Mountain Views News          Saturday, February 4, 2012

19

SPORTS

 Mountain Views News Saturday, February 4, 2012 

LASALLE BASKETBALLERS

Get Ready for the 2012 Mount Wilson Trail 
Race with Team CrossFit Academy!

The 2012 race will be here before you know it: 

Saturday, May 26.

Coach Eric LeClair and Team 
CrossFit Academy will be 
returning for their seventh 
year to provide free Saturday 
morning training runs for 
this challenging event for 
any interested trail runner. 
The training is a 16-week 
program designed with three 
different ability groups.: 
Beginner, Intermediate, and 
Advanced. The first training 
session will begin Saturday 
morning, February 4th at 
7:00A in Kersting Court. It 
is recommended that all 
interested runners begin their 
training on this date; each 
Saturday morning will feature 
a different training run.

Coach LeClair has had 
hundreds of runners and 
racers within the ranks of the 
training team over the past six 
years. The training program 
has been so successful that it 
has resulted in over 20 Top 3 
finisher medals!

From the beginning trail runner to the experienced veteran racer, all will be 
welcomed into this fun group and will be assisted in accomplishing his or 
her desired goal. To contact Coach Eric LeClair or Team CrossFit Academy 
directly, please call 626-437-8739 or search for either on Facebook.

Registration

Registration for the 2012 Mount Wilson Trail Race will begin on Monday, 
March 5 at 9:00am. Registration is available online at www.cityofsierramadre.
com/onlineregistration. Runners are encouraged to register as soon as 
possible as space is limited. The MWTR sells out on an annual basis, be 
sure to reserve your spot for 2012! For more information please visit www.
mountwilsontrailrace.com or contact the Community Services Office at 
626.355.5278.

2012 MOUNT 
WILSON TRAIL RACE 
INFORMATION


WINNING is the name of the game for LaSalle High School’s Varsity Basketball teams. Above , Caroline 
Knop, No. 4 and the Girls Varsity Team march to a 56-41 victory over Cantwell Sacred Heart High 
School. Below, Marcus Tappan, No. 45 helps the Boys Varsity Team defeat Cathedral High School 
64-57. Photos by John Blackstock


BREEDERS’ CUP GOES........

 HOLLYWOOD

From Arcadia’s Best

Taking a page out of the marketing 
handbook of Los Angeles 
Angels baseball team owner Arte 
Moreno, the Breeders’ Cup has left 
the name Arcadia off the logo for 
this year’s two-day event at Santa 
Anita Park Nov. 2-3.

Updated 8 a.m. Wednesday, Feb. 
1: For that matter, there’s not even 
any mention of Santa Anita on the 
primary new logo, though there is 
an alternate logo that says Santa 
Anita instead of Los Angeles.

 Like Moreno, who changed the 
name of the Anaheim Angels to 
the bigger and more advertiser-
friendly Los Angeles Angels (of 
Anaheim) — for which he took 
a lot of ribbing, Los Angeles is 
now the only city noted on the 
Breeders’ Cup logo unveiled this 
week, with searchlights in the 
background evoking the glitz of 
Hollywood.

According to the announcement, “the logo captures the prestige of the Breeders’ Cup with 
the Hollywood esteem of Los Angeles.”

I suppose this was to be expected when the press conference announcing the decision to 
stage this year’s Breeders’ Cup at Santa Anita was held last year at a hotel in downtown Los 
Angeles, with L.A. Mayor Villaraigosa being given the primary spotlight.

 Both Santa Anita and Breeders’ Cup are targeting a much broader range of customers these 
days from much further away than the San Gabriel Valley. Ironically, Santa Anita has been 
advertising its current meet on the electronic billboard at Angel Stadium near the 57 freeway 
in Anaheim.

More curious is not having Santa Anita mentioned on every version of the logo, since the 
track is considered one of the finest in the world.

The 29th running of the Breeders’ 
Cup World Championships 
will mark the sixth time that 
Santa Anita will host the event, 
returning for the first time since 
back-to-back years in 2008 and 
2009. Total purses for the two-
day event are more than $25 
million.

