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  • St. Francis ends Culver City's dream boy's lacrosse season

    Steve Finley, Sports Editor|Jun 10, 2021

    Culver City's dream lacrosse season came to a disappointing end last Tuesday on the Culver City high school campus when La Canada St. Francis out lasted the Centaurs, 15-8 in the Division 2 CIF championship game. It was a hard-fought game played on a chilly June night. Talk about June Gloom. The Centaurs entered the championship game with high expectations having won their first three CIF playoff games 21-0 against El Dorado, 17-3 against Redondo Union and 8-5 against Aliso Niguel. Against St....

  • Centaurs make their presence felt in the CIF playoffs

    Steve Finley, Sports Editor|Jun 3, 2021

    The pandemic can not stop the Culver City varsity sports machine. It keeps rolling along. During the past week seven Culver City teams played and ran in the prestigious CIF playoffs. Baseball, boys' basketball, boys' and girls' lacrosse, girls' softball and boys' and girls' track and field teams tried to keep the Culver City name alive in Southern California high school sports world. Last Saturday the girls' lacrosse team lost to Murrieta Mesa 13-9 on the road and last Tuesday the boys'...

  • Culver City's best boy's lacrosse team hopes to win a title

    Steve Finley, Sports Editor|May 27, 2021

    When someone says you are the best, that puts a lot of pressure on that team. Just ask the Lakers and Dodgers. The Culver City boys' lacrosse team hopes to prove everyone right when they start the CIF playoffs at home Friday at 6 p.m. against El Dorado from Placentia. The Centaurs are the No. 2 seeded team in Division 2. They are 16-2 overall and 8-0 in the Ocean league. They outscored their league opponents 127-6. "This is the best team in Culver City history. We knew how good this years team...

  • Culver City basketball is building a strong foundation for the future

    Steve Finley, Sports Editor|May 27, 2021

    For many years Culver City high school basketball has been an average program. While other sports have won league and CIF Championships the basketball program has struggled at times but the last fours year the Centaurs have raised the bar. Last Wednesday the varsity team started their quest to make a deep CIF playoff run in a very tough Division 2A when they played Simi Valley. Their next game is Friday on the road against the winner of the Hilcrest versus JW North game. The Centaurs finished th...

  • Unsung heroes make athletic departments shine in the spotlight

    Steve Finley, Sports Editor|May 20, 2021

    Culver City athletic department and teams are some of the bests in Southern California. For the past 50 years the Centaurs have produced competitive and championship teams in almost every sport. During the past 10 years league championships have become routine and add to that Culver City's several CIF team championships and individual CIF champions in track and field. What makes a good athletic department? School administrators, an attentive athletic director, good coaches but probably the most...

  • Culver City teams trying to stay competitive in Bay League

    Steve Finley, Sports Editor|May 13, 2021

    Moving from the Ocean League to the more competitive Bay League has been a challenge for some of the athletic teams this year. Football, boys' basketball, boys and girls track and field and softball have proved to be some of the top teams in the league but other teams have struggled. The football team finished their season several weeks ago with a 4-1 overall record and a 4-0 league record which was good enough for first place. The boys' basketball team currently has a 7-3 overall record and a...

  • Eckhaus and Pait make the Los Angeles Times first team

    Steve Finley, Sports Editor|May 13, 2021

    For the first time in school history two Culver City football players made the Los Angeles Times Southern California first team. Quarterback Zevi Eckhaus and receiver Emari Pait. Eckhaus was also named Back of the Year. Both players are seniors. Normally these awards are given to the top Division 1 schools that are nationally ranked like Mater Dei and St. John Bosco so to have two Culver City players on the first team is really special. Eckhaus, who will be playing in the fall for Bryant...

  • Trojans dominate the Bruins in track and field

    Steve Finley, Sports Editor|May 6, 2021

    The USC Trojans came into Westwood last Sunday and dominated the UCLA Bruins in their annual dual meet. The Bruins men dropped the baton in the 400-meter relay in one of the first races on the track and from there it was all downhill for what use to be one of the top track and filed programs in the nation. The Trojan men won 114-42 and the Lady Trojans defeated the Bruins 93-70. On the way to the victories the Trojans set several meet records and one school. One meet record that was set has a...

