High School Athletics

[UPDATED with Mark Sanchez Back In:] Matt Leinart May Be the Only NFL Quarterback Out of Orange County (or USC) Starting Sunday

See the update at the end of this post explaining why Mark Sanchez will now start for the Jets.ORIGINAL POST, DEC. 26, 4:26 P.M.: Who would have seen this coming when the NFL season began? Heading into week 17--the final week of the regular season--the only quarterback out of USC with a chance of st ... More >>

Joseph Manuel Orduna, NFL Player-Turned-Teacher, Has Child Annoyance Case Dismissed

Two days after a jury deadlocked 8-4 in favor of acquittal, a judge dismissed the misdemeanor child annoyance case against Joseph Manuel Orduna, the former NFL running back who was teaching at Godinez Fundamental High School in Santa Ana at the time of his arrest in February.Orange County Superior C ... More >>

John Tran Nguyen, High School Basketball Coach, Cops to Sex with Underage Student

A former high school coach for the girls basketball team pleaded guilty Thursday to having a sexual relationship with a female student during the 2010-11 basketball season that began when she was 14.John Tran Nguyen, 21, of Fountain Valley, copped to felony unlawful intercourse and was sentenced to ... More >>

Bruce Rollinson, Mater Dei High Football Coach, Looks for a Quarterbacking Milestone

Sports Illustrated has turned its illustrated sporty to Bruce Rollinson, the longtime Mater Dei High School's football coach who is poised to become the first field general to accomplish quite a feat.Here's a hint: it involves two former Monarchs named Matt.

[UPDATED with Coach Quits:] Larry Hirst, Newport Harbor High Basketball Coach, Possibly Threatened by Players so Program is Suspended

​UPDATE, MARCH 27, 11 A.M.: The violent threats that possibly came from Newport Harbor High School head basketball coach Larry Hirst's own players caused the veteran team leader to resign after 15 years with the Sailors, the school's principal reportedly confirmed."He was very fearful for himself ... More >>

[Hey, You!] Nice Going, Gandalf

No, that short kid on the basketball court is not named Frodo . . .

[UPDATED with Reinstatement:] Harry Welch, State Champ Santa Margarita High Head Football Coach, Must Go: LA Times

​UPDATE, FEB. 15, 10:54 A.M.: Parents of Santa Margarita High School students received emails from school officials this morning announcing the Eagles' head football coach Harry Welch was reinstated after a three-week suspension: "As you may be aware, Coach Harry Welch has been on administrative l ... More >>

John Tran Nguyen, Ex-Basketball Coach, Accused of Unlawful Sex with 14 y.o. Student

​Authorities are reaching out to the public for possible victims of John Tran Nguyen, a 21-year-old  former high school basketball coach who is facing criminal counts for allegedly having been involved in an ongoing sexual relationship with a female student since she was 14. Currently out on ... More >>

Daniel P. Morgan, Navy Corpsman Whose Bomb Scare Cleared High School, Gets More Brig Time

​Daniel P. Morgan, the Navy medic responsible for clearing San Clemente High School classrooms on the first day of school after Camp Pendleton officials discovered he'd scribbled bomb fantasies involving the campus, was reportedly sentenced Tuesday to four months in the brig--to go with the 137 ... More >>

Bernie Fine Syracuse Orange Scandal's Orange County Connection: Mike Hopkins

​There is an Orange County connection to the controversy swirling around the Syracuse Orangemen's basketball program.His name is Mike Hopkins.Amid growing calls for the head of Jim Boeheim, the head coach who just received a vote of confidence from his chancellor today, many believe it's time for ... More >>

Daniel Morgan, Navy Corpsman, Still in Brig for San Clemente High Bomb Scare

​Navy corpsman Daniel Morgan is reportedly still in the Camp Pendleton brig for allegedly leaving behind writings while AWOL indicating he planned to blow up San Clemente High School on the first day of classes this year.Morgan has remained there since his arrest by military police under Article 8 ... More >>

Paul Crowder, Who Killed Star Student-Athlete on Her Prom Night, Has Parole OK Reversed by Gov. Brown

​As his predecessor Arnold Schwarzenegger did last year, Gov. Jerry Brown has reversed a state parole board decision to release from prison Paul Crowder, who was convicted in 1991 of murdering a brilliant student-athlete from Anaheim's Crescenta Valley High School on her prom night.But Brown stil ... More >>

