Another playoff run?

Sometimes lost in the shuffle because of football, the UC Davis men's soccer team begins the season today at 5 p.m. against Long Beach. The game is part of the Copa de Causeway tournament, co-hosted by Sacramento State. The UCD women take on San Jose State at 2:30 p.m.

The Aggies, as you might remember, made history last season by qualifying for the NCAA tournament in their first season of Divison I. UCD was picked to finish second in the Big West Conference this time and lost just three players to graduation, so it could be another strong year.

The season will feature only 10 conference games due to a newly instated Big West tournament, which will determine the automatic qualifier for the NCAAs. The top four teams will all advance to the tournament with the top two seeds hosting the first-round games. The event is Nov. 12 and 15.

And in case you're wondering, the Aggies host league favorite UC Santa Barbara at noon on Nov. 8.

The Gauchos open the season ranked No. 9 by College Soccer News, No. 10 by Soccer Times, No. 11 by Top Drawer, No. 21 by the NSCAA and No. 22 by Soccer America.

Even more photos

Here are more photos from our 2008 football preview section:


The first is from Woodland High School. Defensive lineman Seth Young faces off against Robert Boles during practice.

The second is from River City High School in West Sacramento. Coach Brian Watkins watches Marcus Santos during kickoffs last week.

These were shot by Greg Rihl and Wayne Tilcock. respectively.

More football photos

Here are some more pics from the football preview section. Many of these are in black and white in the preview.

Left is new Winters High School coach Daniel Ward, working with his team.

Right is Dixon quarterback Jeffrey Anderson throwing at practice on Monday.

Dixon actually travels to Winters on Sept. 19.

2008 football preview

The 2008 football preview section should hit the news stands around 1 p.m. on Friday.

I can't give away too much, but there's plenty of information about UC Davis' upcoming season, which begins Friday at San Jose State. Graphics guru Shawn Collins put together another fabulous cover design.

UC Davis coach Bob Biggs and Davis High coach Dan Gazzaniga were good enough to humor us for what probably sounded like a strange idea at the time.

The section features plenty of high-school coverage as well.

Davis High School doesn't begin until Sept. 13 when it travels to Folsom. The Blue Devils open on a Saturday this season. This date isn't really press-friendly, but we'll have to make due.

Woodland, Pioneer, Dixon, Winters and River City high schools are also featured. The pic (taken by Greg Rihl) is of Patriots coach David Butterworth, although the image did not make the final cut. The Blue Devils host Pioneer in Week 4. Woodland and Davis are not expected to play one another this season - at least in any of the major sports.

The sports staff has literally been up day and night, putting on the final touches.

So enjoy! The sports staff is going home to rest.

J.T. named starter

49ers coach Mike Nolan may not be one for committment but he did announce today that J.T. O'Sullivan will be the starting quarterback when the team opens the season against the Arizona Cardinals on Sept. 7.

O'Sullivan was 7-for-8 for 126 yards with a touchdown on Thursday during a preseason game against the Chicago Bears.

Of course, O’Sullivan beat out former No. 1 overall pick Alex Smith, who will be the backup, and Shaun Hill who will be the third-stringer.

In the preseason, O’Sullivan completed 20-of-33 passes for 351 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. O’Sullivan put up the best numbers of the three QBs, finishing with a much higher completion percentage, yards-per-attempt ratio and QB rating.

Petersen reunion

Its official, the Aggies are going into the blue.

No they are not staring in a bad movie with Jessica Alba. Actually, the UC Davis football team will be taking on Boise State on the famous blue turf at Bronco Stadium in 2009.

The nonconference matchup, UCD's second against WAC opponent next season, will take place Sept. 19, 2009.

The Aggies will get a $225,000 game-guarantee for the contest. It will also reunite Broncos head coach Chris Petersen with his alma mater.

Petersen is a former Aggie QB who is in his third year at at Boise State. In fact, the last time these two teams played was Petersen's UCD debut, a 13-9 loss to the Broncos in 1985. He was 23-for-33 for 238 yards while rushing for 63 more yards in that game and finished his Aggie career with 5,555 passing yards and 42 touchdowns.

Football fans will remember his first year at Boise State when the Broncos went 13-0, including a 43-42 victory over Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl, one of the most memorable college football games of all time.

Former Aggie linebacker Viliami Tuivai, who played at UCD in 2000 and 2001, is an assistant on Petersen's staff.

