Month: July 2019

San Jose State football will be back soon

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Photo credit: @SJSUSpartanFB

By: Ana Kieu

As the title implies, San Jose State football will be back soon.

The Spartans started the week off right with a #MondayMotivation quote by former football head coach Dick Vermeil. Vermeil is a San Jose State alum who graduated with a master’s degree and served as a backup quarterback for the Spartan football team. Vermeil attended Calistoga High School.

Vermeil, a Calistoga, Calif. native, once said: “Winning is not a reward, it’s a consequence.”

The Spartans continued the week by talking to the media inside Levi’s Stadium for Bay Area Football Media Day. The San Francisco 49ers, Oakland Raiders, Stanford Cardinal and Cal Golden Bears also attended the annual event.

Bay Area Football Media Day was chock full of fun, but the Spartans were pumped up to start their Fall Camp at CEFCU Stadium. That, my friends, will mark the return of college football in the South Bay.

Senior offensive lineman Troy Kowalski told Richardson’s broadcast partner Justin Allegri: “To know it’s less than 24 hours away, you feel like a little kid on Christmas.”

https://twitter.com/NunnLeki/status/1156259572215996417

Junior safety Tre Webb shared with San Jose State football radio analyst Kevin Richardson his feelings on the upcoming Spartan football season, which is less than a month away.

Webb told Richardson: “Being able to play and get used to the speed of the game.. getting bigger, faster, stronger this offseason…I’m really confident going into this season.”

The Spartans always released their new helmets, which were so fresh, so clean — like the Outkast song “So Fresh, So Clean” that was dropped on March 13, 2001.

Last but not least, the Spartans will host a Fan Fest on Saturday, August 3. There will be a scrimmage at 5:30 pm, and after that, a barbecue and a movie (Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse) in the world’s largest mobile kitchen at 7 pm. The cost of Fan Fest will be $25 to the general public and free to Shield 365 members.

Oakland A’s podcast with Charlie O: Farm club hitters busting at the seams for A’s; Davis walks A’s to a victory; plus more

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sfgate.com photo: Oakland Athletics’ Marcus Semien, right, is congratulated by third base coach Matt Williams (4) after hitting a home run off Texas Rangers pitcher Pedro Payano in the third inning of a baseball game Sunday, July 28, 2019, in Oakland.

On the A’s podcast with Charlie O:

#1 Taking a look at the A’s triple-A affiliate farm club, the Las Vegas Aviators, they’re a team coming along with 11 home runs in a 20-11 win over El Paso last Friday night.

#2 Amongst some of the Aviators prospects are catcher Sean Murphy who hit three home runs, Jorge Mateo, Dustin Fowler, and Mark Payton with two home runs each.

#3 The Oakland A’s got a walk-off walk when Khris Davis walked with the bags loaded on Sunday. Davis’ home run totals have been down. How much confidence does this give him after forcing a run in on a walk for the game-winner on Sunday?

#4 Josh Phegley. the A’s catcher, is out with a thumb contusion and catcher Todd Hundley was released by the club, Beau Taylor is up with the club plus the A’s have Sean Murphy and in Las Vegas swinging a hot bat.

#5 The A’s host the Milwaukee Brewers on Tuesday night. The Brewers will go on Tuesday with Adrian Houser (4-4, 4.19 ERA), and the A’s will start Chris Bassitt (7-5, 4.09 ERA).

Charlie O does the A’s podcasts each Tuesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary podcast: Tony Perez and why he won’t appear at Jeter’s Hall of Fame inducton; Raiders get set to say goodbye to Oakland; plus more

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USA Today file photo: Tony Perez and Andrew Dawson former Miami Marlins executives at the 2016 MLB Draft are considering sitting out the Hall of Fame induction boycotting their former boss Miami Marlins owner Derek Jeter, who is going into the Hall of Fame.

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

#1 Former Cincinnati Reds first baseman Tony Perez was a super star, a big part of Cincinnati’s Big Red Machine. Then he retired and later became the Reds manager, but was fired after about a month by the then late Reds owner Marge Schott. It was a firing that shocked not only Perez but also the team and many in the organization.

#2 After Perez’ firing at the Reds, he was later hired in Florida, joining the Miami Marlins as a front office executive. Then when Derek Jeter bought and fired former Marlin players Andre Dawson, Jeff Conine, former manager Jack McKeon and Perez. The four have said including Hall of Famers Dawson and Perez said their leaning towards boycotting Jeter’s induction at Cooperstown.

