Month: December 2014

49ers Look to Avenge Recent Loss to Seahawks

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By: Ben Leonard

Less than two weeks ago, the vaunted Seahawks’ defense shut down Colin Kaepernick and the 49ers’ offense in a 19-3 shellacking at Levi’s Stadium. Star cornerback Richard Sherman and quarterback Russell Wilson celebrated the Thanksgiving victory by eating turkey on the 49ers’ logo at midfield, a move that many San Francisco fans did not appreciate. San Francisco has struggled with Seattle as of late, dropping four of their last five meetings with their divisional rivals. The game moves to Seattle’s CenturyLink Stadium for Sunday’s edition of the rivalry. Is there any reason to expect a different result this time around, with the Niners seeking revenge?

The Forty-Niners are fresh off of an abominable 24-13 loss to the Oakland Raiders last week, not exactly a beacon of future success. Kaepernick struggled right out of the gate, throwing an ugly interception on the first play of the game. The play was a microcosm of his recent struggles; the 49ers set up the play to help the struggling signal caller, yet he ignored the play-call. Instead of hitting his receiver in the flat for a five or six yard gain, as planned, Kaepernick scrambled around in the pocket to buy time. He forced a throw, resulting in a turnover on a play that should have been a solid gain. Kaepernick’s defiant style of play needs to be eradicated if San Francisco wants to have any chance of beating Seattle. Wilson outplayed Kaepernick in the last meeting, in which Kaepernick went just sixteen of twenty-nine for 121 yards with two interceptions. If the 49ers continue to distance themselves from their previously established identity as a power-running team, Kaepernick needs to step up, especially against a stout Seahawks secondary. He will need to be at his best against the NFL’s best pass defense, who has allowed just 190 yards per game through the air. He is 2-3 in his career against Seattle, but he has posted a measly 49.5 quarterback rating in those contests. 

Strong play from the Niners’ shoddy offensive line would certainly make things easier for the fourth-year signal caller. San Francisco has used seven different starting lines this season, and none have been satisfactory. The unit has allowed the third-most sacks in the league, and allowed Seattle to sack Kaepernick four times in the last meeting. There is not much reason to expect marked improvement from such a downtrodden unit, especially so late in the season.Kaepernick will simply have to learn to overcome adversity and step up strong in the pocket.  However, Seattle has been surprisingly weak in getting to the quarterback this season, ranked twenty-seventh in the NFL with just twenty three sacks on the season. This game could be a confidence booster against a relatively weak Seattle pass rush, if they can right the ship after the disaster in the last matchup.

Another key for San Francisco will be limiting Seattle’s rushing attack. In the last meeting, Marshawn Lynch had his way with the 49ers’ defense, rushing twenty times for 104 yards. Wilson also enjoyed a fair amount of success improvising with his legs in the last meeting, running seven times for thirty-five yards. The Niners should temper their expectations against the NFL’s best team rushing offense and focus on slowing their rushing attack, not shutting it down. If they can prevent Lynch from getting solid yardage on first and second downs, a lot of pressure will be taken off of the struggling offense. The defense would be able to key in on Wilson, and become much more effective as a unit. However, it is easier said that done against a team of this caliber. Ahmad Brooks, who was benched against Oakland for missing a team meeting, will return, and should help a defense that Derek Carr tore up last week.

In addition to revenge, the 49ers’ distant playoff hopes hinge on this game. The Jim Harbaugh era may be coming to a close after the season is over, but the Niners still have a shot, albeit miniscule. They need to win out, coupled with three consecutive losses by the Cardinals, to pass the Cardinals in the NFC West. The Niners can pass Seattle if they win out, and if Seattle loses two of three. If the Lions lose two out of three, the Niners could pass them based on a “strength of schedule” tiebreaker, given that they win out. Essentially, if San Francisco wants to make the playoffs for one last time under Harbaugh, they need to win out and get help. They face an uphill battle in both this game and in the playoff race, but don’t tell the Niners that. They will come out fired up and ready to play.

