Author: Sports Radio Service

Headline Sports with Charlie O: Pierce to stay on as Raiders head coach for 24 season; Cowboys McCarthy not expected to return; plus more news

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Las Vegas Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce talks to reporters following the Raiders win over the Denver Broncos on Sun Jan 7, 2024 at Denver. Pierce was given the head coach title after serving as the interim coach. (AP News photo)

On Headline Sports with Charlie O:

#1 Las Vegas Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce will be staying on for the 2024 season. Pierce led the Raiders went 5-4 as interim coach taking over for Josh McDaniels who was fired as head coach.

#2 What was impressive of the job that Pierce did was some of the wins he had the most memorable was the win over the Los Angeles Chargers 63-21 on Dec 14th. The Raiders also went onto beat the Kansas City Chiefs the following week and won their last game of the season defeating the Denver Broncos. There is little doubt that the players not only like coach Pierce but requested that he come back. They’re thankful that owner Mark Davis obliged.

#3 Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy is not expected to get a contract extension after the Cowboys had a huge let down in their playoff game against the Green Bay Packers on Sun Dec 14 in Dallas. Jones is still considering the extension but it’s been reported as being unlikely. The Cowboys were 67-42 in the regular season but are only 1-3 in post season under McCarthy.

#4 Bill Belichick has met with the Atlanta Falcons brass twice. The Falcons fired coach Arthur Smith after three seasons at the helm on Jan 8th. Belichick reportedly has only interviewed with the Falcons and no other NFL teams. Belichick coached the New England Patriots for 24 seasons and led them to six Super Bowl titles.

#5 The Philadelphia Eagles Jason Kelce said that when the time comes to retire he will do it formerly and not after an emotional game. Kelce 36, was one of the best NFL centers and selected to the Pro Bowl six times. How will his retirement impact the Eagles?

Join Charlie O Sundays for Headline Sports at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

49ers fourth quarter comeback propels them into NFC Championship game in 24-21 win over Packers

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San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle (#85) celebrates his touchdown reception with wide receivers Chris Conley (#84) and Ray Ray McCloud III (#3) against the Green Bay Packers in an NFC Divisional showdown at Levi’s Stadium on Saturday JAN 20, 2024. (Kym Fortino-San Francisco 49ers)

by Marko Ukalovic

The Cinderella story for the Green Bay Packers ended in Santa Clara.

The San Francisco 49ers scored the game winning touchdown with 1:07 left in the fourth quarter for a 24-21 comeback victory in the NFC Divisional Playoff game on Saturday evening at Levi’s Stadium.

San Francisco advanced to its third consecutive NFC Championship game and fourth in five years where it will host the winner of the Detroit Lions-Tampa Bay Buccaneers NFC Divisional showdown. They have won five games in a row against the Packers. Green Bay’s season comes to an end after winning its last four games, including an upset win over the Dallas Cowboys last week in the NFC Wild Card game.

“We found a way to win. I’m very proud of the guys in there. I thought that was a big mental challenge. It’s a character game, a game we’ve been a part of. When things aren’t going how you want on offense, defense, special teams. The rain (being a factor), guys (were) slipping a lot. Losing Deebo (Samuel) early, things like that, the mistakes we had to overcome. That was a gut check for everybody,” 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan said.

Green Bay quarterback Jordan Love marched his team down the field on its opening drive with a 14 play 58-yard drive that ate up more than half of the first quarter and ended with a 29-yard field goal by rookie kicker Anders Carlson. 49ers cornerback Ambry Thomas kept drive alive with a passing interference penalty on wide receiver Romeo Doubs.

San Francisco’s opening drive didn’t garner the same success as Darnell Savage almost had a pick-six against quarterback Brock Purdy on during the 49ers first drive. On the next play wide receiver Deebo Samuel suffered a shoulder injury after a nine-yard reception. The drive ended with a Preston Smith sack on 3rd and 6.

Samuel did not return to the game.

The Packers second drive drove deep inside 49ers territory as it threatened to extend its lead when Love connected with Doubs on a 38-yard reception down the right sideline. However, Dre Greenlaw stopped running back Aaron Jones on 3rd on 1 for no gain. Then on the subsequent play, Love’s quarterback sneak was snuffed out as San Francisco’s defense forced a turnover on downs.

