Month: February 2023

San Jose Barracuda podcast with Marko Ukalovic: Cuda coming off getting swept in two by Canucks face off against Wranglers Friday

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The Abbotsford Canucks forward William Eklund (9) tries to put a stick on the San Jose Barracuda left winger William Eklund (72) at Tech CU Arena in San Jose on Sat Feb 4, 2023 (photo by the San Jose Barracuda)

On SJ Barracuda podcast with Marko Ukalovic:

#1 The Abbotsford Canucks scored three goals in the second period as the defeated the San Jose Barracuda 3-2 to sweep the weekend series on Saturday afternoon at Tech CU Arena.

#2 San Jose heads into the All-Star break with having lost three of its past four games. Abbotsford has won three games in a row.

#3 San Jose (18-24-0-3) drew first blood on the power play early in the first period. Danil Gushchin fed a pass back to the point over to Derrick Pouliot who skated in a wired a wrist shot past Canucks goalie Arturs Silovs for his second goal of the season at the 7:23 mark.

#4 Abbotsford gained its first lead, a lead they wouldn’t relinquish, late in the middle frame. Matt Alfaro centered a pass through the crease where Vincent Arseneau scored his fourth goal of the season from point blank range.

#5 San Jose hosts the Calgary Wranglers for a two-game series starting on Friday 2/10 at 7:00pm at Tech CU Arena.

Join Marko for the Barraduda podcasts Mondays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Golden State Warriors podcast with Barbara Mason: Curry leg injury will force him out of action for next two weeks

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Dallas Mavericks forward Reggie Bullock (25) shoots against Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) during the first half at the Chase Center in San Francisco on Sat Feb 4, 2023 (AP News photo)

On the Golden State Warriors podcast with Barbara Mason:

#1 The Golden State Warriors hosted the Dallas Mavericks Saturday night at the Chase Center. The Mavs came into town without the services of their All-World star Luka Doncic. Doncic suffered a heel contusion in his last game and could not play.

#2  Draymond Green and Klay Thompson were back in the lineup with Stephen Curry. However, Curry suffered a left leg injury late in the third quarter. X-rays were negative, but Curry went for an MRI and it was reported on Sunday that Curry will miss multiple weeks.

#3 The Warriors did everything right in the first half. They ran the court, making three-point shots as they sent a message to Dallas that the Mavericks were in for a rough night. The Warriors led by 15 at the end of the first half, 73-58.

#4 With just 1;28 left to play, Tim Hardaway, Jr. connected on a three-pointer to bring Dallas within five points, 116-111. Fortunately, the Warriors defense prevailed, and the Warriors were able to pick up the win.

#5 The Warriors meet the Oklahoma City Thunder tonight at the Chase Center with a 7:00pm tip. Barbara how do you see this match up between the two clubs tonight and can the Warriors squeak another game out tonight?

Join Barbara Mason for the Warriors podcasts Mondays at http://www.sportsradioserice.com

Stanford men basketball game wrap: Colorado Beats Stanford In a Blow-Out Second Half 84-64

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Colorado forward Tristan da Silva, left, goes for a basket as Stanford forward Spencer Jones defends in the second half at Ball Arena in Denver on Sun Feb 5, 2023 (AP News photo)

Colorado Beats Stanford In a Blow-Out Second Half 84-62

By Barbara Mason

Sunday the Stanford Cardinal (10-13, 4-8) traveled to Colorado in their two game road trip to take on the Buffaloes (14-11, 6-8). Colorado has won ten games on their home court so they are tough at home.

This will be a Pac-12 showdown and the Cardinal are eyeing a sixth win in a row. Colorado beat Stanford back in December outlasting them 73-70. The Buffaloes did it again on Saturday defeating the Cardinal 84-64.

Prior to the five game winning streak for the Cardinal they had a five game losing streak. They have since played some improved ball beating some very good teams which included Oregon State, Oregon, Chicago State, California and Utah in an upset 78-72 Thursday night.

It was a crazy first half for Stanford. At one time the Buffalos went on an 8-0 run and they did this inside of 43 seconds. Both teams had six turnovers in the first half and at one time Stanford had an 11 point deficit. The Cardinal turned the half around tying up the game at the buzzer 39-39 and it was a new ball game going into the second half.

