Author: Sports Radio Service

San Jose Earthquakes podcast with Ana Kieu: Quakes host NYCFC Saturday; plus more news

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Photo credit: @SJEarthquakes

On the San Jose Earthquakes podcast with Ana Kieu:

1. The Quakes welcome NYCFC to Avaya Stadium Saturday night. What are your three keys to the game?

2. The Quakes’ training field got a new fence wrap on Monday. What do you think of the mini makeover?

3. JT Marcinkowski earned a spot on the USL’s Team of the Week for his standout performance in the Reno 1868 FC vs. Las Vegas Lights FC match, which ended in a 1-1 draw Saturday night.

4. Ted Ramey, the voice of the Earthquakes, recently said that the player he’s expecting to have their breakout is Magnus Eriksson.

5. The Quakes recently tweeted a story titled “Defying All Odds: Cardinal Newman’s Inspiring Journey to Glory” that was published after Cardinal Newman was crowned the D3 NorCal Champions following the Tubbs fire.

Ana Kieu does the San Jose Earthquakes podcast each week at SportsRadioService.com.

Sports Headlines podcast with Tony Renteria: Black Lives Matter protests expected to march in downtown and to Kings game tonight

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On the Sports Headlines podcast with Tony Renteria:

#1 The Black Lives Matter movement continues as the organization plans a march on downtown Sacramento tonight as well as protesting at the Indiana Pacers at Sacramento Kings game tonight at Golden 1 Center. Sacramento Police reportedly will be on had at the arena to prevent protesters from blocking protesters who succeeded in not allowing fans to enter games last Tuesday and Thursday.

#2 The lockdown of Golden 1 Center for last Thursday saw only small crowds estimated at 4,000 fans per game. Did the protesters make a point with their protests or has what they’be done so far been counter productive?

#3 Former Oakland quarterback David Humm who passed away on Wednesday at age 65 was in a wheelchair for the last few years and has had MS. Humm was a former Raiders broadcaster, and Tony takes a look at the life of Humm.

#4 Opening day for Major League Baseball as the San Francisco Giants are in Los Angeles to play the Dodgers and the Los Angeles Angels are in Oakland for the A’s. First daytime opening day since 1994.

Tony Renteria does the Sports Headlines each Thursday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

 

Oakland A’s podcast with Jerry Feitelberg: Will Cahill and Anderson eventually end up in the Oak A’s starting rotation; three pitchers out before season starts

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On the Oakland A’s podcast with Jerry Feitelberg:

#1 It’s the first opening day for the Oakland A’s to be played at home in the day time since 1994. Jerry takes a look at the significance of what the A’s hope will start a trend.

#2 The A’s have lost three starters before the season even started, losing Jharel Cotton and AJ Puk to torn ulnar collateral ligaments. Both Cotton and Puk are expected to be out of for the rest of the season. John Blackburn is out with forearm tightness.

#3 Kendall Graveman is the A’s starter. The A’s pitching coach Scott Emerson says keeping Graveman healthy is crucial to keep his arm from burning out. He will be limited in his side sessions.

#4 Can the A’s have a healthy starting rotation and can they get some effective starts?

#5 Talk about Brett Anderson and Trevor Cahill. Will they eventually make the rotation, considering how scarce pitching could get on the A’s staff?

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

San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa Walsh: Sharks didn’t go on without a fight in loss to Blues to snap win streak

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On the San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa Walsh:

#1 The loss by the San Jose Sharks to the St. Louis Blues to end their eight-game win streak didn’t go without a fight as the game was forced into overtime by the Sharks as they tried to keep their streak alive.

#2 St. Louis Blues’ Vladimir Tarasenko took a pass from Vladimir Sobotka from behind the net. Sobotka took the puck in front of the net and passed it to Tarasenko show put it past San Jose goalie Aaron Dell, who was expecting it long side; but Tarasenko got the goal short side at 2:33 in the overtime stanza to get the Blues past the Sharks.

#3 Dell was left off balance on Tarasenko’s shot thinking he was going to get to the puck, but the game-winner made it in.

#4 Tarasenko is the Blues’ leading scorer with 31 goals and has also shot for 30 or more in each of the last four years.

#5 The Sharks head into Nashville for Thursday night’s contest. The Predators snapped a three-game loss streak on Tuesday loss streak and are looking to start putting a win streak together with the Sharks coming to town. This should be one of the best games of the week head-to-head.

