Month: January 2016

Sharks Win 7-0 at Home

Published on by M WalshLeave a comment

By Mary Walsh

photo credit: USA Today SJ Sharks Tomas Hertl scores on Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Jonathan Bernier in Saturday’s Sharks laugher

SAN JOSE– The San Jose Sharks ran over the Toronto Maple Leafs by a score of 7-0 on Saturday. After the game, Sharks defenseman Justin Braun summed it up: “You can’t ask for much more, you know? Scoring, goalie played great. It’s one of those games you don’t drop and it works out that way.”

It would be an understatement to say that the Sharks have lacked depth scoring over the past dozen games, or even throughout the season. Players like Tomas Hertl, Tommy Wingels, Matt Nieto, Melker Karlsson, and Joonas Donskoi have all failed to pull their weight on the scoreboard. Saturday, they seemed hell bent on making up for that. Only time will tell if they can sustain it, but the 7-0 win on Saturday showed that they can do the job.

The Sharks started the game with distinctly different forward lines. They were: Donskoi-Couture-Karlsson, Pavelski-Thornton-Hertl, Ward-Marleau-Nieto, and Wingels-Tierney-Brown. After the game, Sharks head coach Pete DeBoer was asked whether these new forward lines was the key to success for the struggling players. He said:

I don’t think the line shuffles changed it. I think we’ve got a proud group in there, I don’t think… they weren’t happy about where we were sitting. I think they were smart enough to recognize we were doing a lot of good things. But we needed a little bit more out of everybody. And they fixed that themselves. Now again we have to build on that.

Tomas Hertl scored twice and earned an assist. Joonas Donskoi, Matt Nieto and Melker Karlsson each scored a goal, and Wingels earned two assists. Usual suspects, Brent Burns and Joe Pavelski, scored the other two goals. After the game, Tommy Wingels said:

I think when we have four dangerous lines out there you see the potential that this team has. And if we’re going to make a run and string some wins together, that’s what we’re going to need. Certainly a lot of guys feel better about their games today than they have in games past. Myself, other guys– be happy with it, gain some confidence and continue it on to the next game.

The other guy with a big blinking question mark over his head has been goaltender Martin Jones, who seemed to share his team’s allergy to wins on home ice. His performance Saturday made him look like he was worth the first round draft pick that the Sharks gave up for him. Especially in the first period, while the game was still scoreless, Jones was key. In all, he made 28 saves for the shutout. After the game, he said:

It was a close game before we started scoring in the second there. Obviously we had some timely goals in the second and kind of ran away with it but it was just a solid game from everybody from start to finish.

The Maple Leafs gave the Sharks ample opportunity to score, and the Sharks took advantage. It was the first goal, from Brent Burns, that seemed to open the flood gates for the Sharks. It was a stand out play under any circumstances, but his single-handed incursion early in the second period was pivotal for his team on Saturday. After the game, DeBoer said of the goal:

That was huge, because I thought we were a little tentative, we were almost in that ‘waiting for something to go wrong’ mindset. And he just said **** it and took the puck and that changed the game for us. That play changed the game.

The game did not start off like a high-scoring affair. The Sharks had the first power play, after Jake Gardiner was called for holding Tommy Wingels. The hold resulted in a three-player pile up in the Toronto net at 5:24. Once the officials untangled the players, the Sharks attempted to launch an attack with the man advantage. Their efforts were no real threat to Toronto, and the two minutes elapsed without the Sharks adding a shot on goal.

The Sharks took another swing at the power play with just 2:09 left in the first. Leo Komarov went to the box for boarding Longan Couture. This time, the Sharks did get a shot on goal, one from Brent Burns. The second unit of Ward, Hertl, Donskoi, Burns and Vlasic got another shot in, and another pile up in the goal crease.

At the end of the first period, the shot count was 12-7 Toronto. Five of those San Jose shots were from defensemen, Burns and Justin Braun with two each and Marc-Edouard Vlasic with one. The others were from Matt Nieto and Tommy Wingels.

At 4:18 of the second period, Brent Burns took the game over for a shitf, skated out of the neutral zone and into the offensive zone, fending off defenders most of the way, and put the puck past James Reimer. Assists went to Paul Martin and Joe Pavelski. It was Burns’ 17th of the season.

The Maple Leafs had their turn on the power play at 7:01, when Paul Martin was called for a high stick against Shawn Matthias. The San Jose penalty kill was more effective than their power play had been. Perhaps that is because Matt Nieto and Tommy Wingels don’t get much time on the power play. During the second minute of the penalty kill, Tommy Wingels chased a puck down in the offensive zone. The Maple Leafs seemed to have forgotten about the puck as they made a line change and almost no one went after Wingels. With Nieto darting down the other wing, a lone Toronto defender could not get back in time to prevent Wingels from making a late pass across to Nieto, who put the puck in the open net. Assists went to Wingels and Brent Burns.

