Month: February 2023

Stanford Teaches Washington New Tricks on Senior Day, 81-69

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Stanford forward Spencer Jones (14) shoots over Washington guard Jamal Bey (5) during the first half at Maples Pavilion in Palo Alto on Sun Feb 26, 2023 (AP News photo)

By Michael Roberson

STANFORD, Calif. — The Stanford Cardinal (12-16, 6-12 Pac-12) gave their four seniors a great sendoff, as they controlled the Washington Huskies (16-14, 8-11 Pac-12) 81-69, in Maples Pavilion.

Senior forward Spencer Jones wasted no time trying to make his last game on the Farm a memorable one, with his early attack (16 points) of the dogs from the Evergreen State.

During the first 20 minutes of play, the Cardinal led the entire half, aided by an 8-0 run and a margin as wide as 12 points, which was the advantage at recess, 38-26.

Jones topped all players with his tally, while Huskies’ senior forward Keion Brooks Jr. offered his squad 10 points.

The second portion of the contest Stanford extended the lead as high as 20 points, with Washington trying to chip away at the deficit throughout the game.

The Cardinal managed to hold on to the advantage and win by the same margin (12) as they had at the midway point, 81-69. They also shot an impressive 50% from 3pt. range (12-24), which explained their dominance over the visitors from the Great Northwest.

Several non-graduating players joined Jones (21) in double-figure scoring: Sophomore forward Maxime Raynaud (15), junior forward Brandon Angel (14), sophomore forward Harrison Ingram (11) and graduate transfer Michael Jones (10), who has another year of eligibility, despite being senior.

Stanford will play next in Corvallis Thursday, March 2 to take on Oregon State, while Washington hosts Washington State on the same date.

That’s Amaury News and Commentary: MLB–Oakland A’s the Fuji effect

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The Oakland A’s Shintaro Fujinami warms up at Hohokam Stadium in Mesa at Cactus League spring training (San Francisco Chronicle photo)

MLB: Oakland A’s –  The Fuji effect-

Tha’s Amaury News and Commentary

By Amaury Pi-González

The 2023 season is not far from the ‘first pitch’, and Spring Training is in full swing as all 30 clubs have hopes of a postseason berth. Seven months from today reality will be set for 28 teams, and only two will be playing in the World Series. Although is too early to talk about October baseball, this is the time to talk about what teams have in store.

For the Oakland A’s there is a new bunch of players.  Among the position players, only a handful of “veterans” like Ramón Laureano, Tony Kemp and Seth Brown are names that fans could identify together with some young pitchers. The team signed free agent Japanese right-handed pitcher Shintaro Fujinami “Please call me ‘Fuji.’ Like Mount Fuji,” the Japanese right-hander said in English when he was introduced to the media in Oakland.

Fuji played for ten years in Nippon Professional Baseball (Japan) for the Hanshin Tigers. Fuji (as he said he likes to be called) will turn 29 this next April. The A’s signed Fuji to a one-year deal for $3.25 million. He was, by far, the most interesting signing by the team this off-season. 

The A’s going to Asia makes news. After all, the last time the A’s had a Japanese player was in 2011, slugger Hideki Matsui, who played only that year for the Green and Gold, with the difference that Matsui was already a major league player. Today in Spring Training, Fuji is the main attraction, although he had yet to throw one pitch in the majors and although many “experts” suggested (before he signed with the A’s) that he could help a team in the majors as a reliever.

The A’s are giving him a shot of winning a spot in the starting rotation. Why not? The A’s rotation is still young and does not have much experience. Fuji pitched for ten years in Japan (although a rookie in the majors) he still has more experience on the mound than any A’s pitcher on this roster, to date.

Here’s what Sports Info Solutions wrote about Fujinami. The splitter was his best strikeout pitch, and his most-used pitch with two strikes, narrowly edging out his fastball in both two-strike usage and strikeouts. In addition to having a solid 34% whiff rate, batters also struggled to do anything with the splitter when it was put in play. His splitters turned into grounders 66% of the time, and batters only managed a 9% hard-hit rate versus the pitch.

