Straight from the Sports Desk

The Blue Jays released an angry and slumping Frank Thomas — a guy who won back-to-back MVP awards for the White Sox in 1993 and '94. The Seahawks released their former MVP running back Shaun Alexander. Are these players through? Too old? Damaged goods? They are both making big bucks, but hey, sometimes a team cuts ties, lets the athlete walk with the money, rather than have them either hurt the team or stall a new direction. I wonder how long (this year? next?) the Giants will keep Barry Zito if he continues the path of his current 0-5 downfall.

Posted by Neil Tarpey at 10:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

A little more than a week into both the Stanley Cup Playoffs and our subsequent playoff beards, it's time for an update. No one picked the hapless and pathetic Senators, so no one has pulled out the razor yet. Below are our updated pics, taken Thursday night as the Sharks were beating the Flames to take a 3-2 series lead. The information below the pics is as of Friday's games.

(If you missed the first entry about our little experiment, check it out here. It explains the playoff beard tradition and has photos of us all clean-shaven.)

Erik Fraser Team: San Jose Sharks Status: Leading first-round series against Calgary 3-2, can extend the life of Erik's beard with a win in Calgary on Sunday.
Neil Tarpey Team: Montreal Canadiens and New York Rangers Status: Canadiens lead Boston 3-2; Rangers beat New Jersey 4-1. Neil's beard becomes the first to advance to the second round.
Ray Aspuria Team: Washington Capitals Status: Trailing Philadelphia 3-1 after double-OT loss on Thursday. The game-winning goal was scored when Alexander Ovechkin forgot to check his man, Mike Knuble.
Sean Quincey Team: Anaheim Ducks Status: Trailing Dallas 3-2. The Ducks avoided elimination with 5-2 win Friday, thoroughly disappointing Sean, who hates his beard and contemplated going home to get a razor at dinner time in hopes that they would lose.

Posted by Erik Fraser at 05:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The Atlanta Braves are far from my favorite team. I did enjoy, however, watching Dale Murphy win his back-to-back MVPs in the 80s, and I respect what Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine have done. The purpose of this blog? To give credit to John Smoltz, who will turn 41 in May. the guy went 24-8 in 1996 and six seasons later, after he volunteered to go to the pen to help the team, he saved 55. This year he's 3-0, has struck out 21 in 16 innings. The guy still has game.

Posted by Neil Tarpey at 10:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I really enjoy watching Tim Lincecum pitch. His face makes him look about 15, but his serpentine windup resembles the crafty Luis Tiant, and his warp-six velocity brings Nolan Ryan to mind. So far he's 2-0, with a 2.25 ERA and a wicked 22 K's in only 16 innings. I'd like to see him win 18-20 this year. But with SF's offensive offense, yikes. The Giants are 6-10 (one of five teams already into double-digit losses) and I still think they will lose 105 this season. Out of the 30 MLB teams, they are last in on-base % (.290), last in RBIs (47), and first in strikeouts (121). Thank heavens that Bengie Molina has cracked three homers (two in one game). Aurilia and Durham are batting .387 — combined. Aurilia (.196) and Durham (.189) will hopefully enjoy a regular view from the bench as the young kids (Lewis, Bowker, Velez) take the field for the orange and black.

Posted by Neil Tarpey at 04:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

It's no secret Al Davis would love to get his hands on Chris Long with the No. 4 overall pick in the NFL Draft on April 26, however, it appeared the Virginia defensive end would be -- pardon the pun -- long gone by the time the Raiders would make their selection.

For the past few weeks, through various mock drafts, publications, you name it, Long was projected as the No. 1 overall selection in the draft.

But with recent news that the Dolphins are negotiating with Michigan offensive tackle Jake Long, could the other Long end up a Raider?

Signs point to no.

No matter how much Davis wants to recapture past glory with Chris -- he's the son of legendary Oakland and hall of fame defensive end Howie Long -- chances are he won't be there when the Raiders are on the clock.

