Author: Sports Radio Service

San Jose Barracuda podcast with Marko Ukalovic: Barracuda coming off big win against Stockton Monday, face Tucson for two on Friday

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On the San Jose Barracuda podcast with Marko:

The San Jose Barracuda (9-1-0-1) scored three unanswered goals on Monday night against the Stockton Heat (4-6-1-0) for San Jose’s fourth straight win. The Heat took advantage of a power-play goal at 5:01 of the first period with a goal by the Heat’s Kerby Rychel.

A Barracuda’s Jeremy Roy shot nailed a left pad shot into the Heat goalie Jon Gillies which went into the back of the net for a San Jose tie. But it was the second period for San Jose that turned the trick, scoring three unanswered goals that got them over the hump in the 5-2 win. The Barracuda open up a two-game set with Tucson Roadrunners starting on Friday night (November 9th).

Marko does the Barracuda podcasts each Tuesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary: Giants Usher the Era of Analytics

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By: Amaury Pi-González

The Giants won their three World Series in San Francisco in 2010, 2012 and 2014 with very good pitching, good defense, timely hitting and less power. Bu now, the game has drastically changed, and it is all about the modern metrics, analytics and the launch angle. Power, power and more power! Relief pitchers come in early after a starter has seen the lineup three times. That being said, there is a totally different approach to the game today than the last time the Giants won the World Series.

Farhan Zaid, aged 41, is the Giants’ new President of Baseball Operations and he will report only to Larry Baer, Chief Executive Officer, in San Francisco.

“He’s definitely an analytical-type guy who will use his computer skills to create a model for the Major League club and the Draft,” said a National League official.

However, Zaidi has a good reputation in working well with scouts.

Since the All-Star Break in 2016, the Giants have won a total 167 games. The Giants join the Orioles, White Sox and Padres on that woeful list. Zaidi is considered a top baseball mind who was the Dodgers’ General Manager for the previous four seasons reporting to Andrew Friedman, President of Baseball Operations, in Los Angeles.

Zaidi also worked for the A’s from 2005 to 2014. He urged the A’s to acquire Yoenis Céspedes. With an economic degree from MIT and a PhD in economics from UC Berkeley, he is an intelligent and educated baseball executive. Of the six consecutive NL West Division titles the Dodgers have won, four were under Zaidi.

The Giants’ Hall of Fame manager Bruce Bochy is your typical old school type of manager and many are skeptical if he is going to get along with Zaidi. That remains to be seen, but there is no question that Bochy’s legacy has been cemented. And even if he retired today, the Giants will have to move on, and he is the first to understand the game is changing and the Giants do not want to be the last team to join the party.

The Giants have some heavy contracts on their payroll and they will have to be extremely creative to return to be the contending team they were three years ago. Zaidi’s mission is to find the magic formula to return this franchise to success on the field and the obvious decisions he has to make right away, like, say, to keep ace Madison Bumgarner or to trade him? The Giants feel they do not have to rebuild,and believe they still have the pieces to return to be a power in the NL West. Some Zaidi’s first decisions could indicate which way the Giants are headed.

The Giants need younger and more athletic players as their current roster is not getting any younger. AT&T Park is not a home run friendly park, and even if they would acquire Bryce Harper and give him the $400 million contract he and his agent are seeking, they might still need more than Harper to fight the Dodgers, Rockies and Diamondbacks.

Headline Sports with London Marq: Can Giants really sign Harper?; The waving of Bruce Irvine; Chinese fans love Cal basketball; Gold Gloves for the A’s Matt’s

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washingtonpost.com photo: Former Washington National Bryce Harper turned down a $300 million deal from the Nats and is seeking employment elsewhere. The Giants are actively seeking Harper’s services and could strike up a deal.

On Headline Sports with London:

#1 How realistic is it that the San Francisco Giants will be able to sign free agent Bryce Harper?

#2 The San Francisco Giants tried to pull all the strings without a general manager. The position was filled when they hired Farhan Zaidi as they rebuild the team. In reality everyone knows the one pulls all the levers and ropes behind the curtain for the Giants player personnel is that ole wizard team vice president Brian Sabean.

#3 How big of a mistake was it for the Oakland Raiders in waving defensive end Bruce Irvin?

#4 The Cal Bears will be in Shanghai this Friday for their second game of the season against Yale on Friday. Fans in Shanghai have been flocking to see the Cal and Yale teams.

#5 The Oakland A’s Matt Olson and Matt Chapman each won Gold Gloves. This is first time any A’s first or third baseman have won in 12 years.

