Author: Sports Radio Service

San Jose State seeks to rebound at Utah State this Saturday

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Photo credit: sjsuspartans.com

By: Ana Kieu

San Jose State looks to rebound at No. 14/16 Utah State this Saturday. That’s not going to be an easy task for the Spartans, but hey, anything could happen in the crazy world of college football. That’s what makes college football one of the greatest sports in the world.

In case you missed it, check out Spartans head coach Brent Brennan’s press conference in the video below.

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

Saturday football
San Jose State at No. 14/16 Utah State
Saturday, November 10, 2018,
Merlin Olson Field at Maverik Stadium,
Logan, Utah, 1:00 pm PT
Facebook Live

San Jose State’s record
1-8, 1-4 Mountain West. Most recently, the Spartans lost at Wyoming, 24-9, on November 3.

Utah State’s record
8-1, 5-0 Mountain West. The Aggies made it eight consecutive victories with a 56-17 rout of Hawaii on November 3.

Series history
San Jose State leads the series, 20-17-1. The Aggies have wins in the last seven meetings between these teams including a 61-10 victory in San Jose, Calif. a year ago.

The Spartans’ last win in the series was a 30-7 blowout in the 2008 season. San Jose State’s last victory in Logan, Utah was a 23-20 win in 2007.

Radio Coverage
KLIV (1590 AM, San Jose) originates San Jose State football broadcasts. Justin Allegri calls the play-by-play. Kevin Richardson provides commentary. The Utah State broadcast begins at 12:30 p.m. (PT) with a pregame show.

Television
Facebook LIve will provide play-by-play coverage of the San Jose State at Utah State game. Ari Wolfe calls the play-by-play. Max Starks provides analysis. Dani Klupenger is the sideline reporter. The live telecast is scheduled for 1:00 pm PT.

Weekly press conference
The weekly San Jose State football press conference is in the Simpkins Stadium Center Gold Room on Mondays at 1:00 pm PT.

The Mountain West Network streams the press conference live through www.sjsuspartans.com/videos. The press conference also is archived at sjsuspartans.com.

Last victory against a nationally-ranked opponent?
San Jose State’s last win against a nationally-ranked opponent was a 62-52 triumph over No. 16 Fresno State on November 29, 2013. Since then, the Spartans are 0-4 against nationally-ranked opponents.

Positive turnover margin
For the second time this season, San Jose State has a positive turnover margin of +2 after recovering two fumbles and not committing a turnover in the Wyoming game on November 3.

In the last three games, the Spartans have taken the ball away six times (three fumble recoveries and three interceptions) and lost the ball once on an interception vs. UNLV and a fumble at San Diego State.

After nine games this season, San Jose State lost the ball 14 times. A year ago after nine games, the Spartans had committed 31 turnovers (13 interceptions, 18 fumbles).

Love is in the air
San Jose State quarterback Josh Love, a Mission Viejo, Calif. native, is not related to Utah State signal-caller Jordan Love from Bakersfield, Calif. The two opposing starting quarterbacks are ranked 29th (Josh Love) and 36th nationally (Jordan Love) in passing yards per game. Combined, they account for 3,938 yards and 32 touchdowns.

100-100-100
When looking at a San Jose State football player’s helmet, the decal 100-100 stands for 100 percent effort, 100 percent of the time. Three Spartan seniors are nearing 100 career receptions.

Wide receiver Justin Holmes is the closest with 99. Wide receiver Tre Hartley is next with 95. Tight end Josh Oliver has 91. Since 1974 when Ike McBee became the first Spartan to catch 100 passes in a career, 27 additional San Jose State players have 100 or more career receptions.

Crawford stands out from the crowd
For the third time this season, senior Bryce Crawford is the only FBS kicker nationally ranked in the top 25 in field goals per game (22nd tied) and punting average (24th).

Oliver continues to lead
Since the beginning of the season, Josh Oliver is the leading pass receiver among FBS tight ends.

Oliver is tied 48th nationally in receptions per game. He is the only tight end listed among the FBS’ top 50 pass receivers in games played through November 3.

33 of Oliver’s 49 receptions this season resulted in a Spartan first down.

Monroe remains tied for third
For the second consecutive week, Spartan defensive back Dakari Monroe remains tied for third among FBS players in passes defended with his 1.9 average. Monroe was the FBS national leader in games played through October 6.

For the season, Monroe has four pass interceptions and 13 pass break-ups.

