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Larry Levitt on Pro Hockey

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by Larry Levitt

DALY CITY–The San Francisco Bulls really have moments when they really look like they have a good team that’s getting it together and then they have a momentary loss and all it takes is that one little momentary loss of team work and you give a team an opening and they take it and unfortunately for the Bulls they’ve been capitalizing on those openings a lot lately.

The Bulls lost in their last game in Stockton 5-1 for their fourth straight loss, it was a local rivalry and they should be up for those games and it’s not a lot of travel and it’s not like their flying or riding the bus for a long time it’s a couple hours to Stockton from the City it’s early in the season still and yes you need to get the win if your going to get to the playoffs and go far in the playoffs you need to have some confidence and this is where you got to start.

You got to take them one game at a time and get that win and work on the second win and the third and get a string of them together and every team goes through a losing period you just don’t want multiple strings of them. The Bulls need to come out and play a good game of hockey and just have fun and play the sport and play the game and it will all come to them but they got to put the work in it doesn’t come easy.

The thing with the ECHL or the minor league level you really don’t have time to jell and get used to each other and their all hockey players and they all know the game but the tendencies of each individual and if you stay with a teammate for a long period of time you get to learn their tendencies and where their going to be and it makes it that much easier for your game. You don’t have to stop and look and think it’s just automatic and that’s what they got to get to they’ve got to learn each others game.

San Jose Sharks update: I was fortunate to be able to talk to Sharks left winger Tomas Hertl the other night and he’s well grounded whose really doing well. Hertl’s English is a lot better than my Czech 101 that I learned on You Tube it was pretty funny but with Burns coming back on that line it’s going to take a little time to get that timing back. What I like about Hertl and Burns is they go straight in front of the net.

Hertl and Burns knows Joe Thornton is the passer, they know they’ll find you but you got to go to those sturdier areas in front of the net and pay the price of the hard hits and the pushes and the shoving. They’re not scared to do that, they go in there and do their job and they cover that area. Patrick Marleau he’s a great team player, he’s a great skater he uses his speed to his advantage against the Tampa Bay Lighting.

Marleau wiffed on a shot which actually pulled the goalie out of position in the Tampa Bay game last Thursday night at SAP in San Jose and it allowed him to do a simple backhand into the net and when you get the breaks and when things are going well you take them. You don’t fight it you just go with it, the Sharks were very fortunate to win because Tampa Bay at times had pretty good shots at the Sharks net and they didn’t get the breaks.

The Bulls weren’t allowed to get the puck in the net for one reason or another and it was Sharks goaltender Antti Niemi who came up with some really good saves or the defense just got their stick on it enough. It was a pleasure to watch the Lighting right winger Martin St. Louis what a great player he is. When he was on the ice I was isolating on him and it was a joy to watch he’s got the speed. He’s not the size but he’s got the speed, he’s got the hands and he’s just an amazing hockey player.

The Sharks are hosting the New Jersey Devils on Saturday night at the SAP for the second in this five game homestand which started last Thursday with the Lighting.

Larry Levitt does pro hockey analysis each week for Sportstalk Radio

Michael Duca on Cal football and basketball

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by Michael Duca

BERKELEY–Anytime you have a chance to make history and this year the Cal football Bears have made history, they are among the worst team among the FDS in every category and therefore in the long and storied history of the Big Game which is coming up this Saturday at Stanford they are the biggest underdogs ever. Do you want to know what their in store for?

This will shock you but I would tell you to take Cal and points in this game on Saturday and the only way that Cal could be able to beat the spread with their 32 points and their never going beat the spread and hold the score down and the only way your going to hold the score down is to run the football. Their going to actually concentrate on running the football and Stanford is going to expect them not to run the football.

Their going to concentrate on trying to control the ball on the ground and Cal can’t do that they only have two Pac 12 quality lineman and that’s the problem. These games, these rivalry games can throw everything out the window and they don’t even bother printing these in the racing forms because there is no forms to these games. Remember Joe Kapp’s last game was an 17-11 victory over a Stanford team that was a four touchdown favorite.

