Month: November 2018

San Jose Barracuda podcast with Marko Ukalovic: Cuda tear it up on throwback Barons night last Sunday, visit Colorado Friday and Saturday

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Photo credit: sjbarracuda.com

On the San Jose Barracuda podcast with Marko:

#1 How special was it to have former San Jose Sharks, Jonathan Cheechoo and Douglas Murray, in the house during Cleveland Barons throwback night?

#2 The Cleveland Barons were an NHL team who played in the league from 1976-78. They were the California Golden Seals until the team folded and moved to Cleveland following the 1975-76 season.

#3 The Barons (Barracuda) were taking on the Colorado Eagles and after a 0-0 first, the Barracuda’s Francis Perron scored two goals at 13:04 and 10:33 to put the Cuda in the lead 2-0.

#4 The Cuda added three more goals in the third period–John McCarthy at 6:54, Vincent Parplan at 3:27, and Alexander True 17.9 seconds.

#5 The Barracuda are back to work again after Thanksgiving Day Friday Nov. 23 and Saturday Nov. 24 in Colorado against the Eagles.

Marko Ukalovic does the SJ Barracuda each Wednesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Headline Sports podcast with London Marq: Rams-Chiefs set record for the ages; Will Warriors get back to normal?

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Photo credit: nfl.com

On the Headline Sports podcast with London:

#1 Former Cal football quarterback Jared Goff had himself an evening on Monday Night Football in a razor close game against the Kansas City Chiefs a game for the ages as the LA Rams defeated the Chiefs 54-51 in the highest scoring game in MNF history. Goff passed for 413 yards, four touchdowns, and rushed for a touchdown.

#2 The Warriors, who have lost three straight games, and open a four-game homestand on Wednesday night. Is there concern about how they’ll fare as all the talk has been about the dissension on the team as to why this team is untracked?

#3 San Francisco Giants Team president Farhan Zaidi is still in his get to know you mode. Zaidi is still getting to know the players and front office staff is going through resumes and recommendation letters and emails for who he will decide to find as the new GM for the Giants.

#4 In a meeting this week during practice at the San Francisco 49ers (2-8), head coach Kyle Shanahan made it very clear to his players that their jobs were on the line and they had better get it together soon as the team prepares for their next game in Tampa Bay this Sunday after coming off a Monday Night Football loss on Nov. 12th to the New York Giants.

#5 The Oakland Raiders (2-8) lend a great deal of credit to their running backs, who carried for scores and yards, to help the Raiders in their razor close win over the Arizona Cardinals last Sunday 23-21. The two running backs of record to get some nice pats on the back Jalen Richard and DeAndre Washington, who both combined for 84 yards and 20 carries in the Raiders’ win.

London Marq does Headline Sports each Wednesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

Oakland Raiders podcast with Joe Hawkes Beamon: Can Raiders carry that good win feeling into Baltimore this Sunday?

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Photo credit: raiderswire.usatoday.com

On the Oakland Raiders podcast with Joe:

#1 The Oakland Raiders win over the Arizona Cardinals last Sunday certainly brightened thing up for the Raiders and ended their five-game losing streak in Arizona last Sunday.

#2 The Raiders quarterback Derek Carr and head coach Jon Gruden had a sideline disagreement. It was just one of those things.

#3 The Raiders battled back to catch the Cardinals. Will this be a fixture of their work ethic?

#4 Joe tells us about kicker Daniel Carlson’s game-winning field goal last Sunday and what it means to the team.

#5 The Raiders try to keep it going in Baltimore this Sunday against the Ravens. Joe tells us how he sees this matchup.

Joe Hawkes Beamon does the Oakland Raiders podcasts each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Temple captures third place with 76-59 win over Cal at Legends Classic

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By Morris Phillips

Cal’s basketball roster isn’t blessed with superior size or experience with no one over 6’8″ starting, and junior transfer Paris Austin and Roman Davis the only players with more than a year at the Division I level.

Given that, it isn’t a surprise that the Bears aren’t very good defensively, at least not yet.

Temple took advantage on Tuesday, racing past Cal, 76-59 to capture third place in the Legends Classic. The Owls shot a sizzling 54 percent from the field, one night after St. John’s shot 55 percent against the Bears.

