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July 7 -- July 13, 2025
Issue No. 597
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Tennis Anyone?
Maybe Yes,
Maybe No
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Some Carmel-by-the-Sea residents are so angry they have formed a posse of 47 residents to request a law to prohibit pickleball from being played on the tennis courts. They claim the constant noise generated by pickleball is intolerable, that studies indicate the sound of ball-on-paddle is as loud as shooting a rifle, can be heard from blocks away and violates the human right to have their homes free from noise pollution. They want pickleball banned on the Forest Hill courts. Pro-pickle ballers claim the activity is critical to their health.
As the issue bounces through local government commissions, hours and days have been restricted to Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. and locking up the nets when they aren't in use. Tennis is allowed during those same hours. Some of the tennis courts have been restriped for pickleball play. More information is available in the June 29th Carmel Pine Cone.
https://carmelpinecone.com/250627PC.pdf
Now, back to Wimbledon.
For an uncensored, (and hilarious) view of similar nationwide showdowns, watch "The Tennis vs. Pickleball Turf War" from
the Daily Show:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cW7mPQkWW1o (6:58)
Robert A. Moselle, Esq.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/robertamoselle/
Marketing Director, Sports Today
NBA Finals graphic by Carl Macki
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Contents
Games
Oakland Roots SC 2, Detroit City FC 0
San Francisco Giants 2, Athletics 11
San Francisco Nighthawks 1, Iron Rose FC 1
San Jose Earthquakes 1, New York Red Bulls 1
Features & Commentary
Hardly Trivial, by T. Buff
Kruk & Kuip Broadcasters for the Ages, by Dave Newhouse
Merton Hanks, from the autograph collection of Rich Yee
Newsletter, Image, Likeness, by Darren Heitner, Esq.
Sports Haiku Tribute for Kevon Looney, by Robert Moselle
Well, Sure, People Are All Talking About The Valkyries Now, by Howard Pearlstein
Organizations
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A's
Bay Area Falcons
Bay Area Panthers
Bay FC
Cal Bears
Cal State University East Bay
Golden State Valkyries
Golden State Warriors
Oakland Ballers
Oakland Roots SC
Oakland Soul SC
Oakland Spiders
Saint Mary's College Gaels
San Francisco 49ers
San Francisco Giants
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San Francisco Nighthawks
San Francisco Unicorns
San Jose Earthquakes
San Jose State Spartans
Santa Clara Broncos
SF City
Sonoma Raceway
St. Francis Yacht Club
Stanford Cardinal
UC Davis Aggies
University of Pacific Tigers
USF Dons
WeatherTech Raceway Laguna
Seca
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San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Justin Verlander gave up
six runs while striking out five in three innings against the Athletics on Friday, July 4th at Sutter Health Field in West Sacramento.
Photo by Darren Yamashita
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Kruk & Kuip
Broadcasters
for the Ages
by Dave Newhouse
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The San Francisco Giants are so non-patriotic that on the Fourth of July they brought no fireworks with them to Sacramento to open a three-game series with the abdicated (from Oakland) A’s.
And so, expectantly, the Giants lit a dud at Sutter Health Park, a 11-2 throttling in their first regular-season game ever in the state capital.
Historic as that may sound, it might tie into another historic moment — Justin Verlander’s potential farewell to the Giants and to baseball after a Hall of Fame-bound journey.
Verlander has yet to win a game for the Giants, who acquired him before this season. Yes, he hasn’t had great offensive support, but he hasn't shown his familiar brilliance either. At 42, time clearly has robbed him of his former dominant self.
He served up four doubles in one inning Friday, a career first after 20 years in the bigs. He gave up six runs to the A’s after only three innings, when manager Bob Melvin removed him, mercifully, from the game.
Verlander made some good pitches, true, but he threw 69, a disturbing number for someone struggling to remind us of who he was once — baseball’s dominant pitcher. The Giants have the post-season in mind, and there is little time, if any, left to experiment.
Few successful starting pitchers thrive in their 40s. Yes, Nolan Ryan pitched until he was 46, including seven no-hitters. But a better example locally: pitcher Warren Spahn, who joined the Giants at 44 in 1965, clearly past his prime, thus ending his Cooperstown career with 363 victories.
| | Mike Krukow, left, and Duane Kuiper are the very best at baseball play-by-play/commentary, offering acerbic observations, detailed descriptions, subtle humor, and perfect harmony in their comfortable dialogue. Two deserving Hall of Fame candidates | | |
With apologies to you readers, this column was intended as a tribute to baseball’s best broadcasting team, Duane Kuiper and Mike Krukow. But Verlander’s descendant effort and the paucity of Giants runs redirected my thinking.
Kuiper and Krukow are extremely verbal, but there was little to say when an opponent jumped out to an 11-0 lead in the seventh inning, while your offense produced only six hits, and your defense committed three errors.
Bad night. The worst.
But great broadcasters such as Kuiper and Krukow shine even with limited possibilities, further showing their professionalism — and also team loyalty by not dumping on Verlander.
“It will be a home crowd for the Giants,” Kuiper said before the action began, noticing the vast color of orange in the capacity crowd.
"I’ve heard so much about how this is an offensive park,” Kuiper added. “The A’s have scored only three more runs than the Giants. Three!”
That number was about to be bumped. Of Verlander’s erratic control Friday, Krukow said, “The next pitch will be No. 45. Here (in the second), you want to be 30 or less. The A’s are making him pay for high mistakes.”
