So many ties, and it’s not even Father’s Day.
Here’s one for the oddity file: Amador Valley High has earned seven straight ties. Imagine that: A seven-card straight.
The ties have come against San Ramon Valley, Livermore, Foothill, Carondelet, Dougherty Valley, Granada and Monte Vista.
In honor of the Dons (3-7-7, 0-4-6 EBAL), I have placed them in a three-way tie for 15th in the rankings. Rumor has it, Amador’s Lexi Nicholas was typically stellar in goal in Thursday’s scoreless draw with the Mustangs, the Dons’ sixth straight tie in league action.

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The Pleasanton Rage Soccer Club and Mustang Soccer League will both be having signing parties on Feb. 1, the first day of the national signing period. The Rage bash is at the Pleasanton Marriott, and the Mustang event is at the Mustang Soccer Complex.
An impressive total of 29 girls players from the two clubs combined will be honored. Here they are:
The Rage (11):
Georgia Barnes – University of Hawaii – Northgate High
Rebecca Beasley – Air Force Academy – Dublin High
Darlene Dang – Wellesley College – San Ramon Valley High
Jasmine MacDonald – Azusa Pacific – Granada High
Robin Mertens – Cal Poly – Albany High
Ani Nahapetian – Lehigh University – Amador Valley High
Bria Outland – University of Nevada Reno – Tracy High
Danielle Rodrigues – Fresno State University – Tracy High
Rachel Romero – Indiana University – Salesian High
Cassandra Scroggins – Chico State University – Foothill High
Heather Seeley – Colorado College – Dougherty Valley High
The Mustang 18:
Tye Madison, UCLA, Terra Linda
Haley Perkins, Chico State, Monte Vista
Angie Johnson, Amherst, Monte Vista
Victoria Burns, Washington, O’Dowd
Tyler Cunningham, UC Riverside, Rodriguez High
Celeste Martore, Cal, Castro Valley
Reilly Parker, North Carolina, SRV
Beth Ritter, UC Santa Barbara, SRV
Amanda Davis, Pepperdine, SRV
Shannon Hennessy, Pennsylvania, SRV
Celeste Boureille, Cal, Sacred Heart Cathedral
Tiffany Geer, San Diego State, Live Oak
Khayla Jones, Saint Mary’s, Pinole Valley
Ashley Love, Colorado-Boulder, Las Lomas
Noria Mitchell, Saint Mary’s, Dublin
Cassidy Nicks, Loyola Marymount, Carondelet
Julia Shockley, UC Davis, Logan
Allie Torru, Lafayette, Athenian

Voters had some tough decisions to make after St. Mary’s beat Berkeley on Saturday. Many voters still valued Berkeley’s body of work and kept the ‘Jackets ranked ahead of the Panthers. So Berkeley drops just one spot and Carondelet, which owns a 40-point win over St. Mary’s, moves up to No. 2. The rest of the top 10 stays pretty much the same. Castro Valley cracked the poll at No. 12 after beating Heritage in overtime on Saturday for its 10th straight win.

Also receiving votes: Amador Valley (13-5, 2 points), Washington (13-6, 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 as of Monday.

Note: Records include Monday’s games, though votes were compiled before those games took place. Every ranked team that played won, so I don’t think it would have changed anything.

Here’s our latest poll. Almost no movement, other than McClymonds moving back up to No. 5 and that sliding Deer Valley and Campolindo down a spot. Mack moves back up mainly because I think voters realized that they have a 30-point win over Deer Valley and none of their losses are horrible, even if they do have quite a few. Owning wins over No. 3 Newark, No. 6 Deer Valley and No. 9 Monte Vista has to count for something. Also, a note, while I updated Salesian, Campolindo and Dublin’s records based on tonight’s games, those results were not factored into the voting (although I don’t think much would’ve changed anyway).

Also receiving votes: Amador Valley (12-6, 1 point), De Anza (16-4, 1). The East Bay Prep Boys Basketball Poll is voted on by the prep sports staff of Bay Area News Group-East Bay. Records are as of Monday.

The playoff picture is becoming more clear as the contenders are rising to the top. Now we’ll take a look.
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 Deer Valley senior goalkeeper Kara Leffle, who was hit in the head during Thursday’s game at Freedom, was diagnosed with a severe concussion and released from a local hospital Friday, according to her father, Ken Leffle.

After she was hit, Kara Leffle had no feeling in her arms and legs. She regained feeling in her arms and legs as she was airlifted to the hospital.

Check out this story about a common high school sports nickname:

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/highschool-prep-rally/school-t-cougars-because-middle-aged-women-might-161402778.html

Tennyson High wide receiver Alson Paxton Jr. has accepted an offer and committed to playing football at Brown University. Brown, like all Ivy League schools, does not offer athletic scholarships. The 6-foot, 190-pound Paxton caught 46 passes for 793 yards and 12 touchdowns this season for the Lancers, who matched a school record with eight wins and made the North Coast Section playoffs for the second straight year — the only two playoff appearances in school history.

“He’s a great kid that helped turn the program around and is getting it done in the classroom,” Tennyson coach Terry Smith said of Paxton, who carries a 3.88 grade point average.

I spent some time trying to update the East Bay girls soccer rankings on Wednesday night, and by the time I stopped yanking my hair out I began praying to the soccer gods for strength and guidance.

No clue. The competition is that close.

The EBAL is crazy balanced and exciting. Four teams entered action Thursday night each within a point of first place: San Ramon Valley and Carondelet were tied at 4-1-2 with 14 points, one point ahead of Monte Vista (3-0-4) and California (4-2-1). Granada looms in fifth.

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