Author: Charlie O. Mallonee

I have been a sports reporter/broadcaster since 1976 which means ... I'm old and I love sports. I have done play-by-play for minor league baseball - including the infamous "Bad News Bees" - San Jose State football and football and high school sports in the Bay Area and on the Monterey Peninsula. I had the great privilege to host a weekly sports talk show on KNRY Radio Monterey/Salinas with my producer the late,great Gary Araki. I also hosted and produced "the Sports Fanatics" talk show on KSAC Radio in Sacramento. For the last 10 years, I have been a beat reporter covering the Oakland Athletics for Sports Radio Service. Three years ago, I became the senior reporter for our Sacramento Kings coverage. My goal is to bring you the news, views, fun and excitement of every event I am assigned to report on for Sports Radio Service.

Knicks vs Kings: Round Two tonight in Sacramento

Published on December 9, 2016 by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment

by Charlie O. Mallonee

The Sacramento Kings (8-13) have the opportunity to take revenge on the New York Knicks (12-10) for the 106-98 beating they took in the Garden last Sunday night. The Kings shot just 32-percent (31-for-97) in the game and still managed come within two points of the lead with 4:34 to go in the contest before falling back and losing by eight points.

DeMarcus Cousins was the Kings leading scorer with 36 points and he made it a double-double by adding in 13 rebounds. The Knicks scoring was led by Carmelo Anthony and Derrick Rose who each scored 20 points against Sacramento. The New York bench outscored the Kings bench 44-22.

Knicks are not a great road team

New York is just 3-6 on the road this season. The game tonight with the Kings begins a five-game road trip for the Knicks that will take them to Sac, Los Angeles (Lakers), Phoenix, Golden State and Denver. They have no back-to-back games on the road trip.

Knicks are coming off a big loss at home

New York was run out of the Garden on Wednesday night by the Cleveland Cavaliers 126-94. Kyrie Irving led the Cleveland scoring attack with 28 points while LeBron James added 25 points to go with seven assists. Kevin Love scored 21 for the Cavs.

Brandon Jennings started for the Knicks in place of the injured Derrick Rose (sore lower back) and was the leading scorer for NYK with 16 points and three assists. Courtney Lee added 15 points and Kristaps Porzingis recorded 12 points in the loss.

Interesting side note from the Cavs – NYK game, with that many points scored you expect there to have been at least one double-double posted but there were none achieved in that game.

Kings are coming off a road win

Sacramento beat the Mavericks in Dallas 120-89 on Wednesday night in Dallas. The Mavs were without Dirk Nowitzki, Jose Juan Barea, Andrew Bogut and Seth Curry due to injuries. So with that depleted Mavericks lineup, the Kings should have run away with the game.

Cousins was once again the man with 24 points, 14 rebounds and seven assists. Rudy Gay and Darren Collison scored 19 points each. Garrett Temple put up 17 points on the board going a perfect 4-for-4 from 3-point range.

Sacramento shot 56-percent (47-for-84) from the field and 45.5-percent (10-for-22) from 3-point land. The Kings were right on target with a perfect 2-to-1 assists-to-turnover ratio of 28 to 14.

The Dallas win allowed the Kings to finish the road trip with a 2-3 record.

beaumont-enterprise — Photo: Beaumont Enterprise

NYK injury status

Derrick Rose is nursing a sore back. He is listed as questionable for tonight’s game which means there is a 50-percent chance of him playing.

The Kings are reporting no injuries at this time.

Keys to a Kings victory

The main ingredient for a Sacramento victory is a decent shooting percentage. The Kings shot under 40-percent in New York City and still kept the game close. Tonight they must come out and shoot well right from the opening tip-off in order to avoid an embarrassment on their home court.

For entertainment purposes only

FiveThirtyEight.com gives the Kings a 64-percent chance to win tonight’s game with the Knicks. They say take the Kings minus 3.5 points.

FiveThirtyEight’s CARMELO system projects the Knicks will finish with a record of 39-43 and in the much weaker Eastern Conference that gives NYC a 55-percent chance of making the playoffs.

The “desert-dwellers” are making the Kings the favorites minus 2.5 – 4.5 points and all are setting the over/under at 210.

The other shoe just dropped in the Matt Barnes – DeMarcus Cousins NYC club fight story

Published on December 7, 2016 by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment

by Charlie O. Mallonee

If you are old enough to remember the movie “All the President’s Men” which chronicled the infamous break-in of the Democratic National Headquarters at the Watergate office complex, the key informant – “Deep Throat” – told the two young investigative reporters “to follow the money”. When unusual events happen to famous people or organizations, Deep Throat’s advice is usually a very solid approach to uncovering the truth – “follow the money”.