Temple scored 19 of the game’s initial 24 points to build a double-digit lead, only to see Cal respond, and trail by four, 32-28, at the break. But the Owls ran away for good with a 10-0 run midway through the second half that finished Cal.

“I thought we did some really good things tonight, not perfect, but some good things,” said Temple coach Fran Dunphy.

Not surprisingly, the Owls relied heavily on their one-two punch of Quinton Rose and Shizz Alston. The pair scored exactly half of Temple’s 76 points while taking 33 of their 57 shot attempts. Alston also played the role of the Owls’ chief distributor with 10 assists.

“Alston did a good job distributing the ball,” Cal coach Wyking Jones said. “Rose and Alston are both very good players.”

The Bears fell to 1-3 on the season, and they won’t return to the hardwood until Monday when they face Santa Clara at Haas Pavilion.

Darius McNeill led the Bears with 12 points, and three other starters scored 10 each. But leading scorer Justice Sueing missed seven of his eight shot attempts and finished with four points.

The Bears trailed for the game’s final 39 minutes, and they were outrebounded 34-27.

The Bears return home to host the Santa Clara Broncos on Monday, November 26 at 6:00 pm PT.

Thornton Passes Lemieux, but Sharks Fall in OT 4-3 in Hitchcock’s Oilers Debut

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Photo credit: @SanJoseSharks

By Matthew Harrington

SAN JOSE, Calif. — The San Jose Sharks expected to see a familiar face behind the Edmonton Oilers’ bench Tuesday night, but an early morning firing led to a shakeup in leadership for the visiting team. Todd McLellan, Sharks coach from 2008 to 2015, was relieved of his duties as coach of the oilers, giving way to an unretiring Ken Hitchcock. The change paid immediate dividends, with Edmonton  (10-10-1) erasing three deficits for a 4-3 overtime win over San Jose.

Joe Thorton picked up career assist 1033, tying Mario Lemieux for 11th all-time. Joonas Donskoi and Marcus Sorensen scored for San Jose (11-7-4), Logan Couture scored for the first time in 11 games and Martin Jones made 19 saves for the Sharks. Oilers superstar Connor McDavid picked up three points while Leon Draisaitl scored the game-winner, though not at first blush.

Draisaitl took a pass from McDavid on the goal line that was deflected up, turning his skate while directing the puck past an out-of-position Jones. The referees huddled for a brief reviewing, ultimately ruling the Oilers 4-3 winners 51 seconds into overtime.

McDavid played a monstrous game for his new coach, seeing 23:57 off ice time. He also picked up the primary assist on the game-tying goal. Tomas Hertl, returning to the lineup for his game since November 13th, turned the puck over in the neutral zone, allowing Draisaitl to break into the offensive zone on a a 3-on-2. He pass cross ice to McDavid, who feathered a pass to Drake Caggiula for the easy strike and a 3-3 tie game 3:32 into the third.

The Sharks entered the final period in full control after erasing the Oilers momentum. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored as an Oilers penalty expired on a 2-on-1 that Brent Burns played indecisively 1:46 into the second period to tie the game at 2.

Logan Couture’s slump-buster with 56 seconds left in the period put San Jose back on top though, and what a goal it was. Couture carried the puck on his forehand on the left wing before pulling it to his backhand, deking Adam Larsson in the process. He then beat Oilers goalie Mikko Koskinen for his seventh goal of the year.

Joonas Donskoi put the Sharks up 1-0 45 seconds into the game on a backhand of a rebound in the crease. McDavid turned on the burners 8:09 into the frame to beat Jones for his 13th goal of the season. Marcus Sorensen took a perfect feed from Joe Thornton at the 10:32 mark and beat Koskinen for his 4th goal of the year. Thornton is now just seven points away from breaking into the top ten in career assists behind Marcel Dionne and is 16 behind Gordie Howe for 9th place.

The Sharks continue a season-high six-game homestand Friday night at 6:00 pm PT against the Vancouver Canucks before a five-game road swing that sees San Jose head to Las Vegas before departing for a four-stop east coast trip.

Cardinal fly to the Southland to take on UCLA

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Photo credit: gostanford.com 

By: Ana Kieu 

After this year’s Big Game was rescheduled for Dec. 1, the Stanford Cardinal had no other option, but to focus on their soon-to-be opponent, the UCLA Bruins, whom they’ll take on this Saturday inside the Rose Bowl. 

