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TOP STORIES: 619Sports.net

Our family lives in La Mesa, and at the mouth of our neighborhood is a nice little park (La Mesita) and a wonderful sports complex. The Junior Seau Sports Complex.

Drive by it sometime (Fletcher Parkway and Dallas are your cross streets) on a weekend, and you are sure to see fields filled with youth soccer, football, what have you. The place is always vibrant, always full of life. Just like the man for whom it was named.

As we all know, Junior Seau is no longer full of life. He’s no longer alive. Seau took his life by his own hands, pulling the trigger on a gun, opening a hole in his chest, and later, ours.

Our community is struggling to come to terms with the suicide of one of our most inspirational and uplifting figures. Memorials and ceremonies, such as the paddle-out last Sunday or the upcoming celebration at Qualcomm Stadium on Friday, all help to bring some measure of closure.

My issue is longer term. At some point, seemingly far away but closer than I’d like to think, my ten-month-old son James will be old enough to be trotting around the Junior Seau Athletic Complex. We will undoubtedly walk past his name on the large sign on the corner (now decked out in flowers, hats and other Seau momentos in memoriam), and eventually, the question will be asked: who was Junior Seau?

How do I answer that question? Continue Reading →

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Conniff: Top Padres Prospects Head North

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by John Conniff on April 20, 2012

PEORIA, AZ: In the 2011 draft the San Diego Padres spent a team record of a little over $11 million in the amateur draft, with nearly $6 million of that figure allocated to a pair of California high school seniors: pitcher Joe Ross and catcher Austin Hedges.

Both Ross and Hedges have gone north out of spring training to the Midwest League Fort Wayne TinCaps for their initial foray into professional baseball.

“The first thing that really stands out about them is how they carry themselves, they are just super kids,” said Randy Smith, the Padres Director of Development and International Scouting.

“They are confident but not cocky. You would have no idea that they are first round draft picks.”

While Hedges was actually picked in the second round, his $3 million dollar signing bonus was the highest that San Diego gave anyone in last year’s draft. Hedges, who was represented by Scott Boras, was thought to be one of the more talented prep defensive catchers in years out of talent rich southern California but also a near lock to attend UCLA.

However the Padres, under then Scouting Director Jason MacLeod, believed that Hedges was “one of the best amateur receivers that I have ever seen on any level,” and his staff had multiple looks at him prepping just up the I-5 in San Juan Capistrano. Continue Reading →

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The Padres Through The Eyes (And Flame Comments) Of Their Fans

April 15, 2012
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Based on the online comments I’ve been reading, nine games is plenty of time to declare the 2012 Padres dead and gone and start picking over their rotting corpse:

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Out of Sight, Padres Quickly Fall Out of Mind

April 14, 2012
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Dick Enberg might be calling Padres games this year on FSSD, but if you’re not in the Cox Cable service area and don’t have DirecTV, you’ll never see it. The situation will soon go from bad to worse if the Padres don’t fix things fast:

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Aztecs Restore Order With Sweep of Air Force

April 2, 2012
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TONY GWYNN STADIUM–A four win week did much to restore momentum to an Aztecs baseball season which was hanging in the balance.
The Aztecs (14-15, 3-3 MWC) followed a Tuesday win over UC Riverside with a three game sweep of Air Force this weekend at Tony Gwynn Stadium. The series was seemingly played backward, with [...]

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Baseball A Healing Tonic For Gwynn

March 30, 2012
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Tony Gwynn is back at the field and the Aztecs celebrated his return home with a 7-3 win over Riverside on Tuesday. Heading into this weekend’s series against Air Force, Craig talks to Gwynn about his convalescence and how frustrating it was to listen to Craig’s internet broadcasts of the games:

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Padres Are Pawns in Baseball’s Power Game

March 25, 2012
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The Padres’ ownership mess could be a result of MLB’s stubbornness, or Jeff Moorad’s poor financial standing. Or, it could be an opportunity for John Moores to make a lot more money off the sale of his team. An exploration of the real power game taking place as the Friars go through Spring Training:

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ST. i’PADDY’S DAY: Sockers Complete Undefeated Season with US Open Cup Win

March 22, 2012
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The Sockers did what few teams have ever been able to accomplish, running the table for a perfect season. The story from Cincinnati and the third trophy to gild a perfect season:

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U.S. Open Cup Championship Audio On Demand Replay

March 17, 2012
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Listen back to all the action from Cincinnati, Ohio as the Sockers capped a perfect season with a 13-6 win over the Cincinnati Kings in the US Open Cup championship:

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Chargers Offseason Simmers, While VJ’s Departure Burns

March 14, 2012
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Vincent Jackson has flown the coop to Tampa Bay, while Marcus McNeill was cut and Jared Gaither re-signed to play left tackle. Robert Meachem is the new WR in town. Incremental recalibrating moves are good, but are the Chargers getting better?

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