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Remembering famed San Jose State football coach Darryl Rogers

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Photo credit: sjsuspartans.com

By: Ana Kieu

The San Jose State football team may be struggling right now, but this Wednesday marked a sad day for Spartan nation, some of whom are also SJSU alumni or alumna.
Darryl Rogers, one of the most successful head coaches in the football program’s history, passed away on Wednesday at the age of 83.

Rogers served as the Spartans’ head coach during 1973, 1974, and 1975. SJSU had a winning record each season and accumulated a 22-9-3 win-loss record as a whole. Before his tenure in San Jose, the Spartans’ last winning season was in 1961 with a subpar 6-4 record.

“On behalf of the San Jose State University Division of Intercollegiate Athletics, we want to express our condolences to the Rogers family and, in particular, his granddaughter Adie Collard, who is a member of our women’s swimming and diving team. When he took over as our head coach, he breathed new life into Spartan football. He was thrilled that Adie was a Spartan,” said SJSU director of athletics Marie Tuite.

His players included SJSU’s first three NFL first-round draft picks: defensive back Louie Wright (Denver Broncos; 1975), defensive end Kim Bokamper, (Miami Dolphins; 1976) and defensive tackle Wilson Faumuina (Atlanta Falcons; 1977), and quarterback Steve DeBerg, who played for six NFL teams in a span of 17 seasons.

“Darryl Rogers gave our football program legitimacy. He demanded detail and execution on both sides of the ball. It was a pleasure to play for him. He was a perfectionist,” said former linebacker James Hawkins, who was a member of Rogers’ 1974 and 1975 teams.

Prior to coaching at SJSU, Rogers served as the head coach at Cal State Hayward in 1965, and his alma mater, Fresno State, from 1966 to 1972. After his tenure with the Spartans, he served as the head coach at Michigan State from 1976 to 1979, Arizona State from 1980 to 1984, and the Detroit Lions from 1985 to 1988. His college head coaching record was 129-84-7. He eventually earned a spot as one of six NCAA Division I head coaching finalists for induction into the College Football Hall of Fame.

Rogers is survived by his wife, Marsha, their daughters, Stacy and Jamie, and his granddaughter, Adie.

Aces win second game of the season, beat Fever 101-92 in OT

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Photo credit: Las Vegas Aces

By Shawn McCullough

The Las Vegas Aces outscored the Indiana Fever 17-8 in overtime for their second win of the season in a 101-92 victory at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, IN.

A’ja Wilson led the Aces with a career-high 35 points and also a career-high 13 rebounds.

Las Vegas led by eight points with a little over two minutes remaining in regulation, but the Fever rallied back to tie the game with 26.6 seconds left.

The Aces started the overtime period on an 8-0 run and never looked back.

The offense came alive against the Fever as the Aces shot 51.9% from the field, while holding Indiana to just 44.4%.

With the win, the Aces improved to 2-7 on the season.

The Aces will play their next two games on the road in New York against the Liberty and in Dallas against the Wings.

The Aces next home game will be on Sunday, June 17th against the Phoenix Mercury at the Mandalay Bay Events Center.

Las Vegas Aces – http://aces.wnba.com

Game Notes:

  • The Aces never trailed in the game after an A’ja Wilson jump shot with 2:39 left in the first quarter to give Las Vegas a 20-18 lead.
  • A’ja Wilson scored in double figures (35) for the ninth straight game and 30 or more points for the first time in her career.
  • Nia Coffey (ankle) and Moriah Jefferson (knee) did not play due to injury.
  • Yesterday was Nia Coffey’s 23rd birthday.

Game Starters:

F – 22 A’ja Wilson
F – 1 Tamera Young
C – 19 JiSu Park
G – 21 Kayla McBride
G – 10 Kelsey Plum

Warriors finish off Cavs 108-85 for back-to-back championships

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Photo credit: @warriors

By Pearl Allison Lo

The Golden State Warriors were on the big stage following their defeat of the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2017. This year, Golden State knocked out Cleveland again with a 108-85 rout Game 4 of the NBA Finals on Friday night at the Quicken Loans Arena.

The start of the game was familiar territory as the Warriors went into the game with a 3-0 advantage, but the result was unfamiliar as they found themselves with another title–their first ever back-to-back titles. It was Golden State’s sixth straight win of these 2018 playoffs.

For fans of the opposing team, perhaps more disappointing than the loss for the Cavs, is whether star LeBron James will stay or leave.

Still sporting a red eye from Game 1, James left the court with 4:03 left after playing a game-high 41 minutes and scoring 23 points. He left to praise from all, including his opponents and the crowds chants of “MVP” grew louder.

Speaking of MVP, Kevin Durant matched his team, receiving the NBA Finals accolade for the second straight year. Durant finished a +30 and earned his first career playoff triple double, with 20 points and a game-high 12 rebounds along with a game-high 10 assists.

