Santa Cruz Sentinel
SPORTS
SUPER BOWL SPECIAL SECTION | INSIDE
ALL YOU NEED TO
WATCH THE GAME
SUNDAY February 3, 2013
INSIDE D
THIS SECTION
Local Roundup ...............D2
Surfing ...........................D3
Basketball......................D6
Sharks ........................... D7
Scoreboard .................... D7
SANTACRUZSENTINEL.COM/SPORTS
SUPER BOWL XLVII: 49ERS VS. RAVENS, 3:30 P.M. TODAY, CBS
WHO’S GOT IT BETTER?
ONLY ONE HARBAUGH TEAM, 49ERS OR RAVENS, CAN ANSWER ‘NOBODY’ AFTER TODAY
ANTHONY L. SOLIS/SENTINEL
San Francisco tight end Vernon Davis comes out of the tunnel prior to the 49ers game against the Buffalo Bills in October. The 49ers play the Baltimore Ravens today in Super Bowl XLVII.
Ex-Cabrillo
coach is voice of
game for KNBR
JIM SEIMAS
Airing It Out
I
t’s the wee hours of Friday
morning in party central, aka
New Orleans on Super Bowl
week, and former San Francisco
49ers cornerback Eric Davis is
sipping coffee.
The 45-year-old looks
exhausted, but he’s not. The
self-proclaimed night owl is just
catching his second wind.
Davis is on the set of NFL
Network’s “NFL AM,” a fourhour show that runs weekdays
beginning at 3 a.m. This past
week, he and his colleagues have
been previewing Super Bowl
XLVII, which today will pit the
SENTINEL SPORTS STAFF PREDICTIONS
SF’s arsenal has
too many weapons
49ers mirror past
Super Bowl winner
Ravens underdogs
for a reason
Kaepernick will
have Ravens on run
Fleet-footed and sure-armed 49ers
quarterback Colin Kaepernick
has too many
weapons around
him and will win
MVP honors when
San Francisco
wins Sunday. He’s
got tough running
back in Frank
Gore, a burst
of adrenaline
JIM
in speedy back
SEIMAS
LaMichael James,
Assistant Editor
as well as an
improved receiver corps.
San Francisco’s defense is equally
star-heavy with lineman Justin Smith,
a second-to-none linebacking corps,
including Aldon Smith, NaVorro
Bowman and Patrick Willis.
PREDICTION: 49ers 21, Ravens 17
The parallels between the 2001
Patriots and the 2013 49ers are about
as crazy as it gets.
Both were anchored
by defense and led
by quarterbacks
who took over midseason after the
starting QB, that
many felt couldn’t
win a Super Bowl
anyway, suffered an
ANDREW
injury.
MATHESON
Both coaches led
Sportswriter
their team to the
Super Bowl in their second season and
love answering postgame questions.
Just pray the game doesn’t come
down to a David Akers field-goal
attempt, because he is no Adam
Vinatieri. The parallels end there.
PREDICTION: 49ers 34, Ravens 24
Super Bowl XLVII is going to be smashmouth, we-have-something-to-prove
football. It’s going to
be grass stains and
grit, bloodied bodies
and broken noses.
Unfortunately for the
49ers, that’s the
kind of game the
Ravens thrive in.
They’ll do everything
they can to dull the
JULIE
sparkle and shine
JAG
the 49ers have
Sports Editor
conjured every time
they’ve gotten on this big stage.
They don’t even want my pick,
thriving on being an underdog.
Since I wish local boy Brendon
Ayanbadejo, a Baltimore linebacker, all
the best, I’m not going to give them it.
PREDICTION: 49ers 17, Ravens 14, OT
The Ravens have seen the read-option
offense before, back when they faced
the Redskins and
Robert Griffin III
nearly two months
ago. The result?
A 31-28 OT win
for the Redskins.
While the Ravens
have improved
since then, the
49ers offense
JACOB
and defense are
MAY
far superior to the
Copy Editor
‘Skins’.
