Category: Uncategorized

By Joe Hawkes-Beamon

OAKLAND — With the NFL preseason in gear, teams are evaluating players that are expected to help lead them to prominence in 2015, and no question that quarterback is the most vital piece to the puzzle.

In the NFL, you need a quarterback.

According to Washington Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III, Griffin believes that not only is he the best quarterback on his team, but he is the best quarterback in the NFL.

The above statement is not a typo. Griffin really believes that he is the most elite quarterback in the NFL and he isn’t afraid to say it.

Speaking to Alex Parker of Washington’s ABC affiliate WJLA Monday, Griffin cemented his belief that no other quarterback should compare to him.

“I don’t feel like I have to come out here and show anybody anything or why I’m better than this guy or better than that guy. It’s more about going out and affirming that for me, I go out and I play, I know I’m the best quarterback on this team. I feel like I’m the best quarterback in the league and I have to go out and show that. Any athlete at any level, if they concede to someone else, they’re not a top competitor, they’re not trying to be the best that they can be. There’s guys in this league that have done way more than me. But, I still view myself as the best because that’s what I work toward every single day.”

Griffin is right on two accounts.

One, any athlete, at any level, if they concede to someone else, they’re not a top competitor. Many players are going to give the political answer when, if asked, if so and so is better than them, they’ll say, “helluva player, love their competitive spirit.”

But they’ll never come out and admit that “this player is better than me.” Not for a long shot.

And second, they’re have been guys in the league that have done more than you Griffin.

Tom Brady, Eli and Peyton Manning, Drew Brees, Ben Roethlisberger, Joe Flacco, Russell Wilson, and Aaron Rodgers just to name a few. All of those guys have a combined for 33 Pro Bowl appearances, 10 Super Bowl rings, and nine NFL MVP awards.

Griffin has made one Pro Bowl appearance, one playoff appearance, and was the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2012, beating out Indianapolis Colts quarterback for the award.

That season, Griffin passed for 3,200 yards, 20 touchdowns, and five interceptions, while leading Washington to a 10-6 record and its first NFC East Division title since 1999.

But in Washington’s 24-14 NFC Wild Card Playoff loss to the Seattle Seahawks, Griffin tore his reconstructed right knee he suffered in college on FedEx Field’s soggy and ransacked field.

In 2013, Griffin regressed a bit playing in just 13 games, while passing for 3,203 yards, but threw just 16 touchdowns, while tossing 12 interceptions, as Washington was watching the playoffs from the couch finishing in the basement of the division at 3-13.

Then in 2014 with the addition of former Philadelphia Eagles deep threat, wide receiver Desean Jackson, to go along with the dependable Pierre Garcon (whose 113 catches in 2013 broke Hall of Famer Art Monk’s franchise record for catches in a season), Griffin was primed for a bounce back season.

That wasn’t the case either as Griffin couldn’t stay in the lineup, missing six games due to a broken ankle he suffered in Week 2 against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Griffin returned to field in Week 9, but struggled for the remainder of the season finishing with just four touchdowns and six interceptions as Washington missed the playoffs for the second time in the last three seasons.

In Griffin’s last 20 games, Washington is 5-15, a far cry from a team whose quarterback truly sees himself in the same clubhouse as the most elite quarterbacks in the league.

Griffin is still standing behind the velvet rope outside hoping to get VIP status.

I like the confidence in Griffin. Who wouldn’t. But to say that you are the best quarterback in the league when you have done squat leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

Quarterbacks are judged by their record which is fair and Griffin has played inconsistently and never seem to stay on the field. For his career, Griffin is 14-22. There is still time for Griffin and Washington to improve on that mark, but it has to start with a more focused and determined Griffin.

“It’s not the game you thought it was when you were a kid and you were dreaming of playing and being a professional athlete,” Griffin said. “There’s more business that goes into it, there’s more ruthlessness, backstabbing than you would expect. But at the end of the day when you put your helmet on your shoulder pads and your pants, your cleats and you get to go out there and run around on the field, it’s still that same game that you played as a kid.”

So Griffin feels that he does not need to prove anything to anyone in the league?

In the words of Chad Johnson, “Child please.”

How can you say that to anybody while holding a straight face?

Not only do you need to prove yourself to the organization, but to the Washington fan base, the rest of the league and most importantly, to yourself. Stop saying that you’re an elite quarterback when your play recently has been mediocre, to say the least.

