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Kings Handle Houston 106-91

Published on December 15, 2013 by Charlie O. Mallonee1 Comment

By Charlie O. Mallonee

The Sacramento Kings took the floor on Sunday against the Houston Rockets and looked like an entirely different team than the one that lost to Phoenix on Friday. They moved the ball on offense, blocked shots, made steals and played solid defense. The Kings beat the Rockets 106-91 because they played like a different team.

The game came down to the fact that Sacramento’s big three – Cousins, Gay and Thomas outplayed Houston’s big three of Howard, Harden and Parsons. The Kings big three outscored the Rockets big three 66-57.

Rudy Gay had a big game in his Sacramento home court debut. He scored 26 points (14 in the first quarter), shot 50.0% (10-20) from the floor, pulled down 5 rebounds, added four assists, made four steals and had one blocked shot. Yes, Rudy Gay is a difference maker for this Kings team.

DeMarcus Cousins posted a double-double, 21 points and 10 rebounds, despite not scoring his first points until 6:01 in the second quarter. Isaiah Thomas scored 19 points, had eight assists and made two steals in his 41 minutes on the floor.

Dwight Howard scored 13 points for the Rockets. He really hurt his team at the free throw line where shot 5 for 13. “Hack-a-Howard” looks like a solid defensive plan.

Harden put up 25 points and was 3 for 9 from 3-point land. Chandler Parsons recorded 19 points, seven rebounds and five assists in 40 minutes of playing time.

The Rockets jumped out to a quick 5-0 lead in the first quarter. It looked like Houston might make it an early runaway. Then, Rudy Gay made a steal and a score that led the Kings on a 6-0 run. Gay, in his home debut, kept the Kings in the game with 14 first quarter points. Sacramento needed that from Gay as Cousins was held scoreless in the first period. At the end of one, the game was tied at 28 all.

The second quarter started off with the teams trading easy baskets. Derrick Williams led the Kings early in period and ended the first half with nine points. Isaiah Thomas hit a 3-pointer and was fouled. He hit the free throw for the rare 4-point play. Cousins scored his first points with 6:01 left in the half on a breakaway dunk. Sacramento opened up a 48-38 lead. The Kings also helped themselves from the free throw line. The Kings shot 16 for 19 (84.2%) from the line while Houston went just 10 for 20 (50.0%) from the stripe. Dwight Howard went 3 for 8 for free throws.

At the half, the Kings led the Rockets 57-49. Sacramento held Houston to just 21 points in the second quarter.

James Harden opened up the third quarter with a long 3-pointer. The Kings answered with an “alley oop” from Isaiah Thomas to Rudy Gay. At 10:54, Harden rolled his ankle while driving the lane. He shot two free throws one footed and left the game. The Rockets responded by stepping up their game and cut the Kings lead to one, 61-60. The Kings woke up and started scoring. Dwight Howard continued to kill his team from the charity stripe. Sacramento made steals, blocked shots and make baskets that allowed them to open up a 10 point lead. Harden returned at 5:26 but was obviously not at 100%. The third quarter ended with the Kings leading 81-71.

The Rockets made a mini run to open the fourth quarter cutting the Kings lead to 81-75. Howard continued to shoot poorly from the free throw line. The Kings settled down and opened up a 91-78 lead. Cousins, Thompson and Gay continued to break down the Houston defense and score baskets down low. The Rockets started looking tired, Harden was quiet and the Kings opened up a lead that they would never relinquish. Sacramento won the game 106-91.

After the game, Kings Head Coach Michael Malone said, “I felt better about the defense. We must have had a great film session.” Malone felt his team was ready to play.

Malone also stated, “I want DeMarcus (Cousins) or Rudy (Gay) on the floor at all times. Rudy makes us tougher to guard.”

With his team facing four games in five days on the road, Malone is hoping that the tough road trip will help his team build chemistry.

