5 SJSU Spartans honored by National Football Foundation

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Photo credit: sjsuspartans.com

By Ana Kieu

San José State football seniors Brett Foley, Alex Galland, Chandler Hawkins, and Deano Motes, Quinn Oseland are among the 1,439 college football players from all NCAA and NAIA honored by the National Football Foundation as student-athletes with an undergraduate degree.

Foley, Hawkins and Motes earned their degrees from San Jose State. Foley and Motes are pursuing a MBA, while Hawkins is studying educational counseling.

Galland is a graduate transfer from Yale University who majored in mechanical engineering. Oseland is a graduate transfer from the University of Minnesota who majored in business and marketing education. Both are enrolled in San Jose State master’s of public administration program.

“The National Football Foundation takes great pride in its role as a leading voice in the promotion of the scholar-athlete,” said NFF Chairman Archie Manning. “And highlighting the 1,439 student-athletes who have not only earned their undergraduate degrees but are now pursuing additional diplomas sends a powerful message about the doors that college football opens. This list allows us to showcase those individuals who have truly taken full advantage of the opportunities created by college football.”

“Today’s release allows us to recognize a truly exceptional group of college football players,” said NFF President & CEO Steve Hatchell. “And it expands our efforts to highlight the integral role that college football has played in the education of millions of student-athletes over the years. It is often said that college is not about the four years on campus but the next 40 years of your career. Clearly those on this list have made the most of their college experiences, and we are extremely pleased to shine a light on their accomplishments.”

These five Spartans were featured in this preseason article.

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary podcast: Fans and players not big fans of the weekend uniforms; When will Brown’s helmet issues get settled?; plus more

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On That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary podcast:

#1 How bad were the weekend uniforms, some said the home whites looked like they were cricket players or they were selling ice cream in the stands like the concession salespeople. MLB said and made sure each player wore the proper uniform.

#2 The helmet issue of Oakland Raiders’ Antonio Brown has not yet gone away yet. Brown filed a grievance with the Players Union. Brown said the helmet that he used to use in Pittsburgh was a good-fitting helmet that did its job. The league is saying Brown needs to wear the proper helmet to protect himself from concussion and if he collides with another player.

#3 The Raiders picked up a close win in Winnipeg against the Green Bay Packers 22-21 last Thursday. It took a Daniel Carlson field goal with eight seconds left to get the Raiders the win on a rugged short field that’s normally used for Canadian Football.

#4 The A’s will try and shake off the double loss to the Giants from the weekend series and tango with the Kansas City Royals. The A’s really need this series in order to keep pace with Cleveland and Tampa Bay in the AL wild card.

#5 It’s hard to believe that former San Francisco Giant pitcher Juan Marichal is 81 years old. He’s had a storied career, most notably when he got into that ruckus with John Roseboro and the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1965 in a brawl that Marichal hit Roseboro on the head with a bat. Marichal is also noted for his high leg kick and his multiple 20-win games.

Amaury Pi-Gonzalez is the radio voice for the Oakland A’s Spanish radio on 1010 KIQI, is the vice president of the Major League Baseball Heritage Museum and does News and Commentary each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Oakland A’s podcast with Charlie O: Did A’s reliever really go up and in on Vogt?; Canha having his best part of the season; plus more

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sfgate.com photo: Oakland Athletics’ Mark Canha, right, is congratulated by third base coach Matt Williams after hitting a solo home run against the San Francisco Giants during the fourth inning of a baseball game in Oakland.

On the A’s podcast with Charlie O:

#1 Did A’s reliever Ryan Butcher really go head hunting on former Athletic and Giant catcher Stephen Vogt on Sunday after Vogt hit a grand slam on Saturday off Butcher? Butcher put Vogt on his backside with an up and in fastball.

#2 How bad is the A’s bullpen after having a breakdown Saturday and Sunday? They certainly looked a lot different than they did from the Houston and New York series.

#3 Evan Longoria had a day on Sunday with a go-ahead two-run single that helped get the Giants a two-run win over the A’s. Longoria also hit for his 17th home run of the season.

