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Everybody Starts @ 1st String
Everybody Starts @ 1st String
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You can contact 1st String Magazine at etaylor@1ststring.com See you at the Game
Academics for Success
360 Grand Ave Oakland, Ca 510.482.9696
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Home is where the wins are in the NBA Playoffs As we get closer to crowning a NBA champion this year it is getting harder and harder to get a win on the road. Home teams are now 19-1 in the second round of the 2008 playoffs. The only team to lose at home, Orlando, is the only team that has been eliminated from the second round. Defending champion San Antonio had to hold serve at home in game six of their Western Conference semi's against New Orleans to stay alive. After taking 2-0 leads at home, Boston, LA and New Orleans all came back home for game five with their series tied at two. The Lakers and the Jazz have been so one sided that the home team has always scored first in their playoffs series and their have been zero lead changes. That's right. The Lakers won game five to go up 3-2 and the first team to score has made it hold up. More click here
San Jose Earthquakes fall just short of Columbus The Earthquakes learned another lesson in their 3-2 loss to the Columbus Crew Saturday night at Santa Clara's Buck Shaw Stadium. They learned that you can not let your guard down or mope around for even a second. Why, because good teams will pounce on you, just like the now 6-1 Crew did late in the game. San Jose went ahead 1-0 when Ramiro Corrales headed a ball into the net. That was the Earthquakes first goal since beating Colorado April 19th 2-0. The lead lasted until the 73rd minute when San Jose's D seemed to fall apart. The Crew scored three goals in a 11-minute span. Midfielder Robbie Rogers scored two of them. Both times he out ran the Quakes defense to a through pass before beating Quakes goalie Joe Cannon to put San Jose down 2-1. Brad Evans scored on one more one on one situation with Cannon in the 83rd minute and the Earthquakes were down 3-1. They did not quit. San Jose got motivated the last 12 or so minutes of the game. They took advantage of their only second half corner kick in the 89th minute when Ryan Johnson was able to direct a header into the goal for the final score of the contest. The Quakes are now tied with Houston at 1-4-1. Their play has been better then the record shows, but they have a hard time turning the chances they get into goals. Scoring puts pressure on the other team. Not scoring despite having a lot of good chances starts to put pressure on your squad. The Quakes are young and we must remember that they are an expansion team.
It was quite a ride Yeah the Golden St. Warriors did not make the playoffs in 2008, but the season they had was one to remember. The Warriors went through just about everything you could imagine. They were the last team to win a game this season. That usually spells doom. It did, but not in the manner everybody thought. The Warriors roared back from their 0 and 6 start to go 20-games over .500 and it looked like not if GSW would return to the playoffs, but with the top seed in the West being only three or four games ahead of the 8th seed for much of the season, but how high of a seed they could get. The three's were falling and the Warriors, the highest scoring team in the NBA during the 2007-08 season, were running past just about everybody. Their was only one problem. Golden St. played little defense. They finished first in points given up as well. In a year when it took 50-wins to make the post season out West, their 48-wins came up just short. In a must win against Phoenix the last week of the season, the Warriors picked themselves off the mat to take a 4th quarter lead only to give it right back to the Suns. Their 122-116 loss knocked them out of contention for the final playoff spot in the West. That went to Denver, who headed into the postseason with a cloud hanging over them. Forward Carmelo Anthony was arrested while driving intoxicated the last night of the season and a suspension could be in the near future for Anthony.. It is not often that a teams best player gets glued to the bench the entire second half of the biggest game of the year, but that is what happened to Warriors point guard Baron Davis against the Suns. Davis was horrible in the first half when Golden St. fell behind by as much as 14. Warriors head coach Don Nelson turned his bench and the unit responded. Kelenna Azubuike scored 17off the bench as the Warriors went on a 38-19 run in the 3rd quarter and it looked like the season finale against Seattle would mean something. Monte Ellis put the Warriors up 107-96 with seven minutes left in the game. It was all down hill for Golden St. after that. Baron was just 2 of 13 in the 17, first half minutes he played. Was the end of the game a good time to re insert Davis into the line up. YES, but did Nellie do that, NO. Why, well coach Nelson stated that he wanted to give the group who got them back in the lead a chance to close out the game. The back ups, played great, but they ran out of steam late in the game and the Suns closed out the Warriors playoff hopes with a 26-9 run during the last seven minutes of the contest. More click here
Prep lights up the track at the Stanford Invitational The outdoor track and field season in the Bay Area got underway down on the Farm with the Stanford Invitational. College athlete's from around the country were put on the same track as some of the best JC and high school athlete's Northern California had to offer in a two day track and field festival.
