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String Magazine
Everybody Starts @ 1st String
Everybody Starts @ 1st String
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String Magazine 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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NBA Hopefuls get ready for a different world The NBA draft is just around the corner and it is time to get down to business for the many young NBA prospects out there for the taking in the 2009 draft. It seems like a guard heavy draft with as many as seven or eight expected to be taking in the first round. After clear cut number 1 pick, forward Blake Griffin there could be any number of combo's that round out the top ten or eleven picks. Memphis took Hasheem Thabeet second, Oklahoma City went with James Harden and Sacramento follow that with Tyreke Evens and the 2009 NBA Draft was on. Memphis needs help all over the place. They did hit the jackpot, drafting O.J. Mayo last year. If Thabeet can turn into a solid big man the Grizzles could move out of the lottery in a year or two. Oklahoma City has a lot to gain in this draft. Kevin Durant is all they hoped he would be when the then Seattle Supersonic's took him first overall out of Texas in the 2007 Draft. Kevin now has James Harden to go along with Michael Westbrook. More click here
Kobe gets his "own" ring He already had three NBA Championships rings sitting some where in his house. He has wanted to show the basketball world that he is worthy of greatness all by himself. The piece's to the puzzle finally all fit and the Los Angeles Lakers won their first NBA Championship since the 2001-02 season. Could Kobe, who was once a step away from leaving, be sitting on the verge of another Lakers mini dynasty?. The Los Angeles Lakers beat the Orlando Magic 99-86 in game five of the 2009 NBA Finals, taking the series 4-1 to claim their 15th championship. Only Boston has more with 17. The series was a lot closer then the 4-1 tally indicated. LA won two overtime games to go along with two blowouts, but the series could have went either way. Magic rookie Courtney Lee missed a lay up that would have given Orlando the win in game two and a 1-all series tie. Down 2-0, the Magic won game three, but instead of being up 2-1, they were down 2-1. Game four saw Lakers point guard Derek Fisher hit a couple of big shots, one with .4 second left on the clock to sent the game into overtime and the other with 33-seconds left in OT helping the Lakers win 99-91 and take a commanding 3-1 lead in the series. LA used a 16-0 run in the second quarter to take command of game five, pulling away to win. Orlando did not put up much of a fight after the Lakers went into the half up 10 of game five. Everything was working for LA. Trevor Ariza was draining three's in the first half. Lamar Odom took over in the third with a couple of daggers back to back. During the whole game Kobe Bryant scored at will. Once again LA played great defense on Magic big man Dwight Howard. It was like Howard was not even playing during large stretches of the finals. Pau Gasol stepped up and did a great job of defending Howard. He got labeled as soft after LA lost to Boston in last year's finals, but he did not let the negative press get to him. " It was the fact that we lost the finals, not what was said in the papers that made me mad" said Gasol after gave the game five victory. The Lakers did a great job of helping down on Dwight when he got the ball. Nobody on Orlando could make the Lakers pay for their attention towards Howard. The Magic had a great season. They earned their way to their first finals appearance since 1995 by beating two 60 win teams in the playoffs (Cleveland and Boston) that were favorites and they won their first finals game in team history. What about LA's head coach Phil Jackson. He has won 10 of the last 19 championships as head coach of the Lakers or Chicago Bulls. Jackson moved one title ahead of the legendary coach Red Auerbach on the all time list into first place. More click here
Reggie Wyatt lights up 2009 CIF State meet with a national record in the 300m hurdles
In the middle of a track meet with some of the best high school athletes in the nation competing for state honors, one person stood out. That man was Reggie Wyatt, 300m hurdle/400m dash double winner at the 2009 state meet. It was what he did in the 300m hurdles that will have people talking for years. Wyatt, out of La Sierra busted out with a 35.02 to wow the sold out crowd Friday night in the prelims to the state finals the next day. Reggie could not match his new national high school record, but he did win the 300m hurdles in 36.71 along with a victory in the 400m dash (46.13). Photo's click here
Andre Ward steps up to the plate They said he was moving along to slow. It has been almost five years since young Andre Ward won his gold medal in the 2004 Olympic Games.
He was 18-0, but who has he fought?. I can barely name the people Ward has gotten into the ring with. None of that mattered Saturday night when he disposed of one of his doubters, a game Edison Miranda in an exciting 12-bout. The score card told the story. Ward won on all three judges scores. Miranda had boosted the he would drop Andre in the 10th round, but Ward almost flipped the script on Edison, stunning the Columbian with a couple of left hooks midway through the 10th. More click here
2009 NFL Draft is on the clock The Detroit Lions lost every game they played during the regular season to become the first team in NFL history to lose 16-games so I guess they figured why wait to draft day to make their pick.
