2020 has been a year of disruption felt throughout the globe let alone Humboldt State campus. Like most industries in America, live sports has been subjected to repercussions stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic.
With most states banning the gatherings of large amounts of people, sports organizations such as the NBA and MLB have attempted to salvage the remaining portions of their seasons in order to keep fans entertained and revenue coming in. As the fall has drawn closer many have worried the pandemic would stifle the incoming football season. Though the arenas in which these teams rival for the next few months may be empty, the fans at home are champing at the bits for the action their hearts long for.
Despite the current pandemic stifling most ways fans enjoy football season, one thing remains as popular as ever: Fantasy Football.
Though it might be daunting from an outsider looking in, fantasy football is a pretty easy game to get into for fans of all ages.The first step of the game for any prospective fantasy football franchise owner is finding a league.This can be accomplished by joining or starting a league with a group of friends, coworkers or family members, if not joining a league online.
For the novice beginner with no previous experience we suggest joining a league with people you know first. Each league ranges in size from eight to sixteen team owners.The league fee also ranges from group to group, often varying from twenty to a few hundred dollars per individual participating in the season.This pool of money is then distributed to the team that come in first place.
Fantasy football is a game that can be learned as the season progresses but the gist is that the better your players perform during the regular NFL season, the better they will perform each week against other teams in your league. The players’ stats from each week are added up and the team with the most points is the winner.It is important to start your franchise off with a solid roster. As draft day approaches here’s a few tips and tricks that will help you curate a team that will hopefully perform well throughout your season.
Select players that you project will continue to perform well from last season.
Be weary of players that have the same by weeks during the season because this will dramatically affect your teams chances of winning during such weeks.
Steer clear of players that are prone to injuries, suspensions or any lackluster performance from previous seasons.
At the end of the day what you learn throughout the season will be as a result of trial and error. Have fun with it, learn from your mistakes and don’t be afraid to take a chance on certain opportunities that may arise during the season.
Student athletes do not have the luxury of taking a break because once COVID-19 is over, it is right back to the game they play. Athletes not only have to worry about the lack of open gyms, but also the ongoing social justice movement that swept across the country. Some athletes found it easier to cope and build a healthy diet and workout routine around these problems than others.
Benicio Benavides-Garb, a sophomore soccer player for HSU, has stayed in shape by using his personal weights and running. Benavides-Garb lifted with his barbell and set of dumbbells whenever he could. The running app Strava played a large role in Benavides-Garb’s fitness still being at a top level.
“Strava allowed me to try and break all my previous records I had on all my runs before,” Benavides-Garb said.
Benavides-Garb has also stayed in shape by passing the soccer ball with his little brother. Benavides-Garb’s passing has really improved since he trained with his little brother. The training not only improved both of the brothers’ skills, but also their relationship.
“Practicing with my little brother has led to a lot of bonding between the two of us,” Benavides-Garb said. “We are probably the closest we have ever been.”
One athlete has taken the all natural approach to staying in shape for their season. Kahanu Amantiad is junior and member of the Humboldt Rowing team. Amantiad trained over summer on her rowing machine. The rowing machine was essential in Amantiad staying in shape for her season. Additionally, Amantiad has been surfing all quarantine in her home state of Hawaii.
“I’ve spent most of my days surfing at my secret spot,” Amantiad said. “There are about two other people in the lineup, so we socially distance very easily. I’ve been working on my bottom turn and a couple snaps here and there.”
For some athletes like sophomore basketball player Joey Rodrick, there are more distractions to training than just COVID-19. Rodrick spent most of his time in quarantine lifting in his homemade weight room and training with a socially distanced trainer. When quarantine was over and parks reopened, Rodrick was able to play with the top talent of Portland. Rodrick worked on his jumpshot and other moves for his upcoming season.
“Playing with the best of the best definitely allowed me to work on my skills and improve as a player for HSU,” Rodrick said.
However, training came to a halt when Rodrick chose to be a part of a call for social and racial change. Protests rightfully proved to be more important than playing basketball for Rodrick.
“It’s been hard to train and practice because of all the protests,” Rodrick said. “I have been taking part in them and have really been adamant on doing my part for social justice.”
NFL Green Bay Packers pick up Eureka standout in the 2020 Draft
You’re watching the 2020 NFL Draft. It’s the sixth round and the Green Bay Packers are on their 29th pick. The Packers are about to make a life altering call to a player who will soon have the chance of playing alongside the quarterback legend, Aaron Rodgers. A familiar Humboldt County name flashes across the screen. Former local Eureka high school alumnus and University of Oregon center, Jake Hanson has just been drafted as the 208th overall pick for the Green Bay Packers for this upcoming 2020-21 season.
A key component of Hanson’s journey began when he signed to play for the Oregon Ducks in 2015. During his four seasons playing with the Ducks, Hanson started almost every game. During his first three seasons, Hanson didn’t allow a single sack with a total of 2,738 snaps. The starting center received a total of two honorable AP second team Pac-12 All Conference recognitions.
Tyson Miller is a local MMA pro fighter, former high school teammate and good friend of Hanson’s. Miller and Hanson initially met in kindergarten but it wasn’t until the two went to a football camp together their freshman year when they really hit it off and started hanging out. Miller sees what many fans have noticed on social media since the draft. Hanson comes in at almost 6’5”, 303 lbs, his size works to his advantage.
“First of all, his size,” Miller said, “He was bigger than most of the other lineman on the field.”
Size is not the only key feature that stands out about Hanson. Miller points to Hanson’s effort on the field as a big upside.
“He’s going to be a professional football player.”
Tyson Miller
“Jake is going to give it 100%,” Miller said. “If somebody demanded more than 100%, he was more than willing to give more than 100% right back.”
The dedication and game mentality that Hanson possesses is one that is truly admired by not only Miller, but by others as well. The ability to turn up the heat in a game is sets athletes apart from one another.
“[He is] going to be a professional athlete,” Miller said, “He’s going to be a professional football player.”
Hanson is going to be a memorable name within the community and make an unforgettable mark for the Packer Nation.
In an article by Forbes, Packers General Manager Brian Gutekunst pointed out Hanson’s work ethic and personality as a positive for the teams newly acquired offensive lineman.
“Just really a model of consistency and another culture guy,” Gutekunst said. “The kind of guys that we like to bring into our offensive line room.”
While the Packers have their seven year veteran center Corey Linsley under contract for another year, there is no doubt that Hanson will be Linsley’s backup for this upcoming season. Hanson is going to be a great asset to the Packers. His strength, size and quick feet will play a pivotal role in his movement of helping block the defensive line. I am predicting that with time, after the team continues to work with him and his snap consistency, he will be their starting man.
If you’re looking to watch some football and don’t know what to do without Humboldt State’s football program but still want that local spin, be sure to tune into some of the Green Bay Packers match ups. Remember to look for #67 on the field.
Justin Everett continues his basketball career in the Republic of Georgia
Justin Everett was on the Humboldt State University men’s basketball team for five years. After graduating with a major in business marketing and a minor in economics, he decided to continue his athletic career as a professional athlete with the BC Cactus Tbilisi out of the Georgian Basketball League in the Republic of Georgia.
During the signing process, teams based in different countries were interested in Everett, but he didn’t have a specific place in mind that he wanted to play for. He and his sports agent solely based their decision on which team would be the best fit for him to showcase what he can do and get more exposure.
“My goal was to get my feet in the door in a respected league, where I can perform and establish myself as a high level player to propel my career in years to come,” Everett said.
Everett played a total of 15 games during his 2019-20 season with Cactus Tbilisi. He averaged a total of 13.8 points, 7.6 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game. On Dec. 7, 2019, Everett set his season high with 23 points and a season high of three assists in just 35 minutes against BC Titebi. He had a season high of 12 rebounds in 36 minutes against Dinamo Tbilisi on Dec. 22, 2019. Everett also recorded 5 double-doubles, scored in double figures 12 times in 15 games, and had 20 points or more in three games.
