That’s Amaury News and Commentary: Las Vegas Stadium Authority negotiates A’s Lease

The Oracle Red Bull grandstand and Koval hospitality as seen from the F1 pit Building during the media tour on Fri Oct 20, 2023 in Las Vegas. Formula 1 will take place on Nov 16-18. One of the top sports features in Vegas. Meanwhile the Las Vegas Stadium Authority are planning to demo of the Tropicana Hotel and Casino to make way for the Oakland A’s new ballpark. (photo from the Las Vegas Review Journal)

Las Vegas Stadium Authority negotiates A’s Lease

That’s Amaury News and Commentary

By Amaury Pi-González

Although the move of the A’s to Las Vegas has yet to be approved by the majority of MLB team owners, with a vote expected to take place this next month of November, the Oakland A’s are moving ahead of that vote and beginning to negotiate a lease with the Las Vegas Stadium Authority.

According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, two law firms could get to share $1 million to negotiate the stadium lease agreement in Las Vegas with the A’s. This is the #1 item for next week (October 25) agenda of the Las Vegas Stadium Authority

The two law firms could get a combined $1 million to negotiate the stadium lease agreement with the Athletics, according to agenda items leading up to next week’s meeting of the Stadium Authority Board .If the current plans move forward, the Tropicana Las Vegas Casino Resort would be demolished and the stadium will be built on nine acres at the site.

Other development is expected to fill the rest of the Tropicana site, but on-site parking is minimal.

The same company that handled the construction of Allegiant Stadium, Mortenson McCarthy will be manager for the $1.5 billion, 30,000 seat stadium for the Athletics at the corner of Tropicana Avenue and the Las Vegas strip. Other companies involved to develop the lease agreement are Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP, Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck LLP.

Since we are talking about leases. The A’s lease at the Oakland Coliseum expires after the 2024 season. After that (like they say in Vegas) “all bets are off”.

More sports news in Sin City:

-Las Vegas Champions: WNBA: Las Vegas Aces won their second consecutive WNBA title, joining the Las Vegas Golden Knights NHL reigning champions.

-Formula 1 -Las Vegas Grand Prix will take place from November 16-18 at a 3.8-mile track right through the neon heart of the Las Vegas Strip. (ESPN)

-Super Bowl LVIII at Allegiant Stadium., February 11, 2024. (CBS)

Join Amaury Pi Gonzalez for News and Commentaries and coverage of the Oakland A’s relocation to Las Vegas at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa: After losing 4 straight at home can Sharks turn it around on upcoming 5 game road trip

San Jose Sharks defenseman Marc Edouard-Vlasic (44) reaches his stick underneath the Boston Bruins center Trent Frederic (11) to get at a puck in the first period at SAP Center in San Jose on Thu Oct 19, 2023 (AP News photo)

On the SJ Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa:

#1 The Boston Bruins came into San Jose on Thursday night and got scoring help from Brad Marchand and James van Riemsdyk and wasted no time doing it scoring 21 seconds apart in the first period.

#2 The Bruins David Pastrnak added the third and final goal and goaltender Linus Ullmark stopped 26 Sharks shots.

#3 This was the final game of the Sharks four game homestand where they were swept for the entire four games to start the season. How surprising or not surprising was it that the Sharks lost all their games on home ice to start the season.

#4 The Sharks join two other teams in NHL history to open at home and lose four straight games. The 1971-72 California Golden Seals with two loses and two ties and the 1997-98 Calgary Flames lost three and had a tie.

#5 The Sharks open a five game road trip starting tonight in Nashville after seeing what happened in the last four games in San Jose how difficult do you see it for the Sharks to win this one tonight and the rest of the four games that’s waiting for them on this trip.

Join Mary Lisa does the SJ Sharks podcasts each Saturday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Warriors lose final preseason game to Spurs 122-117 at Chase Center

Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr (left) and San Antonio Spurs head coach George Popovich (right) converse on the floor of Chase Center in San Francisco on Fri Oct 20, 2023 (@warriors photo)

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Warriors played their final pre-season game Friday night against the San Antonio Spurs at the Chase Center. The Warriors lost for the first time by a score of 122-117.

