Raiders and 49ers commentary: Coliseum hoping for very few to no fan fights unlike last meeting

by Daivd Zizmor

OAKLAND–The San Francisco 49ers are headed to the Oakland Coliseum to play the Oakland Raiders and unlike the last time these two teams met this one is a regular season game this Sunday. The last time they also met was there violence that occurred at Candlestick Park in San Francisco in a pre season game in 2011 and they have not met in a pre or regular season since then.

There were a lot of fights in the stands in the 2011 game, there usually is when these two teams meet then there’s the shooting incident in the Candlestick parking lot that didn’t involve the game itself that involved two people but they were not at the game at all. So this shooting incident was misreported at the time.

Obviously were very sensitive to it you never want any violence at the game, we’ve seen a couple of incidents at the new Levis Stadium this season that didn’t involve Raiders fans but it did involve all 49ers fans in a bathroom brawl that sent a couple men to the hospital and the suspects were later caught. You can imagine the security presence that will needed during the Niners-Raiders game at the Coliseum on Sunday.

There is hope with the increased security presence and police presence that will help solve any of the problems that would be a deterrent of them getting into fights or fans looking for fights that could be fueled by alcohol. There is a whole lot you could do besides limit the sales to people who are obviously intoxicated.

That’s always a tough one and by law your not allowed to search anyone who appears intoxicated but I’m not sure if the defenders are going to be as vigilant as their suppose to be as opposed to someone who’s vigilant at a bar. The other thing you hope is the prices of the tickets deter people from doing anything like that.

It really hasn’t been the case at Levi’s Stadium so much, but if you go on line and look at the prices of the Niners and the Raiders it’s really not that much cheaper even though it’s at the Coliseum fans are still paying a lot of money for these seats. There are a lot of people priced out at Levis Stadium.

There’s a number of fans who have decided to go to this game to see the Niners play and the prices are probably less at the Coliseum although their not cheap there still more affordable than at Santa Clara. This game is sold out, there will be a lot of people and there will be a lot of Niners fans present for the 1:25pm start.

The Raiders fans will be out in force in their home stadium with the weather being the way it is lousy you kind of hope it dampens a lot things in the stands with the ticket prices hopefully that calms everything down or at least keeps people from wanting to be crazy because they paid so much for their tickets.

David Zizmor covers the NFL for http://www.sportsradioservice.com

SJ Sharks commentary: The Sharks battle at home but still you never know what team will show up

by Ivan Markarov

SAN JOSE–Talk about firing San Jose Sharks head coach Todd McLellan is not in the cards right now, it was floated during the time when the Sharks had lost three games at home then they came back and won two straight against Anaheim 6-4 on Sunday night and then against the Philadelphia on Tuesday night 2-1, that might have made the difference for McLellan.

There’s a lot of the season left this is only the third month and the Sharks have a lot of home games left until Christmas and the jury is still out and at that point they’ll have to see if McLellan’s job is still on the line then. It would seem if they continue to lose at home that might be the case. The Sharks might want to make a change. Right now a coaching change is hard to predict right now there still a lot of questions about that.

The Sharks played pretty well in those two games with Philadelphia and Anaheim, the game against Anaheim looked like a joy ride game with six goals scored by the Sharks when they dominated and they gave up some goals and they let the Ducks almost come back in that game. They went into the Flyers game on Tuesday night with some confidence and that game went okay for them.

The Sharks looked a little slow at the start of that period and came back and won the game so things looked like they were turning around and in the Boston Bruins game on Thursday the Sharks who got ate up in the first period by two quick goals from the Bruins at 0:29 by Reilly Smith and by Gregory Campbell at 2:35 for a 2-0 Boston lead. The Sharks answered right back in the second period with a Tommy Wingels goal at 0:27 and then at 3:00 for the tying goal James Shepard was driving to the left of Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask and shot the puck that deflected off the skate of winger Tyler Kennedy that took a crazy bounce into the net to tie it up at 2-2.

Then at 7:30 Wingels struck again to get the Sharks the lead 3-2 when he hit one in front of the blue line for his second goal of the game and his ninth of the season. The Bruins had seen enough and Reilly Smith then scored his second goal of the game and his sixth of the season to tie it up 3-3 in the second period. The Sharks do look improved than those three games that they lost.