According to TMZ Sports, two of the people involved in the melee at The Avenue nightclub in the Chelsea neighborhood of New York City early on Monday morning have filed lawsuits against Sacramento Kings players Matt Barnes and DeMarcus Cousins. Cousins was known to have been present during the incident but had not been the subject of the alleged violence that took place inside the club. Only Barnes had been mentioned as a possible suspect in the fight.

TMZ is reporting that Jasmine Besiso and Myrone Powell have filed suit against Barnes and Cousins claiming they were “brutalized” by the players.

The lawsuit reportedly breaks the events down as follows:

Besiso and Powell claim they were just “hanging out” when Barnes came up to Besiso and started to choke her
Powell says he then tried to intervene to stop the attack and that is when Cousins became involved and punched him in the face
After Powell was struck, Barnes supposedly released Besiso and elbowed her in the face, knocking her unconscious
Myrone says he taken to the ground and Barnes and Cousins kicked and punched him in the head and body
NYPD was called and responded but Barnes and Cousins were gone by the time the authorities arrived

The “victims” rep says it was a serious situation

The alleged victims representative called the incident a “vicious and unprovoked attack” according to TMZ
The same spokesperson called Cousins’ first involvement a “blindside punch”
The rep also stated the two persons who are suing were taken to hospital by ambulance and treated for what they called serious injuries – which were not specified

The defendants also had something to say

A representative for Matt Barnes had stated earlier that Barnes and his party were attacked after he accidentally bumped a person in the club’s VIP section
Barnes himself has encouraged everyone to understand there are two sides to every story
Cousins or any of his representatives have yet to make a statement concerning the incident

No charges have been filed in NYC

Initial reports had the NYPD ready to charge Barnes as the assailant based on video it had obtained – presumably from security cameras inside the club
That informantion was given to TMZ Sports by a person who was “not authorized” to speak about the situation
There have also been unconfirmed reports that Barnes was in communication with NYPD before leaving the city for Dallas
The fact that no charges have been filed yet does not mean none will be filed – it is truly a wait and see situation while the incident is investigated
Obviously, a lawsuit would be enhanced if criminal charges were brought forward and a some type of a guilty verdict or plea resulted from those charges

The Kings have still issued just one statement related to this event

“We have clear standards of conduct and behavior expected of the entire Kings organization – on and off the court. We are working with all parties involved to gather information in order to take any appropriate next steps.”

How long will the NBA remain silent?

Do not mistake silence for complacency – you can take it to the bank that NBA security is actively investigating this situation as you read this article
Naturally the NBA wants to give the NYPD room to do its criminal investigation and is hoping that no legal charges will be filed as a result of this incident
Even if no criminal charges are brought forward that does not mean Barnes and Cousins are out of the woods with “the Association”
The NBA standards of acceptable behavior may well be above what is acceptable by the laws of the State of New York – this entire event may well have negative results for Barnes, Cousins and the Kings even criminal charges and civil lawsuits are avoided

Post incident video

TMZ has posted video that it says was taken outside the club just after the events transpired. You can view the video at http://www.tmz.com/category/tmzsports

Matt Barnes wanted by NYC Police for assault in night club

Published on December 5, 2016 by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment

by Charlie O. Mallonee

TMZ Sports was the first to release news that Sacramento Kings forward Matt Barnes was involved in an incident in a New York City area night club early Monday morning.

NBA Star Matt Barnes — Accused of Choking Woman in NYC Nightclub https://t.co/6zlPhVgkZi

— TMZ Sports (@TMZ_Sports) December 5, 2016

Barnes was in the club with teammate DeMarcus Cousins. According to the story, Barnes became involved in some sort of altercation with a woman in the club and the woman was choked by Barnes. Another man and woman tried to intervene and were reportedly punched by Barnes.

Per the TMZ story, video they obtained that shows Barnes and Cousins after the fight has the Kings center talking about hitting one of the people involved in the altercation.

http://www.tmz.com/2016/12/05/matt-barnes-bar-fight/?adid=hero1

In USA Today’s report on the altercation, they state the video obtained by investigators shows Barnes as being the assailant in the assault of the women and the man. The statement on the video content came from a source not authorized to release information on the contents of the evidence.

Barnes made a statement via Instagram that “there are two sides to every story.”

“We continue to cooperate fully with authorities,” said Barnes’ attorney Alex Spiro.