Note: Quincy Acy saw his first playing time as King versus the Rockets. He played 12 minutes, scored four points, had three rebounds and blocked one shot. Aaron Gray did not play on Sunday, but Malone indicated that Gray would see action on the road trip.

Bears, Solomon too big for Fresno State

Published on December 15, 2013 by moepeaLeave a comment

By Morris Phillips

You’d be wise to bring size when facing the California Golden Bears.

Another undersized opponent came to Haas Pavilion on Saturday, and the Bears stepped all over Fresno State in a 67-56 victory. The Bulldogs found themselves looking up from the start, missing 12 of their first 13 shots and getting out-rebounded 47-34.

The Bulldogs have just one player taller than 6’7” in their rotation—6’9” Alex Davis—and that lack of size and bulk opened the door for Cal’s Richard Solomon, who led the Bears with 17 points and 14 rebounds.

“I knew that they weren’t as big down low in the post, so coach wanted us to go down to me and David and just see if we could take advantage of that,” Solomon said. “I think that the biggest thing, when I catch the ball down low I’m not just looking to score. I’m looking to make the right play.”

Cal and Solomon enjoyed a healthy size advantage against Nevada—their previous opponent—and the Bears responded with their highest point total in more than a year. This time, the size advantage didn’t show in the score as both teams struggled throughout with their shooting. But the Bears had their way defensively, as the Bulldogs’ shot just 33 percent for the game.

“Defensively, I thought we did a really nice job holding them to 32 percent from the floor and 25 percent from three,” Cal Coach Mike Montgomery said. “Maybe our best defense came from the free throw line; we held them to fifty percent. We defended the heck out of that free throw line.”

Montgomery found himself in a joking mood after the game as usual. But this one was anything but ordinary as the long-time coach won for the 665^th time at the Division I level allowing Montgomery to surpass John Wooden for sole possession of ninth place on the list for career wins. 117 of Montgomery’s wins have come during the last five seasons at Cal.

Ironically, the size advantage the Bears enjoyed this week might disappear during the Pac-12 league schedule where Cal will face big guys like Arizona State’s Jordan Bachyniski, UCLA’s Wear twins, USC’s 7’2” Omar Oraby and Arizona’s Kaleb Tarczewski. But the non-conference is another story, and the Cal’s size advantage allowed Solomon and 6’9” David Kravish to both register double-digit rebounds for only the second time this season.

The numerous missed shots and lack of rebounding by Fresno State allowed the Bears to build a double-digit lead 12 minutes into the game. But with 2:38 remaining, the Bulldogs sliced Cal’s lead to seven, 58-51, only to fumble a loose ball out of bounds with Davis and Paul Watson of Fresno the only players in the vicinity.

“That was the game right there,” Fresno State Coach Rodney Terry said. “They won the 50-50 battle, as much as I hate to say that, because we work on trying to win and we pride ourselves on winning those 50-50 battles in terms of loose balls.”

Montgomery tweaked his starting lineup once again, with freshmen Jordan Mathews pulled in favor of sophomore Tyrone Wallace. The changes made Cal more savvy defensively with Ricky Kreklow playing small forward and adding 11 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists.

The Bears get their final pre-season tuneup next Saturday against Creighton.

SF Bulls Make 4 Goal Comeback Against Stockton Thunder

Published on December 14, 2013December 15, 2013 by M WalshLeave a comment

By Mary Walsh

SAN FRANCISCO- Saturday, the San Francisco Bulls came back from a three-goal deficit to defeat the Stockton Thunder in a shootout. It was the third meeting of the season for the two teams. The first period ended tied at one, the second period ended 4-2. The teams went to a shootout tied at five goals apiece. Two of the Bulls’ goals were scored by Steven Tarasuk, his first two goals of the season. Also, there were teddy bears, lots of teddy bears tossed on the ice.