The Sharks did surrender two easy goals in the first period Thursday night and it’s still an up and down season for San Jose. The Sharks used to dominate at home in the last few seasons especially in last two seasons they were just unbeatable. Any team that wanted to stay close they had to endure those first 20 minutes of the game and this season the Sharks seemed to be half awake at certain times.

Ivan Markarov is the Sharks beat writer for http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Cal Bears report: Kravish, Wallace, and Matthews prove critical in Montana win can they do it again in Reno Sunday?

by Michael Duca

RENO NV–The Cal Bears (6-1) Jordan Matthews was 0-6 before he got his first two pointers in the Bears last game against the Montana Grizzlies (2-4) in their two point 78-76 win on Wednesday night at Haas Pavilion and Matthews wound up with 13 points. He was having a poor game up until the time he hit a nothing but net shot that tied up the ball game in regulation something he predicted he would do at the half.

Matthews came alive when he needed to and that wasn’t a fun way to spend an evening that was not a well played game by Cal or Montana. The best defense Cal had all night was their free throw defense as the Grizzlies were under 50 percent at the free throw line. Cal guard Tyrone Wallace did well in the first half scoring nine in the first half and all of the second half he made rebounds with 29, 14 from defense and 15 on offense.

Talking with head coach Cunozo Martin, Martin said that the game had no flow for the first 35 minutes, the Bears got walked on when Montana went on a 19 point run to take an eight point lead. It was not a well played game and they got blocked on an in bounds pass. On offense it didn’t take long to go through with their senior David Kravish who finished the ball game with 14 points.

Kravish is one of the best players along side either team he scored 6-14 points in the second overtime which proved critical in the Bears come back. Kravish also chalked up a go ahead basket with under 30 seconds to win the ball game for Cal. Wallace said of the game, “it showed a lot of toughness and heart, we made plays when we had to.”

Matthews got hot in the second half scoring all his 13 points in the of the game, Matthews also converted two three pointers including a three pointer 17 feet out in the corner to tie up the game, “that’s a play we work on in practice everyday, it’s for any situation, it was set up perfectly.” said Matthews. The high scorer for Montana on Wednesday night was Jordan Gregory who had 23 points and 12 rebounds for a his career high and Jermaine Edmonds scored 12.

The Bears gear up to face the Wolf Pack (2-5) in Reno Nevada on Sunday afternoon at 1:00 PM, the Wolf Pack are struggling they have lost five straight and the Bears are coming off a three game win streak. The Bears head to Reno missing their most important guard Jabari Bird whose been averaging 11.7 points per game. Bird is suffering from a foot injury.

Martin was asked what did the x-ray on Bird’s foot showed and Martin replied “a foot” and so I guess were not allowed to know what the exact problem Bird is having with his foot right now. Bird has been sporting a boot and Martin is not sure when Bird will be back in and he’s sorely missed on defense right now. He’s day to day. Cal tips off at 1:00PM on Sunday afternoon in Reno.

Michael Duca does Cal commentary each week and Morris Phillips is your game day Cal beat writer for http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Sac Kings arena report: Sac environmentalists get shut down again as arena construction continues

by Jerry Feitelberg

SACRAMENTO–The opposition keeps trying and trying but they keep getting blocked in Sacramento Superior Court in their attempts to try and stop construction on the Sacramento Kings new arena. Opponents have tried everything to stop the $477 million project by using the California Environmental Quality Act or CEQA stating that there are issues of noise, pollution, traffic, riots after games, and unruly drunk fans to name a few issues raised.

A dozen Sacramento residents tried to seek an injunction that would halt further construction of the arena which is now underway at the eastern end of the Downtown Plaza. Adrianna Saltonstall who is a retired Caltrans director and her group are saying that their argument has teeth saying the SB 743 which is a one year old law that can establish roadblocks and stop the arena opponents based on the group’s environmental arguments.

The group would like those roadblocks to be removed but the court is favoring the continuation of the project because there has not really been a strong argument that shows the court that an environmental issue has been established to stop construction. The SB 743 law makes it extremely difficult for opponents like Saltonstall to get a court injunction to stop construction of the arena.

