November 2018 – Page 9 – Sports Radio Service

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary: Injuries, the Kryptonite for the Warriors

Published on November 19, 2018 by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Photo credit: @TurntSportsNews

By: Amaury Pi-González

The Warriors have stolen the old Oakland Raiders phrase by their legendary owner All Davis “Just Win Baby” and “Commitment to Excellence” because that’s exactly fits the Golden State Warriors in present history. The Warriors will return to play in San Francisco at the Chase Arena next season. They played in San Francisco (actually Daly City’s Cow Palace) from 1962-1971, and they were called the San Francisco Warriors. I remember their last two years they play at the Cow Palace very well,because that was the first professional Bay Area team I covered as I was writing for El Mundo News of Oakland, a bilingual newspaper.

Recently, injuries have stopped the Warriors and that is their #1 enemy. A healthy Warriors team is way above anybody else in the NBA. Stephen Curry,Draymond Green and others are currently not 100% and that is always a problem, even to a team as deep as the NBA champions. The whole season is ahead. However, there is wear and tear on this team.

The Boston Celtics have won 17 NBA titles, the most followed by the Minneapolis/Los Angeles Lakers with 16 titles. Philadelphia/San Francisco/Golden State Warriors with 6, Chicago Bulls 6 and San Antonio Spurs with 5. Starting this 2018-19 NBA season, the Warriors are playing their last season at Oakland and really have no rivals. All the experts and money in Las Vegas is on the Warriors as the undisputed favorites to repeat. There are teams like San Antonio, Dallas and Cleveland who would be trouble for the Warriors, especially during the playoffs, but it is hard to see anybody really stopping them this season.

The Warriors have won 3 titles in the last four seasons,and they are poised to win again this season,which will give them a total of 4 at Oakland, (they also won in 1975) and a total of 7 among all the three cities they have played for: Philadelphia,San Francisco,Oakland. Outside the Bay Area, the Warriors are hated by many and called annoying by others. They were a championship team prior to acquiring Kevin Durant, now this season they added Demarcus Cousins. So it is easy to see why outside the Bay Area they remain as one of the most hated and even annoying teams for people that follow the NBA. Some times you have to admit it is human nature to hate something that is almost perfection. There is a reason the New York Yankees have been hated for many many years,and a lot have to do with the success they have always enjoyed with their 27 World Series titles, they got the nickname of “The Evil Empire”while playing in the Empire State.

The last few years have been dream years for the Warriors and it seems everything continues to go their way. In 2016-17 the salary cap in the NBA went up to $94 million, which made possible the signing of Kevin Durant by letting go of Andrew Bogut, the rights to Harrison Barnes and now with Cousins (signed to a 1-year, $5.3 million deal), their odds of winning the title soared. They are as close to a sure thing to repeat as they have ever been before. Remember they were already Champions before Durant or Cousins came to the Bay.

Like mentioned before, they still have most of the season ahead and there is nothing assured in any sport, but unless a freak rash of injuries to a few of their players, especially if anybody suffers a key injury that would keep from playing for a long time, this team will walk into another title with little difficulty. It never gets boring for fans of a team when that team wins. You expect them to do every day every night. The story becomes when the Warriors lose a game, not when they win.

I remember the days when I could not give tickets for free for the Warriors games at Oakland,we had a bunch of coaches on a short span of time, like Don Nelson, Gary St. Jean, Rick Adelman and P.J. Carlesimo. These were exciting Warriors teams, they scored a lot but gave away much more points. They were very entertaining, but they didn’t win anything. Now the glory days are going on,and everybody expect them to win every time they go out on the court, and for many teams, a win against the Warriors regardless how that win is obtained is like their highlight for the season.

