Category: Uncategorized

By Jeremy Harness

NAPA – Silverado Resort and Spa is not known as an easy course by any stretch of the imagination. Just ask anyone who plays there on a regular basis.

On Saturday, Sang-Moon Bae made Silverado’s North Course look like a beginner’s track and not one designed for a PGA Tour event that is supposed to test the best players in the world.

With the exception of a pair of three-putt bogeys, the South Korea native who now lives in the Dallas-area had a rare-air round with a seven-under 65 to take a commanding four-stroke lead going into the final round of the Frys.com Open.

Bae’s putter got hot almost immediately from the start, as he went on a birdie barrage from holes two through six. He started the run at the 240-yard par-three second by sticking a hybrid four feet from the hole and draining the birdie putt.

“I felt like I played perfect (Saturday), besides two bogeys,” Bae said. “Five birdies in a row was really fun. I read every break on the green (well). It was a really easy game.”

His signature shot, however, came at the drivable, 292-yard par-4 17th hole, as he hit a left-to-right fade off the tee that did not appear to be on a good line, particularly with a deep bunker guarding the front of the green.

However, his drive landed about 10 feet past the front edge of the green – directly over the front bunker – and rolled to about six feet away from the hole. Bae then drained that putt for an eagle to pad his lead, moments after rookie Zac Blair had birdied the same hole one group ahead of him.

“I knew the pin position is really hard on that hole, only three (yards) from the right (edge of the green),” Bae said when asked if he considered laying up to a wedge distance to approach the green more conservatively. “If I hit a wedge shot, it’s a really hard hole.

“I really hit a solid drive, a pretty solid high shot that was a little lucky, too.”

He didn’t hit as good a drive at the 18th, as he ended up in the fairway bunker on the right side. However, he quickly regrouped on the par-five and, after blasting his second shot into the fairway and knocking his approach into the middle of the green, he put a perfect roll on a 15-footer that found the hole to close the round with a birdie.

It hasn’t been all about the putter for Bae – even though it has had a big hand in his current position – as the Frys.com Open has seen a remarkable turnaround with his short game, as has been the case with 36-hole leader Martin Laird.

Bae was only able to salvage par from off the green 57 percent of the time last season, ranking him 112th on the PGA Tour. Conversely, he has gotten it up and down 11 of 12 times this week.

Meanwhile, Blair had closed to one stroke of Bae after his birdie at the 17th, which saw him hit a long iron off the tee and hit a wedge to 10 feet to set things up.

The 24-year-old, who really looks more like a teenager than a recent college grad, finished his round with a three-under 69 and recovered very nicely from two straight bogeys on the 12th and 13th and, with his second position, will be paired with Bae Sunday afternoon.

“It’s been a great start so far,” said Blair, who shot a six-under 66 on Friday to get himself into the mix. “I’d like to go out and play well tomorrow and finish it off.”

Laird didn’t quite get on a the tear that he did on Friday and appeared to be sliding out of contention a bit, as his wedges and putter gave him trouble while three-putting the fifth and eighth greens.

However, he was able to steady himself and scored two-under on the back nine to finish with a one-under 71 for the day and is currently tied for third with Brooks Koepka and Scott Langley, Bae’s Saturday playing partner.

“I putted great yesterday and today, the speed – I thought the greens were maybe a little slower today and just struggled with the speed a little bit,” Laird said. “(But) I just said to my caddie coming down the last (hole that) I really didn’t play very well and still shot one-under, so I’m still in the tournament.”

By Jeremy Harness

Martin Laird did not have a very good putting season in 2013-14, but his flat stick has gotten him off to a great start to this campaign.

Laird has been a model of consistency in these first two days, and his matching rounds of 67 have placed him on top of the leaderboard, as he currently holds a one-shot lead over both first-round leader Sang-Moon Bae of South Korea as well as Zac Blair.

After suffering a bogey at the sixth that saw him hit his drive into the fairway bunker and then hit his second shot into a greenside sand trap, Laird rallied by running off four straight birdies on holes eight through 11, a streak which saw him roll in a 19-foot putt at the 10th and capping it off with a 23-footer at the 11th.

