Derek Togerson

2 weeks ago | nbcsandiego.com | Derek Togerson

In 1994 the United States hosted the World Cup for the first time. "And there were no expectations. Not a lot of people knew exactly what the World Cup was about, but they were curious. That's why every game was sold out. And that was an introduction to international soccer here in the United States," says Marcelo Balboa, a two-time All-American at San Diego State and former USMNT captain who played in three World Cups.

3 weeks ago | nbcsandiego.com | Derek Togerson

There are 195 countries on Earth. Show him a map, and San Diego native Cameron Mofid can tell you where every single one of them is - but not because he's studied the globe. It's because he's been to all of them. The Bishops School alum recently became the youngest person ever to visit every single nation in the world, begging two questions: how and why did he pull this off? "I think the why is probably more important than the how. So, I'll start there, I guess," Mofid said.

3 weeks ago | nbcsandiego.com | Derek Togerson

If it were possible to add one thing to the Padres offense it wouldn't be anything basic like power or a better batting average. It would be consistency. One week San Diego will average six runs a game, the next week they'll score a total of six runs (which is not an exaggeration, they basically did just that during the month of May). They seem to have hit another lull with the Pirates in town.

3 weeks ago | nbcsandiego.com | Derek Togerson

The first loss in San Diego FC history came in Austin, TX, back in March. SDFC sat on that result for two months and took advantage of their chance to get a little payback. A pair of San Diego natives in Luca de la Torre and Milan Iloski found the back of the net to give SDFC a 2-0 win in the final game before Major League Soccer takes a monthlong break for several international tournaments. It was knotted nil-nil in the 60th minute when SDFC showed off its quick-strike capability.

4 weeks ago | nbcsandiego.com | Derek Togerson

The Padres had an off day at home on Thursday, affording the players the luxury of getting in a few fun activities. Infielder Luis Arraez knew exactly what he'd do to fill the free time. "Fishing. I go fishing," says Arraez. "I forget everything. I don't think about anything. I just go distract my mind and catch some fish."Arraez got into a solid yellowtail bite, then came to Petco Park and helped the Padres reel in a 3-2 win over the Pirates to start a wicked stretch of 26 games in 27 days.