Month: November 2013

Kings get clipped in LA 103-102

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment

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By Charlie O. Mallonee

The fourth quarter of the Kings-Clippers game was more like the 15th round of a heavyweight fight. It was physical, emotional and exciting. The game was literally won in the final seconds of the game. When the final buzzer sounded, the Clippers had defeated the Kings 103-102.

In the first-half of the game, no one in the stands or watching at home would have guessed that the game would come down to the last second. The Clippers led the Kings 26-19 after the first period of play. By the 9:51 mark in the second quarter, LA led Sacramento by 20 points. It appeared the Kings were about to take a beating by the number two team in Los Angeles.

What happened? Chuck Hayes made a layup with 8:55 to go in the half and ignited the Kings offense. Sacramento would go on to outscore the Clippers 35-28 in the second quarter. At the half, Los Angeles led the Kings 57-48.

In the third period, the battle continued. DeMarcus Cousins decided to put the team on his back and led the charge. Patrick Patterson came alive after having a miserable first-half, and Luc Mbah a Moute provided the defense under the basket that disrupted the Chris Paul-Blake Griffin connection. The Kings won the quarter 21-18 and trailed the Clippers 75-69 after three quarters.

The Clippers may be an offensive machine, but their defense is still lacking. That lack of defense allowed the Kings to scratch and claw their way back into the game. The Kings were led by Patterson, Isaiah Thomas and DeMarcus Cousins on offense. On defense, Mbah a Moute played tough down low.

The lead see-sawed back and forth until the Kings built a five point lead with 3:19 left to play in the game. The Clippers were not about to surrender. Chris Paul made a 3-pointer and the game was tied at 98-98 with 1:29 left in the game.

LA went back into the lead at 1:04 when Chris Paul made a driving layup. Even more devastating was the foul that was called on Mbah a Moute – his sixth. Watching the replay, the foul should have been charged to Cousins which would have been his sixth. The referees conferred but held firm on their call. Paul missed the free throw, but the loss of Mbah a Moute would lead to the Clippers win.

With the game tied at 100-100, Paul and Griffin pulled off the perfect pick and roll play with no Mbah a Moute to provide the underneath defense.

The game was tied at 102-102 with 0:02 to play. Patterson fouled Chris Paul who hit one of two free throws. Cousins grabbed the rebound and the Kings called a timeout. With 1.9-seconds to go, the Kings got the ball to Cousins who took a desperation shot that missed as time ran out. The Clippers won the game 103-102.

The Kings shot just 42.0% (37-88) from the field just below their season average of 42.6%. They hit just five of 17 shots (29.4%) from beyond the 3-point arc. Sacramento out rebounded the Clippers 46-39. The Kings committed just 10 turnovers.

DeMarcus Cousins led all scorers with 23 points. He also had 19 rebounds and seven assists. Isaiah Thomas added 22 points and five assists. Patrick Patterson scored 21 points in 31 minutes of playing time. Expect to see more of Patterson on Sunday versus the Lakers.

The Clippers finished with their five starters all in double figures. Chris Paul was the leading scorer with 22 points and nine assists. That ended Paul’s streak of the 13 straight games posting a double-double.

The Kings will have no time to recover from their “battle royal” with the Clippers. They have an appointment Sunday night with the Lakers back at the Staples Center.

Notes: The Kings D-League entry – the Reno Bighorns – dropped both games of their season opening back-to-back series in Sioux Falls. Ray McCallum who just joined the Bighorns from the Kings scored 28 points on Friday night and 16 points in Saturday’s game.

 

Crossing the Language Barrier: Jagr and Hertl

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By Mary Walsh

SAN JOSE- Tomas Hertl arrived in the US with several adjustments to make. He had to adjust to NHL hockey. He had to adjust to being a young man in a new country. He had to learn to get by in a foreign language. That last one is the toughest. You need language to understand instructions, to make your requirements known, and to connect with people. Hertl is climbing the language barrier now, playing for the San Jose Sharks. Jaromir Jagr did it at the start of his career with the Pittsburgh Penguins.

