Author: Sports Radio Service

Cal Bears game wrap: Cal Retains the Ax Beating Stanford 27-15

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Cal Bears running back Jaydn Ott tries to move around the Stanford Cardinal defensive end Brennan Jackson (80) at Stanford Stadium in Palo Alto on Sat Nov 18, 2023 (AP News photo)

By Barbara Mason

The 126th Big Game went to the California Bears (4-6) winning their third Big Game in a row. Some great Bears offense and some equally good defense tilted the game in favor of Cal. The final score was 27-15. This was Cal’s third big game win in a row.

Saturday afternoon the Bears headed to Stanford Stadium “the Farm” for the 126th “Big Game” against the Cardinal. Cal is coming off a 42-39 win over Washington State in thanks to their defense coming up big returning two fumbles for touchdowns and recording six sacks.

This was without doubt was their best effort of the season. This was Cal’s second straight win as they beat Washington State in their last game on Sat Nov 11. Cal picked up their fourth win in the last six Big Games and their fourth straight Big Game win. While Stanford does have home field advantage, the Bears are favored significantly.

The Bay Area weather had little impact on the game with light rain that was predicted over the course of the game. This was the last Big Game in the Pac 12. Cal has now retained the axe for the 2023 season their third straight season.

This is the biggest game for the two teams all season regardless of what their records show. The entire Bay Area was watching history being made in this colorful tradition.

Game recap: The Bears went on offense to start the opening quarter. Driving deep into Stanford territory Cal went on a fourth and two that failed. Both teams sparred through the first ten minutes of the quarter.

At 5:03 Bears quarterback Fernando Mendoza found Trond Grizzell for nine yards and the first touchdown of the game giving Cal the early 7-0 lead. With 0.22 seconds left in the first quarter Stanford kicker Joshua Karty hit a 44 yarder and after the first 15 minutes of play, the Bears had a 7-3 lead.

Early in the second quarter at 13:13 Mendoza again found Grizzell for a huge play of 54 yards and California had extended their lead to 14-3. Cal had scored twice through the air so far in the game so Stanford was having to defend not only the Cal passing game which had a great first half but also the rushing game. Stanford kicked a 53 yard Field Goal with 54 ticks left on the clock and the score at the half was 14-6 in favor of Cal.

Cal running back Jaydn Ott kicked it into high gear scoring a one yard run into the end zone at 5:45 in the third quarter giving the Bears a 21-6 lead. Ott had been relatively quiet in the first half but he came unleashed as the second half got underway.

Stanford did score twice in the third quarter but Cal retained the lead going into the final quarter. The Cardinal scored their first touchdown of the game at 4:25 going for the two point conversion which failed. They did score a field goal to end the third quarter, a 50 yard Karty kick. With one quarter left in the game California led 21-15.

The Bears would score one more time in the fourth quarter when Mendoza threw his third touchdown of the day an eight yard pass to Jeremiah Hunter to seal the win for Cal 27-15. The Bears had won their third Big Game in a row. The Ax would stay in Berkeley for another year.

Mendoza had a great day with three touchdowns throwing for 294 yards with one interception. Jaydn Ott despite a bit of a slow start in the first half finished in a flurry with 166 rushing yds.

Stanford struggled in this game with penalties and miscues and just could not handle the California defense. The long awaited game is now history and we will now look forward the 127th Big Game next year.

San Jose State Becomes Bowl Eligible After A 24-13 Victory Against San Diego State

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Off and running the San Jose State University Spartans did enough to score and stay ahead of the San Diego State Aztecs at Spartan Stadium in San Jose on Sat Nov 18, 2023 (SJSU photo)

Saturday, November 18th, 2023

By Troy Ewers

San Jose, CA – In CEFCU Stadium, the San Jose State Spartans host the San Diego State Aztecs as SJSU looks to win their fifth game in a row. The Spartans look to become bowl eligible for the third time in the last four seasons and it could be the first time the Spartans have ever gone to three bowl games in four seasons and Coach Brent Brennan would be the first head coach in SJSU history to lead the Spartans to three bowl games. 

