Author: Sports Radio Service

San Jose State adds Ohio State and Sacramento State to future football schedules

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By Ana Kieu

SAN JOSE, Calif. — San Jose State’s busy summer lining up future non-conference football opponents continues with a pair of teams the Spartans will be playing for the second time each in university history.

San Jose State will make a trip to Columbus, Ohio, for a September 9, 2023 game against Ohio State. The Spartans played the Buckeyes, then-ranked #5 nationally, in Ohio Stadium, on Columbus Day (October 12, 2002) losing 50-7.

The San Jose State-Ohio State game will be the 11th in Spartan football history against a Big Ten Conference member. Besides losing at Ohio State, San Jose State has a 1-1 record with Illinois, a 1-3 mark against Minnesota, and a 0-2 goose egg against Wisconsin. Prior to the trip to Columbus, San Jose State has a September 19, 2020 game at Penn State.

According to San Jose State University Athletics Director Marie Tuite, this game with Ohio State fits our three-pronged non-conference football scheduling philosophy for a season.

One game per season against an Atlantic Coast Conference, Big Ten Conference, Big 12 Conference, Pacific-12 Conference or Southeastern Conference member.”

Two games with at least one of them at home against members belonging to either the American Athletic Conference, Conference USA, Mid-American Conference or the Sun Belt.

One home game against a FCS school.

“This model gives our football program the opportunity to experience the game in some of the largest venues in the country and provides unique travel opportunities for our players, coaches and fans.”

When San Jose State played at Ohio State, the announced attendance of 104,892 remains the largest crowd to see a Spartan football game in person.

The second half of San Jose State’s announcement on future football opponents was more local in nature and matched Tuite’s scheduling philosophy.

San Jose State will open the 2024 season on Aug. 31 at home against nearby Sacramento State, just over a two-hour bus ride to San Jose. The Spartans and Hornets met in the 2013 season opener for both teams. San Jose State emerged with a 24-0 shutout in CEFCU Stadium, the same site as the next meeting between these teams.

In the last 18 months, San Jose State has announced home-and-series with Toledo, UTEP, and Western Michigan and road games at Penn State in 2020 and at the University of Southern California in 2024.

Headline Sports podcast with Tony Renteria: Kings to open preseason in India Oct. 4th; Yanks-A’s series could be a maker-breaker for A’s in wild card; plus more

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On Headline Sports podcast with Tony Renteria:

#1 The Sacramento Kings will be opening up their first preseason game on October 4th and you will be joining your broadcast colleagues for Kings coverage Jeremiah Salmonson, London Marq, Morris Phillips and Jeremy Harness for complete coverage of Kings basketball.

#2 That October 4th game will be played in Mumbai, India. It will be the Kings’ first preseason game in India and has to be very special for Kings managing partner Vivek Ranadive.

#3 The Oakland A’s have played some very exciting ball. They took three out of four from the Houston Astros and took the first two games from the New York Yankees at the Oakland Coliseum. This has turned out to be a very interesting series.

#4 The Oakland Raiders have won two of their first two preseason games and head coach Jon Gruden said this team will deliver “you can bet on that” The Raiders play preseason week three in Winnipeg against the Green Bay Packers on Thursday Night Football.

#5 The talking head, the critics, and talk show hosts have said the 49ers offense is struggling and they showed signs of that against the Denver Broncos on Monday Night Football this week. 49ers starter Jimmy Garoppolo had three on completed passes out of six and zero yards. Was this a matter of Jimmy G just not prepared or just rusty coming off the knee injury?

Tony does Headline Sports each Thursday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Oakland A’s podcast with Jerry Feitelberg: A’s go for it tonight as there’s a chance to sweep Yanks at Coliseum

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On the Oakland A’s podcast with Jerry Feitelberg:

#1 With the Oakland Raiders playing just one preseason game in the Oakland Coliseum surface, the outfield always gets scuffed up. How much of a role does that play in the A’s injuries?

#2 The A’s have three players that were out due to injuries that are back in the lineup: First baseman Matt Olson (hand), DH Khris Davis (oblique), right fielder Stephen Piscotty (knee), and center-fielder Ramon Laureano (shin). Laureano was not in the lineup on Wednesday night against the New York Yankees.

#3 The A’s starting pitcher from Wednesday night Mike Fiers has one of the best records in the American League and pitched against the Yankees. Tell us about how Fiers does it all season long.

#4 We’ve talked about Chad Pinder has just about done it all covering for open positions and has pulled it off. Talk about how valuable Pinder has been for Oakland.

#5 The starters for Thursday for the Yankees Masahiro Tanaka (9-6, 4.56 ERA) for the Oakland A’s Tanner Roark (7-8, 4.01 ERA) to conclude the series in Oakland.

