Author: Matthew Harrington

Kazmir Shines, Bats Break Out For A’s First Win Of 2014

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By Matthew Harrington

The first game of Tuesday’s twin bill between the Oakland Athletics and Cleveland Indians didn’t have the same pageantry or anticipation as Monday night’s Opening Day game at O.Co. That’s just fine for the A’s (1-1), who also welcomed a different end result, erasing the doubts of a 2-0 season-opening loss with a 6-1 thumping of the Tribe (1-1).

Left-hander Scott Kazmir (1-0, 0.00 ERA) fired 7 1/3 innings of three-hit, shutout baseball and an Oakland offense that stranded nine runners and mustered only five hits in Monday’s home opener exploded for a dozen base knocks and six runs. Tribe starter Corey Kluber (0-1, 13.50 ERA) departed after just 3 1/3 innings after surrendering five earned runs. Kazmir, facing the club that signed him to a career-reviving contract last season, quickly received the kind of run support Opening Day starter Sonny Gray is still waiting for.

After the southpaw dispatched the Indians in order in the first, center fielder Coco Crisp opened the A’s first at-bat by lacing the Corey Kluber 1-1 delivery to center. Designated hitter Josh Donaldson took strike three looking but Crisp put swiped his first bag of the season with to put himself in scoring position Jed Lowrie at the plate. Crisp then advanced to third on a deep pop fly by the shortstop. First baseman Brandon Moss drew a walk before Yoenis Cespedes brought Crisp home on a single to right for the first A’s run of the season. Josh Reddick grounded out to end the threat with the home team leading 1-0.

The bottom of the second mirrored the first with third baseman Alberto Callaspo and catcher Derek Norris, both making their season debuts Tuesday afternoon, singling back-to-back and second baseman Eric Sogard drawing a walk. With the bases loaded and no outs, Crisp lofted a sacrifice fly that plated Callaspo and moved Norris 90 feet from home plate.

Oakland Manager Bob Melvin used the first coach’s challenge in A’s history on the next batter after Donaldson bounced into a fielder’s choice. Carlos Santana fielded the grounder at the hot corner and fired home to cut an advancing Norris down at the plate. Melvin challenged the out ruling, but after 4 minutes and 45 seconds of deliberation it was ruled that there was insufficient evidence to overturn the call. Lowrie brought Sogard around from second on a single in the next at bat before Moss closed out the inning on a fly out to right fielder Elliot Johnson to strand a pair of runners.

For the third-straight inning, a member of the green and gold crossed home plate. Callaspo smoked a liner over right field wall with Reddick on first following a one-out walk to stake Oakland to a 5-0 edge with a third of the game played. Moss completed the A’s scoring by doubling in Lowrie on a 3-1 Vinnie Pestano fastball in the sixth. In total, the A’s three-though-seven hitters went a combined 8-for-19 after the heart of the line-up collected one hit in 15 trips to the plate Monday night.

Kazmir spared the A’s bullpen for the second half of Wednesday’s bizarre early season day-night double-header, a make-up of the first rain-out in 15 years at O.Co Tuesday night. One season removed from a 10-9, 4.04 ERA season with the Indians, allowed only four base runners with no walks and only one extra-base hit, a double by Mike Aviles with one out in the eighth inning that chased Kazmir. Aviles represented the first member of the Tribe to reach third base when Yan Gomes welcomed A’s reliever Dan Otero into the game with a ground out that advanced the runner. Aviles remained stranded at third after Elliot Johnson bounced out to Sogard for the third out

The Indians broke up the shutout, scoring in the ninth inning, their second-straight game against the A’s where they plated a run in the ninth after new Oakland closer Jim Johnson surrendered two runs in Monday night’s game to get saddled with the loss. Jason Kipnis doubled with two outs and Santana’s line drive single off Otero brought him home. Otero coaxed Ryan Raburn to ground out softly to the pitcher’s mound to finish off the game and seal the A’s 6-1 win.

The A’s enter the second of Wednesday’s two-game set in perfect position with only one reliever exhausted. Tribe starter Zach McAllister will be called on by Indians’ manager Terry Francona to go deep into the P.M. tilt after using four different relievers in the afternoon session. For Melvin’s A’s it will be right-hander Josh Lindblom on the bump. Lindblom was called as part of the special 26-man roster allotted for double-headers up to start game two over expected rotation candidates Dan Straily, Jesse Chavez and Tommy Milone. Lindblom appeared in eight games, including the only five starts he’s made over three seasons, pitching 31.1 innings with a 5.46 ERA.

Curry Surprises Jackson With Buzzer-Beater Over Mavs In OT On Coach’s Birthday

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By Matthew Harrington
Warriors coach Mark Jackson received quite the birthday gift from his All-star guard Tuesday night at American Airlines Arena in Dallas. Stephen Curry hit the game-winning shot with .1 seconds remaining in overtime to cap a Golden State 122-120 upheaval of the Dallas Mavericks (44-31). As coach Jackson blew out the 49 candles on his cake, the Dubs created a little bit of breathing room in the Western Conference playoff picture. Dirk Nowitzki and the Mavs entered play Tuesday with 44 wins, just one less than their foes from California. The Warriors (46-28) have two games in hand over Dallas.

Curry’s game-winner in the extra session, his third career buzzer-beating basket, was a culmination of a 43-minute, 23-point effort. Fellow guard Klay Thompson topped Golden State on 27 points, going 11-for-24 from the field including 4-of9 from downtown. Jermaine O’Neal, starting at center with Andrew Bogut not making the trip nursing a sore groin and David Lee in street clothes for the third-straight game, picked up 20 points and 8 rebounds. Marreese Speights’ 9 rebounds paced the Warriors.

Ex-Warrior Monta Ellis did his best to sink his former franchise, shooting 11-for-23 with 27 points. Mavs perennial All-Star Nowitzki contributed a game-high 33 points over 39 minutes of play and converted the double-double on a game-high 11 boards.

