Month: February 2025

Cardinal Grounded the Eagles 78-60 inside Maples; Raynaud School’s Double-Double King

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Stanford Cardinal forward Chisom Okpara (10) takes a jump shot against the Boston College Eagles at Maples Pavilion in Palo Alto on Wed Feb 26, 2025 (Stanford X photo)

By Michael Roberson

STANFORD. Calif. — Maxime Raynaud’s record breaking 21st Double-Double helped his Stanford Cardinal (18-10, 10-7 ACC) preserve Palo Alto as a NO-FLY Zone for the visiting Boston College Eagles (12-16, 4-13 ACC) 78-60, while maintaining their home-court conference dominance (8-1) on the Farm..

Raynaud was on a mission right away from the scoring side of his game.  He not only converted the first bucket of the game, but the initial seven points for the Cardinal.  He was on fire from beyond the Arc, and making hook shots from either hand.

Stanford’s defense was also steller and sturdy as their mascot (Tree).  They held their Massachusetts opponent to a putrid 27% from the field, and 18% from threeland, in the first 20 minutes of gameplay.  The Cardinal, on the other hand, shot 54% & 46% respectively for the home squad.

When the recess horn went off, the Cardinal held their largest lead of 18 points, 37-19.  This was assisted with an 8-0 run and controlling the clock, by leading for more than 18 minutes (90%) of the first stanza,

Raynaud led all players with 16 points, and was the lone player in double figures.  However, he had a low count of rebounds (3), possibly interrupting his chance to eclipse school history.  Junior guard Dion Brown led the Eagles in scoring with a mild five points.

In the second half, Stanford scratched first again with a Jaylin Blakes bucket.  That immediately put the Cardinal up by 20 points.  By the end of the conference battle, Stanford increased their advantage to as high as 27 points, but settled for an 18-point victory (78-60), after 40 minutes of regulation action.  This was also the same margin at halftime.

Boston College shot an impressive 50% from the field in the second half, while hitting a sizzling 56% from behind the 3-point line.  They equaled the Cardinal in points production (41) in the last half; however, being down by 18 midway through the contest, that effort will keep you in the same hole, down by 18 after 20 minutes.

Several players joined Raynaud in the double-figures stratosphere, including three of his teammates.  Maxime totaled 23 points, and grabbed 10 rebounds (7 in 2nd Half), placing him on top of the Cardinal’s list of double-doubles in a single season. Twenty-One D-D’s surpasses Stanford legend Adam Keefe, with several games still left in the season’

Oziyah Sellers (18), Chisom Okpara (15) and Jaylin Blakes all joined their Senior record-breaker in double-digit scoring.  As for Boston College, two players reached that plateau.  Senior Chad Venning led the Eagles with 13 points, while his fellow senior teammate Roger McFarlane chipped in 11 points of his own efforts.

The Cardinal will next be in action, Saturday, March 1, as they host the Southern Methodist Mustangs at 2:00 P M PT on the ACC Network.  Boston College heads across the Bay on the same date to take on Cal at 7:00 PM PT on ESPN2/U.

Kings Beat Jazz Despite Utah Challenge 118-101

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Sacramento Kings guard Zack LaVine (8) scored 22 points against the Utah Jazz at the Delta Center on Wed Feb 26, 2025 (Sacramento Kings X photo)

By Barbara Mason

The Sacramento Kings (30-28) won their second game in a row beating the Utah Jazz (14-44) 118-101. After Monday night’s demolition of the Hornets, the Kings Keegan Murray had the hot hand tonight scoring 26 points, the game high.

Zach LaVine who had scored 42 points in their win over the Hornets Monday had another nice game scoring 22 points. DeMar DeRozan finished the game with 19 points. The Kings hit 15 triples and for a second game in a row, Domantas Sabonis did not finish with a double double. He came close with nine rebounds and 12 points. Malik Monk had 11 points and also had nine rebounds.

Game recap: The first quarter came to an end with the game all knotted up at 22. Sacramento had a very slow start in the first 12 minutes of play lacking the energy that we so often see from them.

