Basketball has changed so much so quickly that it's hard to imagine comparing players from the 1950s or 1960s to today's kids. Hell, in the early 1960s they were still separating kids on lightweight and heavyweight teams in high school.
These players leaped to mind when I thought about an all-time North Coast boys basketball team last night...not a definitive list, just guys who came to mind first...
Isaac Gildea, McK/CR/HSU...I wonder how he'll be viewed over time? Will he be forgotten when kids start going to D-I schools. Or, will he be remembered as a bad-ass gamer who just did what winners do? In the 1990s...I decided he was the greatest player, the guy with the most impact, I'd ever seen on the North Coast...not bad for a slightly built guard.
Buck Pierce, DN...The only thing that kept him from a great college career was the small matter of him being a D-I football quarterback prospect. Del Norte had a string a great guards like John Maready, Dave Brous...all the way back to Blaine Lopez. But, Pierce had the confidence and cool and inventiveness -- as well as a sweet jumper -- to stand out among the greatest guards in a Kirk Burrows-coached program that produced great guards every year in the 1990s.
Al Erickson, Eureka/CR/HSU...He still plays pro ball in Australia. I wish people who are raving over the next greatest player ever could have seen the 6-foot-4 Erickson do everything really well...whatever his teams needed doing...you know? He didn't look like much a player...until he started playing. He had a Larry Bird-like quality on a smaller scale. A nose for the ball and for getting the most of his ability...and he busted his ass for the opening tip to the final buzzer.
Ryan Riewerts, Hoopa/CR...Controversy followed this guy around, but he was the inside presence for Gildea's CR Nor Cal tournament team -- and Riewerts was a bulky 6-foot-4 banger who took on bigger, taller, faster guys and made things happen around the hoop. If I needed somebody to get me a rebound, at least through the late 1990s, I'd want Riewerts to go after it...when I watched him play, the appropriate background soundtrack was "Let the Bodies Hit the Floor" by Drowning Pool.
Mike Janetsch, Del Norte...This is a trip in the Way Back Machine to give props to the 6-foot-7 Warriors star who was at the center of a great series of Warriors teams and an stunning Eureka-DN rivalry in the early 1970s.
Gary Mendenhall, St. B/Santa Clara...I know most people forgot him because he played at St. B in the mid-1980s...but, I've neven seen a more complete guard in the H-DNL...and Mendenhall lacked only a couple inches to be every bit Gildea's equal. Mendenhall and George Ambrosini led some fantastic St. Bernard team. I think Mendenhall was on the T/S all-time team I picked.
Dean Jones-Brad Bieber, DN...Bieber went on to play in college. They formed a potent, versatil 1-2 punch. Jones had the quickness that came slowly to the H-DNL. He dominated the early Niclai Tournaments as a guard in 1981-82. My preference for Jones stems from my willingness to believe his off-court activity didn't spill onto the court.
Myke Jones, DN...he was Dean Jones' 6-foot-7 brother...and the first H-DNL player we ever actually saw dunk. Unlimited potential I was told early, though, that he'd never achieve it...by people who knew him way better than I did. Sadly, Myke and Leon Volasgis, of Hoopa, had all the physical gifts but...they just never clicked.
Justin Mora. Fortuna...a bigger forward, muscular...who could handle the ball and shoot...and rebound. He played harder than most "star" players in the H-DNL. Went on to the play in college. It's going to be hard to keep him on my all-time team. Loved watchin him play.
Brandon Bieber, Del Norte: Mora and Bieber were pals, apparently, but their rivalry was epic the early 1990s. Bieber played college ball in Alaska...just another fundamentally sound guy who could work inside and outside. I think Mora and Bieber began the move to making the H-DNL a place were 4-year colleges could go looking for talent.
Chris Weaver...McK...I lost track of him. I know he was the biggest of the big centers in the H-DNL and...there was no way he could live up to the hype. But...I suspect if he'd played in an area where he was just another big guy who had to work his tail off to succeed that I'd have wanted him on my team. There aren't many shot-blockers in H-DNL history.
Charles Webster...DN...See what I mean about the game changing? John Murray is a 6-foot-10 EHS grad from the early 1960s who remains of the league's all-time leading scorers, but I can't imagine Webster not shutting him down because Webster, like Weaver, was an athlete...and John was just a big guy with some nice hook shots, etc.
Greg Allen, Eureka...without seeing him play much, I'll make the leap of faith that being 2-time Big Five MVP and a D-I talent earns him a spot as the post-modern H-DNl hoop star.
Zach Barnes, St. Bernard/CR..he was was about 6-7 or so and arrived at St. Bernard in 1973 with a pretty cool set of all-around tools. He's in the the mix to fill the slot for the all-around big guy...shot-blocker, scorer, defender.
Mo Charlo, Eureka/Nevada...Best all-around player to come of the H-DNL -- ever. Mo Purify was a football player/athlete who could hoop, but Mo Charlo was a D-I prospect and player and wound up getting looks from NBA teams. And, Charlo's road to greatness wasn't an easy one to travel. He deserves credit for beating odds and working hard to be great.
Jack Bainbridge, SF/HSU...He was the best point guard of the 1980s. I know Marcus Price of Eureka High got raves in the 1990s, but Bainbridge led South Fork to hoop glory and...I just loved his grit.
Kevin Krause SB/UC Riverside...my list won't be filled with guys who got to college, but Krause was a player...a 6-5 center at St. Bernard who was smooth, hardworking and intelligent. He dominated the H-DNL from 1985-1987.
Augie Valdez, Hoopa/CR...He led Hoopa to the Division V NCS title, with Volasgis starring as a sophomore center. Valdez was a standstill 3-point gunner who was an inspiratational leader...the Warriors win over highly-touted Emery of Emeryville, with 6-foot-10 Arkansas-bound Darnell Robinson, ranks among the best games in H-DNL history. Valdez wasn't built for the college game...but, man, was he a joy to watch play.
Nominees and opinions are welcome.
Monday, January 19, 2009
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Prep Athletes Aren't Public Figures...Even If You're Bored
EHS Uproar...Practically Speaking
High school athletes aren't public figures.
High school athletes shouldn't have off-court actions described in detail in public forums.
It's 2009 and people use the Internet any, ol' way they want.
My 13-year-old son begins his interscholastic sports experience as a 7th grader knowing that the only way to make sure he never has to defend himself over making bad decisions away from his sports is ... to make sure he makes good decisions.
I hate the idea of a Eureka High basketball star being raked over hot coals by jealous and spiteful critics for something that has nothing to do with sports. But, it's obvious he mad a decision at some point that provided his attackers with ammunition and...boy...have they used it to get after him.
Nobody's perfect. But, starting the minute you get on the court or on the field in the school's uniforms...in this day and age...you damn well better know that being anything except as close to a perfect citizen as you can be is asking for trouble.
If you don't do anything wrong, you can't get knocked for doing something wrong.
Posted by Ted Sillanpaa at 1:55 PM 0 comments
Eureka High Basketball ... Uproar
http://www.topix.net/forum/source/eureka-times-standard/T4HFJQM0L14OIQJKS
---------
The link goes to a Times-Standard Topix thread that began in response to the game story following St. Bernard's boys basketball win over Eureka High. It turned into a forum about the conduct of some Eureka High basketball players...on and off the court. One of the parents, apparently, got involved to defend his son. And, I can't blame the man, since his son is accused by anonymous sources of criminal activity.
Somebody involved in the conversation threw up a post asking for me to comment. I'm honored that somebody would think I might have something to add to a conversation that took on the most negative, vile tone of any I've read result from a sports story up there.
I don't think high school athletes are public figures. Just because Eureka High sports star Greg Allen is a sports star, and headed to play in college on scholarship, doesn't mean he's different from any other 17-year-old minor. There are all sorts of allegations and people swear, anonymously, that there was activity that the police responded to in some way or another.
Whether criminal activity took place or not, we agree to protect the identity of those under age 18 who are even accused of breaking the law. If a media outlet did opt to report on the allegation that a girl was physically abuse, no names would be used because the media protects the identities of minors.
The Topix comments are very specifically mentioning the athlete, and some of his teammates. I cited the libel laws in a brief post Wednesday because, honestly, if my son was being dragged through the mud in a Media News Group forum -- I'd file a lawsuit against Media News Group. It's not the Times-Standard's fault or the fault of Media News that the athlete's being called for criminal activity -- and various other transgressions I won't repeat here. But, we can't sue anonymous posters...so, the only way to address personal attacks in a public forum is by suing the folks responsible for providing the forum.
A poster, who remains anonymous, insists the allegations are true...that the father acknowledged there was an "incident." I don't care. The player's a minor. There are allegations that are a lot more pointed and vile than simply referring to an "incident." I think we need to stand up and try to change the course these public forums are taking before they become even more out of control.
Question the kid's jump shot...question his ability to play in college...question Eureka High's coach...that's fair and harmless and, actually, at the root of why sports fans enjoy sports. But, to drag an alleged incident involving a minor girl into the forum? And, then to read people trash the kid anonymously...with no avenue to get to the truth through actual reporting? That's unacceptable.
High school athletes didn't start making bad decisions at the dawn of the Internet age. Generations of athletes have gotten busted smoking dope or driving drunk or fighting in the parking lot ... and been dealt with by coaches and administrators without the public knowing anything about it.
