Month: February 2025

Sacramento A’s relocation podcast with Jerry Feitelberg: Strange feeling watching A’s of Sacramento in first pre season game

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Fans watch the Sacramento A’s take on the San Diego Padres in Peoria Arizona during the first A’s game that was played since 1968 that was not by an Oakland team on Sat Feb 22, 2025 (photo LV Sports Biz)

Sacramento A’s podcast with Jerry podcast:

#1 Peoria Arizona the first game for the former Oakland Athletics now better known now as the Sacramento Athletics playing their first pre season game since leaving Oakland against the San Diego Padres it may not have sunk in yet but you can best bet there are fans who are not too happy even though it’s done deal.

#2 The A’s who are constructing a $1.75 billion, which they aim to play in in 2028 at the old Tropicana Hotel and Casino in Vegas. The A’s who play their first game of the regular season in Sacramento on Mon Mar 31st it’s gotta feel strange but A’s fans have to get used to it this is going to go on up until 2028.

#3 A’s owner John Fisher is still working out how to get some of that nearly $2 billion worth of cash for his share of the construction costs. The A’s president Sandy Dean said that the funds will come through from the Fisher family pooling their efforts together and from loans coming from Goldman Sachs and US Bank. When is the question will it happen?

#4 The grounds rules for the Las Vegas ballpark are public will own the park and the property of the park that will be transferred by the A’s to the Las Vegas Stadium Authority including $100 million in development costs before the SB1 funds are released. The public will hold $50 million until the final work on the park is completed.

#5 The A’s are heavily depending on sellouts they will depend heavily on tourists to fill the bill as they need to sell out every event at the Tropicana for the next 30 years to pay for the park. The A’s had projected that 70% of the fans coming to the park will be locals but previously said they depended on tourism.

Jerry Feitelberg filled in for Daniel Dullum who does the Sacramento A’s podcasts each Sunday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Headline Sports podcast with Charlie O: What really went on with Spurs Paul and Suns Durant jawing match; Coach Poppovich not expected to return this season for Spurs; plus more news

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Kevin Durant (35) of the Phoenix Suns and Chris Paul (3) of the San Antonio Spurs get into a jawing match during their Thu Feb 20, 2025 contest at Frost Bank Center in San Antonio (Getty photo)

On Headline Sports podcast with Charlie O:

#1 Charlie, tell us a little more about what went on when the Phoenix Suns primarily mild mannered Kevin Durant went up and gave an earful to the San Antonio Spurs Chris Paul. Also Paul pulled teammate De’Aaron Fox to get between them during the exchange. Was Paul getting a little physical or was it just frustrations coming out in last Thursday’s game?

#2 Gregg Popovich is not expected to return as head coach for the for the rest of this season. Popovich after suffering from a mile stroke in November. Things got even more difficult for the Spurs with 21 year old Vic Wembanyama out for the rest of the season suffering from blood clots in his right shoulder.

#3 The Sacramento Kings try as hard as they can just couldn’t get past the Golden State Warriors at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento on Friday night they were defeated 132-106. It was a game where the Kings just couldn’t shut down Moses Moody and former King Buddy Hield each scoring 22 points.

#4 Spring training has begun and the Sacramento A’s were clobbered in their first Cactus League game at Peoria Sports Complex in Peoria Arizona 10-3 on Saturday. The A’s scoring for the day saw Tyler Soderstrom in the top of the first with a base hit RBI scoring Lawrence Butler. Later in the game Butler hit a 423 foot sixth inning solo shot to right center. In the seventh Daniel Susac hit a sacrifice fly to center scoring Drew Avans.

#5 Some big questions were raised if baseball is dying? The answer was due to declining TV viewership and attendance. Charlie would you also chalk up in addition MLB’s rule changes and the robo umpire that’s coming and now you have two teams the A’s and Rays playing in minor league parks as reasons that fans are turning off the game?

Join Charlie O for Headline Sports podcasts each Sunday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

New look Earthquakes impress with 4-0 shutout win over Real Salt Lake in season opener

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San Jose Earthquakes wingback Jamar Ricketts is emphatic after scoring his first career MLS goal in his first career MLS start against Real Salt Lake at Pay Pal Park on Saturday FEB 22, 2025. (San Jose Earthquakes)

by Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE — The San Jose Earthquakes are out to prove the critics wrong in 2025.

