Bay Area Blues

Much has been made about the amazing run currently enjoyed by Boston sports teams. While the Red Sox, Patriots, and Celtics have made life great for fans in Beantown, it’s a different story in Northern California. The Golden Gate Bridge may be picturesque, but the sports landscape has been downright hideous in the Bay Area lately. Only the first-place San Jose Sharks have been thriving, and since they play hockey, you’re probably not interested. Otherwise, in just over the past week, here’s an ugly rundown of Bay Area sports.


November 10:

Cal falls 24-17 at home to USC. Before the season, this looked like one of the games of the year. Now College GameDay decides that Williams-Amherst is a better option. Okay, the Pats, Sox, and Celtics I can understand, but is ESPN THAT fixated on Massachusetts now?

Stanford loses 33-17 to lowly Washington State. On the bright side, the 3-7 Cardinal gets two weeks off – a bye, then a visit from Notre Dame.

November 11:

The Raiders fall 17-6 at home to the Bears. Somehow, Oakland allows the phrase “Rex Grossman heroics” to be used.

November 12:

The 49ers get shut out 24-0 by the Seahawks. “49ers” now refers to their total yardage per game.

November 13:

Vinny Testaverde turns 44. Unfortunately for 49er fans, an old guy’s playing quarterback, and it’s not Joe Montana. Not to be confused with Joe Mantegna, who turns 60 on this day. Yeah, it’s a stretch, but Tuesday’s a slow sports day. Cut me some slack!

November 14:

The Warriors lose 111-104 at home to the Pistons, falling to 0-6 on the season. I’m guessing they’re not quite as high on Jessica Alba’s social calendar these days.

November 15:

Giants’ icon Barry Bonds is indicted on perjury and obstruction of justice charges. For once, Barry doesn’t get a free pass.

November 16:

Okay, some good news: Golden State finally gets into the win column, taking down the Clippers 122-105. Sorry Jessica, didn’t mean to imply that you’d jump ship just yet!

November 17:

Cal loses 37-23 at cellar-dwelling Washington. Once on the cusp of #1, the Golden Bears are now 6-5. At least they won’t have to worry about getting screwed by the BCS.

San Jose State falls 27-23 to Louisiana Tech, eliminating the Spartans from bowl consideration. They already should have been ineligible, since they’re crappy enough to be on Hawaii’s schedule.

The Stanford football team is off, and so is the basketball team, in a 79-67 upset by Siena.

November 18:

The 49ers drop their eighth straight in a 13-9 home setback to the Rams. They thereby enhance their draft position - for the Patriots, who own San Francisco’s first-rounder next spring. I’ll pause now, to allow NFL fans outside of New England to puke.

With a 29-22 defeat at Minnesota, the Raiders lose their sixth in a row. Which makes them the hottest NFL team in the Bay Area.

A’s utility whiz Marco Scutaro is traded to Toronto. Maybe he’s not a franchise player, but it’s just fun to say “Marco Scutaro.”

Stanford Almost Knocks Off UC Davis

Coming off a season-opening win over Navy, Stanford had an opportunity for an even greater victory in Palo Alto on Saturday night.  But its valiant effort came up just short as the Cardinal fell 20–17 to a powerhouse UC Davis team.  The victorious Aggies, in transition from Division II, are only two years away from becoming a full-fledged member of Division I–AA.

 

For much of the evening, it looked as though the Cardinal would pull off the unthinkable.  Thanks to two touchdowns off fumbles, Stanford held a 17–0 lead midway through the second quarter.  But you can’t keep a juggernaut like UC Davis down for long.  The Aggies closed to within 17–14 in the third quarter and even missed two potential game-tying field goal attempts in the fourth.  Finally, the plucky Cardinal succumbed to the inevitable as UC Davis scored the winning touchdown with eight seconds remaining.  Stanford can find consolation in gaining close to 200 yards of total offense against a team that is clearly ready for Division I–AA right now.

 

It’s a wonder that the Cardinal was able to stay competitive in this contest.  In their first two games, the Aggies only lost to New Hampshire and Portland State by a combined six points.  Also, UC Davis is a member of the vaunted Great West Conference, whose other members need no introduction: Cal Poly, North Dakota State, Northern Colorado, South Dakota State, and Southern Utah.  When you travel to football hotbeds like Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Pac-10 stadiums are small potatoes.  “UC Davis is a great program,” noted Stanford head coach Walt Harris.  “Because that’s what their conference is named, and I’m sure the people who created it wouldn’t lie.”

 

Prior to Saturday night, Stanford had never lost to a non-Division I-A program.  That amazing streak is now history, as the Cardinal could no longer buck the odds.  UC Davis had not faced a current member of the Pac-10 since 1939, so it had 66 years to prepare a winning game plan for this matchup.  The Aggies also had the revenge factor, as Stanford had won the only previous meeting between the schools, 59–0 in 1932.  Members of that UC Davis team could not be reached for comment, but their corpses are undoubtedly smiling today.

 

The remainder of Stanford’s home schedule looks to be anticlimactic.  AP #24 Oregon, #18 Arizona State, #25 UCLA, #13 California, and #16 Notre Dame are clearly not on the same level as UC Davis.  Hopefully the Cardinal fans savored their one opportunity to see a team like the Aggies.

 

Next week UC Davis stays on the road to take on Sacramento State.  Hopefully the Aggies can regain their focus after the huge scare they received from Stanford.