Wildcats look to continue their road success in Grand Junction

By Mike Baca

     Fresh off their road series win against the reigning West Region champion San Bernardino Coyotes, the Wildcats head to Grand Junction, Colorado to take on perrenial power Colorado Mesa.

     This once-heated rivalry has simmered over the years after Mesa left the West Region to play Division-II baseball in the South Central Region. The Wildcats and Mavericks have played some thrilling post-season and regular season games and they will renew acquaintances this weekend in the rockies.

     The two teams met last year and the Wildcats took two-of-three from Mesa at The Nett. It was their first match-up since 2009 when the Wildcats lost three-of-four regular season games in Grand Junction. 

     The post-season match-ups have been epic. In 2005 the Sergio Romo-led Mavericks hosted the West Regional and after both teams won their opening games, they played in one of the more memorable contests in Chico State Wildcat baseball history.

    Despite being the home team, Mesa was designated as the visitors in the head-to-head match-up. The Mavericks took a 5-1 lead in front of a thunderous home crowd at Suplizio Field. But, Chico would rally for three runs in the bottom of the 7th and two more in the 8th to take a 6-5 lead headed to the 9th. Mesa would tie it with a solo home run, setting the stage for one of the biggest home runs in Wildcat history.

     Mired in post-season slump, Chico State first baseman Ryan Martin would come to the plate leading off the bottom of the 9th and blasting a solo home run setting off a wild celebration. Chico would beat Western Oregon the next day and punch thier ticket to Montgomery, Alabama and Division-II College World Series.

     In 2007 the two teams met in the West Regional again. This time in an elimination game. Chico held a late lead before Mesa rallied to beat the Wildcats ending Chico's attempt at making a fourth straight trip to the D-II World Series. 

     In the years that followed Mesa has made four trips to the Division II College World Series (last being in 2019) under their long time head coach Chris Hanks. They are  a national power and play in one of the best ballparks in the country, the newly refurbished Suplizio Field. The ballpark seats 10-thousand fans and in 2012 the ballpark underwent 8-point-3 million dollars in renovations.

     Chico State leads the all-time season series 9-7. The two teams are slated to play a four-game series at Nettleton Stadium in February 2025

     You can hear the four-game series on KpaySports 1290 & 102.9 FM as well as the KpaySports app on Friday at 4:45pm with the first pitch at 5pm

    WILDCATS BEGIN EIGHT GAME ROAD TRIP IN SAN BERNARDINO

BY Mike Baca

     The Chico State Baseball team is hitting the road for a pivotal eight-game stretch to begin the second half of their 2024 season........and they couldn't be happier.

     The road has treated the Wildcats well this season as they have gone 8-4 with series wins over Stanislaus and Cal State Los Angeles and a split against Pomona.

Nettleton Stadium has been a different story.

     Chico has struggled in the not-so-friendly confines. The Wildcats are 4-7 against CCAA foes at The Nett with series losses against SF State and Dominguez Hills. Digging deeper the numbers show the Wildcats have come up clutch on the road hitting .371 with runners in scoring position. At home the Cats are only hitting .266 with runners in scoring position. Chico is also driving in runners at 3rd with less than two outs 65 percent of the time on the road and only 57 percent of the time at home. 

     The Wildcats will welcome the road trip and prepare for four games against San Bernardino and then four against Colorado Mesa in Grand Junction, Colorado. It marks a criticial stretch for Chico as they sit in 5th place in the CCAA....four games behind second place San Marcos and 4 1/2 back of first place Monterey. The top two teams get first round byes in the CCAA Tournament in early May. Chico will host the Otters on April 19th, 20th and 21st in what could be a critical conference series.

     You can hear the entire four game series on KPAYSports 1290 AM & 102.9 FM also on the KpaySports app you can download for free in the app store 

APRIL 5th    Chico State Baseball @ San Bernardino          1:45pm 1290/102.9

APRIL 6th    Chico State Baseball @ San Bernardino DH   11:45am 1290/102.9

APRIL 7th    Chico State Baseball @ San Bernardino          10:45am 1290/102.9

     Tough day for the Chico State Baseball and Softball teams. Both teams get swept in CCAA series on Monday. 

     Wildcat softball loses all four games to the Stanislaus State Warriors losing yesterday 7-2 and 1-0. Chico suffers their second sweep at the hands of a CCAA opponent falling to 3-11 overall and 3-9 in the CCAA.

Chico softball will host Sonoma in a four game series this weekend.

The Chico State Baseball team gets swept by the SF State Gators in a double-header at The Nett yesterday.

The Wildcats could not get out of the first innings of both games as SF State batted around in both games.

     Chico starters last a total of 2/3 of an inning combined in the two games. The Gators scored five runs in the 1st inning of game one and 6 runs in the 1st inning of game two. SF State wins by scores of 13-9 and 9-2. 

Armando Murillo and Derek Lafarriere combined for 20 hits in 33 at-bats in the series.

The Gators scored 34 runs on 54 hits in the four game series. 

Chico falls to 8-5 overall and 3-5 in the CCAA. Chico hits the road to take on Stanislaus

in a four game series this weekend in Turlock. Game one of the series is Friday at 6pm.

The Pleasant Valley Vikings girls basketball team will take on Colfax tonight at Varley Gym with berth in the Division II State Championship game on the line. Colfax comes in at 33-2 and is the 4th seed in the tournament. PV comes in at 26-7 and couldn't be riding higher after AJ Gambol's fabulous fling to win their game against Oakland Tech on Saturday night. 

Game time is 7pm at Varley Gym. The winner takes on the Southern California representative at the Golden One Center this weekend.....

Butte College Women get ready for Consumnes River this Saturday. Butte trailed 48-47 against Hartnell but countered with an 18-2 run and won going away 81-57. Butte is 28-1 and has won 24 straight.

Consumnes River knocked off San Jose City 71-61 and comes in at 23-6.

Butte is in the Sweet Sixteen for the second straight year and is ranked number one in the state. They will play Consumnes River at 6pm at Cowan Gym on Saturday night.

All-State 1st Team Selection Morgan Triguero led the Roadrunners with

21 points and 10 boards knocking down 5 threes, Sarah Tait had 15 points and 7 rebounds while Jocelyn Medina had 14 points 6 assists and

5 steals. 

      Today is the official deadline for NFL teams to use the franchise tag on players that are set to become free agents.  Teams are allowed to "tag" one player, which allows them to play under a one-year contract in the upcoming season.  The value of the deal is based on the average of the top five salaries in the player's position.  Wide receiver Tee Higgins has already been tagged by the Cincinnati Bengals and star cornerback L'Jarius Sneed has also been tagged by the Kansas City Chiefs. The deadline is set for 4 p.m. Eastern this afternoon

       Iowa women's basketball superstar Caitlin Clark continues to draw millions of television viewers.  Nearly three-point-four-million people tuned in to Fox to watch Caitlin Clark break Pete Maravich's all-time NCAA scoring record against Ohio State on Sunday.  More people watched her final regular-season game than the Boston Celtics-Golden State Warriors game on ABC the same day.  The game was the most-watched women's basketball game since at least 2010 and shattered this season's previous high mark of almost one-point-nine million viewers when Iowa and Ohio State played in January.  Last week, Clark announced her decision to head to the WNBA following the end of her season at Iowa.

Two high profile starting pitchers are apparently gaining more interest as Opening Day in the MLB approaches.  Scott Boras told the media on Monday that four new teams have inquired on Jordan Montgomery and Blake Snell.  The agent for both players said there's a "pitching panic" going on in the league and some teams' "competitive seasons" are at risk.  Montgomery is coming off a World Series title with the Texas Rangers and sported a 3.20 ERA in nearly 189 innings pitched.  Snell won the NL Cy Young award with the San Diego Padres last season and led the majors with a 2.25 ERA.  Opening Day is on March 28th.

      The Warriors are back on their home hardwood.  Golden State hosts the Milwaukee Bucks tomorrow night at the Chase Center.  The Warriors come off a 140-88 loss to the Boston Celtics on Sunday.  Lester Quinones paced the team with 17 points in the setback.  Stephen Curry was limited to four points and went 0-for-9 from beyond the arc.  The Warriors are ninth in the West at 32-and-28.

      The Kings failed to pick up a win at home.  Sacramento lost to the Chicago Bulls 113-109 at the Golden 1 Center.  The Kings were outscored 36-18 in the fourth quarter.  De'Aaron Fox led the way with 20 points and 10 assists.  Domantas Sabonis chipped in 18 points and 21 rebounds in the losing effort.  The Kings have lost three of four and sit seventh in the West at 34-and-26.  They visit the Los Angeles Lakers tomorrow night.

       The Sharks are looking to put an end to their seven-game losing streak.  San Jose hosts the Dallas Stars tonight at the SAP Center.  The Sharks come off a 4-3 loss to the Minnesota Wild on Sunday.  Anthony Duclair, Mikael Granlund and Nico Sturm lit the lamp in the losing effort.  The Sharks are at the bottom of the Pacific Division at 15-39-and-6.

      The Giants are continuing spring training action.  San Francisco hosts the Milwaukee Brewers this afternoon at Scottsdale Stadium.  The Giants are coming off a 12-10 loss to the Colorado Rockies yesterday.  J.D. Davis was 2-for-3 with two RBIs, while Nick Ahmed went 2-for-2 with an RBI and three runs scored in the setback.  Jose Cruz was charged with the loss on the mound.   The Giants are 2-6-and-2.

      The Athletics are taking the day off from the diamond.  Oakland visits the LA Angels tomorrow afternoon at Tempe Diablo Stadium.  The A's come off a 15-8 loss to the Cincinnati Reds yesterday.  Shea Langeliers homered for the first time this spring in the setback.  Zach Jackson was charged with the loss on the mound.  The A's are 5-and-5.

      A former American League MVP is retiring from baseball.  Josh Donaldson joined former player Sean Casey's podcast on Monday and announced that he's hanging up his cleats for good.  The 38-year-old won MVP honors with the Toronto Blue Jays in 2015 after slugging 41 homers and driving in 123 runs.  The third-baseman finished with 279 home runs and 816 RBI over his 13-year career.  He was originally selected by the Chicago Cubs in the second round of the 2007 draft out of Auburn.  Donaldson made stops with the Oakland Athletics, Cleveland Guardians, Atlanta Braves, Minnesota Twins, New York Yankees and Milwaukee Brewers.

      The Cardinal and Golden Bears are going head-to-head on the hardwood this week.  Stanford will host Cal on Thursday night at Maples Pavilion.  The Cardinal have lost six in-a-row to enter at 12-and-17.  The Golden Bears are riding a two-game losing streak to enter at 13-and-17.

       The Earthquakes are back on the pitch this weekend.  San Jose hosts the Vancouver Whitecaps on Saturday night at PayPal Park.  The Quakes come off a 3-1 loss to the LA Galaxy last week.  San Jose sits at the bottom of the Western Conference at 0-2-and-0.

Chico State Men's and Women's Basketball knocks off Humboldt

in regular season finale

CHICO WOMEN CLOSE REGULAR SEASON WITH DOMINANT 2ND HALF

     With wins on Thursday night both the Chico State men's and women's basketball teams reached 20 wins on the season. For the women it is the first time since 2012-2013 they have surpassed the 20-win mark. Chico clamped down defensively to stymie the Lumberjacks in a 77-59 win.

     Jordan Allred led five Cats in double figures with 14 points and 7 boards. Crescent City native Jadence Clifton played in front of several friends and family and scored 12 points, pulled 7 boards and had three steals.

     Chico outscored Humboldt 42-21 in the second to win the game going away. 

     Chico will now wait on their next opponent as they have earned a first round bye in the CCAA Tournament next week in San Bernardino. Chico will play the winner of Pomona and Sonoma and 12 noon on Friday afternoon. KpaySports will have the broadcast at 11:45 next Friday from Cousoullis Arena in Southern California.

CHICO STATE MEN HOLD OFF HUMBOLDT WRAPPING UP REGULAR SEASON

      The Chico State Wildcat men survived an early 2nd half push by Humboldt to register an 84-77 win over Humboldt. Chico's Evan Oliver led five Cats in double figures with 15 as Chico shot 55 percent for the game in holding off the Jacks.

     The Wildcats jumped out to a 31-17 lead mid-way through the 1st half only to see Humboldt go on an 11-nothing run to whittle the lead down to three. Chico would again grab control of the game and was up 55-45 with just under 14 minutes to go but Humboldt would counter with a 13-2 run to grab a 58-57 lead with just under 11 minutes to go. But, Chico would grab control of the game on the defensive end and ease their way to the win.

     Chico will now play Cal State East Bay in the first round of the CCAA Basketball Tournament in San Bernardino. Chico play on Thursday night at 8pm. Our pregame will come your way at 7:45pm on KpaySports 1290 & 102.9 FM. Chico swept the season series from East Bay this year but the Pioneers pose some unique challenges with their punishing interior game and quick guards on the perimeter. The game will have NCAA Tournament implications as both teams (Chico 6th and East Bay 8th) are in the mix to get into the Division II version of March Madness in two weeks. 

      The Chico High Girls saw their season come to an end as Homestead from Cupertino knocks off the Panthers 4-0 at the Chico High Soccer Stadium last night. Homestead scored a pair of goals in the 1st and 2nd halves to beat Chico.

The Panthers end their season at 17-2-1.

     Heartbreak for the Pleasant Valley Girls Soccer team as they lose in a shoot-out at Asgard Yard to Rio Americano High School last night. The two teams played to a scoreless tie through two halves and an overtime period. Rio Americano

would beat PV 3-2 in the shoot-out. PV sees their season come to an end with a record of 17-3-3.

      PV boys beat Natomas 1-0 at Asgard Yard and advance to the 2nd round.....PV will play top seed Newark Memorial in Newark Bay Area Thursday at 5pm

      The Chico High Boys lose to Ukiah 4-1 their season comes to an end at 13-4-3.

      The 13th seeded Pleasant Valley Vikings gave 4th seeded Ygnacio Valley Wolves all they could handle but the Vikings fall 56-50. PV trailed throughout but was within striking distance the entire game........The Vikings end

their season at 22-9.

      The 12th seeded Durham Boys fall to Summit Shasta 61-40 in the Division V state tournament. The Durham boys finish their season at 23-8.

      The 10th seeded Orland Boys lose to Futures High out of Sacramento 78-66. Orland ends their season at 18-12

      3rd seeded Biggs is hosting Napa Christian 7pm tonight.....

     The Chico High girls ALMOST spring the upset. The 16th seeded Panthers pushed the top-seeded Branham High out of San Jose to the brink before falling 53-47. Chico High was in the game the entire way before the top seed

pulled away late. Chico sees their season come to an end at 21-10.

      The Pleasant Valley Girls advance with a hard fought 56-49 win over Vista Del Lago at Varley Gym.The 3rd seeded Vikings will now take on 11th seeded Antelope High who upset the 6 seed Buchanan

82-68. PV will host Antelope on Thursday night in the 2nd round of the state tourney at 7pm at Varley Gym.

