Uncategorized – Page 150 – Sports Radio Service

Longshot LB stops Stanford cold in Rose Bowl

Published on January 1, 2014January 2, 2014 by jeremy2878Leave a comment

By Jeremy Harness

PASADENA – Kyler Elsworth entered college weighing 180 pounds, looking nothing like a linebacker. He immediately faced long odds as a walk-on of being a contributor for Michigan State’s football team.

Fast forward five years – and 45 pounds of solid muscle – and Elsworth was still fighting an uphill battle going into the 100^th Rose Bowl Game. The fifth-year senior was thrust into a huge role in replacing All-American linebacker Max Bullough, and he came up with the decisive stop by stuffing fullback Ryan Hewitt on 4^th-and-1 with 1:43 remaining to give his No. 4 Spartans a 24-20 win over No. 5 Stanford in front of 95,173 fans.

“Opportunities come for other players, and they have an opportunity to make good on it,” Spartans head coach Mark Dantonio said. “Kyler Elsworth got a chance to make a play, (and he) makes the play of the game.”

Stanford held a distinct advantage in the first quarter and held a 17-14 halftime lead, but Michigan State seized momentum in the second half, particularly on defense.

Gaffney finished with 91 rushing yards and a touchdown on 24 carries, but gained only 22 yards for the final three quarters. Particularly in the second half, the Spartans plugged up every single lane that Gaffney was able to run through in the first quarter, which significantly slowed down Stanford’s offense and resulted in increased three-and-outs and allowed the Michigan State offense to stay in rhythm.

“I told the guys (that) we had a heck of a year and got beat today,” Stanford head coach David Shaw said. “They played better. They made more plays. That’s the bottom line.”

Stanford, however, also didn’t help itself in certain areas. Although they only turned the ball over once – as did Michigan State – the Cardinal dropped two sure interceptions and committed eight penalties, one of which negated a Jordan Richards interception while several others kept drives alive for Michigan State.

Early on, however, Stanford looked like the fundamentally-sound team that took the Pac-12 title. The advantage that it appeared to have following Bullough’s suspension showed up on the very first drive, as the Cardinal sliced through Michigan State’s defense for 77 yards, a drive that was aided by Michael Rector’s 43-yard pass from Kevin Hogan.

Stanford picked up several first downs until Tyler Gaffney broke a tackle near the line of scrimmage and rumbled 16 yards to give the Cardinal a 7-0 lead.

Both teams got away with a turnover in the first quarter. Hogan coughed up the ball after being uprooted on a bootleg play in Michigan State territory, with two Spartan defenders having clear shots at the recovery.

However, neither came up with the ball, and Stanford recovered and continued the drive, which was capped off by Jordan Williamson’s 34-yard field goal.

On the ensuing possession, Stanford linebacker Kevin Anderson had an interception bounce off his chest and end up into the hands of flanker Macgarrett Kings, Jr. for a first down to keep that drive going. The Spartans parlayed that, along with a pass-interference penalty in the end zone, into a touchdown that cut Stanford’s lead to 10-7.

Anderson got another chance to redeem himself when quarterback Connor Cook committed the cardinal sin by backpedaling and throwing a desperation pass into the middle of the field. Anderson converted the gift into an easy 40-yard pick-six.

Cook, however, responded by taking his offense down the field and hit Trevon Pendleton on a 2-yard touchdown pass to again cut Stanford’s lead to three at halftime.

Besides a Michigan State turnover deep in Stanford territory, the Spartans controlled the third quarter and tied the game with a 31-yard field goal by Michael Geiger.

Meanwhile, the Cardinal picked up only two first downs in the third quarter and did absolutely nothing to even change the field position immediately following it. Michigan State got the ball back on the Stanford 27 to early in the fourth quarter and exclaimed the drive when Cook found Tony Lippett, who beat cornerback Wayne Lyons for a 25-yard scoring strike to give MSU a 24-17 lead.

