Category: Uncategorized

{Raiders} {NFL}

By Jeremy Kahn

OAKLAND-When he finally decides to hang up his cleats, Peyton Manning may hold every record by a quarterback in NFL history.

Manning threw four touchdowns in the first half on 25-for-28 for 266 yards, as the Denver Broncos defeated the Oakland Raiders 34-14 before 51,500 at the Coliseum.

The 266 yards thrown by Manning broke Drew Brees’ two-year record for most yards in a season by a quarterback.

Manning finished the season with an NFL record 55 touchdowns, and threw for 5,477 yards, breaking Brees record by one yard.

Eric Decker, Knowshown Moreno, and Denaryius Thomas were on the receiving end of the four touchdowns, as the Broncos ended their season with a 13-3 record and finished with the number one seed in the AFC.

Terrelle Pryor finished his first season as the starter going 21-for-38 for 207 yards and two touchdowns.

Pryor was also the leading ground gainer for the Raiders, as he carried the ball nine times for 49 yards.

Rod Streater got the Raiders on the board, as he was on the receiving end of a Pryor 14-yard pass with 4:37 remaining in the game.

On their next possession, Pryor then found Nick Kasa for a nine-yard touchdown pass with 37 seconds remaining.

Sebastian Janikowski troubles kicking field goals continued, as he missed a 42-yard field goal wide to the right on the Raiders first possession in the second half.

By Morris Philips

Jeff Powers hadn’t played much thus far this season.  But given an opportunity, the senior forward not only played well, he provided the injury-riddled Cal Bears a much-needed lift.

Cal overwhelmed final non-conference opponent Furman, 90-60 on Saturday at Haas Pavilion, and the game was firmly in the grasp of the Bears when the Powers’ show started, but it was a show nonetheless with reserve hitting six straight three-pointers after missing his first attempt 12 minutes in.

For Coach Mike Montgomery Powers’ display wasn’t just a feel good story, but a potential strategic wrinkle for the Bears with three straight road games coming up to start the Pac-12 schedule.  The Bears are currently without swingman Ricky Kreklow who has a broken hand, and top freshman Jabari Bird, who twisted his ankle in the previous game against Creighton.  Given the absence of those two, the Bears need offense, even better if that offense comes from the perimeter.

“If somebody watched the game and scouted they’d say we need to guard him, we can shoot it,” Montgomery said.  “It means now that the floor is more open for the other people to move because they need to guard him.  Creighton just packed the box.  They put everybody in the paint and dared us.  Nobody was scoring the ball.”

Powers’ first make came with the Bears already leading by 13 with eight minutes remaining in the first half.  In the next three minutes, the catch-and-shoot specialist buried a couple of more as the Cal lead ballooned to 18 points at the half.  With the game out of hand midway through the second half, Powers came on and buried three more long distance shots.

Not bad for a guy who transferred from tiny University of Denver only to spend a lot of time on the bench over the last 2 ½ seasons.  Coming in, Powers had scored just two points and played 21 minutes in Cal’s first 12 games.

“I really wasn’t coming into tonight’s game saying I want to have 18 points and shoot 6-for-7,” Powers said.  “The shots fell, nothing really else I can say. When I put in the amount of hours I have over the years, I expect them to go in.  I just think my teammates did a really good job of finding me when I did start hitting a couple with Justin, Sam.”

According to disappointed Furman coach Nico Medved, the defense Powers faced wasn’t very good.  Medved felt that when his Paladins didn’t enjoy success offensively early in the game, they lost their zest at the defensive end.  The Southern Conference opponent from Columbia, South Carolina trailed by as many as 35 late in the game, and lost for the third time in their last four games.

“As a young team, when things go well, we play pretty well, but when things don’t go well for stretches, it’s when we kind of collapse and go our separate ways.  I think that’s what happened tonight,” Medved said.

William Gates, Jr. led Furman with 13 points.  Larry Wideman and Stephen Croone contributed 11 points each.

