MOODY: Change the 4A basketball schedule, please

The basketball situation in the 4A is a complete mess, and I hope it's something that is reviewed and changed for the 2012-2013 season.

In 2010-2011 and the 2011-2012 seasons, the people in charge of the 4A sports, decided that games between High Desert and Sierra League teams would count in the standings.

Most of those teams schedule each year anyway to fill out schedules, so why all of a sudden do they need to count?

The biggest problem I see with the schedule is that you have teams like Carson and Reed who are at an early disadvantage because they don't have their football players to start the season or they have to play several games without them.

Why can't these crossover games be scheduled later in December, or even January? What's wrong with a few three-game weeks on the schedule?

Also, I've never understood why there is a limit on how many games and how many tournaments a team can play. Heck, if a team wants to play 30 games a year why shouldn't they be allowed to?

I really don't want to hear about missed class times. Varsity games don't require missed class times because they usually start 5 p.m. and later. I can see limiting the amount of games for younger teams, but not varsity.

The one thing I do like about the 4A scheduling is that varsity boys and girls play together. In many areas, you'll see boys games on Wednesday and Fridays and girls games on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I like to watch basketball, but not four nights a week.

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Carson City graduate Adam Updegrove has been named to the NCAA Division III all-academic soccer team.

Updegrove, a junior midfielder for Rensselear Polytechnic Institute, scored one goal in 14 games this year. He made the all-league squad for the second time. This year he was a second-team selection.

Updegrove carries a 3.98 GPA as a mechanical engineering major.

Updegrove also is a diver on the men's swimming team and two-time academic all-district selection.

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Brandi Vega was recently named to the all-Pac-12 first team in women's soccer.

Vega, who helped the Cougars into the NCAA Championships, scored six goals and had five assists. She led the team in goals and tied for the team lead in assists. Three of her goals were game winners.

"There are a lot of great players in the Pac-12," said Vega in a press release through the WSU sports information office. "It's nice to be recognized with them. This is not an individual award though because my teammates have contributed to our success all season."

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I've been asked several times in the last two weeks about who was selected to the Northern 4A football team.

The Appeal didn't release the information until today, because rules dictate that the team can't be released until after the final team in the North, in this case Reed, is eliminated from the playoffs.

Since the state finals were Saturday, we had to wait until today to release the all-star squad.

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Jon Parker, who graduated from Carson in 2010, finished his first season at Abilene Christian in Texas.

Parker played in nine games and started once. He had one pass reception for 11 yards.