Sports update: So much going on

By Ed Piper

There is so much going on in La Jolla High sports, prep sports in general, and sports as a whole that I think it's a good time to check in and touch base on a few of these items:

--The Vikings rugby team is "out of town", not playing at home, for the second weekend in a row, at the date of this writing (Fri., Feb. 17). We miss those guys!

--LJHS's girls soccer team, seeded second in Division 3, opens up postseason play in CIF with a home game tonight at 5 p.m. I plan to give you photo coverage! The Vikings are good, as they showed in their 5-0 waxing of visiting High Tech High Fri., Feb. 10, on Senior Night. The crowd was pretty good for a girls soccer game, and team members and spectators all took part in the celebration as La Jolla completed City League play with an unblemished 8-0 record. Expectations are high.

--Manny Machado, stellar third baseman for the Padres, just clarified (Feb. 17, morning hours) that he has informed the San Diego club that he plans to opt out of his multi-year contract after the 2023 season--which allows for such an opt-out on the part of the player if he chooses.

I didn't read much, but Machado is quoted as saying that "there's a lot of money out there" due to the free agent market, and he plans to dip his toes in and see how the water is at the end of the season.

Of course, this would come after the Padres' highly-anticipated 2023 season, with a loaded lineup that includes new acquisitions (shortstop Xander Bogaerts, for one), as well as Fernando Tatis coming back from injury and a suspension (that ends after the first 20 games of the season).

Throwing even more excitement into the MLB baseball scene is the World Baseball Classic March 7-21, in which Machado (Dominican Republic), Bogaerts (Netherlands), and many other Padres and MLB players for other teams will be competing. It happens every four years (plus a two-year delay for the pandemic), so this is the year.

--Next week, spring sports start for La Jolla High. I was subbing at an area high school yesterday, and one student was preparing to try out for that school's (Torrey Pines) beach volleyball team. Stay tuned for a lot more.