The Sacramento Kings issued the following statement on Monday:

The Kings have a game in Dallas on Wednesday night with the Mavericks. Will Matt Barnes be with the team? That is open to question at this time.

What is not open to question is this is exactly the kind of situation the Kings did not at this time based on what is happening with the franchise on the floor.

The Kings shoot poorly and lose to the Knicks 106-98

Published on December 4, 2016 by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment

by Charlie O. Mallonee

Sacramento Kings v New York Knicks — Cousins drives on Noah at the Garden photo: NBAE

“48” – that is the most import number the Sacramento Kings have to drill into their minds right now. They need to learn that a NBA basketball last for 48 minutes and that means as a team the Kings need to play hard for 48 minutes.

The Kings did not play hard for all 48 minutes in the game at Madison Square Garden in New York on Sunday night and Sacramento lost to the Knicks 106-98. This was an unusual game in the sense it was lost in the first half and almost redeemed in the second half, but that is exactly how so many games in the NBA are lost.

Shots would not fall for the Kings in the first half

The Kings shot just 28.6-percent (14-49) in the first half. The term is often used that “the basket had a lid on it”. Well in the first of the game on Sunday for Sacramento, the basket had a lid on it. The Kings were not taking bad shots . The Knicks were not playing great defense. Literally, the ball would not fall through the hoop. The Kings went 9-for-26 in the paint.

The Knicks did not shoot the lights out of the Garden. They shot 42.3-percent (22-for-52) in the first half of the game. New York shot just 36.7-percent in the first quarter.

As the teams headed to the locker rooms at the half, the Kings were lucky to trailing by just 14 points, 55-41.

The Kings came alive in the third quarter

The third quarter began like the second quarter ended. The Knicks kept pouring it on behind the scoring of Porzingis and Anthony and opened up a 20-point lead with 7:59 left to play in the period. At that point, the Kings began to turn the game around.

Starting with a Rudy Gay 25-foot 3-point basket at the 7:02 mark, the Kings began to cut into the Knicks lead. Led by Cousins’ 11 points and Gay’s 10 points the Kings cut the New York lead to one point with 48-seconds remaining in the quarter. At the end of three quarters, New York led the game 81-77.

The Kings came close in the fourth quarter but could not close the deal

The Knicks behind the play of Prozingis opened the lead back up to eight points. Cousins kept the Kings close and Sacramento cut the New York lead down to two points with help of strong play from Gay, Collison and Cauley-Stein.

Carmelo Anthony and Brandon Jennings took over from there adding to the Knicks lead and the Kings were unable to respond. Sacramento had spent so much energy working their way back into the game – they did not have enough left in the tank to fight back overcome the Knicks lead.

The Knicks won the game 106-98.

Cousins was the star of the game again for Sacramento (7-13)

The big center recorded his 10th double-double with 36 points and 12 rebounds. He also had four assists and three blocked shots. Cousins was 9-for-30 shooting from the field
Rudy Gay scored 22 points shooting 7-for-18 and grabbing nine rebounds
Darren Collison put up 13 points and dished out six assists
Kosta Koufos scored only two points but he pulled down 11 rebounds that included five offensive rebounds
Willie Cauley-Stein played 23 minutes scoring nine points and hauling in four rebounds. Coach Dave Joerger said Cauley-Stein’s length on defense matched up well against Prozingis
The Kings shot just 32.3-percent (31-96) as team for the game

The usual suspects came through for the Knicks (11-9)

The Knicks had four players score in double figures while shooting 44.3-percent (39-for-88) from the floor. NYK also shot 37.9-percent (11-for-29) from 3-point range
Carmelo Anthony and Derrick Rose each scored 20 points in the game. Rose continues to look more like the Rose of old all the time
Brandon Jennings put up 19 points with 4-of-5 his scores being 3-point baskets. He was also a perfect 7-for-7 from the free throw line
Kristaps Porzingis started the game slowly but finished with 15 points and 11 rebounds

Up next on the schedule

The Kings wrap up their five game road trip on Wednesday night in Dallas with what has become a must win game over the terrible Mavericks. A win would let the Kings finish the road trip 2-3.

The Knicks also hit the road and visit South Beach to take on the Heat on Tuesday night.

Yonder Alonso will be back at first base for the A’s in 2017

Published on December 3, 2016 by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment

by Charlie O. Mallonee

alonso-at-bat — Yonder Alonso at the plate for Oakland photo: Lincoln Journal Star.com

The Oakland Athletics and first baseman Yonder Alonso have avoided arbitration by agreeing on a one-year contract. The A’s did not reveal the terms of the contract but there have been multiple reports that deal is worth $4-million. Alonso will become an unrestricted free agent in 2018.

