Basketball games postponements for Friday ...

Yes, the St. Michael's-Santa Fe High boys basketball game is postponed after snow pounded the city for the past two days. It is just one of a series of postponements for the day.
Also not playing:

Boys
Santa Fe Indian School at Española Valley
Desert Academy vs. Albuquerque Menaul (Bugg Light Invite)
Santa Fe Waldorf at Bugg Light Invite
Kirtland Central at Pojoaque Valley
Pecos at Springer
Girls
Miyamura at SFIS
Desert Academy at Albuquerque Menaul (Bugg Light Invite)
Monte del Sol at Bugg Light Invite
Pojoaque Valley at Socorro

Florida High School Athletic Association brings hammer down on private school

Mandarin Christian School of Jacksonville, Fla., was hit hard by sanctions from the FHSAA after a series of violations, mostly regarding recruiting prospective student athletes to the schools. And people in New Mexico want to complain about the private school issues here ...
Just check this out.

First prep basketball poll of the 2010-11 season

For those basketball addicts, here are the coaches polls for this week.
Enjoy.


Boys
Class AAAAA
1. Albuquerque Eldorado(4) 123
2. Albuquerque La Cueva (4) 122
3. Clovis (6) 121
4. Las Cruces Oñate 71
5. Rio Rancho Cleveland 68
6. Albuquerque West Mesa 62
7. Albuquerque Manzano 48
8. Albuquerque High 40
9. Albuquerque Highland 28
10. Albuquerque Volcano Vista 26
Also receiving votes: Las Cruces Mayfield 25, Las Cruces High 16, Albuquerque Valley 7, Albuquerque Cibola 4, Hobbs 3, Gadsden 3, Albuquerque Sandia 2, Alamogordo 1.
Class AAAA
1. Española Valley (9) 133
2. Roswell (3) 113
3. Capital (1) 101
4. Gallup (1) 80
5. Grants 76
6. Piedra Vista 74
7. Valencia 53
8. Santa Teresa 46
9. Kirtland Central 28
10. Albuquerque St. Pius X 23
Also receiving votes: Albuquerque Academy 20, Los Lunas 18, Santa Fe High 18, Roswell Goddard 12, Belen 12, Los Alamos 10, Artesia 5, Farmington 2, Deming 1.
Class AAA
1. Albuquerque Hope Christian (7)88
2. Albuquerque Sandia Prep (2) 83
3. St. Michael's 68
4. Lovington 57
5. Portales 46
6. Pojoaque Valley 45
7. Las Vegas Robertson 26
8. Wingate 20
9. Santa Fe Indian School 19
10. Taos 16
Also receiving votes: Silver 13, Socorro 7, Hot Springs 5, Ruidoso 2.
Class AA
1. Bosque School (5) 105
2. Tularosa (5) 102
3. Mesilla Valley Christian (1) 91
4. Texico (1) 62
5. Santa Rosa 55
6. Mesa Vista 52
7. Mora 32
8. Peñasco 27
9. Pecos 25
10. Rehoboth 24
Also receiving votes: Estancia 21, Clayton High School 21, Santa Fe Prep 14, Dexter 9, Monte del Sol 5, Navajo Pine 5, Tucumcari 4, Loving 3, Cuba 2, Laguna Acoma 1.
Class A
1. Hagerman (4) 65
2. Cliff (2) 59
3. Springer (1) 47
4. Fort Sumner 42
5. Floyd 33
6. (tie) Logan 27
6. (tie) Dora 27
8. Des Moines 20
9. (tie) Questa 13
9. (tie) McCurdy School 13
Also receiving votes: Jal 12, Gallup Catholic 10, Albuquerque Menaul 8, Ramah 3, Coronado 2, Melrose 2, Escalante 2.
Class B