Is there any chance for Cal to pull out a miracle and shock the crowd at Stanford with a win answer: I don’t think the band will be on the field.

Cal hoops: Playtime is over the real games start next week in Maui for the Maui Invitational to face some really good teams, the Maui tournament will see Arkansas, Baylor, Cal, Chaminade, Dayton, Gonzaga, Minnesota, and Syracuse, and Cal will find out what a good team really is. This team is doing well going into the tournament they are 4-0 the last time Cal was 4-0 going into a tournament they were riding high and they were fat, dumb, and happy and they went back to Wisconsin and played a Big Ten that just physically manhandled them.

From the time they tried to leave the locker room and until the time they got on the bus to go back home they have not forgotten that and they have brought that and a little bit more focus in the Pac 12. They realize they have a chance to be a really decent team this year. They may not be at the very top pius echelon of the Pac 12 this year looks like Arizona and UCLA are those big teams but Cal is right behind them which means all they need one or two players or wins in winning the league and that’s always been their goal.

Guard Justin Cobbs he was fine the other night after recovering from an injury. The first question we asked Cal head coach Mike Montgomery last Monday night after beating Southern Utah was what did he learn about his team after a game like that? Montgomery was honest he said, “not very much.” Southern Utah was overmatched physically and talent wise from about the time they got off the airplane.

However their coached by a former player at Stanford Nick Robinson suddenly it gave Robinson an opportunity to play a in bigger arena in front of 4,000 to 5,000 people which is more than who their going to play in front of in Utah.

Michael Duca does commentary on Cal football and basketball each week for Sportstalk Radio

A-Rod says he’s fighting for job and baseball all the way

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That’s Amaury News and Commentary

The New York Yankees Alex Rodriguez feels he’s been targeted unfairly in a way I don’t want to make direct comparison like the Barry Bonds case why? Because he’s a high profile player A-Rod is a name when he was playing even Roger Clemons who got in trouble that transcends sports and most people are not sports fans in this country and you walk in the streets and you ask somebody who is Jonny Gomes? Someone will reply I think I saw him in the World Series.

You say Alex Rodriguez they would say he’s a big star with the Yankees, so here’s the deal baseball wants to crucify him. How much evidence do they have on him? That’s the real question and I don’t think anybody really knows and it might be a game of chicken on whose going to blink first and A-Rod has some of the best attorneys in the world and Major League Baseball has very good attorneys and they have the power with the commissioner which is very powerful with over 30 owners behind him.

So this would be a big battle of epic proportions if this battle goes to court but let me say this and this is just myself, my experience I really believe that MLB and this commissioner wants to get A-Rod out of baseball and with a suspension of the 211 games maybe commissioner Bud Selig thought A-Rod is going to give up but it has backfired he’s not giving up he wants to keep playing and he’s very controversial as we know for all the suspensions for steroids and he’s very talented so Major League Baseball versus Alex Rodriguez right now is 50-50 chance on whose going to win this battle.

Tim Hudson can he stay healthy?: The Giants newly acquired 38 year old Tim Hudson from the Atlanta Braves this week and you never ever heard anything negative and he’s a class act however he’s 38 going on 39 very soon in a few months he’s been hurt a little bit and he’s still recuperating from ankle surgery although he will be in the Giants starting rotation. If he’s healthy and if everything goes right for him it would be a tremendous pick up for the Giants.

When your talking about a pitcher whose 38 or 39 or 40 the same thing happens with A’s pitcher Bartolo Colon he had a great season last year with 18 wins and he’s one of the best pitchers in baseball but he’s going to be 41 in May and the Giants spent a lot of money recently they paid $35 million for pitcher Tim Lincecum, they’re paying Hudson $23 million and there is still a little question mark if this is going to be the Hudson of old.

If he is it would be a very good pick up for the Giants and he would be behind starting pitchers Matt Cain, Madison Baumgarner, and he would be number three right now unless they have Lincecum at number three and the don’t want to sign Ryan Vogelsong to a free agent contract. So the Giants are still looking for maybe another pitcher. Bronson Arroyo could be signed but who knows the Giants could surprise everybody and sign Bartolo Colon.