Despite reports that the Fins are negotiating with Jake as the No. 1 overall selection, it just might be Bill Parcells doing his due diligence as the head of football operations for Miami. It was reported by SI.com's Peter King the Fins have placed a deadline for Jake to agree to the terms set and rotoworld.com and profootballtalk.com have heard rumblings that if the Michigan tackle doesn't agree, Miami will set their sites on Ohio State defensive end Vernon Gholston.

At this time of the year, with the draft in such close proximity, you can never believe what NFL GM's, owners, coaches are saying about their selections until that little blue card is handed to commissioner Roger Goddell and their name is called up on that podium.

Whether it's posturing or a smoke screen, take what teams say in regards to possible selections with a grain of salt as they're probably lying.

But that doesn't mean we have to stop speculating.

If a player other than Chris Long ends up No. 1 to Miami, even then, chances are Oakland will have a slim-to-none shot at grabbing the defensive end.

St. Louis, who drafts No. 2 and 'appears' to want Jake, won't pass up a chance to draft a franchise defender in Chris. With an aging Leonard Little manning one end and the unproven Eric Moore taking the other side, the Rams will be licking their chops of Chris fell to them at No. 2. Even if LSU defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey is there for the taking, St. Louis will gobble up Howie's boy.

But wait, what if Chris falls past the Rams?

Then, and only then, is it a possibility for Oakland to land their man.

The Falcons, who pick No. 3, don't have a huge need at defensive end. With John Abraham still up to his terrorizing ways, the position is not as much of a necessity as defensive tackle or quarterback. Atlanta will probably focus on defensive tackle and nab Dorsey. If they feel he's up to the challenge, the Falcons may end up with Boston College QB Matt Ryan.

If this 'dream' scenario plays out, it would leave Oakland with a shot at not only Long, but a player like Gholston or Arkansas running back Darren McFadden with the No. 4 overall selection.

With that much talent just waiting for the pickings, Davis -- who makes all the decisions in Oakland -- just might need help in order to figure out which of the available prospects would help the teams the most.

On second thought, Davis probably won't.

Posted by Ray Aspuria at 05:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

A new-look HSU opened spring football on Wednesday. The big question is, will it give the Jacks a new view in the standings?
Say, from the top? Heck, with the cards HSU dealt itself heading into the 2008 season,
any view that's not at from the bottom will do.
HSU lined up in a brand new offense on Wednesday, one that has been catching on like wild fire throughout the college ranks. It's a shotgun offense that is predicated on play action. Oregon ran it, so did West Virginia, Ohio State, Florida, LSU, Illinois and plenty of other schools that had lots of success recently. It's too tough to guard the run, especially if your quarterback is mobile, and the pass.
Compared to HSU's single-back and spread offense, it's light years ahead. Let's hope HSU can catch on.

Posted by Sean Quincey at 11:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Here on the Redwood Coast, it's one of sports' lesser known traditions, but we believe it's time to change that. So here at the T-S, we've begun growing our playoff beards.

In the NHL, there is a tradition that players put the razors away when the Stanley Cup Playoffs begin, which is why you often see guys hoisting the Cup with massive bushes on their faces. It apparently started in the early 1980s with the powerhouse Islanders, who won four consecutive titles before Wayne Gretzky came on the scene and the Oilers began to dominate the league.

We did this a year ago, too, though we didn't share them with the outside world, unless you saw one of us out at a game. I guess you could call it a test run. The four of us on the Sports Desk each picked a team, and wouldn't shave until our team was eliminated. We were, however, allowed to groom them so we didn't look completely goofy, only partly. But this year, we'll be on the web for all to see. Follow along throughout the playoffs at T-S Blogs. Here are our clean-shaven faces and the teams we picked:

Erik: San Jose Sharks, my team since literally day one and a Cup favorite, but down 1-0 after first game.		Ray: Washington Capitals, who have possibly the game's best player in Alexander Ovechkin.
Sean: Anaheim Ducks, defending Stanley Cup Champs looking to repeat.		Neil: Montreal Canadiens and New York Rangers. He picked two because he knows the Canadiens' Chris Higgins and as a New Yorker himself is a lifelong Rangers fan.

