Sacramento Kings podcast with Jeremiah Salmonson: Kings host Rockets Sunday at Golden 1

Sacramento Kings guard De’Aaron Fox (5) celebrates with forward Domantas Sabonis (10) in the first half against the San Antonio Spurs at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento on Thu Mar 7, 2024 (AP News photo)

On the Sacramento Kings podcast with Jeremiah:

#1 The San Antonio Spurs (13-51) are one of the worse teams in the NBA yet you never how things will turn out on any given night such as the Sacramento Kings (37-26) who battled to last 7.7 seconds against the Spurs when the Kings Domanta Sabonis threw down the game winning basket in the Kings narrow 131-129 win on Thursday night.

#2 Sabonis led the Kings with 31 points on Thursday, Sabonis said that it looked ugly with one minute left in the game so he stepped up and fixed it with a winning basket.

#3 The Kings De’Aaron Fox scored 17 of 33 points in the fourth quarter of the game and ended up getting fouled out.

#4 One thing that held the Spurs back was they were without their leading scorer Victor Wembanyama who has a strained right ankle and is also expected to sit out against Golden State on Saturday in San Francisco.

#5 The Houston Rockets are next for the Kings. The Rockets (27-35) 12th place in the Western Conference. The Rockets have lost six of their ten games. But you never know the Spurs were struggling and gave the Kings fits do you see the same for the Rockets at Golden 1 on Sunday afternoon at 3:00pm PDT?

Join Jeremiah for the Sacramento Kings podcasts Fridays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Sacramento Kings game wrap: With 7.7 secs left Sabonis throw down gets Kings 131-129 over Spurs at Golden 1

Forward Domantas Sabonis (10) takes off down the floor after scoring against the San Antonio Spurs in the second half at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento on Thu Mar 7, 2024 (AP News photo)

By Jeremiah Salmonson

SACRAMENTO–The Sacramento Kings were back in action on Thursday night. The Kings were coming off the first night of a back-to-back that saw them make a stop in Los Angeles. The Kings were in LA on Wednesday night to take on the Lakers.

The Kings went down early to the Lakers but ultimately came out with the win 130-120. On Thursday night, the Kings returned home for the second night of the back-to-back against the San Antonio Spurs. The Spurs were coming off a loss to the Rockets on Tuesday, 114-101.

On Thursday, the tip-off was set for 7 PM PST inside Golden One Center. The Kings beat the Spurs 131-129 on Thursday night.

Game recap: In the first quarter, the Kings came as expected on the second night of a back-to-back. The Kings came out sluggish in the first quarter. The Spurs would outscore the Kings 31-30 in the first quarter to a slim early lead.

De’Aaron Fox was largely silent for the Kings in the quarter, scoring no points. Domantas Sabonis and Harrison Barnes led the way for the Kings in the first quarter with six points each. Devin Vassell led the Spurs with eight points.

In the second quarter, the Kings took off. Similarly to the previous game against the Lakers, the Kings had a sub-par first quarter and took command in the second.

The Kings outscored the Spurs in the second quarter 41-28. In the first half, the Kings were led by Sabonis, who scored 17 points. He was well on his way to another triple-double if he kept it up. Vessell led the way for the Spurs in the first half with 14 points.

The Kings let the Spurs back into the game in the third quarter. In the tale of two quarters, the Kings melted down in the fourth. The Spurs outscored the Kings 36-29 in the third to come to within five points of the lead.

The Kings would lead 100-95 going into the final quarter of action. Could the Kings maintain the lead and hold off the young Spurs without Wemby?

In the fourth quarter, the Kings and Spurs found themselves in a dogfight! The Spurs were up late in the quarter as Fox fouled out. The Kings and Spurs would go back to back until Sabonis got a steal and a dunk to put the Kings up 131-129 with 7.7 seconds in the game. That bucket would seal the deal.

The Spurs missed two shots in the final possession to lose the game 131-129. The Kings were outscored by the Spurs in the final quarter 34-31, but it was to no avail. It was a big win for the Kings, even if it came in ugly fashion.