The Kings had a more productive second quarter outscoring the Jazz 33-24 and taking a 55-46 lead into the half. Despite the lead there was not a lot of high caliber fireworks from Sacramento. They would be looking to pump it up in the second half.

The Jazz continued to hang around in the third quarter and at 7:45 the Kings were clinging to a one-point lead 60-59. Sacramento was having an awful third quarter giving the Jazz a lot of opportunity to do some damage.

Utah was just unable to take the advantage thrown their way. The Kings had an 18-5 run in the quarter to put an end to a Utah comeback. The Kings took a 14 point lead into the fourth quarter 83-69.

For a second night in a row, Sabonis was quiet with eight rebounds and eight points. Murray had the team high through three quarters with 20 points. Sacramento was looking for a strong fourth quarter to put this game away.

The Kings were on their way to another game with significant turnovers going into the final quarter with 14. It had been a very frustrating night for the Utah Jazz as they struggled with missed shots at the line and a string of air balls throughout the first three quarters.

Sacramento cranked it into high gear in the fourth quarter taking a 102-80 lead at 7:37. It took them three quarters to find their stride but they had it all going mid-way through the final quarter. The Kings were getting some solid production off their bench from Jonas Valanciunas and Keon Ellis.

The Jazz refused to throw in the towel however, cutting the Kings 22 point to 13 points 104-91 with 5:34 left in the game. Sacramento pushed right back taking a 112-91 lead as time was running out for Utah.

With under three minutes left in the game, the Kings took a time out when the Jazz again threatened a run. Sacramento extended their lead and with under a minute left in the game it was a done deal with the Kings leading 116-99. The final was 118-101.

Sacramento had their hands full in the first half of this game. At times the Jazz really challenged but they were unable to sustain that in the fourth quarter. Every starter for the Kings had double figures.

Murray had a great game finishing with 26 points, the game high, and six rebounds. Lavine had 22 points, eight rebounds and DeRozan with 19 points and six rebounds. The Kings were really zoned in defensively in the fourth quarter; they just had a very slow first quarter to start the game.

Again Sacramento had high numbers when it came to turnovers with 16 something they have to address as they head into Houston to take on the Rockets.

The high for the Jazz was Walker Kessler, the 23 yr-old who shows a lot of promise. He had 25 points. KJ Martin finished the game with 16 points but not much else was going on for Utah. Their bench finished with 37 points more than double the Kings bench. More Jazz bench players took the court than Sacramento’s.

Game notes: Wednesday night, the Kings began a four-game road trip, their first stop in Salt Lake City taking on the Jazz. The Kings came into this game after demolishing the Hornets Monday night at Golden 1 Center by the score of 130-88.

Zach LaVine was on fire for that game scoring 42 points. The Jazz are another sub-par team that has struggled mightily this season losing to the Trail Blazers Monday night by two points 114-112. They came close to a win but could not pull the game out suffering yet another loss. The Kings got a second win in a row and more high caliber stuff from Zach LaVine and company.

Saturday night the Kings will take on the Houston Rockets in a much tougher contest. They will need all hands on deck for this one if they want to extend their win streak to three. Tipoff for that game is scheduled for 5:00PM.

G League Action: Kings crush Hustle 120-108 at Adventist Health Arena

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Stockton Kings guard Isaac Jones (3) takes aim for the basket against the Memphis Hustle at Adventist Health Arena in Stockton on Wed Feb 26, 2025 (Stockton Kings X photo)

By William Espy

STOCKTON–The Stockton Kings were back at Adventist Health Arena for the first and only time in the month of February, as they hosted the Memphis Hustle in a matinee matchup on Wednesday. The Kings got the best of the Hustle with a convincing 120-108 win.

The Kings got out to a dominant start, leading the Hustle by double digits at the end of the first quarter, making it 38-27 after 12 minutes. They continued their offensive dominance in the second quarter as well, scoring 40 points while only allowing the Hustle to get 29 of their own.

At halftime, Stockton had a commanding 78-56 lead and seemed to be on a clear path to victory. The Hustle didn’t stop fighting though. While they weren’t able to reduce the gap by much in the third quarter, Memphis did outscore the Kings by three points, cutting the lead to 19 with 12 minutes remaining in the game. The Hustle closed the game out with another strong quarter, but it was too little too late as the Kings walked away with a victory on their home court.

