SAN GABRIEL -- I headed over to San Gabriel's practice Wednesday morning. As soon as I walked on to the bleachers there were a handful of architects carrying blueprints while San Gabriel principal Jim Schofield gave the grand tour.

The Matadors field and part of their school will have a significant face lift later rather than sooner and that's the way the football team would like to have it.

San Gabriel's field was supposed to get major renovation in June but that was postponed to August. There was talk about the Matadors possibly not playing any home games this season on their field. I'll have more on that and the rest of the Almont League in Thursday's paper.

The Matadors looked good on the field. Coach Jones is excited about the team he's fielding.

It includes junior quarterback Isaac Valdez, a 4.0 student with a respectful demeanor. He went through some growing pains last year and now as a junior is taking on the leader role.

San Gabriel's former running back Nick Castillo transferred to Schurr after last season, but the Matadors don't seem fazed by the fishy move that might have CIF violations written all over it.

Not sure how many pages we'll have this year but you guys pretty much get the gist of what to expect in the football tab. Here's the breakdown:

*Cover story on Top 5 players this side of the 626

*Top 10 teams story

*My intro column

*League-by-league previews

*Capsules on every area team

*Team schedules

*Feature on new coaches in the area

*And story on how league realignments will shake up the CIF playoffs

All my copy has to be turned in by Tuesday, Aug. 26 so I'm cranking it out quick to make deadline. Don't worry, I got this.

My top 5 players will meet Friday for their photo shoot, which will be the centerpiece photo for the football tab.

Also, In case you're wondering how league rankings stack up, Calpreps.com ranked the top leagues in California.

Here's how it looks between our three coverage areas, the Star-News, Tribune and Whittier Daily News.

There are five new coaches in town. Some want to change the perception of their teams and others want to continue the rich football tradition.

Below are the new coaches and my $0.02 on my impression of them. I will have more about them in a feature I'm working on that'll run with our high school football preview.

**

KEPPEL

Miguel's Take: I haven't talked to Raul Solis. Our very own Andrew J. Campa wrote the Almont League preview for our football tab. The Aztecs have a 27 game losing streak so it's safe to say Solis has his work cut out for him.

**

BLAIR

Miguel's Take: Coach Gary Parks spent the better part of his coaching career at Verbum Dei and he played college ball at the University of New Mexico, the new home of former preps editor Scott Galletti. He's going to make quite a lot of changes but good changes. Like starting the first annual Blair Alumni football game that he's calling Viking Family Day. There's talk about doing more fundraising to buy a scoreboard and buy bleachers. Parks envisions a Blair stadium with bleachers so they can play under the lights and use Pasadena City College no more. Among other things, Parks also hired an academic counselor for the football team and the school followed suit by hiring another academic counselor for the sports program. That has never been done before at Blair. Parks is enforcing academics first and he says he believes in being a student first. He's implemented a one hour session for academic counseling that is mandatory, and any player who doesn't make that class will not suit up. Nice.

**

LA SALLE

Miguel's Take: Antoine Petersen is no stranger to the Lancers program. He has been involved with the school for nine years and now heads the football team. I don't imagine there being many changes. The Lancers will build on a 4-0 league record last season and going forward from there. Petersen sounded to me like a man with a good head on his shoulders.

**

MARSHALL

Miguel's Take: Ricky Pickens has been involved with the program for a few years unofficially but now comes on board as the head coach. Pickens is a natural motivator and that's something Marshall has lacked over the last few seasons. I spent about an hour on the phone with PIckens and the words he mentioned most were "motivate" and "heart". Pickens job from the start is to get Marshall to compete. He says he CAN teach heart and if Marshall can play with heart like Pickens thinks they can then don't expect another winless season.

**

MONROVIA

Miguel's Take: I wrote an earlier entry about Monrovia and new Coach Ryan Maddox. He spent about 10 years coaching at West Covina coaching various positions. He understands the tradition at Monrovia and wants to continue that with a bit of his own flavor.

