IBA Buzz

NCS Playoffs
DIVISION I
First round
Tuesday
No. 9 Liberty (16-8) at No. 8 Deer Valley (16-8), 4 p.m.
No. 10 Freedom (16-8) at No. 7 Dougherty Valley (11-13), 4 p.m.
No. 11 Bishop O’Dowd at No. 6 James Logan (17-7), 7 p.m.
Wednesday
No. 13 Berkeley (15-10) at No. 4 Amador Valley (14-10), 4 p.m.
No. 12 San Leandro (20-6) at No. 5 Heritage (16-8), 4 p.m.
No. 14 Mission San Jose (13-11) at No. 3 California (18-6), 4 p.m.
Friday’s quarterfinals
Liberty/Deer Valley winner at No. 1 Granada (23-1), 4 p.m.
Freedom/Dougherty Valley winner at No. 2 De La Salle (17-7), 4 p.m.
DIVISION II
First round
Tuesday
No. 16 Pinole Valley (15-12) at No. 1 Casa Grande (24-2), 4 p.m.
No. 8 Cardinal Newman (14-12) vs. No. 9 Alameda (17-9) at Lincoln Park, Alameda, 4 p.m.
No. 15 Montgomery (14-8-1) at No. 2 Campolindo (17-6-1), 4 p.m.
No. 10 Dublin (12-12) at No. 7 Washington (16-8), 4 p.m.
No. 14 Marin Catholic (15-10) at No. 3 Clayton Valley Charter (20-4), 4 p.m.
Wednesday
No. 13 Concord (15-8-1) at No. 4 Maria Carrillo (17-8), 4 p.m.
No. 12 Livermore (11-13) at No. 5 College Park (18-5-1), 4 p.m.
No. 11 Rancho Cotate (14-11) at No. 6 Newark Memorial (18-6), 4 p.m.

The Warriors were back to business as usual Wednesday, having clinched a playoff spot. And nothing says focused like … a rookie prank??

According to a source, the Warriors engaged in preliminary talks with Memphis about star small forward Rudy Gay. But the talks didn’t produced much as Memphis is not interested in taking the Warriors’ less-desirable contracts (such as Richard Jefferson) and the Grizzlies want what the Warriors don’t have.

Yahoo! Sports reported Tuesday morning that Memphis and Phoenix are engaged in trade talks. The story, citing sources, said the Grizzlies are shopping Gay.

They did stop at the Warriors door.

Read the rest of this entry »

Also receiving votes: Moreau Catholic (19-8, 6 points), Salesian (24-6, 4), Oakland Tech (17-9, 1). The East Bay Prep Girls Basketball Poll is voted on by the prep sports staff of Bay Area News Group-East Bay. Records are through Saturday.

