Month: January 2021

NBA podcast with Barbara Mason: Warriors looking to improve offense; Curry lights out as they face Kings tonight

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Golden State Warriors Damion Lee (right) pours it on Stephen Curry (30) during their game against the Portland Trailblazers at Chase Center in San Francisco on Sun Jan 3, 2021 (AP News photo)

On the NBA podcast with Barbara:

#1 The Golden State Warriors who lost to Brooklyn and Milwaukee put some doubts in the minds of those who follow the team that they aren’t exactly the playoff bound team they were in years past. Then they got wins in Chicago and Detroit and lost a tough game to Portland on Saturday night.

#2 How tough is it for the Warriors to have to play three out of four games Saturday, Sunday and Monday it can take a lot out of a team.

#3 The Warriors Draymond Green says rookie center James Wiseman is going to be a formidable star in the league. Wiseman certainly has contributed a lot since joining Golden State.

#4 The Sacramento Kings are coming off a couple tough loses to the Houston Rockets. They lost to the Rockets on Thursday 122-119 on New Years eve and lost to them again on Saturday night 102-94. On Saturday the Rockets had four scorers in double figures and John Wall lead with 28 points.

#5 The Kings had five scorers in double figures on Saturday night but fell short of catching the Rockets. The Kings De’Aaron Fox led with 23 points, Harrison Barnes 19, and Buddy Hield with 17 points.

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

NBA podcast with Barbara Mason Mon Jan 4, 2021 by Sports Radio Service | Free Listening on SoundCloud

Curry’s 62 point effort leads Warriors to victory over Blazers 137-122

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The Golden State Warriors Stephen Curry (30) is amped up after scoring one his buckets that later totaled 62 points in the Warriors win over the Portland Trailblazers on Sun Jan 3, 2021 at Chase Center in San Francisco (USA Today photo)

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Golden State Warriors, who were blown out by the Portland Trail Blazers on New Year’s day, bounced back to win 137-122. Stephen Curry had one of his best games ever in his fantastic career. Curry knocked down a career-high 62 points in 36 minutes of action Sunday night. The two-time NBA MVP recorded his seventh-career 50-point plus game. 

The Warriors’ head coach Steve Kerr had to think he saw the Warriors that won three NBA championships in five years. With Draymond Green back in the lineup, the Warriors excelled on defense.

Draymond also helped set up the offense as he was credited with eight assists. They moved the ball well, and that allowed Curry to make six threes in 12 tries. On defense, the Warriors outrebounded the Blazers 60-51.

They had four steals and seven blocks. The Warriors rookie sensation, James Wiseman, had his first career double-double. He kicked in with 12 points and eleven rebounds. The Blazers knocked 20 threes in Friday’s win over the Warriors. The Warriors’ defense held them to 14 Sunday night.

The Warriors, who were blown out in the first quarter Friday, wanted to get off to a good start Sunday night. The Blazers took an early 9-2 lead. Behind buckets by Curry, Kelly Oubre, Jr, and Andrew Wiggins, the Warriors rallied to tie the game.

Wiseman made a deuce, and Curry connected on a three to increase the lead to 17-12. The Blazers tied the game twice, 38, and 40 early in the second quarter. Eric Paschall made a bucket to put Golden Stae ahead 42-40.

Portland never regained the lead after that play. Curry, Wiggins, and Wiseman paced the Warrior attack from that point. The Warriors finished the first half with a 12 point lead 66-54. Curry scored 31 points to propel the Warriors into the lead.

The Warriors were able to keep the Blazers at bay in the third quarter. The Blazers’ all-star backcourt duo of Damian Lillard and C.J.McCollum started to connect on three-point shots. Steph Responded with threes of his own. The Warriors increased the lead to fourteen 97-83 at the end of the period. Curry had 45 at this point in the game. 

