Spectator - Triumph!! Over KCRH

Photography by Sean Jones

In the most epic of battles the Spectator prevailed gloriously over Chabot radio station KCRH 30-28. To get the game rolling, the Spectator ran through a sign to get pumped up. Despite the intense action, both sides were able to unite at the end in celebration for the Mass Çommunications field.

Ricky Clark - Laney v. CH football

Photography by Sean Jones

In Chabot football's rivalry game and season finale vs the Laney Eagles, the team was brutalized 32-0.The defense was outgunned and the offense never got going for Chabot. Brandon Williams was a lone bright spot for the team with 102 yards on 17 carries. Chabot finishes the season 5-5, 2-2 without a bowl birth.

Ricky Clark - Men's soccer a nail in the coffin

Not quite the ending the men’s soccer team would have wanted, with a season finale loss to Foothill College 2-1. The Gladiators went down the stretch without winning a single
match since Oct. 21 against Mission College (five losses, two ties). Coach Markus Bathelt explains the string of bad luck has been due to inconsistencies.

“We do good against good teams, but we lose focus in games we should have won,” said Bathelt. Against Foothill the Gladiators were outplayed and mounted little offensive pressure. The lone goal came from forward Pablo Moreno in the first half to tie the game 1-1. Moreno booted the ball approximately 20 yards for a score that sailed past the Foothill goalkeeper’s head.

Moreno was often in the mix throughout the game, in the second half he leaped in the air to head-butt the ball, but clashed heads with a Foothill player. Moreno later re-entered the game, and over kicked the ball past the net after getting a break away.

The Gladiators finish their disappointing season at 7-9-3 and out of playoff contention.

Sean Jones - Emerging Work

Ricky Clark - Volleyball's Sophomore night a hit

It was just another moment for a Chabot sports program to play their last home game of the season, this however was nice for the volleyball team.

Chabot volleyball swept Skyline College in three sets (25-22,25-21, 25-22). After the game the volleyball players embraced one another and many players said their goodbye's from playing at Chabot, winning in a sweep was ever the perfect ending. "It's really exciting, we pulled through [winning efficiently]. It's sad [to finish at Chabot], I don't was to miss the team," said Irene Takahashi-Coker.

The last game for the Lady Gladiators will be away at Foothill College (Nov. 19). Earlier this season Foothill got the best out of Chabot, the team will definetly want to make the most of this game by ending the season with a "W".

Joey Brownlee - A's trading for Holliday is a mistake

Billy Beane was right in rebuilding the farm system last offseason. However, he is wrong for this time around.

The Colorado Rockies have agreed in principle to trade all-star outfielder Matt Holliday to Oakland for pitchers Greg Smith, Huston Street and promising outfielder Carlos Gonzalez.

Holliday will turn 29 in January and is looking for a huge contract. And no better man to negotiate that than, Scott Boras. He’s the best big-money agent in baseball who will no doubt use Alfonso Soriano’s as a starting point in negotiations.

The Cubs signed the converted second baseman to an astounding 8-year, 136 million contract, during the 2006 offseason. Soriano, 32, is atrocious defensively, isn’t the RBI man Holliday is, and certainly doesn’t produced like a 17-million dollar player.

Power hitters will hit for power no matter where they play. 38-year old Frank Thomas, coming of two injury-marred seasons, hit 23 hrs in 2006 at the Coliseum.

Giambi, Tejada, Chavez, Cust and Dye never had trouble going yard at the coliseum. It's the marginal players you worry about; Suzuki, Crosby, Cunningham and Sweeney.

I don’t foresee any formidable decline in Holliday’s power production. He’s a man on a mission to get paid.

If he's as advertised, then where do talks with Holliday begin? Never has he hit below .290 in a season (four straight over .307), is a proven clean-up hitter and performed better than Soriano in postseason play. 8 years and 180 million?; Oakland couldn’t match New York ’s offer to Jason Giambi in Dec. 01 of 7-years and 120 million. So...what's changed since then?

Nothing’s changed since then. Fans have not supported the team, leaving Oakland to retain its small-market tag. They’ll be waving good-bye to Holliday during the trading deadline or in Nov. 09.

