Month: August 2014

NHL: Subban’s $9 M Deal Top Among Defensemen

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By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks did not make any news this week, apart from new social network software for the corporate offices. That story is kind of interesting in light of the “co-workers, not teammates” comments from come players after last season. Maybe I am reading too much into it. Meanwhile…

The NHL did have some big news, from the Montreal Canadiens and P.K. Subban. After meeting with an arbitrator, the team came to terms with their rising star to the tune of a $9 million cap hit for eight years.

Subban’s deal makes him the third highest paid player in the NHL, until the contracts of Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane kick in in 2015. Of course by then there may be players being paid even more.

Subban’s actual salary changes from seven to eleven million through the contract, giving the Canadiens some flexibility in cap hit, though the contract is reported to have a no movement clause for all eight years. Evgeni Malkin also has a no movement clause for all eight years of his $9.5 million contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins, while Alex Ovechkin has a limited no trade clause in his 13 year $9.538 million contract.

The deal should come as no surprise considering how high profile and talented Subban is, yet the team went all the way to arbitration hearings before settling with their defenseman. Additionally, his last deal was also for just two years and the parties took a long time coming to it. Why the Canadiens are so unwilling to admit the importance of this player is baffling. Even as a rookie, all eyes were on him as a rising star. Every time his minutes were cut or he was scratched it made news.

For the past two seasons, he has been first and fifth in points among NHL defensemen. He was in the top 25 in his second and third seasons, if you count the first season when he only played two games. His rise up the charts has been unrelenting.  While high-scoring forwards make great press and television, NHL teams understandably value their top defensemen as longer term investments.  That the Canadiens seem to have had trouble coming to terms with theirs does not speak well for their management. Ultimately, dragging their feet does not appear to have saved them any money. They still have the highest paid defenseman in the league.

Has race been a factor? It has of course been, in terms of media visibility. No matter what goes on between player and team, race is always a question in today’s society. Ugly as that is, a player of color brings even more visibility to the team and the sport, which is a good thing in an entertainment field.

Subban himself does not seem bitter about the negotiations, but how can anyone be very bitter after getting a contract like that? Even if he were in doubt about how much the team valued him, or what the team’s prospects are, he is in an excellent position to control his future. A no movement clause only binds the team unless they want to buy him out. The player can always negotiate to be traded if it comes to that.

Is the Subban contract likely to set a precedent? All contracts set precedents, but only for comparable players. There are not many players who can claim to be comparable to Subban right now. Unless his performance takes a dive, his contract will not be a burden for Montreal. He is an enromously valuable asset. Will his performance dip? In such a young player, entering his sixth season in the NHL, it might be expected for a contract like this to cause a drop in intensity. Yet all signs point to Subban continuing on an upward trajectory. Intensity seems to come naturally for him.

Earthquakes get first win at Levi’s

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By: Phillip Torres

SANTA CLARA- The San Jose Earthquakes (6-8-5) defeated the Seattle Sounders FC (12-6-2) by a final score of 1-0 to open Levis stadium on Saturday night in front of 48,765 fans. The new billion dollar facility opened its doors for the first time to host a major sporting event.

The first half was scoreless up until Yannick Djalo received a pass from Chris Wondolowski to score the lone goal in the game to lead the Earthquakes to the first ever win at the Levi’s stadium. The contest consisted of a great defensive showing from both San Jose and Seattle. After Djalo injured himself Seattle started to apply more pressure but was unsuccessful for the remainder of the game as they were shut out by San Jose’s defensive tactics.

Earthquakes goalkeeper Jon Busch recorded nine saves to earn the win. The save total matched his career high as an Earthquake.

Both sides had a great amount of chances late in the final stanza of the game. But the header from Chad Barrett in the 85th minute was the closest chance by both oppositions.

The Earthquakes will be back on the field at the StubHub Center where they will play against the Los Angeles Galaxy on August 8th.

Sabercats’ Smothering Defense Lead San Jose to Conference Title Game

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By: Joe Lami

SAN JOSE Calif.–

The San Jose Sabercats started their 2014 post-season run with a 55-28 victory over their Pacific Division rival, the Spokane Shock, on Saturday to advance to the National Conference Championship next weekend.