The NFL is arguably the most popular sport in the country, but the business side of the game can be colder than Drake dissing Meek Mill.

Heading into year four, this is a make or break season for Griffin. If he does continue to slide, Griffin could feel the “ruthlessness, backstabbing” in a form of a release from the team that traded a fortune to draft him No. 2 overall back in 2012.

By Jeremy Kahn

ST. LOUIS-In the first meeting of the season between the two teams that have represented the National League in the last five World Series, game one did not go the way that the reigning World Champion San Francisco Giants wanted it go.

Mark Reynolds was safe on an errant throw by Brandon Crawford that scored Pleasanton native Stephen Piscotty from third base in the bottom of the eighth inning, as the St. Louis Cardinals defeated the Giants 2-1 before a crowd of 40,088 at Busch Stadium.

The Stanford graduate Piscotty picked up his first career triple with one out in the frame, and after a intentional walk to Brandon Moss, he scored the eventual game-winning run on the errant Crawford throw.

“A perfect throw would have gotten him,” said Bruce Bochy.

“That was a tough one that was a ball that wasn’t hit hard enough or soft enough that I could come home, I thought I was close to the bag and take it myself because of the short hop,” Saudi Crawford.

Chris Heston pitched only four and two-thirds innings, allowing one run on four hits, walking one and striking out six.

“Finding the strike zone is an issue right now, just get back to being aggressive in the zone and not walking so many people,” said Heston.

Yadier Molina gave the Cardinals a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the fourth inning, as he hit a towering home run to left field that was measured at 403 feet.

That would be the score when the Giants came to the plate in the top of the sixth inning against Wacha. Matt Duffy led off the inning with a single, then Brandon Belt singled; however Hunter Pence grounded into a double play that sent Duffy to third base. Crawford then hit a double to left-center field that tied up the game.

Crawford extended his hitting streak up to 11 games, as he singled in the fourth inning and then hit the game-tying double in the top of the sixth inning.

Andrew Susac walked in the top of the ninth inning against Cardinals closer Trevor Rosenthal that brought Buster Posey to the plate to pinch-hit for Justin Maxwell.

“I knew I hit it good, but it also knew it was also high, I didn’t feel that it was a no doubter,” said Posey.

Kelby Tomlinson extended his hitting streak to a modest four games, as he went 1-for-2 at the plate.

Michael Wacha went seven strong innings, allowing just one run on six hits, walking one and striking out six for the Cardinals.

Kevin Siegrist pitched a perfect eighth inning with one strikeout to pickup his fourth win of the season against zero losses. This was Siegrist’s first win since June 7 against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium.

Cardinals center fielder Jason Heyward was forced to leave the game with tightness in his left hamstring.

NOTES: Mike Leake was scheduled to start on Tuesday, but he still needs more time to recuperate from his left hamstring strain.

Ryan Vogelsong, who pitched five innings, striking out eight in Thursday’s 3-1 victory against the Washington Nationals will start in Leake’s place and Matt Cain will pitch in the series finale on Wednesday.

Madison Bumgarner was named National League Player of the Week after going 2-0 with a 0.50 earned run average and 26 strikeouts. It is the first Player of the Week award for Bumgarner, as he threw two complete games and went 2-for-6 with a double, a home run and a run batted in.

Susac was activated from the 15-day disabled list after missing the last 26 games with a right thumb sprain, to make room for Susac, Hector Sanchez was optioned to Triple-A Sacramento.

By Jeremy Kahn

SAN FRANCISCO-If Madison Bumgarner continues it up at the plate, opposing managers may start walking the pitcher intentionally.

Bumgarner hit his fourth home run of the season in the bottom of the bottom of the seventh inning, as the San Francisco Giants defeated the Washington Nationals 5-0 before a crowd of 41,904, the 386th consecutive sellout at AT&T Park.

Asides from hitting his fourth home run of the season, giving him 10 in his career, Bumgarner also threw his second consecutive complete game and the Giants ended the homestand with a 5-1 record.

Bumgarner allowed only three hits, walking just one and a struck out career-high tying 14 on the afternoon.

The win also gave the Giants their first four-game sweep over the Nationals franchise in San Francisco since May 28-30, 1971, when the team was known as the Montreal Expos. The last time that the Giants swept the Expos/Nationals franchise came in the first season of Nationals Park from June 6-9, 2008.

