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.

Sacramento River Cats say good-bye to the A’s and hello to the Giants

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river cats

By Charlie O. Mallonee

After 15 seasons of being the Triple-A affiliate for the Oakland Athletics, the Sacramento River Cats will become the Triple-A home for the San Francisco Giants. The Sacramento Bee reports that the official announcement of the Giants and River Cats affiliation will be made on Friday.

The River Cats filed paperwork to be able to change team affiliation earlier this week.

The Oakland Athletics announced today that they have reached agreement with the Nashville Sounds to be their new Triple-A affiliate beginning in 2015. It is a four-year agreement that runs through the 2018 season.

The Sounds will open the 2015 season in a brand new 10,000 seat stadium that was built by the City of Nashville. The Sounds have entered into a 30-year lease with the city for use of the stadium.

There had been speculation that Oakland and San Francisco might trade affiliates with the A’s going to Fresno and the Giants moving to Sacramento. However, the A’s appear to have been very impressed with the Nashville organization and its new stadium despite the added distance from the parent club.

Fresno is now the odd-man out in this situation. The Grizzlies will now have to find a new Major League organization to play in Fresno. According to the Fresno Bee, the Grizzlies will become the Triple-A affiliate of the Houston Astros.

This is not the first time the Giants have jilted the city of Fresno. Fresno was the long time home of the Giants Class A farm team until the affiliation was moved to San Jose in the late 80’s. The city was without a minor league team until the Triple-A Grizzlies began play 18 years ago.Now the Giants have left Fresno for Sacramento.

Reportedly the River Cats believe that the Player Development Agreement with San Francisco will be more lucrative because of the large Giants fan base in the Sacramento area.

The A’s win the game and the series on Sunday in Seattle

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Oakland Athletics v Chicago White Sox

by Charlie O. Mallonee

The Oakland A’s knew they needed to win the series in Seattle in order to keep the number one Wild Card position and to keep the surging Seattle Mariners at bay. On Sunday, the A’s four pitchers combined for a shutout and the Oakland batters used well time hits to defeat the Mariners 4-0 to take the series two games to one.

John Lester took the mound for the Athletics and had to work very hard during his six innings of pitching. Lester allowed only four hits, but he also allowed four walks while striking out seven Mariner hitters. Lester had to deal with base runners in every inning but the sixth inning. He also had to throw 110 pitches (63 strikes) in those six innings of work. Lester was awarded the win and his record improves to 15-10.

The A’s got on the board early as Sam Fuld took a Chris Young fastball over the right field fence in the first inning. The A’s would not score again until seventh inning of the game. Young pitched 6.0 innings giving up two runs (both earned) on four hits but two of those four hits were home runs. With the loss, Young’s record fell to 12-8 on the season.

The A’s protected a one run lead through six innings. Then in the top of the seventh, Brandon Moss led the inning off with his 24th home run of the season. It was Moss’ first home run in 39 games. If Moss’ bat can come alive, it will be a major boon for the Athletics down the stretch.

Oakland added two insurance runs in the top of the eighth inning. Coco Crisp led off the inning with a hit to left field that he turned into a double with his speed. Sam Fuld  then hit a pitch to the opposite field (left) that brought Crisp home to score. Fuld moved up to second on the casual response by the left fielder Corey Hart. Josh Donaldson was safe at first on an error committed by Robinson Cano. Adam Dunn then slapped a single into left field that allowed Fuld to score giving the A’s a 4-0 lead.

The A’s pitching and defense kept the Mariners off-balance during the entire game. Seattle went 0-13 with runners in scoring position and left 11 runners on base. A number of Mariners will have a sleepless night thinking about what could have been with one or two well-timed hits.

Dan Otero entered the game for Oakland in the seventh inning. He gave up two hits but managed to get out of a bases loaded situation to keep the Mariners scoreless.

Luke Gregerson worked the eighth inning giving up one hit while striking out three batters. Sean Doolittle pitched the ninth inning in a non-save situation in order to get some live game work in after his recent return from the Disabled List.

The A’s are now 1.5 games in front of the second place Wild Card team the Kansas City Royals. The Mariners are now one game behind Kansas City in the Wild Card standings.

