Author: Sports Radio Service

Despite Defensive Excellence Warriors Fall to Denver Nuggets 108-105

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The Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (15) drives on the Golden State Warriors forward Trayce Jackson-Davis in the first half at Ball Center in Denver on Wed Nov 8, 2023 (AP News photo)

By Barbara Mason

Despite a slow start, the Golden State Warriors (6-3) kept the Denver Nuggets (8-1) on the ropes in the second half of Wednesday nights game. This game show-cased excellent defense from both teams but it was the Nuggets that prevailed 108-105.

Wednesday night the Warriors faced their biggest challenge of the season taking on the defending champion Nuggets at Ball Arena. The Nuggets have only lost one game this season a matchup against the Minnesota Timberwolves 110-89. Nikola Jokic has had the high score in every game so far this season and so he was the man the Warriors tried to contain in this matchup.

He has had an amazing 108 triple doubles in his career and he kept Golden State busy. The Warriors got Andrew Wiggins involved in the game while guard Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson got a fast start having plenty on their plates besides Jokic.

Aaron Gordon, Michael Porter Jr. and Reggie Jackson rounded out a terrific bunch of starters for Denver. Golden State missed their best defensive player Draymond Green who was out for this game due to personal reasons. Gary Payton II was also out due to illness which is another tough loss since he has had some success guarding Jokic.

Game recap: This game did not go as planned; it was not the way that Golden State wanted to start. They had three early turnovers and as the first quarter began to wind down the Nuggets already had 12 points off Warrior turnovers.

The Warriors missed their first seven three’s and it was Moses Moody that hit one on the eighth attempt. After the first 12 minutes, Curry had not scored but it was Moody and Kevon Looney that had kept this game close. Despite everything that had gone wrong, the Warriors only trailed by five points 26-21. They were doing a great job keeping this game close.

The second quarter saw a momentum change in favor of Golden State. Three minutes into the quarter the Warriors had pulled to within two points after trailing by as much as 12 points in the first quarter.

At 6:16 Curry hit his first three of the night. The Warriors had held Denver to 38% shooting, a feat in itself against the number one shooting team in the NBA. Golden State was having a great defensive game.

With 1:40 left in the half, the Nuggets had their first turnover, a Jokic travel. The Nuggets won the second quarter 27-26 and took a 53-47 lead into the locker room at the half. Golden State finished the first half with seven turnovers and had yet to find a single player in double digits.

The Nugget’s Jokic, Porter Jr and Jackson all had double digits yet the Warriors only trailed by 6 six points which was a win in itself. So far in the first two quarters, Wiggins had only come up with 2 points.

Bench player Moody made a huge impact in this game scoring ten points in eight minutes. The Warrior reserves were keeping Golden State in this game and with the third quarter winding down, the Warriors had tied up this game numerous times.

With 28 seconds left in the quarter Golden State had taken the lead 78-76. Through three quarter, Curry and Klay Thompson had carried the offensive load in the game. With one quarter to go could the Warriors hang on and hand the Nuggets their first home loss of the season?

The fourth quarter could not have been tighter with the lead swinging back and forth sprinkled with a number of ties. The Warriors bench had dominated the Denver reserves and they were a huge part of any success Golden State was having.

With 14.7 ticks left on the clock Golden State was trailing by two points 107-105 and ball possession. Take the three or try to tie? The Warriors chose the later and failed giving the Nuggets the 108-105 win going undefeated at home.

Curry finished the game with 23 points, five rebounds and Thompson had 15 points and six rebounds. The Warriors bench completely outplayed the Nugget reserves 42 to 12. Both teams played excellent defense and this game could have gone either way.

The Warriors will now head home to Chase for a six-game home-stand. They will have two day off after a most grueling road trip. First up for Golden State will be the Cleveland Cavaliers who beat Golden State last Sunday 115-104. The Warriors will be looking to even things up this Saturday. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:30 PM.

Headline Sports podcast with Jessica Kwong: Angels hire Ron Washington; It’s not A’s Kotsay fault for bad record he gets extension; plus more news

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Former Atlanta Braves third base coach Ron Washington takes over as Los Angeles Angels manager for 2024 (AP file photo)

Headline Sports podcast with Jessica:

#1 The Los Angeles Angels hired former Texas Rangers manager Ron Washington to manage the Halos for the 2025 season. Washington a long time third base coach for the Oakland A’s and Atlanta Braves finally gets another opportunity to manage again.

