Author Image: Chris Jenkins

Chris Jenkins

Chris Jenkins was the Major League Baseball writer for The San Diego Union-Tribune, covering the Padres on a regular basis for the past five years. Early in his career as a journalistic jack-of-all-sports, Jenkins covered the "Miracle on Ice" in Lake Placid for the Colorado Springs Gazette-Telegraph. At the Union-Tribune, he covered five Winter and five Summer Olympics, filed datelines from four continents and Cuba, written about sporting events as wide-ranging as rodeos and bonspiels, covered Super Bowls, Final Fours and NBA Finals. With an emphasis on feature stories and profiles, Jenkins covered the Chargers locally and pro football nationally, the Padres in two World Series and less fruitful times.

All Stories

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Castroneves optimistic about another shot at Indy 500

ELKHART LAKE, Wis. — Helio Castroneves is optimistic team owner Roger Penske will give him another chance to win the Indianapolis 500 for the fourth time next year. Castroneves no longer races...
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Rossi wins IndyCar race at Road America

ELKHART LAKE, Wis. — On a race car driver's list of nice problems to have, Alexander Rossi's biggest issue Sunday ranks pretty high. During a dominant drive at Road America, Rossi had...
El Paso Chihuahuas vs the Sacramento River Cats at Southwest University Park, Saturday, July 21, 2018, in El Paso, Texas. Photo by Ivan Pierre Aguirre/El Paso Chihuahuas

New Padre Mejia catching his breath with Chihuahuas

Colorado Springs, Colo. — For reasons both obvious and understandable, Francisco Mejia needed time to catch his breath.“I tried,” said the celebrated prospect with the El Paso Chihuahuas. Touching a hand to...
Chargers fans brave the rain before the Chiefs game at Arrowhead Stadium.

Tempers flare between Gates, Rivers

Even when the glass was half-full, Philip Rivers could make it sound like it was up to the brim. Brimming with hope. Brimming with optimism. Brimming with thoughts of …...
Chargers punter Mike Scifres (right) and long-snapper Mike Windt loosen up before what turned out to be a difficult first half for Scifres against the Chicago Bears on Monday night.

Scifres’ nightmare continues

Chargers punter Mike Scifres, continuing to go through unprecedented difficulty after a dozen years of extraordinary performance and consistency, was both disgusted with himself and perplexed after a three-point loss...
Andy Green’s youth and inexperience will be tested as the 38-year-old takes over as manager of the Padres.

Padres’ new skipper comes of age

Even before he played his first organized baseball game, Andy Green was told he wasn’t old enough.Only due to the insistence and indomitability of his grandmother — Virginia “Wes” Rentz,...
Grounds crew worker, William Williams washes down seats in preparation for the Major League Baseball World Series between the Kansas City Royals and the New York Mets.

World Series preview: Mets vs. Royals

You can’t stuff a ballot box to get your boys into the World Series.The Kansas City Royals are back in the Fall Classic, quite deservedly, and the fact that the...
Raiders receiver Amari Cooper, the rookie sensation who vexed the Chargers on Sunday, makes a catch over defensive back Jimmy Wilson.

Chargers defense left eating Raider dust

Jason Verrett lost track. That part, at least, was understandable. “Those missed tackles, man, those missed tackles,” said Verrett. “I don’t know how many we had. We had a number...
Chargers Eric Weddle stops Steelers Le'Veon Bell.

Steelers go “wild” on Chargers

They always travel well, the Pittsburgh Steelers, probably better than any team in the National Football League. Clad in black and gold, making a terrible ruckus while waving the familiar...
The Gulls' Shane O'Brien is introduced to the crowd before the San Diego Gulls' home opener against Grand Rapids in San Diego on Saturday.

Gulls finally land back on San Diego ice

Fully three hours before the drop of the first puck – sounds kinda strange, eh? – the first tent was pitched in the parking lot. Given that it was a...
The Ducks Ice Girls clean the ice during the San Diego Gulls - Ontario game at the Honda Center.

