Month: December 2014

Raiders take the Battle of the Bay

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By Jeremy Kahn

OAKLAND-Over the past three weeks, the Oakland Raiders won two games and lost one by 52 points on the road.

Brandian Ross intercepted Colin Kaepernick on the first play of the game, and Sebastian Janikowski turned that into a 57-yard field goal and the Raiders would go on to defeat the San Francisco 49ers 24-13 at a raucous Coliseum.

This was the first time that the Raiders have defeated the 49ers in a regular season game since October 8, 2000, when Rich Gannon found Tim Brown for a touchdown and the Raiders defeated the 49ers 34-28 in overtime at Candlestick Park.

If you want to find the last time that the Raiders defeated the 49ers in Oakland, you will have to go back to November 4, 1979, when they defeated their cross bay rivals 23-10.

The last time the Raiders defeated the 49ers as the home team came on September 29, 1991, a 12-6 Raiders victory at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

Following the Janikowski long field goal, the 49ers took the lead for the first time, as Kaepernick found Bruce Miller for an eight-yard touchdown pass.

Derek Carr then proceeded to drive the Raiders down the field to retake the lead, as Carr found lineman Donald Penn for a three-yard touchdown pass.

It was a great day for Carr, as he went 22-for-28 for 254 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions.

Mychal Rivera turned in a career day, as he hauled in seven catches for a career-high 108 yards and a touchdown.

Latavius Murray returned to the field after missing the 52-0 loss to the St. Louis Rams with a concussion, and led the Raiders with 23 carries for 76 yards.

Entering the game, Murray carried the ball 14 times all season.

It was an off day for Kaepernick once again, as he went 18-for-33 for 174 yards passing and two interceptions, as the 49ers lost for the second straight game and are in danger to miss their first playoffs since 2010.

Charles Woodson clinched the game, as he intercepted a Kaepernick pass in the waning minutes of the game and it was the 59th career interception for the 17-year veteran,

Rivera was not the Raiders player either seven catches, as Marcel Reese also snared seven receptions from Carr including the eventual game-winning touchdown pass from Carr with 4:09 remaining in the third quarter.

Linebacker Ahmed Brooks was dressed for the 49ers, but did not start due to missing a team meeting on Tuesday and did not even see the field.

Phil Dawson connected for two field goals for the 49ers, including a 52-yarder with one second remaining in the first half to send the game into the half all tied up.

Following the Carr to Rivera touchdown pass, Dawson missed a 47-yard field goal wide left that gave the ball back to the Raiders.

Michael Crabtree led the 49ers with nine catches for 56 yards passing, while Frank Gore carried the ball 12 tines for 63 yards.

Darren McFadden carried the ball four times and gained just five yards in the victory.

Kaepernick, Futile Niners Offense Falter Again in 24-13 Loss to Raiders

Published on by bentleonard181 Comment

AP Photo/Ben Margot

By: Ben Leonard

After a crushing 19-3 loss to the Seahawks on Thanksgiving Day, 49ers fans believed it was rock bottom for their team. They reached new lows in a demoralizing 24-13 loss to their dismal cross-bay rival Raiders on Sunday, effectively ending their playoff aspirations. The Raiders moved to 2-11 on the season with the win, a result that could eventually lose them the number one overall pick in the upcoming NFL Draft. Oakland is suddenly the winner of two out of three, even after an abominable 52-0 loss last Sunday to Saint Louis. The Raiders stood up to a physically superior San Francisco squad and controlled the game throughout.

The Raiders set the tone early, intercepting the first play from scrimmage. Safety Bradian Ross snatched an errant throw from Colin Kaepernick, intended for Michael Crabtree, and returned it to their own forty-nine yard line. After the early momentum swing, Oakland’s offense was firing on all cylinders, with quarterback Derek Carr leading the Raiders all the way to the 49ers’ twenty-eight yard line. However, an unnecessary roughness penalty on guard Austin Howard stalled their progress, and forced them to settle for a fifty-seven yard field goal from Sebastian Janikowski to give them an early 3-0 advantage.