The Sharks also killed the penalty.

Dion Phaneuf decided that Wingels was worth a five-minute fighting major, on top of the interference minor he received at the same time. The Sharks power play again lacked inspiration or cohesion.

Ironically, shortly after it expired, the Sharks extended their lead with a Joe Pavelski goal. Hertl’s pass from below the goal line was a thing of beauty, as he threw it behind him while facing the boards, hitting his mark perfectly. Pavelski was where he needed to be, right in front of the blue paint. Assists went to Hertl and Thornton.

Less than two minutes later, Justin Braun took a shot from high in the slot, which Hertl followed to the net. Hertl corralled the rebound and put it lightly over Bernier’s pad for a 4-0 lead. The lone assist went to Braun.

When the period ended, the Sharks were behind on the shot clock 19-21.

22 seconds into the third period, Matt Nieto was called for hooking. Martin Jones had to make several good saves in the first minute, a sign that the penalty killers were not as sharp as earlier in the game. The Toronto power play was also more composed.

A fifth Sharks goal came at 4:10. Chris Tierney caught a pass from Justin Braun at the Toronto blue line and sent it to Melker Karlsson as he darted across the line into the slot. Karlsson put the puck past Bernier and Toronto coach Mike Babcock made a coach’s challenge on the basis of a missed offside call. The challenge was overruled and the goal stood up. While Tierney’s skates were clearly across the line before the puck was, he had full control of it which negated an offside ruling.

Joonas Donskoi extended the lead to six when he took the puck from the half boards, evaded two different Toronto skaters, went behind the net and slid the puck in between skate and post. That was at 9:28 of the third, and assists went to Wingels and Vlasic.

Hertl scored again at 11:22, despite Bernier’s attempts to push him away from the net. Assists went to Braun and Vlasic.

The Sharks next play on Monday in Calgary against the Flames at 6:00 PT.

NFL Wild Card Weekend Preview: Road teams get it done

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By Joe Hawkes-Beamon

emblem from: sports-logos-screensavers.com NFL logo

If you’re like me, you have to love the single-elimination that is the NFL playoffs. One game to decide who moves on and who is packing up for a long offseason after a grueling 17 weeks (16-game) NFL season.

No disrespect to the NBA, MLB, and NHL for their playoff series’s where if you lose a game, its not the end of the world, but when you talk about the playoffs in any sport, in all honesty, the NFL playoffs is where its at.

The march to Super Bowl 50 on Feb. 7 in Santa Clara starts Saturday with Wild Card Weekend and with some intriguing match ups, I hope you’re like me (a football die-hard), ready for the games to begin.

Since the NFL instituted the Wild Card round in 1978, only 10 teams have made it to the Super Bowl.

Out of those 10 teams, six have gone on to win the Lombardi Trophy (the 1980 Oakland Raiders, the 1997 Denver Broncos, the 2000 Baltimore Ravens, the 2005 Pittsburgh Steelers, the 2007 New York Giants, and 2010 Green Bay Packers.)

With all that said, it wouldn’t be a surprise if the road teams get it done this weekend.

Kansas City Chiefs (11-5); 5th seed at Houston Texans (9-7); 4th seed –  Saturday 4:35 p.m. ET/1:35 p.m. PT – ESPN

Sure its been 22 years since Kansas City has won a playoff game (currently tied with the Detroit Lions for the most consecutive playoff losses with eight), but the Chiefs are arguably the hottest team in the NFL closing out the season with 10 straight wins.

Remember, people counted out the Chiefs when they were 1-5 and lost star running back Jamaal Charles for the season with a torn ACL.

Quarterback Alex Smith has played some of his best football for a Chiefs team that defeated the Texans 27-20 in Week 1 down in Houston. Smith threw for 243 yards and three touchdowns, two to tight end Travis Kelce in that game.

Kansas City’s seventh-ranked defense harassed Texans quarterback Brian Hoyer, sacking him four times and intercepting the signal caller once.

Houston does have a dynamic player on offense in wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins, who caught nine passes for 98 yards and two touchdowns against Kansas City in Week 1.

Hopkins had a career year with 111 catches for 1,521 yards and 11 touchdowns (all Texans records), while becoming the only wide receiver in NFL history to have 100-yard receiving games with four different quarterbacks this season (Hoyer, Ryan Mallet, T.J. Yates, and Brandon Weeden.)

No wonder why Hopkins, along with teammate defensive end J.J. Watt (NFL-best 17.5 sacks), were selected as All-Pros at their respective positions.