The 49ers had a long drive of their own on its next possession. Purdy scrambled out to his right and floated a pass over to tight end George Kittle for a 32-yard touchdown reception to complete a 12 play 86-yard drive with 8:42 left in the second quarter.

Once again San Francisco’s defense bent but didn’t break on Green Bay’s third possession. The Packers drove down 64 yards on 10 plays but had to settle for another 29-yard field goal by Carlson. Things got chippy as defensive end Randy Gregory and lineman Josh Myers were called for unnecessary roughness penalties after a Deommodore Lenoir knocked Love out of bounds on a scramble.

“It wasn’t pretty on both sides of the ball,” said Greenlaw. “They (Green Bay) had a real good team. Their young guys were hungry trying to make some plays. For us, we just had to go out there and do our job and execute. We had confidence in us the whole time.”

The Niners ended the first half with Jake Moody 48-yard field goal attempt but Colby Wooden raised his hand high enough to get a piece of the ball as it sailed wide left.

Green Bay forced San Francisco to a three and out to start the second half. Their offense cashed in on its first drive to start the second half with a nine play 75-yard drive. Love connected with a wide-open Bo Melton on a 19-yard touchdown reception to give the Packers their first lead of the game. The key play on the drive was Thomas’ 41 yard passing interference penalty on Melton on 3rd and 15 allowed the drive to continue as Green Bay scored on the next play.

San Francisco answered back on its next drive. Running back Christian McCaffery finally got into a rhythm as he broke one tackle and raced into the endzone for a 39-yard rushing touchdown to give the 49ers back the lead as it finished off a quick four play 75-yard drive. McCaffery had just 33 yards on nine carries before the touchdown.

Keisean Nixon returned the ensuring kick off 73 yards before having the ball knocked out by Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles but the Emanuel Wilson recovered the ball for Green Bay at the San Francisco 20-yard line. Four plays later Tucker Kraft caught a two-yard touchdown reception out in the flat. Jones converted the two-point conversion with a reception out to the right flat.

The Niners defense had been quiet until a pass intended for Kraft was thrown behind him and went off his hand and into the hands of Greenlaw as he returned it to the Green Bay 48-yard line for the game’s first turnover with 2:18 remaining in the third quarter.

Green Bay’s defense pressured Purdy for most of the game as it didn’t allow to San Francisco’s offense to get into a rhythm like it had been during the regular season. Moody’s 52-yard field goal cut the Packers lead to four points to start the fourth quarter.

After a 41-yard field goal attempt by Carlson that sailed wide left, San Francisco marched down the field on 12 play 69-yard drive where McCaffery rushed for his second touchdown of the game, a six-yard scamper up the middle with 1:07 remaining in the game. Purdy was 6 of 7 for 47 yards with 2 rushes for 11 yards on the game winning drive, his first of his playoff career.

The Packers comeback attempt ended when Love threw his second interception to Greenlaw with a desperation throw over the middle with no Packers receiver in sight with 52 second left to seal the deal for San Francisco and end Green Bay’s season.

“He’s (Greelaw) got an unbelievable amount of broken tackles on his picks this year. He does a great job. I was hoping he would get down a little earlier, but he did run off seven seconds so. Yeah it’s amazing how many guys he makes miss (tackling him),” McCaffery said.

Purdy finished the evening 23 of 39 for 252 yards and one touchdown with no interceptions. McCaffery led the 49ers in rushing with 98 yards on 17 carries. Kittle led the 9ers receivers with four catches for 81 yards to go along with his touchdown. Jauan Jennings picked up the slack for the absence of Samuel as he chipped in five catches for 61 yards.

Love went 21 of 34 for 194 yards with two touchdowns to go along with his two interceptions on the night. Jones led all rushers with 108 yards on 18 carries, including a 53 yarder in the fourth quarter. Doubs led the Packers in receiving with four catches for 83 yards.

GAME NOTES: San Francisco finished 10-for-16 on third down conversions. Green Bay was 7-for-13.

San Francisco recorded its 37th playoff victory, tying them with the New England Patriots and Green Bay for the most playoff wins in NFL history.

UP NEXT: San Francisco hosts the Detroit Lions/Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFC Championship Game next Sunday 1/28 at 3:30pm at Levi’s Stadium.

