, Jesse Smith, Benjamin Marriott.

  CYCLING - Emily Moore of Los Alamitos took second place in the age 13-14 4K scratch race at the USA Junior Track Nationals meet. 

By MARGENE WALZ, Quest College Counseling
The cost of club sports -- for training, uniforms, equipment and travel -- tally into the thousands of dollars for student-athletes.  If your student-athlete is in high school, many questions must be on your mind. Questions such as:

1. What are the chances my student will continue to play ball in college?
2. Is an athletic scholarship obtainable? 
3. What are college coaches looking for in recruiting a student-athlete? 

The San Gabriel River's wild youth - OCRegister, CA - July 2, 2007 -- We think of where we live as a desert now.  But it wasn't that long ago that our community was often under water.

McGaugh third-graders study wetlands - OC Register, CA - Jun 12, 2007 -- About 60 third-graders from McGaugh Elementary School studied plant and animal life and the environment during a field trip ...

 
The last perfect place? - LA Times/West Magazine - May 13, 2007 -- The legendary Bixby Ranch in Santa Barbara County has a new owner. What's to become of the majestic coastal property?  (I included this because this is part of the former land empire of the Fred Bixby Ranch Company, which once owned most of what is now Rossmoor and much of Seal Beach.)

Panda Palace in Huntington Harbour
LB Press-Telegram - Jun 20, 2007
The late Panda Panda, once a part of Rossmoor Shopping Center, re-emerges (sort of) in Huntington Harbor

Real Estate Watch: West Orange County - OC Business Journal, CA - Jul 1, 2007 -- Overton Moore's Pacific Gateway Business Center in Seal Beach, made up of 10 buildings from 45000 square feet to 184000 square feet, ...

Frieda's Exclusive Specialty Melons Are the Perfect Way to Enjoy a ... - (press release)  - Jun 29, 2007
One sure sign that summer is coming is a produce department full of fresh melon...

100 join in protest against Verizon - LB Press-Telegram, CA - Jun 29, 2007
Los Alamitos resident Yvonne Melton, who has been an operator for 16 years, said many entry-level operators are transferring to different companies, ...

Bixby Land closes on $345 million purchase of six OC properties - OCRegister, CA - Jun 19, 2007 -- Newport Beach-based Bixby Land Co. announced Tuesday it has finalized the purchase of six properties in Newport Beach, Irvine and Seal Beach ...

Beach Business Bank Welcomes New Chief Lending Officer - (press release) - Jun 12, 2007 - Mr. LaCroix was most recently with Security Pacific Bank in Seal Beach. A prominent member of the South Bay and Long Beach

Airport naps in offing for a price - San Jose Mercury News,  USA - Jun 6, 2007
The airport commission on Tuesday approved a deal with a Seal Beach-based company to try POWRNAPS chairs for six months. The price tag to doze off in a ...

ROSSMOOR

LOS ALAMITOS

Wall intended to block view of Navy housing - OCRegister, CA - Jun 29, 2007
Neighbors of the Los Alamitos Joint Forces Training Base don't want to look at aging military buildings.

SEAL BEACH

Seal Beach hires 39 summer lifeguards - OC Register, CA - Jun 20, 2007

Beauty and brokenness - OC Register, CA - Jun 20, 2007
A photo exhibit shows the way young people in Seal Beach and Sierra Leone view their worlds.

Shelter Collects Cell Phones to Help Save Animals' Lives - PRLog.Org (press release) - Jun 20, 2007 Seal Beach Animal Care Center has been collecting used cell phones for the past three years to help raise money for their ...

Last hurrah for theater organ - LB Press-Telegram, CA -
The Bay Theater will host the last performance of its Mighty Wurlitzer today before it is moved to a new location. ...

DA investigates former Seal Beach official - OC  Register, CA - Jun 5, 2007
City officials today confirmed the dismissal and ongoing DA's investigation of a former department head.

Police looking for aspiring officers - OC Register, CA - Jun 13, 2007

Preschoolers get new park outside their door - OC Register, CA - Jun 11, 2007

Local parks are alive with the sound of music - LB Press-Telegram, CA - Jun 20, 2007
The Seal Beach Chamber & Business Association presents its summer concert series at Eisenhower Park...

Fysicly Fit Owners Bankrupt In Florida - Gazette Newspapers, CA - Jun 21, 2007
Locations for women's only gyms included site in Seal Beach.

Judge weighs transparency at Leisure World - OC Register, CA - Jun 21, 2007
The top executive of a 9000-resident retirement community could not offer an explanation in court Thursday ...

Blue Harbor fit for a Sandcastle - OC Register, CA - Jun 21 -- ... Built by Seal Beach-based Sandcastles United, the project is expected to stand for approximately a week. The sandcastle is located in the Blue Harbor ...