Kuiper and Krukow are so untouchable, even an anti-Giants comment won’t rile management. Catcher Patrick Bailey over ran a foul pop up, and Krukow commented. “This is a big mistake for a major-league catcher.” After a Giants batter struck out, Kuiper called it “A big whiff.” Truth is truth.
The A’s lead climbed to 9-0 in the sixth as Kuiper said, “Some nights are not as much fun as other nights.” Krukow: “I can’t wait to see (Matt Chapman) in the lineup tomorrow.” Kuiper: “He can’t wait.”
| | San Francisco Giants shortstop Willy Adames waits to congratulate second baseman Brett Wisely after a home run against the Athletics during the eighth inning. Photo by Darren Yamashita | | |
After Brett Wisely homered for the Giants’ first run, he was caught grinning on camera. “When you’re down 11-1, you’re not allowed to smile in the dugout,” chastised Krukow.
“The place is still packed: For two reasons,” said Kuiper. “Love of the game….”
“And fireworks,” Krukow jumped in.
The A’s would set off holiday explosives after the game as the hardly sparkling Giants watched.
“The Giants got it handed to them tonight,” Kuiper analyzed the evening.
“It was a blowout from the start,” Krukow summarized.
Just ask Justin Verlander.
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Dave Newhouse's journalism career spans more than half a century, including 45 years at the Oakland Tribune before his retirement in November 2011. Newhouse is the author of 19 books. His most recent book, Goodbye, Oakland, is available in bookstores and from Triumph Books. Dave grew up in Menlo Park, graduated from San Jose State, and has radio and television experience, in addition to his work as an award-winning sportswriter and columnist. For earlier articles by Dave published in Sports Today, click HERE.
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San Jose Earthquakes 1
New York Red Bulls 1
PayPal Park, San Jose, CA
Saturday, July 5, 2025
| | San Jose Earthquakes right wing Cristian Espinoza #10 pulls down a high ball in front of New York Red Bulls left midfielder Emil Forsberg #10. Photo and caption by Alex Ho. | | San Jose Earthquakes right midfielder DeJuan Jones #22 centers the ball but is intercepted by New York Red Bulls goalkeeper Carlos Coronel #31 in the first half. Photo and caption by Alex Ho. | | New York Red Bulls left midfielder Emil Forsberg #10 scores around San Jose Earthquakes goalkeeper Daniel #42 in the 19th minute. Photo and caption by Alex Ho. | | |
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MATCH RECAP:
Earthquakes 1, New York Red Bulls 1
San Jose earns crucial point with second-half comeback despite finishing with 10 men; Quakes return to PayPal Park on Tuesday night to host Austin FC in Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Quarterfinals
SAN JOSE, Calif. — The San Jose Earthquakes drew with the New York Red Bulls 1-1 on Saturday night at PayPal Park in front of a crowd of 17,580 fans.
The visitors struck first in the 19th minute when Peter Stroud’s through ball connected with Emil Forsberg at the edge of the box, who slalomed around the back line to promptly slot the ball home with his left foot and give New York a 1-0 lead.
The Earthquakes answered in the second half when in the 58th minute, Cristian Espinoza streaked down the right wing and his cross intended for Vítor Costa was knocked in by the Red Bulls’ Mohammed Sofo for the equalizer. However, six minutes later, San Jose defender DeJuan Jones was booked for his second yellow card and the Quakes were down to 10 players the rest of the match.
Despite the man disadvantage, San Jose head coach Bruce Arena was playing to win and brought on attackers Preston Judd and Ousseni Bouda—the latter of whom ironically contributed on defense to block two New York attempts in crunch time. The back line and goalkeeper Daniel, named the Northern California Honda Dealers Man of the Match after making three saves, closed out the game and sealed the point.
The Black and Blue will now host Austin FC in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Quarterfinals on Tuesday, July 8. Kickoff from PayPal Park will take place at 7:30 p.m. PT, with the match broadcast via CBS Sports Golazo Network and streamed on Paramount+.
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Goodbye, Oakland: Winning, Wanderlust and a Sports Town’s Fight for Survival, written by Andy Dolich and Dave Newhouse (Triumph Books), transitioned from hard cover to paperback in April.
The book, dealing with Oakland’s disappearance as a major sports town, has sold in excess of 3,000 copies, thereby prompting the move to paperback.
All aspects of Oakland’s sports dissolution is covered by the authors, including interviews with civic leaders, economists, politicians and sports figures, plus in-depth studies of team owners who lifted Oakland to the top of the national sports scene, then left for San Francisco and Las Vegas (twice), stamping Oakland as America’s most abandoned sports city.
Sports commentator Chris Berman wrote on the book cover: “Goodbye Oakland takes us through all of it, from when the sky was the limit to when the bottom fell out.”
Oaktown is trying to recover with minor-league baseball and men’s and women’s soccer, but it’s a significant uphill climb.
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Our Mission:
Weavery's mission is to provide data and ai strategy advice, training, and innovative solutions to high impact humanitarian organizations. Weavery leverages artificial intelligence to enhance operations and amplify impact to serve a world in need.
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San Francisco Giants pitcher Logan Webb versus the New York Yankees, June 1, 2024. Photo by Darren Yamashita
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Webb, Ray, Rodríguez give Giants 3 All-Stars for 1st time since '21
by Maria Guardado
WEST SACRAMENTO -- A trio of pitchers will represent the Giants at Atlanta’s Truist Park on July 15 in the 2025 MLB All-Star Game presented by Mastercard.
