Month: October 2019

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary: World Series Pulls FOX to the Top of the TV Ratings

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By Amaury Pi-González

According to figures from Nielsen, FOX’s national coverage of the 2019 World Series between the Houston Astros and the Washington Nationals averaged 11.64 million viewers. This was the most watched week by any network since the Superbowl. In a big upset, the Nationals stunned the Astros 6-2 in the winner-take-all Game 7 on Wednesday to win their first World Series. This was the first World Series in which all seven games were won by the visiting team. This was also the first time this has happened in all major sports, where they play a series of games for their championship title.

Previously, the only other Major League team based in Washington to win a World Series were the Washington Senators in 1924 when they beat the New York Giants in seven games.

The Montreal Expos were purchased by MLB in 2002, and as a result, the team moved to Washington and named the Nationals prior to the 2005 season. The Victory Parade is this Saturday at 2 PM ET at Constitution Avenue NW and 15th Street and will end on Pennsylvania Avenue NW at 3rd Street.

MLB Network will televise the parade live nationwide.

Garoppolo’s big night leads 49ers past Cards 28-25

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By Jeremy Harness

This season, Jimmy Garoppolo has simply played the role of a distributor this year, whether it be handing off or making kay passes to keep the chains moving. On Halloween night, he stepped up and put the scare into the Arizona Cardinals.

The 49ers remained undefeated on Thursday night, but they had to stave off a furious second-half comeback from the Cardinals in the process, getting out of the desert with a 28-25 victory.

Garoppolo completed 28 of their 37 passes for 317 yards and four touchdowns, for a pass rating of 136.9.

The defense, which has been stellar all season, suffered a major hiccup in the second half and allowed the Cardinals back in the game, particularly when rookie quarterback Kyler Murray found receiver Andy Isabella for an 88-yard catch-and run, after which Kenyan Drake converted a two-point attempt to cut the lead to a field goal with just under five minutes remaining.

Murray wasn’t too bad himself, passing for 241 yards while completing 17 of his 24 throws with a pair of scores. Meanwhile Drake, who was just picked up days ago in a trade from the woeful Miami Dolphins, carried the ball 15 times for 110 yards and a touchdown.

The offense, however, was able to pick up the defense by holding on to the ball and getting key first downs to get the Cardinals to use their timeouts and, eventually, run out the clock.

The 49ers caught a huge break at the end of the first half, when they took a gamble and watched as Jeff Wilson, Jr. was stopped cold at the Arizona 1-yard line to supposedly end the half with only a seven-point lead.

However, Cardinals coach Kliff Kingsbury, who apparently wasn’t comfortable with the personnel he had on the field at the time, had called a timeout prior to the play being run, nullifying the stop and give the 49ers another chance.

They made good on that reprieve, as Garoppolo found Emmanuel Sanders in the corner of the end zone to extend the lead to 21-7. Sanders, who has been with the team for a little more than a week after being traded from the Denver Broncos, had seven catches for 112 yards.

They dodged another bullet in the first quarter, when tight end George Kittle caught a helmet to his left knee and, for a moment, looked to be in pretty bad shape. However, two series later, he was able to get back into the game and capped off the final drive of the quarter with a 30-yard catch-and-run to tie the game at 7-7. Kittle caught six passes for 79 yards with that score.

The 49ers return home to host the rival Seattle Seahawks on ESPN’s Monday Night Football at 5:15 p.m.

Raiders return home for matchup against the Lions

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Photo credit: @Raiders

By Joe Hawkes
SRS Contributor

After being away from the Oakland-Alameda Coliseum for a five-game stretch in which they finished 2-3, the Oakland Raiders return home to begin a three-game homestand starting with a in Week 9 matchup as they host the visiting Detroit Lions this Sunday, Nov. 3.

Kickoff is set for 1:05 p.m. PT on FOX.

Oakland is looking to snap a four-game losing streak to the Lions, and finish off with a .500 record against the NFC North this season in which the Raiders are 1-2 with a win over the Chicago Bears in London in a “home game,” and road losses in Minnesota and Green Bay.

In Week 8, the Raiders lost to the Houston Texans, 27-24, that saw their record fall to 3-4. Oakland’s offense had success against a very tough Houston defense, with quarterback Derek Carr tossing three touchdowns in a game for the first time in 2019. Carr finished 18-of-30 with 285 yards and a blistering passer rating of 125.0

Tight end Darren Waller and wide receivers Hunter Renfrow and Tyrell Williams each caught a touchdown in the game. For Waller, it was the first time he’s scored a touchdown in consecutive games in his career after scoring a pair of touchdowns in Week 7 at Green Bay.