Stats courtesy of ESPN, NFL.com, and Football-Reference

 

 

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary: Lester is a Cub; Money isn’t everything

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by Amaury Pi Gonzalez

OAKLAND–Jon Lester was the biggest prize in the 2014 Baseball Winter Meetings, which concludes tomorrow in San Diego. The lefty considered one of the best pitchers in baseball pitched for two teams this season. The Boston Red Sox and the Oakland Athletics and combined for a record of 16-11 with a 2.46 earned run average in a total of 32 games he started.

In the little time that he spent with the Athletics he was the consummate professional, one guy that has the ability to inspire others to win, a guy with tremendous pride and tremendous humility at the same time. The Cubs,Red Sox,Giants, Dodgers and maybe another mystery team were bidding for Lester. On Wednesday morning he chose the Chicago Cubs, even though the San Francisco Giants were willing to give him another year on the contract and about $13 million more.

Lester got a six year deal worth $155 million, to work for his old boss an friend Theo Epstein, now the General Manager of the Cubs, previously with the Boston Red Sox, were Lester won two rings in 2007 and 2013. The San Francisco Giants were offering Lester seven years and $168 million.

So as we can see, not everything comes down to money in life. Lester said about the deal and about the Cubs, “The thing I liked about ’em is it wasn’t forced and it wasn’t a sales pitch,” Lester said after his meeting with the Cubs. “It was like, ‘This is what we can do.’ I don’t want BS. I don’t want show. I don’t want glitz and glamour. I don’t want to walk out to the field with your name and number on the JumboTron. I’m not 18 anymore. I want you to tell me what you can do for me and my family.”

Jon Lester who was born in Tacoma, Washington, and is a cancer survivor, lives with his family in Atlanta, Georgia and although among the three teams most serious to hire him, Cubs,Giants and Red Sox, the Giants offered the better “pitching park”,there is no doubt AT&T Park is much better of a pitching park than Fenway or Wrigley, he chose to work for a team that hasn’t won a World Series since 1908, instead of one that has won 3 World Series the last 5 years.

The Cubs have a new look, with general Joe Maddon as manager and they have one of the youngest and most talented groups of stars in the game: Javier Baez, Anthony Rizzo, Starlin Castro, Kris Bryant and Jorge Soler among others eager to report in a couple of months to the spectacular Spring Training facility, anybody who visited there knows what I am talking about. The Cubs have the best and most modern Spring Training facility.

The Cubs are the oldest currently active U.S. professional sports club, continuously existing in the same city for their entire history. They are one of the two remaining charter members of the National League (the other being the Atlanta Braves). Since Chicago did not have a fully operating White Stockings team for two seasons due to the Great Chicago Fire, differences continue to be voiced when considering the elder status of this ball club: Although the Braves have played for more consecutive seasons, the Cubs hold the distinction of having been founded a full season earlier (Cubs in 1870 and Braves in 1871).

Whatever you believe about the Chicago Cubs, there is little doubt of their fans commitment to this club. The very first time I visited Wrigley Field, Chicago, there was a souvenir store right across the street from the park with awning that read: “being a Cubs fans is a lifelong commitment”, that store is still there and the Cubs fans generation after generation are still there supporting their team, which has played in Chicago only. Jon Lester is part of the new look with manager Joe Maddon that will try to change that loosing mentality in the Windy City.

Back when I was broadcasting Seattle Mariners games, I remember the first time a young Jon Lester visited Safeco Field with his Red Sox uniform, he gave a private press conference to the Seattle media and he was as popular in Seattle as he was in Boston at that time, well known in the Seattle-Tacoma area for all his conections with the local community of Puget Sound. This week,when he made the decision that he didn’t want to take the Giants offer, he personally called the Giants to thank them, as he told them. He didn’t have to do that, but that is the type of man that Jon Lester is.

