Month: April 2022

Heat beat up on the Barracuda in 7-1 win

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Read and weep the San Jose Barracuda get crushed in a six goal contest against the Stockton Heat at the Stockton Arena on Sat Apr 2, 2022 (image by the San Jose Barracuda)

by Marko Ukalovic

The San Jose Barracuda are down to one goalie.

Starting goalie Zachary Sawchenko suffered an undisclosed injury in the first period and did not return as the Stockton Heat dominated the San Jose Barracuda in a 7-1 victory on Saturday evening at Stockton Arena.

Stockton has won six of their last seven games as they lead the Pacific Division with 85 points. San Jose has lost six games in a row and anchor the bottom of the division with 44 points with nine games left to play.

San Jose (20-35-2-2) actually drew first blood 68 seconds into the game. Lane Pedersen blasted a shot on net that was initially stopped by Heat goalie Dustin Wolf. Mason Jobst, who played in his second game with the ‘Cuda, cleaned up a big rebound for his first goal as member of the Barracuda and his fifth overall on the season at the 1:08 mark.

Stockton (40-12-4-1) responded at the 7:24 mark with a power play goal. Justin Kirkland fired on a shot on net that redirected by Connor Zary past Sawchenko for his 10th goal of the season.

The Heat took the lead with 1:04 left in the opening frame with a short-handed goal. Eetu Tuuola finished off a three-on-two odd man rush with a wrist shot to the near post for his 12th goal of the season.

Alex Stalock replaced Sawchenko to start the second period. Sawchenko finished with 12 saves on 14 shots.

Stockton scored two late goals in the second period for a comfortable 4-1 lead.

Tuuola scored his second goal of the game and 13th of the season when he cleaned up the rebound off of a Byron Froese shot at the 14:34 mark.

Then just over four minutes later when Matthew Phillips took advantage of a Barracuda turnover inside their own zone. Phillips buried a wrist shot past Stalock after receiving the gift for his 26th goal of the season.

Stockton put the game away with three goals in the third period.

Glenn Gawdin scored his 14th goal of the season at the 2:52 mark. Phillips scored his second goal of the game at the 11:17 mark. Adam Ruzcika completed the scoring with his 11th goal with 15 second remaining.

Wolf finished the evening stopping 24 of the 25 shots he faced to earn the victory. Stalock made 22 saves on 27 shots in mop-up duty.

GAME NOTES: San Jose finished 0-for-1 on the power play. Stockton was 1-for-2.

The Three Stars of the Game were: 1) Tuuola 2) Phillips 3) Kirkland

UP NEXT: San Jose concludes its season series with Stockton on Sunday 4/3 at 3:00pm at SAP Center.

San Jose Barracuda podcast with Marko Ukalovic: Hrabik will be left off active roster too toxic after racist gesture suspension

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The San Jose Barracuda Steenn Pasichnuk (80) holds back the Tucson Roadrunners Boko Imama (right) after the Barracuda’s Krystof Hrabik (81) made racist ape like gestures towards Imama on Jan 12, 2022. Hrabik was suspeneded for 30 games which was shortened to 28 activated on Wed Mar 30, 2022. The Barracuda will not have him back for the rest of the season and his contract is finished after this season. (file photo by fearofthefin.com)

On the SJ Barracuda podcast with Marko:

#1 Despite the AHL lifting the 30 game suspension which San Jose Barracuda forward Krystof Hrabik served 28 games, Hrabik is not expected back at the Barracuda and most likely for the rest of the season. Hrabik during a game against the Tucson Roadrunners made racist gestures to Roadrunners  Boko Imama who is African Canadian. It’s pretty easy to predict that the reason for not bringing Hrabik back is because he’s pretty toxic after what he did in the Jan 12th.

#2 It was too early in the morning Wednesday as the San Jose Barracuda (20-34-2) just couldn’t wake up against the visiting Ontario Reign (36-14-4) after giving up three goals in the first period on Classroom day at the SAP Center that featured a 10:30 AM start.

#3 The Barracuda have now lost five straight after losing Ontario 6-3. The Barracuda have suffered on both sides on the puck on defense and offense.

#4 Evan Weinger scored his 12th goal of the season and scored two points in his last three games. Weinger set a single season high in goals, assists and points.

#5 The Barracuda are in Stockton tonight. The Barracuda lost all four of their meeting with the Heat in March. Here it is April can the Barracuda win one at least one of the two remaining games tonight or Sunday?

