Author: Sports Radio Service

Aimaq scores 20 as Bears trounce Sun Devils 81-66

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The Cal Bears Keonte Kennedy takes the ball to the hoop against the Arizona State Sun Devils at Desert Financial Arena in Tempe on Sat Feb 3, 2024 (Cal Bears basketball photo)

Saturday, Feb. 3, 2024

Desert Financial Arena, Tempe, Arizona

California Golden Bears 81 (9-13 Overall; 5-6 Pac-12)

Arizona Wildcats 66 (11-11 Overall; 5-6 Pac-12)

By Stephen Ruderman

After being clobbered by the Arizona Wildcats, the Bears traveled up Interstate-10 to Tempe, where they took out their frustrations on the Arizona State Sun Devils and shellacked them, 81-66.

Cal won the opening tip, and it was all Bears from the very getgo. Jalen Celestine hit a three, and that started an 8-0 opening drive for the Bears, which was capped off by a layup by Fadaws Aimaq, as well as a three-ball by Keonte Kennedy.

Adam Miller was fouled, and got the Sun Devils on the board with a pair of shots from the line, which started a 7-2 drive, which put the Sun Devils back in it at 10-7.

Aimaq followed that up with a layup that started a 14-3 run. This run, like many that the Bears have made this season, was a team effort. Kennedy, Celestine, Grant Newell and Jalen Cone all scored, as every single shot during the drive was made by a different player.

The score stabilized throughout the remainder of the first half, and Aimaq led the way with 10 points, as the Bears went into the half up 38-26.

Aimaq and the Bears started out strong in the second half as well. He hit a jump shot 30 seconds in; made two from the line; and slammed one down, as the Bears opened their lead to 44-26.

The Sun Devils then went on an 11-3 drive that chipped away at Cal’s lead, and got Arizona State back in it at 47-38.

The Bears have come back from their fair share of large deficits, but they have also blown their fair share of big leads this season. However, today was not going to be one of those games, and the Bears went on an 11-4 run to open their lead back up to 58-42.

From there, Cal put the game away, as a three by Kennedy put the Bears up by 20 at 68-48 with 6:58 to go. The Sun Devils made a bit of noise at the end, but it was far too late, as the Bears won it, 81-66.

The Bears improve to 5-6 in Pac-12 play, and 9-13 overall. They will now return back home to Berkeley for a two-game homestand at Haas Pavilion, which will start with an 8 p.m. tip against the USC Trojans on Thursday night.

Nevada Takes Control And Beats San Jose State 90-60

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photo by SJSU Spartans

Friday, February 2nd, 2024

By Troy Ewers

The Nevada Wolf Pack host the San Jose State Spartans for some Friday night hoops. Four of the eight conference games for SJSU have been decided by three points or fewer. They lost at Wyoming on a buzzer beater, fell by only three to No. 19 San Diego State, won at the buzzer at Air Force and lost on a last-second shot to Fresno State. 

Nevada shot well early in the first half and didn’t stop throughout the half. The Wolf Pack started off on a 12-0 run (25-5 in the first 10 minutes) and the Spartans couldn’t stop them if they tried. The Wolf Pack took control and it was 49-24 at halftime.

Out of the 24 points SJSU scored, three players scored 19 of those points. MJ Amey Jr. had nine, Alvaro Cardenas had seven, and Trey Anderson had three in the first half. The biggest point of concern in the first half was SJSU shooting 37% from the field and 25% from the three point line.

Everything was going well for Nevada as at one point they led by 40 points in the game, Nick Davidson with 22 points and Jarod Lucas with 20 ponts, the game was solidified in the Wolf Pack’s hands. San Jose State had a combination of nothing falling for them and what felt like everything fell for Nevada. The game ends with Nevada winning with no issues 90-60. 

This game was definitely something Tim Miles and the Spartans want to forget and they have four days to do it. SJSU’s next game is February 6th against the Fresno State Bulldogs back in San Jose and this season may be a no go for the Spartans as a Mountain West champion contender, but they still have that dog in them where they won’t end this season without a fight.

Barracuda hold on to win first of back-to-backs against Abbotsford 2-1

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Photo courtesy of San Jose Barracuda.

By Titus Wilkinson (@TitusWisme)

The Barracuda took on the Canucks in the first of back-to-backs on Friday night.

In goal for San Jose was Georgi Romanov who coming into this game had a 3-5-3 record with a 3.63 GAA and .889 SV%. While on the other side, it was Artūrs Šilovs who had a 13-7-5 record with a 2.86 GAA and a .901%.

