Quick-hitting, behind-the-scenes news and notes from the CalHiSports.com staff, including previews of upcoming content and events.
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The 7th annual Ballislife All-American Game presented by Eastbay will take place on May 6 at Long Beach City College (Long Beach, Calif.). Many of the nation’s top seniors are scheduled to participate in the event held at Long Beach City College’s Hall of Champions Gymnasium.
Several weeks ago, it was announced that the Oakland Raiders had heavy interest in acquiring retired running back Marshawn Lynch. The feeling is mutual because Lynch, an Oakland native who went to Oakland Tech High and once scored five TDs at the Oakland Coliseum in high school title game there, has always been interested in playing for his hometown.
If the University of California product does play for the Raiders, he’d instantly boost their odds of winning the AFC, and even the Super Bowl.
Looking at online sportsbooks like BetOnline.ag, we currently see that the Raiders’ futures are set at +850 for winning the AFC, and +1800 for winning the Super Bowl.
Lynch was MVP among running backs when he went to the Nike Football TC at Stanford in the spring of his junior year. Photo: Student Sports.
So what’s the holdup?
Lynch, Oakland Too Far Apart on Contract
Thanks to a recent San Francisco Chronicle tweet, we now know that a contract issue is what’s blocking the two sides from coming together.
Lynch is currently scheduled to make $9 million in base salary from the Seattle Seahawks if he comes out of retirement this season. But the Seahawks are fine with letting Lynch play on another team because they likely won’t be able to afford him anyway.
The good news for Oakland is that Beast Mode doesn’t expect them to pay him $9 million in the 2017-18 season. But he does think he’s worth at least $4.5 million, even coming directly out of retirement.
Here’s where the sticking point comes because the Raiders’ max offer is $3 million.
Oakland Needs an Answer before the NFL Draft
Lynch doesn’t have much time to decide whether or not he wants to play for the Raiders. Team general manager Reggie McKenzie says he needs an answer before the 2017 NFL Draft, which starts on April 27. McKenzie added that if he can’t get Lynch to commit by then, the team will seriously consider trading up to get a running back.
Compensating Seattle for Lynch
As mentioned before, the Seahawks aren’t dead-set on their former star playing with them this year. But they still own his rights, meaning the Raiders would have to compensate them to sign the 5-time Pro Bowler.
Seattle probably won’t ask for much in return because, again, they don’t have leverage based on the $9 million salary they don’t want to pay. But this adds yet another wrinkle in finishing a deal before the draft.
Expect Lynch to Play for the Raiders this Season
Despite the obstacles we just covered, odds are that Lynch and the Raiders will agree to a contract. As reported by the Chronicle, a $1.5 million difference isn’t enough to kill interest on either side. Furthermore, Oakland could pay Lynch a base salary worth $3m or less, and include incentives that allow him to work up to $4.5m or more.
The main reason why Oakland isn’t budging on the base salary is due to Lynch’s age since he’s 31 – a point when few running backs remain productive. In fact, only 10 running backs aged 31+ have rushed for 1,000 yards in a season.
But it is possible to perform well at this age, since Frank Gore (age 33) did it twice in 2014 and 2016. He also nearly did it again in 2015, rushing for 967 yards in his first season with the Indianapolis Colts. And given that Lynch had a full season to heal after retiring in 2015, he won’t have the usual season-to-season wear and tear.
Impact on Raiders Futures Betting
Oakland ended a 13-year playoff drought last season, going 12-4 and earning an AFC Wild Card berth. But one thing that was sorely lacking was a presence at running back. A committee of Latavius Murray (788 rushing yards), Jalen Richard (491 yards), and DeAndre Washington (467 yards) handled the workload.
But a healthy Lynch could immediately improve this aspect of the team. He rushed for 1,200 yards or more every season from 2011 to 2014. Injuries limited him to 417 rushing yards in 2015, but he’s had a full year off to recover.
While it’s unclear if Lynch will provide the same production for the Raiders this season, he definitely has a chance to help. That said, their +850 odds of winning the AFC are a slight bargain, given that they could soon be adding Lynch.
Sheldon of Sacramento gets to do the flip-flop with Rio Mesa after its avenging win over Elk Grove in conjunction with Elk Grove then later winning the top division at the NorCal Classic. Amador Valley also rejoins the Super 8 in place of Stockdale and Clovis.
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Thanks to contributor Bob Atwell and Mater Dei statistician Steve Colton, who helps with record-keeping for the Mater Dei of Santa Ana boys basketball program, the Monarchs’ all-time varsity record since their first season in 1953 has been confirmed at 1,529 wins and 375 losses. Here’s some perspective on where that total ranks in the state record book.
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Another loss by Orange Lutheran to Mater Dei (the second of the season) causes the Lancers to fall from third in this week’s rankings and for both unbeaten Gahr of Cerritos and Rio Mesa of Oxnard to inch forward to No. 3 and No. 4. Will those two go all the way to CIFSS Division II championship?
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Despite history-making season for Mission, San Francisco public schools have actually been even better in the past with some that were considered the best team overall in the state.
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The top three teams remain the same after No. 1 Norco tops No. 2 Los Alamitos and No. 3 Orange Lutheran to win another major tournament. Sheldon of Sacramento also jumps to No. 6, unbeaten Stockdale climbs to No. 7 and Mission Viejo now has to drop behind La Habra and out of the Super 8.
