Eric Sondheimer
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Harvard-Westlake's dynamic pitching duo is ready to take the stage
February 16, 2012
Lucas Giolito and Max Fried, senior pitchers at Studio City Harvard-Westlake, are about to receive the paparazzi treatment, and neither is related to a Kardashian.
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They are going big in Division 4AA basketball playoffs
February 15, 2012
There are so many tall basketball players in the Southern Section Division 4AA playoffs that size 15 shoes and above should be considered the norm.
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Sherman Oaks Notre Dame to honor Cy Young winner Jack McDowell
February 14, 2012
When Jack McDowell was a pitching standout at Sherman Oaks Notre Dame in the early 1980s, umpires frequently found themselves receiving an earful from a teenager unafraid to express his feelings, because he hated to lose.
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Southern Section boys' basketball playoffs set
February 12, 2012
More competitive divisions and all-out battles brewing between private schools are the highlights from the Southern Section-Ford boys' basketball playoff brackets released Sunday.
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Woodland Hills Taft seeded No. 1 in City playoffs
February 11, 2012
Former NBA guard Jason Hart, in his first season coaching high school basketball, has his Woodland Hills Taft team seeded No. 1 in the City Section Division I playoff pairings released Saturday.
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Fairfax's 56-53 win over Westchester creates three-way league tie
February 10, 2012
There never has been a high school basketball league season quite like what has transpired in the City Section's Western League.
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'Undefeated' is a realistic glimpse into high school football
February 9, 2012
If you want to know how playing high school football can teach lessons in life, the documentary "Undefeated" is a must see. It's nominated for an Academy Award.
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It's time for Santa Margarita football Coach Harry Welch to resign
February 8, 2012
Harry Welch is a championship-winning football coach who demands complete control in all facets of his program. He calls the shots, big and small, in just about every situation, from game decisions on offensive and defensive plays to choosing his team's stat keepers.
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Westchester defeats Palisades, 55-45
February 6, 2012
It's the final week of the City Section basketball regular season, and a word of warning: Westchester is starting to play like a title contender.
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Suspension of Manny Alvarado riles parents
February 5, 2012
Break out the pitchforks. A grassroots battle is unfolding at Granada Hills Kennedy High involving parents, students, teachers, administrators and alumni.
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City Section comes out strong at Nike Extravaganza
February 4, 2012
There has been so much talk about the supposed demise of City Section basketball this season that some people actually believed it. What happened Saturday at the Nike Extravaganza at Santa Ana Mater Dei will put an end to such nonsense.
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Windward girls just slip by Mater Dei
February 4, 2012
It figured that a game between the state's No. 1- and No. 2-ranked girls' basketball teams might come down to the final seconds.
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Three Grade II stakes on Santa Anita card Saturday
February 3, 2012
One of the best racing days of the Santa Anita meeting is set for Saturday, when three Grade II stakes will be on the 10-race card. They include the $200,000 Robert B. Lewis Stakes, a race for 3-year-olds at 1 1/16 miles and a tuneup for the Santa Anita Derby.
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Stars are bright, and mobile, in Coliseum League boys' basketball
February 2, 2012
It's 20 minutes before tipoff, and Locke High boys' basketball Coach Lloyd Webster has sent his stat keeper to Nickerson Gardens in Watts to retrieve one of his top players, who had to go home because of a family problem.
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Playing in high school is no longer vital for college scholarship seekers
January 31, 2012
There has been a longtime assumption, if not an unwritten commandment, in the world of high school sports: Thou shall play for your high school team if you want to be spotted by a college recruiter and offered a scholarship.
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A view of Southern California high school boys' basketball
January 29, 2012
Armed with a press pass, a full tank of gas and a determination to see the very best in high school basketball, I spent night after night last week trying to get a big-picture view of the Southern California scene just three weeks before the playoffs begin.
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Alemany's Marqueze Coleman comes on strong at Fairfax Classic
January 28, 2012
"You look like Reggie Miller," a fan in the bleachers at Fairfax High shouted in the third quarter on Saturday when Alemany's Marqueze Coleman was launching and making a flurry of three-pointers against Santa Monica in a game of the Fairfax State Preview Classic.