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

Stanford’s 96-74 win opens the season against Seattle U

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Photo credit: @StanfordMBB

By Joey Friedman

PALO ALTO, Calif. — The 2018-2019 regular season got off to an energetic start for the Stanford Cardinal on Tuesday night as they hosted Seattle University at Maples in the season opener. The Cardinal beat the Redhawks by a score of 96-74.

Stanford’s return to the court got off to an energetic start, however, the energy didn’t translate into a favorable score for the Card. Despite collecting the opening tip, a Daejon Davis bucket on the first offensive possession, and a shot clock violation on their first defensive possession, Seattle kept pace as the Stanford defense began to yield easy buckets and the offense began to stagnate.

Two early fouls on Josh Sharma sent him to the bench and gave Trevor Stanback substantial playing time, however his play was inadequate as he provided little support to Stanford on both offense and defense. Seattle’s lead grew to eight points with the score 24-16 at which point Stanford seemed unwound and lacked defensive discipline.

Stanford was able to climb within two points of Seattle on three separate occasions as the clock wound down on the first half. The first two times, Seattle was able to counter with the three-point shot, however, they couldn’t respond the 3rd time and Stanford was able to tie the game on a pair of foul shots for KZ Okpala. A Jaiden Delaire three-pointer took the lead with a minute and a half left and Stanford closed the first half with a 40-36 lead while shooting only 42% from the field.

KZ Okpala led the force in the first half with a team-leading 13 points and 6 rebounds. Alternately, for the Redhawks, Junior forward Anand Hundal came off the bench to contribute a team-high 11 points while going 3 of 4 from beyond the arc.

Stanford rode the 3-ball to a twelve point lead within the first ten minutes of the second half; Cormac Ryan hit 4 consecutive three-pointers just as Daejon Davis and KZ Okpala each hit one. Fittingly, after the game, Ryan couldn’t remember the last time he lost a game of horse.

Stanford started to heat up on the backs of KZ Okpala, who contributed another 3 as well as a number of points in the paint, and Josh Sharma who contributed six points of his own, Stanford stretched the lead to 20 points with just under six minutes to play. Stanford only got hotter as the lead grew to 29 points by the time there were only three minutes left.

KZ Okpala finished a double-double with a whopping 29 points to pair with 10 assists in 36 minutes of play. The others to collect double digits in the points column were Cormac Ryan with 16 (5/6 from beyond the arc), Daejon Davis with 15, and Marcus Sheffield with 10. Despite KZ’s big night, after the game Coach Hasse was quick to recognize the 3 turnovers he had, the high ceiling he posesses, and room for growth KZ still has as only a sophomore.

For Seattle, the following four players scored more than 10 points: sophomore guard Terrell Brown had 16, junior guard Matej Kavas and junior forward Anand Handal each had 13, and junior guard Morgan Means finished with 11.

Stanford shot an immaculate 73% (11/15) from three while finishing the game with a 52% overall field goal percentage. Seattle finished shooting 44% from the field. Stanford outrebounded Seattle 39-28 but unfortunately turned the ball over more as well, by a 13-11 margin.

Stanford will be back in action on November 9th on the road against UNC Wilmington at 1:00 PM PT. They will have the 8th-ranked North Carolina Tar Heels on the road on November 12th before they return to Maples to play Wofford at 7:00 PM on November 16.

Farhan Zaidi returns to the Bay Area

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Photo credit: @SFGiants

By Jeremy Kahn

After letting Bobby Evans go as the General Manager of the San Francisco Giants, the team knew that they needed a leader who was a proven winner.

Giants President and Chief Executive Officer Larry Baer looked to the rival Los Angeles Dodgers for his new head of baseball operations, and it is Dodgers General Manager Farhan Zaidi, who spent the last four years down south.

“We set out to find one of the best minds in baseball and Farhan’s many accomplishments and expertise exceeded our expectations,” said Baer. “Farhan is widely viewed as one of the top executives in our industry and we are thrilled to have him lead the next chapter of Giants Baseball.”

Zaidi is now the President of Baseball Operations for the Giants, who also has ties to the Bay Area, as he spent 10 seasons across the bay with the Oakland A’s, where he started as a baseball operations analyst in 2005 before he was promoted to director of baseball operations in 2009. His last position with the A’s was as assistant general manager/director of baseball operations.

While with the Dodgers, the team won four consecutive National League Western Division Championships, making the National League Championship over the past three season and the World Series over the past two years. The Dodgers went 379-270, a winning percentage of .584 during those four years, the second highest winning percentage in Major League Baseball.

