Tar Heels hand the Cardinal their first loss of the season 90-72

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Photo credit: gostanford.com

By Daniel Dullum
Sports Radio Service
Monday, November 12, 2018

North Carolina used a dominant first half to defeat Stanford 90-72 in its men’s basketball home opener at Dean Smith Center in Chapel Hill, N.C., handing the Cardinal their first loss of the season.

No. 7-UNC (3-0) led 52-26 at the half behind an early run kick-started by Kenny Williams. The senior guard, after starting the season missing his first 10 shots, made a layup and followed that with a 3-pointer 90 seconds into the game.

Stanford (2-1) got off to such a bad start that Coach Jerod Haase used his first time out nearly 2 ½ minutes into the game. The Cardinal opened the game shooting 1 of 12.

KZ Okpala led the Cardinal with 16 points, hitting 6 of 13 from the field — 1 for 2 on 3-pointers. Okpala also grabbed nine rebounds. Cormac Ryan was next with 14 points and six assists, and Oscar Da Silva had 11 points.

Cameron Johnson led UNC with 17 points. Johnson connected on 7 of 11 from the field — 3 of 4 3-pointers. Luke Maye was next with 16 points, with Garrison Brooks and Kenny Williams each adding 12 points apiece.

Tar Heels held a 45-35 rebounding edge, with Ray and Brooks each pulling down eight boards, and Johnson adding seven. Williams, Coby White and Seventh Woods each had four assists.

The Cardinal return home to host Wofford this Friday night at 7:00 pm PT on PACN.

San Jose State closes out home football schedule on Senior Day Saturday

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Photo credit: sjsuspartans.com

By: Ana Kieu

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Saturday afternoon is going to be a special day for 15 San Jose State football seniors who will be honored in the pregame ceremonies at CEFCU stadium before the 2:00 pm PT kickoff versus Nevada. The Wolf Pack is a high scoring team, so it’ll likely be a challenge for the Spartans; but it’ll be a special day nonetheless.

Anyways, here’s what you need to know about Saturday’s game.

Basics
San Jose State vs. Nevada
Saturday, Nov. 17, 2018,
CEFCU Stadium
San Jose, Calif., 2:00 pm PT
ESPN3

San Jose State’s record
1-9, 1-5 Mountain West. Most recently, the Spartans lost at Utah State, 62-24, on Nov. 10.

Nevada’s record
6-4, 4-2 Mountain West. The Wolf Pack won their third consecutive game, 49-10, over Colorado State on Nov. 10.

How to get tickets?
• sjsuspartans.com/tickets • ticketmaster.com

Athletics Ticket Office, 1393 S. 7th Street, San Jose, CA 95112, weekdays, 9:00 am – 5:00 pm

For home games at CEFCU Stadium:
• New modern family plan
• Spartan alumni season ticket pricing in a distinct seating section

Series history
Nevada leads the series, 20-9-2, dating back to 1899. The Wolf Pack have wins in the last eight of the last nine meetings between these teams including a 59-14 victory in Reno a year ago.

The Spartans’ last win in the series was a 14-10 decision at home in 2016.

For 15 years, these teams held the NCAA FBS single-game record for total yards in a game by both teams (1,640). San Jose State out-gained Nevada, 849 to 791, in a 64-45 victory in San Jose on Nov. 10, 2001.

Radio
KLIV (1590 AM, San Jose) originates San Jose State football broadcasts. Justin Allegri calls the play-by-play. Kevin Richardson provides commentary. The Nevada broadcast begins at 1:30 pm PT with a pregame show.

San Jose State’s network affiliate is KION (1460 AM/101.1 FM, Salinas).

KSJS (90.5 FM, San Jose) also will broadcast the San Jose State-Nevada game starting at 1:45 pm PT.

Television
ESPN3 will provide play-by-play coverage of the San Jose State vs. Nevada game. Trey Bender calls the play-by-play. Al Groh offers analysis. The live telecast is scheduled for 2:00 pm PT.

Final home game for Spartan seniors
San Jose State will be recognizing 15 seniors in pregame ceremonies.

2018 schedule rated as one of the toughest
According to the NCAA Statistics Service for games played through Nov. 10, San Jose State’s first 10 opponents compiled a .593 winning percentage, tied for 34th best among FBS schools and tops along with Wyoming among the 12 Mountain West members.

