Month: March 2015

Giants’ ace Cain remains positive after rough start

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By DANIEL DULLUM
Sports Radio Service
Saturday, March 14, 2015

MESA, Arizona – The road to recovery for San Francisco pitcher Matt Cain may have hit a speedbump in Saturday’s 5-2 win by Oakland over the Giants split squad at Hohokam Stadium, but the Giants’ ace righthander isn’t letting one rough outing define his recovery from last year’s elbow surgery.

“It felt all right,” Cain said of his right elbow, which had bone chips surgically removed last August. His last game on the mound, prior to spring training, was last July 9.

So far, Cain said his range of motion is nearly back to normal.

“I don’t think it’s that big of an adjustment,” Cain said. “You’re just not used to being able to do it, being pretty much off for the whole offseason. Now, it’s just making sure the arm is used to doing it. “I felt fine with what I was throwing. It’s something I just need to keep repeating.”

Cain (0-1) took the loss after the Athletics roughed him up for four earned runs on six hits in 1 2/3 innings, with one strikeout and no walks. Cain left after throwing 44 pitches, but said he didn’t think he was on a strict pitch count.

“The biggest thing is to eventually get to the sixth inning,” Cain said. “That’s always a goal. You just want to get there.”

“I got the pitch count up a little more, got to work pretty much every scenario, I just have to make better pitches in certain situations, and I have to have better location.”

Cain’s first spring start was a two-inning no-decision outing against the Los Angeles Dodgers on March 9. That day, Cain tossed a pair of scoreless, hitless innings. Saturday’s 1 2/3-inning stint didn’t go quite as well, but the veteran right-hander is more concerned with staying on course as his recovery process continues.

“It was good to go out there and try some different things,” Cain said, adding that in the A’s three-run second, “I didn’t make some pitches that I wanted to.”

Asked about how soon he’ll return to the mound, Cain said, “I’m sure it’ll be the normal five days rest, and go from there.”

A’s split-squad downs Giants

Center fielder Billy Burns continued his hot-hitting for the Athletics with a two singles and a triple. Burns leads the Cactus League in base hits with 12, to go with a .419 average, three stolen bases and three triples. He also scored three of Oakland’s five runs on Saturday.

Ben Zobrist, who is hitting .368 this spring, had a double and two runs batted in. A’s shortstop Niuman Romero, a non-roster invitee, was 2-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI.

Jesse Chavez (2-0) went the first 4 1/3 innings to get the win. Chavez struck out four without a walk, and gave up two earned runs on five hits. Brock Huntzinger, another non-roster invitee, struck out one and walked one in a scoreless ninth to earn his first CL save.

San Francisco third baseman Casey McGehee was 2-for-3 and drove in both of the Giants’ runs with a pair of doubles. Five Giants relievers – Braulia Lara, Jake Dunning, Jeremy Affeldt, Sergio Casilla and Brett Bochy – combined to give up one run on six hits over the last 6 1/3 innings.

Meanwhile, in Las Vegas, the Chicago Cubs defeated the other Oakland squad 3-1. Kris Bryant, a Las Vegas native, homered twice for the Cubs. Max Muncy drove in the only A’s run, his sixth Cactus League RBI.

CACTUS NEEDLES: Al Rosen, former president and general manager of the Giants and standout third baseman for the Cleveland Indians, died Friday at 91. Rosen, a four-time All-Star, is the last Cleveland Indian to win the American League MVP award (1953). He also served as an executive with the Yankees and Houston, and, while running the Giants, was Executive of the Year in 1987. … Former Cy Young Award winner Barry Zito is trying to make the A’s as a non-roster invitee. Zito, who sat out last season, has made two appearances with Oakland with no decisions (one start), and a 7.71 ERA in 4 2/3 innings. Zito has struck out three and walked one. … Going into Saturday’s games, San Francisco pitchers have posted a 6.26 ERA and surrendered 17 home runs, most of any team in either the Cactus or Grapefruit Leagues. … Oakland INF Rangel Ravelo underwent successful surgery on a partial ECU tendon tear in his right wrist. He will be recovering for the next six to eight weeks.

San Francisco 49ers report: Former USC running back star Reggie Bush inks deal with 49ers expected to take Gore’s spot

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by Tony Renteria

SANTA CLARA–Last week after much speculation and talk, former USC running back Reggie Bush is coming to the San Francisco 49ers. The persistent rumor of Bush coming to San Francisco has been put to rest with Bush’s signing with the 49ers on Saturday afternoon.