Neil has been given a special exemption, because he is going to Europe (Paris, specifically) for the first time at the end of April, and doesn't want his keepsake photos ruined by a scraggly white beard, something I completely understand -- except for the whiteness part.

Posted by Erik Fraser at 05:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

In the Saturday April 5 issue, I wrote a story about the Redwood Relays at Fortuna High. There is some disagreement about a topic the story brought up and I'm hoping to explain it here.

Here's the link:
Fortuna sweeps Redwood Relays

Here's the issue in the story:

"Carl's teammate, Mike Radenbaugh, ran in front of Carl for the first two laps before dropping out and running into the middle of the infield. On a windy day like Friday, having someone to serve as a blocker and/or “rabbit” could be especially helpful, and potentially illegal, though it'd be pretty hard to determine whether a runner actually went out with the sole purpose to help his teammate."

Got a message today (4/8) about this part of the story. An disappointed caller said the second sentence is one-sided.
I only put that sentence in there because the moment it happened track officials immediately hopped on the walkie talkies and asked it it should be a disqualification. If it would have been a big meet — say at the NCS or state levels — it most likely would have been because there was little question as to whether South Fork used a Rabbit in the race. However, it wasn't that big of a meet and it would have been more trouble than it's worth to make a stink about it.
If the caller reads this comment, please call and we can discuss it. 441-0527

Sean

Posted by Sean Quincey at 09:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

With two weeks to go until the NFL Draft, there's a plethora of mock drafts out there. Whether on the internet, magazines, or newspapers, there are plenty of NFL analysts, experts and pundits unleashing their version of what will probably happen on April 26.

In the spirit of keeping up, here's a mock from Associated Press NFL Writer Dave Goldberg:

DAVE GOLDBERG/The Associated Press

No one really wants the first pick in the 2008 NFL draft.
Not because there aren’t good players, but because there’s not one great player, the franchise quarterback who can produce a title with one fling of his arm.

That happened two months ago, when Eli Manning, the first overall choice in the 2004 draft, led the Giants 83 yards for the winning touchdown in New York’s Super Bowl upset of New England on a drive that started with 2:42 left.

Another QB from the class of 2004, Pittsburgh’s Ben Roethlisberger, won a Super Bowl two seasons ago. A third, Philip Rivers, got San Diego to the AFC championship game, where he played on one leg against the Patriots.
Add in Peyton Manning, Eli’s brother and a Super Bowl winner in 2007, and top QBs can make teams look good.

Until you look at Tim Couch, the top pick in 1999, and David Carr, No. 1 in 2002. Couch is no longer in the league and Carr just signed as Eli Manning’s backup in the Meadowlands after being cut in consecutive years by Houston and Carolina. Plus, of course Ryan Leaf, taken second overall in 1998 after Peyton Manning, and now the golf coach at West Texas A&M and the draft synonym for BUST.

The top QB this year is Matt Ryan of Boston College. He could be good, but for now isn’t considered a Peyton Manning/Tom Brady class QB. On the other hand, Brady was a sixth-round choice, the perfect example of why the draft is an inexact science.

The money factor also scares teams in the top 10, who must pay an unproven commodity what they pay their stars. Worse, a guy who gets guaranteed money that can be in the eight-figure range is set for life and may not have as much incentive to prove himself as guys taken lower.

So a lot of teams at the top want out of a deep draft — they can get basically the same player later (and cheaper), especially if he’s an offensive lineman or running back, who are plentiful this year.
Mock draft 1.0:

1. MIAMI. Might Bill Parcells and the Dolphins let the clock run out rather than pay first pick money to a non-QB? Or choose Ryan? Probably not — if they don’t like John Beck, whom the pre-Parcells regime took in the second round last year, they probably can take Joe Flacco, Brian Brohm or Chad Henne at the start of Round 2 this month.
The surest thing is CHRIS LONG, DE, Virginia. Son of Howie. Solid citizen. Nonstop work ethic.

