Daily Republic
Monday, August 30, 2021 SECTION B Paul Farmer . Sports Editor . 427.6926
49ers rotate QBs Garoppolo, Lance freely in romp Eric Branch
SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE
The question of the summer: Jimmy Garoppolo or Trey Lance? The answer for Week 1: yes? It appears the 49ers could very well open the regular season with Garoppolo as their starting quarterback. And rookie QB Trey Lance replacing him in midseries. And Garoppolo returning on the same drive. And Lance spell-
ing him. And fans getting dizzy. And opposing defenses staying on their heels – if the 49ers’ rotating QB plan is successful. Based on the unique way the 49ers’ top two quarterback were utilized Sunday in their preseason finale against the Raiders, the Lions, their Week 1 opponent, should prepare a defensive game plan that accounts for Garoppolo running head coach Kyle Shanahan’s traditional offense. And Lance running zone
reads, QB draws, naked bootlegs and other concepts that highlight his mobility that Shanahan didn’t unveil in their meaningless 34-10 win over Las Vegas. Shanahan was asked if he wanted opponents to have in their mind that the Garoppolo-Lance shuffle is a regular-season option. “Yeah, it is an option,” Shanahan said, “whether it’s in their mind or not.” Garoppolo and Lance rotated throughout the 49ers’ first two drives before Garoppolo put on a
baseball cap and became a spectator. The tally from those two drives, which both ended with QB touchdown runs against an opponent that rested its starters: Garoppolo played 14 snaps (completing 4 of 7 passes for 64 yards) and Lance logged 10 (eight handoffs, one incompletion, one run) while they rotated aggressively. For example, Garoppolo began the game by playing three snaps. Lance played a snap. Garoppolo was in
for a play. Lance took four straight snaps. And Garoppolo, who evidently forgot the game didn’t count in the standings, capped the 10-play, 68-yard drive by recklessly lowering his throwing shoulder and getting walloped by two defenders on a 1-yard touchdown run. The 49ers averaged 6.2 yards per play on their game-opening touchdown drives against a collection of backups. “It’s tough for defenses to handle that,” Garop-
polo said. “I’ve never been in that situation, but just seeing it firsthand here today, it’s hard on them.” Lance primarily handed off on zone-read plays on the first two series before he waltzed into the end zone untouched on a 2-yard run to finish a 14-play, 75-yard march. Lance, 6-foot-4 and 224 pounds, rushed for 1,100 yards in his lone season as a starter at North Dakota State. See 49ers, Page B8
Hammon’s well-deserved SCC opens time in NBA is coming VB season by LOCAL REPORT
splitting pair of matches
Ron Cook
PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE
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he NBA isn’t quite ready for Becky Hammon. That is the league’s problem, not Hammon’s. It’s sad that it will be huge news when – not if – Hammon gets one of the NBA’s 30 head coaching jobs. She has proven she is qualified, regardless of her sex. But it still will be a historic hire. She will be the first woman to hold such a position. Not that bursting through that barrier and making history is what drives Hammon, who was a finalist for the Portland Trail Blazers job in June and interviewed with the Orlando Magic this spring, the Indiana Pacers in 2020 and the Milwaukee Bucks in 2018. Wouldn’t it have been appropriate if Hammon had gotten the Trail Blazers’ job, which went to Chauncey Billups? “Please don’t hire me to check a box,” she told the Associated Press earlier this month. “That’s the worst thing you can do for me. Hire me because of my skill sets and coaching, who I am as a person, hire me for those.” The late, great Pat Summitt could have been the first woman to coach an NBA team. She was more than qualified, her knowledge of basketball second to none and her ability to demand discipline from her players impressive. Summitt turned down the chance to coach the University of Tennessee men’s team on more than one occasion, choosing to stick with the women’s team. She won eight NCAA championships and made it to 18 Final Fours during her fabulous run from 1974-2012. It’s easy to think the Tennessee men would have been better off with Summitt than with any of the nine male coaches they had during her time in Knoxville. Hammon is just as ready to be an NBA head coach. She has worked on five-time NBA champion Gregg Popovich’s staff with the San Antonio Spurs since 2014. She coached the Spurs to the NBA Summer League championship in 2015. She has been Popovich’s top assistant since 2018. She ran the Spurs’ bench during a game in December after Popovich was
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San Antonio Spurs assistant Becky Hammon became the first woman finalist for an NBA head coaching vacancy. thrown out and received rave reviews afterward. “Becky has definitely been instrumental for us every time we step out there on court, even in timeouts with Pop as the head coach,” forward DeMar DeRozan said that night. “She’s quick on her feet, understanding defensive coverages, where we should be offensively, what we should run, different mismatches. Her words on the side are always instrumental.” You think that was a nice endorsement of Hammon? You haven’t read anything yet. “I’ve played under two of the sharpest minds in the history of sports in Phil Jackson and Gregg Popovich,” former NBA star Pau Gasol wrote in a letter supporting Hammon. “I’m telling you Becky Hammon can coach. I’m not saying she can coach pretty well. I’m not saying she can coach enough to get by. I’m not saying she can coach almost at the level of the NBA’s male coaches. I’m saying Becky Hammon can coach NBA basketball. Period.”