The game will come down to a
constant guessing game for the
Ravens’ defenders, wondering if
Colin Kaepernick will hand off the
ball or keep it for himself. They’ll be
wrong more often than not.
PREDICTION: 49ers 31, Ravens 21
SEE SEIMAS ON D6
Sterling wins at Nelscott Reef
Mel reaches semis
BIG WAVE SURFING
By JULIE JAG
out of the barrel toward his
2010-11 Big Wave World Tour
title.
If that’s what happened in a
year he finished third, what will
happen now that he’s won?
Sterling, 31, mastered the
jjag@santacruzsentinel.com
Jamie Sterling’s performance in the 2010 Nelscott
Reef Big Wave Challenge lighted the match for him to blast
monster waves at the big wave
surf break off the coast of Lincoln City, Ore., on Saturday to
win the 2012-13 Nelscott competition.
Making drops into waves
with 24- to 30-foot faces, the
SEE NELSCOTT ON D3
SAN JOSE —
Scotts Valley’s Alicia Pitts wrestles
to grip her slippery
opponent’s leg
during the CCS
Girls Wrestling
Championship at
Oak Grove High on
Saturday. Story,
D2
KEVIN JOHNSON/
SENTINEL
Santa Cruz Sentinel
SPORTS
SUPER BOWL SPECIAL SECTION | INSIDE
ALL YOU NEED TO
WATCH THE GAME
SUNDAY February 3, 2013
INSIDE D
THIS SECTION
Local Roundup ...............D2
Surfing ...........................D3
Basketball......................D6
Sharks ........................... D7
Scoreboard .................... D7
SANTACRUZSENTINEL.COM/SPORTS
SUPER BOWL XLVII: 49ERS VS. RAVENS, 3:30 P.M. TODAY, CBS
WHO’S GOT IT BETTER?
ONLY ONE HARBAUGH TEAM, 49ERS OR RAVENS, CAN ANSWER ‘NOBODY’ AFTER TODAY
ANTHONY L. SOLIS/SENTINEL
San Francisco tight end Vernon Davis comes out of the tunnel prior to the 49ers game against the Buffalo Bills in October. The 49ers play the Baltimore Ravens today in Super Bowl XLVII.
Ex-Cabrillo
coach is voice of
game for KNBR
JIM SEIMAS
Airing It Out
I
t’s the wee hours of Friday
morning in party central, aka
New Orleans on Super Bowl
week, and former San Francisco
49ers cornerback Eric Davis is
sipping coffee.
The 45-year-old looks
exhausted, but he’s not. The
self-proclaimed night owl is just
catching his second wind.
Davis is on the set of NFL
Network’s “NFL AM,” a fourhour show that runs weekdays
beginning at 3 a.m. This past
week, he and his colleagues have
been previewing Super Bowl
XLVII, which today will pit the
SENTINEL SPORTS STAFF PREDICTIONS
SF’s arsenal has
too many weapons
49ers mirror past
Super Bowl winner
Ravens underdogs
for a reason
Kaepernick will
have Ravens on run
Fleet-footed and sure-armed 49ers
quarterback Colin Kaepernick
has too many
weapons around
him and will win
MVP honors when
San Francisco
wins Sunday. He’s
got tough running
back in Frank
Gore, a burst
of adrenaline
JIM
in speedy back
SEIMAS
LaMichael James,
Assistant Editor
as well as an
improved receiver corps.
San Francisco’s defense is equally
star-heavy with lineman Justin Smith,
a second-to-none linebacking corps,
including Aldon Smith, NaVorro
Bowman and Patrick Willis.
PREDICTION: 49ers 21, Ravens 17
The parallels between the 2001
Patriots and the 2013 49ers are about
as crazy as it gets.
Both were anchored
by defense and led
by quarterbacks
who took over midseason after the
starting QB, that
many felt couldn’t
win a Super Bowl
anyway, suffered an
ANDREW
injury.
MATHESON
Both coaches led
Sportswriter
their team to the
Super Bowl in their second season and
love answering postgame questions.
