The first quarter, Edison came out strong with a string of 3 point baskets and solid defense, but as the first half came to a close, the Barons were able to go into the locker room with a one point lead. The rest of the game was a tug of war as neither team lead by more than 5 points in the fourth quarter.

With one minute left in the game and the Barons down by 2, Zack Richartz (’12) nailed a 3 point shot on the left wing to give the Barons a one point edge. Fountain Valley had a foul to give and forced a bad shot from the Chargers and were sent to the line with the opportunity to extend the lead to 3. The Barons had problems converting at the charity stripe the entire game and the struggles continued as Sean Meyers (’12) split a pair of free throws. With the last possession of the game, neither Dreon Barlett nor Corey Foster, the star players of Edison, attemped the last shot.

Fountain Valley double teamed Foster at half court leaving a wide open lane for a layup, but Nathan Moss (’12) helped the weak side and blocked a potential game tying layup. Sean Finley (’13) recovered the ball and was sent to the line with another opportunity for a commanding 4 point lead, but again free throws haunted the barons as he missed the free throw and the Chargers recovered the ball. With 0.9 seconds in the game, the spirit of Tim Donaghy took over the baseline referee’s body and Finley was called for a personal foul in which virtually no contact took place. It was a bonus 1 and 1 situation for the Chargers and the entire loud crowd of Fountain Valley (coming in more numbers than Edison) charged to the other side of the court to heckle and distract the free throw shooter. It worked. The Chargers missed the free throw and the Barons recovered the ball and as time expired Fountain Valley fans stormed the court to congratulate their players. Fountain Valley swept Edison this season and now has a Sunset League record of 4-3. Their next game is against Marina at home on Friday at 7 p.m.

Photographed By: Tyler Rose Ratzlaff

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Photographed By: Tyler Rose Ratzlaff

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Barons: 23-67

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As an article on NBA.com talked about how Lowry and Parker in a battle for the last spot on the West for the 2012 All-Star game, I’m going to add a third guard in the mix because I want to address a problem. We’re starting to overrate Ricky Rubio. Yes he is amazing (for a rookie) and yes he is top 5 in the league in assists in his rookie year. But he stayed in Spain remember? To gain more experience and a better feel for the game of basketball.

A lot of people forget that he didn’t go to play in Spain just to fart around and try to avoid the Timberwolves and the awesome Minnesota weather, he went there to escape and get better in the process. Okay I’m not saying that if every player goes to Europe and plays for a couple of years he will have the success Rubio has had, but when he was drafted he was already a rookie sensation without even playing in a game. So can we really say we didn’t see this coming?

Ricky Rubio is an amazing talent and I’m glad he is helping rebuild this forsaken franchise known as the Timberwolves following the KG aftermath. But he is just performing on par to what we expect. Now Rubio is averaging 11 PPG which is a good rookie average and his 8.7 APG is fifth in the league, but what’s more remarkable is his 2.6 SPG. The critics were right about his shooting though, even though his 3 point shooting is .350, his overall field goal is barely above that at only .373. He is still limited on the offensive side of the ball. What makes Rubio so deadly is the transition game and his trump card, the pick and roll. This is how Rubio either gets his assist or his layup, maybe a spot up 3 pointer.

Watching Rubio run the pick and roll with either Love, Beasley, or Williams is nostalgic of the old Suns with Stoudemire. But in Texas there are two guards running the show even better, but are less hyped. Tony Parker, who has been on fire since Ginobili went down and Kyle Lowry who is leading a misfit Houston team to hopefully its first playoff berth since the Ming dynasty. Between the two it’s a toss up as to who deserves the All-Star nod, but statistically Lowry dominates all guards in the west with the exception of Bryant and Westbrook. You can also argue that he is surrounded with less talent than both Rubio and Parker and as a Rockets fan I’m siding with Lowry. If you side with Parker then it’s understandable. If you side with Rubio, you need to actually watch a Timberwolves game instead of SportsCenter’s top 10. Rubio is a fantastic talent and has a promising future, but let’s not overhype his skills and impact on his team just yet. Which is what they’ve already done to poor Eli, brace for Brady impact Giants.

