Month: March 2018

Opinion: San Jose State Is Taking a Turn for the Worse

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Photo credit: trib.com

By: Ana Kieu

SAN JOSE, Calif. — The San Jose State Spartans’ football and men’s basketball teams have something in common: They both represent San Jose State in NCAA Division I in FBS college football and college basketball, respectively, as a member of the Mountain West Conference. They’re also far from winners. Well, at least not recently.

I’m well aware that 132 Spartan football players have marched on to play in the NFL, but I haven’t seen the Spartans compete in a bowl game since my senior year at SJSU in 2015 when they faced–and defeated–Georgia State by a score of 27-16 under head coach Ron Caragher. Before that, Kent Baer served as an interim head coach in 2012, Mike McIntyre served as a head coach from 2010 to 2012, and let’s not forget the legendary Dick Tomey, who served as a head coach from 2005 to 2009.

In 2017, the Spartans hired Brent Brennan as the new head coach for the team. Brennan previously worked at SJSU as an assistant coach alongside Tomey from 2005 to 2010. Brennan originally lettered in college football at UCLA as a wide receiver from 1993 to 1994 and also graduated from the university in 1996.

The Spartan football team, however, didn’t fare well under first-year head coach Brennan. Sure, the majority of first-year head coaches experience struggles adjusting to a larger platform, but the Spartans mustered just a record of 2-11, 1-7 Mountain West in 2017-18.

The Spartan football team is having quite the offseason as they made plenty of additions and promotions among their roster as well as coaching staff. They also confirmed their 2018 football schedule. In addition, SJSU alumnus, business leaders and philanthropists, Larry and Deidre Solari, gave a $5 million gift to SJSU Athletics–the largest gift ever to the program–to support SJSU football personnel and facilities. That was an extremely generous gift, and I hope Brennan and his team will put the money to good use.

Let’s switch to Spartans’ men’s basketball, who are on a similar boat–minus the $5 million gift. In 2017, the Spartans hired Jean Prioleau as the new head coach for the team. Like Brennan, Prioleau entered SJSU as a first-year head coach. Prioleau previously worked as an assistant coach at the University of Colorado from 2010 to 2017. Prioleau played college basketball at Fordham University as a point guard from 1988 to 1989 and 1991 to 1992 and also graduated from the university in 1992.

The Spartans have appeared in five postseason tournaments, but have yet to win a playoff game. They’ve appeared in the NCAA Tournament three times in 1951, 1980 and 1996, the NIT one time in 1981 and the CBI one time in 2011. Of course, the only appearance I’ve watched and remembered was the CBI in 2011. I was a high school senior who was getting ready for college at–you guessed it–at SJSU.

Moreover, the Spartans had six basketball stars who went on to play in the NBA. Their names are Coby Dietrick, Darnell Hillman, Wally Rank, Chris McNealy, Ricky Berry and Tariq Abdul-Wahad.

As of right now, the Spartans had a season to forget as they went 4-26, 1-16 MW in 2017-18. Despite their best efforts in this year’s Mountain West Tournament, they were handed their third consecutive first-round exit. This time, they fell to the Wyoming Cowboys 74-61 on March 7 at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas. Ryan Welage and Jaycee Hillsman combined to score 49 of the Spartans’ 61 points in the game.

Speaking of star players, it has been reported by various sources that four Spartan starters–Welage, Hillsman, Keith Fisher III and Walter Graves III–are going to leave the program in the near future. These four aren’t just random players either. They’re some of San Jose’s finest. This isn’t the NBA where a lot of top-notch players leave their hapless teams just to win a championship or two.

As if that wasn’t enough, Noah Baumann recently posted a vague tweet about how he felt at the moment.

We don’t have a definite answer in regards to Baumann’s tweet yet, but he might’ve been hinting that he’ll also leave SJSU. We’ll see what happens. But enough damage has been done and the Spartans can’t afford to suffer anymore.

At the end of the day, the Spartan faithful deserve better.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Ryan Welage was selected to the NBAC All-District 17 Second Team on March 13.

Press release below:
Ryan Welage was fourth in the Mountain West in 2017-18 at 18.1 points per game.

