By 5 PM this Sunday afternoon the chores should be completed, the pizza on its way, the adult beverages good and cold, and the TV tuned to NBC as San Jose’s own NFL Referee, Bill Leavy, will be getting ready for the 2009 Hall of Fame game coin toss.

When I get the chance I’ll ask Bill about the new rules for 2009.

* The initial force of a blindside block can’t be delivered by a helmet, forearm or shoulder to an opponent’s head or neck. An illegal blindside block – a 15-yard penalty.

* Initial contact to the head of a defenseless receiver – will draw a 15-yard penalty

* On kickoffs, no blocking wedge of more than two players will be allowed – it will be a 15-yard penalty.

* On kickoffs, the kicking team can’t have more than five players bunched together pursuing an onside kick – a team 5 yards.

As a youngster growing up in Modesto one of the highlights of summer was going to a baseball game. Mom brought a Thermos filled with ice cold Kool-Aid and dad brought the cowbell. It was my job to ring the cowbell for the home team. I rang that bell for every base hit, stolen base, runner who crossed home plate, and I gave it an extra big shake for a home run. Those were the days. The kind of days memories are made of.

Today I am ringing a ‘bell’ for a baseball game here in San Jose. The August 15th meet up between the San Jose Giants vs. the Stockton Ports will be more than just a good game, it will also be an event called “Don’t Let Cancer Steal 2nd Base”.

To help fight breast cancer please take a look at “Boobs by the Bay”

Put on your pink and make some baseball memories. Get your tickets now!

Game/Event Tickets cannot be purchased via the SJ Giants Box Office…they can only be bought directly from “Boobs by the Bay”

Payment can be made by cash, check or arranged via Paypal.

Delivery of tickets can be via snail mail, hand delivery, or even left at Will Call.

Please contact: Kerri Lodge at 408.846.4206 or check out the site click ‘Events’ to learn more, and purchase your tickets.

When: August 15th at 6 PM
Who: San Jose Giants vs. Stockton Ports
Where: San Jose Municipal Stadium
Why: To raise money for Breast Cancer

Beginning Monday May 18, KTRB switches from political/financial talk to all sports talk radio.

KTRB 680 moved from Modesto to San Francisco in 2007.  It became the flagship station for the Oakland A’s this season and the station added two sports programs to its lineup with Ron Barr’s Sports Byline USA weeknights followed by Sports Overnight America with Chris Townsend.

Monday will see the addition of Fox Sports Radio programming with Chris Myers and Steve Hartman midday and Petros Papadakis and Matt “Money” Smith in the afternoon. The syndicated Todd & Tyler’s Radio Empire will air in the morning. The Todd & Tyler’s Radio Empire includes the big cities of Omaha, Wichita, Springfield, Burlington, and Boise.

KTRB plans to differentiate itself from KNBR by featuring East Bay teams like the A’s and the Raiders along with other teams that do not get as much attention on KNBR.  KTRB is also the home for Stanford football and men’s basketball. KTRB is hopeful to add local sports talk programming in the future to feature these and other teams.

KTRB 860 AM is a 50,000-watt station available in most of the South Bay.

As reported yesterday in Velo News, and relayed by Silicon Valley Business Journal, Amgen Tour of California cycling stage race organizers are planning for some changes next year. The tour dates are expected to be moved to mid-May, rather than February as in past years. This is hoped to make better weather more likely, bringing more spectators out to the course. The likelihood of warmer weather will also make it possible to take the race into the Sierras, where more substantial climbs await. It’s not clear if opening more territory to the tour will make it harder for San Jose, which has hosted a stage start or finish for at least two years running, to secure a spot on the itinerary.

The new date would also put the California race on the same dates as the Giro d’Italia, the biggest race on the European calendar after the Tour de France. This isn’t expected to reduce the field of possible headline teams for the California tour, since teams contending for the Tour de France typically skip the Giro anyway, and Amgen organizers apparently hope to bring some of those teams over for a less strenuous event.

Back on February 27th, 2007, I suggested to the Gilroy born, San Jose State, San Francisco 49er quarterback, and then free-agent Jeff Garcia via a San Jose Metblogs post that he choose the Oakland Raiders. It looks as though he finally got around to taking my advice and has just signed with the Raiders as a backup quarterback. Will he once again be spotted in Willow Glen?

Amgen Tour of California Stage 3

Stage 3 of the Amgen Tour of California got rolling just before noon today in downtown San Jose. After a quick “neutral” tour of downtown San Jose, though, the actual race stage officially began at the corner of Taylor and 13th Streets in the Northside neighborhood. Today’s stage rolls over the hills to Modesto, where its expected to end at about 4 o’clock.

As of this writing, the wet and slippery weather had led to a few spills in the race, including one involving race leader and Northern California native Levi Leipheimer. No word yet on whether Leipheimer’s crash was serious.