The first quarter starts with the Spartans having the ball and nothing comes after five plays, but the game plan is visible. Spread the ball around and play a balanced game for their final home game this season. San Diego State running back Jaylon Armstead carried the majority offense for the Aztecs opening drive, even supplying a 39 yard drive, but after surviving a fourth and 3 Armstead jammed the ball in from the 1 yard line and scored the first touchdown of the game, 7-0 San Diego State.

The second drive for the Spartans goes the whole rest of the first quarter, but it doesn’t come without a sense of anxiety when there was a fumble on a handoff that was recovered by the Spartans, but the quarter ends with the Aztecs up 7-0.

San Jose State starts the second from their red zone and Chevan Cordeiro hits Dominick Mazotti for a 10 yard pass in the end zone for a touchdown and the Spartans even the score up 7-7 to start the second quarter.

Cordeiro now has 17 touchdown passes after that last one and is now two away from tying Derek Carr for fourth all time in Mountain West history. On the next drive for the Spartans, Cordeiro kept the drive alive with a little brotherly shove, but the very next play Cordeiro throws an interception to Chris Johnson who returns it for 44 yards.

The Spartans defense was able to recover from the interception and kept the Aztecs outside the red zone and forced them to kick a field goal which they made and now were in the lead again 10-7. Cordeiro recovered from his interception by slinging the ball down the field his very next drive, going 5-7 for 49 yards, but it wasn’t enough the San Diego State defense forced the Spartans to kick a field goal and it was good to tie the game at halftime. 

The Aztecs started the third quarter and couldn’t convert on the fourth down after a 49 yard drive, Spartans’ ball and the chance to take the lead and change the momentum of this game. Cordeiro continued his great passing display with a pass to Isaac Jernagin for 42 yards.

This was followed up with a game changing moment from Quali Conley running for a 20 yard touchdown and after the successful extra point, the Spartans were up 17-10 with 6:16 left in the third quarter and the momentum in their favor.

The momentum didn’t stop for the Spartans as they were able to spoil the next drive for the Aztecs, but Bryun Parham racked up his first interception of the season and returned for 20 yards to give SJSU great field position and a chance to wedge a gap in this game.

The Spartans drive started out terribly though when a failed reverse resulted in a loss of 17 yards, putting the Spartans farther than they wanted to the drive. This disadvantage led to a three and out and forced the Spartans to punt, killing the hype they had after that big interception. The Aztecs ended the quarter with the ball, but not the greatest field position. 

The fourth quarter was majority SDSU gaining field position, but were able to get all the way to the red zone and a chance to tie it up. The rain came out of nowhere and started pouring as the Spartans defense stopped them and forced the Aztecs to hit a field goal, preventing a tie, 17-13.

When the Spartans got the ball the game was solidified when their running backs did what they do best. Conley got a huge run that was just supposed to run the clock down, but the Spartans weren’t done and Kairee Robinson on Senior Night scored on a rushing touchdown, setting a school record with 16 rushing touchdowns this season and his ninth consecutive game with a touchdown making it 24-13 San Jose State. The Aztecs had one more chance to make things happen and they pushed the ball down the field, but a pick by Tre Jenkins put the nail in the coffin. 

The game ended 24-13 with the Spartans getting the victory and punching their ticket for bowl eligibility. The Spartans still have a chance to get second place in the Mountain West and have a possible Mountain West Championship game ahead, but for now they celebrate this win. Next week the Spartans will face the leaders of the Mountain West, UNLV in Las Vegas for the final regular game of the season.

Despite Breakout Game For Wiggins; Warriors Fall to Thunder in Overtime; Golden State falls for sixth straight game

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Oklahoma City Thunder forward Chet Holmgren hits a three point shot against the Golden State Warriors forward Andrew Wiggins (22) and forward Kevon Looney (in front) at the Chase Center in San Francisco on Sat Nov 18, 2023 (AP News photo)

By Barbara Mason

The Golden State Warriors (6-7) lost a real knuckle cracker against the Oklahoma City (8-4) Thunder Saturday night 130-123 in overtime. Andrew Wiggins had his season high game with 31 points and was the reason that the Warriors had a great chance to win this game. With 1.6 seconds left on the clock the Thunder’s Chet Holmgren hit an unlikely 25-foot three point shot to tie the game at 117 and drive this game into overtime.

