Category: Uncategorized

By George Devine, Sr.

After a convincing 45-31 win at Oregon State last Saturday, the Golden Bears next play USC at the Los Angeles Coliseum on November 13, with kickoff scheduled for 6 p.m. PST. Southern Cal, having vanquished Washington State 44-17, will be more than a formidable opponent for Sonny Dykes and his charges. However, the Bears are now 5-4, and one win away from bowl eligibility.

What caused the win and offered hope for future contests was the shift of Cal’s offense to a more balanced approach. Against OSU the Bears had 269 yards on the ground as compared to 277 in the “air-raid” attack led by QB Jared Goff. The chief practitioner of the running game was RB Daniel Lasco with 188 yards and 3 TDs. He will likely be a key to the game against the Trojans.

USC, however, is now 6-3 after their win over the Cougs, and their defense will be gunning for both Goff and Lasco. One important factor will be the need for the Cal offensive line to give both players time to launch their respective attacks. Meanwhile, the Bears’ defense will have to contend with QB Cody Kessler who threw for 400 yards and 5 TDs, as well as RB Javorius Allen who racked up 114 yards. The secondary will have to stop JuJu Smith, who caught 3 TD passes.

Cal’s remaining two games are at home, with kickoff times TBD:

November 22: Stanford

November 29: Brigham Young

By Jeremy Kahn

After jumping out to a big lead on the Oakland Raiders, the defending Super Bowl Champion Seattle Seahawks were forced to hang on late.

Former Oakland Tech High and CAL star Marshawn Lynch rushed for two touchdowns, while Bruce Irvin tipped a Derek Carr pass and hauled it for a 35-yard interception return and the Seahawks defeated the Raiders 30-24 at Century Link Field.

Steven Hauschka kicked three field goals for the Seahawks, who have won two in a row after demoralizing losses to the Dallas Cowboys and the St. Louis Rams.

Going into the half with a 21-point lead, all things were pointing towards another win by the Seahawks and yet another loss by the Raiders.

The Raiders failed to be a pushover, as they recovered a blocked punt for a touchdown by Brice Butler.

Carr found Mychal Rivera for a six-yard touchdown pass with under three minutes remaining in the third quarter to cut the Seahawks down to 24-17.

Hauschka hit his final two field goals to push the Seahawks lead up to 30-17 with just under 10 minutes remaining in the fame.

Despite their 0-7 record, the Raiders did not give up, as Carr found Rivera for the second time on the afternoon with just under two minutes remaining in the game; however Jermaine Kerase was able to fall on Sebastian Janikowski’s onside kick after Cooper Helfet muffed and then Russell Wilson kneeled three times to secure a hard fought victory for the Seahawks.

Carr went 24-for-41 with 194 yards passing, and he also threw two touchdowns, but he also threw two interceptions.

Wilson went 17-for-35 with 179 yards passing, and did throw a touchdown nor an interception on the afternoon.

Irvin, who intercepted a Carr pass and returned it 35 yards for a touchdown, was joined in the interception column by Richard Sherman.

Lynch carried the ball 21 times for 67 yards with those two touchdowns, while Darren McFadden led the Raiders, as he carried the ball 13 times for 20 yards.

McFadden also led the Raiders in yardage with 47 yards on four receptions, while Rivera led the Raiders in receptions with eight for 38 yards receiving and two touchdowns.

By Daniel Dullum

Sports Radio Service

Saturday, November 1, 2014

Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota threw for two touchdowns, ran for two more, and led the No. 5 Ducks to a lopsided 45-16 win over visiting Stanford Saturday at Autzen Stadium in Eugene.

Ducks’ running back Thomas Tyner ran for a pair of touchdowns, helping Oregon (8-1 overall, 5-1 Pac-12, No. 5 CFP) snap a two-game losing streak to Stanford. The 45 points allowed by the Cardinal defense marked the first time Stanford allowed an opponent 30 points or more in 31 games — the longest such streak in the nation.

Mariota, who also rushed nine times for 86 yards, finished with 257 passing yards. Stanford quarterback Kevin Hogan completed 21 of 29 passes for 237 yards. Hogan was sacked twice and picked off once.

Hogan was also the Cardinal’s top ground gainer, picking up 44 yards on 11 carries.

Stanford (5-4 overall, 3-3 Pac-12) had allowed four rushing touchdowns all season before allowing four by the Ducks. In addition, the Cardinal defense, which had allowed an average of 250.6 total yards per game, surrendered 525 to Oregon.

Stanford shocked the Ducks in 2012 when the Cardinal won 17-14 on a 37-yard field goal by Jordan Williamson in overtime. Last season at Stanford, the Cardinal built a 26-0 lead, then held on for a 26-20 win.

Oregon opened the scoring on Mariota’s 6-yard TD pass to Charles Nelson. The Cardinal responded with a 47-yard field goal by Williamson. The Ducks extended their lead to 14-3 when Mariota faked a handoff and ran untouched for a 22-yard touchdown. Again, the Cardinal countered with a Williamson field goal, this time from 43 yards out.