San Jose scored three goals in the second half to route Real Salt Lake 4-0 in the season and home opener on Saturday evening at Pay Pal Park.

San Jose started out the season with a win for the for first time since 2018 and first home opener win since 2021. Real Salt Lake has lost to San Jose three out of its last four matches.

“It means a lot, it means a lot to us,” said Quakes midfielder Cristian Espinoza on the team snapping the losing streak to start the new season. “We’re coming off a really tough year last year. We worked really hard in the preseason to be at this level in this first game. To be honest, I’m really happy because of the performance of the team. I personally want to go and congratulate my teammates because they made a really big effort tonight.”

It was a beginning of a new era of Quakes soccer with the coaching debut of head coach Bruce Arena, who brings a winning pedigree with having had success with Los Angeles as well as the debuts of newly acquired strikers Josef Martinez and Cristian “Chicho” Arango, both proven goal scorers throughout their MLS careers.

San Jose (1-0-0) drew first blood in the 28th minute for the game’s first goal. Beau Leroux dribbled in from the right wing before centering the ball into the middle of the box. Midfielder Jamar Ricketts, who made his first career MLS start, one-timed the ball between two Real Salt Lake defenders into the back corner of the net past goalkeeper Rafael Barbosa for his first career MLS goal. Ricketts was San Jose’s first round draft pick last year in the MLS Super Draft taken 13th overall.

“Playing wingback, you gotta be up and down the field,” said Ricketts regarding his goal. “But as I seen the ball, seen Beau (Leroux) travelling inside the box, I knew I had to crash the back post and be aggressive. So, once I seen the ball come across, I was like, I gotta be the first to win the ball. And that’s how I got my foot on it.”

Leroux, who signed a first-team contract just yesterday, dished his first MLS assist. He was  not only making his first MLS start for the Quakes but also his MLS debut. A San Jose native, Leroux scored five goals last season for the Quakes’ MLS NEXT Pro team, The Town FC.

The Earthquakes had a chance to double its lead in the 38th minute when Ricketts centered a ball into the box for Arango but Chicho’s shot attempt sailed high over the net.

Sunnyvale, Calif. native Diego Luna led the attack for Real Salt Lake (0-1-0) in the opening 45 minutes. He had three shot attempts but all sailed wide right of the net. RSL registered its first shot on goal in the fourth minute of stoppage time. Tyler Wolff’s free kick was deflected off of the wall of San Jose defenders from just outside the box. The rebound leaked out to Alexandros Katranisa who fired a shot on target that Quakes goalkeeper Daniel jumped high in the air to deflect the ball over the net.

San Jose had a goal disallowed in the 51st minute after Cristian Espinoza chipped the ball past a RSL defender and centered a ball out to Arango who shot the ball into the back of the net. The sideline judge deemed Espinoza was offsides wiping out the goal.

Real Salt Lake had chances to score the equalizer from Pablo Ruiz and Nelson Palacio in the 63rd and 64th minutes but Daniel stoned away the three total attempts on net.

“We made some mistakes we have to get better at, but the nice part about this team is when we started to rebuild our roster, we wanted the team in place all preseason, instead of bringing in guys this week or last week, two weeks from now. So, we’ve had a month to try to become a team,” Arena said.

The Quakes doubled their lead on its first set piece of the season. Espinoza’s free kick sailed into the middle of the box and Rodriguez headed the ball over the outstretched arms of Barbosa into the back of the net for his first goal of the season.

San Jose scored its third unanswered goal four minutes later. On a counterattack, Espinoza sent in a long ball from just beyond midfield into the center of the box. Justen Glad misplayed the ball out of the air and Ousseni Bouda, who came into the game as a substitute in the 67th minute, collected the ball and calmly kicked the ball past Barbosa for his first goal of the season.

Left back Vitor Costa closed out the scoring for San Jose in the 83rd minute when he finished off a centering pass from Mark-Anthony Kaye as the Earthquakes kept their foot on the gas pedal in the onslaught.

