Month: March 2018

San Jose Earthquakes podcast with Ana Kieu: Quakes fall to Sporting KC 3-2 in Saturday matinee; France’s Paul Marie joins Quakes; plus more Quakes news

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On the San Jose Earthquakes podcast with Ana Kieu:

1. The Quakes battled it out with Sporting KC at Children’s Mercy Park last Saturday, but fell short, 3-2. Give us a brief recap on that back-and-forth match.

2. Chris Wondolowski scored his first goal of the season for a classy finish in the Quakes’ match against Sporting KC. Tell us more about Wondo and give us your prediction for the number of goals he’ll score this season.

3. Vako had a great first two games so far this season with two goals and two assists. What else can you say about him?

4. The Quakes signed defender Paul Marie, the club’s first-round selection in the 2018 MLS SuperDraft. Tell us more about this new signee in San Jose.

5. The Quakes will return home to host NYCFC on March 31st at 5 pm PST. I know you’ll be covering the match, but just give us your three keys to the game.

Ana Kieu does the San Jose Earthquakes podcasts each week at SportsRadioService.com.

San Jose Sharks podcast with Len Shapiro: Sharks get sweet road sweep; Timo Time scores twice against Canucks; Sharks got lots of offense going against Canucks

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On the San Jose Sharks podcast with Len Shapiro:

#1 The San Jose Sharks defeated the Vancouver Canucks 5-3 at the Rogers Arena on Saturday night, completing a sweep of their Western Canadian road trip.

#2 Two goals came from Timo Meier, including the game-winner. Tomas Hertl, Logan Couture and Kevin Labanc also scored three goals for the Sharks. Sharks goaltender Aaron Dell made 28 saves for the win.

#3 Canucks’ goals came from Nikolay Goldobin, Alexander Edler and Bo Horvat. Canucks goaltender Jacob Markstrom made 25 saves in a losing effort.

# 4 Sharks head coach Pete DeBoer described Saturday’s game as a “huge, gutsy performance. You know, when you have the deck stacked, end of a road trip, we lost two men early, down two guys

#5 The New Jersey Devils 37-26-8 head to SAP Center to face off with the Sharks Tuesday night. Jersey’s Taylor Hall leads the team in points, assists and goals how crucial is someone like Hall for New Jersey

Len Shapiro hosts the Sharks podcasts each Monday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Francisco Giants Podcast with Morris Phillips: Can SF get off to a strong start this season?; With Longoria, McCutchen, and Jackson, expect an improve offense; MadBum says first month doesn’t determine a season

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On the San Francisco Giants podcast with Morris Phillips:

#1 Can the Giants get off to a fast start to begin the 2018 campaign and considering how much the pitching had issues last season is that rear viewed, but the question is–how is the pitching coming along this spring?

#2 Manager Bruce Bochy is hoping for a strong beginning after San Francisco improved its lineup with Evan Longoria, Andy McCutchen, and utility outfielder Austin Jackson.

#3 Pitcher Madison Bumgarner is realistic about the beginning of the regular season saying that the first month doesn’t determine how a season is going to go and the pitching this spring has been spotty, but who knows? They can come out firing on all cylinders.

#4 Is one of the other concerns that the Giants got a little older rather than got younger or do the experienced guys have it in this line up to take them to postseason?

#5 The Giants are ten days away from getting ready for opening day at Dodger Stadium on the 29th of next week. What are some of the takeaways going into opening day that will make a difference?

Morris Phillips does the Giants podcasts each Monday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

 

NCAA March Madness Podcast with Michelle Richardson: Ingram’s 3-point buzzer beater keeps Cinderella Loyola Chicago alive; Michigan’s Poole hits a 3-point buzzer-beater for 64-63 win; Coach K passes Summitt for all-time wins

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On the NCAA March Madness Podcast with Michelle:

#1 It’s getting exciting about this time of the season as March Madness as Loyola Chicago’s Donte Ingram shot a three-point buzzer beater that got the win past Tennessee 63-62 as the Cinderella story continues.