Join Jerry each Thursday for the A’s podcast at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Check out new football gameday experiences for San Jose State fans

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By Ana Kieu

New pregame and in-game experiences are in store for San Jose State football fans of all ages when they cheer on the Spartans in the Aug. 29 season opener all the through the regular season finale versus Fresno State on Nov. 30.

Many Spartan fans are aware of the biggest change to CEFCU Stadium, Home of the Spartans, which started in June 2019. A ceremonial groundbreaking for the Spartan Athletics Center (formerly Football Operations Center) will fit into the east side of the stadium as a completed project benefiting all San Jose State student-athletes and those affiliated with the football, women’s soccer and men’s soccer teams.

“Our goal is to create one of the best college football game-day experiences in the Mountain West,” said Senior Associate Athletics Director for External Relations Blake Sasaki.

“Our fans want more than action on the field and we are addressing that request primarily through the Spartan Village Fan Zone. We’ll have a Kids’ Area, a video game truck, inflatables, student and adult tailgating, an early pregame radio show, upgraded food and beverage and more.”

Here’s what’s new, improved and fun for fans at CEFCU Stadium this season:

Creative, environmentally friendly and traditional ways to reach CEFCU Stadium
-Standard parking spaces on the 7th and 10th street sides of CEFCU Stadium and at the Excite Ballpark lot on Alma Avenue
– Park on the main campus for $5.00 and ride a free shuttle round trip from the 7th Street garage to CEFCU Stadium – Use the Lyft Drop Zone, the Go Bike Station, or rent a scooter and park it in the new scooter parking area along 7th Street
– Ride VTA bus lines #25 or #73 to either 7th or 10th streets & Keyes and enjoy a short walk to CEFCU Stadium

Enter CEFCU Stadium from the new 7th & 10th Street game-day Stadium Way entrances or from the standard west and east gates of the stadium

Spartan Village Fan Zone — a new entertainment area for all ages north of CEFCU Stadium that opens three hours before kickoff and stays open throughout the game. The game ticket is the admission into the football game and the Spartan Village Fan Zone
– Look for the Kids’ Zone with inflatables, corn hole, a video games truck and more
– See the 60-minute broadcast show with hosts Justin Allegri and Kevin Richardson
– Visit the Powerhouse Food Truck, the world’s largest food truck measuring more than 70 feet, generously donated by SpartanEats — the university’s new food services provider — ready to serve great food and show college football games on its big screen.

Fun, freebies, honors and more
Thurs., Aug. 29 vs. Northern Colorado, 7:00 p.m.
“Retro Night” & Throwback Thursday
– “Retro t-shirt” giveaway
– Custom San Jose State fanny packs

Sat., Sept. 7 vs. Tulsa, 6:00 p.m.
First Responder Night presented by PG&E
– Free tickets to first responders, courtesy of PG&E
– High School Band Night
– Free San Jose State t-shirts to the first 1,000 students, courtesy of the Mountain West

Fri., Oct. 4 vs. New Mexico, 7:00 p.m.
Brew & Vine Night
– Parent & Family Weekend

Sat., Oct. 19, vs. San Diego State, 4:00 p.m.
Homecoming
– Ticket giveaway to the Oct. 19 Gryffin Concert at The Event Center
– Ring of Honor celebration

Sat., Nov. 2 vs. Boise State, 7:30 p.m.
Dick Tomey Night
– Dick Tomey Rally Towel giveaway
– San Jose Unified School District Night
– Youth Football Night

Sat., Nov. 30 vs. Fresno State, TBA
Valley Trophy Rivalry Game
– Senior Day

There will be new food choices for the hungry fans. The Smokin’ Pig makes its CEFCU Stadium debut this season serving tasty barbecued smoked meats, savory sides and delicious desserts.

“We believe we have something for every fan that comes to our football games this season. We plan to entertain our fans from the moment they arrive and then give them plenty to remember when our team takes the field this season,” Sasaki said.

Headline Sports podcast with London Marq: Jimmy G says don’t worry, he’ll get it together; Raiders head to Canada undefeated for Thursday Night Football; plus more

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On Headline Sports with London:

#1 San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo said he was a bit rusty after recovering from last season’s knee surgery then saw no play until camp opened up in July, and in his first preseason game, struggled against the Denver Broncos going 1-6 and zero yards.

#2 The Oakland Raiders are coming off two wins in preseason and play this Thursday night in Winnipeg against Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers. According to head coach Jon Gruden, Raiders quarterbacks have been on schedule with accomplishing what needs to be done — Derek Carr, Mike Glennon and Nathan Peterman.