After the game, Head Coach Pat Curcio said:

From the beginning of the game tonight, we were much better than last night. I think our fans had a lot to do with it, it just gives our guys so much more energy and life out there. I thought in the second period, a couple of the mistakes that we made, it [was] unfair for us to be down 3-1. Obviously Scott Langdon got us on the board there, gave us some life and the guys just thought “if they scored three that quick, we can score three that quick.”

The game was a lot like the last game San Francisco played against Stockton: San Francisco was outshot, they fell behind by three goals, they pulled J.P. Anderson out and put Tyler Beskorowany in net mid-second period. The games were just alike, apart from four San Francisco goals scored in the second half of the game, three by defensemen.

Three and a half minutes of the first period went by before either team got a shot on goal, and then it was San Francisco’s shot. Stockton answered back quickly with two of their own, and then play was interrupted by a hit from Adrian Foster that left a Stockton player down for several seconds. A boarding call put the Bulls on the penalty kill. Stockton had two more shots on the power play but the Bulls’ penalty kill kept the game scoreless.

After 9:50, the Bulls still only had one shot on goal. This wasn’t an accurate reflection of zone time or scoring chances, which looked more even.

The Bulls also took the second penalty of the game, again to Foster, this time for high-sticking. At 14:03 of the first, Stockton scored on their eighth shot, a power play goal by Joey Martin from Corey Trevino and Matt Berglund.

At 13:29 of the period, Tyler Gron tied it up when three Bulls got the jump on the Stockton defense. The teddy bears flew, a significant improvement over last year’s teddy bear toss, when the Bulls didn’t score until the third period.

With 2:50 left in the period, Stockton’s Ryan Constant was called for cross-checking Dale Mitchell. The power play started out well enough, with a series of good chances during a long shift for San Francisco. The Bulls finally lost control of the puck and Stockton kept them from setting up again in the last few seconds of the penalty.

The period ended tied at one, with shots 10-8 for San Francisco.

During that first intermission, the Bulls thanked one of their most loyal fans, Misty. She will be moving to Florida this month and the Bulls aren’t likely to travel there often. The Bulls played a thank you message on the video cube.

The second period started quietly enough. With nearly four minutes gone in the period, Dale Mitchell and Stockton’s Mike Dalhuisen were called for roughing, putting the teams four on four. Neither team scored then, but at 6:31 of the period, Stockton’s Andrew Clark did, with a shot from the faceoff circle that beat Anderson on the far side. Assists went to Greg Miller and Garet Hunt. 33 seconds later, Stockton scored again. Goal by Alex MacLeod, unassisted.

In the next minute, the Bulls got a power play out of an interference penalty called on Larson. As the penalty expired, Stockton went the other way to put the puck in the net for the fourth time. James Henry’s shot got by Anderson but the goal was called off for goaltender interference.

The Thunder had to try again for that fourth goal a few minutes later, which Clark scored with another shot from the faceoff circle, beating Anderson on the far side. In both cases, Anderson had a player in front of him, but that was still four goals too many. Bulls Coach Pat Curcio replaced Anderson with Beskorowany.

A couple of minutes later, Scott Langdon scored his third of the season to make it 4-2. Assists went to Mitchell and Ouellet.

The period ended 4-2, with shots at 25-18, Stockton leading on both counts.

The first few minutes of the third dragged a bit, but at 3:57, Brett Findlay skated straight up the slot in the Thunders’ zone and shot the puck past Phillips to make it a one goal game. Assists went to Jordan Morrison and Steven Tarasuk.

Play picked up then, the teams trading aggressive forechecks, the goalies getting some work. Finally, Dylan King sent the puck along the blue line from one point to the other, where Tarasuk was waiting to slap it to the net. It made it through with help from a screen set by Chris Crane and Magomed Gimbatov. Assists went to Gimbatov and King.

