The fans came out and brought enthusiasm and excitement, and the Padres gave them plenty to cheer about. The Padres played excellent ball all the way around with great starting pitching, superb defense and timely hitting.
Third year sophomore forward Jalen McDaniels will declare for the NBA Draft and give up his final two years of eligibility, as well as hiring an agent. McDaniels, in my opinion, had a very up and down season. Jalen has an upside long term, but currently he is not ready to play in the NBA. McDaniels needs to put on weight and spend more time in the weight room. Jalen should have come back for another season with the Aztecs.
The Fleet dropped to 3-5 after a disappointing 8-3 loss last Saturday at Salt Lake. The Fleet will miss the playoffs after a nice start.
The Sockers were down 4-0 up in Tacoma and came back to win 8-7. The Sockers have won 18 straight and have compiled a 20-1 record, which is the best in the Major Arena Soccer League. The Pacific Division is very weak this season and the other three teams all have losing records. We will find out how good the San Diego team is when they matchup with Monterrey and Milwaukee in the playoffs.
One thing I found out when I started working at 97.3 The Fan is that they do things in a first class manner. The Opening Day block party on J Street was awesome. Dan Sileo was on from 5:00 am until 9:00 am and I came on at 9:00 am until I turned it over to Chris Ello at noon for the Padres pregame show.
Our promotional staff was incredible all day long in the East Village. Adam Klug, our Program Director, worked tirelessly handing out Padres schedules to anyone who came through the block party. I was amazed at how many 97.3 The Fan t-shirts were handed out. Rich Herrera, our Promotions Director, had everything set up perfectly. Really nice to work with a group of professionals who care about their teammates and their listeners.