Author: Sports Radio Service

Golden State Warriors podcast with Barbara Mason: Curry hurting can only score 4 points against Celtics

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The Boston Celtics guard Jaylon Brown (7) is excited about scoring against Trayce Jackson Davis (32) and the Golden State Warriors in second half action at TD Garden in Boston on Sun Mar 3, 2024 (AP News photo)

On the Golden State Warriors podcast with Barbara Mason:

#1 The Golden State Warriors have been on a roll now with a 32-28 record and faced a major challenge Sunday afternoon against the Boston Celtics a game televised on national TV. The Warriors had a 3-1 road trip record on this short road trip.

#2 A physically struggling Stephen Curry who was questionable prior to this game was able to take the court. He struggled as did the entire team for the entire first half.

Head Coach Steve Kerr had been noticing a tired Curry

#3 The stars of this game were Jaylen Brown and Jason Tatum who tore up the court in the first half. Starters on both teams sat out the second half in this demolition.

#4 This was a great opportunity for both benches to get some invaluable experience as this game became a bench game for the two remaining quarters of the second half. This game was a done deal at halftime.

#5 The Warriors thankfully back at home will take on the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday. They really need a break right now after this game and so a few days off will be appreciated. The Bucks are another hot team in second place in the Eastern Conference.

Barbara Mason does the Golden State Warriors podcasts each Monday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Colorado holds off late Cardinal rally, wins 81-71

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Colorado Buffaloes guard KJ Simpson (left) blows past Stanford Cardinal guard Kanaan Carlyle (3) at CU Events Center in Boulder Col on Sun Mar 3, 2024 (AP News photo)

By Daniel Dullum

Sunday, March 3, 2024

Stanford’s final Pac-12 men’s basketball road game ended in Boulder, Colo., with an 81-71 defeat at the hands of Colorado Sunday at the CU Events Center.

Colorado (20-9 overall, 11-7 Pac-12) was led by Tristan da Silva with a game-high 27 points on 11 of 18 shooting, including five 3-pointers. KJ Simpson also drained five 3s and finished with 22 points. J’Vonne Hadley scored 15 points for the Buffs, followed by Eddie Lampkin with 10.

DaSilva also grabbed 11 of Colorado’s 38 rebounds, and Simpson collected seven assists.

The Cardinal (12-17 overall, 7-12 Pac-12) received a 26-point effort from Maxime Raynard, who made 10 of 13 field goal attempts including two 3-pointers. The Paris, France, native registered his 11th double-double by pulling down 12 rebounds and equaling his season-best three blocks.

Michael Jones was next for Stanford with 13 points, followed by Kanaan Carlyle with 12 points and Brandon Angel had 10 points.

There were seven lead changes in the first half, with Stanford leading by as many as five points. Raynaud, Angel and Jones led a 12-3 run that put the Cardinal up 24-19. The Buffaloes responded with a 17-3 run, and though Stanford scored seven of the last nine points in the first half, CU led 44-37 at the break.

Raynaud scored 13 of his points in the second half, and Stanford whittled away at the Colorado lead. The Cardinal used a 13-3 run to close the second half, but the Buffaloes held on for the win,

Stanford returns to Maples Pavilion Thursday for its final regular season home game against California. Tipoff is scheduled for 8 p.m.

Sharks Fall 4-3 to Wild, Kaprizov Hat Trick

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The Minnesota Wild’s left wing Kirill Kapizov (97) gets control of the puck against the San Jose Sharks defenseman Jan Rutta (84) in first period action at the Target Center in St Paul MN on Sun Mar 3, 2024 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks fell 4-3 to the Minnesota Wild on Sunday. Frederick Gaudreau and Kirill Kaprizov scored for the Wild, with Kaprizov earning a hat trick. Filip Gustavsson made 12 saves for the win. Mikael Granlund, Nico Sturm and Anthony Duclair scored for the Sharks.

Kaapo Kahkonen made 28 saves in the loss. This was the Sharks’ first game with three unassisted goals since 2000. It was also their seventh loss in a row.