Due to COVID-19, his season was cut short. The transition of playing in Georgia to moving back to the States was a big change for Everett. He moved back in with his family, who he hadn’t lived with since he moved away for college. The hardest part has been not having the facilities he normally had. Everett hasn’t been able to shoot a basketball since he got back to the States.
Everett was first inspired to play basketball when he was only two years old, but he didn’t start playing at a competitive level until he was in the second grade. His role models growing up were Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal, as well as his father, who taught him how to play after he showed an interest.
“I was born in 1996, so Kobe had just gotten into the league,” Everett said. “I grew up watching him and Shaq win all those rings in LA and my dad played college basketball so I kind of just got into it. Once I started working out and started playing, it just felt comfortable and I enjoyed it.”
Everett was born in Glendale, CA but was raised in Clovis from third grade up until he graduated from Buchanan High School. He started taking his basketball career more serious the summer after his freshman year in high school.
“We put in a lot of work after my freshman year of high school,” Everett said.
Looking back on his career as a professional athlete, Everett says he never imagined getting this far. Although he is very passionate about playing basketball and loves the game, he says he had a backup plan of going straight to the workforce if he didn’t get any college offers after high school.
“Honestly, I didn’t think I would make it to college basketball,” Everett said. “I almost didn’t make it to Humboldt State and then Steve Kinder ended up giving me an opportunity to go play basketball over at Humboldt on a full ride scholarship.”
“Humboldt County, the Arcata area and just all the fans and the support was tremendous. They always packed the gym and they were loud every night we were in there. I enjoyed the process of it all.”
Justin Everett
Kinder was the head coach for HSU men’s basketball and was there throughout the entirety of Everett’s college basketball career. After Everett’s sophomore season, he tore his ACL and redshirted the following year of 2016-2017, he went through the rehab process and fully recovered before playing again the last two years he had left at HSU.
During his last season, Everett led the Jacks with 15.6 average points per game and a 6.6 rebounding average. The 2018-19 All-California Collegiate Athletic Association First Team honoree shot 50% from the field and 76% from the charity stripe during his senior season.
Everett says he really enjoyed the years he played basketball at HSU and all the road trips he took with his team.
“Humboldt County, the Arcata area and just all the fans and the support was tremendous,” Everett said. “They always packed the gym and they were loud every night we were in there. I enjoyed the process of it all.”
He said the best part was getting to grow and evolve his game and play for a super league.
“I definitely want to try and play, five, ten, 12 years,” Everett said. “See where it takes me and try to get to the highest league possible.”
For those wishing to follow in Everett’s footsteps, he recommends lifting weights, eating right, getting a routine going, stay disciplined and consistent. With that, he says the results will follow.
Arcata High School’s computer science teacher creates community for video gamers
Jason Sidell is an Arcata High School teacher responsible for their Makers Program and esports team. The Makers Program is a curriculum written by Sidell, designed to engage computer skills, wood shop tools and various other equipment to make anything the students want to create.
This year Sidell coached the Arcata High School esports team that played their first season this spring. Fisher Boroughs is one of the team’s League of Legends players who just started playing the game this season.
“He [Sidell] doesn’t know much about League of Legends,” Boroughs said. “He knew as much as me, which is basically nothing when it started.”
Sidell says it’s a lot more like an organized sport than people would imagine. It has all of the same stakes of ranking, a team name, regular practices and all of your fellow gamers sitting right next to you.
“It’s been more intense than I thought it would be,” Sidell said.
Anthony Womack is a senior on the Rocket League team and is in his second year of the Makers class. He describes the Makers class as an incredibly open environment where Sidell encourages students to follow their own ideas as well as giving those less inspired something to begin with.
“You’re just making your own independent projects,” Womack said. “That’s pretty much the only assignment, just make something.”
He recalls building an electric guitar from scratch as being his most impressive project he’s completed in the class.
“I would spend every single lunch inside the class,” Womack said. “I wouldn’t even eat most of the time because I would just be busy working on stuff.”
Sidell graduated from Loyola University in Chicago with a degree in biology but wasn’t sure what direction to take it. On a whim, he took a vacation down to Baja with a childhood friend of his, but when he drove his friend up to Humboldt County, he never left.
“I love the Pacific Northwest and the environment up here,” Sidell said. “I just fell in love with it.”
Like many others moving to Humboldt, Sidell had trouble finding employment. He first landed a dish washing job at Golden Harvest Cafe, then found work through AmeriCorp for two years.
“I made a lot of connections in education that way,” Sidell said.
He would lead backpacking trips on the Lost Coast Trail and can remember the positive impact it had on the youth who had never left the Northern Humboldt metropolis of Arcata and Eureka. Sidell began work on his Master’s in education focusing on curriculum writing. At the same time he began part-time work at another non-profit run by Carol Newetts, called Tiffany’s Garden for Children.
“I remember one year I would teach in the morning at McKinleyville High, and then a class at Eureka High and then I’d end up at Fortuna High in the afternoon.”
The program he headed was called CyberTribe. It was set up as a youth-run computer business where teens would teach each other how to use certain programs including graphic design and fixing computers. They would take on paying jobs from the community like graphic design and web design work.
“It was 20 years ago, but I still remember all those kids’ names,” Sidell said. “It was a really empowering experience.”
Sidell taught a variety of programs to the youth at CyberTribe, but a program that could be used to make video games became very popular. After seeing the interest, Sidell told his boss that he thought that it could be taught as a high school course. His boss agreed and Sidell created a six week module for the video game development course that he began teaching across the county.
“I think I’ve taught at just about every high school in Northern Humboldt,” Sidell said. “I remember one year I would teach in the morning at McKinleyville High, and then a class at Eureka High and then I’d end up at Fortuna High in the afternoon.”
After 15 years of work all around the county, Sidell settled down at Arcata High School where he wrote the curriculum for the Makers program after finding a grant focused on encouraging STEM at the high school level. The funding he secured solidified his own place at Arcata High, assuming that interest remained.
“It was a great feeling,” Sidell said. “Especially because I had been struggling year-to-year to maintain my job.”
Sidell believes he was meant to be a teacher and is passionate about creating a space that welcomes and respects his students. He believes that the best way to positively impact the world and leave a good mark on it is through teaching.
“If you can teach someone an idea and give them skills,” Sidell said, “that knowledge and information can be passed on through history.”
Jane Teixeira begins new position as head of Humboldt State athletics
Humboldt State has a new permanent athletic director for the first time since 2016 in Jane Teixeira, who officially started the job April 6. With COVID-19 ending all sports at HSU for the semester, Teixeira has been adjusting to the area and the position as much as she can.
“I’ve enjoyed my time exploring as much as I can under the circumstances,” Teixeira said. “It was an interesting drive up here to try to make the change in location in these unprecedented times. Beautiful landscape coming up here, and I’m really happy to be here. Every morning it’s nice to hear the chickens that are across the street and be a part of this great community.”
Even without the luxury of meeting people in person, Teixeira has hit the ground running and is doing her best to make connections with people and learn more about the athletics department and where it fits into the university.
“I’m willing to listen, I may not have the answers, I may not be able to give them what they want right away or at all, but I’m willing to listen.”
Jane Teixeira
“A lot of my two weeks have been built upon building relationships,” Teixeira said. “Getting to know what the staff needs, what they want. Where our gaps are, where we stand financially—obviously in these times things are difficult—and how can athletics contribute to getting better under the circumstances with the university as a whole.”
With the loss of football still recent in people’s memories and budget management on the horizon, Teixeira said interacting with the community around Humboldt State and listening to what they have to say will be important for her.
