Baker's Dish

The UIL’s ruling Thursday wasn’t so favorable for the Laredo schools. Nixon, Cigarroa and Johnson were denied their appeals to the UIL’s realignment and must remain in 4A. They were attempting to remain in District 29-5A, which houses the other Laredo schools.

In either case, the UIL said no. And now Laredo is saying yes to more travel.

I don’t get to cover much high school basketball these days, but I had the chance to do the write-up for the Edinburg High-San Benito playoff game Tuesday night. You can check out my story here, which was delivered to you the readers on RGVsports.com by 9:45 tonight. You have to love the age of the internet, especially how quickly we can post stories.

Anyhow, I enjoyed the game. But, as always, here are a few thoughts.

>> Edinburg is quick and, as usual with Joe Filoteo teams, relies on its guard play on both ends of the court. The Bobcats aren’t tall, but Esteban Arriola and Noe De La Rosa do a solid job of controlling the game. Those guys were the difference in this one.

>> The first team that really defends the Bobcats — meaning, in your face, aggressive defense, will beat them. That’s my opinion, and I’m sticking with it. Trust me, I’ve been wrong before. San Benito allowed Edinburg to shoot way too many uncontested 3-pointers. That won’t happen against a more defensive team. Also, Edinburg won’t get to the hoop as much (it had 17 made free throws) against a team with more size. The Bobcats, however, may not see that until the regional tournament, if they get there.

>> San Benito’s Michael Preciado is one of the best players in the Valley. The guy had 17 of his team’s 36 points through three quarters, including a string of nine straight. I saw him last year in the playoffs as well (at Weslaco, in fact), and he was a stud then. Without him, San Benito wouldn’t have even been in the game tonight. He’s a nice player, and should receive some All-Valley love. And his play tonight only backs that up.

>> It was fun watching Valley coaching legends Roy Garcia and Filoteo going at it. That was one of the storylines I enjoyed throughout the game. Both guys credited the opposing coaching in the game, which is to be expected from standout guys.

>> The new storyline is Edinburg beaking a streak. The Bobcats have dropped seven straight area-round games. The last time they didn’t lose in the area round, however, was in 2000 when they advanced to the Sweet 16. It should be interesting on Saturday, when the Bobcats have the chance to get that seven-year monkey of their backs.

I just received an e-mail from the UIL. It contains the list of schools which are appealing the UIL’s realignment. The schools of interest here are Laredo Cigarroa, Laredo Johnson and Laredo Nixon), which went from District 29-5A to 31-4A, splitting up the Laredo league. Other schools to appeal are Houston Stratford, Dripping Springs, Hereford, San Marcos and San Antonio Highlands. The UIL will meet at 9 a.m. Thursday to discuss the appeals. At this time, it’s expected that the UIL will finalize the realigment.

I had the chance to catch up with former McAllen Rowe baseball standout Jose Pablo Oyervidez on two occasions during the past three weeks. In the most recent conversation, we talked about his career — one that has kept him in the minor leagues.

Oyervidez, who celebrated his 26th birthday Monday, will report to minor league spring training during March in Peoria, Ariz., and expects to be back with the Double-A San Antonio Missions again this season. He’s a real prospect in the San Diego Padres’ minor league system. Just check this story out for proof.

Of course, as always, he’s looking to land a gig in the big leagues. “The minor leagues isn’t the place to be,” he said. “I’m glad I’m at least here, but nobody in the minors wants to be here. It’s not a fun life. We’d much rather be in the big leagues.” But injuries always have limited Oyervidez, who some scouts pretty much wrote off after he had Tommy John surgery three years ago. He came back and had a strong 2006 season, but suffered another setback last season when he again had season-ending shoulder surgery to repair nerve damage. It was in his throwing arm, the same one that he had Tommy John. And now, Oyervidez — a former All-Valley MVP for Rowe — is attempting his second comeback in three years. And he’s excited about it.

“I’m not trying to make Triple-A,” he said. “I’m trying to skip that and go straight to the big leagues. It can be done. I skipped (Single-A) ball. If I go to Triple-A I’m fine with that. But my eyes are on the big leagues. I’m feeling good, and I’m ready to get back out there.”

