SLO High baseball trio get scholarships

Word from the "Bloggin' with..." pipeline is that San Luis Obispo High seniors Darren Mullen, Dan Howell and Robby Nadalsky have all inked letters of intent to play baseball at NCAA Division I schools next year.

Nadalsky wasn't a surprise. He'd announced his verbal commitment to Cal State Northridge long ago. Howell's late commitment was somewhat expected. He took a visit to Hawaii when I was going through All-County team stuff a couple weeks ago. Now, he's inked with the Warriors, said a source.

Mullen, the PAC 7 MVP and single-season Tigers record-holder for RBI, seemed resigned to attend either Palomar or Cuesta College next year.

Not so, in the end.

Out of the blue, Northridge made an offer after finding some newfound holes in its catching depth chart. So, Mullen will join Nadalsky and become a Matador.

Three guys from one team signing with D-I schools? When's the last time that happened around here? I know San Luis has had some talented teams in the past. Anybody recall three from one team making it big?

Ryan Overland, Atascadero's CWS hero

That up there is Ryan Overland. He's shown in an Athlete of the Week photo taken in 2004, when Overland was a senior at Atascadero High.

Overland's now a senior at Fresno State. He homered in Tuesday's College World Series win over North Carolina, and I had a cell phone interview with him on Thursday talking about that feat and the Bulldogs' chances at a National Championship.

If Fresno State continues its Cinderella run and wins it all, that would put former San Luis Obispo County athletes on both the College World Series and Women's College World Series champs.

Arizona State's Katie Burkhart, a former SLO High star, pitched the Sun Devils to the softball title in the past month.

The unseeded Bulldogs winning the CWS would be a major coup few would have thought possible before the season or — heck — even two weeks ago. There are probably still doubters out there.

But Overland said his team is now getting a whif of what it would be like.

"The way we got here has given us a lot of confidence," the former Greyhound said. "We were in the toughest regional a lot of people were saying. Long Beach, San Diego and Cal. To go beat those teams and then go beat Arizona State, we already feel like we’ve beaten some of the best teams in the country."

To read more of what Overland had to say, CLICK HERE.

And if you didn't see it, here's the video of Overland's homer against the Tar Heels.

Weekly Derrick Jasper update: It's UNLV

Word broke Monday that former Paso Robles High standout Derrick Jasper has committed to transfer to UNLV.

I talked to Jasper today. You can read all about it in the Tuesday edition of The Tribune. But I wanted to give blog readers an early shot at responding to the news.

So have at it. He didn't visit any other schools. In the end, UCLA and Cal Poly, the two winners of our informal blog poll, didn't seem to have much of a chance. Here's your chance to debate or support Derrick's decision.

Or have at our choices for baseball and softball players of the year or the All-County team, which came out on Sunday.

It won't be long before this blog takes a little bit of a hiatus for the summer. We've got Jordan Hasay and the Olympic Trials to talk about, but things will get kind of quiet leading up to football season.

In a small piece of slocohighschoolsportsblog news: The blog is expected to get a new address before the fall and stay tuned for another major announcement.

Where would you like to see Derrick Jasper?

Talking to former Paso Robles basketball star Derrick Jasper yesterday, it seemed pretty clear he was carefully weighing his options since deciding to transfer from Kentucky.

He'll have to sit out a year if he transfers to an NCAA Division I university, but he'll also have two additional years of eligibility (and a redshirt year if necessary) once he sits out.

When word first spread about the potential for Jasper to leave the Wildcats, the school I originally thought of — and I'm just being honest here — was UCLA. Bruins coach Ben Howland is a noted defensive guru, and with Jasper's above-average size at point guard, defense and rebounding has been the former Bearcat's specialty in college.

As it turns out, there's been some interest from UCLA and Westwood could be a likely destination for Jasper. But it's not the only school that fits his criteria of wanting to get closer to home. Jasper also has several other schools he's considering, including San Diego State, UNLV, USC and Long Beach State among others.