     The Colusa Girls fall in the Division IV state tournament to Alisal from Salinas 56-28. Colusa sees their season end at 24-7.

     Trinity beats Winters in Division V 40-30. The Winters girls sees their season end at 21-7.

      Klay Thompson turned in a big performance off the bench to propel the Golden State Warriors to a 123-112 win over the Washington Wizards at Capital One Arena.  Thompson totaled 25 points while shooting 6-for-11 from three-point range in Golden State's fourth win in the last five games.  Jonathan Kuminga chipped in 21 points, six rebounds and five assists. 

      Stephen Curry scored all 18 of his points in the second half as the Warriors improved to 30-and-27.  Kyle Kuzma totaled 27 points and 12 boards for Washington in the team's 12th straight loss.  Tyus Jones totaled 14 points and 17 assists as the Wizards slipped to 9-and-49.

BOYS....

DIVISION VI      #6 seed Napa Christian @ Biggs 7PM WEDS

DIVISION V #12 Durham 23-7 and 13-1 @ Summit Shasta High from Daly City 22-4  7pm TUES 

DIVISION V #10 Orland 18-11 @ Futures High from Sacramento 26-6 7PM TUES 

DIVISON IV #11 Gridley 22-6 @ Lincoln High from SF 21-10 14-0 in league 7pm TUES

DIVISION III #13 Pleasant Valley 22-8 @ #4 Ygnacio Valley from Concord 24-8

GIRLS....

DIVISION V #11 Winters 21-6 @ #6 Trinity from Weaverville 19-11 

DIVISION IV #12 Colusa 24-6 and 14-0 Sac Valley @ #5 Alisal from Salinas 23-3

DIVISION II #16 Chico 21-9 @ #1 Branham 22-3 from San Jose 7pm TUES 

DIVISION II #3 Pleasant Valley 23-7 hosts #14  Vista Del Lago Folsom 23-8  7pm TUES

The STATE TOURNAMENT BRACKETS ANNOUNCED FOR THE WOMEN IN JUNIOR COLLEGE BASKETBALL and the Butte College Roadrunner Women are riding a 24-game win streak and are the number one seed in the North....they will host their first playoff game on March 2nd at Cowan 

Gym against a yet to be determined opponent....more infro when we get it....

Chico State men's and women's teams are headed to the post season but first they wrap up the regular season in Arcata this Thursday against

Cal Poly Humboldt....

The women are the #2 seed and will get a bye in the 1st round of the conference tournament.....the Chico women will play their first playoff 

game on Friday March 8th at 12 noon against the winner of Pomona/Sonoma or San Bernardino....

The men will play in the 1st round on the mens side of the bracket and they will play Thursday at 8pm against Cal State East Bay......

if Chico wins that game they would play either Dominguez Hills are San Bernardino in a 2nd round match-up....

Nikola Jokic [[ yo-kitch ]] recorded his 18th triple-double of the season to lead the Denver Nuggets to a 119-103 win over the Golden State Warriors at the Chase Center.  Jokic totaled 32 points, 16 rebounds and 16 assists to go along with four steals and a block on the defensive end.  Jamal Murray chipped in 27 points, while Aaron Gordon finished with 17.  The Nuggets have won three in-a-row to improve to 39-and-19.  Klay Thompson came off the bench to lead Golden State with 23 points.  Stephen Curry scored 20 points as the Warriors fell to 29-and-27.

Domantas Sabonis posted his NBA-leading 20th triple-double of the season as the Kings cruised past the Clippers 123-107 in Los Angeles.  Sabonis racked up 17 points, 15 rebounds and 12 assists.  De'Aaron Fox poured in a game-high 33 points and Harrison Barnes added 22 as Sacramento won its third straight.  The Kings are sitting fifth in the West at 33-and-23.  They return home to host the Miami Heat tonight.

BUTTE WOMEN LOOK TO EXTEND MONTHS-LONG STREAK.....

       Butte College men and women wrap up the regular season with games at home on Wednesday night against Lassen....

        The 26-1 women will play at 5p with the men at 7pm. The Roadrunner men are 12-15 on the year....playoff pairings will be announced this weekend. It's expected the Butte women will get a high seed based on their number one ranking in the state and their 23 game winning streak...

       High School Playoff Basketball is here and the both the Pleasant Valley High Boys and Girls basketball teams will host games this week. 

        Tomorrow night the 21-7 PV girls host 15-11 Shasta in the 1st Round of the North Section Playoffs. Game time 7pm at Varley Gym. PV beat Shasta 59-35 in Redding two weeks ago and beat them by 30 on January 16th at home....

       The Chico High Girls will host Foothill Tuesday night at The Pit as they look to advance to the North Section Title Game. Game time 7pm

         The PV boys will lock horns with Chico once again as both Chico schools got 1st Round North Section Playoff wins.

        PV swept the season series with a win at home 65-44 on January 18th and a 60-39 win at The Pit on February 9th. Game time 7pm Weds at Varley Gym. 

The Chico State women with a stellar offensive performance on Saturday afternoon as they knock off the Stanislaus State Warriors in Turlock 86-63. The Cats finish their four-game road trip 3-1 and move to 18-7 on the year and are 14-5 in the CCAA.

         For the second straight game Chico was led by Brandi Huffhines with 23 points. Huffhines had 24 on Thursday in Chico's win over Monterey.

         The task gets tougher for the Chico women as they look to secure a bye in the 1st Round of the CCAA playoffs they will host Dominguez Hills

and CSLA.......5:05pm broadcast time on Thursday at Acker Gym....

       Very tough loss for the Chico State men as they cough up a 13-point lead on Saturday with 7:55 left. 

       Chico falls to Stanislaus State 73-69.

Chico could not get a stop in the final few minutes as the Warriors closed the game 11-for-14 from the field and 4-for-4 from three point range. They were also a perfect 5-of-5 from the free throw line down the stretch.

       The loss is a missed opportunity for Chico as both San Bernardino and Cal State LA lost their games. Chico is now 18-7 on the season and 13-6 in the CCAA.....they will host 1st place Dominguez Hills on Thursday and CSLA on Saturday....

        The Warriors are taking some time off from the court following All-Star weekend.  Golden State returns to action at home against the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday night at the Chase Center.  Stephen Curry totaled 16 points, eight assists and five rebounds in the West's loss in the NBA All-Star Game on Sunday.  The Warriors are 10th in the West at 27-and-26.

          The Kings are returning to the hardwood later this week.  Sacramento is back in action at home against the San Antonio Spurs on Thursday night at the Golden 1 Center.  De'Aaron Fox leads the team with 26.8 points per game this season.  Sacramento is eighth in the West at 31-and-23.

          The Sharks are searching for a win on home ice.  San Jose hosts the Vegas Golden Knights this afternoon at the SAP Center.  The Sharks are coming off a 4-3 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday.  Anthony Duclair scored a pair of goals to up his season total to 11.  Fabian Zetterlund also lit the lamp in the losing effort.  The Sharks are at the bottom of the Pacific Division at 15-34-and-5.

         The Raiders former starting quarterback will be on the sidelines at the start of next season.  ESPN reports that Las Vegas QB Jimmy Garoppolo is being suspended two games for a violation of the NFL's performance enhancing substances policy.  Garoppolo will not appeal the suspension and will miss the first two games of the 2024 season.  The Raiders are expected to release Garoppolo before the fifth day of the new league year when he is set to receive an 11.25-million dollar roster bonus.  The 32-year-old will be allowed to participate in all offseason activities and training camp with any team he signs with.

         The Giants and Athletics are continuing their spring training workouts.  The first full-squad workout for the A's is today, while the Giants full squad reports tomorrow.  The Giants open play against the Chicago Cubs on Saturday, while the A's face the Colorado Rockies on Saturday.  In other news, Pablo Sandoval is taking part in Giants camp as a non-roster invitee.  The 2012 World Series MVP spent the first seven years of his 14-year career with the Giants, where he helped win three World Series championships.  He has not played in the major leagues since 2021.

         College basketball action continues this week.  Stanford hosts Oregon on Thursday night at Maples Pavilion.  The Cardinal come off a 72-59 loss to Washington State on Saturday.  They enter the matchup at 12-and-13 overall and 7-and-8 in conference play.  Elsewhere, Cal hosts Oregon State on Thursday night at Haas Pavilion.  The Golden Bears snapped a two-game losing skid with an 82-80 win over Washington on Saturday.  They enter at 11-and-15 overall and 7-and-8 against Pac-12 competition.

           Hideki Matsuyama is celebrating a victory after finishing atop the leaderboard at 17 under par to win the 2024 Genesis Invitational at Riviera Country Club.  Matsuyama now has nine career PGA Tour titles, the first since his win at the 2022 Sony Open in Hawaii.  Luke List and Will Zalatoris finished tied for second place.  List shot a 68 in the final round and Zalatoris shot a 69 as both ended the tournament 14 under par.  Tiger Woods withdrew from the tournament after shooting a 72 in the opening round.  

     The Chico State Wildcats men's and women's basketball teams hosting a couple of match-ups this weekend. It all begins with games against Stanislaus State tonight at Acker Gym. The Wildcat men and women both swept the weekend on the road beating SF State and East Bay last weekend. 

The Chico State women are 9-4 overall and 5-2 in the CCAA one game behind San Marcos in conference standings.

        The Chico State men are 10-2 overall and 5-2 in the CCAA. Stanislaus women are also 5-2 in the CCAA while the Warrior men are 1-6 in conference play.

The women play at 5:30 with the men at 7:30 and our pregame at 5:05pm on KpaySports 1290 102.9 FM and the KpaySports app

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The New England Patriots are expected to part ways with head coach Bill Belichick today, reports indicate.  Belichick was with the Patriots for 24 seasons, racking up an incredible record including six Super Bowl wins.  ESPN reports Belichick and Patriots owner Robert Kraft have been meeting this week to make sure the decision was mutual and without conflict.  Belichick has one year left on his contract but is expected to continue coaching elsewhere.  An official announcement is expected later today.

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The Crimson Tide are losing a legend.  Longtime head coach Nick Saban is retiring.  Saban won seven national championships during his career, including six as the leader of the Tide.  The 72-year-old just completed his 17th season at Alabama, which ended with a loss to the eventual national champs in the College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Rose Bowl.  Saban is 292-71-and-1 as a college head coach, ranking him sixth all-time in the FBS in wins, and 12th in NCAA college football history regardless of division.  He also spent time at Toledo, Michigan State, LSU and the Miami Dolphins of the NFL.  

  Nick Saban is moving onto the next chapter of his life as the legendary Alabama head football coach has announced his retirement.  

       In a statement released on Wednesday, Saban said that the 17 years spent in Tuscaloosa weren't just about wins and losses, but about legacy and how they went about it.  The goal was to help players create more value for their future.  He also said that Alabama will always be considered home.  Saban's teams won three national championships during the Bowl Championship Series era and three more after the start of the College Football Playoff.  In ten seasons of the CFP, the Crimson Tide qualified eight times.

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      Pete Carroll is out as head coach of the Seattle Seahawks next season.  Carroll will remain with the organization as an adviser, and says it was a joint decision with management.

     Carroll thanked the players and owner Jodi Allen.  He says his role as an adviser has yet to be determined.  Carroll has been the Seahawks head coach since 2010, winning one Super Bowl and two NFC championships.  Seattle finished with a nine-and-eight record and were eliminated from playoff contention on the last day of the season.  

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      The New Orleans Pelicans jumped out to a big early lead and cruised to a 141-105 win over the Golden State Warriors at the Chase Center.  New Orleans never trailed and led by as many as 41 points on a night where the team shot 57.4-percent from the field.  Jonas Valanciunas [[ YO-nahs vah-lahn-CHEW-nas ]] led the way with 21 points and nine rebounds.  Zion Williamson chipped in with 19 points, while Trey Murphy the Third came off the bench to score 16.  The Pels have won six of seven to improve to 23-and-15.  Moses Moody came off the bench to lead Golden State with 21 points in the losing effort.  Steph Curry was limited to 15 points as the Warriors fell to 17-and-20.  

     Chico's Kurt Kitayama will play in the second PGA event of the 2024 season. Kitayama will tee it up at 9:50am on Thursday morning at the Sony Open .

 Si Woo Kim will be looking to defend his title when the Sony Open in Hawaii tees off from Waialae Country Club in Honolulu.  Kim won last year's tournament after finishing atop the leaderboard at 18 under par.  The 28-year-old will be alongside Chris Kirk and Hideki Matsuyama for the opening round.  Gary Woodland is making his return after recovering from brain surgery.  The 39-year-old will be alongside Zach Johnson and Kevin Kisner for round one.  The tournament begins with Charley Hoffman, Alex Noren and Tyson Alexander among the first group of players teeing off.

The 49ers clinched their second straight NFC West Division title with a 45-29 rout of the Cardinals in Glendale.  Arizona native Brock Purdy threw for 242 yards and four touchdowns for the Niners, who improved to 11-and-3 with their sixth straight win.  San Francisco has also won 12 in-a-row within its division.  Christian McCaffrey had 187 total yards and three touchdowns on the day including two receiving.  Deebo Samuel also had a pair of TD catches in the victory.  The 49ers next host the Baltimore Ravens in Week 16.  

(Portland, OR)  --  Klay Thompson led the Warriors to a 118-114 win over the Portland Trail Blazers at the Moda Center.  Thompson scored a team-high 28 points while knocking down five shots from three-point range.  Andrew Wiggins came off the bench to chip in 25 points.  Stephen Curry's 268-game streak of hitting at least one three-pointer ended after shooting 0-for-8 from deep.  The Warriors have won two in-a-row to improve to 12-and-14.  Golden State hosts the Boston Celtics tomorrow night.  

(Sacramento, CA)  --  The Kings are squaring off with Kyle Kuzma and the Wizards.  Sacramento hosts Washington tonight at the Golden 1 Center.  The Kings come off a 125-104 win over the Utah Jazz and improved to 15-and-9 on the season.  Keegan Murray set an NBA-record with 11 straight made three-pointers and finished with a career-high 47 points in the victory over Utah.  De'Aaron Fox is listed questionable for tonight's game as he deals with a shoulder injury.  

(Henderson, NV)  --  The Raiders are turning their attention to their Week 16 opponent.  Las Vegas visits the Kansas City Chiefs on Monday morning at Arrowhead Stadium.  The Raiders are 6-and-8 on the season after crushing the Los Angeles Chargers 63-21 on Thursday Night Football.  Las Vegas put together a dominant showing on both sides of the ball and jumped out to a 42-0 lead at halftime.  Aidan O'Connell completed 20-of-34 passes for 248 yards and four touchdowns.  John Jenkins and Jack Jones each scored a defensive TD.  

