Writers Poll

The writers' poll: Pos. School (League): Record 1. El Toro (South Coast): 1-0 2. Capistrano Valley (South Coast): 2-0 3. Tustin (Sea View): 2-0 4. Mission Viejo (South Coast): 1-0 5. Edison (Sunset): 2-0 6. Esperanza (Empire): 1-0 7. Sunny Hills (Freeway): 1-0 8. Villa Park (Century): 1-0 9. Huntington Beach (Sunset): 1-0 10.

Brace yourselves, college football fans, as it appears next season's bowl championship series standings format will look strikingly familiar to last season's. College football commissioners have all but decided to create a rankings index to replace the Associated Press writers' poll, which pulled out of the BCS last year because of conflict-of-interest issues.

Mater Dei High School, with a seven-game winning streak, is the top-ranked team in the Orange County Sportswriters' Assn. high school baseball poll. Mater Dei (12-3) moves into the top spot in the second week of the poll, replacing Laguna Hills. Laguna Hills drops to fourth after losing to Trabuco Hills, 1-0, last week. In the featured game of the week, ninth-ranked Fountain Valley will play host to third-ranked Ocean View at 3:15 p.m. today in Sunset League play. The writers' poll: Pos. School (League)

What was Chris Dufresne watching on Jan. 1 and 2, reruns of "Gilligan's Island"? Because we don't have a clear-cut national champion, he's bothered to the point of blaming Nebraska's coach for retiring instead of the system that allows both elitist sportswriters (one of whom until recently thought North Carolina was No. 1) and those know-nothing, "sappy" coaches to choose the best team. Come down from your ivory keyboard, Chris. It has less to do with sympathetic hearts and more with your "Rose" colored glasses when you didn't vote for Nebraska.

Mater Dei High School is the top-ranked team in the Orange County Sportswriters' Assn. prep baseball poll for the fifth consecutive week. The second spot has changed teams for the fourth time, with Laguna Hills moving into the No. 2 position after Kennedy lost to Pacifica, 4-3, last Friday. Kennedy drops to third with Mission Viejo fourth. The writers' poll: Pos. School (League): Record 1. Mater Dei (Angelus): 19-4 2. Laguna Hills (Pacific Coast): 20-4 3. Kennedy (Garden Grove)

Mater Dei High School had its 10-game winning streak snapped by San Jose Bellarmine last week, but the Monarchs maintained the top spot in the Orange County Sportswriters' Assn. prep baseball poll. Mater Dei (17-4) gained six first-place votes, with second-place Kennedy (18-4) earning one first-place vote. Westminster continued its climb, moving from eighth to sixth. The writers' poll: Pos. School (League): Record 1. Mater Dei (Angelus): 17-4 2. Kennedy (Garden Grove)

BASEBALL Writers' Poll Pos. School (League): Record 1. Mater Dei (Angelus): 19-3 2. Huntington Beach (Sunset): 20-1 3. El Dorado (Empire): 18-5 4. Capistrano Valley (South Coast): 18-5 5. Tustin (Sea View): 16-6 6. Brea-Olinda (Orange): 17-5-1 7. Saddleback (Sea View): 17-6 8. Kennedy (Garden Grove): 17-7 9. Trabuco Hills (Pacific Coast): 14-8 10. Santa Margarita (Angelus): 13-8 Others: Canyon, El Toro, Katella, Orange Lutheran and Valencia. SOFTBALL Writers and Coaches' Poll Pos.

Pos. School (League): Record 1. Tustin (Sea View): 15-2 2. Mater Dei (Angelus): 11-5 3. Servite (Angelus): 12-5 4. El Toro (South Coast): 13-5 5. Ocean View (Sunset): 13-5 6. Esperanza (Empire): 12-5 7. La Quinta (Garden Grove): 13-6 8. Villa Park (Century): 10-6-1 9. Katella (Empire): 13-4 10. Laguna Hills (Pacific Coast): 12-6 Others receiving votes: Edison (12-5), Estancia (12-5), Anaheim (10-6-1), Santiago (11-5). Softball Coaches' Poll 1. Mater Dei (Angelus): 15-2 2.

BASEBALL Writers' Poll Pos. School (League): Record 1. Mater Dei (Angelus): 19-3 2. Huntington Beach (Sunset): 20-1 3. El Dorado (Empire): 18-5 4. Capistrano Valley (South Coast): 18-5 5. Tustin (Sea View): 16-6 6. Brea-Olinda (Orange): 17-5-1 7. Saddleback (Sea View): 17-6 8. Kennedy (Garden Grove): 17-7 9. Trabuco Hills (Pacific Coast): 14-8 10. Santa Margarita (Angelus): 13-8 Others: Canyon, El Toro, Katella, Orange Lutheran and Valencia. SOFTBALL Writers and Coaches' Poll Pos.

Pos. School (League): Record 1. El Toro (South Coast): 8-0 2. Tustin (Sea View): 8-0 3. Mission Viejo (South Coast): 7-1 4. Esperanza (Empire): 8-0 5. Edison (Sunset): 7-1 6. Capistrano Valley (South Coast): 6-2 7. Valencia (Orange): 8-0 8. La Quinta (Garden Grove): 8-0 9. Santa Margarita (Free lance): 8-0 10. Rancho Alamitos (Garden Grove): 7-1 Others Receiving Votes: El Modena (5-3), Mater Dei (4-4), Los Alamitos (5-3) and Fullerton (7-1). Girls' Volleyball Coaches' Poll Pos.

The writers' poll: Pos. School (League): Record 1. El Toro (South Coast): 1-0 2. Capistrano Valley (South Coast): 2-0 3. Tustin (Sea View): 2-0 4. Mission Viejo (South Coast): 1-0 5. Edison (Sunset): 2-0 6. Esperanza (Empire): 1-0 7. Sunny Hills (Freeway): 1-0 8. Villa Park (Century): 1-0 9. Huntington Beach (Sunset): 1-0 10.

Pos. School (League): Record 1. Tustin (Sea View):20-3 2. Esperanza (Empire):18-5 3. Mater Dei (Angelus):17-7 4. El Toro (South Coast):18-6 5. Ocean View (Sunset 17-7 6. Katella (Empire):19-5 7. Servite (Angelus):16-8 8. Laguna Hills (Pacific Coast):17-7 9. Edison (Sunset):17-6 10. La Quinta (Garden Grove):17-8 Others receiving votes: Capistrano Valley (14-8-1), Brea-Olinda (16-6-1), Troy (13-8). Softball Coaches' Poll Pos. School (League): Record 1. Mater Dei (Angelus):20-2 2.

The extraordinary meeting of Soviet President Mikhail S. Gorbachev and Pope John Paul II was the top religion news story of 1989, according to a national poll of journalists specializing in the field of religion. At their Vatican meeting on Dec. 1, the Soviet leader and the Pope agreed in principle to establish diplomatic relations and talked about the pontiff making a visit to the Soviet Union.