Month: September 2019

San Francisco 49ers podcast with David Zizmor: Jimmy G converts his throws and gains some yards

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On the 49ers podcast with David:

#1 The San Francisco 49ers just got by the Pittsburgh Steelers with a 24-20 victory on Sunday. With the win, the 49ers are now 3-0 and quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo is gaining some of that old swagger back when he first broke in with the 49ers in his first year.

#2 Garoppolo threw for 277 yards and completed 72 percent of his passes. He did suffer two interceptions. Are the interceptions something he should be concerned with since it was a close game and turnovers could hurt a team?

Catch David Zizmor on the 49ers podcasts each Tuesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Headline Sports podcast Barbara Mason: Raiders simply got ran over by Vikes’ Cook; Jimmy G puts it together even in close games; plus more

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On Headline Sports podcast with Barbara:

#1 The Minnesota Vikings’ Dalvin Cook, who missed the last two seasons with ACL and hamstring issues, was running for the goal posts against the Oakland Raiders on Sunday when he rushed for 110 yards.

#2 Looking at Cook, you would have never guessed he missed any action after missing two seasons, missing 19 of 34 games. Cook said he never lost any confidence and worked his way back to getting into the Vikings lineups.

#3 The San Francisco 49ers just got by the Pittsburgh Steelers with a 24-20 victory on Sunday. With the win, the 49ers are now 3-0 and quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo is gaining some of that old swagger back when he first broke in with the 49ers in his first year.

#4 Garoppolo threw for 277 yards and completed 72 percent of his passes. He did suffer two interceptions. Are the interceptions something he should be concerned with since it was a close game and turnovers could hurt a team?

#5 Hard to believe the NBA preseason is starting next week with the new opening of the Chase Center in San Francisco. Will the Golden State Warriors have no trouble adapting to the new building’s characteristics?

Join Barbara for Headline Sports each Tuesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Oakland A’s podcast with Charlie O: Lynn’s command a big factor in keeping runs down against A’s

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On the A’s podcast with Charlie O:

#1 On Sunday, it was too much Lance Lynn of the Texas Rangers. Lynn struck out 12 A’s hitters, walked one and allowed two runs and seven hits in 5 1/3 innings of work as the Rangers avoided getting swept at the Oakland Coliseum.

#2 Seth Brown and Khris Davis’ hitting in the five and six holes combined for seven strikeouts,.Davis was able to get a double in the eighth off the Rangers.

#3 Attendance is up for the A’s at home. The A’s increased their attendance by 88,595. They drew 38,453 to boost their season home total to 1,662,211.

#4 The Texas Rangers’ Shin-Soo Choo tied the Rangers’ all-time record for leadoff home runs matching Ian Kinsler. The Rangers had five homers off the A’s on Sunday.

#5 The A’s are in Anaheim and they’ll be starting Homer Bailey (13-8). The A’s heavily depend on Bailey as every win counts at this juncture of the season.

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

 

Bochy, and possibly Bumgarner reach the end of the line with the Giants

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By Morris Phillips

Sunday’s season finale against the Dodgers will be manager Bruce Bochy’s last game as a Giant. Will it also be Madison Bumgarner’s last game as well?

The Giants are guaranteed to be interested in resigning their staff ace especially after he regained his form and health in 2019. But he won’t be their only priority, and the Giants won’t be Bumgarner’s only suitor. The price will have to be right for the soon-to-be 31-year old pitcher to return.

The Giants could find themselves intrigued by bigger ticket items like Gerrit Cole and J.D. Martinez if the slugger opts out of his deal with the Red Sox. One thing’s obvious: the Giants have multiple needs and targets commiserate with where they are coming off a third, consecutive losing season and where they want to be, running with the Dodgers and attempting to end their streak of NL West titles, now sitting on seven.

“It’s not so much, ‘Hey, do you have the money for Player X or the money for Player Y?’ Or, ‘How much does ownership want to spend?’ It’s more how does Farhan and the staff want to bake the cake?” club president Larry Baer said in a recent interview with the San Francisco Chronicle.

