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FRESNO -  A downtown charter school playground received new life over the weekend, as several members of Fire Squad Fresno laid the final 8,000 square feet of sod on the playground for students to enjoy. For more than half the year, Kepler Neighborhood School students were left to play on a large patch of dirt across the street from their school or walk the two blocks to the Cultural Arts District Park to spend some time on the grass. 

It wasn't by design. The school's sprinkler system broke about nine months ago, causing the grass to die for the TK-8 school that serves students in the city's urban core. 

LAS VEGAS – Boise State was chosen to finish atop the Mountain Division, while two-time Mountain West champion Fresno State was predicted to win the West Division title, as announced today by the Mountain West at its annual Media Summit, being held at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas.

This marks the sixth season of divisional play for the Conference, which moved to the two, six-team divisional format in 2013 following the additions of San José State and Utah State. The Mountain Division is comprised of Air Force, Boise State, Colorado State, New Mexico, Utah State and Wyoming, while Fresno State, Hawai‘i, Nevada, San Diego State, San José State and UNLV make up the West Division. The two divisional winners will meet in the MW Championship Game on Dec. 1, 2018 at the home stadium of the divisional champion with the highest winning percentage in Conference games only.

FRESNO -  Fresno Grizzlies playoff tickets are officially on sale for the 2018 Pacific Coast League Postseason, by visiting FresnoGrizzlies.com or the Chukchansi Park ticket office, during games or normal business hours.  The “Hunt for the Playoffs” is presented by Helena Agri-Enterprises.  As of August 9, Fresno leads their Pacific Northern Division competition by seven games (accounting for a head-to-head tiebreaker with Reno), with 25 regular season contests remaining.  With a 66-49 record, the Grizzlies’ “magic number” to clinch the division is 19 (any combination of Reno losses and Fresno wins).

Should Fresno complete their run as division champion as expected, PCL playoff procedure will see them host games three, four (if necessary) and five (if necessary) of the Pacific Conference Championship Series, on September 7-9 (Friday through Sunday).  Should the Grizzlies advance to the PCL Championship Series, games one and two of the best-of-five series would be hosted at Fresno’s Chukchansi Park, on September 11-12 (Tuesday and Wednesday).  Individual-game tickets are now available for all five potential home playoff dates, at regular season prices (beginning as low as $10).  Post-game fireworks will follow Game 3 of the Pacific Conference Championship series, on Friday, September 7.

BALTIMORE - Fresno State senior quarterback Marcus McMaryion has been named to the 2018 Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award Watch List released on Tuesday. One of 50 initial watch list nominees, the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award is presented annually by the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Educational Foundation, Inc. and is presented annually since 1987 to the nation's top college quarterback.

Candidates must be a college senior or fourth-year junior on schedule to graduate with their class and criteria for the award include character, citizenship, scholastic achievement, leadership qualities and athletic accomplishments. An All-Mountain West honorable mention selection last season and a preseason MW second-team pick by Phil Steele, McMaryion returns for his second season as a Bulldog leading the 'Dogs high-powered offense.

FRESNO - The Fresno Tacos (70-51) beat the Las Vegas 51s (60-61) 6-3 Tuesday night from Chukchansi Park. With the victory, the magic number lowered from 13 to 11 with 19 games left to play. The Tacos also won their 17th set of the season (31 chances) and jumped to 19 games over .500, the highest mark of 2018. 

J.D. Davis (2-for-3) provided Fresno a 3-0 advantage in the bottom of the fourth when he demolished a pitch to center field. The three-run moonshot was his 10th of the year. When the Tacos score first, they are (25-4) at home and (54-15) overall.

FRESNO -  Fresno Football Club is proud to announce the club will host Major League Soccer (MLS) affiliate Vancouver Whitecaps FC’s reserves on Wednesday, September 5th at Chukchansi Park. "This is a fantastic opportunity for our players to compete against a top club," said Foxes head coach Adam Smith. "I am really happy for the organization to be able to host a team comprised of player from our affiliate and give our fans a chance to see more top-level soccer here in Fresno."

Earlier this season, Vancouver announced it had selected Fresno FC as its USL affiliate. As part of the agreement, the expansion franchise has received players in midfielder Noah Verhoeven, defenders Justin Fiddes and Matthew Baldisimo, forward Terran Campbell and goalkeeper Sean Melvin. Melvin eventually signed an MLS Homegrown contract with Whitecaps FC in April. The Foxes also signed defender Cory Brown from Vancouver, after he was drafted with the 62nd pick in the MLS SuperDraft, and recently received striker Myer Bevan on loan through the end of the USL season.