This could be a close game, but the Chiefs look prime to snap its playoff drought.

Chiefs 24 – Texans 19

Pittsburgh (10-6); 6th seed at Cincinnati Bengals (12-4); 3rd seed –  Saturday 8:15 p.m. ET/5:15 p.m. PT – CBS

These two AFC North rivals are meeting up for the third time this season after splitting two games during the regular season, each winning on the others’ home field.

Cincinnati won the AFC North, but are heading into the game with backup quarterback A.J. McCarron under center. McCarron will make his fourth start for the Bengals after coming in for starter Andy Dalton, who broke his thumb in Cincinnati’s 33-20 home loss to Pittsburgh on Dec. 13.

Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis (0-6) is still seeking his first career postseason victory. If Cincinnati doesn’t win Saturday, will Lewis be patrolling the sidelines for the Bengals in 2016?

Just like Chiefs, the Bengals are on a seven-game losing streak in the playoffs (25 years to be exact.) In fact, Cincinnati is the only team in NFL history to have lost four consecutive opening-round games.

Sure with Dalton being out, Lewis does have a built in excuse, but the way coaches are being fired left and right in the NFL, Lewis’ chair is no longer hot, its got to be near nuclear.

Pittsburgh is led by two-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who may have to win the game with his arm since the Steelers’ ground game has been decimated by injuries.

Starting running back Le’Veon Bell was loss for the season with a knee injury in Week 8, while backup DeAngelo will not suit up Saturday night after suffering an ankle injury in Pittsburgh’s 28-12 victory in Cleveland. Fitzgerald Toussaint and Jordan Todman will share carries in the backfield.

It was Pittsburgh’s fourth win in five games to close out the regular season.

Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown is a match up nightmare for any team. Brown finished tied with Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Julio Jones with 136 catches, and second behind Jones with 1,834 yards, and 10 touchdowns.

Pittsburgh’s defense, which hasn’t been as dominate this year as its been in years past, are an opportunistic bunch. The Steelers’ 48 sacks trailed only Denver and New England and their 17 interceptions were tied for sixth in the season.

In their last 16 trips to Paul Brown Stadium, Pittsburgh is 13-3.

As much as I want to pick Cincinnati, there is something that is telling me that Pittsburgh will continue its dominance in the Queen City.

Steelers 27 – Bengals 23

Seattle Seahawks (10-6); 6th seed at Minnesota  Vikings (11-5); 3rd seed –  Sunday 1:05 p.m. ET/10:05 a.m. PT – NBC

If there is one team that is the most dangerous in the playoffs, its got to be the sixth-seeded Seattle Seahawks.

We’ve become accustomed of seeing the two-time NFC champion hammer teams behind the deafening sound of the 12th Man at the CLink during their last two Super Bowl runs, but if there is a team that isn’t afraid of going anywhere and playing anybody with the stakes are at their highest, its Seattle.

Whenever you have a quarterback like Russell Wilson, who became the first quarterback in NFL history to pass for over 4,000 yards, 30 touchdowns, and rush for over 500 yards, and a take no prisoners defense headlined by cornerback Richard Sherman and free safety Earl Thomas, you definitely have a chance to win.

Running back Marshawn Lynch was ruled out for Sunday’s game after being listed as questionable throughout the week. Lynch missed Seattle’s final seven games of the season with a sports hernia.

“Beast Mode” is a big-time playoff performer, rushing for over 100 yards in six of his 10 career playoff games.

Seattle steamrolled Minnesota 38-7 on Dec. 6 thanks in large part to the NFL’s second-ranked defense limiting Vikings running back Adrian Peterson to a season-low 18 yards rushing on eight carries.

If Minnesota has any chance to win on Sunday, they will need more from the NFL rushing champion. With the temperature expected to be below zero at kickoff, Peterson is expected to get a lot of carries.

I’m not sold on Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater.

Bridgewater tends to lock on his receivers and rarely takes chances down field and in the playoffs, you need a quarterback who isn’t afraid of throwing the ball and  Bridgewater looks like a deer in headlights.

Yes, Minnesota does have a good defense, but Seattle and Wilson with their championship pedigree will find a way to make a few more plays than the Vikings, who are hosting their first playoff game in six years Sunday.

Seahawks 27 – Vikings 9

Green Bay Packers (10-6); 5th seed at Washington Redskins (9-7); 4th seed –  Sunday 4:40 p.m. ET/1:40 p.m. PT – FOX

Wild Card Weekend concludes with what has to be the trickiest game to decipher when the Packers travel to Landover, MD to face the Redskins.

Which Packers team will show up on Sunday? The one that looked virtually unbeatable with a 6-0 start, or the team that went 4-6 down the stretch that saw Green Bay lose the NFC North crown to Minnesota at Lambeau Field in Week 17?

Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers finished the season with his lowest completion percentage (60.7) since 2006, and his lowest passer rating (92.7).

Since Rodgers led the Packers to a Super Bowl victory in 2010, Green Bay has lost thee of its last four playoff games. During that march to the Super Bowl, the Packers became just the fourth team to win back-to-back-to-back road playoff games.

Washington is playing with some serious house money with starting quarterback Kirk Cousins having his best season of his career.

Since Week 7, the fourth-year pro leads the league in completion percentage (72.4) and passer rating (119.1) to go along with 23 touchdown passes and only three interceptions. Cousins is one of four quarterbacks to throw at least one touchdown in all 16 games this season, helping Washington win the NFC East.

I like the weapons that Cousins has at his disposal, in particular smooth tight end in Jordan Reed emerging as Cousins’ top target. In his last four games, Reed has been on a tare hauling 29 catches for 378 yards and five touchdowns.

This game could be a shootout as both teams’ defenses are nothing special to write home about. Green Bay is ranked 15th in the league in total defense, while Washington is ranked 28th.

Green Bay has to do a better job of protecting its franchise quarterback, who has been sacked 13 times over the past two games.

In the team’s most recent victory over the Redskins, a 38-20 victory at Lambeau Field for Green Bay, Rodgers shredded Washington throwing a career-high 480 yards and four touchdowns.

Green Bay has won five of their last six meetings against Washington.

Green Bay 30 – Washington 24

Stats provided by Elias Sports Bureau, NFL.com,  and STATS LLC.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Warriors dominate Blazers on the road

Published on by Eric HeLeave a comment

By: Eric He

The Golden State Warriors played a textbook game by their standards on Friday night, routing the Portland Trail Blazers 128-108 on the road on Friday night.

Klay Thompson paced the Warriors with 36 points, making 7-of-10 three-pointers. Stephen Curry added 26 points while Brandon Rush dropped 20. Draymond Green recorded his eighth triple-double of the season with 11 points, 10 assists, and 13 rebounds.

The Blazers cut into a 22-point Warriors’ halftime lead, starting the third quarter on a 10-4 run. But the Warriors responded with a 14-2 spurt to extend the lead back up to 25 at 92-67. Rush finished off the spurt with a couple of baskets.

Curry knocked down a three to end the third quarter, and the Warriors took a 106-87 lead into the fourth, a comfortable advantage they held throughout the fourth for another big win.

In a highly efficient first half, the Warriors shot 11-of-17 from beyond-the-arc, helping contribute to a 74-point half. The Blazers played relatively well, but the Warriors’ offensive was relentless. Thompson drilled a three in the final minute of the second quarter to give the Warriors a 24-point lead. They led 74-52 at halftime.

The Warriors jumped out on top early, holding the Blazers without a field goal for nearly the first five minutes of action. Two three-pointers by Rush put them up 15-4 midway through, and then Thompson took over.

Thompson poured in 19 points in the first stanza alone, scoring the Warriors’ final 14 points of the quarter. He made all five of his three-point attempts, and a jumper at the buzzer gave the Warriors a 38-21 advantage after one.

Stanford Cardinal basketball podcast with Jerry Feitelberg: Oregon could be Stanford’s toughest challenge in Pac 12 play thus far this Sunday

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by Jerry Feitelberg

AP photo: Stanford’s Marcus Allen (center) has his shot blocked by Oregon State’s Drew Eubanks Wed Jan 6 game

PALO ALTO–The Stanford Cardinal (9-5) got a key win against a very furious win over the Oregon State Beavers 78-72 after dropping a razor edge close game against the Colorado Buffaloes 56-55. Had the Cardinal lost that game they would have been 1-2 in the Pac 12 Conference now there 2-1.

The Cardinal are headed to Knight Arena at the campus of the University of Oregon for Sunday’s game with the Ducks (12-3). The Cardinal are in for a very difficult battle Sunday it would have been nice if they had a chance to come back and beat Colorado.

The Cardinal are doing alright in the conference and are 9-5 for the season and hopefully they’ll do as well in Eugene they’re playing a very difficult Oregon Ducks team who are some nine game over .500 and playing very well.

Jerry Feitleberg is a beat writer covering Stanford Cardinal basketball right here at http://www.sportsradioservice.com listen to the podcast below

Kings defeat Lakers, 118-115, in Kobe’s Sacramento Farewell

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by Michael Martinez

picture credit Google Images

SACRAMENTO- Nostalgia was in the air at Sleep Train Arena tonight. The Lakers and Kings played a game that brought everyone back to the memories of what was once the NBA’s best rivalry. Kobe Bryant was vintage, taking us back into a time machine as well in his final game in Sacramento. The crowd got loud, the Beat LA chants surfaced and the game came down to the wire. But that same nostalgia should have never been as the Kings let a 27-point lead dwindle in a matter of minutes. Luckily for the Kings their lead was just enough as the team sent off Bryant with a loss in his final game in Sacramento, 118-115, in a tale of two halves.