He never mentioned Cal Poly, which is as close to home as you can get, but Jasper didn't sound as if he was ruling much out either at this early stage. He got his official release from Kentucky on Monday and said he expects to take as much time as needed to make the right decision.

Where would you like to see Jasper end up? Comment here and vote in the new poll.

CIF State Track: The Video

After reviewing the raw footage I took at this past weekend's track meet, I decided most of it was pretty boring. So instead of posting it all, I spruced it up with some music and production value.

The video stars Nipomo throwers Korben Boaz and Jeanette DeWitt as well as Templeton's Justin Cutler. It was completely shot and edited by yours truly. It's pretty rad, but just a warning for those who might suffer from kinetosis, there's lots of spinning.

I also took this nice photo of Tonie Williams standing with her CIF State medal (She placed sixth in the 400). Enjoy!

2008 CIF Track and Field Championships

Sights From the CIF State Track and Field Meet

I'm down here in Norwalk covering the state track meet. Read all the results of your favorite SLO County athletes in the Tribune or at SanLuisObispo.com.
Blog readers will get all the extra stuff.

I'm armed and dangerous with my camera and hope to be posting videos of the action within the weekend.

Until those get up, here's an update.

I saw two stud high school basketball players at the meet. UCLA-bound senior Drew Gordon qualified fourth in the discus for tomorrow's final with a 180-foot, 2-inch throw. He's one spot behind Nipomo's Korben Boaz, who popped a personal-best 181-10.

I also ran by Compton basketball star Demar DeRozan, who was not competing but was watching in the stands, on my way out to interview SLO star Tonie Williams. I didn't have the time to ask if he was really going to renege on his commitment to USC.

Nipomo coach Matt Soenksen let me in on a superstition. His Titans caravan of throwers Boaz and Jeanette DeWitt stayed at the same Hilton and ate at the same meals at the same Mimi's Cafe as they did for last week's CIF-Southern Section Masters Meet, which was also at Cerritos College. He didn't say if they were bummed not to get the same parking spot at the stadium.

Now would be a good time to mention that the starting pistol scares the crap out of me every time it goes off. Come to a meet. I challenge you. Come to a meet, whip out a computer, type some stuff and just try to keep the solids in when the deafening POW! rattles your innards.

It'll be a surprise if the Central Coast athletes don't do well on Saturday. The weather conditions were vintage SLO County. The temperature was in the low 70s. It was sunny. And the wind was just strong enough to notice you didn't like it.

That's all for now. Stay tuned for more.

More Clayton McDonald (Funny, I swear)

Sunday's story on Atascadero diver Clayton McDonald (READ HERE) and his battles with leukemia had a certain serious tone.

But here on the blog, I want to introduce readers to another side of Clayton. Yes, he's survived cancer three times. And one of the ways he's gotten through it all and remained sane has been with humor.

Check out this video and you'll see what I mean. Guaranteed laughs. (FYI: Clayton is the kid who's gonzo for Grad Night.)



Clayton and his friends have starred in a few other films. You can view the whole collection HERE.

Baseball/Softball Players of the Year, Anyone?

The baseball and softball seasons are almost over, and the Templeton girls are the only ones still alive — again.

I figure it's the perfect time to poll the masses. Who in your mind deserves to be County Players of the Year?

As usual, weigh in on the online poll over to the right, but reason things out in the comment section.

I'll give a few contenders to get the ball rolling.

In baseball, you've got a few nominees, each with at least a small hole in his resume.

Mission Prep's Alex Detz batted .507, with just one more strikeout 6 than he had home runs 5, but the Royals did not play a great schedule.

Nipomo catcher Manny Reyes led the County with a .514 batting average and had good RBI totals, but his team fared poorly in PAC 7 play. Arroyo Grande catcher Lucas Kephart slugged six home runs, but was outdone by Reyes in a few other categories.

