They weren't about to rival USC's Carson Palmer for the Heisman Trophy, but there were a handful of local candidates who were nominated for the Heisman--at least at the high school level.

Jonathan Choi and Marcie Cheung of Saratoga High School, Doug Dionne of Willow Glen, Los Gatos' Steven Chang of Mitty, Sunnyvale's Kathy Duong of St. Lawrence Academy and Sunnyvale's Thomas Rupp of Wilcox were among the 49 athletes from the San Francisco Bay Area to be nominated for the 2002 Wendy's High School Heisman Award.

In addition to athletics, nominees must excel in the classroom and be involved in civic activities.


Babe Ruth League

The Mountain View­Sunnyvale Babe Ruth League is holding sign-ups for the spring season and is also looking for coaches for the coming year.

Sign-ups will be held Mondays, 6­7 p.m., through January at the scorer's booth at McKelvey Park, one block west of El Camino Real on Miramonte Avenue in Mountain View. The league is open to players ages 13­18. Early bird prices of $73 (ages 13­15) and $84 (16­18) are available through Dec. 31.

For more information, call 650.966.8027.


Soccer tryouts

The Mountain View­Los Altos Avalanche, Storm and Mercury girls competitive soccer teams are looking for players (born between Aug. 1, 1989, and July 31, 1993) for the upcoming season. For more information, contact Brian Nesmith at 408.220.2301 or brian.nesmith@bluecoat.com.


Globetrotters in SJ

The Harlem Globetrotters will make their annual San Jose visit on Jan. 17 when they play at 7:30 p.m. game at the Compaq Center. The 'Trotters, recent inductees into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, will play a single game in San Jose before playing two games on Jan. 18 at the Oakland Coliseum (2 p.m. and 7 p.m.) and one on Jan. 20 at the Cow Palace (1 p.m.).

Tickets are available by calling 408.998.TIXS or at all Ticketmaster outlets. Tickets for the games in Oakland are available at tickets.com (408.998.2277).


Contacting sports

Didn't find what you were looking for in today's issue? Send us an email, give us a call, ship us a fax or drop us a line. Email us at dsparrer@svcn.com or dispar@aol.com, fax in your sports results to 408.354.3917, or give Dick Sparrer a call at 408.354.3110, ext. 31. We look forward to hearing from you.