Gulls back again, but Willie O’Ree never left

Only days shy of becoming an octogenarian, Willie O’Ree is peppy as a pup, strikingly fit and athlete-strong. Mentally, he’s sharp as the hockey skates he still laces up for...
Stefan Demopoulos (far right), one of several San Diego-born players at the NCAA Division I level of ice hockey, celebrates a Providence goal with teammates en route to the national championship last spring. (AP Photo/Gretchen Ertl)

Gulls a boon to already-solid youth hockey

People note his place of birth -- Vancouver, B.C. -- and nod knowingly. Of course. Peter McNab was another college and National Hockey League star who grew up on the...
The Aztecs' D.J. Pumphrey is pushed out of bounds by South Alabama's Bull Barge during the second quarter at Qualcomm Stadium on Saturday. Photo by Hayne Palmour IV/San Diego Union-Tribune/Mandatory Credit: HAYNE PALMOUR IV/SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE/ZUMA PRESS San Diego Union-Tribune Photo by Hayne Palmour IV copyright 2015

Mills’ punt returns mark return to form

As is their tradition, San Diego State brought back a distinguished former Aztecs athlete to take part in the pre-game ceremony at Qualcomm Stadium. As it happens, the honors Saturday...
Players in the Anaheim Ducks organization participate in the first day of training camp at Anaheim Ice. Players for the San Diego Gulls, the Ducks' new American Hockey League , will come from here once Anaheim's roster is determined.

New Gulls same as the old Gulls?

His first name was Connie. But you could call him … uh, Connie. Snicker at your own risk.A forceful defenseman whose NHL career began at the age of 38 and...
A Pro Football Hall of Fame for Junior Seau was raised at Qualcomm Stadium.

Fans have mixed emotions at the “Q”

As part of the “White Hot Sunday” theme of the 2015 season-opener, every fan ing through the gates at Qualcomm Stadium was handed a towel. On it was the Chargers’...
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Rush on tickets for Chargers’ last run (?)

If this season-opening Sunday is to be the official beginning of the end for the San Diego Chargers, fans are going to take the long goodbye real personal. Personally, too.Perhaps...
The Aztecs held an intrasquad scrimmage at Qualcomm Stadium Saturday for Aztec Fan Fest Saturday.

USD-SDSU Game: Nine miles in 54 years

One’s private. The other’s public. Fittingly, one is just north of Interstate-8, the other just south of the same freeway.The city’s two major universities both are highly visible from around...
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Josh Lambo going from futbol to football

Seahawks at Chargers Saturday: Exhibition, 5 p.m. at Qualcomm StadiumOn the air: Ch. 8, 105.3-FM, 1360-AM, 107.3-FM (Spanish) 17Age when Josh Lambo was drafted by MLS; he was out of...
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Receiving HOF stature, Seau still giving

The chairman of the board, naturally, wore board shorts.Belying the beach sandals on his feet, though, there was no flip-flopping on the decisions being made at those board meetings, often...
Junior Seau in 2006.

Rady Children’s receives $500k from Seau Foundation

Oceanside — With its namesake to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame this weekend, the Junior Seau Foundation has donated $500,000 to renovate a pediatric urgent-care facility in Oceanside,...
San Francisco Giants left-hander Madison Bumgarner is escorted back to the dugout by pitching coach Dave Righetti after a heated exchange between Gardner and of the Texas Rangers. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

Giants team of three rings, two faces

This, that and the other teams:Great, great franchise, the San Francisco Giants. Clearly, indisputably, the best in baseball. Five years, three rings. Resilient, intense, tough as rivets on the Golden...
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Fans seeing first of last S.D. Chargers?

In more ways than one, the Chargers had people in the dark.Well before the dawning light of 6 a.m., San Diego State student Joseph Hernandez was leading a group of...
Malaika Underwood, who played baseball among three varsity sports at La Jolla High and volleyball at the University of North Carolina, is a veteran leading Team USA into the first Pan American Games with women's baseball.