#4 Despite the loss, the A’s Mark Canha hit for multi-home runs and made a spectacular catch in center field. A’s manager Bob Melvin said he’s seen him good before, but can’t recall ever seeing him be this good.

#5 The A’s are in Kansas City for four games. Charlie tells us how important this series is and can the A’s keep pace in the wild card race?

Charlie O does the A’s podcasts each Tuesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Beede, Giants can’t avoid getting bit by the Snakes, Arizona takes series opener 6-4

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By Morris Phillips

SAN FRANCISCO — Three thousand at-bats into a now, surprisingly, lengthy big league career–and in the midst of a breakout season–Edwin Escobar wasn’t about to overlook the opportunity afforded him in the seventh inning on Monday.

Giants’ Trevor Gott was suddenly lifted by manager Bruce Bochy after it became apparent the pitcher was experiencing discomfort in his arm. That left rookie Shaun Anderson to pitch to Escobar with a 2-1 count that swung the proceedings wildly in the hitters’ favor.

Two pitches later, Anderson challenged Escobar with a fastball up and in, and he responded with a two-run single up the middle, the key hit in Arizona’s 6-4 win.

The Giants and Diamondbacks–both with the slightest of postseason hopes–conclude their season series Tuesday with a tie-breaking 19th contest and just a half-game separating the teams in the standings.

Escobar may have been the most prominent hitter in either lineup on Monday, a dramatic change in stature for the infielder who has bounced from the Twins to the White Sox and now the Diamondbacks in a 10-year career. But Escobar has seen his RBI totals increase in every season but one, to 103 this season after he delivered on Monday.

Besides Escobar, players on both sides did more taking away than delivering in a game that was greatly decided by mistakes. Tyler Beede pitched well in trying to end his month long streak without a win. The youthful starter mixed his pitches and hit his spots, but couldn’t close the door in the pivotal sixth inning. Beede’s wild pitch allowed Escobar to score from third, breaking a 1-1 tie.

“I thought he had all-around better stuff, command, and I thought he looked better out there tonight,” manager Bruce Bochy said of Beede.

Abiatal Avelino was the surprise starter in left field for the Giants, ahead of Alex Dickerson, and he delivered a run scoring hit that sliced Arizona’s lead to 3-2 in the bottom of the sixth. But Avelino ran through third base coach Ron Wotus’ stop sign after Brandon Crawford singled, and was thrown out at the plate by a wide margin, preventing the Giants from adding on in the inning.

“He’s playing hard, and he didn’t see the stop sign,” Bochy said. “He just kept running, and ran us out of a chance at a big inning.”

The Diamondbacks landed on .500 for a remarkable 30th time this season with the win. The Giants fell below .500 after an encouraging weekend in Oakland brought them closer to the wild card leaders.

The teams conclude their brief, two-game series on Tuesday with veteran pitchers Mike Leake and Jeff Samardzija facing off.

A’s rout the lowly Royals 19-4

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Photo credit: @Athletics

By Jerry Feitelberg

The A’s pummeled the Kansas City Royals 19-4 to start the seven-game, two-city road trip. The A’s went down in order in the first inning. They scored in every inning after the first. A’s starting pitcher Homer Bailey, who was acquired from the Royals in July, faced his old team for the first time in his career. Bailey had now faced 29 of the 30 teams in the MLB. The only team he hasn’t met is the Cincinnati Reds. He played for them for 12 years before coming to the Royals at the start of the 2019 season.

Bailey improved his season record to 12-8, He is now 5-2 in eight starts for the A’s. The Royals’ starter Brad  Keller was tagged with his 14th loss of the season. The A’s put five on the board in the second inning. Keller went 1 1/3 innings and allowed five runs and three hits.