Stanford was shooting at 57.7% from the field but it was the Colorado efficiency from beyond the arc at 44.4% that was giving them the edge during the first half.

Colorado went on a 16-0 run to start the second half leading 55-39 at 13:21. Stanford finally scored but it took them nearly seven minutes to do it. The Cardinal desperately needed some offense and stops and they just were not coming. With 7:40 left in the game Colorado led by 23 points.

It was a real disappointment for the Cardinal especially since they had worked so hard to tie up this game at the half. Brandon Angel finished with 14 points. The poor offense in the second half was one of the determining factors dropping from 57.7% to 42.1%.

Next Thursday the Cardinal will be back home to take on Arizona State. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:00 PM.

Huskies upset Stanford women 72-67, snap five-game win streak

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Washington guard Elle Ladine, front left, looks to. shoot over Stanford forward Brooke Demetre (21) during the second half at Alaskan Airlines Arena in Seattle on Sun Feb 5, 2023 (AP News photo)

By Daniel Dullum
Sunday, February 5, 2023

No. 2-ranked Stanford saw its five-game winning streak snapped on Sunday at Alaska Airlines Arena in Seattle, as Washington prevailed 72-67 in Pac-12 women’s basketball.

It was the Huskies’ first victory over a ranked opponent since defeating UCLA on Feb. 23, 2020. It was also the Huskies’ first win over Stanford (22-3 overall, 10-2 Pac-12) since 2016.

Elle Ladine scored 21 points, and Dalayah Daniels made 15 points, and Hayley Van Dyke finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds.

Haley Jones led Stanford with 18 points, and reserve Brooke Demetre had 15 points. Cameron Brink was held to 14 points and six rebounds.

Daniels sank a pair of free throws with 8 seconds to play, helping the Huskies (13-9 overall, 5-7 Pac-12) pull off the upset. The Huskies finished the second half with a 9-2 run. Lauren Schwartz sank a pair of free throws before Ladine made a layup to put Washington ahead with 1:40 to play.

Stanford led 17-8 after the first quarter, but the Huskies closed the first half with a 10-0 run and outscored the Cardinal 30-17 in the second quarter to take 38-34 lead into the break.

Washington then scored the first six points of the third quarter before a Brink layup ignited a 9-0 Stanford run. Brink’s three-point play at the end of the third quarter gave the Cardinal a 54-53 lead. But the Huskies outscored Stanford 19-13 in the fourth.

The Cardinal travel to Tucson on Thursday to face Arizona.

Bears Hibernation Continues: Cal runs into a mountain in 61-46 loss at Utah

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By Morris Phillips

Sitting on 19 losses and inevitably headed toward an undesired historical 20th loss, the Cal Bears started Sunday needing to fess up to one fair conclusion.

They’re currently not talented enough to compete in the Pac-12… with or without injuries, with or without USC and UCLA or any number of other considerations.

It’s not a good look, and a trip to Utah’s Huntsman Center certainly didn’t change that. The Bears fared no better in a dreary 61-46 loss to the Utes that leaves them as the only program to suffer three consecutive 20-loss seasons in Pac-12 history.

Cal trailed at halftime and then went the first six-plus minutes of the second half without a made basket. That allowed the hosts to extend their lead to as many as 20 points and cruise in beating the Bears for a fifth, consecutive time dating back to 2021.

“We had a very poor start to the second half for sure,” coach Mark Fox said. “You’ve got to be able to make some plays. Offensively, we just don’t have enough playmaking on the floor.”

Without leading scorer Devin Askew and experienced scorer DeJuan Clayton, who was absent due to an undisclosed illness, the Bears scored fewer than 50 points for the fourth straight game. The Bears played at their familiar, plodding pace but again had issues with turnovers, committing ten. Fox admitted the pace was what he wanted, but the lack of shotmaking sabotaged their effort.

“Until we can get somebody back we’re going to have to try to be elite defensively,” Fox said.

Lars Thiemann led Cal with 12 points, and Kuany Kuany added 11. Starting point guard Joel Brown failed to be a bigger factor, playing just 24 minutes with two shot attempts and one assist.

