Month: March 2015

Cardinal comeback falls short at ASU; ‘Curtain’ is non-factor

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By DANIEL DULLUM
Sports Radio Service
Thursday, March 5, 2015

TEMPE, Arizona – Following Arizona State’s 67-62 men’s basketball win over Stanford late Thursday – very late – at Wells Fargo Arena, Sun Devils Coach Herb Sendek found himself fielding yet more questions about the notorious Curtain of Distraction.

“I was asked to divulge the secret of the Curtain of Distraction this morning on the Today show,” Sendek said. “I did not give in to their pressure. I would not yield!

For those who haven’t heard, the Curtain of Distraction is a bizarre form of pantomime by ASU students designed to distract opposing free throw shooters that has drawn national attention. Stanford handled their antics – involving faux sharks, goats, etc. – as well as anyone, hitting 6 of 9 free throws in the second half.

“I’ve answered more questions about the Curtain than I have about (former Sun Devil) James Hardin,” Sendek added. “It’s just a mythical thing. Nothing more.”

Stanford (18-11 overall, 9-8 Pac-12) had other problems – most notably the early exit of starting forward Michael Humphrey, who left with an ankle injury four minutes into the first half.

“Michael’s been playing so well and we’re used to him having an impact on the game for us, whether it’s shot blocking, rebounding or being able to score inside,” Cardinal Coach Johnny Dawkins said. “It was a tough blow that came at an inopportune time for us.

“We’ll have to have the trainer take a look at him tonight and see where he is. Hopefully, it’s not a severe injury.”

Aside from the Curtain’s side show, the second half provided a brisker pace than the first 20 minutes. Trailing 37-23 at the break, Stanford methodically put together a 24-10 run to tie the game at 47-47, capped by an Anthony Brown 3-pointer with 10:

But the Cardinal were unable to surge ahead. Shaquielle McKissic responded with a three-point play to put ASU ahead to stay with 10:16 left. Though a tip-in by Stefan Nastic pulled Stanford to within 52-51 with 7:55 remaining, the Cardinal would get no closer, as Arizona State built and maintained leads of four to six points down the stretch.

The game was tied six times, with four lead changes. Arizona State (16-14 overall, 8-9 Pac-12) snapped a two-game losing streak while handing the Cardinal their second straight loss.

“This was a gut-check win,” Sendek said. “To bounce back from the last two losses we had the way we did it was something to be proud of.”

McKissick, a senior forward from Seattle, finished with a career-high 23 points – 9 of 15 from the floor, including two 3-pointers – to go with a team-high seven rebounds. Tra Holder added 15 points for the Sun Devils.

Many of McKissick’s points came from slashing, physical drives to the basket, including one in the first half that involved a blind layup as he was being fouled.

“I always encourage Shaq to drive to the hole,” Sendek said. “Whether we’re facing a man or zone defense, it doesn’t matter. Shaq is always best when he’s able to get into the paint.”

Nastic and Chasson Randle each had 16 points to lead Stanford. Randle was 4 of 13 from the floor overall, 4 of 10 behind the 3-point arc. Randle’s 3-point shooting helped the Cardinal stay in the game in the final 10 minutes.

Stanford outrebounded the Sun Devils 36-29. Reid Travis pulled down eight boards to lead the Cardinal with Nastic adding six.

Both teams struggled from the floor in the first half, with the game tied 8-8 after eight minutes. Part of Stanford’s problem was turnovers and a stingy sagging zone defense by ASU. The game was tied again at 11-11 and 13-13 before the Sun Devils forged an 8-2 run, capped by a Roosevelt Scott jumper.

Stanford came back with a 6-0 run to knot the game again at 23-23 on a pair of Nastic free throws with 3:23 left in the half. Arizona State responded with a 12-0 run to close the half, sparked by a Holder 3-pointer, a three-point play by McKissic, and a technical foul against Nastic that led to two Gerry Blakes free throws.

The Cardinal travel to Tucson for a Saturday afternoon game against Arizona on CBS. California visits ASU at 11:30 a.m. PST.

“It’s another tough team,” Dawkins said of U of A. “But there are terrific teams all across the Pac-12 Conference.”