The Sacramento Kings’ top prospect Devin Carter had a phenomenal outing for Stockton, scoring a career-high 34 points while also grabbing nine rebounds. Isaac Jones scored 24 of his own, and also made an impact with rebounding, picking up eight boards as well.

The Hustle were led by Armando Bacot, who scored 22 points and 11 rebounds however the most impressive performance was Yuki Kawamura who had a game-leading 16 assists on the night.

Efficiency was the main difference between the two teams, as the Kings’ field goal percentage was 7% higher than that of the Hustle.

The Kings continue the homestand on Sat Mar 1 against the Sioux Falls Skyforce for a 5:00pm PT tip off at Adventist Health Arena in Stockton

MLB podcast with Michael Duca: Giants Verlander helping out younger players; Webb starting opening day; plus more news

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San Francisco Giants pitcher Justin Verlander (35) watches the pitchers throw at the Giants Cactus League park in Scottsdale AZ on Wed Feb 26, 2025 (AP News photo)

On MLB podcast with Michael Duca:

#1 Your going to spring training what are some of the things that your looking forward to at the Cactus League.

#2 Your going to be in Scottsdale the spring training home of the Giants and you’ve host the San Francisco Giants podcasts for us what are some the things that you’ll be looking for in spring training.

#3 Justin Verlander is the big name on the Giants pitching staff but there is no surprise that Logan Webb got the call for opening day starter.

#4 Verlander will be helping out the young pitcher Yoda he will be. He’s already help Hayden Birdsong moving from one side of the rubber to the other.

#5 Mike Trout connected for a spring training home run on Wednesday it was his first home run in ten months and he’s recovered from his back problems and hopes to be swinging the bats for the Los Angeles Angels for 2025.

#6 Michael, talk about Anthony Rendon he’s expected in camp for the Angels and has had suffered injuries keeping him out of the line up at times over the last two seasons.

#7 The Dodgers owe eight players $1 billion did the Dodgers get into the red with the inflated payroll that they have.

#8 The salary cap has been a well talked about issue as the Collective Bargaining Agreement is up after the 2026 season it’s an issue that could trigger a players strike.

Join Michael Duca Thursdays for the MLB podcasts at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Cal Bears podcast with Morris Phillips: Cal tips off against Georgia Tech Thursday nite in the battle for seventh place

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Cal Bears guard Lulu Twidale (10) takes the ball up the floor against the Virginia Tech Hokies at Cassell Coliseum at Blacksburg Virginia on Sun Feb 23, 2025 (Cal Bears X photo)

On the Cal Bears podcast with Morris Phillips:

#1 Tough loss for Cal last Sunday at Virginia Tech a close game 87-84.

#2 The Hokies just wouldn’t bend in that crucial fourth quarter edging out the Golden Bears 23-21 was just a matter of Cal having an off night or the Hokies hit the books on Cal and studied film and were prepared?

#3 How surprising was it that the Bears who had the better record at 22-8 were turned back by a Hokies team that was 18-10. Sometimes those records just don’t matter on any given night in the NCAA.

#4 Morris hard as they tried lets take a look at some of Cal’s top scorers from Sunday’s game Marta Suarez 20 points, Ioanna Krimili 19, and Kayla Williams with 17 points talk about their efforts to try and keep up with the Hokies on Sunday.

#5 Next up for the Cal Bears the Georgia Yellow Jackets who aren’t no slouch at 21-8. The Jackets are eighth and are just one game behind Cal in the ACC for seventh place. Do you see the Bears regrouping and coming after the Jackets at Haas Pavilion on Thursday night which could be a real battle?

Join Morris Phillips for the Cal podcasts Thursdays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Golden State Warriors podcast with David Zizmor: Warriors rolling with four straight wins, face Orlando Thursday

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Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) drives on the Charlotte Hornets guard Josh Green (10) in the first half at Chase Center in San Francisco on Tue Feb 25, 2025 (AP News photo)

Golden State Warriors podcast with David Zizmor:

#1 David, the contest wasn’t even close Tuesday night as the Golden State Warriors defeated the Charlotte Hornets by a wide margin 128-92 at the Chase Center in San Francisco.