The All-County Team catcher spots will be interesting, especially considering San Luis Obispo catcher Darren Mullen — another POY candidate — had stats that looked like this at season's end: .479 BA, 4 HRs, county-leading 43 RBI.

But Mullen and the Tigers finished behind Paso Robles by 0.028 in percentage points for first place in the PAC 7.

The Bearcats' nominee has got to be pitcher John Brehm. The left-hander went 9-0 with five complete games, three shutouts and two saves. His ERA going into the playoffs was a microscopic 0.73. But he wasn't a heart-stopping power pitcher, and he didn't contribute a ton at the plate.

If Brehm ends up being the pick, it could be a Paso sweep.

Softball pitcher/shortstop Michelle Moses slugged 11 home runs, four more than the next closest county player. No one else in the PAC 7 had more than one.

Moses also led the league with 187 strikeouts despite being the only pitcher among the league leaders to have pitched fewer than 100 innings.

But Moses isn't all alone. Templeton's Kat Hicks, the 2006 Player of the Year, bested her with 193 strikeouts and was second in the county to Moses with a 0.52 ERA at the end of the regular season.

Both won league titles, but Hicks' team is still playing in the playoffs.

You make the call.

Mott goes to mound, throws one more pitch for nets

Mission Prep two-sport standout Bob Mott is set to take the mound Tuesday in the CIF-Central Section Division V baseball semifinals against powerhouse Fowler.

Mott, many may remember, raised $2,335 in the past two years with a campaign to buy malaria nets for children in Africa. The Tribune covered his story each of the past two seasons as he used 3-point shooting as an incentive to fundraise.

Malaria, a mosquito-borne, flu-like illness, claims more than 1 million lives each year worldwide. Most of the victims are young children in sub-Saharan Africa, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Much of the danger of malarial mosquitoes can be eliminated through the use of bed nets like the one Mott has above.

Since a few people have e-mailed in to find out how they can contribute to the cause, I asked him about it after the Royals' quarterfinal win last week. Mott suggested logging on to NothingButNets.net, a Web site run by the United Nations Foundation that's raised money for more than 2 million nets.

Mott originally got the idea to raise money after both reading an article by former Sports Illustrated columnist Rick Reilly and taking a trip through one of the largest slums in Kenya. On a return trip last summer, he shot this video at an orphanage while playing soccer with some of the kids.

Kibagare — AMAZING soccer kid


Mott said he tried out some of the moves, but slipped and fell in the mud instead. He should stick to hoops. Check out this video of one of his monster dunks:

SLO's Colonel Singles: Julian "Chicken" Arnold

He's San Luis Obispo High tennis' top singles player, the only one around here to ever take a set from Arroyo Grande's Andre Dome.

You'd think Julian Arnold would have some kind of macho nickname, like Duke or Hulk.

I've always liked boxer Juan "The Hispanic Causing Panic" Lazcano. With a name like that, who wouldn't?

But no, Arnold's matches are always accompanied by shouts of, "Let's go, Chicken!"

The origin of Chicken is disputed. Some say it's because the way Arnold holds his backpack, with his hands hooked onto the straps, it makes him look like he has chicken wings.

Others say he walks on his toes real chicken-like.

Whatever the reasons, it's stuck. And now the fans are starting to capitalize. This rubber chicken appeared on the chain link fence at last week's playoff match, and there's been talk of constructing a crude pen made of chicken wire for Arnold fans to sit in come this Tuesday's second-round playoff match.

Arnold doesn't seem fazed by the nickname — though I'm betting he secretly wishes it was something more like Orange Julian or something cool like that.

If you have any suggestions, I'll pass them along when I see him.

Anybody else remember any other local athletes with off-the-wall handles?

Cal Poly gets another local walk-on

The walk-on detractors aren't going to like this one.

Cal Poly sent out a news release announcing football commitments from three more players today, including former Hancock and Atascadero standout defensive back Neil Tidwell, who was admitted as an invited walk-on.