2025 All-Star Game presented by Mastercard
• July 15, 8 p.m. ET (Watch on FOX)
• Special events and ticketing info
• All-Star Game rosters
Co-aces Logan Webb and Robbie Ray and standout reliever Randy Rodríguez were named to the National League squad when full rosters were revealed on Sunday, giving the Giants three All-Stars for the first time since Buster Posey, Brandon Crawford and Kevin Gausman represented them at the 2021 Midsummer Classic.
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We are located one block from the Moscone Convention Center, only a short walk from many of downtown San Francisco's familiar hotels, attractions, and diverse businesses. Open Monday through Thursday 4pm. Friday, Saturday, Sunday 12pm. Come by and raise a glass with us. Sláinte!
www.thechieftain.com
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Cue the Kool & the Gang, it’s a “Celebration” of the 1974-75 NBA Champion Golden State Warriors on Tuesday July 8th at Raimondi Park.
It’s the 50th Anniversary of the “Cardiac Kids” making NBA history, and at Oakland Ballers games, we believe in winning and celebrating all of the winners of Oakland’s past, present and future.
We’ll have the 1975 NBA Finals MVP Rick Barry in the house along with teammates Clifford Ray and Charles Dudley. They will also be re-united with the 1975 NBA Finals Trophy courtesy of the Golden State Warriors, who will be bringing the hardware to Raimondi Park for all to see.
And while it is $2 Tuesday, those $2 tickets have already sold out. But we still have options in Premium Reserved, Bleacher Reserved, and General Admission.
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Game time is 6:35pm, but come early and witness the pre-game festivities. Maybe Rick Barry will do the first pitch with a basketball “granny style”. That would be legendary.
Join us in celebrating the team that paved the way for Oakland to become an NBA powerhouse. The ‘75 Warriors made history by becoming the first road team ever to sweep the NBA Finals. That NBA Finals was the first to ever feature two African American head coaches, as the late legendary Al Attles led the Dubs to a decisive victory.
This Champions Night: 1975 Warriors celebration is just the first game of our homestand.
Here’s what’s coming up:
Tuesday July 8th - Champions Night, as previously explained.
Wednesday July 9th - Oakland Parks and Rec Day, special 1:05 start time
Thursday July 10th - Italian Heritage Night
FRIDAY July 11th - Stars Wars Night
Saturday July 12th - Jwalt Album Release Block Party, Home Run Derby, Oakland Stands Up
Sunday July 13th - Zoo Day with free baseball cards from Last Dive Bar, Zoo Animal Trading Cards (Scrappy Edition), and kids run the bases after the game.
We can’t wait to see you all at our next homestand.
Your Ballers Bucket-getters and ring chasers
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Oakland Roots SC 2
Detroit City FC 0
Oakland Coliseum, Oakland, CA
Saturday, July 5, 2025
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Roots Win Third Straight in 2-0 Home Victory Over Detroit City FC
Another stellar defensive performance and a pair of Roots firsts propelled Oakland to their third straight victory in all competitions as Roots defeated visiting Detroit City FC 2-0 at the Oakland Coliseum on Saturday night.
Roots started the match as they have often in recent matches, outhustling the opposition and quickly dominating the possession game. Oakland spent close to the majority of the first 15 minutes of play in the attacking third, but despite this found trouble turning the possession advantage into scoring opportunities.
Detroit flipped the script around the 20 minute mark, as they began controlling possession themselves, working into Oakland’s territory and creating a few decent scoring chances, but nothing that troubled netminder Kendall McIntosh.
The remainder of the first half was a dogfight at midfield. Both sides were creating turnovers on a rapid basis as neither club could do much in the attacking portion of the pitch.
In the opening moments of the second half it looked like the battle at midfield would continue, as up to this point neither side had created a single shot on target.
But Oakland only needed one.
In the 55th minute Roots broke the deadlock when Panos Armenakas scored his first goal in a Roots kit, finally being rewarded after coming very close all season. A good set up pass from Ali Elmasnaouy found Armenakas at the top of the box who had time and space to unload one on goal and beat the keeper just inside the right post. Elmasnaouy’s assist earned him his first USL Championship point.
Following the goal, Roots stepped on the gas. Oakland looked hungry to double their lead as they continued working into the attacking third and threatening the Detroit defense over-and-over again.
Despite the pressure, Roots wouldn’t earn another shot on target for the remainder of the match.
But there are other ways to score. In the 86th minute Gagi Margvelashvili created Roots second of the night when a cross attempt from inside the box deflected off of Detroit’s Marcello Polisi and into his own twine to make it 2-0 Oakland late in the match.
Detroit didn’t earn their first shot on target until the 89th minute of the match, and by then it was too little too late as Roots continued to play solid defense and ran the clock out to secure their third straight win.
Roots will be back in action at the Coliseum next Saturday, July 12th at 7 PM PT for the final game of their three game homestand as they are set to host Phoenix Rising FC in a USL Championship fixture.
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San Francisco Unicorns Fall To Orcas In MLC'S Florida Debut
SAN FRANCISCO, Ca. (July 02, 2025) — The San Francisco Unicorns came up short defending a total of 168/5 against the Seattle Orcas, with MVP Shimron Hetmyer continuing his fine form in a three-wicket win to put them in control of the final playoff spot in Cognizant Major League Cricket 2025.
