Author: Sports Radio Service

Stanford’s Mills joins elite company with record-setting performance

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Photo credit: gostanford.com

By Ana Kieu

The Stanford Cardinal record book is filled with accomplished quarterbacks such as Frankie Albert, John Brodie, Dick Norman, Jim Plunkett, Steve Dils, Guy Benjamin, Mike Boryla, John Elway, Steve Stenstrom, Todd Husak, Andrew Luck and Kevin Hogan.

Add Davis Mills to the record book.

On Saturday in Pullman, Wash., Mills achieved something no other Cardinal signal caller had done. In just his fourth college start, the junior from Duluth, Ga., threw for 504 yards against Washington State, breaking the single-game record of 450 set by Husak against Oregon State in 1998.

“You see the potential, you see the ability,” said Bradford M. Freeman Director of Football David Shaw. “This kid has a chance to be very special.”

It was the first 400-yard passing game for Stanford since Luck went for 423 at Arizona in 2009.

Mills was subbing for senior starter K.J. Costello, who has now missed four and a half games this season due to injury. Shaw’s game plan wasn’t to air it out or attempt 50 passes, but when the Cardinal fell behind 19-0 early in the second quarter to the top passing team in college football on its home turf, he had little choice.

“Once we were down three scores, we had to throw the ball,” Shaw said.

Mills, who passed for 6,290 yards and 66 touchdowns at Greater Atlanta Christian High, obliged.

Showing poise, patience and accuracy, Mills connected with 10 different receivers for 33 completions, three producing touchdowns in the 49-22 defeat.

With Mills leading the way, Stanford clawed within three points (23-20) with 4:18 remaining in the third quarter on his 10-yard scoring toss to sophomore Simi Fehoko and fifth-year senior running back Cameron Scarlett’s two-point conversion.

Four Stanford players finished with 80 or more receiving yards, led by junior Connor Wedington with eight catches for 119 and sophomore Michael Wilson with five for 114. Fehoko grabbed three for 92 and junior Colby Parkinson collected five for 80.

“We’ve got outstanding receivers,” Shaw said.

Wedington and Wilson recorded career-highs in receiving yards, each topping 100 for the first time. Wedington has a reception in all 27 games at Stanford, while Fehoko registered his second two-touchdown game and has six scoring grabs in his last five contests.

THIN SECONDARY
With junior cornerback Paulson Adebo, the Pac-12 leader in passes defended and No. 5 nationally, and senior captain and free safety Malik Antoine sidelined by injuries, Shaw started true freshmen Jonathan McGill at nickel back and Kyu Blu Kelly at cornerback. The situation became more challenging when senior cornerbacks Obi Eboh and Treyjohn Butler went down.

“Obviously, we were shorthanded,” Shaw said. “We fought hard.”

Unable to mount a pass rush against Cougar quarterback Anthony Gordon, a transfer from San Francisco City College and the nation’s leading passer, Washington State piled up 624 yards — 520 through the air — and never punted.

Photo credit: gostanford.com

BIG GAME
After two road losses, Stanford (4-6, 3-5 Pac-12) looks to regroup at home on Saturday at 1 p.m. against Cal (5-5, 2-5 Pac-12). The Bears lost to USC 41-17 on Saturday night.

Stanford has won a series-high nine consecutive games against Cal. Shaw has grappled with injuries all season and might not know who is available until late in the week.

“We’ve got the talent to hang with them, but we can’t make a lot of mistakes and we don’t have a large margin of error,” Shaw said. “We might have a lot of young guys out there, but we’ll get them ready to battle.”

Last year’s game in Berkeley was postponed due to poor air quality from the Camp Fire in Paradise, Calif. It marked the first time in 55 years the game date was moved.

MORE MOTIVATION
Shaw said there is plenty to play for against Cal and Notre Dame. Stanford needs two wins to become postseason eligible.

“We’re not even thinking about a bowl game right now,” said Shaw. “We’ve got two of our big-time rivals at home in November. We have to craft the best game plan possible.”