#3 With Perez considering not appearing at the Baseball Hall of Fame induction of Jeter and joined by three other big name ex-Marlins, how does this fly in the face of a Jeter induction and will this be more of a distraction at the Hall of Fame inductions as this most likely will be the topic of conversation at the Hall on the day in question?

#4 This being the Oakland Raiders’ final season in Oakland. The Raiders are in camp and play their first preseason game on August 10th against the Dallas Cowboys at the Coliseum. There will be a lot memories left as the Raiders will close out this season in Oakland.

#5 The Raiders have been the subject of the HBO special “Hard Knocks”. HBO had approached nearly all 30 teams about doing a “Hard Knocks” special, but didn’t get a yes. Fans and viewers have said the Oakland Raiders, who have bucked the NFL and the commissioner in decades past, would be the perfect team to do the special on. Raiders general manager Mike Mayock says does not approve of the special on his team, but nonetheless, the production crew is in camp and in production.

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary podcast is heard each Tuesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

2019 Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic opens with a bang

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Photo credit: zimbio.com

By: Ana Kieu

SAN JOSE, Calif. — The 2019 Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic opened with a bang on Monday at San Jose State University. Two lucky winners who were iPhone owners turned their AirDrop to “EVERYONE” and won a pair of tickets to tonight’s session, which was a win-win given the fact that general admission was free today and folks came on down to check out practice, Court 1 action and enjoyed the new and improved site offerings.

The Round of 32 began at 10 am at the stadium.

Spain’s Carla Suarez Navarro defeated Poland’s Magda Linette 6-3 and 6-3. Japan’s Mayo Hibi defeated Hungary’s Timea Babos 6-2, 3-6 and 7(7)-6(3). USA’s Kristie Ahn defeated Australia’s Ajla Tomljanovic 6-3, 4-6 and 6-4.

The women’s tennis action continued at 1 pm on Court 1.

USA’s Bethanie Mattek-Sands and China’s Shuai Peng faced off against Japan’s Eri Hozumi and Makoto Ninomiya. It was a very exciting match that delighted the fans in attendance.

After that, Greece’s Maria Sakkai defeated Russia’s Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-1 and 6-4.

The first day of the Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic ended with two matches at 7 pm on the stadium.

Last but not least, USA’s CoCo Vandeweghe defeated Czech Republic’s Marie Bouzkova 6-2 and 6-2 to close out the night on a high note.

Last but not least, Russia’s Daria Kasatkina defeated the reigning Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic single’s champion Mihaela Buzarnescu 6-2 and 6-2.

Tuesday’s order of play can be viewed below.

Photo credit: @MubadalaSVC

San Francisco 49ers podcast with David Zizmor: Garoppolo says he’s made an 180 with the ACL; More of the same expected out of Kittle; plus more

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sfexaminer.com photo: Jimmy Garoppolo (10) gets tuned up at the San Francisco 49ers camp on July 29th photo. The 49ers host the Dallas Cowboys on Saturday, August 10th in the first pre season game at Levis Stadium.

On the 49ers podcast with David:

#1 If there is anyone in the 49ers camp whose glad to be back is quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, whose making his return since the season-ending injury against the Kansas City Chiefs from last season when he tore his ACL. Garoppolo says he’s made a 180 recovery.

#2 Talk about George Kittle and what a season he had at tight end last season for the 49ers and what’s expected of him this season?

David Zizmor does the 49ers podcasts each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Preview of the A’s series with the Brewers

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By Jerry Feitelberg

Oakland- The Oakland A’s begin a stretch of eight interleague games starting with the Milwaukee Brewers Tuesday night at the Oakland Coliseum. The A’s play three with the Brewers, are off on Friday, and play two in Oakland against the St.Louis Cardinals. The A’s then go to Chicago for a week. They play three with the Cubs and three with the Whites Sox.

The Brewers come to town with a record of 56-51. They are currently in third place in the NL Central. They trail the Cardinals and the Cubs by one game for the lead in the division.