A little over a minute into this one the Barracuda were given a great opportunity to get on the board due to high-sticking penalty against Abbotsford. However, the Canucks penalty kill did their job and kept them off the scoreboard.

Despite the power play not clicking San Jose would find the back of the net at 10:13 as Nathan Todd scored his 10th goal of the season.

The Barracuda continued to push and were able to extend their lead as Kyle Rau scored his third of the campaign against his former team giving them a solid two-goal lead. On the goal, Gannon Laroque got his first point of the season and only the second of his career in the AHL.

The middle frame saw neither team find the back of the net as defense and goaltending reigned supreme. There were two penalties in the period one against Ethan Frisch for hooking and the other against Jett Woo also for hooking.

Looking to hold on to their lead the Barracuda tried to clamp things down in their own end. They were able to do that until 16 minutes in when Marc Gatcomb scored his fifth of the season cutting San Jose’s lead down to one.

Things got stressful for the road team especially as Vancouver pulled Šilovs 16:56 into the period. Abbotsford was not able to do much with the extra man and San Jose held on to win 2-1 in what ended up being a very close game.

For Romanov it was a very good showing as he made 30 saves in what must have been a big confidence booster for him.

Both teams penalty kills also went perfect as San Jose killed off two while Abbotsford killed off three.

The Barracuda have to feel good about this win as historically they do not well against the Canucks as over the last five seasons they are 6-9-1-0.

This win also improves San Jose’s record to 14-21-7 while the Canucks fall to 22-14-3.

The three stars of the game were: 1st: Georgi Romanov 2nd: Tanner Caspick 3rd: Marc Gatcomb

San Jose will look to get one final win in tomorrow before they head back to San Jose for the all-star break.

That game will be on at 7 p.m. and will be against these same Canucks.

Oakland A’s relocation podcast with Daniel Dullum: A’s could shutdown operations between 2025-27; Portland will pay for A’s to come if Vegas falls apart

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The Portland Diamond Project is pushing for a new ball park which include retail, housing, offices, and a new ballpark. Portland is willing to pay for the project which would be located at the Red Tail Golf Course on 163 acres in Redmond Oregon if things don’t work out in Las Vegas (renderings Portland Diamond Project)

On the Oakland A’s relocation podcast with Daniel Dullum:

#1 The Oakland A’s and John Fisher are considering shutting down their operations between 2025-27 and resuming operations in 2028.

#2 Part of the thinking is that shutting down the operations will save the team money and that they can also pay the $1.5 billion to finance the ballpark in Vegas for their share without having to pay for operations of the team and to the players for three years.

#3 The problem with the A’s shutting down for three years there will be 29 teams playing and the Players Union most likely will not go along with the idea of one less team which would hurt the players who are involved.

#4 The A’s have no plans where to play after the 2024 season, so far they’ve toured Salt Lake City, Summerlin, and Sacramento. they have not decided on a place yet.

#5 They went and paid a visit to Portland this week and the City of Portland wants a MLB team badly. Portland wants to purchase the Red Tail Golf Course and it would include a massive amount of land for retail, housing, a retail village, offices and a ballpark. On 150 acres. The A’s are obligated to Las Vegas but if they simply don’t have the money for their share of the construction costs or don’t want to come out of pocket Portland is willing to foot the entire bill for a MLB team like the A’s.

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

Warriors Crush Grizzlies 121-101; Kuminga leads with 29 points for Warriors second win in a row

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The Golden State Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga goes up for the rebound against the Memphis Grizzlies in the first half at the FexEx Forum in Memphis on Fri Feb 3, 2024 (AP News photo)

By Barbara Mason

Friday night the Golden State Warriors (21-24) handed the struggling Memphis Grizzlies (18-31) another loss 121-101. Jonathan Kuminga continued on with another outstanding offensive display finishing with 29 points which was the team high. Stephen Curry shot for 20 points and was 4 of 9 from downtown.

Game recap: The Grizzlies put up quite a fight in the opening quarter of play. After the first 12 minutes the Warriors had a slim 24-23 lead. Golden State got rolling in the second quarter winning it 33-24 and leading at the half 57-47.The Warriors had extended their lead but the Grizzlies were still hanging around.

The Warriors won the third quarter 28-26 but again another close quarter. Golden State took an 85-73 lead into the fourth quarter. The Warriors poured it on in the final quarter of play winning it 36-28 and the game 121-101. Golden State had handed the Grizzlies their fourth loss in a row.

The high score for the Warriors was Jonathan Kuminga who finished with 29 points and six rebounds. Once again Kuminga proved hands down that he is a starter. This is the eighth straight game that he has shot twenty plus points. 

