The Warriors Return to Roaracle for Pivotal Game 5
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By Connor Buestad | connorbuestad@gmail.com
To be honest, Warriors Faithful should have known better. No doubt, this is a bruised and battered basketball fan base in Oakland that has weathered many losing season storms, so I see the logic in walking on pins and needles through this playoff run. But at this juncture, I believe it is time to collectively (albeit apprehensively) hand over our keys to Steph Curry, sit quietly in the passenger seat, and let blind faith steer us through Memphis and home to the Western Conference Finals.
Friendly reminder: The Warriors didn’t lose more than two games in a row all season long. Hell, they didn’t lose more than two games at home for the entire regular season. So that’s why it shouldn’t have come as a surprise when the Dubs were able to dig themselves out of a 2-1 series hole in Game 4 and avoid losing three straight to Memphis.
The last time Golden State had suffered two consecutive losses was back in early April when they sputtered versus the Spurs and the Pelicans. In the following game at home against Damian Lillard’s Blazers, Curry promptly quieted any whispers that the Dubs had lost their edge, to the tune of 45 points over Portland. It was one of the Warriors many statement games this season, not to mention a fruitful stop on Steph’s MVP campaign trail.
This is the first full series that Curry has officially worn the MVP Belt, and after a uncharacteristically cold shooting night at “The Grindhouse” in Game 3, people like Charles Barkley began to toss around the possible “live by the three, die by the three” narrative. Fortunately, said narrative doesn’t appear to have any legs, as Chef Curry successfully sharpened his sword prior to Game 4 and finished with a resounding 33 points to even the series at two-a-piece.
Not only did the Dubs collectively re-discover their three-point rhythm in Game 4 (They shot roughly 20% from beyond the arc in games 2 and 3 as compared to almost 40% in Game 4), but they also rolled out an unorthodox defensive strategy that paid immediate dividends. Kerr, gambling on Tony Allen’s bum hamstring, made sure to keep Andrew Bogut entrenched in the paint to help out on Marc Gasol and Z-Bo. Left open, Allen was still unable to produce offensively in Game 4.
Now that the Warriors have re-gained home court advantage, we are looking at a three game series, the winner likely getting the very-beatable LA Clippers in the Western Finals. Game 6 will be back in Memphis on Friday, while the if-necessary Game 7 will be held in Oakland this Sunday. Vegas has appointed the Dubs a 9 ½ point favorite tonight, and coming off a 17-point road win on Monday in which they tallied 14 three-pointers, you can’t help but believe they will ride the Roaracle crowd to a 3-2 series advantage going back to Tennessee.
And if for whatever reason you lose faith on Wednesday night (perhaps Z-Bo gets hot or Mike Conley goes on a tear), just remember that Draymond Green’s mom stream-of-consciousness in-game twitter feed is about all the positive chatter you will need to get yourself through the end of this heavyweight series and beyond.
Keep enjoying the ride, Dubs fans. Let Roracle rip...
Jaylen Brown Commits to CAL
/By Connor Buestad | connorbuestad@gmail.com
Suddenly, the CAL basketball team has three McDonald's All-American's suiting up for one team. Jaylen Brown, rated as high at the number 2 prospect in all of high school basketball, has decided tonight to join fellow Mickie D's All-Americans Jabari Bird (Junior) and Ivan Rabb (Freshman) to play his college ball inside Haas Pavilion in Berkeley. Brown, a 6 foot 7, 220 pound athletic specimen out of Wheeler HS, north of Atlanta Georgia, has said "thanks, but no thanks" to the likes of Kanas, Kentucky, UCLA and North Carolina to play ball for Cuonzo Matin and the Bears next year. In case this had you wondering, yes, the 2016 Final Four will be held in Houston, Texas. Make your travel plans accordingly...
Section925 Podcast Episode 56 - CAL Football Head Coach Sonny Dykes
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Photo COURTESY of Michael J. Burns, GoldenBearSports.com
Sonny Dykes discusses his start in a Texas high school teaching and coaching, his ascension through the Junior College coaching ranks, and the pivotal assistant coaching positions that laid the foundation for the "Bear Raid" offense. Dykes also addresses Cal's defensive struggles, recruiting and improving the culture of football and academics in the program. Finally, Dykes takes sides in the great Blondie's vs. Fat Slice debate.