REMEMBERING RALSTON
A public celebration for former Stanford head coach John Ralston will be held on Monday at 4:30 p.m. at Stanford Memorial Church. Limited parking is available near the Campus Oval, and a shuttle service will run between the Stanford Faculty Club (439 Lagunita Drive) and Memorial Church starting at 4 p.m.

Ralston revived the Stanford football program and led the team to consecutive Rose Bowl victories in 1971 and 1972. Known for his outgoing personality, energy and positive attitude, he coached at Stanford for nine years from 1963-1971 and compiled a 55-36-3 record.

Photo credit: gostanford.com

NOTES
Curtis Robison returned to the lineup and shared game tackling honors with nine. Kendall Williamson and Stuart Head had seven stops … Stanford used nine true freshmen on the kickoff coverage team … Scooter Harrington started at tight end, marking the 37th different player to start for the Cardinal this season … With Bradley Archer, Joshua Pakola and Nicolas Toomer seeing their first game action, Stanford has now used 20 true freshmen this season … Casey Toohill blocked an extra point, the third blocked kick by the Cardinal this season (Eboh on a field goal against Oregon State and Spencer Jorgensen on a blocked punt against UCLA) … Toohill also had a sack, his team-leading seventh of the season, and ranks third in the Pac-12 and 27th nationally … McGill made his first career pass interception to thwart a WSU scoring drive … Alex Gracey punted for the first time as a Cardinal. Two of his three kicks were downed inside the WSU 5-yard line … Jeff Raikes ’80, Chairman of the Stanford University Board of Trustees since 2012 and Co-Founder of the Raikes Foundation, served as Stanford’s honorary captain.

QUOTE
“I like to think it was my tutoring over the summer as he was my intern @CBRE_PaloAlto.” — Husak, the Stanford football radio analyst, on his Twitter account about Mills breaking his passing record.

NCAAF podcast with Michelle Richardson: Tagovailoa will be out for rest of season; Wolves get big win over MSU; Penn State goes over Indiana

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espn photo: Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback Tua Tagovailoa is carted off the field after getting a dislocated hip and a bloody nose. Tagovailoa will be out for the rest of the season.

On the NCAAF podcast with Michelle:

#1 The Alabama Crimson Tide’s Tua Tagovailoa will be out for the rest of the season due to a dislocated hip and he got a bloody nose in the Tide’s game with Mississippi State. Alabama won it 38-7. What will the loss of Tagovailoa mean for the Crimson Tide?

#2 Penn State picked a big win over the Indiana Hoosiers on Saturday with a 34-27 win. The Nittany Lions quarterback Sean Clifford threw for 178 yards, 11-23 and one touchdown.

#3 Michigan improved to 8-2 with a 44-10 win over Michigan State and the Wolverines quarterback Sean Patterson threw for 384 yards, 24-33, and four touchdowns.

Michelle’s Final Thoughts

Michelle Richardson does the NCAAF podcast each Sunday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Jose State downs Simpson 85-60

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Photo credit: @SanJoseStateMBB

By Ana Kieu

SAN JOSE, Calif. — The San Jose State men’s basketball team returned home to host the Simpson Red Hawks at the Provident Credit Union Event Center on Sunday. SJSU got blown out by #19 Arizona, 87-39, last Thursday.

SJSU’s starting five was Brae Ivey, Seneca Knight, Christian Anigwe, Eduardo Lane and Craig LeCesne.

SJSU won the tip-off and the home game was underway. SJSU opened the scoring, thanks to Knight’s 3-pointer just 20 seconds into the first half. Simpson responded with a 3 of their own, courtesy of Blake Trent, at the 18:47 mark.

The 3-3 tie wasn’t the only tie of the game. The Red Hawks’ Nathan Presnell hit a jumper and Knight made a game-tying layup to tie it 5-5 at the 16:31 mark. The Spartans’ Richard Washington made a layup in the paint and Presnell hit a jumper to tie it 7-7 at the 14:48 mark.