The A’s scored five runs in the second and five in the third. In the second, Mark Canha, who was named as AL Player of the Week, singled. A’s left fielder Seth Brown, making his Major League debut, singled in his first at-bat as a bi-leaguer. The big left-handed hitter from Oregon was hitting .297 with 37 homers and 104 RBIs at Triple-A Las Vegas. The 6-foot-2, 225 pound Brown was a sixth-round draft choice in 2016. Several members of his family were seen cheering him when he made his first hit. Keller walked Khris Davis to load the bases. He walked Jurickson Profar to drive in Canha with the A’s first run. Phegley walked to plate Brown and the A’s led 2-0. A’s shortstop Marcus Semien blasted a triple to deep right-center field, which cleared the bases. The A’s led 5-0. The Royals scored two in their half of the inning. With two out, Bubba Starling singled. He scored on Brett Phillips home run. The A’s led 5-2 after two.

The A’s put five more on the board in the third. Matt Olson got things going with a long single to right field. Mark Canha singled to send Olson to second. Brown singled again, and Olson scored on the play. It was Brown’s first Major League RBI. Josh Phegley reached on a swinging bunt. The ball could not be fielded cleanly by either the pitcher or the catcher. Canha scored on the play. Marcus Semien then hit his 23rd bomb of the season to make it 10-2 midway through the third inning.

The A’s added one in the fourth, and three in the fifth to make it 14-2.  The Royals got one back in the fifth. In the sixth, Profar hit his 16th of the season. In the seventh, Matt Chapman blasted his 30th. The A’s continued to pour it on. They scored two more in the eighth, and Khris Davis homered in the ninth to put the A’s way ahead 19-3. Lou Trivino pitched the ninth for Oakland, and he gave up the Royals fourth run of the night. The A’s won by a score of 19-4.

Game Notes: The A’s, as mentioned above, brought up Seth Brown to help in the outfield. The A’s needed another outfielder as Stephen Piscotty was placed on the 10-day IL with a high ankle sprain. The A’s had to make room on the 40-man roster. The team designated Nick Martini for assignment. If Martini clears waivers, he can go back to the A’s Triple-A club in Las Vegas.

The A’s had a long list of hitting stars Monday night. Josh Phegley and four hits and three RBIs. Marcus Semien had a triple and a home run and drove in seven runs. It was quite a night for Marcus. Matt Olson had three hits and two ribbies. Mark Canha had three hits and extended his hitting streak to 10 games. Seth Brown had two, hits, one RBI, and he scored two runs. Khris Brown had three hits, one of which was home run, and he had two RBIs. Profar’s line was the same as Davis. Three hits, two RBI’s and a home run.

Homer Bailey went six innings and allowed eight hits and three runs. Lefty A.J. Puk pitched two scoreless innings and allowed one hit.

The A’s line score was 19 runs, 22 hits and no errors. The Royals’ line was four runs, 11 hits and no errors.

The A’s improved to 75-55. They are now in a virtual tie with the Tampa Bay Rays for the second Wild Card. They also picked up 1/2 game on the Cleveland Indians in the race for the first Wild Card. They trail the Indians by 1/2 game. The Rays play three with the Houston Astros this week. Houston can help the A’s if they can handle the Rays. The A’s, in the meantime, Oakland must not let the Royals beat them. They have three more in Kansas City this week with and then in September when the Royals visit Oakland for three starting on September 16th.

The A’s have 32 games left on the schedule. They will finish the suspended game with Detroit on September 6th when the Tigers arrive in Oakland for three. The A’s were ahead when the game was suspended.

Up Next: Game two of the four-game series will be played Tuesday night in Kansas City. Mike Fiers (12-3, 3.46 ERA) will go for Oakland, and he will be opposed by lefty Mike Montgomery (3-6, 4.99 ERA). Montgomery had a rough outing against the lowly Baltimore Orioles last week. Game time will be at 5:15 pm.

San Jose State football gears up for home opener Thursday night

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Photo credit: mwcconnection.com

By Ana Kieu

SAN JOSE, Calif. — San Jose State football is just around the corner. This means year three is likely going to be a crucial season for head coach Brent Brennan. If the third time isn’t the charm, the athletic directors, media and fans aren’t going to be as tolerant. It’s a decent season or bust.

