Month: March 2014

Kings downtown arena: Eminent domain ruled for Macy’s building Kings ready to buy property

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by Ken Gimblin

SACRAMENTO–It was once a men’s department store but after Macy’s closed shop it remained vacant and the owners one group known as “the certified owners” who are reportedly with U.S.Bank and CalPERS who own the property didn’t have a tenant and it was left empty.

When the Sacramento Kings and the City of Sacramento secured the Kings to stay in Sacramento the shopping at the Westfield Downtown Plaza began. The Kings purchased 96 percent of the Plaza property with the exception of the empty Macy’s building which sits at the edge of the Plaza near the entrance to Old Sacramento.

The valuable property is targeted by the Kings to be used for a gym, work out and conditioning area for the team. On Thursday Sacramento Superior Court Judge Raymond Cadei ruled in favor of the Kings and the City and granted the plaintiffs eminent domain rights to the purchasing price at $4.35 million.

While CalPERS had no objection to eminent domain to take their share of the property the certified owners did, objecting to the purchase price. The certifieds say that the property purchasing price should be raised to $10 million and that CalPERS controls the property and the certified owners own the building.

The Macy’s building is in the footprint of where the Kings arena and property would be. The Kings plan to begin construction in the spring of 2015 and plan to have the arena ready by September 2017 and the NBA pre season begins October 2017.

Cadei made his ruling based on the financial needs of the city and the Kings, saying that CalPERS and the certified owners are not profiting from having a vacant building sit unused when the Kings need the property to start construction for their new arena as soon as possible.

Notice for the tenants at the Downtown Plaza will go out this year asking tenants to move so that the Kings can begin construction and tear down needed retail space. The certified owners and their attorneys plan to haggle with the court and the Kings on the final purchase price for the property right now it’s been declared at $4.35 million for the sale price.

Ken Gimblin is covering the arena developments for the Sacramento Kings and the Golden State Warriors for Sportstalk radio

Burns shines in Sharks victory over Ducks

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By Ivan Makarov

SAN JOSE, CA — Tied for points in the standings in the Pacific Division, San Jose Sharks and Anaheim Ducks faced each other at the SAP Center on Thursday night in what was going to be one of the most important games in this stretch of the season. With both teams coveting the home ice advantage in playoffs, the tension was high. Sharks biggest stars rose to the occasion, powered by a great performance by Brent Burns, and defeated the Ducks 3-2, coming from behind.

Down 2-1 in the third period, Sharks did not despair, being the veteran team that they are. Brent Burns and Joe Thornton got out on a 2-on-1 breakaway, with Burns holding the puck. He shot it on the net, as any good forward should in this situation. Ducks goaltender Frederik Andersen made the save, but the rebound fell to Thornton who put it just over Anderson who failed to make the save while still laying on the ice.

It was a big play from Burns who was flying all over the ice all night long, creating scoring chances, trying to finish them and throwing big hits all around.

“It’s so easy to play with him,” said Thornton of Brent Burns. “He just goes, he’s just a beast out there. Nobody can handle his size and his speed. It forced you to keep up with him because he’s going so fast. It’s great to watch.”

McLellan was likewise pleased with Burns.

“He is a wrecking ball, and a one man wrecking crew when he plays that way. His physically showed early in the game. I thought he finished his checks. That wasn’t even part of the offensive attack or anything like that.  He established himself as a man early and decided to play that way. It was nice to see him rewarded and the team.”

Sharks’ big defenseman-turned-forward Burns didn’t stop there and went on to score the game winning goal with four minutes left in the game, deflecting Joe Thornton’s shot in front of the net.

“I just saw Burnzie’s big body in front and decided to throw it in there, “ said Thornton. “It was lucky it hit off and he put it in the back of the net.”

Before Sharks were down, they were ahead at the start of the game.

Sharks were the first one to score in this game. Luca Sbisa took a bad penalty when he crossed checked Tommy Wingers into the boards with the puck nowhere near the two players, but with the referee watching. Sharks made him pay the price when Patrick Marleau scored his 29th goal of the season in front of the net after a good setup by Joe Thornton.

