Month: April 2014

Warriors-Clips commentary: Look for Griffin and Paul to take the reigns

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by David Zizmor

LOS ANGELES– The Clippers Blake Griffin has stepped up his game this year in his first few seasons everyone was captivated by his dunking abilities which to be sure Griffin is one of the best dunkers in the game and he won a dunking contest by dunking over a car. One of the things about the NBA is just because your a good dunker doesn’t mean your a good player.

We’ve seen plenty of those guys in those dunk contests do really well with the rest of their careers and certainly with the rest of their basketball games. Griffin was not just about dunking. He kind of had a game that left something to be desired and he wasn’t a strong rebounder and shooter and there was some concern that maybe he’s got into the celebrity of things, he was the dunk winner in Los Angeles and there’s the talk that he just settled a little bit.

What we’ve seen under Clippers head coach Doc Rivers, Griffin has improved his game all around and he’s a better shooter and he’s a better rebounder. he’s just a better player he’s just done a better job of understanding of where he needs to be on the floor. It means as a power forward Griffin can dominate when given the opportunities and Griffin has taken the next step in his game in becoming a true All-Star.

On the other end of the floor with him is Chris Paul which makes up the other tandum of the Clippers the guy who feeds Griffin the ball most of the time. Paul missed about 20 games into the season but this is a guy who we knew was a great player. Paul has already been widely considered as the best point guard in the NBA. He leads the league in assists year in and year out.

Paul is a good defensive player, he can score, he can hit from inside and outside, he’s just a complete package since his days in college that’s why he was the top pick when he came out. The combination of Griffin and Paul is what makes the Clippers one of the best in the NBA. The Clips are number three in the west in terms of records and their playing really well down the stretch towards the end of the season.

San Antonio serves as the number one team but the Clippers are about tied with Oklahoma City even though the Thunder finished ahead of L.A. in the standings. The Clippers are a really good team because Griffin and Paul work so well together and their great floor leaders and their so good at spreading the ball around to their teammates. They distribute the ball and everyone gets involved.

Also Paul can take over a game late when you need someone to take over in crunch time, Paul is the guy who takes the big shot. In a seven game playoff it often comes down to whether you have the right guy at the right moment. The Clippers have some of those guys, their a team in the playoffs but their not necessarily proven we don’t know if they can do it at the right time.

David Zizmor covers the NBA for Sportstalk radio

Another one run game for the Giants

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By Jeremy Kahn

Once again, the San Francisco Giants played a tight game against an opponent from the National League West, and there is a pattern brewing.

Matt Cain pitched a great game, as he went seven innings, allowing one run and scattering four hits, as the San Diego Padres hung on to defeat the Giants 2-1 at Petco Park.

It is a tough start to the season for Cain, who drops to 0-3 on the season; however he struck out eight and walk two in seven innings.

Tyson Ross did not allow a run, while scattering four hits and struck out nine in eight innings, as he improves to 2-1 on the season.

This was the eighth consecutive one-run game for the Giants, the first time that the Giants have accomplished this feat since 1910, when they played in New York.

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the Giants are the first major league team to turn the feat since the Minnesota Twins accomplished it from July 10-20, 2005.

Chris DeNorfia scored the Padres first run of the night in the bottom of the first inning ,as the former Oakland A’s outfielder tripled off of Cain and then scored on a Hector Sanchez passed ball.

Yasmani Grandal gave the Padres some breathing room in the bottom of the eighth inning, as he took a Juan Gutierrez pitch over the right field wall to give the Padres a 2-0 lead.

It was the first home run of the season for Grandal, who was pinch hitting for Padres starting pitcher and former A’s pitcher Ross, who attended Bishop O’Dowd High School in Oakland, before going to UC Berkeley.

Hunter Pence singled off of Street with two outs, but Street got Sanchez to struck out swinging to end the game.

Brandon Belt got the Giants within one run in the top of the ninth inning, as he took a former A’s closer Huston Steet pitch and put it into the right field stands for his sixth home run of the season.