The Spurs were led by their first-round pick, Victor Wembanyama. Webanyama is seven feet, four inches tall. He is 19 years old and appears to be a skilled offensive threat and a defensive force. Victor played 20 minutes and tallied 19 points, four rebounds, and an assist. He also blocked four shots. Victor will help get the Spurs back into the playoffs this year.

The Warriors head coach, Steve Kerr, had players like Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Chris Paul, Andrew Wiggins, and Kevon Looney exceed 20 minutes of playing time. Kerr did not want any of those guys to get hurt. Draymond Green did not play due to an ankle injury.

The Spurs ran the Warriors off the court in the first period. Wemanyama dominated play in the first seven minutes of the game. Victor scored 12 points in seven minutes and blocked three shots. The Warriors had trouble shooting over Wembanyama as he has a tremendous height advantage. The Spurs led 44-35 after the first 12 minutes, and Kerr had to be concerned about the Warriors lack of defense.

The Warriors held the Spurs to 28 points in the second quarter. They couldn’t cut the deficit as they also scored 28. Jonathan Kuminga led the Warriors with 12 points in the first half. Dario Saris and Curry each had 11.

In the third quarter, Kerr had his starting five sit on the bench. Kerr wanted to see how Kuminga, Moses Moody, Dario Saric, and Corey Joseph would perform. The Spurs’ head coach, Greg Popovich, had his second unit on the floor, too. The Spurs increased the lead to 87-71. The Warriors tried to come back, but the Spurs seemed to have the answer to stop the Warriors challenge. The Warriors did close the gap and finished the third quarter trailing 98-91.

Moody got hot in the fourth quarter. Moody kept making three-point shots. Saric and Kuminga played well as the Warriors got within three points of tying the game. They trailed 120-117. The Spurs held onto win.

Game Notes- The takeaways from the game for Golden State is this: The second unit will be better than last year’s version. Kerr had to be impressed with the plays of Kuminga, Moody, and Saric. It will be interesting to see if Chris Paul will be the leader of the second unit.

The other question for the Warriors is the age of their key player. Paul is 38, Curry is 35, and Green and Thompson are 33. Will they go through the grueling 82-game NBA season without injury? Let’s hope the younger players on the team can pick up the slack if any of the stars are hurt.

The Spurs will be much better with Wembanyama. The young man from France appears to be a future superstar. The one concern will be his ability to be a force against NBA players with bigger frames. Will he handle Anthony Davis, LeBron James, or Nikola Jokic? He has a slight frame. He does weigh 220 pounds, but that is spread over seven feet, four inches. Will he have the stamina to play 36 to 42 minutes in a game? Those questions will be answered soon when the regular season starts.

The regular season starts on Tuesday, October 24th. The Warriors will host the Phoenix Suns. Kevin Durant will be at the Chase Center for the first time since his Achilles heel injury in 2019. The Suns will also have Bradley Beal in the starting lineup.

The game will start at 7 p.m.

Silver Knights edge Barracuda 5-4 with late power play goal to stay undefeated

San Jose Barracuda forward Ryan Carpenter battles for the puck against Henderson Silver Knight defenseman Dysin Mayo at the Dollar Loan Center on Friday OCT 20, 2023. (San Jose Barracuda)

by Marko Ukalovic

Sheldon Rempal scored a power play goal with 3:44 remaining in the third period for the game winning goal in the Henderson Silver Knights’ 5-4 victory over the San Jose Barracuda on Friday evening at the Dollar Loan Center.

Defenseman Nikita Okhotiuk made his debut for the Barracuda. Okhotiuk is on loan from the San Jose Sharks for a conditioning assignment with the ‘Cuda as he was paired with Valterri Pulli as the third pair on head coach John McCarthy’s blueline.

Another defenseman also made his debut for San Jose as Henry Thrun was sent down to the ‘Cuda after playing two games with the Sharks as he made their opening day roster.

San Jose (1-2-0-0) drew first blood with a power play goal just past the halfway mark of the first period. Ryan Carpenter sent a rink wide pass over to Danil Gushchin who quickly sent a touch pass toward the net and Justin Bailey tapped home the puck just inside the right post for his first goal of the season at the 11:44 mark.