#Athletics agree to terms with Yonder Alonso on a one-year contract, avoiding arbitration; tender contracts to all remaining players

— Oakland A's (@Athletics) December 2, 2016

Alonso was a an iron-man for the A’s in 2016 appearing in 156 games. He had a slash line of .253/.316/.367. Alonso recorded 122 hits, 34 doubles, seven home runs and 56 RBI. He struck out 74 times and reached base via base on balls 45 times.

Alonso was particularly productive at the plate with men on base. He batted .302 with men on base and six of his seven home runs came with runners on base. He went 7-for-11 with the bases loaded in 2016. The left-handed hitting Alonso batted .257 against right-handed pitching and .227 versus lefties.

Alonso’s defense was an unanticipated bonus last season

alonso-fielding — Alonso’s fielding was a pleasant surprise in 2016

Alonso was also very productive on defense for Oakland last season. He ranked second among first baseman in the American League with a .9967 fielding percentage. That was the second best fielding percentage posted by an A’s first baseman since Mark McGwire’s .9969 in 1991.

Will Alonso’s role change in 2017?

Fangraphs is projecting that Alonso will play 100 games in 2017 for the A’s. If third baseman Matt Chapman progresses at Triple-A Nashville and his promoted to the majors, current third baseman Ryon Healy would most likely be moved to first base sending Alonso to the bench and a pinch hitting role. However, there are many “ifs” in that scenario and for now Alonso is going to be a key everyday starter for Oakland.

Yonder Alonso is very happy to be back with the A's, he says via text: pic.twitter.com/3qctmTnjdW

— Susan Slusser (@susanslusser) December 2, 2016

Kings lose a battle in Boston 97-92

Published on December 2, 2016 by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment

by Charlie O. Mallonee

Sacramento Kings v Boston Celtics — Cousins and Horford battle under the basket Photo NBAE

The Kings and Celtics went to war on the basketball court on Friday night in Boston. The game featured 23 lead changes and 12 ties. As those stats would imply, both teams had the opportunity to win the game. In the end, Boston led by Al Horford was able to put the “W” in the books because of their tough play late in the fourth quarter.

The Celtics won their 11th game of the season as they downed the Kings 97-92. Sacramento now drops to 7-12 on the season and 1-2 on what is now a five-game road trip.

The Kings started slow and finished sluggish

Sacramento went with the “the big” starting lineup in this game – Koufos, Cousins, Gay, Afflalo and Collison. Boston began running away from this starting five immediately. By the 4:26 mark in the first quarter, the Celtics held a 13-point lead 24-11. Dave Joerger pulled all of his starters except Cousins and the second unit erased the deficit tying the game at 29-29 at the end of the first period.

That set up a real battle between the teams that played out in second, third and part of the fourth quarters.

With 7:54 to go in the game, Al Horford hit a hook shot that tied the game and the Celtics eventually went on a 10-0 run that created a major uphill battle for the Kings. Sacramento led by Cousins tried to fight their way back into the game and did cut the Celtics lead to three points with 39 seconds remaining in the game. The Kings were unable to score again in those final seconds and lost the game.

The Kings lost Cousins for medical treatment late in the 3rd and early in the 4th quarters

Late in the third quarter, Ty Lawson and DeMarcus Cousins were both going for a defensive rebound when Lawson’s left elbow hit Cousins above the left eye. The blow opened up a cut above Cousins’ left eye. He was taken to the locker room where they glued the cut shut and he returned to the game with under eight minutes to play in the fourth quarter.

Was that the turning point in the game? No, it was not. Read the next section and you will understand why it was not the key to the loss.

Missed shots in the paint – poor shot selection – turnovers all haunt the Kings

“We just shot ourselves in the foot. We turned the damned thing (the ball) over like I’ve never seen.We take bad shots sometimes and it just ticks me off. At bad times … stuff we know we have to get better at. We’re not a bunch of rookies. We can get better. We’ll keep plugging away and keep getting better, but we shot 47 shots in the paint and missed how many layups? Turnovers killed us. Shots come and go – we didn’t make shots,” said Kings head coach Dave Joerger after the game.

Sacramento outscored Boston 42-34 in the paint but went 21-for-47 in the high percentage shooting area. The Kings shot just 37.9-percent (33-for-87) for the game. It is almost impossible to win a game in the NBA and shoot under 40-percent. Sacramento turned the ball over 15 times and those TOVs created 21 points for Boston.