The best defense in the AFL showed why, as they held their opponents to just 28 points, all of which came in the second half. The 28-point total is also the second lowest point total the Sabercats have given up all season, as they held the Portland Thunder to just 27 points on May 17.

“We played as a unit tonight,” said Sabercats’ Defensive Tackle Jason Stewart, who recorded 3.5 sacks in the victory. Stewart came up huge in the 2nd Quarter for San Jose, when they faced a third down and two from their own nine. Stewart came up with a sack on the play. When Spokane decided to go for it on fourth down and six, Stewart came up with his second sack in as many play to force the turnover on downs, and help keep the Shock off of the scoreboard. Stewart wasn’t the only one on the defensive line to make plays, as Francis Maka with two sacks, and Terrance Carter with 1.5 sacks found ways to get to the Quarterback.

The defense didn’t stop there, however, as they also came up with three interceptions, all coming in the first half. Ken Fontenette, whose known for his tackling ability more than his intercepting ability led the way with two interceptions for 40 yards. He also finished the game with ten total tackles, leading the team. “Kenny put the team on his back tonight,” added Head Coach Darren Arbet.

David Hyland also picked one off of Erik Meyer, the reigning AFL MVP, with a magnificent catch in the end zone to take away a touchdown.

In his first career playoff game, Sabercats’ Quarterback, Nathan Stanley had an outstanding performance finishing the game 18 of 35 for five touchdowns and 193 yards. “It meant something to him, he was focused,” Arbet commented. Stanley did a great job of spreading the ball around, as each Reggie Gray and Dominique Curry had two touchdowns, with Ben Nelson receiving one. Stanley gave all the credit to his defense however, “they did a great job, it really took a lot of pressure off of us,” he added after the win.

San Jose now awaits their fate, as they will find out their next opponent on Sunday, where they will face the winner of the Arizona Rattlers (15-3) and the Portland Thunder (5-13). If the Rattlers win, the Sabercats will travel to Phoenix next weekend, but if Portland pulls off the upset, they will host the Thunder at home in San Jose.

Raiders Report: Allen needs to do more than give inspiration speeches to get the Raiders ready for 2014

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by David Zizmor

NAPA–Head coach Dennis Allen of the Oakland Raiders gave a speech to his team this past week and while it was inspirational the team will have to go out there and perform rather than talk, the Raiders don’t have any injuries right now so there’s not much to talk about. So they talk about an inspirational speech by Allen and hey that’s wonderful and it’s good he can inspire his team and that’s a feather in his cap.

The bottom line is in the NFL he’s has to get some wins under his belt, the Raiders are a rebuilding mode they’ve had so many problems, they got short changed and moved around so many players. They didn’t have enough free agents to sign to cover some of the gaps last season so they were left to use inexperienced guys.

The situation for Allen was he was handed players that he couldn’t work with and that’s not Allen’s fault and the Raiders need to spend some money to go after some free agents and shore up some of their weak spots. The Raiders need to look for some new talent in the free agency market that can step in and contribute right away.

The fact of the matter is this is the first month and they’re going to see how guys perform in the exhibition games and their going to clean house. The Raiders last season hit bottom because they got rid of some of their talent and they need to get some players in that can finally help them. So Allen will have to take some of these players who are here and motivate them.

Last year the Raiders needed to show some kind of improvement something they struggled with all season long as they finished last season with a 4-12 record. The Raiders didn’t throw in the towel when they defeated the Houston Texans last season on November 17th in Houston 28-23 it resulted in the Texans entire coaching staff getting fired.

The Raiders didn’t give up after that game they did play hard the rest of the season and the foundation is there if you can play hard for the Raiders everyday things could get better. The results have to tangible it has to be that the team is really getting better. Can Allen get these players to play the kind of football that they should be playing, can he get them to be solid at all their positions, Allen can give the inspirational speeches but will that be enough?

The Raiders open their pre season on Friday August 8th in Minnesota and will open their home pre season at the Coliseum with Detroit on August 15th.

