Just today, Yahoo! broke the story of federal documents identifying an extensive list of NCAA schools and players that have been involved in the recent recruiting scandals that have been investigated by the FBI. You can find their post here: https://sports.yahoo.com/exclusive-federal-documents-detail-sweeping-potential-ncaa-violations-involving-high-profile-players-schools-103338484.html One reason I’ve preferred professional sports to the NCAA is that the former make …
The Oklahoma City Thunder came to Sacramento on Thursday night at 33-26, fifth best in the NBA’s Western Conference, but they are a more dangerous team than their record suggests. For the first quarter in their matchup with the Kings, the Thunder were their better selves, shooting over 80 percent from the floor and building …
Last Wednesday, in their last game before the All-Star Break, the Portland Trail Blazers hosted the Golden State Warriors in a game that was not only a barn-burner but also illustrated the current state of both teams, who would meet in the first round of the playoffs if their current #7 and #2 seedings were …
The Philadelphia Eagles finally have a Lombardi Trophy to bring home, their first championship since Concrete Charlie Bednarik sat on Green Bay’s Jim Taylor to win it all in 1960. Hats off to them. They played unafraid, especially Nick Foles, and it took all of their successful gambles to beat the Patriots. Their only mistake …
In these four high-profile cases, adults covered up sexual crimes. The Catholic Church moved priests. The Boy Scouts kept their Perversion Papers secret. Penn State preferred profits over boys. As the gymnastics’ story has already unfolded at Molestation State University against female gymnasts, there will be an expansion to female co-eds, making the travesty more …
The NFC Championship Game has just concluded as of this writing, with the Nick Foles-led Philadelphia Eagles beating the Minnesota Vikings by a shocking score of 38-7. The Eagles will travel to Minnesota to meet the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LII, thus ruining Minnesota’s dreams of winning a Lombardi Trophy in their own …
Take a listen to the extraordinary musicianship and taut harmonies of Baskery, self-proclaimed QUEENS OF BANJO PUNK and a trio made up of sisters Greta (banjo, drums, vocals), Stella (double bass, vocals) and Sunniva (guitar, vocals) Bondesson. The electric live take (above) of one of their catchiest but still unreleased songs, “Hard On You,” was …
After the Portland Trailblazers’ win over the Indiana Pacers last Thursday night, comedian Cedric the Entertainer got up from his courtside seat afterward and took Coach Terry Stotts’ place at the podium for the postgame press conference: Thanks to the graciousness of the Trailblazers, I’ve been in that briefing room a couple of times. Usually, …
After the Minnesota Vikings’ miracle win in last night’s divisional playoff with the New Orleans Saints, ESPN was historically astute enough to replay footage of the original Hail Mary play from December 1975, when Drew Pearson of the Dallas Cowboys pushed off Vikings cornerback Nate Wright and caught Roger Staubach’s desperation pass from midfield for …
For those who aren’t obsessive about sports, ESPN posted an article last Friday on the alleged circumstances behind the New England Patriots’ trade of Jimmy Garoppolo, now known to Bay Area fans as the return of Joe Montana, to the San Francisco 49ers last October. The article suggests that the trade, which happened suddenly and …
LeBron James, like his predecessors Michael Jordan, Larry Bird and Magic Johnson, is a star whose appearance in any city draws fans to an NBA arena like pilgrims to Mecca, and like the latter, he is a sight to behold in person at least once in your life. Accordingly, there were a lot of LeBron …
In the buildup to last Sunday’s game between the San Francisco 49ers and the Jacksonville Jaguars, even the most gushing admirers of rookie 49er quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo anticipated a rough time. The Jaguars had allowed the fewest points and passing yards of any team in the NFL, and their defensive line, nicknamed “Sacksonville,” was so …
NBA super teams reflect the spirit of our economy. The haves and the have nots. Like our economy the f_ckery is accelerating and it’s damaging the true competitiveness that well regulated capitalism provides when more individuals and companies can compete. I like Golden State but what a Cartel! Monopolies are emerging, even if the NBA, …
This is the only good Blair Walsh story of 2017: my friend’s 7 year old son Max is a huge fan of The Seahawks and the Cougars. Last night my buddy looked worried at Leny’s Place as the Cougs were struggling through the Apple Cup, and I asked why a guy from Detroit was taking …