On looking ahead to the Pac-12 Tournament, Dawkins said, “We’re just trying to get our rotations down, now that most everybody is back. We’ll try to reinsert Rosco Allen as we try to get our rhythm and continuity back.”

The announced crowd of 5,345 was a direct reflection of the 9 p.m. tipoff to accommodate Fox Sports 1.

S.F. Giants & Oakland A’s podcast with Michael Duca: Pence’s arm fracture will end consecutive streak at end at 383; Zito likes his performance in spring debut

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by Michael Duca

SCOTTSDALE AZ–The ball that hit Giants outfielder Hunter Pence that fractured his left arm came at the area where all the wrist bones come together. It should not be a major issue on his throwing arm and if his wrist had been bad by the injury he should be able to roll that bottom hand and have the strength to pull the bat through.

It’s a set back there’s no question about it, this is a guy who’s the only person in Major League Baseball whose played every game since mid 2012. He led the Giants in games played, hits, runs scored, RBI’s, stolen bases, and a home run. Other than that he hasn’t contributed much.

Realistically Pence will be out of commission for the next six to eight weeks and the last week of it will be rehab, it will probably take about four weeks in a cast for it to fully heal. He’s going to miss all of spring training and he’ll spend a couple weeks to rehab at Triple A Sacramento to get himself into hitting condition and for him to get used to seeing live pitching.

I’m sure he will stay shape, he will work on his running, he will practice throwing but I’m sure he will not be able to throw it back because his catching hand will be in a cast. With him not being in the line up it will bring the Giants to another time when the Giants remembered what it was like not to have catcher Buster Posey out when he had a broken leg.

Oakland A’s pitcher Barry Zito likes his performance in camp: A’s pitcher Barry Zito has been working with a pitching coach for about seven or eight months now. He said that he squared up his delivery a little bit and he’s getting back to the way he’s been throwing when he was with the A’s years ago.

He never did have anything remotely like throwing an overpowering fastball but he doesn’t need one, he didn’t have to throw 90 MPH and you can ask former Mariners veteran Jamie Moyer who lasted so long with a very successful pitch that didn’t require much velocity and neither did former Braves pitcher Greg Maddox.

For Zito it’s just a matter of placing the ball where you want it and keeping it off the center percussion of the bat and throw some off speed stuff and keep hitters off stride. Zito needs to try to keep the ball from the hitter squaring up and if he does so he’s going to have very successful results. There’s never been a question about his results or his commitment to succeed.

What Zito did on the Giants in 2010 was perhaps the greatest act of sportsmanship that any big league teammate could have done since I’ve been following the game in my lifetime covering or watching MLB. Zito was a healthy scratch for the 2010 post season and sucked it up and supported his teammates. You can rival it with Giants pitcher Tim Lincecum in 2012 who learned everything about that from 2010. Zito was the first guy out on the field in all three rounds of those playoffs and World Series in 2010 and was the last guy to leave the field after the World Series win.

Michael Duca is covering the A’s and Giants at spring training in Arizona for http://www.sportsradioservice.com and listen to his podcast below

Green, Warriors Pull Ahead Late to Beat Bucks

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By: Ben Leonard

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Wednesday was Draymond Green’s birthday, and in typical fashion, he was all smiles as he lead the Warriors to a 102-93 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks. Green scored 28 points for the Warriors in their 46th victory of the season, and was deadly from long range, making 4 of his 9 three-point attempts. Even after being a little weary coming home from their long six-game road trip, the Warriors showed no signs of weakness in a solid win.

This is not to say Jason Kidd’s up-and-coming Bucks rolled over; they fought well against Golden State, using their length to win the battle on the glass. Like most teams against the small Warriors, the Bucks held the rebound advantage 47-34, buoyed by Zaza Pachulia’s game-high 11 boards. For Golden State, win moved them to 28-7 against the deep Western Conference, and started off the homestand on a high note.

The game was certainly well-fought and close throughout, with the “Splash Brothers” having trouble in the early going. Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson were held to 11-32 shooting from the floor, largely due to the fact that Kidd’s Bucks sold out to stop the dynamic duo.Curry had struggled mightily early, scoring just 7 points in the first three quarters. This game-plan left Green open to do his thing from long distance in place Curry and Thompson.For this reason, the Warriors found themselves up just 72-71 at the end of the third quarter.