After the round, Laird credited the fact that the course itself sets up very well for his game.

“When I played (a practice round) on Tuesday, I liked the golf course right away,” Laird said. “I think it does suit my game because the greens are getting kind of firm, and with the course not being the longest golf course to play, there are some tight pins on the front of the greens that some guys can’t get to if you don’t hit it high.

“And you know, I hit it high.”

He used that to his advantage to grab the one-stroke lead at the 18th, as his high wedge shot to a front pin spun back four feet from the hole before he draining the birdie putt.

“I probably worked more on my short game in the last month than I have in a long time, and I’ve definitely seen it this week,” he said. “My wedge game was pretty bad last year, and it’s nice when you do the hard work and then you hit (a) wedge shot on the last hole to tap-in range almost. It makes it worthwhile.”

Meanwhile, Blair is already well on his way to a great career. The 24-year-old Utah native, who just graduated from BYU this past May with a degree in recreation management, turned around and earned his PGA Tour card for the 2014-15 season by placing in the top-25 on the Web.com Tour.

To kick off his rookie year, he followed up an opening-round 69 with a lights-out 66 on Friday to close to one stroke back of the lead.

After an especially-subpar first round of play, defending champ Jimmy Walker bounced back in a big way on Friday. He got himself far away from the cut line with a 66 of his own to put himself in a tie for 36th and a total score of three-under.

Among those who missed the cut Friday and will not play through the weekend were 2008 U.S Open winner Heath Slocum, 2003 Masters champion Mike Weir as well as Vijay Singh, who once overtook Tiger Woods to become the No. 1 ranked golfer in the world.

By Morris Phillips

Baseball players are made great by what they do in the playoffs and World Series.  But if your a pitcher trying to achieve greatness, it can come with a price.  Trying to rare back and summon the heat in October after a long season filled with aches and pains can put the type of stress on a throwing arm that can shorten a player’s career.

Ask Rob Nen, who threw the final pitch of his big league career in Game 6 of the 2002 World Series for the Giants.  The flame throwing reliever had been fantastic up to that point in the Giants’ oh-so-close run to the 2002 title. Nen was on to protect the Giants 5-4 lead after starter Russ Ortiz and relievers Scott Eyre, Felix Rodridguez and Tim Worrell were unable to slow the momentum built by the Angels who trailed 5-0 after the top half of the seventh inning.  But three runs in the seventh, and another in the eighth had the Angels on the verge of miraculous comeback.

Nen entered the game that night having already converted all seven of his save opportunities, including two earlier in the World Series, in the 2002 post-season.  The eighth save opportunity for Nen set a major league-record, his seven saves tied a record he now shares with four other relievers, most recently accomplished by Boston’s Koji Uehara in 2013.

But Nen wasn’t healthy that night.  His shoulder soreness would have shelved him had it been a regular season game.  But with the world title on the line, Dusty Baker tabbed his closer to protect a one-run lead.  But Nen was perfect, he allowed a two-run double to Troy Glaus that gave the Angels the lead.  They would go on to win Game 6 and then win again in Game 7 to snatch the title from the Giants.

For Nen, the Game 6 loss began a series of three surgeries needed to repair his torn rotator cuff with a tear in his shoulder that was quite significant.  Over the next two seasons, and while Nen was fulfilling the final two years on a $32.5 million contract signed with the Giants, the reliever rehabbed without ever gaining his full health.  When the 2004 season ended, the Giants and other clubs decided not to take a chance on Nen, effectively ending his big-league career.

Others have been dealt post-season related arm issues that curtailed or ended their big-league careers.  Mark Mulder made three post-season starts in 2005 amid rumors that he was hurt.  Then after an injury-shortened 2006, Mulder was never the same.  He attempted to resuscitate his career in 2007 and 2008 without success.

St. Louis ace Chris Carpenter made six October starts in 2011 while receiving treatment on his elbow.  Carpenter went 4-0 that post-season and the Cardinals raced to the World Series title over Texas.  But Carpenter never was the same, pitching just 17 regular-season innings in 2012, which was his last as a big-leaguer.