There’s not too many in free agents in baseball, free agents of value but some stuff is happening as I predicted a couple of weeks after the World Series this stuff develops that the last two weeks in November before and after Thanksgiving day I believe that it’s going to be very busy in baseball and then in December everybody goes home and relax and come back in January and work on the media guides and the schedules are get ready and then your a couple months away from the first pitch.

Amaury Pi Gonzalez is the Spanish radio voice for the A’s and the Spanish TV voice for Angels baseball and does News and Commentary each week for Sportstalk

Raiders report: McGloin can prove himself versus Tennessee on Sunday

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by David Zizmor

ALAMEDA–The Houston Texans are not a very good team they’ve lost eight in a row and they hosted the Oakland Raiders last Sunday. The Texans are going through a lot of problems with injuries and poor performance and a whole lot of other things the fact of the matter you got play whose in front of you. The Raiders are banged up as well their not the picture of perfect health, they put in quarterback Matt McGloin as the starter last Sunday for injured quarterback Terrelle Pryor.

McGloin is a undrafted rookie back there behind center and you know what he looked pretty good and he doesn’t have the arm strength of a lot of quarterbacks but he’s pretty accurate and that makes up for a lot of the problems the arm strength. As long he knows what throws he can and can not make he should be able to at least step in and be a decent back up.

We saw him come into this game last Sunday in Houston and go 18-32 for 197 yards, with three touchdowns passes. That’s as much as you could hope for from a guy like McGloin and he really is a work in progress by all accounts. He’s a guy who came on late in college to even get into the position to join the team and boom he’s in there filling in for Pryor and already your hearing on our talk shows and in the Bay Area “hey maybe McGloin should be the starter instead of Pryor.

Well it’s a little too soon to say that and going forward this year you have to put Pryor back there as long as he’s healthy because that’s the real purpose of the Raiders this season is to figure out whether Pryor is the future quarterback of this football team. You got a guy like McGloin there and he does well it makes you feel a little bit better you have something to build on. If Pryor doesn’t pan out then McGloin can step in and do some business and take care of things for the Raiders for at least a short time.

Now is McGloin a long term solution for the Raiders at a bare minimum they probably have a solid back up behind Pryor whether McGloin is a full time starting option is anybody’s guess. One game against a really bad Texans team doesn’t prove too much in that respect. McGloin has proven for a game or two at least he can step in and be of service to any team in league let alone the Oakland Raiders.

The other big development is the emergence of Rashad Jennings who had just a fantastic game he had 22 rushes for 150 yards 80 of those yards came on one long bruising touchdown run that was just fantastic. Jennings ran through the line and lowered his shoulder and knocked the Texans safety backwards before rumbling the rest of the way it was an eye opening run that kind of served notice to running back Darren McFadden that Jennings is not going to give up that position anytime soon.

McFadden certainly helps by never being on the field but McFadden is a free agent after this season and if Jennings keeps this up it already is a 50-50 proposition whether McFadden returns to the Raiders and the better Jennings. The less likely that McFadden remains a Raider going into 2014. Jennings is proving that he can be a starter in this league, that he should be the Raider guy the rest of the way and he’s the guy to key on.

