Sharks Fall 3-2 in OT, Vlasic Scores Third Game in a Row

The San Jose Sharks center Nico Sturm (7) gets to the door step but can’t score on Anaheim Ducks goaltender Josh Gibson (36) in the second period at the Honda Center in Anaheim on Wed Jan 31, 2024 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks were defeated in overtime 3-2 by the Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday at the Honda Center in Anaheim. Isac Lundestrom, Troy Terry and Frank Vatrano scored for the Ducks. John Gibson made 26 saves for the win. Anthony Duclair and Marc-Edouard Vlasic scored for the Sharks. Kaapo Kahkonen made 31 saves in the loss.

The Sharks had a lead through most of the game. To lose after that had to be frustrating. After the game, Sharks Captain Logan Couture said “I thought we were the better team for a lot of the game but third period they kind of took over. They had a lot of looks, we looked tired at the end there.”

Sharks Head Coach David Quinn said that the team is playing well now, despite this loss: “The one thing that you feel good about right now is how we’re playing now and our compete and we’re not giving up a lot of goals and just overall playing better hockey.”

Anaheim celebrated as if they had scored at 1:58 of the first period. But the whistle had blown and the puck only went into the net as Kahkonen was pushed in as well.

Less than 20 seconds later, the Ducks did score. Isac Lundestrom slipped behind the defense and scored with a wrist shot at 2:12. Assists went to Mason McTavish and Jakob Silfverberg

Anthony Duclair tied the game with a power play goal at 6:59. Shakir Mukhamadullin took a slap shot from the blue line and Duclair caught the rebound. Assists went to Mukhamadullin and Mike Hoffman. That was Mukhamadullin’s first NHL point in his third game.

Marc-Edouard Vlasic scored from the blue line with a slap shot at 17:57 of the second. Assists went to Kyle Burroughs and William Eklund. The goal extended Vlasic’s goal streak to three games.

With the Ducks net empty, Troy Terry tied the game at 18:59 of the third period. With a scrum in front of the net, Terry found the puck and put it in. Assists went to Leo Carlsson and Adam Henrique.

Frank Vatrano scored the overtime winner 4:07 into overtime. His wrist shot went past Kahkonen’s blocker as the goaltender tried moved across the goal mouth.

The Sharks were out-shot 34-28 by the Ducks. In the face-off circle, they won 45.5% of the draws. Alexander Barabanov was injured half way through the game. After the game, Quinn said that he did not believe the injury was “too serious.”

The Sharks next play on February 14 at 4:30 PM PT in Winnipeg against the Jets.

Headline Sports podcast with Jessica Kwong: Taylor Swift, Travis Kelce, Chiefs and political conspiracy theories; Cowboys owner Jones says he can work with Belichick; plus more news

Kansas City Chiefs Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift walk out of Arrowhead Stadium Dec 25, 2023 after playing the Las Vegas Raiders. The Chiefs are in the Super Bowl with the San Francisco 49ers for Sun Feb 11, 2024 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas (Kansas City Star file photo)

On Headline Sports with Jessica:

#1 As soon as the Kansas City Chiefs won the AFC Championship over the Baltimore Ravens right wing leaders have said that liberals put Taylor Swift, Travis Kelce and the Chiefs in the Super Bowl. That liberals paid off the Chiefs opponents to make the Super Bowl and having the Chiefs in the Big Game would benefit the liberals and President Biden and that Chiefs opponents would be paid off with cabinet positions in the next Biden Administration. How far does some of the right wing go with some of these ideas?

#2 Jessica, former New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick the way things are looking will not be a head coach in the NFL for the 2024 season. It’s 2025 that he could get a call from the owner of the Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones if current head coach Mike McCarthy doesn’t work out. Jones said “I know him personally and I like him,” Jones said in an interview with Yahoo Sports. “There’s no doubt in my mind we could work together. None.”

#3 The Minnesota Timberwolves Anthony Edwards was hit with a $40,000 fine for comments made against the officiating after the Timberwolves defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday. Edwards said that the officials were “bad” and “terrible” for over looking fouls that should have sent him to the free throw line.

