The third preseason game for the Oakland Raiders and the first-team offense was a success, somewhat. Carson Palmer and company have been able to drive down the field this preseason, but unable to punch it in the end zone.  All that matters is the victory at the end, which the Raiders got by defeating the Detroit Lions 31-20.

The Raiders drove down to the Lions 12-yard line on the first drive of the game and could not get into the end zone. To cap it off, Sebastian Janikowski missed a 30-yard field goal wide left.  

The Lions countered with a 12-play, 57-yard drive led by Matthew Stafford and it was finished by Jason Hanson. Hanson nailed a 41-yard field goal, which gave the Lions a 3-0 lead with 1:51 left in the first quarter.

Once Detroit took the lead, both teams traded punts. It was on the third series that the Raiders finally punched it in.  It was a 12-play, 86-yard drive finished by Darren McFadden with a 1-yard touchdown run. Prior to the touchdown, Lions DT Corey Williams forced McFadden to fumble. The Raiders challenged that McFadden had already broke the plane and the call was reversed.  That gave the Raiders a 7-3 lead with 6:39 left in the half.

Lions QB Shaun Hill entered the game midway through the second quarter as Matthew Stafford suffered an injury to his non-throwing hand.  

"It was just scary to look down and see your hand swelling up by the second," Stafford said. "That kind of freaked me out. The skin kind of just grew by the second. I didn't know what was going on." Team trainers wrapped Stafford's hand in heavy bandages and a brace on the sideline and X-rays were negative.

After back to back field goals by the Lions, the Oakland Raiders ended the half with a 56-yard field goal by Eddy Carmona and a 10-6 lead.

The second half was the Terrelle Pryor show.

The Lions opened the second half with 7 yard touchdown pass from Hill to Brandon Pettigrew.  Pryor replaced Palmer (17/26, 181yds) to start the Raiders third quarter.  He scrambled for 59 yards and later shook off a sack for a 17-yard touchdown run in his first series in a quick third quarter, which gave the Raiders a 17-13 lead.

The Big Ten product had some chemistry with rookie wideout Juron Criner. The two connected for on two touchdown passes. One was a 39-yard TD pass that Criner had to twist back to haul in the underthrown ball over a defender.  The second score was a 76-yard pass in which Pryor threw across his body to Criner running a post pattern across the middle of the field.

Pryor ended the day rushing for 90 yards and a score. He also threw for 137 yards, on five attempts and two scores.

The victory was the first for Raiders Head Coach Dennis Allen - “Any time you get a chance to get a win, you do nothing but grow from that. We talk about creating habits and you’re either creating good habits or bad habits and today we created a good habit. It’s a good habit to get into winning. I talked to guys before about that’s why we play the game and that are what we went out there and tried to do today.”

The Raiders finish the 2012 Preseason next Thursday at Seattle.

Stephone Mejia

8.26.12

Today, the Oakland A’s optioned right-handed pitcher Andrew Carignan to Triple-A Sacramento. The move was made to clear a roster spot for left-handed pitcher Travis Blackley, who was claimed off waivers from the  San Francisco Giants yesterday.

Carignan was recalled from  the  Sacramento RiverCats last Friday for his second stint with the A’s. He appeared in two games, allowing two runs on two hits and three walks in 2.0 innings of work . Carignan is 1-1 with a 7.11 ERA in seven appearances  with Oakland and has issued eight walks in 6.1 innings.

Blackley began the season at Triple-A Fresno and was 3-0 with a save and a 0.39 ERA in four games, three of them starts. He was called up by  the Giants on May 1, where he posted a 9.00 ERA and .333 opponents batting average in four relief appearances with San Francisco before he was designated for assignment on Sunday.

Stephone

5/16/2012

I would like to consider myself a veteran in the “Midnight Movie” world. The majority of  the Midnight shows happen during the summer. I remember the first Midnight show I attended was for Spider – Man 2. The crowd was amazing! Everybody was wearing some type of Spider-Man apparel. I was completely surprised. I always knew that the hardcore people go to the Midnight Show, but I was just not expecting what I saw.