March 13, 2018

NABC All-District Teams

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) announced today the Division I All-District teams and has selected San José State’s Ryan Welage to the All-District 17 Second Team. Selected and voted on by member coaches of the NABC in NCAA Division I, these student-athletes represent the finest basketball players across America.

Welage was given All-Mountain West honorable mention after scoring 18.1 points per game during the regular season. He had 14 games of 20-plus points and had a pair of 30-point games. He was the league’s most accurate free throw shooter at 87.7 percent.

The Greensburg, Ind., native also achieved two major career milestones in 2017-18 including becoming the program’s all-time leader in made 3-pointers with 161 and climbing up to sixth on the all-time career scoring list with 1,258 points.

NABC DIVISION I All-District 17

First Team

Chandler Hutchison, Boise State
Caleb Martin, Nevada
Justin James, Wyoming
Deshon Taylor, Fresno State
Jordan Caroline, Nevada

Second Team

Hayden Dalton, Wyoming
Brandon McCoy, UNLV
Shakur Juiston, UNLV
Koby McEwen, Utah State
Ryan Welage, San José State

Earthquakes unable to come back as they lose to Sporting KC 3-2

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By: Eric He

The San Jose Earthquakes were in the match until the end, but could not find a late equalizer in a 3-2 loss to Sporting Kansas City at Children’s Mercy Park on Saturday night.

Sporting KC held much of the possession throughout the match and outshot San Jose, stats, which were reflected on the scoreboard.

After halftime, with the score knotted at 1-1, Sporting KC took control. Graham Zusi put home a spectacular shot from long range and then Felipe Gutierrez connected in the 68th minute to put Kansas City up 3-1.

Chris Wondolowksi brought the Earthquakes closer in stoppage time, but San Jose ran out of time as Kansas City ran out the clock.

The home team opened the scoring on a penalty kick after Johnny Russell was tripped by San Jose goalkeeper Andrew Tarbell. Illie Sanchez nailed the kick past Russell to give Kansas City a 1-0 lead.

But San Jose would equalize in the 32nd minutes, as Nick Lima sent a cross on the rush and Valeri Qazaishvili punched it in the net after a few shots.

Sporting KC had 12 corner kicks to three for the Earthquakes, who drop their first game of the season after winning their home opener two weeks ago.

Up Next: The Earthquakes will host NYCFC at Avaya Stadium on Saturday, March 31 at 5:00 pm PST.

Spring training: While A’s bats come alive, Giants have interesting roster decisions

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Photo credit: baseballinthebay.com

By Daniel Dullum
Sports Radio Service
Saturday, March 17, 2018

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – Every team faces this dilemma at some point during spring training–what to do when a valued prospect runs out of options? The San Francisco Giants are no exception.

The Giants have three players on their 40-man roster who are in that predicament: outfielders Gorkys Hernandez and Jarrett Parker along with right-handed pitcher Cory Gearrin.

Parker has bounced back-and-forth between Triple-A Sacramento and the Giants since 2015, hitting .257 in parts of three seasons with San Francisco. The left-handed hitting outfielder has hit 103 homers in seven minor league campaigns. So far, this spring, Parker is hitting .235 with two homers and five RBIs.

Since 2012, Hernandez has had big league shots with Pittsburgh, Miami and the Giants. He’s a .255 career hitter, valued more for defense (two errors out of 328 chances in four seasons). In 13 Cactus League games, Hernandez is hitting .188 after going 2-for-2 in San Francisco’s split-squad game Saturday against Cincinnati in Goodyear.

In three seasons with Atlanta and three with the Giants, Gearrin is 10-8 with a 3.47 earned run average, mostly in relief. This spring, the 32-year-old hurler has a 1.29 ERA in seven appearances.

Though spring training is nearing the end, Giants Manager Bruce Bochy said it’s still too soon to make any final decisions, not just on the aforementioned, but other areas of the team.

“We’re looking at our options to see what we can do,” Bochy said. “We’ve got some time, still. But nothing’s been decided.”