The Blazers did not wilt. Lillard and McCollum had the talent to bring the Blazers back from a 14-point deficit. Curry had other thoughts as he recorded 17 points in the final stanza. The Blazers closed the gap to seven 113-106. Curry, Wiggins, and Oubre all made baskets to prevent the Blazers from getting any closer. The Warriors were able to cruise to victory by a final of 137-122.

Game Notes and stats: Curry was the man Sunday night. As mentioned earlier, Curry finished with a career-high 62 points. He took 31 shots and made 18. He was six for 12 from behind the three-point arc.

The one sour note was that he missed a free throw to end his team-record 80 consecutive free throws. Draymond Green, playing in his second game of the season, looked like the Draymond of old.

He did not score very much, he recorded only one point, but he had three rebounds and eight assists. Andrew Wiggins had 21 points, seven boards, and two assists. Kelly Oubre had, perhaps, his best game as a Warrior. Oubre had 17 points and five rebounds. He was a force on both ends of the floor to help the Warriors to the win. Eric Paschall had ten points and three rebounds. Wiseman 12 points and 11 boards.

Damian Lillard paced the Blazers with 32 points. He made six threes. C.J.McCollum finished with 28 points, nine rebounds, and five assists. The Warriors’ defense held Josef Nurkic in check. Nurkic had seven points and six rebounds. The Blazers’ backup center, Enes Kanter, played very well. He had a double-double with 24 points and 12 rebounds. Carmelo Anthony had 10.

With the win, the Warriors are 3-3 for the year. The Blazers drop to 3-3. The Warriors meet the Sacramento Kings at the Chase Center Monday night. The game will start at 7 pm.

Raiders finish season with big win over Broncos, 32-31

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Photo: Michael Clemens/Las Vegas Raiders

By Shawn McCullough

The Raiders needed a late touchdown drive and a two point conversion to beat the Broncos, 32-31, in Denver.

Down 31-24, Las Vegas drove 77 yards on seven plays ending in a one yard rushing touchdown by Josh Jacobs with 24 seconds left in the game. 

Instead of kicking the extra point to likely send the game to overtime, the Raiders went for a two-point conversion as Derek Carr hit Darren Waller to win the game.

“When we get down there and score the touchdown by Josh, we knew what we were going to do,” said Carr. “You couldn’t draw it up any better.”

Carr finished the game throwing for 371 yards and two touchdowns, one each to Darren Waller and Bryan Edwards.

“I am just glad that we won the football game,” said head coach Jon Gruden. “But more than anything, I am really proud of our team. We battled our brains out as much as we could.”

With the win, the Raiders finished the season 8-8, their best season since going 12-4 in 2016.

“We may have not been perfect, we may not have won 10 games this year, we may not have been in the playoffs, but there is something about this group,” said Carr. “Just the kind of character is why I feel it’s different [this season] .”

“We wanted to finish the year the right way and just come out and play our best football,” said Jacobs.

Jacobs finished the game rushing 15 times for 89 yards and two touchdowns.

The Raiders finished the season 4-2 in the AFC West.

“We’re really a couple of plays away from winning every game in the division,” said Gruden.  “So we made some progress, but we still have some long strides to make.”

Game Notes:

  • The Raiders outgained the Broncos, 465-446.
  • Darren Waller finished the game catching nine balls for 117 yards and a touchdown.
  • After starting the season 6-3, the Raiders lost 5 of their last 7 games.