After the game, Sharks forward Nico Sturm talked about the challenge of playing back to back games. In this case, the team had travel and less than 24 hours between games. Sturm said: “I thought for the most part we played well today because we managed the game cause we knew we weren’t at our best energy-wise today.”

He acknowledged that they took too many penalties and were not as sharp as they could have been, but said: “It’s frustrating because I thought this was an extremely good road trip by our team and, the way we played the last two games, I’m proud of the boys with the adversity that we faced and how we showed up.”

Sharks Head Coach David Quinn had a similar take on the game:

“Well, when you don’t have it, you gotta find a way to hang around. I thought that’s what we did. We hung around, we battled. I thought our third period was probably our best period of the night. I thought we kind of got ourselves together, spent a little bit more time in the o-zone.”

Quinn recognized that one player stood out on Sunday: “They got Kaprizov and we don’t. I mean that really was the difference in the game tonight. He scores goals that a lot of guys can’t score in this league.”

In a scoreless first period, the Sharks were outshot 11-3 and had one penalty to kill. The second period saw more success for both teams. The Sharks scored first, 1:41 into the period. Mikael Granlund scored a power play goal with a wrist shot from the outside of the faceoff circle.

Nico Sturm made it 2-0 with a short handed goal at 4:56. Picking up a missed pass along the boards in the defensive zone, Sturm went the other way two-on-one with Ryan Carpenter before taking the shot.

The Wild cut the lead to 2-1 at 5:46 with a power play goal. Declan Chisolm had the puck but lost it above the faceoff circle. He had to scramble to get it back and passed it to Frederick Gaudreau. Gaudreau took a quick shot into traffic for his fourth of the season. Assists went to Chisolm and Jonas Brodin.

Kirill Kaprizov tied the game at 7:01. Mason Shaw made a pass from low in the defensive zone to the sharks’ blue line, where Kaprizov was waiting. Kaprizov was able to skate in unopposed and beat Kahkonen with a snap shot. An assist went to Shaw.

The Sharks took a 3-2 lead 23 seconds into the third period. Anthony Duclair intercepted a pass along the Sharks blue line and took the puck the other way to score his 14th of the season with a wrist shot.

Kirill Kaprizov scored his second of the night at 2:38. Matt Boldy got control of the puck after the Sharks lost it in their zone. Boldy made a long pass from low in the faceoff circle to Kaprizov in the slot. Kaprizov did not hesitate and sent the puck at the net before Kahkonen could get across.

Kaprizov completed his hat trick to give the Wild the lead at 15:59. After the puck emerged from a scramble in front of the net, Kaprizov had it in the clear and had some traffic to screen Kahkonen. Joel Eriksson Ek and Matt Boldy got the assists.

The Sharks ended the game with a power play but could not tie it up again. The Wild outshot the Sharks 32-15 in the game. The faceoff circle was kinder to the Sharks than on Saturday, with the Sharks winning 44.2% of the draws.

The Sharks next play on Tuesday back in San Jose at 7:30 PM PT against the visiting Dallas Stars.

Warriors Buried By Celtics 140-88

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Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0) takes a fade away shot against the Golden State Warriors guard Lester Quinones (25) at TD Garden in Boston on Sun Mar 2, 2024 (AP News photo)

By Barbara Mason

This a game the likes of which we decline to witness again this season. It was a massacre and that is putting it mildly. The second half was a bench game for both teams the Golden State Warriors (32-28) and the Boston Celtics (48-12) at TD Garden in Boston. Trailing by as much as 56 points in the fourth quarter this is a game that the team needs to put in their rearview. The final was an inconceivable 140-88 crushing of Golden State.

Game recap: The two teams traded baskets in the early going of the first quarter. Mid-way through the quarter the game was tied at 21. It all changed for the Warriors for the remainder of the first quarter.

The Celtics came unleashed and at the end of the first 12 minutes had gone on a 21-3 run and this game had taken a huge turn in favor of Boston. Stephen Curry who was able to start in the game came away empty in the opening quarter.

Boston took a 44-22 lead into the second quarter. Jaylen Brown erupted in the first quarter hitting three consecutive 3s to close out a great start for the Celtics. He scored 19 points in the opening quarter.