#4 The Baltimore Ravens kicker Justin Tucker was accused of “poking the bear” when he left his helmet, kicking tee, footballs and equipment where Kansas City City Chiefs quarterback Pat Mahomes warms up. Kelce said if Tucker wasn’t going to move his equipment he would be happy to move it for him, with Mahomes throwing the kicking tee and Kelce kicking the footballs. Tucker was winking at Kelce and Mahomes saying it was a joke. Kelce said they weren’t in a joking mood and the Chiefs just wanted to get after it.

#5 With Jim Harbaugh coming back to California once again to be a head coach in the NFL this time with the Los Angeles Chargers scored $16 million per year for five years worth up to $80 million. The Chargers who are noted for not breaking the bank did so with hiring Harbaugh who was the former San Francisco 49ers head coach and most recently the Michigan Wolverines.

Join Jessica for Headline Sports every other Wednesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Another Slow Start Plague Kings – Losing to Heat 115-106

The Miami Heat’s forward Jimmy Butler (22) leans in to take a shot against the Sacramento Kings forward De’Aaron Fox (5) at the Kayesa Arena in Biscayne Bay FL on Wed Jan 31, 2024 (AP News photo)

By Barbara Mason

The Sacramento Kings (27-18) got another slow start Wednesday night losing to the Miami Heat (25-23) 115-106. They were off all night. Buckets were not dropping despite good looks in virtually every quarter. The bright spots in this game were the performances of Domantas Sabonis and Keegan Murray. Sabonis had his 13th triple double and Keegan Murray had the game high with 33 points.

Game recap: Sacramento did get a better start in the opening quarter of this game but still trailed after the first 12 minutes 28-22. The Kings trailed by as much as 18 points in the second quarter but cut it to single digits in the later minutes of the half 53-45. 

Sacramento had a nice run in the second quarter trailing 59-55 at the half. They did win the quarter 33-31. Domantas Sabonis had a great second quarter scoring nine points and Keegan Murray was leading the pack with 21 points for the half. 

The Kings had put the stops on the turnovers with six in the first two quarters. Harrison Barnes had a quiet half, on court for 17 minutes and coming away empty. De’Aaron Fox also had a slow start with 5 points in the first half. 

Both teams were shooting about 47% from the field but the Kings fell short from downtown. Sacramento was 30% from long going 6 of 20 and the Heat shot for almost 60% scoring 7 of 12. 

The Kings were doing a good job keeping Bam Adebayo, Tyler Herro and Terry Rozier pretty well contained. Sacramento needed another strong second half. if they had any thoughts of winning this game. Murray was responsible for keeping Sacramento in this game at all.

The Kings really began to push the pace of the game in the second quarter erasing a significant deficit and needed to keep pushing in the second half. Sacramento’s offensive effort went a bit stale in the third quarter and they desperately needed some stops. 

With 1:35 left in the quarter the Heat had pushed their lead out to 90-80. The Heat’s Jimmy Butler had 12 points in the third quarter alone and he was presenting all sorts of problems for the Kings.

With the clock winding down, the Kings needed not only stops but buckets as well. With four minutes left in the game the Kings were looking at a ten-point deficit 103-93. The Kings would look back at key defensive mistakes in this game and triples were also hard to find with the exception of Keegan Murray who was 7 of 11. 

Sacramento has struggled defensively in the month of January and tonight the Kings did not have their best stuff by a long-shot, they were just off. The Kings dropped this one 115-106 despite some brilliant play from Sabonis and Murray. This Heat win ended a seven game losing streak for Miami.

The bright spot in this game was Murray who finished with 33 points. Sabonis had his 13th triple double and finished with 17 rebounds, 13 assists and 19 points. The team was just a step off and their rhythm was shaky. The nine turnovers were a definite improvement but they needed a whole lot more from Fox, Barnes and Monk.

Butler had the team high for the Heat with 31 points and off the bench Josh Richardson had a great game shooting for 24 points.