Warriors fans sure got their moneys worth in Saturday’s Warrior game versus the Thunder. In their last meeting Thursday night Golden State lost to the Thunder 128-101. Back on November 3rd the Warriors did beat Oklahoma City in a close one 141-139. The Warriors were looking forward to ending their five game losing streak only to have it continued with the overtime loss.

Game recap: The Thunder won the first quarter 33-31 in a very tight game. The Warriors turned things around in the second quarter winning that quarter 30-18 and had a 61-51 lead going into halftime. The Warriors had held the Thunder to 29% shooting in the second quarter and were looking solid heading into the locker room.

The Thunder got things under control winning the third quarter 34-26 trailing the Warriors by two points 87-85. A real battle got underway in the fourth quarter. Andrew Wiggins came unglued having a season high game.

In the closing seconds of the final quarter Wiggins hit a three pointer to take a 117-114 lead. When it looked like the Warriors would break their losing streak the Thunder’s Chet Holmgren nailed a three point tying shot with 1.6 seconds on the clock sending this game into overtime.

The overtime was not a good one for Golden State getting outscored 13-6 by the Thunder. Oklahoma City had won back-to-back wins at Chase handing the Warriors their sixth loss in a row 130-123.

The star of the show for the Warriors was Wiggins scoring a season high 31 points for Golden State. He was 12 of 19 from the field and had five 3s. Warrior guard Stephen Curry finished with 25 points and seven rebounds. This was the first time this season that he did not have the high score for the team. The Warriors are still dealing with the suspension of Draymond Green and Gary Payton II is still out with a left foot strain.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had the high score for the Thunder with 40 points which was a huge part of this win for Oklahoma City and Chet Holmgren who pushed this game into overtime had a season high of 36 points.

Monday night the Warriors will take on the Houston Rockets at Chase Center. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:00 PM PT.

Eagles take down Barracuda 3-2 in overtime to sweep series

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Colorado Eagle Cedric Pare checks San Jose Barracuda Tanner Kaspick into the benches at Tech CU Arena on Saturday NOV 18, 2023. (San Jose Barracuda)

by Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE — Callahan Burke scored the game winning goal 1:07 into the overtime period to give the Colorado Eagles a 3-2 victory over the San Jose Barracuda on Saturday evening at Tech CU Arena.

On a delayed penalty, a pass against the boards found Burke’s stick and he fired a shot for the game winner for his second goal of the game.

San Jose has lost three out of its past four games. With the sweep, Colorado have won three out of its past four games.

Colorado (8-5-3-0) drew first blood late in the first period with an even strength goal. A shot from the left wing by Tanner Kero was initially saved by ‘Cuda goalie Magnus Chrona but Wyatt Aamodt swooped in from the left and wrapped around the puck into the back of the net for his fourth goal of the season at the 16:12 mark.

Despite out shooting Colorado 11-9 in the opening frame, San Jose (3-6-4-0) were down by one at the first intermission as Eagles goalie Justus Annunen kept them off the scoreboard.

The Eagles doubled its lead late in the second period thanks a bad giveaway by Leon Gawanke inside his own zone. Burke cleaned up the rebound on a Cedric Pare shot as he roofed a point-blank shot past Chrona for his first goal of the game and of the season at the 14:03 mark.

San Jose cut the lead in half near the end of the middle frame with an even strength goal from their fourth line. Brett Kemp centered a pass over to Bradley Marek who beat Annunen with a one-timer for his first career AHL goal at the 18:02 mark.