# 2   Another buzzer beater a three-pointer from Michigan’s Jordan Poole to defeat Houston 64-63.

#3 Duke head coach Mike Kryzewski picked up his milestone 1,099th win, passing Pat Summitt for the wins in Division One history.

Michelle’s Final Thoughts

Join Michelle Richardson for the NCAA March Madness Podcast each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Barracuda gain a point, but fall 5-4 to Reign in overtime

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Photo credit: @sjbarracuda

By: Ana Kieu

The San Jose Barracuda were looking to rain on the Ontario Reign’s parade at the Citizens Business Bank Arena on Sunday.

The Barracuda tweeted out their starting lineups in a fairly creative manner.

The Reign got off to a strong start as Philippe Maillet finished a wraparound to open the scoring for a 1-0 lead at the the 16:06 mark of the first period. A Reign player then fired a shot into the net, but Cuda goalie Antoine Bibeau stopped the shot with a notable save.

The Barracuda went on their first power play of the game after the Reign committed a faceoff violation. However, Ontario made it a 2-0 game when Jonny Brodzinski (Mike Brodzinski’s older brother) buried a one-timer from the far side with a minute left in the first.

Shots were 7-6 in favor of the Reign, who led 2-0 after the first.

But the action was just getting started in the rivalry game. Both teams exchanged words with each other. This time around, they remained at even strength, which was a rare occurrence.

A Reign player was called for high-sticking and the Cuda returned on the power play. Not only that, San Jose scored just 10 seconds into that power play. Alex True collected a deflection from Nick DeSimone and fired the puck into the net to cut Ontario’s lead in half at the 13:12 mark of the second period.

After a Cuda power play that was sparked by a Reign tripping penalty, Julius Bergman helped his team erase a two-goal deficit with a full-strength goal to tie the game with 7:08 left in the second. San Jose then went on a 5-on-3 penalty kill as Adam Helewka and Brandon Mashinter went to the box for boarding.

The Cuda were short-handed and the Reign capitalized with the man advantage as Jonny Brodzinski scored a power-play goal–his second of the game–with 4:57 left in the second. With that goal, Brodzinski tallied his 1,000th AHL point.

The Cuda’s power play was most definitely good. Jacob Middleton tied the game at three apiece with 28 seconds left in the second. The officials reviewed Middleton’s goal and decided that it was still good.

Shots were 22-21 in favor of the Cuda, but the score was even at three apiece after the second.

Nobody predicted a wild start, but the Cuda took a 4-3 lead on a short-handed play by DeSimone early in the third period.

It was a first for both teams when San Jose’s Zach Fryes dropped the gloves with Ontario’s Jordan Subban (P.K. and Malcolm Subban’s youngest brother). Fryes experienced his first professional fight, while Subban and his team had their first fight against the Cuda since the 2015-16 AHL season.

Since the Cuda didn’t want to be left out of time in the box, the game headed into a 4-on-4 and the Reign tied the game at four apiece. After that, Ontario headed back on the power play for the remainder of the game, which went into a sudden death overtime.

There’s nothing like an extra dose of hockey, but the game was in favor of the Reign. Just 59 seconds into overtime, Reign captain Brett Sutter scored the overtime winner for a 5-4 win over the Cuda, who gained a point regardless of the final result.

Notes
Tonight’s Matchup: On Sunday, the Barracuda and Reign collided for the seventh of eight matchups on the season. The Barracuda are 2-4-0-0 against the Reign this year and are coming off a 2-1 shootout win against the Reign in the last meeting on March 4 at SAP Center.

Century Mark: The Cuda earned franchise victory #100 with a 4-0 win over the Monsters on March 10. The Barracuda joined the Reign, Gulls and *Texas Stars (*play 76 game schedule) as Pacific Division teams to reach 100 wins since 2015-16.

Killing It: The Cuda have killed 17 straight on the PK after going 2-for-2 on Friday and have not given up a power-play goal since March 23 at Bakersfield. San Jose ranks first in the Pacific on the kill and seventh in the AHL.