Incorporating the current records of the Spartans’ final two opponents, Nevada and Fresno State, San Jose State’s schedule is tied for he 17th most challenging based on opponent winning percentage (.613). No other Mountain West school is in the top 50.

Tre Walker produces 2018 Mountain West best
Wide receiver Tre Walker produced the Mountain West’s first 200-plus yard receiving game of the 2018 season with his seven receptions for 209 yards and two touchdowns at Utah State on Nov. 10.

Walker’s 209 receiving yards are tied for 16th best nationally this season in games played through November 10. Prior to his breakout game, the Mountain West best was 188 yards by Colorado State’s Preston Williams in the Aug. 25 game at Hawaii.

Walker also became the first San Jose State player in 11 years to gain at least 200 yards in pass receiving in a game. The last time it was done was Kevin Jurovich’s 233 receiving yards in a 2007 game vs. New Mexico State.

Justin Holmes becomes the 29th
Senior Justin Holmes became the 29th San Jose State player to catch 100 passes in a career with his one reception at Utah State.

Seniors Tre Harley (97) and Josh Oliver (93) are next in line to the 100-career reception plateau.

A punt return for a touchdown
Freshman Tre Jenkins scored San Jose State’s first punt return touchdown in the Utah State game on a 41-yard return. Jenkins’ run back for a score was the first by a Spartan since Tyler Ervin’s 85-yard punt return for a touchdown in the 2015 AutoNation Cure Bowl.

MLB Mexicali Baseball: Long Weekends and Extended Seasons Across the Border (Part 3)

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Photo credit: @AguilasDeMxli

By: Lewis Rubman
SRS Contributor
November 11, 2018

Charros de Jalisco: 0 | 5 | 2
Aguilas de Mexicali: 7 | 11 | 0

MEXICALI, Baja California — The Caribbean Series is the culmination of the Winter Leagues’ season and, very likely, the most important event in the world of Spanish-speaking baseball. It began in 1949 and continued through 1960, as a result of Cuba’s ban on professional sports. Cuba, the Dominican Republic (then known as Santo Domingo), Puerto Rico, Panama, and Venezuela competed during the dozen years of this stage in Caribbean Series history. Each of these except Venezuela won at least one championship, with Cuba leading the pack with seven, followed by Puerto Rico with four, and Panama with one.

The Series was revived in 1970, without Cuban participation. The Liga Mexicana del Pacífico was added in 1971. The tournament has been celebrated every February since then with the exception of a one-year hiatus in 1981. Cuba returned to competition as a guest, but not a member, of the sponsoring Caribbean Baseball Federation, in 2015 and promptly won the tournament. Puerto Rico’s Caguas Criollos has brought the crown home to that island for the last two years. The totals for championships since 1949 is nineteen for the Dominican, sixteen for Puerto Rico, nine for Mexico, eight for the Cubans, seven for Venezuela, and one for Panama.

In its current format, the five participating teams play 13 games in seven days. In the first round, which lasts five days, each team plays two games against each of the others and enjoys one day of rest. At the end of this round, the team with the lowest won-lost percentage is eliminated.

Today, we won’t go into the complex tie breaking procedures. The surviving squads play a one-and-done four team double header, with the first and fourth place finishers facing each other, as do the second and third place teams. The winners of those games duke it out in the final game. In both the semi-finals and the final contest, the team with the higher winning percentage in the opening round gets to bat last. Jalisco has never competed as Mexico’s representative to the Series, while the closest Mexicali has come to winning since its 1968 championship was in 2017 when it lost the final game–played in Culiacán–to Puerto Rico’s Caguas Criollos by the score of 1-0.

