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Friday, December 4, 2020 SECTION B Paul Farmer . Sports Editor . 427.6926

Kotsay promoted to 3B coach

A’s thrilled to keep him in Oakland

Tribune ConTenT AgenCy

The Oakland A’s promoted quality control coach Mark Kotsay to third base coach, the team announced Thursday.

During his six seasons as part of Oakland’s coaching staff, Kotsay has become respected for his keen coaching abilities and feel for the clubhouse mood. Kotsay will replace Al Pedrique, who was released from his third base coach duties back in October after three years with Oakland.

It should be noted, too, that the A’s are standing by bench coach Ryan Christenson, who found himself in hot water after an NBC Sports California camera caught him inadvertently throwing up what looked like an offensive sign in the handshake line after a win last season.

Kotsay’s reputation follows him outside of the Coliseum confines – the 45-year-old has interviewed for positions with other teams – including for the Detroit Tigers managerial position ultimately filled by former Astros manager AJ Hinch this year. He also interviewed for the Houston Astros managerial position filled by Dusty Baker and the San Francisco Giants job filled by Gabe Kapler in 2019.

Kotsay’s promotion could be an effort to keep the highlysought-after coach close. He’s proven to be an invaluable mentor to the team, utility player Chad Pinder can attest.

“He’s awesome,” Pinder said by Thursday. “With him playing for so long and not being that far removed from his playing days, he’s a guy that everyone gravitates toward.”

Kotsay was destined to return to a field staff position – the A’s created the quality control position, in essence, for Kotsay to squeeze as much of his expertise and observations into the clubhouse and dugout while allowing him time to deal with a family matter that forced him away from his bench coaching duties in 2016. Even as quality control coach of late, Kotsay still observed batting practice and helped with infield defense work.

Kotsay played 17 seasons with seven different teams, including four as a contact-hitting infielder with the Oakland A’s from 2004-07. He retired in 2013 and promptly joined the San Diego Padres front office in 2014 and, then, as their hitting coach. He joined the A’s in 2015 as their bench coach and was moved to quality control coach in 2017,

See Kotsay, Page B3

Kyle Shanahan afforded little time Thursday in responding to a Santa Clara County official’s pointed criticism about playing through the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Someone who questions our values doesn’t know us,” Shanahan said. “It shows what we’re dealing with. That’ doesn’t matter.”

Earlier this week, Santa Clara County executive Dr. Jeff Smith questioned the 49ers’ “values” and alleged they were putting players and the community in harm’s way.

ALUMNI UPDATE

Vacaville grad Jake Levengood helps Beavers pull off upset of Ducks

PAul FArmer

PFARMER@DAILYREPUBLIC.NET

Offensive linemen, especially guards, usually toil in anonymity – unless they’re called for holding or a false start – and are often obscured by the action around them.

Friends and family of Jake Levengood, a Vacaville High graduate and starting left guard for the Oregon State football team, were probably THE MERCURY NEWS training camp. But somehow Golden State remains in a stunningly similar position to 2019. As the Warriors gear up to prove that last season’s NBA-worst record was a fluke – as they begin their pursuit of a sixth NBA Finals run in the last seven years – the argument can still be made, just as it was before last season, that no team in the league can match this squad’s variability of predicted outcome. The ceiling is still incredi-

“Historically, sportsmanship has been about building a team and protecting that team. Coaches, managers and owners used to want to protect their players from harm,” Smith told this news organization Monday: “Those values seem to have been placed on hold during the Covid pandemic.

“If leaders want to protect their teams and communities, they should not play anywhere until it is safe,” Smith added. “One might envision a reemergence of team-building if the teams spent their time building among the few that noticed his block that helped Beavers quarterback Chance Nolan score the winning touchdown on a sneak with 33 seconds left in OSU’s 41-38 victory over rival Oregon.

Oregon State (2-2, 2-2 Pac-12) trailed 31-19 after three quarters and outscored the Ducks 22-7 in the fourth.

Levengood had a hand in an exceptional game on offense for the Beavers, who rushed for 269 yards, 226 by Jermar JefANALYSIS bly high for the Warriors.