Amaury Pi Gonzalez is the Spanish radio voice for Oakland A’s baseball and does News and Commentary each week on http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Kobe Leads Comeback Downs The Kings At Staples Center

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AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

By Shawn Whelchel

A late surge from Kobe Bryant helped the Los Angeles Lakers complete their second-half comeback attempt against a struggling Sacramento Kings squad for a 98-95 victory at Staples Center Tuesday night.

Even after 19-years in the league, the 36-year old Bryant showed why he is still considered one of the best closers in the game by adding 9 of his 32-points on the night within the waning minutes of the 4th quarter.

While the Lakers began to surge, the Kings went cold, shooting just 5-for-17 during a crucial fourth quarter, including two three-point attempts from Rudy Gay and Nik Stauskas within the final seconds of the game that could have potentially salvaged the disastrous effort.

The Kings were led by Darren Collison’s 26-point, 6 assist effort. Collison was closely followed by Gay, who added 23 points and five assists for Sacramento as well. The Kings continue to miss DeMarcus Cousins as they were outscored 36-28 in the paint as well.

The Kings led by as many as 12-points in the third quarter. but could not contain Bryant and the Lakers, who were aided by the 27-total points off the bench from Carlos Boozer and Nick Young.

On top of going stagnant late in the game, the Kings continue to have turnover issues, as they committed 16 turnovers for 21-points on the night. After losing the last 6-of-8 games, Sacramento will look to stay above .500 as they take on the Houston Rockets at home Thursday night.

 

Sharks beat the Oilers second time around

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By Ivan Makarov

SAN JOSE, CA — San Jose Sharks have been inconsistent all season against the bottom NHL teams, having lost to the likes of Florida Panthers, Columbus Blue Jackets, and Edmonton Oilers just on Sunday.

They had their chance for payback on Tuesday night back at the SAP Center when they began their five-game home stand against the Oilers, and they took an advantage of it, earning 5-2 victory in what was not a glamorous, but an effective performance.

Joe Pavelski scored twice, with Logan Couture, Barclay Goodrow and Brent Burns also scoring for the Sharks while Alex Stalock had a solid night in goal and made 25 saves in the victory.

Sharks got the start they wanted in the game with two quick goals.  First goal was the creation of Joe Thornton who was inside the Oilers zone along the boards. Sharks playmaker spotted Joe Pavelski who was standing in front of the net with his back facing Oiler’s goaltender Ben Scrivens. He passed him the puck, and Pavelski shot it backhanded, and high. It was a beautiful execution and one of the best goals Pavelski scored all season.

Sharks’ rookie Barclay Goodrow followed it up with another goal on the very next shift, as he was the first on the rebound on a shot from Melker Karlsson – who was playing in his NHL debut, making it 2-0 for the Sharks at 5:29 mark. This was Goodrow’s first NHL goal.

Jordan Eberle cut the Sharks lead to just one when he scored his sixth goal of the season after getting a quick pass from when he was in front of the net. Holding unto the puck, Eberle got away from Joe Pavelski who was trying to cover him and put the puck past Alex Stalock who did not follow Eberle’s movement with the puck.

Brandon Dillon made a costly giveaway towards the end of the first period. Passing the puck in his own zone, he let Teddy Purcell steal it from him, who quickly passed it to David Perron who scored an easy goal and tied the game at 2-2.

“We played two [different] first periods, the first ten minutes and the second ten minutes, “ said Todd McLellan summarizing that stretch in the game. “In the first ten, we did what we wanted to do. In the second ten, we started to bring pucks back, we started to pass through the opposition instead of around them or by them, so that ends up in your net. The positive thing is, the guys accepted those facts between periods and we went back to playing the way we need to play.”

Sharks took the lead back when Logan Couture scored on a redirect from a shot made by Scott Hannan when Oilers gave away the puck inside their zone trying to clear it and Hannan shot it towards the net. It was a quick reaction by Couture that caught Scrivens by surprise.