The Giants have upgrades in Kevin Pillar, Mike Yasztremski and Alex Dickerson.  Younger players Mauricio Dubon and Joey Bart could be ready for starting assignments at the major league level. But the organization is also hamstrung by the big contracts previously given to Brandon Belt, Buster Posey, Jeff Samardzija and Johnny Cueto. Who to keep, who, if any, can be moved, and who to trust as centerpieces going forward are among the questions GM Farhan Zaidi and his staff must answer.

Those won’t be easy answers to obtain. And once Zaidi hones in on the personnel decisions, will they also address the issues the current team has had winning at Oracle Park. Other than Pillar, most of the Giants’ offensive performers have fared far better on the road than at home.

Preview of the A’s final week of the season in LA and Seattle

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By Jerry Feitelberg

Here we are. The A’s have just six games left in the regular season. They had an off-day on Monday as they traveled to Los Angeles to face the Angels. They have two games left with LA and then fly to Seattle to play four with the Mariners to end the season. The A’s own a record of 94-62 and lead the Tampa Bay Rays by 1 1/2 games for the first Wild Card. The Rays beat Boston on Monday to pick up 1/2 game on the A’s. The Rays play the next two games at home against the AL East champs, the New York Yankees. New York could help the A’s bt sweeping the series. The Rays then go to Toronto for three.

The A’s have to continue winning. They cannot let up as both Tampa and Cleveland have a chance to make the playoffs. The Angel and Mariners would love nothing better than upsetting the A’s applecart. The Angels and M’s will finish in fourth and fifth places in the AL West. Each team has had a season of adversity. The Angels have had to deal with the loss of Tyler Skaggs. Skaggs’ death put the Angels in a season-long funk. Also, their start centerfielder, Mike Trout, is out for the rest of the season with a foot injury. The Angels have been devastated by injury and are limping to the finish. The Mariners got off to a good start. They have traded away many of their star players as they are in rebuild mode. The A’s cannot afford to take them lightly.

The A’s Will send Homer Bailey to the hill Tuesday night in Anaheim. Bailey is 13-8 with an ERA of 4.55. The Angels will counter with lefty Dillon Peters. Peters is 3-3 with an ERA of 4.81. Peters will be making his first start ever against the A’s. This is a situation where the A’s cannot afford to relax. They will be going against a pitcher they have never seen. The A’s cannot afford to lose this game. It could happen, but it will be up to manager Bob Melvin to figure out the matchups. On Wednesday, it will be a battle of lefties. Brett Anderson will go for Oakland, and he will be opposed by Andrew Heaney. Anderson is 12-9 with an ERA of 4.00. Heaney is 4-6 and has an ERA of 5.10. The last time Heaney faced the A’s, he went six innings and gave up five runs.

The A’s finish with four against the Mariners. On Thursday Mike Fiers (15-4, ERA 3.91) will handle the pitching chores for Oakland. The M’s will counter with the veteran righty, Felix Hernandez. King Felix is nearing the end of his illustrious career. Hernandez has beaten the A’s many times over the years, but these days, he is a shadow of his former self. His record is 1-7, and his ERA is 6.51. He would like nothing better than handing the A’s a loss. Lefty Sean Manaea (3-0, 1.14ERA) will make his fifth start of the year, and lefty Justus Sheffield (0-1, 5.81 ERA) will go for Seattle. Saturday will feature Tanner Roark and the M’s Marco Gonzalez. The Rangers sent Roark to an early shower last Sunday. Roark gave up at least four home runs early in the game, and the A’s could not recover. His opponent, lefty Marco Gonzalez, the M’s best pitcher with a record of 16-12 and 4.09 ERA) has given the A’s a tough time all season long. The final game of the year will see Homer Bailey going for Oakland and Justin Dunn pitching for Seattle. Dunn will be making his third start of the year.

