3:20pm | There was a classic action movie when I was a kid (ok, a circa 1958 kid) entitled Run Silent, Run Deep.  I am not sure that the marketing department at the LBSU has fixed on a slogan for the 2011-2012 athletic year but I kind of like the sound of that title.

The Run Silent bit is a confession that in the past the submarine-like dive experienced by fans, players, coaches and teams from overly high pre-season expectations was painful for one and all.  Maybe a little less hype wouldn’t be bad.

The Run Deep idea I swiped from my photo pal Robert who ran a great pre-season preview on women’s volleyball in which he concludes by saying, “this year could be a special one ending with a deep run in the NCAA tournament.”  And you can ditto that dream for the other marquee Niner sports, especially men’s basketball and baseball.

Volleyball gets the first opportunity to strut their stuff when they have a rare open practice Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m. in the historic, and occasionally warm, Gold Mine.  The squad will run a scrimmage game with the A side playing the B side and Mizuno missiles likely flying all around the old gym.  It all happens under the watchful eye of Head Coach Brian Gimmillaro and his coaching staff, including newcomer volunteer assistant coach Rob Koehler and returning coaches Ericka Chidester and Matt Ulmer.

The Niner faithful of course come into this season looking for more blocking and hitting brilliance from returning front court stars 6-7 Haleigh Hampton (MB), and 6-2 Caitlin Ledoux (OH), and their stellar, go anywhere, libero Lauren Minkel.  But since it is August it must be time to have another quarterback controversy, this time sorting out the three setters in camp, sophomore Ashley Vazquez, and two talented freshmen, Tori Jobe and Erin Juley.  Vazquez started the season last year, knows the returning players but insiders say she may need to play better defense.

Meanwhile on offense there is no such question about the talents of senior All American Caitlin Ledoux. There is a question about the rest of the Beach attack, including the pocket rocket, tiny leaper Janisa Johnson.  JJ was a surprise last season and could rotate with returnee Delainey Aigner-Swesey and pure freshman Bre Mackie.

Hampton played all summer on a USA team and our mutual foot doctor says she appears happy, pain free and very fit. The second middle blocker should be 6-3 Alma Serna who provides some depth at that position.  Rookies Chisom Okpala and Kitan Ajanaku will be on the court this weekend for sure and will bid for playing time next weekend when the Alumni match tips off and the following week when the regular season opens. A question mark is versatile transfer student Tara Renicke who played at the University of Houston but could help out on the right side if eligible.

NAPKIN NEWS — In this writing game you run into a lot of proud parents and I have always enjoyed seeing Ben Goldberg because he is a nice guy (and owns a sports bar, The Beach Club).  Anyhow I tolerated, but doubted, his bragging about his kid Josh.  Update Josh may be better than those frère appetizers from Dad’s diner.  It was Pony League but as the LB ace and starting pitcher Goldberg, threw a complete game, giving up just two hits and a run, while striking out ten to send the locals to the national tourney back in PA for the PONY World Series.

My investment advisor Marci Whistler Lees is trying to speed up her recovery from a bit of surgery in time for the Alumni math on August 20.  The match has a friendly start time of 5 p.m. and although Misty May will be in Europe it looks like Olympian Danielle Scott will be schooling the new Niners.

Jeff McNeil (LBSU right fielder and second baseman)  may have his all star brother Ryan in a Dirtbag uni in a year or so, when pitcher-shortstop, who pitched for the Brewers on the Southern California in the Area Code Games.  The Nipomo High School senior-to-be’s schedule includes the ninth annual Perfect Game All-American Classic that Rawlings presents Aug. 14 at the San Diego Padres’ PETCO Park. McNeil said he found out he was chosen for that one while he was at ANOTHER Perfect Game national event.

And if Buck allows it, Jeff was a top league golfer during his underclassman days at Nipomo and has all that Monday time wide open!  He played baseball instead of golf his senior year and was one of the top players in the PAC 7 League.

Rex Peters, who spent the past nine seasons as head coach of the UC Davis baseball team, will see his understudy, associate head coach Matt Vaughn, take over the Aggies.  He was among the polo shirted crowd at Blair along with coaches from Hawaii to Harvard.  Unfortunately no active representative from that cradle of college baseball coaches, Trinity College and University of Spain has no team, but they do have a lot of alums in the USA.

Leading a program that for months teetered on the brink of extinction to a spot in the College World Series will get you a lot of attention, as Cal’s David Esquer certainly can attest.   Esquer agreed to a five-year contract to remain the Bears’ head coach, a job he has held for 12 seasons.

Jeff Metcalfe of The Arizona Republic recently outlined the reasons that the Arizona State Sun Devils should move all their games off campus starting in 2014 as part of the new Mesa (AZ) facility being built by the Chicago Cubs. His argument is the school would only have to pay two million dollars to use the new place during construction when compared to spending $20-25 million to rebuild current Packard Stadium to bring it up to standards.  Blair Field part two?

UC Berkeley’s 10-year beverage contract with Coca-Cola Co., which has previously been highly scrutinized by some students on campus, expired Wednesday and will likely be followed by a new contract with PepsiCo Inc.  The students had raised concerns about Coca-Cola’s labor, human rights and environmental track records in India and Guatemala as well as domestic health and sustainability practices. Pepsi agreed to the minimum requirements outlined in the proposal, which include an annual $1.3 million sponsorship fee to be paid to campus stakeholders, product donations of $40,000, sustainability program support of $15,000 and marketing and promotion funds of $235,000.  Stay tuned for info from LBSU.

Count on Sigrid Skorpen, a 5-foot-10 guard from Norway, to energize the often lethargic 49er ladies basketball bunch. On her videos she drives to the hoop very well.  Three other newcomers are also guards–Bianka Balthazar,  Mary Ochiltree and Lauren Spargo and 6-3 Devin Hudson could play a couple of front court spots. — DR. DAN