Renfrow’s touchdown, a 65-yard score, was his first-career score.

Defensively for the Raiders, linebacker Tahir Whitehead led all defenders with a season-high 11 tackles, while defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins and defensive ends Arden Key and Benson Mayowa each recorded a sack.

Entering Week 9, Oakland is second in the NFL with with eight sacks surrendered on offense. Only in 1970 and 2016 have the Raiders surrendered fewer sacks (seven) through the club’s first seven games of the season.

Additionally, the Raiders also rank second in the NFL with sacks allowed per pass play percentage of 3.5 percent on the season.

The Lions (3-3-1) enter Week 9 coming off a 31-26 victory over the NFC East’s New York Giants at Ford Field in Detroit that snapped the team’s three-game losing streak.

Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford completed 25-of-32 passes for 325 yards, three touchdowns and one interception.

Wide receiver Kenny Golladay finished with six catches for 123 yards and two touchdowns, while fellow wide receiver Danny Amendola chipped in 95 yards for a team-high eight catches.

Following Sunday’s game, the Raiders will host their AFC West rival the Los Angeles Chargers on a short week on Thursday Night Football. The Lions will remain on the road as they head to Chicago to take on their NFC North rivals, the Bears.

Stanford Cardinal podcast with Jerry Feitelberg: Cardinal building confidence going into Colorado this Saturday

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On the Stanford Cardinal podcast with Jerry Feitelberg:

#1 The Stanford Cardinal (4-4) got a very needed victory over the Arizona Wildcats (4-4) last Saturday 41-31 and they chalked up their third win in four games. Coach David Shaw has to like the direction the club is taking?

#2 The Cardinal have won three of their last four games. The win over the Wildcats is good for the emotion going into the Cardinal’s next game in Colorado.

#3 After missing three weeks, Stanford quarterback KJ Costello was back in the line up and threw 30 for 43 for 312 yards and three touchdowns. Looks like the O-line provided him some time to throw the football.

#4  Cardinal receiver Simi Fehoko had three receptions for 97 yards and two touchdowns. The running game was in full effect for the Cardinal as they accrued over 150 yards on the ground.

#5 The Colorado Buffaloes (3-5) have had some setbacks this year and they are looking for some offense, but it will be on both sides of the ball they’ll be concerned with. On the other hand, the Cardinal come in after that win against Arizona with some confidence as this game is Boulder.

Jerry does the Cardinal podcasts each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Headline Sports podcast with Tony Renteria: No matter who won, it was an incredible World Series; Murray vs. Garoppolo for Thursday Night Football; plus more

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On Headline Sports podcast with Tony Renteria:

#1 Tony, the World Series is over. The Washington Nationals looked like they were really going to make this one look easy, but the Houston Astros got hot and won three straight before the Nats forced a Game 7 and Nationals took game 7. It was the most wins by a visiting team in series history. Both teams played an entertaining series.

#2 The San Francisco 49ers play in Arizona for Thursday Night Football. Taking a look at the quarterbacks — for the Cardinals, Kyler Murray, and for the 49ers, Jimmy Garoppolo. Tony explains how he sees this matchup.

#3 After the Warriors played the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Warriors were behind 70-37 at halftime and eventually lost the game, the Warriors’ Draymond Green said the team sucked and then the Warriors went to New Orleans and won. It didn’t last long as the Phoenix Suns took it to the Warriors at Chase Center and lost Stephen Curry to a broken hand?

#4 In a free agent deal, the Oakland Raiders signed linebacker Brandon Marshall, who formerly played for the Denver Broncos. Marshall signed a one-year deal. Tony tells us how the Marshall signing will help out especially considering the season suspension hole that was created by linebacker Vontaze Burfict.

#5 The Sacramento Kings, who played the Charlotte Hornets and lost remain winless, came off a tough loss to the Denver Nuggets on Monday night. The Kings, who had home floor advantage on Wednesday night, are looking for that slight edge to get into the win column.

Tony Renteria does Headline Sports each Thursday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Cal routs Saint Martin’s 98-75 in exhibition game

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By Ana Kieu

Cal men’s basketball opened the 2019-20 season with a 98-75 blowout over Saint Martin’s in an exhibition game Wednesday night at Haas Pavilion.