Meanwhile, Lyons, who had two interceptions in the fourth quarter to seal Stanford’s win over Notre Dame in November, had a nightmare of a game. He was beaten several times on long pass plays and, like Anderson earlier, had a sure interception bounce off his chest in the third quarter.

It was a bitter end to the last game of the college careers of Stanford’s seniors, a class that includes Gaffney, linebackers A.J. Tarpley and Shayne Skov – who made several big tackles and had an overall great game – as well as kicker Jordan Williamson.

“Our group of seniors (is) the most accomplished group of football players to ever go through Stanford University,” Shaw said. “Regardless of (Wednesday’s) outcome, that’s just the truth. When you talk about the best teams of the BCS era, you have to mention Stanford University.”

Keys to victory: No. 5 Stanford vs. No. 4 Michigan State

Published on January 1, 2014 by jeremy2878Leave a comment

By Jeremy Harness

PASADENA – During Monday morning’s press conference, Michigan State head coach Mark Dantonio said that he and his team were tired of talking about the game and were ready to just play it. Well, after a week of hype and preparation, it is, in fact, time for Dantonio’s No. 4 Spartans to face No. 5 Stanford in the 100^th Rose Bowl.

These two teams are just about a mirror image of each other, as while both have playmakers at the receiver position, they center their offensive attacks on the success of their running game and their ability to win the game in the trenches.

Also key for these teams is their ability to stick with what makes them what they as a team, and they have suffered defeats when they deviate from that in any way. For instance, Stanford got away from their running game against Utah and ended up dropping their first game of the season. Meanwhile, Michigan State committed four pass interference penalties and had a trick play backfire in its only loss of the season, at the hands of Notre Dame.

With that said, here are the keys to victory for each team:

STANFORD

The Cardinal must control the line of scrimmage on both offense and defense, a method that has carried them into their second straight Rose Bowl. That task appears to have gotten a bit easier with the suspension of Michigan State All-American linebacker Max Bullough.

The key to their rushing attack is the extra offensive lineman that are employed in their “jumbo” package, which they continue to have great success, particularly in big games.

Stanford has got to take care of the football. The Cardinal enter the game with a turnover ratio of minus-0.08 compared to Michigan State’s plus-1.08, and turnovers played a big role in both losses this year. In its loss at Utah in October, they lost two fumbles while the Utes had only one turnover while USC intercepted quarterback Kevin Hogan twice while forcing another fumble while the Trojans turned the ball over only once in its upset win in November.

MICHIGAN STATE

Stanford is equipped with perhaps the most dynamic playmaker in college football in Ty Montgomery, who has broken several big plays at wide receiver as well as a kick returner. On offense, expect Michigan State to assign corner Darqueze Dennard, who won this year’s Jim Thorpe Award (awarded to the nation’s best defensive back) to Montgomery for at least the majority of the game, if not all of it.

Spartans head coach Mark Dantonio said earlier in the week that they’re not going to shy away from Montgomery in any way on special teams, so don’t expect to see any corner kicks. However, it will be extremely wise for Michigan State to get quite a bit of hang time on their punts, in order to allow the gunners to get down there by the time he fields the punt.

In Bullough’s absence, the X-factor on defense may not be Dennard but rather firth-year senior linebacker Kyler Elsworth – who originally came to Michigan State as a 180-pound wrestler – as well as Darien Harris, both of which Dantonio has said will see significant time at that position against Stanford’s vaunted running game. The better those guys play, the better chance the Spartans have of taking the Rose Bowl trophy with them back to East Lansing.

Day 3: Ringing in the new year in style – and with a lady, mother and child in tow

Published on December 31, 2013 by jeremy2878Leave a comment

By Jeremy Harness

LOS ANGELES – First of all, for those who are reading this, let me wish you a very happy, a prosperous, new year. Hopefully, all of you were able to spend the final day of 2013 with friends and/or loved ones.

For myself, that happening for me was up in the air. However, after battling with scheduling issues at her job, my girlfriend, Montsy, was able to join me down here from Napa along with her mother, Bertha, and her 12-year-old daughter, Angelita, in ringing in 2014 in wonderful fashion.