The Bulls earned another power play with just under eight minutes left: a boarding call against James Henry. Half way through the power play, the Bulls gave up a short-handed chance but regrouped in time to go the other way again. A shot from the point gave the Bulls their first lead of the game. It was Tarasuk’s second goal of the game and the season. It was only the Bulls’ tenth shot of the period, and their third goal. Assists went to Kalvin Sagert and Gimbatov.

With under three minutes to go, Stockton tied it again and the game went to overtime tied 5-5. The goal was Mike Dalhuisen’s, with an assist from Clark.

A fast overtime period flew by without many whistles or breaks in play. The shootout went five rounds, with Dean Ouellet and Brett Findlay scoring for San Francisco and Joey Martin scoring for Stockton. Final score: 6-5 San Francisco.

For full game stats, visit the ECHL website.

Roster notes:

The last time the Bulls met the Thunder, Stockton won 5-1. Since then, the Bulls have lost Mark Lee to injury, but regained Dale Mitchell and acquired Tyler Gron. That isn’t unusual in the ECHL: roster turnover is pretty high, especially since they have to contend with a roster limit and salary cap.

Nonetheless, it is worth pausing to consider how many players have come or gone from the Bulls’ lineup since November 20. Kyle Bodie, Josh Kidd, Damon Kipp, Riley Emmerson and Rob Linsmayer had been traded away or gone to China. In their places, the Bulls acquired Kalvin Sagert, Adrian Foster, Magomed Gimbatov, and Berkley Scott. In short, the team has replaced almost one third of the roster. Half of the Bulls who scored against Stockton are not playing: Lee and Linsmayer. Worth noting, Tyler Gron did score against the Thunder this season, as a member of the Idaho Steelheads, on November 24.

For Stockton’s part, two players arrived December 11 from the AHL: defenseman Mike Dalhuisen and left wing Nick Larson. Dalhuisen played seven games with the Thunder this season, this was Larson’s first game in the ECHL.

Four unanswered goals by the Reign doom the Bulls, lose 4-1

Published on December 13, 2013 by kahlilnajar7Leave a comment

By Kahlil Najar

SAN FRANCISCO – The San Francisco Bulls (8-13-2-1) got on the board early but then surrendered four unanswered goals and lost to the first place Ontario Reign (16-3-1-3), 4-1. Dale Mitchell had the only goal for the Bulls in the first period and Tyler Beskorowany stopped 44 of 48 shots in the loss and is now at an even .500 record for the year. The Bulls are now 1-3-1-0 on the year against Reign and are 0-10 when scoring one goal or less.

Ontario hardly ran away with this game as they received 8 penalties in the game and gave the Bulls all the opportunities they needed to come back but were unsuccessful in each power play. The Bulls are ranked second to last on the power play at home in the league.

“I just thought the game was terrible from the drop of the puck. There was no flow because of all the penalties. We didn’t capitalize on our opportunities, it took a negative spin on us,” said head coach Pat Curcio.

Excluding the horrid power play for the Bulls, the play of goalie Beskorwany had to be a highlight for the Bulls. Bekso stopped 18 shots in the first period and turned away 44 shots in total.

“Our defense was terrible tonight and their passing was less than average. We weren’t sharp at all. I can’t say anyone was good tonight other than Besko. He made a lot of saves for us tonight and kept us in the game,” continued Curcio.

Dale Mitchell continued his great game play as he put the Bulls on the board first 5:23 into the first period as he tossed a puck in front of the goal that scooted past everyone and hit the boards behind the net and bounced all the way back onto his stick and he was able to beat the Reign’s Redmann and give the Bulls a 1-0 lead. Adrian Foster and Dean Ouellet received assists on the goal. The Reign kept Besko on his heels in the first as he faced 18 shots and turned them all away. The Bulls were only able to get 9 in on Redmann.

