Athletes of the Month February 2010 Scores Scores will be here ... Schedule of Events All times p.m. unless noted otherwise Schedule will be here ... Contact Sports Editor Giovanni Albanese Jr. 510-494-1999 giovanni@tricityvoice.com

Bill Mancebo's player spotlights - January, 2010 January 6, 2010 This week the spotlight shines on football player Joseph Nahale. At 17, this John F. Kennedy High School junior is already a nine-year veteran of the sport. He covers both positions of defensive lineman and offensive tackle. Being a wrestler since his freshman year is another aspect to his athletic acumen and Nahale also has a history as a canoe paddler for the Ho’okahi Pu’uwai Outrigger Canoe Club (HPOCC), where he competed in the Queen Lili’ Wakalani race in Kailua-Kona Hawaii. Queen Lili’ Wakalani race is the world’s largest long-distance race of its kind and there Joseph competed against top teams from all over the planet. ... Full story NBA Bobcats maul Warriors January 29, 2010 Oakland, Calif. -- Stephen Jackson had a simple approach to his return to Oakland on Friday (January 29) to face his former team, the Warriors: kill them with kindness. Before the game, Jackson talked about how upset he was that his “little brother,” Monta Ellis, had been shunned by the Western Conference all-star team, how he took no pleasure in the Warriors’ latest slide, and even gave coach Don Nelson a warm hug during the pre-game festivities. It worked – Jackson torched Golden State with 30 points in leading his new team, the Charlotte Bobcats, to a 121-110 win at Oracle Arena. ... Full story NBA Hornets sting Warriors January 27, 2010 Oakland, Calif. -- Despite not suiting up the last two games with an injured ankle, Monta Ellis played 42 minutes of the Golden State Warriors 123-110 loss to the New Orleans Hornets, Wednesday night. Ellis didn’t lead the Warriors in scoring, but still managed 19 points, along with 9 assists and 6 rebounds. Despite the time off from the right ankle injury, Ellis denied being rusty. “It isn’t tough at all, just missed a couple of days that’s it,” Ellis commented. “If I missed like five or ten it would’ve been tough, but like I said I felt good out there. Everything felt normal to me, just had a bad night” At the end of the first half, the Hornets held a 7-point lead, 62-55. ... Full story NBA Nuggets drop Warriors January 20, 2010 Oakland, Calif. -- This season has been a constant numbers game for the Golden State Warriors. Whether it be Monta Ellis putting up another 30-point performance, or the impressive 107.4 points per game, the Warriors are a mathematical equation. However, there can be a negative in the equation. Golden State’s negative has always been their healthy players, or lack there of. In the devastating 123-118 overtime loss to the Denver Nuggets last night, the Warriors were only able to suit up eight players. Despite the lack of players, the Warriors have become known as the “David” to some of the NBA’s “Goliaths,” and have never backed down from a battle. ... Full story College Basketball Community college basketball report January 19, 2010 Ohlone Basketball: Ohlone College men’s basketball team, ranked fourth in Northern California, lived up to their rating with two wins last week. On Wednesday, Jan. 13, the Renegades horsewhipped the Cañada College Colts, 86-53. Ohlone was lights-out from the floor, shooting at a 59-percent clip. Leading the Renegades’ balanced attack was Cyleb Burton with 12 points. Ronnie Sawyer, Reggie Jones and Scott Clark each had 11; and Isaiah Moore scored 10. Ohlone improved to 3-0 in the Coast Conference North (14-3 overall) with a 66-41 throttling of Skyline on Saturday, Jan. 16. Jones was the only Renegade to score in double digits, with 13 points. ... Full story NBA Numbers game dooms Warriors January 15, 2010 Oakland, Calif. -- The Golden State Warriors played with a fair amount of heart and spirit, but on Friday night (January 15) against the visiting Milwaukee Bucks at Oracle Arena, they couldn’t overcome the numbers game. Starting the game with 8 players out due to injury – leaving them with a total of 8 suited up to play – the Warriors finished the game with 5 eligible players remaining in a 113-104 loss. By game’s end, the Warriors would have had only 4 players eligible to play, except for an obscure and little-used rule which allowed Monta Ellis to stay in the game in its final seconds after he’d committed his sixth foul. ... Full story NBA Warriors get burned by Heat January 13, 2010 Oakland, Calif. -- “They were the better team.” Golden State Warriors Head Coach Don Nelson could not have explained it any better in Wednesday night’s post-game conference after his Warriors fell flat against the Miami Heat in a 115-102 loss. “We just did not have enough consistency,” Nelson added. “But I thought we might have another chance with five minutes to go.” “It was good to get this win,” said Heat Head Coach Eric Spoelstra, as Miami went a game above .500 (19-18) with Wednesday night’s win. The Warriors were near non-existent to start the game as Miami sparked a 12-4 run in the game’s first six minutes. ... Full story NBA Warriors dethroned Kings January 8, 2010 Oakland, Calif. -- Warriors guard Monta Ellis and Sacramento Kings rookie Tyreke Evans shared more than just floor in Friday night’s game. The two guards are the only players in the Western Conference to average 20 points, 5 assists and four rebounds a game. With those kind of number it was needless to say that there were going to be plenty of fireworks going off inside Oracle Arena. On top of providing two dynamic shooters, both teams are currently ranked in the top ten in team scoring, the Warriors rank second averaging 107.2 a contest while the Kings currently hold the seventh spot with 103.9 PPG. Neither team disappointed, but it was Golden State that prevailed, 108-101. ... Full story Bill Mancebo's player spotlights - December, 2009 December 2 This week the spotlight shines on the final play of an annual event. The tradition began 39 years ago on Thanksgiving morning when a touch football game was played on the outfield grass of the Mission San Jose High School baseball field. The players that day were mostly recent graduates from Mission’s class of 1970. They were not done being kids yet and still liked to play with their friends. So when that first Thanksgiving vacation rolled around, with everyone converging on the hometown, it was natural for them to arrange an impromptu football game. There were no such things as cell phones, texting nor Facebook those days. ... Full story NBA Warriors top Suns in OT December 26, 2009 Oakland, Calif. -- Golden State Warriors head coach Don Nelson knew that in order to beat the Phoenix Suns, his team would have to get ready for a run-and-gun battle. The Suns, led by superstars Amare Stoudemire, Steve Nash and former Warrior Jason Richardson, came into Saturday night’s game leading the NBA in 3-point shooting. “I knew that whoever was gonna miss was gonna lose,” said Nelson after the game. Fortunately for the Warriors, it was the Suns who missed – though they didn’t miss much, shooting 53.4 percent from the floor, including a near 50 percent clip from the 3-point arc (14 for 31, a 45 percent rate). ... Full story NBA Arenas lights up Warriors in Wiz win December 18, 2009 Oakland, Calif. -- Ask a fan of the Golden State Warriors what their biggest source of frustration with the team is, and you’re likely to hear, “Every player they get rid of goes somewhere else and gets really good.” In the case of Gilbert Arenas, that’s not entirely true: Arenas was already a budding star when he was with the Warriors. But after leaving the team via free agency in 2003, Arenas has been a 3-time NBA all-star despite the limited success of his team, the Washington Wizards. On Friday (December 18), Arenas was all that, scoring 45 points against his old squad in a 118-109 Wizards win at the Oracle Arena. ... Full story NBA Banged-up Warriors drop fourth straight December 16, 2009 Oakland, Calif. -- Despite another double-digit night by guard Monta Ellis, Golden State could not overcome the injury bug, falling to San Antonio 103-91. “It wasn’t a bad effort,” said Warriors coach Don Nelson, who returned to the court on Wednesday night after fighting the pneumonia for the past week. “I liked a lot of things that went on. But to win games, we have to make some shots. But, we could do much worse” The Warriors (7-18) have struggled to shoot effectively throughout their four game stretch and it showed again Wednesday night. ... Full story NFL Redskins rout Raiders December 13, 2009 Oakland, Calif. -- Sunday was supposed to be the day the Oakland Raiders broke through back to back wins for the first time since the last two games in 2008. Yet, instead of taking another stride forward, the Washington Redskins force Oakland back to the drawing board as the Raiders lose to the struggling Redskins 34-13. “I’m very disappointed,” said Raiders coach Tom Cable. “We had an opportunity to take another step forward and we didn’t.” “It’s definitely frustrating to lose by three scores,” said Raiders tight end Zach Miller. ... Full story NBA Warriors squander lead, lose to Magic December 5, 2009 Oakland, Calif. -- The Golden State Warriors treated their fans at Oracle Arena to a lights-out offensive display, and an exciting comeback from a 16-point deficit to the Orlando Magic, to take a 5-point lead with 8 minutes left. Unfortunately, in those last 8 minutes, the Warriors unraveled with costly turnovers and suddenly absentee shooting to lose a 126-118 heartbreaker. “I don’t think we can play much better with what we had,” said a resigned coach Don Nelson after the game, referring to the undermanned status that his team has been dealing with for the past three weeks due to a plethora of injuries. On Saturday night, the Warriors suited up 8 players. ... Full story Bill Mancebo's player spotlights - November, 2009 November 4, 2009 This week the spotlight finds 12-year-old Fremont resident Chloe Lambert. This young lady's selected sport is soccer. She covers both offense and defense as a midfielder for the Newark House Soccer League Thunderstorms team. With five years experience as a soccer player behind her and many more to go, staying in top shape is essential. She works hard at this by conditioning and practicing three days a week to prepare for her weekend matches. Her father, who's a retired soccer pro, works closely with Chloe to teach her his best field maneuvers. Lambert attends Centerville Jr. ... Full story NFL Smith leads way in Niners win November 29, 2009 San Francisco -- Coming off a tightly-contested 30-24 loss at Green Bay to the Packers last week, the San Francisco 49ers kept their fading playoff hopes alive with a convincing home win over the playoff-hopeful Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday afternoon at Candlestick Park. Coach Mike Singletary mentioned leading into the game that the offense may open up, and Smith helped make that transition an easy one. Alex Smith stepped up his game on Sunday, completing 27 passes on 41 attempts for 232 yards and two touchdowns, leading the 49ers to their fifth win of the season. "It's pretty much the growth of this offense," Smith said. ... Full story NFL Gradkowski sparks Raiders upset November 22, 2009 Oakland, Calif. -- Some may call him a journeyman, some may start calling him the Raiders possible savior, but after Sunday’s game against the Cincinnati Bengals, some may call him “Bruce All-mighty.” In his first start at quarterback for Oakland, Bruce Gradkowski had anything but a perfect game, however despite his imperfection throughout 58 minutes against Cincinnati on Sunday, he came through when it mattered most. ... Full story NBA Ellis and the Warriors run past Portland November 20, 2009 Oakland, Calif. -- The Golden State Warriors returned home Friday night from an Eastern road trip in which they went 1-4, traded their one-time team leader for two bench players -- one of whom, Raja Bell, opted for season-ending wrist surgery rather than suit up for the Warriors -- and were increasingly under scrutiny as a team whose best player, Monta Ellis, might be the next to demand his ticket out of Oakland, and whose coach, Don Nelson, seemed apathetic about the whole situation. With the hot 9-4 Portland Trail Blazers in town as the opponent, Warriors fans could be forgiven for expecting the worst, especially when the Blazers led 37-29 after the first quarter. ... Full story UFL Redwoods fall short again November 19, 2009 San Francisco -- Both a simple interception and a fumble in the fourth quarter ended the California Redwoods hopes of pulling the upset against the Florida Tuskers in the Redwoods 34-27 loss on Thursday night. The win also gave Florida a perfect 6-0 record to end the UFL’s Inaugural regular season. “I think 6-0 in anything you do is pretty good,” said Tuskers Head Coach Jim Haslett. “I think it was the third time this year we had the lead at halftime, but couldn’t score the sufficient points after to win the game,” said Redwood Head Coach Dennis Green. “We had some guys that really played well. We just didn’t do a good enough job, myself included. ... Full story Youth Football Cougars make AYF National Championships November 17, 2009 It might have seemed unimaginable at the beginning of the year, but after a very successful inaugural season, the Mission Valley Cougars qualified three levels to play in the American Youth Football National Championships in Florida. "We had so many coaches and volunteers go into making this such a great season," Mission Valley Cougars President Chirika Gates said. "I couldn't be prouder of how everything turned out." The Rookies (7-1), Junior Varsity (4-2-2) and Varsity teams (8-0) each qualified for the prestigious tournament that will be held December 5-12 in Orlando. ... Full story Girls Tennis Mission San Jose wins NCS November 17, 2009 Mission San Jose High School had little trouble in claiming the North Coast Section girls team tennis championship last weekend. Mission, representing the Mission Valley Athletic League (MVAL) as the number-two seed, shutout its first-round opponent, number-15 Analy High School, 7-0, on Tuesday, Nov. 10. (American High School, also of the MVAL, was downed by six-seed Carondelet High School, 7-0, on Tuesday.) Mission continued its march to the NCS title with a convincing quarterfinals victory over number-10 Amador Valley High School (who previously upset the number-seven seed, Campolindo High School), 5-2, on Thursday, Nov. 12, to advance to the semifinals. ... Full story Women's Volleyball Lady Pioneers volleyball season ends November 17, 2009 Hayward, Calif. -- After defeating Humboldt State 3-1 on Friday, Nov. 13, giving them back-to-back wins for the first time since September 25 and 26, the Cal State East Bay volleyball team could not end the season on a winning note, as they fell to Sonoma State 3-1 (24-26, 20-25, 25-19, 18-25) on Saturday, Nov. 14. Although it was tough to end the season with a loss, the Lady Pioneers do end the season on somewhat of a positive note, winning two of their last three matches, despite losing five-consecutive matches prior to those last three. ... Full story Water Polo Ohlone water polo sinks November 17, 2009 Fremont, Calif. -- Ohlone College’s men’s water polo team ended their season with a very respectable showing at the Coast Conference tournament, held November 6 and 7 at De Anza College. The Renegades entered the tournament seeded fourth in the six-team field. They defeated De Anza 9-8 on November 6, but had their tournament life – and hopes for advancement into the postseason playoff tournament – ended by top seed West Valley, 21-3. Ohlone finished the tournament with a win over Merced, 11-7. West Valley continued their tradition of excellence (this year is their 20th conference championship) with an 18-9 win over Cabrillo in the final. ... Full story NFL Raiders drop another November 15, 2009 Oakland, Calif. -- “We didn’t execute, we didn’t catch the football, and we didn’t throw accurately. We just didn’t get it done.” Safe to say Raiders Head Coach Tom Cable was frustrated after his team, literally, dropped another game, this time to Kansas City 16-10 on Sunday. “I’m disappointed on where we are as a football team,” Cable said. ... Full story UFL Redwoods fall out of championship hunt November 14, 2009 San Jose, Calif. -- It's apparent that the Las Vegas Locos are who Dennis Green "thought they were." Coming off their bye week after a 20-13 win at the New York Sentinels, the California Redwoods blew another halftime lead to Las Vegas, falling 16-10 to the Locos on Saturday night. "We just didn't make enough plays," Green said about his Redwoods team. California took a 7-3 lead over Vegas at halftime, similar to their Oct. 8 matchup in the UFL's opening game where the Redwoods took a 14-10 lead into the half, but were outscored 20-3 in the second half en route to a 30-17 loss. "Heck of a football game," said Locos Head Coach Jim Fassel. ... Full story NFL Titans stun 49ers November 8, 2009 San Francisco -- The Niners would enter Sunday's game at Candlestick Park hoping to even out its 3-4 record and redeem themselves from an embarrassing loss to Atlanta the last time they played at home. But it was not to be as the Titans who had only one victory before the game were able to eke out a 34-27 win. On the Titans’ first possession the visitors couldn’t make it past the 50 yard line as Chris Johnson was stuffed for a five-yard loss. But their sluggish start would not last the entire game as they caused 49ers quarterback Alex Smith and the rest of the San Francisco into four turnovers which led to 24 points. ... Full story Soccer Ohlone soccer recap November 3, 2009 Fremont, Calif. -- Men’s Soccer Ohlone Community College had their second four-game winning streak of the season dashed in a home loss to a dominating squad from Hartnell College, who beat the Renegades 5-1 on a windy Tuesday (October 27) afternoon. Hartnell was led by star forward Eduardo Verduzco, who scored the game’s first goal in the 21st minute. It was the first of four goals scored by Verduzco. The other Hartnell point was scored by Jesus Espinoza, four minutes before halftime to put the visitors up by a 3-0 score. ... Full story CSEB sports recap November 3, 2009 Hayward, Calif. -- Cal State University East Bay men’s soccer ended the nightmare that became their 2009 season, losing their season finale 2-0 to Cal State University Los Angeles on Sunday, Nov. 1. "LA is a very strong and deep team," Pioneers Coach Andy Cumbo said. "We never gave up and played with commitment." The loss gives the Pioneers a 1-19-0 overall record on the season with East Bay dropping 19 straight matches