Sportstalk podcast at Il Fornaio Ristorante in Downtown Sacramento on Monday, November 5, 2018

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photo of front entrance of Il FornaioRistorante in downtown Sacramento located at the Wells Fargo Center at 400 Capital Mall

Cast: Michael Duca (Host), Morris Phillips (Cal Bears reporter), Charlie O (Sacramento Kings reporter), Jeremy Harness (PGA reporter), Jeremiah Salmonson (Kings reporter), London Marq (Kings Sports Headlines analyst) and Lee Leonard (producer). Podcasting from the beautiful Il Fornaio Ristorante in the Bolongna room at 400 Capital Mall at fourth in downtown Sacramento. Our thanks to Il Fornaio’s General Manager Patrick Diegelman, Sous Chef Rommel, Bartender Frank, Shift Supervisor Ashley, Assistant Manager Isaura Rosas, and Manager Ryan Nicholson.

You can cater your next event here at Il Fornaio in downtown Sacramento offering pick up and delivery catering services. Call (916) 446-4100 catering reservations within the next 24 hours. For banquets, Il Fornaio offers elegant and semi-private dining spaces with a wide range of specialized memos and services to match our authentic award winning Italian Cuisine for catering call 916-446-4139.

The topic on the show is the recent success of the Sacramento Kings, who are in second place and headed for first place, coming off their first victory in Atlanta since 2006 and added to their win streak at five straight. The streak ended on Sunday night against the Milwaukee Bucks who snapped their seven game win streak to the Boston Celtics.  The Kings have been getting great help from De’Aaron Fox and Marvin Bagley III. Both have been able to run something the Kings didn’t see anything like this last season. Fox is expected to be the franchise player. Fox was the difference maker when he was at Kentucky. He wasn’t the three-point king, but he can handle the pick and roll just fine.

The Kings’ Willie Cauley-Stein has been great on defense, defending against the shot and getting some good defensive rebounds underneath, Buddy Hield has been the go-to on three-pointers during this successful run. Nemanja Bjelica has been able to get room on the floor to help on offense and great offensive assisting. Harry Giles and Skal Labissiere have not been getting very many minutes. Bogdan Bogdanovic has been recovering just fine from last season’s injury and head coach Dave Joerger has been resetting the plays and now may have found the right combination to move the Kings from their predicted 30th place finish to having a contending season. Although it’s too early to tell, but what a surprising turn around it’s been.

What’s next for San Jose State football?

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Photo credit: @SJSUSpartanFB

By: Ana Kieu

SAN JOSE, Calif. — The title pretty much explained the question. But there’s three games left in San Jose State’s season and Spartans head coach Brent Brennan held his weekly press conference inside Simpkins Stadium Center on Monday afternoon to talk about what’s next for his team.

Here’s my Q&A with Brennan:

1. There was a little snow in Laramie, Wyo. Do you think the local weather played a role in the Spartans’ loss to the Cowboys?
I do think we handled it well. I think there was more of a little bit of not a balance for us offensively and defensively throughout the game. It seemed like during the game, we played really good defense and we had trouble getting our offense going, and then in the second half, it kind of flipped.

But I give our kids credit. We don’t often get a first down on a fourth down play, and three plays later, (Jonathan) Lenard Jr. goes there and knocks the ball out of the hands to recover it and then go down to score, and all of a sudden, we score to make it a close game again and had the chance to win it. We needed a stop there and we didn’t get it done, so I don’t think it was much of the weather as opposed to us not playing good offense and good defense at the same time.

2. The Spartans recovered two fumbles, but were unable to do anything with one of them. Was this loss a matter of Cowboys quarterback Sean Chambers being that great or were the Spartans just that bad?
I thought (Sean) Chambers was really good, but we scored a touchdown on the second fumble so I thought at that moment we did a nice job handling the sudden change and got some points in the fourth quarter.

3. Most, if not all, fans and media said that Josh Love deserves credit for his most recent performance. Do you agree with that opinion and do you think Love needs more playmakers around him?
I think Josh (Love) has really come a long way and I’m really proud of him. It’s awesome to see him delivering the football and making the accurate throws. He had a couple of big-time throws on Saturday. It just kind of shows his progress and his development.

I think the guys have been making plays around him. I think we have a good group of playmakers there, and I think there’s gotta be some opportunities where it all comes together sometime to break down the offensive line. Sometimes, it’s a bad route or Josh (Love) gets moved off his spot because of pressure or he misses a block or a point of attack and Tyler (Nevens) can’t get anything out of it, so it’s a product of us continuing to grow and develop as a football team–especially as an offensive football team.