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Mater Dei overwhelms St. John Bosco, 86-71
January 27, 2012
A capacity crowd of close to 1,400 packed the St. John Bosco gym Friday night for a Trinity League game for first place, with Braves fans thinking their team had a chance to compete with No. 1-ranked Santa Ana Mater Dei.
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St. John Bosco wrestling phenoms are stealth weapons
January 26, 2012
Moisture, condensation, fog -- whatever you want to call it -- has made it impossible to peek through two windows on the door of the St. John Bosco wrestling room to see what's happening inside.
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Brendyn Taylor, shaking off rust, helps Fairfax beat Westchester
January 25, 2012
Brendyn Taylor is starting to play like the Brendyn Taylor of old, which means the Western League basketball race is about to get very interesting.
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Pacific Hills stays perfect in league with 68-56 win over Windward
January 24, 2012
If anyone wants to know how much high school basketball has changed in the last decade, all you need to do is take a trip to watch one of the ambitious small private school teams and you'd be impressed by the immense talent on the court.
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Santa Margarita's Harry Welch on administrative leave
January 24, 2012
Harry Welch, the only coach to win CIF state championship football bowl games at three schools, has been put on administrative leave at Santa Margarita High, Diocese of Orange spokesman Stephen Bohannon said Monday.
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Loyola lifts coach's spirits with 70-52 win over Crespi
January 23, 2012
It was not the way Los Angeles Loyola had wanted to start one of the toughest weeks of its basketball season, with word that Coach Jamal Adams' mother was dealing with a serious health issue and had to undergo surgery Monday.
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UCLA's Jim Mora makes good moves in football recruitment
January 22, 2012
If you want to know how badly UCLA football recruiting had fallen, let me tell the story from Harbor City Narbonne Coach Manuel Douglas. He said that during the City Section playoffs in 2010, a UCLA recruiter was on campus and didn't know who the best player was at Crenshaw High.
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Taft now the basketball team to beat in City Section
January 21, 2012
Los Angeles City Section basketball has produced the likes of NBA players Jordan Farmar (Taft), Trevor Ariza (Westchester) and Craig Smith (Fairfax) in recent years, but the absence of a bona fide standout player and team this season has made it a guessing game as to which schools might end up playing for the Division I title in March.
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Muir beats league rival Pasadena, 64-60
January 20, 2012
There's a sign on the wall of the Pasadena High gym that reads: "Maximum occupancy 1,150." Every available seat was filled Friday night for the neighborhood rivalry basketball game against Muir that for once actually meant something: first place in the Pacific League.
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A basketball gem from Mexico turns around Montebello team
January 19, 2012
When Jose Estrada suddenly appeared in the gym in the middle of September at Cantwell-Sacred Heart of Mary High in Montebello, basketball Coach George Zedan was hardly prepared for what he was about to see.
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Hamilton brothers lead St. John Bosco past Orange Lutheran
January 18, 2012
When one brother plays in the NBA and another brother plays professionally in Japan, it's a big advantage. Brothers Isaac and Daniel Hamilton of Bellflower St. John Bosco spent last summer learning from their older brothers Jordan and Gary, and their improvement can be seen every time they're on the basketball court.
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Coley Apsay finds way to help Canyon Country Canyon win
January 17, 2012
Patience. Discipline. Unselfishness. Those were the qualities displayed by standout point guard Coley Apsay of Canyon Country Canyon during a Foothill League basketball game Tuesday night in which Valencia West Ranch was determined to frustrate and shut down Apsay as an offensive contributor.
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Havre de Grace is third straight female to win Horse of Year honors
January 16, 2012
In an unprecedented development in the history of American horse racing, Havre de Grace became the third consecutive female to win Horse of the Year honors at the 41st Eclipse Awards dinner on Monday night in Beverly Hills.