“I’m willing to listen,” Teixeira said. “I may not have the answers, I may not be able to give them what they want right away or at all, but I’m willing to listen. And I’m willing to take their points and understand them and say, ‘Hey, have you thought about this?’ or, ‘That’s a great point. I’ve never thought about that, let me see what we can figure out with that.’ We’re looking forward to working hand in hand and side by side with the Humboldt County community and all of our alumni.”
Teixeira also aims to focus on bringing in more quality student-athletes and using athletics as a way to bring more students to Humboldt State and give them opportunities.
“It’s all about opportunity,” Teixeira said. “Because you never know when that one opportunity happens for a student that may change their life forever. It can happen just like that. And that’s why I’m in this business.”
For Teixeira, the roster expansions would be a chance for student athletes who may get overlooked to have a chance to showcase themselves.
“You never know when you get that one student who the lightbulb goes off for them and it changes their whole entire world. So giving them an opportunity if we expand our rosters a little bit, you never know. You may get that diamond in the rough.”
While sports may be at a standstill, you can still relish and relive your favorite game moments
Every major sports league, from the UEFA Champions League to the NBA, has canceled or postponed their league for the remainder of the year to help slow the spread of the coronavirus. This is a very tough pill to swallow for sports fans around the world, but there are still opportunities for fans to relive past games and watch sports shows and documentaries while practicing social distancing.
One way these professional leagues are accommodating their fans is by offering free league passes to watch any past game you could think of. Leagues like the NBA, NFL, NHL and MLB are offering these free league passes until May 31.
If you have a cable provider like Spectrum or AT&T, channels like ESPN, FOX Sports, TUDN and CBS sports are showing daily replays of old football, basketball, baseball, hockey and soccer both at the professional and college levels.
In addition to all these replays, ESPN has pushed up the release of one of their most anticipated documentaries, “The Last Dance,” to April 19. The documentary is based on Michael Jordan and the 1990s Chicago Bulls, who won six NBA championships and are generally considered the greatest basketball dynasty of all time. The documentary is a 10-part series of never-before-seen behind-the-scenes.
From movies to shows, sports are being given to us at an all-time high rate through many mediums.
Netflix is also doing its part in getting more sports to us through shows and documentaries. Some of the more popular documentaries include three must-sees. First, “I Am Bolt,” detailing the athletic legacy of the greatest Olympic sprinter in history, Usain Bolt. Second, “Q-Ball,” a documentary about the basketball league in San Quentin prison. Third, “Notorious,” the documentary on UFC’s bad boy, Conor McGregor, and his rise to fame in the sport.
Sports TV shows can also help entertain you through social distancing. One of the more popular shows right now is “All-American.” The show is based around Spencer, one of the best high school football players in the country from Crenshaw in Los Angeles, who transfers to Beverly Hills High School. The TV drama is basically “90210” meets “Friday Night Lights.”
If you’re a wrestling fan, you’re in luck. Hulu has every episode of WWE’s “Raw” and “Smackdown” so you can relive the best fights. The same goes for the “Ultimate Fighter,” which produced some of the best UFC fighters such as TJ Dillashaw, Rashad Evans and Tony Ferguson.
YouTube can also help with sports withdrawals. It has any kind of highlight you can think of, from France’s run toward the 2018 World Cup, to Lebron James’ first championship in 2012 with the Heat, to highlights from Super Bowl LII when the Eagles upset Tom Brady and the Patriots. The list goes on. Any sporting memory you have is almost guaranteed to be on YouTube.
These are just a few options we have during social distancing to stay in touch with our inner fan. From movies to shows, sports are being given to us at an all-time high rate through many mediums. So stay home, stay healthy and drown your sorrows of social distancing with your favorite sports.
HSU student athletes share grief at abrupt endings
Humboldt State University and the California Collegiate Athletic Association canceled sports for the spring semester back in March due to COVID-19. Student athletes have been left to deal with the aftermath.
Mariah Kalamaras is a graduating senior and a member of the HSU softball team. The softball season came to an end less than halfway through.
“This was my last season playing a sport that I truly love, and to have it cut short so abruptly is devastating,” Kalamaras said. “I felt like the world was ending.”
Following the NCAA’s decision to cancel winter and spring championships, the current sports landscape has been flat, with professional sports also forced to come to a halt. Fortunately for spring athletes, the NCAA will be granting eligibility relief, provided students remain enrolled while participating in athletics.
Sydney Oliver is a senior and captain of the HSU club cheer team. Although the basketball season had already wrapped, the cheer club would have continued to meet for practice through the end of the academic year.
“I have dreamt of walking across that graduation stage since I was a little kid.”
Sydney Oliver
“It’s kind of sad that I can’t see my teammates and help influence them to do better, as well for them to push me,” Oliver said. “Because we did a lot of working out together.”
Senior athletes were in for another disappointment when HSU also canceled the 2020 commencement ceremony. Kalamaras said she felt like she’s missing out on a rite of passage.
“I have dreamt of walking across that graduation stage since I was a little kid,” Kalamaras said. “To hear the song, wear the gown, to hear your name and to hold that diploma high into the air and say, ‘I did it! I made it.’ It makes all the sleepless nights, all the hard work on the long road trips, all the class time, and all the stress worth it.”
The shutdown has also had significant impacts on the daily lives of student athletes. Students have gone without school and sports—and work, for some—but they’re also encouraged to avoid gathering with friends to comply with social distancing.
“Now that it’s not an option to see them, it’s kinda like you wanna see them,” Oliver said. “As opposed to when it was an option and you could see them anytime, and you’re like, ‘Oh, I’ll see them tomorrow.’”
“Since all of the classes are online, it’s basically on us, the students.”
Gabrys Sadaunykas
Students are also now forced to finish their semesters online. As a kinesiology major, Oliver wasn’t stressing the change.
“I like my subject, so it’s not hard for me to still be passionate about it,” Oliver said.
Other students are less enthusiastic about the shift online. Gabrys Sadaunykas is an international student from Lithuania and a basketball player at HSU.
“Since all of the classes are online, it’s basically on us, the students,” Sadaunykas said.
Although Sadaunykas’ season was already finished, he’s stuck here until the end of May.
“Of course, it’s hard, because all of my friends are back with their families and I’m here by myself basically,” Sadaunykas said. “But it’s a nice place. I like Humboldt—it’s got a lot of nature.”
Not for the reasons athletes were expecting, COVID-19 has created an unforgettable 2020 spring season.
“It has taken so much away and although I understand that this global shutdown is necessary, it doesn’t make it hurt any less,” Kalamaras said. “I won’t be able to play my sport at this high level ever again. I won’t get to walk across a stage to show the world I got my diploma. I don’t get to go out and experience all [of] this great place I have had the privilege to call home the past two years.”
Arcata High CyberTigers face off against the Novato High Hornets
With 15 minutes until start time, Rocket League players sectioned themselves off into corners of a combined Humboldt State University computer lab and classroom in their respective Arcata High School CyberTiger, CyberTiger B and CyberTiger C teams as their coach Jason Sidell turned on some “get psyched” tunes. Sidell isn’t incredibly well-versed in Rocket League, but he is quick to compare it to other sports.
“When people think of esports, they think video games, and I think that they would be surprised if they were to observe our practices,” Sidell said. “Esports is to video gaming what a basketball team is to a pick up game.”
Rocket League players for the CyberTigers faced off against the Novato High School Hornets Feb. 27.
Rocket League, as described by the California Interscholastic Federation, is a fantastical sport-based video game that can be summed up as soccer with cars. It features a competitive game mode based on teamwork and outmaneuvering opponents.
The teams are each made up of 3 players, with the CyberTiger team being more like a varsity team and the B and C teams being more like junior varsity. The matches are best-of-five games, with each game lasting a little over five minutes.
Complete with pizza and La Croix, the HSU Gaming Club hosted a meet and play event for the Arcata High esports team earlier that month that brought an evening full of laughter and good old fashioned competition. The meetup was organized by HSU Gaming Club President Sarah Kanga Livingstone and advisor David Marshall, who reached out to the Arcata High esports team.