The Kings came out of the gate with great ball movement and shot the ball with precision while playing with great tempo. The team was able to get off to a hot start, going on a 19-4 run before the Lakers took a timeout to try and stop the bleeding. The Kings pushed the ball up court well, totaling 11 fast break points. The ball was continuously moved throughout the quarter and the Kings dropped 11 assists while turning the ball over just 2 times. The Kings biggest lead of the quarter was 21 when they went up 25-4 over Los Angeles. The Lakers tried to find some sort of offense, but the Kings looked better on defense only allowing the Lakers to shoot 40% from the field. The Kings shot 60% from the field, 15-25. DeMarcus Cousins continued his recent dominance with 12 points, 3-6 from the field, with 2 of those field goals coming from behind the arc. Cousins also grabbed 5 rebounds while going 4-4 from the charity stripe. Rajon Rondo finished the quarter with 5 dimes and Quincy Acy was a nice spark with 7 points as he started the game for the Kings. Ben McLemore did a nice job of getting to the hoop as he finished with 8 points. Great overall team play put the Kings on top of the Lakers, 38-21, after the first quarter.

The second quarter featured much of the same for Sacramento, although the Lakers played a bit better cutting the Kings lead to 14 early in the quarter. The Kings found a way to answer right back, however, as the team was able to sustain. Cousins was an efficient scorer, adding 10 more points in the second, 3-3 from the field and 4-5 from the free throw line. Cousins totaled 22 points for the game high, adding 6 boards. The Kings shot the ball 59.1% for the half while only turning the ball over 3 times in the quarter, for a total of 5 at the half. Bryant made his presence felt with 18 points in the half on 7-12 shooting. The Kings used their dominance in the paint to keep the lead after 2 quarters, 69-48.

Up by 21 heading into the 3rd, the game was the Kings to lose. The team still found a way to hold a big lead through half of the 3rd quarter, going up by 27 at one point. Rondo still found a way to dish the ball out and Acy benefitted from it.  Rondo also had a break out pass to Rudy Gay for a big hammer dunk in the quarter. But Cousins picked up a 5th with 5:48 remaining and that really hurt the Kings. The Lakers slowly cut down the Kings lead, Bryant totaled 10 points in the quarter, and finished the night with 28 points. Acy scored 11 points in the quarter and finished the 3rd with 18 points. D’Angelo Russell had a good quarter and finished with 16 points through 3. The Kings were still able to keep their shooting percentage up high at 58.6% and held the lead, 102-86.

The 4th quarter went as horrible as the Kings could possibly imagine. The young Lakers team played without Bryant for the 4th and they attacked the Kings defense. D’Angelo Russell scored 11 points and Jordan Clarkson added 12. The two young guards tore up the Kings defense while the Kings could not find a way to score. The Kings watched their lead completely disappear, as the Lakers went on a 24-3 run to take the lead, 109-108. The game soon became back and forth, with Sleep Train getting extremely loud. Gay took an alley oop from Rondo to put the Kings up late, but the Lakers came right back. The Lakers tried to foul rondo, who split a pair of free throws. Then Cousins was fouled and split a pair of free throws, the Lakers were up 115-114. . The Kings took the lead with 21.7 seconds remaining on a tear drop lay-up from Rondo. On the next passion, Cousins caused Clarkson to turn the ball over as the Kings were up by 1 and then drew a foul. Cousins made both free throws. As the Kings were up 118-115, Lou Williams took a 3 pointer in the final seconds and missed it. The crowd breathed a sigh of relief as the Kings were outscored 29-16 in the quarter, but pulled out the victory.

The Lakers shot the ball 55% for the quarter and finished shooting 54.7%. In the 4th, the Kings shot the ball at 40%. Cousins finished with 29 points, 10 rebounds and 7 assists. Rondo finished with 9 points and 12 assists. Acy was a great spark for the Kings, finishing the night with 18 points. The Kings finished the game in sloppy fashion and ended the night with 15 turnovers. Their dominance in the paint did prevail, 64 points on the night. The Kings are now 10-3 when shooting over 50% with a 55.3 shooting percentage on the night. Russell scored 27 for the Lakers as he looks to be the new Kings killer and Williams added 20. The Kings barely squeaked out a win and Coach George Karl was not too pleased with his team afterwards.

After answering a few questions, Karl walked out of the media room.

After the game, Bryant reminisced on his time in Sacramento and about the applause from the fans.