David Zizmor covers the NFL for http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Pitchers duel goes to deGrom

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By Jeremy Kahn

When Pablo Sandoval reached second base in the top of the seventh inning, he did something no player accomplished prior to him on the night.

Sandoval doubled off of Jacob deGrom in that frame, but Jake Peavy was just as good as deGrom.

Peavy was perfect thru six and one-third innings until Daniel Murphy hit a double that Michael Morse was not able to catch, as the New York Mets would go on to score four runs in that frame to defeat the San Francisco Giants 4-2 at Citi Field.

With the victory, deGrom improved his record to 6-5, as the rookie won for the fifth straight start.

Peavy, who was making his second start for the Giants after being acquired from the Boston Red Sox on July 26 lost for the 11th straight time and saw his record on the season fall to 1-11.

This was the longest that Peavy took a no-hitter in a game, breaking the previous long of five and one-third innings.

Travis d’Arnaud hit a sacrifice fly to get the Mets on the board, Juan Lagares added a RBI single and Wilmer Flores drove in the final two runs of the inning with a double.

Travis Ishikawa broke up the shutout in the top of the eighth inning, as he hit a two-run single that chased deGrom.

In seven and one-third innings of work, deGrom gave up two runs, scattered four hits and struck out seven.

Peavy gave up four runs and like deGrom, he also scattered four hits, struck out four and did not allow a walk.

Despite putting runners on first and third in the top of the ninth inning, closer Jenrry Meija was able to regroup and get former St. John’s star Joe Panik to groundout to second to secure his 16th save of the season.

49ers report: Niners getting good deal for Harbaugh’s labor might talk turkey after season

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by David Zizmor

SANTA CLARA–San Francisco 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh is in the fourth year of a five year deal that pays $5 million per year it’s considered a really strong deal for a rookie coach in the NFL. Harbaugh had quite a bit of success since coming from the college ranks and from Stanford. If Harbaugh was to go on the free agent market and the fact that he made three consecutive NFC Championships and got into the Super Bowl in his first season as head coach something that nobody’s done he would be getting a lot more than $5 million a year.

The fair maket value for someone like Harbaugh is that’s he’s underpaid and they didn’t know they were underpaying him when he signed that five year contract and he wasn’t going to Cleveland even though they were intrested in him in the off season and the Browns expressed they would pay him his worth. Harbaugh stayed with the Niners.

Every stop he’s made in his college coaching career like the University of San Diego, Stanford and now in the NFL with the Niners he’s been incredibly successful he turned around the programs in San Diego and Stanford and he did the same thing at the 49ers. He has took the team to three championships plus the Super Bowl.

As far as getting paid, in the NFL head coaches have a tendency to be under paid right now the highest paid head coach in the NFL is the New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick at $45 million for seven years and the Seattle Seahawks Pete Carroll who signed a new deal back in April with the Hawks worth $35 million for five years. If Harbaugh was to sign a new deal it probably will be around that Bilichick pay scale.

As far as the 2014-15 season is concerned there’s no reason to go crazy and try and negotiate a new contract as he’s under contract for two more seasons and Harbaugh is not going anywhere. A lot of that talk in the off season about going to Cleveland was a red hering and the Niners are not too worried about that. If your Harbaugh he might wait until the end of next season to talk with the team about his next contract in the off season.

Let’s face it Harbaugh has the resume he’s got the three championships and took the team to the Super Bowl in his first season as head coach at the 49ers. Harbaugh in terms of negotiations in the future he has the Niners over a barrel and the 49ers recognize how good a head coach that Harbaugh is and he doesn’t want to push it and maybe they’ll talk about it after this season.

Right now Hargaugh is getting $5 million a year and he’s getting underpaid and as far as negotiating under these same type of circumstances this has been the motivation of the 49ers organization in a lot of situations. The 49ers don’t want to talk turkey with Harbaugh and Harbaugh is fine with it and the 49ers should make post season and there’s no reason to think they’re going to collapse and Harbaugh should successfully get what he wants.

