A's beat Red Sox 2-1 despite blown call

A's beat Red Sox 2-1 despite blown call
Mark E. Ortega
Martinez News-Gazette
June 21, 2014


OAKLAND – As has been the case for much of this four game weekend series against the defending champion Boston Red Sox, Stephen Vogt and Coco Crisp were the offensive stars of the game in Saturday’s 2-1 win in 10 innings.

Vogt reached base in his first three at bats and was responsible for the only run to score in the A’s win over the Red Sox, securing a season series win over the defending World Series champions.

Vogt lead off the third with a triple and came around to score on Alberto Callaspo’s sacrifice fly and Jesse Chavez went seven scoreless innings, which included no-hitting the Red Sox through the first five innings.

“It was fun,” Vogt said of the triple. “I was hoping it was going to get out. In retrospect, I wish I’d slid into third. I’m fortunate I was just fast enough to beat the throw.”

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Fitz And The Tantrums creep closer to headline status at the Fox

Fitz And The Tantrums creep closer to headline status at the Fox
Mark E. Ortega
Showbams.com
April 4, 2014

Los Angeles-band Fitz & The Tantrums proved Thursday night at the Fox Theater that they’ve moved into headliner territory, and probably for good. The venue was packed a full hour before they’d go on stage, and their charisma and energy left a major impression on all who attended.

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Boxing news around the Bay Area

Boxing news around the Bay Area - Mar. 25
Mark E. Ortega
Martinez News-Gazette
March 25, 2014

Former Oakland boxer James Buggs shockingly passed away last Tuesday at the early age of 43 from an apparent heart attack.

Over the course of a 10-year professional career that ended in 2009, Buggs was a win some, lose some type of fighter. He compiled a record that consisted of eight wins, ten losses, and three draws, often taking fights on short notice and under unfavorable circumstances against a number of up and comers.

It is within the confines of Oakland’s famed King’s Gym that Buggs’ absence will be felt the most in the boxing community. It is there that Buggs worked with the city’s youth, teaching them the basics of the sweet science while also becoming a reliable figure in the gym for anyone to bounce their problems off.

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Donaire returns to the ring

Donaire returns to the ring
Mark E. Ortega
Martinez News-Gazette
November 7, 2013


San Leandro, Calif., boxer Nonito Donaire returns to the ring on Saturday in a new weight division, but will look across the ring at a familiar foe while doing so.

Donaire (31-2, 20 knockouts) is coming off an April defeat to Guillermo Rigondeaux, his first loss in almost a decade. Donaire was dealing with a slew of personal matters, including his wife Rachel being pregnant with their first child, who was born a few months ago.

Now refocused, Donaire will face Vic Darchinyan (39-5-1, 28 KOs) in a 126-pound fight that will be part of a triple header televised by HBO. These two last met in July of 2007, where the five-to-one underdog Donaire knocked out Darchinyan in the fifth round with a wicked check hook. That victory launched Donaire, who won 13 straight across four weight divisions prior to the loss to Rigondeaux.

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Boxing weekend in Roseville

Boxing weekend in Roseville
Mark E. Ortega
Martinez News-Gazette
October 10, 2013


With Andre Ward, Nonito Donaire, and Robert Guerrero the established names on the Northern California boxing circuit, the region is in search of new young up and coming talent to climb the ranks.

Saturday night at the Placer County Fair and Events Center in Roseville, Calif., a number of talented young fighters from the area will showcase their talents in competitively matched four and six round bouts.

Headlining the card is standout junior welterweight prospect Aaron Coley of Hayward, who meets Mike Alexander of Antioch in a six-round bout.

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Mayfield Ready For Top Rank Debut

Mayfield Ready For Top Rank Debut
Mark E. Ortega
Martinez News-Gazette
September 26, 2013


It’s been a long and sometimes difficult road for San Francisco junior welterweight contender Karim Mayfield on his way up.

Boxing is a sport that, for many people, plays out as a real-life version of the old board game “Chutes and Ladders.” Just when you think you’re on the verge of taking that step into the big time, something sets you back.

For Mayfield, 31, it’s never been a professional loss that’s kept him from breaking through. In eighteen contests as a paid pugilist, the Bay Area native has never lost.

Instead, Mayfield, who grew up in San Francisco’s famed Fillmore district, has been hampered by inactivity and out of the ring issues ever since turning pro in June of 2006.

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Hirsch hopes to shed journeyman label on Saturday

Hirsch hopes to shed journeyman label on Saturday
Mark E. Ortega
RingTV.com
August 14, 2013


As much as boxing needs to continue developing young fighters into stars, the sport needs just as much a solid foundation of gatekeepers and stepping-stones to provide tests on the way up the ladder.

What about those fighters who were relegated to those labels not because of lack of talent, but lack of opportunity? Oakland, Calif., junior middleweight Tony Hirsch, a longtime sparring partner of RING super middleweight champion Andre Ward, hopes to prove he can be a contender one day.

Saturday night, Hirsch (14-5-2, 6 KOs) gets his first real opportunity. He’ll travel to the U.S. Virgin Islands to fight John Jackson (18-1, 14 KOs) in an eight-round main event that can only be seen on a web stream on GoFightLive (gfl.tv) for $9.99.

Jackson suffered his only defeat last year in a competitive untelevised scrap against Willie Nelson. It was a good learning experience for the 24-year old.

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