Tyner, who sat out the Ducks’ win over California last weekend with an undisclosed injury, tallied Oregon’s third touchdown with a 1-yard plunge, giving the Ducks a 21-6 lead.

Aidan Schneider booted a 40-yard field goal to extend the Ducks’ lead. Stanford fullback Patrick Skov scored on a 1-yard run, cutting the Oregon lead to 24-13 at halftime.

Oregon’s Erick Dargan picked off a Kevin Hogan pass at the Duck 1, surfing out the Cardinal’s opening drive of the second half. But Alex Carter of Stanford intercepted a Mariota pass on the Ducks’ ensuing drive, leading to a Williamson 25-yard field goal, cutting the Oregon lead to 24-16.

The Ducks’ offense took over from there. Tyler scored his second touchdown, this time from 21 yards out as the third quarter wound down. Tyner finished with a game-high 63 rushing yards on 10 carries.

Early in the fourth quarter, Mariota scored on a 7-yard quarterback draw, set up by a Hogan fumble recovered by the Ducks.

Mariota’s 25-yard touchdown pass to Darren Carrington closed out the scoring.

Next week, the Cardinal return home to host No. 17 Utah. Kickoff time has yet to be determined.

By: Phillip Torres

SANTA CLARA- The San Francisco 49ers (4-3) will host the St. Louis Rams (2-5) on Sunday in Santa Clara at Levi’s Stadium. The 49ers are coming off of a well needed Bye week as they look to rebound from the embarrassing 42-17 loss to the Denver Broncos in week seven.

The Bye Week for the 49ers came at a perfect time as they were in need of a break so that they can get healthy again. Patrick Wills sat out of the game in Denver with an injury to his toe, and starting center Daniel Kilgore was lost for the season to a broken leg. This opens up an opportunity for rookie Marcus Martin to get his first starting experience in the NFL.

Quarterback Collin Kaepernick will look to have another great outing against the Rams. In week six the dual threat quarterback torched St. Louis for 343 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Kaepernick would have had three if it were not for a miss communication between tight ends Vernon Davis and Vance McDonald. The 49ers need a strong dominating performance for a confidence boost.

Sitting at 4-3 in second place in the NFC West is not where the 49ers thought they would be this time of the year. The Arizona Cardinals sit atop the division at 6-1 and the 49ers have a lot of work to do to catch them. The Seattle Seahawks are coming off of an ugly win over the Carolina Panthers to improve to 4-3 as well as they are tied with the 49ers for second in the division. These two teams will meet for the first time this season on Thanksgiving.

The 49ers need to play consistent football if they plan on overcoming Arizona and winning the division. Aid is on the way as linebacker Aldon Smith could be back as early as next week. If his suspension is reduced from nine games, then he would be back next week against the Saints in New Orleans. Linebacker NaVarro Bowmen is also expected back a little sooner rather than later. Bowmen is on the fast track to recovering from the broken leg that he suffered in the NFC Championship Game is Seattle in January.

By Jeremy Kahn

SAN FRANCISCO-Madison Bumgarner is showing the major league world why he should be considered as one of the top pitchers in all of Major League Baseball.

Bumgarner threw a complete game shutout, on just four hits, while walking zero striking out eight, as the San Francisco Giants moved within one win of their third World Series in the past five years with a 5-0 victory over the Kansas City Royals in Game Five of the 2014 World Series before a sellout crowd of 43,087 at AT&T Park.

Brandon Crawford got the Giants on the board in the bottom of the second inning, as he grounded out to Omar Infante at second base to score Hunter Pence from third base after the right fielder led off the inning with a single off of Royals starter James Shields.

Crawford added a second run batted in, as he singled in Pablo Sandoval in the bottom of the fourth inning.

Sandoval led off the inning with a single of his own, then went to second on a base hit by Travis Ishikawa.

Bumgarner continued to mesmerize the Royals, as after allowing a leadoff single to Salvador Perez in the top of the second inning, Bumgarner struck out the side and proceeded to retire 10 in a row all together until Infante doubled with one out in the top of the fifth inning.

After the Infante double that brought the potential tying run to the plate in the prescience of Jarrod Dyson, but Bumgarner regrouped to strikeout both Dyson and Shields to end the threat.

Despite being on the losing end for the second time in the series, Shields pitched a great game, as he went six innings, allowing two runs on eight hits, while walking just one and striking out four.

The Royals threatened in the top of the seventh inning, as Eric Hosmer led off the inning with a single, but then Bumgarner was able to get Perez to fly out to newly inserted Juan Perez in left field, then Mike Moustakas flew out to Gregor Blanco for the second out and the inning came to a close when Infante grounded out to Sandoval at third base.

Juan Perez broke the wide open in the bottom of the eighth inning, as he doubled to centerfield to score Sandoval and Hunter Pence.

Perez advanced to third on a throwing error by Alcides Escobar and then scored the fifth and final run of the game on a single by Crawford.

Sandoval and Pence hit back-to-back singles to lead off the inning.

Bumgarner is the first pitcher since Bret Saberhagen for the Royals in Game Seven of the 1985 World Series throw a shutout without allowing a walk.