Join Marko for the San Jose Barracuda podcasts each weekend at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Earthquakes storm back from two-goal deficit to earn point in 2-2 draw with Austin FC

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The San Jose Earthquakes and Austin FC battle to a 2-2 draw in a cliffhanger at Pay Pal Park in San Jose on Sat Apr 2, 2022 (photo from the San Jose Earthquakes)

by Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE — It looked like a good old fashioned Goonies comeback.

The San Jose Earthquakes scored two goals in two minutes in the second half to overcome a two-goal deficit in a 2-2 draw result with Austin FC on Saturday afternoon at Pay Pal Park.

San Jose, despite earning a point, remained winless in its first five matches to start the season. Austin FC has points in four out of its first five matches to start the season.

Austin FC (2-1-2) drew first blood in the 11th minute. Julio Cascante sent a long ball in from midfield. Maxi Urruti touched the ball up into the air before shooting it over the head of Quakes goalkeeper JT Marcinkowski just below the crossbar for his first goal of the season.

San Jose (0-3-2) had scoring chances from Cristian Espinoza in the 7th and 26th minutes as well as a free kick from Jan Gregus from 18 yards out in the 35th minute, only to have Austin FC goalkeeper Brad Stuver keep the ball out of the back of the net.

Austin FC dictated the play in the opening 45 minutes with six total shots, three on target.

Jackson Yeuill was called for a foul inside the box on Dani Pereira in the 50th minute resulting in a penalty shot for Austin FC by referee Alex Chillowicz.

Sebastian Driussi cashed in the penalty with a shot into the upper left corner of the net for his team leading fourth goal of the season in the 52nd minute.

The Quakes came within inches of cutting Austin FC’s in half when a header by Francisco Calvo off a corner kick danced on the goal line and was kicked away by Stuver before the ball crossed the line in the 55th minute.

San Jose was awarded a penalty shot in the 69th minute when former Earthquakes defender Nick Lima took down Jamiro Monteiro inside the box off a centering pass.

Jeremy Ebobisse finished the penalty kick by getting Stuver to guess wrong as he tapped home the ball into an empty net for his first goal of the season in the 70th minute.

The Quakes struck again to even the score two minutes later off a set piece. Gregus sent the ball into the middle off of a corner kick and Cade Cowell was able to swarm in and beat Stuver with a left footed shot for his first goal of the season in the 72nd minute.

San Jose had a chance to score the winning goal in the 88th minute when Ebobisse pickpocketed an Austin FC defender just outside the box. Ebobisse’s shot and Cowell’s rebound attempt were stopped by Stuver. However, the rebound attempt by Calvo sailed high over the net on what was an empty net.

Marcinkowski finished the match with three saves on four shots. Stuver stood on his head making eight saves on 10 shots.

GAME NOTES: San Jose finished with nine corner kicks. Austin FC had none.

Cowell was named the Man of the Match.

Each team were issued three yellow cards during the match.

The Earthquakes are unbeaten in the four meetings with Austin, including three last season.

The Earthquakes are off to the second-worst start in club history with two points from five matches, only beating out the 2019 season in which they lost four in a row to open the campaign. San Jose has never had fewer than three points after five games of a season (three in 2014 and 2019).

Austin FC snapped its 10-match road losing streak dating back to last June, scoring only two goals in those games. There have been only seven longer road losing streaks in league history while only the Red Bulls from March to June 2009 (1 goal) have scored fewer than two goals over any 10-match road span.

UP NEXT: San Jose travels out to Houston to take on the Dynamo on Saturday 4/9 at 5:30pm at BBVA Compass Stadium.

Kings win fourth in five games defeat Rockets 122-117

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The Sacramento Kings Harrison Barnes (40) goes high above the Houston Rockets Kevin Porter Jr (3) but is grabbed by Porter on the arm for a foul in first half action at the Toyota Center in Houston on Fri Apr 1, 2022 (AP News photo)

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Sacramento Kings (29-49) continue to roll with their second straight win over the Houston Rockets (20-58) completing the two game series at the Toyota Center on Friday night 122-117. The Kings also defeated the Rockets on Wednesday night by four points 121-118. The loss on Friday was the Rockets third straight defeat and the Kings have now won four of their last five games.

Onto Friday, the Kings Harrison Barnes led with 25 points. It’s rare to have on the schedule but the two teams met for the second time in three days in Houston. The Kings Damion Jones had himself a good game with 17 points, 17 rebounds, and six blocks, Donte DiVincenzo played 30 minutes got 19 points, nine assists and nine rebounds.