I don't think the public has a right to know how Eureka High's coach, who I've always found to be a fine, honorable, upstanding man, dealt with problems within his team. It's not the public's right to know why players were kicked off a team in 2004 or why no players were kicked off in 2008.
I do feel like the public has the right to try to find out the answers to questions about the conduct of the players on or off the court. The public can call school administrators and ask them to explain why the athlete is still playing despite being involved an "incident" involving the police. Because...the coach and the administration are bound by laws that prevent them from treating high school students like public figures. If people really wanted to know what's been done to address what they see as problems...they can call Eureka High...have the folks there say they can't talk about such things...and...that's it.
What? Eureka High should suspend an athlete because of an alleged "incident" that apparently drew no criminal charges? How would that be fair?
Folks can call the police and ask about the "incident" and the police won't comment. The Times-Standard reporters could push to get answers and try to do a story -- but the story would have no substance. No one can comment on an "incident" allegedly involving two minors. It's not news for public consumption...even if making it a public affair embarrasses the star of the Eureka High basketball team and his family.
The general public in small towns across America has been trying to tear down well known high school athletes since high school athletics began. The Internet just allows the public an amazing easy way to simply trash people I consider kids.
This isn't the first incident involving a prominent Humboldt-Del Norte League sports star. It won't be the last. I hope it's the last time the court of public opinion puts a minor on trial in a public forum.
I was surprised that the athlete's father, apparently, got involved in defending his son in the Topix forum. Getting in the pit with the folks throwing mud and throwing it back didn't do anything but make things harder on the son. That's just my opinion, though, and I'd never presume to tell a dad how to protect his son.
It's unclear what people hope to gain from making such a big deal of the player's off-court actions...but, there's no story...nobody's done anything except follow the rules in allowing him to stay on the team, etc.
Just because a 17-year-old is a great athlete doesn't make him a public figure, nor does it remove from him the legal protection people his age are provided.
High school athletes aren't public figures.
High school athletes shouldn't have off-court actions described in detail in public forums.
It's 2009 and people use the Internet any, ol' way they want.
My 13-year-old son begins his interscholastic sports experience as a 7th grader knowing that the only way to make sure he never has to defend himself over making bad decisions away from his sports is ... to make sure he makes good decisions.
I hate the idea of a Eureka High basketball star being raked over hot coals by jealous and spiteful critics for something that has nothing to do with sports. But, it's obvious he mad a decision at some point that provided his attackers with ammunition and...boy...have they used it to get after him.
Nobody's perfect. But, starting the minute you get on the court or on the field in the school's uniforms...in this day and age...you damn well better know that being anything except as close to a perfect citizen as you can be is asking for trouble.
If you don't do anything wrong, you can't get knocked for doing something wrong.
Posted by Ted Sillanpaa at 1:55 PM 0 comments
Eureka High Basketball ... Uproar
http://www.topix.net/forum/source/eureka-times-standard/T4HFJQM0L14OIQJKS
---------
The link goes to a Times-Standard Topix thread that began in response to the game story following St. Bernard's boys basketball win over Eureka High. It turned into a forum about the conduct of some Eureka High basketball players...on and off the court. One of the parents, apparently, got involved to defend his son. And, I can't blame the man, since his son is accused by anonymous sources of criminal activity.
Somebody involved in the conversation threw up a post asking for me to comment. I'm honored that somebody would think I might have something to add to a conversation that took on the most negative, vile tone of any I've read result from a sports story up there.
I don't think high school athletes are public figures. Just because Eureka High sports star Greg Allen is a sports star, and headed to play in college on scholarship, doesn't mean he's different from any other 17-year-old minor. There are all sorts of allegations and people swear, anonymously, that there was activity that the police responded to in some way or another.
Whether criminal activity took place or not, we agree to protect the identity of those under age 18 who are even accused of breaking the law. If a media outlet did opt to report on the allegation that a girl was physically abuse, no names would be used because the media protects the identities of minors.
The Topix comments are very specifically mentioning the athlete, and some of his teammates. I cited the libel laws in a brief post Wednesday because, honestly, if my son was being dragged through the mud in a Media News Group forum -- I'd file a lawsuit against Media News Group. It's not the Times-Standard's fault or the fault of Media News that the athlete's being called for criminal activity -- and various other transgressions I won't repeat here. But, we can't sue anonymous posters...so, the only way to address personal attacks in a public forum is by suing the folks responsible for providing the forum.
A poster, who remains anonymous, insists the allegations are true...that the father acknowledged there was an "incident." I don't care. The player's a minor. There are allegations that are a lot more pointed and vile than simply referring to an "incident." I think we need to stand up and try to change the course these public forums are taking before they become even more out of control.
Question the kid's jump shot...question his ability to play in college...question Eureka High's coach...that's fair and harmless and, actually, at the root of why sports fans enjoy sports. But, to drag an alleged incident involving a minor girl into the forum? And, then to read people trash the kid anonymously...with no avenue to get to the truth through actual reporting? That's unacceptable.
High school athletes didn't start making bad decisions at the dawn of the Internet age. Generations of athletes have gotten busted smoking dope or driving drunk or fighting in the parking lot ... and been dealt with by coaches and administrators without the public knowing anything about it.
I don't think the public has a right to know how Eureka High's coach, who I've always found to be a fine, honorable, upstanding man, dealt with problems within his team. It's not the public's right to know why players were kicked off a team in 2004 or why no players were kicked off in 2008.
I do feel like the public has the right to try to find out the answers to questions about the conduct of the players on or off the court. The public can call school administrators and ask them to explain why the athlete is still playing despite being involved an "incident" involving the police. Because...the coach and the administration are bound by laws that prevent them from treating high school students like public figures. If people really wanted to know what's been done to address what they see as problems...they can call Eureka High...have the folks there say they can't talk about such things...and...that's it.
What? Eureka High should suspend an athlete because of an alleged "incident" that apparently drew no criminal charges? How would that be fair?
Folks can call the police and ask about the "incident" and the police won't comment. The Times-Standard reporters could push to get answers and try to do a story -- but the story would have no substance. No one can comment on an "incident" allegedly involving two minors. It's not news for public consumption...even if making it a public affair embarrasses the star of the Eureka High basketball team and his family.
The general public in small towns across America has been trying to tear down well known high school athletes since high school athletics began. The Internet just allows the public an amazing easy way to simply trash people I consider kids.
This isn't the first incident involving a prominent Humboldt-Del Norte League sports star. It won't be the last. I hope it's the last time the court of public opinion puts a minor on trial in a public forum.
I was surprised that the athlete's father, apparently, got involved in defending his son in the Topix forum. Getting in the pit with the folks throwing mud and throwing it back didn't do anything but make things harder on the son. That's just my opinion, though, and I'd never presume to tell a dad how to protect his son.
It's unclear what people hope to gain from making such a big deal of the player's off-court actions...but, there's no story...nobody's done anything except follow the rules in allowing him to stay on the team, etc.
Just because a 17-year-old is a great athlete doesn't make him a public figure, nor does it remove from him the legal protection people his age are provided.
Welcome to Albee Stadium, Home of the Greatest...
Every Team Needs Managers, Coaches...
I assume that Lou Bonomini remains as manager of the All-Time team. I'd be interested to read who you select as pitching coach and hitting coach? Also, what North Coast baseball field would this team call home?
January 13, 2009 10:54 PM
The home field for the All-Time North Coast baseball team would be the original Albee Stadium. It featured a beautiful redwood seating structure that was raised above the playing field. The setting, in that redwood tree-lined bowl, remains unmatched.
Like the original V.F.W. Field, now the Eureka Babe Ruth League field, old Albee Stadium had a ticket booth underneath the bleachers and ramp leading from there up to the seating area. The dugouts were actually dug out of the ground and players had to walk down steps to get from the field into them. My earliest memories of North Coast baseball include walking down into the 1965 Crabs' dugout to have the team autograph a baseball for me on Scholarship Night. I've still got the ball -- and Bob Bonomini's autograph.
The baseball diamond faced the Albee Stadium football field. The left field line ran parallel to the extreme edge of the outside lane of the old dirt track that used to circle the football field. In my youth, there was a portable, wood fence up during baseball season -- from foul line to foul line.
By the time I played at Albee Stadium, the bleachers were torn down, the snack bar was gone...it was just the playing field and the dugouts. They even stopped putting up the fence, so I played right field at Eureka High standing at the base of the slope leading up to the redwood trees. (Let's say I wasn't really interested in having to go back on a ball.) I once saw Mark Lucich hit a home run that hit halfway up into those redwood trees. Pitching at the decimated Albee was great, because a fast outfield enabled you to get an out on a ball hit 420 feet -- from home plate to the 30-yard line of the football field. I didn't see anybody hit a ball that landed in the existing football bleachers, but I did it once. (Well, twice, in the same game...there was no ground rule, so I had to run while the centerfielder tracked the ball bounced off the cement.) Since I did it, then I'm certain it was done countless times by guys who hit prodigious clouts that landed up in the football seats. It was a long drive from home plate to the football seating -- and it's gotten longer every year in my mind.
I fell out of love with the dump Albee became when I realized that a line drive single over the third baseman's head could be misplayed into a home run that hit the dirt track and rolled and rolled toward the football locker rooms. (Rick Mohorovich, who was the slowest guy I knew, hit that type of homer off me. He could've circled the bases twice.)
