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.

Kings sign C/PF Eric Moreland

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By Charlie O. Mallonee

The Sacramento Kings have signed forward/center Eric Moreland to a contract according to Kings General Manager Pete D’Alessandro. Moreland played for the Kings Summer League team in Las Vegas.

Moreland is a 6-10, 218 pounder who has played both center and power forward. In Las Vegas, Moreland averaged 3.5 points per game with a .444 field goal percentage. He averaged 8.8 rebounds, 0.7 assists, 2.7 blocks and 19.2 minutes per game in six appearances for Sacramento. Moreland came off the bench for the Kings in all of the games he played. He led the Summer League with 16 blocks.

Moreland is a two time Pac-12 All-Defensive Honorable Mention player. He finished his career at Oregon State in 2013-14. Moreland is the all-time leader in blocked shots at Oregon State with 184 total blocks in his career.

Moreland has a 7-4 wingspan and is said to have excellent mobility. Scouting reports say he runs the floor well and can play above the rim.

A’s crush the Rangers 9-3

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By Charlie O. Mallonee

The Oakland Athletics defeated the Texas Rangers on Sunday night by the score of 9-3. The A’s combined efficient hitting with solid pitching to win the third and final game of the series. The loss dropped the Rangers 24.5 games behind the division leading Athletics.

The A’s used a five run second inning to propel them to victory. Josh Reddick popped out to lead off the inning. Jed Lowrie then drew a walk. Eric Sogard walked to put runners at first and second. Craig Gentry reached base on a throwing error charged to the pitcher Miles Mikolas that allowed Lowrie to score. John Jaso hit a single to center field driving in Sogard. Stephen Vogt hit a double to right field that drove home Gentry. Yoenis Cespedes hit his 24th double of the season driving in Jaso and Vogt.  By the time inning was over, the A’s led the game 5-0.

The Rangers did not remain scoreless for long. With one out in the second inning, Chris Gimenez singled off A’s starter Scott Kazmir. Former Oakland Athletic Adam Rosales then hit a 1-1 change up over the left field wall for his first home run of the season. After two full innings, the A’s led the Rangers 5-2.

The A’s put up a crooked number in the top of the fifth inning. Josh Donaldson led off the inning with a single to center. With one man out, Eric Sogard hit a double to right field allowing Donaldson to score. Craig Gentry then walked. John Jaso doubled (17) to center field driving in Sogard and Gentry. That made the game 8-2 in favor of the A’s.

Oakland would score one more time in sixth inning. Yoenis Cespedes led the inning off with a single. Cespedes moved up to second when Moss grounded out. Donaldson popped out bringing Josh Reddick to the plate with two out and a runner at second. Reddick hit a line drive single to right field that allowed the speedy Cespedes to score the A’s ninth run of the game.

The Rangers scored a run in the bottom of the eighth inning, but that was last run they would score giving the A’s the 9-3 win.

Oakland started Scott Kazmir worked five innings giving up two runs (both earned) on seven hits. He struck out two batters and walked two men while issuing one home run. Kazmir threw 94 pitches (62 strikes) in the 100 degree heat in Arlington. O’Flaherty, Cook, Scribner and Abad worked a combined four innings of relief to close out the game for the Athletics.

Scott Kazmir’s record improved to 12-3 on the season. The A’s record is now 65-39 giving them two game lead over the Los Angeles Angels who also won on Sunday.

Callaspo off the DL … Alberto Callaspo has been reinstated from the 15-day disabled list as of Sunday. To make room for Callaspo on the roster, the A’s sent first baseman Nate Freiman to Triple-A Sacramento.

Callaspo went on the disabled list on July 12 with a right hamstring sprain. He appeared in one rehab game with Stockton on Saturday night. Callaspo did not start the final game in Texas.

Freiman was batting .212 with one home run and six RBI in 14 games with the Athletics. He hit .277 with 14 home runs in 76 games for the River Cats before being called up to Oakland.

