February 26, 2005
Bear Women Keep Game Close, But Fall to Ducks at Finish
BERKELEY - In her last home game as a California Golden Bear, senior Khadijah Coakley did everything she could to help her team pull off an upset of the highly-favored Oregon Ducks. But ultimately, the Ducks’ size advantage and clutch shooting were too much to overcome and the Bears fell 58-51.
Coakley: Valiant effort goes for naught.
Coming off the bench early in the first half after center Jessica Lawson picked up two quick fouls, Coakley provided a spark with her defensive intensity and strong play on the boards. She finished the game with a team-high 11 points and 12 boards, just her second career double-double, her first coming last week against UCLA.
“I just wanted to give the team everything that I had,” Coakley said.
The Bears kept it close all game, a far cry from 81-50 blowout loss in Oregon on Dec. 27.
“(Coakley) played one of the best games I’ve seen her play,” Coach Caren Horstmeyer said after the game. “She really made our zone (defense) happen.”
The Ducks had a significant size advantage inside, particularly with 6’4” All-America candidate Cathrine Kraayeveld. But Cal was able to neutralize it and her much of the second half with an aggressive 2-3 zone.
“Cal said to us tonight that you’re going to have to beat us from the outside,” Oregon coach Bev Smith said.
When the Bears pulled within three with four minutes to play, the Ducks did just that. After a Coakley offensive rebound and put-back that made the score 48-45 in favor of Oregon, Kraayeveld took a pass at the top of the key and calmly nailed a three to kill the Cal rally.
On the next possession, Cal’s Kiki Williams tried match with what looked like a sure three from the top of the key. But the ball rattled in and out. It was the game in a nutshell for Cal.
“It was really frustrating,” Horstmeyer said. “We cut it close, but couldn’t make the big play.”
After trading buckets a few possessions later, Oregon’s Kristen Forristall sealed the win with another three to make the score 57-49.
“That really put the icing on the cake,” said Smith.
Mizuzawa, who grew up in Lafayette, had a nice homecoming, finishing with 9 assists in the game. It was particularly satisfying considering she dislocated a finger the day before in practice.
“She was just a true warrior for us,” said Smith.
Mizuzawa leads the Pac-10 for the second straight year with 7 assists per game, and is threatening to become only the fifth player in all of men’s or women’s college basketball since 1990 to finish her career with more assists than points. She currently has 594 career points and assists.
The game began well for Cal, who took an early 5-1 lead by going inside to freshman Lawson and relying on point guard Sarah Pool’s drive-and-dish skills. But Lawson sat after committing her second foul less than five minutes into the game, and Oregon went on a 7-0 run.
Kraayeveld asserted herself the rest of the half, scoring on a variety of inside moves and baseline drives. She led the Ducks with 8 first half points, and finished the game with 14 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists.
Cal was paced in the first half by freshman Krista Foster, who along with Lawson gave Bear fans something to be hopeful about next season. Foster scored most of her 7 first half points from the free throw line, going 5 for 6 after drawing a number of fouls with her aggressive play.
Posted by J-School Student at 08:19 PM
Sentimental Seniors Say Goodbye to Haas Pavilion
By Ryan Lillis, Staff Writer
BERKELEY – Kiki Williams was sitting in the locker room yesterday, the minutes fading away and the memories filling her mind. The California senior forward was about to take the court at Haas Pavilion for the last time.
“This is it, this is the last hurrah,” she told Alisa.
Alisa being Alisa Lewis, Williams’ teammate of two years who died on Jan. 19, 2004, of bacterial meningitis. Like she does before every game, Williams spoke with Lewis, looked to her for help.
The game, a 58-51 loss to Oregon, would have been Lewis’ last at home, too. If she hadn’t fallen suddenly at the age of 20, she would have been standing right next to Williams and four other seniors as they lined up to receive blue and yellow roses after the game.
“You should have been here,” Williams said to herself.
It was a disappointing end for the Bears’ seniors in a career full of difficulties. Cal (10-17 overall, 4-14 Pac-10) will play Friday in San Jose against Washington State in the first round of the Pac-10 tournament, but no one was quite ready to leave behind Haas Pavilion.
“This was a tough one because you have a special group of seniors you really want to win this game for,” Cal head coach Caren Horstmeyer said.
“This was very sentimental,” senior center Khadijah Coakley said.
Oregon, meanwhile, is the likely No. 2 seed in the conference tournament. The Ducks (19-8 overall, 12-6 Pac-10) were simply too big and too fast for Cal.
Oregon’s force inside, 6-foot-4 forward Cathrine Kraayeveld, had six points and two assists in the final 5:36 and finished with a game-high 14 points. Kristen Forristall had 12 points and eight rebounds, and Corrie Mizusawa, playing with a dislocated finger, had nine assists for Oregon.
Coakley had 11 points on 5-of-7 shooting and grabbed 12 rebounds off the bench for Cal to record her second career double-double. Freshman Krista Foster chipped in nine points; Williams and fellow senior Kristin Iwanaga each had eight.
Cal only trailed by 5 at the half despite shooting 32 percent from the floor. The Bears refused to back away in the second half and a Coakley free throw cut the lead to 48-45 with less than five minutes remaining.
But for every Cal run, Oregon responded. A Williams jump shot from 15 feet? Kraayeveld answered with a move inside to stretch the lead to seven. Iwanaga’s drive down the lane to make it 54-49? The Ducks’ answer was a three from Kristen Forristall with 25.6 seconds left.
“It’s just important for us that when they do make that little run to stay focused and stay calm,” Kraayeveld said.
Despite the loss, there is hope for the future for Cal. The Bears’ incoming class of recruits was rated seventh in the country – ahead of powerhouses Connecticut and Tennessee - by Blue Star Report recruiting service. And Foster showed yesterday she is a player worth watching.
Foster, one of five Cal freshmen, took three charges, dove on the ground to save a loose ball and helped keep Kraayeveld scoreless for nearly 20 minutes.
“The things that she does for us are amazing,” Horstmeyer said. “There isn’t a day that she doesn’t give everything she’s got.”
Williams felt the same way about the home fans, a loyal group of 1,879 that started gathering in the courtyard outside the stadium over an hour before the game.
“It’s sad to know, with how good our fans are, that they won’t be able to see us at home again,” she said.
Or that Lewis wasn’t there to see them.
Posted by J-School Student at 08:05 PM
Bears Beat Darkness, Down St. Mary's in 12th
BERKELEY – James Holder hurried to the plate, fighting the darkness as he tried for one last stab at sending St. Mary’s off the grass of Evans Diamond. It was the bottom of the 12th, two outs, and Mike Van Winden bounced helplessly off second base, a good swing away from scoring the winning run.
One pitch later, there was Van Winden rounding third and the California Golden Bears’ bench urging him home. And there was Holder, alone on first base, his arms raised.
Cal 5, St. Mary’s 4.
Holder’s single to right was the final act in a 3 hour, 31 minute match of back-and-forths that lifted Cal (7-4) to its sixth-straight win yesterday in a non-conference game. The Bears scored two runs in the bottom of the ninth to tie and surfed a no-hit, no-run relief gem by closer Travis Talbott to win just moments before sunset and the likely suspension of the game.
"You just have to remind (the players) that tough games are played this way," said Cal head coach David Esquer. "You’ve gotta find a way to win this game."
Cal won it with the basics. Van Winden led off the 12th with a sharp single off the glove of St. Mary’s second baseman Bryan Byrne. A Chris Errecart bunt moved Van Winden into scoring position and, after Brennan Boesch struck out swinging, Holder lined a Bryan Oland fastball into right.