Section925 Podcast Episode 55 - Baseball Insider Jon Zuber
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Jon Zuber's former pupil, Mark Canha, has been on fire for the A's thus far. (photo by Thearon W. Henderson)
Section925's Baseball Insider Jon Zuber joins Tripper (@Tripperino) inside the outdoor Podcenter to talk A's baseball, Rule 5, and whether Barry Bonds belongs in the Hall of Fame.
Listen here: http://section925blog.podomatic.com/entry/2015-04-17T09_18_25-07_00
Or on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/section925-podcenter/id554906376?mt=2#episodeGuid=http%3A%2F%2Fsection925blog.podomatic.com%2Fentry%2F2015-04-17T09_18_25-07_00
“Skeletons in the Closet” - A Warriors Fan Faces His Dark Past
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Ah yes, the Sprewell Era. Where do we begin?
By Jamie Coffis | @touchcoffis86
Last Tuesday, I watched my Golden State Warriors lose a game to the New Orleans Pelicans 103-100, and I won’t lie, it was a little bit of a bummer. It was a bummer until I saw Stephen Curry’s face as he walked off the floor and gave a shrug to Steve Kerr that seemed to say something along the lines of “Eh, I could complain about getting fouled on that 3-point attempt right there but we still clinched the 1-seed in the West like forever ago, so whatever, I’m already over it.”
And at that moment, it all came rushing back to me. OH YEA, WE’RE AMAZING! It’s easy to forget that fact, but at the same time it shouldn’t be. Especially after what Warriors fans are used to feeling around this time of the year. We are in uncharted territory. It’s seriously never been this good for me as a Warriors fan, and frankly, it’s terrifying.
I have this really weird and unsettling feeling in my stomach as we prepare to head into the playoffs. I went on Web MD and searched my symptoms and apparently it’s referred to as something called “confidence.” It’s a feeling that I and fellow Warriors fans are very unfamiliar with. We are used to agonizing defeats and unrealized potential. In the past, if we were to lose a playoff series, we would high five each other and congratulate ourselves on a good season. A series win and a free “We Believe” T-shirt used to be enough. Those days appear to be over. We have real expectations this year. And to be honest I don’t know how to handle it.
Thus, I decided to take a look back at the worst things I can remember happening as a Warriors fan for the last couple of decades in hopes of gaining some perspective as we head into what promises to be a frighteningly historic playoff run. So here it is, buckle in.
In no particular order, here are some terrible things that I can remember having to endure as a Golden State Warriors fan over the past 20 years or so.
Oh God! Sir, are you drunk?
Seemingly Drunk Biedrins really started to suck by the end of his tenure as a Warrior. To make matters worse, it seemed like he never would convert a basket after getting fouled. It was never And-1, always And-2, and an ugly two at that. This is clearly anecdotal so I’ll punctuate this thought with some cold hard stats. “The Goose,” as I seem to remember one of his nicknames being, failed to shoot over 32% from the line after 2008-09. Sweet Jesus!
2. That one time our best player attempted to strangle his coach
What a preposterous sentence I just wrote. That seriously happened!? Let’s just say Latrell Sprewell had a very interesting career and strangling P.J. Carlesimo is probably what he will be most remembered for. And rightfully so, that’s quite bizarre. Now we have the least strangle-able coach in the league. That is not anecdotal. That’s just good old fashioned irony.
There were a few iterations of this style of uniform. None of them were particularly good. The lightning bolt stuff was altogether regrettable and those orange jerseys are some of the worst uniforms you will ever see. We played bad, and we looked bad. At least we were consistent.
4. Some of the guys that we thought were the next great thing...
Larry Hughes
Pre-pubescent me was pretty excited when we acquired him at the trade deadline during another lost season. He lasted a little over two seasons for Golden State and went on to a pretty unremarkable career. 14 PPG in a 14 year career is not terrible by any means but we expected a lot more from Larry. It is also notable that he participated in the 2000 Slam Dunk contest that was held at Oracle Arena (the Vince Carter one) and did not complete a dunk.
Anthony Randolph
Admit it, we were all really pumped on this guy. Looking back I have no idea why. He looked like he was crying the whole time he was on the court. I think maybe he was?
Ike Diogu
Undersized low post scorer that didn’t really pan out. He was a lottery pick we had high hopes for. His career and playing ability made you wonder if someone could ever be as mediocre as him. He was ten pounds of mediocrity in a five pound bag.
Joe Smith
He was a number 1 pick! He wasn’t worse than Anthony Bennett (and who is), but he was one of the more unremarkable number 1 overalls in the last few decades when you consider how dominant he was as a Maryland Terp.
