Playoff team busted for illegal taping

Found this on Will DeBoard's playoff football blog last night (Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2008):

"Rio Linda (7-3) at Sierra (8-2): This game got a little more interesting after events that happened last Friday night. Rio Linda officials caught somebody affiliated with Sierra illegally filming their game against River City. Rio Linda filed a complaint with the section and section officials told Rio Linda they were convinced the film had been erased and there were no advantages gained. Judging from the e-mails I’ve received from Rio Linda parents, they’re plenty fired up. Rio Linda is winning games thanks to its defense (11 points allowed a game, seven games where they’ve held opponents to eight points or less)."

After talking with DeBoard, who contacted the Sac-Joaquin Section for clarification, it appears as if the section is going to make it legal to video games from the bleachers. Maybe as soon as next year. Maybe that's why Rio Linda supporters feel slighted. It looks as if Sierra got off with just a warning.

I wonder, though, how much of this goes unnoticed? Sierra may have been caught, but I'm willing to bet that there are secret shooters all over the section taping games illegally. What's more, it's probably been going on for years.

That said, I feel for a school like Sierra -- a team I'm all too familiar with as the former sports editor of the Manteca Bulletin. After a decade's worth of frustration, "The Blue School," as they're called in Manteca, is making their first appearance in the Sac-Joaquin Section playoffs.

And based on this infraction, it shows.

Rookies.