CHSAA Class AA girls basketball state tournament preview

All the debate will finally be settled.

By week’s end the CHSAA’s top girls basketball team will be crowned in a tournament that rivals any in the country with talent and its grueling nature.

Nationally ranked Nazareth will look for a second straight crown and a trip upstate to defend its state Federation Class AA title in Albany. Christ the King, tje winner two years ago, is hoping to get back to the mountaintop after winning its 26th Brooklyn/Queens title in 28 tries. St. Anthony’s, also nationally ranked, is trying to erase the memory of last year’s defeat to Nazareth in the semifinals and earn its first trip upstate in the highest classification.

Denis Gostev

Nazareth's Darius Faulk will try to lead her team to a second straight CHSAA Class AA state title.

Denis Gostev

Christ the King and Rayne Connell head into the tournament off winning the CHSAA Brooklyn/Queens title.

Bishop Ford coach Mike Toro felt all year he had a group talented enough to finally get the Falcons to Albany and they have proven that. A loss to CK in the diocesan final notwithstanding, Ford has been arguably the city most consistent team. A year ago, Molloy was on the road to claiming a state Federation Class A crown and this year was about accomplishing more. A deep run to a title would certainly be that.

St. John the Baptist started the season slow, but ever since getting star Anastasia Williams back the Cougars have become a force playing at the level expected by coach Ted Oberg. With St. Peter’s and St. Michael Academy closed, Moore Catholic has developed into the premier Archdiocesan program. Some success in the Class AA state tournament is the next step.

SCHEDULE

March 7

Quarterfinals @ St. Francis Prep

4 p.m. – Bishop Ford vs. Moore Catholic

5:45 p.m. – Nazareth vs. St. John the Baptist

7:30 p.m. – Archbishop Molloy vs. St. Anthony’s

March 9

Semifinals @ Archbishop Molloy

5 p.m. – Bishop Ford/Moore vs. Molloy/St. Anthony’s

7 p.m. – Christ the King vs. Nazareth/St. John the Baptist

March 10

Final @ Christ the King

7 p.m. – Semifinal winners

Archbishop Molloy Stanners

Head coach: Scott Lagas

Record: 18-9

Player to watch: Amani Tatum

Outlook: The Stanners may not be the sexy pick in this tournament, but there is no reason why they can’t make a run. Molloy does own two wins over CK, beat Ford and only fell to Nazareth by 10 in their last meeting. There may not be a tougher competitor than point guard Amani Tatu, who can get to the basket at will. Forward Carolyn Gallagher can score in bunches and will try to rebound from a tough outing against Ford. Nyasha Irizarry and Kamille Ejerta can both light things up from the outside. Patti Drogler adds a toughness inside.

Bishop Ford Falcons

Head coach: Mike Toro

Record: 22-5

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Nazareth, Nazareth, CHSAA Class AA state, Darius Faulk, Christ the King, Archbishop Molloy, Anastasia Williams, St. Michael Academy, Bishop Ford, CHSAA, Ted Oberg, Amani Tatu

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St. John's Harkless, Harrison make Big East rookie team

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Marquette seniors Jae Crowder and Darius Johnson-Odom are among the six players who have been chosen first-team All-Big East.

Connecticut sophomore Jeremy Lamb, the only non-senior, was joined Sunday on the first team by Jason Clark of Georgetown, Kevin Jones of West Virginia and Kris Joseph of conference champion Syracuse.

Crowder, who averaged 18.0 points and 8.3 rebounds in conference play, was the only unanimous pick in the voting by the league's coaches.

Jones led the conference in scoring (19.0) and rebounding (10.9). He edged Johnson-Odom for the scoring title by one point.

Seniors Scoop Jardine of Syracuse and Jordan Theodore were joined on the second team by juniors Jack Cooley of Notre Dame and Maalik Wayns of Villanova and sophomore Sean Kilpatrick of Cincinnati.

The third team was seniors Henry Sims of Georgetown, Herb Pope of Seton Hall and Darryl Bryant of West Virginia, junior Vincent Council of Providence and sophomore Dion Waiters of Syracuse.

St. John's D'Angelo Harrison and Moe Harkless, the top two freshmen scorers in the conference, were joined on the seven-man all-rookie team by Andre Drummond of Connecticut, Chane Behanan of Louisville, Jerian Grant of Notre Dame, LaDontae Henton of Providence and Anthony Collins of South Florida.

The league's player of the year, who will come from the first team, will be announced Tuesday, along with coach of the year and rookie of the year.

Darius Johnson-Odom, Marquette seniors Jae Crowder, Kevin Jones, Johnson-Odom, Kris Joseph, Jordan Theodore, West Virginia, Syracuse, Scoop Jardine, Jason Clark, Jeremy Lamb, Sean Kilpatrick, conference, Maalik Wayns, Georgetown, Darryl Bryant, Jack Cooley, Notre Dame, D'Angelo Harrison, Connecticut, Jerian Grant of Notre Dame, Moe Harkless

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A confident Miguel Cotto makes no apologies for who he isn't

Miguel Cotto will put his WBA super-welterweight championship belt on the line when he fights unbeaten Floyd Mayweather Jr. on May 5 in Las Vegas. (Seth Wenig / Associated Press / March 1, 2012)

Tired of being disappointed because there isn't a Floyd Mayweather Jr.-Manny Pacquiao fight?

