San Francisco Sports Insider

Kurt Suzuki: 15-day DLAfter a hot start the Oakland A's are at .500 and tied for first in the AL West. Trevor Cahill made his 2010 debut and got served up by the Toronto Blue Jays Friday in Toronto for eight runs. Injuries have hit the squad hard with Catcher Kurt Suzuki on the 15-day DL for a strained ribcage. That marks the tenth time the A's have used the DL this season. Ailing pitcher Justin Duchsherer will see a doctor Monday for a hip strain suffered Thursday. Gio Gonzalez (2-1), the A's young starter will face the Jays saturday. The Jays will bring former A's pitcher Eveland, who has only faced one A's hitter.

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The Bay Area is home to some of the most popular teams in American sport. The San Francisco 49ers are known across the world as champions of the NFL. The Oakland A's are one of baseball's historically richest teams with nine World Series wins since their inception in Philadelphia. The Giants are steeped in history as well. And who could forget the little team that could, the San Jose Sharks hockey team, one of the more successful NHL teams since their inception in 1992.

But to focus on the history of these teams would neglect some of the teams that came before.

BASEBALL

Oakland Oaks: 40s era capOakland Oaks (Pacific Coast League) 1903-1955

Founded in 1903, the Oaks were a homegrown organization, named for the city of Oakland. They played in Oaks Park from 1911 until their departure for Vancouver, BC in 1955. The Oaks won five league titles in 1912, '27, '48, '50 and '54. The Oaks were the first team to break the color barrier when they 'accidentally' hired African American and Native American player Jimmy Claxton.

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Dan Boyle: scored the winning goal... for the Avalanche.Oh man. What a terrible game. The San Jose Sharks went about a minute into overtime before scoring on themselves, losing 1-0 in OT. Last year there was all this hype and everyone knew the Sharks were playing in the playoffs. Then they, the runaway first place team, lost in the first round like a bunch of junior league players to the Anaheim Ducks. This year, there is no hype and nobody is holding their breath. And after last night's sad loss, it's a good thing. The Sharks are down now 1-2 against the Colorado Avalanche. Nobody in San Jose expects much either.

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Alex Smith: who will start, Smith or David Carr?The San Francisco 49ers were one of those almost teams last year. They gave the ball back to Alex Smith who showed promise. Rookie wideout Michael Crabtree finally came to his senses and ended his holdout and actually redeemed himself with some good games, putting up 625 yards on 43 rec. for a pair of touchdowns in 10 games. The Niner defense still looks solid with the mean machine Patrick Willis at linebacker. The acquisition of Ted Ginn Jr. from Miami offers more hope for the Niners special teams play as Ginn was able to carve a niche out for himself with the Dolphins as a return guy. Maybe he'll move into a WR spot too.

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