There are some pretty big games for Northern California teams tonight, starting with the Pointsettia Bowl, where Cal will face off against #23 Utah.
Pointsettia Bowl – California vs. #23 Utah. 5:00pm PST
Utah is the better team, finishing the season at 9-3. Their 3 losses came to good teams; Oregon, BYU, and TCU. Cal, on the other hand, is without superstar running back, Javhid Best, but Shane Vereen has filled in pretty nicely since Best went down with a back injury. Vereen ran for over 400 yards in his last three games, and Utah doesn’t have the best run defense, so the Golden Bears should at least be able to move the ball, which should keep them in the game.
St. Mary’s vs. USC. 2:00pm PST
USC was struggling, losing three straight, before winning their next four, including a blowout of #9 Tennessee. St. Mary’s, meanwhile, is off to an impressive 10-1 start, but they’re lacking some defining wins over quality programs. They do have a win over Oregon in Eugene, but beating the Trojans would be huge for their NCAA Tournament resume.
Sacramento Kings vs. Lebron James. 7:00pm PST
The Cleveland Cavaliers are in the midst of a four game roadtrip that concludes with their Christmas Day showdown with the Lakers. Tonight, though, they make a stop in Sacramento to take on Tyreke Evans and the surprising Kings. Sacramento is one game under .500 at 13-14, already within three wins of last seasons total. It should be close to a full house with Lebron in the building, so expect to see another throwback, loud Arco Arena.
University of San Francisco vs. CSU-Bakersfield. 5:00pm PST
Okay, so this isn’t really a big game at all, but the Dons have lost 8 of their last 9, and they travel to Seattle to take on #22 Washington on Sunday. They’ll need to handily defeat the Road Runners of Cal State Bakersfield (1-8) if they’re going to have any momentum whatsoever going into West Coast Conference Play.
We hear about the Raiders moving back to LA. We hear about the 49ers moving to Santa Clara. We hear about the A’s moving to San Jose. Here’s one you probably haven’t heard. The 49ers have revealed a potential interest in moving to *gasp* Oakland? That’s right, the more spacious side of the Bay has a few things the Southeast corner of San Francisco does not; namely multiple freeways and BART access. Like all these discussed moves, however, the Niners to Oakland is purely talk at this point. If the scenario were to evolve, we’d likely see the Raiders and 49ers sharing a stadium, like the Giants and Jets in New Jersey. What’d be interesting is how many San Francisco and Marin County fans would make the trek to the East Bay. I’ve met more my than my share of folks who avoid Oakland like the plague. The ironic part is, in my opinion, Candlestick Park is in a far worse location than the Oakland Coliseum. The only SILVER lining to all of this is the possibility of seeing a new stadium built in Northern California, since two teams may just be enough to get it done. Let’s just hope the A’s don’t get any ideas about trying to share a ballpark with the Giants!
No, this one didn’t come from the mound of the Rogers Centre. The recently traded Roy Halladay took out a full page ad in the Toronto Sun today, thanking the Blue Jays organization and the fans of Toronto for all their support during his 15 years north of the border. Halladay has flown relatively under the radar up in Canada, but nonetheless you still never hear anything bad about the guy. The pitcher best known in Major League Baseball for his ability to finish what he starts, Doc closed out his Toronto chapter in classy fashion. Blue Jay fans have had a lot to be frustrated with over the years, but it’s moments like these that make you remember why you stick with your team during the down years. Give credit to Halladay for recognizing the importance of this. Here’s an image of the letter…
Still getting used to the fact that Jamarcus Russell threw a game winning touchdown pass today. I’m not ready to give him any credit for it however. It’s clear this team is stepping up as a unit and everyone is getting it done collectively. Great day for Michael Bush gaining 133 yards on the ground. For the Raiders, the wins don’t mean anything, but knocking the Broncos out of the division title hunt isn’t too bad of a consolation. Enjoy the highlights…. not sure how long the video will stay up before the NFL pulls it.