David Zizmor covers the NFL for http://www.sportsradioservice.com

A’s and Giants commentary: A’s would like to see run production unlike 1-0 Fri loss;Cain set for surgery for bone chips

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by Michael Duca

OAKLAND–In Friday’s 1-0 shutout there were a lot of pitches that were spoiled that weren’t hit like 70 of them, seven-zero, a few of those pitches could have landed in the stands and could have been hit off the great pitching of Royals starter Jeremy Gutherie. A’s starter Sonny Grey pitched well enough to win but your never going to win a game if your team can’t score.

The A’s will miss Yoenis Cepedes because when he would run into a ball it would turn into instant runs, the truth is if you look at Cepedes’ numbers the best year he had was his rookie season his offensive production was on a steady decline since his first year, his on base percentage was below average this season, and that’s not a Billy Beane (A’s general manager) type player.

Beane wants guys who will work the count, take some pitches, and someone who can make the opposing bullpen work hard to try and get someone out, Beane’s idea of game success is not a 1-0 three hour loss. The A’s would like to win these games but that doesn’t always happen. The long at bat usually don’t go in the hitters favor it goes in the pitchers favor.

It seems to be more physcological than actual and Cepedes doesn’t seem like he can give you 150 games per year, the team is going to get some injuries and it’s questionable if he was producing (.256, 17 homers, 67 RBIs) in games rather than home run derbys at the level that people think he was and at the level the A’s were paying him.

SF Giants update: Regarding pitcher Matt Cain’s bone chip surgery is relatively benign if you remember correctly former Giants infielder Rich Aurilla was out after surgery for six week. Obviously each player reacts differently according to each surgery and this isn’t something you take in a cavilier fashion. All things being equal when your big horse is down which Cain is with the elbow the last thing you want to hear is surgery.

When you do hear the word surgery and you hear it’s bone chips you could recover from it, it’s not a one year rehab like Tommy John surgery is. Having bone chips is not going to cause permanent damage to the elbow. So if he guts out the pain and misses some of the season he will rest and come back in September and get him a roster spot and stretch him out a little.

Cain could get six or seven days spot starting him and have him available to a post season spot if the Giants make it that far. On the other hand what it should do everybody is looking at this thing saying “oh my God” the Giants opening day starter for a number of years has gone down with an elbow injury “oh dear oh dear whatever will we do.”

Cain is out but it’s not like he died he’s still a presence in the Giants clubhouse, he’s there he’s in the clubhouse he’s around the team, you can find him, but whatever he’s a non physical presence in the rotation. In terms of the rotation they only missed him for only one turn, he’s done a credible job in the one turn that he pitched and then they replaced him with Jake Peavy whose able as Cain and is a disciplined pitcher.

Michael Duca does commentary on the A’s and Giants each week for http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Vogelsong goes the distance in win

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By Jeremy Kahn

This will be a night that Ryan Vogelsong will most likely never forget for the remainder of his major league career.

Vogelsong pitched his first ever nine inning complete game, as the San Francisco a Giants defeated the New York Mets 5-1 at Citi Field.

On the night, Vogelsong faced 28 batters, one over the minimum, as he allowed a Juan Lagares single leading off the bottom of the sixth inning and Lucas Duda hit his 20th home run of the season in the bottom of the eighth inning.

Vogelsong threw 102 pitches, as the game lasted just two hours and six minutes, as he upped his record to 6-8 on the season.

Brandon Crawford drove in a run with a single, rookie Matt Duffy hit a run-scoring single for his first major league hit and Hunter Pence drove in three runs with a two-run triple and one on a groundout.

Crawford picked up three hits on the evening, as the Giants won their second in a row after losing six in a row.

After a forgetful homestand that saw the Giants 1-5, this a great start to a 10-game three city road trip that began with a huge win.

Matt Cain will most likely be lost for the season due to bone chips in his pitching elbow.

Tyler Colvin and Dan Uggla were designated for assignment, while Duffy and outfielder Jarrett Parker were recalled from Double-A Richmond.