And, of course, this blog wouldn’t be complete without this.

I’ve only covered one basketball game this year, but I always look forward to the playoffs. I still keep up with it. One of the things I miss most now with me being tied down to the office is covering high school basketball. The other, of course, is high school football.

With that said, we have a pretty unique situation this year. All the talk is about girls basketball, with this being a down year for boys hoops in the Valley. The Weslaco High Panthers stole the show last season on the boys side. The talk on the girls side this year centers around two teams. The stacked squad at McAllen High and Bianca Torre led Harlingen South. No matter how you dispute it — whether McHi is the best or South — these are two of the most talented girls basketball teams from the Valley in some time. Expectations are that one of these teams may finally cash in on the state tournament this season. That would be a first for a girls basketball team from deep South Texas.

There’s only one way these two teams will meet along the way. And for those that haven’t looked ahead, that would happen during the Region IV Final in San Antonio. That, my friends, would be a treat. South vs. McHi for the chance to move on to the state tournament. And that, as a basketball fan, would be a game that I wouldn’t want to miss.

With that said, let the playoffs begin. Maybe, just maybe, that dream matchup will happen.

For those that haven’t heard, former La Joya coach Oscar Villasenor is back in coaching. Villasenor retired from the Coyotes after the 2007 season — actually, just before the end of the school year — and headed back closer to home. He ended up as an assistant this past year at Eagle Pass, but he made his return to the head coaching ranks Thursday.

Villasenor was introduced as the new Laredo LBJ coach, as it says here. He was one of 21 applicants for the job, and the full list can be found in this earlier story. As for my thoughts, I covered Oki’s La Joya team for three years. I’ve said numerous times, I always enjoyed going out to Coyote Stadium. It’s one of my favorite stadiums in the Valley. OK, I take that back. For Friday night football, it’s my favorite place to watch a game. But one of the big reasons for that was Oscar Villasenor. He always made it fun. He was welcoming to the media, when you told (or, in my case, wrote) it like it was he understood and he was and still is one of the good guys. Of course, he was replaced with this anti-media guy by the school board in mid-June.

So, with that, let’s welcome one of the good guys back to the top ranks of high school football. For those interested, here’s the final story I wrote on Villasenor, coming minutes after he announced his retirement from La Joya. And true to word, I was the first guy he called when it was official. Of course, I have no way to believing that. But from past dealings with Villasenor, I have no reason to believe he isn’t a man of his word.

One day after I posted about former McAllen Memorial star Bradley Stephens looking ahead to the 2008 season as a redshirt freshman for Texas A&M, the Aggies signed the state’s top running back Wednesday. So, should there be any concern for Stephens?

I talked to his father Craig shortly after seeing this story. Craig said there are no worries. “It doesn’t bother Bradley a bit,” he said. Why, you ask? Well, Craig says that top-tier programs sign top-tier running backs all the time. “When you go to a bigtime school, you expect them to sign the top recruits. Bradley never expected to be the only running back at Texas A&M. He expects them to sign the top players. That’s what you want.”

And he’s 100 percent correct. If you go to a top level program in the nation, chances are you are going to have to fend off some of the top-tier running backs in the nation for playing time. At Texas A&M, they now have senior Jovorskie Lane, junior Mike Goodson, Stephens and now Cyrus Gray, who is pictured above. Stephens and Gray were ranked as the top running backs in Texas in back-to-back years. And if you didn’t notice, there weren’t just three running backs on last year’s Aggies roster. In fact, right here it says there were 10 running backs on the roster. The bottom line is just because you get a scholarship doesn’t mean you’re guaranteed a starting spot in college football. That’s determined once you get there.

When trying to track someone down, you never know where it may lead. On Monday, to track Jamaar Taylor down, I first had to get in touch with former McAllen Memorial star Bradley Stephens, who now is playing college football at College Station.

So with that, here’s the latest update on Stephens.