The 2009 game will be the sixth NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision opponent for UCD.

- Chris Saur

Heckman changes course

A side note from UC Davis practice on Thursday and something that didn't make it into the regular edition:

After suffering multiple concussions, linebacker David Heckman (Sutter High) decided to forgo his final year of eligibility and not play football in 2008. He was on track to graduate at the end of last year, even though he did have to up his load just a bit in his final quarter.

Heckman has now graduated and has been selected to go into the Navy Seals. He is training for that, especially in the water because of the heavy swimming requirements. UCD head coach Bob Biggs says he has totally changed his body from a 235-pound linebacker to a sleeker 200 pounds.

“He just decided after some concussions that it didn’t make sense for him to continue playing football,” Biggs said. “I’m happy for him, joining the Navy Seals.”

- Chris Saur

J.T. to start again

Not too much of a surprise: J.T. O'Sullivan will start at quarterback for the 49ers again, this time against fellow Northern California star Aaron Rodgers and the Packers on Saturday at Candlestick Park.

It's very tough to read coach Mike Nolan from week to week or even practice to practice, so who knows who the starter will be in the regular-season opener on Sept. 7 against the Cardinals.

This would seem to be a bigger test for O'Sullivan, who did not take care of the ball against the Raiders in the preseason opener last week.

After the Packers, the 49ers travel to Chicago and then host San Diego to conclude the preseason.

Soccer exhibition

For anyone curious about the UC Davis women's soccer team, the Aggies will take on Stanislaus State on Friday in an exhibition at 4 p.m.

The game will be played at Russell Field.

UCD features 15 returners and 11 newcomers. Coach MaryClaire Robinson is back for her 17th season.

The actual season opener is Aug. 22 against St. Mary's, and the home opener is Aug. 29 against Navy.

Here's more information on the Ags.

Football preview

It's that time of the year: The Enterprise sports staff is gearing up for the annual football preview section. This is the fourth one I've been a part of and they've all had their fair share of ups and downs and we can get a little stressed as we inch toward deadline.

I don't want to reveal too much but we have another well-rounded theme this year. The special section is expected to appear Aug. 29, a day before the Aggies travel to San Jose State. The preview won't be in the exact same format as years past and I'm even kind of curious to see what it might look like.

The section will also cover plenty of high school football in the area. Besides Davis High, we'll make stops at Woodland, Pioneer, Dixon and Winters. (In fact, Wayne Tilcock is traveling to see the Warriors today). We're experimenting with another school as well, but more on that at a later time.

The Blue Devils open on a Saturday this season when they travel to Folsom on Sept. 13.

Here's the schedule for the other area high schools:

Sept. 5 - Winters hosts Esparto
Sept. 12 - Pioneer at Wood; Woodland hosts Lincoln and Dixon hosts Escalon.

Ratto on O'Sullivan

Pretty good Ray Ratto column in the Chronicle about J.T. O'Sullivan and Aaron Rodgers, who will face each other Saturday at the 'Stick:

This line was particuarly amusing:

"And Davis fans, whose NFL memories run the gamut of Ken O'Brien to Casey Merrill to Mike Moroski to Rich Martini to Tom Williams, are jacked to see any Aggie who didn't end up working at a winery, a veterinarian's or an engineering firm."

Another playoff appearance upcoming

WEST SACRAMENTO - Entering play on Wednesday’s, the Sacramento River Cats were 7 1/2 games up on the second-place Las Vegas 51s with 21 games left – 20 for the 51s. That means, barring a 2007 New York Mets-esque collapse, the River Cats will be in the postseason for the seventh time in their nine-year existence in Sacramento.

Unlike the major leagues, the Pacific Coast League does not determine home-field advantage based on which team has the better record. To make the travel schedule easier to plan for the teams, the league rotates every year. The PCL also doesn't have TV contracts to work around like the MLB does.

So if Sacramento qualifies for the postseason, the defending PCL and Triple-A champions would host the first two games of the Pacific Conference Championship on Sept. 3 and 4 and then go on the road for the last three games, Sept. 5 through 7, a Friday to Sunday.

The Pacific Conference Champion will host the American Conference Champion for the PCL Championship starting Tuesday, Sept. 9 as well as the next day. Thursday is a scheduled off day and the American Conference Champion will host the final three games Friday, Sept. 12 through Sunday, Sept. 14.

