Despite our wholehearted support of the state CIF and the difficulty of seeding so many teams in so many divisions with competitive equity looking over the shoulders of the seeding committees, we can’t help but think a different format may be needed for the Open Division going forward. Are five or six teams (and in...
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NorCal/SoCal Open Div. Breakdowns
After all of this weekend’s CIF section championships in basketball are complete, the CIF will meet on Sunday morning to finalize its pairings for this year’s state playoffs. The biggest questions always surround which teams will be in the Open Division and which ones should get a first-round bye. We have both boys and girls...
Preseason State Baseball Top 25
A few games have already started, but for the 2020 season in California it’s going to start where it left off with De La Salle of Concord in the No. 1 position. The Spartans will have a 28-game win streak heading into their first game and have plenty of returning top players to earn the […]
NEW State Top 25 Girls BB Rankings
We were coasting along through the first 16 spots this week and then based on the CIF Southern Section playoff pecking order we had a change that impacted the next five teams. Once again we looked for a way to get in some newcomers, but once again no one dropped out. With the CIF Southern...
NEW State Top 25 Boys BB Rankings
The basketball world is trying to get back to normal after the death of Kobe Bryant, and perhaps the upcoming post-season high school playoffs will help fans get their minds off the tragic accident. The top four teams in the state remain the same, but the middle of the pack has movement as teams look...
NEW State Top 25 Girls BB Rankings
One big difference between rankings, seedings and competitive equity is the last two don’t take into consideration the nuances that can take place during a season like injuries, family emergencies and coaching changes in mid-season. Other situations also can arise that usually impact but are not created by the girls. We hear all about these...
NEW State Top 25 Boys BB Rankings
There is a new No. 1, as Sierra Canyon goes back to the top spot following its convincing win over previous No. 1 Rancho Christian. The main question for this week’s boys basketball State Top 25, however, is about No. 2. Do the Eagles fall to No. 2 or No. 3? There is plenty of...
Preseason Girls BB State Ranks (1-15)
There’s been a handful of squads that have already hit the court, but we’re still calling it preseason for the rankings and writeups that are below. Just like the boys, Sierra Canyon of Chatsworth has a CIF Open Division defending state champion that has a loaded roster on the girls side and starts out at […]
Prep Notes With A Twist
This week’s version of our prep column includes our first look at what to look for regarding this year’s CIF Northern California and Southern California bowl games lineup. We think there’s a problem toward the top of the NorCal board without the Open Division section runner-up teams that were able to play in NorCal games...