Cal got 18 points each from Justin Cobbs and Tyrone Wallace as the pair combined to make 17 of 23 shots.  The Bears shot 60 percent for the game, canned 10 3-pointers and committed just five turnovers on the afternoon.

The Bears open conference play on Thursday at Stanford before a trip to Oregon the following week to face the Ducks and the Beavers.

By DANIEL DULLUM
Sports Radio Service
Friday, December 27, 2013

GLENDALE, Ariz. – Victories away from the Shark Tank have been tough to come by of late for San Jose. In their last seven games on the road prior to Saturday, the Sharks were 2-5-0.

Thanks to shootout goals by Logan Couture and Patrick Marleau, the Sharks left the Valley of the Sun with two badly needed road points with a 4-3 overtime win over Phoenix.

With the win, San Jose has 54 points and pulled into a tie for second place with Los Angeles in the NHL Pacific Division. The Coyotes, at 46 points, are in fifth place in the Pacific, second in the Western Conference Wild-Card standings.

“To me, it’s a coin flip as to whether or not it helps us to go to a shootout,” Couture, who scored the tying goal in the shootout, said. “But in that situation, we have a lot of confidence in Antti (Niemi, Sharks goaltender) and it was great the way he shut the door. And we have a lot of guys on this team who have had a lot of success in shootouts. So yes, we were confident.”

The shootout followed a scoreless 5-minute overtime period with the score tied 3-3. Phoenix’s Mikkel Boedker scored the first goal of the shootout, but it was also the last for the Coyotes. Couture answered Boedker’s goal, and, after Radim Vrbata was turned away by Niemi, Marleau scored. Niemi then shut down Oliver Ekman-Larsson to seal the win.

It’s a situation Sharks coach Todd McLellan would rather not make a habit of.

“In a shootout, you’re looking at trends, a little luck, getting a good bounce,” McLellan said. “It was great that we had a couple of guys score tonight, but hopefully we won’t have to depend on shootouts to win games.

“To me, the game is over when that final buzzer sounds in overtime,” he added. “It’s nice to get that extra point, but we’d prefer to do it earlier.”

Marleau, who scored in regulation and the shootout, added, “Getting two points after the break is nice. It took us a while to find our legs and we did that a couple of shifts in.”

On having to go to a shootout, Marleau said, “Obviously, we’d rather close a team out in regulation. But winning in a shootout is nice. We haven’t won many of those, so this was good for our confidence. But then I hope we’re not in too many shootouts, either.”

Due to a clause in the collective bargaining agreement between the NHL players and owners, there are no games or team flights scheduled for three days over the Christmas holiday. So, the Sharks flew in to Phoenix early Friday morning.

“(The Coyotes) had a little more jump and much better execution than we did early in the game,” McLellan said. “But I was pleased with the way our guys stuck with it and fought through it.”

The sellout crowd of 17,125 had reason to get excited when the Coyotes came out aggressively in the early going, and the tact paid off at 7:43 of the first period. When the Sharks made a lackadaisical effort to clear the puck from their own zone, David Moss intercepted the pass in the slot, spun and flipped a blind shot past the outstretched glove of Sharks goaltender Antti Niemi, giving the Coyotes a 1-0 lead.

Midway through the second period, San Jose got the equalizer. Joe Pavelski took a feed from Joe Thornton and fired a shot from the left circle, beating Coyotes goaltender Mike Smith low and through traffic at 9:56.

Nearly one minute later, at 11:04 of the second period, the Coyotes regained the lead at 2-1 when Moss tallied his second goal of the game. Moss, parked outside the crease, redirected a shot from the point by David Schlemko and it fluttered past Niemi’s stick.

With Phoenix’s Derek Morris serving a minor for interference, Marleau scored his 17th goal of the season at 13:13 of the second period, tying the game at 2-2, Marleau took a pass from Tommy Wingels and fired a low wrist shot between Smith’s legs, splitting two defenders.

“That was a great play by Tommy,” Marleau said. “I was just trying to get a quick shot through the 5-hole.”