Brent Brennan press conference wrap: Commentary on San Jose State football

Published on November 19, 2018 by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Photo credit: @SJSUSpartanFB

By: Ana Kieu

SAN JOSE, Calif. — I know I sound like a broken record, but San Jose State has nothing to play for (and nothing to lose). However, SJSU has a game coming up against Fresno State inside Bulldog Stadium this Saturday at 4:00 pm PT on ESPNU. So the Spartans must prepare themselves in order to snatch the Valley Trophy away from the rival Bulldogs in the nationally televised game.

Here’s my Q&A with Spartans head coach Brent Brennan:

1. Why did you decide to punt at the 50 down on two possessions with five minutes left?
Because the down and distance was more than I thought. I think it was maybe fourth and nine or fourth and 11…I was ready. I told coach (Kevin) McGiven this is going to be fourth down, depending on what we get here and then we didn’t get enough on third…and then our defense was playing so well. I thought we would be able to get a stop there. That was why.

2. Christian Johnson picked up the fumble recovery in the second quarter for the first of his career. That was obviously a moment worth noting, but what else were you proud of when it came to the Spartan defense?
I thought the Spartan defense did a great job. I thought that coach (Derrick) Odum and the staff had the guys really prepared–multiple fourth down stops and we had the play where we got to run into the punter, so that gave them five yards, then gave them a fourth and short.

Ethan Aguayo, I believe, made a huge hit and we stopped them there. Also, we got good field position with our offense–multiple fourth down stops and two turnovers. Obviously, Ethan again with the tipped interception on the screen play. It was a really big moment in that game early on.

I thought our defense played really, really hard. There were a couple throws we’d like to contest a little better or finish a little better, but I thought against a really physical running attack and against a team that had really been playing really excellent offense the previous month, I thought our defense did a really good job holding them to 21 points and doing what we did against the run game and on third down and the turnover battle was four to one, maybe. So it’s just a lot of good stuff.

3. The US Open Trophy made a guest appearance at the game. Just how awesome was it to see the trophy and did you, the other coaches and the players touch the trophy or avoid it altogether?
You know what? I was unaware the US Open Trophy was at the game until I saw a picture of it. My brother-in-law is a big golfer and he showed me a picture of it, so I was unaware that it was there.

Obviously, it was really cool that it was, but we were so locked into Senior Day and making sure that that experience for our seniors and their families was something that they would remember and something that would be positive for them. So that’s kind of where I was at.

San Jose State to close out season at No. 23 Fresno State

Published on November 19, 2018 by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Photo credit: sjsuspartans.com

By: Ana Kieu

Here are two things you should know about San Jose State’s upcoming game at No. 23 Fresno State. First off, SJSU has its sights on the Valley Trophy. Second, Owen Roberts has a team-best 8.5 tackles for loss.

Here are some other things you should know about SJSU at No. 23 Fresno State.

Game No. 12
San Jose State at No. RV/No. 23 Fresno State
Saturday, Nov. 24, 2018
Bulldog Stadium, Fresno, Calif., 4:00 pm PT
ESPNU

SJSU’s record
1-10, 1-6 Mountain West. Most recently, the Spartans lost to Nevada, 21-12, on Nov. 17.

Fresno State’s record
9-2, 6-1 Mountain West. The Bulldogs won for the eighth time in their last nine contests, defeating San Diego State, 23-14, on Nov. 17.

Radio
KLIV (1590 AM, San Jose) originates SJSU football broadcasts. Justin Allegri calls the play-by-play. Kevin Richardson provides commentary. The Fresno State broadcast begins at 3:30 pm PT with a pregame show.

Television
ESPNU will provide play-by-play coverage of the SJSU-Fresno State game. Jay Alter calls the play-by-play. Ray Bentley offers analysis. The live telecast is scheduled for 4:00 pm PT.

Series history
Fresno State leads the series, 41-37-3. The two teams first played in 1921 and SJSU went home with a 14-2 victory. The Spartans’ have played more games against the Bulldogs (81) than any other opponent.

Fresno State won last year’s game, 27-10, ending SJSU’s two-game win streak in the series. The last Spartan win in the series was a 16-13 decision at Bulldog Stadium to close out the 2016 season.