Local women in Pan Am baseball debut

As a self-described “athletic nerd” at O’Farrell Middle School, eighth-grader Malaika Underwood was determined enough to write letters to specific coaches at San Diego high schools she could attend the...
Atlanta Braves center fielder Cameron Maybin, right, and rookie pitcher Matt Wisler, both traded from San Diego to Atlanta, celebrate after a July 4 win over the Philadelphia Phillies at Turner Field. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

Maybin living up to deal — with Braves

The All-Star Game did not lack for former Padres – Adrian Gonzalez, Anthony Rizzo and Yasmani Grandal for the National League, reliever Brad Boxberger for the American – but there...
Not only will will he enter the Hall of Fame with the dual distinction of relief and starting pitcher over his career, but John Smoltz will be the first Cooperstown inductee with a Tommy John surgery on his resume. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

Smoltz taking Tommy John scar to Hall

This, that and the other teams:Even with 288 career wins and the advantage of pitching for baseball’s highest-falutin’ teams -- 91 of those wins came with the New York Yankees,...
Detroit Tigers' Miguel Cabrera, here hitting into a run-scoring error committed by starting pitcher Danny Salazar, has been an almost indefensible problem for the Cleveland Indians. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak)

Miggy’s the Indians’ indefensible foe

This, that and the other teams:Sort of like a reversal on the tears-of-a-clown theme, Detroit Tigers slugger Miguel Cabrera is bringing out the unintended laughs from Terry Francona, manager of...
Colorado Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado, front, s shortstop Troy Tulowitzki, center, and second baseman DJ LeMahieu in a defensive shift that basically makes a shortstop of Arenado several times a game. The Rockies have made the greatest increase in shift usage this season. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

The Shift is on … for good?

Clint Hurdle’s so old-school baseball, he could coach cricket at Oxford. His own playing days were, in fact, the time of “Little House on the Prairie.”Hurdle’s also a forward-thinker, though....
<p> Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers shares the stage at Qualcomm Stadium with the San Diego Chicken, aka Ted Giannoulas. <em>   Sean M. Haffey / Union-Tribune </em> </p>

The San Diego Chicken’s still kickin’

Famous San Diego Chicken on his 41-year careerHe’s no spring Chicken.Ha ha ha. Yuk, yuk, yuk. Cluck, cluck, cluck.No. Seriously. He isn’t.Time waits for no man, and certainly not for...
San Diego Padres shortstop Alexi Amarista is one of several position players who've recently been called in to pitch relief in lost-cause games. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

Hitters pitching in a pinch

Like everything else about today’s game of baseball, it’s terribly scientific. Needing a quick strategy, you look at the righty-lefty match-ups, study the numbers, divide them all by pi, invoke...
Hall of Fame second baseman Joe Morgan, posing with the statue of him at Great American Ball Park, is part of the Cincinnati Reds lore that should be celebrated at the All-Star Game. (AP Photo/David Kohl)

San Diego on All-Star Game watch

The good people of the “Queen City” and the Cincinnati Reds are right where San Diego and the Padres will be one year from now. That, is, less than one...
The Padres' Justin Upton scores as Mets' catcher Anthony Recker reaches for bad throw in the fifth inning.

KC fans make system work … for Royals

Yonder Alonso’s a Miami guy. So is Eric Hosmer. Yonder Alonso knows Eric Hosmer. Yonder Alonso considers Eric Hosmer not only a terrific first baseman for the Kansas City Royals,...
The Padres' Tony Gwynn fights back tears as he acknowledges the standing ovation prior to the Padres' game against the Colorado Rockies in this Oct. 7, 2001 file photo, in San Diego. Gwynn retired after the game.

Tony Gwynn: 19 memories of No. 19

Bob Chandler on Tony GwynnNo. Still, no. Too soon. Too soon.Because his death was so premature, coming just seven years after his Hall of Fame induction and one month after...
San Diego Padres' Matt Kemp reacts as he is hit by a pitch from Atlanta Braves starter Juio Teheran during the first inning of a baseball game Thursday, June 11, 2015, in Atlanta. The incident led to both dugouts emptying onto the field. Braves catcher Christian Bethancourt is shown at right. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

Padres scorch Braves in extra innings

ATLANTA — When the rain stopped and the tarp came off, you could feel the steam heat rising from the grass at Turner Field, where first pitch between the Padres and Atlanta...
Tyson Ross allowed nine hits, two walks and three runs against the Atlanta Braves on Wednesday.

Ross, Padres beaten in Atlanta

ATLANTA — Wil Myers will be activated from the disabled list Thursday, whereupon he'll immediately start in center field for the Padres. Thus, they'll have their full complement of outfielders, almost an...
San Diego Padres' Wil Myers, left, who went on the disabled list after injuring his wrist on this play against the Arizona Diamondbacks on May 10, could be back in the Padres lineup Thursday in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Myers to be activated Thursday?