So the team that has been in love with wide receiver's the last five years finally draft a quarterback to throw them the ball. The rest of the first round was pretty interesting. Oakland raised more then a few eyebrows when they selected Darrius Heyward-Bey (above) out of Maryland. The wide receiver was the fastest player at the combines this year and he will have the extra motivation of people calling him a bad pick by the Raiders. The San Francisco 49ers followed by taking Michael Crabtree (Texas Tech) with the tenth pick. Many thought Crabtree was a top five pick and the best split end on the board and were surprised when the Raiders passed on him. Defensive linemen (7) and wide receivers (6) were the most popular draft picks in the first round this year.
Earthquakes fit to be tied against LA It could not have started out better. A large crowd came out to watch the San Jose Earthquakes play their natural rivals, the LA Galaxy.
The Quakes scored quick when Arturo Alvarez found the back of the net in the 5th minute and they had numerous chances to increase their lead in the first half but they had to settle for a 1-all tie. More click here
Tiger is back, but is he healthy Tiger Woods will make his return to the PGA Tour in Arizona after missing most of a year due to knee surgery. Who says golf is an easy game to play.
It's seems to be taxing enough for the 30 year old Woods who is coming off his third surgery on the same knee. How will he hold up over a 72-hole grind. Forget about him playing a full schedule. He will not be able to hold up over that kind of a grind and besides he has a new baby boy to help take care of. How ever many events Tiger enters, he is going to cause a stir and besides, Tiger does so well when he does play he should get enough points to get into the Fed Ex playoffs at the end of the season. He was knocked out in the second round of the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship by Tim Clark. It was good to see Tiger back out there. Next up is the Masters and after the performance Tiger put on we all know he is ready for a run at another green jacket at Augusta. Who will step up and give Tiger a run. Will Tiger even be in it. A smart bet says yes.
Is A-Rod a fraud ? He can hit a ball a mile on a line, he played great defense at shortstop, decent at third with the New York Yankee's and he has been some what of a poster board figure of a superstar that had not got caught up in the steroid mess. Until last weekend. There have been reports that even Alex Rodriguez used drugs to bolster his body. A-Rod has one of the hardest workout programs in sports and he used that as his platform for being above using performance enhancing drugs. That platform seems to have been built on landfill after the public learned A-Rod used drugs during the 2003 season when he won the MVP. Rodriguez tested positive for Primobolan and Testosterone and he was tested as part of Major League Baseball's attempt to see how big of a problem steroids are and if more testing needs to be done. If that is the case and the MLB has had the drugs outlawed since before the 2003 tests, then why is all that info just now coming out. Does major league baseball really care about fair play and their players health and well being. Ball players have more traveling and a bigger grind on their bodies then in years past. Nobody can stand up and perform for 162 games with the scheduling that takes place in this day and age. Double headers used to be a staple of baseball. It was hard to play two games in one day, but the double header would give the team a day off down the road. Teams cut loose the double header so they can play on those off days and charge admission for another game. Sure it is true that taking steroids will not help you hit or catch a ball, but it help you stay on the field and keep up your workout routine so you can stay strong enough to play all those games.
Pittsburgh claims record sixth Super Bowl title The Pittsburgh Steelers now stand above them all after winning a sixth Super Bowl championship with a very entertaining 27-23 victory over the Arizona Cardinals. It was Pittsburgh's second Super Bowl win in four years and the move ahead of the San Francisco 49ers in number of Super Bowl titles with their sixth ring. More click here
Pittsburgh and Arizona reach the Super Bowl The Pittsburg Steelers continued their mastery over the Baltimore Ravens, beating them for the third time this season to reach the Super Bowl for the 7th time in their history.
Few were shocked that the Steelers made it to Tampa Bay, site of the 2009 Super Bowl. The Arizona Cardinals on the other hand were the biggest post season surprise since, well the baseball World Series when the Tampa Bay Rays climbed to the top of the American League mountain, winning a pennant before bowing out to the Phillies in the World Series. It did not take long for another underdog to rise up. The Cardinals, just 9-7 during the regular season, knocked off two teams that beat them this season. Philly and Carolina had their way with Arizona this year, but when it mattered most, the Cardinal's played like the division winners they were. More click here
San Francisco continues to impress, knock off Washington at the Stick The San Francisco 49ers took another step towards respectability by coming from be hind to beat the Washington Redskins Sunday. The game marked the end of the season for the 49ers, but they will head into the off season on a good note.
San Francisco closed by winning four out of their last five games under interim head coach Mike Singletary and if reports are right, Singletary could be around for a long time to come. More click here
Oakland falls 49-26 to New England in the rain The Raiders welcomed New England into a wet McAfee Coliseum Sunday for a AFC contest with two teams playing for different reasons.
Oakland was trying to salvage a season spinning out of control, while the Patriots needed this win to keep their playoff hopes alive. Oakland also said hello to two former players who were, at the time they signed, big parts of the Raiders plans on returning to the playoffs. Tailback Lamont Jordan and wide receiver Randy Moss were booed every time they touched the ball. It must have been music to their ears. Moss made it 14-0 with a touchdown reception in the first quarter, the first of two for Randy and Jordan ended the Patriots scoring with a 49-yard TD scamper to make it a 49-20 with six minutes left in the fourth quarter. Oakland had their chances. Down 28-7 in the second quarter, Justin Miller raced 91-yards on a kick off return to make it a 28-14 New England lead and the Coliseum was rocking. It did not last long. New England's Ellis Hobbs took the ensuing kick off 95-yards the other way for a score and the Pat's were back up 35-14.