The A’s know that they cannot let up for one second. Even though they are playing teams with losing records., they must not take either team lightly. If they win four of the last six, that should be enough to give them the first Wild Card. They would then host the one-game playoff in Oakland. They would later play either the Yankees or the Houston Astros in the ALDS. The A’s won the season series from the Yanks 4 games to two. The Astros won the season series from Oakland 11-8. The A’s, however, won six of the last eight games from Houston. The Yanks and the Astros know that the A’s are a good team. The A’s have solidified their starting rotation with the addition Of Bailey and Roark. The bullpen will feature Yusmeiro Petit, Joakim Soria, Jake Diekman, A.J.Puk, Jesus, Luzardo, Chris Bassitt, Blake Treinen, and closer, Liam Hendriks.

The A’s have power up and down the lineup. They have three infielders with 30 or more home runs. Marcus Semien, Matt Chapman, and Matt Olson all can change a ballgame with one swing of the bat. Outfielder Mark Canha had hit 26 bombs. Ramon Laureano is back, and he had 22 in the books before he was injured. Versatile Chad Pinder can also put the ball out of the park.  The A’s are excellent on defense, and they do not beat themselves. They have all the ingredients necessary to make a run to a championship. They can do it. No one knows what will happen. The Kansas City Royals won the 2014 Wild Card game against Oakland and went to the World Series. They won it all the following year. Anything can happen in baseball. They have to make the playoffs. Anything can happen. Baseball is unpredictable. The A’s are playing great baseball at this point in the season. They know they can win. They just have to do it.

 

Sportstalk podcast from Il Fornaio Ristorante in downtown Sacramento on Monday, September 23, 2019

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Cast: Charlie O Mallonee (host and Oakland A’s beat writer), Jeremiah Salmonson (Sacramento Kings reporter), Morris Phillips (Cal Bears reporter), Tony the Tiger Hayes (SF Giants columnist), London Marq (San Jose Earthquakes & Sac Kings reporter), Jeremy Harness (PGA Golf reporter), and Lee Leonard (Producer).

Podcasting from the wonderful and tasteful Il Fornaio Restorante at the Wells Fargo Center on 400 Capital Mall in downtown Sacramento. Our thanks to our host, General Manager Don McNerney, and the wonderful staff at Il Fornaio. You can cater your next event here at Il Fornaio in downtown Sacramento offering pickup and delivery catering services. Call (916) 446-4100 catering reservations within the next 24 hours. For banquets, Il Fornaio offers elegant and semi-private dining spaces with a wide range of specialized memos and services to match our authentic award winning Italian cuisine. For catering, call (916) 446-4139.

On the Sportstalk discussion, the Sacramento Kings’ Luke Walton is looking for Bogdan Bogdanovic and Buddy Hield, who are both vying for minutes on the floor. Walton says both players compliment each other well. Hield had led the Kings with 20.7 points, five rebounds, 2.5 assists, and shot 42.7 from three-point land. Bogdanovic had offseason surgery last season missed the first 11 games of the Sacramento’s 12. Hield had 14.1 points, 3.8 assists, and 3.5 rebounds and shot 36 percent.

Vlad Divac, who was inducted into the NBA Hall of Fame, was noted for his flopping during his playing days and was a big man that helped the Kings during his playing days and later became the team’s general manager. Divac is hoping to bring the Kings to the postseason this year. Marvin Bagley averaged 7.6 points in 25.3 minutes and has pulled down 10.8 rebounds in 36 minutes. Bagley finished last assist percentage at 5.9.

Mumbai India will be the site of the Sacramento Kings’ preseason oasis. The Kings will open with the Indiana Pacers on Friday, October 4th and Saturday, October 5th, then on Thursday, October 10th vs. the Phoenix Suns, Monday, October 14th vs. the Utah Jazz, and in Melbourne, on Wednesday, October 16th, which closes their Mumbai road trip.

 

San Jose State football earns more than just a win over Arkansas

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By Ana Kieu

SAN JOSE, Calif. — The San Jose State Spartans football team earned more than just a 31-24 win over Arkansas inside Razorback Stadium last Saturday. The Spartans were also honored as Mountain West Players of the Week and the Reveal Suits National Team of the Week, respectively.