Albee's football stadium used to have cement bleachers on both sides of the football field. So, I used to marvel at the little portion of those cement bleachers that were razed. I wondered how cool it must've been to have filled a football stadium that big, you know? How cool must it have been to go to a baseball game with a a full football stadium beyond the outfield fence? Back in the day, I think Albee Stadium even had baseball locker rooms -- a clubhouse. All that was left in my day was an equipment shed.
The original V.F.W. Field was cool, too. It had underground dugouts, so players would stand and peer through an eye-level screen to watch the game. Best thing about it, I figured, was that the coaches couldn't really see or hear what was going on in the dugout...so, very little need for the fake chatter and lots of time to really enjoy yourself. I just didn't like the enormous dimensions at the V.F.W. Field. Although...in the wood bat days, even the right field fence seemed a fair distance away. (I saw Mark Lucich hit a ball off the smaller Redwood Acres pavillion beyond the right field fence once.) The center field fence was a mile away before they started storing those football bleachers out there and, honest, before the advent of metal bats -- it was a big deal to get one out in left field ... and just hitting that fence was considered an epic feat for a Babe Ruth League player.
I never was a fan of the Arcata Ball Park -- even when it had redwood bleachers and all the same accommodations old Albee Stadium had. I did like that the Crabs had vendors walking the stands selling hot dogs, peanuts, etc. Initially, I guess I didn't like that Arcata got the Crabs...later I played the infield at the Arcata Ball Park and didn't like that it was about the worst infield I'd ever seen. (Hey...35 years ago...I'm sure it's fine now!)
Actually, if I could rebuild the original Albee Stadium at the site of the Rohner Park baseball field in Fortuna -- that'd be home to my North Coast All-Time team. I used to really love that I'd leave Eureka stuck in the fog and get out of the car in Fortuna to see blue skies and sunshine.
Don Terbush once told me that there was a full baseball stadium on the huge plot of land where Carson Park has been for decades. I had special fondness for the Haney-Jacobs Eureka Midget League field -- before Haney got his name attached to George C. Jacobs Field. It was a miniature version of old Albee Stadium, so we felt pretty big league playing in what seemed like an actual stadium. (Thus, high praise to the Arcata Little League for building that Brizard Complex. It captured the history of baseball in the area with redwood bleachers, etc.)
Coincidentally, the baseball complex I most depised was the St. Bernard High School facility. My sons played there and really liked it because their coach Al Brisack maintained it like most people maintain their vegetable or flower garden. I didn't like that screen hanging over me when I hit...I felt claustrophobic. I didn't like the tiny green wooden bleachers pressed up against the backstop. And, when I pitched, I despised the overhang above the dish even more because a pop foul out was simply impossible to achieve.
While, I'm sure it was no issue to (and likely helped) legendary pitchers like Billy Olson and Greg Shanahan...the mountainous pitcher's mound at St. Bernard really bugged me. They throw over the top -- and were incredibly skilled pitchers. I had only marginal talent and threw three-quarters and sidearm...so that big mound didn't do me any good ... just threw me off my game...what little there was to it.
I need to think more about the manager and coaches...because, this is my all-time team so ... nothing's automatic.
I assume that Lou Bonomini remains as manager of the All-Time team. I'd be interested to read who you select as pitching coach and hitting coach? Also, what North Coast baseball field would this team call home?
January 13, 2009 10:54 PM
The home field for the All-Time North Coast baseball team would be the original Albee Stadium. It featured a beautiful redwood seating structure that was raised above the playing field. The setting, in that redwood tree-lined bowl, remains unmatched.
Like the original V.F.W. Field, now the Eureka Babe Ruth League field, old Albee Stadium had a ticket booth underneath the bleachers and ramp leading from there up to the seating area. The dugouts were actually dug out of the ground and players had to walk down steps to get from the field into them. My earliest memories of North Coast baseball include walking down into the 1965 Crabs' dugout to have the team autograph a baseball for me on Scholarship Night. I've still got the ball -- and Bob Bonomini's autograph.
The baseball diamond faced the Albee Stadium football field. The left field line ran parallel to the extreme edge of the outside lane of the old dirt track that used to circle the football field. In my youth, there was a portable, wood fence up during baseball season -- from foul line to foul line.
By the time I played at Albee Stadium, the bleachers were torn down, the snack bar was gone...it was just the playing field and the dugouts. They even stopped putting up the fence, so I played right field at Eureka High standing at the base of the slope leading up to the redwood trees. (Let's say I wasn't really interested in having to go back on a ball.) I once saw Mark Lucich hit a home run that hit halfway up into those redwood trees. Pitching at the decimated Albee was great, because a fast outfield enabled you to get an out on a ball hit 420 feet -- from home plate to the 30-yard line of the football field. I didn't see anybody hit a ball that landed in the existing football bleachers, but I did it once. (Well, twice, in the same game...there was no ground rule, so I had to run while the centerfielder tracked the ball bounced off the cement.) Since I did it, then I'm certain it was done countless times by guys who hit prodigious clouts that landed up in the football seats. It was a long drive from home plate to the football seating -- and it's gotten longer every year in my mind.
I fell out of love with the dump Albee became when I realized that a line drive single over the third baseman's head could be misplayed into a home run that hit the dirt track and rolled and rolled toward the football locker rooms. (Rick Mohorovich, who was the slowest guy I knew, hit that type of homer off me. He could've circled the bases twice.)
Albee's football stadium used to have cement bleachers on both sides of the football field. So, I used to marvel at the little portion of those cement bleachers that were razed. I wondered how cool it must've been to have filled a football stadium that big, you know? How cool must it have been to go to a baseball game with a a full football stadium beyond the outfield fence? Back in the day, I think Albee Stadium even had baseball locker rooms -- a clubhouse. All that was left in my day was an equipment shed.
The original V.F.W. Field was cool, too. It had underground dugouts, so players would stand and peer through an eye-level screen to watch the game. Best thing about it, I figured, was that the coaches couldn't really see or hear what was going on in the dugout...so, very little need for the fake chatter and lots of time to really enjoy yourself. I just didn't like the enormous dimensions at the V.F.W. Field. Although...in the wood bat days, even the right field fence seemed a fair distance away. (I saw Mark Lucich hit a ball off the smaller Redwood Acres pavillion beyond the right field fence once.) The center field fence was a mile away before they started storing those football bleachers out there and, honest, before the advent of metal bats -- it was a big deal to get one out in left field ... and just hitting that fence was considered an epic feat for a Babe Ruth League player.
I never was a fan of the Arcata Ball Park -- even when it had redwood bleachers and all the same accommodations old Albee Stadium had. I did like that the Crabs had vendors walking the stands selling hot dogs, peanuts, etc. Initially, I guess I didn't like that Arcata got the Crabs...later I played the infield at the Arcata Ball Park and didn't like that it was about the worst infield I'd ever seen. (Hey...35 years ago...I'm sure it's fine now!)
Actually, if I could rebuild the original Albee Stadium at the site of the Rohner Park baseball field in Fortuna -- that'd be home to my North Coast All-Time team. I used to really love that I'd leave Eureka stuck in the fog and get out of the car in Fortuna to see blue skies and sunshine.
Don Terbush once told me that there was a full baseball stadium on the huge plot of land where Carson Park has been for decades. I had special fondness for the Haney-Jacobs Eureka Midget League field -- before Haney got his name attached to George C. Jacobs Field. It was a miniature version of old Albee Stadium, so we felt pretty big league playing in what seemed like an actual stadium. (Thus, high praise to the Arcata Little League for building that Brizard Complex. It captured the history of baseball in the area with redwood bleachers, etc.)
Coincidentally, the baseball complex I most depised was the St. Bernard High School facility. My sons played there and really liked it because their coach Al Brisack maintained it like most people maintain their vegetable or flower garden. I didn't like that screen hanging over me when I hit...I felt claustrophobic. I didn't like the tiny green wooden bleachers pressed up against the backstop. And, when I pitched, I despised the overhang above the dish even more because a pop foul out was simply impossible to achieve.
While, I'm sure it was no issue to (and likely helped) legendary pitchers like Billy Olson and Greg Shanahan...the mountainous pitcher's mound at St. Bernard really bugged me. They throw over the top -- and were incredibly skilled pitchers. I had only marginal talent and threw three-quarters and sidearm...so that big mound didn't do me any good ... just threw me off my game...what little there was to it.
I need to think more about the manager and coaches...because, this is my all-time team so ... nothing's automatic.
All-Time Baseball Thoughts & Moves
Not that there's an outpouring from North Coast baseball fans to actually piece together and complete my personal all-time baseball team, but I have been thinking about it and settled on a lineup...
1b...Mark Lucich...He harkens back to the days when small-town kids had heroes playing high school ball in the same town. In the early 1970s, everybody I knew admired Mark Lucich and wanted a brother like Gary Lucich.
Tad Sundquist's spot on the all-time team is jeopardized by the memory of how pissed he would get after making an out. God forbid he would strike out and then I'd have to take an infield spot and pick up groundballs he threw between innings. I doubt he even knew he was rocketing us wicked grounders to vent his frustration, but I do recall in Midget League and beyond intentionally bouncing throws back at him in the dirt to alert him that, "Let's make easy on each other, OK?"
2b...Bob Bonomini...If I mimicked his batting stance and he later coached my nephew and my oldest son...Bons is not only a starter, he's a North Coast Sillanpaa Hall of Famer -- first ballot.