49ers are on the move I do not know how much more the powers that be over in the San Francisco 49ers headquarters need to know about their interim head coach Mike Singletary and his ability to coach.
The 49ers came away with a 24-14 win over the once high flying New York Jets at a chilly Candlestick Park Sunday. Quarterback Shaun Hill threw for 285-yards and two touchdowns. San Francisco lost tailback Frank Gore on the second play of the third quarter to an ankle injury, but that did not stop them from dominating the time of possession. The 49ers held on to the ball for just over 40 of the 60 minute game. Hill did a great job of spreading the ball around. Shaun competed passes to ten different receivers against New York. More click here
Basketball pioneer Pete Newell passes away One of the greatest minds the basketball world has ever got to know passed away last week.
Pete Newell, middle, one time coach of Cal-Berkeley and the USA Olympic team died about 10:45 a.m. in Rancho Santa Fe on Nov. 16th, 2008. He was 93 years young. Coach Newell coached for 14 years at San Francisco, Michigan State and California before doctors advised him to give it up because of the emotional toll. His final coaching job came in the 1960 Olympics, when he took a U.S. team led by Oscar Robertson and Jerry West on a dominant run to a gold medal in Rome. Coach Newell would return to the game he loved by starting the Big Men camp helping some of the games best big men such as Shaquille O'Neil, Bill Walton and Ralph Sampson. In 1954, Newell was hired at California. The Bears won four consecutive conference titles and made two trips to the Final Four, capturing the NCAA tournament in 1959.
Big Mike The transformation is complete. Mike Singletary has gone from being one of the greatest linebackers the game has ever seen to head coach of a once proud franchise.
Mike will command respect from the players and he has been groomed for just this since he joined the 49ers coaching staff in 2005. Singletary was courted by several teams to be a head coach the past couple of season's. Mike Nolan had his chance to make a mark. The 49ers finished 7-9 in 2006, just one game out of a NFC West division championship. It was the closest to the playoffs San Francisco got with Nolan as head coach. Nolan was done in by his own coaching that year when he kicked a field goal instead of going for it on fourth and short in a game against the St. Louis Rams. San Francisco would go on to lose that game and an 8-8 finish would have been good enough for a NFC West championship. If Singletary is to succeed he will have to get better play from his quarterback. J.T. O'sullivan led the world in turnovers starting the first seven games of the season. After watching J.T. fumble twice before tossing up a pick six just before the half, Singletary benched him in favor of Shawn Hill.
Preps put on quite a show at the CIF state track and field meet All I can say is wow. The young men and women at the 2008 CIF State track and field meet put on quite a show May 30th and 31st at Cerrito's College in Norwalk, Ca. How about two all time national records and several national season best marks.
As the day wore on Saturday it became clear that Vashti was leading the the whole state in the team competition. She won the long (20'.005") and triple jumps (42'.005"), as well as, the 100m hurdles (13.44). Poly's Akawkaw Ndipagbor (53..35), just a freshmen, and Jasmine Joseph (53.54) went one, two in the open 400m dash while also lending a hand in the state title clinching 4x400m relay in the final event of the meet. All of that and I have not even got to the national records that were set Saturday by German Fernandez ( Riverbank High) and Christine Babcock (Woodbridge High). First Babcock busted out a 4.33.82 to break her own national record set one week before the state meet in the 1600m run The very next race German stepped onto the track and promptly broke the state meet record, winning the 1600m's in 4.00.29. Fernandez stepped his game up in the 3,200 running around the track in just 8:34.23 to complete an amazing double. . A rivalry was born as two super sophomore's (Ashton Purvis (St. Elizabeth Oakland) and Jessica Davis (Highland) went head up in the 100 and 200m dashes. Ashton took the 100, but Davis paid her back in the deuce. You would think that somebody who just won her first state title would be happy. Not Ashton. Purvis bust out of the blocks and she was clearly in control of the race as the runners came flying off the curve. Midway down the stretch Purvis seemed to lock up, but Davis stayed smooth and her momentum carried to the fastest time in the US in 2008 to date. Davis crossed the line in 23.46 to edge Purvis who was not far behind (23.51). Ashton's sister Amber was third (23.75). The other Purvis (Julian) ended her high school career with a second place in the 100m hurdles (13.55) to Vashti..
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Inside Sports 1st String Magazine All Rights Reserved 2000-09 TM |
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The Lions took a little drama out of the 2009 NFL Draft by signing former Georgia QB Matthew Stafford to a six year deal the night before they made him the number one overall pick.
Can he turn around the down slide San Francisco has been in for years.
One young women, Mt. Pleasant's Vashti Thomas finished second - in the team standings, by her self. Long Beach Poly won their 3rd state title in a row finishing with 39pts.