From there, SJSU got ahead of the game. Ralph Agee hit back to back jumpers in the paint, Zach Chappell hit a 3 and Washington hit a fastbreak 3. The Spartans led 17-9 at the 12:19 mark.

But Simpson had other plans. The Red Hawks pulled within 3 at the 11:07 mark. Kon Anguik hit a 3 and Brycen Wight made a fastbreak layup in the paint.

The Red Hawks never got back up for the remainder of the half. The Spartans went on a 8-0 run and a 9-0 run, respectively, to take a 42-26 lead to the locker room at the halftime break.

The Red Hawks scored first to open the second half, but the Spartans maintained their lead from that moment on. LeCesne made a pair of layups to extend the Spartans’ lead to 46-28 at the 18:14 mark. Then, SJSU went on an 8-0 run to make it 56-29 at the 16:06 mark. Lane made a layup, Ivey hit a 3 and Knight made a fastbreak layup in the paint, fastbreak free throw and a dunk.

But the Spartans refused to back down. SJSU continued to make the plays and put the points on the scoreboard. These two teams went on their own little runs, and while the Red Hawks’ Wight capped off the scoring with a fastbreak layup in the paint, it was the Spartans who won the game by a final score of 85-60.

With the win, SJSU improves to 2-2, while Simpson falls to 0-1.

“Yes, the chemistry definitely played a role in the win and our points off the bench,” Seneca Knight and Zach Chappell said when asked about the team’s chemistry. “Some guys, including us, have been getting along with each other and they’ve been practicing really hard because they want to do a great job and also make the fans happy.”

“Agee means a lot to our team,” Spartans head coach Jean Prioleau said when asked about Ralph Agee. “He brings a lot of energy. I thought he was really good tonight in the middle of our zone because he communicates, and when he communicates, he allows the forwards and whoever’s on the back side to kind of match up and know where they’re supposed to be. I thought he did a really job there. He’s really athletic. He’s a great team player. He loves being here. He loves being on the team. We’re expecting a lot out of him and I think the sky’s the limit for him, and I appreciate the fact that he’s thinking about the team rather than himself.”

The Spartans host the Grambling State Tigers on Wednesday, November 20 at 7 pm PST.

Kings stun the Celtics 100-99 at home

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Photo credit: @SacramentoKings

By Jeremiah Salmonson

SACRAMENTO — Sunday was going to be a test for the Sacramento Kings. Their Sunday opponent was the Boston Celtics. The Celtics have started out the season 10-1 and were on a 10-game win streak. It has been well-documented how the Kings started their season. However, the Kings have played much better as of late. The Kings were 4-7 on the year and looking for an upset at home. The tip-off was set for 12:30 PM PST in Sacramento.

The Kings played one of the best quarters of the season to open up the game. Led by Buddy Hield and Nemanja Bjeilica, who had 9 and 7 points, respectively, the Kings would jump out to an early lead 30-18. Leading the way for the Celtics was Jaylen Brown, who had a Celtics-leading 6 points heading into the second quarter. The Kings played really well throughout the opening quarter. The key for the Kings has been the defensive play. When the Kings play good defense, the rest seems to fall into place.

In the second quarter, the Kings didn’t play as well but part of that has to be contributed to the Celtics hitting their shots. Leading the way for the Celtics in the second was Semi Ojeleye. Semi had 8 points in the second to help bring the Celtics closer to the Kings. Going into halftime, the Kings remained in the lead at 50-46. Buddy Hield continued his good play finishing the half at 16 points. Headed into the second half the Kings were looking to keep the game under their control and not let the Celtics flip the script.

In the second half, the Kings were looking to stay on track. It would turn out to be a fairly competitive back and forth third quarter. The Kings didn’t melt down, which has been an issue in the third this year. However, they were unable to maintain the lead. The Celtics managed to put up 29 points in the third compared to the Kings’ 21 to take a 75-71. Buddy Hield continued his torrid stretch from the field, adding 11 points to his total in the third.