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It's more of a level playing field this season in boys' basketball
January 15, 2012
It's close to the midway point in the high school basketball season, and one clear trend is emerging: parity.
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Palisades holds off Fairfax, 64-60, in boys' basketball
January 13, 2012
Fairfax played so poorly for the first 18 minutes of its Western League basketball game against Palisades on Friday night that Coach Harvey Kitani probably didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
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Corona del Mar's Kris Picarelli learns more than soccer in Italy
January 12, 2012
Imagine being a Southern California kid growing up near the beach in Orange County and deciding to head to Italy on your 16th birthday to spend nine months at a boarding school, leaving behind your mother, father, younger brother and friends to follow your dream of trying to become a professional soccer player.
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Taft thwarts El Camino Real, 45-44
January 11, 2012
Kris Yanku, a 6-foot-3 junior guard at Woodland Hills Taft, is known as a defensive whiz. He wants to be the player assigned to come up with the big stop with the game on the line. And he delivered on Wednesday in a tension-filled West Valley League basketball opener against neighborhood rival El Camino Real.
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Lloyd Arnold dies at 83; helped revive harness racing in California
January 11, 2012
Lloyd Arnold, the former co-owner of Los Alamitos Race Course who helped revive harness racing in Southern California in the 1980s, died Sunday in La Quinta. He was 83 and had cancer.
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Their inspirational stories continue to resonate
January 8, 2012
A new year produces new goals, new dreams, new obstacles for high school athletes. Many are seeking a path to success. Let me introduce three adults who can be role models on how to proceed.
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Out Of Bounds wins Derby prep at Santa Anita
January 7, 2012
Jockey Garrett Gomez turned 40 on New Year's Day, which only means he's getting wiser and better based on the way he has been riding at Santa Anita.
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Etiwanda deals with opponents man-to-man
January 5, 2012
If someone decided to do a reality TV show about Etiwanda basketball Coach Dave Kleckner, it would be titled "The Last Man Standing."
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Times' player of year: Su'a Cravens of Vista Murrieta
January 3, 2012
There was no high school football player in Southern California more versatile than 6-foot-3, 210-pound junior Su'a Cravens of Vista Murrieta.
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Going out on a limb with Southland prep predictions for 2012
January 1, 2012
It's time to peer into my crystal ball and see what 2012 has in store for Southern California athletes, coaches and fans:
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Bryan Alberts takes charge in Village Christian's victory
December 30, 2011
High school point guards are not usually 6 feet 5, but that's one advantage for sophomore Bryan Alberts of Sun Valley Village Christian, and he showed Friday night why he is headed for big-time status.
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A shadow over Santa Margarita's football title
December 29, 2011
Santa Margarita's football team will be on a victory recognition tour over the next few weeks, with campus assemblies, recognition from the City Council and a team banquet.
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Mike Smith rides Mr. Commons to Sir Beaufort Stakes victory
December 26, 2011
Trainer John Shirreffs said he was eating at a Pasadena restaurant Christmas day when he overheard a bartender ask another worker, "Are you going to the races tomorrow?"
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Brentwood on the rise with Coach Ryan Bailey
December 25, 2011
Timing is everything, and that's how Brentwood School came away with the coaching hire of 2011.
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High school football season ends, for a minute or two
December 18, 2011
At 10:22 p.m. Saturday, the final high school football game of 2011 was completed. Concord De La Salle finished off another annihilation of a Southern California opponent, beating Westlake Village Westlake, 35-0, in the CIF state championship Open Division bowl game.
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Lewis Brown dies at 56; former high school basketball star in Los Angeles
September 20, 2011
Lewis Brown, a 6-foot-11 center who was a two-time high school basketball player of the year at Los Angeles Verbum Dei in the 1970s and spent the last 10 years living on the streets of Hollywood, died Wednesday after having a heart attack, according to his sister, Anita Brown Campbell. He was 56.
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Greg Goossen dies at 65; catcher signed with Dodgers for a six-figure bonus
March 1, 2011
Greg Goossen, a former Dodgers catcher who played six seasons in the major leagues, then dabbled as a boxing trainer and was a stand-in for actor Gene Hackman in more than a dozen films, was found dead Saturday at his home in Sherman Oaks. He was 65.