Post game notes: Monday night the Kings barely got past the Grizzlies before locking down the win. Tuesday night the Kings couldn’t get past the Miami Heat in an even tougher matchup. The Kings got a horrible start in their last game trailing after the first quarter 33-18. They needed a better start in Wednesday night’s game although the Kings hung with the Heat in the end the Heat finished the job.

Friday night the Kings take on the Indiana Pacers. Sacramento has to be better prepared as they continue this seven game road trip. Tipoff is scheduled for 4:30 PM. 

San Francisco 49ers/Super Bowl LVIII podcast with David Zizmor: How close will this match up be in Vegas?

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (left) and San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy (right) match up at Allegiant Stadium for Super Bowl LII on Sun Feb 11, 2024 (Getty photo)

On the San Francisco 49ers podcast with David Zizmor:

#1 The San Francisco 49ers had to come back from behind in order to defeat the Green Bay Packers and the Detroit Lions to get here. Brock Purdy had to convert six out seven passes to get the game winning score against the Packers. Purdy again had to hurry up the offense against the Lions and capitalize on Lions head coach Dan Campbell’s refusal to kick field goals and throw for a broken up touchdown.

#2 Dave talk about Purdy’s performance against the Lions he went 20-31, 267 yards, and one touchdown. He got San Francisco out of a tight jam in a come back against the Lions 24-7 at Levi Stadium to come back and win 34-31.

#3 The 49ers and Chiefs duel in Super Bowl LIII at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas this could be one for the ages how close do you see these teams matched up?

David Zizmor does the San Francisco 49ers podcasts Wednesdays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

That’s Amaury News and Commentary: Tropicana to offer Severance Pay

Secretary-Treasurer of the Culinary Workers Union Local 226 Ted Pappageorge addresses the media at the Culinary Union Hall in Las Vegas Feb 2020. Pappageorge says union workers at the Tropicana will receive a severance pay for their service when the Tropicana is torn down to make room for the Las Vegas A’s new ballpark in April 2025. (Las Vegas Review-Journal file photo)

Tropicana to offer Severance Pay

That’s Amaury News and Commentary

By Amaury Pi-González

Severance pay is granted to employees terminated by employment in cases where employees are victims of business decisions where they have no say. In the case of the Tropicana in Las Vegas is about to happen.

That is when the Tropicana Casino-Hotel closes its doors on April 2 to free the way for the A’s to build their new ballpark. According to the Union, the Tropicana employees will receive $2,000 per year they worked at the iconic Las Vegas location, and many of the senior employees could receive up to $60,000 of severance pay.

This is excellent news, especially for the seniors who will get the notice and the severance money because there is a good chance most of these people will decide to retire. “It’s a significant part of that workforce that has been working there for decades,” Secretary-Treasurer of the Culinary Workers Union Local 226 Ted Pappageorge said during a Zoom news conference earlier this week.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics data shows leisure and hospitality employment was over 302,000. Las Vegas is a destination vacation entertainment city primarily dependent on the hospitality industry for its economy.

As of October, Bureau of Labor Statistics data shows leisure and hospitality employment was over 302,000, approximately 10,000 more employees than in February 2020, and nearly 5,000 above the previous peak in 2019. It is a huge union, almost half of the total population of Las Vegas, 602,000 people.

The A’s in Las Vegas will probably have a marketing plan in association with all the Hotel Casinos. Earlier in the process of their relocation, these were strong supporters: The Nevada AAPI Chamber of Commerce and Henderson Chamber of Commerce will attract most of their attendance, coming from out-of-towners.

Also supporting the A’s move earlier in the process were the Latin Chamber of Commerce, the Las Vegas Asian Chamber of Commerce, and the Vegas Chamber of Commerce.

Note: Las Vegas, Nevada, known as the “Entertainment Capital of the World,” takes the top spot on the list of cities worldwide with the most hotel rooms. With over 150,000 hotel rooms, Las Vegas offers visitors a wide variety of accommodations. From an average of $29 per night to $100,000 suits for high rollers.

What does the saying “What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas” mean? This was created in 2003 by the Las Vegas tourism department and an ad agency.

Do not forget that what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, and what mostly stays in Vegas is your money.