Here are the respective press releases:

Spartans Honored As Mountain West Players Of The Week
San Jose State quarterback Josh Love and defensive Bobby Brown, II were named the Mountain West Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week, respectively, by the conference office.

Both players were instrumental in San Jose State’s 31-24 win at the University of Arkansas on Saturday, September 21.

Love completed a single-game career-high 32 pass on 49 attempts with one interception for 402 yards and two first-half touchdowns. With the score tied 24-24 late in the fourth quarter, Love engineered a five-play, 75-yard game-winning touchdown drive for San Jose State’s first win against a SEC opponent in school history.

Brown, II intercepted two passes and was credited with seven tackles in the team’s first road win since the 2016 season. His second interception came on Arkansas’ final offensive play of the game to ensure the Spartans’ victory.

San Jose State Named Reveal Suits National Team Of The Week
The Spartans scored on DeJon Packer’s 19-yard run with 1:13 left to break a 24-24 tie and win their first road game since 2016 and record their first non-conference road win since 2012, posting a 31-24 at Arkansas that superseded a host of other worthy candidates. For winning their first game over an SEC school, San Jose State (2-1) has earned the Reveal Suits National Team of the Week honor for games of the weekend of Sept. 21.

The announcement came on “Full Ride” on ESPNU Radio on SiriusXM. Each Monday during the season the Reveal Suits National Team of the Week will be unveiled on the network. The FWAA’s All-America Committee selects the weekly winner and all Division I FBS and FCS schools are eligible to be selected.

This is the first time for San Jose State to win the FWAA’s National Team of the Week honor and the first for a Mountain West conference member since Wyoming on October 29, 2016.

The Spartans never trailed and led 24-7 at halftime — their largest lead in any game dating back to the 2016 season — and broke a 26-game losing streak to teams from the Power 5 conferences that dated back to 2006 at Stanford.

San Jose State got contributions in all three phases. Quarterback Josh Love completed a career-high 32 passes in 49 attempts for 402 yards and two touchdowns, his second career 400-yard game. The Spartan defense snagged five interceptions, most since 2008 at Hawaii. Kicker Matt Mercurio hit a career-long 47-yard field goal in the second quarter to extend the lead to 17-7.

“What a night for these players, these coaches and these fans,” head coach Brent Brennan said. “Obviously, when you look at the schedule, this is one of those games that everybody talks about. Sometimes it’s hard to get your team to focus on anything else because you are going on the road to play a SEC opponent like Arkansas with its history, how special this place is, the stadium, the crowd and all that stuff. Coming off a loss two weeks ago, our players just went to work. We practiced during the bye week a lot. I’m sure the players didn’t like that, but I think now they understand why. I’m just really proud of them because this has been a team.”

Here’s the scoop on what’s going on this week:

When asked about how he’s going to prepare for Air Force, head coach Brent Brennan said, “We’re going to get an incredible test of physicality and that’s something that we have to prepare for and be ready for because of who we’re playing, the type of team that we’ll be playing, and of course, the type of football that they’ll play.”

“The difference is that you’re playing an SEC school and they’ve got a bunch of big bodies — big, long, athletic bodies. Now, you’ve come to the Air Force Academy and they have some of those, but they don’t have a team like those. What they got is a bunch of badass dudes that like to play football and they’re going to do it right every time. These guys are being trained to defend our country and I’m pretty sure they’re going to be physical. They’re violent and nasty and we got to be ready for them.”

Up Next: The Spartans open Mountain West action on Friday, September 27 at Air Force in a 5 p.m. PT conference contest.

San Francisco Giants podcast with Morris Phillips: Giants finish season with winning road record; Webb has good pitching performance

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photo from sfgate.com: San Francisco Giants’ Logan Webb pitches against the Atlanta Braves during the first inning of a baseball game Sunday, Sept. 22, 2019, in Atlanta.

