Author: Sports Radio Service

Kings take another fall in 112-107 loss to Hornets after Grizzlies’ rout

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Photo credit: @StrikaNation24_

By: Jeremiah Salmonson

Sacramento — The Sacramento Kings and the Charlotte Hornets both came into their game Monday evening coming off losses. The Kings lost in a big way on Friday night, losing to the Memphis Grizzlies 106-88. The Hornets, on the other hand, played a great game on Saturday. However, they fell 106-105 against the Miami Heat. The Kings and Hornets were looking to bounce back at the Spectrum Center on Monday.

The first quarter would prove to have plenty of offense in it. The Kings scored 33 and the Hornets scored 35 in the first quarter. The points in the first for the Kings came from all over the roster with no player having more than six points by the end of the first. Bogdan Bodanovic had five points in the first along with Fox and Hield. Kosta Koufos had six points in the first leading the Kings. Leading the Hornets in the first would be Jeremy Lamb with five points. Dwight Howard and Nicolas Batum each had seven, and Kembra Walker ended the first with eight points.

The second quarter would prove to be a good one. That is until the Hornets scored the last eight points in the second quarter. That would send the hornets into the locker room ahead 67-55 over the Kings. At the half, the Kings were shooting at 38.5% from downtown, and 46.2% in field goals while making two of three free throws.

The Hornets, on the other hand, shot 50% outside, 54.8% of field goals, and 11 of 13 free throws. Leading the way for the Kings was De’Aaron Fox with ten points after the first half. Kosta Koufos had six rebounds and Bogdanovic had four assists. The Hornets led the way with Jeremy Lamb scoring 13 points. Dwight Howard had eight rebounds and four assists for Kemba Walker.

Going into the third, it appeared the Kings had lost some steam with the Hornets scoring the last eight points of the first half. Carter started the third quarter by hitting a three. That made the score 68-58 with 10:32 to play in the third. The Kings had fallen behind 13 points with 7:56 to go in the third quarter. The score would be 73-60 when the Kings took a timeout. One of the lopsided figures so far in this game was free throws. With 5:37 to go in the third the Kings had made three of four free throws.

Meanwhile, the Hornets managed to make 12 of 15 attempts from the line. Bogdan Bogdanovic took a blow with 4:45 to play in the third. He was down for a minute but made his way back up. The officials took it to replay and determined it was not a flagrant and play resumed. The Kings would battle but end the third trailing 92-75.

The Hornets would extend extend their lead to 20 points with only 10:30 to play. The score at the time was 95-75. 8:14 remained in the game with the Kings trailing by 16 points and coach Dave Joerger took a timeout. The Kings continued to battle with Buddy Hield and the Kings going on a 15-6 run. With 4:57 to go, the Kings got the score back to a respectable 101-92. The game would go back to forth until the Kings made it 107-102. However, the Hornets would pull away and bury the Kings 112-107.

What’s next?
Kings: Tuesday against Orlando Magic in Orlando at 4 pm PST.

Hornets: Wednesday against New Orleans Pelicans at 4:30 pm PST.

NCAA Basketball Podcast with Michelle Richardson: Nation’s #3 prospect Williamson chooses Duke; UConn not the same team as in the past; New Mexico continues to roll

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Photo credit: @EvanDaniels

On the NCAA Podcast with Michelle:

  1. The nation’s #3 prospect Zion Williamson, who had many choices, but decided on Duke and chose the school over UNC, Kentucky, Kansas, or Clemson. What impressed Williamson about Duke?
  2. What has happened to UConn (10-9)? They dropped a 81-61 contest to Villanova (18-1). UConn has lost three of their last six games.
  3. The New Mexico Lobos (10-11) continue to roll winning two straight with wins over UNLV and San Diego State. The Lobos have won two straight games so far.

Michelle’s Final Thoughts

Michelle does the NCAA BB Podcast each Sunday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

Stanford Cardinal Podcast with Matt Harrington: Cards still look good even after snapping five-game win streak

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Photo credit: @StanfordMBB

On the Stanford Cardinal Podcast with Matt:

1 After winning five straight games, the Cardinal lost to #14 ranked Arizona Wildcats 73-71 at Maples Pavilion, but went all out in this one on Saturday night.

2 The Cardinal who have turned things around since losing to Cal at home last month. Matt takes a look at what turned it around for Stanford.

3 On Saturday, the most that Stanford trailed by was 10 earlier in the game, but lost it by two.

4 The Cardinal at one point led in the second half by 10 in what consider their best effort of the season, despite losing the game.