The Triple-A championship game, which pits the PCL Champion against the champion of the International League, would take place on Tuesday, Sept. 16 at the AT&T Bricktown Ballpark in Oklahoma City.

– Conor Tekautz

Journey of 1,000 Miles

This came in too late for Tuesday's 9:30 a.m. sports deadline, but Davis High School graduate Gina Miles, riding McKinlaigh, won the individual silver medal in eventing.

Gold went to German Hinrich Romeike, riding Marius.

Germany won the gold in team eventing in an exciting showdown with Australia that came down to the final two riders.

For more on Miles, check out Wednesday’s Enterprise.

J.T. still with first team

J.T. O'Sullivan continues to see time with the 49ers' first-string unit and figures to be the starter Saturday against the Packers in the second preseason game of the year as well.

If so, two Northern California guys - O'Sullivan and Green Bay's Aaron Rodgers (Chico) - would be the starters for their respective teams.

Here's the latest at 49ers camp from the Chronicle. O'Sullivan continues to be a little feisty with the Bay Area media as well.

A day earlier, O'Sullivan and Alex Smith combined for five interceptions in a morning practice. But O'Sullivan was considerably better on Tuesday, leading the team to a touchdown in a two-minute drill.

Bulldogs in 2009?

The Fresno Bee is reporting that Fresno State has added UC Davis to its 2009 football schedule.

Coach Pat Hill indicated he wanted to re-establish relationships with UCD, Cal Poly and Sacramento State. And maybe more interestingly, thought the three schools would eventually be part of the Western Athletic Conference.

The Aggies said in June that they were close to releasing a schedule for next season but up until this point had not confirmed a Fresno State date.

For more on the story and possible confirmation from UCD, check out The Enterprise in the next few days.

UPDATE on Saturday night: No confirmation yet but will try again on Monday.

- Chris Saur

Reese update

One tidbit from UC Davis' first day of football practice on Wednesday: Though the Aggies are almost totally healthy, the one injury of any significance acutally affects four different positions on the field.

Wide receiver Sean Creadick is nursing a foot injury, not a major concern, but the coaching staff is going to give him enough time for it to fully heal before getting him on the field. Creadick being out, however, has caused some reshuffling of positions.

Most notably, former Davis High star Josh Reese has returned to running back after being looked at in the defensive backfield.

Reese had been helping out at cornerback with Marcus North hurt but North is back now and with Creadick injured, Corbin Cutshaw, who had been playing running back, is filling in at receiver. That has opened a spot for Reese to return to the position he dominated in high school. In 2006, the 6-foot, 185-pounder ran for 1,151 yards and scored 15 touchdowns.

Biggs on Reese: "I think he is happier back on the offensive side of the ball and we like him there as well. Josh’s development on defense was going to be great and we thought eventually he would play safety, but he was at cornerback with North out."

- Chris Saur

J.T. to get start

The Santa Rosa Press Democrat is reporting that J.T. O'Sullivan will start Friday in the exhibition opener against the Oakland Raiders.

Don't get too carried away though Aggie fans. This doesn't mean O'Sullivan is atop the depth chart.

He's expected to start at least one quarter with Alex Smith seeing time second and Shaun Hill finishing up.

Baseball notes

I talked to coach Rex Peters today for a feature on shortstop-turned-pitcher Ryan Coultas, which will run sometime next week. I also asked him a little about recruiting, the schedule and the prospects for next year.

The Aggies begin the 2009 slate at UCLA on Feb. 20 and then host Pepperdine on Feb. 27. A road trip to San Diego State is also on the docket, along with the usual mid-week games against Stanford and Cal.

Peters said he expected to lose one of his three junior pitchers to a professional team, but all three eventually signed. Brad McAtee was a 45th-round pick with the Rockies, but did get around $60,000, according to Peters.

"He was drafted in the 45th round, but he got top-20-round money," Peters said. "That's the reason we lost him."

The coach does expect to have soon-to-be junior Andy Suiter back. Suiter was taken by the New York Yankees but told Peters a few weeks ago he's "100 percent sure he's coming back."

He also expects to have 20 underclassmen on the roster next season, a far cry from 2008 when the Aggies were senior dominant.

Deely sharp in summer

Beat writer Chris Saur saw this item recently:

Incoming UC Davis freshman Vicky Deeley recently scored 19 points in a Bay Area Women's Pro-Am Summer Basketball League game in San Francisco.