ATLANTA — When the Padres optioned Jedd Gyorko to Triple-A, it created a natural opening on the roster for a position player, namely a fully recovered Wil Myers. Instead, the Padres decided...
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Players grea cleats

ATLANTA — Another baseball secret is out. And getting messy.Among with the usual places on the wall in the Turner Field visitors clubhouse -- traiditionally adorned with lineup cards, uniform instructions and...
Jedd Gyorko's difficulties at the plate have led the Padres to send him to Triple-A El Paso. (AP Photo/Lenny Ignelzi)

Padres’ Jedd Gyorko sent to Triple-A

ATLANTA — Two years ago, the Padres thought enough of Jedd Gyorko's place in their future to give him a five-year extension and $35 million, all based on what had been a...
The Braves' Andrelton Simmons beats the tag by Padres catcher Derek Norris during the sixth inning Tuesday.

Braves pay back Padres

ATLANTA — James Shields was unbeaten. Still is. He had another goose-egg cooking, too, with a 5-0 lead going into the bottom of the sixth inning at Turner Field.But even the perfect...
FILE- In this Feb. 23, 2015, file photo, Atlanta Braves' Melvin Upton Jr., walks off the field following a spring training baseball workout in Kissimmee, Fla. In a trade announced Sunday, April 5, 2015, the San Diego Padres acquired Craig Kimbrel and Upton from the Atlanta Braves for outfielders Carlos Quentin and Cameron Maybin, plus two minor leaguers and a draft pick. (AP Photo/David Goldman, File)

Upton Jr. still brings out heat in Atlanta

ATLANTA — Melvin Upton Jr.'s first impression with the Padres rekindled the lasting impression he left at Turner Field.A target of derision from Atlanta Braves fans through most of his two years...
San Diego Padres' Yonder Alonso, right, rounds the bases after hitting a grand slam in Cincinnati at the start of the road trip that featured some of the biggest hits by the first baseman. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

Alonso “grinding” out big hits for Padres

ATLANTA — They play walk-up music for players of the visiting teams at Turner Field, but it's performed by an organist, some of whose own song selections for individual hitters are pretty...
San Diego Padres starting pitcher Ian Kennedy limited the Dodgers to one run on Saturday night over the game's first five innings.

Padres win Battle of the Exes

ATLANTA — The subject of the day at Turner Field, naturally, was ex-Padres and ex-Braves and the best trades being the ones that generally don't help both teams. Fredi Gonzalez, the affable...
In less than happy days with the Atlanta Braves, outfielder B.J. (now Melvin Jr.) Upton angered himself and fans with his under-performance, so it was striking that his first gamel with the Padres on Monday was at Turner Field.

Atlanta is reunion central

ATLANTA — As the cliche goes, and grows, nearly every major league player says he just wants "to be a good teammate." Here and now, they have to be good ex-teammates.The old...
Padres starting pitcher Brandon Morrow has suffered a "setback" in his attempted return from a shoulder issue. (AP Photo/(Lenny Ignelzi)

Morrow suffers shoulder “setback”

ATLANTA — Brandon Morrow, who just a few days ago seemed on the verge of a much-awaited return to the Padres' rotation, likely will have had his comeback derailed to some degree....
Padres left fielder Justin Upton, center, will be getting a teammate and family at the same time as the Padres are having brother Melvin Upton Jr. the club in Atlanta. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

Padres fall, call up another Upton

CINCINNATI — The brothers were teammates in Atlanta. Now the brothers will be teammates in Atlanta, but with the Padres.With the Monday start of a four-game series against the Braves at Turner...
The Padres' closer Craig Kimbrel looks for the sign as he pitches to the Cubs in the ninth inning.

Kimbrel headed for homecoming, too

CINCINNATI — Hot. Hot. Hotter. Deep South thick and sticky.Craig Kimbrel's comfort zone."I like it; it gets my blood pumping," said the Padres closer. "I'm from Alabama, so that heat and humidity...
Then with the Atlanta Braves, Melvin Upton Jr. (right) takes spring training swings. Melvin Jr. will be in Atlanta on Monday, ing the Padres and his younger brother, Justin Upton. (AP Photo/Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Curtis Compton)

Melvin Upton Jr. to Padres in Atlanta

The brothers were teammates in Atlanta. Now the brothers will be teammates in Atlanta, but with the Padres.With the Monday start of a four-game series against the Braves, not only...
Padres outfielder Will Venable, here making one of his trademark diving catches in an earlier game, itted that identical consecutive RBI hits by the Reds preyed on his instincts.