5 Stanford takes on the USC Trojans in LA Wednesday, January 24th. Catch Daniel Dullum with the game recap.

Join Matt Harrington each Saturday for the Stanford Cardinal Podcast at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

Stanford falls to #14 Arizona by just two points in close 73-71 loss

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Photo: @StanfordMBB

By Alexandra Evans

PALO ALTO — After beating #16 Arizona State on Wednesday, the Stanford Cardinal men’s basketball team took on the #14 Arizona Wildcats, to whom they fell ,73-71, in front of a packed Maples Pavilion Saturday afternoon. With the loss, Stanford’s five-game winning streak was snapped by Arizona.

In a back-and-forth game among two Pac-12 leaders, Stanford failed to exceed Arizona. The Cardinal trailed by a maximum of 10 points at one time in the first period.

The Cardinal stepped up in the second period and even managed to exceed the Wildcats by more than 10 points. This was first facilitated by a jumper from Reid Travis four minutes in, and then the Cardinal were ahead 11 points after Dorian Pickens got a 3-pointer just over 10 minutes in. However, the latter team managed to take the lead again with 38 seconds left in the game, only exceeding them by one point.

It came down to the final shot (Rawle Alkins’ go-ahead layup with 38 seconds left in regulation), but the Cardinal came up just two points short in a 73-71 loss to the Wildcats.

“It was a battle and outside the first six, eight, ten minutes of the game we joined the battle and competed at a high level,” said Stanford head coach Jerod Haase. “There were a lot of positives that we’ll take away. Obviously there a lot of things we can learn from as well but at the end of the day I think we competed at a high level.”

Travis led the Cardinal in points with 20, and Allonzo Trier exceeded the Wildcats with 21 points.

“Winning on the road is hard, and I give Stanford a lot of credit,” said Arizona head coach Sean Miller. “Stanford’s resiliency was impressive. They scored 42 points on us (in the second half), and they had their starting point guard the entire second half.”

“Stanford’s game plan was good,” Miller added. “They have some big bodies, Humphrey’s a senior, a very good player; Reid Travis is not only one of the better players in our conference, but in college basketball.”

Next: Stanford will take on the USC Trojans in Los Angeles on Wednesday, January 24 at 6:00 pm PT.

Barracuda sweep weekend series vs. Gulls with 2-1 win

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Photo credit: @sjbarracuda

By: Ana Kieu

The San Jose Barracuda and San Diego Gulls sequel was released Saturday at the Valley View Casino Center. In case you missed it, San Jose fended off San Diego’s comeback and escaped with a 3-2 victory last night.

The Barracuda’s starting lineup consisted of Rudolfs Balcers, Danny O’Regan, Marcus Sorensen, Jacob Middleton, Nick DeSimone and Antoine Bibeau.

The Barracuda’s Twitter account had some fun before the game. San Jose tweeted, “The national anthem is way more exciting when the audio and video don’t match up. #PregameThoughts.”

Former NHL player and first black NHLer, Willie O’Ree, did a spectacular job on his ceremonial puck drop.

It didn’t take long for the Barracuda to draw first blood, as DeSimone scored an early goal, just one minute into the opening period. Middleton and Filip Sandberg collected the assists on DeSimone’s goal.

The Gulls quickly responded with a game-tying goal from Nic Kerdiles. Kerdiles stood on the door step and banged in Dennis Rasmussen’s rebound for the equalizer.

The Barracuda-Gulls rivalry was in full effect, as Brandon Mashinter and Jaycob Megna dropped the gloves with each other for an action-packed fight.

Both teams were tied at one apiece after 20 minutes of play.

The Barracuda were apparently ready to rock in the second period. Meanwhile, the Gulls announced a scoring change: Rasmussen got credit for their first goal; the with assist came from Deven Sideroff.

Bibeau made a noteworthy save in the period, but did you expect anything less from this Barracuda goaltender?

The Barracuda took back their lead, 2-1, on the power play. Julian Bergman scores on a shot from the point. Sorensen and O’Regan collected the assists on Bergman’s go-ahead goal.

The Barracuda led the Gulls 2-1 after 40 minutes of play. Shots were 25-22 in favor of San Jose.

Bibeau came up big in the third period. Also, the Barracuda were a perfect 3-for-3 on the penalty kill. The Gulls guessed Bibeau was going to the AHL All-Star Game or something after witnessing Sam Carrick being denied on the breakaway.

The Barracuda had a huge opportunity on what turned out to be a wild power play. John McCarthy’s shot was denied and then Eric Fehr was denied on the other end.

The crowd in San Diego was reportedly loud and looking for a tie. In other news, O’Regan spent some time showing off his silky smooth handles behind the Gulls’ net.