The college bowl season has arrived! Today, the first course will be served up in the form of Bulldogs, Cowboys, Knights, and um, Scarlet Knights. While no one expects the Nielsen ratings to jump through the roof, some good football ought to be played today. Here’s some things to look for in today’s games.
New Mexico Bowl. 1:30pm PST. Fresno State vs. Wyoming
Who Will Be Watching: 1.5 million people. Fresno State dominates the Fresno area, which is populated by about 1,000,000 people, but there’s not much of a following throughout the rest of California, with the exception of alumni. Wyoming, however, is the predominant university in the state, which has a population of a little over 500,000.
Who To Watch: Ryan Matthews. The Bulldogs’ RB was quietly one of the best in the nation, leading the country in yards per game at 151 per contest. He’ll be playing for a draft slot, as many people will be seeing him play for the first time.
Who Will Win: Fresno State. The Bulldogs finished the season 8-4, but they played a slightly tougher conference schedule, and also put up a better fight in their losses at Wisconsin and at Cincinnati, and their other two losses were to undefeated Boise State and a pretty underrated Nevada team in Reno. Wyoming, on the other hand, finished 6-6. Of their six losses, four were against ranked teams, and the other two were on the road at tough opponents’ stadiums. They were shut out by Colorado, Air Force, and BYU, and were only able to muster a total of 30 combined points in losses to Texas, Utah, and TCU. Expect Wyoming to put a few more points on the board, but they likely won’t have the resources to contain Matthews.
St. Petersburg Bowl. 5:00pm PST. Rutgers vs. Central Florida
Who Will Be Watching. 750,000 people. Don’t expect anyone outside of Northern New Jersey and the Orlando area to care much about this one. Although, there may be a few scattered fans throughout the country just looking for a football fix.
Who To Watch: Brynn Harvey, UCF, and Tim Brown, Rutgers. Harvey carried the ball 248 times for 1,077 yards and 14 TDs. What’s more impressive? 0 fumbles. As for Brown, while donning a great receiver’s name, he pulled in 51 catches for an average of 20.6 per reception. He’s only 5’8″ 165 lbs, so expect to see a couple deep passes and possibly some fireworks.
Who Will Win: Rutgers. The two teams have identical 8-4 records, but Rutgers plays in a better conference. Although it will be a virtual home game for UCF, the Scarlet Knights are the better team.
I noticed something after tonight’s Kings-Wizards game and couldn’t wait to launch this rocket off into cyberspace. After the horn, Tyreke Evans grabbed Gilbert Arenas’ arm from behind, presumably to say good game bla bla blah. Well, ESPN cameras cut away to something else, and when they cut back to Evans, accomplished lip readers like myself saw him yelling “Yeah fuck you homeboy.” Since a mere second or two had elapsed, one can only assume this was directed at Arenas. Personally, I’ve seen nothing to suggest Tyreke Evans is at all anything short of a humble, class act. Therefore, I’m left with the impression that Gilbert was sour grapes after losing the game by getting stripped by the rookie on national television. Though perhaps it’s possible Tyreke was being the Byron Hout to Gilbert’s LeGarrette Blount – minus the right cross. Nonetheless, I’m curious to know what really transpired, so someone please fill me in. Gilbert, you’re a fellow blogger. Tell us what the deal is!
ESPN recently added tonight’s Washington Wizards – Sacramento Kings game to their schedule. It will be broadcast nationally at 7:30pm PST. This marks leading Rookie of the Year candidate Tyreke Evans’ national television debut. Basketball fans throughout the country will get their first glimpse at Evans’ professional career, something I’ve been watching every step of the way early in the season. The red carpet has pretty much been laid out by the national media over the last few weeks, and tonight, Evans will make his much anticipated debut. Tyreke didn’t take long to make his presence felt in Sacramento. After Kevin Martin was sidelined with a wrist injury, Evans has assumed control of the team and become the franchise player. Honestly, he’s one of the best rookies I’ve witnessed in the entire decade. Let’s take a look at what he’s done thus far….
