Brandon Belt hit “rock bottom” July 22 during a 4-3 extra-inning loss in Philadelphia. He struck out in the top of the 12th with no outs and a runner on second base, dropping his July batting average to .171 (12-for-70, 25 strikeouts).
After the game, Belt acknowledged that he was struggling mentally and manager Bruce Bochy replaced him with Pablo Sandoval at first base the following day.
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The most memorable thing about Marco Scutaro’s first game with the Giants on July 28 is the anxiety that filled AT&T Park.
The Los Angeles Dodgers blasted the Giants 10-0 that day to earn a tie for first place in the National League West.
The boys in blue had acquired Hanley Ramirez from the Miami Marlins earlier in the week, and he knocked in three runs after hitting a game-winning home run in extra innings the previous night.
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We all agree that the integrity of the NFL is being compromised by this referee lockout, right?
We’ve seen a fourth timeout awarded to the Seattle Seahawks, a six-minute delay made only to determine that a call was not reviewable, and a block in the back penalty against the 49ers while they were punting to the Green Bay Packers.
And those are just the Week 1 highlights.
The situation was less humorous last week once players realized how much dirty play they could get away with. We saw late hits, shoves after whistles and a near-brawl on “Monday Night Football.”
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Oct. 13, 2011 was a night to forget for Cal quarterback Zach Maynard. He threw three interceptions and fumbled once en route to a 30-9 loss against Southern Cal.
But Maynard will get a chance for a do-over when the Bears (1-2) square off against the No. 13 Trojans (2-1) at the Los Angeles Coliseum on Saturday at 3 p.m.
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Coach George Rush can’t savor his 300th career victory just yet. He’s too focused on what could be win No. 301 against Fresno City College on Saturday.
The long time City College of San Francisco coach — the winningest coach in the junior college football history — reached the milestone with a 71-6 victory over West Hills at Rams Stadium on Saturday. But with a rematch of last season’s Hawaiian Punch Bowl next on the schedule, the California Community College Athletic Association’s No. 1 team can’t afford to get caught up in the historic moment.
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It only took the 49ers two weeks to debunk the notion that a relentless aerial attack is needed to win in the new NFL.
Jim Harbaugh’s team didn’t run a no-huddle offense, pass 50 times or routinely bomb it out downfield to Randy Moss en route to a 27-19 win over the Detroit Lions at Candlestick Park on Sunday. Instead, they won the old-fashioned way: with a ball-control offense, a smothering defense and smart all-around play.
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Have you ever flown east for work?
It takes at least eight hours from the time you leave your house to when you pull up to your hotel. Once you’re checked in, you’re already wiped out. And then you have to be up at 3 a.m. Pacific time to make a 9 a.m. meeting on Eastern time.
Now imagine what it would be like if you had to play a college football game.
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Heisman Trophy front-runner Matt Barkley is 0-3 against Stanford in his college career. But it’s a new season: No. 2 USC is playing for a national championship after two years of bowl ineligibility and Barkley’s former rival, Andrew Luck, is now calling signals in the NFL.
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Clips of “the handshake” started rolling soon after the final snap at Lambeau Field on Sunday afternoon. But as far as 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh is concerned, the “mini controversy” is last year’s news.
The fiery exchange between Harbaugh and Detroit Lions cooach Jim Schwartz after the teams’ Week 6 meeting last year is one the indelible moments of the 2011 49ers season. It epitomized Harbaugh’s intense, no apologies approach to football and the 49ers’ transformation under his leadership.
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Coach Jim Harbaugh makes his living by delivering the unexpected.
In 2007, he took over a Stanford football program that was coming off of a 1-11 season and, in just three years, he turned the Cardinal into a national title contender.
The 49ers’ 13-3 record in his first NFL season last year speaks for itself.
But this year’s team is already considered a Super Bowl contender, so how could he possibly shatter expectations again?
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I’d be surprised if Cal football coach Jeff Tedford has ever been happier to see a Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA) team roll into Berkeley.
Tedford’s young squad will get a chance to pick up some more live-game experience against Southern Utah on Saturday and hopefully grab a win before heading off to Ohio State and Southern Cal this month.
But even if Tedford’s crew wins big, will it be enough to reverse the storm that is brewing at Cal?
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One stat from the Stanford football team’s 20-17 win over San Jose State on Friday really jumps off of the page: the Cardinal were 2-of-13 on third-down conversions.
Last season, Stanford’s conversion rate (53 percent) was third-best in the nation with Andrew Luck under center, so coach David Shaw expects the blame to fall on quarterback Josh Nunes’ shoulders.
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Would you bet against the hottest team in baseball down the stretch?
With 28 games left to play, the A’s are tied with the New York Yankees for the second-best record in the American League (76-58) despite an 8-3 loss to the Los Angeles Angels at the Oakland Coliseum on Monday. They’ve won 15 of their past 18 games and hold onto one of the two wild-card spots, with Tampa Bay lurking close behind. But can this team of misfits and castoffs keep it rolling into October?
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Did the recent America’s Cup World Series leave you thirsty for more world-class yacht racing? If so, you can quench it this week when the West Coast’s premier sailing regatta invades San Francisco Bay.
The St. Francis Yacht Club’s 48th annual Rolex Big Boat series is bringing some of the world’s best sailors — former Olympians and America’s Cup competitors — to the Bay to compete for one of six coveted trophies starting Thursday.
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Stanford lost some key pieces to the draft in April, but that doesn’t mean another Top 25 finish isn’t on the horizon.
The Cardinal offense might not be as explosive as last season when Andrew Luck, David DeCastro, Jonathan Martin and Coby Fleener propelled the team to school records for points scored (561) and total yards (6,361). But coach David Shaw’s team still has the size and strength to play the smash-mouth football he likes.
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