Cousins was the Kings scoring leader but it was not his best night – Barnes was big

DeMarcus Cousins was the game’s leading scorer with 28 points but he had to take 26 shots to tally those points. He was 2-for-7 from long range. Cousins had nine rebounds so he did not record a double-double
Matt Barnes did have a double-double for the Kings on Friday night. He scored 12 points, grabbed 16 rebounds (game-high) and added five assists. Barnes also provided some much needed energy on defense several times in the game
Rudy Gay and Darren Collison each scored 12 points for Sacramento. Gay had eight rebounds but went 1-for-7 from 3-point range. Collison had three assists
Omri Casspi played almost 27 minutes off the bench and scored seven points. Casspi brought some much needed energy late in the first quarter
Willie Cauley-Stein had some strong minutes of playing time in the first half and scored six points in the game

Al Horford was the star for Boston in the game

Horford had a complete game for the Celtics on Friday night against the Kings. The Boston center played 35-minutes scoring 26 points, recorded eight rebounds, dished out three assists, had two steals and six -yes you are reading correctly – six blocked shots. He shot 10-for-18 from the floor and 4-for-7 from beyond the 3-point line.

Celtics head coach Brad Stevens was even more impressed with Horford’s defense. Stevens talked about how his center is always at the ready on defense. Horford did make a key defensive play on Cousins in the final seconds of the game to deny the Kings big man a 3-point shot opportunity.

Other Celtic contributors

Former Kings player Isaiah Thomas put up 20 points and handed out seven assists on a night when he did not shoot his best. Thomas shot 6-for-21 from the floor and 0-for-5 from 3-point land
Jae Crowder added 16 points and Avery Bradley scored 15 for Boston
One of the big weaknesses for the Celtics is the lack of bench scoring. The Celtics reserves scored just 12 points in the contest. The Kings bench scored 33 points in the game

Up next on the schedule

The Kings have the day off in New York City on Saturday and then will face the New York Knicks in “the Garden” on Sunday at 4:00 p.m. PST in game four of the five-game road trip.

The Celtics kick off a road trip on Saturday night in Philadelphia with the Sixers assuming the floor is dry enough for play. The NBA will make sure the floor is game-ready for the Celtics and Sixers … take that to the bank.

A’s invite 26 non-roster players to Spring Training

Published on December 2, 2016December 2, 2016 by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment

by Charlie O. Mallonee

how-to-get-hohokam-park-spring-training-info — Hohokam Stadium the A’s Spring Training home

The Oakland Athletics have announced the non-roster players who have been invited to the 2017 Major League Spring Training Camp. Most of these players will not make the 25-man Major League roster, but they will gain valuable experience playing with and against Major League talent. These players will also have the benefit of working with the major league coaching staff.

These non-roster players will also be watched very closely by the player development staff to determine when they might be ready to play in the Major Leagues.

These are the 26 players who have been invited to the A’s Spring Training Camp in mid-February 2017:

RHP Michael Brady: Signed as a minor league free agent Nov. 15…combined for a 3-6 record and a 2.89 ERA in 18 games (12 starts) with Double-A Harrisburg and Triple-A Syracuse in the Washington organization in 2016.
RHP Ryan Brasier: Second straight season as a non-roster invitee with the A’s…was 5-3 with a save, a 3.56 ERA and 70 strikeouts in 60.2 innings over 46 relief appearances with Triple-A Nashville.
RHP Simon Castro: Signed as a minor league free agent after going 0-5 with 10 saves and a 3.38 ERA in 50 relief appearances with Triple-A Albuquerque in the Colorado farm system.