Utah guard Lazar Stefanovic led the Utes with 15 points, six assists and three of his teammates also finished with double-digit scoring. Utah wasn’t much better shooting the ball than Cal at 37 percent from the floor, but they got nine made threes from four of their starting quintet.

Cal (3-20, 2-10) fell to 0-8 in true road games and are fortunate to have their next two games at Haas Pavilion in Berkeley with Arizona up first on Thursday evening.

That’s Amaury News and Commentary: The Hispanic Heritage Baseball Museum Hall of Fame at Giants Fanfest

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The Peanuts gang from left to right Lucy, Snoopy and Charlie Brown are ready for some baseball at the Major League Baseball Hispanic Heritage Hall of Fame Museum as featured at the San Francisco Giants 2023 Fanfest (photo from Amaury Pi Gonzalez)

The Hispanic Heritage Baseball Museum Hall of Fame at Giants Fanfest

That’s Amaury News and Commentary

By Amaury Pi-González

SAN FRANCISCO–Saturday, February the 4th, was a gray and rainy day in San Francisco, but that did not stop over 10,000 fans that showed up to mingle with other fans and players alike. Just over a week and days until Spring Training in Arizona, fans were in a festive mood, ready for another baseball season. The Giants open their 2023 season in New York against the Yankees on Thursday March 30th, but the Fanfest this past Saturday was like a home game for the Black and Orange.

The Hispanic Heritage Baseball Museum Hall of Fame (a veteran of these events) had their table at the Club Level of Oracle Park. Giants fan base is always very inquisitive. The HHBMHOF gave hundreds of brochures as they celebrated their 23rd year since they were founded in San Francisco.

We talked baseball, with many Giants fans always ready to ask for players of the past and present. Some familiar and not-so-familiar faces were in attendance. The Museum President and Founder Gabriel “Tito” Avila Jr. was there with the Vice President as well as museum volunteers. Lisbeth Sánchez of Redwood City stopped in front of our table, there with her nine year old son and husband, as she was holding a brochure said: “about time there is baseball Museum for us the Latinos”.

Many of the people that visited were of Hispanic roots, some born in Nicaragua, México, El Salvador, there were people from Puerto Rico and other countries. Many fans of Hispanic Heritage were smiling and proud to see the colorful brochures. One middle age Hispanic man told us; “hermano los felicito por tan linda labor que estan haciendo” translation- “congratulations brother for the beautiful job you guys are doing”.

The ”número uno” question (always) asked by Giants fans:-“where is the museum?” We have been traveling all over the country for over 20 years, and with the help of the Giants we hope it will be within walking distance of Oracle Park, in the vicinity, of what is has become one of the most popular neighborhoods in the city by the bay.

The Hispanic Heritage Baseball Museum and Hall of Fame is looking forward to its first permanent location, in San Francisco, a city that originally received the non-profit since it birth/foundation in 2000, the first season the Giants moved from Candlestick Park, today Oracle Park.

The San Francisco Giants is leading the way as the first (of many MLB teams) to endorse the museum. As a traveling museum the HHBMHOF has inducted players in at least 15 different major league cities, as well as participating in All Star Game events across the country.

In the early 2000s, the HHBMHOF was part of the national traveling exhibit ‘Baseball As America’ when they exhibited in the City of Oakland. As recent as 2018, the Museum had a big mural inside the Oakland Alameda County Coliseum.

The San Francisco Giants franchise tradition with Hispanic/Latino players is well documented since the days of José Pagan, Orlando Cepeda and Juan Marichal and Rigoberto”Tito 23″ Fuentes, to Pablo Sandoval, to the current team with Wilmer Flores, Luis González, Camilo Doval, Thairo Estrada, Heliot Ramos and others.

It makes all the sense in the world that Latino/Hispanic fans identify with these stars. The City of San Francisco with a population of 815,000 (as of the 2020 US Census) of which 15.2% are Hispanics/Latinos, the nine-county Bay Area is 20 percent Hispanic. The Giants have one of the best and most loyal fan bases in all of baseball.