Good for Tidwell. I didn't see him play football for the Greyhounds, but I remember him concurrently playing baseball and running track as a senior at Atascadero. I'm still wowed by that.

But that's not all. Cal Poly's release didn't include Mission Prep's George Johnson, who said he's been invited to walk-on to the football team next fall.

"That's what I've always wanted to do since freshman year," said Johnson, who said Cal Poly coaches have already told him he has a secure spot on the team.

Johnson had 46 catches for 982 yards and 12 touchdowns as a senior for Mission Prep. He averaged 122.8 yards per game.

Albeit at a small school, Johnson put up some numbers. He's relatively inexperienced at receiver and safety after having switched from quarterback during his junior year.

But he's very athletic and has good body control. I've personally seen him make some spectacular grabs.

Can he do it at Poly? We'll see. The Mustangs also have former SLO star Kevin Martin, who walked on last fall. It'll be interesting to see if either can settle into a role on the team.

Dylan Royer and Cal Poly: A Commitment

This is what Dylan Royer has been waiting for.

The Morro Bay High senior standout and reigning Tribune San Luis Obispo County Basketball Player of the Year has been pretty reserved this year talking about his college options.

UC San Diego, Concordia, Westmont. Those were the types of schools Royer reported getting offers from. But just below the surface, there always seemed to be this hope a spot would materialize for him here at home. Royer secretly wanted to go to Cal Poly.

Today, the Mustangs reported they've accepted Royer as an invited walk-on for next season. Here are portions of Cal Poly's news release announcing the union.

Dylan Royer Commits to Cal Poly
SAN LUIS OBISPO, CA – Cal Poly men’s basketball head coach Kevin Bromley announced today that Morro Bay senior Dylan Royer has been accepted to Cal Poly as a incoming freshman and has verbally committed to play basketball for the Mustangs as an invited walk-on for the 2008-09 season.
Royer, the San Luis Obispo County Player of the Year, averaged 22.5 points per game and 6.8 rebounds in leading the Pirates to 20-8 record and the second round of the CIF-Southern Section Division III-AA playoffs.

...

“Having the county player of the year come to Cal Poly is fantastic,” said Bromley. “Dylan brings a tremendous amount of competitive sprit to the court and I love the way he shoots the ball. His unselfish play will bring a lot to the team.”

...

The release hasn't posted at GoPoly.com yet, but if it appears, I'll try to link it. Look for more in Saturday's Tribune.

The move is bold. I like it. Royer most certainly could have gone on to a smaller college and contributed right away, maybe even had a star career. By choosing the Mustangs, he's taking a risk that he may not get much initial playing time if any by the end of his career.

College basketball walk-ons have historically been all over the map in terms of their career success. Some only stick for a year or two on the team. Some earn scholarships with solid performances. Some play well but are forced to transfer if things don't work out.

Look for the new poll: What do you think about Royer's chances at Cal Poly?

Going Out on Top

In the past two weeks, The Tribune has detailed Atascadero High diver Elizabeth Foran's fourth straight league and second straight CIF-Southern Section Division III titles.

What wasn't mentioned was her future.

In the post-meet interview Tuesday, Foran said she'll likely be quitting the sport as a competitior while she pursues a medical degree in college.

She said she'll do her undergrad work at UC San Diego, which does have a diving team. But with all of the expected coursework, she said she isn't thinking about trying out for the team until after her freshman year, if at all.

For someone who's been alternately participating in sports like gymnastics, competitive cheerleading and diving since she was six years old, Foran is feeling a little burnt out on the competitive aspect.

"I love it. I love practicve," Foran said of diving. "I love my team, but I hate competing. It’s just so much pressure on you... It’s just silent, and you’re up there by yourself, and you’re just like, 'Dang, I’m alone.' It’s just nerveracking."

In other college news, Nipomo basketball and track and field standout Jeanette DeWitt had a signing ceremony Wednesday at the school announcing her commitment to play basketball for NCAA Division II Sonoma State.