SJSU and Fresno State still hold the NCAA record for most penalties in a game by two teams, 36 (24 by the Spartans and 12 by the Bulldogs), during the 1986 contest won by SJSU, 45-41. The Spartans’ 24 penalties for 199 yards also remains a FBS record for most penalties in a game by one team.

Valley Trophy
Since 2013, SjSU and Fresno State play for the Valley Trophy. SJSU is the metropolitan capital of the high-tech Silicon Valley. Fresno State is the largest city in the agriculturally-rich San Joaquin Valley. The two schools are separated by approximately 150 miles.

Returning to Fresno
SJSU offensive line coach Joe Bernardi played for Fresno State from 2006-2010 and was the Bulldogs’ tight ends coach in 2016.

Closing out a season
SJSU s 5-2 in its last seven regular-season finales. Three of those wins are against Fresno State–2011, 27-24, in Fresno; 2013, 62-52, in San Jose; and 2016, 16-13, in Fresno.

Top 20 in pass interceptions
SJSU has 13 interceptions for the season and is tied for 17th nationally in the category. The last time the Spartans had more than 13 interceptions in a season was in 2012 with 15 in a 13-game season. SJSU has a season-high three interceptions in its Washington State and UNLV games.

Tops in tight ends
Since the beginning of the season, Josh Oliver is the leading pass receiver among FBS tight ends. 36 of Oliver’s 54 receptions this season resulted in a SJSU first down. Oliver also is third in receiving yards by a listed tight end at 667 yards in games played through Nov. 17.

Time for credits
Linebacker Ethan Aguayo became the first Mountain West player this season to be credited with 20 tackles in a game with his Nov. 17 afternoon performance versus Nevada. Aguayo also added a 27-yard pass interception return that set up SJSU’s first touchdown of the game. His 20 tackles match the 12th best single-game total by a FBS player this season.

Spartan defense contains Nevada
SJSU kept Nevada scoreless longer than any 2018 opponent from the opening kickoff to the Wolf Pack’s first score of the game. Nevada’s first score was a two-yard run by quarterback Ty Gangi with 1:48 to go in the second quarter.

Earlier in the season, Nevada did not register its first points in its loss at Vanderbilt until the 5:41 mark of the second quarter.

Cal Bears podcast with Morris Phillips: Canceled games give Bears time to regroup; Cal Men’s BB in Brooklyn tonight; Women’s BB moved to Stanford

Published on November 19, 2018November 19, 2018 by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Photo credit: @CalMBBall

On the Cal Bears podcast with Morris:

#1 It’s been a week of cancellations for Cal sports. The Men’s basketball games were canceled Friday, the Big Game was canceled Saturday, and the Women’s basketball game was moved to Stanford on Sunday.

#2 The Women’s game on Sunday saw the Bears defeat Pacific 81-69 in a game that was free of admission courtesy of Cal and the site host Stanford

#3 The Men’s BB team are in Brooklyn facing St John’s for a 4 PM tipoff today in the Legends Classic. For one of the Bears’ first games away from smoke-filled Berkeley.

#4 The Bears beat Hampton Pirates 80-66 in their last game in Virginia. The Bears got on a 10-0 run thanks to scoring from Paris Austin, Darius McNeill, Conner Vanover in the first half.

#5 A look at Cal Football’s next game against Colorado. Cal looks to be the heavy favorites for this upcoming game as Colorado has lost six games straight as this one will be played Saturday at Cal.

Morris Phillips does the Cal Football podcasts at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Cleveland Barons night: Barons (Barracuda) shutout the Eagles 5-0

Published on November 18, 2018 by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Photo credit: @sjbarracuda

By: Ana Kieu

On Cleveland Barons night, the San Jose Barracuda took a step back in Sunday’s game versus the Colorado Eagles and paid tribute to the former NHL team, the Cleveland Barons, who played in the league from 1976-78. Due to the throwback situation, former San Jose Sharks stars Jonathan Cheechoo and Douglas Murray were at the SAP Center to sign autographs until 4:45 pm.