Cardinal look to snap out of losing skid, but more importantly, get set for Senior Day

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By: Ana Kieu

As you may already know, the Stanford Cardinal lost its last two games on the road to No. 8 Washington State and No. 25 Washington, respectively. So the Cardinal are looking to snap out of a losing skid, but more importantly, get set for Senior Day. The soon-to-be Stanford alumni have a lot to celebrate in the coming weeks, including this football game. Congratulations to the Class of 2018!

Here’s what you need to know about Saturday’s game vs. Oregon State:

By the numbers
Stanford Cardinal (5-4, 3-3)
Oregon State Beavers (2-7, 1-5)

Nov. 10, 2018 at 6:00 pm PT
Stanford Stadium (50,424) in Stanford, Calif.

Television
Live national broadcast on Pac-12 Network with Guy Haberman (play-by-play), Chad Brown (analyst) and Camryn Irwin (sideline).

Radio
Live coverage on Stanford’s flagship station–KNBR 1050 AM–with Scott Reiss ’93 (play-by-play), Todd Husak ’00 (analyst) and John Platz ’84 (sideline). The broadcast begins one hour before kickoff with the Cardinal Tailgate Show and concludes with the postgame Cardinal Locker Room Report. The game can be heard on Stanford student radio–KZSU 90.1 FM–and online at kzsulive.stanford.edu.

Internet
GoStanford.com • OSUBeavers.com • #GoStanford

Tidbits

  • 1 • Stanford is 5-0 this season when forcing at least one turnover, and 0-3 when not forcing a turnover.
  • 1 • Junior Kaden Smith ranks first in the nation among tight ends in receiving yards (601) and receiving yards per game (66.8). He is second in the country—first among Power 5 tight ends—with 44 receptions (only San Jose State’s Josh Oliver has more receptions with 49).
  • 3 • Stanford football players have conducted interviews in three foreign languages this season—JJ Arcega-Whiteside (Spanish), Jesse Burkett (Japanese) and Osiris St. Brown (German). All other Stanford football interviews this year have been done in English.
  • 4 • Stanford’s four losses this season have come against the AP’s current No. 3, No. 10, No. 20 and No. 26th-ranked teams in the nation (Notre Dame, Washington State, Washington, Utah). Those four teams have a combined record of 30-7 (.811) this season.
  • 5 • One of the most disciplined teams in the nation, Stanford has the fifth-fewest penalty yards in the nation this year with just 37.00 per game–also the fewest in the Pac-12.
  • 7 • Don’t expect many points immediately after halftime. Stanford has allowed just one touchdown and never more than seven points in the third quarter this season. The Cardinal has only allowed 25 third-quarter points in its first nine games (2.78). The only touchdown allowed was vs. Washington State.
  • 8 • Stanford has won eight in a row against Oregon State.
  • 8 • Smith has produced three games with 8+ receptions and 100+ yards this season (Utah, Washington State and Washington). The rest of the tight ends in the country have combined for five such games. He is the only tight end to do it more than once and has done it in back-to-back games. Smith is the first tight end to accomplish that feat three times in a season since Texas Tech’s Jace Amaro in 2013 (Baker Mayfield and Davis Webb were the Red Raiders’ quarterbacks).
  • 11 • Senior wide receiver JJ Arcega-Whiteside ranks second nationally–and first among Pac-12 players–with 11 receiving touchdowns. That’s the second-most in a season in Stanford history and the most receiving touchdowns for a Cardinal in 38 years–Ken Margerum had 11 in 1980, while James Lofton set the school record with 14 in 1978.
  • 13 • In addition to his 49 receptions and 754 receiving yards this season, Arcega-Whiteside has drawn 14 penalties this year–12 pass interference and two holding calls for 190 penalty yards (1.6 penalties/game and 21.1 penalty yards/game).
  • 15 • Sophomore cornerback Paulson Adebo ranks second nationally with 15 pass breakups and fourth in the NCAA with 16 passes defended. He ranks atop the Pac-12 in both categories.
  • 20 • Junior quarterback K.J. Costello ranks among the Top 25 nationally in completion percentage (18th), completions per game (19th), passing efficiency (22nd), passing touchdowns (17th), passing yards (13th), passing yards per game (17th) and yards per attempt (21st). He leads the Pac-12 in efficiency (153.1) and is second in the conference in passing yards (2,512) and yards per attempt (8.46).
  • 37 • Sure-handed senior wide receiver Trenton Irwin has at least one reception in 37 consecutive games, a streak that ranks seventh nationally.
  • 100 • Smith is the first Stanford tight end with back-to-back 100-yard receiving games since Alex Smith did it in three straight games in 2004. Smith had 112 against Washington State and 107 against Washington. Smith is also the first Cardinal tight end since Zach Ertz with three 100-yard receiving games in a season. Smith’s career-high 120 yards receiving against Utah (Oct. 6) were the most by a Stanford tight end since Zach Ertz’s 134 vs. Cal in 2012.
  • 249 • Stanford made a school record 249 consecutive extra-point attempts between Oct. 26, 2013 to Nov. 3, 2018. During the streak: Colin Riccitelli–2-2, Jet Toner–79-79, Conrad Ukropina–108-108, Jordan Williamson– 60-60.
  • 1000 • Smith is the fourth Cardinal tight end with 1,000 career receiving yards (1,015). He joins Coby Fleener (1,543), Zach Ertz (1,434) and Alex Smith (1,291).

