Author: Sports Radio Service

That’s Amaury News and Commentary: A Talk With A’s Top Prospect Jesus Luzardo

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Photo credit: sportingnews.com

By: Amaury Pi-Gonzalez

On a sunny Saturday afternoon at Jack London Square where the 2019 Oakland A’s Fanfest took place, dozens of thousands of A’S and baseball fans in general tasting one of the appetizers of the 2019 season, the Fanfest, and in a couple of weeks, Spring Training, and the start of the season not far behind either.

The Hispanic Heritage Baseball Museum and Hall of Fame had the kiosk closer to Scott’s Seafood Restaurant, fans stopped by to talk baseball. Others got information on the museum and this year’s new A’s stars. La Pedrique, the A’s first base coach first stopped y to sign and meet the public, then later talented 21-year-old prospect, Jesus Luzardo.

Luzardo is a 21 years old and extremely personable with a big smile. He truly enjoyed meeting A’S fan for the first time. I talked to him in Spanish. A Miami, Florida resident, he is totally bilingual. He was born in Lima, Peru, but most of his family is from Venezuela and he identifies himself as a Venezuelan.

While Luzardo signed autographs and posed for photo with A’s fans, I learned a lot about this young prospect. Of the top 100 MLB prospects, he comes in as #7.

When I asked him about the feeling of wearing the A’s uniform, he responded: “It is great, it is tough to make it to this level, and I am very happy today.” Originally from the Washington Nationals organization, the rookie lefty told me he is good friends with ex-A’s lefty Gio Gonzalez, as they both live in the Miami area.

He told me “Gio helped me the time we spend together.”

I asked him about what type of pitcher he considers himself to be in power and in control. He told me “Everything, I can throw the fastball also a breaking pitch and I can be funky also.”

Luzardo is currently single, but told me he has a girlfriend with a huge smile. Al Pedrique, the A’s first base coach, is also from Venezuela, and prior to Luzardo, he came over to our kiosk to sign autographs. Pedrique believes this kid is “the real thing.”

When I asked Luzardo, who will report to Mesa, Arizona, for Spring Training, about making the rotation this season, he responded “We will see, but I am ready for Spring Training.”

According to scouts, Luzardo throws around 98 miles per hour and other secondary pitches. For his age, I found him to be very confident and very smart,when it comes to baseball. He told me he had been playing all his life and to be here is truly a dream come true. Many fans already have known about him and were excited to meet him, wished him good luck. One guy said to him that he will be in the A’s pitching rotation this year.

The opportunity is there for Luzardo. We all know the A’s have a very good young talented lineup, so pitching will be the main focus, especially starting pitchers and aside from Frankie Montas, Luzardo is one of the other young arms that could definitely win a position in the A’S 2019 starting rotation. He came to the A’s from Washington in a trade with closer Blake Treinien, and he could be the missing link for what could turn out to be a great trade for the A’s.

Buena suerte a Jesus Luzardo, muchacho con mucho talento y personalidad.

Translation: Good Luck to Jesus Luzardo, a kid with a lot of talent and personality.

NHL podcast with Daniel Dullum: NHL puts together another successful All-Star Game

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dailyherald.com photo: Pacific Division’s Marc-Andre Fleury, left, of the Vegas Golden Knights, defends against a shot-attempt by Central Division’s Patrick Kane, of the Chicago Blackhawks, during the second half of a semifinal of the NHL hockey All-Star Game in San Jose, Calif., Saturday, Jan. 26, 2019

On the NHL podcast with Daniel:

1 Metropolitan Division wins All-Star 3-on-3

2 Pacific Division loses 10-4 to Central; Metro beats Atlantic 7-4

3 Many highlights in Skills Competition

4 Brenna Decker to get her NHL Skills money; Kendall Coyne Schofield wows fans at Fastest Skater event

5 Austin Matthews honors ex-Shark Patrick Marleau in All-Star Skills Competition

6 Puck electronic tracking is coming to the NHL

Daniel Dullum does the NHL podcast each Sunday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Jose State drops 73-71 heartbreaker to Air Force in double OT thriller

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Photo credit: @SJSUMBB

By: Ana Kieu

SAN JOSE, Calif. — San Jose State men’s basketball was still seeking its first conference win of the season and the Air Force Falcons made it difficult, despite the home advantage inside the Event Center Saturday evening.