  • Coach Hooper does double duty in the weight room and on the field

    Steve Finley, Sports Editor|May 6, 2021

    Culver City high school football team has some of the best coaches in Southern California and one of them is their strength and conditioning and wide receiver coach Michael Hooper. Hooper is a former Culver City star football player who was a three starter at defensive back from 2000-2002. After making the ALL-CIF team as a senior he played college football for San Jose State and after graduating from San Jose he played in the Arena Football League for the Stockton Lighting. Having a...

  • Culver City's Greatest of All-Time

    Steve Finley, Sports Editor|Apr 29, 2021

    The entertainment world had Elvis Presley and Michael Jackson. The sports world has Tom Brady and Michael Jordan, and Culver City high school has Zevi Eckhaus. Obviously is not logical to compare a Culver City a high school athlete to some of the world's greatest but greatness is greatness at any level. For those of us who have witnessed his extraordinary talents the last three years we saw a junior Drew Brees. During this past season that ended a few weeks ago Eckhaus broke the school career...

  • Track is back at Culver City high school

    Steve Finley, Sports Editor|Apr 22, 2021

    The track and field season kicked off at Culver City high school last Saturday when the Centaurs hosted Redondo Union in a dual meet. Their next meet is Saturday at North Torrance at 9:15 a.m. "It was good for the first meet," said girl's head coach Rayfield M. Beaton. "I look at the meet to see where we are, and I liked what I saw. Our girls 4X100 relay team ran the fastest first meet time in the last seven years I have coached here. Their 49.3 time is one the fastest times in CIF right now."...

  • The Lakers and Clippers are fighting for position in the conference

    Steve Finley, Sports Editor|Apr 8, 2021

    The Lakers and the Clippers are in a dog fight in the Western Conference. With both teams fighting the injury bug they are just trying to stay in the top four of the conference. The Clippers appear to be ahead of the Lakers right now because Anthony Davis and LeBron James are still out with injuries and now newly acquired center Andre Drummond is also out with a toe injury. The Clippers are missing starting center Serge Ibaka because of a back injury but backup center Ivica Zubac is having an...

  • Elgin Baylor invented hang time

    Steve Finley, Sports Editor|Mar 25, 2021

    Growing up in Los Angeles I remember the Lakers, Dodgers and Rams very well. There players were bigger than life but in the early years a few players always stood above the rest. Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale from the Dodgers, Ramon Gabriel and the fearsome foursome from the Rams and Elgin Baylor and Jerry West from the Lakers. Baylor died last Monday of natural causes at the age of 86. When he died that bridge that connected Los Angeles to the old Laker team in Minneapolis, Minnesota fell into...

  • Culver City football opens Bay League against Mira Costa

    Steve Finley, Sports Editor|Mar 18, 2021

    Culver City's first opponent in their new league will be a familiar one. The Centaurs and the Mira Costa Mustangs have had some classic battles over the years but the one on Friday night figures to ranked at the top of the list. Not only is this the first game in a pandemic season but Mira Costa may have a quarterback that can go toe to toe with Culver City great signal caller, Zevi Eckhaus. Kick off is set for 7 p.m. at Mira Costa. Only family members will be allowed to attend the game. Culver...

  • Centaurs look for seniors to help navigate through new league

    Steve Finley, Sports Editor|Mar 11, 2021

    With a new league there will be new challenges for the Culver City varsity, junior varsity and freshmen football teams. The Bay League figures to be slightly more competitive than the Ocean League that the team played in for many years. Mira Costa, Peninsula, Palos Verdes, Redondo Union and Santa Monica are now their opponents. The good news for the varsity team is their team is loaded with a bevy of talented seniors. "We have been blessed to have a lot of seniors this year," said Culver City...

  • Culver City high school football is back

    Steve Finley, Sports Editor|Mar 4, 2021

    After many months of checking tier levels, making sure coronavirus levels have dropped, the State of California, the County of Los Angeles, the CIF Southern Section office, the City of Culver City and the Culver City Unified School District have cleared most of the schools in Southern California to play outdoor sports this year. Although several sports have been cleared football is at the top of the list. "I found out that it was a strong possibility about two weeks ago that all we needed was so...

  • Tampa Bay coach is the Most Valuable person

    Steve Finley, Sports Editor|Feb 11, 2021

    Leave no doubt. That is what Tampa Bay Buccaneer quarterback Tom Brady did win he won his record setting seventh Super Bowl last Sunday. Without a doubt he is the best quarterback in history at any level. The 43-year-old quarterback from northern California and the University of Michigan proved once again that he can make a gigantic difference on almost any team he plays on. Brady deserves a lot of credit for Tampa Bay’s turn around, but the real hero is their speed and conditioning coach R...