Tickets for this year’s event are 
scheduled to go on sale to the 
general public in early June. 
Fans may register today at 
www.breederscup.com/tickets 
to receive a special pre-sale 
ticket offer in late May which 
will allow them to purchase 
tickets before they go on sale to 
the general public.

– By Scott Hettrick

HUDDLE UP!


By Harvey Hyde

THE GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH

 
Two weeks ago I 
watched the AFC and 
NFC championship 
games determining 
who would play in 
the Super Bowl. I 
watched – for 7½ 
straight hours – 
as New England beat Baltimore, 20-17, 
and then the New York Giants’ won in 
overtime, 23-20, over the San Francisco 
49ers. Both games last minutes finishes. 
Can football get better than that?

 I have little doubt that I enjoyed that 
Sunday better than I will Super Bowl Sunday. 
As reporter Steve Kroft said on “60 Minutes”: 
“With all due respect to Ringling Brothers, 
the NFL is now the greatest show on earth, 
and Roger Goodell is the ringmaster.” No 
wonder Commissioner Goodell recently 
received a handsome new contract extension 
through 2019.

 In the Las Vegas sports books, New 
England went into the Super Bowl as a 
three-point favorite, even though the Giants 
couldn’t be playing any better. Quarterback 
Eli Manning and the players around him 
have great talent. In setting these odds, I 
guess it boiled down to New England Coach 
Bill Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady.

 Another factor may be that although both 
Belichick of the Patriots and Coughlin of 
the Giants have had two weeks to prepare, 
the advantage went to Belichick and his 
staff because they just may figure out how 
to penetrate the Giants’ defensive backfield. 
Whatever the odds makers say, I won’t share 
my prediction.

*****

 On “60 Minutes,” Kroft called the NFL 
the most successful entertainment entity in 
America. 

 Can that identity be improved? Imagine 
where the NFL could go from here? 

 One thing I might predict is that there will 
be one, maybe two, teams in Los Angeles in 
the next decade. That likely means the Super 
Bowl will be coming back to the Los Angeles 
area on a periodic basis.

 Expansion, and the money it generates, 
could mean the creation of a World 
Division or maybe an International Football 
Conference. NFL Europe introduced 

American football there years ago, and NFL 
games have been played in London, Japan 
Mexico City and elsewhere. We might have 
the NFC, the AFC and the IFC. There could 
be NFL teams in Mexico, Canada, London, 
Germany and even China.

 With this kind of expansion, the NFL could 
end up with a world championship game. 
Just imagine the TV ratings and audience. A 
30-second spot on the Super Bowl now costs 
$2 million. Is a $4-million spot within sight?

 It may sound crazy, but I think world-wide 
expansion is coming. 

 ****

 For some fans, one thing the NFL does have 
to think about is the level of competition in 
the Pro Bowl. It was really an exhibition 
game. No one wanted to block, no one 
wanted to tackle. There were interceptions, 
but otherwise, little defense. It is called 
«going through the motions.» I realize 
everyone is worried about getting injured, 
and I guess you can’t blame them. 

 Granted, the game is set in the beautiful 
vacation state of Hawaii. It is a fine vacation 
destination. But the players seemed to be 
on vacation during the game. Actually, they 
were, with a week in Hawaii with family and 
time to socialize with other players. Maybe 
some fans don’t really care who wins, but just 
want to see the big stars on the field together. 
No matter, the score of AFC 59, NFC 41 
made for an entertaining game for some. It 
was the second highest total score ever for a 
Pro Bowl. 

 For those other fans, maybe the NFL needs 
to come up with an idea that would give 
the players more incentive to play to win, 
besides the money. Baseball did something 
about its All-Star game when Commissioner 
Bud Selig said the winning team would 
determine which league gets the home-field 
advantage in the World Series.

 That wouldn’t work in the NFL, but 
perhaps there is something that can be done.

****

 Next week we may talk about the Lakers. 
Or do you really want me to?

Listen to Harvey Hyde on 710 KSPN 
Sunday 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.