**UPDATED (8/21, 3:04 p.m.): Here's an excerpt of another e-mail from today:

I am wondering why to date there has been absolutely no mention of the PHS Bulldog Team. Is there some sort of problem that I am unaware of? It has been abundantly clear to me now, that we may never see any ink in this paper ... Please let me know if there is something that has been done by anyone that would create such a situation. Pasadena is a large city with a rich football history and Pasadena High School happens to be a part of that history. I am going to give you and this paper the benefit of the doubt, and see that maybe if we win, you will give us the space in the paper that the young men practicing and playing their behinds off, that just so happen to represent Pasadena High School, a school that is named after the city in which we live, a school that has the name of the paper for which you work for, their just due!!!!!

Here was my response in its entirety to the Pasadena parent:

Hello XXXXX,

Hope this helped =)

Aaaaaaaannnd the Pasadena parent responded with this:

Thank you Miguel for your prompt response, this does make me feel as
though there is light at the end of the tunnel.

Thanks Again

Like I said, it's still early and it was just ONE story. Robledo thinks I've been one-sided, too, but I don't buy it.

MONROVIA -- I found my way over to Monrovia High late Tuesday afternoon but not before I got lost and misread the directions from the CIF Directory of Schools.

What I read was exit Colorado but somehow overlooked Santa Anita, which was the actual exit.

Ended up getting off on Myrtle since I didn't want to cross past the 605 freeway. Drove around and around until I finally ran into Colorado making my way West.

There's a nice little strip on Myrtle. I have to go check out one of these days.

I had been to Monrovia twice before. Once to cover a football game about six years ago and around the same time when I went to visit an old friend who was Monrovia's marching band director.

I found my way onto campus and saw the freshman practicing on the baseball field. I got to meet Coach Mendoza whom I told about my little adventure from the Star-News office to Monrovia.

"When in doubt look for the big 'M'", said Mendoza as he pointed towards the large "M" that was imprinted on one of the mountains.

I might get arthritis after typing all this but I know this is something you all want to see and chat about.

Now here's the $1,000 question:

Who's gonna pay for my medical bills? ha ha, j/k ....

LA CANADA -- I'd wish I had a nickel every time a coach would say, "If we can overcome injuries, then I think we'll be OK". I'd be a thousandare by now.

But it didn't feel like a cliche when Coach Jim Bonds said those 11 words.

It's always tough when a team loses a key player to a season-ending injury especially early in the season. It's even tougher when you lose your starting quarterback.

That was the case last season for St. Francis when Austin Heyworth went down with a torn right ACL. You guys know the rest: St. Francis finished 4-6 overall and 1-3 in Mission League.

How good was Heyworth? Well, lets just say he's now playing Division I ball at UC Davis.

I got to practice Monday afternoon and things were running smoothly as I'd expect from a team like St. Francis.

The parking wasn't as bad as I expected. It was a nice ride down the hill on Foothill.

I walked across the field and headed to a bench where there was shade (you know, the side where the home team sits). There were a handful of parents watching from up high on the stands.

I sat there and watched Dietrich Riley play mostly defensive back. He was vocal and definitely the anchor on defense, if not the team.

In today's sports section (front page, bottom right corner) ... I've gotten some positive feedback on the story and some, well, you knew negative feedback was also coming ...

It looks like Muir has provided bulletin board material for Diamond Ranch and with that in mind here is the first of many polls to come so have your say on this one.

========================================================

By Miguel A. Melendez
Staff Writer

PASADENA -- Being a high school football coach can sometimes mean not being a coach at all.

The logistics of running a program can become too tedious at times and even overwhelming for others.

Is the right equipment in stock? Is the field ready to go? Have the kids filled out and turned in all the necessary paperwork?

All of which are things every coach wants taken care of, preferably before the start of fall camp.

And as September approaches and the smell of the freshly cut grass roams campus, that can only mean one thing: getting back to the business of, well, coaching.

While some high school teams opened fall camp last week and others open next week, most opened Monday in preparation for their first game under the lights, which is just a few weeks away.

My boy Dylan Hernandez, the Dodgers beat writer at the Los Angeles Times, reports the Dodgers reached an agreement with the Padres on a deal to acquire Maddux.

Dylan writes:

"The Dodgers today reached agreement with the San Diego Padres on a deal to acquire veteran pitcher Greg Maddux, according to a person familiar with the deal, speaking on condition of anonymity because the deal had not been announced.

Dodger spokesman Josh Rawitch and General Manager Ned Colletti said no deal was in place, and declined to say whether the club was even in discussions about Maddux. Major League Baseball forbids club officials from discussing possible trades involving players who have been placed on waivers."