Join Amaury Pi Gonzalez for That’s Amaury podcasts Tuesdays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Warriors bounce back beat 76ers 119-107; Curry leads with 37 points in win

Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid (13) is fouled by the Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green (23) as they land on the Chase Center floor in San Francisco on Tue Jan 30, 2024 (AP News photo)

Bj Jerry Feitelberg

Having lost the last two games by a single point, the Warriors rebounded to beat the Philadelphia 76ers 119-105 Tuesday night at the Chase Center.

The Sixers’ big man, Joel Embiid, the reigning NBA MVP, scored 70 points in a game last week. The Warriors’ task was to find a way to slow down Embiid. It would be challenging as the Warriors did not have Klay Thompson available to play. Thompson was under the weather. Steve Kerr had rookie Brandin Podziemski start in the backcourt with guard Stephen Curry.

The revamped Warriors lineup had Draymond Green at the center position, and the forwards were Jonathan Kuminga and Andrew Wiggins. All five Warrior starters finished in double figures. Kuminga scored 26 points and was terrific in the fourth quarter.

For Kuminga, it was his seventh game in a row with 20-plus points and his 24th straight game in double figures. Wiggins, averaging about 14 points a game, kicked in with 23. Curry led the Warriors with 37 and was magnificent in the fourth quarter.

The Sixers won the first quarter 28-23. The Warriors’ offense was sluggish in the first period. Green paced the Warrior’s in the second quarter with nine points. The Warriors were trailing 44-36 when they went on a 12-2 run to lead 48-46. The Sixers tied the game at 50-50. Kuminga made a bucket to give the Warriors a two-point lead 52-50 at the half.

The Warriors picked up the pace in the third quarter. Curry made two threes to give the Warriors a 12-point advantage, 69-57. The Warriors increased the lad to 14. The Sixers went on a 9-0 run to cut the lead to five, 80-75. Trayce Jackson-Davis and Kuminga made the last three baskets of the quarter to propel the Warriors into a nine-point lead 86-77.

The Sixers came out firing in the fourth quarter, scoring 30 points. However, they needed to find a way to stop Curry, Kuminga, and Wiggins. They failed as the Warriors outscored them by three points to win the quarter 33-30 and the game 119-107. Curry and Kuminga did most of the damage.

Game Notes: With the win, the Warriors improved to 20-24, while the Sixers fell to 29-17.

The Warriors had four starters in double figures. Curry led the team with 37 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists, connecting on eight threes in 13 tries. Wiggins followed with 23 points, five boards, and four assists. Kuminga had 26 points and seven rebounds.

Podzienski added 11 points, six rebounds, and three assists. The Warrior bench added 13 points. As a team, the W’s shot 55% from the floor. The Warriors made 14 three-point shots.

The Warriors defense held Embiid to 14 points. Embiid was five-for-18 from the floor. Embiid was saddled with five fouls and left the game with a knee injured late in the fourth quarter. Tobias Harris led the Sixers with 26 points and 10 rebounds.

Former Warrior Kelly Oubre tallied 14 points. Patrick Beverly had 12. The Sixers had two bench players record double-figures. Furkan Korkmaz, averaging 1.8 points per game, came off the bench to tally 19 points. Jaden Springer added ten in a losing cause.

The Warriors play seven of their next nine games on the road. The Warriors will be in Memphis to play the Grizzlies on Friday night.

San Jose Sharks Win In A Shutout 2-0 Game Against The Seattle Kraken; SJ’s Blackwood stops 32 shots to blank Kraken

The San Jose Sharks goaltender MacKenzie Blackwood (29) looks on as Shark defenseman Nikita Okhotiuk (83) reaches out for the puck in the second period at SAP Center in San Jose on Tue Jan 30, 2024 (AP News photo)

Tuesday, January 30th, 2024

By Troy Ewers

SAN JOSE, CA – In the “Shark Tank”, the SAP Center the San Jose Sharks host the Seattle Kraken. Logan Couture’s impact has been felt since his return, logging his first assist of the season in his first game back (Jan. 20 vs. ANA) and posting the game-deciding goal in a shootout in the following game against the Los Angeles Kings (Jan. 22).