I suffer from gout, so I can’t enjoy eating the tempting food for sale in the Estadio B’Air, aka the El Nido de los Aguilas, The Eagles’ Nest.But, just as General Sternwood indulged his vices by proxy while watching Phillip Marlowe down brandy and smoke a cigar at the beginning of The Big Sleep, I get great pleasure from watching people at the Nido enjoy the culinary delights that are denied to me. I mentioned one of them, Bubba Smith’s hotdogs, in yesterday’s report. They’re similar to the ones you can buy fresh off the griddle on the bridge between BART and the Oakland Coliseum and, judging by their smell, delicious. Another delicacy are the pig tails, fried and sold by Chel Vásquez and his family at the stadium. You might want something to wash down all your Bubbas and pig tails. Try a clamato, a juice invented in Mexicali. You can get it straight or mixed with olives. Cerveza Sol offers its beer mixed with clamato and sold in cans but served in plastic bottles at the ballpark. They were giving away shot glass sized samples at todays game. My wife says it was delicious. Tecate is another beer prominent on the premises. Or maybe you’d prefer a few tequilas with lime and salt. Indeed, lime and hot sauce are available with practically every bit of food or drink you want at the ball park.

Mexicali swept its three-game series with Jalisco by whipping them 7-0 in this afternoon’s contest, repeating many elements of last night and the night before’s story. Once again, neither team’s batter provided a home run. And the Aguilas starter again went deep into the game with an extremely strong performance. Javier Solano held the Charros scoreless over seven innings, in which he yielded five hits, struck out seven, and walked two. Michael Devine and Randel Lazo each pitched a perfect frame to preserve the win for Solano and Mexicali.

Agustin Murillo, the Charros’ usually sure handed third baseman contributed twice to Mexicali’s scoring. Jason Bourgeois opened the bottom of the third with a hard hit bouncer than skipped between his legs, leading to starting and losing pitcher Elián Leyva being yanked after two and two-thirds innings, even though none of the three runs he had alllowed was earning and he had given up only one hit. Still, it was clear that Leyva had no command over the situation. Felipe González, Jared Lakind, and Linder Castro held Mexicali at bay until things fell apart for the Charros in Mexicali’s bottom of the seventh, when they pushed four runs across the plate, aided by Murillo’s inability to handle Ramón Ríos’ hard shot to third. It was a tough play, and Ríos deserved the hit with which he was credited, but it opened the door for the four runs that put the game out of reach for the Jalisco nine.

Mexicali finished the weekend in third place, at 13-12. Jalisco, with a 12-14 record, slipped to seventh place in the eight-team league.

We were sorry to leave Mexicali, especially because after an hour and a half’s waiting in line to cross the border (it could be worse; a fellow press box denizen told us of a relative who had spent seven hours in line one day), we were randomly selected to wait another half an hour while our rental car received a secondary inspection. I’ve had a lot of good things to say about Mexicali, and I hope they will encourage some of you to enjoy the pleasures the city, its people, and its peloteros can provide. But I’d be remiss if I didn’t warn you about the unpleasant nature of a northbound border crossing.

What’s new with the San Jose State football team?

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Photo credit: @SJSUSpartanFB

By: Ana Kieu

SAN JOSE, Calif. — It was sort of expected, but I have to reiterate the unfortunate fact the Spartans got on the board first and then tied the score 10-10 before the Aggies took complete control of the game for a 62-24 blowout at the Maverick Stadium in Logan, Utah this past Saturday.

Fast forward to Monday afternoon. Spartans head coach Brent Brennan delivered his weekly press conference inside Simpkins Stadium Center in San Jose, Calif.

Here’s my Q&A with Brennan:

1. Utah State seemed to take advantage of most, if not all, of San Jose State’s mistakes. A lot of people know the Aggies have a good offense, but what are a few things about Jordan Love and company that they don’t know?
I think their running backs have played well. I didn’t know how good they were until I saw them in person. Even though they’re not very big, they’re incredibly powerful and hard to bring down. I thought they did a really good job breaking tackles.

The other thing that’s hard to see if you’ve watched the game on TV is the type of temperament that they played with. To me, it reminds me of when I was coaching at Oregon State, we were playing Oregon, Marcus (Mariota) and those guys and how fast they were on every snap.

2. San Jose State had their fare share of big plays and Tre Walker had himself a day, but what could you and the other coaches do during practice to make sure that pass plays lead to scores?
I think there’s just a consistency there. On Saturday, we dropped too many passes, and I thought there were a couple of breakdowns in protection; but for the most part, the protection was better. But that was just one of the things that I thought were what went wrong with that game. We dropped too many passes and some balls weren’t on the money.

I thought Michael Carrillo went in there and threw the ball well. So I think continuing to kind of to work on those details, just absolutely specific depths on routes, our connection with the football and where the ball placement is by the quarterback are a couple of things we need to know.

