Author: Sports Radio Service

Barracuda take down Heat 6-4

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Photo credit: @sjbarracuda

By Marko Ukalovic

Alex True has been the best player for the San Jose Barracuda in the past two and a half months. His second goal of the contest proved to be the game-winning goal with seven minutes left to help San Jose defeat the Stockton Heat 6-4 in a wild game on Friday evening at Stockton Arena. San Jose has the best winning percentage in the AHL.

True skated in on a wide angle and with backu goalie Tyler Parson, in relief for starter Jon Gillies, going from left to right, True wrapped around the puck through the five hole for his 14th goal of the season at the 12:59 mark of the third period. He is now tied with Francis Perron for the team lead in goals and leads the teams in points with 34.

San Jose (25-8-2-4) drew first blood early in the first period. Captain John McCarthy fed a pass over to Jeffery Viel, who skated in and sent a wrister past Heat goaile Jon Gillies (6-12-4) just inside the right post for his seventh goal of the season at the 6:12 mark. Viel’s goal broke a 12-game goalless drought. Evan Weinger received the secondary assist.

The Cuda doubled their lead just over a minute and half later. Jon Martin sent over a pass over to the red-hot True, who fired a shot top self on the far side over the shoulder of Gillies for his 13th goal of the season at the 7:56 mark. Antti Suomela received the secondary assist. The Cuda scored two goals on the first six shots.

Stockton (18-21-4-1) cut the lead in half late in the opening frame. Kerby Rychel’s attempted shot on net was blocked by a San Jose defender, but the rebound went right to the stick of Curtis Lazar, who one-timed the puck past Cuda goalie Joesf Korenar (16-3-1) for Lazar’s 15th goal of the season at the 15:02 mark. Juuso Valimaki received the secondary assist.

In the second period, San Jose dominated the Heat scoring the next two goals. Rourke Chartier worked the puck below the end line and fed a perfect pass over to Francis  Perron, who buried a one-timer past Gillies for his 14th goal of the season at the 1:49 mark, snapping a seven-game goalless drought. Dylan Gambrell received the secondary assist.

San Jose gained a 4-1 lead as Perron returned the favor to Gambrell. Gambrell wired a one-timer passed Gillies for his 10th goal of the season at the 6:21 mark. That would be the end of Gillies’ night as he was sent to the showers and replaced by Tyler Parsons (6-5-1) after giving up four goals on 17 shots. Calvan Fitzgerald received the secondary assist.

Stockton once again cut the lead in half late in the period, this time on the power play. After a failed clearing attempt by San Jose, Stockton took advantage when Tyler Graovac redirected a Rinet Valiev shot from the point over the left shoulder of Korenar for his 14th goal of the season at the 17:03 mark. Dillon Dube were credited with the secondary assist.

Stockton tilted the ice in the favor in the third period. Spencer Foo threaded a pass to Dube, who beat Korenar under the right arm with a wrist shot into the back of the net for his for his fifth goal of the season at the 9:31 mark.

The Heat tied the game just under two minutes later. A defensive break down left the rookie defenseman Valimaki all alone and he buried his chance past Kornear for his first professional goal of his career at the 11:15 mark.

Korenar stopped 32 of the 36 shots he faced to earn his 16th victory of the season. His is currently 5-0 against Stockton this season. Parsons made 20 saves on 22 shots suffered the tough luck loss in relief duty.

Gambrell gave the Cuda some insurance when he tipped in a shot from the point off the stick of Kyle Wood past Parsons for his second goal of the evening and 11th of the season at the 16:30 mark. Perron received the secondary assist.

GAME NOTES: San Jose was 0/1 on the power play. Stockton was 1/2. The Cuda had killed off 13 penalties in a row before Valiev’s power play goal.

Cuda head coach Roy Sommer earned his 750th career win in the AHL.

San Jose is now 8-1 against Stockton, including 5-0 (and the last seven straight dating back to last year) in the Stockton Arena, this season.

The announced attendance was 4,532.

UP NEXT: The Barracuda take on the Heat on Saturday, February 2nd at 1:15 pm at SAP Center.

Stanford Cardinal basketball podcast with Joey Friedman: Cardinal come out swinging, hold a lead in 75-62 win against Colorado

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Photo credit: @StanfordMBB

On the Stanford Cardinal podcast with Joey:

#1 The Cardinal (10-10) came off a loss to the Utah Utes prior to last Saturday’s game. With the Colorado Buffaloes (11-8) and the Cardinal, who came in with some motivation, pulled off a win 75-62.

#2 Dorian Pickens was key for Stanford’s last season’s lead as he led with 18 points and the Cardinal who behind 16 points came back against Colorado showing the Cardinal trying win these games against Colorado. The Buffaloes rattled off six points with Tyler Bey’s help.