Silver Knights goalie Jiri Patera made some big saves during the first period that kept Henderson from falling into a deeper hole.

Henderson (3-0-0-0) scored the equalizer late in the opening 20 minutes. Gage Quinney’s initial shot was saved by ‘Cuda goalie Eetu Makiniemi but Brendan Brisson cleaned up the rebound for his second goal of the season at the 16:47 mark.

The Silver Knights gained it first lead 17 seconds into the second period on the man advantage. Rempal led a rush into the ‘Cuda zone. He fed a pass over to Mason Morelli who buried a wrist shot to the far side for his second goal of the year.

Then 32 seconds later Morelli found Jakub Brabenec open along the wing and he beat Makiniemi with a wrist shot for his first goal of the season to give Henderson a 3-1 lead.

Henderson scored its fourth unanswered goal while killing a penalty. A loose puck inside the ‘Cuda zone was picked up by Dysin Mayo who blasted a slap shot past Makiniemi to the far side of the net for his first goal of the season at the 4:13 mark.

San Jose cut Henderson’s lead in half with an even strength goal. After a clean face off win, Shakir Mukhamadullin fed Leon Gawanke along the right slot and the rookie defenseman beat Patera with a hard wrist shot for his first goal of the season at the 7:59 mark.

Carpenter made it a 4-3 game when he cleaned up a point-blank rebound after a shot by Brandon Coe was initially stopped by Patera for his team-leading third goal of the season at the 13:48 mark. Anthony Vincent was credited with the secondary assist.

The Barracuda scored its third unanswered goal on the power play. A wrist shot from Gawanke went off the mask of Patera and Coe buried home the rebound from the crease for his second goal of the season at the 13:40 mark. Mukhamadullin picked up his second assist on the equalizer.

Patera (3-0) finished the game stopping 31 of the 35 shots he faced to earn his third win of the season. Makiniemi (1-1) made 18 shots on 23 shots in the losing effort.

GAME NOTES: San Jose finished 2-for-3 on the power play. Henderson went 2-for-3.

Defenseman Radim Simek was assigned to the Barracuda after being placed on waivers by the San Jose Sharks on Thursday.

The Three Stars of the Game were: 1) Rempal 2) Brabenec 3) Morelli.

UP NEXT: San Jose and Henderson conclude their two-game series on Saturday at 1:00pm at Dollar Loan Center.

Sacramento Kings podcast with Jeremiah Salmonson: Kings open season in Utah Wednesday night against Jazz

Sacramento Kings rookie Colby Jones (20) scored 19 against the Utah Jazz at the Golden One Center in Sacramento on Thu Oct 18, 2023 (@SacramentoKings photo)

On the Sacramento Kings podcast with Jeremiah Salmonson:

#1 Jeremiah, in last night’s final pre season game against the Utah Jazz the Sacramento Kings had a sloppy first quarter. They were missing pivots, the defense wasn’t effective, and they were grateful to Malik Monk who scored seven points in the quarter.

#2 In the second quarter of the game the Kings held onto the ball and made better decisions on passing the ball. The Kings picked up 27 points to the Jazz’ 23. The Kings JaVale McGee led with 12 points to the Jazz’ Colin Sexton who had 14 points.

#3 The Kings in the third quarter went back to playing sloppy basketball, they got out of sink and regrouped later in the quarter by scoring 25 points but let down on defense as the Jazz came away with 36 points.

#4 The Kings in the fourth quarter had to make a comeback and later traded baskets to keep pace with the Jazz. If it weren’t for Monk leading with 23 points total for the game and the Kings scoring 37 points for the fourth quarter. it would have been difficult to stay ahead of the Jazz. The Kings win the final exhibition game 116-113.

#5 Kings face the Jazz again, this time in Utah for opening night Wed Oct 25th for a 6:00pm PT tip. How ready to do you see the Kings going into opening night?