And they won the game! This was just the darndest thing you will ever see, but it is totally believable if you are Warriors fan. In retrospect, this was actually a pretty delightful game if you can believe it. Stephen Curry closed out his rookie year with his first 40 point game of his career.
6. Bad, and I mean BAD, contracts
Erick “Damp” Dampier - (7 years $48 million) Yea it sounds really bad until you realize that he opted out in the middle of this contract so that he could sign with Dallas for a mind boggling $73 million over 7 years. Yikes. Good riddance.
Andris Biedrins - (6 Years $63 million) He was productive initially and then afterwards not so much. Like not at all really.
Mike Dunleavy - (5 years $44 million) He’s had a solid career certainly (most of it not as a Warrior of course) but the best thing he ever did for the Bay Area was help us acquire Stephen Jackson and Al Harrington.
Corey Maggette - (5 years ~$50 Million) It was confusing then and its confusing now.
Adonal Foyle - (6 years 42 million) We were so happy with how well he played that we released him with 3 years and 29 million left on the deal. (But for the record, who doesn’t love Adonal).
None of this matters anymore though.
We have arrived. We are the team to beat not only in the West, but in the entire league. Our coach is Steve Kerr and he’s amazing. Stephen Curry is simply the best and most exciting basketball player on the planet right now. We have glue guys and role players coming out the woodwork. Draymond Green, Mo Speights, Shaun Livingston, Andre Igoudala, Harrison Barnes and even David Lee seem capable of becoming playoff heroes at some point or another over the course of the next several weeks. We have a healthy Andrew Bogut and Klay Thompson is our second best scorer and arguably the best two-way player in the NBA.
So cheers to making it through the lean years and coming out stronger on the other side, Warriors fans. Sometimes it’s scary how good we are now. Literally.
“Champagne Campaign” – Curry Gives Us 45 More Reasons to 'Vote Steph'
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The human torch, Steph Curry. (photo by Noah Graham)
By Connor Buestad | connorbuestad@gmail.com
It was a familiar scene inside TNT’s Studio J following Thursday’s Warriors win over Damian Lillard and the Portland Trailblazers. Four men, three of which were once NBA superstars, sat around the ultimate NBA water cooler and tried to figure out what they had just witnessed from Steph Curry. It’s something we all go through as followers of the enigma that is number 30.
Sure, this has happened time and time again this year as we all know. I keep telling myself it shouldn’t be a surprise. Steph gets hot early, and never really seems to ever cool off. His silky smooth jump shot so simple and repeatable that it becomes hard to believe when one of his beautifully arching shots actually draws iron. Out of Curry’s 45 points on Thursday, eight of them were 3’s. Most all of said 3’s could be traced back to a creative dibble series that allowed him to slip free of double teams and find a window from which to launch another bomb from. His celebrations were on point two, as they usually are. And the Oracle crowd boiled over once again, this time breaking into well-deserved chants of “M-V-P, M-V-P…”
By the time the first segment of TNT’s postgame show went to its first commercial break, it was clear Shaq had already finished his first glass of Curry Kool-Aid and had ordered another round. Meanwhile, Ernie Johnson, who has been through his fair share of “40 Games in 40 Nights,” was just trying to keep everything in perspective. But over on the other side of the desk sat Isiah Thomas, lifetime cardholder of the Detroit Pistons Bad Boy era teams. “Come playoff time, everything isn’t going to be so free and easy. You know, just run around the court nice and loose and pop shots up,” explained Thomas. “In the playoffs things slow down, there is more pressure on each shot. It’s different.”
Coming from a guy who was tasked with containing the greatest ever, Michael Jordan, Isiah’s smiling sentiment on Curry come playoff time is tough to ignore, even for a Warriors fan wearing a We Believe shirt.
Fortunately, the debate of whether Chef Curry can continue to somehow pull off this high wire act all the way to the NBA Finals is what will make the next six some-odd weeks of basketball so invigorating to watch. Can he keep doing this? Can he keep casting 3’s from the depths of double teams only to splash the net, again? Can he continue to find space where there is none in the playoffs and whip no-look passes to Draymond and Bogut for another easy dunk? Can this furious train just keep on rolling until it meets LeBron, Delly and the Cavs? Is this what we as Warriors fans should now comfortably expect? Or should we listen to Isiah Thomas.
That’s for you to decide I suppose. But for now, there’s no arguing that you should go ahead and enjoy the moment. There are three games left, all on Warriors Ground, and Curry already has made 276 3-pointers on the year. Ray Allen, aka Jesus Shuttlesworth, once hit 269 3-pointers in a season. No man has ever done better than that, except for Steph. Twice.