The Warriors connected on a blistering 57.1 shooting percentage, making 52 shots on 91 attempts including nearly half (15) of their 31 shots from beyond the arc. Mark Cuban’s club held the advantage in turnovers, forfeiting possession 8 times to the visitors’ 12. The Mavericks somehow managed to keep Golden State from going to the free throw line for the entirety of the second half.

The Warriors overpowered their hosts in the first, racing out to a 30-21 lead after twelve minutes of play. Dallas bombarded Golden State with 41 second-quarter points, the most the Warriors have yielded in a single frame this season, while limiting the visitors to 23 points for a 62-53 halftime edge.

It took the Warriors nearly ten minutes of play in the third to catch up to Dallas when Speights rolled in a layup to make it 78-all before Vince Carter hit one of two free throws to restore the slim Mavs one-point edge. The Warriors would score seven of the last nine points for an 85-81 lead after three frames.

Dallas capped a 10-5 run to open the fourth with a Carter basket to pull ahead 91-90 nearly four minutes in to the final stanza of regulation. The Warriors briefly wrestled the lead back from their foes but found themselves trailing 106-102 with 1:43 until the final horn. Andre Iguodala and Thompson sandwiched three-pointers around an Ellis jumper to knot things up a 108 a piece with a minute left but that would be the last basket of regulation as the teams would require an five-minute overtime to decide the victor.

Dallas opened the final five minutes on a Dirk jumper before Jermaine O’Neal hit only one of two free throws to pull the Warriors within one at 110-109. O’Neal represented the first Warrior to head to the charity stripe since Thompson completed the and-1 play with 2:55 left in the second quarter. From there the two teams would go shot-for-shot over the next five baskets before a Thompson trey preceded a Curry 16-foot jumper to put the Dubs up 118-117 over halfway through OT.

The Mavs’ Jose Calderon responded with a three of his own before O’Neal took a Draymon Green feed to the rim to knot things up at 120-all. The Warriors were looking for a quick basket to force a last-possession chance, a goal achieved when Green connected with O’Neal with 28 seconds left.

On the penultimate Dallas possession of the game, Ellis tried to take the winning shot but he was rejected on the layup by O’Neal. On the next Warrior possession Curry connected on the off-balance jumper with a tenth of a second remaining. The Mavs couldn’t connect on the in-bound deflection play, and after a brief review, the Warriors win was official.

Golden State looks to give Jackson a second belated gift Wednesday evening. They continue on to a showdown in San Antonio with the Spurs at the AT&T Center where they haven’t won since Valentine’s Day of 1997, just six days before then 31-year-old point guard Jackson was dealt from the Denver Nuggets back to the Indiana Pacers. After the second leg of the Texas road trip the Warriors return to the West Coast for a showdown with in-state rivals, the Sacramento Kings, Friday night at Oracle Arena.

Opening Day A House of Horrors Once Again as Athletics Make History For Wrong Reasons

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By Matthew Harrington

OAKLAND, Calif. – San Francisco owns the rights to baseball torture, but over in the East Bay seamheads suffer from a case of downright misery every opening day. While Opening Day arrives on a stream of promise crested by the red, white and blue bunting of the occasion du jour, the wave of excitement came crashing down on the Oakland Athletics (0-1) with the brutal reality of a 2-0 night loss to the visiting Cleveland Indians (1-0) With Monday night’s loss at O.Co Coliseum marking the club’s 10th-straight loss in a season’s first game, the A’s etched themselves forever in dubious MLB history, breaking the record for most consecutive losses in a row on Opening Day.

“You don’t talk about it,” said A’s start Sonny Gray. “You know it’s here, going around.”

Gray dug deep to produce a six-inning, zero-run effort but a ninth inning struggle by new Oakland closer Jim Johnson (0-1) yielded two Tribe runs to be saddled with the loss. Indians closer Jon Axford, called upon by the Brewers last season for ninth-inning duties, likewise sputtered in the ninth but kept the home team from crossing the plate to pick up his first save of the season.

Justin Masterson, a 2013 All-Star for the Indians, pitched an effective seven inning surrendering only three hits and a lone walk while striking out four. He departed the game with a no decision. Tribe reliever Cody Allen (1-0) was tabbed the winning pitcher after producing the final two outs of the eighth inning with the bases loaded.

Gray, who received opener honors for the reigning two-time American League West champions after injuries to rotation mates Jarrod Parker and A.J. Griffin forced the A’s to scramble for back-up plans, performed like a true ace despite entering play with only one season and 64 innings of major league service time.

In the first of what will be many Opening Day nods for the 24-year-old, Gray struggled with command early, walking the first two batter he faced before striking out Jason Kipnis and inducing ground balls from Carlos Santana and Michael Brantley in a 29-pitch inning. Despite lacking a feel for his pitches and precision control, Gray performed like a savvy veteran, getting the outs when needed. In total, Gray stranded seven Tribe base runners while racking up seven K’s, five hits and three walks on 105 pitches on a night when the threat of a postponement due to rain loomed.

“You always want to prepare as if you’re going to play,” said Gray. “We felt coming in that the rain was going to be clearing up. There was a little bit in the afternoon, but that was it.”

Gray didn’t just excel with the arm on the soggy Monday night, he also did it with the glove on multiple occasions. After Santana opened the top of the fourth with a walk, Brantley advanced him to third on a double to right. With a pair of runners in scoring position and no outs, Gray got Indians designated hitter Ryan Raburn out on strikes before fielding a grounder up the middle off the bat of Asdrubal Cabrera. Gray caught Santana stranded between third and home plate and slung the ball to A’s third baseman Josh Donaldson for the fielder’s choice. He then induced a David Murphy ground out to wriggle out of trouble.