“It was great. It’s a sign of respect, even though we’ve been enemies for years…” said Bryant.

Bryant also had high praise for Cousins who finished 1 point shy of 30. Cousins would have finished his fourth consecutive game with 30+ plus points had he made one more free throw or field goal.

Although the Kings won, there was little satisfaction.

Coach Karl said “Dallas was a good loss, tonight was a bad win..”

Boogie agreed.  “I feel the loss against Dallas was better than this win against the Lakers,” said Cousins.

The Kings almost gave away a huge lead and need to find a way to close out games while not playing to the level of opponents who are much worse than them. The Kings will take on the Warriors at home this Saturday and if the team hopes to stand a chance, they will need to play like they did in the first half, while closing out the second half.

Red Wings Top Sharks 2-1 for San Jose’s 12th Home Loss of Year

Published on by Matthew HarringtonLeave a comment

By Matthew T.F. Harrington

photo credit: Detroit Free Press San Jose Sharks Joel Ward and Sharks scrum in front of the net with Detroit Red Wings on Thursday night at SAP

SAN JOSE, Calif, — The struggles at home continued for the San Jose Sharks Thursday night, with the team in teal falling to the Detroit Red Wings 2-1 on a late goal from Justin Abdelkader despite outshooting the opponent 36-25. Joel Ward scored his first goal in 11 games, but Danny Dekeyser also scored for Detroit to hand San Jose its 12th loss in 17 home games this season. Petr Mrazek made 35 saves in net for Detroit (21-13-7).

“You can’t take moral victories from games,” said Sharks forward Logan Couture. “I’m sure we’ll look at the video and see some things we did well but we still lost the game. This is a result-driven business. It’s all about winning games and right now we’re not doing it at home.”

The Sharks (18-18-2) surrendered the first goal of the game after Red Wings defenseman Danny Dekeyser took the puck streaking down his left hand lane. The blue-liner burned around Sharks rearguard Justin Braun, gaining an open look from the left circle. He wouldn’t miss from that close, beating goaltender Martin Jones over the glove hand for a 1-0 Motown lead 9:16 into the game.

A scoring slump-buster proved the equalizer for San Jose, with Joel Ward tipping home his first goal since December 5th 1:41 later. The Sharks all-star defenseman Brent Burns fire a rocket from the point that Ward connected with while flying by the goal for his 11th tally of the season. Marc-Eduoard Vlasic also assisted on the Sharks first goal.

Despite three power plays (counting a carryover penalty from the 1st) in the 2nd, the Sharks couldn’t crack the Wings defense, settling for 10 shots on Detroit netminder Petr Mrazek and no goals.

“They’re responsible in the neutral zone,” said Sharks captain Joe Pavelski. “They deflected some of our speed outward. Once we got on the forecheck could play down there but it wasn’t enough.”

On the flipside, Jones wasn’t tested often in the frame. The Sharks defense held the visitors to only 6 shots on goal in the frame.

“I thought we played a pretty good game,” said Jones. “We just needed a little bit more.”

Neither team generated much offense in the 3rd period until there were about 8 minutes left in the game. The Sharks nearly beat Mrazek at one end. Ward’s bid for a 2nd goal appeared to beat Mrazek, but the Czech goalie was able to paddle the puck away in mid-air while sliding the other way to preserve the tie.

“That’s the way things are going right now,” said Sharks coach Peter DeBoer. “We’ve just got to be resilient and know that if we play that way in the long term we’ll be alright.”

On the ensuing rush at the other end resulted in a Detroit goal. After Pavel Datsyuk’s shot hit the end boards, Justin Abdelkader pounced on a rebound that landed in the slot. His laser beat Jones glove side to give Detroit the lead with 6:52 left in regulation.

“It was a flukey bounce out to the slot,” said Pavelski. “The guy wires one in there. You’ve just got to fight through this.”

“That save was a game-changer,” said Couture of the turn of events. “They go down and score ten seconds later. That one hurt.”

San Jose didn’t get much of an opportunity down the stretch to find an offensive rhythm. Joe Pavelski was whistled for interference on a face-off with Luke Glendenning with only 2:53 left in the game. With the team shorthanded San Jose wasn’t able to pull Jones until there was less than a minute remaining.

“I thought (the call) was a little marginal considering all the interference that was going on all night,” said DeBoer. “But that wasn’t the reason we lost.”

After the final whistle both teams met in the corner for a scrum. Joe Thornton was assessed 14 penalties minutes for his involvement in the altercation.

“There was a little frustration, absolutely,” said DeBoer. “We expect that. Guys are pissed off. I think they deserved better tonight and we didn’t get it.”