Graduate transfer Kareem South led the Bears with a game-high 23 points. Sophomore Matt Bradley added 18 points and 5 assists, junior Grant Anticevich had 13 points on 6-of-8 shooting along with 6 rebounds and freshman Lars Thiemann scored 9 points and 4 blocked shots.

Cal head coach Mark Fox told CalBears.com, “We tend to practice very unselfishly. I don’t think we have anybody that’s a ball-stopper … I think they enjoy making each other better. We talk about making each other better and I think tonight we were able to do that.”

The Bears used a 11-0 run to build a 10-point lead at the 14:02 mark of the first half and led by as many as 15 in the first 20 minutes before the Saints closed the half on a 7-2 run for a 44-41 lead at the break.

The Bears extended the lead back quickly after halftime and held a 57-45 advantage at the under-16 media timeout with 15:34 left in the game. Cal used a 10-1 run to take a 79-58 lead and Saint Martin’s was unable to pull closer than 17 the rest of the way.

Cal scored 22 points off of 15 Saint Martin’s turnovers, held a 44-22 advantage in points in the paint and outscored the Saints 21-0 in fastbreak points.

Fox told CalBears.com, “It was great to finally play a game. It is why we all fell in love with the game was the chance to compete and to play and it was really good for our team to actually have a chance to play … We did a lot of good things, we have a lot of teachable moments we can look back on.”

The Bears open the Mark Fox era on Tuesday, November 5 at 7 p.m. inside Haas Pavilion against the Pepperdine Waves. The game will be televised on the Pac-12 Networks.

Kings fall to the Hornets 118-111

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By London Marq

The house may be up for sale for the Sacramento Kings, who have stalled to start the season. After opening the campaign with consecutive losses to the Suns, Blazers and Jazz, the Kings looked to add a 1 to the win column. Playing a young Charlotte Hornets team, Sacramento would try to jumpstart their season.

Richaun Holmes, who had 24 points and 13 boards in the last game, continued his hot streak. Holmes was 5-of-5 and didn’t miss a shot until well into the second. Along with Harrison Barnes and Nemanja Bjelica, he helped keep the Kings gain 14-point advantage in the in the second quarter. Barnes and Bjelica finished with 22 and 11 points for the game, respectively.

Bjelica, who was on also 5-of-5 to start the game, only played 7 minutes in the second half. Unfortunately, the Kings had trouble filling the void as their lead quickly evaporated in the third.

The Kings were outscored 32-18 in the third period and trailed by 9 going into the final frame. Having a terrible third quarter has been an unwelcome trend for the Kings through the first 5 games of the season. They lack chemistry and aggressiveness. This could be a by-product of the absence of Harry Giles and Marvin Bagley due to injury, but if they don’t figure it out soon, this season is going to slip away earlier than anyone in Sacramento could’ve imagined.

Charlotte had six players in double digits and were led by PJ Washington with 23 points and 8 boards. Charlotte was able to play a more aggressive and in sync style of play that the Kings could not compete with in the second half. Charlotte was able to out rebound the Kings 46-30 and also shot 50% from three compared to the Kings’ 30%.

Sacramento would make a push in the fourth quarter, but it was too little, too late. The game would end with the Hornets beating the Kings by 7 as the Kings look to go back to the drawing board.

Final: Charlotte defeated Sacramento 118-111.

Up Next: Kings host the Utah Jazz on Friday, November 1 at 7:00 pm.

Warriors’ woes mount after suffering two losses in 121-110 loss to Suns

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By Jerry Feitelberg

SAN FRANCISCO — The Golden State Warriors lost their third game of the young season to the Phoenix Suns 121-110 at Chase Center on Wednesday night.

More important than the score was the injury to their superstar guard, Steph Curry. Curry suffered a broken left hand in the third period. Curry was driving to make a layup. He was sandwiched between two Phoenix defenders. He fell to the court using his left hand to break the fall. One of the Suns defenders, Aron Baynes, landed on Curry’s left hand. Curry was in agony as he got up from the court. He was unable to take the two free throws. The x-ray showed there was a break in his hand. He’ll undergo an MRI tomorrow to determine if he needs surgery. If not, the hand will be in a cast, and he probably will be out for four to six weeks.

Without Curry, it could be a long season for Warrior fans. The Warriors have told the fans to be patient as there are so many new players on the team. The fans have to be patient, but they can not be happy the way the Warriors are getting blown out. They lost by 11 on Wednesday night. The game, for all intents and purposes, was over in the first quarter. The Warriors led 10-9 when Phoenix went on a 38-4 run to lead 47-14. The Warriors went almost eight minutes in the first quarter without a bucket.