This was the eighth series sweep of the season, and have won 13 out of their last 15 at AT&T Park.

Hunter Pence hit a two-run home run off of Nationals starter Joe Ross, who went to Bishop O’Dowd High School in Oakland.

The fourth inning was the decisive inning for the Giants, as they score three of their five guns in the frame. Brandon Belt got the scoring going, as he doubled in Gregor Blanco, who picked up the first hit of the game for either side with a single. Blanco alertly tagged up on a Matt Duffy flyout to centerfield, and made it into second base safely. Belt then doubled in Blanco, and then Belt scored just in front of Pence, who clubbed his ninth home run of the season.

Bumgarner drove in his first run of the game with a double down the left field line that scored Kelby Tomlinson, who beat out an infield single.

Ross lasted just four innings, allowing four runs on six hits, walking one and striking out six in his first-ever appearance at AT&T Park.

Bumgarner struck out the side on two different occasions, in the first and the eighth innings respectively.

The 26-year old struck out Nationals leadoff hitter Michael A.Taylor in all four at-bats, and struck out Nationals slugger Bryce Harper, the only left-handed to hit a home run off of Bumgarner during the 2015 season on three different occasions.

By: Joe Lami

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif.

For the second night in a row, the San Francisco Giants bats came a live at AT&T Park, as they defeated the Washington Nationals 12-6 on Saturday night. 

They were led offensively by the top of the lineup once again, as Gregor Blanco and Matt Duffy had a huge impact on the victory.

Gio Gonzalez was coming off his best performance of the season, as he tossed eight shutout innings against the Dodgers on Monday. He started hot, retiring the first six batters he faced in order, but it all went down hill from there as he was unable to finish the third inning, even with a two run lead.

The monstrous third inning started with a bang, as Kelby Tomlinson ended Gio’s chance of a perfect game with a lead-off triple into right center. Tomlinson later commented, “it’s always fun when you can put a big inning together, but it just adds to it when you’re the one who starts it”.

Gonzalez walked the next two batters, including a walk to pitcher, Jake Peavy, loading them up for Blanco. Giants’ manager, Bruce Bochy, mentioned during post-game that the Peavy at bat was the most important of the night.

Blanco earned his only RBI of his three hit night with a base hit up the middle. The bases would remain loaded for Duffy, until he unloaded them by blasting a double down the left field line making it 4-2.  The rally continued for San Francisco with a Brandon Belt single to center, bringing in Duffy.  Brandon Crawford would later bring in Belt to make it 6-2, marking the end of Gio’s night.  “You don’t expect to score all of these runs off of these guys, but they’re human and they make mistakes. You have to give credit to our hitters for capitalizing,” added Bochy.

The Giants were able to put another crooked number up in the fifth inning, with Tomlinson getting the key hit.  Following an intentional walk to Crawford, Tomlinson was up with runners on second and third and two outs.  Tomlinson was able to find fair territory down the left field line on the double that would score both runners, making it 9-2. “He reminds me a lot of Duffy, he fits well on this team,” added winning pitcher, Peavy afterwards.

Washington attempted their comeback in the sixth inning, where they scored three runs of their own to make it 9-5. Jose Labton hit a two-run double, and would be later brought in by a Michael Taylor triple that ended Peavy’s night.

The hit of the night came in the second inning off the bat of Ian Desmond. Desmond launched his 15th home run of the season 477 ft. over the left field bleachers and coming very close to hitting the Coca-Cola slide. “You see shots like that in bp sometimes, but that’s one of the longest I’ve seen,” Bochy commented. Peavy also mentioned that he couldn’t have throw a worse pitch to Desmond.

The Giants’ dominance over the Nationals continues, as they have faced three of Washington’s aces these last three games in Stephen Strasburg, Max Scherzer and Gio Gonzalez. In those three games, San Francisco has scored 14 runs on them in a combined 11.2 innings. \

The start of the lineup has been the key, as Gregor Blanco is batting .600 from the lead-off spot i the last two games, and Matt Duffy, batting in the two hole, is batting .500 over his last 12 at bats that include eight RBI.

With the Giants’ dominance of late, they have still yet to be able to make a move on the Dodgers or Cubs for a playoff spot, as both Los Angeles and Chicago won on Saturday.