The second quarter was a rough one for the Warriors as Boston continued extend their lead. The Warriors were doing a poor job handling the pressure, the offense from outside and ball control committing eight turnovers while the Celtics had a single turnovers.

The Warriors were shooting at 33% while the red-hot Celtics were solid with 62%. This was as close to a perfect first half that Boston has possibly seen this season. At the half the Celtics had punished Golden State in every possible way; offensively, especially from downtown, as well as defensively.

After the first two quarters, Boston led by an astonishing score of 82-38 and if one is doing the math that is 44 points. This was a season high for Boston in Celtic history in the first half of any game.

Not a single Warrior had double digits in the first half. Curry only had four points for the quarter and the high for Golden State was Moses Moody with nine points. Boston won the second quarter 38-16.

The Celtics finished the half with 15 shots from outside to the Warriors 3. Jaylen Brown had the high for Boston with 25 points followed by Jason Tatum with 22. This was so far a good-old fashioned spanking that would be near to impossible to overcome and to compound it all it was happening on national TV.

Klay Thompson did not return for the remainder of the game with left hamstring tightness. it was a nightmare that continued into the third quarter. At 9:00 in the third quarter Boston took a 51 point lead 95-44.

Most of the Golden State starters did not take the court to start the quarter and it eventually became a bench game for both teams. Younger players on both benches were getting some invaluable experience at the expense of the Warriors.

Curry had four points, obviously not even close to 100% and Thompson had six points. Thankfully this is only one game and all eyes will be watching their Wednesday matchup against the Milwaukee Bucks and how they bounce back. Boston finished the third quarter leading 115-62.

The Warriors did win the fourth quarter 26-25 probably the only bright spot in this game. The final was 140-88. Lester Quinones had the high for Golden State with 17. The Warriors did not get their three’s going from the start and finished with seven to the Celtics 25.

Post game notes: Sunday afternoon the Warriors faced the ultimate challenge taking on the first place Eastern Conference Celtics at TD Garden. The Warriors came into this game off a win over the Toronto Raptors 120-105 Friday night. The Celtics beat the Dallas Mavericks soundly despite a triple-double from Lucas Doncic 138-110.

Curry was questionable with right knee bursitis but did play and he had to be aggravated by his pain as he scored only four points. The Warriors would really needed him in this game and they needed him as healthy as possible. The Celtics are on a role and between Jaylen Brown and Jason Tatum Golden State was challenged defensively.

Thankfully the Warriors travel home on what, more than likely, will be an extremely quiet flight. They have a few days off to digest this game and put it behind them as they prepare to take on the Milwaukee Bucks who are currently tied for second place in the Easter Conference, nine games behind the Celtics. They will not be a pushover in another battle between the east and the west. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:00 PM PT Wednesday night.

Headline Sports podcast with Charlie O: How Giants Chapman’s bat will help; Braves Acuna Jr. out for opening day with irritated meniscus; plus more

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Atlanta Braves Ronald Acuna Jr will miss opening day due to an irritated meniscus. (AP News file photo)

On Headline Sports podcast with Charlie O:

#1 Charlie, how much do the Giants improve after signing third baseman Matt Chapman to a three year $54 million deal. They’ll certainly depend on his bat.

#2 The Atlanta Braves Ronald Acuna is suffering from an irritated meniscus. It’s not so bad where he will miss opening day. Talk about how important Acuna’s bat is for the Braves.

#3 Boston Red Sox second baseman Vaughn Grissom is not expected to be in the opening day line up. Grissom was taking ground balls a week before spring training games started but injured his groin and now is being observed and Sox manager Alex Cora didn’t have a time when Grissom would be back.

#4 Toronto Blue Jays designated hitter Daniel Voglebach rubbed it in a bit hitting a two run homer off New York Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole in the first inning. Voglebach after hitting the ball flipped his bat and slowly ran the bases. Cole said after the game “I don’t forget a lot of things.”