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Noble Threewitt dies at 99; champion trainer of thoroughbreds
September 20, 2010
Noble Threewitt, a thoroughbred trainer for 75 years who was known in Southern California for his friendly, gentle demeanor and dedication to helping workers in the barn areas, died of natural causes Friday at an assisted living facility in West Covina, said his grandson Chris Chinnici. He was 99.
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Jim Brownfield dies at 81; football, girls' track coach at Pasadena's Muir High School
May 25, 2010
Jim Brownfield, who achieved prominence as a football and girls' track coach at Pasadena's John Muir High School in the 1980s and '90s, died early Monday. He was 81.
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Bobby Frankel dies at 68; Hall of Fame racehorse trainer
November 17, 2009
Bobby Frankel, a Hall of Fame trainer recognized on both coasts for his affection for and success with thoroughbred horses, died Monday at his home in Pacific Palisades from complications of lymphoma. He was 68.
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Bishop Amat's Isaiah Bowens is on a collision course with stardom
August 31, 2008
Seventh in a series previewing top high school players:
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Kirifi Taula gets a new start at Servite
August 30, 2008
Sixth in a series previewing top high school players:
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Carson's Morrell Presley is new breed of tight end
August 28, 2008
Fourth in a series previewing top high school players.
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A break in the fencing
June 19, 2008
Sweat drips from Brennan Louie's face as the 16-year-old twists and turns in a series of acrobatic break dance movements that produce both pleasure and pain.
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Malibu's Williams has plenty of class
April 25, 2008
Autographs can become very valuable. Just ask someone who got reclusive Dodger Hall of Famer Sandy Koufax to sign a baseball.
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This track is not completely meter made
April 23, 2008
Call it the "Incredible Shrinking Track."
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Demands of some club soccer coaches test high school ethics
April 19, 2008
If Mario Ledezma had his way, he would have become invisible at the conclusion of a tension-filled City Section semifinal soccer playoff game on the last day of February.
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Southland is brimming with top baseball prospects
April 16, 2008
Anthony Gose of Bellflower is a left-handed pitcher who can throw a fastball 95 mph. There are major league teams that have paid million-dollar signing bonuses to teenagers with similar skills.
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Taft hurdler D.J. Morgan has a jumping-off point
April 11, 2008
When sophomore track standout D.J. Morgan of Woodland Hills Taft was 5, he tried to leap over a thorn bush in the frontyard of his parents' house in Pacoima while his older brothers watched in amusement.
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Parent-coaches must find the right balance
April 4, 2008
Whenever a parent decides to coach his son or daughter on a sports team, their relationship faces potential risks as well as possible rewards.
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Newhall Hart pitcher Trevor Bauer keeps head in game
March 21, 2008
Last July, while many teenagers were hanging out at the beach on their summer vacations, Trevor Bauer of Newhall Hart was spending three weeks in 95-degree temperatures and 85% humidity at a baseball camp in Texas.
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Blind swimmer is true inspiration
March 19, 2008
A loud beep tells the six swimmers standing on starting blocks to dive into the pool. Andrew Luk of Diamond Bar, wearing goggles, pushes off from the wall as his competitors splash and dart ahead in the 500-yard freestyle race.
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UCLA-bound Holiday soars to new heights
March 14, 2008
Standing at the entrance to the gymnasium at North Hollywood Campbell Hall and wearing a Disneyland hat with the name "Grumpy" emblazoned on its front, a smiling and playful Jrue Holiday hardly fit the profile of an All-American high school basketball player who, in a couple of years, could be playing with or against Kobe Bryant.
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Shooting death of his father drives Riverside King's Leonard
March 8, 2008
The last time Riverside King and Compton Dominguez played in a high school basketball game was Jan. 19 at Pauley Pavilion, and Kawhi Leonard was grieving.