San Francisco 49ers podcast with David Zizmor: Mullens will be starter for next game against New York Giants on Monday Night

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On the San Francisco 49ers podcast with David:

#1 San Francisco 49ers quarterback Nick Mullens, needless to say, great outing last Thursday. How is his prognosis to be the starter against the New York Giants next week?

#2 For Mullens, a great Thursday night last week. 16 passes, 22 attempts, 262 yards, three touchdowns, and no interceptions.

Join David each Tuesday for the 49ers podcasts at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary podcast: A’s lean towards Jack London Square site as announcement for new stadium coming

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On That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary podcast:

#1 The Oakland A’s are just a couple months away until the big announcement for their plans for a new ballpark.

#2 The A’s made it no secret of their first choice where they want to have their new permanent site at Howard Terminal at Jack London Square.

#3 Amaury has had a chance to speak with Oakland A’s team president David Kaval about the new stadium. He says the team makes it no secret leans towards Jack London Square.

#4 Kaval did say until the A’s get the deal the team has to keep it’s options open and could settle for the Coliseum.

#5 Will a Howard Terminal location be a better place that will draw more fans?

Join Amaury each Tuesday for News and Commentary at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Barracuda cool down the Heat with 5-2 win

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By Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE, Calif. — There’s something about the second period for the San Jose Barracuda (9-1-0-1). They scored three unanswered goals to defeat their NorCal rival Stockton Heat (4-6-1-0) 5-2 at SAP Center on Monday evening. It was the fourth win in a row for the Cuda.

The Heat didn’t waste much time taking advantage of Jeffery Truchon-Viel’s slashing penalty to draw first blood five minutes into the first period. Glenn Gawdin sent a pass to the net from the left slot where Kerby Rychel was camped in front of the crease. He collected his own rebound and jammed the puck past Cuda goalie Antoine Bibeau (4-1-1) into the back of the net for his sixth goal of the season at 5:01 mark.

Dylan Gambrell came a few inches of evening up the score with 20 seconds left in the frame while the Cuda were on the power play. Showcasing his speed and skill, he skated around two Heat defenders and was all alone on Heat goalie Jon Gillies (3-4-1), but his shot just sailed wide of the net.

Despite outshooting Stockton 13-7, San Jose heading into the first intermission down 1-0.

San Jose tied it up on the power play halfway through the second period. Gambrell sent over a pass to the point where Jeremy Roy rifled a shot that hit the left pad of Gillies and into the back of the net for Roy’s second goal of the season at the 9:23 mark. Vincent Praplan received the secondary assist.

The Cuda seized the lead just 17 seconds later when captain John McCarthy won a battle along the left boards and skated in on goal where his shot was stopped by Gillies. Truchon-Viel crashed the net hard and jammed home the rebound past Gillies for his second goal in two games at the 9:40 mark. Evan Weinger received the secondary assist.

“We’ve been playing together for a few games now,” said McCarthy about his gritty line. “I think we play a simple game, a straight ahead game. We get on the forecheck, that’s how we scored our goal tonight. That’s our strength.

“He brings so much, the little details,” said Truchon-Viel about his experienced linemate. “It’s so good for young guys like me and Evan (Weinger). For him to be on our line (makes it) even better.”

Matt Fonteyne completed the scoring in the second period off a nice cycle play by the Cuda. Alexander True fed Nick DeSimone, who then fed an open Fonteyne, who skated in and slammed the puck past the five-hole of Gillies for his second goal on the season at the 12:31 mark.

