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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You thought it was over. The 24-hour loop of talking heads and overhype that we call Super Bowl week. Just when you thought you’d escaped the indulgence of the sports media, we bring you the most manufactured event of them all: national signing day.
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BERKELEY — If defense wins games, it shouldn’t be surprising that the Cal men’s basketball team picked up its first win against a top-10 opponent in more than five years last week.
The Bears (13-8, 5-4 Pac-12 Conference) grabbed a much-needed signature win against Oregon (then No. 10) on Saturday by forcing 22 turnovers, allowing only three second-chance points and limiting the Ducks to 2-of-12 shooting from beyond the arc.
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The ECHL playoff hunt is heating up and the San Francisco Bulls are returning a pair of key faces just in time.
With only one-third of the season remaining, the Bulls (17-22-1-5) are looking to pick up ground in the Western Conference standings and the team should be bolstered by the return of goalie Tommy Heemskerk and forward Marek Viedensky.
“They were big parts of our team and our success earlier on,” coach Pat Curcio said. “So, we’re excited to get those guys back in our lineup for a little boost.”
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Talent can take you far, but the details still count.
On the world’s biggest stage, the 49ers showed, once again, that with Colin Kaepernick at quarterback, the team’s offense is as explosive as any unit that’s ever taken the field in an NFL game. Kaepernick threw for 302 yards and picked up another 62 with his legs; Michael Crabtree and Vernon Davis each collected more than 100 yards receiving and Frank Gore rushed for another 110 on the ground.
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STANFORD — If timing is everything, the Stanford men’s basketball team chose the right moment for a breakout performance.
After a sluggish start to the Pac-12 Conference season, the Cardinal (12-8, 3-4) grabbed its most lopsided conference victory in nine years, whupping Utah 87-56 on Sunday. The win gives Stanford some desperately needed momentum as No. 10 Oregon (18-2, 7-0) storms into Maples Pavilion tonight.
“Coming off of a good win is a good thing for us,” coach Johnny Dawkins said. “Our kids are coming in with a confidence level and that’s always good.”
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Will the real Randy Moss please stand up?
When the 49ers signed the NFL’s most enigmatic player in February, it seemed like one of two things would happen: he’d blow up the stat sheet, adding an explosive new dimension to Greg Roman’s offense, or give up, frustrated with a limited role as his aging body declined.
But instead, Moss threw the media yet another curveball.
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The new-look San Francisco Bulls kept things rolling by going up to Alaska and winning two out of three games against the first-place Aces over the weekend.
The Bulls (17-21-1-4) have now won four of five games since head coach Pat Curcio shook up the roster by sending former captain Justin Bowers and top-scoring defenseman Sacha Guimond to the Gwinnett Gladiators in return for Rylan Galiardi, Christian Ouellet and Cody Carlson.
“We’re a better team,” Curcio said. “We’re younger, we have a lot of skill and we have kids who want to get better and get to the next level.”
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LaMichael James strapped on the pads at 49ers training camp with big expectations for the 2012 season. How could he not? He was college football’s leading rusher as a sophomore at Oregon in 2010 and he collected more than 2,000 all-purpose yards for the Ducks a year later.
But when the season kicked off, the explosive running back watched the action from the sideline in street clothes.
“I can’t sit here and say it was fun,” James said. “Anytime you’re a competitor, you want to be on the field helping your team win.”
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Kyle Williams’ overtime fumble in last year’s NFC Championship Game brought out the worst in Bay Area sports fans.
In the aftermath of the 49ers’ 20-17 loss to the New York Giants, teammates like Patrick Willis and Adam Snyder rallied to support Williams. But many fans on Twitter were less forgiving. For example, one wrote: “I hope you, youre wife, kids and family die, you deserve it.”
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Jack Harbaugh usually breaks down game tape for his sons, Jim and John Harbaugh, prior to their NFL contests each week, just to give them an extra set of eyes. But as the brothers prepare for their meeting in Super Bowl XLVII on Feb. 3, the eldest Harbaugh is tossing away his coaching hat.
This year’s Super Bowl between the 49ers and the Baltimore Ravens is loaded with compelling story lines: Ray Lewis’ last game, the emergence of Colin Kaepernick and the Red and Gold’s return to glory.
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Gennifer Brandon walked off the court at halftime of the Cal women’s basketball team’s game with Southern Cal on Thursday dissatisfied with her performance. She had six points and 11 rebounds, but she missed a few easy shots.As the Bears returned to the floor, the junior turned to teammate Talia Caldwell for solace.“She was like, ‘Go for the boards and everything else will just follow,’” Brandon said.
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To many longtime hockey fans, Commissioner Gary Bettman seems more interested in destroying the game they love than protecting it.
In his 20-year tenure, the NHL has witnessed three work stoppages; an expansion into the Deep South to the neglect of northern markets; and a television contract with a network that tried to promote the sport with ridiculous, gimmicky, video game-style graphics (see: Fox’s glow puck).
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A bleak season in Berkeley received a jolt of good news this week: Brandon Smith appears healthy enough to rejoin the Cal men’s basketball team in the near future.
After a 6-0 start, the Bears’ season suddenly took a 180-degree turn in December. Smith went down with a head injury, sophomore guard Ricky Kreklow re-injured his surgically repaired right foot and the team has lost seven of its past 11 games.
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