since winning their season opener against William Jessup University back on August 27. ... Full story Bill Mancebo's player spotlights - October, 2009 October 7, 2009 This week the spotlight finds 16-year-old Dustin Koliner. This Mission San Jose High School Warrior likes a challenge and shows it by playing left guard and strong linebacker at the varsity level and only in his sophomore year. After only one year in freshman football, Dustin and one other player earned the two varsity slots while entering their second year of high school sports. Outside of football he’s also a catcher for the MSJ baseball team. Playing sports comes natural for Koliner and he’s been doing it since he was five years old. Baseball and soccer were his games of choice until he decided to try football just last year. ... Full story NHL Sharks end Avalanche win streak October 30, 2009 San Jose, Calif. -- The San Jose Sharks took advantage of their superior size to relentlessly attack the Colorado goal, ultimately wearing down the Avalanche 3-1 at the HP Pavilion on Friday night (October 30). Colorado entered the game with the NHL’s best record (10-1-2) and most points (22), and had gone 10 games since their last loss. This was a tremendous turnaround from last year, when the Avs missed the playoffs with the worst record in the Western Conference. The big reason for Colorado’s resurgence is the play of new goalie Craig Anderson, who is getting his first shot as a starter after being a backup with the Florida Panthers. In all 13 games, Anderson has been stellar in allowing only 1. ... Full story NBA Warriors drop season opener October 28, 2009 Oakland, Calif. -- All they hype about the Golden State Warriors this year seems to be just that as the Warriors blew a 10-point halftime lead, losing to the Houston Rockets 108-107 Wednesday night in Oakland. “I guess that’s why I hate home openers,” said Warriors Head Coach Don Nelson. “We are going to have to play better than we played tonight.” Despite missing star players Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady to injury, the Rockets found a way to get past the high-powered Warriors offense, despite being outshot 86-89 by Golden State on the night, and having to comeback down 10 at halftime. “This was a big win for us,” said Rockets shooting forward Trevor Ariza. ... Full story Girls Tennis Prep tennis recap October 26, 2009 Mission San Jose shut out James Logan 7-0 on Tuesday Oct. 20. Mission gave up two sets as a team. The Warriors also defeated John F. Kennedy, 7-0. Moreau Catholic beat Hayward, 5-2, in its early week match. The Mariners’ doubles teams showed their strength as only one Moreau Catholic singles player earned a victory. The Mariners lost to Bishop O’Dowd, 5-2, on October 22. Its singles’ teams struggled again as number one singles player Jana Lee was the only one to collect a win. Moreau Catholic moves to 7-6 in the Hayward Area Athletic League. Milpitas shut out Fremont (Sunnyvale) High, 7-0, in its early-week match. ... Full story CSEB sports roundup October 26, 2009 Hayward, Calif. -- After being swept by Cal State Los Angeles on Wednesday, the Lady Pioneers volleyball team ended their four-game home stand with a big win against Cal State Dominguez Hills, defeating the Lady Toros 3-1 (25-19, 25-17, 19-25, 25-12) Saturday night, Oct. 24. East Bay (8-15, 6-9 CCAA) has traded wins and losses throughout their last eight matches, and Saturday’s win came just in time as the Lady Pioneers get ready to start a six-game road trip starting on Tuesday, Oct. 27, when the travel to Belmont to take on Notre Dame de Namur. Roxanne Neely starred again for the Lady Pioneers as she and Ariel Ajagu each recorded 11 kills on the night. ... Full story Ohlone sports roundup October 26, 2009 Fremont, Calif. -- Men’s Soccer The Renegades are approaching the stretch run towards the playoffs with a growing momentum that teams acquire with multi-game winning streaks. In Ohlone’s case, the streak has grown to four after a home 2-1 win over Cabrillo on October 20 and a road 2-0 win at De Anza on October 23. Dustin Richards scored the Renegades’ first goal in the 18th minute of the Cabrillo game, converting a Cabrillo deflection inside the goal box. Ohlone went into the half with a two-goal advantage after George Mayer II hit the net from 16 yards out. Cabrillo came out with more aggression in the second half, and the aggression paid off on a goal by forward Edgar Bedolla. ... Full story Girls Golf Moreau sends two to NCS October 26, 2009 Hayward, Calif. -- Moreau Catholic High School sent two golfers to the NCS South Qualifier, played on Monday, Oct. 26, at Las Positas Golf Course in Livermore. Jessica Salas and Anne Wang qualified for the North Coast Section tournament by placing among the top three individual scorers not on the top two teams in the Hayward Area Athletic League (HAAL) Championship tournament, which was played last Monday (October 19) at Oakland’s Metropolitan’s Golf Course. Salas shot a 90 and Wang a 108. The HAAL tournament was dominated by Castro Valley High, who were led by Betty Chen’s score of 73, 1 over par. ... Full story NFL Jets bomb Raiders October 25, 2009 Oakland, Calif. -- After shocking the Philadelphia Eagles a week ago 13-9, Raider Nation thought the Raiders could make it two in a row against a struggling New York Jets team that came into Sunday’s game losing three-straight. However, after JaMarcus Russell’s fumble inside his own 20 yard line in the game’s opening play, the Raider Nation went from hope to despair as the Jets dominated over Oakland 38-0. “In this league, it’s hard to get a shutout,” said Jets Head Coach Rex Ryan. The 38-point differential ties the Raiders worst loss since losing 49-11 at Jacksonville back on Dec. ... Full story NBA Warriors win final tune-up October 22, 2009 Oakland, Calif. -- If there’s one thing the Golden State Warriors can do, it’s score points -- especially on their home floor at Oracle Arena in Oakland. In their final tune-up before they start running for real, the Warriors, without the services of six regulars, ran the undermanned New Orleans Hornets right out of the gym Thursday night, 126-92. “That’s a good end of the preseason,” said Warriors Head Coach Don Nelson. “It was a strange game … but we made the most of it.” New Orleans kept the game tight, despite playing without its two All Stars, Chris Paul and David West, as well as Ike Diogu, Emeka Okafor and Julian Wright. ... Full story Youth Soccer Rampage win two October 20, 2009 Fremont, Calif. -- In a battle of two Fremont teams, Rampage was able to outlast Heat, 4-2. It was the first time both sides have met this season, pitting two hot teams against each other. The game started lively, as both teams worked hard to gain control of the game and it quickly became a midfield battle with few goal opportunities. Thirty minutes into the game, Rampage broke the deadlock when Rhian Dunn made a long throw-in to Andrea Hanna who beat one defender before sliding the ball across to Erica Ohye who calmly slotted the ball home. ... Full story NFL Raiders clip Eagles October 18, 2009 Oakland, Calif. -- “We’ve got good enough players. We have a good enough team.” Those words by Oakland Head Coach Tom Cable should be enough to silence whatever critics may still be around after the Raiders shocked the Philadelphia Eagles 13-9 in Oakland on Sunday, ending Philadelphia’s two-game win streak. Oakland (2-4) made their statement clear to the critics who have dubbed the Raiders the “worst team in the NFL,” holding the Eagles offense to under 300 yards offensively and no touchdowns. However, the best part of the Raiders win might’ve been one play that they haven’t ran since 2002. ... Full story UFL Redwoods runaway with home opener October 17, 2009 San Francisco -- After collapsing in the second half against Las Vegas in the United Football League opener last week, the California Redwoods chose the right time to win their first game as they defeated the New York Sentinels 24-7 Saturday night at AT&T Park in San Francisco. “It’s great to play at home and get a win,” said Redwoods Head Coach Dennis Green. The Redwoods (1-1) outgained the Sentinels (0-2) 306 yards to 188, despite starting former Detroit Lions quarterback Mike McMahon over Shane Boyd who started for the Redwoods last week against the Las Vegas Locos. “We can’t struggle offensively throwing the ball,” Green said. ... Full story Girls Volleyball Prep volleyball recap October 13, 2009 Mission San Jose Warriors of Fremont lead the Mission Valley Athletic League with a 6-1 record, 10-3 overall. Last week, Head Coach Donny Hui’s Warriors defeated James Logan of Union City, 3-0, and Irvington of Fremont, 3-2. They next play at Washington of Fremont on Thursday, Oct. 15, and then home to Newark Memorial on Tuesday, Oct. 20. Meanwhile, Moreau Catholic Mariners of Hayward trails only Bishop O’Dowd of Oakland in Hayward Area Athletic League play with a record of 5-1 (O’Dowd is 6-0) and 14-3 overall. MC defeated Mt. Eden of Hayward, 3-0, on October 6 and then lost to BOD, 3-0, two days later. ... Full story Cal State East Bay sports recap October 13, 2009 Hayward, Calif. -- The Cal State East Bay Lady Pioneers will enter their upcoming four-game home stand after going 1-1 in last weekend’s quick road trip, losing to Sonoma State in three sets (23-25, 22-25, 15-25) on Friday, Oct. 9, and coming back to win against Humboldt State in five sets (22-25, 17-25, 25-23, 25-18, 15-9) on Saturday, Oct. 10. The Lady Pioneers (6-13, 4-7) have won four of their last six matches since ending their seven-match losing streak back in late September. East Bay’s loss to Sonoma State Friday night marks the first time the Lady Pioneers have been swept since September 12 vs. Cal State San Bernardino. ... Full story Ohlone sports recap October 13, 2009 Fremont, Calif. -- Men’s Soccer An injury-depleted Ohlone soccer team traveled to Livermore to play the Las Positas Red-Tail Hawks on a windy Tuesday evening, Oct. 6. The fast track of the artificial-turf surface, combined with the questionable physical tactics of the Las Positas team, was enough to send the Renegades back to Fremont with a 2-0 loss. The defeat was the second straight for Ohlone, who before that had won four in a row. Cedric Kenfack scored the first goal of the match in the fifth minute, beating Ohlone goalkeeper Iman Aghel one-on-one after receiving a pass from teammate Felix Luna. ... Full story Chabot sports recap October 13, 2009 Hayward, Calif. -- The Gladiators handed College of the Redwoods its sixth loss of the season and beat them 52-35 on October 10 at Chabot Stadium. Chabot scored 31 first half points. Sophomore quarterback Antoine Young completed 13 passes for 160 yards and one touchdown. In the second quarter, Young showed off his running ability by scoring a touchdown on an 80-yard scamper. The football team is now 2-3. Chabot wrestling traveled to Saratoga to participate in the 21-team West Valley Tournament. Chabot earned 59.5 points for seventh place. Stephan de la Cruz took home first place at 141 pounds. ... Full story Water Polo Water polo teams make waves in MVAL October 13, 2009 The weather might be beginning to cool outside, but the water polo teams in the Mission Valley and Hayward Area athletic leagues are heating up the waves inside. The always tough Mission San Jose boys team is the perennial league powerhouse. The Warriors have been ranked as a top-15 North Coast Section team according to most East Bay Area polls. They have lost some key players at shooter and in the hole. They also have had to learn with having a new coach this season but they have beat some quality teams. MSJ still has NCS honorable mention Laura Cann who received the accolade last year as a freshman. ... Full story MVAL cross country recap Kennedy vs American: The two Fremont schools met at Quarry Lakes’ three-mile course in Fremont on October 7, and American dominated both the boys and girls races (scores of 20-38 for the boys, and 15-Incomplete for the girls). American’s David Brody led the entire way and then surged in the final mile to post a winning time of 17:33. His teammate Solomon Mulugeta finished second (17:56) and Kennedy’s top finisher, Andrew Shim, took third (18:05). Shim’s time set a new Kennedy High School record for the Quarry Lakes course. The American girls also won against an incomplete Kennedy squad. Andrea Morales (20:51) set the pace for American. ... Full story Racing de Ferran wins wild farewell race in Monterey October 10, 2009 Monterey, Calif. -- Gil de Ferran rode into the sunset with a victory in his final race Saturday, and Patrón Highcroft Racing had its own special ride as well at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca to close the 2009 American Le Mans Series. De Ferran and Simon Pagenaud won the Monterey Sports Car Championships presented by Patrón after the retiring Brazilian legend's thrilling duel with Adrian Fernandez in the final 30 minutes of the four-hour classic. De Ferran beat his long-time open-wheel competitor by just 0.662 seconds to close his fantastic career. The victory was the fifth of the season for the de Ferran Motorsports Acura ARX-02a and by far the toughest. ... Full story MLS Quakes drop final home game October 7, 2009 Santa Clara, Calif. -- It was a must win game for both FC Dallas and the San Jose Earthquakes on Wednesday night, the team with a better shot at making it to the playoffs was able to come away with the win. San Jose, playing in front of their fans at Buck Shaw Stadium for the last time of the 2009 season, could not send their supporters home happy on Fan Appreciation Night, losing to FC Dallas 2-1. “I am disappointed with the result. We should have at least tied the game to be honest. We had chances, but we didn’t play real well," said Quakes coach Frank Yallop. "Our general play, especially in the final third, was poor tonight. ... Full story Cal State East Bay roundup The Cal State East Bay Lady Pioneers have slowly started to turn things around after a seven-match losing streak in September, splitting matches this past weekend, losing to S.F. State on Friday, Oct. 2, in five sets (25-16, 25-27, 16-25, 25-13, 5-15) and defeating Cal State Monterey Bay in four sets (25-22, 21-25, 25-19, 25-17) on Saturday, Oct. 3. The Lady Pioneers (5-12, 3-6 CCAA) have won three of their last four matches during their four-match home stand, and have good momentum going into a quick road-trip to Sonoma State and Humboldt State this Friday and Saturday, Oct. 9-10, respectively. East Bay took S.F. ... Full story Fremont Football League Fremont Football Week 4 scores and highlights October 3, 2009 Fremont, Calif. -- Continental Division Giants-42 Saints-6 Chiefs-34 Panthers-6 Continental Division game of the week put last year's champs (Cardinals) vs. runners-up (Colts), which played very similar to last year's championship game: little defense and a lot of offense. The Cardinals took the lead in the 3rd quarter only to have the Colts come back in the 4th and tie the game up. But the Cardinals would get the ball back late in the 4th quarter and take the lead 34-26 and to seal the victory. ... Full story NFL 49ers silence Rams October 4, 2009 San Francisco -- The 49ers would silence the winless Rams 35-0 on a windy day at Candle Stick Park on Sunday afternoon. The Niners came into the game looking to re-assert themselves among the NFL best. They would enter the contest without star running back Frank Gore who was injured last week vs. Minnesota. That didn't matter as the team used young talent to beat an old rival. “Anytime you look up at the end of the game and see the other team with a goose egg by their name it is a great feeling,” said 49ers defensive gem Patrick Willis after the game. They would begin the game a little slow in the first quarter as both teams would get into the others’ red zone. ... Full story MLB A’s bats stymied by Angels October 2, 2009 Oakland, Calif. -- The Oakland A’s September surge towards respectability has come a cropper in the season’s final week. After winning 16 of 20 games, the A’s were 75-80 and teasing their fans with the possibility of finishing this trying season with a .500 record. A three-game sweep last week by the Mariners in Seattle put the kibosh to those slim hopes, and the A’s returned home on Friday night (October 2) to close out the 2009 campaign against the Los Angeles/Anaheim/California/You Pick a Region Angels. So to roll out an old cliché, the Athletics were playing for pride, nothing more. ... Full story Bill Mancebo's player spotlights - September, 2009 September 2, 2009 This week we go to Fremont and place the spotlight on 38-year-old Jeff Bryan whose sport of choice is simply staying fit. Jeff works hard at this and exercises to an extreme level five days a week. As a certified personal trainer, Jeff loves what he does and it shows in many ways. Aside from being in great shape he loves helping others to do the same through a method of OPT workouts that combine stability, strength, power and agility training to achieve peak results. This John F. Kennedy High graduate has been a resident of Fremont since 1979 and also attended Chabot College in Hayward. ... Full story Youth Football Fremont Football League roundup September 30, 2009 Fremont, Calif. -- Fremont Football scores and highlights first game is our American Division teams a Thursday night game between the Bengals and Patriots. The Bengals are from the School of the Deaf in Fremont and joined Fremont Football four years ago. The Bengals came out with 14 pts in the 1st quarter and had a strong offensive attack scoring 40 pts. The Patriots were able to sustain a nice drive in the 2nd quarter and get eight points but that’s all due to the aggressive defensive of the Bengals. The final score was 40-8 Bengals. Saturdays scores and highlights first game was the Continental Division Cardinals vs. Giants. ... Full story MLB Sandoval, Molina pace Giants over D'Backs September 29, 2009 San Francisco -- After missing the last three games, Giants catcher Bengie Molina returned to the San Francisco lineup Tuesday night with a vengeance, going 4-5 at the plate with two home runs and four RBIs in the Giants 8-4 win over Arizona. “We played well,” Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. “We did a lot of good things tonight. Had some good at-bats and some good walks.” Along with Molina’s four RBI’s and two home runs, Giants third baseman Pablo Sandoval sparked fireworks of his own, sending a Clay Zavada pitch into the seats in the seventh inning with two out for his 23rd home run of the season. Sandoval finished the night going 4-5 at the plate with two RBI’s. ... Full story NFL Broncos stampede Raiders September 27, 2009 Oakland, Calif. -- Despite winning in the