The Spartans experienced a tough battle against the Cowboys, but all they can do is move on. I know I sound like a broken record, but it’s time for the team to learn so they can prepare for the next game at No. 14 Utah State.

That’s Amaury News and Commentary: A’s Golden Pillars–Chapman and Olson

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Photo credit: @Athletics

By: Amaury Pi-González

The dictionary definition of “pillars” is a firm upright support for a superstructure.

The Matt Dudes are those pillars in the corners for the A’s superstructure. Third baseman Matt Chapman and first baseman Matt Olson won their first (of many in the near future) Gold Gloves for their defensive excellence. The A’s infield was one of the best defensively in the game, second-baseman Jed Lowrie, who enjoyed his best season ever, was the runner up to Ian Kinsley of the Angels and Red Sox for the Gold Glove at second base in the AL.

Chapman’s first Gold Glove came as he ended as #1 in all of MLB (at any position) with 29 defensive runs saved. Chapman is so good that he might also win the Platinum Glove Award, which is given each year to the best player in the Majors among all positions. In other words, the best fielder in baseball,period. Since he came to the A’s, we knew of his reputation with the Gold Glove and he showed it this 2018 season. Olson won it on his third season in the Majors and his first full year of play. Olson ended as #1 among all first basemen with 14 defensive runs saved.

While the A’s will announce soon where their new ballpark is going to be build in Oakland, the organization already building a solid team that won 97 games last year who advanced into the playoff as a Wild Card team. Two of those young stars have been awarded with respective Gold Gloves. Chapman and Olson have an innate ability for fielding. Those types of players are adored by pitchers, because they can do stuff with their gloves that pitchers appreciate and many times are the difference between a win or a loss.

Chapman and Olson, who are also very good friends, both deserve the award. Usually there is less controversy when it comes to fielding, and these two showed us why.

Cal Bears football podcast with Morris Phillips: After loss to Wazoo, Cal now needs a win against USC, Stanford or Colorado to have a shot at the bowl

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Photo credit: cougcenter.com

On the Cal Bears Football podcast with Morris:

#1 The Cal Bears (5-4) got close, but couldn’t get another going late in Pullman in a 19-13 loss to Washington State University (8-1).

#2 WSU’s Aesop Winston Jr with 32 seconds remaining left caught a 10-yard pass to get Wazoo up and past Cal for the game winner to break a 13-13 tie.

#3 WSU head coach Mike Leach said it was like a war out there and he was glad his players stuck it out when it was tough.

#4 For quarterback Brandon McIlwain, another frustrating game. McIlwain, who said the Bears competed, and Cal could have won the game.

#5 Cal’s bowl chances are dimming. They need a win against one of the following: USC, Colorado, or Stanford.

Morris does the Cal Football podcast each Monday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Three takeaways from San Jose State’s 24-9 loss to Wyoming

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Photo credit: @SJSUSpartanFB

By: Ana Kieu

San Jose State suffered a 24-9 beating from Wyoming on a chilly, snowy Saturday in Laramie, Wyo. As a result, San Jose State’s record fell to 1-8, 1-4 Mountain West, while Wyoming upped its record to 4-6, 2-4 Mountain West. Neither record calls for bragging rights, but the Cowboys were arguably the better team, not the Spartans.

With that said, here are three takeaways from San Jose State’s game against Wyoming.

SJSU needs more than just Love 
Spartans quarterback Josh Love deserves credit for his performance on Sunday. After a fumble, Love threw 17-yard touchdown pass to receiver Tre Walker was the Spartans’ lone TD of the game. Unfortunately, a bad snap on the kick led to the Spartans’ unsuccessful 2-point conversion attempt, so there’s that, too.

But Love took hard hits and continued to pick himself up off the ground throughout the game. It’s not everyday where you see a college quarterback act like a grown man in the pros. It’s just Love needs more playmakers around him to finish off those game-changing plays.

Wyoming had the upper hand
Like I mentioned in the introduction, the Cowboys were arguably the better team.

Sure, the Cowboys’ first drive wasn’t perfect as the team had to settle for a 3-0 lead 4:24 into the game, thanks to Cowboys kicker Cooper Ruthe’s 26-yard field goal. But the Cowboys gained 424 yards on the ground and 473 total yards. Also, Cowboys quarterback Sean Chambers singlehandedly increased the Cowboys’ lead to 17-3 after using his 6’4″ frame to sneak for a first down on the three-and-one from 64 yards.