David Zizmor covers the NFL for Sportrstalk Radio

49ers report: A Crabtree return can really spark this offense

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by David Zizmor
SANTA CLARA–The 49ers had tough back to back games and they had that terrible loss when they played the Saints in New Orleans and as we all know the Superdome is not an easy place to play. Sometimes the lights go out sometimes you have to face a good team and you really never know what your going to face. The 49ers really faced a really good New Orleans team that’s one of the best in the NFC if not the entire NFL.
The Niners lost by a field goal and it’s really rough, there were a couple of key plays in this game the most obvious one of them all Amad Brooks with the sack and the forced fumble of the New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees late in the fourth quarter that could have clinched the game. The referees called a roughing the passer personal foul for a 15 yard penalty that wiped out a sack and fumble that the 49ers recovered.
It was a questionable call taking a look at the replay Brooks really walloped Brees it looked like a legal hit. It was kind of closeline it was high on Brees chest but that’s a legal hit if you hit him in the chest. The official thought it was more in the neck area which wouldn’t be legal but watching the replay it sure look to me like it hit Brees in the chest and maybe after the hit his arm slid up higher towards his neck.
That was a play that turned the entire game around if the 49ers get that fumble recovery that’s probably the gamer which it makes incredibly difficult for the Saints to win. It definitely gives the Niners a better opportunity to win. There are several problems that the 49ers are trying to solve right now. One the receiving core is just not coming through Anquan Boldin had a nice grab and so did Vernon Davis.
The 49ers passing game was really non existent their really working things through and maybe in addition to Mario Manningham it’s helping but the 49ers have not really been active in the passing since Michael Crabtree outside of that first game of the season against Green Bay Crabtree really seemed to make this offense go last year. Once Kaeppernick became the quarterback Crabtree really blossomed and really opened things up for the receiving core and everything else.
So the 49ers could get Crabtree in a couple of weeks I don’t think it’s going to be this week against Washington on Monday night you never know but there was no report to indicate that Crabtree is going to be back. That Saints game was tough and the 49ers really have to move past that game because their going into Washington on a Monday night it’s another road game with a national audience and playoff seeding is not aligned in this one the 49ers have more or less lost the NFC west unless Seattle suffers a big collapse.
The 49ers have to focus on the wild card, they have to focus on seeding and just making the wild card, because technically speaking they’re tied with four other teams for that wild card position. Washington has been playing very poorly this season their coming off another loss this time to Philadelphia. Washington has not looked good their not the team they were last year when they made the playoffs behind Robert Griffin III.
Daivd Zizmor covers the NFL for Sportstalk Radio

Michelle Richarson on the NCAA

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by Michelle Richardson

 

 

Stanford 20 USC 17: I’ll be honest with you this game really surprised me, in the end you would think Stanford would eek out the win after losing in the last 25 seconds of the game on a field goal by USC kicker Andre Heidari who hit a 47 yarder. It’s never easy this is a tough loss for Stanford and they played at USC which is a tough school to play at. Stanford looked like they had that extra push that would put them over the top but it got late and the Trojans got in range to get three points at the end of the game.

 

Southern Cal basically played bowl crasher and their the first team this year to play bowl crasher this year in knocking down Stanford in their bid to the Rose Bowl. USC beat Oregon State back on November 1st and beat Stanford last Saturday with that being said Stanford had three turnovers but everything else was pretty much even.

 

You can’t turn over the ball and expect to win and that’s been pretty much the story of the game, turnovers you can not have them they had two interceptions and one fumble. You can not turn over the ball especially against a highly effective team like SC and to expect to come out with a victory.

 

Alabama 20 Mississippi State 7: Alabama kind of got ahead of themselves that happened after they beat LSU last week 38-17, and the Crimson Tide thought all they had to do was go on cruise control, it’s one of those teams their about to change the tide in the SCC. Their no longer whipping boys they’ve proved they can play with the best in the SCC they can beat them or play them very close.

 

For Alabama quarterback A.J. McCarron this was not his best work he threw for 187 yards, went 18-32, with two touchdowns, and two interceptions, which means there was a mistake in the secondary and Mississippi St was ball hawking and they were on it. MS was on McCarron and the Tide knew it and they knew how he played. Alabama not only threw for two interceptions they had two fumbles on top of that.

 

Alabama gave up four turnovers in the game for 41 yards, you can not make stupid penalties and give up the ball if you expect to win the game. The Crimson Tide were lucky in this one and strangely enough they came back and won this game. Alabama head coach Nick Saban I’m sure talked to his players during half time to get them to shake some of these turnovers and other mistakes off as the Tide held on.

 

Charleston Classic coming November 21st: I love all the tournaments that are playing at the end of the year and we can get an idea how they play before they get into the conference and none of the teams going into this classic are slouches. A lot of these teams are doing well that’s in there, Nebraska, UMass, UAB, New Mexico, Georgia, Davidson, Temple and Clemson.

 

The smaller schools like UAB and Davidson the other big schools can not take these teams lightly, this is going to be very interesting, there’s some great talent scheduled for this tournament and there is going to be some great basketball and I can’t wait to see it.