The Suns, under first-year coach Monty Williams, finished the first half with a 72-46 advantage. The Warriors did play better in the second quarter as they outscored the Suns 32-29. The Suns led 83-54 when Curry was hurt.

Head coach Steve Kerr had to figure out what to do. He inserted center Willie Cauley-Stein into the lineup. Cauley-Stein was playing for the first time as a Warrior. He wasn’t able to practice much with the team due to an ankle injury. He acquitted himself quite well as he scored 12 points and had five rebounds in 12 minutes of action.

The Warriors didn’t gain any ground in the third quarter. They did outplay the Suns in the fourth quarter as they outscored them 43-26. It made the game seem closer than it was. It was really over early in the second quarter when they trailed 43-14.

Game Notes: Rookie Eric Paschall led the team with 20 points. Glenn Robinson III had 17 points. D’Angelo Russell, now the team’s point guard, finished with 15 points, six rebounds, and six assists. Alec Burks, making his first appearance as a Warrior, finished with seven points. Ky Bowman, who will be the backup point guard, tallied 10. Jordan Poole had nine.

The Suns, who the Warriors had beaten them 18 times in the last 19 games, appear to be on their way back to respectability. Every one of their starters was in double figures. They were led by Devin Booker, who had 31 points. Booker made six threes in 10 tries. Baynes had a double-double with 24 points and 13 boards. Dario Saric finished with 16, Kelly Oubre, Jr. had 11, and Ricky Rubio added 14.

The Suns improved to 3-2 while the Warriors drop to 1-3.

Up Next: It doesn’t get any easier for Golden State as they have to play the San Antonio Spurs Friday night at the Chase Center. The game will start at 7:30 pm.

Stanford’s Toohill a Campbell Trophy Finalist

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By Ana Kieu

Stanford fifth-year outside linebacker Casey Toohill was named a finalist for the prestigious William V. Campbell Trophy on Wednesday, announced by the National Football Foundation. The Campbell Trophy annually recognizes the best football scholar-athlete in the nation for his combined academic success, football performance and exemplary leadership.

“Casey Toohill is a great example of what it means to truly be a scholar-athlete,” said David Shaw, the Bradford M. Freeman Director of Football. “His work ethic, attention to detail and the passion he plays the game with is matched only by his desire to excel as a student at Stanford University.”

Toohill, who is one of 12 members of the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Class, will be recognized in New York during the 62nd Annual Awards Dinner on Tuesday, December 10. He will receive an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship, with one member of the class being declared the winner of the 30th William V. Campbell Trophy and having their scholarship amount increased to $25,000.

“This is the most prestigious honor I could have imagined receiving at Stanford,” Toohill said. “I am so honored to represent Stanford and to honor the legacy of Bill Campbell. My parents have always stressed the importance of academic pursuits and have been crucial in my development as a Stanford student-athlete. I owe it to my family and the structure they provided to help me succeed.”

A San Diego native, Toohill is a team captain who will graduate in December with a degree in political science. He’s a three-time Pac-12 All-Academic member and earned CoSIDA Academic All-District in 2017. Toohill holds a 3.71 GPA and would like to attend business school following his playing career.

On the field, Toohill leads the Cardinal with 45 total tackles, including 7.5 tackles for loss and five sacks. He has added a forced fumble and nine quarterback hurries. He’s tied for fifth in the Pac-12 in tackles for loss while his sack total ranks third.

He’l become the 13th Cardinal in school history to earn NFF National Scholar-Athlete honors and the first since Jordan Richards in 2014. Toohill, Richards and Owen Marecic (2010) are the only three Cardinal to earn NFF Scholar-Athlete honors since 1997.

Stanford NFF Scholar-Athletes (13)
1967 John Root
1970 John Sande III
1976 Duncan McColl
1980 Milt McColl
1981 Darrin Nelson
1983 John Bergren
1992 Glyn Milburn
1994 Justin Armour
1995 David Walker
1997 Damon Dunn
2010 Owen Marecic
2014 Jordan Richards
2019 Casey Toohill

That’s Amaury News and Commentary: MLB: First Two Decades of the XXI Century — the Winners

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photo from: chron.com

By Amaury Pi-González

By the time Major League teams report to Spring Training in Arizona and Florida, the last two decades will be history. And of all the MLB teams during those past 20 years, nobody has won more hardware than the Boston Red Sox.