Ducks came back and also scored a power play when Marc-Eduard Vlasic was in the penalty box for questionable interference call when Teemu Selanne fell down on the ice in front of him. Mathieu Perreault was the goalscorer on the play as he put the puck into the net from close range. Selanne scored early in the third period to give the Ducks 2-1 lead, but it didn’t stand, and Sharks went on to win.

San Jose Sharks are now in the sole possession of the first place in the Pacific Division – the lead they have not held since early December. They are next on the ice on Saturday when they host Washington Capitals.

Splash Brothers lead Warriors to 111-107 victory over Bucks

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By Gabe Schapiro

They didn’t make it look easy, but the Golden State Warriors (44-26) scratched out a win against the Milwaukee Bucks (13-56), 111-107, Thursday night, at Oracle Arena. Coming into the contest, the Bucks had the worst record in the NBA. However, you wouldn’t have known it from watching the game. The Warriors played far from their best, but you have to give credit where credit is due, and Milwaukee played hard. Despite a big disadvantage in free throw attempts, and an uncharacteristically poor shooting night from beyond the arc, Golden State found a way to hold on.

The game was close throughout. Every time the Warriors made a small run and made people think they were about to run away with it, as they probably should have against an inferior opponent, the Bucks swung back and played tough. Heading into the locker room Golden State grasped a slight 53-51 lead.

After briefly trailing towards the end of the third quarter, the Warriors would lead the rest of the way, but never managed to convincingly put Milwaukee away until the final buzzer rang.

For Golden State, it was their talented backcourt that led the way. Stephen Curry had a game-high 31 points and 11 assists. He was one of the few Warriors to have some success from three-point range, hitting three-of-five. Klay Thompson wasn’t nearly as efficient, but added another 29 points.

Andrew Bogut had a strong game going up against his former club. He finished with eight points and 12 rebounds. David Lee contributed his nearly customary double-double, posting 22 points and 12 boards.

On the negative side, Harrison Barnes struggled mightily starting in place of the still out Andre Iguodala. He failed to score a point on seven field goal attempts, to go along with two turnovers. The bench also had a pretty quiet night, outside of a solid 12 points from Jordan Crawford in just 12 minutes of play.

For the Bucks it was a true team effort that made the Warriors sweat it out. A whopping seven players finished in double figures, four of whom did it from the bench. Brandon Knight was the standout, producing a team-high 27 points and six assists.

Golden State will rarely be able to turn in this kind of performance and still eek out a win, but thankfully they timed it against a bad team at home. They’ll need to clean up their mistakes for their next matchup against the best in the West, the San Antonio Spurs. The game is this Saturday, March 22, at 7:30 PM, at Oracle Arena.

Morris Phillips and Michael Duca on Cal basketball: Razorbacks more athletic and can jump better than Cal’s last opponent

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by Morris Phillips and Michael Duca

BERKELEY–The Cal Bears Richard Solomon was out with a concussion that he suffered in practice earlier this week and the line up was changed to a smaller quicker line up and they shared the ball with 20 assists in the game against Utah Valley last Wednesday night at Haas Pavilion. The Bears hit 32 baskets and they played well, which they haven’t done in weeks.

Even when Cal beat Colorado in their home finale in the regular season they won a game missing the last ten shots that it took and the win which was an opportunity for a rebirth for the team and so far so good as the Bears take on Arkansas on Monday at Haas.

The Bears look good at home now winning their last two games at Haas Pavilion and Arkansas is not a team you want to play in Arkansas with the homecooking in that arena they got down there. Cal has already beaten Arkansas this year at the Maui Invitational in November that was one of their marquee wins at that point of the season prior to beating Oregon and beating Arizona in the conference.

Both of these teams were on the NCAA bubble and they just didn’t win enough down the stretch to get into the NCAA Tournament there dangerous teams in the NIT. Whoever wins this game has got a strong chance to get to New York and win the whole thing.

The Bears coming into Monday’s game have to protect the ball that’s going to be the key thing when you play Arkansas your playing a team that’s quick that provides pressure that will attempt to create turnovers, if you can handle the pressure you can get to the basket. It will be a real challenge just to handle a team that is far more athletic and quick and jumps a whole lot better than what Utah Valley was able to do.

If Cal is on their game then they should be okay if they fall into their old patterns of being competitive with their shooting in previous games guys haven’t been making their shots and their not moving the ball and they could be in trouble.