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Separate playoff divisions isn't the answer
March 5, 2008
A leap of faith is necessary to support the idea that creating separate public and private school playoff divisions in the Southern Section would be good for Southern California's high school sports.
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Open enrollment is a magnet for Taft success
February 29, 2008
If Woodland Hills Taft wins the City Championship Division boys' basketball title Saturday night at the Sports Arena, give some of the credit to the state legislature for passing the open enrollment law that went into effect in the fall of 1994.
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Orange Lutheran's Cole is a pitcher with options
February 27, 2008
Long before Gerrit Cole's junior baseball season, UCLA Coach John Savage identified the Orange Lutheran right-hander as having one of the better pitching arms in the Southland. Savage got an early commitment from Cole and started to make plans for when Cole would arrive for the 2009 college season.
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Villanueva's journey has him back at Roosevelt
February 24, 2008
There are spider webs not nearly as entangled or twisted as the strange odyssey involving left-handed pitcher Martin Villanueva of Los Angeles Roosevelt.
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Harris wins over a tough crowd
February 20, 2008
On Sundays in the Mojave Desert town of Twentynine Palms, home to the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center, 17-year-old Montreal Harris likes to travel to a gym on base to test himself against some former athletes who offer him no sympathy.
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Sophomore takes her best shot at Olympic glory
January 11, 2008
Marisa Berger, a 15-year-old sophomore at North Hollywood Harvard-Westlake, would have no problem toting a .44 Magnum while spouting, "Go ahead, make my day."
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Showing their Wares
January 9, 2008
Those who followed City Section boys' basketball in the late 1970s know that it was a time of oohing and aahing over the magnificent displays of athletic talent.
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After Serna is switched to QB, St. Bonaventure lights it up
December 14, 2007
While munching on a carne asada taco at a coaches' barbecue, Ventura St. Bonaventure's youthful first-year football coach, Todd Therrien, made a decision that proved to be a decisive moment in helping the Seraphs (13-1) earn an invitation to Saturday's CIF state Division III championship bowl game.
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Corona Centennial has quite the spread
December 12, 2007
There can't be anything more frightening for a high school football coach these days than trying to figure out how to stop Corona Centennial's seemingly unstoppable spread offense.
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Pain never slows Dorsey's Franklin
November 30, 2007
It was Thanksgiving morning, and running back Johnathan Franklin of Los Angeles Dorsey woke up feeling the pain of a hard night's work.
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She's got a ticket to ride
November 28, 2007
If Ryan Sheckler, the skateboarding MTV heartthrob from San Clemente, ever needs a companion with X Games-like fearlessness, 15-year-old Kate Hansen of La Cañada could be the perfect match.
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Crespi defense creates a buzz
November 22, 2007
Defensive coordinator Joe McLaughlin expects his Encino Crespi players to act like a bunch of crazed bees.
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Olmos makes family proud
November 21, 2007
With temperatures in the 90s, Jesus Olmos spent last Wednesday building a fence. Almost every hour, while sweating and full of dirt, he thought about his son, Edgar.
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Fairfax center Sidney brings complete set of skills
November 14, 2007
At 6 feet 10, 235 pounds, with the ability to dribble like a point guard, dunk as if he were Shaquille O'Neal and shoot three-pointers with relative ease, Renardo Sidney is no ordinary high school basketball player.
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Top Southland boys' basketball players like it hot
November 14, 2007
The rumors started on the Internet and spread to the gyms around Southern California. DeMar DeRozan of Compton was transferring to Mouth of Wilson (Va.) Oak Hill to join Brandon Jennings. Then he was going to New York Lincoln, where Lance Stephenson holds court.
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Ward, Jakubiec learn from best
November 9, 2007
Two giant 16-year-old sophomores who didn't play tackle football until they reached high school have discovered that smashing their smaller opponents to the turf can be fun and rewarding.
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Notre Dame's Crist is defined by more than football
November 7, 2007
Coach Kevin Rooney held a meeting with his Sherman Oaks Notre Dame football team on Halloween, and he found that keeping a straight face was extremely difficult. Linebacker Anthony McDonald showed up as Dog the Bounty Hunter. A teammate was Scooby-Doo and another was dressed as Superman.