Huge First Propels A’s Victory Over Astros 11-3

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OAKLAND, CA - APRIL 18: Josh Reddick #16 of the Oakland Athletics is congratulated by John Jaso #5 after Reddick hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the first inning against the Houston Astros at O.co Coliseum on April 18, 2014 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
OAKLAND, CA – APRIL 18: Josh Reddick #16 of the Oakland Athletics is congratulated by John Jaso #5 after Reddick hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the first inning against the Houston Astros at O.co Coliseum on April 18, 2014 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)

By Kahlil Najar

Oakland – Behind a seven run first inning the A’s (11-5) easily beat the Houston Astros (5-12) 11-3. Yoenis Cespedes and Alberto Callaspo provided the bulk of the offense tonight as they both contributed with one home run each and six combined RBI. Josh Reddick who’s been struggling from the plate for the last couple weeks broke out of the slump and went 3 for 4 with a home run and two RBI. Lead-off man Coco Crisp appears to be back as well as he went 2 for 3 and had two RBI.

Sonny Gray (3-0) who started for the A’s tonight gave up a career high nine hits in six innings but only gave up the three runs and struck out four. Francisco Abad and Ryan Cook came in for relief and pitched three scoreless innings and struck out five Houston batters.

“He got behind some guys but we’ve seen him recover. He continues to be good and we haven’t seen his best yet,” said Athletics coach Bob Melvin.

“We gave Sonny a lot of breathing room early even though he doesn’t need it,” said Josh Reddick who was able to grab two singles and the home run tonight.

“I actually helped in the game for once, it felt good. I went straight into batting practice today and skipped the cages and it just felt good.”

On Reddick, Melvin said, “It was good for him to get some hits. He’s been going through a rough stretch. It was good for the team to get off to a good start.”

The A’s really did get off to a great start when they scored seven runs in the first inning coming off of home runs from Alberto Callaspo and Reddick and a RBI single from Cespedes. In the bottom of the first, Jed Lowrie was up and he attempted to bunt the ball over to the third base side but was eventually thrown out at first.

The Astros didn’t take to kindly to that bunt attempt that in his next at bat, Lowrie was thrown to and almost hit.

“They were giving me the shift (in the first inning) so I went for it. We’ve seen teams before come back from seven down so each run in the beginning of the game is important. I would never do that if we were up by seven in the seventh or eighth inning.”

After getting thrown at Lowrie gave a menacing stare to the Astros pitcher. “He definitely tried to hit me on that second pitch,” said Lowrie.

For Houston, Jarred Cosart (1-2) had a night he wishes he could forget. Cosart only went for 1/3 of an inning and gave up seven runs on three hits and walked four. Paul Clemens who came in for Cosart gave up three runs on five hits in a little over four innings of relief. Offensively the Astros were able to scatter 10 hits but left 12 men on base.

The A’s and Astros go head to head again tomorrow afternoon when Scott Kazmir (2-0) takes on Brett Oberholtzer (0-3).

 

SaberCats snap three game losing streak, top Thunder 38-32

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Photo Courtesy SJ SaberCats
Photo Courtesy SJ SaberCats

By Emily Zahner

PORTLAND, OREGON-The San Jose SaberCats (3-3) look to get back to winning ways tonight and end their three game losing streak as they face the equally struggling Portland Thunder (0-5). This is the second match up between the two this year, with the Cats taking the first win easily 64-34. Portland has yet to find its first win, on the season and of team history. San Jose squeaked out a win, 38-32, handing the Thunder their fifth consecutive loss. The Thunder made it interesting though, battling until the end and looking nothing like a team who hasn’t won a game this season.

The Thunder struggled early, with three straight turnovers that looked to dictate the game; however minutes later, Portland opened the scoring after capitalizing on a San Jose fumble, fueling their energy and giving them momentum. Multiple turnovers and miscues provided to an ugly period, which ended 7-0 with Portland on top. The Cats were unable to find the score sheet, but got on the board early in the second to cut the deficit to 10-3. Every loose ball seemed to find the Thunder, but the Cats remained persistent and ended the half down 19-14.