The Bears host the Arkansas Razorbacks on Monday night for a 8 PM tip at Haas Pavilion in Berkeley

Morris Phillips and Michael Duca cover Cal Bears basketball for Sportstalk radio

Toluca ekes by Quakes to CONCACAF semifinals

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Photo credit: pbs.twimg.com

By Pearl Allison Lo

Despite San Jose’s valiant effort and an erroneous call that would have given them a 2-1 lead, Toluca won on their sixth penalty kick in the second leg semi at home Wednesday.

Billy Schuler and JJ Koval made their first starts and held their own alongside teammates, in a game where the Quakes began without seven starters. Chris Wondolowski started on the bench with a sore groin.

Wondolowski’s shot bounced off goalie Alfredo Talavera and Alan Gordon scored off the rebound in the second half. However, the ref ruled that he was offsides.

The San Jose defense worked in tandem with goalie Jon Busch, who at times, was able to knock a shot just wide and pushed Juan Manuel Salgueiro’s shot above his head and behind the net. Busch also continued past first half stoppage time in preventing another attempt. At one point, the Quakes defensively stopped two shots by the same player with their bodies

A kick by San Jose’s Shea Salinas connected to Ty Harden’s head, gave Harden his first goal ever in the 56th minute. This first score of the game sparked aggressiveness by Toluca. Busch had to move forward out of the goal to make a save, after which he went down and was grabbing the back of his head. Pablo Velazquez also got a free kick.

Atiba Harris being helped off the field after a challenge, brought in Wondolowski and paused the new fast pace of the game.

In the second half, the Quakes cleared the ball off the goal line twice and both teams had a lot of free kicks at one point.

First, Cordell Cato cleared if off the line, but then the ball went off the chest off Isaac Brizuela, who afterwards kicked it past an approaching Wondo and a diving Busch to tie the game.

Sam Cronin also cleared the ball off the line after Edy Brambila entered the game.

The 9,000 foot elevation game then went into 30 minutes of extra time for the first time ever in CONCACAF knockout stages.

After the offsides call in overtime, Schuler had a shot off the net and Busch stopped another Toluca attempt with one hand.

Busch received a yellow card for time wasting.

The chants of USA could be heard as the teams proceeded to penalty kicks.

They went as follows: TOL – Raul Nava (save), Antonio Rios (goal), Velazquez (goal), Miguel Ponce (goal), Talavera (goal), Wilson Tiago (goal)

SJ – Wondolowski (save), Gordon (goal), Cronin (goal), Schuler (goal), Koval (goal), Shea Salinas (miss).

It was the rookie with Toluca Rios’s first Champions game. Busch got a hand on two balls that went in twice.  Against Ponce who was born in Sacramento, Busch was blowing into his hands after and Tiago’s ball bounced in after a touch by Busch. Salinas went down to one knee after his shot banged off the crossbar.

Game notes: San Jose continues with a game against the defending MLS Cup Champions, Sporting Kansas City Saturday at 5:30pm.

Cal’s new look carries the Bears past Utah Valley in the NIT

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By Morris Phillips

A little old, a little new… and Cal showed that they’re not yet through.

After nine losses in their final 14 games caused the Cal Bears to miss the cut for the NCAA tournament, a new look was in order for the team’s NIT opener against Utah Valley.  Center Richard Solomon’s absence due to a concussion didn’t figure to help the Bears, but it did give Coach Mike Montgomery an opportunity to inject new life into a lineup that had lost confidence with all the critical losses.

Montgomery promoted Jabari Bird into Solomon’s spot giving the freshman his first start since before Christmas and the freshman was one of five double-figure scorers in Cal’s 77-64 victory that moves them into a second round rematch with Arkansas at Haas Pavilion on Monday night.

“You’re getting younger players an opportunity to play, getting them some excitement,” Montgomery said.  “The young guys have been excited all year long.  They’ve stayed enthusiastic about things.  You can see them make mistakes, but they are trying to do the right thing.  This will help them long term.”

The second-seeded Bears defeated the Razorbacks at the Maui Invitational in December.  Arkansas advanced in the NIT on Tuesday by blowing past Indiana State, 91-71 in Fayetteville.   The winner will move within a win of a semifinal date at New York’s Madison Square Garden the following Monday.