Bush was in talking stages with the New England Patriots and it was said by 49ers general manager Trent Baalke after Bush negotiated with the 49ers last week and headed out to New England that the 49ers were moving forward and it sounded like Bush would sign on with the more successful organization Patriots also Bush was considering going back to his former team the New Orleans Saints as well.

The mass exodus the 49ers have seen in the last two weeks, running back Frank Gore leaving for the Colts, guard Mike Iupati, defensive tackle Justin Smith and linebacker Patrick Willis retiring, fullback Bruce Miller’s existence with the team is hanging in the balance over alleged domestic violence accusations, cornerback Chris Culliver signed a four year contract this week with Washington and Perrish Cox will not be coming back as he’s in talks with the Tennessee Titans and talk last week put 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick as being shopped by the team but the rumors were denied by Baalke. The 49ers are trying to turn the page of a tough chapter after the departure of former head coach Jim Harbaugh.

Bush joins the 49ers at a time when 49ers right offensive linebacker Aldon Smith just restructured his 2015 contract last week with the team. The 49ers have been entertaining former Chargers cornerback Shareece Wright, Wright had 18 pass breakups and one interception last season and had been with San Diego for two seasons. Although there are many more spots to fill in the gaps on the Niners the organization is happy to get Bush in trying to solve that puzzle.

Bush 30, is expected to take Gore’s place in the running back role, Bush could share running back duties with Carlos Hyde. Bush over the years has suffered a number of injuries, he’s a different running back from two years ago when he used to average a 1,000 yards a season with the Detroit Lions in what is said to be his final year of his prime.

Bush ran for only 297 yards and had only two touchdowns in 11 games for the Lions last season, Bush also caught 40 passes for 253 yards. In the 2013 season he had a career year running for 1,006 yards and had four touchdowns in 14 games. Previous to coming to Detroit he ran for the Miami Dolphins and the New Orleans Saints.

Bush won the Heisman Trophy at USC in 2005. Bush’s parents were given a free home and all the trimmings to stay in while Bush was a running back at USC and it was one of many gifts that Bush received when at USC. After an NCAA investigation the league sanctioned him and he voluntarily returned the trophy for receiving gifts.

Bush was charged by the NCAA, violations for student athletes receiving gifts and the NCAA also caught other USC players who were said to be receiving gifts during that time and shortly after the investigation former USC head coach Pete Carroll left for the NFL to coach the Seattle Seahawks. The Trojans were declared bowl ineligible after the discipline was handed down.

Tony Renteria covers the NFL for http://www.sportsradioservice.com each week

Sharks Fall to Blackhawks 6-2

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By Mary Walsh

SAN JOSE– The San Jose Sharks lost to the Chicago Blackhawks by a score of 6-2 on Saturday afternoon. Losing to one of the top teams in the league is not the worst thing a team can do but the Sharks cannot afford to give up any point if they have any hope of making the post season. The game winner was scored by Brandon Saad for Chicago, with Patrick Sharp chipping in with two, Bryan Bickell, Duncan Keith and Marian Hossa scoring for the balance. Corey Crawford made 33 saves on 35 Sharks shots. Sharks goals were scored by Melker Karlsson and Joe Thornton, with Antti Niemi making 24 saves on 29 Chicago shots.

The Sharks played well through the first 40 minutes, but could not take the lead over Chicago. After the game, Joe Thornton said:

We played a solid two period game and the third goal is a heartbreaker and you think you can get back into it and the fourth one just puts it out of reach. Yeah, we played good for 40-some odd minutes tonight just not good enough.

Every player and coach the media spoke to after the game was asked whether Thornton Gate had been a distraction leading up to this game. Logan Couture answered it as follows:

No, no, no. Our job is to come here and play hockey, that’s what we did. Guys showed up, played hockey, I thought we played pretty well. Go home, get ready to go to practice on Monday and play again.

No, no, no, is pretty much what everyone said about whether the Wilson-Thornton comments were a distraction. If the team really thinks outside fuss is not a distraction then they are kidding themselves. Even if they do know it is a distraction, they won’t share any more of what goes on behind closed doors than has already been said.