1. Quemado (3) 30
2. Elida 24
3. Reserve 21
4. (tie) San Jon 19
4. (tie) Carrizozo 19
6. (tie) Wagon Mound 14
6. (tie) Valley Christian Academy 14
8. Hondo Valley 10
9. Grady 6
10. Clovis Christian 4
Also receiving votes: Maxwell 2, Roy 1, Walatowa 1.
Girls
Class AAAAA
1. Albuquerque Eldorado (8) 125
2. Albuquerque La Cueva (4) 114
3. Las Cruces Mayfield (2) 91
4. Albuquerque Cibola 90
5. Albuquerque Sandia 78
6. Clovis 54
7. Rio Rancho Cleveland 49
8. Hobbs 48
9. Albuquerque Volcano Vista 46
10. Albuquerque Valley 27
Also receiving votes: Las Cruces 19, Carlsbad 12, Las Cruces Oñate 8, Albuquerque Manzano 6, Rio Rancho 2, Albuquerque High 1.
Class AAAA
1. Kirtland Central (7) 88
2. Roswell (2) 74
3. Gallup 68
4. Piedra Vista 63
5. Albuquerque Del Norte 45
6. Española Valley 32
7. Grants 31
8. Albuquerque Academy 29
9. (tie) Miyamura 14
9. (tie) Valencia 14
Also receiving votes: Artesia 13, Albuquerque St. Pius X 10, Deming 5, Chaparral 4, Los Alamos 4, Bernalillo 1.
Class AAA
1. Lovington (4) 75
2. Santa Fe Indian School (3) 73
3. Albuquerque Hope Christian (1) 65
4. Portales 43
5. Shiprock 41
6. West Las Vegas 35
7. Ruidoso 26
8. Pojoaque Valley 23
9. St. Michael's 22
10. Hot Springs 13
Also receiving votes: Las Vegas Robertson 8, Taos 8, Socorro 2, Hatch Valley 2, Wingate 2, Thoreau 1, Silver 1.
Class AA
1. Texico (6) 69
2. Tularosa 49
3. Navajo Pine (1) 43
4. Navajo Prep 37
5. (tie) Estancia 28
5. (tie) Peñasco 28
7. Clayton 23
8. Lordsburg 16
9. Santa Rosa 15
10. (tie) Mora 13
10. (tie) Magdalena 13
Also receiving votes: Tucumcari 10, Rehoboth 9, Mesilla Valley Christian 9, Mesa Vista 6, Pecos 4, Dulce 3, Newcomb 3, Laguna Acoma 3, Bosque School 3, Cloudcroft 1.
Class A
1. (tie) Des Moines (4) 88
1. (tie) Cliff High School (4) 88
3. Fort Sumner (2) 82
4. Tatum (1) 79
5. Dora 56
6. Animas 49
7. Floyd 34
8. Jal 33
9. Cimarron 27
10. Melrose 24
Also receiving votes: Springer 16, Escalante 13, Ramah 13, Logan 10, Mescalero Apache 9, Coronado 9, Gallup Catholic 7, Desert Academy 7, McCurdy School 6, Tse Yi Gai 5, Questa 5.
Class B
1. Elida (2) 50
2. (tie) Grady (4) 48
2. (tie) Carrizozo 48
4. Hondo Valley 40
5. Reserve 31
6. Roy 29
7. Corona 27
8. San Jon 21
9. Quemado 15
10. Walatowa 9
Also receiving votes: Clovis Christian 6. Lake Arthur 2, Vaughn 2, Santa Fe Waldorf 1, Valley Christian Academy 1.

After (ANOTHER) long respite, I return with a bang ... literally

Well, I don't, but Arcadia DeSoto County (Fla.) basketball player Mason Holland sure will. Monday, he announced his presence with ... Ummm .. Authority??
Thanks to the Palm Beach Post's blog, here's a story about when anger management goes wrong ...

Go to 1:23 of the video to see the incident.

District 2AAAA football update from Los Alamos ...

Los Alamos scored 19 unanswered points to beat Santa Fe High 19-14. Read Will Webber's story in Saturday's New Mexican for all the details.