To this point, Evans is averaging 20 pts, 5 reb, and 5 ast per game. You can find him in the top 10 in numerous statistical categories among NBA point guards. Although his status as a point guard can be debated, his impact on the court cannot. He’s the primary reason for the Kings’ surprising 10-13 start. He’s playing 35+ minutes per night, and his ability to get into the lane and attack the basket is borderline unparalleled. One of the bigger knocks on him coming into the season is his jump shot, but he has knocked it down better than was predicted. Opposing teams have often put their best perimeter defender on him, only to see him blow by them and get to the basket. He’s also impressed with his defensive ability. His 1.55 steals per game rank him 20th in the league, and 6th among point guards. It will be interesting to see him match up against Gilbert Arenas tonight, someone whom I would compare Evans’ game with. Tonight will be a huge night for Tyreke, as it will mark his national coming out party. His name has been floated around in awards discussions, not only for rookie of the year, but he’s also garnered consideration for an all-star berth, and even MVP attention. If he plays well tonight, expect him to remain atop the Rookie of the Year rankings at least through Christmas. If this is your first time seeing Tyreke Evans play in the NBA tonight, sit back and enjoy the show. The kid is well on his way to a phenomenal NBA career.
Consider this my Christmas wish list for the world of sports. Here’s a few things I’d like to see happen. They’re not necessarily the most pressing issues, but they just seem to make sense in my head.
College Football Playoff System – Let’s start with the obvious. This topic has been beaten to death, and is destined to sit at its current impasse. 95% of the population wants a playoff, while the BCS and a few others do not. It’s been said that the point of the BCS is only to ensure the top two teams are playing for the National Championship. However, this year, we’ve got an unprecedented THREE undefeated teams NOT playing for the Title. If Cincinnati beats Florida, they’ll have a pretty convincing argument. At the same time, the winner of the Fiesta Bowl, either TCU or Boise State, will also have the right to consider themselves co-champions.
Likelihood of this happening: Slim to none.
Realignment of MLB Divisions – It’s been 12 years since the Milwaukee Brewers jumped to the National League, yet we’re still sitting here with 6 teams in the NL Central and 4 teams in the AL West. The solution is simple, click here for my proposal.
Likelihood of this happening: Doubtful, at least as far as my plan specifically. Realignment as a result of expansion or contraction might be a more likely scenario.
Eliminate NBA Referees’ Biases – Even though the NBA has been in denial for years, we all know they have a problem. Over the course of the last 15 years, the game has evolved into a whistle blowing exhibition. Either cut the crap or start selling referees’ jerseys at the NBA Team Store. I can’t stand watching my favorite sport get ruined more and more each year.
Likelihood of this happening: Not on Stern’s watch.
Chris Cohan To Sell The Warriors – I’m not entirely convinced it’s this guy’s fault. I’m pretty sure it’s a collective effort driving the franchise into the ground. If I had to choose someone to blame, it’d be team President, Bobby Rowell. However, since he appears married to Cohan, it’s going to take a change in ownership to revive this thing. The W’s fan base is the best in basketball; they need an owner who shares the same sentiment.
Likelihood of this happening: It’s probably more a matter of a buyer willing to spend the money than Cohan’s willingness to sell.
Sacramento to Build and Arena HERE – I know there’s a lot more to it – for example, money – but sometimes logic only slaps you in the face so often. The downtown railyards are just sitting there, practically begging for an arena. Meanwhile, the more favored location is not. If money is such an issue, why not scale back arena plans a little? Basketball in Sacramento has never been about the amenities, just build an arena that keeps up with the Joneses, put a quality team on the floor, and watch your money grow.
Likelihood of this happening: Wake me when it’s over.
Exciting news out of the Northeast as Golden Stick Wiffle Ball is expanding next year. A little less than a year ago, a couple friends and I were having a couple beers, perusing Youtube, when we came across some videos of guys throwing ridiculous stuff with wiffle balls. We were amazed at the junk you could throw with those little plastic balls. A couple minutes later, we were out in the alley by my house throwing unhittable breaking balls to each other until 2am. I looked into Wiffle Ball leagues in my area and was surprised to find there are none. Chappy suggested Fast Plastic, a league he had played in previously in the Los Angeles Area. Unfortunately, they don’t have a league in the Sacramento region. The league that stood out to me was Golden Stick. Their leagues were out in Massachusetts and New York, but it was clear that GSWL is the NFL to Fast Plastic’s CFL.