#5 Oakland A’s team president David Kaval said he will be unveiling the artist renderings for the A’s new ballpark in Las Vegas at the Tropicana. The plan is to level the Tropicana and redo the 35 acre block at Tropicana and Las Vegas Blvd. The other item everyone involved is waiting for is if John Fisher can come up with the financing of his share of the ballpark.

Join Charlie O for Headlines podcasts Fridays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Galaxy counter attack takes down Earthquakes 3-1 in home opener

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Los Angeles Galaxy forwards Riqui Puig (#10) and Dejan Joveljic (#9) celebrate a goal scored by Puig as San Jose Earthquakes fullback Tanner Beason (#15) watches on during a 3-1 win at Pay Pal Park on Saturday MAR 2, 2024. (Los Angeles Galaxy)

by Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE — The Los Angeles Galaxy scored three unanswered goals in a dominate 3-1 victory over the San Jose Earthquakes in the 99th installment of the California Classico on Saturday evening in front of a sold-out crowd at Pay Pal Park.

San Jose has started the season losing their first two matches and have lost their home opener in two of the last three seasons. Los Angeles earned their first win of the season after a 1-1 draw against Leo Messi and Inter Miami last week in its season opener.

Los Angeles (1-0-1) drew first blood in the 18th minute. Mark Delgado centered the ball from the right wing over to Joseph Paintsil who beat ‘Quakes goalie Daniel with a left footed shot for his first goal of the season.

“It’s a derby, and we didn’t play with enough pride, physicality, or energy,” said ‘Quakes head coach Luchi Gonzalez regarding his team’s disappointing performance. “We are just really disappointed. If you don’t focus on the future, you can’t control the past, which is about how people respond. I do believe in our group.”

The Galaxy doubled its lead just before halftime. This time it was Paintsil leading the counterattack. Paintsil centered the ball over to Dejan Joveljic who chipped in the ball into an empty net for his team leading second goal of the season in the 43rd minute.

The Galaxy carried the momentum the established in the first half immediately to start the second half. Diego Fagundez led a counterattack down the right sideline. Fagundez found Joveljic inside the box and the Bosnian attacker crossed the ball back into the middle where Riqui Puig blasted the ball into an empty net for his first goal of the season and LA’s third unanswered in the 48th minute.

“It wasn’t our night. We had the opportunity to get the next goal. Giving up that (third) goal was a killer. Sometimes you can regroup; we didn’t execute,” Gonzalez said.

Defenseman Bruno Wilson made his ‘Quakes debut as substitute in the 55th minute. Preston Judd also came off the bench in the 55th minute marking his second appearance in a ‘Quakes kit.

San Jose (0-2) finally broke through on the scoreboard in the 70th minute. Cristian Espinoza centered the ball into the middle of the box. The ball bounced off Martin Caceres up into the air where Judd beat Galaxy goalkeeper John McCarthy with a right footed shot for his first goal in a Quakes uniform against his former team.

“It was right place, right time. I was there to finish it in. As a forward my job is to try to score goals and at that point, I just needed to bring energy out there on the field. Any bit of energy helps team morale. … I’m looking forward to playing this system and moving forward. I’m looking forward to the next Clásico. There’s a lot of history in these and hopefully next time I get the game-winning goal instead of the consolation goal,” Judd said.

GAME NOTES: San Jose finished the match with 10 corner kicks. Los Angeles had two.

San Jose now holds a 28-38-17 all-time record against LA, including an 18-15-11 record at home.

The match was the first time San Jose had hosted Los Angeles in its home opener.

UP NEXT: San Jose hosts the Vancouver Whitecaps on Saturday 3/9 at 7:30pm at Pay Pal Park.

San Jose State Loses In Las Vegas Against UNLV 68-50

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The San Jose Spartans forward Tibet Gorener (12) studies the basket during a free throw against the UNLV Runnin Rebels at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas on Sat Mar 2, 2024 (San Jose Spartans photo)

Saturday, March 2nd, 2024

By Troy Ewers

The Runnin Rebels of UNLV host the San Jose State Spartans in the final away game of this regular season for the Spartans. Last game San Jose State lost to No. 20 San Diego State. – Myron (MJ) Amey Jr. produced a double-double of 17 points and 10 rebounds to lead San José State(9-20, 2-14 Mountain West) in a 72-64 loss at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas.  