“He was a little off-kilter early,” said manager Bob Melvin. “He worked his way through it though. With the number of pitches he had in the first inning, we didn’t think he would go six innings. He recovered well and he fought.”

Two innings later, Gray’s fielding prowess would be tested again. After getting Santana to fly out to first baseman Daric Barton in foul territory, a double by Brantley and a bloop single by Raburn put runners on the corners with only one gone in the inning. Cabrera once again smoked a ball up the middle that Gray took off his trailing leg then barehanded and fired home in time for Jaso to make the tag on Brantley.

“That was one of the most impressive performances I’ve ever seen,” said Johnson. “I’ve never seen anybody wiggle like that out of trouble.”

Two occurrences that wouldn’t have been possibilities last season occurred on the play. With a new rule banning collisions at home plate on bang-bang plays being instated this season, Cleveland bench boss Terry Francona came out to argue that Jaso had not granted Brantley a clear path to home plate. He attempted to use his coach’s challenge, another new rule implemented this season, to send the play to video review at the MLB war room in New York City. After crew chief Mike Winters conferred with his umpiring crew and the review booth, the ruling was confirmed. Francona, however, was not charged with use of a challenge as the play itself could not be reviewed.

“You can’t challenge the play, you can only challenge if he’s out or safe,” explained Melvin. “As far as blocking the plate, you have to just ask for them to get together and review it. That’s what they did, so (Francona) wasn’t charged with a challenge. There’s still a lot of plays where we’re trying to figure out if we can challenge them.”

The A’s received two innings of lights-out relief in the seventh and eighth innings from new addition Luke Gregerson and last year’s relief corps stalwart Sean Doolittle, giving Oakland a chance to break the shutout in the bottom of the eighth and stand three outs away from reversing the trend of Opening Day defeats.

Masterson was lifted for lefty Marc Rzepczynski, who surrendered a single to Barton before coaxing pinch-hitter Nick Punto to pop out to right on a first-pitch hack for the first out of the inning. Francona went to the pen to match righty Cody Allen with the switch-hitting leadoff man Coco Crisp and righty Donaldson. Allen lost Crisp on a full-count pitch to walk the center fielder and move Barton into scoring position.

Donaldson, who finished fourth in the American League Most Valuable Player voting last season, crushed a 2-2 offering from Allen to deep center, caroming off the very top of the padding above the 400-foot marker. Barton, however, delayed to tag up on second base in case the ball was caught, and failed to score, holding up at third base. Shortstop Jed Lowrie struck out and Brandon Moss grounded out leave the bases loaded. In total, the A’s stranded nine baserunners.

Johnson took the mound in the ninth looking to preserve the shutout. The righty, replacement for fireballing Grant Balfour, came over in the offseason along with a $10 million contract from Baltimore for second baseman Jemile Weeks to take over ninth-inning duties for the former All-Star. Johnson, unlike Balfour, pitches less for the strikeout and more to induce contact, something he excelled at in leading the majors in saves in each of the last two seasons.

“He’s the type of guy who is always one pitch away from a double play ball,” said Melvin of Johnson. “It’s just didn’t happen for him today.”

Monday would not be as fortuitous for Johnson, who walked Cabrera to open the ninth, then hung a pitch at the waist to Murphy who singled the mistake into right. Johnson then pushed catcher Yan Gomes to a 2-2 count but plunked the backstop on a pitch inside to load the bases.

Nyjer Morgan, who made the Indians after an injury forced starting center fielder Michael Bourn to the disabled list, plated Cabrera on a lofting sacrifice fly to Coco Crisp to make it 1-0. Former Athletic Nick Swisher, greeted with a cacophony of jeers to start every at-bat, singled sharply to center to push across the second and final Indian run and chase Johnson amid a chorus of boos in favor of Fernando Abad. Abad k’d Kipnis swinging then got Santana to bounce one that Donaldson fielded to end.

“I would have booed me too,” said Johnson after the game. “I deserved it. Hopefully they’ll be cheering for me next time.”

The A’s opened the ninth with a John Jaso walk sandwiched between a Yoenis Cespedes flyout and Josh Reddick strikeout. In total, the A’s 3-through-7 hitter went a combined 0-for-19 with one walk and one hit both courtesy of Jaso. Jaso advanced to second on a wild pitch from Axford with Barton, who ultimately drew a walk, batting. Nick Punto struck out swinging to end the game and mar the A’s chances at a perfect 162-0 season.

Tuesday brings a chance at redemption with free-agent signee Scott Kazmir taking the bump for the green and gold. The southpaw will be opposed by Indians hurler Corey Kluber.

Despite Rally, Depleted Dubs Downed by Desperate Knicks

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By Matthew Harrington

With Oakland native MC Hammer sitting courtside at Oracle Arena, it was the visiting New York Knicks who brought the hammer down on the shorthanded Golden State Warriors 89-84 Sunday night. New York used a big second quarter to grab the lead before its play down the stretch in holding off a Warriors comeback bid echoed Hammer’s hit “Can’t Touch this”.

Warriors All-Star Stephen Curry continued his strong play against the Knicks, collecting his third 30-plus point performance against the Gothamites in two seasons. Curry went 10-for-21 from the field, including hitting half of his 12 three-point attempts, for 32 points in 40 minutes of play. Andre Iguodala (12) and Klay Thompson (15) also finished in double-digits in scoring, but the absence of David Lee and Andrew Bogut from the frontcourt doomed the Dubs.

Guard J.R. Smith topped the Knicks with 21 points while Carmelo Anthony went 7-of-21 from the field for 19. Amare Stoudemire reeled in a game-high 13 rebounds for the desperate Knicks (31-43) who entered Sunday sitting a game behind the Atlanta Hawks for the last spot in the Eastern Conference playoff picture.