Third time might’ve been the charm
The Spartans were inside the Cowboys’ 20-yard line twice in the fourth quarter, but came away with only one touchdown. The Spartans answered on their second possession set up by linerbacker Jesse Osuna’s fumble recovery of the Cowboys running back Nico Evans’ fumble in the Spartans’ secondary. Walker flawlessly timed his shoulder turn to Love’s pass in the near right corner of the end zone to cut the deficit to 17-9. Spartans punter Brian Papazian was unable to set the snap for the extra point down, but the Spartans were back in the game with 8:48 remaining.

This has been something that some fans have been pondering. What if the Spartans were inside the Cowboys’ 20-yard for a third time in the fourth quarter? Would the Spartans actually capitalize on that opportunity? We’ll never know what could’ve happened.

San Jose State pays a visit to No. 14 Utah State this Saturday at 1:00 pm PT.

NCAAFB podcast with Daniel Dullum: UW pick gets the win past Stanford; Alabama’s unstoppable against LSU; Wazoo’s on the climb, takes out Cal

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photo espn.com: Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa threw for 295 yards against LSU and ran for a season-high 49 yards

Daniel Dullum for Michelle Richardson on the NCAAFB podcast:

Top 25 Colleges
Washington holds off Cardinal with late interception.

Alabama’s quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, No. 1 Alabama roll over No. 4 LSU at Baton Rouge.

No. 8 Washington State defeats Cal.

Arizona State stuns No. 15 Utah 38-20.

Mountain West’s Fresno State Bulldogs beating UNLV 48-3; UNLV took their second straight loss.

Second coaching firing David Beatty will be fired from the Kansas Jay Hawks with only six wins total during his time at KU.

Daniel is filling in for Michelle this week for the NCAAFB podcast at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Huskies hold off Cardinal on last-second interception; Stanford suffers second straight loss 27-23

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photo from mercurynews.com: Stanford’s Frank Buncom tries to strip the ball from Myles Gaskin on a 6-yard touchdown run by the Washington back.

By Daniel Dullum
Sports Radio Service
Saturday, November 3, 2018

Despite a late charge, Washington safety Taylor Rapp’s interception on the game’s final play secured a 27-23 Pac-12 football win over visiting Stanford Saturday.

An announced crowd of 69,069 watched Rapp make a leaping pick of Stanford quarterback K.J. Costello and take a knee in the end zone, allowing the Huskies (7-3 overall, 5-2 Pac-12) to remain in the thick of the conference race.

After Washington took a 21-0 lead in the second quarter, the Cardinal (5-4 overall, 3-3 Pac-12) rallied in the second half. Costello’s 33-yard scoring pass to Trenton Irwin with 3:24 remaining pulled Stanford to within 27-23, though Cardinal kicker Jet Toner missed the PAT attempt.

Washington caught a break on the Huskies’ next play, when Myles Gaskin fumbled at the end of a 10-yard run, and tight end Drew Sample recovered it at the Huskie 35. The Cardinal defense held, and Washington had to punt to Stanford, which started its last drive at its own 15 with 2:05 to play and no timeouts.

After Costello completed four straight passes, moving Stanford to the Huskie 35, he spiked the ball there with 10 seconds remaining. With two shots at the end zone, Costello’s first pass was incomplete; the second one was perfectly timed by Rapp, the Huskies’ third interception of the night.

Gaskin, the Huskies’ all-time leading rusher, gained 148 yards on 28 carries after returning from a shoulder injury.

Costello finished 29 of 43 for 347 passing yards, two touchdowns, and the three picks. Bryce Love carried 18 times for 71 yards, and Kaden Smith snared eight passes for 107 yards and a touchdown.

The Cardinal return home next Saturday to host Oregon State. Kickoff is at 6 p.m.

Strong efforts fall flat as San Jose State gets routed by Wyoming 24-9

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Photo credit: @SJSUSpartanFB

By: Ana Kieu

The San Jose State Spartans have nothing to play for and nothing to lose, but with four games left in the team’s season, the team has a desire to finish off strong…and beat the Wyoming Cowboys for the second straight season.

Game 8 between San Jose State and Wyoming at Memorial War Stadium was nothing short of exciting. There was a little bit of snow, but it didn’t hurt any of the Spartans. After all, the Spartans had proved to the general public that they were all in on offense and defense in the last few weeks or so.

