Former Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan will throw out the ceremonial first pitch to open the 2009 Palisades Pony Baseball Association season Saturday at 9 a.m. at the Palisades Recreation Center’s Field of Dreams. At 78 years young, Riordan has been enjoying himself on the ski slopes in Sun Valley, Idaho, but will return in time to test the strike zone for one of the town’s longest-running traditions. Riordan credits his childhood passion for keeping him mentally and physically strong despite the stress of his career. “I’ve been skiing since my kids were young,” he said. “I race and used to say I was the oldest racer until some guy who was 86 beat me by a hundred yards.” Riordan, who served as mayor from 1993 to 2001, grew up in Queens and then in New Rochelle, New York, but he has plenty of ties to Pacific Palisades. His family owns Village Pantry (and the Oak Room) and Gladstone’s and his daughter Trish Torrey lives here with her husband Dana and their two children. “As kids all we did was play sports, but it wasn’t organized sports,” he said, recalling how he and his friends played stickball in the streets because they couldn’t afford bats and then, in the fall, switching to tackle football on the cement. They would also crawl under or climb over high fences to get onto a field to play. “There isn’t a sport we didn’t play as a child,” Riordan added. One of his fondest childhood memories is playing hockey in the winter and going home with red, cold hands that he put under the cold-water faucet because it made the hands feel warmer. The youngest of nine children, he said he was lucky that his mother let him have freedom after school to play. “Or maybe she just lost all interest,” Riordan joked. He has never thrown out the first pitch at a major league stadium, but Riordan would rather do the honors here. He distinctly remembers a Little League game when his son’s team was behind 15-1 with one inning left. “The other team walked 16 batters in a row and my son’s team won.” Riordan also remembers a baseball story that President Ronald Reagan told about when he was working as a sports announcer. This was before modern technology, when games were described via a tape that would have baseball terminology on it (like “K” for a strikeout, “5-3” (the third baseman throws to the first baseman for an out) and Reagan would translate the shorthand into his play-by-play commentary. Once, in the middle of a game, the tape broke and Reagan had no idea what was happening, so he started improvising: the batter got a foul tip, then a foul ball behind first base, then a foul ball down the third base line. “Before the tape was fixed, the batter had 18 foul balls,” Riordan said. Currently reading Philip Howard’s new book, “Life Without Lawyers: Liberating Americans From Too Much Law,” Riordan bemoans the fact that, because the fear of injury lawsuits is so high, today’s kids are not free to have the carefree childhood he enjoyed. “You have to let kids go out there, if they get hurt, they get hurt,” he said. In high school, Riordan was a jack of all sports trades, playing football, hockey, baseball and basketball. When it came to baseball, he preferred either catcher or third base because, as he said “You don’t have time to choke. Second base is the worst.” Riordan went to Santa Clara University on a football scholarship, but wasn’t good enough and soon transferred to Princeton University, where he played rugby. “It’s a fun sport and less dangerous than football because you don’t get blocked,” Riordan said. During his army years in Korea, Riordan played in organized touch football leagues and while in law school at the University of Michigan, he participated in intramural sports. A spirited hockey game, in fact, led to the completion of Walt Disney Concert Hall in downtown Los Angeles in 2003. “When I was playing with [architect] Frank Gehry, we both ended up on the ice, each claiming we had illegally checked the other,” Riordan recalled. “It was then that Gehry looked at me and said “Riordan, you and I are going to make Disney Hall happen.'” When he’s in town, Riordan still takes two 40-minute bike rides a week, from his home in Brentwood to Playa del Rey. “I have breakfast, then I come back,” he said. “We, as adults, have to be leaders to get more kids interested in sports.” The pancake breakfast begins at 7:30 a.m. Tickets can be purchased now from Pinto (ages 7-9), Mustang (9-10), Bronco (11-12) or Pony (13-14) players. All proceeds go to the Field of Dreams Fund to help pay for maintenance.