The Brewers have a very potent offensive lineup. Their start player is the reigning National League MVP, Christian Yelich. Yelich is having another MVP caliber year. He is hitting .337 and has hit 36 home runs and driven in 80. He has also stolen 23 bases. He is joined in the outfield by former Kansas City Royals’ center fielder, Lorenzo Cain. Another former NL MVP, Ryan Braun, will either play in the outfield or DH. Braun is hitting .271 with 15 homers, and 49 RBIs A’s fans can expect to see the former Dodger, Yasmani Grandal, behind the plate. Grandal is having an excellent season.as his average is .258, and he has hit 19 homers, and driven in 54. Another power guy for the Brewers is the third baseman Mike Moustakas. The former Royal is hitting .261, and he has sent 26 balls out the park and has knocked in 60. Other key players for the Brewers are second baseman Keston Hiura, Eric Thames and Travis Shaw at first base, and Orlando Arcia is at shortstop.

The big problem for the Brewers has been their starting rotation. Three of the five starters have been on the IL. Lefty Gio Gonzalez, who once pitched for the A’s, has a record of 2-1 but has just come off the IL. Starters Jhoulys Chacin and Jimmy Nelson are still on the IL and will not be available to pitch. Zach Davies, who pitched on Sunday against the Cubs probably will not see action against the A’s. Chase Anderson pitched last Saturday, and he may be available on Thursday. The Brewers have not announced who will pitch for Milwaukee against the A’s. The Brewers bullpen will be manned by Adrian Houser, who may be used as a starter, Jeremy Jeffress, Freddy Peralta, Taylor Williams, former starter Junior Guerra, Matt Albers, lefty Alex Claudio, and the closer’s spot is held by lefty Josh Hader. Hader has 23 saves in 25 chances.

The A’s are 60-47 for the season are in a dogfight for the second Wild Card spot with the Tampa Bay Rays, and  Boston Red Sox. The Los Angeles Angels trail the A’s by five games but are playing well. They could be a factor.

The A’s rotation for the series with Milwaukee shapes up this way. Chriss Bassitt (7-5, 4.09 ERA will go for Oakland. Bassitt pitched well against the Astros, but a pair of two-run dingers did him in. Lefty Brett Anderson goes on Wednesday. Anderson is 9-6 with an ERA of 4.05. Anderson had a rough outing last week due to lack of sleep after the birth of his son. On Thursday, Daniel Mengdenn (5-2, 4.85 ERA) will try to get back on track. Mengden has been struggling with his command lately, In his last two games, he walked nine. To be successful, he has to be more consistent and throw strikes.

The A’s have played three tough teams in the last 2 weeks. The split the series in Minnesota with the Twins, lost two out three to the Astros, and split the four-game series with the Rangers. The Brewers have a lot to play for as do the A’s. I expect to see a well-played exciting series. If the A’s are to win, their pitching will be the key.

At Home in Hotels: 2019 Giants hang their hats on road performances

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By Morris Phillips

Winning road games is hard work, airports, ignoring witty fans yelling from half empty concourse sections, and maintaining focus in late inning situations while outdueling baserunners, sluggers, aggressive coaches and managers.

It’s all that. 81 games a year. And apparently, the 2019 Giants are pretty good at it.

It didn’t happen right away. The Giants opened the season on the road, and got fleeced in Petco Park and Dodger Stadium, then underperformed on their second trip starting in Washington and Pittsburgh. But on getaway Sunday at PNC Park, Buster Posey broke his homerless streak of over 70 games, Dereck Rodriguez limited the Pirates to two runs, and three relievers closed the door with no margin for error. The defense was flawless.

That was April 21. The Giants took that next day off and went on to win both games in Toronto for a three-game win streak. Since that still early April date in Pittsburgh, the Giants are 26-15 away from home.

They’ve won games, series, and they’ve piled up the runs as of late. And they appear to be getting better at it.

With the season on the line, they’ll need to keep up the room service routine in Philadelphia starting Tuesday when Tyler Beede faces the Phillies’ Drew Smyly at 4:05pm. The Phillies (55-50) lead the Giants (54-52) by 1 1/2 games in a crowded field of NL Wild Card hopefuls.

Not surprisingly, most of the metrics favor the Giants. Over their last 16 road contests, the Giants have piled up offensive numbers well above their season as whole. While winning 13 of 16, the Giants have 50 doubles (six on Sunday versus the Padres), 22 homers, and 122 runs.

Those numbers aren’t good, they’re gaudy. Better than seven runs a game, and when dramatics have been needed, the Giants have summoned them. They’re 7-0 in extra innings games since the All-Star break, three of those wins on the road.