“We answered back with a power play goal,” said head coach Roy Sommer about his team outscoring their opponents 5-0 in the last two second periods. “Next shift Johnny Mac and Viel get their goal and then we’re kind of rolling. Kind of smelt a little blood and just kept going.”

Francis Perron would put the game away for the Cuda in the third period with the team’s second power play goal of the evening. Lukas Ridal carried the puck into the zone and dropped a back pass for Perron who wristed a shot just to the inside corner of the goal past Gillies for his team-leading sixth goal on the season at the 9:07 mark. Jayden Halbgewachs received the secondary assist.

Andrew Mangiapane cut the lead in half on an odd man rush. He skated in from the right slot and wristed a shot on Bibeau that hit off his blocker and into the back of the net for his 5th goal of the season at the 14:24 mark. Curtis Lazar received the only assist on the goal.

Keaton Middleton immediately pushed down Mangipane after the goal and then exchanged fisticuffs with the Heat’s Anthony Peluso, who defended his teammate, in a long-spirited fight that sent both players to the showers for the night.

DeSimone closed out the scoring with an unassisted, empty-net goal with 56 seconds left for his third goal of the season.

Bibeau had another stellar outing in the net with 17 saves on 19 shots to earn the win. Gillies suffered the tough luck loss, making 33 saves on 37 shots.

“He made key saves at the right moment,” said Perron about his goaltender. “Every time we need him, we know he’s back there, he’s always (plays) huge for us.”

GAME NOTES: San Jose was 2/9 on the power play. Stockton was 1/4.

San Jose is currently 3-1 against Stockton on the season. Overall they are 26-11-2-1, including 13-6-0-0 at SAP Center.

Dynamic duo! Bibeau and Josef Kornear are number one and two in the AHL goals against average and third and fourth in save percentage.

San Jose is is ranked first in the AHL in goal differential with a +22.

The announced attendance was 1,894.

UP NEXT: The Cuda travel out to the Arizona desert to start a two-game series with the defending Pacific Division champion Tucson Roadrunners on Friday, November 9 at 6:05 pm PT.

San Jose State men’s basketball to start season on Wednesday night

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By: Ana Kieu

SAN JOSE, Calif. — It’s obvious the San Jose State football team has been hapless, so let’s switch gears to the San Jose State men’s basketball team, who will tipoff the 2018-19 season on Wednesday night versus Life Pacific in the Event Center. The Spartans begin year two under second-year head coach Jean Prioleau. Spartan fans can listen to the broadcast by tuning into KLIV 1590 AM to hear Justin Allegri’s play-by-play call.

Game No. 1
Life Pacific at San Jose State
Wednesday Nov. 7 at 7:00 pm PT
Event Center (5,000)
San Jose, Calif.

A Spartan win would…
A win over the Warriors would give SJSU their third consecutive season opening win. It would also be the Spartans’ third-straight win over Life Pacific.

New Spartans
A total of nine newcomers are looking to make their San Jose State debuts. Prioleau added JUCO transfers Michael Steadman, Brae Ivey, Craig LeCesne and Brian Rodriguez-Flores to go with his freshman class that consists of Zach Chappell, Christian Anigwe, Kaison Hammonds, Seneca Knight and Trey Smith.

Returning starters
The Spartans will have a total of five lettermen return this season in Oumar Barry, Noah Baumann, Ashtin Chastain, Isaiah Nichols and Caleb Simmons.

Full offseason for Prioleau
Prioleau is entering his second season at the helm of SJSU men’s basketball and is coming off his first full offseason with the program. Prioleau was hired on August 4, 2017, and was given just three months to prepare for his debut. Now with a full offseason to prepare his team, Prioleau and his staff are excited about the Spartans’ potential.

Staff changes
Prioleau made some changes to his staff in the offseason. He brought in former NC State All-American Julius Hodge as an assistant coach and promoted director of operations Ryan Cooper to assistant coach.

More about Life Pacific
The Life Pacific Warriors are a member of the Golden State Athletic Conference and the NAIA. They opened the season with a 90-49 victory over Westcliff University before dropping their last game to Benedictine University 73-67. The Warriors are led by Tim Cook in his third season.

Tropical breeze
After two home games to start off the season, the Spartans will hit the skies for a very long trip east to Bimini, The Bahamas for the Junkanoo Jam from Nov. 15-18. SJSU will face Weber State in their opening game at 8:30 pm PT on November 15.