With Memphis all over Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, Kuminga took charge shooting lights out. Curry had 20 points and bench player Brandin Podziemski was outstanding with 14 assists and 12 points with 7 rebounds. 

This was a great way for the Warriors to start this five game road trip. Golden State had lost four of six games coming into this one so this was the perfect start to this road trip since the Warriors have not been playing particularly well at home or away.

Jaren Jackson Jr. led his team with 27 points and Jacob Gilyard scored a career-high 16 points. Once again the Grizzlies hung around through three quarters only to lose it in the fourth quarter. Memphis has been having a lot of trouble closing out games. 

The Warriors had a double digit lead in the late third quarter and took it away in the final quarter. Once again the Grizzlies failed to finish this game.

Post game notes: Friday night the Warriors headed out on the road taking on the struggling Grizzlies. The Warriors are coming off a solid win over the Philadelphia 76ers 119-107 last Tuesday night. The Grizzlies have now lost four games in a row, they’re loss to Golden State on Friday and a loss against the Cleveland Cavaliers 108-101 on Wednesday. 

The Grizzlies were without Ja Morant and are struggling although they do have a terrific player in Jared Jackson Jr. Memphis did beat the Warriors in mid-January 116-107 and couldn’t get a win in the second game against Golden State.

The Warriors will now zip off to Atlanta for a date with Trae Young and the Hawks Saturday night. Tipoff for that game is scheduled for 4:30 PM. 

Kings Offensive Excellence Beats Pacers 133-122

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The Sacramento Kings forward Domanatas Sabonis (10) looks to pass the ball against the Indiana Pacers forward Aaron Nesmith (23) at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis on Fri Feb 2, 2024 (AP News photo)

By Barbara Mason

The Sacramento Kings (28-19) De’Aaron Fox had six steals and 25 points en route to a win over the Indiana Pacers (27-23). Four Kings had 20 plus points in the 133-122 win. Malik Monk who has struggled for quite a few games came alive in this one finishing with 23 points.

Game recap: The Kings got a quick start in a very close first quarter. The two teams have very similar records and this game had all the makings of a major battle. The Pacers edged the Kings after the first 12 minutes of play 39-38. 

Sacramento really got going in the second quarter. Monk who has really struggled the past 4 or five games got back on track in a big way. At the half the Kings had a 71-64 lead winning the second quarter 33-25.

Four Kings had double digits after the first two quarters. Fox, Domantas Sabonis, Harrison Barnes and Monk all had a great first half of basketball. Monk who has been noticeably struggling for awhile had 13 points in the first half. 

The Pacers had 11 turnovers in the first half which the Kings took advantage of. Kevin Huerter was having a rough start missing quite a few open looks. Keegan Murray also had a slow start with only 5 points.

It was not a great start in the third quarter for the Kings committing 3 turnovers within several minutes. The Pacers were having turnover issues themselves already with 15. Sacramento had extended their lead to 85-73 with under five minutes left in the quarter. With under three minutes left in the quarter, Sacramento took their largest lead of the game 94-78.

 The Kings had led at one time in the third quarter by 18 points but a quick 5-0 Pacer run made this a 13 point game. Indiana had gotten into a rhythm and the Kings would be looking to disrupt that rhythm going into the fourth quarter.

Sacramento went into the final countdown as the fourth quarter got underway. Trey Lyles got into the double digit club in the early minutes of the quarter with 13 points and the Kings continued to hold a sizable lead. 

The Pacers would threaten throughout the fourth quarter but Sacramento continued to hang on. Huerter got into double digits with 11 and the Kings had six players shooting for double digits with Barnes leading the charge with 22 points. 

With under three minutes left in the game, the Kings needed to finish strong. Sacramento continued to match the Pacers offensively and defensively in a true battle. Indiana continued with a full court press in the final minutes of the game testing the Kings. it was a great finish for Sacramento winning the game 133-122.

Night in and night out Sabonis performs, consistently show-casing the excellent play he comes into every game with. Tonight he had a double double with 26 points and 12 rebounds. Fox finished with 25 points, Monk had 23 points and Barnes finished with 22 points.  

Post game notes: It has been a frustrating week for the Kings . They are currently on a lengthy road trip beating the Warriors, Mavericks and the Grizzlies. They have dropped one game on this current road trip losing to the Miami Heat. 

It has been a successful trip so far but it has been met with a major disappointment. When the lineup for the upcoming All-Star game was announced, Fox and Sabonis were both snubbed.