matt-chapman — Matt Chapman rounds the bases after hitting a home run

IF Matt Chapman: The A’s first round pick in the 2014 draft returns for his second straight big league camp…combined to hit .237 with 36 home runs and 96 RBI in 135 games with Double-A Midland and Nashville…ranked third in all of minor league baseball in home runs and tied for 10^th in RBI.
RHP Trey Cochran-Gill: Was acquired from Seattle for Evan Scribner following the 2015 season and went 4-5 with a 3.07 ERA in 42 relief appearances with Midland in 2016…added a 1.84 ERA in 10 relief appearances with Mesa in the Arizona Fall League.
IF Jermaine Curtis: Signed as a minor league free agent after hitting .291 with nine home runs and 50 RBI in 89 games with Triple-A Louisville in the Reds organization…added 42 walks for a .404 on-base percentage.
OF Jaff Decker: Hit .154 in 19 games with Tampa Bay last year and is a .162 career hitter in 60 games over four seasons in the majors…also batted .255 with 12 home runs and 35 RBI in 99 games with Triple-A Durham…signed as a minor league free agent Nov. 22.
LHP Felix Doubront: Missed the entire 2016 season after undergoing UCL reconstruction surgery April 12.
RHP Heath Fillmyer: Oakland’s fifth round pick in the 2014 draft combined for a 7-6 record and a 3.29 ERA in 26 games, including 24 starts, with Single-A Stockton and Midland.
RHP Daniel Gossett: The A’s second round pick in the 2014 draft pitched for Stockton, Midland and Nashville in 2016 and combined for a 10-6 record and a 2.69 ERA in 27 appearances, all starts…led the A’s farm system with 151 strikeouts.
RHP Tucker Healy: A 23^rd round selection in the 2012 draft, he spent the entire 2016 season at Nashville where he went 4-3 with eight saves, a 3.61 ERA and .202 opponents batting average in 44 relief appearances…struck out 76 in 52.1 innings

kurcz-in-relief — Kurcz on the mound in Las Vegas

RHP Aaron Kurcz: Combined for a 9-1 record, five saves, a 3.03 ERA and .211 opponents batting average in 46 appearances with Midland and Nashville…was acquired by the A’s from Atlanta for international bonus slot 4 on July 6, 2015.
OF Andrew Lambo: Appeared in one game with Oakland and also hit .255 with four home runs and 30 RBI in 56 games with Nashville before missing the last half of the season following a diagnosis of testicular cancer.
C Ryan Lavarnway: Signed as a minor league free agent Nov. 21 after playing in the Atlanta and Toronto farm systems in 2016…combined to hit .266 with six home runs and 48 RBI in 91 games with Triple-A Gwinnett and Double-A New Hampshire.

IF Richie Martin: The A’s first round pick in the 2015 draft returns for his second consecutive big league camp…combined for a .235 average, three home runs, 38 RBI and 14 stolen bases in 91 games with Stockton and Midland.
C/OF Matt McBride: Hit .209 with two RBI in 20 games with Oakland last year…also batted .267 with seven home runs and 30 RBI in 70 games with Nashville.
C Sean Murphy: Was the A’s third round selection in the 2016 draft and batted .228 with two home runs and seven RBI in 23 games in his professional debut with the A’s affiliate in the Arizona Rookie League and Short-Season Vermont.
OF Chris Parmelee: Went 4-for-8 with two home runs and four RBI in six games with New York (AL) last year and is a .248 career hitter with 30 home runs and 98 RBI in 311 games over six seasons in the majors…spent most of 2016 at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre where he hit .248 with 11 home runs and 29 RBI in 64 games…signed as a minor league free agent, Nov. 19.

puk — A.J. Puk 2016 1st-round draft pick

LHP A.J. Puk: Was the A’s first round choice in the 2016 draft and went 0-4 with a 3.03 ERA and .185 opponents batting average in 10 starts with Vermont in his professional debut…struck out 40 in 32.2 innings.
IF Josh Rodriguez: Returns for his second straight camp with the A’s as a non-roster invitee…played for Midland and Nashville in 2016 and hit .263 with nine home runs and 53 RBI in 88 games.
IF Max Schrock: Was acquired from Washington for Marc Rzepczynski Aug. 25…led all of minor league baseball with 177 hits after batting .331 with 32 doubles, two triples, nine home runs and 71 RBI in 129 games with Stockton, Midland, Single-A Potomac and Single-A Hagerstown.
RHP Chris Smith: Was a non-roster invitee with the A’s last year…went 6-8 with a 3.93 ERA in 22 starts at Nashville before joining Oakland Aug. 7…had no decisions, a 2.92 ERA and .165 opponents batting average in 13 relief appearances with the A’s.
RHP Josh Smith: Was claimed off waivers from Cincinnati Nov. 4 and outrighted to Nashville Nov. 18…went 3-3 with a 4.68 ERA in 32 games (two starts) with the Reds…was also 4-4 with a 3.80 ERA in nine games (eight starts) with Triple-A Louisville.
RHP Tyler Sturdevant: Signed as a minor league free agent Nov. 11…went 0-1 with a 3.93 ERA in 16 relief appearances in his Major League debut with Tampa Bay last year…was also 3-2 with four saves and a 3.66 ERA in 34 games with Durham.
RHP Cesar Valdez: Signed as a minor league free agent Nov. 17 after going 12-1 with a 3.12 ERA in 30 games (18 starts) with Triple-A Fresno in the Houston organization…ranked third in the Pacific Coast League in ERA and tied for fourth in wins…walked 13 and struck out 114 in 138.1 innings.
OF Kenny Wilson: Signed as a minor league free agent Nov. 15…combined to hit .255 with three home runs, 32 RBI and 30 stolen bases in 125 games with Double-A Jacksonville and Triple-A New Orleans in the Miami organization.