By Phil Jensen
pjensen@bayareanewsgroup.com
The Salesian High boys basketball team is forfeiting its first 16 wins this season because leading scorer Jabari Bird is ineligible, athletic director Chad Nightingale said Friday afternoon.
Bird — a sophomore ranked 26th in the 2013 recruiting class according to ESPN Rise — transferred last summer from Benicia to Salesian, the top-ranked team in the Bay Area News Group-East Bay poll.
Bird declined to comment Friday. He was averaging 16.9 points per game.
The main reason for Bird’s ineligibility is California Interscholastic Federation Bylaw 510, which stipulates that a student-athlete who transfers has to disclose pre-enrollment contact with anyone associated with that school’s athletic department.
Nightingale said that this summer, Bird joined an AAU team (the Oakland Soldiers) that had a Salesian player. Nightingale declined to name the player. Since Bird enrolled at Salesian on Aug. 18 and the CIF form 207/209/510 that was signed indicated there was no pre-enrollment contact, that’s considered an infraction because pre-enrollment contact includes playing on the same AAU team as another person, Nightingale said.
“That is regardless of whether they even talk about the high school,” Nightingale said. “At no time did (Bird and the player) talk about Salesian athletics (while on the Soldiers) according to the students.
“(Bird’s) dad works close to the school and wanted a private education. He never even spoke to me or any of the coaches (before the transfer). He spoke to our admissions director. He did everything right, but (didn’t) check the right box.”
North Coast Section commissioner Gil Lemmon confirmed that he rescinded the eligibility of Bird on Friday, something that requires the 16 forfeits. Lemmon also said that CIF Bylaw 510 was the main reason for the ineligibility. He had no further comment.
Nightingale said Lemmon e-mailed him Tuesday with concern about an article in the Vallejo Times-Herald on Tuesday that dealt with Bird’s transfer. Nightingale said there was concern by Lemmon over a quote by the Pride’s Freddie Tagaloa that stated, “I told him if he’s looking to play a little, he should cross that bridge and come to Salesian.”
“I have no recollection (of saying that),” Tagaloa said Friday. “I mentioned that education is better across the bridge, so the bridge part was in there.”
Jose San Mateo, the Times-Herald reporter who wrote the story, said Friday that he stands by that quote. Nightingale said he also received an e-mail Wednesday from Lemmon asking questions about the transfer. Nightingale then conducted an investigation and found that one of the Salesian players had played with Bird on the same AAU team.
“There is something called an administrator’s checklist (for a transfer), you go through a battery of 19 questions,” said Nightingale, who added Salesian plans to appeal the decision. “The idea is, I went through everything and there’s nothing there … I would never in a million years think to ask ‘Did you ever play on a summer team with one of our kids?’ It never crossed my mind.
“The North Coast Section and Gil Lemmon have done their job.”
Salesian (1-17, 1-5 Bay Shore Athletic League after the Pride’s 74-37 win Friday night over Piedmont) still has a chance to reach postseason. If the Pride posts a winning record in the BSAL or wins the league tournament, it can qualify for NCS playoffs.
“A lot of guys don’t really understand what’s going on and why they’re choosing to come down on him and not other cases,” Salesian coach Bill Mellis said about the team’s reaction. “It’s an interesting case because (Bird’s family) did everything they were supposed to do. The paperwork is kind of misleading a little bit. I think they answered their questions honestly, and we just have to go back and figure things out with an appeal and go from there.”
Staff writer Jimmy Durkin contributed to this report.

(I’m off on vacation in Panama until Feb. 2. I’ll see you then with photos and stories from the rain forest! /Gary)

The Lindsay Wildlife Museum presents a Wild Night at the Museum! It is a wildly fun family oriented event to benefit the museum, 6-9:30 p.m. on Jan. 30 at the museum, 1931 First Ave., Walnut Creek.

Admission is $50 per adult which includes one child. Additional children under 18 are $10 each. To purchase tickets online go to http://www.wildlife-museum.org/wildnight

The wildly fun evening will feature lots of family activities: Food, beer and wine tasting, Peter Gros from Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom with live animals like a Serval and Ringtail Lemur, raffles with great prizes, Animal Ambassadors and a Tae Kwon Do demonstration.

Wild Night at the Museum supports the museum’s programs in education and wildlife rehabilitation. Lindsay Wildlife Museum is a 501(c-3) organization (Federal Tax ID #94-6104179).

Join them for Wild Night at the Museum on Jan. 30 at 6 p.m.!

There was some movement after the first four places. Enjoy.

Others receiving votes: James Logan (12-4, 1 point), Newark Memorial (9-7, 1), Salesian (13-1, 1). Records are through Jan. 9. The East Bay Girls Basketball Poll is voted upon by the prep sports staff of Bay Area News Group-East Bay.

Others receiving votes: James Logan (12-4, 1 point), Newark Memorial (9-7, 1), Salesian (13-1, 1). The East Bay Prep Girls Basketball Poll is voted upon by the prep sports staff of Bay Area News Group-East Bay.

Others receiving votes: James Logan (12-4, 1 point), Newark Memorial (9-7, 1), Salesian (13-1, 1). The East Bay Prep Girls Basketball poll is voted upon by the prep sports staff of Bay Area News Group-East Bay.