Sam Robinson

Editor bids farewell to Porterville sports scene

By SAM ROBINSON

When I first got here, I didn’t think this column would be that hard to write. I arrived in the unfathomable heat of summer (July 2008) and knew absolutely no one in a city halfway across the country — a town I only knew as the one where... Full story

Sam's Week 6 Picks: Broncos to keep rolling

By SAM ROBINSON

NCAA Lock - CLEMSON over Wake Forest All three of the Tigers’ losses have been by one score to solid teams and they should be sufficiently fired up when the ACC Atlantic Division-leading Demon Deacons come to Death Valley. By the way, I say th... Full story

Sam's Week 5 Picks: Bengals not in Ravens' class

By SAM ROBINSON

Sam’s Picks Record: 9-7 NCAA Lock - South Carolina over KENTUCKY There are an insane six teams ranked in the SEC and I’m betting the No. 25 Gamecocks avoid the trap game against the Wildcats this week. They better enjoy it because they... Full story

Broncos to prolong Cowboys' troubles

By SAM ROBINSON

NCAA Lock - PURDUE over Northwestern Yes, the Boilermakers have lost to two MAC teams, but they should be able to beat Northwestern before their schedule hits the Big Ten’s better half. The Wildcats’ defense will have trouble containing ... Full story

Sam's Week 3 Picks: Titans won't go 0-3

By SAM ROBINSON

NCAA Lock - PENN STATE over Iowa The Nittany Lions have soundly beaten three lower-level programs (Syracuse, Akron, Temple) and enter Big Ten play 3-0. Daryll Clark will be tested, but the Hawks aren’t going into Happy Valley and winning on na... Full story

Sam's Week 2 Picks: Orange should get into win column

By SAM ROBINSON

Sam’s Picks, Record: 4-0 NCAA Lock - VANDERBILT over Mississipi State Vandy’s freshmen tailback duo — Zac Stacy and Warren Norman — are both averaging over 5.5 yards per carry. This should be enough to get by the Bulldo... Full story

Giants’ ‘D’ set for another title

By SAM ROBINSON

AFC East: New England The trendy pick for this division now that Brady is back, but I really don’t see anyone else coming close now that Miami has a first-place schedule and the Jets are grooming a rookie QB. AFC South: Tennessee Were the be... Full story

Year-end countdown to showcase Orange Belt’s best

By SaM ROBINSON

So now that all six All-Star games are over, we can officially close the book on the Orange Belt sports year. But it surely had its moments. Just by the sheer numbers, this region showed its talent to the rest of the Valley. Fifteen teams won leag... Full story

Trivial nonsense in a bye week

By SAM ROBINSON

Since the majority of our teams are off this week, it leaves us with some rare free time. So today, I will use that time for some random thoughts that weren’t sufficient enough to warrant a whole column. ...If we had the All-Name team in the ... Full story

McIntire-Howard tale truly remarkable

So often in the today’s sports world, we have to look pretty hard to find a truly unselfish moment. Whether it’s Terrell Owens demanding the ball on every play or Manny Ramirez deciding $25 million a year isn’t enough, today’... Full story

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