October 22, 2004

Evergreen Sports

U15 Class 3 girls soccer team

Mt. Hamilton Flames snag second place in District II Cup

By Debbie Goulart
Special to the Times

The Mt. Hamilton Flames won second place in the District II Cup, Oct. 2-3. Pictured from left are (back row): Isamar Servacio-defender, Ravjot Kaur-defender, Sarah Maxwell—defender, Kayla Goulart-sweeper, Preet Kaur-forward and Samantha Taveres-midfielder; (middle row) Paola Juarez-forward, Tara Goulart-midfielder, Jackie Apolinario-defender, Abbey Nevoli-midfielder and Cassandra Van Der Zweep-defender; (front row) Juana Renteria-forward, Michelle Balcazar-goalkeeper, Alejandra Hernandez-midfielder, Veronica Sandoval-midfielder and Sandy Nunez-midfielder. Not pictured are Coach Manuel Goulart and Martin Nunez, assistant coach.

The Mt. Hamilton Flames, a U15 Class 3 girls’ soccer team based in Evergreen, won second place in the District II Cup on Oct. 2 and 3.

After a rocky start, the Flames entered the fall tournament with one thing on their minds; to win the District II Cup. Their first game on Saturday afternoon pitted them against league rivals, the Santa Clara Red Hots.

They played hard, with neither team willing to give up. The Red Hots gave the Flames a scare when one of their forwards shot a line drive to the goal. Flames goalie Michelle Balcazar made an awesome save that rebounded off her and right back to the forward, who shot again.

This time Michelle landed on the ball. The one and only goal of this first game came off a free kick awarded to the Flames outside the box. Kayla Goulart placed it perfect right over the defensive wall and into the net. With that win, the Flames earned eight points.

Second game won 3-0
The Flames competed against the Palo Alto Red for the second game that afternoon. Since the Flames had never played the Palo Alto Red before, they didn’t know what to expect.

Both teams came out strong, but the Flames pulled away 3-0 with goals from Preet Kaur, Paola Juarez and Kayla (off another free kick). With that win, the Flames earned 10 points, the maximum number of points allowed per game.

With 18 points, that put the team in first place within their group. The Flames were now guaranteed a fourth game on Sunday. The only question was would they be playing for first or third place?

Their performance at Sunday morning’s game would be the deciding factor. A tie or win would guarantee them a shot at the championship game. A loss would place them in the consolation game.

Third game tied 1-1
At the start of the third game competing against the West Valley Roughriders, both teams looked a little sluggish.

The Roughriders provided quite a challenge for the Flames, who finally scored before half time. The Flames goal was scored off a free kick that scrambled around in the box and was hit off one of the defenders for an “own goal” scored against them.

During the second half, the Roughriders fought for every ball. With 30 seconds left in the game, they scored, tying the game, 1-1. The Flames earned four more points for the tie and first place in their group once again.

Grueling championship game
With a total of 22 points, the Flames headed into the championship game against the SVSLV Arsenal.

They had played and lost to the Arsenal in the first fall season game, 2-0, so the girls knew they were in for a challenge. It was a great battle and both teams played the best they could.

At the end of regulation time, the game was tied 0-0. After two five-minute sudden death overtimes, the score remained tied at 0-0. Next came the penalty kicks. In the end, it was goalie against goalie. Flames goalie Michelle got a finger on the ball, but it wasn’t enough, and the Arsenal scored to win the District II Cup title.

With two wins, one tie and one loss, the Flames earned a respectable second place in the District II Cup. They look forward to finishing the fall season with a Halloween Tournament in Fremont. Congratulations to the Flames and congratulations to Coach Manuel Goulart and Assistant Coach Martin Nunez.

City Council backs effort to bring
Major League Baseball to San Jose

By Diego Abeloos
Sports Writer

The San Jose City Council unanimously passed a resolution asking Major League Baseball to rescind the San Francisco Giants’ territorial rights to the South Bay on Tuesday, Oct. 5.

The resolution, largely a symbolic one, is a show of support by the City Council to Baseball San Jose, a grassroots organization trying to bring the Oakland A’s, or another MLB team, to San Jose.

“It was symbolic, but it was the city of San Jose going on record to show their support in our efforts to bring Major League Baseball to San Jose,” said Mike Fox Jr., Baseball San Jose chairman and a prominent member of the San Jose Chamber of Commerce.

Fox said his organization formed in the spring of 2004 at the urging of San Jose City Council member Dave Cortese.

So far, the group has raised approximately $85,000 through donations to keep the effort alive. The group has also established a Web site, www.baseball sanjose.com, where supporters can electronically sign a “declaration of independence,” or petition, to show MLB commissioner Bud Selig that San Jose is a viable Major League city, Fox said.

“Everywhere we’ve gone we’ve had tremendous support,” Fox said. “We’re really trying to just energize the community behind us.”

At the heart of the matter are territorial rights possessed by the San Francisco Giants in regard to the city of San Jose.

No other MLB team is allowed to infringe on another team’s territorial rights, unless 75 percent of MLB’s owners vote to revoke those territorial rights from the Giants. Selig has already stated on several occasions that he will not allow another team to move into Giants territory.

The resolution by the San Jose City Council came on the heels of MLB’s announcement that the Montreal Expos will move to Washington, D.C., in 2005, just 40 miles from the Baltimore Orioles.

“The minute that move happened, that spurred (Baseball San Jose) to move ahead and encourage this,” said San Jose City Council member Linda Lezotte.