The Athletics will have their final day off of the regular season on Monday before beginning a three game series with the Texas Rangers in Oakland on Tuesday.

Disaster in SoCal – the Angels sweep four in a row from the A’s

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matt shoemaker

 By Charlie O. Mallonee

Have you ever had a nightmare that will not go away? Every time you close your eyes, it comes back.

That was the kind of nightmare the Oakland A’s experienced in Los Angeles versus the Angels in their critical four-game series to determine the leader in the American League West. Every time the A’s closed their eyes, they saw an Angel pitcher dominating the hitters and keeping the A’s from scoring runs. They saw Angel’s batters having very little difficulty hitting Oakland pitching. Every time the A’s players looked at the scoreboard, they saw themselves as the losers in very critical games.

The A’s went into the game on Sunday hoping salvage one win in the four-game series. It was not to be as Los Angeles pitcher Matt Shoemaker pitched seven scoreless innings while his hitters limited A’s starter Scott Kazmir to just.1.1 innings of work. The Angels beat the A’s 8-1 to sweep the series.

The Angels struck first and struck hard in the bottom of the second inning. Josh Hamilton led off the inning with a single to left field. Howie Kendrick then walked. David Freese flied out to center. Erick Aybar singled to left field and Josh Hamilton scored as Kendrick moved up to second base. Chris Iannetta walked to load the bases for the Angels. After Curt Young made a visit to the mound, Scott Kazmir walked Gordon Beckham forcing in a run from third base. Kole Calhoun then walked forcing in Aybar for the third run of the inning.

Bob Melvin made a trip to the mound to remove Kazmir before the next hitter. As Dan Otero ran in from the bullpen, Melvin started toward home plate umpire Gerry Davis to complain about the strike zone. Davis immediately ejected Melvin.

Mike Trout singled off Otero driving two runs in and putting the Angels up 5-0. Albert Pujols grounded out to third but Kole Calhoun was able to score from third. Josh Hamilton was safe at first on a fielding error but Mike Trout was thrown out at the plate trying to score from second to end the inning. When the dust settled, the A’s starting pitcher was in the clubhouse, Bob Melvin was ejected and Oakland trailed the Angels 6-0.

The Angels added another run in the bottom of the seventh inning. Mike Trout led off the inning with a home run to left center field off Jesse Chavez to make the score 7-0 Los Angeles.

The A’s finally stopped their streak of 29 consecutive scoreless innings in the top of the eighth inning. With one out, Sam Fuld walked. Fuld advanced to second on defensive indifference as Josh Reddick was at the plate. Reddick then hit a single to left and Fuld scampered home to score the A’s one and only run of the game.

The Angels added one more run in the bottom of the eighth inning when Chris Iannetta took an Evan Scribner pitch over the left center field wall for the eighth run of the game.

Shoemaker’s record improved to 14-4 on the season. He worked 7.0 innings giving up no runs on just five hits. Shoemaker walked none and struck out seven Oakland A’s. He threw 103 pitches (70 strikes).

Scott Kazmir’s record fell to 14-7 for the year. He gave up six runs (all earned) in his 1.1 innings on the mound. Kazmir walked six batters and struck out none. Dan Otero, Jesse Chavez and Evan Scribner combined to close out the game for the A’s.

Oakland now trails the Angels by five full games in the American League West. The Angels have Monday off and then begin a series in Houston on Tuesday. The A’s will be back in action on Monday as they open a three-game series with the Seattle Mariners.

The Angels and A’s will face each other again in a three-game series in Oakland September 22-24.

 

 

Dunn to the rescue?

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by Charlie O. Mallonee
The Oakland Athletics are making moves to jumpstart their offense by completing a trade with the Chicago White Sox for outfielder/designated hitter Adam Dunn. The A’s acquired Dunn and cash considerations in exchange for minor league right-handed pitcher Nolan Sanburn.

Dunn is currently batting .220 with 20 home runs and 54 RBI in 106 games for the White Sox. He is tied for seventh in the American League with 65 walks but he is ranked seventh with 132 strikeouts. Dunn will do one of three things for the A’s at the plate – hit a home run, walk or strikeout.