Being in LA, an area which Montsy is a native, we were obviously out and about, but I was able to ease into the day itself.

After a long night of checking out what LA had to offer – as well as having my phone battery run out – I was thankful that there weren’t any scheduled events in the morning. This allowed me to take in some breakfast without a real time limit, which I found to be extremely refreshing in what has proven to be an all-go, no-stop string of events that I call a life.

Not a whole lot wrong with that, but just sayin’.

The first stop was the Kickoff Luncheon, which was held in the parking lot outside Rose Bowl Stadium. There was one thing wrong, however, as we got ready to leave the hotel at around 11:30: I had neglected to give myself a chance to go back to my room to grab the pair of gold-and-brown sunglasses and the gray fedora hat that I had purchased the day before (in my infinite wisdom, knowing that I was headed to sunny Southern California and not somewhere like Seattle, I had also failed to bring a hat nor shades for this trip, thus the need to buy those items down here) since I figured the shuttle was leaving later than it actually did.

Thankfully, I just so happened to be in the media hospitality room at the time. After polishing off a solid round of the vintage golf video game Golden Tee, I checked with one of the friendly staff members, who informed me that the shuttle was leaving in a few minutes.

Needless to say, there was no time to grab any accessories that I might need, but I digress…

As the shuttle took us down Orange Grove Blvd. on the way to the stadium, I noticed a long line of people with folding chairs and sweatshirts, with the sole purpose of saving a precious viewing position for Wednesday morning’s Rose Parade. This was something that I was accustomed to seeing with fans camping outside of the stadium/arena in an attempt to snag game tickets.

Not only that, but I also noticed a good 30 rows of bleachers on the other side of the street, which made me realize that planning for this parade takes a great deal of advance preparation.

As we got to the luncheon site, the social media session began. Since I’m not one to waste memories and to allow my friends and family to share the experiences as much as possible, I spent most of my time there utilizing both Facebook and Instagram to record the various pictures and happenings.

One of those happenings was the performance of the marching bands, mascots and cheerleading squads of both Michigan State and Stanford. Since the luncheon crowd was split down the middle with fans of both schools, this had the feel of a pep rally. This was also pretty refreshing, since I had not been to a pep rally since my high school graduation 17 years ago.

Before getting back on the shuttle to leave following the luncheon, a buddy of mine by the name of Chance McBride and myself decided to get a sneak peek at the stadium and asked if we could go inside the confines to perhaps snap some photos. However, since neither of us had brought our game-day credential with us, access was effectively denied.

Darn! Well, guess we’ll just have to get to the stadium early enough to take said pictures before the game starts. This, however, may or may not allow us time to do the Rose Parade in the morning, a decision on which I am still battling with as this is being written.

From there, I walked around and took in downtown LA awaiting the arrival of the rest of my little gang, which arrived at around 9:30 p.m. We took a shuttle back into downtown, and after striking out on a couple of places to take Angelita to eat, we settled in front of the Staples Center, where she spotted a young man cooking and selling hot dogs wrapped in bacon on the side of the street.

Cool! Now that that issue was resolved, we caught the shuttle back to the hotel and decided to ring in the new year, safe and sound. As it should be.

Day 2: Getting my feet wet, and glad I’ve never had a rifle pointed at me

Published on December 31, 2013 by jeremy2878Leave a comment

By Jeremy Harness

LOS ANGELES – On my first full night in Southern California, I got a much more of an understanding of the history of the Rose Bowl, as far as how much it means to so many people and how much each game stands up in the history of not only college football, but in the history of sports.

To achieve this, after getting such a late start to the day before, I made sure to get an early jump on matters on my second day on the job.

After getting my credentials for the game as well as the events leading up to the “Granddaddy of them all,” the day officially started off with press conferences with the head coach with each of the participating teams in the Rose Bowl. The meat of the conferences centered around the suspension of star Michigan State linebacker Max Bullough for the Rose Bowl, with Stanford head coach David Shaw reminding us of the fact that tough decisions like this, as unpopular as it seems, that maintain the overall health and morale of the team, which is much more important than just one individual.