I  found out that Midnight shows are not for every movie. When I saw the trailer for The Day the Earth Stood Still, I thought it would be pretty good. As soon as I set foot in the theatre, nobody was there. It didn’t help that Keanu “Giant Stiff” Reeves was the star in it. That had to be, besides The Happening, the worst movie I ever saw. Wait… I lied, The Transporter was a complete waste of my time. The sad thing about the movie, it was a advanced screening – I WALKED OUT!

For every good, their is a bad. It is understandable to have a blockbluster start off at Midnight. The company wants to make as much money as possible. Movie Companies also knows people will come out. Which brings me to Spider-Man 3. That movie had a lot of stuff going on and as a result it was not a good movie. This is where the beauty of the moviegoers plays a role. Is it annoying when your neighbor talks in the movie? Yes. When they text? For sure. At Midnight though, anything goes. Fans are yelling out comments, you have lazer pointers at the screen, random yellers etc. I can’t remember the number of slurs people were yelling about Mary Jane Watson. That’s the beauty of it, we tolerate it for a Midnight Show. For a regualr screening at 6pm? People will complain, guaranteed.

To set the record straight, you have to be a truly dedicated/crazy person to go watch a movie at Midnight. It’s hard, it’s early Friday morning and you still have to go to work a few hours after the movie ends. You have to also get to the theatre early enough if you want to save seats. People usually go out drinking/eating before heading to the theatre. Lots of factors come into play, hence dedicated/crazy poeple. Everybody is family in the theatre. We all want to be the first ones to watch it and have something to talk about, six hours later. We go for the sideshow: the people watching, the costumes, people camping out, people sneaking food and alcohol in.

I write this because this go round feels different. The Avengers comes out tonight and I’m excited. I and along with everybody else, has not seen a gathering like this before. Sure we have the X-Men, but this is The Avengers. Each had a solo movie leading up to this. The buzz for this movie has been through the roof. I’m anxious for this becauseI want to see  the different Marvel Apparel people will wear. I want to hear how many times somebody has seen the solo movies looking for Easter Eggs. I want to hear the reaction of the crowd once the team Assebles. The Avengers Midnight Show will have a different feel compared to any other Midnight Show. It wasn’t mandatory to put The Avengers at Midnight, I think The Avengers is the first movie to earn that time slot.

Stephone

5/3/2012

These past two days have been nothing short of news. Let’s start things off with Wednesday.

�¡Apparently Kobe Bryant decided to make a visit to our “friendly” neighborhood club MiX. Apparently, Kobe was just chilling, relaxing-enjoy a few tasty beverages. I don’t know what is the deal with Wednesday. Maybe I am getting old, but it seems like the weekend starts on Hump Day.
�¡Today, Thursday, Metta World Peace and Mr. Pau Gasol were seen getting some sushi at Mikuni. Not quite sure if it was the one in Downtown or near the mall. Regardless, they were out enjoying the beautiful weather.
�¡We come to find out Kobe won’t be playing. He officially loses the scoring title to OKC Thunder, Kevin Durant. He is focused on getting that sixth ring.
�¡The Maloofs and KJ had a encouraging meeting today in regards of the arena. Mayor Kevin Johnson says that they “…agreed not to negotiate in public.” So we shall see how that goes.
�¡No starters will be playing for the Lakers.

This is the last game of the season for the Sacramento Kings. The season was filled with up and downs, on and off the court. The last pick from the draft, UW’s (University of Washington) finest Isiah Thomas has become a fan favorite. Jimmer Fredette had a OK rookie season. Demarcus Cousins played well. Coaching changes, arena issues, just the norm for Kings Basketball.

I’m excited to see my Pacific Division Champions Lakers play tonight in person. I’m not excited that it won’t be the same Lakers that I’m used to seeing. The Lakers are waiting to see if they host the Denver Nuggets or Dallas Mavericks in the first round on Sunday. 

Stephone

4/26/12