Front Row Seat: A signature win for San Diego State
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John Gennaro
John Gennaro
John Gennaro
San Diego State Aztecs
3 Thoughts … after the Aztecs’ 34-0 win over Cal - San Diego Union-Tribune
The psychological impact of what SDSU players accomplished against Cal cannot be overstated.
For the rest of the season — and maybe beyond — the Aztecs have a signature win they can point to for proof positive about their process.
“Winning is a skill,” SDSU coach Sean Lewis said. “We talked a lot about that over the last 14 days, where, as a winner, you have to figure out how to win.”
Justin Wilcox Says Cal Played ‘Very Poorly,’ Calls it ‘Unacceptable’ - Sports Illustrated
Cal coach Justin Wilcox’s press conference following Cal’s stunning 34-0 loss to San Diego State Saturday night was filled with words and phrases such as “very, very poor” and “unacceptable” and “you don’t get to just wipe it and forget it.”
Every part of the Bears’ performance – from being overpowered at the line of scrimmage to quarterback play to special-teams’ shortcomings to key penalties to the numerous execution errors – got a mention. And Wilcox never saw it coming after a good week of practice.
Cal Football v. San Diego State: Bears No-Show at the Worst Possible Time - Write for California
Saturday night, the reconstituted Cal offense, which had yet to distinguish themselves since the first half of Oregon State, made mistake after mistake after mistake. The offensive line started losing its battles against an extra defender in the box and an array of blitzes. The defensive line also began getting gashed, the backline started pressing, and made a few crucial mistakes that handed San Diego State its early lead. Then it all dramatically unravelled in the third quarter in a foray of turnovers. The coaching staff couldn’t find any gameplan to counter.
San Diego Padres
Padres head home needing just one win to clinch postseason spot - MLB.com
It’s in the Padres’ hands now: With a win over the Brewers on Monday at Petco Park, they will be headed back to the postseason.
The Padres lowered their magic number to 1 by defeating the White Sox, 3-2, at Rate Field on Sunday afternoon in their final regular-season road game. The win, coupled with a Mets loss, means the Padres clinch with one more victory. They begin a six-game homestand at Petco Park on Monday night.
Michael King shows what he needs to for Padres - San Diego Union-Tribune
King threw 70 pitches and was for much of the game sharp enough with his fastball, sweeper and especially his changeup. That was good enough to, despite his bouts of wildness, mostly dominate a lineup that featured five players who made their big-league debuts earlier this season.
San Diego FC / San Diego Wave FC
San Diego FC shares MLS expansion points record after 1-1 draw against Atlanta United - The Sporting Tribune
Following the 1-1 draw against Atlanta, SDFC head coach Mikey Varas spoke at the post-match press conference on his overall thoughts on the match.
“It's an important point at the end of the season, but we're disappointed with the point. Feels like two points dropped because I think we started pretty decent, good first half, not excellent, but good.”
“Then the second half, we weren't good. We didn't have a good second half, and I think we're fortunate to come out with a point. But we take it. That's part of the learning process. And we'll take the learning lessons from this.”
San Diego Wave FC Earns Road Point in 1-1 Draw at Portland Thorns - San Diego Wave FC
San Diego Wave FC (8-6-7, 31 points) battled to a 1-1 draw against Portland Thorns FC (8-6-7, 31 points) at Providence Park on Saturday night, extending its unbeaten road streak to a Club best eight matches.
San Diego created the breakthrough in the 56th minute following sustained pressure inside the box. Portland’s defense failed to clear the ball, leaving a chance for midfielder Savannah McCaskill to slot a left-footed shot into the back of the net and give the Wave a 1-0 lead.
Portland equalized late in the 86th minute when Olivia Moultrie’s free kick from just outside the box struck the crossbar, and the rebound fell to Reyna Reyes, who finished from close range to level the match at 1-1.
WNBA Playoffs
WNBA semifinals 2025: How Indiana beat Las Vegas in Game 1 - ESPN
Sunday started with Las Vegas Aces star A'ja Wilson becoming the first player in league history to win four MVP awards. But hours later, on the Aces' home court, the No. 6 seed Indiana Fever stole Game 1 of their WNBA semifinal series, beating the 2-seeded Aces 89-73 at Michelob Ultra Arena.
Indiana's Kelsey Mitchell scored 34 points on 12-for-23 shooting in the win. She's the first Fever player to score 30 points in a playoff game since 2012.