The Sharks’ centerman lead the team in numerous categories, Hertl in scoring with 15 goals, Granlund in assists with 24 and Sturm in faceoff win percentage with 61.3% (min. 100 faceoffs). Starting in net for San Jose is Mackenzie Blackwood and for Seattle, Joey Daccord. Blackwood stopped 32 shots by the Kraken for the 2-0 shutout.

Slow first period for both teams and it was both defenses jousting for position. Shakir Mukhamadullin got a minor for tripping and even though the penalty was killed off, it came with a close call where fans and even players thought the puck crossed the line, but it was waved off as play continued.

The period was scoreless, Blackwood stopping 13 shots on goal, the Sharks only getting three shots on goal. The Kraken had as many shots on goal as the Sharks had in attempts in the first period. 0-0 at first intermission, but Sharks showed no sign of energy in the first period. 

The second period was an even slower period, but that’s because of this high defensive output from both squads. In that period the shots on goal total for both teams was ten (Seattle with six and San Jose with four) and it stayed scoreless after another 20 minutes.

Other than shot attempts where the Kraken out-shot the Sharks by double, the stats on paper seemingly were as even as they could be for this close contest. At the second intermission the score was 0-0 and now the game was a battle of composure, who can stay level headed, because each team had one penalty that was killed off, so another mistake could shake up this whole game.

The third period was the literal game changer for the Sharks. Luke Kunin and Will Borgen got into a fight early in the period and the hands they were throwing put a battery in the San Jose crowd. Almost four minutes later the Sharks took advantage of this hype crowd and the energy they gave them.

William Eklund got some oohs and ahhs from the crowd with his stick handling and it led to an opening in the Seattle defense where Marc-Edouard Vlasic (his fourth goal) was able to hit a wrist shot from the blue line, 1-0 Sharks. The goal was assisted by Ty Emberson, his eighth and William Eklund, his 14th.

The rest of the period was the Sharks holding off the Kraken and after Jan Rutta hit an empty net goal, the period ended 2-0 and the Sharks get a shutout victory and Blackwood was awarded the first star of the game.

This win for the Sharks is a big victory, their 14th win on the season, but they get less than 24 hours to enjoy this win, because they go to Anaheim to face the Ducks January 31st (tomorrow) and then it’s the All-Star break where they won’t have a game until Valentine’s Day.

The Sharks may not be in the hunt for a cup this year, but one thing is clear is they won’t go without a fight and especially against teams with winning records.

SJSU drops its fourth straight against #17 Utah State 82-61

Photo courtesy of SJSU Athletics.

By Titus Wilkinson (@TitusWisme)

San Jose kicked off their two-game road trip Tuesday taking on one of the best college basketball teams in the country Utah State.

Entering the game SJSU had quite the rough patch losing three in a row against Fresno State, New Mexico, and UNLV.

Things wouldn’t get much easier tonight having to battle the number 17-ranked Utah State on the road.

Despite the tough opponent San Jose State got off to a good start as they lead 13-7 at the 15:30 mark of the first half. This lead was mainly helped by back-to-back threes by Myron Amey Jr. and Trey Anderson.

They would hold on to that lead until 10:55 when Utah State took the lead on a three by Ian Martinez.

The first half continued to swing both ways until towards the end when the Aggies pulled away 37-30 to end the half.

The Spartans had to be somewhat happy with the first as they were hanging in with one of the better basketball teams in the country.

SJSU shot a respectable 36.7% from the field in the first half while Utah State shot an incredible 55.2%. On the flip side though the Aggies shot a dismal 16.7% from beyond the arch with SJSU doing only slightly better at 21.4%.

Once again the Spartans opened the half strong pulling only five points back from the Aggies. A sudden 12-0 run though by Utah State felt like all the home team needed to put SJSU away.

After that run things never really got close again leading Utah State to cruise to a 82-61 victory.

If there was anything in particular that doomed the Spartans it was their shooting beyond the arch as they went 5-23. Myron Amey Jr. continues to lead this team as he put up the most points tonight with 14 while also snagging seven rebounds.