He is the first pitcher in World Series history to throw a shutout, not walk a batter and at least eight strikeouts.

Billy Pierce was the last Giants pitcher to throw a complete game was Billy Pierce in Game Six of the 1962 World Series against the New York Yankees.

Jack Sanford was the last Giants pitcher to throw a shutout in the World Series and that was in Game Two of the same 1962 World Series.

By George Devine, Sr.

A 59-41 loss can be devastating, but for Cal it could be a hopeful sign, given the fact that the loss was to sixth-ranked Oregon and could have been far worse. The Bears went up against what is arguably the toughest opponent in their conference and had to do it in the cavernous, spanking-new Levi’s stadium at Santa Clara instead of the friendly confines of Strawberry Canyon. They came out alive, still in the middle of the Pac-12 North at 4-4 and still a potential postseason bowl candidate.

Coach Sonny Dykes, enjoying a far better season than his first one in 2013, addressed the media with his comments on the youth of the team and the mistakes that came from inexperience. But he found hope in the performance of Vic Enwere, a freshman running back who had 57 yards on the ground, an average of just over ten yards each time, and who contributed grind-it-out TD against the Ducks. Another freshman, Luke Rubenzer, was good for 62 yards. Both will be counted on against Oregon State on November 1.

The Beavers, who lost to Stanford by a score of 38-14, are now 1-3 in conference play, looking up at the Bears in advance of the meeting set for Corvallis Their quarterback Sean Mannion has shown himself to be stoppable by a good defense, which Cal will need to mount. Everything that has been exhibited by the two teams so far indicates that it will be defense that wins this game, and which could put Cal within a win of a bowl bid.

By Jeremy Kahn

SAN FRANCISCO-Facing a possible 3-1 hole, the San Francisco Giants refused to give up and because of it, the 110th World Series is all tied up.

Pablo Sandoval hit a two-run single in the bottom of the sixth inning, as the Giants scored three runs in the inning on their way to a 11-4 victory over the Kansas City Royals before a sellout crowd of 43,066 at AT&T Park in Game Four of the World Series.

Brandon Belt then singled up the middle for the third run of the inning, and the Giants never looked back on this game.

Joaquin Arias led off the inning with a pinch-hit single while hitting for Yusmeiro Petit, then Gregor Blanco singled, before Joe Panik sacrificed the two an additional 90 feet and then Brandon Finnegan intentionally walked Buster Posey to load the bases.

Pence then grounded into a force play that retired Arias at home plate, and then Sandoval broke up the tie with his single to centerfield.

The Giants took a quick 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning, Blanco walked, went to second on a Jason Vargas wild pitch, then stole third and after a Posey walk, Pence grounded into a fielders’ choice to score Blanco.

The Royals took the lead in the top of the third inning, as they scored four runs, as Ryan Vogelsong was unable to make it of the inning.

Vargas led off the inning with a fly out to Blanco, then Alcides Escobar got the rally started with a single, but was forced out at second base on a ground ball by Alex Gordon.

With Lorenzo Cain at the plate, Gordon stole second base and then scored the tying run, when Erik Hosmer singled just beyond first base.

After a Mike Moustakas walk, Omar Infante singled thru the infield into centerfield to score Cain and Hosmer.

Salvador Perez then also singled to centerfield to score Moustakas and that was the end of the night for Vogelsong.

Jean Machi replaced Vogelsong, and promptly walked Jarrod Dyson; however he was able to get out of the inning by striking out Vargas.

The Giants cut the lead in half in the bottom of the frame, as Matt Duffy singled while batting for Machi, went to second on a Blanco groundout, then after Panik flew out for the second out of the inning, Posey singled to left and that was followed by a Pence single; however Vargas struck out Sandoval swinging to end the inning.

Petit, who entered the game going 5-for-103 at the plate in his career, singled to centerfield with two out in the bottom of the fourth inning.

Panik began the Giants rally in the bottom of the fifth inning as he doubled off of Vargas, which turned out to be Vargas’ last pitch of the night.

Jason Frasor then came on for Vargas, and after a Posey groundout, Pence cut the Royals lead down to 4-3.

Juan Perez tied up the game when hit a sacrifice fly to score Pence with the tying run, and both starting pitchers were off the hook.

Vogelsong went 2.2 innings, allowing three runs on six hits, while walking two and striking out three.

Vargas went four innings, allowing four rubs on seven hits, walking just one and striking out two in his first World Series start.

Petit continues to be masterful in the postseason, as he pitched three innings allowing two hits and a walk.

During the postseason, Petit extends his scoreless streak to 12, allowing just four hits, while walking four and striking out 13.

Jeremy Affeldt pitched one inning, and extended his scoreless inning streak up to 21, moving into second place all-time behind Mariano Rivera, who pitched 23 scoreless for the New York Yankees.

There were no home runs for the second consecutive game, as this was the first time since Games Two and Three of the 2012 World Series, which was the Giants and the Detroit Tigers.

Prior to that, the last time it happened was in Games 2, 5, and 6 of the 1996 World Series between the New York Yankees and the Atlanta Braves.