#3 Cormac Ryan did not play. He continues to sit out with ankle concerns.

#4 Sophomore Oscar Da Silva scored all of Stanford’s first eight points, which included a pair of threes in the first five minutes.

#5 The Cardinal next head to Berkeley to take on Cal on February 3rd in the first of three road games.

Joey Friedman does the Stanford Cardinal basketball podcast each Friday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Jose State welcomes San Diego State Saturday

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Photo credit: sjsuspartans.com

By: Ana Kieu

SAN JOSE, Calif. — San Jose State men’s basketball welcomes conference foe San Diego State to the Event Center on Saturday for a 6:00 pm tip. Justin Allegri will have the call for the Mountain West Network and can also be heard on the TuneIn app.

Here’s what you need to know about Saturday’s game.

Game No. 21
San Diego State (12-8, 4-3) at San Jose State (3-17, 0-8)
Saturday, Feb. 2, 6:00 pm PT
The Event Center (5,000)
San Jose, Calif.

Live Stats
Fans can view live stats of all SJSU men’s basketball games, home and away, by accessing the “Live Stats” feature at www.sjsuspartans.com. Click on the link on the men’s basketball schedule page to follow the action

TuneIn
Check out the video below for a quick tutorial on how to access the Spartans’ radio call on the TuneIn app.

What Would a Win Mean?
The Spartans snapping an 11-game losing skid. It would also be the Spartans’ second win over the Aztecs in the last five tries.

The Power of Newcomers
The Spartans have played nine first-year players this season, including regular starters Michael Steadman, Zach Chappell, Craig LeCesne and Brae Ivey. The newcomers are accounting for 67.3% of the Spartans’ offense.

Steadman alone is accounting for 20% of the team’s offense with 266 points.

Baumann the Boss
Sophomore Noah Baumann is shooting lights out from beyond the arc this season, so good in fact that he leads the Mountain West in 3-point percentage at 49.5%. Baumann also ranks in the top-10 in the MW in 3-pointers per game (2.5).

In the loss to Utah State, Baumann had one of the most impressive performances of his career as he scored a career-high 29 points and tied the school record with seven 3-pointers (7-of-10). He also set career highs in 3-point attempts and field goal attempts.

Baumann holds the first and third highest-scoring performances by a Spartan this season with 29 vs. USU and 23 vs. Northern Arizona. The sophomore is averaging 11.0 points in conference play, second-most on the team (Steadman).

Baumann has hit at least one 3-point basket in 18 straight games this season, which is the second-longest streak in school history with a 3-pointer made and longest since Robert Owens closed out the 2009-10 season on a 21-game streak.

Last season as a freshman, Baumann finished the year 40-for-87 (.460) from the 3-point range. He has already eclipsed those numbers with 10 regular season games to go (49-99, .495).

Chastain in Charge
Junior center Ashtin Chastain has been tasked to fill in the gap in the starting lineup with senior Oumar Barry sidelined by injury. Chastain has started the last three games in his stead and is averaging 6.7 points and 6.6 rebounds in those starts.

Chastain scored seven points in the first start at Wyoming and followed up with with a career-high 13 rebounds in a season-high 39 minutes vs. Air Force. He tallied a season-high eight points in the loss at USU.

Ch-Ch-Changes
Spartans head coach Jean Prioleau made some changes to his staff in the offseason as he brought in former NC State All-American Julius Hodge as an assistant coach and promoted director of operations Ryan Cooper to assistant coach.

Steady Steadman
JUCO transfer Michael Steadman has made a big impact this season as a leader on and off the court. The 6’10” forward is averaging a team-high 13.3 points per game and ranks sixth in the MW with 8.8 rebounds per game. Steadman has seven double-doubles on the season, ranking third in the conference and has scored in double figures in 17-of-20 games. He also has nine games with double-digit rebounds.

Steadman is coming off back-to-back games with at least 20 points. He put up a career-high 24 points and pulled down 12 rebounds in the loss to AF. He then followed up with 20 points at USU.

Change It Up
Prioleau has used nine different lineups throughout the season with no one player starting each time out. Barry had started the first 17 games before an injury kept him out of the lineup the last two games. Seven newcomers have made starts, including freshmen Seneca Knight, Zach Chappell, and Trey Smith.

Still One of the Best
The Spartans are one of two teams that rank in the top four in both offensive and defensive rebounds per game in conference play. SJSU ranks fourth in offensive with 12.4 per game and third in defensive with 25.8 per game. USU’s the other team.

Foul Play
SJSU has committed the fewest fouls in the MW this season with 16.8 per game and ranks 61st nationally in the category.