SS...Garth Iorg...Hustle and work ethic are talents that he had in buckets. The fact that he was athletic by nature was icing on the cake. (You know he played basketball at CR between minor league seasons, right?)
3B...Scott Eskra...there's not a great deal of difference, I don't think, between Scott and Eureka High grad David Stone from the class of about 1977 who went on to play in the Mets farm system. I'd take either one at third base and enjoy watching them rake. I just thought Eskra ran a little better and that Stone, because he was on teams that had catchers and needed a third baseman, had to play out of position locally.
LF: Dane Iorg, Arcata...He's a Sillanpaa Hall of Fame first ballot guy, too. I have a soft spot for Arcata's Steve Van Deren, though, who was a catcher-outfielder for Garth Iorg's Arcata teams as well at CR. Van Deren spent time in the minor leagues. He had all the tools...all the tools.
CF: Paul Ziegler, Fortuna...With the exception of Lee Iorg, I can't think of anybody close to Ziegler.
Greg Lorenzetti, another Fortuna alum, starred at Stanford, for the Crabs and in the minor leagues...he'll be on the final team...assuming readers pay attention long enough for me to finish the team.
RF: ... Buster Pidgeon...If push came to shove, forget the position...I'd bump some guys way before giving any thought to a lineup without him in it.
C: ... John Jaso...a McKinleyville High star whose rise to the big leagues is indicative of the quality program Dustin Dutra has built over the years. A lefthanded hitter...strong arm...ran well. I didn't see the guys from the 1940s, so how can I rate them? Jaso's the first 21st century pick.
DH: David Stone and Nick Giacone...Stone and Giacone could play positions, and would if the team was real. But, if you could go with Stone's booming righty bat and Giacone's lefty bat...that's a potent DH combo. Then, you platoon Giacone at first base and Stone at third and behind the plate.
SP: Billy Olson, Eureka High...my oldest son met a guy in Lafayette the other night who coached a winter ball team that Olson and Buster Pidgeon would drive south to play on during the off-season. Small world.
SP St. Bernard's Greg Shanahan was the righty contemporary of Olson's. And...he pitched briefly for the LA Dodgers in a time when he would've cracked the pitching staff of almost any other team in the big leagues. The Dodgers were loaded with pitchers.
SP: Randy Niemann...Fortuna's best pitching product, ever. Again...here's a guy parents and coaches could've learned from because he wasn't all-world at 10, 11, 12, 15, etc. He got bigger and stronger and worked on his game. He had the mentality needed to work patiently to transition from a kid power pitcher to a minor league control artist. He doesn't get the respect he deserves, and gets overlooked, because he pitched for the Southern Humboldt summer team and not for the Humboldt Eagles -- although I think he beat the Eagles when he faced them in the lone S. Humboldt v. Eagles series I can recall. No coach up there can take credit for Niemann...so, I guess, I'm the only one to recall his greatness.
1b...Mark Lucich...He harkens back to the days when small-town kids had heroes playing high school ball in the same town. In the early 1970s, everybody I knew admired Mark Lucich and wanted a brother like Gary Lucich.
Tad Sundquist's spot on the all-time team is jeopardized by the memory of how pissed he would get after making an out. God forbid he would strike out and then I'd have to take an infield spot and pick up groundballs he threw between innings. I doubt he even knew he was rocketing us wicked grounders to vent his frustration, but I do recall in Midget League and beyond intentionally bouncing throws back at him in the dirt to alert him that, "Let's make easy on each other, OK?"
2b...Bob Bonomini...If I mimicked his batting stance and he later coached my nephew and my oldest son...Bons is not only a starter, he's a North Coast Sillanpaa Hall of Famer -- first ballot.
SS...Garth Iorg...Hustle and work ethic are talents that he had in buckets. The fact that he was athletic by nature was icing on the cake. (You know he played basketball at CR between minor league seasons, right?)
3B...Scott Eskra...there's not a great deal of difference, I don't think, between Scott and Eureka High grad David Stone from the class of about 1977 who went on to play in the Mets farm system. I'd take either one at third base and enjoy watching them rake. I just thought Eskra ran a little better and that Stone, because he was on teams that had catchers and needed a third baseman, had to play out of position locally.
LF: Dane Iorg, Arcata...He's a Sillanpaa Hall of Fame first ballot guy, too. I have a soft spot for Arcata's Steve Van Deren, though, who was a catcher-outfielder for Garth Iorg's Arcata teams as well at CR. Van Deren spent time in the minor leagues. He had all the tools...all the tools.
CF: Paul Ziegler, Fortuna...With the exception of Lee Iorg, I can't think of anybody close to Ziegler.
Greg Lorenzetti, another Fortuna alum, starred at Stanford, for the Crabs and in the minor leagues...he'll be on the final team...assuming readers pay attention long enough for me to finish the team.
RF: ... Buster Pidgeon...If push came to shove, forget the position...I'd bump some guys way before giving any thought to a lineup without him in it.
C: ... John Jaso...a McKinleyville High star whose rise to the big leagues is indicative of the quality program Dustin Dutra has built over the years. A lefthanded hitter...strong arm...ran well. I didn't see the guys from the 1940s, so how can I rate them? Jaso's the first 21st century pick.
DH: David Stone and Nick Giacone...Stone and Giacone could play positions, and would if the team was real. But, if you could go with Stone's booming righty bat and Giacone's lefty bat...that's a potent DH combo. Then, you platoon Giacone at first base and Stone at third and behind the plate.
SP: Billy Olson, Eureka High...my oldest son met a guy in Lafayette the other night who coached a winter ball team that Olson and Buster Pidgeon would drive south to play on during the off-season. Small world.
SP St. Bernard's Greg Shanahan was the righty contemporary of Olson's. And...he pitched briefly for the LA Dodgers in a time when he would've cracked the pitching staff of almost any other team in the big leagues. The Dodgers were loaded with pitchers.
SP: Randy Niemann...Fortuna's best pitching product, ever. Again...here's a guy parents and coaches could've learned from because he wasn't all-world at 10, 11, 12, 15, etc. He got bigger and stronger and worked on his game. He had the mentality needed to work patiently to transition from a kid power pitcher to a minor league control artist. He doesn't get the respect he deserves, and gets overlooked, because he pitched for the Southern Humboldt summer team and not for the Humboldt Eagles -- although I think he beat the Eagles when he faced them in the lone S. Humboldt v. Eagles series I can recall. No coach up there can take credit for Niemann...so, I guess, I'm the only one to recall his greatness.
Sports Dad: "Crowning Achievement"
My 10-year-old daughter hasn't really any interest in athletics, so it was with great surprise that I watched her spin in circles worrying about missing her elementary school's basketball tryouts the other day.
She's busy...active...and she never seems to get tired. I thought that her angst over Thursday's first basketball tryout for fifth- and sixth-grade girls was the result of her having to make an appearance as vice-president of the student body. She was just beside herself trying to figure out how to work a 4:30 p.m. vocal lesson, a 5:30 rehearsal for "Grease" and the 3 p.m. hoop tryouts.
"What are you talking about? Why would you care if the tryouts are at the same time as your rehearsals?"
I'm rarely the dad who has absolutely no idea what's going on, but that day she lost me.
"I can't tryout for the team unless I skip the vocal lesson or something?" she said as, suddenly, my head began to spin and I felt like she could've floored me with a feather.
"You want to go to the tryouts and... TRY OUT? You want to play basketball? What kind of team is it if you ... I mean, you want to TRY OUT?!?!"
She's never been on an organized basketball team. I've had her shoot baskets with me at the gym a few times -- and four or five times in the last month. I'm interested in seeing how a young girl's hand-eye coordination changes without her paying any real attention to it, so we shoot and I think of creative reasons to get her to dribble. I've gently broached the idea of teaching her a little basketball because I've got this idea that kids can pick up a sport at 10 or 11 and be every bit as good as the kids who play on their first mini-hoops team at age 5.
I thought she was shooting baskets to amuse me, but there she was trying to squeeze basketball tryouts in her truly busy schedule. And, I bit my tounge when I started to belch, "What kind of team do you think YOU could play on? C'mon! Be serious!"
See, people told me that the bulk of a young girl's self esteem comes from her family and, particularly, from her dad. So, I've never missed a chance to tell my daughter that she's the cutest, smartest, funniest, most talented girl around. And, while I didn't really give it much thought, I did tell her that she had a nice little shot and that she dribbled sufficiently well that she could probably be a pretty decent basketball player if she took the game seriously.
I made the latter comment on Sunday Jan. 4. She came home fritzed out about trying out for the basketball team on Wednesday Jan. 7. She must listen really closely and take what I say to heart. She couldn't be taking it seriously, but she clearly thinks she IS a good enough player to make a team of girls her age.
We figured it out, rearranged schedules and the Sillanpaa Family Sports Machine kicked into gear. I called her three or four times from work with little pieces of information I thought she should know such as, "You can't dribble...stop...and then dribble again" and "You know you can't run with the ball, right?" She really doesn't know anything about the game that she hadn't heard me tell her brother.
Ah, her 13-year-old brother, who had basketball tryouts of his own going on in seventh grade was on the case. He offered to take her to the gym to shoot around and "coach" her. More surprisingly, she was willing to let him "coach" her. They get along really, really well...but, they don't generally bond over sports. She needed a ride to the gym at 7:30 at night and talked my oldest son into making the trip...still soaking wet in the clothes he'd worn running a baseball practice in the rain.