Adding the best point guard in the league and a legitimate wing scorer after picking up a proven champion, the Clippers are now a sure shot to take over L.A. fans and sports stations everywhere are hyping them up, even the players, “Lob City” “Lob Angeles” are just two names that I’m getting sick of hearing.

While the Clippers go through the season proving that they are a real contender in the west, the Lakers have been struggling to get by and crack the top 8. As Clipper fans will claim that L.A. now belongs to them, Laker fans continue their “We have championships and Kobe” argument. The question of which team owns L.A still hasn’t been answered clearly and it won’t be until the playoffs.

As Kobe said, “Please, we’ve got five championships. . . . Rival come from the playoffs.” Kobe’s got a point. It’s the regular condensed season. Who cares who wins between the Lakers and Clippers? Well, it matters because each win will help provide a playoff berth, but everything should be taken with a grain of salt in the regular season; especially this one.

What matters is what happens in the playoffs. As exciting as the Clippers are, the Lakers still have three quarters of the regular season to get things straight before heading into the postseason which they won’t miss. However, what Kobe is also saying is, hey, we’re the Lakers and they’re the Clippers, come on, let’s be real. Sorry Kobe, but the truth of the matter is that there’s no doubt that the team of the future is the Clippers (if they can keep everything intact, you know those Clippers love messing things up!)

But it’s a tough pill for Kobe to swallow, so he had to defend himself and his team with the only thing they have, the past. Which is exactly what Laker fans have to let go in this Clippers-Lakers argument. I know, it’s hard to forget about those glory days with Smush running the backcourt, throwing halfcourt lobs to NBA sensation Kwame (he was their version of Blake for those young freshman who don’t know who Kwame is, and Smush was the Laker’s version of CP3), but it’s time to watch the present and be faced with the truth.

The Laker’s offense is crap. Sure Kobe leads the league in scoring, but asides from him they can’t get any consistent play from their bench and role players. And before we get into any discussion about not giving it to the post enough, the Lakers lead the league in post usage. It’s what the bigs are doing with the ball that counts, not how many times they get the ball. I’m not going to go in-depth about the Lakers offense, as I’m sure Mike Brown will fix that in the upcoming months by watching game tape, because Mike Brown’s specialty is game tapes. I know, sounds exhilarating right? Boy the Lakers sure did make a great hire, getting  game tape master and sending their candyman Odom away for free! This is going off on a wild tangent, but the main point is this, L.A belongs to no single team.

It is shared by a proven champion and an up and coming contender. The answer to who is going to rule by the end of spring will be discovered then, but as of now, the future looks bleak in L.A. but on the other side, the sun has just began to rise (is this an implication that I think Nash is coming from the Suns to the Lakers? Yes, yes it is, and the Lakers won’t be in the playoffs? Yes, I do think so.)

Joseph Solimon ('13) looks to brings the ball down with an Oiler on his back.

With the academic semester drawing to a close on Friday, the Barons’ boys varsity soccer team took on the Huntington Beach Oilers last Friday, the 27th. The Barons were looking to put away the last place Oilers and keep their record pristine in the second half of season. The boys scored early in both halves and came away with a 2-0 victory to give the Barons momentum going into Edison next week.

With the cushion of the goal the Barons were more free to play their game and the Oilers known for their tenacity, were somewhat depleted in energy. Although the game proved to be a tough defensive battle all over the pitch, the Baron midfield and defense held strong and allowed no shots on goal during the first half.

Ethan Morrow ('12) stretches out to make a tackle against an Oiler defender.

Going into the second half still at 1-0 the Barons were much closer than they would like to be, “this team will not go away until you really put them under, we have to distance ourselves or else they stick around,” commented Smith at halftime. The Barons were able to achieve that goal early on in the half. After some offensive pressure by the Barons forced a corner kick, the cross from the set piece bobbled out to the top of the box. Garret Stiffler-Greasby (’13) pounced on the ball with a one-time shot that ricocheted off an Oiler defender and fooled the goalie who was diving the other way, as the ball bounced into the net.

