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BYU hopeful in bowl game against Washington

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By George Devine, Sr.

As the teams prepare for the Fight Hunger Bowl in San Francisco, the Cougars of Brigham Young University feel confiden in opposing the Huskies from the University of Washington. Both teams finished their regular season schedules with 8-4 records, considerably better than the standard for bowl eligibility. This will be BYU’s ninth consecutive postseason game. “We feel we’re playing a fantastic opponent,” said coach Bronco Mendenhall, “the best postseason opponent in nine years! Washington will play very hard. Washington plays very fast and they are very strong defensively; I expect them to be tough!”|

When asked what effect the game would have on the 2013 experience for his team, Mendenhall said, “I’m already considering the season a success,” pointing to the tough opposition his players faced in their regular schedule opponents. “I’m very proud of my team,” he remarked, singling out senior linebacker Kyle Van Noy. “He kept his word. He graduated in four years and kept his commitment”, acknowledging the fact that the Reno native could have chosen otherwise by entering the draft.

Van Noy himself said, “I just want to make plays and be a difference maker,|” acknowledging that the Huskies have “great receivers and running backs, and a quarterback that can throw!”

Oddsmakers expect the game to be decided by as few as three points. Kickoff will be at 6:30 p.m. Pacific Time on Friday, December 27.

This will be the twelfth installment of the game, and the last to take place at AT&T Park in San Francisco. Beginning in 2014 the contest will be played at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, the new home of the San Francisco 49ers. From that year through 2019 the game will be played by opponents from the Pac-12 and Big 10.

Huskies to face Cougars in Fight Hunger Bowl

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{NCAA}

By Jeremy Kahn

SAN FRANCISCO-Heading into their first ever Fight Hunger Bowl appearance, the Washington Huskies were hit a blow to the stomach that would have erupted Mt. St. Helens again.

Head Coach Steve Sarkisian, who was hired prior to the 2009 season, replacing Tyrone Willingham, who was fired after going 0-12 during the 2008 season left the program and headed to the University of Southern California as head coach.

Sarkisian is eventually being replaced by Boise State head coach Chris Petersen, but during the bowl game, the Huskies will be coached by Marques Tuiasosopo, who led the Huskies a Rose Bowl victory over the Purdue Boilermakers and current New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees on January 1, 2001.

The Huskies, who enter the game with an 8-4 record will face the Brigham Young Cougars, who also enter the game with an identical 8-4 record.

Bishop Sankey is the Huskies leading rusher, as the junior out of Spokane’s Gonzaga Prep High School topped the 1,000 yard plateau for the second year in a row, gaining 1,775 yards after gaining 1,439 yards in his sophomore season.

Senior Keith Price is the Huskies quarterback, and enters the game with 216 completions out of 330 attempts with 20 touchdowns and six interceptions.

The senior out of Compton, CA was named All PAC-12 Honorable Mention, and was a captain for the second consecutive season.

This is the fourth consecutive bowl game for the Huskies, who are just the second team in the last 50 years to have gone from a winless season to four bowl games in five seasons, joining the 1982 Florida Gators.

Bulls Give It A Go But Come Up Short, Lose To Eagles 6-4

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Photo Courtesy of The SF Bulls
Photo Courtesy of The SF Bulls

By Kahlil Najar

DALY CITY – The San Francisco Bulls (10-15-2-1) gave up two quick goals to the Colorado Eagles (17-6-3-2) in the first and were defeated 6-4. This is the fourth consecutive game in which the Bulls had to mount a come from behind fight but weren’t able to get on top today. Dean Ouellet, Brett Findlay, Luke Judson and Jordan Morrison scored for the Bulls and J.P. Anderson stopped 18 of 22 shots before being replaced by Tyler Beskorowany who stopped 8 out of 10 for the Bulls in net.  The Eagles Trent Daavettila scored three goals and garnered his first hat trick with the Eagles and the Eagles first hat trick of the season.

