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.