December 21, 1997
Steelers lose, but by a whole lot less then 65 points, so they capture the AFC Central crown and a first-round bye going into the playoffs. The team has played well of late, but they're a little banged up and the rest will do them good for the playoff push to come. AFC Central champs has a wonderful ring to it, but now the real test begins.

December 20, 1997
It is possible, I'm sure, to be more depressed, but it's been a long time since I've been as down as I am about the Saint Francis boys' soccer team's two losses this week, 3-1 to Serra and 2-1 to Sacred Heart. This season is still young, and we've got the holiday break to mull things over, but either we start playing up to our abilities or this season will quickly go down the tubes.

December 13, 1997
Although the game ended in a 2-2 tie, the Saint Francis boys' soccer team's league opener with Mitty was anything but an even affair. Leading 2-0 with three minutes remaining, we suffered from what can only be called a terrible call by the linesman who persuaded the lead official to grant a penalty kick because of a hand ball in the box. Simply put, there was no handball. Mitty's second score game about 7 minutes later deep into injury time on a well executed turn and shot. It was Mitty's only true scoring chance of the day, and unfortunate that our defense should give up a goal so late after playing very well the entire game.

So the general consensus was that deserved a much better result than we got. At the same time, if we play this well all season, we'll win far more games than we'll lose, and the law of averages says that the breaks will eventually go both ways. (Last year we lost our opener to Mitty 1-0 when the ball took a bad hop and bounced over our sweeper's foot. So even with this year's bad luck, we're ahead of where we were last year.) The unofficial Saint Francis line: Mitty was lucky to tie us. We know it, and they know it too.

The Steelers staged a remarkable comeback versus the New England Patriots and will clinch the AFC Central title with a Jaguar loss to Buffalo tomorrow. Here's hoping!

December 7, 1997
Steelers complete a marvelous victory over the strong Denver Broncos, 35-24. Stewart, Bettis and Thigpen all have terrific games. Meanwhile, Jacksonville loses to New England (Pittsburgh's next opponent) which puts the Steelers in sole possession of first place in the AFC Central and clinches a playoff berth for the team.

What to say about the US team's France '98 World Cup draw? Undoubtedly Germany will lead the group and Iran will finish last. Can we beat Yugoslavia for second place and a trip into the second round? Possible but doubtful seems to be the international consensus.

December 6, 1997
Life could be better in Lancerville. Boys' soccer suffers an awful defeat, 4-0, at the hands of Menlo-Atherton. Although we played we'll in spurts, we suffered a couple let downs early which led us to push too many people forward in an effort to catch up. Indeed, we played most of the second half virtually without a sweeper.

SF football also goes down in flames, 21-0, to Oak Grove. While the defense stiffened in the second half and allowed no points, the damage was already done. The Lancer offense, in addition to being called for numerous penalties, never really seemed to get on track. Personally, I think we tried to pass too much, but it's easy to second guess from the sidelines.

In much happier SF news, the girls' volleyball team defeated the Southern California champions 3-0 to claim the California state title. It's the team's 3rd state title since 1993.

December 4, 1997
I never thought I'd say this, but kudos to the NBA. Suspending Mr. Overly Aggressive aka Latrell Sprewell for a year is the best thing to come out of the league in some time. Commissioner David Stern is no financial idiot, and clearly the league needs to preserve some semblance of self-respect, dignity and integrity, or fan dollars will starting flowing in other directions. Given all the thugs, druggies and low-lifes who now inhabit the NBA, better late than never. (Boy are the good old days of Bird, Magic and Michael gone forever or what?)

December 3, 1997
In a move that's sure to give them additional ping pong balls in next year's draft lottery, the good ol' Warriors show some moral backbone and cut Latrell Sprewell loose. At least that frees up his $7.7 million salary and lightens Golden States' salary cap considerations. Of course, I'd also put money on them not scoring 100 points in any game for the rest of the season, but that may have been true even with Spree. Anyone know if Portland needs a shooting guard? Spree would fit right in with the Jailblazers.

December 2, 1997
Saint Francis girls' volleyball defeats El Dorado 3-0 to claim the Northern California Division II Championship. The team travels to Orange County to play the So-Cal champions for the state title in about another week.

SF Boys' soccer ties Sequoia 1-1 in a game which saw the Lancers dramatically outshoot their opponents.