Down 3-0 with just under six minutes to play in the first quarter, Kaepernick and the Niners broke through against Oakland’s defense, driving sixty yards on seven plays for a touchdown. Kaepernick connected with fullback Bruce Miller on an eight yard score to cap the drive, giving the Niners a 7-3 lead. After that drive, San Francisco never looked comfortable again on offense, settling for just two field goals in the remaining three quarters. They struggled to convert on third downs, successful on just three of their twelve attempts, and gained just 248 total yards to Oakland’s 330. They did take a 13-10 lead in the incipient stages of the second half, but quickly lost that advantage. The Raiders subsequently marched down the field, going eighty yards on just eight plays to take a 17-13 lead. Signal-caller Carr’s nine yard touchdown pass to fullback Marcel Reese capped the physical drive, the eventual nail in the coffin for San Francisco. Carr was brilliant on Sunday, completing twenty-two of his twenty-eight pass attempts for 254 yards, throwing three touchdowns and posting a 140.2 quarterback rating in the process.

Colin Kaepernick could not match Carr’s prolific play on Sunday, completing just eighteen of thirty-three throws for 174 yards, and getting sacked five times and throwing two interceptions. The Raiders flummoxed San Francisco’s offensive line, forcing them out of their comfort zone and preventing them from protecting Kaepernick. The Niners finally found an offensive rhythm late in the fourth, when they converted a key fourth and one play at Oakland’s forty-four yard line with eight minutes left. Kaepernick threw a short seven yard pass to receiver Michael Crabtree, and kept their hopes alive. He seemed to be in sync for the first time, but things changed quickly, with the Niners holding the ball at Oakland’s twenty-seven yard line down just 23-14. Suddenly, he started to lean on Crabtree, settling for short gains to connect with the receiver, and overthrew him mightily to set up third and long. Kaepernick was sacked by Antonio Smith on the ensuing play, forcing San Francisco to attempt a long forty-seven yard field goal. To make matters worse, rookie center Marcus Martin had to be helped off the field after the play with an apparent injury. Adding insult to injury, Phil Dawson missed wide left on his attempt from 47 yards, energizing the crowd at the O.co Coliseum. The Niners wasted five minutes and thirty six seconds on the drive, playing without a sense of urgency and letting the game, and their playoff hopes, slip away. The Niners’ second straight loss moved them to 7-6, and two games out of the NFC Wild Card race with just three games left to play. They are now in danger of missing the postseason for the first time under head coach Jim Harbaugh.

Stats and info courtesy of ESPN

Featured Image: By Au Kirk; cropped by Moe Epsilon [CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)%5D, via Wikimedia Commons

 

NCAA Playoffs commentary: Baylor coach says their the true champs; Bowl rankings; Boise State underrated team

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by Michelle Richardson

Baylor and TCU share co-champion honors: Big 12 Commissioner and former Stanford Athletic Director Bob Bowlsby awarded TCU and Baylor Universities with co-champion awards as each team ended up with similar records at 11-1 and 8-1 in the Big 12 and Baylor head coach Artie Briles was arguing with Bowlsby at the end of the game that Baylor should be the Big 12 champs not TCU simply because Baylor beat TCU during the season for TCU’s only loss.

Matter of fact TCU’s head coach Gary Patterson has more reason to be upset than Briles, TCU was number three in the bowl rankings. How do you drop from three to six? How do you go from the defending national champions, then go undefeated and become number three? That doesn’t make any sense for me.

Because #3 FSU was undefeated, it doesn’t bother me if you get it by one point or a half a point Florida State won. FSU won and FSU should be in front of Alabama #1 and Oregon #2, they didn’t volunteer for this type of schedule and FSU remained undefeated in the regular season. FSU went undefeated (13-0) in two seasons and if you want to know how difficult that is in college football it’s very, very, difficult.

CFP rankings #1.Alabama, #2.Oregon, #3.FSU, and #4.OSU: Games and teams that are selected are done partly because of politics but also TV plays a big role in these selections. You have the big day coming up New Year’s day for the bowl games, you have Ohio State, Alabama, and you know how football crazy they are.

You have the ACC, the two coasts the South Atlantic, you also have a incumbent Heisman Trophy winner and the next Heisman Trophy winner. You got two former SCC former coaches in Urban Myer the head coach at Ohio and Alabama head coach Nick Saben in this first playoff game ever. This is exciting and better than the old bowl format and this is all about television ratings.