Heading into the fourth quarter, the Kings had a shot to win the game against one of the best teams in the NBA. Both teams would trade baskets and keep even through the quarter. The game would come down to the final few minutes of action. With 36 seconds left in the game, the Kings’ Buddy Hield threw the ball out of bounds to make it 99-98 Celtics with the ball. The Celtics were unable to score and Marcus Smart had a foul on the Kings’ Holmes. He made both his free throws and the Celtics failed to score on the other end for a Kings win.

It was a great victory for the Kings, who snapped the Celtics’ win streak and improved to 5-7 on the year. The next game for the Kings will be Tuesday against the Suns at home. Game time set for 7:00 PM PST.

NHL podcast with Daniel Dullum: Trouble is just the Cherry on top for Don Cherry; Crosby out six weeks after hernia surgery; plus more

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ottawacitizen.com: This image of Don Cherry was taken a day after he was fired from CBC Sports for referring to immigrants as “you people” on Hockey Night in Canada telecast in early November. Here Cherry tries to explain himself for what happened in the interview.

On the NHL podcast with Daniel:

1 Fallout continues from firing of Don Cherry

2 Pens’ Sidney Crosby out minimum 6 weeks after sports hernia surgery

3 Lightning’s Steven Stamkos joins 400-goal club

4 Coyotes goalie Darcy Kuemper fights Calgary’s Matt Tkachuk, shuts out Flames

5 Coyotes create special experience for 8-year-old cancer patient

6 Coyotes’ radio analyst Paul Bissonnette gets chance to back up lacrosse boast

Catch Daniel Sundays for the NHL podcasts at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Stanford wins fourth game in a row, rolls past Broncos 82-64

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gostanford.com: Stanford Cardinal guard Tyrell Terry drives on the Santa Clara Broncos on Saturday night at Maples Pavilion at Stanford.

By Daniel Dullum
Sports Radio Service
Saturday, November 16, 2019

The 1-2-3 scoring punch of Tyrell Tyler, Oscar da Silva and Daejon Davis helped Stanford pull away in the second half and hand Santa Clara its first loss of the season on Saturday, as the Cardinal prevailed 82-64 in non-conference men’s basketball at Maples Pavilion.

It was the fourth straight win to open the season for the Cardinal.

Stanford led by as many as 22 in the contest, but the Broncos raced to a 7-0 lead to start the game, as the Cardinal were scoreless in the first 3 Β½ minutes.

The Cardinal led 38-32 at halftime, before outscoring the Broncos 44-32 in the second half.

Tyler was 5 of 12 from the floor and sank all 11 of his free throws to lead the Cardinal (4-0 overall) with 21 points. Da Silva was next with 18 points, followed by Davis with 15.

Da Silva and Lukas Kisunas each pulled down 10 rebounds for Stanford.

Forward Josip Vrankic was the only player to score in double figures for Santa Clara (3-1), finishing with 13 points.

Stanford shot 50 percent from the field (26-54, 4-10 3-point), while Santa Clara was held to 38 percent (21-55, 6-21 3-point).

When Maryland-Eastern Shore visits the Farm on Tuesday (7 p.m.), it’s the fifth of six straight home games for the Cardinal.

Heat score late game-winning goal to upend Barracuda 3-2

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Photo credit: @sjbarracuda

By Marko Ukalovic

The San Jose Barracuda have made such a bad habit of not being able to close out games this season and they still haven’t found the answer to breaking it as the Stockton Heat scored two unanswered goals in the third period to defeat their NorCal rival 3-2 on Saturday night at Stockton Arena.

San Jose has hit a season low six-game losing streak and continue to anchor down the cellar of the Pacific Division. For Stockton, they won the second game of a back-to-back as they lost to Tucscon the night before. They are currently 2-0 against San Jose this season.

Stockton scored the game-winning goal in heart breaking fashion. Ryan Lomberg led a odd man rush down the left boards when he centered a pass down the middle to a streaking Justin Kirkland, who buried the puck into the back of the net for his second goal of the season with just 17 seconds left in regulation.

