Gone fishin’ at the Bassmaster Duel in the Delta

By Ian Hill | Published: March 12, 2010 | 0 Comments

This morning Recordnet Web Content Producer Kirk Barron is with competitors in the Trokar Duel in the Delta, the Bassmaster Elite Series season-opener. He sent in these iPhone photos from the boat. You’ll be able to find Kirk’s video of the competition on Recordnet.com later.

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Perugini moves up, Sorochan takes over as starting goalie

By Scott Linesburgh | Published: March 5, 2010 | 0 Comments

Thunder starting goalie Andrew Perugini was recalled to the Springfield Falcons of the American Hockey League today, so Aaron Sorochan will get the start when the Thunder hosts the Victoria Salmon Kings.
Sorochan is 0-2-1 with a 5.92 GAA in four games for Stockton. The Thunder brought in Matt Pamidi to serve as the emergency goalie.

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Fast lane

By Bob Highfill | Published: March 5, 2010 | 0 Comments

Elena Myers is 16 years old and has loved racing motorcycles since she was 8 years old.

This week, the Discovery Bay resident who trains in Stockton made her professional debut at Daytona International Speedway, which in motorsports parlance is akin to Madison Square Garden for basketball fans.

In a race Thursday in which she finished seventh, she hit a top speed of 175 miles per hour. Let that sink in for a bit. A 16-year-old girl traveling almost three times the legal freeway speed limit with no crumple zones or air bags to protect her.

I find it mind-boggling.

Mind you, I’ve never had the slightest desire to ride a motorcycle for fear I’d wind up lying dead next to a smashed possum. I remember riding my buddy’s mini-bike one afternoon when I was 12. That was enough for me.

So ride on, Elena. Hope this is the start of a thrilling pro career.

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Thunder forward continues to reel in Salmon Kings

By Scott Linesburgh | Published: March 5, 2010 | 0 Comments

Colin Hemingway loves to play the Victoria Salmon Kings, and he’ll get another chance at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Stockton Arena.
Hemingway had a goal and two assists in Stockton’s win on Wednesday, which continued his trend of giving Victoria problems. Hemingway has 31 points in 24 career regular season against against the Salmon Kings, and while playing against them for Alaska in the playoffs last year, he had 13 points in five games.
The rest of his team should stop by his locker for a chat before the next game.

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Tigers ugly in bounce-back win

By Bob Highfill | Published: March 1, 2010 | 0 Comments

The Tigers men’s basketball team snapped its two-game home losing streak with a hard-fought, 10-point win over Long Beach State on Saturday in their regular-season home finale.

The Tigers won, but it was ugly.

Again, their offense was spotty, they lacked flow and cohesion. Every coach wants his team to be peaking at this time in the season. Pacific coach Bob Thomason probably couldn’t say that right now. By the way, that was the worst Long Beach State team I’ve seen in a long time. Talk about offensive inadequacy.

The Tigers have two games remaining in the regular season. They play Thursday at Cal State Fullerton and Saturday at Cal State Northridge. They enter the week tied for first place in the Big West Conference with UC Santa Barbara, so a share of the conference title or the title outright still is in their grasp. Should there be a tie at the top, UCSB would take the the No. 1 seed into the conference tournament, as it twice beat Pacific this season and thus owns the tiebreaker.

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Hard to watch

By Bob Highfill | Published: February 25, 2010 | 0 Comments

The team I was pretty high on just a couple weeks ago is in serious trouble.
Something has gone horribly awry for the Pacific men’s basketball team in the past two games. Its defense was virutally non-existent in the second half in their loss against New Mexico State last Saturday and they looked lethargic and uninspired on Thursday facing UC Riverside. The Tigers lost by nine to the lowly Highlanders. It should be noted that both games were played at home.
This team’s offensive deficiencies - streaky outside shooting, virtually zero transition offense and no inside game – that have been present throughout the season now are even more calamitous because its defense has suddenly become ineffective. Its guards can’t stop penetration, nor defend the perimeter. Their help defense hasn’t been good. They have virtually no inside presence on either end of the floor. And another big problem: there isn’t a go-to scorer.

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First thoughts on the new Thunder owner

By Scott Linesburgh | Published: February 23, 2010 | 0 Comments

Brad Rowbotham is a hockey fan who now owns a team.

It’s a dream come true for him, and at first glance, a good move for the Thunder and its fans.

His enthusiasm is tempered with good business sense. He mentioned that he is a very competitive person, but understands the realities of minor league hockey and the player movement involved. And he plans to rely on the successful staff which is already in place.

In his introductory comments, Rowbotham used a few notes, but not a prepared text. He comes off as a decent fellow and huge hockey fan who happens to have enough dough to but a pro franchise.

My first thoughts is that he may have a lot ot learn about owning a team, but he loves the game and wants to win.

That’s a pretty good combination.

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Cool Canadian customer

By Bob Highfill | Published: February 22, 2010 | 0 Comments

Brad Rowbotham was introduced as owner-in-waiting by the Thunder on Monday. The Canadian oil man won’t have to wait long, probably three to six weeks while the league and city approve the deal.

The 41-year-old replaces Michael Reinsdorf, who brought the team to Stockton in 2005. Reinsdorf’s biggest contribution to the franchise was being smart enough to put longtime Stocktonian Dan Chapman in charge of the front office and basically stay out of his way. The Thunder has led the league in attendance in each of its first four seasons and is a respectable third this season by about only 173 fans per game.

Rowbotham plans to keep Chapman, the office staff and on-ice staff in tact. He won’t have any time to make any wholesale changes this season, as he won’t take the reigns before March. But he said all the right things, especially that he’s not going to move the team, during his news conference Monday morning at the arena.

Most everyone who said they have met Rowbotham said the same thing: “You’ll like the guy.” After spending about an hour in his presence, as part of the assembled gathering and in one-on-one conversations, I can add myself to that list. He seems genuine, friendly, approachable … likeable. He wants to visit Stockton during the season, something Reinsdorf found difficult from his base in Chicago. That will be a welcomed change.

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Setting the pace

By Jagdip Dhillon | Published: February 20, 2010 | 0 Comments

The high-flying New Mexico State Aggies came into tonight’s game averaging 77.9 points per game.

Pacific leads 33-29 at halftime, which means the Aggies are on pace for 58. The key? Jahmar Young had zero points until the final minute of the half, but scored the last four for New Mexico State. Young averages 20.9 per game.

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White Out

By Jagdip Dhillon | Published: February 20, 2010 | 0 Comments

The crowd has mostly filed in at Spanos Center and the plans to have a white out on ESPNU should work.

Extra credit goes to athletic director Lynn King for wearing white pants to go with his white shirt and the Orange Army for actually painting themselves white with Tiger stripes.

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