— CalPreps has high school football rankings out. You can sort them by section or division or just look at the overall rankings, which seem a bit off to me (Bakersfield Christian over Centennial, Liberty and Clovis East? West and North so low? I guess it's somewhat believable, but there are divisions separated by school size for a reason).

UPDATE, 7:40 p.m.: Another thing I wanted to point out: El Diamante is ranked first ahead of Division I favorites Bakersfield and Clovis West. Anyone have thoughts? And the gap between BHS and CW and the third D-I team listed, Clovis East, is pretty large. Are those two really the clear-cut frontrunners?

Here are some highlights from the overall Central Section rankings (playoff division in parentheses):

1. Visalia-El Diamante (II)
2. Bakersfield (I)
3. Clovis West (I)
4. Fresno-Edison (II)
5. Tulare Union (II)
6. Bakersfield Christian (V)
7. Clovis East (I)
8. Tehachapi (III)
9. Fresno-Bullard (I)
10. Clovis-Buchanan (I)
11. Centennial (I)
12. Liberty (I)
14. Foothill (III)
18. Taft (IV) — top Division IV team
23. Highland (III)
26. West (II)
28. Garces (II)
30. North (II)
31. Arvin (IV)
34. Delano (III)
36. South (III)
37. East (II)

Also note that Bakersfield High is given an 88 percent chance of going unbeaten in the regular season. Considering the Drillers open at Canyon, the 2006 CIF Bowl state champion, it'd be great for BHS to be 1-0, much less 10-0.

Obviously, it's early, but what are your impressions? Is CalPreps prescient or just blowing smoke so early?

Other notes:
— You all know about the Olympic Games coming up in Beijing, and the participants with Kern ties (one and two), but there are also Junior Olympics. They started today in Omaha, Neb., and a few local athletes are competing. Check on this DyeStat preview of the event, with particular interest in the Intermediate Level jumpers, where a certain freshman state champion is featured.

— In case you missed it, I've been running down the past year in each of Kern County's 19 high school sports here at School House Zach this month. Here's a link to each day's review, starting with the fall sports and rolling through the winter and spring.

July 3: Football
July 4: Volleyball
July 5: Boys cross country
July 6: Girls cross country
July 7: Girls tennis
July 8: Girls golf
July 9: Boys basketball
July 10: Girls basketball
July 11: Wrestling
July 12: Boys soccer
July 13: Girls soccer
July 14: Baseball
July 15: Softball
July 16: Boys track and field
July 17: Girls track and field
July 19: Boys swimming
July 20: Girls swimming
July 21: Boys tennis
July 22: Boys golf

Now, it's finally time again to start thinking about football. The regular season in California begins with Week 0 games Sept. 5, which is in 44 days. We'll continue preview coverage later this week here at School House Zach.