Here’s how it works: Once a player is put on the 40-man roster, a team has three option years on that player. When a player spends at least 20 days in the minors in any of those three seasons, that becomes an option year.

Then, if that player does not make the 25-man roster after using all of his options, he must be exposed to waivers before he can be sent outright to a minor league affiliate.

The trick is, if a player is valued enough, to try and sneak a prized prospect through waivers. Sometimes that works, sometimes not. General managers are watching more than just their own players this time of year.

TRANSACTIONS
San Francisco optioned infielder Ryder Jones to Triple-A Sacramento, leaving the Giants with 47 players in camp.

THE GAME
The battle of Bay Area split squads saw the Athletics strike early and defeated the Giants 8-3.

Oakland’s spiit-squadders opened the game with a four-run rally – all unearned – off Giants’ starter Ty Blach. After Franklin Barreto opened the game by reaching on an infield error, the big hits were an RBI double by Matt Joyce, and Jake Smolinski’s RBI double, which preceded a Sheldon Neuse home run to right-center.

The A’s built a 7-0 cushion until San Francisco scored two in the fourth and one in the fifth. Hunter Pence had an RBI single in the fourth, and Brandon Belt added a sacrifice fly in the fifth.

Oakland starter Andrew Triggs (2-0) threw 3 2/3 inning to get the win, giving up two earned runs on two hits. The right-hander struck out four and walked three. Chris Bassett, Eric Jokisch and Daniel Gossett gave up one run over the last 5 2/3 innings. Gossett threw four scoreless innings, scattered two hits, struck out five and picked up his first CL save.

Blach (1-1) worked the first five innings, giving up seven runs on nine hits – three earned – struck out four and issued no walks.

“(Oakland) took some good swings,” Blach said. “Getting a shut-down inning after we put up some runs, definitely some good things to build on.”

“It was a tough day for Blach,” Bochy said. “He was off with his location and left balls up. It’s not going to work in Arizona. But he got his work in, and I liked that fifth inning when we wanted to get him up over 80 pitches and he had a solid 1-2-3. It was a nice way to finish.”

With one start left in the Cactus League before heading north, Blach said he felt his spring has been a good one.

“I feel like I’ve done a pretty good job of being in the strike zone for the most part, but I’d like to get back to commanding the ball a little bit better in the zone and get ahead a little more often,” Blach said. “I’m just kind of refining some things and I feel like the breaking ball is where I want it.

“I’m just taking it day by day, trying to get better.”

The announced attendance was 12,045 – a sellout.

OTHER GAMES
In other split-squad games, Seattle beat the A’s 4-1 in Mesa, while Cincinnati edged the Giants 5-4 in Goodyear.

After Saturday’s Cactus League play, Oakland is 11-8, San Francisco is 10-11.

UP NEXT
On Sunday, the Athletics host the Chicago White Sox at Hohokam Stadium, while the Giants head up the 101 to play Colorado. The final Arizona games for both teams are on Friday.

TAGS
Oakland A’s,San Francisco Giants,Cactus League,Sports Radio Service

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary: Oakland Coliseum Is Still in the Game

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Photo credit: @WestCoastTurf

By: Amaury Pi-Gonzalez

OAKLAND, Calif. — Discussions are starting this month by the City of Oakland in order to buy the Coliseum and the adjacent Oracle Arena.

This is what Karen Boyd spokeswoman for the City Oakland said: “The city of Oakland and Alameda County are aligned in the view that development of the Coliseum property would be simplified and streamlined with a single owner that controls all aspects of the future development process,” City Administrator Sabrina Landreth said in a statement to The SF Chronicle. “To that end, the city and county are engaging in discussions on the terms of an agreement that will be mutually beneficial. We will publicly discuss the outcome of these negotiations at the appropriate time.”

This is very significant because if the Athletics cannot build their new park at Howard Terminal, the current location of the Oakland Coliseum will be the one waiting on deck.

The Oakland Raiders are moving to Las Vegas in 2020. Their stadium is under construction.

The Golden State Warriors are moving in 2019 to Chase Center. Their stadium is also under construction in San Francisco. It’s within walking distance from the San Francisco Giants’ AT&T Park.

