Alhambra

Hamlet Nalbandyan ALHAMBRA -- Hoover High boys' basketball Coach Kirt Kohlmeier stood at mid-court after Friday night's nonleague game, struggling to find the right words to best describe his team's performance against Alhambra High. Then, it hit him. "It wasn't pretty at all," said the long-time coach after a long pause. "But it was a win." Sort of. The Tornadoes shot about as poorly as they could have, but still won on the road, 63-52, in their final nonleague game before Pacific League play begins Tuesday.

LA CRESCENTA — Needing some additional scoring punch, the Glendale High boys’ basketball team turned to a hobbled guard for help. The support couldn’t have come at a better time for a Nitros squad in need of turning the corner. Bothered by a sore ankle, junior Taron Israelian might have had the pain scatter after he made two three-pointers in the fourth quarter — including the final one with less than a minute left — to give Glendale a 52-49 victory against Alhambra on Tuesday afternoon in a pool-play game of the Falcon Classic at Crescenta Valley High.

LA CRESCENTA — Once it completed a seven-point comeback early in the fourth quarter, things began to look up for the Glendale High boys’ basketball team. That quickly changed for the Nitros, who saw their new-found momentum halted during a three-minute lapse. Glendale concluded pool-play competition in the Falcon Classic on Thursday night with a 57-54 loss to Alhambra at Crescenta Valley High. The Nitros (3-4) will meet South Pasadena in the tournament’s fifth-place game at 4:45 p.m. today.

GLENDALE ? The 90th season of Glendale High football will begin tonight, and there will be several changes. First, the Nitros will play on FieldTurf after years of playing on a worn-out grass field that was shared by the Glendale Community College and the Hoover and Crescenta Valley high teams. Of greater significance, the Nitros will have a new coach in Edgar Torosyan. The 24-year-old Torosyan will make his head-coaching debut when the Nitros meet visiting Alhambra at 7 p.m. Torosyan, who succeeded Ted Amorosi on May 12, said he's eager to see how the Nitros will fare after going 2-8 and 1-4 in the Pacific League last season.

NORTHEAST GLENDALE ? About the only thing the Glendale High boys? basketball team could draw a positive from concerning the second half of its third-place game of the Ninth Annual Vaquero Summer Shootout on Sunday afternoon at Glendale Community College was the fact that a tense stand in the final minutes resulted in the Nitros hanging on for a 52-49 victory over Alhambra. David Mansuryan and Derenik Kaloosi led the Nitros with 18 and 14 points, respectively, and John Robertson led all players with nine rebounds while adding six points, but ineffective play by the team in the second half all but erased a large Glendale lead and forced a close finish.

SOUTHEAST GLENDALE — Here’s a good omen for the Glendale High football team: It found a way to suck the life out of an opponent. That hasn’t exactly happened too often in recent seasons, evidenced by the Nitros going 1-18-1 the previous two seasons. Instead, Glendale resembled a team that played with a purpose. Glendale forced four turnovers and got two touchdown receptions from wide receiver Charles Crosby on Friday night to post a season-opening 44-28 nonleague home victory against Alhambra at Moyse Field.

TEMPLE CITY — For three quarters, the St. Francis High basketball team was nearly flawless, from three-point territory, on defense, in transition and in running its offense. For the fourth quarter, the Golden Knights just got to relax because three quarters of relentless pounding allowed them to insert all of their substitutes for the final eight minutes. St. Francis had a 40-point lead late in the third quarter and was on cruise control in the fourth in defeating Alhambra, 78-56, on Saturday night in a first-round game of the La Salle/Temple City Holiday Classic at Temple City.

LA CAÑADA FLINTRIDGE — With the Flintridge Prep girls' volleyball team already lacking depth, it can't afford any injuries. That's something Flintridge Prep Coach Sean Beattie hasn't lost sight of, so he's been scrambling to find the right lineup combinations despite one of his top players competing with an ankle injury in setter/opposite hitter Julia Miller. Miller brushed aside the pain Thursday afternoon and finished with a team-high 12 kills to help host Flintridge Prep pick up a 17-25, 25-15, 25-17, 25-17 nonleague win against Alhambra.

SOUTHEAST GLENDALE — Ninette Mirzakhanian doesn't consider serving to be the strongest part of her game. Yet, the Glendale High girls' volleyball player needed to be at her best in handling a tough situation for the Nitros on Monday afternoon in their nonleague home match against Alhambra. Mirzakhanian made the most of her opportunity, as she recorded three key aces in the decisive fifth game to help Glendale register a 25-16, 24-26, 25-19, 16-25, 15-8 victory. "It's not the best part of my game, but [Glendale Coach Jennifer Vo]

A former Tournament of Roses director was arrested Wednesday for the 2004 murder of a San Gabriel woman whose body was discovered in the trunk of her own car. Allen Munnecke, 71, of Alhambra, was arrested at his Alhambra home Wednesday by Los Angeles County Sheriff's detectives who allege he was involved in the slaying of Donna Lee Kelly. Kelly, who was romantically involved with Munnecke, according to the sheriff's department, was reported misssing by her daughter on April 4, 2004 Nearly two weeks later her daughter was driving in Eaton Canyon County Park in Pasadena when she opened the trunk to investigate a foul odor.