The best way to learn a new language is through immersion. If you want to learn to teach English as a foreign language, you don’t have to learn to speak the local language, because translation isn’t how you will teach. You build the new language word by word, the way a child does when they first learn to speak. It is a time-proven method, but just as being immersed in water can drown you, being completely immersed in a foreign language can be overwhelming.

Hertl’s language skills are improving quickly but that doesn’t mean he can understand all the questions asked of him or, probably more frustrating, answer thoroughly the ones he understands.

It has been estimated that you can’t really learn to use and remember more than ten new words in the space of an hour of studying. Multiply that by the number of words you use in a day and it takes a very long time to become conversationally proficient in any language.

Hertl did not come here without any English at all. He did study it in school. That foundation should give him a leg up.

Today he did an interview with a Czech reporter just before we English speakers descended on him. Listening to him speak at some length with the reporter made me ask him if it was nice to speak Czech. His smile answered the question, but he also explained:

Yeah, it’s much better for me… For me it’s difficult, talking English, and Czech interviews for me [are] very very easy … and I like speaking in interviews, and English is hard.

You might not know how much you like to speak until it is difficult to do so. The limitation can be exhausting and stifling. Yes, you learn faster when you have no other outlet than in the new language. But the mental fatigue factor of not being able to express yourself has to be considered. Like so many things, it is a matter of balance.

Today, going to a country where you don’t speak the language is not so isolating as it once was. Twenty years ago, your options for venting your words were more limited. Jaromir Jagr, now with the New Jersey Devils, explained how it was for him when he came to North America, and how it might be different for Hertl:

I was staying with a Czech family so it was kind of easier for me. To have a Czech player on the team always helps. [Hertl] has that now, I didn’t have that in my first few months… then there was a trade made from Calgary to Pittsburgh, Jiri Hrdina.

He knows more English than I did, at least he should because they’re learning it in school. I didn’t, [we learned] Russian.

A lot has changed in the Czech Republic, but a lot has changed everywhere since the 1990’s:

Of course we didn’t have cell phones so … I always tried to [call on] Sundays. Now, he can call all the time. After every good game, he can call.

And the parents and the friends, they have a chance to see him. There was not much media [in Czech] for NHL, no internet, so it was totally different. [My family] didn’t know if I’m alive.

Jagr said that last part with a smile but he was not exaggerating that much. I was in the Czech Republic at about the same time as he came to the NHL. I had to go to the post office to make an international call, ask an operator to put the call through, and wait for my turn in a booth. I was in a fairly small town far from Prague but international communication in Central Europe just wasn’t that easy in the 90s.

Hertl is not staying with a Czech family, but he has access to some Czech language. He has Martin Havlat on the team, and many different ways to let his family and friends know he’s alive. The Sharks have put him in a good situation to make progress, but no matter how you slice it, it will take time. It does sound like once he has more words in his arsenal, he will have a lot to say.

Strong Second Half Leads Cardinal to Victory

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By: Joe Lami

The number six-ranked Stanford Cardinal traveled to Austin, Texas where they played the unranked Longhorns on Saturday.  Stanford defeated Texas by the final score of 63-54.  The Cardinal extend their record to 4-1 with the nine-point victory.

It was a very impressive win for the Cardinal, as they were able to come back from the seven-point deficit they faced going into halftime.  Texas was able to get on the board first with Nneka Enemkpali’s bucket and the foul to put the Longhorns up 3-0.  Mikaela Ruef then knocked down her first of many on the night.  Texas answered when Imani McGee-Stafford hit her only three-pointer of the night.  Scoring changes would go back and forth until there was 4:23 to go in the first half, where Texas would hold the lead going into the half.  The halftime score was 37-30.

Coming out of the half, Texas would get the two points off of free throws.  Stanford would then go on a 22-5 run to take over the game, giving them a 52-44 lead with 7:25 to go in the game.  The Cardinal would not loose the lead, as they carried it out for the victory.