This was an enormous snub with the Kings being the only top-six team in either conference without an All-Star. They could still be chosen as injury replacement if an injury occurred in the West. Despite this bitter pill, the Kings were back on the court and back in the win column in Indiana and defeated the Pacers Friday night.

Saturday night the Kings take a trip over to the windy city to take on the Chicago Bulls. Tipoff for that game is scheduled for 5:00 PM.  

Sacramento Kings podcast with Jeremiah Salmonson: Kings grab win to open road trip against Pacers at Gainbridge Fieldhouse

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The Miami Heat’s forward Caleb Martin (16) reaches in for the basketball against the Sacramento Kings guard De’Aaron Fox (5) first half at Kaseya Center in Miami on Wed Jan 31, 2024 (AP News photo)

On the Sacramento Kings podcast with Jeremiah Salmonson:

#1 The Sacramento Kings came off a four game win streak only to lose in their last game on Wednesday night to the Miami Heat 115-106.

#2 The Heat’s Jimmy Butler scored a team high 31 points and was the difference in helping the Heat snap a seven game losing streak in Miami.

#3 The Heat had not had a losing streak this long since the 2007-08 season when they lost 15 straight games. Butler is too good a ball player to allow a long losing streak to continue and the Heat were able to break through on the Kings defense to stay ahead for the win.

#4 The Kings Domantas Sabonis for all his efforts led the Kings 19 points, 17 rebounds, and picked up his 13th triple double for the season and it was Sabonis’ 29th consecutive game with a double double. Sabonis is now two behind Oscar Robertson’s Kings all time record set in 1961.

#5 The Kings were at Gainbridge Fieldhouse Friday night to open a four game road trip. They faced the Indiana Pacers in Indianapolis. The Pacers are sixth in the Eastern Conference and have now have lost seven of their last 11 games.

Jeremiah does the Sacramento Kings podcasts each Friday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

That’s Amaury News and Commentary: A’s trading with Giants for pitching

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Former San Francisco Giant pitcher Alex Wood seen here pitching against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Sun Jul 16, 2023 at PNC Park in Pittsburgh. Wood was dealt to the Oakland A’s from the Giants on Fri Feb 2, 2024 for a one year deal worth $8.5 million plus $1 million in incentives. (AP News file photo)

A’s trading with Giants for pitching

That’s Amaury News and Commentary

By Amaury Pi-González

The Oakland A’s traded with their Bay Area National League neighbor, acquiring two veteran pitchers, hoping they could help a promising but inexperienced pitching staff.

Left-handed Alex Wood was a free agent from the Giants until he recently agreed to an $8.5 million, one-year contract with Oakland with $1 million in available incentives. The veteran of 11 years in the major league ended with a 5-5 record, 4.33 in 12 starts with the Giants, and pitched a total of 97 2/3 innings.

Wood’s best season was in 2017 with the LA Dodgers when he ended with a 16-3 record, a 2.72 earned run average, started 25 games, and pitched 152 1/3 innings.

Ross Stripling was acquired from the Giants. In return, the A’s sent young minor league outfielder Jonah Cox an unspecified amount of cash. To clear room on the 40-man roster, infielder Jonah Bride was designated for assignment. 

Stripling (an 8-year MLB veteran) had a 0-5 record with a 5.36 earned run average in 22 games (11 starts)and a total of 89 innings pitched.

Big trade between A’s and the Giants? March 1978, the Athletics traded Vida Blue to the San Francisco Giants for Gary Thomasson, Gary Alexander, Dave Heaverlo, John Henry Johnson, Phil Huffman, Alan Wirth, and $300,000. Mario Guerrero was sent to the Athletics as a player to be named later to complete the transaction.

Spring Training 2024:  Oakland A’s pitchers and catchers’ first workout is on February 14 at Hohokam Stadium, Mesa. San Francisco Giants pitchers and catchers’ first workout is on February 15 at Scottsdale Stadium, Scottsdale.

“Spring training means flowers, people coming outdoors, sunshine, optimism, and baseball. Spring training is a time to think about being young again”–Ernie Banks.

Amaury Pi Gonzalez is the lead play by play voice on the Oakland A’s Spanish radio network at 1010 KIQI San Francisco and 990 KATD Pittsburg and does News and Commentary at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Two double-doubles spark Cardinal to 71-62 win over ASU

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The Arizona State Sun Devils guard Kamari Lands (0) gets the rebound against the Stanford Cardinal forward Brandon Angel (23) in first half action in Tempe on Thu Feb 1, 2024 (AP News photo)

By Daniel Dullum

Thursday, February 1, 2024

A big second half, combined with double-double performance from Brandon Angel and Maxime Raynaud, lifted Stanford past Arizona State 71-62 Thursday in Pac-12 men’s basketball at Desert Financial Arena in Tempe, Ariz.