Sometimes a distraction is not a bad thing– see their start to Saturday’s game. Sometimes an irrelevant noise can improve performance. How all of these parts are working together now for the Sharks we are not likely to learn. The truth today is that the Sharks lost when they need to win.

Blackhawks took the first penalty, Bickell for holding the stick. It took the Sharks five seconds to put the puck in the net but since Joe Pavelski had just fallen in the Chicago crease, the goal was called back.

As soon as the penalty had expired, the Blackhawks went the other way. More specifically, Patrick Sharp went the other way. He got one shot off in a near breakaway, and Niemi stopped that one. But the rebound came back to Sharp as he crossed the red line and he put it over the sprawling Sharks goaltender. Assists went to Antoine Vermette and Brent Seabrook.

To that point, the Shark were outshooting the Blackhawks 10-3.

Just past the midway point of the first. Melker Karlsson was called for holding the stick. The Sharks’ penalty kill was quite effective, ejecting the Blackhawks from the zone at a rate of roughly once every 30 seconds without giving up any good chances.

The Sharks continued shooting and outshooting their opponent, but it took almost eleven minutes before a couple of now familiar things occurred: Matt Irwin shot the puck, and a falling Melker Karlsson put the rebound into the net. Joe Pavelski was by the net too, and it hit him before coming to Karlsson. The assists went to Joe Pavelski and Matt Irwin.

End of period, shots were 14-9 Sharks, with the score tied.

An interference call at 1:08 went against Antoine Vermette to give the Sharks an early second period power play. The power play did not start well, including an almost leisurely short-handed breakaway for Jonathan Toews. Niemi stopped that and the Sharks finally reacted to bring the puck back the other way. The Sharks got credit for two shots on the power play but spent most of the two minutes in their own zone.

The Blackhawks looked like a team that knows where their teammates were going to be, what to expect and anticipate from their linemates. This is the sort of familiarity that breeds success. It is a hard formula to compete with when you have a lot of players who are new to the team or even their linemates. For the Sharks to hang with them as well as they did was a good sign for things to come.

The second penalty of the period was called against Dillon, again for interference, at 7:35. It was enough to make a conspiracy theorist think the penalties had been chosen and counted in advance, with the same call going against each team in each period.

With their first shot of the power play the Blackhawks retook the lead. Duncan Keith took a shot from the top of the circle, beating Niemi in the top right corner, as the goaltender was moving left. Time of the goal: 8:45, with assists to Marion Hossa and Brandon Saad.

With 8:33 left in the second, Jonathan Toews was called for tripping. The Sharks were not going to score in the first few seconds, but Brent Seabrook helped them out with a perfect tip of a Joe Thornton shot from the blue line. Assist went to Logan Couture and Brent Burns.

The second period ended with shots at 26-13 Sharks and the score tied again. The shots for the period were 12-4 Sharks.

The tie only lasted the intermission plus 1:21, when Mirco Mueller tripped near his own blue line and let Brendan Saad get by him. Saad took the puck all the way in and shot it by Niemi. Assists went to Teuvo Teravainen and Corey Crawford.

The next Chicago goal came after a prolonged defensive struggle by the Sharks. Several passes and attempts to clear went awry, and when Matt Irwin failed to catch the puck along the boards behind the Sharks net, Marian Hossa Brad Richards took it and had time to pass it to Bryan Bickell right in front of the net. He did not miss. Assists to Richards and Michal Rozsival.

The Sharks barely escaped giving up a fifth goal near the seven minute mark. Niemi came out to meet the shot but wound up down and out of his crease with Joe Pavelski sprawled behind him. The puck ended up under Pavelski until reinforcements could close in.

With 8:35 left in the period, Joe Thornton went to the box for hooking. The Sharks’ penalty kill started well, allowing no shots in the first minute and spending plenty of time in the Chicago end. In all, Chicago only had a couple of good chances, but the Sharks followed up with a second penalty, a tripping call to Barclay Goodrow. The penalty killers made a valiant effort but with just 17 seconds left in the period, Patrick Sharp let one rip from the blue line and it sailed right in to make it 5-2. Assists went to Brent Seabrook and Antoine Vermette.

The empty net goal was scored by Marian Hossa.

Melker Karlsson led the Sharks in shots with six. Tommy Wingels outdid himself with eight hits. John Scott led in blocked shots with three. Brent Burns led the Sharks in ice time with 22:42.