I do not know how much success Shintaro Fujinami will have with the A’s, and the truth is that nobody really knows. Not a surprise the A’s signed him for one year since he will have to prove himself at the major league level. I am surprised when the A’s signed veteran Cuban-born journeyman Aledmys Díaz to a 2-year $14.5 million deal.

Díaz can earn $500,000 annually in performance bonuses for plate appearances. Díaz is a seven year veteran who played for St Louis, Toronto, and the most recent World Champion Houston Astros. Díaz can play many bases and it makes sense he will take the place of utility man extraordinaire Chad Pinder who left the A’s to sign a minor league deal with the Cincinnati Reds.

Note: Fuji was very excited after he learned on Saturday he will be starting this next Tuesday the 28th against his good friend and countryman, the sensational two-way player, Shohei Ohtani when the A’s face the LA Angels.

MLB podcast with Charlie O: Automatic strike out has impact on first day of spring training games; plus much more news

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San Diego Padres third baseman Manny Machado took the first auto strike in baseball history Sat Feb 25, 2023 against the Seattle Mariners. Here is Machado  following through on an RBI-double during the third inning in Game 2 of a baseball NL Division Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Oct. 12, 2022, in Los Angeles (AP file photo)

On the MLB podcast with Charlie O:

#1 Charlie needless to say lots of changes in baseball we’ll start with living and dying with the clock how much of a factor will the clock play that could decide a big game or even knock a team out of playoff contention?

#2 Charlie Saturday was the first day of the automatic strike call rule and that’s how the Boston Red Sox and Atlanta Braves ended their game. With the bases loaded, two outs and a full count Braves second baseman Cal Conley was called out on strikes when the batter’s clock ran out on him thus the game was called in a 6-6 tie.

#3 San Diego Padres superstar third baseman was called for the very first automatic strike in MLB history when plate umpire Ryan Blakney called him for the strike for not being ready as the eight seconds ran out. Machado did end up going 2-2 against the Seattle Mariners none the less.

#4 Charlie lots of choices for Oakland A’s manager to make particularly in the outfield first JJ Bleday play left, center or right. Seth Brown will platoon between first and left field, Esteury Ruiz is slated for center and Ramon Laureano in right.

#5 The Minnesota Twins Carlos Correa who returned to Minnesota with a six year $200 million said “I could sit down and cry about it (not passing the physicals and loss of salary money with the Giants and Yankees) or I could keep working” and Correa has returned can he live up to the expectations even with the lower leg injury?

Join Charlie O for the MLB podcasts Sundays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Blackhawks edge Sharks 4-3 in shootout, Marleau’s No. 12 retired

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In a special tribute to former San Jose Shark Patrick Marleau he is joined by former Shark teammates Joe Thornton (center) and Kelly Hrudey (right) to retire his old number 12 at SAP Center in San Jose on Sat Feb 25, 2023 (AP News photo)

By Daniel Dullum
Saturday, February 25, 2023

Chicago goaltender Petr Mrazek made 45 saves, stopped all three shootout attempts by San Jose, and led the Blackhawks past the Sharks 4-3 Saturday on Patrick Marleau Night at SAP Center.

Marleau had his No. 12 retired by the Sharks, a first in team history. He played 21 of his 23 NHL seasons for San Jose before retiring in 2021. Marleau broke Gordie Howe’s record for NHL games played with 1,779. He holds Sharks records for games played (1,607), goals (522) and points (1,111).

Philipp Kurashev scored the only goal in the shootout, giving Chicago (21-32-5, 47 points) its longest winning streak since winning five in a row in January 2020.

Also scoring for the Blackhawks, David Gust with his first career goal, Brett Seney had his first goal in four years and Max Domi. Nick Bonino Evgeny Svechnikov and Erik Karlsson all scored for the Sharks (18-30-12, 48 points), who have lost five of their last six games. San Jose goaltender Kaapo Kahkonen was credited with 32 saves.

Domi scored on the opening shift of the third period to put Chicago ahead 3-2. Karlsson answered for San Jose with a goal with 2:11 remaining after the Sharks pulled Kahkonen for a sixth attacker.

The 29-year-old Gust scored on his first shift in the first period when he deflected a pass from Colin Blackwell past Kahkonen. Gust and Eddie Olczyk are the only Illinois natives to score in their NHL debuts with Chicago.