Daniel finished the match stopping all seven shots he faced to earn his first clean sheet of the season and also his seventh career shutout in MLS play. Barbosa made five saves on nine shots on target in the losing effort.

GAME NOTES: San Jose finished with six corner kicks. Real Salt Lake had five.

The 4-0 final margin is the Quakes’ largest victory in a season opener in club history.

Espinoza’s three assists marked his 10th career multi-assist game in MLS play, giving him 74 total helpers to extend his career club record.

Espinoza extended his run of consecutive MLS regular-season games played tonight to a current league-high of 110 (Oct. 2, 2021 – present). The streak is not only a Quakes record but now fifth longest in MLS history and second among all field players in MLS history, passing Darlington Nagbe (May 1, 2021 – Apr. 6, 2024). Goalkeeper Luis Robles holds the league record with 183 straight appearances (Sept. 29, 2012 – May 12, 2018).

San Jose is 18-15-12 in the all-time series verses Real Salt Lake.

UP NEXT: San Jose travels out to the Midwest to take on Sporting KC on Saturday 3/1 at Children’s Mercy Park.

Barracuda snap Reign’s 4 game win streak, winning 3-1

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San Jose Barracuda vs Ontario Reign on Saturday February 22nd at Toyota Arena (via sjbarracuda/x)

By Madison Montez

San Jose got back in the win column following a 2 game losing streak, dropping games against San Diego and Ontario on Saturday with a 3-1 win at Pechanga Arena in San Diego. In Wednesday’s game, the Barracuda erased a three goal deficit in the third period only to lose 6-4. For Saturday’s game, head coach John McCarthy’s key to the game was to “lock in right away.”

After a quiet first period, San Jose opened up the scoring at 4:45 of the second. After a board battle at the blue line won by Andrew Poturalski, Thomas Bordeleau scoring his 11th of the season. Poturalski and Ethan Cardwell registering the assists.

Picking up his own rebound, Ethan Cardwell scored his seventh goal of the season to extend San Jose’s lead to 2.

As the result of forcing a turnover, Mitchell Russell scored his first goal of the season, Rem Pitlick registering the assists. Russell with his second in his AHL career, spending most of the season with the ECHL affiliate the Wichita Thunder.

With under 30 seconds left in the game, Ontario avoids the shutout. Martim Chromiak scoring his 5th PPG of the season. Reily Walsh and Charles Hudon registering the assists.

THREE STARS OF THE GAME:

  • 1. Gabriel Carriere, 23 SVS
  • 2. Ethan Cardwell, 1G, 1A
  • 3. Thomas Bordeleau, 1G

The Barracuda will be back in action Sunday against the Coachella Valley FireBirds. The last time these two teams faced off was a month ago on January 22nd where the Barracuda won at home in a shootout. San Jose will be looking to continue their win streak against Coachella for the whole season.

Kings in Freefall: Warriors Dominate in 132–106 Rout

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Kings guard Markelle Fultz enters the arena prior to Friday nights action (Photo: Sacramento Kings on X)

By Jeremiah Salmonson

The NBA All-Star weekend and the trade deadline are now behind us, and the final stretch of the NBA season began on Friday night as the Sacramento Kings returned to action. The Kings hosted the Golden State Warriors at Golden 1 Center at 7 PM PST. Coming off a much-needed break to recharge and practice for the first time since incorporating several new pieces into their rotation, the Kings looked to build momentum. Meanwhile, the Warriors entered the game with newfound optimism for the season following the acquisition of Jimmy Butler prior to the trade deadline. Both teams entered the game with a record of 28–27, occupying 9th and 10th places respectively within the Western Conference standings.

In the first quarter, the Kings were outplayed and out-hustled. They allowed the Warriors to secure seven offensive rebounds while committing seven turnovers. Nonetheless, the bright spot for the Kings was DeMar DeRozan, who scored 15 points in the opening frame.

In the second quarter, the Kings experienced a meltdown. They surrendered 37 points to the Warriors, which initiated a downward spiral. Despite DeMar DeRozan contributing 24 points in the first half, the Kings simply couldn’t guard the broad side of a barn, and they went into halftime trailing 68–53.