SB 743 also states that any opposition to the arena through the CQEA must be completed in 270 days but the court has not enforced a set date on the 270 days for Saltonstall’s group to complete the litigation for an arena injunction. The Sacramento Court of Appeals said that the California Legislature was perfectly legitimate in saying the law was constitutional to the opponents objections.

SB 743 was written by former Pro Tem Senate President Tom Derrell Steinberg and this legislation further was co-authored by Associate Justice Andrea Hoch and California justices George Nicholson and Louis Mauro. Steinberg and the justices had in mind that time is of the essence and they had to get this piece of legislation in motion as the NBA has made it clear to the city and to the Kings that if the arena is not ready by October 2017 when the NBA preseason opens then the NBA has the right to sell and move the team.

The latter is something the Kings and the City won’t have to worry about as long as the Superior Court continues to stop the opposition with the SB 743 law. It was with that in mind that brought SB 743 into law. The Kings are expected to have the arena ready by October 2016 one year earlier than the 2017 NBA set deadline. Kings owner Vivek Ranadive said that he fully expects the arena to be on schedule and that the contractors have already knocked out all the retail space and have the hole in the ground ready to start building the arena at Downtown Plaza.

With that in mind however the opponents are not giving up, Saltonstall is arguing for more expounding on the CEQA laws that would stop the construction siting issues with pollution, traffic, intoxicated fans, and rioting. Another group is setting up to fight the arena stating that the $255 million share from the city that was borrowed from the general fund which the city is banking on paying back the fund from parking revenues and sales tax on each ticket sold at the new arena was an illegal subsidy. Opponents argue that the venture should have never been used from public tax payer funds.

Jerry Feitelberg is covering the Sacramento Kings and Golden State Warriors new arena developments for http://www.sportsradioservice.com

A’s report: Does Donaldson-Beane clash show that Beane will trade players for speaking out?

by Jerry Feitelberg

OAKLAND–A’s General Manager Billy Beane’s real reasoning for trading former A’s third baseman Josh Donaldson to Toronto was that he and Donaldson got into a jawing match after Donaldson had ask for a few days off during the season. Beane told Donaldson that if he needed a few days off he would put him on the disabled list. Donaldson had requested the days off but wasn’t injured and didn’t need to go on the D.L.

A’s manager Bob Melvin approved the day off that Donaldson requested keep in mind for most of the season Donaldson was the A’s top hitter with former A’s outfielder Yoenis Cespedes who was also sent packing to Boston. Word has it the reason for Cespedes getting dealt was he didn’t want to play in either center field or right field which Beane requested and Cespedes only wanted to play in left field which didn’t please Beane.

When Beane arrived at the ball park on the day in question to find out that Donaldson was not in the lineup he asked Melvin what happen to Donaldson being a scratch? Melvin told Beane that Donaldson said he needed time off, that didn’t sit too well with Beane who was now hot and bothered by Donaldson requesting the time off. Donaldson and Beane went into the coaches office to talk about it and Beane reportedly really let into Donaldson about asking for time off.

The discussion went something like “this is what you get paid for and well” to “your not hurt so there’s no reason you need time off” in or around those words from Beane. Donaldson told Beane he was beat and needed the rest he had been carrying a good part of the team with the great work with hitting and defensive success that he was having with the glove. The argument than got personal when Beane insisted that Donaldson either go on the D.L. or get back in the line up and Donaldson ended up calling Beane “Billy Boy.”

With that that wrote Donaldson’s ticket and Beane had it in his mind that after the season he would deal Donaldson which he did last week trading him to the Blue Jays for pitchers Brett Lawrie, Kendall Graveman, Sean Nolin, and shortstop Franklin Barreto. In fact after the argument between Beane and Donaldson over the day off issue it was a known fact by some reporters that Donaldson was going to be traded in the off season by Beane.

It’s pretty well known fact in dealing with Beane if you cross him bad things will happen and the “Billy Boy” comment by Donaldson didn’t sit well with him. Beane will start shopping any player who he feels he can’t work with or won’t work everyday for him unless it’s an injury issue. There have been questions about how team morale will be without Donaldson and Cespedes the two best players the A’s had last season.

Beane will have to rebuild and make the A’s post season competitive again he will have to rely on the core of pitchers that he brought in from Toronto and he might look for more including hitters that can at least swing up to snuff like Cespedes and Donaldson did. There has not been much criticism of Beane since Donaldson left but questions come up like what Beane plans to do to rebuild the team. Right now some reporters have picked the A’s to finish in third place with what they have now.