(Shreveport, LA)  --  Cal was handed a loss in the Independence Bowl.  The Golden Bears fell to Texas Tech 34-14 at Independence Stadium in Shreveport, Louisiana.  Fernando Mendoza threw for 261 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions in the loss.  Jaydn Ott was limited to 45 yards and a score on 16 carries.  Cal jumped ahead 14-7 in the first quarter but was shutout for the remainder of the game.  

(Denver, CO)  --  The Sharks suffered a second straight loss.  San Jose lost to the Colorado Avalanche 6-2 at Ball Arena.  Tomas Hertl scored both of the Sharks' goals in the losing effort.  Hertl has now lit the lamp 11 times this season.  Mackenzie Blackwood allowed five goals and made 23 saves in net.  San Jose slipped to 9-19-and-3 and is last in the Pacific Division with 21 points.  The Sharks host the Los Angeles Kings tomorrow.  

(Undated)  --  College hoops action continues this week.  Stanford crushed Idaho 82-64 at Maples Pavilion.  Andrej Stojakovic scored 17 points as the Cardinal improved to 5-and-4.  Stanford visits San Diego State on Thursday night.  Elsewhere, Cal hosts UC San Diego on Wednesday afternoon in Berkeley.  The Golden Bears are 3-and-7 after losing to Ole Miss 88-78 in the Hall of Fame Series in San Antonio.  Jaylon Tyson scored 22 points in the setback.  

    PLEASANT VALLEY FOOTBALL SUPRISES EVERYONE.....

BUT THEMSELVES

BY: Mike Baca

     Six weeks ago it wasn't even a contest. The Chico High Panthers Football team dominated the line of scrimmage, handed the ball to their all-everything running back Dion Coleman and dismantled Pleasant Valley in the Almond Bowl 35-0.  

     Saturday night that regular season loss turned into a footnote when telling the story of the 2023 football season.

     Pleasant Valley grinded their way to a 28-19 win over Chico using a punishing running game, creative play-calling and bend-but-don't-break defense to capture another section title.

     The turn-around from October 13th is astonishing when you consider the chasm that we witnessed in the first installment of the Almond Bowl. Coleman rushed for 256 yards and 5 touchdowns as the Viking defense appeared to be completely overwhelmed.

     While the Vikings didn't completely shut down Coleman on Saturday, they minimized the damage. He did score on a long touchdown run and had a receiving score. Instead of being a stake through the heart of the Vikings, he was, instead an irritant. It was something that the Vikings could overcome.

     Something the Vikings didn't have in the Almond Bowl was a healthy Lucas Benson. The Junior running back separated his shoulder late in the 1st quarter of the Almond Bowl and PV was left looking for answers in their 35 point loss. Benson has been dominant in the Vikings two playoff wins scoring four touchdowns against Shasta and FOUR MORE in PV's win over Chico on Saturday. Benson had 24 carries for 104 yards and four scores.

     Everyone knows PV Head Coach Mark Cooley is a great a coach. But this may have been his greatest sell job to one of his teams. To go from a running clock in a blow out loss at home against your rival to a playoff win six weeks later on their home field is stuff of legend.

     All credit goes to Pleasant Valley and their program. The continual greatness of the Pleasant Valley football teams is a testament to their culture that Cooley has instilled and cultivated. PV preaches the "circle" how everyone on the team and at the school is connected. That connection was on full display in something that seemed improbable, but in retrospect, was inevitable. 

Last year the Chico State Volleyball team won three matches all year. This weekend they won three of four at the Stanislaus State Invitational and are off to a great start for the 2023 season.

The Wildcats completed a fantastic weekend with a sweep of Western New Mexico on Saturday moving to 3-1 on the season.

The Cats will begin conference play on September 15th when they take on CSLA in Los Angeles.

***************************

It is a great start to the season for the Chico State men's soccer team. The Wildcats beat the Western Washington Vikings on Saturday by a score of 2-0. The Cats beat Seattle Pacific on Thursday by that same score.....Miles Rice was back in the scoring column assisting on a Noah Ross goal in the 8th minutes and then scoring his 3rd goal of the season in the 13th minute.

Chico gets two important regional wins in the first weekend of the regular season.

Chico will travel to British Columbia to take on Simon Fraser and St. Martins this coming weekend

******************************************

After a thrilling win on Friday against Regis University in their season opener 2-1....the Chico State Women's Soccer team was overwhelmed by Colorado School of the Mines on Sunday. The Orediggers scored in the 28th, 31st and 43rd minutes of the 1st half to beat Chico State 4-0.

Mines outshot 14-2 in the 1st half and 25-7 for the contest. Chico moves to 1-1 and will host Central Washington on Thursday and Seattle Pacific on Saturday in big regional match-ups.....both matches begin at 7pm at University Stadium 

*******************************

High School Football Scores.......Week 2

PV 35-0 Yuba City

Chico 42-14 River Valley

Shasta 45-6 Paradise

Biggs 33-0 Redding Christian

Live Oak 61-7 Oroville

Wheatland 14-7 Gridley

Orland 32-7 West Valley

Williams 21-19 Durham

Red Bluff 35-13 Lassen

Enterprise 32-7 Las Plumas

Colusa 12-6 Yreka 

********************************

The college football season is in full swing with a number of top-25 teams being upset in Week One.  On Sunday night, number-eight Florida State dominated number-five LSU 45-24 in the Camping World Kickoff in Orlando.  Number-24 Texas Tech was also upset in its season opener.  The Red Raiders fell 35-33 to the Wyoming Cowboys in double-overtime.  Deion Sanders put the nation on notice in his head coaching debut for Colorado.  The Buffaloes spoiled number-16 TCU's home opener with a 45-42 victory in Fort Worth.  Week One of the college football season wraps up on Monday night when number-nine Clemson visits Duke at Wallace Wade Stadium.

Boston Red Sox 7, Kansas City Royals 3

Detroit Tigers 3, Chicago White Sox 2

Texas Rangers 6, Minnesota Twins 5

Oakland Athletics 10, Los Angeles Angels 6

Tampa Bay Rays 6, Cleveland Guardians 2

New York Yankees 6, Houston Astros 1

MLB National League

-------

Chicago Cubs 15, Cincinnati Reds 7

Philadelphia Phillies 4, Milwaukee Brewers 2

Miami Marlins 6, Washington Nationals 4

St. Louis Cardinals 6, Pittsburgh Pirates 4

Los Angeles Dodgers 3, Atlanta Braves 1

San Diego Padres 4, San Francisco Giants 0

MLB Interleague

-------

New York Mets 6, Seattle Mariners 3

Toronto Blue Jays 7, Colorado Rockies 5

Baltimore Orioles 8, Arizona Diamondbacks 5

CFB Top 25 (Coaches Poll)

-------

#18 Oregon State 42, San Jose State 17

#8 Florida State 45, #5 LSU 24

************************

Seth Brown and Ryan Noda notched two-run homers in the sixth inning to erase a three-run deficit and propel the Athletics to a 10-6 win over the Los Angeles Angels at the Oakland Coliseum.  Tony Kemp and Shea Langeliers also totaled two RBI as Oakland swept a team for just the third time this season.  Francisco Perez earned his first win in relief, while Trevor May recorded his 17th save.  The A's have won three straight to improve to 42-and-95.  Angels reliever Jose Soriano was charged with his first loss after he allowed six runs, four earned, in just one-third of an inning.  Eduardo Escobar and Luis Rengifo [[ ren-HEE-fo ]] homered as LA fell to 64-and-73.  

-Yuba City @ Pleasant Valley 7pm

-Chico @ River Valley (Yuba City) 7:15pm

-Red Bluff @ Lassen 7:30pm 

-University Prep @ Corning 7:30pm

-West Valley @ Orland 7:30pm

-Gridley vs Wheatland @ Yuba City High School 7:30pm 

-Paradise @ Shasta 7pm

-Las Plumas @ Enterprise 730pm 

-Berean Christian @ Hamilton 5:30pm

-Redding Christian @ Biggs 7pm

-Durham @ Williams 7pm

*******************************************************

     Durham falls to Gridley in girls volleyball in a 5-set battle

Gridley wins 21-25, 25-16, 23-25, 25-22, 15-13

     Durham's Peyton Santos with 16 kills while Hayden

Poyner had 10 digs.

     Gridley led by Junior Charlee Sormano with 19 kills

Durham now 4-4 on the season Gridley is now 3-5

-Yuba City @ PV 5PM

-Chico (15-1) @ Reno Tournament 

-Orland bests Yuba City in 5 sets to move to 6-2 on the season

**********************************

     The Chico State men's soccer team wins their season opener 

in front of the home crowd at University Stadium last night.

Junior Miles Rice scored in the 6th and 89th minutes while

the Wildcats were getting solid goal keeping behind

a stingy aggressive defense giving Chico a 2-0 win.

     Chico out-shot Seattle Pacific 12-7. The Wildcats will 

host Western Washington at University Stadium on Saturday

with game time at 7pm

**************************************

      Great start to the 2023 season for the Chico State Volleyball

team as they knock off Academy of Art on day one of the Stanislaus

State Invitational. The Wildcats win the match in five sets. Chico

won the first two sets.....dropped the next two before digging deep

and claiming the fifth and decisive set 15-11.

     Zoe Dinardo led Chico with 14 kills and 10 digs to lead Chico

The Wildcats move to 1-0 and will play two matches today...

9am versus Fresno Pacific and then at 4:30pm against 

Western Oregon

***********************************

    Chico State Women's Soccer opens their season today

in Colorado against Regis University at 6pm tonight....they will

play Colorado School of the Mines on Sunday to finish up their

Colorado road trip

************************************

     Butte College Roadrunners open up their 2023 campaign 

against the College of Sequoias. It's the third straight year 

the Roadrunners have opened the season against Sequoias.

Two years ago Butte won on a long kick-off return but fell 

last year

     Butte turns to Oregon product and red-shirt 

Reigar Sayre at quarterback. 

Mike Wessels has the play-by-play at 11am on 

Saturday with the pre-game at 10:35am from Visalia

*************************************

The San Francisco Giants used a six-run third inning to propel themselves to a 7-2 victory over the San Diego Padres at Petco Park.  Giants right fielder Mike Yastrzemski [[ yuh-STREM-skee ]] homered for the 12th time and finished the game 2-for-3 with two RBI and a pair of runs scored.  Sean Manaea earned his fifth win after allowing one earned run through three-and-a-third innings of relief.  The Giants have won four of five to improve to 70-and-64.  Padres starter Pedro Avila was charged with the loss after he allowed six runs, one earned, through three frames.  Garrett Cooper and Ha-Seong Kim [[ HA-song ]] each drove in a run as San Diego slipped to 62-and-73.  

*************************************

The action continues at the 2023 US Open.  Defending men's champion Carlos Alcaraz rolled into the third round with a straight set victory.  Michael Mmoh eliminated fellow American John Isner, who retired after a 17-year career in professional tennis.  Isner notably won the longest match in professional tennis history after beating Nicolas Mahut in an 11-hour showdown at Wimbledon in 2010.  On the women's side, second-seeded Aryna Sabalenka and third-seeded Jessica Pegula each rolled to straight set victories.  Madison Keys and Peyton Stearns both advanced to the third round, while fellow American Sofia Kenin was ousted from the tournament.  

*************************************

The Kings are adding a veteran center to their frontcourt.  ESPN reports Sacramento is signing JaVale McGee to a one-year guaranteed minimum contract.  McGee joins the Kings after being waived by the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday.  The 35-year-old had averaged 4.4 points and 2.5 rebounds in 42 games last season.  McGee is a three-time NBA champion after winning two titles with the Warriors and most recently one with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2020.  

(Henderson, NV)  --  The Raiders made more changes to their roster.  Las Vegas signed wide receiver Marquez Callaway, linebacker Isaac Darkangelo, offensive guard Vitaliy Gurman and defensive end Janarius Robinson to its practice squad on Thursday.  The Raiders released wide receiver Devin Ross from the practice squad in a corresponding move.  Las Vegas visits the Broncos in its season opener next Sunday afternoon in Denver.  

Team USA is continuing its run towards a FIBA World Cup title.  The U.S. will take on Nikola Vucevic [[ KNEE-coal-uh VOOCH-uh-vitch ]] and Montenegro to open the second round in Manila.  The game will tip-off at 4:30 A.M. Eastern today.  The U.S. advanced to the second round after big wins over Greece, Jordan and New Zealand in the first round.  Anthony Edwards is coming off a 22-point performance in a 110-62 victory over Jordan on Wednesday.  The U.S. will return to the court on Saturday morning against Jonas Valanciunas [[ YO-nahs vah-lahn-CHEW-nas ]] and Lithuania.  

(Eagan, MN)  --  The Vikings are making T.J. Hockenson the highest-paid tight end in NFL history.  Hockenson has agreed to a four-year contract extension with Minnesota that will pay him up to 68.5-million-dollars.  The deal includes 42.5-million guaranteed and holds an average annual value of 17.125-million, both of which are the highest for a tight end in league history.  Minnesota acquired Hockenson in a trade with the Detroit Lions last November.  In 10 games with the Vikings, he recorded 60 receptions for 519 yards and three touchdowns.

(Thousand Oaks, CA)  --  The Rams might be without Cooper Kupp for their season opener.  Los Angeles head coach Sean McVay said on Thursday that the wide receiver suffered a setback in his return from a hamstring injury.  Kupp was injured on August 1st and is day-to-day after the setback, according to McVay.  The 30-year-old wideout notably missed eight games last season with a high ankle sprain.  Kupp still lead the Rams with 75 catches for 812 yards and six touchdowns.

(Frisco, TX)  --  A Hall of Fame former NFL executive who is credited with changing the way players are scouted has died.  The Dallas Cowboys announced Gil Brandt passed away Thursday morning at the age of 91.  Brandt introduced computers to scouting and player evaluation.  He served as vice president of player personnel for the franchise from 1960 until 1988 and drafted players such as Roger Staubach and Herschel Walker.  Cowboys owner Jerry Jones called Brandt "a true icon and pioneer of our sport."

(Foxboro, MA)  --  The Patriots are adding another quarterback to their 53-man roster.  New England has claimed former Carolina Panthers signal caller Matt Corral off waivers.  Corral was released by the Panthers on Wednesday.  Carolina selected the 24-year-old in the third round of the 2022 NFL Draft out of Ole Miss.  The Pats re-signed second-year quarterback Bailey Zappe and undrafted rookie free agent QB Malik Cunningham to the team's practice squad on Wednesday after both were waived Tuesday.  

(Los Angeles, CA)  --  Ronald Acuna Jr. mashed a grand slam in the second inning as the Braves edged the Dodgers 8-7 in Los Angeles.  Acuna cleared the bases with his 30th home run of the year and became the first player in MLB history with 30 homers and 60 stolen bases in a season.  Austin Riley and Michael Harris the Second also went deep for Atlanta, which improved to 88-and-45.  Lance Lynn was charged the loss after giving up seven runs in less than five frames.  Mookie Betts homered twice and Max Muncy also went deep for Los Angeles, which fell to 83-and-50.  