Sharks doubled their lead shortly thereafter when Joe Pavelski scored again, this time on a power play, only seven seconds into it. Patrick Marleau won the face-off, Sharks held to the puck, and passed it around the perimeter, moved well, finding open Pavelski right in front of the net who one timed it above Scrivens’ glove, making it 4-2 for the Sharks towards the middle mark of the game.

While the home team gave away the initiative from that point on, and Alex Stalock had to be great to keep them in it, San Jose did score the key goal at 14:31 mark in the third period when Brent Burns’ slap shot from the blue line was so fast that Scrivens had virtually no chance to save it – even from that distance. The goal made it 5-2 and put it out of the Oilers reach.

Sharks gained some valuable points in the standings, with their divisional opponents LA Kings, Calgary Flames and Vancouver Canucks all losing games the same day. They continue their home stands on Thursday when they host Minnesota Wild.

Brandon Moss goes to Cleveland

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by Jerry Feitelberg

The last few days at the A’s headquarters in Oakland have been a beehive of activity as “Trader” Billy Beane had decided to break up A’s and rebuild the team once more. The Trades that he made this summer starting with Cespedes for Jon Lester and Jason Hammel and Jeff Samardizija appeared not to have been the recipe for getting the A’s into the World Series. Lester was a two monthe rental and is ,right,now, in line fro a huge payday from either the Cubs, Red Sox, Dodgers or Giants. Jason Hammel

went back to the Cubs and Jeff Samardizija is on his way to the White Sox. The A’s also sent pitcher Muchael Ynoa to the White Sox and got four players with little or no majr league experience. They received Pitcher, Chris Bassitt,cather Josh Phlegley, first baseman Angel Raveda and infielder Marcus Semien.In the Meantime, the A’s lost their number one prospect, shortstop Addison Russell, to the Cubs in the trade for Samardizija and Hammell.

After the one game loss in the playoffs to the Royals, the conventional thinking was that the A’s would strengthen their core by addition rather than subtraction. Beane shocked the baseball world be sending their best player Josh Donaldson to the Toronto Blue Jays for Brent Lawrie and three prospects. Not only was the baseball world shocked, the A’s fans were in a state of disbelief as the team lost its best player for a third baseman who was ok defensively but not in Donaldson’s league as a hitter.

Then to compound matters, Beane sent Brandon Moss to Cleveland for a double-A second baseman who was about number nine on Cleveland’s list of prospects. Moss, who was really sad to leave Oakland, said that the A’s gave hime a chance to play and he came through big time for them. He played first base, right field and left field for the A’s. Unfortunately, Moss had a hip injury that slowed him down in the second half of 2014 but he had surgery and was looking to rebound in 2015.

The A’s have traded their number 3,4 and 5 hitters and have gotten back some prospects and a lot of question marks.

The starting pitching looks solid with Sonny Gray,Scott Kashmir, Jarrod Parker and A.J. Griffin returning. The last two , Parker and Griffin, are coming off Tommy John surgery and it remains to be seen how effective they will be. The bullpen lost Luke Regression but still has Dan Rooter, Ryan Cook and Sean Doolittle.

The team has holes that may or may not be fixed by these trades. The A’s have three catchers, John Jaso, Derek Norris and Stephen Vogt. That gives them some flexibility as Vogt can DH or play first base. The A’s signed the former Royal Billy Butler as a right handed DH and first baseman,too. They still do not know who will be at shortstop or second base. Eric Sogar is a possibility at second but is he an everyday player? The A’s outfield will have Josh Reddick in right field. Reddick played well his first year but was slowed by injuries the last two years but did come to life late in the season. Coco Crisp is getting up in age and seems to have more injuries every year and left field duties will be split by Sam Fuld and Craig Gentry.

This scenario does not look a team that is going to contend for the western division crown in 2015, The Mariners have gotten better with the addition of Nelson Cruz. The Angels won the division by 10 games behind MVP Mike Trout, Albert Pujols, Josh Hamilton and Howie Kendrick. The A’s can’t match the Angels or Mariners firepower now.