Here’s what you need to know about Stanford-UCLA: 

Basics
Stanford Cardinal (6-4, 4-3)
UCLA Bruins (3-8, 3-5)
Nov. 24, 2018 at Noon PT
Rose Bowl (90,888) in Pasadena, Calif.

Television
Live national broadcast on Pac-12 Network with Ted Robinson (play-by-play), Yogi Roth (analyst) and Jill Savage (sideline).

Radio
Live coverage on Stanford’s flagship station–KNBR 1050 AM–with Scott Reiss ’93 (play-by-play), Todd Husak ’00 (analyst) and Troy Clardy ’97 (sideline). The broadcast begins one hour before kickoff with the Cardinal Tailgate Show and concludes with the postgame Cardinal Locker Room Report.

The game can be heard on Stanford student radio–KZSU 90.1 FM–and online at kzsulive.stanford.edu.

Internet
GoStanford.com 
UCLABruins.com
#GoStanford
What You Need to Know
  • 1 • Stanford is 6-0 this season when forcing at least one turnover, and 0-4 when not forcing a turnover.
  • 3 • Stanford football players have conducted interviews in three foreign languages this season—JJ Arcega-Whiteside (Spanish), Jesse Burkett (Japanese) and Osiris St. Brown (German). All other Stanford football interviews this year have been done in English. 
  • 3 • Kaden Smith is one of three finalists for the John Mackey Award, joining T.J. Hockenson (Iowa), Albert Okwuegbunam (Missouri). The winner will be announced on Dec. 5. 
  • 4 • Stanford’s four losses this season have come against the AP’s curent No. 3, No. 7, No. 16 and No. 18th-ranked teams in the nation (Notre Dame, Washington State, Washington, Utah). Those four teams have a combined record of 37-7 (.841) this season.
  • 4 • Colby Parkinson tied a school single-game record with four touchown receptions against Oregon State on Nov. 10. The only other Cardinal to pull off that feat was Ty Montgomery against Cal in 2013 and Ken Margerum against the Beavers in 1980. Parkinson is the first FBS tight end with four touchdown catches in a game since 2011 (Northwestern’s Drake Dunsmore), and just the fifth to do so since 1996. Parkinson also finished with a career-high six receptions and 166 receiving yards— the most receiving yards by a Cardinal tight end since Coby Fleener’s 173-yard game in the 2011 Orange Bowl.
  • 7 • The last time a Cardinal had seven-plus receptions in three straight games was DeRonnie Pitts in 2000. This season, Trent Irwin and JJ Arcega-Whiteside each had seven-plus receptions in the same three-game span (Utah, Arizona State and Washington).
  • 8 • Parkinson was named the Pac-12 Player of the Week after his four-touchdown performance against Oregon State. Since it was established in 1983, Parkinson is just the eighth tight end to win the conference’s weekly offensive award, and the first since Stanford’s Zach Ertz in 2012.
  • 10 • Stanford has won a series-record 10 consecutive games over the Bruins, dating back to 2009 and including the 2012 Pac-12 Championship Game. It is the all-time longest winning streak by any opponent against the Bruins.
  • 11 • Biletnikoff Award semifinalist JJ Arcega-Whiteside ranks fifth nationally–and first among Pac-12 players–with 11 receiving touchdowns. That’s the second-most in a season in Stanford history and the most receiving touchdowns for a Cardinal in 38 years–Ken Margerum had 11 in 1980, while James Lofton set the school record with 14 in 1978.
  • 13 • In addition to his 49 receptions and 754 receiving yards this season, Arcega-Whiteside has drawn 14 penalties this year–12 pass interference and two holding calls for 190 penalty yards (1.6 penalties/game and 21.1 penalty yards/game).
  • 15 • Paulson Adebo ranks second nationally with 16 pass breakups and sixth in the NCAA with 17 passes defended. He ranks atop the Pac-12 in both categories.
  • 20 • K.J. Costello ranks among the Top 20 nationally in completion percentage (12th), completions per game (15th), passing efficiency (18th), passing touchdowns (20th), passing yards (17th), passing yards per game (13th) and yards per attempt (17th). He leads the Pac-12 in efficiency (156.9) and is second in the conference in passing yards (2,854) and yards per attempt (8.65).
  • 21 • Stanford’s seniors finished their careers 20-5 (.800) at Stanford Stadium. In the last four years, the Cardinal has won 37 games, three Big Games, two Pac-12 North titles, a conference championship, and has played in the Rose Bowl, Sun Bowl and Alamo Bowl.
  • 25 • Don’t expect many points immediately after halftime. Stanford has allowed just one touchdown and never more than seven points in the third quarter this season. The Cardinal has only allowed 25 third-quarter points in its first 10 games (2.5/game). The only touchdown allowed was vs. Washington State. 
  • 37 • Trenton Irwin has at least one reception in 38 consecutive games, a streak that ranks seventh nationally.
  • 43.64 • Jake Bailey’s 43.64 career punting average ranks first in program history. Bailey posted the second-best punting season in school history last year, averaging 45.4 yards/punt. He led the Pac-12 and ranked seventh nationally. 
  • 121 • The 121st Big Game was rescheduled due to the poor air quality caused by the devastating wildfires in Butte County. The game will be played on Dec. 1 at noon on Pac-12 Network. Cal is Stanford’s most common opponent (next is USC with 98 all-time meetings). Stanford’s 63 wins over the Bears are also its most against any opponent.
  • 387 • Costello’s 387 yards of total offense (45 rush, 342 pass) vs. Oregon State on Nov. 10 were the most for a Cardinal since Josh Nunes had 393 against Arizona in 2012, and 14th-most in school history.