The Warriors (45-28) appeared to have the game in hand after a dominant 32-22 first quarter but the visitors fired back with a dominant second 12 minutes to take the 56- 44 halftime lead. New York stifled its host to only 12 second-quarter points while exploding for 34 of its own.

The Dubs cut the lead by four after the third frame, scoring 22 points to New York’s 18 then continued its run to nearly force a tie early in the quarter at 74-72. The Knicks would add breathing room before a Warriors 6-0 run capped by a Curry trey knotted the game at 81-81 with 2:48 left in regulation. The Knicks held the Warriors to only one basket, a three out of the hands of Thompson, down the stretch while Anthony netted four of New York’s eight points over final three minutes to hang on for the win.

Golden State hopes to have Lee back for Tuesday’s pivotal contest in Dallas with Western Conference playoff implications. The Mavericks currently sit in ninth place, outside the playoffs looking in, and are two games behind the Warriors who sit in sixth place. Bogut is not expected to play Tuesday or Wednesday night as Golden State heads to San Antonio Spurs.

Splash Brothers Will Slumping Warriors to Rally Past Portland Late in 113-112 Thriller

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By Matthew Harrington

Whatever message the Warriors discussed in a team meeting following their second-straight loss Friday night, one that saw a 15-point Golden State lead swing into a loss against the lowly Cleveland Cavaliers, certainly stuck with the Splash Brothers. It just took some time in Sunday evening’s 113-112 win over the Portland Trail Blazers at the Moda Center for the backcourt tandem of Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry to take over. The emerging faces of the franchise rallied Golden State (42-26) 18-point deficit in the third quarter to cap a wild comeback while avoiding a three-game losing skid for the first time since November 20-23 of this season.

Thompson, absent from Friday’s 103-94 loss to attend his grandfather’s funeral in the Bahamas, and Curry chipped in 15 points apiece in the fourth quarter, scoring 30 of 36 Warrior points in the pivotal period. The guards combined for 64 points, including 28 second-half points for Curry and 23 for Thompson to push the Dubs to their 15th triumph in 21 tries away from the friendly confines of Oracle Arena. The dominant road run is the first of its kind in franchise history.

After Curry’s 37 points and Thompson’s 27, including the eventual game-winner, David Lee finished third on the team with 16 points in only 24 minutes of play. Warriors forward Draymond Green had a team-high eight rebounds before fouling out. Damian Lillard led Portland (43-24) with 26 points while Nicolas Batum added 23 of his own to accompany a game-best 14 rebounds. Blazers center Robin Lopez converted a double-double as well, collecting 10 rebounds and 14 points. LaMarcus Aldridge sat out his second-consecutive game with a lower back contusion suffered in a 103-90 Blazers loss at San Antonio Wednesday.

Golden State opened the game again struggling to address the woes that sparked Friday’s closed-doors discussion. The Warriors found themselves trailing the team directly above them in the standings 55-44 at the half Sunday night. Portland, entering play with a 3.5 games ahead of the Warriors for fifth in the Western Conference, built on its first half success in the third. The Blazers took their largest cushion of the night, an 18-point separation, after Nicolas Batum hit a three to make it 70-52 Blazers 4:11 into the quarter. The Dubs chipped away with a 25-15 run over the final four-plus minute stretch to cut the deficit to 85-77, setting up the thrilling fourth-quarter momentum shift.

12 minutes away from only what would be only the second three-game losing streak all season, Golden State rallied to tie the game at 96-all with just over half a quarter. The Warriors evened the score courtesy of string of play where the Dubs limited Portland to 11 points while scoring 19 of their own over the first half of the final period of play. After Curry hit the free throw on Portland coach Terry Stotts’ technical foul, Thompson connected on only the second of two attempts from the charity stripe to give the Warriors their first lead since the first quarter now standing six minutes from the final whistle.

The lead changed hands five times over the next 5:49 of game time before Thompson,who arrived in the States late Saturday night, buried a three with just 11 seconds remaining on the clock to swing the scoreboard in  the Warriors’ favor 113-111. Golden State’s Andre Iguodala fouled Batum on a bid to even the game with five ticks left on the clock but the Blazers forward missed the potential tying shot after getting the first free throw to fall. Batum followed his miss and came up with the rebound, but his three-pointer from far out fell a few feet short of the basket as the buzzer sounded for Portland’s fifth loss in six games.

Warriors Center Andrew Bogut departed the game with 6:22 to play after suffering an apparent ankle injury on a layup attempt. Warriors coach Mark Jackson dismissed any concerns about the Aussie’s health, saying that Bogut asked to be subbed back in. Barring any setbacks, he should be on the Oracle Arena floor Tuesday night when the Warriors take on the Orlando Magic.

In Battle of the Streaks, Warriors Halted by Griffin, Clippers

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By Matthew Harrington

On a night when the Los Angeles Lakers received the bleak prognosis that Kobe Bryant would sit out the rest of the season due to injury, the other two California franchises garnered the major headlines while stoking the flames of a heated, burgeoning rivalry. With the Lakers glory days behind them, the Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Clippers took the Staples Center Court Wednesday night with bragging rights as best of the West Coast on the line. The Warriors ultimately succumbed to the Blake Griffin show, dropping a hotly-contested 111-98 verdict to split the season series with their Southern California rivals. The Pacific Division leaders snapped Golden State’s five-game win streak, adding a ninth-consecutive win to LA’s total.

Clippers All-Star Griffin scorched the Warriors for 30 points and 15 rebounds, including his 3,000 board of his career in the third quarter. Griffin is now the third player in NBA history to shoot over 50 percent with 6,000 points, 3,000 rebounds and 1,000 assists in the first four seasons of a career, joining Hall of Famers Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Charles Barkley. Guard Chris Paul finished a pair of rebounds shy of a triple-double, collecting 16 points and 12 assists to hand the Dubs their fourth-straight loss to the Clippers at the Staples Center.