Holder was told to swing at the first pitch, to be eager, to avoid a deep count.
"This shows you have to stay into every moment of every game because you just don’t know what’s going to happen," Holder said.
"I just happened to be the lucky one at the end of the game to get the glory," he added.
As for Talbott, the Pac-10’s leader in saves, it was another strong performance in a season in which his earned run average has dipped to 0.64 in 14 innings. His velocity is climbing into the high 80s and his curveball is sharp.
But it was Talbott’s glove that got him going early on. He entered the game in the top of the 10th with runners on first and second and one out. The Gaels’ Adam Thompson popped up a bunt, and Talbott made a diving catch, jumped up and doubled off Mike Sansoe at first.
"I’m surprised we didn’t win it on the very next pitch," Talbott said.
Oland, who worked 4.2 innings, retired the next six batters before Van Winden’s infield single. Talbott, meanwhile, had every answer, striking out two and allowing one walk.
After falling behind 2-1, St. Mary’s took the lead in the fifth on a Byrne solo home run to left and an RBI single up the middle from Delaney Gallagher. The Gaels (2-6) added one more in the seventh to go up 4-2.
The lead seemed in hand with St. Mary’s starting pitcher Kevin Trochez going seven innings, allowing no earned runs on three hits. Trochez, a location specialist whose hardest fastball was an 87-mile-per-hour strike in the third, kept the Bears guessing with change-ups and curveballs. But for the second time this year, he left with a short-lived lead, only to see this one evaporate in the ninth on RBI singles by Van Winden and Errecart that made it 4-4.
"The important thing for Kevin is to keep his perspective," Gaels head coach Jedd Soto said.
Despite Cal’s winning streak, Esquer is trying to do the same.
"It’s too early to say (if they’ve turned an early-season slump around)," he said. "But we’re on a good run."
Posted by Neil Henry at 03:45 PM
Bears Down Gaels, 5-4, Silence Heckler in Extra Frames
BERKELEY -- In game played in miserably cold weather at Evans Diamond yesterday, the Cal Bears prevailed in the encroaching darkness of the 12th inning against the Saint Mary’s Gaels, much to the chagrin of a certain heckling and disgruntled fan of the Moraga visitors.
Senior first baseman James Holder came to bat with two outs and one runner on second and hit the first ball that came his way. The pitch was exactly what he wanted, a fast ball.
"I was confident that we would be able to score off it," said Holder, whose single capped a remarkable comeback by Cal and sent Bear fans home happy, 5-4.
The starting Cal pitcher was golden Boy Adam Gold who threw 51 strikes out of 92 pitches in the first five innings. Perhaps no one in the stands liked Gold more than a heckling Saint Mary’s fan who gave Gold advice such as "Go get a haircut" and "Throw it over that white plate that looks like a house" when Gold pitched a ball.
In the first few innings of the game looked like it was going to be normal. Gaels up by 1 in the first, Bears answered with 2 in the third, Brennan Boesch hitting a long fly over the head of the Gael second baseman allowing teammates Matt Einspahr and Allen Craig to score. But in the 7th it appeared that the game was over with Saint Mary’s up 4-2.
But there was still life left in the Bears, and at the very last moment. At a game where the 505 fans probably desired hot cocoa more than an icy cold beer, Cal tied up the game in the bottom of the 9th.
Three innings later, with two outs and Holder coming to bat, most spectators were whispering that the game was going to be called due to the impending darkness of nightfall. But Holder had other plans. He pounced on the fast ball from Saint Mary’s sophomore pitcher Brian Oland and made the taunting heckler eat his words.
"This just shows you got to stay in every moment of every game. We basically stole a game from them," Holder said. "It just shows that you never give up when your chips are down."
Holder said although he was the winning hitter, the win belongs to the whole team.
"It’s really a team win," he said. "I was just the lucky one to get all the glory at the end."
The star play of the game was in the 10th inning when Gael Senior outfielder Adam Thompson hit a pitch detined for center field but was stopped short by the quick wit of Cal Senior pitcher Travis Talbott was caught before leaving the infield. After the startling fast catch, Talbott then threw the ball to first to get a Gael player out on his way back to the base, making it a double play.
Talbott, whose arsenal includes both an upper 80s fast ball and curve ball, said he was proud to help the Bears (5-4 so far this season) continue their six winning streak.
"On the bench it was like I knew we were going to win the whole game," he said. "It felt good. This was a big win for us."
The only person more disappointed by the Bears win then the Gaels was the creative loudmouth Saint Mary’s fan. The heckles that were in abundance throughout the beginning of the game seemed to disappear as the innings wore on. But he definitely got his share of yelling "UC Liberals," "UC Tree Huggers," and "I know who you all voted for. I voted for Bush" before hanging his head in shame after watching his team squander away a sure thing in the bottom of the 9th.
This will not be the last of the vengeful spiteful lad, since he will surely be there at Saturday’s game at Saint Mary’s and the third game in the series at Cal.
Posted by Neil Henry at 02:03 PM
February 24, 2005
J-Rich Expounds on the Art of the Dunk
The Warriors-Hawks game on Wednesday night pitted two of the NBA's premiere dunkers against one another. Golden State forward Jason Richardson won the dunk contest in 2003, but did not defend his title at last week's contest. Hear him tell CSJ Staff Writer Oskar Garcia what the NBA needs to do to keep the All-Star dunk contest exciting.
A maestro at work.
Posted by J-School Student at 12:45 AM
Fisher clinches win with clutch shot
By Ira Spitzer
With the clock winding down it’s Derek Fisher hitting a clutch jump shot to lead his team to victory.
For most NBA fans this image conjures memories of the Los Angeles Lakers’ dramatic win in Western Conference Finals against the San Antonio Spurs last year. But for the fans at the Oakland Arena who made it out to watch the Golden State Warriors play the Atlanta Hawks, they were treated to a low-profile version of Fisher’s late-game heroics, as the Warriors’ guard hit a jump shot over the lanky Josh Childress with 9.8 seconds left to put the Warriors up by 5, sealing a game that the Warriors went on to win 101-96.
“I just wanted to make sure I caught the ball and got the shot I wanted,” said Fisher, who finished the game with 20 points on 8-15 shooting. “We’ve struggled to get wins all season. Any win we get at this point in the season, it feels good.”
Despite the close finish, the Warriors were easily the better team in a match-up of two of the NBA’s worst teams. Golden State (16-38) went on a 14-0 run in the second quarter, holding the Hawks (10-43) scoreless for almost six minutes. Jason Richardson led the way with 5 points and Mike Dunleavy had 4 points during the stretch.
Richardson finished the game with 31 points on 9-19 shooting and with a season-high five three-pointers. Richardson, who won the 2002 and 2003 NBA slam-dunk contests, also soundly outplayed this year’s champion, Josh Smith. Richardson held Smith to 5 points in 27 minutes, and the Hawks’ high-flying rookie looked confused much of the time on the floor. Richardson showed off his own dunking ability in the first quarter when he threw down an eye-popping 360 degree windmill dunk that brought the crowd to its feet.
Tonight’s game was the first game back for Warriors’ forward Troy Murphy since he injured his thigh and thumb on January 28th against Seattle. Murphy hit the boards with a vengeance in his return. Typically a starter, he came off the bench Wednesday to pull down 20 rebounds in 27 minutes.
“Going into the game I was real charged up,” Murphy said. “I figured I was either going to get into a fight or get a lot of rebounds. I was happy to get a lot of rebounds.”
The Warriors have shown improvement recently, going 3-3 in their last 6 games, The three losses were by a total of 7 points. Tonight’s game was their sixth with over 100 points.
