Author: Sports Radio Service

SJSU President Mary Papazian Appointed to NCAA Board of Directors

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By: Ana Kieu

San Jose State University President Mary A. Papazian has been appointed to the NCAA’s Division I Board of Directors.

Papazian’s term of service on the committee began at the close of the association’s May 2019 Board of Directors meeting and continues until the end of the August 2023 Board meeting.

“Representing San Jose State and the Mountain West on the NCAA Board of Directors is quite an honor,” said Papazian. “While the NCAA manages and governs intercollegiate sports for more than 1,100 colleges and universities, the heart of the association’s mission is providing opportunities for student-athletes to earn a college degree. That academic focus is one I gravitate toward and an area where I can contribute the most in this role.”

As an NCAA Board member, Papazian will be charged with helping to sustain and advance the Association’s mission, traditions, values and reputation. Board members regularly participate in committee meetings and conference calls and address a variety of issues. Last year, Papazian served as vice chair of the NCAA Division I Presidential Forum.

The 24-member Board of Directors committee consists of one university chancellor or president from each of the 10 FBS conferences; one Senior Woman Administrator from a FBS conference; seven representatives consisting of university presidents, an athletics director and a faculty athletics representative from FCS conferences; five university presidents from Division I institutions that do not sponsor football; and a student-athlete from a Division I institution.

“President Papazian’s role and service on the Mountain West Board of Directors will prepare her well in representing the league on the NCAA Board of Directors. The combination of responsibilities to both will enable her to transition in the Mountain West Board Chair position in 2020 and we look forward to her active participation,” said Mountain West commissioner Craig Thompson.

“President Papazian has an incredible pulse on the daily life of a student-athlete.  She is keenly aware of the challenges, fortitude and exhilaration student-athletes experience as they navigate their daily lives.  She is a student-centered President, and will serve all students, regardless of their gender or sport,” said San Jose State University athletics director Marie Tuite.

Papazian joined San Jose State University as its 30th president on July 1, 2016. Recent milestones at SJSU include the opening of the new, $130 million Spartan Recreation and Aquatics Center; a series of Town Hall meetings hosted by SJSU’s Institute for the Study of Sport, Society and Social Change; and the launch of a new, 10-year strategic plan known as Transformation 2030. Next week, SJSU and its Division of Intercollegiate Athletics will host a groundbreaking ceremony for the future construction of a new Football Operations Center.

About San Jose State University
The founding campus of the 23-campus CSU system, SJSU provides a comprehensive university education, granting bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees in 250 areas of study offered through its eight colleges.

With more than 35,000 students and nearly 4,370 employees, SJSU continues to be an essential partner in the economic, cultural and social development of Silicon Valley and the state, annually contributing 10,000 graduates to the workforce.

The university is proud of the accomplishments of its more than 260,000 alumni, 60% of whom live and work in the Bay Area.

About San Jose State Athletics
San Jose State sponsors 22 (nine men’s and 13 women’s) NCAA Division I intercollegiate sports programs for approximately 470 student-athletes annually. In football, the Spartans are a member of Division I’s FBS, the NCAA’s highest level of competition.

The Spartans’ primary conference affiliation is with the Mountain West. Selected teams belong to the MPSF, the WAC, and the GCC.

SJSU has 10 NCAA team championships and 52 NCAA individual titles. 62 Spartans competed in one or more Olympic Games. SJSU athletes have won seven gold, six silver and seven bronze medals at the Olympics.

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary: Giants Stuck With Heavy Contracts of Under-Producing Players

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Photo credit: @NBCSAuthentic

By: Amaury Pi-Gonzalez

The Opening Day Payroll of this 2019 MLB season for the San Francisco Giants was $138,030,231. The estimated CBT payroll is different at $155,030,231. CBT is commonly known as the Luxury Tax. The threshold for 2019 is $206 million. The Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, and New York Yankees are over that figure.

The Giants’ larger salaries per year are those of Buster Posey ($22 million) plus Johnny Cueto, Jeff Samardzija, Mark Melancon, Evan Longoria, and Madison Bumgarner. Some of the most recent Giants like Cueto and Longoria have multi-year deals for more than $100 million. Samardzija signed for $90 million and Melancon signed for $62 million. Cueto and Melancon have been hurt and Longoria, who was a franchise player for the Tampa Bay Rays, is not the same player after 10 years of great production. Longoria seems to be done.

In 2018, in his first season for the Giants, Longoria hit .244 with 16 home runs and 54 runs batted in. This season, Longoria has hit for a .220 average with six home runs and 19 runs batted in. Others like Brandon Belt and Brandon Crawford are not starving, but are big disappointments. For example, Belt currently sports a .230 average with eight home runs and 20 runs batted in. Since he began his career with San Francisco in 2011, Belt has never hit more than 18 home runs and 82 runs batted in during a season at first base, which is supposed to be a power position. Crawford is currently hitting .209 with three home runs and 13 batted in.

