Burbank Player’s Devotion to Nike Becomes Skin-Deep

When Burbank High basketball player Bobby Moore decided to acquire two tattoos last summer, the images came easily.

He now has his name and the face of a dog sketched on his left shoulder, which shall forever identify Moore as a Burbank Bulldog. On his right shoulder is the trademark emblem of Nike, the popular shoe and athletic wear manufacturer.

Moore needed to look no further than his bedroom to decide on the trademark, commonly known as the “swoosh.” His closet is loaded with Nike apparel. Moore said he has owned 50 pairs of Nike shoes and his family has spent around $4,000 on Nike products.

He also wears a 3 1/2-inch swoosh because a former girlfriend told him it stands for victory. In Greek mythology, Nike was the goddess of victory.

“I like that,” Moore said. “It makes me want to be victorious.”

Vizhier Corpuz, Nike public relations director for basketball, said Moore has not violated trademark law, which prohibits other companies from using the logo.

“We find it flattering,” she said. “Some Nike employees here have the swoosh tattooed on their ankles. Actually, [CEO, and co-founder] Phil Knight has one, too.”

Ironically, Moore doesn’t wear Nike sneakers when he plays for Burbank. Converse is the official brand of the Bulldogs this season.

Showdown: Wrestlemania will strike Ventura High tonight when Ventura plays host to Dos Pueblos in a battle of Channel League powers.

Ventura (12-1, 3-0 in league play) is ranked second to defending state champion Santa Ana Calvary Chapel in the Southern Section Division I poll. Dos Pueblos (9-6, 2-2), two-time defending league champion, placed second to Calvary Chapel in last season’s Division I finals.

Clearly, Ventura is at its best since 1992, when the Cougars won Division I individual and dual meet titles, the first year in which the dual meet tournament was held. Ventura this season has outscored league opponents, 207-17, including a 74-0 victory over Buena.

“We don’t have too many holes,” Ventura Coach Paul Clementi said.

Ventura’s Cristobal Gonzalez, a state finalist last season, is 26-0 at 189 pounds and headed for a second consecutive league title. Joe Martinez is 31-3 at 215 pounds, Dustin Clocherty is 30-4 at 130 and Cody Naumec, who leads the team with 20 pins, is 27-6 at 112. All four are juniors.

Bad Knights: The St. Francis boys’ soccer team, defending Southern Section Division II champion, is 3-9-2.

The Golden Knights are off to their worst start in eight seasons under Coach Glen Appels, who has had to deal with inexperienced players, bad luck and widespread illness.

On Jan. 7, St. Francis was scheduled to play host to Mission League rival Loyola. But when power went out on campus, the match was moved to the next day at Loyola. Overnight, two Knights became ill and another was scheduled to be sworn in as a U.S. citizen, causing him to miss the match.

By Jan. 13, St. Francis had only nine healthy players for a match at Crespi, leaving Appels to juggle his lineup. But last week, as his players regained their health, Appels began to regain his optimism.

“Unless our whole division is down, there’s not a [Southern Section] champ in our league,” Appels said. “So if we get things together, we could win eight or nine in a row.”

Not so fast. St. Francis lost its next two matches to Chaminade and Notre Dame and is 0-5 in league play.

Versatile scorers: The top three scorers on the Chaminade girls’ soccer team are freshman forward Liz Buhn with 12 goals, junior forward Kerrie Clavadetscher with 11 and sophomore midfielder Amy Watts with nine.

Strangely enough, all three are defenders when they play club soccer.

Selective memory: After playing for a Bell-Jeff football team that was 3-17 the past two seasons, one would think Marcos Flores would be happy playing basketball for one of the top teams in Southern Section Division IV-A.

But although the Guards have an eight-game winning streak, Flores says he misses the gridiron.

“I enjoyed football more,” he said. “No one put their head down and no one ever gave up. That kind of thing sticks in your head.”

Flores’ improved play on the basketball court is one reason the Guards are inching toward the playoffs.

“At the beginning of the season, I thought he was playing with anvils on his ankles and shoulder pads on,” Bell-Jeff Coach Eli Essa said. “His shot was off, his quickness was off.

“I’m real proud of him. He’s played himself into basketball shape and he makes us stronger.”