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

Oakland A’s relocation podcast with Daniel Dullum: Mayor Thao has been silent on A’s relocation since July; No mention of A’s in state of city speech on Tuesday

Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao speaks at the state of city of Oakland address on Tue Oct 17, 2023. Thao did not address the Oakland A’s relocation at the address and has been pretty much silent on the A’s move to Las Vegas since the MLB All Star break in July (photo from oaklandside.org)

On the Oakland A’s relocation podcast with Daniel:

#1 Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao for the most part has not said a word regarding the A’s move since her journey from last July’s All Star game. Mayor Thao flew to Seattle with an Oakland delegation to present MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred with 30 books showing that the City of Oakland was in the middle of negotiations for the Howard Terminal ballpark when the A’s broke off talks to announce they had a binding deal in Las Vegas.

#2 Manfred did have some stinging comments back in September saying that if Thao was close to a deal why didn’t she throw $100 million on the table. Thao said the deal for Howard Terminal was ten percent of the way there but Manfred said the deal wasn’t even close.

#3 Manfred did have a working relationship with former Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf but after Schaaf’s term was up and Thao took over as new mayor A’s owner John Fisher and Manfred said that they couldn’t get anything going with Thao hence turning their attention to Las Vegas.

#4 There are some theories why various teams might vote no to an A’s relocation, the Angels, Dodgers, Padres, and Diamondbacks beam their broadcast signals, stream, and market their brand in Las Vegas that would all go away if the A’s make Vegas their home base, the Mariners could object being the only AL team in the Northwest and that would put them geographically alone with the nearest American League in Anaheim and you guessed it Las Vegas.

#5 Another objection going into the owners vote in November is the A’s would be moving into the smallest TV market and have the smallest capacity of all the ballpark in MLB. The A’s could very well be the number four team behind the Aces, Raiders, Knights, and drop to fifth if an NBA franchise moves into town.

Join Daniel Dullum for the Oakland A’s relocation podcast with inside analysis and updates on the A’s relocation and MLB owners relocation vote Fridays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Francisco 49ers podcast with Joe Hawkes: 49ers Williams, McCaffrey and Samuel should be in line up for MNF

San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey (center left) feels the wrath of the Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett (left) and safety Grant Delpit (middle right) at Cleveland Browns Stadium on Sun Oct 15, 2023 (AP News photo)

On the 49ers podcast with J Hawkes:

#1 Joe the big question is should the 49ers rest Trent Williams, Christian McCaffrey and Deebo Samuel against the Minnesota Vikings this Monday? The 49ers did say Williams, McCaffrey and Samuel are not seriously injured and could play this Monday Night Football, how do you see that being a big risk.

#2 Critics have said that the Vikings who are 2-4 are just one more loss away from stripping the team down and being sellers. Are the Vikings in that much trouble?

#3 Williams, McCaffrey and Samuel are considered to be the 49ers best players and it would make sense if this were a playoff game but against the Vikings all three could use the week and game off.

#4 Joe, with the Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson out of action how much pressure does that put on quarterback Kirk Cousins to do most of the heavy lifting?

#5 Joe, any chance that this game could be as close as last week’s Cleveland Browns game was? Or do you see the 49ers plowing over the Vikings on Monday Night Football?

Join Joe Hawkes does the 49ers podcasts each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Sacramento Kings game wrap: Kings Monk leads with 23 pts in 116-113 win over Jazz; Sac picks up first pre season win

Sacramento Kings small forward Kessler Edwards (17) throws down against the Utah Jazz at Golden One Center in Sacramento on Thu Oct 19, 2023 (@SacramentoKings photo)

By Jeremiah Salmonson

SACRAMENTO–The Sacramento Kings were back in action for their final preseason tune-up on Thursday night in Sacramento. The Kings preseason hadn’t gone so smoothly as of Thursday. The Kings entered the matchup having gone 0-4 in the preseason after facing the Raptors, Lakers, and the Warriors twice.

On Thursday, the Kings welcomed in the Utah Jazz at Golden One Center for the 7 PM PST matchup. It’s worth noting that the Kings will face the Jazz in their first regular season game next week. In the final preseason game of 2023 the Kings defeated the Jazz 116-113.

In the first quarter, the game was unwatchably sloppy. The Kings were throwing the ball around, missing cuts, losing defensive assignments, and playing careless basketball. The Kings scored 27 points in the quarter, partly thanks to Malik Monk scoring seven points. The Jazz scored 26 points in the first quarter, with Collin Sexton scoring seven. The Kings would look to clean things up before halftime. 

