Here is the State Volleyball Coaches Association preseason poll.

Class 4A
1. Mead
2. Kentwood
3. Monroe
4. Lewis and Clark
5. Bothell
6. Rogers (Puyallup)
7. Spanaway Lake
8. Auburn Riverside
9. Olympia
10. Puyallup

Class 3A
1. Auburn Mountainview
2. Shorecrest
3. Kennedy
4. Camas
5. Mount Si
6. Mercer Island
7. Shadle Park
8. Sumner
9. Holy Names
10. Mt. Spokane

Class 2A
1. Grandview
2. Selah
3. Archbishop Murphy
4. Black Hills
5. Ellensburg
6. Burlington Edison
7. Lynden
8. Tumwater
9. West Valley Spokane
10. Fife

Class 1A
1. Colfax
2. Connell
3. Kings
4. Goldendale
5. Cedar Park Christian
6. Chewelah
7. Lakeside (9 mile falls)
8. Lynden Christian
9. Nooksack Valley
10. Chelan

Class 2B
1. LaConner
2. Manson
3. Wilbur-Creston
4. Riverside Christian
5. Darrington
6. Lind-Ritzville
7. NW Christain (Colbert)
8. Davenport
9. Wahkiakum
10. Toutle Lake

Class 1B
1. Tekoa-Oakesdale
2. Garfield-Palouse
3. Lacrosse/Washtucna
4. Moses Lake Christian
5. Northport
6. Odessa
7. Klickitat
8. Sunnyside Christian
9. Entiat
10. Lopex Island

“Fire and Ice” has lost its flame.

Avery Bradley will not return to Bellarmine Prep for his senior year.

“He’s a fine young man and a great basketball player,” said Bellarmine Prep athletic director Ed Ploof. “We wish him well.”

Bradley, one of the nation’s most sought-after recruits, has not enrolled at a new school, said Garry Ward, the coach of Bradley’s AAU team, the Northwest Panthers.

Ward said Bradley is considering schools that will help him “reach his goal of being academically eligible to play in college as a freshman.”

“There is some research going on,” Ward said, “into seeing what school will most benefit Avery in addressing his academic concerns.”

Ward said a school would likely be chosen “next Tuesday or Wednesday.”

Rainier Beach athletic director Dan Jurdy dispelled rumors that Bradley had enrolled at the Seattle powerhouse.

“If he’s coming,” Jurdy said late Friday afternoon, “it’s news to me.”

Bellarmine Prep coach Bernie Salazar said it was difficult to see Bradley leave the Lions program.

“We really enjoyed coaching and teaching him,” Salazar said. “It’s sad any time you have a player leave.”

Salazar gave the Lions’ duo of Bradley, a 6-foot-3 shooting guard, and point guard Abdul Gaddy the “Fire and Ice” moniker. Bradley earned the “fire” description for his intense, emotional play.

Had Bradley returned to Bellarmine Prep for his senior season, the Lions would have had once of the best backcourts in state history. Gaddy and Bradley are each considered among the top 15 recruits in the country.

Bradley helped Bellarmine Prep to the Class 4A state semifinals last winter. The Lions placed third in the tournament, their best finish at state since 1980 and a 25-4 record. He led the South Sound in scoring with 25.7 points per game. He was a first-team all-state selection and an all-area selection by The News Tribune for the second straight season.

Bradley has seen his stock rise this summer after playing exceptionally against players of his caliber at tournaments across the country and in Brazil. Rivals.com, a recruiting Web site, has him rated as the eighth-best prospect in the nation. He has received scholarship offers from Arizona, Florida, Kansas, Texas, UCLA, USC, Washington and others. He has not yet revealed a favorite.

Before he left two weeks ago to play in Brazil for the Nike Elite Youth team, he told The News Tribune that he would make his official visits soon.

“I’m going to take my visits during the college football season,” Bradley said. “That way I can experience the atmosphere of college.”

The summer has been good to Avery Bradley.

Just a few weeks ago the Bellarmine Prep standout found himself playing ball in Brazil on Nike's dime. Not bad. This video from the Nike Global Challenge has been circulating around the Internet, growing his legend.