The Giants look for the four game sweep over the Nats tomorrow, sending out their ace, Madison Bumgarner to face Joe Ross.

By: Joe Lami

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif.—

One night after a pitching duel, the Giants and Nationals’ bats exploded on Friday night as they combined for 20 hits and 13 runs in an offensive shootout of a game that San Francisco was able to outlast Washington in the 8-5 victory.

It didn’t take the Nationals long to gain the lead Friday night, as they were able to get on the scoreboard just a dozen pitches into Matt Cain’s night.  A lead-off walk followed by a stolen base and two sacrifice flies led to the in the rare one run on no hit inning.

Matt Duffy tied things up in the bottom half of the first for his tenth home run of the season and his career.  He turned the Scherzer fastball out to the third row of the left field bleachers to bring the Giants right back in it.

Cain came out shaky in the second inning, as he served up a double to Clint Robinson who smoked it into triples alley, but it wouldn’t live up to its name as he stopped at second. Robinson would eventually try to take home on an easy ground ball to Brandon Crawford, but the All-Star shortstop gunned him out at home to keep things tied at one.

The Giants exploded for four runs on four doubles in the second inning. Four doubles in one inning ties a franchise record for most doubles in a single inning. It was the sixth time they’ve done so in the San Francisco era. Crawford, Justin Maxwell, Gregor Blanco and Duffy were those to do so. San Francisco had the 5-1 lead and all of the momentum coming out of the second inning. The momentum continued into the third, as Hunter Pence jumped on the first pitch of the inning. His eighth homer of the season to dead center over the 399 marker would make it 6-1.

Washington pushed for the come back in the fifth inning, scoring four runs on two home runs. Danny Espinosa kicked started the inning with a solo shot to left center field that bounced off the top of the wall and just had enough to get over.  Bryce Harper had the big sting in the inning thou, as he crushed a three-run shot to right for his league leading 30th of the year. 

The Giants would escape the inning with the lead in tact, much thanks to Jeremy Affeldt who came into finish the inning and earned the victory.

Two more Giants’ insurance runs came in the sixth and eighth innings, allowing the bullpen to do the rest and earn the 63rd victory of the season. “The bullpen’s just been terrific for us these last couple of nights,” added Giants’ manager, Bruce Bochy. Cain also commented on their performance, “what they did tonight was just tremendous, they kept it all together”.

Gregor Blanco and Duffy had outstanding nights at the plate. Duffy was just one triple shy of hitting for the cycle.  “I thought about it for a couple of pitches, and when I got caught looking at something good I decided to change my approach and let it come to me,” explained Duffy. 

While Blanco did everything for the orange and black Saturday night. On top of going three for five with two RBI, he had a diving catch in the outfield to rob Yunel Escobar of a single to end the third. He also beat out a play at the plate sliding into home for the Giants’ seventh run of the night. “He’s been playing with a lot of fire lately, and did it all tonight for us,” said Bochy.

Though Matt Cain didn’t pick up the victory, he pitched four very strong innings and one poor one as he is slowly coming back into form as one of the Giants’ aces. “I feel like I’m almost all the way there. It’s just one final step, nothing major, but I need to get past the hump and throw that one pitch when I need to,” he explained.

Even with the Giants’ victory, they don’t move any closer on the NL West or the second Wildcard spot. They still sit 2.5 games behind the Dodgers after their 5-3 victory over the Reds on Friday and 4.5 back of the Chicago Cubs, who beat up on their cross town rival White Sox 6-5.

By Daniel Dullum

Sports Radio Service

Friday, August 14, 2015

The Oakland Raiders opened their 2015 NFL exhibition schedule with an 18-3 win over the visiting St. Louis Rams at the O.co Coliseum in Oakland.

Oakland (1-0) surged ahead to stay when Christian Ponder threw a 3-yard touchdown pass to Andre Holmes. Though Ponder’s 2-point conversion pass to Kenbrell Thompkins was incomplete, the Raiders took a 9-3 lead with 5:50 left in the first half.

Georgio Tavecchio’s 39-yard field goal in the third quarter and a 16-yard scoring pass in the fourth quarter from Matt McGloin to Brice Butler helped Oakland build its 15-point lead. McGloin’s 2-point pass to Kris Durham was incomplete, as the Raiders declined to try the new, longer extra-point kicking distance after each of their TDs.