“We’ve been trying to reach out more and more to see if we can get more ways of bringing (high school) students on to campus,” Livingstone said.
The CyberTigers and their opponents are registered through a service called PlayVS, which is partnered with the CIF to provide the tournament brackets and infrastructure to run a state-wide league.
The teams are each made up of 3 players, with the CyberTiger team being more like a varsity team and the B and C teams being more like junior varsity. The matches are best-of-five games, with each game lasting a little over five minutes.
Within 20-30 minutes, both the B and C teams’ games were drawing to a close, but the CyberTigers’ Seth Simmons, Jonah Moore and Marley Thrift continued on in a dynamic match against the Hornets, with their coach cheering them on.
“Don’t say nice,” Simmons said as Sidell mistakenly complimented a shot that looked like it was going to go in. “Don’t say anything.”
Remarkably, the C team won while being down a player, and the B team swept their opponents 3-0. The CyberTigers, however, lost their match 3-1.
Vice President of Enrollment Management Jason Meriwether stopped by to welcome the high schoolers as well. Due to the success of the event, the HSU gaming club is currently in the process of planning a gaming tournament for local high school students in mid-April.
First-hand account from Humboldt State distance runner Elliott Portillo
For track and field athletes like myself, March usually means a return to early season competition after a long, cold winter of preparation and training. On March 6 and 7, Humboldt State University’s Track and Field team traveled to Turlock, California to participate at the 2020 Kim Duyst Invitational at Stanislaus State University.
Traditionally, this meet brings together programs from across Northern and Central California to post early season times and marks. For myself and other track-based Lumberjacks, it means a long and winding drive down Highway 101 on a large and cumbersome charter bus with very little leg room and one bathroom for around 40 runners, jumpers and throwers.
As the trip progressed, the foggy redwood canopy gave way to neat rows and columns of orchards and, eventually, the urban jungle on both sides of the I-5 through Stockton, Modesto and Turlock.
As a whole, my race, a morning event, was uneventful. I found myself heading to the front of a large pack of runners after a few laps, and wound up leading the race for a good two miles in a very strong headwind. The racers must have enjoyed my wind-breaking, as nobody made a move to pass me until a few laps to go. Three runners passed me in the last few laps, leaving my decrepit body in their wake after all of my heavy lifting.
One advantage of racing early in the morning is the opportunity to watch teammates compete, and boy was I in for a show. I got to see senior Jaye Washington finish second in the long jump, while Brailee VandenBoom tied for first place in the high jump. These were just a handful of the performances I was able to view during my downtime after my race. Even if an athlete didn’t make it to the podium, there was plenty to celebrate—a new personal best, or out-leaning someone at the line to gain one more spot.
Things only heated up as the day progressed. The weather alternated between sunny and overcast, with swaths of clouds blanketing the vast expanse of the Central Valley. In the evening, eight Humboldt State women toed the line for the fastest race of the 5,000 meter run, made up of 12 and a half laps and just over three circular miles of Stanislaus’s faded red oval.
Of those eight Humboldt runners, six women ran fast enough to qualify for the California Collegiate Athletic Association championships in May. Junior Cessair McKinney ran with the top group for most of the race, at one point running to the front and pushing the pace, showing no regard for how bad she might feel later. Her teammate, freshman Lucy Atkinson, hung back in the next pack of runners.
Eventually, the two groups strung out and splintered, as the dense pack turned into a single file parade around the track. McKinney finished six, while Atkinson finished fourth.
It was just our luck that just as we began packing up to leave, the skies, which had been threatening rain all day, finally opened up and unleashed a downpour.
I guess we brought a bit of Humboldt with us after all.
College of the Redwoods men’s basketball team charges into the playoffs
With a 75-56 win over Sacramento City College Feb. 27, the College of the Redwoods men’s basketball team advanced to the second round of the California Community College Athletic Association state playoffs. The win put the Corsairs at 22-5 on the season, a complete turnaround from last year’s 0-26 record.
First-year Head Coach Ryan Bisio set a plan into motion to turn the program around far before he got the job with the Corsairs. The plan was simple: build a team with high-quality local talent to showcase to the community. The plan worked immediately.
The Corsairs are all graduates from local high schools like Fortuna, Arcata and McKinleyville, with the team composed of all freshman except for two sophomores.
“I’ve known these kids for years,” Bisio said. “Last year I didn’t coach, so I got to watch all of them in high school and was able to build personal relationships with them. The unity was powerful and it made entrusting this young team easy.”
This local talent dominated the Golden Valley Conference as the Corsairs, led by Arcata alumnus and conference MVP Thomas Nelson, were crowned champions.
“Whenever we needed a bucket throughout the year we would go to Thomas,” Bisio said. “He scores in spurts from all three levels. The way he scores devastates our opponents and our team feeds off of him.”
Nelson, who is in his sophomore year, has been one of the best players in the CCCAA this year, as he was named first-team All-State as well. He averaged 20 points and eight rebounds per game this year, and he scored over 25 in eight games.
“I wanted to win conference just like in high school, and I knew I could have success. But I didn’t know I would be All-State in the process. I didn’t even know they had All-State teams in junior college until I made the first team.”
Thomas Nelson
“The coaching staff has your back in every situation and I have great teammates,” Nelson said. “It’s day and night from last year. We communicate and connect at a very high level and we work very well together.”
The Arcata High School graduate had high season goals this year, and winning a conference championship was one of them.
“I wanted to win conference just like in high school, and I knew I could have success,” Nelson said. “But I didn’t know I would be All-State in the process. I didn’t even know they had All-State teams in junior college until I made the first team.”
With Nelson leading the way, the Corsairs had a multitude of successes this year. Four other players were honored, with Drew Gillette, Zac Claus and Donald Willis making first-team honors and Bradley Willis earning an honorable mention.
Gillette chipped in 17 points while shooting 41% from the arc. Freshman marksman Isaac Puzz added 9 points while shooting a team high 44% from the three.
While Puzz and Gillette were lighting it up from behind the arc, Claus took the role of primary ball handler with an average of 10 points, six assists and five rebounds per game.
The Willis twins were the all-around guys. They combined for 22 points, 11 rebounds and 6 assists per game while leading the Corsairs defensively in steals and charges taken.
Coach Bisio’s plan has come into fruition as CR is currently ranked 16 in the state and has advanced in the CCCAA Northern California state playoffs. With playoffs intensifying the competition, Bisio knows his team must play their best game now.
“We need to tighten up on defense,” Bisio said. “We’re going to see some good teams in the playoffs so we need to have a high sense of urgency. We’ve been playing good so we have to do what we’ve been doing—just can’t get complacent.”
The Corsairs defeated Sacramento City in the first round of the playoffs, but the road only gets rougher. College of the Redwoods will be traveling to play against the nation’s number one ranked team, San Francisco City College. Dubbed huge underdogs, the Corsairs have a huge challenge at hand, but with the success they’ve had this year, nothing looks impossible.
You can livestream the game through the CR men’s basketball Facebook page or the CCCAA Network on YouTube. The game will start at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 7.
The Humboldt State University men’s basketball lost Feb. 27 against the Chico State University Wildcats, 86-57.
Thursday’s home game wasn’t just another game for the Jacks. It was the last game of the season and senior night. The game was a special night for the team’s seniors, Leland Green, Rob Lewis, Victor Mijas, Jackson Strong, Deion Alston and Zachariah Christian.
“It’s a huge event really, with senior night being number one, our last game of the season, two, and a rivalry game,” Head Coach Steve Kinder said. “It brings a whole different level and a lot of dynamics. There’s a lot of storylines from every player on the team to every coach on the team. As a coach, to see all that in front of you and put that together and experience a night whether we win or lose—it’s special.”
