Newport’s Brinkley returns to the field

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Jeff Brinkley answered the football office phone Tuesday, which is no small matter over at Newport Harbor High. Brinkley left at halftime of his team’s 16-3 victory Thursday over Aliso Niguel with a rapid heartbeat. ‘It just took off and didn’t revert back,’ Brinkley told me. ‘It was, like, 160 beats per minute.’

His heart rate still hasn’t returned to normal. He said he was clocking 80 when he left Hoag Hospital on Sunday night, but he is scheduled to see his doctor on Friday which, coincidentally, is the day Newport Harbor plays Long Beach Poly, a prospect that won’t slow his heart any.

‘I’ve had a little flipping of the heart, but nothing like that where it took off,’ Brinkley said. ‘The heart muscle is fine, it’s strong, it’s nothing to do with the arteries. It’s a triggering mechanism. The guy told me one in four people will have it.’

Brinkley, 54, in his 22nd season at Newport Harbor, had never missed a practice or a game before this episode in 30 years of coaching--he had coached previously at Excelsior and Norwalk.

He sure didn’t miss much this time: He actually attended practice on Monday, using a golf cart to get around. ‘I tweaked a couple things after a walk-through.’

But is he back to normal?

‘I feel good enough to go,’ he said, spoken like a true football guy. ‘More than anything, I’m just a little weak and tired from laying around for three days.

‘This is the time of year I really enjoy, the scouting, the films, playing games, the routine, the camaraderie, being able to enjoy the win.

‘I’m just glad to be back.’

- Martin Henderson