That’s in 16 games. The Giants have scored just 178 runs in their 53 home games.

Meanwhile the Phillies are leaning on a pair of starters with obvious warts on their 2019 records. Smyly is making his second start for the Phillies after he was acquired from Texas, where he went 1-5 with an 8.42 ERA over nine starts and four relief appearances.

Vince Velasquez, who starts Wednesday, started the season in the Phillies rotation, then pitched out the bullpen for much of May and June.  He’s back in the rotation now, going 1-2 in his most recent six starts. But what sticks out are his incendiary numbers at Citizens Bank Park where he’s made seven appearances (four starts) and allowed 19 hits and seven home runs.

On Thursday, the Phillies list their starter as Jake Arrieta. The 33-year old has spent 2019 trying to stay relevant, allowing 57 hits and 29 walks in his 60 innings pitched at Citizens Bank Park. His inability to get deep into games has the Phillies considering a long reliever to piggyback his starts, maybe Zach Elfin, who for now is the listed starter on Friday.

Ironically, the Phillies acquired Jason Vargas from the Mets on Monday, but he won’t pitch until Saturday at the earliest, well after the Giants leave town, and after the trade deadline.

MONDAY’S RESULTS: The Giants didn’t hit the diamond on Monday, getting a travel day while crossing the country from San Diego to Philadelphia. But what transpired was of great importance in their absence. After all, trying to qualify for the playoffs with 88 or so wins while surpassing four of the five teams in front of them in the standings entering Monday is a delicate task with lots of moving parts.

MARLINS 11, DIAMONDBACKS 6 — Arizona fell for the third time in the last four days to the NL’s worst team. The D’Backs are below .500 for the first time since July 5, making them an obvious choice to sell at the upcoming trade deadline. For the Giants, the losses, as well as Arizona’s rugged upcoming schedule against the Yankees, Dodgers, Nationals and Phillies make it more likely they will remain behind the Giants in the standings for the foreseeable future.

Beyond winning games, the Giants’ biggest goals surround staying in front of as many wild card hopefuls in the standings as they can. Not having to worry about Arizona is big.

NATIONALS 6, BRAVES 3 — Anthony Rendon broke open a 2-2 game with a sixth inning grand slam, and the Nats closed ground on Atlanta in the NL East. Washington moved eight games above .500 for the second time in 2019, and they have the clearest track to hosting the NL Wild Card game with a half-game lead on the Cubs and Cardinals, and 1 1/2 games on the Phillies and Brewers.

The Giants would prefer the pack of five in front of them stay as densely packed in terms of wins and losses as possible. The Nats have gone 38-18 after a really poor 19-31 start to their season. They’re the team the Giants are least likely to catch, if so, that makes it imperative they catch the Cubs, Phillies, Brewers and Cardinals, despite having games remaining against only two of those four. That could be tricky.

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary: Historic A’s Spanish Radio Now 10,000 Watts, 24 Hours a Day

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Photo credit: athleticsnation.com

By: Amaury Pi-Gonzalez

Historic KIQI1010AM/990AM Oakland Athletics Spanish Radio Network used to be 10.000 watts at day and 500 Watts at night, but is now a clear 10,000 watts all day and all night. Owned by Multicultural Radio, a media company based in New York City owned by Chinese-American businessman Arthur Liu. it caters mostly to the multi-cultural community and owns television and radio stations in several of the top markets’ multiple languages. One of those stations is the flagship station for the Oakland Athletics Radio Network KIQI1010/990AM covering the nine counties of the Bay Area as well as Sacramento/Stockton and other communities in Northern California.

KIQI1010 AM radio is a historic radio station in the Bay Area that was once owned by James Gabbert, a radio and television entrepreneur and innovator. I met Gabbert at the last year’s Christmas party for the Bay Area Radio Hall of Fame and we reminisced of the year 1980 when he sold the station to Cuban-born René De La Rosa, who became one of the first Latino owners of a radio station in the State of California. During the 1980’s, De La Rosa’s KIQI 1010AM broadcasted MLB and the NBA’s Golden State Warriors in Spanish with a format that included live news, sports and talk shows.

Gabbert, who speaks fluent Spanish, told me how proud he was of selling the station in 1980 to De La Rosa, who intended to change the format to Spanish. James Gabbert, who is still involved in the media business of radio and television, also told me he travels frequently to Latin America and predicted that California would become one of the largest markets in the US for Spanish format stations with the influx of the Hispanic population, the largest minority in California and in the United States.