After Bonino tied it for the Sharks, Seney scored on a rush for his first goal since Feb. 9, 2019, when he played for the New Jersey Devils. Svechnikov then scored for the Sharks to tie the game at 2-2.

The Blackhawks’ Patrick Kane flew back to Chicago as trade talks with the New York Rangers began to heat up. Kane has a no-movement clause in his contract and must approve any deal. Sharks forward Timo Meier, who is also mentioned in trade talks, missed his third straight game with an upper-body injury that is not considered serious.

The Sharks host Montreal on Tuesday.

No. 8 Utes upend No. 3 Stanford 84-78, claim share of Pac-12 women’s crown

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All the Stanford Cardinal bench can do is just watch as Utah guard Gianna Kneepkens (5) reacts to making a 3-point shot against Stanford in the first half Saturday, Feb. 25, 2023, in Salt Lake City. (AP News photo)

By Daniel Dullum
Saturday, February 25, 2023

Utah earned a share of the Pac-12 women’s basketball regular season championship on Saturday, as the No. 8 Utes upended No. 3 Stanford 84-78 before 9,611 at Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City.

Gianna Kneepkens scored a season-high 28 points to lead the Utes (25-3 overall, 15-3 Pac-12) to their first regular season conference title, only two seasons removed from winning five total games. Alissa Pili was next for Utah with 14 points, and Kennedy McQueen had 10 points, five rebounds, four assists and six steals.

Hannah Jump scored 24 points for Stanford (27-4 overall, 15-3 Pac-12), followed by Cameron Brink with 14 points, 12 rebounds, six assists and four blocks, and Haley Jones with nine points and eight rebounds.

Utah led 40-34 at halftime and made 5 of 7 shots to open the third quarter, building a 52-40 lead on back-to-back field goals by Kneepkens and Issy Palmer. The Utes led the entire second half, although Stanford pulled to within 73-72 after Brink and Jones each scored two baskets. Utah responded with a 3-pointer by Kneepkens to keep the Cardinal from getting any closer.

Utah forced three straight turnovers in the final minute to lock down the win. The Utes scored 26 points off of 21 Stanford turnovers. The Cardinal held a 37-23 rebounding edge.

Stanford and Utah each have a first-round bye in the Pac-12 Tournament this week in Las Vegas.

Cal falls to Washington State 63-57 but remains optimistic in the season’s final days

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By Morris Phillips

BERKELEY, CA–A streak-ending win on Senior Night wasn’t achievable for the Cal Bears.

But that wasn’t the punchline to season-concluding joke. The 3-26 hosts competed hard until seven minutes remained before they ran out of gas in a 63-57 loss to Washington State.

“Obviously, we didn’t get the win, but we made a lot of strides, and going forward we’ve got two games next week,” senior Joel Brown said. “I think there’s a lot of energy and positivity that we can grab from this.”

Cal fell for the 13th consecutive time since January 6 and need a win in their final, three games to avoid setting a new, program-worst season record.

Two regular season games remain at Oregon and Oregon State and an opening round contest in the Pac-12 Tournament in Las Vegas. Optimism within the team remains with hopes they can win at least once more.

“For the whole team it’s a tough situation with the record, but I’ve learned a lot just looking myself in the mirror and just understanding, I’m playing basketball . . . this is what I love doing,” Brown said.

When asked if he had any discussions regarding his future with Cal, coach Mark Fox said he had not, while saying he and Athletic Director Jim Knowlton speak frequently, and Fox considers Knowlton to be an ally.

Fox fell to 38-84 in his four seasons in Berkeley, and it’s widely assumed he won’t be retained.

The Bears trailed 29-26 at halftime and were within 46-44 with 7:24 remaining when they could get no closer. A 7-0 run for the Cougars created separation and put the visitors in position for a fifth straight win.

Mohamed Gueye led WSU with 20 points and 10 rebounds, and TJ Bamba added 19. Brown led Cal with 13 points, nine rebounds, and Kuany Kuany added 11.

Earthquakes drop opening game of regular season against Atlanta 2-1

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Photo courtesy of San Jose Earthquakes Twitter. Cristian Espinoza dribbles the ball upfield.