Jerry Feitelberg covers Oakland A’s baseball for http://www.sportsradioservice.com

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary: Cops say they want something done about Rams “hands up don’t shoot” gesture; NFL says their staying out of it

by Amaury Pi Gonzalez

ALAMEDA–On Sunday when some of the St.Louis Rams players came out of the tunnel just before their game against the Oakland Raiders (both teams by the way played in Los Angeles once upon a time) with their hands up in the “hands up, don’t shoot” gesture. The St.Louis Police have asked the Rams and the NFL to do something about a gesture they find offensive to the department.

The NFL made it clear that they are staying out of the fray and have stated that the league has taken an apolitical approach to the demonstration by the Rams players, “we wanted to show that we are organized for a great cause and something positive comes out of it. That’s what we hope to make happen. That’s our community, we wanted to let our community know that we support the community” said wide receiver Kenny Britt.

Most of the players were not there when the demonstrations were happening in Ferguson and when Mike Brown was shot by Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson not indicted. This was in the community and we may not like what happened and what decided by the grand jury and I can understand that but were country of laws and there a lot of laws that I don’t like and agree with.

Just because I don’t like those laws doesn’t mean I have to break them and most of these demonstrators are people of good faith that are demonstrating. I’m old enough to remember the 60s, when you throw a brick through a convenience store and you stole from that store in the demonstration that has nothing to do with that kid that was shot.

I can see the players and the Olympic athletes John Carlos and Tommie Smith in 1968 in Mexico City having their say with raised fists. I like to keep sports away from politics but it’s part of the world and the Rams are professional athletes and if I can be a little sarcastic the Rams and the Raiders are not the best two football teams in the World.

This game unintentionally got a lot of attention on two fronts for the “hands up don’t shoot” gesture by the Rams players and for the Raiders worst loss in 53 years losing 52-0. The Rams are not great shakes either. The only thing that came out of that game was what the Rams players did in their own way of demonstrating.

The thing the Raiders couldn’t do was pass the ball into the end zone, so it’s just ridiculous but that’s part of the world we live in today. The players are citizens they have their rights to demonstrate. I don’t like to see it at a football game but they have the right and there is a lot of stuff I don’t like but were a free country. As long as you don’t hurt anybody you can demonstrate until the cows come home.

Amaury Pi Gonzalez does News and Commentary several times a week for http://www.sportsradioservice.com

NCAA Commentary: Bo knows the door Nebraska fires coach; Cal misses the bowl; Top ranked women’s hoop polls

by Michelle Richardson

Pelini shown the door at Nebraska: To be honest I’m torn by the decision that Cornhuskers Athletic Director Shawn Eichorst’s made to fire head coach Bo Pelini who had brought back success. Pelini leaves Nebraska with a record of 9-3 (5-3 in the Big 10). This is the most success they’ve had since former head coach Tom Osborne left.

I also understand why too Pelini was really never a good fit even though he was a good coach, he’s one of those Youngstown boys he’s an Ohio guy. He was good but Nebraska just didn’t fit well with him. The players are not generally happy about this. Don’t think Pelini won’t get another job.
It was time for the Cornhuskers to go another direction but Pelini didn’t do a horrible job.

Pelini kept the Cornhuskers relevant there’s something more going on that’s not being talked about internally in Nebraska. This is kind of leading to their struggle, Pelini always had the team in the hunt and they have always been competitive under him. I honestly wish him luck and there will be a lot teams wanting to interview him.

BYU (8-4) 42 vs. Cal (5-7) 35 no bowl for Cal: The blame for this loss lays at the feet of Cal and going cheap in looking for a head coach. You want to be in the big time but you don’t want to spend the money on a big time coach. Cal head coach Sonny Dykes did a great job at Louisiana Tech but he was not ready to come to Berkeley or the Pac 12.

Dykes definitely wasn’t ready for the Pac 12, Cal is just a laughing stock of the Pac 12. They really are and Dykes is not the right fit. Basically when he was hired he was another guy who not ready to make that jump. Cal needs to decide if they want to be competitive or not and I can understand if you have student athletes who have bad academics blah, blah, blah.

