Month: November 2018

San Jose Sharks podcast with Len Shapiro: Satisfying win against Canucks, will it pick up momentum going into five-game road trip for the Sharks?

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photo from citizens-times.com: San Jose Sharks’ Joe Thornton (19) shoots the puck during the first period of the team’s NHL hockey game against the Vancouver Canucks in San Jose, Calif., Friday, Nov. 23, 2018.

On the Sharks podcast with Len:

#1 After taking a tough loss to the Edmonton Oilers (10-10-2) on Tuesday the San Jose Sharks (12-7-4) came right back on Friday night and shutout the struggling Vancouver Canucks (10-13-2) 4-0. Was this a game of the Sharks showing improvement over Tuesday’s game or the Canucks, who now have lost eight straight, are just a bad club?

#2 San Jose goaltender Aaron Dell save 19 shots and didn’t allow a goal in net for the Sharks.

#3 The Sharks’ Joe Thornton hit a milestone with his 1,035th assist 750 of those with San Jose, eclipsing former Pittsburgh Penguin Mario Lemeiux.

#4 The Sharks got goal help from Logan Couture first period at 10:54 (8), Timo Meier (13) at 19:50, third period Erik Karlsson (2) at 3:43 and Melker Karlsson (1) at 9:35.

#5 The Sharks hit the road starting tonight in Vegas (11-12-1) for the first of five games. How do you see them faring on this current trip?

Len does the Sharks podcasts each Saturday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

NHL podcast with Matt Harrington: Sabres’ OT goal sinks Habs 3-2; Ducks gain confidence in win over Oilers after losing two; Tuch gets key goal in Vegas’ shutout over the Flames; plus more

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photo from yahoosports.com: Buffalo Sabres’ Sam Reinhart (23), Jeff Skinner and Jck Eichel (9) celebrate a goal during the third period of the team’s NHL hockey game against the Montreal Canadiens, Friday, Nov. 23, 2018, in Buffalo N.Y.

On the NHL podcast with Matt:

#1 The Buffalo Sabres’ Jeff Skinner had himself an evening against the the Montreal Canadiens, scoring the game-winning goal in overtime to hand the Sabres a 3-2 victory. Skinner also scored a goal late in third period as the Sabres have won eight straight games.

#2 The Anaheim Ducks reassured their confidence with a win over in overtime over the Edmonton Oilers on Friday night. The Ducks had lost two straight games to the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Colorado Avalanche. The Ducks’ Richard Rakell scored in first 14 seconds of the overtime stanza to beat the Oilers.

#3 At the T-Mobile Center in Las Vegas, the Vegas Golden Knights’ Alex Tuch nailed a goal and an assist as the Knights got a 2-0 shutout win over the Calgary Flames Friday night.

#4 In a match that was physical to say the least between the Minnesota Wild and the Winnipeg Jets, the Wild got a go-ahead goal that proved to be the gamer when Eric Staal got a goal with just 2:54 left in the regulation. The game saw it’s share of penalties and the Wild were up on the Jets 2-0 after two periods. Wild win it 4-2.

#5 The Washington Capitals got goals from Michal Kempny and Alex Ovechkin at 1:56 in the third period to help defeat the Detroit Red Wings 3-1. The Caps have won four straight and the Wings are 10-10-2 with 22 points sixth place in the Atlantic Division.

Join Matt for the NHL podcast each Saturday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Warriors rout the Trail Blazers 125-97 to snap a four-game losing streak

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Photo credit: @warriors

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Golden State Warriors needed something to get them on track to snap a four-game losing streak. The last time the Warriors lost four in a row was in the 2012-13 season when Mark Jackson coached them. The Warriors’ offense had been sluggish the previous four games, and they were without two All-Stars Steph Curry and Draymond Green. Steph Curry did not have a good day after Thanksgiving. On his way into Oakland, Curry’s car was involved in an accident as the car in front of him spun out and stuck his vehicle in the front. Curry was then hit by a second car in the rear. Thankfully, Curry was not injured in the accident and was in attendance to watch his team rout the Portland Trail Blazers 125-97 at Oracle Arena on Friday night.

Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson paced the Warriors’ offense with 32 and 31 points, respectively. The Warriors’ defense held the dynamic Portland backcourt duo of Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum to 42 points. The Warriors looked like team the team that had won three championships in the last four years. They ran, they played defense, and they made three-point shots to sent the Blazers down to defeat. They found their mojo in the second quarter and kept it going all the way through the game.