3. San Jose State will honor 15 seniors before this Saturday’s kickoff versus Nevada. There’s not much to be proud of in terms of the record, but what are you most proud of when it comes to this group of guys?
What I’m most proud of this group of guys is easy. It’s how they’ve continued to work and push the team, even though we weren’t getting the results on Saturday we wanted.

Since I’ve been here, this current group of seniors has been outstanding in every way–they’re good in the classroom, they work really hard during practice and they lead the team. I’m so appreciative of how hard they’re worked to help us move this program in the direction we want to take it.

I’m disappointed we haven’t gotten the results for them. That really hurts me.

Sharks Douse Flames for 3-1 Win

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Photo credit: @SanJoseSharks

By Mary Walsh

SAN JOSE — The San Jose Sharks started a six-game homestand with a 3-1 win versus the Calgary Flames. Sharks goals came from Evander Kane, Joonas Donskoi and Joe Pavelski, who were on the same line. For San Jose, Martin Jones made 29 saves for the win. For Calgary, Mike Smith made 26 saves and their lone goal came from Sean Monahan. It was Logan Couture’s 600th NHL game.

50 seconds into the game, Joe Pavelski picked up a wandering puck as it made its way out of some confusion along the Calgary blue line. He turned with it and found Kane moving into the zone. Kane took his time and then the shot zipped over Smith’s outstretched glove. Assists went to Pavelski and Donskoi. That was Pavelski’s first assist of the season.

The Sharks outshot the Flames in the first period 12-8. The Sharks had one power play in the first, and it carried over into the second period without generating a goal.

At 1:28 of the second period, the same line of Kane, Donskoi and Pavelski scored again. Kane held the puck behind the Calgary net long enough for Donskoi to get to the front of the net, then made the pass to Donskoi under Mikael Backlund’s stick. It was Donskoi’s fourth goal of the season. Assists went to Kane and Pavelski.

Calgary struck back at 6:02 of the middle frame with a goal from Monahan. Erik Karlsson lost his footing just above the Sharks blue line, giving the puck up to Mark Jankowski, who was headed into the Sharks’ zone with Monahan right behind him. Monahan overtook him and Jankowski passed the puck up to him for an unobstructed shot. The lone assist went to Jankowski.

After that goal, Timo Meier left the ice with what appeared to be a cut on his leg. Kevin Labanc stepped into his spot with Couture and Hertl. Meier was not gone long and only missed the one shift.

The Sharks put a lot of pressure on the Flames late in the period. Marcus Sorensen had a nice breakaway with just under six minutes left in the second, but Mike Smith stopped his shot. The Sharks followed up with a two on one moments later, but couldn’t convert. With 2:45 left in the period, Evander Kane carried the puck in with Donskoi on a two on one. Kane passed and Donskoi shot, but Smith got across for a great save.

At the end of the second, the Sharks again led in shots, this time 11-8 for the period.

Just over three minutes into the third period, the teams played four-on-four after Sean Monahan was called for tripping Meier and Meier was called for embellishment. Neither team scored but the Sharks did put some pressure on the Flames, who were outshooting them 4-0 in the opening minutes of the period.

The Sharks got credit for their first shot of the period at 6:38. The shot came during a delayed penalty on Calgary, which sent Mark Giordano to the box for hooking. The Flames killed that penalty off just as they had the two previous Sharks power plays.

At 8:22 of the third, Martin Jones had to preserve the Sharks’ lead against a penalty shot awarded to Sam Bennet. Bennet was awarded the shot after Brenden Dillon was called for holding during Bennet’s breakaway chance.

As the clock ticked past the 15-minute mark of the third, the Flames were outshooting the Sharks 12-4. Logan Couture went to the locker room in the second half of the period with an injury.

With under a minute left, Pavelski scored into an empty net, securing the win despite the lack of effective Sharks’ offense in the third period. Hertl got an assist on the goal.

The Sharks next play on Tuesday against the visiting Nashville Predators at 7:30 PM PT.