winding seconds against Kansas City last week, the Raiders showed no momentum from that win in Sunday’s 23-3 blowout loss against the divisional rival Denver Broncos on Sunday. With the loss, Oakland falls to 1-2 on the season, as the Broncos take the lead in the AFC West, improving to 3-0. The win by Denver is also their sixth win in their last eight games dating back to last season. Oakland has yet to win a game at home this season, losing their home opener two weeks ago 24-20 to San Diego. “Always tough to lose a divisional game,” said Raiders linebacker Thomas Howard. “It’s extra tough when you lose it at home. ... Full story MLB Giants fall further behind Rockies September 24, 2009 San Francisco -- John Bowker’s first home run of the season was not enough as the Giants lost 3-2 to the Chicago Cubs at AT&T Park. The Giants, who started the night tied with Atlanta for second in the National League wild card chase, had a chance to gain ground on the Colorado Rockies Instead, with two outs and one man on in the ninth inning, Cubs third basemen Jeff Baker sent a Brian Wilson fastball into the left field bleachers. Starting pitcher and latest Giant acquisition Brad Penny bounced back from dismal last start against his former team when he gave up 7 runs in 2 innings. Penny went eight innings and gave up 7 hits and 1 run. He struck out four batters. ... Full story High School Football Dogged at home September 24, 2009 Fremont, Calif. -- The Washington Huskies lost their second home game of the season on Thursday, this time to the Tracy Bulldogs 42-21. The loss puts the Huskies at .500 (2-2) going into their bye week before their conference opener against American High on Oct. 9. Tracy (3-0) continues their undefeated start, improving to 3-0 with the win with two games left before their conference play starts on Oct. 16. Washington’s two losses of the season have been by 21+ points, while Tracy has scored 27+ points in each of their three wins. ... Full story MLB A’s return the favor in 9-1 rout over Texas September 22, 2009 Oakland, Calif. -- The A’s might be out of the playoff chase, but they’re able to play the role of spoiler as they beat the Texas Rangers 3-1 Tuesday night in Oakland. Despite the loss for Texas, the Rangers are still 6.5 games behind the Boston Red Sox who lost to Kansas City Tuesday. Oakland’s win marks their eighth of their last 10 against Texas and are 5-1 in their current homestand. “It feels like we’re right back where we want to be,” said A’s manager Bob Geren. Oakland’s win comes a night after the Rangers completely dominated the A’s in a 10-3 rout of Oakland Monday night, outhitting Oakland 15-5, ending the A’s seven-game win streak. ... Full story MLB A's dominate Indians September 20, 2009 Oakland, Calif. -- A’s left-hander Dana Eveland hasn’t had the greatest start to his young career as a starter in Oakland, however he proved his case for a spot in the A’s rotation in the Athletics 11-4 win over the Cleveland Indians on Sunday. “He had a pretty respectful outing,” said A’s Mananger Bob Geren. “He kept us in the game.” The win is Oakland’s seventh consecutive win and their first four-game sweep since August of 2005 when they swept the Orioles in Baltimore. The A’s are also a streaking 12-2 in their last 14 games. Eveland (2-3) pitched five solid innings for the A’s, allowing just one run on five hits while striking out and walking two batters on the day. ... Full story NHL Marleau nets two, Sharks win in OT September 19, 2009 San Jose, Calif. -- After giving up a 3-0 lead, the San Jose Sharks, behind two goals by Patrick Marleau, were able to prevail over the Phoenix Coyotes, 5-4, in overtime on Saturday night. Marleau was able to net the game winner when a loose puck found his stick on the weak side of the goal, sending the 15,896 fans in HP Pavilion home happy. “I was fortunate enough to score,” said Marleau of the game winner. “I think a D man got a stick on it … I was trying to get a clear shot on, but I’ll take them any way I can get them. ... Full story High School Football Trojans roll in battle of unbeatens September 18, 2009 Newark, Calif. -- Two undefeated teams, both 2-0, played under Friday night lights at Newark Memorial High School on September 18. Cougars, of Head Coach Rich Swift, battled Head Coach Kelly King’s Milpitas Trojans with both coaches anxious to see where their teams stacked-up in the 2009 high school football season. First quarter saw the Trojans jump out to a 10-0 lead on a 67-yard pass from senior quarterback Cameron Hernandez to senior wide receiver Antonio Douglas. Senior kicker Alex Tran kicked the extra point and, later in the quarter, added a 27-yard field goal. Milpitas would hold the Cougars without a first down until about one minute to go in quarter one. ... Full story MLS Late PK earns tie for Rapids vs. Quakes September 18, 2009 Santa Clara, Calif. -- Several stars aligned the pitch at Buck Shaw Stadium on the campus of Santa Clara University on Friday night, but none of them will be remembered as the one who decided the final result of the San Jose Earthquakes and Colorado Rapids 1-1 tie. That honor goes to head official Edvin Jurisevic. Jurisevic whistled Earthquakes forward Ryan Johnson for a penalty inside the six-yard box bringing down Drew Moor, who appeared to be offside on the play. “I just threw my body at the ball to try to get a deflection or knock it out of bounds and I got a piece of (Moor) and he did a good job at selling the PK,” Johnson said. ... Full story High School Boys Soccer Fremont Christian draws Oakland Military on the road September 17, 2009 Oakland, Calif. -- The Fremont Christian Warriors and Oakland Military Warriors drew to a 2-2 tie in Bay Counties League (BCL) action Thursday night in Oakland. Strong defenses on both sides of the field kept the game scoreless until the 25th minute of the first half when junior forward Edwardo Domingo placed a ball into the corner of the net to give FC a 1-0 lead. Eight minutes later, senior forward Jeff Wilson powered a shot past OMI from just inside the 18 to give FC a 2-0 lead. In the 40th minute of the first half, Erick Chavez scored for OMI, setting the halftime score at 2-1. ... Full story High School Football Kennedy drops home opener to Heritage September 17, 2009 Fremont, Calif. -- Heritage running back Treyvon Hanna scored three touchdowns for his Patriots as they ran away from the John F. Kennedy Titans late, 28-9, on Thursday night at Tak Fundetta Memorial Stadium. It was a match up between teams with high hopes in the Bay Valley and Mission Valley athletic leagues, with the BVAL team prevailing over the pseudo-home team in Kennedy. Heritage was too tough for the Titans -- both offensively and defensively -- as they buried the Titans with a late-game touchdown, courtesy of Hanna on a one-yard plunge for the TD. "That's a great football team we were playing against," said John F. Kennedy Head Coach Peter Michaletos. ... Full story Soccer Newark Lightning Bolts win convincingly September 12, 2009 Newark, Calif. -- On Saturday, Sept. 12, the girls U-10 Newark Lightning Bolts defeated Union City 5101, 4-0. Jayla Belcher scored two goals to lead the scoring. Angelique Valenzuela and Erin Cooper also scored for the Lightening to round out the scoring. Katie Phelps assisted Valenzuela's goal. Valenzuela, Rachel Bruckner and Sara Bower all played goal keeper to preserve the shutout. Lightning also shined defensively, with Rachel Bruckner, Cemone Cooper, Priscilla Alvarez, Natalie Piserchio, Erin Cooper and Vanessa Velasco all playing well in the back for the Lightning. Full story MLB Rockies avoid sweep, beat Giants September 16, 2009 San Francisco -- Matt Cain and the Giants couldn’t get the sweep against the Colorado Rockies, losing 3-4; Rockies are now leading the NL Wild Card race by 3.5 games. Cain, who came into last night’s match up with a 2.61 ERA, lasted only 6 innings, giving up 4 earned runs on 5 hits. “Most of the Rockies have 20 home runs. If you hang pitches or leave them up in the zone, these guys will take advantage of it,” Cain said after the game. The young right-hander is second to Tim Lincecum in wins in the Giants’ starting rotation and among the league’s best in earned runs. Although the team lost, Cain remains optimistic about the club’s chances for a playoff appearance. ... Full story Governor Schwarzenegger announces physical fitness and sports spotlight awards September 16, 2009 Sacramento, Calif. -- Today, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and Governor’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports Chairman Jake Steinfeld announced the gold medal winners of the 2009 Governor’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports Spotlight Awards, sponsored by the Anthem Blue Cross Foundation. The Spotlight Awards recognize the efforts of principals, teachers, non-profit organizations, events, park programs, parent organizations and schools that positively impact the physical activity, fitness levels and well being of California children. Visit the Governor’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports website to learn more. ... Full story Soccer Fremont Christian holds off Chinese Christian September 15, 2009 Fremont, Calif. -- In League play, Fremont Christian defeated Chinese Christian 3-1 in a game played at Alumni Field. Fremont Christian scored first on a corner kick from Micheal Mahabali to Raudel Perez. Half way through the first period, Michael Mahabali, a junior fullback, pushed up into the offensive half to score, putting the Warriors up 2-0. Thirty-six minutes into the first half, the Rams answered back, scoring on an direct kick outside the 18. Ken Li placed the ball just under the bar to pull Chinese Christian to within one, 2-1. ... Full story Soccer Fremont Rampage open up with win September 13, 2009 Fremont, Calif. -- On an unusually cool September afternoon, the Rampage (a U-16 girls travel team from Fremont) encountered the Livermore Ice for their season opener. It was a tightly-contested affair, but Tiffany Sarchet's first-half goal was enough for the Rampage in their 1-0 victory over the Ice. Both teams started well, but in the early running, the Rampage's speed ensured they created the better chances, whereas the Rampage defense of Aileen Cheng, Malinda Cheung, Kinsey Mead and Megan Dunn contained the Ice's forwards. ... Full story MLB Giants release 2010 tentative regular season schedule September 15, 2009 San Francisco -- The San Francisco Giants will kick off their 2010 campaign with a three-game series at Houston on Monday, April 5, the club announced today. It will be the seventh time since 2000 that the club has opened the season on the road. The Giants also announced the entirety of their 2010 regular season schedule, which includes the 15 remaining National League clubs, a pair of three-game sets against the Boston Red Sox (June 25-27) and Baltimore Orioles (June 14-16), their first visit to Toronto since 2002 (June 18-20) and their annual home and home series versus cross-Bay Oakland. ... Full story NFL Chargers get late TD to down Raiders September 14, 2009 Oakland, Calif. -- In the second game of a Monday Night Football doubleheader on the NFL’s 2009 kickoff weekend, the San Diego Chargers (8-8 in 2008) were able to fend off a feisty Oakland Raiders (5-11 in 2008) with back-to-back scoring drives of 77 and 89 yards to give them a 24-20 come-from-behind win at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. Darren Sproles scored on a four-yard run to give the Chargers the lead for good on their ninth play of the 89-yard drive which took two minutes and 16 seconds. “We really got it going,” said Chargers quarterback Phillip Rivers. “The line did a great job, you saw great catches guys made; and Darren was able to get in the end zone. ... Full story MLB Giants stay alive with win over Dodgers August 13, 2009 San Francisco -- After losing four in a row entering Sunday’s game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Giants knew that they needed to “beat L.A.” to stay alive in the hunt for the N.L. Wild Card. With the “beat L.A.” chants all over AT&T Park, the Giants did just that, ending their four-game skid in their 3-0 win over the Dodgers on Sunday. “We can’t afford to lose,” said Giants starter Brad Penny. Penny (3-0, 1.64 with S.F. ... Full story SCVAL Football Trojans win despite penalties September 11, 2009 Milpitas, Calif. -- Milpitas came into Friday night’s (September 11) game fresh off a 42-0 shutout victory and was looking to get some momentum before hitting the road. Unfortunately they hurt themselves with penalties which cost them crucial field position in a 17-7 home victory against St. Ignatius. The Trojans would assert their defensive dominance early behind Marki Musika who had the game's first tackle. Musika and the Trojans would limit St. Ignatius quarterback Mark Emory to go four downs with out a score in his two series. Milpitas scored on a 32-yard field goal by Alex Van Damme in their first possession. Their defensive play stopped S.I. ... Full story MVAL Football Monte Vista sneaks out of Logan with win September 11, 2009 Union City, Calif. -- In the 2008 season, Monte Vista had no problem with the James Logan Colts, throttling them on their home turf by five touchdowns, 45-13. While last year, the Mustangs victory was never in question, this year was different. In front of a near-packed house on the James Logan High Judson E. Taylor Field in Union City, they gave the highly-touted Monte Vista all they could handle. However, the Mustangs left the field victorious again, beating the Colts by a field goal, 32-29. “Our guys worked very hard,” said Logan Head Coach George Zuber. “Our offense was clicking … and we felt we had an opportunity to do something tonight (but came up short). ... Full story Warriors 2009-10 single-game tickets go on sale Saturday, Sept. 12 The Golden State Warriors announced that single-game tickets for all 2009-10 regular-season home games will go on sale this Saturday, September 12, beginning at 9:00 a.m. at a special event at Oracle Arena. Fans attending the event at Oracle Arena will have the exclusive first-chance opportunity to purchase from an allotment of 2,500 single-game tickets that are being made available to each of the season’s most popular games versus the Los Angeles Lakers, Cleveland Cavaliers and Boston Celtics. ... Full story MLB Penny wins Giants home debut September 7, 2009 San Francisco -- Juan Uribe paced the San Francisco offense with five RBIs, and Brad Penny pitched another quality game for his new club, leading the Giants to a 9-4 blowout of the San Diego Padres on Labor Day at AT&T Park. “We swung the bats well today,” said Manager Bruce Bochy of the offense coming alive at home, when they struggled so much on their recent road trip. “We certainly seem more comfortable here … hitting can be contagious and it got that way today.” Uribe hit two home runs, including a three-run shot in the seventh off Edward Mujica to blow the game wide open. For the day, Uribe went 3-4 with three extra-base hits along with his five RBIs. ... Full story MLB Hairston slam leads A's to win over M's September 6, 2009 Oakland, Calif. -- Gio Gonzalez and Scott Hairston both reached career firsts for the Oakland A's, leading to a 5-2 win over the Seattle Mariners in the series finale, earning them a split with their AL West foe. Gonzalez reached a career best seven innings pitched, evening his season record to 5-5, ending his three-game losing streak in the process. It was Gonzalez�s first win over Seattle in his career. "It's exciting, finally getting through the seventh inning," said Gonzalez. "Everything came out beautifully for me." In his seven innings, Gonzalez allowed two runs on six hits, striking out three and walking two. ... Full story High School Tennis Fremont Christian downs Valley Christian in five sets September 3, 2009 Crow Canyon Tennis Center -- At Crow Canyon Tennis Center on Thursday, September 3, Fremont Christian took on Valley Christian in a girls varsity tennis duel, with Fremont Christian coming out on top after five sets. Here's how each match broke down: Number 1 singles was Amanda Collins vs. Monica landen, which Valley Christian won, 6-2, 6-2; Number 2 singles was between Elizabeth Hegland vs. Laura Mathews, which Fremont Christian won by the same scores as Collins- landen; Number 3 singles saw Jazmine Hinton vs. ... Full story MLB Mariners homer happy in win over A's September 3, 2009 Oakland, Calif. -- Brett Tomko had been pitching quality baseball since coming onto the A's roster in mid-August. But on Thursday night vs. the Seattle Mariners at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, Tomko pitched like the pitcher that was released by the New York Yankees. Tomko got off to an inauspicious start, giving a leadoff hit to Ichiro before allowing a lined shot over the wall by Franklin Gutierrez for a 2-0 Seattle lead. And after getting two outs, Adrian Beltre singled, followed by Bill Hall's first American League homerun of the season, making it 4-0 Mariners. ... Full story MLB Davis leads A's to comeback victory August 31, 2009 Oakland, Calif. -- If there were any questions as to why the Kansas City Royals are one of the worst teams in Major League Baseball, they were answered on Monday night in their 8-5 loss to the Oakland A’s at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. Two plays -- one in the third; one in the sixth -- triggered multi-run rallies for the A’s en route to their 58th win of the year. Holding onto a 4-0 lead going into the A’s half of the third, Rajai Davis singled to right, scoring Cliff Pennington from second. Davis advanced to second on a throwing error by right fielder Willie Bloomquist, which sailed behind the plate where Royals starter Luke Hochevar picked it up. ... Full story Bill Mancebo's player spotlights - August, 2009 August 5, 2009 This week the player spotlight takes us to Fremont where we meet 72-year-old Gerry Romero. Gerry likes to play tennis a lot and does it regularly three times a week. A school teacher for many years Romero is now retired and loving life. He taught junior high and high school, and almost every subject; his specialty was Spanish. Tennis is not his only sport of interest: Romero also golfs twice a week to stay in peak condition. He drives a 1988 Corvette and the car is a specimen of perfection. Keeping that sports car spotless is not only satisfying but it’s a great physical activity that helps to keep him in shape. ... Full story NFL Saints crucify Raiders August 29, 2009 Oakland, Calif. -- Generally the third game of the NFL preseason is when you get the best indication of how your team will translate itself to the regular season. If that is truly