Sports Shorts Sports Shorts (September 28, 2005)

FORD DRIVES RED . . . Palo Alto High grad Nathan Ford made the most of his collegiate debut on Saturday for the Cornell football team. The freshman quarterback entered the Red's 37-17 loss to Yale late in the third quarter and finished with 112 yards on 10-of-17 passing. Ford led Cornell (1-1) on two scoring drives, including a 13-play, 74-yard drive. The Red play at Colgate (Time Warner Sports will televise the game) on Saturday. Jeff Mroz became the first Yale quarterback to throw for five touchdowns in a game since 1966.

ARIZONA TRAGEDY . . . Arizona senior women's basketball player Shawntinice Polk collapsed and died at McKale Center on Monday morning. She had not been working out or practicing. "This is a tragic day for Shawntinice's family and for the University of Arizona," athletics director Jim Livengood said in a prepared release. "We simply feel for everyone who knew this wonderful young woman." Polk, a three-time all-Pac-10 first team selection, was one of the more popular players in the conference. "Our whole team is in shock," said Stanford women's basketball coach Tara VanDerveer. "Total disbelief. I can't think of anything worse for a coach to handle . . . She was such a great talent. It's even hard to use the past tense. It seems so wrong for someone who was 22 years old."

TURNING CARDINAL . . . The loss to UC Davis not withstanding, Street & Smith Publications recognized the Stanford football program as the 33rd greatest of all time. The special issue, Street & Smith's "50 Greatest College Football Programs of All Time," will be available on Tuesday. Programs were rated on a number of factors. Stanford was number one with an 85 percent graduation rate. It also earned points for its national championship, seven undefeated seasons, 20 bowl appearances, three number one overall draft picks and one Heisman Trophy Winner. Notre Dame tops the list, with USC, Oklahoma, Alabama and Nebraska rounding out the top five. The publication also took into consideration NCAA infractions and mascot ferocity. Go tree.

COACHING CORNER . . . Woodside Priory is looking for a girls' varsity basketball coach, boys' junior varsity basketball coach and a varsity swim coach. Contact Mark Stogner, Director of Athletics at 851-6107 or mstogner@woodsidepriory.com . . . Palo Alto High is looking for girls' varsity and JV soccer coaches for the 2005-06 winter season. Those interested should contact Paly Athletic Director Earl Hansen at 329-3886. Palo Alto's new baseball coach, Joel Kaufman, is looking for assistant coaches for both the varsity and JV teams in addition to a head JV coach. He can be reached at palybaseball@pacbell.net . . . Gunn is looking for a JV girls' soccer coach. Contact Athletic Director Matt McGinn at 354-8214 . . . Sacred Heart Prep is looking for a baseball coach for the 2006 spring season, a girls' varsity basketball assistant coach, and a head coach for girls' JV basketball. Interested candidates should forward their resume with a letter of interest to Anthony Thomas, Athletic Director, Sacred Heart Prep, 150 Valparaiso Ave., Atherton, 94027 . . . Menlo School is looking for a girls' varsity basketball assistant coach and girls' frosh-soph basketball coaches. Call 330-2001 (ext. 2282) or e-mail bmckinney@menloschool.org. Menlo also needs an assistant coach for the frosh-soph girls' soccer team. The begins Nov. 1 and runs through mid-February. Contact Jessie Thomas at 330-2001 (ext. 2352) or at jthomas@menloschool.org . . . Call 330-2001 (ext. 2282) or e-mail bmckinney@menloschool.org. . . Menlo-Atherton is looking for coaches for the 2005-06 school year: wrestling, track and field assistant (shot and discus), girls' varsity and JV lacrosse, and frosh-soph softball. Those interested should contact M-A Athletic Director Pam Wimberly at 322-5311 (ext. 5706) or e-mail resumes to pwimberl@seq.org

OF LOCAL NOTE . . . The Menlo Park Strikers' FC girls' 10-Under soccer team is looking for experienced players for the upcoming fall season. For more information, contact Chris at 1-408-497-3816 . . . Registration is open for City of Palo Alto's Fall Adult Sports Leagues in basketball, softball and volleyball. Leagues are accepting complete teams, and individuals can be placed on a free agent list. Palo Alto is also looking for coaches for the middle school athletics program. Sports include cross country and flag football. For more information, call 463-4926 or e-mail sabine.sander@cityofpaloalto.org . . . Alberto Montoya, a 9-time State cup champion coach, is recruiting for MVLA Galaxy, a Class 1, U16 (born after Aug. 1, 1989) girls soccer team. Try outs are during GALAXY's normal practice sessions on Tuesdays and Thursdays between 4 and 5:30 p.m. at Covington's soccer field in Los Altos. For information, contact team manager Vicki Yort at (650) 949-4586 or by email at vbyort@aol.com.

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