The school is trying to become competitive, the Pac 12 is trying to become part of the Big Five. Cal is going to have to spend the money to get the right coach. If I were running Cal I would be looking to hire a coach who is coming from an NFL system and what I mean by an NFL system I mean coming from the NFL. Simply put Dykes is not a good fit for Cal football and now the team is going to miss their second straight bowl game opportunity.

Women’s top rated basketball teams: The AP Poll has rated South Carolina as the top women’s team in the country and the USA Today poll has rated Notre Dame as the number one rated women’s team for this week. I’ll be honest with you South Carolina should be number one in the USA Today poll too. This is a team to beat do not drink the Kool Aid on UConn.

South Carolina and head coach Dawn Staley their time has come and So Carolina is the team to beat but that’s why they play the game. All I know is everything I see from South Carolina Staley has molded this team and she is getting the best and the brightest. She has got the number one blue chipper in the country who is also a native of South Carolina.

The AP top ten is South Carolina, Notre Dame, UConn, Tennessee, Stanford, Texas Tech, Texas A&M, Duke, Kentucky and Maryland. Maryland just got knocked off this week they might not be in the top ten for long but maybe this is why their in the top ten right now. Just note that this is going to be a great season for the Gamecocks women. Their definitely going to earn their stripes.

Michelle Richardson does NCAA Commentary each week on http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Thats Amaury’s News and Commentary: Coverage in Ferguson My disappointment with the media

by Amaury Pi Gonzalez

As I watch the unfortunate events in Ferguson, Missouri, right after the Grand Jury rendered its verdict, it is sad to see the many minority businesses in Ferguson that were burned to the ground by vandals,”mom and pop”stores that depend on day-to-day business for their survival. The people causing the problems are not demonstrators, they are criminals, people that take advantage of these situations to commit crimes, we see them in every city, anarchist, communist, plain thieves and thugs.They only know one thing, to steal and destroy, they do not respect anybody.

But the media is portraying what’s happening today as a Civil Rights issue, and granted there is still racism in this country,(USA 340 million people of all races, only an imbecile would believe there is no racism) but this is not the 1960’s(after all this country elected its first black President not only once, but twice) and I am old enough to remember the 60’s.

As a teenager in Miami, I used to ride the Miami-Dade County buses, and I saw the signs at the door of the bus that said “colored must seat in back”. As a young teen many times I sat in the back with the black people, in a way as a silent protest. I detest racism, just as much as communism and fascism.

But watching the US media, it is so obvious, that the majority of the media, is very dishonest. Yes, we should care about the loss of Mike Brown’s life in Ferguson, at the hand of Officer Darren Wilson. I was not there as a witness, so I can only go by the decision of the Grand Jury. We are a country of laws, and we must abide by those laws.

I might not like the Stop sign one block from my house, and there is little traffic there, but I stop there all the time. Many young black men are dying victims of crimes in this country. However, the media seldom reports on the dozens and dozens of black kids that are killed by other black kids every day in cities like Chicago, New York and Los Angeles, or the 72% of African-American kids that are born to wedlock. We never see Al Sharpton or Jesse Jackson addressing those growing problems. What, they do not count?

Ratings (especially on TV) are paramount for these networks, without ratings there is no sponsors, and no sponsors means no broadcast.

So it is more “sexy”to cover black vs white and white vs black crime, and television in particular, exploit this to the maximum. These shows, in my opinion, are a tremendous dishonesty on the part of the media. Back in the 1970’s I was already doing Sports, but I also covered hard news. I remember in 1974 or 1975 traveling to Salinas, California to interview César Chávez of the United Farm Workers, in one of his famous marches; by the way he was against illegal immigration, he wanted his people/workers to raise their living standard as part of the UFW and I remember he told me illegal immigration was not good, he was running an organization of braceros/migrant workers. I covered many hard news stories like the San Francisco Supervisor Dan White assassination of the Mayor of San Francisco George Moscone, I covered Patti Davis and the SLA, and many other stories during that time.

I am glad I do not cover hard news anymore. Sports offers a different point of view it is pure entertainment, somebody wins, somebody loses every day,(except Fútbol-Soccer and thank God I do not cover that) no controversy there. Politicians “spin”everything, but if the 49ers lose 45-10 nobody can spin that. So, Sports will always have much more integrity.

