With the 2012-2013 prep sports season now officially over, it's time to once again start talking about football.

The San Pedro High football team went 8-4 during the 2012 season, placing third in the ultra-competitive Marine League and reached the CIF-Los Angeles City Section Division I quarterfinals, where it fell short in heartbreaking fashion to Venice. A young, and energetic team eager to get things rolling for 2013 sounds like it may be another promising year for the Pirates and head coach Mike Walsh, who enters his 23rd season at the helm.

San Pedro's…

A hat tip for LAObserved.com for sharing this unusual video of a small sea lion climbing aboard a boat off of Newport Beach in May. The sea lion then snuggled with the crew for an hour.

Kelsea Short, Port Of Los Angeles, junior, SS: Despite missing eight games, Short still shined with an amazing .422 batting average, six home runs and 36 RBIs. The All-City Small Schools first team pick was dazzling defensively as well for the Polar Bears, turning a sparkling double play against King of Riverside in the TNT Tournament. Short has played on all three City Section Small Schools championship teams at POLA.

Cassie Demers, Mary Star, senior, 3B: The All-Camino Real…

In a 2013 year where all the schools in San Pedro had long playoff runs for the first time in years, once again Mary Star High softball sophomore pitching standout Marina Vitalich loomed large in the circle.

Vitalich helped Mary Star achieve heights that only few thought was possible to reach, and this season, the Stars weren't even picked to repeat as Camino Real League champions, let alone reach their first ever CIF-Southern Section championship game. The Stars were able to do all of that, and post their second straight 20-win season. Vitalich was involved in all the decisions due to the team not having as much depth as many others and that's…

There's no question that Port Of Los Angeles High softball was stacked for a team that only competes in the CIF-Los Angeles City Section Small Schools Division only by enrollment and size of the school.

It was also clearly evident that POLA plays like anything BUT a 'small school'.

All in all, the Polar Bears don't care about individual stats or glory, they were all about goals that benefited the team and that in itself, spoke for itself as they completely took the Small Schools Division and shook it to its very foundation with its third straight City Section Division…

LOST DOG ALERT: Harley, a black/tan Rottweiler/Lab mix, went missing Saturday night (5/18/13) near 20th and Averill. If anyone has any info, please call (310) 562-4342.

Amber Nunez, Mary Star, senior, catcher: The Bishop Montgomery transfer felt right at home in catching the News Pilot Pitcher Of The Year Marina Vitalich this season, and was a tremendous force in the Stars' run to the CIF-Southern Section Division 6 finals. Nunez, who is also a great singer, hit an RBI-single in the first inning that gave Mary Star a brief lead in the finals against Bell-Jeff, and hit an RBI-double in the semifinal win over Rosamond.…

It's not easy to be the head coach of a team that seems to be overflowing with talent. Just trying to keep 16 girls on a high school softball team happy seems to be the biggest challenge, let alone trying to keep a team motivated to strive for bigger things coming off two straight championships.

Somehow, Melissa Bugarin-Espinoza and her husband Moses were able to do all of those uneasy things for Port Of Los Angeles High softball.

After a 3-5 start that came about with two hard fought losses to King of…

When you dominate a division the way the Port Of Los Angeles High softball team did to all who opposed them in the CIF-Los Angeles City Section Small Schools Division, it seemed fitting that the Polar Bears would also dominate in the postseason awards for that division.

Out of the 16-player roster, the Polar Bears (28-8 overall) would get not one, not two, but a dozen players all selected to the All-City Small Schools team. That is one mind-boggling and exceptional accomplishment.

Junior first baseman Allison Bayer, who broke four school hitting records, was chosen as…

The California State University Board of Trustees appointed Dr. Willie J. Hagan as the permanent president of California State University, Dominguez Hills, effective immediately. Hagan has served as interim president since June 2012.

“To say I am honored to have been appointed as president of CSU Dominguez Hills would be an understatement,” Hagan said. “I look forward to continuing to work with our gifted faculty, dedicated staff, and inspirational students to advance this remarkable institution and our students.”

Hagan’s leadership at CSU Dominguez Hills in the past 11 months has been marked with an unwavering commitment toward student academic success and focused on dramatically improving graduation rates and time to degree. He successfully increased transparency in university…