The second period started rough and turned out to the toughest period in the contest. The Bulls gave up three unanswered goals and weren’t able to capitalize on six penalties to the Reign. A little over five minutes into the period and on a penalty kill, Ontario’s Eric Springer grabbed the puck at mid-ice and went storming in and took a shot that Beskso was able to stop but the rebound came out right in front to Towns who scored his third goal of the season and tied the game at one a piece. Six minutes later, on their second power play of the game (a boarding and fighting call on Dylan King) the Reign’s Jake Newton took a shot from the top of the face-off circle that was turned away by Besko but Brett Beebe was able to gather the rebound and hit the back of the net and give the Reign a 2-1 lead.

With under five minutes left in the second, Dean Ouellet and Scott Langdon received back-to-back penalties and gave the Reign their third power play of the night and on the 5-on-3 Mario Lamoureux (who wins for name closest to Mario Lemieux) scored on another rebound given up by Besko and gave the Reign a 3-1 lead after two.

On a nice fake that shook a Bulls defender off of him, the Reigns Cody Sol scored his first goal of the season and sealed the Ontario victory 4-1.

Curcio concluded, “We came off a high last weekend and had a couple days off and we didn’t come back sharp.”

The Bulls hope to turn it around tomorrow against the fifth place Stockton Thunder at 7:30pm.

A’s Select Aussie Pitcher in Rule 5 Draft

Published on December 12, 2013 by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment

Photo credit: the gazette.com

By Charlie O. Mallonee

The Oakland Athletics have selected right-handed pitcher Tim Atherton in the Triple-A phase of the Rule 5 Draft. In 2013, Atherton pitched for Single-A Cedar Rapids – a Minnesota Twins affiliate.

Atherton is 24 years old and is from New South Wales, Australia. He was signed by the Twins in 2007 as free agent outfielder. He made the transition to being a pitcher in 2011.

Atherton’s career record is 12-7 with a 2.54 ERA in 67 appearances (16 starts). In 2013, he pitched in 31 games (11 starts) recording an 8-5 record with a 2.54 ERA. He struck out 102 hitters in 95.2 innings of work.

Bulls Handle The Wranglers 6-2

Published on December 8, 2013 by kahlilnajar7Leave a comment

By Kahlil Najar

LAS VEGAS – The San Francisco Bulls (8-12-2-1) won two out of three games this weekend with an amazing 6-2 win over the Las Vegas Wranglers (7-12-1-0). Brett Findlay and Tyler Gron provided much of the offense for the Bulls as they contributed a total of five points on the night. With Gron’s points tonight he extended his point streak to eight games. Goalie Tyler Beskorowany stopped 29 of 31 shots and earned his seventh win of the season.

The Bulls opened up scoring with a power play goal from right winger Chris Crane less than seven minutes into the contest on a nice feed from Brett Findlay. Tyler Gron took a bullet of a shot past Wrangler goalie Mitch O’Keefe with 7:48 remaining in the first period and gave the Bulls a 2-0 lead into the first intermission. The Bulls scored two more unanswered goals in the second from Findlay and Foster and made it a 4-0 lead for the Bulls going into the third. Findlay was able to maneuver himself in front of the goal for his score and Foster beat O’Keefe when both teams were playing four-on-four hockey.

The Wranglers cut the lead in half in the third when Matt Tassone and Eddie DelGrosso scored back-to-back goals for Las Vegas but Dylan King and Dale Mitchell answered with their own back-to-back goals and gave the Bulls a 6-2 victory.

The Bulls return home Friday the 13^th with a game against the Ontario Reign.

Relevant in Seattle: Why Mariners inked Cano’ for $240 million

Published on December 8, 2013December 8, 2013 by lleonardbwLeave a comment

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary

Of course the Seattle Mariners want to win, but last few seasons this team has been living in the cellar. The best news for the Mariners was the arrival of the 2013 season, when the Houston Astros joined the American League West. Now, the Astros have ownership of last place, and might own it for a while.