TCU is a better team but they aren’t a second showing, this one thing about TCU every year they get rejected for the bigger bowls but eventually will get the national attention that will make them stronger. Paterson is going to come back next year and TCU quarterback Trevone Boykin who has one more year left. Honestly Boykin is up for the Heisman Trophy.

Boise State (11-2)28 vs. Fresno State (6-6) 14: I can’t wait for the bowl selections and Boise State they went 11-2 and they’re 11-1 in the Mountain West. The Broncos are doing what their suppose to do, their only loss was to Ole Miss and Air Force. That’s not bad, that’s not a bad season they beat everybody else pretty handedly.

Boise State needs to jump up and play with the real big boys in the power five conferences. People were upset because they didn’t face anyone in the Pac 12 this season although they have Arizona in their last game on Wed Dec 31. Let me explain to you the Broncos would never get an invite to be in the Pac 12. To be a member of the Pac 12 conference you must be a research one institution.

That means your school must hold an academic level to do top level research and at Boise State that’s not what they do. The Broncos are not a research one institution. So they are never ever going to get an invitation to the Pac 12. The Broncos do what they do and they do it well, they ran the Mountain West Conference overall for the year and they were 26th overall in passing yards and the Broncos had a very successful season.

Michelle Richardson does NCCA commentary each week for http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Orlando stuns the Kings 105-96

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment

magic 12-6-14

by Charlie O. Mallonee

“Defense wins in the NBA and tonight we didn’t defend anybody.” Those were the words of Kings Head Coach Michael Malone just after his team had been defeated by the Orlando Magic 105-96 on Saturday night in Sacramento.

Both teams came into the game in similar situations. Both were without their big man due to injury. Both were playing the second game of a back-to-back schedule. Orlando appeared to be at a greater disadvantage as they played in Utah on Friday and had to travel to Sacramento for the Saturday game. Both teams were coming off a win on Friday night.

The Kings came out in the first quarter a bit flat while the Magic showed some initial energy. Ben McLemore hit the first bucket of the game after taking the opening tip to the hole for a lay-up. The Magic kept the ball moving and worked on high percentage shots plus some well-placed 3-Point baskets. After a Kings timeout at 8:33, Sacramento settled down and played improved defense. A steal and slam by Rudy Gay energized the Kings attack. The Sacramento starting five remained in the game until the 1:38 mark of the quarter. The quarter ended with the score tied at 27-all.

The Magic started the second quarter with a 6-0 run as the second units were on the floor for both teams. Reggie Evans scored the Kings first points on two free throws 2:54 into the quarter. After a 4-0 mini-run by Orlando, Rudy Gay and Ray McCallum entered the game. With the Kings shooting poorly, the Magic opened up an 11 point (45-34) lead by the time a timeout was called with 4:55 remaining in the half. After shooting poorly most of the period, the Kings helped themselves with back-to-back high percentage baskets by Collison and Gay. Capitalizing on Orlando turnovers and poor shooting, the Kings closed the gap but trailed the Magic 52-49 at the half.

The Kings shot just 40.0-percent (16 for 40) from the field in the first half while Orlando posted a 52.3-field goal percentage. The Magic out-rebounded the Kings 19-17 in the half.

Tobias Harris opened the scoring in the third quarter with a 3-Pointer and a steal that resulted in an easy lay-up. That opening set the tone for the quarter. The Kings continued to look sluggish while Magic shot 50.0-percent from the field and 50.0-percent from 3-Pointland. The Kings turned the ball over six times in the quarter and fell as many as 12 points behind. Rudy Gay sparked the Kings with a driving lay-up at 2:22, but Magic came back to take an 11 point lead into the fourth quarter. After three quarters Orlando led the Kings 77-66.

Orlando made it a 14 point lead after Ben Gordon hit for five points off two baskets to open the fourth period. It appeared that the Magic might coast to the win, but the Kings had other plans. Derrick Williams converted a 3-Point play that kicked off a 9-0 run for the Kings. Sacramento continued to whittle away at the lead and finally tied the game at 90-90 on a Derrick Williams slam dunk with 3:59 to play. With the game tied at 92-all, Orlando went on a 7-0 run and created a gap that the Kings could not fill. When the final buzzer sounded, the Magic had beaten the Kings 105-96.

