The Oakland Athletics came to town to beat their Triple-A affiliate, the Sacramento River Cats, 9-0 in a rain-shortened exhibition game on Saturday evening. More than 10,000 fans braved Raley Field for the much anticipated return of major league baseball to Sacramento – the first time in five years. The first six innings were perfect for A’s starting pitcher Tommy Milone, who retired each of the 18 batters he faced, including six strikeouts. Jarrod Parker took the mound for the River Cats, allowing nine runs on five hits. In each of the first three innings, Parker saw seven A’s come to the plate. He walked the bases full in the first inning, and a base-clearing double by right fielder Jo

Editor's Note: More than 4,800 athletes from 93 countries, ranging in age from 35 to 101, are competing in the 19th World Masters Athletics Outdoor Championships at Sacramento State's A.G. Spanos Sports Complex through July 17. This marks the first time in 16 years that the biennial event has been held in the United States. Click here for a complete list of each day's results from the WMA Championships in Sacramento. For more info on the World Master's Athletics Championships, click here.

Editor's Note: More than 4,800 athletes from 93 countries, ranging in age from 35 to 101, are competing in the 19th World Masters Athletics Outdoor Championships at Sacramento State's A.G. Spanos Sports Complex through July 17. This marks the first time in 16 years that the biennial event has been held in the United States. Click here for a complete list of each day's results from the WMA Championships in Sacramento. For more info on the World Master's Athletics Championships, click here.

Editor's Note: More than 4,800 athletes from 93 countries, ranging in age from 35 to 101, are competing in the 19th World Masters Athletics Outdoor Championships at Sacramento State's A.G. Spanos Sports Complex through July 17. This marks the first time in 16 years that the biennial event has been held in the United States. Click here for a complete list of each day's results from the WMA Championships in Sacramento. For more info on the World Master's Athletics Championships, click here.

Editor's Note: More than 4,800 athletes from 93 countries, ranging in age from 35 to 101, are competing in the 19th World Masters Athletics Outdoor Championships at Sacramento State's A.G. Spanos Sports Complex through July 17. This marks the first time in 16 years that the biennial event has been held in the United States. Click here for a complete list of each day's results from the WMA Championships in Sacramento. For more info on the World Master's Athletics Championships, click here.  

Editor's Note: More than 4,800 athletes from 93 countries, ranging in age from 35 to 101, are competing in the 19th World Masters Athletics Outdoor Championships at Sacramento State's A.G. Spanos Sports Complex through July 17. This marks the first time in 16 years that the biennial event has been held in the United States. Click here for a complete list of each day's results from the WMA Championships in Sacramento. For more info on the World Master's Athletics Championships, click here.  

Led by California State University, Sacramento, junior Erin Kirby, who racked up a match-high 16 kills and a career-high .500 hitting percentage, the Hornets easily swept the San Jose State Spartans (25-20, 25-15, 25-17) in non-conference play Tuesday evening at Colberg Court. The win makes three straight for the Hornets, and they improve to an overall 5-3 record. The Spartans are off to a slow start this season, dropping to 1-6. Faced with consistent serving, passing and defense from a determined Sac State team, the Spartans started with a promising first set but were unable to hit their stride. The Hornets posted 10 service aces and a season-high hitting percentage (.378), and San Jose

 The first two innings of Wednesday morning's River Cats 9-7 roller coaster loss to the Tacoma Raniers were very uneventful.  The only man to reach base was Matt Watson, and he did so on a walk.    Everyone else from either team who stepped to the plate was set down with alacrity. There was no sign of the slugfest to come.               Four pop outs, two fly outs, a couple ground outs, three K's and a line out.  The innings flew by.  By 11:50, a mere 15 minutes into the game, it was 22.22 percent over.  If they'd kept up that pace, they may have set some kind of record.               The first two outs of the top of the third came nearly as quickly.  I was beginning to speculate as to t

Above: Brent Pottenger with former Sacramento Kings player, Tyus Edney (and his son) "You have to have a backup plan," shared one student-athlete this past weekend at GPACompton. Game Plan Academy (GPA) opened camp this past Saturday in Compton, California (Los Angeles). Over the past few months, my brother, Kai Pottenger, and I have worked collaboratively with the Compton Unified School District, Revolution Test Prep, and the University of Southern California to create a small pilot program for male and female basketball players at Dominguez, Centennial, and Compton high schools. The goal of GPA is to provide students (for free) with personalized and professional academic and athletic