Oh Captain: Cuda captain John McCarthy collected six points (three goals, three assists) in two games against the Monsters last weekend, culminating in his first CCM/AHL Player of the Week nomination. McCarthy helped lead San Jose to a 6-2 win on Saturday as he collected his first pro hat-trick (sixth in Cuda history) and his first four-point night. The Olympian ranks first on the Cuda in plus/minus (+7), first in power-play goals (6), T-second in goals (10), and third in points (23). McCarthy is riding a three-game point streak (three goals, four assists).

Hey Rudy: Among first-year AHL players, Rudolfs Balcers ranks eighth in points (40), T-10th in assists (22), and T-13th in goals (17). The Liepaja, Latvia native leads the Cuda in points, assists, goals, and is T-first in game-winning goals (4). Balcers is currently on a three-game point streak after collecting a goal and an assist on Friday.

Goalie Time: In his fourth professional season, and first within the Sharks’ organization, AHL All-Star Antoine Bibeau is 18-12-2 in 32 games played with a 2.25 goals-against average and a .923 save percentage. The Victoriaville, Quebec, native is T-fourth in the AHL in shutouts (4), fifth in goals-against average, T-seventh in save percentage, and T-10th in wins.

Coach Knows Best: Cuda head coach and Bay Area native Roy Sommer collected the 700th AHL win of his career on December 3 at Bakersfield. Sommer is the first coach in the 82-year history of the AHL to reach 700 coaching wins. In 2015-16, Sommer surpassed Fred “Bun” Cook as the AHL’s all-time leader in wins and collected his first A.R. Pieri Memorial Award as AHL Coach of the Year in 2016-17. Sommer, who’s in his AHL record 20th season behind the bench for the top affiliate of the Sharks, coached his 1,500th game in the AHL on December 8 at SAP Center against Tucson.

Up Next
The Barracuda visit the Roadrunners for the first of a back-to-back set Tuesday night at 7:05 pm PST.

NCAA March Madness/Stanford Cardinal Podcast with Matt Harrington: After narrowly getting by BYU, Cardinal have work cut out for them at Oklahoma State

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On the NCAA March Madness/Stanford Cardinal podcast with Matt Harrington:

#1 Stanford (19-15) got by the BYU Cougars 86-83 in close fashion last Wednesday night at Maples Pavilion to take the first step towards the Big Dance.

#2 Reid Travis led Stanford with 25 and 14 rebounds. Travis has been solid all season.

#3 The Cougars had defeated St Mary’s before losing to Gonzaga in the WCC Tournament, but it shows beating St. Mary’s, how potent BYU was and Stanford battled to edge them out.

#4 The Cougars got within two points with nine seconds left in the contest as the Cardinal were leading 85-83 towards the end. BYU made two last shots from the field, but could tie the ball game.

#5 It’s off to Oklahoma State (20-14) Monday night as the Cardinal try to advance it’s a 4:00 pm PDT start

Matt Harrington does podcast commentary on Stanford basketball during March Madness at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

MLB Podcast with Daniel Dullum: It’s decision time for SF Giants’ 40-man roster; Cotton out for season with Tommy John for A’s; Will new rule changes work for MLB?

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On the MLB Podcast with Daniel Dullum:

1 Giants: Decision time for three players on 40-man roster that are out of options.

2 A’s: Jharel Cotton is having Tommy John surgery and will be out for the season. He was originally diagnosed with a sprained elbow.

3 Will the new MLB rules actually work?

4 Should Angels’ phenom Shohei Ohtani start the season in the minors?

#5 Former Kansas City Athletic and New York Met Ed Charles 84 a tribute to Charles who passed away earlier this week

Daniel Dullum does the MLB podcast each Sunday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

Kings give maximum effort on the road but come up short to Jazz 103-97

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment
MASON vs Jazz
Frank Mason III takes it to the hoop vs Jazz Photo @SacramentoKings

by Charlie O. Mallonee

The Sacramento Kings ended a nightmare five games in seven nights stretch with a “Battle Royale” versus the playoff bound Utah Jazz in Salt Lake City on Saturday night. The Kings played a very competitive game for a full 48-minutes but came up just short losing to the Jazz 103-97.

