Author: Sports Radio Service

Final Pac-12 game in Berkeley ends with another epic Bears win 69-64

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Cal Bears Jaylon Tyson (20) goes for a layup against the Oregon Ducks at Haas Pavilion in Berkeley on Sat Feb 24, 2024 (Cal Bears photo)

Saturday, Feb. 24, 2024

Haas Pavilion, Berkeley, California

Oregon Ducks 64 (18-9 Overall; 10-6 Pac-12)

California Golden Bears 69 (13-15 Overall; 9-8 Pac-12)

By Stephen Ruderman

BERKELEY–The Bears ended their home season with a bang, and came back to beat the Oregon Ducks, 69-64.

Following another comeback win by Cal against the Oregon State Beavers on Thursday, The Bears welcomed in the Oregon Ducks for the final home game of the season, and most likely the final Pac-12 game at Haas Pavilion.

The Ducks won the opening tip, and burst out of the gate early, jumping out to a 6-0 lead. Jaylon Tyson hit a layup to put Cal on the board. Tyson hit a jumper, and Keonte Kenendy hit a three to put the Bears within one at 8-7.

This started a recurring theme throughout the first half. The Ducks would start to pad their lead, but the Bears came right back to tighten up.

The Ducks led 12-7, and the Bears closed it to 14-12. Jackson Shelstad hit all three from the line after being fouled trying to hit a three-ball to make it 17-12, and Tyson hit a three to make it 17-15.

The Ducks then got out to a 24-17 lead after a layup by Brennan Rigsby. Jalen Cone was then fouled, and hit both from the line to start an 8-1 drive for the Bears that saw them tie the game for the first time. Tyson was also fouled, and hit both from the line, and Fardaws Aimaq laid one in and jammed one down to tie it.

Oregon responded with six unanswered points. N’Faly Dante hit a layup, and Shelstad made a layup and a jumper to put the Ducks back ahead by six, 31-25. Jalen Celestine then of course hit a three and a layup to make it 31-30.

Jardian Tracey hit a three for the Ducks with 2:45 remaining to make it 34-30, but there would be no scoring the rest of the first half.

However, the first half ended pon a sour note for the Bears. Jaylon Tyson had to leave the game due to an injury that kept him rolling on the ground for several seconds. It took until the end of the next play on the other side of the court for the referees to call timeout, which angered the crowd, who repeatedly chanted “Refs, you suck!!!”

The theme of the Ducks pulling away but the Bears closing it up continued into the early minutes of the second half. A layup by Dante made it 39-34 Oregon, but Aimaq was fouled and hit two from the line, and Tyson, who had returned into the game, laid one in to make it 39-38.

Jermaine Couisnard and Rigsby hit threes to make it 44-38, but that was no problem for the Bears, especially Tyson and Jalen Cone. Tyson made a layup, and Cone hit a pair of threes to give Cal their first lead of the day. Tyson hit a jumper, and the Bears led it 48-44.

After two more layups by Tyson, the Bears led 56-48. However, the Ducks weren’t going to make it easy for the Bears. Cal maintained a steady lead, but a three from Tracey made it 60-57, and Couisnard made two from the line after getting fouled to make it a one-point game at 60-59 with 2:38 to go.

Cone hit a three; Couisnard hit one of two from the line after drawing a foul; and Aimaq laid it in, as the Bears led 65-60 with 52 seconds remaining. Tracey was fouled and hit two from the line, as was Tyson, who also hiit two from the line.

After a missed jumper by Couisnard and a missed three by Rigsby, Rigsby was fouled and made two from the line, but it would be far too late, and the Bears won it by a final of 69-64.

For the Bears, this is their third win in a row, and they are now over .500 in conference play, as they improve to 9-8. They also improve to 13-15 overall.

Jaylon Tyson had an incredible game. He suffered a scary-looking injury towards the end of the first half, but he returned early in the second half, and scored 27 points.

Most importantly, this was another big win for the Bears who have had quite a bounceback season following their 3-29 campaign. The Bears have also noticeably matured throughout the course of the season. This is a much more mature team than the team that barely eked out a win over the St. Thomas Tommies to open the season on Nov. 6.

The Bears suffered numerous painful losses early in the season, but they never gave up or gave in. They kept going, and matured into an exciting comeback team that gave the fans in Berkeley many epic comeback wins, as well as what we can actually say has been a special season.

Now, the Bears have three games remaining, all on the road. They will now head to Boulder, Colorado, where they will take on the Colorado Buffaloes Wednesday night. Tipoff will be at 5 p.m.