Golden State had a solid game on the defensive end, forcing the Hawks to turn the ball over 17 times. Richardson and Speedy Claxton had four steals apiece and Adonal Foyle blocked 8 shots in 27 minutes.
Antoine Walker had 27 points for the Hawks, including 5-7 from 3-point range. Walker hit two three pointers in the final minute of the game to bring the Hawks’ to within striking distance points before Fisher’s shot slammed the door shut.
Hawks’ rookie Josh Childress, with 17 points and 15 boards, had one of his best games as a pro in his first trip back to the Bay Area since starring at Stanford last year. For both Childress and his former college coach on the other sideline, the Warriors’ Mike Montgomery, the transition to the NBA hasn’t gone as smoothly as either one would like.
“It’s definitely been tough. Anytime you go from winning to losing, it’s going to be tough,” Childress said. “But you try and play through it, and that’s what I’m trying to do: just play as hard as I can, get better, and hope things turn around.”
Posted by J-School Student at 12:13 AM
Warriors ground Hawks, may trade for Davis
By Oskar F. Garcia, Staff Writer
OAKLAND, Calif. - The Warriors brought the house down in the fourth quarter Wednesday night – figuratively and almost literally.
Mike Dunleavy’s three-pointer with just under five minutes left put Golden State up by 10 and sent the crowd into a frenzy. The Warriors then survived a late Atlanta charge, holding on for a 101-96 victory at the Arena in Oakland.
During a timeout immediately after Dunleavy’s shot, the Warriors’ mascot launched a T-shirt with a cannon into the overhead lights, sending the shirt and shards of glass into the first few rows of the baseline. Nobody appeared to be hurt.
Timely defense and rebounding paced the Warriors and kept the Hawks down, especially in the fourth quarter. Center Adonal Foyle had three of his six blocks shots in the final quarter, and in his first game back from the injured list, forward Troy Murphy had seven of his season-high 20 rebounds in the period.
“I was either going to get into a fight or get a lot of rebounds tonight,” said Murphy, who missed 10 games with a broken left thumb. “I’m glad I got a lot of rebounds.”
Murphy’s rebounding made up for a dismal shooting performance, as he went 1-for-8 from the field coming off the bench.
Head coach Mike Montgomery said he was more impressed with his team in the first half of game.
“We got a little bit complacent in the second half, at the same point that they got aggressive,” he said. “At some point we have to get that killer instinct which allows us to get that lead and push it when we really have that chance.”
The Hawks closed the gap to three in the final minute of the game behind two three-pointers from center Antoine Walker. The game was iced by Warrior guard Derek Fisher, who hit a fade away jumper with less than ten seconds remaining.
“Sometimes you tend to go a little too fast. I just wanted to make sure I caught the ball,” said Fisher. “At that point, I just attacked.”
Guard Jason Richardson led all scorers with 31 points, and was 5-of-9 from three-point range.
“Once the first one went down, I just kept shooting them,” he said.
The game also marked a reunion between Montgomery and Hawks guard Josh Childress. Montgomery coached Childress at Stanford for three years. Childress finished the game with 17 points and a season-high 15 rebounds.
“I think Josh is going to be just fine in this league,” said Montgomery. “He’s a monster on the boards.”
Childress said his return to the Bay Area was not as good as he would have liked. “Anytime you go from winning to losing, it’s going to be tough,” he said. “(The Warriors) are obviously going through the same thing we’re going through, but ours is a little worse.”
Help may be on the way for the Warriors. Montgomery denied reports from ESPN.com that the team is actively pursuing a trade with New Orleans that would bring guard Baron Davis to the Warriors by today’s deadline. “Those are just rumors,” he said.
But Richardson said he would love to have Davis on the team, and even joked he was going to call Davis after being interviewed.
“You want to bring in guys of that caliber to take it to the next level,” Richardson said. “That would be huge for our franchise. It would take some of the pressure off me.”
ESPN.com is reporting that the possible deal could involve multiple players, but would likely send forward Dale Davis and draft picks to the Hornets in exchange for Baron Davis.
Posted by J-School Student at 12:08 AM
Warriors Shoot Down Hawks for Second Win in a Row
By Mark Chediak, Staff Writer
OAKLAND, Calif. -- The Golden State Warriors returned from the All-Star Break the same way they entered it: with a win.
The Warrior's 101-96 victory over the lowly Atlanta Hawks Wednesday night gave them back-to-back wins for the first time since December.
Troy Murphy, who returned to the lineup after a 10-game absence with a fractured left thumb, helped power the Warriors with a season-high 20 rebounds in 27 minutes. Jason Richardson led all scorers with 31 points.
“Going into the game, I was charged up,” Murphy said, his left hand wrapped in ice and his feet submerged in a bucket of ice water. “Playing for the first time in a while, I was charged up. I figured I was either going to get into a fight or get a lot of rebounds tonight.”
The Warriors' victory was spurred by a 17-2 run in the second quarter that turned a 31-28 Hawks lead into a 45-33 Golden State advantage. Richardson scored five points during the run, including a nice fade away three.
Coach Mike Montgomery said the second quarter run gave the team a “nice cushion” that helped the rest of the way.
“I was very pleased to be able to push the lead out there at halftime to 13 points,” Montgomery said. “We got a lot of confidence from that.”
Still, the Hawks clawed back in the second half, eventually cutting the Warriors' lead to three points with 32.9 seconds remaining. But Derek Fisher, who scored 20 points, hit a 17-foot fade-away jumper with 9.8 seconds left to seal the victory.
“I just wanted to make sure I caught the ball and make sure I took the time to make the shot,” Fisher said.
Montgomery was critical of the Warriors’ effort in the second half, noting the team's complacency during stretches.
“We started standing a little bit and at the same point that they got aggressive,” he said. “At some point, we have to get that killer instinct which allows us to get the lead and push it when we really have that chance.”
The Hawks were led by 27 points from Antoine Walker. Rookie Josh Childress, who played at Stanford for three years under Montgomery, scored 17 points and grabbed a season-high 15 rebounds.
“It wasn't as good as I would have liked, because we lost,” said Childress. “But that's how it goes.”
Montgomery said he was proud of the job his former player was doing in the NBA. “He's doing great,” he said. “He's a monster on the board. Atlanta's got to be really proud of him and rightly so.”
Richardson, whose dazzling 360 windmill dunk in the first quarter brought the crowd of 15,931 to its feet, said he was concerned the team would be a bit rusty after returning from the break.
“We really needed this win tonight,” Richardson said. The former NBA Slam Dunk Champion said he was impressed with the slam-dunk performance of the Hawks' Josh Smith, who won the contest in Denver on Saturday. Smith’s performance Wednesday night was less stunning; he scored five points.
The Warriors’ next test will be a Sunday home match-up against the defending NBA champion Detroit Pistons. The Warriors then head out on an eight-game road trip before returning home to play Houston on March 14.
Posted by J-School Student at 12:00 AM
February 23, 2005
Notebook - Warriors vs. Hawks, 2/23
By Ira Spitzer
An NBA without teenagers?
In his pre-game press conference, Warrior’s coach Mike Montgomery expressed strong support for NBA commissioner David Stern’s recent comments that the NBA should impose a minimum age limit of 20.
“I think it would be the best thing that everybody could do for the game of basketball and for young players,” Montgomery said.
The Warriors’ coach thought a developmental league or college athletic programs would be better goals for teenage players than the NBA.
One-third of the players in the NBA all-star game over the weekend were teenagers when they joined the league.
Salvaging a Disappointing Season
In his team’s first game since the All-Star break, Montgomery elaborated on his goals for a season in which the Warriors are all but statistically eliminated from postseason play.
