Comments on: Friday night thoughts from Oakland

By: Jimmy Durkin

Jimmy Durkin — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 03:34:02 +0000

You obviously aren’t as well informed as you think you are. You say he was caught for cheating. Do you know the actual reason he was suspended? Bet not (yes I do and no I’m not going to disclose the full details here). All he did was do something for some deserving kids that they wouldn’t have otherwise had.

And even if players have the basic football skills when they go to Alonzo, it’s foolish to think basic football skills are the only thing that matters in terms of going to the next level. Particularly in Oakland, a HUGE part of it is making sure kids are eligible in the classroom and making contacts with coaches to get players recognized. To say he’s a terrible coach is pure ignorance.

By: Ron Risi

Ron Risi — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 22:55:49 +0000

I coached football in the eastbay area for 33 years;
The credit that you the Berkeley High Coach is ridiculous.He has taken players(recruited them),from all over the bay area.Mostly players that were already given the basic skills,and were stars on other teams, already.Josh Tatum was a prime example of a player who was offered a scholarship as a Junior to USC,but it was made to look like because he went to Maclymonds, he got his scholarship. This coach is a liar and a cheat,period!!!!
He was already caught for his cheating once.I could go on and on about different circumstances, where this coach approached friends of mine, whose sons played for other schools,in an illegal fashion. Trying to convince them to go to Berkeley High School.
Enough is enough,he can’t even win with the tremendous athletes that he recruits. He has never beat anyone outside the OAL, that was any good or ranked!!!
In short he is a terrible coach even with the cheating he does.
THANKS FOR YOUR ATTENTION ON THIS MATTER.

By: Michael Moore, Sr.

Michael Moore, Sr. — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 16:47:44 +0000

Thanks for your dedication to the student-athletes of the East Bay!

Michael Moore, Sr.
OAL Commissioner

By: Jimmy Durkin

Jimmy Durkin — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 07:34:04 +0000

You know how it is Hoose. You start out just about to write a few things and you get rolling and keep writing.

By: Steve R. Waterhouse

Steve R. Waterhouse — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 06:53:39 +0000

A few thoughts? Looks like you covered just about everything.