#3 The San Francisco Giants are on a current road trip in Wrigley Field in Chicago, which they opened up on Tuesday night. Wednesday night the Giants are starting Derek Rodriguez (5-6, 4.79 ERA), and for the Cubs, Yu Darvish (4-6, 4.21 ERA). The Giants are 3.5 games out of first for the wild card.

#4 The Oakland A’s are just one game out of first place for their wild card spot. The A’s host a very tough customer, the New York Yankees, at the Oakland Coliseum. Starting pitchers for Wednesday night: For the Yanks, JA Happ (10-7, 5.40 ERA), and for the A’s, Mike Fiers (11-3, 3.46 ERA).

#5 The San Jose Earthquakes playing their third road trip game tonight in Los Angeles at LAFC. The Quakes have not won in their last three games, which includes a tie. LAFC is in first in the MLS Western Conference at 18-4-3 and are expected to be a very tough customer against the Quakes tonight.

Join London for Headline Sports each Wednesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary podcast: Major traffic worries clog Warriors’ new SF arena in Dogpatch neighborhood

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On That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary:

#1 San Francisco Mayor London Breed said with a lot of events scheduled at Chase Center in San Francisco, how are people going to get in and out of Dog Patch especially with USCF Hospital next door on game nights at Golden State?

#2 The A’s almost had a shot at sweeping the Houston Astros in a four-game series taking three out of four. Every game is important now when the A’s face the Astros next series at Minute Maid Field in Houston.

#3 The A’s opened a three game series at the Coliseum on Tuesday against the New York Yankees all games at this stage of the season are huge with the A’s being 1.5 games back in the AL wild card.

Amaury Pi-Gonzalez is the Spanish play-by-play voice for the Oakland A’s on 1010 KIQI San Francisco, also is the vice president of the Major League Baseball Hispanic Heritage Museum and does News and Commentary each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Jose Earthquakes podcast: Quakes drop 2nd straight match, so what now?

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On the San Jose Earthquakes podcast with Ana:

1. The Quakes dropped their second straight match to Sporting KC 2-1 last Saturday.

2. The Quakes take on LAFC on Wednesday night.

3. The Quakes partnered with Silicon Valley’s leading communications company 8×8, Inc.

4. The Quakes Boys’ Academy returns to action on Saturday, August 31.

5. Reno 1868 FC has had some rising stars as of late.

Ana does the San Jose Earthquakes podcasts each week for http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Bernardi emphasizes communication in San Jose State o-line

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By Ana Kieu

At any San Jose State football practice from anywhere on the field, there’s the booming voice of the Spartans offensive line coach Joe Bernardi encouraging, leading, teaching and coaching his players. Perhaps, the bravado in voice springs from his dad, Gary Bernardi, the Spartans offensive line coach from 2010 to 2012, had a coarse richness to his voice from more than 30 years of college coaching.

If history repeats itself, or like father, like son, Joe Bernardi’s third year as the Spartans’ offensive line coach will be a good one. In 2012, San Jose State went 11-2, won the Military Bowl and finished nationally-ranked in the FBS with Gary Bernardi as the Spartans offensive line coach. The younger Bernardi won’t go that far right with a forecast right now.

Joe Bernardi has the biggest number of Spartans among the position groups in both size and number. There are the highly-experienced starters like senior Troy Kowalski, a three-year starter, and Jack Snyder, a two-year starter. And, he has a significant number of players who have red-shirted at some point in their college careers hoping this season is their time in the lineup in order to help the team shine.

“We have a lot of different levels of experience with our group. I really like the way the group has worked and its chemistry. We just have to keep plugging. The young guys have to get better. The ‘old’ guys have to keep pushing the young guys, but I like the way the group is coming together,” said Bernardi, who was a center at Fresno State.

“I’ve seen a lot of guys step up. Seen some young guys develop quickly. Seen some old guys kind of separate themselves. I really, really like this group. I think they’ve worked very hard. We’re going to find the best five by next week,” he said about the group.

The Spartans offensive line coach believes communication and finding ways to work together are important. He also counts on the play of the tight end position as part of the symphony concert of offense whether it’s running or passing the football.

“We want to do a good job of running the football better, our chemistry and communication at the line of scrimmage working with the tight ends and communicating our calls across the line of scrimmage. Obviously, we have to do a great job hitting movement, doing a good job in our ‘double-teams’, and a good job in our pass protection work as well,” said Bernardi, who assigned most of his players to learn multiple positions with the objective of position flexibility and keeping the best five linemen playing at all times.

With only a few days remaining before the August 29 season opener, Bernardi continues to emphasize communication as the Spartans turn their attention to Northern Colorado.

“(We’ve) got to make sure we are communicating on our assignments and understanding the game plan, understanding what Northern Colorado is going to give us on normal down-and-distance situational football, start to familiarize ourselves with their film. Everybody’s got to do a great job of preparing and understanding what their role is going into the game.”