Series History vs. San Diego State
The Aztecs lead the series by a slim margin of 38-38, but have claimed nine of the last 10, including the last two. The Spartans’ last win came on February 7, 2017 at home in a 76-71 victory. Prior to that win, SDSU had a seven-game win streak, the second-longest streak in the series. The longest such streak belongs to the Spartans, who won nine-straight from 1948 to 1952.

The Aztecs, under second-year head coach Brian Dutcher, enter Saturday’s game on a two-game win streak after taking down UNLV (94-77) and AF (66-51). They have three players currently averaging more than 10 points per game led by Jalen McDaniels, a sophomore who nearly averaged a double-double with 16.5 points and 8.5 rebounds per game.

San Jose State podcast with Ana Kieu: Heartbreaking an understatement for men’s basketball; plus football updates to cheer you up

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Photo credit: @SJSUMBB and @SJSUSpartanFB

On the San Jose State podcast with Ana:

1. San Jose State men’s basketball fell to Air Force 73-71 in double overtime at the Event Center last Saturday.

2. SJSU men’s basketball got blown out by Utah State 103-73 in Smith Spectrum Wednesday.

3. SJSU football, SJSU Beyond Football, and Autism Speaks partnered up to host a special walk to raise awareness on Autism on April 14th.

4. Matt Maiocco, the 49ers beat writer at NBC Sports Bay Area, mentioned SJSU tight end Josh Oliver in a recent article asking “Can 49ers find tight end to pair with George Kittle?’

Ana does the San Jose State podcasts each week for SportsRadioService.com

NBA podcast with Jerry Feitelberg: Pistons’ Griffin and Drummond lead the way in win; Magic get seven-point win over Pacers; plus more

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Photo credit: @ESPNStatsInfo

On the NBA podcast with Jerry Feitelberg:

#1 The Detroit Pistons beat Mark Cuban and the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday night 93-89. The Pistons’ Blake Griffin and Andre Drummond both scored 24 points in the win.

#2 The Orlando Magic got a seven-point win past the Indiana Pacers 107-100 in Orlando on Thursday night. The Magic’s Terrence Ross led the way with 30 points.

#3 The Milwaukee Bucks got by a tough Toronto Raptors team. Giannis Antetokounmpo led the Bucks in scoring with 19 points in the 105-92 win in Toronto on Thursday night.

#4 The Philadelphia 76ers got past the Golden State Warriors 113-104 in Oakland on Thursday night. The Sixers Joel Emiid led with 26 points. The win for the Sixers snapped Golden State’s 11 game win streak.

#5 The Lakers and Clippers went down to the wire in LA and into overtime on Thursday night. The Lakers outlasted the Clippers 123-120 in OT. LeBron James had 24 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists in his return to action.

Jerry Feitelberg does the NBA podcast each week for http://www.sportsradioservice.com

NHL podcast with Joe Lami: The NHL’s 11 day hiatus works just fine for everybody

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Photo credit: @sportsballjulia

On the NHL podcast with Joe:

#1 Joe talks about what the 10 day bye means for the players and explains the value of the break

#2 The league and the players have begun collective bargaining and no doubt the 10-day break is something they’d want to keep doing around the All-Star break.

#3 Joe talks about some the highlights and experience of the All-Star Game in San Jose from last weekend.

#4 Sidney Crosby who won the All-Star Game MVP. Joe talks about how Sid the Kid achieved the award.

#5 The second half of the season is starting this Saturday. Joe talks about some of the teams to look for.

Joe Lami does the NHL podcasts each Friday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa Walsh: Players glad for 11 days off during All-Star break; Sharks host Arizona Saturday

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Photo credit: @SanJoseSharks

On the San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa:

#1 A look at how important it is for NHL teams to get an 11 days off

#2 Through the physical rough and tumble play of the first half, the players appreciate a chance to re-group before jumping into the second half.

#3 On the All-Star experience, did 3-3 experience live up to it’s reputation last Saturday in San Jose?

#4 Sidney Crosby was voted NHL All-Star MVP. What did you like about his game?

#5 The Sharks host Arizona Saturday night at SAP Center to get the second half of their season started. The Sharks had a successful first half and are looking to have another successful second half.

Mary Lisa does the Sharks podcasts each Thursday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Super Bowl LIII podcast with Tony Renteria: Gurley taught everything he knows about rushing to Michel

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Photo credit: @blakejmorgan

On the Super Bowl LIII podcast with Tony Renteria:

#1 Todd Gurley of the Los Angeles Rams and Sony Michel of the New England Patriots. Both rushers. Tony talks about how they’ll do in the Super Bowl.

#2 Gurley and Michel both played for Georgia before being drafted in the NFL and now face each other in the Super Bowl.

#3 Gurley said he taught everything he knows to Michel and hopes he’ll forget everything come Super Bowl Sunday.

#4 Cold ice and rain is expected for Atlanta and a drop of 20 degrees is expected at game time and the league is hoping to open the roof as weather will play a factor in that decision.