San Jose took its first lead of the night at 3-2 when Burns, cruising in from the left circle, converted a pass from Pavelski, who circled behind the net. Burns flipped a shot that beat Smith over his right shoulder for his 11th goal of the season at 10:10 of the third period.

Thornton’s assist on the Burns goal was his second of the game, giving him 37 on the season.

Moments later, Phoenix tied the game again at 3-3 with a power play goal by Radim Vrbata at 13:35. Vrbata, on a direct feed from Keith Yandle, fired a one-timer from the left circle for the equalizer.

In the goaltending battle, Niemi stopped 34 of 37 shots, while Smith turned away 29 of 32.

“The last time we got two points on San Jose, we probably didn’t deserve those two points,” Phoenix Coach Dave Tippett said. “Tonight, I thought that game was a toss-up. Unfortunately, we didn’t get the extra point, but we put the work in to get the two points.”

After a long winter day in Phoenix, the Sharks prepare for back-to-back games against first-place Anaheim. The first game against the Ducks is Sunday night in San Jose, with the rematch set for New Year’s Eve in Anaheim.

SHARK BITES: Coyotes RW Shane Doan is still recovering from a bout with Rocky Mountain Fever. His status continues at day-to-day. . … Patrick Marleau’s second-period goal was his 28th against Phoenix in 91 career games against the Coyotes. … The game marked the 10th anniversary of the opening of Jobing.com Arena. On Dec. 27, 2003, the Coyotes opened their new home with a 3-1 loss to Nashville. … This was the third of four meetings this season between the Sharks and Coyotes; San Jose visits the desert again on April 12, 2014.

(TAGS: San Jose Sharks,NHL,Phoenix Coyotes,Patrick Marleau)

By: Phillip Torres and Kahlil Najar

DALY CITY-The San Francisco Bulls (11-15-2-1) hosted the Stockton Thunder (14-10-0-4) on Friday night at the Cow Palace. The paid crowd of 3,238 witnessed a very heated game between the two rivals from the Pacific West, as the game consisted of three brutal fights with two Thunder players being ejected from the game. Friday night’s contest was the first of five consecutive meetings between the San Francisco Bulls and the Stockton Thunder, and the Bulls took the early advantage in the five game set with a 5-2 victory on Friday night.The two teams will face off Saturday, Sunday and next Friday in Stockton, and then the fifth game will be played at the Cow Palace next Saturday January 4th.

The Bulls took the early lead with a first period goal from Adrian Foster at 14:56. Dean Ouellet and Steven Tarasuk earned the assists on the goal. The score was the lone goal by both teams as the score heading into the first intermission was 1-0 San Francisco.

Stockton scored the next two goals, one coming in the second and one in the third to take the 2-1 lead. Shawn Boutin and Corey Trivino were the two goal scorers for the Thunder.

San Francisco’s offensive surge started midway through the third period. Tyler Gron tied the game at two goals apiece with a at 11:27. Less than one minute later Jordan Morrison gave the Bulls the lead for good with a goal passed the glove side of goaltender Brian Foster as he skated behind the net. Brett Findlay and Gron assisted on the goal.

Luke Judson extended the Bulls lead with a slapshot to make it a 4-2 lead late. Foster and Kalvin Sagert assisted on the score. The final goal was scored by Morrison as he scored on an empty netter 19:22. Findlay and Ouellet earned the assists on the insurance goal.

Head coach Pat Curcio was very pleased with the performance of his team after the big victory against the Thunder. The head coach talked about it after the game.

“I’m very pleased with how the guys played. We’ve been talking about playing good five on five hockey and that’s what we did today,” Curcio said.

The Bulls will need to play great five in five hockey against Stockton in the remaining four games of the five game stretch. If the Bulls can win the remaining four games they would pull ahead of the Thunder in the standings and have sole possession of second place in the Pacific West Division.

The two rivals will meet again on Saturday night in Stockton. The puck will drop at 7:30 P.M.

By George Devine, Sr.

In the last annual Fight Hunger Bowl at AT&T Park in San Francisco, Washington and Brigham Young universities were evenly matched with 8-4 records. TB Bishop Sankey made a big difference for the Huskies with 95 yards and a pair of touchdowns. His accomplishment was honored with the award for Outstanding Offensive Player of the game.