Thomas Bordeleau scored the equalizer at the halfway mark of the third period on a great individual play. On an odd man rush, Bordeleau carried the puck into the Eagles’ zone. He waited for an Eagles defenseman to bite on his fake before beating Annunen to the far side with a wrist shot for his third goal of the season at the 9:37 mark.

Annunen finished the game stopping 31 of the 33 shots he faced to earn back-to-back victories. Chrona made 31 saves on 34 shots in the losing effort.

GAME NOTES: San Jose finished 0-for-4 on the power play. Colorado was 0-for-3.

San Jose has lost nine consecutive games to Colorado dating back to last season.

The Three Stars of the Game were: 1) Burke 2) Bordeleau 3) Marek.

UP NEXT: San Jose hosts the San Diego Gulls on Tuesday 11/21 at 7:00pm at Tech CU Arena.

San Jose State Beats Norfolk State 77-53 Thanks To Trey Anderson’s Double Double

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San Jose State University Spartans bench is elated with their most recent victory against Norfolk State at the University of Virgin Islands on Sat Nov 18, 2023 (photo by the San Jose State University)

Saturday, November 18th, 2023

By Troy Ewers

U.S. Virgin Islands, St. Thomas – Another game for the Paradise Jam tournament in University of Virgin Islands, it’s San Jose State against Norfolk State. Last game the Spartans had a great first half but abysmal second half. They hope to actually close out and finish the full game on top.

The first half started with an early 20-6 run from the Spartans and Coach Tim Miles felt even though that was a great start, his boys needed to close. “We didn’t close against Texas Tech, we didn’t close yesterday.”, Coach Miles said. The defense is stronger for SJSU than it was last game, but that couldn’t contain Norfolk State. Norfolk closes the gap with six at a point by crashing the boards, 18 rebounds, 12 of them on the defensive side of the ball. Coach Miles switched up his defense to a 1-3-1 and it changed the pace of Norfolk State’s offense and opened the gap back up for the Spartans with an 11-2 run in the last three minutes of the half. The score at the end of the half was 39-24 Spartans and the Spartans got good use of their prime time players Trey Anderson (11 points), Tibet Gorener (9 points), and Myron Amey Jr. (7 points). 

The second half was the close out that Coach Miles had been looking for for two games. The momentum continued for SJSU this half and it was brought together by great ball movement leading to scoring opportunities. It was a complete domination by the Spartans with not much to dissect. The Spartans win 77-53 with Trey Anderson messing around and getting a double double and we’re not talking In N Out Burger. Anderson’s 16 points and 10 rebounds, 4-7 from 3 point and MJ Amey Jr. with 15 points are the standouts this game and keys to this big tournament win. 

The next game for San Jose State is November 20th with the opponent unknown at the moment, but it’s the final game of the tournament for the Spartans before being back in San Jose for a game on November 27th against North Dakota State.

That’s Amaury News and Commentary: MLB Brings Back 2025 All-Star Game in Atlanta “Eating Crow, Manfred Style”

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MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred seen here at an MLB owners meeting in Arlington on Thu Nov 16, 2023 has awarded Atlanta the All Star Game in 2025 after the City of Atlanta sued MLB for taking the 2021 All Star Game away from Atlanta and moving it to Denver over what Manfred said was Georgia’s voter suppression laws. (AP News photo)

MLB Bring All-Star Game to Atlanta “Eating Crow Manfred Style”

That’s Amaury News and Commentary

By Amaury Pi Goznalez

Four years after Commissioner Rob Manfred moved the All-Star Star Game in Atlanta to Denver’s Coors Field, Manfred is reconsidering as many believed “he owed one to Atlanta”. Four years ago, he moved the game over objections to Georgia voting rights laws changes.

Atlanta blasted the Commissioner of Baseball for his political decision, something he did not know much about. It is now apparent that Manfred made a mistake when he moved the game from Atlanta to Denver without first learning the substance of the law.

According to economists, the City of Atlanta lost $100 million in economic impact losses, especially those businesses near Truist Park, home of the Braves. At the same time, some say it was more than $100 million in lost revenue to the City of Atlanta.. . “I made the decision in 2021 to move the event, and I understand, believe me, that people had then and probably still have different views as to the merits of that decision,” baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred said Thursday.

