The Golden State Valkyries have the Bay Area's attention and more
/
Photo by Connor Buestad - Section925
By Connor Buestad - connor@Section925.com
The positive energy outside of Chase Center for a Golden State Valkyries game is noticeably palpable. Upon arrival, you’re met with brand new soft-purple Valks merchandise on fans young and old. Basketball fans eager for a “Great Time Out” like the days at the Arena in Oakland when the Warriors were lovably horrible line the streets on the way toward the arena. The fan base is simultaneously familiar and foreign. The majority clearly come from the same family tree as Dubs fans, while others seem to be stumbling in to just see what this new team with a unique name is all about.
When you enter the state-of-the art NBA arena to see the 29th season of WNBA basketball (now featuring it’s 13th team), it’s hard not to notice the behemoth jumbotron hanging out over in front of you, daring you to watch its ultra-HD contents. (Even the game itself is hard to avoid watching on-screen vs the real life players on the hardwood). In-arena host Ari Waller is already hard at work promoting the roving DJ, along with a slew of modern distractions designed to get the new fan base lathered up top level women’s hoops. Everything about the atmosphere feels like a regular season Warriors game.
As tipoff approaches, the Valkyries let you know more than a few times that you’re actually in a fictional world called “Ballhalla.” To clarify, this is an ode to Nordic mythologies of the ancient Scandinavians. “Valhalla” was once ruled over by an ancient god who welcomed female warriors who have died in battle. A valkyrie itself was a female who decided who would die in battle. “Valkyrie” translates directly to "chooser of the slain." On this given Saturday at Chase Center, the Las Vegas Aces (owned by both Tom Brady and Mark Davis) died in battle at the hands of the Valkyries in an upset blowout. Brady was absent from the festivities, but yes, Davis and his Lloyd Christmas haircut were prominent in the front row throughout.
Natalie Nakase serves as the head coach of the Valkyries, this being her first head coaching gig in the WNBA. Across from her perch on the sideline is Jess Smith, the fearless president of the expansion squad, wearing a power suit and giving off the same type of aura as Joe Lacob does most nights. The gameplan to slow down superstar A’ja Wilson only slightly works, but the Valkyries counter her 17 points by going an impressive 17 of 18 from the charity stripe. Meanwhile, from beyond the arc, Kayla Thornton erupted for 22 points and hit four of the teams 10 threes. By the end of the third quarter, the Valkyries will in full control and the arena was repeatedly delivering standing ovations. Chase Center had turned into a party and no dunks were needed.
(Photos) Cal Baseball takes on the Boston College Eagles in Berkeley
/
Photos by Connor Buestad - Section925
(Photos) Mikey Lewis shines as Saint Mary's beats Gonzaga 62-58 in a WCC Showdown
/
Photos by Connor Buestad - Section925.com
(Photos) The SF City College Rams take on the Laney College Eagles in Oakland
/
Photos by Connor Buestad - Section925
(Photos) North Carolina takes on Stanford in a battle of two storied soccer programs
/
Photos by Connor Buestad - Section925
(Photos) Miami erases a 25-point second half deficit to beat Cal 39-38
/
Photos by Connor Buestad - Section925
(Photos) The Bronx Bombers take on the A's in their last ever trip to Oakland
/
Photos by Connor Buestad - Section925
(Photos) The A's bring their legends back for the final Bay Bridge Series in Oakland
/
Photos by Connor Buestad - Section925
(Photos) Shohei Ohtani and the Dodgers visit Oakland for the last time
/
Photos by Connor Buestad - Section925
(Photos) The Chivas visit the Bay Area to take on the San Jose Earthquakes
/
Photos by Connor Buestad - Section925
(Photos) Down on the farm with the San Jose Giants
/
Photos by Connor Buestad - Section925
The 2024 All-Star Game roster is a reminder that MLB needs more superstars, fast
/
By Connor Buestad | Connor@Section925.com
Hard to believe I’m even uttering these words, but the A’s are now more than halfway through their last season in Oakland. The Athletics have played 95 games thus far in their Coliseum swan song and sadly, they've only won 35 of them. Regardless, the A’s do get the God given right to send one player in the green and gold to the Midsummer Classic. This year, that man will be fireballer Mason Miller, known primarily around the league for routinely pumping 100+ mile-per-hour fastballs by helpless hitters in an empty ballpark.
Joining Miller at the ASG from the Bay Area will be Heliot Ramos and Logan Webb of the Giants, both of which will be coming off the bench for manager Torey Lovullo. Which begs the first question. Who the hell is Torey Lovullo? Oh yes, he’d be the Arizona Diamondbacks manager who made a run to the World Series just last year. On the other side of the diamond, a much more familiar face in Bruce Bochy will be managing the American League roster.