SJSU has geared up for its football home opener vs. Northern Colorado, and yes, this includes the first press conference of the 2019 season. Check out my Q&A with Brennan in CECFU Stadium on Monday afternoon.

1. There’s a solid set of tight ends that will try to fill in the place left by Josh Oliver. Who do you think will stand out in the set?
That’s going to be interesting to watch. I think all those guys have a real place to contribute. It’s exciting to see Brett Foley who’s a guy, a local kid who played down the street at Mitty (Archbishop Mitty High School) as a high school quarterback and a linebacker when I first got him. We moved him to tight end and he’s starting to make a move last fall playing a little bit of tight end into some nice stuff. He really had an outstanding camp. Billy Humphreys has played a lot of football here. He’s a big body. He can run, he can catch, he can block. So he’s got a contribution to make. I think Derrick Deese, Jr. will be fun because he’s a great route runner and pass catcher. He does a nice job at the line of scrimmage for someone who is a converted wide receiver. The young guy, Dominick Mazzotti, has done some really good stuff in camp. So that’s a position group that we feel strongly about. Coach (Matt) Adkins did a fantastic job coaching them and coach (Kevin) McGiven has demonstrated when we have a tight end that can be effective, we’ll find a way to give them the ball like we did a year ago. So now we got three and four — if you count the freshmen — and I think you’ll see a contribution from all of them game-by-game.

2. What was the reason behind your creative playcalling late last season and will you continue to turn heads with such playcalling this season?
I think we’ll continue to be aggressive at what we do in terms of our playcalling. I think it’s really important that our players know we believe in them and believe they can execute at a high level and that we can call anything in the playbook and believe that we’ll get it done. I think that being in our second year of our scheme gives us a better chance to execute some of that stuff and I think Coach McGiven is doing a great job just kind of mixing up how we’re attacking people. Right now, we’re just going head-to-head with our defense, but I’m excited to see that play out on Thursday night.

3. What’s the status of the competition between Jay Lenard and Stan Livingstone Jr. for the free safety spot?
I think Jay Lenard over time has established himself as one of our better players on defense so Jay is ready to play. He looks great, he had a great offseason and summer. I feel really good about our defense, especially those two safeties. Tre Webb is definitely one of our leaders. Both those guys are now starters for two years, played a lot of football, so I’m excited to see them play on Thursday night.

Follow Ana Kieu on Twitter @AnaKieu.

San Francisco Giants podcast with Morris Phillips: Giants’ two wins in Oakland puts SF four games back in NL wild card

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sfgate.com photo: San Francisco Giants’ Kevin Pillar, right, slides into home to score a run next to Oakland Athletics catcher Chris Herrmann during the second inning of a baseball game in Oakland, Calif.

On the Giants podcast with Morris:

#1 The Giants took two from the Oakland A’s. It was something that was not expected after the A’s had took three out of four from the Astros and swept the Yankees.

#2 With the wins, the Giants cut their games back number from six to four. Manager Bruce Bochy in the past has brought Giants teams back from the doldrums to get into postseason. Does this team have faith?

#3 Special day for San Francisco third baseman Evan Longoria, who got his 1000th career RBI — a two-run single in the top of the seventh at the Coliseum to cap the Giants’ win 5-4.

#4 Longoria was key. He hit his 17th home run of the season. The Giants won by a run and needed every bit of luck they could muster. Was it a series that showed that they’ve haven’t given up?

#5 The Arizona Diamondbacks are in the City for a three-game series with the Giants. It’s another crucial series in the Giants’ bid for the wild card. For the D-Backs, Alex Young (5-3, 4.04 ERA), and for the Giants, Tyler Beede (3-7, 5.82 ERA).

Morris is the podcast host for Giants baseball each Monday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Aces collapse in 3rd quarter for second straight game, lose 98-77

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Liz_Cambage_shoots_the_ball_48092714338

By Shawn McCullough

The old basketball adage says, “You have to play four quarters”.

The Aces learned that to be true for the second straight game as they fell to the Lynx 98-77 in Minnesota.