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary podcast: Can snake-bitten Warriors shake off recent skid in upcoming four-game homestand?

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mercurynews.com photo: Golden State Warriors’ Draymond Green, left, listens to coach Steve Kerr during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Houston Rockets Thursday, Nov. 15, 2018, in Houston. The Rockets won 107-86.

On That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary podcast:

#1 Amaury, you recently wrote that the Warriors, who were talent deep, have hit a brick wall and injuries have played a part in their three-game skid with Draymond Green and Stephen Curry both sitting out last game.

#2 Things have gotten so bad. The Warriors are depending on DeMarcus Cousins to save them if Kevin Durant bolts for another team after his contract runs out at the end of the season.

#3 How much did Green’s tirade on Monday, Nov. 12th in Oakland at Durant calling him a bitch multiple times and saying to Durant that if he wants to “leave than just leave.” Did this embarrassing display bring the Warriors down from that point?

#4  Steve Kerr said that the team is turning the ball over too much, can’t hit the free throws and are disastrous on the three pointer.

#5 Golden State opens a four-game homestand starting Wednesday night can they string wins against Oklahoma, Portland, Sacramento, and Orlando to put this losing streak behind them or is the residue from the Green-Durant spat still with this team?

Amaury Pi Gonzalez does News and Commentary each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Francisco 49ers podcast with David Zizmor: Can Mullens seal the deal against Tampa Bay Sunday after close game with New York?

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Photo credit: @MattBreida

On the San Francisco 49ers podcast with David:

#1 The San Francisco 49ers (2-8), coming off last Sunday’s bye, gave the club a week to lick their wounds and recover from their loss to the New York Giants (3-7) 27-23 from Nov. 12th on Monday Night Football where quarterback Nick Mullens threw 27-39, 250 yards, for one touchdown, and two interceptions.

#2 Are there options for the 49ers if they landed the number one pick for 2019?

Join David each week for the 49ers podcast at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Kings break losing skid with narrow, 117-113 home win over the Thunder

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By Morris Phillips

SACRAMENTO — Winning may be the ultimate goal, but for the emerging Sacramento Kings early wins have created expectations and differences of opinion that could in the short run derail the club’s still fragile chemistry.

The latest? A report surfaced prior to Monday’s game against Oklahoma City that the Kings’ management would consider dismissing Dave Joerger because he’s awarded playing time to the club’s veteran players at the expense of the playing time and development of the young core, specifically 2018 first-round pick William Bagley III.

Both Joerger and general manager Vlade Divac dismissed the reports prior to Monday’s game, but no denial could more effective than the Kings dispatching the Thunder, and putting an end to their two-game losing skid.

And that they did, holding on to beat the Thunder, 117-113 at Golden 1 Center.