DeWitt is a two-time all-county basketball honoree, and got some mention for player of the year this season. In track and field, she's ranked fourth in the state in the discus with a top mark of 147 feet, 4 inches.

A relative late-bloomer on the throwing scene, DeWitt might've had an opportunity to continue her track career at a high level, but talking to her at the PAC 7 finals last week, I just got the impression that basketball is her first love.

A Long Week

This week, there were championships galore in some of what trendy peeps in the biz like to call "non-ball" sports.

Diving, swimming, track and field — though technically, the shot is a ball.

Anyway, watching all three PAC 7 champonship meets was a blast, even though I feel like a raisin after taking in all the sun. But since you've read about these epic events in The Tribune for the past few days, I thought I'd shift gears back to baseball.

Paso Robles, San Luis Obispo and Arroyo Grande all have a shot at winning the PAC 7 title. The Bearcats have the inside track, but the Tigers are right there. The Eagles were more of a longshot leading into Friday's games, but are still in the race.

Who'll win the title? Who has the best shot in the playoffs? Are they one in the same?

If I had to pick one, I'd say San Luis Obispo has the best chance to win the title. The Tigers beat Paso Robles two out of three times and boast one of the toughest top-to-bottom lineups in recent memory.

But the playoffs are ruled by dominant pitchers, which San Luis Obispo — despite a stable of steady arms — doesn't really have.

Paso Robles' left-handed pitcher John Brehm had a 25-inning scoreless streak going before it was broken up by Righetti this week. He's 7-2 with and ERA of 0.72, and he struck out a season-high 10 batters in a 5-4 complete-game win over the Warriors.

The last time a dominant San Luis Obispo team took the title two years ago, it was Paso Robles, behind fireballing lefty Matt Drummond, that advanced farthest in the playoffs.

Arroyo Grande has some solid pitching, too. Nathan Raubinger has won five of his past six starts, but two of his three losses came to Paso Robles and San Luis Obispo.

Corey Butcher has a 2.18 ERA for the Eagles, but Arroyo Grande's supported him with an average of just 1.25 runs in his four losses. The Eagles are averaging nearly six runs per game otherwise.

What does all that mean? It could turn out that SLO makes the deepest playoff run. You decide. Vote in the polls.

A classic throwback

Arroyo Grande's epic four-game win over rival San Luis Obispo in boys volleyball on Tuesday had a very vintage feel to it.

A few of the players were sporting shaggy hairdos I remember donning in my K-Mart portriats as a toddler in the early 1980s, but most of the retro atmosphere had to do with the surroundings.

The game was played in the old gym. Yellow lights. Peeling paint. Four rows of stands. Rafters.

It just felt like it was played out in one of those grainy 1970s movies — like as if I was Dirty Harry, but instead of shooting criminals, I was taking notes. I still did the squinty-eyed Clint Eastwood sneer in case anyone was watching.

There were ideas floating around about why the match was moved to the smaller arena. The official match notes handed out with the program said it was to honor Earth Day. The new gym is apparently an energy hog.

Tigers coach Jon Hastings said his team just felt more comfortable there. It wasn't the first time this season San Luis Obispo had hosted a game in the old gym. It was the second.

After the game, Hastings spoke of benefit of crowding the fans closer to the court and closer to the action. It was louder and more inviting. He said he might explore moving the team there full time.

But the Eagles couldn't help but to feel a little put off by the move at first. (So was I, but only because I had to walk the extra 50 yards from the parking lot).

It seemed the Arroyo Grande team and I are the only ones who didn't get the memo because I walk out of the completely dark and empty new gym and see the Eagles, looking pretty ticked. I asked Trevor Salas where the game was being played and I just got mumbles and grumbles. It was in the old gym.

Hastings said it wasn't a psychological ploy to take Arroyo Grande off it's game. But even if it wasn't, it almost worked.