It’s your basic one-year rental. Just like Johnny Damon, Ray Durham and Jose Guillen were.

But this will pale in comparison to what this team is giving up. Only one player –Aaron Harang- in those deals produced. All three will in this one.

Parting with Street and Greg Smith is acceptable because highly-touted relievers Andrew Carignan and Henry Rodriguez are emerging; starting pitchers Brett Anderson, Vin Mazzaro, Trevor Cahill and James Simmons have bigger upside than Smith.

What you worry about is trading the best prospect on the team: Carlos Gonzalez. He's the kind of player that makes people think they can play baseball.

What do I mean by that? Well, he makes the game look so easy, and is so imperturbable under duress, that a pathetic athlete like me believes they have a chance to make the big leagues.

While he struggled at times last season, he clearly demonstrated tools superlative than anyone in the A's outfield. Ryan Sweeney is a decent player, but got by with a lot of broke n-bat hits and is injury prone. Nobody in Oakland has seen the caliber of prospect Gonzalez since Reggie Jackson.

He’s the combination of speed, power, defense, arm and ability to hit for average that scouts adore. Giving up six years of him for one of Holiday should get someone fired.

The kid is just 23 and will be 29 when he can become an unrestricted free agent. Holiday will be 38 and declining. Gonzalez will still have some prime years worth investing in, Holiday won’t.

This trade weakens the outfield as well. You are replacing an already above-average center fielder with an ordinary outfielder in Ryan Sweeney. He’s not Jack Cust out there with a cast-iron pan for a glove, but he’s better suited for a corner spot.

These are the kind of deals you make on the brink of World Series contention, not playoff mediocrity. You don’t waste 13-years of service time (before all three become free agents) for one-year of Matt Holliday.

Colorado strolls into Oakland on June 26-28. Gonzalez will be there; Holliday…mite.

Jared Howard - Around the NBA

As the 2008-2009 NBA season gets under way, the road to claim domination in a league of freakish athletes relishes past story lines, but adds a few twists in as well. The Lakers and the Hornets still sit amongst the storied franchises among the West, while the Celtics and the Pistons are the beasts of the East.

East: The defending champs, the Boston Celtics, have retained their core in Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Ray Allen, and with the rising buzz about Rajon Rondo, many expect to see the Celtics back for another trip to the NBA Finals.

The Detroit Pistons, who have become accustomed to conference finals appearances, don’t look as though they are willing to settle in for another conference finals loss. Earlier this week, the acquisition of perennial all star Allen Iverson, in exchange for Chauncey Billups and Antonio McDyess, has made for interesting talk on how far the Pistons can actually go. Some believe this to be a move that gives the Pistons the prime time scorer that they have lacked which will put them over the top come playoff time. Others feel that this could be a sign that Detroit has shifted its philosophy and is now looking to clear their financial books come next season with the hopes of landing a superstar come 2010.

While these two teams look like the favorites, don’t be surprised to see Lebron James and the Cavaliers, Philadelphia’s new lineup anchored by Elton Brand, or Chris Bosh’s Toronto Raptors as possible candidates to come out of the East.

West: Nobody will deny the Lakers talent. Headed by Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol, the defending Western Conference finalists look poised to make another run at the finals. Especially with their young seven-footer, Andrew Bynum, back into the lineup after his season ending injury toward the end of last season, the Lakers have the best lineup on paper.

The New Orleans Hornets will continue to stay competitive as long as they have their six-foot stud point guard, Chris Paul, laced up and ready to go. As the runner up in the MVP voting last year behind Bryant, Paul looks even more determined at the start of this season averaging 21 points, 12 assists, and three steals per contest. With the addition of James Posey, a veteran who has tasted victory in multiple cities –including Boston last year–look out for the young run and gun team to storm their way to the top.

Some clubs that might give these teams a run for their money are the Houston Rockets–with the addition of Ron Artest, the Utah Jazz, and the Phoenix Suns.