Up Next: The Kings will stay home to take on the Houston Rockets on Sunday at 3 PM PST inside Golden One Center

Cal Bears report: Bears destroyed by hated rivals in final Pac-12 Regular Season game 80-58

Cal Bears head coach Mark Malone gives instructions to his players against the Stanford Cardinal at Maple Pavilion in the final Pac 12 regular season game on Thu Mar 7, 2024 (Cal Bears photo)

Thursday, March 7, 2024

Maples Pavilion, Stanford, California

California Golden Bears 58 (13-18 Overall; 8-12 Pac-12)

Stanford Cardinal 80 (13-17 Overall; 9-9 Pac-12)

By Stephen Ruderman

The Bears were slaughtered by their hated rivals, the Stanford Cardinal, 80-58 to close out the regular season in what has been an improbable season for the Bears.

The Bears came in having lost their first two games on this season-closing roadtrip. First, to the Colorado Buffaloes on Feb. 29 in Boulder, and then to the Utah Utes in Salt Lake City Saturday. The Bears were unable to have a winning season just a year after going 3-29, but they still had a chance to finish not too far under .500.

The Bears would close out their season against their hated rivals, who beat them at Haas Pavilion on Jan. 26. Now, the Bears were in enemy territory at Stanford.

Cal won the opening tip, and even though Jalen Cone missed a three, Fardaws Aimaq laid one in to put the Bears on the board first. The teams traded leads in the early minutes, as Aimaq hit a jumper, and Jaylon Tyson hit a three to put the Bears up 7-5.

Brandon Angel hit a three to give Stanford the lead, and then he hit a jumper, as well as one from the line after he was fouled on the play. Spencer Jones then hit a three to extend the Cardinal’s lead to 14-7.

Aimaq was fouled and hit one of two from the line, and Cone hit a jumper to make it 14-12. However, after the teams traded jumpers to make it 16-14, Stanford took complete control.

The Cardinal had a 30-16 lead with 7:33 to go in the first half, but the Bears kept pace, and they cut the deficit to 38-32. Kanaan Carlyle hit a three for Stanford, and they went into the half up 41-32.

Throughout this painful season, a large deficit going into the second half a lot of times meant that the Bears were going to come back. That wasn’t the case on Saturday in Utah, and it wouldn’t be the case tonight either. Stanford took complete control, and won it by a final of 80-58.

Perhaps, after a spirited comeback season of so many epic come-from-behind wins, the Bears just ran out of energy. Fardaws Aimaq scored 18 points, and Jaylon Tyson scored 15, but the rest of the team struggled. Jalen Cone particularly struggled, as he was 2-for-13 in field goals, and scored just five points.

The Bears, who end up going 13-18 in this bounceback season, and 9-11 in their final season of Pac-12 play.

It would have been a remarkable story if the Bears had a winning season, and had a chance to get into March Madness just a year removed from going 3-29, but the fact that they were just three wins shy of having a winning season was something that truly made this a special season for the team.

The season is not over yet. The final Pac-12 Tournament will get underway on March 13, and last four days through March 16. Since their record was not enough to get into March Madness, the Bears would have to win four games in a row and win the tournament to be able to get in. The odds are stacked against them, but in a season of so many unbelievable comebacks, stories and surprises, perhaps the Bears could have one more in them.

Stanford Cardinal game wrap: Cardinal Win Final PAC-12 Battle of the Bay versus the Golden Bears, 80-58, inside Maples Pavilion, on Senior Night

The Stanford Cardinal bench stood up thrilled to end the season with a win over the Cal Bears at Maple Pavilion in Palo Alto in the last Pac 12 regular season game in league history (Stanford Cardinal

By Michael Roberson

STANFORD, Calif. — The Stanford Cardinal (13-17, 8-12 Pac-12)sent the California Golden Bears (13-18, 9-11 Pac-12) into Hibernation on the Farm, 80-58, in their last Bay Battle as members of the Pacific 12 Conference.

California got the party started, with an opening layup. The two point advantage would be their largest lead of the first 20 minutes of play, despite having a 5-0 run during this timeframe. There were also 5 lead changes.

Stanford, on the other hand, led by as much as 14 points. This included a 9-0 run and making 7 threes in the first half. The Cardinal shot 48% from the field, and a whopping 47% from beyond the arc.