“I’d like to see them become comfortable with themselves and their roles,” Montgomery said. “You’d like to see leadership emerge with the younger guys.”
Montgomery alluded to some pressure from upstairs to give more playing time to the team’s younger players, specifically rookie Andris Biedrens and second-year player Zarko Cabarkapa.
“I think management’s going to suggest that Andres gets a look-see, maybe Zarko a little more,” he said. “Just to enter the fray and see what they can do in certain situations – I think that’s fair.”
Playing without Uncle Spliffy
Tonight’s game was the Warrior’s third without veteran center Clifford Robinson, whom the Warriors traded to New Jersey on February 14. Montgomery called Robinson the “acknowledged leader” of the Warriors in the locker room, and said his tough defense in the paint would be missed the most.
“Cliff was our best post defender. He was the guy who you could put on a guy and he could really take him out,” Montgomery said.
Montgomery or Childress?
Montgomery got a little testy at a reporter’s question about who has had a better year – he or Hawks’ rookie Josh Childress, who played for Montgomery at Stanford. The coach finally answered, “I haven’t scored a single point so I think Josh has had a better year.”
Posted by J-School Student at 10:51 PM
Warrior's Notebook - Warriors vs. Hawks 2/23
By Paul Murdock
Warriors search for identity as second half begins:
With Cliff Robinson’s departure to the New Jersey Nets, the Warriors start the second half of the season searching for a new leader. Warrior’s coach Mike Montgomery hopes “one of the young guys will take more of a leadership role.”
Montgomery stressed that “Cliff will be missed most for his post defense. He was a guy you could count on taking a guy out (of a game).”
In the second half of the season, Montgomery hopes to see his team “stay competitive and hopefully that will translate into some wins. Most of all, I’d like to see them improve themselves individually and collectively so we have something to bounce off.”
Troy Murphy returns from the disabled list:
Troy Murphy returned from a ten-day stint on the disabled list today (fractured left thumb). His return to the lineup means the Warriors have all their starters healthy.
While this may seem like a blessing, Montgomery said they “may have some trouble finding out how to use people.” In Murphy’s absence Montgomery discovered that Mike Dunleavy “likes the four while Derek Fisher likes the two.”
Murphy was replaced on the DL by guard Luis Flores (sore hamstring), which means Mike Dunleavy could see some time at the point if Fisher and guard Speedy Claxton – who have missed a combined 15 games this season - don’t stay healthy, Montgomery said.
Montgomery weighs in on NBA age limit:
Coach Montgomery, one year removed from his post at Stanford, said an NBA age limit of 20 would be beneficial.
“It gives kids more motivation to do well [in school so they’re ready for the league],” he said. “Lots of kids are caught up in the idea of not studying [in high school] because they think they are going to the pros.”
Andris Biedrins, the Warrior’s 19 year-old Latvian rookie, has played 21 minutes this entire season.
“Management wants to work [Biedrins and second year forward Marko Cabarkapa] into the fray and see what they can do in certain situations,” Montgomery said.
Posted by J-School Student at 10:49 PM
Montgomery Misses Robinson's Defense
Warriors head coach Mike Montgomery said Tuesday night he would support a minimum age limit that would prevent high school players from entering the NBA draft.
"I think it's the best thing everybody could do for the game of basketball," said Montgomery, who coached at the college level for 26 years at Stanford and Montana.
NBA Commissioner David Stern recently proposed setting a minimum age for players wishing to enter the draft. High school phenoms like NBA All-Star Lebron James are increasingly opting to skip college and enter the draft, a trend that has some league officials concerned.
As for Montgomery, he said the age limit would give young players a chance to mature and gain additional schooling before taking on the pressures of NBA life. "You need to grow up to be in this league," he said.
Cliff-less
The Warriors didn't simply lose a veteran presence with the departure of forward Clifford Robinson, who was traded to New Jersey last week. The team lost its best defender, according to Montgomery.
"He's (Robinson) a guy you can really kind of count on to take a guy out," Montgomery said. "I think defensively, we've just got to get better across the board," he added.
Montgomery also noted that Robinson's trade has left the team with a leadership void. "Somebody has got to step up and accept some leadership," Montgomery said, adding that he expected his younger players to take the reigns in the second half of the season.
The Warriors coach said management expects 18-year-old Andris Biedrins, last year's first-round draft pick, and second-year center Zarko Cabarkapa to get more playing time in the second half of the season. Both are averaging fewer than 10 minutes per game.
First timers
Tuesday night's game marked the first reunion of Montgomery and his former Stanford standout Josh Childress, now a first-year swingman for the Atlanta Hawks. Asked who was having the better debut in the NBA, Montgomery said, "I haven't scored a single point, so I guess Josh had a better year." Childress is averaging 7.4 points and 5.0 rebounds per game.
Posted by J-School Student at 09:10 PM
Notebook - Warriors vs. Hawks 2/23
By Oskar F. Garcia
The departure of forward Clifford Robinson left the Warriors a little younger, but also without a leader, head coach Mike Montgomery said. A Feb. 14 trade sent Robinson to New Jersey for two second-round draft picks and going into the second half of the season, Montgomery said establishing a new team leader would be vital to future success.
“Their roles are ever-changing,” Montgomery said. “Now somebody’s going to have to step up and provide some leadership.”
After Robinson’s trade, Dale Davis, 35, became the longest-tenured player on the team (14th season).
Montgomery said the Warriors’ young frontcourt might see increased playing time in the second half of the season. “Management is going to suggest Andris (Biedrins) and Zarko (Cabarkapa),” he said. “Just to enter the fray and see what they can do in certain situations – I think that’s fair.”
Biedrins played just 21 minutes in four games in the first half of the season and at 18 is the youngest player in the NBA. Cabarkapa, who had played 13 games with the Warriors (three with Phoenix) going into last night, is averaging 4.5 points, 2.4 rebounds and 9.1 minutes per game.
Childress Effect?
Montgomery said that rookie Atlanta guard Josh Childress’ decision to leave school early did not influence his choice to coach in the NBA. Childress left Stanford after his junior season and was selected 6th overall in last year’s draft by the Hawks.
“I thought there was a lot of talk,” said Montgomery, who coached Childress at Stanford. “All the guys he went to school with wanted to go to the pros.”
New Rims Needed
Forward Jason Richardson started opposite Josh Smith, the winner of Saturday’s All-Star dunk contest in Denver. Richardson won the contest in 2003 and did not compete in this year’s event. Richardson threw the first blow in last night’s duel with a breakaway 360 degree one-handed jam midway through the first quarter.
BRIEFLY: Forward Troy Murphy was activated from the injured list prior to last night’s game. Murphy suffered a hairline fracture to his left thumb Jan. 28 against Seattle and missed 10 games.
Posted by J-School Student at 08:44 PM
Warriors Soar Past Hawks in First Half
Warriors lead 58-45 at the half, keyed by a 17-2 run in the second quarter.
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Posted by J-School Student at 08:44 PM
February 19, 2005
Consolation Blues: Oregon Skates Past Hapless Bears, 7-3
BERKELEY -- It’s this simple: The Oregon Ducks skated into the leaky, see-your-breath cold closet that is the Berkeley Iceland last night and dominated California on its home ice.
A thing of the past: Last year's stirring Cal victory in the Pac-8 hockey championships won't be repeated. (ESPN photo.)
Oregon scored four unanswered goals in the final two periods and Cal Bracken notched a hat trick to give the Ducks a 7-3 victory in the semifinal of the Pac-8 Men’s Hockey Tournament. The win earned Oregon, the tournament’s No. 3 seed, a spot in today’s championship game against fourth-seeded Washington.