Now, with the summer hoops season drawing to a close, Bradley can look back and see that all the time spent playing ball in gyms, across the country and oceans, has paid off. More than any other player in the county, Bradley has climbed the rankings. He went from No. 49 in the ESPNU rankings to No. 15, one slot behind Bellarmine Prep teammate Abdul Gaddy.

What is the reason for Bradley's sky-rocketing stock? He plays defense. Excellent defense.

Here's a scout's take: "Bradley is making a case for No. 1 player in the west and top ten overall in the country. What separates him from most prospects around the country is his effort at both ends of the court. He is arguably the best 2-guard defender in the country as he slides his feet as well as anybody and he's extremely bouncy."

Fall camp is at the midway point, and a smattering of spectators at Timberline High's football practice Tuesday in Lacey brought up one popular topic.

Jonathan Stewart.

Stewart is not only easily the school's most-recognizable football star, he's in his own camp in the NFL, trying to secure a spot in the rotation with the Carolina Panthers.

But inside the fence, on the field, second-year coach Nick Mullen was orchestrating an offensive drill, secretly hoping his scout-team defense would hold up.

When the offense moved the ball closer to the goal line, Mullen looked back at his assistants, "I hate being an offensive coach," he said.

And for the next few plays, the second-team defense stuffed the offense – so inspiring that Mullen jumped in the pile to celebrate while the offensive players did 20 push-ups as punishment.

=> Read more!

High school sports news from around the state:

It looks like basketball superstar Tony Wroten might be playing at Renton High School instead of Garfield this year. Wroten is widely regarded as the best sophomore in the nation.

The state cross country coaches' preseason polls have been released. Here are some rankings of note: Gig Harbor's boys are No. 2 and girls are No. 3 in 4A; Charles Wright's boys are No. 2 in 1A; and the Northwest Christian (Lacey) girls are No. 1 in and boys are No. 2 in B.

Our sister paper The Olympian has a few interesting stories:
-- Mary M. Knight will field a football team for the first time since 2004.
-- Here's a story on North Thurston Rams quarterback Joe Hussey.
-- Here's a story on Capital's football-playing twins Riley and Reid Wall.
-- Here's a story on the start of the girls soccer season.

The Spokane Spokesman-Review's Mike Vlahovich has posted this update and this other update on the Greater Spokane League football teams.

Finally, here's more football from The Bellingham Herald. Reporter Joe Sunnen says the Squalicum Storm could shed the label of "basketball school" this season. Squalicum has been reclassified as a 2A school and is the third-largest school in the class.

Football got its start on Wednesday and the rest of the fall sports begin practice Monday.

I'm in Seattle covering the Mariners today (Saturday). Before the game starts, I had some time to scour Web sites around the state for prep sports news.

Just a reminder, The News Tribune's high school football special section will run in the Thursday, Sept. 4 newspaper.

The Olympian's Meg Wochnick visited with a couple coaches and has a rundown on some Thurston and Lewis county teams. There are video interviews with the coaches at Rainier and Yelm.

Spokesman-Review writer Mike Vlahovich has a report from Central Valley High School. Sounds like the team has excellent speed.

In Bellingham, Sehome has a glut of linemen.

The Seattle P-I has this story on the state's top recruit, Garfield defensive tackle Deandre Coleman,

The first day of football is behind us. What does that mean? That there is much more football to come, of course.

Here's my story in today's paper. Wilson senior Desmond Trufant has plenty of suitors and has been offered scholarships by six schools. Trufant is also predicting the Rams will reach the postseason. I visited Wilson and Fife, and reporter Todd Milles stopped by Lakes and Rogers.

In case you missed it, Todd Milles has a nice take on new Lakes quarterback Dalton Gervais, a nephew of former prep coach Steve Gervais.

Click below for links from around the state.

=> Read more!

In the distance, the infra-structure of the new Lakes High School is beginning to form.

But the Lancers' football practice field is still something out of the 1940s.

It is a grass field. The topography is uneven. Running a pass route, a receiver can step into two potholes, and over a knoll the size of an anthill in just a matter of steps.

That is how Lakes, the No. 1 team in Class 3A much of last season, wants to treat teams in its new league, the SPSL 3A – like bugs to a windshield.