On the Giants podcast with Morris:

#1 The Giants avoided getting swept by the Atlanta Braves in Cobb County Sunday with a 4-1 win. The Giants added two runs in the top of the sixth. Joey Rickard doubled on a line drive to Nick Markakis. Both Evan Longoria and Kevin Pillar scored on the play. San Francisco snatched a 3-0 lead.

#2 The Giants’ away record was better than their home record away they were 42-39 and home 33-42. The bulk of the Giants’ road success came after the July 31st trade deadline and in August when they hit a speed bump and lost momentum.

#3 For San Francisco Giants manager Bruce Bochy, it was his final road game managing.  Bochy notched his 2,000 win of his career when the Giants were in Boston prior to coming to play the Braves.

#4 One of the biggest highlights on the trip was the home run hit by Mike Yastrzemski in Boston Tuesday night, which drew a standing ovation from the Boston crowd — kind of like their own homage indirectly for Mike’s grandfather Carl.

#5 The Giants conclude the 2019 season at Oracle Park on the homestand. The Giants will open against the Colorado Rockies on Tuesday night for three games and finish the season with the Los Angeles Dodgers for three starting on Friday night. Starting for Colorado, Jeff Hoffman (2-6, 2.71 ERA), and for the Giants, Madison Bumgarner (9-9, 3.86 ERA).

Morris did the Giants podcasts each Monday during the 2019 Giants season and will begin Cal Bears podcasting next Monday, September 30th at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

NFL Sunday: Recipients for Week 3 Game Balls

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By Joe Hawkes
SRS Contributor

With the Chicago Bears visiting the Nation’s capitol to take on Washington to close out Week 3 on ESPN’s Monday Night Football, Sunday’s games had some big-time performances that stood out to me headlined by a rookie quarterback, a dynamic running back, and a vastly improved defense.

Here are my game ball recipients for Week 3:

Offensive game balls – QB: Daniel Jones, New York Giants; RB: Christian McCaffrey, Carolina Panthers

The Giants needed a spark after dropping their first two games of the season.

The decision to bench two-time Super Bowl champion Eli Manning in favor for rookie quarterback Daniel Jones could prove to be the right one that saves the Big Blue’s season.

Jones, the sixth overall pick by the Giants in this year’s NFL draft, threw for 336 and two touchdowns and also ran for two more scores, including the go-ahead score with 1:16 left in the fourth quarter to give New York its much needed first win of the year, 32-31, on the road against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

New York rallied from an 18-point halftime deficit with Jones at the controls of the Giants’ comeback. He scored on a 7-yard run in the second quarter that gave the Giants the lead, then he put New York ahead with another 7-yard run on fourth-and-goal.

As well as he ran the football, it was his arm that Jones really made his mark. Jones would hookup with tight end Evan Engram for a 75-yard TD on New York’s first play of the second half. Then, the former Duke signal-caller would find wide receiver Sterling Shepard for a 7-yard score midway through the fourth quarter.

One word to describe Jones’s demeanor throughout the game: poised.

Jones didn’t let the moment get too big for him in his debut, finishing 23 of 36 passes with no interceptions.

Panthers running back Christian McCaffrey racked up a Week 3 high 153 yards on yards on 24 carries, which aided hugely in Carolina’s 38-20 road victory over the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday without starting quarterback Cam Newton.

Like the Giants earning their first win of the year, the Panthers earned their first win of 2019 behind a strong showing by McCaffrey.

With the Panthers clinging to a 21-20 lead midway in the third quarter, McCaffrey’s 76-yard TD run through the middle of Arizona’s defense kept Carolina in complete control of the game.

Through three games this year, McCaffrey ranks second in rushing behind Minnesota’s Dalvin Cook (375 yards and 4 TDs) with 318 yards and three TDs.

Defensive game ball – The entire San Francisco 49ers defense.

Listen, when your offense committed five turnovers (including three fumbles inside your own 25-yard line), and only allowed six points off those turnovers?

Credit the defense.

