HAMLET NALBANDYAN
This just in: the Pacific League will soon have 28 teams, thanks to
its new generous policy of accepting every hapless school in the San
Fernando Valley.
By that statement, I guess you know where I stand on this whole
re-leaguing issue.
For the record, I've always thought that Burbank and Burroughs
should be in the same league with Crescenta Valley, Glendale and
Hoover.
But to make the Pacific League an eight-team league -- which it
will become for the 2006-07 season -- is a little ridiculous.
There's nobody to blame for this, of course.
No league out there is foolish enough to accept Muir, Pasadena and
Arcadia, so that's why there will be this new eight-team superleague
-- and I use that term only because of its size, not competitive
value.
I guess the reason I'm so against this move is the nightmares it
will create when scheduling league games.
Nothing official has been decided yet as to that process, but it
seems like during the football season, each team will have seven
league games.
And in basketball, there will be a 14-game season. Same with
soccer, softball, volleyball, tennis and golf.
The problem with that is it leaves teams with very little
preparation time for the games that really matter.
In basketball, for example, if a team chooses to participate in
the three tournaments its allotted, there won't be any room for
nonleague games.
*
There aren't many other alternatives available, but if there was a
perfect league for this area, you'd have Glendale, Hoover, Burbank,
Burroughs, Crescenta Valley and La Canada all in one league.
Geographically speaking, it'd make perfect sense. Plus, when it
comes to area rivalries, it doesn't get any better.
The big problem with this is the school sizes don't jive.
Crescenta Valley, Glendale, Hoover, Burbank and Burroughs are all in
the 2,500-plus range, while La Canada is at 1,500 or so.
But in all seriousness, does that even matter?
La Canada -- although it won't win as many league titles as it
would if it were in the Rio Hondo League -- will have no problem
competing in this league. In fact, it's the best all-around school
athletically, if you ask me.
Of course, in this scenario, Arcadia, Muir and Pasadena are left
out of the loop.
There are other schools in their geographic area that they can
merge with (like the remaining Rio Hondo League schools or Alhambra,
Mark Keppel and San Gabriel, all of which enrollments in the
2,500-plus range).
But of course when this happens, then other leagues have to be
reshuffled, and somewhere, someone isn't happy.
So I guess the current suggestion for the Pacific League might
have to do, even if it means sacrificing some of the success of the
league's teams.
Hamlet Nalbandyan is the sports editor. He can be reached at
(818) 637-3226 or by e-mail at hamlet.nalbandyan@latimes.com.