"I wasn't going to tell her I was too tired," Tyren said. "We've all wondered if she'd ever be interested in sports and...she is...so, I drove her."
He also stayed and joined his little brother in an hour-long session where they took turns thinking of tidbits of information to share with my daughter. Before they left, she peppered them with the tougher questions like, "What's a layup?" and "Where's the free throw spot?"
I have this long-held theory that kids who dress like players attract attention, they stand out, at any tryouts. I once selected Kristin Vandermolen No. 1 in the Eureka Hoopsters draft because she had expensive basketball shoes. I figured any 11-year-old girl with expensive shoes was serious about the game. So, I paid her a little extra attention and...she was a really good player.
It helps kids who aren't really good players to dress like good players. At some point, you have to show some skill, obviously. Still, in a gym filled with kids about the same size with about the same skill level...it pays to get in the front of every line, run whenever the coach calls for you and, moreover, dress like you're just coming back from the Nike/AndOne Scouting Combine.
So, my daughter...who hasn't been on a basketball team got together with her brothers and they coordinated a bitchin' basketball practice outfit. Under Armour beneath an Oregon basketball jersey...white/pink Starbury basketball shoes (those low-cost shoes NBA player Stephon Marbury markets), and some school's official basktball shorts. None of the stuff looked brand new so...when she showed up for tryouts with her hair in a ponytail like WNBA star Sue Bird wears, she looked like an experienced baller.
There are two simply amazing girls on that team of fifth- and sixth-graders. They're going to be high school stars. They are ... amazing talents, they can do it all. Then, there are two girls who can play some -- who wore street clothes to tryouts. After that, the 13-player was filled with my daughter and eight other girls with no really noticeable basketball skill.
All that my daughter has ever done is dribble in a straight line...pass the ball...shoot from maybe 8 feet out...and played a minimum amount of defense, usually while laughing at her brother.
Guess who somehow finished up two days of tryouts on top of the K.I. Jones Elementary School basketball world?
My daughter didn't do anything of note. She took my advice and shot her layups (that she'd learned the night before) without looking back to see if she'd made it. She didn't try to go 100 mph, but rather...controlled her body to minimize the small problem of having no real ballhandling skills. And, apparently, she made a couple shots ... at some point in the 90-minute session. Oh, and she was dressed like Sue Bird's little sister on her way to the Diana Taurasi Basketball Camp.
After Friday's tryouts, when it was announced that only eight of the 13 girls would make the squad, I talked to the coach. There was nothing I could say to help my daughter, but I did introduce myself and mention her name and my youngest son's name. The woman is an honor class teacher and she adored my son. It's a political game within a game, this business of making the team. I just told her I was happy Kyndall gave it shot and, the coach interrupted to say, "She's terrific! She's a starter as of now!"
So...my hunch paid off. My theory, if applied by a group of people who understand it, works. She learned the bare minimum about the game and hustled and smiled and listened -- made it clear she was having a blast playing ball. The basketball practice outfit, a bunch of stuff her brothers had worn over time, sold her as a real basketball player.
Amazing.
"If she makes that basketball team, it will be the crowning achievement of your life as a sports dad," my son Tyren said. "She hasn't even played before."
Well...I think those Starbury's dazzled 'em!
My guess has always been that dressing like a player attracts attention. When the coach looks at a kid in jeans making a mistake, they write the kid off as a non-player. My daughter made the same mistake, but got the benefit of the doubt because...she had to be a serious player, right, look at how she was dressed! And, when she made a couple shots, an achievement I can't fathom still, that sealed the deal...she wasn't just going to be the smallest, youngest kid on the team...she'd somehow joined those two eventual all-America girls as clear starters.
How we approach her continuing education as a player now so that she doesn't embarrass herself on the court is in question. Oddly, she's the most receptive of my kids to instruction so..who knows? If she listens, learns quickly and remains confident that she can do anything she sets her mind to...maybe she'll even play like "a starter."
She's busy...active...and she never seems to get tired. I thought that her angst over Thursday's first basketball tryout for fifth- and sixth-grade girls was the result of her having to make an appearance as vice-president of the student body. She was just beside herself trying to figure out how to work a 4:30 p.m. vocal lesson, a 5:30 rehearsal for "Grease" and the 3 p.m. hoop tryouts.
"What are you talking about? Why would you care if the tryouts are at the same time as your rehearsals?"
I'm rarely the dad who has absolutely no idea what's going on, but that day she lost me.
"I can't tryout for the team unless I skip the vocal lesson or something?" she said as, suddenly, my head began to spin and I felt like she could've floored me with a feather.
"You want to go to the tryouts and... TRY OUT? You want to play basketball? What kind of team is it if you ... I mean, you want to TRY OUT?!?!"
She's never been on an organized basketball team. I've had her shoot baskets with me at the gym a few times -- and four or five times in the last month. I'm interested in seeing how a young girl's hand-eye coordination changes without her paying any real attention to it, so we shoot and I think of creative reasons to get her to dribble. I've gently broached the idea of teaching her a little basketball because I've got this idea that kids can pick up a sport at 10 or 11 and be every bit as good as the kids who play on their first mini-hoops team at age 5.
I thought she was shooting baskets to amuse me, but there she was trying to squeeze basketball tryouts in her truly busy schedule. And, I bit my tounge when I started to belch, "What kind of team do you think YOU could play on? C'mon! Be serious!"
See, people told me that the bulk of a young girl's self esteem comes from her family and, particularly, from her dad. So, I've never missed a chance to tell my daughter that she's the cutest, smartest, funniest, most talented girl around. And, while I didn't really give it much thought, I did tell her that she had a nice little shot and that she dribbled sufficiently well that she could probably be a pretty decent basketball player if she took the game seriously.
I made the latter comment on Sunday Jan. 4. She came home fritzed out about trying out for the basketball team on Wednesday Jan. 7. She must listen really closely and take what I say to heart. She couldn't be taking it seriously, but she clearly thinks she IS a good enough player to make a team of girls her age.
We figured it out, rearranged schedules and the Sillanpaa Family Sports Machine kicked into gear. I called her three or four times from work with little pieces of information I thought she should know such as, "You can't dribble...stop...and then dribble again" and "You know you can't run with the ball, right?" She really doesn't know anything about the game that she hadn't heard me tell her brother.
Ah, her 13-year-old brother, who had basketball tryouts of his own going on in seventh grade was on the case. He offered to take her to the gym to shoot around and "coach" her. More surprisingly, she was willing to let him "coach" her. They get along really, really well...but, they don't generally bond over sports. She needed a ride to the gym at 7:30 at night and talked my oldest son into making the trip...still soaking wet in the clothes he'd worn running a baseball practice in the rain.
"I wasn't going to tell her I was too tired," Tyren said. "We've all wondered if she'd ever be interested in sports and...she is...so, I drove her."
He also stayed and joined his little brother in an hour-long session where they took turns thinking of tidbits of information to share with my daughter. Before they left, she peppered them with the tougher questions like, "What's a layup?" and "Where's the free throw spot?"
I have this long-held theory that kids who dress like players attract attention, they stand out, at any tryouts. I once selected Kristin Vandermolen No. 1 in the Eureka Hoopsters draft because she had expensive basketball shoes. I figured any 11-year-old girl with expensive shoes was serious about the game. So, I paid her a little extra attention and...she was a really good player.
It helps kids who aren't really good players to dress like good players. At some point, you have to show some skill, obviously. Still, in a gym filled with kids about the same size with about the same skill level...it pays to get in the front of every line, run whenever the coach calls for you and, moreover, dress like you're just coming back from the Nike/AndOne Scouting Combine.
So, my daughter...who hasn't been on a basketball team got together with her brothers and they coordinated a bitchin' basketball practice outfit. Under Armour beneath an Oregon basketball jersey...white/pink Starbury basketball shoes (those low-cost shoes NBA player Stephon Marbury markets), and some school's official basktball shorts. None of the stuff looked brand new so...when she showed up for tryouts with her hair in a ponytail like WNBA star Sue Bird wears, she looked like an experienced baller.
There are two simply amazing girls on that team of fifth- and sixth-graders. They're going to be high school stars. They are ... amazing talents, they can do it all. Then, there are two girls who can play some -- who wore street clothes to tryouts. After that, the 13-player was filled with my daughter and eight other girls with no really noticeable basketball skill.
All that my daughter has ever done is dribble in a straight line...pass the ball...shoot from maybe 8 feet out...and played a minimum amount of defense, usually while laughing at her brother.
Guess who somehow finished up two days of tryouts on top of the K.I. Jones Elementary School basketball world?
My daughter didn't do anything of note. She took my advice and shot her layups (that she'd learned the night before) without looking back to see if she'd made it. She didn't try to go 100 mph, but rather...controlled her body to minimize the small problem of having no real ballhandling skills. And, apparently, she made a couple shots ... at some point in the 90-minute session. Oh, and she was dressed like Sue Bird's little sister on her way to the Diana Taurasi Basketball Camp.
After Friday's tryouts, when it was announced that only eight of the 13 girls would make the squad, I talked to the coach. There was nothing I could say to help my daughter, but I did introduce myself and mention her name and my youngest son's name. The woman is an honor class teacher and she adored my son. It's a political game within a game, this business of making the team. I just told her I was happy Kyndall gave it shot and, the coach interrupted to say, "She's terrific! She's a starter as of now!"