Even some former college stars were mixed into the action, but it was a 15 year old in just her second year of high school that stole the show. Get used to her name, because you will hear it for years to come. Ashton Purvis is already well known in the world of high school track and field. She added to her luster by dusting off the track with the fastest time by a prep this year. Her 11.74 put her in a tie on top of the charts. yes it is early, but she ran that time into a strong head wind. She could be a player when the next Olympic's roll around in 2012. More click here
Kansas picks themselves off the ground to win NCAA title Memphis had this one all but won, up nine with two minutes left in the 2008 NCAA D1 men's championship game. Then they came. Missed free throws. One after another. Four of their last five, helping the Jayhawks comeback to win their first NCAA men's basketball championship in twenty years. The Tigers will be left with what if.
A bump in the road They may be one of the few teams under .500 in a tough Western Conference in 2008, but their is no quit in the Sacramento Kings. Sac got 30pts from Ron Artest and 27 from Kevin Martin, helping the Kings get past Houston 99-98 in Sacramento Tuesday night. The Rockets have cooled off since their 22-game winning streak put them smack dab in the middle of the playoff race in the West. The loss dropped Houston two and a half games behind San Antonio and New Orleans with nine games to play. Sacramento, long out of the playoffs in the West we still play a role in who makes the postseason in 2008. With games against some of the top teams in the NBA the rest of the season, the playoffs will go through Sac, one way or another. More click here
Sacred Heart stakes claim to #1 ranking It has been quite a trying year for the members of the Sacred Heart Cathedral girls basketball team. They capped off their basketball season the best way possible.
The win was sealed by Tierra Rogers, who made a short jumper midway through the fourth quarter that gave Sacred heart some breathing room in their 48-33 win over Magnolia (Anaheim) in the D3 state finals. Sacred Heart is now on a 56-game winning streak. 33 of those came in 2007-08 and it does not look like they will be slowing down anytime soon. Sophomore center Kamilah Jackson set a D3 CIF state finals record with 17-rebounds. She added 17pts in the win. It was just one of the impressive performance's that took place at state. Santa Margarita got a record setting eight three pointers made and a record tying 37pts from senior forward Klay Thompson in their 72-55 win over Sacramento High. The home town squad got a monster game from Chase Tapley. Chase got a chance to play his last game in high school at home at state and he made the most of it. His 35pts came on just about every move you can think of and Sac High can hang their heads high after the season that they had. Every team can. It is always quite a feat to make the state finals. Take Dominguez High of Compton. They had one of the toughest schedules in the state last year. They beat three teams that won state championships in 2008, Mater Dei (D2), Campbell Hall (D4) and Santa Margarita (D3) while bouncing defending D1 champion Fairfax out of the playoffs. They finished the season 32-3. They got help from M.L. King of Riverside who beat top ranked Taft in the SoCal playoffs enabling Dominguez to miss the only other team to beat them besides Mack. Taft beat them twice, but M.L. King bounced Taft out of the playoffs a game before they would have seen Dominguez again. The Warriors proved to be too much for Dominguez to handle. More click here
High school cagers get ready for state It has been a long season, or has it.The stage is set for state finals after a weekend of semi final's in Los Angeles and Sacramento. A couple of teams will get a chance to repeat as champions.
