MidValleySports.Com

T-Minus-111 Days until “The Mid Valley Classic”

Good Evening!

I was all set to watch basketball tonight…but no dice…Wha happen?

Sorry, in response to a question posed, no…I am not going to watch a minute of the World Cup…Can’t do it… That’s work for the Wolfman.

John Wall believes John Calipari will stay at Kentucky…Of course he will, at least until the NCAA investigators hit town…then it will be “Hello Clippers!”

If the NCAA really wants to punish USC…force the Trojans to adjust their schedule to play a smaller school on the road. Make them go to Boise State…Make them go to Fresno State…Make them drop any non-essential match up (meaning they have to play Notre Dame)…and give them no take of the gate. But to think you are hurting USC by making them give back the crystal football for the 2004 season is ridiculous.

You can’t change history, no matter how much those involved in higher learning wish they could, history is what it is. Also what sense is it to punish an entire roster that wasn’t even in high school at the time of the infractions?

If you’re going to punish USC, punish them by helping out the little guy. Financially they’ll take hit…and by the moronic way national championship games are picked they won’t earn enough points to qualify for a title game unless a miracle happens.

Note to Moorsfan: I do have an APB out on Manny Ruedaflores and the former Alhambra coaching crew.

If I didn’t see Matt Koffler for ten years and we ran into each other somewhere in Finland he’d say to me exactly what he said today: “Hey Joe, how we looking? We’re looking good huh?”

I don’t know about any other part of Koffler’s life except for the football field in the fall and the countless reruns he pays Fox Spots to play of him going deep to R. Jay Soward.

So I have a hard time envisioning him as down. I get the image of him being audited by Uncle Sam and saying; “Blank it, I’ll just go double tights and run it down their throats.”

I get the impression if he was in a hostage situation and terrorists were in the front of the plane, Koffler would get the rest of the passengers together and say; “Blank it, let’s just go double tights and run it down their throats.”

So in the spring of 2009 when I treaded to Rosemead High School to see what he’s got coming back after a CIF Finals run—knowing he has lost his quarterback and tailback—what do you think he told me?

Bingo.

So in the spring of 2010, with his starting quarterback and tailback returning, he sure wasn’t backing off.

“How we looking Joe? We’re looking good huh?”

The truth is, yes. Quarterback Matt Macias, who found himself down the stretch last year, is looking bigger and stronger. The same with tailback Matt Fregoso.

“We’re sports guys Joe,” said Koffler. “You know what its like after you come back from a finals run. You’re everybodys target. We got everybody giving us their best shot, even Gabrielino came after us. After a while we got overwhelmed, didn’t have enough to combat it. But we’re going to be back playing good physical Rosemead football.”

After going 12-2 in 2008, the Panthers fell to 5-6 and a first round exit in 2009. So why is Koffler so optimistic? One, he’s Koffler (He’ll go double tights and run it down your throat). Two, he’s got people coming back and coming up.

“I ain’t replacing nobody,” he says with a grin. “I got four out of five coming back on the line. I got my quarterback, I got my tailback. I’m in great shape.”

After some early struggles Macias threw six touchdown passes and only one pick the final three weeks of 2009. Fregoso ran for 955-yards the final five weeks of the season and finished the year with 1,455-yards and 13 touchdowns. He also joined Jose Samano, Mike Gomez, Joe Silva, Cesar Barriga, Deon Sumler, Paul Wilson, and Tra Sumler as Mead’s tenth consecutive thousand yard back.

“Look at my quarterbacks in the past,” said Koffler. “As a junior Jose Camarena goes 8-3, as a senior he goes 10-1. Angel Alejandre goes 7-4 as a junior and then 12-2 as a senior. To have a quarterback returning for us is good for another two to four wins. He’s already been taught.”

On the other side of the ball DC Marc Paramo will get the pleasure of Matt Eddy, Eddie Solario, Daniel Villalobos as well as sophomore-to-be Dominic Salas. While junior-to-be Sal Chavarin anchors the trenches.

Montebello, Temple City, Rowland, San Gabriel, and San Marino are on the non-league schedule and the annual apocalypse with Arroyo will occur during the second week of league play.

I snapped my pictures, turned off my camera. “Hey Coach, thanks a lot I’ve gotta go.”

“Okay Joe, so tell me…How we looking?”

How’s he looking? My prediction? …

Moving right along…

While riding around Burbank I saw a sign that read “Best Cup of Coffee in Town”…and  my mind immediately went to the Dodgers.

So here it is:

All Time Los Angeles Dodger Cup of Coffee Team Since 1974

First Base: Brian Traxler: The late Traxler had the body of a slo-pitch softball player. Believe me I know, it takes one to know one.

Second Base: Garey Ingram: Batted .282 in his first go around, I expected to see more of this guy.

Shortstop: Tripp Cromer: Do you remember there was talk about him being the guy when he arrived in 1999?

Third Base: German Rivera: We waited and we waited…nada.

Leftfield: Ralph Bryant: Batted .253 with six homers and 13 Rbis in a late season call up in 1986. Ended up going Japanese.

Centerfield: McKay Christiansen: Only because I hated Ed Amelung.

Right Field: Henry Costa Cruz or Lemmie Miller…I go Cruz.

Catcher: Gilberto Reyes: Jack Fimple would have been too easy. Reyes smoked a double down the line late in the 1983 season as a 19-year old. In fact he got two. He was going to be Benito Santiago before Benito Santiago… Instead he was just Gilberto Reyes and didn’t collect another extra base hit in the bigs until 1991.

Right-Handed Pitcher: Jim Neidlinger started 12 games in 1990 went 5-3 with a 3.28 ERA at the age of 25 and never saw the light of day in the Bigs again.

Left-Handed Pitcher: Terry Wells started five games in 1990 went 1-2 and had an ERA over seven…He never saw the Bigs again either.

Relief Pitcher: Steve Shirley was a southpaw who threw a slurve and appeared in 11 games in 1982, finishing six of them. He went Boo Radley after that and no one saw him near a Major League park again.

Yeah, this is fun.

Stay thirsty my friends…

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PSA of the Day

My spiritual alma mater, Temple City Nazarene is hosting a carwash tomorrow from 10: A.M. to whenever the cars stop coming. Cost is a donation, the location is the corner of Las Tunas and Rowland in Temple City.

They are attempting to raise $800.00 to get a bunch of teenagers to San Diego for a giant youth event.

You might want to check it out if you get the chance.