Section925's SportsCentury Top 100 Bay Area Athletes of All-Time (#99 Eric Carrie)

The famed McKeon Pavilion in Moraga California. Site of many Section925 SportsCentury defining moments. 

Welcome to Section925’s SportsCentury Top 100 Bay Area Athletes of All-Time. In this exclusive series, we will be counting down the best amateur athletes in Bay Area history from 100 to 1. We will be exploring the careers and achievements of high school and college athletes from around the area to come up with Section925’s Top 100 list. To nominate your favorite athlete, make sure to leave us a comment or send us an e-mail and have your opinion heard!


# 99: Eric Carrie

By Connor Buestad | Connor@Section925.com

Coming in at #99 on Section925’s SportsCentury Top 100 Athletes of All-Time is Eric Carrie. Carrie did not attend Orinda Intermediate School, but was attracted to the rolling hills and bright lights of Miramonte High School by the time he reached his later teen years. By the time he graduated, he was known as one of the all-time greats in the area.

Carrie figured he could throw his career into high gear by signing on to play for legendary coach Floyd Burnsed and boy was he ever correct. Traditionally a pass first offense, Carrie quickly provided a new dynamic to the Matadors from the running back position, turning in dominant performances virtually every Friday night in Contra Costa County.

At 5’11”, 190, Carrie was built like a bull and played with reckless abandon on both sides of the ball. Regardless of what type of game plans opposing defenses came up with, Carrie consistently thrashed them. His motor never stopped and he had an uncanny energy for the game that rubbed off on his teammates. To put it bluntly, Eric Carrie was already playing in “Beast Mode,” years before Marshawn Lynch coined the term on the other side of the tunnel at Oakland Technical High.

Carrie’s dominant performance during his senior year in 2001 was good enough to earn him the Diablo Foothill Athletic League player of the year award, not to mention a spot on the Contra Costa Times prestigious “Cream of the Crop” list.   

Although Carrie did not play in the NFL, his college career at New Mexico State was an impressive one. Playing the safety position for the Aggies, Carrie routinely squared of with some of the best offenses in the nation including the Hawaii Warriors and California Golden Bears in the early 2000’s. In sum, Eric Carrie loved football, and we loved watching him play it. 


# 100: Nick Enzweiler 

Enzo soaking in an A's game in Oakland

By Connor Buestad | Connor@Section925.com

Nick Enzweiler from Campolindo High School in Moraga kicks off our SportsCentury list at number one hundred. Standing 6’6’’ and 200lbs, Enzweiler was a force to be reckoned with in the late 90’s in the East Bay high school basketball scene. His game was extremely dynamic, as he was able to score from just about anywhere on the floor. “Enzo” as he was known in the Lamorinda area, was equally capable with his back to the basket banging with bigs as he was casting corner 3’s from beyond the arc.

As a senior at Campolindo, Enzo adopted a shoot-first, pass-second philosophy. Very similar, in fact, to that of Allen Iverson at Georgetown. It paid off, at least in some regard, as Enzweiler was named the San Francisco Chronicle’s Metro Player of the Year in the year 2000.

Enzweiler makes this list not just because of his jaw dropping high school statistics, but also because of his polarizing, often entertaining personality on and off the court. Enzo seemed to fully embrace the role of the villain, especially inside hostile road gymnasiums on the Tri-County Athletic League circuit. Similar to Reggie Miller at Madison Square Garden, Enzo was not afraid to engage in vicious trash talk with opposing players and fans. In the end, it made for great theater for everyone involved.  

Enzweiler also dabbled as a wide receiver on the Cougars football team (similar to LeBron James), but ultimately accepted a scholarship to play basketball for the University of Texas-El Paso. Ultimately, Enzo would return to California to play out his career at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. The highlight of which was a Mustangs triumph over the CAL Bears at Haas Pavilion in front of friends, family and East Bay adversaries.

Today, Enzweiler resides in the East Bay and is cutting out a career in wealth management. He still owns various records at Campolindo High School.