It was a strong performance from the redshirt senior, Ruef, who picked up her first double-double of the season, scoring 11 points and picking up ten rebounds.  Chiney Ogwumike led the Cardinal in scoring with 18 points, however she was held to only six rebounds.  Saturday was Ogwumike’s first game this season without recording a double-double.  Amber Orrange had yet another fantastic game scoring 13 points.  Though the bench for Stanford had some trouble only notching 8 points total, Sara James was impressive as she led the team in assists with four.

Texas was led by Guard Chassidy Fussell scoring 15 points, with six of them coming from the charity strike, from which she was perfect.  McGee-Stafford was right behind Fussell with 12 points of her own on the way to a double-double with the 14 rebounds that she brought down.

Stanford next travels to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, where they will take on Purdue, Florida Gulf Coast and South Dakota State on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.  In Mexico, head coach, Tara VanDerveer expects to pick up win number 900, which she is now only two-wins away from the historic feat.

Stanford wins in a romp, claims Pac-12 North

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By Jeremy Harness

 

STANFORD – Big Game? Big Rout is more like it.

 

It took about a half of a quarter to really set in, but Stanford fulfilled the prediction for this year’s rivalry game between the Bay Area-based Pac-12 schools, stampeding a hapless Cal squad, 63-13, at Stanford Stadium Saturday afternoon.

 

It marked the fourth straight Big Game win for the Cardinal, but another game that was played earlier in the day proved to be even bigger and also swung in Stanford’s favor. Stanford appeared to be headed for a potential Holiday Bowl date after its loss to USC last week, but Arizona upended No. 5 Oregon on Saturday, 42-16, to give the Cardinal the Pac-12 North championship.

 

Stanford has no more conference games left – the Cardinal host Notre Dame next week – while Oregon has one more, against Oregon State next Saturday. Even if Oregon wins, both schools would have two Pac-12 losses with Stanford owning the tiebreaker.

 

“Our guys showed a lot of maturity all week about how hard they worked, about preparing for this football game, about coming out here and keeping the axe,” Stanford coach David Shaw said. “This was about our conference, keeping the axe. Our guys did that.”

 

While the North division is ironed out, the Pac-12 South, however, is anything but.

 

At press time, the top two teams in the South – UCLA and Arizona State – were getting ready to lock horns at the Rose Bowl while USC, which has suddenly emerged as a challenger for the title and has broken into the Top 25, takes on Colorado.

 

As it stands, Arizona State sits atop the division, but all three schools have a realistic shot at the title. The Sun Devils and Bruins each control their own destiny; if Arizona State beats UCLA Saturday, it will wrap up the division since they own the tie-breaker over USC.

 

If Arizona State wins out, the title game will be played in Tempe, but if Arizona State beats UCLA but loses to Arizona in the finale, Stanford would host the conference championship.

 

However, if UCLA wins, the race becomes wide open.

 

USC can come away with the division title with wins over Colorado and UCLA in the regular season finale – coupled with Arizona State losing to Arizona – to set up a potential rematch with Stanford in the Coliseum.

 

If UCLA wins out, that would set up a repeat matchup of last year’s Pac-12 title game at Stanford Stadium Dec. 7.

 

However, Stanford would not have factored into the Pac-12 picture at all if it didn’t take care of its end of the deal against Cal. Ty Montgomery had a big hand in deciding that, as the Cardinal held a 42-13 at halftime.

 

The emerging star receiver-kick returner blistered Cal for five touchdowns in the first half, which tied him for the most scores in a game by a Stanford player with Darrin Nelson in 1981. He finished with 191 total yards while Stanford racked up 603 yards of total offense.

 

Montgomery’s sidekick, quarterback Kevin Hogan, threw for 329 yards and five touchdowns, connecting on 17 of his 26 passes.