The Golden Bears did claw their way back into the game, by cutting the deficit to six points, with 14 seconds before recess. However, freshman Kanaan Carlyle put a dagger into the visitors’ momentum, with a three-pointer 10 seconds later. This put the Cardinal up by nine, and was the margin at intermission, 41-32.

Stanford only had one double-digit scorer at the half, and he was junior Maxime Raynaud, with 13 points and 5 rebounds. Cal’s junior guard Jaylon Tyson contributed 15 points for his east Bay squad.

Senior forward Spencer Jones’ 8 first half points put him into the Cardinal hoopers’ Top 10. He added two rebounds, two assists and a steal.

The second half began with the Cardinal getting on the scoreboard first. They also led by as much as 24 points and had a 10-0 run. Stanford was in total control of the second 20-minute block.

The Cardinal added three other players to the double-digit plateau. Maxime Raynaud tallied 20 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists. Kanaan Carlyle added 12 points on four 3s. Freshman Andrej Stojakovic scored 10 points and grabbed 8 rebounds. Senior Spencer Jones also garnered 10 points, with 4 rebounds in his last game at Maples. Senior James Keefe was able to get into the scoring column, despite his troubling 0-4 from the free throw line.

California added one other player to the tens column. Tyson only improved total by two (17) and graduate senior Fardaws Aimaq offered 18 points and 9 rebounds.

After 40 minutes of basketball action, the home team won by 22 points. Stanford 80, California 58, on a late Thursday night game.

Both teams will next be in action March 13-17 in Las Vegas (T-Mobile Arena) for the Last PAC-12 Conference tournament. This rivalry will continue in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) starting next season.

Sharks give up four in the second fall to the Islanders 7-2

Photo courtesy of San Jose Sharks.

By Titus Wilkinson (@TitusWisme)

SAN JOSE- The Sharks played their second of a three game home stand against an Eastern Conference foe in the New York Islanders.

Before talking about the game there was some big moves made by the Sharks before this game began.

The first and most obvious being the Anthony Duclair trade as he was shipped off to Tampa Bay along with a seventh in exchange for a third rounder and defenseman Jack Thompson.

Before the deal was done Thomas Bordeleau was also called up and played his first NHL game since being sent down on 10/29. He’d play alongside Mikael Granlund and Fabian Zetterlund on the first line.

Now on to the starting lineup as Magnus Chrona was getting the start in between the pipes for San Jose. Chrona is coming off of an outstanding performance against the Dallas Stars on March 2nd when he made 36 saves in a 3-2 shootout loss.

On the other side was Ilya Sorokin who heading into this one had a 21-13-11 record with a 3.03 GAA and .910 SV%.

This game did have some historical importance to it as this was the 25,000th regular season game the Sharks have played all time.

The Sharks got off to a rough start in this one as less than twenty seconds in Noah Dobson scored on a flukey bounce out front. The goal which was Dobson’s eighth of the season and was assisted by Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Anders Lee.

The terrible start did not seem to deter the Sharks too much as not long after Luke Kunin got a breakaway but rang one off the crossbar.

There wouldn’t be another goal until late in the period when Alexander Romanov absolutely tee’d into a pass from Bo Horvat blasting one past Chrona and making it 2-0.

In the middle frame the first power play of the game was doled out to the Sharks as Horvat took a hooking penalty. On the power play William Eklund threw the puck on goal and it deflected in off of who else but Bordeleau as he scored his second of the season.

After the goal both teams played a relatively normal chunk of hockey as the Sharks looked to tie the game.

Through the quietness though a three-goal outburst came out of nowhere in less than a minute. It started off with Horvat getting his revenge as he walked right out to the slot and ripped one past Chrona making it 3-1. Mike Hoffman then tucked home a pass from Givani Smith off the rush making it a one goal game once again. Finally Kyle MacLean corralled a rebound in front of the Sharks goal and banked it in off of Chrona getting their lead right back.

The Islanders did not take their foot off the gas as Matthew Barzal scored on a terrible turnover by Henry Thrun as he attempted to clear the puck out of the zone.