A’ja Wilson Is The Smoothest Operator - Defector
What I like about watching A'ja Wilson operate is how simple she makes the game look. Not easy, but simple, as she applies basic principles of footwork and positioning at the highest possible level to shred elite defenses, never really needing to do anything more complicated than read the scheme, apply pressure, and make the right play. More often than not, the right play involves her spinning over her right shoulder and popping it from like 13 feet, as smoothly and as under control as any player her size could ever be expected to do. There's a metronomic quality to her game; you can see why the Las Vegas Aces run everything through their star in a way no other team in the WNBA playoffs has, and why it has gotten them through to the semifinals.
Takeaways: Minnesota Lynx roll resiliently past Phoenix Mercury in Game 1 of WNBA semifinals - The Minnesota Star Tribune
Before Game 1 of the WNBA playoff semifinals Sunday against the Phoenix Mercury, Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve was asked about the plan to defend Alyssa Thomas, a triple-double engine who finished third in MVP voting that morning.
“Eat your Wheaties,” she said in jest.
But then, serious: “She’s great at what she does. And we’ll try to be intelligent about … her physicality or her disrupting and all the things that she does.”
The Lynx must have dug around and found some of the famous breakfast cereal underneath the bench before the fourth quarter. No. 1 Minnesota shook off another slow start to beat Phoenix 82-69 and take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-five semifinals.
Odds & Ends
2025 Ryder Cup teams breakdown: Europe continuity will be tested by unknown of United States at Bethpage Black - CBS Sports
Following a convincing Ryder Cup victory at Marco Simone just outside of Rome two years ago, a champagne-drenched Rory McIlroy made a declaration for all to hear: "One of the biggest accomplishments in golf right now is winning an away Ryder Cup. And that's what we're going to do at Bethpage [Black]."
This is a stance McIlroy has maintained for the better part of a decade, and his boisterous statement roused his compatriots, their fists pounding on the table as if to say, "We'll be right there with you."
Ramirez Scores Go-Ahead Goal as No. 23 Toreros Best Tritons - USD Toreros
A late go-ahead goal from junior forward Steven Ramirez turned the tide for No. 23 San Diego men's soccer (6-1-2, 0-0-0 WCC) as USD took down crosstown rival UC San Diego (0-5-2, 0-0-0 WCC) by a 1-0 margin at Torero Stadium, earning a win in its final match before West Coast Conference play.
HE'S GOT 58!
— MLB (@MLB) September 21, 2025
Cal Raleigh is unreal! 🔱 pic.twitter.com/CYmzPHqdBc
Cal Raleigh home run tracker: Mariners' slugger reaches 58 homers to creep toward AL record - Yahoo Sports
Cal Raleigh's historic 2025 season has seen him reach the 50-home run threshold, marking the most homers in a season by a primary catcher in MLB history. He has also become the first player in MLB history to hit at least 20 home runs from each side of the plate in one season.
Raleigh stands alone with both the MLB's single-season record for a switch-hitter and the Seattle Mariners' single-season franchise record, having hit both milestones in September.
And the catcher is still going. Raleigh hit home run No. 58 on Sunday against the Houston Astros, sending a two-run blast into deep right field.
San Diego Navy doctor removed from role after ‘transgender healthcare’ reference flagged on social media - San Diego Union-Tribune
A San Diego Navy doctor has been removed from her leadership role and is now under investigation after her social media profile caught the attention of a right-wing activist and the U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
U.S. Navy Cmdr. Janelle Marra, who has served on active duty in the Navy for 17 years, was the medical services director of Expeditionary Medical Facility 150 Bravo, a Navy unit in San Diego trained to provide medical care to support military operations.
Her LinkedIn profile was flagged in a post by a right-wing account on X — Libs of TikTok — on Sept. 4, calling out Marra for including her pronouns on the page and listing a job title of “Deputy Medical Director for Transgender Healthcare.”
The post tagged Hegseth and asked him to “look into” it. By that evening, Hegseth re-shared the post with the message: “Pronouns UPDATED: She/Her/Fired.”
Alright, that's going to do it for today's edition of Front Row Seat. I'll be back tomorrow, and every weekday, to try and make it easier for you to follow the news.
Feedback is welcome (in the comments below, in my inbox or on the Section 1904 Discord server) and feel free to send me any links that you think I missed and I'll try to include them in a future newsletter.