(Cleveland, OH)  --  The Cleveland Guardians are taking advantage of the Los Angeles Angels' fire sale.  The team claimed starter Lucas Giolito off waivers on Thursday.  The former Chicago White Sox pitcher was traded to the Angels along with reliever Reynaldo Lopez at the deadline for top catching prospect Edgar Quero.  Cleveland was also awarded Lopez along with reliever Matt Moore.  Giolito went 1-and-5 in LA with a 6.89 ERA after posting a 3.79 earned run average with Chicago earlier this season.  

(Cincinnati, OH)  --  The Cincinnati Reds have acquired reinforcements for their lineup.  The team was awarded Harrison Bader and Hunter Renfroe on the waiver wire Thursday afternoon.  Bader was waived by the New York Yankees earlier this week after hitting .240 with seven home runs in 80 games this season.  Renfroe was part of five Los Angeles Angels players claimed on waivers and is hitting .242 this season with 19 home runs and 56 RBI.  

(Queens, NY)  --  The action continues at the 2023 US Open.  Defending men's champion Carlos Alcaraz rolled into the third round with a straight set victory.  Michael Mmoh eliminated fellow American John Isner, who retired after a 17-year career in professional tennis.  Isner notably won the longest match in professional tennis history after beating Nicolas Mahut in an 11-hour showdown at Wimbledon in 2010.  On the women's side, second-seeded Aryna Sabalenka and third-seeded Jessica Pegula each rolled to straight set victories.  Madison Keys and Peyton Stearns both advanced to the third round, while fellow American Sofia Kenin was ousted from the tournament.  

Christian Encarnacion-Strand powered the Cincinnati Reds to a 4-1 takedown of the San Francisco Giants in their series finale at Oracle Park.  The rookie first baseman finished the game 4-for-4 with a home run and three RBI to help Cincy avoid the three-game sweep.  Reds starter Hunter Greene earned his third win, while Alexis Diaz notched his 35th save as Cincinnati improved to 69-and-66.  Giants starter Logan Webb was charged his 11th loss of the year after he let up two earned runs through six innings of work.  San Fran went 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position in the loss.  The Giants had a three-game win streak snapped to slip to 69-and-64.  

*********************************

     J.P. Crawford knocked in two go-ahead runs in the seventh inning as the Mariners defeated the Athletics 5-4 in Seattle.  Crawford put Seattle ahead for good after the team trailed 4-3 in the top of the seventh.  Teoscar Hernandez mashed a three-run home run in the third for the Mariners, who set a franchise record with 21 wins in August.  Justin Topa earned the win in relief, while Andres Munoz collected his 11th save.  Seattle improved to 76-and-57.  Kirby Snead was charged the loss in relief for Oakland, which fell to 39-and-95.  Lawrence Butler launched his second homer of the season in the loss.  

     The 49ers aren't planning to trade away their star defensive end.  San Francisco head coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch both said on Wednesday that the team doesn't plan to trade Nick Bosa amid his contract holdout.  The duo added that Bosa will sign a lucrative contract extension once the sides come to an agreement.  Bosa didn't report to training camp and missed all of the Niners' preseason games.  The 25-year-old pass rusher led the NFL with 18-and-a-half sacks last season.  

      Utah is likely to be without its star quarterback for Thursday night's season opener.  ESPN is reporting that Utah QB Cam Rising is doubtful for the game against the Florida Gators.  Rising has gone 18-and-6 as a starter while leading the Utes to two straight Pac-12 championships.  He is recovering from a torn ACL that he suffered during last season's Rose Bowl loss to Penn State.  Junior Bryson Barnes is expected to start the season opener in Rising's absence, with redshirt freshman Nate Johnson also expected to see snaps behind center. 

     Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Wander Franco is now dealing with a second formal complaint that he was engaged in a relationship with a minor.  ESPN reports a special prosecutor in the Dominican Republic is investigating Franco after three girls alleged they had relationships with the 22-year-old as minors.  A third girl has yet to speak formally with authorities.  Major League Baseball placed Franco on paid administrative leave on August 22nd after social media posts emerged claiming the inappropriate relationships.  Franco signed an 11-year, 182-million dollar contract with the Rays in 2021.  

     More top seeds are falling at the 2023 US Open.  Fifth-seeded Casper Ruud and seventh-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas [[ seet-see-paas ]] each suffered upset losses in the second round.  Second-seeded Novak Djokovic [[ jow-kuh-vuhch ]] collected another straight set victory to advance.  Americans Frances Tiafoe, Taylor Fritz, Tommy Paul and Ben Shelton also moved on to the third round.  On the women's side, top-seeded Iga Swiatek [[ shvee-AWN-teck ]] and sixth-seeded Coco Gauff each rolled with straight set wins.  Taylor Townsend, Jennifer Brady and Bernarda Pera earned victories, while fellow Americans Danielle Collins and Lauren Davis were ousted from the tournament.  

      Team USA put together a dominant performance en route to a 48-point win in their FIBA World Cup first round finale.  The U.S. defeated Jordan 110-62 at the Mall of Asia Arena in the Philippines.  Anthony Edwards erupted for 22 points and eight rebounds while shooting 50-percent from the field.  Bobby Portis came off the bench to contribute 13 points and six boards.  The U.S. played strong defense, limiting Jordan to a 23.8-percent clip from beyond the arc.  The U.S. now advances to the 16-team second round.  The Americans are matched up against Greece, Lithuania and Montenegro in Group J.  Team USA will open up the second round against Nikola Vucevic [[ VOOCH-uh-vitch ]] and Montenegro on Friday morning.

     (Lincoln, NE)  --  The University of Nebraska's women's volleyball team has broken a world record.  A total of 92-thousand-and-3 fans witnessed the five-time national champion Huskers take down Omaha inside Memorial Stadium on Wednesday night.  The former record of 91-thousand-648 fans was set in 2022 when the FC Barcelona women's soccer team played Wolfsburg in Barcelona, Spain.  The official capacity of Memorial Stadium is just over 85-thousand seats but extra seats and standing room were added on to the field.  

      (Undated)  --  Week One of the college football season is here.  The Florida Gators are in Salt Lake City squaring off against number-14 Utah tonight.  Utes quarterback Cam Rising is expected to miss the opener after recovering from a torn ACL in last season's Rose Bowl game against Penn State.  Bryson Barnes is in line to get the start under center.  Several other matchups kick off tonight including Elon at Wake Forest, UConn hosting NC State and Nebraska dueling Minnesota in Minneapolis.  The slate continues on Friday with Michigan State, Miami and Stanford all in action.

      (Undated)  --  Jonathan Taylor nearly ended up in Titletown.  According to ESPN, the Green Bay Packers were one of the teams that talked with the Colts and had legitimate interest in trading for the star running back.  A source said there is still trade interest in Taylor and that he would welcome a trade.  The NFL's trade deadline is October 31st.  The Miami Dolphins were also in talks with the Colts and discussed several possible deals.  Dolphins general manager Chris Grier confirmed Wednesday that he had "exploratory talks" with Colts GM Chris Ballard, but added there were "no exchange of offers" from the two sides.

      (Kansas City, MO)  --  The defending Super Bowl champions are holding out hope that their star defensive tackle returns for their season opener next week.  Kansas City Chiefs general manager Brett Veach said that the team is "certainly hopeful" that Chris Jones will be "in the lineup" and "ready to go" next Thursday night against the Detroit Lions.  Jones has held strong that he will continue his contract holdout into the regular season.  The 29-year-old is entering the final year of a four-year, 80-million-dollar deal that he signed in 2020.  Veach said that KC is "going to keep working" on getting to a contract resolution with Jones.

      (Santa Clara, CA)  --  The 49ers aren't planning to trade away their star defensive end.  San Francisco head coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch both said on Wednesday that the team doesn't plan to trade Nick Bosa amid his contract holdout.  The duo added that Bosa will sign a lucrative contract extension once the sides come to an agreement.  Bosa didn't report to training camp and missed all of the Niners' preseason games.  The 25-year-old pass rusher led the NFL with 18-and-a-half sacks last season.

      (Cincinnati, OH)  --  The Cincinnati Bengals are welcoming back their star quarterback.  Joe Burrow practiced for the first time on Wednesday since suffering a calf strain early in training camp.  Wide receiver Tee Higgins said, "It felt good, just to see him out there, see the big smile on his face."  The gunslinger was out of action for over a month.  In other news, the team signed Will Grier to the practice squad after he was released by the Dallas Cowboys.  The quarterback will serve as the third option behind backup Jake Browning.

      (Pittsburgh, PA)  --  A two-time Stanley Cup champion is hanging up his skates for good.  Carl Hagelin announced on Wednesday he's retiring from the NHL.  The 35-year-old hasn't played since taking a high stick to the eye in March of 2022.  The Washington Capitals were concerned about the winger's quality of life outside of hockey following the injury.  Hagelin won the Stanley Cup with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2016 and '17.  He was originally selected by the New York Rangers in the sixth round of the 2007 draft and also spent time with the Anaheim Ducks and Los Angeles Kings.  

      (Queens, NY)  --  More top seeds are falling at the 2023 US Open.  Fifth-seeded Casper Ruud and seventh-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas [[ seet-see-paas ]] each suffered upset losses in the second round.  Second-seeded Novak Djokovic [[ jow-kuh-vuhch ]] collected another straight set victory to advance.  Americans Frances Tiafoe, Taylor Fritz, Tommy Paul and Ben Shelton also moved on to the third round.  On the women's side, top-seeded Iga Swiatek [[ shvee-AWN-teck ]] and sixth-seeded Coco Gauff each rolled with straight set wins.  Taylor Townsend, Jennifer Brady and Bernarda Pera earned victories, while fellow Americans Danielle Collins and Lauren Davis were ousted from the tournament.

**************************************

      The Chico High Panthers girls volleyball team now winners of NINE in a row after a straight sets win over Yuba City last night. The Panther girls win by scores of 25-14, 25-18 and 25-20. The Panthers are now 15-1 on the season. Tomorrow they begin play at a Reno Tournament in Nevada where they play two days of matches....

     The Orland girls were a straight sets winner over Red Bluff winning by scores of 18-9-18 The Trojan girls now 5-2 on the season. Meghan Nooras 10 kills and Alyssa Radisch with 11 digs in the win. Orland travels to Yuba City tonight for a 6pm match while Red Bluff will host Corning at 6pm

      Las Plumas falls to Marysville in straight sets 22-10-11. The TBirds are back in action tonight traveling to Lindhurst for a 6pm match

TONIGHT.....Oroville hosts Quincy at 630pm......Durham hosts Gridley at 630pm

****************************************

       SEASON OPENER for the Chico State Volleyball team today as the Wildcats travel to the Stanislaus State Invitational in Turlock.

     The Wildcats are looking to bounce back from a rough 3-22 season. Chico plays single match this afternoon at 3pm against Academy of Art then plays two matches tomorrow....9am against Fresno Pacific and then later in the afternoon at 4:30 against Western Oregon.

     They will wrap up play on Saturday against Western New Mexico at 11:30am

     The Chico State Men's Soccer team opens the season with a big regional tangle versus Seattle Pacific. The match begins at 7pm at University Soccer Stadium. The Wildcat men went 7-5-8 last year and narrowly missed a big to the NCAA West Regional. The men will host another west region power in Western Washington on Saturday. The Cats travel to British Columbia next week to play Simon Fraser University from Canada (D-II opponent from GNAC) and the Saint Martin's Saints (Lacey, WA) 

      The Chico State Women's Soccer team starts their season tomorrow in Colorado 

against two teams from the Rocky Mountain Conference against Regis University 

and Colorado School of the Mines....

     The Chico State Wildcats finally break their longest conference losing streak in modern history. It had been 22 days since the Wildcats had won a conference game hitting a collective slump that saw the team drop 12 straight conference and dropping from 3rd to 10th in the CCAA.

     Sunday the Wildcats roughed up one of the best pitchers in the CCAA in San Bernardino's Austyn Coleman Chico scored 6 runs on 8 hits over 4 innings against Coleman led by Elijah Jackson's 4 hit game. Jackson went 10-for-15 in the series raising his season batting average nearly 100 points to .319. Reserve outfielder Andrew Crane went 2-for-3 with a home run and 5 RBI's and Dylan Day pitched 5 innings allowing only one run. 

     With the win the Cats are 16-21 overall and 10-17 in the CCAA. While mathematically alive for the CCAA tournament....Chico may need to win their final eight games and get some help to get in the postseason.

     The Chico State Softball team is only one game out of the final CCAA tournament spot. They will travel to Cal State East Bay for a four game series.....while the team they are chasing SF State heads to 2nd place San Bernardino. Chico split their four game series with SF this weekend at home remaining one game back of the playoff spot.

     he Butte College Baseball team takes two of three from Lassen over the weekend.....winning on Friday 20-3.....but dropped game one of DH 9-7.....while bouncing back in game two winning 9-7. Butte is now 32-5 overall and 20-3 in GVC.....they take on Feather River this Thursday and Friday to wrap up the regular season....Thursday's game is a home game at 2pm.

     The Butte College Softball team finishes their regular season with two blowout wins over the College of the Siskiyous. The Roadrunners move to 30-9 overall and 17-3 in the GVC with a 12-0 and 9-1 wins.....the Roadrunner women had a tough start to the

weekend dropping a pair of games on the road against Feather River 6-4 and 6-5. 

Playoffs are next......

     The Warriors used a big third quarter to even their opening round playoff series with the Kings.  The team sunk 37 points coming out of halftime in a 126-125 victory in San Francisco.  Steph Curry led Golden State with 32 points while Klay Thompson sunk 26 of his own.  Draymond Green came back from suspension and tallied a double-double on 12 points and 10 rebounds off the bench.  De'Aaron Fox scored 38 points for Sacramento and was one rebound shy of a double-double.  The best-of-seven series is tied 2-2 heading back to Sacramento.  Game Five tips off Wednesday night.

     The San Francisco Giants had a clutch hit in the bottom of the eighth to beat the New York Mets 5-4 at Oracle Park.  Mike Yastrzemski [[ yuh-STREM-skee ]] doubled in Joc Pederson in the frame to put the Giants up for good.  Thairo Estrada added a home run in the victory.  Scott Alexander earned the win in relief, and Camilo Doval picked up his second save.  San Francisco has won its last two games.  Francisco Alvarez hit his first home run in the losing effort, and Drew Smith was charged with the loss out of the pen.  The Mets are on a two-game losing streak. 