Cal’s smaller lineup in the absence of Solomon and injured freshman center Kameron Rooks displayed improved ball movement, producing 20 assists on their 32 made baskets.  Senior Jeff Powers saw 21 minutes of action and was more than capable with his shooting and playmaking, totaling 10 points and three assists.  Bird added 11 points and three assists, and the Bears were led by David Kravish with 14 points and five blocks.

Holton Hunsaker, son of Utah Valley coach Dick Hunsaker, led the Wolverines with 22 points.  Utah Valley was an automatic qualifier for the NIT as the regular-season champ in the WAC that failed to win the conference’s tournament.

Kings downtown arena: Judge looks probable to rule for imminent domain for parcel building

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by Ken Gimblin

SACRAMENTO–Sacramento Superior Court Judge Raymond Cadei looks to be leaning toward ruling in favor for the city and the Sacramento Kings to get the last road block removed in order to get the Kings new arena build underway. Although Cadei has not made an official ruling in the immienent domain case for the city and the Kings to buy the old Macy’s men’s store that sits near the Downtown Plaza and near Old Sacramento entrance.

Cadei is expected to be making a ruling this week, Cadei made a tentative ruling in favor of the city and the Kings. The parcel which is owned by CalPERS and certificate owners or U.S. Bank owns the building and CalPERS has said that they have no objection in selling their share of the building. Attorneys for the certificate owners are said not to be satisfied with the purchase price offered by the city at $4.35 million.

The owners argued in court on Tuesday that according to property tax roles the property is more like $10 million. The Kings not the city would purchase the property. The Kings have spent $36 million purchasing the rest of Downtown Plaza. Cadei said he needed more time to study the arguements from the owners side but he did indicate that the property was needed to be sold to the Kings so that they can start building the new arena.

Cadei added that any further delay with a 2017 deadline set by the NBA to have the arena ready would put the project in jeopardy and that the building is sitting vacant and that CalPERS or the certificate owners would not suffer any financial consequences as a result of relinquishing the building but the city would suffer in trying to obtain the property. The property owner’s attorney George Speir said that the imminent domain process was flawed and that the City Council who got the lawsuit started voted only to cover the land and not the building. The land share is controlled by CalPERS and the building is controlled by the certificate owners.

CalPERS who is happy to sell would get their share covered while the certificate owners will not get anything for the buidling which is their share of the property. The debate now is about the price and Cadei could question the city and the Kings about the asking price if Cadei sees that the certificate owners are shortchanged in the deal. Otherwise Cadei could rule for the Kings asking price at $4.35 million and CalPERS and the certificate owners would have to work the shares of the money out.

Ken Gimblin is covering the new arena developments for the Sacramento Kings and the Golden State Warriors for Sportstalk radio

Sharks stunned by Panthers at home

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By Ivan Makarov

One thing that’s been odd and puzzling about San Jose Sharks season thus far is how poorly they have played against Eastern Conference outsiders, especially at home. With the losses to Buffalo Sabres and New York Islanders, it came as no surprise when another Eastern bottom dweller gave Sharks a hard time, this time the team being Florida Panthers.

With only 25 wins in 68 games before the match up at SAP Center (compared to Sharks’ 45 wins on the season), Florida walked away with a 3-2 victory on Tuesday night in front of the sellout crowd. Scoring three goals in the second period, that’s all they needed to stop the six game winning streak by the Sharks.

Scottie Upshall, Quinton Howden and Brandon Pirri scored for the visiting team while Marty Havlat and Brent Burns scored for the Sharks.

On top of that, it was a stellar night in goal for Sharks’ familiar foe Roberto Luongo who was a frequent visitor to San Jose when he was playing with Vancouver Canucks before being traded to Florida only two weeks ago in the trade deadline transaction. Luongo made 52 saves (28 of them in the third period alone!) to preserve the victory.

How do Sharks explain the losses to some of these weaker teams?

“It’s tough to explain,” said Logan Couture after the game. “We knew going in that they were going to come out and they were going to work. I think we have more talent in this room than they have in theirs. But in the first two periods they outworked us.”

Coach Todd McLellan agreed.