The Wildcats took the lead 8-0 in the first two minutes, but the Jacks were quick to score some points. A three by Jackson Strong and two free throws by Noah Viera left the score at 12-11 with 13 minutes left in the first half. The Wildcats were quick to outscore the Jacks, ending the first half at 49-27.
With only 18 minutes left in the second half, the Jacks showed some senior teamwork. Christian passed the ball to Strong, who then passed the ball back to Christian. Christian passed to Alston, who made two points in the green.
“The relationships I’ve built with last year’s team and this year’s team—it’s been great. The family and the team, the coaches—that’s what it is. It’s just a family and I’ve had such a good time.”
Jackson Strong
Throughout the game, Alston stepped up and led the scoring. Kinder was proud of him and said he told the assistant coaches they should’ve played him more throughout the season.
“He played with a lot of fire and he played aggressive,” Kinder said. “He did a really nice job.”
Alston had a season high of 13 points, while Strong put up 11. Viera scored a season high of 10 points off the bench and Lewis scored 8.
With three makes from beyond the arc, Strong finished his career with the Jacks after playing for the team for two years. With 173, Strong placed fourth on HSU’s all-time career list in three-point field goals made. His 84 three-pointers is third on the Jack’s single-season list. He made 89 last season, which is second all-time.
Kinder said he wished Strong had played for the Jacks all four years.
“The relationships I’ve built with last year’s team and this year’s team—it’s been great,” Strong said. “The family and the team, the coaches—that’s what it is. It’s just a family and I’ve had such a good time.”
Strong said after he graduates he plans to continue playing basketball—hopefully overseas—to try to play the game he loves for as long as he can.
Humboldt State softball team takes loss in two double-headers against Sonoma State University
Humboldt State University’s softball team went 0-2 back-to-back in double-headers to the Seawolves of Sonoma State University, bringing their record to 4-15 overall and 3-13 in CCAA competition.
Pitching and defense were the downfall of the Jacks as they gave up 39 runs and committed eight errors over the weekend series by scores of 12-3, 10-2, 12-3 and 15-12 against the Seawolves. The Jacks continued to fight the whole weekend, but weren’t able to match the Seawolves.
Head Coach Shelli Sarchett emphasized these woes that plagued the Jacks over the weekend. She also saw the fight her team continued to show as well as players who played well despite the outcome.
“They don’t let their heads down and lay over. Things just aren’t working our way right now,” Sarchett said. “We know our pitching struggles, but today it was our defense making too many mental mistakes. You’re going to have physical mistakes from time to time, but when you have too many mental mistakes that really gets you.”
Sarchett emphasized the need of her team to score first and get some momentum going.
“Whether we’re having a down or up season, attacking and getting on the board first creates momentum, and this is a big game when it comes to momentum and getting it on our side,” Sarchett said. “We’re coming out and putting runners on base, but weren’t capitalizing. We have to start setting the tone and things will start going our way.”
The Jacks struggled to find runs in the first three games of the series, but the bats came alive for them in the fourth and final game of the series as they scored 12 runs.
Juniors Haley Suter and Danica Grier combined for nine RBIs and three home runs. Suter brought in four by way of a grand slam and Grier added five more with two home runs respectively.
Grier said she saw fight in the team. Even in a loss, she said they have some momentum leading into their next set of games.
Grier said she needed to keep things simple and explained what she saw during her two home runs.
“I had been struggling for the most part of the weekend so I kept thinking, ‘Keep things simple,’ and I saw one coming my first at-bat, swung hard and hit it out,” Grier said. “I went up my next at-bat, saw the same pitch, swung hard again and it went out.”
Grier said she saw fight in the team. Even in a loss, she said they have some momentum leading into their next set of games.
“We’re always battling and we’re always coming back, so our mental state as a team is strong,” Grier said. “We know that we can be great. We saw today that we can score. We just have to continue to fight. We’ll have a tough week of practice and fix what we need to get ready for next week.”
The Jacks will look to turn their fortunes around next weekend as they travel down to Hayward to take on California State University, East Bay in two double headers on March 6 and 7.
Chico State softball lived up to the hype in daytime doubleheader
The Chico State Wildcats got their game going right away in the second inning when, after loading the bases and scoring two runs, third baseman Drew Rodriguez hit a bases-clearing double. The momentum shifted to Chico State in that moment, and they didn’t look back for rest of the day, culminating in back-to-back losses.
Head Coach Shelli Sarchett reflected on her team’s performance.
“Our team is too good to be playing the way we’re playing,” Sarchett said. “We’ve got to figure something out. We’ve got to turn it around right now. We have our moments of brightness, but they’re overshadowed by the moments of darkness.”
Sarchett said their pitching has been struggling and it needs to get better if the team wants to compete.
In the third inning of the first game, Chico pitcher Brooke Larsen clobbered a two-run home run to left field. The Wildcats followed this up with an onslaught of additional offense.
Following five straight runners scoring, Rodriguez hit another bases-clearing double in the fourth inning. This felt like the exclamation mark on the game. The mercy rule came into mind as things were falling apart fast.
Fast forward to the fifth inning Chico had a 17-0 lead. The Jacks didn’t get shut out, though, and managed to squeeze out a run when shortstop Adriana Chavez reached first on an error by Chico shortstop Kristin Worley, and third baseman Izzy Starr scored on an unearned run.
Sophomore shortstop Adriana Chavez makes a play during the Jacks game against Chico State on Feb. 22 at HSU Softball Field | Photo by Thomas Lal
Junior second baseman Danica Grier slides into third during the second game of a double header against Chico State at HSU Softball Field on Feb. 22 in a game where the Jacks stole 5 bases. | Photo by Thomas Lal
Humboldt State outfielder Lauren Lipe runs into to make a catch off of a pop fly during the Jacks game against Chico State on Feb. 22 at HSU Softball Field. | Photo by Thomas Lal
Unfortunately, the Jacks also ran themselves into an out on the very same play as right fielder Mariah Kalamaras was tagged out at third base to end the game.
Jacci Crowe notched the only hit for the Jacks.
The first game was one to forget, but the second game, while also a loss, was more engaging.
Again, Chico scored first. But rather than fall flat, the Jacks managed to tie the game in their half of the first on a RBI bunt single by junior Danica Grier that scored catcher Micaela Harris.
Pitcher Lexee Sheiring was a workhorse in the second game, going almost six innings in relief of starting pitcher Megan Escobar, who got tagged with five earned runs early on.
“I think I just had to take a minute, regroup,” Sheiring said. “Then go out there and really dig through it and be there for my team and show up.”
After trading runs in the following few innings, Chico blew the game wide open in the seventh when shortstop Karter Williams drove in two with a single and right fielder Amanda Metzger brought in Williams on a two run bomb to right.
In their last half of the seventh inning, the Jacks put up a fight when Grier drove in Harris and Starr, and first baseman Anna Brondos followed with an RBI single of their own to bring their team within striking distance. But like the first game, Chico pulled out a victory and swept Saturday’s doubleheader.
Members of the community rally to celebrate the life of Evelyn Andrews
When Evelyn Andrews came to Humboldt State University, she had already beaten cancer once. In her senior year of high school, Andrews successfully fought off lymphoma and made the decision to redshirt her freshman year to recover fully. She expected to be back on the field for her sophomore season.
Things changed in late September when a bad hop at practice hit Andrews in the face, causing continuous bleeding. After spending time at Mad River Hospital, Andrews went to University of California, Davis, where she was diagnosed with acute myelogenous leukemia.
Andrews underwent chemo treatment and beat leukemia. Following the treatment, she went back to the hospital for 10 days due to a blood infection that caused additional blood clots throughout her body. Andrews died after being taken off life support Feb. 17.
Roommate and teammate Morgan Brant took Andrews to the hospital after the injury at practice and knew her since they were both 12 years old.
“She would just go into a room and light it up.”