The Golden 1 Arena is still a gorgeous building, but unfortunately for Sacramento’s NBA fans, the Kings are still the Kings, and last night they lost in mostly the same way they did on the two occasions I saw them last year. They built a lead in the first half, coughed it up in the …
My perennial problem with any sport’s Most Valuable Player award is trying to guess how sportswriters will measure how “valuable” someone is. In baseball, I always wonder how they determine that a guy who hit 40 home runs but missed a lot of fly balls in the outfield is more valuable than the shortstop with …
Baseball thoughts: — No surprise that Aaron Judge and Cody Bellinger were unanimously chosen as the Rookies of the Year. No one else came close to their performances. — I predict the Indians’ Corey Kluber will win the AL Cy Young Award, to be announced tomorrow night. While the Red Sox ace Chris Sale was …
For those of you who didn’t follow the Portland Trail Blazers last season, their biggest story was their February trade for Jusuf Nurkic, the Bosnian Beast and the West Coast’s answer to New York Knick sensation Kristaps Porzingis. With his shooting and rebounding, Nurkic turned around the Blazers’ season, helping them to an 18-8 record …
“Buckle up, hold on to your Cubs caps, and watch as the two most exciting weeks of the 2017 season are about to unfold.” As I noted in my last piece for this hallowed blog, at this year’s All-Star break, the defending World Series champion Chicago Cubs were just about as average an MLB team …
Forty years ago the #4 ranked Oklahoma Sooners traveled to Ohio to play the #3 ranked Ohio State Buckeyes. I was home alone when I sat in my living room in Minnesota to watch the football game. This represented the first time I ever saw the exciting wishbone offense, which Oklahoma ran with QB Thomas …
My recent NFL post included the following: Speaking of which, NFL owners made a very short-sighted decision with their blacklist, informal or otherwise. Somehow, they appear to have forgotten that 75% of NFL players are black, with many of them having likely experienced firsthand the issues with law enforcement that Kap had protested. Two weeks …
The title is not a misprint. When I arrived in San Francisco to see the Giants on Friday, the temperature was 102 degrees. The high had been 106, smashing all previous records and reversing the normal weather pattern of cooling temperatures on the Bay inversely proportional to the summer heat of the Central Valley, as …
In the recent discussion about San Francisco 49ers ex-QB Colin Kaepernick’s extended vacation, the focus has been much more on the politics of the situation than what he would likely contribute on the field. Some thoughts on the latter are in order. The Kap who came within five yards of adding a sixth Lombardi Trophy …
Last Thursday evening, courtesy of a generous friend in the right place, I had the privilege of seeing the Oakland A’s three rows up from home plate. I’ve had some good seats in the past, but nothing nearly as up close and personal with major league ball players as this. The seats, in what is …
After spending the fifth and sixth of August watching the Blue Angels fly, I ended the weekend with yet another trip to El Corazon. This time it was to see a group called the Bombpops. This quartet from Ocean City, CA, has two very charming young women fronting the band. They shared lead vocals and …
I am not going to lie to you. I have listened to ‘Peace Like A River’ seven times tonight. This song is so beautiful it’s cutting me. “You can beat us with wires, you can beat us with chains, you can run out your rules, but you know can’t outrun the history train” This song …
My niece and I recently attended the double header soccer game of the national women’s teams, Japan vs Brazil then US vs Australia. It was interesting to watch the game between Avani, my nine-year-old niece who, like many in the stadium, is a big Alex Morgan fan, and a pair of serious women soccer fans, …
Long-suffering Chicago Cubs fans were finally granted a reprieve in 2016. The Cubs’ World Series victory — considered by many baseball watchers as one of the greatest World Series ever played — was the sweetest gift that the beautiful but troubled City of Big Shoulders could have received last year. As a life-long Cubs fan, …
The Golden State Warriors beat the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2017 NBA Finals four games to one, but the series felt a lot closer than that. If the Cavs had managed to close out their late lead in Game 3 on their home court, they would likely have played a Game 6 there as well, …
Time to go out on a limb and predict that the Cleveland Cavaliers won’t win four in a row against the Golden State Warriors in the 2017 NBA Finals. They may win on Friday just to keep the Warriors from partying in their gym, but for all intents and purposes, they are done. For all …