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Kern County gets first look at A-11

After three weeks of speculation, the highly controversial A-11 offense made its debut Friday night in Kern County by not one, but two teams.

What was thought to be a chance to see offensive fireworks, turned out to be a complete dud for both East High and Bakersfield High. In the four offensive series, the teams combined to pick up 24 yards and just one first down.

The formation is a cross between a spread formation and a backyard free-for-all with any of the team’s 11 players could become eligible to catch a pass. A pair of coaches from tiny Piedmont High School in Northern California devised the offense using a loophole found in the National Federation of State High School Assocations. The NFSHSA ruled the A-11 legal because it uses a scrimmage-kick formation.

The offense has already been outlawed in Texas, draws a penalty in North Carolina and Louisiana, and if Bakersfield High coach Paul Golla has his way, it would be outlawed by the Central Section.

"I think the Central Section should ban it," he said. "... It takes away from the big guys. There aren't too many sports that they can play and the A-11 takes away a chance for them to play."

But Golla then followed with "we looked scary running it (in practice)," which leads me to believe it won't be the last time the Drillers spread out the offense regardless of his beliefs.

East High was the first to use the "Joker" package after its pro-style offense failed to move the ball on its first three possessions, but Bakersfield quickly switched in a defensive unit with linebackers and secondary players to counteract the A-11.

The Drillers ran the A-11 on one series but BHS couldn’t overcome two false start penalties.

“We had to put it in in order to learn to defend it,” Golla said after the Drillers’ 41-7 victory.

I talked with East High coach Jerald Pierucci before the season started about the A-11 offense. In his first year at the school, Pierucci was sharing his thoughts on the innovation and even said he might consider using it at some point in the season.

“It would be a great way to get a team to burn up a timeout early in the game,” Pierucci said. “Who knows what we’ll do with it?”

Now we know and despite it’s underwhelming debut, I don’t think it’ll be the last time we see it.

Jam asking for a do-over

A few weeks back, managing general partner and minority owner Dave Higdon admitted the Jam made a number of mistakes in the first two years in Bakersfield. A wrong hire at head coach, the belief that fans would fill Rabobank Arena only for the basketball and the wrong approach to marketing the team to the community.

Don't construe Hidgon's statement as a "mia culpa," but it was the first time an owner came clean on the fledgling D-League team. Higdon would prefer this be treated as the Jam's inaugural season. A do-over, if you will.

Higdon, along with majority owner Stan Ellis, are in the midst of an extensive public relations make-over. Offering affordable season and mini-plan tickets, and the introduction of Swish's Kids Club, which allows kids to get in free for 23 games if a parent buys a ticket for the season opener.

Given the lack of fan support in the team's first two seasons, the Jam organization has its work cut out in its third season. But the change could mean the difference in whether the Jam thrive or become just another minor league team failure in Bakesfield.

Vote early, it's worth the wait

My wife and I decided to absentee vote this year to avoid the long lines. Probably the best decision, besides voting for (insert name here), we’ll make these next few days.

She filled out her ballot during the Colts-Titans game, while I was busy trying not to toss the remote control as I watched Indianapolis’ defense give up third-down conversion after third-down conversion. I think she asked me a few questions about the props but you know men and watching TVs. I didn’t have a clue as to what was going on.

Despite the Colts loss, I managed to fill-in the ovals with a black ink ballpoint pen, and pray I picked a few winners. I’m not going out on a limb when I say, I know this ballot is a lot like my college gambling days when I played parlay cards *For entertainment purposes only of course. I missed a lot of games then, and I’ll miss a few here, too.

Today, I took the short jaunt to the Kern County Elections office and waited in line for less than a minute to turn in my ballot. It was as simple as Kerry Collins finding an open receiver against the Colts defense. How fitting?

A grave situation in Chicago

It was a sad night in the Priest household. We watched Ken Griffey Jr. gun down Michael Cuddyer at the plate, then watch Jim Thome belt the solo home run that probably should have counted for two runs.

But one run was all the Chicago White Sox needed to beat my wife's beloved Twins.

It was a tough loss but not a devastating loss for us. We'll move on, actually I already have, there's always 2009 for my wife.

As for me, I'm going to make my selections for the playoffs, and if they're anything like last year's picks you want nothing to do with them.

Let's start with the National League because everyone knows the Senior Circuit is the best of the leagues.

NL DIVISIONAL PLAYOFFS

Cubs take it to the Dodgers in 4. A guy named Ramirez bashes the ball into the stands at Dodgers Stadium, and onto Waveland Avenue. Unfortunately for Dodgers' fans, its Cubs third baseman Aramis Ramirez.

Phillies slip by the Brewers in 5. Ryan Howard should be the MVP in the NL. A turnaround second half and he helps put the Phillies in the playoffs.