December 1, 1997
It's been a number of years since I was a Latrell Sprewell fan, and I don't recall ever being a P.J. Carlesimo fan. But the whole Golden State fiasco is obviously part of a larger Karmic plan wherein people are getting what they've got coming to them. Ever since Don Nelson destroyed this team, the rebuilding process has been hampered by an organization which clearly doesn't know what it's doing.

Case in point: Spree is suspended "indefinitely," which in Warrior parlance means "10 games," or less, if the Warriors and Spree "have a positive dialogue...." Good God, Spree tries to choke P.J. to death (which, granted, many Portland Trailblazer fans had been wanting to do in years past), takes a 20 minute break, and then comes back and starts punching poor P.J. All Spree needs is to be part of a "positive dialogue?" I think all Spree needs is a jail term.

But the Warriors are utterly bereft of scorers, so Spree may get the proverbial slap on the wrist and be able to rejoin the 1-13 fun at Golden State's new arena. The question is whether missing almost $1 million in salary, which is what a 10 game suspension would represent, is any big deal to Spree, because Spree's $7.7 million contract for this season places the odds heavily against any sort of trade.

What teams might be interested in Spree now that the NBA is considering "psychological or drug testing" for the star? Let me just say that today's San Jose Mercury News headline, "Altercation probably alters Sprewell's market value," gets my vote for understatement of the year.

November 30, 1997
Good news all around: Saint Francis Girls' volleyball advances another round in playoffs, and SF football defeats Leland 17-3 to move into the CCS Championship next weekend. Hurray for the good guys!

November 26, 1997
Technically, it was a loss, 3-2 to Prospect, but I have yet to figure out why we ended up playing the game at all. The field was utterly waterlogged and by the end of the match the pitch was reduced to a mudbowl. Supposedly in California we call off such games because of the damage it does to the field (and this field will be ruined for at least the next few weeks if not longer). Nonetheless, we played with good intensity only in the last 10 to 15 minutes of the game, and it goes without saying that that's not nearly enough.

November 23, 1997
Both the Steelers and the Jags lose, but because the Jags lose to Cincinnati, another AFC Central team, Pitt actually moves ahead in the division.

November 22, 1997
SF boys' soccer ties every game at a jamboree in San Francisco at the Polo Grounds. For the record, the scores were SF 1, Sacred Heart 1; SF 1, St. Ignatius 1; and SF 1, Mitty 1. None of the games or the scoring is counted officially, and though we would've liked to win a game or two, the truth is we used strange line-ups and formations to experiment with different ideas. I think we'll beat each team we played come regular season.

November 21, 1997
Saint Francis football: Lancers 52, Milpitas 25. Lancers continue their roll toward an 8th-straight CCS Championship.

November 20, 1997
The mighty Lancers' soccer team pulls off a stirring comeback from a 2-0 deficit and rallies its side to a 3-3 tie with last year's CCS runner-up, Watsonville. Probably one of the better teams we'll face this year, Watsonville was a good challenge and exposed some weaknesses which we'll need to fix. At the same time, the team showed tremendous heart in coming back, and we've definitely got the offensive scoring punch which I predicted. While we've given up 4 goals in two games thus far, that's half of last year's total at this time. And our defense improves daily.

Next up: A jamboree on Saturday with games against league rivals Riordan, Sacred Heart, and Mitty.

November 19, 1997
The Saint Francis boys' soccer varsity starts its year off right with a 2-1 victory over Pioneer. If a couple of breaks had gone our way the score might have been higher, but a good degree of credit is due to Pioneer's keeper who stopped four breakaways and played brilliantly. Generally speaking, we got plenty of chances offensively and our defense played fairly well. We're at a good starting point for the year, but there's plenty of work to be done.

November 16, 1997
Good news from Pittsburgh where the Steelers beat up on lowly Cincinnati 20-3. Bettis had another 100-yard rushing game and the defense, while giving up more rushing yards than they're accustomed, played very well.

UP's women's soccer team loses 1-0 to UCLA suffers their earliest exit from the NCAA tournament in a good number of years. I saw the Lady Pilots a few weeks ago when they played Santa Clara and, frankly, I don't think they have the players necessary to win the national championship. Still, I was hoping they'd travel a little further.