Even though he didn’t talk about it very much at all, Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio also said that this was about the team – and not one single player.

Besides that, Dantonio also offered a few key nuggets of wisdom, and it wasn’t necessarily confined to the game of football.

“I don’t care what level of a player you are, you’d better overachieve because that’s the only way you’re going to be successful.”

It doesn’t take long to figure out that Dantonio’s words don’t just apply to football players, and they don’t apply to just athletes. Whatever you do, in every single walk of life, you have to give that little extra effort if you’re really going to be successful at whatever it is that you do.

After grabbing some breakfast at the hotel, it was off to Pasadena for the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame induction ceremony, during which three individuals – former Michigan head coach Lloyd Carr, former Ohio State offensive tackle Orlando Pace and legendary USC wide receiver Lynn Swann – were welcomed into the Rose Bowl’s eternal fraternity.

When you go to a function that features older people trading war stories, you’re going to get more than a handful of funny stories that had never been shared before. This year’s Rose Bowl Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony was no different.

Most people know that Swann attended USC before going on to a Hall of Fame NFL career with the Pittsburgh Steelers. They probably didn’t know that he almost lost his life before he started his college career.

See, he and running back Sam Cunningham – who acted as Swann’s presenter and himself went on to have a nice NFL career while being inducted into this very same Rose Bowl Hall of Fame – went to visit Cunningham’s aunt and uncle in Louisville, Ky during a long road trip.

According to Cunningham, the city had been ravaged by burglaries during that particular time, so when Swann went up to the front door while Cunningham stayed behind in the car, the aunt, not one to take any chances, greeted him by pointing a rifle at him. Only when Cunningham jumped out of the car did she put the gun down.

“I’m the reason why he’s here today,” Cunningham said.

After the ceremony, I had a chance to stand side-by-side with Pace, who went on to an outstanding 12-year career in the NFL, which includes a Super Bowl ring with the St. Louis Rams. Now, me being 5-foot-9 and approximately 170 pounds, I had an idea. But standing next to Pace, who is 6-foot-5 and weighs over 300, I knew that this was exactly the reason why I quit playing football after Pop Warner.

Carr also had a funny story of his own. He had a hotel that he was quite fond of, the Huntington Sheraton, in which he and his team stayed when Michigan competed in the big game.

“I loved that place,” he said. “Even when the fire alarm went off at 3 a.m.”

This is what makes the Rose Bowl the special game that it is. It’s not just the legendary games that it creates, but also the backstories that can be passed from generation to generation.

Bulls Announce Foster Loaned To AHL’s Abbotsford Heat

Published on December 30, 2013 by kahlilnajar7Leave a comment

By Kahlil Najar

The San Francisco Bulls announced today that forward Adrian Foster was loaned to the Abbotsford Heat of the American Hockey League. Foster has 17 points this season (5 goals, 12 assists) in only 15 games and has the highest points-par-game average on the Bulls.

Foster was picked up by the Bulls the day after Thanksgiving when Bulls Head Coach decided the team needed to make moves in the right direction. Along with Foster the Bulls picked up Tyler Gron – who is a star in his own right as he has 26 points (15 goals, 11 assists) in 28 games played. Foster has played pro hockey since 1997 and has been in the AMHL, AJHL, WHL, KHL, DEL, Austria, Allsvenskan, the AHL and of course the ECHL. He last played in the AHL from 2002 to 2008 with the Albany River Rats, Lowell Devils and the Houston Aeros. He’s totaled 88 points in 200 AHL games.

Morris Phillips on the NCAA

Published on December 30, 2013 by moepeaLeave a comment

The non-conference schedule is over as the Cal Bears defeated Furman by 30 points, 90-60 on Saturday to improve to 9-4 on the season. Injuries are an issue going into the conference slate with Stanford on tap for the Pac-12 opener Thursday evening at Maples Pavilion. Jabari Bird, the freshman standout, has ankle issues, and Ricky Kreklow broke his hand in practice ten days ago leaving Coach Mike Montgomery grasping for offensive firepower at the wing positions entering the clash with Cal’s Bay Area rival.