This should help the Dodgers rotation since it looks like their relievers can't hold leads. I like this trade a lot.

And it's funny I'm writing this right now with the TV in front of me at my desk playing the Dodgers re-broadcast of Monday's game when they blew a 5-1 lead in the 9th. Thankfully, Andre Ethier saved the day with a walk-off home run, yet again.

QB's

1. Reuben Thomas, Sr., Muir - Strong arm, mobile and dangerous on the run. Coach Ken Howard says he's the best player in the SGV. We'll have to wait and see.

2. Chase Rettig, Jr., La Salle - Already a veteran as a junior. Good arm and a good size at 6-foot-3, 200 pounds. Mobile enough to get outside though he can also throw in the pocket.

3. Matt Schilz, Sr., Maranatha - There's not much he can't do and with his size (6-foot-3, 190 pounds) look for good things. Broke his femur last season in the second game against St. Margaret's but Coach Joel Murphy is expecting big things from him this season.

4. Isaac Valdez, Jr., San Gabriel - The All Almont-League quarterback returns and he'll anchor the offense for the Matadors.

5. Steven Wright, Sr., San Marino - Wright is back and he'll direct things for the Titans. Don't be surprised if he suddenly develops into a really good quarterback, especially with Mooney handling the offense.

Had some unexpected things come up over the weekend and couldn't get the list out (I thought I had e-mailed the list to myself so I could post it over the weekend but I accidentally left the list in Pasadena. My bad).

So here are the top 5 RB's. Hope you all keep in mind these lists are never official and of course not set in stone. Some names could move around (like Dietrich Riley probably playing more running back than receiver).

But here it is ...

1. Marqis Williams, Sr., Monrovia

2. Marcus Wells, Sr., La Salle

3. Kendal Boggs, Sr., Monrovia

4. Nick Conora, Sr. Temple City

5. Gilbert Garcia, Sr., San Gabriel

Someone left a comment "ur an idiot" on my top WR thread. I've been called much worse. As always, I wanna hear your take on the list.

Here's my little disclaimer: I've been here for just a little over two weeks. I'm still trying to learn the names and figure out who's legit and who's all talk. As I get out to more and more practices I'll get a better feel and more comfortable about putting out lists like these. Nevertheless, I'm posting the list in hopes of riling you guys up and get you to talk with your feedback that surely helps me while I saddle up and get ready for the season.

I don't claim to know everything but based on the information I have received from the coaches in the area, here is my preliminary top 5 list.

It's hard for me to admit this, and I might not hear the end of it for writing this, but I just don't see the East having that much talent to put out top 10 players at each position. I think there are five solid players and the rest are up for debate. Am I wrong?

Things of course can change and you guys can have your say on who belongs and who doesn't. The wide receivers list is here. Check back Saturday afternoon for RB's and on Sunday for QB's.

So without further ado, here is the list topped by Dietrich Riley.

WR

1. Dietrich Riley, Jr., St. Francis: Hands down arguably the best athlete in the entire San Gabriel Valley.

2. Mitchell Crockom, Jr., Alhambra: His ability to read the ball and time his jumps along with speed and physical ability is what makes him as good, if not better, than Zion Babb who is now at Michigan.

3. Tyree Mills, Sr., Muir: Look for big things from him, I know Reuben Thomas will be looking for him a lot.

4. Brian Rambeau, Sr., Arcadia: His last name sounds like "Rambo" and I know Rambo was one tough dude. He's got the hands and will be a playmaker.

5. Joseph Jackson, Sr., Pasadena: Very physical and will be the catalyst on offense.

Your player didn't make the list? Does someone on the list not belong there? Go ahead, talk your smack (in orderly fashion, of course).

The San Gabriel Valley Football Officials Association is always looking for new members and it's not too late to start with them this football season.

Anyone who might be interested in joining should attend the next meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 2 at Rosemead High, 6:30 PM. No experience is necessary, and any males or females who enjoy football are welcomed. And yes, the games are paid games.

The San Gabriel Valley Football Officials Association has about 80 officials in the unit, and provides game officials for about 28 high schools in the San Gabriel Valley. They meet about 6 times for instruction during the season on Tuesday nights at Rosemead High.

