Aztecs in for long season?

What can be made of the San Diego State football team?

Going into Saturday’s season opener against Washington State in Seattle, the Aztecs:

Have lost 16 straight games to Pac-10 opponents
Are coming off a horrible 3-9 season
Face the possibility (probability) of becoming the first team in school history with 10 losses

Yes, season No. 2 of the Chuck Long era on Montezuma Mesa looks like a longshot at best.

SDSU is meeting its match … at least in terms of preseason forecasts … against Washington State. Both teams were picked to finish eighth in their respective conference … which tells you why this game is not even being televised.

Of course, it does not bode well for the Aztecs that they are in the Mountain West Conference; a much weaker conference than where the Cougars reside.

“We are well aware of the fact that we haven’t been too successful against Pac-10 teams in the past and that we haven’t been to a bowl game in a while, but we are trying not to focus on that,” SDSU wide receiver Chaz Schilens said. “Going into the game this weekend, we are focusing on matching up well with a good team.”

The Aztecs have been anything but a good team this millennium and more, failing to have a winning season or reach a bowl game since 1998.

Unless this team with a very suspect offensive line comes around quickly, it could be staring a 10-loss season in the face.

“A win is a win and that is something we strive for every week, but obviously beating a Pac-10 team to start the season would get things off on a good note for us,” Aztecs linebacker Russell Allen said.

Don’t count on it.

Prediction: Washington State 38, SDSU 13

Peavy: Another Koufax or Carlton?

Think about pitchers such as Sandy Koufax, Steve Carlton, Randy Johnson and Dwight Gooden for a minute.

What do they have in common?

Since 1940, they are the only men to lead the league in wins, earned run average and strikeouts.

There could soon be an addition to their exclusive club … or have you not noticed the type season Jake Peavy of the Padres is having?

Peavy leads the National League in wins (16), ERA (2.10) and strikeouts (206).

If he isn’t the frontrunner for the NL Cy Young award in 2007, then Mr. Ed wasn’t a talking horse.

Now, the Padres will try something unique by pitching Peavy on three days’ rest tonight at Arizona.

No less an expert than Tony Gwynn questioned the move on Channel 4 San Diego’s telecast last night and probably for good reason. Peavy was originally scheduled to pitch Friday night against Colorado, a much better hitting team than Arizona.

So far, everything has turned up roses for Peavy this year.

We’ll see if starting him tonight is a panic move or another in a long series of decisions by Manager Bud Black that turned out golden in 2007.

Appalachian State is great

While walking along the pier in Icy Strait Point, Alaska last week, yours truly noticed a man wearing a T-shirt from the university in Boone, N.C.

“Your football team has won two straight Division I-AA national championships. Are you going to go undefeated this year?” the man was asked.

“Not this year,” he replied. “We open up with one of those money games at Michigan.”

A money game, all right. Not only did Appalachian State receive its $400,000 guarantee for playing at Michigan; the Mountaineers pulled off arguably the greatest upset in college football history with their 34-32 win over the then fifth-ranked Wolverines.

Speaking of history, the great citizens of Boone certainly know plenty when it comes to their players.

The man on tour in Alaska was asked if he remembered an Appalachian State quarterback named Daniel Jeremiah, who started at quarterback for the Mountaineers from 1998-2000.

“Yes, we remember him,” the man answered. “He’s the one whose father is David Jeremiah, the pastor on the Turning Point Ministry out of San Diego.”

They definitely know their history in Boone.

And the Mountaineers made history with an upset for the ages last weekend.

Time for a two-week break

It’s time.

Time for a two-week break from blogging, that is.

Our first five months have been quite a ride.

You always want to remember the high highs:

Predicting back in late April that Jake Peavy of the Padres would start the All-Star game.
Saying in early May that the Padres should cut their losses and cut David Wells.

But let’s forget about the low lows:

Thinking that the Chargers might pick a linebacker in the first round of the NFL draft.
Forecasting that Barry Bonds would break the Major League Baseball home run record in Petco Park (thank goodness we were wrong!)

We will continue the blogging ride on Sept. 4, the day after Labor Day.

See you then.

Channel 4 finalizes prep football schedule

Channel 4 San Diego is going straight to the top for its 2007 prep football coverage.

Carlsbad High School, the defending San Diego Section CIF Division I champion, will be featured in two of the first three games to be telecast this season.

Each of the first five games will be aired on a tape delay basis following Padres’ games and the Lexus Postgame Show.

Last year, Channel 4 received its highest ratings for prep football coverage on the tape delay games because they were promoted during the Padres’ broadcast.

Here is the schedule for the first five weeks of Friday Night Football:

Aug. 31: Carlsbad vs. St. Augustine at Mesa College
Sept. 7: Oceanside at La Costa Canyon
Sept. 14: Carlsbad at Helix
Sept. 21: Escondido at Rancho Buena Vista
Sept. 28: Grossmont at Valhalla

After Week 5, Channel 4 will base its coverage on a “flex” schedule similar to the one used by the NFL for its Sunday night games on NBC.

Those games will be based on attempting to cover the best match-up in the county each week.

Among the on-air personalities expected to be involved in the coverage are Jenny Cavnar, Chris Ello, Steve Quis and John Weisbarth.

Kevin Towers: Padres' resident genius?

If you’re going to Las Vegas any time soon, take Padres general manager Kevin Towers with you.

Why? It seems like everything he touches turns into a winner.

Just take his recent acquisitions for example and tell us how:

Scott Hairston hits three consecutive home runs, including a game-winner, after he replaces the injured Milton Bradley.
Morgan Ensberg homers in his first at bat as a first baseman when Adrian Gonzalez gets a rare night off.
Michael Barrett doesn’t succeed behind the plate, but his presence spurs Josh Bard on to greater heights.

Then there are the pitching miracles:

Tim Stauffer starts in place of the injured Chris Young and gets racked. The Padres still win.
Wil Ledezma starts for David Wells after Wells is cut, and Ledezma gets knocked around. The Padres win again.

The list goes on and on concerning how the Padres have conquered the odds this year.

Speaking of odds, don’t bet against Towers when he makes moves that may not appear that great on paper.

Colorado Rockies are rockin'

When Steve Phillips of ESPN picked the Padres to win the NL West this week, it was no surprise.

But the Colorado Rockies to earn the NL wild card?

Maybe Phillips is on to something.

The Rockies, who begin a three-game series tonight in San Diego, are starting to resemble the Blake Street Bombers teams of the mid-1990s that put the franchise on the map.

Vinny Castilla and Larry Walker are long-gone from the Rockies, but the current talent they have is quite impressive (including 13 of 25 homegrown players.)

Colorado has a batting order that can stand up to just about anybody with the likes of Willy Taveras, Matt Holliday, Garrett Atkins, Brad Hawpe, Todd Helton and Troy Tulowitzki.

Add starting pitchers such as Jeff Francis and Aaron Cook to the mix, and then you can see why the Rockies are talking playoffs for the first time in more than a decade.

Colorado is just two games behind the Padres in the wild card race and five games in back of Arizona in the NL West.

The Rockies could go a long way in determining their fate during this three-game series in San Diego.