NOTEBOOK : Scotti Headed for Southern Methodist

Loyola High punter Anthony Scotti made an unwritten commitment to play football at Southern Methodist University next fall.

“SMU was after (running back) Kadar Hamilton and I told them about Scotti,” Loyola Coach Steve Grady said. “SMU needed a punter and they liked Scotti.”

Scotti punted 35 times for a 40.1-yard average. His longest was 59 yards.

Scotti would be the third consecutive punter from Loyola to attend a Division I school.

The 6-2, 180-pound senior succeeds brothers Paul Stonehouse, who graduated from Stanford in 1993, and John Stonehouse, the starting punter for USC.

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Miller Time--Genia Miller, a former Crenshaw High and Cal State Fullerton basketball player, will have her number 40 retired at halftime of Fullerton men’s game against UC Santa Barbara March 5.

Fullerton’s all-time leading scorer (2,415 points) and rebounder (1,162), Miller holds the NCAA career record for blocks (428).

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Marathon founder feted--William A. Burke, president and founder of the Los Angeles Marathon, was honored at a black-tie gala event Thursday at the Biltmore Hotel.

Burke was recognized for his on-going commitment toward making the Los Angeles Marathon an internationally-recognized and respected event.

Burke, husband of County Board Supervisor Yvonne Brathwaite Burke, founded the LA Marathon in 1986. The event has since become the second-largest marathon in the United States and the third largest in the world.

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Games canceled--All City Section soccer, wrestling and basketball contests last week were postponed after the Los Angeles Unified School District kept schools closed because of the earthquake Monday.