“I would say that was right up there with the most complete game we’ve played.” said Kirkland. “We had everybody going, everybody making a difference.”

The Heat (9-3-1-2) drew first blood just 63 seconds in to start the game. Zac Rinaldo skated from behind the net and centered a pass over to Lomberg, whose one-timer beat ‘Cuda goalie Andrew Shortridge for his sixth goal of the season.

San Jose (4-8-0-1) responded with two unanswered goals in a span of 74 seconds. Danil Yurtaykin fed a pass up to the blueline over to Anti Suomela. The Finnish forward quickly touched pass it to the right over to Jeffery Viel, who skated past a Stockton defender and roofed a wrist shot top-shelf over the shoulder of Heat goalie Artyom Zagidulin for his third goal of the season at the 10:02 mark.

Then, Keaton Middleton fired a shot from the left point that Evan Weinger tipped on goal that Zagidulin stopped but the puck trickled out in front of the net where Alex True skated in from the corner and fired a back-hander into the back of the net for his co-team leading fourth goal of the season at the 11:16 mark.

Stockton tried to grab the momentum back in the second period as they outshot San Jose 15-10, but Shortridge held his ground not allowing a goal in the middle frame. Each team had a power play opportunity, but neither were able to cash it in.

“I think overall the team played a good, responsible brand of hockey tonight,” said Heat head coach Cail MacLean. “Huge play at the end to get that extra point and not have the game go into overtime.”

The Heat tied the game exactly at the nine-minute mark of the third period on the power play. Byron Froese threw the puck out in front of the crease that went off of Shortridge. A failed clearing attempt by Nick DeSimone went right to the stick of Luke Philp and he quickly fired a wrist shot past Shortridge for his third goal of the season.

“The power play there we excuted the breakout (well),” said Philp. “I just had to put it in the empty net. It’s nice to get em and I hope I continue doing that.”

Zagidulin made 29 saves on 31 shots to earn his sixth win of the season. Shortridge suffered another tough luck loss making 33 saves on 36 shots. The 33 saves matched a career best for Shortridge.

GAME NOTES: San Jose was 0/3 on the power play. Stockton went 1/3.

The six-consecutive losses (0-5-0-1) matches the longest such streak in team history and the five consecutive regulation losses is the most in franchise history.

True snapped a five-game scoreless streak and Viel snapped a six-game goalless drought.

The announced attendance was 4,114.

UP NEXT: The Barracuda return home to host the Tucscon Roadrunners on Sunday, November 17 at 5:00 pm at SAP Center.

Cougars use big second half to blow away Cardinal, 49-22

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Photo credit: @StanfordFball

By Daniel Dullum
Sports Radio Service
Saturday, November 16, 2019

Washington State quarterback Anthony Gordon threw for 520 yards and five touchdowns on Saturday, leading the Cougars to a 49-22 Pac-12 football win over Stanford at Martin Stadium in Pullman, Wash.

The Cougars (5-5 overall, 2-5 Pac-12) had a 19-0 lead in the first half before Stanford could respond. Gordon threw two touchdown passes to Easop Winston Jr. and another to Davontavean Martin.

Stanford’s Davis Mills, who had an impressive passing game himself, rallied the Cardinal (4-6 overall, 3-5 Pac-12) to within 19-14 in the second quarter with touchdown passes of 28 yards to Simi Fehoko and 23 yards to Michael Wilson.

Blake Mazza, who missed two early PAT kicks, booted a 35-yard field goal to give WSU a 22-14 halftime lead.

Mazza kicked a 38-yard field goal at 6:35 of the third quarter, giving the Cougars an 11-point lead. But Stanford pulled to within 25-22 just over two minutes later when Mills connected with Fehoko on a 10-yard scoring pass. Cameron Scott added a 2-point conversion run.

That’s as close as the Cardinal would get. At 3:29 of the third quarter, Gordon’s 5-yard touchdown pass to Brandon Arconado ignited a 24-point run to pull away.