The Eagles jumped out to an early 2-0 lead behind goals from Riley Nelson and Trent Daavettila. Nelson scored from in front of the goal at 3:41 into the contest and Daavettila able to connect on a power play when he sent a shot over J.P. Anderson and gave Colorado the 2-0 lead. Dean Ouellet scored his fifth goal of the season just 20 seconds after the Eagles tally when he received some nice passes from Adrian Foster and Kalvin Sagert.

True to form, the Bulls scored first in the second period on a nice play from Brett Findlay who danced his way into the Colorado zone and was able to beat Adam Brown through his five hole. The Eagles responded with back-to-back goals in the fifteenth minute of the period when Daavettila got his second goal of the night and Kevin Ulanski tipped the puck over Anderson to give the Eagles a 4-2 lead going into the third.

The Bulls weren’t able to score first in the third period like they had been doing over all these come from behind games as the Eagles Jesse Mychan scooped up a rebound in front of the newly entered Beskorowawny and made it a 5-2 game. The Bulls then responded with their own back-to-back goals in the ninth minute of the period when Luke Judson and Jordan Morrison were able to get the puck past Brown and made it a 5-4 game with over 11 minutes left in the period. The Bulls were able to move the puck around well and take some great chances however Daavettila notched his third goal of the game when the Eagles were on a 5-on-3 power play after penalties to Foster and Judson and sealed the 6-4 victory.

On the loss, head coach Pat Curcio said, ““That was a tough loss. I thought we deserved better this weekend.”

The Bulls head back at it this coming Friday against the rivaled Stockton Thunder on Ugly Sweater night.

Cold shooting Bears fall at Creighton

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 By Morris Phillips

Questionable shot selection and poor shooting don’t add up to a good night on the hardwood.   Given that toxic mix, the Cal Bears spent the majority of the evening trailing by double digits before falling in their big test at Creighton on Sunday, 68-54.  And as a result, the Bears will enter Pac-12 conference play without a signature non-conference win.

The Bears shot just 33 percent in the first half and trailed the Bluejays, 30-19 at the break.  But what was surprising was the lack of aggressiveness at the offensive end where the Bears managed just 24 shots–half of those 3-point attempts—and one trip to the free throw line.  Creighton’s sticky man-to-man defense in part explains why the Bears’ offense got pushed out on the floor, but impatient Cal shooters deserve their share of the blame.

All-American Doug McDermott didn’t start off shooting much better, missing seven of his first eight attempts, but after that the coach’s son carried the Jays, finishing with 20 points and 11 rebounds.  McDermott also settled for some long distance shots, but made eight of his final 14 shot attempts by getting to his sweet spots inside the arch and relying on his signature step back jumpers.  McDermott has scored 20 or more points in all but one of Creighton’s games this season.

The Bluejays led by as many 19 points in the second half as Coach Mike Montgomery substituted frequently in attempt to find a hot hand.  But Montgomery was unable to find one as the Bears shot just 36 percent for the game and never made a sustained push in the second half. 

Justin Cobbs led Cal with 13 points and four assists, and  Tyrone Wallace (12) and David Kravish (11)  also scored in double figures.  

The Bears played without Ricky Kreklow who suffered a broken hand in practice this week.  Freshman Jabari Bird got the start in place of Kreklow but left early when he sustained an ankle injury.

The Bears final non-conference contest comes next Saturday against Furman at Haas Pavilion.   Cal opens Pac-12 play on January 2 at Stanford.   

 

Penalties and turnovers doom Raiders

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{Raiders} {NFL}

By Jeremy Kahn

Entering halftime, things looked to be going well for the Oakland Raiders, but unfortunately things did not end that way for the Silver and Black.

Two huge turnovers and 12 penalties did not help the hapless Raiders, as the San Diego Chargers outscored their longtime rivals in the second half 16-3 and defeated them 26-13 at Qualcomm Stadium.

The Chargers, who are playing for their playoff lives won their third straight, their longest winning streak of the 2013 season.

Philip Rivers put the Chargers up for good with five minutes remaining in the third quarter, as the veteran found former CAL star Keenan Allen for a four-yard touchdown pass.

Ryan Mathews gained 99 yards for the Chargers, as he eclipsed his career high with 1,111 yards on the ground.