In the first MLC match to be held in Lauderhill, Florida, the league leaders were put into a bat on what looked to be an unknown quantity of a pitch, with both moisture and a grippy outfield set to pose notably different conditions to the dry climes of Grand Prairie.
The Orcas drew first blood, with Matt Short slapping a Harmeet Singh delivery straight to cover for two in the first over. Jake Fraser-McGurk took the game on in Singh’s next, plundering three straight boundaries, before Finn Allen smashed the first Florida six in the next off Kyle Mayers.
Gerald Coetzee and Ayan Desai closed off the powerplay, with the latter luring Allen (23) into a mistime to long on to end the first six overs with the Unicorns on 51-2. Fraser-McGurk soon followed him back to the dugout for 33 off 22, with Steven Taylor taking a fine catch on the rope off captain Sikandar Raza’s slower ball.
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Sports Haiku Tribute for
Kevon Looney
| | Haiku: A traditional Japanese haiku is a three-line poem with seventeen syllables, written in a 5/7/5 syllable count. Sports Today! has expanded Haikus to embrace our readership and invites you to submit your own. Top entries will be published! | | |
As Warriors fans know, Kevon Looney is now a member of the New Orleans Pelicans. Looney epitomizes the no-nonsense teammate, the hard worker who would rather grab a rebound than a headline. This repeat Haiku from Sports Today further acknowledges this three-time NBA champion with Golden State who once had a streak of 290 consecutive games played. The Pelicans will be well-served through Kevon's quiet,
rugged leadership.
Today's Haiku acknowledges Blue Collar Basketball and
Golden State's Kevon Looney. The Warriors' center epitomizes the blue-collar, lunch-pail star with his innate, uncanny ability to be in the right place at the right time and a Basketball IQ through the Chase Center roof! Keep on Rockin', Kevon.
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Blocks, Rebounds and Grit
LOONEY leads by Example
One tough Warrior
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Contributed by Robert Moselle
https://www.cce-mcle.com/
As noted in the USG's own Haiku below, we invite entries for
Best Sports Haiku. The winner will be published!
Ultimate Sports Guide
Wants to Publish Your Haiku
You must send it in
To: theultimatesportsguide@gmail.com
Sports Haikus©️ USG/Sports Today's Haiku Invitation
| | Hardly Trivial by T. Buff | | |
Closing In On The All-Star Game...
Sadly, future Hall of Famer and former A's star
Dave Parker passed. Parker, as we know from his passing, was the first winner of the All-Star Home Run Derby when he was with the Cincinnati Reds in 1985.
The All-Star Game was introduced in 1933.
Who was the first MLB player to hit a home run
in an All-Star Game?
(HINT: He was not in the National League.)
Answer below...
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Well, Sure, People Are All Talking About The Valkyries Now
by Howard Pearlstein
Since they’re an expansion team in their first year, there isn’t a lot of “then” to discuss. Except “then” was when they were setting up to become the talked-about WNBA team they are today.
The WNBA finalized the agreement with Warriors’ owners, Joe Lacob and Peter Guber to create the first new expansion team since 2008 and announced it October 5, 2023, saying:
“The team will be headquartered in Oakland at the Warriors’ old facility but home games will be played at Chase Center in San Francisco.”
The building had served the Warriors from 1997-2019, so the Dubs’ DNA, history, owners and maybe even some of the residual mojo was in place as the foundation for the new team.
Right away, Joe Lacob hired Ohemaa Nyanin from the New York Liberty, where as assistant GM they had just made it to the Finals, their third time in the playoffs in five years. She made connection with the Warriors’ Mike Dunleavy to be adjacent while she was building her own staff. The new team was to become, in essence, the Women Warriors.
That May, in 2024, team president Jess Smith announced the only name that suited them as the most high-flying women warriors in mythological history – the Valkyries.
Now a point to make. The Valkyries were the first new WNBA team since 2008.
Something I’ve learned in my years as a writer, because I’ve made most of my living over the years as an editor. It‘s a lot harder to edit someone’s work into readability than just write it from scratch yourself.
During those years, in occasional Bay Area bars, talking over Irish whisky on the rocks (water back), I learned from other men – plumbers, carpenters, house builders, men whose work had to satisfy some legal code or other -- same thing: figuring out how to fix what’s wrong with “the way it was” isn’t easy. To make it become what you want, it’s almost always better to tear it down to the ground (or the studs, or the water main or whatever) and start from scratch.
Coming into the WNBA where the other teams had 16 years or more of “the way it was,” gave the Valkyries the freedom they needed to compensate for the experience the other teams had.
They hired Vajna Cernivec as VP of Basketball Operations, the London Lions GM for their back-to-back championships of the Women’s British Basketball League.
Her job included helping pick the players from the Expansion Draft, one from each team. Among them: Veronica Burton, Carla Leite, Kate Martin, Stephanie Talbot, Cecilia Zandalasini, Kayla Thornton, Monique Billings, Temi Fagbenle.
They hired Natalie Nakase as coach, perhaps the only coach in professional sports who can seem totally calm even while yelling at the top of her lungs. She had been assistant in the coaching team that took the Las Vegas Aces to back-to-back championships in 2022-2023.
She became the person who had to deal with four of her top players missing for Eurobasket in the middle of the season. And she did. She took the team to a 7-and-4 record through June. The Valkyries were circling and moving on the court, like a Steve Kerr dream, all in touch for passing and assists. When they took down the Seattle Storm, they looked like legendary Valkyries, a force of nature, deciding who lived and who died.