The Warriors fell behind early once more. The Warriors came close to grabbing the lead, but Portland held them off, and they finished the first half with the lead 27-24. The Warriors vaunted defense finally got untracked in the second quarter as the held the Blazers to just 27 points while the offense put 35 points on the board to finish the first half with the lead 59-44. Durant scored 19 points in the first 24 minutes of play. He rebounded, he passed off to teammates that were open for shots, and he blocked shots. Thompson had 14, Quinn Cook 6, Jonas Jerebko 6, and Damion Lee 5.

Portland played better in the third quarter as they tallied 29. The Warriors answered the challenge as they scored 33 to finish the quarter with a 19-point lead 93-73. Thompson and Durant showed the Blazers the reason that they are perennial All-Stars as they led the way for Golden State.

The Warriors’ offense continued to percolate in the fourth quarter as they outscored Portland 33-24 to finish the game 125-97. Quinn Cook knocked down a couple of threes to ice the win for Golden State.

Game Notes and Stats: It was the second time ever that Klay Thompson and Kevin Durant scored over 30 points in the game. The Warriors’ defense held McCollum and Lillard to 42 points.

The Blazers’ big center Jusuf Nurkic added 22. Al-Farouq Aminu had 12, and Meyers Leonard had eight off the bench.

Quinn Cook kicked in with 19, and he made five threes. The Warriors’ bench came to life as they tallied 37 and helped the Warriors blow out the Blazers.

With the win, The Warriors improved to 13-7 while Portland dropped to 12-7.

Up Next: The Warriors play the rapidly improving Sacramento Kings Saturday night at Oracle Arena. The Kings are 10-8 so far this year. The game will start at 5:30 pm PT.

Sharks Blank Canucks 4-0; Dell shuts out Vancouver with 19 saves

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Photo credit: @SanJoseSharks

By Mary Walsh

SAN JOSE — The San Jose Sharks defeated the Vancouver Canucks 4-0 at SAP Center on Friday night. Three power play goals came from Logan Couture, Timo Meier and Erik Karlsson. The only even-strength goal of the game came from Melker Karlsson. Erik Karlsson had two assists along with his goal for three points on the night. Sharks goalie Aaron Dell made 19 saves for the win, while Canucks goalie Anders Nilsson made 20 saves in a losing effort.

After the game, Dell talked about the Sharks’ defensive success: “They were great tonight. Most of the shots they had were long, ones I could see them all the way. I don’t think they had any second opportunities the whole night. That goes to show how solid defensively we were tonight.”

Sharks head coach Peter DeBoer commented on the six-game homestand in general:

We played some tough teams during this home stand and found a way to win some games, and did it different ways too. I thought we tightened things up the last few games defensively. Got some great goaltending from Deller in a couple of the last games. Some special teams tonight, the power play. And the pk’s been solid the entire time. So, a lot of good stuff. It’s never perfect, you always want to be a little better. And heading on the road, I think we’re going to have to be a little bit better to win games.

The Sharks had three power plays in the first period and made good use of them. Logan Couture scored at 10:54 just four seconds into the second of those three. The Sharks won an offensive zone faceoff and got the puck to Erik Karlsson at the blue line. He got it right to Couture across the ice and he took the shot from above the faceoff circle for his eighth goal of the season. Assists went to Karlsson and Kevin Labanc.

Timo Meier scored their second goal, at the tail end of a four-minute power play drawn by Lukas Radil. Joe Thornton took a shot that rebounded off Nilsson’s pads, and scooped the puck back up just above the goal line. He took another shot from a very tough angle. Meier was right at the blue paint to nudge it over the line at 19:50 for his 13th goal of the season. Assists went to Thornton and Brent Burns.

The Sharks outshot the Canucks 12-8 in the first period. During the second period, the penalty scale tipped in Vancouver’s favor, but the Sharks killed all three Canuck power plays. They did lose something in the shot count, with Vancouver again getting eight shots during the period and the Sharks only getting credit for five.

Just over a minute into the third period, Logan Couture took a stick to the eye area and went to the dressing room. None of the officials observed the incident so no penalty was called. San Jose did get a power play at 2:54 when the Canucks were penalized for delay of game. The Sharks were moving the puck well when, halfway through the power play, Joe Thornton made a sneaky no-look pass to Erik Karlsson in the slot. His shot went over Nillson’s pad for Karlsson’s second of the season. Assists went to Thornton and Kevin Labanc.