The main reason that Jack Zduriencik, General Manager of the Seattle Mariners signed ex-Yankee second baseman Robinson Canó for 10 years and $240 million, is to be relevant in Seattle(and also trying to keep his job)a few days ago, Seattle Mariners long time President Chuck Armstrong resigned after almost two decades, with no titles.

Their attendance is dwindling, the interest for the team is at an all-time low(specially with the resurgence of the Seattle Seahawks, who have become “the team in Seattle”.

The Mariners franchise founded in 1977 has never won a pennant or a World Series. This is the franchise that had such players in the past as: Randy Johnson, Ken Griffey Jr, Edgar Martínez, Omar Vizquel, Alex Rodríguez and Ichiro Suzuki. among other excellent Hall of Fame type players.

Last few seasons the Mariners have waited for their young coveted talent to develop, but it has not happened, they still have a very good starting rotation, with ace Féliz Hernández, one of the best hurlers in the game. In 2013 the Mariners offense was totally absent, and they needed to “wake up”the fan interest in the Emerald City.

So, as far as shock value, the Canó signing is as good as it comes. We know it is a players market and every team need to have established star talent to draw well. The Mariners are one of those regional teams, they draw not only from Washington, but from nearby Idaho,Oregon and parts of Canada. Because of the geographical situation of Seattle, the Mariners do lead the league every season in one department; they travel more miles than any other team.

Seattle is a very nice city, and they can still revive that fan base. This is one step towards doing that. Yes, they probably overpaid for Canó, if he plays the rest of his career in Seattle he will be 41 on the last year of his contract and problably, with that swing, still a good hitter in the league, as their designated hitter by the 2025 season.

Safeco Field, still one of the very best facilities for baseball in the world, they continue to have very wealthy ownership,with the Nintendo Company of Japan at the helm, so there is hope for the Mariners after all.

The American League West have been won the last two season by one of the teams with the smallest payrolls in baseball, the Oakland Athletics. 2013 Executive of the Year, A’s General Manager Billy Beane continues to make the most with the owners budget.

Nobody has to be more creative as a General Manager than Beane. The American League West will continue to be one of the strongest divisions in baseball this next 2014, and the Mariners want to be part of that group of teams that will content for the title.

Now, what the Seattle Mariners need, is to acquire a couple of bats with power, and insert them on that lineup around Robinson Canó, then they could finally be relevant for the first time in a while.

Amaury Pi Gonzalez does News and Commnentary each week for Sportstalk Radio

Cardinal rout ASU for Pac-12 crown, headed to Rose Bowl

Published on December 7, 2013 by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

By DANIEL DULLUM
Sports Radio Service
Saturday, December 7, 2013

TEMPE, Ariz. – As the Stanford marching band played, the Cardinal football players crowded onto a triple-tier podium on the Sun Devil Stadium field, and, amidst sparklers and much louder fireworks, received their official invitation to the 100th Rose Bowl.

Just minutes earlier, the Cardinal earned their New Year’s Day ticket to Pasadena, Calif., with a resounding 38-14 victory over host Arizona State in the Pac-12 football championship game, rolling up 517 yards in total offense in the process.

“This is unbelievable,” Stanford running back Tyler Gaffney, who ran for 133 yards and three of the Cardinal’s touchdowns, said. “I talked to them (fellow teammates) and they told me how it felt to be out here and actually experience it. … You can’t describe it.

“It’s unreal,” he continued. “Just to have the opportunity to be out here, you can’t even explain it. I love being out here with Stanford guys. This is why I came back (after sitting out a year). Being on this stage is why you come back.”

While the Cardinal is on its way to the Rose Bowl, Arizona State will likely wind up in the Alamo Bowl in San Antonio, Texas, on Dec. 30 against an opponent from the Big 12.

After congratulating Stanford, ASU Coach Todd Graham said of the Cardinal, “They’re a tremendous team. They dominated the game and beat us in every way you can tonight. … They’re a championship team.