Cardinal (TREE) Chewed by Large Toothed Visiting Beavers, 85-73; Spencer Jones, All-Time 3-Point Leader (306); First road win for OSU

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Oregon State Beavers guard Jordan Pope (0) drives on the Stanford Cardinal forward Brandon Angel (23) in second half action at Maples Pavilion in Palo Alto on Sat Feb 24, 2024 (AP News photo)

By Michael Roberson

STANFORD, Calif. — Senior Spencer Jones is the team’s #1 three point shooter (306) in school history, as he and his Stanford Cardinal (13-14, 8-9 Pac-12) surprisingly fell to the industrious Oregon State Beavers (11-17, 3-14 Pac-12), 85-73, on a warm Saturday Afternoon on the Farm.

The visitors opened the scoring of the game with a Three on the Stanford bench’s side of the court. That 3-0 lead didn’t last too long, as the Cardinal went on a 9-0 run, to put them up by six. During that stint, Stanford hit three treys. Including two by Spencer Jones, which made him the All-Time leader beyond the Arc. Maxime Raynaud hit the third basket.

Jones passed former Cardinal great Chasson Randle with the 305th triple of his career. He added another (306) before recess, and had 11 points at the half. Raynaud added 19 to the Cardinal tally.

However, after the Stanford offensive run, the Beavers performed their own 13-0 run over a 7 1/2 minute timeframe to lead by seven (18-11). OSU led by as much as nine points, and made several more runs, when Stanford tried to tie the game and/or take the lead.

As the first half ended, the Beavers maintained a 6-point lead, 38-32. They were led in scoring by sophomore guard Jordan Pope (17). OSU also outrebounded the home team 22 to 9, and shot 52% from the field, compared to Stanford’s 41% floor shooting.

After intermission, Oregon State scored an immediate five in a row, taking a double-digit lead. They reached the height of 12 points multiple times, and had a 13-0 run in the second half. Despite those exhornant leads, Stanford continued to fight back.

The Cardinal committed a 14-point run on their behalf, not only tying the contest, but actually taking the lead on a Brandon Angel three, putting his squad up 50-47 (12:30) midway through the half. They would go back and forth over the next several minutes of play. At the tune of two lead changes and 3 ties. The first half was 2:2 for ties and lead changes.

With all the action going on inside Maples, the rebounding disparity (39/22) and missed free throws (8) eventually caught up with Stanford. The Beavers shot 53% overall for the game, while the Cardinal settled for 46%.

The Man of the Hour, Spencer Jones, had a troubling second half. He only added 2 points to his halftime total, and fouled out at the 4:25 mark of the game. He verbalized his disappointment of the loss, and will acknowledge the magnitude of his feat later on in the season.

At the final horn, the Beavers had caused major wood damage on the Palo Alto campus, upsetting the Cardinal by 12 points, 85-73.

Three players for Stanford reached the 10+ points plateau: Raynaud (29) & 8 rebounds, Brandon Angel (15) & 6 rebounds, and the aforementioned Spencer Jones (13).

OSU produced four ballers with double-digit scoring. Jordan Pope (30), Tyler Bilodeau (18), Michael Rataj (22) & 10 rebounds, and Dexter Akanno (11) & 7 rebounds.

The Cardinal will next be in action in Salt Lake City, as they take on the Utah Utes, Thursday, February 29 (Leap Day) at 5:30 PM MST on the Pac-12 Network. Oregon State returns to the Beaver State, but in Eugene to battle their fellow inhabitant Oregon Ducks, Wednesday, February 28 at 8 PM PDT.

Fans Fest at Jack London Square: Strong support from fans hoping for an A’s to stay in Oakland miracle

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Former Oakland A’s pitcher Grant Balfour is thumbs up on the Fans Fest celebrating Oakland Sports and hosted by the Oakland 68’s and the Last Dive Bar at Jack London Square in downtown Oakland on Sat Feb 24, 2024 (photo by Bay Area News Group)

By Lewis Rubman

OAKLAND–Saturday’s midday Fansfest next to the Jack London Amtrak station billed itself as an affirmation of civic pride Oakland’s sports heritage. It specifically stated that it was not a protest of the current ownership of the currently Oakland Athletics.

It certainly was an outpouring of Oaktown pride and love for its local sports teams. The Fansfest also clearly was an implicit rebuke to the Fisher-Manfred-Las Vegas axis. Even the weather cooperated.

The experience in downtown Oakland was diametrically opposed to that of a typical day at the once imposing pleasure dome on the banks of the River Nimitz, a venue that Peter Gammons once called the best in baseball and which was highly praised by Allan Temko, the architecture critic of the once mighty San Francisco Chronicle. The sky was clear; the temperature, sweltering. And the place was jam packed with A’s fans, many of whom took advantage of the free indoor parking.