By Titus Wilkinson (@TitusWisme)

San Jose hoped to open their regular season on the right foot but unfortunately faltered right at the finish losing against Atlanta 2-1.

For the Earthquakes Daniel De Sousa Brito started in net while Brad Guzan started for Atlanta.

An important debut was made as well in tonights game as Carlos Akapo made his first appearance for San Jose.

The Earthquakes in this match got off to as good of a start as a team could ask for as at the 12′ mark of the first half the offense struck gold.

The goal started off with Rodrigues crossing it beautifully to Espinoza who found Jeremy Ebobisse crashing the net who headed it home making it 1-0.

Despite the good start just a minute after the goal Carlos Cruezo was handed a yellow card on a foul.

On the foul Atlanta was awarded a penalty shot which went wide.

At the end of the first half the score remained the same at 1-0.

The second half was closely played with Atlanta pushing to tie the match at one.

At the 85′ mark of the second half the Earthquakes made three substitutions putting in Tanner Beason, Jack Skahan, and Michael Baldisimo. While Miguel Trauco, Cristian Espinoza, and Jamiro Monteiro were taken off.

The 90′ mark had another yellow card given out to San Jose this time Benjamin Kikanovic was given the foul.

In the extra time was when Atlanta did their damage as at the 90′ +3′ mark Thiago Almada scored to tie the match up at one.

On the goal though Almada was also given a yellow card for excessive celebration.

That did not seem to deter Almada who instead scored another goal this time at the 90′ +9′ mark to give Atlanta the lead.

With that goal Almada put the game away as San Jose could not respond.

The Earthquakes next game will be on March 4th against Vancouver at home at 7:30 p.m.

NHL podcast with Troy Ewers: Blues coach Berube stands by no passion comments; Pens put Kapanen on waivers; plus more

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St Louis Blues head coach Craig Berube stands by his remarks after Thursday’s game against the Vancouver Canucks after the team lost their fourth straight game in overtime (photo from nhl.com)

On the NHL podcast with Troy Ewers:

#1 St Louis Blues head coach Craig Berube says the players are not playing with passion, “don’t play with any passion, no emotion and no inspiration at all.” The Blues took a 3-2 loss to the Vancouver Canucks in overtime after having a 2-0 lead melt down with 29 seconds left in the third period on Thursday when the Canucks tied the game and went onto defeat the Blues in overtime 3-2.

#2 Troy how much did the Vladimir Tarasenko trade and then trading their captain Ryan O’Reilly and Noel Acciari play into the psyche of the Blues who are currently on a four game losing streak and in 11th place in the Western Conference standings.

#3 The Pittsburgh Penguins forward Kasperi Kapanen was placed on waivers. Kapanen did not practice with the team Friday and had gone 14 games without scoring a goal in 15 games. The Penguins lost to the Edmonton Oilers 7-2. Kapanen has 20 goals for the season.

#4 The Winnipeg Jets forward Cole Perfetti will miss eight weeks due to a upper body injury he sustained most likely on Sunday. Perfetti played and scored a goal on Sunday in the 4-2 loss to the New Jersey Devils but didn’t play on Monday night against the New York Rangers and on Friday night against the New York Islanders. Perfetti has 30 points this season.

#5 Troy the Boston Bruins get Dimitry Orlov and Garnett Hathaway from the Washington Capitals and the Bruins get forward Craig Smith and Andre Svetlakov “Both Dmitry and Garnet bring some attributes that will complement our group,” Bruins general manager Don Sweeney said.

Troy Ewers filled in for Matt Harrington who does the NHL podcasts Saturdays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Kings Battle Through Double Overtime To Beat Clippers 176-175

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Sacramento Kings guard De’Aaron Fox, left, celebrates after scoring as Los Angeles Clippers forward Marcus Morris Sr. stands in the background during the second half at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on Fri Feb 24, 2023 (AP News photo)

Kings Battle Through Double Overtime To Beat Clippers 176-175

By Barbara Mason

Friday night the Sacramento Kings (34-25) took on the Los Angeles Clippers (33-29) at Crypto. com Arena in Los Angeles. The Kings are coming off a win over the Portland Trail Blazers 133-116. De’Aaron Fox scored 31 points in that game and Domantas Sabonis had his seventh triple-double of the season.