In 38 games in Oakland this year, the Warriors have won 36 of them. They are on pace to go 41 and 2 at Oracle Arena this year. That is insane. When the Warriors sadly move across the bay to a shiny new arena with all the corporate bells and whistles, there will inevitably be story after story about that wild year in 2015 when the Warriors had their Oakland faithful worked into a frenzy night after night. When a skinny kid from Davidson College won the MVP, not because he was the best player or the best athlete, but because he literally almost never missed a shot.
To Isiah’s credit, you know what he must be thinking. You can almost see him racking his brain and comparing the Steph of 2015 to the Jordan of 1991. This guy Curry can’t be that good, man. Unless he is…
(photo by Ray Chavez)
Section 925 Podcast Episode 54 - "Live from Lot A at the Oakland Coliseum"
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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."
Section925 2015 Bracket Pool
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For the 3rd year in a row, Matt Maimone has entered the championship round at the top end of the table. The winner of the inaugural and second Section925 Bracket Pool looks for an unprecedented three-peat this year. In his way is Chris "Shasty McNasty" Shastid, who is looking to dethrone Maimone and have the Section925 title rest on a new mantle. The math is simple, if Wisconsin wins, Matt three-peats. If Duke wins, we crown a new champion. Who will have their one shining moment tonight?
Here are the top five heading into tonight:
1) Matt Maimone
3) Adam W
4) Kelly Hunsucker
Section925 Podcast Episode 53 - Jon Zuber Talks Baseball
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Zuber starred at Campolindo High School before becoming a legend at CAL, and eventually a Big Leaguer with the Philadelphia Phillies.
California Athletic Hall of Famer Jon Zuber cracks a coldie with Tripper (@Tripperino) inside the Section925 Podcenter and opens up about playing/coaching at Cal, the highs and lows of life in the Big Leagues, and the state of Bay Area baseball as we approach Opening Day 2015.
Check it out here: http://section925blog.podomatic.com/entry/2015-04-02T13_45_59-07_00
"Eireann and Sean Forever" - Pride and the Oakland A's
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Sean and Eireann leading the charge...
By Kelly Hunsucker (@KellyLiz1321)
If there are two people in sports who are more adorable than Sean Doolittle and Eireann Dolan, I ask you to prove it. Their power couple duties include, but aren’t limited to, things like: being amazing ambassadors to Oakland Athletics baseball, witty twitter banter, and social activism. Their social activism is what truly makes them stand out. Like any great couple, they are a team. While Sean has been working on rehabbing his shoulder, Eireann is continuing to turn out blog posts that effortlessly embody what they both stand for: love, equality, and respect.
The first essay of Eireann’s I ever read was a response she wrote to Dirk Hayhurst’s article, Minor League Manhood. Her response was incredibly brave and candid, depicting her own encounters with violent sexual assault. It was a very real, very deliberate article calling out both the horrendous actions described by Hayhurst and the implicit guilt he and anyone else that stood by and didn't speak out should be assigned. I could not respect that more.
Then there was the time that Men’s Health decided they needed to run an article educating the male population on how to talk to women about sports. Because what world would we live in in which women can have as much love, knowledge, and fervor about sports as men? Eireann’s expertly sarcasm-soaked blog post was the exact amount of bologna that this subject deserved in the first place.
Sean and Eireann’s power-couple status was solidified when she wrote about Sean Doolittle Appreciation Day. Let’s all go back to last October when we were playing the Wild Card game in Kansas City. We can all remember how the second half of last season went. We all know that feeling in our stomach after watching baseball in August and September that looked nothing like the team we knew in June or July. But this is baseball. This is part of the game we love so much: everyone is human, everyone is fallible. Part of being a fan means supporting your team in good times and bad, and especially realizing that they, too, are people, who need encouragement when things don't go their way. After all, they want to win as much as we do. That's why when I read Eireann’s post, which was a response to negative tweets Sean received after pitching in that Wild Card game, I was reduced to tears.
In it she describes how Sean came to be as a closer for the A’s. She discusses all he does for military families, having been in one himself (something I relate to personally and truly appreciate). Mostly, she reminds us that he has not been pitching for very long. That most people in his position have had years to hone their craft in places that are not under a microscope. And that at the end of the day, Sean is playing exactly where he wants to be: for the team he grew up cheering for.