Regarding the current stars of our national pastime and where we stand with that, it would be helpful to start by looking at the list below. Amongst this you’ll find some household names you have certainly heard of. Guys like Aaron Judge, Juan Soto and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. on the American League side, as well as Bryce Harper, Fernando Tatis Jr., Mookie Betts and Shohei Ohtani over in the National League. But when it comes to the pitchers, reserves and even some of the starters, you find out quickly how much of a baseball fan you really are. Without scrolling down, can you name 10 All-Stars? 15??
Are you at all familiar with position players David Fry, Jordan Westburg, or Isaac Paredes? Or how about Ryan McMahon, Jackson Merrill or even Teoscar Hernandez? From the pitching side of things, do Garrett Crochet, Cole Ragans, or Tarik Skubal ring a bell from the AL? How about Shota Imanaga, Reynaldo Lopez or Jeff Homan from the NL? The hell are these guys?
We’ve all been hearing for way too long that the MLB has a player marketability problem. The poster boy of that issue has been Mike Trout, who despite having Mickey Mantle type talent never seems to be talked about in the media at large and almost never makes an appearance in the playoffs for that matter. Baseball needs more big names, plain and simple. More guys who are fun, charismatic, personable, quirky, eye-catching, etc. Looking at today’s All-Star roster, more “stars” are desperately needed across the board.
Sure, Paul Skenes has busted on the scene after an electric run at LSU, so he’s one candidate for who's up next. Elly De La Cruz is also a National League reserve, and his uber athletic brand of baseball has some real star potential. But is that enough when you think about who’s got next?
Far too many of the stars we’ve grown accustomed to following will be sitting at home, away from the public eye next Wednesday night. Guys like Max Scherzer, Justin Verlander, Jacob deGrom, Gerrit Cole, Nolan Arenado, Corey Seager, Francisco Lindor, Giancarlo Stanton, Manny Machado and Alex Bregman are slowly becoming the “old guard.” They will be nowhere to be found when baseball takes center stage for their big night under the bright lights. Does the MLB have a plan to replace them? Or will they treat this issue with the same neglect they’ve given the Oakland Athletics? Only time will tell, but early indicators are not exactly stellar.
2024 MLB All-Star Rosters
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Starters
C: Adley Rutschman (BAL)
1B: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (TOR)
2B: Marcus Semien (TEX)
3B: José Ramírez (CLE)
SS: Gunnar Henderson (BAL)
OF: Aaron Judge (NYY)
OF: Juan Soto (NYY)
OF: Steven Kwan (CLE)
DH: Yordan Alvarez (HOU)
Reserves
C: Salvador Perez (KC)
INF: Carlos Correa (MIN)
INF: Josh Naylor (CLE)
INF: Isaac Paredes (TB)
INF: Willi Castro (MIN)
INF: Jordan Westburg (BAL)
INF: Bobby Witt Jr. (KC)
OF: Jarren Duran (BOS)
OF: Riley Greene (DET)
OF: Anthony Santander (BAL)
DH: David Fry (CLE)
Starting pitchers
LHP: Tyler Anderson (LAA)
RHP: Corbin Burnes (BAL)
LHP: Garrett Crochet (CWS)
RHP: Logan Gilbert (SEA)
RHP: Tanner Houck (BOS)
RHP: Seth Lugo (KC)
LHP: Cole Ragans (KC)
LHP: Tarik Skubal (DET)
Relief pitchers
RHP: Emmanuel Clase (CLE)
RHP: Clay Holmes (NYY)
RHP: Mason Miller (OAK)
RHP: Kirby Yates (TEX)
Unavailable
INF: Jose Altuve (HOU)
INF: Rafael Devers (BOS)
OF: Kyle Tucker (HOU)
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Elected starters
C: William Contreras (MIL)
1B: Bryce Harper (PHI)
2B: Ketel Marte (AZ)
3B: Alec Bohm (PHI)
SS: Trea Turner (PHI)
OF: Christian Yelich (MIL)
OF: Jurickson Profar (SD)
OF: Fernando Tatis Jr. (SD)
DH: Shohei Ohtani (LAD)
Reserves
C: Will Smith (LAD)
INF: CJ Abrams (WSH)
INF: Pete Alonso (NYM)
INF: Luis Arraez (SD)
INF: Mookie Betts (LAD)
INF: Elly De La Cruz (CIN)
INF: Freddie Freeman (LAD)
INF: Ryan McMahon (COL)
OF: Teoscar Hernández (LAD)
OF: Jackson Merrill (SD)
OF: Heliot Ramos (SF)
OF: Bryan Reynolds (PIT)
DH: Marcell Ozuna (ATL)
Starting pitchers
RHP: Hunter Greene (CIN)
LHP: Shota Imanaga (CHC)
RHP: Reynaldo López (ATL)
LHP: Chris Sale (ATL)
RHP: Paul Skenes (PIT)
LHP: Ranger Suárez (PHI)
RHP: Logan Webb (SF)
RHP: Zack Wheeler (PHI)
Relief pitchers
RHP: Ryan Helsley (STL)
RHP: Jeff Hoffman (PHI)
LHP: Tanner Scott (MIA)
LHP: Matt Strahm (PHI)
RHP: Robert Suarez (SD)
Unavailable:
Tyler Glasnow (LAD)
California embarks on their new life on the Atlantic Coast
/
Photo by Connor Buestad - Section925
By Connor Buestad | Connor@Section925.com
Way back in the Woodrow Wilson era, during the year 1916, the California Golden Bears took to the gridiron to play their first year of football in the “Pacific Coast Conference.” Back then, it fielded just four teams, including Washington, Oregon, Oregon State and Cal. Over the last century, the conference slowly added eight more teams, morphing into the PAC-8, then the PAC-10 and finally the PAC-12. After 108 seasons, and the heartbreaking passing of the legendary Bill Walton at the bitter end of it all, the “Conference of Champions” era has sadly come to a close. The Bears are headed to the Atlantic Coast for better or worse. If Walton were still alive, surely he’d find the bright light in all this. Somehow... in the strangest of places... if you look at it right.