The teams traded field goals in the first quarter. Greg Zuerlein put the Rams (0-1) on the board with a 31-yard field goal, and Sebastian Janikowski kicked a 44-yarder to tie it with 7:20 left in the period.

As per normal, many players on both sides saw action in the first exhibition game of the season. Brice Butler led Oakland with six pass receptions for 57 yards and one TD, and Latavius Murray carried six times for 35 yards, McGloin completed 10 of 11 passes for 104 yards and a touchdown, while Ponder completed 6 of 8 for 75 yards and a TD with one interception. Derek Carr completed 6 of 9 passes for 43 yards and was picked off once.

Next week, the Raiders travel to Minneapolis to face the Minnesota Vikings at TCF Bank Stadium on the campus of the University of Minnesota – the Vikings’ temporary home while their new stadium is being built on the site once occupied by the Metrodome. Minnesota defeated Pittsburgh 14-3 in its exhibition opener.

By Jeremy Kahn

SAN FRANCISCO-On a night where Bruce Bochy probably wanted to rest the bullpen, Madison Bumgarner helped out.

Bumgarner threw a complete game, striking out 12 and not walking a batter and the San Francisco Giants defeated the Houston Astros 3-1 before a crowd of 42,569, the 381st consecutive sellout at AT&T Park.

After allowing back-to-back singles to start the game, Bumgarner went into a zone and struck out the next seven batters in succession.

The last pitcher to strikeout seven in a row was Jonathan Sanchez, who did it on August 3, 2010 against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field.

Bumgarner tied the San Francisco-era record that was held by Sanchez and Juan Marchial, who did it on September 6, 1964 against the Philadelphia Phillies at Connie Mack Stadium in Philadelphia.

Brandon Belt supplied the offense for the Giants, as he hit two home runs, giving him a career-high tying 17 home runs.

Belt also hit 17 home runs during the 2013 season.

This was the third multi-home run game of Belt’s career and second this season, as he also did it on August 1 against the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Park.

As for the Astros, they gave list seven out of their last eight, including four in a row and are now 1-6 on their current road trip that ends on Wednesday.

Scott Kazmir went 5.2 innings, allowing three rubs on five hits, walking two and striking out three.

Kazmir also committed a career-high two errors on the evening, becoming the first Astros pitcher to do that since current Oakland A’s reliever Fernando Abad did it on April 17, 2011 versus the San Diego Padres.

Carlos Perez robbed Matt Duffy of a solo home run in the bottom of the first inning, as he made a leaping catch at the wall in centerfield.

By Jeremy Harness

Angelique Kerber won the fourth tournament of her WTA career on Sunday afternoon, as the German dug down deep and came out victorious at the Bank of the West Classic at Stanford.

Her 6-3, 5-7 and 6-4 win over the Czech Republic’s Karolina Pliskova was the first win for Kerber in two years, and it was sweet redemption for her having lost in heartbreaking fashion in the final match in this tournament just last year.

The two players were dead even in first-serve points won, but Pliskova was victimized by 10 double faults, while Kerber only committed four of them.

Kerber won the first set by breaking Pliskova’s serve three times and taking advantage of four double faults by the Check native. Pliskova, however, rallied to win a hard-fought second set, which had proved throughout this tournament to be a catalyst for victory – just ask Alison Riske, who was beaten by Elina Svitolina in Friday’s quarterfinal match after taking the first set and losing the second set by a similar 7-5 count.

Kerber, on the other hand, would not suffer the same fate. She played the third set with purpose, and while Pliskova committed three double faults, she only committed one of them. She also won 75 percent of her first-serve points and, in the process, broke Pliskova’s serve three times.

In the doubles final, the Chinese duo of Yi-Fan Xu and Saisai Zheng blew out Spaniards Anabel Medina Garrigues and Arantxa Parra Santonja in straight sets, 6-1 and 6-3.

Xu and Zheng overcame three double faults by winning 24 of their 33 first-serve points and saving three of their four break points. Meanwhile, they broke the serve of the Spanish pair five times throughout the match.

The Chinese duo set the tone early in the first set by winning an astounding 10 of 11 first-serve points while breaking the Spanish three times and not committing a single double fault. Things did not change very much in the second set, even though Xu and Zheng did commit three double faults.

They won 63 percent of their first-serve points in the final set while Medina Garrigues and Parra Santonja only won 50 percent of them.