the case, the Oakland Raiders will have a long season. On Saturday afternoon, in their third preseason contest of 2009, Oakland got trounced by the New Orleans Saints, 45-7, in front of a not-so-interested 32,585 at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. New Orleans raced out to a 21-0 lead after just 16 minutes of game time, courtesy of Drew Brees (14-17, 179 yards, 2 TDs). ... Full story MLB Giants creep closer to Rockies with shutout win August 28, 2009 San Francisco -- In what may prove to be the biggest series of the year for the San Francisco Giants, the stars came out to play, leading them to a hard-fought victory over the NL Wild Card-leading Colorado Rockies Friday night, 2-0. “You could feel the energy out there,” said Giants Manager Bruce Bochy of the atmosphere in their pivotal late-season series. “The crowd was definitely in it, and it was a lot of fun out there.” Tim Lincecum was his usual Cy Young self, throwing eight scoreless innings, scattering four hits while striking out eight and walking three on 127 pitches. “These games are big,” said Lincecum. “So you really have to buckle down. ... Full story MLB Molina to the rescue; Giants win another close one August 26, 2009 San Francisco -- “It’s not how you start; it’s how you finish.” After a tough opening inning for the Giants and lefty Jonathan Sanchez, the Giants once again found a way to win, thanks to the clutch bat of catcher Bengie Molina. Giants catcher Bengie Molina did not start Wednesday night’s game against Arizona, however, when manager Bruce Bochy called on him with two outs in the eighth inning, Molina came through once again, taking Sanchez off the hook with a no-decision instead of a loss. “He went up there and came through big time,” said Giants manager Bruce Bochy. “It’s hard to get a bigger hit than the one he got there. ... Full story MLB Tomko, A's tame Tigers August 22, 2009 Oakland, Calif. -- The Oakland A’s followed Saturday night’s thriller with a solid win Sunday afternoon, defeating the A.L. Central leading Detroit Tigers 9-4 in Oakland. “It was a closely battled game with a good team,” said A’s manager Bob Geren after the game. Newly acquired right-hander Brett Tomko (3-2) took the mound for the A’s, pitching a solid six innings, allowing just one run on three hits while striking out eight on the day, earning him his second win as a member of the Oakland A’s. Tomko’s only blemish in the outing was a leadoff home run to Tigers centerfielder Curtis Granderson on the fourth pitch of the game. ... Full story NFL 49ers eke out win over Raiders August 22, 2009 San Francisco -- Oakland Raiders and San Francisco 49ers squared off at Candlestick Park in San Francisco on Saturday, August 22, in the annual pre-season NFL football game. For the fans, the winner gets bragging rights for the next year unless they happen to meet in the regular season, not in 2009-2010, or the Super Bowl, highly unlikely in 2010. However, the coaches see it differently. Win if you can, but hope you do not get anyone hurt, a difficult task in the sport of professional football and find out which players they want to keep on the fifty-three man regular season roster plus the reserve squad. ... Full story MLS Wondolowski the wizard against Kansas City August 22, 2009 Santa Clara, Calif. -- For the Kansas City Wizards and the San Jose Earthquakes, the 2009 MLS season has been one to forget. Both with losing records and both struggling to find a hint of consistency, the only thing that separated both teams was a simple win in their records.. Saturday night’s last-second 1-0 win over the Wizards closed that gap for San Jose as they enter the home-stretch for the season. “I’m very happy about the timely goal that we got,” said Quakes Head Coach Frank Yallop. ... Full story Senior League Baseball World Series Niles-Centerville falls in World Series Championship to Texas August 22, 2009 Bangor, Maine -- Niles-Centerville Little League District 14 was riding a 16-game winning streak going into the Senior League Baseball World Series championship game vs. West University Little League from Houston, Texas on Saturday afternoon. In front of a near-packed house at Shawn T. Mansfield Stadium in Bangor, Maine, and televised to a national audience on ESPNU, Niles was unable to end its run with a championship, falling to Texas, 9-7. "The kids, I'm really proud of them, because they never gave up," said Niles Manager Perry Romero. "All the way down to the last out, we had a chance to win this ball game. ... Full story Senior League Baseball World Series Niles holds on and advances to SLBWS Championship August 21, 2009 Bangor, Maine -- For a district that hasn't played on a stage such as the Western Regional Tournament, let alone the Senior League Baseball World Series, District 14 Niles-Centerville is playing like they are perennial powerhouses. In 28 games throughout their summer run that has taken them to the championship game of the SLBWS, Niles Centerville - now representing U.S. West - has compiled a record of 26-2 (including an 11-0 record since the start of the Western Regional in Ontario, Calif.). On Friday afternoon, U.S. West notched its 11th win since the Western Regional with their 7-6 victory in the SLBWS semifinals against Latin American representative San Nicolas, Aruba. ... Full story Senior League Baseball World Series Niles-Centerville finished SLBWS pool play unbeaten August 20, 2009 Bangor, Maine -- Niles-Centerville had little to play for on Thursday night when they took the field at Shawn T. Mansfield Stadium in Bangor, Maine to play the host team from Bangor. Representing the U.S. West in the Senior League Baseball World Series, having already clinched first place in Pool A going into the game, Niles-Centerville Manager Perry Romero decided to rest his ace pitcher -- Jack Veronin -- for a run at a title. Instead, he unveiled his depth at the pitcher spot. ... Full story MLB A’s bullpen can’t contain Yankee lineup August 18, 2009 Oakland, Calif. -- Despite pitching a solid five innings against the AL East leading New York Yankees (75-45) Tuesday night, A’s starter Vin Mazzaro’s performance was shattered by the Oakland bullpen that allowed the Yankees to score five innings in the six inning en route to a 7-2 loss at the Oakland Coliseum. Mazzaro’s performance Tuesday night is a vast improvement the last time he pitched against the Yanks back on July 23 when he pitched 4 1/3 innings, allowing six runs on eight hits while striking out seven and walking four batters. The A’s, coming off their 3-0 win over New York on Monday night, started strong against Yankees starter, and Vallejo native C.C. ... Full story Senior League Baseball World Series Niles-Centerville outlasts Canada in 12 August 18, 2009 Bangor, Maine -- Niles-Centerville has been making history throughout their entire run through the Senior League Baseball tournaments. On Tuesday night, they added to that history. It took Niles 12 innings and three hours, one minute -- both Senior League Baseball World Series record since it moved to Bangor -- to beat Canada Tuesday night, 6-3, at Shawn T. Mansfield Stadium in Bangor, Maine. Casey Jennings came up with the bases loaded and one out and belted a James Amelotte first-pitch offering to the gap in left-center, clearing the bases, breaking the game wide open. ... Full story Senior League Baseball World Series Niles-Centerville moves to 2-0 in pool play at SLBWS August 17, 2009 Bangor, Maine -- After only going an inning in the starting role in Niles-Centerville's 4-1 win over the Philippines in the opening game of the Senior League Baseball World Series, Jack Veronin came out and pitched a gem of a ball game against South Carolina en route to a 5-1 win Monday night at Shawn T. Mansfield Stadium in Bangor, Maine. "That was frustrating yesterday because they took til there was two strikes on them ... I had to go straight at them," said Veronin, who said his curve ball was the best its been all summer. "These guys came out swinging at the first pitches ... once I saw that, I got in a groove about the second inning and I felt great from then on. ... Full story MLB A’s avert sweep with Ellis’s walk-off blast August 16, 2009 Oakland, Calif. -- With not a lot to cheer about based on their on-field performance this season, the 2009 Oakland A’s have been able to draw on their rich history to sell tickets. Aside from the obligatory post-game fireworks displays, this season the A’s have honored their 1989 World Series champions, have retired Rickey Henderson’s number with a spectacular pre-game ceremony, and on Sunday (August 16), went WAY back in time to honor the 1929 Philadelphia Athletics World Series champs. Jazz bands played throughout the Oakland Coliseum. ... Full story Senior Little League World Series Niles-Centerville opens World Series with come-from-behind win August 16, 2009 Bangor, Maine -- Playing in the Senior Little League World Series is bound to put butterflies in every player’s stomach. Well, everyone except Billy Nevin. “Baseball is baseball, so it doesn’t really matter where it’s at,” said Nevin. “There’s no real difference.” And Nevin did, in fact, pitch as if it didn’t really matter that he was pitching to a Philippines team in the opening game for Niles Centerville Senior Little League in the 2009 Senior Little League World Series. On the biggest stage, Nevin threw six shutout innings in relief for Jack Veronin, allowing just three hits while striking out two and walking none in the 4-1 win Sunday afternoon at Shawn T. ... Full story NFL Raiders rout Cowboys in preseason opener August 13, 2009 Oakland, Calif. -- If the Raiders preseason opener is any indication on how the regular season will go, there's a lot to look forward to in 2009. On Thursday night at the Coliseum, the Raiders were able to hand the Dallas Cowboys an old-fashioned beat down to the tune of 31-10. Sure, the starting unit was outscored by the Cowboys in the first quarter, 7-3. But in the ultimate team game, the Raiders were the better one, outscoring Dallas 28-3 in the final three quarters. A lot of eyes were fixated on Raiders quarterback JaMarcus Russell to see how he would fare to open the season. ... Full story NCLL Seniors on to World Series The Senior All Stars, representing Niles-Centerville Little League, CA District 14, Section 3 and Division II will add the Western Region as followers as the slipped by the So. Cal Champions, Corona Little League, 2-1, to win the 2009 Western Region Senior All Star Championship. Mark Wik led off the home first and reached base on an error, stole second & third and scores as Cody Lebon also reaches base on an error. Billy Nevin begins the fourth with a fly ball that drops in front of the left fielder and gets by him as Billy motors to second. Bryce Fryan doubles home Billy for final Niles run. ... Full story MLB Dodgers cut down Giants August 11, 2009 San Francisco -- Two huge innings with the bats for the Los Angeles Dodgers were the catalyst to blowing out their NL West rival San Francisco Giants, 9-1, Tuesday night at AT&T Park. Joe Martinez started for the Giants, and was cruising along until he reached the fifth inning. With Rafael Furcal on first and no outs, Martinez induced a come backer out of Russell Martin that he snagged and threw to second. His hopes for a double play were crushed when Eugenio Velez dropped his throw, allowing both runners to reach. “It turned the whole game around,” said Giants Manager Bruce Bochy of the error. ... Full story WPS FC Gold Pride ends season with tie August 9, 2009 Santa Clara, Calif. -- Had you gone to Buck Shaw Stadium on the campus of Santa Clara University on Sunday evening not knowing a thing about Women’s Professional Soccer, you would have thought FC Gold Pride was the league’s second-best team and St. Louis Athletica was sitting in the league’s last spot. As it stands, in the regular season finale for both teams in the inaugural season of WPS, Athletica is holding down the second spot, while Gold Pride is in the cellar. But on Sunday, FC Gold Pride was the dominant team, especially Canadian National star Christine Sinclair. That domination, however, didn’t result in a win, as both teams netted one each, tying 1-1. ... Full story MLS Crew gangs up on Quakes late August 8, 2009 San Francisco -- In the opening act of the “Night of Champions” double header (FC Barcelona - UEFA Champions League winners - vs. Chivas Guadalajara followed) soccer night at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, reigning MLS Cup winner Columbus Crew was able to oust the San Jose Earthquakes on the effort of three second-half goals, 3-0. After a sluggish first half, with neither team scoring and barely creating any scoring chances, some action developed in the second, none of which came from the Earthquakes. Instead, it was the Columbus bench that came alive in this seemingly-defensive batter, turned blowout. ... Full story MLB Defense does in Giants August 7, 2009 San Francisco -- Five errors lead to five unearned runs and a win for the Cincinnati Reds' 10-5 win over the San Francisco Giants Friday night at AT&T Park. Taking the majority of the beating was Brian Wilson in the ninth, allowing four runs, one earned, in allowing the Reds to blow open a 6-5 game at the time. Tim Lincecum started and threw seven innings, allowing three runs, two earned, for the Giants. Homer Bailey started for the Reds, going six innings and allowing all five Giants runs. Bengie Molina and Eugenio Velez homered for the Giants in the losing cause. Full story MLB Rangers salvage win in series finale August 7, 2009 Oakland, Calif. -- After being touched up for two runs in the first, Tommy Hunter settled down to throw seven strong innings, helping the Texas Rangers salvage the final game of their four-game series with the Oakland Athletics, 6-4. Texas’ lineup spread out their output, with five hitters knocking in runs. Michael Young led the Rangers, going 2-5 with a homer and two RBIs. Hank Blalock also notched a homerun for the Rangers as they kept pace with the first-place Los Angeles Angels. Trevor Cahill started for the A’s and was given a two-run cushion to work with. ... Full story WPS FC Gold Pride falls to Sky Blue FC August 5, 2009 New Jersey -- FC Gold Pride came up short in Wednesday’s match, falling 0-2 to the fifth place Sky Blue FC. The Pride will complete their season 1-1-1 against the New Jersey based team. Throughout the first 45 minutes of play Sky Blue FC had a slight advantage, firing off eleven shots and creating a few dangerous opportunities. Though Sky Blue FC proved persistent in the attack, they failed to find the back of the net. Pride goal keeper, Nicole Barnhart came up with some big saves to keep the game tied at 0-0. “Honestly we were out played today by a better team. We have had three very difficult games in the past week in a half and we were a little fatigued. ... Full story MLS Quakes silence Sounders August 2, 2009 Santa Clara, Calif. -- Seattle Sounders FC walked onto the field at Buck Shaw Stadium in Santa Clara with a six-game unbeaten streak. They would not leave the pitch with a game added to that streak, as the San Jose Earthquakes dismantled them, 4-0, Sunday afternoon. Earthquakes keeper Joe Cannon notched his first, as well as the team’s first, clean sheet of the season in keeping one of the most potent offenses off the scoreboard. “I think clean sheets are a mentality,” said Cannon. “Now that you get the first one, it seems like the next ones come easier … It’s nice to get that down, but it’s definitely nice to win. ... Full story MLB A’s retire Rickey’s number, still lose to Jays August 1, 2009 Oakland, Calif. -- A 6-5 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays was not enough to ruin the collective jubilant mood of the sellout crowd at the Oakland Coliseum on Saturday evening, August 1. The 35,067 fans in attendance got what they came for, a chance to honor the greatest Oakland Athletic of them all, Rickey Henderson, on the evening that the franchise retired his Number 24. The game itself felt like the dessert after a great meal; unfortunately, the dessert didn’t go down as smoothly as the main course. But at this point in another lost A’s season, the weary fans left with memories not of another lackluster defeat, but of a long awaited evening of celebration and tribute to Rickey. ... Full story WPS FC Gold Pride ends its 10-game winless streak August 1, 2009 Santa Clara, Calif. -- FC Gold Pride and Washington Freedom have met three times in the inaugural year of Women’s Professional Soccer, twice at their home field – Buck Shaw Stadium at Santa Clara University. Even though Gold Pride is the lowest scoring team in WPS, when the Freedom opposes them on their turf, they play like an offensive juggernaut. And with their 3-2 come-from-behind victory on Saturday afternoon, the Gold Pride also won for the first time in 11 matches, going 0-6-4, dropping to last place in the standings. ... Full story MLB Velez, Sandoval pace Giants to rout of Phillies July 30, 2009 San Francisco -- Eugenio Velez (3-5, 3 RBIs) and Pablo Sandoval (2-4, 4 RBIs) led the way for the Giants as they were able to stick it to the reigning World Series champion Philadelphia Phillies Thursday night at AT&T Park, 7-2. Jonathan Sanchez improved to 4-9 on the year, going five and two-thirds innings, allowing two runs on three hits while walking three and striking out seven. Rodrigo Lopez got the loss for the Phillies. He lasted four innings, allowing all seven Giants runs (only three of which were earned) on eight hits. Lopez also walked and struck out two in the losing cause. ... Full story Bill Mancebo's player spotlights - July, 2009 July 1 This week the player spotlight takes us to Union City where we find 15-year-old Dallas Goodman. Goodman is at the season’s end and played for the Union City Little League, National Colts, Senior Division. Dallas’ specialty is right field and he’s been honing his skills at this position for six years. Baseball is not his only sport of choice as Dallas enjoys swimming every chance he gets and uses this opportunity not just for relaxation but to also stay in peak condition. You can also catch him in the weight room quite often working out also. Goodman currently attends Logan High School and works hard at life skills as it’s his favorite class. ... Full story MLB Velez shines as Giants down Pirates July 28, 2009 San Francisco -- Going into their Tuesday night contest with the Pittsburgh Pirates at AT&T Park, the San Francisco Giants were hoping for some production from a new face in the lineup. They didn’t, however, see that production coming out of recently recalled Eugenio Velez from Triple-A Fresno. Velez -- who went 1-3 on Monday night in his first action since being called