Teammate Stephen Curry, who held the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy after the game, scored a 2018 playoff-high 37 points in 39 minutes.

In the first, after both teams scored, the Warriors went on an 11-0 run, seven points from Curry, which Cleveland then countered with an 8-0 run. Golden State had three fouls during the latter run, including a technical. The Warriors’ Klay Thompson left the court after his second foul.  

The Cavs’ last possession of the first was marked by four offensive rebounds, three missed shots and two blocks by Golden State.

Curry overcame his 11 point performance in Game 3 with 12 points in the first.

It took awhile for Golden State to get going in the second. Cleveland took advantage, gaining the lead for the first time, 39-38, with 7:12 left. At that point, the Warriors only had four points to the Cavaliers’ 14. The lead then continued to change basket by basket for a total of five times and then a sixth after free throws interrupted the pattern.

Golden State then held the lead the rest of the game after the 47-43 score with 4:36 left (Andre Iguodala hit a three). Curry had eight points with the help of two three’s and Cleveland missed three free throws.  

By the end of the second, both teams had scored 27 points apiece, canceling out any advantage for the Cavaliers.

In the third, Cleveland’s Tristan Thompson inadvertently helped with the Warriors’ then game-high 17 point lead, 67-52, when he put in a bucket for them. The points were credited to JaVale McGee.

When James made a free throw, the third score after (49-47), that would be the closest the Cavaliers ever got anymore.

Both teams’ field goal and three point shooting went down in the third but Golden State’s first bucket of the third, a Thompson jumper, would mark a double-digit lead for the rest of the game. Cleveland only scored 13 points in the quarter and the Warriors lead reached 21 points at the end.

Golden State’s lead’s largest margin would end at 28 points and occurred with 6:19 left, courtesy of Curry (102-74).

Game Notes: The last time the NBA Finals saw a sweep was in 2007, when James and the Cavs were the victims again. The Warriors finished a perfect 11-of-11 from the free throw line. Durant also had a a game-high-tying three blocks. Golden State will celebrate with their fans in person Tuesday at 11 am PDT.

Aces fall 95-90 to Sky in Chicago

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Photo credit: Las Vegas Aces

By Shawn McCullough

The Aces led by as many as 15 points, but got hurt by foul trouble into the second half as the Chicago Sky beat the Aces 95-90 at Wintrust Arena on Sunday night.

Dearica Hamby scored a career high 24 points to lead the Aces, while A’ja Wilson dropped 22 points with five rebounds.

The Sky dominated the boards, outrebounding the Aces 40-27, including 12 offensive rebounds.

With the loss, the Aces dropped to 1-5 on the season.

The Aces will next return home to play the Atlanta Dream on Friday, June 8th at the Mandalay Bay Events Center.  This will be the first meeting of the season between the Aces and the Dream.

Las Vegas Aces – http://aces.wnba.com

Game Starters:
F – 22 A’ja Wilson
F – 12 Nia Coffey
C – 3 Kelsey Bone
G – 21 Kayla McBride
G – 15 Lindsay Allen

Aces win first game of the season; beat Mystics 85-73

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Photo credit: Shawn McCullough, Sports Radio Service

By Shawn McCullough

LAS VEGAS — The Las Vegas Aces won their first game in franchise history with an 85-73 victory over the Washington Mystics at the Mandalay Bay Event Center Friday night.

“This is very important that we get our first win,” said head coach Bill Laimbeer. “You want to get rid of the monkey as fast as possible in any sport. Overall, it was a very important win for us.”

It’s tough winning in this league, so for us to finally to get a win is exciting for us,” said forward A’ja Wilson. “I am glad that we got it at home so the fans can continue to come out and support us.”

Five different Aces scored in double digits including Wilson who had 26 points and 12 rebounds. Wilson went to the free throw line 18 times, making 14 shots.

“It can’t take just one or two people, it takes the team,” said Wilson.  “I’m super-duper excited to see that we are all getting the ball, everyone is kind of scoring and sharing the basketball.”

After giving up an average of 103 points in their last two games, the Aces held the Mystics to just 73 points. Prior to tonight’s game, the Mystics averaged 86.67 points per game.

“We really didn’t play defense well (the last two games) the way that we know that our system operates, so we needed to come out with a mindset and say that we weren’t going to let that happen again,” said Wilson.

With the win, the Aces improved to 1-4 on the season.

The Aces will next play the Sky in Chicago on Sunday, June 3rd.  This will be the first meeting of the season between the Aces and the Sky.

Las Vegas Aces – http://aces.wnba.com

Game Starters:

F – 22 A’ja Wilson
F – 12 Nia Coffey
C – 8 Carolyn Swords
G – 21 Kayla McBride
G – 15 Lindsay Allen