Front Row Seat: SDSU tops Nevada to stay perfect in the Mountain West
The Aztecs are up to the challenge in Reno, the Padres aren't done shopping, LeBron takes a backseat to Luka Doncic and a bunch more in today's Front Row Seat.
Here’s a thing I wrote yesterday. It’s about the San Diego Padres trying to find their joy:
San Diego State Aztecs
No OT needed as Aztecs rally to beat Nevada on the road - San Diego Union-Tribune
Three days after blowing a 24-point lead and winning in triple overtime, San Diego State’s bipolar basketball team unveiled its latest trick: going down 14-2 Tuesday at the Lawlor Events Center … and roaring back to beat Nevada 73-68 and remain atop the Mountain West.
San Diego State men’s basketball passes first big road test of final Mountain West season - Sports Illustrated
Miles Byrd scored 14 points to lead five Aztecs players in double figures. Davis, Reese Dixon-Waters, Miles Heide and Taj DeGourville scored 10 points apiece.
San Diego State put down the defensive hammer big-time, holding the Wolf Pack without a field goal for the final 3:04 and just two free throws in the final 3 minutes.
San Diego Padres
The Padres’ offseason has been slow but eventful. These 5 questions still need answers - The Athletic
After the Padres’ postseason elimination, team officials repeatedly indicated that they expected Seidler and Preller to hash out an extension in the coming weeks. Last month, Seidler told the San Diego Union-Tribune that he and Preller would continue discussing a possible agreement, reiterating that “the Padres would like to have him remain long-term.”
Now it is 2026, and Preller is weeks from entering the season as a lame-duck employee. His uncertain status has amplified the general uncertainty hanging over the franchise.
Friars’ shopping season extends past holidays - MLB.com
As MLB.com executive reporter Mark Feinsand reported, the Padres were in the bidding for corner infielder Kazuma Okamoto before he signed with the Blue Jays over the weekend. Their precise level of interest remains unclear. But that interest makes it pretty clear what the Padres are looking for:
A first baseman.
Sure, Gavin Sheets can play first. Luis Campusano has played there, too. There’s also the option of using Song at first base -- or at second, with Jake Cronenworth sliding to first.
But those options feel like stopgaps in the event of injury. The Padres’ lineup needs another bat, and the only real vacancy is at first base.
Opposites Attract - MadFriars
In many cases, kids who grow up with a father who played baseball at a high level will have a son who, although they are is right-handed, will hit from the left side. Jackson and Ethan Holliday, sons of former all-star Matt Holliday, were both selected in the first five picks of the 2022 and 2025 drafts, and are left-handed-hitting infielders.
Jackson grew up in major league clubhouses, and one of the first players he tried to mimic was Craig Counsell, who, before he was the Chicago Cubs’ manager, was a long-time lefty-hitting infielder with a rather unique stance.
“I started playing hockey before I played baseball,” said Padres’ second baseman Jake Cronenworth on how he became a left-handed hitter. “I always shot left-handed, so swinging a baseball bat from that side was pretty natural.
“I could probably hit right-handed in batting practice, but would have no chance in a game.”
2026 International prospect signing period opens soon - Gaslamp Ball
Francys Romero of Beisbol FR has published his list of top prospects and the teams that have made agreements with those players. The San Diego Padres have three of the top 50 prospects according to his rankings. Only one of them is on the MLB list. Baseball America has also published their list of top prospects available on Jan. 15. Two of their top 50 players are committed to the Padres.
Combining the information from the three sites, here is a list of the players ranked in the top 50 prospects that are committed to the Padres and will sign contracts on Jan. 15 or shortly thereafter.
Odds & Ends
Despite deal at Washington, Demond Williams Jr. to transfer - ESPN
Washington quarterback Demond Williams Jr. said on social media Tuesday night he is entering the transfer portal, a move that comes just days after he agreed to return to the Huskies for the 2026 season.
Williams had signed a contract to return to the Huskies last week, with sources indicating to ESPN’s Pete Thamel the deal was near the top of the market. Sources told Thamel that Washington is prepared to pursue all legal avenues to enforce Williams’ signed contract.
LeBron James says he needs to fit in around Luka Dončić as duo’s chemistry grows - The Athletic
After he and Dončić each scored 30 points in the Lakers’ 111-103 win against the New Orleans Pelicans, James again made it clear there were no pecking order concerns in his locker room.
“Luka don’t need to bend his game,” James said. “Luka is our (26-year-old) franchise for this ballclub. He don’t need to bend this game. It’s up to us to bend our game around him and figure it out.”
The Raiders Are Rebuilding Again. This Time, Tom Brady Is Calling the Shots. - The Ringer
The Pete Carroll era was a disaster. Is Brady up to the task of finding the right long-term head coach and quarterback?
Trae Young Is A Casualty Of The Changing NBA - Defector
In an era when James Harden could solo-ball his way into nearly beating the juggernaut Golden State Warriors, and Damian Lillard could be a playoff team practically unto himself in Portland, Young’s whole deal made sense as the cornerstone of a project. Now, today, when all the best teams are either huge, athletic, or huge and athletic, that deal does not make sense at all. Point guard duties have been more democratized in the modern NBA; Young’s genuinely breathtaking passing simply matters less when every player comes into the league knowing they will have to be a good passer to stay on the court.
Beattie helps UC San Diego deal Hawaii men’s basketball 1st conference loss of season - Spectrum News HI
Tom Beattie helped knock his former team down a peg.
The ex-Hawaii guard’s well-rounded game for UC San Diego — 12 points, eight assists and seven rebounds without a turnover — was representative of the night for the defending Big West champion Tritons as UCSD soundly dealt UH its first conference loss, 83-73, on La Jolla, Calif., on Saturday night.
UH, coming off a record-setting 43-point win at UC Riverside on Thursday, found the going much tougher two nights later against the defending champion Tritons (12-3, 2-1 BWC).
Toreros Fall on the Road to Santa Clara - USD Toreros
Rounding out a stretch of four games in a week, San Diego men's basketball dropped a road contest at Santa Clara, 70-98 at the Leavey Center Sunday evening.
The NET No. 70 Broncos, entering the game ranked ninth nationally in offensive rebounding, cleaned up on the glass for a margin of plus-24 with 19 on the offensive end. Santa Clara also shot the three at a high volume, with 15 made triples to keep the Toreros at bay.
The San Diego Rodeo has become a major draw — but opposition to it isn’t going anywhere - Times of San Diego
Tens of thousands of attendees will head downtown this month for the third San Diego Rodeo at Petco Park.
And opposition to the event over animal welfare concerns is only ramping up.
Two years ago, the weekend event sold out with 45,000 attendees in total. Last year, Saturday night alone had a sold-out crowd with 18,000 attendees.
But as the rodeo has in some ways cemented itself as a January staple at the time that tourism slows down, it’s also been marred by animal injuries and deaths each year.
US seizes Venezuela-linked, Russian-flagged oil tanker after weeks-long pursuit - Reuters
The U.S. seized a Russian-flagged oil tanker that was being shadowed by a Russian submarine on Wednesday, after a more than two-week-long pursuit across the Atlantic as part of a U.S. “blockade” of Venezuelan oil exports, two U.S. officials told Reuters.
This appeared to be the first time in recent memory that the U.S. military has seized a Russian-flagged vessel.