In September 2017, the Athletics officially announced that the Laney College location was their preferred location, but then in December, the A’s swung and missed strike one when the Peralta Community District Board of Trustees said no and added that they didn’t even want to start negotiating. Right now, the A’s management have their sights at the Howard Terminal, which BART doesn’t approve. but if they swing and miss strike two, they will have a count of 0-2 with one pitch remaining and that would be the place where they have been playing for over 60 years, the Oakland Alameda County Coliseum.

Would the A’s even consider the rebuilding of the Coliseum to a much more baseball only, fan-friendly ballpark with a capacity of around 45.000? This will not be a face lift, but they will demolish the Coliseum, and rebuild a brand-new ballpark. If that materializes, the A’s will have to play their games in another park for the time being, while they build a new one at the current location. But that would be another show.

The saga of the new ballpark for the Oakland Athletics continues, which makes things look more like a Telemundo novela as the days go by.

Kings beat the Warriors at Oracle 98-93

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment
GSW 2 vs Kings
Kings sweep both game in Oakland this season Photo @warriors

by Charlie O. Mallonee

The Sacramento Kings won in Oakland for the second time this season as they defeated the World Champion Golden State Warriors 98-93 on Friday night. Yes, the Warriors were shorthanded as Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and Kevin Durant were all on the bench in street clothes due to injury but that is exactly when a team must take advantage of an opponent. “Kick ’em when they’re down” is the motto of successful teams.

The Golden State bench is also better than many of the starting lineups for non-playoff teams in the NBA. A team does not win a championship without having a very strong second unit and bench. The Warriors certainly meet those requirements.

Two Kings players who did not have terrific performances early in the contest came up big late in the game. De’Aaron Fox scored four of his six points in the final two minutes and forty-seconds of the game. Willie Cauley-Stein took a charge and then blocked a 3-point attempt by Nick Young that led to a game punctuating slam dunk that would seal the win for Sacramento.

Top Performances

Kings

GSW Kings starting 5
Kings starting versus the Warriors Photo @SacramentoKings
  • Buddy Hield not only led the Kings in scoring with 22 points but he provided a scoring punch that kept his team in the game when Warriors threatened to runaway with the contest. Hield not only led his team in scoring but he pulled down seven rebounds and distributed seven assists in just over 30 minutes of playing time.
  • Skal Labissiere returned to the floor after being out with a bruised hip that he suffered in a hard fall under the basket. The second-year power forward put up 15 points, grabbed five rebounds and dished out three assists. Labisissiere hit 3-of-4 attempts from 3-point land. He played just over 25 minutes in his return to action.
  • Kosta Koufos continued to be an impact player for the Kings as he scored five points and more importantly hauled in game-high 12 rebounds. Five of his rebounds came on offense which led to second chance scoring opportunities.
  • Other Kings scorers: Bogdanovic 11 points, Cauley-Stein 9, Mason 9, Jackson 8, Temple 8, Fox 6 and Randolph 5.

Warriors

gsw starting 5
Warriors starting five vs Kings Photo @warriors
  • Two-way player, point guard Quinn Cook made a real case that he should be playing in the NBA full-time next season by leading the Warriors with 25 points versus the Kings. Cook shot 10-for-13 overall and hit 5-of-7 from behind the 3-point arc.
  • Nick “Swaggy P” Young recorded 16 points but shot just 5-for-15 from the field and 3-for-8 from downtown.
  • Draymond Green recorded a double-double scoring 14 points and pulling down 10 rebounds. He also led GSW with seven assists.
  • Andre Iguodala added 11 points, four rebounds, two assists and one steal.
  • Former King Omri Casspi started the game strong with six points but had to leave the floor after playing just over six-minutes when came down on the foot of teammate’s foot and twisted his ankle.