#2 Washington is the one of two black managers in MLB the other is the Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. Washington becomes the oldest manager in the big leagues.

#3 The Oakland A’s extended Mark Kotsay’s contract through 2025 despite the A’s having the worst record in baseball last season. Kotsay knew he would be fielding a team that would be consisting of rookies, free agents, draft picks and players that no team would promote and with that in mind that did rally around Kotsay and avoided tying or surpassing the 1962 New York Mets who has baseball’s worst record.

#4 After winning their first five games the San Francisco 49ers are on a three game loss streak going to Jacksonville to face the Jaguars who have won their last give games after losing their first three games. This could be seen as a pretty even match this Sunday.

#5 After 11 straight loses the San Jose Sharks turned it around on Tuesday night and defeated the Philadelphia Flyers in San Jose. The Sharks longest streak losing streak in their history. Sharks goaltender MacKenzie Blackwood said it was relief to finally have won a game and it’s a weight that has been lifted.

Jessica Kwong does Headline Sports every other Wednesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

NHL podcast with Len Shapiro: Sens Stutzle opens up on offense against Leafs; Wild get Bogosian from Lightning; plus more news

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Detroit Red Wings defenseman Filip Hronek goes after Ottawa Senators left wing Tim Stutzle who puts the puck on net against the Detroit Red Wings goaltender Ville Husso at Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa on Tue Feb 28, 2023 (AP file photo)

On the NHL podcast with Len Shapiro:

#1 Len talk about the Ottawa Senators Tim Stutzle scored a goal and picked up three assists. The Senators scored three unanswered goals in 3:11 defeating the Toronto Maple Leafs 6-3 at Scotiabank in Toronto.

#2 In a trade on Wednesday the Minnesota Wild got Zach Bogosian from the Tampa Bay Lightning for a seven round draft pick in 2025, and Calen Addison to the San Jose Sharks for Adam Raska and a 2026 fifth round draft pick.

#3 The Colorado Avalanche Ross Colton forward was fined $5000 which is the maximum under the Collective Bargaining Agreement for cross checking New Jersey Devils forward Timo Meier on Tuesday night. The penalty came at 10:44 in the second period and Colton was hit with a major penalty and a game misconduct.

#4 The Chicago Blackhawks Connor Bedard is finding his way around goal creases, Bedard has three goals and five assists and has been a force with Nick Foligno and Philipp Kurashev on the same line. How crucial is Bedard for the Blackhawks.

#5 The San Jose Sharks picked up their first win of the season after losing 11 straight games. The Sharks goaltender MacKenzie Blackwood stopped 39 Flyers shots to save the night. The Sharks defeated the Philadelphia Flyers 2-1 after getting blasted by the Vancouver Canucks 10-1 and Pittsburgh Penguins 10-2. The Sharks defense looked far more improved against the Flyers can you talk about the improvements?

Join Len Shapiro for the NHL podcasts each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Sharks Win, Finally, 2-1 Against Flyers; 11 game skid comes to an end at SAP Center

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Mike Ferraro defenseman (left), Anthony DuClair left wing (center), and Mikael Granlund (64) celebrate Duclair’s third goal of the season in the first period against the Philadelphia Flyers at SAP Center in San Jose on Tue Nov 7, 2023 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

SAN JOSE- The San Jose Sharks ended their miserable losing streak Tuesday. The Sharks won 2-1 over the Philadelphia Flyers at SAP Center. Anthony Duclair and William Eklund scored for the Sharks and Mackenzie Blackwood made 38 saves for the win. Joel Farabee scored for the Flyers and Samuel Ersson made 17 saves in the loss.

Sharks goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood described the mood post-game: “It’s nice. It’s a lot of relief in here, everyone’s happy, it’s been a long time coming. Now we can take a breath and start to try and put some more together.”

Tomas Hertl described how the team felt during the game: “I know everybody was dialed in, everybody fight, everybody hit, everybody just put everything there.”

“There’s just so many things that went into tonight and at some point you say enough’s enough,” said Sharks Head Coach David Quinn. “I give a ton of credit to our leaders and our older players. I thought they really stepped up tonight.” He continued with a little bit of a reality check:

“And it wasn’t like we played great. I don’t want to think like ‘oh wow, they won a game!’ We played the way we’re capable of playing. We can play much better. But we checked a lot of boxes and showed some characteristics that we’re going to need. I thought there were a lot of good things but I thought we left a lot of offense on the table.”