Saturday’s win allowed Montgomery to try some new pieces. Christian Behrens saw action for only the second time this season and Jeff Powers had a big game shooting 3-pointers. Behrens could provide some much-needed depth in the frontcourt and Powers could help stretch opposing defenses in the absence of Kreklow and Bird. The senior forward had six consecutive makes from distance against Furman after missing his initial attempt.

With Cal dealing with injuries as well as having a young roster in need of developing chemistry, the non-conference schedule yielded no real breakthroughs. The Bears lost in Maui to No. 2 Syracuse then couldn’t get past Creighton in Omaha last weekend. A non-conference schedule that yielded no upsets will put the Bears in a tough spot come NCAA Selection Sunday in March. And of course, trying to develop chemistry while dealing with injuries is no place to be with the remainder of the Pac-12 season yet to be played.

Montgomery has to be concerned that his young, unproven roster could struggle against the beefed-up competition in the Pac-12. Currently, you have the number one team in the country in Arizona, and Oregon is undefeated with a deep roster and plenty of firepower. UCLA is hovering just outside the Top 25, and Arizona State, Colorado and Utah figure to make some noise as well.

The Cal-Stanford matchup gives the conference opener a heightened platform with the renewal of the rivalry as well as an opportunity for one of the two teams to get an early jump into the win column. Besides the rivalry, the fact that Montgomery has coached at both schools and enjoyed tremendous success in both places provides additional intrigue. Also, you get the sense that Montgomery left Stanford on less than ideal terms in 2004, maybe a victim of heightened expectations that he himself created with a Final Four appearance and Stanford twice reaching the top spot in the national polls.

One thing’s certain: the Cal program needs a boost. With Stanford headed to the Rose Bowl for the second straight season and Cal suffering through a nightmare of a football season, Thursday’s game offers an opportunity for the Cal athletic department to garner a boost and feel better about itself.

Maples Pavilion has become a tough place for Cal to go a get a win in recent years with Montgomery winning only once there in his five years at Cal. Come Thursday, Cal will look to senior point guard Justin Cobbs first and foremost to provide an offensive spark. Cal’s leading scorer hasn’t shot the ball well in recent weeks but did have a bounce back game against Furman by scoring 18 points on 9-13 shooting. Also Richard Solomon will have to stay out of foul trouble and deal with Stanford’s big lineup with help from from forward David Kravish.

Morris Phillips is filling in for Michelle Richardson this week for the NCAA commentary

Shaw: Bullough suspension sets good example

Published on December 30, 2013 by jeremy2878Leave a comment

By Jeremy Harness

LOS ANGELES – Suspending a key player at the most crucial time of a season – the Rose Bowl, in this case – is the most heart-wrenching, nerve-racking decision that coach can possibly have after certain rules are broken.

On the other hand, as Stanford head coach David Shaw said Monday morning, taking that action is very necessary for the overall health of the team.

The topic was brought up in the aftermath of Michigan State suspending star senior middle linebacker Max Bullough for the Rose Bowl for breaking team rules. At press time, however, no other information has been released pertaining to any details of the violation that Bullough committed to warrant the suspension.

Michigan State head coach Mark Dantonio did not discuss this matter much further Monday morning, but he said that either Darien Harris or Kyler Elsworth will start in Bullough’s place while both figure to see significant time at the position.

When asked if their responsibilities will be the same, he said that nothing would change.

“It’s our system,” Dantonio said. “It’s not one individual; it’s our system.”

Shaw shed more light on the importance, as tough as it certainly is, to make that kind of decision when it is most necessary in order to set an example for the entire team as far as what is acceptable and what is not.

He recalled the beginning of last season, when he had to suspend a star linebacker and leader of his own, Shayne Skov, for the opening game of the regular season. Skov was arrested in the offseason prior for driving under the influence, and Shaw responded by suspending him for the entire offseason as well as that first game.