Dunn has played DH, first base, right field and left field for Chicago this season. Prior to the start of the game in Anaheim, A’s manager Bob Melvin indicated that Dunn will be used mostly as the designated hitter for Oakland.

Adam Dunn is a .237 career hitter with 460 home runs and 1158 RBI in 1976 Major League games. His 460 home runs ranks him 36th on the all-time list just one behind David Ortiz.

Dunn is expected to join the A’s on Labor Day. Because the trade was completed by August 31st, Dunn will be eligible to play in the post-season for the Athletics.

A’s swept by Braves

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By Charlie O. Mallonee

The Oakland Athletics lost to the Atlanta Braves 4-3 on Sunday night. The win completed the Braves’ sweep of the A’s in the three game series. The loss was the A’s fifth in a row and it kept them from retaking the lead in the AL West from the Angels.

The loss was also John Lester’s first defeat as member of the Oakland A’s. Lester (13-8) worked 6.0 innings giving up four runs (3 earned) on six hits. Lester’s downfall on Sunday night was the long ball. He gave up two home runs that accounted for the three earned runs. Lester’s cut fastball was not fooling the Braves’ hitters.

Mike Minor (5-8) had a quality start for the Braves. He threw 7.0 innings giving up two runs (both earned) on four hits. Minor struck out seven and walked two hitters. He issued two home runs.

Craig Kimbrel entered to close out the game for Atlanta. He threw 99-100 mph fastballs and 88 mph breaking balls. Kimbrel struck out two on his was to his 37th save of the season.

Nate Freiman put the Athletics on the board first with a no doubt about it 459-foot home run to straight-away center off Mike Minor in the top of the second inning. It was Freiman’s third home run of the season.

The Braves came back to the tie the game in the bottom of the second inning. Justin Upton hit a lead-off single to center off Jon Lester. Chris Johnson then hit a sharp liner to the third baseman Josh Donaldson. Donaldson threw to first base in an attempt to double-up Upton. The ball hit Upton and rolled into the Braves dugout. That caused Upton to be placed at third base. Evan Gattis hit a single to right field that allowed Upton to score the tying run. The score was tied 1-1 after two innings of play.

The Braves took their first lead of the game in the bottom of the fourth inning. Phil Gosselin led off the inning with a single to right field. With one out, Justin Upton came to the plate with a runner on at first. Upton took a 0-2 cut fastball from Lester over the left field wall for a two run home run (23). The Braves led the A’s 3-1 after four innings.

The A’s made it a one run game in the top of the seventh inning when Nate Freiman took a slider from Minor over the left field fence for his second home run of the night. The A’s trailed the Braves 3-2 after six and one-half innings.

The Braves struck back in the home half of the seventh inning. Chris Johnson led off the inning by taking a 2-1 Lester cutter over the fence in left field giving the Braves a 4-2 lead. When Evan Gattis followed up with a single and that was the end of Lester’s night on the mound. Dan Otero came on in relief and closed out the inning. After seven complete innings, the Braves led the A’s 4-2.

Sam Fuld was brought in as a pinch hitter for Otero to lead off the top of the eighth inning. Fuld hit a 2-2 changeup from reliever Anthony Varvaro into center field. B.J. Upton misplayed the ball and Fuld moved to third on the double and an error. Coco Crisp hit a sacrifice fly to left that allowed Fuld to score. James Russell replaced Varvaro. Josh Donaldson singled off Russell but was stranded at first base. The A’s trailed the Braves 4-3 after the top of the eighth.

Kimbrel came out of the bullpen to record the save and to preserve the Braves’ victory.

The A’s have Monday off and then have a two game series with the Mets in Oakland that will be followed by a three series with the Los Angeles Angels at the Coliseum.

Kings sign big, big man

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by Charlie O. Mallonee

The Sacramento Kings Kings have signed 7-foot-5, 360-pound center Sim Bhullar to a contract. Per team policy, the details of the contract were not made public.

Bhullar, who was born in Toronto, Ontario, is the first player of Indian descent to sign a NBA contract. Bhullar played for the Kings summer league team that won the championship in Las Vegas.