The Kings  Chimezie Metu scored 18 in 27 minutes, but it was Barnes who had the hot hand with ten out of 16 shooting from the field and hitting four three pointers. All around Kings head coach Alvin Gentry was satisfied with the Kings play, “I thought everybody contributed, and when we needed a stop or a basket, different guys did it for us,” Gentry said. “We had guys stepping up, and I think that’s the main thing. It was a really good team win.”

The Kings will try to keep it going at the Golden One Center in Sacramento when they return to play the Golden State Warriors (48-29) on Sunday for a 6:00 pm PDT tip. Like the Miami Heat who were in a slump when the Kings came into Miami the Kings got trounced 123-100 on Mon Mar 28th.

The Warriors are not in the best of moods and have lost four straight games before defeating the Utah Jazz on Saturday night. The Warriors had lost to the powerful Phoenix Suns 107-103 last Wednesday. The Suns Mikal Bridges and Devon Booker both led with 22 points. The Warriors also have lost their star player Stephen Curry for the next five games meaning the rest of the regular season and have shown they’ve been badly handicapped by his absence.

NHL podcast with Matt Harrington: Colton scores twice for Bolts in win over Hawks 5-2; Ducks end 11 game loss streak with a shutout

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Tampa Bay Lightning center Ross Colton (79) puts one on net against the Chicago Blackhawks center Tyler Johnson (90), and defenseman Calvin de Haan (44) at Amalie Arena in Tampa Bay on Fri Apr 1, 2022 (AP News photo)

On the NHL podcast with Matt:

#1 The Tampa Bay Lightning’s (43-18-6) Ross Colton found the back of the net twice on Friday night in helping the Bolts defeat the Chicago Blackhawks (24-35-10) 5-2 at the Amalie Arena in Tampa Bay. The Lightning’s Steven Stamkos and Brayden Point both scored a goal each.

#2 The Anaheim Ducks (28-30-12) Trevor Zegras helped end the Ducks 11 game loss streak with a sound 5-0 shutout over the Arizona Coyotes (21-42-5) at Gila River Arena in Glendale on Friday night. Zegras scored his 17th goal of the season at 9:42 in the first period. Ducks goalie Anthony Stolarz a shutout saving 22 shots.

#3 The Vegas Golden Knights (38-28-4) Jack Eichel scored twice to help the Knights pick up a three goal win over the Seattle Kraken (21-41-6) 5-2 at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle.

#4 New York Islander (31-27-9) goaltender Semyon Varlamov stopped 27 shots in a 3-0 shutout over the New York Rangers (44-20-9) at Madison Square Garden in New York. It was Varlamov’s second shutout this season and his fourth straight over the Rangers at MSG.

#5 The Buffalo Sabres (25-33-11) Tage Thompson scored two times and was good enough as the Sabers edged the Nashville Predators (39-25-4) at KeyBank Center in Buffalo. The Sabers Peyton Krebs and Victor Olofsson scored a goal each in the Sabers 4-3 win.

Join Matt for the NHL podcast each Saturday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

That’s Amaury News and Commentary: No April Fool’s Joke–New Lawsuit Filed against the A’s Howard Terminal

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Artists rendition of the Howard Terminal ballpark the Oakland A’s are seeking to build. The East Oakland Alliance is suing the City of Oakland and other defendants in their fight to keep the A’s at the Coliseum location in East Oakland (AP News photo)

No April Fool’s Joke: New Lawsuit Filed against the A’s Howard Terminal

That’s Amaury News and Commentary

By Amaury Pi-González

OAKLAND–It was no April Fool’s joke. Today, April 1, 2022 a new lawsuit against the Oakland A’s and the building of their proposed new Howard Terminal Ballpark took another hit. This lawsuit was filed by the East Oakland Alliance, which wants the Oakland A’s to stay in Oakland but build the new ballpark in the current Coliseum location.

MLB does not approve the building of the new park at the actual location that is a no-go. The East Oakland Alliance is among the entities this time suing the team and the city of Oakland, together with shipping, steel, and port groups also suing.

Their spokesman says the A’s and city did not adequately disclose the negative effect the project will have on the existing waterfront operations and surrounding areas, among other things. A’s President Dave Kaval rejected those claims saying a new ballpark at Howard Terminal would be better for the environment and people in the Bay Area.

Back in February 2021, the A’s cleared a legal hurdle in their quest for the new ballpark at Howard Terminal, most recently this year the news was encouraging as the A’s received positive votes toward their ultimate goal of the $12 billion project, Oakland Howard Terminal.

But today another step backwards. The problem? Well, the ‘clock is ticking’. These groups that opposed the Howard Terminal project keep throwing grenades at the A’s and things (when they look like they’re moving along) they stall.