Buddy Hield scored 25 points, and Iman Shumpert added 23, as the Kings led most of the night only to have the Thunder rally late behind Russell Westbrook in an attempt to steal the ballgame. However, Hield, Shumpert and Bogdan Bogdanovic combined for 13 made threes, including Hield’s trio of threes late that helped the Kings seal it.

“In the first half we played maybe as fast as we’ve played since at Miami (a 123-113 win on October 29). We like to play that fast but we got tired,” Joerger said. “But we kept at it and kept battling.”

Prior to the game, Joerger explained that the Kings caught the league’s attention with their five-game win streak that ended November 1. Now, teams are far more conscious about their transition defense against a younger club that would prefer to move at the NBA’s fastest pace. Then on their most recent trip out of town, the Kings saw the Rockets and Grizzlies, a pair of clubs playing at a high level.

“It is about when you catch teams at a part of a season,” Joerger said in response to his teams’ recent struggles. “We caught two teams that are locked in right now. You get to that 20-game point, and everything is get into a rhythm, and both of those teams have found their rhythm.”

According to Joerger, the five-game win streak created expectations, and the stretch of five losses in seven games that followed, created questions. The report that Bagley’s playing time is an issue is a part of that, but not one Joerger was willing to address.

“I’m not going to get into that,” he said.

Against Oklahoma City, Bagley did see a spike in his time, playing 26 minutes off the bench and coming up with 15 points, 13 rebounds, the first double-double of his NBA career. Nemanja Bjelica–the veteran whose extended playing time was referenced in the report–started for the Kings on Monday, but only played 23 minutes. Still he was effective with 12 points, eight rebounds on 5 of 6 shooting.

De’Aaron Fox struggled with his shooting, going 1 of 10, but he contributed a career-best 13 assists in a team-high 35 minutes of action.

The Kings (9-8) face the Utah Jazz on Wednesday at 6:00 pm PT in Salt Lake City.

Bears nearly craft an upset over St. John’s at the Legends Classic in Brooklyn, lose 82-79

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By Morris Phillips

The Bears, with their cast of unheralded underclassmen, appeared to be quite a match for St. John’s and pre-season Big East Player of the Year Shamorie Ponds on Monday in Brooklyn.

At least for 37 of the game’s 40 minutes they were. That’s when the hometown hero took over.

The Red Storm overcame a late, seven point deficit to the Bears as Ponds scored 16 of his game-best 32 points in the final seven minutes, leading St. John’s past Cal 82-79 at the Barclays Center.

“The crowd got us into it late in the game, so it feels good to be home,” said Brooklyn native Ponds about the Red Storm’s late surge.

Cal’s last lead came with 2:39 remaining when Andre Kelly hit a jumper. But Ponds would score nine of St. John’s final 10 points in their closing run. His 32-point performance marked the seventh time the junior guard has surpassed 30 points in his career.

The Bears stayed in it most of the night by making contested shots, rebounding and not committing turnovers. The Bears trailed 38-31 at halftime, but opened the second half with a 9-2 run.

Darius McNeill led Cal with 21 points, and four of his five made 3-pointers came before the break. Justice Sueing finished with 19 points, and 14 of those came after halftime. The Bears shot 57 percent from the field and 81 percent from the foul line. But they weren’t the well-oiled offensive machine they aspire to be despite the superior field goal percentage, tallying just 10 assists on 29 made baskets.

Ultimately, Cal couldn’t get St. John’s stopped defensively at key junctures of the game. The Red Storm shot 55 percent and held a slight edge on the glass (27-23).

“They were hitting tough shots,” St. John’s Justin Simon said. “They’re a great team that’s well-coached. We were trying to give them difficult looks.”

St. John’s (4-0) advances to the championship game Tuesday against VCU. The Bears (1-2) will face Temple in the third-place game preceding St. John’s-VCU at the Barclays Center.

This was the first ever meeting between Cal and St. John’s, coached by Warriors’ legends Chris Mullin and associate head coach Mitch Richmond.

“We got back on our heels a little bit tonight, but I was happy the way we regrouped and got the win,” Mullin said. “[Tuesday] will be nice. It’s always nice to play a high-stakes game early in the season against a good team, and we’ll be jacked up.”

Cal returns home to host Santa Clara on Monday at 6:00 pm PT on the Pac-12 Network.