 

Michelle Richardson will be covering the Charleston Classic Tournament for Sportstalk Radio

Sharks hot to get mileage on current trip/Bulls look to have close games on homestand

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by Larry Levitt
DALY CITY–The San Jose Sharks are on very long road trip and I don’t mean long as in time although as in multiple days in an eight day, five game road trip but the amount of travel they criss cross the United States and Canada twice. The Sharks are doing rather well, they’re not really executing and playing a very good defensive game right now
To say they got lucky Thursday night and beat the Vancouver Canucks in an overtime goal by Dan Boyle is an understatement, they didn’t really deserve to win but then again they deserve to win a couple others they didn’t get the goals scored, for now it’s payback. The best line I heard was ”the hockey Gods might be even things up.”
When the Sharks had Ryan Clowe and Michal Handzus that was their go to team and when you trade them away and they traded them away for speed but they don’t have that skill. I love that quick shot of the Sharks Joe Pevelski and Logan Courture they really get their shot off their stick quickly. You got to give the goalie some credit too but they didn’t seem like they had much of a game plan going in the last game on Thursday.The Sharks did what they could, they got what they got getting one point even though you lose a game getting one point is better than none.
The scary thing about facing a team like Edmonton in last place, the Oilers have been shut out for the last three games in a row. So you know their going to be aching to get a goal and against a team that’s struggling defensively like the Sharks are. Edmonton has a young team their in transition for quite awhile. They’re suppose to be there now and they’re working at having a good team now. The Oilers are struggling so maybe it’s a good time for them to catch up to them and straighten out your own woes.
Two inured Sharks Raffi Torres and Brett Burns the two injured Sharks, Torres is the team’s spark plug but the Sharks have been doing pretty good without them. Raffi is supposed to be the big heavy hitter but they didn’t really need a big heavy hitter. They’ve really been playing okay without him. Burns is a bigger miss. I don’t understand why he’s been out so long. Burns has been out with a mouth injury and Torres out with a torn ACL.
For sure Burns is really missed and he’s out for more than just a chipped tooth it’s going to be interesting when we finally find out probably at the end of the season to find out how bad this injury is. Burns may have a broken bone that still needs to heal. They miss his speed, they miss his recklessness down on the ice that really plays havoc with other teams.
It was also reported that Burns is suffering from an injury that could be a concussion related so the Sharks are going to have to make due without him. When Torres comes back he can bring some offense he doesn’t have to be a heavy hitter. He’s a big guy, he’s a good skater he can shoot so their out there and the team has been getting along okay and the Sharks look forward to see what comes up.
San Francisco Bulls update: The Bulls are on a two game winning streak they won their home opener on Friday night and then they won in Stockton on Veterans day Monday night, they’re looking pretty good the thing that is most impressive getting the road win in Stockton on Monday night. The thing that’s most impressive is the goaltending and they have hot goaltending with Tyler Boskorowany he’s a big guy at 6’5 210 pounds he moves really well.
Boskorowany moves pretty well, he got caught out of position a few times in Stockton but recovered really well and saved a goal. If the team can learn to play with him he’s a new goalie for the team. If they can get used to his style and used to his defense that’s in front of him they can really be a good team. Boskorowany he talks a lot and they seemed to be thriving on that and a lot of the defenseman are pretty young and are pretty new to the league.
They have been performing quite well, offensively it’s pretty interesting that the Bulls have been had some really lousy luck in terms of losing some players that had been called up or an injury. Center Ryan McDonough and right winger Dale Mitchell with injuries and left winger Riley Brace with the call up to Worcester. Players like Chris Crane have been filling that gap, he was in the top half of the shots taken so he seemed primed to move up a line but offensively they’ve had some difficult loses of players but they seem to be holding it together anyway.
Larry Levitt does Pro Hockey commentary each week for Sportstalk

Former S.F. Mayor calls Warriors arena project a boondoggle

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by Ken Gimblin

SAN FRANCISCO–Former San Francisco Mayor Art Agnos makes no bones about it that the motivation behind the Golden State Warriors move to piers 30-32 in the City is all about a real estate grab along the Embarcadero. Agnos said this is not about the Warriors or a sports arena but land development meant to be real estate profit.