Yes, the champion Lakers, after their impressive, augmenting offseason moves, stand in a class by themselves in the league. But after them? Golden State can make the argument that they can beat any team in the NBA. If the Lakers falter, Golden State, with their championship mettle and unquestionable – and, in the scenario, actualized – upside potential, could swoop in and “restart” their dynasty.

Then there’s what happened last year. The Warriors never had Klay Thompson and then lost Stephen Curry, winning

Tradition be damned, the Raiders need to curb their penchant for penalties if they hope to climb back in to the AFC playoff race.

Flags have contributed mightily to the two-game losing streak that finds the Raiders currently out of the wild card picture at 6-5 heading in to Sunday’s road game against the New York Jets.

As it stands, the three conference wild card teams aside from the four division leaders are Cleveland (8-3), Miami (7-4) and Indianapolis (7-4). The Baltimore Ravens, like the Raiders, are 6-5. One team ferson, and passed for 263 for a total of 532.

Nevada (5-1, 5-1 MWC) saw its dreams of an undefeated season dashed with a 24-21 road loss at Hawaii.

Carson Strong (Wood) completed 20 of 25 passes for 168 yards and two touchdowns. One of his TD tosses, an 18-yarder to Tory Horton, pulled the Wolf Pack to within three points with 5:38 remaining in the game but they never only 15 games by the time the season came to a halt.

Thompson is already ruled out for the season.

So to avoid an all-too-possible repeat, the question must be asked: Can Curry play a full year?

There’s a reason ESPN projected that the Warriors will finish 14th in the Western Conference this season – it all rides on the shoulders of Curry, and ESPN doesn’t expect him to be on the court every night.

It’s a bold prediction? But it’s a fair one, too. While circumstances were no doubt different during the dynastic years, Curry has missed 46% of the Warriors’ regular-seaper conference receives a bye based on the best record. heavily penalized teams in their heyday and beyond, the Raiders simply aren’t strong enough to overcome their own mistakes in crucial situations.

The most damaging of late have come on defense, although offense and special teams have not been immune.

In the past two games, a 35-31 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs and a 43-6 blowout against the Atlanta Falcons, the Raiders have been flagged 19 times for 213 yards. Twelve of those for 143 yards have come on defense and eight have resulted in first downs. got the ball back. Strong, a redshirt sophomore, was added to the Davey O’Brien Quarterback Class of 2020 this week.

Kicker Brandon Talton (Vacaville) booted three extra points for Nevada.

Tayvion Cunningham (Wood) caught one pass for three yards and returned two kickoffs for 47 yards with a long of 28 as Arizona (0-3, 0-3 Pac-12)

Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group/TNS file (2018) The Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Curry is introduced before taking on the Los Angeles Clippers, Dec. 23, 2018, at Oracle Arena. Big questions face ‘underdog’ W’s, Curry as 2021 campaign kicks off

DieTer KurTenbACh

The entire world has changed since the Warriors last opened up

See Alumni, Page B3 son games the last three seasons, with the biggest chunk, of course, coming last season, when he only played five games.

And without Curry, well . . . you saw what happened to the Warriors last year. It might not be that level of bad again, but a team led by Draymond Green, Andrew Wiggins, Kelly Oubre, and James Wiseman isn’t making the playoffs – or even the play-in games – in a loaded Western Conference.

This is why it’s fair for the Warriors to take on the “underdog” label this season.

Adding to the complexity is this upcoming season’s schedule. While not formally

Shanahan scoffs at county official Jeff Smith’s pointed criticism of 49ers’ ‘values’

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Penalty-prone Raiders seek to change error of their ways against 0-11 Jets

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Long one of the NFL’s most

See W’s, Page B3

“You look at those things every Monday with the guys, where we might have erred, what should have been called, what could have been called,” Raiders defensive coordinator Paul Guenther said. Thursday. “Certainly you can’t give an offense like the Falcons a second at-bat. It’s hard enough to get them off the field on third down let alone give them a first down on a third down, whether it be a P.I. (pass interference) or roughing the passer.

“We just can’t have it. We’re not good enough to give teams second at-bats on