So for Cespedes, Donaldson and Moss, I wish you all well in your new baseball homes. It was great fun watching the three of you play here in Oakland. Brandon, I will miss you the most as you let me go home at 20 minutes of two one morning in a nineteen inning game against the Angels when you hit the winning home run. Would love to have all three of you back in the green and gold but because of the way you produced, it looked like the A’s were not willing to let you to have any more green or gold. That would have to come from your new employers.

Kings Dominate Jazz, 101-92

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By Tony Renteria

The Sacramento Kings (10-10) hosted the Visiting Utah Jazz (5-15), team leader DeMarcus Cousins absent again with viral meningitis but Rudy Gay put the team on his back as he lead the Kings in scoring dropping in 29 points in a 101-92 Kings win.

Gay feeling the pressure to fill the void left by the absent Cousins did so well guarding Jazz leading Gordon Hayward and limiting him to just 19 points as the Kings used the home court advantage for the win.

Also filling the void was Rookie Nik Stauskas who scored a career high 15 points and added in 8 rebounds as the Kings improved to (2-4) with out Cousins.

The Jazz were lead by Hayward’s points, and seven assists and four steals.

This was the first meeting between the two this season, the nest game will be in early February.  The Jazz head home to host the San Antonio Spurs, While the Kings head to Los Angeles to face the Lakers tomorrow.

Warriors win 13th in a row, trounce Minnesota

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AP Photo/Stacy Bengs

By Robert Steward

MINNEAPOLIS–

The Golden State Warriors continued their torrid start tonight by defeating the Minnesota Timberwolves, 102-86. With the victory the Warriors won their franchise-record 13th in a row over an injury-depleted Minnesota squad to improve to a league-best 18-2. The T-Wolves, who came into the game at 4-15 were short-handed, playing without leading scorer Kevin Martin and leading rebounder Nikola Pekovic. Still, the Warriors came out flat and played sloppy, hitting only their first 4 of 15 shots and were only up, 9-6, with 5:43 left in the first quarter before Coach Steve Kerr called a timeout to bark at his team. Minnesota was also as cold as the weather outside in Minneapolis, hitting just 2 of their first 14 shots. After the timeout both teams shot better with Golden State having the edge after one quarter at 25-20.

The sloppy play, however, continued in the second quarter as both teams made numerous turnovers and Golden State led only by two, 36-34 with 5:29 left. Following a timeout, the Warriors ran off 7 straight points and finished the first half with a 48-39 lead, which matched their biggest lead of the half. The Warriors had 10 turnovers in the half, but Minnesota outdid them with 13 of their own. In addition, the Warriors were cold from 3-point range. Klay Thompson was the lone shooter who hit from long-distance, hitting 3 of 6 from downtown, while the rest of the Warriors were 0 for 9 in the first half. Minnesota was 0 for 5 shooting three’s. The Warriors as a team managed to only shoot 38% from the floor in the first half, while the T-Wolves shot only 36%. Golden State did have 11 steals in the half.

In the third quarter the Warriors “brought the energy,” as Kerr put it, and forced the tempo more. The Warriors, who are first in the NBA in fast-break points, settled down and committed fewer turnovers, while increasing their lead to 11. But the Timberwolves hung around and after Thaddeus Young hit the team’s first 3-pointer and followed it with a 14-foot jumper, they were only down 62-56, with 5:07 left in the quarter. The Warriors then ran off 7 in a row of their own, finishing the run with Stephen Curry’s first trey of the night to go up, 69-56, with 4:03 left in the 3rd, forcing Minnesota coach Flip Saunders to burn another timeout. The Warriors continued to add to their lead, eventually scoring 13 straight points to open up a 75-56 lead until Minnesota’s Andrew Wiggins stopped the bleeding with two free throws. Golden State led, 79-63, after 3.