Green Collar since day one
After receiving many awful things via twitter, the most amazing thing happened. A’s fans, some of the best fans on Earth, rallied together to stand behind our red-bearded closer and created a hashtag that started to trend, #SeanDoolittleAppreciationDay. Eireann’s post reminds us to support our team with integrity and from a place of love.
Speaking of love. The A’s recently announced that they would be celebrating a LGBT pride night for a home game in June. Apparently, this prompted some people to claim they were going to sell their tickets to that game. Enter: Eireann and Sean. Eireann has offered to buy as many tickets as she can with her own money and will donate them to a local LGBTQ youth shelter. Sean has offered to match whatever ticket amount she is able to purchase. They also started a GoFundMe account to raise money to fill the stands that night and offered to match the donations up to $3000. As of 4:00 P.M. on April 1st, that account has already raised almost $18,000. I’m overwhelmed with pride, myself. I’m proud to call myself an A’s fan. I’m proud to associate myself with the likes of them, who would go to such lengths to ensure that everyone feels included. No doubt, Eireann’s “hella gay moms” had something to do with fostering that kind, generous spirit.
So thank you Sean and Eireann. May your love last forever and may you be voted King and Queen of baseball.
"Relive the Heroics at Haas" - Ivan Rabb Brings a State Crown to Oakland
/Soak in the last few seconds of play between Bishop O' Dowd and Mater Dei in the California High School State Championship this past Saturday night. The drama speaks for itself...
"The Secret Rivalry" - Miramonte vs. St. Mary's (Stockton) Girls Hoops
/By Josh Hunsucker (@jphunsucker)
Mats Junior Guard Sabrina Lonescu draws the double team in the Mats NorCal Final with St. Mary’s
Eleven years ago I watched one of my sister’s best friends walk off the basketball court for the last time. Heartbroken, Brittany Boswell, the ’04-’05 DFAL MVP couldn’t hold back tears after a hard fought 63-54 loss to St. Mary’s of Stockton in the Division III NorCal Finals. Brittany paced the Mats with 15 points but the USC bound and future Minnesota Lynx guard Jacki Gemelos would not be denied. The junior poured in a game high 24 points and the Rams moved onto the State Championship game where they ultimately fell to Bishop Amat 56-53.
Driving home I thought this would likely be one of the last Miramonte girls hoops games I would ever attend or likely care about. My high school life was disproportionally inundated with girls basketball. My sports summers were spent locally playing passing league at DVC, hooping in the Oakland Neighborhood League and the Jewish Community Center in Rossmour, and running up the legendary hill behind Paul Yriberri field. My sister’s sports summers, on the other hand, consisted of traveling up and down California, Las Vegas, Branson, and Orlando as a member of the East Bay Xplosion.
For those who don’t know about AAU basketball, the early ‘00s Eastbay Xplosion was a murders row of talent. For starters, the Paris Twins, Courtney and Ashley, offspring of former 49ers tackle Bubba Paris, anchored the team. Both went on to play at Oklahoma, where Courtney took home NCAA Player of the Year her sophomore year and was the first four-time All-American in college basketball history. She currently plays for the Tulsa Shock. The list goes on, Megan Niedermeyer (UC San Diego), Golden Bears Ashley Walker, Alexis Gray-Lawson, Devenei Hampton, and Shantrell Sneed, Matador and Colorado State Ram Molly Molly Nohr, and Jenae Morris another Tulsa Shock player. The top talent from the Bay Area was on this team as well as two local products, my sister Sarah and Brittany. I had to drive my sister to local games on weekends but the fringe benefit was I got to travel to Orlando each summer. All I had to do was watch the games and have fun at Disney World, tough life.
After years of watching Xplosion hoops and seeing more future Mats join the squad, I developed a connection and personal rooting interest with the Lady Mats, aside from my general love of basketball. I was there when in 2004 when my sister’s team was upset early in the NCS playoffs her senior season. I was there in 2002 when the team led by Tori Markey won NorCal at UC Davis then nearly pulled an incredible comeback victory in the State Finals before falling short to Bishop Montgomery 60-55. I stayed connected through Britany’s season because she was the last bastion of that Eastbay Xplosion/Miramonte crew that I watched for so many years. So when Brittany walked off the floor for the final time as a Mat, I thought my era of Miramonte girls basketball was over.
Tori Markey hugs Jenny Brasch after she fouls out in the final moments of the Mats loss to Bishop Montgomery in 2002.
