RE-PETE

Now im not as good at this as Sandman (Brian Sandalow) and Todd Mavreles but I figure blogging is something I should do more often, and right now I have the time.

(I’lll get to my girls basketball coverage shortly).

I’m on this lengthy lay over in Tucson, Ariz., something about a ticket mix up. Long story and don’t really want to get into it.

I am on my way to Los Angeles to celebrate New Year’s with firends and family. I’m also going to get to go to the Rose Bowl. I shelled out $200 for a ticket. Not such a hefty price to watch a BCS Bowl game. I doubt I am going to have good seats but I haven’t seen the Trojans live in sometime.

So I’m sitting here at the Tucson Airport and against my better judgement I decide to surf rgvsports.com. I was looking at a few girls basketball stories and scrolled down to see a few comments.

I am not sure where I went wrong but I seem to be the most hated person by McAllen High fans or by girls basketball fans in general. I am not sure who dislikes me at this point.

Because I don’t cover every single McHi game, doesn’t mean I don’t respect the Lady Bulldogs.

I have them No. 1 for a reason. McHi will be getting a lot of coverage in the coming weeks, and the Lady Bulldogs have been getting more coverage recently. As I told a McHi coach, the Lady Bulldogs will be the most covered team in the Valley by the time the season ends.

It’s a long season. I will be more than happy to sit down with anyone after the season and count how many stories were written about McAllen High compared to other teams.

I am the girls beat writer not the McAllen High beat writer. One of the things I like to do is spread it out and try to cover everyone. This is one of the things I have done in the past in my other beats and something I am glad that I do. 

Sharyland got plenty of coverage at the end of the volleyball season. The McHi girls soccer team got plenty of coverage at the end of their season last year and was the only girls team in the Valley to have every one of its playoff games covered.

 Something tells me the same will be true for the McHi girls BBall team.

I try to be as balanced as I can. There has been a couple of questionable games we have covered but in all honestly most nights there aren’t very many attractive games to cover. There are some good teams and there are some not so good teams. 

I am a journalist not a publicist. My job is supposed to be about balance not to cover every blow out McHi plays in. 

I am not sure how it was done in the past when Edinburg High was really good two years ago. If Edinburg High was given an overwhelmingly amount of coverage than anyone else two seasons ago, that is something I don’t agree with.

But I was not the girls BBall reporter then and don’t know the circumstances surrounding the coverage that year.

There are more than 40 teams in the Valley. I would not being doing my job if I just covered only McAllen High.

As far as tournament coverage, The Monitor has scaled back its coverage on tourney’s in all sports not just girls basketball. It is our policy to cover only championship games.

As sports reporters for The Monitor we have other duties than just going out and covering games.

There are some nights I might not be able to go out and cover a game and someone will have to go out for me because my help is needed somewhere else. Quite frankly, I am surprised that I have been able to get to as many games as I have.

I will be more than happy to have someone follow me around and see what I do. I also cover other sports than girls basketball. I cover volleyball and the playoffs for that sport takes place while the basketball seaon is beginning. In my world, I have to have priorities in order to maintain sanity.  

I guess I am not that sane if I’m blogging about girls basketball from an airport at 4 in the morning.

I am more than happy to discuss my coverage of girls basketball with anyone. My work number is (956) 683-4448 and my e-mail is prasmussen@themonitor.com.

Now aren’t you glad you have me as the girls beat reporter?

Happy New Year!!!!!

The 2007 season, like always, concludes with the release of the All-Valley team.

It is tough to put together because I always fear that I am going to overlook someone. There are so many talented volleyball players but only a limted number of places.

I am confident the girls choosen this season are the cream of the crop.

MVP Kassy Larios carried South this year and is one most talented female athletes in the Valley. You will hear a lot about her during the track & field season.

Outisde Hitter of the Year Jaclyn Lopez of Sharyland might know the game better than anyone. I really like her all-around play and hopefully she can continue playing in college.

Middle Blocker of the Year Brownsville Rivera’s Laura Ochoa is a powerful hitter and she dominated matches this year.

Setter of the Year Sonia Lerma from Mission Veterans has helped the Lady Patriots win 43 consecutive District 32-4A matches. She has been one of the most consistent players during her four years as a varsity player.

Brownsville Rivera’s Anayeli Trevino was the Libero/DS of the year. She  might be the riskiest pick but everytime I saw her play this season, I was impressed with her digging abilities. 

Newcomer of the Year had to go to the girl that won her district’s MVP as a sophomore. In only her first season as a varsity player, Wolf helped lead the La Feria Lionettes to the District 32-3A championship with an all-around game.

 TOP 10

There are a couple of surprises. Los Fresnos is ranked ahead of Harlingen HIgh because the Lady Falcons came on strong late in the year and beat the Lady Cardinals in bi-district. 

The Lady Cards have become somewhat of a powerhouse, so it was an impressive win.

Brownsville Pace reached the Top 1o because  it proved to be one of the most consistent teams on the season. 

Any of the Top 3 picks Mission Veterans (1), Harlingen South (2) and Sharyland (3) could have been No. 1

Veterans did beat South twice this season. Sharyland looked really impressive late in the season and played San Antonio Reagan tough in the regional semis.  South continues to be a safe beat for a deep postseason run.

RAMBLINGS ON THE SEASON

The best match of season was Rivera’s five-set win over Edinburg Economedes in the first round of the playoffs.

Edinburg High, Edinburg Economedes and Harlingen High hurt themselves with a seeding tournament. The extra games for the three teams contributed to first-round playoff loses for each of them. It was part of the reason the Edinburg teams did not finished ranked in the Top 10. … The three teams tied for second and instead of flipping for place, they played a seeding tourney.

Economedes coach Araceli Ortega does a great job and might have the Lady Jags on the brink of becoming an elite Valley program.

Look for Edinburg High setter Jenetta Sanchez to have a big season in 2008. Edinburg High coach Deanna Sanchez is high on her setter and for good reason. During district play, she compiled 400 assists.

With so manny top teams losing players to graduation and realingment expect wide-open races next season.

This season’s Sharyland team was the type of team I think is needed to knock off a team in the regional tourney. The Lady Rattlers had a bevy of options and did not depend on just one player. … New coach Lizette Torres had Sharyland looking like a club team.

Sharyland setter Brittany Hawkins is scray good and should be a force in 2008.

The All-district lists, like always, are not always a true refelection of who is the best players in the respective districts. … District 43-4A had three defensive MVPs. Mission Veterans’ Kolby Warren was obviously the best defensive pleyer and shouldn’t of had to share the award.

La Villa played a very limited schedule this year. Its former coach left the Lady Cards with no sked, forcing them to pick up game whenever it could.

Mission was the scrappiest team of the year. Scrappy is a good word. I described McAllen Rowe as scrappy last year and a few girls on the team let me know they did not appreciate that.

Whats up with Weslaco High? In three years as the volleyball beat writer I am yet to meet the head coach or had a call-infrom the Lady Panthers.

It was a good season. I hope you enjoy the All-Valley readings in the paper today.

If you disagree with the All-Valley team of the Top 10, let me know. Tell who you think should have been on the team. I welcome comments.