The Warriors continued to find their focus in the 4th, extending their lead to its largest of the game by 22 points. While Coach Kerr wasn’t pleased with the lack of effort in the early going and felt the Warriors were too lazy in switching on defense, which allowed Minnesota to get some wide open lanes to the basket in the first half, he praised his team for turning up the defensive effort in the second half. He was also pleased with the effort turned in by backup Center Festus Ezeli, who came off the bench after starting Center Andrew Bogut left after only 3 minutes into the game with what the Warriors called “right knee irritation.” Ezeli grabbed 8 rebounds and scored 7 points in 21 minutes.

Golden State was led by both Curry and Thompson, who each scored 21. Shaun Livingston came off the bench and had a nice overall game, scoring 12 points to go with 6 assists, 5 rebounds, and 4 steals. Marreese Speights also chipped in with 12 off the bench, while Draymond Green also had 12 points, while leading the team with 10 rebounds. The Warriors ended up shooting 46% for the game, while holding Minnesota to 36%. No opponent of the Warriors has managed to shoot better than 50% from the floor this season. The T-Wolves were lead by the number one overall pick in this year’s NBA draft, Wiggins, who finished with 21 points. Shabazz Muhammad had 14 off the bench and Young scored 13.

The Warriors will look to extend their winning streak to 14 when they host the Houston Rockets on Wednesday night at Oracle Arena.

 

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary: Mad Bum SI Sportsman of the year

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by Amaury Pi Gonzalez

ALAMEDA–Although San Francisco Giant Madison Bumgarner wasn’t the best pitcher in the Majors in 2014. The Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kernshaw won the Cy Young Award for the National League and he also won the Most Valuable Player Award. Having said that Bumgarner may not have been the best pitcher in baseball in the regular season but he did something in post season worthy of winning the Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year Award.

In the World Series he either won or led his team to a win in the series three times and finished the series with a 1.03 ERA. He pitched when the pressure was on and what he did was not seen in my generation and maybe two generations behind me having not seen one pitcher be a huge factor in three World Series games to lead the team.

Those three unforgettable appearances he had in Kansas City was stuff of legend and even though Bumgarner was not the best pitcher in all of baseball from April to September he put on his Superman cape on in October and was a monster pitcher and without him the Giants could not have won their third World Series in the last five years.

I agree Bumgarner is the Sportsman of the Year and the athletes are subjective to all sorts of sporting awards when selected by the media. I agree to this one, Bumgarner deserved every bit of this award he can savor it this winter until spring training. When Bumgarner came on as a reliever in the seventh game of the series against Kansas City and won it that clinched the award for him and he’s not a reliever by the way.

A good reliever in those situations when the starter gets replaced can make all the difference but when that reliever is a starter like Bumgarner that’s why the Royal fans were silent when Mad Bum came out in the seventh game. I challenge anybody to go and look at that film when Bumgarner came out of the bullpen and when the P.A. announcer introduced Bumgarner to relieve you couldn’t hear a pin drop as fans were in a state of shock. The Kansas City Royal fans just couldn’t believe that Bumgarner was coming out to relieve.

Future of Harbaugh and players in question after losing in Oakland: The San Francisco 49ers locker room was depressed after the 24-13 loss at the Oakland Coliseum. It’s a loss a lot of people will remember for a long time, they looked awful dropping this game to the Oakland Raiders. I don’t want to take any credit from the Raiders who were coming off a 52-0 loss to St.Louis the previous Sunday.

The 49ers had nothing and Kaepernick was really asleep at the wheel he was a disaster in this game he was throwing to the sidelines and he was not the same Kaepernick that he was in the last few years. Then there is this soap opera with head coach Jim Harbaugh, Harbaugh will be gone after the season is over. It doesn’t look like the 49ers are going to keep him, the 49ers have a lot of problems.

On the other side the Raiders are very happy with quarterback Derrick Carr. I always liked this kid since the first day. Last Sunday was his best game of the season, Carr threw for three touchdown passes against the 49ers and granted he didn’t get a lot of pressure from the 49ers but still the Raiders got what they wanted accomplished “Just win Baby.”