2. ST. LOUIS. The Giants’ win put pass rushers in demand. When weren’t they? Go back 50 years through Reggie White, Bruce Smith, Lawrence Taylor, Deacon Jones and Doug Atkins. The Rams like Glenn Dorsey, but have made bad picks at DT (Jimmy Kennedy, anyone?) and got a nice prospect there in Adam Carriker last season. VERNON GHOLSTON, DE-LB (and pass rusher), Ohio State.

3. ATLANTA. The new GM, Thomas Dimitroff, apprenticed in New England, a nice pedigree. It also allowed him to see Ryan a lot. GLENN DORSEY, DT, LSU.

4. OAKLAND. Lane Kiffin, who may or may not remain the coach, says the Raiders aren’t likely to take Darren McFadden, which probably means they will take the Arkansas RB. Or maybe they will choose SEDRICK ELLIS, DT, Southern Cal. Remember that Kiffin is in Al Davis-imposed limbo and everyone lies at draft time.

5. KANSAS CITY. The QB of the future, Brodie Croyle, has been so-so. Maybe because the OL was bad last year. JAKE LONG, OT, Michigan, has at least 50-50 odds of succeeding: Big Ten OT Joe Thomas was an instant star with Cleveland last season; Big Ten OT Robert Gallery, selected No. 2 overall in 2004, was an instant bust.

6. NEW YORK JETS. Thomas Jones was the seventh overall pick in 2000, which demonstrates that highly rated RBs may not turn into superstars. The Giants won the Super Bowl with a fourth-rounder alternating with a seventh-rounder. DARREN McFADDEN, RB, Arkansas, may be 2008’s version of Adrian Peterson.

7. NEW ENGLAND. The Patriots were “punished” for spying by losing their own pick, 31st overall. This is a gift from San Francisco. They might trade down to someone who wants Ryan because there are a lot of CBs they can draft lower. LEODIS McKELVIN, CB, Troy, which produced Pro Bowlers DeMarcus Ware and Osi Umenyiora.

8. BALTIMORE. MATT RYAN, QB, Boston College, makes sense for the Ravens, who haven’t had a good quarterback since moving to Baltimore in 1996. Unless the Patriots convince a QB hungry team (Carolina?) to jump up to seven.

9. CINCINNATI. The Bengals’ discipline problems hit home last year when LB Odell Thurman was suspended for the second straight season. There should be no such trouble with KEITH RIVERS, LB, Southern California.

10. NEW ORLEANS. One of the Saints’ mistakes last year was signing Jason David, an undersized zone CB, and expecting him to hold up in a different scheme. DOMINIQUE RODGERS-CROMARTIE, CB, Tennessee State, has a big upside.

11. BUFFALO. The Bills want a big receiver. Except that receivers have the highest first-round failure rate of any position, such as Troy “Oooops!” Williamson, the seventh overall pick in 2005 who was traded by Minnesota to Jacksonville for a sixth-rounder this year. DEVIN THOMAS, WR, Michigan State.

12. DENVER. The Broncos are no longer an elite franchise, with one playoff win since John Elway retired after the 1998 season. The blame fell last month on Ted Sundquist, who was fired as general manager although Mike Shanahan had final call on personnel. His final call this year: RYAN CLADY, OT, Boise State.

13. CAROLINA. Don’t be surprised if the Panthers move up for Ryan. Or down for Brohm, Flacco or Henne. If not, CHRIS WILLIAMS, OT, Vanderbilt, one of the many first-rate OLs available.

14. CHICAGO. The Bears could also use a big body up front, maybe Jeff Otah of Pitt. But it’s time they bite the Cedric Benson bullet and choose a local kid, RASHARD MENDENHALL, RB, Illinois.

15. DETROIT. The Lions won’t take a wide receiver this time, will they? An aside on draft paranoia: When Rod Marinelli mentioned some players he had worked out in front of reporters, he upset some colleagues, who only give names to folks with ultra top secret security clearances. One of the names was DERRICK HARVEY, DE, Florida.

16. ARIZONA. Other than in 2003, when the Cardinals traded down, this is just the second time since 1993 that Arizona has picked outside the top 10. Progress allows them to take JONATHAN STEWART, RB, Oregon, who is recovering from toe surgery but should be ready to eventually succeed Edgerrin James.

