10:00am | Assembling these Week in Review columns is a constant challenge.  This past week the CSULB coaches and competitors were scattered about the region wearing a variety of footwear—sneakers, dress shoes, spikes… you get the idea.

It started on Wednesday with a pair of basketball media days, featuring the SoCal part of the Big West basketball coaching fraternity and sorority who reported to Anaheim while cross-town ‘Niner assistant Vic Couch represented the program at the swank Los Angeles Athletic Club coaches luncheon. The BWC hook was an ESPN Coaches Cook-Off (Monson and Wynn quipped as parents of little kids that they would have won if the secret ingredient was Mac and Cheese or PBJ instead of shrimp). Jody talked about her MASH unit list of injuries and Dan accepted the fact that he brings back his Fab Four junior class but insists that he needs eight good players to win the league.   Vic, eating a professionally prepared meal, kept his comments short and on topic unlike one PAC-10 coach who teased his foes by flirting with their wives and saying, “Look how these guys married up!”  

Wednesday night was the chardonnay fueled coaches chat at Legends, standard stuff but a chance to see that monster video screen. Thursday got academic at the College of Business with AD Vic Cegles moderating speakers such as 49er fundraiser George Medak, (“Do I think 30 million is possible? Well, I think it is possible”); Coach Wynn on branding (“When I first started wearing my Beach basketball shirt one lady asked me “How do you play basketball on a beach?”) and Big West Commissioner Dennis Farrell on finance. The only edgy question of the night was directed to Farrell who was asked to explain Big West TV charging in a climate in which member schools are semi-desperate for fan following. “It was a deal (usually about ten bucks a month) we had to make with CBS Sports to get the equipment to the schools that need the video for their film exchange.”

The next in that series is Thursday night Oct. 28, featuring moderation by Jeff Fellenze (Partner, Skybox Sports & Entertainment and a USC Professor of Sports, Business, Media), Andy Hill (former President of CBS Productions) and Kenny Booker from Coldwell Banker who will join in a discussion on the life and times of the late Coach John Wooden. Free, except for parking.

Now from the board room to the score board, the most intriguing info coming in over the Wi-Fi was the stat line from UC Riverside where the volleyball ‘Niners were heavy favorites over the last place Highlanders, especially after waxing UC Irvine 3-0 on Friday. The Saturday night news wasn’t the double-doubles racked up by the 49er front line of Hampton, Johnson and Ledoux. No, you knew there was extra salsa on the chips when setter Ashley Lee got national attention with a quadruple-double, the first in the USA this year. If you figured that took five games you win the prize because LB had to scrap to survive 23-25, 25-17, 25-18, 26-28, 18-16. Lee picked up 50 assists and had her season highs in kills and digs with 10 and 13 respectively, and the little spark plug picked up an amazing 10 block assists. The Beach (15-5, 5-2) has a single match this week but it is against first place Fullerton in Historic Titan Gym Saturday night.  CSUF is the same team the ‘Niners swamped three-zip back on September 25 in the Pyramid.

Part two of the scoreboard report came out of Fullerton, but in that former football stadium used by Titan Soccer. “I guess we wanted to play a game under the lights,” coach Mauricio Ingrassia said in explanation for the 6:00pm Sunday night futbol. He said that at a Director’s Circle soiree where he privately fretted about the health of his goalkeepers, Emily Kingsborough and Kaitlin Gustaves (the transfer from Oklahoma State). By gametime, all was well in goal and on the pitch Lindsay Bullock scored three goals and Nicole Hubbard, two goals in the 5-2 rout. The competitive juices were flowing with a combined 38 fouls called. The 49ers (10-3-2, 3-0-1) return to action this Thursday when they play host to Big West leading UC Irvine at 3:00pm followed by a Sunday 1:00pm match with CSUN.

Both volleyball and soccer are very much in the hunt for postseason bids and even have legit hopes for the regular season Big West championships.

NAME DROP DUSTING—Dan Monson is of course the head maniac and his early practice sessions featured a black tee shirt with “WARNING” in a red triangle and the words, “May Insult You at Any Time.” A fair disclosure for his charges.
 
Best moment of women’s practices was a couple of quips by first husband and assistant coach Derek Wynn. A former college star himself, Derek has the duty to work with centers Janae Coffey and Ella Clark. Both are 6-3 but Janae has the strength to work inside and, well, Ella has a more delicate disposition preferring, er ah, less contact.  Oh yes, freshmen shooter Sendy Valles is another six-footer who prefers offense to defense giving rise to a coach’s quote, “We may start calling her “Senny” until we can find some D in her game.”
 
Last add long green on the greens.  Former ‘Niner golf captain John Mallinger collected $63,000 for his top 20 finish in the Fry’s Open at San Martin (Santa Clara County) but his final round 74 was his worst of the week. He shot some nifty sixties earlier (66, 69, and 68) and pushed his 2010 golf earnings to over $700,000. Thank goodness he isn’t interested in politics; I can’t stand any more “vote for me” TV commercials.