#5 Atlanta International Airport has been congested with Super Bowl travel, but with this week’s harsh weather conditions, there has been cancellations. On Monday, there were 179 flights cancelled.

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

San Jose State blown out by Utah State, 103-73

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Photo credit: @SJSUMBB

By: Ana Kieu

San Jose State men’s basketball had lost 10 in a row and they met a familiar foe, the Utah State Aggies, for the second time this month. The Spartans and Aggies faced off in a conference matchup Wednesday evening at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum in Logan, Utah.

The Spartans’ starting lineup featured the likes of Craig LeCesne, Noah Baumann. Seneca Knight, Christian Anigwe, and Ashtin Chastain.

SJSU won the tip and the game went underway. SJSU played a solid first four minutes of basketball to open the first half. SJSU trailed by just three, 10-7, at the 15:55 mark. SJSU had to thank Baumann, who recorded five points at the first media timeout.

Baumann’s big moment took place midway through the first when he drained a 3-pointer for his first 3 of the game. Baumann now had 18 consecutive games with a 3. SJSU trailed by just one, 13-12, at the 11-minute mark.

SJSU held tough with USU, who extended its lead by three, 19-16, at the 11:53 mark. But then the Spartans’ shooting cooled off and their Achilles heel–turnovers–exposed their offense in a negative way to say the least. As a result, the Aggies jumped out to a 30-18 lead with 6:21 left.

If there was a silver lining, it’d be Baumann, who had himself another big-time game against the Aggies. Baumann had 14 points late in the first. Yet, SJSU trailed 51-33 at the half. USU hit a deep 3 at the buzzer to take a large lead to the locker room. So the Spartans had a lot of work to do in order to win or at least tie the game.

SJSU continued to trail for a while, but they began chipping into USU’s lead by hitting four consecutive attempts–including a 3 by Zach Chappell, at the 12:19 mark of the second half. The Spartans trailed 69-53, which wasn’t too bad of a deficit considering some of their first half gaffes.

But SJSU’s attempt at a potential comeback never carried itself out. The Spartans shot 42.9% while the Aggies expanded their lead to 82-59 with 7:40 left. The Spartans (3-17, 0-8 MW) missed a few free throw shots in the final seconds and the Aggies (16-5, 6-2) dribbled the ball out en route to their fifth straight win by a final score of 103-73.

SJSU returns home to host the San Diego State Aztecs Saturday at 6:00 pm PT.

San Jose State football receives $1 million gift from anonymous donors

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By: Ana Kieu

SAN JOSE, Calif. — San Jose State University was pleased to announce that they received a $1 million gift commitment from donors who prefer to remain anonymous. This gift will provide new lockers and Spartan-themed graphics for the football team locker room in the Simpkins Stadium Center adjacent to CEFCU Stadium, Home of the Spartans.

The upgrades are expected to be completed in May 2019. In addition to the refurbished locker room, the gift will support Head Coach Brent Brennan’s efforts to position the football program for success in the immediate future.

“These gracious donors looked Coach Brennan right in the eye and said, ‘We believe in you, coach, and we want to help you now,’ said Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Marie Tuite. “This is a unique gift by two extraordinary folks who are simply vested in moving San Jose State football forward. I’m especially appreciative because our senior class will be able to conclude their careers in a first-class locker room. On behalf of our remarkable student-athletes and our entire department, a heartfelt ‘thank you’ to these two significant donors.”

“Locker rooms are a great place for the team to bond,” said the donors, who are long-time Spartan football season ticket holders. “We hope the new locker room will show the team that we support them 100 percent.”

“We were blown away by the generosity of this gift,” said Brennan. “While we are building our new football complex, this gives a huge boost to the Simpkins Stadium Center, which has housed many Spartan greats. This will directly impact our next recruiting class and give a sense of pride to the space where the players spend so much of their time.”

Brennan added that the expansion and upgrade to the training room will help Spartan football players with the prevention, treatment and rehabilitation of injuries, aided by SJSU’s certified athletic training staff.

“We are excited to see the momentum continue to build around our football program,” said Vice President for University Advancement and Tower Foundation CEO Paul Lanning. “This gift will have an immediate positive impact on the experience of our student-athletes and will greatly enhance recruiting efforts of our coaches. We’re so thankful to our donors for their investment in the future of Spartan football.”

To track fundraising progress and learn how you can support Spartan football, please visit sjsufootball.com or contact Josh Thiel, deputy athletics director for athletics advancement, at (408) 924-1697 or via email at joshua.thiel@sjsu.edu.

About San Jose State
The founding campus of the 23-campus California State University system, San Jose State 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, San Jose State 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 percent 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.

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

Annually, about one-third of the student-athlete population earns either an institutional, conference or national recognition based on outstanding academic performance.