Just pray the game doesn’t come
down to a David Akers field-goal
attempt, because he is no Adam
Vinatieri. The parallels end there.
PREDICTION: 49ers 34, Ravens 24
Super Bowl XLVII is going to be smashmouth, we-have-something-to-prove
football. It’s going to
be grass stains and
grit, bloodied bodies
and broken noses.
Unfortunately for the
49ers, that’s the
kind of game the
Ravens thrive in.
They’ll do everything
they can to dull the
JULIE
sparkle and shine
JAG
the 49ers have
Sports Editor
conjured every time
they’ve gotten on this big stage.
They don’t even want my pick,
thriving on being an underdog.
Since I wish local boy Brendon
Ayanbadejo, a Baltimore linebacker, all
the best, I’m not going to give them it.
PREDICTION: 49ers 17, Ravens 14, OT
The Ravens have seen the read-option
offense before, back when they faced
the Redskins and
Robert Griffin III
nearly two months
ago. The result?
A 31-28 OT win
for the Redskins.
While the Ravens
have improved
since then, the
49ers offense
JACOB
and defense are
MAY
far superior to the
Copy Editor
‘Skins’.
The game will come down to a
constant guessing game for the
Ravens’ defenders, wondering if
Colin Kaepernick will hand off the
ball or keep it for himself. They’ll be
wrong more often than not.
PREDICTION: 49ers 31, Ravens 21
SEE SEIMAS ON D6
Sterling wins at Nelscott Reef
Mel reaches semis
BIG WAVE SURFING
By JULIE JAG
out of the barrel toward his
2010-11 Big Wave World Tour
title.
If that’s what happened in a
year he finished third, what will
happen now that he’s won?
Sterling, 31, mastered the
jjag@santacruzsentinel.com
Jamie Sterling’s performance in the 2010 Nelscott
Reef Big Wave Challenge lighted the match for him to blast
monster waves at the big wave
surf break off the coast of Lincoln City, Ore., on Saturday to
win the 2012-13 Nelscott competition.
Making drops into waves
with 24- to 30-foot faces, the
SEE NELSCOTT ON D3
SAN JOSE —
Scotts Valley’s Alicia Pitts wrestles
to grip her slippery
opponent’s leg
during the CCS
Girls Wrestling
Championship at
Oak Grove High on
Saturday. Story,
D2
KEVIN JOHNSON/
SENTINEL
D6 SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2013
SANTA CRUZ SENTINEL
SPORTS
NFL HALL OF FAME
Parcells, Sapp, Carter among 7 Hall inductees
By PAUL NEWBERRY
Associated Press
NEW ORLEANS — Bill Parcells was a
winner everywhere he coached. Time and
time again, he took over struggling franchises and showed them what it takes to be a
success, including a pair of Super Bowl titles
with the New York Giants.
Parcells pulled off another victory Saturday — election to the Pro Football Hall
of Fame.
Getting in on his fourth try, Parcells led
an induction class that also included mouthy
defensive lineman Warren Sapp, prolific
receiver Cris Carter and a pair of stalwarts
from the trenches, offensive linemen Jonathan Ogden and Larry Allen.
The class of 2013 also included a pair of
senior selections, Curley Culp and Dave RobJEFF CHIU/AP inson. The announcement was made in New
Former Raider and Buccaneer Warren Sapp Orleans, site of Sunday’s Super Bowl.
Almost as noteworthy were the finalists
was selected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame
who didn’t get in, including running back
on Saturday.
Jerome Bettis and owners Art Modell and
Edward DeBartolo Jr. Players and coaches
from the Baltimore Ravens, who will face
the San Francisco 49ers in the Super Bowl,
spent all week lobbying for Modell, their
former owner who died last year, to claim a
place in the hall.
It didn’t work out, no doubt pleasing fans
in Cleveland who remain bitter about Modell
moving the original Browns to Baltimore.
Parcells had to wait a while, earning a bust
in Canton on his fourth try. He thought he
might get in the previous year in tandem
with one of his former players, Curtis Martin.
