SPORTS NOTEBOOK:
GLENDALE — The following are odds and ends from the local sports scene.
TOLOGS REMAIN DIVISION’S TOP PROGRAM
With two weeks left in the regular season, the Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy soccer team still sits atop the CIF Southern Section Division II poll, which was released Monday afternoon.
The Tologs, who are in first place in the competitive Mission League, split a pair of league road matches last week to hold steady with the top spot. They fell to second-ranked Harvard-Westlake before bouncing back with a win against fifth-ranked Chaminade. Harvard-Westlake moved up from third to second with the win, but still only has a tie head-to-head against Chaminade, which was ranked second. The Tologs swept the season series against Chaminade.
Seven other area teams are ranked in their respective sports, including three boys’ basketball teams, one girls’ basketball squad, one boys’ soccer team, one girls’ soccer program and one girls’ water polo team.
St. Francis, Flintridge Prep and Renaissance Academy are among the area boys’ basketball teams to find itself ranked. The Golden Knights remain at No. 15 in Division IV-AA, while the Rebels stay at No. 8 in Division V-AA. The Wildcats leaped two spots to No. 11 in Division V-AA.
Flintridge Prep’s girls’ basketball team jumped up a spot to No. 11 in Division V-AA.
The St. Francis soccer team is back in the Division I poll at No. 7 after not being ranked last week.
The Crescenta Valley girls’ soccer squad is ranked No. 8 in Division II, up a spot from last week’s ninth-place showing.
In girls’ water polo, Crescenta Valley stays at No. 5 in Division IV for a second straight week.
ARMENIAN FIGHTERS GO 1-1 AT UFC
Ultimate Fighting Championship veterans Karo “The Heat” Parisyan and Manvel “The Anvil” Gamburyan were in action on Saturday as part of the blockbuster UFC 94: St.-Pierre vs. Penn 2 in Las Vegas.
Gamburyan, who trains much of the time at Glendale’s Main Event Gym and also did some training for his Saturday bout at the Glendale Fighting Club, lost a hard-fought unanimous decision to Brazilian Thiago Tavares (14-3).
The three-round lightweight loss, which saw all three judges score it 29-28, dropped Gamburyan’s record to 8-4 overall and 2-3 in the UFC. He was cornered, among others, by Main Event’s Roma Kalantaryan.
Gamburyan’s fight was untelevised on the pay-per-view broadcast.
Later in the evening, Parisyan, who trains at the Main Event Gym, grinded out a split decision win over Dong Hyun Kim (11-1-1). Parisyan, largely considered one of the top-10 welterweights in the world, improved to 19-5. Parisyan was cornered, among others, by Ando Dermenjyan, another Glendale-trained fighter who recently won his pro debut.
REID SET TO COACH IN PRO BOWL
Philadelphia Eagles Coach Andy Reid, a former Glendale Community College football player, will be the head coach of the National Football Conference squad in the Pro Bowl. The event will be held Sunday at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu.
It will mark the fourth time that Reid has coached in the game. He previously coached in the game from 2002-04. Traditionally, the coaching spot goes to the coaches on the losing team of each conference’s respective championship games.
Reid led the Eagles to the NFC championship game this season. The Eagles suffered a 32-25 road loss to the Arizona Cardinals on Jan. 18.
Baltimore Ravens Coach John Harbaugh will guide the American Football Conference team.