Morgan Brant
“It crushed her to redshirt her freshman year,” Brant said. “She was just the type of person to put her head down and work and to get the job done. She was always there. She gave you the brutal truth even if you didn’t want to hear it. But you then found out that it was coming from a place of love and a place of compassion. She wanted the best for everybody.”
Brant said that this was even more clear knowing Andrews off the field.
“She would just go into a room and light it up,” Brant said. “She had the best sense of humor. She had the best smile and she was just like everybody has said, like a ray of sunshine. She really held a lot of love for everybody in her heart.”
One thing Andrews brought to the team that has been embraced by the whole organization has been a ‘Don’t Suck’ mentality. Brant said this is something that originally came from Andrews’ family and spread to the rest of the team.
“It was kind of like a thing that they said when she was struggling at bat,” Brant said. “She said it to Shelli one time and it just kind of became her thing. It was her thing since she was little kid and it just kind of stuck with the team and it showed that brutal honesty. Don’t suck as a person, don’t suck as a player and then you’re going to be successful.”
Head Softball Coach Shelli Sarchett said the ‘Don’t Suck’ mentality has really been accepted by the whole team, especially when Andrews began cancer treatment for the second time.
“Once this happened to her we adopted it as a team,” Sarchett said. “It doesn’t mean don’t suck, don’t be afraid to lose. It just means go out there and give your best. And even if your best isn’t good enough at that time, doesn’t mean that you did wrong.”
Members of Evelyn Andrews’ family applaud after a speech at her celebration of life ceremony at Lumberjack Arena on Feb. 23. | Thomas Lal
A small picture frame stands in the entry to Lumberjack Arena before the Humboldt State Athletics Department holds a celebration of life on Feb. 23 for Evelyn Andrews. | Thomas Lal
Members of the Humboldt State softball team and other programs comfort each other at a celebration of life for Evelyn Andrews on Feb. 23.
As her coach, Sarchett also observed Andrew’s ability to be caring and honest with people as she interacted with her teammates.
“She was the first person to hug you when you were down and the first person to kick you in the ass when you needed it,” Sarchett said. “She was a role model pretty much and she’s a superhero in our books. She’s a fighter and I think we could all take a little bit from Evelyn and learn about her spirit and use it to our advantage and to help us be better people.”
Another thing that stood out to Sarchett was how much Andrews cared for the people around her, whether that was her parents and brother or her teammates.
“It’s been amazing. The outpouring of support from not only the community but the softball community in general.”
Shelli Sarchett
“She loved her family,” Sarchett said. “It was all about family for her. Whether it be her actual family or her softball family. She defines that sense of family, that culture that we want here when it comes to family and she’s the daughter that everybody should want. If my daughters have half the heart she does, I’ve done pretty well.”
Sarchett also said she had never been through anything like this before, but the support from Humboldt State Athletics and the softball community as a whole has been fantastic as herself and the team work through this hard time.
“It’s been amazing. The outpouring of support from not only the community but the softball community in general,” Sarchett said. “How many coaching colleagues of mine reached out to me and to my assistants. And former coaches of my players reached out and her story has gone a long way, and we can only hope that it’s a lesson in just how to fight for things.”
Andrews never got the chance to take the field for the Lumberjacks for a game, but her memory will remain with the people she played with and interacted with during her time among the redwoods. Brant was confident that she would remember Andrews for the rest of her life on and off the field.
“I think we should remember Evelyn as a ray of sunshine,” Brant said. “We were saying it all last weekend when we played Chico. We were playing home games in February. We don’t do that here with the rain. So we really knew that she brought out that sunshine for us and she’s just this positive light and this big ball of energy. She had this beautiful smile and a beautiful mind and she was just always happy. I want people to remember that.”
Brant pointed out that Andrews wouldn’t have wanted to be remembered as a patient.
“She wasn’t a cancer patient,” Brant said. “She was someone who just fought cancer. So separating that from who she was as a person was very important to her. She was a ball of life, a ball of sunshine.”
MLB rule changes go against what the game is all about
America’s pastime. The phrase has become synonymous all over Major League Baseball. As baseball evolves into new seasons, rules are being implemented in an effort to quicken the game and appeal to a younger audience. Many of the rules aren’t too debilitating to the way the game is played, but several key rule changes will do more harm than good.
There are the more radical, long-term rules like getting rid of the shift or implementing a pitch clock, and then there are the more pressing rules like forcing pitchers to face a minimum of three batters and totally changing up the structure of the postseason.
Three-batter minimum rule:
Baseball is all about strategy. One of these strategies involves using a left-handed reliever to get one or two batters out and then bring in another reliever to close out an inning or game. A new rule, which will go into effect beginning this upcoming season, will make it so all relievers need to face at least three batters before being able to leave the mound.
On its own website, MLB called the rule an effort to reduce the number of pitching changes and cut down the average length of the game.
On the surface, it seems MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred and his entourage are making the game run more smoothly. Digging a little deeper reveals that this is far from the truth.
Again, baseball revolves around strategy. To mess with the strategy of the game is to play with fire—a big, multi-billion dollar fire. As Sports Illustrated put it, “Messing with strategy to attempt to solve a pace of game problem is a wrong-headed approach.”
Take the San Francisco Giants for example. In the 2010s, they would frequently use left-handed relievers like Javier Lopez and Jeremy Affeldt to get critical outs against left-handed batters.
If the three-batter minimum rule was ushered in back then, it would’ve been a different ballgame for all involved. The Giants may not have even won all three of their World Series titles.
Bringing in the new rule would not only be a strategist’s nightmare, but also would fail to accomplish the initial goal to make the game go faster. It’s an odd rule all around, and other stats weren’t taken into account before its inception.
Altered postseason structure:
The details of the new postseason format are very intricate, but to put it in broad terms, the number of teams in both leagues making it to the postseason would increase from five to seven. Opportunities to automatically advance to the next round and manually pick their opponents on a live television show would come to fruition.
No words can describe the sheer ridiculousness of these new postseason rules. It seems as if Rob Manfred has lost his mind.
Baseball is already becoming a money-grab reality TV show. The powers that be don’t need to add insult to injury.
The point of the postseason is only a select few make it in, and an even smaller number move on to higher rounds without weird caveats. Luckily, these new postseason rules are just proposals, as they would destroy baseball from the inside out.
Yet again, baseball has been and should continue to be about enjoying the game for what it is and not trying to throw curveballs into the mix. These rules are ambitious, but aren’t beneficial to anyone except the people at the very top of the totem pole. It’s in the best interest of Rob Manfred and his cohort to leave the game alone and stay faithful to the notion of baseball being America’s Pastime.
HSU adds another pro football player to its record, but not for the league you think
The XFL is back after a 19-year break and is the next football league to try to fill the gap between NFL seasons. Former Humboldt State University running back Ja’Quan Gardner has joined the Seattle Dragons along with former NFL prospects and players.
This isn’t the first professional league that Gardner has played in. A story by the Lost Coast Outpost said he spent a short time in the NFL after being signed as a non-drafted free agent by the San Francisco 49ers, only to play one preseason game in 2018 before being waived. He also played for another rival league to the NFL, the now-defunct Alliance of America Football where he led the league in rushing on the San Diego Fleet before having to undergo shoulder surgery.
It may seem like just another NFL, but the XFL does have some aspects that make it stand out.
The XFL originally started in 2001, and ran for a season with poor ratings as it tried to turn football into a reality show similar to the WWE. After learning his lesson the first time, WWE Chairman and founder of the original XFL Vince McMahon has brought the league back with familiar faces.
In October, Gardner was drafted to the Seattle Dragons, who lost their opener 31-19 against the D.C. Defenders with Gardner rushing for only 36 yards in nine attempts. In their second game against the Tampa Bay Vipers on Feb. 15, they came out victorious with the Dragons winning 17-9. Gardner rushed for 27 yards in 10 attempts.