When I got back to my apartment, my then girlfriend (current wife) asked me who won. As I told her, a vicious smile creeped across her face. “Never had a doubt,” she said. And there it began, my second act in following Lady Mats hoops. My wife is a Stocktonian, born and raised, not to mention a St. Mary’s alum. She is obnoxiously a Ram and has the stats to back it up. She owns the school record pole vault (allegedly still stands) and key member of the 2001 Volleyball team that lost by two in game five of the State Championship. So when she started to run her mouth after the Mats lost I only wanted Miramonte to beat the Rams.
Over the next ten years, both programs would become perennial powers in their respective CIF sections. The Mats have won the DFAL seven times and taken home the North Coast section title four times in the last ten years. Not to mention being ranked 47, 23, and 7th in the nation over the course of the last three years. The Rams have been even more dominant, their Max Preps page reads like the rafters of the Boston Garden, only the three straight State Championships are mentioned in their achievements. A three-peat run from 2009-2011 that saw the Rams beat SoCal powerhouses Inglewood 71-62, Bishop Amat 89-41 in a dish served cold drubbing, and Rialto 64-48. A little digging shows the Rams won the Tri City League each of the last ten years, eight section titles, four NorCal titles, and were nationally ranked eight times.
From sporting green and white unis to generally being disliked by all other local high schools for being the “rich white kids,” both programs oddly have a lot in common. St. Mary’s is a private school and Miramonte is a public school’s best impression of a private school. Both started as smaller Division III schools and built their way. Both schools built their programs on player continuity on AAU teams, which pipelined talent into the programs. The Stockton Mavericks are basically the East Bay Xplosion equivalency for the Central Valley (although the Xplosion did poach the aforementioned Jackie Gemelos for a few summers). Both programs have also had strong leadership at the coaching position. Miramonte was led by legendary Coach Darrell Hirashima Sr. and is currently having great success under Kelly Sopak. In Stockton, Tom Gonsalves had been at the helm for over a decade and has turned the small Catholic school into a national power.
Watching both programs grow and compete yearly in the state playoff race has been eerily similar to the 49ers-Packers rivalry of the mid-90s. The teams have played each other five out of the last ten years in the state playoffs with the Rams having a Green Bay-esque 4-1 edge. The first two tilts in 2008 and 2010 were lopsided 19 and 22-point wins for St. Mary’s. However, the recent clashes have been epic. The Mats and Rams have played in the last three state playoffs with the Rams and Mats exchanging wins int eh NorCal quarters in 2013 and 2014.
This year’s tilt saw two top-ten nationally ranked teams square off for a place in the State Title Game at Cal. Once again the 3rd ranked Rams outpaced the Mats early and weathered a third quarter Mats run to head “down state” winning 67-52. For the Rams, it was business as usual as they are 36 minutes away from their school’s fourth state title. For the Mats, it was another biter defeat at the hands of their state playoff nemesis with only the hope of next year to look to for comfort. As for me, I’ll begrudging be rooting for the Rams this Saturday because if there is anything worse than losing to your rival its losing to SoCal.
Miramonte’s Sabrina Lonescu and St. Mary’s Kat Tudor embrace after a hard fought NorCal Finals
The California HS Basketball State Championships Come to Berkeley
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By Connor Buestad (connorbuestad@gmail.com)
For as long as one can remember, the boys hoops state title games have always been played up in Sacramento, inside the home of the Kings. But fortunately for Bay Area basketball fans, the event has shifted down to the home of the Bears, as this weekend the capital of California's amateur hoops scene will be in Berkeley at Haas Pavilion.
Including girls, Haas will host at total of twelve games this weekend, from Friday afternoon through Saturday night. The boys schools representing the Bay will include San Francisco's University High, Campolindo of Moraga, San Ramon Valley, Archbishop Mitty of San Jose and the Bishop O' Dowd Dragons of Oakland.
On Friday at 12 noon, University High will kick things off in Berkeley when they square off with Sierra Canyon High School in the Division 5 title. That afternoon, at 4pm, the Campolindo Cougars will take on Damien High School in the Division 3 championship. Campo is looking to continue an incredible year of sports in Moraga. One that saw Campo win their first state championship in football with a dramatic fourth quarter comeback. Lastly at 8pm on Friday, San Ramon Valley will try to win the Division 1 title over Chino Hills.
On Saturday the action will resume in Berkeley with the Division 2 bracket crowning their champion. Archbishop Mitty, the alma mater of Aaron Gordon is back in the spotlight as they take on La Mirada at 4pm. Finally, at 8pm, Bishop O' Dowd will meet Mater Dei in the Open Division (the highest division) state championship. O' Dowd features electrifying forward Ivan Rabb, who in a few weeks will be headed to Chicago to play in the McDonald's All-American game. We can only hope the dynamic 6'11" scorer will be playing in a CAL Bears jersey next season. He'd have to say no to the likes of Arizona and Kentucky to do so.