Crisp to Oakland … The A’s sent outfielder Coco Crisp back to Oakland after the Sunday night game in Texas. Crisp will have further examinations of his sore neck. Crisp did not start the final game in Texas due to the neck problem.

Up next for the A’s … The A’s will begin a three game series with the Houston Astros on Monday night. RHP Jesse Chavez will start for Oakland while the Astros will send LHP Brett Oberholtzer to the hill. On Tuesday evening, Jeff Samardzija will face off against Scott Feldman. Jason Hammel will start the Wednesday afternoon finale in Houston.

 

Kings hire Tyrone Corbin as assistant coach

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by Charlie O. Mallonee

The Sacramento Kings have hired Tyrone Corbin as an assistant coach for Michael Malone’s staff. Corbin was the head coach of the Utah Jazz for four seasons. He is also a former Kings player.

Corbin was a member of the Kings twice in his professional playing career. He was a King in 1995-96 and 1999-00. Current assistant coach Corliss Williamson was a teammate of Corbin’s in Sacramento.

Corbin became the head coach in Utah in February 2011 following the resignation of Jerry Sloan. Corbin led the Jazz to winning seasons in two of his three full seasons as head coach. He took the Jazz to the playoffs in 2011.

Corbin was an assistant coach in Utah from 2004 to 2011. He was manager of player personnel for the Knicks in 2003-04.

Tyrone Corbin played for nine teams during his 16-year NBA career. He averaged 9.2 points, 4.7 rebounds, 1.2 steals and 26.0 minutes per game in his 1065 games played. He played his college ball at DePaul University.

Corbin is an addition to the coaching staff and not a replacement for a vacancy.

Kings send Isaiah Thomas to Phoenix in sign-and-trade deal

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by Charlie O. Mallonee

The Sacramento Kings sent guard Isaiah Thomas to the Phoenix Suns in exchange for the draft rights to Alex Oriakhi and a $7-million trade exception. Thomas has signed a four-year, $28-million contract with the Suns.

The Kings have been looking for a “pass first” point guard to run their offense. The team believes they have found that point guard in the person of Darren Collison who signed as a free agent. The Kings were looking for Thomas to return to a sixth-man role. Thomas reportedly was not enthusiastic about coming off the bench after having been a starter in Sacramento.

The Kings selected Thomas in the second round (60th overall) in the 2011 draft. He averaged 15.3 points, 2.5 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 29.1 minutes per game for Sacramento. Thomas started 153 times for the Kings.

“We welcome Isaiah Thomas,” Suns president Lon Babby said in a statement to Yahoo!Sports. “His addition to our backcourt makes it one of the deepest and most dynamic in the league. We have enjoyed getting to know him during his visit to Phoenix this week. He will quickly become a fan-favorite.”

Alex Oriakhi was drafted by the Suns in the second round (57th overall) in the 2013 draft. The 6-9, 225-pound forward played for the Sioux City Skyforce and the Erie Bayhawks of the NBA D-League last season. Oriakhi was named to the All-Rookie First Team in the D-League after averaging 7.2 points and 6.2 rebounds per game in 43 games. He also has played internationally in France and Israel.

With Thomas gone, the Kings will be relying on Collison and second-year player Ray McCallum to run the point on offense. Sacramento will be looking to rookie Nik Stauskas and second-year shooting guard Ben McLemore to fill the scoring gap that has been created with the trade of Thomas.

A’s end the “first-half” with a 4-1 win in Seattle

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 By Charlie O. Mallonee

The Oakland Athletics closed out the unofficial first-half of the 2014 season on Sunday with a 4-1 win over the Mariners in Seattle. The A’s had lost the first two games of the series and did not want to end the first-half by being swept. Oakland avoided the sweep due to the excellent pitching of Sonny Gray.