The Magic shot 50.6-percent (42 for 83) from the field and hit on 9 of 26 3-Point attempts. Orlando only visited the free throw line 14 times but they converted 12 of those opportunities into points. The Magic recorded 26 assists against just 11 turnovers in the game.

Orlando had five players score in double figures led by Tobias Harris’ 27 points. Harris was 4 of 5 from beyond the 3-Point line. Victor Oladipo added 16 points and seven assists. Evan Fournier put in 15 while Kyle O’Quinn recorded 13 points filling in for injured Nikola Vucevic at center.

With DeMarcus Cousins still out of the lineup, the Magic out-rebounded the Kings 40-35.

“I saw fierce competition, a will to win, a will to compete, being relentless throughout the course of the game. Overall, really impressed with this group to finish the trip with the win,” said Orlando Head Coach Jacque Vaughn.

The Kings shot 44.3-percent (35 for79) as a team from the field and 26.7-percent (4 for 15) from beyond the 3-Point arc. Sacramento was 22 for 28 from the free throw line. They had 22 assists and 11 turnovers.

Darren Collison led the Kings scoring with 22 points. Jason Thompson scored a season-best 18 points. Rudy Gay had 16 points to go with five rebounds and six assists. Derrick Williams scored 14 points in 12 minutes of play coming off the bench to lead the Kings in the fourth quarter.

“You can’t allow a team, who’s coming in here with four games in five nights, to start the game as comfortable as they did. They were shooting 80.0-percent at one point, so it’s tough to start getting stops after a team feels really comfortable,” said Coach Michael Malone after the game.

The Kings are off until Monday when they will host the Utah Jazz.

Game Notes:

The Kings are now 10-10 overall, 5-5 at Sleep Train Arena … the Kings are 1-3 on the five game homestand … Sacramento is 1-4 without DeMarcus Cousins in the lineup this season … the Kings have another set of back-to-backs this week at they host Utah on Monday and visit the Lakers in L.A. on Tuesday … the Magic win ended a four game losing streak to Sacramento

 

Sharks Fend Off Flames, Win 4th in a Row

Published on by M WalshLeave a comment

AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Larry MacDougal

By Mary Walsh

The Sharks started a two game road trip with a 3-2 win against the Calgary Flames. Going into Saturday’s game, the Flames had won four in a row, Sharks had won three. The Flames were 11-1-2 when scoring first, as they did Saturday. To up the ante, the Flames had a third period scoring differential of 24, while the Sharks had a lamentable minus 4. If the Sharks thrive on a challenge, entering the third period tied with the Flames was a fine one.

It was not a pristine performance from the Sharks, but head coach Todd McLellan summed it up well after the game:

We… found a way to beat a hot goaltender, found a way to get ourselves back into the game. Our first period was not anywhere near what we needed it to be, but we chatted a little bit between periods and we responded well.

Sharks goaltender Antti Niemi stopped 33 shots for the win. Patrick Marleau scored the game winner, while Tommy Wingels, Logan Couture and Justin Braun all had two point games.

The Flames dominated play for the first five minutes, peppering Niemi with shots while the Sharks had trouble getting through the neutral zone. The Sharks started to show some cohesion around the ten minute mark, with some sustained zone time and a few shots. Overall, the Flames dominated play in the first, keeping the Sharks’ recorded shot count to just three in the first fifteen minutes of the period.

Kennedy left the game during the first period with an undisclosed injury and did not return for the second.

The Flames scored the first goal in the last three minutes of the period. David Jones passed the puck to Mark Giordano who was just coming across the blue line with some speed. His slapshot came so fast that Niemi never saw it coming. It was Giordano’s seventh goal of the season. Assists went to David Jones and Curtis Glencross.

In the final minute, Logan Couture took a shot that went off the post, and the Sharks picked up their game in the final few shifts of the period. By the end of the period, the Flames led the Sharks in shots 12-8, and the score stood at 1-0 Flames.

The Sharks started the second period by losing the faceoff, but they chased the puck down and pushed the Flames into the offensive zone. Justin Braun came up with the puck off some good forechecking from Tommy Wingels. With a backhand shot that looked like an afterthought, Braun beat Karri Ramo to tie the game. The assist went to Wingels.