LA CAÑADA FLINTRIDGE — With the Flintridge Prep girls' volleyball team already lacking depth, it can't afford any injuries. That's something Flintridge Prep Coach Sean Beattie hasn't lost sight of, so he's been scrambling to find the right lineup combinations despite one of his top players competing with an ankle injury in setter/opposite hitter Julia Miller. Miller brushed aside the pain Thursday afternoon and finished with a team-high 12 kills to help host Flintridge Prep pick up a 17-25, 25-15, 25-17, 25-17 nonleague win against Alhambra.

One battle in the war over the proposed extension of the Long Beach (710) Freeway may soon be over. A bill by Assemblyman Gil Cedillo (D-Los Angeles) to restore South Pasadena’s power to block a surface freeway through town has passed in the Assembly and is awaiting action in the Senate. South Pasadena, along with Glendale, La Cañada Flintridge and other nearby communities, is opposed to an extension of the 710 Freeway from its Alhambra terminus to the Foothill (210) Freeway. Proponents say the link is needed to speed truck traffic from the Port of Los Angeles to inland transportation hubs.

SOUTHEAST GLENDALE — Just minutes prior to his 23rd season opener as head coach, Bob Davidson was feeling confident about this year's squad, mainly due to what he calls one of the best doubles groups during his tenure. Playing Alhambra on Monday afternoon, the Glendale High boys' doubles pairings got their first chance to prove their coach's words valid. In the end, they did just that by notching straight set victories from their No. 1 and No. 2, paving the way for a convincing 13-5 victory for the host Nitros.

LA CAÑADA FLINTRIDGE — In the early stages of the season for the members of the Flintridge Prep girls' water polo team, it's baptism by fire. The Rebels kicked off their season Thursday afternoon with an 11-member squad that's got little to no playing experience. It's something that Flintridge Prep Coach Alex Supple had an idea might be in store. "We only have one girl with any more than one year of playing experience at the high school level," said Supple after host Flintridge Prep suffered a 20-5 nonleague loss against Alhambra.

LA CAÑADA FLINTRIDGE — After getting off to such a great start, the members of the Flintridge Prep boys' water polo team weren't about to let it all go to waste. So, at the first sign of resistance from an overmatched Alhambra, the Rebels moved to swiftly crush the Moors' uprising and secure a 20-4 nonleague win at home on Tuesday. "It was a good building game," said freshman Ethan Vandeventer, who led Prep's high-scoring day with seven goals. "It feels good to get a win in front of our home crowd.

SOUTHEAST GLENDALE — Ninette Mirzakhanian doesn't consider serving to be the strongest part of her game. Yet, the Glendale High girls' volleyball player needed to be at her best in handling a tough situation for the Nitros on Monday afternoon in their nonleague home match against Alhambra. Mirzakhanian made the most of her opportunity, as she recorded three key aces in the decisive fifth game to help Glendale register a 25-16, 24-26, 25-19, 16-25, 15-8 victory. "It's not the best part of my game, but [Glendale Coach Jennifer Vo]

ALHAMBRA — While never able to take control of its season-opening game against host Alhambra in the Arcadia Elks Tournament, the Hoover High baseball team never stopped battling either. And, while it didn’t necessarily show up in the box score of a 9-3 loss, the Tornadoes could take stock in having notched a few timely hits and being one or two more away from possibly getting right back in the game. “They played a good, solid game, there was just a couple situations where we got caught a little short,” first-year Hoover Coach Joe Cotti said.

TEMPLE CITY — For three quarters, the St. Francis High basketball team was nearly flawless, from three-point territory, on defense, in transition and in running its offense. For the fourth quarter, the Golden Knights just got to relax because three quarters of relentless pounding allowed them to insert all of their substitutes for the final eight minutes. St. Francis had a 40-point lead late in the third quarter and was on cruise control in the fourth in defeating Alhambra, 78-56, on Saturday night in a first-round game of the La Salle/Temple City Holiday Classic at Temple City.

[UPDATE] More video footage of the emotional Alhambra town hall meeting has been posted on our main news blog, www.tcnnorth.wordpress.com. There's also more observations from our reporter who was at the scene. ALHAMBRA — Angry faceoffs erupted Tuesday between activists on either side of the debate on health-care reform hours before Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff had a chance to take the stage at an Alhambra town hall meeting. Some pushed and shoved demonstrators with opposing views.