Better sports news included the US national team's 4-2 triumph over El Salvador. The Salvadorans were simply outmatched, even though we played (for the most part) our second string. The three qualifying teams from our conference, in order, are Mexico, the US and Jamaica. The next item of interest here will be who coach Steve Sampson decides to take to France on his 22-man roster.

November 14, 1997
Saint Francis football sweeps archrival and #9-ranked Bellarmine. JV destroys with a 26-0 victory. SF varsity was at 35-9 when I left late in the 4th. The victory puts SF in the CCS playoffs, a tourney the team won last year. Without a doubt, the SF football coaching staff is among the best I've ever seen at the high school level. (And I'm not just saying that because I share an office with some of those guys.) This victory gives the Lancers the WCAL title.

November 9, 1997
Steelers walk all over the hapless Baltimore Ravens, 37-0. It's the most lopsided Pittsburgh victory in something like 5 years. Though it was a weak opponent, it looks like the Steelers "Blitzburgh" defense is starting to take form, something that bodes well for their run at the AFC Central title.

In a contest of similarly mismatched opponents, the US national team qualified for the France '98 World Cup by beating the awful Canadian team, 3-0. With Mexico already qualified, the only question that remains is who the third seed will be, Jamaica or El Salvador. We'll find out next weekend.

November 8, 1997
SF football marches all over Archbishop Riordan HS 20-6, setting up a major clash of rivals next week versus Bellarmine with the winner taking the league crown and heading to CCS playoffs.

November 3, 1997
Somebody please shoot the Steelers' offensive coordinator. Pitt loses to KC 13-10.

November 1, 1997
St. Francis football stomps hard on Mitty HS, 41-14. The result keeps SF in the running for a CCS berth.

The US national team ties Mexico 0-0 in Mexico City. With Jeff Agoos red-carded early on, this was clearly the best result the Americans could hope for. Lalas' was awful, as always but suffered no catastrophic let down. Thomas Dooley had a good match. Brad Friedel was solid in goal. On the whole, lousy game, good result for the US

October 31, 1997 — Halloween
The #4-ranked University of Portland women's soccer team defeated #3-ranked Santa Clara 1-0 in overtime at Buck Shaw Stadium. Both sides play a 3-5-2 (which I like) and an English long-ball style (which I don't). SCU, who dominated the game and had numerous chances, should've won in regulation.

October 28, 1997
Ex-UP star goalkeeper Kasey Keller named men's US soccer player of the year.

October 26, 1997
Steelers 23, Jacksonville 17 in OT. Steelers stake their claim to the top spot in the AFC Central.

October 25, 1997
Kasey Keller, ex-U of Portland phenom and current stalwart of English Premiere League's Leicester City, suffered a hand injury during team practice in England. Apparently, the injury was serious enough to warrant surgery and will keep Keller, the US National Team goalkeeper, out of the US Team's November 2 match versus Mexico.

October 12, 1997
The Steelers retain sole possession of second in the AFC Central with a 24-22 victory over the hapless Colts. The Pitt offense gave up 6 turnovers, the type of statistic which normally spells doom. Luckily, not this time.

October 11, 1997
St. Ignatius ran roughshod, I'm sorry to say, over the mighty Lancers in the first league game of the football season. I didn't attend the game (which was in the City), but I believe the score was something like 19-3. SF JVs won, however.

October 5, 1997
Another really great sports Sunday, and I'm not just saying that because the Steelers came back from a 24-3 deficit. Although that's sure a big part of it. Recovering from a lousy first half, Steeler QB Kordell Stewart threw for 3 TDs and ran for 2 more (including a 74-yard gallop late in the 4th). RB Jerome Bettis was again over 100 yards rushing. I think the final was 42-34. With the Steeler victory over the Ravens, the 'burgh jumps to 3-2 and 2-1 in division. Losses by the Oilers and the Bengals also made for happy news.

Happy news also in the form of Mexico's bazillion to zero thrashing of 4th place El Salvador. I didn't see the conclusion, but Mexico dominated this soccer World Cup qualifier, and by the time I tuned out last in the 2nd half it was something like 5-0. For the US, this means sole possession of the much-coveted third place spot. (The top three teams go to France.)

October 4, 1997
Meanwhile, the mighty SF Lancers rolled over visiting Eureka. When we left at the end of the third, it was something like 35-8. I trust we won. The JV team stomped hard as well.