By the Numbers

Sacramento (23-47)

  • The Kings shot 43.4-percent (36-for-43) from the floor. They converted 14-of-31 (45.2-percent) from 3-point range.
  • SAC went to the free throw line 17 times and hit 12 of those opportunities (70.6-percent).
  • Sacramento out-rebounded the Warriors 47-40 in the game. They grabbed 11 offensive rebounds and 36 rebounds on defense. The scored 16 second chance points (7-for-15) in the game.
  • The Kings recorded 25 assists and 14 turnovers. The TOVs resulted in 17 GSW points.

Golden State (52-17)

  • This loss dropped the Warriors two and one-half games behind the Western Conference leading Houston Rockets. If the season ended tonight, Golden State’s first round playoff opponent would be the Utah Jazz.
  • GSW shot 42-percent (34-for-81) for the game. They hit 12-of-26 (46.2-percent) 3-point shots.
  • They converted 13-of-18 (72.2-percent) chances from the free throw line.
  • The Warriors had 21 assists and committed 12 turnovers which became 17 Sacramento points.

Up Next

Kings

SAC will be back in action tomorrow night in Salt Lake City as they face the Utah Jazz in back end of of back-to-back road set. Ricky Rubio will not play after being injured in the Suns game on Thursday. They will have to face former King and Reno Big Horn David Stockton who has been signed by the Jazz to a 10-day contract.

Warriors

GSW will also complete a back-to-back set on Saturday night in Phoenix versus the Suns. The Warriors are hoping that their game will not be as physical as the Suns versus the Jazz game was on Thursday night.

 

Warriors were missing the Big Three and ended up falling to Kings 98-93

Published on by rxsluggerLeave a comment

Photo credit: @warriors

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Golden State Warriors received bad news Friday when it was announced that Kevin Durant suffered a broken rib in the game against the Los Angeles Lakers Wednesday.

Durant joined Steph Curry and Klay Thompson on the sidelines as the Warriors had to face the young Sacramento Kings. The Kings were hoping to beat the Warriors at Oracle for the second time this season, and that was exactly what happened as they went on a 9-3 run late in the fourth quarter to win 98-93 on Friday night.

Warriors’ head coach Steve Kerr shuffled his starting lineup once again. Quinn Cook and Nick Young started in the backcourt for the second game in a row. Andre Iguodala started at forward in place of Durant, and Draymond Green returned from a shoulder injury to resume his usual spot at the other forward position. Kerr chose to start Zaza Pachulia at center Friday night.

The two teams played a very up-tempo first quarter. The Warriors got off to a good start, and they finished the period leading 36-29. Cook scored 10 points to lead the Warrior attack.

The Warriors increased the lead to 50-39, but things went south as the went over five minutes without a bucket and at one point committed five turnovers in six possessions. Sacramento went on a 12-0 run to regain the lead.

The Warrior offense woke up late in the period, but they were outscored 28-23 and finished the first half with a 59-57 advantage. Cook led the Warriors with 18, and Andre Iguodala added 10.

Buddy Hield led the Kings with 14 points. The Warriors’ Omri Casspi suffered a right ankle sprain in the period, and he did not return.

The Warriors could not get anything going in the second half. The Kings weren’t much better, but they were able to outscore the Warriors 18-16, and the game was knotted up at 75 after three quarters of play.

The game was nip and tuck the rest of the way. The biggest lead the Warriors had was by three points after Cook sank a trey to lead 90-87. It was at this point when Sacramento went on a 9-3 run to win it.

The Kings led 93-90 until Green nailed a three-pointer to tie the game. It was all Kings after that as they scored the last five points in the game to seal the victory.

Game Notes and Stats: Cook had the best game of his NBA career. He scored 25 points. He made five three-point shots in seven attempts.

Green has a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds. He blocked two shots.

Nick Young helped out with 16 and Iguodala finished with 11. Buddy Hield led Sacramento with 22. Hield made five 3-point shots in 10 attempts.

Bogdan Bogdanovic was the only Kings starter in double figures with 11. Usually, the starters on a team led the club in scoring. The Warriors’ starters outscored the Kings’ starters 70-39, but the Sacramento bench blasted the depleted Golden State bench 59-23.

The Warriors made announcement on the Big Three’s injuries. Durant will be re-evaluated in two weeks. Curry will be checked out on Tuesday–and if his ankle is healed–he may return to action sometime next week.