Klay Thompson went 10-for-19 from the field, finishing with 26 points including 4-of-6 from beyond the arc to lead Golden State in scoring. David Lee chipped in 20 points. The Warriors reserves scuffled from the field, connecting on only a trio out of 25 chances, but Draymond Green connected on 7-of-9 free throws and Harrison Barnes and Jermaine O’Neal pitched in three each to help the bench to a 20-point contribution.

The two teams matched each other point-for-point in the first quarter, wrapping up the first 12 minutes at a 29-29 stalemate. The lead changed hands nine times in a frantic second quarter that saw the Warriors escape to the half nursing a slim two-point edge at 56-54.

Golden State outscored the home team 20-15 over the first six and a half minutes of the second half to take its largest lead of the night at seven points but the Clippers closed the gap on a 10-3 run. Los Angeles tied it on a Willie Green three-pointer with 1:22 left in the quarter then scored the next five points unanswered to end the quarter on top 84-79. Jermaine O’Neal opened the fourth hitting three of four from the charity stripe to pull the Dubs within two, but it would be the closest the Northern California squad got. The Clippers dominated the run of play, outpacing the Warriors 27 points to 16 down the stretch for the win.

Looking to avoid consecutive losses, the Warriors welcome the Cleveland Cavaliers, currently two spots above Orlando for worst in the Eastern conference, to Oracle Arena for a Friday night showdown before a critical meeting with another of the Western Conference’s strongest teams. Golden State travels to Portland to face the Trailblazers Sunday evening.

Gordon’s Last-Second Score Draws Earthquakes Even With Toluca in First Leg of Champions League Quarterfinals

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By Matthew Harrington

SANTA CLARA, Calif.-The San Jose Earthquakes “never say die” attitude almost created an international incident, with the Quakes introducing their “Goonies” attitude to the opening leg to the CONCACAFA Champions League quarterfinal matchup against Deportivo Toluca FC. Despite having the better of the chances at Buck Shaw Stadium Tuesday night, it took the Earthquakes a last-second goal from Alan Gordon to head to Toluca with the aggregate score even, 1-1.

“That’s how soccer goes sometimes,” said Gordon after the match. “To be able to battle back and to show ourselves we still have that, we’re always going to have that. It’s in our DNA to come back and get results. It’s really good for our confidence moving forward. We played a good team and we played them well.”

Toluca dominated the possession game, hogging the ball for over 64.8 percent of play, true to the technical styling of most dominant Mexican sides. Despite the ownership of action, Los Diablos Rojos failed to force Earthquakes keeper Jon Busch into action for much of the game. The Quakes defense blocked 4 of 10 Toluca shots while the other five bids were off target excluding the lone Diablos goal. In total, the Quakes finished with seven shots on goal to one for Toluca. San Jose also took five corners to none for the away side.

“I think our team was superior to them,” said Toluca coach Jose Cardozo through a translator, reflecting on the controlling, technical approach of his squad. “On the field we had a team that was playing soccer and another team that was just shooting at the goal area.”

Earthquakes coach Mark Watson, however, didn’t think the shot choice kept the Quakes off the board, but rather the finish. Tuesday marked the first time San Jose took the pitch for a truly meaningful contest, with the MLS regular season set to kick off later this week.

“I thought we created lot of chances,” said Watson, reinforcing throughout his press conference that many of his players were not quite in game-shape just yet. “I think in a normal game, if you take that number of chance, on a different night, on a better night we would have finished those. I think there were goals we left on the table.”

Diablos midfielder Gabriel Velasco Gutierrez opened play in the 14th minute, ripping the first dangerous salvo to officially christen the start of the series. His kick from just inside the penalty box sailed over the outstretched hand of Busch and up over the crossbar by just under a foot, garnering a collective sigh for the Quakes supporters in the crowd.

The Quakes nearly took the early edge when team captain Chris Wondolowski raced up the pitch, feeding a streaking Cordell Cato on the wing. The lightning-fast Cato wheeled the ball over to Sam Cronin who booted a chance that Toluca netminder Alfredo Talavera just tipped over the crossbar.

The first goal of the quarterfinals came off the foot of Toluca forward Raul Nava Lopez after a Jason Hernandez miscue. Nava, entering play with four Champions League goals to lead Los Diablos Rojo, fired a flawless shot that beat a diving Busch to his right side to muddy his clean sheet in the 67th minute.

“We held a very good team to very few good chances,” said Watson. “I felt bad for Jason. It just came off the side of his foot. It was a fantastic finish, world-class. You have to tip your hat to (Nava). Collectively it was a very good defensive effort.”

Quakes forward Steven Lenhart nearly put his side on the sheet in the 79th minute, heading a cross feed off the cross bar and out. Chris Wondolowski followed up with a shot of his own that was blocked aside by a Diablo defender. The visitors then cleared it out of play after a number of Quakes took a stab at the loose ball before it was cleared out of play and out of danger.

Again San Jose appeared to have the answering tally but denial reared its head just four minutes from the end of regular time. Lenhart strung a pass across the goal box to Alan Gordon. The pass ended up just a step behind Gordon who couldn’t pull the trigger for a clean look. The book remained open on Gordon’s narrative as hero of the day, however, as he found a way to avoid rejection during the four-plus minute allotment of injury time.

“I think it was right after they scored, right in that moment,” pondered Gordon on the moment when his team mustered up the morale to believe. “It was in that moment, when that stuff happens. It feels like the ball isn’t going to go back into the net. But we didn’t put our heads down. We kept going. We got together in the middle of the field like we usually do and looked each other in the eye. We made a conscious effort to see it through, all the way to the end.”

In the final minute of play (or 30 seconds after play should have ended according to a frustrated Cardozo’s viewpoint post-match) Shea Salinas lofted the ball up for a challenge in the Toluca goal box. It was Gordon connecting on the header nearly unguarded, redirecting it just past Talavera to dramatically knot the teams at a goal apiece.