     Three teams are on the brink of elimination in the NBA playoffs.  The Timberwolves avoided a four-game sweep by pulling out a 114-108 overtime win over the Denver Nuggets in Minneapolis.  The Knicks edged closer to a series win after defeating the Cavaliers 102-93 to take a 3-1 series lead.  The Celtics are in a similar position after knocking off the Atlanta Hawks 129-121 to take a 3-1 lead.  The defending NBA champion Warriors responded with another big win, defeating the Sacramento Kings 126-125 to even the series at two games apiece.  The NBA playoffs continue today, with the Lakers hosting the Memphis Grizzlies for Game Four and the Milwaukee Bucks visiting the Heat for Game Four.  Los Angeles and Miami both lead their respective series 2-1. 

(Atlanta, GA)  --  The NBA is investigating Hawks guard Dejounte Murray.  According to ESPN, Murray appeared to make contact with a referee as he was walking off the court at the end of Atlanta's 129-121 loss to the Boston Celtics.  He then turned back and pointed and yelled at someone before exiting the court.  The Hawks did not make Murray available for interviews after the game.  Murray was fined 20-thousand-dollars, while with the Spurs last season, after he was ejected from a game for throwing a ball off the legs of a referee. 

(Milwaukee, WI)  --  The Bucks are hoping their star player will be ready for Game Four of the opening round playoff series against the Heat in Miami.  Giannis Antetokounmpo [[ ah-dedo-KOON-bo ]] was able to work out individually in Miami on Sunday.  However, coach Mike Budenholzer said the team will continue to monitor him and, "See how he wakes up tomorrow."  The All-Star forward has missed two straight games after suffering a back contusion in Game One.  Milwaukee is down 2-1 in the best-of-seven series. 

(New York, NY)  --  One of the Knicks' top players is still dealing with an injury.  Head coach Tom Thibodeau said after New York's Game Four win that forward Julius Randle is still playing through a left ankle injury he suffered at the end of the regular season.  Randle did not play the during the fourth quarter of the Knicks' recent victory.  The 28-year-old sprained his ankle during a win over the Miami Heat on March 29th, but was able to suit up for Game One of the first round.  He was not in the locker room by the time the media was allowed to enter following Sunday's game.

(Green Bay, WI)  --  The Packers and Jets are resuming the Aaron Rodgers trade discussions.  Ian Rapoport with NFL Media reports the two sides have, "Recently re-engaged, but a deal is not imminent."  Rapoport went on to say, "The two sides are at least talking - with hopes a deal can (finally) be done this week."  Many believe this Friday was always the deadline as the Jets have two consecutive second-round picks in the draft.  One is expected to be used in a deal for Rodgers, but Green Bay has been trying to get a first rounder from New York.  Round one of the draft begins Thursday night.

(Undated)  --  A pair of Eastern Conference teams are one win away from the next round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.  The Hurricanes edged the Islanders 5-2 in Elmont and are up 3-1 in the best-of-seven series heading back to Raleigh.  The Bruins blew out the Panthers 6-2 in Sunrise and also have a chance to advance with Game Five taking place in Boston.  Meanwhile out west, the Stars evened their series with the Wild at two games apiece following a 3-2 victory in Minneapolis.  The Oilers are also knotted up with the Kings after a 5-4 overtime win in LA.  Four games are on the slate today.  The Devils hope to even their series at 2-2 against the Rangers in New York while the Lightning are looking to do the same in Tampa against the Maple Leafs.  The Jets host the Golden Knights for a chance to go up 3-1 in their series while the Avalanche aim to put a similar stranglehold on the Kraken in Seattle. 

(Los Angeles, CA)  --  Lincoln Riley and the USC Trojans are adding a major piece to their defensive line.  Former Georgia defensive lineman Bear Alexander announced on Sunday that he is transferring to USC.  Alexander helped the Bulldogs win the National Championship as a true freshman and finished the season with nine tackles, two sacks and two pass deflections.  The defensive lineman entered the portal earlier this month and received offers from Texas, Oregon and several other schools.

(Fresno, CA)  --  Oregon State athletic director Scott Barnes is stable and showing signs of improvement after being hospitalized for a "medical event."  The university said that Barnes continues to receive care at Saint Agnes Medical Center in Fresno, California.  Barnes experienced a medical event on Saturday night when attending an awards ceremony in Fresno.  He has been able to communicate with family members since being hospitalized.  The 60-year-old Barnes has served as Oregon State's AD since 2016. 

(Lincoln, AL)  --  Kyle Busch is taking home the checkered flag at Talladega in the GEICO 500 from Lincoln.  The number-8 car survived a late wreck and won the race under caution during the second overtime.  Busch won his second race of the NASCAR Cup Series season, with the first coming at the Pala Casino 400 back in February.  Ryan Blaney, Chris Buescher, Chase Briscoe and Brad Keselowski rounded out the top five finishers.  The drivers head to Dover for the Wurth 400 next Sunday.

(Avondale, LA)  --  Nick Hardy and Davis Riley are celebrating a victory at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans at TPC Louisiana.  The team of Hardy/Riley shot a 65 in the final round of the tournament to finish atop the leaderboard a record 30 under par.  It's the first PGA Tour win for both players.  Riley earned his first Tour win in his 59th start and Hardy picked up his first victory in his 51st Tour start.  The pairing of Nick Taylor and Adam Hadwin shot a 63 in round four to finish the tournament second at 28 under par.  Beau Hossler and Wyndham Clark finished in third place at 27 under par.

***************************

The Warriors used a big third quarter to even their opening round playoff series with the Kings.  The team scored 37 points coming out of halftime in a 126-125 victory in San Francisco.  Steph Curry led Golden State with 32 points while Klay Thompson sunk 26 of his own.  Draymond Green came back from suspension and tallied a double-double on 12 points and 10 rebounds off the bench.  De'Aaron Fox scored 38 points for Sacramento and was one rebound shy of a double-double.  The best-of-seven series is tied 2-2 heading back to Sacramento.  Game Five tips off on Wednesday night. 

(San Francisco, CA)  --  The Giants had a clutch hit in the bottom of the eighth to beat the New York Mets 5-4 at Oracle Park.  Mike Yastrzemski doubled in Joc Pederson in the frame to put the Giants up for good.  Thairo Estrada added a home run in the victory.  Scott Alexander earned the win in relief, and Camilo Doval picked up his second save.  San Francisco improved to 8-and-13.  The Giants host the St. Louis Cardinals tonight and send right-hander Alex Cobb to the mound for the series opener. 

(Arlington, TX)  --  The Athletics dropped their road series finale.  Oakland fell 5-2 to the Texas Rangers in Arlington.  Kyle Muller was tagged with the loss after giving up four runs in five innings of work.  The A's were limited to five hits and struck out 15 times in the loss.  Shea Langeliers went deep as Oakland dropped to 4-and-18.  The A's have yet to win a series this season.  Oakland stays on the road to face the Los Angeles Angels tonight.  The team sends left-hander Ken Waldichuk to the hill. 

(Sandy, UT)  --  The Quakes suffered a loss over the weekend.  San Jose fell 3-1 to Real Salt Lake on Saturday at America First Field.  Cristian Espinoza scored the lone goal for the Quakes in the 49th minute.  San Jose dropped to fifth in the Western Conference with 14 points.  The Quakes are set to visit Monterey Bay FC tomorrow night in the third round of the U.S. Open Cup.  The match will be played at Cardinale Stadium in Seaside, California. 

VIKING GIRLS ROLL WHILE CHICO HIGH RALLIES WITH SEASON ON LINE 

SETTING UP SECTION TITLE MATCH-UP FRIDAY NIGHT

     The Chico High Girls Basketball team saw the end of their season flash before their eyes. Trailing by eight with just over five minutes left, the would close the game on a 15-5 run spurred by Sophomore Josie Carlos who would hit the Panthers first two three's of the game and hit a big free throw giving Chico a 54-52 win over Foothill.

     The win sets up a rematch for the Division III Section Title on Friday night against Pleasant Valley.

     The Vikings easily outdistanced Shasta High 76-40. The game was close after one quarter but the Vikings would push the lead to double digits in the second quarter and would never look back.

      The top-seeded Vikings beat Chico twice this year and look to make it three in a row for the Section Championship, while Chico looks to sting their cross-town rival in the biggest match-up of the season. Game time from Cowan Gym on the Butte College campus will be at 7:45pm

PV AND CHICO HAVE WORK TO DO BEFORE MEETING FOR SECTION TITLE

     The top-seeded Pleasant Vikings would love to play for another section title, but first they need to beat the Enterprise Hornets at Varley Gym on Wednesday night. If the Vikings can pull it out, they might see a familiar foe.

     The Chico High Panthers would love nothing more than to get another shot at PV, but to set up that match-up they need to beat Shasta at The Pit on the Chico High campus Wednesday night at 7pm. 

      If both teams can take care of their business, they would be this Firday night for the Division III North Section Championship game at 6pm at Butte College....preceeding the girls PV/CHICO match-up. It could be quite a night of rivalry hoops......

      But, as both coaches will tell you, there is still work to be done

      They may not be be playing but the Butte College Women's Basketball team will be interested observers in a CCCAA NorCal State Playoff game being played between Hartnell and Merced. The Roadrunner women will host the winner on Saturday at 6pm. The Butte College Women are the top seed in the Northern California with a record of 24-3 and have won nine straight heading into the post-season.

     The Butte College men (14-13) will be on the road to start the playoffs as they travel to Ohlone College. Game time is at 7pm. With a win the Roadrunners would get a date with the NorCal's top seed San Francisco City on Saturday.

      The Pleasant Valley Girls get a 1-0 win over Chico High to capture the girls Division III North Section Championship.

      The Chico boys pull out a 3-2 win over Pleasant Valley to capture the Division III Boys North Section Championship. 

     Chico State softball splits a four game series with Monterey Bay to open their CCAA play thrilling win in the series finale as the Cats score two in the bottom of the 7th to beat the Otters 4-3. Chico Softball now 7-5 overall and 2-2 in CCAA. They will host Humboldt this Friday and Saturday resuming CCAA play. 

     Chico State Baseball takes game one of a three game series with national power

Colorado Mesa. The Wildcats bang out 15 hits in beating Mesa who swept West powerhouse Azusa Pacific in Colorado last week. Chico's heart of the order Cameron Mahaffy, Sha-vee E-parra-gear-ray and Jacob Jablonski combined for 9 hits and 6 RBI's and 7 runs scored.

     Freshman right-hander from Colusa Ethan Lay pitched 5 gutty innings scattering 4 hits to pick up the win....Double-header today at Nettleton Stadium at 12 noon with

our pregame at 11:45am.

     Chico State Golf in the Bay Area Invitational today as they tee it up at 10am

Chico State joined by Sonoma, Cal State LA, East Bay, Acad of Art

Taylor Stewart will attempt to pick up where she left off in the fall—the junior is averaging 74.7 strokes per round on the season while racking up a pair of top five tournament finishes.   Trinity Hernandez (80.8 strokes per round in three fall tournaments) was a top 30 finisher at the  October 3–4 Sonoma State Fall Invitational

*****************************

     Butte College men's hoops is in the state playoffs on Weds they travel to the Bay Area to take on Ohlone College. Butte is the 17 seed in NorCal playoffs went 14-13 on the season and was 6-4 in the GVC With a win they would get a shot at top seed SF City on Saturday

     Butte College women are the NUMBER ONE SEED in the NorCal Community College Playoffs The 24-3 Roadrunner women will play on Saturday and take on the winner of Merced and Hartnell on Wednesday night. 

     Eight straight wins for the Butte College Baseball team as they sweep American River over the weekend. The Roadrunners blitzed ARC 28-2 in a three game sweep. Butte will host Siskiyous this Friday and Saturday 

     It's been a fantastic two weeks for the Butte College Softball team. After sweeping double-headers on the road against Mendocino College and Santa Rosa on Feb 10th and 11th.....the Roadrunners swept Folsom Lake on the road on Friday winning 3-2 and 6-3. Butte also swept West Valley at home on Saturday 6-3 and 2-1

They have won eight straight and now sit at 10-5 overall......Butte softball has their double-header against Delta College postponed  to be played at a later date

They will host Solano in a noon double-header on Saturday

*********************************************

      Aaron Rodgers' days with the Green Bay Packers are numbered.  That's according to Bob McGinn, who joined Tyler Dunn on the Go-Long-TD podcast.  The veteran Packers reporter said, "They are done with Rodgers.  He's not coming back.  I mean, they're disgusted with him, and they're done with him."  McGinn was speaking on information he gathered from "discussions with someone who has first-hand knowledge" of the Packers.  Rodgers is wrapping up a four-day darkness retreat and expects to have a clearer decision on his NFL future once he emerges.

       Team Giannis [[ YAHN-iss ]] defeated Team LeBron 184-175 in the 2023 NBA All-Star Game in Salt Lake City.  Jayson Tatum set a new All-Star game record with 55 points to lead Team Giannis to his first win over Team LeBron in three tries.  Donovan Mitchell recorded 40 points and 10 assists, while Damian Lillard came off the bench to notch 26 points for Team Giannis.  Jaylen Brown came off the bench to pace Team LeBron with 35 points.  Joel Embiid and Kyrie Irving totaled 32 points apiece in the losing effort.  Giannis scored two points before leaving the game after 20 seconds with a wrist injury he sustained last week.  LeBron did not return for the second half after injuring his finger by hitting the rim in the second quarter.  The NBA's all-time leading scorer is now 5-and-1 as an All-Star game captain. 

CHICO STATE WOMEN RALLY FROM 20 DOWN 

TO WIN THEIR 7TH STRAIGHT

By MIKE BACA

     It didn't look good for the Chico State women's basketball team after one quarter of basketball on Saturday. Humboldt couldn't miss. They went 12-of-18 from the field and 7-of-10 from three point range to jump out to a 36-16 lead. 

     Then the game completely flipped...........

     Humboldt would go nearly eight-and-a-half minutes and wouldn't score a point going 0-for-13 from the field. In the meantime the Wildcats would grind their way back into the game, cutting the deficit to seven by halftime. Mid-way through the 3rd quarter the Cats had surged to the lead and would beat Humboldt going away 79-66. Brandy Huffhines led the Cats with 23 points on 8-of-11 shooting and going 5-for-6 from three-point range. Zhane Duckett had a tremendous overall floor game scoring 7 points dishing off 5 assists and pulling a team-high 12 rebounds.

     After surrendering 36 points in their first ten minutes of the game the Wildcats would give up only 30 points over the final 30 minutes of the contest. The win was the Wildcats seventh in a row and they remain in a tie for third in the CCAA with Cal State Los Angeles.

     The Chico State men saw a 13-point second half lead slip away as they fell to the Humboldt State Lumberjacks 71-67. The loss drops the Cats to 5th in the CCAA.

Both the Chico State men and women travel to San Marcos and Cal State Los Angeles next weekend for a pivotal two-game road trip.