Then the wheels really fell off as Sebastian Aho scored off a beautiful cross-ice feed from Horvat making it 6-2.

The Islanders only continued to put the game away in the final frame as Anders Lee scored on a double-minor penalty taken by Filip Zadina.

That goal ended up being the last one of the game as the Sharks would lose 7-2.

The shots in this one favored the Islanders 33-25 while the Sharks went 1/1 on the power play and New York 1/2.

The three stars of the game were: 1st: Bo Horvat 2nd: Brock Nelson 3rd: Noah Dobson

San Jose will look to rebound in the final game of this home stand when they take on one of the bottom-feeders in the East the Ottawa Senators. That game will be on Saturday at an earlier start time of 4 p.m.

San Jose Sharks podcast with Titus Wilkinson: Duclair dealt to Tampa Bay for Jack Thompson and 2024 3rd round selection

Former San Jose Shark forward Anthony Duclair was dealt to the Tampa Bay Lightning as announced by the Sharks before Thu Mar 7, 2024’s game between the New York Islanders and San Jose Sharks at SAP Center in San Jose (photo from the Tampa Bay Lighting)

On the SJ Sharks podcast with Titus Wilkinson:

#1 The San Jose Sharks (15-39-7) traded away forward Anthony Duclair who had been on the trade block for awhile to the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Sharks also sent a seventh round draft pick in the 2025 NHL draft for defenseman Jack Thompson and the Lightning’s third round selection in the 2024 NHL draft. What mostly led to Duclair’s being traded?

#2 Duclair 28, played in 56 games for the Sharks this campaign scoring 16 goals, five power play goals, totaling 27 points. Duclair who was an asset for the Sharks scored his 15th plus goals per season for the fifth time in his career.

#3 Rough going in the Sharks last game against the Dallas Stars Tuesday against the San Jose Sharks unfolded San Jose with three unanswered goals in the third period erasing San Jose’s lead and defeating San Jose 7-6 at SAP Arena in San Jose.

#4 The Star Wyatt Johnston scored his first career hat trick which was one of the factors for the Stars win and the Sharks just had a hard time shutting the Stars down.

#5The Stars Roope Hintz scored the overtime goal to put the final touches on the contest. Hintz had been playing mostly in the offensive zone through out the game and ended up taking a pass from Logan Stankoven in the slot and got the shot past Sharks goaltender Kaapo Kahkonen for the game winner.

#6 The Sharks battle the New York Islanders (27-20-14) tonight here at SAP Center. The Islanders are fourth the Metropolitan Division having a 5-3-2 record in their last ten games and they have won four game in a row coming into tonight.

Titus Wilkinson is a San Jose Sharks beat writer for http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Oakland A’s podcast with Jerry Feitelberg: Is the Halo Stadium rendering better than the Sydney Opera House rendering?

Who did have the better rendering the A’s “Halo” model or the “Sydney Opera House” model? Either way the A’s seemed determined more than ever to get started on the project. (renderings from the Oakland A’s)

On the A’s podcast with Jerry F:

#1 How surprised were you when you first saw the A’s renderings for their Tropicana ballpark in Las Vegas?

#2 Some have said the first rendering makes more sense than the second rendering a look a like to the Sydney Opera House.

#3 Still whatever design the A’s decide on the question is still being asked how John Fisher A’s owner is going to pay for his share of the construction costs.

#4 The Tropicana is going to implode the towers at the hotel and casino next month as they will stop taking reservations in early April. If this Fisher continues to struggle finding the money to pay for his half of the construction costs and work had already begun on the Tropicana what will the Tropicana do and will Fisher have no choice but to go back to Oakland?

#5 Jerry, with the new renderings out how much momentum does this give Schools over Stadiums in terms of their argument to stop public funding for the ballpark due to Nevada is 48th in the country on getting state funds for education, Nevada has the largest class size in the nation, the highest rate of educator vacancy in the USA.

