Sports thoughts
STANFORD, Calif. — Oscar da Silva acknowledged he hasn’t always brought the right mindset into a game. He changed that Saturday.
Da Silva scored 21 points and had 10 rebounds, KZ Okpala added 21 points and nine rebounds and Stanford downed Arizona State 85-71 on Saturday to earn its first conference victory.
“He was awesome,” Stanford coach Jerod Haase said of da Silva. “He has to be one of the guys who play at a high level. I’d like to see Oscar play like that more consistently.”
Daejon Davis added 13 points and nine assists for the Cardinal (8-8, 1-3 Pac12 Conference), which has won seven of eight at home against the Sun Devils.
Luguentz Dort scored 16 points for the Sun Devils (11-5, 2-2), who have lost three of five. Rob Edwards had 13 points and Zylan Cheatham had 12 rebounds.
Da Silva scored 14 of his 21 points and had seven of his 10 rebounds in the first half.
The Cardinal scored the first 12 points of the second half, opening a 52-38 advantage. The Sun Devils were held scoreless the first 5:27.
“I found the flow early and my teammates were
As I was watching a not-so-exciting National Championship Collegiate football game, a few thoughts came to mind. First and foremost, Americans love sports. Second, they are extremely loyal to the teams they root for. Third, they will go to any lengths to support their teams.
Alabama, Clemson, seventy thousand people, playing where? Playing right in the middle of Silicon Valley, California. Sports fans, northern California prices are out of sight in the off-season, and I don’t think they have an off-season.
You’ve got to realize that fans didn’t fly on Sunday night to watch a Monday night ball game. The average stay is three of four days. Imagine a conversation between a Clemson fan from Buford, South Carolina, and a hotel reservationist in San Jose. “I’d like three nights at your hotel, we’re comin’ out to watch the Tigers crush the Tide.” “We’re happy to have all the Clemson and Alabama fans visit the Bay area”, replied the reservationist. “We are running a special at out hotel, called Championship Monday. That’s three nights, free Happy Hour on Saturday, free Wi-Fi, use of our excellent fitness room, and a shuttle bus to and from the stadium.”
The fan from Clemson was ecstatic. “Me and my better half will be there, book us”.
The reservationist replied, “We’re so happy you chose our hotel. The price will be, including federal, state, and local tax, $5,175,57.”
A dead silence at the other end. “Now, sir, could I please have your credit card number?” Remember fans, this bill did not include airfare and meals. And there are no all-youcan-eat fish fry’s in Silicon Valley.
Let’s switch to the east coast and examine