17. MINNESOTA. The Vikings could use a quarterback. They could trade down, but DE Kenechi Udeze has a form of leukemia. So PHILIP MERLING, DE, Clemson, is the pick, especially in a season in which “you can’t have enough pass rushers.”

18. HOUSTON. One reason David Carr is now a backup in New York is that the Texans have never had an offensive line. JEFF OTAH, OT, Pitt.

19. PHILADELPHIA. The Eagles are trying to phase out CB Lito Sheppard and want a safety to replace Brian Dawkins. Donovan McNabb is campaigning for a receiver. Defense prevails, but not in the secondary. JEROD MAYO, LB, Tennessee.

20. TAMPA BAY. Jon Gruden collects QBs like billionaires collect $1,000 bills. Brohm? Flacco? Henne? AQUIB TALIB, CB, Kansas, is better in a zone, a perfect fit to eventually succeed Ronde Barber.

21. WASHINGTON. Dan “The Fan” Snyder says he’s finally learned it’s easier to draft a winning team than buy one. He’s always been obsessed with his division and watched an NFC East team win a Super Bowl with pass rushers. CALAIS CAMPBELL, DE, Miami.

22. DALLAS. Jerry Jones needs a running back, a cornerback, and a wide receiver. If he gets Pacman Jones, he might package this pick with the 28th and go up for McFadden. Better to take MICHAEL JENKINS, CB, South Florida.

23. PITTSBURGH. Alan Faneca bolted for the Jets and a $21 million guarantee. So another guard, Branden Albert of Virginia, is a popular choice, but QUENTIN GROVES, DE-LB, Auburn, fits this year’s pass rusher theme. Besides, how can Mike Tomlin and Kevin Colbert resist giving Dan Rooney someone who says: “Ever since I was little, I was always a Steeler fan. When I saw that black and gold for the first time, it was like, ’man, I love the way those guys play defense.’ I’m kind of an old-school guy.”

24. TENNESSEE. When your top receivers are Justin Gage and Roydell Williams, you need an impact guy. DeSEAN JACKSON, WR, California, is only 169 pounds, also might be a Devin Hester-type return man. Speed can’t be taught.

25. SEATTLE. If the Steelers pass on BRANDEN ALBERT, G, Virginia, the Seahawks might not. Albert, who also can play tackle, fills a hole that’s existed since Steve Hutchinson signed that “poison pill” contract with Minnesota after the Seahawks went to the Super Bowl.

26. JACKSONVILLE. The Jaguars stocked up on receivers before the draft: the aforementioned Troy “No Hands” Williamson and Jerry Porter, the disaffected Raider. KENTWAN BALMER, DT North Carolina, fills the spot vacated when Marcus Stroud was dealt to Buffalo.

27. SAN DIEGO. A team that has everything but wins nothing. MALCOLM KELLY, WR, Oklahoma, has a foot problem, but adds another receiving threat if/when he gets healthy.

28. DALLAS. Jerry Jones played at Arkansas. He wants Darren McFadden of the Razorbacks to fill his running back vacancy. He settles instead on McFadden’s alternate, FELIX JONES, RB, Arkansas.

29. SAN FRANCISCO. The 49ers gave up what turned out to be the seventh overall pick to move up for OT Joe Staley last year. They got back the Colts’ pick and use it on LIMAS SWEED, WR, Texas who hopefully will perform better than the 49ers recent receiver crop.

30. GREEN BAY. Let’s assume Brett Favre really isn’t coming back. Let’s assume Aaron Rodgers is OK. Let’s also assume that BRIAN BROHM, QB, Louisville is available in the event that Rodgers isn’t OK. Brohm would have been a top five pick a year ago?

31. NEW YORK GIANTS. The Giants’ scout at Matt Ryan’s workout was Pat Flaherty, the offensive line coach. Ernie Accorsi, the retired Giants GM, was the one who said “you can’t have enough pass rushers” when he chose BC’s Matthias Kiwanuka two years ago. Jerry Reese, who went 8-for-8 last year, takes GOSDER CHERILUS, OT, Boston College, and says, “You can’t have enough BC offensive linemen."

