Solomon Opens On Top; Church Heats Up

Solomon Opens Hot

USC’s DUANE SOLOMON opened his senior season in starring fashion in the 800 at the USC Trojan Invitational Saturday. The onetime Cabrillo standout posted a nation-best 1:47.99. He thus qualifies for regionals already.

Solomon also won the men's 1500m race with a new PR of 3:50.58.

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Church’s Bat Starting to Come Around

RYAN CHURCH went 1-for-3 with a double Saturday against left-hander Aaron Fultz of the Indians and then on Sunday came up for his first at-bat opposite Cardinal right-hander Todd Wellemeyer. Church promptly doubled home Carlos Delgado with two out in the second inning for his first RBI of the spring. Churchie's 1-for-2 lifted his spring training batting average to .184. The Mets have six more spring training games, then open the season at Miami on Monday, March 31.

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DeGeorgia’s Bandits stripped

The Sioux City Bandits of new coach JARROD DeGEORGIA were plundered by the Billings Outlaws Saturday night 72-38.The Bandits are now 1-1.

DeGeorgia will appear on Lompoc Locker Room TV Show on Monday at 5:30 p.m.

Solomon Named; CHS Girl Poloists Upend SLO

DUANE SOLOMON, America’s #3 runner in the 800, has been nominated Lompoc Locker Room’s Male Athlete of the Year for 2007.

Solomon, running as a junior at USC, qualified for the nationals in Indianapolis, but that was nothing new. He had done that in 2006. At Indianapolis he was lightly regarded among the likes of three-time national champion Khadevis Robinson, college champ Nick Symonds, and emotional favorite Lopez Lomong, an African refugee. But Solomon led Lomong all the way to take third place. He was running in fourth before he overtook Jonathan Johnson, a professional sponsored by Reebok, to place third. Lomong finished fifth.

Solomon’s time was 1:45.69. It was the second fastest 800 time ever recorded by a USC Trojan. The performance qualified him for the World Championships. If the same scenario takes place next year, Solomon would become the first Lompocan to make the Olympic team since Nick Carter in the 1920’s.

Solomon joins Ryan Church, Danny Duffy, Wes Hain, Boo Jackson, Miguel Ortiz, and Matt Sims on the ballot.

YOU can nominate right now! Just e-mail your nominee to pressboxprod@verizon.net in any of four categories: Male Athlete of 2007, Female Athlete of 2007, Coach of the Year and Team of the Year. Take a look at the nominations list to date in the right-hand column below our sponsors.

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The CHS Dynasty Rolls On

Coming off a CIF title last season the Cabrillo girls water polo team graduated such stars as SARAH UR, KATHRYN NELSON and ASHLEY SMITH. The Conqs were not even ranked in the preseason polls. But the black-and-gold is acting like it wants to repeat. Yesterday the Conqs faced the #4-ranked San Luis Obispo Tigers and caged them. The score was 13 to 4 (10 to 1 by half time)...and CHS was ranked #8 in their CIF Division. Keep an eye on this group!

Duffy Impresses Again

DANNY DUFFY posted yet another blue-chip outing Friday night for the Arizona Rookie League Royals – in four shutout innings, he allowed one hit, struck out 5, walked two. Duff’s season stats now include a scintillating ERA of 1.05. He has allowed only 20 hits in 34 innings and his strikeout to walk ratio is 60/16. Duffy appears to be on the fast track to A-ball in 2008. Picture here is by his mom DEANNA DUFFY.

Also at the rookie level CHRIS WHITE went 1-for-4 both Friday and Saturday which means he’s hit safely in 9 of his last 10 games for the Gulf Coast League Tigers. His base knock Friday was a home run, his third roundtripper of the season and second in two days. His average over the last 10 games is a blazing .366 which brings him up to .271 for the season.

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In the major leagues RYAN CHURCH (who was going to be platooned, right?) got his only start of the Rockies’ series today and went 1-for-4 with his 11th home run of the season. Powerful replacement Wily Mo Pena went 0-for-4 both Saturday and Sunday and is stuck at .222. The Nationals lost all four games at Coors Field. Game time at Dodger Stadium Monday night is 7 p.m.

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At the World Track & Field championships in Osaka, Japan DUANE SOLOMON will get his first chance on Thursday when the 800 opening heats take place.

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In local high school football Press Box Productions announced today that its first broadcast of the year will take place Friday night when the Lompoc Braves venture south to tackle CIF titleholder Oaks Christian in the opener for both teams. Listen in on Comcast Channel 25.

Grand Opening

Hi,sports fans. More or less as promised Lompoc Locker Room.com is open for business starting right now.

July was interesting in Lompoc sports-- in pro baseball CHRIS WHITE caught fire and raised his batting average 100 points, DANNY DUFFY still has not given up an earned run, and RYAN CHURCH remains in the Top Ten in doubles though I know he'd like his batting average to be higher. On the downside we lost longtime runner and colorful character RAY GIL who passed away during the month.

At the Pan Am Games who was the only American still running after the preliminary rounds in the 800? Not Khadevis Robinson, not Nick Symmonds, but DUANE SOLOMON! He finished fourth in his semifinal heat so did not qualify for the final, but his showing was the best of the three Americans. Updates of these stories and more will be showing up right here in coming days.

Let me know which athletes and which sports interest you the most and we'll try to get on them. Just e-mail at pressboxprod@verizon.net and tell me what you think.

And if you want to call direct I'll be appearing on YNTV Friday at 6 p.m. on TAP-TV (Channel 25). Lompoc Locker Room TV show, the new version, can be seen on Channel 25 on the dates shown at the left.

So let's hear from you!!!!!!!

Duane and Nip and all those who came before

There are quite a few sports personalities from this little town that have gone on to great things. All the way back to Nick Carter going to the Olympics in 1920 (don’t go check, I haven’t, so I might be off by four years). Mike Bratz became director of player personnel with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Why is LeBron where he is? Because Mike drafted him. Granted it was a no-brainer, but Mike was the guy who pulled the trigger. Then there were Roy Howell going to the All-Star Game and Roy Thomas and Casey Candaele, and now Ryan Church in major league baseball. By my count there are right now five professional baseball players from Lompoc (can you name them all?). And in football remember Napoleon?

Who from here couldn’t? This fall there will be seven Lompoc football players at four year schools, all from The Poke. And that does not count Boo Jackson, quarterback of the top JC team in the state. Frank Piemme and Jurgen Schmidt are the world’s best swimmers for their age in the world. Torin Simpson is producing video for the Raiders. Brad Lilley directs music for the Dodgers. Marcus Jenkins was just hired by the basketball program at the University of Richmond. Right now Duane Solomon (see the photo) has qualified to be part of Team USA at the World Track & Field Championships in Japan in August. He is No. 3 in the nation in the 800 and he’s not even out of college. He’s the first Lompocan on Team USA since George Porter 20 years ago. He’s got a shot to follow in Nick Carter’s footsteps.

My point here is that I enjoyed following the careers of these people, and I still do. So why don’t we do it together? I CANNOT do it by myself. Already B.J. Lingle has agreed to follow Air Force Academy JV football (quick now, why would that team be of interest in Lompoc?) Texas Bob Wiener is on board to cover the Lone Star State. Barry Marks will be monitoring Washington, DC.
Send in the stuff you’re hearing (pressboxprod@verizon.net) and we’ll stick it onto this website. My motto is Everybody is a correspondent. Write letters, complaints, whatever.