Thompson will see the doctors on Thursday, and they will check out his fractured thumb.

There was no news on the severity of Casspi’s sprain, and it is unknown how long he will be out.

West and Green returned to action after missing some time due to injury.

The Warriors drop to 52-16 while the Kings improve to 23-47.

Up Next: The Warriors play in Phoenix this Saturday and San Antonio next Monday.

Evander Kane Scores Four Goals and Nets First Career Hat Trick, Sharks Douse Flames 7-4

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Photo credit: @SanJoseSharks

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks defeated the Calgary Flames 7-4 at the Scotiabank Saddledome  on Friday night. The Sharks scored seven goals compared to the Flames’ four goals. New Sharks left wing Evander Kane scored four of those goals, tying the Sharks’ record for most goals in a game. The other Sharks who scored that many goals were Owen Nolan, Tomas Hertl and Patrick Marleau.

Hertl, Kevin Labanc and Eric Fehr scored the remaining balance of goals for San Jose. Johnny Gaudreau, Troy Brouwer, Mark Jankowski and Michael Ferland scored for Calgary.

After the game, Sharks captain Joe Pavelski said this about Evander Kane:

It’s always a special night when someone can score three, and then for him to get that fourth, you know, it’s pretty cool to see. He’s definitely made a huge impact on us as a team, on his teammates. And, you know, he’s been one of those guys driving the bus here for the last week or two and he came through big for us tonight.

The Sharks started the game on the right foot. Just five minutes in, Timo Meier seemed to have scored, but his stick was above the crossbar when he touched the puck.

Undeterred, Kane scored only a minute later. Kane took a rising wrist shot from just below the blue line as he raced into the zone. Mike Smith missed the puck with his glove as it fell toward the goal. Jannik Hansen got the lone assist.

The Sharks had a power play after Mikkel Boedker was tripped up on a breakaway 37 seconds after the goal, but they did not get a shot on goal.

Gaudreau left the ice briefly after a collision with two Sharks players, seeming to severe  his arm or hand, but nothing was wrong and he quickly returned to the ice.

Brouwer tied it up with 3:18 left in the period. Sharks goalie Martin Jones had come out to handle the puck, but he was back in the net before Brouwer took his shot from the slot. Curtis Lazar made the pass to Brouwer from below the goal line. Assists went to Lazar and Matt Stajan.

The Flames took the lead at 2:10 of the second period. Mark Jankowski was high in the faceoff circle when Meier pulled the puck out of a crowd and tried to pass it to some Sharks defensemen in the middle of ice. Jankowski intercepted it and took a quick shot that went over Jones’ shoulder. A lone assist went to Garnet Hathaway.

The Sharks’ Melker Karlsson drew a holding the stick penalty that gave the Sharks their second power play at 2:45. This time, they did get a shot on goal, but they also gave up a two-on-one short-handed chance.

After the power play, Tierney was moved to the top line with Pavelski and Kane. With that line on the ice, Dylan DeMelo took a shot from the blue line and Kane tipped it in to tie the game again at 6:29. DeMelo and Brenden Dillon picked up the assists.

Sharks head coach Pete DeBoer made another line change, putting Fehr, Karlsson and Meier together. They created a good chance almost eight minutes into the second, getting two shots on goal.

The Flames took the lead again at 10:16. Gaudreau skated in with the puck, handled it around two Sharks players near the boards, then darted to the slot before taking the shot. Assists went to Ferland and Michael Stone.

Labanc tied it again at 11:42, with a wrist shot from the left side, using a Calgary defenseman as a screen. Brent Burns got the lone assist.

The Sharks found themselves on the wrong side of two penalties close together, starting at the 12:24 mark. They had to defend 45 seconds of five-on-three after Kane joined Tierney in the box. The Sharks killed all of that off, but they seemed to have burned some fuel doing so.

With a little over three minutes left in the second, Tierney got control of the puck behind the net after Pavelski pushed it through a board battle. Tierney found Kane in front of the blue paint with a quick pass. Kane took a shot, then caught the rebound and took another shot to net his first NHL hat trick.