During an announcement that followed an owners’ meeting. Straightforward interpretation “Sorry I screwed up, so I am awarding Atlanta the All-Star Game in 2025 because I owe them one.” The City of Atlanta filed a 1 Billion dollar lawsuit against Major League Baseball.

The voting rights litigation is ongoing. Last month, a federal judge declined to block several contested portions of the law while legal challenges play out. There is a chance Commissioner of Major League Baseball, Rob Manfred, might lose this one.

Quote. “The economics of baseball is the big problem. The big clubs make a lot of money, and the little clubs don’t” -Fay Vicent, Baseball Commissioner from 1989 to 1992.

Amaury Pi Gonzalez is the vice president of the Major League Baseball Hispanic Heritage Museum and does News and Commentary podcasts Tuesdays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Francisco 49ers podcast with Joe Hawkes: Purdy is back with three touchdowns and a win against Jags; 49ers host struggling Tampa Bay Sunday

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San Francisco quarterback Brock Purdy (13) gets protection and some time to throw the football against the Jacksonville Jaguars at TIAA Bank Field in Jacksonville on Sun Nov 12, 2023 (AP News photo)

On the 49ers podcast with J Hawkes:

#1 Joe, the bye week does many wonders after the 49ers had lost three straight games after winning five straight. They pounded the Jacksonville Jaguars last Sunday by a 34-3 victory.

#2 The 49ers defense were certainly locked on giving up just a field goal and

#3 The 49ers ran away with it by the third quarter scoring two touchdowns and were way ahead of the Jaguars 27-3. With Fred Warner and Talanoa Hufanga each had an interception for San Francisco and those kind of turnovers could make a big difference in a game like this.

#4 Brock Purdy contributed huge with three touchdowns, going 19-26 for 296 yards and kept the 49ers well ahead of the Jaguars.

#5 Next up for San Francisco the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Bucs (4-5) the Bucs have lost their last four out of five games. The Bucs won their last game beating the Tennessee Titans 20-6. Talk about how you see this match up this Sunday at Levi Stadium.

Join J Hawkes for the 49ers podcasts Saturdays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Cardinal Grounds Eagles 95-70, on a Rainy Friday Night on the Farm

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Stanford Cardinal guard Andrej Stojakovic (2) goes up for a bucket against the Eastern Washington Tigers at Maples Pavilion in Palo Alto on Fri Nov 17, 2023 (Stanford Cardinal photo)

By Michael Roberson

STANFORD, Calif.– The Stanford Cardinal (3-1, 0-0 Pac-12) and Bay Area inclimate weather did not allow the Eastern Washington Eagles (0-4, 0-0 Big Sky) to soar inside or outside of Maples Pavilion, 95-70.

Stanford started the game off trying to respond to the12-point loss in their previous contest. They also were down two senior starters (Spencer Jones & Brandon Angel) at gametime (6 pm PDT). However, EWU wanted to get their first win period, no matter the locale or opponent.

The Eagles got off to a flying start and led most of the first half. They were in front by as much as 12 points and had an 8-0 run during that time frame. Eastern Washington was also hot from beyond the 3-point arc, shooting a sizzling 57% from Downtown/Suburbs. Their junior guard/forward Cedric Coward was really “en fuego,” as he was perfect (4-4) from Threeland and garnered 14 points by recess.

The Cardinal had to battle from behind for nearly 13 minutes before they finally gained the advantage on the scoreboard. Graduate transfer Jared Bynum nailed a jumper (7:14) to put them in front, 27-26. That was a pivotal juncture in the half and game.

Stanford went on a 17-0 run themselves and also led by as many as 12 points. This was also the margin at intermission, 47-35. Freshman guard Andrej Stojakovic led the Cardinal with 12 points, while Bynum offered 9 points, 5 assists and 3 rebounds.