Mary Lisa does the Sharks podcast each Wednesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

San Jose Barracuda podcast with Marko Ukalovic: Crunch time for postseason as Cuda head for two-game road trip

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On the San Jose Barracuda podcast with Marko Ukalovic:

#1 With 4:28 left in the San Jose Barracuda’s last game on Tuesday in the first period, the Cuda took a 2-0 lead with a Juilius Bergman goal that beat the Tucson Roadrunners goalie Adin Hill.

#2 The Roadrunners cut the Cuda lead at 16:50 in the second period when Lanson Carson scored his 10th goal of the season.

#3 Manuel Wiederer scored his seventh goal of the season. Cuda led by two, 3-1.

#4 The Cuda won Tuesday’s contest in Tucson  3-1. Both Roadrunners and Cuda had 16 shots on goal.

#5 The Barracuda open a two-game road trip starting this Friday night in Grand Rapids against the defending champion Griffiths and then fly onto Rochester to face off against the Americans. This is expected to be one of the toughest road trips for the Barracuda this season. Two excellent teams that their playing on back-to-back nights on the road.

Marko Ukalovic does the Barracuda podcasts each Wednesday night at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

Giants shutout A’s 3-0 to end the spring

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Photo credit: @SFGiants

By Jeremy Kahn

SAN FRANCISCO — In their final tuneup before the regular season begins in just two days, the San Francisco Giants and Oakland A’s faced off for the last time until their Bay Bridge Series in July.

Andrew McCutchen got the Giants on the board in the bottom of the first inning as he doubled in Joe Panik, who led off the inning with a single and the Giants would go on to defeat the A’s 3-0 before a crowd of 32,644 at AT&T Park.

Another newcomer to the Giants added a two-run single in the bottom of the fourth inning, as Austin Jackson hit a two-run single that scored Evan Longoria and Hunter Pence.

As a team, the Giants were never set down in order by the A’s pitchers, as they picked up a hit off the A’s quartet of Andrew Triggs, Kyle Hendriks, Trevor Cahill and Frankie Montas.

It was a good final spring start for Chris Stratton, as he went five innings, allowing zero runs on four hits, while walking one and striking out three, as he finished the spring with a 1-1 record and the Giants ended the 2018 Spring season with a 15-17-1 record.

The Giants six-pack of pitchers did a fantastic job in their final dress rehearsal prior to Thursday, as Stratton, Josh Osich, Cory Gearrin, Sam Dyson, Pierre Johnson and Derek Law pitched nine innings, allowing just six hits, walking four and striking out four.

NOTES: Ty Blach will take the mound on Opening Day for the first time in his big-league career against the defending National League Champion Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday afternoon, while the Dodgers will send Clayton Kershaw to the mound and he will be making his eighth consecutive Opening Day start.

This will be the 12th time since the Giants and the Dodgers moved to the West Coast in 1958 that the two rivals will have faced each other on Opening Day. In the first 11 meetings, the Giants have a 6-5 lead.

Golden State Warriors podcast with David Zizmor: Warriors get tamed at home 92-81 by Pacers as Big Four continues to rest

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By David Zizmor

The Warriors without their big four are still trying to get their bearing, they struggled against the Atlanta Hawks and Utah Jazz at home and likewise with the game tonight against the Indiana Pacers. When the Warriors played against Utah on Sunday, they were not an easy team to beat when Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green. The Jazz for the last two or three seasons this year’s team is different because Gordon Hayward is now on the Boston Celtics. Utah is a really well coached team head coach Quin Synder is one of the top coaches in the NBA which answers the question why the Jazz are having such a good year.

In the fourth quarter in the final minutes of the game of the Pacers-Warriors match, the Pacers maintained the lead even as the Warriors tried to battle back in the fourth quarter, but couldn’t catch the Pacers as Indiana pretty much dominated the fourth quarter by a good 10 points over Golden State.

David Zizmor does the Warrior podcasts each Tuesdays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

That’s Amaury’s Podcast, News and Commentary: Pitching will be a big concern for 2018 Athletics

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On That’s Amaury’s podcast:

As far as the starting rotation for the Oakland A’s is concerned, it’s going to be tough. There have been verbal and written reports about the A’s pitching staff and who will truly be effective for the 2018 season. Basically, it’s a young pitching staff that their going to depend on. Last week, the A’s lost starter Jharel Cotton to Tommy John surgery and this is one key pitcher that the A’s don’t have.

The A’s are looking at Sean Manaea, Daniel Mengden, Kendall Graveman, and questions arise if Paul Blackburn and/or Trevor Cahill will make the rotation. With Cotton out, the A’s are observing Ryan Dull, who is throwing off the mound but with a certain pitch count. He doesn’t quite have the velocity yet to make it to the Opening Day roster.