San Jose came out on fire in the second half. Nathan Stanley came in briefly to relieve Russ Michna, and completed his first possession for a touchdown to Doug Williams. Coming back into the game, Michna took matters into his own hands and ran it himself for a touchdown to give the Cats their first lead of the game. Michna’s TD took the game into the fourth with a tight score of 31-25.

Portland answered in a hurry, giving themselves an early one point lead in the fourth. After trading scores, San Jose went up 38-32 with just under five minutes to go in the game. Portland pressed hard at the end of the fourth, looking as though they would tie the game, but an incomplete attempt on fourth down lead to the final turnover of the game and a SaberCats victory. With the win, San Jose has snapped their 3-game losing streak to improve to an even record of 3-3 on the season.

Russ Michna threw 12 for 29 with 250 yards and 3 touchdowns. In his brief appearance, Nathan Stanley went 1 for 1 with 22 yards and one touchdown. Newcomer Doug Williams had 108 receiving yards for two touchdowns. When asked about his first game as a SaberCat, Williams responded “I’m just happy we got the win. I had to be patient, wait my time to get here.” On his chemistry with Michna throughout the game, the wide receiver praised his QB, “he always has a great touch on the ball. It’s easy to catch a ball from Russ”

San Jose heads to LA next weekend to take on the LA Kiss on Saturday April 26th at 7pm. The Kiss are currently second in the National Conference with a 2-2 record, sitting behind the reigning champions, Arizona Rattlers.

A’s and Giants commentary: Are players, fans, and employees really safe under Puig human trafficker threat

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by Michael Duca

OAKLAND–I can not honestly say if ball park security or ball park operations at AT&T Park over the past week when the Dodgers and Giants were there for the three game series when Dodger outfielder Yesiel Puig was getting threats from the Los Zetas Mexican cartel how much ball operations knew about the threat and what did park management do in setting up protection for the fans, players, and employees.

The information that I’ve learned from ESPN is a harrowing account and it is a terrifying account and my first question that I asked when I got even an inkling of this story was how can baseball actually allow him to play? You got a situation here where a person is beholden essentially to Los Zetas cartel in Mexico for 20 percent of what he was going to earn but not on this current $42 million contract.

The understanding is that the cartel doesn’t have a claim on his earnings forever, it’s his bonus money that their after and 20 percent of his bonus money which is a little bit more of an open thing. While its certainly still illegal and it’s extortion and a bunch of other things it isn’t as bad as it’s originally made to sound.

You would understand that somebody would have to pay some kind of fee in the situation, the unfortunate thing is that whole market if you will is clearly human trafficking no matter how you slice it. It’s a violation of international law. We always knew that these players coming out of Cuba were stretching the laws in many, many ways.

You had to violate the laws of Cuba to get out, most people didn’t have too much trouble with that as would often times could rationalize breaking the laws of a country we don’t agree with. He had to break the laws of Mexico in order to get there and he had to bend the laws of the United States by taking advantage of the rather strange American immigration policy that Cubans who do come into the country without documents as long as they show that their Cubans and that they arrive on dry land and don’t come out of the ocean can get political asylum.

It’s all very strange but the bottom line is people involved in Puig’s extracton have died under very questionable circumstnaces. The Dodgers have had a full time security detail around Puig since he’s been called up from double AA Chattanooga and it begs the question, how safe are the fans in those arch ways in right field at Dodger Stadium? How safe are the fans in the areas in right field and how safe is the team?

It certainly has shed some new light on his cavalier attitude and towards the game in some circumstances and maybe it might explain why it appears he’s always concentrating on what he’s doing. I’m not sure how many of us could have survived getting this far. What’s critcial is the safety of the fans, the integrity of the game and the safety of Puig himself.

Oakland A’s update: The Houston Astros opened up a series in Oakland, the Astros who are a last place team begs one to say there are last place teams and I suspect that the Astros will end up in last place or they may win 15-20 more games than they did last year.

The Astros are an imroving team, they have the best farm system in baseball and you can’t take anybody for granted but obviously you don’t take a team that’s young and improving for granted. Particularly early in the season, the Astros don’t know any better, they don’t know they’re not good yet, so you have to play Houston straight.