That backhand worked so well that Logan Couture decided to try one after some nifty stick handling around a Flames defender. He got control of the puck after John Scott wrested it from the Flames’ Raphael Diaz. Couture’s shot went off the far post and in, abruptly giving the Sharks the lead. Assists went to to John Scott and Justin Braun.

The Sharks took the first penalty of the game midway through the second period, an interference penalty to Brent Burns. Not only was the Calgary power play seventh in the league, but it was also on a four game scoring streak. The Sharks killed that off without allowing a shot to get through to the net.

The next penalty went to the Flames, with just under five minutes left in the period. The Sharks held the zone well but only got one shot to the net during the power play.

Back at even strength, the Flames tied the game after the Sharks lost track of Johnny Gaudreau, who set himself up in front of the net. Jiri Hudler passed the puck to him and he had plenty of time to push it past Niemi. Assists went to Hudler and Matt Stajan.

At the end of the second, the Flames led in shots 21-16. For the period, the shots were 9-8 Flames.

The Sharks’ Brendan Dillon was called for interference just 3:26 into the third period, putting the Sharkson the penalty kill. Johnny Gaudreau had a quick chance that had Niemi scrambling to stop it but the Sharks penalty killers did come to the rescue. Another close call came with 35 seconds left in the penalty, with the puck bouncing like a lotto ball, but the Sharks killed the penalty off. The Flames managed three shots on that power play.

Midway through the period, the Marleau-Couture-Wingels line had a spectacularly relentless shift, moving the puck through and around the Flames zone. Scott Hannan and Matt Irwin held the blue line, while pass after pass kept the Flames chasing the puck around. Finally, a few quick moves behind the goal line between Wingels and Couture ended with a shot from Patrick Marleau to give the Sharks the lead again. Assists went to Couture and Wingels.

The Flames responded ferociously, hemming the Sharks into their zone for a very long shift. An icing gave the Sharks a chance to regroup, and the Sharks escaped for line changes after Goodrow blocked a shot out of the zone.

Driving the net at 14:55, Tomas Hertl drew a holding penalty against TJ Brodie. 31 seconds into the power play, Matt Stajan was called for hooking, giving the Sharks a two man advantage for nearly 90 seconds. The first minute of that 5 on 3 produced just two shots but looking promising. Ramo stopped the shots, holding the second.

The Flames won the next faceoff and the Sharks’ power play fell apart after that, with the Flames clearing the puck twice and getting a short-handed breakaway. Niemi stopped the shot but the Flames came alive, running roughshod through the Sharks zone. The Flames drew a penalty and played with an empty net for more than 30 seconds before their power play even started.

With Braun in the box for tripping, the Flames pulled Ramo for a sixth skater. Burns, Couture, Vlasic, Thornton, Pavelski and Hannan all pitched in for the closing penalty kill. The Sharks only got the puck out twice, but it was enough to hold on for the win.

The final shot count was 35-30 for the Flames.

Joe Pavelski led the team in shots with six, Marc-Edouard Vlasic led the team in shots blocked with four. Vlasic also led the Sharks’ skaters in ice time with 24:32.

Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan led the Flames in shots with five each. Curtis Glencross and Ladislav Smid each blocked three shots. Karri Ramo stopped 27 of 30 shots for Calgary. Dennis Wideman led all skaters in ice time with 28:44.

Matt Nieto was out with an injury, while Tye McGinn and Mirco Mueller sat as healthy scratches.

The Sharks next play on Sunday at 6:00 PST in Edmonton against the Oilers.

Warriors Win Franchise Record 12 Straight, Best Bulls 112-102

Published on by Matthew HarringtonLeave a comment

AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh

By Matthew T.F. Harrington

The Golden State Warriors rode Draymond Green’s career night in Chicago to a Franchise record 12 straight wins, topping the Bulls 112-102 Saturday night. Green  paced with Warriors, owners of the best record in the NBA at 17-2, scoring a game-high 31 points in his minutes of work.

Green went 7 of 13 from beyond the three-point line, hitting 11 of 20 total field goals.  Klay Thompson picked up 24 points, while fellow Splash Brother Stephen Curry collected 19 despite a poor shooting night. Curry went 5 of 14 from the field.