“You don’t usually expect to get goals like that in the MLS,” said Gordon. “You usually expect to get grabbed and pulled. I was a little surprised to be untouched. It was great, a good feeling.”

When the Earthquakes travel to Estadio Nemesio Diaz for the second leg March 19th, they will head to hostile territory on even footing, knowing that the winner on the pitch will be the one advancing to the Champions League semifinals. The challenge will be greater, considering Toluca fielded a mix of starters and reserves Tuesday but will more likely trot out a majority of the starters in game two with the home crowd hungry for victory. Toluca is already midway through its season in the Mexican league and wary of injuries in non-league play.

“It’s tough to go in to Mexico and get results,” said Gordon. “For us to go in there down 1-0 (in the aggregate) would have been a huge mountain. Now we’re in a one-game series. We’re looking for the result in Mexico. There’s no reason we should think that we can’t.”

Gordon, who sat out most of the preseason, saw the goal Tuesday as a positive sign that he’s ready to perform when it counts, including Saturday’s MLS season opener at Buck Shaw Stadium against Real Salt Lake.

“It was really our first run,” said Gordon. “The preseason is the preseason. It took me awhile to figure out preseason goals don’t count for anything. I joke with the guys that I’m in the preseason hall of fame. It never got me any goals in the regular season. Now I switch it up and don’t play any games in the preseason.”

Stanford Snaps Losing Skid in Dramatic Fashion Over Utah, Ends Pac-12 Play on High Note

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DSC_0004By Matthew Harrington

STANFORD, Calif. – With the overflowing talent on display on a nightly basis in the Pac-12, it’s only fitting that it took Stanford literally until the last tenths of a second of conference play to better understand its Pac-12 tournament placement. While the conference tourney picture got a little clearer, it’s still about as blurry as a Monet masterpiece from ten feet out. As for the Cardinal odds for making its first NCAA tournament appearance under coach Johnny Dawkins in six seasons, those are as crystal clear as the scrambled channels on the higher ends of your TV guide.

With a 61-60 win over visiting Utah (20-10, 9-9 Pac-12) Saturday afternoon at Maples Pavilion, the Stanford Cardinal broke a tie in the standings with their guests in a game with must-win implications. Also entering play with an identical 9-8 conference record were Oregon and Cal, a four-way tie for fifth in the Pac-12 standings. With Arizona State and Colorado boasting 10-7 entering Saturday, the Cardinal (19-11, 10-8 Pac-12) could secure a first-round bye in Las Vegas if Colorado, Oregon and Oregon State come away with wins in their regular-season finales. They could finish as high as tied for third, or as low as fifth depending on the rest of the weekend’s action.

“I know it’s important to finish at over .500 in conference,” said Dawkins after the game. “We’re in one of the best conferences in America. To finish over .500 should give you an opportunity to see what happens. That’s out of our hands. We just need to keep winning games.”

Stanford opened the morning with a heartfelt pregame ceremony honoring the senior stalwarts, players like all-time Cardinal blocks leader Josh Huestis and Dwight Powell, but after 40 minutes of basketball it was a junior, Chasson Randle, being lauded for his play while weathering the maelstrom of emotion.

“It’s a little emotional because of what the game meant and also because it’s Senior Day,” said Dawkins. “There’s a lot of family here. Senior Day is always interesting because of all the emotion. Our guys remained focus, stepped up and helped, the Chasson Randles, the Marcus Allens. I thought those guys really stepped up and helped the seniors.”

After an eye-popping 24-point night Wednesday in a loss to Colorado, Randle dropped 22 points over 39 minutes of play against the Utes, snapping Stanford’s season-high three-game losing streak to wrap up the last home game of the regular season.

“Chasson’s played terrific for us,” said Dawkins. “He’s doing everything for us. He scores. He makes guys better on our team based on how he goes out there and approaches it. I love coaching him. I’m proud of him because of the bounce back he had from last year. It says a lot about him, about his character, about who he is.

NBA draft hopeful Dwight Powell found himself in foul trouble for the second-straight game in a row, playing only 26 minutes Saturday after the forward saw action in only 24 Wednesday. He managed seven points on 3-of-8 shooting to accompany five rebounds. Stefan Nastic owned the paint in his absence, going 6-for-6 from the field to finish with 14 points. Guard Brandon Taylor led the Runnin’ Utes charge with 14 points, while fellow guard Delon Wright and center Dallin Bachynski notched 12 and 10 respectively.

Despite hitting over 55.6 percent of shots in the first half, Utah found itself trailing the Cardinal 33-25. Stanford made 14 shots on 31 attempts, only four fewer makes than Utah’s 18 attempts in the first. The Cardinal never trailed over the first 20 minutes of play, scoring on a Powell jumper 34 seconds in to take the 2-0 lead. Stanford outscored the Utes 27-16 over the first 14-plus minutes of play for the largest lead of the afternoon, but Utah finished the half with a 9-6 run to head into intermission trailing 33-25.

The Utes opened the second half with back-to-back field goals, including a Jordan Loveridge three, to cut the Cardinal lead to 33-30 just 1:05 in. It would be over ten minutes before either side made consecutive attempts from the floor after going nearly shot-for-shot when Nastic and Randle finally dropped consecutive jumpers to bolster Stanford’s edge 52-43. Nastic then took a Randle feed to the rim for a 11-point gap with 7:51 left in regulation.

“It was frustrating,” said Nastic. “We knew we had to come out with a higher energy level but for whatever reason, there were plays were weren’t making that the other team was making. It was very frustrating but we’ve been through a lot this season sticking together. We really tried to seize the opportunity at hand.”