A few more photos from the race start, and at Calaveras Road above Milpitas can be found in my Flickr set, and of course there’s a whole Flickr group for the race where you can see photos from dozens of photographers and cycling fans.

Stage Three of the Amgen Tour of California cycling road race comes to San Jose on Tuesday, February 17, 2009. Reversing last year’s route, the stage will begin in downtown San Jose and head over the hills to Modesto.

The stage begins at the corner of San Fernando Street and Almaden Boulevard at noon on Tuesday and heads over Sierra Road, past Calaveras Reservoir, through Livermore and Tracy, and finally after 104 miles, ends in downtown Modesto. A detailed map is available from the stage page at the AToC website. The race features teams you’ll recognize from the major European races, such as Astana, Quickstep, and Rabobank, as well as local teams such as Jelly Belly Cycling Team. Seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong is also riding, but in a supporting role after a couple of years of retirement. Armstrong will be backing last year’s Amgen Tour winner, Levi Leipheimer on team Astana.

In today’s Prologue stage in Sacramento, Saxo Bank rider Fabian Cancellar had the best time, while North Bay native Leipheimer took second.

The Bay Area may not have a dog in the fight, however San Jose does have a link to the Super Bowl. NFL Official Keith Ferguson, former athlete at Del Mar High School and San Jose State, was chosen as the Back Judge. Officials must have at least five years of experience, as well as having worked previous playoff assignments. The NFL determined that Mr. Ferguson was the highest-rated Back Judge with those qualifications. Look for Keith wearing # 61 – by coincidence this number was also on his Del Mar High School football jersey.

While the men are throwing the pigskin around, I’ll be hitting balls around and enjoying the game on one of the many TVs at the California Billiard Club.

California Billiard Club *Super Bowl Party*
881 E. El Camino Real Mountain View
(650) 965-3100
Sunday Feb, 1st
2:00 PM – 7:00 PM

$5.00 Food Buffet – Ask about their Draft specials.

Half- Time Raffle (must be present to win)
$1.00 per ticket – or $5.00 for seven

fanballoting.nhl.com

The Sharks are off to a great start; they have been enjoying sellouts at home. There is a buzz around the Bay Area that this truly could be the season the Sharks make it to the Stanley Cup finals. However, when it comes to the NHL All-Star voting Sharks’ fans are out to lunch.

None of the Sharks on the ballot are leading the way; for that matter they are down the list of players getting more votes from cities like Chicago, Detroit, Calgary and Anaheim. Heck! Pittsburgh Penguins’ Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin are leading the league in votes. Sidney Crosby has received the most votes ever in NHL All-Star balloting history. The Bay Area’s only current superstar Joe Thornton is down the list!

The Sharks on this season’s All-Star ballot are Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau, Dan Boyle, Rob Blake, and Evgeni Nabokov.

You vote for three forwards, two defencemen and one goaltender in each Conference. Since only two Sharks are listed in the forwards category, Devin Setoguchi is currently the Sharks fan’s leading “write in” candidate for the third forward

You may vote as many times as you want; which we hope is often.

You can vote for all the Sharks on the ballot by texting SHARKS to 81812 or online at NHL All-Star Fan Balloting where you can include your “write in” candidate.

The All-Star Fan Balloting closes at 05:59:59 pm PST on January 2nd, 2009.

Vote!

Times are tough for everyone these days, but that’s exactly what Superintendent Bob Nunez is proposing for the East Side Union High School District. According to Nunez, the expected cuts in current funding levels will force the district to choose between academics and athletics. Current funding levels could allow athletics to continue, but the state’s guaranteed to cut the budget even further.

Why is this happening now? The state is strong-arming our schools to show how they will balance their budgets by mid-December… it’s kind of like the kettle calling the cauldron black, if you ask me.

The ESUHSD isn’t alone in figuring out how to address today’s budgetary crisis. I hope that Bob Nunez’s proposal doesn’t become a trend. The difficulty is that schools have been facing diminishing funding over the years, so cutting any more starts cutting into non-academic programs as well as the quality of education.

As a former high school non-jock, I didn’t understand the importance of athletics. Fast forward to 2008, where I’ve seen the positive effects of high school athletics. Admitedly, my child will be one of the kids affected if this proposal becomes reality, but while my child earns good grades regardless of sports, there are a great number of kids who’s grades are lifted because of eligibility requirements. In some cases, these kids see athletics as the light at the end of the tunnel in many ways. Some see it as the highlight of their day, while others see it as a way of earning their way into college through the virtue of grades and sports. To take this away is simply unfair to these kids and their future.

Help prevent the loss of the East Side Union High School District’s athletic program by voicing your support either on the comment board on this site, or by attending tonight’s special board meeting at the ESUHSD Board Room at:

Special Board Meeting: December 11, 2008 at 6pm

East Side Union High School District
830 N. Capitol Avenue
San Jose, California 95133