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Here are thoughts on Bakersfield's new league structure, from myself and copy editors Ron Stapp and Todd Camps in audio form. Also a few minutes of basketball and wrestling discussion are included.
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I was excited to see an e-mail in my inbox this morning with the three proposals the Central Section came up with for the new league alignment. I hurriedly printed off the proposals, went over to the printer and started looking them over on my way back.
Turns out, there was no need. The...
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We've got an entire gaggle of news items to get through, and then I want to talk big hoops dates the rest of the season.
— First off, the city of Bakersfield is getting proactive about raising its high school sports profile. Bako's Convention and Visitors Bureau has placed a bid with the...
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Girls rankings below or at this link.
BOYS
1. Clovis East (14-4, 0-0 TRAC, Division I, last week: 1) — Of all the impressive things on the Timberwolves' resumé — some tough out-of-section wins and some routs of Valley teams — the best so far might have been its...
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Lots of folks talking inauguration this week, and since there was a nice story on Barack Obama's basketball days in last week's Sports Illustrated, it's time to celebrate with a basketball-themed week.
Today will be power rankings. The rest of the week, I'd like to discuss big games left on the...
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It's no secret that there are some problems with the way things are organized in the Central Section. Some of these problems are the section's own fault — seriously, do we need six watered-down playoff divisions and a universal open invitation to the playoffs?
But that is (and was) an...
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OK, OK, I thought about going with "Girls soccer, come on down" as the title today, but a joke is only funny for so long. Going to have to give that one up.
Today is the time for girls soccer, where the big three are (again) Bakersfield, Stockdale and Liberty. In what...
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I love predictive text. You know, like when your phone interprets you typing in two letters and tries to guess what word you're writing? Like "dating" turns to "eating," or "Smirnoff" turns to "smashed." (No kids, we don't condone alcohol use at...
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It was kind of an up-and-down weekend for Kern County up at the Doc Buchanan Invitational in Clovis.
There is a lot to look forward to from local wrestlers — Greg Kapler was downright dominant through four rounds — as he had been all season — before being tripped up in the...
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See girls rankings below or at this link.
BOYS
1. Clovis East (13-4, 0-0 TRAC, Division I, last week: 1) — The Timberwolves solidified their spot at the top with a rout of Fresno-Edison last week. They have enough tests sprinkled into the rest of the schedule to keep things...
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My apologies for posts being so few and far between. I'm still getting settled back into the flow of things in the office, and that includes coming up with content again when during football season, the blog was on a very tight schedule. I'm going to do better, I promise.
To that end, I...
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Hello Bakersfield!
My name is Emily Belyea, and I work at a nonprofit called KaBOOM!. We connect funding partners to communities all across the country that are in need of a new playground. Please give me a call if you are interested in this funding opportunity or have any questions about...
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Faithful School House Zach readers will remember a couple of weeks ago when I promised a winter sports podcast, then continually failed to deliver. Well, at long last, here it is. We had some technical problems while switching to a new Web server, but those should be in the past now.
Keep in...
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See girls rankings below or at this link.
BOYS
1. Clovis East (11-4, Division I, last year: D-I champion) — All of the Timberwolves' losses have been out of the section, and they've beaten Liberty, Porterville-Monache and East in winning the Kern Schools Federal Credit Union Lloyd...
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I'm going to attempt boys and girls basketball rankings in the Central Section, just like we did at School House Zach for football in the fall.
Before I start, I need to admit that this is going to be difficult and probably somewhat controversial among area basketball fans.
Football...
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Yesterday, we opened 2009 at School House Zach with an off-the-top-of-my-head list of the top 10 girls and boys athletes in Kern County high school sports in 2008. Today I'm going to do the same with coaches.
To me, this list can get really subjective. Is the best coach one who takes a talented...
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I've been in Bakersfield off and on for a week or so at a time since Thanksgiving, but I went for a run this morning and found myself thinking this was the first time in six weeks that I actually felt like I was sliding back into my routine.