Amaury Pi Gonzalez is the Spanish radio voice for Oakland A’s baseball and does News and Commentary each week for http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Wallace does it all in Cal’s big second half surge and win at Nevada

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By Morris Phillips

After a big second half comeback Sunday afternoon in Reno, and for the first time since Ben Braun’s final season in 2007, the Cal Bears have opened the season with seven wins in their first eight games.

A sign of big things to come?  Maybe not.  Braun’s Bears lost 15 of their final 25 games in 2007-08 and bowed out quietly in the second round of the NIT.  Braun was let go, star freshman Ryan Anderson decided to turn pro, and Jerome Randle did some serious, but effective, soul searching in order to rebound from a sophomore season in which he shot just 42 percent from the field.

Instead of a predictor of future success, Cal’s 7-1 record may instead be the residue of a carefully, choreographed early schedule that has seen the Bears face a series of mild challenges, all of which with the exception of Texas, have gone their way.

The Wolf Pack have had consistent successes in recent years under coach David Carter, the St. Mary’s (CA) alum, but have fallen on rough times this season without an obvious go-to offensive performer.  So while the Bears struggled through a first half shooting just 25 percent from the field, Nevada never moved beyond shouting distance.

After halftime, Nevada’s offense collapsed and Cal’s Tyrone Wallace took over.

Wallace tallied 26 of his career-best 29 points in the second half and the Bears rallied for a 63-58 win at the Lawlor Events Center.  If Cal’s early schedule hasn’t significantly cleared their murky season outlook which envisions them as a middle-of-the-road Pac-12 team, it has helped them identify an offensive focal point in the emerging Wallace, who did a little of everything on Sunday.

“He made some big threes, got the free throw line, penetrated, made timely passes,” Coach Cuonzo Martin said.  “I thought he played well offensively, got some big rebounds and our team fed off his energy and his ability to pass and make plays.”

“I knew my team needed me to take it to the next level, so I tried to go out there and defend and score,” Wallace said.

The junior from Bakersfield had a stocking-stuffer statistically with eight rebounds, four assists, two steals and a blocked shot.  Meanwhile, the Wolf Pack didn’t have anyone like Wallace, and they suffered because of it.  Nevada, missed 27 of 34 shots from the field after halftime, and did so in a decidedly Cal-friendly manner.  The Wolf Pack missed their first eight shots of the half while Cal surged, and then clanked their final six shots allowing the Bears to hold on.

Cal was also led by senior David Kravish, who contributed 11 points and six rebounds while Jordan Mathews had a tough afternoon, missing seven of his eight shots in a five-point performance.

Nevada center A.J. West was the only member of his team to finish in double figures with 13 points and six rebounds.

No California basketball coach has started his career as successfully as Martin has since Ben Cherington opened 7-0 in 1916.  The lofty start had the new coach saying complimentary things about his players.

“They do a tremendous job of representing California,” Martin said.  “They want to win games, and for us those are great things to go through.  Of course, you’d like to win games by 20 points, but to go through tough things and find a way to win games together, it only helps you grow.”

The Bears next take on a third Mountain West opponent in Wyoming on Wednesday at Haas Pavilion.  The Bears hope to have injured Jabari Bird back for that one while Wyoming is hopeful their star, Larry Nance Jr. will continue to regain his full strength after injury issues to start the season.

Oilers Slip By Sharks 2-1

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AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Jason Frans

By Mary Walsh

A 2-1 loss in Edmonton ended the San Jose Sharks’ winning streak at four, and the Oilers’ losing streak at eleven.

As they have done often lately, the Sharks started slow in Edmonton. A poor first period did not seem to hurt them much, as they finished tied at zero. But their sluggish start may have given the Oilers some much needed confidence. Fairly solid defense in the third allowed the Oilers to hang on to a 2-1 lead and break their eleven game losing streak. It was also the Oilers’ first win this season over a western conference team.

