If you were following my Tweets earlier today, you know that the California Interscholastic Federation Federated Council today approved regional football championship games. Here’s my story for tomorrow’s paper.

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James Logan High sophomore pitcher Alex Martinez fired a no-hitter today to beat Valley Christian-San Jose in the semifinals of the Crown Classic. He needed just 82 pitches and struck out eight, walked one and hit one batter in the 3-0 win. For a replay the scorecast of the game, go to http://data.iscorecentral.com/iscorecast/player.html and enter the code 9d9fd24c89.

The most significant changes in weight classes in high school wrestling in 23 years will take place in the 2011-12 season.
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Sorry the softball poll has been absent from the blog these last few weeks. Here are our latest East Bay rankings.

Also receiving votes: Clayton Valley (8-7, 3 votes), Arroyo (9-4, 3), Monte Vista (8-8, 1). The East Bay Prep Softball Poll is voted on by the prep sports staff of Bay Area News Group-East Bay.

Not a ton of movement this week. Enjoy.

Also receiving votes: Dougherty Valley (12-4, 9  points), Deer Valley (9-6, 5). The East Bay Prep Baseball Poll is voted on by the prep sports staff of Bay Area News Group-East Bay.

Let’s take a look at the league races as we had into the home stretch…
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I got a little basketball news that is a couple of days old, but definitely worth sharing. St. Mary’s freshman Gabby Green and Bishop O’Dowd sophomore K.C. Waters are among 35 players from across the country invited to try out for the USA Basketball Under-16 National Team.

The trials will take place May 26-30 at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado. A committee will then select 12 athletes to compete at the FIBA Americas U16 Championship in Merida, Mexico from June 3-11.

Green, a 6-foot point guard, and Waters, a 6-1 post, both helped their respective high school teams earn North Coast Section titles and reach California Interscholastic Federation state title games.

Seven of the 35 invitees are from California. For a complete list, check out the USA Basketball website.

Little bit of football news this morning. Got an email from Miramonte High this morning to tell us that Jack Schram, former Encinal coach and Miramonte assistant over the last several years, has been named the new head coach of the Matadors. This one isn’t really a shock, as Schram takes over with plenty of experience.

I’ll have more for ya this afternoon.

Bishop O’Dowd High’s Brandon Ashley and St. Joseph Notre Dame’s Brendan Keane earned high honors today from Cal-Hi Sports. Ashley, a 6-foot-9 junior forward, was named the state’s Division III player of the year and the junior player of the year. Ashley, who won the state sophomore of the year award last year, averaged around 15 points and 10 rebounds for the Dragons in leading them to a second straight trip to the state finals. He was a first-team All-East Bay selection by the Bay Area News Group-East Bay.

Keane was named the Division V player of the year. The 6-foot-10 senior, who will play at Northern Colorado, averaged 18 points and 10 rebounds in leading the Pilots to the state championship. He was a second-team All-East Bay selection.

Sorry for the delay. Got caught up with some NCS stuff yesterday.

Also receiving votes: Deer Valley (6-5, 7  points), El Cerrito (9-6, 1). The East Bay Prep Baseball Poll is voted on by the prep sports staff of Bay Area News Group-East Bay.