The Sharks were not done yet. Melker Karlsson scored his first of the season redirecting an Erik Karlsson shot at 9:35. Barclay Goodrow’s faceoff win got to Brenden Dillon, whose pass found Erik Karlsson in the middle of the blue line.

The Sharks next play tomorrow in Las Vegas against the Golden Knights at 7:00 PM PT.

Eagles edge Barracuda 4-3 in OT

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Photo credit: @sjbarracuda

By Marko Ukalovic

The Colorado Eagles gave up a two-goal lead, but found redemption in overtime for their first overtime win of the season in a 4-3 victory over
the San Jose Barracuda at the Budweiser Event Center on Friday evening. Colorado has won two games in a row. It was the third road loss in a row for San Jose.

Scott Kosmachuk, who blew an earlier breakaway overtime attempt, scored the game-winning goal when he was set up by Logan O’Connor and was able to bury the puck top-shelf on the short side of the net for his sixth goal of the season at the 3:30 mark. Anton Lindholm received the secondary assist.

Colorado (8-7-3-0) drew first blood early in the first period. Dominic Toninato made a toe drag move to get off a back handed shot that Tyler Lewis tapped in a deflection past Cuda goalie Antoine Bibeau (4-2-1) for his third goal of the season at the 4:22 mark. Ryan Graves received the secondary assist.

San Jose (10-3-1-1) scored the equalizer four minutes later after putting on relentless pressure Eagles goalie Pavel Francouz (7-4-1). Alexander True collected a rebound from a Thomas Gregoire shot from the point and fired the puck into an empty net for his third goal of the season at the at the 8:17 mark.  He has score in back-to-back games since he was goalless in 10 straight games. Jon Martin received the secondary assist.

Andrew Aggozino continued to stay hot as he gave back the Eagles the lead on the power play at the 12:17 mark. Aggozino sent in a wrist shot past the five-hole of Bibeau for his ninth goal of the season. With the unassisted goal, Aggozino now has 11 points in his last 12 games.

Colorado finished the first 20 minutes with a two-goal lead, thanks to Jean-Christophe Beaudin. A.J. Greer won a battle along the board and sent over a pass and Beaudin rewarded Greer’s work with his fifth goal of the season at the 19:33 mark. Michael Joly received the secondary assist.

Manny Weiderer gave momentum back to the Cuda in the second period when he scored San Jose’s second short handed goal of the season. With Francis Perron in the sin bin, Wiederer received the puck off a turnover and skated all alone on a breakaway. He snapped a shot inside the near post past Francouz for his fourth goal on the season at the 12:59 mark. 

Perron tied the game up early in the third period. He was left all alone by the Colorado defense and snapped home a shot past Francouz for his team-leading ninth goal of the season at the 4:28 mark.

Francouz made 31 saves on 34 shots to earn the victory. Bibeau finished with 39 saves on 43 shots, in another solid performance in the net, suffered the loss.

GAME NOTES: San Jose was 0/4 on the power play. Colorado was 1/3.

Colorado is now 1-3 in overtime games. San Jose is 0-1.

FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT! San Jose and Colorado exchanged fisticuffs twice in the game. Kyle Wood and Travis Barron tangoed with each other in the second period. Jeffery Truchon-Viel and Mason Geertsen battled in the third period.

The announced attendance was 5,289.

UP NEXT: The Barracuda take on the Eagles on Saturday, Nov. 24 at 6:05 pm PT at the Budweiser Events Center.

Cardinal beat the Blue Raiders 67-54, salvage seventh place in the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament

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Photo credit: @StanfordMBB

By Daniel Dullum
Sports Radio Service
Friday, November 23, 2018

Stanford salvaged the third game of their participation in the Battle 4 Atlantis, defeating Middle Tennessee 67-54 in the seventh-place contest at Imperial Arena in The Bahamas.

Earlier in the tournament, Stanford lost to No. 25 Wisconsin and Florida.

KZ Okpala led the Cardinal (3-3) with 22 points, with Daejon Davis adding nine points, four assists and 10 rebounds. Cormac Ryan contributed nine points and eight boards. Bryce Wills added five assists.

The Cardinal took a permanent lead midway through the first half, and held a 32-23 advantage at the half. Stanford shot 48 percent from the field in the second half when the Cardinal built an 18-point lead.

Stanford outscored Middle Tennessee 35-31 in the second half.