I hear people talking about bringing the fences in at Oracle Park because the Giants do not hit well there, but everybody else that comes to play the Giants hit plenty of home runs. It is not the park for the Giants’ lack of hitting, it is the players. They won three World Series at the same park, which has been SBC, Pac Bell and AT&T. It’s now Oracle. Since the inauguration of this beautiful park, the dimensions have been the same, so instead of focusing on the fences, the Giants should focus on the team.

The Giants simply got old, and they are playing not the same type of baseball that everybody else is playing today — home runs, home runs, and more home runs. Since MLB got a new ball this year, which is much lighter (a good friend of mine in this business told me, “Amaury, the ball is on Steroids.” Yes, and everybody is hitting home runs, except for the Giants.

You do not need Statcast or any other of the new and fancy baseball analytics to tell you that the Giants have spent more that most teams in baseball and got little in return for their money. On July 31, we will likely see this team trade Madison Bumgarner and perhaps reliever Will Smith. Only God knows who else, but they need more than a tune-up, they need a new engine.

Amaury Pi-Gonzalez is the Spanish voice of the Oakland Athletics. He was born in Cuba and has lived in the Bay Area since 1969. He has broadcasted for the A’s, Giants, Mariners, and Angels — a veteran of radio and television. He has been inducted to BARHOF (Bay Area Radio Hall of Fame) in 2010, Cuban Sports Hall of Fame (Miami), and The Hispanic Heritage Baseball Museum and Hall of Fame (San Francisco), and nominated multiple times for the MLB Ford C. Frick Award for broadcasters.

Headline Sports podcast with London Marq: Giants look to end skid tonight in Miami; A’s jets are cooled drop second straight game after long win streak

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Photo credit: @sfgiants_fanly

On Headline Sports with London:

#1 The San Francisco Giants have now lost six straight games. The latest loss was on Tuesday night in Miami where they were crushed by the hosts, the Miami Marlins, 11-3. The Marlins did most of their damage with four runs in the fifth and three runs in the sixth.

#2 The Oakland A’s gave it their all, but couldn’t get their 11th straight win as the LA Angles scored twice in the top of the ninth to get a two-run lead over the A’s at the Oakland Coliseum in a 6-4 Angels win. The A’s took another loss for the second straight loss to the Angels on Wednesday afternoon 12-7 in extra innings.

#3 The San Jose Earthquakes are 5-2-6. They have won three out of their last four games and are on the road to face the DC United. The Quakes have a confidence about them that you didn’t see before.

#4 The NBA Finals are coming on Thursday night. The Toronto Raptors and the Golden State Warriors will battle in Toronto in Game 1 of the NBA Finals.

#5 The Boston Bruins and St Louis Blues played some old fashion physical hockey in Game 1 on Monday night at TD Waterhouse Garden. The Blues were up by two goals until the Bruins’ Sean Kuraly scored a third period goal to snap a tie and assisted on another goal to help the B’s get a 4-2 win. The Blues and B’s battle again tonight in Boston for Game 2.

London does Headline Sports each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Will the A’s go on a new 10-game winning streak?

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Photo credit: mercurynews.com

By: Ana Kieu

OAKLAND — The A’s were red-hot and recorded a 10-game winning streak after an 8-5 win over the Angels on Monday. The A’s achieved 10 straight wins for the first time since 2006. Then, the A’s winning streak snapped following the Angels’ 6-4 win on Tuesday. But it wasn’t a genuine Angels win as most, if not all, folks said the umpires cost the A’s. That was one of the worst ways to lose a game.

The A’s are currently in second place in the AL West, trailing the first place Astros by 7 1/2 games. The A’s should be just fine, so let’s get to the umpires. In case you missed it, Joakim Soria thought he was out of the inning. The A’s relief pitcher delivered what appeared to be strike three to Angels DH Shohei Ohtani. However, Josh Phegley was unable to hold onto Soria’s curveball, which caused home plate umpire James Hoye to flinch like he was going to ring up Ohtani. Instead, Hoye called it ball two. Two pitches later, Ohtani singled home two go-ahead runs and the Angels won 6-4 to snap the A’s winning streak.

Soria wasn’t happy with Hoye and argued balls and strikes with Hoye. Apparently, Hoye had enough of the shenanigans and threw Soria out of the game.

“There’s a human factor in the game and that’s the beauty of the game. I understand he’s human,” Soria told the Associated Press. “He thought it was a ball, he called it. The only problem is because of the mistake I gave up two runs and we lost the game. … In that specific situation you cannot miss. I understand he’s human. He’s there for a reason, too.”