Last year Rabb matched up with current Arizona star Stanley Johnson when the Dragons lost handily to Mater Dei in Sacramento. Saturday's state title rematch should be something to see. Stay close to @Section925 all weekend for updates and photos...
Section 925 Podcast Episode 52 - Nate Weidner Weighs in on 49ers Turmoil
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Lifelong season ticket holder Nate Weidner (@Nate_Weidner) calls-in to lament an extremely rough week in the 49ers offseason. Nate gives his thoughts on Frank Gore's departure, Patrick Willis' sudden retirement, and Bruce Miller's arrest. Weidner also takes us inside the SF Giants World Series locker room celebration and touches on the upcoming Masters.
Listen here: http://section925blog.podomatic.com/entry/2015-03-12T21_45_25-07_00
Section 925 Bracket Pool
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Attention Section 925ers:
The ball is tipped, there you are... The Section925 Bracket is open for business. This years bracket winner will take an Oakland A's prize pack (see below) and can pick it up at the Section 925 A's Opening Day Tailgate in Lot A on April 6th.
Here is the link for the Section 925 Bracket: http://1shiningmoment.mayhem.cbssports.com/e?ttag=BPM15_em_cbsinv
The password to get into the group is: hoops
As always we will use +Seed scoring and a 'Ship tiebreaker. Section925 will provide round-by-round updates.
Feel free to share with fellow Section 925ers or 415ers or 212ers or 209ers or whatever...
Section 925 Podcast Episode 49 - CAL Football Coach Jacob Peeler
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CAL Inside Receivers coach Jacob Peeler (@PeelsJP) joins Tripper to share his inside perspective on Bears football. Coach Peeler, a central Mississippi native, discusses his journey to Berkeley by way of Louisiana Tech. He also talks about life on the recruiting trail and discusses CAL's latest class of talented freshman.
Listen...
Here: http://section925blog.podomatic.com/entry/2015-02-20T07_53_23-08_00
Or on iTunes...
“At First Blush” - The Current West Coast College Hoops Landscape
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By Connor Buestad (connorbuestad@gmail.com)
With Selection Sunday just one month away (March 15th), we figure it’s no longer too early to dive into a bit of Bracketology with a decidedly west coast bias. Of course, for reasons unbeknownst to anyone, Joe Lundari is the godfather of modern bracketology. And although he currently doubles as a marketing staffer for St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, he still shows love to west coast bubble teams. Namely in 2009 when he punched St. Mary’s (CA) ticket for the NCAA’s in his faux bracket, only to watch in horror when the Gaels were left out of the Big Dance that year. Creighton was the only other school that Lunardi incorrectly invited to the Dance in ‘09.
By mid-February, Lunardi’s bracket predictions start to take shape and at least half-resemble what the actual tournament will look like come March. So let’s take a second to explore what’s been happening out west in the world of college hoops. Who on the left coast should be polishing up their dancing shoes? Some of the names Lunardi has penciled in might surprise you.
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Let’s start in the Big Sky Conference, where the Sacramento State Hornets are having their best basketball season in god knows how long. Led by the sensational scorer Mikh McKinny who played JUCO ball in Fremont before transferring up to Sacramento, the Hornets find themselves in second place in the conference just behind Eastern Washington. Lunardi has liked what he’s seen out of Sacramento enough to put them in the Dance as a 16 seed. This would give them a spot in the first-round “play in” game, and their reward for winning would be a matchup with Kentucky. But hey, YOU NEVER KNOW, right? But first things first, Sac needs to make the NCAA tourney, and this will likely require them to win the Big Sky Conference tournament. Traditionally, the team that wins the Big Sky regular season gets to host the conference tournament. Unfortunately, the “Hornets Nest” only seats eleven-hundred folks. So if they host, they’ll host in Reno, Nevada. Trip to Reno for the 2015 Big Sky tournament anyone??
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Exemplary basketball is also being played down the road in Davis this year. The UC Davis Aggies are sitting atop the Big West Conference with a 9-1 record. This has impressed Uncle Joe enough to grant UCD a 14 seed in the 2015 Dance.
Since becoming a Division 1 basketball team, UC Davis has not had a winning record. However, I suppose that isn’t such a big deal in Big West hoops when you consider Cal Poly made the 2014 NCAA’s while sporting a losing record. They even won their first tournament game.