Amaury is the Oakland A’s Spanish play-by-play announcer, the vice president of the Major League Baseball Hispanic Heritage Museum, and does News and Commentary each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

 

Opinion: Is Netting Truly Necessary at MLB Games?

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By: Ana Kieu

SAN JOSE, Calif. — This season, all 30 MLB teams will have protective netting in their respective ballpark, which is a debatable subject among baseball fans. It doesn’t matter what team you root for, there are some who think it’s a good idea to prevent future injuries and there are also some who would disagree, thinking it’s nothing more but an overreaction.

Personally, I think that netting isn’t truly necessary at MLB games. Sure, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement: “Providing baseball fans with a variety of seating options when they come to the ballpark, including seats behind protective netting, is important…Major League Clubs are constantly evaluating the coverage and design of their ballpark netting and I am pleased that they are providing fans an increased inventory of protected seats.” But like any other subject, there are pros and cons that come along with it.

The pros are that netting is an easy fix, the statement “pay better attention” is unrealistic and the thought “once is enough” is, well enough. The cons mention that netting is just an “overreaction,” fans should know what they’re getting themselves into and the seeminly indefinite question: “When does it end?”

I have to add my two cents in a belief that should be so obvious that there shouldn’t be a need to say it. But there’s no actual need for netting that extend to at least the far ends of both dugouts because if someone is fortunate enough to be sitting in close seats near home plate, he or she should simply put the phone away and watch the ballgame. During a game, the phone should only be used to capture a photo, video or snap of a significant moment like a grand slam, a no-hitter and vice versa.

It’s not only some fans making arguments on the netting either. San Francisco Giants catcher Buster Posey has also made an argument without even trying. In June 2016, Posey was batting in the first inning in a game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, but the bat flew out of his hands and ended up getting stuck way up in the netting at AT&T Park. Yeah, it was so high that the Giants’ facility crew had to use a ladder to get it back.

To refresh your memory, there have been some dangerous incidents like when a young girl who got injured by a 105 mph foul at Yankee Stadium in September 2017 and a woman who suffered life-threatening injuries after being hit by a broken bat at Fenway Park. It’s unfortunate that situations like these have occurred in the past, but most, if not all, of them could’ve been prevented if someone paid attention to the game because they’re supposed to be there to cheer on their favorite team.

Baseball may be too slow and tedious, but it’s still a sport that’s worth watching live at the ballpark. Play ball!

Barry Bonds set to join elite group of Giants

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Photo credit: @big_john819

By Jeremy Kahn

SAN FRANCISCO — In honor of the San Francisco Giants’ 60th anniversary of moving to San Francisco, the team is giving Barry Bonds the highest honor that they give to any player that wears the uniform.

Bonds, who retired after the 2007 season, will have his number 25 retired on August 12, as the Giants face the team that drafted Bonds out of Arizona State with the sixth pick in the 1985 Major League Baseball Draft, the Pittsburgh Pirates.

In 15 years with the Giants, Bonds hit 586 home runs, the second most in team history, behind his godfather Willie Mays (646 from 1951-1952, 1954-1972), as he helped lead the Giants to the National League Western Division Championship in 1997, 2000 and 2003.

The Giants also made the postseason in 2002, when they made it all the way to the World Series as the Wild Card team. However, the Giants came up one game short of their ultimate goal, when the Anaheim Angels took Game Seven for their only World Series Championship in team history.

While wearing the Orange and Black for those 15 years, Bonds also won the NL MVP on five different occasions in 1993, 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004, Bonds also won five Gold Gloves in 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997 and 1998.

Bonds won the Silver Slugger Award nine times, as he took home the award in 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004.

The most feared hitter of this generation, Bonds also won batting titles in 2002 and 2004, and led the National League in home runs on two different occasions, the first time was in 1993, when he 46 home runs and helped the Giants to 103 wins on the season and in 2001, when he hit a major-league record 73 home runs.

He joins Orlando Cepeda, Juan Marichal, Mays, Willie McCovey and Gaylord Perry as the sixth member of the San Francisco Giants to get his number retired. Bill Terry, Carl Hubbell, Monte Irvin and Mel Ott also have their numbers retired after Hall of Fame careers when the Giants played in New York.

Christy Mathewson and John McGraw are also honored by the Giants, as the two are honored with plaques, as their careers pre-dated numbers.