A work ethic that's second to none
Thousand Oaks' Jasperse gives 110 percent on the pitch
By Thomas Gase tgase@theacorn.com
      Through its first four games in the Marmonte League, the Thousand Oaks High boys' soccer team has struggled. Entering Wednesday night's matchup at home against Royal, the Lancers were 0-3-1 in league play. The good news for Thousand Oaks, however, is that it's made the postseason the last seven years with backtoback CIF championships coming in 2004 and 2005.
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Send it down, big fella
     JANN HENDRY/Acorn Newspapers THUNDER DUNK—Thousand Oaks High's Antonio Lopez throws down on Simi Valley during last week's TOHS victory. The Lancers entered Wednesday's game against Royal with a 14-2 overall record and a 4-0 mark in Marmonte League play.
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Ignoto on the mark for Westlake
Junior guard seeing her share of double-teams
By Thomas Gase tgase@theacorn.com
      Since Westlake High junior Taylor Ignoto previously lived in Massachusetts, it's easy to forgive her for rooting for the Boston Celtics. When the NBA Finals took place between the Lakers and Celtics last June, however, Ignoto decided to keep her faith toward the green-and-white on the down-low.
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10 questions with Newbury Park's Charles Benton
      One of the most productive boys' basketball players in the Marmonte League this season has been Newbury Park High senior Charles Benton. Benton, in his third year with the NPHS varsity squad, was averaging a team-leading 21.7 points per game before Wednesday night's contest against Calabasas. The 6-foot-4 forward/center is also tops on the team in rebounding.
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Sharks feast on competition
     PERFECTION—The Newbury Park AYSO U-10 girls' soccer team went undefeated in its 2008 regular season and went on to place first in the Area10E Region playoffs. The team will travel to Bakersfield in February for sectionals. Pictured in the front row, from left, are Jenna Pantelas, Simone Overbeck, Jessica Warner and Allison Gennette. Back row: Coach Joe Head, Kayla Overbeck, Bryn Nagel, Ryleigh Miller, Jodie Cortez and coach Shanon Overbeck. Myriam Nielsen isn't pictured.
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Acorn showdown: Who was snubbed by the Hall of Fame vote?
Eliav Appelbaum and Stephen Dorman debate the player most deserving of baseball's highest honor
      Think of all the pitching careers Tommy John has indirectly saved. If John never recovered from ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction surgery on his pitching elbow, and if he didn't win even one of those 164 games after that radical procedure, the game of baseball would be very different.
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Football's finest honored by CIF
      The LA84 Foundation has announced its AllCIFSouthern Section football teams for the Northern Division.
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