The Gulls pulled their goalie Kevin Boyle for an extra attacker with 1:40 left in regulation. But their change didn’t help them out as the Barracuda escaped with a 2-1 win. The Sharks also beat the Penguins 2-1. That being said, it was a great day for both San Jose hockey teams.

Three Stars of the Game
1. Bibeau (28 saves)
2. DeSimone (1 goal)
3. Bergman (1 goal)

Notes
The Sharks recalled goaltender Troy Grosenick from the Barracuda.

SD Ducks Sled Hockey came out to the Gulls’ Diversity Night.

San Francisco 49ers assistant coach Katie Sowers attended the game.

Up Next
The Barracuda return to action when they host the Texas Stars Tuesday at 7:30 pm CT.

Warriors lose to Rockets 116-108; Houston ends Golden State’s 14-game road win streak

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Photo credit: @ESPNStatsInfo

By: Ana Kieu

The Golden State Warriors were looking to sweep their five-game road trip in Saturday’s primetime game against the Houston Rockets at the Toyota Center.

The NBA on ABC/ESPN pregame hosts counted down JaVale McGee’s top 10 plays, Klay Thompson signed some autographs for the fans, and then the Warriors walked onto their court, sporting their “The Town” jerseys.

Both teams entered the building as two of the best Western Conference squads, but the Rockets started off on a high note, making five of their first six shots. The Warriors were down 14-7 early in the first quarter. Golden State continued to make shots to pick themselves up off the ground.

However, the Rockets had a high-scoring first quarter, and they led the Warriors 40-28.
Houston shot 15-for-22 from the field and 7-for-11 from the 3-point line.

Warriors’ Nick Young had some solid production off the bench, hitting each of his first three shots early in the second quarter. Also, David West did his thing, shooting 4-for-4 from the field for a total of eight points.

James Harden and Chris Paul put in some work. With less than two minutes left in the quarter, Steph Curry hit a three, but the Warriors continued to trail the Rockets 65-58 at the half. Harden and Paul combined for 30 first-half points.

Here are the Warriors’ halftime stats:

Warriors’ Kevin Durant made a high-impact play, a 4-point play, to open up the second half. Durant also dished a pass to Draymond Green to set up a 1-on-1 opportunity. In addition, Curry hit a 3-pointer to help out the Warriors.

The Warriors made it a game as they pulled within one, 92-91, at the end of the third quarter. Rockets’ P.J. Tucker came up big in the quarter.

Green tied the score with a 3-pointer early in the fourth quarter. The Warriors were down by 17, but went up to 4 (104-100) with 6:45 left in the quarter.

Prior to the timeout, the Rockets led the Warriors 111-108 with 2:17 left in regulation. Houston continued to flip the switch as Harden hit a 3-pointer for a 114-108 lead over Golden State. Then, Paul made a pair of free throws with 28.2 seconds left.

Both Curry and Young missed their final 3-point shots, and the Warriors lost to the Rockets 116-108. With the loss, Golden State’s 14-game road win streak and 4-game overall win streak.

Notes
Warriors’ injury update: Andre Iguodala (left calf contusion) is out.

Former Warriors player Jason Richardson turned 37 today. He played for the Warriors for six seasons from 2001 to 2007.

When asked about closing out the road trip in Houston, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr told the local media: “It’s a good way to close the trip…it should be a fun atmosphere.”

Warriors’ Steph Curry made his 600th career regular season start tonight in his 606th career regular season game.

Warriors’ Draymond Green has his fourth 20-point game of the season with 21 points; his third 20-point performance in his last six games.

Up Next
The Warriors return home for a three-game homestand. They’ll first host the Knicks this coming Tuesday at 7:30 pm PT.

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary: Rafael Palmeiro at 53–Needs One More Game

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Photo credit: @NBCSports

By: Amaury Pi-Gonzalez

Rafael Palmeiro has the numbers to be in the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. Now, the 53-year-old said, “I am missing the game” and he wants to come back to the MLB. However, his chances are not very good as his prime days have passed.

Palmeiro was born in Havana, Cuba, and played in the MLB for 20 years (1986-2005) with the Chicago Cubs, Texas Rangers, Baltimore Orioles, Rangers (again) and returned to the Orioles for his last two seasons in the league.

His very last season (2005) was on July 15, at Safeco Field in Seattle, Washington. In the fifth inning, he hit a double to the left field wall against Mariners pitcher Joel Pineiro. That was Palmeiro’s 3,000 career hit. I was broadcasting the Mariners games in Spanish that year and I just had the call that game. ESPN Deportes picked it up; I have the CD of that moment. Palmeiro also received a copy of that CD. After the game, I interviewed Palmeiro, who was very happy and gracious.