At 8:55 to go in the first, Sankey’s 11-yard touchdown run drew first blood, to cap a 12 play, 17 yard drive. It was his fifth carry (total 27 yards). That was the only scoring in a defensive initial frame, in which the Dawgs dominated in offensive stats. . But with 12:10 to go in the half, a one-yard touchdown run by BYU’s Jason Hill evened the score. Immediately afterwards, though, the Brigham Young kickoff was returned 101 yards by John Ross to restore UDub’s one-touchdown advantage. A 45 yard field goal by Justin Sorensen was the best the Cougs could produce after a 10 play drive ending at 8:22. At 3:46 another, this time for 31 yards, still left Brigham Young a point short. Within a little over a minute, Sankey’s second 11-yard touchdown run extended the margin once more, and Sorensen’s 32-yarder still left BYU with a deficit despite a dramatic shift in offensive statistical values in the period.

In the third, Keith Price’s 16 yard pass to Seferian Jenkins made it 28-16 in favor of Washington, for the only scoring play of the period. The fourth quarter began with distribution of Outstanding Player Awards ballot forms in the press box, with Sankey’s name showing up prominently in the offensive category. Travis Coons’ 45 yard field goal stretched the lead to an insurmountable 31-16 halfway through the final frame.

This was the first bowl win for Washington since the 2010 Holiday Bowl.

.

{NCAA}

By Jeremy Kahn

SAN FRANCISCO-In his final game as the quarterback of the Washington Huskies, Keith Price looked like a former Huskies student-athlete who calls AT&T Park home during the baseball season.

Price, a senior out of St. John Bosco in Bellflower, CA looked like two-time Cy Young award winner Tim Lincecum, who played baseball for the Huskies went 17-for-22 with 123 yards passing with one touchdown, as the Huskies defeated the Brigham Young Cougars 31-16 in the 12th Fight Hunger Bowl before 34,136 at AT&T Park.

Bishop Sankey scored two touchdowns in the first half, as the Huskies under interim head coach Marques Tuiasosopo ended the season with their ninth win of the season.

Sankey got the Huskies on the board on their first drive of the evening, as he took a Price handoff and scampered 11 yards to the end zone for the first of his two touchdowns in the first half.

Taysom Hill tied up the game, as the quarterback scooted in from one-yard out, but that would not be the score for very long.

John Ross took the ensuing kickoff a Fight Hunger Bowl record 100 yards to give the Huskies the lead once again.

The Ross touchdown return broke the record of 95 yards set by Gee Gee Greene of the United States Naval Academy in the 2012 game versus the Arizona State Sun Devils.

The Cougars got back into the game, as Justin Sorensen kicked a 45 and 31 yard field goal to get the Cougars back within one.

After a 47-yard kickoff by Jesse Callier to the Cougars 35-yard line after Sorensen’s second field goal of the half, Sankey scored for the second time and once again from 11 yards out.

Sorensen kicked his third field goal of the game as time expired to end the first half, and shortened the Huskies down to five at the end of the first half.

Austin Seferian-Jenkins, the 2013 John Mackey Award winner as the best tight end in College Football gave the Huskies a 12-point lead, as he scored on a 16-yard touchdown pass from Price for the only scoring in the third quarter for either team.

Price was forced to leave the game after sustaining a hit to his ribs that required x-rays.

Travis Coons put the finishing touches on the scoring, as he nailed a 45-yard field goal with 7:53 remaining in the ballgame.

Hill did it all for the Cougars, as he went 25-for-48 for 292 yards passing, and gained 31 carries for 133 on the ground.

Cody Hoffman caught 12 passes for 167 yards in his final game as a member of the Cougars.

This is the 12th and final Fight Hunger Bowl to be played at AT&T Park, as the game will be heading to Levi’s Stadium, the future home of the San Francisco 49ers beginning in 2014.

Not only will it be there a new home, but a new matchup as well, as the PAC-12 will matchup with the Big 10.