Raiders three-point stance: Three takeaways from the Raiders’ home loss to the Chargers

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Photo credit: @TheSportsNotes

By Joe Hawkes-Beamon
SRS Contributor

OAKLAND — For the second-straight game, the Raiders failed to score a touchdown while looking inept in their 20-6 loss to the visiting Los Angeles Chargers Sunday at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum in front of 54,750 fans on Sunday afternoon. At 7-2, the Chargers have now won six straight games (four straight in the series after sweeping the season-series), while the loss for Oakland (1-8), extends their losing streak to five games.

Bottom line: the Raiders are beyond a mediocre football team. They are a complete mess. The team has been outscored 75-9 in the third quarter during the five-game losing streak, and have lost by at least 14 points in all five games.

Checkout my takeaways from today’s game below.

Quotable: “This will be a year that a lot of us will never forget,” Raiders head coach Jon Gruden said postgame. “It’s painful. It’s really hard. It’s painful. It’s going to be hard to sleep again, hard to get up in the morning.”

Derek Carr is getting sacked way too much this year
One week after being sacked seven times by the San Francisco 49ers at Levi’s Stadium, Raiders quarterback Derek Carr was sacked four times by the Chargers on Sunday. Carr did complete 24-of-37 passes for 243 yards, but faced constant pressure from the Chargers for much of the day.

Through nine games, Carr has been sacked 28 times this season, tied for third-most in the league with Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott.  With seven more games to go, its a safe bet that Carr will be sacked more times this season than he was in 2015 where he was sacked 31 times according to ESPN Stats and Information.

The only game where Carr wasn’t sacked this season was in Oakland’s 42-28 loss to the visiting Indianapolis Colts back in Week 8.

Even in the loss, Carr did become just the third quarterback in Raiders franchise history to throw for 17,000 yards, joining Rich Gannon (17,585) and the Hall of Famer Ken Stabler (19,078). Carr entered Sunday’s game with 16,888 passing yards now  at 17,131 yards.

Melvin Gordon is a nightmare for the Raiders
Chargers running back Melvin Gordon continues to be a thorn in the Raiders’ side and it was on full display Sunday.

Gordon finished with 23 touches for 165 yards of total offense. The former Wisconsin Badger devoured the Raiders’ 32nd rush defense, carrying the ball 18 times for 93 yards.

Gordon was also hard to contain through the air for Oakland.

On the Chargers’ first possession of the second half, Gordon took a dump-off pass from quarterback Philip Rivers, broke a tackle by cornerback Gareon Conley, juked safety Reggie Nelson and raced 66 yards for a touchdown that extended Los Angeles’ lead to 17-3 after entering halftime with a 10-3 lead.

Rivers completed 18-of-26 passes for 223 yards with two touchdowns and one interception.

Gordon finished with five catches for 72 yards and one touchdown. In the Chargers’ 26-10 victory over the Raiders in Week 5, Gordon tormented the Raiders for 120 yards of total offense (58 rushing and 62 receiving) and one touchdown.

The game was smoky
Due to wild fires from Butte County, located 150 miles north from Oakland, the air quality for the game was at unhealthy level. The Air Quality was at 159 at kickoff,  which is in the unhealthy zone, and smoke could be smelled throughout the stadium and even in the press box. The NFL had monitored the situation but the AQI never got near 200, the level where the game would have needed to be moved.

Up next for Oakland: a trip to Arizona to face the 2-7 Cardinals next week, who lost to the Raiders’ bitter rival the Kansas City Chiefs 26-14 at Arrowhead Stadium today.

The Chargers will return home for their second-straight game within the division as they will host the Denver Broncos (3-6) at StubHub Center.

Raiders lose fifth in a row, 20-6, to Chargers

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By Jeremy Kahn

OAKLAND — Whenever the Oakland Raiders and the Los Angeles Chargers get together, you know that it is going be a battle between these two longtime rivals from the old American Football League.

Unfortunately, over the past two seasons, the rivalry has swayed towards the Chargers, especially after their 20-6 victory over the Raiders before a crowd of 54,750 at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum.

With the victory, the Chargers have won six in a row, and now stand at 7-2, while the Raiders are going the other way, as they have lost five in a row and are now 1-8 on the season.

This is the Chargers fourth straight win in the series after the Raiders won the previous four in a row from the Chargers, that included a 19-16 victory by the Raiders over the Chargers that helped the Raiders clinch their first postseason berth since the 2002 season.