Those seeking more information about joining should call the secretary Treasurer Bob McQueen at (626) 285-6608, or email him at ciffootball@charter.net.

Visit www.sgvfoa.com for more information.

It was a mission for me to get to Maranatha. Nevertheless, I found my way onto a campus that felt like an oasis; one of the most peaceful and beautiful high school campuses I have ever seen.

Got to talking with Coach Joel Murphy, in his third season as head coach, and he's looking for good things from his quarterback Matt Shields. The line is young but they have a good group I feel will compete with Brentwood in the Alpha League.

One interesting thing I noticed as I walked up to the coach's office:

The entire football team stays in a dorm-style building for one week. The team checked in Sunday night and will pack for home on Saturday after the 10:30 a.m. inter-squad scrimmage and of course, a BBQ (by the way, I'm not doing anything that afternoon in case .. you know .. wanna send an invite ... ha ha, j/k).

In the meantime, the players get an opportunity to bond with a week's worth of each other. Football teams often are referred to as a family and in almost all cases it is another family. But Maranatha found a way to take it to the extreme, which is a great thing for the school, the team, players and family.

...The top 5 QB's, RB's and WR's...

There's been one poster in particular who has been begging for top 10 players at each position. Well, no way I could give you an educated guess on the top 10 players at each position in the first week on the job; coaches and AD's out of town before the start of fall camp.

But after talking to numerous coaches it's safe to say I can dish out at least the top 5 players at QB, RB and WR.

I know someone requested top 10, but are there really 10 quality quarterbacks in the Valley? I think there definitely are five good quarterbacks and you could argue 6-10 at each position.

I'll have that list throughout Friday afternoon and possibly into Saturday, if not Monday for sure.

For now, give me your top 5 at each of those positions and if you think you're slicker than I am, list your top 5 DB's, DL's, OL's and LB's ... Or better yet, list your top 10!

This could be dangerous.

p.s. You guys have been fabulous and cordial on the comments. That's always appreciated and makes my job easier to moderate the comments, thanks!

I'm hoping I don't get screwed because I'm new here. Coaches/AD's do return calls, right?

My copy deadline for the football preview tab is Aug. 26 and I'm trying to get the team capsules done by the end of this week. From the 17 team capsules I am in charge of, 14 are done.

That means four coaches/AD's have not returned repeated calls from me and here is the list:

-Bosco Tech

-Flintridge Prep

-La Canada

If you are a coach, athletic director or know either one please have them call me at the office. 626.578.6300 (hit "0" for the operator and ask for Miguel Melendez).

I appreciate the help guys.

If you didn't know by now the blog had been down since Tuesday afternoon. Our tech guys in West Covina, Los Angeles and Denver put their minds together and have fixed it.

Since the blog had been down I've been getting the football preview together (it's slated to publish Sept. 3, but don't quote me on that).

I know you guys want top 10 in every position and I hope to get that out here on the blog before the preview runs. But right now my priority has been to turn in copy by deadline and in the meantime I will keep you all informed about practices that I attend.

As far as the creepy note goes, I can get by. If I can handle Mission Viejo and Mater Dei fans I think I can handle anything on this side.

And looks like one person is already calling for my head, but I'm here to stay.

First thing first, don't forget to bring your sunglasses and sun tan for this year's Turkey Tussle. It'll be held on Saturday, Nov. 15, at 1 p.m. at the Rose Bowl, of course. I'll have a story in Tuesday's paper about camps opening.

Oh, and then there's this ...

I don't know about you but where I come from these are fighting words.

Just got off the phone with Pasadena coach Kevin Mills. The Bulldogs have five returning starters and despite a young team and an inexperienced quarterback, Mills said:

"I like our chances in the Pacific League. I'm not going to put anybody ahead of us. We have just as good a chance as anybody."

And what about Muir? They return a good group AND beat the Bulldogs in the Turkey Tussle last year.

"(We) gave them the game," responded Mills when asked what happened last year against Muir.

Will Muir get a run for its money? Sounds like Mills is betting on it.

When I was at The Register I covered track & field for one season after an editor came in and made his changes. When he left and a new editor was in place I was shifted back to my old beat, tennis.

Well, during that time covering track I got a lot of nasty e-mails about my coverage. The message boards were blowing up and one guy in particular started a little campaign to get me fired.