Gray made his 19th start of the season on Sunday. He worked 7.2-innings giving up just one run (unearned) on six hits. Gray struck out five hitters and walked just two men. He threw 108 pitches (70 strikes) on the way to his 10th win of the season. Gray’s overall record is now 10-3.

Gray was lifted in the eighth-inning with two men on base. Sean Doolittle was brought in from the bullpen to go for the four-out save. He induced Kyle Seager to pop out to end the eighth-inning and set the Mariners down in order in the ninth to earn his 14th save of the season.

The Mariners scored their only run of the game in the first-inning. James Jones singled with one out. With Robison Cano at bat, Sonny Gray made an errant throw to first in attempt to pick off Jones. The poor throw allowed Jones to go from first to third. Cano hit a soft grounder to Gray and Jones scampered home on the throw to first. That would be the only score the Mariners would post in the game.

The A’s did not give Gray any run support until the top of the fifth-inning. Jed Lowrie hit a one-out double to left. After Punto lined out to center, Andy Parrino drew a walk. Craig Gentry hit a line drive single to center that allowed Lowrie to score and Parrino to move up to second base. John Jaso hit a single to left that drove in Parrino from second. The Athletics finished the top of the fifth leading 2-1.

Oakland added to their lead in the sixth-inning. With one out, Brandon Moss hit his 21st home run of the season over the right field wall. Moss’ round-tripper gave the A’s a 3-1 lead.

The A’s added an insurance run in the top of the ninth-inning when Nick Punto hit his second homer of the season. Seattle reliever Joe Beimel hung a slider and Punto hit it down the left field line just clearing the wall for the A’s fourth run of the game.

Chris Young (8-6) took the loss for Seattle. Young worked six-innings giving up three runs (all earned) on five hits. The Mariners used five pitchers en route to their 44th loss of the season.

The unofficial end of the first-half of the season comes to a close with the Athletics recording the best record in baseball with 59 wins versus just 36 defeats.

The A’s posted two RBI with two-out in the contest. Gentry and Jaso each recorded a RBI with two men out in the inning. They left runners in scoring position with two out just one time in the game.

Oakland’s pitching and defense held the Mariners 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position. The M’s left runners in scoring position with two out three times in the game.

The A’s now have four days off before kicking off the “second-half” of the season on Friday night in Oakland versus the first-place American League East Baltimore Orioles. Jeff Samardzija is scheduled to start the game for the A’s.

Kings sign pass first point guard Darren Collison

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 By Charlie O. Mallonee

The Sacramento Kings have apparently signed the pass first point guard that they have been desperately seeking since last season. As reported first by the Los Angeles Times, point guard Darren Collison will leave the Los Angeles Clippers and become a Sacramento King by signing a three-year, $16-million contract. The deal will not become official until July 10th when free-agents can sign with a new team under NBA rules.
Collison became a free-agent when he opted out of the final year of his contract with the Clippers that would have paid him a reported $1.9-million in 2014-15. Collison averaged 11.4-points per game, 2.4-rebounds and 3.7-assist as the back-up point guard to Chris Paul. Collison started 16 games when Paul was out due to injury.
The signing of Collison immediately brings up the question of what does this acquisition mean to the Kings pursuit of Isaiah Thomas? Signing Collison does not change what the Kings are thinking when it comes to Thomas. The worst kept secret in the world has been the Kings desire to have a pass first point guard in the lineup. Isaiah Thomas’ role with Sacramento was going to change in 2014-15 because a “true” point guard was going to be added to the roster.
The Kings were hoping to move Thomas into the sixth-man role to energize the second unit and keep scoring pressure on their opponents. The Kings have reportedly priced that role at $6-million per year. Reports have the Detroit Pistons offering Thomas a three-year contract at $8-million per year. The Kings have the first right of refusal but $8-million per year may exceed their budget for the position.
It has been suggested that the Pistons offer sets the table for a sign-and-trade deal with Sacramento that would send Thomas to Detroit in exchange for forward Josh Smith. The Kings were reportedly interested acquiring Smith for their number-eight draft pick, but the deal was not completed.
The selection of Nik Stauskas also put Thomas’ future with Sacramento in doubt. The Kings now have two legitimate shooting guards in Stauskas and Ben McLemore. Either of those players have the talent to become the sixth-man off the bench for the Kings. Sacramento also has Ray McCallum to play backup point guard which leaves the need for Thomas at a much lower priority.
Collison is a 6-foot, 175-pound point guard who played his college ball at UCLA. He was a first-round pick (21st selection) of the New Orleans Hornets (now the Pelicans) in 2009. Collison spent one-year in New Orleans, two-years in Indiana, one-year in Dallas and last year in Los Angeles with the Clippers.
Clippers coach and president Doc Rivers had indicated that re-signing Collison was a priority for the Clippers. The prospect of being the starting point guard and making $5-million plus per year appears to have been too much for Collison to ignore.
The signing of Collison does not mean the Kings are finished with making changes to their roster. Sacramento continues to be rumored to be looking to move forward Jason Thompson. Veteran guard Jason Terry has an expiring contract that might make him attractive to a team looking for cap room.
For now, the Kings appear to have filled what they saw as a major hole in their roster with the signing of Collison.

