Category: Uncategorized

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.

By Jeremy Harness

STANFORD – Stanford has been carried in most part this year by its defense, but Saturday afternoon was much different.

In a game that coach David Shaw said afterwards was the first time that they “felt like us” offensively, the Cardinal started quickly and was relentless in erasing the memory of last week’s stinging loss to Arizona State, as it obliterated Oregon State, 38-14, before an announced crowd of 48,401 at Stanford Stadium but appeared to be half-empty.

Stanford gained 438 yards of offense compared to Oregon State’s 221, and the defense put the brakes on the pass-happy Oregon State attack, surrendering only 12 first downs. The Cardinal sacked Oregon State quarterback Sean Mannion, a Pleasanton native and a Foothill High grad, six times and held him to 122 passing yards.

“When we can support our defense with an offense, we have a chance, and outside of a late touchdown and a short field given to the defense, the defense was phenomenal.”

Stanford set the tone very early, scoring on its eighth play of the game, as quarterback Kevin Hogan hooked up with Christian McCaffrey for a 42-yard touchdown at the 11:45 mark of the first quarter.

Oregon State was able to tie it up later in the quarter, after (Oakland Tech grad Ryan Murphy) intercepted a Kevin Hogan pass and returned it to Stanford’s 5-yard line before running back Chris Brown, another Northern California product, punched it in to make it 7-7.

From there, it was all Stanford on both sides of the ball. The Cardinal were dominant in every category, and this time, that included the scoreboard, as they scored three unanswered touchdowns to close out the first half and give themselves a 28-7 advantage at the break.

There were a few mistakes along the way, though. Two Hogan interceptions in the half yielded those seven Oregon State points, but the other miscue is becoming more alarming and can become critical down the stretch. After Stanford got the ball to the Beavers’ 9-yard line near the close of the first half, it settled for a field-goal attempt by Jordan Williamson, which he missed wide to the right.

However, Williamson was given an opportunity to rebound early in the fourth quarter, and he was able to come through with a 33-yard field goal.

“It’s a big thing with Jordan,” Shaw said. “He’s really matured a lot. He doesn’t go through the ups and downs. He comes back, he works extremely hard, and we want to give him those opportunities because right now, he’s our guy.

“When he’s in rhythm as a field-goal kicker, he’s been good. It’s our job to keep him in rhythm.”

Otherwise, it was smooth sailing for Stanford.

Despite not having a clear No. 1 running back even at this juncture of the season, the Cardinal were able to run the ball effectively against Oregon State, amassing 83 yards on the ground in the first quarter alone and finishing with 151 yards.

Thirty-seven of those yards came on one play, as Hogan scooted away from the Beavers defense into the end zone with 34 seconds to play in the quarter to give Stanford a 14-7 lead.

Stanford didn’t take its foot off the gas pedal to start the second half, adding another touchdown after forcing a three-and-out. On the ensuing punt, Ty Montgomery zig-zagged his way to a 50-yard touchdown return to give the Cardinal a commanding 35-7 edge.

Midway through the third quarter, Oregon State got a big special-teams play to get its offense into the red zone. After a Stanford three-and-out, Ricky Ortiz shot up the middle and blocked the ensuing punt to put the Beavers in scoring position.

Once again, Stanford’s defense tightened up and kept Oregon State out of the end zone. The Beavers picked up a first down but then faced a fourth-and-goal at the Cardinal 5, when Mannion took one more shot at the end zone. Cornerback Alex Carter got in perfect position and knocked the pass away to turn the Beavers away.

The Cardinal did not allow a single point in the third quarter, which is really nothing new to this team. Stanford has only allowed two field goals in the third quarter thus far in the 2014 season.

Oregon State did not threaten after that, although the Beavers scored a late touchdown in the final minutes of the game.

NOTES: With Saturday’s win, Stanford improved to 10-0 following a loss with Shaw as the head coach. The Cardinal has also allowed fewer than 30 points in each of their last 31 games, which is the longest such streak in the nation.

By Jeremy Kahn

SAN FRANCISCO-With the first pitch of the game off the bat of Alcides Escobar, things did not go the way that the San Francisco Giants wanted.

Escobar lined a Tim Hudson fastball into the left field corner, then scored two batters later on a Lorenzo Cain groundout and the Kansas City Royals were able to hold off a late Giants charge to take Game Three of the World Series by the final score of 3-2 before 43,020 at AT&T Park.

Former Stanford star Jeremy Guthrie was cruising into the sixth inning, as he only allowed two hits heading into that frame; however the Giants finally got to him in the inning.

Brandon Crawford led off the inning by singling, and then Michael Morse doubled to left field to score Crawford to narrow the Royals lead down 3-1.

After the Morse double, Royals manager Ned Yost went to his bullpen to bring on Kelvin Herrera, who promptly walked Gregor Blanco and after Joe Panik grounded out for the first out of the inning, Buster Posey cut the Royals lead down to one, when he grounded out to Omar Infante at second base to score Morse from third base.

Just one-half inning earlier, Escobar singled after Guthrie grounded out and then Alex Gordon doubled to right field to score Escobar.