The Sacred Heart Cathedral girls team scraped by St. Mary's of Stockton 46-45 in the D3 NorCal final. Sacred Heart has been through it all over the past couple of years. They have come back to win close game after close game and this one was no different. One of the top teams in the nation and the D3 defending champion got a basket by Tierra Rogers with ten seconds left for the winning score. Rogers is playing with a heavy heart since her father was killed earlier this season and for her to come through in the clutch was like a scene from a movie. She helped continue what now is a perfect 32-0 season with a date against Magnolia in the D3 final Saturday. Sacred Heart will be one of six teams trying to repeat in 2008. Campbell Hall, Branson and Mater Dei will try and get the job done on the boys side and Long Beach Poly, Sacred Heart and Branson will try on the girls side. More click here
The Big Dance
These Kent St. players watched from the bench during a big win at St. Mary's College in a bracket buster game this season. Now is the time to make that move if you are going to dance in 2008. Conference tourney's go down all over the country this weekend as some teams try to lock down a high seed while others are just trying to in the show. Kent St leads the Mid-American conference at 24-6, 12-3 and if they make the tourney final they should be in the Big dance. Caution gets thrown to the wind as the NBA trading deadline approaches Shaq to the Suns, J-Kidd to Dallas, C-Webb back to the Warriors. who would have thought that would happen, but anything goes in the 2007-08 season as teams are rolling the dice to get into position to play for a championship. This year. The run and gun Phoenix Suns granted a player his wish while shaking up their line up in the process. Out went Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks. Banks will be an afterthought, but Marion was a key part of the exciting Suns offensive attack. Who needs the 24-second clock, not the Suns. Or maybe they do. Running past everybody during the regular season has produced little in the playoffs. Phoenix is gambling that the big guy can be an enforcer on defense while adding some scoring punch on the low block when the Suns break gets slowed down. Now Shaq is in the valley of the Sun hoping to extend his streak of making the NBA Finals with every team he has played for during his NBA career. First Orlando, then three rings with the Lakers before winning one with the Miami Heat. Is an appearance in the NBA Finals on the horizon for the Suns. Only time will tell. First Shaq has to get healthy, he came over to the Suns with a hip condition and he has not played for his new team. When will he be back and how effective will be a big factor in how far the Suns go in the playoffs this year. Golden State had their team imploded 14-years ago as one of the best, young nucleus in the league at the time was torn apart with the feud between head coach Don Nelson and then rookie Chris Webber. Time does indeed heal wounds and the unthinkable happened. First Golden St. re hired Don Nelson last year, then they made one of the best trades in recent history before making history with their first round defeat of the West leading Dallas Mavericks in the playoffs. More click here
The Giants leave Green Bay in a New York state of mind Well, it will be an all east coast Super Bowl as the New England Patriot's (as expected) will face the New York Giants (not so expected) in the Super Bowl in Arizona. The Pats got there by keeping San Diego out of the end zone in the face of three Tom Brady interceptions. Brady was not at his best, but as he did last week, tailback Laurence Maroney and the running game came through big time. New England got back to basic's in the playoffs. After passing circles around the league during the regular season, New England produced their second straight playoff game with a 100-yard rusher. Tom Brady threw 50 TD passes during the regular season and 23 of those went to Randy Moss, but for the second straight game Moss was a non factor. Brady connected on two TD passes, but he also threw three interceptions against San Diego.The Chargers could not cash in, kicking four field goals despite being in New England's red zone all day. The Chargers were without the services of running back LaDainian Tomlinson who carried the ball the first two plays from scrimmage San Diego took, but then did not return to the game. They needed him inside the red zone. The Chargers got close to scoring touchdowns but once they got close to the goal line San Diego could not figure out a way cash in. New England could and that was the difference in the game. The New York Giants shocked the world by beating the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Championship game to make it through to the Super Bowl. QB Eli Manning put to rest any doubt about his quarterbacking skills by playing mistake free football in what was the biggest game of his career. The game's biggest mistake was made by it's biggest star. Packer quarterback Brett Farve threw what proved to be the game ending interception on the second play of overtime giving the Giants a short field to play with. Lawrence Tynes connected on a 47-yard field goal to win it after missing two late in the fourth quarter, including a 36-yarder on the last play of regulation. He went from goat to hero in a matter of minutes, but he almost did not get a chance to come through for his team. When the time came for Tynes to try his game winning kick head coach Tom Coughlin is reported to not have sent Tynes onto the field. Reports have it that Tynes just went out there because it was fourth down and Coughlin said the heck with it and gave Tynes another chance. If true, that was the best non coaching decision Coughlin has ever made.