Antonio Green led the Blue Raiders (3-4) with 21 points, and Jayce Johnson added 14 points and five rebounds. James Hawthorne grabbed eight rebounds and scored eight points for Middle Tennessee, which shot 36 percent from the field.

Middle Tennessee was a 6.5 point favorite.

Stanford’s demanding road schedule continues when the Cardinal travel to Lawrence, Kan., to face No. 2 Kansas on Saturday, Dec. 1.

Four Keys to a 49ers Victory Against the Buccaneers

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Photo credit: @NBCS49ers

By: Joe Lami

The bye week has come and gone for the San Francisco 49ers, but they still have winnable games ahead, including this Sunday against the 3-7 Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Tampa Bay has been a similar train wreck. Inconsistency at the quarterback position has doomed them with Jameis Winston and Ryan Fitzpatrick sharing the duties.

Winston will get the start Sunday after winning his job back (yet again) after Sunday’s comeback win against the Giants. But he hasn’t been great, completing 65% of his passes for 1,380 yards and eight touchdowns. The problem has been taking care of the ball, with 11 interceptions and five fumbles.

Here are my four keys to a 49ers victory against the Buccaneers:

Takeaways
With Tampa’s inability to take care of the ball, it’s time for the defense to shine. San Francisco has the league’s worst takeaway total thus far, with just five on the season. This week needs to be the turnaround week for a mediocre defense that can’t make the play to get them off the field. Tampa Bay has given the ball away league-worst 29 times.

Tampa’s defense also doesn’t get takeaways either, with just six on the season. Their -23 differential is the only the one worse than San Francisco’s -15.

In a game that’s sure to be sloppy, winning the turnover battle is a must.

Injuries
Coming off of the bye week gives San Francisco a fighting chance to finally get healthy. Matt Breida has been battling a nagging ankle injury all season long and could have a great second half to the season if he can remain healthy. He was not listed on the team’s injury report as of Friday.

Reuben Foster also saw limited practice earlier in the week and could make a key return to the middle linebacking spot for the 49ers, after sitting out since Week 9 with a hamstring issue.

Pierre Garcon didn’t practice on Wednesday but remains hopeful on making a key return.

Game Plan
Nick Mullens will be making his third career start on Sunday. In his debut, he torched the Raiders en route to an easy win. However, he struggled more against the Giants, throwing 250 yards, a touchdown, and a pick. The key difference was the game plan.

Against the Raiders, he was making quick and timely decisions. Most of the play calls had him managing the game and not taking huge risks. Against the Giants, they tried to take more risks down the field and it didn’t work. Receivers couldn’t get open for him and he was unable to move the ball effectively.

Return to what worked against the Raiders on offense.

The defensive play calling has also been suspect under Robert Saleh. The 49ers hardly blitzed against a Giants team two weeks ago that was averaging four sacks surrendered a game. They thought their front four could bring enough pressure, but that didn’t work, sacking Eli Manning only once.

Tampa Bay is another struggling team. Be more aggressive on defense. Make the Buccaneers make some plays. The 49ers secondary isn’t good enough to create coverage sacks. Don’t get beat because you’re scared, get beat because you went down swinging.

Also, adapt. It appears both coaches are terrible at adapting in-game and can’t recognize what’s being given to them. This season may be lost, but when the 49ers have a team talented enough to win games, adapting mid game is crucial.

Get Going Early
The early body clock games have seemed to always have been a nightmare for San Francisco. Since 2015, the Niners are 3-13 for the 10 am PST kickoff. Two of the wins have come under Shanahan, but only when he had Garoppolo. A fast start is necessary for a team that has always struggled with the early kickoff.

Cal Bears basketball podcast with Michael Duca: Cal comes home Monday night after double defeat in Brooklyn

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Photo credit: @CalMBBall

Cal Bears Basketball podcast with Miguel:

#1 The Cal Men’s basketball team isn’t exactly the biggest teams in size with no players over 6’8

#2 The Bears (1-3) with the smaller size had struggled on defense

#3 In the game against Temple last Tuesday in Brooklyn for the Legends Classic Cal lost 75-59

#4 Temple scored 19 of the game’s first 24 points in a double digit lead setting the tone

#5 Cal is back at Haas Monday night November 26th against Santa Clara Broncos (0-4) should be a game that the Bears should be able to handle as the Broncos are still looking for their first win

Michael Duca does the Cal Bears basketball podcasts each Friday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Jose State men’s basketball returns home to host Santa Clara

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Photo credit: sjsuspartans.com

By: Ana Kieu

SAN JOSE, Calif. — After four straight losses, San Jose State are desperate for some home cooking again. This time, against rival Santa Clara inside the Event Center on Saturday afternoon. By the way, this will be the back end of a doubleheader with the women’s basketball team. The women host CSU Bakersfield at 12:00 pm and the men will play at 3:00 pm.