Venable wouldn’t mind two more errors

CINCINNATI — Having played all three outfield positions over 36 games this year, Will Venable's committed only one error. He wishes, with some chagrin, that there were three.Until the game-tying grand slam...
Tyson Ross, right, and brother Joe Ross (66), pictured when both were at Padres spring training in Peoria, Ariz., were reunited Saturday when Joe made his major league debut with the Nationals in Washington.

Ross zips over for brother’s debut in D.C.

A year ago, the Brothers Ross seemed destined to be teammates on the Padres’ pitching staff. Instead, Tyson Ross wound up watching younger brother Joe’s major league debut with another...
Reds pitcher Michael Lorenzen is tagged out at home by Padres catcher Derek Norris in the second inning.

Padres slam Reds

CINCINNATI — If only the second home run of the season by Matt Kemp gave the Padres some consolation for an otherwise bizarre afternoon afield, Yonder Alonso's second homer of the year...
Padres second baseman Cory Spangenberg, here hurdling New York Mets baserunner Anthony Recker on a double play, is the only player on the San Diego active roster who actually was a first-round pick by San Diego. (AP Photo/Lenny Ignelzi)

Spangenberg has solo status on Padres

CINCINNATI — Cory Spangenberg is a One. The one. The one and only one.“What?” said the Padres shortstop. “Naw. There’s a bunch of them.”Indeed, Spangenberg's right on one count. On the eve...
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Myers off to Vegas

CINCINNATI — As expected, center fielder Wil Myers was on the way to Las Vegas to begin a rehab assignment with the Padres’ Triple-A , the El Paso Chihuahuas, in a series...
Padres right-hander Odrisamer Despaigne gets the Sunday start against the Reds in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Lenny Ignelzi)

On deck: Despaigne vs. Cueto

THE SERIESPadres (28-29 or 29-28) at Cincinnati Reds (23-31 or 24-30)Game 3 of 3: Sunday at 10:10 a.m.Great American Ball ParkPROBABLE PITCHERSPadres RHP Odrisamer Despaigne (3-3, 4.56)Given two extra days...
Padres right fielder Matt Kemp makes a diving catch in the team's win over Cincinnati on Friday night.

Padres roll with the changes

CINCINNATI — The Cincinnati Reds threw the Padres a late-breaking change-up Friday afternoon. The Padres threw one right back. Only a few hours before the Padres embarked on a storm-interrupted, 6-2 triumph...
San Diego Padres starting pitcher Andrew Cashner throws to a Washington Nationals batter during the first inning of a baseball game Saturday, May 16, 2015, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Cashner to go Saturday, Despaigne Sunday

CINCINNATI _ Coming off a day off between series, the Padres wanted to keep Andrew Cashner on his five-day schedule, so he'll break rotation and pitch Saturday's start against the...
The Padres' Wil Myers is congratulated by third base coach Glenn Hoffman after Myers his a home run in the first inning.

Wil Myers nearing rehab assignment

CINCINNATI — Wil Myers got a lot more than one day closer to his return to games on Friday.Though he likely won't be playing in any of them, Myers started the Padres'...
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On deck: Cashner takes on Reds

THE SERIESPadres at RedsGame 2: Today at 1:10 p.m.PROBABLE PITCHERSPadres RHP Andrew Cashner (2-8, 3.46)Though his turn normally would've come Sunday, the Padres are in a hurry to get Cashner...
Found to be using a foreign substance on the baseball in this May 23 game, Baltimore Orioles relief pitcher Brian Matusz (17) awaits his punishment while umpire Paul Emmel, center, speaks with Orioles manager Buck Showalter. Matusz is appealing his eight-game suspension. (AP Photo/Joe Skipper)

Pitchers needing to get a grip

This, that and the other teams:With the approach of summer baseball, fellas, let’s to slather on that SPF-98(mph).The eight-game suspensions given former USD pitching star Brian Matusz of the...
Cleveland Indians starting pitcher Bruce Chen, right, hands over the ball for the last time to manager Terry Francona after what the venerable lefty says will be his last appearance of his 17-year career. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