Still can't get enough of Mock Drafts? Simply go on google and type in "2008 NFL Mock Draft" and see all the ones that pop up.

Posted by Ray Aspuria at 04:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

Maybe it's the economy. Let's hope that's what it is. HSU raised $190K at the sports auction on Saturday and that won't be near enough to raise the total number of schollys that the football team can give out.
At least not for this year.
For all the excitement HSU generated when Rob Smith was hired, the community hardly responded. Don't get me wrong. $190K is tremendous, but compared to last year, and with all the importance placed on this upcoming football season, the Jacks could have used a little more dough to put in to its scholarship fund.
If, as Dan Collen suggested last year, the community is "tapped out" and HSU cannot raise more money, then where does that leave HSU football? Collen and Smith basically stepped onto the rooftop and proclaimed to the world that HSU would have 11 or 12 scholarships by next year.
They know better than anyone how much money it takes to do that and at least Collen seems to have known they were at or near their threshold.
So then the question becomes, was he pitching us all a line about getting a dozen scholarships?
Or was that what he told Smith when he was wooing him for the job?

Posted by Sean Quincey at 11:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

It sure took him a while didn't it?

Raiders head coach Lane Kiffin finally spoke to the media on Tuesday at the NFL owners meeting in Florida.

Babyface Lane broke his silence and sounded enthusiastic about his job as the Raiders' sideline boss.

The 32-year-old head coach gave reporters an insight on how working for Al Davis is working out, the Rob Ryan situation and he gave a few tidbits on the draft. He also answered questions in regard to the Raiders' spending spree and the new influx of talent over the past month.

Bay Area News Group's Jerry McDonald, via stringer Walter Villa, has the nitty gritty, if you want to check it out go to: http://www.ibabuzz.com/raidersblog/2008/04/01/more-kiffin/

Kiffin seems to ease some of the apparent tension that has surrounded him and the organization as a whole and it was interesting to read what he had to say. Surprisingly enough though, is the fact Big Al himself wasn't in attendance. Instead, Kiffin was left to speak to the media all by his lonesome. Well, that's not fair, he had a Raider PR rep sitting beside him the whole way through.

While the Al Davis relationship and the Rob Ryan situation may catch the eye first, it was his perception and take on the upcoming NFL Draft that is of upmost interest.

Here's an excerpt from McDonald's blog:

On the draft: “We don’t have a lot of picks. We have the No. 4 choice overall, which is significant. We could trade down, obviously. We’d love to continue to work on our defensive line. There are a couple of really good defensive lineman that may be available at 4.”

On mock drafts that have the Raiders picking Arkansas running back Darren McFadden at No. 4: “He is a phenomenal player, but I don’t really think running back is a need for us.”

On whether Kiffin will have an impact on who the Raiders draft: “I hope so. I wouldn’t expect it to be any different than last year.”

While many NFL analyst and draft pundits, including myself, have speculated Oakland would draft Arkansas running back Darren McFadden with the No. 4 overall selection, it appears, if Kiffin has any say on the matter, the Raiders may steer in another direction.

Granted, this may just be a smoke screen, teams are notoriously known to guise their true intentions leading up to the draft, Kiffin seems steadfast in his belief that DMC is not their guy at No. 4.

Kiffin even brought up the notion of trading down, something Davis is not particularly found of, in order to gain some of the picks they lost due to trades.

It is still unclear how much influence Kiffin truly has in the draft process, but there has always been a consistent factor when it comes to the event: It's Al's decision, no matter how you slice it ... or is it?

Davis blamed former coach Art Shell for passing up on QB Matt Leinart in favor of safety Michael Huff ... but honestly, who believes Al wasn't the one pulling the trigger?

Anyhow, it appears Kiffin is looking forward to his second year as the Raiders head coach and is dead set on holding his ground against Oakland's true figure head Al Davis.

2008 just got a little more interesting for the Silver and Black.

Posted by Ray Aspuria at 07:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)