  • Anderson's leadership can keep the Trojans on top

    Steve Finley, Sports Editor|Feb 11, 2021

    The USC men's basketball team moved into the top 25 nationally rankings at No. 20 after they beat UCLA 66-48 last Saturday. Although the Bruins were missing some key players the Trojans look like the better team even if the Bruins had all of their players. The main reason, Ethan Anderson. If Anderson can continue to play like he did against UCLA, the Trojans will be hard to beat in Pac-12 play. "This was a very big night for me just because I haven't seen my shots fall the way I wanted them...

  • Rivalries take on different meanings in college sports

    Steve Finley, Sports Editor|Feb 4, 2021

    There is nothing like rivalries in college sports. UCLA against USC and Ohio State versus Michigan are two of the most famous rivalries in college. In professional sports you can mention the Lakers and the Celtics, Dodgers and Giants but if those teams are not winning the intensity of the rivalry drops down a notch. When UCLA and USC lock horns it's always special regardless of the team's records. On Saturday, the Bruins and Trojans men's basketball teams will battle on USC's home court at 7...

  • Local college and professional basketball teams look good

    Steve Finley, Sports Editor|Jan 14, 2021

    The season is still early but if the early returns are factual the UCLA men's basketball team, USC men's basketball team and the UCLA women's basketball team are moving in the right direction. Throw in the Los Angeles Lakers and the Los Angeles Clippers and the local basketball landscape in Los Angeles looks very impressive during this pandemic season. Despite the challenges presented by the virus these teams have been successful so far this season. The Lakers have the best record in the NBA at...

  • Third generation Culver City athlete is a late bloomer

    Steve Finley, Sports Editor|Jan 14, 2021

    Destiny comes in different forms. For Culver City volleyball player Brandon Horn-Bostel his destiny was to be a volleyball player and his story started many years ago when his grandfather attended Culver High School and played sports. Then it was his mother's turn to continue the athletic excellence at Culver City. Now Brandon completed the third-generation cycle at Culver City high school. Horn-Bostel accepted a scholarship offer from Charleston University in West Virginia a few months ago to...

  • Recruiting spotlight shines bight on Centaur student-athletes

    Steve Finley, Sports Editor|Jan 7, 2021

    The coronavirus has disrupted high school sports like the Rams defensive lineman Aaron Donald creates havoc in an opponent's backfield. Every month good and bad information comes out of the CIF offices regarding the state of high school sports in California. Although no sports have been played Culver City continues to post winning records when it comes to winning scholarships. The highly ranked football program is not the only Centaur sport that is producing highly rated student-athletes. Every...

  • The Rams have one more chance to make the playoffs

    Steve Finley, Sports Editor|Dec 31, 2020

    The Rams have come to that fork in the road. If they beat Arizona on Sunday or if the Chicago Bears loose to the Green Bay Packers the Rams are in the playoffs as a wild card team. If they lose and Chicago wins, they are out. The game against Arizona will start at 1:25 p.m. at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood. The Rams will have to win the game without starting quarterback Jared Goff. He will miss the game after breaking his thumb against the Seattle Seahawks last Sunday during their 20-9 defeat. This...

  • The recruiting spotlight shines bight on Centaur student-athletes

    Steve Finley, Sports Editor|Dec 24, 2020

    The coronavirus has disrupted high school sports like the Rams defensive lineman Aaron Donald creates havoc in an opponent's backfield. Every month good and bad information comes out of the CIF offices regarding the state of high school sports in California. Although no sports have been played Culver City continues to post winning records when it comes to winning scholarships. The highly ranked football program is not the only Centaur sport that is producing highly rated student-athletes. Every...

  • It's still UCLA against USC in the Rose Bowl on Saturday

    Steve Finley, Sports Editor|Dec 10, 2020

    The show must go on. There will be no fans at the Rose Bowl because of the coronavirus when UCLA will host USC in their annual football but the excitement that surrounds the game will evident. The Trojans are 4-0 and the Bruins are 3-2. If the Trojans win, they will be champions of the Pac-12 South Division which means they will play the winner of the North for the overall conference championship. If UCLA wins it will give UCLA head coach Chip Kelly his first winning season in three years at UCL...

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