The Sharks hope that, if the effort continues to trend up the result will be better Saturday night at home against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

“Hard work, that’s all it takes when you’re struggling,” said Jones. “I thought we had a good couple days of practice. We just have to continue that.”

 

 

Golden State Warriors podcast with David Zizmor: The Warriors on the fringes of finishing the season with the best record ever

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by David Zizmor

OAKLAND–This Golden State Warriors team is phenomenal this season and verging on the historically great this isn’t a thing to be taken lightly. This team if they continue to go they way they’ve been going your talking about a team out there that ranks up there among the greatest of all time.

The Chicago Bulls in the mid nineties are the only team to have won 65 games in back to back seasons and the Warriors are now on pace to do that. They’ve won 67 last year and they’re on pace to win 65. The only danger is as always injuries and this team isn’t complacent.

The Warriors aren’t taking anything for granted their coming out playing hard every single night. Even with the state of injuries they’ve had they still manage to win most of their games. They lost the one game to Dallas last week when Curry was out with that shin injury he’s nursing.

David Zizmor does the Warriors podcast each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary: 2017 Hall of Fame Class will be historic

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 by Amaury Pi Gonzalez
photo credit: dfw.cbslocal.com Ivan Rodriguez tips his Texas Rangers cap and will join the 2017 class of Hall of Famers
So now that the 2016 Class has two new members in Ken Griffey Jr and Mike Piazza, we can start thinking about next year.
History will be made in 2017. Never before in the history of the National Baseball Hall of Fame, at Cooperstown, New York, have all the players nominated were Hispanics.They are Manny Ramirez and Vladimir Guerrero from the Dominican Republic, Ivan Rodriguez and Jorge Posada from Puerto Rico and Magglio Ordonez from Venezuela. In my opinion Ivan Rodriguez, who was one of the most dominant catchers ever will go in. Manny Ramirez, leads this group with 555 home runs and his chances are very good, Vladimir Guerrero has also a very good chance.
Jorge Posada a 5-time World Series Champion with the New York Yankees, was a very good player, but I do not believe he has a very good chance and Magglio Ordonez another very good player, in my book, has the tougher odds to make it. But, without a doubt, this is the first and only time in history that all the nominees are born in Latin America.
The inaugural Hall of Fame election results were announced in the media on Feb. 2, 1936, and featured Ty Cobb, Walter Johnson, Christy Mathewson, Babe Ruth and Honus Wagner as the Class of 1936. After 20 more members were added to the Hall of Fame in the elections in 1937, 1938 and 1939, the first Induction Ceremony was held on June 12, 1939 – with all 11 living electees present in Cooperstown. Lou Gehrig is recognized as a member of the Class of 1939, but Gehrig was not elected until late in the year after it became clear that his playing career was over due to complications from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. -National Baseball Hall of Fame.
As of today these are the Hispanics players elected to the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown: Roberto Clemente,(1973) Orlando Cepeda(1999),Roberto Alomar(2001) Puerto Rico, Juan Marichal(1983) and Pedro Martinez,(2015)Dominican Republic, Luis Aparicio(1984)Venezuela, Rod Carew(1991)Panama, from Cuba Martin Dihigo(1977) Atanasio(Tony)Perez(2000), Jose Mendez(2006), Alex Pompez(2006), Cristobal Torriente(2006) of all the Cubans, except for Tony Perez, they were Negro Leagues and Cuban Leagues stars. Alejandro “Alex” Pompez was an American executive in Negro league baseball who owned the Cuban Stars and New York Cubans franchises from 1916 to 1950.
His family had immigrated from Cuba, where his father was a lawyer. Pompez was born in Key West, Florida.
National Hall of Fame, Cooperstown, New York. It is better than ever, and a great place to visit. November 2009, was the last time I visited it was a special trip, from here on the west coast all the way to New York by air, then took the train from New York City that borders the Hudson all the way up north to Albany, where I rented a car and drove to Cooperstown. A beautiful drive will green rolling hills, farms and then you get there. Downtown Cooperstown is like time has stopped decades ago, old red brick buildings,reminds you of a Norman Rockwell painting. It is always a great experience and there is no other sports Hall of Fame in the country like it.
Amaury Pi Gonzalez is the Spanish voice  for Angels TV and the Spanish voice for A’s radio and does News and Commentary at http://www.sportsradradioservice.com
     
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No finishing kick: Cal suffers frustrating loss at Oregon

Published on by moepeaLeave a comment

 

Cal battled

By Morris Phillips

What the Cal Bears were doing on the defensive end of the floor spelled critical Pac-12 road win, but what the team was doing on the offensive end just didn’t read quite right.

