Tom's NCAA Football fan blog

Everybody loves the underdog, who doesn't get an adrenline rush at the end of Hoosiers and Remember the Titans.  When you get into championship high school sports, the playoffs, there seems to be a group of schools and leagues that year in and year out compete for the Section/State Title. In Division V football in Central California the teams from the Greater Modesto Area have dominated the Section for the past armful of years.  Particularly Central Catholic and Escalon High Schools.  There are both the one constant. 

The Mother Lode League running along Hwy 49 from Sutter Creek in the North to Tuolumne City in the South, with right turn in the middle to Linden, is the smaller third league in this division.  Often the representatives of the MLL are overmatched when they have to face the Valley Teams in the Section playoffs.  In 2004, Argonaut rode a waive of first round upsets to the Section Title.

Continue reading "Friday Night Lights"

The weekend sports started off real well, Calaveras dropped Bret Harte to sew up 2nd place in the MLL.  The Redskins will travel to Escalon on Friday to take on the powerful TVL Champion Cougars.  It will be a tough battle for the Redskins, but you every once in a while David takes out Goliath.  The first key is for the players and team to approach the week with the idea that this is what we need to be successful and not focus on anything else.  The coaches will put together a game plan that will give the players a chance to win.  The players needs to trust the coaches and focus on executing the game plan. The focus is not to win, but to execute and when you prepare correctly and execute, the winning will take care of itself.

Hard times have fallen on Hartnell College Football, a very successful program up through the 80's can't seem to get it rolling anymore.  The Panthers lost Saturday in their season finale against Monterey Peninsula College.  With the win, MPC completed their first ever undefeated season. 

Continue reading "Monday Hangover"

Each year the Calaveras Redskins and the Bret Harte Bullfrogs meet on a Friday evening in November in a cross county rivalry that dates back a few generations.  To victor goes the bell.  The bell has resided in San Andreas almost permanently for as far back as most of us can remember.  Every year, all teams enter their seasons with great hopes and dreams, and this season was no different.  Every year, the residents of Calaveras County wonder if this will be the year that Bret Harte beats arch enemy Calaveras.  And remember this is a rivalry that goes to the soul of both schools. There is nothing like a loss to the other school that eats at your gut more. 

This game is about emotion and desire.  After a season which seemed to rejuvinate the Bullfrog program in 2007, Bret Harte had high hopes coming into 2008.  The Redskins on the other hand were dealing with a coaching change and a smaller team then they normally field.  Was this going to be the year?  All summer the talk starts, is this going to be the year that Bret Harte knocks off the Redskins.  As they work their way through the season, everyone starts sizing up the regular season ending match.  And as we worked our way through the 2008 season, it was apparent that Bret Harte was not going to be able to live up to it's preseason expectations.  The Redskins stumbled out of the starting blocks, but gathered themselves in the final week before league games began.  This is one of thoes games that you can throw records out the door, because emotion takes over and often a weaker Bret Harte squad will give the Redskins a battle. 

Continue reading "The Bell Stays in San Andreas"

Let’s start off today with a thank you to all the men and women who have represented our country in the Armed Forces.  If it weren’t for the sacrifices that these Americans have made, we would be able to live our lives with the freedom and choice that we all enjoy.  Thank you.
 
The one positive from the 2008 season for the Giants, Tim Lincicum, was rewarded for his extraordinary effort this past summer with National League's Cy Young Award. Lincicum dominated National League hitters during the season and is just plain nasty on the hill.  Lincicum beat out 4 other formidable pitchers, Lidge, Webb, Santana and Sabbathia.  The question surrounding Lincicum is can he hold up to the rigors of pitching in the major leagues.  His size and power remind many of Pedro Martinez.  Martinez was one of the top and most dominating pitchers for years. But Martinez eventually began to break down.  Throwing a baseball with as much effot and velocity as Martinez and Lincicum do, takes a tremendous toll on your arm and body.  Our hope is that he will be one of the exceptions and represent the Giants for many years to come. 

Continue reading ""

He just keeps ticking, worn out old Greg Maddox won his 18th Gold Glove this past week. 

The playoff seedings in the MLL are set now.  Argonaut as the number one seed gets the 3rd place team in the WAC, Calaveras in the number 2 spot gets to drive down to Escalon and Summerville travels to Modesto for a game with Central Catholic.  Prospects don't look too good for an advance to the second round of any of the three teams, but as my good friend Ben always says, "You never know."

The Calaveras Redskins secured the second position with a convincing win over Summerville last night.  Summerville presented a glimpse at the future, with a solid sophomore Quarterback and a core of receivers that will be able to challange Argonaut and Calaveras in the upcoming years.  The Redskin JV squad upped their record to 9-0.

Continue reading "Saturday Ramblings"

In the past week, we have ended the 2008 Major League Baseball Season, begun the 2008/2009 NBA Season, ended a 33 year streak of Bowl Appearances by Michigan, ended the Calaveras Redskins string of MLL Championships and started the second half of the NFL Season. 