“I was really disappointed, and I’m sure [the players] would tell you they are too. We started average and didn’t get better and then fell asleep. There wasn’t a lot of emotion in the game and drive from our behalf. We fell asleep and then tried to get desperate in the end. It doesn’t matter what league you’re in, you can’t win like that. We’ve talked about this a lot of times already, with teams who may be not in the playoffs, and we keep shooting ourselves in the foot. Until we fix that, we’re probably going to end up with the same results.”

The game itself was indeed the tale of the two different performances like the two of them described – the lackadaisical first two periods, and the desperate game in the third period.

After uneventful first period, San Jose were the first team with the the lead in the game after Marty Havlat opened the score with his eighth goal of the season which he scored on the power play at the start of the second period, as he fired the puck on a slap shot above the face-off circle. But it was the second half of that period that decided the game when Florida scored three goals in a row.

The first two goals came within 17 seconds of each other, which had to be frustrating for the Sharks. The third goal came with only 15 seconds remaining in the period. Sharks were outshot in that period and did not look like the team that have won 10 out of the last 12 games.

“In the first two [periods] we were cheating ourselves,” said Couture. “We were trying to look for offensive chances, leaving the zone. Too many mistakes.”

After some adjustments in the second intermission the Sharks looked like they got their legs back, and they began playing faster hockey, putting more shots on goal and breaking through Florida’s stingy defense. They outshot them 29-2 in that period, and had four power play chances, including a 51-second long 5-on-3 advantage. But when even when presented with good scoring chances, Sharks did not capitalize on them, as Luongo was sharp and focused in goal.

Sharks did score one goal with three minutes remaining in the game, but the big scramble afterward did not lead to any more goals.

If there was one positive on Tuesday night for the Sharks it was that their main divisional opponent this season Anaheim Ducks also lost playing at home against Washington Capitals, failing to advance on the Sharks in the standings. The two teams will now face each other on Thursday back at the SAP Center.

Shorthanded Warriors make it look easy, beat Orlando 103-89

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By Gabe Schapiro

No Andrew Bogut or Andre Iguodala? No problem. The Golden State Warriors (43-26) didn’t skip a beat despite two of their starters being out with injuries, easily beating the Orlando Magic (19-49) 103-89, Tuesday night, at Oracle Arena. Orlando has struggled mightily this season, but when Bogut and Iguodala were ruled out, the defensive backbones of the team, there is no doubt that it had some nervous for this one. Those concerns were fairly quickly put to rest, however, as all three of Golden State’s other starters picked up the slack. After the first quarter, this contest was rarely ever in any doubt.

The game started as a bit of a dogfight, in a tightly played opening frame that saw 13 lead changes. After 12 minutes the Warriors exited from the fray with a slim three-point advantage. There wouldn’t be another lead change the rest of the way.

Golden State slowly started pulling away from the Magic, and really slammed the door shut in a big third quarter, which saw them outscore Orlando 30-19.  The end of the bench saw some action late, as they eased to the victory.

It was nearly all good signs from the Dubs on this night. It was 14 minutes into the contest before they committed their first turnover. It was the third quarter before they missed their first free throw.

The three normal Warriors starters who did play in this one all had very strong games. Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and David Lee finished with 23, 20, and 20 points respectively. Lee finished with a double-double, adding 10 rebounds to his line. Draymond Green and Harrison Barnes got the starting nod in the place of their injured stars, and while both struggled offensively, they chipped in in other ways. Green hauled in nine boards, dished out three assists, and had two steals. Barnes had five rebounds and three assists.

Golden State’s bench, which saw a little extra play tonight, had a strong game as well, particularly Mareese Speights and Steve Blake. Speights hasn’t played much recently, but clearly came in ready to go. He contributed 13 points, eight rebounds, and a block in 23 minutes. Blake also put up double-digit points, finishing with 12 to go along with four assists.

In the loss five Orlando players finished in double figures. Nikola Vucevic led the way with a team-high 15 points. Tobias Harris performed admirably off the bench, adding 14 points and a team-high six rebounds. Their backcourt really struggled, combining for just eight points.

The Warriors have now won two straight, and will look to make it three this Thursday, when they will be taking on the Milwaukee Bucks. The game starts at 7:30 PM, at Oracle Arena.