Cal training camp 2014

College Football season is almost here

On Monday most college football teams started training camp including Call

Cal is coming off a 1-11 season and a last place finish in the Pac 12 so there's a lot of work to be done and a lot of questions to be answered

Here are five big questions to be answered before the season starts and during the season
 
1) Who will be the starting running back, Khalfani Muhammad or Daniel Lasco?

2)Can Mustafa Jali and Brennen Scarlett help improve Cal's defensive line and get more sacks?

3) Can Trevor Davis (a transfer from Hawaii) who plays receiver help Cal get more big plays and score more touchdowns?

4)Can Cal's defense stop the teams that they play now that their defense is fully healthy with players like Stephan McClure, Brennen Scarlet, Mustafa Jali, Avery Sebastian among the many that are healthy?

5) Can Jarred Goff continue his growth and take his game to the next level?

As I predict how the bears will do this season I think that it depends on their defense and if they are able to put points on the board

If they do that they have a shot at a winning record, but if they don't they won't improve much from last year.

Stay tuned as we find answers to these questions by enjoying some college football.

MLB trading deadlne

Last Thursday  was the MLB trading deadline. The deadline was one of the most action packed ones in history, including 2 major blockbuster trades. The first one involved the Oakland A's and the Boston Red Sox. The Red Sox sent Jon Lester, a 30 year old LHP who is one of the best AL pitchers, and Jonny Gomes, a 33 year old outfielder, to the A's. The A's gave them Yoenis Cespedes, a 28 year old Cuban slugging outfielder and  their competitive balance pick after the 2nd round of the 2015 MLB draft. I think that the trade helps out both clubs because it gives the A's another stud pitcher to help in playoffs (Lester has already won two world series), and it gives the Red Sox a power bat to help them get back to winning and the playoffs next year.

Overall, even though I am a little upset that the A's traded Cespedes, Lester should help them down the stretch.

The A's also traded Tommy Milone to the Twins for Sam Fuld who was with the team in spring training and at the start of the season.

The other trade involved the Tigers, Rays, and Mariners.

The Tigers sent centerfielder Austin Jackson to the Mariners and LHP Drew Smyly to the Rays along with a minor league infielder. The Mariners sent Nick Franklin to the Rays, and the Rays traded David Price, their best pitcher, to the Tigers to further improve their rotation and their team.

With these two trades I hope that it's A's vs. Tigers in the ALCS because I think that will be an amazing series since those are the two best teams.

Those weren't the only trades made on that day as the Red Sox also traded pitchers John Lackey to the Cardinals, Andrew Miller to the Orioles, and Felix Doubrant to the Cubs.

There were plenty of other trades, but I don't want to talk about them all so I just talked about the big ones and the team who traded the most players.

Thursday was the trading deadline. The A's acquired Jon Lester, a LHP who is really good, and Jonny Gomes, an outfielder from the Red Sox, in a blockbuster deal. I like this trade because the A's added another really good starting pitcher who has had a lot of success in the postseason  and won two world series and an outfielder who is really good in the clubhouse.

In this trade these players weren't going to come cheaply as they had to give up Yoenis Cespedes. 

One thing that I fear about this trade is that the A's won't score as many runs without Cespedes in the lineup every day, but overall I feel that it's a good trade and I hope that it helps the A's win their first title since 1989.

To add outfield depth with Cespedes gone and Crisp and Gentry both hurt, the A's also  traded Tommy Milone to the Minnesota Twins for Sam Fuld, a really good defensive outfielder.

I like these trades and I think that they both will help down the stretch and into the playoffs,
especially now with the Tigers getting David Price from the Rays in a deal that also involved the Mariners.
The Rays sent David Price, a LHP who is as good or even better then Lester, to the Tigers.

The Tigers sent centerfielder Austin Jackson to the Mariners as well as Drew Smyly and a minor league infielder to the Rays. The Mariners sent Nick Franklin to the Rays.

I like this trade as well and I think it will just make the final part of the season more exciting and possibly set up an A's vs. Tigers ALCS, which would be epic.

Overall, there was a lot of action and the Red Sox were the biggest sellers trading 4 pitchers (Lester, Lackey, Miller, and Doubrant) as well as Jonny Gomes an outfielder and Stephen Drew a shortstop.

A's season so far through 101 games and other news around the MLB

So far this year through 101 games the A's have managed to hold on to the best record in the majors with their 13-1 demolishing of the Astros yesterday pushing their record to 63-38. In their division, despite having the best record, the A's are only 3 games ahead of the Angels who are having the type of season that people expect when you have so many stars on one team.

Earlier this month the A's bolstered their rotation by getting Jeff Samardzija and Jason Hammel from the Cubs for their two  best prospects--2012 1st round pick Addison Russell and 2013 1st round pick Billy McKinney--along with Dan Straily, a right handed pitcher who's shuffled between Triple A and the Majors a lot. I'm upset that they traded two talented young players, but I want the A's to win the World Series this year and two proven right handers should definitely help.

Those two guys should make the rotation really good considering that the A's already have two 11 game winners so far in Gray and Kazmir. Unfortunately, Milone will have to be sent down to Triple A to make room on the roster.