The Aces trailed at halftime 45-43, but got outscored in the third quarter 28-15.

“They played harder than us. They wanted it more than us,” said head coach Bill Laimbeer.  “We are a very tired basketball team right now but the league doesn’t stop. We need a little bit of rest but unfortunately we are still on the road and we have more games we have to fight in.”

Rookie guard Jackie Young led the Aces with 14 points, while Liz Cambage added 12.

“They were hitting shots. Everything. They just played harder than we did,” said guard Sugar Rodgers.

With the loss, the Aces fell to 19-11 on the season and fell to 4th place in the WNBA standings.

The Aces will next play the Fever on Tuesday in Indiana.

Las Vegas Aces – http://aces.wnba.com

Game Notes:

  • The Lynx shot 58.8% from the field, while the Aces were held to 42%
  • The Aces turned the ball over 15 times
  • Kayla McBride went 0 for 4 from 3-point range
  • The lead changed only twice in the game

Game Starters:

F – 22 A’ja Wilson
F – 21 Kayla McBride
C – 8 Liz Cambage
G – 0 Jackie Young
G – 10 Kelsey Plum

After superior showing against the Astros and Yankees, A’s come up empty against the Giants, lose finale, 5-4

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By Morris Phillips

OAKLAND–Well that’s not how great teams cap a superior home stand.

The A’s were flying high–and leading the wild card chase–after taking six of seven from the Astros and Yankees. But with two games remaining on their nine-game stand at the Coliseum, the A’s flopped dropping a second straight to the Giants on Sunday, 5-4.

Donovan Solano went 4-for-4 and Evan Longoria knocked in three runs as the Giants came across the Bay and achieved the two-game sweep. The A’s appeared to be in business after Mark Canha homered for the second time off San Francisco rookie Logan Webb to take a 4-3 lead in the fourth. But Webb and five relievers limited the A’s to a pair of hits the rest of the way, and the Giants kept their playoff hopes on life support with a second, straight win.

The A’s normally reliable bullpen played the culprit for the second straight game, as Blake Treinen allowed the go-ahead, two-run single to Longoria in the seventh. Treinen was on to pick up Jake Diekman, who walked Donovan Solano, and hit Mike Yastrzemski with a pitch, two of the only three batters he faced. After battling Buster Posey, Treinen allowed the hit to Longoria on the first pitch.

“I got a groundball,” Treinen explaned. “I can’t control where it goes.”

The A’s fell a half game behind the Rays in the wild card stack with the Indians a full game ahead, and in control of the top spot, and the opportunity to host the wild card game. All three teams fell on Sunday, putting greater focus on the A’s inability to pull out a win at home.

All three teams have concerns going into the season’s final 30 ballgames, mostly on the injury front. The Rays lost Brandon Lowe earlier this week, and now Kevin Kiermaier has bruised ribs. Tampa also just ended a lengthy, favorable portion of their schedule, and will face all playoff-worthy competition in the upcoming weeks.

The Indians placed Jose Ramirez on the injured list over the weekend, as they uncharacteristically lost a pair to the downtrodden Royals. Cleveland briefly lost control of the top wild card spot before regaining it on Saturday.

And the A’s are dealing with Stephen Piscotty’s high ankle sprain that will likely land him on the injured list. With Mark Canha getting hot, they might not miss Piscotty terribly over the short run, but Khris Davis’ prolonged slump continues to be an issue. Davis was benched Sunday in favor of Jurickson Profar as the designated hitter.

The A’s hope the schedule will aid their efforts with them visiting the Royals for four games, while the Rays visit Houston, then host Cleveland for the only three, remaining games between the three wild card hopefuls.

The A’s honored the 1989 World Series champs before the game, a chance for the fans to reconnect with Dave Stewart, Rickey Henderson and the other heroes of their most recent World Series title.

On Monday, the A’s open a week-long road trip at Kauffman Stadium with Homer Bailey facing Brad Keller.