"Kids are kids, and they play how you tell them to play," Lakes coach Dave Miller said. "As a coach, I'm trying to tell them it's going to be a better league, better competition.

=> Read more!

Midway through the Rogers Rams' first football practice Wednesday, a dark cloud loomed over Sparks Stadium, dimming the daylight.

So much, one assistant groused, "Can't we get the lights? I can't almost see."

There were low snaps and dropped passes, typical of a first day of camp. A few of the 90 players fell on the slippery turf, which was just installed a few days prior to practice.

One thing is for certain these days. These Rams are animated. Winners of their first SPSL South championship since 1982, they are also determined to prove last season was no fluke, led by all-everything quarterback Tyler Van Sligtenhorst, a senior who is being courted by a few Big Sky Conference programs.

"I love being in the position where everyone is looking at me," Van Sligtenhorst said. "Nothing cocky. I've done some camps with Jason Gesser (ex-WSU quarterback), and he's talked about that swagger you have to have, and let the (team) know … 'Hey, I'm the guy,' and have them believe in you."

=> Read more!

Wilson's Desmond Trufant outruns two defensive backs at practice on Wednesday.

I left Wilson High School looking forward to seeing exactly how coach Don Clegg plans to use the super-talented Desmond Trufant in a game.

After playing receiver, defensive back and returning kicks and punts last season, Trufant will also see time at quarterback and running back. He admitted that he's still learning quarterback and last played the position for "a couple games" during his freshman season.

"It's cool," said Trufant, 5-11, 170 pounds. "I like it."

Clegg hopes opponents won't be so pleased trying to keep track of the South Sound's top recruit.

"I used to be a defensive coordinator and I hated it when they moved kids around on offense," he said.

Trufant, the younger brother of Seattle Seahawks All-Pro cornerback Marcus Trufant, has scholarship offers from six schools: Washington State, Washington, Idaho, Oregon, Arizona State and Colorado. He said he will likely wait until after the season to take official visits.

I'll probably wait until after," he said, "so it won’t get in the way of my season."

Here we go. Another season of high school football has arrived.

I visited Fife High School earlier this afternoon. The Trojans are coming off season that saw them advance to the Class 2A state quarterfinals for the first time since 1988. Despite losing touchdown machine Tyler Cardin -- he scored 42 TDs and ran for 2,254 yards -- coach Kent Nevin is confident his team will be competitive.

"Our strength is our offensive and defensive lines," he said. "We've got some big kids there."

Fife coach Kent Nevin addresses his team on the first day of practice Wednesday.

Like other leagues in the South Sound and around the state, the 2A Nisqually League will take on a new look. Eatonville, Fife, Steilacoom and Washington will be joined by the Olympic League's 2A teams -- Kingston, Klahowya, North Mason and Sequim -- and have formed the Nisqually Olympic League.

"There are some good teams in that league," Nevin said. "This is going to be good for us, good for the Nisqually League."

I'll be back later tonight with updates from a few more schools. In the meantime, I've traversed the interwebs to bring you some first-day-of-football reports from around the state. Here's what I gathered:

Up north in Whatcom County, Joe Sunner of The Bellingham Herald visited practice at Lynden, Bellingham and Ferndale high schools. Lynden and Ferndale are perennial playoff contenders. It seems as if the Lions have a solid linebacking corps -- Lynden's defense has been overshadowed the last couple seasons by its spread offense -- and again will be one of 2A's top teams. Ferndale has Jake's cousin, Casey Locker, at quaterback for the third straight season. He's been offered scholarships by UW and WSU as a defensive back.

The Olympian has no practice updates. But this blog post is worth checking out if only for the photos of the electric football players. The Thurston County newspaper will run a team preview every day, beginning on Friday.

Here's a story from the Vancouver Columbian. Adam Mathieson has taken over the program at Mountain View. Mathieson coached Ferndale to a league title in 2003 in his first year as a head coach before joining the staff at Western Washington University.

Finally, Tom Wrywich of The Seattle Times reported that Evergreen High School of White Center had its own version of midnight madness last night/this morning. Wonder if Dick Vitale was there?

By the way, is it really August? Or did I sleep through the first few weeks of the football season and wake up in November? This rain is killing me -- what a day to forget a jacket -- and my gear.