“It was a little less stressful than last year,”
Parcells said. “I was kind of hoping we could
do it together, but as fate would have it, it
didn’t work out.”
Giants president and CEO John Mara
said Parcells’ selection for the hall was “long
overdue.”
“He’s one of the best coaches in NFL history,” Mara said. “He turned our franchise
around. We went through a long period in
the 1960’s and 70’s when we were a laughingstock. When Bill took over in 1983, he
survived a very difficult first year, but then
turned us into a perennial playoff contender
and won two Super Bowls for us. He coached
three other teams and everywhere he went,
he had great success.”
No one was more emotional than Carter,
who took six years to get in despite putting
up some of the best receiving numbers in
NFL history. He broke down in tears but
quickly pointed out “it’s not because I’m
sad.”
“This is the happiest day of my life,” he
said. “It’s unreal you’re going to end your
career in Canton. I said to myself, ‘I’m going
to get in the hall this year.’ I believed I would
get in the hall this year. It’s the most amazing
thing that ever happened to me.”
In addition to Bettis, four other players
failed to get in on the final vote: Charles
Haley, Andre Reed, Michael Strahan and
Aeneas Williams.
NBA
COLLEGE BASKETBALL WEST ROUNDUP
Curry no worse for wear
in rout over Suns
Cal hands Oregon
second straight loss
By MARCUS THOMPSON II
Bay Area News Group
OAKLAND — First, Warriors point
guard Stephen Curry scored a victory
over his concerned coach, convincing
Mark Jackson to let him play. Then
Curry went out and led his team to victory Saturday, 113-93 over the Phoenix
Suns at Oracle Arena.
Curry, who missed the previous two
games with a sprained right ankle, had
a game-high 29 points and eight assists
as Golden State won its fourth straight.
The Warriors are now a season-best
13 games over .500 as
they head out for a fourgames-in-five-nights
road trip next week.
Curry — who has
missed four games this
season after two sprains
WARRIORS 113, of that ankle — participated in shoot-around
SUNS 93
Saturday morning and
went through his preTUESDAY’S
game routine before
GAME:
tipoff. In between, and
Warriors
after, he was in Jackat Rockets
son’s ear about allowTIME: 5 p.m.
ing him to play. With
TV: CSN
his ankle surviving the
tests, Jackson conceded.
He was certainly glad he did in the
third quarter, when Curry scored 11
points to give the Warriors control of
a previously close game. The Warriors
have now won four straight at home.
Rookie forward Harrison Barnes had
21 points and eight rebounds. Forward
David Lee finished with 16 points, 12
rebounds and seven assists. Guard
Klay Thompson had 17 points, seven
rebounds and seven assists.
Center Andrew Bogut, making his
thirdappearancesincereturningfromleft
anklerehab,had11points,sevenrebounds
and three blocks in 25 minutes.
The Warriors trailed at the half
despite outshooting Phoenix. The Suns’
12 free throws in the first half not only
provided them offense but also kept the
pace slow. In the halfcourt, Phoenix was
able to milk its advantage — quickness
at the forward positions.
Small forward Michael Beasley had
BEN MARGOT/AP
15 points on 7-of-14 shooting in the first Warriors guard Jarrett Jack drives against the Suns’ Marcin Gortat during the first
half for the Suns.
half on Saturday in Oakland.
SEIMAS
Continued from D1
49ers against the Baltimore
Ravens.
The back of Davis’ right hand
has an ink stamp and his right
wrist is covered with colorful
bands. He’s visiting a lot of fun
destinations in the Big Easy.
His coworkers tease him about
the hand stamp on the air. Davis,
acting surprised, tries to wipe the
mark clean.
“I was busy,” said Davis,
a former assistant coach for
Cabrillo College’s football team
after his 13-year NFL career
concluded in 2002.
Davis — whose family moved
from the county to Los Angeles a
few years back — is busy. When
he hasn’t been stuffing his face
with regional cuisine or staying
hydrated, he has been preparing
for his Super Bowl duties.