Whether it’s at a practice or at a game, the passion Joe Bernardi has for his players and stellar offensive line play comes through loud and clear from the Spartan sideline.

Tickets for the San Jose State season opener with Northern Colorado on August 29 and all home games are available at www.sjsuspartans.com/tickets.

Rizzo homers twice in Cubs’ 5-3 win

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By Jeremy Kahn

Coming off a series where they won three out of four from the Arizona Diamondbacks, the San Francisco Giants began another big series against a playoff contender.

Anthony Rizzo hit two home runs, helping the Chicago Cubs to a 5-3 victory over the Giants at Wrigley Field.

Rizzo put the Cubs into the lead in the bottom of the third inning, as he led off the frame with his 23rd home run of the season.

Unfortunately for the Cubs, the Giants tied it up in the top of the fourth inning, as Kevin Pillar hit his 18th home run of the season.

The Cubs took the lead for good in the bottom of the fifth inning, as they were helped out by instant replay and that man Rizzo was instrumental on the play that turned everything around.

Javier Baez hit a ground ball that Brandon Belt fielded at first, and thinking Belt touched the bag, Rizzo headed back to first base with Baez chugging down the line from the batters box.

Both players ran into each other, and the umpires called it a double play, as Abiatal Avelino threw the ball back to Belt from second base; however, the Cubs saw it a different way and challenged the call that was eventually overturned and Baez was safe at first base.

Kyle Schwarber then walked, and then Jonathan Lucroy singled off of Belts glove at first base that scored Baez with the eventual game-winning run.

Cole Hamels gave up three runs on five hits, as he won for the first time since June 12 against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field.

The Giants are now 3-2 on their nine-game road trip that will conclude with a two-game series in Oakland versus the As on Saturday and Sunday.

Austin Slater hit a two-run home run for the Giants that tied up the game in the top of the second inning.

Nicholas Castellanos gave the Cubs a quick 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning, as he hit his seventh home run, and then two batters later, Rizzo hit his first home run of the game.

Rizzo went 3-for-3, as he picked up his first multi-home run of the season and Castellanos hit his seventh home run since being acquired from the Detroit Tigers on July 31.

Tyler Beede went just four innings for the Giants, as he gave up three runs on six hits, walked three and struck out four; however, he gave up three home runs.

Fernando Abad took the loss, as he gave up the fateful hit to Schwarber in the bottom of the fifth inning. Abad went 1.1 innings, allowing one run on two hits, walked two and struck out one.

NOTES: Pablo Sandoval flew to Los Angeles to see Dr. Neal ElAttrache for a second opinion on his right elbow. Steven Duggar, who is out with a left shoulder sprain will not need surgery; however, he most likely miss the rest of the 2019 season.

Johnny Cueto pitched 4.1 innings, allowing five runs (four earned) on four hits, walked one and struck out three. Cueto threw 60 pitches, 43 of them for strikes.

UP NEXT: Dereck Rodriguez will take the mound for the Giants on Wednesday night, while Yu Darvish will pitch for the Cubs.

Headline Sports podcast with Barbara Mason: How 49ers looked on Monday Night Football and what to expect from Raiders on Thursday Night Football; plus more

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On Headlines Sports with Barbara Mason:

#1 The San Francisco 49ers played preseason game two on Monday Night Football. Talk about how quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo looked. He had one snag in scrimmage last week when he threw into traffic and got picked five times in a row. Going forward Thursday until making the trip to Denver, he looked like he got back on track.

#2 The Oakland Raiders’ quarterbacking situation looks like it’s coming along just the way head coach Jon Gruden planned the Raiders as the Raiders are 2-0 in preseason are looking at starter Derek Carr with backups Nathan Peterman and Mike Glennon.

#3 The Oakland A’s dropped the fourth and final game of their series to the Houston Astros Sunday, but not before the A’s took three out of four from the visiting Astros. The A’s are now 1 game back in the AL Wild Card race and all their remaining games with Houston are huge not to mention with their other opponents.

#4 The San Francisco Giants almost got a four-game sweep in Arizona, but lost on Sunday when the Diamondbacks scored for three runs in the first inning early and got good pitching out of starter Merrill Kelly, who went 5.2 innings, six hits and one run.

#5 Talk has been about traffic conditions around the new Chase Arena in San Francisco and San Francisco emergency services ran a drill simulating traffic conditions during a concert or a Warriors game. Results weren’t good as ambulances and fire trucks couldn’t get through during an emergency if there was Warriors game traffic coming in or going out. Was building Chase especially next to UCSF Hospital a disaster in the waiting?

Barbara does Headline Sports each Tuesday night at http://www.sportsradioservice.com