As I watch this chaos in Ferguson develop I have nothing but dislike for the way most of the media is running this “show”; and I hate to say it, it is only a show for them, the more people are killed the more fires are lit, the more businesses are destroyed, the better television it makes, and the better ratings, sick but nothing but the truth.

CNN goes into “Breaking News” if a cat is on top of a tree in Atlanta, and doesn’t know how to get down. One old saying in television newsrooms I remember as I worked there, has not changed: “if it bleeds it leads”.

I am also old enough to remember when The New York Times was a newspaper of value, of integrity, worthwhile of reading everyday. Today’s NYT is not even a shadow of the NYT of 30 or 40 years ago.

Amaury Pi Gonzalez does News and Commentary for http://www.sportsradioservice.com

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary: The ballad of Billy Beane fallout of the Donaldson deal and Perpetual rebuilding

by Amaury Pi Gonzalez

OAKLAND–On Friday November 28, the day after Thanksgiving and commonly known as Black Friday, A’s General Manager and co-owner Trader Billy Beane struck again. He traded the biggest star he had left, to the Toronto Blue Jays, All Star Josh Donaldson, for a bevy of players.

The Oakland Athletics won the 2012 and 2013 American League Western Division, but this year after trading his clean-up hitter Yoenis Céspedes to the Boston Red Sox for the great Jon Lester, the team finished in second place and was eliminated in a one-game playoff against Kansas City, who eventually won the American League pennant.

On July 31(trade deadline)the Athletics traded Yoenis Céspedes to Boston for left handed pitcher Jon Lester. On November 28, the team traded All Star third baseman Josh Donaldson to the Toronto Blue Jays for infielder Brett Lawrie, shortstop Franklin Barreto, pitchers Kendal Graveman and Sean Nolin.

Donaldson who received the call by General Manager Billy Beane said he was “shocked”. “It doesn’t make sense to me,” outfielder Josh Reddick said. “We traded our best player the past two years.” It seems like we’re going into a rebuilding drive. Brett Lawrie is the only player that is coming from Toronto among those traded to Oakland that has experience at the major league level, he is a solid fielder, a very intense player that can play third base, but also is very injury prone. On the positive side for the A’s, Lawrie is also 4 years younger than Donaldson. Barreto is a long way from making it to the major leagues and the other two pitchers are also prospects not close to the majors.

Josh Donaldson, who originally began as a catcher, has been a solid third baseman for the Oakland Athletics, specially becoming well known across the country during the past two seasons. This year Donaldson hit 29 home runs and drove in 98 runs, in 2013 he had an even better year finishing with a .301 average and was part of the solid one-two punch in the A’s in the A’s lineup hitting ahead of Céspedes. José Bautista the Blue Jay slugger is one of the happiest people after learning of this deal. Josh Donaldson’s swing is almost a replica of that of Bautista, and they are very good friends.

With this trade the Toronto Blue Jays got even stronger in the Eastern Division, where the Red Sox are re-loading for 2015. The A’s system of moving bodies around continues. It was quite interesting during the media conference call with Billy Beane, one reporter asked the A’s General Manager, about the A’s having the money but not spending it. Beane dismissed the question by tweeting saying it was the first he’d even heard of it, so it had no bearing on the deal. According to Forbes(the people that know about money) and at the beginning of the 2014 baseball season, the Giants’ primary owner, Charles Johnson, is baseball’s richest owner. Forbes estimates his worth at $7.5 billion.

The A’s? Their operating income was $27.4 million, seventh highest in the majors. The magazine said the A’s “play in one of the most antiquated ballparks in baseball and are profitable only because of the league’s revenue-sharing system.” The attendance for the A’s last season was over two million, for the first time since 2005, when they became the first Bay Area major league team to go over 2 million.

So the Athletics Carousel continues, like the famous entertainer used to say “around and around it goes, where does it stops? nobody knows”. An old time A’s fan told me right after the deal: “man, it is tough to buy any new jerseys of A’s players, they are here rented no more than three years”. I told him, we will always have Coco. (Coco Crisp). Coco is the older statesman of the Oakland Athletics.

Amaury Pi Gonzalez is the Spanish radio voice for A’s baseball and does News and Commentary each week for http://www.sportsradioservice.com