The game winning goal went off of Sharks’ defenseman Brenden Dillon. After the game, he said: “A shot like that, it’s going wide, I’m kind of almost just trying to get out of the way, it hits me perfectly and just goes in.”

The Sharks’ lone goal was scored by Tye McGinn, in his first game since November 29. He described the goal after the game:

I just tried to get to the net. Paddy’s a great player, he can find you pretty much anywhere you are on the ice, so I tried to go to the net as quick as I could and he made a great pass.

It was a great pass, a very pretty backhand pass from the corner. Marleau had a very good game in general. He led the team in shots, had a couple of breakaways, and created several good chances for his team.

The Oilers goals were scored by Nail Yakupov and David Perron. Devan Dubnyk made 21 saves for the win, while Al Stalock made 22 saves on 24 shots. It was Stalock’s first game after returning from a knee injury.

The Oilers outshot the Sharks 11-2 in the first period. That may have helped goaltender Al Stalock find his game in a hurry. After the game, Stalock said as much: “I felt good, got some work early, got into the game, got my legs under me and got into it. So it was good that way.”

The first period saw Tomas Hertl miss a few shifts with an arm or wrist problem after he fell over an Oiler, but he was back in play before the end of the first.

The first penalty of the game went to Mirco Mueller for delay of game. That was almost 15 minutes into the period. A close call during the power play had Al Stalock scrambling but alert. He did stop it in his skates. Another Edmonton chance found Stalock out of the net and playing the puck. The Sharks finished killing the penalty off without incident.

6:18 into the second period, James Sheppard and Keith Aulie went to the penalty box with fighting majors and minors for roughing (Sheppard) and boarding (Aulie). Neither team got a power play out of that but just over a minute later Brenden Dillon was called for holding.

Seconds into the power play, Jordan Eberle skated through the paint in front of Stalock as the goaltender came out to freeze the puck. After the game, Stalock explained how he and Eberle ended up tangled up away from the net: “He had his stick under my glove and I was trying to freeze it and he wanted the puck and he won the battle.”

That became more complicated when Justin Braun, skating backwards, fell over Stalock, leaving the net open and two Sharks out of play. The Oilers managed to capitalize on that and take the lead with a power play goal. Nail Yakupov was the beneficiary, with assists going to Eberle and Jeff Petry.

A couple of minutes after that vaudevillian moment, the Sharks came back with a goal from Tye McGinn off a very slick backhand pass from Patrick Marleau in the corner. It was McGinn’s first of the season and as a Shark. Assists went to Marleau and Brent Burns.

By the end of the second, the Sharks had nine shots for the period, to the Oilers’ seven.

Early in the third period, Logan Couture drew a high sticking penalty against Boyd Gordon. The Sharks power play did not go particularly well, despite a good start. Once the Oilers got the puck out, the Sharks could not get set up again. Edmonton responded with some aggressive offense, keeping the Sharks on their heels for several shifts. That ended with a roughing penalty to Oilers forward Steven Pinizzotto at 5:30. This Sharks power play was a little more tenacious. Even after the penalty expired, the Sharks continued to attack for several shifts.

The Oilers got themselves together by the middle of the period, and after a long spell in the Sharks’ zone, took their second lead of the game. A shot from David Perron near the faceoff dot deflected off of Brenden Dillon and in. Assists went to Teddy Purcell and Mark Fayne.

Patrick Marleau led the Sharks in shots with five. Brenden Dillon led the team in hits with four. Brent Burns led the team in ice time with 24:33.

Tayor Hall led the Oilers in shots with three. Andrew Ference led is team in hits with six, and in ice time with 26:25.

With Matt Nieto out for a second game in a row, and Tyler Kennedy injured in Saturday’s game, the Sharks had all available skaters in the game with Tye McGinn and John Scott both playing.

The Sharks play the Oilers again on Tuesday in San Jose at 7:30 PT.