Chen Music down to a tweet

This, that and the other teams:For 17 seasons, he just kept sort of popping up here and there, often popping out of the bullpen of a team for whom you...
Miami Marlins general manager Dan Jennings, left, and team owner Jeffrey Loria, here pictured in spring training last year, both are catching heat over the decision to have Jennings replace fired manager Mike Redmond. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson, File)

Marlins back to usual Fish-y business

This, that and the other teams:Hey, why not Dan Jennings? Why not hand over your Miami Marlins dugout and game decisions to the general manager, a guy who hasn’t coached...
Washington Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper, heading to Petco Park after a week in which he hit six homers over a four-game span, is living up to the hype that's surrounded him since before he reached the majors four years ago. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Still a youngster, but Harper sharper

This, that & the other teams:The last time he caused jaws to drop with six home runs in short order, well, the order was a lot shorter.While the irony is...
Singer and musician Tim Flannery leads the Tim Flannery and the Lunatic Fringe on stage at Prescott Promenade during the Dinner and a Concert music festival series in El Cajon. Flannery, a fan favorite who played and coached for the Padres, has walked away from the game after winning three World Series rings as third-base coach of the San Francisco Giants.

Flannery’s hung up uni, sung up storm

Baseball never could put Tim Flannery in a box. Correct that. Baseball just couldn’t keep Flannery in the box.In their extraordinary run to three World Series championships in the last...
Alex Rodriguez is congratulated by teammates at the dugout after his milestone 660th career homer, his first as a pinch hitter, against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)

A-Rod, ahem, hardly toast of the town

This, that and the other teams:He just helped the Yankees sweep the reeling Red Sox at Fenway Park for the first time since 2006, the fourth straight series that New...
Baltimore police officers stand guard outside of Oriole Park at Camden Yards. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Jones, O’s had riot outside their door

It’d be so great to focus this fully on the fact that Adam Jones -- the personable, easy-going Morse High product and perennial All-Star center fielder for the Baltimore Orioles,...
Nelson Cruz celebrates after hitting a walk-off RBI single for the Seattle Mariners, showing why people think the M's might actually reach their first-ever World Series in 2015. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

Cruz crushing it for Mariners

This, that and the other teams:Nelson Cruz’ single delivered both his fifth run batted in of the afternoon and a Seattle Mariners victory Sunday. His other four RBI had been...
San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Tim Lincecum watches as San Diego Padres' Will Venable grounds to second base for the final out of a baseball game Wednesday, June 25, 2014, in San Francisco. Lincecum threw his second career no-hitter as San Francisco won 4-0. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)

It’s ‘Timmy Time’ again for Padres

A catcher who’s not easily crossed up, Buster Posey initially responded to the question with a quizzical look on his face. Several hours before Thursday’s game against the Padres at...
Art Powell (right), pictured here with brothers Charlie (left) and Jerry (center) in 2009, ed away Monday at the age of 78. He was a multi-sport star at San Diego High and City College who became one of the all-time American Football League greats as a receiver.

Art Powell, 1937-2015

Long before he became a legend at San Diego High and City College, then a legend of the old American Football League, Art Powell established a bit of lore in...
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Have Padres won back San Diego?

It’s happened here and there. Everywhere, actually. Alexis Fowler and her husband would walk into a San Diego restaurant, or a Del Mar grocery store, or just down a local...
It's hoped that right-handed starting pitcher James Shields (pictured) can provide the Padres with the same sort of success that Kevin Brown brought in the World Series season of 1998. (AP Photo/Lenny Ignelzi)

Shades of ’84 and ’98 for 2015 Padres?

With the Padres, these things run in cycles. Tricycles, mostly.Throughout a vast majority of their 46-year history, the Padres have begun each season depending more on hope and luck than...
Cleveland got its Browns back, but there are still people who curse the late Art Modell for his decision to turn his historic franchise into the Baltimore Ravens in 1995. (AP Photo/The Repository, Scott Heckel) MANDATORY CREDIT

When NFL teams move, cities left shaken

Over his 19-year career as a Hall of Fame offensive lineman, Bruce Matthews never once switched franchises via trade or free agency. Yet he knew personally, all too well, the...
At their design studio in Liberty Station, longtime close friends Jason Klein (left) and Casey White have built a business that seems to have found a niche carved into the Minor League Baseball teams.