CHICO'S BATS WAKE UP 

RALLY FOR FIRST WIN OF 2023 SEASON

     The first twelve innings of baseball for the Chico State Wildcats in this 2023  were forgettable. Chico was beaten soundly on Friday by Arkansas Tech 5-0. The Wildcats set a school record by striking out 17 times while their pitchers walked seven batters. But, the Wildcats would respond on Saturday in their second match-up against Flagler University (Flagler) as part of the Houstin Winter Invitational at Minute Maid Park in Houston, Texas.

     With Chico trailing 4-0 in the 4th inning the Wildcats would respond with a four-spot of their own. Senior returner Jacob Jablonski would hit a solo home run into the Crawford Boxes at Minute Maid getting Chico on the board. three straight singles would follow with Jarret Lindsay driving in a pair with a two run single. Chico tied it in the 4th on an RBI ground out by Ernie Arambula. 

     Chico would grab the lead on a wild pitch in the fifth and add to the lead with a safety squeeze bunt for a run by Lindsay in the 7th. Aside from  four Flagler runs in the 1st inning, the Wildcats pitchers would shut the Saints down. Left-handed reliever Cody Gentry would pitch two and two-thirds innings of shut-out relief to pick up the win. Newcomer Marco Ibarra was superb in relief pitching three-and-a-third innings of shut-out relief to pick up the save.

     The Wildcats close out their three-day stay in Houston with a match-up against the defending Division-II National Champions North Greenville from South Carolina. Greenville beat host Central Missouri 12-1 on Friday and on Saturday night rallied from a late deficit to beat Arkansas Tech 11-9.

     First pitch from Texas comes your way at 8:00am with our pregame on KpaySports 1290am and 102.9 FM at 7:50am. Don't forget to listen to Chico State baseball on the KpaySports app that you can download for free in the App Store.

Chico State Basketball closes out four game road swing 

at Dominguez Hills for a Saturday showdown

              The Chico State women's basketball is riding a four-game win streak but they will face their most difficult task of this 2022-23 season on Saturday afternoon when they take on the Dominguez Hills Toros in Carson.

              Dominguez is 19-0 including a 13-0 CCAA mark. They beat Chico a month at Acker Gym 72-50 without their best player Dawnyel Lair. Lair is the elder states-woman on a team that is filled with freshmen and sophomores. Lair averages better than 14 point and 8 boards a game.

              During Chico's four-game winning streak they have taken care of business against teams in the bottom half of the standings. They will have to play one of their best games of the season Saturday to extend their streak to five.

             The recent winning streak by Chico has seen them climb into a 3rd place tie with Cal State Los Angeles and Cal Poly Pomona. Two teams the Wildcats will play on the road over the next month. Chico and Dominguez will play Saturday afternoon at 1pm with the pregame at 12:35pm

             The Chico State men are looking for answers as they have seen their record slip to 8-10 overall and 6-7 in the CCAA. The Wildcats have lost four in a row and one glaring weakness continues to plague the Cats.

             Chico's inability to get stops continues to cost them. The staple for Chico State over the last decade has been consistent lock-down defense, but this year the Wildcats are giving up 75 points a game with opponents shooting 45 percent from the field and 36 percent from three-point range. During the losing streak the Wildcats have struggled to get stops at the pivotal points in the game. 

             Despite the slide if the season ended today the Wildcats would be in the playoff mix. Chico is in a tie for sixth in the CCAA with Stanislaus State with the top six getting into the conference tournament in March. Considering this team's youth and inexperience, a trip to the CCAA Tournament would be a nice accomplishment for a team with so many new and young faces. Chico closes out this road trip with a 3pm match-up against Dominguez Hills. You can hear it exclusively on KpaySports 1290 and 102.9 FM. You can also listen right here and on the the KpaySports app that you can download for free in the app store. Listeners can also tune-in through Amazon Alexa.....

NFC & AFC CHAMPIONSHIP GAMES EXCLUSIVELY ON KPAYSPORTS 1290 SUNDAY

             At 11am on Sunday coverage begins for the NFC Championship game between the San Francisco 49ers and the Philadelphia Eagles.....immediately following the Niners and Eagles we bring you the AFC title tilt with the Cincinnati Bengals traveling to Kansas City to take on the Chiefs......tune in Sunday at 11am

CHICO STATE MEN KNOCK OFF POMONA WITH SECOND HALF SURGE

WOMEN COUGH UP HUGE LEAD STUMBLE VERSUS POMONA 

     The Chico State men's basketball clamped down in the 2nd half against Cal Poly Pomona and cruised to an 81-64 win over the Broncos last night.

     Chico held the Broncos to 28 2nd half points while outscoring Pomona by 17-points. Brendan Wheeler had a career game for Chico scoring 22 points and grabbing a career best 8 boards. Kelvin Wright had 14 points 8 boards and 3 assists and JoJo Murphy scored 20.

     Chico has now won the first three games of their four-game homestand and will

take on nemesis San Bernardino on Saturday. San Bern lost at Stanislaus last night

but still sits in 1st place in CCAA at 6-1.

With the win Chico is now 8-6 overall and 6-3 in CCAA tied with Sonoma

and San Marcos for 3rd 

     The Chico State women were controlling their game against Pomona....

until they weren't.

     Chico didn't score a point for 8 minutes and 50 seconds bridging the

2nd and 3rd quarters and that allowed Pomona to come back from

16 points down....going on an 18-0 run. Chico falls 68-63.

Myli Martinez led Chico with 17 points and 7 rebounds.

     The Wildcat women are now 9-6 overall and 5-4 in the CCAA. They host 

San Bernardino tomorrow at 1pm at Acker Gym.

*********************************************

     The Chico High Panthers boys basketball team moves to 14-4 

and 3-0 in the EAL as they beat Red Bluff on the road 75-48.

     The Pleasant Valley Vikings won the league home opener

with a 58-54 win over Enterprise. The Vikings are now 17-3 overall

and 3-0 in the EAL. 

Pleasant Valley girls (15-3) 1-0 EAL at Enterprise 3-14 7:30pm Friday night 

Chico High girls (16-2) 2-0 EAL hosting Red Bluff 6-9 7:30pm Friday night

Butte College men's and women's basketball teams on the road this Saturday as they travel to College of the Redwoods. The men (8-10) will play at 1pm while the (15-3) women take the 

court at 3pm 

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NFL PLAYOFF BROADCAST SCHEDULE 

KPAYSPORTS 1290AM AND 102.9FM

SATURDAY

CHARGERS VS JACKSONVILLE  5PM

SUNDAY

DOLPHINS VS BILLS 10AM

NYGIANTS VS VIKINGS 1:15PM

RAVENS VS BENGALS 5PM 

      Wild Card weekend in the NFL is here as the opening round of the playoffs officially kicks off on Saturday.  The Seahawks travel to San Francisco for an NFC West showdown with the 49ers.  The Chargers are also on the road playing the Jaguars for the night game.  LA quarterback Justin Herbert and Jacksonville signal caller Trevor Lawrence are both making their playoff debuts. 

     On Sunday, the Dolphins head to Orchard Park to square off against the AFC East rival Buffalo Bulls.  Meanwhile, the Giants travel to Minnesota to play the Vikings later in the day.  The nightcap features an AFC North clash between the Bengals and Ravens in Cincinnati.  Baltimore is expected to start Tyler Huntley at quarterback as Lamar Jackson sits out due to a knee injury. 

     The wild weekend concludes Monday night when the Cowboys head to Tampa for a marquee matchup with the Buccaneers.  Tampa Bay quarterback Tom Brady will begin his quest for an eighth Super Bowl ring.

(Owings Mills, MD)  --  The Ravens are going to be without Lamar Jackson for the start of the playoffs.  Baltimore's starting quarterback tweeted Thursday night that he has "suffered a PCL Grade Two sprain, on the borderline of a strain three" and will not be playing in Sunday night's Wild Card game at the Cincinnati Bengals.  The Ravens initially described his return as "week to week," but hasn't suited up for the last 39 days.  With Jackson out, the Ravens will start either Tyler Huntley or Anthony Brown.  Huntley, who has tendinitis in his right shoulder, resumed throwing at Thursday's practice.

(Costa Mesa, CA)  --  The Chargers might be missing one of their top wide outs for their Wild Card game against the Jaguars.  Wide receiver Mike Williams is officially questionable to play on Saturday night as he deals with a back contusion.  Williams suffered the injury in Los Angeles' Week 18 loss to the Broncos.  The 28-year-old already missed four games during the regular season with a high ankle sprain.  The Chargers visit Jacksonville on Saturday in their first playoff game since the 2018 season. 

(Undated)  --  LeBron James is still leading the field in the latest NBA All-Star voting update.  James has received the most votes with over 4.8-million and is on pace to match Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's record 19 career All-Star appearances.  Kevin Durant is still second with 4.5-million votes and leads all Eastern Conference players.  James is trailed by Steph Curry, Luka Doncic [[ DON-chitch ]], Nikola Jokic [[ yo-kitch ]] and Anthony Davis in the Western Conference.  Just behind Durant in the East are Giannis Antetokounmpo [[ ah-dedo-KOON-bo ]], Jayson Tatum, Joel Embiid and Kyrie Irving.

(Undated)  --  Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown is set to miss a week or two with a right adductor strain.  Brown is coming off a 41-point performance against the Pelicans on Wednesday night.  The 26-year-old star told reporters following the game that he had tweaked his groin and would have it evaluated.  Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla said that he is "not sure what the timeline is" and that the team would know more in the coming days.  Brown is averaging a career-high 27.2 points per game this season for the first-place Celtics.

(Undated)  --  Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton is sidelined for the next two weeks with a pair of injuries.  The 22-year-old has been diagnosed with a left elbow sprain and mild left knee bone contusion that he sustained in Wednesday's loss to the Knicks.  Haliburton underwent an MRI on Thursday that the team is awaiting additional opinions on.  He is currently leading the NBA with 10.2 assists per game.  Haliburton is also averaging a career-high 20.2 points per game with Indiana this season.  The Pacers are currently 23-and-19.

(Boston, MA)  --  The Kraken handed Boston its first regulation home loss of the season after a 3-0 victory over the Bruins.  Brandon Tanev opened the scoring in the first period while Eeli Tolvanen netted a goal with about 40 seconds left in the second.  Jaden Schwartz buried an empty netter to secure the two points for Seattle.  Martin Jones stopped 27 shots to earn the shutout victory for the Kraken, who have won seven straight games.  Seattle improved to 25-12-and-4 and are third in the Pacific with 52 points.  Linus Ullmark made 28 saves for the B's, who are now 19-1-and-3 on the season at home.  The Bruins still lead the NHL with 68 points.

(Honolulu, HI)  --  Three golfers are tied atop the leaderboard after play was suspended during the first round of the Sony Open in Honolulu.  Chris Kirk, Jordan Spieth and Taylor Montgomery all finished the opening round six under par.  Several other players are tied for fourth place after shooting five under par.  Hideki Matsuyama appears to still be in contention to defend his title.  Matsuyama finished round one tied for 41st at two under par. 

The Pleasant Valley Vikings capturing their 5th North Section Title in the last seven full seasons and 9th overall.....

The Vikings embarked on what was known as The Great Revenge Tour. The had lost earlier this year 38-20 to 

Enterprise easily handled the Hornets last week.....earlier this season they lost to Foothill 35-7 only to turn the tables

on Saturday 10-3. The Vikings now get ready for the State Playoff Semis in the 4AA bracket as they take on Escalon 

on the road at 7:30pm on Friday night.

The Orland Trojans complete an undefeated regular season and run through the North Section playoffs as

they captured the Division III North Section Title beating University Prep from Redding 33-19.

Grant Foster ran for four TD's in the win that secured the Trojans their first Section Title in 13 years.

With the Title and an undefeated 13-0  record Orland secures a home game taking on Clear Lake in a 5A State Playoff

Semifinal 

The Chico State men's and women's basketball opens CCAA play with impressive wins on Saturday.

The women put up 85 points and shot a blistering 52 percent as they took down Stanislaus 85-70. Chico

had struggled scoring all year, but that wasn't a problem in their CCAA opener. Chico was 10-of-21 from

three point range. They will take on Cal State LA on Thursday at Acker Gym....

The Chico State men found their defensive footing in shutting down Stanislaus 64-55.

The Cats were giving up 80 points through their first four games, three of which were losses,

but Chico shut down the Warriors....holding them to 36 percent shooting. Chico also dominated

the board 50-38. True freshman JoJo Murphy continued to shine with 17 points and 8 rebounds...

Cats move to 2-3 on season 1-0 CCAA

The 49ers handed the Saints their first shutout since 2001 with a 13-0 victory in Santa Clara.  It snaps the longest active scoring streak in the NFL of 332 straight games, which ranks fourth all-time.  The Saints' last scoreless game was also against the 49ers 21 years ago.  Jimmy Garoppolo threw for 222 yards and a touchdown for the Niners, who have won four straight and now sit alone atop the NFC West at 7-and-4.  Seattle is a game back at 6-and-5 after losing to the Raiders on Sunday.  Andy Dalton finished 18-of-29 for 204 yards for New Orleans, which slipped to 4-and-8 with the loss.  Alvin Kamara was held to just 13 rushing yards and lost two fumbles in the setback. 

 Jacobs capped off a dominant game with the longest run of his career and finished with 229 yards and a pair of scores.  Derek Carr helped send the game to OT after connecting with Foster Moreau on a five-yard touchdown pass with under two minutes left in regulation.  Las Vegas improved to 4-and-7.  Geno Smith threw for 328 yards and two touchdowns, but was also intercepted twice and fumbled in the loss.  Rookie Kenneth Walker the Third rushed for a pair of scores as Seattle dropped to 6-and-5.  The Seahawks are now one game behind the 49ers for first place in the NFC West.

The United States is hoping to advance to the round of 16 at the World Cup on Tuesday in Qatar.  After ending each of its first two games in a draw, the US needs to beat Iran in order to get out of the group stage.  The US is third in Group B with two points after playing Wales to a 2-2 draw and England to a scoreless draw.  Timothy Weah leads the team with one goal.  Iran is coming off a 2-0 win over Wales and has three points. 

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 The Chiefs, Dolphins and 49ers all extended their winning streaks during Week 12 action on Sunday.  KC cruised past the Rams 26-10 for its fifth straight victory.  The Chiefs continue to lead the AFC at 9-and-2.  Miami also won its fifth straight after beating Houston 30-15 at home.  The Dolphins and Bills are tied atop the AFC East at 8-and-3, but Miami currently holds the tiebreaker.  Out west, the 49ers handed the Saints their first shutout loss since 2001 with a 13-0 victory in Santa Clara.  The Eagles moved to 10-and-1 with a 40-33 win over the Packers on Sunday Night Football. 

(Indianapolis, IN)  --  Two of the NFL's most historic franchises are set to face one another when the Indianapolis Colts host the Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday Night Football.  The Colts are coming off a disappointing loss to the Philadelphia Eagles to fall to 4-6-and-1.  The Steelers will be looking to bounce back from their recent loss to the Cincinnati Bengals.  Rookie quarterback Kenny Pickett leads the team with over 14-hundred yards passing and three touchdowns, but has also thrown eight interceptions.  Pittsburgh is currently last in the AFC North at 3-and-7.

