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By Fred Altieri Observer Reporter The inviting nights of a cooling autumn were still just around the corner when the undefeated San Pedro High football team visited Jerry Chabola Stadium at Culver City High on Friday, September 19. But the scoring was still hot as both teams meeting for the first time combined for seven touchdowns, seven extra-point kicks and one field goal each as the #3 city-ranked Pirates held off the host Centaurs and a fourth quarter comeback for a 38-17 victory. The game...
By Mitch Chortkoff Sports Editor The Angels clinched their division championship the fastest of any team this season. That’s the good news for Angel fans. The bad news is the team that clinches first seldom wins the World Series. As a columnist I’m expected to toss out opinions to help readers make their choices. But, being honest, I’m admitting that I don’t have a strong opinion on how the Angels are going to do, The Angels should be taken seriously because of their hitting. They’re a scary o...
By Fred Altieri Observer Reporter Who wouldn't want to run in The Great Cow Run, one of the best-named athletic events in Southern California? And that's exactly how the Culver City High 2014 cross country team began its season at Cerritos Regional County Park to compete against 29 other high schools on Saturday, September 6. According to the race's website: "The invitational has grown in order to incorporate the theme of the cow due to the history of Cerritos formerly known as Dairy Valley." Th...
By Fred Altieri Observer Reporter Game, set, match. The 2014 Culver City High girls tennis team won its season home-opener, 11-7 on Tuesday, September 9, against Windward School, an emerging local private school athletic rival. The win didn’t come as easily as expected but the Centaurs evened their season won-lost record after falling in the season opener at Torrance High last Thursday. Leading the way for the Centaurs was Danielle Garrido, who demonstrated why she is one of the elite junior t...
By Mitch Chortkoff Sports Editor After many years of rumors about the National Football League returning to Los Angeles it’s easy to dismiss such talk now. But one of these years an NFL may move here, after all. NFL sources say the teams are paying more attention to Los Angeles now because they saw that $2 billion was paid by Steve Ballmer to buy the Clippers. The feeling is that if that kind of money is being poured into LA they’d be glad to get some of it. Three teams are believed to be at...
By Fred Altieri Observer Reporter The first line in this story easily could have read: 'On any given Friday night...' Ultimately it was a game that evoked an element often missing from high school football now as the focus frequently evolves around big-time recruiting football programs: the thrill of the unknown until the final seconds tick away. The fans at Friday night's 2014 Centaur home-opener in Jerry Chabola Stadium were fortunate to have experienced such as the Peninsula High Panthers...
By Mitch Chortkoff Sports Editor I never like to see anyone lose their job. If someone screws up I look for ways he or she can learn from a mistake. But this does not apply to Ray Rice, the Baltimore Ravens’ running back who’s been released from the team and banned from signing with another one in the National Football League, pending approval by the commissioner. It’s going to be a long time, perhaps never before Rice can play in the league again. After a video was released this week showi...
By Mitch Chortkoff Sports Editor It’s been quite a start to USC’s football season. In the first game, before 76,000 in the Coliseum, new head coach Steve Sarkisian introduced a go-go offense that resulted in the Trojans running 105 plays, more than 20 more that they averaged last season as USC won, 52-13 In the second game, Stanford dominated play but had trouble getting into the end zone and USC won, 13-10. The drama occurred in the second half when Sarkisian was arguing with the officials and...
By Fred Altieri Observer Reporter The Culver City High 2014 varsity football team customarily began another year with a very tough pre-league season schedule. Last year was a prime example of this forging process that has served the Centaurs well during the past five years culminating with a 5-0 record and the 2013 Ocean League Championship. Last Friday the Centaurs took a short excursion south to the ‘friendly’ confines of West High School in Torrance to take on the CIF Southern Section div...
By Mitch Chortkoff Sports Editor It’s very unusual for the commissioner of a professional sports league to admit he failed in making a major decision. But National Football League commissioner Roger Goodell did exactly that last week. “I didn’t get it right,” he admitted in reference to a mere two-game suspension for Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice in a domestic violence case. Obviously, Goodell was surprised by the harsh criticism he and the NFL received after Rice’s light sentence...
By Mitch Chortkoff Sports editor The first weekend of the college football season brought a surprise to fans in Los Angeles. A heralded UCLA team looked ordinary in a 28-20 victory at Virginia, which had a 2-10 record last season. A troubled USC team, which had internal problems all week, trampled Fresno State, 52-13. UCLA quarterback Brett Hundley, regarded as a Heisman Trophy candidate, struggled. In fact, UCLA had to rely on its defense for three touchdowns in the second quarter while the...
By Mitch Chortkoff Sports Editor When major league baseball added a second wild card team to this season’s playoffs I wasn’t sure this was a good idea. But I was wrong. With more teams in contention it’s been a bonanza for fans. Almost every division has interesting races. The one that intrigues me the most is the American League Central, where heavily favored Detroit has been receiving a major challenge from Kansas City. The Royals thought they were pretty good a couple of years ago but they we...