The first goal of the game came just 1:43 into the game. Mikael Granlund’s pass sent Kevin Labanc into the Flyers’ zone with Anthony Duclair, two-on-one. Labanc made the pass late, drawing the goaltender to him and leaving space for Duclair’s shot from the other side.

The Sharks finished the period with only four shots on goal to the Flyers’13 shots.

William Eklund scored the second goal of the game on a power play late in the second period. After a long time in the zone, Duclair made a quick pass from the blue line to Eklund in the face-off circle. Eklund sent a slap shot into the far side of the net.

The Flyers got on back in the final minute of the second. Joel Farabee caught a cross-ice pass from Travis Sanheim and squeezed the puck past Blackwood. The on-ice official called no goal but a review determined that the puck did cross the line. Assists went to Sanheim and Scott Laughton.

In the final seconds, Duclair and Laughton had a confrontation that resulted in 10 minute misconducts.

Sharks forwards had an excellent night in the face-off circle, winning 69.8% of the draws. The Sharks had seven shots in the second period to the Flyers’ 11. In a scorelss third period, the Sharks had eight shots to the Flyers’ 15. In all, the Sharks had just 19 shots in the game to the Flyers’ 39. The Sharks scored on one of five power plays and killed all four of their penalties.

The Sharks next play on Thursday in San Jose at 7:30 PM PT against the Edmonton Oilers.

SJSU mens basketball open up 2023-24 season with victory over UC Irvine 72-64

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Photo courtesy of Titus Wilkinson.

By Titus Wilkinson (@TitusWisme)

SAN JOSE- The Spartans opened up their season with a solid victory over UC Irvine on their home court by a final of 72-64.

The first half was a rough one for San Jose shooting wise as they went 9-23 from the field while only hitting two three’s.

UC Irvine was able to shoot just a little better clicking at 10-25 from the field with only one three.

It was 24-24 at the end of the first half with head coach Tim Miles clearly not happy with his teams performance.

In the second half a completely different offense shown through for the blue-and-white as they dropped 48 points. There shooting was much better as they shot 14-27 from the field while going 5-13 from beyond the arch.

Similar to the first half UC Irvine was only able to knock down one three but did get 13 points from the free throw line.

A major stand out for the Spartans tonight was Trey Anderson who went 7-9 while getting 19 points. Tibet Goerner looked solid from three as he went 3-4 while also nabbing five rebounds.

The second half also saw San Jose get in some foul trouble as UC Irvine fought to get into the double bonus. The main culprits for the Spartans were Adrame Diongue with five fouls and William Humer with four.

The Spartans will look to remain undefeated as they take on Bethesda on Thursday at home at 8 p.m.

That’s Amaury News and Commentary: Oakland Mayor swings for a Five-Run Homerun 

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Fans and media await Mayor Sheng Thao to address the efforts by the City, City Council and Port of Oakland to keep the A’s in Oakland (photo by Stephen Ruderman Sports Radio Service)

Oakland Mayor Swings for a Five-Run Home-run

That’s Amaury News and Commentary

By Amaury Pi-González

November 7, 2023

OAKLAND–A new resolution by the Oakland City Council, spearheaded by the Mayor of Oakland Shen Thao was a last ditch effort today, November 7, what was a day for elections in other places across the country. It calls major league owners to keep the team in Oakland.

The owners are scheduled to vote next week, with 75% of the owners needed to approve the move of the A’s from Oakland to Las Vegas. “This is our team,” said Mayor Sheng Thao. “We are showing our good faith that we will work hard to keep our team rooted here.” Oakland has multiple sites.

There are viable options,” she said. “We continue to urge John Fisher to come back to the table and we have viable buyers should the team go up for sale.”

Rebecca Kaplan, Oakland council member, said, “It will be cheaper to build here, it will be faster to build here. “And the fan base is stronger here.” City of Oakland leaders argue they can rapidly accommodate a new stadium project and that $428 million in grants has been secured.

Meanwhile, in Carson City, Nevada. A Nevada judge threw out a proposed ballot referendum back by a statewide teachers union that would give voters the final say on whether to give $380 million in public funding (approved by Joe Lombardo, Governor of the State of Nevada) for a proposed $1.5 billion A’s stadium on the Las Vegas Strip.