up -- went 2-3 on Tuesday, driving in two runs, as he led his teammates to a 3-2 win. “What a game he had,” said Giants Manager Bruce Bochy. “He won the game there for us. He played very well. ... Full story MLS Quakes steal win from DC July 25, 2009 Santa Clara, Calif. -- It was a tale of two halves at Buck Shaw Stadium on the campus of Santa Clara University on Saturday night. Well, really one-third in favor of DC United; two-thirds in favor of the San Jose Earthquakes as the two sides drew even after the full 90 minutes, 2-2. DC went up 2-0 in the first 21 minutes of play on two curious calls by the officiating before the Earthquakes stormed back for two of their own as they took over the final 60 minutes of the game. “I’m sure we don’t want to go through this again,” said Jaime Moreno of DC United after blowing a two-goal lead. “We just have to keep working … there’s nothing else to do. ... Full story WPS FC Gold Pride shuts out Sol, earns point July 23, 2009 Santa Clara, Calif. -- Los Angeles Sol, owner’s of the best record, best goal differential, most goals scored and fewest goals allowed in Women’s Professional Soccer came to Buck Shaw Stadium at Santa Clara University on Thursday night, needing just one point to clinch the top spot for the WPS playoffs. Just as they’ve done all season, they got the job done. However, for most of the game, the host FC Gold Pride were outplaying the star-studded team from SoCal. Los Angeles Sol keeper Karina LeBlanc came up huge for her team, preventing all Gold Pride chances, and earning that point in a 0-0 tie against WPS’ last place Gold Pride. ... Full story MLB A's rout Twins July 22, 2009 Oakland, Calif. -- Going into Wednesday's start, A's right hander Trevor Cahill knew that he had some work to do if he wanted to stay in the A's rotation. "He kind of has to go back to the drawing board a bit," said Oakland A's manager Bob Geren after Cahill's less-than stellar performance against the L.A. Angels Friday. However, after Wednesday's start, it's safe to say that Cahill's job is safe. On Monday, before the A?s thriller against Minnesota, Cahill threw a very strong bullpen session, much to the delight of Trevor himself. "I think it went good," Cahill said. "It built up my confidence which is special when you're struggling. ... Full story WPS One goal too many: FC Gold Pride drops fourth in a row to Boston July 19, 2009 Santa Clara, Calif. -- “It shows how important it is for us to go out there and get that first goal.” The words of FC Gold Pride Head Coach Albertin Montoya explains it all after his team dropped their fourth game in a row to the Boston Breakers, 1-0. With the loss, the FC Gold Pride extends their winless streak to eight games, being outscored a combined 7-1 in the last four games, three of which they were shutout. “We’re still a really young team that’s really fragile,” said Pride midfielder Tiffany Milbrett, who almost tied the game late in the second half, however her shot went just wide of the net. ... Full story World Football Challenge Club America nips Inter Milan in PKs July 19, 2009 Palo Alto, Calif. -- In the inaugural World Football Challenge, Stanford Stadium in Palo Alto played host to the first game of the seven-day tour, featuring Serie A (Italy’s premier club league) powerhouse Internazionale versus Club America of the Mexican soccer league. Ninety minutes was not enough to decide a winner in this contest, sending the game into a penalty shootout. In the shootout, Club America was able to put in all five of their attempts by Inter keeper Vid Belec. Inter was not denied by Club America‘s keeper Armando Navarrette during the shoot out, but Patrick Vieira missed high on Inter‘s fourth kick in the shootout. ... Full story MLB Santana stifles A's bats again July 16, 2009 Oakland, Calif. -- Dallas Braden entered Thursday night’s game against the Los Angeles Angels looking to extend his Oakland A’s record for consecutive starts with two earned runs or less by a left hander to nine games. While that streak ended, another trend continued. Oakland’s bats were nonexistent for Braden again, whose run support in his starts is second lowest in the American League, scoring 45 runs in his 117 and a third innings (Edwin Jackson of the Detroit Tigers has the worst, with 3.55 runs/start). “They did fight to the end; that shows a lot of character,” said A’s Manager Bob Geren about his club’s offense. ... Full story MLS Quakes lack energy in 3-1 loss July 11, 2009 Santa Clara, Calif. -- “The stadium lacked energy. It’s not just the team, it’s the atmosphere.” San Jose Earthquakes goalkeeper Joe Cannon vented his frustrations about the atmosphere at Buck Shaw Stadium, or lack of, after the Earthquakes 3-1 loss against the Toronto FC Reds Saturday night in front of just 9, 679 fans. “Atmosphere or not, it’s got to come from us first,” Cannon mentioned. Cannon allowed three goals on seven shots against the Reds as San Jose lost their second game in the last four matches, with their last win back on June 20 against the L.A. Galaxy. “Tonight was ridiculous,” Cannon added. ... Full story MLB Sanchez no-hits Padres on return to Giants rotation July 10, 2009 San Francisco -- AT&T Park was the site of baseball history last Friday night (July 10) – the first no-hitter at the park since it opened in 2000; the first no-hitter pitched by a San Francisco Giant since 1976 (John Montefusco was the last Giant to do so); and in the most surprising plot twist, on a pitching staff which features 3 Cy Young Award winners and 2 current National League All-Stars, it was accomplished by perhaps the least likely candidate: Jonathan Sanchez, who had never even reached the 9th inning on any level of organized baseball during his career. ... Full story MLB Zito smokes the Marlins July 7, 2009 It’s safe to say that San Francisco Giants pitcher Barry Zito has struggled for the most part during his time with the orange and black. Zito entered Tuesday night’s game against Florida 0-1 in his last two starts, only pitching a combined 10 innings allowing a total of eight runs through the past two games. Tuesday night against Florida was not one of those nights, as those recent struggles came to an end against the Marlins at AT&T Park in the Giants 3-0 win over the Florida in the second game of the three-game series. The Giants lefty is now 1-1 in his last three starts, improving his record to 5-8 on the season. ... Full story MLB Anderson blanks Red Sox July 6, 2009 Boston, Mass. -- Brett Anderson stymied the Red Sox batters, as he and the Oakland A’s traveled to Fenway Park in Boston and took game one of their three-game series, 6-0, on Monday night. Anderson, who came into the game with an ERA over five, didn’t allow one run, while giving up just two hits in his outing, improving his record to 5-7. Anderson’s ERA dropped below five in the shutout victory. Anderson, a relative unknown in the Majors, was going up against a future hall of famer in John Smoltz for the Red Sox. Smoltz, however, pitched poorly in his Fenway Park debut as a member of the Red Sox. ... Full story WPS Pride extend winless streak to six games July 5, 2009 Santa Clara, Calif. -- With just seven games left in the WPS inaugural season, the FC Gold Pride aimed to be towards the top, not the bottom of the table. However, after losing 1-0 to the St. Louis Athletica Sunday evening, the bottom of the table is where Gold Pride continues to find themselves. Although it was a mostly defensive game, St. Louis captain Lori Chalupny’s 35-yard goal into the corner of the net past Pride goalkeeper Nicole Barnhart gave the Athletica the 1-0 lead in the 72nd minute, and St. Louis never looked back as the Athletica win their second straight on the second game of their four-game road trip. ... Full story MLB Giants return home to throttle Astros July 3, 2009 San Francisco -- The San Francisco Giants returned home from an encouraging 10-game road trip in which they’d won five games by throwing a homecoming party in their Friday night, July 3, Fireworks Night against the Houston Astros. The Giants turned in what was almost certainly their best performance of the entire season, battering the Astros 13-0 and in the process discovering a potential gem in starting pitcher Ryan Sadowski. The 26-year-old righthanded pitcher was called up from Triple A Fresno last week to take the roster spot of infielder Rich Aurilia, who was placed on bereavement leave due to the death of his father. ... Full story Bill Mancebo's player spotlights - June, 2009 June 3 This week's player spotlight takes us to the Mission San Jose Challenger Division and introduces us to Cyle Glidewell of the Dodgers. Glidewell, 19, is a well-focused first baseman. Playing baseball doesn't stop at first base, as he is capable of playing every position on the diamond. Observing and playing baseball are his passions and he has learned some of his best stuff by keeping an eye on his favorite player, Nick Swisher. Between the discipline of his daily workouts, Glidewell keeps fit and lean with a tasty bowl of ramen noodles. ... Full story MLB A's run away and hide from Tigers June 29, 2009 Oakland, Calif. -- Neither the Detroit Tigers’ rookie phenom Rick Porcello nor Oakland A’s struggling starter Brett Anderson could throw enough innings to qualify for a quality start (6 IP), but the A’s were able to take advantage of the opportunities to a greater toll, beating the AL Central, first-place Tigers on Monday night, 7-1. Anderson, who threw five and a third innings, allowing one run on four hits, got the better of Porcello, while upping his record to 4-7. He struck out seven and walked four over 107 pitches in the winning cause. “I got a lot of swing and misses on my fastballs today than I normally do,” said Anderson. “… I feel like I can build on these last few outings. ... Full story World League Volleyball U.S. men sweep China, take Pool A lead June 27, 2009 San Jose, Calif. -- The Chinese National Team played better, but the result was the same as the U.S. Men’s National Team swept a second straight match from China, 3-0 (25-20, 25-23, 25-22) on Saturday before a sellout crowd of 5,000 at the San Jose State University Event Center Arena. The victory gives the U.S. a 5-1 record in Group A and puts them in the lead. China falls to 1-5. The U.S. Men and the Chinese team will travel to Nanjing, China to play two more World League pool play matches on July 4-5. Sean Rooney (Wheaton, Ill.) led all scorers on Saturday with 16 points on 13 kills, two blocks and one ace. Matt Anderson (West Seneca, N.Y. ... Full story MLB Atkins leads Rockies to 4-2 win in Oakland June 26, 2009 Oakland, Calif. -- Garrett Atkins led the offensive attack, and Jason Hammel went a season-high seven and a third innings as the Colorado Rockies defeated the Oakland A’s, 4-2, Friday night. Atkins went 3-4 on the night, all singles, and drove in two to help the Rockies end their two-game losing skid. Todd Helton drove in the other two runs. “I just think (Braden) left some balls up to me and I was able to find some holes,” said Atkins. “It’s nice to come through with some RBIs and help the team win.” Hammel allowed two runs on four hits in his seven and a third innings of work before being pulled. He notched his fifth win of the season, improving to 5-3. ... Full story MLB Giants bats come alive in win over A's June 24, 2009 Oakland, Calif. -- San Francisco Giants starter Randy Johnson got into early trouble. He escaped that trouble with minimal damage, and went on to pitch seven strong innings, leading the Giants to a 6-2 victory over their Bay Area rival Oakland A’s in the rubber game of a three-game series at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Wednesday night. “He’s pitching well,” said Giants Manager Bruce Bochy of Johnson. “It’s incredible, at his age, what he’s doing. He threw 100 pitches tonight, and he felt fine.” Johnson allowed one run on six hits in those seven innings of work. He walked one and struck out six while improving his record to 7-5 on the year. ... Full story WPS FC Gold Pride falls to Sol June 21, 2009 Los Angeles -- FC Gold Pride (3-6-3) suffered another tough loss on the road on Sunday, falling 2-0 to the Los Angeles Sol at the Home Depot Center. Sunday’s match wrapped up a tough week of travel and competition for the Pride. The team’s first two-game week resulted in one tie, one loss and only one point added to the team’s standings total. The Pride fell from fourth to fifth place in the standings, a position they share with Sky Blue FC. “I thought we gave an excellent effort on the field, especially against such a tough team following our game against Boston just a few days ago,” said FC Gold Pride Head Coach Albertin Montoya. ... Full story MLS Earthquakes down Galaxy 2-1 at Coliseum June 20, 2009 Oakland, Calif. -- Two of the lowest-scoring teams in the MLS - San Jose Earthquakes and Los Angeles Galaxy (15, T-2nd fewest) - met for the second time this season at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. Single goals in each half led the Earthquakes past their California rival, 2-1, in front of 17,128 fans. (The two-game average at the Coliseum in the series was 16,495. Just below Oakland A's attendance. Read why the Quakes are a better draw here.) "The game wasn't pretty," said Earthquakes Head Coach Frank Yallop. "Three points was the important thing for today." L.A. ... Full story MLB Lewis lifts Giants to victory over Rangers June 19, 2009 San Francisco -- Fred Lewis popped a two-out, two-run homerun into the right-field bleachers in the sixth inning off Texas Rangers starter Scott Feldman, propelling the San Francisco Giants into the lead. Travis Ishikawa added an insurance run with his third homer of the season as the Giants defeated the Rangers, 6-4, Friday night. “The first two times up were tough AB’s for him,” said Giants Manager Bruce Bochy. “He certainly came through when we needed him.” San Francisco nearly blew their chance at taking the lead with faulty base running. Molina doubled off the wall in left, followed by a Pablo Sandoval single to right, putting runners on the corners for Ishikawa. ... Full story WPS FC Gold Pride and Breakers settle for draw June 17, 2009 Cambridge, Mass. -- FC Gold Pride (3-5-3), re-energized after a bye week, will leave New England with one point added to their total in the standings, after tying the Boston Breakers (3-4-3) 1-1 on Wednesday night. The Pride, Breakers and Sky Blue FC are now tied in fourth place with 12 points apiece. "A point on the road is always good,” said FC Gold Pride Head Coach Albertin Montoya. “We would prefer three points especially since we're batting with Boston for the fourth place spot. We had an exceptional first half and created some great chances. In the second half Boston came out with a lot of energy and high pressed and made it a little difficult to play. ... Full story MLB Lincecum loses lead late, Angels sweep Giants June 17, 2009 San Francisco -- Tim Lincecum unraveled in the eighth inning, allowing three runs to the Los Angeles Angels on four hits, which catapulted the Angels to a one-run victory over the Giants at AT&T Park in San Francisco Wednesday afternoon, 4-3. Pinch singles by Torii Hunter and Vladimir Guerrero set the table for Chone Figgins. Figgins lined a rocket to second base, which deflected off the glove of Matt Downs, and into right field, narrowing the Giants lead to one, 3-2. Erick Aybar followed Figgins’ RBI single with one of his own, tying the game at 3. ... Full story MLB Lincecum shuts down A's in battle of Bay Area June 12, 2009 San Francisco -- In the first installment of the Bay Bridge Rivalry in the 2009 season, the home Giants, led by reigning National League Cy Young Award winner Tim Lincecum, were able to fend off the not-so-far-from-home A’s, 3-0. Lincecum gave the Giants bullpen a day of rest on Friday night, going the complete game nine innings, improving to 6-1 on the year. He scattered seven hits over the nine innings, striking out eight and walking one. “The kid did it all tonight,” said Giants manager Bruce Bochy. “Tonight he was special, with the big hit and complete-game shutout.” A’s starting pitcher Vic Mazzaro was cruising along until the fifth, when he imploded. ... Full story MLB Kubel, Twins blast A's bullpen for win June 10, 2009 Oakland, Calif. -- Dallas Braden pitched another strong game for Oakland, but the A’s bullpen could not hold the lead, giving up the tying and go-ahead runs in their two innings of relief, allowing the Minnesota Twins to escape with a 6-3 victory in the third game of a four-game series. With the A’s holding onto a 3-2 lead in the top half of the eighth, Michael Wuertz came into the game for Braden. Jason Kubel, pinch hitting for Carlos Gomez, erased the lead with one swing, depositing the ball behind the wall in centerfield on an 0-1 pitch. ... Full story WCS Gold Pride loses lead, settles for tie June 7, 2009 Santa Clara, Calif. -- FC Gold Pride returned home after a tough loss last week to Washington Freedom (3-1 on May 31) looking to get back to the winning ways. While they ended their two-game losing skid, they could not get the win, blowing a 1-0 halftime lead to the Chicago Red Stars, and earning a tie, 1-1. FC Gold Pride opened the half by dominating possession, but in the 10th minute, the first real chance at goal came off the foot of Lindsay Tarpley of the Red Stars from 25 yards out. FC Gold Pride keeper Nicole Barnhart made a sprawling save, deflecting the ball out for a corner. After the threat on the Gold Pride target, the Red Stars went back on the defensive. ... Full story MLB A's pound O's for fourth straight win June 5, 2009 Oakland, Calif. -- A first-inning eruption on offense and solid starting pitching propelled the A’s to their fourth consecutive win, beating the Baltimore Orioles in the first game of the weekend series, 9-1. “Dallas (Braden) went out and threw up a zero in the first inning and then we had a big first,” said A’s Manager Bob Geren. “It really let him kind of settle in and pound the strike zone, which he did.” Dallas Braden pitched a solid game, resulting in his third win in as many starts, upping his 2009 record to 5-5 while lowering his ERA to 3.41. In his seven innings of work, Braden’s only blemish was a two-out homer by Luke Scott in the top of the seventh. ... Full story WPS FC Gold Pride drops to fourth after 3-1 loss to Freedom May 31, 2009 Germantown, Maryland -- FC Gold Pride suffered a tough loss in Sunday’s match with the Washington Freedom which ended in a 3-1 victory for the home team. The Pride was called for 13 fouls and was issued four cautions in the highly physical match. Carrie Dew was issued two yellow cards, equal to a red, and became the second player in the WPS to be ejected this season. Both teams