A low scoring first half, neither team shooting more than 40% from the field. UNLV started the game with a 13-2 run eight minutes in and even though SJSU would bring it close at points in the half, the Spartans couldn’t string together a good enough run to take the lead. UNLV with the lead at halftime 33-18. 

Second half it was clear San Jose State couldn’t get a bucket at all. Shooting better than the first half, but not so much better as they only could generate 17-53 from the field. Neither team was hitting well from three, but UNLV shot well enough from the field to hold a commanding lead.

Spartans leading scorer Alvaro Cardenas delivered 17 points to try to get the Spartans to close the gap, but Runnin Rebels Dedan Thomas Jr. led UNLV in points with 18 points and it was a big part of UNLV’s lead here. The clock ran out and it was forsure over at this point as UNLV beat the Spartans 68-50. 

Next game for San Jose State is tier final game of the season in San Jose at the Provident Credit Union Event Center and it’s against Utah State, Wednesday night March 6th. 

Barracuda fall in shootout to Coachella Valley 3-2

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Photo courtesy of San Jose Barracuda. Danil Gushchin gets warmed up before a game (taken on 3/2/24).

By Titus Wilkinson (@TitusWisme)

SAN JOSE- Looking for redemption the Barracuda took on Coachella Valley in the second of back-to-backs this time at home.

The Barracuda were rocking a little bit of a different look tonight as they were sporting the Tigres Del Mar jerseys.

In goal for San Jose was Geogri Romanov who heading into this one he had a 6-8-5 record with a 3.42 GAA and .891 SV%. For Coachella Valley it was Ales Stezka in goal who was sporting a 12-5-1 record with a 2.60 GAA and .910 SV%.

Unlike the last time these two played each other San Jose was able to pull out front first with a goal from Scott Sabourin just 4:31 into the game. The goal was Sabourin’s 15th of the season with Nathan Todd getting the primary assist his 29th of the campaign.

San Jose would have an opportunity to extend the lead as Coachella Valley took a too many men penalty a few minutes later but were unable to convert.

Later in the period Coachella Valley had a chance of their own to tie the game as Artem Guryev took a holding penalty but the Barracuda would kill it off. Shockingly enough that penalty was the last one taken in the whole game.

The score remained 1-0 for a while until 14:35 into the second period when Jimmy Schuldt scored his fourth assisted by Barracuda killer Kole Lind.

Things continued to be tight as the tension ratcheted up in the third period with both teams throwing big hits. An injury would come though not on a big hit but rather on a dump in as Jacob MacDonald accidentally hit his teammate Jack Studnicka in the face with the puck. Thankfully Studnicka was able to get up but he was leaking quite a bit as he skated off the ice.

Then adding insult to injury the Firebirds scored on a rebound batted in by their captain Max McCormick. Right after the goal was scored the refs got togethor and after a brief discussion they waved it off deeming the goal to be batted in with a high-stick.

The tie was not preserved for much longer though as on a delayed penalty Coachella Valley scored on a one-time goal from Andrew Poturalski. The goal was his 12th of the season assisted by Cale Fleury and Gustav Olofsson.

The game looked bleak until Jordy Bellerive was able to find Brandon Coe springing the zone and he hit him with a breakaway pass. Coe would not miss as he made a beautiful move to the backhand and tucked the puck home tying the game back up at two.

The game remained tied and so free hockey was in store for the home crowd. Coachella Valley was able to generate some dangerous chances but as he had done all night Romanov stood tall making three saves.

With the score still tied it was time for a shootout with San Jose’s three shooters being Danil Gushchin, Ozzy Wiesblatt, and Brandon Coe. None of them were able to score but the Firebirds were able to get one from Devin Shore which was enough to secure the win.

With the loss San Jose now falls to 17-28-8 with Coachella Valley improving to 34-13-5.

Coachella Valley continues to be the bane of San Jose’s existence as the Firebirds are 13-1-0-0 when playing against them.

Of note was Romanov who played a stellar game making 47 saves and singlehandedly keeping San Jose in the game at points.