After having company for Turkey Day, I've...
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As 2008 comes to end, it’s always fun to look back over the year’s movies. Since I am a sports journalists, I thought it might be fun to compile a list of the past years sports related movies. As of November 3, 2008, there have been forty-five...
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We've got the Sacramento-Grant—Long Beach-Poly Open Division state championship football game on TV here in the office, and it's a somewhat surprising 13-7 lead for Grant at the half. Maybe by the time I'm done with this all-encompassing football wrap-up, the game will be close to over....
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Yes, thank you very much, I enjoyed my mini-vacation to the coast this weekend. Rained a bit, but I'll bet it was nicer there than it was — well, than it was pretty much anywhere else.
But I'm back. And I'm rested. And I'm, uh, going on vacation again next week! But in the meantime, I'm...
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Ladies and gentlemen, I humbly present the final Californian football podcast of the season. Listen here, download to iTunes and listen on your way to the game tomorrow. It's all there for you.
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UPDATED, 11:42 p.m.: It's repeat night for the South Sequoia League. Bakersfield Christian, as expected by some, went up to Corcoran and put a big number on the undefeated Panthers despite fog so think you couldn't see the stadium lights until you were right beside it. And Tehachapi, a few miles...
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After a perfect week last week (granted, it was just 5-for-5), I take a stab at the last four Central Section games of the season.
Bonus picks this week of the Divisions II and IV championship games — and barring any unforeseen miracles, that will be it. If Bakersfield Christian had...
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A little late-night blogging for some late-season football rankings, with championship week left:
1. Clovis West (10-3, Division I, last week: 1) — What a culmination for the Golden Eagles in the Division I championship game: A stifling defense shut down a good offense, and CW...
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In the middle of high school football playoffs, it's easy to lose sight of the fact that winter sports have also begun, and, actually, are humming right into league play this week.
In basketball, these early-season tournaments and non-league games are often the key to a nice run when things...
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So often in sports, the run-up to the championship seems to overshadow the actual title game. Baseball's regular season is a marathon of a spectacle and the playoffs are wall-to-wall action for the first week until the World Series, when things grind almost to a halt. March Madness is really...
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It seems that every year the holiday season sneaks up on all of us. Before you know it, it will be time to start buying all those gifts for your family and friends. If you are like me, you sometimes just cannot figure out what to buy someone for the holidays. Being a sports...
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Dear Santa,
First, I’d like to thank you for another great sports year. I’m mailing this letter early because I was afraid you wouldn’t get it in time, what with the government budget cuts at the post office and all. I hope all is well with you and...
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UPDATED, 11:41 p.m.: Offense carries the night in Kern County. With Bakersfield Christian, of course, that's the routine. Derek Carr threw for 417 yards and six more touchdowns tonight. I wrote that so non-chalantly that it makes me feel dirty. Let me try again: FOUR HUNDRED SEVENTEEN...
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After some more technological hand-wringing on my part and a very big assist from The Californian's photo/video department, we have a workable podcast once again. It's semifinals time, ladies and gentlemen.
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With the football season winding down, I'd like to take this chance to remind you (sounds like a Public Service Announcement, doesn't it?) that this blog does have year-round service. Football, I think, is the sports fan's entreé, but I will be here through Kern County basketball and...
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The worst fears of Kern County football fans have more or less been confirmed this year, with all but one of the teams thought to be the best around have been eliminated by the playoffs' third week. Most of that carnage happened in Division I a couple of weeks ago, but D-II lost North and West...
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I'm not really sure I should be posting this, because maybe I'll get run out of town if I do, but I feel I have an obligation to admit my possible guilt.
There's a chance I've been jinxing Kern County high school teams (yes, I say this tongue-in-cheek, but it is...
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UPDATED, : It was a night of almosts.
West High almost finished off mighty Visalia-El Diamante. North High almost got back into a dogfight with Sanger. Highland almost got revenge on Foothill. Tehachapi is almost back in the Division III championship.
Even around the rest of the section, there...