exchanged attacks, but only the Freedom’s efforts yielded results in the first half as the Pride fell into a three-goal deficit after only 32 minutes of play. ... Full story International Rugby Ireland beats USA in rugby's Setanta Challenge Cup May 31, 2009 Santa Clara, Calif. -- United States and Ireland's national rugby squads met on Sunday afternoon in the 3rd Annual Setanta Challenge Cup match at Buck Shaw Stadium in Santa Clara. In front of 10,075 rugby fans, Ireland was able to fend off USA efforts and leave with a victory, 27-10. Ireland raced out to an early lead, shutting out the Americans in the first half, as they outclassed USA for most of the contest, en route to their relatively easy win. But Ireland's head coach didn't think it was all that decisive a victory. "We knew the Americans would stick it to us," said Ireland Head Coach Declan Kidney. ... Full story MLS Earthquakes end skid May 30, 2009 Santa Clara, Calif. -- On Saturday night at Buck Shaw Stadium at Santa Clara University, there was a game within a game between the San Jose Earthquakes forwards and the Real Salt Lake goalkeeper. San Jose won that battle, and won the game, 2-1, ending their two-month long winless skid. Two second half goals sparked the win for the Earthquakes, as they found a way to beat RSL keeper Nick Rimando, who played solid in the losing effort. Opening the scoring for San Jose was Cornell Glen in the 52nd minute. Glen, who had numerous chances that went to they wayside in the first half, took advantage of his only opportunity in the second. ... Full story MLB Cain, Giants stifle Cardinals May 29, 2009 San Francisco -- The San Francisco Giants have been confounding their fans this season with their schizophrenic play. Last week, after a run of eight losses in nine games, Giants fans were again bemoaning their team’s putrid offensive output and flooding the sports radio airwaves with suggestions on who should be traded to bring in a big bat to provide support for their usually stellar pitching. But the Giants have righted the ship … for this week at least. They returned home and completed their first series sweep of the season, a three-gamer over Atlanta, before winning their fourth straight (and fifth of their last six) game with a Friday night 4-2 decision over the NL Central-leading St. ... Full story Bill Mancebo's player spotlights - May, 2009 May 6 In this week's player spotlight, Jayden Reader takes center stage. Reader, 6, plays for the Mariners in Fremont Baseball Inc.'s Shetland Division. Here, Reader puts everything he has into this swing, and slammed it out of the ballpark in a game against the Tigers. His homer marked his first of the season. Reader is an aspiring pro ball player who also excels at basketball, and enjoys playing all sports. In the off season, Reader likes to unwind with one of his favorite movies from the Indiana Jones series, while powering down some well-deserved pizza. May 13 This player spotlight introduces Jalen Adair. ... Full story Chabot student-athletes recognized May 28, 2009 Hayward, Calif. -- Chabot College recently recognized four of its student-athletes for their achievement in the classroom and on the field. Michael Costello, for Chabot's baseball team, was presented with the William Tenney Award, which recognizes athletics, academics, and citizenship. The Tenney Award is the highest athletic honor a Chabot College student can receive. Costello, a graduate of San Ramon Valley High School in Danville, played first base on the baseball team. He was named Most Valuable Player of the Coast Conference - Golden Gate Division. He was named to the All Northern California team and was named an All American. He batted . ... Full story MLB Bedard, M's put halt to A's winning streak May 27, 2009 Oakland, Calif. -- Oakland A's starting pitcher Trevor Cahill and Seattle Mariners southpaw Erik Bedard went head to head for the second time this year at the Oakland Alameda-County Coliseum. In the first outing, Bedard out dueled Cahill to a 1-0 win on Easter Sunday, April 12. On Wednesday afternoon, it was much of the same for Bedard and the M's, as they beat the A's -- and Cahill -- salvaging one game in their three-game series, with a 6-1 victory on getaway day, and ending the A's three-game win streak in the process. "Bedard's a tough guy. He pitched well against us the other time I faced him," said Cahill. "We'll be hitting well and run into a tough pitcher. ... Full story Column Closing in on contention The Bay Area is witness to sub-par baseball on a day in, day out basis. With the two options to root for being the San Francisco Giants of the NL West and the Oakland A's of the AL West, who knows when fans of either team are going to be cheering on their team in the World Series. It may be years, or decades, but which team is closer to getting to that point? Each ball club goes about their business in completely different fashion. The A's, spearheaded by the master mind of getting the best bang for your buck, Billy Beane, has been able to remain afloat year after year, despite always being near the bottom of team salaries in all of Major League Baseball. ... Full story MLB Lincecum shuts down Braves, Giants win May 26, 2009 San Francisco, Calif. -- Reigning 2008 National League Cy Young Award winner Tim Lincecum was his Cy Young self, leading his San Francisco Giants to victory Tuesday night over the Atlanta Braves, 4-0. The 24-year-old right hander went eight innings, scattering five hits while walking two and striking out eight in the winning cause, improving to 4-1 on the year. Bob Howry shut down the Braves in order in the ninth to secure the shutout for the Giants. Run support wasn't vital to the Giants notching a "W" on Tuesday night as Lincecum was on top of his game, with no-hit type stuff, despite allowing the five hits. ... Full story WPS Sol burns Gold Pride May 24, 2009 Santa Clara, Calif. -- Los Angeles Sol got one goal in each half, while upping its league-best goal differential to plus seven as they beat FC Gold Pride in Women's Professional Soccer action on Sunday afternoon, 2-0, at Santa Clara University's Buck Shaw Stadium. Scoring opened up in the 27th minute for the Sol, as they capitalized on overaggressive defending by Carrie Dew, resulting in a penalty kick. Sol captain Aya Miyama drew the foul on Dew, and Camille Abily took the kick, burying it in the right side of the net, making it 1-0. "I thought she leaned a little left and tried to get an early jump on it," said Whitworth about what she saw on the PK attempt. ... Full story MLB D'Backs drop A's in extras May 23, 2009 Oakland, Calif. -- No loss is easy to accept, but the Oakland A’s 8-7 extra innings loss on Saturday night (May 23) to the Arizona Diamondbacks will be difficult to top in terms of the pain a team can feel when they’ve let a sure thing get away. The A’s began this homestand needing to reverse their losing trend and climb back into the American League Western Division race. Oakland had been on the verge of ending last week’s road trip by winning 3 out of 4 against the defending American League champion Tampa Bay Rays, but on Thursday, the bullpen blew a 2-run lead in the 9th inning and the A’s had to settle for a split of the series. ... Full story WPS FC Gold Pride look to oust first-place Sol May 21, 2009 Santa Clara, Calif. -- Log on to www.fcgoldpride.com and you will see "Battle of the Samba Queens" at the top right of the page. That is exactly what is going to be ensuing on Sunday afternoon, May 24, at Buck Shaw Stadium in Santa Clara at Santa Clara University. FC Gold Pride, coming home after two weeks on the road where they went 1-1, will host the Los Angeles Sol at 4 p.m. It will be the second meeting of the season between the two clubs (Sol won at home, 1-0, in their first meeting on April 19). On the pitch will be four Brazilian stars, including FC Gold Pride's Formiga, Adriane and Erika, and L.A.'s Marta, thus dubbing this contest "Battle of the Samba Queens. ... Full story High School Softball Colts advance in rout May 20, 2009 Union City, Calif. -- After losing to Newark Memorial in last Thursday's Mission Valley Athletic League (MVAL) Championship game, the James Logan High softball team showed the North Coast Section (NCS) why they belong in the playoffs, defeating College Park, 8-0, at Logan High School in Union City Wednesday night. Colts senior outfielder Natalie Abrego sparked the Logan offense on the day, going 4-4, including two triples with four RBIs. "Coach told me just to relax and look at my situations with runners on base," Abrego said after the game. ... Full story Racing Fogarty, Gurney take second race of season at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca May 17, 2009 Monterey, Calif. -- In his 2009 Daytona Prototype, Jon Fogarty passed Scott Pruett at the entrance to the Corkscrew with 22 laps remaining and maintained the lead to give the No. 99 GAINSCO-Bob Stallings racing its second Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series victory of the season. In the Verizon Festival of Speed Sunday, May 17, at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, Fogarty ran the entire race, start to finish, under clear skies and over 90-degree temperatures. Alex Gurney drove the middle shift to give the team its 10th Rolex Series. The victory allowed Fogarty and Gurney to take the Daytona Prototype point lead. ... Full story Tennis Fremont and Union City teams advance to USTA Senior National Championships May 17, 2009 Walnut Creek, Calif. -- Eight teams from the Northern California Section of the United States Tennis Association have advanced to the national championship round of the Senior recreational tennis league by winning the USTA League Northern California Section Championships, held this weekend at Valley Vista Racquet Club in Walnut Creek. The field was narrowed down from 483 USTA Northern California section teams fielding over 6,000 players. Thirty two teams advanced to the section championship by winning a three day district championship held April 17-19, 2009 in the Sacramento area. A men's team from the Fremont Tennis Center in Fremont was crowned Section Champion at the 4. ... Full story Boxing Ward reads Miranda his rights May 16, 2009 Oakland, Calif. -- Oakland’s own Andre Ward returned home to headline a night of boxing at Oracle Arena on Saturday night. Affectionately known as “S.O.G.” -- Son of God -- Ward (19-0, 12 KO) took on Colombian native Edison “Pantera” Miranda (32-4, 28 KO) and left,, still champion in the Super Middleweight division, with a 12-round decision. Ward won the 12-round bout unanimously. One scorer totaled the match 116-112 in favor of Ward; the remaining two judges 119-109 in the Oakland native’s favor. Ward, a Hayward High grad, and now resident of Oakland, was on the defensive early, bring cut above his left eye by Miranda. ... Full story MLB Mets rally late to drop Giants May 14, 2009 San Francisco, Calif. -- David Wright slapped an opposite-field, RBI single in his fifth plate appearance of the game in the top of the ninth off Brian Wilson, breaking a 4-4 deadlock with the Giants, lifting his New York Mets to a 5-4 advantage. “It was a big hit for the team,” said Wright. “We all want to get hits and drive runs in. It’s a big win for us, especially to come back the inning after giving up the lead.” Two batters later, the Mets extended their lead when Ramon Castro slugged a two-RBI single to right, scoring Gary Sheffield and Wright, making it 7-4 Mets, which they would eventually go on to win by. ... Full story MLB Giants winning, Nationals losing and Zimmerman hitting streaks all end May 13, 2009 San Francisco, Calif. -- On getaway day for the Washington Nationals, they were able to slug 12 hits and manufacture six runs, leading the them putting an end to their three-game losing streak, as well as the San Francisco Giants’ three-game win streak on Wednesday afternoon at AT&T Park, 6-3. Initially, the game was shaping up to be an old-fashioned pitchers’ duel, with Giants starter Barry Zito matching zeroes with Nationals starter Shairon Martis. It wasn’t until the top half of the fifth when Martis, of all Washington batters, came up against Zito and lined a double to right-center. ... Full story MLB A's bats come alive May 12, 2009 Oakland, Calif. -- Inconsistency has been the ongoing trend for the Oakland A’s on offense this season. On Tuesday night, in the opening of a two-game series with the AL Central-leading Kansas City Royals, the bats were hot, leading the A’s to a 12-3 rout. Jason Giambi, who has been starting to come alive at the plate of late, opened the scoring for the A’s when he doubled home Kurt Suzuki in the first. In the second, Royals starter Luke Hochevar put his teammates in a hole they couldn’t dig themselves out of. First, with two on, Jack Hannahan doubled to center, scoring Adam Kennedy. Orlando Cabrera singled in Travis Buck and Hannahan. ... Full story WPS FC Gold Pride suffers road loss in St. Louis May 9, 2009 Edwardsville, Ill. -- FC Gold Pride suffered its third loss of the season (second road loss) to Saint Louis Athletica, 1-0, on Saturday night in front of 3,860 fans. The match was decided in the 16th minute on an unassisted goal scored by Athletica midfielder Lori Chalupney. Chalupney scored her first career Women’s Professional Soccer (WPS) goal off a corner kick she bent toward the far post that sailed over the top of the FC Gold Pride defense and into the side netting. “I’m definitely disappointed, but more so for the girls,” said FC Gold Pride Head Coach Albertin Montoya. “I think we deserved to win. We played very well especially in the second half. ... Full story MLB A's rally late, but come up short to Blue Jays May 9, 2009 Oakland, Calif. -- Despite rallying for three runs in the ninth inning off of Blue Jays closer Scott Downs, the A's came up short, dropping a heartbreaker to Toronto, 6-4, bringing their season-high, two-game win streak to an end. Downs, pitching in a non-save situation, struggled to get the final three outs of the game. Orlando Cabrera led off with an opposite field single. Following a Kurt Suzuki fly out to right, Giambi deposited his second homer of the game, making it 6-3. "It was nice to put some good at bats together," said Giambi after the game. "I would have traded them all in for a win though to get that ball rolling. ... Full story College Baseball Ohlone wins, advances to Super Regional May 9, 2009 Fremont, Calif. -- Ohlone, the number-one ranked team in the Northern California Regional Tournament for community colleges, eked out a nail-biter against the 16th-seeded Chabot Gladiators Saturday afternoon, 11-10 in 12 innings, to advance to the Super Regional next weekend. Ohlone, who was acting as the road team, albeit on their home field, for Game 2 of the best of three series (Ohlone took Game 1 on Friday, 9-2), stepped to the plate entering the ninth inning down two runs, 10-8. With a runner on and one out, Jeff Johnson knocked his state-leading 19th homer, his second of the game, to tie the score and send it into extras. ... Full story College Baseball Ohlone wins playoff opener May 8, 2009 Fremont, Calif. -- After winning the Coast Conference outright for the first time since 1991, ranked number four in the nation, number two in the state and number one in the Northern California Regional Tournament, the Ohlone Renegades baseball team did not disappoint in their first playoff game in front of their home crowd, as they defeated the Chabot Gladiators handily, 9-2. David Luna spun a gem on the mound for the Renegades, going eight strong innings, allowing two runs on three hits, while striking out eight in earning his ninth win of the season. ... Full story MLB A's blast Rangers, stop losing skid May 7, 2009 Oakland, Calif. -- Trevor Cahill notched his first win of the 2009 campaign, and the A’s bats came alive, as Oakland put a halt to their four-game losing streak, beating the Texas Rangers, 9-4, on Thursday afternoon. Oakland put up all nine of their runs in a two-inning span -- five in the fourth; four in the fifth -- helped in large part to home runs by Jack Cust and Matt Holliday. When Rangers’ starter Brandon McCarthy put the first three hitters on in the fourth, Cust stepped up to the plate looking to put the A’s in front. ... Full story MLB Angels sweep two-game set from A's May 5, 2009 Oakland, Calif. -- Solid pitching and defense, as well as timely hitting, led to a 5-3 win for the visiting Los Angeles Angels over the Oakland A’s at the Coliseum Tuesday night. The score was not indicative of how the game played out, however. Angels starter, Shane Loux, went seven innings, giving up one run on five hits while walking one and striking out three to limit the A’s offense. The only blemish in Loux’s outing came in the bottom of the second inning when Travis Buck hit an opposite-field double, scoring Matt Holliday. Loux was able to get out of a bases-loaded jam in that same inning, when he induced a 6-4-3 double play out of Gregorio Petit. ... Full story College Baseball Chabot defeats Shasta and advances May 5, 2009 Hayward, Calif. -- Chabot, in a single-elimination NorCal Regional Tournament opening-round game, walked off with a 10th inning victory, 6-5, and advanced to the quarterfinals of the tournament this weekend. Conor Coleman hit a walk-off double to propel the Gladiators past Shasta College and into the next round. Chabot's next opponent is the top-seeded Ohlone Renegades in a best two-out-of-three series. Ohlone will host all games in the series, with Game One on Friday at 2 p.m.; and Game Two on Saturday at 11 a.m., with a do-or-die Game Three to follow, should the series be tied. Full story WPS FC Gold Pride drops Sky Blue FC May 3, 2009 Santa Clara, Calif. -- A week after dropping a heartbreaker at home to Washington Freedom (4-3 on April 26), FC Gold Pride returned to Buck Shaw Stadium in Santa Clara and were able to beat Sky Blue FC, 1-0, on Sunday afternoon in Women‘s Professional Soccer league play. Second half replacements, Leigh Ann Robinson and Adriane, combined to put in the only goal of the contest in the 86th minute. Two minutes after coming into the game for Tiffany Weimer, Adriane received the ball 40 yards out on the left side. She calmly switched the fields and found a wide open Robinson who took two touches before beating Sky Blue FC goalkeeper, Jenni Branam low and to the left corner. ... Full story College Baseball Chabot to host single-elimination playoff May 3, 2009 Hayward, Calif. -- After winning their final two regular season games - 17-5 at City College of San Francisco on April 28 and 16-4 at Mission College on April 30 - the Chabot Gladiators have earned a one-game playoff for a spot in the Northern California Regional tournament. Chabot