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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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Raiders top 49ers as football gets underway in the Bay Area You could tell by the roar of the Raider faithful when they saw their beloved Raiders on the jumbo tron as they prepared to run out of the tunnel for the exhibition game against the San Francisco 49ers that they were ready for some football.
What they saw were some pretty good debuts by a couple of rookie's on both teams in Oakland's 18-6 win at the McAfee Coliseum Friday night. Darren McFadden looked good running with the first team offense, rushing for 48-yards on 12-carries.. 2007 number one pick JaMarcus Russell was two of five for 13-yards in his two series. San Francisco could not get much going on offense. Once again head coach Mike Nolan showed he might be a little gun shy by kicking a short field goal instead of going for it on 4th and two from the Raiders four yard line. It's a pre season game. You don't break out your veteran kick to make a chip shot. Lets get some practice in pressure situations. Try to score touchdowns. Nolan played to win a meaningless preseason game and he failed to coach the way he wants his players to play. More click here Earthquakes shake loose of their losing ways
They put their troubles behind them for one day, beating the Los Angeles Galaxy 3-2 in front of over 30,000 soccer fans at the McAfee Coliseum in Oakland. The Quakes have been having problems scoring goals all season. Instead of standing pat and blaming the lack of scoring on being a young expansion team, San Jose's management went out and made a couple of deals that started paying off against LA. More click here
Baron Davis defects from the Warriors as wild off season heats up in the NBA Unable to come to terms with the Golden St. Warriors, point guard Baron Davis bolted to the Los Angeles Clippers Thursday, signing a contract to play in his home town of LA. He had thought he would play with big man Elton Brand, but Brand took his game to Philly when he signed a multi-year contract in a move that caught some in the Clippers organization by surprise. Davis tried to convince Brand to stay, but in the end Baron is the one who could have taken a step backwards. The Clips lost Corey Maggette to the Warriors and BD will have a lot of work ahead of him next year with the Clips. More click here
Boston wins 2008 NBA Championship The Boston Celtic's finished what they set out to do at the start of the 2007-08 NBA season. Win it all. They won a NBA title for all the right reasons. They played the best defense in the league during the 2007-08 season and in the finals Boston held one of the best scorers in NBA history in check Kevin Garnett came to Boston in part because of the history of the team. He has added to that legacy and along with Paul Pierce and Ray Allen, they have the look of a squad that should compete for championships for the next five of six years. KG is the only one over 30 and they have a good young bench that is only going to get better. Boston's win in the finals was complete. Nobody can say anything in the Lakers behalf after the game six meltdown when the C's slapped LA up and down the court on national TV. More click here
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..
The stage is set for the CIF state track and field meet My how time fly's. Especially when you are very fast, as in Vashti Thomas, senior from Mt. Pleasant High (San Jose). She gave notice to the entire nation on how tuned in she is right now with an outstanding performance at the Central Coast track and field championships at Gilroy (Ca) High.
The defending CIF State champion in the 100m hurdles set the top marks in the nation so far this year in the long and triple jumps Saturday in Gilroy. She hoped, skipped and jumped to a 43'.01.5" triple jump before taking off on a 20'.5" long jump. Overall she won four events at the CCS Championships. Her 13.52 in the 100m hurdles in the third fastest in the nation this year to date. She also won the 100m dash in 11.95. Over at Cal-Berkeley a pair of sisters were putting on their own show. Julian and Ashton Purvis dominated in three events at the NCS Championships. Julian, a senior, ran in her last NCS Championships. She won her only event, winning the 100m hurdles in a state best 13.49,which is second best in the nation right now. It should be quite a final if Julian and Vashti are lined up like in last year's final, side by side in lanes four and five. Julian finished second to Thomas in the state finals last year and I am sure they will push each other to a fast time this year. Her sister Ashton swept the 100 and 200m dashes at the NCS Championships. Ashton won the 100 in 11.89 and the 200 in 24.31. The sophomore has the fastest 200 in the state to date this year and she is looking to win her first state championship. The California state meet is May 30th and 31st at Cerrito's College in Norwalk, Ca.
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 were 22-2 in the second round of the 2008 playoffs. The only teams to lose at home, Orlando and New Orleans 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. Game seven saw the Spurs take an early lead and hold on as the Hornets made a rally at the end only to fall short of advancing to the Western Conference Finals for the first time in team history. Instead it will be the Spurs who get a chance to knock off the Los Angeles Lakers. LA comes into the series well rested after ousting the Utah Jazz in six games of their Western Conference second round playoff match up.
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
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Photo by Eric Taylor
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It has been a long time coming. Both goals and wins have been hard to come by for the expansion San Jose Earthquakes. 
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.
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.
