Crazy weeks finishing up

The Lounge basically has about two weeks before the spring sports are in full swing.

Just think, only three more months before summer break.

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Hoo boy. Was Friday crazy. Five CCS championship games, two sites. The Lounge did a good job of getting a good cross-section of all the activities, if the Lounge does say so itself. It caught the Aragon-Mitty girls' game and a few minutes of the Carlmont-Wilcox game at the San Jose State Event Center. The Lounge then hustled up Interstate 280 to Foothill College to catch the Burlingame-Santa Cruz matchup.

Got back to the office about 10:30 p.m., left the office about 2:15 a.m. and to make things even crazier, Mrs. Lounge was still up at 3 a.m. doing laundry!

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The atmosphere at Foothill College for the Burlingame-Santa Cruz game was off the hook.

First, if you didn't get there during the Mills-St. Ignatius girls' game, you weren't getting in. If you're familiar with the gym at Foothill, it sits on top of a hill. The line to get in the front door snaked about 100 yards back. The Lounge actually found an open door on the other side of the gym and the CCS doorperson let the Lounge in when he found out I was with the media. Much obliged.

The student-cheering sections were at full-throat 15 minutes before the game started, making the pre-game introductions basically useless. The public-address system is just two portable speakers set up near the scorers' table. With the crowd in a frenzy, no one could hear the introductions.

The place was so packed with so many people waiting outside, the police assigned to the game threw open all the doors to the gym to allow the fans outside to get at least get a glimpse of the game.

The Burlingame fans were all over the Santa Cruz fans early, with chants of "Just like football" reverberating through the arena. But as the game wore on and Santa Cruz increasingly looked like the champions, the Burlingame side got relatively quiet.

The Lounge actually thought about going up into the stands to suggest one last chant for the Burlingame student-section to belt out to the Santa Cruz side, "It's about time" clap, clap, clap clap clap, "It's about time."

Burlingame had beaten Santa Cruz teams the last four times the two schools met. Thursday they get to renew their rivalry when the Cardinals travel to Burlingame for a baseball game.

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Speaking of Burlingame, it's been a rough couple of years for runner Alyssa Gagliani.

Two years ago, she was rushed to the hospital after suffering an asthma attack following her running in the CCS cross country championships.

Now, she finds herself fighting for her life again. According to an e-mail the Lounge received, Gagliani was involved in a horrific crash at the 280/92 interchange as she was coming home from a Serra basketball game last week.

She was rushed to Stanford Hospital where she was operated on. According to assistant track coach Frank Hunt, she suffered three broken vertebrae and an heart injury where the aorta folded over itself, slowing blood flow to her leg. She was moved out of the intensive care unit on Saturday.

Hunt said he and fellow coach Steve "O.B." O'Brien went to visit her Friday. Because she was ICU, only immediate family is allowed. Hunt was introduced as "grandpa Frank" and O'Brien was "uncle O.B."

Needless to say, barring a miracle, her spring track season is over for the senior. She was being recruited by colleges to run cross country and here's hoping those coaches don't back away now. They backed away once after her asthma attack and she proved that they gave up on her way to easily.

Knowing Alyssa, she'll be back, flying through the finish line.

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On a somewhat bittersweet note, San Mateo High athletic director Steven Kryger is stepping down from that post effective June 3.

He will remain on staff as a math teacher and girls' frosh-soph basketball coach, but found that the athletic director duties were cutting into his teaching time.

"My teaching and coaching, I've done very little to improve in those two areas," Kryger said. "For four years, I've done all three jobs and the athletic director job has grown bigger and bigger. What has happened is I spend no time trying to improve my classroom or coaching.

"I'm not doing any of them well. At the end of the day, you have to feel good about what you're doing."

It's a shame. From a purely selfish point of view, Kryger was the type of A.D. newspaper sports departments love. He encouraged all his coaches to call in results, he kept us updated on the goings on at San Mateo High and even sent out an e-mail informing us that he was resigning as A.D., including the actual letter of resignation.

"I don't view the media as an adversarial relationship. I realize you have a job to do," Kryger said.

Kryger is a classy guy and will be missed once he officially steps down. The Lounge only hopes Kryger's replacement is as proactive with the media as he was.

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For those of you who follow the local horse racing scene, one of the best may be running for the roses in May.

Hall of Fame jockey Russell Baze may get another shot at riding in the Kentucky Derby, 10 years after riding Semoran to a 14th-place finish. Baze could be the jockey of choice if unbeaten Lost in the Fog does qualify for the Derby. If his owner puts up the six grand necessary, Baze could have a legitimate shot at one of the biggest jewels in racing.

Lost in the Fog proved his mettle winning the prestigious Swale Stakes at Gulfstream Park in Florida over the weekend.

Let the hype begin.

Nathan Mollat can be reached by e-mail: nathan@smdailyjournal.com or by phone: (650) 344-5200 ext. 102. What do you think of this column? Send a letter to the editor: letters@smdailyjournal.com.