"They say the calm before the storm, but I'm an experienced sailor, I know... stuff happens." -Dan Rydell

This weekend Lakewood will play in the CIF Pac-5 Semifinal for the second year in a row.  It's the first back-to-back semis appearance for the Lancers since the school's only trip to the finals in 1970.  But great moments in sport don't just come about, stuff has to happen before the culmination.  In Lakewood's case, it was easy as 1,2,3...

1) Summer, 2004
The annual Los Alamitos Griffin Football Camp was full of local middle schoolers excited to play for coach John Barnes and his assistant Thadd MacNeal.  One of those youngsters was Jesse Scroggins.  "I remember that day vividly," MacNeal said yesterday at practice.  "Barnes asked me if I liked anyone and I immediately said, 'yeah, that Scroggins kid.'  He was so accurate, and I knew he would get there physically. At that point he was just ahead of the game"

Scroggins took to the quarterback coach immediately, "Mac knew what I needed and he helped me so much with the basic fundamentals."  The young QB took the lessons learned and led his Pop Warner team to an AYF National Championship that season.

2) Summer, 2006
After his family moved to Lakewood, Scroggins had to decide on a school, and his heart was set on Los Alamitos.  But when MacNeal was hired by Lakewood that summer, the decision was made for him. "Yeah, I was following coach Mac wherever he went," says Scroggins.  "It was a wish come true."

3) September, 2007
WIth his team struggling early in the season and trailing Tesoro at home, MacNeal sent in his sophomore signal caller. On his first drive as a varsity quarterback, Scroggins took a crisp three-step drop and hit receiver Kevin Anderson on a slant for a touchdown.  "He absolutely gunned it in there, and I was like 'ohhhhh, we've got something here!'"

MacNeal, Scroggins and the rest of the Lancers are 27-6 since that loss to Tesoro.  Needless to say, the stars aligned and the storm was worth the wait.

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NFL Football fans unite.  It's time we all put our collective energy towards one thing: The Ultimate Super Bowl.  If the Colts get by the Titans and the Saints can avoid the let down game against the Redskins, we will have two 12-0 teams.  Can you imagine a Super Bowl with two undefeated teams?!?!  Talk about a game that would deserve an overtime.  By the way, what are the overtime rules for the Super Bowl? Would it even be necessary to have a clock running?

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So, we now know pretty much everything we ever wanted to know about Tiger Woods.  He cheated on his wife (allegedly) sent some interesting text messages (allegedly) and faked a car accident (allegedly). Every news outlet is losing their mind with all the questions, but I have just one: when is enough, enough?

I don't need to know these things.  Do you?  Does anyone?  If Tiger showed up to his tournament this weekend and said, "This is a family issue that my family and I will handle it internally.  This weekend is about playing some golf and raising some money for my foundation," that should have been enough, right?

But we all know it wouldn't be enough.  It's never enough.  At what point do we all stand up and say we really don't need to know?  I guess that's the same day people stop watching TMZ and buying National Enquirer. I'd just be happy if it stayed off SportsCenter..... we can hope, right?

At the same time, if you fake an accident (allegedly) and fake a 911 call (allegedly) you can't get away with it, even if you are the best in the world at what you do.

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Last night was the seventh-straight Lakers home game that earned the fans a free taco.  If the home team scores over 100 in the win and the visitors score less than 100, the ticket stub is worth a free taco.  You should hear these crowds cheer for a dollar.  It's sorta funny, but sorta sad.  I don't know who's going through the motions more right now, the fans or the Lakers?  This extended home stand could lull this team to sleep.  I guess we'll find out when they travel in December to play the Nets, Knicks and Bulls.  Doh!

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