Nebraska plays a bruising game against Bruins

By Art Spander

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — This is the way to win a football game, the old-fashioned way, the effective way. You get the ball and run it through the other team’s defense. You gain yards, you score points and, perhaps most importantly, you never give the opponent the ball. Or a chance.

Stanford plays that style of football. USC plays that style. And as we — and UCLA — learned on a chilly night-after-Christmas, Nebraska plays that style. Crunch, smash, dash, flash. And now and then, throw a pass.

Nebraska had a 5-7 record but made it to the Foster Farms Bowl because of academic progress. UCLA was 8-4 and had a freshman sensation quarterback. But the Bruins couldn’t stop Stanford. Or USC. And on Saturday night, with a defensive line far too light and coaching decisions far too incorrect, they couldn’t stop Nebraska, which won the Foster Farms Bowl, 37-29.

You know the adage. There are lies, damned lies and statistics. But Saturday night at Levi’s Stadium, where the announced crowd was 33,527, these stats were all too truthful. The Cornhuskers rushed for 326 yards. The Cornhuskers had the ball just over 38 minutes out of the total 60.

“We’ve got to get bigger and stronger,” said UCLA coach Jim Mora, stating the obvious. “So we can be competitive against teams like this or Stanford or USC. But it’s a bit of a catch-22 in our (Pac-12) conference, because so many teams play spread.”

UCLA, ending the year with consecutive defeats, was merely spread out. They got bulled and trapped and, every now and then, tricked. “We knew the team we could be,” said Mike Riley, in his first year at Nebraska after a 12-year run as head coach at Oregon State. “This game gave us a chance to prove it.”

The Huskers proved it solidly and demonstratively, if somewhat slowly. After a fumble deep in UCLA territory and a couple of Josh Rosen touchdown passes, Nebraska trailed 21-7 roughly halfway through the second quarter. But then the domination began.

Nebraska, in order, got a touchdown, a touchdown — and it was 21-21 at halftime — a touchdown (with a blocked PAT), a field goal and a touchdown. The Huskers, down by 14, suddenly led by 16, 37-21. As they love to say on TV, 30 unanswered points. Wow. Or for UCLA, woe.

Rosen was harassed. He had gone a stretch of 245 passes without an interception in the middle of the season. He was picked off twice by USC in the Bruins’ one-sided loss to the Trojans and then twice more Saturday night.

“We didn’t do enough on offense,” said Rosen, “to keep our defense off the field. Nebraska ran 81 plays.” To UCLA’s 57.

Rosen is a drop-back quarterback. Nebraska’s Tommy Armstrong Jr. drops through you. He’ll hand off. He’ll carry (10 times for 97 yards) and, when needed, he’ll pass (12 of 19 for 174 yards and a touchdown). He’s mobile and agile. And getting blocks from a two-tight-end formation that flummoxed the Bruins when it didn’t overwhelm them, he became the offensive player of the game.

Rosen was 26 of 42 for 319 yards and three touchdowns.

A few days ago, Mora warned what Armstrong was capable of doing, and the UCLA head coach proved an all-too-accurate prophet.

UCLA, as it did in other games this season, made critical penalties, two unsportsmanlike calls that kept Nebraska drives alive. If you are unable to keep a team from pounding you, the worst thing to do is to respond by hitting someone out of bounds.

Yet, the Bruins did have ball and two chances to score late, but Ka’imi Fairbairn, who kicked a 60-yard field goal against Cal, missed a 46-yarder and at the end Rosen was intercepted in the end zone.

“It’s a disappointing loss,” said Mora. “We struggled against the run. We are light on defense, and they took advantage. They did a nice job.

“We fought our butts off, but (Nebraska is) a really good front out there to go up against. It starts with us as a staff, taking a hard look at ourselves, how we teach, the structure of our offense and defense, our drills, our strength and conditioning.

“I have a lot of respect for Nebraska. They beat Michigan State. They are a good football team.”

For sure, they are better than UCLA.

For Raiders, no success ‘without a Super Bowl’

By Art Spander

OAKLAND — Wait ’til next year. Or the year after that. Or the Twelfth of Never. The Raiders aren’t there yet, perhaps aren’t even close to being there, meaning the postseason, where they last played 13 years ago, a virtual lifetime in the NFL.

Are they better than last season? Their record would indicate as much. Even after getting beaten by the superior Green Bay Packers, 30-20, Sunday in the rain and chill at O.Co Coliseum, and being eliminated from the playoffs, the Raiders are 6-8. And wins in their final two games, unlikely since one is at Kansas City, would make them 8-8, which would be their best record since 2011.

They had a new coach this season, Jack Del Rio, and after defeating the Jets in early November had a 4-3 record. Where would they go from there? Nowhere, it turned out. At least figuratively. Progress, sure — from three wins a year ago, it was inevitable they would progress. Still, that doesn’t placate the fans, drenched and deflated, who toughed it out. Or the veteran defensive back Charles Woodson.

Someone wondered if the season could be described as success, what with victories over the Jets and, a week ago, the Denver Broncos. Woodson had a ready response. “There is no success,” he said, “without a Super Bowl.”

This from a 37-year-old who entered the league in 1998, was drafted by and played with the Raiders, moved to the Green Bay Packers where he got that Super Bowl and then in 2013 returned to Oakland. This from a man who has battled and survived and, even Sunday, after another bruise to his sore right shoulder, missed only one scrimmage play before re-entering the game.

“But,” added Woodson, “progress has been made.”

The Raiders have fallen — or raised — themselves into the category called teasers. As opposed to finishers. The Raiders are out there making big runs, big receptions, big defensive stops — and big mistakes.

As in the first period Monday, when they — meaning quarterback Derek Carr — threw two interceptions and fell behind 14. After which they pulled ahead, 20-17. After which they gave up two touchdowns and a field goal.

Is it a lack of experience, of understanding how champions compete, or a lack of talent? Is it a failure in the coaching or a failure in comprehension? Is it bad breaks or bad play?

For seasons the Raiders have been heavily penalized, a legacy of the late owner Al Davis, who often said he didn’t care about discipline. And while there has been improvement in 2015, the penalties remain a major negative. Time after time Monday, the Raiders were called for pass interference, illegal use of hands or holding. In all, the Raiders had 10 penalties for 95 yards, the Packers six for 75 yards.

On a third and sixth, a pass is knocked down, a flag is thrown and the Packers — or the Chiefs, or the Steelers — have a first down. “Just play with better technique,” said Del Rio about the calls. “I saw a couple examples where guys were trailing and did not play with proper technique. That will be called every time. Wasn’t even close.”

Nor were the two quick interceptions by Carr, who, in his second year, has not attained a level of consistency needed by winners. In the middle of the first quarter, Micah Hyde picked off a Carr pass at the Oakland 36. Four plays later, the Pack led 7-0. One play later, a 43-yard interception return by Damarious Randall made it 14-0.

“The first interception,” said Carr, “I tried to sneak it in without the guy seeing me, and he turned his head around and caught it. The second just got high on me. It did. I wish I had the play over. I’d love to bring it down, obviously, but that’s where I wanted to throw it. It was just high.”

After the one-two punch, Del Rio brought Carr to his side, not to criticize but to reassure. “It was just, ‘Things like that are going to happen, I believe in you,’” Shaw said of the coach’s advice. “‘You already know these things. Just go out there and be yourself.’”

For now, Carr being himself is not good enough. He’s an individual on the verge. The Raiders are a team on the verge. But so far that’s not enough.

“In critical situations,” said Woodson, the wise and relatively old man, “you can’t beat yourself. It’s hard enough to go out there and play the other team. As this team grows, we’ll get better at those type of things.”

For that we must wait. ’Til next year, or well after that.

S.F. Examiner: John York: ‘We are disappointed’

By Art Spander
San Francisco Examiner

He used to be the guy who took the media pounding and more. At one 49ers game, during a halftime presentation, John York — Dr. John York using his well-earned title — was booed by the fans at Candlestick Park, where the Niners then played. Got a little angry, too, even blaming a journalist for the treatment.

York knows tough times, and as the Niners owner, along with his wife, Denise, knows what they’re going through, and what the Yorks’ son, Jed, the team CEO, is going through. John can read. John can hear. The fans and media are unhappy. So too is John York.

Read the full story here.

© 2015 The San Francisco Examiner

S.F. Examiner: A blur is all Warriors need

By Art Spander
San Francisco Examiner

Someone shouted, “We’re back.” From where? One defeat? Back? The Warriors never left. They aren’t a basketball team, they’re a human blitz. So they lost a game. That was eons ago, on the road. What they did Wednesday night was what we expect, what all of basketball expects — a thrashing of an opponent.

You don’t watch the Warriors thinking about who’s going to end up ahead. That’s a given. The defeat that ended the season-opening record win streak was the exception that proves the rule. These Warriors are entertainers. These Warriors are 24-1 in 25 games.

Read the full story here.

© 2015 The San Francisco Examiner

Niners have reached the fringe of irrelevancy

By Art Spander

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Intimate is how one could describe the Jim Tomsula day-after media conference on Monday. The 49ers head coach was there, in body if not spirit, and so were a mere eight journalists, written or electronic word.

Sure, the main group, the people who covered the game for the Northern California dailies, still was en route home from Cleveland, and there indeed was a representative from both of the two large Bay Area publications. But only one each. No columnists.

It was as if everything about these Niners is irrelevant, so let’s concentrate on the high-profile teams, the Warriors, the Raiders, the Sharks.

If the fans don’t show up for home games at Levi’s Stadium, then why should the papers or radio and TV stations show up for yet another presser that, given Tomsula’s uninspirational style, figured to be the repetitive questions and unfulfilling responses to which we’re now accustomed?

NBC television caught on to the defections soon enough, and as allowed under the flex format, switched this Sunday’s 49ers-Bengals game from prime time, evening, to afternoon. How embarrassing.

You almost feel sorry for Tomsula, who does his best to avoid explanations why his team is not doing its best — or, gracious sakes alive, indeed may be doing its best. Some speakers, Donald Trump for example, are full of words and emotions, popular or unpopular, and capture our attention. But ask Trump to explain Cover Two, well, you can imagine how bad the Niners might be were The Donald coaching them.

Tomsula doesn’t rant and rave, doesn’t crack wise, doesn’t berate his athletes, doesn’t make fun of those from foreign lands. He gives us clichés, which certainly doesn’t make him alone in that category, but in his lackluster phrases there’s a disassociation from what actually took place.

“You said the effort was there,” a questioner posed to Tomsula, “but the execution wasn’t. Given 24 hours and given some time to look at the film, why do you think that was the case? What caused that?”

Execution is a football term that enables coaches to avoid responsibility, as in “I gave them a game plan so well-designed any dolt could understand, but these guys are so uncoordinated they couldn’t tackle a kid from Pop Warner, never mind an NFL running back.”

As is well known, the late John McKay handled the subject brilliantly and pointedly. Asked, when he was the Tampa Bay Bucs' head coach, about the team’s execution, McKay responded, “I think it would be a very good idea.” He knew how to fill a notebook.

Oh, if Tomsula only had that skill. Oh, if Tomsula didn’t look so forlorn standing on stage in the Niners’ auditorium, facing all those empty chairs. Maybe with a couple dozen radio, TV and press people, he’d give us the David Letterman routine. Instead, undoubtedly believing it would be absurd to waste his best material, Coach Jim, sticks to basics — name, rank, serial number.

“The execution,” Tomsula told us about last Sunday. “The fundamentals. Blocking up front. Tackling. Wrap-tackling. Just wrapping up when you tackle. You can’t do that.”

You shouldn’t do that, is what he meant. The 49ers did it, and Sunday against the Cleveland Browns, who had lost seven in a row, the Niners were losers, 24-10. Twenty-four hours later, with Tomsula and staff having studied the video, the Niners’ incompetence became no more or no less apparent. Yawn.

Blaine Gabbert, having taken over for Colin Kaepernick, who twice was sacked six times in games this season, against Cleveland was sacked nine times. “We missed an opportunity for ourselves,” said Tomsula. Only a coach would phrase it that way. An opportunity? To do what? Go to the Super Bowl?

Tomsula, the ultimate company man, was asked how, perhaps against all odds, the Niners could improve in their last three regularly scheduled games. McKay or Bill Walsh might have quipped, “Trade for the Carolina Panthers' offensive line,” but Coach Jim never would say anything like that. You wonder if he even thinks of anything like that.

“Well, to me,” said Tomsula, “the first thing is we try to make sure the same guy comes to work every day. We think our way through things, and we adjust what we feel we need to adjust. We (are) taking a look at where those things are and the heavy connections. And making sure that we have our young guys and older guys working together and finishing each other’s sentences.”

Better they finish each other’s blocks.

Are Warriors bigger than 49ers, Raiders?

By Art Spander

OAKLAND — This always was NFL territory. The 49ers were an original, created in 1946, the first major league team in the Bay Area, home grown, home owned.

The Raiders also began here, in 1960, and they put Oakland on the map and in the minds of a sporting public back east that previously didn’t know Jack London from Jack Spratt. If you lived in Oakland, or San Leandro, you no longer had to explain, “Near San Francisco.”

The Niners reinforced their standing as the region’s team of choice with five Super Bowl wins. The Raiders became as notorious as they were successful, and suddenly black became the color of choice.

So popular was football you’d see kids throwing and catching one in the parking lots before baseball games of the Giants and Athletics.

Has there been a shift in preference? When asked to rank the teams in order of importance, the decision was Niners first, Giants next, Raiders third, Warriors fourth, Athletics fifth and solely because hockey, as exciting as it might be, didn’t have the weather or conditions required, the Sharks sixth.

But now I wonder. Yes, the Niners finally won a road game Sunday, beating the Bears in Chicago, 26-20, thus keeping the Faithful faithful. And here in Oakland, after a morning rain, the Raiders drew 55,010 fans to O.co Coliseum, where, unfortunately, the team showed with a 34-20 loss to Kansas City that it’s not as good as hoped. 

Indeed, football is big. But bigger than the Warriors, the sports story of the late fall in Northern Cal — or maybe everywhere? With their remarkable season-opening win streak, now up to an NBA record 22, after they beat the Brooklyn Nets, 114-98, Sunday? With their wonderful talent named Steph Curry who, with apologies to Tom Brady or Cam Newton, may be the single most exciting athlete in the land, and unquestionably is the most exciting around here?

Yes, I was at O.Co Coliseum for the Raiders. I also watched the Niners, and I contended that despite the problems with Jed York, with Colin Kaepernick, with the departure of Jim Harbaugh, they still are worthy of the main headline. It was a losing debate. “You’re wrong,” said the Chronicle’s Ann Killion. “The Warriors are the team.”

Raider Nation still is very much with us. The Black Hole remains (although after Sunday‘s loss it’s as blue as the color of the Warriors’ road uniforms). Niner fans cling to the memories of Montana, Young, Rice and Lott, believing the past is prelude to the future. TV ratings for both 49ers and Raiders are solid. And yet...

The football teams are mediocre at best. The win over Chicago put the Niners at 4-8. The loss to the Chiefs — “The game got away from us,” said Oakland coach Jack Del Rio — left the Raiders at 5-7. Neither is going to the playoffs.

But, ah, the Warriors, perfection, 22-0. Never been done before. Ever. Historic. Fantastic. The defending NBA champions very well could win a second straight championship. The team of Oakland, San Francisco, San Jose, Milpitas and Marin. The Warriors resonate. But how much?

Basketball, like baseball and hockey, suffers from a multiplicity of games. Right now, certainly, each Warriors game has a place of its own, as anxious fans wonder if the next one will be the one they finally, inevitably lose. This is rare. This is wonderful. This is keeping us attentive.

This is transforming one of 82 into one of a kind, similar to what happens in the NFL. Each game has a special significance. The Raiders came into Sunday at 5-6, the Chiefs 6-5. A Raider victory would have changed the season for each team. We buy into that “Any given Sunday” idea because, yes, any given Sunday, or Monday or Thursday, does have an effect on a team, on a season.

So you heard Del Rio, after the Raiders squandered their lead by allowing KC three touchdowns on a combination of Derek Carr interceptions and long returns, say, “Tough way to finish. Promising afternoon. It just got away from us.”

He meant the game. We could also interpret it to mean the season. “The last four drives,” sighed Del Rio, “were three turnovers and a missed field goal.”

Those descriptions also apply in basketball. The missed field goals and turnovers by the Warriors didn’t hurt them. For the opening five weeks and 22 games of the 2015-16 season, nothing has hurt them.

They have become the darlings of pro basketball, the darlings of the Bay Area. But are they bigger than the 49ers or Raiders? Easier to say how many angels can dance on the head of a pin.

49ers not good enough to overcome bad officiating

By Art Spander

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — There was a football coach named Henry (Red) Sanders, best known for his years at UCLA, who had the perfect response when people complained about the referees or others in football who judged what was happening on the football field.

“When my team makes as few as few mistakes as the officials,” said Sanders, “we’ll win every game.”

That said, the officiating of the Cardinals-49ers game Sunday was awful, both in terms of making calls and keeping the pace of play from slowing to a point of stagnation.

That said, good teams overcome whatever is beyond their control, or whatever is within their control, which is why they are good. The 49ers are not a good team.

Indeed, they played well defensively against the Cards, who statistically have the No. 1 offense in the NFL. And the Niners were also decent, if once again inconsistent, on offense. At the end, however, they were losers, 19-13, to a Cardinals team that, after a sloppy, boring, perplexingly erratic victory, has a 9-2 record — best in the NFC West — compared to the Niners’ 3-8 mark.

Sport is about getting the job done, no matter how many bad plays, bad breaks or bad calls. Sport is about making the best from the worst. When he was at the top of his game, Roger Federer blinked away a linesman’s error and won the next point and invariably the match. When he was at his best, Tiger Woods would pull off a great shot from a terrible lie — where others might have moaned about their misfortune.

Those 49ers of the '80s and early '90s, the ones that won Super Bowls, faced bad calls, bad weather and other obstacles that would have stymied lesser teams, yet they didn’t stop the Niners. They had the talent, the courage and the confidence.

These Niners of 2016 at the least have resilience and perception. They comprehend that the battle is to the strong and race to the swift. They realize that grumbling about the officiating doesn’t help; in fact it seems an excuse more than a justification. So, despite their won-loss mark, and the inescapable fact they are destined for no better than a .500 record even if they win their remaining five games, they are to be respected.

The officiating crew for this game at Levi’s Stadium, where maybe one third of the 70,799 sold-out seats were empty, was to be pitied. And belittled. And questioned. What was going on out there? Why did they need to confer so many times after a penalty flag? Referee Pete Morelli appeared befuddled by everything and anything.

Maybe this wasn’t the sequence that decided the game, and maybe each call was correct and needed, but early in the third quarter the Niners were called for seven penalties in 12 plays, four in seven plays, three of those defensive pass interference near the goal line or in the end zone. Eventually, painfully, the Cardinals scored on a one-yard run to take a 13-3 lead.

Were the Niners simply that clumsy, that klutzy, that they were grabbing and clutching the potential Cardinals receivers? Or were the officials subconsciously favoring Arizona, which certainly came in as the superior team?

“Them not being able to get those quick-hitting touchdown passes,” 49ers linebacker NaVorro Bowman said about the Cardinals, “and flaring their arms and things like that. I think that’s what caused the flags. We’re playing hard.”

And then there was a seemingly phantom roughing-the-passer penalty against the Niners in the fourth quarter. Second and 10 on the Arizona 32, and Quinton Dial bulled into Cardinals quarterback Carson Palmer, dropping him for a loss. But the hit was high in the chest, or perhaps at the neckline, and the 15-yard roughing the passer penalty moved the ball to the 47. From there, Arizona drove in to score. 

“I’m not going to comment on the officiating,” the Niners’ beleaguered first-year coach, Jim Tomsula, said wisely. One, because he would be fined. Two because not only would it be fruitless but it also would detract from his image — as bad as that might be.

“I’m not going to comment on the officiating,” he repeated when asked a second time.

Tomsula did comment on his team, however, saying it has made progress — in its previous game against Arizona it was battered, 47-7 — and there were positives in a negative game, especially from quarterback Blaine Gabbert, who completed 25 of 36 for 318 yards and had one TD pass along with one interception.

“I thought Blaine has continually gotten better as he’s been in here,” said Tomsula after Gabbert’s third start since replacing Colin Kaepernick. “There’s obviously things that we need to clean up, but I think he’s continually getting better.

“I see a positive in the offense in terms of reads and picking things up. But it is a loss. We lost the football game.”

And no matter how terrible we believed their work was, the officials are not to be blamed. They didn’t drop a pass or miss a tackle. The 49ers are not good enough to overcome bad officiating.

Newsday (N.Y.): Kevin Hogan rallies Stanford to winning field goal in final 30 seconds

By Art Spander
Special to Newsday

STANFORD, Calif. — Thirty seconds was all that stood between Notre Dame and a chance for the postseason playoff. The Irish had scored the go-ahead touchdown with only a half-minute left to play, and with seemingly half the crowd at sold-out Stanford Stadium cheering for the Irish, the game seemed to be theirs.

But the Cardinal, behind senior quarterback Kevin Hogan and with the aid of a key facemask penalty, used that half-minute to drive from its own 27 to the Irish 8-yard line, and Conrad Ukropina kicked a 45-yard field goal as time expired to give Stanford a 38-36 victory Saturday night.

Read the full story here.

Copyright © 2015 Newsday. All rights reserved.

Warriors got what they wanted: 16th straight win

By Art Spander

OAKLAND — They wanted it, and they said as much. No false modesty, no “it doesn’t matter that much,” which in truth it doesn’t — but at the same time it does.

The record, 16 straight wins to open an NBA season, is just another notch on the gunslinger’s belt, another verification that the 2015-16 Golden State Warriors are a very special team.

But we knew that already, didn’t we? They won the championship last season, and that’s the ultimate goal in any sport, and now they’re focused on trying to do it again. But the playoffs are months away, so what they’ve accomplished in the first 16 games of the 82 on the regular schedule is a guidepost to their greatness.

And the way it happened Tuesday night at the Oracle, with a 111-77 victory, similarly was a verification of the decline and fall of their once superior, once proud opponent, the Los Angeles Lakers.

The Lakers, who along with the Celtics were one of two great franchises of the '70s, '80s, '90s and early 2000s. The Lakers of West and Baylor, Magic and Kareem, Shaq and Kobe. The Lakers, who once, during the 1971-72 season, set an even more impressive record, winning 33 in a row. The Lakers, who forever and a day owned the Warriors.

But it’s all different now. The Warriors have taken control of pro basketball, so much so that ESPN and TNT continue to revise their schedules to show the Warriors, to show Steph Curry, who scored a game-high 24 points, to show Draymond Green, who had 12 points the first quarter and 18 overall.

The Warriors, once the punching bag (they won only 17 games in 2000-01), once the laughing stock, now are the class of the league, must-see basketball, the “New Showtime,” while the Lakers, the old Showtime, have gone the other way, almost to oblivion.

They are 2-12, which would be awful even if it weren’t matched up against 16-0. And inevitably, sadly, Kobe Bryant, 39 and losing the battle both to the men guarding him and Father Time, is only a shadow of what we knew. In this historic game for the W’s, Kobe also made history of a sort, going 1-for-14 from the floor (it was a 3-pointer) and ending with just four points.

But this is supposed to be about the Warriors, the wonderful, enthralling Warriors, who at game’s end shared their delight with a sellout crowd (listed at 19,596, but there might have been dozens more) by staying on court while the fans, cheering, stayed in the stands. The guys on the floor loved it. The spectators in the building loved it.

“It feels great,” said Luke Walton of the record and the reaction. As you know he’s listed as the interim coach, temporarily replacing Steve Kerr, who is recovering from spinal leaks incurred during off-season back surgery. Walton — the son of NBA Hall of Famer Bill Walton — insists this is Kerr’s team, and that’s probably accurate, but Walton is pulling the strings in this record run.

For certain, Walton — the son of NBA Hall of Famer Bill Walton — has never lost a game while a head coach, whatever the designation. For sure he’s never backed away from the idea that the record is inconsequential. It’s like a 30-foot shot. If you’re going to go after it, then get it.

“You’ve got to celebrate it,” he said of the Warriors overtaking the 15-0 starts of the ’48-49 Washington Capitals and the ’93-94 Houston Rockets. “You’re obviously a piece of history now, and we want to continue the streak. We feel like we can. But you can’t be content because it’s only November.”

Whatever the month, 16 wins without a defeat is mark of distinction, a mark that others envy and of course will try to halt, which, sooner or later, someone will. But it’s like the “A” you learn in the classroom. It always will be there no matter what occurs in the future.

Before the game, Walton said that Kerr, who sits in the locker room as a matter of medical precaution and to show Walton is the boss courtside, reminds him of four core values: enjoyment, compassion, mindfulness and competition. In other words, have a great time and win. Which is what the Warriors have done since the season started.

“We went by and congratulated each player,” said Walton of what took place in the locker room immediately after the close of the game. “What they did, they now are in the history books. This turned into a mini-goal a couple of games ago, and we accomplished it and now we have to make sure we don’t drop off.

“I don’t think our guys play with any pressure, to be honest. I think challenges like this, in this streak, bring out the best in them. We saw that tonight with the way the guys played.”

Beautifully, brilliantly and successfully. What else is there?

‘Little miscues,’ McCaffrey decide the Big Game

By Art Spander

STANFORD, Calif. — One of the stars almost certainly is done. Jared Goff has one more year of eligibility, but the thinking is he’ll leave Cal, enter the NFL draft and be selected very high and thus become very rich. The other star, Stanford running back Christian McCaffrey, is not going anywhere, except through the other team’s defense.

As Saturday night he went through the Cal defense. For 389 yards, rushing, receiving and on kickoff returns.  Dashing, rumbling, bashing, bouncing, scoring. “He’s a physical runner,” said Cal coach Sonny Dykes, in affirmation. “That’s not hard to see.”

What Dykes and everyone else at Stanford Stadium for the 118^th Big Game saw were bravura performances by Goff, the junior, who threw 54 times, completing 37 for 286 yards and two touchdowns, and McCaffrey, the sophomore, who leads the nation in all-purpose offense. What they also saw was another Stanford victory, defeating the Golden Bears, 35-22, the sixth in a row for the Cardinal in what loosely might be termed a rivalry.

“I have not seen anybody like this kid,” Stanford coach David Shaw said of McCaffrey.

It was a bit better of a game than the last few of these. Cal only trailed 21-16 with some five minutes to go in the third quarter. Still, Stanford wasn’t going to lose, not the way it was tackling, or failing to tackle, or being penalized.

Stanford (9-2) is the better team, which meant if the Bears were going to win they had to be effective and alert. Which they weren’t. “Penalties killed us,” said Dykes of drives that got to to the two and the eight and the 11 and got nothing more than field goals. And that sloppy defense was no less critical.

That’s bully-ball played by Stanford, blockers crushing defenders so the running back or the returner — McCaffrey in most of the cases — often was unhindered. That 98-yard kickoff return for a TD by McCaffrey just before halftime, and just after a Cal field goal, was perfect. If anybody touched McCaffrey it was one of his teammates in the end zone, joyfully offering congratulations.

“I thought that was a momentum-breaker,” said McCaffrey. The Bears had moved to within 14-6 and, whoosh, it was 21-6. “We tried to tackle him,” said Dykes, in his third year as Cal coach. “We got guys in position. We just couldn’t tackle.”

This was the sort of game that would confuse those obsessed with statistics. Cal had 495 yards total offense to Stanford’s 356. Cal had the ball 31 minutes, 16 seconds to Stanford’s 28:44. But Stanford kept Cal from touchdowns — more on that later — and Cal couldn’t stop Stanford.

Maybe when the ball was inside the Stanford 10, or just outside, the Bears should have gone for the end zone on fourth down. Settling for three points when you’re behind is not very advantageous.

“If we had scored on third down,” said Goff, who just missed on a couple of those chances, “we wouldn’t have to ask about going for field goals.”

Or as Dykes glumly confirmed, after Cal dropped to 6-5, “Dropped the ball the first series, missed a pass when Kenny (Lawler) was open in the end zone. Just little miscues. That was kind of the difference for us.”

Little miscues in the Big Game, which because of a TV delay — the Arkansas game preceded it on ESPN — began at 7:41 p.m. PST, the latest ever for a Cal-Stanford meeting. It ended before 11, which isn’t bad, if you’re fortunate to live in the Pacific time zone.

Not that people in New York or Philly have much interest in anything west of the Sierra Nevada, other than the Warriors.

The Cal-Stanford series has been very streaky of late. Before the current stretch of six in a row by Stanford, it was Cal taking seven out of eight.

Before they left the pre-game locker room, the Bears heard Dykes tell them, “Do whatever it takes to make tonight a special night.” What it took was the kind of sharp play, especially on defense, that Cal still seems incapable of executing.

“When you have almost 500 yards of offense against a good defense,” said Dykes, “it’s a little bit frustrating when you score 22 points and don’t win the game. But as I said, penalties really, really hurt us.”

So did Christian McCaffrey, and he’ll be back, whether Jared Goff will or not.

Warriors still perfect after an imperfect game

By Art Spander

OAKLAND — They’re going to lose one of these nights. Maybe Thursday on the road against the Clippers. Maybe Friday at home against the Chicago Bulls. Nobody goes through an NBA schedule, 82 games, unbeaten.

But so far, the Warriors, with a lot of talent and a little luck, are without a loss through 12 games.

That ties the modern-era record for the fourth-best start in recent history — no, we’re not counting the 1948-49 Washington Capitals. The ’93-94 Houston Rockets began 15-0 (as did the Caps), the ’57-58 Celtics and ’02-03 Dallas Mavericks went 14-0, while the ’82-83 Seattle SuperSonics, now the OKC Thunder, won their first 12, as have the ’15-16 Warriors.

The W’s remained perfect with an imperfect 115-110 victory over the Toronto Raptors on Tuesday night, and as the very perceptive Luke Walton, the anointed interim coach, so astutely pointed out after it was time to exhale, sure, it was sloppier than usual. Who cared?

We’re spoiled. We’re so used to watching the Warriors get control in the second quarter or maybe the third — all right, the OT win over the Brooklyn was the exception — that when something happens like that against the Raptors we, media and fans, are not quite sure how to act. Not that we outliers are alone.

“We’re all spoiled,” Walton agreed in wonderful candor. “Not just you (meaning the demonic critics from the fourth estate). We keep winning. Our guys are so good. That’s our style. Our guys have a special gift to make big plays, and it’s not just one or two of them.

“We weren’t happy with the way the game was turning in the second half, but we were thrilled the way we stepped up to finish it to get another win.”

Walton, of course, has done nothing but win since he was designated as the temporary replacement for Steve Kerr, who since directing the Warriors to a championship last season has, because of back surgery and complications, been unable to coach a game.

But if the administration changed, the performance is mostly unchanged.

Against Toronto, Stephen Curry had 37 points in 39 minutes, and nine assists. Klay Thompson had 19 points (but only one in the second half). The W’s shot a competent 53 percent.

However, Toronto, which chooses to play what is known as deliberate basketball and thus draws fouls, took 39 free throws and made 30, while the W’s were a mere 18 of 27 from the line. The W’s, who prefer running, which they are able to do after the opponent misses a shot, were restricted to walking. Yes, they had an 18-point lead a few seconds before halftime, but they also were tied with under six minutes left. Unnerving.

“We’d love to keep pushing up the ball,” said Walton. “We started Steph in the fourth quarter and thought we could build up our lead. But you’re going to have sloppy games like this.”

The Warriors had Andrew Bogut at center for the first time since he incurred a concussion, but they didn’t have Shaun Livingston as sub at guard — he has hip problems — and that’s why Curry had to play so long. But great teams, and we’ll include the Warriors in that category after winning a title and their first 12 games the following season, manage to succeed.

“We didn’t feel like we played great tonight,” said Bogut, the designated interviewee. “We played good in spurts. It’s a positive sign for us.”

Not that the other 11 games have been very negative.

But Curry said the Warriors expect more of themselves, and even though they finished in the right place the trip was strenuous.

“They’re good,” he said of the Raptors. “There’s a lot of talent in this league. Tough games are good to experience. But we hold ourselves to a certain standard. We didn’t put any pressure on them defensively, and when we were sloppy on a couple of pressures, they came to life.”

Asked what went wrong — a bit strong when you’re undefeated — Walton shrugged and reminded, “The first half we were phenomenal. We had 21 assists at the half with only seven turnovers.

“We are putting together nice halves and finishing games nice, but we have gotten away from the overall great game of basketball.”

Tomsula wouldn’t tell us, but Gabbert showed us

By Art Spander

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — The head coach was hesitant to tell us, maybe even afraid to tell us, but the new quarterback certainly showed us. The position is Blaine Gabbert’s to lose because when finally given the chance to start he didn’t lose, and all the avoidance and equivocation by Jim Tomsula won’t make a difference,

Gabbert, a replacement for the beleaguered Colin Kaepernick, wasn’t the only reason the 49ers won a game, scoring a touchdown for the first time in nine quarters Sunday, then another, and stunning the Atlanta Falcons, 17-16, before some fans (70,799 announced) and a lot of empty seats at Levi’s Stadium.

The Niners' defense, reminiscent of the recent glory days circa 2012, and led by the resilient NaVorro Bowman, alternately stuffed the run and chased the passer, Matt Ryan, so a team averaging 414 yards a game was held to 302. And no less significantly was held to one touchdown and three field goals.

So if you want to contend as football people have for decades that defense was the difference — hey, if the other team doesn’t score, you can’t lose — you’ll get no argument here. But no less significant was the way the Niners (3-6) moved the ball when needed, and that certainly had to do with Gabbert.

When after their bye weekend the Niners resume the schedule November 22 at Seattle, Gabbert should once more be in the starting lineup. And will be. However, Tomsula, who is both uninformative and uninspiring, refused to make a commitment. His catch phrase is “We’ve got a lot of work to do.”

Of course. But the work has to be done by people on the field. And after throwing a couple of touchdown passes to Garrett Celek (and completing 15 of 25 for 185 yards, with two interceptions) and running for 32 yards, including a couple of bootlegs for first downs, Gabbert has to be one of those people.

This was a strange if rewarding day for the Niners, in a game that had a few spits of rain early on but mostly was played in dry, bleak weather — and so much for the complaints of fans on the east side of Levi’s having to flee downstairs to avoid sunburn.

The Niners had all sorts of backups, including running back Shaun Draughn (58 yards rushing, 38 receiving) and defensive back Marcus Cromartie, just activated, in their lineups. They also had a gift of sorts from Atlanta coach Dan Quinn, who went for a field goal from the San Francisco one on fourth and goal with three minutes remaining.

He went by the book, believing it’s sacrilegious to get that deep and fail to get on the scoreboard. “He was confident our defense would get the stop,” said Ryan, the Falcon QB. But the defense didn’t, and so the Falcons fell to 6-3. You need guys on the other side to make dumb decisions along with players on your side making smart ones.

Bowman was a major factor in the Niners success of 2012 and 2013 but had his knee ripped up in the 2013 NFC Championship loss at Seattle. Only now, almost two calendar years after the injury, does he feel like the line backer of yore — if 22 months can be considered yore.

“I’m getting there,” said Bowman, satisfied with much of his play, particularly a sack of Ryan on third and nine for a nine-yard loss early in the final quarter.

“After going through adversity at times you feel like you’re still going backward even when you’re making progress,” said Bowman. “At times we’re playing like we did in the past.”

Atlanta’s Devonta Freeman, leading the NFL in rushing with an average of 88 yards a game, was limited to 12 yards in 12 carries. That’s defense. “The coaches did a great job,” said Bowman about the game plan. “They said we had to get in his face.”

Gabbert hadn’t played in a league game since 2013 when he was with Jacksonville. He was prepared to make a return, physically — he had a broken thumb at Jacksonville — and mentally, treating the start with the calmness required.

“The biggest thing,” said Gabbert, echoing the appropriate comments of others in his situation, “is we got the victory. It wasn’t pretty at times, but our defense played well.”

It takes an honest man to sing an honest song.

“I felt great,” he said. Until in the fourth quarter when he was smacked, had to undergo a concussion check and was replaced for three plays by Kaepernick. “I was a little fired up,” said Gabbert about being replaced, even for so brief a time, “but that’s the protocol.”

Another type of protocol is to declare the quarterback who comes off the bench to get points and a victory your starter. Come on, Coach Tomsula. Your team and Blaine Gabbert deserve no less.

Warriors 'not a surprise' in crushing the Grizz

By Art Spander

OAKLAND, Calif. — About the only thing that didn’t happen Monday was Dusty Baker taking over as the Niners' starting quarterback. But Blaine Gabbert is. And Dusty is about to become manager of the Washington Nationals. And, of course, Stephen Curry had another huge game — as did the unbeaten Warriors.

Down Santa Clara way, the 49ers, in either a fit of panic or of desperation, benched their QB, Colin Kaepernick, which, yes, was man-bite-dog news. Up here at the Oracle, where Curry finished with 30 despite not playing a single second in the fourth quarter and the W’s built up a 52-point lead in the third quarter, it was dog-bite-man stuff.

In other words, tell us when something remarkable happens, which these days doesn’t really describe any Warriors performance, even when they crush the Memphis Grizzlies, 119-69.

The Dubs are 4-0 now, every win against a playoff team, and their next game, Wednesday, is against the Los Angeles Clippers, who have a history with the Warriors. Meaning rough play. But Golden State didn’t take the NBA championship last season by backing away from anyone, rough or not so.

There’s a tradition of teams coming out the year after they win the title and playing better than ever — the Portland Trail Blazers of Bill Walton, father of W’s interim coach, Luke, did that — and wow, are the Warriors on a roll.

“We can’t wait to start in March or April,” said Draymond Green. “We got to start now.” They’ve started, and there’s no indication they’ll ever stop, and one of the reasons is they know how to stop the other team.

For the third time the in four games, Curry had a quarter of 20 points or more, getting 21 in the third. But it was at the other end of the court the Warriors grabbed the game, holding the Grizz to 12 points in the second quarter and 15 in the third. When a team scores only 27 points in 24 minutes, it has no chance. Memphis had no chance.

“It’s not a surprise we’re playing this well,” said Walton, who has replaced the ailing Steve Kerr for as long as needed. “This is what these guys do.” That sounds like one of those commercials. If you’re on the Warriors, who play to near perfection, that’s what you do.

“Our defense was fine in the first quarter,” Walton said, referring to a 22-21 deficit. “The message at the start of the second quarter was more that we needed to play with a faster pace. Twenty one points in a quarter is not points for us. The second unit was great again tonight. They came in with a smaller lineup and got some stops and we started pushing it, and they got some energy.”

They defended (Memphis shot 27 percent for the game), they rebounded (65 to Memphis’ 44) and they swept down the floor in waves as the sellout crowd of 19,596 joined in with roars and screeches. “Get Loud,” orders the matrix board over center court. As if the advice as necessary.

Walton was comparatively quiet in the postgame interview, but his words were meaningful. He gave high praise to Green — “Draymond has been awesome; that’s why we pay him $82 million” — and to Festus Ezeli, starting at center in place of Andrew Bogut, who has a concussion.

Green had 11 points, nine rebounds, eight assists and three blocked shots. Ezeli had 11 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks.

“This is a championship team,” Memphis forward Zach Randolph said of the Warriors, who held him to four points, “but they’re not 40, 50 points better than us. We know that.”

They were Monday night, and Walton who played on the champion Lakers in their glory days, said it’s not a surprise the Warriors have come out of the gate like, well, American Pharoah.

“When we play at a level like this,” said Walton, “we are very, very hard to beat.”

So far they’ve been impossible to beat.

“I’m impressed that we’ve started this well, and hopefully we just continue to do it," Walton said. "Confidence has always been something that our guys have, but it’s a fine line because you are also getting everybody’s best shot. But there’s also a little bit of an intimidation factor. When we start making shots and locking up on defense, it can cause some teams to fold.”

49ers' loss of Crabtree is Raiders' gain

By Art Spander

OAKLAND — Halfway across the country, his former team was losing another game and maybe, considering the dismay of 49ers fans, losing face. But Michael Crabtree seems unconcerned with any sort of retribution.

On his best day as an Oakland Raider, maybe his best day as a pro football receiver, 12 catches for 102 yards and a touchdown, he spoke only of progress, the Raiders' progress — not his own.

Everything is going beautifully for the Raiders, who have escaped their seasons of agony. On Sunday, with Crabtree getting open and with second-year quarterback Derek Carr getting him and others the ball — and throwing four TD passes — the Raiders beat the New York Jets, 34-20.

Impressive stuff for a franchise so long trapped in misery, a franchise that no matter how successful it is in the Bay Area will always be the NFL stepchild to the Niners. Now the Raiders, still playing in the O.Co Coliseum while their future is debated, are flying high while the Niners, beaten 27-6 by the Rams at St. Louis, are by comparison a disgrace.

Crabtree, 28, is a link between the two franchises, in more than one way. Entering the 2009 draft early after setting records at Texas Tech, he was on the board when the Raiders instead opted for Darrius Heyward-Bey of Maryland, another receiver. So the 49ers took him with the 10^th pick overall.

Then after years of mixed production, last spring he was a free agent. The Niners no longer wanted him, but the Raiders, who had blown the opportunity once, signed him. So far, so very good. He’s not only become a target, he’s become a mentor to super rookie Amari Cooper.

Preparing to leave the locker room after getting into his civilian clothes, Crabtree, wearing a backpack, was halted by a phalanx of media. He probably deserved a better location for a debriefing, but this is sport, not Hollywood or Washington. Informality is a constant.

“We have a lot of weapons,” said Crabtree, trying to spread the glory. Indeed, there’s Taiwan Jones, who caught a Carr pass near the sideline and slipped and sped by what is supposed to be a great Jets pass defense — hey, Darrelle Revis and Antonio Cromartie are the corners — for 59 yards and a TD. Andre Holmes caught two for touchdowns.

“The Jets' defense challenged us,” said Crabtree. “We have a lot of guys who want those extra yards. There’s a will to win. We try to make something happen.”

This was a second straight win in for the Raiders, who now have a 4-3 record. This was a chance to flummox a team that a week earlier had played competently against the best team in pro football, the Patriots, losing only 30-23.

“You see where we’re getting better,” said Carr. “I have to go back (to the video) and compare/contrast. But you see the growth, obviously.”

Carr said he told Crabtree, the vet, the family man, that he played with “daddy strength.” It was an interesting analogy.

“When you’re a father,” said Carr, “there’s an extra strength that you have, and he played with that today.”

When teams win, everybody is satisfied. Praise bounces around like, well, a football after a punt. Still, you sense a feeling of accomplishment and a degree of humility from the Raider players. They have accepted the principles of new head coach Jack Del Rio that it’s a team game, and as great as any individual might be, the group is what counts.

Crabtree, also schooled by Jim Harbaugh with the Niners, has bought into the concept. “It’s not just about one guy,” said Crabtree.

Del Rio said he likes what Crabtree has brought to the Raiders. “Michael has been a real pro,” said the coach. “We love having him. He’s come in from day one and really hit in our locker room. He’s been a great teammate, does everything we ask.”

Crabtree had an Achilles injury in 2013 that kept him out of much of that season with the Niners. And in 2014 some said that he had lost his explosives, with only two 100-yard reception games after recovering. His highest single-game yardage total in 2014 was just 85.

But he had the 102 Sunday against the Jets, so it’s apparent the Raiders made a wise decision in signing Crabtree.

“He works his tail off,” said Del Rio. “He’s been a greater example for Coop. And he’s making plays. He’s doing more than just being a mentor. He’s having a nice year for us.”

Cal coach: Easier to beat Grambling than USC

By Art Spander

BERKELEY, Calif. — The man is wonderfully forthright, which is to be admired, even if the results of his team’s last three football games are not. Cal won its opening five, which was both leading and misleading.

Now it’s on a losing streak.

Now the opponents are tough. “It’s easier to beat Grambling than USC,” affirmed head coach Sonny Dykes.

And the Golden Bears, indeed, beat Grambling 73-14 in their first game this 2015 season, then San Diego State 35-7, then — and these games were against better schools — Texas, Washington and Washington State. Up in the national rankings. A sense of satisfaction. Followed by disappointment.

Three consecutive defeats. Utah, UCLA and Saturday at Memorial Stadium, USC, the virtually unbeatable Trojans, with all that talent on the field, with all those band members in the stands, irritating and relentless in both cases. Rat-a-rat, rat-a-tat.

USC won again Saturday, 27-21. Not a rout, like two years ago when the score in Dykes’ first season as Cal coach was 62-38. A good game maybe. A close game certainly. But a 12^th straight loss for Cal for against USC and a first loss at home this season for the Bears.

Beautiful weather, a so-so crowd of 52,060, a rotten result for most. Again.

“We got all those turnovers earlier in the year,” reminded Dykes, who didn’t have to remind us that they came against lesser teams. “We just haven’t gotten them now. We couldn’t get USC’s offense off the field.”

There’s been chaos at USC this year: Steve Sarkisian removed as coach after reports of his drinking;  unhappiness with athletic director Pat Haden, who hired Sark, a 3-3 record after six games. But now that record is 5-3, the same as Cal’s, and with interim coach Clay Helton in control, the Trojans could run the table.

“They’ve got as good athletes,” said Dykes, “as anybody in the country.”

Those athletes bulled and powered and ran with spectacular efficiency at times Saturday. Trailing 7-0 in the opening minutes of the second quarter, second and nine at the Cal 13, USC did what any coach would love — blocked so well that literally no one touched Ronald Jones until he was into the end zone and the congratulatory pounding began. 

Those old NFL videos of Vince Lombardi talking about sealing off the defensive line? They came to life on this one.

Twelve in a row. There’s supposed to be a balance in college football. But USC-Cal is imbalanced. The team that started the season with takeaways, recovering fumbles and taking interceptions, on Saturday had all the giveaways, three turnovers (two Jared Goff interceptions and one fumble) to none for USC.

Dykes is an offensive specialist, but his offense Saturday hardly was special.

“I think we all are frustrated,” said Dykes. “We should be playing better.”

Oh yes, the shoulds and coulds and the might-haves, words of those who can’t quite get where they hoped to be. People look at how close they came to beating, say, Novak Djokovic or Jordan Spieth, or Ohio State or the Patriots or Warriors, and insist they should have done more. Dreamers.

As opposed to winners, who make the right play or the right shot or the big putt at the opportune time. Which USC did and Cal didn’t.

“We had them hemmed in third and one the end of the game,” Dykes said when USC had the ball on its own 42 with around two and a half minutes left. “I would have liked to have seen what would happen if we got them on the ground.”

But Tre Madden, seemingly trapped in his own backfield, broke free for 14 yards. First down. Last call. What he saw, what we saw, was Cal unable to stop USC when it was needed.

“I thought we played good defensively,” said Dykes. “They scored an offensive touchdown, and we let them get out on a couple of screens, but USC has some good players.

“Winning and losing has a lot to do with who you play. Our schedule has been backloaded the past two years. We have played some really good people this year, and we are trying to get to the point to where we can beat those really good people. Good teams are just harder to beat.”

Or as USC has been, impossible to beat.

A ringing endorsement for the champion Warriors

By Art Spander

OAKLAND — The game? Oh yeah, the game, won by the Warriors in a romp. Even thought they scored only 14 points in the second quarter. Even though Stephen Curry didn’t score much in the second half. Even though head coach Steve Kerr made only a cameo appearance.

But on this night of championship rings and deafening cheers, when the W’s celebrated one season — the one in which they were the best team in the NBA — and began another, when despite all the predictions about Cleveland and Oklahoma City the Warriors may again turn out to be the best team, the game was almost beside the point.

If not beside Curry’s 40 points, 24 of which he scored in the first period, after those rings, not much smaller than the mag wheels of a Ferrari and loaded with diamonds, finally had been taken away and the basketballs brought out.

Sure, on Tuesday night the W’s 111-95 victory at The Oracle was accepted with pleasure, because if there’s one thing any franchise in any sport doesn’t want to do, it’s slip on its reputation when everyone is watching. Especially because Luke Walton, sitting in for the wiling Kerr, was interim coaching his first game.

Still, it was the ceremonies, which properly included everyone from owners Joe Lacob and Peter Guber to Alvin Gentry, who last season was a Warriors assistant coach and this year is the Pelicans' head coach, that dominated the evening. After all, when you go 40 years between crowns, you make the most of it.

“I’m more excited than nervous,” said Walton before the game. Maybe his famous dad, Bill, was more nervous than excited. But father, mother and a brother, Chris, were there for Luke’s debut — and Curry’s continuing brilliance.

Steph was the NBA’s MVP the season past — as we were reminded by the chants of 19,596 enthralled people. And despite journos of the East Coast establishment contending the honor will go to LeBron James this season of 2015-16, Curry may again be the MVP. He was 14 of 26 from the floor (5 of 12 on three-pointers) and had seven assists and six rebounds.

Curry said it wasn’t easy getting back to the routine after he and teammates had become lords of the rings, but the team had received fair warning from Kerr, who picked up titles and rings with the Bulls, and Walton, a member of two Lakers championship teams.

“They warned us before,” said Curry, “and we tried to turn the pace quickly once the lights came back on. We were pretty focused and tried to make the simple play early, shots went in and we didn’t look back.”

They did look distressed for maybe a moment — well, the crowd sounded distressed — when the Pelicans actually went ahead by a point, 44-43, with 7:31 left in the half. But, zap, the W’s were again ahead by 11, and that was that.

The Warriors organization made the most of the night. It not only trotted out all the people associated with last year’s team, other than David Lee, who was traded, but it delved into history. Sharing the joy were  Howie Dallmar Jr., whose late father was a member of the 1946-47 champ Philly Warriors (and, of course, the longtime Stanford coach); Walt Davis, who was on the 1955-56 champion Philly Warriors; and Rick Barry, star of the 1974-75 champion Golden State Warriors.

“Wear those rings with pride,” was Barry’s message to the current players. “I was so impressed with Steve Kerr, who had never coached before last year. Now they have to remember not to try and do more than they could do. Accept the roles and win.”

They did on Tuesday night. For the most part.

“We need to play better,” said Curry, “and we will play better. But it’s obviously a good start. You just want to get a win and have some good moments. 

“You want to have that whole ceremony, the ring, the banner. Then you’ve got to turn the page on a new season, new journey. We were able to feed off the adrenaline rush from the ceremony and get off to a good start.”

While Luke Walton coached, Kerr, with spinal fluid problems, watched on TV in the locker room.

“Luke was prepared,” said Curry, no less prepared. “His preparation kicked in. He was calm and made some good calls.”

The Warriors and their fans had to like the call from Alvin Gentry, who helped build them a year ago and now must build the Pelicans.

“You know,” Gentry said of the Warriors, “they’re a great basketball team. They’re the world champs, and they got off to a great start.”

Hard to debate either thought.

Grillo wins the Frys.com Open that others let slip away

By Art Spander

NAPA, Calif. — They weren’t marquee names. That’s for sure. And as the leaders wobbled and stumbled through the last few holes of the Frys.com Open, the opener of the PGA Tour schedule, you wondered if this was the future of golf.

Yes, the kid who won — Emiliano Grillo, age 23, which makes him a kid — has a considerable amount of talent, but the way the most of the other four players with whom he once was tied came to the finish line was unsettling.

Maybe if one or two had been people like Charl Schwartzel or Justin Rose, who were three shots back, or Rory McIlroy, who despite a final-round 69 was six behind, the view would be less critical. They were winners, major champions, able to handle the pressure.

But when you get Grillo, Kevin Na, Tyrone Van Aswegen, Justin Thomas and Jason Bohn, each of whom was tied for first at one point, well, you get golfers who rarely had been in pressure situations and then basically couldn’t handle that pressure.

Poor Brendan Steele also should be been included, perhaps. He led from the first day until the back nine Sunday but with a closing 76 dropped to a tie for 17^th. It’s tough out here, very tough.

Grillo, with a 69, and Na, who shot 70, finally ended up at 15-under-par 273 on Silverado’s North Course, a shot in front of Van Aswegen (68), Thomas (69) and Bohn (70). 

Grillo and Na each parred the first extra hole, the 18^th, of the sudden-death playoff, Grillo blowing a four-foot birdie putt.

Then, as shadows of the oaks and fir trees lengthened across the course, they went back to the 18^th, where Na, 32, a one-time winner, took a silly gamble and used his driver for his second shot. The ball sailed to the left, and by the time he finished the hole, Na had a bogey six. To his credit, Grillo had a birdie.

Also to his credit, Grillo, from Argentina and just off the Web.com Tour, the Triple A league if you will, became the first player since Russell Henley in 2013 to win his first tournament after becoming a fulltime Tour member.

Grillo thus qualifies for the Masters — “The Masters,” he said, “it’s unbelievable” — and several other huge tournaments, including The Players.

It’s a funny sport, golf. One day you’re a virtual nobody, the next day you might be a star, as is Grillo’s longtime friend Jordan Spieth, who this past calendar year won the Masters and U.S. Open and was a shot out of a playoff in the British Open.

Spieth, now 22, and Grillo were competitors as juniors. Spieth offered congratulations on Twitter.

When someone asked if he thought he were catching Spieth, the Player of the Year for 2015, Grillo said, “Well, I’m definitely closer. I need what, five more wins? Two majors. There is a long way. I mean he is top-ranked in the world. That says it all.”

What Jason Bohn was saying was, “I was a little disappointed the way I finished the last three holes.” And he should be.

Bohn was 15-under and a shot ahead after the 15^th, a difficult par-three. But he bogied the par-five 16^th, parred the short 17^th and then after smacking his second shot against a gallery fence parred the par-five 18^th. It was his Frys to lose, and he lost.

“Maybe a little bit of nerves,” said Bohn. “I was fairly focused at 16 there where I just kind of laid the side over and chunked it. Kind of really throws a shock into the mind because you know you’re not thinking anything like that. That kind of rattled me a bit.”

Na denied ever being rattled, reminded that he birdied four of the last six to get into the playoff and insisted he had used a driver off the fairway — or “off the deck,” as the pros remark — five or six times during the four rounds.

“I was confident,” he said of the errant shot on the second playoff hole. “Only thing is it was dark. It’s a lot tougher. The ball was above my feet. Maybe I should have hit a 3-wood. Probably caught (the driver) a 16^th or 18^th of an inch heavy and the club just turned over.”

This Frys seemed to offer a turnover in golf, people we barely knew getting in position and, in the case of Grillo, getting a victory while the others missed out.

Grillo had become a bit infamous Saturday when his tee shot on the 17^th nearly skulled McIlroy on the green. It was a problem with communication, said Grillo, who was unable to see the green from the tee.

“I almost actually ran across a few fairways to apologize to him,” said Grillo. “I didn’t want to be the guy who almost hit Rory McIlroy this week.”

What he hit instead was the jackpot. When all the wobbling ended there was Emiliano Grillo standing solid.

Frys.com Open a chance to see how good the pros are

By Art Spander

NAPA, Calif. — So it isn’t Augusta National. Or Pebble Beach. Still, Silverado is a wonderful, little and now historic country club course that enables amateurs who play it to have a decent round — and also to appreciate just how good the touring pros are. If they didn’t previously.

That slogan, “These Guys Are Good,” has outlasted its shelf life in this world of constant revision, but indeed these guys are good — very good, low-60s good. Because three rounds into this Frys.com Open, everyone high on the leader board has a round in the mid to low 60s.

Saturday’s guy was Andrew Loupe, who shot a nine-under-par 63. That’s one off the course record. And the same that Brendan Steele shot Thursday. Or one better than Kevin Na and Jason Bohn shot on Saturday.

Steele, as he has been from the first round, was in first with a 63-70-69—202, 14 under par. Loupe and Na, at 203, not only share second but the distinction of being arguably the two slowest players on the Tour. A year ago, Johnny Miller, who now owns a fraction of Silverado (and won here twice in the 1970s), told his NBC-TV audience about Loupe, “If everyone on Tour played like him, I’d stop commenting.”

Johnny hasn’t stopped, meaning perhaps Loupe has sped up his routine — he once took seven practice swings — or Miller has become more tolerant.

There are a ton of players, eight to be specific, tied for fourth at 204. That group includes Justin Rose, Harold Varner III and Graham DeLaet, but it does not include Rory McIlroy, the Irishman trying to get back the lead in the world golf rankings. McIlroy is at 210, eight shots back after a second straight 71, and tied for 39^th. Yes, 39^th.

In addition, he nearly got skulled while on the green of the short (375-yard) 17^th, reachable by long hitters who cut a dogleg where oak trees flourish. “Missed me by a couple of inches," said McIlroy. “Would have put me out of misery.”

He’s joking. McIlroy, who is third in the rankings behind Jordan Spieth and Jason Day, neither of whom is here in the opening event of the 2015-16 Tour, flew Tuesday from his home. He was obligated to enter after receiving an exemption of three years to skip the event and hoped it would give him a jump-start instead of waiting until February or March.

“I came here with the intention of trying to play well,” said McIlroy, who splits his time between the European and PGA Tours. “I’m here. I might as well give it my best shot.”

Loupe, 26, was born and resides in Baton Rouge. Yes, he graduated from LSU, in sports administration. Yes, he sped off after the round to watch the LSU-Florida game. “I love ’em,” he said when someone asked about the Tigers.

He also had to love a round of 31-32—63 that included 10 birdies and one bogey. “It was a fabulous day,” affirmed Loupe. Also one that didn’t take as long as some feared.

Steele, who’s from the little community of Idyllwild in the mountains above Palm Springs, gave a few clichés and, smart fellow that he is — a UC Riverside grad — conceded they were clichés.

“Sundays are tough,” said Steele about the final round. “Fridays when you’re hanging around the cut line and Sundays when you’re in the lead, those are the two toughest times. That’s when the character comes out.

“Any Sunday you’re in good position, you feel like every shot is important. You have to try the best you can. I mean, all the super cliché phrases, one shot at a time, and stick to the process and all that stuff. But it’s true. They are clichés for a reason.”

Steele is in first for a reason. He’s made only four bogeys in 54 holes, three Friday and one Saturday, the latter on the tricky, uphill eighth hole. “I can’t control what the other guys are going.”

That’s both the best and worst part of golf. There’s no defense. There’s the opportunity to shoot a terrific round. At Silverado, a course basically for amateurs, the pros have been shooting one terrific round after another. Those guys are good.

Brendan Steele, down the mountain and up Fry’s golf leader board

By Art Spander

NAPA, Calif. — So it’s the first tournament of the new PGA Tour season Thursday and on his sixth hole of the round — the 15^th, since he began at the 10^th — Brendan Steele already has four birdies and has playing partner Steve Wheatcroft shaking his head.

“I made like three 20-footers in a row,” Steele said almost apologetically, “and he was like, ‘Just hang in there, it’s a long season. You’ll make one eventually.’” Oh those pros, determined to get under your skin, as well as under par.

On this first day of the wrap-around 2015-16 season, Steele was way under, minus-nine, a 63 at Silverado Country Club’s North Course, atop the leader board but only by a shot over Jhonhattan Vegas. Another shot back, at 65, is Harold Varner III, who Tuesday talked about being one of the few African-Americans on the Tour.

The big guns had big days. Justin Rose was among those at 67. And a satisfied Rory McIlroy shot 68, saying, “It definitely was a step in the right direction.” But the biggest day was Steele’s, a 29 on the back, a 34 on the front that included birdies on holes 14, 15, 16, 17 and 18 and without anything worse than a par.

“It’s always hard to just to have a solid nine,” Steele philosophized, “after you shoot six, seven-under on one side.” He’s 33, a golfer despite growing up in the mountains southwest of Palm Springs, in Idyllwild, where the nearest course was in the desert town of Hemet, 22 miles of winding road distant.

Brendan was a baseball and soccer kid until visiting his half-brother, who lived at Newport Beach and played golf. “I wanted to do everything my big brother did,” said Steele.

Steele’s father, Kent, an attorney who had escaped the hassle of Beverly Hills and Los Angeles, a hundred miles down I-10, put up a net and dug out a bunker in the backyard of their home. “That’s sort of where I learned to play,” said Steele.

Then he would ride buses, leaving at 5:45 a.m. from Idyllwild, elevation 5,600 feet, to Hemet High, at the 1,200 foot level. “I started when I was 13,” said Steele, “so pretty late for PGA Tour players, but I just fell in love with the game and found a way to get in some practice when I could.”

Steele played for UC Riverside, not too far from Hemet, graduating in 2005 with a degree in business. He qualified for the Tour in 2011 and with his wife, Anastassia, moved to Irvine in Orange County, where there are no mountains but dozens of courses and one airport, John Wayne.

“I didn't think much of it at the time,” said Steele, referring to his mother and father’s drives up and down what he refers to as “the hill” to take him to and from golf practice. “I just thought that’s what parents do. Looking back, it’s a pretty big sacrifice they made.”

All sports require sacrifice of some sort whether it’s a mom hauling a kid — think of Kutida Woods, Tiger’s mother — or a kid spending hours hitting baseballs or golf balls. Or jump shots.

“I’m doing a lot of things that I didn’t do before,” said Steele, “and kind of understanding how to play better.”

What McIlroy, the Irishman who is No. 3 in the world, understands is if you want to be high in the Tour’s FedEx Cup standings as well as the Euro Tour’s Race To Dubai, you have to be competing. He said because he didn’t enter events in America until March, he felt he was playing catch-up.

Now he’s in at the start, and he believes he's in for some good times as well as very good golf.

“I’ve never been to this area before,” he said of the Napa Valley, maybe 60 miles north of San Francisco — where in May McIlroy took the Cadillac match play. “You can see why everyone is so relaxed. Beautiful weather, a lot of stuff to do away from the golf course. Trying to find a balance between enjoying myself this week and still trying to play well. Yeah, it’s a great event. I’m obviously very happy to be here.”

Brendan Steele, the man who came down the mountain, would second the motion.

McIlroy and Rose get the most of Silverado

By Art Spander

NAPA, Calif. — No comments about those golf pros having it tough, being forced to play out here because several were allowed to go to Turkey for a tournament that offered big guarantees, which are not allowed on the PGA Tour.

Yes, Rory McIlroy, Justin Rose and Charl Schwartzel, major champions all, are entered in the Frys.com Open, which starts today at Silverado. And while golfers prize their freedom — "independent contractors" is the description employed — it isn’t as if they’re being forced to wash dishes in the clubhouse.

“I didn’t know anything about the golf course,” McIlroy said Wednesday after his pro-am round. “Expected vineyards, wine, good food. Got all those boxes ticked (Tuesday) night. So...”

So, he’s not ticked but agreeable. “I’ve always loved playing in California,” said Rory, who back in May won the WGC Cadillac match play at San Francisco’s Harding Park, maybe 60 miles south of here.

“I love the climate and the fresh air and the surroundings,” he explained. “I’ve always felt quite comfortable here. It’s nice to come back.”

To the state, that is — large as California might be, with the only resemblance among the Olympic Club in San Francisco, where he competed in the 2012 U.S. Open, Pebble Beach and Sherwood in Southern California is that each has 18 holes.

At the moment, for the Frys, McIlroy is the man. He’s third in the world rankings, dropping from first because of the spectacular years of Jordan Spieth, who won two majors, and Jason Day, who won one, and respectively are first and second.

McIlroy, who spent the last two weeks home in Northern Ireland, if goofing around with the national team in the World Rugby Championship, looks back wistfully at the previous season — the Frys is the opening event of 2016 — because he didn’t win a major.

“I would say it was a good season; it wasn’t a great season,” he said. “I feel like I’m at a point in my career where a great season is defined by major championships.”

McIlroy has four of those, two PGAs, a U.S. Open and a British Open, and the two he won back-to-back in 2014 elevated him to No. 1 in the world. Thus, as do people such as Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson, neither of whom is at the Frys, Rory is competing against himself and his record as much as the other golfers.

McIlroy is 26 and worldly, as might be expected from someone who has played everywhere from Dubai to China to, well, Napa. He’s quite sharp, with a wonderful sense of humor. During the PGA at Whistling Straits, he pointed out that eras in golf used to mean about 20 years, but now they last about five minutes.

This might have truly been the Rory era, or at least his year had he not missed more than a month, and a chance to defend the British Open championship, because he tore ligaments playing soccer in July.  But as long as he is off the tee, there’s little doubt that McIlroy once more will be among the best.

“It’s about reassessing your goals,” said McIlroy, “and not being too disappointed. I think it’s not about being disappointed if you didn’t reach a certain goal but picking yourself back up and moving forward and looking ahead. If you don’t play well, you can always play well the next week.”

Rose played well for three of the four weeks of the 2015 majors but didn’t win any of them. He was 14 under par at the Masters and PGA and 11 under at the British and had nothing better than a second place, that at Augusta behind Spieth.

“I have a system,” said Rose, winner of the 2013 U.S. Open at Merion. “I have a heavy training week and do all the things always two weeks prior to when I want to peak. This year I did a good job preparing for the majors and peaking for them. I had three top sixes (sixth in the British, fourth in the PGA). So I’m doing a pretty good job of targeting.”

Rose made a special trip after the pro-am to see Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors, who was playing, as was teammate Andre Iguodala. Although born in South Africa and raised in England, Rose, 35, lives much of the year in Orlando and watches the NBA’s Magic.

“The one American sport I probably watch most,” said Rose. “In New Orleans this year, I went to one of the games, Golden State playing New Orleans, and I saw (Curry) play for the first time. I was just struck by his confidence.

“He started the game really hot. Kind of went cold in the middle of the game and had a great buzzer-beater right at the end of the game. My caddy, during the New Orleans tournament, we got off to a good start. Felt like I went a little bit cold. My caddy said, ‘Remember, Steph. He just kept wanting the ball and kept shooting. Do the same. Just see the putts going in.’

“That kind of sparked a little run for me. Somehow that got back to Steph. The following week we fly to San Francisco. It’s match play week. I take a day off and am walking in Union Square. Who do I bump into? Steph Curry. He was out shopping with his wife. Heard about my sort of giving him some love. I just wanted to go over and say hi in more familiar surroundings for me than downtown San Francisco.”

And all because Rose and Rory have to be at Silverado.