With a signal of 10,000 watts, located in the middle of the radio dial (1010AM frequency), KIQI now can serve the over 2 million Hispanics in the Bay Area with a much stronger signal at night, which is vital for sports, especially most Major League games, which have night schedules.

These increases in wattage power are authorized by the FCC and sometimes takes years for a radio station to obtained that permission. The old KOFY had the radio dial of 1050 AM in Spanish format. The studios were located in Burlingame, near the San Francisco Airport. It took them many years to increase their wattage from 1000 watts to what it is today. Also, they originally had permission to broadcast from sunrise to sunset. It seems that it took them forever to become a 24/7 station.

San Francisco Giants podcast with Morris Phillips: Yaz goes 4-5 with two doubles; Bum gets win in narrow 7-6 final; plus more

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sfgate.com photo: San Francisco Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner pitches to the San Diego Padres in the first innings in Petco Park on Sunday

On the San Francisco Giants podcast with Morris:

#1 You just never know whose going to contribute to the San Francisco Giants winning causes Mike Yastrzemski went 4-5 with two singles and two doubles in the Giants 7-6 win.

#2 Morris talks about the rookie Yastrzemski whose having a great year for San Francisco .275, 33 runs, 31 RBIs, 9 home runs.

#3 Giants starter Madison Bumgarner had everything working for him except for giving up a three run home run in the bottom of the third inning to Hunter Renfroe that put the San Diego Padres on top 4-2.

#4 Bumgarner pitched seven innings, four hits, striking out six and walking two batters.

#5 The Giants have the day off on Monday and open up a three game series on Tuesday in Philadelphia at Citizens Bank starting for the Giants Tyler Beede (4-5 ERA 4.85) for the Phillies Drew Smyly (1-5 7.69)

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

Davis walks, A’s walk off in tense, 7-6 win over the Rangers

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By Morris Phillips

OAKLAND–Only one run–or one bases-loaded walk–separated the Rangers and the A’s on Sunday, but those small margins tend to play much bigger this time of year.

The A’s escaped a late deficit, and salvaged a split of a four-game series when reliever Jose Leclerc walked Khris Davis with the bases loaded in a tie game in the ninth inning.

Oakland hitters were well aware of Leclerc’s situation. Pitching for the third straight day, and the fourth in five days, the reliever was running on fumes in the absence of closer Chris Martin, who was scratched due to back tightness. LeClerc’s fatigue shaped the A’s approach in which they fouled off nearly half of the 31 pitches he threw.

Tabbing Leclerc wasn’t a stroke of genius, Texas manager Chris Woodward admitted his hands were tied.

“It’s unfair to put him in that role three days in a row and four out of five,” Woodward said. “It hurts my heart to see him take the loss.”

Chris Hermann led off, and singled on a 1-2 fastball. Then Marcus Semien fouled off four, consecutive pitches and drew a walk after seeing 10 pitches. Matt Chapman flew out for the inning’s first out, but he also fouled off four, two-strike pitches.

Matt Olson was the next batter and he singled through a drawn-in infield to tie the game. The Rangers then elected to intentionally walk Mark Canha, loading the bases. But that strategy was foiled when Davis showed patience, drawing the game-winning walk.

“You know you have to be patient,” A’s manager Bob Melvin said. “He saw it well enough to see it was a ball and in that situation it’s as good as a hit, as good as a homer, and it gives us a win.”

Davis was an unlikely hero given his home run drought, dating back to June 18, and his grand total of 11 hits in July despite being a regular presence in the lineup.

So was Blake Treinen, who pitched a scoreless ninth to pick up the win. Liam Hendriks, who took over Treinen’s job, couldn’t close the door in the eighth when he inherited a runner in scoring position and allowed run scoring hits to the first two batters he faced. That started a three-run rally that wiped out the A’s 4-2 rally.

The A’s maintained the second wild card spot with the win, just ahead of the surging Red Sox and Rays. The Indians blew a big lead in Kansas City on Sunday, keeping Oakland within three games of the top wild card spot.

After winning five in a row to open the second half of the season, the A’s have dropped 6 of 11. Will that cold snap prompt the A’s to make more moves before Wednesday’s trade deadline? It appears likely.