On the other side of things, Great Osobor had a stellar night posting up 31 points against the Spartans and seven rebounds. Osobor also shot an outstanding 9-15 with Darius Brown II racking up five assists leading his team in that category.

Unfortunately for the Spartans, most of these losses have been coming against Mountain West teams making their hopes for the playoffs look bleak.

With this loss, they now fall to 1-7 in conference with an overall record of 8-13. Also to note is their away record where they are 1-7 which unfortunately for SJSU as stated earlier their next game is on the road.

That game will be against a somewhat more manageable team Nevada though their record is 15-4.

If you are looking to tune into that game it will be on Friday at 8 p.m. PST.

Stanford Cardinal podcast with Michael Roberson: Cardinal women host USC Friday; Cardinal men at ASU on Thursday

Stanford Cardinal forward Cameron Brink is fired up as she led the Cardinal in scoring with 25 points against the Arizona Wildcats at the McKale Memorial Center in Tucson AZ on Sun Jan 28, 2024 (Stanford Cardinal photo)

On the Stanford Cardinal basketball podcast with Michael Roberson:

#1 Ever since Stanford Cardinal head coach Tara VanDerveer picked up her 1203 career win setting an NCAA record she has coached the Cardinal to two more wins her latest was Sunday in a win over the Arizona Wildcats 96-64. The Cardinal went through the Wildcats like butter.

#2 Cameron Brink led the Cardinal in scoring with 25 points once again she was the key player on offense that kept things going for the Cardinal.

#3 The Cardinal host the USC Trojans (14-4) on Friday night. The Trojans had a pretty good run until their last four games which they lost three of them. The Trojans lost to the Washington Huskies 62-59 in Seattle. Can the Cardinal take advantage of the Trojans while their in struggle?

#4 Stanford men’s basketball (10-9); It was a close game at UC Berkeley but the Cardinal didn’t quite get the job done losing by a basket 73-71 to the Cal Bears(8-12) last Friday night at Haas Pavilion. Stanford’s Spencer Jones led with 13 points.

#5 Stanford now head to Arizona State to face the Sun Devils (11-9) Thursday night. ASU has lost four of their last five games. Stanford has won three of it’s last five games. How do you see this match up in Tempe for Thursday night.

Michael Roberson is a Stanford Cardinal beat writer for http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Jose Sharks podcast with Troy Ewers: 5th place Kraken face off with last place Sharks tonight at SAP Center

The Buffalo Sabres right wing JJ Peterka scrambles for the puck against the San Jose Sharks center Logan Couture (39) and defenseman Shakir Mukhamadulin (85) in second period action at SAP Center in San Jose on Mon Jan 29, 2024 (AP News photo)

On the SJ Sharks podcast with Troy Ewers:

#1 Troy the San Jose Sharks (13-32-4) enter tonight’s game coming off a tough 5-2 three goal loss to the Buffalo Sabres (22-23-4) last Saturday here at SAP Center . The loss snapped San Jose’s three game win streak.

#2 It was a tough game for Sharks goaltender Kaapo Kahkonen who faced 35 shots and stopped 31 and allowed four goals.

#3 The Sabres came away with 48 points to the Sharks 30 points. The Sabres JJ Peterka scored twice to help burn the Sharks. The Buffalo offense certainly was up for this game wasting no time scoring twice in the first period, once in the second period and twice again in the third period.

#4 The Sharks host the Seattle Kraken tonight here at SAP. The Kraken (21-18-10) is a young franchise and have had much success. The Sharks will have to defend against Oliver Bjorkstrand whose 40 points leads the Kraken. Once again will the Sharks goalies either Kahkonen or MacKenzie Blackwood have a challenge in contending with the Kraken offense?

#5 The Sharks are %72.2 and the Kraken are %78.5 on the penalty kill and the Sharks on the power play are 16.7% whereas the Kraken are %21.9. Taking those numbers into consideration how close of a game do you see this one being tonight?

Troy Ewers is a San Jose Sharks beat writer for http://www.sportsradioservice.com