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Happy Thanksgiving everybody.
Here's the deal with this week's podcast: Because the people who know what they're doing with these things are off for the holiday, I attempted to create this podcast file myself. Obviously, I haven't been able to embed it in the blog, but if you click on...
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UPDATED, 10:30 p.m.: Sorry for the update drought, but there was really not much to say. More Tyler Bray, more London Lacy (that's Bray's backup), continuing to torch the Taft secondary. Kingsburg wins it 39-0 and will go on to the semifinals to play either Arvin at home or Visalia-Central...
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A happy Thanksgiving Eve to everyone. I'll be heading up to Kingsburg in a couple of hours for the Vikings' Division IV game with Taft, which the teams mutually agreed to move up to save holiday plans.
I love the idea, not only because it gives the players, their parents and coaches...
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Sorry for the lack of posts around here lately — I've been busy with a few things, namely working on some non-football stories and proposing to my girlfriend (she said yes, for the record).
But to make up for that, I'm going to do a very abbreviated version of Most Important Things for the...
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UPDATED, 10:52 p.m.: Looks like all of the Central Section finals have rolled in for the evening. All three Bakersfield teams go down in Division I, with only Liberty in the game at the end. Bakersfield, riddled by mistakes, fell to Bullard 35-14 and Stockdale lost at home to Clovis East, 52-20....
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We're about 26 hours away from playoff football, folks. Hope you're getting as excited as I am.
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It's shaping up to be quite an end of the month. Four Kern County volleyball teams are in Central Section volleyball championships Thursday, the football playoffs start Friday and the state volleyball and cross country championships will be decided in the coming weeks as well.
Both McFarland and...
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Ladies and gentlemen, you have entered The Twilight Zone.
Courtesy of The Fresno Bee, the Fresno Unified School District finished up its investigation into Edison High School and found ... that the accuser is the guilty party. What?? Yep, that's right. Jeff Powell, the math teacher who said an F...
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Sorry this post is a bit late, but I we have such a good discussion going on playoff seedings that I wanted to hold off a bit. But let's not let go of the regular season just yet, not before a quick Week 10 recap. And click the above link to join the playoff seedings talk. I'll try to limit any...
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UPDATED, 8:42 p.m.: There's more to this seeding story than I initially thought. Turns out there was a Division I bracket released before the one that I've posted (and before I checked the site this morning) that had Liberty as the No. 4 seed hosting Clovis East. Stockdale as the No. 6...
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UPDATED, 12:42 a.m.: The regular season is in the books, folks, and we'll know playoff seedings tomorrow. I'm headed to Clovis for the individual section tennis championships, but when I get back, I'll put up a post on seedings. In the mean time, here are some scores pulled out from the list...
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Live to you from Fresno, where some congratulations are in order to the Stockdale girls tennis team for its sixth straight Division I Central Section championship. The Mustangs won it today with a 6-3 victory at top seed Fresno-Bullard.
Can you imagine a football team winning six straight D-I...
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We're going to shake things up just a little bit here in Week 10 because I'm on the road up to Fresno for Stockdale's Division I girls tennis championship with Bullard this afternoon and then for cross country divisional championships tomorrow morning.
So, I'll give you time to digest this...
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Before we get to the final rankings of football's regular season, it's time to offer a couple of shout-outs from other sports:
— To Deidre Crabtree, a Liberty senior who took home the Central Section's individual golf title Monday by shooting a 1-over-par 73 at The Links at RiverLakes...
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You know when a cartoon character gets his bell rung? He comes to, and for a few seconds we get to see the world from his point of view. At first, it's always blurry and wobbly, and then, suddenly, everything clears up.
Welcome to Kern County football, ladies and gentlemen. Week 9 helped...
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UPDATED, 12:24 a.m.: Sorry for the lack of updates, but things get crazy when games drag on Friday night. I told you this was stressful for us scribes. But a fun game to watch at Centennial nonetheless, with North hanging on for a 49-42 victory — its first win against CHS in school history....
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