Such are the hardships we sports writers struggle through to bring you the news. Rain, sleet, heat, snow? Mail carriers have nothing on me.

High school football practice begins Wednesday around the state and we'll be out at a handful of South Sound schools to talk to coaches and players. We'll be shooting some video and doing interviews with coaches and players that will be posted here on the blog.

Our high school football special section will be published on Thursday, Sept. 4. That's 16 pages crammed full of South Sound football.

We're making our picks as we prepare the special section, but what are your league champion predictions?

If Avery Bradley’s English teacher assigns him to write a what-I did-on-my-summer-vacation essay when he returns to Bellarmine Prep in a few weeks, Bradley won’t have trouble filling a few pages.

Today, Bradley flew out of Sea-Tac International Airport bound for New York City. From there, one of the nation’s top shooting guards was to board an airplane headed to Brazil where he’ll join eight American college prospects on the Nike Elite Youth Basketball team.

The team will play four games against some of South American’s best teams in three cities from Aug. 16-23. When they’re not on the court, the players will take in the sights and experience Brazilian culture.

“I’m excited,” Bradley said. “We’re going to do some fun things. Not everything will be basketball on this trip. We’re going to go to an orphanage and help out one day. It’s going to be kind of like a vacation.”

Bradley can use some relaxation. He’s traveled around the country this summer, playing in AAU and invitation-only tournaments in Las Vegas and Portland, Ore., among other locations. Two weeks ago he was named co-MVP of the Nike Global Challenge. Bradley shared the honor with Bellarmine Prep teammate and highly-recruited point guard Abdul Gaddy and Serbian Nikola Markovic.

Bradley and Gaddy helped their team, USA2, win the championship at the Beaverton, Ore., tournament. Bradley scored a game-high 25 points and Gaddy had 12 points and seven assists in the finals victory over USA1.

Teams from Senegal, Canada, Puerto Rica, Lithuania, Serbia and America played in the tournament. Bradley said he enjoyed playing against elite players, like himself.

“It’s fun for me to play against guys that are as good as me or better,” he said. “I enjoy going against guys that love basketball as much as me.”

The 6-foot-3 Bradley has seen his stock rise dramatically in the summer basketball circuit. According to Rivals.com, he is the No. 5 shooting guard in the Class of 2009. Bradley has received scholarship offers from Washington, Arizona, UCLA, Kansas, Florida, Memphis and others.

Bradley said he has not made a decision, but said he would begin visiting schools soon.

“I’m going to take my visits during the college football season,” he said. “That way I can experience the atmosphere of college.”

Bellarmine Prep's Avery Bradley and Abdul Gaddy were named co-MVPs, along with Serbia's Nikola Markovic, of the Nike Global Challenge basketball tournament last weekend in Hillsboro, Ore.

The Tacoma duo led their team, USA2, to the tournament championship, beating USA1 117-104 in the final. Bradley scored a game-high 25 points in the title game, while Gaddy finished with 12 points and seven assists.

Teams from Canada, Serbia, Puerto Rico, Senegal and Lithuania competed at the event. Future college players dotted the rosters of the three American teams. Here's a link to the USA players.

The Oregonian was all over the tournament, providing game recaps, interviews and video.

Here's a video of Bradley dunking on a Serbian, courtesy of The Oregonia.

Marcus Reaves has signed to play basketball at Pacific Lutheran University. The former Steilacoom star averaged 15 points, five rebounds and three assists for the Sentinels as a senior in 2007-08.

The 6-foot-2 guard was a first-team all-Nisqually League selection as a senior and junior.

Here's what PLU coach Steve Dickerson says about Reaves:

"Marcus is a tremendous person who has a wonderful work ethic," he said. "He had a terrific high school career and he has unquestioned leadership abilities. His athleticism allows him to be a very good defender and an excellent perimeter player."

Here's the rest of PLU's class:
Nick Stachouse, G, Squalicum HS (Bellingham)
James Conti, G, Edmonds-Woodway HS
Conor Donaldson, F, Edmonds-Woodway HS
Tony Polis, 6, Mark Morris HS (transfer from University of Puget Sound)
Tarjei Bryn, C, Wilson

Abdul Gaddy and Josh Smith have been selected to play in the 2008 Boost Mobile Elite 24 basketball event. The games featuring two dozen of the country's top high school players will be held Aug. 22 at Rucker Park in New York City.