#2 The Warriors got had six players in double figures with Buddy Hield leading in scoring with 16 points. The scoresheet reflected that the ball was distributed evenly and given the Hornets struggles the Warriors were able to do practically what they wanted to do against the Hornets defense.

#3 The Warriors face the Orlando Magic Thursday in Orlando. The Magic are seventh in the Eastern Conference and have won five of their last ten games. The Warriors are eighth in the Western Conference and have won four in a row and are closing in on the final sixth playoff spot.

David Zizmor does the Warriors podcasts each Wednesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Utah HC Posts Third Consecutive Home Win With 2-1 Victory Over Chicago

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Utah Hockey Club left wing Lawson Crouse (67) takes the puck up ice against the Chicago Blackhawks at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Tue Feb 25, 2025 (AP News photo)

By Tom Walker

SALT LAKE CITY–Clayton Keller and Lawson Crouse each found the back of the net, and Karel Vejmelka stopped 21 of 22 shots, as Utah nails down third consecutive home win.

Coming off of a 2-1 home victory against the Vancouver Canucks on Sunday, Utah HC returned to the ice on Tuesday to square off against the Chicago Blackhawks, whom they defeated 5-2 on opening night in October.

Prior to the puck drop, local recording artist Yahosh Bonner, fresh off of starring in the lead role of Coalhouse Walker Jr. in the musical “Ragtime!,” the inaugural production at The Ruth and Nathan Hale Theater in Pleasant Grove, set the tone for the game with his powerful performance of the national anthem.

At 12:47 of the first period, Utah forward Kevin Stenlund went to the penalty box for holding against Connor Bedard to give Chicago its first power play of the evening. Blackhawks defenseman Seth Jones converted the man advantage on a snap shot for his 7th goal of the season, assisted by Ryan Donato and Teuvo Teravainen, as Chicago took a 1-0 lead into the locker room.

Chicago goaltender Arvid Soderblom was stingy in net for the first two periods, but with 44 seconds remaining in the second, Utah captain Clayton Keller found the back of the net to tie things up with his 21st goal of the season, assisted by Michael Kesselring and Logan Cooley.

Kesselring’s assist was his 17th of the season establishing his new single-season high. Last season he registered 16 assists in 65 games for the Phoenix Coyotes. Cooley’s assist gave him at least one point in each of Utah’s last 8 home games.

Utah forward Lawson Crouse gave his squad the lead at 12:12 of the third period with a backhand shot, his 9th goal of the season, assisted by Josh Doan and Olli Määttä. The goal turned out to be the game-winner, Crouse’s second of the season, matching his 2023-2024 total. Crouse also scored against the Blackhawks on opening night.

Chicago put heavy pressure on Utah in the closing minutes of the game with their goaltender pulled, but Karel Vejmelka stood tall to protect the victory. Vejmelka has now won 3 games in a row, allowing just 4 goals during that span for a 1.40 GAA and .942 save percentage.

In the locker room, Lawson Crouse talked about how his team has been handling pressure recently. “As our identity progresses forward, we keep taking steps in the right direction. It’s a lot of fun when we play this way. Everyone is on board.

Everyone that’s contributing and creating team success pushes everyone to be the best they can possibly be.” Describing his game-winning goal, Lawson added, “We attacked as a unit, and Doaner made a great play to find me in the middle. There was a lot of open ice, and I think the key player on that play was McBain just being at the net, and that allowed me to have that extra second to get the shot off.”

Captain Clayton Keller, Tuesday night’s other scorer, talked about his squad’s perseverance. “It’s huge. We didn’t have our best stuff to start the game, but we stuck with it. They played hard. They made us work for everything. It’s good to get the win there.

It was a tight game all the way through, so a huge win for us.” Talking about Crouse’s goal, Keller said, “It’s huge. He’s such a great teammate. He’s scoring, not scoring, and has been through the ups and downs. He’s a guy that you love being around at the rink.