Paul Crowder, Murderer of Anaheim Basketball Star on Her Prom Night, Wins Parole Bid (Again)

​After murderer Paul Crowder was granted parole last year, then-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger reversed it.Today, the Board of Parole Hearings, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation once again determined the killer of a 17-year-old Anaheim basketball star on her prom night should be ... More >>

Billy Bean, Pride of Santa Ana High and "Out" Major Leaguer, Rolls With Moneyball Billy Beane Confusion

​If you were a Hollywood studio chief, wouldn't you greenlight a movie based on the only major leaguer alive to acknowledge he's gay over one about a general manager who used sabermetric principles to bring undervalued ballplayers to his small-market team that went on to collect wins but no penna ... More >>

[UPDATED with Navy Taking Over Probe of Corpsman Daniel Morgan:] Bomb Threat Clears San Clemente High School

​UPDATE, SEPT. 12, 8:55 A.M.: Because no bombs were discovered at San Clemente High School, nor has any evidence of crime turned up outside Camp Pendleton involving Navy medic Daniel Morgan, the 22-year-old corpsman will not be charged in Orange County courts.That does not mean Morgan is off the h ... More >>

[UPDATED with More Arrests, Lesser Charges:] Acid Dry-Ice Bombs Blast South County

Melugin​UPDATE, JUNE 29, 10:58 A.M.: Sheriff's investigators have made two more arrests in what were first described as two separate "acid bomb" attacks in Laguna Hills and Mission Viejo. Deputies now claim there were six South County bombings last Thursday night, but the homemade devices relied n ... More >>

[UPDATED with Continuance:] Paul Crowder, Who Murdered Anaheim Basketball Star on Prom Night, Faces Parole Opposition

​UPDATE, MAY 25, 1:53 P.M.: The Orange County District Attorney's office (OCDA) released the following statement today:"Due to an objection to a psychological report by Paul Crowder's defense lawyer, the Board has postponed the parole hearing by a couple of months to an undetermined time."The OC ... More >>

Reality Series Follows Football Team At Long Beach Poly High School

Current TV​In a new docuseries, Current TV tackles high school football. 4th and Forever follows the team at Long Beach Polytechnic High School, which has a backstory that's very afterschool special. The synopsis:     California's Long Beach Poly High School has sent more players to the ... More >>

The Orange County Interwebs Horror Show Gets Sporty

​The Anaheim Angels of Los Angeles, the Santa Ana Drags, Huntington Beach surfers, Santa Cruz surfers and OC-bred quarterbacks Matt Leinart, Colt Brennan and Mark Sanchez wind up in this week's especially sporty compilation of things said about or from Orange County on the Interwebs.

[UPDATED:] Minh Anh Nguyen, Girls Volleyball Coach No Longer Facing Charges of Exposing Player's Vagina and Breasts

​Update, December 8, tk p.m.: Charges have been dismissed against 36-year-old Sacramento volleyball coach Minh Anh Nguyen, who had been accused of sexually touching a player while giving the teen girl a massage in a Santa Ana hotel last December.Two previous juries failed to reach unanimous verdic ... More >>

2nd Mistrial in Case Against Volleyball Coach Accused of Giving Sexy Massage to Girl Player

​A mistrial has been declared in the trial against a 36-year-old male Sacramento Christian high school teacher and girls volleyball coach who was accused of touching a 17-year-old girl's forehead with his penis, pushing her sweatpants and underwear down and lifting her bra.Minh Anh Nguyen, who wa ... More >>

Five Other Shows NBC Fucked Up On

So now that Conan O'Brien has decided he will not do the Tonight Show if it means following Jay Leno, we're sort of, kind of, well, livid, that NBC is seriously jeopardizing our nightly dosage of Conan. After almost a week of speculation, it's clear that the network--which has  history of not-s ... More >>

Safer Schooling Through Handball at Costa Mesa High School

Will Pete Carroll and Matt Barkley Prove Critics Wrong?