The Bears (17-17), the second seed, were outshot, outchecked, and outplayed, and summarily dispatched to a spot in the consolation game against top-seeded UCLA, which lost to Washington 6-4 earlier in the day.
"Oregon had that sense of urgency the entire game, and we didn’t," said Cal’s junior right winger, Amir Moazeni, whose third hat trick of the season accounted for all of the Bears’ scoring.
Oregon outshot California 49-36 and turned slow line changes by the Bears into easy scoring opportunities. Goalie Brad Buss, who has played every second of Cal’s 34 games, was hit with uncontested shots all night, including a pair of third period scores that sealed the game for the Ducks.
"We can’t hold him responsible for this loss," Cal head coach Cyril Allen said. "You can’t point a single finger at him."
The blame was shared.
"About the only thing we did right was that we all got dressed in jerseys that matched," assistant coach Peter Werner said.
After falling behind 3-2 with 16:00 left in the second period, Allen screamed at his bench to "wake up." The Bears responded 8 minutes later when Moazeni scored on a power play to tie the score.
The Los Gatos native was fed from line mate Chris Moulton and fired a close shot at Oregon goalie Matt Nuenberg. The shot was blocked and Moazeni picked up the puck with his stick and flipped it over Nuenberg’s left shoulder for the score.
"As soon as I scooped it up, I knew I’d bang it home," said Moazeni, the Bears’ leading scorer this season with 64 points. "At the time, I thought that goal was the turning point for us, but they finished us off."
Oregon responded with 5:04 to go in the second when Nate King drove a slap shot from the circle off Buss’ left glove and into the corner of the net. Less than 4 minutes later, King scored again, this time skating from behind the net and sneaking a shot past Buss’ left skate.
Even down 5-3 with one period left, the Bears thought they were still in good shape.
"A two-goal lead is very small," defenseman and team captain Chris Dang said. "They always say the most dangerous lead in hockey is the two-goal lead."
But Oregon wouldn’t budge, with Bracken scoring 25 seconds into the third period on a feed from Matt Olsen.
"You never, ever give up a goal in the first or last minute of a period," Dang said. "It sticks with you."
"We had resolved to come out in the third flying and that broke us," Allen said.
Down 6-3, California collapsed. Moazeni lost his stick at one point and skated off the ice, his arms hanging motionless at his sides. A few minutes later, Kiel Fitzgerald accidentally checked teammate Sean Haq, allowing Oregon to clear the puck and eat up time.
And when, with 12:08 left, Bracken finished off his hat trick with a 3-on-1 score, the Oregon bench began celebrating its victory.
"We played well in large stretches," Allen said.
He was asked what they did right.
"I’m not so sure," he replied.
Posted by Neil Henry at 09:26 AM
February 16, 2005
Nowitzki-led Mavs Rumble Over Warriors, 114-107
OAKLAND -- The Warriors are getting better at losing to good teams.
The Dallas Mavericks continued their red-hot roll through the Western Conference at the Warriors’ expense Tuesday night, winning 114-107 behind 35 points and 11 rebounds from All-Star forward Dirk Nowitzki.
For the Warriors, it was another tough loss to an elite team. The Warriors fought back from a 67-52 halftime deficit and used a 14-1 third quarter run to go up 88-86 to start the fourth quarter. It was the highest point total after three quarters for the Warriors this year, who were led by 26 points from Jason Richardson.
But all night, the Warriors defense looked debilitated by the loss of Cliff Robinson, who was traded to the New Jersey Nets Monday for two second-round draft picks.
“Offensively, we pretty much did anything we wanted, all night long,” said Nowitzki. “To me, we made it a lot harder on ourselves than it should have been. It should have been an easy night for us.”
Two months earlier, the veteran forward Robinson led the Warriors to 111-107 road victory in Dallas, racking up a season-high 25 points. Though Robinson was only averaging 8.6 points per game, it was Robinson’s defense that the Warriors will miss most. For much of the game, the undersized Mike Dunleavy was matched up against Nowitzki, who was 10 for 17 from the field and 15 of 18 from the line.
Prior to the game, Warriors coach Mike Montgomery said that Dunleavy would be seeing more time at the power forward position, with starter Troy Murphy injured and Robinson shipped off to the Nets.
“I think he’s a poor man’s Nowitzki,” Montgomery said of his often-criticized forward, the third overall pick in the 2001 draft.
Dunleavy finished with 18 points, and nearly stole the ball from Nowitzki with less than a minute to play and the Warriors trailing 108-105. Dunleavy was called for a foul, and the Warrior fans jeered, but Nowitzki went on to ice the game by converting both free throws.
Warriors’ players could be heard grumbling about the officiating in the locker room after the game.
“I’m not going to get fined because of you people,” said Montgomery, referring to reporters, when asked his opinion on the calls against his team. “But you watch the game and figure it out.”
Montgomery said he was pleased to see the team fight back after a lackluster start. “We had difficulty finding the intensity we needed early on, once we figured out what we needed we were able to come back and get the lead,” he said.
Speedy Claxton added 23 points, including 13 in the first quarter, to go with nine assists and three steals.
For Dallas, it was the third road win in a row, after beating Sacramento and Seattle. “It wasn’t easy,” Nelson said of the Mavs’ win. “But we’ll take the win and move on...Now it’s on to Phoenix to sweep the trip.”
Posted by Neil Henry at 12:36 AM
February 15, 2005
Warriors Notebook: Rookie Gets a Try in Wake of Robinson Deal
OAKLAND -- Out with the old, in with the new: The Warriors trade of veteran forward Clifford Robinson to the New Jersey Nets yesterday allows them a chance to give their first round Latvian draft pick, 18 year-old Andris Biedrins, some playing time.
Biedrins: Ready for his close-up?
"With Cliff being traded, we had 11 players, so we activated him," coach Mike Montgomery said before tonight's game. Biedris, the 11th overall pick in last June's draft, has been on the injured list since straining his left hamstring January 14.
Biedrins is the youngest Warrior ever, but hasn’t had much of an opportunity to prove himself yet at forward, having appeared in only four games so far. Which may be why Warriors coach Mike Montgomery was hesitant to create any high expectations.
"He’s going to get burned and taken advantage of," Montgomery cautioned, though "it won’t be for lack of effort."
Montgomery said he wanted to give the young prospect, who needs to add substantial weight and strength to his 6 foot 11 frame, a chance to get his feet wet – though not at the expense of winning ball games. However, with the team a woeful 14-37, he may have felt it was time start focusing on winning in the future rather than losing in the present.
Robinson, who was traded for two future second round draft picks (in 2005 and 2007), was acknowledged by Montgomery last night as a mentor. In his first year of NBA coaching after a storied career at Stanford, Montgomery said he took the time "to tell him how much I appreciate him" for all the counsel he had offered.
In addition to freeing up a spot for first round pick Biedris, Montgomery said Robinson’s trade will also put much needed pressure on other young players to take on not only the leadership, but the toughness that Robinson showed in both games and in practice. "We need the younger guys to start diving in and taking that kind of attitude," Montgomery said.
Posted by Neil Henry at 07:35 PM
Dreams of Boxing Glory Endure in Gritty Fruitvale Gym
OAKLAND -- In an old warehouse on a dead end street in Fruitvale, the next big thing is slipping and jabbing through the air and into the future.
Native son Andre Ward, the king of King's (AP photo)
Fernando Barajas looks like he’s 12, shaking hands and giggling his way through the front door of King’s Gym on 35th Avenue. His nose is flat – many of the noses here are – and his blue T-shirt hangs loosely from his frame. When he starts using a nickname he’ll go by "El Munstro Feo" ("The Ugly Monster").