 

Stanford got started with the offense right away. On the third play from scrimmage, Montgomery shot past the Cal defense for a 31-yard touchdown run to give Stanford a quick 7-0 lead.

 

The Golden Bears, however, didn’t seem to immediately get the memo that they were supposed to get blown out of Stanford Stadium. For their first possession, the Bears used their Air Raid offense to slice through the Stanford defense and get into the end zone to tie the game, a drive culminating in freshman Jared Goff’s 15-yard strike to Maurice Harris.

 

Stanford made sure they got it in short order. From there, the Cardinal stiffened up and stuck it to the overmatched Bears, with Montgomery doing most of the damage. Following an unsuccessful onside kick by Cal that gave the ball to Stanford at midfield, Hogan again connected with Montgomery for a 50-yard touchdown.

 

Montgomery scored three more times in the half, one of them coming on the second play of the second quarter, which saw him race away from the entire Cal defense for a 72-yard touchdown catch-and-run to give the Cardinal a 28-10 advantage.

 

“It’s awesome,” Hogan said. “Just getting him the ball, he makes me look good.”

 

His final score came with just five seconds left in the half, as he caught a 9-yard scoring pass from Hogan.

 

On the Cal side, Goff finished with 194 passing yards and a touchdown while completing 10 of his 19 throws. However, he left the game in the second quarter with an injury to his right throwing shoulder and did not return. His replacement, fellow freshman Zach Kline, completed eight of his 14 passes for 115 yards and was intercepted once.

Bulls drop fifth straight lose 6-0

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By Kahlil Najar

SAN FRANCISCO – The San Francisco Bulls can’t seem to figure out the Idaho Steelheads and goalie Pat Nagle. The Bulls took a season high 41 shots on goal but dropped their fifth straight game and lost to the Steelheads 6-0. The 41 shots on goal is one shot less than the franchise record set last year. The Bulls are now 0-2-1-1 against Idaho. With his 41 stops, Steelheads goalie Nagle earned his fourth win and first shutout of the year. The goose egg put up by the Bulls was their first shutout at home this season and the first time they haven’t scored a goal since November 6th against Ontario.

The Steelheads Anthony Nigro beat Tyler Beskorowany just 18 seconds into the game and gave Idaho the early 1-0 lead.

On the quick goal Bulls Head Coach Pat Curcio said, “He scored on a lucky bounce and it hit the shaft and went in. It’s hard to gain confidence when you have a goal go in like that.”

The Bulls played well after that goal and notched a season high 19 shots on goal in the first period. One of those shots was what looked like a goal by the Bulls Chris Crane but was waved off by the on-ice officials as the goal judge had lost sight of the puck.

‘The goal judge couldn’t see the puck so he blew the whistle. You’d think at home they’d turn the light on for you,” said Curcio.

“We’ve got to get to the net, we’ve got to stop at the crease and we have to pepper it on the goalie. We have to get in their face,” said right winger Chris Crane on the Bulls play through the first.

In the second, Idaho’s Patrick Cullity was streaking down the left side of the Bulls zone and found a open Mercier who was skating into the slot and smacked a one-timer that just beat Beskorowany’s outstretched left pad to make it 2-0.The third period saw a flurry of Idaho goals including a gut-wrenching shorthanded goal by Mercier that Curcio said was the killer and totally deflated the team. Brock Montgomery, William Rapuzzi, and Gaelan Peterson scored the remainder of the goals for Idaho and sealed the victory, 6-0.

“I don’t know what to tell these guys when you take 41 shots and probably over 20 scoring chances and you don’t score a goal, it’s pretty frustrating,” said Curcio. “If you don’t score and get momentum and get confidence then you’re in trouble.”

The Bulls head back on the ice tomorrow at the Cow Palace against the Utah Grizzlies. Curcio said, “We’ve got to find a way to win tomorrow. We’re going to stay positive and take shots on goal.”

Crane echoed coaches sentiments and said, “The most important thing is that we have to move on. You have to walk out of this rink and get a good nights sleep and recover. We have to come in tomorrow and take it to them. It’s our barn and that’s what we have to do.”