Game No. 6
Santa Clara (0-4) vs. SJSU (1-4)
Saturday Nov. 23, 3:00 pm
Event Center (5,000)
San Jose, Calif.

Take Five with Brae Ivey
Before diving in to this weekend’s game details, take a minute to Take Five with junior guard Brae Ivey. Ivey transferred to SJSU from Riverside City College and is already making a huge impact on the Spartans’ program. Ivey currently leads the team in points per game at 14.4 and is coming off a big week in the Bahamas where he dropped a season-high 22 points vs. CSU Bakersfield.

Live Stats
Fans can view live stats of all SJSU men’s basketball games, home and away, by accessing the Live Stats feature at www.sjsuspartans.com. Click on the link on the women’s basketball schedule page to follow the action.

One Stop Source
The Mountain West Network is your all-access passport to Spartan Athletics. For live and recorded video/audio of SJSU men’s basketball home and Mountain West road contests, the Mountain West Network is your home. Go to Mountain West Network logo at top of the Spartans Athletics home page or go to www.sjsuspartans.com/video.

Trouble in Paradise
Although SJSU went 0-3 on their trip to Bimini for the Junkanoo Jam, the Spartans saw a lot on the court to encourage the team moving forward. They lost the three games by a combined 11 points and shot 46.9 percent while out-rebounding the opposition 38.3-35.0. The Spartans held double-digit leads in the second quarter of both the CSU Bakersfield and Central Michigan games; however, turnovers proved costly as the finished with 20.3 per game. If SJSU can limit the turnovers and finish games, big things lie ahead in 2018-19.

Success on the Boards
The Spartans rank second in the Mountain West in offensive rebounds (12.6) and sixth in defensive rebounds (26.6). Against Weber State (11/15), SJSU pulled down 48 total boards, the fourth most in the Mountain West this season.

Steady Steadman
JUCO transfer Michael Steadman is off to a hot start at his new home at SJSU. He currently ranks third in the conference in total rebounds per game (9.6) and 46th nationally. He was named to the Junkanoo Jam All-Tournament team after averaging 11.7 points and 7 rebounds per game.

Full Offseason for Jean Prioleau
Spartans head coach Jean Prioleau is entering his second season at the helm of SJSU men’s basketball and is coming off his first full offseason with the program. Prioleau was hired on August 4, 2017, and given just three months to prepare for his debut season. Now with a full offseason under his belt to prepare the team, Prioleau and company are excited about the team’s potential.

Staff Shakeup
Prioleau made some changes to his staff in the offseason as he brought in former NC State All-American Julius Hodge as an assistant coach. He also promoted director of basketball operations, Ryan Cooper, to assistant coach.

What About the Broncos?
Santa Clara enters Saturday’s contest 0-4 and are averaging just 61.8 points per game. They are coming off a pair of losses at the hands of Washington (82-68) and Minnesota (80-66) at the Vancouver Showcase in British Columbia. The Broncos are led by third-year head coach Herb Sendek.

Ivey on Fire 
Junior transfer Brae Ivey leads the Spartans with 14.4 points per game and is coming off a big week in the Bahamas, where he averaged 15 points, 6.3 assists and 3.3 rebounds in the Junkanoo Jam, including a season-high 22 points vs. CSU Bakersfield.

San Jose State podcast with Ana Kieu: Football and men’s basketball try to look beyond the losses

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Photo credit: @SJSUSpartanFB and @SJSUMBB

On the San Jose State podcast with Ana:

1. Football first! San Jose State lost to Nevada 21-12 on Senior Day last Saturday.

2. San Jose State gears up to take on rival Fresno State before a national ESPN television audience this Saturday.

3. Not much luck for men’s basketball. San Jose State went to Bimini, Bahamas for the Junkanoo Jam, only to lose to Weber State, CSU Bakersfield and Central Michigan. San Jose State has lost four in a row. What do they need to do to beat Santa Clara this Saturday like they did last year?

4. Women’s volleyball ended the season on a positive note. Thali Gee and and Luiza Andrade were named the Mountain West Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week.

Ana does the San Jose State podcasts each week for SportsRadioService.com