In the second quarter, the Kings played much better. The pace and urgency on offense were much better for the Kings. The Kings held onto the ball and made better decisions on passing front. The Kings scored 27 points in the second quarter, the same as in the first.

Conversely, the Jazz scored 23 points in the second quarter. The Kings would go into halftime with the lead 54-49. The leading scorer for the Kings in the first half was JaVale McGee, who scored 12 points. The Jazz’s leading scorer in the first half was Collin Sexton, who had 14 points. 

In the third quarter, the Kings really struggled. The offense for the Kings couldn’t find much of any rhythm, on top of that the Kings reverted to their sloppy ways as in the first quarter. However, the Kings did show some late life in the quarter. Overall, the Kings scored 25 points in the quarter. The caveat is that the Jazz put up 36 points in the quarter to build an 85-79 lead going into the final quarter.  

In the fourth quarter, the Kings returned to take the lead, but it would be short-lived. The game would come down to trading buckets down the stretch. However, the Kings would manage to score 37 points in the quarter compared to only 28 for the Jazz.

The Kings would win the game 116-113. It was the first win for the Kings in preseason and it had to feel good for the team. While preseason is mostly just for getting back into rhythm and playing with new teammates, you like to get a few wins under your belt going into the season.

The Kings were led in scoring by Monk who had 23 points in the game. The Jazz’s best performance came from Talen Horten-Tucker who had 26 points.  

Up Next: The Kings will travel to Utah to open the season against the Jazz on October 25th at 6 PM PST. 

Sharks Still Winless To Start Season Lose To Boston Bruins 3-1

San Jose Sharks defenseman Mario Ferraro (38) scrambles for the puck as the Boston Bruins left wing Brad Marchand (63) is just behind Ferraro at SAP Center in San Jose on Thu Oct 19, 2023 (AP News photo)

Thursday, October 19th, 2023

By Troy Ewers

San Jose, CA – The first four games for the San Jose Sharks have been against the current division leaders. Vegas, Colorado, Carolina, and now Boston. Described to some as the toughest beginning for a Sharks season in their history based on the strength of their opponents this early in the season, each game feeling harder than the last.

This feeling was no different with the San Jose Sharks against the Boston Bruins in the SAP Center and the Sharks coming off a loss against Carolina where they saw six goals pass Mackenzie Blackwood, who despite the score was having a great outing against the Hurricanes.

In this game’s postgame presser, Sharks coach David Quinn made it very clear how he felt his team played, quoted saying “I didn’t like the way we played for most of the night” and also saying “It’s certainly way too soft and way too slow.” This quote brings us to tonight’s game against the Bruins where the focus was to be more physical while not committing as many penalties as they did against the Hurricanes. 

A first period where the San Jose Sharks were going shot for shot with the Bruins and both goalies looking like the heroes this early in the night until Brad Marchand scored his first goal of the season in a shot that surprised the crowd when they saw the puck pass Kaapo Kahkonen. 1-0 Boston.

The second goal for Boston came so quickly that the first goal wasn’t even announced over the PA yet, but 19 seconds after the first goal James Van Riemsdyk scores by pushing a puck in that fans and even some Sharks thought was a frozen puck, but after further review it was a goal, 2-0 Bruins.

After this second goal an overwhelming number of Boston fans started chanting “Let’s Go Bruins” which then was followed by Sharks fans booing the chant from the opposing Boston faithful and then the first period ended with home fans feeling like they were in Boston after the SAP Center erupted for the Bruins.

The second period for Sharks fans can be classified as one word: embarrassing. A whole period went by and after 16:46 the reason the sold out crowd of 17,562 Sharks fans would deem the second period embarrassing would occur.

David Pastrnak went on the attack and bad defense caused Pastrnak to fall ad on the way down, he still accidentally knocked in the puck off of Kaapo’s skate and cheers from Boston fans overshadowed the boos from the Sharks fans and the rest of the second period was a blur for the fans in teal as they were witnessing a 3-0 score going into the third period and it was further proof of this season being the “toughest beginning of a season” ever for San Jose. 