Headline Sports podcast with Daniel Dullum: Ohio State and Alabama battle for the CFP; Sarkisian gets coaching job in Texas; plus more

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Alabama Crimson Tide wide receiver DaVonta Smith holds up the offensive player of the game award after the Tide’s win over the Notre Dame Fighting Irish 34-14 on Fri Jan 1, 2021 in Arlington Texas. Alabama faces the Ohio State Buckeyes for the CFP Championship (AP News photo)

Coronavirus concerns:

1 Ohio State and Alabama to meet for CFP championship

2 Texas fires Tom Herman after four seasons, hires Alabama offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian

3 U of Arizona men’s basketball self-imposes one-year penalty for allegations of play-for-pay

4 Tony Romo to miss Cardinals-Rams game on CBS due to COVID-19 protocol; Saints have no running backs for game against Carolina

5 Padres get serious, trade for Blake Snell and Yu Darvish

6 RIP – Floyd Little, Paul Westphal

Daniel does Headline Sports each Sunday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Headline Sports podcast with Daniel Dullum Sun Jan 3, 2021 by Sports Radio Service | Free Listening on SoundCloud

49ers lose 26-23 to the Seahawks, finish season 6-10

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San Francisco 49ers cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon breaks up a pass intended for Seahawks wide receiver DK Metcalf (14) in the second half Sun Jan 3, 2021 (Rick Scuteri / The Associated Press)

By Joe Hawkes
Staff Writer

GLENDALE, Ariz — San Francisco’s defense held the Seahawks scoreless for 27 minutes before the Seahawks woke up, scoring three touchdowns in the final period to slip by the 49ers 26-23 on Sunday afternoon at State Farm Stadium to close out the regular season.

Seattle (12-4) sweeps the regular season series from the 49ers. The Seahawks will be the three-seed in the playoffs where they will face the Los Angeles Rams on Wild Card Weekend in Seattle. This will be the third matchup between the two NFC West foes, with both teams splitting the regular season series 1-1.

Entering the fourth quarter, the 49ers held a 9-6 lead over the Seahawks. 49ers running back Jeff Wilson Jr. would extend San Francisco’s lead to 16-6 on a 7-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter.

But Seattle responded behind quarterback Russell Wilson and wide receiver Tyler Lockett big fourth quarter. Wilson avoided a tough 49ers pass rush, finding Lockett for a diving 6-yard touchdown in the back of the end zone capping off a 8-play, 75-yard drive cutting San Francisco’s lead to 16-12. Seattle kicker Jason Myers missed the extra point.

Following a 49ers’ punt on the ensuing drive, Wilson marched the Seahawks 85 yards on 14 plays and scored the go-ahead touchdown on fourth down on Wilson’s 4-yard toss to Lockett. Wilson completed 20-of-36 passing for 181 yards. Lockett finished with 12 catches for 90 yards.

Running back Alex Collins for an 8-yard touchdown with 1:49 left in the game to push Seattle’s lead to 26-16

San Francisco (6-10) falls to 1-7 in home games played at Levi’s Stadium and at State Farm Stadium this season. The 49ers were eliminated from playoff contention a few weeks ago and have been based in Arizona for more than a month because of coronavirus restrictions in Santa Clara county.

C.J. Beathard completed 25-of-37 passing for 273 yards and a touchdown, but his fumble late in the fourth quarter would set up Collins’ touchdown. Tristan Vizcaino, making his first career start, booted his first three NFL field goals after signing with the 49ers earlier this week.

It was Beathard’s second-straight start, who helped the 49ers beat the Arizona Cardinals last week.

After rushing for a career-high 183 yards on 22 carries last week, Wilson rushed for 76 yards on 20 carries with two touchdowns. With the 49ers trailing 26-16, Wilson caught a 3-yard touchdown pass from Beathard to make the score 26-23.

Wilson finishes the season with 600 yards rushing and seven rushing touchdowns on 126 carries, becoming the fourth different player to lead the 49ers in rushing under head coach Kyle Shanahan. He follows Carlos Hyde, Matt Breida and Raheem Mostert.

When you add in his two receiving touchdowns, Wilson has scored a career-high nine touchdowns this year.

 

 

 

Sacramento Kings game wrap: Rockets take second game 102-94; Kings get swept in two game match

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The Houston Rockets John Wall who led the Rockets in scoring with 28 points contributed to the Rockets eight point win over the Sacramento Kings on Sat Jan 2, 2021 in Houston (AP News photo)

By Jeremiah Salmonson

On Saturday, the NBA community is mourning the loss of Paul Westphal. The legendary coach passed away at the age of 70. Westphal was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2019.