Palmeiro is the only Cuban-born player to reach the 3,000 hit plateau. In my opinion, he finished with excellent numbers that are Cooperstown-worthy: 20 career years combined for a .288 batting average, 3,020 hits, 585 home runs, 1,835 runs batted in–all in a total of 2,831 games played.

Unfortunately, Palmeiro’s career didn’t ended very well. Former Rangers teammate and fellow Cuban, Jose Canseco, identified Palmeiro as a fellow steroid user in his 2005 book, Juiced: Wild Times, Rampant ‘Roids, Smash Hits & How Baseball Got Big, and claimed he injected Palmeiro with steroids.

On March 17, 2005, Palmeiro appeared at a Congressional hearing about steroids in baseball, and while under oath, denied ever using steroids. He stated, “Let me start by telling you this: I have never used steroids, period. I don’t know how to say it any more clearly than that.” Five months later on August 1, 2005, Palmeiro was suspended for 10 days after testing positive for steroids.

Palmeiro is part of that ugly phase in the game–the steroid era. After an excellent career, he wants to comeback and play in the major leagues. “There is no doubt in my mind that I can do it,” he recently said. This January 24, the inductees into the Hall of Fame will be announced, but his name will not be on the list.

For Palmeiro, the numbers above on his career can help him secure a spot in the Hall of Fame. However, the steroid scandal caused him to fall off the ballot.

Here is the deal: If Rafael Palmeiro plays in one more MLB game, he will become re-eligible for the Hall of Fame.

Buena suerte Rafael!

NHL Podcast with Daniel Dullum: USA Hockey Team without NHL Players; will Kid Rock be a controversy for anthem at NHL All-Star game; plus more NHL News

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Photo credit: @PeteBlackburn

NHL Podcast with Daniel Dullum:

1 Without NHL players, Olympic tournament is wide open

2 NHL aware of backlash of having Kid Rock perform at All-Star Game

3 Golden Knights beat Lightning in Tampa, fastest expansion team to 30 wins

4 60 years ago, Willie O’Ree broke the NHL color barrier

Daniel Dullum does the NHL Podcasts each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Barracuda snap losing streak against Gulls with 3-2 victory

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Photo credit: @sjbarracuda

By Marko Ukalovic

The San Jose Barracuda (18-16-0-2) were finally able to take some revenge in their house of horrors known as the Valley View Casino Center as they escaped with a 3-2 victory over the San Diego Gulls (20-16-1-0). They snapped their nine-game losing streak in San Diego. It was their first regular season regulation win in San Diego since November 14th, 2015.

After allowing San Diego to score two unanswered goals in the third period to tie the score, the Barracuda didn’t take long to regain the lead. The tie would last just 16 seconds as Brandon Mashinter would get a gift from San Diego’s Brian Cooper whose backhanded attempt to clear the puck went right to Mashinter and he fired a shot in one motion past Gulls goalie Reto Berra (9-6-0) who wasn’t expecting the shot. The unassisted goal was his seventh goal on the season at the 5:38 mark to give the Barracuda a 3-2 lead.

San Jose took control of the first period as they outshot San Diego 18-8. Captain John McCarthy created one of the many scoring chances for the Barracuda when he created a turnover in the Gulls zone, but his shot was stopped by Berra. Barracuda goalie Antoine Bibeau (11-7-0) matched Berra a short time later making a nice save on a point blank shot attempt by Nic Kerdiles.

The Barracuda would cash in when Danny O’Reagan blasted a shot on goal that was stopped by Berra that created a rebound and a mad scramble in front of the net. Defenseman Redim Simek raced in from the blue line and scored his third goal on the season on a bang bang play snapping a shot past Berra at the 8:15 mark. Simek got off a big schneid as that was his first goal in the last 23 games. Filip Sandberg also received an assist on the play. It was the first time San Jose had a lead at the Valley View Casino Center this season.

In the second period, the Gulls controlled play as they put pressure on the Barracuda early in the period. Bibeau made a brilliant save on Kerdiles five minutes into the frame. San Diego forced the Barracuda in taking consecutive penalties just moments before the midway point through the period.

However, Marcus Sorensen would turn the tables on the league-leading Gulls power play when he scored a short-handed goal on a 2-on-1 break with O’Reagan. Simek joined the play and took a pass from O’Regan, but his shot attempt was blocked. Sorensen was able to corral the puck and snipe it past Berra for his sixth goal of the season at 8:49 mark of the second period for a 2-0 lead.