Bellarmine Prep's Gaddy, one of the nation's top-rated point guards, and Kentwood's Smith, a highly-recruited center in the class of 2010, will be joined by Garfield's Tony Wroten, who some consider to be the nation's best player in the 2010 class.

Here's the full list of players:

Name, High School, Pos., Class

Abdul Gaddy, Tacoma, PG 2009

Brandon Knight, Fort Lauderdale, Fla., PG, 2010

Derrick Favors, Atlanta, Ga., PF, 2009

Dexter Strickland, Elizabeth, N.J., PG, 2009

Dominic Cheek, Jersey City, N.J., SG, 2009

Doron Lamb, Mouth of Wilson, Va., PG, 2010

Durand Scott, New York, N.Y., SG, 2009

Erik Murphy, Southborough, Mass., PF, 2009

Jared Sullinger, Columbus, Ohio, PF, 2010

Jereme Richmond, Waukegan, Ill., SF, 2010

Jeremy Tyler, San Diego, Calif., PF, 2010

John Wall, Raleigh, N.C., PG, 2009

Jordan Hamilton, Compton, Calif., SF, 2009

Josh Smith, Covington, C, 2010

Karron Johnson, Durham, N.C., PF, 2009

Kenny Boynton Jr., Plantation, Fla., SG, 2009

Lance Stephenson, Brooklyn, N.Y., SG, 2009

LaQuinton Ross, Raleigh, N.C., SG, 2011

Maalik Wayns, Philadelphia, Pa., PG, 2009

Michael Gilchrist, Elizabeth, N.J., SF, 2011

Ryan Kelly, Raleigh, N.C., PF, 2009

Tony Wroten Jr., Seattle, SG, 2011

Trae Golden, Powder Springs, Ga., PG, 2010

Tristan Thompson, Newark, N.J., SF, 2010

Franklin Pierce lost to Lake Stevens, 6-4, on Wednesday in the title game of Washington's American Legion Junior A baseball tournament in Spokane Valley.

The game was called after six innings because of darkness.

Earlier in the day, Franklin Pierce beat Moses Lake 20-13 to reach the finals.

This Web site has the scores.

After guiding Auburn Riverside to back-to-back Class 3A state championships, Adam Barrett has resigned his post.

The Ravens have been the premier girls basketball team in the state the last two seasons. Auburn Riverside capped the 2007-08 season with a 48-40 win over Kennedy in the 3A state finals. The Raven’ ended their two-year run in 3A – they will be 4A in the fall – with a combined record of 52-5 and no losses to a 3A team.

Under Barrett, four Auburn Riverside players – Julie Futch (Oregon State), Stephanie Wilber (Arizona State), Katie Grad (Washington State) and German foreign exchange student Ireti Amojo (Washington State) – were recruited to Pacific-10 Conference schools.

The Ravens advanced to the state tournament in all but one of Barrett’s seasons – his first in 2003-04 – coaching the team. They placed sixth in the 2006 4A tourney before claiming back-to-back 3A championships in 2007 and 2008.

The Washington Officials Association will induct three men into its Hall of Fame on Saturday at the Yakima Convention Center. Tacoma's Ken Jones, Vancouver's Gery Gehrmann, and Seattle's Frank Fiddler are the Class of 2008.

Here are their accomplishments:

Ken Jones (Tacoma, WA) – Ken began his officiating career in 1968 as a basketball official. Throughout his career Ken worked for the Western Washington Boys Basketball Association and Tacoma Girls Basketball Board. Ken served as the assigning secretary for Western Washington Basketball Association for 21 years. He has also been a WOA Executive Board member for 23 years, including 12 years as President.

Gery Gehrmann (Vancouver, WA) – Gery began his officiating career in 1970 as a wrestling official for the Evergreen Wrestling association in Vancouver. Throughout his career, Gery worked numerous regional and state tournaments and was involved in Mat Classic from 1989 through 2006. In addition to officiating, Gery served as a WOA Executive Board member for 6 years, including terms as President and Vice President.