The Sacramento Kings are set for another matchup in this young NBA season. Last game, the Kings were on the losing end against the Houston Rockets on New Year’s eve.The Kings battled through the whole game. Unfortunately, James Harden went off in the last few minutes of the game. The Rockets were able to defeat the Kings 122-119 in Houston.

The Kings didn’t fare much better on Saturday night in Houston taking a second loss to the Rockets 102-94.

However, unfortunate news for the Kings was revealed over the last couple of days. Standout rookie Tyrese Haliburton was not be available for the rest of the road trip. He has an injury to his wrist and his tests came back negative. Haliburton is going to be looked at whether he can play or not on Mon Jan 4th in San Francisco against the Golden State Warriors.

In the first half, the Kings kept things close with the Rockets. The Kings matched the Rockets in the first quarter scoring 36 points. Neither team played much defense and the offenses were getting all the shots they wanted. The second quarter was very similar. The Kings and Rockets both scored 28 points to go into halftime tied at 64 apiece.

In the second half, the Rockets pulled away from the Kings. The Rockets outscored the Kings 19-17 in the third quarter as the offense in the game evaporated. Neither team was able to get into an offensive rhythm and both teams played better defense. In the fourth, the Rockets sealed the fate of the Kings. They outscored the Kings 19-13.

De’Aaron Fox led the Kings with 23 points in the game. John Wall led the way for the Rockets with 28 points.

Up Next: The Kings will continue this road trip in San Francisco at Chase Center against Golden State on Monday at 7 PM PST.

Cal blows double-digit lead in search of their first Pac-12 win, loses Bradley to injury

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By Morris Phillips

Oregon State trailed Cal for 32 minutes Saturday afternoon but finished the game on a 10-1 run to beat the visiting Bears, 73-64.

The surprising outcome in which Cal blew a 11-point lead with less than 17 minutes remaining to remain winless in Pac-12 competition at 0-4 came amid the backdrop of COVID absences for Oregon State and the early departure of Cal’s leading scorer Matt Bradley with an ankle injury.

“We really had a difficult time without Matt,” said coach Mark Fox, who watched Bradley limp off three minutes before halftime. “Even though we played without him a week ago, it’s little harder against Pac-12 competition. That being said, if we make our free throws, we win the game. So disappointed in our performance at the free-throw line, and obviously in the second half we didn’t play nearly as well as we need to play to win on the road.”

The Bears shot 63 percent in establishing a 36-26 halftime lead, but saw their shooting cool considerably in the second half. More damaging was Cal’s defense which allowed 43 of OSU’s 73 points in the final 17 minutes, and their awful free throw shooting (14 of 28).

Ethan Thompson led OSU with 16 points. Maurice Calloo added 14 points, all of which came after halftime. Calloo’s third 3-pointer with 40 seconds remaining increased the Beavers’ lead to 68-63.

Oregon State played without center Roman Silva and three assistant coaches due to COVID protocols which left the Beavers thin inside and head coach Wayne Tinkle no coaches to interact with. The COVID issues caused OSU’s game against Stanford on Thursday to be postponed until this Monday afternoon.

Makale Foreman, Andre Kelly and Jarred Hyder each tallied 12 points to lead Cal (5-6, 0-4). Foreman’s 3-pointer got Cal even, 63-63 with 3:22 remaining but Cal would manage just one made free throw after that as OSU took control.

The Bears lost for the second time at Gill Coliseum, having lost to the Beavers on November 25 in a hastily-arranged non-conference game. This one was much more competitive, but left greater frustration. The Bears likely will be without their top two scorers, Bradley and Grant Anticevich (appendectomy) for an indefinite period. Along with their issues against conference teams, they could be in for a continued rough stretch.