In the third period, the Gulls would breakthrough early as they were able to keep the puck inside the Barracuda zone after a failed clearing attempt. Kevin Roy came on a fresh line change and was able to snap home a shot past Bibeau for his seventh goal of the season at the 3:26 mark. Dennis Rasmussen and Julius Nattinen assisted on the goal.

Roy would score again just under two minutes later and tied the game on the power play at the 5:22 mark after putting home a rebound off a mad scramble in front of the net after a shot hit off the crossbar. Roy was able to beat Barracuda defenseman Paul Martin to the puck and net his eighth goal of the season.

The Gulls had a goal waved off by Kalle Kossila with 3:50 left in the third period as the referees ruled the puck never crossed over the line. They had a chance to tie the game late in the game when Simek went into the sin bin for tripping with three minutes left and had a 6-on-4 advantage when they pulled Berra for an extra attacker, but could not get the equalizer.

Bibeau earned his 11th victory of the season on 27 shots on 29 shots. It was his third straight win. Berra took the loss on 43 saves on 46 shots.

GAMES NOTES: The game was chippy throughout the game with lots of post whistle scrums. San Jose’s Brandon Bollig and San Diego’s Ryan White exchanged fisticuffs in the first period. San Jose went 0/3 on the power play, while San Diego was 1/5.

UP NEXT: The two teams will do it all over again on Saturday night from Valley View Casino Center. Faceoff is at 7pm.

That’s Amaury’s News And Commentary: Baseball–Pitch Clock Likely This Season, Robots In The Horizon

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By: Amaury Pi-Gonzalez

Since MLB commissioner Rob Manfred took over for Commissioner Bud Selig, his main mission has been the speed of the game and how to move the game at a faster pace. Manfred could implement a variety of pacing measures during this 2018 season.

The 20-second pitch clock is perhaps the most notable. They’ve already been experimenting with a 22-second clock in the minor leagues. If this rule goes into effect in the Major Leagues, a pitcher would be charged with a ball, and if he takes more than 20 seconds between pitches, there will be only one warning per game on this. Hitters will have a 30-second timer between batters, and if they take longer than that, they will be charge with a strike.

I could see down the line, some argument when a hitter keeps fouling pitches on a 3-2 count, it takes too long to come to a decision that maybe done by the all-popular today “algorithms.” Algorithms can perform calculation, data processing and automated reasoning tasks. An algorithm is an effective method that can be expressed within a finite amount of space and time and in a well-defined formal language for calculating a function.

There are other rules in the oven such as a second mound visit to a pitcher in the same inning that must result in the removal of that pitcher from the game, the control of the amount of time between innings, and the number and length of pitching warm-ups. However, the last one is not coming this season.

On Thursday, MLB.com’s Jon Paul Morosi reported that the MLB Players Association rejected the league’s most recent proposal of pace-of-play rules, which was a revised version of an initial proposal submitted last year, addressing the players concerns with the original.

However, after the union’s rejection of this revised proposal, MLB could still implement the original rules changes; even if the MLB Players Union do not agree with it. During the last off-season the CBA (Collective Bargaining Agreement) gave the MLB the right to do so.

Before we get lost in the “legal matters” here, both sides: Manfred and the MLPA will continue negotiating all this stuff next week, and only God knows where it will end. Just remember the MLPA is one of the strongest unions in the country.

People should relax here. It is not basketball, it is baseball, the game was meant to be the way it is. Too bad this generation needs something to happen every 10 seconds because baseball is not like that. This is exactly what happens when non-baseball people are running the game. Maybe soon you will be able to play a game of baseball on Twitter and be done in a couple of minutes with 280 characters.

I can see in the future where they would like to find a way to “end” a hitter that has a 3-2 count on a pitcher, and keeps fouling pitch after pitch, after pitch…which would take too long. Maybe if he fouls 10-12 pitches he would be awarded first base automatically, since the pitcher obviously could not “put him away.” Those who like the OBP (On Base Percentage) will be delighted with this rule.

Umpires are bound to become extinct from the game of baseball as robots are already taking over our labor force, some fast food places already have robots handing food and you can easily order without a human in sight. Or you can always tell Alexa to do something for you, while your robot sweeps your house.

Man invented computer and computer could be its demise. I think I saw a movie with that script. Since baseball is traditionally slow to change, chances are that by the time baseball is ran by computers, the whole world is already slaved by technology. When that happens it will be a “One World Government.”

Hold on now…I can already hear the Home plate Robot saying: P-l-a-y B-a-l-l…the same voice that says PlayStation.