They will need more of the same against the Clippers. This was a huge game for the Kings. Right now they were holding onto third place in the Western Conference 1 1/2 games ahead of Los Angeles.

The addition of Russell Westbrook to the Clippers was just one of the many challenges that the Kings faced in this game and they got through it with NBA All Star game type final score Kings edging the Clippers 176-175.

Game recap: Sacramento had a great start knocking down three straight shots from downtown in the first quarter. With 7:39 left in the first 12 minutes the Kings had only missed two shots and led 21-16. They were shooting 66.7% from the field and 60% from downtown.

The Kings were having great success shooting the three ball but as the quarter wore down, the Clippers Paul George, Kawhi Leonard and Westbrook really began to flex their muscles. After the opening quarter, this game was tied at 40. The second quarter was close for the most part.

At 5:41 the Clippers had a nine point lead 64-55 but the Kings battled back and at the half trailed by four points 80-76. Fox had the high for the Kings with 16 points. Malik Monk had 13 off the bench and starter Domantas Sabonis had 12 points and 7 rebounds.

The Clippers threatened to take control of this game in the third quarter leading at one time by 12 points but the King fought back throughout the quarter. After three quarters the Clippers hung onto a 117-110 lead.

At 7:26 in the fourth quarter the Kings trailed by a single point 130-129. The Clippers were highly favored to win this game but the Kings were stubbornly hanging around throughout this game. Shots from the field were even but the Clippers were having a hay day from downtown shooting at 63.2% to the Kings 44.1% giving the Clippers a huge edge. The Kings would pull to within a single point 149-148 with 33 seconds left in play. As regulation came to an end this game was tied at 153 and the two teams went into overtime.

We would see if the Kings had enough left in the tank after battling from behind throughout much of the game. With 20.4 seconds left in overtime this game was tied at 164. The two teams would take this battle into a second overtime. With 36 seconds left on the clock the Kings had a one point lead.

This was a highly competitive game between the third and fifth place teams in the Western Conference.

Fox would finish the game with 42 points and Monk off the bench had the high for the team with 45 points. Every starter for the Kings finished in double digits.

Sunday the Kings will travel to Oklahoma to take on the Thunder. Tipoff is scheduled for 4:00 PM.

Barracuda defense lets down against the Reign 6-1

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Photo courtesy of San Jose Barracuda. Tristen Robins shoots on goaltender Cal Petersen.

By Titus Wilkinson (@TitusWisme)

San Jose went to battle against Ontario on the road and had a rough game defensively losing by a final of 6-1.

For the Barracuda Strauss Mann got the start while Matthew Villalta started for the Reign.

Goal scoring in this game took a minute to get going but Jordan Spence got the opening goal at the 9:50 mark for the Reign making it 1-0.

Scott Reedy took an interference penalty at the 11:13 mark giving Ontario a chance to expand their lead.

On the power play they did just that as Alan Quine scored netting his sixth goal of the season and extending their lead to two.

At the end of the first the shots favored Ontario at 13-7.

The second period was a lot quieter than the first as there was no scoring between the two teams.

The shots at the end of the second favored San Jose now at 25-20.

Scoring in the third came a lot quicker as just 2:42 in Jeffrey Viel scored shorthanded on a rebound cutting Ontario’s lead in half.

The Reign dug deep though and found a response as Samuel Fagemo scored his 17th goal of the season to make the lead two again.

Feeling the momentum Jacob Moverare scored his fourth goal of his campaign making the score now 4-1.

San Jose pulled their goalie to try and come back but Tyler Madden scored on the empty net to put it away.

Thomas Bordeleau took a penalty for high-sticking after the goal and once again Ontario punished San Jose with a goal. This time Kim Nousiainen scored his second goal of the season putting their lead up to 6-1.

The three stars of the game were 1st: Matthew Villalta 2nd: Jacob Moverare 3rd: Martin Chromiak

The Barracuda’s next game will be against Coachella Valley on Monday at 7 p.m. on the road.