Coaches, parents and track experts always said I was doing a good job and never mind the rude e-mails. But one night after covering a track meet all day and night, I walked over to my car in the school parking lot and found three nasty notes that were left on the windshield of my car!

Later in the office my colleagues and I had a good laugh about it.

And then yesterday happened, minus the windshield and nasty notes.

As I was making calls to coaches I got a note sent to me here at the Star-News offices in Pasadena. The front desk receptionist tapped my shoulder and said, "This note came for you."

The note in part reads:

Please find more space in your sports pages for John Muir's football team preseason and regular. I love the Pasadena star news and John Muir football.

Hmmm ... Am I being stalked? Should I take an entourage with me to Muir games? Sure, it was a tame not but still, to have it HAND DELIVERED to me threw me off just a bit. The person who wrote the note signed it but it's not an actual name. I think it's a nickname but I won't disclose the name.

Maybe I'm just paranoid.

OK, it's not THAT extreme but you get the idea.

Here's the deal, we're always looking for correspondents to cover Friday night football games, and since all the experts reside here, I thought I'd start with you. We generally don't ask that you write too much, and in some cases will just ask that you call in the box score with a recap of the game.

You will receive a press pass to cover the games from the sidelines or in the press box, and be paid a small fee for your time.

If you're a journalism major or thinking about it, this is ideal. If you're a football junkie who can spell, this will be great for you also. We're thinking of having a correspondents meeting late next week so get back to me as quickly as possible. To be considered, please send an email with your contact information to set up an interview.
miguel.melendez@sgvn.com

p.s. Hey bruinlaker4, I read your comment from the previous entry and to answer your question, yes, we will be needing a few people to help us cover football games. Shoot me an e-mail and we'll go from there. Thanks for the nice comment and yes, Go Bruins!

I've been on the phone with coaches pretty much all day. A lot of good information but here's one tidbit I'm sure yall would like to chew on:

Mike Mooney is back on the sidelines, but it's not what you think.

Coach D.R. Moreland is in control of the reigns at San Marino but it's looking like Mooney now is a full-time assistant coach on Moreland's staff.

Mooney coached a long time at Temple City before taking over as assistant principal last season. Mooney helped out with the football team from time to time last season but officially is coming on board this season. He will concentrate on the offensive line.

An open discussion about whoever and whatever you wanna talk about...

And if it's too much for you to handle don't worry, I'll bring in reinforcements.....

As a former band geek (I played the trombone for nearly 15 years) I know this time a season it's not just football.

The cheerleaders are getting their routines down and of course the soundtrack of every football game are the marching bands.

I know a good marching band when I see one and I have to give props to the Apache marching band.

They march with precision and have a good sound.

Freddy is trying to convince me that no band in the WSGV compares to the Muir drumline. I haven't seen them in a long time but my vote right now goes to Arcadia High.

Can't have it all, Muir.

So with that in mind, who are the best marching bands in the area?

My top 5:

1. Arcadia

2. Muir

3. Temple City

4. Monrovia

5. Pasadena

Here's my little confession: I auditioned twice to be in the Tournament of Roses Honor Marching Band and twice was denied, and I'm still bummed about it.

This is Freddy sneaking in and adding my two cents...I'll take the Muir drumline instead anytime.

You always hate to report news like this.

Maranatha's John Chavez died after he slipped and fell near the top of a waterfall, Inyo County Sheriff's officials said.

Talked to coach Joel Murphy on Thursday about this. The team had a meeting Wednesday night and no doubt they'll dedicate this season to Chavez who was going to be a starting linebacker for the Minutemen.

Here's the release from Maranatha High:

Maranatha Mourns Death of Student John Chavez

PASADENA -- Maranatha High School student John Chavez died on Wednesday, August 6th in a hiking accident at a summer camp in Southern California. He was 16.

....My thoughts and prayers go out to the Chavez family, friends and anyone who knew him....

Some schools start Aug. 18 and some start as early as Monday. If you know when your teams are starting send a comment.

Here are the schools I have so far:

Arcadia: Aug. 18

La Salle: Tuesday, Aug. 11, 9-12 and 4-7; Wed and on: 8-11, 3-6. One-a-day the following week.