Closer Brian Wilson for the Giants was integral piece in the Giants’ run to the 2010 title.  But he was relegated to a cheerleader role in the 2012 run, and he didn’t resume his career until midway through the 2013 season when the Dodgers took a chance on him.

Now, with Adam Wainwright announced as the Cardinals starter in Game 1 of the NLCS on Saturday in St. Louis, the questions again persist.  Wainwright’s right elbow has been giving him issues, and it appeared to be a factor in his start last week against the Dodgers  The big right hander allowed 11 hits to the Dodgers, but survived when the Cardinals were able to touch Dodgers’ ace Clayton Kershaw for eight runs in a 9-8 win.  Wainwright insisted that despite the elbow issues and his poor outing that he would have been ready for a potential Game 5 against Los Angeles.

Now after two days of speculation, Cardinals’ manager Mike Matheny has confirmed that Wainwright’s his guy for Game 1.  Matheny said that Wainwright’s leash will be short if he struggles like he did against the Dodgers.  But the manager maintained that his guy is healthy and ready to go.

“Waino was struggling to find a good feel in that Game 1 (against the Dodgers),” Matheny said.  “That’s why it looked very atypical of Adam Wainwright, but that’s happened at different times throughout the season.  He’s been able to figure it out and make it work–not just make it work but be an elite pitcher.  He’s fine.  We’ll just watch him close.”

Madison Bumgarner of the Giants will oppose Wainwright in Saturday’s contest which begins at 5:07pm PST.

By Jeremy Harness

After about a month-long break, the PGA Tour was back in the swing of things on Thursday.

This week, Silverado Resort and Spa is holding its first tour event since 1980, when it hosted the Anheuser-Busch Golf Classic, and the event itself has its most notable field in quite some time.

In addition to defending champ and U.S Ryder Cup participant Jimmy Walker, but other recognizable names in this year’s event include former FedEx Cup champion Brandt Snedeker as well as Ryder Cup players Hunter Mahan, Matt Kuchar and Lee Westwood.

Making his PGA Tour debut this week is Max Homa, who played his collegiate Golf at Cal and spent last season on the Web.com Tour, which is considered to be the minor leagues of the PGA Tour. Another Cal grad in this week’s field is James Hahn, who is best known for his “Gangnam Style” dance following a birdie in the 2013 Phoenix Open.

So far, though, there are no big names on the leaderboard after the tournament’s first day, but there was plenty of good golf to be seen.

Andres Gonzalez and Sang-Moon Bae currently share the first-round lead by going six under par.

Meanwhile, Martin Laird is in third place all by himself after carding a five-under 67, while Brooks Koepka, who held the 54-hole lead in last year’s Open before falling to Walker, is tied for fourth with eight others with a score of four under.

Walker, on the other hand, had quite a rough opening round, as he finished Thursday with a three-over 75 and certainly has a lot of work to do if he hopes to make the cut and earn the right to play into the weekend.

He parred the first 13 holes of the opening round, but then he ended up three of the last five holes to find himself outside of the projected cut line.

Hahn is in the same category, as he struggled mightily on Thursday with a five-over round of 77.

By Jeremy Harness

When you talk to any PGA Tour player, you will inevitably come across a story of adversity that has caused them to dig down deep and decide if playing professional golf is really worth the grind.

Of those stories that will make their way into the mainstream, few are as compelling as the ones of Jarrod Lyle and Erik Compton, both of whom are in the field for this week’s Frys.com Open. Playing on the tour is certainly a grind, as maddening as at is rewarding, but it is undoubtedly a cakewalk in comparison with the journeys of these two men.

When he was nine, Compton was diagnosed with a condition called cardiomyopathy, where the heart muscle is inflamed and cannot pump as hard as it should. As a result, he has had to undergo two heart transplants, the first one at age 12 and the second procedure coming in 2008.