In the third quarter, the pattern persisted. The Kings mounted an early run to cut the deficit to eight points; however, the Warriors subsequently expanded their lead to 17 by the end of the quarter. By that point, Brandin Podziemski led the Warriors with 21 points, while DeMar DeRozan continued to lead the Kings with 28 points.

In the final quarter, the Kings collapsed with a faint whimper. They were outscored 32–23 in the final 12 minutes, marking their second consecutive loss. The Kings ultimately fell to the Warriors 132–106 on Friday night. During the break they failed to address any of the issues observed during the game post trade deadline. The team appears to be in freefall; their offense remains choppy and stagnant, lacking any discernible rhythm. It remains unclear how they will move forward, and the outlook for both the team and the franchise appears grim.

Following the game, Doug Christie addressed the media more than an hour later. He was unambiguous in his remarks, stating, “Completely unacceptable.”

San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa: Sharks try to rebound after rough first half against Flames Sunday

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San Jose Sharks goaltender Yaroslav Askarov (30) makes a save against the Pittsburgh Penguins in the second period at SAP Center in San Jose on Mon Jan 27, 2025. Askarov is out for three weeks due to a lower body injury (AP News photo)

On the San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa:

#1 Maybe the Four Nation Face Off came at a right time for the San Jose Sharks the Sharks were in the middle of a four game funk that saw them in their last game get absolutely hammered in San Jose on Sat Feb 8 to the Dallas Stars 8-3.

#2 One of the things the Sharks have had problems with is allowing their opponents to get the early lead and the game against the Stars was not an exception allowing three goals in the first period.

#3 Their third periods have been troublesome too in that same game against the Stars the Sharks allowed three goals against and were whipped by the Stars in a five goal advantage.

#4 Goaltending is a concern for San Jose as top goalie prospect Yaroslav Askarov is out three weeks with a lower body injury while playing for the San Jose Barracuda on Wednesday. He faced 14 shots in the first period of the game but had to come out and did not return. How critical is Askarov’s loss going to be with two months left of the season?

#5 The Sharks return to action opening up a seven game road trip starting this Sunday in Calgary at the Scotiabank Saddledome against a Flames team that is fifth in the Pacific Division having lost five of their last ten games and lost three in a row. The Sharks need to snap their four game skid and will have a real test starting this seven game road trip.

Join Mary Lisa for the San Jose Sharks podcasts each Saturday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Sacramento Kings podcast with Jeremiah Salmonson: Kings and Warriors duel it out tonight; Both tied in Western Conference

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Sacramento Kings will be relying heavily on guard Zach LeVine (8) to fill the void of former guard De’Aaron Fox. The Kings are battling to get in a playoff spot in the second half of the season. (photo from motociclismo.com)

On the Sacramento Kings podcast with Jeremiah Salmonson:

#1 In ninth place in the Western Conference the Sacramento Kings entering the second half of the season following the All Star break at 28-27. There are 27 games left in the regular season taking a look at how they’ve played in the first half what do think their chances of making a post season birth?

#2 After guard De’Aaron Fox was dealt to the San Antonio Spurs just before the All Star break the Kings had to fill his spot with a solid point guard. So far Sacramento has relied on Malik Monk, DeMar DeRozan and Domantas Sabonis.

#3 Jae Crowder hasn’t played much just 92 minutes over seven games for the season this being his 13th season in the NBA. He has been an asset helping the young players out on the floor and off it. It’s something that’s been a big help for head coach Doug Christie.

#4 With Zach LeVine, Jake LaRavia and Jonas Valancinunas there will be little time for Crowder to get in the line up in this last month and half of the season. Christie realizes his locker room presence has been very helpful and who knows he might have a future as an assistant coach.

#5 The Kings host the Golden State Warriors tonight at Golden 1 Center a game that you’ll be covering. Both teams are 28-27. The Kings have a standings edge because they have a better conference record. The Kings are battling to improve their position in the standings. The Warriors who are 3-1 with Jimmy Butler are expected to move much higher than their tenth place spot. How do you see this match up tonight?