Agnos who this month campaigned against the 8 Washington a waterfront condo project that would have been set for development near piers 30-32 and what would have led to the arena development. Agnos said that the city voters saw right through the project idea as a real estate grab and environmental groups were on board with Agnos in the defeat of city propositions B and C.

Former San Francisco supervisor Aaron Peskin stated that with the measures going to defeat any future proposal to build at the waterfront for condos or the new arena for that matter would be a uphill battle. City government played a big role behind the propositions on the ballot possible but Peskin said this last election will slow down the Warriors move to the piers quite considerably, “this is not the end and it feels like a movement” said Peskin.

Agnos pointed out that the propositions lost by wide margins for prop B it lost by 25 points and for prop C it lost by 33 points. Former San Francisco City Attorney Louise Renne said the project was irresponsible and Renne spoke to the no on B and C supporters on election night telling them the fight is not over as the Warriors and San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee’s office is gearing up to get the Warriors new arena on the San Francisco ballot calling the San Francisco planning commission who was behind props B and C, “utterly disgraceful” and “get your rest more to come San Francisco, San Francisco this is a victory for you, and to all those developers out there do not mess with our waterfront were not going to stand for it” said Renne.

Warriors Spokeman Nathan Ballard said the height of the new arena was addressed and the arena size adjustments should bring closure to questions with environmentalists and opponents being concerned about any views being blocked, “we’ve slimmed down the arena to make room for enough public open space to fit three Union Squares”. Design 0.3 as the Warriors have named the latest design has slimmed off the sides and the height of the arena.

Critics say despite the third design adjustment by the Warriors the neighborhood and voters won’t support development at the waterfront. Agnos says it’s just a gesture that really has no one fooled and that it still is a real estate grab and that the waterfront and Embarcadero neighborhoods stands together that no one will build and take away the view of the bridge and the bay from the neighborhood, “it sounds like window dressing, the bottom line is this is a mega real estate project.”

Adding to the arena project there is a $1 billion 105 room two hotel building project on the drawing board, a 175 foot condominium tower, 120,000 feet of retail to be built with the new arena at piers 30-32. The site is owned by the city and there is no changes in development other than some trimming of the Warriors new arena in height and circumference. The parking lot is called the Seawall Lot 330 at piers 30-32 nearby Red’s Java House Restaurant.

Ken Gimblin is covering the NBA for Sportstalk Radio

Michael Duca on Cal

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by Michael Duca

Cal football: In the new Cal system with old players and that’s pretty old for people who are seeing this team (1-9) but that’s just how it is. It was the team that former head coach Jeff Tedford left behind and it was not covered at just that and the skill set is somewhat underneath it. So current head coach Sonny Dykes has spent the entire year trying to shave the edges off round things so they’ll fit square holes.

Jared Goff is well on pace to throw for 58,000 yards in his career and it maybe well beyond that. Again it’s a true freshman stepping up and running a system that’s somewhat new to him, not totally new. Goff played spread in high school but he didn’t play spread for Dykes and he didn’t play it with this group of players who were drafted for pro set offense. If you look at last Thursday’s game Cal’s offense played USC pretty even.

Cal hoops: Obviously everybody figures you schedule cupcakes a certain time of the year and I don’t think St. Mary’s scheduled a cupcake at Akron last night and Cal scheduled a cupcake at Coppin State. Coppin State went up the coast up a ways and smoked the Oregon State Beavers at Corvallis. That’s a win that Cal could be pretty proud of.

It gives them an idea of what they’ve got this year, the Bears have to figure out a win without having Alan Crabtree to lean on and they could do real well without him because he was so streaky and so prone to disappearing on defense when he wasn’t hitting on offense so if he had a good game it was a great game and if he had a so so game it turned out to be a poor game.

Cal is going to need David Kravish to produce a low post presence they don’t have a lot of height, they’re very limited on who they have on the team. Head coach Mike Montgomery might go small and by small he basically means playing a four guard offense to draw the other team away from the basket. When they go to the four guard offense Kravish is the man on the island, you’ve come to the lighthouse at the opening of the harbor.