Sim Bhullar played two seasons at New Mexico State University. He averaged 10.2 points, 7.2 rebounds, 1.0 assists, 2.9 blocks and 25.3 minutes per game for the Aggies. Bhullar was a two-time Western Athletic Conference Tournament MVP.

“I’ve long believed that India is the next great frontier for the NBA, and adding a talented player like Sim only underscores the exponential growth basketball has experienced in that nation,” said Kings Owner Vivek Ranadivé. “While Sim is the first player of Indian descent to sign with an NBA franchise, he represents one of many that will emerge from that region as the game continues to garner more attention and generate ever-increasing passion among a new generation of Indian fans.”    

The Kings have been working with the NBA to promote basketball in India. The game is now India’s fastest growing sport. The Kings televised 20 games in the country last season. The team has established a website in Hindi and has sent players as well as the dance team to India.

Kings to open the season in Sac versus the Warriors

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by Charlie O. Mallonee

The 2014-15 NBA schedules have finally been released, and we now know the season will open with a Northern California showdown. The Sacramento Kings will host the Golden State Warriors in Sacramento on Wednesday, October 29.

Six of the Kings first 12 games will be played at Sleep Train Arena. Those first six home games will feature contests with the Portland Trail Blazers, Denver Nuggets and the NBA Champion San Antonio Spurs.

The Kings will be seen on national TV seven times in 2014-15. The Kings – Thunder game on December 16 in Sacramento will be seen on ESPN. Sacramento will be seen twice on TNT versus the Bulls and Rockets. The Kings will also be seen four times on NBA TV.

The schedule breaks down by month as follows: October – two home games, November – five home games and 10 road games, December – 11 home games and four away, January – seven home and eight away games, February – six home games and four away, March – six home and 10 away contests and April – four games at home and 5 games on the road.

There are 17 sets of back-to-back games. Three are home-home back-to-backs. Seven sets are away-away games. Two back-to-backs are away-home and there are five home-away back-to-back games.

The Kings 41-game home schedule features 21 weekend contests. 

Kings and Knicks trade players and a pick

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by Charlie O. Mallonee

The Sacramento Kings have completed a trade with the New York Knicks. Coming to Sacramento are forward/center Jeremy Tyler and guard Wayne Ellington (pictured). The Kings also received the Knicks 2016 second-round draft selection. Going to the Knicks are forwards Travis Outlaw and Quincy Acy.

Ellington averages 6.4 points per game with a 41.8 – field goal and a 38.6 – percent 3-point shooting percentage. He has played 312 games in the NBA with Minnesota, Memphis, Cleveland, Dallas and New York.

Tyler averages 3.8 points and 2.7 rebounds per contest. He has played for Golden State, Atlanta and New York over the past three seasons.

Outlaw averages 8.5 points per game and had been with the Kings since 2011. Acy came to Sacramento last season in a trade with Toronto.

Sacramento seeks MLS franchise

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Sacramento is seeking to become an expansion city for Major League Soccer. Multiple news outlets are reporting that a major presentation was made to MLS on Thursday at league meetings in Portland. The presentation included Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson, Kings president Chris Granger and Sacramento Republic FC president Warren Smith.

Sacramento Republic FC is a minor league soccer franchise that has taken the area by storm. The team has drawn as many as 20,000 fans to its games. The team is consistently selling out its 8000 seat temporary stadium at Cal Expo.

In recent days, a new twist to the quest for a franchise has come to light. It has been reported that the ownership of the Sacramento Kings would like to buy or buy into the Republic FC. Those reports seem to have been substantiated by the presence of Kings president Chris Granger at the Wednesday meeting in Portland.

Several sites for a soccer stadium in the Sacramento area have been identified. The old Southern Pacific rail yards north of downtown, a parcel at 16th and R streets in Midtown and the Cal Expo grounds are three of the five possible sites for a stadium. 

Reports have a committee from the MLS coming to Sacramento as early as next week to survey the sites and continue talks on an expansion team.

Other cities said to be seeking an expansion franchise are Las Vegas and Minneapolis. Sacramento would provide a market area that is in between the larger Twin Cities and the smaller Las Vegas. 