will host Shasta on Tuesday, May 5, at 2 p.m. to earn that spot in the tournament. The winner will go on the road in the first round of the tournament in a best two out of three series. Their opponent is yet to be determined. Full story College Baseball Ohlone wins conference, sets record for wins April 30, 2009 Fremont, Calif. -- Ohlone Renegades baseball eclipsed their previous high in wins, as well as winning the Coast Conference Pacific Division outright for the first time in 18 years, with a 4-1 win on their home field against Skyline. Training, 1-0, going into the bottom half of the seventh, the Renegades bats woke up, scoring all four of their runs in the frame. Cody Foster tied the game with an RBI single, scoring Steven Ramos -- who had just tripled -- from third. And after Zack Johnson walked, Jeff Johnson knocked one out of the ballpark to make it 4-1 Ohlone. ... Full story College Baseball Rodriguez fires one-hit shutout to oust Sonoma State April 28, 2009 Hayward, Calif. -- Getting his first start of the season, senior Roberto Rodriguez fired a one-hit shutout as Cal State East Bay ended the 2009 season with a 1-0 victory over Sonoma State. Rodriguez (2-0) didn't allow a hit until the fifth inning and retired 15 of the last 17 hitters. He recorded five strikeouts. "My slider was going good today," Rodriguez said. "I challenged the hitters and kept in the zone. To throw a one-hit shutout in my last game as a Pioneer is a great feeling." The Pioneers scored their lone run in the fourth inning. Devin Grigg was safe on a fielder's choice and proceeded to steal second and third. ... Full story High School Golf Moreau Catholic golf headed to NCS South qualifier April 27, 2009 Oakland, Calif. -- Led by freshman Carlos Briones, the Moreau Catholic Mariners golf team finished second in the Hayward Area Athletic League (HAAL) golf tournament at Metropolitan Golf Links in Oakland on Monday, and advanced to the North Coast Section (NCS) South qualifier. Briones, who shot a 2-under par 70, was the top performer in the entire field. Moreau, who finished with 421 total strokes as a team, finished second, 13 strokes off the champions, Castro Valley. NCS South qualifier will consist of 20 teams throughout the region, sporting 120 participants; 24 more individuals who aren't on teams vying for the NCS Tournament will be playing for their personal successes. ... Full story WPS Freedom stuns FC Gold Pride in waning seconds April 26, 2009 Santa Clara, Calif. -- Abby Wambach scored two goals - both headers on set pieces - including the game winner in stoppage time, along with an assist, to propel the visiting Washington Freedom over the FC Gold Pride at Buck Shaw Stadium at Santa Clara University Sunday afternoon, 4-3, in Women's Professional Soccer (WPS) play. With just seconds remaining in the contest, the Freedom's Cat Whitehill set the ball for a free kick from 45 yards out. She chipped the ball into the 18-yard box, where Wambach rose up over the defense and deflected the ball off her head, into the net. "I knew it was for sure the last chance of the game," said Wambach about the winning goal. ... Full story MLB Rays blast A's for fifth straight loss April 24, 2009 Oakland, Calif. -- Carlos Peña had two home runs and four RBIs, and Scott Kazmir pitched six innings of shutout ball, to propel the defending American League champion Tampa Bay Rays past a reeling A’s team in Oakland Friday night, 8-2. Peña homered on an 3-1 pitch in the third inning off A’s starter Trevor Cahill with two runners in scoring position to give the Rays a 5-0 lead at the time. His second, coming in the top half of the sixth, was a solo shot off Dan Giese to extend the lead to 8-0, capping the scoring for the Rays. ... Full story College Baseball Ohlone comes up short April 23, 2009 Monterey, Calif. -- Ohlone's baseball team traveled to Monterey Peninsula College on Thursday afternoon looking to stamp its place in the college's history, becoming the winningest team in a single season, but were ousted, 3-2. Usually reliable, the Renegades offense was stagnant against the pitching of Monterey Peninsula. Ribao, Monterey's starting pitcher, went six innings, shutting down one of the region's highest-scoring offenses, only allowing one run. Previously unbeaten Sean Martin, for Ohlone, got the tough-luck loss. He pitched five and two-thirds, giving up three runs (two earned) while striking out six. ... Full story Biography of a big league manager, a swing and a miss Tony La Russa – Man on a Mission by Rob Rains, Triumph Books, March 2009 If you’re a baseball fan, you surely know that Tony La Russa is one of the top managers in the major leagues and has been one for 30 years now. He won a World Series as the skipper of the Oakland A’s in 1989 with the “Bash Brothers” (Jose Canseco and Mark McGwire) and Fremont’s own Dennis Eckersley in the bullpen. 17 years later, he led the St. Louis Cardinals to World Championship in 2006. At 279 pages, Rob Rains, a long-time sports writer, has written a fairly detailed account of La Russa’s life and career in baseball. ... Full story High School Baseball Dunn no-hits, CSD routs OMI April 21, 2009 Fremont, Calif. -- California School for the Deaf (CSD) baseball made quick work of Oakland Military Institute on Tuesday, April 21, causing the game to be shortened by the mercy rule, in an 18-0 blowout. In the pre-game meeting at the plate with the umpires and head coaches, the agreement of the mercy rule (15 runs after three innings, or 10 runs after five innings) will be in affect for this game. Although the game was held at CSD, the Eagles were considered the visiting team since OMI does not have a home field and was scheduled to be the home team. The Eagles jumped out early, scoring seven runs in the first inning. They would then score five in the second and six in the third. ... Full story High School Football Hines picked for Football U. April 21, 2009 Fremont, Calif. -- American High School freshman running back DeShane Hines was selected to attend Football University, an invitation-only camp held May 8-10 in Sacramento for 120 kids from the state and region. Only five freshman running backs are invited to attend, so it's truly an honor for DeShane to be selected. NFL players and coaches will run the camp, which focuses on teaching elite-level football players. Football U. provides three days of instruction and advanced technology from the NFL's top instructors. ... Full story College Baseball Ohlone Renegades baseball update April 21, 2009 Fremont, Calif. -- The Renegades have been playing solid baseball and currently hold an overall record of 32-7 overall, 17-3 in the Coast Conference Pacific Division. Ohlone sits atop of the division by four games, with six left to play. This past Saturday, April 18, Ohlone defeated the second place team in conference – Canada College – by the score of 7-1. Sophomore pitcher David Luna (7-1) threw a complete game for the Renegades to earn his seventh win of the year. Ohlone baseball has just cracked the top five on the National level. The current Perfect Game Junior College Poll has the Ohlone Renegades ranked #4 in the country. ... Full story Youth Soccer Fremont Blaze beats Ice in rubber match April 18, 2009 Fremont, Calif. -- On Saturday, April 18, Fremont Blaze U-16 team of the Fremont Youth Soccer League (FYSL) met Ice for the third time this season. First two games of this season were split between the two teams, but Blaze broke that with a 2-1 victory. Fremont Blaze and Ice, formerly known as Lightning Strikers, have battled each other for a few seasons now and all of the games have been nail biters until the final whistle. This past Saturday's game proved to be no different. Blaze began the game with a charging start. They immediately began to pressure the defense and the goalie for Ice. A few minutes into the game, Blaze's Thomas Bui was fouled about 30 yards outside Ice's goal. ... Full story MLB A's down Red Sox in 12 April 14, 2009 Oakland, Calif. -- A day after notching their first home win of the 2009 season, the Oakland A’s looked to grab their second straight over AL East powerhouse Boston Red Sox at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. It took 12 innings, but the A’s were able to squeak out a 6-5 win. Left-handed reliever for the Red Sox Javier Lopez came into the game looking to send the game into a 13th inning. After Lopez loaded the bases, all courtesy of the base on balls, and with two outs, Travis Buck hit a slow chopper that bounded over Lopez and out to second baseman Dustin Pedroia. ... Full story MLB Bedard, M’s outduel Cahill, A’s April 12, 2009 Oakland, Calif. -- Pitching and defense were on display at the Oakland-Alameda Coliseum on Easter Sunday. Seattle, behind a stellar performance by Erik Bedard, won a pitchers’ duel over AL West rival, Oakland A’s, 1-0, sweeping the series in the process. Winning pitcher for the Mariners, Bedard, allowed a leadoff hit to Ryan Sweeney in the ninth. After Sweeney was sacrificed to second, David Aardsma relieved Bedard. Aardsma got Jason Giambi to strike out swinging, leaving the A’s with one out to work with. Matt Holliday stepped to the plate and walked on four pitches, putting the winning run on base. ... Full story NBA Warriors survive in OT against Martin, Kings April 1, 2009 Oakland, Calif. -- Rivals in the Pacific Division, the Sacramento Kings (16-57) and Golden State Warriors (25-49), met at Oracle Arena Wednesday night. Both offenses came to play, and they got to show off their dominance an extra five minutes, with the Warriors squeaking out an overtime thriller, 143-141, ending their five-game skid. In a game that produced over 280 points combined, two players stole the show: Kevin Martin of the Kings and Monta Ellis of the Warriors. Martin poured in a career-high 50, getting 23 from the free-throw stripe; Ellis also netted a career-high, 42, along with nine boards and nine assists. ... Full story High School Baseball Fremont Christian baseball crushes CSD March 31, 2009 Fremont, Calif. -- Fremont Christian baseball traveled to California School for the Deaf (CSD) on Tuesday afternoon, March 31, to decide on the field who is the top team in the Bay Counties League (BCL). It didn’t take long for the Warriors of Fremont Christian to claim the top spot, as they won, 13-0, in five innings. Due to renovations on Fremont Christian’s home field, they acted as the home team in the game. After the Warriors put up a run in the first inning on an RBI double by Kainoa Cabus, they erupted for seven more in the second inning off CSD pitcher Zac Kohler. ... Full story NBA Shorthanded Warriors can't keep up with Grizzlies March 30, 2009 Oakland, Calif. -- After a four-game road trip that saw the Warriors lose to four teams currently in the Western Conference playoffs (New Orleans, San Antonio, Dallas and Denver), Golden State (25-48) looked to get back to winning ways against the Memphis Grizzlies (18-54). However, over 18 thousand fans, hot shooting by Monta Ellis and Jamal Crawford, and an above-.500 record in Oracle Arena was not enough to pull the Warriors past Memphis, who improved to 3-0 against Golden State on the season, with a 114-109 victory. ... Full story Basketball Union City Sports Center hosts King of the Court March 24, 2009 Union City, Calif. -- The 3 on 3 King of the Courts Basketball Tournament will be held this Sunday, March 29, at the Union City Sports Center. Come out and show off your skills in this tournament and let everyone know who the real rulers of the courts are. Teams will be divided into age brackets (open to anyone between 12 and 17 years of age). Get your team together for this year's tournament. For more information about the 3 on 3 youth tournament, please contact Maynard Estrellado at 510-675-5805 or via e-mail at maynarde@ci.union-city.ca.us. When: Sunday, March 29, 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. ... Full story NBA Warriors deep-six the Sixers March 20, 2009 Oakland, Calif. -- One day after giving the Los Angeles Lakers all they could handle down in SoCal, the Golden State Warriors flew back to the Bay Area to take on the Philadelphia 76ers of the Atlantic Division on Friday, March 20, and were able to come away with a convincing win, 119-111. Prior to the game, Head Coach Don Nelson felt that a test against Philadelphia will be as tough as any game they've had all year. "It's always tough in back-to-back games," said Nelson in his pre-game press conference, "and especially against (Philadelphia) because of the match ups. ... Full story College Baseball Renegades baseball now #1 in NorCal; #2 in Pacific Northwest March 20, 2009 Fremont, Calif. -- Ohlone baseball has been voted in as the top-ranked team in Northern California by the California Community College Baseball Coaches Association; and the number-two ranked squad in all the Pacific Northwest by the Junior College Pacific Association Divisions for March 19-25. Ohlone (20-5, 7-2) received seven first-place votes and received 412 overall points, bypassing Sacramento (16-7, 3-2), who tallied six first-place votes, 375 overall. (Ohlone was last week's number two; Sacramento was number one in Northern California. ... Full story Soccer Snow Elementary places first and second at the 23rd Annual Newark Cup March 13, 2009 Newark, Calif. -- The 23rd Annual Newark Cup Tournament was held on the weekend of Feb. 28 and March 1. The tournament is sponsored by the Newark Soccer Club. Every year, the Newark Soccer Club invites all Newark elementary schools to compete for the Newark Cup. All teams consist of students, grades four through six. All Newark school soccer teams play two games on Saturday, and one on Sunday. If the team earns enough points in their division, they will advance to the consolation game for third and fourth place, or the championship game to play for first or second. After a seven year absence from placing in the tournament championship game, H.A. ... Full story College Baseball Chabot routs CCSF March 10, 2009 San Francisco, Calif. -- Chabot College’s men’s baseball team has picked up their play of late, scoring 41 runs in the last three games, while limiting their opponents to 11. Their most recent onslaught came in Tuesday’s match against City College of San Francisco, 17-1, in San Francisco. Alex Jack pitched a solid 5 1/3 innings, giving up two hits and no runs while racking up eight strikeouts. While CCSF could only muster a single run, the Gladiators’ bats were red hot, leaving CCSF pitchers baffled on how to retire a single hitter. Standing out for Chabot were Miguel Flores with four hits (a single, two doubles and a triple) and Kerry Jenkins, who slammed a three-run homer. ... Full story Panthers beat Vortex in season opener On Saturday, March 7, the Panthers opened their spring soccer season against Vortex under the bright floodlights of Irvington Community Sports Field. The Panthers went onto offense from the kick-off and quickly created several goal scoring opportunities. Five minutes into the game, Vortex goalie Alison Huff made a fine save from Erica Ohye, only to see the ball bounce straight out to midfielder Molly Cory on the edge of the six-yard box, where she struck a left-footed laser into the corner of the net. ... Full story Fremont American Little League season opens up On Saturday, March 7, Fremont American Little League (FALL) had their opening day ceremonies, starting with the tradition pancake breakfast, then parade to Marshall Field where the games commenced at 10 a.m. until 7 p.m. FALL has been serving families in the Irvington Area for over 40 years. The city purchased the green space from Fremont Unified School District to add to the already existing Marshall Park five years ago; it is a joint effort between the city of Fremont and FALL that keeps the ballpark functioning year round. FALL is sanctioned by Little League International and run completely by volunteers. For information on FALL, visit http://www.eteamz. ... Full story Softball Insanity Fastpitch aims for nationals Hayward, Calif. -- Insanity Fastpitch is a 10U girls softball tournament team established in fall, 2008. Based in Hayward, its members hail from Alameda, Castro Valley, Hayward, San Leandro and Union City. Insanity Fastpitch is an extra-curricular program funded by players’ parents and is currently recruiting players. Martin Jimenez, a Union City resident and varsity softball coach at Hayward’s Tennyson High School, volunteers his time as manager and head coach. Jimenez was approached by various parents when their daughters wanted to play softball and discovered that there is no official program for this age group in Hayward. ... Full story High School Basketball Two major upsets in NCS semifinals action March 4, 2009 In North Coast Section (NCS) basketball playoff action Wednesday night, there were a couple major upsets, along with higher seeds holding serve, and advancing to the finals. In girls play, #3-seeded Moreau Catholic (of the Division IV tournament) saw their run come to an end with a loss to second-seeded Marin Catholic, 66-53. California School for the Deaf, the #11 seed in the girls Division VI tournament, was hoping that its Cinderella tournament run would advance another game, into the NCS Finals. Having already upset sixth-seeded El Sobrante and third-seeded Tomales in rounds one and two, their competition would get stingier, going up against #2 Potter Valley. ... Full story Passion on wheels San Jose, Calif. -- Often, as viewers of sports, we become accustomed to top-quality athletes taking a little off the accelerator in order to maintain a clean bill of health in hopes of landing a high-paying contract. When age is showing signs of breaking down a body of said-athlete, passion for the sport he or she plays plummets while financial security for the family - and generations down the line - becomes the focal point. Not for the women of the Silicon Valley Roller Girls (SVRG). Passion for their sport, roller derby, will never take a back seat to individual accolades or lucrative opportunities in regards to their sport. ... Full story Off The Chain CYSA Founders Cup semi-finalist FC Fremont Division 4 girls team, Off the Chain (OTC) completed its most successful season by reaching the semifinals of the CYSA Founders Cup, which features top teams from across Northern California. On Saturday, Feb., the tournament did not start well, as a rusty OTC lost 5-0 against the strong Livermore Blue Intensity in an error-prone game. OTC did not let that get them down, and played much better in the second game against Oakland's Las Aztecas. Although playing better soccer, OTC found themselves down 1-0 at the half. In the second half, OTC continued to attack and was quickly rewarded when Erica Ohye scored on a pass