Sports Notebook: Daniel Paladini, Chicago Fire playoff bound
The following are odds and ends from the local sports scene.
PALADINI, FIRE HEADING FOR PLAYOFFS
St. Francis High graduate and former Golden Knights standout Daniel Paladini and his Chicago Fire are headed to the Major League Soccer postseason, but their regular season finale on Saturday against the D.C. United is paramount in the Fire hoping to get as high a seed as possible.
In a worst-case scenario, the Fire could finish second in the MLS Eastern Conference going into the postseason, but could also drop to as low as fifth. The best-case scenario would see the Fire lock up second with a win at home against the second-place United.
Alas, after winning seven eight contests by one point, Chicago has dropped three of its last four, with its record standing at 17-11-5 and sitting at third in the east with 56 points.
In Chicago’s latest win, a 2-0 triumph over New York on Oct. 6, Paladini started and tallied an assist on Sherjill MacDonald’s second goal of the day.
Paladini, a midfielder, has started the Fire’s last three games, having played in 15 overall this year with seven starts.
Paladini’s last goal came Sept. 2 at home against Houston in his team’s 3-1 victory. For the season, he’s scored twice and assisted on two goals.
BARDEN QUIET ONCE AGAIN
In one monstrous game, 6-foot-6-inch Ramses Barden seemed to be finally living up to his NFL potential, as the Flintridge Prep graduate tallied nine catches for 138 yards in the third week against the Carolina Panthers.
But since then, the New York Giants fourth-year receiver and former third-round draft pick has struggled statistically.
In the following week against Philadelphia, he grabbed two balls for 36 yards, but since then hasn’t registered a catch, partly due to suffering a concussion, which sidelined him in the fifth week against Cleveland. But Barden returned against San Francisco on Oct. 14 and was active on Sunday against Washington, but quarterback Eli Manning did not target him in either game.
On the season, Barden has 12 catches for 198 yards. He’ll look to get back on track against the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday in a pivotal NFC East matchup. Barden was held without a reception in the opening week of the season against the Cowboys.
AREA TEAMS EARN CIF RANKINGS
Three local boys’ water polo teams are ranked among the top 10 in their CIF Southern Section division, according to the latest polls unveiled Monday.
Glendale High remains No. 1, Flintridge Prep is No. 5 and Crescenta Valley is No. 7 in Division V.
The cross-country rankings will be released Tuesday.
GLENDALE QB CLUB TO HOLD MEETING
The Glendale YMCA Quarterback Club will conduct its seventh meeting at 11:30 a.m. today at The Elk’s Lodge, 120 E. Colorado St., Glendale.
The club, which is in its 70th year, is geared to support the Crescenta Valley, Glendale, Hoover and St. Francis high football teams and the Glendale Community College football program.
The guest speakers will be Chuck White, public address announcer for UCLA football games at the Rose Bowl, and Tim Cates, executive producer for the Fox Sports Radio Network.
Lunch is $17 at the door for members and $20 for guests. A yearly club membership is $50.