After Cain grounded out, Bruce Bochy brought on Javier Lopez, who promptly allowed a single to Eric Hosmer to score Gordon from second base.

Despite cutting the lead down to 3-2 in the bottom of the sixth inning, the Giants could only muster a walk to Hunter Pence against Royals relievers Brandon Finnegan, Wade Davis and Greg Holland, as they lost for the first at home in a World Series game since Game Three against the Anaheim Angels in the 2002 World Series.

In his World Series debut, Hudson went 5.2 innings, allowing three runs, while scattering just four hits, walking just one and striking out two.

Also making his World Series debut, Guthrie went five innings, allowing two runs, while also scattering four hits and he did not walk nor a strikeout a batter.

Guthrie was just the fifth starter ever to not give up a walk nor strikeout a batter and the first since Greg Maddux in Game Two of the 1996 World Series for the Atlanta Braves against the New York Yankees.

Both Guthrie and Hudson got into a groove, as after Brandon Belt’s single in the bottom of the second until Escobar’s single in the top of the sixth, the two starting pitchers retired a combined 22 batters during that stretch, 12 by Hudson and 10 by Guthrie.

Pence extended his streak of reaching base up to 16, as this goes back to Game Two of the 2012 World Series against the Detroit Tigers.

Hosmer’s single in the top of the sixth inning was his first of the series, and his 14th of the postseason tied for sixth most in Royals postseason history.

By pitching 0.1 of scoreless relief in place of Hudson, Lopez extended his scoreless streak up to 18 innings, tying him for fifth place all-time in postseason history.

Lopez tied current teammate Santiago Casilla, and trails Mariano Rivera (23), Chad Bradford, Dennis Cook and and another teammate Jeremy Affeldt, all whom have thrown 19 scoreless innings in postseason play.

By Ivan Makarov

SAN JOSE, CA — Sharks’ season has been up and down so far, with inconsistency all throughout the lineup. The offense is firing, and the special teams are starting to come together. But the defensive and goaltending struggles were costly for San Jose during this stretch of the season.

The pattern continued on Thursday night when Sharks returned home after a five-game long road trip and fell 5-4 to the visiting Columbus Blue Jackets.

Sharks got an early lead in the game on a rare goal by Adam Burrish who put the puck into the top corner from the face off circle. Columbus defense did not make any effort to stop him as he was skating towards the net and Sharks player made the best out of this situation by scoring, after having not done so for over a year, and scoring just his second goal as a San Jose Shark.

Joe Pavelski added to the score with his third goal of the season during Sharks power play. Logan Couture shot the puck long from the blue line and Pavelski tipped it just enough to have it change direction and find a way into the net. As Couture got the puck from Patrick Mearlue, it meant that Marleau recorded his 500th career assist.

Ryan Johansen cut the lead to one when he scored at 8:22 in the second period. Holding onto the puck as he entered Sharks zone, he had no trouble passing Sharks defenseman Justin Braun and putting the shot with a backhander. The puck hit Antti Niemi back and went into the net.

Up to this point the Sharks had territorial advantage and were more sharp in the offensive zone but the goal seemed to have woken the Blue Jackets up. They tied the game few minutes later on a shorthanded chance, with Mark Letestu scoring on a breakaway after Sharks miscommunication, making it 2-2.

The bleeding did not stop and Blue Jacket took the lead in the game later, when Johansen scored again. Stealing the puck from Tye McGinn inside Sharks zone, silencing the crowd and stunning the home team.

The second intermission came in timely for the Sharks and they regrouped after the break. Whatever Todd McLellan said to the team worked, as they regained their focus and composure (even if for a period of time) and quickly tied the game at 3-3 on a goal by Joe Pavelski, his second in the game. Logan Couture put the Sharks back in the lead when he stole the puck from Cody Goloubef right in front of Columbus’ goal and put it past stunned Sergei Bobrovsky, making it 4-3 with 12 minutes remaining in the game.

The lead did not last too long as Nick Foligno scored few minutes later in front of the net during a power play when Brent Burns was in the box for a penalty, tying the game at 4-4.

Teams did not seem to mind to be playing an open hockey the rest of the game, with scoring chances going both ways. But it was Columbus who prevailed when Mark Letescu scored with just 20 second remaining in the game on a long range tipped shot that squeezed near the far post from Antti Niemi.

With all the offense firing, it was the defense that cost the Sharks the game, with Todd McLellan citing it as a main reason for what is ailing the Sharks right now.

“When you give up five, you’re not winning,” he said in his post game comments. “Our defensive play right now is killing us. You look at the [recent road] trip – we averaged 3-3.25 goals against per night, without the empty netters. Tonight we were at five. We’re not winning like that. It’s not just one player or one line – it’s all the lines right now, and the goaltending. So the overall defensive game has to improve or we’re in trouble.”

By: Phillip Torres

SANTA CLARA- The San Francisco 49ers (4-3) are entering their bye week at the perfect time. After a 42-17 loss to the Denver Broncos (5-1) on Sunday Night Football, San Francisco needs a short break to get healthy. The 49ers were beat up going into their week seven matchup and it showed in the defeat.