So...my hunch paid off. My theory, if applied by a group of people who understand it, works. She learned the bare minimum about the game and hustled and smiled and listened -- made it clear she was having a blast playing ball. The basketball practice outfit, a bunch of stuff her brothers had worn over time, sold her as a real basketball player.
Amazing.
"If she makes that basketball team, it will be the crowning achievement of your life as a sports dad," my son Tyren said. "She hasn't even played before."
Well...I think those Starbury's dazzled 'em!
My guess has always been that dressing like a player attracts attention. When the coach looks at a kid in jeans making a mistake, they write the kid off as a non-player. My daughter made the same mistake, but got the benefit of the doubt because...she had to be a serious player, right, look at how she was dressed! And, when she made a couple shots, an achievement I can't fathom still, that sealed the deal...she wasn't just going to be the smallest, youngest kid on the team...she'd somehow joined those two eventual all-America girls as clear starters.
How we approach her continuing education as a player now so that she doesn't embarrass herself on the court is in question. Oddly, she's the most receptive of my kids to instruction so..who knows? If she listens, learns quickly and remains confident that she can do anything she sets her mind to...maybe she'll even play like "a starter."
All-Time Baseball Team: Brainstorming II
This isn't a definitive list...yet.
I sat down to finish, at least, what would be Ted's All-Time North Coast Baseball Team -- then, realized, it's naive to believe that the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s didn't contribute a single all-timer I have affection for as a player and, I suppose, as a person.
Here's the list...a lineup...with some additional notes because, hey, it's my team and I should include guys I saw a lot or heard great things about from people I trust...you can't really cancel your subscription, right? You can offer comments, argue and all that, though.
---
1b...Mark Lucich...no change from the team I picked in the 1990s for the newspaper. He was a classy, gifted, hard-working guy who seemed heroic to me in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
Odds are nobody could talk me out of Lucich as my favorite all-time. But, I realized I played on more different teams with former Eureka High first baseman Tad Sundquist than I did, probably, with any other player. We even went to Cutten Elementary School together. I was on Tad's team in the Eureka Midget League (Belcher's Giants), then for two years at Winship Junior High School. (Back when junior high sports were a really big deal in Eureka.) Then, I played with Sundquist at Eureka High and, briefly, at CR. Tad hit with power and fielded the position well. He ran better than most first baseman. It seemed cool, commendable, to me that he got drafted a few times and never signed a pro contract. I don't know why he didn't sign, but I thought it was intriguing that he didn't just go along with the rest. He was just...a ball of fury, a total stud. Since it's my team, I'd put Tad Sundquist on it.
2b...Bob Bonomini...He was a star for the Crabs, started at second base, for a fair portion of my youth. I didn't even know he went to Fresno State, he could just rake and
Nobody can or will challenge Bons for this spot. I just need a middle infielder to pinch-run after he lines a single through the hole to start the 7th inning.
SS...Garth Iorg...at the time I played against them, I thought Roger Hawkins and Mike Dolf were far better players than Garth Iorg at Arcata High. And, really, everybody agreed with me about Mike Dolf...I happened to think Hawkins was better than either of them. But, heck, Iorg made it to the big leagues and that's rare for North Coast players.
I can't emphasize enough, to modern parents or players, that Garth Iorg worked hard, perservered and learned the game...and worked his way to the big league. Lots of guys who faced the same challenges he did came home with stories about how he got screwed by the organization, etc.
3B...Scott Eskra..It's my list
I don't guess that many people are reading this because Eskra's a no-brainer based on sheer ability, but maybe came up lacking in other areas. Perhaps, I should've tested the size of the readership by putting some choir buy who drank Pepsi at third base?
LF: Dane Iorg, Arcata...
I still tend to think that Dane was always considered better than his brother Lee, but that it was hip to say, "Ahh...Lee was the best player, he just wanted to do other things." Actually, Lee was the fastest of the Iorg brothers and could really play centerfield...but Dane Iorg ... maybe my favorite Humboldt Crabs player ever...and...
CF: Paul Ziegler, Fortuna...he was faster
Greg Lorenzetti, another Fortuna alum, starred at Stanford, for the Crabs and in the minor leagues. He'll be on the finished team...I think Lorenzetti and Ziegler were both Fortuna football quarterbacks and basketball players. Ziegler was point guard on a team with a tough forward named Bob Wilson -- that got into an oncourt brawl in 1975 or 1976 with a good Arcata team. Fans were on the court. It was great fun for a teen sports writer!
RF: ... Buster Pidgeon had all the tools and he starred at Eureka High and for that great 1968 Eureka American Legion team. I'm sure Harold "Buster" Pidgeon wasn't a rightfielder...but, I'm sure he gave it a shot in his time in the Phillies organization. He could run. Gary Lucich, another Eureka High guy, is actually my favorite rightfielder. I was saddened when he died way too soon. His brother Mark was the superior baseball player, but Gary used to beat everybody else off the field -- from right field -- between innings. I didn't hustle, but I thought his hustle was the greatest.
This could be a spot for one of the old-time, all-timers.
C: ...again...still thinking...John Jaso is a nice pick, and would give the Humboldt Dukes a representative (as if 3 months on the Dukes supercedes his high school. N. Humboldt Giants and college careers). But, you know Carl Del Grande was a power-hitting catcher in the 1940s. He had a nice minor league career with two organizations after he left Eureka...then, he owned and operated "The Shanty" for decades -- and, he knew my dad back when my dad was tearing up 2 Street on a pretty routine basis. Greg Kane remains difficult to overlook...because I saw him hit his home runs. And...didn't Eureka's David Stone do some catching at some point in his career? Maybe in the minor leagues?
SP: I'd start with Eureka legend Billy Olson, the lefty
St. Bernard's Greg Shanahan was the righty contemporary of Olson's. Like Olson, he starred for the Crabs and, it's noteworthy that Shanahan starred at Humboldt State College -- when the baseball field was where the Science building has been for years now. Shanahan's probably the only choice for a No. 2 starter...you go lefty-righty...different styles of pitcher.
There are going to be pitchers on this list who didn't make the Times-Standard list because very little separates guys who excel locally and then go on to bounce around the minors for a few years. Having a brief pro career doesn't mean as much to me as being a stud on the North Coast from start to finish.
I sat down to finish, at least, what would be Ted's All-Time North Coast Baseball Team -- then, realized, it's naive to believe that the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s didn't contribute a single all-timer I have affection for as a player and, I suppose, as a person.
Here's the list...a lineup...with some additional notes because, hey, it's my team and I should include guys I saw a lot or heard great things about from people I trust...you can't really cancel your subscription, right? You can offer comments, argue and all that, though.
---
1b...Mark Lucich...no change from the team I picked in the 1990s for the newspaper. He was a classy, gifted, hard-working guy who seemed heroic to me in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
Odds are nobody could talk me out of Lucich as my favorite all-time. But, I realized I played on more different teams with former Eureka High first baseman Tad Sundquist than I did, probably, with any other player. We even went to Cutten Elementary School together. I was on Tad's team in the Eureka Midget League (Belcher's Giants), then for two years at Winship Junior High School. (Back when junior high sports were a really big deal in Eureka.) Then, I played with Sundquist at Eureka High and, briefly, at CR. Tad hit with power and fielded the position well. He ran better than most first baseman. It seemed cool, commendable, to me that he got drafted a few times and never signed a pro contract. I don't know why he didn't sign, but I thought it was intriguing that he didn't just go along with the rest. He was just...a ball of fury, a total stud. Since it's my team, I'd put Tad Sundquist on it.
2b...Bob Bonomini...He was a star for the Crabs, started at second base, for a fair portion of my youth. I didn't even know he went to Fresno State, he could just rake and
Nobody can or will challenge Bons for this spot. I just need a middle infielder to pinch-run after he lines a single through the hole to start the 7th inning.
SS...Garth Iorg...at the time I played against them, I thought Roger Hawkins and Mike Dolf were far better players than Garth Iorg at Arcata High. And, really, everybody agreed with me about Mike Dolf...I happened to think Hawkins was better than either of them. But, heck, Iorg made it to the big leagues and that's rare for North Coast players.
I can't emphasize enough, to modern parents or players, that Garth Iorg worked hard, perservered and learned the game...and worked his way to the big league. Lots of guys who faced the same challenges he did came home with stories about how he got screwed by the organization, etc.
3B...Scott Eskra..It's my list
I don't guess that many people are reading this because Eskra's a no-brainer based on sheer ability, but maybe came up lacking in other areas. Perhaps, I should've tested the size of the readership by putting some choir buy who drank Pepsi at third base?
LF: Dane Iorg, Arcata...
I still tend to think that Dane was always considered better than his brother Lee, but that it was hip to say, "Ahh...Lee was the best player, he just wanted to do other things." Actually, Lee was the fastest of the Iorg brothers and could really play centerfield...but Dane Iorg ... maybe my favorite Humboldt Crabs player ever...and...
CF: Paul Ziegler, Fortuna...he was faster
Greg Lorenzetti, another Fortuna alum, starred at Stanford, for the Crabs and in the minor leagues. He'll be on the finished team...I think Lorenzetti and Ziegler were both Fortuna football quarterbacks and basketball players. Ziegler was point guard on a team with a tough forward named Bob Wilson -- that got into an oncourt brawl in 1975 or 1976 with a good Arcata team. Fans were on the court. It was great fun for a teen sports writer!