Popovich long has pushed for Hammon: “She knows her stuff. She’s confident. She’s got opinions and solid notions about basketball. Obviously, she was a great player. As a point guard, she’s a leader. She’s fiery. She’s got intelligence. Our guys just respected the heck out of her.” That last line is significant, the most important thing Popovich said about Hammon. No coach – male or female – can be successful without the respect of the players, no matter how well he or she knows the Xs and Os. Hammon, 44, has earned it, not just with her work with the Spurs, but with her 16-year career in the WNBA with the New York Liberty and the San Antonio Stars. She was a six-time WNBA All-Star, twice making first team. She also was a three-time All-American at Colorado State. Hammon’s time is coming. That barrier will come crashing down, sooner rather than later. “People don’t like doing someSee Hammon, Page B8
Tony Kemp’s late home run salvages frustrating game, A’s win over Yankees Tribune Content Agency OAKLAND — Tony Kemp’s two-run home run in the eighth inning gave the A’s a 3-1 lead against the New York Yankees. His fifth home run of the year was his third against the Yankees. Kemp homered off Yankees reliever Chad Green in a rally that started with Mark Canha’s double over left fielder Joey Gallo’s head. In his third big league start this year, Paul Blackburn blanked the red-hot Yankees lineup through five innings. He gave up five hits, all singles hit in each inning, and struck out one and walked one.
The A’s lathered up a few more scoring opportunities against Yankees starter Jordan Montgomery, but were characteristically fruitless in their attempts to score. The A’s loaded the bases on a pair of hits from Yan Gomes and Jed Lowrie followed by an error by third baseman Gio Urshela on Matt Chapman’s grounder. Canha, in need of a big hit to break a slump in which he’s batting .141 in August, was called out on an inning-ending double play. But the call was reversed on replay, giving the A’s a run, an unearned one for Montgomery. The Yankees squeezed out an
unearned run against reliever Jake Diekman thanks to back-to-back errors on pinch hitter Anthony Rizzo’s at-bat in the seventh inning. Gary Sanchez at second base with two outs, Rizzo hit a pop up foul that popped out of catcher Gomes’ glove. Rizzo hit a ground ball 88mph to Chapman, who was vacuuming up sharp grounders all afternoon, but saw it slide under his glove to score the game-tying run. The A’s loaded the bases against Jonathan Loaisiga, but Gomes struck out to end the threat. Yusmeiro Petit, Deolis Guerra and Andrew Chafin pitched scoreless innings to keep the A’s in it.
SALINAS — The Solano Community College volleyball team opened its 2021 season by splitting a pair of matches in the Hartnell Classic, Friday, falling 25-20, 25-17, 25-13 to San Joaquin Delta before defeating Hartnell, 25-17, 23-25, 25-15, 25-17. Against SJD, Sammy Brown led with seven kills, Rocelyn Hongria added five kills and a solo block, and Mylei Moli had four kills. Kailyn Kaiser led the defense with 10 digs, Hongria following with nine. Anaya Rodriguez had 11 assist and seven digs, and Jeryn Baldonado added eight assists and served 8 for 8. “It was a very competitive match with some amazing rallies,” Falcons coach Darla Williams said. “The ball just didn’t fall our way all the time. Delta was a very scrappy team.” In the win over Hartnell, Kaiser led Solano with 21 digs on defense, Brown had a few doubles with 12 kills, 18 digs and serving 10 for 10. Dani Rydjord also contributed 12 kills and led the team with four
blocks. Mylei Moli added 11 digs and served 14 of 15 with two aces. Chris Cruz served 14 of 15 with two aces. Rodriguez ran the offense with 23 assists, chipped in 12 digs and two aces. Gina Garlick added three blocks to round out the team’s total of nine solo blocks and six assist blocks. Crystal Carroll added four digs and served 6 of 7. Bryanna Lott had two digs and a kill, while Sarah Elledge added two kills and a solo block. “This match against Hartnell was a full team effort,” Williams said. “We had a starting player (outside hitter) go down at the start of the first set and the team regrouped and got the job done. We will (assess) the injury with trainers on Monday, but we were very impressed with the team’s focus to win the match.” The Falcons play in the Folsom Lake Classic on Wednesday and in the in the Modesto Classic on Friday. PREP FOOTBALL: RAMS GET FIRST SEASON BY GROUNDING MILLENNIUM FALCONS RIO VISTA — Marco Carillo
See Local, Page B8
Giants blanked by Braves 9-0, now it’s time for mighty Brewers, Dodgers Tribune Content Agency ATLANTA — Baseball players are taught not to look ahead too far. One game at a time and all that. So, as a team, the Giants can ill afford to look onward to next weekend’s humongous series against the rival Dodgers. Not when the mighty Brewers, who lead the National League Central, will be at Oracle Park for the next four games. It’s different for Anthony DeSclafani because he’s a starting pitcher, and he’s lined up to start
Friday night’s Dodger opener. It’s OK for him to begin focusing on his next assignment. It sure beats harping on Sunday’s 9-0 blowout loss to the Braves. DeSclafani, who has been dealing with right ankle woes and was reinstated from the injured list before the game, looked magnificent for three innings while retiring nine of 10 batters. As if he were pitching as he did in the first half, like an All-Star. However, all five of DeSclafani’s See Giants, Page B8