Sharks Beat Ducks 5-3 On Couture’s Return From Injury; SJ ends three game skid

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San Jose Sharks defenseman Kyle Burroughs (4) gets congratulated by teammates after scoring a second period goal against the Anaheim Ducks at SAP Center in San Jose on Sat Jan 20, 2024 (AP News photo)

Saturday, January 20th, 2024

By Troy Ewers

San Jose, CA – While the Niners are in a playoff battle in Santa Clara, down the freeway the San Jose Sharks host the Anaheim Ducks in a battle of their own. Now this game is actually a big deal for the San Jose Sharks, because the Captain Logan Couture is back.

Couture’s return from a lower back injury is his first game since April 13th, 2023. His linemates tonight are Alexander Barabanov and William Eklund and the fans expect an exciting debut back in the SAP Center, especially against a rival like the Ducks.

In net tonight for the Sharks is Mackenzie Blackwood, who is tied with Kaapo Kahkonen with five wins on the season. The Sharks would snap their three game losing streak with a two goal 5-3 win over the Ducks.

The period started with Logan Couture out there with Tomas Hertl and Alexander Barabanov just for a shift, Eklund was back out there with Couture and Barabanov the rest of the period. 18 minutes into the first period Filip Zadina scored a goal in the slot past the Ducks goalie John Gibson or so we thought.

After referee review the goal was called off for an offside and the score still 0-0 and the crowd was deflated to an extent for the remainder of the period. 0-0 at intermission and only two shots on goal for the Sharks in the first.

The second period was where a lionshare of offense took place. The Sharks added five to their on goal total, but they utilized all five this period. Couture got his first points of the season on his return night with an assist to Marc-Edouard Vlasic for his second goal this season on a breakaway, making 1-0 for San Jose.

Also gaining his first points for the season was goalie Mackenzie Blackwood who gained an assist on the Vlasic goal. The Ducks fired right back when Jackson LaCombe scored and this was under review too, because it appeared that Blackwood had stopped in on the line with his pad, but after review the goal stood to tie things up.

The Sharks still had fire under their skates and Kyle Burroughs scored his first goal of the season from an assist by Tomas Hertl, his 18th assist on the season. Sharks back on top 2-1.

With 28 seconds left in the period, the Sharks continued their rally as Fabian Zetterlund while fighting off LaCombe scored a wrist shot, 3-1 Sharks, but the Ducks 24 seconds later answered back with an Adam Henrique goal, 3-2. The rivalry game was heating as we entered intermission and with the final period of the game approaching, the fans were in full swing coming off a Niners playoff victory. 

The Sharks trying to close out the night with a W, they came out in the third period aggressive, but methodical. Trying to find the perfect spots, utilizing as much of possession they could. Jan Rutta scored his first of the season on a wrist shot making it 4-2 and the Sharks feeling like they had this one in the bag, but it still wasn’t over.

Nico Sturm got a penalty for tripping and before the power play was over, Mason McTavish scored off a rocket of a wrist shot past Blackwood and it was now 4-3 with about 5 minutes left.

The intensity of the Sharks defense carried on as the period went to the closing seconds and the fans were able to exhale calmly when Tomas Hertl scored an empty netter with seven seconds left and the game was officially over, Sharks win 5-3. 

With a packed crowd and Couture’s return, a win like this brings a smile to the guys in the locker room, especially Coach David Quinn. Coach Quinn said in his post game presser that starting Couture with Hertl at center might be a “snapshot of things to come” when Granlund returns, but for right now the feeling of victory is one he and his boys want to savor.

Their next game being Monday in LA against the Kings and with five games before the break, the Sharks look to walk away with some momentum now that the captain is back.

Barracuda lose thriller against Colorado in overtime 6-5

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Photo courtesy of San Jose Barracuda.

By Titus Wilkinson (@TitusWisme)

The Barracuda took on the Colorado Eagles in the first of road back-to-backs over the weekend.

Getting the start for San Jose was Magnus Chrona while Colorado had in net.

The road team would strike first in this one as all-star Danil Gushchin lit the lamp for his 13th of the season getting San Jose ahead early.

That lead lasted for less than a minute as Matthew Stienberg responded for Colorado knotting this one right back up.

The offense cooled off until the Eagles got a power play and scored with Ivan Ivan getting his sixth of the season and making it 2-1.