The Hispanic Heritage Baseball Museum Hall of Fame will share with visitors the true meaning of diversity, while enlightening future generation on the vast Hispanic culture. Today the United States of America is more Hispanic than ever, according to 2020 Census data, there are 62.1 million living in the United States. This is by far the largest minority in the United States. Many believe it is as high as 80 million across the country.

The Hispanic Heritage Baseball Museum Hall of Fame was established on October 24th 1998 in San Francisco as a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit organization, very proud of bringing the community together with the greatest game on earth, Béisbol.

Kings get clobbered by Pelicans in New Orleans 136-104

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New Orleans Pelicans guard CJ McCollum (3) shoots against Sacramento Kings guard Davion Mitchell (15) in the first half at Smoothie King Arena in New Orleans on Sun Feb 5, 2023 (AP News photo)

Pelicans Punish Kings 136-104

By Barbara Mason

Sunday the Sacramento Kings (29-23) traveled to the “Big Easy” to take on the New Orleans Pelicans (28-27). Friday night the Kings lost a close game to the Pacers 107-104.

The Pelicans beat the Lakers Saturday night 131-126. The Kings are currently in third place in the Western Conference while the Pelicans have fallen to ninth place tied with the Jazz. The Kings struggled against the Pelicans and it wasn’t even close losing 136-104 on Sunday.

The Pelicans jumped all over the Kings mid-way through the opening quarter 26-12. The Pelicans held a double digit lead in the remaining minutes of the first quarter and led after the first 12 minutes 34-26. For a second game in a row De’Aaron Fox was out for personal reasons and the team did not discuss it any further. Fox has missed four games this season and the team is 1-3 without him.

The slow start for Sacramento started to turned around in the second quarter. It was the Kings bench that was keeping Sacramento in this game and the team needed Harrison Barnes, Kevin Huerter and Keegan Murray who had not scored a single point in the first quarter.

The Kings had pulled to within four points in the quarter but started to struggle again. The starters were not holding up their end of the deal. At the half the Pelicans led 70-52 and the Kings starting roster had collectively scored 13 points in the half. The bench had scored 37 points, almost three times more than the starters in a horrendous firs half.

In the third quarter the Pelicans continued the beat down leading the Kings 87-58 with 6:50 left in the quarter. After the first three quarters the Pelicans led 104-76. The fourth quarter was more of the same with the Pelicans winning this game 136- 104.

This is certainly a game that the Kings are looking forward to putting in their rearview mirror. Nothing was working offensively or defensively. They were 22.5% from beyond the arc and the Pelicans were hot with 54.2%. This was just one of those games that come along and you just have to get past it.

The bench worked hard in this game and collectively scored 63 points while the starters had 41 points. Malik Monk had 16 points off the bench which was the team high.

Sacramento will travel to Houston to take on the last place in the Western Conference Rockets Monday night. They are in desperate need for a confidence builder which a win would provide, Tipoff is scheduled for 5:00 PM.

NFC edges AFC 35-33 in inaugural flag football edition of Pro Bowl

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AFC middle linebacker C.J. Mosley of the New York Jets, left, grabs a flag off NFC return specialist KaVontae Turpin (9) of the Dallas Cowboys during the Pro Bowl flag football at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on Sun Feb 5, 2023 (AP News photo)

COMMENTARY
By Daniel Dullum
Sunday, February 5, 2023

In the December 1964 issue of Sport magazine, Jim Brown was asked to select what he thought were his five greatest games. One of them was the 1962-63 Pro Bowl, in which he led the Eastern Conference to a 30-20 win over the West while gaining 144 rushing yards on 17 carries and a touchdown.

Moments like that are truly buried in history.

Way back in the day, the winners’ share in the pro football all-star games was sometimes more than some of the participants made for the season. Therefore, they went out and got after it. It wasn’t until the last 30 years or so that the annual all-star game started being compared to touch football, and not in a complimentary way.

This year, the NFL decided to head in that direction anyway.

The NFL came up with a plan to revamp its all-star game for this season. It involved three segments of flag football mixed in with skills competitions. In the end of the festivities at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on Sunday, the NFC prevailed over the AFC 35-33.