San Francisco’s offense gave everything away but the game, committing four turnovers in the first half alone then lost a fumble in the fourth quarter before holding on to a 24-20 win at Levi’s Stadium thanks to its vastly improved defense.

The 49ers spoiled rookie quarterback Mason Rudolph’s first career start in place of the injured Ben Roethlisberger for the winless Steelers (0-3). San Francisco limited Pittsburgh to 3 of 12 on third downs and held the Steelers to just 79 yards rushing.

Sure wide receivers JuJu Smith-Schuster (76-yard TD in the third quarter) and Diontae Johnson (39-yard TD in the fourth quarter) stunned the 49ers, but San Francisco’s defense did force two takeaways (an interception and fumble recovery) leading to 14 points by its much maligned offense, including the go-ahead TD from quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo to wide receiver Dante Pettis with 1:15 left in the fourth quarter.

For the first time since 1998, the 49ers (3-0) are undefeated through the first quarter of the season.

Coliseum turns into Rangers Home Run Alley, A’s lose regular season home finale 8-3

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By Morris Phillips

OAKLAND — All the sections that don’t normally fill up during A’s games got populated on Sunday.

By A’s fans and Rangers’ home run balls.

For Oakland, that’s only half the battle as the A’s failed to climb closer to a postseason berth and home field advantage in AL Wild Card game. For Tanner Roark, it was a failed audition for a postseason rotation spot with plenty of openings for consistent performers that keep the ball within the park.

And for the Rangers, it was about time, after five consecutive, lopsided losses to the A’s and 13 losses to Oakland in the first 18 meetings of 2019. Moreover, the Rangers were tired of dropping road games. Texas finished the season 33-48 on the road for the second, straight season, and that’s just not good enough, not for a team that was in playoff contention through the season’s first 120 games.

“We’re disappointed that No. 81 didn’t mean something for the postseason,” Elvis Andrus said.  “We did not play well on the road this year. It something we have to improve.”

The Rangers avoided an eighth, consecutive loss and a winless road trip in an emphatic manner with leadoff man Shin-Soo Choo sending the first pitch of the ballgame deep into the centerfield bleachers, estimated at 461 feet from the plate. Willie Calhoun and Andrus also went deep in the Rangers’ four-run, first inning, and those homers weren’t cheap either.

Roark would allow a second homer to Calhoun, and five earned runs in three innings before he was lifted. The veteran acquired from the Reds hadn’t lost at the Coliseum since being acquired in July. That winning streak ended with a thud, but the impression’s been made, Roark will be in consideration for a start at home in Game 3 or 4 of an ALDS if the A’s get that far.

“Like we’ve done all year since I’ve been here, you move on. Nobody dwells on anything. You just get better,” Roark opined.

The A’s were 10-1 in their previous 11 games coming in, making their two-game lead over Tampa Bay seem insurmountable, which it isn’t. The Rays also lost on Sunday, but Cleveland won Sunday night to pull into a dead heat with the Rays. The A’s are wholly focused on not only qualifying for the postseason but hosting the Wild Card game, which didn’t go their way last year in the Bronx against the Yankees.

With a week to go, the A’s would wish for one more thing. That the Rays and Indians finish in a dead heat, forcing them to play each other 24 hours prior to the winner traveling to Oakland. But with a week, and six games remaining, we digress.

The A’s rotation for the final week remains a mystery with Frankie Montas eligible to return from his 80-game suspension on Wednesday. Homer Bailey will start Tuesday in Anaheim, but little is set beyond that with the A’s wanting line up one of their starters–likely Mike Fiers or Sean Manaea for Tuesday’s Wild Card playoff.

If the chosen starter can’t cut it, the A’s have a deep bullpen with additions A.J. Puk, Jesus Luzardo and Chris Bassitt ready to take prominent roles.

The A’s drew 38,453 fans to the home finale, and saw their home season attendance improve better than 80,000 fans over what they drew in 2018. The A’s finished with a 52-29 record at the Coliseum.