Gray’s Great Not Enough To Earn A Victory, A’s Lose 1-0

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OAKLAND, CA - AUGUST 01: Sonny Gray #54 of the Oakland Athletics pitches against the Kansas City Royals during the first inning at O.co Coliseum on August 1, 2014 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Jason O. Watson/Getty Images)
OAKLAND, CA – AUGUST 01: Sonny Gray #54 of the Oakland Athletics pitches against the Kansas City Royals during the first inning at O.co Coliseum on August 1, 2014 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Jason O. Watson/Getty Images)

By Kahlil Najar

OAKLAND – Sonny Gray was still in top form tonight however with some questionable called strikes by home plate umpire Mike Estabrook and the A’s 4-5-6 hitters all going without a hit tonight, the A’s lost to the Royals 1-0.

“Sonny was terrific, other than one pitch,” said Melvin on the Gray’s performance tonight. “Guthrie mixed his repertoire up really well. Good change ups and kept us off balance. It came down to one swing.”

Sonny Gray threw seven great innings and only gave up three hits and struck out an impressive seven batters but on one pitch in the top of the fifth everything changed for the night. On a first pitch 92-mph two seam fastball from Gray, veteran Raul Ibanez knocked the ball over the out-of-town scoreboard to give the Royals the only run of the game.

For the Royals, starting pitcher Jeremy Guthrie matched Gray with six innings pitched and striking out six including three strike outs to Jed Lowrie. On all of Lowrie’s strikeouts, he and umpire Estabrook would exchange pleasantries and battled throughout the night.

Gray scattered the three hits over the first, third and fifth inning while Guthrie scattered his hits to the A’s in the fourth, fifth and sixth.

Offensively for the A’s, Josh Reddick had a night with three hits including a double in the bottom of the ninth that made it exciting.

“We haven’t been swinging great here recently, other than one inning in Houston. We’re kind of in a down period offensively at this point,” said Melvin on the middle of the order.

Sam Fuld started his first game back with Oakland and Melvin was impressed.

“It’s a natural for us (referring to Fuld leading off). Lefties too. Good chance he’s leading off tomorrow. Numbers suggest he’s the guy for us.”

Fuld ended with a double and a walk on the night.

The A’s hope to rebound tomorrow afternoon when Jon Lester takes to the mound for the first time in an A’s uniform against Jason Vargas, game time 1:05pm.

Jon Lester & Jonny Gomes Give First Press Conference Since The Trade

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OAKLAND – In their first press conference appearance since the monster trade that sent Cespedes to the Red Sox, Jon Lester and Jonny Gomes took to the mic to address the trade and the future of the team. Listen below:

Jon Lester:

On trade: “Excited. After leaving Boston after being there for so long I’m excited to be here. I’ve got a few faces here that I recognize that should make the transition easier.”

On rotation: “It looks great. I’ve got to see a few of these guys on the other side and see them do really well. Hopefully I can do my job and fill my spot and get some innings and get these guys some opportunity to swing the bat and get some runs.”

Impression of the A’s: “They play the game the right way. Full of energy. The youth and the energy will always be there and I’m excited to see it.”

On pressure to compete: “I wouldn’t say pressure. These guys have been in the playoffs before. It’ not going to be anything new to a lot of these guys here. Hopefully with adding us hopefully we can add more experience. I wouldn’t consider it pressure, I’d say these guys expect to go to the playoffs each year.”

Jonny Gomes:

On coming home to Oakland: “Being an A’s fan, I always thought it was unique coming here. I went from A’s pajamas to an A’s uniform in about 22 years. I put a lot of work into it. I’m proud to see these guys take off. Seeing six A’s in the All-Star game this year was amazing.”

On leaving the A’s last time: “When I left here, it was one of the most unique things on a baseball field. To finish the season with a loss and get a standing ovation from the crowd and even get your opponents to tip their hat, it really showed what we accomplished.”

On getting his world series ring: “I thought I was hungry but now I’m starving for it.”

On being a clubhouse leader and the trade being a baseball decision not just a leader decision: “I’m a firm believer in team chemistry. Winning from the inside out. This is a results driven industry. 25 best friends aren’t going to win the World Series. It’s not about your relationships. The chemistry really comes about in the lows of the season.”