NOTE: Our updated State Top 20 with lists of many other teams on the bubble will be posted each week but will require Gold Club membership to see for the rest of the season. Our breakdowns and analysis of what’s coming up and what’s already happened can’t be matched anywhere else because we’ve been following the statewide scene years and years longer than any other media source. For sign up info, CLICK HERE.
(Through games of Saturday, April 8; Previous ranking in parentheses)
1. (1) Norco 19-0
MVP Kinzie Hansen, the big-time sophomore catcher, and most valuable pitcher Taylor Dockins (now has 94 career wins) led the Cougars past No. 2 Los Alamitos and No. 3 Orange Lutheran in the semifinals and finals of last weekend’s Michelle Carew Classic. Will they be unbeaten going into CIFSS playoffs?
Norco’s Taylor Dockins once again was a rock inside the circle for nation’s No. 1 team at Michelle Carew Classic. Photo: Patrick Takkinen/SoCalSidelines.com.
3. (3) Lutheran (Orange) 16-3
Stanford-bound Maddy Dwyer pitched the shutout when the Lancers beat Amador Valley of Pleasanton 1-0 in the semifinals of the Michelle Carew Classic. They lost in the final 4-0 to Norco.
4. (4) Gahr (Cerritos) 16-0
Alyssa Kumiyama hammered three home runs to lead the Gladiators past Los Altos (Hacienda Heights) 6-4. None of the team’s other games last week were close.
5. (6) Rio Mesa (Oxnard) 17-0-1
Like Gahr, even though they are also unbeaten, it’s going to be tough for the Spartans to move up any further than they’ve gotten in these rankings. Both teams are lucky that the rest of SoCal’s top teams have tended to be beating each other.
6. (9) Sheldon (Sacramento) 15-1
Although the Huskies got a forfeit win in the semis and didn’t have to face an ace in the final, their accomplishment of winning the Livermore Stampede title helps them move up three spots in this week’s rankings.
7. (11) Stockdale (Bakersfield) 17-0
Freshman Sydney Hornbuckle pitched a one-hitter as the Mustangs blanked Centennial of Bakersfield 6-0 in their only outing of last week.
8. (8) San Marcos 12-4
The CIF San Diego Section’s No. 1 team and defending champion has lost once to Norco and twice to Los Al and has shown in its other games that it’s an elite squad.
Ashwin Chona from Sage Hill of Newport Beach breaks CIF Southern Section record by throwing third straight no-hitter on Thursday in 16-0 win vs. Calvary Chapel of Santa Ana. But he still has work to do for a state record.
Note: You won’t find state record reporting anywhere close to what we have at Cal-Hi Sports. No newspaper, no MaxPreps, nothing. They all use our info too and many times do not credit. Oh well, we hope you like this free post and will consider supporting all of our ongoing work toward state high school records in all sports by becoming a Gold Club member of our site. For sign up info, CLICK HERE.
While sophomore Ashwin Chona has become the first CIF Southern Section player reported with three straight no-hitters, the oddity of the category in the Cal-Hi Sports state record files is that the tiny CIF Northern Section has had three separate pitchers over the years set the state record with four in a row.
Ashwin Chona is making a name for himself at Sage Hill for throwing no-hitters. Photo: SageHillSchool.org.
Heading into Thursday, Chona was tied with 15 previous instances of CIF Southern Section pitchers getting two straight no-hitters. The list includes former State Player of the Year Scott McGregor of El Segundo (1972) and Jared Moon of Redondo Beach Redondo Union (1996), who previously was listed with the state record for consecutive hitless innings at 23 and still would have that record for the CIFSS ahead of Chona at 18, who had one hitless inning relief appearance (according to his MaxPreps page) in addition to the three straight no-hitters since March 8.
For many years, the state record was reported at three straight no-hitters by Lloyd Allen of Selma set in 1967. In 2010, East Nicolaus of Nicolaus senior John Kukuruda tossed four straight no-hitters (three of those were in five-inning games), but at the time of reporting that record Cal-Hi Sports was informed of another one of four that was set in 1963 by Byron Randolph of Winters. Info from Winters and our own files confirmed that record. Randolph’s four straight also were all in seven-inning games (no five-inning affairs) and he’s also now credited with the state record with 34 consecutive no-hit innings.
Then the very next season in 2011, Steven Perry of Maxwell tied Kukuruda’s and Randolph’s record with four in a row. Perry almost had a fifth straight no-hitter as well, but gave up a bloop single in the second inning for the only hit he allowed.
On the state list, therefore after Thursday, Chona is tied for second with Selma’s Lloyd Allen and needs another no-hitter to tie the state record of four held by the three players all from the CIF Northern Section (Randolph, Kukuruda and Perry).
As you can see, however, this category has become mainly for small schools where five-inning dominations are much more normal and the details can be difficult to confirm, correct and obtain.
Just last year, remember, we had a team at Sonoma Academy with a reported six straight no-hitters (again a lot of five-inning rout games) but not one player with three or four in a row. Dylan De La Montanya of that team was credited with 21 hitless innings, but the team total was revised to four based on a controversial scoring decision. There were no reports of any such scoring decision — an error given instead of a hit — in Sage Hill’s games involving Chona.
No. 2 behind Buchanan changes again after Orange Lutheran returns home from North Carolina as the NHSI champions but loses in next game to St. John Bosco. Thousand Oaks and Notre Dame of Sherman Oaks also get huge bumps to No. 9 and No. 10.
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No changes at the top of the state softball rankings this week, but may be a bunch next week since many top teams will be at the Michelle Carew Classic starting Wednesday. The Livermore Stampede also is attracting a strong field including many top NorCal ranked squads.
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