Join Jerry for the A’s podcasts Thursdays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

NHL podcast with Len Shapiro: Stars look for big things from Tanev; Draisaitl scores two goals to beat Bruins; plus more news

The Edmonton Oilers center Leon Draisaitl (29) scores on the Boston Bruins goaltender Luis Ullmark (top) in the overtime stanza at TD Garden in Boston on Tue Mar 5, 2024 (AP News photo)

On the NHL podcast with Len Shapiro:

#1 Len you saw the Dallas Stars on Tuesday night and they sure got a bang for their buck in acquiring defenseman Chris Tanev from the Calgary Flames on Feb 28th.

#2 Len their loving Leon Draisaitl in Edmonton as Draisaitl sccored an overtime goal that won it for the Oilers at 2:18 and help hand the Oilers their fifth consecutive win. It was Draisaitl’s second goal of the game a in 2-1 win over the Boston Bruins on Tuesday night.

#3 The Philadelphia Flyers call their star defenseman Nick Seeler their “Glue Guy.” Seeler sealed the deal with a four year $10.8 million contract today with an annual payment of $2.7 million. Seeler has a plus 15 and has played on average 16:58 seconds a career high for Seeler who has 184 NHL leading blocked shots. Seeler is in the final year of his contract three conntract with the Flyers.

#4 The Chicago Blackhawks worked hard last Tuesday night to snap their 22 game road losing streak scoring four power play goals beating the Arizona Coyotes 5-2 at Mullet Arena in Tempe.

#5 Talk about the Dallas Stars on Tuesday night coming back from three goals down to beat the San Jose Sharks at SAP Center in San Jose 7-6. This was the second game that the Stars had defeated the Sharks by one goal 3-2 in Dallas on Sat Mar 2.

Join Len Shapiro for the NHL podcasts Thursdays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Despite Slow Start, Sacramento Takes Care of Business in Los Angeles 130-120

Los Angeles Lakers forward Anthony Davis (3) defends and the Sacramento Kings guard De’Aaron Fox (5) tries to get the shot in first half action at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on Wed Mar 6, 2024 (AP News photo)

By Barbara Mason

The Sacramento Kings (35-26) had a horrible start in the first quarter of their game against the Los Angeles Lakers (34-30). It was like night and day between the opening quarter and the second quarter. Sacramento won the second quarter 44-20 and they kept their foot on the pedal for the rest of the game. The Lakers challenged at times but the Kings held on for the 130-120 win at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.

Game recap: Wednesday night the Kings take on the Lakers in Los Angeles looking to get back on track. The Kings are currently in seventh place in the Western Conference while the Lakers are in ninth place with only a game and a half separating the two teams.

Both will be playing for the win trying to avoid the dreaded play-in game. Sacramento needs to get a strong start, and most of all they need to finish strong and keep an eye on those turnovers.

They had 18 turnovers in the Chicago game. The Kings will be playing with a full roster while the Lakers will be missing at least three players with Cabe Vincent, Jarred Vanderbilt and Christian Wood out with injury.

There is also an outside possibility that LeBron James and Anthony Davis may not play now being listed as questionable. The Kings are 2-0 against the Lakers this season. This game carries major importance for both teams and it will no doubt prove to be a battle.

The Kings did not get the start they wanted with three turnovers, one unforced, in the early minutes of the first quarter. It was an ugly start for Sacramento. They looked to be completely out of sync and needed to generate some second chance shots as well as more efficient offense.

The Lakers continued to cruise leading 30-13 with four minutes left in the opening quarter. The Kings had fouled six times, the Lakers had a single foul and the Kings had ground to make up going into the second quarter trailing 28-37. The Kings did close the quarter with a 10-0 run after trailing by 19 points and Sacramento was starting to come around.

The Kings turned up the pace to start the second quarter cutting the Laker’s lead to six points 40-34. Malik Monk entered the game bringing his trademark energy as this game began to turn in favor of Sacramento.

With six minutes left in the half, the Kings had tied up this game at 48 and seconds later taken the lead 50-48. Monk was making incredible decisions shooting for 17 points in 13 minutes and Sacramento had it all going on.

Monk had really spear-headed this King’s comeback. With less than two minutes left in the second quarter the Kings had taken a 64-51 lead in this turnaround. Sacramento had sucked the energy out of Crypto.com Arena. At the half the Kings had taken a 72-57 lead. They had a 44 point quarter and won the second quarter by a landslide 44-20.