Look who's coming to dinner It was upset Sunday in the NFL Divisional Playoffs last week as the defending Super Bowl champions and the NFC's regular season champs were one and done. Indy will nit get a chance to repeat thanks to a gritty defensive effort by the Chargers that helped offset the loss of first LaDainian Tomlinson then starting QB Phillip Rivers to game ending injuries in the victory. The Cowboy's just blew it. They came into the playoffs with the best record in the NFC but they backed into the playoffs. Dallas was 2-4 over their last six games of the season and it seemed like the players on the team were blaming their quarterback's relationship with Jessica Simpson as the reason for the late season slide. The Giants, of all teams, came into Big D and left with a ticket to the NFC Championship game next week in Green Bay. I would not say that the Boy's were looking past New York, but the the way Terrell Owens was boo, whoo, whooing you could tell that he was looking forward to seeing Brett Farve in the NFC Championship game next week. Now to see him he will have to buy a ticket just like anybody else. It was the Eli Manning show down in big D. Eli almost seemed to be carrying the family torch. Everybody figured a Manning would be under center in a championship game, but in New England, not Green Bay. San Diego gets a rematch of their playoff game from a year ago when they had the Patriots all but beat before a fourth quarter meltdown lead to LT storming off the field after the Chargers closed out a 14-2 season by losing in their first playoff game. This time the game is just outside Boston and New England does not care about anything that happened last year. They have not lost since the AFC Championship game a year ago.
NFL second season gets underway Congrats to New England for making it through the season un defeated. It does matter, even if they don't win the Super Bowl. Of course that is the only thing every team plays for, but there is something to be said about a perfect regular season record. Whoever comes out of the AFC will be battle tested. Indy is heading into the playoffs under the radar. The defending champs have not been under a glare because of the Patriots and all of the drama that has been circling all season. Since the opening game of the year, the spy gate contest against the Jets, the Patriots have been a media circus. The one player many thought would be a major distraction, Randy Moss, has not caused one single problem, unless your were a defense trying to stop him. Moss broke Jerry Rice's season record for touchdowns with 23. Rice got his 21 in just 12-games. A record is a record and Moss helped his quarterback Tom Brady throw a NFL record 50 touchdowns in 2007. New England's defense gave up the fourth fewest points in the NFL during the 2007 season, the team that gave up the fewest, Indianapolis. Yes the defending champs are ready for another push at a Super Bowl title. The Colts have had to do without a number of veterans this year, but the most important one, QB Peyton Manning was better then ever leading the Colts to a 13-3 record and a number #2 seed in the AFC Playoffs. More click here.