Spartans head coach Jean Prioleau went with a starting lineup, which featured the likes of Noah Baumann, Seneca Knight, Craig LeCesne, Ashtin Chastain, and Michael Steadman.

SJSU got off to a fast start to open the scoring in the first half. The Spartans went on a 8-0 run in the opening 3:44, which was eventually snapped by the Falcons’ A.J. Walker, who made a layup at the 14:40 mark of the first.

Air Force climbed its way back into the game, but SJSU maintained the lead, whether it was big or small. Steadman was being Steady Steadman and scored 10 points early on, which helped him record his 15th game of the season where he entered the double figure scoring territory.

SJSU continued to hold a 9-point lead, 25-16, with 3:13 left in the half. Baumann also helped the Spartans extend their lead to 28-16 with his second 3-pointer of the game late in the half.

SJSU achieved its first halftime lead, 31-19, in conference play so far this season.

Unlike the first half, the second half was all Air Force in the early stages. Sid Tomes hit a 3 just 46 seconds in, Lavelle Scottie followed up with a fastbreak layup, and then Tomes was at it again by knocking down a jumper.

Both teams exchanged points throughout the half. A notable Spartan moment was when Steadman amazed the home crowd again. Steadman used the high glass to beat the buzzer with 5:43 left in the half.

As the clock continued to run and pause, SJSU realized that they had to do something to win or at least even the score. It was a down-to-the-wire type of game, and at the final media timeout, Air Force led 51-48, with 3:38 left in the half. The Spartans continued to trail by 3, then the Falcons made it a 5-point game with 1:07 left. Steadman hit a 3 to pull the Spartans within 2 with 42 seconds left.

Sure, Air Force extended its lead to 56-53, as Chris Joyce made a free throw with four seconds left. Then, SJSU changed the game, thanks to Brae Ivey, who hit a 3 right after Joyce’s free throw. The game was tied 56-56 at the end of the half.

The game went into overtime, which allowed SJSU to breathe a sigh of relief. Though, SJSU still had work to do, so they were unable to look at overtime with a grain of salt.

SJSU wasted absolutely no time in overtime. Ivey started things off with a pair of free throws, Baumann hit a 3, and Steadman added a free throw. The Spartans led 62-58 with 2:38 left in overtime.

Air Force used back-to-back 3s by Caleb Morris and Chris Joyce to take their first lead, 64-63, in overtime with 54 seconds left. AJ Walker made it a 1-point game with a fastbreak free throw with 30 seconds left. Then, SJSU tied the game 65-65, thanks to Ivey’s layup, and forced a double overtime.

Air Force jumped out to a 68-65 lead early in the double overtime, as Morris hit a 3 just 16 seconds in. The Falcons took a 70-66 lead on Ryan Swan’s layup; but the Spartans made it a 1-point game, thanks to Ivey’s 3. Knight added a layup to help the Spartans get ahead 71-70, but the Falcons stunned the home crowd when Joyce hit a late 3 to get back on top 73-71.

SJSU (3-16, 0-7 MW) lost to Air Force (9-11, 4-4 MW) by a final score of 73-71 in double overtime.

SJSU heads to Logan, Utah to take on the Utah State Aggies next Wednesday at 6:00 pm PT.

Griffins edge the Barracuda in 3-2 shootout win

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Photo credit: @sjbarracuda

By Marko Ukalovic

The San Jose Barracuda weren’t able to sustain a two-goal lead and then ended up falling in the shootout in a 3-2 loss to the Grand Rapids Griffins on Saturday evening at Van Andel Arena.

San Jose (24-8-2-4) jumped out to the early the start they wanted when Alex True, who is having a career year, scored his 12th goal of the season when he beat Griffins goalie Harri Sateri (15-7-2) at the 7:49 mark of the first period. Anti Suomela and Cuda goalie Antoine Bibeau received assists.

The Cuda doubled their right before the end of the period on the power play when Rourke Chartier got back on the score sheet with his fourth goal of he season at the 19:36 mark. True and Jayden Halbgewachs tallied assists.

Grand Rapids (25-14-3-4) got itself right back into the game just over a minute into the second period. Flilp Zadina received a pass from Chris Terry and buried the puck past Bibeau (9-5-5) for his 11th goal of the season at the 1:18 mark.

The Griffins tied it up late in the middle frame when Colin Campbell sent over a pass to Carter Camper who was able to beat Bibeau for his 11th goal of the season at the 18:57 mark.