RF: ... Buster Pidgeon had all the tools and he starred at Eureka High and for that great 1968 Eureka American Legion team. I'm sure Harold "Buster" Pidgeon wasn't a rightfielder...but, I'm sure he gave it a shot in his time in the Phillies organization. He could run. Gary Lucich, another Eureka High guy, is actually my favorite rightfielder. I was saddened when he died way too soon. His brother Mark was the superior baseball player, but Gary used to beat everybody else off the field -- from right field -- between innings. I didn't hustle, but I thought his hustle was the greatest.
This could be a spot for one of the old-time, all-timers.
C: ...again...still thinking...John Jaso is a nice pick, and would give the Humboldt Dukes a representative (as if 3 months on the Dukes supercedes his high school. N. Humboldt Giants and college careers). But, you know Carl Del Grande was a power-hitting catcher in the 1940s. He had a nice minor league career with two organizations after he left Eureka...then, he owned and operated "The Shanty" for decades -- and, he knew my dad back when my dad was tearing up 2 Street on a pretty routine basis. Greg Kane remains difficult to overlook...because I saw him hit his home runs. And...didn't Eureka's David Stone do some catching at some point in his career? Maybe in the minor leagues?
SP: I'd start with Eureka legend Billy Olson, the lefty
St. Bernard's Greg Shanahan was the righty contemporary of Olson's. Like Olson, he starred for the Crabs and, it's noteworthy that Shanahan starred at Humboldt State College -- when the baseball field was where the Science building has been for years now. Shanahan's probably the only choice for a No. 2 starter...you go lefty-righty...different styles of pitcher.
There are going to be pitchers on this list who didn't make the Times-Standard list because very little separates guys who excel locally and then go on to bounce around the minors for a few years. Having a brief pro career doesn't mean as much to me as being a stud on the North Coast from start to finish.
Thursday, October 18, 2007
I Was Recording That
I dreamed of marrying a beautiful actress or playing centerfield for the New York Yankees.
Most dreams don't come. Well, the A-level dreams rarely come true. Dreams of the kid at Baskin-Robbins tossing an extra scoop of ice cream in the chocolate sundae come true. Getting a job in a profession that interests you is an achievable dream.
The big dreams, though, they usually remain dreams through your entire life.
I've been living an A-level, top-of-the-heap dream for the last 3, 4 weeks. Call me, Mr. Lucky.
I have two Comcast cable digital video recorders connected to two separate televisions. One set is a hi-defintion TV with amazing sound quality. The other is a standard 32-inch color TV.
Watching a hi-def TV is an experience. But, I've positioned the 32-inch set in the living room so that, if I lay on the futon, the afternoon sun hits me just right.
Since I had what I'm starting to feel is the good fortune of losing my job, my Saturdays have changed. I'm not working late 5 nights a week. I'm not spending time dreading going back to the salt mine. No column to write after the game. My Saturdays, with the exception of the hour devoted to my daughter's soccer matches, are my Saturdays. And, control of my Saturdays is connected to the twin DVRs, the two bitchin' TVs and sports on cable.
There was surely a time, although I don't specificially remember it, when I sat home eating a bag of potato chips wishing I could watch more than one college football game on a Saturday. I know that there were many Saturdays in my youth when I dreamed of being able to watch the baseball playoff game without missing the big college football game -- or vice versa.
The twin DVRS, the TVs and my mastery of the menu of Comcast cable sports offerings allows one of my A-level dreams to come true. Remember, I really like sports and I really dig watching games on TV. Oh, wait ... one other magical thing of the DVRs. I've got two and each allows me to record two programs at one time. Got it?
Good.
So, the other day ... like any old Saturday in October ... I recorded Arizona-USC and Oregon State-Cal on the 32-inch TV in the living room. That's two pretty interesting Pac-10 football games I got to see without missing Kentucky-LSU ... which was on CBS directly opposite Arizona-USC on ABC. And, I didn't have to miss the Notre Dame loss to Boston College...which aired on NBC opposite Arizona-USC and Kentucky-LSU.
Wait. It becomes even more like what, I imagine, multiple orgasms one after the other after the other would feel like.
I'm trying not to miss any of the baseball playoffs. So, I recorded the Indians-Red Sox game on the hi-def set. I'm watching it right now -- it's about time for the first pitch. Well, it's 9:07 p.m. PDT and I've cranked up the recording on the hi-def TV. The game's probably over. I'm just now starting to watch, though.
God. It's a dream! Four football ... wait, I'm recording TCU-Stanford on Fox Sports Net channel. So, make it five football games and a big league baseball game. Gawdamit! It doesn't get better. I watched Hawaii rally to beat San Jose State in person, with my sons, on Friday night in San Jose. And, today, I'm catching all this stuff on TV without leaving my house!
Except ... I get to leave the house. I went shopping. I fixed the Super Nintendo game system that was marketed two years before my youngest son was born. The kids and I went to the gym. Short of that attractive blonde on the treadmill offering to follow me home and pleasure me any way I liked, I can't imagine a better Saturday.
There's an art to living a big-time dream. You know how people win the lottery, then squander it? They can't handle the embarrassment of riches. I'm not going to wreck what are becoming magical Saturdays for lack of a plan.
I watched the first half of Notre Dame live. That's hard because I couldn't fast forward through commercials. My youngest son likes Notre Dame, so enjoying it with him offset the bitch that is watching commercials.
After a trip to Circuit City, I watched the first half of the recording of Kentucky-LSU. I fast-forwarded through commercials and, here's the key, through the dead time between plays. You don't need to hear what announcers say when the teams are huddling. You only need to see the action. I will stop and watch key replays.
OK. It took about a half-hour to watch LSU's first half. Then, I watched Notre Dame rally, then let the game get away against B.C. Boom! Boom! If I fall into a blowout or a game I deem over, I'll watch it at the slowest fast-forward speed. You can see a lot.
I got up and made dinner for the boy and myself -- as I was watching Arizona-USC. The game started at 12:30 p.m. I watched the whole thing, sans ads and the halftime show, in the 90 minutes between 5 p.m. and 6:30. USC wins! (They're wildly overrated.)
Boom! I'm back in front of the hi-def TV to watch LSU. It's key to prioritize. I know I made a mistake, but I chose to make Cal my low priority. I didn't think Oregon State could win, but I wanted to see what happened still. I took a break from Kentucky-LSU to hit the health club. As I was on the glyder with my daughter, some bonehead shouted, "Cal lost! Hey, Charlie! Cal just lost!"
Dammit! My elaborate plan and this jackass ruined what would've been my favorite game by telling Charlie that Oregon State upset Cal. That would've been the cherry on top of my football-on-TV sundae. Seeing the upset of the No. 2 that almost nobody else would've watched! And, then you have the accompanying story about how I was up until 2:30 a.m. in front of the TV watching a Pac-10 game and everything. What story's Charlie telling?
"Yeah...I was cleaning the staircase at work and Bruce told me Cal lost! I didn't see it or anything."
Doesn't Bruce know that there are machines that record games and that there are people in the club exercising literally in breathless anticipation of watching a game they've recorded?
I didn't shout, "I was recording that!" I should have. I cursed the dumb shit under my breath and, sadly, my daughter's vocabularly's just a little more blue as a result.
I'll have to watch the Oregon State win, but no rush now.
That pushed the baseball game up on the docket. It's on right now. See, you have to avoid learning the outcome, or even partial scores, from games you're recording. Watch half of one 12:30 p.m. game, then watch half of another ... and you probably won't see a score from either that ruins the experience. I've trained myself not to watch that running line of scores across the bottom of the TV. My family members are trained not to blurt out scores...sort of...my son Trent called with a "Happy birthday" phone message that included, "I just watched LSU-Kentucky and..." I deleted the message. I hope he didn't say, "...and my house burned down can you come and get me in San Jose?"
I like to turn on the TV, turn down the sound so I can turn to whichever game without catching even a hint of what's going on in the game that's actually on TV. God, you just turn the damn TV on with no plan and things are FUBAR in a hurry. It makes sense. Really.
At any rate, I've watched 2 1/2 football games that all started at exactly the same time. I saw two -- start to finish. I still don't know who won the LSU game and won't until I I finish watching. Fox isn't going to give college football scores on the baseball game. They just don't. Honest.
Gosh. I'm in heaven. I remember when it was a treat to see O.J. Simpson's USC football team play UCLA on an old black-and-white TV. Now? Every weekend's a spectatorgasm. The games just come in waves. It's exhausting and exhilarating. (Did I mention you don't have to watch the commericals?) It feels so good...you take a little break, catch your breath and you just want to do it all over again.
Big dreams come true, too, sometimes.
TS
Most dreams don't come. Well, the A-level dreams rarely come true. Dreams of the kid at Baskin-Robbins tossing an extra scoop of ice cream in the chocolate sundae come true. Getting a job in a profession that interests you is an achievable dream.
The big dreams, though, they usually remain dreams through your entire life.
I've been living an A-level, top-of-the-heap dream for the last 3, 4 weeks. Call me, Mr. Lucky.
I have two Comcast cable digital video recorders connected to two separate televisions. One set is a hi-defintion TV with amazing sound quality. The other is a standard 32-inch color TV.
