Travels And Aviation NEWS: GIRLS BASKETBALL: Terra Nova Streaks into CCS

Terra Nova High's Ivonne CookTaylor drives to the basket against Mills' Kelly Chin during the PAL tournament championship on Saturday, Feb. 19, 2011 in Burlingame, Calif. Terra Nova defeated the Vikings 62-45.

1.

The Star: Tigers junior Ivonne CookTaylor was close to unstoppable as both a scorer and rebounder in leading her team to its third straight Peninsula Athletic League tournament championship at Burlingame High on Saturday night. The smooth wing scored a season-high 24 points and hauled in 10 rebounds, most of which came as Terra Nova pulled away in the final period.

The Turning Point: The first three minutes of the fourth quarter. Mills entered the final period leading 42-41 and gunning for an upset, but then the Vikings promptly committed five turnovers and missed three straight shots. Terra Nova’s Terilyn Moe drilled a 3-pointer and then rolled in a floater while getting fouled to spark a 10-0 run that proved decisive.

The Quote: “We’re the underdog. … All the WCAL teams, they look down on us, like we’re a joke.” – Terra Nova’s Terilyn Moe, on the motivation her team will take into the Central Coast Section Division III playoffs, which have been dominated by West Catholic Athletic League powerhouses since the mid-1990’s.

What’s Next? Terra Nova (23-4) enters the CCS Division III playoffs on a 17-game winning streak. Coach Kareem Summerville believes his team will earn the No. 2 seed. The brackets will be announced this afternoon.

The Bottom Line: Terra Nova, the No. 3 team in Patch’s Peninsula rankings, remains the class of the PAL. No. 6 Mills has played the Tigers tougher than any other league team, largely because the Vikings (17-8) find a way to make life difficult for Terilyn Moe. Moe, however, managed 22 points despite her 6-of-23 night from the floor. Terra Nova held the Vikings to 2-of-17 shooting in the second half after the Tigers trailed 34-26 at the break. Terra Nova has been prepping all year for a run at its first CCS crown since 1997 – including playing a brutal non-league schedule. Injured starter Jayzyl Tauala (ankle) is expected back at the start of the week – which would leave the Tigers at full strength at just the right time.

2. Sinatra pal Frankie Randall tickles the ivories at McCallum Theatre
Frankie Randall has been a Coachella Valley institution longer than some of its cities have existed.

The 73-year-old is one of the last of the legitimate Frank Sinatra cronies. If Jilly Rizzo was Frank's right-hand man, Randall was his 10 fingers. He moved to a house near Sinatra's Rancho Mirage compound in 1974 to be available to play piano for “The Voice” whenever Sinatra felt the need to sing.

Sinatra became a fan of Randall's at Rizzo's New York nightclub in the early 1960s. His support helped Randall get a recording contract with RCA and a deal with 20th Century- Fox to appear in the film “Wild On the Beach.” He was soon performing on Dean Martin's summer TV series and hanging with Frank and Dean's Rat Pack.

When Sinatra died in 1998, Randall helped keep his legend alive in Palm Springs by starring in a season-long tribute at the Annenberg Theater. He also hosted the jam sessions at the Sinatra Celebrity Invitational post-gala Platinum Parties, just as he had done when Sinatra was alive.

Randall returns to the McCallum Theatre tonight for a show that replicates his role as the consummate piano host. Even he doesn't know who will “drop by” to sing with him, but, if it's anything like last year's show, it will include some of the biggest singing stars in the desert.

You'll know who those stars are when you see them. But how much do you really know about Randall? We asked him some questions in the following categories to shed a little light on that.
3. Kinison fathered lovechild, pal says

Late comedian Sam Kinison fathered a lovechild, according to DNA tests obtained by a friend who has been paying child support for the girl for years.

The funnyman, who was joined by rockers including Steven Tyler and Billy Idol in his 1988 novelty cover of The Troggs' Wild Thing, died in a car crash in 1992.

Now his pal, comic Carl La Bove, is claiming Kinison slept with his wife more than 20 years ago and fathered a child with her.

La Bove has been paying maintenance for nearly 13 years after splitting from the girl's mother, but he has now filed legal papers claiming the child is Kinison's.

DNA tests taken from the funnyman's brother Bill allegedly show a 99.8 per cent likelihood the late TV star is the father of the unnamed offspring, who is now 21.

The test results also rule out any possibility La Bove is the father.

Bill Kinison says, "She looks like she'd be Sam's daughter. Sam and Carl lived a lifestyle that was pretty promiscuous... I'd want to get that off me too."

NEHA JAIN

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