Best of my Work (September/October)

Okay so that idea of writing more sports on here? A lot more difficult when you're working 12-hour days and driving for three of them. Ambition is a wonderful thing.....execution is a lot harder as I've learned from my running/exercise journey.

Either way, I figured I'd give you guys a chance to see what I've been up to for work. Since I'm not writing here. Here's some of the best stuff I've written since late August. I'll try to do this every month.

1986 Crespi: Part 1 and Part 2
As a prep sports scribe, I've always been fascinated by Russell White, one of the greatest running backs in California history. He's the only sophomore named State Player of the Year and that 1986 Crespi High School team is the only team from the San Fernando Valley to win a title at the highest division.

Crespi coach Troy Thomas, left, and former Celts coach Bill Redell, right, show off the school’s memorabilia from the 1986 championship season. Thomas played defensive back on that team. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht/Los Angeles Daily News)

White went on to an All-American career at Cal (still their all-time leading rusher) but I wanted to study his team. Coaches and players from that team became successful around Southern California. So I wanted to know what drove them to be great. The first story is a general reflection. The second is short snapshots of three guys from that team I didn't talk to in Part 1.

Weekend Links (Best of My Recent Work)

I've been silent here for the most part. Mainly because the newspaper has been keeping me very busy and I couldn't be happier. Basketball/football season has given me a lot of work and I could not be happier.

Just so you know what I've been up to, I'm presenting a few links of my best work starting with today. Plus sharing a few behind the scene tidbits

Bishop Montgomery guard Justin Bibbins is only 5-9 but he dominates every game he's in. He's a leader, well-spoken, thoughtful and a future Long Beach State 49er. Here's my feature on him.*

Speaking of features, my last football feature was on Narbonne defensive end Owen Roberts. The kid they call "Boogie" became one of my all-time favorites to cover because he was fun, quotable and friendly. He's heading to San Jose State and for this, I was happy to talk to his coach and several old teammates.

Friday Wrap! (Weekend Links and Thinks)

Saw the Lakers' recent preseason game against Utah and I realized this team might actually be alright. For the first time in a while, they have youth and guys who can score on their own. If Steve Nash stays healthy, he might actually feel like he's in Phoenix again with Xavier Henry, Nick Young and Jordan Farmar splitting some backup duties with Steve Blake.
Alas, that tough opening schedule makes it also easy to realize it's going to be every bit a struggle as I thought. But I'm glad Kobe is taking his time because it's not how the season starts but how it ends.

The Grambling situation has been far too complicated for me to address here. As someone whose parents and sister went to HBCUs and personally had to overcome my anti-HBCU bias in college, I'm saddened by what the administration and the Louisiana government have done here and I'm glad the players took an eloquent stand for their rights and safety.

Check out the excellent Monday edition of His & Hers Podcast with Jemele Hill, Michael Smith and HBCU product Bomani Jones speaking on it all.

Tell me which sounds better? The Boston Red Sox saw their nine-game World Series streak ended or they lost their first game in 27 years? Which is more accurate when you add that Boston has only been in three World Series since 1986 and had completely different teams in 2004, 2007 and this year. You decide but as I always say, context is so critical and we as the media need to do better with numbers to make it sound cool AND accurate

That said, on to the links of what I've done this week.

Prep Report: Arcadia Invitational Notes

When I used to write at my newspaper, I had an old column called the Prep Report. It was my commentary on things high school related and I loved being able to use it for features and observations.

One of my favorite things to cover was track and field. I didn't know much about the sport beforehand behind loving it at the Olympics but it quickly became one of my faves the more I was around it and learned how deep the community was around it.

It's a shame that I never made it out to the Arcadia Invitational due to one reason or another but there are few meets better than that one in the country. That's why I followed the results on Saturday when I saw them on Twitter. Two things stuck out to me right away.

1. State 100/200 meter champ Khalfani Muhammad is in ridiculous shape already. The Cal-bound senior won the 100 Arcadia in 10.46 seconds and even though they have a fast track, that's remarkable considering he won state in 10.44 last year. He may not approach that time again til the CIF Finals or the Masters Meet but that's a scary thought to imagine him that much faster.

The last two juniors who won the 100 meters ended up repeating so unless an injury happens, everyone else might be playing for second in two months at state.

2. Defending state long jump champion Adoree Jackson has already had a heck of a school year. A state championship in football where he had two ridiculous plays in the state game. A CIF sectional championship as a role player for the basketball team. How does he get ready for his encore?

By running the 3rd leg on Gardena Serra's 4 x 100 relay team that ran the fastest prep time in the nation (41.45) and jumping 24 feet, 6.5 inches into a slight wind for the longest distance in the nation. If there's a better athlete in the country, good luck finding him. Jackson's the latest marvel from a school that gave us Robert Woods and Marqise Lee and trust me, you'll want to know him.

Serra's come close to winning a boys state title twice (2010 and 2012) and I hope this is the year they do it. They've got 2 outstanding relay teams, Jackson in the long jump and defending state 110 hurdles champ Lloyd Siscard, who won the 300 hurdles at Arcadia (37.62).

I'm sure it'll be another fun season and I'll be watching as much as I can. The next big meet out here is at Mt. SAC on April 19/20.