She's expected to be one of coach Sandy Simpson's top recruits after a sensational run at Justin-Siena High in Napa.

For you trivia nuts, Justin-Siena is the same school that actor Nicolas Cage and ESPN The Magazine writer Tim Keown attended. I can't say I'm a huge Cage fan but "Raising Arizona" is still one of my favorites.

Greetings from Napa

NAPA - Much has been made of the three-way battle for San Francisco's starting quarterback job, which includes former UC Davis star J.T. O'Sullivan. Everything from the exact number of reps to who plays first, even in practice, has been talked about as 49er fans - and Aggie fans - try to figure out the possible depth chart.

On Monday, when San Francisco traveled north from Santa Clara to have two joint practices with the Raiders in Napa, I decided to have a look for myself.

In the morning pracice, (which I did not make it to) the three quarterbacks (O'Sullivan, Alex Smith and Shaun Hill) split reps against the Raiders' first-string defense. Media members I talked to seemed to think J.T. was the most impressive.

The same was true for the night session as I watched the three quarterbacks once again receive an equal amount of snaps. O'Sullivan was solid despite throwing an interception. His best play of the day came on s 30-yard completion to wide receiver Dominique Zeigler, a second-year man from Baylor.

Zeigler was probably the star of the day for the 49ers' offense, as the former member of the practice squad caught nearly every ball as Smith led San Francisco down the field on a two-minute drill.

O'Sullivan was 19-for-30, according to the San Francisco Chronicle's unofficial numbers.

Two other interesting moments from Redwood Middle School fields: The two rival Bay Area teams appeared to get along well with the exception of a few scuffles, one in the night session between 49ers tight end Vernon Davis and Raiders defensive end Kalimba Edwards.

In fact, the players from both teams who weren't actually participating in the shoving match, were laughing.

Another interesting moment for hardcore Davis Enterprise fans was a Dan Brown sighting. Brown is now a 49ers beat writer, but in a previous life nearly 20 years ago he was the Enterprise's sports editor. And, in 1994, Brown hired a young intern named Chris Saur straight out of the seventh grade.

- Chris Saur

J.T.'s chances?

The 49ers plan to give equal opportunity to their three quarterbacks the rest of the way in training camp.

This bodes well for former Aggie J.T. O'Sullivan, although Alex Smith and Shaun Hill could catch up once they learn the system better.

Here is the latest from 49ers' camp from the Chronicle.

The Enterprise is trying to obtain press credentials for Tuesday's joint scrimmage in Napa between the 49ers and Raiders. It sounds easy but when dealing with the Raiders, you never know.

J.T. with second string

Here's an update from the 49ers' camp on Friday from the Santa Rosa Press Democrat: Shaun Hill was back with the first team and former UCD star J.T. O'Sullivan saw reps with the second team. Former No. 1 draft pick Alex Smith received a day off.

49ers coach Mike Nolan was quoted as saying the plan with the three quarterbacks would be "flexible" the rest of camp, indicating everyone would get a fair shot at running the offense.

There's an interesting quote from Nolan about the dynamics between the three quarterbacks as well.

The San Francisco Chroncile reports more about the competition too.

The Chronicle said O'Sullivan went 20-for-26 with the second team with two touchdowns in the red zone.

Heating up

Former Davis High School basketball player David Johnson had just two days to prove himself to the Sacramento Kings in pre-summer league practices last month.

Even though the Kings did not bring him to Las Vegas to play with their summer league team, citing an overabundance of guards, they appeared to impressed with his talent.

Apparently, the rest of the NBA took notice as well.

Since being let go by Sacramento, Johnson and his girlfriend Jessica Raumer, who has been acting as a de facto manager, have been fielding calls from a who's-who of NBA front office personnel.

Most recently, the Miami Heat have offered to fly Johnson out for a tryout sometime in the next two weeks. This offer came after Johnson was contacted by team president and head coach Pat Riley who said that the Heat were "very interested."

Johnson and Raumer have also received calls from NBA legend and current Pacers GM Larry Bird who told him "I'll keep an eye open."

Other calls have come from the likes of Suns GM Steve Kerr, Mavericks GM Donnie Nelson, the Lakers' Mitch Kupcheck as well as representatives from the Detroit Pistons and the Orlando Magic.

For more on this story, including an inside look at Johnson's experience at Kings camp, see Sunday's Enterprise.

- Chris Saur