Banquet

Newport Harbor High Coach Bill Barnett has said the 2011-12 girls' water polo team was his most cohesive unit and he has been very proud of the squad that won the CIF Southern Section Division I title. But he can't celebrate with his girls Sunday night at a CIF banquet. That's because the legendary coach is recovering from his third back surgery, which he had three weeks ago. Barnett, 69, who lives in Laguna Beach, says he will be fine and plans to be on the pool deck when practices begin next week.

In an Irrelevant Week Lowsman Trophy banquet for the ages -- one in which Martha Burke would be extremely happy because women were allowed for the first time, ending a 27-year run of stag parties -- Mr. Irrelevant XXVIII Ryan Hoag, a small-college wide receiver, made a big impression in front of the Heisman Trophy winner and a sellout crowd of 1,200 at the Anaheim Marriott. Oh, sure, Irrelevant Week founder Paul Salata fired off his usual jokes and former USC quarterback and 2002 Heisman winner Carson Palmer shared the spotlight with Mr. Irrelevant.

Alicia Robinson While the smell of athletes' sweat will be mercifully absent, the jocular, back-slapping atmosphere of the locker room will prevail at a fete tonight highlighting Mr. Irrelevant, the NFL's last draft pick. At tonight's "Lowsman trophy" banquet, the centerpiece event of Irrelevant Week, honoree Andre Sommersell will be roasted in the presence of his family, past NFL greats and football enthusiasts of Newport-Mesa. Sommersell is a defensive end and linebacker who attended Estancia High School as a freshman and sophomore.

Pete Carroll, coach of the national champion USC football team, will be honored as Sportsman of the Year by the Orange County Youth Sports Foundation at the group's annual banquet March 31. The annual banquet is the chief fundraiser for the OCYSF, which has supported numerous area youth sports programs such as Costa Mesa's Save Our Youth, Challenger Soccer and the El Viento Foundation. The OCYSF has awarded prep scholar athletes with scholarships and grants worth more than $1,050.

Changing a lease between the city and the operator of the Castaway Restaurant drew a large crowd at Tuesday's City Council meeting who wanted to voice concerns over traffic, noise and other issues related to the popular hillside eatery. The council delayed a vote on the amended lease with Specialty Restaurant Corp. until Oct. 4 to allow staff members to make changes the council wanted. "In the big picture, they are not major issues, but do impact your business," Mayor Jef Vander Borght said to the restaurant operators.

LOCAL GROUP LAUDS NANTZ Sports broadcaster Jim Nantz, who has covered several sports for the CBS television network since 1985, will be honored as Sportsman of the Year when the Costa Mesa-based Orange County Youth Sports Foundation roasts him at a special banquet set for Jan. 26 at the Anaheim Marriott hotel. The event begins with a reception at 6 p.m. and dinner at 7. Nantz serves as the lead play-by-play announcer for, “The NFL on CBS”; anchor of CBS’s golf coverage, including the Masters and the PGA Championship; and lead play-by-play announcer for college basketball, including the Final Four and championship.

For the first time ever, the winner of college football's Heisman Trophy and possible first pick in the NFL draft will be honored alongside the final selection -- also known as Mr. Irrelevant -- when festivities get underway in June in Newport Beach. USC quarterback Carson Palmer -- last season's Heisman Trophy winner -- will be toasted at the annual banquet that celebrates the last pick in the NFL draft with the Lowsman Trophy. The Orange County Youth Sports Foundation will honor Palmer and Mr. Irrelevant at a banquet scheduled for June 26 at a hotel to be determined.

June Casagrande MARINERS MILE -- Members getting their first glimpse at the new face of the Balboa Bay Club also got a chance to make a difference for New York firefighters this weekend. At an open house on Sunday, club members made donations to the Fire Department 911 Fund -- a charity for the families of firefighters killed or injured in the New York terrorist attacks this month. Newport Beach Fire Department representatives at the opening collected about $29,000 in donations for the fund, which will be matched by Balboa Bay Club owner Beverly Ray. The members-only gathering, which drew between 1,200 and 1,500 people, showcased facilities such as the new clubhouse.

For the Balboa Island Yacht Club, the awards banquet is an annual rite of passage in which the club's members receive trophies they earned in paddle-boarding, rowing, swimming, diving and sailing. This year's celebration, however, was a special one. Twelve members from the World War II era attended the event, held Aug. 19 at the Balboa Pavilion, and received some long-overdue trophies. The banquet marks the end of Balboa Island Yacht Club's 84th summer.

ANAHEIM - The Orange County Chapter of the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame will honor 46 high school football scholar-athletes at an awards banquet Monday at 7 p.m. at the West Coast Anaheim Hotel. Corona del Mar High's Charlie Alshuler, as well as Costa Mesa's Charlie Amburgey and Louis Day are among the 46 athletes to be honored at the event. Alshuler tied for the Orange County lead with nine interceptions and joined Day and Amburgey on the All-Pacific Coast League first team.