Game time is 7:30pm PST. The first 1,000 fans will receive a Bulls Cow Bell. In addition, the SF Firefighters Local 789 is hosting a Toy Drive. Each fan that donates a toy receives a “Buy One Get One Free” voucher for either the December 14 or December 17 game.

Consenus from pro and con voters SF arena traffic main concern

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by Ken Gimblin

SAN FRANCISCO–Even voters in San Francisco who are pulling for a new San Francisco downtown arena admit that traffic and not views or environmental issues will be the main issue of debate. San Francisco officials which includes the planning commission have come up with an idea to ease traffic and that’s to construct a light rail line that will run from McCovey Cove from AT&T Park to the Warriors new arena at piers 30-32 which would include  $1 billion new condos and hotel, and that is expected to help cover the traffic flow when both teams play on the same nights or if their are events being held at the same time.

While discussion had been focused on no development at the San Francisco waterfront and demonstrated in the October election when voters voted down propositions B and C that would start condo development at the piers 30-32 location. Even with a new transit lane that would run from the Giants park to the Warriors new arena and the traffic issue question resolved the waterfront neighborhood still opposes the Warriors building a new arena that could block the view of the bridge and the bay.

 Former San Francisco City Attorney Louise Renne stated that she and San Francisco voters during the prop B and C election were against the development at that location. San Francisco Mayor Art Agnos said the Warriors and condo developers are not in it for basketball or entertainment but this is merely a land grab for pure profit.

The Sierra Club is one of the strong environmental non-profits who are demonstrating environmental issues with developing on the piers from not only the aesthetics but also animals and their protection to arguing the pier is fine just the way it is. The San Francisco Board of Supervisors or most of them are trying to make way for this development as this would surely be a profitable situation for the City.

Board of Supervisor Scott Weiner says the Muni improvements would cost $2.2 billion more than the new arena-condo project, “before there wasn’t nearly enough focus on transit impacts and transit needs, my sense that is shifting there’s a renewed focus. As negotiations move forward, it’s very important to have in mind the full transit impacts of the project to make sure those are being accounted for.” said Weiner

Ken Gimblin is covering the NBA arena projects for the Warriors and Kings for Sportstalk Radio

Larry Levitt on Pro Hockey

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by Larry Levitt

DALY CITY–The San Francisco Bulls really have moments when they really look like they have a good team that’s getting it together and then they have a momentary loss and all it takes is that one little momentary loss of team work and you give a team an opening and they take it and unfortunately for the Bulls they’ve been capitalizing on those openings a lot lately.

The Bulls lost in their last game in Stockton 5-1 for their fourth straight loss, it was a local rivalry and they should be up for those games and it’s not a lot of travel and it’s not like their flying or riding the bus for a long time it’s a couple hours to Stockton from the City it’s early in the season still and yes you need to get the win if your going to get to the playoffs and go far in the playoffs you need to have some confidence and this is where you got to start.

You got to take them one game at a time and get that win and work on the second win and the third and get a string of them together and every team goes through a losing period you just don’t want multiple strings of them. The Bulls need to come out and play a good game of hockey and just have fun and play the sport and play the game and it will all come to them but they got to put the work in it doesn’t come easy.

The thing with the ECHL or the minor league level you really don’t have time to jell and get used to each other and their all hockey players and they all know the game but the tendencies of each individual and if you stay with a teammate for a long period of time you get to learn their tendencies and where their going to be and it makes it that much easier for your game. You don’t have to stop and look and think it’s just automatic and that’s what they got to get to they’ve got to learn each others game.

San Jose Sharks update: I was fortunate to be able to talk to Sharks left winger Tomas Hertl the other night and he’s well grounded whose really doing well. Hertl’s English is a lot better than my Czech 101 that I learned on You Tube it was pretty funny but with Burns coming back on that line it’s going to take a little time to get that timing back. What I like about Hertl and Burns is they go straight in front of the net.