Their Road Trip started in Minnesota Saturday night (after this deadline). They’re gonna get tested in coming weeks. Right now, they look ready for the test. As always, we’re believers.
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Someone once told me that my peripatetic life-path reads like the dust jacket of an experimental novel. He didn't realize that it is that novel, still being written.
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Merton Hanks -- from the
Autograph Collection of Rich Yee
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I met San Francisco 49ers safety Merton Hanks back in 1995 at Macy’s in San Francisco while he was promoting a clothing line. There was a long line to get a free autographed photo. He also signed footballs for those who purchased the merchandise
he was promoting.
Merton played for the San Francisco 49ers from 1991-1998
and his team won Super Bowl XXIX.
Rich Yee, Sports Today photographer
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Newsletter, Image, Likeness Vol. 139: The School-Athlete Marketing Contract Masquerade
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by Darren Heitner, Esq.
Founder of Heitnerlegal -- Sports, Entertainment, Trademarks, Copyrights, Business, Litigation, Arbitration
The Weekly Longer NIL Thought
The house of cards that college sports has constructed around revenue-sharing is beginning to show its fundamental flaws, and nowhere is this more apparent than in the semantic gymnastics universities are performing with their so-called "marketing contracts." Ross Dellenger's recent reporting illuminates what many of us in the NIL space have recognized for months: the industry is engaging in a deliberate fiction that threatens to undermine the entire system.
When Tennessee athletic director Danny White declares that these arrangements are "disingenuous" and states plainly that "we have to stop pretending that they are not getting compensated for playing for us," he is articulating what should be obvious to anyone who has actually read these contracts. Yet, his colleagues, such as Purdue athletic director Mike Bobinski seem to be living in an alternative universe. He seems to think payment to players for performance was a thing of the past and that the new system of payments from schools will fix that.
“For somebody to just slide you a few dollars because they want you to come to or stay at a certain school and call it NIL, that’s make-believe, that’s not a real thing,” Bobinski said. “That is the recruiting insanity that we’ve allowed to drive too many behaviors.”
He thinks that the "insanity" is behind us? It's just getting started.
Universities are purchasing athletes' name, image, and likeness rights as a transparent mechanism to compensate them for their athletic performance while maintaining the facade that this compensation is not employment-based. The legal contortions required to sustain this position would be impressive if they were not so fundamentally dishonest.
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WeatherTech Raceway
Laguna Seca
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QUESTION:
Which two Northern California NTT INDYCAR SERIES drivers will return to their “home” track for the Java House Grand Prix of Monterey?
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ANSWER: Alexander Rossi and Nolan Siegel
Photos: Penske Entertainment: James Black
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Both Alexander Rossi and Nolan Siegel are originally from Northern California, with Siegel a native of Palo Alto and Rossi in Nevada City. However, while they share a geographical bond, the NorCal drivers enter the Java House Monterey Grand Prix at completely different points in their careers. Rossi is a seasoned veteran who has competed in multiple series, while Siegel is tackling his first full season in the premier NTT INDYCAR SERIES.
Photo: Penske Entertainment: Joe Skibinski
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While Rossi grew up in the quaint and picturesque mountain town of Nevada City, he moved to Europe as a teenager to focus on his racing career. That relocation strategy paid off as he became the first American to win the Formula BMW championship in 2008. An obvious talent behind the wheel, he quickly moved through the European racing ranks, becoming only the second American to compete at the GP2 level. In 2012, Rossi joined the Caterham F1 team as test driver, becoming the first American to drive in an F1 season since Scott Speed in 2007
Photo: Penske Entertainment: Joe Skibinski
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After four more years in F1 as a reserve and test driver, Rossi joined the INDYCAR Series in 2016, shocking the motorsports world with a victory at the Indianapolis 500 in his first attempt.
He now pilots the No. 20 Java House Chevrolet for Ed Carpenter Racing.
Photo: Penske Entertainment
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Over a decade younger than Rossi, Siegel's racing career is just starting to hit its stride. He was named 2023 INDY NXT Rookie of the Year after finishing the season third in points with two victories. The following year, he competed part-time in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES while also securing an LMP2 Class win at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. For 2025, Siegel is racing the No. 6 McLaren Racing Chevrolet for Arrow McLaren.
Neither driver has yet enjoyed the “home court advantage” many sports teams crave at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. Rossi posted a best finish of third at the Grand Prix of Monterey in 2024, while Siegel finished 12th in his INDYCAR debut on the iconic road course last year.
That could all change when the former teammates return to the fabled circuit for the Java House Grand Prix of Monterey, July 25-27.
Photo: Penske Entertainment: Chris Owens
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Pit Boss and FoodMaxx Named Co-Entitlement Sponsors for NASCAR Xfinity Series Race
SONOMA, Calif. (June 26, 2025) – Sonoma Raceway officials today announced Pit Boss® Grills and FoodMaxx as co-entitlement sponsors for the upcoming NASCAR Xfinity Series race on July 12. Pit Boss® Grills, a partner of Speedway Motorsports since 2021, joins FoodMaxx, the low-price leader of the grocery industry, in a prominent sponsorship role during the July 11-13 NASCAR weekend at Sonoma Raceway. This partnership marks an expansion of the raceway’s longstanding relationship with The Save Mart Companies, the parent company of FoodMaxx.
The new Pit Boss/FoodMaxx 250 will take place Saturday, July 12, beginning at 1:30 p.m. PT. The 79-lap race on the 10-turn, 1.99-mile permanent road course will be telecast live by The CW and broadcast nationally by radio partners PRN and SiriusXM.
