A three-year starter for Utah, O-lineman Tony Bergstrom was a steady presence for the Utes during their transition to Pac-12 play, and was awarded with all-conference honors as a result of his work in 2011. He has very good size at 6'6" and 315 pounds, and some football pedigree to boot: He's married to the sister of Ravens outside linebacker Paul Kruger.But a couple of considerations that teams must take into account for Bergstrom are his position at the next level and his age. A lack of quickness may prevent him from a sustained career as a left tackle, and ...
This is the formula that could make the A's a sneaky team in 2012. Brandon McCarthy went seven strong innings and the A's used a three-run second inning to propel them to a 5-2 victory.Eric Sogard's two-run home run in the second was the big moment in the rally, which helped the A's take a lead they would not relinquish in moving over .500 for the first time in 2012. Josh Reddick added his third home run, a solo shot in the sixth inning, and an RBI single in the eighth. McCarthy may have had his best start of the young ...
As the Raiders finally start their NFL Draft experience sometime later tonight (woohoo! Last pick on a Friday night! Party time!), I’m going to revisit the selections I made as the Raiders’ “General Manager” during Bleacher Report’s Community Mock Draft.
These selections were made based on who was still on the board after other team featured columnists made their picks, but in retrospect, I still like all of the selections I made. The only change I might make would be using a sixth-round pick on Matt Kalil’s mom. Seriously, have you seen this lady? Wowza.
Now, onto what you all came for: ...
The Oakland Raiders have been preparing for the 2012 NFL Draft for the past three months and their first pick is scheduled to be the final pick on Day 2.Outside of scouting players, writing reports and putting together a draft board, General Manager Reggie McKenzie likely has a list of things he would like to accomplish through the draft.Although McKenzie said he will not draft for need, he's acutely aware that his team has specific needs and will still try and address them.10 things must happen in the final rounds for McKenzie to have check marks next to ...
A common phrase that I have been hearing about the Oakland Raiders lately is that they "mortgaged the future" by trading away future draft picks for players.It is well documented that Carson Palmer cost Oakland the 17th pick in this year's draft and possibly another one next year. It is also well known that the Raiders do not pick in the second round because of last year's trade that got them Taiwan Jones and Joe Barksdale. Their third-round pick is also unavailable because they already used it on Terrelle Pryor in the supplemental draft.So Reggie McKenzie will be on the clock for ...
Last winter, the Oakland Athletics had themselves a huge fire sale as they unloaded seasoned top-level talent for a slew of minor league prospects—future talent. One of those prospects was right-hander Jarrod Parker, who came to Oakland in the trade that sent All-Star pitcher Trevor Cahill to the Arizona Diamondbacks. Obviously, there was some pressure to fill those shoes vacated by Cahill, especially for a player like Parker. The 23-year-old righty had a somewhat unspectacular minor-league career, compiling a 28-19 record and 3.69 ERA at three different levels in the D-Backs minor league system. Additionally, Parker missed the entire 2010 ...
With four shutouts thrown against them, the Oakland A's are 10-10 and in second place in the American League West.With a day off today, and a crucial nine game East Coast swing looming, the A's have managed to take the good with the bad and hang tough.Pitching has been the good, while hitting (or lack there of) has been the bad. I know, nothing new here. But this team has a new wrinkle. This A's club has shown the ability to get up off the mat when things are bad. Yesterday's extra inning comeback against the Chicago White Sox was ...
Although a new era in Oakland has begun, it's going to start slow, at least as far as the 2012 NFL draft is concerned.Thanks to a series of deals since last year's draft, the wheeling-and-dealing Raiders now face the reality of what happens when you ship out your first three selections. For sure, Oakland is going to be more of a spectator than participant in this year's draft, not owning a selection until the end of the third round with the 95th-overall pick.And that's not the only challenge Oakland faces during this year's selection show.This is the first draft without ...
Many were worried that Yoenis Cespedes was not going to hit enough to negate all of the strikeouts that he piles up. After Wednesday night, that should no longer be a concern.The Oakland A's benefited from a bloop and a blast in the 14th inning against the Chicago White Sox on Wednesday. Trailing 4-2, Cespedes came to the plate with Josh Reddick on base. Cespedes connected for his third hit of the game, a game-tying home run.The A's received three singles in a row after the home run, the last of which was a bloop hit by Kila Ka'aihue that resulted ...
With new general manager Reggie McKenzie at the helm, there has been more than enough speculation about the Raiders' plans for this draft.The way I see it, with picks at such a premium this year, it is important not to select players who are not worth the hassle and/or appear to be projects. More than ever, it is time for the Raiders to value solid football players over guys with questionable character and work ethic, and especially over guys with low football IQs.Without further ado, here are my five risks the Raiders simply should not take.Begin Slideshow