Todd's Take

The excitement here is palpable a few minutes before 9 a.m. Some elderly gentleman is addressing the banquet room full of coaches at Region One in Edinburg.

The Monitor has a small table against the wall ready to bang out some realignment stories. Video man Travis Bartoshek is also at Region One to record the moment live for all.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many coaches in the same place. Most greeted each other like they were finding long-lost friends. Dave Evans, currenty at Valley View, was joking around and exchanging pleasantries with the Donna coaching contingent, no doubt reminiscing about the good old days.

One of the only coaches I see not wearing his coaching gear is Weslaco High’s Tony Villarreal. Wearing a suit jacket, no tie, Villarreal is chatting up Orlando Garcia, a former coach of his who is now the PSJA ISD Athletic Director.

The coaches have made sure to steer clear of our table. Our time to talk to them will come soon enough.

Looking forward to seeing if Mission High moves to Class 5A and just what the Class 5A districts in the Valley will look like. And will there be one or two local 3A districts? Aah, the intrigue. If it wasn’t for those two Lunestas I took last night I’d probably be jumping out of my seat.

If anyone out there is reading this, I’ll be trying to update this as events warrant. We’re T-minus 3 minutes and counting …

The Vipers look to be on their way to moving to 7-2 as they’ve come out guns a blazin’ in the second half. They’ve pushed their lead to 13 with 2:50 remaining on 3 pointers by Steve Novak and Kenny Taylor.

George Gervin is on hand tonight to watch the team he helped put together with Bob Hoffman, Brian Walsh and Spencer Wright bounce back from Tuesday’s loss to Austin.

The Vipers eclipsed the franchise record for points, which previously was 113, when Novak drained a turnaround jumper with 6:59 remaining.

2006-07 D-League MVP Randy Livingston has been ineffective. The Idaho point guard has just 10 points and six assists and has been a non-factor.

Not much defense played in this one, which plays into the Vipers’ hands since they want to play at a fast tempo. That’s just what we have here as the Vipers are coming off a 42-point third-quarter eruption.

C.J. Watson leads the way with 23 points, while Gabe Muoneke has 20 and Steve Novak 17.

Lance Allred has 25 points for Idaho, who at last check was shooting 62.2 percent from the field.

Had to forego the halftime update as Monitor photographer Joel Martinez needed somewhere to sit and send his photos. At The Monitor, we’re all team players.

Anyway, the Vipers broke free from a 64-64 halftime tie by shooting 9-of-13 to start the third quarter. Steve Novak and Kenny Taylor have hit deep 3 pointers and each has five points in the period.

Idaho’s Cory Violette leads all scorers with 26 points with 5:13 left to play in the third quarter.

Just went to the quarter break after a scintillating alley-oop slam dunk off the fast break by Idaho’s Brent Petway.

Petway, who played for Portland in the preseason, reached over Vipers’ defender Jarred Merrill to catch Taurean Green’s underthown pass and slammed it down in one motion. That got the crowd’s attention.

The Vipers’ C.J. Watson already six points in the quarter to give him a game-high 17 for the game.

Cory Violette is abusing the Vipers down low and has 16 points, eight of which came on layups in the first six minutes of this quarter.

The Vipers are in big trouble. Starting center Kevin Bookout is out with a shoulder injury and his backup, Jesse Smith, picked up three fouls in the first quarter.

Excuse me while I watch the Hornets dancers perform …

Ok. Back to the blog.

The Vipers’ C.J. Watson has 11 points, while Lance Allred, taking advantage of the Vipers’ lack of size inside, has a game-high 14 points and five rebounds.

The undermanned Vipers are getting worked on the boards without Kevin Bookout playing and Jesse Smith drawing two quick fouls.

Lance Allred and Taurean Green, recently assigned to the Stampede by the Portland Trailblazers, each have six points.

Gabe Muoneke has five points and C.J. Watson four for the Vipers. Watson looks like a different player than the one who shared the backcourt with Aaron Brooks the last two games. He is much more aggressive.

Wow. A lot going on here at Dodge Arena. First off, the Houston Rockets recalled point guard Aaron Brooks just before the Vipers’ game tonight. Talked to Rockets GM Daryl Morey and he said the move was made because Rockets coach Rick Adelman wanted Brooks available for Saturday’s game against the Dallas Mavericks.

In addition to being without Brooks, they’ll also have to survive without center Kevin Bookout, who is out this weekend with a shoulder injury. He is flying to Oklahoma after tomorrow’s game to be evaluated by his doctor there.

It’s affiliate night which means the teams are dressed in the uniforms of one of their affiliates. As such, the Vipers are dressed as New Orleans Hornets. The Stampede is wearing the standard D-League uniform.

A special perk (especially for a reporter on press row) is the appearance of the New Orleans Hornets cheerleaders. Nice.

Check back during the game for updates on the action. It’s already been a wild night and we haven’t tipped off yet.

Pace’s last chance to close the game fell 1 yard short on a pass off a fake punt. The clock is running under five minutes now and it looks like the Bears will be playing La Joya next week in the area round.

If the score changes again I’ll send an update. If not, I’d like to thank all of you around the world for following the game through this blog.

Pace’s Raul Morales fumbled at the PSJA 18-yard line and the ball bounced nicely into the hands of Bears linebacker Eric Garcia, who raced 82 yards for what is likely the game-clinching touchdown.

There’s 1:02 left in the third quarter and the Laredo United scouts are bouncing.