But the pitch remains in question and there’s not much you or I could do about it unless if the MLB confesses their wrongdoing and apologizes for their mistake in the game.

Anyways, I believe the A’s can go on a new 10-game winning streak. The A’s put themselves in a good spot with their recent surge and the bottom of their lineup has impressed and perhaps shocked the downers as Jurickson Profar, Ramon Laureano and Josh Phegley have heated things up during the red-hot streak. Phegley made a solid case to be considered as an All-Star. Phegley’s seven homers and 32 RBI could support his cause.

The A’s can punch their tickets to the postseason like they did last year, but can they survive the playoffs? That’s the question and we’ll see what happens down the stretch.

Meanwhile, A’s DH Khris Davis has been progressing and taking some swings, but it’s unclear if he’ll be ready to play against the Astros this weekend at the Coliseum. If he continues to progress, then he might get off the IL and head out onto the field.

Oakland A’s podcast with Jerry Feitelberg: The streak will be one of the key highlights of this A’s season

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Photo credit: @Athletics

On the A’s podcast with Jerry F:

#1 A’s take their first loss in two weeks after winning 10 straight games in two weeks. An impressive performance during those two weeks.

#2 Talk about some the stars during the streak will start with Mark Canha and all those home runs — some gamers.

#3 Talk about Stephen Piscotty. He’s been struggling at the plate the last two months. Piscotty is hitting .274, but he’s got a consistent on base percentage. Piscotty, who got on base in the fourth inninng Tuesday night, has now got on base 24 times.

#4 Fernando Rodney was designated for assignment last week. No team would pick up his $5.25 million salary. He had an ERA of 9.42.

#5 The Los Angeles Angels’ Shohei Ohtani was instrumental in the Angels’ win on Tuesday night getting a lined two RBI single to help the Angels get a two-run win over the A’s 6-4.

Jerry does the Oakland A’s podcasts each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Jose Earthquakes podcast with Ana Kieu: Wondo’s the man of the hour

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Photo credit: @SJEarthquakes

1. With four goals scored on May 18, Quakes star Chris Wondolowski made a $7,500 deposit to Wells Fargo Goals for Education.

2. Quakes Homegrown Player JT Marcinkowski was added to the US Soccer Combined Preparation Camp.

3. The Quakes edged Toronto FC 2-1 on May 26.

4. The Quakes next play DC United on June 1.

5. Any new updates on the Quakes and Reno 1868 FC?

Ana does the San Jose Earthquakes podcast each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Giants routed by Marlins 11-3; SF lost 6 straight

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Photo credit: @NBCSGiants

By Jeremy Kahn

Once again, the San Francisco Giants gave up double digits in runs and the game slipped in a nutshell.

Jorge Alfaro and Garrett Cooper each hit three-run home runs, as the Miami Marlins defeated the Giants 11-3 at Marlins Park.

The Alfaro and Cooper three-run blasts were the first three-run home runs by the Marlins during the 2019 season.

This was the third time in four games that the Giants have allowed at least 10 runs in a game, and have lost six in a row.

Over their last four games, the Giants have been outscored 45-11 and are a season-high 11 games under .500.

Joe Panik gave the Giants a quick 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning, as he hit the first pitch of the game off of Trevor Richards for a solo home run.

Following the Panik home run, Richards settled down, as he ended up going seven innings, allowing just one run on two hits and the Marlins have won eight out of their last 11 games.

Alfaro blew the game wide open in the bottom of the fifth inning, as he hit a three-run home run and then Cooper put the Marlins in double figures, when he smashed his three-run home run in the bottom of the sixth inning.

Thru their first 51 games of the season, the Marlins did not hit a three-run home run and ended the night with two.

Rosell Herrera closed out the scoring for the Marlins in the bottom of the eighth inning, as he hit a pinch-hit home run, his first home run of the season.

All of the Marlins first seven runs came with two outs, as the Marlins are now 10-4 since 2017 against the Giants.

Jeff Samardzija lost for the third time in a row, as he saw his record fall to 2-4 on the season. Samardzija gave up a season-high five earned runs in four innings of work, tying his shortest start of 2019.

NOTES: Nick Vincent was forced to leave the game in the bottom of the sixth inning with a trainer.

UP NEXT: Madison Bumgarner heads to the mound on Wednesday, as he looks for his fourth win of the season. Thus far in the month of May, Bumgarner is 2-0 in five starts and on the season, has walked only 13 and struck out 70.

Pablo Lopez will his first ever start against the Giants on Wednesday, as he looks to improve his record up to 4-5. On the season, Lopez is 2-1 with a 1.93 ERA in four home starts during 2019.

