San Diego FC dominates home opener vs. CF Montréal
SDFC picks up where it left off, Padres working around the WBC, SDSU's tournament hopes take a big hit, USA takes gold (twice!) in hockey, and a bunch more in today's Front Row Seat.
As much as I enjoyed the Winter Olympics, I am happy that it’s finally over. It had gotten to the point where I felt like I had to choose between Padres Spring Training games, NBA action, the start of the MLS season and the Winter Olympics each day. Eliminating the Olympics, which was on television for many hours every day, will make it easier for me to find a balance.
That being said, I did turn off the SDFC game at a certain point. Blowouts aren’t really my thing unless I’m actually at the game. When SDFC went up 3-0, playing up a man after a Montréal player received a red card, I celebrated three points to start the SDFC season and switched back over to the Olympics. As such, I missed all the Bryan Zamblé hype.
Like I said, it’s been a little bit too much to keep track of everything and I’m glad that’s getting cleared up starting today.
Now, onto the links…
San Diego FC
San Diego’s Duran Ferree shines as SDFC rolls to season-opening win - San Diego Union-Tribune
San Diego native Duran Ferree posted a clean sheet in his first career Major League Soccer start, and San Diego FC opened its second MLS Cup season with a 5-0 blowout of CF Montreal on Saturday at Snapdragon Stadium.
Ferree — a 19-year-old product of the United Soccer League’s now-defunct San Diego Loyal SC program — earned the start with Pablo Sisniega serving a one-game suspension and CJ dos Santos still recovering from a broken cheekbone sustained last July.
“It’s a full-circle moment for me,” said Ferree, wearing a baseball jersey in the colors of the old Loyal club with “Stay Loyal” stitched on the back. “I started my [professional] career in San Diego three years ago and being able to make steps in throughout my career…is really special.”
San Diego FC Cruise to a 5-0 Victory Against CF Montreal - Chromatic FC
In this match, two different players on the left wing scored. While Pellegrino can hold the fort for now, Zamble is clearly the future of the club and will receive plenty of chances to prove himself for the starting job. We should also expect more contributions from Marcus Ingvartsen who had a pretty good game for himself.
San Diego Padres
Jackson Merrill won’t play in the WBC. He and the Padres see it as an opportunity - The Athletic
“Obviously, what Manny and Tati and countless others are doing, it’s sick. It’s awesome they’re playing for their country,” Merrill said. “But for me personally, this year is probably not a good year to go and do it. I’m not saying I said yes or no or even got asked. I’m just saying that for me personally, with injuries last year, people not being here, being more of a leader this year is more important to me than that right now.”
Fernando Tatis Jr. gets two hits, Sung-Mun Song debuts in Padres’ spring loss to Dodgers - San Diego Union-Tribune
Fernando Tatis Jr. singled to right field in both of his at-bats and Manny Machado walked. That was the entirety of the offense by any of the nine players who appeared in Sunday’s game and are virtually assured of being on the Padres’ opening day roster. … Sung-Mun Song made his Padres debut, hitting for Machado and replacing him at third base. Song, who signed a four-year, $15 million contract in December, struck out in his first at-bat and lined out his second time up.
Castellanos off to strong start -- and having fun -- at totally new position - MLB.com
Playing his first game at first base, Nick Castellanos hadn’t gotten much action through three innings on Friday afternoon. He was only slated for two at-bats -- and he’d taken both of them. But new Padres manager Craig Stammen asked for one more inning from Castellanos defensively.
Sure enough, the ball found him. Castellanos made a pair of smooth plays in the Padres’ Cactus League opener against the Mariners, including a diving stop to end the fourth inning.
San Diego State Aztecs
Colorado State rams Aztecs, likely killing hopes of an at-large NCAA Tournament bid - San Diego Union-Tribune
The clock might have struck midnight for a team of such enormous expectations and possibility, losing 83-74 in the orange haze of Moby Arena and likely extinguishing their already dwindling hopes of an at-large berth in the NCAA Tournament.
They had fallen out of most projected brackets following Tuesday’s home loss against Grand Canyon. Now they almost certainly plunged too far to recover with only four regular-season games remaining, two of which are on the road in places (New Mexico and Boise State) where they have historically struggled.
That leaves the Mountain West Tournament and the conference’s automatic NCAA berth. That also requires a level of play that the Aztecs (18-8, 12-4) have not approached in the last two games.
San Diego State stunned at Colorado State, NCAA Tournament hopes take another hit - Sports Illustrated
With big man Magoon Gwath mysteriously playing only five minutes in the game, the Aztecs fell behind by double digits late in the first half and never recovered. They took their second straight loss and dropped 1 ½ games behind Utah State in the race for the regular-season title. The Aggies could push it to two games if they win at Nevada on Saturday night.