Beantown comes out west, beats Sacramento Kings
Guard/forward Paul Pierce scored 14 of his game high 16pts during a 35-5 Boston run in the second quarter and the Celtic's held off a late Kings run to win going away 89-69. Sacramento led by four early in the second quarter before the Celtic's went on their big run. Defense, as it has all season, fueled the outburst that carried Boston to their first victory in Sacramento since 1996, a span of 11-games. Pierce was red hot over the last seven minutes of the first half when he lit it up for 14pts helping Boston to a 53-29 half time lead. Pierce has not missed a beat with the additions of Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen. Paul leads the team in scoring (20.1) a game in his new role as just one of the guys. Kevin Garnett had 14pts and ten rebounds in the win against Sacramento. The Celtic's got great bench play from guards Eddie House and James Posey. House scored 14pts, none bigger then a three from the side that started a game clinching 8-0 run after the Kings pulled to within five in the 4th quarter. After ending the second quarter missing 10 of their final 11 shots, the Kings came out in the second half on fire. The run was sparked by a defense that forced Boston to miss their first seven shots of the second half. Sacramento took advantage by going on a 14-1 run. Ron Artest put back an offensive rebound to make it a five point game with eight minutes left in the game before House then Posey hit consecutive three's to put the King's away. Artest led Sacramento in scoring (15pts), but he was only 4 of 15 shooting from the field. The rough and tumble game featured 37-combined turnovers and their were two technical fouls in the game.
Oceanside, St. Bonaventure and De La Salle bring home state titles in football The CIF football state championships came and went with the So Cal teams taking two out of the three games. The De La Salle Spartans can finally lay claim to being the best team in the state.
After dominating the state for almost two decades, the Spartans won on their biggest stage yet. The Spartans went on a wild ride to lay claim to their first state championship and Northern California's first in the six games since the state finals were reinstated. Up 31-7 with six minutes left in the 3rd quarter, the Spartans had to hold on to beat Centennial 37-31 in the D1 final. Oceanside took advantage of second half turnovers to come back and beat Novato 28-14 while St. Bonaventure ran past Central Catholic (Modesto) 35-21. More click here
BCS mess heats up with new top teams I don't mean any disrespect to Missouri or West Virginia, but if that is the national championship game come January then it will be a boon for those who want to see the BCS done away with and a playoff system put in it's place. After a season in which several small schools had their chance at the national title game, two traditional powers, Ohio St and LSU will play for the championship leaving at least five or six teams out in the cold. More click here
Raiders and 49ers bring home victories It has been a sad month and a half for bay area football teams. Both Oakland and San Francisco have been mired in losing streaks that put a once promising season in the dumps. The Thanksgiving turkey must have been good because Oakland not only won a game for the first time since a 35-17 win at Miami Sept. 30th, but they snapped a 17-game losing streak to AFC West opponents. Oakland's last win in the division was a 25-24 victory at Denver on Nov. 28, 2004. The Raiders got 139-yards rushing and one TD from tailback Justin Fargas beating Kansas City 20-17. In Arizona the 49ers offense showed up with the help of new assistant offensive coordinator Ted Tolliner, the former USC head coach who was hired on by San Francisco to help their anemic offense. It worked. Frank Gore looked like he was back in 2006, and the 49ers put up a season high total from points in their 37-31 win. Gore rushed for 116-yards and two TD's. Kurt warner lit up the 49ers secondary for 484-yards passing and two touchdowns, but he threw two picks and he was sacked four times, the last in the end zone during overtime, he fumbled and Tully Banta-Cain pounced on it for the winning score.The win snapped an eight game losing streak.
49ers drop into last in the NFC West It is official. The San Francisco 49ers have hit rock bottom, losing to the now 2-8 St. Louis Rams and falling into last place in the NFC West. San FRancisco got too little offense too late, losing 13-9 to the Rams.