 The Sacramento River Cats return home for the final home stanza of the regular season after an amazing road trip in which they went 7-1. The homestand begins Saturday night with a four-game series with the Portland Beavers. The River Cats will be honoring three local heroes in Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson, Cincinnati Reds manager Dusty Baker and Chicago Cubs first baseman Derek Lee. The first 1,500 people in attendance will get to choose from the three bobbleheads. The person whose bobblehead runs out first will be named the 2009 River Cats High School Hero. The fans in attendance should be excited to see Dana Eveland (8-4, 4.94) take the mound for Sacramento against Wade LeBlanc (3-9

Thanks. Thank you. We are thankful. Thanks to Coach John Fleming at Hiram Johnson High School for making his classrooms and fields available these past eight Sundays for Game Plan Academy (GPA).  Please VOTE for Hiram Johnson High School (by clicking here) in Kellogg's 'Plant a Seed' program to "Help Rebuild America's Playing Fields." Here is a message from John Fleming, Athletic Director and Head Football Coach at Hiram Johnson High School, about this wonderful competition: "Hiram Johnson has nominated our football field for a make-over by Kelloggs. Out of 3,400 nominations, we were selected as a semi-finalist. 30 of the 100 semi-finalists will receive a $15,000 upgrade to the facil

One of the keys to serving local communities effectively is supporting existing institutions that already provide valuable services. The Sacramento Food Bank is one such institution. This past Saturday, Game Plan Academy (GPA) students assembled alongside GPA mentors, Jesuit High School alumni, teachers, students, parents, and staff as part of a GoDoGood project.  The mission of GoDoGood is to capture people's energy to 'do good' and put these passions into action in local communities. The Sacramento Food Bank provides an excellent outlet for Sacramentans who want to 'do good' for those in need in a well-organized, structured, and warm, supportive environment. GoDoGood brought a talented,

"Tweet!" Coach Alex Van Dyke, a former NFL wide-receiver and All-American at the University of Nevada, Reno and the operating owner of AVD's Going Vertical!, blows his whistle (Alex loves his whistle!) to rally the Game Plan Academy (GPA) student-athletes to huddle up. "GPA on three. One. Two. Three. GPA!" Coach Gio Carmazzi, a former NFL quarterback and National Scholar-Athlete at Hofstra University, leads the weekly GPA huddle cheer to conclude the football session during week four of eight this past Sunday, marking the half-way point of GPA. "Half-time!" Energy, enthusiasm, and excitement levels were high this past Sunday at GPA as student-athletes relished their opportunity to tra

Game Plan Academy (GPA) is awesome: the students are awesome (they represent Monterey Trail, Hiram Johnson, Rosemont, Highlands, Burbank, McClatchy, Rio Linda, Sheldon, and Florin High Schools), the facility is awesome (Hiram Johnson High School), the mentorship team is awesome (see www.GamePlanAcademy.com), the guest speakers are awesome (they include Mayor Kevin Johnson and Marty McNeal, to name a few), the sponsors are awesome (they include the Positive Coaching Alliance and Wells Fargo), the concept is awesome (the goal is to develop well-rounded student-athletes), and the camp is going awesomely (come out this Sunday from 10:30 AM - 2:30 PM to see the program in action)! With so much

On Sunday, March 15th, Game Plan Academy (GPA) launched at Hiram Johnson High School. Thanks to the generous sponsorships from Positive Coaching Alliance (www.positivecoach.org), Wells Fargo, and Avanti Restaurant Solutions, what was five months ago a clear vision with a windy path ahead, is now printed logo-wear, yard-markers, test-prep materials, and a group of forty student-athletes working to improve their performances on the field and in the classroom. A local, grassroots initiative, GPA attempts to equip students with a "game plan" for life. Spanning eight Sundays, students receive structured SAT preparation, focused college counseling, and rigorous athletic training. Working with

Sacramento has produced a number of world class athletes - Dusty Baker, Bill Cartwright, Debbie Meyer, and of course Mayor Kevin Johnson to name a few. But what's to be said about young athletes who have talent, but not the means to be successful? A group of seven successful Sacramento athletes, including former NFL players Gio Carmazzi and Alex Van Dyke are now back in Sacramento to help steward underprivileged high school athletes to succeed not only in sports but also in life. Their organization, Game Plan Academy (GPA), will be holding an eight-week camp on Sundays from March 15 through May 10 at Hiram Johnson High School. It will focus on recruiting from schools with low Academic Pe