Patrick Sharp led the Blackhawks in shots with six. Andrew Desjardins led the Blackhawks in hits with two. Brent Seabrook led Chicago in blocked shots with four.

The Sharks next play on Tuesday in Winnipeg against the Jets. That game will start at 5:00pm PT.

Golden State Warriors podcast with David Zizmor: Curry, Thompson, Bogut, & Iguodala rested up and ready for some home cooking

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by David Zizmor

OAKLAND–The Golden State Warriors at some point in the season were going to attempt to rest some of the core of their players and they did on Friday night in Denver benching Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Andrew Bogut, and Andre Iguodala. They rested Bogut on the last big road trip they had in February when they went back east.

Bogut was going to sit in the game against Brooklyn on March 2 but in a game prior to that in Boston the Warriors Festus Ezeli got a technical foul and a one game suspension for pushing and shoving. Since Ezeli was out and he’s the back up center he would have started in Bogut’s place with him suspended the W’s had to put Bogut back in the line up.

The Warriors were definitely looking for a spot to get Bogut some rest as we already knew prior to this season the Warriors are very concerned about Bogut’s minutes he has that injury history. Anybody whose seven feet tall and as big as he is there is just a lot of wear and tear that would limit his time on the floor as much as possible.

In general everybody fresh in their memory from last season remembers Bogut was healthy for most of the season but he got an injury right at the end of the year and because he was out of that series in the first round you could argue that was the difference between winning and losing. That series went seven games and the Warriors didn’t have Bogut and if they have him they have a presence in the middle and their able to defend the Clippers Blake Griffin and Andre Jordan in last season’s post season and they don’t let anybody get by on the Clippers drive and that could have been the difference maker.

They want Bogut healthy and want him rested and their giving him rest whenever they can. This won’t be the last time Bogut sits once the Warriors wrap up their playoff position Bogut is barely going to see the floor until the playoffs. As for the other guys Curry and Thompson, now remember with them their obviously important to the team and they have played a lot in the last year.

Not only did they play all of last season the also played in the World Basketball Championships they logged extra minutes in the summer where a lot of guys normally wouldn’t. The Warriors have been doing their best to keep those guys from playing too much during the season. With Curry and Thompson they average around 32 or 33 minutes a night which is on the low side.

David Zizmor does commentary each week on the Warriors at http://www.sportsradioservice.com listen to his podcast below

Warriors Reserves Fall to Nuggets with Curry, Thompson, Bogut Benched

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By Matthew T.F. Harrington

Given the circumstances, Golden State Warriors fans couldn’t have been faulted if they chose other ways to spend their Friday nights than watching the Dubs face the Denver Nuggets in the Mile High City. After all, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr decided to give a handful of his regulars the night off.

Absent from the line-up were Most Valuable Player candidate Stephen Curry, his All-star running mate Klay Thompson as well as starting center Andrew Bogut and reserves Andre Iguodala and Marreese Speights, the latter of which was serving a one-game suspension for reckless driving. Still, lacking 67 percent of their offensive output, Golden State (51-13) managed to keep things interesting, ultimately falling to the Nuggets 114-103.

Justin Holiday, averaging 3.6 points per game this season, topped the Warriors with 23 points while Denver’s Kenneth Faried and Danilo Gallinari each put up 24 points on the punchless Dubs. Faried also pulled down game-high 17 rebounds to complete the eye-popping double-double.

Denver (25-41) took the early lead, outscoring the Warriors 34-26 but a 28-28 second quarter kept Denver from adding to the lead. Golden State outscored the Nuggets in only one quarter, the third, with a 29-20 run to pull ahead 83-82. The reserve brigade couldn’t close out the game though, allowing 32 Denver points to 20 in the final quarter to give Denver its fourth win in its last ten games.

The Warriors head home to Oracle Arena for a Saturday night showdown with the New York Knicks. More likely than not, Thompson and Curry will be on the court for the inter-conference tilt.

Kings implode in Philly

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NBA.com
NBA.com

by Charlie O. Mallonee

The Sacramento Kings had an 18 point lead over the Philadelphia 76ers with 8:46 to go in the third quarter of the game on Friday night. From that point on the Sixers started chipping away at the Sacramento lead until they took the lead 81-80 late in the third period. Philadelphia went on to defeat the Kings 114-107 in what is a stunning loss for the Kings.