"My guy Fernando has the best shot," says Barajas’ trainer, "Spider" Joe Burke, who’s been in boxing for 54 years, the past seven as a trainer at King’s. "But my old promoter used to tell me, ‘Don’t fall in love with these guys, they’ll break your heart."
King’s is the training ground of the city’s boxing hopeful, those who would be the champions of the sport and those whose goals are more modest. They pay $55 a month and come here four nights a week to train under the eyes of the sport’s ghosts and legends in the making. The ghosts appear in framed photographs covering the walls, the legends come walking through the door.
This well-lit, two-room gym was – and still is – the training ground for Andre Ward, who found God on his way to winning the Olympic gold medal in the light-heavyweight division of the 2004 games in Athens. Ward is here every night, stretching ringside as security guards, carpenters and women who work as customer service representatives for airlines work it. There are dozens of promising fighters training at King’s.
It’s a recent Monday night and the walls are humming. Every red and blue bag is being worked and the thumping of fists hitting canvas is rhythmic. Rap music plays softly from a stereo in the corner, the subtle bass competing for supremacy of the air with the whipping jump ropes and pounding gloves. With every movement comes another grunt, another whistle from a young fighter.
Ward arrives, followed by an entourage in sweat suits, and says very little as he wraps his hands in tape and stretches his neck. In three nights he will win his second professional fight, a unanimous decision over Kenny Kost in a super middleweight bout in Lemoore. But this night, as a television crew waits in the corner for an interview, Ward is watching Barajas and his face is incredibly still, as if his eyes are constantly sizing up everyone in the room. His presence in the gym is inescapable; trainers say he is a complete boxer.
"The whole package," says Burke. "Talent, focus, guts."
Burke, 71, got his nickname from his first trainer, Spider Roach, who claimed he taught Rocky Marciano the overhand right. With silver hair and broad, stiff shoulders, he looks remarkably like Clint Eastwood’s character, Frankie Dunn, from "Million Dollar Baby." He’s even got his own Maggie.
Nikki Garrett is a female boxer who, if she ever gets in shape and looses a few pounds, has the talent to make it as a professional. She’s been training with Burke for the nearly two years since she moved up from Fresno and has a job working the ticket counter for Jet Blue at the Oakland Airport. She’s also been in a couple of street fights and the male boxers jokingly call her a bully.
"I’m very aggressive," she says.
But if she doesn’t get into better shape soon, Burke’s probably going to leave her. At 22, Garrett says she’s three months away from turning professional, although she hasn’t had any fights yet. She’s mean, she’s talented and she has her goals. It just isn’t enough, not without the discipline.
Ward is off in the corner somewhere as Garrett takes one slice after another at Burke’s hands, her punches weakening with each strike.
"I don’t know, she’s very talented," Burke says. "I should have made up my mind some time ago.
I don’t know about this yet," he says as he points to his heart.
That’s not an issue with Barajas. He works so hard he falls asleep in his car some days.
"This is the nicest young man you could ever meet," Burke says as Barajas gets ready. "But when Fernando is in the corner ready for the bell, the switch is turned. He even starts to look different."
It’s a trait all the great ones possess. So many boxers have something in their past they’re trying to escape, something working the back of their minds that keeps them upright when the hits keep coming.
"I don’t know what it is, bad potty training or the guy hates his mother," Burke says. "A lot of these guys have been in jail and struggled. A lot of them came up the hard way."
Barajas’ drive is subtler; he is, for lack of a better term, normal. He’s 20, has a girlfriend and ran track at Castro Valley High School, making it all the way to the state finals in the 800 meters with a time under two minutes. Four years ago he couldn’t speak English and he could barely box. Now he’s a promising middleweight with a diploma.
At times it looks like his feet don’t touch the ground as he glides in circular, smooth motions around the ring. Then he pauses, sizes up an imaginary opponent and explodes: an uppercut with the right, a few swings with his head back and forth, a fury of short, quick jabs.
"Elbows in," Burke says calmly from the corner.
Barajas’ record is 11-9, a mark Burke says is deceptive because his kid has never been knocked out and most of those losses came very early in his career against much more experienced fighters. His first fight in the Golden Gloves – the area’s premier amateur event – was called last year in the second round because Barajas had a broken nose, but Burke said the title could have been his.
The trainer looks at Barajas like he would a son.
Barajas has dinner with Burke and his wife on occasion and Burke was in the crowd when Barajas graduated from high school last year. Burke got the kid a job working security at an industrial site, bought him light blue boxing shoes with hot pink stripes – "they were cheap," Burke says – and drives with him to fights in Fresno and San Rafael.
"The principle thing about boxing is that I like it," says Barajas. "It’s my free time, my hobby. It’s interesting, I find it very interesting. When you look at boxers you have to look at their technique. When we do something, there’s always a reason."
When Barajas first started Burke told him, "if you can dance, you can box." It’s about balance and foot movement, the trainer said.
"I just keep telling him to control this thing," Burke says.
His goals are simple: he wants to stay healthy, turn pro in six months and eventually "fight the best guys in the country and then the world."
The best in the world is here already. Ward’s presence is everywhere, his face hanging on posters next to Foreman, Ali and Robinson. His gold medal – and the young professional career it sparked - is the greatest achievement to ever come out of King’s, which until recently was merely a stop on the trail to dusty arenas like the Oakland Auditorium. George Foreman trained here - once.
Now here’s Ward, working on a career. He watches Barajas spar and work the bag but never changes that look on his face.
Burke is there too, wondering if he has the next big thing.
"He’s a killer," he says to himself.
Posted by Neil Henry at 03:28 PM
February 14, 2005
Instant Riches, Sudden Death: It's All in the Cards at Oak's
Emeryville -- Dealing poker at Oak’s Card Club in Emeryville for almost 25 years, Roy Blackburn has seen just about everything there is to see in a poker room.
Poker champ Greg Raymer, celebrating his win in ESPN's World Series of Poker last year. Televised poker has led to renewed popularity of games like Texas Hold 'Em at clubs around America, including Oak's Card Room in Emeryville. (AP photo)
"Just last September, one of our regulars, El Dorado Bob, died of a heart attack right there at Table 3. I was dealing at Table 14, right next to him," the Oakland resident said, pointing into the thicket of players and tables and security guards on the club’s main floor.
But in all his years of dealing people their destiny, Blackburn can’t remember a time when poker was as popular as it is today.
"Ever since the World Series of Poker has been on TV, our business has noticeably increased, especially in the last year or so," he said.
Poker, for so long a game of myth and mystery, has become an accepted and legitimate part of pop culture. Evidence of this phenomenon can be seen just about any night on television, when stations like ESPN, the Travel Channel, Fox Sports and even Bravo broadcast their popular poker shows. And reaping the benefits of the poker explosion are card rooms like Oak’s in the East Bay and Bay 101, Lucky Chances and Artichoke Joe’s on the peninsula.
"Any card club you go to, the poker business, particularly hold ’em, has been picking up," said Stephen Fowler, a shift manager at Oak’s.
In Texas Hold ’Em, the game of choice these days among professionals and amateurs alike, players are dealt two cards face down and then five cards are dealt face up in the middle of the table. These five are "community cards," meaning everybody uses them in their hand. The first three of them are dealt all at once, called the "flop," and then the last two are dealt one at a time, called the "turn" and the "river." Players bet throughout, on each successive card in increments of $2, $3 or $6, and whoever finishes with the best five-card poker hand wins. The average hand can net the winner anywhere from $25 to $100, depending on how active the betting is.