Since the incident, Skov has been, by all accounts, an unquestioned team leader and a positive example for the rest of his Cardinal teammates.

“Those are not really tough decisions because you set the rules before,” he said. “You set the rules early, and the guys know what they are. (When) the rules are broken, those are easy decisions.

“We’re in this to help young men grow, to set an example for my two young boys as they grow up. They come to every single game, and they come to practices. There are rules for these men, just like there are rules for them. You’re helping them further in life.”

For this reason, Shaw said that he applauds Dantonio’s move to remove Bullough – the heartbeat of the Spartans’ defense – for the Rose Bowl, the first such game in which Michigan State has played in 25 years.

“It doesn’t happen everywhere, and there are a lot of places where you get a slap on the wrist and they bench you for a practice, and then you play in the game,” Shaw said. “But it’s a sign of who Coach Dantonio is, and there are still some really, really good disciplinary coaches in this country that believe in setting discipline for these college athletes, which is vital to your success as a team but even more vital to their success after football.

“I’ll tell you this: Shayne Skov appreciated it. I think it set him on the path to where he is now as a person and as a player.”

Day 1: Arrival in LA for Rose Bowl Week

Published on December 29, 2013 by jeremy2878Leave a comment

By Jeremy Harness

LOS ANGELES – First of all, for those of you who have had the pleasure of reading my columns/stories on this Web site for the past 10 years, thank you so very much. I greatly appreciate your support, and I consider it an honor and a privilege to contribute to Sports Radio Service on a regular basis.

With that said, for the next four days, I will take you on a journey through Rose Bowl Week, as No. 5 Stanford prepares to take on No. 4 Michigan State in the 100^th-annual Rose Bowl Game. And, of course, it will be through my eyes.

My flight down here to Southern California was greatly anticipated, as this was the first time I have flown in an airplane in more than five years. With the exception of a tad bit of turbulence as the plane was starting its descent into Bob Hope Airport in Burbank as well as the fact that I had to surrender a can of shaving cream in Oakland in order to carry on my luggage bag, the flight came and went without a hitch.

The most entertaining part of the flight was when the aircraft touched down in Burbank, the flight attendant announced to the passengers, “We have fulfilled our obligation to get you into Burbank. Our contractual agreement is now over,” to which the majority of the passengers (myself included) responded with wholehearted laughter.

From there, the trip was a lesson in discovery about the LA area, where I had not been in many years. During a conversation about the notoriously-gut-wrenching traffic in this metropolitan area, the driver of the shuttle which took me from the airport to my hotel educated me to the fact that most of the people that clog the freeways on a daily basis are actually inexperienced drivers. This was certainly news to me, since unlike my native San Francisco Bay Area, you almost have to have your own vehicle if you have any hopes of getting around Los Angeles and its surrounding cities.

Once I got to the hotel and got checked in at around 9:20 pm, it was determined that media registration had come and gone for the night, and that it would have to wait until tomorrow morning to become “official.” No worries, however, as a few hours were left to grab a bite to eat and, of course, check out the LA Hotel Downtown.

Boy, is it a beautiful hotel! The people here are quite friendly, and the hotel itself is very spacious, definitely a deserving venue to host the media during the week leading up to the Rose Bowl. I couldn’t have asked for a better place to be right about now.

That is all for the first night, but I promise you, I will have much, much more for you as we get closer to the big game, which is expected to be a knock-down, drag-out brawl between two hard-nosed teams until the final whistle.

Dawson’s last-minute FG sinks Cards; Niners to face Pack in playoffs

Published on December 29, 2013 by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

By DANIEL DULLUM
Sports Radio Service
Sunday, December 29, 2013

GLENDALE, Ariz. – For Phil Dawson, Sunday’s game was just another example of the highs and lows NFL placekickers endure as part of their job description.

In the third quarter, the San Francisco kicker saw his streak of successful field goal attempts snapped at 27 when he pushed a 24-yard attempt wide left.