When we looked at the Kings daunting eight game road trip and tried to project game outcomes, virtually every writer and commentator had Kings winning in Philly. Why not? The Sixers have consistently been one of the worst teams in the “the Association” all season. Some have even accused the Sixers of tanking because their performance has been so bad. So, predicting a Kings win versus the Sixers was a no brainer.

Then, you add to the mix the Kings big road win over the Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday night. Sacramento beat a team that is fighting for a playoff berth. That victory should have given the Kings the confidence and motivation to pick up their third win of the road trip in Philadelphia, but as the man said, “That’s why they play the game.”

The Sixers not only overcame an 18 point deficit but opened up a 13 point lead of their own in the fourth quarter. The Kings fought back and cut the Sixers lead to just three points with 1:15 left to play in the game.

The Sixers responded again to open up another solid lead. An alley-oop pass from Ish Smith to Nerlens Noel that resulted in an easy dunk with 41.9 seconds left in the game gave Philly 108-103 lead. The Sixers added six points off of free throws to seal the deal.

DeMarcus Cousins did everything he could do to lead his team to a win. Cousins scored 39 points in 40 minutes of playing time and added a career high 24 rebounds to his stats for the game. It was Cousins’ 40th double-double of the season.

Rudy Gay had a 24 point game while Derrick Williams added 15 of his own. Cousins, Gay and Williams were the only Kings to score in double figures. The Sacramento bench produced a meager 25 points.

Sacramento shot just 40.2-percent (35 for 87) from the floor. They were just four for 14 (28.6-percent) from 3-point range. The Kings went to free throw line 17 times more than the Sixers scoring 33 points from the line but it was not enough to bring them a victory.

The Kings turned the ball over 17 times and those miscues resulted in 27 Philadelphia points.

Robert Covington led the Sixers scoring with 24 points while Nerlens Noel put up 16. Jerami Grant scored 13. Mbah a Moute, Sampson, Thompson and Smith all scored 10 points apiece. The Sixers bench scored 47 points in the game.

Philadelphia shot 47.4-percent from the field (45 for 95).

Both teams are back in action on Saturday night. The Kings (22-41) have to play the Wizards in D.C. Washington is on a two game winning streak.

The Sixers (15-50) will host the Brooklyn Nets in a battle of non-playoff teams.

San Francisco Giants & Oakland A’s podcast with Michael Duca: Giants dealing with some injuries; A’s Phegley considered best catcher ever seen

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by Michael Duca

SCOTTSDALE AZ–You just hope that the San Francisco Giants Hunter Pence heals as well as pitcher Matt Cain seems to have. Most of them seemed to come through with flying colors. There are other players that were a little nicked up like pitcher Javier Lopez who the other day I saw him throw a very solid inning Giants pitcher Sergio Romo threw to live hitters a few days ago in batting practice.

Giants outfielder Nori Aoki who is 1-15 with a bunt single I had a chance to see him hit a little over the course of spring training and on one of his at bats he got drilled in the shoulder. It’s had to say but you just can’t put a tremendous lot of stock this early in spring training, you just can’t in spring training put a lot into the numbers of a hitter.

Sure you want to see a lot of people do well in spring training, teams are facing a polar of their own division and their not going to tip their hand what they do and how their going to do things in the regular season. So teams are going to hold their cards a little closer to their vests. That having been said you’d like to see your lead off hitter doing better than .083.

Giant pitcher Jeremy Affeldt has a lot on his fast ball this spring, he has a vicious curve, he has a nice cutter to right handed hitters. He’s just an effective pitcher as he is in the clubhouse. The interesting thing about former Giants third baseman Pablo Sandoval’s little tantrum when he said it was not about the money leaving the Giants but how the organization mistreated him and where he said he was only speaking to Hunter Pence and manager Bruce Bochy on the club. Somebody on the team actually tweeted out “really you (Pablo) can’t get along with Jeremy Affeldt?” Everybody can get along with Affeldt.

Giants catcher Andrew Sasac was aiming to be the back up catcher to Buster Posey but it won’t be the worst thing in the world if Sasac was sent down to Triple A affiliate Sacramento to start the year and maybe be given the opportunity to play a little third base in the minor leagues. He’s certainly not going to learn that position at the major league level.