“It’s a challenge at both ends,” Fox said.

The Bears return to Berkeley with games against the Washington schools in the coming week.

REVISITING CAL’S RECENT PAST: The Bears welcomed Coach Mark Fox less than two years ago. At the same time, former coach Wyking Jones, and scholarship athletes Justice Sueing, Connor Vanover and Darius McNeill departed.

Two seasons prior to that shakeup coach Cuonzo Martin accepted a significant raise to coach the Missouri Tigers and leave Cal.

So what’s everybody up to?

On Saturday Martin’s 12th-ranked Tigers visited Arkansas, Vanover’s landing spot under coach Eric Musselman. Missouri kept things rolling with a 81-68 win to improve to 7-1. Martin’s fourth season in Columbia appears to be his best yet with the Tigers ranked and looking to make a second NCAA tournament appearance after two losing seasons.

And Vanover? Well he suffered his worst game, shooting 0 for 11 with just four points from the foul line. The 7’3″ center is averaging 9.6 ppg in 20 minutes for the Razorbacks.

After starting at Cal, McNeill is coming off the bench at SMU. The Mustangs have played just six games due to COVID issues, and McNeill missed one of those, but he had his best game earlier this week against Temple with 17 points.

Sueing saw action in all 63 games as a freshman and sophomore at Cal, averaging 14 ppg shooting 43 percent from the floor. But he seems better situated at No. 25 Ohio State as a starter on a far better and more balanced team scoring 11 ppg with 50 percent shooting. His minutes are down, but his wins are way up. In two seasons at Cal, Sueing, Vanover and McNeill were 16-47 with 31 Pac-12 losses.

Jones, the coach of those two Cal teams, remains on the sidelines, opting not to take any other coaching jobs after being let go by Cal with one season remaining on his deal.

Ducks use big second half run to pull away from Cardinal 73-56

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The Stanford Cardinal just couldn’t shut down the Oregon Ducks three point shooting which helped Oregon pull away and eventually win the game on Sat Jan 2, 2021 at Oregon (gostanford.com photo)

By Daniel Dullum
Sports Radio Service
Saturday, January 2, 2021

Oregon extended its home winning streak to 28 on Saturday, as the No. 21-ranked Ducks rolled past Stanford 73-56 in Pac-12 men’s basketball at Matthew Knight Arena in Eugene, Ore.

The Ducks (8-1 overall, 3-0 Pac-12) have won eight consecutive games. Chris Duarte was Oregon’s top scorer with 23 points, to go with six rebounds, four steals and two blocks.

The Cardinal (5-3, 1-1) led until Oregon pulled away midway in the second half on a Eugene Omoruyi 3-pointer that put the Ducks up 48-46 with 9:21 remaining. Duarte added three 3s in the final 4:26, sparking a 19-3 Oregon run to end the game.

Oregon forced the Cardinal to commit 19 turnovers while limiting Stanford to 3 of 18 shooting from behind the arc. The Ducks, meanwhile, hit 13 of 33 3-point attempts. Stanford made 21 of 52 total field goals.

Omoruyi finished with 15 points, four rebounds and five assists, with LJ Figueroa adding 13 points and 12 rebounds for the Ducks.

Spencer Jones and Bryce Wills each scored 12 points to lead the Cardinal, followed by Oscar da Silva with 11 points and Ziaire Williams with 10. Stanford held a 33-31 rebounding edge.

The Cardinal will remain in the Northwest for a couple more days, as their Pac-12 game with Oregon State has been rescheduled for noon Monday at Gill Coliseum in Corvallis.

The game was originally scheduled for Thursday, but was postponed due to COVID-19 testing and contact tracing within the Beavers program.

