PLAYERS SHOWCASE SKILLS
Kyree Woods, a former defensive back with the football Aztecs, showed NFL scouts Sunday in Del Sur he has recovered from a knee injury that ended his San Diego State career.
Woods defended receivers as seven NFL scouts and two more scouts from the Canadian Football League bordered Maranatha Christian High’s synthetic field, where they assembled to view dozens of players. Woods was among SDSU’s leaders with 22 tackles, two pass breakups, one sack and a forced fumble when he sustained a torn right ACL in October 2019, attempting a tackle on special teams.
“Watching him, you wouldn’t know he was coming off an injury,” said Tim McTyer, a former NFL player who directed the defensive backs Sunday.
Woods was among 57 players to get a professional audition Sunday, through efforts headed by Tom Brady’s agent, Don Yee.
A program Yee founded, known as HUB, provides “a platform for the very best ‘street’ free agents to show where they’re at in front of nearly one-quarter of the NFL today,” Yee said. “I believe at least three-quarters of them will emerge with some sort of professional opportunity.”
Players are eligible through invitation that carries a $750 participation fee.
Yee said his long-term plan in player development may include a Senior Bowl-type event, potentially in San Diego. It would be staged in the late spring or early summer.
Woods said he will participate next week in San Diego
State’s Pro Day but appreciated the chance Sunday to further his comeback.
The NCAA rejected his appeal last March to get a medical redshirt year, ending his collegiate eligibility five months after his reconstructive knee surgery.
“This was the most football I’ve done since the injury, getting as much work as I did in one-on-one reps,” said Woods, who is 6-foot and 190 pounds. “There was a little bit of rust. That just comes with rest and time. I thought I did pretty well. There are still some things I can touch on. But I hadn’t played football in more than a year so I’m proud of myself.”
Woods, who turned 23 last
month, said he graduated from San Diego State last year with a degree in criminal justice. He works for a local law firm as a researcher.
He said he will consult further with McTyer, the HUB’s defensive backs coach who played for three NFL teams in the late 1990s.
Other HUB coaches included Cal assistant Geep Chryst, who was Mike Riley’s offensive coordinator with the San Diego Chargers, and former Chargers kicker Nick Novak.
Yee founded the HUB program in 2019. He described it as a passion project that draws upon his NFL experience that dates to 1988.
“I really love the game, and I
know firsthand that the NFL game you see on Sunday doesn’t necessarily have all the best players playing,” said the 60-year-old Sacramento product, an alum of UCLA and Virginia’s law school who teamed up with Brady when the Michigan alum entered the NFL. “There’s a lot of emerging talent from a lot of other places. Sometimes, that talent just wasn’t ready when they came out of college, that’s all.”
He added: “I really empathize with a lot of these young men who are pursuing a dream in a very violent, difficult sport. I am trying to do what I can to give them an outlet to show what they can do.”
Padres pitcher Blake Snell wasn’t necessarily lobbying for calls from home plate umpire Paul Clemons on Monday afternoon as he grabbed a bat in a game for the first time since 2018. He just likes to talk — a lot. Always looking for a laugh, too.
“I’m here for a good time,” Snell said. “If we’re going to talk, I’m going to try to make him laugh and keep him loose. It’s already pretty loose if I’m going up there and with a bat. I’m going to have fun with it. I’m not going to be serious and not enjoy it.
“But I was sad. I wanted to get the pitch count up, but they were pumping strikes.”
And Snell was looking at all of seven of the pitches he saw while striking out twice — by design.
He’s 0-for-8 with three strikeouts and three walks in 13 career plate appearances as he joins the NL. The directive from manager Jayce Tingler as Padres pitchers begin hitting this week to prepare for a return to the batter’s box in 2021 was to simply track pitches.
But, man, did he want to swing.
“Fans telling me to swing, they were on me,” Snell said. “They want to see greatness. They want to see a pitcher get a knock. And I want to do that. I want to be their guy, but today was just working on my eyes, seeing the baseball. I told Jayce I saw it well. Once those guys start throwing 95, I don’t know if I’ll see it as good.”
Snell, of course, was all business on the mound. He was hard on himself, too, despite striking out two and allowing only one baserunner via a single in three shutout innings.
This is his time to prepare for the season and he has boxes he wants to check off each time he steps onto a mound.
“I’m in good shape, the arm feels healthy, the body feels good,” Snell said after upping his scoreless innings streak this spring to six. “… The only thing I need to do better outside of my pitches being more consistent is when I get ahead, stay ahead and putting at-bats away. There was a lot of 3-2 counts. It’s frustrating. I’ll watch the video today. I’ll see what I did right, what I did wrong, how I was using my body, my hip. I’ll go through all of it.”
Mateo seizing opportunity
The Padres traded for Jorge Mateo days before summer camp opened at Petco Park. A positive COVID-19 test isolated him before he could really settle in. He spent roughly three weeks at the alternate site before the Padres called him up for his bigleague debut in mid-August.
It’s safe to say the 25-year-old
Mateo is trending toward a much smoother take-off in 2021.
The switch-hitter tripled in two runs in the first inning in a 2for-4 effort on Monday and is hitting .393/.500/.571 through 12 Cactus League games. His speed and versatility — he’s played all three outfield spots and second base this spring and was developed as a shortstop — are intriguing in his push for one of three to four bench spots, but Mateo can really help himself if he continues to spray line drives all over the field as he’s done in his past few games.
Ranked No. 15 in the system by Baseball America, Mateo hit .154/.185/.269 with 11 strikeouts,
one walk and one stolen base last year in the majors.