The middle frame would be a wild one starting off with Colorado extending their lead to two off a goal from Brad Hunt. After that goal Chrona was relieved of his goaltending duties and replaced by Georgi Romanov. Then 8:27 into the second San Jose’s offense exploded for three straight starting with one from Tristen Robins. Oskar Lindblom and Valtteri Pulli then silenced the home crowd suddenly making it a 4-3 game. The fourth goal was the last one Miner would allow as he was pulled and replaced by Arvid Holm.

Looking to rebound in the final frame Colorado found the tying goal getting it from Brad Hunt 6:27 into the period on the power play.

Striking while the iron was hot Ben Myers gave the Eagles their lead back making it 5-4 7:46 into the third period.

Once again though Colorado was not able to hold onto their lead as Pulli got his second of the night tying the game back up at five.

In overtime a hero quickly emerged as just 1:29 in Oskar Olausson ended it giving Colorado the win 6-5.

With the overtime loss San Jose’s record is set at 11-19-7 while Colorado improves to 17-14-4.

San Jose will look to bounce back against these same Eagles tomorrow at 2:05 p.m.

Spencer Jones’ Hot Hand and Cardinal Subdued the Huskies Trek through the Bay, 90-80

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The Stanford Cardinal (14) takes a jump shot against the Washington Huskies at Maples Pavilion in Palo Alto on Sat Jan 20, 2024 (AP News photo)

By Michael Roberson

STANFORD, Calif. — Senior Spencer Jones’ career-high 30 points & tied school record 8 Threes helped the Stanford Cardinal (10-8, 5-3 Pac-12) stave off the charging Washington Huskies (11-8, 3-5 Pac-12). 90-80 on a wet evening on the Farm.

Stanford converted the opening basket of the game within the first 15 seconds of play. However, Washing trumped that with a three to take their only lead of the game at 3-2 (19:28).

The Huskies attempted to get over the hump the rest of the half and beyond. They made 9 of the 10 free throw attempts, while the Cardinal had no gift shots. Stanford 7/15 3-pointers in the first 20 minutes, which superseded the FT disparity. Stanford was in front by as many as 13 points.

By the time the recess whistle sounded, the Cardinal had an eight point lead, 39-31. Neither team had a player reach the double-figure plateau. The Jones Brothers (Spencer & Michael) both had 8 points to lead the Cardinal, while the Huskies were led by junior forward Wilhelm Breidenbach with 8 points and 5 rebounds.

At the midway point of the contest, Spencer had a pedestrian two made treys. That changed dramatically over the final 20-minute stanza.

In the second half the Huskies continued to try and chip into the lead, but trailed by 14 late in the game. Every attempt to tie the game and/or take the lead, Spencer Jones had the answer.

Jones hit 6 three-pointers in the second half; even more so, timely shots. Washington was gaining momentum, and had possession of the ball down two. They didn’t convert, then Spencer drilled a Dagger 3 to stop them in their tracks.

Washington continued to attack their conference foes, barrage of bombs from threeland and 21 made free throws, exclusively in the second half, were too much for the hoopers from the Great Northwest.

At the final buzzer, the home team won by 10, 90-80, and put themselves in a good position in the conference standings.

Besides Spencer, three other teammates reached double digits in scoring. Kanaan Carlyle had 16 points and 5 assists. Michael Jones and Brandon Angel both contributed 13 points.

Washington offered to that category, including two with double-doubles. Keion Brooks Jr. (20 points/11 rebounds), Moses Wood (19), Breidenbach (12/10), Sahvir Wheeler (12) and Paul Mulcahy (10).

The Cardinal are next in action Friday, January 26, as they travel to Berkeley for Part 1 of the Battle of the Bay versus California at 7 PM PDT on FS1. Washington heads back to Seattle to host the Colorado Buffaloes on Wednesday, January 24 at 8 PM PDT on ESPNU.