All Pro linebacker Patrick Willis was the newest 49er unable to suit up for a game this season. The seven time pro bowler was inactive due to a toe injury suffered in the 31-17 victory in St. Louis over the Rams. With Willis inactive, the lone starting linebacker from the original four was Ahmad Brooks. Chris Borland got his first NFL start in Denver and played fairly well.

The bye week will allow Willis to regroup and be ready to play when the Niners will host the Rams at Levis Stadium in week nine. It also provides ti me for the other injured 49ers can rest up and heal. Despite playing in his first game since week one, starting cornerback Tramaine Brock made his return to the field against Peyton Manning and his high powered offense.

Brock was picked on all night long and gave up a few big catches, one for a touchdown. Peyton Manning set a new record for most passing touchdowns on the night as well as he threw for four scores and ended the night with a career total of 510 touchdown passes. He passed future Hall of Famer Brett Favre, who threw for 508 in his great career.

In the game, the 49ers also suffered another huge loss. Starting center Daniel Kilgore suffered a broken leg and will miss the remainder of the season. Coach Jim Harbaugh stated the rookie Marcus Martin will get practice with the first team for the next few weeks and will get his first NFL start in week nine against the Rams.

Reassurance is also on the way on the defensive side. Sources say that All Pro linebacker Aldon Smith might have his suspension reduced due to good behavior. Smith was originally suspended for nine games by the NFL, but might be able to return as soon as week nine. Although Harbaugh has not yet confirmed, the rumor is floating around all over social media.

By Jeremy Kahn

Sooner or later you knew that the Kansas City Royals undefeated run thru the postseason would come to an end, and it ended in a big way.

Madison Bumgarner went seven innings, allowing one run on just three hits, walking just one and striking out five, as the San Francisco Giants defeated the Royals 7-1 in Game One of the 2014 World Series at Kauffman Stadium.

Gregor Blanco got the Giants going in the first inning, as he singled in front of Lorenzo Cain in centerfield.

Pablo Sandoval gave the Giants their first run of the game, as he doubled to right field to score Blanco; however Buster Posey was thrown out at the plate.

Hunter Pence then made it 3-0 with one swing of the bat, as he hit a two-run home run that was measured at 378 feet.

Royals starter James Shields was unable to make it out of the fourth, as the Giants got out to a 5-0 lead against the Royals top starter.

Making their first appearance in the World Series since 1985, the Royals were unable to give their fans anything to cheer about until Salvador Perez hit a solo home run off of Bumgarner in the bottom of the seventh inning.

The home run by Perez ended a scoreless of 32.2 innings, a new postseason record for the 25-year old Bumgarner.

Michael Morse sent Shields to the showers, as he singled to score Pence in the fourth, then Blanco added another run batted in, when he walked to score Brandon Belt.

Sandoval put the final touches on the Giants scoring, as he drove in Joe Panik with a single.

In his World Series, Panik drove in a run with a triple in the top of the seventh inning to score Blanco.

Perez broke up the shutout in the bottom of the seventh inning, as he hit his first home run of the postseason.

By: Phillip Torres

OAKLAND- The Oakland Raiders (0-6) are now the lone win less team in the NFL. With the Jacksonville Jaguars upsetting the Cleveland Browns on Sunday, Oakland remains as the only team with a zero in the win column. The Raiders have now lost 13 consecutive games dating back to last season.

Quarterback Derrick Carr has been playing extremely well thus far in his short six game career, but has not played well enough towards the end of a game to pull out a victory. The Raiders defense is what needs to step it up if they want to be competitive. Acquisitions such as Justin Tuck, Lamar Woodley, Carlos Rodgers, and Terrell Brown have not played to their expectations.

The Raiders are having a hard time finishing drives. Sebastian Janikowski is still providing the majority of the points that go up on the bored. When the defense gives up touchdowns, the field goals are not going to add up and get the Raiders a win. Running back Darren McFadden has been healthy for the first time in his career but is not playing his best football, This is mainly because the offensive line has not played all that great.

Oakland has been waiting for a healthy McFadden since arrived as a rookie from Arkansas. If the former Razorback can stay healthy and find some holes in the opposing defenses, that will only benefit Carr. A healthy running game will help the rookie signal caller open up the offense a little bit more and help him pad his stats through the air.

The Raiders will head to Cleveland in hopes to avoid a 0-7 start to the season. This might be the last chance for the Oakland to come away with a victory in the next month as they have a tough schedule ahead until they face the St. Louis Rams in week 13. That is not even a guarantee as the Rams just beat the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday.

Oakland remaining schedule consists of nine games against seven teams that made the playoffs last year. They play Seattle once, the Denver Broncos twice, the San Diego Chargers, Kansas City twice, and cross town rive San Francisco 49ers. The Browns and the Buffalo Bills are the only two teams left for the Raiders that did not have a winning record in 2013.

Even with interim head coach Tony Sparano stepping in, it looks like the Raiders finishing 0-16 is not out of the question.