Sounds simple, but many poker professionals have spent their career debunking the myth that anybody can do it. And for new players who watch poker on TV and think it is easy to master, the only way to learn is the hard way.
Erica L. from Oakland, who doesn’t consider herself a professional but who has been playing regularly at Oak’s for almost 10 years, said that she welcomes the newcomers.
"I don’t feel bad about (taking their money), especially because these kids have an attitude," she said. "They all think they’re these young bucks who can dominate the table, so it feels good to take their money."
Oak’s is not the dark, smoky back-room-of-the-bar one might envision a poker parlor to be. It more closely resembles a vast conference hall, with high ceilings, bright fluorescent lights, and more than 20 large gaming tables. Its storied history began more than 100 years ago, in 1895, when Conger’s Tavern opened up its card room for business. In the mid-30s, the gaming center was renamed Oak’s Card Club, after the old Oakland Oaks baseball team, and it has existed at the same site at the corner of San Pablo and Park ever since.
The crowd is not all grizzled poker vets, however, though it only takes one look around the room to see that they still exist. Instead, it is broader mix of ages and ethnicities.
"The explosion is good because it creates new players," Blackburn said. "You always need new players, because weak players eventually figure it out, or their wife figures it out for them, and they hang it up."
On Thursday night, Erika was introducing a friend of hers, Chris Wilder of Los Gatos, to the game at Oak’s. And even though it was his first time playing with anybody other than his buddies, Wilder was confident. He even felt bad for his opponents.
"I’m going to be taking their money and I don’t even know them," he said. "I don’t know if they can afford it or what."
According to Blackburn, there are many players who can’t afford it. He said they are easy to spot: always hanging on the rail surrounding the gaming area, the first ones there on payday and hitting up their friends for money once theirs runs out.
"It can be pretty ugly," he said.
Blackburn would know. He was once one of them.
"I used to be a sick railbird," he said. "I lost my wife, my house, my car."
The lines in his face and the white in his hair are indications of some of what he has faced in his life, though he still retains a friendly, affable nature that would seem more common among neighborhood bartenders. More telling are his mannerisms – like the way he fiddles with his keys while talking, shuffling them like poker veterans shuffle their chips – and the mathematical way he analyzes questions.
"I would say maybe 3% of poker players can support themselves just by playing," he said, revealing the poker player’s natural instinct to determine odds.
Blackburn said that he tried Gambler’s Anonymous, but that it didn’t work for him. The irony for Blackburn is that he didn’t solve his gambling problem until he got a job at Oak’s, the same place where he had lost all of his money.
"I got a steady income and I got a girlfriend," he said. "If you are an addicted gambler like I was, if you don’t find something equally powerful in your life, you can’t stop. I found my girlfriend."
He said that he occasionally tries to talk to and counsel some of the people he think might have a problem, but that most don’t want any advice.
"If you’re really into this thing, other people talking to you isn’t going to stop you," he said. "You’ve got to want to stop."
While poker can turn into a compulsion for some, most at Oak’s merely see it as entertainment.
"We had a blast," said Wilder after four hours at the tables. "Most of the night, I was up about $100, although by the end of the night I was only up about $15. But coming out with more money than I started with, that’s a successful night.
"I’ll definitely be back."
Posted by Neil Henry at 03:42 PM
February 05, 2005
Gold is Dusted as Bears Fall to UC Irvine
BERKELEY -- Friday’s contest against UC Irvine was supposed to be a statement game for starting pitcher Adam Gold and California. But instead of setting a positive tone for the weekend and the season, the Golden Bears (0-2) fell apart early and often, losing to the Anteaters 10-1 at Evans Diamond.
Bear outfielder Mike Van Winden digs in against the Anteaters.
"I don’t think we have a lot of experience, and we played inexperienced," said Cal head coach David Esquer. "We’re looking for that good feeling instead of coming in with it."
Gold made only one mistake in the first three innings, a hanging slider over the plate to Irvine catcher Mark Wagner that was promptly belted over the left field wall. But things really came unraveled for the junior in the middle innings, when Gold allowed six runs and did not strike anyone out.
"[His pitches were] mislocated, and it’s hard to keep teams down when you do that," said Esquer. "You’d like not to have so many loose ends to a performance."
As much as Cal’s pitching struggled, so did its offense. The Bears mustered only six hits for the game, and did not even reach second base until the eighth inning when senior pinch-hitter James Holder hit a solo home run.
For the second game in a row, the Golden Bears failed to score until the eighth inning. Moreover, the Bears failed to make good contact on most of the pitches.
Irvine starter Chris Nicoll was on fire, earning the win by allowing no runs in six innings of work. The only reason he came out of the game was because he was limited to 90 pitches by Irvine head coach Dave Serrano.
"I thought he set the tone for our team," said Serrano. "We’re going to try to keep good hitters off balance at all times, and we’re not going to give in with fastballs all the time on fastball counts."
Fastballs, curveballs and sliders were all on point for Nicoll, even as Irvine fans grumbled about the umpire’s tight strike zone. He forced Bear hitters into weak foul outs twice in both the second and sixth innings, and faced three ball counts only four times, walking two.
"Once we got about a three or four run lead I didn’t really feel any pressure," said Nicoll. "I just knew I had to go do my thing."
Esquer said the lack of offense contributed to Cal’s pitching woes. "When you’re not scoring, sometimes it gets to the point where the pitcher feels like he’s got to make perfect pitches in order to keep the game close," he said. "If we’d have put up two more runs and [Gold] was pitching with a little more relaxation and freedom, it might have been easier to execute."
None of the Golden Bears had more than one hit, while there were several offensive standouts for the Anteaters (1-0). In addition to Wagner’s home run, first baseman Jaime Martinez had a 2 RBI single and an RBI groundout, and Tim Stewart added a pinch-hit home run in the ninth.
Serrano said he was especially proud of the seven runs his team scored with two outs. "That’s always a sign of a good team," he said.
The Golden Bears look to even the series today with sophomore starting pitcher Brandon Morrow on the mound. Morrow was 1-3 with a 6.07 ERA last season. Irvine will start sophomore Justin Cassel.
"I think we’re coming along defensively, but we have to give our defense a chance to play," said Esquer. "We need to find some things out about some players."
Posted by Neil Henry at 02:21 PM
February 04, 2005
Anteaters Feast on Bear Hurlers, 10-1
BERKELEY -- The Cal baseball team is young and inexperienced, and it showed Friday afternoon in a 10 – 1 loss to UC-Irvine (1 – 0).
Starting seven underclassmen, including four freshmen, the Bears failed to close-out on defense after getting two outs and were anemic on offense. In the first of a three game home stand versus the Anteaters, Cal (0 –2), which lost ten players to the draft or graduation last year, allowed runs early and often.
The Bears left six men stranded and no runner even got a whiff of second base until the eighth inning, when Irvine was already up 8 – 0.
"We are a young team, and we look like it," Cal Coach David Esquer said. "We have some good players in the middle of the line-up that need to grow up quick."
The four freshmen in the starting line-up, Mike Van Winden, Josh Satin, Jason Corder and Kyle Spraker, were a combined 1 – 14 with three strikeouts.
Irvine played near perfect in their season opener, stifling the Bear’s offensive rallies with solid pitching and clutch defense. In a match up between the two teams’ top starters, the Anteater’s Mike Nicoll came out ahead giving up no runs on just three hits in six innings.
"I was locating my fastball well, and mixing the slider in effectively," the junior pitcher said. "After we took a 3 or 4-run lead there wasn’t a lot of pressure on me."