The Sharks extended their lead with only 1:58 left in the second period. Justin Braun carried the puck in along the boards and sent the puck to the net. Hertl was right there at the crease to tap the puck under the goaltender. Assists went to Braun and Marc-Edouard Vlasic.

The third period went all wrong for the Flames. Pavelski took a shot from the blue line just as Mike Smith was getting settled after a trip behind his net to retrieve the puck and play it not very well. Kane was standing by to deflect it in for his fourth of the game, just 1:02 into the period. With that goal, Kane tied the Sharks record for most goals in a game.

That was it for Mike Smith. David Rittich came in to replace him.

Calgary coach Gen Gulutzan decided to pull his goaltender for the extra skater with almost six minutes still to go. The move paid off with Micheal Ferland parked in front of the net while the Flames moved the puck relentlessly around the Sharks’ zone. When the shot finally came, Ferland put the puck in with a backhand shot from a tight angle.

Fehr scored the Sharks’ seventh goal into the still empty net at 16:02. Hertl got an assist on that one.

The Sharks next play on Saturday in Vancouver at 7:00 pm PT.

After being injured Wednesday in Edmonton, Joonas Donskoi remained out and was replaced by Jannik Hansen for tonight’s game. There was no timetable for Donskoi’s return yet.

Barracuda’s win streak ends at four as Currie powers Condors’ explosive attack in 8-4 triumph

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Photo credit: @sjbarracuda

By Marko Ukalovic

Josh Currie wished he could play every game against the San Jose Barracuda (26-23-3-3 as his fifth career hat trick powered the Bakersfield Condors (24-22-9-1) to a 8-4 victory on Friday evening at Rabobank Arena. The loss snapped the Cuda’s four-game winning streak.

For Currie, also known as the Cuda killer, it was his second hat trick of the season against San Jose, and third overall against his NorCal rival. It was also his 14th career goal versus the Cuda and eighth goal in eight games so far this season.

The Cuda got the start they wanted getting on the board just 33 seconds into the game as Adam Helewka sent a shot in on net that rebounded off Condors goalie Laurent Brossoit (9-6-4) right to the stick of rookie sensation Rudolfs Balcers, who banged the puck into an empty net for with his team leading 17th goal of the season. Cuda captain John McCarthy received the secondary assist on the goal.

The Condors were able to tie the game up late in the first period when David Gust was able to make a great back-door pass over to Greyson Downing for an easy tap-in goal past Cuda goalie Antoine Bibeau (18-11-2) at the 14:10 mark. It was Downing’s fourth goal of the season.

The Cuda regained the lead with just under a minute left in the period when Helewka controlled the puck from left corner and circled around the zone before snapping home a shot over the left shoulder of Brossoit for a 2-1 lead. Helewka’s ninth goal of the season came on an almost impossible angle that surprised Brossoit at the 19:08 mark. Balcers received the lone assist on the goal.

The lead was short-lived. Just 35 seconds later, Currie scored his first of three consecutive goals and 17th goal of the season. Currie was able to make a move to skate around Sam Warning from the slot and fired a shot past Bibeau to complete a wild final minute of action.

Currie would give back the lead to Bakersfield with his second goal of the night just 19 seconds into the second period. Currie had a nice give-and-go with Joey LeLeggia, who dropped it back to Currie. Currie proceed to fire a one-timer past Bibeau for his team-leading 18th goal of the season.

The Cuda would fall victim to some bad luck when the Condors scored off a shot by Patrick Russell that hit off the back of Nick DeSimone and ricocheted into the net. The unassisted goal was Russell’s 10th goal of the season at the 5:19 mark of the second period.

Currie completed his hat trick against the Cuda when he was able to shoot the puck between his legs that snuck under the blocker of a surprised Bibeau. Zach O’Brien and Leleggia assisted on Curry’s 19th goal on the year at 13:37 mark of the second period.

The Cuda would get two goals 21 seconds apart in the first two minutes of the third period when Radim Simek put home a rebound off a Brandon Mashinter shot for his sixth goal of the season at the 1:33 mark. Then Colby McAuley would take advantage of a Condor turnover when he was able to roof a backhander top-shelf past Brossoit for his second career goal at the 1:54 mark to make it a one-goal game at 5-4.