Anyhow, the Cuda’s starting lineup consisted of Lukas Radil, Maxim Letunov, Vincent Praplan, Jacob Middleton, Thomas Gregoire and Josef Korenar.

There’s always room for fighting in hockey, and that was what happened in the early minutes of the opening period. There was some pushing and shoving on the ice. The Cuda went on three power plays and Korenar made some big saves, but the score was in a scoreless deadlock at the end of the period. Shots were 14-5 in favor of San Jose.

The Cuda killed off some penalties and even went on a 5-on-3 power play at one point in the second period. Francis Perron helped the Cuda get on the board with not only one but two goals scored at the 13:04 and 10:33 marks, respectively. The second goal occurred on the power play following a Justin Faulk penalty for delay of game at the 10:01 mark of the period.

The Cuda were up 2-0 and outshot the Eagles 31-7 at the end of the period.

The Cuda exploded in the third period with three goals to put the game out of reach for the Eagles. Cuda captain John McCarthy scored a goal with 6:54 left in the period. Praplan followed up with a power play goal just 3:27 later. Praplan’s goal, which was also his first of the season, occurred after Mason Geertson’s penalty for cross-checking. Alexander True capped off the Cuda’s scoring with a late goal with 17.9 seconds left in regulation.

The Cuda shutout the Eagles 5-0. With the win, San Jose snapped a two-game losing skid.

Here are your three⭐️ from tonight’s game

⭐️ J. Korenar
⭐️⭐️ @fperron27
⭐️⭐️⭐️ @praps_10

— San Jose Barracuda (@sjbarracuda) November 19, 2018

The Cuda head to Colorado for a rematch against the Eagles on Friday, November 23 at 6:05 pm.

Warriors lose again, fall to Spurs 104-92

Published on November 18, 2018November 18, 2018 by rxsluggerLeave a comment

Photo credit: @warriors

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Warriors lost their third game in a row and fourth in the last five games when they were beaten by the San Antonio Spurs 104-92 in San Antonio.

The Warriors were again without the services of Steph Curry and Draymond Green. Alfonzo McKinnie, who has been a valuable reserve for the Warriors, did not suit up either. DeMarcus Cousins, who is recovering from a ruptured Achilles tendon, is still not ready to play. The Warriors need him to help get the offense back into high gear. The Warriors are also missing the presence of JaVale McGee and David West. McGee signed a contract with the Los Angels Lakers. He provided instant offense when head coach Steve Kerr inserted him into the game for the Warriors. So far, neither Damian Jones or Kevon Looney has been able to replicate what McGee did. That is not to say that they are not contributing, but it seems the electricity is missing. David West, who usually started the second and fourth quarter, has retired. West was a force on the floor and he, too, is missed.

The Warriors, who had won three of the last five games played in San Antonio, looked like the team that had lost 33 straight games in San Antonio before Steve Kerr became the head coach. The Warriors fell behind early in the first quarter. They stayed close and even tied the game at 21. The Spurs then went on a 10-2 run and led the Warriors by six, 33-27, at the end of the quarter.

The Warriors stayed close and actually took the lead 38-37 on a bucket by Klay Thompson. The teams changed leads a couple times later in the quarter. The Warriors led 46-45, but the Spurs went on an 11-2 run to finish the first half 56-48. Kevin Durant had 11 for the half. He had a tough time hitting his shots from the floor as he was 2-for-10. Klay finished with 13, and Quinn Cook had 6.

The Warriors shot just 40% from the floor and were 1-for 12 from 3-point range. The Spurs shot 44% from the floor and made 7 3-point shots in 18 attempts. LaMarcus Aldridge had 10 points and 11 boards. Rudy Gay knocked down 15. He had four 3-pointers in the half. Marco Belinelli, the former Warrior, made 2 3-pointers and had 8 total in the half.