As a Bay Area resident since 1969, who broadcasted the Oakland A’s and the San Francisco Giants, among other teams I have made my opinion public and very clear in two different languages. I believe the A’s belong in Oakland and to the Bay Area.

They are a storied and successful franchise, having won Four World Series Titles at the much-maligned Oakland Alameda County Coliseum.

However, this last-ditch attempt by the Mayor of Oakland and the city council is like going for an impossible 5-run Home Run in baseball, or maybe a Hail Mary Pass in Football, which has a nine percent chance of completion. Quote: ‘I had only one superstition. I make sure to touch all the bases when I hit a home run. -Babe Ruth.

Amaury Pi Gonzalez does News and Commentary weekly at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Mayor Thao, A’s Fans and City of Oakland make statement at spirited press conference

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Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao addressed the media and Oakland A’s fans during a presentation to keep the team in Oakland effort at Oakland City Hall on Tue Nov 7, 2023 (photo by Stephen Ruderman Sports Radio Service)

By Stephen Ruderman

OAKLAND–Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao was joined by Oakland City Council members, members of the Howard Terminal Commission and members of the Oakland 68s with numerous Oakland A’s fans in attendance for an impassioned press conference at City Hall in Oakland, in which everybody made clear that the A’s belong in Oakland.

The press conference took place, as the owners are set to vote on Nov. 14 for the potential relocation of the Oakland Athletics to Las Vegas. Numerous A’s fans came out to City Hall to fight to keep the team that has been one of the biggest parts of their lives.

“The only thing I can do to help save the team is make my voice heard as loud as possible,” said A’s fan, Rick Grijalva. “Ditto,” said A’s fan and Grijalva’s uncle, Greg Debois.

After initially gathering at Frank H. Ogawa Plaza, fans made their way inside to the City Council Chamber, where chants of “STAY IN OAKLAND” rang throughout the chamber for three minutes, as Mayor Sheng Thao made her way to the podium.

“Are we all pissed?” asked Thao to kick off the press conference, perfectly capturing the mood of almost everybody in attendance.

Mayor Thao highlighted an agreement between the A’s and the Howard Terminal Commission, as well as a written commitment by A’s Principal Owner John Fisher in 2018 to stay in Oakland. Thao even went as far as to meet personally with Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred in Seattle on July 11, two days before the All-Star Game was played there.

It seemed like more of a rally than a press conference, as Mayor Thao repeatedly encouraged the owners to vote no next week. Thao did not mince words, and she came out firing.

“We are all sick and tired of this uncertainty,” said Thao. “I hope that John Fisher and Dave Kaval are also sick and tired of their uncertainty.

Thao was livid, and she had every reason to be livid. Despite progress in negotiations for a new ballpark at the Howard Terminal in Jack London Square, the A’s were granted permission from Major League Baseball to explore relocation on May 11, 2021.

On April 19, the A’s abruptly ended their negotiations with the City of Oakland for a new ballpark, and expressed their desire to move to Las Vegas. Following years of prolonged ballpark negotiations in Oakland and throughout the Bay Area, the A’s rushed to get a ballpark deal in Las Vegas.

Fisher and A’s President Dave Kaval first tried to jam through a 35,000-seat ballpark at the former site of the Wild Wild West Gambling Hall & Hotel at the beginning of May. After that failed, they set their sights on the Tropicana.

On May 27, renderings, which were later repealed to be fake, were released for a ballpark at the Tropicana site in an effort to jam a funding bill through the Nevada State Legislature. The bill passed in both houses on June 14, and was signed into law by Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo the next day.

None of this has deterred the fans. Starting with a reverse boycott at the Oakland Coliseum on June 13, fans have made their voices heard, as they have filled the Coliseum and other ballparks with chants of “SELL THE TEAM.”

A’s fans made their voices heard at the All-Star Game at T-Mobile Park in Seattle on July 11; and with Giants fans on Unite the Bay Night at Oracle Park in San Francisco on July 25. They also got chants of “SELL THE TIME to roar around Coors Field and Dodger Stadium

“If someone tells me one more time that the A’s can’t [fill] the Coliseum, just look at this [room],” said Thao. [It’s] a weekday, and look at all the green and gold in this room. “We were with them through the good years; through the bad years; through five different owners; through roster shakeups; and actual earthquakes,” Thao continued.

Oakland is a baseball town with a lot of history. The colorful A’s of old owner, Charlie Finley, won three-straight World Championships in 1972, 1973 and 1974. They won three-straight American League Pennants from 1988 to 1990, with a world championship in 1989. They went through three unique runs here in the 21st century, highlighted by the Moneyball A’s of the early-to-mid 2000s.

