The Saint Mary’s men’s basketball team is looking to follow up on a strong 2008-09 season. So far, so good. The Gaels have played two games so far this season, winning both impressively at home in McKeon Pavillion.

On Friday, Nov. 13, the Gaels beat New Mexico State, 100-68. They followed that up with an 80-58 victory over San Diego State. Their next game is Friday night when they host Vanderbilt at 8:30 p.m.

The Saint Mary’s women’s basketball team is also off to a strong start. The Lady Gaels won their first two games against Chico State, 78-55, and Idaho State, 76-69.

Their best game so far may have been their third game. Despite losing the game, 68-65, the Lady Gaels played tough and nearly pulled off the upset against a strong Cal team in Berkeley.

The Lady Gaels host Nevada on Friday at 5:30 p.m.

When the North Coast Section announced they would be expanding the playoff brackets, they really meant it.

Despite the fact that not one of the three Lamorinda high school football teams had a winning record, all three find themselves in the playoffs.

Acalanes, who finished 5-5, earned the seventh seed and a first-round home playoff game Friday night at 7:00 p.m. against an Analy team that finished 6-4 on the season.

Campolindo, who also finished 5-5, earned the ninth seed and will travel all the way up to Fortuna to play a 7-3 Fortuna High School team on Saturday night at 7:00 p.m.

Despite a losing record at 4-6, Miramonte earned the twelfth seed and will play at the fifth seed, Healdsburg High School, Friday night at 7:00 p.m. Healdsburg finished the regular season at 6-4.

Despite losing to Acalanes in DFAL play and handing the Dons the DFAL title, Miramonte’s boys water polo team went into Saturday’s NCS final confident they could pull out the win. It was also the first time since 2004 that the Matadors weren’t the number one seed in the playoffs. The Matadors squeezed by the Dons, 6-5, to earn their fifth consecutive NCS title in water polo. It is the eleventh time the Miramonte boys have won the NCS water polo crown since 1994.

The Campolindo girls found themselves in the final against a favored Monte Vista team. Monte Vista jumped out to a 4-0 halftime lead that the Cougars couldn’t return from. The Cougars fell to Monte Vista by a final score of 8-5.

Miramonte went into their game with DFAL leader Alhambra knowing they needed the upset to get into the NCS playoffs. The Matadors fought hard and found themselves tied 27-27 with under six minutes left, but Alhambra scored two touchdowns in the final six minutes to win the game. Miramonte finishes the season with an overall record of 4-6 and will miss out on the NCS playoffs.

Campolindo went into their game against Las Lomas looking to improve their seed in the playoffs. Las Lomas needed a win to get into the playoffs and came out strong, taking a 42-7 lead over the Cougars in the second quarter. Las Lomas won the game by a final score of 63-21. Campolindo finishes the regular season with a 3-3 DFAL record and a 5-5 record overall.

Acalanes finished their regular season last week in a 38-27 loss to Campolindo. The Dons finished 4-2 in DFAL play and 5-5 overall.

The NCS Water Polo Championships are already on to the semifinals, which will take place on Thursday. On the girls side, Campolindo has advanced to the semifinals, which they will host Thursday at 4:30 p.m. Miramonte was knocked out in the second round, while Acalanes fell in the quarterfinals. On the boys side, Acalanes will play in one semifinal Thursday at 5:45 p.m. at Campolindo against San Ramon Valley. Miramonte will host the other semifinal against De La Salle also at 5:45 p.m. The Campolindo boys lost to De La Salle in the quarterfinals.

The NCS Girls Volleyball Division III Championships start tonight. Campolindo earned the fourth seed and will be hosting El Cerrito tonight at 7:00 p.m. Acalanes earned the tenth seed and will be playing at Moreau Catholic at 7:00 p.m. Miramonte earned the overall top seed and a first-round bye. Their first game will be Saturday night at 7:00 p.m. at Miramonte.

The NCS Girls Tennis Championships will take place Nov. 17 and 18 in Santa Rosa. Anastasia Kaiser, of Miramonte, will be the lone Lamorinda representative in the singles bracket. The only local doubles team will be Sarah Holden and Natalie Korich from Campolindo.

Opening night of Saint Mary’s College Performing Arts Theatre Program’s production of “At Mrs. Dalloway’s Party” is this Thursday, Nov. 12. There will also be shows on Nov. 13, 14, 20 and 21. All of these shows start at 8:00 p.m. in the LeFevre Theater on the campus of Saint Mary’s. There is also a 2:00 p.m. matinee show on Sunday, Nov. 22.

The play is comprised of adaptations of a number of short stories by Virginia Woolf.

General admission tickets for all shows are $15. Saint Mary’s students can purchase tickets for $8, while students of other schools can get a ticket for $12 with a valid school ID card. Tickets can be purchased by calling (925)631-4670.

The Oakwood Athletic Club in Lafayette will host the Lamorinda Moms’ 12th Annual Preschool Fair this Thursday, Nov. 12, from 6:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

Over 30 Lamorinda preschools will be represented at the fair by school directors and parents of children attending that school. The representatives will be able to discuss the benefits of their school as well as answer any questions parents may have.

All families attending will receive an informational packet comparing all of the different options children in Lamorinda have for preschool.

The event is free for all, and children are welcome to attend.

The Campolindo football team went into their meeting with Acalanes Friday night looking at the game as a “must-win.” The Cougars played one of their best games of the year as they beat host Acalanes, 38-27. Tommy Stephens, the Campolindo quarterback, proved to be the star as he completed 19 of his 26 passes for 255 yards. He also threw two touchdown passes. The Cougars improved to 3-2 in DFAL play and 5-4 overall. Acalanes dropped to 4-2 in DFAL play and 5-5 overall.

Miramonte won their game against host Dougherty Valley, 14-7, on Friday night. The Matadors improved to 2-3 in DFAL play and 4-5 overall.

According to unofficial election results, Measure G will pass with 74 percent of the voters approving it. It needed two-thirds of the votes in order to pass.

The passing of Measure G ensures an extension of the current Acalanes Union High School District parcel tax. Without the passing of Measure G, the parcel tax would have expired in 2011.

The parcel tax costs taxpayers $189 per year, resulting in $6.7 million for the school district.

Measure G not passing could have potentially been detrimental to the district. Without the parcel tax, the district would be forced to lay off a large number of teachers and cut programs.

When the Moraga-Orinda Fire District Board of Directors extended interim Chief Pete Nowicki’s contract in July through the end of October, it was because they were hoping to have his replacement named by the end of September, giving Nowicki the 3-4 weeks he says he needs to transition the new chief into the job.

Now it’s the middle of November, and the district is still without a new fire chief. But they may be close. Wednesday’s meeting includes a closed session agenda item discussing the appointment of a new chief. That’s not new. They’ve been having these closed session meetings fairly regularly and board members have said they have a leading candidate and have been checking references and negotiating compensation.

But during the open session, there’s an agenda item for “New District Fire Chief Appointment Review And Potential Approval of Employment Contract.” Theoretically, if everything regarding the new fire chief is hammered out in closed session, they could approve his contract in the open session.

That raises the question, if Nowicki needs 3-4 weeks to transition the new chief into the job, and his contract currently is set to expire Nov. 19, will he ask for another extension to give him more time for that transition?