Bears blow another big lead, but bounce back to beat Cougars in overtime thriller 81-75

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Jaylon Tyson (20) guard for the Cal Bears was key against the Washington State Cougars on Sat Jan 20, 2024 at Haas Pavilion in Berkeley in the Bears overtime win (file photo by Cal Bears)

Saturday, Jan. 20, 2024

Haas Pavilion, Berkeley, California

Washington State Cougars 75 (13-6 Overall; 4-4 Pac-12)

California Golden Bears 81 (7-12 Overall; 3-5 Pac-12)

By Stephen Ruderman

BERKELEY–After blowing an 11-point lead, and trailing by seven with two minutes and three seconds to go in the second half, the Bears bounced back, and they beat the Washington State Cougars in a thriller in overtime, 81-75

The Bears were looking to bounce back after a pair of devastating losses. They blew a massive lead against the Oregon Ducks in Eugene on Jan. 13, and then they lost a wild seesaw battle to the Washington Huskies on a buzzer beater Thursday night.

Today, the Bears were up against another strong Pac-12 force in the Washington State Cougars, winners of three in a row coming in. The second of the three wins was a 73-70 win over the eighth-ranked Arizona Wildcats, and the Bears were once again going to have their hands full.

The Cougars won the tip, and got on the board right away on a jump shot by Isaac Jones. There then wouldn’t be any scoring for a minute and a half. The Bears missed three shots; the Cougars missed one shot, and had a turnover. Fardaws Aimaq then got Cal on the board with a jumper.

The Cougars had some early momentum, particularly with the three-ball, as Adrej Jakimovski responded to Aimaq’s jumper with a three. Keonte Kennedy hit a jumper, but Jaylen Wells hit a three to give the Cougars an 8-4 lead. Following a free throw by Aimaq and a layup by Jaylon Tyson, Jakimovski hit another three to make it 11-7.

Jalen Cone hit a three, and then Rice Myles hit two from the line after being fouled. Aimaq laid one in; Myles hit one of two from the line; and Grant Newell hit a three to give Cal their first lead of the day.

The Bears caught fire, as Newell’s three was the beginning of a 13-2 run that fueled the Bears to open up a 27-16 lead with 8:26 to go in the first half. Tyson, Aimaq, Gus Larson, Jalen Celestine and Cone all scored during the run.

Myles hit a jumper to make it 27-18 with 7:41 remaining, and then there wasn’t any scoring for nearly three minutes. The teams traded points in the final few minutes of the first half. Jaylon Tyson and Jaylen Wells traded layups; Jakimovski hit a jumper to make it 29-24; and Cone and Jakimovski traded threes to make it 32-37 with 2:51 to go.

The Cougars were able to claw back into the game, as a jumper by Rueben Chinyelu made it a three-point game at 32-29. However, the Bears went into half up 36-29 after dunks by Tyson and Aimaq.

The Bears were able to maintain a semi-steady lead as the second half got underway, and a dunk by Aimaq made it a nine-point lead at 42-33.

Then, the Cougars came storming back, and in what has been an unfortunate recurring theme for the Bears this season, they blew another big lead. Rice Myles was fouled, and hit one of two from the line, which started a 9-0 run by the Cougars to tie the game.

Jakimovski was also fouled, and hit one of two from the line. Rice and Jakimovski both made layups, then Rice hit a jumper, and tied the game from the line after he was fouled.

Just like that, the Bears had blown yet another lead, and the Cougars were not done. Myles hit a three with exactly 10 minutes remaining in the second half to give Washington State a 49-46 lead, and they kept going. Oscar Cluff hit a pair at the line, and then he made a layup and a free throw after he was fouled on the play to open up a 54-48 lead for Washington State.

Jaylon Wells hit a three with 4:20 left to give the Cougars their biggest lead at 59-52, and the game appeared to be over. However, the Bears, who had blown many big leads this season, had also come back from a fair share of deficits this season, and they had another comeback in them.

The teams traded points for the next two minutes, and a jumper by Myles Rice had the Cougars up 65-58 with just 2:03 to go. Aimaq laid one in, and hit a free throw after he fouled on the play; Rice missed a three; and Jaylon Tyson hit a three to suddenly make it a one-point game.

Tyson laid one in, and Jalen Cone hit two from the line after being intentionally fouled to give the Bears a 68-65 lead, but Myles hit a three at the buzzer to send the game into overtime notched at 68-68.

Overtime began, and after three missed shots by the Bears, Jalen Celestine hit a three to put Cal back ahead. Tyson was fouled, and hit one of two from the line; and Keonte Kennedy slammed one down to open Cal’s lead to 74-68.