It was the Cardinal’s first win at ASU since March 3, 2018.

Angel led the Cardinal with 19 points and 10 rebounds for his first double-double of the season. Raynaud racked up his eighth double-double of the season and fifth in his last six games with 12 points and 17 boards. Michael Jones added 18 points – including five 3-pointers – for Stanford (11-9 overall, 6-4 Pac-12). Benny Gealer contributed eight points and four assists.

Raynaud’s 17 rebounds are the most for a Cardinal since John Sharma pulled down 18 on Dec. 29, 2018 against Long Beach State. It was also the first time the Cardinal had two players with a double-double in the same game since 2021 (Oscar da Silva and Zaire Williams vs Washington).

The Sun Devils (11-10 overall, 6-5 Pac-12) scored the first nine points of the game, but Stanford reeled off a 10-2 run, pulling the Cardinal to within 11-10 three minutes later.. Stanford took its first lead at 15-14, but ASU battled back to take a 33-29 halftime lead.

There were six lead changes in the first half.

The Cardinal opened the second half with a 12-2 run, taking a 41-35 lead, Arizona State regained the lead at 46-45 with 13 minutes remaining. Stanford trailed 60-54 with 7:25 to play, but forged a 17-2 run to go ahead to stay.

Raynaud scored six points down the stretch, while Angel and Gealer added four points each during that segment to wrap up the win for Stanford.

Jose Perez led the Sun Devils with 14 points, Frankie Collins and Jamiya Neal each scored 12 points and Adam Miller added 10, Collins had four steals and Alonzo Gaffney had seven of ASU’s 33 rebounds.

Stanford continues its southwest road trip in Tucson, visiting No. 11/12 Arizona Sunday at 5 p.m.

Wildcats too much for Bears, as Arizona clobbers Cal 91-65

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The Cal Bears Fardaws Aimaq (right) tries to contain the Arizona Wildcats Oumar Ballo (left) in the first half at the McKale Memorial Center in Tucson on Thu Feb 1, 2024 (AP News photo)

Thursday, Feb. 1, 2024

McKale Memorial Center, Tucson, Arizona

California Golden Bears 65 (8-13 Overall; 4-6 Pac-12)

Arizona Wildcats 91 (16-5 Overall; 7-3 Pac-12)

By Stephen Ruderman

Coming into Tuscson to play the 11th-ranked Arizona Wildcats proved to be too much for the Bears, as they were clobbered by Arizona, 91-65 .

Following a pair of thrilling late wins, the Bears were headed to Arizona to play the number-11 Wildcats

Arizona won the opening tip, and Caleb Love hit a jumper right away. Oumar Ballo followed that up with a second-chance layup to give the Wildcats an early 4-0 lead. Fardaws Aimaq hit a three-ball to put Cal on the board, but that proved to be their only real action of the night.

From there, the Wildcats just took off. Ballo led the way, as Arizona jumped out to a 16-6 lead just four minutes and 11 seconds into the game.

The Bears made a slight bit of noise. Jalen Celestine hit a three, and Rodney Brown Jr. laid one in to cut the deficit to 17-11, but the Wildcats pounded the Bears into submission from there.

The Wildcats went on a 12-0 run to open it to 29-11, and they kept going, as they went into the half up 48-28.

The Bears did chip away at Arizona’s lead a bit in the early minutes of the second half. Celestine made a three to make it 54-39 with 15:56 to go. Cal has come back from some significant deficits throughout this season, and they certainly believed they could tonight.

However, the Wildcats were simply too good. Ballo made a hookshot and a second-chance layup immediately after Celestine’s three, and Arizona put the game away for good, as they ended up winning it by 26 points at 91-65.

Almost everything has been a team effort for the Bears this season. There have not been too many games where one player dominated the scoring. This has been the case in wins and losses.

Tonight was no different with Cal’s stagnant offense. Jalen Celestine led the scoring with just 13 points, and was 5-for-10 in field goals. Brown scored 12, and Aimaq and Jaylon Tyson each scored 10.

Ballo had the big night for Arizona, scoring 22 points, and going a perfect 8-for-8 in field goals. Keshad Johnson had a solid night with 15 points, and KJ Lewis scored 14.

The Bears fall to 4-7 in Pac-12 play, and fall to 8-13 overall, as they will now head northwest up Interstate-10 to Tempe, where they will take on the Arizona State Sun Devils for a noon tipoff on Saturday.