USC starting quarterback Matt Barkley hopes to flash the victory sign a lot in the years ahead. Pete Carroll's stunning announcement that the pride of Mater Dei High Matt Barkley will become the first freshman to enter the season as the starting quarterback for Southern Cal's living legend c ... More >>

On Minority Prep Athletes Messing with their Racist High School Counterparts

OC Weekly contributor and my occasional KPFK-FM 90.7 producer Gabriel San Roman wrote a great recollection on his personal blog about his days as a varsity basketball player for Savanna High School in Anaheim during the late 1990s. The ostensible reason for the post was a response to arrogant leftie ... More >>

Memorial Service Set for Popular Girls Basketball Coach

Orange Lutheran girls basketball coach Tony Matson, who collapsed at his construction job in Corona and died Friday morning in a nearby hospital, will be remembered during a memorial service Monday at Rose Drive Friends Church in Yorba Linda. The time has yet to be announced, but the service is open ... More >>

It's a Quick Read 9: Weekend and Monday Edition

Orange County Register: 700 lbs. tires were flipped, hunks of steel were moved and a U-Haul truck was upended at Main Beach in Huntington Beach on Saturday. No, it was not another joy-riding HBPD cop. It was Southern California's Strongest Man competition. . . . Mexican immigrants are returning ... More >>

The Devolution of a Mater Dei Apologist

Until we upgrade our blog, many of ustedes might not know about the many fights raging on blog posts of the past--the old posts that seem to get the most attention include those on local Armenian genocide denier Ergun Kirlikovali, Laotian Secret Army general Vang Pao, and my review of Lola Gaspar. B ... More >>

An Open Letter to Mater Dei Quarterback Matt Barkley

Dear Matt, Congrats on all your success: Gatorade High School Football, Player of the Year (first junior so honored ever), the early commitment to USC, the many prep titles—oops, scratch that last one! And we loved the profile that the New York Times did on you yesterday. We especially were excit ... More >>

Haunted OC Hotspots

In honor of Halloween the OC Weekly has compiled a list of haunted Orange County locations courtesy the database of haunted places on Shadowlands.net. So take some time and have a read. Even if you don't believe in ghosts, at least you can learn about some local legends and scare yourself silly! M ... More >>

Bishop Brown Too Nice for Once!

On Oct. 9, Diocese of Orange Bishop Tod D. Brown issued a letter to the county's Catholics explaining his recent $6.685 million settlement with four sex-abuse victims of diocesan lay employees. He talked about apologizing to two of the victims (read a different account here), about how sex abuse is ... More >>

Jane C.R. Doe Speaks

An Exclusive Interview with Jeff Andrade’s victim

Mater Dei Writes A Lot, Says Nothing

Today, officials at Mater Dei High School sent out a two-page memo to alumni regarding the recent settlement involving the Catholic Diocese of Orange and four young women who claim they were abused by diocesan lay employees during the 1990s. Two of the perpetrators-- Jeff Andrade and Larry Stukenhol ... More >>

Breaking: Orange Diocese Settles Andrade Case

Scroll down for updates as they come... Just received word that the Catholic Diocese of Orange just settled a civil suit filed against it and former Mater Dei High School boys' basketball coach Jeff Andrade. Strange, considering diocesan lawyers were publicly proclaiming they were raring to start t ... More >>

OC's Eternal Loser

High school football season is upon us, and there is no better time to remind prep stars about the textbook that is Todd Marinovich. The former Mater Dei and Capistrano Valley quarterback still owns the record for the most career passing yards in Orange County history, a feat more astounding conside ... More >>

Full-Court Mess

Admitted Mater Dei molester raising money for high schoolers

Totally Stokked

Beautiful Orange County high school student athlete gets inappropriate attention from voyeuristic losers all over the Internet. Beautiful Orange County high school student athlete's father is understandably upset about it. Beautiful Orange County high school student athlete's father makes his ... More >>

McKnight Out

Catholic Church Leaders Protect Mater Dei Coach from Deposition

McKnight Moves

Lawsuit reveals tampering charges against famed basketball coach

McKnight Fall

Gary McKnight built an athletic empire at Mater Dei. Will his role in a pedophiles return to campus destroy it?

Mcknight Errant

Famed Mater Dei basketball coach helped pedophile get a jobat Mater Dei

Of Hummus and Hezbollah

Good food trumps ugly Americanism at Meejana

Young Men With Balls

CIF Southern Section Baseball Championships

Hardwood Babylon

A decade later, Mater Dei High Schools still protecting a coach accused of sleeping with students

The Year In College Football

USCs Stars Vs. UCLAs Bars

Letters

Kid Jocks

Would you make your little prince repeat 6th grade if that might help him win the Heisman Trophy?

Diary of a Mad County

Ask Coach McKnight

Slam-Dunk Soliloquies