Fittingly, the Cougars were not going to make it easy. Andrej Jakimovski hit a three, and Isaac Jones dunked on to make it a one-point game with 2:13 to go.

However, the Bears did not give in this time. Tyson hit a jumper with 1:51 to go, and then no points were scored for a minute and one second. That was Tyson was fouled, and sent to the line, where he made both shots, as the Bears let it 78-73 with 50 seconds to go.

Jakimovski went for a layup, but was rejected by Tyson. After the Cougars rebounded, the Bears called a 30-second timeout. Rice Myles missed a jump shot, and the ball was rebounded by Keonte Kennedy. Kennedy passed to Cone, who was intentionally fouled, and Cone made both shots to put the game away at 80-73.

Jakimovski missed a three with 12 seconds to go, but the Cougars still intentionally fouled Jalen Celestine, who made one of two from the line to make it 81-73. Jakimovski laid one in to trim the deficit to six with two seconds remaining. The Cougars appeared ready to commit another foul, but they realized that there was no use in doing so, and the Bears had somehow miraculously won it, 81-75.

Blowing big leads has indeed been an unfortunate and recurring theme for the Bears in a season that has also featured some incredible wins, and that has been a clear night-and-day difference from last season. The Bears haven’t had the best season, but to bounce back from a 3-29 season to what the Bears have done thus far this season has been no small achievement.

The Bears will now welcome their hated rivals, the Stanford Cardinal, into Haas Pavilion for a 7 p.m. tip Friday night.

Cal Bears podcast with Stephen Ruderman: Cal grabs 7th win in House of Pain in overtime 81-75

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The Cal Bears bench erupts in overtime against the Washington State Cougars at Haas Pavilion in Berkeley on Sat Jan 20, 2024 (Cal Bears photo)

On the Cal Bears podcast with Stephen:

#1 Stephen, The Cal Bears (7-12) in the first half had the lead for most of the game and got scoring help from guard Jalen Cone who they relied on for three of his key five three point jump shots.

#2 The Washington State Cougars (13-6) tried to close the gap with just over three minutes left in the first half and got some high scoring from Andrej Jakimvovski who scored 12 points to lead the Cougars at half time. Cal came away with a seven point lead at the half.

#3 The Cougars who did trail at halftime it was surprising at some levels as the Cougars came into the game with a 13-5 record to Cal’s 6-12 record. Cal has outplayed a number of colleges who had better records.

#4 Bears who had at one time had an 11 point lead saw all that go away after the Cougars ended up tying the game 44-44 at 11:11 in the second half action.

#5 The Cougars who pulled away and had their biggest lead at seven. But with just seconds left in the game Cal caught up trailing by one point. With 21.5 seconds left Cal got a key basket by Jaylon Tyson to put Cal up 66-65. Cone sank two free throws to put Cal up 68-65 with 4.2 seconds left.

#6 The Cougars got a tying basket at the buzzer from Myles Rice making it 68-68 and forcing overtime at Haas Pavilion. One the overtime tip was made the Bears got key baskets from Jalen Celestine and a slam dunk Keonte Kennedy to retake the lead 74-68 with 3:28 in overtime. Cal win it 81-75.

#5 Cal concludes this three game homestand against the Stanford Cardinal on Fri Jan 26th with a 7:00pm PT tip off. The Cardinal come into Haas Pavilion having won four of their last six games. Stephen Cal has lost two close contests how do you see this one next week Friday night here at Haas which Bears head coach Mark Madsen calls a House of Pain.

Stephen Ruderman covers the Cal Bears at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa: Sharks looking for some home cooking; SJ on three game skid host Ducks tonight

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The Chicago Blackhawks Jarred Tinordi (25) and the San Jose Sharks Scott Sabourin (49) get down to some brass tacks at the United Center in Chicago on Tue Jan 16, 2024 in second period (AP News photo)

On the SJ Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa:

#1 The San Jose Sharks are on a three game losing steak and took a tough 2-1 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks in their last game on Tuesday at the United Center.

#2 The Blackhawks Boris Katchouk scored in the ninth round of the shootout and the Sharks Filip Zadina put on a shot on the Blackhawks goaltender Petr Mrazek who made a save to prevent the Sharks to get a shootout goal.

#3 Mrazek said that he was surprised that the shootout went nine rounds it did show Mrazek that there was no quit with the Sharks at least in this game where they wanted badly to get this win.