NLCS

Cubs need 6 games to get past Philadelphia, and I'll say Aramis Ramirez wins MVP. Ramirez can mash taters.

AL DIVISIONAL PLAYOFFS

Angels sweep a battered and bruised Red Sox. Chone Figgins, and the rest of the Angels raise their OBP by bunting toward Mike Lowell (torn labrum in right hip) every chance they get.

Tampa Bay puts an end to the White Sox misery. Seriously, the ChiSox are aging every minute. I loved Junior Griff when he had Cincinnati across his uni, and I'll still root for him, but his throw to home plate reminded me of Juan Pierre's pea shooter.

ALCS

The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim survive a scare and win in 6 games. My MVP goes to Garrett Anderson. G.A. lives for playoff games.

World Series

Los Angeles has the home-field advantage but Chicago has the will of the people (alive and deceased). 100 years of misery ends and a massive earthquake hits the Midwest from the swell of bodies rolling over in their graves, including my grandfather's. The Chicago River turns Cubbie blue, and Old Style flows freely from taps across the city.

A Heisman pose for Ryan Mathews

Another game like that and I'm starting a petition to add Ryan Mathews to the Heisman watch. Did you see his performance against Rutgers on Labor Day? The former West High star rushed for 163 yards and a career-high three touchdowns against a Big East opponent. His 6.3 yards a carry was more than any other running back in the game, and he's not even a starter for the Bulldogs.

I know, I know. It was one game. You're all saying, "Let's see how he does against Big Ten contender and nationally ranked Wisconsin next week."

Mathews is Cuervo. You know what I'm talking about? That smooth mix of fluid running style with a kick at the end that leaves tacklers dazed.

Mathews reminds me of another running back named Ryan. The Green Bay Packers running back Ryan Grant. Both are straight up runners that can deliver a blow to tacklers, or when you least expect it, juke right by them. Grant is taller, 6-foot-1, and bigger (218). Grant wasn't a highly-touted back out of Notre Dame, he was signed by the N.Y. Giants as an undrafted free agent in 2005. It took him 3 years, a trade and a few injuries from guys ahead of him on the Packers' depth chart before he proved he was a worthy running back.

Maybe Bakersfield's Ryan can do that same. But for now, it's just great to say he's one of our own.

Moving is best for Blaze, Bakersfield

I would have lost a few bucks if I were a gambling man. Seems the Bakersfield Blaze will in fact be back for another season at Sam Lynn Ball Park. In a previous blog, I said the Blaze wouldn't be back for another season after reading a Baseball America story from August.

But this is temporary, according to team owner D.G. Elmore and Minor League Baseball president Pat O'Conner. The team will be gone after 2009.

For those who insist that Elmore and California League president Joe Gagliardi are behind the team's demise, you have a new person to blame. Actually, you can blame an entity -- Major League Baseball and Minor League Baseball.

O'Conner wasn't searching for the right words when I spoke with him Wednesday afternoon. O'Conner's a straight shooter.

"Lay this at my feet," O'Conner said. "This is my project that I laid out and I initiated."

For 10-plus years, three different owners groups have tried to work a deal out with the city and the county. Now, I will say I haven't been privied to what percentage, what taxes or what monies would have been needed to build a new ballpark but the deal didn't get done.

O'Conner doesn't care about Bakersfield's past. A ballpark didn't get built and now it's his job to do what's best for MiLB and MLB. That doesn't include Bakersfield.

"This is like the cat with nine lives, and Bakersfield has used eight of them," O'Conner said.

Let's save that last life for another time. Enjoy the last season of the Blaze but it's best both sides move on.

Can the Condors save baseball in Bakersfield?

If you haven't heard or you're just getting 'round to reading the newspaper, minor league baseball in Bakersfield is likely a thing of the past. It's not official but the proverbial fat lady is reaching for her pitch pipe.

According to an article in Baseball America, two teams from the California League will be heading to the Carolina League as soon as next season. The Blaze has a year-to-year lease with Kern County for Sam Lynn Ball Park, and don't have to sign a new lease until March 31.

So is this the end of minor league baseball in Bakersfield? If I were in Vegas, I'd be putting a few bucks on Sam Lynn Ball Park being vacant come April 1.

But there might be an unlikely player in saving baseball. Who? How about an owner that knows something about building a successful, fan-friendly minor league organization in Bakersfield.

In February, Condors owner Jonathan Fleisig acknowledged that he had expressed interest in buying at least a portion of the team to Blaze owner D.G. Elmore but was rebuffed. Only part ownership or a partnership was proposed, Fleisig said.

Elmore's response,"Two e-mails, that was it. I've had a lot more serious conversations with other people." Now we have a pretty good idea, who the "other people" are.