1. Boston Red Sox Four World Championship Titles. (2004-2007-2013-2018)

Boston, a city where baseball is more than a game or sport, is like a religion. They have been playing at the oldest park, Fenway Park, since it opened in 1912. Their passionate fans had to endure a wild roller coaster ride during the past two decades. Founded in 1901 as one the American League’s eight charter franchises. When the first pitch is thrown at Fenway Park in 2020, the Red Sox would be playing their 108th season at that same location.

2004: It took the Boston Red Sox 86 years to win their first World Series since 1918.The Red Sox swept the St. Louis Cardinals in four games. The pitching of Curt Schilling and the hitting of Manny Ramírez and David “Big Papi” Ortíz guided them, but also a great comeback in the American League Championship Series down 3-0 to the New York Yankees. They became the first team in baseball history with such a comeback.

2007: Sensational Japanese pitcher and rookie Daisuke Matsuzaka as well as great performances by also pitchers Josh Beckett and Jonathan Papelbon and great hitting, swept the Colorado Rockies in four games. Between 2007 and 2012, they made history when in 2011 they lost a nine-game lead in the Wild Card standing over the course of the final month of the regular season. That was the worst September collapse in the history of Major League Baseball.

2013: Boston Strong. On April 15, they played an early game that started at 11 AM, and beat the Tampa Bay Rays. It was Patriot Day, a traditional day when the Boston Marathon takes place, and not long after the Red Sox victory, the Boston Marathon was shocked by the bombing. The team was motivated to bring another title to that city. They rebuilt in the off-season and rebounded to win 97 games (best in the American League) under first year manager John Farrell, and found themselves back in the Fall Classic. They defeated the St. Louis Cardinals in six games for their eight championship. Next season(2014), they fell like a rock again — from the top of the game to lose 91 games to last place in the AL East.

2018: It took them five years to get to the World Series again.It was coming since 2016 when they rebuilt again and won the division title,but they lost in the division series as well as in 2017. This year was special as they won a franchise-record 108 games during the regular season and had it on”automatic pilot”through the postseason. They only lost three games in three playoff series going to the World Series again as they took care of the Los Angeles Dodgers in five games. Boston will have a new look in 2020 as free agents All-Stars J.D. Martínez and Mookie Betts might sign with other teams.

2. San Francisco Giants. Three World Championships Titles (2010, 2012, 2014)

2010: It took the Giants 52 years to win their first championship in San Francisco since they moved from New York in 1958. Giants won the Western Division in a close race ending with a 92-70 record, just two games on top of the San Diego Padres. A lot of good stuff happened this year like signings of Free Agents Aubrey Hoff and Mark DeRosa, promoting Buster Posey in May from AAA Fresno (who was the Rookie of the Year), signing free agent Pat Burrell and claiming Cody Ross from the Marlins via waivers. It all culminated with a giver (5) games World Series defeating the Texas Rangers.

2012: They won it all by sweeping the Detroit Tigers in the World Series. After winning the West with 94-68 record defeated Atlanta in the Wild Card game the Cincinnati Reds in the Divisional Series and the St. Louis Cardinals in the Championship Series. An excellent pitching staff with Matt Cain,Tim Lincecum, Madison Bumgarner, Ryan Vogelson and a strong bullpen led the way.

2014: Giants won their third World Series in six years when they beat the Kansas City Royals in seven games. Giants fans talked about winning a World Series every two seasons, but the fantasy was just that. Unfortunately, they have been in decline with the attendance altogether since then. The last three seasons they have finished consistently under .500. The 2019 season, the Giants were under three million in attendance for the first time since 2010. The front office has a lot of work to do this off season in a division dominated by the Dodgers with the young and talented up and coming Padres.

3. Each of these teams won two World Championship titles: St. Louis Cardinals 2006 and 2011 and New York Yankees 2000 and 2009.

These teams won one World Series from 2000 to 2019: Arizona Diamondbacks, LA Angels, Florida Marlins, Chicago White Sox, Philadelphia Phillies, Kansas City Royals, Chicago Cubs, Houston Astros and Washington Nationals.

By the way, the Red Sox have company with another team that plays in their area. The New England Patriots, who play their games in Foxborough, Massachusetts, 30 miles south of Boston, have made 11 Super Bowl appearances the most of any NFL team, and during the current decade, have won six Super Bowls. Those six Super Bowl wins are the most in the NFL tied with the Pittsburgh Steelers.