Kings – Sixers game postponed due to wet grounds … make that floor!

Published on December 1, 2016December 1, 2016 by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment

by Charlie O. Mallonee

cuz-mops — Cousins mops up in Philly (CSN Philly)

The Sacramento Kings and the Philadelphia 76ers were supposed to play a basketball game Wednesday night at the Wells Fargo Center in Philly. The game was not played due to unsafe conditions on the floor.

The Wells Fargo Center is a combination arena where they play basketball and hockey. The basketball floor is laid down over the ice which happens in a number of arenas around the country and is usually not a problem.

On Wednesday, it was unusually warm for Philadelphia with temperatures in the 60’s. Officials believe that some malfunction with the refrigeration system caused the the condensation to form on the basketball floor. When mopping up the water did not solve the problem, NBA officials had to step in and make a decision based on the safety of the players.

What should we do all great and powerful NBA?

The only logical decision was to postpone the game to a later date.

Why not play the game on Thursday?

The Wells Fargo Center was dark on Thursday night and the Kings would have been available, but the Sixers were already scheduled for a back-to-back home set on Friday with Orlando and on Saturday with Boston. Philly also has a back-to-back home/road set scheduled for Monday and Tuesday. A Thursday contest would have been just to much to ask of the players.

Has this ever happened before?

In October of 2015, a Lakers – Warriors preseason game at a casino in San Diego was canceled late in the third quarter due to wet floor conditions. In 2010, a preseason game between Orlando and Miami was canceled in St. Petersburg for the same problem.

There are reports that a similar problem that canceled an NBA game in the late 80’s cost the home team $1-million in fines. The Sixers or whoever controls the Wells Fargo Center had better get out the checkbook because the fines and lawsuits are coming.

The Sixers were already announcing to the crowd Wednesday night that their tickets and parking stubs would be honored for the rescheduled game between Sacramento and Philadelphia. They also announced bonus vouchers to upcoming games in December for fans as compensation for their time and trouble for showing up and having the game canceled.

Boogie had fun with the moment

Best moment of the night had to be DeMarcus Cousins helping to mop the floor at the Wells Fargo Center. “Boogie” may be known for his temper but he has a fun-loving side that can be very flexible in a situation that could have a very stressful event. There is more to the Kings’ big man than just what happens after officials make a call he does not agree with and he expresses his feelings openly for the world to see. Enjoy the video. http://www.csnphilly.com/the700level/watch-demarcus-cousins-literally-mops-wells-fargo-center-floor-during-bizarre-pregame

Hawkins to be named head football coach at UC Davis

Published on November 29, 2016 by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment

by Charlie O. Mallonee

Thomas Wolfe may have been wrong when he said, “You can’t go home again.” Dan Hawkins is coming home to UC Davis to become the 17th head football coach in the history of the program.

Hawkins will be officially introduced at a press conference on Tuesday at 10 a.m. by UC Davis Director of Athletics Kevin Blue.

“We are very excited to welcome Dan Hawkins back to UC Davis to lead an exciting new era of football at his alma mater,” Blue said. “Dan is a highly experienced head football coach who possesses in-depth expertise about what it takes to be successful in the modern era of Div. I college football.”

Hawkins played fullback for UC Davis under head coach Jim Sochor in 1981-82. Hawkins stayed on with the Aggies football program as an assistant coach from 1983-85.

Hawkins is best known for his time as head coach at Boise State (2001-05). He took a little known program to national prominence in the Western Athletic Conference. The Broncos compiled a 53-11 record and played in four bowl games under Hawkins leadership.

Hawkins left Boise State in 2006 to take the head coaching position at Colorado where stayed until 2010. After leaving Colorado, he worked for ESPN and in the Canadian Football League.

Hawkins started his head coaching career in Sacramento at Christian Brothers High School. He was also head coach of NAIA Willamette in Oregon.

UC Davis plays in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Series as member of the Big Sky Conference.

Information supplied by UC Davis Sports Information contributed to this report

Kings news & notes Monday 11-28-16

Published on November 28, 2016 by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment

by Charlie O. Mallonee

Cousins passes Webber on the scoring list

DeMarcus Cousins scored a game-high 37 points in win over the Nets on Sunday night. Those 37 points allowed Cousins to pass Chris Webber for third on the all-time Sacramento Kings scoring list.