The 116 members of Orange Coast College's Circle K Club invite Circle K alumni to "A Splash of Color," the service club's end-of-year banquet May 27. The event will take place at OCC's Student Center. Doors will open at 6 p.m. and dinner, catered by the Newport Rib Co., will be served at 7 p.m. Alumni are invited to reserve a seat, at the presale price of $18, by sending an email by May 20 to tinamtqnguyen@gmail.com . Tickets at the door will cost $20. The banquet theme represents the club's diversity and each club member's contributions toward community service.

Newport Harbor High Coach Bill Barnett has said the 2011-12 girls' water polo team was his most cohesive unit and he has been very proud of the squad that won the CIF Southern Section Division I title. But he can't celebrate with his girls Sunday night at a CIF banquet. That's because the legendary coach is recovering from his third back surgery, which he had three weeks ago. Barnett, 69, who lives in Laguna Beach, says he will be fine and plans to be on the pool deck when practices begin next week.

USC junior quarterback Matt Barkley, a Newport Beach resident who set USC season records for touchdown passes and completion percentage, was named the team's Most Valuable Player at the annual awards banquet Monday. Barkley, a three-year starter, also set four USC game records this past season: completions (35 vs. UCLA), pass yardage (468 vs. Arizona), touchdown passes (six vs. Colorado and UCLA) and total offense (470 vs. Arizona). Barkley was also named to the All-Pac 12 second team.

For the past nine seasons, John Ireland has been the Los Angeles Lakers' sideline reporter for KCAL 9 television. But that has changed because the Corona del Mar High alumnus will now be calling the action. Ireland, a 1981 graduate of CdM, will be the play-by-play announcer on 710 ESPN radio alongside commentator and former Laker Mychal Thompson, it was announced Tuesday. Ireland, 47, who has been with KCAL since 1995, replaces Spero Dedes, now with the New York Knicks. Corona del Mar High must be proud of its alumni.

Paul Salata, the founder of Irrelevant Week, hesitated a bit before naming the biggest celebrity coming to Wednesday's All-Star Lowsman Banquet. As he thought, his daughter, Melanie Salata-Fitch said, "Oh, here it comes. " Salata, acted cool, as he said, "Clay Matthews Sr. " Matthews' son, Clay Jr., the former ironman linebacker of the Cleveland Browns, has also been confirmed for attendance to roast and toast Mr. Irrelevant Cheta Ozougwu of the Houston Texans. It will be a family affair at the banquet at the Newport Beach Marriott Hotel & Spa. Clay Jr.'s son, Casey Matthews, the Oregon product who is now with the Philadelphia Eagles, is also coming to the party.

NEWPORT BEACH — The highest-performing seniors from the city's two public high schools were recognized Tuesday for top grade and community service. The Newport Beach Chamber of Commerce's Commodores Club honored 31 students from Newport Harbor and Corona del Mar high schools at the 50th annual Scholarship Awards Breakfast at the Island Hotel. "You are part of the 1%," said guest speaker Ted McGinley, who played Jefferson D'Arcy on "Married... with Children. " "The 1% not just in Orange County, not just in California, not just in the country, but in the world.

Daily Pilot reporter Mike Reicher has placed first and second in the investigative reporting category in a statewide journalism contest for his work on a politician who did not live in a legislative district he sought to represent and a legal flap involving cell phone towers. The California Newspaper Publishers Assn. (CNPA) notified winners of the 2010 Better Newspapers Contest by mail this week. The Daily Pilot received two notifications for first and second place in the category for Investigative or Enterprising Reporting in its circulation division.

NEWPORT BEACH — Dressed in a royal blue collared shirt, navy blue slacks and brown shoes, a 25-year-old with long hair walked into the Newport Beach Marriott Hotel and Spa looking like a mixture of Tarzan and Carrot Top. No, that's just Tim Toone, who does not look like your prototypical football player. Toone was the guy with the blond dreadlocks escorted to the lobby and through a walkway formed, not by police officers, but by cheerleaders from Costa Mesa High. The girls cheered louder for Toone than the athletes from their own school.

NEWPORT BEACH — An inflatable goal post stood on every table, where some thought about flicking pieces of food through the uprights. Out of respect for Ryan Succop, they behaved Wednesday night. Leave it to the man of the hour for accuracy. Succop is a kicker trying to make it in the NFL, but everyone got a kick out of him. The last player selected in April’s NFL Draft was the butt of practically every joke at the All-Star Lowsman Banquet at the Newport Beach Marriott Hotel & Spa. The agent negotiating Succop’s three-year, $1.2 million contract with the Kansas City Chiefs failed to back up Succop Wednesday.

NEWPORT BEACH — You know something is wrong when the highlight of a Rams Reunion is Mr. Irrelevant XXXIII. Only a handful of former players showed up at the Newport Beach Marriott Hotel and Spa Wednesday night. Someone outside joked that maybe the low turnout had something to do with the late Georgia Frontiere moving the reunion to St. Louis before she passed away in January. The line drew some laughs, but there was more to come later in the night in which David Vobora was celebrated and roasted for being the last player selected in the NFL Draft.