Andy's Rants

By Andy Villanueva
After returning from a victorious night at Los Alamitos Racecourse, I give you the Christmas edition of rants to warm your spirit.
I watched the D-2 State Championship game between Cathedral of San Diego and St. Mary's of Stockton.
The feeling I got from the game was Southeast Champion Charter Oak would have made a strong showing and their defense could have shut down the Rams offense.
The Southern part of the California represented well as four of the five Champions came from South of Bakersfield.
Long Beach Poly and Corona Centennial represented the Southern Section and went 1-1.
The Jackrabbits were beaten by a very good Grant High School team from Sacramento, that took every punch Long Beach Poly had.
If you second guess Jackrabbit Head Coach Raul Lara is his playing calling with less then a minute left.
His two half-back passes were in bounds and were snuffed out by Pacers defense. It would have led to a quicker loss. They should have gone vertical after a successful first and down early in the drive.
The Huskies started out shaky against the Spartans when their first punt attempted was hiked over the kicker. The Spartans scored on the subsequent drive, but were held in check through out the game.
It was nice to have the Bowl committee to pit these two teams against each other. It was also redemption for Corona-Centennial who lost in the title game last year to Concord De La Salle.
Can someone explain to me (I'm sure Joe or John will) how Dodger shortstop Rafael Furcal can get $10 million dollars? Thats lots of cash for a player with recent back surgery.
You would think that Ned Colletti can do two things at once. He appears like the high school kid waiting to be asked to dance by a pretty girl when it comes to the Manny issue. If the Dodgers want Ramirez that badly, offer him what your willing to pay him or look elsewhere.
In Orange County, Angels General Manager Tony Reagins is in hot pursuit for switch-hitting first baseman Mark Teixeira who is also a Scott Boras client.
Ten years and $19.5 Million a year will get it done. I just don't think the Angels want to pay that type of money. Los Angeles, however needs to protect an aging Vlad Guerrero.
I know not many noticed, but David Beckham is trying to spread the word of soccer to A.C. Milan. If he couldn't do it here, what makes him think he can be successful in the Italian League. Oh, thats right. A.C. Milan is one of the most recognizable teams in the world.
Our interview with Ontario Reign head coach Karl Taylor was fun. I think a couple of times his Canadian came out and scared Tim Peterson.
A couple holiday hopes.
Joe Torosian - A week where one of us doesn't mention his name in one of our stories. Also, a fantasy league team that is better than John Scanlan.
John Scanlan – A starting quarterback for his Cleveland Browns.
Tim Peterson – Another Friday night at Muir Stadium.
Duane Barker – The perfect shot.
George Hernandez – An extra battery for his video camera.
Hope everyone has a Happy Holidays.
Andy can be reached at avillanueva3rd@yahoo.com