Some Things in New Year Seem to Be Crystal Clear

It’s time to dust off my crystal ball and see what the new year has in store for athletes, coaches and teams in the region.

The images are becoming clear:

Steve Smith of Taft High will catch 12 passes in a football game, causing a sportswriter to predict Smith will win the Heisman Trophy in 2005.

Freshman Brandon Christianson of Valencia and junior Brian Edick of Hart will engage in a prolific Foothill League golf duel that makes the battles between Tiger Woods and David Duval look tame.

Outfielder Delmon Young of Camarillo will hire a bodyguard to protect him from all the agents wanting to represent him for the 2002 amateur draft.

Simi Valley will promise to drop football if it fails to throw a touchdown pass for the second consecutive season.

On a trip to Las Vegas, assistant baseball coach Matt LaCour of Chatsworth will strike it rich on a slot machine, causing the players to call him, “Lucky LaCour.�

An old Cowboy who still has tricks up his sleeves, Harry Welch, will ride in on his white horse, come out of retirement and take over Canyon’s struggling football program.

Conor Jackson, former El Camino Real third baseman, will be a freshman All-American at California.

Josh Persell, a former first baseman at Montclair Prep, will become the most famous walk-on in USC history when he leads the Trojans to the NCAA baseball championship.

First baseman Jason Kort of El Camino Real will hit three home runs in one game.

Shortstop Brad Boyer of Camarillo will hit four doubles in one game.

Coach Scott Drootin of Chaminade will shave his head after the Eagles win the Mission League baseball championship.

Chatsworth will defeat Kennedy in the City Championship baseball game at Dodger Stadium.

Jason and Jarron Collins, from Harvard-Westlake High, plus former Grant guard Gilbert Arenas, will be first-round picks in the NBA draft.

The husband-wife basketball coaching team of Dan and Ann Larson from Ventura will have a competition to see who receives the fewest technical fouls. “It’s fun to see her go through the stress of varsity coaching,� Dan said.

Cody Pearson of Notre Dame will shatter a glass backboard with a dunk.

The Galaxy will decide it needs stronger competition and schedule El Camino Real’s unbeaten soccer team for a scrimmage.

To raise money for charity, quarterback Ben Olson of Thousand Oaks will dress in a Denver Bronco uniform, throw the football 70 yards and sign autographs, “John Elway� for a day.

Crespi will go from 0-10 to the region’s most improved football team.

Hart will finish 14-0, including a convincing victory over St. Bonaventure.

Oaks Christian will land the most prized freshman running back in the region.

The top five baseball teams will be: 1. Westlake, 2. Chatsworth, 3. Camarillo, 4. Hart, 5. Kennedy.

The top five softball teams will be: 1. Crescenta Valley, 2. Thousand Oaks, 3. Hart, 4. Highland, 5. Camarillo.

The Feb. 3 girls’ basketball game between defending national champion Narbonne and top-ranked Buena will draw so many fans to Buena that if you don’t arrive before the junior varsity game, you’ll be left standing in the parking lot.

Daniel Clements of Taft will win City track championships in the 1,600 and 3,200.

Anita Siraki of Hoover will become the fourth prep girl track athlete in history to break 10 minutes in the 3,200.

Former Hart pitcher Jamie Shields will emerge as one of the top prospects in the Tampa Bay system.

Center fielder Steve Moss of Notre Dame will improve his batting average by more than 100 points, going from a .316 hitter to .435.

Pitcher-quarterback Adam Geery of Kennedy will generate so many headlines from sports successes that he’ll force cousin Leonardo DiCaprio to ask for an autograph.

Former Alemany setter Rich Nelson will help UCLA win the NCAA volleyball championship.

Former Sylmar linebacker Derrell Daniels will make 10 tackles in Washington’s Rose Bowl victory over Purdue.

On a warm day in June, quarterback Matt Moore of Hart will get a scholarship offer from a Pacific 10 Conference school he’s always dreamed about.

Randy Wolf, former El Camino Real pitcher, will throw a no-hitter for the Philadelphia Phillies.

Baseball Coach Bob Lofrano of Pierce College will be more excited about making a hole-in-one than his team winning the Western State Conference championship.

Cecil Brown of Canoga Park will score 60 points in a Sunset Six League game.

Night baseball games at Birmingham High will bring out fans en masse.

Bobby Braswell will coach Cal State Northridge into the NCAA men’s basketball tournament, resign to accept a higher-paying position at another school and be replaced by Pittsburgh assistant Jamie Dixon, a Notre Dame High graduate.

The top pitcher in the City Section will be a sophomore, Justin Cassel of Chatsworth.

Freshman defensive back John Walker from Birmingham will outshine prep All-Americans in his rookie season at USC.

Autographs from Steve Smith of Taft will start at $5 on eBay.

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Eric Sondheimer’s column appears Wednesday and Sunday. He can be reached at [email protected].