Both outdoors and in the enclosed Block 15, also teeming with the faces you used to see at the Coliseum, the mood was festive and co-operative. Ex-A’s Grant Balfour, Coco Crisp, Khris Davis, Ben Grieve, Mike Norris, Bill North, and Trevor May, as well as retired Giant and current Oakland Ballers coach, JT Snow were scheduled to be available for autographs.

I was only able to exchange a few words with the first two. My colleague, Stephen Ruderman, had better luck and managed to conduct a podcast interview, which he reported in his own dispatch.

Block 15’s attractions included a wall of vendors offering bobble heads, statues, drawings, enough to make your head spin. While I was there, Vida Blue’s children were describing what it was like to grow up in the Coliseum, but I could hardly hear their presentation.

The list of sponsors, corporate and individual, was impressive, in spite of the last minute withdrawal of Drake’s Brewery, a withdrawal that the Athletics’ front office vigorously denies having influenced. Whatever the reasons behind that decision, the brewery’s absence wasn’t particularly notable; plenty of suds were on sale to thirsty attendees.

Stands offered an incredible variety of baseball merchandise, from socks to caps, and a wide assortment of baseball arts, crafts, and memorabilia. Cal Athletics, the Oakland Roots, the Oakland Ballers also had booths.

Let Las Vegas match that.

Lewis Rubman is a MLB beat writer for sportsradioservice.com

Canucks shoot down Barracuda 5-2 with third period takeover

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San Jose Barracuda forward Thomas Bordeleau (#17) races for the puck alongside Abbotsford Canucks defenseman Nick Cicek (#59) during the Canucks 3-2 win over the Barracuda at Tech CU Arena on Saturday FEB 24, 2024. (San Jose Barracuda)

by Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE — The Abbotsford Canucks scored three unanswered goals in the third period for a 5-2 victory to sweep the weekend series on Saturday afternoon at Tech CU Arena.

San Jose has lost three games in a row. Abbotsford has won four games in a row.

Abbotsford (27-17-3-2) drew first blood early in the first period with a power play goal. Sheldon Dries picked the puck out of a scrum along the left boards. Dries poked the puck out to Linus Karlsson, who was wide open in front of the crease, and the left winger slipped the puck past ‘Cuda goalie Magnus Chrona for his 12th goal of the season at the 1:38 mark.

The Canucks doubled its lead with a 4-on-4 goal just under five minutes later. Karlsson sent a shot from the left point and Dries redirected the puck past Chrona for his 16th goal of the season at the 6:29 mark.

San Jose (17-25-8-1) responded with a power play goal past the halfway mark of the opening frame. Cole Cassels shot from the left side of the crease was initially stopped by Canucks goalie Arturs Silovs but Thomas Bordeleau crashed the net and cleaned up the rebound for his 11th goal of the season at the 12:12 mark.

A scoreless second period was an entertaining one as the Canucks controlled play in the first half of the middle frame. The Barracuda had the Canucks on their heels in the final three minutes of the period with an extended period of offensive zone time but weren’t able to get a puck past Silovs despite a flurry of shots directed at the Canucks goaltender.

The ‘Cuda scored the equalizer early in the third period with its second power play goal of the game. Jacob Peterson whipped around from behind the net with a backhanded attempt. Scott Sabourin chipped in the rebound for his 13th goal of the season at the 2:14 mark.

Abbotsford regained the lead just over two minutes later thanks to a ‘Cuda turnover inside the Canucks zone. Aatu Raty skated into the Barracuda zone uncontested. Raty’s first shot attempt was block by Nathan Todd, but Raty beat Chrona with a wrist shot on his own rebound for his 11th goal of the season at the 4:36 mark.

Chase Wouters gave the Canucks an insurance goal when he redirected a shot from the point by Alex Kannok Leipert for his eighth goal of the season at the 14:20 mark.

Raty closed out the scoring with his second goal of the game, an empty netter, for his 12th goal of the season with 1:34 remaining in the game.

Silovs (14-10-5-3) finished the game stopping 29 of the 31 shots he faces to earn his 14th victory of the season. Chrona (5-13-4) made 23 saves on 27 shots in the losing effort.

GAME NOTES: San Jose finished 2-for-5 on the power play. Abbotsford went 1-for-2.

The Three Stars of the Game: 1) Raty 2) Dries 3 Sabourin.

UP NEXT: San Jose heads out on the road to take on the Ontario Reign on Tuesday 2/27 at 7:00pm at Toyota Arena.