In the fourth quarter, a Mazza 35-yard field goal, Gordon’s TD pass to Max Borghi — his fifth of the day — and Borghi’s 4-yard touchdown run completed WSU’s scoring.

Gordon completed 44 of 60 passes with one interception and was sacked twice. Mills threw 50 times, completing 33 for 504 yards and three touchdowns with two picks and two sacks.

Stanford’s running game was nearly nonexistent, with 16 net rushing yards. Borghi ran 15 times for 111 yards, leading WSU.

Connor Wedington led Cardinal pass receivers with eight catches for 119 yards. Wilson caught five passes for 114 yards. Fehoko had 92 receiving yards on three receptions, and Colby Parkinson caught five passes for 80 yards.

Arconado had nine receptions for 148 yards to lead the Cougars. Winston Jr. caught a game-high 11 passes for 107 yards,

The Cardinal return home this Saturday (11/23) to host California for this year’s edition of The Big Game, Kickoff is at 1 p.m. PST.

San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa Walsh: Sharks on a roll, face Red Wings tonight; Streak could reach six

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mercurynews.com photo: San Jose Sharks center Tomas Hertl (48) scores past Anaheim Ducks goaltender John Gibson during the first period of an NHL hockey game in Anaheim, Calif., Thursday, Nov. 14, 2019.

On the Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa:

#1 The San Jose Sharks’ Tomas Hertl scored twice on Thursday night in Anaheim, which just tops some of the offense that the Sharks are getting with authority.

#2 The Sharks also got help from Brent Burns, who scored on a power play, and Evander Kane scoring on a short-handed goal in the third period.

#3 Hertl got hit when he turned by the Ducks Sam Steel and had to leave the game will he be ready for tonight’s game at SAP against the Detroit Red Wings.

#4 The Red Wings have shown a little improvement as they have struggled this year. They have won three of their last four games coming into San Jose tonight.

#5 The Sharks have been getting great offense and they have improved since going on the power play — something they had trouble with before coming to San Jose from their previous long eastern road swing.

Mary Lisa covers the San Jose Sharks and can be heard each Saturday on the Sharks podcast at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

NHL podcast with Matt Harrington: Ovechkin hit on Drouin fires up Habs to score 4 times in 2nd period; Marchand scores twice for Bruins’ win over Leafs; plus more

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foxsports.com photo: The Montreal Canadiens respond to the Washington Capitals’ Alex Ovechkin’s thunderous hit on teammate Jonathan Drouin and later scored four goals in the second period in Friday night’s game at the Belle Centre in Montreal.

On the NHL podcast with Matt:

#1 There’s one way to fire up the Montreal Canadiens. That’s to watch the Washington Capitals’ Alex Ovechkin try and take out the Habs’ Jonathan Drouin, who ended up seeing stars after an Ovechkin hit. The Canadiens regrouped, came out and scored four goals in the second period in their 5-2 win over the Caps.

#2 Brad Marchand scored twice in the third period as the visiting Boston Bruins beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2. The Bruins’ Charlie Coyle and Zdeno Chara also scored goals for Boston.

#3 New Jersey’s MacKenzie Blackwood was all the difference in goal as the Devils goaltender stopped 38 shots in New Jersey’s win over the Pittsburgh Penguins 2-1. The Pens played without their offensive star Sidney Crosby.

#4 The Ottawa Senators’ Filip Chlapik got a second period goal and goalie Anders Nilsson stopped 26 shots for the Sens in their 2-1 trimming of the Philadelphia Flyers. The Senators were able to kill off four-minute power play late in the game.

#5 The Columbus Blue Jackets’ Zach Werenski got an overtime goal at 3:34 as the Blue Jackets picked up a win over the St. Louis Blues 3-2. Vladislav Gavrikov scored his first NHL goal for the Jackets.

Matt Harrington does the NHL podcast each Saturday and is a San Jose Sharks beat writer for http://www.sportsradioservice.com