The momentum swung in the fourth quarter, after the struggling Curry was benched after not getting back on defense with 4:18 left in the third, giving him a much needed physical and mental break. After his return at the start of the fourth, Curry and the Warriors were simply lights out. Curry made three straight three pointers with just over nine minutes to play on a poor shooting night, proving to be the difference in the game. Curry may have *only* scored 19, but his presence was certainly felt in his 12-point fourth.

In a post-game interview on CSNBayArea, Coach Steve Kerr credited Draymond Green as the key player in their small ball set in the fourth “because he can play the five.” It certainly worked for Golden State, who executed their small set to perfection, forcing 16 turnovers in the second half. As Kerr put it, it seems like “the whole league has shifted every game” to try to counter their successful unit.

Despite its success, the Warriors may look to break up this small unit, in that the club is rumored to be looking at embattled center JaVale McGee to provide depth, with Dallas and Miami also in the mix. Center Andrew Bogut, who scored just 7 points Wednesday, is injury-prone and McGee’s potential, if harnessed, could prove to lethal off the bench. The squad will take on one of his potential suitors, Dallas, on Friday night. Common sense might suggest that change could be more lethal to the Warriors’ clubhouse than McGee’s potential. If they continue to play like they did Wednesday in the fourth, the Warriors could be title-contenders with or without Bogut or McGee.

Cover Image: By Kent_Bazemore_speaks_at_Warriors_open_practice_with_Green,_Barnes,_and_Ezeli_in_background.jpg: Rose White derivative work: Lpdrew [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)%5D, via Wikimedia Commons

Kings blown out by Spurs on the road

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By: Eric He

A night after routing the Knicks by 38 points, the Sacramento Kings were on the receiving end of a rout on Wednesday, falling 112-85 to the Spurs on the road.

On the back-end of a back-to-back, the Kings looked fatigued and it showed as the game went on.

After a close first quarter, the Kings were outscored 28-11 by the Spurs in the second quarter. It wasn’t that the Spurs were dominant offensively, but clamped down on defense as the Kings shot 4-of-15 from the field.

Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green shot the ball well to help the Spurs gain separation and a 54-38 advantage at halftime.

The second half wasn’t much better, as the Kings could not keep up with the Spurs on defense and were swarmed on the offensive end. DeMarcus Cousins had a rough night, defended well by the Spurs. He finished with 14 points on 5-of-12 shooting.

San Antonio led 85-61 after three quarters, and pushed its lead to as high as 40 at 110-70 in the fourth quarter.

Leonard finished with a game-high 21 points and Tony Parker had 19. Tim Duncan played just 19 minutes and finished with five points; no Spurs starter played more than 30 minutes as everyone on the Spurs’ active roster got on the court.

The Kings shot just 37.2 percent from the field and committed 17 turnovers. Cousins’ 14 points actually led the team, as no player had much of a scoring output whatsoever.

It looked promising at first.

The Kings started the game missing their first four shots and committing three turnovers, allowing the Spurs to jump out to an early 11-2 lead. But the Kings clawed their way back in it, and a fastbreak layup by Ray McCallum tied the  game at 18-18. Derrick Williams scored seven consecutive points for the Kings late in the quarter, and the Kings led 27-26 after one.

Sacramento has another back-to-back upcoming: in Orlando on Friday and Miami on Saturday.

Notes

Frustration got the better of the Kings in the second, as both Jason Thompson and Rudy Gay picked up technical fouls. … The Kings drop three of four games to the Spurs in the season series. Sacramento is 55-109 all-time against San Antonio. … The Kings are 3-4 since George Karl took over as head coach.

Sacramento Kings podcast by Charlie O: Kings do this game in their sleep with a whopping 38 point victory over Knicks

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by Charlie O Mallonee

SACRAMENTO–The Sacramento Kings who played in New York last night and won soundly at Madison Square Garden 124-86. This was a make up game that was called off due to a snow blizzard in February. The Knicks could have used a cancelation on Tuesday night after getting upended by the Kings.