The second half Stanford widened their margin to as large as 25 points. Which was also the distance of the final tally, 95-70.. The aforementioned Pivot Time was when the Cardinal took over the lead and game for good.

Famous basketball son/player Stojakovic, led the Cardinal and opposing players at the half, as well as at the end of the game in points (18), with a variety of scoring options. Michael Jones chipped in 15 points, while sophomore guard Benny Gealer scored 13 points. Jared Bynum (11 points, 9 assists & 5 rebounds) and James Keeth (8 points & 12 rebounds) were both either an assist or a basket from a double-double in the blowout victory.

With the great play of the two newcomers Bynum and Stojakovic, Stanford Head Coach Jerod Haase explained what type of high character player comes to the program, “We’re really trying to bring in the guys who fit in with Stanford.”

The Cardinal are next in action in Paradise (Paradise Island, Bahamas) as they will participate in the Battle4Atlantis tournament in the Atlantic Ocean locale. They are scheduled to take on the Arkansas Razorbacks Wednesday, November 22 at 7:30 pm EST, and possibly face either the Michigan Wolverines or Memphis Tigers on Friday, November 24 at TBD.

EWU heads back to Cheney, WA to host the Walla Walla Wolves Wednesday, November 22 at 6 pm PDT.

Oakland A’s relocation podcast with Daniel Dullum: Kaval mentions A’s will play in San Francisco after 2024

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Oakland A’s team president said at the MLB owners vote in Arlington that the A’s will play at Oracle Park in San Francisco for the remaining three years 2025-27 until the Tropicana ballpark in ready in 2028 in Las Vegas. The A’s will finish their final year at the Oakland Coliseum in 2024. The A’s said they will not rebrand their name and remain the Oakland A’s during the construction period. (photo by the Oakland Athletics file)

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

#1 Daniel, the results of the MLB owners vote certainly didn’t come as a surprise to anyone?

#2 Schools over Stadiums the Nevada education group trying to stop the public financing of the Tropicana ballpark said that their fight is long from over saying, “@EduOverStadiums has a lawsuit and ballot initiative, but needs funding. Give today if you’re not ready to throw in the rosin bag.”

#3 The A’s will not get local TV money if they play in either Sacramento or Nevada. A’s president David Kaval talked on Thursday that the A’s will play their games on an interim basis at Oracle Park in San Francisco from 2025-27 three season after the conclusion of the 2024 season at the Coliseum.

#4 The Oakland 68’s the A’s largest fan group who last year organized the reverse boycott is calling for an all out boycott for opening day at the Oakland Coliseum when the A’s host the Cleveland Guardians on Thu Mar 28, 2024. The Oakland 68s said for no one show up for the home opener in 2024 after A’s ownership has abandon Oakland. If you thought last season’s crowds were bad 2024’s crowds might draw crowds of 1,000 or less per game.

#5 In essence Daniel, in your opinion is this pretty much a done deal and there is nothing stopping the A’s from leaving Oakland now not even a last ditch effort by Schools over Stadiums?

Daniel Dullum is a MLB beat writer and does the A’s relocation podcasts for http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Sacramento Kings podcast with Jeremiah Salmonson: Kings take out Spurs for fifth straight win in a row in San Antonio

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Sacramento Keon Ellis (23) reaches for the basket in first half action at Frost Bank Center in San Antonio on Fri Nov 17, 2023 (AP News photo)

Sacramento Kings podcast with Jeremiah:

#1 The Sacramento Kings (7-4) beat the San Antonio Spurs (3-9) in a game that was close until the final minutes of the game. 

#2 This was their fifth win in a row in an amazing resilient effort winning 129-120. 

#3 The Kings handed the Spurs their seventh loss in a row. De’Aaron Fox finished with 43 points.

#4 Fox also had eight rebounds, seven assists shooting at 58% from the field. This guy just seems to play better and better with every game.

#5 The Kings  take on the Dallas Mavericks next Sunday with tipoff scheduled for 4:30 PM in Dallas. Jeremiah how do you see this match up?

Join Jeremiah Salmonson for the Kings podcasts each Friday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com