It may seem like just another NFL, but the XFL does have some aspects that make it stand out.
An NPR article explained the league has a few notable rule changes that make it unique.
In the NFL, nearly every score ends with an extra point try. In the XFL, they have ditched the kick and replaced it with 3-point, 2-point and 1-point tries from the 10-yard, 5-yard and 2-yard line, respectively. Paired with this is a so-called comeback period where the clock will stop after every play in the final two minutes of each half. This will give trailing teams a better chance at making a comeback.
The play clock has been shortened to 25 seconds, teams only have two timeouts, halftime is only 10 minutes and the clock doesn’t stop after incomplete passes and out-of-bound plays like in the NFL. These time changes are in an attempt to shorten the three-hour-long games the NFL is accustomed to and limit the downtime in the game.
These are just a few of the new rules the XFL is changing to try and become a reasonable substitution for the NFL during the spring.
You can watch Ja’Quan Gardner and the Seattle Dragons take on the Dallas Renegades Feb. 22 at 5:00 p.m.
Another prospective athletic director gives their pitch
Marcus Manning is the second of three candidates for Humboldt State’s athletic director position. Manning, who began his athletics department work in recreation at Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville, said he saw the opportunity for HSU to excel in intercollegiate athletics and recreational sports.
“The vision that I have for Humboldt State athletics and recreation is to be a premiere program both in intercollegiate athletics and recreation,” Manning said. “Providing opportunities for our students that involve personal development, academic success and competitive excellence.”
Manning has also had experience at University of California, Irvine, Indiana University South Bend, and the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics in Kansas City, Missouri. Manning also has experience at Maryville University, the BASE Foundation in St. Louis, Missouri and Centenary College.
Manning was confident that the future of sports has great potential at HSU. He said the department should look toward students for what direction to take. One example he gave was the possibility of backing esports on campus.
“Young people have led us to competitive gaming,” Manning said. “They’ve shown us the way and so that’s an opportunity for us to look at that and say, ‘Okay, can competitive gaming—can esports—happen at Humboldt State University?’”
Manning said it would be a collective effort to involve student athletes in the campus and make sure they are an active part of the community.
“I was charged with adding programs to help increase enrollment and doing that with strategic speed. Also from a fundraising standpoint, taking our fundraising budget from a negative $11,800 to making sure we were in a surplus of $1.3 million.”
Marcus Manning
“That means everyone within the campus community all-in in terms of that type of experience,” Manning said. “Our alumni base and surrounding community also playing a part in that student experience.”
When asked why he thought he would be the best candidate for the job, Manning pointed to his years of experience with athletics as a base for his merit.
“Seventeen years of broad-based experience,” Manning said. “I got a chance to work at University of California, Irvine in recreation, but it was under athletics. So I was director of club sports and specialty events. When you look at this unique opportunity at Humboldt, it includes recreation. I cut my teeth on rec sports and I had a blast.”
He also mentioned that he’s added programs for universities in the past and that he could do that for HSU too.
“I was charged with adding programs to help increase enrollment and doing that with strategic speed,” Manning said. “Also from a fundraising standpoint, taking our fundraising budget from a negative $11,800 to making sure we were in a surplus of $1.3 million.”
Manning said the signs he saw while researching the Humboldt area pointed to potential.
“Just doing homework. I’ve seen some of the new things that occurred in terms of partnership with local schools and scholarship opportunities,” Manning said. “Seeing those opportunities that Dr. Jackson has talked about, so that really put me on notice to say, ‘Okay, these are some potential opportunities that we can really take advantage of.’”
Men’s basketball leads early but drops second in a row at home
Humboldt State’s men’s basketball home game on Feb. 8 was a challenging one for the team as they took a loss, 72-94, against California State University, San Bernardino.
The Jacks ended the night with a loss and an 8-15 record, but a few highlights kept the fans engaged.
In the first half, Jackson Strong made back-to-back three-pointers, while Zachariah Christian gave the Jacks an early 6-0 lead. The Coyotes caught up, bringing the score to 19-11 in the next nine minutes to take a 19-17 lead on a lay-up by Jordan Mitchell.
#0 Leland Green drives into the paint. | Photo by Liam Warner
#3 Isaiah Pope goes up for the basket. | Photo by Liam Warner
The Coyotes increased their lead to 24-17 with eight minutes left in the first half. Rob Lewis cut the Coyotes lead to 37-30 with four straight points. Coyote player Richard Laku hit a three, which left the score at 40-30 right before halftime. In the second half, the Coyotes led and eventually outscored the Jacks by 22 points, taking the win.
The Jacks had several players with double-digit points. Christian scored 18 points, while Isaiah Pope put up 16. Amari Green had 12 and Lewis scored 10. The Coyotes had 43 rebounds and the Jacks had 34.
Head coach Steve Kinder said it was a hard game, but he was happy with the good start to the game.
“What stood out to me the most was how good Cal State San Bernardino is,” Kinder said. “We just played a very good basketball team. We’re their 19th win—their last victim. They’re a very good basketball team and we competed with them well at the beginning of the game. I thought we did a nice job staying pace with them.”
There are nail biters in sports, and then there are blowouts. For the Humboldt State University women’s basketball team, Saturday was one of those blowouts where the Jacks found themselves on the right side of the scoresheet. Decked out in their black road uniforms for blackout night, the Jacks stormed their way to an early lead and never looked back as they took a convincing 107-62 win over the visiting San Bernardino Coyotes.
The Jacks were led in scoring by Alexia Thrower, who put up her eighth double-double of the season, putting up 26 points to go along with her 12 rebounds. Another standout performer for the Jacks was Sandin Kidder, who put up a double-double of her own with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Madeline Hatch and Gabrielle Carbajal also scored in the double digits along with Emily Packham, who had a career night with 11 points.
The Jacks established themselves quickly, finding reliable 3-point shots from up and down the roster. Hatch struck first from beyond the arc, setting the tone for the night as the senior guard went 5-12 on her 3-point shots. Carbajal put up three 3-point shots of her own while Kidder hit both of her two 3-point attempts.
Head Coach Michelle Bento-Jackson was very pleased with her team’s performance, pointing to the offense’s ability to keep driving the play with a lead.
“I know for the fans and everybody it just seems like 100 is the magic number. I don’t even know when we hit 100 tonight. I was just so focused on just making sure we were still doing what we needed to do.”
Michelle Bento-Jackson
“It’s great when the shots go in,” Bento-Jackson said. “But more importantly I really was focusing on the shot selection and making sure that we got good ball movement. Not just settling for an early shot against the zone.”
Even with such a scoring effort from her team, Bento-Jackson kept the team working hard through the full game.
“I know for the fans and everybody it just seems like 100 is the magic number,” Bento-Jackson said. “I don’t even know when we hit 100 tonight. I was just so focused on just making sure we were still doing what we needed to do.”
Carbajal was happy to see contributions from the whole team, saying that it made for a good experience out on the court.
“It was really nice being able to play with everyone,” Carbajal said. “And everyone contributing out there, and scoring and sharing the ball. It was just a great game.”
Carbajal was also confident that the team could use this game to push them forward going into their upcoming road trip to San Francisco and Sonoma.
“Just using this game as momentum and building confidence for the next game, especially San Francisco,” Carbajal said. “I know that we’ve been struggling on the road but just coming into this next game, we just have to have a different mindset.”
For the future, Bento-Jackson is focused on maintaining a high level of performance even when the team will play three out of their last four regular season games on the road as they aim for the California Collegiate Athletic Association Tournament in March.
“We have three games here on the road and this is going down the stretch,” Bento-Jackson said. “Playing with that same type of energy when we’re not in front of our own fans. And as we say, it requires a lot of mental toughness to go on the road and to get a victory. And that’s something that we need to do for these next two weeks.”