Join Jeremiah Salmonson for the Sacramento Kings podcasts each Friday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

NHL Four Nations podcast with Len Shapiro: RIP Mike Lange he was my good friend; McDavid scores game winner Canada wins it in OT 3-2

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Pittsburgh Penguins long time broadcaster Mike Lange addresses the crowd before the unveiling of a statue depicting Pittsburgh Penguins Hall of Fame center Mario Lemieux outside the NHL hockey team’s arena March 7, 2012, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic, File)

On the NHL podcast with Len Shapiro:

#1 Len what can you say about your good late friend Pittsburgh Penguins play by play announcer the great Mike Lange who you roomed with during your college days.

#2 Len, talk about those catch phrases that he used after a goal was scored he was well known for.

#3 Penguins star Syd Crosby said he was proud that Lange called almost all his goals of his career that’s saying a mouthful right there.

#4 Turning to the Four Nations Tournament Team USA and Team Canada battle at TD Garden in Boston on Thursday night Team Canada wins it in overtime 3-2 on Conner McDavid’s goal at 8:18.

#5 No doubt about it there were some gritty hockey played in this tournament no one caved in and all teams played like everything was on the line. It was not like an East vs. West All Star game where they run up the score.

Len Shapiro does the NHL podcast each Friday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

What Did Coach Smith Say At Halftime?: Bears Come Roaring Out Of the Locker Room To Capture 76-70 Win Over Virginia

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By Morris Phillips

You bring your shooters, we bring our shooters. That’s a scenario the Cal women prefer.

That scene materialized on a blustery, cold Thursday night at Virginia, and Cal capitalized with a crucial 76-70 road win over the host Cavaliers.

Ioanna Krimili made the most of what the Virginia defense offered with season highs in 3-point attempts (13) and makes (6). The graduate senior led Cal with 18 points along with Michelle Onyiah. Lulu Twidale had 15, and Kayla Williams 14 as the Bears starters spread the wealth from a scoring perspective.

Cal came roaring out of the locker room at halftime after a sluggish first half that saw them trailing 35-30. The turnaround was immediate with Cal scoring the first 17 points after the break to take their first 10-point lead of the night. Virginia responded at that point with a 12-point burst to get even, but Cal’s balanced attack won out in the fourth quarter.

“The beginning of the third quarter, they went on like a 17-0 run or something like that and you know that killed me,” Virginia coach Amaka Agugua-Hamilton said. “I think I called two timeouts during that time because we just weren’t clicking.”

The Bears (22-6, 10-5) now have their most wins in a season since 2017. They also moved closer to securing a first-round bye in the upcoming ACC Tournament in Greensboro, NC which takes place the second week of March.

Kymora Johnson led Virginia with 24 points. Paris Clark had 12 for the hosts, and Edessa Noyan added 11.

The Bears conclude their road swing at Virginia Tech on Sunday. The Hokies were involved but not resolved in the ACC game of the night, losing at home to Stanford, 75-74 in overtime.

Cal Bears podcast with Morris Phillips: Bears take on Virginia tonight at John Paul Jones Arena to start road trip

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The Cal Bears will meet the Virginia Cavaliers Thu Feb 20, 2025 at John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottsville VA with a 4:00pm PT tip off (photo by Cal Bears Athletic Dept)

Cal Bears podcast with Morris Phillips:

#1 The Cal Bears are coming off a two game homestand sweep over the Boston College Eagles and the Syracuse Orange. Cal (21-6) will got back east for their final regular season road trip starting at Virginia on Thursday at 4pm PT.

#2 In the history of both Cal and Virginia this will be their sixth meeting and the Cavaliers are 3-2 in that history. The Cavaliers also have two wins over Cal in the NCAA Tournament. The last time these two clubs met was 2018 in the NCAA Tournament with a 68-62.

#3 If Cal can pull off a win tonight it would give them their most wins since the 2016-17 season when they won 24 games.

#4 The Bears will be keyed in on the Cavaliers Kymora Johnson who leads the team with 17.5 points per game and was named the All ACC second team and All Freshman from last season.

#5 In the last game Cal played on Sun Feb 16th at Syracuse as Cal led with guard Kayla Williams 21 points, forward Marta Suarez finished in second with 16 points. Talk about their game against the Orange and how important Williams and Suarez is to Cal.

Cal Bears podcasts are heard Thursdays with Cal Bears beat writer Morris Phillips at http://www.sportsradioservice.com