“FoodMaxx is built on speed, value, and no frills-performance, so it’s a natural fit to put our name on the track at Sonoma Raceway,” noted Jim Perkins, President of The Save Mart Companies. “We’re proud to deepen our partnership with this iconic venue and bring race fans along for the ride in the Pit Boss/FoodMaxx 250!”
The Save Mart Companies has been one of Sonoma Raceway’s longest partners, spanning 33 years in motorsports and highlighted by its annual “Chase The Savings Sweepstakes” in advance of the Toyota/Save Mart 350 NASCAR Cup Series race. As one of the longest race entitlement sponsors in NASCAR, Save Mart, and now FoodMaxx, can fully activate alongside Pit Boss for the entire race weekend both at the track and in the marketplace.
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Hardly Trivial Answer by T. Buff
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Babe Ruth
This should have been a no-brainer!
Baseball is said to be a game of stats. More proof it is.
This link will take you to winners of the All-Star Home Run Derby. This link will take you to every home run hit
in an All-Star Game.
If you look at the stats, be sure to look at the whole page to find out that Ichiro Suzuki was the only batter to hit an inside the park home run in an All-Star Game.
That's called giving up a great trivia question!
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RELIVE THE ACTION OF THE 2024 ROLEX
BIG BOAT SERIES
And mark your calendars for September 10-14, 2025!
Sixty years, one excellent regatta! Take a moment to watch a recap video from the 2024 Rolex Big Boat Series, and mark your calendars for next year. We look forward to seeing you on the water September 10-14, 2025, at St. Francis Yacht Club!
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would be appreciated.
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Larson, Simon-O'Neill Start Tenure As Co-Athletic Directors
Experienced Administrators Begin Appointments Under Innovative Leadership Structure
Dear Cal Family,
We are excited to officially begin our 12-month appointment as Co-Athletic Directors! With a combined 25 years of experience working for Cal Athletics and over 40 years in college athletics, we are honored to serve in this capacity at a university that means so much to us.
Chancellor Lyons approached us with his vision for this innovative leadership structure in the midst of what is proving to be a period of dramatic change in college athletics. He drew on his experience with leadership development and how organizations can benefit from a paired leadership approach. As long-time students of organizational excellence, we were intrigued and excited to maximize this opportunity to lead together.
In addition to our Co-AD paired leadership model, we are looking forward to partnering with Ron Rivera, the general manager of our football program. In this new model, Ron will directly oversee the football program, including personnel and the operating budget, while we will be responsible for the supervision of the other 29 sports and the department support units. We look forward to working collaboratively with Ron to continue to elevate the program.
Another priority will be to successfully implement the House Settlement, which has ushered in a new era of revenue sharing with student-athletes. During the year to come, it will be our responsibility, working in concert with the campus, Cal Athletics leadership and our community of supporters, to build a sustainable financial model – including philanthropy, campus funding, and the creation of new revenue generation streams.
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Twenty are Scholar All-Americans
Stanford receives 10 first-team honors and
10 second-team
STANFORD, Calif. -- Twenty Stanford men’s swimmers and divers were named Scholar All-Americans by the College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association of America on Thursday.
Ten Cardinal received first-team honors and 10 were named to the second team.
Requirements were a 3.5 or above cumulative grade-point average. NCAA Championships competition was a requirement for first-team honors. For the second team, an NCAA ‘B’ time or zone diving competition was the cutoff.
Here are Stanford’s CSCAA men’s swimming and diving Scholar All-Americans:
First team, year (major)
Liam Custer, jr. (management science and engineering)
Andres Dupont Cabrera, jr. (economics)
Kaihan Gu, jr. (bioengineering)
Daniel Li, fr. (undeclared)
Henry McFadden, so. (computer science)
Rick Mihm, grad. (public policy)
Ron Polonsky, sr. (computer science)
Jack Ryan, sr. (symbolic systems)
Aaron Sequeira, sr. (management science and engineering)
Josh Zuchowski, jr. (economics)
Second team
Ethan Dang, RS sr. (economics)
Matt Fenlon, sr. (economics)
Ethan Harrington, so. (undeclared)
Hayden Kwan, jr. (computer science)
Gabe Machado, sr. (Earth systems)
Henry Morrissey, jr. (economics)
Abram Mueller, fr. (undeclared)
Go Nagaoka, fr. (undeclared)
Jonathan Tan, so. (economics)
Avery Voss, sr. (computer science)
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Josh Uduje and Omari Moore to Compete in NBA Summer League
SAN JOSE, Calif. - San José State men’s basketball alums, Josh Uduje and Omari Moore, will compete in the NBA Summer League, both with the San Antonio Spurs. The Spurs will compete in the California Classic from July 5-8 in San Francisco before heading to Las Vegas for the NBA Summer League from July 10-20.
Omari Moore, Guard, Pasadena, Calif.
- Currently a member of the South East Melbourne Phoenix of the Australian National Basketball League
- Played with the Spartans from 2019-23
- 2023 Mountain West Player of the Year, the first Spartan to ever win a player of the Year award.