from Selina Mahesri. ... Full story Men's College Basketball All is as it should be in the Cal-Pac February 28, 2009 Hayward, Calif. -- Sure, we all love to see an upset. But sometimes a team deserves the title of "Champion" because they've worked hard all season, taken on all challengers and shown strength as a cohesive unit. The Cal State East Bay men's basketball team earned that title on Saturday night, Feb. 28, by beating number-two seeded William Jessup for the third time this season, this time on a buzzer beater by none other than California Pacific Conference (Cal-Pac) player of the year, Tauran Moore. ... Full story Local JC softball and baseball teams putting up wins Chabot and Ohlone softball and baseball teams won 10 and lost three for the week of February 23 to March 1. Best game of the week was Ohlone baseball’s 1-0 victory over Nor Cal number one and state number-two ranked Sacramento City College. Sophomore right hander, Ian Hoff, threw a one-hit, complete-game shutout for Head Coach Jordon Twohig’s Renegades. In addition, Hoff struck-out eight over his nine innings of work. Over the week, Ohlone also defeated Coast Pacific Conference (CPC) rivals Gavilan of Gilroy, 28-9, and Hartnell of Salinas, 11-8. Ohlone plays in the CPC Division. ... Full story Women's College Basketball East Bay junior colleges playing outstanding playoff basketball February 27, 2009 Fremont, Calif. -- Energy and excitement electrified across gymnasiums at Ohlone and Chabot colleges as the teams made movements toward the post-season mayhem known as March Madness. Chabot women basketball (14-16, 7-9) entered the first round of the California Community College Athletic Association Nothern California Regional playoffs Wednesday night, Feb. 25, by their scrappy play and the skin of their teeth. Their record doesn't show the achievements the team has made throughout the past two seasons. It's been a turnaround year for Coach Don Queryel's ball club. Just two seasons ago, the Gladiators played most of the season with just six players. ... Full story Boys Soccer Cougar’s soccer season comes to a close February 25, 2009 Concord, Calif. -- Every season must come to an end. It’s inevitable and, whether you’re crowned a champion or left wondering what went wrong, every player and coach must come to grips with it. At least the Newark Memorial boys soccer team can take pride in saying their season didn’t end without a fight to the finish. On Wednesday night (Feb. 25) the Cougars took on the number-one seed in the North Coast Section (NCS) Championship, the De La Salle Spartans, and fell in the first overtime, 2-1. It was a close match, closer than De La Salle would have wanted it, even though they nursed a 1-0 lead into the half. ... Full story High School Basketball Logan advances in NCS tourney February 24, 2009 Union City, Calif. -- The James Logan high school boys basketball game advanced in the North Coast Section (NCS) playoffs with an impressive 66-48 win over San Ramon Valley on Tuesday night (Feb. 24) at the Logan gym in Union City. The eighth-seeded Colts, who gave Mission Valley Athletic League (MVAL) tournament champion Newark Memorial all they could handle before succumbing in the MVAL tourney final last week, received an at-large invitation to the NCS Division 1 playoffs. With the win they will advance to the quarterfinals to play at #1 seeded De La Salle on Friday evening at 7:30. Logan (21-9) was led by their two All-MVAL guards, Dwight Abad and Salaimon Siddiq. ... Full story College Baseball Renegades knock off number one team February 24, 2009 Fremont, Calif. -- Ohlone College baseball team defeated the #1-ranked team in the North (#2 in the state) Sacramento City College, 1-0, on Tuesday, Feb. 24, on the Ohlone Campus. Renegades starter, sophomore right-handed pitcher, Ian Hoff, threw a one-hit, complete-game shutout. Hoff went all nine innings, striking out eight Sac City batters. Zack Johnson got the game winning hit in the eighth inning, scoring shortstop Aaron Chavez. Full story High School Softball Could Hayward have a girls softball association? February 23, 2009 Hayward, Calif. -- "There should be girls softball in Hayward," says Hugh Lenahan, athletics director and softball coach at Tennyson High School. "John Gouveia, commissioner of the Oakland chapter of the Amateur Softball Association of America (ASA), works for the Hayward Area Recreation & Park District (HARD), and we do not have girls softball in this city," opined Lenahan. "Fundamentally, that is wrong. Hayward comes under auspices of the Oakland ASA." There is public funding for school teams but nothing for other girls softball teams which must rely on sponsors and parents, who want the best for their children and sometimes struggle to provide it. ... Full story Basketball NCS seeds set for boys and girls basketball February 22, 2009 The North Coast Section (NCS) committee met on Sunday morning to announce the seeds for its tournament, Divisions I-VI, which begins Tuesday, Feb. 24. In Division VI, Bay Counties League (BCL) champions on the girls side, Fremont Christian were placed as the No. 4 seed. With a top-four seed, they received a first-round bye, and will host a quarterfinal game on Saturday, Feb. 28, at 7:30 p.m. against the winner of No. 5 St. Bernard Catholic and No. 12 Contra Costa Christian. California School for the Deaf girls and boys both made it to the Division VI NCS tournament as at-large bids. ... Full story Baseball season going downhill fast for East Bay Sure, Cal State East Bay’s only 12 games into their baseball season, but it may already be time to press the panic button. The Pioneers are now 4-8 overall after losing two of three to Willamette University on February 20 and 21, and seem to be setting an alarming trend for the remainder of their games to be played. They’ve shown strength at times, mostly on the arm of senior pitcher Kenneth Cedillo (who is now 2-1 as a starter with one no decision) but still can’t seem to string a series of wins together. Against Willamette, East Bay lost the opening game 12-4 surrendering 18 hits and only mustering six themselves. ... Full story Newark boys proving their place in NCS Championship You might have expected the Newark Memorial boys soccer team to feel a bit of pressure since they were the only squad to have a North Coast Section (NCS) bid in the entire Mission Valley Athletic League (MVAL) for the first round of championship play, but Coach Rick Villa couldn’t sound more confident. “We came out strong and we expected to win,” says Villa after his team beat College Park High, 4-0, during opening-round play on Wednesday night. ... Full story Basketball Logan and Newark to meet for MVAL crown As expected, the top two seeds in the Mission Valley Athletic League boys basketball post-season tournament overcame their foes and will square off on Saturday evening in the final. James Logan got there without much stress, whereas prohibitive favorite Newark got the scare of their life from a spirited Kennedy squad. Logan's #2 seed was based on their 10-2 record against MVAL opponents - impressive indeed but those two losses came against Newark, whose Cougars ran the table with a 12-0 league record. The Colts followed their Wednesday night throttling of Irvington at the Logan gym with a 55-36 whipping of Mission San Jose, who had upset the Washington Huskies on Wednesday. ... Full story MVAL girl's basketball finals set Two girls basketball games were played on Thursday night, Feb. 19, at Newark Memorial's gym to decide the finals for the Mission Valley Athletic League (MVAL); both were exciting from start to finish. Second-seeded American High moved onto the championship by routing No. 3 James Logan, 49-43. Tempest Early, always a scoring threat, dropped 22 as the game's and American's leading scorer for the night. Erinn Jones from Logan, put up 16. This represents the second consecutive season that American has made it through the MVAL girl's playoffs as a #2 seed to the finals. Last year, they were crowned the champs. ... Full story Fremont Christian girls win; boys fall in BCL tourney Fremont Christian basketball was able to leave Emery High on Thursday night, Feb. 19, with moderate success, as the girls were able to win, while the boys fell in Bay Counties League (BCL) playoff action. Both the boys and girls for Fremont Christian were seeded #2 for the tournament; Emery, both teams opponent, held the #1 seed. The boys took to the court looking to knock off the top-seeded BCL team, and advance to a winner-take-all game on Saturday afternoon. The boys were led by sophomore stud, Jeremiah Herzog, who netted 16 points. Team captain, Tony Husary, contributed 13 points. However, the two couldn't lead their team to victory. ... Full story Newark boys move on in NCS tournament You might have expected the Newark Memorial boys soccer team to feel a bit of pressure since they were the only squad to have a North Coast Section (NCS) bid in the entire Mission Valley Athletic League (MVAL) for the first round of championship play, but Coach Rick Villa couldn’t sound more confident. “We came out strong and we expected to win,” says Villas after his team beat College Park High, 4-0, during opening-round play on Wednesday night. ... Full story Weather affects Chabot softball schedule Chabot Gladiators’ softball team has rescheduled its February 17 rainout against Foothill College of Los Altos Hills for Friday, Feb. 20 at 3 p.m. on the Foothill Campus. The Tournament at Napa, scheduled for February 21-22, has been canceled. Full story Baseball Ohlone knocks off West Hills February 18, 2009 Coalinga -- Ohlone Renegades baseball bettered its record to 9-3 with a 7-4 win over West Hills College in Coalinga on Wednesday, Feb. 18. The winning pitcher for the Renegades was freshman Roberto Padilla, formerly of James Logan High in Union City. Freshman Jon Sa recorded the save. Next up for Ohlone is a home game against De Anza College of Cupertino on Thursday, Feb. 19, at 2 p.m. The Renegades then travel to De Anza on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 20-21, for games at 2 p.m. and 11 a.m. respectively. Full story American wins in MVAL quarters On Tuesday night, Feb. 17, American High played host to a trio of games to determine the Mission Valley Athletic League (MVAL) girls basketball semifinals. With Newark Memorial (as a result of a first-round bye), Mission San Jose and James Logan already earning their spots, #2 American looked to round out the final four with a victory over #7 J.F.K. on their home floor. American showed why they finished just behind Newark Memorial in the standings for the regular season as they raced out to an 18-9 lead after one. Despite missing four early free throws in the second, they were able to expand their lead over the winless J.F.K. ... Full story Fremont Christian boys and girls eliminate CSD Bay Counties League boys and girls basketball tournaments got underway on Tuesday, Feb. 17, at Emery High School (regular season champs). #2 Fremont Christian ousted #3 California School for the Deaf (CSD) in both tourneys. The girls advanced to the final on Thursday, Feb. 19, with a 52-40 victory. Seniors Katie Hayes and Kat Sloma led the way for F.C. with 10 points each. On Thursday, they will take on Emery, who defeated Contra Costa Christian. Fremont Christian will still have to beat Emery twice to advance to the North Coast Section (NCS) tournament, as #1 Emery, needs to lose twice to be eliminated. Thursday's game tips off at 6 p.m. ... Full story James Logan wins its playoff opener In the middle game of the Mission Valley Athletic League (MVAL) trifecta of games held at American High on Tuesday night, Feb. 17, #3 James Logan ran the floor with the #6-seeded Irvington Vikings. James Logan came out flying to begin the game, as Irvington seemed overmatched. The Lady Colts jumped out to an early lead by pouncing on all the loose balls, grabbing the majority of the rebounds, and scoring several second-chance points, while playing suffocating defense. Logan went into the second quarter with a sizeable lead, 19-9. ... Full story Mission San Jose advances to MVAL semifinals In the opening game of a triple-header of Mission Valley Athletic League (MVAL) girls basketball quarterfinals action on Tuesday night, Feb. 17, at American High School, #4-seeded Mission San Jose Warriors took on #5 Washington Huskies. In the early going, both teams showed signs of playoff jitters, with each team turning the ball over countless times. At the end of the first quarter, no team grabbed an edge on the other. Mission held the slight edge after one, 11-9. Sloppy play continued in the second quarter. ... Full story Milpitas to host 2009 CCS boys soccer semis and finals The boys soccer playoff semifinals and finals of the Central Coast Section (CCS) of the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) will be held at Milpitas High. Semifinal games will take place on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, Feb. 24-26, with the finals on Saturday, Feb. 28. Times and teams are yet to be determined. The event will be held in the football stadium. For more information, go to www.cifccs.org and click on playoffs and by laws on the left, then click on soccer under winter sports. There will be three divisions: DI (large schools by enrollment), DII (medium) and DIII (small). ... Full story Seeds set for NCS soccer tournament Seeding for the North Coast Section (NCS) Tournament was finalized Sunday afternoon by the NCS Committee. Hayward boys (12-6-5) will be representing the Hayward Area Athletic League (HAAL) in the Class 2A bracket as an at-large bid, with the #7 seed. Their Round 1 opponent will be #10-seeded St. Mary's (10-5-3). The game will kick off on Wednesday, at 3 p.m., at St. Mary's High. MVAL champions -Newark Memorial boys (17-1-6) and Washington girls (12-9-3) - will be hoping for a championship in the Class 3A bracket. NMHS gets in as the #5 seed, and will take on #12-seeded College Park (10-10-3) at home on Wednesday night, at 7. ... Full story NCS births at stake for MVAL and BCL teams this week Beginning Tuesday, Feb. 17, the Bay Counties (BCL) and Mission Valley (MVAL) athletic leagues will kick off their basketball tournaments, with an automatic bid to the North Coast Section (NCS) tournament at stake. BCL play will be held at Emery High School for both the boys and girls, as both teams finished with the best record in their league. For the boys, the semifinal round will have #3 California School for the Deaf (17-8, 9-3) versus #2 Fremont Christian (16-9, 9-3) at 5 p.m. The second semifinal will see #4 Chinese Christian (10-13, 4-5) face off against host team, and #1-seeded Emery (13-12, 11-1) at 8 p.m. ... Full story Washington wins MVAL girls soccer tournament in a thriller The Washington Huskies girls soccer team proved they were deserving MVAL champions by coming back to defeat second-seeded Mission San Jose, 3-2, at Tak Fudenna Stadium in a final of the Shaughenessy tournament that went to a shootout after two scoreless 10-minute overtime periods. Mission had entered the game feeling the MVAL regular season crown had been snatched away by a team they’d beaten twice – Washington’s two wins in the season’s final week, coupled with Mission’s two tie games, resulted in the Huskies winning the league by one point over the Warriors. ... Full story Mission San Jose advances to MVAL girls soccer final The Mission San Jose girls soccer team advanced to the finals of the Shaughenessy MVAL tournament with an exciting 3-2 win over the James Logan Colts at Washington High School’s Tak Fudenna Stadium Thursday (Feb. 12) evening. Logan drew first blood in the 18th minute of the first half. With Mission goalie Allison Day out of position and the action taking place right in front of the Mission goal, Logan’s Gabe Stange scored on a play in which she blocked a kick by a Mission defender; the ball was intended to be sent out of danger, but Stange’s block sent the ball into the Warrior net and the Colts led 1-0. ... Full story Despite loss, East Bay men still in first The Cal State East Bay men's basketball team suffered a loss on Wednesday at the hands of UC Santa Cruz, a nonconference opponent. It would take a small miracle for the team to blow their 2.5 game lead in the Cal-Pac Conference, but sports fans everywhere know, these things can happen. Good news, East Bay only has to win their Valentine's Day game against Pacific Union (last in the Cal-Pac) to secure first place for the year. All signs were pointing to another Pioneer victory against Santa Cruz, as they were leading 42-34 at the half. But the shots didn't seem to fall in the second, as East Bay shot just 35 percent from the floor. ... Full story Newark and Washington move on to MVAL finals The Newark Memorial boys soccer team had every right to celebrate on Wednesday night after posting a 3-1 victory over Irvington in the Mission Valley Athletic League (MVAL) semi-finals, especially knowing who they will face in the finals. In the first half of play, Newark was faster, more aggressive and more composed than the Irvington Vikings, but had only posted one goal ? a penalty kick by Carlos Contreras ? before going into the locker room. The ball was rarely seen over the half line until the 30th minute, when the Vikings started to press nine boys forward in an effort to tie the match. ... Full story MVAL girls soccer: Logan and Mission advance The James Logan Colts girls soccer team could have been faulted for being as confident as they were coming into their first (and possibly last) round postseason tournament game against the Washington Huskies. Washington had snatched the MVAL title in the last week of the season from Mission San Jose, and had already beaten Logan twice. The Huskies are the top seed in the Shaughenessy Tournament, and Logan, with a league record of 6-5-1, got into the postseason tournament as the fourth seed. But for some reason, that didn’t affect Logan’s confidence. ... Full story Ohlone drops a thriller to Diablo Valley Ohlone Renegades baseball team traveled to Diablo Valley College Tuesday night looking to six in a row, however, DVC jumped on the Renegades early and often, and held on for a 12-8 victory. After five innings, Diablo Valley was up 12-0, with a single run in the first; three in the third; and four in each the fourth and fifth innings. Diablo Valley’s 1-2-3 hitters – Corey Conflenti, Adam Greenberg and Travis Kruger – went a combined 10-13, with seven runs and four RBI. In the top half of the sixth, Ohlone started to chip away at the 12-run deficit. After a Braxton Miller run-scoring single, Jeff Johnson followed with a two-run homer to cut the lead to 12-3. ... Full story

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