Maranatha: Aug. 11

Muir: Aug. 18

Joseph Franco, a St. Francis 2007 grad and freshmen at CSUN, signed a national letter of intent to play for the Matadors this upcoming season.

Franco is an outside back and will add depth to the Matadors backline. The release also adds Franco played for Los Angeles Futbol Club, aka LAFC.

For those not in the know, LAFC is a very good club soccer team and recently played in the finals of the U.S. Soccer Development Academy about a month ago at The Home Depot Center.

The former Star-News first teamer led the Golden Knights last season to a 25-2-1 record.

Muir starts hell week on Aug. 18 but assistant football coach Antyone Sims (fourth year overall, second year offensive coordinator) is not shying away from heating things up. (Note: Head coach Ken Howard did not attend the coach's meeting Wednesday at Muir High)

Cocky? No.

Confident? Yes.

Sims talked about the team's strengths and there seems to be plenty. Sims added he's excited about the realignment for the playoffs. Time to declare the true San Gabriel Valley champion.

"We're ready to show we're for real," Sims said.

And he didn't blink when he said that.

St. Francis this, Diamond Ranch that, it didn't t seem to faze Sims or the Mustangs.

They're ready to show what they've got and against Diamond Ranch in Diamond Bar won't be walk in the park. The stands I'm sure will be packed for this game.

But first thing first.

Ryan Hollins, formerly of Muir High and UCLA, was spotted just outside the Muir basketball gym. The Ryan Hollins Camp had just concluded and he was seen chatting with some coaches.

There were a handful of young kids and high school-aged kids playing ball in the stuffy gym.

It's always nice to see former college and pro ballers come back to their community and give back. I haven't seen much of Hollins' camp publicized but kudos to Hollins for giving back to his community.

The media tends to focus on just the negative stuff and when good things are being done by pro players it often goes unsaid. Here's hoping good karma heads your way, Ryan.

I was on my way over to Muir High to meet the Mustang football coaches. I couldn't find them or the football office until I ran into Sheldon, who greeted me with a friendly smile and firm handshake.

Sheldon helped me locate the football coaches' office and some of the football coaches.

I will have more on Muir football in Thursday morning's blog. All I gotta say is you have to tune in. Stang fans definitely will love what they'll read.

The rest of you, well, just be sure you're sitting when reading.

Here's proof that knuckleheads come in all shapes and sizes.

I'm all for being frustrated if things do go right whether it's on the mound, on the hardwood or on the pitch, but don't disrespect your teammates and coaches by showing classless moves.

Texas Rangers pitcher C.J. Wilson pouted like a little kid after Texas manager Ron Washington pulled him in the eighth. Wilson apparently wasn't happy being taken out and before Washington could retrieve the ball, Wilson tossed the ball to him. Washington, pulled him back and made Wilson hand him the ball. The sad part is this is only one of numerous classless moves by Wilson.

I see a lot classless stuff when I cover games and I've gotten into the habit of posting unacceptable behavior when I blogged at The Register.

I usually don't mention names but when something clearly is out of hand I'll write about it on the blog.

I covered a soccer game between two OC soccer powerhouses last year and a lot was claimed to have said and done: from home fans spitting the visiting team to cursing. Keep in mind both these teams are Catholic schools. Some of those allegations made the paper (coach's quotes) just as did a brawl that broke out at a soccer game I covered a few years ago. The AD's wanted me to keep that out of the paper but of course that didn't happen.

As a reporter I see a lot and my intent never is to put a kid or school to shame, but actions such as Wilson's are unacceptable at any level, me thinks.

scout.com released its top 300 recruits list and Arcadia's Todd Golper is listed the 104th best recruit in the nation from the class of 2009.

Golper is listed as a middle linebacker committed of course to UCLA and is ranked No. 5 at his position.

Here's what the experts over at scout.com said about Golper:

Golper is excellent in pass coverage, witness his slew of interceptions last fall, and he's a very good and solid tackler. A classic middle linebacker, Golper has a high football IQ, great leadership skills and is a gamer.

In case you're wondering and haven't been living on Earth, Mater Dei and USC commit quarterback Matt Barkley holds the No. 1 spot.

Should Golper move to No. 1 on the "Top 5 players this side of the 626"?

Here's hoping Golper has a great season and gives fellow Bruins fans something to cheer about.