In addition to working for NFL
AM, he and veteran announcer
Ted Robinson will conduct the
49ers radio broadcast for the
Super Bowl on Sunday, which
airs on KNBR 680/1050 AM and
KSAN 107.7 FM.
Obviously, Davis knows a thing
or two about football.
He also knows a his fair share
about the 49ers. He played six
years with the organization
and helped it win Super Bowl
XXIX against the Chargers. He
recorded an interception in the
game, one of his six career picks
in the playoffs. He also registered
38 career interceptions, helping
him garner three invitations to
the Pro Bowl.
As good as he was as a player,
he’s proving he’s also good at
analysis from the broadcasting
booth.
In fact, it’s a shame that the
world’s most-viewed sporting
event Sunday will mean a smaller
audience for Robinson and him
on the radio. He’s as colorful as
his wristbands. And, he has no
shortage of opinions.
The Ravens’ scariest weapon?
That’s easy.
“It’s Anquan Boldin. But that
offense is sort of like the 49ers’.
Everything is run through Ray
Rice,” Davis said in a recent
interview on KNBR. “Anquan
Boldin is the killer. The quick
death … Well, if you want death by
paper cut, let’s go Ray Rice. If you
want take a little bit of arsenic
and it’s going to take a while,
then that’s Anquan Boldin. If you
want to just take a bullet, that’s
Torrey. That’s Torrey Smith. That
guy can get you quick. He’s fast.
He’s crazy fast. I mean they have
multiple levels to that offense. But
Anquan is the guy right now. He’s,
sort of, on a mission. He’s playing
like a full-grown man.”
On 49ers radio broadcasts,
Robinson handles the bulk of the
announcing and Davis chimes in
with his thoughts and strategy talk,
breaking down all the big plays.
Sometimes he interjects
with a loud yell of disbelief:
“Whhhoooaaaa!” or “Wow!”
Those reactions are always
followed by laughter and then his
analysis.
“I know he’s having fun,” said
former 49ers defensive lineman
Dana Stubblefield, teammates
with Davis in San Francisco.
“He’s having fun, bringing back
memories and old feelings. I know
his body is tingling about getting
out there.”
Over the course of the past two
seasons, Davis has built quite a
fan base for his radio analysis.
His son Kevin, who played at
Soquel High and later Cabrillo in
2006 and ’07, has accompanied
his father to several regularseason games, sitting in a suite
near his dad’s workstation.
“It’s just like home, sitting
down on the couch,” Kevin said of
listening to his father. “He doesn’t
change at all. He’s so comfortable
just speaking his mind.”
Stubblefield agrees.
“He’s good,” said Stubblefield,
noting he also worked with Davis
on “The Game” on 95.7 FM.
Associated Press
David Kravish made up
for a game’s worth of offensive struggles with one big
defensive play that put California right back in the Pac12 race.
Kravish struggled with
his jumper most of the afternoon but forced a key change
of possession after tying up
Oregon’s Tony Woods with
5.2 seconds remaining, taking away any chance the
10th-ranked Ducks had of
forcing overtime and preserving the Golden Bears’
58-54 win on Saturday.
“I didn’t have the timing to jump for it and I saw
(Woods) come down, but
he kind of brought the ball
down,” said Kravish, who
had eight points on 4-of-13
shooting. “I had my hand
on it, so I knew we had the
jump ball.”
Cal’s first win over a top 10
team in more than five years
won’t win any style points,
but it could be the spark
coach Mike Montgomery
has been looking for.
AT SAINT MARY’S 77,
PORTLAND 42
Matthew Dellavedova
scored 23 points and Saint
Mary’s won its seventh in a
row, beating Portland.
Dellavedova made his
first four 3-point tries and
finished 5 of 9 behind the
arc for the Gaels (19-4, 8-1
West Coast), who went 11
for 23 from 3-point range.
Jorden Page scored 11
points, nine in the first half,
and Mitchell Young scored
10 for Saint Mary’s, which
led 41-21 and scored the first
14 points of the second half.
Portland didn’t get on the
board after halftime until
Oskars Reinfelds’ basket
with 11:41 to play.