The three stars of the game were: 1st: Ales Stezka 2nd: Georgi Romanov 3rd: Devin Shore

San Jose will have a little bit of a break before playing the Stars on Friday on the road at 5 p.m.

Bears crushed by Utes in penultimate game 88-59

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Cal Bears as hard as they tried didn’t have enough offense against the Utah Utes at the Jon M Huntsman Arena in Salt Lake City on Sat Mar 2, 2024 (Cal Bears photo)

Saturday, March 2, 2024

Jon M. Huntsman Center, Boulder, Colorado

California Golden Bears 59 (13-17 Overall; 9-10 Pac-12)

Utah Utes 88 (18-11 Overall; 9-9 Pac-12)

By Stephen Ruderman

The Bears suffered a rare lopsided loss, as they were crushed, 88-59, by the Utah Utes in the penultimate game of the Regular Season.

Cal lost the opener of their season-ending road trip to the Colorado Buffaloes on Wednesday night to guarantee their seventh-straight losing season. However, their hopes for a winning record in Pac-12 play remained alive, as they came into Salt Lake City to take on the Utes.

The Utes struck first, but the Bears kept closely behind in the game’s early minutes. However, Utah seized control of the game early.

Jalen Cone, who led the Bears in scoring tonight with 19 points, hit a three-ball to close Utah’s lead to 23-18 with 9:48 to go in the first half. Just as they had done all season, the Bears fought and kept in the game, but the Utes’ offense proved to be too much, as Utah went into the half up 42-32.

The Bears were once again double double digits going into the second half, which so many times this season meant that they were going to come back.

Jaylon Tyson laid one in to start the second half, followed by a jumper from Branden Carlson of the Utes. Fardaws Aimaq then made a three to make it 44-37, and the Bears were indeed thinking that they were primed for another comeback.

Deivon Smith responded with a layup and a three to extend Utah’s lead to 49-37. The teams traded baskets, and the Utes led, 53-41 with less than 14 minutes to go. Carlson then hit a three to make it 56-41 with 13:06 to go, and from there, the Utes put the game away.

The Bears simply ran out of energy, and the Utes went on to win by a final of 88-59. What also didn’t help, was that Jaylon Tyson, who has carried the Bears for much of the season, was 2-for-11 in field goals, while scoring just seven points.

The Bears fall to 13-17, and 9-10 in conference play, guaranteeing that they won’t have a winning season in Pac-12 play either, which has further dashed Cal’s already-faint March Madness hopes.

Perhaps after a drama-filled bounceback season in which the Bears have had so many big come-from-behind wins, the energy and magic have simply run out.

The Bears will close out the Regular Season Thursday night, when they will head to Palo Alto to take on their archrivals, the Stanford Cardinal.

San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa: Sharks drop the puck with Stars in Dallas tonight

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San Jose Sharks left wing William Ecklund (72) goes for the congratulatory skating lap in front of the Sharks bench after scoring a second period goal against the Anaheim Ducks at SAP Center on Thu Feb 29, 2024 (AP News photo)

On the San Jose Sharks podcast with Lisa:

#1 The San Jose Sharks are on a five game skid. They lost their last game to the Anaheim Ducks on Thursday night 6-4 at SAP Center in San Jose.

#2 Without starting goaltender MacKenzie Blackwood Sharks back up goalie Kaapo Kahkonen was pelted with shots on goals all night long facing 29 and saving 24 in the 6-4 two goal loss to Anaheim.

#3 The Ducks Adam Hentrique had a goal and two assists and Frank Vatrano scored his 27th goal for a team both scored goals to help pace the Ducks.

#4 The Sharks Anthony DuClair scored twice for San Jose, Mike Hoffman and William Ecklund also contributed with a goal each for the Sharks.

#5 The Sharks are in Dallas to open a home at home series which starts Saturday night and picks up on Tuesday night in San Jose. The Stars are no joke one of the toughest teams in the NHL who are in first place in the NHL Central Division at 36-17-9. How much do the Sharks have their hands full starting tonight in Dallas?

Join Mary Lisa for the San Jose Sharks podcasts each Saturday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com