While Nicoll thrived in his new role as the Anteater’s ace, Cal starter Adam Gold struggled through out the game with his control, allowing seven runs on nine hits.
In what became a pattern for the junior hurler, after quickly retiring the first two batters of the game Gold hung a slider to Irvine catcher Mark Wagner that was blasted over the right-field wall.
All of the seven runs Gold allowed came when Irvine was batting with two outs.
The Anteater’s had all the runs they needed by the fourth inning when their 6’5", 240 lb. mountain of a first baseman, Jaime Martinez, lined a two-out, two-RBI scorcher into right field to give Irvine a 3 – 0 lead.
"We have to execute pitches better," Esquer said. "[Gold] was leaving pitches up in the strike zone."
Irvine deftly manufactured runs the entire game. In the sixth inning, already leading 4 – 0, Irvine right fielder David Miramonte laid a sacrifice bunt down the third base line to advance the runners on first and second.
After Gold forced a grounder to second baseman Josh Satin for the second out, Irvine shortstop Chad Lundahl rocketed a double over Cal leftfielder Chris Errecart to score two and all but put the game away.
"You can’t play a much better baseball game," Irvine’s new head coach Dave Serrano said of his veteran team. "There was some uncertainty coming in to our first game with a whole new coaching staff, but they executed fabulously."
Gold was pulled after the Lundahl double, but his teammates did not fair any better. Alex Trafton, Michael Copper and Jeremy Burchett closed out the game allowing three more runs on two hits, two bases on balls and two wild pitches.
The Bear’s lone run came off a pinch-hit homerun over the left-centerfield wall by senior James Holder to lead off the eighth inning. In their first two games, the Bears have only scored in the eighth inning, putting together a four-run rally Tuesday against Pacific before falling 5 – 4.
Holder may be in the starting line-up for the final two games in the series against Irvine as Cal looks to shake up the order to create some offense, Esquer said.
Cal and Irvine finish off their three game series on Saturday and Sunday at Evans Field.
Posted by Neil Henry at 06:07 PM
February 03, 2005
Cal Women Hexed Again, 76-59, by Sun Devils
BERKELEY – The Cal women's basketball team crumbled at the hands of a more athletic Arizona State squad Thursday night at Haas Pavillion, losing its eighth straight game.
"We got away from our game plan and fell into their hands, " said Cal coach Caren Horstmeyer (center).
Although the Bears (8-13, 2-10 PAC 10) came out strong in the first half and even led at one point by four, they couldn’t fend off the swarming Devils’ defense that turned up the heat in the second half. An 8-0 ASU run that straddled the closing minute of the first half and the opening minute of the second, showed a sign of what was to come. By the end of the game ASU (15-6, 7-4 PAC 10) had led Cal by as many as 29 points, more than the Bears scored in the entire first half.
Senior guard Kristen Iwanaga, one of the nation’s leading three-point shooters with 64 percent, said it best. "We were just kind of standing around."
It could be that the Devils were worried they would look weak in the lead up to their match against fourth ranked Stanford on Saturday. Or maybe they wanted to make it clear just how easy it was to sweep Cal for the second year in a row. Whatever the motivation was, it worked. Because when they hit the floor in the second half the Sun Devils either had a fire in the belly or a fear in their hearts.
The Devils’ coach Charlie Turner Thorn joked that she had let her players know she meant business.
"I told them I really don’t want to smack anybody. I am G-rated but I did joke with them. I told them about Woody Hayes at the end of his career and I told them I would be fired tomorrow if they didn’t do something."
Hayes was the infamous Ohio State football who lost his job after hitting a player.
Although the Devils don’t have to worry about being smacked, they did slap the Bears around throughout the second half. Things went from bad to worse for Cal after their top scorer Leigh Gregory caught her fourth foul with just under fifteen minutes left in the game. She sat out until the six-minute mark.
But by that time the Bears were already down by nine points. Horstmeyer defended herself when asked why she kept her top player out for almost ten minutes. She even stared this reporter down for suggesting it was a bad call. But she finally admitted she could have put her in earlier.
"Yeah, that was option," she said.
The Devils were hot throughout the second half shooting 83 percent from three-point range (5-6). Senior guard Kylan Loney dropped four of those, all in the second half.
"I was just happy that I was really in the flow and my teammates were finding me with my feet set," said Loney.
Cal should have dominated the ASU from the free throw line and three-point range. They are the PAC 10 leaders on both fronts (73.5, 42.1). Cal actually ranks third in the nation from three-point range. But the Devils’ shut out the Bears from the perimeter. Cal only took one three-pointer in the second half and shot 67 percent from the line with 11-15. The Devils hit a whopping 100 percent from the line, shooting 11-11.
The Devils spread the wealth, with three players chipping in more than fifteen points each. Leading them was Kristen Kovesdy, exploded in the second half, scoring 19 of her 21 points after the break. Loney and sophomore forward Emily Westberg both racked up 16 points for the night.
Cal was hoping that their leading scorer Leigh Cook would help them come back. But her high point of the game came before the tip off when Gregory received a commemorative ball for breaking the 1,000 point mark last month at Stanford.
But Gregory came in under season average of 12.5 ppg, scraping out 11 points in her 26 minutes on the court. Seven of those came in the first half.
Maybe the Cal women are chasing the Warriors. With their next matches against Arizona and Stanford the lady Bears might hit their stride with 10 losses.
Posted by Neil Henry at 11:06 AM
February 02, 2005
About CSJ
California Sports Journal is a publication of the Graduate School of Journalism at UC Berkeley. Follow the link to find contact details for our writers and editors.
Ira J. Spitzer, on deadline in the Warrior press box.
California Sports Journal: Who we are, and how to reach us.
Janie McCauley of the Associated Press, below, shares her experience covering the Oakland A's, Raiders, and Warriors, as instructor Gregg Bell of the Sacramento Bee looks on. McCauley is one of numerous top professionals in print, photography and broadcasting who are visiting a seminar devoted to sports coverage during the spring, 2005 semester.
Sportscaster Fred Inglis of Ch. 2 KTVU News discusses writing for television.
Oakland Tribune baseball writer Andrew Baggarly reflects
on covering the Giants, Barry Bonds and the steroids controversy.
CSJ provides feature and deadline coverage of Bay Area college and pro sports.
Tovin Lapan hammers out an NBA feature in the Arena press box.
Ki-Min Sung, right, and Ryan Lillis await a recent Warrior tip off.
Rebecca Turek interviews Nets star Jason Kidd in Oakland.
Oskar Garcia and Nagomi Onda keep score at Evans Diamond...
...as a Florida Marlins scout takes notes in the stands behind home plate.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
California Sports Journal contact information:
Editors and Instructors:
Gregg Bell
gbell@sacbee.com
Neil Henry
nhenry@berkeley.edu
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Staff Writers:
Mark Chediak
mchediak@berkeley.edu
Oskar F. Garcia
oskar@berkeley.edu
Tovin Lapan
tovinl@hotmail.com
John Letzing
john_letzing@yahoo.com
Ryan Lillis
rlillis51@aol.com
Nick Miroff
nmiroff@hotmail.com
Paul Murdock
kingpen66@hotmail.com
Nagomi Onda
nagomi0914@yahoo.co.jp
Adam Raney
araney@berkeley.edu
Ariana Reguzzoni
ariana_r@berkeley.edu
Tristan Spinski
tspinski@yahoo.com
Ira J. Spitzer
iraspitzer@yahoo.com
Ki-Min Sung
kiminsung@berkeley.edu
Rebecca Turek
rebeccawt@hotmail.com
Matt Vree
mvree@yahoo.com
Posted by Neil Henry at 12:28 PM