GRASS VALLEY 1990 BIG LEAGUE WESTERN REGIONAL CHAMPIONS

Foothill All-Star teams (District 11, Area 2) have a difficult time competing with the teams in and around Sacramento. While we have recently seen our best local players take to the fields against Tri-City, Rocklin and Lincoln only to be sent home after four very long innings due to the mercy rule. It has not always been this way.

In 1990 manager Brian Bishop led a group of 14 local boys to Arizona where they won the US Western Region and on to Florida where they did eventually lose.

The photo above was taken by a Facebook friend and quite a few of the team members posted fond memories. The sign still sits today at Condon park and it is said that Coach Bishop still possesses the victory banners.

This team is an example of what can be done, even if we are from a small community.

The next time I see Coach Bishop I will ask him about the team and what he thinks it takes to lead a team to the other side of the country. We can learn a lot from the generations before us, if we are willing to listen.

NBA FANTASY BASKETBALL 2012

I would like to congratulate my 10 year old son on winning his first NBA fantasy basketball championship in what was his inaugural season. He defeated an eight year old friend who lives in Los Angeles with a final score of 5-3 in the head to head format. The managers who skillfully led their clubs to the Grass Valley league finals which was played on Yahoo Sports had finished the regular season in last and next to last place. They both made some very drastic moves prior to playoff time, of which I questioned, but the risk really payed off for both of them. Nice season boys. I hope you enjoyed it and I look forward to seeing you again on the hardwood for the 2012-2013 draft sometime around Thanksgiving.

In the semi-final match up this past week it was a fathers vs sons match up. The old guys who had mentored their boys all season, we taught the newbies the tricks of the game and we were exposed by those efforts. I fell in what was a close game 5-4 while the youngest manager took on his father the oldest most experienced manager. The contest started out close but by the weekend the old man fell asleep on the couch and he never woke up, falling 7-2.

I learned a few things through this NBA season. Injured players should be cut almost at once regardless of who they are. I held onto a big named player for more than 6 weeks which caused me drop 5 out of 6 games which caused me to slide in the standings from first to third. When assembling a team you need a standout shooting guard, so draft accordingly. The largest things I learned is don't give away your game plan and never underestimate your opponent even if they are eight and 10 respectively.

It was a fun season even though it was a shortened one due to a strike. There were many moments when I learned a thing or two about trash talk as well as a love of basketball being passed from one generation to the next.

Final Standings

#1 Showtime - Dean

#2 Go Heat - Daniel

#3 California Comets - Scott

#4 Oak Park Eagles - Chuck

Thank you for playing along....The Commissioner!