Fast forward to December, and I found myself watching more wiffle ball videos – this time highlights of Golden Stick’s playoffs. Now, I’ve been known to watch basketball and wanna hit the hardwood, but it doesn’t even compare to how much watching wiffle ball highlights makes you feel like wanting to grab some plastic and head outside. Seeing as how I was knee deep in snow upon stepping outside, I thought I’d pop over to GSWL’s website and see if by some crazy chance they were expanding into CA. Amazingly enough, they are!
That’s right.Next summer, Golden Stick will be in Northern California! Teams are forming right now from Chico to Sacramento to San Francisco. Since this is actually going to become reality, I checked out the league further and was blown away by what I saw. This isn’t exactly the same wiffle ball game you played as a kid. We’re talking jerseys with professional logos and names and numbers. The website has standings and statistics that make my rec basketball league look like the local newspaper in the small town I grew up in. And the ultimate prize – an all-expense paid trip to Las Vegas for regional winners to compete for the National Championship.
If you haven’t done so yet, head over to Youtube and watch a video or two. Makes you wanna get out and hurl some 70 mph plastic at your buddy’s face. The best part is watching his knees buckle while the ball breaks right in over the plate. I’m ready to get out there and see if anyone can hit me. The league starts in June 2010. GSWL is expanding into other markets as well, so definitely check out the site to see if it’s coming to your area.
Here are some links if you’re looking for more information…..
Typically I like to pick someone a little more random and more forgotten, but today we’re putting the spotlight on Kenny Anderson. He was one of the most celebrated high school players ever in New York, but, since I grew up in California, my first exposure to Anderson was his college career at Georgia Tech. I was a huge Yellow Jackets fan as a kid, and while I can’t pinpoint exactly when or why I became one, I’m getting more convinced as the years go on it was Kenny Anderson’s arrival that got me going. He was the first in a line of point guards I rooted for, followed by Travis Best and Stephon Marbury. Of course, this is after he left GaTech after his sophomore season to enter the NBA Draft. He was selected by the New Jersey Nets with the 2nd overall pick in the 1991 NBA Draft, after Larry Johnson and before Billy Owens and Dikembe Mutombo. Anderson had a lackluster rookie campaign, averaging just 7 pts and 3 ast per game. He rounded into form the next season, though, averaging more than 16 pts and 8 ast for each of the next four seasons, peaking with an all-star nod in 1994. I’m pretty sure I traded all my Shaquille O’Neal rookie cards to my friend for all of his Kenny Andersons. Pretty sound investment strategy now that I look back at it. Though he spent the next 10 seasons bouncing from New Jersey to Charlotte to Portland to Boston to Seattle to New Orleans to Indiana to Atlanta and even to the Clippers for a four game stint, he still averaged double figures for all but one season, his last, where he finished the season averaging 9.8 ppg.
There’s little doubt Kenny Anderson was a great player on the court, but he might have been an even better one OFF the court. I remember him being married to Tami from the Real World Los Angeles. You remember her… the one who, with the help of the other two resident crazy bitches, got up and coming comedian and harmless guy, David Edwards, kicked off for rape. Now, the way I remember it, he just pulled the blanket off of her while she was laughing about it, but I was young. They must’ve edited out the part where he actually violated her. Or did they? Anyway, while David went on to small roles in Half Baked, House Party 3, and Belly, Tami made a successful career playing Kenny Anderson. She divorced him due to his infidelity, which really shouldn’t be grounds for divorce when you marry a professional athlete. Nonetheless, she challenged the pre-nup, won, and walked away with half his money. She even celebrated her victory with a license plate that reads HISCASH. Perhaps he deserved it though, as it appears he’s got about 7 kids by 5 different mothers, including one with Spinderella of Salt-n-Pepa fame. These days, Kenny is keeping busy by coaching such storied basketball franchises as the Atlanta Krunk of the CBA and The Hombres of Slamball.
