BRIEFLY : No Brahmas, No Brahma Bowl at Pierce

Following the elimination of its intercollegiate football program, Pierce College officials have canceled their sponsorship of the Brahma Bowl, one of eight postseason bowl games for California community colleges.

“Putting on the bowl takes so much work and with us having no chance to play in the game now, there doesn’t seem to be much sense in putting on the game,” said Bob O’Connor, who resigned as Pierce athletic director last week.

The Brahma Bowl was established last year by Pierce and the San Fernando Valley Kiwanis Club. Pierce, champion of the Southern California Conference, defeated Western State Conference winner Moorpark, 17-14, in the first Brahma Bowl.

Sanchez Replaces Gillespie in Alaska

For three years, Frank Sanchez made the trip to North Pole, Alaska, with Mike Gillespie. This year, he is going alone.

When Gillespie left College of the Canyons last week to become baseball coach at USC, he gave up his summer job as manager of the North Pole Nicks, a semipro team that made it to the finals of the National Baseball Congress World Series last year. Sanchez, his assistant at North Pole, will be Gillespie’s replacement.

The Hart High baseball coach won’t be among strangers, however. His assistant is former Chatsworth High and Canyons player Bob Brontsema. At least three, and as many as five, players from the Valley area will play on the team.

Frank Halcovich, the two-time state community college player of the year, and Canyons teammates Pete Kuld and Scott Drury will be on the team unless they sign professional contracts. Torey Lovullo of Encino and Todd Zeile from Hart, starters at UCLA last season, also will play if they don’t turn professional, Sanchez said.