After being hosted for more than four years by Rivals.com, California's leader in high school sports for more than 25 years is now part of ESPN.

This Blog format is only temporary. All of the other features from the previous web site, including message boards, will eventually be added.

It's never easy to switch in the Internet world, but going to the Worldwide Leader in Sports is an opportunity that all of the people behind all of the sites in the Student Sports Inc. family are excited about. These sites on ESPN are going to be off the charts for the athletes, coaches, parents, and fans throughout the country.

This upward move personally is something I never could have comprehended in 1979 when my uncle, Nelson Tennis, and myself started Cal-Hi Sports as a monthly newspaper in Santa Clara County and then later that school year as a weekly newsletter. I never would have made it without the partnership of Andy Bark, who we became connected with during the 1989-90 school year. Of course Andy or any of us at Student Sports who are going to benefit from this move wouldn't have made it without Nelson.

Even after all these years, it's still Nelson's vision for California high school sports that we have followed and his record book, his weekly rankings system and his attention to detail are hallmarks of what will be continued at ESPN. The only negative in this development is that he isn't here to see it due to his death in May of 2004.

I'd also be remiss in not mentioning three other people no longer with us who contributed mightily to this site's success. This would be former Student Sports marketing director Kim Blankinship, former team sales manager and longtime supporter Jerry Keane and Andy's father, Larry Bark, who also was one of the best athletic directors in Southern California history in his tenure at Mira Costa High of Manhattan Beach.

On behalf of managing editor Ronnie Flores, Stockton office assistant Paul Muyskens and San Francisco Bay Area correspondent Harold Abend, we will be improving, expanding and enhancing our unique blend of coverage of California high school sports on ESPN. We invite you to keep coming back to this site every day to see exclusive, original content that isn't available anywhere else.

Sincerely,

Mark Tennis
Executive Editor, CalHiSports.com
Deputy Editor, ESPN RISE