Neither team could muster a game-winning goal in the third period. Despite having an early power play opportunity and outshooting San Jose 15-8, Grand Rapids would be stoned by Bibeau.

In the shootout, Matt Puempel scored the only goal for the game-winner as San Jose went 0/3 in their attempts.

Sateri stopped 24 of the 26 shots he faced to earn his 15th victory of the season. Bibeau made 30 saves on 32 shots in suffering the tough luck defeat.

GAME NOTES: San Jose was 1/6 on the power play. Grand Rapids was 0/5.

The announced attendance was 10,834.

UP NEXT: San Jose ends their three game road trip up in Stockton to take on the Heat on Friday, February 1 at 7:00 pm at Stockton Arena.

Stanford erupts in the second half to beat the Buffaloes 75-62

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Photo credit: @StanfordMBB

By Joey Friedman

PALO ALTO — Coming off a disappointing four-point loss to the Utah Utes at home two nights ago, the Stanford Cardinal (10-10, 3-5 Pac-12) hosted the Colorado Buffaloes (11-8, 2-5 Pac-12) at Maples Pavilion for a Saturday evening tip and won by a score of 75-62 in front of 3,648 fans.

Stanford looked to avenge last year’s close loss to Colorado on the road. Down by 16, they roared back with help from then-senior Pickens when he scored a game-high 18 points before Colorado bounced back with 6 straight points, mostly from then-freshman Tyler Bey) to close out the win.

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

Sophomore Oscar Da Silva scored all of Stanford’s first eight points which included a pair of threes in the first five minutes. He would add another three and top out at 13 points to pair with 5 rebounds in the first half. His third first-half three-pointer gave Da Silva his 20th three in the last 12 games.

KZ followed up his conference-leading 11th 20+ point game on Thursday night against the Utes by failing to score in the first half for the Cardinal, despite playing 12 minutes.

With about four minutes to play in the first half, freshman Jaiden Delaire and junior Marcus Sheffield nailed consecutive threes to bring the Colorado lead down to 6. Stanford would head to the locker room at half down by the same margin with the score 37-31 in favor of the Buffs. Ahead of the Colorado game, Stanford was just 1-9 on the season when trailing at the half.

Colorado spread out their scoring in their first half, making it difficult for Stanford to defend. Sophomore G/F Tyler Bey, junior forward Lucas Siewert, and senior guard McKinley Wright each finished with 8 points in the first half. The first two of whom also collected 4 rebounds respectively. Junior guard Shane Gatling also finished the first half with 7 points.

Stanford stifled the Buffaloes with three minutes of shutout defense at the beginning of the 2nd half and was able to crawl within 2 points with the score 43-41. A number of possessions later, a Daejon Davis alley-oop to Josh Sharma got the Cardinal within a single point before Sharma threw another dunk down to give Stanford the lead. Immediately after, Daejon Davis hit a three to put the Card up by four with just under 11 minutes left in the game and the score 50-46.

With four minutes left in the game, sophomores Daejon Davis and Oscar Da Silva collected consecutive three-point plays on and-one layups to put Stanford up 68-56. Stanford would go on to win by a score of 75-62. In the second half, Stanford shot 72% from the field and outscored the Buffs by 19 points.

Stanford finished by shooting 55% from the field, 35% from beyond the arc, and an impressive 88% from the free-throw line. Colorado shot 41% from the field, 19% from beyond the arc, and a disappointing 54% from the free-throw line. By the end, Stanford finished almost or exactly even with Colorado in rebounds (29-29), points in the paint (42-40 advantage to the Buffs), and assists (14-13 advantage to the Card). Stanford and Colorado finished with 16 and 11 turnovers, respectively.

Individually for the Cardinal, Oscar Da Silva missed tying his career high in points by 2 when finished with 21 alongside 7 rebounds. Daejon Davis scored 16 points, 6 assists, and 4 rebounds. Bryce Wills missed tying his career high in points by 1 when finished with 12 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists. KZ Okpala finished with five points (2-8 from the field), 2 rebounds, and an assist.

For the Buffaloes, Tyler Bey finished with 17 points, McKinley Wright finished with 14 points, Lucas Siewert finished with 13 points, and Shane Gatling finished with 10 points.

Jerod Hasse credited tonight’s game as the best performance he’s seen from his young team in terms of playing simple and controlled basketball once they penetrate and get into the lanes. He, Oscar Da Silva, and Daejon Davis all said playing with joy tonight allowed for every facet of the game to flow better, especially in the second half.