With another early goal within the first 5 minutes of the half the Barons were again in a position to finish out the half with a small cushion, which had grown even larger. The game stayed more evenly played the rest of the half. Both sides saw chances but none were very threatening on either side. In the last 5 minutes the Barons withstood a more aggressive Oiler attack, but after some strong clearances and poor composure on HB’s part the Barons came away with a strong 2-0 victory.

Other results in Sunset did not help the Barons much, Marina made up for their stunning loss to HB last week with a 1-0 victory over Los Alamitos, and Edison is trying to make a last ditch effort to salvage their season beating Newport Harbour 2-1.

The Barons still sit atop the Sunset league, with the two lowest teams out of the way for the Barons, its all business now. With a remaining schedule of Edison away, Marina home, and Los Al away, the Barons will play 3 desperate and very competitive teams all looking to knock off FV. The road won’t be easy, but it never is for a Sunset League team.

The Barons next game is Wednesday the 1st at Edison, a true test for the Barons.

Banner for Coachella 2012

Coachella Valley Music and Arts festival is an annual music festival featuring a slew of renowned artists among contemporaries. Music genres range from rock to indie to hip hop to electronic with over 100 artists. The event takes place at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, and lasts for 2 weekends, 3 days at a time. This year, Coachella takes place on the weekends of April 13-15, and 20-22. The venue presents several performance stages as well as tents for viewers and listeners from around the country who gather to enjoy music and art.

Since the release of the Coachella 2012 line-up on Monday, January 9, fans began to plan their list of artists to look out for. The complete list of artists can be found on the official site. Many of the artists recently released albums appreciated by those with respectable taste in music. With such a promising line-up, it is definitely worth it to attend if possible. Personally, I’d recommend Explosions in the Sky, WU LYF, and Manchester Orchestra, to name a few.

Tickets for Coachella are highly sought out for, usually selling for more than $300. Pre-sale began roughly a year ago. On Friday, January 13, the last of the remaining tickets were sold, and the event is currently sold out. However, a variety of deals still exist on alternative sites, notably Craiglist and Ebay, though scalping is discouraged. There is still time to purchase tickets.

As Coachella 2012 approaches, discussions publicize the names and albums of various artists. Even if unable to attend because of expensive tickets or inconvenient dates, it’s worth it to discover good music and give it a listen. Coachella 2012 will definitely be one of the hottest events of the year, with one the best line-ups out of all the years.

Papaya Thai Bistro on 2700 Alton Pkwy Ste 141 Irvine, CA 92606

I entered on a busy Saturday night, in search of a quick, filling meal that would satisfy my taste buds. Usually there is no wait line, but the restaurant is fairly full. If you do have to wait, it’s never long. The place is clean, decorated colorfully and my family and I suited it comfortably. We shared Pad Thai, chicken fried rice, and Tom Yum Koong soup. Their food portions were more than enough to feed our whole family of four, for we left the restaurant with food comas and exhausted tummies. The Pad Thai was the best I had ever tasted, bursting with its sweet and salty flavor and delicious noodles. The chicken fried rice was good as well, enticing us with its fragrant aroma. As for the Tom Yum Koong soup, it couldn’t have represented itself better. Usually my family and I can handle the spiciness and sweet and sour flavor of the famous Thai broth, but this particular one had us beat and reminding ourselves next time to order it without the overwhelming spiciness.

In addition, their fresh Thai tea was just as I imagined it would be, sweet and refreshing. I have been a frequent customer for the past year, also trying the fish cakes, chicken satay and beef salad, which were different from other Thai restaurants, but we all know that variety is the spice of life. Their menu is filled with many different entrees, lunch combos, drinks and dessert, including ice cream. They serve pho as well, which impressed me because it was surprisingly delicious. Unfortunately, I haven’t tried any of their desserts because I never seem to have enough room left in my stomach.

I’m still puzzled as to why Papaya never has as much customers as other restaurants, like their next door neighbor BCD Tofu House, who always seems to have a long wait line. Papaya’s waiters and waitresses are always helpful give recommendations on which dishes to try, especially for newcomers. I suggest that if you have a big appetite, go for this place. Otherwise, share a plate with another person or order your own smaller combo plate. It’s a pretty satisfying and solid A experience for me every time, although I don’t enjoy the bloated feeling after finishing my meal. I can’t ask more of this restaurant!