“I’m just a really bad loser,” Graham continued. “I don’t like losing. I don’t think you learn a lot from losing except that you don’t want to do it anymore. But we haven’t done it a lot. I think we have a lot to be proud of as Sun Devils … we still have another game left. We’ve still got a bowl game to go win.”

Stanford’s machine-like offense scored early and often Saturday, setting the tone for a lop-sided win, similar to when the two teams met earlier this season in a 42-28 Cardinal win on Sept. 21.

“They made changes, but the way this team operates and the way we function, it’s about us,” Linebacker Shayne Skov, who led the Cardinal with nine tackles, said. “Offenses will change, but what matters is what we do defensively and offensively. We have to set the tone. We never want to adjust or have to adapt. We want to be the ones setting the tempo and forcing people to adjust to our style of football.”

Stanford (11-2) wasted little time finding the end zone. A 69-yard touchdown run around left end by Tyler Gaffney put the Cardinal up 7-0 just two plays into their opening drive. Gaffney nearly stepped out of bounds, but after a review, the play was not reversed.

“Close only counts in horseshoes,” Gaffney said. I was concerned about it. I know how close I was to the sideline, but someone – it was on our sideline – would have said something. But no one said anything.”

“What killed us was that very first drive,” Graham said. “We have a critical coaching error and we give up 70-yard touchdown on misalignment.

“We obviously missed a lot of opportunities. We could have made a game out of it and I honestly thought we could.”

The Sun Devils (10-3) marched right back and tied the game at 7-7 when D.J. Foster broke loose for a 51-yard scoring scamper with 11:54 left in the first quarter. Arizona State would get no closer.

On the ensuring possession, it was Stanford’s turn again as Gaffney’s 1-yard TD plunge at 7:30 of the first period put the Cardinal up 14-7, capping an eight-play, 60-yard-drive.

The Cardinal offense continued to click behind quarterback Kevin Hogan, who completed 12 of 18 passes for 277 yards and one touchdown with no picks. Hogan’s 42 -yard pass to Devon Cajuste, set up a 22-yard Cardinal touchdown run by Ty Montgomery in the opening minute of the second quarter, pushing Stanford’s lead to 21-7.

As Stanford built its 14-point lead, the Sun Devils offense continued to sputter.
18-yard running rugby style punt by Ben Ryhne gave Stanford the ball at the ASU 37 at 13:03 of the second quarter

A fortuitous fumble by Anthony Wilkerson, after a 29-yard run, moved the ball to the ASU 9. On fourth-and-1, Gaffney dove in off-tackle with 9:49 remaining in the half, putting the Cardinal up 28-7.

“We stayed aggressive the whole time,” Cardinal Coach David Shaw said. “The bottom line is – if the team tries to stop the run, we have to make big plays in the passing game.”

With 7:25 left in the second quarter, the Arizona State defense sacked Hogan for a seven-yard loss and forced the Cardinal to punt for the first time. Stanford had a similar possession minutes later, and had to punt again.

The Sun Devil offense responded with a first-down, 65-yard scoring pass up the right sideline from Taylor Kelly to Foster at 3:52 of the quarter, closing the ASU deficit to 28-14.

Tyler Williamson’s 31-yard field goal with 6:12 to go in the third quarter extended the Cardinal’s lead to 31-14. But, for at least a few moments, the Sun Devils refused to die.

ASU converted a fourth-and-10 on pass from Kelly to Kevin Ozier to the Stanford 23. A defensive holding call moves the ball to the Stanford 9 after a 1-yard scramble by Kelly. A pass from Kelly to Kevin Ozier moved the Devils to the Stanford 1, but on fourth-and-goal, DeMarieya Nelson was stuffed for no gain.

In its efforts to move away from their own goal line, Stanford utilized the wide open spaces when, on third down, a pass from Hogan to Devon Caguste covers 78 yards to the ASU 17. After a personal foul call against Stanford, Hogan connected with Montgomery for the Cardinal’s final tally, a 24-yard TD strike with 12:11 to play in the fourth quarter.