NBA Finals/Golden State Warriors podcast with David Zizmor: Do Raptors even have a chance against Golden State?

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photo from wisconsinstatejournal.com file photo: In Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals, the Toronto Raptors forward Kawhi Leonard (2) drives on the Milwaukee Bucks guard Malcom Brogdon (13) in Toronto on May 25th.

On the NBA Finals/Golden State Warriors podcast with Dave:

#1 Much like James Harden of the Houston Rockets, will it be the same challenge for Kawhi Leonard of the Toronto Raptors? Will it be four or five guys versus Leonard? Will Leonard have to do all the heavy lifting?

#2 Is there any chance that this can be a balanced NBA Finals as the Warriors have dominated throughout the postseason? Do the Raptors have any advantage opening up the series at home in Toronto?

David Zizmor does the Warriors podcasts each Tuesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary: Bill Buckner Played 22 Years, but Remembered for One Miscue

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Photo credit: @BostonGlobe

Bill Buckner was a very good baseball player. Born in Vallejo, California on December 14, 1949. He died after a battle with dementia on May 27,2019 in Boise, Idaho. Buckner played for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Chicago Cubs, Boston Red Sox, California Angels (now Los Angeles Angels) and Kansas City Royals.

After 22 years in the Major Leagues, the first baseman ended with a solid .289 batting average. Buckner played in 2,517 games and collected 2,715 hits. Buckner also won the 1980 batting title in the National League with the Chicago Cubs batting .324.

Unfortunately, Buckner was always remembered for the costly error during the 1986 World Series between the Boston Red Sox and the New York Mets. I happened to be broadcasting for the old CBS Hispanic Radio Network over 200 Spanish format stations in the US and Latin America alongside veterans Juan Vene and Billy Berroa and international producer Armando Talavera. It was Game 6 at Shea Stadium in Queens, New York at the bottom of the 10th inning when the Mets’ Mookie Wilson hit a grounder that went through Bill Buckner’s legs, allowing Ray Knight scoring from second with the winning run for a Mets’ 6-5 win. The next day, in Game 7 game, the Mets beat the Red Sox 8-5 to win the series. The key play was the one that turned around the series — Buckner’s error.

Baseball is a wonderful game. However, moments, good or bad, will be remembered for many years. After that error, Buckner was not welcome in Boston, home of one of the most passionate fanbases in baseball. There were death threats, and he was persona non grata for many years in that great city.

Although I vividly remember that moment of Game 6 of the 1986 World Series, Red Sox fans that were at Shea Stadium crying, while Mets fans could not be any more pleased, I personally remember Buckner as a very good dependable professional MLB player for over two decades.

You cannot judge a career for one play, however, it unfortunately happens. Remember when Jose Canseco played right field for the Texas Rangers on May 26, 1993 and let a ball hit him in the head and rebounded over the fence for a home run? Yes, that happened, but people should also remember in 1988, Canseco was with the Oakland Athletics and was the first ever 40-40 man when he hit 42 home runs and stole 40 bases en route to the American League MVP. Canseco had a 17-year career with 462 home runs.

However, the Canseco play was during a regular season, Buckner’s play was during a World Series. Though I remember the infamous play, I moreso remember Buckner as a very productive MLB player.

Oakland A’s podcast with Charlie O: A’s get the long ball from Chapman and Canha

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photo from sfgate.com: Oakland Athletics’ Matt Chapman, right, is congratulated by Robbie Grossman (8) after hitting a two-run home run off Seattle Mariners pitcher Mike Leake in the first inning of a baseball game Sunday, May 26, 2019, in Oakland, Calif.

On the A’s podcast with Charlie O:

#1 How annoying in the A’s win streak was that game that was canceled on the count of no rain in Detroit two Sundays ago that very well could have been win number 4 and the A’s could have 11 straight on Monday?

#2 During the Mariners series in Oakland, there was little doubt that the struggle they had with them in Seattle to start the road trip last week was on their minds.

#3 The A’s got off to a shaky start after opening up their season in Tokyo. To go from a regular season line up with a 15-hour time difference and then revert to the preseason. Was that all part of their rough start?

#4 Charlie O, you said this was going to be a good A’s team at sometime this season with all the talent they have here with Canha, Semien, Chapman, Olson, Profar, Laureano, and Phegley, that they were eventually were go to break out the bats.

#5 Mariners manager Scott Servais got tossed for arguing a challenge call in the bottom of the seventh inning that saw Canha slide into second that he felt was an out. Later, the A’s got two runs on M’s shortstop Roenis Elias’ error and Profar later hit a groundout RBI. A’s manager Bob Melvin said he would have argued the umpiring crew waited to long to make a decision on the play.

Charlie O does the A’s podcasts each Tuesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com