De’Aaron Fox finished the first half with 20 points closely followed by Malik Monk with 19. The Kings had really turned the triples around hitting 10 of 20. Davion Mitchell was a perfect 4 of 4 from downtown. Sacramento would need more of this intensity in the second half.

The Lakers put together a 9-2 run to win the third quarter 35-32. The Kings lead had been cut but every time the Lakers challenged, the Kings answered continuing to maintain a double digit lead going into the fourth quarter. Sacramento needed to hang onto the lead, they needed to finish this game. With only a 12 point lead, the Lakers were within striking distance.

Los Angeles continued to push and the Kings pushed right back taking a 21 point lead 118-97 four minutes into the fourth quarters. The Laker’s continued to hang around cutting the King’s lead to 12 points 120-108 with under five minutes left in the game.

With under three minutes left on the clock this game became clutch; Sacramento had to finish this game. The Kings refused to let this game go winning 130-120.

This was the third straight win over the Lakers for the Kings this season. Fox had the high for the game with 44 points. Off the bench, Monk really got this game going in favor of Sacramento in the second quarter finishing with 26 points.

There was another triple double for Domantas Sabonis with 20 rebounds, 12 assists and 16 points. This guy never ceases to amaze. After the slow start, the Kings started to play lights out basketball and hung on for the win.

Every starter for the Lakers had double digits but they could not match the play of the Kings tonight.

Post game notes: There is so much going for the Kings right now. Sabonis leads the league in rebounding, double-doubles and triple-doubles. He has 43 consecutive double doubles right now. The Kings have an ace on the bench who just may be the leading candidate for sixth man this season in Monk.

Of course the Kings also have clutch player in Fox who is supported by the above mentioned along with Keegan Murray, Harrison Barnes and Kevin Huerter. With so much talent their win/loss pattern is sometimes confusing. Last Friday Sacramento beat the first place Minnesota Timberwolves 124-120. They went on to lose to the Chicago Bulls after leading for all but the final minute of play. The team managed to turn the ball over three times in the final 1 1/2 minutes missing critical baskets. They couldn’t close out this game.

As the season begins to wind down every game is critical. Thursday night, the Kings take on the San Antonio Spurs at Golden 1 Center. The Spurs have struggled all season holding down last place in the West. San Antonio comes into this game looking to play spoiler and Sacramento needs to respond. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:00 PM.

San Jose State Loses Final Game To Utah State 90-70

The San Jose State Spartans guard Latrell Davis (6) and forward Tibet Gorener (5) battle Utah State Aggies forward Great Osobor (1) at Provident Credit Union Event Center in San Jose on Wed Mar 6, 2024 (AP News photo)

Wednesday, March 6th, 2024

By Troy Ewers 

San Jose, CA – In the final home game of the season, the San Jose State Spartans host Utah State. Last game Alvaro Cardenas scored 17 points to lead San José State (9-21, 2-15 Mountain West) in a 68-50 loss at UNLV (18-10, 11-5 Mountain West) on Saturday night. • Cardenas shot an efficient 6-for-9 from the field and 3-for-4 from 3-point range. On Wednesday night San Jose State lost their last game of the season by 20 points to end the season 90-70 to Utah State.

The first half for the Spartans was a fast paced half, but not with the results SJSU was hoping for. Missed shots and turnovers created a gap between Utah State and SJSU where the Spartans were further and further away from the lead.

A lack of offensive boards didn’t help the fact that the Spartans were missing shots. Only 4 offensive boards in the half. MJ Amey Jr. was taking over on offense for SJSU with 15 points in the first, but the lead was still significant for Utah State. Mason Falslev of Utah State hit a 3 pointer to end the half with a statement as they led the Spartans 53-37 at halftime. 

Hot start for Utah State and they didn’t let up the whole half. Darius Brown II had 21 points and 9 assists and Falslev had 20 points (8-11 FG, 2-3 3pt) which led Utah State in a big lead.

Falslev, despite a great game went down with two minutes left in the game with what appeared to be an ankle injury. For SJSU Amey Jr. led the Spartans with 20 points, but it was nowhere enough as they clocked in a 90-70 loss in their final regular season game.