Author: sign_arenas

Ray was born and raised in the Bay Area, and has been addicted to the local sports scene since Luis Polonia was roaming left field for the A's. You can always pick him out of a crowd by looking for the guy in Warriors gear. Ray is the Oakland Sports Examiner at Examiner.com, and his work can be found at:

http://www.examiner.com/x-12984-Oakland-Sports-Examiner

NFL General

Be The Draft

Thank god for the NFL. As America’s other major sports continue their downward moral and ethical spiral, football arrives just in time to save us. In the past week alone, 5 Giants were ejected from a single game; Keith Hernandez set the Women’s Lib movement back 50 years; and NBA players were suspended from the playoffs for clubbing opponents in the head, throwing mouthpieces at referees, and arguing with coaches over playing time. But just when you were ready to give up on sports for good, the NFL Draft arrives. Suddenly it’s Saturday morning, Mel Kiper is staring you in the face, and all is right with the world. Just in case you haven’t adequately prepared for this weekend’s festivities, here is a quick rundown of where you can expect the big names and familiar faces to end up:

Golden State Warriors

1-800-GS-Whoops

Well, that didn’t work, did it? The Golden State Warriors are wrapping up their 12th consecutive season without a playoff appearance, and for the first time in recent memory, this qualifies as an unexpected development. And while it’s disheartening to be left out of the playoff picture yet again, it does provide a much clearer picture of where this team stands in the NBA’s pecking order. Only a year ago, Baron Davis’ arrival had everyone convinced we were ready to make a run, but by midseason this year I was already turning down free (free!) tickets to home games- and I live 5 minutes from the Coliseum, on a bad day.

MLB General

The Lukewarm Stove

Manny Ramirez? Still in Boston.

Johnny Damon? Still a free agent, waiting for the right offer.

Nomar Garciaparra? Agreed to a one-year deal in L.A., while Rafael Furcal signed the contract Nomar once appeared destined to receive.

Golden State Warriors

Moving to the Attic

I am the Bizarro Chicken Little. The sky is actually growing. After 8 games, my basketball team has failed to post a single losing record. They’ve now had 8 chances to take that familiar plunge into the lottery pool, the shallow end of the NBA where also-rans bob around in their floaties and learn how to hopefully make it to the deep end one day. Over the past decade, the Warriors have been the kid who simply refuses to get out of the lotto pool, closing hours and pruned fingers be damned. But this year, the Warriors haven’t so much as dipped a toe into the lottery waters, instead sprinting for the deep end and diving in headfirst. And the only thing more surprising than seeing the Warriors in the deep end for the first time in 12 years? They’re keeping their heads above water.

NBA General

All the Right Questions

It’s been a long offseason for basketball fans, especially those in California. The past 6 months have felt like an eternity to all those Clippers fans who can’t wait for Sam Cassell and Cuttino Mobley to lead the Clips back to the promised land. With the season less than a week away, you’ll want to be prepared for when the real games begin. But don’t worry: you have questions, and I have the answers. Here are the biggest questions surrounding the NBA’s offseason, and how they affect your team.

San Francisco 49ers

Once Upon a Time in Mexico

Post author By sign_arenas
Post date October 4, 2005
2 Comments on Once Upon a Time in Mexico

On Sunday night, a regular season game was played on non-US soil, the first such occurrence in NFL history. With no idea of what to expect, Paul Tagliabue decided to send the game’s top ambassadors to preside over the event, just in case things got out of hand. And so it was that Mike Patrick, Joe Theismann, Paul Maguire, O.J. Simpson, and Rae Carruth showed up in Mexico City, ready to infuse our neighbors to the south with a passion for Football, Jr. But anyone concerned that the 49ers might have to wear home red ponchos, or that the players agreed to the trip simply so they could sneak “the really good steroids” across the border were quickly put at ease. In the opening minute, fans booed Arizona’s kick returner for kneeling on the back line of the end zone. Apparently watching soccer year-round can turn even the most gentile nation into a bloodthirsty potential XFL market.

Golden State Warriors

Mullin’s Twelve

NBA training camps don’t open for a few more weeks, but Chris Mullin wasn’t about to let that stand in his way. His Golden State Warriors ended last season on a positive note, lending more promise to the 2005-06 season than any before it in the past decade. But to reestablish the chemistry of last year’s team, Mullin knew his players would need as much time as possible together. So he decided to round all of them up in person, several weeks early, and he recounted his efforts to me so that I could publish them on my website. Why me, you ask? Well, Mully and I have shared a special bond ever since my 7th grade season in CYO basketball, when I was voted “Player Most Likely to Make Chris Mullin Gag in Horror”. That kind of bond doesn’t just fade away with time.

NFL General

Now Ask Yourself A Question

Post author By sign_arenas
Post date September 8, 2005
1 Comment on Now Ask Yourself A Question

If you’re a football fan right about now, you’ve probably grown so delirious waiting for the NFL to come back you’ve convinced yourself that your team has a shot. Never mind all those faults you couldn’t help but notice as last season wore on; those have slowly been pushed out the back of your head, replaced with reasons why your team has “it” this year. Well, chances are, your team doesn’t have “it”. In fact, your team has only a 1-in-32 shot of having “it”, and that’s if you give the Niners the same odds as the Patriots.

Oakland A's

Building A Better Coliseum

With the Oakland A’s on something of a minor run right now, they have put themselves in perfect position to campaign for a new stadium. New owner Lewis Wolff has committed himself to making sure the A’s get a new home, as anyone would having just visited the Oakland Coliseum for the first time. As a 17-year veteran of A’s games myself, and someone who wants only the best stadium for Oakland fans, I’ve compiled a list of issues that need to be addressed with the new ballpark. So without further ado….

NBA General

Slim Pickings

Welcome to the NBA Draft, the ugly stepchild of ESPN’s draft coverage family. Because there is no hockey this year, basketball’s annual rite of passage has graduated to 2nd on the sports leader’s pick ’em totem pole, though they’ve still got miles to go before they catch the NFL. While the folks from Bristol trot out Chris Berman, Mel Kiper, and Chris Mortensen for football’s meat market each April, the basketball-loving public is reduced to watching Mike Tirico, Greg Anthony, Steven A. Smith, Jay Bilas, and Dick Vitale assess the futures of the year’s NBA hopefuls. Talk about a poorly assembled roster. ESPN used to be the kind of network that had talent to spare, whose B-league guys could run the draft in their sleep. This same network could have presented a draft-day lineup of Craig Kilborn, Tim Hardaway, Tom Tolbert, and David Aldridge. In the words of Steven A. Smith, “whueva is running this netwurk needs to be fiyad!” I managed to stay awake for most of the evening’s proceedings, despite the fact that this meant missing the BET Awards. Can someone please tell me if Omarion managed to upset Chingy for “Biggest Living Pile”?