Persistent Utah refused to yield with Wright and Taylor hitting shots from beyond the arc then Jeremy Olsen laid one up to cut the deficit to three points for the second time in the half. Randle made a pair from the stripe after Bachynski fouled the guard, but Olsen hit a jumper with 4:34 left in the half to make it 56-53. Nastic would hit one of two shots after Olsen fouled him on the floor with Stanford in the Bonus but Taylor ’s shot from downtown at the other end put Utah within one, the closest Utah disadvantage up to that point. Bachynski then hammered home the Utes first lead of the day, 58-56, with a heavy dunk after an offensive board 2:40 from a win.

Huestis responded at the other end with a three to put the Cardinal up by two with 180 seconds remaining before Bachynski hit a pair of free throws to knot the game at 60 just 55 seconds from the final buzzer. Powell drew a foul with 36 seconds remaining and hit one of two freebies, the eventual game-winner, for a 61-60 edge. In total, Stanford hit only four of ten free throws over the closing five minutes.

“Utah is a very good basketball team,” said Dawkins. “They’ve been on the road, they’ve won six out of their last eight games. We knew it was going to be a tough game, we knew it was going to come down to the wire. Defensively, we got the stops that we needed. It offset some of the free throws we missed. Our guys didn’t hang their heads.”

With the shot and game clock down to one second, Brandon Taylor turned the ball over on a traveling call, seemingly icing the game for Stanford. Powell couldn’t find a way to inbound the ball, turning it over with .8 seconds of play, breathing new life into the Utes comeback bid. They would fail to get the ball back in play for a desperation heave, firing the inbound pass into two Stanford players’ grasp as time expired.

Dawkins predicted this game would be close, but even he had no clue how slim the margin of victory would be when he gathered his team at center court Friday to address some of his players for the last time on Stanford’s home floor.

“We stood at center court yesterday with the seniors,” said Dawkins. “I said ‘You know what, the game is about finding a way, finding a way to win, whatever it takes. All through your lives, you guys have worked hard. You worked hard to get into Stanford academically. You worked hard to play at this level in the Pac-12. It feels good because you were able to do something hard. The things you appreciate most as a player, as a coach, as a human being are the things where you had to fight and to struggle to make something work.’ It’s only fitting to win that way tonight.”

For now, Stanford will be scoreboard-watching as it waits to see who will try their luck against in the Cardinal in Las Vegas this Wednesday, or potentially Thursday if the cards fall just right for a first-round Stanford bye. With eyes on an uncertain bid for March Madness, Dawkins’ squad will look to leave the desert the big winners in the bracketology jackpot. Count Coach among the rare few not looking at the big board with bated breath.

Quipped Dawkins, “I may be the only person in the world, but I promise you, I’m not paying attention to it”.

Warriors Stiff Hawks Despite Thompson’s Early Exit With Back Stiffness

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By Matthew Harrington

Golden State received a major scare on Friday night, but the visiting Atlanta Hawks weren’t the ones striking fear into the Warriors, nor scoreboard a factor as it was during the last engagement between the two teams. The Dubs skated to a 111-97 win at Oracle Arena this time out, outscoring the Hawks (26-34) in three of four quarters, a far departure from the 101-100 dramatic win in Atlanta in January. The drama from the evening, however, came six minutes into play when guard Klay Thompson shuffled off the court with a back injury, sitting out the rest of the evening.

The Warriors stated that Thompson, a talent on the cusp on super-stardom, was held out as a precautionary measure. His streak of 211 consecutive regular-season appearances, a franchise record, does not appear to be in jeopardy.  Despite only six minutes of playing time, Thompson still managed a point-per-minute output, going 2-for-5 from the field with a pair of free throws.

David Lee topped the Dubs with 18 points in 25 minutes while Andre Iguodala and Stephen Curry contributed 13 points apiece. Curry lead the Warriors with seven assists, while center Andrew Bogut had a team-high nine rebounds. Golden State (39-24) connected on over half of their bids from the floor, hitting 43-of-80 from the field for a 54.8 shooting percentage. They also out-rebounded the Hawks 44-36.

Forward Paul Millsap had 16 points and seven boards, both highs for the Hawks, after missing the previous five games with a knee injury. Fellow forward Mike Scott added 14 points. Scott also provided the comedy for the evening, losing his shoe put proceeding to make a three-pointer on the play.

The first quarter saw even play as the Warriors closed out the first 12 minutes with a single-point, 32-31 lead. It appeared to be more of the same for the 2nd quarter, with the Warriors grasping to a 48-46 lead five minutes from the half. Atlanta would be held to just six points over the closing 300 seconds to head to the half in a 66-52 hole.

The Hawks outscored the Warriors 25-19 in the third, the only instance of Atlanta outscoring its hosts in a quarter Friday night. The final frame of regulation opened on a down note for the visitors though as they failed to put a point on the board until Shelvin Mack hit a jumper with 5:07 left to play. By then the Warriors held a decisive 97-79 margin, allowing Golden State to withstand an 18-12 Atlanta run over the waning minutes of play to come out victorious.

Friday marked the first home game for the Warriors after their second-longest road trip of the season, a six-game swing that saw them go 4-2 against Eastern Conference foes. In a flip of scheduling, the Warriors will only play two of the remaining 10 games in March on the road. They continue the three-game home set with a tilt against Phoenix Sunday before the Dallas Mavericks come to Oakland Tuesday night. The Dubs, winners of eight of their last ten, currently sit in sixth place in the Western Conference standings and are four games back of the Los Angeles Clippers for the Pacific Division lead.

Stanford Can’t Rebuff Buffaloes, Fails to Seperate from Herd in Pac-12 Standings

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DSC_0018 By Matthew Harrington

STANFORD, Calif. – That beeping sound you hear on Campus Drive isn’t the sign of construction and work trucks on Leland Stanford’s old stomping grounds; it’s the sound of the Stanford Cardinal backing into the Pac-12 and, possibly, NCAA tournament.