Chargers kicker Nick Novak kicked four field goals for the victors, as the two rivals from old American Football League split their season series, with each team winning on their home turf.

Trailing by 13 with 4:39 in the game, Matt McGloin found Rod Streater, but Streater was unable to hold onto the ball; however the Raiders challenged the incompletion but the ruling on the field stood after it was reviewed by the replay officials.

McGloin got the Raiders all the way down inside the Chargers 10-yard line, but Marcel Reese was unable to hold to a sure touchdown pass on fourth-and-goal and the Chargers took over with :56 remaining the game.

Mike Jenkins committed a huge penalty, as he was called for taunting after he pushed Mathews out of bounds and then Allen scored six plays later.

Darren McFadden scored on a five-yard run to give the Raiders a 7-3 lead, but Mathews gave the lead back to the Chargers on a seven-yard run with 3;13 remaining in the half.

Sebastian Janikowski tied up the game with just 10 seconds remaining in the first half, as he kicked a 20-yard field goal.

Rashad Jennings led the Raiders in rushing, as he carried the ball 10 for just 45 yards, while McFadden carried the ball four times for eight yards, including that five-yard touchdown run.

McGloin ended the afternoon, going 20-for-36 with 206 yards passing and an interception.

The Raiders return home for the final game of the season against the Denver Broncos, as they look to stop a five-game losing streak and avoid going 4-12 for the second consecutive season.

Bulls Earn First Win Of The Year Against The Eagles In Thrilling Shootout 4-3

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Photo Courtesy of SF Bulls
Photo Courtesy of SF Bulls

By Kahlil Najar

DALY CITY – In a hard fought game the San Francisco Bulls (10-14-2-1) beat the Colorado Eagles (16-6-3-2) 4-3 with a come from behind victory that ended with a shootout game winner by assistant captain Jordan Morrison. The Bulls fell behind by two goals early in the game and have everyone in the Cow Palace thinking this game was goner but the Bulls scored two goals in third to tie the game and send it into overtime and ultimately into the shootout. Tyler Beskorowany turned away 20 shots and earned his ninth victory of the year.

Both teams played a very physical game which for the most part was allowed by the referees and really saw what was a budging rivalry between the Eagles and the Bulls.

“They’re such a great hockey team. To me they’re the best team in the league. They’ve been steam rolling teams and we’ve been fortunate enough to compete. That was a good team – it was a good test for us,” said Bulls Head Coach Pat Curcio.

Colorado got on the board first when the Eagles had the puck deep in the Bulls zone but lost it to the Bulls who flipped the puck up ice into the Eagles zone. An alert Eagles defender sent a laser of a pass to Trent Daavettila who was cherry picking on the Bulls blue line and found Kyle Ostrow streaking towards the goal who completed the play and beat Beskorowany to give the Eagles a 1-0 lead. Less than five minutes later, the Eagles were handed an opportunity from the Bulls as they were called for too many men on the ice and gave the Eagles their first power play of the night. Right Winger Luke Fulghum received the puck from Kevin Ulanski and Trent Daavettila and was able to toss the puck at Besko who stopped it initially with the side of his body but it managed to deflect itself into the goal to bring the lead to two.

These events must have been disheartening for the team as they have trailed in their last two home games and saw the same thing happening again. However the Bulls didn’t lose hope and kept grinding away.

“You have a choice – lay over or be a hockey player – you battle. That’s what guys are doing,” said Forward Adrian Foster.

The Bulls struck back fast as Tyler Gron took a shot from the left circle that grazed the post and careened around the boards to Dylan King who was able to catch Colorado goalie Cheverie still admiring his post’s save and got the puck into the back of the net to give the Bulls their first goal of the game. The Eagles regained their two goal lead a few minutes later when Jonathan Parker was able to shove the puck over Besko for his sixth goal of the year and give the Eagles a 3-1 lead going into the third.

On being down again, Luke Judson said, “We knew we’ve come close to coming back from five (goals) last game so two goals wasn’t a big deal for us. We’re happy with the way we were playing minus a few mistakes.”