Even if the Blaze leave town, there's independent league baseball or the possibility of bringing back a team to the Cal League a few years down the road.

Fleisig could be the man with the cash flow to help bring baseball back and build a new stadium. While Fleisig expressed interest in buying the Blaze, he also said he'd like to forge a relationship with Cal State Bakersfield and it's first-year baseball program.

Maybe the problem has been Elmore all along. Maybe Fleisig can work a deal with CSUB and the County/City officials on building a much-needed stadium.

For baseball fans such as myself, we can only hope.

Wie bit of criticism

Somebody's got to stop this. Michelle Wie is doing it again. news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080721/ap_on_sp_go_ne/glf_wie_pga_tour

Last week, she forgets probably the second-most important thing in playing tournament golf, next to bringing your clubs, and somehow she gets rewarded with a sponsorship exemption for a PGA Tour event.

Michelle Wie has as much business playing in a PGA event as I do writing a daily column for The Chicago Sun Times.

She's not even a member of the LPGA. She can only golf in six LPGA events a year, and all have to be on sponsor expemptions. What kind of credentials are those?

Here's what she's done in the past 3 years. You tell me if she deserves to share a spot on the golf course with PGA members?

Last week, disqualified after not signing her scoreboard at the State Farm Classic. Seriously, my wife has second-graders that forget to put their names on their paper and that's an automatic zero in her grade book.

In 2007, she pulled out of the Ginn Tribute after an embarrassing 14-over par first 16 holes. She was in danger of shooting an 88, a number that would have disqualified her from playing in LPGA events for the reminder of the season. Wie claimed wrist injury. It wouldn't have been so bad except two days later, she was caught hitting range balls.

In 2006, she withdrew from the PGA John Deere Classic citing heat exhaustion. It had nothing to do with her 8-over par round. I get exhausted from hitting the ball that many times, too.

In 2005, she was disqualified for signing a wrong scorecard at the LPGA Samsung World Championship. I'll won't fault her for this because of the circumstances that brought on the disqualification.

Has ZERO career LPGA wins but she did tie for second at the LPGA Championships in 2005.

She's made ZERO cuts in the 8 PGA events she's played in during her career. I guess, I could give her credit for knowing the adage, 'If at first you don't succeed, try, try again.'

Now if those are reasons enough to earn a spot in a PGA event, I'll start looking for a first-class flight to Chicago.

Witnessing Olympic glory an honor for this sportswriter

Larsen Jensen has already earned a spot on the U.S. Olympic team. Gabe Woodward will begin his quest Wednesday. Because I moved here in December 2006, I never witnessed any of their individual athletic feats.

It's part of the business. Sportswriters can go several years, if not a lifetime, before witnessing Olympic glory. Some will never see it.

Yes, we'll see talented players, mostly Division II or III skilled players, a few Division I-caliber players and an ocassional professional athlete but witnessing an athlete with the ability to reach the Olympics is rare. So rare, I consider it an honor.

I was fortunate to witness greatness in my first year of covering high school sports in Yuma, Ariz. Her name was Jacquelyn Johnson -- Jackie for short. The star of the Yuma Criminals. She could jump out of the gym on the volleyball court, lead the transition and pull up for a 15-foot jump shot on the basketball court, and she dominated the track. Every event she competed in, she won. High jump, long jump, 200, 400 and 100 hurdles -- she was simply amazing to watch.

Our track preview of her senior season had the headline 'Full Medal Jackie.' She's the only athlete to win 14 state championships in track, and helped Yuma High to a second-place team finish by herself as a sophomore. She's also a four-time NCAA champion in the heptathlon and a three-time champ in the indoor pentathlon.

Now, she's a Olympian. She's done exactly what she told me, and countless high school writers before and after me, she would do.

Congratulations Jackie. It was an honor.

Bakersfield's boys team up in 2009?

Now that it's official -- Casey Mears and Hendrick Motorsports will part ways at the end of the 2008 season -- let the conjecture begin on just where Bakersfield's other NASCAR driver begins the 2009 season.

Rumor has it that Richard Childress Racing will have a fourth car, and that sponsor General Mills -- Cheerios -- is looking for an All-American boy (with both sponsor and fan likeability) to drive the car.

That's the same RCR that Bakersfield's other NASCAR driver Kevin Harvick has been a part of for 8 years, 7 in the Winston/Nextel/Sprint Cup Series.

So this begs the question: Would Harvick and Mears get along? Could two guys that were born in the same town but raised on the opposite sides of town with different upbringings and completely different racing backgrounds become cohesive teammates? And not just teammates but drafting partners who are willing to push each other into victory lane?

This isn't Ricky Bobby and Cal Naughton Jr., quite yet. But wouldn’t that make for a great story?