The Kings who had to go back to New York were not particularly looking forward to the trip to New York not because they didn’t want to play there but because everybody wants to play the Knicks. The junior high school up from Sleep Train Arena wants to play the Knicks because the Knicks are so terrible.

The Kings started this seven game road trip and all of a sudden they do this make up game they had to travel to New York and play a Tuesday night game then fly overnight to San Antonio and the Kings are expected to get into San Antonio about three in the morning Wednesday. Then they play the Spurs on Wednesday night and they’ll go to bed in Orlando Wednesday night because they have to fly right out of San Antonio after the game to Orlando.

So this is a crazy trip, so to get this trip off to such a spectacular start Kings head coach George Karl and the Kings have to be very excited about annihilating the Knicks by 38 points in the Garden. The Kings had a 100 points at the end of three quarters, that was the kind of run away game it was. They were up 65-30 at half time.

The Kings had six players that scored in double figures on Tuesday night that is just incredible and they were playing the kind of ball that Karl wants them to play. They were executing, they were fast breaking, they scored 29 points on fast breaks to 11 points for fast breaks for the Knicks. That just shows you the transition that they were going on.

The Kings Rudy Gay had 25 points in just over 26 minutes, DeMarcus Cousins 22 points in 28 minutes, that was big because Cousins was just coming back after just missing a couple of games. They didn’t have to leave Cousins out there for 35-38 minutes just to get a win. That was a big thing because they could rest Cousins a little bit and he’ll be rested and be able to play in San Antonio on Wednesday night.

Charlie O is a beat reporter for the Sacramento Kings on http://www.sportsradioservice.com listen to Charlie on the Kings podcast below

Sharks hang tough

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Photo credit: Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press

By Pearl Allison Lo

San Jose faced a stiffer challenge Tuesday, but prevailed once again in a 6-2 win over the Vancouver Canucks.

The Sharks (72) are now three points away from the Canucks and kept pace with the Calgary Flames and the Los Angeles Kings, who both won.

Antti Niemi stopped 26 shots as he and company have now won five straight at Vancouver.

San Jose’s Matt Nieto had two goals and an assist, the Canucks’ Henrik Sedin had two goals, his twin Daniel had two assists and the Sharks’ Patrick Marleau had two assists.

Jacob Markstrom did not have the easiest of season debuts as San Jose continued their scoring from the Montreal game.

After going back down on Saturday and then coming back up from Worcester Monday, Chris Tierney scored the first of the Sharks’ goals and his second NHL goal. Vancouver turned over the puck and Tierney’s defenseman had no stick as Tierney scored his second straight at Rogers Arena. Barclay Goodrow aided at 3:03.

The Sharks’ Melker Karlsson had the help of lucky bounces and himself as he saw the puck come from over the top of the net. While he was on his side, he got a hold of the puck and then facing the opposite way of the net, put the puck past Markstrom. Joe Pavelski and Matt Irwin helped as Karlsson also scored the last time the teams met.

27 seconds later, Logan Couture made it 3-0 as Nieto and Marleau assisted. The team made their shots count. At this point, it was just their fourth shot.

Eddie Lack then came in for Markstrom.

San Jose was challenged in the second period. Special teams, defense and offense were pivotal in their survival.

Henrik got the Canucks on the board in the second during a power play that started with less than 30 seconds left in the first. He scored at 1:01, aided by Daniel and Radim Vrbata.

Henrik then got his third goal in two games at 9:12 as Niemi’s left side was exposed with no defender. Daniel got the primary assist again and Chris Higgins the second as Vancouver made it a one-goal game.

Marleau found Nieto, who gave the Sharks a much needed 4-2 cushion at 11:45.

That goal became so much more important when over a minute later, the Canucks had a 5-on-3 advantage. A high stick to Marleau was tacked on to a Goodrow cross check, but San Jose escaped unscathed.

The third period saw the Sharks notch two empty-netters, which gave them the most this season so far, 14, over Vancouver with 13.

Nieto scored the first goal, giving him a two-goal game for the second time.

Marc-Edouard Vlasic followed suit less than a minute later.