Matt’s Pick: GMAC Bowl. Central Michigan vs. Troy in Mobile, AL. Jan. 6 4:00pm PST
This game makes every year’s list of worst bowl games, due in large part to the timing. The GMAC Bowl is always the second to last bowl game, played the night before the BCS National Championship Game. This year’s installment features a pretty decent 11-2 Central Michigan team, who provided one of the most exciting games I watched this season when they beat Michigan State. They also have QB Dan LeFevour, who led the nation is completion percentage (71.1%) and was 20th in passing yards with 3,043. Troy, on the other hand, did go undefeated in Sun Belt Conference play, but failed to put up a fight against nonconference opponents, Florida, Bowling Green, and Arkansas.
Andre’s Pick: R&L Carriers New Orleans Bowl. Southern Mississippi vs. Middle Tennessee in New Orleans, LA. Dec. 20 5:30pm PST
I don’t think this game deserves ESPN’s attention, shouldn’t Versus or TBS be on this one?? 10 bonus points if you can name the mascot for both teams. Tick-tock… ok, times up: you might know SoMiss are the Golden Eagles, but MidTenn is the toughy, the Blue Raiders. But even they might be better than the Silver and Black Raiders. Ok low-blow. If you do catch this snoozer on a Sunday afternoon, watch for the battle of two strengths as Damion Fletcher of the Golden Eagles, one of the most prolific and underrated RBs in the country, goes up against the very strong front 7 of the Blue Raiders D.
Tony’s Pick: Little Caesars Bowl. Ohio vs. Marshall in Detroit, MI. Dec. 26 10:00am PST
I hate Little Caesars Pizza, so it’s fitting I hate there bowl game as well. In fact I’d rather eat tofu than a Little Caesars medium cheese pizza, but that’s neither here nor there. When I wake up Saturday morning the day after Christmas I can honestly say the last thing I will do is tune into Marshall and Ohio. These are two mediocre mid-conference football teams with no real standout players of note either. In fact, Marshall’s coach Mark Snyder resigned at the end of the regular rather than have to coach his team in this bowl (well, I might have made that part up). With two other quality games later in the day, pass on the Mini Caesars Bowl, and get some family time in…..you won’t be missing anything.
Rob- Can you explain to me why MLB continues to have 4 AL West teams and 6 NL Central teams?
I’ve thought about this before, and the answer has always been simple in my mind. Move the Royals to the AL West, and switch the Brewers back to the AL in the Central division. Switching leagues is iffy, but the Brewers have spent the majority of their existence in the American League. As for Kansas City, the Chiefs play in the AFC West, and the Texas Rangers are stuck traveling to and from the Pacific Coast all season long. Now, every division has five teams. Here are the ones that would change….
NL Central: Chicago, Cincinnati, Houston, Pittsburgh, St. Louis
AL Central: Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, Milwaukee, Minnesota
AL West: Anaheim, Kansas City, Oakland, Seattle, Texas
If Bud doesn’t want to move his team to the AL, I’d happily welcome the Pirates into the AL West, but that makes far less sense. Anyway, if anyone can find any flaws in my realignment, please comment. If not, please forward to Mr. Selig. Thank you.
There’s handful of blogs out there on the web that I visit on a weekly basis, if not daily. Just thought I’d take a moment to recommend some of these sites for your viewing pleasure….
ATHLETICS NATION – With the Winter Meetings in full swing, and the A’s already active in the offseason “frenzy”, check here for all the latest transactions, rumors, and analysis on everything that is the Oakland Athletics.
GOLDEN STATE OF MIND – The best blog on the Golden State Warriors, if not all team blogs in sports. I haven’t been here as much recently, because the Warriors aren’t doing too well of late, but still the benchmark for NBA team blogs.