Pistons make offer to Kings’ Isaiah Thomas

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According to the Detroit Free Press, the Pistons are making run at the Kings’ restricted free agent guard Isaiah Thomas. The paper claims the Pistons have offered Thomas a three-year contract worth $24-million. The Kings have the right to match that offer by virtue of a qualifying offer they extended to Thomas last week.

The Free Press also speculated that the Pistons interest in Thomas could lead to a sign-and-trade deal. Prior to the draft, the Kings and Pistons were rumored to be working on a deal that would have brought Detroit forward Josh Smith to Sacramento.

Many draft experts were surprised when the Kings selected shooting guard Nik Stauskas with the number eight pick in the draft. If the Kings were to trade Thomas, that would create the need for another shooting guard and make the selection of Stauskas make more sense. The Kings would then have to address the point guard position which they have been rumored to be working on since the end of their season.

A sign-and-trade deal may not be as simple as it sounds. The Sacramento Bee is reporting that as many as six teams have interest in Thomas.

Teams can begin speaking with free agents as of today (July 1, 2014).

A’s sweep the Fish in Miami

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By Charlie O. Mallonee

Nate Freiman flew all night from Sacramento, drank some coffee and hit the game winning three-run home run in the sixth-inning of the final game in Miami. The A’s beat the Marlins 4-3 to take the final game and sweep the series in South Florida. It was the seventh time the A’s have swept a series this season.

Tommy Milone recorded a quality start going seven-innings giving up three-runs (2 earned) on four-hits. Milone struck out three, walked two and gave up one home run en route to his sixth win of the season. Ryan Cook worked 1.1-innings and posted his first save of the year.

The game started off with what appeared to be a bad omen for the Athletics. In the bottom of the first-inning, the Marlins lead-off man Christian Yelich hit a triple to center field and came home to score on a throwing error by Callaspo trying to erase the runner at third. Yelich scampered home to score the first run of the game for Miami. It was Yelich’s first at bat since coming off the Disabled List on Sunday. Tommy Milone was not shaken and stopped the Marlins from scoring any additional runs until the sixth-inning.

Oakland needed Milone to go deep into the game as the bullpen was depleted following Saturday’s 14-inning 7-6 win over the Marlins. The A’s had only four relievers available at the start of the game without taking a chance of using one of their overworked relief pitchers. Milone did not disappoint and manager Bob Melvin was pleased with his starter’s effort.

The big inning for the A’s was the top of the sixth-inning. Tommy Milone led off the inning by striking out. Craig Gentry lined out to right field. Callaspo then singled to left. Yoenis Cespedes singled to right and Callaspo moved up to third. Josh Donaldson singled to left allowing Callaspo to score. Nate Freiman hit the first pitch from Andrew Heaney over the left center field wall for a three-run home run. The A’s would not trail again in the game.