Hertl and Burns knows Joe Thornton is the passer, they know they’ll find you but you got to go to those sturdier areas in front of the net and pay the price of the hard hits and the pushes and the shoving. They’re not scared to do that, they go in there and do their job and they cover that area. Patrick Marleau he’s a great team player, he’s a great skater he uses his speed to his advantage against the Tampa Bay Lighting.

Marleau wiffed on a shot which actually pulled the goalie out of position in the Tampa Bay game last Thursday night at SAP in San Jose and it allowed him to do a simple backhand into the net and when you get the breaks and when things are going well you take them. You don’t fight it you just go with it, the Sharks were very fortunate to win because Tampa Bay at times had pretty good shots at the Sharks net and they didn’t get the breaks.

The Bulls weren’t allowed to get the puck in the net for one reason or another and it was Sharks goaltender Antti Niemi who came up with some really good saves or the defense just got their stick on it enough. It was a pleasure to watch the Lighting right winger Martin St. Louis what a great player he is. When he was on the ice I was isolating on him and it was a joy to watch he’s got the speed. He’s not the size but he’s got the speed, he’s got the hands and he’s just an amazing hockey player.

The Sharks are hosting the New Jersey Devils on Saturday night at the SAP for the second in this five game homestand which started last Thursday with the Lighting.

Larry Levitt does pro hockey analysis each week for Sportstalk Radio

A’s add Alcantara to 40-man roster

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By Charlie O. Mallonee

The Oakland A’s have added RHP Raul Alcantara to the 40-man roster. This move will protect Alcantara from being taken in the Rule 5 Draft at the Winter Meetings in December.

Alcantara came to Oakland from Boston along with Josh Reddick and Miles Head in the Andrew Bailey – Ryan Sweeney trade. He was signed by the Red Sox in 2009.

Alcantara split the 2013 season between Beloit and Stockton – both Single-A affilates. He posted a combined record of 12-6 with a 3.11 ERA. That win-loss record tied him for second best in the A’s farm system. Alcantara was third in ERA, fourth in innings and fifth in strikeouts.

Alcantara walked just 24 batters (1.38 per nine innings), and gave up just 11 home runs last season.

At just 20 years old and with stats like he has recorded, one can understand why the Athletics want to protect this developing talent.

Sharks Short Lightning 5-1

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By Mary Walsh

SAN JOSE- Thursday night, San Jose defeated Tampa Bay 5-1, but it was not the way a 5-1 game usually looks. Sharks goaltender Antti Niemi had to make a lot of good saves and some very tough ones. Four Sharks scored, with two goals coming from Tommy Wingels, and one each from Brad Stuart, Brent Burns and Patrick Marleau. Despite the team having many good chances, the only Lighting player to score was Tyler Johnson.

The big news of the night was that Brent Burns was back in the game for San Jose. His  line did have their moments, but they were not as dangerous as they had been earlier in the season. Head Coach Todd McLellan didn’t sound too worried about them:

Burnzie’s line with Jumbo and Thomas, it’ll take some time to get their legs going again, and feel each other out, but they’ll be back to where they’re supposed to be.

Before the game, the question was raised: would the Sharks be ready to compete, after two days off and just one practice since their last game? McLellan acknowledged that it was a gamble:

Now that we won, I’m glad that we took those days off. I still think there were a few guys that didn’t have their legs because of it. But we made it through the night and they’ll be better tomorrow. Hopefully by the time the New Jersey game rolls around everybody will be real fresh. You take the chance of overresting at times.

The Logan Couture line with Patrick Marleau and Tommy Wingels turned some heads, though hardly with surprise. They have been consistently productive players for the team. They were the most dangerous scoring threat of the night. After the game, McLellan said of that line and the Joe Pavelski, Martin Havlat, Tyler Kennedy line:

That whole line played very well, against their top players for most of the night. I also thought that Marty, Pav and TK had a really good night. Those three looked like they belong together and played well. So, good balance through those two lines.