For the Bulls , just 2.5 games back of th(12-8) Eastern Conference Leaders Toronto, Jimmy Butler continued his breakout campaign. He led the Bulls with 24 points on 8 baskets and converted 5 of 7 free throws. Bulls big man Pau Gasol had a game-high 20 rebounds and pitched in 22 points for the double-double. Andrew Bogut topped the Warriors with 12 rebounds.

The Warriors built up a cushy 61-49 lead by the half, but were outscored 31-18 in the third quarter. Trailing by one at 80-79 heading into the fourth, the Warriors finished out the game outscoring their hosts 33-22 for the win.

The Bulls were plagued by the Warriors defensive unit, with Golden State forcing 22 turnovers. The Dubs went 40 of 89 as a team in shooting, good for 44.9 percent. The visitors were red-hot from beyond the arc, going 12 for 30 from downtown.

The next stop in the Warriors two-city winter wonderland tour is Minnesota, where the Warriors seek lucky win number 13 in a row Monday night. The Timberwolves currently occupy the Western Conference cellar, owning only four wins this season.

Stanford Commentary: After nearly 15 days off Stanford men are looking forward to going back to work

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by Matt Harrington

PALO ALTO–It’s been since November 30th when the Stanford Cardinal faced DePaul and took a 87-72 shellacking, the Cardinal are up for their next game almost after a half month layoff as they face off against Denver at Stanford on Sat Dec 13th. This kind of rest is a good thing and a bad thing having that kind of rest.

Just based on the way that the Stanford roster is currently built they had former players Josh Huestis who is in the NBA Development League with the Oklahoma City Blue and Dwight Powell who is currently with the Boston Celtics. The Cardinal are looking for new fresh talent, in particular Reid Travis has been in the starting five the whole season.

There trying to get these freshman acclimated to Pac 12 play and their looking at a guy like Roscoe Allen who was hurt and is averaging (9.5 ppg) this season but missed the entire season last year and mixed the Sweet 16. He’s trying to get acclimated to NCAA basketball. It’s a gift and curse the team got a little bit of rest, probably the team would like to have it later in the season not early when your trying to get your rhythm.

Basketball is a touch sport if the shots are not going in the only way to get better at it is to start working on them and head to the gym and get that game situation and unfortunately the Cardinal haven’t had that kind of an opportunity to get into the championship and get into that game competition.

The good news is they really loaded up their pre season schedule early and they’ve been all over the place and they’ve played some big teams. They played Duke and they have got their first win and their first loss of the season. This is something they want to get out of the way early plus you want your season on track.

This is the time of the year when it’s student first and athlete second this is the time of the year where there is a lot going on with school. The students are working on finals for the semester. At Stanford it’s not exactly the easiest school to get through, so it’s nice for the team to get a little rest focus and hit the books and get ready again in just seven more days.

Matt Harrington covers Stanford basketball for http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Raiders and 49ers commentary: Coliseum hoping for very few to no fan fights unlike last meeting

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by Daivd Zizmor

OAKLAND–The San Francisco 49ers are headed to the Oakland Coliseum to play the Oakland Raiders and unlike the last time these two teams met this one is a regular season game this Sunday. The last time they also met was there violence that occurred at Candlestick Park in San Francisco in a pre season game in 2011 and they have not met in a pre or regular season since then.

There were a lot of fights in the stands in the 2011 game, there usually is when these two teams meet then there’s the shooting incident in the Candlestick parking lot that didn’t involve the game itself that involved two people but they were not at the game at all. So this shooting incident was misreported at the time.

Obviously were very sensitive to it you never want any violence at the game, we’ve seen a couple of incidents at the new Levis Stadium this season that didn’t involve Raiders fans but it did involve all 49ers fans in a bathroom brawl that sent a couple men to the hospital and the suspects were later caught. You can imagine the security presence that will needed during the Niners-Raiders game at the Coliseum on Sunday.

There is hope with the increased security presence and police presence that will help solve any of the problems that would be a deterrent of them getting into fights or fans looking for fights that could be fueled by alcohol. There is a whole lot you could do besides limit the sales to people who are obviously intoxicated.

That’s always a tough one and by law your not allowed to search anyone who appears intoxicated but I’m not sure if the defenders are going to be as vigilant as their suppose to be as opposed to someone who’s vigilant at a bar. The other thing you hope is the prices of the tickets deter people from doing anything like that.