What’s next?
The Cardinal will play three consecutive road games: first, they will battle the rival California Bears on February 3rd at 1:00 PM PT before they take on the Oregon schools on the road on February 7th and 10th.

The Buffaloes will host the Oregon schools on January 31st and February 2nd. Before traveling to face the Los Angeles schools.

San Jose Sharks/NHL All-Star Game podcast with Len Shapiro: The differences between All Star Game ’97 and 2019 with host San Jose

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bleacherreport.com file photo: Brent Burns of the host Sharks will play a key role in this weekend’s All-Star Game

On the SJ Sharks/NHL All-Star Game podcast with Len:

#1 It has been since 1997 that San Jose last hosted the All-Star Game. What differences as host city and in the arena have you seen? It’s been a while since the East-West format change in the All-Star Game, do you see a big difference since the All-tar game has gone to the 3-on-3?

#2 San Jose has always been welcoming city for visiting hockey fans and are expected to extend that same warm hospitality again.

#3 Talk about the Sharks’ All-Stars Brent Burns, Erik Karlsson, and Joe Pavelski. This has to be something special playing in front of the home crowd.

#4 You were the media relations manager for the California Golden Seals. The team is now defunct, but what would an All-Star Game mean for the city of Oakland and a team like the Seals during that time?

#5 The Sharks will have 11 days off to the next game, which is Feb. 22 vs. Arizona. Working on defense, they’ve been giving up six goals a game and looking at goaltender Martin Jones so he won’t give up six goals a game.

Len Shapiro does the San Jose Sharks podcasts each Saturday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

NHL All-Star Game podcast with Matt Harrington: Taking a look at the NHL All-Stars for today’s contest at SAP Center

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clickondetroit.com file photo: Brad Marchand of the Boston Bruins celebrates with Auston Matthews of the Toronto Maple Leafs after a play during the 2018 Honda NHL All-Star Game on January 28, 2018 in Tampa, Florida.

On the NHL All-Star Game podcast with Matt:

#1 There are some great All-Stars at Saturday’s event in San Jose and Matt goes down the list talking about some of the players here. Starting with Jack Eichel (Buffalo Sabres), Nikita Kucherov (Tampa Bay Lightning), and Austin Matthews (Toronto Maple Leafs).

#2 David Pastrnak (Boston Bruins), Steve Stamkos (Tampa Bay Lightning), and John Taveres (Toronto Maple Leafs).

#3 Jeff Skinner (Buffalo Sabres), Thomas Chabot (Ottawa Senators), and Keith Yandle (Florida Panthers).

#4 Jimmy Howard (Detroit Red Wings), Andrei Vasilevskily (Tampa Bay Lightning), and Sebastian Aho (Carolina Hurricanes).

#5 Brent Burns (San Jose Sharks), Joe Pavelski (San Jose Sharks), and Erik Karlsson (San Jose Sharks).

Join Matt for the NHL podcasts each Saturday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Barracuda dominate Griffins in 4-0 shutout win

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Photo credit:

By Marko Ukalovic

Josef Korenar was back to his All-Star form in stopping all 29 shots he faced and received enough goal support from his offense as the San Jose Barracuda shutout the Grand Rapids Griffins 4-0 on Friday evening at Van Andel Arena.

Korenar (15-3-1) was tested throughout the first period as he faced an aggressive Grand Rapids (24-14-3-4) team that attempted 12 shots on net that ended with a scoreless opening 20 minutes.

San Jose (24-8-2-3) drew first blood early in the second period. Maxim Letunov took advantage of a face off win when he chipped in a loose puck from close range past Griffins goalie Patrik Rybar (10-7-5) for his eighth goal of the season at the 3:38 mark. Jayden Halbgewachs and Manny Wiederer received assists.

Halbgewachs helped double the Cuda’s lead when sent a perfect pass to his linemate Weiderer that sent him all alone on a breakaway where he buried the puck past the five-hole of Rybar for his ninth goal of the season at the 7:50 mark.

San Jose’s Nick DeSimone fed a pass over to Jon Martin, who beat Rybar to the short-side of the net for a 3-0 lead. Martin’s seventh goal of the season came at the 16:05 mark to close out the three unanswered goals in the middle frame.

DeSimone closed out the scoring for the Cuda on the power play just past the half way point of the third period. He was able to tip-toe the blue line with the puck and fire a wrist shot from the point and beat Rybar to the short side for his seventh goal of the season at 10:58 mark.