A narrow 68-65 loss in Eugene to the Oregon Ducks, came down to missed 10 missed free throws, 18 turnovers, and a mind-bending absence of even one made 3-point basket. A tad more or less in one of those categories could have given Cal (12-4, 2-1) an eye-catching 3-0 start in conference play and dropped the Ducks to 0-2.

Defensively, the Bears were just off their numbers in the now-concluded five-game streak of allowing 65 or less (68 against the Ducks), and below 40 percent shooting (the Ducks shot 40.7) suggesting they could have pulled this one out with one or two more stops.

But it didn’t happen. Now the Bears and Couch Cuonzo Martin have to make sure the next time they have a chance to win a close one on the road, they do.

“We had some key breakdowns late,” Martin said. “They made three key threes that I remember. They won the battle for 50-50 loose ball for the most part. We had a couple of key breakdowns that kind of turned the game around.”

“We didn’t hit shots. Still, we had every chance to in the world to win this game,” Jaylen Brown said.

Brown led Cal with 20 points, and Ivan Rabb was just as active with 17. But the overall offense did translate on the tree-adorned floor. The turnovers were either clumsy or confounding, and Cal didn’t show much variety in their attack. They got to the basket throughout, and battled on the offensive glass, but they missed the free throws when the driving to the basket put them on the foul line. And the jump shots that everyone knows are key to Cal winning were rarely taken or made.

“I don’t think anyone took a tough three with guys hanging all over them. I don’t think that was the case by any stretch. I mean, 0 for 12 from three—that’s part of the game. Anytime, (Jordan) Mathews shoots, I think the ball’s going in.”

Oregon’s defense wasn’t bad either. It masked the even-more damaging 13 missed free throws the Ducks had, and kept the Pac-12’s best three man, Mathews, scoreless. The Cal junior lit up Matthew Knight arena as a freshman, scoring 32, which still stands as his career-best. But he couldn’t buy a basket Wednesday, missing all eight shots he took.

But Cal’s D was even better, and Coach Dana Altman was proud his guys didn’t get discouraged or back down.

“We didn’t play well offensively, but we kept competing, we kept battling, and our guys found a way,” Altman said.

Chris Boucher led Oregon (12-3, 1-1) with 18, Tyler Dorsey added 17. Boucher, Dorsey and Dwyane Benjamin had big 3-pointers for the Ducks in the final eight minutes. Dorsey’s came with 58 seconds remaining, and put Oregon up 63-57. While Cal couldn’t buy a three, Oregon hit seven, despite ranking next to last in the conference in 3-point shooting at 32 percent coming in.

Boucher also had a steal and blocked Mathew’s shot in the final 5:22 when Oregon ever-so-slightly increased their 52-50 lead.

The Bears return to class in Berkeley on Thursday and Friday, then fly back for a meeting with Oregon State on Saturday night. The Beavers have a win over Oregon, but lost to Stanford on Wednesday.

NOTES: The Ducks overcame the loss of Dylan Ennis, their presumptive starting point guard who will miss the rest of the season with a foot injury after missing the first 12 games and playing only 21 minutes in two games. Freshman Trevor Manuel announced this week that he’s transferring, leaving the Ducks with just nine, healthy scholarship players. The teams meet again in Berkeley on February 11. The Bears were picked to finish second, and the Ducks third in a Pac-12 pre-season poll.

 

Cardinal hold off Beavers, 150th win for Dawkins

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

By Daniel Dullum
Sports Radio Service
Wednesday, January 6, 2016

photo credit: USA Today Rosco Allen one of the prime time players on the Stanford Cardinal

Stanford used a 21-point, eight rebound effort from Rosco Allen to hold off Oregon State 78-72 Wednesday in Pac-12 men’s basketball at Corvallis, Ore., snapping a four-game winning streak for the Beavers.

It was also career win No. 150 at Stanford for Coach Johnny Dawkins.

The Cardinal (9-5 overall, 2-1 Pac-12) also received 15 points and three steals from Marcus Allen and Dorian Pickens added 14 points.

Gary Payton II led the Beavers with 22 points, nine rebounds and six assists. Also for Oregon State (10-3, 1-1), Stephen Thompson scored 13 points and Drew Eubands chipped in with 13 points.

Oregon State pulled to within nine points twice in the first 10 minutes of the second half, and with the help of a 7-0 run, got within seven at 58-51 with 6:48 to play.

With 53.7 seconds remaining, Thompson buried a long 3-pointer to close the Beavers’ deficit to 72-66. OSU pressed the Cardinal, but was unable to force the needed turnovers and Stanford proceeded to sink 8 of 12 free throws in the final 63 seconds.

The Cardinal held a 46-29 rebounding edge, including 20 offensive boards. Stanford also scored 32 points in the paint.

Stanford travels to Oregon on Sunday.