The return of what I was supposed to do last week (AKA The week that will be)

So after a week hiatus - thanks Capital-Santa Fe High boys soccer!! - I return to tell whatever masses are still reading this what's happening this week. I won't waste your time - or my fingers - on a huge intro. Just read and enjoy:

Wednesday
I could have gone with St. Michael's-Monte del Sol boys soccer, but the Dragons are in free fall (good-bye sleeper status, MDS). How about Capital-Santa Fe High volleyball? It's the Demonettes' "Dig Pink" match and I encourage everyone who can go and support breast cancer awareness, please do. Besides, don't get overshadowed by Pojoaque Valley's performance the next day (read on, please).
So, because he is perhaps the most deserving coach of such space, here's my recommendation:

Volleyball
New Mexico School for the Deaf at Santa Fe Waldorf, 5 p.m.
The skinny - This is a key District 1B matchup - key in that it's the Lady Wolves one shot at making noise in the district. The Lady Roadrunners are one of the top teams in Class B and surely the team to beat in the district. Waldorf just ended a 25-match losing streak last week - and we salute you, Daniel Wendland, for never ducking a call when it would have been easy for you to do the last two years - and here's hoping the Lady Wolves make some noise (with apologies to NMSD). And, yes, it's because Wendland calls after every match, win or lose.

Thursday
Boys soccer
Santa Fe Preparatory at Capital, 6 p.m.
The skinny - The Santa Fe City Soccer Championship can be wrapped up with a Blue Griffins win. A loss throws everything into chaos - although I imagine the city teams aren't fretting over that. They're too busy thinking about district play - 2AAAA for Capital (second behind Los Alamos), 2A-AAA for Santa Fe Prep (tied for the lead with St. Michael's). So am I.

Volleyball
Santa Fe Indian School at Pojoaque Valley, 7 p.m.
The skinny - This isn't so much about what's happening on the volleyball court of Ben Lujan Gymnasium. It's more about the generosity of a few hundred fans. Last year, the Elkettes' "Dig Pink" game raised $7,600. What can the fine folks at Pojoaque Valley do this year? The event also hits home for both sides: Pojoaque assistant Melissa Ainsworth (wife of head coach Brian Ainsworth) is going through treatment for breast cancer. SFIS assistant Patrice Chavez also has battled the disease.
Give what you can (Or more), folks.

Friday
Girls soccer
St. Michael's at Bosque School, 4 p.m.
The skinny - The winner here should get the third seed for the Class A-AAA State Tournament in three weeks. The operative word is should. The Lady Horsemen still have a match against Santa Fe Prep that could decide the District 2A-AAA title (depending on what the Prepettes do at Portales). If the Lady Horsemen can't produce a district crown for their resume, then these 80 minutes are moot. Of course, if they don't win here, a top-four seed might in jeopardy, too.

Football
Santa Fe High at Los Alamos, 7 p.m.
The skinny - The one major stumbling block before an Oct. 29 battle royale with Bernalillo for the District 2AAAA title - it's in green-and-gold and hasn't lost to the Demons in ... Well, ages. How about 1997, to be exact? (Don't try and pass that forfeit in 1998 as a win). More history also can be made with a Demons win. How about the third non-losing season since 1986? And the chance for a district title, the first since ... Well, 1986! Get used to hearing about that date. Because if the Demons win and set up a battle with Bernalillo for the district title, you'll be hearing it a lot.

Capital at Española Valley, 7 p.m.
The skinny - What's the deal with two winless teams being in this section? Well, for Espanola Valley's Joe Jiron, it's his first game against players he coached last year as the Jaguars' offensive line coach. Oh, and it is the last chance both schools have for a win.

Saturday
Cross country
Rio Rancho Jamboree, 9 a.m.
The skinny - Everybody in the state will be at Rio Rancho High School for this event. And i mean EVERYBODY. This event serves as the appetizer for the cross country main course to come in three weeks ... at Rio Rancho. The runners want to get a sneak preview at what they will face at that time - although they should remember it from last year and the year before that and the year before that ... Still, it's the third biggest event outside of the state championship and the Lobos Invitational in September.

Help the homeless, get suspended ...

St. Cloud's head football coach Bill Buldini learned what happens when he reached out to a homeless player that he took in. The gesture was in good faith, too bad it violated Florida High School Athletics Association bylaws. After a mea culpa, he was reinstated.
There's the story from the Osceola newspaper