It took less than a week for the Palisades High boys’ tennis team to get a measure of revenge against the school it lost to in the City finals last May. The Dolphins began the season determined to beat Taft and regain the section championship. Palisades defeated Taft 5-1 last weekend in the Division II finals of the California High School Classic in Fresno, and even though the City title wasn’t on the line it was a significant and satisfying victory nonetheless. “We went up there to find out where we were at as a team,” Dolphins’ senior captain Jeremy Shore said. “Playing Taft gave us a little added motivation. We also know we can beat them now so that will help when we play them again.” The Toreadors were without No. 1 player Josh Tchan but Palisades was also missing one of its singles players and it is unlikely Taft would have prevailed even with the defending City Individual champion in the lineup. “It’s a great tournament because the team gets a chance to establish an identity,” Pali Coach Bud Kling said. “The kids are together for two and a half days and they get to play good tennis against some really formidable teams.” In the championship match, Taft’s only point came at No. 1 singles, where David Engelberg beat Justin Atlan. All of the other matches were lopsided wins for Palisades. Kyung Choi won 6-0, 6-0 at No. 2 singles, Max Licona won 6-1, 6-3 at No. 3 and Spencer Pekar prevailed 6-2, 7-5 at No. 4. In doubles, Che Borja and Kramer Waltke won 6-3, 6-2 at No. 1 and Shore paired with Spencer Lewin to win 6-3, 6-4 at No. 2. Taft dropped two of its singles players down in an attempt to steal the doubles points but the gamble backfired. “We definitely made a strong case for the No. 1 seed in the playoffs,” Kling said. “We also have a tough nonleague schedule so hopefully we’ll stay sharp.” Palisades’ toughest match was in pool play on Friday when it tied Clovis West 3-3 in matches, 7-7 in sets and 76-76 in games. The Dolphins won because the fourth tiebreaker is No. 1 singles, where Atlan prevailed, 2-6, 6-4, 10-2. Palisades then beat El Diamante, Clovis North, Stockdale and Bullard to reach the finals. Having won Division II twice in a row, Kling said Palisades will move up to Division I next year. Last week, Palisades defeated a strong Santa Monica squad, 12-6, and on Monday the Dolphins opened the Western League with a 7-0 win over Venice. Atlan won 6-0, 6-0 at No. 1 singles, Choi won 6-1, 6-0 at No. 2, Licona won 6-1, 6-1 at No. 3 and Brandon Clark won 6-0, 6-0 at No. 4. Borja and Pekar won 6-1, 6-1 at No. 1 doubles, Shore and Waltke won 6-0, 6-1 at No. 2 and Lewin and Kenneth Choi won 6-0, 6-0 at No. 3.

In what could be a preview of the City Section finals, the Palisades High boys’ volleyball team saw its bid for a second straight undefeated season go up in smoke Friday in a shocking 29-31, 25-23, 25-21, 25-13 defeat at the hands of Sylmar. The loss ended the Dolphins’ 20-match winning streak and served notice that it may be harder to defend their championship than it was to win it in May. “We know everyone we play is going to be gunning for us so we have to be ready,” said outside hitter Jordan Cohen, who had three kills and 13 digs. “I give that team credit but hopefully we’ll play them again down the road because I know we can beat them.” Sylmar was upset in the semifinals last season and Coach Soheil Mashhoud said the loss strengthened his team’s resolve. “If we’re going to go all the way this is the year,” he said. “We knew this was going to be our toughest match and I wouldn’t be surprised if we see them again [in the playoffs]. The first game our serving was awful but after that the offense started clicking.” The first game was every bit as close as the score would indicate, each team having numerous chances to win it before Kene Izuchukwu finally did with a cross-court kill. However, it was merely a temporary setback for the Spartans, who gradually took control of the match behind 6′ 9′ senior outside hitter Tyler Honeycutt. He would finish with 25 kills. “Defensively, we didn’t execute the things we worked on in practice,” Pali Coach Chris Forrest said. “It was almost like everything was working against us in this match. The streak wasn’t going to last forever. We have guys playing varsity for the first time and adjusting to new positions. If we keep improving, we’ll be fine by the end of the season.” Matt Hanley had 22 kills and 22 digs and Izuchukwu added 15 kills and 30 digs for the Dolphins (2-1), who opened the season with a three-game sweep of Carson. “I really think the tide turned when I hit out to end the second game,” Izuchukwu said. “That seemed to deflate us and pump them up.” Palisades bounced back from its first defeat by ousting rival Venice 25-22, 23-25, 25-16, 26-24 on Monday in the Western League opener for both schools. Izuchukwu had 19 kills and Hanley added 18 kills and five aces for the Dolphins, who play in the Best of the West tournament this weekend.