Just a great teammate. Anytime another guy has success, it’s awesome.” When asked about holding onto the lead for the final eight minutes, Keller added, “Just keep playing our game. Keep going. I think we’ve taken strides in learning from previous mistakes when we’ve had the lead. Playing a little bit more loose. That’s part of the way that we kind of stuck with it. We had a lot of possession and chances in the third there.”

Head coach André Tourigny was happy with his team’s consecutive home win and offered particular praise for the play of Crouse. “He’s playing with more conviction. He has less doubt in his head, he plays a little bit more free-minded. He shoots quickly and you can see he doesn’t overthink the game. So, I like the way he played, the pace he played with, and I think that line was excellent again tonight. Obviously, they got the big goal as well, but the pace and the key moments were really good.” With regard to the whole team, he said, “They want it. There’s a good feel on the bench right now. There’s a feel of competitiveness, there’s a feel of care, and there’s a feel of passion. I like the way it feels and the guys are all in on winning. They don’t give a damn about who, but us.”

Speaking about Vejmelka, who also won Sunday’s 2-1 contest against the Canucks, Bear noted, “He stopped the puck and that’s a good quality for a goalie. He did a really good job in both games and found a way to make the last stop. Even during 6-on-5, they had two good looks, and [Vejmelka] came up big. I like the way he plays…He was really solid [against Vancouver] and looking at this body of work since he got hurt, I think he really stepped up and has allowed us to be in the hunt.”

Summarizing the game, he concluded, “It was huge. I think we’re at the point as a team where we’re in the zone and it’s like next man up. We need to find a way to win games and I think tonight, we did a lot of good stuff, offensively and defensively. The puck was not going in and we had a little bit of a tough time to make the next play offensively in terms of execution, but we stayed with it, and I think the guys were focused. Even if the execution was not at our best, we stayed with it, and we played with confidence. We had confidence in our play without the puck and confidence if we kept pegging away and putting the puck behind and putting pucks at the net. Something will go in and it did.”

Utah will go for its fourth consecutive home win on Thursday against the Minnesota Wild. They have won five of their past seven games and trail the Calgary Flames by three points in the Western Conference Wild Card chase.

Spartans fall to Rebels 77-71, Uduje 23 pts

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San Jose State Spartans vs UNLV Rebels on Tuesday February 25th at Provident Credit Union Event Center (via sanjosestatembb/instagram)

By Madison Montez

SAN JOSE–Coming into today’s game, the last time the Spartans faced the UNLV Rebels was in Nevada on January 4th where they fell 79 to 73. UNLV is riding a 3 game win streak while San Jose is riding a one game win streak, coming off of an 82-73 win over Wyoming. Both teams will be looking to extend their streaks.

Going into the half down 53-31, there were many aspects that the Spartans could improve on to have a better and a more successful second half. Free throws was a factor in the score difference, UNLV going 5-7 and San Jose State going 0-2. The Rebels excelled in points in the paint, outscoring the Spartans 20-18. Both teams had a problem with ball control, each team with 8 turnovers. SJSU took advantage scoring 12 points in comparison of UNLV’s 4 points.

During the first half, NgaNga led the team in points (7) coming from one three and two FG’s. For the Rebels, Jaden Henley led the way with 12 points coming from one three and four FG’s. Henley also led the team in assists being 3.

The injury bug struck again with Donovan Yap.Jr leaving the first half at 4:37 and not returning.

The second half was a battle. Being down by two, the Spartans had to come out with energy and they did. They went 5-15 from the three point line and had a 35% FG percentage. The Rebels figured out their system going 3-7 from the three point line having a 48% FG percentage.

Josh Uduje led the team in points with 23 points in the second half alone. NgaNga led with assists (3), and also tied with Uduje for rebounds (4). For the Rebels, Jeremiah Cherry led UNLV in the second half with 10 points. Jaden Haley led the team in assists (2) and Jalen Hill led in rebounds (5).

