The Oakland Athletics hit the road and took the first 2 games against the evil empire in NY; then the empire struck back and set a new MLB record, while mother nature rained on the A's road parade...

The Giants are heading south fast with an offense that is well quite frankly, offensive. Not all is lost, as an injury riddled roster is finally on the mend and the Gigantes still have six head-to-head matchups against the serpents from the desert. Plus, Mike  Krukow tells the boys how he does what he does so damn well. This interview contains explicit material, so, kids: EARMUFFS!!!!!!

The 49ers  faithful may need more than faith if they think Jim Harbaugh can take them back to the gold fields of yesteryear . Beating the cross bay rival Raiders should have felt good, but due to moron gangsters the  pre season victory was overshadowed by the violence...

The Raider Nation hasn't had all of their parts in working order so far this pre season, and despite the pre season record have shown some signs that last years 8-8 record was not a fluke. Will the Ghost of defensive backs past curse this teams defensive backfield going forward and haunt their playoff hopes?

Finally the Earthquakes have shaken them selves out of any slight miniscule chance of post season play, while the MLS changes some financial rules to allow the young league to attract and keep young talent for the long term.

So GRAB SOME PINE, MEAT!!! and listen to this edition of the  Nor Cal Report......

Played: 192 | Download | Duration: 00:43:02

The NOR CAL Blog:

All the latest info, anecdotes and opinions from the Report's own Jess and Lex.

We asked this week's guest, Mike Krukow, how he balances his position as an evil media member and also part of the Giants team (he's got the ring to prove it.) Kruk sometimes gets labled a homer, but his comments on a local radio show prove he calls them how he sees them.

Let's be really clear,  the violence that occurred during the 49ers-Raiders preseason game was not about football, and was definitely not because of rowdy citizens of THE RAIDER NATION. NFL security czar Jeff Miller said that the Raiders do security right, and the gun battle would not have gone down at The O.co Coliseum. So please don't blame an entire Nation for a couple of idiot gang bangers....

 Kurt Suzuki started out the season pretty poorly in the batters box but recently has picked up his game.  Could it be he misses his buddies of years past? With the departure of Mark Ellis Kurt Suzuki is now the most tenured player on this  Oakland Athletics  squad.  He was able to get by with a little help from one of his ex mates and current Yankee Eric Chavez, who  was able to give Zuk a little pep talk

Finally, here's a look at the new salary cap rules that will hopefully help Major League Soccer attract and keep better players so it can compete with other big time leagues around the globe.

Thanks as always for checkin' in. Enjoy your fresh new Nor Cal Report!