However, Bakersfield regained their composure and scored the next three goals to squash any Cuda comeback attempt. Russell scored his second goal of the night after sending in an innocent-looking wrist shot that caught Bibeau by surprise as the puck cruised past his blocker for Russell’s 11th goal on the year at the 5:29 mark. Evan Polei had a puck ricochet off his jersey from a shot that hit the post for his third goal of the season at the 9:06 mark.

Polie would get his first multi-goal game when he completed the scoring for the Condors with an empty-netter at the 18:59 mark.

Brossoit made 23 saves on 27 shots to earn the victory, while Bibeau took the tough loss, making 23 saves on 30 shots.

GAMES NOTES: Both teams went 0/2 on their power plays, respectively.

Bakersfield was without their leading scorer, Ty Rattie, who was recalled up to the Edmonton Oilers. McCarthy is currently on a three-game point streak.

UP NEXT: The Barracuda travel down the road to Ontario to take on the Reign on Sunday 3/18. Faceoff is at 3 pm PST.

San Francisco Giants Podcast with Michael Duca: Pence finding his groove; Samardzija trying to find the right combination of pitches; plus more Giants news

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cumulus broadcasting file photo: San Francisco Giants pitcher Jeff Samardzija looks down at his glove, Samardzija gave up three home runs in Thursday pre season game to the San Diego Padres

On the San Francisco Giants Podcast with Michael Duca:

#1 Hunter Pence has really found his path, just like he said after he hit a grand slam earlier in the week in Thursday’s game as he tripled, singled, and double in consecutive innings.

#2 Is Jeff Samardzija struggling or just experimenting with pitches? He gave up four runs to the Padres, giving up three home runs in Thursday’s game.

#3 How impressed have you been thus far with Andrew McCuthen’s spring on Thursday? He hit a two-run single. He’s always noted for the RBI, and of course, he can go deep.

#4 Brandon Belt broke the deadlock off Pads pitcher Colten Brewer a seventh-inning blast. Talk about Belt’s spring and do you see him getting a lot of work at first base?

#5 Buster Posey says when he comes to the park, he’ll be mentally prepared to catch and only catch. He has not played first one game as of yet. Does that mean he’ll catch most of the spring, but he’ll play a little first or a lot more than he did last year?

Michael Duca does the SF Giants podcasts each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

NHL Podcast with Joe Lami: Kings move one point behind Sharks; Preds have won 12 of 13; Caps landslide Isles 7-2

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photo from dailynews.com: Kings center Anze Kopitar and the Red Wings defenseman Danny DeKeyser face off as Kopitar skates up ice with the puck in Thursday’s contest in Los Angeles at the Staples Center

On the NHL Podcast with Joe:

#1 Anze Kopitar got the Los Angeles Kings the go-ahead goal and the Kings ran away with it afterwards with 4-1 win past the Detroit Red Wings to move within two points of the Anaheim Ducks and a point behind San Jose.

#2 The Nashville Predators’ Kevin Fiala and Kyle Turris got goals and an assist each in the third period and Preds goaltender Pekka Rinne stopped 32 shots. Nashville with a 3-2 win over the Phoenix Coyotes improved to 12-0-1.

#3 TJ Oshie had himself a game as he scored twice, Dimitry Orlov and Nicklas Blackstrom also scored a goal and got two assists as the Capitals took it to the Islanders 7-2 and picked up their first three-game win streak since January.

#4 Patric Hornqvist with two goals helped in five of the Pittsburgh Penguins’ goals in their 5-3 win past the Montreal Canadiens. Tristan Jarry in net for Pittsburgh stopped 17 shots in place of starter Matt Murray, who’s out with a concussion.

#5 Columbus Blue Jackets’ Cam Atkinson scored a hat trick and got it with a second left in the game to help the CBJs pick up their sixth win in a row past the Philadelphia Flyers 5-3.

Joe Lami does the NHL Podcast each Friday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com