The looming question is how would a stadium be financed? After years of trying, the downtown arena project is underway. The City of Sacramento has committed some $250-million to that building. It would appear that a soccer stadium would require a majority of its funding to come from private sources with the city possibly providing land and some infrastructure assistance. The possible involvement of the Kings ownership group certainly increases the chances of private funds being made available for such a project.

Information from KCRA, News 10 and CBS-Sacramento was used in this report

Cousins is finalist for Team USA

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By Charlie O. Mallonee

Sacramento Kings center DeMarcus Cousins has been named a finalist for the 2014 USA Men’s World Cup basketball team. Cousins is one of 16 finalist that will resume training camp with the National team in Chicago on August 14.

“I am honored to be part of the US National Basketball Team and a finalist for the World Cup roster,” said Cousins. “I am humbled by the importance and magnitude of this opportunity and will do what is needed to help the team win games and make my country proud.”

Cousins has participated with USA Basketball in 2012 and 2013. He was member of the 2012 Select Team that helped prepare the U.S. Olympic Team for the London Games. In 2013, Cousins attended the Men’s National Team mini-camp.

Joining Cousins in Chicago will be Gordon Hayward (Utah), Chandler Parsons (Dallas), Anthony Davis (New Orleans), DeMar DeRozan (Toronto), Andre Drummond (Detroit), Kevin Durant (Oklahoma City), Kenneth Faried (Denver), James Harden (Houston), Kyrie Irving (Cleveland), Kyle Korver (Atlanta), Stephen Curry (Golden State), Damian Lillard (Portland), Mason Plumlee (Brooklyn), Derrick Rose (Chicago) and Klay Thompson (Golden State).

As part of the training camp in Chicago, the 16 finalist will be involved in the 2014 World Basketball Festival that is being held August 13 to 17.

The 2014-16 USA Basketball National Team coaching staff features USA head coach and Duke University’s Naismith Hall of Fame mentor Mike Krzyzewski. Serving as assistant coaches are USA Basketball and Syracuse University and Naismith Hall of Fame coach Jim Boeheim, Chicago Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau and New Orleans Pelicans head coach Monty Williams.

The USA finalist will practice August 14 and 15 and play an exhibition game with Brazil at the United Center on August 16.

The American squad will continue its World Cup preparations August 18 to 22 in New York, and play a pair of exhibition games at Madison Square Garden, August 20 against Dominican Republic, and August 22 versus Puerto Rico. The USA will complete its pre-World Cup exhibition tour on the island of Gran Canaria, Spain. Training August 24 and 25, the U.S. will close out its exhibition tour on August 26 facing Slovenia at Gran Canaria Arena. Conducting a basketball clinic for youth on August 27 in Dakar, Senegal, the USA team will complete its training for the FIBA (International Basketball Federation) Basketball World Cup August 28 and 29 in Bilbao, Spain, the site of its World Cup preliminary round games.

The 2014 World Cup, featuring a total of 24 national teams, is scheduled to be held August 30 to September 14 in Spain. The USA will play its preliminary round games in Bilbao, after being drawn into Group C along with teams from the Dominican Republic, Finland, New Zealand, Turkey and Ukraine.

The USA opens the 2014 World Cup on August 30 against Finland, and then faces Turkey on August 31 in a rematch of the 2010 FIBA World Championship gold medal game, a contest in which the USA claimed an 81-64 victory. Following a day off on September 1, the USA resumes play September 2 facing New Zealand. The U.S. will go against the Dominican Republic on Sept. 3, and will conclude its preliminary play on September 4 facing Ukraine.

Each team at the 2014 World Cup will play the other teams in its preliminary group, and the top four finishing teams from each of the four preliminary round groups will then qualify for the round of 16. Winners of the round of 16 games will advance to the quarterfinals, while losers are eliminated. Winners of the quarterfinals games will advance to the medal round semifinals, while the quarterfinals losers are eliminated from the competition. Winners of the semifinals will advance to the September 14 gold medal game, while semifinals losers will meet in the bronze medal game on September 13. The games from the round of 16 to the semifinals will be played in Barcelona and Madrid, and the bronze and gold medal games will be held in Madrid.