Game notes: San Jose’s Justin Braun finished a game high +4, teammate Brenden Dillon had a game-tying four hits and a game-high four blocked shots, the Canucks outhit the Sharks 22 to 12, won faceoffs by 65 to 35% and had 16 missed shots to six. San Jose now kicks off a four-game home set, starting with Vancouver again, Saturday at 7pm.

San Francisco Giants podcast by Jeremy Kahn: No need to worry about Mad Bum after his spring training debut

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by Jermey Kahn

SAN FRANCISCO–We all know San Francisco Giant pitcher Tim Lincecum’s stats and his resume and he’s a two time Cy Young Award winner he’s been with the team for all three World Series championships starting in 2010 and he’s struggled a little bit in the last couple of seasons but no worries he’s going to be back.

He’s Lincecum anything can happen and you know how this game rolls and it happens a lot and the Freak, the Franchise will be back this season and we’ll see how Timmy works the plate. He went back to his father Chris whose helping him out again with his pitching skills after whatever was happening the last two seasons wasn’t working.

Lincecum played once in the post season after the Giants won that third championship last season, so this is a really smart decision of Lincecum getting back with his dad. Also he’s getting help from Giants pitching coach Dave Righetti who is the best pitching in MLB bar none.

The pitch clock has been used in different levels of baseball and with this new rule about the pitch clock I’ve seen this happen and it happens all the time and it’s really good that MLB is really doing this. Madison Baumgarner who gave up four runs in 1.2 innings in Tuesday’s game against the Oakland A’s, it’s his first time since he’s pitched since October my gosh and it’s spring training and the game doesn’t count.

Wait until April for that first game in Arizona we’ll see what the Mad Bum will bring to the game then when it counts. He’s been in camp for two weeks, my God if people get mad about a spring training game on March 3rd there’s problems here. There is a pitch clock and you have 20 seconds to throw, the pitchers are not rushing or shouldn’t be under any pressure it could change the game but we’ll see but for right now who knows.

The move to have Nori Aoki to lead off and move Angel Pagan to the third hole will be a good move for the Giants having Aoki in the top of the order and the Pagan hitting third, Buster Posey fourth, followed by Joe Panik, Hunter Pence and Brandon Belt. That’s a good one through six in the line up right there. That can be a very dangerous one through six when the season starts again in April.

Jeremy Kahn is a San Francisco Giants beat reporter for http://www.sportsradioservice.com join him on the podcast below

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary: Baseball six rules

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by Amaury Pi Gonzalez

Attention baseball fans! Coming to your city! Better get used to them! There will be six(6)new rules this 2015 season in order to “speed up” the game.

1.Hitters must keep at least one foot inside the batter’s box at all times, barring exceptions like foul balls, wild pitches, or if the umpire grants him time out.

2.Pitchers must throw a pitch within 20 seconds of receiving the ball. Clocks posted in each dugout will count down the 20 seconds.

3.There will be a maximum break between innings of 2:05, with a clock keeping track. Hitters must be in the batter’s box by 1:45. If the hitter’s not ready, the umpire can call a strike. If the pitcher doesn’t throw a pitch by 2:05, the umpire can call a ball.

4.Teams will have a maximum of 2:30 to change pitchers, with the clock starting as soon as the reliever enters the playing field.

5.Teams are limited to a maximum of three mound visits per game, not including pitching changes. This applies to trips to the mound by managers, coaches, and catchers.

6.Pitchers no longer have to deliver four balls for an intentional walk. The manager can simply signal to the umpire.

The average MLB game lasted three hours and eight minutes in 2014

I agree with the first five, but I have a disagreement on number six. I think the pitchers should still deliver four balls when the manager calls for the intentional walk. With men on base there is always the opportunity that the pitcher might throw a wild pitch, while delivering the four intentional balls; I believe that takes away from the game.

As a traditionalist, I do not believe in many changes to the game of baseball, which it is after all, a unique game, unlike any other, unlike basketball and football and soccer and hockey where the arenas are all the same dimensions in each city, baseball is the most colorful and different, each park has its peculiarities, Fenway Park in Boston and Coors Field in Denver are as different as day and night, and that is what makes the game of baseball(among other nuances)a great game.