Oakland A’s update: A’s general manager Billy Beane knows how to construct a team together with type O blood and make it work universally. They all fit anywhere and it wouldn’t hurt the Giants to have that kind of flexibility. A’s catcher Stephen Vogt has been an inspirational hitter for the time he was active on the A’s roster last season before his foot injury.

Vogt was hotter than a pistol earlier in the year and remained hot after the all-star break. He wasn’t hitting .340 after the break like he was before. He kept his average up around .300 and he was still attacking the ball. Vogt’s catching skills weren’t terrific but the A’s have catcher Josh Phegley on the roster.

I’ve listened to a number of people in spring training say that Phegley is the best defensive catcher in the game or one of the best defensive catchers they’ve ever seen. Again it’s the Billy Beane theory you mix and match, you have the defensive catcher in the line up and have Vogt be your DH on days when you got rabbits on the bases and when Billy Butler takes a day off from DH. The rest of the time you can Vogt behind the plate working on his major league catching skills at the major league level.

It’s spring time and A’s first baseman Ike Davis is getting back spasms he already played seven or eight games. Stuff happens wake up and see how much fun he’d be and there is a lot of things to think about that goes on. They think they should ignore all that, they have bodies like the rest of us and Davis made an effort to get back in the line up because he was a little afraid of being Wally Pipped.

Michael Duca covers the Oakland A’s and San Francisco Giants in spring training for http://www.sportsradioservice.com listen to his podcast below

The Sharks defeat the Predators

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March 12th, 2015

by Jerry Feitelberg

The San Jose Sharks met the Central Division leader, the Nashville Predators, in a big game for both teams. The Sharks are currently in ninth place in the Western conference and would be out of the playoffs if they were to start today. The Predators are tied with the Anaheim Ducks for the best record in the division. The team with the most points would host if the two teams were to meet in the conference finals. The Sharks prevailed Thursday night over the Predators 2-0 and were able to move within two points of the final playoff spot. Winnipeg lost and the Los Angeles Kings beat Vancouver. The Kings have 79 points while Winnipeg has 78.

There was no scoring in the first period. The Sharks had two power play opportunities but could not cash in. Both teams play was sluggish for the first fifteen minutes, but Nashville picked up the pace and had a 14 shots on goal compared to just six for the Sharks. The Sharks’ Chris Tierney had a chance to score but missed the net. The Sharks did light the lamp earlier in the period but the goal was waved off as there was goaltender interference and they did not score.

Both teams continued their sluggish play for about the first fifteen or sixteen minutes of the second period. The Sharks went on the power play at the 11:15 mark of the second period but Nashville’ PK was excellent sending the puck out of their zone and keeping the Sharks from mounting an attack. The Sharks did not have a shot on goal on the power play for the second time in the game. The Sharks got another bite of the apple when Nashville’s defenseman Mathias Ekholm went to the penalty box for slashing with 3:42 left in the period. This time the Sharks did not fail. They scored thirteen seconds later went Tomas Hertl notched his eleventh goal of the year punching the puck past the outstretched leg of Pekka Rinne. Justin Braun and Chris Tierney picked up assists on the play. The Sharks played much better the last three minutes of the period. Each team had eight shots on goal, but Nashville leads 22-14 overall. Sharks lead 1-0 at the end of two.

The Sharks were outshot again in the third period, but they scored the second goal of the night on a power play with just 58.5 seconds left in the game. Tommy Wingels drove the puck into an empty net for his fourteenth tally of the year. Chris Tierney picked his second assist and point of the night. Thomas Hertl picked up the assist. Hertl had a goal and an assist. Sharks’ goalie, Antti Niemi, stopped thirty-five shots and was awarded the first star of the night.

The Sharks meet the Chicago Blackhawks Saturday afternoon at the SAP Center. The Sharks have just four home games remaining on the schedule and have to play ten on the road as the season winds down. The Sharks have a better record on the road as they are 17-11-3 as compared to 17-15-5 at home.

The attendance was 17,562.

Big second half by Utes sink Cardinal in Pac-12 Tourney

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By Daniel Dullum
Sports Radio Service
Thursday, March 12, 2015

No last-second drama for the Cardinal this time.

In the first half of Stanford’s Pac-12 men’s basketball Tournament quarterfinal game against Utah, the Cardinal led by as many as eight points early and took a five-point lead into the break. Two and a half minutes into the second half, Stanford still led by two.