I have the distinct feeling that A’s General Manager Billy Beane and Manager Bob Melvin know how to get the A’s to play everybody, the A’s are just beating up on people this year and I would be surprised if there is any let down by this team at any point this year.

Michael Duca does commentary on the A’s and Giants each week for Sportstalk radio

No offense, no sweep for the Giants in finale with the Dodgers

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By Morris Phillips

Tantalizing enough was the possibility that the Giants could mess with the Dodgers’ collective minds for a third straight day but there it was in the ninth inning Thursday with a run in and a runner in scoring position with the Giants trailing 2-1.

But Dodgers’ closer Kenley Jansen navigated the tense situation getting pinch-hitter Brandon Crawford to fly out to end the game, and allow Los Angeles to avoid a sweep at the hands of the Giants.

 “We had the right guys up there.  That’s all you can ask for.  It didn’t quite happen today.  But it’s good to get the series as we head on to San Diego.”

In one of the more memorable series between the NL West clubs, each of three games were decided by one run and the billionaires from the south were forced to play station-to-station baseball—just to the Giants’ liking—far less preferred than the big splash style the Dodgers are expected to produce.  In the series, Giants’ pitching was outstanding, allowing just five runs in 30 innings of baseball.

But a couple of more timely hits off Giants’ bats could have produced the sweep, but manager Bruce Bochy admitted his team’s not there yet.

“Two of your three bigger bats aren’t swinging well it’s hard to put runs on the board,” Bochy said.  “They are not going to hit what they’re hitting right now.”

Pablo Sandoval had a pair of hits and a big RBI in the win Wednesday, but he was back in the hamper Thursday, going 0 for 4 with two strikeouts.  With Hunter Pence struggling as well it may very well force Bochy to move one of the two sluggers down the lineup when play resumes Friday at the Padres’ Petco Park.  One thing was apparent on Thursday: Los Angeles’ Hyun-jin Ryu had all of the Giants’ bats on pause with his excellent command and variety of pitches.  Ryu allowed the Giants eight runs in just two innings on April 4, but he was a completely different pitcher on Thursday.

Madison Bumgarner wasn’t at his best, walking three batters and allowing six hits in less than five innings of work.  Bochy opted to go to the bullpen at that point, and he was rewarded by fine turns from Yusmeiro Petit and Jeremy Affeldt in his first appearance of the season.  The combination of the three was more than adequate, but the Giants’ bats couldn’t respond enough or earlier than the eighth inning when Brian Wilson appeared for the Giants.

The bearded one was greeted by a double from Ehire Adrianza, who had three hits.  The Giants couldn’t score after that, but Adrianza was back in the ninth, singling in Brandon Belt in an at-bat off Jansen.  But that pretty much highlighted the Giants’ offense on a day in which they were absent for the first seven frames.

The Giants open the series in San Diego with Matt Cain looking for his first win of the season after two rough losses.   Former Athletic and Berkeley native Tyson Ross will go for the Padres.

                                                                                                                                     

 

 

Ken Gimblin: A Man for All Seasons

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By George Devine, Sr.
 
Ken Gimblin, who died suddenly this week, was among the most respected members of the sports journalism community in Northern California. His talents and achievements were not limited to athletics, however. A native of Sacramento, Ken spent many years as a TV news anchor and covered the Capitol. He was in frequent communication with, and a friend of, Governor Ronald Reagan among other leaders of the State. In addition Ken worked with local schools in introducing students to the inner workings of government by such means as visits to the Capitol.
 
Among Ken’s credits were his role as a publicist for the California State Fair and his stint as the host of “Bowling for Dollars” which was telecast coast-to-coast for a number of years. He did not limit himself to broadcast media, however, and was a talented print journalist as well. As time went on, he launched a successful company, Multi-Media News and Sports, whose name embodied the scope of his activities.
 