Cousins now has 8847 career points for Sacramento. Webber accumulated 8843 points during his six-plus years with Sacramento.

Peja Stojakovic is currently in second-place with 9498 points and the great Mitch Richmond holds down the number one spot with 12,070 points. The all-time franchise (Royals/Kings) points leader is Hall of Famer Oscar Robinson.

Based on his current scoring projections, Cousins could pass Stojakovic for second-place on the scoring list later this season.

Cousins Passes Webber on All-Time Kings Scoring List » https://t.co/cqIDCT990k pic.twitter.com/zP74fwxZ6c

— Sacramento Kings (@SacramentoKings) November 28, 2016

It was a night of technical fouls plus a flagrant two ejection

DeMarcus Cousins picked up his fifth technical foul in the third quarter of the game for contact with Luis Scola’s face. It was incorrectly reported as his fourth technical foul in last night’s story. Cousins is now tied for the league lead in that category with DeAndre Jordan of the Clippers.

The Kings Kosta Koufos was charged with a technical foul in the fourth quarter for arguing with the officials. Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson picked up a “T” in the fourth out of frustration with the officials and his team. Nets guard Randy Foye was also a recipient of a technical late in the final period.

Matt Barnes received his flagrant two foul (which was a flagrant one all the way) and ejection from the officiating crew on Sunday night in Brooklyn.

Four technicals and a flagrant two ejection begins to sound like an officiating crew that might have lost control of a game. This would be a good game for the chief of officials to review.

The Kings went back to the big starting lineup on Sunday in Brooklyn

After using the the “small ball” starting lineup for the past three games, Sacramento head coach Dave Joerger went back to the “big lineup” versus the big Nets. That means Koufos started at center, Cousins slid back to power forward, Rudy Gay played the three, Arron Afflalo was at shooting guard and Darren Collison started as the Kings point guard.

Three Kings return to Reno

Center Georgios Papagiannis, Forward Skal Labissiere and Guard Malachi Richardson ended few days with the parent club and returned to the D-League on Sunday. The Bighorns hosted the Warriors D-League entry the Santa Cruz Warriors.

The Bighorns used a runaway second quarter to establish a solid lead over Santa Cruz and won their second game of the season 100-84.

Malachi Richardson led the Bighorns scoring attack with 24 points and made it a double-double with 11 rebounds. He shot 8-for-18 from the floor, 3-for-6 from 3-point range and hit 5-of-6 from the free throw line.

Skal Labissiere recorded 18 points and grabbed four rebounds. He went 6-for-11 shooting from the field and was 6-for-8 from foul line.

Papagiannis did not play which was listed as a coach’s decision. Kings head coach Dave Joerger had told us that having all three players in a game really limited the number of touches each player received and they want to maximize that number to speed up player development.

The Bighorns will host the Rio Grande Valley Vipers (Houston) on Thursday.

Don’t let this guy get to close to you on the court in D.C.

Wizards guard Bradley Beal fined $15,000 for grabbing Evan Fournier by the throat during Wizards vs. Magic https://t.co/brS3ypVBSv pic.twitter.com/ddFhVqe4c1

— Bleacher Report NBA (@BR_NBA) November 27, 2016

For entertainment purposes only

FiveThirtyEight.com says the Wizards have a 68-percent chance of beating the Kings tonight in Washington (remember: this is the second game of a back-to-back set on the road). FiveThirtyEight’s CARMELO system predicts the Wizards are the favorites minus 4.5 points.

CARMELO also predicts the Wizards will finish with a record of 34-48 and have a 31-percent chance of making the playoffs in the Eastern Conference.

The fellows who make those predictions for the owners of those big resorts say go with the Wizards minus 4.5 points. They call the over/under as 210 to 210.5.

Looking ahead to game six of the road trip in Dallas

As reported by HoopsHype via Dallas Morning News on the Dirk Nowitzki injury: He’s only played five of 16 games. “We have every expectation that it’s not serious,” owner Mark Cuban said. “It’s dramatically better. That’s why he played the other night (in Cleveland). He just felt it again, so there’s no reason to take a chance. We’re just being cautious.” Said Carlisle: “The important thing is that we’re doing the right things to get him to a full recovery. He’s come a long way in a four-plus week period. But it’s an Achilles strain and it’s taking time. My hope is that it can be complete sometime in December, sooner than later. But we just got to be patient with it. He’s too important to us. If we have to play without him, we’ll play without him.”