Ricky Clark - Football vs. Cabrillo preview

Last home game of the season, it seems like it's going bye too fast. The Gladiators are coming off a win against Los Medanos 38-14, but this team has not won two games in a row. It's been a season in between average and above average for coach Calcagno's Gladiators with a win loss record of 4-4, 2-1. On Saturday, Nov. 8 at 6:30 p.m. the Gladiators will host Cabrillo Seahawks (0-3, 2-6). The Seahawks are on a four game losing streak and were shutout by Modesto. Perhaps the Seahawks are just a victim against top teams. Their first game was with last year's state winners City College of SF, an undefeated Monterey Peninsula, and the two top Golden Gate Conferece teams Laney and Modesto. Chabot has a slim shot of winning the conference. In order for the team to accomplish this, they must beat Cabrillo and Laney (Nov. 4), and have other conference teams do some things for the Glads.

Here is the synopsis: If Modesto beats Laney this weekend, they will have to lose to Merced. If Laney beats Modesto, the Glads will still need Merced defeat Modesto and ultimately beat Laney for the season finale.

Ricky Clark - Wrestling quick notes

The wrestling team was at Cuesta College for a tournament. Out of 16 teams the Glads placed 10th. Stephan De La Cruz earned 3rd place at 141-pounds after defeating Sacramento City College's Blake Nichols by a 10-4 decision. Carlos Martinez (157-pounds) beat Palomar College's Aaron Eberhart by injury forfeit, earning 5th place.

Ricky Clark - Volleyball defeats De Anza

The volleyball team finished of De Anza 3-1 in a teeter-totter match tonight. Sammy Capurro simply summed this win saying, "It felt good." Sets one, three, and four belonged to the Lady Glads. The first set went 25-20, third set went 25-22, and fourth set went 25-21 with the team losing in the second 25-20. For those who have not seen a volleyball game this season, Christa Hicks is a very talented player. Hicks plays outside hitter and in this latest game she constantly delivered scores on spikes, towers, and serves. Without Hicks this team probably would have a terrible season. Another player who's coming along for the Lady Glads is Amanda Meyer. She was a force in the middle, blocking shots and finishing spikes. Next week (Wednesday) will be the team's last home game at 6:30.

Joey Brownlee - It's not the players; it's the coaches

My sister, who can’t tell the difference between a football and baseball, knew the moment Lane Kiffin was fired, we’d begin to look more like the Raiders of 2006 than the competitive team we’ve been over the duration of Kiffin’s coaching duty.

The Raiders BK (before Kiffin) couldn’t give the Texas Tech Red Raiders a good game. And four games AK (after Kiffin) they can’t give the Toronto Argonauts a run for their money.

In short, Kiffin has what every person desires to attain: “IT”.Whatever “IT” is, he has it. All the great ones do and it showed in the 20 or so months he was here.

Kiffin knew the weaknesses of this team and stayed away from them like the plague. He passed the ball when the opportunity presented itself and used the running game –the strength- to the fullest. When you have Darren McFadden, Michael Bush and Justin Fargas, why not run the ball and wear down defenses.

It doesn’t make sense to pass the ball 30+ times a game when the offensive line couldn’t pass protect if their life depended on it; much less for a franchise QB. His best wide receiver is his tight end, Zach Miller.

Seventh round pick Chaz Schilens, can become another Marcus Colston (also a seventh round pick) but he needs to get the ball more. That won’t happen, however, because the ball distributor gets more pressure than middle school teenagers and a tap at a keg party COMBINED.

I thought a fresh start in the zone-blocking scheme would benefit left tackle, Kwame Harris. The former first-round pick play has proved me wrong. Ricky Clark told me back in February he and Deangelo Hall were overrated and would vacillate in Oakland.

He was wrong. They’ve been a disaster. They shouldn’t be in pro football, much less the NFL, the way they fall to show up on game day.

And I don’t think Tom Cable merits blame for this atrocity. I’d blame him for not standing up for what he believes in and placating to each and every desire of the owner.

The few times Russell has had time to throw, he’s proved to be inaccurate with the football. At times, it looks like he couldn’t hit the ocean standing on the beach.