After a season of watching from the sidelines and using his redshirt, Stephens plans to make an impact with the Aggies this season, he said. With Dennis Franchione resigning and the hiring of Mike Sherman in the offseason, Stephens said the position battles are wide open. “Everything is up for grabs,” he said. And despite the talent in front of Stephens in the running game (you know, those two guys named Mike Goodson and Jorvorskie Lane are pretty impressive), he thinks he has a chance to shine this season. Goodson will be a junior and Lane will be a senior.

Bradley said in offseason workouts (in the weightroom and conditioning), “Mike and I are neck and neck right now. I learned so much from Mike last season, and now we’re competing pretty strong in the offseason.” That means while he doesn’t expect to be the star this season — you have to remember, this guy was one of the top backs in the nation coming out of high school — he does expect to make an impact on the team in 2008. “I think I’ll have a few plays for me,” Stephens said. “They’ll have some stuff for me in the running game. They like my hands a lot. It’s an exciting time for me.” As for the more sure bet for playing time, “I expect be playing on special teams,” Stephens said. “I’m pretty sure I’ll be playing back there.”

The Aggies begin spring practice March 23, and that should give a glimpse of how Stephens likely will be utilized next season. The Moroon & White spring game is April 18.

Off the field, Stephens sounded extremely upbeat when he was asked about college life. With a laugh he said, “I love it up here. College Station is great. It’s a great experience. There’s no question, I made the right choice coming here.

That’s it for now. Keep checking back for updates on other Valley athletes in college. And as always, if you have any suggestions, feel free to drop me a comment.

I just got off the phone with former Mission High standout Jamaar Taylor. Taylor, who played two years with the New York Giants after his college career at Texas A&M, talked briefly about his coaching future and about the Giants’ Super Bowl victory.

The breaking news is that Taylor is nearing a deal to be the receivers coach at La Joya. That should be approved by the end of the week, he said. Dating back to college, Taylor always told me he wanted to be a coach one day. It appears this is the beginning of his career in that profession. And being the receivers coach at La Joya under Leonel Casas (known to favor the passing game), will be just the break Taylor has been looking for. Taylor also has a sports training service, which he’s had for the past year or so helping area athletes improve their conditioning.

As for the Giants: Taylor said he was happy they won the Super Bowl. He sounded sincere about it. He also said something that I thought was funny. Giants coach Tom Coughlin has been known to be a stickler for discipline. When I first asked Taylor about the Super Bowl, his response was “Maybe coach Coughlin will loosen up now.” I thought that was interesting. Anyhow, hope you enjoyed the Jamaar Taylor update.

Well, realignment is in the books for another two years. It’s my second one of these, and it seems like I’ve learned to appreciate the day more this year. Even though it was around 8 a.m. when I arrived, as the room began to fill up with coaches from across the Rio Grande Valley — and a few from outside — the electricity began to build.

I mean, how often can you find Tom Chavez, Dave Evans, Joe Solis, Tony Harris, Fred Sanchez (at your far left), Mario Pena, Jim Helms, Mel Rios and Tony Villarreal in the same room at the same time? And this place was crazy. It’s like the stockmarket for football coaches. It’s a guys place. It’s a gym, minus the sweat, weights and eye candy, as I mentioned in today’s column.

And, as for the actual realignment, it did nothing to make it interesting this year. But the key here, is that even though it lacked the fireworks when the magic box, as they called it, was opened at 9 a.m., you still have the feeling that this was the place to be on Friday.

Here’s some of the keys from Friday:
>> Mission High remains a 4A school, and is proud of it.
>> There’s one 3A Valley district. I’d like to personally thank the UIL. You guys in Austin have no clue how much easier you made my job of budgeting coverage next season.
>> Weslaco and Donna will not play. What? That’s right, Tony V. and Manny Moreno can’t lose their jobs because of losing to their archrival during the next two years.
>> Laredo, our South Texas neighbor, experienced a bit of shock. The UIL split their schools up, creating a 5A and 4A district and a lot more travel. The keyword out of Laredo was “shock.” Read this story by the Laredo Morning Times’ Dennis Silva, which says that the Laredo schools plan to appeal the realignment to the UIL.