Page 14
Clayton Pioneer • www.claytonpioneer.com
December 20, 2013
Sports
Aioli and Zandy are ARF’s stars
2013: Busy sports year with fewer highs than in 2012 JAY BEDECARRÉ Clayton Pioneer
AIOLI
5-year-old Aioli is a fun-loving, energetic girl who adores toys, and can entertain herself with a soft squeaky toy for hours! She is smart, athletic, friendly, and outgoing— the whole package. Aioli is a social butterfly who would love to be your new wingman on all types of adventures, including hiking, camping, Saturday soccer games, or dog sports like rally or noseworks. We suggest taking this brilliant gal through a Basic Manners class to give her a con-
ppy Holiday a s H
ZANDY
structive outlet for her energy, and to help ease her transition into her new home. Aioli’s prospective adopters will need to meet with a trainer before taking her home. The adoption fee for adult dogs is $225 and includes 60% off one 7-week dog training session. 2-year-old Zandy is a pretty girl with a lovely personality. She will meow for your affection and sit close for lots of pets. It is unknown whether Zandy has previous experience with children. She is suitable for a first time cat guardian. The adoption fee for adult cats is $50.
Meet your forever friend at Tony La Russa’s Animal Rescue Foundation, 2890 Mitchell Drive, Walnut Creek, during adoption hours: Noon to 5 p.m. Wednesday, 3 to 7 p.m. Thursday and Friday, Noon to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. The primary caretaker must be present to adopt. ARF also encourages kids 16 and younger and canine family members (dog adoptions only) to be present during the adoption process. Would you like to be part of the heroic team that saves the lives of rescued dogs and cats? Can you share your talents to connect people and animals? ARF volunteers are making a difference! For more information see our website, www.arf.net, or call 925.256.1ARF.
Tech Talk, from page 7 Get Acquainted Offer
FREE Office Visit Exam New clients only. Limit one per family. Expires 3/31/2014
Office Hours Monday – Friday 8 a.m. – 12 p.m. & 2 – 5:30 p.m. Every other Saturday 9 a.m. - 1 p.m.
Dr. Linda M. Miller 5435 Clayton Road, Ste I Clayton 925-672-CATS (2287)
cathospitalofclayton.com
clicking, but much faster, and in most cases, easier. Still, talking about computers, most people are aware that touch screen options are new to computers. While the tablet and smartphone business have all been embracing touch for years, computers have been slow to adopt the technology, up until now. The cost of touch has always been a factor, but due to new technologies the price for large screen touch has plummeted. Last year we saw touch screen monitors at around $500; this year they are less than $200. In fact, the least expensive way to incorporate the touch screen experience is to purchase a laptop/notebook that includes a touch screen. Last year laptops/notebooks with touch
Resort, Spa, Salon
Extraordinary Care for your Pet
FREE pickup & delivery Open 7 days a week Fully staffed & monitored 24/7
10% off Boarding & Grooming services with this ad
Exotic Pets Welcome!
Josie Van Fleet, Owner and Operator (925) 432-PETS (7387) 671 Willow Pass Road #6, Pittsburg
PittsburgPetResort.com
screens cost more than $1,000. This year the price for similar touch screens has dropped to just above $600. Of course the cost of touch screen will continue to come down until everything on the market includes it. But the largest price decrease has happened just in the last 60 days. Now is the best time to purchase touch. Microsoft’s recent release of Windows 8.1 is just the latest push by large-scale computing business to position itself in the touch screen initiative. By the way, once you learn the touch screen features on one platform, it is the same interaction on others, like tablets and smartphones. May I suggest the newest Asus C500 Ultrabook (notebook) as a great holiday choice? It has everything featured in my articles over the last six months — features you will like, such as a 15.6-inch touch screen, ultrathin notebook form, full-featured keyboard with 10-key, solid state drive (SSD), largecapacity hard drive, Windows 8.1, Intel i5 CPU, and 6 GB of RAM. Oh, by the way, it costs under $700. Just a quick note: The Google Chromebook is not a real computer, so beware before you buy it. William Claney is an independent tech writer and former owner of Computers USA in the Clayton Station. Email questions or comments to will@claytonpioneer.com.
When we wrote the Pioneer’s 2012 sports review there were a number of unprecedented events including the dual bronze medals of local Olympians Kara Kohler and Kristian Ipsen, the first North Coast Section football championship for Clayton Valley Charter High School, the Amgen Tour of California wheeling through town plus a number of other team and individual achievements. The list of 2013 sports highlights is just as long but without some of the highs that dotted the previous year’s calendar, none more so than for Ipsen and Kohler. POST-OLYMPICS IPSEN, KOHLER By most athletes’ standards Ipsen and Kohler did quite well this year, thank you. Ipsen was the NCAA diver of the year after winning the one- and three-meter collegiate championships and took second in the 10 meter. He essentially took the year off from synchro diving following the Olympics but qualified for the FINA World Championships in Barcelona in the 1M and 3M. At Worlds Ipsen managed 12th place in the 3M but had a couple missed dives in each competition that substantially lowered his placements. Kohler was named all-America for the third time but more importantly helped her Cal Bears varsity eight to a national title. She then was part of the USA quadruple sculls team at the World Championships this summer in South Korea but her squad finished out of the medals when they caught a “crab” in the home stretch of the finals.