 

 

Longoria gets 1,000th RBI in Giants win 5-4

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sfgate.com photo: San Francisco Giants’ Evan Longoria hits a two-run single against the Oakland Athletics during the seventh inning of a baseball game in Oakland, Calif., Sunday,

By Jeremy Kahn

OAKLAND-After the game Evan Longoria wore a vintage Chris Mullin Golden State Warriors jersey from the 1980s, and it was a vintage day for the third baseman.

Longoria hit a two-run single in the top of the seventh, as the San Francisco Giants defeated the Oakland As 5-4 before a crowd of 47,321 at the Coliseum.

It was a huge day for Longoria, who tied up the game in the top of the third inning, as he hit his 17th home run of the season and it was also the 1,000th RBI of his career.

Since returning from the injured list on August 4 with plantar fasciitis in his left foot, Longoria is 23-for-68 (.338) with two doubles, four home runs and 17 RBIs in 17 games.

With the victory, the Giants swept the two-game series, giving them the Bay Bridge Trophy, as they won the season series three games to one.

This was the 4,000th career game for Bruce Bochy, who became the just eighth manager in major league history to join this exclusive club. All seven managers in front of Bochy are all in the Hall of Fame.

Donovan Solano went four-for-four on the afternoon, as he also reached base on a walk. It was the second four hit game of the season, as he also did it on July 17 against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field.

The Giants final rally of the game began when Brandon Crawford reached on a Matt Olson fielding error to lead off the top of the seventh inning, Solano then reached for the fourth time in the game, as he walked on a 3-2 pitch. Mike Yastrzemski was then hit on the left hand to load the bases.

After an epic 11 pitch at-bat that Buster Posey strike out for the first out of the inning, Longoria singled thru the hole between second base and shortstop to score Crawford and Solano.

Unfortunately, the Giants ran themselves out of the inning, as Yastrzemski was caught stealing at third base.

Former As catcher Stephen Vogt, who hit a big three-run home run in Saturdays 10-5 victory gave the Giants a 1-0 lead, as he hit a sacrifice fly that scored Kevin Pillar from third base. Pillar led off the inning with a double high off the wall in left-center field.

After Brett Anderson was able to retire Austin Slater on a groundout to first base, and Pillar went to third. Vogt then hit a sacrifice fly to Mark Canha that scored Pillar from third base.

Brandon Belt then walked, then Crawford and then Solano made it 2-0, as he singled to score Belt.

Unfortunately for the Giants, that lead would not last long, as Canha took the first pitch he saw from Logan Webb over the fence for his 21st home run of the season.

Jurickson Profar then followed that up with a double, and then scored, as Corben Joseph made it three straight hits with a double of his own to tie up the game. Chad Pinder then gave the As the lead, as he was the fourth consecutive As batter to get a hit, when he singled to score Joseph.

Canha made it two home runs in as many at-bats, as he launched a solo home run over the left-center wall to give the As the lead for good.

It was a troublesome second career start for Webb, who grew up in Rocklin, as he went 4.2 innings, allowing four runs on six hits, two walks and two strikeouts.

Anderson went six innings, allowing three runs on six hits, walking three and striking out two; however, he did not fare in the decision.

It looked like the Giants won the game on a great defensive play from Pillar to Solano, when Josh Phegley was tagged out at second base; however, the call was overturned and then Will Smith was able to get Marcus Semien to ground out to Crawford to end the game.

Smith picked up his 30th save of the season, as he faced the final four batters of the game.

NOTES: Posey struck out for the second time in his career, as the first came earlier this season, when it occurred on against the New York Mets on July 18 at Oracle Park in a game that the Giants won 3-2 in 16 innings.

This was the first time that the Giants won back-to-back games at the Coliseum since September 26 and 27, 2015.

It was the also first series sweep by the Giants over the As since they swept them in three straight from July 24-26, 2015 at what was then called AT&T Park.

Once again, the Giants won a game by one run and it was their 30th win by one run on the season and are now 30-13 (.697).

UP NEXT: Tyler Beede opens up the six-game home stand on Monday night, as he faces the Arizona Diamondbacks at Oracle Park, while the Diamondbacks will send Alex Young to the mound.