A sign of hope for San Jose came from the high profile offseason signing, Anthony Duclair and he got the goal after leading an attack and on attempted pass to Tomas Hertl, the puck bounces off a Bruins defender and in the goal for Duclair’s first goal as a Shark and San Jose’s first goal of the game. 3-1.

Dueling chants between San Jose and Boston fans serenaded the arena as the third period continued. The Sharks emptied the net to hopefully even out the score, but the deficit was too great as the Boston Bruins celebrated a win on away that felt like a home game for them. 

The Sharks since the start of the last season are now 8-25-12 and this record at home speaks to why this game in particular didn’t feel like the Shark tank advantage that Sharks fans grew up with. With no wins in the first four games of this season showcase the start of a long and grueling season for this team on a rebuild, but the positive in this game is the fact that Duclair got his first goal as a Shark and that should be a silver lining for a dark cloud on the current state of the teal.

The Sharks open a five game road trip in hopes of turning it around. The Sharks start the trip against the Nashville Predators this Sat Oct 21 for a 5:00pm PT puck drop.

That’s Amaury News and Commentary: A Star is Born in 2023 and it is Esteury Ruiz

Oakland A’s Esteury Ruiz heads home after hitting a two run homer off the Detroit Tigers on Sep 23, 2023 at the Oakland Coliseum. Ruiz led the American League with 67 stolen bases in the 2023 season. (AP News photo)

A Star is Born in 2023 and it is  Esteury Ruíz

That’s Amaury News and Commentary

by Amaury Pi Gonzalez

The Oakland A’s rookie, Esteury Ruíz stole a rookie record 67 bases this past season, born in Azua, a town of over 120,000 people west of the capital of the Dominican Republic, Santo Domingo, 100 kilometers – 62 miles away.

Numerous players were born in Azua, including the Miami Marlins Sandy Alcántara who in 2022 unanimously won the Cy Young Award in the National League. The 24-year-old rookie was tutored by Major League Baseball Rickey Henderson, the undisputed stolen base king of all time.

The stolen base record for a rookie established by Ruíz this past season is the new major league record. The record of 66 was previously held by Kenny Lofton, in 1992 with the Cleveland Indians (that was the name of that team, today the Cleveland Guardians).

Esteury Ruíz established the new MLB record for a rookie in stolen bases during his 132nd game of the season. It was in Anaheim, with two games left in the 2023 season, a sunny Sunday when in the third inning the Dominican kid broke the Lofton record, stealing his 67 base of the season.

The rookie will never forget this 2023 season “nunca se me olvidará este año” trans- “I will never forget this year”. Yet, he knows he needs to exhibit more patience at the plate, as he only walked 20 times in 449 plate appearances.

It is unfair to compare this kid with Rickey Henderson, because one season doesn’t makes a career. However, not a power hitter, Ruíz has many other good tools, like his defensive play in center field, just one season after the A’s had another young kid playing that position, Christian Pache, now playing with the best team in the National League, the Philadelphia Phillies, probably on his way to the World Series.

Esteury Ruíz, who mostly hits in the lead-off position or last in the lineup is a good kid, enjoys the game, works hard and loves, I mean loves, to run the bases. He also knows there is only one Rickey, Because there is nobody like Rickey: In 1982 Rickey Henderson stole 130 bases, the current one-season record, then also became the first and only three time over 100 stolen bases per-year-player in history, in 1980-82-83, ending with 1,406 stolen bases, also the current record in history.

2023 a good year to steal? Yes. The bases are slightly larger, the pitchers are limited in how often they can throw over to first base, Second base is where the majority of the bases are stolen, it is “donde está la acción” trans- “where the action is”.

This 2023 season stolen bases were at an all time high 81% success rate. And Ruíz did his part, Felicidades Esteury!. Quote: I was stealing all the bases, and when you had to go to arbitration they say, “You know, only the big boys make the money “So I got to try and figure out how to hit a Home-run too”. -Rickey Henderson.

Join Amaury Pi Gonzalez for That’s Amaury News and Commentary podcasts and commentaries at http://www.sportsradioservice.com