San Francisco, CA
ESPN Bracketology projects San Francisco will win WCC over Gonzaga
At least for the moment, ESPN Bracketology expert Joe Lunardi isn’t picking the Gonzaga Bulldogs to come home with another West Coast Conference Tournament championship this season.
Despite being in the No. 1 seed conversation for most of nonleague play, the Zags (9-4, 1-0 WCC) tumbled down to the 4-seed line in ESPN’s latest forecast that was released Tuesday, a few days removed from a 65-62 loss to UCLA. San Francisco, making its first appearance on ESPN Bracketology in 2024-25, is Lunardi’s new pick to earn the WCC’s automatic bid.
Checking in on the 12-seed line, the Dons (12-3, 2-0 WCC) sit at No. 61 in the NET, which is fourth-best in the WCC behind Gonzaga (No. 7), Saint Mary’s (No. 55) and Oregon State (No. 56). The Gaels (11-3, 1-0 WCC) have been teetering on the bubble throughout nonconference play and currently fall in Lunardi’s “First Four Out” grouping with Missouri, Iowa and Northwestern.
The Bulldogs, who were picked to win the WCC in the league’s preseason coaches poll, haven’t had to worry about their postseason aspirations like many in Spokane were doing this time last year. Gonzaga backed up some of its preseason hype with notable wins over Baylor, Arizona State, San Diego State and Indiana during nonleague play. Those victories helped vault Mark Few and company up to No. 3 in the first NET Rankings that were released on Dec. 1.
San Francisco doesn’t have a marquee win on its resume yet, though an NCAA Tournament case can be made from having zero “bad” losses just as well. That’s sort of where the Dons find themselves heading into the thick of league play, where they’’ have a few opportunities to pick up quality victories outside of just Gonzaga and Saint Mary’s. Beating either one of the league’s top two programs for the past two decades would certainly help the Dons’ postseason case, too.
San Francisco added to its at-large resume following a 97-94 overtime thriller against Santa Clara at the Hilltop on Monday. Senior guards Malik Thomas (34 points) and Marcus Williams (23 points) helped the Dons overcome a 10-point deficit while earning their second Quad 2 win of the season. San Francisco also holds an 84-73 victory over Boise State.
Gonzaga and San Francisco won’t be able to settle things head-to-head style until they meet in Spokane on Feb. 13. The Zags return the favor a few weeks later when they battle the Dons in the regular season finale from the Chase Center on March 1.
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San Francisco, CA
Sea lion pup found in San Francisco’s Outer Sunset malnourished but ‘feisty’
A California sea lion pup found last week on a San Francisco street corner is malnourished but “active and quite feisty,” The Marine Mammal Center said Monday.
The sea lion, believed to be about 10 months old, had apparently wandered into city’s Outer Sunset neighborhood and was discovered early Thursday morning, authorities said.
The pup was spotted near 48th and Irving Streets, one block from Ocean Beach and Sunset Dunes park. A trained responder from the Marine Mammal Center was joined by San Francisco park rangers and police officers to safely corral the pup, now named ‘Irving’, into a carrier crate.
Dubbed ‘Irving’ by his rescuers, Irving weighed in at 40 pounds and is considered malnourished, the Marine Mammal Center said.
“The sea lion is active and quite feisty which is a positive initial sign in terms of general behavior,” the center said in a news release on Monday.
During an exam by veterinarians, a series of blood samples were also taken to determine whether there’s any underlying ailment.
Irving is being tube fed a fish smoothie blend two times per day to boost hydration and weight; offers of whole herring will also begin shortly.
The quick actions by police, recreation and parks staff and Ocean Avenue Animal Hospital gave the young sea lion a second chance at life, said Lauren Campbell, animal husbandry manager at The Marine Mammal Center.
“As a roughly 10-month-old pup in his first year of learning how to forage on his own, this animal has a long road to recovery due to his severe malnutrition,” Campbell said. “We are hopeful that in the coming weeks with continued specialized care that this pup starts to make positive strides toward recovery and release.”
Irving will be held in the Center’s Intensive Quarantine Unit until clearing medical protocols, before likely being transferred this week to a traditional rehabilitation pool pen. A long-term prognosis and potential release timeline are not currently known.
San Francisco, CA
Giants Head Home to San Francisco After Shutout Loss
After Sunday’s 3-0 loss to the Washington Nationals, the San Francisco Giants headed back to the West Coast. They’re going back to the Bay Area, too.
The Giants have a date with the Los Angeles Dodgers for a three-game series at Oracle Park starting Tuesday night.
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So, San Francisco probably wanted to get out of Washington, D.C., with a win. That didn’t happen at Nationals Park on Sunday afternoon.
Nationals reliever Andrew Alvarez, the third pitcher used by the team on Sunday, picked up the victory with 4 1/3 innings of work. Giants starter Robbie Ray absorbed the loss, falling to 2-3 this season.
Ray worked six innings, giving up seven hits, three runs (all earned), walking one, and striking out seven Nationals. If the Giants’ offense had found a way to tack on some runs, then Ray’s outing wouldn’t have looked so bad.
The Giants’ bats, though, had eight hits. The big number for Giants manager Tony Vitello to look at in the box score after this one was, well, pretty big. San Francisco left 10 runners on base on Sunday, going 0-for-11 with runners in scoring position. This indicates that San Francisco had plenty of opportunities to score some runs.
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They just didn’t get the job done.
Let’s go to the bottom of the fifth with the Giants and Nationals in a scoreless tie. With nobody out, the Nationals’ Keibert Ruiz connected for his third double this season. Nasim Nuñez scored to put Washington up 1-0.
With one out, Curtis Mead sent a Ray pitch over the left-field wall, a two-run blast that gave the Nationals a 3-0 lead.
San Francisco had a scoring threat in the top of the eighth inning. With runners at first and second base and nobody out, Casey Schmitt grounded into a double play. Matt Chapman, who was on second base, went to third. But the Giants were unable to bring him home.
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Rafael Devers and Drew Gilbert went 2-for-4 at the plate for the Giants, producing half of the Giants’ hits.
The Giants fall to 9-13 this season, sitting in fourth place in the National League West Division. The Nationals’ record goes to 10-12, good enough for third place in the National League East Division.
All eyes now turn toward Oracle on Tuesday night. It’ll be a chance for two longtime rivals to renew their rivalry.
Baseball fans know that the Giants-Dodgers matchups usually are must-see TV.
That’s probably going to be the case once again as Giants fans watch their team battle the Dodgers. Those lucky to have tickets to the three-game series at Oracle Park will show up in Giants colors, hoping to see Los Angeles head back to Southern California with either a series loss or a Giants’ sweep.
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Buckle up, Giants fans. It’s about to get rowdy at Oracle Park.
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San Francisco, CA
Why do gray whales keep dying in San Francisco’s waters?
The 4,140-sq-km bay is the largest estuary on the west coast of the US. Before 2018, this species of whales wasn’t known to stop seasonally or consistently in the bay, bypassing it on their migration route down to Baja California and back up the Arctic, said Josephine Slaathaug, who led a recent study on gray whale mortality in the bay.
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