The 2024 schedule for the Bears looks odd, exciting, and familiar all at the same time. It features road games to legendary football campuses at Auburn and Florida State, as well as perplexing conference road trips to Southern Methodist University, Wake Forest and Pittsburgh. The year starts at home with a familiar tune-up versus UC Davis and the Bears will also play host to traditional PAC-12 foes like Oregon State and Stanford. Eventually, it might all make some sense, just not yet.
In case you needed an update on the conference realignment at large, here are some bullet points of note. The BIG-10 now has 18 teams, the SEC is up to 16 and the BIG-12 now actually has 16 teams as well. In addition, the College Football Playoff no longer features a final four format. Just like the conferences themselves, the CFP has ballooned up to a 12-team bracket with the first round starting December 20th and the National Championship culminating a month later on January 20th in Atlanta.
2018 was the last time the Bears found their name printed in the Top-25, so let’s not get our hopes up about this 12-team playoff business quite yet. But a bowl game? Yes that’s something Old Blues can once again (cautiously) pin their hopes to.
Last year, Cal qualified for a bowl game behind the refreshingly exuberant QB Fernando Mendoza and the electrifying running back Jaydn Ott. Fortunately, neither of the two fan favorites were lured away by the transfer portal. 2023 hit a low point when the Bears bottomed out on a four game losing streak mid season, only to have Mendoza galvanize his troops and reel off a three game winning streak to barely qualify for a bowl game.
Now in the 17-team ACC, Cal is swimming in some deep waters that includes the likes of Florida State, Clemson, Miami, Louisville and Virginia Tech. The SEC it is not, but look around the league and you find traditional college football powers in more than a few spots.
As is typically the case, Vegas is expecting Cal to go .500 again this year, with their predicted win total slated at 6.5. They are supposed to finish 10th in the conference while their west coast brethren Stanford is forecasted to finish dead last in their inaugural year as an ACC member. The “east coast bias” effect has already hit the Cardinal even before the first media day, it appears.
Justin Wilcox is back for his eighth year at the helm in Berkeley and the traditionally defensive minded coach has made the right hires lately where Cal’s offense has been its biggest bright spot. Needless to say, teams like Auburn, Florida State and Miami will quickly show us what Cal’s defense can handle early in the year. By early October, if the Bears are still in one piece, a back-to-back trip to a bowl game will look very promising. Cal’s last four games will serve as a sprint of sorts, all winnable games at Wake Forest, home vs. Syracuse and Stanford and finishing at SMU in Texas.
As hard as it is to say, the mourning period of the PAC-12 will have to come to an end at some point, as difficult as it may be to let go of all the west coast memories. What Would Bill Walton Do? is a fair question to ask. We’ll never know for sure, but it likely includes a tie-dyed “Conference of Champions” shirt, an alarmingly large smile and a full Saturday of college football filled with long-meandering-half-baked stories from the past.
(Photos) The San Jose Earthquakes beat L.A. at Levi's Stadium
/
Photos by Connor Buestad - Section925
Here's Baron Davis telling great 'We Believe' stories
/Long live Roaracle Arena in Oakland.
(Photos) The A's host the Boston Red Sox in Oakland
/
Photos by Connor Buestad - Section925
(Photos) Gonzaga cruises past Saint Mary's 70-57
/
Photos by Connor Buestad - Section925