The Cowboys opened the scoring as Cooper Rothe kicked a 26-yard field goal to give the Cowboys a 3-0 lead at the 10:36 mark of the first quarter.

The Cowboys led the Spartans 3-0 at the end of the first quarter. But, of course, a three-point lead could disappear in an instant. That, however, wasn’t the case for Wyoming.

The Cowboys went up 10-0 at the 14:50 mark of the second quarter. Nico Evans ran for 58 yards for a touchdown and Rothe kicked in an extra point.

The Spartans caught a break midway the second quarter as Jonathan Lenard Jr. recovered a fumble at the 10:45 mark, but that didn’t help the cause. The Spartan offense was fairly silent. Yes, there was a lot of football left, but the Cowboys carried a 10-0 lead to the locker room at the end of the first half.

The Spartans looked to narrow the lead, and they did just that, as Bryce Crawford kicked a 26-yard field goal to cut the deficit to 10-3 at the 11:09 mark of the third quarter.

But the Cowboys were resilient in the snowy weather. Sean Chambers ran 64 yards for a touchdown and Rothe kicked in the extra point to increase Wyoming’s lead 17-3 with 8:41 left in the third quarter.

The Spartans were down by two touchdowns 17-3 at the end of the third quarter. San Jose State drove hard for a big comeback and reportedly swore they were going to get the job done. San Jose State was partially right.

Josh Love threw a 17-yard touchdown pass to Tre Walker. The Spartans went for the two-point conversion, but failed on the attempt. The Spartans settled to reduce the deficit to 17-9 with 8:48 left in the fourth quarter.

The Spartans were still in the game and refused to back down, but the Cowboys diminished all of San Jose State’s hopes when they expanded their lead to 24-9 with 1:04 left in regulation. Chambers threw a 20-yard touchdown pass to Austin Fort and Rothe kicked in the extra point.

Time wasn’t on the Spartans’ side and the down-to-the-wire penalty for roughing the passer aggravated the situation. Charlie Ramirez Jr. appeared to be hurt and it was unclear as to what happened to him from there.

The Spartans got routed by the Cowboys 24-9.

Notes
The Spartans donned their white uniforms. The Cowboys sported their gold tops and brown pants.

The Spartans fans in the South Bay showed up to Stanley’s Sports Bar to cheer on the Blue and Gold.

Up Next 
The Spartans head to Maverik Stadium in Logan, Utah to take on the No. 18 Utah State Aggies next Saturday at 1:00 pm PT on FCBK and STAD.

NHL podcast with Matt Harrington: Canucks continue to roll–hold onto first place with 18 points; Panthers-Jets split Helinski series; Coyotes win fifth straight–their best since 2013

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Photo credit: @theScoreNHL–The Florida Panthers goaltender Robert Luongo had a hot hand on Friday night in Helinski, stopping 32 Winnipeg Jet shots as the Panthers and Jets split a two-game series in Finland.

On the NHL podcast with Matt:

#1 The Vancouver Canucks in a back-and-forth game that was semi-reminiscent of an NHL All-Star game got a one-goal victory over the Colorado Avalanche on Friday night. The Canucks’ Derek Pouloit got an overtime goal at 4:38 as the Canucks win 7-6. Right now, the Canucks lead the Pacific Division with 18 points.

#2 In the Helinski, Finland series between the Florida Panthers and the Winnipeg Jets, the Panthers got a split with a 4-2 win over the Jets on Friday night. The Panthers’ goaltender Roberto Luongo stopped 32 shots coming off a knee injury. The Panthers were down 2-1 and came through to win the game, picked up their first win in regulation and third win in 11 games.

#3 The Arizona Coyotes are hot. They picked up their fifth straight win in a one-goal victory over the Carolina Hurricanes when the Yotes’ Michael Grabner scored an overtime goal at 1:17. The win marks the Coyotes’ longest winning streak since October 26th to November 5th 2013.

#4 The NHL plan to play more games in Europe in Prague, Stockholm, Germany, and Switzerland. The question that has been raised most often does NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman intend to expand the NHL into one or multiply countries? The players are already exhausted from domestic travel in North America. Will adding a European team further tax the players?

#5 The San Jose Sharks (6-4-3) and Philadelphia Flyers (6-7-0) face off tonight at the SAP Center. The Sharks are coming off two straight losses to the New York Rangers in overtime and a three-goal loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday night–all home ice losses.

Matt Harrington reviews the NHL each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com