# 98: (Coming soon...)

Section 925 Podcast Episode 54 - "Live from Lot A at the Oakland Coliseum"

Brian and Josh, the founders of the #TradeLew movement, hanging out in Lot A

Brian and Josh, the founders of the #TradeLew movement, hanging out in Lot A

Section925 reporter @Tripperino was on the ground in Oakland last night for what turned out to be a Podcastpalooza for A's Opening Day. Tripper caught up with seven different members of the Athletics community from all walks of life to hear their unique stories.

Listen Here: http://section925blog.podomatic.com/entry/2015-04-07T13_03_56-07_00

Or on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/section925-podcenter/id554906376?mt=2#episodeGuid=http%3A%2F%2Fsection925blog.podomatic.com%2Fentry%2F2015-04-07T13_03_56-07_00

The hard hitting guest lineup in order of appearance:

Leadoff: D'Sjon Dixon of @Stadium365 and Stadium365.com discusses his own vision of a new downtown ballpark in Oakland. 

2nd: Alex Cox, the founder of the OaklandLuv.com Foundation, brings some serious Oakland flavor. 

3rd: The good folks from East Bay Ignorance remind us, "There are no paper cuts for the working class."

4th: The Oakland Ghosties. An Oakland based adult baseball team that understands how to enjoy the game. 

5th: DJ Eric Patina from Oaklandish. Smooth, refined, stylistic. @eazyourmind on insta.

6th: Brian and Josh from the "Trade Lew" movement. Get yourself a T-shirt. 

The Closer: Andrew Blair from the Oakland band "We Became Owls" brings us a much needed rendition of "Celebration" by Kool & The Gang."

Section 925 Podcast Episode 45 - Super Bowl XLIX

Super Bowl XLIX is upon us. (photo by Kevin C. Cox)


Josh (@jphunsucker) and Huss (@Halshibib) formerly of the Displaced Faithful reunite to send remember Niner cheerleader and TV host Melissa Galvin, talk Super Bowl commercials, play word association with Bay Area Super Bowl participants, ponder what Pete Carroll and Mike "Sweet Thunder" Greer talked about during UOP football practice, make Super Bowl predictions, and touch on the hiring of Jim Tomsula.

Check it out here: http://section925blog.podomatic.com/entry/2015-01-31T09_48_55-08_00

Or on Itunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/section-925s-podcast/id554906376?mt=2&uo=4

"Oakland A's Mailbag" - Fans Lament Josh Donaldson's Departure

JD was


By @Section925

Last week, Josh Donaldson became the latest casualty on the long list of star ballplayers that the Oakland A's organization has decided to cut ties with. And this one, like so many others before, hurts. The hurt goes far beyond just that fact the Lew Wolff and Billy Beane are doing away with an exceptionally productive player (An All-Star last year, as well as top-8 finishes in the MVP voting the last two seasons.)

It has more to do with Donaldson's gritty/dirtbag persona spurred on by a faux-hawk under his flat billed A's lid and multiple head-long dives into the third base tarp. The soon to be 29-year-old from Pensacola, Florida by way of Auburn has now been shipped north of the border to play for the Blue Jays. Left in his wake is an increasingly beleaguered group of die-hard A's fans, forced to put yet another star A's player jersey at the bottom of their dresser drawer. Read their thoughts below:

@Section925:"Donaldson gone. That hurts."

J House:"Yeah, thought he'd be around for the long haul. Expect a couple more big trades through the weekend. Billy rapid fires when he's in one of those moods."

Casey Smith:"#countrybreakfast2015"

Craig Branstad: "Don't like it."

G. Wheeler:"RIP Josh Donaldson."

Raider Hoang: "Do you know any of the people we got?"

Wheeler: "No dude, no. It's just the same old song and dance. How can we be respectable without spending any money? Trade literally any player with value for minor league pitchers with upside."