AT AIR FORCE 70, NO. 22
SAN DIEGO STATE 67
Everywhere they go, the
Air Force Falcons see constant reminders of outsiders’ low expectations for the
“Funny thing is to watch how
he’s matured and see how far he’s
come as a broadcaster and things
like that.”
Stubblefield joked that
Davis’ skyrocketing career
in broadcasting has left him
stunned. He said Davis gave no
indication he could excel in such a
career when he was a player.
“Nothing. Zero,” Stubblefield
said through laughter. “Eric
displayed no or zero commenting
skills at all in the locker room.
None. Yeah, he was a loudmouth,
but we didn’t think he’d go into
commentating. … But those guys
do make it.”
Jacksonville Jaguars safety
Dwight Lowery — also a Soquel
and Cabrillo alum — trained
with Davis at Cabrillo during the
summer of 2006, when Davis was
coaching defensive backs for the
Seahawks.
Lowery is usually playing when
Davis is on the radio Sundays, but
said he tunes in to watch Davis on
NFL AM.
“I think he does a great job,”
Lowery said. “He breaks it down
simple, so you can understand
it. And he doesn’t have no bias
approach to what he’s saying. He
says the truth. My interactions
I’ve had with him, that’s all you’re
going to get.”
Cabrillo head coach Bill
Garrison said he listens to his
long-struggling program.
The media picked them
to finish last in a deep
Mountain West Conference, a preseason prediction that’s plastered to the
locker room doors and
across grease boards.
AT IDAHO 66,
SAN JOSE STATE 63
Connor Hill scored 19
points and Kyle Barone
added 15 points and 12
rebounds to lead Idaho to
a victory against San Jose
State.
The Vandals (9-12, 5-6
Western Athletic) held on
despite not getting a field
goal in the last 5:22.
D.J. Brown had 18 points
and Nick Grieves and Louis
Garrett added 10 each for
the Spartans (9-13, 3-8).
Chris Cunningham had five
points and 18 rebounds.
AT BYU 96,
SANTA CLARA 79
Matt Carlino scored a
season-high 28 points —
two short of his career high
— and dished out six assists
Saturday night as BYU
snapped Santa Clara’s fivegame winning streak.
Tyler Haws added 24
points for the Cougars (18-6,
8-2 West Coast), and Brandon Davies had 16 points
and 11 rebounds. BYU shot
58 percent from the field
and outscored Santa Clara
50-20 in the paint.
AT LONG BEACH ST. 50,
CAL POLY 48
James Ennis scored 23
points and Long Beach
State won its eight in a row,
defeating Cal Poly.
Mike Caffey’s basket with
1:27 to play gave the 49ers a
48-46 lead. Ennis made a pair
of free throws with 6 seconds
left for the final margin.
SAN FRANCISCO 86,
AT PEPPERDINE 78
Cole Dickerson scored
27 points and grabbed 11
rebounds and San Francisco outlasted Pepperdine.
former assistant on the radio as
much as he can.
“He’s very energetic and
knowledgeable,” Garrison said.
“He’s much more relaxed than he
was a year ago.”
Yes, he is.
Filling in some down time on
NFL AM on Friday morning,
Davis and colleague Brian
Webber are reviewing highlights
from the 49ers’ 49-26 rout of the
Chargers in Super Bowl XXIX.
Among them is a questionable
interception by Davis at the goal
line. Webber thinks Davis caught
a break after quickly dropping
the ball.
“It’s in the books,” said Davis,
raising his voice in a playful tone.
“It was before the rule change.
It’s in the books! So shush it,
Brian.”
“Why do you get up and argue
with the refs then?” Webber
challenges, calling attention to
how Davis tried to use his powers
of persuasion after the play. “Are
you trying to work on skills on
being an announcer?”
“I’m trying to get you to
understand that I’m right and
your wrong,” Davis quips.
Looks like he made it on both
accounts.
Contact Assistant Sports Editor Jim Seimas at 706-3256 or jseimas@santacruzsentinel.com.