The Tigers had some kind of magic going in that stuffy old place. The Eagles started out strong, but by the second and third games, they looked flustered. They were clearly the more dynamic team, but their mojo was somehow being smothered by this invisible force.

Or maybe all those 70s vibes I was getting just had me unconsciously conjuring Star Wars. I don't know.

I guess the real reason for this blog is for me to say that if you weren't at the game, you missed one of the all-time greats. If you were there, you know what I mean.

Changing the subject

Not that I don't like the Mission Prep debate and the theories on the ripple effects of Tom Mott's departure from the school in 2006, but I agreed with one of the posters who was looking for a new topic. And I've got one.

The Elks San Luis Obispo County Track Meet is this Saturday, and it'll be one of the few remaining chances for local fans to see Royals star junior Jordan Hasay.

Hasay, a junior distance runner who does most of her work outside the county's borders, is slated to run the 1,600-meter race. She already has the best time in the state at 4 minutes, 44.12 seconds, and at last year's county meet established a national best and set an all-time sophomore national record.

How about this for a poll? Who here's actually seen the phenom run? If you haven't, local track aficianados are always recommending that you do so while you can. Hasay is an Olympic level talent on track to be a superstar athlete, perhaps the best in any sport that's ever come out of SLO County. Soon, she'll be running for a top-flight college program — or in the pros.

She only runs a handful of local events each year and will be running at Cuesta on Saturday sometime between 10:30 and 11 a.m.

I'll have some more in-depth coverage on the meet and other events to watch in Friday's edition of The Tribune. Also, expect county basketball players of the year and all-county teams within the next week.

Oh, and feel free to talk Paso Robles football any time. Or three times.

P.S. I'm not a bum. Our sports editor was on vacation, and I was doing some fill-in work.

Mission goes down

The Mission Prep girls basketball team fell 51-39 to Ross Branson in the Division V State Championship game at Arco Arena in Sacramento on Saturday morning.

As I sit here typing this, the Branson boys are beating Renaissance Academy 38-31 and are looking to make the Bulls a double winner for the second year in a row.

The Branson girls were amazing. They were tall, athletic, fast. It was a tough game for the Royals, who were down by 19 at one point in the third quarter.

Check out tomorrow's Tribune for a more in-depth recap of the game.

Coke vs. Pepsi

Personally, I go Coca-Cola. I find it a tangier, spicier option for big-boy soda drinkers. People like Mean Joe Green.

Pepsi is too sweet. I think Pepsi, I think Britney Spears, Ricky Martin. That curly-mop little girl with the dimples who spoke with celebrity voices.

Well, that little girl grew up, and I heard she drinks Coke now.

I also think Coke played a tougher non-conference schedule, and Pepsi is a ballhog. Pepsi was playing against softies like R.C. Cola and Albertson's Brand, while Coke was taking on Sprite.

It's easy to put up numbers on Mr. Pibb and Bubble-Up.

And we all know Pepsi recruits. Plus, if Pepsi weren't so tall, then it wouldn't get so many rebounds. Pepsi is also slow, and Coke has a better all-around game, more assists, steals.

Coke makes the team better. Pepsi isn't even being recruited.

What do you guys think?

Oh, and just for checking in, I'll pass along the state championship preview capsules I have been working on for tomorrow's paper. For loyal blog readers only.