By Mitch Chortkoff Sports Editor Doc Rivers has proven himself over the years, most recently as coach of the Boston Celtics and then the Clippers. Obviously, new Clippers owner Steve Ballmer appreciate having Rivers here. It was announced this week that Rivers has signed to remain with the Clippers until 2019. Ballmer has said he'll provide support for Rivers and his staff as the team, on the brink of reaching the NBA Finals the last couple of years attempts to reach that goal. "We're moving...
By Mitch Chortkoff Sports Editor Now that the Clippers have a new owner, a proven outstanding coach and two of the NBA's best players they seem equipped for an outstanding season. Where does that leave the Lakers, who were targeting Kevin Love until he decided to sign a five-year contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers? The Lakers made a run at Carmelo Anthony this summer but were saving salary cap money for next summer's free a agent class, led by Love, the former UCLA star. They were counting...
By Fred Altieri Observer Sports Reporter One thing is for certain, this fall edition of the Culver City High girls tennis team will be swinging into the unknown as it takes on not only two perennial Ocean League powerhouses but also opens the season against very tough competition from familiar South Bay tennis programs. This past week, led by head coach Phil Rothenberg and assistant coach Seth Lewkow conducting drills and instruction, the girls were practicing as they have been for practically...
By Mitch Chortkoff Sports Editor Tyler Skaggs, the Angels’ 23-year-old starting pitcher, will undergo Tommy John surgery and will miss the rest of this season and most likely all of next season. Skaggs has a 5-5 record and 4.30 earned run average. He was injured in a July 31 game and given the choice of surgery or a long rehabilitation process. “I want to get this taken care of so I’ll be ready for the 2016 season,” he said. Skaggs was a star at Santa Monica High and was the 40th selecti...
By Mitch Chortkoff Sports Editor The San Antonio Spurs are not only NBA champions they have the reputation of frequently being a few steps ahead of opponents in a variety of ways. I admire the Spurs for adding someone to their roster every season, usually a relatively unknown player from Europe or a U.S. collegian who wasn’t an All-American. Frequently these players become key additions to support Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Mano Ginobli. So it didn’t surprise me when last week the Spurs bec...
By Mitch Chortkoff Sports Editor When Pauley Pavilion was modernized two years go the UCLA basketball team played its home schedule primarily at the Sports Arena. Due to heavy flooding last week which included the Pauley Pavilion playing court being warped, the possibility existed the Bruins would again have to find an alternate site for the upcoming season. However, that isn't likely. UCLA officials have determined there's no structural damage to Pauley Pavilion due to the flooding. However,...
By Mitch Chortkoff Sports Editor With the college football season coming up, Lane Kiffin is my topic for the day. A brief resume: Kiffin has been head coach with the Oakland Raiders and with Tennessee and USC. The Trojans fired him last season after they got off to a slow start. Now Kiffin has become offensive co-ordinator at Alabama on Nick Saban's staff. "Considering everything I'm veryhappy to have this job before I reach 40," said Kiffin. "I thought this would be a great opportunity if it...
By fred Altieri Observer reporter The time tested beaten paths coming and going through Culver City have become a bit more beaten during these dog days of summer 2014. There are more teenagers running the streets, parks and hills... and that's a good thing. Cross country running at Culver City High is enjoying a renaissance as the girls and boys teams prepare for the upcoming 2014 fall season. Head coach Tom Fritzius touched on the training and potential of his current teams and the renewed...
By Mitch Chortkoff Sports Editor It’s not a lot of fun being hospitalized following surgery but idle time is available. My choice the last month was to focus on baseball, especially because the Dodgers and Angels are doing well. All opinions, of course, come from someone watching on television, listening to radio rather than being at the games along with getting information from colleagues on the phone. Nobody in either the National or American League Is running away from the field. Parity is t...
By Mitch Chortkoff Sports Editor Byron Scott said Tuesday the Lakers' organization is all about winning championships. The former backcourt partner of Magic Johnson has become the Lakers' head coach But don't expect a championship in the upcoming season. There are too many better teams in the NBA right now. What fans should expect is a far better Laker team than last season and, at best, a chance of making the playoffs. There was very little defense last season when Mike D'Antoni was the coach....
By Fred Altieri Observer Sports Reporter Culver City High will have two new Ocean League opponents to contend with for the approaching athletic school year due to league realignments within the South Bay Athletic Association: El Segundo High and Lawndale High. And that means only one thing... across the board the competition just got tougher. Opportunely, it's the shot in arm the Ocean League needed as it seeks to improve upon its recent resurgent athletic success within the CIF Southern...
By Fred Altieri Observer Sports Reporter Part 2 of 2. Part 1 appeared in last week's Culver City Observer. Both Part 1 and Part 2 are available for viewing online at www.culvercityobserver.com The school's student sports medicine trainers won the CIF competition for the second year in a row at the Southern Section Championships at St. Francis High School. Marcos White does an unbelievable job. He's our head trainer in charge of all of our teams. He runs the student training program during the...
By Fred Altieri Observer Sports Reporter Part 1 of 2. Part 2 will appear in next week's edition of the Culver City Observer Tom Salter is entering for his third year as athletic director for Culver City High School. He and the 22 head coaches of the school's sports programs and their staffs are already hard at work as they prepare for another challenging year in the Ocean League beginning this September. He took time out of his demanding schedule to review the past 2013-14 school year and gave...