With the win, UNLV has now extended their win streak to 4. “We have a buy weekend and the first thing I told them is to rehab. Get your bodies right.” Said HC Tim Miles

The Spartans will be back in action on March 4th traveling to Colorado State to take on the Rams. Previous to this, these two teams faced off on New Years Eve, falling 72-50 at home.

That’s Amaury News and Commentary podcast: Sounds unusual and strange as A’s no longer use Oakland moniker for first time since 1968

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Sacramento A’s catcher Shea Langeliers sporting a Rickey Henderson T shirt at Surprise Stadium in Surprise AZ before their game against the Kansas City Royals on Mon Feb 24, 2025 (Sacramento A’s X photo)

On That’s Amaury News and Commentary podcast:

#1 Amaury the Sacramento A’s open this first week at spring training in Mesa for the first time since 1968 without the Oakland moniker while it was expected it still sounds and feels very strange to those are following the A’s in Oakland and those who are following the club in Sacramento.

#2 Amaury, talk about the talk in spring training that baseball is moving down the list as a sport that no longer one of the most popular sports in America. That it’s viewership and interest has fallen and it might fall even worse now that MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred and ESPN are no longer working together.

#3 Amaury, matter of fact when you go to ESPN’s headline banner on the main page of their website MLB no longer appears as one of the major sports in the banner. It now just shows NFL, NBA, NHL, NCAAM, and More Sports you have to now hunt for MLB on the banner. MLB is buried on the main page banner and ESPN barley mentions MLB in it’s news reports through it’s programming.

#4 How much responsibility does Manfred hold since he has two MLB teams playing in minor league parks for the 2025 regular season, the Tampa Bay Rays are going up for sale and they might move to Orlando, the A’s will not play any post season games in their interim park in Sacramento but at a neutral site if they make to the playoffs, the players are not happy that Manfred is using the robo umpire and they prefer the human umpire, and baseball could move to a salary cap after the 2026 season something the players oppose and could trigger a players strike.

#5 Just how confident are the San Francisco Giants in starting a 42 year old Justin Verlander and how successful will Verlander be in helping the Giants contend. There are those who say Verlander who suffered neck and shoulder pain last season at best could be a ten game winner. Some other critics say that Verlander is washed up.

Amaury Pi-Gonzalez – Cuban-born Pi-González is one of the pioneers of Spanish-language baseball play-by-play in America. Began as Oakland A’s Spanish-language voice in 1977 ending in 2024 (interrupted by stops with the Giants, Mariners and Angels). Voice of the Golden State Warriors from 1992 through 1998. 2010 inducted in the Bay Area Radio Hall of fame

Sacramento Kings podcast Tony Renteria: Kings can make it two straight wins; Take on Jazz in Utah on $2 night Wed at the Delta Center

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The Charlotte Hornets forward Moussa Diabate (14) attempts to shoot over the Sacramento Kings center Jonas Valanciunas (right) in first half action at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento on Mon Feb 24, 2025 (AP News photo)

On the Sacramento Kings podcast with Tony Renteria:

#1 Sacramento Kings Zach LaVine scored 42 points for his best game since joining Sacramento on Monday night at Golden 1 to head lead the Kings to a 130-88 win against the Charlotte Hornets.

#2 Lavine scored eight 3 pointers and had made 16 baskets out of 19 in the Kings first home floor victory against the Hornets since 2021. LaVine also scored in double figures in all of his eight games for Sacramento.

#3 DeMar DeRozan scored 18 points with seven rebounds as the Kings improved their overall record to 29-28. Malik Monk had 13 points, Keegan Murray had ten points and Domantas Sabonis had seven points with ten reounds and seven assists.

#4 For the Hornets Miles Bridges had 23 points. LeMelo Ball and Nick Smith Jr scored 13 points each. Jusuf Nurkic and Moussa Diabate scored 12 points each as the Hornets once again go down loosing 12 of their last 14 games.

#5 The Kings travel to Utah to take on the Jazz at the Delta Center on Wed Feb 26th for a 7:00pm PST on $2 night for fans attending. The Jazz sit in dead last in the Western Conference with a 14-43 record. The Kings are tenth in the Conference and are 14-14 on the road.

Tony Renteria does the Sacramento Kings podcasts each Tuesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com