Watching a hi-def TV is an experience. But, I've positioned the 32-inch set in the living room so that, if I lay on the futon, the afternoon sun hits me just right.
Since I had what I'm starting to feel is the good fortune of losing my job, my Saturdays have changed. I'm not working late 5 nights a week. I'm not spending time dreading going back to the salt mine. No column to write after the game. My Saturdays, with the exception of the hour devoted to my daughter's soccer matches, are my Saturdays. And, control of my Saturdays is connected to the twin DVRs, the two bitchin' TVs and sports on cable.
There was surely a time, although I don't specificially remember it, when I sat home eating a bag of potato chips wishing I could watch more than one college football game on a Saturday. I know that there were many Saturdays in my youth when I dreamed of being able to watch the baseball playoff game without missing the big college football game -- or vice versa.
The twin DVRS, the TVs and my mastery of the menu of Comcast cable sports offerings allows one of my A-level dreams to come true. Remember, I really like sports and I really dig watching games on TV. Oh, wait ... one other magical thing of the DVRs. I've got two and each allows me to record two programs at one time. Got it?
Good.
So, the other day ... like any old Saturday in October ... I recorded Arizona-USC and Oregon State-Cal on the 32-inch TV in the living room. That's two pretty interesting Pac-10 football games I got to see without missing Kentucky-LSU ... which was on CBS directly opposite Arizona-USC on ABC. And, I didn't have to miss the Notre Dame loss to Boston College...which aired on NBC opposite Arizona-USC and Kentucky-LSU.
Wait. It becomes even more like what, I imagine, multiple orgasms one after the other after the other would feel like.
I'm trying not to miss any of the baseball playoffs. So, I recorded the Indians-Red Sox game on the hi-def set. I'm watching it right now -- it's about time for the first pitch. Well, it's 9:07 p.m. PDT and I've cranked up the recording on the hi-def TV. The game's probably over. I'm just now starting to watch, though.
God. It's a dream! Four football ... wait, I'm recording TCU-Stanford on Fox Sports Net channel. So, make it five football games and a big league baseball game. Gawdamit! It doesn't get better. I watched Hawaii rally to beat San Jose State in person, with my sons, on Friday night in San Jose. And, today, I'm catching all this stuff on TV without leaving my house!
Except ... I get to leave the house. I went shopping. I fixed the Super Nintendo game system that was marketed two years before my youngest son was born. The kids and I went to the gym. Short of that attractive blonde on the treadmill offering to follow me home and pleasure me any way I liked, I can't imagine a better Saturday.
There's an art to living a big-time dream. You know how people win the lottery, then squander it? They can't handle the embarrassment of riches. I'm not going to wreck what are becoming magical Saturdays for lack of a plan.
I watched the first half of Notre Dame live. That's hard because I couldn't fast forward through commercials. My youngest son likes Notre Dame, so enjoying it with him offset the bitch that is watching commercials.
After a trip to Circuit City, I watched the first half of the recording of Kentucky-LSU. I fast-forwarded through commercials and, here's the key, through the dead time between plays. You don't need to hear what announcers say when the teams are huddling. You only need to see the action. I will stop and watch key replays.
OK. It took about a half-hour to watch LSU's first half. Then, I watched Notre Dame rally, then let the game get away against B.C. Boom! Boom! If I fall into a blowout or a game I deem over, I'll watch it at the slowest fast-forward speed. You can see a lot.
I got up and made dinner for the boy and myself -- as I was watching Arizona-USC. The game started at 12:30 p.m. I watched the whole thing, sans ads and the halftime show, in the 90 minutes between 5 p.m. and 6:30. USC wins! (They're wildly overrated.)
Boom! I'm back in front of the hi-def TV to watch LSU. It's key to prioritize. I know I made a mistake, but I chose to make Cal my low priority. I didn't think Oregon State could win, but I wanted to see what happened still. I took a break from Kentucky-LSU to hit the health club. As I was on the glyder with my daughter, some bonehead shouted, "Cal lost! Hey, Charlie! Cal just lost!"
Dammit! My elaborate plan and this jackass ruined what would've been my favorite game by telling Charlie that Oregon State upset Cal. That would've been the cherry on top of my football-on-TV sundae. Seeing the upset of the No. 2 that almost nobody else would've watched! And, then you have the accompanying story about how I was up until 2:30 a.m. in front of the TV watching a Pac-10 game and everything. What story's Charlie telling?
"Yeah...I was cleaning the staircase at work and Bruce told me Cal lost! I didn't see it or anything."
Doesn't Bruce know that there are machines that record games and that there are people in the club exercising literally in breathless anticipation of watching a game they've recorded?
I didn't shout, "I was recording that!" I should have. I cursed the dumb shit under my breath and, sadly, my daughter's vocabularly's just a little more blue as a result.
I'll have to watch the Oregon State win, but no rush now.
That pushed the baseball game up on the docket. It's on right now. See, you have to avoid learning the outcome, or even partial scores, from games you're recording. Watch half of one 12:30 p.m. game, then watch half of another ... and you probably won't see a score from either that ruins the experience. I've trained myself not to watch that running line of scores across the bottom of the TV. My family members are trained not to blurt out scores...sort of...my son Trent called with a "Happy birthday" phone message that included, "I just watched LSU-Kentucky and..." I deleted the message. I hope he didn't say, "...and my house burned down can you come and get me in San Jose?"
I like to turn on the TV, turn down the sound so I can turn to whichever game without catching even a hint of what's going on in the game that's actually on TV. God, you just turn the damn TV on with no plan and things are FUBAR in a hurry. It makes sense. Really.
At any rate, I've watched 2 1/2 football games that all started at exactly the same time. I saw two -- start to finish. I still don't know who won the LSU game and won't until I I finish watching. Fox isn't going to give college football scores on the baseball game. They just don't. Honest.
Gosh. I'm in heaven. I remember when it was a treat to see O.J. Simpson's USC football team play UCLA on an old black-and-white TV. Now? Every weekend's a spectatorgasm. The games just come in waves. It's exhausting and exhilarating. (Did I mention you don't have to watch the commericals?) It feels so good...you take a little break, catch your breath and you just want to do it all over again.
Big dreams come true, too, sometimes.
TS
Sunday, June 17, 2007
A Hopeful Smile
My daughter and I spent the afternoon at an indoor rock-climbing facility. She's quite the climber and I'm a willing participant in anything she does and I love, in the process, to people-watch.
There was a couple there, college-aged kids...in their 20s. They were climbers. The guy was showing off a little, but the girl was really trying to improve her climbing skills. If I could climb 12 feet up and 25 feet sideways, like a spider, I guess I'd show off, too. I'll credit him for being discrete. Pnly a tested people-watcher would've noticed.
It wasn't what the guy did that struck me, that was telling. It was how the young woman listened so intently. She was, literally, wide-eyed and hanging on every word he said. She took his advice in the most positive possible way and tested it in earnest on the wall.
You can tell a lot about a relationship by how one person reacts to advice, or constructive criticism, from the other. She really likes that guy and he cares for her.
Two really good climbers, in a rocknasium filled with little kids and relative beginners, would tend to try to attract attention. People are going to naturally look around. I was trying to make sure I was doing my part as rope monitor correctly, so I checked out everybody else. My daughter was watching other people climb to see what they did that she could copy. That attention that comes merely with being in public often leads to people wanting to attract attention. Heaven knows the young couple could've attracted attention with just a little loud conversation, maybe some laughter...and their spider-like ability to climb. She is a dancer, I'm almost sure. Just the way she carried herself, you know?
The young guy and woman didn't do anything or make a sound intended to attract attention. They almost whispered, really. Moreover, they didn't look around at anyone else or pay the least attention to anyone looking at them. They were totally into each other and the process of climbing. Don't you hate people who look around to make sure people are paying them attention?
It struck me as really nice to see two quiet, happy young people enjoying each other as well as an interest they share. You don't see that very often. People of that age group tend to walk through life, through relationships, making all sorts of noise. They don't know what to say, so...they make noise. I can spend a few minutes around a couple and tell you their speech habits. ("Yo...dude...and then...this chick says...") If you're talking so loud I can hear you, you really aren't talking to the person you're with.
Cool young couple.
My daughter climbed and climbed and I figured the couple had left. Then, I noticed they were in a "cave" area where, duh, people who climb inside caves can do some climbing. This is the point where I really came to understand the two kids.
The young woman was laying on her back on a mat. The guy was sitting next to her. And, no, it wasn't one of those awkward deals where two people are uncomfortably physically affectionate in public. Not like the other night at an amusement center where some skanky girl was sitting on her boyfriend's back giving him a massage. Nothing like that.
The climber dude was talking, quietly, and the climber girl was listening...literally, wide-eyed with a smile that I struck me in the heart. It was the hopeful smile that comes with new love...love unfettered by problems and compromise...love that comes with hanging on the meaning of every word the other person says because you love how they listen so closely to everything you say.
I don't know that I've ever felt that love and, now, I'm 50 years old and the notion of love uncluttered by the mess that life can bring is long gone. But, for young people starting out...anything remains possible.
I don't think the young couple every even really touched each other in the gym. But, they are clearly very much in love. They didn't talk loudly. They didn't touch and grope. They didn't do any of the things I've seen couples in their 20s do to so they have a relationship of worth. But, I'm sure, they really care about each other.
Her hopeful smile gave it away.
ts
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