Mateo is out of options and will have to make the team or be exposed to waivers.
“At the plate, he’s been working the last couple days flattening his swing,” Tingler said. “We’ve noticed the ball getting in play more. The more times the ball is in play, he’s got a chance to showcase his speed when he’s doing that.”
Notable
SS Fernando Tatis Jr. missed a second straight game, due in part to his comeback from a weeklong bout with the flu and “slamming down on the dirt” during a play at the plate Saturday. “I feel confident that if this were the regular season,” Tingler said, “he’d be playing and you guys wouldn’t even know about it.”
• Scratched from Saturday’s lineup with right knee soreness, OF Wil Myers missed a third straight game. Tingler said Myers “has a great chance” to return to the lineup as soon as today, provided he came out of Monday’s work in good shape.
• RHP Austin Adams is dealing with inflammation in his elbow, as well as a personal matter that is not COVID-19 related. Tingler said Adams’ status is day-to-day. Adams has not pitched in a game since March 7.
• INF Ha-seong Kim also missed a second straight game after he was scratched from Sunday’s lineup with “aches and pains.”
It was clear from the noise in the seats, even with only about 1,600 fans in attendance.
Nets 117, Knicks 112
It was obvious from the emotion on the court, where Julius Randle had to be restrained by Knicks teammates after the buzzer following a call that went against him in the final seconds.
New York’s basketball rivalry was alive and heated Monday night.
“I got a little taste of it tonight,” James Harden said.
Kyrie Irving scored 34 points and Harden posted his 10th triple-double of the season, leading the host Brooklyn Nets to a 117-112 victory over the Knicks.
Harden finished with 21 points, 15 rebounds and 15 assists in his first game against the Knicks since arriving in Brooklyn two months ago and turning the Nets into one of the NBA’s best teams.
Randle had 33 points, 12 rebounds and six assists for the Knicks, before a number of his teammates had to get off the bench to hold the AllStar forward back as he tried to get near the referees at midcourt.
He wouldn’t comment on his intentions, or the traveling call with the Knicks down three and 3.2 seconds remaining.
“I was just frustrated,” Randle said. “Obviously we fought so hard to come back and try to win the game, so I was just frustrated and that was pretty much it.”
The Nets agreed to the deal that brought Harden to Brooklyn on Jan. 13, playing short-handed that night at Madison Square Garden in a 116-109 victory over the Knicks. That made them just 7-6, but they are 20-7 since Harden’s arrival, including 19-4 when at least two of their three superstars play.
The Knicks also have played well, with a .500 record and an energized fan base that made its presence felt among the small crowd allowed in Barclays Center.
“These New York fans, especially the Knicks fans, you can hear them,” Harden said. “I don’t know how many fans we have in the building total, but you heard a lot of Knicks fans.”
Jeff Green scored 20 points as the Nets won for the 13th time in 14 games, even with Kevin Durant sitting out the last 12 of them with a strained left hamstring.
The Nets led by 18 late in the third quarter, but the Knicks had it down to 115-112 after a dunk by Randle and then got the ball back when coach Tom Thibodeau successfully challenged a foul called on RJ Barrett with 7.7 seconds remaining. The Knicks won the ensuing jump ball but Randle was called for traveling and Harden closed it out with two free throws.
The Nets made 70 percent of their shots and led by five after one quarter, then opened the second with a 14-2 spurt to take a 49-32 lead. Brooklyn had an 18-point lead with under 2 minutes remaining in the half, but New York cut it to 67-55 at the break.
Lakers 128, Warriors 97: Montrez Harrell scored 27 points on 11-of-14 shooting and LeBron James had 22 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists as visiting Los Angeles pounded Golden State.
Clippers 109, Mavericks 99: Kawhi Leonard scored 22 points, Marcus Morris Sr. added 14 in a rare start and visiting Los Angeles beat Dallas. Luka Doncic had 25 points, 16 assists and 10 rebounds for Dallas, and Kristaps Porzingis scored 22 points.
Nuggets 121, Pacers 106: Nikola Jokic notched his 35th double-double with 32 points and 14 rebounds, leading Denver over travel-weary Indiana. Michael Porter Jr. and Will Barton each scored 20 points for the Nuggets, who used a big fourth quarter to get the win.
Suns 122, Grizzlies 99: Devin Booker scored 27 points, Chris Paul added 18 and host Phoenix rolled past Memphis for its sixth win in the seven games. Jonas Valanciunas led the Grizzlies with 24 points and 17 rebounds.
Bucks 133, Wizards 122: Giannis Antetokounmpo had 31 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists for his third consecutive triple-double to lead Milwaukee past host Washington for its fourth consecutive victory. Bradley Beal led the Wizards with 37 points after sitting out Saturday to rest a sore left knee. Russell Westbrook had 23 points and a season-high 17 assists.
Hornets 122, Kings 116: Terry Rozier scored 26 points, Gordon Hayward added 25 and host Charlotte overcame a 15-point deficit in the second half and extended its winning streak to four games with a victory over Sacramento. De’Aaron Fox led the Kings with 29 points. The struggling Kings were dealt another big blow when forward Marvin Bagley III broke his left hand in the loss.
Spurs 109, Pistons 99: Dejounte Murray had 19 points and 10 rebounds to lead a balanced attack as visiting San Antonio beat Detroit. Detroit’s leading scorer, Jeremi Grant, left the game in the third quarter after falling hard on his hip while trying to drive between Drew Eubanks and Rudy Gay.