The Four-tunes of Two

In high school sports, every athlete's dream is to win a state championship. Few are able to realize such a dream during their four years of high school competition. It is actually just a select few that get a chance to play at the varsity level more than two years, so to be so fortunate to win more than one state championship is beyond most athlete's comprehension. So imagine what it is like to win four state championships during your high school career. And not just ride the pines the first couple of years, but to step on the court in year one and be an integral component your school's first championship title, and over the next three years become the team's heart and soul, team leaders and two of the top players in the state.

Meet Alex Earl and Michelle Jenkins of Southridge High School in Beaverton, Oregon.

As seniors this year Alex and Michelle tapped off their remarkable high school careers with their fourth straight OSAA 6A Basketball Championship for Southridge by defeating Oregon City 49-43. Alex is a quick play-making guard who is comfortable running the team's offense, is tenacious on defense and has no fear when it comes to putting up pressure shots from outside. Alex's talents will be very much appreciated at Arizona State University starting next Fall. The University of Southern California will be the beneficiaries of Jenkins' powerful play at the low post and seemingly never ending work rate. It was four fabulous years for two phenomenal players.


Alex Earl (left) and Michelle Jenkins (right) celebrate during the OSAA
6A Basketball Championship game against Oregon City.


Alex Earl works the ball against Central Catholic's Chelsey Christensen
during Southridge's 39-24 OSAA 6A semi-final victory.


Alex Earl takes her turn during the ceremonial cutting of the net following
her team's fourth straight OSAA 6A Championship title.


Michelle Jenkins Jenkins drives against Central Catholic's Courtney Flynn
during the OSAA 6A semi-final game.


Michelle Jenkins works the low post against Oregon City's Lindsey Shearer
during the OSAA 6A Championship game.

Check out the Les Schwab Invitational Action

I recently found the time to update my Oregon Sports Photos site with three pages of action from this year's Les Schwab Invitational High School Basketball Tournament held over the Christmas break. Once again, the Schwab brought outstanding basketball talent to the state as ten Oregon schools competed along with six visiting schools from California, Louisiana, Washington and British Columbia to the twelfth annual title.

I have shot the Schwab the past few years as I take a few vacation days and seize the opportunity to get into the flow of shooting basketball at the outset of the season. It was great to meet fellow SportsShooter Juliann Tallino as she was on site to cover the last day of the tournament for Max Preps.

To see all the action > Start by clicking here!

Meet Mr. Six

I always proclaimed myself to be open-minded, except when it came to owning a cat. I didn't have anything against cats; I just did not want to be "a cat owner." Little did I realize that my mind would be wedged wide open a couple years ago by a cute little rescue kitty.

My wife and her friend were eating out at a local restaurant and heard the whining sounds of newborn kittens in the rafters of the eave over the entrance. Without hesitation, the two summoned the manager and found out they were born to a feral cat who had not been seen in a couple days. That's all they needed to know...the two got a box, brought them home and for weeks nursed them to health.

One of the litter stood out amongst the others. First, he had an extra toe on each foot which is known as being a polydactyl cat. This type of cat is sometimes referred to as a Hemingway Cat, named after the famed Ernest Hemingway who owned and raised polydactyls after falling in love with them upon receiving his first as a gift from a ship's captain.

The second thing that made this little six-toed cutie stand out was that he was extremely social; followed my wife everywhere she went as she was sharing the nursing duties for the litter. It didn't take long for the two to fall in love and when my wife asked if we could keep him, I knew I was out-matched.

It turned out to be a great decision. Mr. Six, whose name started as just light-hearted moniker due to his extra toes, turned out to be the a great addition to the family. He acts more like a dog than a cat. He always wants to be around one of the family members, loves to drink water from the faucet and even responds to a handful of voice commands. Mr. Six certainly charmed his way into my heart and with his great personality is a constant source of entertainment around the house.

There's Something Funny Going on in Beaverton

Eric Kingstad figured Beaverton (Oregon) could use a good laugh. So he is doing something about it. In November, Kingstad opened the Jester Comedy Club in the corporate events and meeting complex he owns in Beaverton. There is no other club of its kind in the suburb town just outside of Portland and Kingstad is going all out to provide an upscale establishment with nationally known headline acts.

On opening weekend Cowboy Bill Martin christened the club as he brought his hilarious down-home country routine into town. Despite the moniker, hat, boots and western clothes, Martin's comedy has a broad appeal and taps on elements of life to which city folk and rustlers can relate. The opening weekend crowds responded with barrels of laughter providing a great atmosphere which Martin mastered keenly.

Opening for Martin was Northwest based Kermit Holiday who bills himself as "the world's skinniest comic." He took the crowd on a ride through pop culture and got the laughter rolling. Coverage of Jester's opening night was for a Beaverton Valley Times feature story.

The Dream Season

After loosing in the quarter-finals of the OSAA 5A High School Soccer Championships in 2006, the fourteen seniors on the 2007 Glencoe Crimson Tide team knew this had to be "the season." The side rolled through the regular season undefeated with a 14-0-1 record. And during the playoffs, Glencoe scored twelve goals for with only one against in three games to land a spot in the state championship final against returning finalist Bend High School.

Coach Tom Stephens knew this year's team was special. The staff and the players often referred to atmosphere on the team as a family. The school had never made it to the state finals and Stephens wanted it so bad...for his players...for his seniors. After falling behind 0-1 early in the second half, the Tide actually became energized and began backing Bend up against its own goal. A goal off a corner kick by Nolan Dempster to equalize was followed by a driving far post shot by Wil Hiles beating the keeper with eight minutes remaining to push Glencoe ahead 2-1. The final whistle at the end of regulation set off an emotional celebration as players and fans cherished the special moments of winning the school's first state championship title.