Compton has not only survived on the PGA Tour, but particularly based on his 2013-14 season, he has thrived. After playing mini-tours, as well as on the NGA Hooters Tour over the years, he won the Mexico Open on the Nationwide (now the Web.com) Tour in 2012 to win his first major tour event.

He made 16 of 26 cuts on the PGA Tour in 2012 before getting his first top-10 finish on the PGA Tour in the 2013 Honda Classic, and then finished tied for second in last year’s U.S Open, considered the tour’s most difficult major.

“Last year was an awesome year,” said the 34-year-old Compton, who tees it up with Tim Wilkinson and Ben Martin on Thursday at 1:05 pm PST and on Friday at 8:05 am PST. “They’re doing great things with transplants (now), and today, I watched someone who just reached their 30 years after their first transplant.

“This is a special week to be here.”

Lyle hopes to mimic Compton’s success on the course, but he has already shown as much courage off of it. Lyle, who qualified for this week’s event on Monday with a round of 66, was first diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia at age 17 and then suffered a recurrence of the disease in 2012.

Having that kind of condition can easily get one’s spirits considerably down, but Lyle does not show any of that, especially these days.

“In all honesty, I think the two times that I’ve had it, I don’t think I’ve ever said ‘why me,’” Lyle, 33, said. “It’s something that makes me very proud, that I’ve never sort of backed away from the fire. I’ve sort of come straight up to it.

“I’m not going to let it beat me because I’ve had things I’ve wanted to achieve.”

Lyle, who is grouped with Heath Slocum and Tom Gillis and tees it up Thursday at 7:15am PST and on Friday at 12:15pm PST, has certainly caught the admiration of Compton.

“He’s a hero to many people,” Compton said of Lyle. “What a strong individual he is for what he’s been through.”

By: Joe Lami

The San Jose Earthquakes were shutout by the Portland Timbers on Wednesday evening by the final score of 3-0. The Earthquakes were only able to dress 16 men due to injuries, suspensions and players loaned to their international squad, leaving them very short-handed. Earthquakes’ striker, Adam Jahn, was called up from Sacramento Republic FC to get his first MLS start of the season in the match, as well.

The Timbers got on the board first, in the 41^st minute of play, when Rodney Wallace was able to beat Quakes’ goalie, Jon Busch, on a tight angled shot. It would be the only goal of the first half.

Diego Valeri, of the Portland Timbers, who added their two other goals, owned the Second Half. The first one, came off of penalty kick in the 51^st minute. The penalty was set up when San Jose defender, Jason Hernandez, fouled inside his own box. Valeri added his second goal of the half just 20 minutes later, when he tapped in a rebound past Busch. Busch made the initial save on a shot from Wallace, but it left Valeri wide open for the easy tally.

San Jose’s best chance came late in the game, when Jahn found the crossbar on a beautiful feed from Sam Cronin. The second year striker added, “I hit it hard and high. A few inches lower would have been nice, but that’s how it goes sometimes”.

Busch is coming close to a record he does not want to see, as his seven saves on Wednesday bring him within ten of the season-high save record that Joe Cannon set in 2000. Busch commented on the style of play he saw from Portland, “They possess the ball. They create opportunities. They’re a very dynamic team going forward offensively. We knew we would have our hands full and they’ve got some attacking weapons, and they looked good tonight”.

Of course, Quakes’ head coach, Mark Waston, was not pleased with being shutout 3-0 on Wednesday night, but brought some positive out of the game, “Our guys kept fighting until the end. It’s a tough spot to be in.   They didn’t stop fighting and that’s a good quality.”

By: Phillip Torres

SANTA CLARA- The San Francisco 49ers (3-2) are set to face the ST. Louis Rams (1-3) on Monday Night Football in ST. Louis. San Francisco is coming off of a big 22-17 victory against Alex Smith and the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday afternoon in Santa Clara. The St. Louis Rams on the other hand are coming off of a 34-28 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in Philly.

San Francisco is looking to get their first division victory of the season against the woeful Rams. The 49ers have only played one game in the division so far this season and they were defeated by the Arizona Cardinals 23-14 in the desert. The game on Sunday is a huge game as they will look to go 4-2 before traveling to Denver to face the AFC Champion Denver Broncos.