CIF DIVISION V STATE GIRLS BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP
Saturday, 9:30 a.m., at Arco Arena in Sacramento
No. 1 Ross Branson (28-7) vs. No. 2 Mission Prep (27-4)
BACKGROUND
Branson — The Bulls are the defending state champions after defeating Pacific Hills 51-36 for the program’s first-ever state title last year. Branson has been ranked No. 1 in Division V by CalHiSports.com all season long. Top players Rachael and Sam Bilney, senior sisters both headed to Richmond on basketball scholarships, have battled injuries this season. Sam missed most of the year with a knee injury, and a midseason hand ailment kept Rachel out until mid-January.
Mission Prep — The Royals are making their sixth state title appearance in program history and are going for their first win. None of the current players were on the team the last time Mission Prep advanced this far in 2004, a year after legendary coach Jay Cowitz died after a lengthy battle with cancer. Cowitz’s daughter Margaret, a senior, has been an emotional motivator for the team.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Branson — Rachael Bilney (6-foot swingman, Sr.) 17.4 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 36 percent 3-point field goals; Michela Bestwick (5-10 forward, Sr.) 10 ppg; Lauren Polanski (5-9 huard, Jr.) 10 ppg, 4.7 apg. 4.8 spg.
Mission Prep — Leigh Yetter (5-9 guard, Sr.) 14.8 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 48 percent field goals; Erica Vesnaver (5-9 forward, Sr.) 7.6 ppg, 34 percent 3-point field goals; Jenna Caruso (5-7 guard, Jr.) 7 ppg.
QUOTABLES
Branson — “We can’t give (Branson) easy layups,” Mission Prep coach John Krossa said. They get a lot of easy layups from pressure, girls panicking. They do a trap and they pressure man-to-man. They play hard. It would be better for us to get a 5-second call than to panic and turn the ball over and give up a layup.”
Mission Prep — “If we’re on and we do what we’re capable of doing, we can play with anyone, and that includes them,” Royals forward Erica Vesnaver said. “It’s a very winnable game for us. We’re going to have to play very well.”

Can't travel to Sacramento?

This Saturday's Division V girls basketball state championship game between Mission Prep and Branson starts at 9:30 a.m.

Can't make the 4- to 5-hour drive from San Luis Obispo County to make it in time? (Or don't wake up early enough on a Saturday even if you live in Sacramento?)

You can listen free to the live broadcast of the game on the internet at KBCSports.com. (Or you can buy an audio recording if you're in the 'I can't get up early' category.)

I sat next to the two guys who did the play-by-play for Mission's Southern California final win over Calvin Christian down in Santa Ana last weekend, and though I didn't really pay much attention to their broadcast, it seemed like they put a bit of work in to researching each team. They interviewed each coach before the game and asked me for a few details.

Hey, even if they're not any good at all, at least you'll know the score. Then you can log on to SanLuisObispo.com at halftime and immediately following the game for my breaking news updates. I'll also be blogging from Arco Arena, the site of the game, and, of course, you can read our in-depth coverage in Sunday's paper.

Oh, and vote in the new poll. It was a recent request by a comment poster on the girls basketball player of the year. You want it, you go it. (Though, technically, I asked the question of you readers like two weeks ago and got crickets.)

One of the funniest moments of the season

The Mission Prep girls beat View Park Prep in the So-Cal regional semis on Thursday night. The Royals are on to the regional finals for the 11th time since 1989. No biggie. They're ranked No. 1. They expect to be there.

Check out this anecdote though, the laugh out loud moment of the season.

Here's some forshadowing: At halftime, a small boy from from the View Park side who looked just days out of diapers was putting on a dance show near the media table. He was good. No doubt he could have served more than half of downtown SLO on college night.

And when he was doing his thing, the game was pretty close. It was up for grabs until Leigh Yetter took over with nine points in the third quarter, and Mission Prep outscored the Knights 14-2.

So to start the fourth quarter, the Royals student section starts doing that "We Will Rock You" stomp. You know. Stomp-Stomp, Clap! Stomp-Stomp,Clap! Like that.

Then the entire Mission Prep side of the stands starts doing it. It's pretty cool.

But it gets cooler when the other side of the gym, the people at the media table and the View Park fans look to the right of the Royals students — and guess who's cutting the rug all by his lonesome?

Yup, the Tear-da-club-up Toddler.

We all assumed after his team fell so far behind, he just switched sides.

To further the hilarity, an embarrassed-looking Knights fan had to run across the gym to grab the little boy and escort him back the View Park stands.