The Rogue:"F@#* OFF LEW WOLFF. STOP R@*&%G MY TEAM"

Reno Wright:"Josh Reddick says it's clear to him and other Athletics players that the team is now in rebuilding mode."

Chiang of Fools:"[Andrew Blair Shredding]"

Chris Cosden:"Yeah it stings."

Ali S.:"F@#$ the A's."

Bobby Glasser:"Beane just reasserting that he cannot handle any player with an ego...."

The Big Three

Tejada

Rickey

Jason/Jeremy

Damon

Swisher

Bartolo

Balfour

Cespy

The list goes on...

Smith:"(putting on tinfoil hat) - it's hard not to think the JD's rant against the front office last year didn't have something to do with this…"

Tripper Ortman III:"I have given this some thought over the past couple days, and while I think there may be some merit, especially because the one person Beane has ever truly loved was Eric Chavez, who was as milktoast as they come (I also note that Rickey was before Beane’s time and he has now been brought back into the fold -- and remember, always take Rickey in small doses -- and Balfour, we don’t pay free agent closers generally).  That said, I think that Beane looks strictly at value, not just (or even primarily) at value to the A’s, but value on the trade market.  What can he get for this guy?  That is what he is looking at.  Like a good chess player, I think Beane is looking several moves ahead when he makes one move.  As disappointed as I am that the Cespedes deal didn’t bring a ring and that JD is gone, I remain hopeful that Beane will keep making moves to keep the A’s competitive in a tough division that got tougher with Nelson Cruz going to Seattle today…"

Glasser:"Tripper, the Kool-Aid is kicking in....  Beane's moves are supposed to make sense, and that is the problem.

Granted, we are not GM's, we are not Billy Beane's...  we are A's fans.  With that badge we so proudly wear comes the love of the extraordinary, the unique, the low attendance, the blah blah blah antiquated stadium we call comfortable, the personalities, the white shoes, damnit, yes white shoes.

No other team has white shoes.  We need to field a team befitting of those things we adore.  Numbers, dollars, WAR ratings, OBA, whatever; those things are not what drives Oakland A's fans....  What Beane/Wolff forget is the human factor...  This is tough to admit, but I'd much more prefer a World Series-less team with the likes of JD, Cespy, Coco, Reddick, Sogard (yes), than a team built on stats, trade-value, scouting report, etc.

Speaking of Chavez....  Check out his stats compared to games played/salary.  Over the course of numerous, injury-plagued seasons, Chavez got paid over $40 million, while playing roughly ONE season's worth of games.  Beane should be on the records for the biggest salary bust in all of pro sports.

History is made up by the players that played the game....  Something is wrong when a GM becomes bigger than the game.  And for that, he must fall."

@Section925: "As Jim Rome would say, 'Rack him.'

...Thank God we're not Giants fans."

Tripper:"Amen to that. And I didn't say I liked it, just that I think that is the way he looks at it.  And I don't blame him, I blame Lew and his ownership group.  They don't want us and we don't want them.  Sell the team."

(photo by Jason O. Watson). Follow @Section925 on Instagram for more photos like these...

Section 925 Podcast Episode 35 - Spinelli Tours America's Ballparks

(Photo by @Spinelli37 on Instagram)


The venerable Adrian Spinelli (@Spinelli37 ; EverythingEcstatic.net) is currently driving across the continental United States, making stops at various Big League ballparks along the way. He called in from the road in Mobile, Alabama to update us on his journey thus far. 

Click to listen: http://section925blog.podomatic.com/entry/2014-05-04T18_01_05-07_00

Section 925 Podcast Episode 34 - 2013-14 NFL Playoffs, NBA...

Cam and CK7 will settle who is the hotter young NFL QB this Sunday at 10am...


Gotham City native T.J. Powers joins Connor in an undisclosed location in Alta, Utah to discuss the 49ers' upcoming playoff tilt at Carolina, along with the Warriors' current 10 game winning streak.

Listen here: http://section925blog.podomatic.com/entry/2014-01-07T22_14_27-08_00