The Raiders still lead the all-time with a record of 62-54-2 since the series began in the first year of the AFL back in 1960.

Things started out well for the Raiders, as on fourth-and-5, punter Johnny Townsend faked the punt and scrambled 42 yards down to the Chargers 21-yard line to give the Raiders a glimmer of hope; however, the Raiders were not able to get any points on the board, as the Chargers defense held Derek Carr for a no gain on fourth-and-goal and the Chargers took over on downs.

“I have always said that I believe in that kid. In that fake punt, you can see that he is one of our fastest players. He is a tremendous athlete. He took his medicine for a while like a lot of us, but he is going to be a really good punter for us,” said Jon Gruden.

After the Chargers went three-and-out on their initial series of the afternoon, the Raiders wasted not long to get on the board.

Daniel Carlson got the Raiders on the board in the first quarter, as he nailed a 46-yard field goal to give the Raiders a 3-0 lead.

Following another three-and out by the Chargers, the Raiders mounted a drive of their own; however, Carr was sacked for an 11-yard loss by Melvin Ingram III and fumbled the ball and was recovered by Corey Liuget, who rumbled 24 yards down to the Raiders’ 40-yard line.

“We came up big. Everybody made hell of plays. It was a great team win. We have a great group of young players. Those boys are special. They came up big. When you have rookies that can step up and make plays like that, it’s big,” said Ingram.

The Chargers got all the way down to the Raiders’ nine-yard line, but like the Raiders were forced to settle for a Michael Badgley field goal that tied up the game.

The Raiders offense could not muster a first down, as they were forced to punt the ball back to the Chargers, who went down the field and it culminated with a Philip Rivers touchdown pass to former CAL star Keenan Allen for 11 yards that gave the Chargers a 10-3 lead with just 24 seconds remaining in the first half.

Carr just took a knee to end the first half, and the Raiders trailed at the end of the first half by a score of 10-3.

Melvin Gordon finally got in on the act for the Chargers, as he took a Rivers pass and ran 66 yards to the end zone to give the Chargers a 14-point lead just 2:28 into the third quarter.

After yet another punt by the Raiders, they got ball back in a hurry, as Rivers threw a long pass down the field; however, Safety Marcus Gilchrist picked off the Rivers pass intended for Allen at the Raiders 31-yard line.

“That’s part of things I’m talking about that we can do better, that can possibly change that ‘W’ and ‘L’ column for us,” said Gilchrist.

Unfortunately, the Raiders could only muster five yards on the ensuing series before they punted the ball back to the Chargers.

Once again, the Raiders defense came up big, as they held the Chargers off the scoreboard, as they were forced to punt.

Carr and the Raiders got rolling, as he found Doug Martin for a 23-yard gain, and then on the next play, he found Jared Cook for 31 yards that got the Raiders down to the Chargers 13-yard line.

Carlson got the Raiders within 11, as he nailed a 30-yard field goal.

The Chargers then began a long drive that included a 42-yard touchdown run by Austin Ekeler that was nullified by a 10-yard holding penalty that was called on Russell Okung.

On the very next play, Rivers was sacked by Shilique Calhoun and Johnathan Hankins; however, Hankins was called for Roughing the Passer that gave the Chargers a first down at the Raiders’ 33-yard line.

“It’s one of those things. Where you look back on it and I just needed to get to him, get him down faster. If I get him down faster. If I get him down quick enough, I don’t have to worry about that penalty. It’s on me to make sure I complete the plat and finish the play out,” said Calhoun.

Rivers and Allen hooked up for a 18-yard completion that put the Chargers into field goal range, and four plays later, Badgley kicked a 41-yard field goal that gave the Chargers a two touchdown lead.

The Raiders got the ball back after the field goal, and began to drive down the field; however, the drive stalled, as Carr was unable to find anyone on a fourth-and-5 and was forced to throw the ball away, giving the ball back to the Chargers.

Carr ended the day by going 24-for-37 for 243 yards, while Jalen Richard led the Raiders in receiving with five catches for 52 yards.

Martin led the Raiders in rushing, as he carried the ball 15 times for 61 yards.

Rivers went 18-for-26 for 223 yards with two touchdowns and an interception on the afternoon for the victorious Chargers.

Gordon led the Chargers in rushing, as he carried the ball 18 times for 93 yards, and also caught five passes for 72 yards and a touchdown.