Frank Fiddler (Seattle, WA) – Frank worked to create the WOA in the late 1950’s, along with fellow WOA Hall of Fame inductee Tom Cross. Frank served as the chairman of the WOA Advisory Council from 1958 through 1977. Frank worked basketball, football, and baseball throughout his officiating career. In addition to his many years of service to high school sports, Frank officiated the 1964 and 1976 Rose Bowl games.

In addition to the Hall of Fame inductees, the WOA will honor the following officials of the year:

Baseball: Stan Bryson, KPR Baseball (Kennewick)
Boys Basketball: Eric Cheatley, Lower Columbia Basketball (Longview)
Girls Basketball: Larry Fox, Tri Cities Girls Basketball (Kennewick)
Football: Jeff Donahue, Blue Mountain Football (Walla Walla)
Gymnastics: Donna Lucero, Snohomish County Gymnastics (Snohomish)
Fall Soccer: Robert Lemmon, South King County Soccer (Lakebay)
Boys Soccer: Octavio Torres, Wenatchee Valley Soccer (Wenatchee)
Softball: Steve Mayer, Snohomish County Softball (Everett)
Spirit: Jaci Gruhn, WSSJA (Olympia)
Volleyball: Marty Palmanteer, Okanogan County Volleyball (Omak)
Wrestling: Brian Stephan, Whatcom-Skagit Wrestling (Bellingham)

Steve Brown and Larry Johnson (Tacoma) will receive the Thomas A. Cross Service Award recognizing individuals who exemplify the ultimate service to the Washington Officials Association.

We're less than three weeks away from the beginning of the fall sports season. Here's a list of important dates to remember:

Aug. 20: First day of football practice

Aug. 25: First day of turnout for all other sports

Sept. 6: Emerald City Kickoff Classic football games at Qwest Field

Sept. 20: Fort Steilacoom cross country invite

Oct. 4: 35th Annual Yakima Sunfair cross country meet

Nov. 8: Cross country state meet

Nov. 8-10: Girls 2A swimming state meet

Nov. 13-14: Girls 4A swimming state meet; Volleyball 2B state tournament

Nov. 14-15: Girls 3A swimming state meet; Volleyball 1A, 1B state tournaments

Nov. 21-22: Girls soccer state semifinals, finals; Volleyball 4A, 3A and 2A state tournaments

Nov. 28-29: Football state semifinals

Dec. 5-6: Gridiron Classic

Abdul Gaddy has seen his name in headlines for years. The stories have trumpeted the highly-rated point guard’s ability on the basketball court as he helped Bellarmine Prep claim Narrows League titles and state tournament victories.

But this week, for the first time, the 6-foot-3 senior found his name attached to a possible recruiting scandal.

According to a report from FoxSports.com, a high-profile University of Memphis booster – FedEx Express president and CEO David Bronczek – phoned Gaddy’s mother, Oseye, who works for the shipping giant in Tacoma. FedEx is based in Memphis.

The NCAA prohibits boosters from contacting recruits and their relatives. Memphis reported the violation to the NCAA on Thursday and an investigation is underway. It is possible that Memphis will be forced to end its recruitment of Gaddy because of the infraction.

Neither Gaddy or his mother could be reached for comment.

Bronczek phoned Oseye Gaddy in July when she was at work. The call, which lasted about 10 minutes, came a few days after the family was contacted by Memphis coach John Calipari, who offered Gaddy a scholarship.

“(Bronczek) was just talking to me a little bit about Calipari and the program and then he was telling me about The FedEx Forum and how he goes to a lot of games and sits on the floor,” Oseye Gaddy told FoxSports.com. “How Calipari is a really nice guy.”

Memphis is one of a handful of schools recruiting Gaddy, who Scout.com rates the No. 2 point guard in the nation. He also has offers from Arizona, Washington, Gonzaga, Kansas, UCLA and others.

Gaddy gave a verbal commitment to Arizona last summer, but rescinded it in May. He was named the Gatorade State Player of the Year and The News Tribune’s All-Area Player of the Year.

Here's FoxSports.com's story.

And so you can remember -- or see for the first time -- why Gaddy is so sought-after, here's a highlight video from the 4A West Central District tournament.

Click below for The Associated Press story:

=> Read more!