Stephen Ruderman is an Oakland A’s beat writer for http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Stanford Cardinal basketball with Michael Roberson: Raynaud and Jones getting some good production

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Stanford’s Spencer Jones (14) shoots against Arizona during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in the quarterfinal round of the Pac-12 tournament Thursday, March 10, 2022, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

On the Stanford Cardinal basketball podcast with Michael Roberson:

#1 Stanford Cardinal Maxime Raynaud led with 23 points, 23 rebounds, three blocks and two steals in the Cardinal win over Cal State Northridge on Monday night 88-79 in the season opener on the Hill.

#2 The Cardinal Michael Jones followed up Raynaud in scoring with 20 points, what was also convincing was Stanford scored the last 13 points of the game to put the kibosh on CSUN’s evening.

#3 Michael talk about Brandon Angel who scored 17 points, eight rebounds, and got three blocks for the Cardinal.

#4 Keonte Jones hit a three point shot at 2:59 left in the game that put Northridge up by four but after that the Northridge was 0-4 and the Cardinal scored the rest of the way for the win.

#5 Next up for the Cardinal, Sacramento State Hornets, the Hornets opened up their season against the Nevada Wolfpack on Tuesday and this is their second game. The Cardinal did show a good exhibition of offense in their game against Northridge last Monday.

Join Michael for the Stanford Cardinal podcasts at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Francisco 49ers podcast with David Zizmor: 49ers can do this this Sunday in Jacksonville

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Cincinnati Bengals linebacker Germaine Pratt (57) reaches up to pick off a San Francisco 49ers Brock Purdy (13) pass at Levi Stadium on Sun Nov 5, 2023 (AP News photo)

On the SF 49ers podcast with David Zizmor:

#1 David, when you look back on the 49ers last game what are some of the signs did you see where the 49ers struggled in a convincing lose to the Cincinnati Bengals 31-17.

#2 For 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy another struggling game, against the Bengals going 22-31, 365 yards and a touchdown. Purdy got some yards but just could keep up with the Bengals.

#3 The 49ers next opponent the Jacksonville Jaguars (6-2) are on a roll they have won their last five games ironically the 49ers started out the season winning their first five games in row. The 49ers had a bye last week and face the Jaguars on their home field how do you see this one playing out?

Join David Zizmor for the 49ers podcasts each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

That’s Amaury News and Commentary podcast: Oakland Mayor hoping to sway owners vote with A’s resolution; Schools over Stadiums to appeal Judge’s ruling

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Howard Terminal rendering. Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao, City Council, and the Port put on a presentation on Tuesday that City Hall hopes to sway some of the MLB owners to vote no on an A’s relocation (Rendering of Howard Terminal from the Oakland Athletics)

On That’s Amaury News and Commentary podcast:

#1 Amaury, among the Mayor and the City Council goals in adopting a resolution at City Hall. Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao and the City Council are showed the infrastructure of Howard Terminal, the benefits of having a park at the Terminal and something on the drawing board that might change the MLB owners vote. After today’s meeting do you see owner changing they’re minds and giving the A’s a chance to build at Howard Terminal?

#2 Amaury, the odds are starting to dim and Mayor Thao is hoping for a ninth inning rally to stay in the hunt to persuade the owners vote. Thao says that the city does have a plan and budget to build at Howard Terminal but the A’s walked away. MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said Oakland had no deal hence Manfred and the A’s are ready to open for business in Las Vegas.

#3 Nevada District Judge James Todd Russell ruled in favor of Oakland A’s lobbyists Danny Thompson and Thomas Morely who took Schools over Stadiums to Monday’s court hearing in District court to throw out Schools over Stadiums attempt to put a referendum on the Nov 2024 ballot to stop public funding for a Las Vegas A’s ballpark and that funds should be used to support schools.

#4 Judge Russell said that Schools over Stadiums would have to refile their petition and that Schools over Stadiums would need to use the full text of SB1 or appeal the case to a higher court.

#5 Thompson and Morely didn’t respond to media inquiries for comments. Schools over Stadiums spokesman Alexander Marks made it clear that they will appeal saying the decision was disappointing but not uncommon adding that Schools over Stadiums plans to refile the referendum and that there is plenty of time to refile as the signature deadline is June of 2024.

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