- Finished his Spartan career as the fifth-best scorer in school history at 1,312 points
- Became the 16th player in school history to record 1,000 points during his career
- Also ranks in the top-10 in SJSU history in career field goals made, assists, blocks and steals
- In 2022-23, led the Spartans in scoring at 17.4 points per game, helping SJSU secure 21 wins, the most in a season since 1980-81
Josh Uduje, Guard, London, England
- Played with the Spartans during the 2024-25 season
- Named 2025 Mountain West All-Third Team
- Led the Spartans in scoring with 16.4 points per game. Also averaged 4.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game
- Helped lead the Spartans to its first appearance in the NIT since 1981
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| | Saint Mary's College Gaels | |
MBB | Alex Ducas Becomes Third Former Gael to Earn an NBA Championship Ring as a Player
OKLAHOMA CITY — An evening ago, the Oklahoma City Thunder were crowned NBA Champions, defeating the Indiana Pacers 103-91 in Game Seven of the NBA Finals. Amongst the players celebrating being crowned the NBA's best was former Gael Alex Ducas, who capped off his rookie season with a title.
Ducas enjoyed a five year career at Saint Mary's, earning All-WCC honors in his junior, senior and graduate seasons. He finished out his Gael career scoring 1,353 points (14th most in program history), and finished in the top-10 in field goal attempts (9th, 1,069), three pointers made (2nd, 278), three pointers attempted (2nd, 684), free throw percentage (8th, 82.8%), game played (2nd, 150) and games started (2nd, 123). He is the only Gael to hit 80+ three pointers in back-to-back seasons, doing so in 2022-23 (87) and 2023-24 (81).
Following his Saint Mary's career, Ducas played for Oklahoma City Thunder Summer League Team, eventually signing a two-way contract with the Thunder, and their G-League affiliate, the Oklahoma City Blue. Ducas appeared in six games for the Blue, starting all six, and made 21 appearances off the bench for the Thunder in his rookie campaign. He made his NBA debut on January 10 in a win over the Knicks at Madison Square Garden, and scored his first points for OKC two days later in Washington DC against the Wizards. He dropped a career-high nine points on 3-3 shooting in a win over Brooklyn back home in OKC, and finished his rookie campaign shooting 40% from the field and 47.6% from three.
Ducas becomes the ninth Australian Born Player to capture an NBA Championship Ring, with three of those coming from Saint Mary's. Patty Mills was the first Gael to win a title in 2014 with the Spurs, and Matthew Dellavedova was the second in 2016 with the Cavaliers.
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Photo: SMC Athletics: Piper Westrom
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Volleyball Announces Schedule for the 2025 Season
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Men's Basketball Announces Coaching Staff Updates For
2025-26 Season
SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Santa Clara men's basketball has revamped head coach Herb Sendek's coaching staff for the upcoming 2025-26 season. Four staffers have been elevated to new positions while former graduate assistants Mitch Smith and Caine Purnell join the crew in a full-time capacity.
Assistant coaches Jason Ludwig and Ryan Madry have both been elevated to the title of Associate Head Coach. Additionally, Will Burkett and Jackson Gion, who previously served as the team's director of operations and video coordinator, respectively, have been elevated to the role of assistant coaches. Smith will serve as the program's third assistant coach alongside Burkett and Gion.
Four of the five coaches have been on Sendek's staff for the vast majority of his Santa Clara tenure, which is entering its 10th season in 2025-26. Ludwig, who also worked with Sendek for two seasons at Arizona State, has been with him for all 10 seasons and has been at Santa Clara for 12 years in total - first joining the program as video coordinator and director of operations in 2007-08 and 2008-09, respectively, and returning as an assistant for Sendek's first season in 2016-17.
Madry will be entering his eighth season on the staff after serving as an assistant coach for the previous seven.
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| | University of Pacific Tigers | |
Men's basketball lays foundation
for upcoming season
Year two of the Dave Smart era is underway as the University of the Pacific men’s basketball team hits the court for summer workouts ahead of the 2025-26 season.
The Tigers feature 13 newcomers with fifth-year forward Elias Ralph, a health and exercise science major, returning as the team’s lone veteran.
Watch the video for a look at how the team is building a strong foundation for the season ahead.
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Seven Aggies Earn CSC Academic
All-District Honors
DAVIS, Calif. – Seven members of UC Davis track and field earned 2025 College Sports Communicators Academic All-District honors as announced today, June 24, by CSC as part of the full roll out of their national track and field academic postseason awards.
Two Aggie men, Ryan Ishibashi and Chance Tokubo earned the honor while five Aggie women earned the recognition. Dani Barrett, Madison Kackley, Maya Shinnick, Sydney McCaan and Elizabeth Churchill rounded out the UC Davis representatives on the CSC list.
Shinnick (400m) and Barrett (10,000m) both qualified for the NCAA West Preliminaries, with Barrett winning the 10,000-Meter Run Big West Championship while setting a program record in the 10,000-Meter Run. Kackley added a school record in the 3,000-Meter Run to showcase a strong athletic performance and academic performance by the seven Aggies.
Joining UC Davis from Brisbane, Australia, in 2023, Johnson has been a significant contributor to the team in just her first two years, leading the Aggies in minutes played (582) while scoring 26 goals, clocking 32 assists, swiping 42 steals, and drawing 35 ejections during the 2025 season. These numbers also led to Johnson being named a Big West Honorable Mention at season's end.
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| | Cal State University East Bay Pioneers | |
Easton Hether Garners Division PING All-America Honorable Mention
NORMAN, Okla. - The GCAA announced its Second, Third and Honorable Mention selections for the 2025 Division II PING All-America Teams on Thursday. From Cal State East Bay men's golf, Easton Hether added to his collection of accolades for the 2024-25 season being named Division II PING All-America Honorable Mention.