(Kansas City, MO)  --  The Rams are taking another hit to their depleted offense.  Los Angeles head coach Sean McVay said Sunday that wide receiver Allen Robinson the Second suffered a season-ending foot injury and will need surgery.  Robinson missed the team's loss to the Chiefs with the injury and McVay announced he will miss the rest of the season as a result.  The Rams are already playing without top wideout Cooper Kupp and have been missing quarterback Matthew Stafford for several games. 

(Miami, FL)  --  NFL star Odell Beckham Junior is making headlines after he was escorted off an American Airlines flight in Miami on Sunday.  Police said the flight crew tried to wake him as he appeared "to be coming in and out of consciousness."  A statement added Beckham was initially asked several times to exit the aircraft and fasten his seatbelt, which he refused.  The plane was evacuated and Beckham eventually got off the plane when asked by officers.  The wide receiver is currently a free agent after winning a Super Bowl with the Los Angeles Rams last season.

(Undated)  --  Several changes are coming when the penultimate College Football Playoff Rankings are released on Tuesday.  Four top-10 teams lost over the weekend including two in the top-five.  Second-ranked Ohio State is sure to fall after getting blown out by rival and third-ranked Michigan 45-23 in Columbus.  TCU will likely climb to third behind the Wolverines, while USC is poised to jump into the top-four.  Eighth-ranked Clemson and ninth-ranked Oregon were also upset.  The next CFP Rankings will be released on Tuesday with Selection Sunday set for December 4th.

(Madison, WI)  --  The Wisconsin Badgers are finding their replacement at head coach.  Athletic director Chris McIntosh announced Sunday that the University is hiring Luke Fickell as its new football head coach.  Fickell had led Cincinnati over the past six seasons and helped the team reach the College Football Playoff last season.  This year, the Bearcats went 9-and-3 in the regular season.  Fickell replaces Paul Chryst, who was fired by Wisconsin in the middle of the season.

(Tempe, AZ)  --  Phoenix product Kenny Dillingham is returning to Arizona State.  The 32-year-old has been named the new head football coach at ASU.  Dillingham replaces Herm Edwards, who was fired during this season.  He takes over a Sun Devils team that just finished 3-and-9 on the year.  Dillingham spent this season as the offensive coordinator at Oregon.  He also coached under Mike Norvell at both Memphis and Florida State after the two worked together previously at ASU. 

(Undated)  --  Saturday's college football rivalry between Ohio State and Michigan is setting new TV records.  "The Game" in Columbus, Ohio drew more than 17 million viewers on FOX, making it the most-watched college football game of the season.  It's also the sport's most-watched regular-season game in eleven years.  Michigan beat Ohio State 45-to-23, the second straight win over its Big Ten rival. 

(Chicago, IL)  --  The Chicago White Sox are bolstering their starting rotation.  Ken Rosenthal is reporting that the team has signed right-handed starter Mike Clevinger.  The deal is a one-year contract worth at least eight-million dollars.  The 31-year-old missed all of 2021 after having Tommy John surgery in November of 2020, but he went 7-and-7 with a 4.33 ERA in 22 starts with the San Diego Padres last season.

(Qatar)  --  The United States is hoping to advance to the round of 16 at the World Cup on Tuesday in Qatar.  After ending each of its first two games in a draw, the US needs to beat Iran in order to get out of the group stage.  The US is third in Group B with two points after playing Wales to a 2-2 draw and England to a scoreless draw.  Timothy Weah leads the team with one goal.  Iran is coming off a 2-0 win over Wales and has three points.

The Sharks are in Seattle to take on the Kraken tonight. Puck drops at 6:30pm

Warriors host Clippers. We will have the game on DELAY at 10pm

Both games on KpaySports 1290

The Chico State Women knock off Holy Names 71-52. Chico moves to 3-2 and will host Stanislaus on Saturday. Women at 1 with the men playing at 3.

NFL TRIPLE-HEADER ON THANKSGIVING

9:30am Buffalo vs Detroit

1:30pm NyGiants vs Dallas

5:20pm New England vs Minnesota

The Chico State Volleyball team has their home opener as they continue conference play this weekend.....They host Dominguez Hills tomorrow late afternoon

at 5pm and CSLA at 2pm on Saturday.

Chico looking to catch fire as they sit 2-7 overall and 0-2 in CCAA play.

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Big night at Chico State's Soccer Stadium on Saturday as the Wildcat men's and women's soccer teams are part of a docu-series produced by LG Electronics for the NCAA Championship Channel as both the men's and women's teams take on Humboldt State. 

A documentary film crew spent Monday through Wednesday on campus at Cal Poly Humboldt and will film at Chico State beginning Thursday morning through the end of Saturday night's matches. They will capture the history, characters, and current student-athletes that make up this great rivalry between California's northernmost state schools.

Women are 2-1-2 play at 430pm while the men are 3-2-1 play at 7pm

The Chico State women enter Saturday's contest with a record of 2-1-2, while the men are 3-2-1. Chico State's women are 20-9-6 all-time against Cal Poly Humboldt, having won seven straight against the Lumberjacks at home. Ironically, Wildcats head coach Kim Sutton has coached in all 35 of those matches. She was the head coach at Humboldt during that program's first six years of existence, from 1995-99, before making the move to Chico State.

Fans are encouraged to be equally generous and bring nutritious food items, hygiene items, and/or can openers, or to make a monetary donation to Chico State's Hungry Wildcat Food Pantry, the front door to the Basic Needs Project. A table will be set up near the entrance to the stadium to accept donations with information about how to give online as well.

The Chiefs are welcoming the Chargers to town for an AFC West clash.  Kansas City hosts Los Angeles tonight at Arrowhead Stadium.  The Chiefs are looking to improve to 2-and-oh after running past the Cardinals 44-21 in Week One.  Patrick Mahomes threw for 360 yards and five touchdowns in the victory.  Meanwhile, the Chargers opened the season with a tight 24-19 win over the Raiders.  Khalil Mack stepped up with a strip sack of Derek Carr to secure the win for Los Angeles.  The Chargers ruled out wide receiver Keenan Allen for tonight after he suffered a hamstring injury against Las Vegas.  Cornerback J.C. Jackson could make his debut for the team as he's listed questionable to play. 

 The 49ers are hosting a divisional rival in their home opener.  San Francisco takes on the Seahawks on Sunday afternoon at Levi's Stadium.  The Niners opened the season with a 19-10 loss to the Bears.  On Wednesday, San Francisco placed defensive lineman Jordan Willis on the injured reserve and promoted defensive lineman Kemoko Turay to the active roster.  The 49ers also signed running back Marlon Mack, wide receiver Willie Snead the Fourth and cornerback Kary Vincent Jr. to the practice squad. 

>>Raiders Host Cardinals In Home Opener

(Henderson, NV)  --  The Raiders are looking to bounce back as they near their home opener.  Las Vegas hosts the Cardinals on Sunday afternoon at Allegiant Stadium.  The Raiders lost to the Chargers 24-19 in Week One.  On Wednesday, Las Vegas signed wide receiver Keelan Cole to the active roster and placed wideout DJ Turner on the injured reserve.  The Raiders also signed center Billy Price and cornerback Nickell Robey-Coleman to the practice squad. 

     The Chiefs are welcoming the Chargers to town for an AFC West clash.  Kansas City hosts Los Angeles tonight at Arrowhead Stadium.  The Chiefs are looking to improve to 2-and-oh after running past the Cardinals 44-21 in Week One.  Meanwhile, the Chargers opened the season with a tight 24-19 win over the Raiders.  The Chargers ruled out wide receiver Keenan Allen for tonight after he suffered a hamstring injury against Las Vegas.  Cornerback J.C. Jackson could make his debut for the team as he's listed questionable to play.

       The Chargers and Chiefs are each missing a starter for their divisional clash.  Los Angeles ruled out wide receiver Keenan Allen on Wednesday after he suffered a hamstring injury in Week One.  Allen had caught four passes for 66 yards against the Raiders, but exited the game in second quarter.  Meanwhile, Kansas City ruled out starting kicker Harrison Butker with an ankle injury.  Butker had injured his left ankle during a kickoff against the Cardinals.  Matt Ammendola is expected to be activated from the practice squad to handle kicking duties. 

       The Broncos are losing their leader in the secondary.  Denver placed star safety Justin Simmons on injured reserve due to a quad injury.  Simmons suffered the injury in Monday night's 17-16 loss to the Seahawks and will miss the next four games for the Broncos.  In a corresponding move, Denver signed cornerback Essang Bassey to the active roster and signed safety Anthony Harris to the practice squad.  Simmons had only missed six defensive snaps since the start of the 2018 season.

       One of the NBA's premier voices is weighing in on the league's punishment given to Phoenix Suns' owner Robert Sarver over toxic workplace culture.  In a tweet Wednesday, LeBron James said the league got it wrong.  Sarver was handed a one-year suspension and a ten-million-dollar fine after an investigation showed he used racial slurs, made sexual-related comments to women in the workplace, and engaged in harsh treatment of employees during his 18-year tenure.  James added there's no place in the league for that kind of behavior.

        Julio Rodriguez is joining some rare company as he continues his rookie campaign.  The Mariners outfielder stole his 25th base of the season on Wednesday, making him the third rookie in MLB history to reach 25 steals and 25 home runs.  The 21-year-old matched Chris Young, who did it with the Diamondbacks in 2007 and Mike Trout, who did it with the Angels in 2012.  Rodriguez also homered in the win over the Padres, upping his season total to 26 long balls.  

      Adam Wainwright and Yadier Molina have made history.  The Cardinals starting pitcher and catcher started their 325th game together on Wednesday, breaking the MLB record for most games started by a battery pairing.  Wainwright and Molina passed former Tigers Mickey Lolich and Bill Freehan, who made 324 starts together between 1963 and 1975.  The Cardinals pairing made their first start together in April of 2007.

      Nestor Cortes picked up his 10th win of the season as the Yankees swept their two-game set with the Red Sox.  New York came away with a 5-3 victory in Boston.  Gleyber Torres led the way at the plate for the Yanks after going three-for-five with an RBI.  Brayan Bello was charged with the loss after allowing three unearned runs over five innings of work.  Connor Wong went one-for-two with an RBI double for the Sox, who fell to 69-and-74.  The Yankees improved to 87-and-56 and remain atop the AL East. 

Max Muncy homered twice and drove in three as the Dodgers doubled up the Giants 6-3 in Los Angeles. Joey Gallo added a three-run homer for the Dodgers, who improved to 11-and-4 against the rival Giants this season. Tyler Anderson tossed seven innings of three-run ball as he moved to 14-and-3. Craig Kimbrel closed it out for his 22nd save. Lewis Brinson homered to lead off the game and Brandon Crawford also went deep for San Francisco, which saw its four-game winning streak come to an end. Jarlin Garcia suffered the loss. The Atlanta Braves racked up 13 hits in a 10-9 win over the A's in Oakland. Vaughn Grissom had four hits and two RBI, while Matt Olson homered and drove in three. Jesse Chavez earned his third win out of the bullpen, and Kenley Jansen picked up save number 32. The Braves are tied with the Mets for first place in the NL East. Oakland hit three home runs in the losing effort, and Joel Payamps was charged with his fourth loss. The A's have dropped five of their last six. The Steelers are celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Immaculate Reception with a special ceremony. During halftime of the December 24th game against the Las Vegas Raiders, Pittsburgh will retire the number-32 jersey of Franco Harris. The former running back is only the third Steeler to have his number retired, joining Ernie Stautner's number-70 and Joe Greene's number-75. Team president Art Rooney the Second said "the Immaculate Reception marked the turning point in franchise history." (Lake Forest, IL) -- The Chicago Bears are moving forward with their plan to build a new stadium in Arlington Heights. The team released conceptual plans for a potential domed stadium in the Chicago suburb on Tuesday. The plans include a 326-acre development that would include restaurants, hotels, and office spaces, among other amenities. The Bears are promising to not seek public funding for the stadium itself, but are looking for help with the rest of the development. Chicago can end its lease at Soldier Field as early as 2026. (Washington, DC) -- Former Washington general manager and team president Bruce Allen testified before the House Oversight Committee on Tuesday. An NFL spokesperson released a statement saying "The Committee is continuing to investigate the decades-long workplace misconduct at the Washington Commanders and the NFL's failure to address it." Mr. Allen's testimony is "important for the Committee to fully understand these serious issues and advance reforms to protect workers in the future." (Undated) -- The Alabama Crimson Tide are still the number one team in the nation according to the latest coaches poll. Alabama received 57 first place votes after winning its first game of the year. Georgia and Ohio State swapped places in the rankings. The Bulldogs are now second and the Buckeyes are third. Clemson remains fourth in the country, while Michigan climbed one spot in the rankings to round out the top five. (Undated) -- The 76ers are adding a former NBA Sixth Man of the Year to their frontcourt. ESPN reports Philadelphia is signing center Montrezl Harrell [[ mon-TREZ ]] to a two-year, 5.2-million dollar deal, with a player option for the second year. Harrell joins the Sixers after splitting last season between the Wizards and Hornets. The 28-year-old averaged 13.1 points and 6.1 rebounds through 71 games. (El Segundo, CA) -- Patrick Beverley is settling some concerns about playing next to Russell Westbrook. After being recently traded to the Lakers, Beverley said Tuesday that he is "super excited" to play with Westbrook. The two have notably had their conflicts in years past, with Beverley colliding and injuring Westbrook's knee during the 2013 NBA playoffs. Now, Beverley says he's looking forward to being teammates with someone who plays with a similar "competitive spirit" and grit to his game. (Undated) -- The defending NBA champions are looking to fill some roster spots ahead of training camp. The Athletic reports Golden State are bringing in several free agents for workouts this week. Among that group are Ben McLemore, Elfrid Payton, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and Kenneth Faried. Those players could earn an invitational to training camp with a chance to make the team's roster. (Seattle, WA) -- Sue Bird's basketball career is coming to an end after the Storm were eliminated from the WNBA playoffs. Seattle lost to the Las Vegas Aces 97-92 in Game Four of their semifinals series. Bird provided eight points and eight assists in her final game in the league. The 41-year-old won four WNBA titles and finished as the league's all-time leader in assists and games played. Bird spent her entire WNBA career with the Storm. (San Diego, CA) -- The Padres are giving an update on their suspended star shortstop. San Diego announced Tuesday that Fernando Tatis Jr. underwent a successful surgery to repair the labrum in his left shoulder. The 23-year-old is expected to recover in 4-to-6 months, but that won't factor into his return to the Padres. Tatis is serving his 80-game suspension for testing positive for a performance-enhancing drug. (Queens, NY) -- The Semifinals are shaping up at the US Open. On the men's side, fifth-seeded Casper Ruud make quick work of Matteo Berrettini in a three-set victory. Nick Kyrgios [[ KEER-ee-oss ]] was ousted in a five-set thriller against Karen Khachanov [[ ka-chuh-naav ]]. Ruud and Khachanov are set to meet in the semis. On the women's side, American Coco Gauff was ousted in straight sets by Caroline Garcia. Fifth-seeded Ons Jabeur continued her strong run with a straight-set win over Ajla Tomljanovic [[ EYE-la ]]. Garcia and Jabeur will square off in the semis.