Irregardless, Davis is really good this year and it is because of their lights out shooting. Who shoots it for them you ask? Hersey Hawkins' son, Corey. The younger Hawkins sports a similar stroke to his father, and after transferring over from Arizona State, he has finally come into his own as a prolific scorer. If the Aggies can win the Big West Tourney at the Anaheim Pond this March, there’s no reason to believe they can’t ride some streaky shooting to the Sweet Sixteen. Now wouldn’t that be something.
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Down the coast in San Diego, Steve Fisher is still kicking at the age of 69 (he turns 70 in March). Suddenly a staple in the tournament, the Aztecs are good yet again, and it is because of their smothering, 40-minutes-of-hell type defense. Colorado State is also a formidable squad this year, thus Lunardi has two Mountain West teams as NCAA contenders (SDSU as a 9 seed and Colorado State as a 10 seed).
College hoops junkies the world over were saddened by the passing of Jerry Tarkanian last week. “Tark the Shark” coached two current Mountain West teams during his career, UNLV and Fresno State. Both of these squads find themselves in the middle of the pack in conference play. Perhaps one of which will make a surprise run at conference tournament title in Tark’s honor? Get out to the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas March 12-14 to see for yourself...
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That same weekend in March, Vegas will also host the PAC-12 tournament at the MGM Grand. Last year’s winner was UCLA. This year the prohibitive favorite will be Arizona. The Wildcats are seemingly stacked at every position and are currently 21-3. Lunardi only has them as a 2 seed, but this Arizona team reminds some people of the Mike Bibby, Jason Terry, Miles Simon 1998 team. Well, maybe they're not quite at that level. But a Kentucky-Arizona NCAA battle in 2015 would be a real treat.
Utah is the second best team in the PAC thus far this year with a 9-2 conference record. Even if Keith Van Horn isn’t walking through that door, Lunardi has them as a 3 seed.
As is usually the case the PAC-12, the middle of the conference standings are quite crowded. Oregon, Stanford, Oregon State, and UCLA could all make a case for having a tournament worthy resume. Hell, even the CAL Bears, who are just 6-6 in conference still have a shot at NCAA glory due to their recent five game winning streak highlighted by a slew of last second victories. When the dust settles, Lunardi expects we’ll see just four PAC-12 teams in the Dance. Right now those teams are Arizona, Utah, Stanford, and UCLA.
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The conference that boasts the best team on the west coast is Gonzaga. Well, if you think they’re better than Arizona, that is. The Zags are really damn good again, due in large part to a phenomenal backcourt duo in Gary Bell Jr. and Kevin Pangos. Coach Mark Few also has brought some bench scoring to Spokane by way of Lithuania. Arvydas Sabonis’ 6’10” son, Domantas, is scoring 10 points a game off the bench for the Zags this season. Naturally, Lunardi has Gonzaga as a 1 seed. Whether they finally make a Final Four run is another story entirely.
The mighty Gales of St. Mary’s have managed to retain the second spot in the conference this year behind 20 points a game from senior Brad Waldow. Senior point guard Kerry Carter has also been a leader for the Gaels. Credit Randy Bennett with putting together yet another solid team Moraga. The coach won his 300th game for the Gaels this year and even though he doesn’t have Aussies Patty Mills or Matthew Dellavedova to work with, he’s still winning games.
As always, we endorse an early March getaway to Orleans Arena in Vegas to watch the grossly underrated WCC Tournament. Not only will Zags and Gaels have high powered teams to watch, but BYU certainly will too. The Cougars gave Gonzaga a run for their money in last year’s tourney, and this year should be no different. Senior Tyler Haws is averaging 22 PPG and his running mate Kyle Collinsworth is one of the best rebounding guards in America.
It won’t be long before Championship Week is again upon us and Dickie V is screaming at you on TV from his living room. And he might just be hollering about the UC Davis Aggies and Sac State Hornets out west. That is if they “pass the eye test” over the next 30 days. But whatever happens in the madness of March, Jerry Tarkanian will be watching from heaven with a towel in his mouth.
Section 925 Podcast Episode 47 - NFL Postseason Wrap and A's Preview
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Josh (@jphunsucker) and Kelly (@kellyliz1321) put a bow on the NFL season and discuss their feelings about the upcoming Oakland A's season in the mobile podcenter on their way to A's Fanfest.
Check it out here: http://section925blog.podomatic.com/entry/2015-02-10T00_50_57-08_00