Freiman was called up from Triple-A Sacramento to take Josh Reddick’s place on the roster. Reddick reinjured his right knee on throw to the infield on Saturday night. A MRI was taken of Reddick’s knee but the results have not been made public.

Freiman took a “red eye” flight to Miami and arrived in South Florida at 6:30 AM. After several cups of strong coffee, he was ready to play the game. After the game, Freiman credited Sacramento hitting coach Greg Sparks with his new found power. Freiman says that Sparks lowered his hands and that has helped his hitting and power. Freiman was hitting .277 with 14 home runs for the River Cats.

The A’s scored four-runs on eight-hits. Freiman’s homer was the A’s only extra-base hit.  Freiman had three-RBI and Donaldson posted one-RBI. Both Freiman’s and Donaldson’s RBI came with two-outs in the inning.

As a team, Oakland was two for three with Runners In Scoring Position. The A’s left just two men on base.

Sunday’s game marked the official halfway mark of the season for the A’s. Oakland’s record is 51-30 after 81 games in 2014. The 51-wins match Milwaukee’s 51-wins in the National League. The Brewers have played two more games.

After the game, the A’s headed for Detroit where they will open up a three-game series on Monday night. LHP Scott Kazmir will start for Oakland and RHP Anibal Sanchez will pitch for the Tigers.

Nik Stauskas meets the press in Sacramento

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Image                                             Photo credit: Sports Radio Service

By Charlie O. Mallonee

Nik Stauskas the newest member of the Sacramento Kings met the press on Saturday morning at the Kings’ practice facility. Stauskas was the eighth pick overall in the NBA Draft and was a surprise selection to many of the draft experts who have expressed displeasure with the Kings’ choice.

Stauskas said being drafted started to sink in while traveling to Sacramento. “I think yesterday having a lot of travel I had some time to sit on the plane … I got to take a couple of minutes to sit back and reflect on everything  I’ve been through and the fact that I’m here now. I am extremely happy and excited to get to work.”

Stauskas wanted to make sure the fans in Sacramento know that he is here to improve and play hard. “I want to let people know here that I’m not satisfied with being just a NBA player. Obviously it has been my goal to get here now to this point. Now that I’m here I need to reevaluate things and make new goals. I’m a very motivated kid. I’ve had a chip on my shoulder my entire life and I want to keep it that way because I know that’s what’s going to keep me successful. Just moving forward, I want you guys (the press and fans) to know that I will be giving 150-percent every day to help this team win and help myself be successful as well.”

The press wanted to know more about the chip on Stauskas’ shoulder. “Well the chip on the shoulder started as young kid growing up just outside of Toronto where … no one really pays attention to basketball in Toronto (like) here in the U.S. Now they do because we have a lot of kids coming from there. I feel like I was never recognized and that kind of motivated me to show out and let people know how good I was. That’s been the case my whole life. And even when I got to Michigan my first year, I had players like Trey (Burke) and Tim (Hardaway,Jr.), Glenn Robinson (III). These were projected lottery picks, so I always felt like I had something to prove.

Stauskas wanted to be sure the Sacramento fans know that he is all about basketball. “Basketball is what I love to do. It’s what makes me happy. I hope that people will get the sense when I’m out there and I’m talking a little bit of trash that that’s just me out there having a little fun and enjoying the hard work I’ve put into it.”

Stauskas’ uncle was the person who introduced him to the game. “My uncle was the first one to invite me to play basketball for his club team when I was a young kid. I don’t what it was about the game of basketball, but I just seemed to love it and it made me happy. The more I played the better I got. The better I got the more I wanted to play. It just became a cycle and being a fan of the Toronto Raptors I looked up to bunch of NBA players … just watching them and the lives they live just inspired me to be like them.”