The Warriors’ offense went to sleep to start the third quarter. Neither Durant nor Thompson could make a three-point shot. The Warriors scored just 6 points for the first five-plus minutes in the period. They fell behind by 18 74-56 before the offense woke up. The Warriors finished the third quarter on a 9-0 run to close the gap to 7 78-71. Quinn cook made two threes to help the Warriors close the gap.

The Warriors, in the fourth quarter, continued to play good defense. They played with a lot of energy as they came all the way back and trailed the Spurs 91-90 after Klay hit a three. The Spurs, at this point, shit the Warriors offense down. They scored six points to lead 97-90. Kevon Looney made a hard-earned basket to make it 97-92. The Warriors failed to score, and San Antonio scored the last seven points of the night to win 104-92.

Game Notes and Stats: With the loss, the Warriors drop to 12-6, and San Antonio improved to 8-7. Kevin Durant led the Warriors with 26 points and 10 rebounds. He was 8-for-25 from the floor and 1-for-8 from three-point range. Klay Thompson tallied 25, and he was 3-for -11 attempting 3s. Quinn Cook had 16 points and 8 rebounds. He made one three in four attempts.

LaMarcus Aldridge had a double-double with 24 points and 17 rebounds. Rudy Gay had 19, DeMar DeRozan 20. Belinelli finished with 12, and Bryn Forbes had 10.

Up Next: The Warriors return home to face the Oklahoma Thunder Wednesday night at 7:30 pm inside Oracle Arena.

The Portland Trailblazers, with Damian Lillard and C.J.McCollum, visit the Oracle on Friday night at 7:30 pm.

NCAAFB podcast with Michelle Richardson: Big Game between Cal-Stanford smoked out; Harvard running back flips bird while scoring; Meyer doesn’t look right on sidelines

Published on November 18, 2018November 18, 2018 by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Photo credit: @YahooSports

On the NCAAFB podcast with Michelle:

#1 No surprises how the Big Game at Cal was called off on Saturday because the Air Quality Index was over 200 on Friday at 240. Berkeley was blanketed with smoke from the Northern California Paradise Camp Fires. Giving the Bay Area the worst air quality second to Bangladesh that was Friday. On Saturday the air quality actually improved dropping from 240 to 156 still unhealthy but breathing conditions much better. The Big Game has been rescheduled to Sat Dec 1st.

#2 Harvard running back Devin Darrington while running towards the end zone and being pursued by Yale defenders gave the bird to the nearest Yale defender before crossing the end zone. The officials disqualified the touchdown because of unsportsmanship like conduct. Harvard went onto win the game 45-27.

#3 Ohio State coach Urban Meyer’s health condition is in question after he was seen bent over hands on knees, palms pressed against his head. Meyer had surgery in 2014 for a cyst in the brain. Meyer’s doctor Dr. Andrew Thomas said that Meyer suffers from aggressive headaches. Meyer was suspended at the beginning of the season for four games when he was accused of having knowledge of former assistant coach Zach Smith had been abusing his wife and Meyer didn’t take any action to discipline Smith at the time.

Michelle does the NCAAFB podcasts each Sunday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Late field goal lifts Raiders past Cardinals 23-21

Published on November 18, 2018November 18, 2018 by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Photo credit: @Raiders

By Daniel Dullum
Sports Radio Service
Sunday, November 18, 2018

A 35-yard field goal by Daniel Carlson with time expiring in the fourth quarter lifted the Oakland Raiders to a 23-21 come-from-behind win over the Arizona Cardinals Sunday in an interconference game at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz.

With 5:02 to play in the fourth, the Cardinals (2-8) surged ahead 21-20 on a 5-yard touchdown pass from rookie quarterback Josh Rosen to veteran Larry Fitzgerald.

In the third quarter, Oakland (2-8) snapped a 14-14 halftime deadlock on 49- and 21-yard field goals by Carlson.

