The CIF Southern Section spring playoffs have begun and once again teams in Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties are paying the price.

Traditionally, teams from the Los Padres League and the PAC-7 get the short end of the stick when it comes to playoff seedings and scheduling.

This year, for example, the Templeton Eagles softball team - one of the top-ranked teams in Division IV - earned a first round home game against Orange, which is more than three hours away. When they win that game, they will most likely be rewarded with a second round, 340-mile, five-and-a-half hour road trip to Indio.

Please.

Of course, that is one of the top teams.

Atascadero's softball squad travels to Palos Verdes (four hours, 220 miles) for a chance to play a first round game at Mission Viejo (four-and-a-half hours, 265 miles).

Mind you, these distances are one way. Win or lose, they still have to drive back.

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Santa Ynez boys tennis left last Saturday at 8 a.m. and returned home about 11 p.m., due to traffic and highway closings. Luckily they won, but not by much, over a team they should have defeated soundly.

Which leads to the burning question of the day. Is the CIF-SS too big for its britches?

A resounding YES.

Also, are there too many teams in the playoffs?

Another resounding YES.

With 570 teams, the Southern Section is way too big and covers way too much territory. Take away the 89-school Los Angeles Section and the 112-school San Diego Section, the Southern Section covers everything else south of Paso Robles and Bishop to as far south as the Mexican border.

In this day and age, with school budgets in flux and high gas prices, I don't think fourth place teams should travel more than three hours through major metropolitan areas for a wild card game, only to earn the chance to do it all again a couple days later - most likely to get bounced playing a first place team.

Buses are not cheap. And is having a team in a bus - or worse in a van - for eight or nine hours really worth it?

And why are two baseball teams from the LPL playing in wild card games? This year, in Division IV, there were eight teams playing in wild card games. In a division with 11 different leagues represented, why are there TWO LPL teams in the wild card.

Santa Ynez tied for second in the LPL, they were 15-10. There are third place teams that do not have to play a wild card. Teams with only seven or eight wins.

I can go on and on about teams from this area that are traveling more than three hours for a game.

Let's come up with a couple different ideas to stop this madness.

First, the Southern Section is way too big. It needs to be divided up. Hey, how about geographically.

Does that really make too much sense? If you take the leagues that are primarily based in Ventura, San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara Counties, and the schools that are in the Central Section but based in San Luis Obispo County, then you would have about 75 schools.

Is that too small? Tough. It sure is cost effective.

Not big enough? Add the San Fernando Valley leagues. What about the teams in Kern County that are in the Southern Section? Hello - the Central Valley Section with 88 teams is calling.

In another option, the Southern Section could hold playoffs in four distinct geographical districts and have the four winners battle it out for the CIF-SS championship.

These are just two possible scenarios. Our very own Kenny Cress knows of some other options, as do the other writers on our staff.

Heck, don't even get me started on the way the divisions are determined. Is it school size, is it private vs. public, is it success based? Is it politics?

In January 2007, Cabrillo defeated Arroyo Grande in the girls water polo championship game - IN LONG BEACH!

Hey, there is a very nice pool called Paul Nelson in Santa Maria.

Sure, it was the Belmont Olympic Pool in Long Beach, but still, was the cost justified?

Whatever it is, it is time to look at a change in the system.

Sports writer Brad Memberto can be reached at 737-1055 or by e-mail to bmemberto@lompocrecord.com

May 16, 2008