It didn’t take long for Palisades High goalie Turner Hanley to get into last Friday night’s varsity lacrosse game against Loyola. He made several point-blank saves in the opening minutes and eventually the Cubs’ sustained attack wore down the Dolphins’ defense in a 12-5 Loyola victory at Stadium by the Sea. “We have to work harder on knowing where the men are,” Hanley said. “Our offense is good, we just need to make more shots. We need to bring on as much intensity as we can and play with mental focus.” Palisades scored on midfielder Shane Centkowski’s goal with Loyola down a player because of a penalty. The lead was short-lived, however, because Loyola senior Andy Kurstin intercepted a pass and scored on a breakaway–the first of five goals for the Santa Monica Canyon resident. Kurstin is one of nine Palisadians on Loyola’s roster. The others are Nick McCormack, Justin Tabit, Corey Rasmussen, DB Henney, John and Luke Mullan, Alex Kutsukos and Cameron Lancey. Palisades’ senior captain Jack Satz grew up playing the sport with many of the Loyola players. “We knew what we needed to do, but our offense is young,” he said. “Hopefully we’ll get a rematch later in the season.” After Hanley made three more saves teammate Charlie Bailey scored to put the Dolphins ahead 2-1 after the first quarter. Loyola seized control of the game in the next six minutes. Kurstin scored, then Max Lightbourn tallied the first of his three goals. Centowski’s goal pulled Palisades within 6-3 at halftime. “They had a controlled defense and a lot of experience,” Centkowski said. “Our starting offense is sophomores, which is a lot of promise for us.” In the second half, Max Groel assisted on goals by Tyler Wenker and Satz but that was all the offense Palisades could muster. Despite a valiant effort by Hanley, the Cubs scored six more times and spent the majority of the final two quarters on the opponents’ side of the field. Despite the loss, Palisades Coach Scott Hylen was proud of his team’s effort, especially praising his goalie. ‘It would’ve been 22-5 without Turner [Hanley],’ he said. ‘He’s one of the best athletes on the field. The loss dropped Palisades to 1-1 on the season but Hylen knows it’s a long season: “We’re 75 percent sophomores across the board [JV and varsity] so we’re looking good for the future. All in all, we’re happy with the way we played and we’re only going to get better.” 10B Loyola’s Andy Kurstin (left) avoids a check from Palisades midfielder Ben Malisoff during the Dolphins’ 12-5 loss Friday night at Stadium by the Sea. Photo: Kevin Crane

Though gifted young women will arrive from places far and wide this season to play for the Pali Blues Soccer Club, there is one thing they will all have in common: zero dollar amateur contracts and the need for a place to stay. A summer with the Blues means finding a host family to stay with for the duration of the season. Prior to the team’s inaugural season last year, many local families welcomed Blues players into their homes, basements and guest houses, helping to support them on their way to the W-League championship. In return, these families, many with young players of their own, often enjoyed a strong personal connection to both their player and the franchise. This year, the Blues hope to continue to their relationships with the 2008 host families while reaching out to new ones. “One thing we take pride in as an organization is bringing not only great soccer players, but great personalities and great role models,” Blues General Manager Jason Lemire said. “We are also proud and grateful that we play for such a supportive community, willing to host our players during this formative time in their careers.” With a world-class product on the field it is easy to forget that the Pali Blues remain a non-profit organization. Competing in the USL W-League, the Blues maintain amateur status, allowing them to continue to develop and showcase many of the top collegians in the country without jeopardizing players’ NCAA eligibility. In return, future stars of the game committed to finishing their college education can compete and train with the Blues in a professional environment while learning how to act like a pro and contribute to a community on and off the field. Palisades families are encouraged to consider becoming hosts this season. “Housing players from the Blues was a wonderful experience,” 2008 host Nancy Belinsky agreed. “It allowed us to get to know many players and feel connected to the team. We have made some life long friends.” If interested, call Lemire at (310) 264-4649. The Blues open their second season May 9 against the L.A. Legends at Palisades High’s Stadium by the Sea.