Beginning in the early 1960s he covered Northern California sports teams including the San Francisco Giants, San Francisco 49ers, Oakland Athletics, Oakland Raiders and Golden State Warriors, in addition to the collegiate teams of Sacramento State, UC Berkeley, Stanford and the University of San Francisco. He was well respected in all those venues and knowledgeable about the goings-on of the various teams. Once the Kings of the NBA located in Sacramento, he was full of inside knowledge over their ownership situation and the successful effort to keep the team in Sacramento. Until very shortly before his death, he was a key source for information on the proposed new arena near Old Sacramento.
 
Over the years he was engaged with his longtime friend and colleague Lee Leonard in the formation and expansion of Sports Radio Service and was a key contributor to its success, in both the web site and the broadcasts which were heard throughout Northern California. His friends and admirers were legion, and many writers and broadcasters credit him for being generous with his advice and encouragement. He was one of those rare people that had no detractors.
 
Upon hearing of his death, one media colleague put it tersely: “He sure knew how to class up a press box!”

Puig’s Los Zetas connection has his family, teammates and himself walking on eggshells

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by Jerry Feitelberg

SAN FRANCISCO–The Los Angeles Dodgers who have just completed a three game series at AT&T Park on Thursday left town but with them the Mexican drug cartel Los Zetas is tracking the movements of Dodger outfielder Yasiel Puig. It was Los Zetas who helped traffic Puig in America after assisting Puig and his family to America from Cuba with the promise of 20 percent of what Puig’s earning would be the gang aims to collect according to ESPN magazine.

That would lead to a huge piece of the pie whereas Puig is earning $42 million on a nine year deal he signed with the Dodgers last season. Puig’s start is much different from last year where he broke in as a sensation and was selected to the All-Star game last season representing the Dodgers.

This year with all the possible violent repercussions of Los Zetas and their possibly tailing Puig, he has hit a lowly .250 with only one homer and five RBIs. Puig in Thursday’s game had only a hit in four at bats he might have had more on his mind than just swinging and trying to make contact with baseballs thrown to him.

The cartel is expecting Puig to pay up and the king pen of the operation is reportedly a Miami businessman who has hired the Los Zetas. It was reported that the cartel had actually either showed up in the cities where the Dodgers were on this last Dodgers road trip starting April 11th in Arizona and this week in San Francisco or they have been tracking his movements carefully.

They had made their presence known according to reports from the Los Angeles Times and it was reported that the Los Angeles Police and Major League Baseball security have been shadowing Puig everywhere he goes on the road and at home in L.A. for his protection.

There has never been so much security around a ball player since former Atlanta Braves and baseball home run king Hank Aaron who was chasing down Babe Ruth’s home record back in 1974. During the home run chase of 74 Aaron was incurring many racist death threats if he was to break Ruth’s record. Aaron was also shadowed by police and security everywhere he went.

ESPN reported that human traffickers have threatened Puig since assisting Puig from Cuba to America back in 2012. Puig 23, according to the L.A. Times and ESPN is an example of “the complexities of illegal human trafficking rings that continue to shuttle Major League prospects off the island.”

The human traffickers who smuggled Puig out held him captive in a hotel in Isla Mujeres which located off the coast of Cancun. At the time the human traffickers were shaking down the Miami businessman and another human trafficking group rescued Puig which was a rival trafficking gang that smuggled Puig to America and the Dodgers had signed Puig shortly thereafter.

Puig’s safety is constantly a concern and according to news reports the cartel wants it’s money and is turning the heat up on Puig. The Miami businessman who wants a cut of Puig’s money is Raul Pacheco who has a record for burglary and fake IDs according to ESPN magazine.

What makes this more frightening is the fact that Puig’s smuggler whose name is Leo was found dead shot 13 times. There also have been civil suits filed against Puig adding up to $12 million and another civil suit filed against Cincinnati Reds pitcher Aroldis Chapman for $18 million in a Florida civil court.

Meanwhile it was reported that Dodgers fans are at low risk from any kind of violent threat at Dodger Stadium but Dodger security can not make any gaurantees, however L.A.Times writer Jessie Katz said “the idea that Dodger fans or Dodger teammates would be in any kind of imminent harm I find that as a little bit farfetched.” Dodger Stadium like other professional sports venues are now using metal detectors on all fans, media and front office people before they enter the venue.