Phillies won the rain delayed final game of the World Series to win their Second World Championship.  It was fitting that Brad Lidge was on the mound for the Phillies. Lidge was a dominating closer for the Astros in 2005, until Luis Pujols hit a monstrous shot off him in the Playoffs.  Lidge then went to the mental zone that has a tendency to suck up pitchers for no reason. Lidge went into the pitchers black hole, inconsistent and no where near his former self.  He ended up with the Phillies and for the 2008 season, he was perfect as a reliever with no blown saves. 

Continue reading "Hot Stove Season"

After another scary roller coaster ride on Wall Street last week, we at least have the weekend and sports to bring back some sanity to our life. Unless of course your motto is "Go Blue" and you hail from the great state of Northern Ohio or as most of you know it, Michigan.  Who says there's no such thing as karma?

Into a weekend full of baseball and football, can life get any better.  Friday nigth we started off with week 2 of the MLL season in San Andreas, Calaveras vs Amador.  Calaveras rolled to an easy victory.  The dissappointing aspect of the game was not the game itself, but the seeming decreasing participation in football.  Amador fielded a squad of less then 25, Calaveras a power house team in the league for years, doesn't have a much bigger squad.  The quality of play in the MLL seems to be a lot lower this year, which is probably a result of less participation by all of the capable athletes in the schools.

Continue reading "Another Sunday Morning"

Who is going to win the World Series, the Phillies or the Rays?  The best thing about this series is that I can be fairly neutral as to who wins and just root for some good ole' fashioned baseball.

So far in game one, we got a jim dandy game going, 3-2 Phillies in the 5th.

The Rays come in as a reincarnation of the '69 Mets. The Improbable Dream.  But they field a team of young talented stars of the future.  Pena, Longoria, Upton, Bartlett, Garza, Price and others are just beginning what they hope will be a long career in Major League Baseball.  The Phillies have a little more age to them, although they are a young team as well, just not as young. 

I'm hoping the Series goes 7 games so that we can stretch this season out for a little while longer.  Especially considered the dire prospects of the Warriors, Kings, Raiders and 49ers for this year.

Continue reading "Game One"

In June, a Bulldog started off as an underdog and over the course of 3 weeks became a Wonderdog.  Is it any surprise that a former Bulldog led the Rays to their first World Series appearance, in Bob Gibson like performance.
 
In June we celebrated the longest long shot of all as they worked their way through a gauntlet of nationally ranked teams on their way to their first National Championship, the Fresno State Bulldogs.  The Bulldogs were only allowed in the tournament because they won the WAC season ending tournament.   Then had to overcome early series deficits in what seemed like every series.  To finally reach the Mecca of college baseball, Omaha, Nebraska.  A team that captivated a country with their character, determination, and grit.  Will we ever forget Steve Detweiler and his dislocated thumb?  Of course this was the most personally satisfying underdog story for me, I had waited 23 years for a Bulldog Championship. 

Continue reading "Year of the Underdog"

As a baseball fanatic, how refreshing is it that on an NFL sunday, baseball is center stage as the Boston Red Sox attempt to complete an amazing return from the dead, again.  The team with a history of choking is now on the edge of becoming one of the greatest comeback teams in history.

Hurt or not, Josh Beckett again showed why he is one of the greatest big game pitchers of all time.  5 solid innings and left the Red Sox in position to win.

Tonight is Jon Lester's turn to show the nation what type of clutch pitcher he is.  These are the types of games that legends are made from.  Lester and Matt Garza will get their opportunity tonight.

Anyone know what Manny is doing this weekend? 

Big surprise, Bonds claims collusion by MLB baseball owners.  What a great lesson this is to America's youth, act like a spoiled brat your whole career and then when they finally say enough is enough, cry fould.  It's becoming the American way.  What ever happened to there's consequences to your actions?  Could Bonds have helped a team this past year?  Of course he could have but at what cost.  More than likely, he would have been on his best behavior.  Could he have made a difference for a playoff contender.  Probably not.  All National League teams are out, because he can't or won't play defense anymore.  As a designated hitter for an American League team.  The only team that he possibly could have made a difference for was the Yankees, they could have used him as a DH for a part of the season and maybe that gives them enough to catch the Red Sox for the wild card spot.  But I doubt it.  Yankee problems go a lot farther then their hitting.  Unlikely he makes much of a difference to get someone to the next level.  He's a short term player, no help to the teams rebuildings.  Only one or two teams in contention, that didn't make it to the playoffs, could have used him and unlikely he helps.  If anything, the San Francisco Giants should have signed him for September, let him make a farewell tour of the league as a pinch hitter for the Giants.  He could have retired as a Giant with a ceremony fitting the player he was with the Giants.  Then rode off in the sunset.  Instead he chooses to leave the game in a cloud.

Continue reading "Sunday Morning"