Fanview: September 27, 2016

Joe T.

Joe T….Breaking News: Mets set to activate Craig Swan.

By Joe Torosian

“Now she’s off with Spartacus killing people in their beds. And Crassus, no mention of the money, no!”
                               —Batiatus

Kick it!

Right off the Top: I love watching leaves fall in a late afternoon breeze…and if I watch from inside my truck with the AC cranked it feels just like autumn.

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The Mets had to take one for the team (and all of baseball) last night playing the Marlins a day after Jose Fernandez’s passing.

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Joe T.'s High School football novel is available through Amazon.com “A literary snapshot of what goes on over the course of a high school football season…an awesome read and a story that truly will transcend time.”—Jim Singiser, AD/HC Arroyo Knights Football “Thrill, dread, anxiety, love, agony, success, and failure; basically all the emotions you feel as a football player/coach as you do in life, all wrapped up in a single book.”—Marc Paramo, HC Rosemead Panthers Football “I read the book and really enjoyed it a great deal. I would think coaches and parents could Learn a lot.”—John “Coach” Kentera, former sports talk host at Mighty 690 & Mighty 1090

Joe T.’s High School football novel is available through Amazon.com
“A literary snapshot of what goes on over the course of a high school football season…an awesome read and a story that truly will transcend time.”—Jim Singiser, AD/HC Arroyo Knights Football
“Thrill, dread, anxiety, love, agony, success, and failure; basically all the emotions you feel as a football player/coach as you do in life, all wrapped up in a single book.”—Marc Paramo, HC Rosemead Panthers Football
“I read the book and really enjoyed it a great deal. I would think coaches and parents could Learn a lot.”—John “Coach” Kentera, former sports talk host at Mighty 690 & Mighty 1090

First Add Knight Moves: Arroyo leads its all-time series with South El Monte, 16-6. Not every one of the twenty-two meetings between these schools has meant something…But South took the first meeting, 13-10, in 1994. Both teams finished 4-1 in the Mission Valley League…but Arroyo claimed a share of the title…The Eagles lost to Cerritos, but Arroyo lost head-to-head to the Southmen…

Fifteen years ago I wrote that the 1994 title belonged solely to SEM and that it was ridiculous for the Knights to claim a piece of it… Boy, oh boy, did the hate email roll in after that item hit hard copy.

I still stand by it…Even if it means incurring the wrath of “His Arroyo Baldness”…As if I’ve never incurred his wrath before.

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I hate to be Norman Negative here…because I’m not…I’m really an upbeat guy…being around me is like being away from Andy VillaTheDevil…But the Los Angeles Rams win at Tampa Bay this past week was fool’s gold…A four-interception performance by Case Keenum is always just a game away…If it’s not Keenum, it’s the receivers…While Brian Quick’s touchdown catch was great to see…It was also a bad thing because it means he’s going to get more playing time…Dionne Warwick sang about this guy over thirty years ago…he’s a heartbreaker…and it’s a lesson the Rams have yet to learn…

Still…as long as the defense is doing its thing…they will be competitive and…management, as well as the bandwagoning fans will believe they are better than they are…

I don’t want any 7-9 Bolshoi…but I have a bad feeling I’m getting it this year…again…

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On this date in 1974: Bishop Amat beat La Puente, 44-0…Tell me, even in 1974 how does LP end up on the same field with Amat? …La Canada beat Hoover, 12-0, even though the Tornadoes starting quarterback was future NFL signal caller Bob Gagliano…The West Covina Spartans beat the Arcadia Apaches, in Arcadia, 34-0…Future Los Angeles Rams kicker Mike Lansford got a workout at punter for the Apaches. The quarterback for WestCo was a guy named Greg Gano…I heard he got into coaching…

Oh, and yes, West Covina was named the Spartans because the original Edgewood High School was still in business and in the process of beating Rosemead, 21-0, on the same night thanks to a pair of touchdown passes from Steve Bogan…Heard he got into coaching as well…

(West Covina would absorb Edgewood (then called the Trojans) a few years later and become the Bulldogs)

Monrovia rallied from a 14-0 deficit and beat West Torrance thanks to the heroics of quarterback Dale Bunn and running back Obie Graves.

Temple City beat Arroyo, 20-0, despite turning the ball over five times. The starting quarterback for the Rams was Roger Lockie…Good name…The starting quarterback for the Knights was Jon Van Bogart…That is a great name…

Then again, I think any name with a “Van” or a “Von” in the middle of it is awesome.

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Whittier Christian quarterback Quinn Commans played in 10 games as a sophomore in 2015 and threw 17 touchdown passes. Through the first five games of his junior year, Commans has thrown for 22 scores.