Additionally, the Aztecs (18-8, 12-4) dropped closer to a second-place tie with New Mexico, which visited Fresno State later Saturday.
The Aztecs have been on the NCAA Tournament bubble for a few weeks now and have hurt their at-large chances even further by losing by 10 points at home to Grand Canyon on Tuesday night and then losing at altitude to the Rams, a team they beat by 23 points at Viejas Arena three weeks ago.
SDSU women clinch at least a tie for Mountain West title; UCSD women fall to UCI - San Diego Union-Tribune
San Diego State’s women’s basketball team clinched at least a tie for the Mountain West regular-season basketball title Saturday afternoon, while UC Irvine rallied in the second half at LionTree Arena then held on to defeat UC San Diego 70-68 in a battle between Big West Conference co-leaders.
The Aztecs (22-4, 16-1) defeated Fresno State 68-59 to clinch a share of their first Mountain West title since the 2012-2013 season. San Diego State holds a three-game lead on UNLV and Boise State with three games to play in the regular season. The Aztecs play at Boise State Wednesday night.
Odds & Ends
USA vs. Canada hockey: How Jack Hughes traded two front teeth for a Winter Olympics gold medal - Yahoo Sports
Jack Hughes skated to the penalty box late in Sunday’s third period, panicked that he had cost him and his teammates the biggest game of their lives.
The American forward had just accidentally hit a Canadian player in the face with his stick while fighting for a loose puck in the corner. That meant Canada’s lethal power play unit would have the chance to score a go-ahead goal in the final minutes of regulation.
Thankfully for Hughes, he will be every American media outlet’s lead story on Sunday for very different reasons. The 24-year-old went on to score one of the legendary goals in American hockey history, an overtime rocket from the left faceoff circle to win the first U.S. men’s hockey gold medal since a bunch of unheralded amateurs pulled off the “Miracle on Ice” 46 years ago.
‘He would have been on this team’: USA hockey pays tribute to late Johnny Gaudreau after gold-medal win - Yahoo Sports
It felt good to have a jersey for Gaudreau, who died in a shocking traffic accident 18 months ago, out there in the team’s finest moment. But it didn’t feel quite right.
And then Matthew Tkachuk and Zach Werenski went to the stands and hoisted up Gaudreau’s two oldest children, Noa and Johnny Jr., and brought them out onto the ice. In that perfect moment, all of American hockey smiled through tears.
Still Country For Old Women - Defector
Sheer youth is one means to fresh legs; so is hard-earned stamina. The veterans on both teams built their careers in the least convenient circumstances possible. Wage disputes and folding leagues and a pandemic ate away at their primes. The sport’s future looks much simpler and rosier for the up-and-coming players; it belongs to the Harveys and Heises and Sarah Filliers. Games like this one, though—nauseating, ugly, and tense—they belong to the Knights and Kellers and Staceys and Desbienses, those who can find something left to give at the end.
The Six Biggest Story Lines Entering MLB Spring Training - The Ringer
The expected yet controversial release of Nick Castellanos, after failed trade attempts, marked the end of a strange four-year tenure. Castellanos produced just 0.7 fWAR across four seasons after signing a five-year, $100 million deal before the 2022 season. The value never matched the contract, but there were moments that endeared him to a segment of the fan base.
He hit four home runs in two days against Atlanta in the 2023 NLDS. He made a sliding catch to preserve Game 1 of the 2022 World Series. He walked off the Mets in the 2024 NLDS. Castellanos had a flair for the dramatic, but he also failed to provide consistent value on the field for the Phillies.
Toreros Drop Result in Home Finale - USD Toreros
USD men’s basketball fell by a final score of 65-77 to LMU in the Toreros’ home finale, senior day, on Saturday in the Jenny Craig Pavilion.
San Diego fought back from an early deficit to tie the game up halfway through the second period, but LMU held out for the victory on a strong shooting night. The visiting Lions shot 57.8% from the field and 47.1% from three while the Toreros went 43.6% from the floor overall.
Soccer matches postponed amid violence after army kills Mexican cartel leader ‘El Mencho’ - Associated Press
Nemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantes, “El Mencho,” who led the Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generación, was wounded in Tapalpa, Jalisco about a two-hour drive southwest of Guadalajara and he died while being flown to Mexico City
Following his death, cartel members burned cars and blocked roads in nearly a dozen Mexican states.
Jalisco’s capital, Guadalajara, is scheduled to host four games in the World Cup in June, including two involving South Korea. Co-host Mexico, Spain, Uruguay and Colombia will also play there.