The next question to Stauskas was obvious – who was your favorite Toronto Raptor? “I loved Vince Carter when he was there. I got a chance when I was young to meet him and play with him when I was like nine-years old. That was a huge moment for me because was like god and he couldn’t do any wrong. To meet him, to see him play and to be the face of the franchise was one the things that motivated me to become an NBA player.”

Even though his plane did not arrive in Sacramento until 11:30 PM Friday night, Kings’ fans were there to greet Stauskas as exited the plane. That reception made an impression on the newest King. “Yeah, it’s awesome. I’m so excited to be here in a city where the fans are passionate about the team and supportive. Coming from just outside Toronto where no one really knew who I was and coming to Sacramento – a city I’ve never been to before – and have fans stay up late to welcome me at the airport is a dream come true and really made me feel happy. I want to send a special thank you to everyone who came out and supported me yesterday.”

The Nik Stauskas era has begun in Sacramento. If confidence and drive count (and they do), Stauskas is going to be an exciting addition to the Kings.

Kings take shooting guard Nik Stauskas at No.8

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By Charlie O. Mallonee – Sports Radio Service

The Sacramento Kings surprised the experts on Thursday night by selecting shooting guard Nik Stauskas from the University of Michigan. The experts were predicting the Kings would draft a power forward or a point guard at number eight. The Kings drafted shooting guard Ben McLemore out of Kansas last year. McLemore saw an increasing amount of playing time in the second-half of the 2013-14 season. Does the selection of Stauskas mean the Kings are giving up on McLemore or could Stauskas have been drafted as a piece for a potential multi-player trade with someone like the Detroit Pistons? As the great expert continues to say on a regular basis, “Only time will tell.”

Stauskas is a 6’6”, 205 pound shooting guard from Etobicoke, Ontario. He played his high school ball at St. Mark’s School in Southborough, Massachusetts before heading to the University of Michigan. Stauskas was voted the Big Ten Player of the Year in 2014. He was named to All-Big Ten First-Team and to the Associated Press All-American Second-Team last year. Stauskas was selected to the NCAA Tournament All-Midwest Regional Team for his play leading the Wolverines to an Elite Eight run. Michigan lost to Kentucky, the eventual tournament champions, 75-72 in the Elite Eight.

Stauskas led Michigan in scoring in 2014 averaging 17.5 points per game which ranked third in the Big Ten. He shot 47.0-percent from the field and 44.2-percent from three-point range. Stauskas is an 82.4-percent free throw shooter.

Stauskas is an elite shooter with a quick release and great mechanics. The experts say he has unlimited range and is comfortable shooting off the dribble or on pull-ups. Stauskas is solid ball-handler with a good first step and the ability to make plays off the bounce pass. He is also known as an unselfish player who will make the extra pass. David Aldridge of NBA.com had Stauskas as the number-one shooting guard available in the draft.

When asked how he felt about being selected by the Kings Stauskas said’ “I’m excited about the city and the organization. They have a great young corps there. I’m excited to get in there and help the team win some games.”

Responding to a question about being drafted after the Kings selected shooting guard Ben McLemore last year he said, “I feel like I can play multiple positions. Moving forward in the NBA I feel I can play a little bit of the one (guard) and some two. I know this team has kind of struggled shooting the ball and that’s obviously the best part of my game and spreading the floor and knocking down shots is what I’m excited about doing for this team.”

“A lot of guys who come to Michigan, the guys who were under recruited, we play with a chip on our shoulder,” he said on ESPN. “Me and Trey we felt we had something to prove and coach Beilein and the assistant coaches they’ve all done a great job and they gave us a great system to play in and we really succeeded in it.”

“You’re playing with Trey Burke and Tim Hardaway Jr. you have to take a backseat somewhat,” ESPN analyst and former Wolverine Jalen Rose said on the broadcast. “He improved his ball handling, he got stronger, able to finish at the hoop, knock down three-point shooter and he’s fearless. He’s one of those guys who goes on the court and thinks, I’m the best player out there.”