Rams Land In MLB Draft

Central Valley Conference MVP Jameson Smith, a sophomore catcher from Fresno City College, headlined a group of local community college players drafted in the Major League BaseballDrsaft this month. Smith became the highest pick in the history of FCC, selected in the third round (106 overall pick) by the Florida Marlins. His Ram teammates pitchers Marcus Walden (9th round, Toronto Blue Jays), Nat Lovell (26th round, Kansas City Royals), and Daniel Buller (31st round, Boston Red Sox) are also expected to sign professional contracts soon.

Time For A Break!

With the school-year officially complete, this is usually the time we look forward to taking a summer vacation. Well, not for those of us in grad school at FPU. Since all of our assignments were due this Friday, these next two days will have to qualify as a mini-break. A lot of the coaches at Fresno City College are busy working youth camps and clinics, while others are preparing their teams for next Fall. As expected, our first six weeks went rather quickly, and now we are ready (or not) for our next two courses starting on Monday! Looking forward to meeting everyone in class. Til then ...

Fresno City Places Third In State Supremacy!

With the 2006-07 school year officially complete for California community college athletics, it is time to find out which two-year program in the state reigns supreme. Drum roll, please ......... the Pepsi Cup goes to ........ Orange Coast College from Costa Mesa! Sierra College (Rocklin) placed second, and Fresno City College finished third. A college is awarded points based on its teams' final positions in post-conference competition. Each college's top-five men's and top-five women's team results count toward the school's overall point total. Complete standings, scoring criteria, and a history of the Pepsi Cup are available on the COA Web site, www.coasports.org. Fresno (state winners in 2004-05) had another great school-year and actually compiled the most overall points with 109.5 -- eight more than Orange Coast, but after the adding only the top five programs, fell short by 10 points. Orange Coast had 164, Sierra had 158, and Fresno ended with 154. The Rams won state championships in men's basketball and wrestling, which are worth 20 points each. Orange Coast was led by its three state title teams in women's cross country, women's volleyball, and men's swimming. (The chart on the COA website explains it better). Still, a great year for all programs in the Central Valley Conference. We are disappointed to see Modesto Junior College - a school with great athletic tradition - jump over to the The Big 8 Conference next season. This leaves our conference seasons shorter now, but hopefully schools will add more sports in the future to fill the void. The next big news for the summer is the upcoming Major League Baseball Draft where several players from the CVC will be selected by pro teams. Stay posted ...

Baseball Final Four Week

Well ... made it back from the California Community College Softball Championships in one piece (and managed to complete the homework assignments in between games)! Had a great four days in SoCal - great weather, great tournament action - and met up with some ol' friends and colleagues (Mt. San Antonio College won its third title in the last five years). But, no rest for the weary, as this week I will help staff the annual Final Four Baseball State Championships at Fresno City College's John Euless Ballpark. The FCC RAMS will host Cypress, Riverside, and Sacramento. Action starts Saturday with games at 12noon and 6pm. During my weekly (Monday) visit on 1550-AM Sporting News Radio, I mentioned that these four storied-programs have combined for 17 California championship titles! So, we couldn't ask for a better tournament field. Euless Ballpark should be rockin', especially when the RAMS play Saturday night. If you've never been before, it's a great college baseball atmosphere come playoff time. As an FCC grad, I will be pulling for the RAMS ... as the CVC Sports Publicist, I will be doing this, of course, very quietly and in a professional manner. If you can't make it out, tune in to 1550 Sporting News Radio or on the net at 1550snr.com. Stay tuned ...

Welcome, Sports Fans ...

By popular demand, there is now a blog home for all things related to Central Valley Conference Athletics! (Actually, it's only a class project and the demand is from Dr. Sailor, but as far as we know, this is the only site for regular updates to highlight our great teams) Enjoy it while it lasts, and feel free to add comments and news about your favorite two-year college in California.

This week, and for the 10th consecutive year (I started young), I will be working at the California Community College State Softball Championships in Chino Hills. The top eight teams in the state will be competing for the title during the three-day event ... unfortunately no teams from the CVC qualified, as four of our teams were eliminated in the NorCal regionals. Myself and a colleague from Pasadena will be broadcasting all of the games on the internet (coasports.org) ... so in between games I will be writing batting lineups in my scorebook and finishing homework for KIN 710/730! In the mornings, I plan to play some golf in that SoCal sun ... uhh, I mean, stay locked in my hotel room and complete my assignments.

Keep you posted ...