Al Davis doesn’t care, wants him to throw more because “he’s a great player.” Those are his words, not mine.

The thing I most admired about Lane Kiffin, from a fans perspective, was he was his own man and wanted to do things his way (which was working) and wasn’t intimidated by Davis when, Bugel, Callahan, Turner and Shell were.

Kiffin changed the mentality of the locker room and got the players to play inspired football; something he predecessors (besides Jon Gruden) failed to do.

He was developing Russell, grooming the offense and using what worked. It was all part of the plan, a plan terminated because of Davis’ jealousy of Lane.

Aside from one season (five total), Rob Ryan has done a horrible job of imitating a defensive coordinator and should be kick-out of the acting futurity for life. It’s good a thing he hasn’t been fired, then we’d really be screwed.

Had Kiffin been giving the liberty to run the show –draft and signed the free agents of his choice- the Raiders would be a first-place team looking to do serious damage in the postseason.

Now all the ESPN TV shows are changing their opinion on whether is was the right move to fire Kiffin. After these last for games, where the offensive put up a total of 29 points (7.25 per game) and were held to -2 yards in the first-half vs. Atlanta, didn’t record a first down until the third quarter and totaled 77 yards…enough said.

Joey Brownlee - A's off-season

The MLB off-season is set to commence next Thursday and many are wondering if the A’s will shell out some coin for a primer hitter to anchor the heart-of-the-order.

As a die-hard, life long A’s fan, of course I’d love to see Mark Teixeira man first base for the next five or six years; but he alone cannot provide what we sordidly need: A Hyperbolic Time Chamber.

I first saw this in Dragon Ball Z, when Vegeta and Trunks (Saiyin warriors) were set to fight the evil villain, Cell, in the “Cell Games.”

What the heck does it do? First, it’s a room that is in a different dimension than Earth. Used by warriors for training, the difference in dimensions allows the warriors a year of training in a single day.

Unfortunately, the Hyperbolic Time Chamber is a figment of my imagination and doesn’t really exist. Even worse, the 10-year, 200 million+ Teixeira is seeking couldn’t buy one.

What we really need is time. That’s what Tampa Bay and the Dodgers did; they bided their time and struck at the most opportune moment to make big splashes.

Let’s decipher the numbers real quick.

The young Dodger hitters –Martin, Ethier, Loney and Kemp- have accumulated 4,969 Major League at-bats; add Upton of the Rays, the total swells to 6,308. Shifting gears to pitching. The combination of Garza, Shields, Kazmir and Billingsley has pitched 2,033 innings in the bigs, gaining 29 years of experience for all of the aforementioned players.

The A’s equivalent to that group of talent –C. Gonzalez, Suzuki, Barton, Buck and Sweeney; G. Gonzalez and Gallagher- has a sum of 2,467 at-bats and 164 innings pitched. Our best prospects –Anderson, Cahill and Mazzaro- have yet to throw a big league pitch.

But stats don’t account for one important thing: the mental and physical grind a 162 game schedule has on these young players. All (except Dave Winfield, Jon Olerud and Evan Longoria) struggle with it. I was a every A’s home game last season and it clearly wore on Buck and Carlos Gonzalez as both made Sacramento and Oakland home.

When our playoff run began at the beginning of this decade, Giambi, Chavez, Tejada, Hernandez and Long all had time to get acclimated in 1998 and 1999. That’s all this young group needs, a little time to develop.

I want to win more NOW than anyone in the universe because it hurts to lose. However, I’m not willing to compromise a foundation of a potential 5-7 year playoff run for 2-3 years of playoff mediocrity.

The players are already here. We just have to beat the waiting game, first.

Ricky Clark - Football Recap

Photography by Sean Jones

The football team defeated Los Medanos 38-13 in a rainy affair Saturday night.

Defensive back Matt Parker breaks up a pass to stop the Mustangs drive on a third and long. Parker returned a 25-yard punt for a touchdown.

Brandon Williams and Tyler Mason combined for five touchdowns (4 runs, 1 kick return) against the Mustangs. The team is now 4-4, 2-1.