UPON FURTHER REVIEW: THEY'RE RIGHT ON SCHEDULE.Byline: VINCENT VINCENT Vital Information Necessary Centralized (movie, The Black Hole) BONSIGNORE A few minutes before Birmingham of Lake Balboa Balboa, town (1990 pop. 2,751), Colón prov., in the former Panama Canal Zone, on the Gulf of Panama. The port for Panama City, Balboa was the administrative headquarters of the Panama Canal Zone. It was also the site of a U.S. navy base (closed 1999). took the field against Hart of Newhall Friday night, Patriots coach Ed Croson was talking about his decision to schedule so many powerhouse Southern Section teams at the beginning of the season. Specifically, he was wondering about the sanity Reasonable understanding; sound mind; possessing mental faculties that are capable of distinguishing right from wrong so as to bear legal responsibility for one's actions. SANITY, med. jur. The state of a person who has a sound understanding; the reverse of insanity. of it all. Over the previous three weeks, Birmingham - a City Section school with significantly less resources to work with than its Southern Section opponents - had already played Notre Dame Notre Dame IPA: [nɔtʁ dam] is French for Our Lady, referring to the Virgin Mary. In the United States of America, Notre Dame of Sherman Oaks, Valencia and Crespi of Encino. The Patriots came away with two losses and one close win, as well as a training room that looked more like a MASH M ° A ° S ° H bitter farce on bungling bureaucracy in a Korean Army hospital. [Am. Cinema and TV: Halliwell, 474–475] See : Bureaucracy M°A°S°H unit with all the battered and bruised bruise v. bruised, bruis·ing, bruis·es v.tr. 1. a. To injure the underlying soft tissue or bone of (part of the body) without breaking the skin, as by a blow. b. bodies seeking medical assistance. In fact, four of Birmingham's top six defensive lineman were sitting on the bench in street clothes Friday night. And here came big, bad Hart, the best team in the region over the last decade. Even Croson was beginning to question whether he was doing more harm than good as he watched the Patriots go through stretching exercises shortly before kickoff. ``It's tough to tell the kids to go out there and play when they know the cards are stacked against them right off the bat,'' said Croson, who rattled off reason after reason why Southern Section teams have all the advantages over City teams. From more money to more practice time to better facilities and better funded coaching staffs, the edge is clearly in the Southern Section's favor. Croson shook his head. ``As a coaching staff we see the big picture, and the wisdom in making an investment in the season,'' Croson said. ``We see the benefits of playing top teams like this on a down-the-road basis. At some point, we will be better because of this. At the same time, the kids might see it a little differently.'' Even the most ardent opponent of Birmingham's treacherous pre-league schedule has to be thinking differently today. That's because Birmingham waltzed - or was it sprinted?- into Hart's own backyard and beat the Indians in a 33-27 victory that left players, coaches and fans dazed daze tr.v. dazed, daz·ing, daz·es 1. To stun, as with a heavy blow or shock; stupefy. 2. To dazzle, as with strong light. n. A stunned or bewildered condition. and stunned stun tr.v. stunned, stun·ning, stuns 1. To daze or render senseless, by or as if by a blow. 2. To overwhelm or daze with a loud noise. 3. . Flashing speed that left would-be Hart tacklers grasping grasping a similar equine neurosis to windsucking; the horse grasps a fixed object with its teeth, but does not swallow air. for air (RB Brian Stuart and WR Cory Anderson both made Hart defenders look silly), tenacity, toughness and poise, Birmingham rocked Hart so hard the blow was felt all the way through the Los Angeles Unified School District The Los Angeles Unified School District (the "LAUSD") is the largest (in terms of number of students) public school system in California and the second-largest in the United States. Only the New York City Department of Education has a larger student population. . Nobody, nobody, does to Hart what Birmingham did Friday, let alone a team from the City Section. Over the past decade Hart has dominated 10 consecutive City opponents, winning by an average margin of victory of 25 points. In that time, the Indians have won six Southern Section championships. How astonishing a·ston·ish tr.v. as·ton·ished, as·ton·ish·ing, as·ton·ish·es To fill with sudden wonder or amazement. See Synonyms at surprise. was this win? Birmingham barely managed to get a practice in Tuesday, squeezing in less than 40 minutes of work due to the City Section's dubious rule of no extracurricular activities after 1:30 p.m. on staff instructional days. Every other Tuesday City Section teams are not allowed to practice because all teachers and staff must attend meetings after school gets out at 1:30. Birmingham rushed through some plays during lunch Tuesday without even so much of a pre-practice stretch - not enough time - before the kids had to get off campus. Hart, conversely, got all its work in as usual. ``It's not a rule we like,'' Birmingham principal Doris Lasiter said. ``What we've tried to do, and many what many (school administrators) have asked (the L.A. Unified School District A unified school district is a school district which includes both primary school (kindergarten through middle school or junior high) and high school (grades 9-12). In Illinois, these districts are called unit school districts. ) to do is have the (meetings) put at the beginning of the school day so that, one, the teachers are fresh and can better concentrate on the instructional things they need to do, and two, the kids get a late start, they finish at 3 and every activity that's supposed to go on, goes on. Unfortunately ...'' Nobody at the district is listening. This wasn't just a win for Birmingham, but all the teams in the City Section, most of which can barely fund six coaches to staff both the varsity and junior varsity team For the American rock band, see . In sports, usually at the high school and college levels, members of a team who are not the main players in a competition (such as a football or basketball game) are called junior varsity players. . When Croson was at Chaminade of West Hills (A Southern Section school) he made double what he's making coaching at Birmingham. ``All our coaches split our checks,'' Croson. ``I could go on and on why the cards are stacked against our teams. I've seen it on both sides now. When I was at Chaminade, I had no idea. But you do what you can do.'' On Friday night, Birmingham did it better than anyone has done against Hart in a long, long time. CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Milton Knox and his Birmingham of Lake Balboa teammates have some disadvantages, but the City Section team was able to pull off a 33-27 upset win over Hart of Newhall Friday. Joel P. Lugavere/Special to the Daily News |
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