Hether, a junior out of Fairfield, California, was a driving force for the Cal State East Bay men's golf team, who won the CCAA Championships presented by Under Armour, back in April. It was the first CCAA title for the Pioneers since 2016. Hether's play on the golf course also helped carry the Pioneers to their first NCAA Division II Men's Golf Championship appearance since 2017 and a No. 1 ranking in the West Region.
Already for Hether in 2024-25, he was named Division II Ping All-West Region, Cal State East Bay Male Athlete of the Year, All-CCAA for the second year in a row and received a FloCollege/CCAA Men's Golfer of the Week award in March.
Hether had East Bay's lowest score in the NCAA Championships at -2, placing 12th on the leaderboard. To reach the NCAA Championships, Hether's -9 score and eighth place finish guided the Pioneers into a third place finish at the NCAA Division II West/South Central Regionals to advance the championship tournament. Along the journey to greatness for Cal State East Bay, Hether was the medalist to start the spring season strong at the Nighthawk Invitational. He had three total top three finishes in the season and six top-10 finishes in the 14 tournaments he played in. Hether finished under par in eight tournaments all together.
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San Francisco 49ers
Las Vegas Raiders
2025/26 Schedules
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Weekly Bay Area
Sports Calendar
Monday, July 7, through
Sunday, July 13, 2025
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Monday, July 7
San Francisco Giants vs. Philadelphia Phillies, 6:45 p.m.
Golden State Valkyries @ Atlanta Dream, 4:30 p.m.
Tuesday, July 8
San Francisco Giants vs. Philadelphia Phillies, 6:45 p.m.
Athletics vs. Atlanta Braves, 7:05 p.m.
San Jose Earthquakes vs. Austin FC, 7:30 p.m.
Wednesday, July 9
San Francisco Giants vs. Philadelphia Phillies, 12:45 p.m.
Athletics vs. Atlanta Braves, 7:05 p.m.
Golden State Valkyries @ Indiana Fever, 9 a.m.
Thursday, July 10
Athletics vs. Atlanta Braves, 6:05 p.m.
Friday, July 11
San Francisco Giants vs. Los Angeles Dodgers, 7:15 p.m.
Athletics vs. Toronto Blue Jays, 7:05 p.m.
Saturday, July 12
San Francisco Giants vs. Los Angeles Dodgers, 1:05 p.m.
Athletics vs. Toronto Blue Jays, 7:05 p.m.
Oakland Roots SC vs. Phoenix Rising FC, 7 p.m.
San Jose Earthquakes @ Minnesota United FC, 5:30 p.m.
Golden State Valkyries @ Las Vegas Aces, 1 p.m.
Sunday, July 13
San Francisco Giants vs. Los Angeles Dodgers, 1:05 p.m.
Athletics vs. Toronto Blue Jays, 1:05 p.m.
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Publisher: Christopher Weills
Associate Publisher: Ann Cooke
Marketing Director: Robert Moselle
Sales: Ayiko Konopaski
Contributors: Lydia Chain, Steve Chain, Harvey Cohen, Andy Dolich, Pete Elman, Rob Flammia, Bruce Macgowan, Robert Moselle, Dave Newhouse, Howard Pearlstein, Amaury Pi-Gonzalez, T. Buff, Shelia Young
Software Engineer / Sports Today Editor: Medhavee Upadhyaya
Staff Photographers: Jeff Bayer, Alex Ho, Ed Jay, Ron Sellers, Darren Yamashita, Rich Yee, Kenny Karst (retired)
Artist: Carl Macki
Website: www.UltimateSportsGuide.net
Contact us at: theultimatesportsguide@gmail.com
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FIELD OF PLAY
For the past 60 years, Michael Zagaris has taken his camera behind the scenes of the NFL, capturing the moments that define America’s game.
To order: https://www.zagarisbook.com/
| | LOL, Loss of Logo: What’s Your Next Move? was written for sports professionals by Andy Dolich and Jack Hirschman and offers valuable takeaways for everyone chasing the fancy logo and corner office. | | The Emerald Mile: The epic and award-winning story of the fastest ride in history through the heart of the Grand Canyon, by Kevin Fedarko. A thrilling true tale during the legendary flood of 1983. | | More than a cookbook, this culinary delight was written to preserve a great chef's traditional family recipes and stories of her childhood for her far-flung grandchildren. Author Leonie Samuel-Hool recounts stories of a vanished society and legends of the gods and goddesses that protect and sometimes make mischief in Indonesian homes, fields and foods. The recipes are explicitly presented. | | The absolute greatest Yankees were the 1949-1953 pinstripers, winners of an unprecedented five consecutive World Series. "The Yankee Way," Hall of Fame manager Tony La Russa writes in the book's foreword, is "full of Yankee winning keys, star-studded competition, and insights about one of baseball's historically fascinating periods." By Charlie Silvera with Dave Newhouse (Author). | | To Order: $10 hardcover, $7 paperback, plus $4.95 shipping. Send check/M.O. to Christopher Weills, P.O. Box 4515, Berkeley, CA 94704 | | | |
The Ultimate Sports Guide is very appreciative to the ongoing contributions made by former staff photographer Kenny Karst and Robert Moselle. Mr. Karst, now retired, continues to contribute helpful ideas and his archives.
Mr. Moselle, Esq., is now lending his extensive editorial experience and marketing savvy to the publication.
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