Posts by Paul Teetor
All Ball Sports: Looking back, looking ahead
by Paul Teetor Mark Twain, the greatest of all American writers, once said the past is the best predictor of the future, and that past success is the best predictor of future success. With that eternal truth in mind, it’s time for All Ball’s annual end-of-the-year look at the local sports teams – the year…
Read MoreAll Ball Sports: Mustang girls roll Over RHP, Rams’ future QB, Williams past and future Heisman winner
by Paul Teetor Maile Nakaji’s reputation as a great basketball player at Manhattan Beach Middle School preceded her arrival at Mira Costa High School. The clever ball handler, dead-eye shooter, and great rebounder for her size, showed all the tools while still in 8th grade. “We knew all about her,” Costa Coach Jeff Herdman said.…
Read MoreCosta finally beats Rolling Hills prep
by Paul Teetor “We finally beat Rolling Hills Prep,” a jubilant Mira Costa Coach Neal Perlmutter said moments after the Mustangs defeated the Huskies, 50 to 49, in the Pacific Shores Tournament, hosted by Mira Costa on Saturday, Dec. 3 “When I came here Rolling Hills prep was one of the top programs in the…
Read MoreBook review – Ralph Lawler ranks with Scully, Hearn, but lacked their audience
by Paul Teetor Over the last half century Los Angeles sports fans had the rare privilege of listening to three of the greatest play-by-play broadcasters ever: Chick Hearn, Vin Scully and…Ralph Lawler. Ralph who? Ralph Lawler, who introduced just as many hoops catchphrases as Scully did for baseball, and Hearn for basketball. The difference was…
Read MoreAll Ball Sports: Mustangs win own tourney with two one-point leads
by Paul Teetor The undefeated Mira Costa boys basketball team won the semifinals and final of their Pacific Shores Classic Tournament by a combined grand total of two points – and one miracle shot. That’s right: the Mustangs beat Brentwood in the semi-finals Friday night by a score of 70-69 thanks to a buzzer-beating 12-foot…
Read MoreAll Ball Sports: Costa defense shuts out Loyola in fourth quarter
by Paul Teetor It was bound to happen sooner or later. Wednesday night just happened to be the perfect time for the Mira Costa boys basketball team to pitch a fourth quarter shutout. Five years into the Coach Neal Perlmutter era, the style of play he favors is clear: his teams are patient on offense…
Read MoreAll Ball Sports: Life of Riley, Chip Kelly Blues
By Paul Teetor UCLA just blew its best and last chance for the foreseeable future to beat USC in its annual rivalry football game. How can we make such a definitive statement after Saturday night’s white-knuckle, nail-biting, down-to-the-last-play thriller in which USC outlasted the Bruins 48-45 in front of 90,000 crazed fans at the Rose…
Read MoreAll Ball Sports: USC, UCLA backyard brawl
by Paul Teetor Saturday’s showdown between 9-1 USC, and 8-2 UCLA at the Rose Bowl has the potential to be the best football game between these two ancient blood rivals since…well, since 13-9. Every UCLA fan on your block or your group chat will be quick to remind you that 13-9 was the score in…
Read MoreAll Ball Sports: Mira Costa girls VB find redemption against Sierra Canyon. One win away from State Championships
by Paul Teetor Last Saturday night the Mira Costa girls volleyball team fell one match short of its season-long goal of winning a CIF championship when Sierra Canyon laid a three-set sweep on them in the CIF Finals. Now that the shock of that shattering loss has at least partially worn off, they may have…
Read MoreAll Ball Sports: Steve Nash, Free at Last
by Paul Teetor Steve Nash is the luckiest man in professional sports. Wait. What? Is that the same Steve Nash who was fired/terminated/mutually agreed to part ways as the head coach of the New Jersey Nets last week? Yep. It’s the very same 10-year Manhattan Beach resident who will return to his seaside home free…
Read MoreAthletic Director Rosenthal joins Mira Costa athletics
by Jenna Brodkin (Reprinted with permission from the Mira Costa High School La Vista.) Mike Rosenthal joined Costa’s athletic program as the new athletic director, replacing Glenn Marx, who held the position since 2015. Rosenthal lived in Austin, Texas for 20 years with his family before moving to Manhattan Beach. In Austin, he was the…
Read MoreMira Costa High School Volleyball: so close and yet so far away
by Paul Teetor The Mira Costa girls volleyball team went into the CIF Division 1 Final Saturday night riding a wave of optimism, and confidence derived from its incredible 36-3 record. They left Cerritos College little more than an hour later — shocked, heartbroken and deeply disappointed – with a 36-4 record. It…
Read MoreAll Ball Sports: Rams CSI Los Angeles
by Paul Teetor The Rams are done. Stick a fork in them, and put them next to the roast turkey and mashed potatoes for Thanksgiving. They’ll be home for the holidays. There will be no playoffs for them this year. We have first-hand evidence for those depressing conclusions, however premature they may seem. It’s one…
Read MoreKraskouskas’ four touchdowns runs out the running clock against rival Redondo
“I wasn’t going to let it affect me at all. I wanted to answer them with my legs,” Mustang running back said of Sea Hawk’s heckling. by Paul Teetor Mira Costa seniors Matthew Kraskouskas and Cole Crotty have been best friends – and frequent teammates in football, baseball and basketball – since first grade. “He’s…
Read MoreMira Costa closes in on CIF title with win over Palos Verdes
by Paul Teetor Beat Mater Dei Saturday night and they’re in the CIF Finals. That’s the tantalizing reality for Coach Cam Green and his Mira Costa girls volleyball team after they defeated Palos Verdes in straight sets Tuesday night. Their goal all season has been to help Green win his first CIF title as a…
Read MoreAll Ball Sports: Throwing bricks at former Staples Center, Mustang/SeaHawk showdown
by Paul Teetor The Lakers are now 0-3 after Sunday night’s depressing 106-104 loss to the Portland Trailblazers, in which they blew a 7-point lead with less than two minutes left. But their winless start is not their biggest problem. Their biggest problem is finding the right answer to the $47 million question: what should…
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