Allen was the leading receiver for the Chargers, as he hauled in six passes for 57 yards and a touchdown.

NOTES: Townsend became just the third punter since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger to have a run of at least 40 yards and a punt of 50 yards in the same game, as joins Reggie Hodges of the Cleveland Browns in 2010 and Jeff Hayes of the Washington Redskins in 1983.

Martavis Bryant was forced to leave the game for the Raiders in the third quarter with a knee injury, an injury that Gruden fears could be serious.

UP NEXT: The Raiders head out on the road for their next two games, as they will face the Arizona Cardinals on November 18 at 1:05 pm PT and then the Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium on November 25 at 10:00 am PT. They return home on December 2 to face the Kansas City Chiefs at 1:05 pm PT.

MLB Mexicali Baseball: Long weekends and extended seasons along the border (Part 2)

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Photo credit: @AguilasDeMxli

By: Lewis Rubman
SRS Contributor
November 10, 2018

Charros de Jalisco: 0 | 4 | 1
Aguilas de Mexicali: 8 | 14 | 1

MEXICALI, Baja California — Yesterday, I made a mistake. I said that Mike Sánchez had been credited with an unmerited save because when he entered last night’s game, the on=deck hitter didn’t represent the potential tying run. I had forgotten, that it was Rodolfo Aguilar who entered the game in that situation. After giving up a run-scoring single to the only batter he faced, Aguilar left the bases loaded for Sánchez, who did, indeed, began his stint with the potential tying run in the on deck circle.

I also promised to explain the Mexican Pacific League’s method of determining the final standings of its teams. Here goes. From October through December, the teams play a 68 game season, divided equally into two rounds. In each half season, the team with the best won-lost percentage receives eight points; the second, seven; the third, six; the fourth, five; the fifth, four and a half points; the sixth, four points; the seventh, three and a half; and the eighth, three. Then the totals for each half season are added up to determine the teams’ overall positions. The tie breakers for establishing the standings for all the fragments of the season until the participants in the semi-finals have been determined, are in decreasing order of importance, face-to-face won-lost records and the “run-average.” This last figure is computed by multiplying the teams’ total runs scored, multiplying it by 100, and dividing the result by the runs scored against them.

Starting just after New Year’s Day, there are three play-off rounds, each of them best of seven games. In the opening round, the first place team faces the sixth place finisher; the second, the fifth; and the third place team plays the fourth. The teams with the three best records, along with the wild card (called “the best loser”) advance to the semi-finals. The best loser is the one with the most play-off wins. The two tie-breakers are play-off run-average, followed by the place in the over-all regular season standings. For the semi-finals and final series, teams can add to players to their rosters (although one of them can play) from the two eliminated teams. The first seed plays the wild card team and the second and third place teams face each other in a best of seven series to determine the finalists, who then duke it out in another best of seven series. The survivor goes on to the Caribbean Series, which I’ll discuss in tomorrow’s article, the last of this three-part report.

I also promised to continue my brief history of the Aguilas after they left “organized” baseball in 1958. After years of unsuccessful attempts to enter what everyone calls the winter leagues, although almost all of their games are played in the fall, Mexicali was admitted to the Mexican Pacific League in 1976. It took the Eagles a decade to win their first league championship, but that 1985-86 team, with the A’s current minor league defensive coordinator, Juan Navarrete, playing second base and John Kruk in the outfield, went on to win the Caribbean Series. Three of the champions’ four wins came in the last inning. The Aguilas also topped the league in 1988-89, 1999-2000, and 2016-17, but that initial Caribbean victory was the only time they’ve taken home all the marbles. As I mentioned, the 1989 Series took place in Mexicali.

Over the years, many other players known to American fans have taken the field for the Aguilas. Among them are Mike Piazza, Fernando Valenzuela, Jonny Gomes, Rudy Seánez, Jeff Samardzija, Sergio Romo, Dan Serafini, Matt Joyce, David Cortés, Rubén Amaro, Yuniesky Betancourt, Jason Bourgoeois, Adam Rosales, and Ron Washington. Also, great Mexican players, not well known in the states, like Cananea Reyes, Matías Carrillo, and Houston Jiménez also have played for the Mexicali faithful. Some American players have carved out major careers playing in the Mexican League in the summer and the with the Eagles during the fall. Derrick Bell and Oakland born Chris Roberson are among these, as is the belovèd Bubba Smith (pronounced BOObah Esmith in Spanish), who was extremely popular with young fans in the US minor leagues, Korea, Japan, and Mexico. A rotund first baseman, Bubba gave his name to a hot dog stand at the Eagles’ Nest.