Caqjuste caught two passes for 120 yards.

Kelly was Arizona State’s leading rusher, mostly on scrambles, gaining 73 yards on 21 carries. He also completed 17 of 25 passes for 173 yards and one TD, but was sacked five times. Foster gained 62 yards on eight carries, filling in for the injured Marion Grice.

The announced attendance of 69,535 set a Pac-12 championship game record. But when Stanford scored its final touchdown, that score all but took the wind out of the sails for Sun Devils fans, who soon began heading for the exits.

After building a substantial lead against Arizona State in their first meeting only to see the Sun Devils enjoy a big fourth quarter, Stanford was determined not to let that happen again.

“The first game (against ASU) was an example of that,” Gaffney said. “We stomped on them and they came back. We couldn’t let that happen. We couldn’t let the foot off the gas pedal there, and we emphasized that.

“From there on out, we emphasized finishing games. We had some ups and downs of doing that, but this was the championship. We can’t let anything slip from here.”

(TAGS: Stanford,Cardinal,football,Pac-12,Arizona State)

Bulls Fall In Overtime To The Reign 3-2

Published on December 7, 2013 by kahlilnajar7Leave a comment

By Kahlil Najar

The San Francisco Bulls (7-12-2-2) lost a tough one in overtime to the Ontario Reign (15-3-1-3), 3-2. Dale Mitchell, who just returned to the ice yesterday tied the game up in the third to force overtime however the Reign’s Matt Register scored in the extra period to squash a Bulls sweep on the weekend. Tyler Gron is proving to be a superstar on the team as he continued his point streak to seven games with a goal and an assist.

At 12:08 of the first period, Mario Lamoureux was able to snap a short shot past J.P. Anderson and give the Reign a 1-0 lead. Matt Register and Derek Couture earned assists on the goal. Tyler Gron and the Bulls responded with 3:14 left in the first when on a power play he was able to flip a rebound off of Hutchinson into the back of the goal and tie the game at one a piece.

Ontario was given a two-man advantage and Derek Couture received a nice pass from Jake Newton and got a shot past Anderson from the bottom of the left circle and make it a 2-1 lead after two periods. The Bulls had only shot 14 times in the first two periods while the Reign had 30.

The Bulls were on a four-minute power play after a double minor to the Reign and Dale Mitchell was able to backhand rebound past Hutchinson’s blocker to tie the game 2-2.

In overtime, Register scored at 3:24 to give Ontario the 3-2 victory.

The Bulls travel to Las Vegas to face the Wranglers tomorrow for a 2:05 pm start.

Bulls beat first place Reign 4-1

Published on December 7, 2013December 7, 2013 by kahlilnajar7Leave a comment

By Kahlil Najar

ONTARIO – Scott Langdon scored twice and Tyler Beskorowany made 42 saves to help lead the San Francisco Bulls (7-12-1-1) to a 4-1 victory over the first place Ontario Reign (14-3-1-3). Tyler Gron extended his point streak to six games with a goal, while Jordan Morrison and Brett Findlay also extended their point streaks to five games.

Spark plug Dale Mitchell returned for the first time since a back injury in early November and grab himself a goal early in the first period. Langdon followed up with his first goal of the night just 48 seconds later on a beautiful wraparound goal that he was able to stuff by Ontario goalie Hutchinson and give the Bulls a 2-0 lead.

After the first intermission, Langdon stormed back onto the ice and was able to shoot a blast from the point with only 44 seconds gone and gave the Bulls a 3-0 lead. The Reign got their first goal of the night on a laser shot from Matt Register from the point that somehow made it’s way through traffic and beat Besko.

With a little less than 10 minutes gone in the third, Tyler Gron was able to be Hutchinson and bring us to the final score of 4-1.

The Bulls face the Reign again Saturday night for a 6 p.m.