With a disappointing 59-56 loss to Colorado Wednesday night at Maples Pavilion on a missed game-tying shot at the buzzer, the Cardinal (18-11, 9-8 Pac-12) has now dropped three-straight games for the first time this season. The slump comes at an inopportune time as the season draws to its close and the selection committee reviews Stanford’s tournament credentials as a bubble team with an eagle-eye.

A tournament berth of in the air, Stanford entered play looking to avoid its first three-game losing streak all season after losses to Arizona State and Arizona last week. They ultimately couldn’t right the ship against Colorado (21-9, 10-7), finding themselves in foul trouble throughout Wednesday’s contest. Chasson Randle and Stefan Nastic finished the night with four infractions, while Dwight Powell finished the game watching from the bench with five personal fouls. Colorado made 17 free throws on 25 attempts, the same number of makes as Stanford had attempts.

“That’s very frustrating,” said Stanford head coach Johnny Dawkins. “They shot more free throws than we did. We’re a team that usually gets to the line quite a bit. Unfortunately we didn’t get to the line as much tonight. They converted on a number of them. They made 17, we shot 17. That’s difficult in a three-point ballgame.”

Randle, despite the foul concerns, continued his strong down the stretch by sinking 9 from the field on 18 attempts, including 4-of-7 from beyond the arc for a game-high 24 points over 34 minutes. Josh Huestis came a point away from a double-double after pulling down a Stanford-leading 13 rebounds, two more than Josh Scott, Colorado’s top rebounder on the night. Scott also lead the Buffaloes with 17 points. Colorado won the battle of the boards 39 to 31.

“We’ve been out-rebounded the last couple games,” said Dawkins. “With our size and our front line that’s very disappointing. We challenge our guys. We have to do a much better job of rebounding the basketball.”

The two teams traded baskets and blows like prize fighters throughout the first, with neither side snatching a two-possession lead until Colorado’s Ben Mills hit a layup with 5:34 left in the half for a 22-17 edge. Stanford cut the lead to one with baskets from Powell and Randle but the Buffs outscored Stanford 11-7 over the final five minutes before the intermission.

“We were getting open looks,” reflected a dejected Randle on the Cardinal first-half. “We just needed someone to knock them down.”
The Stanford struggles in the first stemmed from poor shooting, as the Cardinal converted only 31 percent of its shots, including 1-for-9 from three-point range. Despite the shooting woes and Powell finding himself on the bench late in the period nursing three fouls, Stanford found itself fortunate to only be facing a five-point deficit at the half thanks to stout defensive work forcing seven Colorado turnovers.

On the poor shooting, Dawkins pointed at the defense first. “Overall, our defense needs to make sure if we’re not making shots, we need to make sure the other team’s not making them either.”

The Cardinal came back strong in the second half, holding the visitors to only 13 points while grabbing 17 of  its own over the first 11-plus minutes to cut it to a 46-45 Colorado advantage.

“Guys stepped it up in the second half defensively,” said Randle. “We did a really good job of bringing our effort and intensity, especially that second group that came in. We need more of that.”

The comeback was completed after a thunderous Stefan Nastic block on Xavier Johnson led to a Huestis bid for the lead at the other end. Huestis missed the shot, but Johnson fouled the forward on the attempt. Huestis hit one of two from the line to pull Stanford even 46-46 with 7:49 to go in the game. Johnson, who finished with 14 points, restored the Buffaloes lead on a jumper from the top of the key.

Red-hot Randle handed the home team its first lead of the half, 49-48, connecting on a trey, 3 of his 17 second-half points, with 4:50 remaining.

“We need more guys stepping up,” said Dawkins. “Chasson, offensively, has really stepped up and done what he has to do. We need more guys. It can’t just be one guy playing offensively. Our offense is built around a balanced attack so we need guys to step up and make plays.”

Colorado regained the lead and created some breathing room on three consecutive field goals, punctuated by a Xavier Talton trey to make it 55-51 with 130 ticks left on the game clock. Dwight Powell was then forced to the bench with his fifth foul on am offensive violation with just over two minutes to play. Powell watched as Randle pulled Stanford within two, his jumper finding the basket despite contact from Talton. Randle would convert the and-one play to make it a 55-54 Buffs lead with 1:12 left in the period. The Cardinal stifled Colorado with a shot clock violation with 45 seconds remaining but failed to take advantage. Colorado them hit four of six from the charity stripe down the stretch, setting up a Stanford a tying bid at 59 points aside. Randle’s three-pointer, potentially tipped on the way to the basket, fell just short of the rim as time expired.

The loss muddies up both the Pac-12 play-off picture and Stanford’s standing as a Big Dance bubble team (the Cardinal entered play in the no. 42 slot in RPI, a criteria used to determine the NCAA tournament field), what could be Stanford’s first appearance in six seasons under Dawkins. Of more concern on the Farm is where Stanford stands in the Pac-12 rankings. Stanford and Colorado entered play with identical 9-7 conference records, tied with Cal for fourth in the standings and a chance for a first-round conference tournament bye. Cal takes on Utah at home Wednesday night.

“I don’t keep up with that stuff at all,” said Dawkins when asked if he thought the loss hurt his team’s tournament standing. “We’re in a great conference. It’s so thick in our conference with competitive teams. Who knows what’s going to happen.”

Stanford continues its unusual stretch of facing unfamiliar conference foes late in conference play when Utah comes to Maples Saturday afternoon for an 11:30 am tip. The Cardinal will look to wrap up Pac-12 by avoiding a four-game losing skid on Senior Day before heading to Sin City for the conference tournament.

“That loss was very disappointing, coming home and having the crowd here,” said Randle. “It’s disappointing having a chance to get a first round bye. We have the opportunity Saturday, and we’re looking forward to that.”