It was a special season...it was a special team....it was a family celebration.

Also view a photo video honoring Glencoe's 2007 OSAA 5A High School Soccer Championship season on OregonSportsPhotos.com.

Fall Season Winds Down

At the beginning of the Fall high school sports season in Oregon, the weather is warm and wearing jeans and a t-shirt can even be over-dressed at times. At the end of the season, it's three layers of clothing, gloves and cups of hot tea. I covered the OSAA Cross Country Championships at Lane Community College in Eugene, Oregon for four Pamplin Media Group newspapers. The day was a mix of cold and crisp in the morning and warm and sunny in the afternoon; a testament to the mix of weather experienced during the Fall in Oregon.

The Jesuit High School (Beaverton, OR) girls kept their string of championships running as they took home their sixth straight 6A first place trophy. The Jesuit boys took second seating to the kings of the 6A boys harriers, their rivals Central Catholic (Portland, OR) who won their third consecutive title. Other schools I was covering in the 3A, 4A and 5A divisions had great individual accomplishments, but team results were not honored with hardware.

Skate On!

Finally! Five years after Tigard youth suggested to then Mayor Jim Griffith that a skatepark be added to the city's park system, the dream has been realized. After Griffith's death in 2003, members of the Skatepark Taskforce asked that the proposed park be named in honor of Griffith because of his strong advocacy of the park and youth activities in Tigard. Current Mayor Craig Dirksen blessed the request and led the charge to secure funding for the Jim Griffith Memorial Skate Park.

The 15,000 square foot in-ground facility opened in October, much to the delight of the local thrashers. The design includes three bowls, along with common street features. Located in the northeast portion of the City of Tigard City Hall parking lot, the park, needless to say, is packed with skaters of all abilities who give it a big "thumbs up."

Good Lord, What a Gourd

The West Coast Giant Pumpkin Regatta held in Tualatin, Oregon in late October is an event that words alone fall miles short of providing one with a perspective of the event. Think about it. If you read that well bread, educated adults carve out pumpkins ranging between 500 and 1,200 pounds, then drop them into a lake, climb inside the gourd and proceed to paddle around a buoyed course all in the name of fun; do you think you would really "get it" without seeing it?

A few thousand people showed up at the Lake at Tualatin Commons to witness the event for themselves. For a fourth year, the Pacific Giant Vegetable Growers Association hosted the giant pumpkin regatta, which has become a popular Fall event in Tualatin. The growers donated the pumpkins and the community joined in the fun as event spectators were welcome, and encouraged, to don a life vest and kayak paddle. You can read about the event in the Tigard-Tualatin-Sherwod Times pre-race feature and post-race feature, but the pictures will surely complete the scene.

How Ironic

Pre-season assessments of Oregon's back-to-back state championship football team didn't have them as a clear favorite to three-peat, but as the Jesuit Crusaders started off their season by demolishing early foes, people began to think that Jesuit will surely be in the thick of the playoff race in late November.

Well, fate has its cruel side. During season play, Jesuit stomped on its Holy War rival Central Catholic with 60-0 drubbing in the second week of the 2007 season. It was an embarrassingly sad showing for the Rams. Then, a 27-13 win over Westview set up the Crusaders for its fourth Metro League crown and top seeding in the playoffs. But on the final week of the season, Jesuit dropped a contest against Southridge 28-27 in overtime, ending its Metro League season sharing the title with Southridge and Westview.

How could fate be even more cruel for the Crusaders? An uncharacteristic early dismissal from the playoffs in the first round with a 47-35 loss to Canby...this hasn't happened to them in 20 years. And cruelest fate? Central Catholic and Westview are both playing in the quarter-finals tonight for the OSAA Championship while the Crusaders are likely at home helping clean up after the Thanksgiving holiday. Talk about winning the battles and losing with war.

Jesuit 60 vs Central Catholic 0




Jesuit 27 vs Westview 13

Where Did The Summer Go?

I am supposed to be blogging weekly. Well, that hasn't happened for a while. Shooting...I've been doing. Writing took a back seat. So let's give you a quick highlight blog of some Summer assignments.

Little League Softball World Series
Umpires dancing to "The Chicken Dance" can only mean one thing. It's the Little League Softball World Series held at Alpenrose Dairy in Portland, Oregon. Teams were treated to beautiful weather, great softball competition, a first-class venue and a fabulous host...Alpenrose. The South team from Morristown, Tennessee edged out the Southwest 3-2 to claim the 2007 title.




Tualatin Crawfish Festival
The City of Tualatin has had a love affair with the crawfish for 56 years. It celebrates its anniversary every August by throwing a festival which includes a parade, live music, a crawfish cook-off and a slew of other events. Most notably is the famous crawfish eating contest. The record number eaten in the fifteen minute contest? 170...In 1970 by then 43 year old Cotton Scheckla. This year's winner was a far distance from Cotton's record, winning by downing 97 mudbugs.



Lake Oswego School District Alumni Bash
The Lake Oswego Alumni Association tried an experiment. They threw a party, inviting all alumni from the district's two high schools; Lake Oswego and Lakeridge. The first high school in the district was Oswego High (now Lake Oswego) built in 1951, followed by the addition of Lakeridge in 1971. Without knowing what to expect, organizers were pleasantly surprised when about 600 alums showed up for the bash held at Millennium Plaza Park. Event coverage was for the Lake Oswego Review.



Showing Patriotism in St. Helens
The Lions Club in St. Helens, Oregon volunteered to place flags on the town's main thoroughfares every legal holiday five years ago and, without fail, have lived up to their commitment. At dawn, club members spread throughout town and get the 218 flags set up and at sunset, the process is reversed. The South County Spotlight featured the event in their July 4th edition.