Fans Fest Oakland 68’s and Last Dive Bar at Jack London Square podcast with Stephen Ruderman

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Crowds turned out and filled almost every corner of the Fans Fest hosted by the Last Dive Bar and the Oakland 68’s at Jack London Square in downtown Oakland in support of finding a way to keep the Oakland A’s in Oakland (#AsFanByDesign photo)

Fans Fest Oakland 68’s and Last Dive Bar at Jack London Square podcast with Stephen Ruderman:

#1 Because of the lack of renderings and a financial plan from John Fisher and the A’s there has been doubt if the Las Vegas ballpark project could get off the ground or how long it would be delayed?

#2 MLB Players Union Chief Tony Clark said this week he’s concerned about the players future and where they’ll play beyond 2024 if the A’s do not decide on a interim location soon.

#3 A’s team president David Kaval said the A’s have three options for an interim location Sacramento, Salt Lake City, or Oakland. They should decide soon do you see the A’s walking away from the $70 million annual TV money and choosing to play in a minor league park?

#4 How realistic do you see it that Fisher whose looking for minority owners to help pay for the Vegas construction to happen? If nothing is decided by the middle of the year the costs of building the park and schedule to have it ready could be pushed back to 2029?

#5 Fisher may not have the money to go on with the Vegas project. What are the chances do you see him possibly going back to the City of Oakland and negotiating with Oakland Mayor Thao?

Stephen Ruderman is a MLB beat writer for http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa: Sharks hope to get back in win column tonight against Nashville

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The San Jose Sharks goaltender MacKenzie Blackwood (left) looks to defend against the Vegas Golden Knights center Nicolas Roy in second period at SAP Center in San Jose on Mon Feb 19, 2024 (AP News photo)

On the San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa:

#1 Mary Lisa, In the San Jose Sharks (15-35-5) last game against the Vegas Golden Knights (32-17-6) at SAP Center in San Jose on Mon Feb 19th the Knights put a whooping on San Jose shutting them out 4-0.

#2 The Knights goaltender Logan Thompson got the shutout against the Sharks he stopped all 29 shots. For Thompson it was his fourth career shutout.

#3 The Knights Mason Morelli got a goal and an assist and the win was a season sweep over the Sharks.

#4 The Knights came right out of the gate with three goals in the first period and pretty much just took the Sharks out of their game.

#5 The Sharks host the Nashville Predators tonight at SAP Center in San Jose for a 7pm face off at SAP Center. The Predators are fifth in the Western Conference and have won three straight games and won five of their last ten games. How do you see this match up.

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

Despite close first half San Jose falls to Nevada 84-63

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Photo courtesy of San Jose State Athletics.

By Titus Wilkinson (@TitusWisme)

SAN JOSE- Looking for redemption San Jose took on Nevada at home.

After a quick start to the first half seeing Nevada jump out to a 10-5 lead San Jose responded and with 5:50 left it was a one point game at 22-21.

San Jose was never able to take a lead but Nevada could never pull to far away either as the opening half ended at 34-29.

The leading scorer in the first half for San Jose State was Latrell Davis who posted 11 points shooting 4-8.

For Nevada Nick Davidson lead the way with seven points as he shot a very efficient 3-4.

In the second half SJSU was able to tie it this time at 40 just four minutes into the half.

Unfortunately after the tie Nevada went on a long run as they took their lead to 57-42.

After extending their lead to 67-48 SJSU was able to pull back a little closer at 72-59 which lead Nevada to take a timeout.

The effort ended up mattering little though as Nevada was able to cruise the rest of the way to a 84-63 victory.

Overall in the game the leading scorer was Nick Davidson who dropped 23 points going an extremely impressive 8-9 from the field.

SJSU did have two players reach double digits as Myron Amey Jr. dropped 18 and Davis dropped 17.

With the loss the Spartans fall to 9-19 while Nevada improves to an incredible 22-6.

As the season winds down San Jose State will play next San Diego State on the road on Tuesday at 8 p.m.

Barracuda lose thriller against Canucks in shootout 5-4

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Photo courtesy of San Jose Barracuda.

By Titus Wilkinson (@TitusWisme)

The Barracuda returned home to take on the the Canucks in the first of back-to-backs.

In goal for San Jose was Georgi Romanov while between the pipes for Abbotsford it was Nikita Tolopilo.

It was a wild first period in this one with both teams combining to score five goals.

The scoring was kicked off by Cole McWard and they kept the lead until 10:14 when Thomas Bordeleau tied the game on the power play.