But down the stretch, the 15-year veteran dialed long distance for a pair of field goals – a 56-yarder and a 40-yard field goal with 29 seconds remaining that gave the 49ers a 23-20 victory at University of Phoenix Stadium before a sellout crowd of 63,570.

“I hit it pretty good,” Dawson said of his game-winner. “I didn’t wait around to see how much I cleared it by. Coach (Brad) Seely asked me leading up to that, before third down, how I felt. I said, ‘Well, I’ll at least get it there,’ and fortunately, that proved to be true.”

The 49ers (12-4), who clinched an NFC playoff berth last week, are seeded fifth and travel to Green Bay next Sunday for a Wild Card contest against the North Division champion Packers (9-7-1). Game time is 1:30 p.m.

“This is only for the tough. We’ve known that for a while now,” 49ers Coach Jim Harbaugh said. “Our guys have been coming through in tough ball games. We know it will be more of the same coming.”

Forty-Niners corner back Carlos Rogers added, “With an MVP quarterback (Aaron Rodgers) throwing the ball to their guys – he’s back. They’ve got some other guys back and their running game has picked up. Now, you have to focus on (Eddie) Lacy back there when they’re running the ball. Then all of our linemen have to get after Aaron (Rodgers).”

After losing the Super Bowl a year ago, 49ers running back Anthony Dixon addressed the subject of unfinished business.

“It left a nasty taste in our mouth,” Dixon said. “That’s what we think about – getting back to that big game. We know we have to take it a game at a time, but our eyes are on the prize.”

The Cardinals’ effort to beat San Francisco to reach the playoffs became moot when New Orleans downed Tampa Bay 42-17. Arizona finished its season 10-6.

“It doesn’t feel good, but it doesn’t diminish what we were able to accomplish as a team,” Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald said. “Coach (Bruce) Arians hit it on the head’ he said it’s just the beginning. … Obviously, we would love to be 11-5 and have an opportunity to get to the playoffs, but it didn’t work out that way for us.

“This is a great start for us, and something that we can truly build on.”

Dawson’s miss in the third quarter was his first since the 49ers’ Oct. 6 game against the St. Louis Rams.

“It was just poor execution on my part,” Dawson said. “You can’t take anything for granted. The two most hated words for me are ‘chip shots,’ and I had some opportunities to go back out there and contribute to the team.

“You live and learn on every kick whether you make them or miss them. I missed the earlier one, tried to look at what I did wrong and applied those to future kicks. I’m just glad it came down to the end where I could make one that helped our team win.”

Coming into the game, the Cardinals had the NFL’s best rushing defense, but 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick made that a non-factor, along with veteran wide receiver Anquan Boldin.

Boldin, the former Cardinals wide receiver, came back to haunt his old club, snaring nine of Kaepernick’s passes for 149 yards and one touchdown. Kaepernick completed 21 of 34 passes for 310 yards and two touchdowns without a pick.

“We liked the matchups we had with him,” Kaepernick said of Boldin. “We didn’t think their corners could match up with him very well.”

Boldin insisted there was no added incentive attached to facing his former team. “It’s another team; a division opponent,” Boldin said. “For me, there wasn’t any added motivation. I’m motivated by winning and that’s it.”

Neither team ran the ball particularly well, each finishing with 83 total rushing yards. Wide receiver Quinton Patton, whose 26-yard scamper on an end around set up Dawson’s first field goal, led all 49er runners with that play. Rashard Mendenhall gained 47 yards on 10 attempts to lead Arizona.

Arizona quarterback Carson Palmer threw for 407 yards, a pair of touchdowns and one interception, completing 28 of 49 passes. Larry Fitzgerald and Michael Floyd each caught six passes – Fitzgerald for 113 yards and Floyd for 91.

San Francisco was on its way to making the game look like a rout in the opening quarter, jumping to a 17-0 lead. Dawson’ first field goal, a 27-yarder at 10:37 following three incomplete passes in the red zone.

Two minutes later, an interception by 49ers linebacker NaVarro Burton at the Arizona 25-yard-line set up San Francisco’s first touchdown, a 4-yard pass from Kaepernick to Boldin on a fade route putting the Niners up 10-0.