This was bound to happen, in a world of fast communications, little patience and quick answers baseball doesn’t conform to these modern models in the sports world. When I was a kid growing up, I learned how to score a game, most kids going to baseball games today have absolutely no idea on how to score, or how to follow game, but they can Twitter around the world, and text the person sitting in the next seat.

Baseball faces those challenges. There was a time where baseball was the national pastime, today Football has passed baseball, thanks to television(NFL is made perfectly for television)and other sports are not far behind. The new Commissioner indicated he is open to ideas of a shorter season. Less than 162 games, and that I think it will eventually happen, and very soon.

It will be interesting this season, the first with these new rules. Everybody is going to have to adapt to it, veteran players might have a harder time, than younger players, meanwhile it is also a learning process for all the managers.

One of the things that always separated baseball from the rest, is the lack of clocks. Obviously that is changing. However, extra innings will continue, for those than missed double headers and want more baseball, so we can always find the glass half full…or half empty.

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

Kings Trounce Knicks At The Garden

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By: Ben Leonard

The Kings haven’t had much to smile about in a poor campaign, but their trouncing of the Knicks on Tuesday certainly gave them a reason to grin. Sacramento humiliated New York by a final score of 124-86, even without guard Darren Collison and forward Eric Moreland.

Sacramento jumped out to an early lead, going up 35-19 after the first quarter, but took it into overdrive in the second. The Kings went on a 22-4 run that stunned the Knicks, and Sacramento never looked back. The Kings employed a team effort to emerge victorious, with six players scoring in double figures.

One of those six was star guard Rudy Gay, who scored 25 points in just 27 minutes, grabbing seven rebounds in the process. His three pointer with just over six minutes left in the contest put New York in a game-high 44 point hole, down an astounding 92-48. Without ‘Melo and confidence in their game, the Knicks were listless out on the court. They simply had no answer for the Kings, of all teams, allowingDeMarcus Cousins to score 22, and Ben McLemore to chip in with 20 points of his own. Gay, Cousins, and McLemore all sat out the fourth quarter with the game well in hand.

For all of the Knicks’ struggles, the most telling was that their starting lineup scored just 24 points. Guys like Jason Smith, Shane Larkin, and Alexey Shved all were in double figures, scoring 13, 13, and 15 points, respectively, albeit in garbage time. Sacramento moved to 21-37 with the win, and are now 3-3 under new head coach George Karl, who supplanted Tyrone Corbin. There is talk that the Kings disrespected Corbin in the hiring process, but nonetheless the move has seemed to be effective for Sacramento, which has beaten Boston and the West’s second best team, Memphis, since the swap.

 

Cover Image: By Keith Allison from Owings Mills, USA (George Karl) [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)%5D, via Wikimedia Commons

 

 

 

Vlade Divac is named a Kings V.P.

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment

divac

by Charlie O. Mallonee

The Sacramento Kings announced today the appointment of former star player Vlade Divac as Vice President of Basketball and Franchise Operations.

Divac will be responsible for advising the Kings front office and coaching staff. He will also assist the organization with its global marketing efforts. Divac will be involved with the evaluation and developing relationships with international talent for the Kings.

“With an unparalleled philanthropic track record that spans the globe, Vlade Divac is the epitome of our NBA 3.0 philosophy,” said Kings owner Vivek Ranadive. “He has a unique perspective and global stature that will only further elevate our organization around the world.”

“It’s a great honor returning to the city that has provided a lifetime of unforgettable experiences,” said Divac. “Sacramento and the Kings organization were always in my thoughts and I often dreamed of having a role in helping our amazing fans realize the ultimate NBA prize. I’m thankful to Vivek for the opportunity and look forward to creating more special memories here.”

“Over the past year that I have gotten to know Vlade, he has proven himself as an ambassador to the Sacramento community,” said Kings General Manager Pete D’alessandro. “The organization is fortunate to have him as an advisor. I look forward to his contributions, especially with respect to his knowledge of the international game.”

Since retiring from basketball as a player, Divac has been involved in a number of administrative and leadership positions. He has spent a great deal of time on his philanthropic efforts focused on helping needy children in Serbia and around the world. In 2009, Divac was named the President of the Serbian Olympic Committee.