Miguel Cotto is here to try to slug out your frustrations.

"I didn't care about hearing one more thing about that," Cotto said Thursday, appearing in Hollywood to promote his May 5 bout against the unbeaten Mayweather. "My next step is Mayweather. If people want to see that [Mayweather-Pacquiao] fight, they have to wait until I beat Mayweather."

Cotto (37-2, 30 knockouts), the World Boxing Assn. super-welterweight champion, is to defend his belt in a pay-per-view bout at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. That hotel's sports book lists Cotto as more than a 6-1 underdog, lacking confidence that the 31-year-old's body-punching skills can overcome the 35-year-old Mayweather's speed, defense and ring wizardry.

"I'm a little different fighter than Antonio Margarito," Mayweather (42-0, 26 KOs) said of the Tijuana fighter whom Cotto defeated by ringside doctor's stoppage in a December rematch. "I'm faster and my defense is a lot better."

And Mayweather expressed little concern about fighting at the increased weight of 154 pounds, where he hasn't fought since defeating Oscar De La Hoya in a split decision in 2007.

"The 10-ounce heavyweight gloves they made me use against Oscar were like pillows," Mayweather said. "If I didn't have those pillows on, I could've chopped him up the way I wanted. I couldn't choose my gloves, the weight, anything in that fight."

This time, the camp of pay-per-view king Mayweather secured eight-ounce gloves for the Cotto bout.

Mayweather agreed to fight Cotto only after talks to stage Mayweather-Pacquiao failed. Pacquiao wanted a 50-50 split of revenues and Mayweather extended no more than a $40-million guarantee.

Earlier this week, Mayweather said Pacquiao isn't "one of the sharpest knives in the drawer," and he said the Filipino superstar doesn't deserve 50% of the financial pie.

But Thursday Mayweather tried to answer Pacquiao-related questions only by selling his May 5 fight. What does Mayweather think of the Pacquiao-Timothy Bradley fight June 9?

"May the best man win," Mayweather said.

"My job is not to worry about other fighters," he added.

Meanwhile, Cotto thinks he's back at the peak of his craft.

Cotto suffered the first loss of his career — to Margarito in 2008 — one fight before the Mexican brawler was suspended for having plaster in his hand wraps before a bout. But in their rematch in December, Cotto dominated Margarito in every round.

"[Margarito] took from me a lot of things — confidence included — in the 2008 fight, but as soon as I started training for this fight two weeks ago, I understood all those things he'd taken have come back to me," Cotto said.

lance.pugmire@latimes.com

twitter.com/latimespugmire

Miguel Cotto, Floyd Mayweather, Floyd Mayweather Jr., Mayweather-Pacquiao, Mayweather-Pacquiao, Pacquiao, Mayweather, Antonio Margarito, Thursday Mayweather

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Tech tweaks help car sales shift into high gear

America’s love affair with cars is vrooming back — fueled by an accelerating passion for tech-tweaked models.

US carmakers reported yesterday that sales in February hit an annualized 14 million rate for a second straight month.

It’s the first back-to-back 14 million pace since 2008 — and analysts attribute the brisk sales to new on-board tech gadgets that are making the driver’s seat as cool as some living rooms.

“People are buying more bells and whistles than ever because technology is giving them so much for their vehicles,” said senior auto analyst Kristen Anderssen of TrueCar.com, which tracks the industry.

That rising demand helped drive up sales for the best February in four years, reviving Detroit to levels it lost during the recession.

Prices are also higher.

Indeed, the new high-tech features that help you shop electronically, download entertainment, monitor your habits behind the wheel, and stay in touch with civilization everywhere, have pushed up the average price of light vehicles to $30,605, a gain of nearly $2,000, or 6.8 percent, for the year.

In monthly sales reported yesterday by automakers, General Motors stumped analysts with a 1.1 percent gain instead of a big decline that many had predicted. GM shares rose 1.7 percent to $26.45, up 45 cents.

Ford sales jumped 14 percent, with its Focus sales doubling in February. Ford stock rose 2.3 percent to $12.66. Both GM and Ford expect profits in 2012. Chrysler sales jumped 40 percent from a year earlier.

Analysts said rising stock markets, growing consumer confidence and improvements in the unemployment rate helped bring buyers back to dealers in recent weeks.
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Pettitte, Rivera an elite teaching duo for Yankees

TAMPA -- Mariano Rivera had completed a 35-pitch bullpen session and walked to where Andy Pettitte had watched baseball’s all-time closer work as if it was the middle of July.

For 10 minutes Wednesday, the pitching cornerstones of the latest Yankees dynasty chatted inside the Steinbrenner Field bullpen as a hot morning sun worked its way through vanishing clouds.

Was Pettitte, a guest instructor, giving Rivera tips? Was Rivera attempting to talk Pettitte into coming out of retirement?