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Beverly Hills senior still growing
November 2, 2007
Shaquille O'Neal is 7 feet 1 and wears size 23 shoes. UCLA freshman Kevin Love is 6-10 and wears size 19 shoes.
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Taking a new stance on football
October 31, 2007
In fall 2004, Datone Jones was a freshman at Compton High, dreaming of becoming a basketball standout. He ignored the repeated pleas of his P.E. teacher, Calvin Bryant, to try football.
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Gretzky living baseball dream through son
October 27, 2007
The greatest ice hockey player in history, Wayne Gretzky, a nine-time NHL most valuable player and 10-time scoring champion, had a pen in his hand Wednesday night and was signing jerseys, hockey sticks and wine bottles in such rapid fashion that it seemed as if he might develop carpal tunnel syndrome before the night was over.
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Baca goes from zero to hero at Ayala
October 24, 2007
Matt Baca of Chino Hills Ayala has already mastered one of the most important skills necessary to becoming a top athlete: blocking out miserable memories.
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Barkley stands tall for Mater Dei
October 19, 2007
At midseason, it's time to look at who's doing well, who's exceeding expectations and who's come out of nowhere to make an impact on the 2007 high school football season.
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El Segundo's Bundy has the right (and left) stuff
October 17, 2007
As a 747 jumbo jet began its full-throttle climb from Los Angeles International Airport, far below stood left-handed quarterback Michael Bundy on the football field at El Segundo High, lofting one 20-yard spiral after another.
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A little variety doesn't hurt
October 12, 2007
There's an urgent need to restore the concept of cross-training to the vocabulary of high school coaches, athletes and parents.
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Hart's Ewart on a mission after being injured in fire
October 10, 2007
Five days before Christmas 2005, Mike Ewart was jolted awake in the early morning by the piercing screams of his younger brother.
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It's a family thing for Garfield standout
October 3, 2007
For 26 years, Maria and Jesus Lopez have lived in a two-bedroom house in City Terrace, sending seven sons to Garfield High, where each learned to play football and gained an appreciation for the difference between right and wrong.
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UCLA becomes a detour choice for Ivy League son
September 28, 2007
If anyone seemed destined to become an Ivy Leaguer, it was Jonathan Martin. After all, his father went to Harvard. His mother went to Harvard and her parents went to Harvard. Even his mother's cousin went to Harvard.
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A standout stays close to home
September 26, 2007
The start of school each September can be cruel for any high school basketball coach waiting to learn if rumors of summer transfers out of his program turn out to be true.
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Old-school style for new school
September 21, 2007
Julio Segura had never played tackle football until he came out for spring practice at the urging of a couple of football coaches who saw him play basketball as a sophomore at South East, a new high school in South Gate.
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Big Bear's Kriss Proctor thrives under pressure
September 19, 2007
Nestled in the mountains of the San Bernardino National Forest is Big Bear, hometown of Kriss Proctor, a 17-year-old senior quarterback whose life tales are filled with enthralling moments.
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Evans has the right attitude on and off the field
September 14, 2007
When a teenager loves to play football, his attitude can become contagious, inspiring teammates and even coaches.
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They're off and running with the shotgun formation
September 12, 2007
It took 25 years of coaching high school football at the varsity level before a skeptical Kevin Rooney of Sherman Oaks Notre Dame finally embraced the shotgun formation in 2004.
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Mascarenas corners the market on big plays
September 7, 2007
Something special seems to happen every time cornerback Alex Mascarenas of Mission Viejo is on the football field.
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Loyola's Thompson is answering the call
September 5, 2007
There's an interesting way to determine whether a high school athlete has attained big-time status in the college recruiting world.
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Mater Dei's Barkley figures to stay on course
August 30, 2007
When the final story is written years from now, chronicling the football achievements of quarterback Matt Barkley, don't let anyone downplay the significance of what happened in the fall of 2005.
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