Lezotte said the City Council stands firmly behind Baseball San Jose’s efforts to bring baseball to San Jose and that a potential move of an MLB team to San Jose would create several jobs in San Jose and encourage businesses to set up camp near a newly built MLB stadium.

“The economic growth potential for this is tremendous,” Lezotte added.

Both Fox and Lezotte admit that the effort is still in its infancy, but the effort, should it succeed, will no doubt bring about even more questions. One question sure to surface over time will be where the money will come from to pay for a new ballpark. Regardless, Lezotte said a Major League team in San Jose would become an economic boon for the city.

“Based on the demographics and research we’ve done, the ability to draw from the peninsula and the South Bay (is there in San Jose),” Lezotte said. “There’s enough of a fan base here that the 45 miles (between San Jose and San Francisco) won’t affect the Giants.”

Rising EVHS football star Larry LaCotti

Sophomore wide receiver/defensive back Larry LaCotti scored the first home touchdown of the preseason against the Irvington [Fremont] Vikings for the Evergreen Valley High School varsity football team on Sept. 9. The EVHS football team competes in the West Valley division of the Blossom Valley Athletic League.

The first-quarter play started with a magnificent defensive move by LaCotti, who forced the opposing running back to fumble the ball. He later recovered the ball and capped off the play with a 20-yard run to the end zone, scoring the touchdown.

In the Oct. 9 – 22 issue of the Evergreen Times, an EVHS football story erroneously stated that Justin Sagisi scored the first home touchdown of the preseason for the varsity team. Sagisi scored a touchdown later in the game.

LaCotti, who dreams of earning a football scholarship from a Bay-Area university in a few years, began his football career in the “funpetitive” football league at the Millbrook Community Center. His dad, Larry senior, coached his team for four years.

He then moved on to the Evergreen Police Athletic League (PAL) football league that practices at Silver Creek High School. Last year, playing on the junior varsity EVHS football team, LaCotti scored the very first touchdown on the new EVHS field—a 60-yard touchdown in the first quarter.

LaCotti is enrolled in the EVHS BioTech Academy located on the campus of Evergreen Valley College. He’s considering a career as a software engineer, designing video games.

Arizona Cardinals honor Pat Tillman by retiring jersey No. 40

By Greg Zieman 
Special to the Times

Even the heavens seemed to mourn the loss of Almaden native Pat Tillman on Sunday Sept. 19, at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Ariz. as the Arizona Cardinals honored Tillman in a halftime ceremony during the Cardinals’ home opener against the New England Patriots.

The skies above poured rain overnight the Saturday preceding the game and continued to remain gray throughout the game, occasionally shedding a tear as if to remind everyone in attendance that this football game represented more than just two teams playing for a victory.  

The emotional halftime ceremony included video messages from President George Bush and Arizona Sen. John McCain, a video tribute to Tillman, comments from Pat’s wife and the retirement of Tillman’s jersey No. 40 by the Cardinals. In fact, the entire NFL honored Tillman that weekend with pro team members wearing No. 40 on their helmets in honor of Tillman.

As the Tillman family received the jersey commemorating the retirement of his number, an enormous flag with jersey No. 40 was unfurled in the stands in the east section of the stadium. At this moment, Patriot and Cardinal fans alike joined as one and stood to pay tribute to a person that epitomized all that is great about America and who set a standard of honor, integrity, courage, loyalty and life for all to achieve.  

It’s rare to see fans shed tears at a football game. But this Sunday afternoon, it was hard to find a dry eye in the crowd. In one final goodbye, the Cardinals paid tribute to a man that lived more in 27 years than a lot of people do in a lifetime. In a world and a generation of people that seem increasingly to live for themselves, Pat Tillman was a man that showed us the true meaning of sacrifice, commitment and sharing.

Perhaps it was destiny that the Cardinals drafted Pat; the team is obscure, even by NFL standards. A team with a heart and desire to do well, but a team that always seems to fall short. In 1998 Tillman was drafted in the seventh round out of Arizona State as the 226 out of 241 total players picked in the NFL draft. As a longshot to make the team, he not only managed to play his way into the Cardinals starting lineup, but in the 2000 season ended up setting the Cardinals team franchise record for tackles with 224.

During the off-season, he turned down a multi-million dollar contract with the St. Louis Rams to remain with the team that showed faith in him by giving him his first opportunity in the NFL. After the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, Tillman gave up football and the millions of dollars and stardom that accompanied the game to join the U.S. Army. He became a member of the elite Army Rangers. During his second tour of duty overseas, Tillman died in battle in Afghanistan this past April.  

Now, as we move forward, we can hope that others will follow the example that Tillman displayed. Pat was a man who lived by actions, not words. He was a man who cared more about principles than prizes. It’s highly likely that in tributes such as these ceremonies and even this article Tillman would have preferred the focus be on the other unheralded heroes that continue to serve and sacrifice daily. However it should be an important reminder to all of us that we can rise to a different standard by following the example he set.

In a world where we all get caught up in our own personal selfishness, Pat saw the larger picture. One gets the impression that if Pat was your friend, he was your friend for life no matter what obstacles may have lined the road. It is rare that we see an example of heart and passion in an individual of this magnitude, and it is even harder to lose someone so good. As tomorrow comes, let us all remember a man that taught us so much in such a short time about how truly special life is and how to live it.  

Greg Zieman lives in San Jose. He attends every Cardinal game he can, and was inducted into the NFL’s Hall of Fame as a Cardinal fan extrordinaire in 2002. He is associate executive director/principal of Second Start and Pine Hill Schools.