#4 The host the Anaheim Ducks tonight and they take a three game losing streak into SAP Center. The Ducks have also been struggling they have lost seven of their last ten games. Face off is 7:30pm PT.

#5 Mary, I have to ask you about long time sports publication Sports Illustrated who for many years did spectacular photography of NHL hockey has folded. It was announced that SI has laid off most of their editors and writers and staff. SI was the standard in sports publication with it’s weekly publications. Arena
Group pays for the rights to print SI and didn’t pay owner Authentic Brands Group the $3.75 million payment. Arena Group pays $15 million a year to ABG.

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

Oakland A’s Relocaton podcast with Daniel Dullum: Nevada State lawmakers received $112,000 in contributions from A’s; A’s see dollars but those are Super Bowl dollars not game day dollars

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Nevada Senate Majority Leaders Nicole Cannizzaro who voted for using public funding for the Las Vegas A’s/Tropicana ballpark on the Vegas Strip was one of 41 of 63 legislators who received a campaign contribution from the A’s after $380 million in funding was approved last Jun 2023. Only 10 legislators who voted against the funding received a contribution. (photo from ABC 8 News Now TV)

On the Oakland A’s Relocation podcast with Daniel:

#1 Hotel rooms in Las Vegas on an average night the week before Super Bowl LVIII are going for the mid $900s and going as high as $2833 a night. The A’s know an out of towner won’t spend this much during the regular baseball season but they and Bally’s Tropicana have visions of dollar signs dancing through their heads none the less.

#2 It was learned on Thursday that local and state lawmakers received $112,000 in contributions from the Oakland A’s. The lawmakers that received $10,000 out of the $112k contribution were Democrats from Las Vegas, Assembly Speaker Steve Yeager and Senate Minority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro.

#3 The public was made aware of the contributions when the finance reports for the quarter of Oct 1, 2023 to Dec 31, 2023. The $112,000 contributions were made after the State Legislature approved the $380 million in public funds for the A’s new Las Vegas ballpark.

#4 Talk about the coincidence of legislators who did not receive contribution because either their not running for reelection or they voted against public financing for the Tropicana ballpark.

#5 On the face of this Daniel does this appear to be some sort of back room deal that’s not a back room deal and it’s quite open that if you voted for the new park your on board and you get your contribution and if you didn’t you don’t get any skin in the game?

Daniel Dullum takes a look at the Oakland A’s Relocation each Friday join him for the podcasts at www,sportsradioservice.com

Sacramento Kings podcast with Jeremiah Salmonson: Tough week for coach Brown $50K fine for NBA official dispute; Loses a good friend in coach Milojevic

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It hasn’t been a good week for Sacramento Kings head coach Mike Brown as seen here being retrained by Malik Monk (right) on Sun Jan 14, 2024 going after NBA official Intae Hwang and later being thrown out in a game against the Milwaukee Bucks at Fiserv Arena in Milwaukee (AP News photo)

On the Sacramento Kings podcast with Jeremiah:

#1 Jeremiah, it has been no doubt a horrible week for Sacramento Kings head coach Mike Brown starting last Sunday with his argument with an official concerning De’Aaron Fox getting roughed up by the Milwaukee Bucks and getting non foul calls at Fiserv Arena in Milwaukee.

#2 Also Brown fined primarily for coming on the floor and standing and arguing with the official and then in his post game press conference used a lap top to show where the official made the mistake.

#3 NBA head of operations Joe Dumars said he assessed the $50,000 fine on Brown for “aggressively pursuing a game official during live play, and for publicly criticizing the officiating.” Brown pursued official Intae Hwang when he went onto the court and two players one of them Malik Monk had to restrain him.

#4 Brown on Wednesday after learning of the passing of Golden State Warriors assistant coach Dejan Milojevic called him a great man saying he will be sorely missed by everyone. Coach Brown was an assistant while coach Milojevic was also assistant coach in San Francisco.

#5 Jeremiah you had a chance to cover Thursday’s game against the Indiana Pacers at Golden 1. The Kings were coming off a three game losing streak. Talk about the Kings first game of this brief two game homestand with the Atlanta Hawks up next on Monday night.

Jeremiah Salmonson does the Sacramento Kings podcasts Fridays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com