Rybar stopped 22 of the 26 shots he faced in suffering the defeat.

GAME NOTES: San Jose 1/3 on the power play. Grand Rapids was 0/5.

The announced attendance was 8,826.

UP NEXT: The Barracuda conclude their two-game series with the Griffins on Saturday 1/26 at 4:00 pm at Van Andel Arena.

San Jose State will welcome Air Force Saturday night

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Photo credit: sjsuspartans.com

By: Ana Kieu

SAN JOSE, Calif. — San Jose State men’s basketball will welcome the Air Force Academy to the Event Center for a 6:00 pm tip Saturday. The game can be streamed online on the Mountain West Network. Justin Allegri will have the radio call on KLIV 1590 AM, broadcasting their final men’s basketball game of the season.

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

Game No. 19
Air Force (8-11, 3-4 MW) at San Jose State (3-15, 0-6 MW)
Saturday, Jan. 26, 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.

What Would a Win Mean?
SJSU’s fourth win over Air Force in the last six games. After the Spartans won three straight in 2016 and 2017, the Falcons swept both games last season (78-71 and 83-61). A win would also put an end to SJSU’s nine-game losing skid.

Newcomers Amp up Offense
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 66.9% of the Spartans’ offense (783-1170).

Steadman alone is accounting for nearly 19% of the Spartans’ offense with 222 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 MW in 3-point percentage at 50.6 percent. Baumann also ranks in the top-10 in the MW in 3-pointers per game (2.4)

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 top two scoring performances by a Spartan this season with 29 vs. USU and 23 vs. Northern Arizona. He’s averaging 10.2 points in conference play, which is tied for the team lead and is shooting 48% from 3-point range in conference games.

Baumann has hit at least one 3-point basket in 16 straight games this season. It’s the longest such streak since Devante Wilson hit 17-straight in 2013-14.

Last season as a freshman, Baumann finished the year 40-for-87 (.460) from the 3-point range. Entering Saturday’s game, he is 44-for-87, with 12 regular season games remaining.

Staff Shakeup
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 12.3 points per game and ranks fifth in the MW with 8.4 rebounds per game. He has six double-doubles on the season, ranking third in the conference and has scored in double figures in 15-of-18 games. He also has eight games with double-digit rebounds.

Changes
Prioleau has used seven different lineups throughout the season with no player starting each time out. Senior Oumar Barry had started the first 17 games before an injury kept him out of the lineup at Wyoming. Seven newcomers have made starts, including freshmen Seneca Knight, Zach Chappell, and Trey Smith.

Series History vs. Air Force
Saturday’s game will be the 14th overall meeting between the Spartans and Falcons. SJSU has a pair of three-game win streaks in the series. The Spartans have won three of the last five games, however, Air Force is on a two-game win streak.

Air Force checks in with an 8-11 overall record and 3-4 mark in conference play and is tied for sixth in the conference standings. The Falcons are led by a great offensive weapon in Lavelle Scottie, who ranks fifth in the MW in scoring, in conference play with 17.3 points per game. Junior forward Ryan Swan will prove to be a big test for Michael Steadman for the boards as he checks in right behind Steadman with 8.0 rebounds per game and is second in the conference with 2.7 offensive rebounds per game.

The Falcons are led by seventh-year head coach Dave Pilipovich.

Stanford Cardinal podcast with Joey Friedman: Cardinal held lead in first half, then Utes made a comeback

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Photo credit: @StanfordMBB

On the Stanford Cardinal podcast with Joey:

#1 The Stanford Cardinal (9-10) hosted the Utah Utes (10-8) on Thursday night at Maples Pavilion. The Cardinal dominated in the first half, but the Utes came back for the win 70-66.

#2 The last time the Utes won at Stanford was in 1971. Before last night’s game, the Utes had lost six straight games. but snapped that loss steak with a big win at Maples.

#3 Sedrick Barefield led the Utes with 18 points, and for Stanford, KZ Okpala led with 22 and Daejon Davis right behind with 17.

#4 The Cardinal’s Bryce Wills is the youngest player in the Pac-12. Cardinal head coach Jerod Haase says Wills is one of the most mature players that he’s coached for being the youngest player in the Pac-12.

#5 The Cardinal’s coaches discovered Wills at Iona Prep College on the New York Rens. He was a teammate of Stanford guard Cormac Ryan.

Joey does the Stanford Men’s basketball podcast each Friday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com