The Kings had to battle the talent of the Jazz, the fatigue of having played at Golden State on Friday night and playing at altitude – SLC sits 4226 feet above sea level. Sacramento played those five games in five different cities – only the Miami game was played in SAC. They also played in three different time zones. Even under those adverse conditions, the Kings finished this punishing part of their schedule with two wins and three loses.

Despite not arriving in Utah until 2 am, Sacramento showed no fatigue starting the game fast and with high energy. The team continued to play hard in the second quarter and took a 54-50 lead into the locker room at halftime. The Kings 3-point shooting helped to carrying them in the first half as they 8-of-11 (72.7-percent) from behind the arc in the opening 24-minutes. Buddy Hield came off the bench to lead the scoring for Sacramento with 10 points while Rudy Gobert was the top scorer for the Jazz with 13.

The Kings have battled third-quarter let downs all season long but managed to avoid that problem in this game. They did fall behind by 10 points in the period but rebounded late in the quarter and trailed the Jazz by just one – 80 to 79 – after three quarters.

In the final period, the score seesawed back and forth with neither team able to take control of the game. The game was tied at 94-all with 40-seconds remaining. Joe Ingles hit two free throws to give Utah the lead then Ricky Rubio hit two from the charity stripe to give the Jazz a four-point lead 24-seconds to go.

The Kings had to foul to stop the clock and keep the game close. They fouled Gobert who converted two free throws to make it six-point game. Garrett Temple hit a 3-pointer to bring the Kings back within three-points then they had to foul Ingles again. Ingles hit the first free throw but missed the second. Gobert grabbed the rebound slammed the ball home to give the Jazz a 103-97 lead which would be the final score.

Top Performances

Kings

Utah Kings starting 5
Kings starting five vs Utah Photo @SacramentoKings
  • Buddy Hield came off the bench to be the leading scorer for his team with 23-points. “Buddy Buckets” shot 9-for-15 for the game and hit 5-of-8 3-point attempts. Hield also led his team with six assists.
  • Bogdan Bogdanovic posted 12 points but had a tough night shooting. He hit just 5-of-17 shots overall and was 2-for-3 from long-range.
  • Fox scored 11-points, grabbed four rebounds, made four steals and handed out two assists but also struggled from the field hitting just 4-of-13 attempts.
  • Garrett Temple had a good game coming off the bench to score 11-points. He shot 4-for-7 and was a perfect 3-for-3 from downtown.
  • Other Sac contributors: Cauley-Stein 9-points, Koufos and Mason III 8 each, Labissiere 7, Sampson 6, Jackson 2.

Jazz

Utah vs Kings 3-17
Photo @utahjazz
  • Rookie of the year candidate Donovan Mitchell was the high-scorer for the game with 28-points. Mitchell shot 11-for-21 from the field but was an awful 1-for-8 from 3-point land. He hit 5-of-6 from the free throw line.
  • Rudy Gobert recorded a double-double scoring 22 points and hauling in 13 rebounds.
  • Ricky Rubio was expected to miss the game after being injured in the Suns game on Thursday, but he did make the start. The point guard scored 14-points, recorded nine rebounds and dished out five dimes.
  • Joe Ingles posted 14 points, seven rebounds and a game-high nine assists.

By the Numbers

Sacramento (23-48)

  • The Kings bench outscored the Utah reserves 56-15. Dave Joerger would like to have that kind of bench production every game.
  • SAC was hot from behind the arc as they hit 14-of-21 (66.7-percent) from 3-point range versus the Jazz.
  • The team shot an acceptable 43-percent (37-for-86) for the game.
  • The Kings recorded 33 rebounds versus 48 for the Jazz.
  • Sacramento scored 20 points off 16 Utah turnovers.
  • SAC dished out 23 assists versus 14 turnovers.
  • The Kings went to the free throw line just 14 times while Utah went to the stripe 38 times.