It really hasn’t been the case at Levi’s Stadium so much, but if you go on line and look at the prices of the Niners and the Raiders it’s really not that much cheaper even though it’s at the Coliseum fans are still paying a lot of money for these seats. There are a lot of people priced out at Levis Stadium.

There’s a number of fans who have decided to go to this game to see the Niners play and the prices are probably less at the Coliseum although their not cheap there still more affordable than at Santa Clara. This game is sold out, there will be a lot of people and there will be a lot of Niners fans present for the 1:25pm start.

The Raiders fans will be out in force in their home stadium with the weather being the way it is lousy you kind of hope it dampens a lot things in the stands with the ticket prices hopefully that calms everything down or at least keeps people from wanting to be crazy because they paid so much for their tickets.

David Zizmor covers the NFL for http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Ducks trust the process, methodically throttle Arizona in the Pac-12 Championship game

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By Morris Phillips

Among the things the Oregon Ducks couldn’t control coming into Friday’s Pac-12 Championship Game was one pretty big thing: their opponent, No. 7 Arizona was talented, and brimming with confidence thanks to two impressive upset wins over the Pac-12 North champs with an eye on making it three straight.

So head coach Mark Helfrich simply asked his Ducks to trust the process, make sure they were in the right spots defensively, and rely on the fact that they were healthier and better equipped to take down their nemesis from the Pac-12 South than they were the previous two meetings.

And sure enough, just as Helfrich asked, the Ducks trusted, and the Wildcats were cooked.

“Well, they played well, we didn’t,” a downcast Arizona coach Rich Rodriguez said. “Outcoached us, outplayed us, did a nice job,”

“Tonight was a good example of us playing a complete game as a team,” Helfrich said.

What qualified as complete for Helfrich was pretty darn impressive. The Ducks’ place in the four-team national championship picture was assured with the win, but this was even better than that. In blowing away Arizona 51-13, the Ducks played near flawlessly in the first half, leading 23-0 at the break and quickly increasing that advantage to 30-0 at the start of the third quarter. Two statistical numbers were eye-popping in the first 30 minutes.

The Wildcats couldn’t string together even two positive plays and wilted. They finished the half with—take a seat and a deep breath—25 yards total offense.

And the Ducks kept the pressure on, running 57 offensive snaps, none of them eye-popping, but everyone plenty effective.

In a meeting of two teams highly dependent on pace and rhythm, Oregon got their engines revved first this time and took it from there. Arizona’s defense, which initially seemed more than capable, holding Oregon to a pair of first quarter field goals when they threatened to do much more, eventually gave in. Arizona’s offense, unable to hold the ball for any length of time, offered no help.

“The defense had to go back out there,” Rodriguez explained. “We know (Oregon’s) an up-tempo team. So our guys are in pretty good shape. But still when you’re having to go out that many times—57 snaps or whatever it was in the first half—with that type of offense, they’re going to get theirs.”

Helfrich said his guys were “tight offensively” early, which explains the two field goals, a rarity for one the nation’s highest scoring teams. But with Marcus Mariota healthy and patient, the tide turned quickly. Mariota ran for a pair of scores to cap two, lightning-fast scoring drives that were sandwiched by Aidan Schneider’s three field goals. Freshman running back Royce Freeman posted 100 yards rushing before the break, and Charles Nelson, one of the Ducks’ fleet of speedy game breakers, kept the defense on their heels with his 73-yard catch and run. Three plays later, Mariota had the second of his rushing touchdowns in Oregon’s 20-0 lead with 1:35 remaining before halftime.

Did we mention Mariota was workman-like and spectacular occasionally, befitting his stature as one of the nation’s best player?

Helfrich did afterwards, causing the quarterback to blush a bit. “If this guy isn’t what the Heisman’s about, I’m in the wrong profession,” Helfrich said while sitting next to Mariota at the post-game interview table. “If you want your son or daughter to emulate someone, pick this guy.”

Or pick this team.

Mariota, Oregon stifles Arizona

Published on by jeremy2878Leave a comment

AP Photo/Ben Margot

 

By Jeremy Harness

SANTA CLARA – Midway through the third quarter, an exasperated Rich Rodriguez was shown letting out an emphatic sigh as his team continued to struggle on both sides of the ball.