Major League Baseball Commissioner, Rob Manfred Jr. expects a yes or no (Oakland or Las Vegas) a final decision by summer 2022. In the meantime, the A’s continue to work with Las Vegas, in what Dave Kaval has called for a year now: “working on different parallels, with the same goal of a new ballpark for the A’s.”… by the bay or by the desert.

This was the statement today by the groups opposed to the Howard Terminal project:

“The Environmental Impact Report (EIR) certified by the City of Oakland for the Oakland A’s’ proposed project at Howard Terminal did not adequately disclose, analyze, or mitigate all of the significant adverse impacts this massive and disruptive redevelopment on the working waterfront will cause.

Every EIR is required to provide an objective and thorough analysis of impacts, alternatives, and mitigation measures under California law, but the City’s EIR and environmental process failed to meet this mandate.

The A’s proposal to build a stadium and luxury condominiums, office and retail development will cause major disruptions and impacts to both the surrounding community and the operations of the Port, yet the EIR did not fully address these concerns or mitigate these well-known issues.

It also failed to accurately compare the Oakland Coliseum site as an alternative which would have far less adverse effects. It is simply not proper to ignore or defer analysis or mitigation of so many of the significant impacts identified in the more than 400 comments submitted by community and supply chain stakeholders, and as a result our only alternative is to pursue legal recourse.” 

Mike Jacob — East Oakland Stadium Alliance

Amaury Pi Gonzalez is the Oakland A’s Spanish lead play by play announcer on flagship station 1010 KIQI Le Grande San Francisco and does News and Commentary at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Oakland A’s podcast with Daniel Dullum: How not having Laureano in the line up will impact A’s

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Oakland A’s center fielder Ramon Laureano makes for first base in last year’s action. Laureano will sit out the first 27 regular season games but is allowed to participate in spring training games. (file photo from the San Francisco Chronicle)

On the Oakland A’s podcast with Daniel:

#1 Daniel, Ramon Laureano will have to sit out the first 27 games of the regular season due to a suspension for PED use last season. He was allowed to participate in spring training but when the first day of the regular season arrives he’ll have to sit out.

#2 Laureano is definitely a presence and wields a mighty bat how much of a difference will it make not having him in the line up for the first 27 games of the regular season.

#3 The A’s manager Mark Kotsay was trying to see who was going to be a fit for first base and they had all of March to try and nail that decision down. They were considering Seth Brown, they took a look at Jed Lowrie who actually played shortstop, second base, and third base, Lowrie played 28 innings worth of first base so far in camp.

#4 Other A’s players who own a first baseman’s glove Chad Pinder, Austin Allen, and Stephen Vogt. Most likely Kotsay is hoping to settle on a regular first baseman soon and Lowrie has seen the most action.

#5 Stephen Piscotty the A’s right fielder is making progress trying to come back from the sore shoulder. Piscotty has been playing for the A’s minor league affiliate the Las Vegas Aviators and said he got a triple and told Kotsay everything went well.

Daniel does the A’s podcasts each Friday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Sacramento Kings podcast with Jeremaiah Salmonson: Kings and Rockets close out two game set tonight at Toyota Center

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Sacramento Kings guard Davion Mitchell (15) throws down on Houston Rockets forwards Usman Garuba, left, and Kenyon Martin Jr., right, at the Toyota Center in Houston on Wed Mar 30, 2022 (AP News photo)

On the Kings podcast with Jeremiah:

#1 Jeremiah, the Sacramento Kings (28-49) have won three out of their last four games beating such teams as the Indiana Pacers, Orlando Magic, and the Houston Rockets. The Kings also gave the Phoenix Suns fits March 20th only to lose to them by three points.

#2 On Wednesday night the Kings last game against the Houston Rockets (20-57) in Houston Davion Mitchell, Damian Jones and Trey Lyles each scored 24 points and that’s the kind of offense the Kings need to win games.

#3 The Rockets gave the Kings a run for their money with each team trading off double digit lead and narrowing it down in the fourth quarter in the four point 121-118 win for the Kings.

#4 Mitchell in his rookie year said he hopes the Kings can keep this kind of momentum up and be competitive next season. See what head coach Alvin Gentry has done over this last month how impressed are you by what he’s done with the team?

#5 Jeremiah, the Kings visit the Rockets one more time to close out this two game series in Houston. The Kings and Rockets went back and forth on Wednesday night do you see them pretty much doing the same for tonight’s game in Houston?

Join Jeremiah Fridays for the Sacramento Kings podcasts at http://www.sportsradioservice.com