He’s 6-4, 205…and a nightmare for Maranatha HC, Steve Bogan when he goes to sleep at night.

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I’m a Mets fan…and I’m going to root for the Mets no matter what…But what people who have known me for a long time also know is I have always been a Cleveland Indians fan.

Since the days of Super Joe Charboneau, I’ve followed the Tribe…When they finished 84-78 in 1986, I was ready for the big breakthrough in 1987…Cory Snyder and Joe Carter were on the cover of Sports Illustrated…Then everything fell apart…

I do have to say, I did back off a little bit after the movie “Major League” came out and all of a sudden it was cool for everyone to be an Indians fan.

My Mets are hanging on by a thread…So, if not them…go Indians!

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Give me overs & unders on El Monte at Pasadena Marshall on Thursday…Either way, the Lions drop a 40-burger on the Eagles.

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Last Add Whittier Christian: Commans is terrific…but running back/linebacker/Bad Dude, Justin Osborne is the key to the Heralds returning to the playoffs for the first time since 2012.

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There are bad places to be in life…but is there anything worse in sports right now than being a Chicago Bears fan?

…Yes, true, you could have wasted a draft pick on Randy Gregory….or six picks on Jared Goff…Just saying…

(Boy, I really hate the phrase; “just saying.”)

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Last Add Knight Moves: Arroyo is playing the Southmen (too many Eagles in the MVL…I prefer “Southmen”) at The Swamp this Friday night…I think it’s going to be short game…Both teams are wanting to get a leg up in league and are going to be looking to minimize mistakes by keeping it on the ground…Keeping it on the ground is what SEM does anyway…But they’ve got to eliminate the false starts and holds…You want to give me odds on a Sal Tovar 70-yard touchdown being called back?

Arroyo is the best opponent South has faced (five previous opponents are a combined, 5-19)…They will get punched in the nose…and the question is can they take a punch from a good football team?

I’ll give my prediction in Thursday’s column.

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Even if my Mets hold on and get a playoff spot, they just don’t have the horses on the mound to compete in the post-season…Matt Harvey, Jacob deGrom, and Steven Matz all gone for the year…Zach Wheeler never came back… Serenity Now!

I’m so going to miss talking trash this October…

Oh…wait a second…Go Indians!

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Really Last Add Whittier Christian: The Heralds biggest problem in the Olympic this season is the Valley Christian Crusader who keeps Whittier Christian HC, Sergio Gradilla up at night…Gianni Hurd.

Hurd has already rushed for 682 yards and 13 touchdowns this season. A year ago, as a sophomore, he rushed for 1,086 yards and 17 touchdowns.

Plus, the Crusaders have a sportswriter-sized offensive line.

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Regarding this past Sunday…It might have been the most overwhelmingly emotional sports day I’ve ever experienced.

Jose Fernandez’s death, Vin Scully’s farewell, Arnold Palmer’s passing, and David Ross’s retirement at Wrigley Field…

Can’t remember a sports Sunday in any previous September where the scores and outcomes of games were secondary.

Even my cynical nature couldn’t keep a few gulps of emotion from coming out of me. It was a powerful day…Church wasn’t too bad either…

(Uh, oh…I mentioned church…I must be preaching again.)

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Speakes2Midbits (same as ‘Tidbits’)
Midbits: Oh, I have always been a fantasy football fan.

Midbits: I was asked if I was going to watch the debate last night and I said I didn’t have to…Everyone’s going to tell me who won…

Midbits: Whatever happened to Frank Corral…Remember Frank? He’s the guy that missed the extra-point after Lawrence McCutcheon’s touchdown pass to Ron Smith in Super Bowl 14.

Midbits: My advice to the Tennessee Titans is play Derrick Henry. Pound the ball wth him until he says I can’t do anymore…

Midbits: Nickname for the RamCave during baseball season is Club Met.
Ever heard of the Club Met vacation? It’s the antidote for Los Angeles Dodger exploitation…

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MLB GAMES JOE T. HAS WATCHED THIS SEASON (Minimum 5-innings)
New York Mets: 118
Los Angeles Dodgers: 20
San Francisco Giants: 15
Los Angeles Angels: 8
Quick Pitch (Watney/Ryan): 86

The Dude abides…

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Psalm 135: 5

Contact Joe at joe@midvalleysports.com

Author of “Tangent Dreams: A High School Football Novel” available through amazon.com …and “The Dead Bug Tales” available this fall.

Follow Joe on Twitter @joet13b

“Joe T.’s Scoreboard” is found at www.midvalleynews.com every Wednesday & in the hard copy of the Mid Valley News, published every Wednesday.

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