A point of curiosity was how the Tampa Bay Lightning plays without Steven Stamkos. It turns out, they play a lot like they did with him. Obviously they could not replace his scoring touch, but they did prevent the Sharks from sustaining extended zone time. The shot clock reflected a game of traded chances, ending 37-36. That is very close except that in victory, the Sharks habitually outshoot their opponents by a sizeable margin.

The first four minutes of the game were uneventful except for one very good first shift from Logan Couture’s line that resulted in several shots but no points. They didn’t score until their next shift, when Tommy Wingels scored from the left faceoff circle. Assists went to his linemates, Couture and Patrick Marleau.

Eight minutes into the period, Tampa Bay asserted themselves in the Sharks’ zone after stripping the puck at the Sharks’ blue line. A couple of shots later, San Jose iced the puck to get out of trouble. The Sharks regained their composure when the fourth line of James Sheppard, Andrew Desjardins and Mike Brown drove play the other way. They held the offensive zone for San Jose until the next whistle.

At 14:43, Tommy Wingels was called for tripping Valteri Filppula. The Lightning had a good long spell with six skaters before Wingels finally cleared the puck. That was enough for the referee to blow play dead.

The penalty kill unit was Hannan, Marleau, Pavelski and Brad Stuart. Tampa Bay’s power play was not easy to chase off. In fact, the Sharks skaters did not get a chance at a shift change for the full two minutes. Tampa Bay managed several shots, but it brought to mind the old saying: if they didn’t have bad luck they would have no luck at all.

The beleaguered but successful penalty killers seemed to inspire the Sharks because they finally sustained an attack. Stuart came back out, recovered from his penalty killing marathon. The puck came to him above the faceoff circle and he slapped it past Tampa Bay’s goaltender Anders Lindback.

With 51.9 left in the first, Victor Hedman went to the box for holding Marleau. The Sharks didn’t dawdle this time, but Tampa Bay still managed a short handed rush, this time it was Nate Thompson and Tyler Johnson. The Sharks pushed back and got one shot off before the period ended.

The period ended with the Sharks leading 2-0 on the scoreboard and 18-12 in shots.

The Sharks started the second period on the power play. With Thornton, Couture, Marleau, Pavelski and Boyle on the ice, Lindback stopped two shots before the power play expired. Havlat came out on a line with Kennedy and Desjardins. The makeshift line was quickly trapped in their own zone. The second line came out for a defensive zone draw and managed two rushes up ice before going off, but without being able to do much more than one and done shots. The top line of Thornton, Burns and Hertl had no more success. Tampa Bay was very attentive to their defensive duties. Niemi had to be sharp, though Tampa Bay rarely got more than one shot on net in a stretch.

Once they had some distance from the penalties, McLellan reverted to his starting lines.

About seven minutes in to the second period, Scott Hannan just missed with a hard one-timer from the half boards. The puck landed square on his stick off a beautiful backhand pass from Havlat. That was followed by a good chance to jam it home for Kennedy. The Sharks were finding a way to sustain the attack beyond one shift, but Lindback held on.

Another good shift from Couture’s line seemed about to fail when Patrick Marleau got the puck behind the net. He passed the puck past a Lightning defenseman, right to Tommy Wingels in front of the net. Wingels’ second of the game put the Sharks up 3-0.

Tampa Bay outshot the Sharks in the second period, 12-9 but had yet to make one of those shots count for a goal.

The third period opened with the Couture line on the ice. Both that line and the Thornton line that followed spent most of their shifts defending, until the end of the top line’s shift when they did get a draw in the offensive zone. The Pavelski line after them managed extended time in the zone but not many shots.

At 4:23, the top line finally got their point. A shot from Scott Hannan above the faceoff circle was deflected in by Brent Burns. Assists went to Thornton and Hannan.