The Bulls attacked early again in the third when Brett Findlay scored on a shot from Collin Bowman that went wide and bounced off the back board and landed in front of the goal which Findlay was able to shove past Cheverie to make it a 3-2 Colorado advantage. At 9:43 of the third, the Bulls completed the comeback on a puck that found its way onto the stick of Adrian Foster who was in front  of the net and he knocked the water bottle off the roof of the net to tie the game at 3 and lead us into overtime.

After a scoreless overtime, the game headed into a shootout. It took seven goes but Jordan Morrison was able to beat Cheverie with a high shot that hit the post and bounced its way into the back of the net and secured the victory for the Bulls.

The Bulls last two victories have been come from behind shootout victories. The last one before tonight was the amazing game against the Stockton Thunder on Teddy Bear Toss night when Findley scored the game winner in the fifth round.

Curcio concluded,”What we’ve been through these past couple weeks and the adversary that we’ve been able to overcome these guys earn a lot of the credit.”

The Bulls and Eagles end their three game series this Sunday afternoon at 2:15 pm. The first 500 kids, 13 and under will receive a light-up Snowflake Wand.

Stanford hangs tough but comes up short

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 By Jeremy Harness

 

The Stanford basketball team was in the same position a couple of nights before, so based on the prior result, the Cardinal certainly had reason to believe.

 

Coming off a signature victory on the road against No. 10 Connecticut, during which they found themselves down by eight early in the second half, Stanford was again behind against Michigan Saturday night and rallied yet again.

 

This time, however, the Cardinal could not close the deal, cutting Michigan’s lead to one point against the runner-up in last season’s NCAA Tournament but could not push through in a 68-65 loss at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center.

 

Stanford did not shoot particularly well but still hung around against a more athletic Wolverines team, which didn’t have a great shooting night, either. Michigan, which thrives on shooting the 3-pointer, was 8-for-27 from behind the arc Saturday night.

 

Chasson Randle, who made several key shots down the stretch in the second half but had his final-seconds 3-pointer to tie the game fall short, scored 18 points to lead the Cardinal while Stefan Nastic, who had somewhat of a breakout game, had 14 to equal his season high.

 

The Cardinal will now enjoy the upcoming Christmas break and will not play again until Dec. 29 against Cal Poly at home before beginning the Pac-12 season against Cal the following Thursday, Jan. 2 at Maples Pavilion.

Bulls rally comes up short

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By: Phillip Torres and Kahlil Najar

DALY CITY-The San Francisco Bulls (9-14-2-1) hosted the Colorado Eagles on Friday night at the Legendary Cow Palace. Colorado held off the Bulls as they took game one of the three game weekend series 6-3. The first 47:31 seconds of the game were dominated by the Eagles as they scored five unanswered goals. Tyler Beskorowany started in the net for the Bulls, but was removed from the game after giving up four consecutive goals.

The Bulls did not get their first goal until 17:29 in the second period. Jordan Morrison put the puck in the net on the glove side past Adam Brown. Tyler Gron and Brett Findlay earned the assists on the play.  Dale Mitchell scored 18 seconds later to make it a 5-2 deficit.

Gron scored his 12th goal of the season in the third period to put the Bulls to within two goals, but Colorado tacked on a late goal to go back up by three.

The final score tallied 6-3 in favor of the Colorado Eagles. San Francisco will host Colorado on Saturday and Sunday as well in this three game series.

The Bulls are now 0-4 against the Eagles this season. After the game head coach Pat Curcio commented about what the Bulls need to do to win the next two games in this series.

“We just need to mix up the lineup. We need to play a full three quarters,” said Curcio.

The puck will drop at 7:30 for game two on Saturday night. 

Kings Scorched by the Heat 122-103

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment

Image

 

Photo credit: Issac Balizon

By Charlie O. Mallonee

On Friday night, a NBA team shot 58% from the field, scored 103 points and lost the game. The team was the Sacramento Kings, and their opponents were the reigning world champion Miami Heat. The final score was Miami 122 – Sacramento 103.

No one really expected the Kings to roll into Miami and come out with a win. In fact after losing in Charlotte and being destroyed in Atlanta, no one really knew what to expect from the Kings in South Florida.