Kravish has developed greatly over the years, he came in a skinny kid with a lot of ball hocking ability and could never tell where the ball winds up on a rebound. He’s beefed up a little bit, he doesn’t get pushed around in the low post like he did a couple years ago. He’s got the potential to be a solid good ball player. It really anchors that low post offense for them.

For Monty coaches are coaches they are always excited about their team and their always looking forward to their next game and their always respectful to their opponents. This is how they are they don’t believe in whacking hornets nests and, they don’t believe in over selling their kids and in front of their kids and underselling them and they have kids playing with a chip on their shoulders and Monty is great at that.

He’s one of those guys whose never satisfied because you can only approach perfection you could never reach it.

 

Michael Duca covers Cal for Sportstalk radio

Hurdle and Francona named top skippers of the year

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That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary

Clint Hurdle the Pittsburgh Pirates manager was named National League manager of the year and Cleveland’s Terry Francona was named American League manager of the year on Tuesday. The vote to elect the two managers was taken by the Baseball Writers Association of America. Hurdle won 25 of the 30 first place votes beating out the Dodgers manager Don Mattingly and Fredi Gonzalez of the Atlanta Braves.

Francona edged the Red Sox John Farrell by 16 points, Francona had 16 first place votes and ten second place votes. Francona who led Cleveland to their first post season since 2007 gets much of the credit for turning around a Cleveland franchise that was trying to find their way and playing in front of some small crowds at Jacobs Field prior to Francona’s arrival.  Farell piloted the Sox to a World Series Championship this season.

If the S.F. waterfront fails the Warriors can move next to AT&T Park: I can only go by the history of San Francisco and the city is a very tough town to build anything. The best example and were talking sports here to ask the San Francisco Giants how long it took the Giants to get an approved stadium to build a park in the City it took over a decade and three elections.

The Warriors are going to realize this is not Orange County or Santa Clara County, this is not an area where you can build a new stadium just about everywhere you wish if you have the money. San Francisco is a very environmentally minded city, the Environmental Protection Agency is going to come out with some studies about those piers there.

There might be some fish there that might be on the endangered species list whose been around for thousands of years. The people of the Bay Area belong to some very special cities and with all respect to the Warriors with the new ownership and the new management I don’t think they realize that. Warrior owners Joe Lacob is from the east coast and Peter Gruber is from Hollywood and is a big movie mogul.

The Angels were thinking of building a park in downtown L.A. and you know what that’s legal they can do it the Dodgers don’t have territorial rights in Los Angeles that’s why the Angels are called the Los Angeles Angels, the Dodgers wouldn’t fight that. The Southland is different and the Golden State Warriors are up for a rude awaking here.

The Warriors are really going to have to tweak this plan in many phases before the voters, EPA and other environmental groups before the voters of the city say “okay build your arena.” You can still have it but it’s not as easy as they thought it was going to be.

With ex San Francisco Mayor Art Agnos leading the charge against a water front arena it could be a big battle and look I’ll give you a comparison I just came back from a week in Hawaii, it’s a beautiful place, the water is clean, it’s just great the Islands are beautiful. San Francisco’s number one industry is not the Giants, it’s tourism.

If you build a big monstrosity on piers 30-32 where it would be an eye sore for the people who come to the city that is no good if I’m the San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee I would seriously have to think this one over, but I knew former San Francisco Mayor Dianne Feinstein years ago and I talked to her and I gave her an award for doing the Juan Marichal day and I’m sure if Feinstein were still mayor she would say, “San Francisco is a special city and you can’t appeal something just because you have $144 million.”

Let’s set the record straight right here, it’s not going to happen and let’s go back to the city any big structure could be an eyesore to the shoreline to the bay and the Warriors are thinking very hard about this and they better have some good attorneys ready because this could be a real long fight.

Amaury Pi Gonzalez is the former Spanish radio and TV voice for Warriors and Clippers basketball and does News and Commentary each week for Sportstalk Radio