Dilfer played perhaps his best game of the year. Before you think about touchdown passes and 300-yards through the air, you must remember who I am talking about. Trent did not have to do much in order to have his best game if the season. He threw for 231-yards (20 of 42) with two picks and zero TD's. 141 of those yards came in the fourth quarter when San Francisco did their best to win for the first time since beating the Rams eight games ago. More click here
Raiders lose again, Chi-town wins 17-6
In this dream, that cliff you are about to fall off is another Raiders season heading down the tubes.. Oakland put another sell out crowd too sleep with a lack luster 17-6 loss to the Chicago Bears Sunday. Once again the Raiders defense played great for most of the game. Then it happened. Oakland got a late three point lead and just when it looked like the Raiders were going to come out of their mid-season funk the Bears scored on a 3-play, 70-yard drive that was over before anybody new what happened. They held the Bears offense in check for most of the game, knocking out starting QB Brian Griese late in the first half. Oakland even contained dynamic kick returner Devin Hester, kicking to him the whole game just as head coach Lane Kiffin said he would. The Raider's will look back on this game and wonder what happened. Tied at three late in the fourth quarter Oakland took a 6-3 lead on a Sebastien Janikowski field goal with 3.19 left in the game. Back up and mistake prone Rex Grossman was now in at quarterback for Chicago trying to bring the Bears back. No problem. Grossman, benched because of erratic play, calmly hit wide receiver Bernard Berriman on a 59-yard, game winning touchdown with 3-minutes left in the game. More click here
GSW reeling after starting the season 0-3 Yes it is still early, but the Golden St. Warriors have not gotten off to the start they had hoped for. It did not help to have to play the Utah Jazz two out of the first three games, but the way GSW finished last season many people thought it would not matter who the Warriors played. More click here
The bloom has faded from Cal's rose Just two weeks ago the California Golden Bears were on the verge of becoming the number one team in the nation. Now, three loses later they sit sixth in the Pac 10 and out of contention for the one thing they want the most. A Rose Bowl bid. The Bears lost 31-20 to Arizona St. in a game they once lead 13-0. The Sun Devils improved to 8-0, 5-0 in the Pac 10 by holding the Bears to seven points after the first quarter. The Sun Devils have only allowed 29pts total in the second half of their eight games to date. More click here High school football heats up as playoff near
League races all over the bay area are starting to take shape. Riordan, Amador Valley and Ygnacio Valley all took it on the chin last weekend. Riordan lost for the first time in the WCAL Friday night, YV got blind sided by a struggling but good Deer Valley squad 12-0 and Amador Valley got shocked by Granada in EBAL action. Next week's games will go a long way's towards league championships. Berkeley High and Alameda (above) will get it on in Berkeley Friday night with a shot at the ACCAL title on the line. Las Lomas and College Park tangle for the DVAL lead and Bellermine heads up 101 to San Francisco and play the last team with a chance to take away the WCAL title from them (Riordan). More click here
Cal lets one get away It was right there for the taking. Cal came into their home game against Oregon St. as the second ranked team in the country. Midway through the game the nation's #1 ranked squad, the LSU Tiger's lost to Kentucky in overtime. The Bears were now #1 but they were in a battle with the Beavers. Oregon St. seems to have Cal's number when the two play in Berkeley. The Bear's have only lost four home games since sept of 2003 and the Beavers have won three of them.
Doomsday in LA, USC UCLA lose at home It was quite a Saturday of college football in Los Angeles. First USC, winners of every home game played since Sept. 26, 2001 lost at home to the same team that beat them back in 2001. Stanford, the bottom feeders of the Pac10 for the last three years, did the un thinkable. Beat USC. Stanford had to come back to do it, winning 24-23 on a fourth and goal pass from the 10-yard line. It snapped a 35-game home winning streak for USC that started after losing to Stanford back in 2001. Notre Dame made it a daily double by gaining their first win of the 2007 season by beating UCLA 20-6 in the Rose Bowl. LA bred Notre Dame QB Jimmy Clausen got his first TD, a one yard rush that made it 13-6 Fighting Irish. USC and UCLA came into the weekend with a combined record of 8-1 while Stanford and Notre Dame were a combined 1 and 8. More click here
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Photo by Eric Taylor
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Inside Sports 1st String Magazine All Rights Reserved 2000-08 TM |
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After opening the season beating up on Eastern Conference teams, the Boston Celtic's brought their gaudy record out west and showed the Sacramento Kings why they have the best record in the NBA as we head into the New Year.
Trent Dilfer got the start in place of the still injured Alex Smith at quarterback. 
It is starting to look like a bad dream. You wake up just before you fall off a cliff, or the monster gets you. 
It is now or never for high school football teams. The playoffs are just weeks away and you want to win now more then ever. 