Seconds later (19 to be exact), Patrick Marleau skated in around a blue and white defender and back-handed it over the goalie for the Sharks’ fifth goal. Assists went to Logan Couture and Justin Braun.

The Tampa Bay Lightning finally got on the board with a breakaway shot from Tyler Johnson at 7:39. Assists went to Ondrej Palat and Richard Panik. Niemi had been very sharp up until then, and he had to be. The Sharks had allowed too many shots for comfort.

Tampa Bay, with nothing left to lose, pushed hard. The Sharks, with as much motivation as a team with a four-goal lead can have, had trouble getting through the neutral zone and their infrequent forays into the offensive zone did not last long.

The final shot count was 37-36 Tampa Bay, but the count that mattered read 5-1 San Jose.

The Sharks’ scratches were Matt Irwin, John McCarthy and Matt Nieto.

The Sharks next play Saturday at 7:30 at SAP Center in San Jose, against the New Jersey Devils.

49ers looking to rebound against Redskins

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By Gabe Schapiro

This Sunday at 5:40pm the San Francisco 49ers (6-4) face off against the Washington Redskins (3-7), at FedExField. The 49ers are tied with the Arizona Cardinals for second in the NFC West, three games back of the first place Seattle Seahawks. The Redskins are in last place in the NFC East, one game back of the third place New York Giants.

Last weekend San Francisco lost to the tough New Orleans Saints, 23-20. It was a close game throughout, and saw five lead changes. The 49ers were up 20-14 with eight minutes left to play. Saints kicker Garrett Hartley rattled off three consecutive field goals, the last coming with no time left on the clock, to complete the come-from-behind win for New Orleans.

Despite leading for stretches of the game, San Francisco was largely outplayed. Colin Kaepernick struggled again, completing just over 50% of his passes, 17-of-31 attempts. He threw for 127 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception. Anquan Boldin and Vernon Davis had touchdown catches. Due in part to focusing more on the pass, Frank Gore never really got much going. He rushed for 48 yards, half of which came on a single run, on 13 carries. As a team they totaled just 196 yards. It was their defense that kept them in the game, forcing three turnovers (two forced fumbles, one interception).

After winning five straight, they have now lost two in a row. The task gets a little easier this week against Washington, however, as they look to get back to their winning ways. The Redskins came into the year full of optimism and promise, but haven’t lived up to that billing. Their offense has some electric weapons but they have been prone to turnovers. Their defense has been one of the worst in the league.

They are led by sophomore star Robert Griffin III. After undergoing major knee surgery in the offseason and not playing in the preseason, it looks as if he is still getting back into the swing of things. Despite struggling at times, he still has a strong arm and the ability to be a playmaker with his legs as well. His favorite weapons are wideout Pierre Garcon and tight end Jordan Reed. They also feature another star sophomore, running back Alfred Morris, who is having another fine season. They have the best rushing attack in football, averaging over 155 yards on the ground per game. As a whole, they rank 13th in points scored.

Their defense is far and away their biggest Achilles heel. They are ranked 30th in the league, giving up over 30 points per game. They are slightly better against the run, but couldn’t be considered good either.

After falling to two tough opponents, San Francisco could be set up nicely for a bounce back this week. Washington’s offense is worth being a little concerned about, but the 49ers defense should be able to get good pressure on RGIII, and force some mistakes. They kept Drew Brees from dominating last week, they should certainly be able to do the same against a lesser opponent.

On the offensive side, San Francisco should have a much easier time moving the ball downfield, both on the ground and through the air. Look for them to get back to their roots and lean much more heavily on Frank Gore. Kaepernick throwing the ball 31 times isn’t a winning formula. With that said, he should also have an easier time this week. As long as he stays away from turnovers, they should be fine.

Mario Manningham, now entering his third week back in action, has had a limited impact so far. He has recorded just four receptions for 38 yards. Michael Crabtree should have a much larger impact once he returns, and that appears to be imminent. There has been no official word yet, but he has been participating and practices, and should make his 2013 debut either this week or next.