     Freddie Freeman knocked in two runs as the Dodgers beat the Giants 8-2 in San Francisco.  Freeman went 3-for-5 at the plate and mashed his 36th double of the season.  Max Muncy and Trea Turner each homered for Los Angeles, which improved to 69-and-33.  Caleb Ferguson got the win in relief after starter Andrew Heaney allowed one run over four frames.  Logan Webb took the loss after surrendering six runs over five innings of work.  Wilmer Flores went deep for San Francisco, which fell to 51-and-52. 

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 The MLB Trade Deadline is this afternoon.  It will be the final chance for teams to buy and sell as playoff pushes and visions of the future occur.  The big name rumored in discussions is Nationals outfielder Juan Soto.  The Dodgers, Padres, and Cardinals are reportedly interested in the All-Star.  Trading has already begun in the MLB, as the Padres acquired All-Star closer Josh Hader from the Brewers.

(Undated)  --  The Astros are making some moves ahead of the MLB trade deadline.  Houston acquired first baseman Trey Mancini in a three-team trade with the Orioles and Rays.  The Astros dealt outfielder Jose Siri to Tampa Bay and got back minor league pitcher Jayden Murray.  Houston also sent pitcher Chayce McDermott to Baltimore.  ESPN reports the Astros are also trading for catcher Christian Vazquez in a deal with the Boston Red Sox.

(Oakland, CA) -- The Oakland A's are sending starting pitcher Frankie Montas to the New York Yankees in a six-player trade.  The A's are also including relief pitcher Lou Trivino.  New York is giving up four prospects including left-handed pitcher Ken Waldichuk.  Pitchers Luis Medina and JP Sears along with infielder Cooper Bowman are heading to the A's.  Team officials say Waldichuk and Sears will start out in Triple-A Las Vegas.  Montas has 109 strikeouts in 104 and two-thirds innings pitched so far this season.

(Undated)  -  Cleveland Browns' new quarterback Deshaun Watson is being suspended for six games by a federal judge over sexual misconduct allegations.  NFL Network reports a U.S. District Judge issued the ruling this morning over violations of the league's personal conduct policy.  The judge was appointed by the NFL and NFL Players Association as an independent arbiter in the case.  More than two-dozen women filed lawsuits against Watson claiming harassment and assault.

(Oxnard, CA)  --  The Cowboys are taking a hit to their receivers room.  ESPN reports wide receiver James Washington will undergo surgery after fracturing his right foot in training camp.  Washington is expected to miss 6-to-10 weeks due to the injury.  Dallas is already short-handed in camp as receiver Michael Gallup is on the physically unable to perform list.  Washington had signed a one-year deal with the Cowboys this offseason after spending the past four seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

(Undated)  --  The NBA is looking deeper into the Knicks pursuit of free agent guard Jalen Brunson.  According to ESPN, the league is investigating possible tampering charges involving New York's signing of the former Dallas Maverick.  Teams were not allowed to make contract with an agent or a player to discuss a deal prior to 6pm Eastern on June 30th.  Brunson agreed to a four-year, 104-million-dollar deal with the Knicks that night.  The NBA increased the penalties for tampering in 2019 by raising the maximum fine for teams to 10-million-dollars, suspending team executives, forfeiting draft picks, and possibly voiding contracts. 

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     LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman says Tiger Woods turned down an offer between 700 and 800-million-dollars to join the controversial Saudi-backed tour. 

     Norman told Fox News that Woods is a needle mover.  Woods has been outspoken about his support of the PGA Tour and has been critical of players leaving to join LIV Golf.  Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson and Brooks Koepka [[ KEP-kuh ]] are among the big names to make the move.

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     Deebo Samuel is officially signing a three-year contract extension with the 49ers.  NBC Sports Bay Area says the deal could be worth more than 73-million-dollars with incentives, and keeps Samuel in Santa Clara through the 2025 season.  Samuel had a breakout 2021 season with 77 catches for more than 14-hundred yards and 365 rushing yards.  He scored a combined 14 touchdowns rushing and receiving.  Both the Niners and Raiders continue training camp this week.

(Undated)  --  The 49ers are among the NFL's most valuable teams.  That's according to a new ranking from Sportico that lists the Dallas Cowboys as the most valuable team in the league at 7.64 billion dollars.  The average NFL team is worth 4.65-billion dollars according to Sportico.  The ranking lists the Los Angeles Rams, New England Patriots, New York Giants and 49ers as the rest of the top five most valuable franchises. 

(Anaheim, CA)  --  The Athletics are taking on a division foe as they continue their road trip.  Oakland faces the Angels tonight in Anaheim.  The A's come off a series loss to the White Sox, but have won four of their last six games.  The club sends southpaw Cole Irvin to the mound for the series opener.  Opposite him is right-hander Noah Syndergaard for Los Angeles.  The A's sit last in the AL West at 39-and-65. 

(Sacramento, CA)  --  The NBA world is mourning after the loss of one of its historical figures and pillars for the league.  Bill Russell passed away on Sunday at the age of 88.  The Sacramento Kings released a statement after his passing saying that Russell was a storied champion and a fierce advocate for civil rights and social justice.  In the 1987-88 season, Russell had a brief stint with the Kings as the team's head coach.  He initially signed a seven-year contract, but both sides parted ways after 58 games.  After that, he had another short period as the franchise's general manager.

POSTSEASON IS HERE AS CHICO STATE GEARS UP

FOR BIGGEST GAMES OF THE YEAR

     The Chico State Wildcat baseball team will host Cal State Dominguez Hills on Wednesday afternoon in what is, in essence a play-in game in the opening round of the CCAA Tournament. 

     This new format is single elimination in the first round with Chico hosting the Toros at 3pm (2:45pm pre-game on KpaySports 1290 and the KpaySports app) with the night-cap pitting 4th-seed Sonoma State against Cal State San Bernardino.

     The winner of the Chico and Dominguez match-up will take on Cal Poly Pomona on Thursday at 3pm. The winner of the Sonoma and San Bernardino game will play the top-seed and regular season champion Monterey Bay at 11am tomorrow morning.

     Chico State comes into the conference tourney winners of five-in-a-row after a 5-game losing skid. The Wildcats have one of the most potent offenses they have ever assembled with a team batting average of .344 and on-base percentage of .444, the best numbers in the CCAA. The Wildcats have uncharacteristically struggled defensively this year and come into the tournament with the worst fielding percentage in the field. 

     The Wildcats and Toros split their four-game series at Nettleton Stadium a month ago with the Wildcats salvaging a split with a thrilling 14-11 walk-off win after scoring six runs in the 9th capped off by a Jacob Jablonski three-run blast to center.

     Chico feels they are in a good position to punch their ticket next week to the West Regional Tournament, but a loss on Wednesday to the Toros would leave their fate up to a regional committee and to other West Region conference tournaments, hoping there aren't huge upsets. You can watch all the CCAA Tournament games on the CCAA Network with KpaySports Mike Baca calling the play-by-play for every game.

WILDCAT SOFTBALL OPENS REGIONAL PLAY ON THURSDAY

     For the sixth straight year the Chico State Softball team has advanced to the West Regional. The Cats look to make a run through the tournament and give themselvels a chance to play for a National Championship in Denver, Colorado. The sub-regional pits the Wildcats versus Dominguez Hills. Chico split their regular season series versus the Toros, but was eliminated the CCAA Tournament last week by Dominguez in a 6-5 loss.

     The other teams on Chico's side of the eight-team regional bracket are Concordia and Azusa Pacific. Chico suffered narrow losses against both teams this year. The Wildcats at 36-15 are making their 9th trip to the Regional since Angel Shamblin took over the program in 2010. You can follow all the action on the Chico State Athletics website which will provide links to live stats and live video of the games. 

GIANTS POUND ROCKIES

(AP) — Alex Wood pitched into the sixth inning and didn’t allow an earned run, Brandon Belt had an RBI double in his return to the lineup and the San Francisco Giants won their ninth straight against the Colorado Rockies, 9-2 on Tuesday night.

Curt Casali added three hits and two RBIs for San Francisco, which has won four straight since losing five in a row.

“Promising last couple of games,” Giants manager Gabe Kapler said. “You can see how valuable it is to have very competitive at-bats at the bottom of the lineup to turn the lineup over.”

Wood (3-2) lost his previous two starts. He got into jam in the first inning before getting Elias Díaz to strike out looking, and the left-hander also fanned Garrett Hampson looking to end the fourth with a runner on second after the Rockies scored an unearned run.

Wood allowed seven hits and struck out four in 5 1/3 innings while throwing 104 pitches – more than he threw in any game last season.

“It felt really good to hit that mark,” Wood said. “My slider is usually a good groundball pitch for me typically and to be heater dominant and changeup dominant and have that many groundball outs and not allow extra-base hits was really nice.”

A'S AND TIGERS SPLIT ODD DOUBLE-DIP

Tarik Skubal was planning to head to the mound for the day’s first pitch. Then he realized the Detroit Tigers were the visiting team at Comerica Park and Oakland’s Frankie Montas would be on the rubber.

“Thank God someone mentioned it before the game, because I almost ran out there for the top of the first inning,” Skubal said. “Montas and I would have both been on the mound. It was weird, but that’s baseball.”

Skubal led the Tigers to a 6-0 win in the opener of a unique doubleheader Tuesday caused by Major League Baseball’s lockout. With the Athletics as the visiting team in the second game, 25-year-old Adrian Martinez pitched 5 1/3 scoreless innings to win his major league debut, a 4-1 Oakland victory.

In a matchup of last-place teams, Detroit ended a 27-inning scoreless streak in the opener. Oakland (12-19) then won for the second time in 12 games and sent the Tigers (9-21) to their seventh loss in eight games.

Miguel Cabrera singled in the ninth inning of the second game, tying Wade Boggs for 30th with 3,010 hits.

Skubal (2-2) allowed three hits in seven innings, struck out five and walked three. Jonathan Schoop homered and scored twice on a day he raised his batting average from .139 to .157.

“It felt good to win,” Skubal said. “Their guy was really good, so I was just trying to give us a chance to stay in the game and get some late offense.”

Under MLB’s original schedule announced last year, Detroit was to have played three games at Oakland from April 4-6 in its second series of the season. But the first week was postponed by the lockout, and MLB rescheduled one of the games as part of a doubleheader at Comerica Park while keeping Oakland as the home team. The other games are to be played as a doubleheader at the Oakland Coliseum on July 21, what was to have been an off-day during the All-Star break.

Detroit wore its white home uniforms despite batting first, while the A’s wore green tops and gray pants. The Tigers reverted to the home team in the second game.

In the first game, Montas (2-3) allowed four runs, six hits and three walks in 6 1/3 innings.

A’s shortstop Elvis Andrus and left fielder Chad Pinder collided in the fifth while trying for Willi Castro’s shallow fly ball. Both players required attention from athletic trainers and remained in the game.

“It’s scary when you are running out there, because you have the worst-case scenario running through your head,” Kotsay said. “Luckily, Elvis’ shin — the one that hasn’t needed surgery — just grazed Chad’s temple. Our trainers took every precaution, and Chad passed all the concussion tests.”

Castro reached on the single to put runners on first and second with no outs, and Tucker Barnhart’s bunt single loaded the bases. Derek Hill’s sacrifice fly ended Detroit’s scoreless streak, and Robbie Grossman beat out a potential double-play grounder as Castro scored.

Schoop homered to make it 3-0 in the sixth, and Jeimer Candelario hit a three-run double in the seventh off Kirby Snead.

“I thought I was pretty good, to be honest,” Montas said. “That’s still a lineup of major league hitters. No bad hitters get to this level.”

In the second game, Alex Faedo (0-1) gave up two runs and four hits over five innings in his second major leage start. Jed Lowrie hit a sacrifice fly in the fourth and Kevin Smith had an RBI single. Cristian Pache added an RBI single in the seventh and Luis Barrera a sacrifice fly in the ninth.

Martinez (1-0) struck out Javy Baez in the first inning and retired Cabera in the second.

“I knew I was in the big leagues when I was facing players like that,” Martinez said through a translator. “You know they are in the lineup, but it is different when they are in the batter’s box.”

Martinez struck out three and walked none.

“That was just a great performance by Adrian,” A’s manager Mark Kotsay said. “He comes up here for his first major league start and attacks the zone right away. That’s what you want to see from a kid.”

Detroit loaded the bases with one out in the ninth against Lou Trivino . Eric Haase struck out, Robbie Grossman forced in a run with a walk and Austin Meadows popped out.

“We need today to be encouraging and we’re going to make it encouraging,” Tigers manager AJ Hinch said. “We had a really good first game and we gave ourselves a chance in the second one. We can’t ask for much more than that.”

You can listen to the Tigers and A's game on DELAY tonight at 11pm on KpaySports 1290 and 102.9 FM 

WARRIORS LOOK TO OUST MEMPHIS AND MOVE ON TO WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS

Memphis’ chances of staving off elimination are even tougher now.

The Golden State Warriors put the Grizzlies on the brink of the offseason after they rallied late in Game 4 on Monday night to grab a 3-1 series lead as Memphis star Ja Morant sat out with a sore right knee.

Morant is doubtful for the remainder of the postseason after an MRI and further evaluation revealed a bone bruise on his injured knee, the team announced Tuesday night. The NBA’s Most Improved Player winner and All-Star guard had been averaging 38.3 points a game.

The Warriors now head to Memphis needing one victory to advance to the Western Conference finals for the first time since 2019 — when they lost in the NBA Finals before missing the last two postseasons.

That’s been a long wait for a franchise that won three championships in the last decade.

“Wednesday is going to be the hardest one yet,” Warriors guard Klay Thompson said. “It always is, the closeout. We have to put this behind us and put together a good game plan.”

Even without Morant, Memphis still led for all but 45.7 seconds of Game 4 before Golden State rallied for a 101-98 victory. It was the first time Memphis had been held under 100 points this postseason.

“We’re back home,” Grizzlies forward Jaren Jackson Jr. said. “We’ve got our fans. It’s going to be loud, so we’re excited to get back home and go play again, man. We have another chance to play. They’re a good team. We obviously know how the game went. Yeah, we get another chance at it.”

And that “it” is pushing this series back to San Francisco for Game 6 on Friday.

KPAYSPORTS 1290 and 102.9 FM will carry tonight's GAME 5 immediately after the conclusion of Chico State Playoff baseball at 6:45pm tonight.....