Tanner Kaspick then scored to give San Jose the lead which the Canucks quickly responded to as Vasily Podkolzin tied the game right back up.

In the dying moments of the period shorthanded Anthony Vincent got San Jose the lead back with his second of the season.

The middle frame saw the offense quiet down with only one goal being scored by Abbotsford as John Stevens got his 12th of the campaign.

Heading into the third with the score tied the Canucks struck first as Filip Johnason got his team out front early.

While it looked like San Jose may have to pull their goalie to get back even Jack Studnicka prevented that from happening as he scored tying things back up at 4-4.

The home crowd got some free hockey as the game went to overtime but despite the combined seven shots between the teams nobody scored.

In the shootout Ethan Cardwell, Bordeleau, and Studnicka all shot for the Barracuda but none of them scored.

For the Canucks they’d only need one and they got the goal from Linus Karlsson as he secured the victory for Abbotsford 5-4.

The three stars of the game were: 1st: Linus Karlsson 2nd: Anthony Vincent 3rd: John Stevens

San Jose will look to bounce back tomorrow against these same Canucks as they’ll do battle at 2 p.m.

Oakland A’s Relocation podcast with Daniel Dullum: Can A’s get past City of Oakland’s expansion demands for Coliseum use? The MLB clock is ticking

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Major League Players Players Association Chief Tony Clark met with Oakland A’s players on Tue Feb 20, 2024 at Hohokam Park in Mesa AZ to discuss their interim Stadium situation for 2025. As players were concerned where they’ll end up. Some players may not opt to play in a minor league park if that’s where the A’s end up playing for the interim. (AP file photo)

On the Oakland A’s Relocation podcast with Daniel:

#1 Daniel, this week in Mesa AZ the A’s spring training facility A’s team president David Kaval said that there are three options available for 2025 Sacramento, Oakland or Salt Lake City. It was reported that Sacramento was the top contender of the three but an A’s source said that the A’s never said anything of the kind and the team is still trying to decide which venue they’ll choose after this season.

#2 To this date it’s still a mystery where the A’s will play for the 2025 season that’s an issue considering baseball wants to get that resolved as they want to have a schedule ready by July.

#3 Representatives from the Major League Baseball Players Union showed up at Hohokam Stadium in Mesa with Union Chief Tony Clark on Tuesday and the players had questions but Clark may not have had much on answers. The fact of the matter still remains the players if it came to a vote and it could will not elect to play in a minor league park.

#4 Not only do the A’s still have their interim location dates open for 2025 but as of today there has been no indication of when renderings and funding plans will be presented. Las Vegas MGM CEO Bill Hornbuckle said he was shown three different designs for the next door Tropicana ballpark. Hornbuckle said in an Nevada Independent interview that he would like to start construction at the MGM and wanted to get the pedestrian bridge to the Tropicana ballpark situated and he needs to be on schedule for budget and construction purposes soon.

#5 Pressure is on concerning deadlines not only with the 2025 baseball schedule for July but also when the A’s have a location figured out for 2025 and how travel and budgets can be figured out. Daniel the City of Oakland and the Oakland Coliseum Joint Authority asking for a guarantee from MLB that Oakland will get an expansion team before they can play their interim games at the Coliseum. How big of an ask is that? And do you see things getting worked out between all three parties?

Join Daniel Dullum for the Oakland A’s podcast each Friday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Sacramento Kings podcast with Jeremiah Salmonson: Kings get five point win over Spurs 127-122; Sabonis scores 19th triple double

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San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama (1) is guarded by the Sacramento Kings forward Keegan Murray (1) first half at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento on Thu Feb 22, 2024 (AP News photo)

On the Sacramento Kings podcast with Jeremiah:

#1 The Sacramento Kings Domantas Sabonis picked up his 19th triple double with 22 points, 11 assists, and 11 rebounds. He can do it all the Kings win over the San Antonio Spurs at Golden 1 on Thursday night.

#2 Sabonis almost sat this one out he was put in as a game time decision and was not feeling well but you would have never known it he wound up picking up his fourth triple double in five games.

#3 Sabonis has a double double in 38 consecutive games. Kings teammate De’Aaron Fox said that you don’t want to become numb of what Sabonis is doing that what he’s doing has been done just a few times in basketball.

#4 Fox said that at this point of the season you want wins and to get them any way you can and the Kings were able to execute down the stretch and it was a big win for Sacramento.

#5 The Kings are in Los Angeles to tip off against the Los Angeles Clippers at Crypto.com Arena Sun Feb 25th at 6:30pm PT. The Clippers are third in the Western Conference and have won six of their last ten games. They can be a handful.

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