STANFORD — Stanford is referred to as “Tight End U” these days because of the steady stream of NFL picks the football team has churned out at that position in recent years. But when the Cardinal set out to defend their Rose Bowl championship in the fall, they’ll be featuring a pair of fresh faces in their double-tight end set.
Spring practices got under way at Dan Elliott Field on Monday, kicking off auditions for the roles previously performed by Zach Ertz and Levine Toilolo.
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San Francisco Bulls fans might not recognize their team when the squad returns to action at the Cow Palace on March 6.
The Bulls added finesse to the roster with the arrival of forward Yanni Gourde from the AHL Worcester Sharks, but the team is losing toughness with the call-up of Kris Belan to the Manchester Monarchs.
“We’ll be really skilled and probably less physical,” coach and president Pat Curcio said.
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Alex Smith stepped into football’s biggest shoes when the 49ers selected him with the NFL’s No. 1 overall pick in 2005. In a town that expects godliness from its quarterbacks, he was never Joe Montana, Steve Young or even Colin Kaepernick. But throughout his eight years with the club, he embodied the purest ideals of team sports.
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After a promising 7-0 start, anxiety is resuming in San Jose and talk of a major Shark Tank shake-up is swirling around town.
The Sharks are 1-4-3 in their last eight contests and they’re averaging an anemic 1.25 goals per game over that span. Panic is setting in once again and the answer, if you listen to the critics, is to blow up the nucleus and send one of the team’s big-name players — Joe Thornton, Dan Boyle or Patrick Marleau — packing.
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BERKELEY — Coach Mike Montgomery insists that the hoopla surrounding his shove of forward Allen Crabbe isn’t distracting his team as it prepares to meet No. 23 Oregon in Eugene on Thursday.
With four wins in five games, the Bears (16-9, 8-5) are not only contending for an NCAA Tournament berth, a win over Oregon (21-5, 10-3) would put them within a game of first place in the Pac-12 Conference.
And while the drama on the sideline is overshadowing the Bears’ turnaround on the court, Montgomery said Tuesday the team is growing because of the experience.
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Cal athletic director Sandy Barbour is throwing a big, fat air ball by not disciplining coach Mike Montgomery for shoving Allen Crabbe during Sunday’s basketball game against USC.
UC Berkeley is recognized around the world for being a progressive, forward-thinking institution, but Barbour’s inaction on this matter suggests that the athletic department is stuck in the past.
As inappropriate as Montgomery’s behavior was, it’s the university’s response — or lack thereof — in the aftermath that really leaves you scratching your head.
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DALY CITY — Pat Curcio expects to reach a decision regarding the San Francisco Bulls No. 1 goalie in the next 10 days, and channeling his inner Jim Harbaugh, he said he intends to go with the “hot hand.” In that case, the frontrunner appears to be Thomas Heemskerk.
Heemskerk turned away 41-of-44 shots in a 6-3 win over the Idaho Steelheads on Wednesday, stopped 22-of-22 in relief of Taylor Nelson on Saturday and then saved 26-of-28 in a 3-1 loss to the Stockton Thunder on Sunday.
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OAKLAND — David Lee is a walking double-double. He leads the NBA in the statistical category this season with 33 in 52 games, and his career numbers are just shy of the mark at 14.7 points and 9.7 rebounds per game.
But Lee is often overlooked, accused of producing bloated stats on losing teams in New York and here in the Bay Area. Prior to this season, an anonymous scout in Sports Illustrated blasted him, saying he is “overrated” and “looking for his own numbers big-time.”
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At this point last year, the Warriors appeared to be stuck in no-man’s land. They had three quality players — Stephen Curry, David Lee and Monta Ellis — but were well on their way to missing the playoffs for the 17th time in 18 years. On top of that, they weren’t even bad enough to land one of the draft’s top three picks, where superstars such as LeBron James, Tim Duncan and Anthony Davis are usually selected.
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BERKELEY — Within eight days, the Cal men’s basketball team knocked off two top-10 opponents and now the Bears are suddenly contenders for an NCAA Tournament berth in March.
With victories over No. 9 Arizona and No. 23 Oregon, the Bears (14-9, 6-5 Pac-12 Conference) now have two signature wins and they will get a chance to further bolster their résumé when another Pac-12 heavywight, UCLA (18-6, 8-3), storms into Haas Pavilion tonight.
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OAKLAND — A lot can change in 14 months, especially when your name is Jeremy Lin.
When Lin last stepped on the court at Oracle Arena, he was a mop-up point guard fighting to keep his career afloat.
But when the Warriors tipped off against the Houston Rockets in Oakland on Tuesday night, the Palo Alto native took center stage, completing one of professional sports’ most compelling rags-to-riches stories.
“It’s kind of like my career coming full circle,” Lin said. “In terms of growing up here, being here, going to Golden State, leaving and now coming back around.”
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Coach Pat Curcio named defenseman Scott Langdon as the San Francisco Bulls new team captain before the team headed off to Boise for this week’s contests against the Idaho Steelheads.
Langdon, who leads the team in the plus-minus department (+12), is now the second captain in franchise history.
“He’s a guy who always plays with a heart on his sleeve,” Curcio said. “He does whatever it takes to win the game: he fights, sticks up for his teammates, blocks shots. Winning means more to him than anything else and that’s the kind person I want our young guys to follow.”
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OAKLAND — Adidas unveiled the latest innovation in NBA uniform design on Monday and it picked the perfect team to model its new digs. The Warriors will be the first NBA team to wear Addidas’ new short-sleeve uniform in action when they face the San Antonio Spurs in an ESPN game on Feb. 22. The stylish yellow and blue T-shirt-style of jersey is a departure from the traditional tank-top uniforms sported by basketball teams for decades.
“This is the right place to launch an innovation,” said Lawrence Norman, vice president of Adidas global basketball.
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Bay Area sports fans are getting spoiled. The Giants won the World Series in October, the 49ers played in the Super Bowl just a weekend ago and even the Warriors are in playoff contention right now.
But what about the one team that was winning consistently while the Giants, 49ers and Warriors puttered through years of mediocrity?
The Sharks have collected the NHL’s second-most points since Joe Thornton arrived on Dec.1, 2005, and they are off to the races again this year, holding a 7-2-2 record heading into tonight’s road game with the Columbus Blue Jackets.
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BERKELEY — Despite numerous obstacles, Sonny Dykes landed a top-flight recruiting class in his first go around as Cal’s football coach.
The Bears are coming off the program’s poorest showing since the 2001 season and the team performed even worse in the classroom, but Dykes managed to haul in a top 30 class on national signing day Wednesday by championing the Cal brand.
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