Utah (40-30)

  • Second chance points may have been the key to the Jazz win Saturday night. Utah scored eight second chance points to just three for the Kings.
  • Success at the free throw line was also a major contributing factor in Jazz win. They converted 31-of-38 opportunities from line. Sacramento went 9-for-14 shooting free throws.
  • UTA dominated the battle in the paint outscoring SAC 46-30 down low.
  • Utah shot 44.6-percent (33-for-74) for the contest.
  • They did not have a great not from downtown hitting just 6-of-24 (25-percent) from 3-point range.

 Up Next

Kings

SAC opens a six-game homestand with the Detroit Pistons on Monday night at the Golden 1 Center. The Pistons made a big trade for Blake Griffin to make a drive for the playoffs in the Eastern Conference but are now six games out of contention for the eighth and final postseason spot.

Jazz

UTA will stay in Salt Lake City and prepare for the “tanking” Atlanta Hawks who will come to town on Tuesday night. The Hawks occupy last place in the NBA East. Atlanta will continue their road trip on Thursday night in Sacramento.

Warriors remain without Big Three, but manage to get it going as they rout Suns 124-109

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Photo credit: @warriors

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Golden State Warriors, still smarting from the loss to Sacramento Friday night, downed the Phoenix Suns 124-109 at the Talking Stick Resort Arena on Saturday night.

The Warriors were again without the Big Three of Steph Curry (ankle), Klay Thompson (thumb), and Kevin Durant (fractured rib). However, it didn’t matter as the Warriors regained their form and played championship-caliber basketball.

Granted, it was the lowly Suns, but the Warriors had to find a way to get the 73 points that the Big Three averaged each night. They found a way as they were led by All-Star forward Draymond Green, who had a season-high 25 points and almost had a triple-double as he had eight assists and 11 rebounds to go with his 25 points.

Quinn Cook, who had a career-high game with 25 against Sacramento, set a new season-high with 28. Cook also knocked down five 3-point shots.

Nick Young–aka Swaggy P–tallied 20 points, including 3 three-point shots.

After falling behind 6-0 early in the first period, the Suns led most of the way in the first half. They led the Dubs 34-30 after the first 12 minutes of the game and outscored them by four to finish the first half with an eight-point lead of 60-52.

Again, the third quarter belonged to Golden State. They outscored the Suns 42-25 to finish the third period with a nine-point lead. Cook scored 16 of his 28 points in the third quarter. He made all six of his shots, including three 3-pointers.

The Warriors’ defense held the Suns to 24 in the fourth quarter, and the offense put 30 on the board to give the Warriors the win 124-109.

Game Notes and Stats: Warriors head coach Steve Kerr had to be pleased with the play of Draymond Green and Quinn Cook. Cook has been impressive in the last two games, and that bodes well for him being a Warrior in the future.

However, since Cook is a two-way player (plays with the Santa Cruz and Golden State Warriors), he will not be eligible for the playoffs.

Draymond Green has asserted himself as the team leader in Curry’s absence, and Kerr had this to say about Draymond: “Without our other three All-Stars, he’s taking on a different look and playing a different position, running different plays from those positions … Draymond likes to be challenged intellectually in this game, and I think this stretch right now, he’s energized because he’s doing something different.”

Green had also worked to encourage his teammates more, which was evident in the third quarter, when the Warriors outscored the Suns, 42-25.

“I think it’s important to not get frustrated and continue to encourage them,” Green said. “Guys are already out of their comfort zone.”

The Warriors had six players in double figures. Green 25, Cook 28, Young 20, Shaun Livingston 11, Andre Iguodala 11, David West 10, and Kevon Looney had a career-high 13.

The Suns were led by Josh Johnson who poured in 36, Troy Daniels 18 including three 3-point shots, Elfrid Payton 11 and Marquese Chriss 10. The Suns’ rising star player, Devin Booker, did not play due to sprained right hand.

