Boys' volleyball: Spartan will on display at Venice tournament

A month and a day after being swept by Venice in its season opener, Sylmar exacted a measure of revenge by ousting the Gondos, 25-19, in the finals of their own tournament on Saturday.

Sylmar trailed, 15-12, until Tyler Honeycutt reeled off seven straight points on his serve to give the Spartans a lead they would never relinquish. Honeycutt was an all-tournament choice and teammate Felipe Garcia was voted most valuable player. Ryan Machado made all-tournament for Venice. 

Baseball: Sonora's Freeway drive hits a snag in La Habra

All good things must come to an end. Or, for everyone in the Freeway League except Sonora, all bad things must come to an end.

With La Habra's 5-4 victory Friday over Sonora, the Raiders' 29-game league winning streak mercifully came to an end for the rest of the battered league members.

Sonora lost the first league game of the 2006 season, but hadn't lost another league game since, until winning -- and relief -- pitcher Ryan Tornell drove in the tying run in the top of the seventh and then scored what proved to be the game-winner.

You can read more about the Highlanders' victory here.

-- Martin Henderson

-- Image from www.lahabrahighschool.net

Baseball: Long Beach Wilson loses third game and ace

They have the label: "National Champions." They have the talent. And they have the respected coach.

But they also have been scuffling... just a little.

The Long Beach Wilson Bruins lost their third game this season just the other day; that matches their loss total for all of last season. The Bruins (11-3-1, 1-1-0) also lost something more critical: ace Ray Hanson, who recently broke his glove hand during a pick-up basketball game. Hanson, who is 3-0 with 32 strikeouts in 19.2 innings, will likely miss two to three weeks.

Baseball: West Torrance pays tribute to Yogi

Hanging from a chain-link fence at the West Torrance baseball field is a sign that reads: "When you get to the fork in the road, take it."

Come on, you know who said that, right? Yogi Bear? No, Yogi Berra, who's as famous for his Hall of Fame career as his legendary malapropisms (a.k.a. Yogi-isms). Here are a few classics...

"I didn't really say everything I said."

"We have a good time together, even when we're not together."

"A nickel ain't worth a dime anymore."

"Why buy good luggage? You only use it when you travel."

"Ninety percent of this game is half mental."

And perhaps the two most famous Yogi-isms...

"It ain't over 'til it's over."

"It's like déjà vu all over again."

-- Anthony Stitt

-- Image from www.retrogalaxy.com

Baseball: Palos Verdes lefty's record still perfect after five starts

Palos Verdes lefty Nate Halverson has been all about one thing this season -- perfection.

Oh wait! Remember the game "Perfection?" The ticking clock. The wacky geometric shapes. Man, that thing would jangle my nerves like a tambourine. I've always been more of a "Hungry Hungry Hippos" kind of guy. Uh, maybe I should get back to business... this kid, Halverson, whose record is perfect at 5-0 with four complete games.

Football: Newbury Park QB Cameron has change in plans

Colby Cameron, a 6-foot-3 quarterback from Newbury Park who was supposed to walk on at Oregon State this fall, is instead headed to Louisiana Tech.

Cameron passed for nearly 5,000 yards the last two seasons.

-- Eric Sondheimer

Boys' tennis: Vikings are still flexing those Foothill League muscles

Four matches into the Foothill League schedule and Valencia already looks like a lock to win its third consecutive title and fifth since 2002. After surviving a stern test against West Ranch in their league opener, the Vikings have demolished Hart, Saugus and Canyon by a combined score of 49-5.

Not surprisingly, No. 1 singles player Jack Zapala has led the way, winning all 12 of his sets, half of those at love. The biggest hurdle left to clear could be Thursday's rematch against surprising West Ranch, although this time it will be on Valencia's home courts.

Softball: Can Hawthorne keep winning, even against Texans?

Gotta admit, cannot say I've ever blogged about Hawthorne, which deserves a big blog hug. Especially with the way these girls have been playing of late with eight wins in nine games, including a recent 22-0 mugging of Leuzinger. The Cougars (9-2) just may be deemed the class of the Ocean League.

One Cougar is particularly scorching: catcher Gabbrielle Valerio, who's a big reason -- maybe the reason -- Hawthorne has improved so much this season after finishing two games under .500 last season.

Girls' track: Lincoln's streak passes four-year mark

With an 81-36 home victory over Belmont, the Lincoln girls' track team extended its Northern League winning streak to 30 dual meets. Its last league loss was to Hollywood, 64-61, on March 12, 2004.

A trio of four-year athletes sparked the Tigers -- Rosa Ocegueda (won 100- and 300-meter hurdles), Nancy Chieu (won long and triple jumps) and Linda Vazquez (took first in 400 and second in 200). None of them have experienced a league loss.

Hart's Montgomery keeps it real following loss to Valencia

I estimated there were about a dozen or so scouts camped out behind the chain-link fence at the Valencia-Hart game on Friday, all trying to get a look at Indians' ace Mike Montgomery. Even former Dodgers manager Bill Russell was on hand to see this kid.

Unfortunately, Valencia's 5-1 victory kind of spoiled the scouting party. Montgomery lasted only 3 1/3 innings and gave up three earned runs, the second of which came on a solo home run by Matt Higgins in the third inning.

Montgomery knows it wasn't his greatest outing, but the senior southpaw kept a hopeful outlook for the remainder of the season after his first loss. Check out this interview: