Have All Star Games Run Their Course?

Fan voting begins this month for the Major League Baseball All Star Game to be held on July 10 in Kansas City. With the talent on the field being paid hundreds of millions of dollars in some cases, are all star games still worth the risk for owners and for fans with an emotional stake …

San Ramon’s Oxford Advisors Find Scholarships for Student-Athletes Throughout California

It’s no secret that college gets more expensive every year. Tuition, room & board, books, and fees for a four year school can cost about $26,000 per year at popular CSU’s like Cal Poly or Chico, while the gross cost can run $50,000 or more annually at top private universities. But the bottom line is, …

We Can Be Better Fans

Without sports fanatics there would not be big time college and professional sports. The NFL is a $12 billion dollar industry, Major League Baseball earns more than $7 billion each year and the NBA does about $4 billion. This does not even count what is spent on illegal gambling, fantasy leagues, and sports outside the …

Does A’s Rebuilding Plan Render Team Unwatchable?

For baseball fans invested in the won-loss record of the Oakland A’s, the 2011-2012 offseason was depressing. The team traded three former All Stars (pitchers Trevor Cahill, Gio Gonzalez and Andrew Bailey), acquired mostly prospects unfamiliar to the casual baseball fan, and basically said that winning was secondary to the franchise’s quest for a new …

New Coach, Defense and Ball Protection – Keys to 49ers’ Resurgence

In August most NFL observers believed the 49ers would be one of the teams most hurt by the NFL lockout. The conventional wisdom was that a new coaching staff would not have sufficient time to install its playbook and the team would flounder as a result. Another long year was expected for the 49er Faithful. …

Andrew Luck and Stanford Bring Rare Local College Football Focus

The Bay Area is hardly a college football hotbed. The local schools ostensibly competing for the national title, Cal and Stanford, have stringent admission standards which make it difficult to attract enough elite athletes to compete at the highest levels. And unlike places like Norman, Oklahoma and Tuscaloosa, Alabama; there are loads of professional sports …

The Higher the High, the Lower the Low – Bay Area Fans Experience a Giant Disappointment

Last season the Giants gave their fans the thrill of a lifetime by capturing the franchise’s first World Championship since its arrival in San Francisco in 1958. The victory parade on Market Street drew a crowd estimated at nearly 1,000,000 people. Fans celebrated The Freak, The Beard, The Panda, and Aubrey Huff’s rally thong. This …

Bummed Out by NBA Lockout? Sharks Can Fill Sports Void

Baseball season will end this month. Football is mainly limited to weekends. Local college basketball teams play only about twice a week. With the NBA lockout you, the dedicated sports fan and Off the Bench reader, will have plenty of spare time to fill this winter. Why not follow the team that has won more …

Is the Yankee Icon on Career Watch as Performance Starts to Fade?

It was like old times on May 8 as Derek Jeter powered the Yankees past the Texas Rangers. The 36-year-old shortstop went 4-6, hit two homeruns, drove in three runs and stole a base for what was easily his most complete and productive game in more than a year. Better yet was the game on …

Don’t Forget the A’s

Sometimes it is difficult to remember that the Bay Area has two major league baseball teams. The task of making sure we don’t forget about the team that did not win the World Series last year falls on veteran sports public relations professional Bob Rose, who has 30 years experience working for teams and leagues …

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