Run DMC (Donaldson, Moss, and Cespedes) all have put up outstanding numbers at the plate driving in runs and hitting bombs.

Donaldson- 21 homers,72 rbi's
Moss-23 homers, 71 rbi's
Cespedes-16 homers,61 rbi's

They're not the only ones who are hitting as the A's balanced lineup is one of the best in the majors and there seems to be a new hero each game.


Most recent A's news:
Josh Reddick just came off the DL and has upped his hitting in his return.
Alberto Callaspo is close to coming back from his hamstring injury.
Jim Johnson got DFA yesterday which means that he's no longer on the team as he keeps struggling and the A's couldn't deal with it anymore.

Doolittle has stepped in as closer and been lights out.

The MLB trade deadline is coming  up soon and one swirling rumor is whether or not David Price of the Rays will get traded.

The Phillies also seem to have some players that they might trade to contending clubs.
Whenever it is, it should be a fun time and it will be cool to know which big names get traded.

I look forward to the rest of the season and seeing who makes the playoffs and who falls short.
I hope that the A's hold on to the  division and go far in the playoffs this year.

Cal vs Colorado men's basketball

Yesterday, i went to the Cal basketball game at Haas Pavilion on the Cal campus in Berkeley. There was a ceremony before the game acknowledging Justin Cobbs, Richard Soloman and Jeff Powers who are the three seniors on the team.They barely beat the Colorado buffaloes in overtime 66-65. Colorado led most of the game with their biggest lead being 8 points. Cal was able to hang with them because their defense got stops when they needed to and some players provided timely scoring on offense. Justin Cobbs paced them with 21 points and he got help inside from Richard Soloman and David Kravish who each had a double double with 14 points and 12 rebounds. Colorado was missing their best player Spencer Dinwiddie who was lost for the year with an injury earlier in the season. They still managed to get 24 points from Xavier Johnson and a good game from their point guard Askia Booker who almost won it. The game was  tied 59-59 at the end of regulation, but Cal almost pulled it out at the end of regulation. The Colorado point guard  dribbled down with his team looking to win the game, but Cobbs stole the ball and threw up a shot that barely missed going in. Cal ended  up missing their final 10 shots in the end of regulation and overtime, but they still managed to win by knocking down free throws. With 2 seconds left Wallace missed their first free throw in a while and Booker dribbled down court hoping to win the game. He put up a wild shot that missed and sealed the win for Cal. It was a good game because it went right down to the end and was close the whole game and i enjoyed going and seeing the final home game of the season.

The Pac-12 tournament is next week at the MGM grand arena in Las Vegas. The winner of it gets an automatic bid in the NCAA tournament while the other teams have to wait and see if they will get an at large berth to the tournament. The top four teams receive byes and they play on Thursday. They are Arizona, UCLA, Arizona State, and Cal while the other teams have to play on Wednesday I predict that either Arizona will win, but anything can happen. I would enjoy it if Cal wins because then they wouldn't have any chance of not making the tournament, but we will all find out who wins next weekend
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Spring training Giants and A's 2014.

         Baseball season is finally here! The teams have set up camp and the east coast teams are in Florida while mostly west coast teams are in Arizona.  My favorite team is the A's  and they're playing in Phoenix this year, but next year  they'll be moving to Mesa. Pitchers and catchers reported on valentines day and position players reported the next week. Some notable new pitchers that arrived in camp were Jim Johnson, Luke Gregerson, Eric O Flaherty, and Josh Lindbloom  who are relievers.Drew Pomeranz, Scott Kazmir are the two main starters that the  A's acquired, The A's also acquired some good hitters. They are Craig Gentry, Nick Punto, Chris Gimenez, and Jake Elmore. The best thing about the off-season was that the A's didn't trade away any of their regulars in the lineup or rotation which is good.The A's also hope that highly touted prospects Addison Russell, Michael Ynoa, Billy McKinney, and Raul Alcantra along with many others make a good impression and enable themselves to come up during the season and help the team out. Spring training games just started this past week and they represent a chance for prospects to show themselves and regulars to get back into the swing of things. I hope that the A's bring home a tittle this year and give Oakland a boost. I also hope that Reddick bat comes back to like and matches his outstanding defense.

    The Giants make their  spring training home in Scottsdale and they have no intention of going anywhere. Their players reported close to the same day as the A's and they made a few major changes to help get their team back into contention for the playoffs. The Giants   signed Tim Hudson a veteran pitcher who they think will bolster their rotation. They also resigned Tim Lincecum, and Ryan Vogelsong to stabilize their rotation. The Giants also signed Michael Morse to play left field and give them power in that position which they haven't had for a while. Like the A's, they brought back their entire lineup and they hope to get a better year from Sandoval and a break through year from Belt. Another thing is that they hope that their two hyped  pitching prospects Edwin Escobar and  Kyle Crick will crack the majors this year along with slugger Mac Williamson. The Giants look to return to the playoffs this year and return to prominence. I look forward to watching a lot of baseball this year and I think that this will be one of the most exciting and awesome baseball seasons ever