“We were talking about the young pitchers in camp,’’ a sweating Rivera said following the completion of a running program.

On his way to watch Rivera throw, Pettitte said, “There are a lot of young studs here.’’

Once, Rivera and Pettitte were the young studs, and Rivera remembers being around the legends.

“Whitey [Ford], Tommy John and Gator [Ron Guidry], those were the guys,’’ Rivera said of the special instructors on hand during his first camp in 1993 when the Yankees trained in Fort Lauderdale. “I had my [elbow] surgery and I was rehabbing.’’

Rivera (42) is older than Pettitte (39) and though he is an active player, Rivera teaches.

“I have instructed since I came to the big leagues, that’s what I do,’’ Rivera said.

As for the pitching program, Rivera threw a second bullpen session and is nearing the point where he will begin throwing batting practice.

“Friday or Saturday,’’ Rivera said of his next bullpen session. After that he will throw batting practice.

According to manager Joe Girardi, don’t look for Rivera to work an exhibition game for about two weeks.

Rivera historically needs eight innings to be ready for the season. As usual, all of Rivera’s appearances will be at GMS Field, though he will work in one of three games played on the Florida’s east coast at the end of spring training. The Yankees play the Marlins April 1 and 2 in Miami and the Mets in Port St. Lucie on April 3.

george.king@nypost.com

Mariano Rivera, Andy Pettitte

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Lien on me: Arrears here

Lois Weiss

BETWEEN THE BRICKS

The city’s annual lien sale list is out and property owners should check it even if they are up to date on their property taxes.

Owners could land on the list for unpaid water and sewer charges, emergency repairs or by some clerical error. They have until May 17 to cut a deal with the city that does not require a down payment. Then the city sells the liens to investors and surcharges apply.

Citywide, 21,910 buildings owe $439,493,333 in property taxes with $649,185,512 due in overall late charges. Properties owe over $130 million for water with $66 million of that from 5,090 multi-family residential buildings. Another 12,584 small homes owe another $65 million in water fees. “Other” Department of Environmental Protection bills add up to more than $150 million.

There are also emergency repair charges of $47.7 million citywide that are racked up when property owners don’t fix things like boilers fast enough or leave up dangerous buildings that need to be demolished.

We found several properties with spotless property tax payments but outstanding water or other charges.

The virtually empty Knickerbocker Hotel, which is undergoing renovations and is now divided up into commercial condominiums, has a water charge of around $44,000 and a late penalty of $2,000. The water bill was still attached to the main address. Did the water fall into The Gap, which is the only thing running there besides some workmen? One of the owners is now flushing this out.

The Daryl Roth Theater also had an outstanding water bill of nearly $34,000, including the $2,000 penalty. The theater is owned by and named after Vornado Realty Trust Chairman Steve Roth’s Tony award-winning wife, Daryl. A person at the theater said they had just became aware of the bill and were taking care of it. You’d think that this sophisticated real-estate company has a handle on their bills.

Think again.

We found credits of $100,579.32 on one of Vornado’s retail lots at 731 Lexington Ave. because the Jan. 1 tax bill was paid using the July bill amount and not the legislatively adjusted amount reduced in mid-November. Yes, the city owes Vornado money.

The statement of account you get in the mail tells you that the city owes you money since promises were made 20 years ago that the Department of Finance would alert owners when there are credits.

Lawyers sometimes have liens on refund checks for overpayments, and when properties sell, credits may belong to different entities.

The supportive housing community also has problems that surfaced in the lien list. Two small apartment buildings owned by Clinton Housing Development Co. are still being charged for taxes after over a year of waiting. In one case, the deed was filed by a prominent lawyer with “N/A” for an address. Guess what? No bill could be sent anywhere. Finance officials quickly fixed that glitch this week and have always been responsive as we bring misfilings to their attention.

In one misfiling we uncovered, the addresses for two different water meters at the residential 260 Park Ave. South are attached through computer files to the JPMorgan Chase office building at 270 Park Ave. This is because the original document filings and deeds were not properly written by those that filed the documents. DEP is looking into this now.

Along with the often-made mistake of leaving out “South” for Park Avenue South addresses, we’ve also found address numbers transposed, causing documents to be filed on the wrong block and lot. This can be a headache for owners as one page states property and water bills will be sent to this address. And if the number is missing or wrong, the bill goes into the Twilight Zone.

Don’t think the 99 percent are immune to missed property tax payments, as residential condos are often purchased as investments or pieds-a-terre. We found missed bills by folks that own at the Plaza Hotel, Trump World Tower and 845 UN Plaza, as well as condominiums owned by a ritzy doctor on Park Avenue.

Properties that owe the most in city water charges are also on the lien list.

The largest water bills are owed by buildings in Queens where one factory owes over $1 million in water charges and is a regular on the lien list.

lois@betweenthebricks.com

property tax payments, property tax payments, Daryl Roth Theater, property owners, Vornado Realty Trust Chairman Steve Roth’s Tony, Department of Environmental Protection bills, water bills, water bill, property taxes, Clinton Housing Development Co., Knickerbocker Hotel

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