Warriors’ forward Omri Casspi did not play, and his return to action is uncertain.

Up Next: The Warriors face the Spurs Monday night at 6:30 pm PST.

Meier Scores Two Goals, Sharks Beat Canucks 5-3

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Photo credit: @SanJoseSharks

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks defeated the Vancouver Canucks 5-3 at the Rogers Arena on Saturday night, completing a sweep of their Western Canadian road trip. Two goals came from Timo Meier, including the game-winner. Tomas Hertl, Logan Couture and Kevin Labanc also scored three goals for the Sharks. Sharks goaltender Aaron Dell made 28 saves for the win.

Canucks’ goals came from Nikolay Goldobin, Alexander Edler and Bo Horvat. Canucks goaltender Jacob Markstrom made 25 saves in a losing effort.

Sharks head coach Pete DeBoer described Saturday’s game as a “huge, gutsy performance. You know, when you have the deck stacked, end of a road trip, we lost two men early, down two guys. You know, we were up and then kind of let them back in the game and still found a way to rebound. I thought it was a huge character…gutsy, all those adjectives.”

The game added some injuries to the road trip’s casualty list.

First, Melker Karlsson started the game with Joe Pavelski and Evander Kane, but left the ice in the first four minutes, limping after blocking a shot from Alexander Edler. Marc-Edouard Vlasic left the game about five minutes into the second period, after taking a deflected slap shot in the neck or face area. Neither player returned to the game, and the team had no updates in postgame.

Joonas Donskoi missed his second game since being injured in Edmonton. Joakim Ryan also missed Saturday’s game with an upper body injury.

Vancouver’s Nikolay Goldobin opened the scoring with a power play goal at 10:48. Goldobin’s quick shot around a lot of moving traffic beat Dell on on the right side. Assists went to Derrick Pouliot and Reid Boucher.

San Jose’s Kevin Labanc tied it up at 14:58, also with a power play goal. Pavelski scooped up a skittering rebound created by a Logan Couture shot, then tapped it over to Labanc for a close-in shot.

Couture added to the lead just over a minute later. Tomas Hertl carried the puck over the blue line and sent an ungainly-looking pass in Couture’s direction. Couture was still fighting his way toward the net. The puck reached him just as he started to lose his balance but his backhand shot went home. Assists went to Hertl and Mikkel Boedker.

Meier gave the Sharks a 3-1 lead less than two minutes into the second period. Right off an offensive zone faceoff, Brenden Dillon took a shot from the blue line and Meier tipped it in from the hashmarks.

Bo Horvat trimmed the Sharks lead at 5:23 with another Vancouver power play goal. Sam Gagner looked like he would take the shot, but instead passed the puck to Horvat, who was right on the doorstep. Assists went to Gagner and Alexander Edler.

Edler tied the game up with yet another power play goal. A Meier penalty was about to expire when Paul Martin went to the box for high sticking. The 16 second five-on-three was killed off by Braun, Tierney and Dillon, but with 34 seconds left in the second penalty, Edler’s slap shot found its way by Dell. Assists went to Gagner and Daniel Sedin.

The tie held until 8:07 of the third, when Meier took a great shot from above the faceoff dot and beat Markstrom on the right side. Assists went to Labanc and Braun.

Hertl put the nail in the coffin with an empty-net goal at 19:35. He carried it all the way from the Sharks’ net to the Vancouver zone, avoiding some defenders on the way before taking the shot.

The win puts San Jose five points ahead of Los Angeles and Anaheim, as well as the two current wild card teams, Dallas and Colorado. They still trail the Pacific Division’s first place Las Vegas by six points.

Paul Martin played his first NHL game in four months. Despite taking a penalty, he seems to be ready to step in. Tim Heed is another possibility to fill in on the blue line, playing currently with the AHL’s San Jose Barracuda.

The Sharks next play on Tuesday against the visiting New Jersey Devils, who are on a bit of a tear right now. They have won three in a row against Western Conference teams, including that noteworthy 8-3 win over Las Vegas. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:30 pm PT.