Two plays later, the coach had to watch as quarterback Jesse Scroggins III’s deep pass was picked off by Erick Dargan. To add to the misery, senior lineman Steven Gurrola was flagged for fighting and was promptly kicked out of the game.

That gave Oregon the ball on Arizona’s 23-yard line, and quarterback Marcus Mariota punched it in six plays later to give Oregon a commanding 37-point lead.

That pretty much summed up the night for Arizona, as second-ranked Oregon cemented its spot in the inaugural BCS playoff with a dominant 51-13 win over the Wildcats to take the Pac-12 title Friday night at Levi’s Stadium.

In the process, Mariota, already the front-runner for this year’s Heisman trophy, likely put his name on the award with his performance on Friday by throwing for 303 yards and a pair of scores while running for three more.

He did that against an Arizona team that had beaten Oregon each of the previous two head-to-head meetings and ruined the Ducks’ chances of reaching this game last year.

The No. 7 Wildcats entered Saturday with a chance to again thwart Oregon’s title run while crashing the College Football Playoff party themselves.

However, those visions, just like the field at Levi’s Stadium, got soggy very quickly and only got worse as the offense couldn’t make a dent while a tough, resilient but increasingly-fatigued Arizona defense developed cracks that Oregon used to blow the game open in a hurry.

Missed opportunities also handicapped Arizona, as Wildcat defenders had a pair of potential first-half interceptions squirt through their fingers while missing out on a fumble recovery early in the third quarter, all of which had the potential of swinging the momentum in its favor.

Rodriguez said that the key to the Wildcats’ 31-24 win over Oregon in Eugene on Oct. 2 was that they were more physical than the Ducks in all three phases of the game. The physicality was certainly there for Arizona.

The execution, on the other hand, was another story altogether.

“From my vantage point, it was a lack of execution and them playing a little better than us,” Rodriguez said. “It seemed like it was a different reason every time (as to why) this play didn’t work or that play didn’t work.

“We’ll examine it, get better and get ready for the bowl game.”

The four-team playoff bracket will be released Sunday morning, with Oregon fully expected to be one of those teams competing for the national title. Arizona, meanwhile, will have to wait a while longer but are still considered to have an outside shot at getting into one of the BCS bowls, including the Fiesta Bowl.

The Wildcats displayed a bend-but-don’t-break defense in the first quarter. Although Oregon gained yards and benefited from a short field resulting from an early Arizona turnover, the defense did not permit the Ducks to get into the end zone – the Ducks had to settle for field goals on each of their first two trips into the red zone – and even stopped Oregon on a fourth-and-3 at the Arizona 25.

However, the Wildcats could not get anything going on offense, gaining only 25 total yards in the first half and increasing the amount of strain on their defense. Arizona finished with only 224 yards of offense while collecting only 10 first downs, only two of those coming in an opening half that proved to be decisive.

Redshirt freshman quarterback Anu Solomon struggled especially, throwing for only 34 yards on 6-of-12 passing. He was also sacked three times and just could not generate any momentum that carried the Wildcats to this title game.

“I just didn’t execute,” Solomon said. “If we’re not doing well, it all starts with me, and that’s just what happened.”

The field goals were only going to last for so long, and if you give the Ducks enough chances, they will eventually get their rhythm and cash in. That’s what happened midway through the second quarter, as the Arizona defense finally gave way.

Starting yet another drive in Arizona territory, the Ducks took the ball to the Wildcats’ 7 before Mariota beat an Arizona defender to the corner of the end zone to give Oregon a 13-0 lead.

Oregon scored twice more and went into the locker room with a 23-0 halftime lead, while Arizona searched for answers.

Rodriguez attempted to solve one issue by putting the more mobile Scroggins in place of Solomon and threw a 69-yard touchdown to receiver Cayleb Jones early in the third quarter to momentarily stop the bleeding.

That momentum was squashed in a hurry by Mariota and the Ducks, who picked up right where they left off in the first half and left Arizona in their wake.

“Oregon’s the best in our league this year, and I think they have a chance to prove they’re the best in the country,” Rodriguez said. “But any team that makes the four-team playoffs has to be really good.

“I just haven’t seen the other ones on film like I’ve seen Oregon.”