Grandiose designs sparks Brandiose Ball

Hell, yes, there’s such a thing as the blind cave shrimp. Believe it, bubba.Pigs can't fly, especially IronPigs, and there may or may not really be a Loch Ness-like creature...
Tony Clark, the MLBPA executive director who played basketball for Christian High (left) and San Diego State and included the Padres (right) among his major league stops, is being inducted into the Breitbard Hall of Fame at the San Diego Hall of Champions.

SDSU’s taller Tony made giant mark

The stars were aligned. Rather, the All-Stars.The National League side at the 2001 All-Star Game in Atlanta had one guy named Tony. Years earlier, he’d actually been a high-school basketball...
Mark Prior, here shown bunting at a previous Padres spring training, is reporting to Peoria as the team's minor-league pitching coordinator for 2015.

Prior knowledge coming into play

“Development” wasn’t exactly a word you heard applied to Mark Prior. There was barely any time – or need – for it.Before making his celebrated major league debut with the...
A moment of silence was held for Don Coryell before the Padres game against the Astros at Petco Park on Thursday, July 1, 2010.

Canton calling right number for Coryell?

His references are impeccable. Indeed, the most reputable people pushing Don Coryell’s candidacy for the Pro Football Hall of Fame are men already enshrined in Canton. Years ago.His credentials --...
Jerry Gross, the longtime radio announcer whose wide-ranging career included play-by-play work on Padres, San Diego Rockets, SDSU, USD and local high-school games, has ed away after a 23-year battle with cancer. (Peggy Peattie photo)

Versatile broadcaster Jerry Gross dies

When there was a National Basketball Association team born in San Diego, Jerry Gross was its first voice, and it was nearly perfect. At one with the game.Gross, who succumbed...
Stan Humphries (left), pictured here with fellow ex-Chargers Doug Flutie and Natrone Means, remains the only quarterback to lead San Diego to a Super Bowl.

20 years later, Humphries still the one

Dan Fouts, Hall of Fame ’93, didn’t do it. Drew Brees, though surely destined for Canton, didn’t do it. Philip Rivers, for all of his team-record 88 wins and 144...
The Gulls hockey home playoff opener vs. Fresno in 2006.

A pro hockey town again?

At the time, four decades ago, official capacity at the San Diego Sports Arena was set at 13,363. That particular Saturday night, more than 14,000 tickets were sold to a...
San Diego Police Department officer Jamie Huntley, a former La Jolla High athlete and college hlayer, refereede a minor-league men's hockey game this weekend and appears on a fast track to officiating in the Olympic Games.

Cop by day, hockey ref by night

With that first step onto the ice, the ice must be broken.Invariably, this particular hockey referee loses the advantage of anonymity from the very start, loses the benefit of the...
Meb Keflezighi of San Diego, here celebrating his emotional win in the Boston Marathon, is U-T San Diego's Sportsman of the Year for 2014. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, File)

Meb’s U-T San Diego Sportsman of Year

Turning off Park Blvd., the vehicle brakes to a speed slower than Mebrahtom Keflezighi had run each one of the 26 miles in winning the most gut-wrenching, important of Boston...
The San Diego Chicken, representing at Sports Authority Field in Denver, appears to be in a fowl funk during a Chargers loss to the Broncos.

San Diego Chicken sighted all over U.S.

“San Diego” is his middle name.Fact is, whether he’s introduced as “The San Diego Chicken” or “The Famous Chicken” or “The Famous San Diego Chicken,” the 65 million-plus people who’ve...
SDSU grad nik Embernate (middle) stands on the deck of the USS Stockdale with crew .

Poinsettia Bowl a tale of two home teams

Though strategically located on the high ground of Montezuma Mesa, San Diego State is a sizable campus with a huge student population, yet it's badly outflanked. Surrounded, really.To the north...
Baseball commissioner Bud Selig, center, sits with San Diego Padres CEO Ron Fowler and former Padres pitcher Trevor Hoffman, left, at a ceremony announcing that part of the Padres' Petco Park is being named Selig Hall of Fame Plaza in honor of the commissioner, who is retiring, Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2014, in San Diego. The ceremony took place prior to a baseball game between the Padres and the Milwaukee Brewers.