After the week seven showdown between two Superbowl favorites the 49ers will head into their bye week. But before these two weeks comes the Rams who are without their number one overall pick from a few years ago, Sam Bradford. The Rams are clearly not the same team without their franchise quarterback, who was lost for the season due to a torn ACL in game three of the preseason.

The 49ers will look to keep pace with the Seattle Seahawks and Cardinals for first place in the division. San Francisco is winners of two in a row and will look to keep that going as their next two games are on National Television. The defense will look to stay hot as they have played extremely well these past two games. One of the key contributors has been cornerback Parish Cox.

Cox has stepped up and has been starting in place of the injured Tramaine Brock. Brock, who has only played in the week one victory over the Dallas Cowboys was supposed to be the number one corner for San Francisco. But, Cox has been playing well enough to take over that role for the 49ers defense. Cox had the game clinching interception of former 49ers quarterback Alex Smith in the fourth quarter during the game on Sunday.

San Francisco will look to keep the offense going as they put up over 360 yards of total offense against Kansas City. One thing they will try to improve on is punching the ball into the end zone. Kicker Phil Dawson kicked five field goals for the Red and Gold in Sunday’s victory.

By Morris Phillips

Ryan Vogelsong doesn’t have a winning record in 2014, nor does he have a winning record in his nine-year, big league career filled with peaks and valleys.

His September audition for a critical post-season didn’t go well.  The 37-year old veteran made five starts and lost four of them, giving him a career-worst 13 losses in 2014.  Vogelsong simply didn’t make pitches in critical spots.  If he did make those pitches, his teammates didn’t support him with any offense.

And he wasn’t a winning pitcher in his career at AT&T Park heading into Tuesday’s critical Game 4 with a 20-21mark.  Against the Nationals his numbers were bloated with an ERA over six in nine lifetime appearances.

But given all that, and despite having credible options like Game 1 starter Jake Peavy or two-time Cy Young award winner Tim Lincecum, manager Bruce Bochy handed Vogelsong the ball with a trip to the NLCS on the line.

“You know, Vogey, I think there’s a reason why he was out there tonight,” Bochy said.  “I told him that.”

“I’m proud of him, I really am, because he’s had some tough luck.  We’ve had one pitcher in this rotation that’s had some tough luck, whether it’s run support or what could go wrong went wrong   for him at times with bad hops or bloopers, errors, whatever.”

On Tuesday, Vogelsong didn’t have to worry about any of that stuff.  From his initial pitches in the first inning his velocity was up and his command was sharp.  In his five plus innings of work, he shut down the Nationals on two hits.  The electric atmosphere in the crowd provided a lift but Vogelsong did the rest starting with all the side work beginning after his final regular season start on September 26.

“You never know what you’re going to have until you go out there in the first inning, and the first couple came out of my hand pretty good.  You know, the crowd’s into us, the adrenaline’s running.  And I was really trying to make some mechanical adjustments over the last five or six days when I wasn’t pitching and I was just really focused on what I was doing with my lower half.

Just helped me get some velocity and make my pitches better, and was just trying to focus on that,” Vogelsong said.

Vogelsong re-signed with the Giants for one year in the off-season after a rough 2013 made him expendable.  The negotiations were arduous and the final contract numbers weren’t in favor of the pitcher but he never wavered in his belief of the organization or himself.

“You know this place is special, and especially for me being drafted by these guys and going on this long journey and being able to come back here and have success here.

This place is very special in my heart.  So to have another chance to pitch here tonight in front of these fans was amazing.”

And from the first pitches of the evening it showed.  Vogelsong started it, the fans picked up on it almost immediately, and the Nationals, who would hit just .188 as a team in the series were powerless to stop it.

And the unassuming pitcher with the underwhelming peripherals transformed.  Despite all the negative career numbers, Vogelsong performs in October: after Tuesday he’s 3-0 in five starts and the Giants have gone on to win all five.