The Kings did shoot 58.1% (43-74) versus Miami, but shot just 31.8% (7-22) from 3-point land. Even worse, Sacramento shot a miserable 41.7% (10-24) from the charity stripe. Tack on giving up 70 points in the paint, 22 fast break points and 34 bench points and all of the numbers add up to a loss.

Miami shot 61.4% (51-83) while posting a 43.5% (10-23) mark for 3-pointers. The Heat went 10-14 (71.4%) from the free throw line.

The high point of the night for Sacramento had to be the first quarter which they won 36-33. From there everything went downhill. The Kings gave up 34 points in the second quarter, 31 in the third and 24 in the fourth period. A NBA team cannot give up 30 plus points in three consecutive quarters and expect to do anything but lose.

Individually the Kings were led by DeMarcus Cousins’ game high 27 points. Cousins pulled down eight rebounds, recorded five assists and two steals. He did not have a blocked shot. The Kings managed to block just one Heat shot in the entire 48 minutes of play.

The one real highlight may have been the play of Ben McLemore. McLemore has been struggling as a shooter for the entire month of December. On Friday, the Kings’ rookie shot 8-13 en route to scoring 20 points. He went 4-7 from beyond the 3-point arc.

On the downside for McLemore, he made ESPN Top 10 plays but not in a good way. He tried to stand between LeBron James and the basket. LeBron won going high in the air and put McLemore on his back as King James scored the bucket.

Rudy Gay scored 14 for Sacramento while Isaiah Thomas added 11 points. Thomas made seven assists while Gay was credited with six of his own.

Chris Bosh paced the Heat with 25 points. Dwayne Wade added 20 while “the King” poured in 18.

The best thing that can be said for the Kings is that it is over in Miami and they can put the game in their past. The bad news for the Kings is the Heat will be in Sacramento next Friday.

The Kings will have no time to sit in the corner and lick their wounds. They have to face the Magic in Orlando on Saturday night. It will be the final opportunity to salvage a win on this four game road trip.

Cardinal score big road win over UConn

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By Daniel Dullum
Sports Radio Service
Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Stanford’s men’s basketball squad came up with its biggest road win in nearly six years Wednesday, traveling to Hartford and emerging with a 53-51 upset over No. 10-ranked Connecticut.

Chasson Randle led the Cardinal (8-2) with 22 points as Stanford scored its first win against a Top 25 team away from home since the 2008 NCAA tournament. Stanford’s seven other wins this season came against teams with a combined 32-41 record.

Josh Huestis added 13 points for Stanford, with Dwight Powell contributing 10 points and 15 boards. DeAndre Daniels led UConn (9-1) with 15 points, while Shabazz Napier had 12 points and eight assists for the Huskies.

The Huskies were 6 of 10 on 3-point shooting in the first half while building a 10-point halftime lead. But UConn cooled off in the second half, going 0-for-12 behind the arc and 5 of 31 overall while the Cardinal fought back.

UConn led 43-30 before consecutive 3-pointers by Anthony Brown and Randle ignited a 14-0 run by the Cardinal, who held the Huskies without a hoop for just over six minutes.

Stanford took its first lead at 44-43 on a three-point play by Randle midway through the second half. Shabazz Napier put the Huskies back ahead 45-44 with a jumper in the lane, and the lead then see-sawed the rest of the way.

Randle sank a jumper with 3:30 to play, putting Stanford up 52-49, and the Cardinal hung on for the win. Daniels scored on a put-back to pull the Huskies to within 52-51, but Napier missed two 3-point attempts in the final minute, and Omar Calhoun missed a 3-pointer on the Huskies’ final possession.

Stanford got a loose ball with 26 seconds left, and Huestis hit 1 of 2 free throws to account for the final margin of victory.

The loss snapped a 54-game home winning streak for UConn against nonconference teams going back to 2007. Connecticut was coming off its annual break for final exams and had not played in 12 days. Stanford ended a 13-day break last Saturday with a win over UC-Davis.

The Cardinal continue their road trip Saturday, traveling to Barclays Center in Brooklyn to face Michigan.