First candidate for HSU’s next athletic director makes his case for the job
Allan Jones is one of three candidates in the running for Humboldt State University’s next athletic director. While speaking to open forum attendees, Jones said investing in the community and working with the community members are some of the keys to making a successful athletics program.
“We’re going to be heavily involved in this community asking for support,” Jones said. “But in order to do that we need to be invested as well. Not just our student athletes, but our coaches, our administrators, our staff.”
Jones, originally from a small community in Conyers, Georgia, pointed to his additional work in the Waco, Texas area as an example of what he would hope to bring to HSU.
“There’s a reason why I’m on the Rotary Club of Waco,” Jones said. “Why I’m on the little league board for baseball and softball in Waco and why I’m on the Museum Association Board of Waco, and it’s because I need people to know that when I’m out in the community asking for their support, that there’s a return on that investment.”
“I want to bring those best-in-class practices and successes we’ve seen and measure those to scale here with Lumberjack athletics.”
Allan Jones
Jones comes to the table with 20 years of experience in college athletics, most recently working with the Texas Sports Hall of Fame in Waco as the president and CEO. Jones has also held positions at Arizona State University, University of North Texas, University of Louisville, University of Maryland and Georgia Institute of Technology.
Coming to HSU having held positions at several major universities, Jones was confident that his experience there and at smaller schools would help him improve the programs at HSU.
“I want to bring those best-in-class practices and successes we’ve seen and measure those to scale here with Lumberjack athletics,” Jones said. “So I think those experiences at the bigger schools and bigger institutions mesh with having been at places that were smaller, that were rural as well my background having grown up in the second smallest county in the state of Georgia.”
“Let’s figure out, is there a Band-Aid approach that gets us through this next three to four months? And then let’s have the best softball complex between San Francisco and Portland.”
Allan Jones
On the subject of HSU football, which was cut under the previous administration, Jones was open to having the conversation of a return in the future, but he stressed being able to support athletes as a whole.
“I’m comfortable having a conversation down the road about football,” Jones said. “But what it needs to be is a very open, honest, transparent discussion as someone who’s actually brought a sport to a full time NCAA status, understanding not just the scholarship cost, but recruiting, travel budget—all the other things that go in.”
In regard to existing programs on campus, one big facilities issue that Jones sees at HSU is the condition of the softball field, which often becomes unusable when it rains. He said the softball field would be at the top of his list of things to address if he is hired.
“As I understand, left field has got an issue four feet down that it won’t drain,” Jones said. “Well, why would we put $1 million into that when we’re going to have to go back four years later and build a brand new stadium? Let’s be strategic. Let’s figure out, is there a Band-Aid approach that gets us through this next three to four months? And then let’s have the best softball complex between San Francisco and Portland.”
The Lady Lumberjacks’ dynamic duo Tyra Turner and Alexia Thrower show no signs of slowing down
Editor’s note: after publishing this story it came to our attention that the author of this story is partnered with one of the subjects of this story. We recognize that this presents a conflict of interest regarding our coverage. This is not a regular policy. We will keep this post as-is for the sake of transparency.
When it comes to sports, a dynamic duo is rare. Humboldt State University’s women’s basketball team is lucky with the elite duo of Tyra Turner and Alexia Thrower. The two have been storming through the California Collegiate Athletic Association and don’t seem to be slowing down.
“I’m just trying to finish this season off strong since it will be my last one of my college career,” Turner said. “I don’t want to have any regrets going forward. I love going out there and playing hard for my teammates because I feel like it is infectious when you play as hard as possible and it leads to all of us playing hard for each other.”
The Lady Lumberjacks have leaned on their two star players heavily this year as both Turner and Thrower lead the CCAA in scoring and assists. Thrower leads the CCAA at 21.1 points per game while Turner leads the CCAA in total assists at 88.
Tyra Turner drives to the net during the Lady Lumberjack’s game against University of California, San Diego at Lumberjack Arena on Jan. 11. | Photo by Elliott Portillo
HSU’s Alexia Thrower jumps up to shoot a lay up during the Jacks’ match against Seattle Pacific at Lumberjack Arena on Nov. 8, 2019. | Photo by Thomas Lal
The team feeds off the pair, as they are 11-8 overall and 7-7 in 2019-2020 Women’s Basketball Conference play—and they seem to be hitting their stride at the right time with postseason play right around the corner.
Turner, the team’s point guard, is the engine of the Lady Lumberjacks. She constantly has the ball in her hands, making key decisions and often guarding the best guard on the opposing team. Turner doesn’t mind having these tasks as she tries to finish off her career as one of the best point guards to ever lace shoes up for the Lady Lumberjacks.
Turner has been playing her best lately, as she’s fresh off being named CCAA Player of the Week on Jan. 29 after averaging 21.5 points, seven assists, four rebounds and three steals in the previous week’s games. Turner currently sits at 1,060 points and 473 assists for her career, and those totals will likely grow before the season ends.
“I really just let the game come to me. I know if we continue to win and I continue to play the way I can, then everything else will fall into place.”
Alexia Thrower
The second half of the duo is Thrower, who is currently in her second season at HSU after transferring from Grays Harbor College in Washington. It didn’t take long for her to take the CCAA by storm as one of its best players. Thrower was the 2018-19 Newcomer of the Year in the CCAA and is on track to receive more awards by the end of the season.
“I never try to focus on trying to win awards,” Thrower said. “I just try to go out there and play my game every night. I don’t really focus on stats or anything like that. I really just let the game come to me. I know if we continue to win and I continue to play the way I can, then everything else will fall into place.”
Thrower currently sits atop the CCAA in scoring, is second in rebounding and is shaping her career as one of HSU’s best women players as she sits at 879 points and 466 rebounds in her two seasons at HSU. If her play continues, expect awards to fall in her favor.
Clarifying the legality of betting on the Super Bowl
When you think of Super Bowl betting, you might think of a couple friends harmlessly betting $50 on their hometown team. But Super Bowl betting is illegal in California.
In 2015, the Association of Government Accountants estimated that people illegally wagered around $145 billion on sports betting. The AGA seeks to increase government accountability and transparency, according to its site.
Clearly, even if it’s invisible to most, a lot of money is being illegally transferred through sports betting.
Under California Penal Code 330, California state law says that gambling is illegal, with the exception of Native American reservation casinos, card clubs, charitable gambling, horse wagering and the California State Lottery.
On Sunday, Feb. 2, the San Francisco 49ers will play the Kansas City Chiefs for the 2020 Super Bowl. Whether you’re watching the game or just going to a party to eat barbecue, you probably at least know someone that’s going to be watching, and more than likely, know someone placing a bet on the outcome of the game.
In California it’s illegal to bet on the Super Bowl or sports of any kind, but people bet on the game anyway. In the 1990s the prohibition on sports betting began and all sports betting became illegal nationwide.
Congress passed the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act in 1992, which banned governmental entities from legalizing sports wagering.
Yet in a 2018 United States Supreme Court case, Murphy v. National Collegiate Athletic Association, the Court overturned PASPA due to its conflict with the Tenth Amendment.
“Congress can regulate sports gambling directly, but if it elects not to do so, each State is free to act on its own,” Justice Samuel Alito said.
Online betting is a popular form of wagering on the Super Bowl, but when you go to place a bet, you have to confirm your state of occupancy—thereby restricting Californians.
Under California Penal Code 330, California state law says that gambling is illegal, with the exception of Native American reservation casinos, card clubs, charitable gambling, horse wagering and the California State Lottery.
“Every person who plays or bets at or against any of those prohibited games, is guilty of a misdemeanor, and shall be punishable by a fine not less than one hundred dollars ($100) nor more than one thousand dollars ($1,000), or by imprisonment in the county jail not exceeding six months, or by both the fine and imprisonment,” the code says.
So if you plan on betting on this upcoming game, know what you’re getting yourself into.
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