Arizona’s offense began to show signs of life when the Cardinals drove to the 49er 23. But the Cards came up empty when Jay Feely missed a 37-yard field goal attempt wide right.

San Francisco extended its lead to 17-0 on the next possession. A 63-yard pass from Kaepernick to Boldin moved the 49ers to the Arizona 3. Two plays later, Kaepernick found Vernon Davis open in the end zone for a 3-yard scoring pass.

The Cardinals broke through in the second quarter on a 1-yard scoring pass from Palmer to Jake Ballard with 4:46 left in the first half. The score was set up by a 49-yard pass reception by Fitzgerald that moved the ball to the San Francisco 23.

After a scoreless third quarter, the Cardinals fought back and tied the game at 17-17. With 3:20 remaining in the final period. Palmer found a diving Andre Roberts open toward the left sideline in the end zone for a 34-yard score. The replay assistant challenged the touchdown ruling, and the play was upheld.

On San Francisco’s ensuing possession, the drive stalled at the Cardinal 38, and Dawson hit a 56-yard field goal – his longest of the season – and the 49ers again led 20-17.

Arizona answered with a 43-yard field goal by Feely with :29 remaining, set up, in part, by a delay of game penalty against the Niners that moved the ball to the San Francisco 25.

Feely’s ensuing kickoff sent LaMichael James five yards deep into the end zone, but he returned the kick 45 yards to the San Francisco 40. Though James fumbled, the replay assistant ruled that he was down by contact and credited with a 41-yard return.

An 18-yard pass from Kaepernick to Boldin and a 29-yard toss to Patton moved the 49ers to the Cardinal 22, setting up Dawson’s game-winning boot.

“My natural instinct was to just go get the ball,” Patton said. “I was just out there running the route. You have to ask Kap (Colin Kaepernick) if I was the first read.”

Kaepernick didn’t answer directly, but said, “It was press coverage over there. We had a double move on, and there was no safety on that side of the field. I thought I’d give him a chance. He’s shown he can go up and make those plays in practice, so he came up with it, and it was huge for us.”

The 49ers turn their attention to Green Bay, which now has quarterback Aaron Rodgers back in the lineup, and the weather factor.

“The team understands all of those things,” Harbaugh said. “They have some control, but little control about who you play. … The thing we have the most control over is how we play. The effort we give, how we play the game – that will be the most important thing, as it always is.”

(TAGS: San Francisco,49ers,Arizona Cardinals,Phil Dawson,Colin Kaepernick,Anquan Boldin)

Bulls Give Up Four Early And Lose To Thunder 5-1

Published on December 29, 2013December 29, 2013 by kahlilnajar7Leave a comment

By Kahlil Najar

STOCKTON – The San Francisco Bulls (11-16-3-1) were defeated by the Stockton Thunder (16-10-0-4), 5-1 in the Bulls last game of 2013. The Bulls gave up four goals in the first and one in the third and were only able to nab one goal in the second from Tyler Gron who scored his 15th goal of the year.

The Bulls and Thunder condensed enough action for one game into the first 20 minutes of play. The four goals secured by the Thunder’s Matt Bergland, James Henry, Mike Dalhuisen, and Nick Larson were accompanied by three fights from the Bulls Scott Langdon, Steven Tarasuk and Kris Belan. Berglan scored early in the period to give Stockton the 1-0 lead and then at 14:35 the Thunder scored three unanswered goals over the next 3:04.
Head Coach of the Bulls had seen enough after the fourth goal that he pulled regular starter Tyler Beskorowany and put in back-up goalie J.P. Anderson.

In the second, the Bulls leading scorer Tyler Gron received a nice pass from Adrian Foster and beat Parker Milner and brought the deficit to only three goals.

The Thunder sealed the victory in the third when Oslanki beat Anderson and slammed the door shut on scoring for the night and give the game its 5-1 finale.

The Bulls continue this rivalry into the New Year when they face Stockton again this Friday at 7:30pm in Stockton.