Jerry Feitelberg is a talk show host on http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Sharks dictate their game and win Game 1

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By Ivan Makarov

Hungry for a revenge for getting knocked out by the LA Kings in last year’s Stanley Cup playoffs, San Jose Sharks started this year’s playoffs with a bang. Completely dominating the game in the first two periods and preserving their big lead in the third, they took the charge in the series after 6-3 victory in Game 1 at the SAP Center.

Sharks dictated the pace of the game from the start of the game with their physical play and aggressive forecheck, which opened the game for them and limited Kings’ scoring chances. Joe Thornton scored less than three minutes into the game. Battling along the boards, and carrying the puck behind the net, he somehow managed to get it to his lineman Joe Pavelski who had just an inch of extra space on his defenseman in front of the net. Pavelski shot it on goal and Thornton was there with a tip in goal.

Sharks continued to outplay the Kings by finishing all their checks. Their fourth line was the most effective in that area, with Raffi Torres using his skating and hitting abilities to keep the high pace to the game. But it was Mike Brown who had the most memorable moment in that period when he got away on a breakaway, shot the puck and then pushed one of the Kings defensemen into Jonathan Quick, visibly rattling the Kings’ goaltender and causing a heated exchange to erupt after the whistle.

“We want to play physical, and us [fourth line] especially when we get on the ice,” said Brown. “We got to get pucks deep on their defensemen. We got to let them know that we’re coming and that’s what we did and established right away.”

Sharks made it 3-0 before the first intermission when Tomas Hertl and Patrick Marleau scored within 48 seconds of each other.

They did not slow down there and scored two more in the second period, with Raffi Torres scoring in his comeback from injury after Marc-Eduard Vlasic hit the post moments earlier. Vlasic scored himself four minutes later on the power play with a great wrist shot from just above the face-off circles.

Going into the third period with 5-0 lead, Sharks did lose focus a bit, and allowed the Kings to get back into the game, and cut the home team lead to just two goals. But the Kings ran out of time, and Sharks tightened it up on defense in the final two minutes of the game. With Kings’ goaltender out of the net for extra skater, Brent Burns released the tension on the ice when he picked up a puck near the boards inside his zone and shot it from long range but on target into the open net, finalizing the score in the game at 6-3.

While the Sharks did not finish the game on a high note, there were too many positives in that game to be too upset about it.

“It was a great game – we won!” said Sharks head coach Todd McLellan when asked about what his takeaway from this game was. “We’ll talk about the third period and I was disappointed in how we responded there. But it was a really good game…. It’s over. Regardless of what the score was, we have to move on now and prepare to get better.”

Game 2 is this coming Sunday back at the SAP Center.

A’s to host Astros, Rangers; schedule doubleheader

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By Daniel Dullum
Sports Radio Service
Thursday, April 17, 2014

The AL West Division leading Oakland Athletics had Thursday off as they prepare to face a couple of division foes as part of their upcoming homestand.

Houston visits the Coliseum for a weekend three-game series, followed by a three-game weekday set as Texas makes its first visit of the season to the Bay Area.

On Saturday, A’s fans will receive a Josh Donaldson bobblehead, and the first pitch will be thrown by Marcos Garcia, brother of Diego Garcia, a lifelong A’s fan who was killed by a drunk driver this past offseason.

A’s fans will also have an old fashioned doubleheader to look forward to on Wednesday, May 7, when Oakland hosts Seattle. The first game starts at 12:35 p.m., and the second game starts 30 minutes later. The extra game was rescheduled from an April 4 postponement.

The team reports that fans holding April 4 tickets can redeem the paid value to another A’s home game during the 2014 regular season, including the May 7 doubleheader (subject to ticket availability).

As a thank you to fans that were inconvenienced by the April 4 postponement, the Athletics are offering a four complimentary tickets per account to a game during the May 5-7 Seattle series. Those fans will be sent an email outlining instructions to redeem their tickets. The deadline to redeem those April 4 tickets is Wednesday, April 30, at 11:59 p.m.

Comcast SportsNet California will televise both games of the May 7 doubleheader.