It's the first time in a long time that I've missed a US World Cup game (even if it is just qualifiers), but that's what not reading the TV listings will get you. A 1-1 tie with Jamaica, which leaves the US in the precarious 3rd place and vaults Jamaica into sole possession of 1st. (Of course 2nd place Mexico has played three fewer games.) With El Salvador, Mexico and Canada remain on the schedule, it may take two outright victories to assure qualification. If we tie or lose the next one, it's nail-biting time.

September 28, 1997
My Steelers roll 37-24 over division-rival weenies, the Oilers. The final score was far closer than the game. This one was over by half-time.

Both teams' pass defenses were relatively weak, but the Steelers far less so because of the improved pass rush, which recorded 7 sacks on the day. Both teams' run defense was superb. Steeler QB Kordell Stewart had a great day, running for 2 touchdowns, passing for 1 more and passing for 244 yards.

The Oiler loss along with losses by the Jags, Ravens and Bengals, made for a great Steeler football Sunday. We picked up a game on everybody in the AFC Central.

September 26, 1997
The mighty Lancers have looked mightier. Despite a convincing 13-0 JV football victory. The varsity got badly stomped by visiting Skyline. We're still early season, so no worries, right?

September 24, 1997
Okay, it's taken me a day or so to recover from the awful last-minute defeat of my wonderful Steelers on ABC's Monday Night Football. One good snap and you just know that kicker Norm Johnson, only the most accurate kicker in the history of the game, would have split the uprights for the victory. Instead, we get a numbing 30-21 loss to Jacksonville.

Well, what to like? The Steeler run offense looked great. I think Bettis averaged something like 7 yards a carry. Similarly, the Steeler run defense was superb, pretty much shutting down the Jags running game. The special teams play, particularly of kick return Blackwell, was very good.

What needs work? QB Kordell Stewart is a long way from being a seasoned quarterback. He's not terrible, and he's getting better, but he's get a long way to go. And somebody tell the offensive coordinator that the QB sneak calls are ridiculous. NFL defenses are too good for that to work. Stewart can run great if he's flushed, but if we're going to run him in general, then let's at least make it an option play on an end-around.

The other "needs work" area is obviously the Steeler secondary and Steeler pass rush. Frankly, neither are currently effective and if the Steelers are going anywhere this year, these things need to get fixed.

September 19, 1997
The Lancers' varsity football squad wins a big one versus Hollister, 28-24. Despite some major defensive mistakes (and some really terrible special teams play), the St. Francis team came back in the final minutes for the stirring home victory. SF is now 2-1 for the year.

September 16, 1997
Continuing in the footsteps of the choke-prone Oakland Raiders, the Philadelphia Eagles blew a sure-fire 20-yard field goal with 4 seconds left to lose to the much-hated Dallas Cowboys, 21-20. I didn't even watch the final kick. Figuring it was a sure-thing, I'd flipped over to Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Imagine my surprise when I checked Yahoo!'s on-line sports update. Thank God it wasn't the Steelers losing this way.

September 15, 1997
The mighty Lancers of Saint Francis High School took one on the chin on Friday, losing to last year's CCS runner-up, Oak Grove. No details on the game yet, but I hear it was a tightly contested battle. Though that puts SF at 1-1 for the year, we should all remember that last year the Lancers started 0-6, and still came back to win the CCS Championship. This is a football program with some great coaches, and by end of season, I think this team is going to rock.

Jamaica beats Costa Rica 1-0. This drops the Ticos to 4th and pushes Jamaica to 2nd. The US, now in third, has played one less game than Jamaica, but our October 3 match up against that squad sure takes on added significance.

September 12, 1997
Boy, would there be familial discord if I chose to root against the mighty Lancers of Saint Francis High School. Fortunately, no such disagreement exists and Erin and I can both cheer wildly for "our" local high school. Football is off to a good start, 1-0, based on last week's 14-3 win over Live Oak. They play Oak Grove tonight.

The Celtics are in the off-season, but new head coach Rick Pitino has been wheeling and dealing. If anyone can restore the Celtics dynasty, it's him. Or Pat Riley. Or Michael Jordan. Anyway, Boston should be at least a .500 ball club this year, and for us Celtics fans, that's a great first step.

The men's soccer US National Team improved their World Cup chances dramatically with last weekend's 1-0 victory over Costa Rica. Now second in their conference, the US trails only Mexico. The top three teams will go to France.