CLAYTON VALLEY CHARTER HIGH SCHOOL DOINGS So much was going on at the new charter school on Alberta Way with many comings and goings topping the list. The school used money from Mt. Diablo Unified School District Measure C to install a new black synthetic field for football, soccer and lacrosse over the holiday break last year. Then in the summer they installed a new running track. Coaching changes included new athletic director Amber Lineweaver, who took over this school year, and almost half the head coaching jobs at the school. The changes included a substantial number of on-campus coaches, one of the goals when the charter school began in 2012. The Clayton Valley Athletic Hall of Fame inducted its third class during 2013 with coaches, athletes and community leaders from the 1960s-1990s joining two previous classes for the honor hall that began during the school’s 50th anniversary year in 2008. CVHS Hall of Famer Bob Thomason retired after a 25year basketball coaching career at University of the Pacific on national television as his team competed in the NCAA Tournament. The girls basketball and softball teams lost North Coast Section championship games year while the baseball and football team fell in the NCS semi-finals. This fall’s football season began with Clayton Valley losing 34-14 to De La Salle in a Concord matchup of the Division 1 and D2 section champions from the previous season. Numerous Eagle athletes earned all-league and DVAL MVP awards. CV LITTLE LEAGUE TURNS 50 Last spring’s opening of the Clayton Valley Little League season was very special with the youth baseball organization
marking its 50th year. The family of founding president Mack McCarty was on hand for the ceremonies. The season culminated with the CVLL junior softball all-star team winning the District 4 championship and reaching the NorCal championships. DANA HILLS GETS 21ST One thing that barely changes from year to year is the Dana Hills Swim Team. The Otters won their 21st Concord Swimming Championship in 22 years. New head coach John Tsubota saw his team then place fifth at the Contra Costa County Meet while setting three meet records and having three highpoint swimmers. DIABLO FC ALIGN WITH SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES Local competitive youth soccer club, Diablo Futbol Club, became part of two prestigious programs this year. It became the landmark first Youth Development Alliance affiliate with the San Jose Earthquakes of Major League Soccer, bringing a variety of resources to boys and girls playing in Diablo FC and Earthquakes Regional Development School program. Diablo FC was awarded a US Soccer Development Academy U13/U14 team for elite players who commit to a year-round training program. Diablo FC had a pair of girls teams win US Club Soccer Regional championships and its U12 boys traveled to Kansas City for the VW Jr. Masters National Championships. 13-0 FALCONS ARE NO PEE WEES Reaching perfection is not easy in any sport but the Clayton Valley Falcons football team won all 13 games it played this fall (see story on page 12) including winning the annual Turkey Bowl and then the Northern California championship.
Offseason moves bolster Oakland A’s TYLER LEHMAN SPORTS TALK Oakland Athletics General Manager Billy Beane has been a very, very busy man this offseason. Over the past month and a half the A’s have been involved in numerous trades and even a free agent acquisition and in the process, have strengthened their bullpen and replaced some key members of their starting rotation. The A’s kicked off their busy offseason by signing free agent Scott Kazmir. The A’s signed Kazmir to a two-year, $22 million deal, and he will be replacing outgoing free agent pitcher Bartolo Colon, who landed with the Mets. Kazmir is a solid lefthanded pitcher, who last year finished with 10 wins and an ERA of 4.04. Kazmir can be an extremely dominant pitcher when he is top of his game, locating the strike zone with pin-point accuracy that can lead to numerous strikeouts and very few walks. Kazmir will fit nicely into the A’s starting rotation, and although
he probably will not have the numbers next year that Colon had this year, he is still a great acquisition for the A’s. Along with Kazmir the A’s have also added pitchers Jim Johnson, Luke Gregerson, and Drew Pomeranz through various trades. The A’s were able to acquire relief pitcher Johnson from the Orioles by trading second base prospect Jemile Weeks. Weeks seemed to have fallen out of favor with the Oakland A’s organization, as he spent most of last season in Triple-A despite the fact that the A’s had issues at second base all season long. Johnson is a fantastic acquisition for the A’s, as he has had the most total saves in baseball over the past two years. Granted, he blew nine saves out of 59 opportunities last year, but he has been very consistent over his career. Johnson is a low-risk, high-reward player because he only has one year left on his contract. The A’s will pay him $10 million next season, and if he turns out to be the closer they are hoping for, then great; if not, they just let him walk next offseason. Johnson isn’t the only relief pitcher the A’s traded for this
offseason. They have also acquired right-handed relief pitcher Gregerson form the San Diego Padres, in exchange for outfielder Seth Smith. This trade has been by far the best for the A’s this offseason because they acquire a top tier set-up man in Gregerson, and in exchange they send over an average outfielder in Smith. Gregerson bolsters an already stacked bullpen, making the A’s bullpen one of the best in baseball. Some other trades of note for the A’s are the deals that got them pitcher Pomeranz and outfielder Craig Gentry. Gentry came over from Texas in exchange for outfield prospect Michael Choice. Gentry is a fourth outfielder and should fit in nicely with the A’s. Pomeranz was traded by the Colorado Rockies in exchange for pitcher Brett Anderson. The A’s have been very busy this offseason, and it is clear that GM Beane wants the green and gold competing for the World Series next season. Tyler Lehman is a sophomore at Diablo Valley College and a 2012 CVHS graduate. He plans to major in journalism and wants to be a sports writer. Email your comments or questions to Tyler@claytonpioneer.com.