The Raiders opened the scoring at 12:36 of the first quarter when Derek Carr found Jared Cook for a 23-yard touchdown. Arizona tied the game six minutes later when Fitzgerald snared an 18-yard scoring pass from Rosen.

Rosen’s 59-yard TD pass to Christian Kirk gave the Cardinals a 14-7 lead with :16 to go in the first quarter. Oakland tied the game at 8:20 on Carr’s 5-yard scoring pass to Brandon LaFell.

David Johnson led Arizona with a game-high 137 rushing yards on 25 carries, including a run of 53 yards. Kirk caught three passes for 77 yards, and both of Fitzgerald’s receptions went for touchdowns.

Rosen completed 9 of 20 passes for 136 yards and three touchdowns, was picked off once and sacked once.

Carr completed 19 of 31 passes for 192 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. He was sacked four times.

Oakland is 24th in team rushing yards and did little to change that. Jalen Richard led the Raider ballcarriers with 61 rushing yards on 11 carries, followed by Doug Martin with 52 yards on 10 attempts.

Seven different Raiders caught passes from Carr – Marcell Aleman and Seth Roberts each caught four, Richard and Cook each had three receptions, LaFell and Lee Smith each grabbed two passes and Martin had one. Aleman led Oakland with 50 reception yards.

Defensively for Oakland, Tahir Whitehead seven total tackles, Karl Joseph had an interception, and Maurice Hurst recorded a sack.

Next week, the Raiders travel to Baltimore to face the Ravens. Kickoff is at 10 a.m. PST.

San Jose State suffers fourth straight loss 76-74 to Central Michigan in third game of the Junkanoo Jam

Published on November 18, 2018 by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Photo credit: @SJSUMBB

By: Ana Kieu

The San Jose State Spartans had hoped to snap a three-game losing skid, but that never happened in Sunday’s game against the Central Michigan Chippewas inside the Gateway Christian Academy in Bimini, The Bahamas.

Spartans head coach Jean Prioleau decided on a starting lineup, which consisted of Michael Steadman, Brae Ivey, Oumar Barry, Noah Baumann, and Craig LeCesne. The Spartans won the tipoff and Barry sinked the first bucket of the game. The Spartans and Chippewas were underway in Bimini, and the Spartans were off to a pretty good start.

At the first media timeout, SJSU led Central Michigan 10-9. But then, it was a one-point game with 7:24 left to go in the first half. The Spartans trailed the Chippewas 22-21, and at the time, LeCesne led the Spartans with 8 points. Fast forward to the final minutes of the half, where the Spartans were 5-for-9 from downtown and held onto a 37-33 lead with 48 seconds left in the half.

The Spartans were on top of the Chippewas 39-35 at the half. LeCesne led 11 points and 3 rebounds. Steadman came in second with 10 points. Moreover, SJSU shot 58.3% (14-for-24) from the floor.

SJSU, however, slipped a bit early in the second half. The Spartans trailed 48-46 at the 14:55 mark, but let’s take a look at the bright side, as Baumann was 3-for-4 from beyond the arc. The Spartans continued to trail the Chippewas, but they turned things around at the 12-minute mark, as they took a 53-50 lead on a 3-pointer by Zach Chappell.

Then, the knight appeared from downtown, as Seneca Knight drained a three from the corner and the Spartans took a 10-point lead, 60-50, midway through the half.

The Spartans held onto a 63-55 lead with 7:35 left in the half. That, my friends, was the positive effect, as the Spartans were 10-for-20 from the 3-point range.

Fans were on the edge of their seats, as they were gearing up for an exciting finish to the game. The Spartans led 67-64 with 3:27 left to play in the half.

The Chippewas, however, refused to back down. CMU took a 74-73 lead with 16 seconds left to play in the half. Not only that, CMU hit a floater to extend its lead to 76-74 with 3 seconds left on the clock. The Spartans fell to the Chippewas 76-74 in the third and final game of the Junkanoo Jam.

The Spartans return home to welcome the Santa Clara Broncos on Saturday, November 24 at 3:00 pm PT.