Eventually the word Bubba replaced salchica as the local word for that delicacy. Today you can walk into the local supermarket and find the clearly marked Bubbas section.

Tomorrow, I’ll provide a brief overview of the food available and The Nest, now it’s time to report on this evening’s game.

Mexicali even its record at 12-12 and dropped Jalisco below .500 at 11-13 by lambasted the Charros 8-0 at the Eagles’ Nest tonight. Taking a leaf from last night’s book, the Eagles soared to a commanding lead early in the game, this time going ahead 6-0 after two innings. Again, their starting pitcher held this lead as long as he was on the mound. Tonight, it was David Reyes, who held his opponent scoreless of six frames, yielding only three hits and one walk while striking out eight Charros. C.C. Delgado earned the save by pitching three shutout innings, allowing only one hit, an eighth inning double to Kevin Medrano, and striking out four of the 10 batters he faced. Jalisco’s unfortunate starter, Vince Malesky, was touched up for five runs, two of them earned, in one plus innings pitched.

The three unearned runs scored as the result of his own throwing error in the top of the second. A trio of Jalisco relievers held the Eagles to one run each over the remaining seven innings, but the damage was done.

For the second straight night, neither team hit a home run. The Eagles scored on a combination of timely hitting and hustle. Malesky’s fatal error occurred on a sacrifice bunt by Javier Salazar that allowed him to reach second and Ricky Alvarez to score while Ramón Ríos made it to third. David Harris stole a base, and Jason Boureois purloined two.

Tomorrow, we’ll see Mexicali go for the sweep, while Jalisco tries to salvage its honor in the series finale.

Cal Bears Football podcast with Morris Phillips: Cal, after surprise comeback at USC, gets set to host Stanford for the Big Game Saturday

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Photo credit: @CalFootball

On the Cal Bears Football podcast with Morris:

#1 A miracle comeback for the Cal Bears (6-4) Saturday at USC (5-5) for a 15-14 win, snapping a 14-game losing streak to USC at the Los Angeles Coliseum.

#2 Cal head coach Justin Wilcox said it’s great to be bowl eligible.

#3 The Bears were hibernating in the first half of Saturday’s game at USC but started to make their comeback in the third quarter and Traveon Beck scored Cal’s second touchdown for the game winner.

#4 USC had a 14-0 lead, but the Bears roared back. Cal got their first touchdown in the third quarter and took a one-point lead 15-14.

#5 The Bears will face Stanford (6-4) and Colorado (5-5) for their next two games. The Big Game is this Saturday at Cal, which it could turn out to be one of the season’s best.

Morris does the Cal Bears podcasts each Monday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

NCAAFB podcast with Daniel Dullum: New AP Top 25; Cardinal back in hunt for the bowl; USC coach Helton on the bubble after loss to Cal

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photo from Louisville Courier: Bobby Petrino didn’t have answers as Wake Forest beat the Cards 56-35, giving Louisville a record of 2-6 start, its worst season since 1997’s 1-10. Oct. 27, 2018.(Photo: Matt Stone/Louisville Courier Journal)

On the NCAAFB podcast with Daniel:

1. Louisville Cardinal Bobby Petrino (36-26) fired their coach during his show on WAVE TV. The announcement came from the crawl on the screen below.

2 The New AP Top 25.

3 Stanford romps past Oregon State, Cardinal now Bowl Eligible.

4 Cal slips past USC, Trojans coach can begin packing his bags; Bears are Bowl Eligible.

5 Arizona State stuns UCLA, Sun Devils now Bowl Eligible under Herm Edwards!

6 Boise State upsets No. 16 Fresno State in the Mountain West.

7 Minnesota upsets Purdue 41-10, same Boilermakers who drubbed Ohio State 49-20 on Oct. 20.

Daniel does the NCAAFB podcasts each Sunday for Michelle Richardson at http://www.sportsradioservice.com