In the final flag football segment, Minnesota quarterback Kirk Cousins threw three touchdown passes. That’s the spot NFC coach Eli Manning wanted Cousins in, and the veteran delivered, completing 15 of 19 passes for 150 yards.

The AFC, coached by Peyton Manning, had built a 20-15 lead going into the final flag football session, based on points from the first two flag games and the skills competitions which included rec league-type games for kickers, punters and long-snappers, and the linemen. The games were played on a 50-yard field with no goalposts.

Even with the idea of keeping injuries to a minimum, there was still at least one injury – Cleveland defensive end Myles Garrett suffered a dislocated toe. X-rays were negative.

Cousins said he hopes youngsters watching this year’s Pro Bowl Games will be encouraged to participate in flag football, and there’s a good chance of that, with growing safety concerns about football at the youth level.

The skills competitions seemed like a reach, they’re not as good as the NHL skills competition, but it’s something that can be reevaluated. Frankly, if the league had, say, a $2 million pot for a winner-take-all situation, you could go back and play real football and forego the gimmicks. That is unlikely to happen, as the players seemed to enjoy an afternoon in the park playing schoolyard ball and the fans didn’t seem to mind watching.

It will be interesting to see what the ratings were for this experiment. As bad as the Pro Bowl usually is, the ratings were usually solid. And attendance was good in Vegas – the announced crowd of 58,331 was 2,000 more than last year’s attendance, also in Las Vegas.

Ticket prices for this year’s Pro Bowl Games ranged from $37 to $1,335. There’s no word yet on where next year’s event will be held, since the league doesn’t like to have the Pro Bowl and Super Bowl in the same venue. Allegiant Stadium is the host of next year’s Super Bowl.

Atlantic team defeats Central 7-5 to win NHL All-Star 3-on-3 tourney

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, Metropolitan Division’s goaltender Igor Shesterkin, of the New York Rangers (31) blocks a shot from Atlantic Division’s Brady Tkachuk, of the Ottawa Senators (7) during the NHL All Star hockey game, Saturday, Feb. 4, 2023, in Sunrise, Fl (AP News photo)

By Daniel Dullum
Saturday, February 4, 2023

Detroit’s Dylan Larkin had a hat trick in the 3-on-3 NHL All-Star Game final, and Toronto’s Mitch Marner picked up three assists for the Atlantic Division squad in its 7-5 win over the Central Division Saturday at FLA Live Arena in Miami.

Larkin wound up with five goals in the Atlantic’s two 20-minute games. Matthew Tkachuk of Florida had a five-point effort, including a hat trick, in the semifinal win over the Metropolitan Division to secure most valuable player honors for the day.

It was the first time the Atlantic Division won the All-Star Game in the seven years the NHL has used the divisional format. The 11 players on the Atlantic roster will split $1 million for the win.

In the second semifinal, the Atlantic squad defeated the Metropolitan Division 10-6 behind the efforts of the Tkachuk brothers. Matthew’s brother Brady Tkachuk of Ottawa had a goal and three assists, while Panthers’ Aleksander Barkov had three assists. Other goals for the Atlantic team were scored by Nick Suzuki of Montreal with two, and single tallies by Nikita Kucherov of Tampa Bay and David Pastrnak of Boston. Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevsky faced 13 shots on goal, stopping 10.

Sidney Crosby of Pittsburgh and Alex Ovechkin of Washington combined for three goals while collecting three points each, and Johnny Gaudreau of Columbus had a hat trick.

Earlier, the Central Division knocked off the Pacific Division 6-4. St. Louis forward Vladimir Tarasenko picked up a goal and three assists, and Nathan MacKinnon of Colorado had two goals.

Central goalies Connor Hellebuyck of Winnipeg and Juuse Saros of Nashville surrendered four goals on 22 shots. For the Pacific, Stuart Skinner of Edmonton and Logan Thompson of Vegas each allowed three goals on seven shots,

Other goals for the Pacific were scored by San Jose defenseman Erik Karlsson and Oilers star Connor McDavid. Seth Jones of Chicago and Clayton Keller of Arizona each scored for the Central team. Karlsson also assisted on McDavid’s goal.