Las Vegas Raiders podcast with Superbowl Wayne: Carr’s miraculous comeback from groin injury to play close game last Sunday

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Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Derek Carr (4) confers with Raiders head coach Jon Gruden during last Sat Dec 26th, 2020 game against the Miami Dolphins at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas (AP News photo)

On the Raiders podcast with Superbowl Wayne:

#1 Superbowl how impressive was it for Raiders quarterback Derek Carr to come back from a relatively serious groin injury and play a close game against the Miami Dolphins.

#2 Carr was supposed to be out for ten to 14 weeks but the idea that he was feeling better was really remarkable within itself.

#3 The Raiders just missed last Sun’s game against the Dolphins as the Dolphins scored 13 in the fourth quarter and it was just enough to get them over the top 26-25.

#4 Miami quarterback Tua Tagovailoa started the game throwing for 94 yards and touchdown and Dolphins back up quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick 182 yards and touchdown just enough to get by Vegas.

#5 The Raiders close out their regular season Sunday against the Denver Broncos at Mile High Stadium. The Broncos have lost five straight including their last game against the Los Angeles Chargers 19-16. The Broncos quarterback Drew Lock threw for 264 yards and two interceptions. Taking the two interceptions it’s remarkable that Lock and the Broncos were even in breathing distance from the Chargers losing by a field goal.

Superbowl Wayne filled in for Rich Perez for Raiders podcasts at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Las Vegas Raiders podcast with Superbowl Wayne Sat Jan 2, 2020 by Sports Radio Service | Free Listening on SoundCloud

San Jose State falls short in a wild game, losing 87-86 to Boise State

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Photo credit: @SanJoseStateMBB

By Ana Kieu

The San Jose State Spartans looked to start the new year on the right foot as they wrapped up a back-to-back series against the Boise State Broncos at Grand Canyon University Arena on Saturday. Unfortunately, the Spartans weren’t granted that wish, but it was a closer outcome than expected as they fell short 87-86.

The Spartans’ starting lineup featured Omari Moore, Richard Washington, Trey Smith, Nate Lacewell and Ralph Agee. The Spartans won the tip and were underway in Phoenix. Lacewell made a shot from the 3-point line to help the Spartans get on the board 3-2 at the 19-minute mark of the first half. Lacewell’s five early points helped the Spartans hang tough as they trailed 8-5 at 15:10 of the half.

Jalen Dalcourt entered the game to make his Spartan debut. Dalcourt went on to hit a 3-pointer and accumulated seven points at the final media timeout of the half. SJSU trailed 31-24 with 3:30 left in the half.

Richard Washington buried back-to-back triples to give the Spartans a much-needed boost with 45 seconds left in the half. The Spartans trailed by eight, 42-34, heading into the locker room at halftime.

Omari Moore opened the second half with a 3-pointer from the corner. A little less than three minutes later, Nate Lacewell hit another 3-pointer from downtown. The Spartans trailed by four, 46-42, at 16:20 of the half.

SJSU picked up the pace. Richard Washington knocked down a 3-pointer and Jalen Dalcourt followed up with two and one to help the Spartans to a 53-52 lead at 13:24 of the half.

SJSU experienced some hiccups, but they fought hard to pull off an upset. Richard Washington was back with his old tricks, scoring 19 points (5-of-8 from the 3-point line) and Jaen Dalcourt drew a foul on a 3-point attempt and knocked down all three attempts at the charity stripe. Ralph Agee made a pair of free throws to help the Spartans regain the lead, 70-69, with 6:30 left in the half.

The Spartans’ upset never happened, but it was a closer outcome than expected. Richard Washington’s seventh triple made it a one-point game with 14.6 seconds left in the half. The Spartans had a chance to win the game on their final possession, but they missed a potential game-winning shot.

The Spartans lost 87-86. SJSU fell to 1-5, 0-4 Mountain West.

BSU improved to 8-1, 4-0 Mountain West.

The Spartans face their recently added nonconference opponent Benedictine Mesa Redhawks (0-3) on Monday, January 4 at 6:30 pm PT. This will be the first-ever meeting between the two teams.