SACTOWN ROYALTY – Another great NBA team blog. As my excitement about this year’s Kings squad grows, so does my frequenting this site.
A’S DRUMBEAT, SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE – Not the most comprehensive source, given the fact that the SF Chronicle is largely a pro-Giants newspaper, but Susan Slusser always breaks A’s news first.
BARSTOOL SPORTS – In case you haven’t noticed, I’m pretty anti-Boston. But somehow I can tolerate these guys, and even respect them. It’s always the first site I check after the A’s beat the Red Sox.
FANHOUSE – One of the best blogs out there. A true example of a small sports blog rising to the top. They always have the breaking news.
TOPHATAL’S BLOG – I don’t like this guy right now, but damnit if I don’t respect him! He may be clueless when it comes to the A’s, but he knows his sports and definitely doesn’t hide his opinion.
SPORTS GUY BY – Reminds me a lot of our site, but By certainly has a different perspective. Also largely focused around Bay Area sports teams.
AND…. a couple non-sports blogs worth checking out to pass the time during the work day….
It’s that time of year again. The leaves are falling, carolers are caroling, and Greg Oden is calling it a season early again. Now, I’m not gonna pile on the guy, because he’s had a stretch of bad luck, but I’m certainly not going to sing the same sad song the Portland press has been singing for years now. I’m not sure what it is – I definitely root for the guy – but something keeps me from feeling bad for him when he goes down. Maybe it’s that I hate project big men. Maybe it’s the slack the media cuts him; I mean, the guy gets praised for 10 pt, 8 rebounds nights, when in reality, he should be able to do that in his sleep. Maybe it’s because each #1 pick bust keeps Pervis Ellison memories out of my head. Maybe I’m just enamored with the Sam Bowie comparisons and like seeing it come to fruition. Whatever the case may be, one quote from Oden struck me. He said, “it’s on God’s hands now.” Really? Who’s hands was it in the last three times? At any rate, clearly God doesn’t want you playing basketball, because this is getting ridiculous. The big man just isn’t cut out for being on his feet. With the Winter Olympics taking place just a couple hours north of Portland this season, I’m hoping he takes up Luge or Bobsled. If he doesn’t go that route, I would pay good money to watch him try and get through a 1,000m speedskating race. It could be a who’s who of leg injuries all in a matter of minutes. ACLs, MCLs, patellas, Achilles, hell we’d probably even see some broken fibulas there.
Greg Oden shoots over an aging Andrew Bynum. Wait, that's not Bynum. But that's DEFINITELY Oden.
Utah is the better team, finishing the season at 9-3. Their 3 losses came to good teams; Oregon, BYU, and TCU. Cal, on the other hand, is without superstar running back, Javhid Best, but Shane Vereen has filled in pretty nicely since Best went down with a back injury. Vereen ran for over 400 yards in his last three games, and Utah doesn’t have the best run defense, so the Golden Bears should at least be able to move the ball, which should keep them in the game.
USC was struggling, losing three straight, before winning their next four, including a blowout of #9 Tennessee. St. Mary’s, meanwhile, is off to an impressive 10-1 start, but they’re lacking some defining wins over quality programs. They do have a win over Oregon in Eugene, but beating the Trojans would be huge for their NCAA Tournament resume.
The Cleveland Cavaliers are in the midst of a four game roadtrip that concludes with their Christmas Day showdown with the Lakers. Tonight, though, they make a stop in Sacramento to take on Tyreke Evans and the surprising Kings. Sacramento is one game under .500 at 13-14, already within three wins of last seasons total. It should be close to a full house with Lebron in the building, so expect to see another throwback, loud Arco Arena.
Okay, so this isn’t really a big game at all, but the Dons have lost 8 of their last 9, and they travel to Seattle to take on #22 Washington on Sunday. They’ll need to handily defeat the Road Runners of Cal State Bakersfield (1-8) if they’re going to have any momentum whatsoever going into West Coast Conference Play.
By
cali4dre
chappy81
dyslecix
mceezy
Doin Work 