Padres putting on show for All-Star show

The Padres are lobbying – literally – for the All-Star Game.While seemingly everyone else in major league baseball is congregated at the Manchester Grand Hyatt this week for the Winter...
Triple-A El Paso's Cody Decker leads all Padres minor leaguers with 22 home runs as of Aug. 22.

Chihuahuas big dogs at MLB Trade Fair

Upstairs at the San Diego Convention Center is baseball’s annual Job Fair, an event that holds a special place in the heart of Tim Hagerty. He’s landed each of his...
A.J. Hinch, who previously was vice president of pro scouting and assistant general manager of the Padres, is now manager for the Houston Astros. (AP Photo/Pat Sullivan)

Hinch has takeaway from Buddy

In between his 86-game stint as manager of the Arizona Diamondbacks and his new gig as skipper of the Houston Astros, A.J. Hinch was vice president of professional scouting for...
A product of Mt. Carmel High and UCSD, general manager Billy Beane was beating big-money teams with his low-budget Oakland Athletics for years before a book and movie made him far more famous. (AP Photo/Lenny Ignelzi)

Billy Beane a baseball brainiac

Never appearing in more than 37 games in any of his six major-league seasons with four different teams, he batted .219 and hit just three home runs, all with the...
The San Diego Bayfront, including the Hilton, Convention Center, Marriott Marquis & Marina, and Manchester Grand Hyatt, will serve as site of baseball's 2014 Winter Meetings in December.

One of MLB’s marquee events comes to SD

The epicenter was the hotel lobby. The larger the lobby, the better it was for major league baseball’s general managers, known to hide behind potted plants while using the left...
Boston College's Thatcher Demko.

NHL awaits Team USA, B.C. goalie from S.D.

The hand-painted masks – one he wears for Boston College, the other for Team USA -- hide the fact that Thatcher Demko’s still only 18 years old. A prodigy with...
Kansas City Royals pitcher Bud Black, left, and other Royals shower groundskeeper George Toma with champagne in the Royals clubhouse in Kansas City after the Royals won the World Series, Oct. 28, 1985.

Black’s got history with World Series foes

For six-plus years, Bud Black pitched for the Kansas City Royals, winning a World Series ring as a left-handed starter in their workhorse rotation. The fact that the Royals hadn’t...
Marty Castillo completes tag, umpire Rich Garcia calls Padres Kurt Bevacqua is out at third base as the Tigers' Marty Castillo applies the tag and umpire Rich Garcia makes the call on a crucial play in Game 1 of the '84 World Series.

Padres’ first World Series so meaningful

The first big mistake -- one the Padres were doomed to repeat after winning their only other National League pennant -- was in the choice of opponents in the World...
Kansas City has huge hopes pinned on veteran pitcher James Shields, who'll start Tuesday against the Oakland Athletics in Kansas City's first postseason game since the World Series victory of 1985. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

Now it’s a Wild (Card) Thing

Amazing. The sky didn’t fall. The world didn’t implode. Derek Jeter didn’t suddenly start spitting, scratching inappropriately and cus a blue streak.Life has gone on. Yes, even with Majoro...
Knengi Martin, about to make her debut as the first female varsity football head coach in the county, leads San Diego High against University City on Friday night.

Cavers take lead from female head coach

Well, ain’t this a real slobberknocker? A 30-year-old woman will be head coach of San Diego High’s varsity football team when the Cavers, who’ve been playing football since 1891, visit...
The rest of the season hasn't gone so terribly well for the Padres, but they wrapped up the Petco Park portion of the schedule Wednesday with a win that gave them their best home record since moving to the downtown ballpark.

Evidently, Padres over their issues at home

It’s one of those half-a-loaf things. Well, half a half-a-loaf.Headed to San Francisco for four games that will bring this 2014 season to its merciful conclusion, the Padres played their...
Florence Chadwick is shown as she rests in the shallow water of South Foreland Beach near Dover, England, on Aug. 8, 1950, after swimming the English Channel in record time.

Florence Chadwick a swimming legend

She was still just a child, only 10 years old in 1928, so she started small. She swam San Diego Bay.Not just in San Diego Bay. Across San Diego Bay....