Then the No. 3-seeded Utes took over, dominated the second half, and routed Stanford 80-56 at MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas.

Utah (24-7) will meet Oregon in the semifinals, while the Cardinal (19-13) await word on which other postseason tournament they could land in. Stanford could still be selected to the NCAA Tournament, but likely has a better shot at the National Invitation Tournament.

With 16:54 remaining in the second half, Delon Wright drained a 3-pointer that put the Utes ahead to stay at 42-41.

Stanford pulled to within 53-49 at the 11:15 mark on a jumper by Chasson Randle. Utah responded with a 14-point run over the next seven minutes – capped by a Jordan Loveridge 3-pointer – to build a 67-49 lead.

Randle led the Cardinal with a game-high 22 points, Anthony Brown grabbed six rebounds and Robert Cartwright had two assists.

Wright topped the Utes with 20 points, Loveridge contributed 18 points, eight boards and five assists. Jakob Poeltl added 16 points.

Utah held a 39-24 rebounding advantage, and shot 50 percent from the field.

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary: Why Canseco is a bigger man than McGwire

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by Amaury Pi Gonzalez

SCOTTSDALE AZ–The Oakland Athletics are in the middle of Spring Training here with dozens of new players; trying to decipher a winning combination that might take them to the promise land in October. After last year, when it looked they were the best team in baseball, until they ran into the Kansas City Royals, this 2015 A’s team is basically a different team. Fernando Abad the excellent Dominican reliever, who last season finished with a 2-4 record but with an excellent 1.57 in a total of 59 games he worked, recently got his US Citizenship and is working as hard as anybody this spring trying to continue his good work for the Bob Melvin Athletics. Abad was four years old when the Oakland A’s won their last World Series in 1989.

In 1989 the A’s had a super team in Spring Training, one that had the most exciting one-two power hitter combo in all of Major Leagues. Jose Canseco hitting third and Mark McGwire clean up. While there is no Canseco in baseball anymore, just a few miles from this park, Mark McGwire is a coach for the Los Angeles Dodgers. It has been over a quarter of a century since the Bash Brothers days with the green and gold, and a lot has happened in the lives of both super stars since them.

Jose Canseco wrote a couple of books exposing the use of steroids in baseball. He confessed to using the substances and to have injected McGwire with the same, while they were both playing for the A’s, Canseco self confessed to his illegal use of steroids. Canseco was totally black-balled from baseball, nobody gave him another opportunity, as a player or as a coach.

It is worth noting that the anabolic steroids were not formally banned by MLB until 2002. McGwire’s use of the substances was prior to 2002. As a matter of fact McGwire broke Roger Maris, single season record for home runs during a season in 1998. Seven years later, after he broke that record, in the year 2005 Mark McGwire appeared with Sammy Sosa and Rafael Palmeiro, in front of a congressional hearing. They were subpoenaed, to answer accusations of such steroids use. They all denied their use. McGwire, made a fool of himself, when he said in front of the House committee he was “not there to talk about the past”. Maybe the slugger thought he was there to sign autographs.

It was that same year of 2005 when Jose Canseco wrote his first tell-all book “Juiced” admitting his use of steroids; he also said in that book that the vast majority of players also used them. It might never be proven if the vast majority used them or not, but Canseco’s honest admission and his books telling about others vindicated the slugger, who to this day has never been able to return to the Major Leagues in any capacity.

In 2010 a tearful McGwire confessed to using steroids in an interview with MLB Network’s Bob Costas, but he also said he could hit 70 home runs without steroids, because of his “God-given talent”. So McGwire confessed of using steroids five years after Jose Canseco wrote his first controversial book.

Jose Canseco was always the better player than McGwire. Canseco had power, but also had speed (first 40-40 in MLB history, in 1988 42 home runs and 40 stolen bases) and Canseco was by far the most popular player among Athletics fans and during the time they both played with Oakland, there was no comparison, all across the country it was Jose Canseco who was the man. I covered the 1986 ALL Star Game at the Astrodome in Houston and the two biggest stars in baseball were, Jose Canseco of the Athletics and Daryl Strawberry of the Mets. Because Canseco was more forthcoming that McGwire, when it came to coming out and telling the truth, in my book Jose Canseco will remain to this day a bigger man than McGwire.

Next: Saturday -The Giants visit the Athletics at the new A’S Hohokam Stadium, Mesa.

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