Author: Sports Radio Service

Las Vegas falls to the Sky 104-95; Loss snaps 4 game win streak for Aces

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Chicago Sky forward Candace Parker, center, battles for the ball with Las Vegas Aces forward Dearica Hamby (5) and guard Chelsea Gray, right, in WNBA action at Michelob Ultra Arena in Las Vegas on Tue Jun 21, 2022 (AP News photo)

Las Vegas Falls to the Sky 104-95.

By Barbara Mason

The Las Vegas Aces (13-3) barely survived their last game Sunday against the Lynx winning by a singe point 96-95. Tuesday night they came back home at Michelob Ultra Arena taking on the Chicago Sky (11-5); this matchup a very tough one and took a tough loss 104-95 to snap a four game win streak.

The Aces had an amazing first quarter winning it 41-18. After 12 minutes it looked like they were in complete control of this game even though it was early.

The Sky came back in the second quarter winning the quarter 33-21 but still trailing at the half 62-51. Chicago had erased 11 points off the Aces lead but still had some work to do.

The Sky made a huge push in the third quarter coming out on top 30-11. Chicago had taken the lead 81-73 heading into the fourth quarter.

The Aces continued to trail the Sky in the fourth quarter. The hot start that Las Vegas had in the first quarter had vanished in the second quarter and they were struggling to keep up with Chicago through the third quarter and into the fourth. The Sky maintained a nice lead 92-82 with five minutes left in the game.

After an explosive first quarter the Aces seemed to fizzle. They took their foot off the pedal and let Chicago off the hook and back into this game. The final was 104-95. The Aces came close but it was too little too late. They did enough offensively to win this game and only had five fouls but it was just not enough defensively.

Courtney Vandersloot had the high for the Sky with 25 points. The Aces had great games from Jackie Young with 23 points and Kelsey Plum with 22.

Saturday night the Aces will take on the Mystics in yet another tough matchup. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:00 PM.

NHL Stanley Cup Finals podcast with Mary Lisa: Lightning need game 4 as well or go back to Colorado down 3-1

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Tampa Bay Lightning left wing Pat Maroon (14) puts the puck by Colorado Avalanche goaltender Darcy Kuemper (35) in second period action in game 3 of the Stanley Cup Finals at Amalie Arena in Tampa Bay on Monday, June 20, 2022,

On the Stanley Cup Finals podcast with Mary Lisa:

#1 Mary Lisa, the Tampa Bay Lightning down 2-0 in the series bounce back and get a much needed 6-2 win to cut the Colorado Avalanche’s series lead to 2-1.

#2 Game 2 the Aves crushed the Lightning 7-0 and after that game the Lightning were concerned about a high scoring Avalanche team but in game 3 on Monday the Lighting on home ice nailed it not wasting any time scoring twice in the first period and four in the second period.

#3 The Lightning got scoring help from Steven Stamkos one goal, Nikita Kucherov two assists, Victor Hedman two assists and Andrei Vasilevskiy in goal saving 37 shots.

#4 The Avalanche might have been shutout if it weren’t for left winger Gabriel Landeskog who did all the scoring with two goals.

#5 Game 4 is slated for Wednesday night at Amalie Arena in Tampa Bay. The Avalanche could lick their wounds and rebound and take game 4 and go up 3-1. The Lightning could keep the momentum going with a second straight home ice win. How do you see things shaking out in game 4.

Join Mary Lisa for the NHL Finals podcast throughout the Finals at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Headline Sports with Michael Roberson: Houston Baptist University player shot and killed; WNBA star Griner’s call might have been prevented; plus more

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Houston Baptist University forward Darius Lee jumps for a lay up against Arizona State during NCAA action on Nov 29, 2022 in Tempe AZ. Lee was shot and killed on Mon Jun 20, 2022 while eight others were wounded in the Bronx NY (AP file photo)

On Headline Sports with Michael Roberson:

#1 Darius Lee a 21 year old soon to be graduate at Houston Baptist University was shot and killed on Monday morning sometime after 12:30 AM EDT. Lee was home from school break in the Bronx in New York when he was killed and eight others were wounded. The shooting happens while there is a national concern about gun violence. Shootings in New York were down by 11% and murder was down by 12%.

#2 WNBA and Phoenix Mercury star Brittney Griner tried to call her wife on Saturday from the US Embassy but the call never made a connection because the phone line at the Embassy was not staffed. Griner could be released as early as July Griner wife Cherelle didn’t get a call from Griner and that there was speculation that the Russian authorities prevented the call.

#3 Daniel Snyder the owner of the Washington Commanders refused to testify before congress on June 22 regarding a toxic work environment. Carolyn Maloney NY-D chairman of the hearing committee gave Snyder a chance to testify virtually. Snyder’s council said that his appearing virtually does not address having council physically present with him. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell will testify.

#4 Defense lawyers in the Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver Henry Ruggs case are asking that his blood evidence showing he was twice the legal amount to drive when he crashed his car into a Las Vegas woman’s car killing her and her dog. Ruggs lawyers say there was no probable cause to extract blood from Ruggs saying the mere fact that he had an accident didn’t give probable cause to withdraw his blood therefore it was taken from Ruggs unlawfully.

#5 Tony the Raiders Hunter Renfrow is coming off a 103 catch season and two seasons ago Darren Waller caught 107 passes and Davante Adams who caught 111 passes in three of the last four seasons will be on board for the Raiders. Do you see the receivers making up a bulk of the scoring for the Raiders this season?

Michael Roberson filled in for Tony R for Headline Sports heard each Tuesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

That’s Amaury News and Commentary podcast: If A’s can score Howard Terminal will it come back and bite the Giants on SJ territory rights?

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Artist rendition of Oakland A’s Howard Terminal ballpark on the left outside view and on the right inside view from behind the plate (illustration from the San Francisco Chronicle)

On That’s Amaury News and Commentary:

#1 Amaury, Howard Terminal in Oakland is a lot closer to Oracle Park in San Francisco than the city of San Jose. In the event that the A’s do pull it off and get a waterfront ballpark at Jack London Square could that possibly cut into some of the Giants revenue fan base?

#2 If the A’s do get to move to Howard Terminal would Giants team president Larry Baer and the team ownership have taken a gamble blocking the A’s from moving to San Jose and if the A’s could pull off a coup in getting a new park at Howard Terminal.

#3 Economically, the A’s will be all the rage if they can get a new waterfront ballpark as the Giants and Oracle park novelty has worn off. The Giants have been drawing less than 25,000 on weeknights and are not selling out like they used to. Do you see it becoming a competitive two team market if the A’s can get the waterfront park?

#4 The Bay Conservation and Development Commission recommended on Friday to move the port designation on the 56 acre property giving way to strong possibility that they will vote in favor of the A’s ballpark and Howard Terminal project on Jun 30th.

#5 Oakland Mayor Libby Schaff will be termed out at the end of this year and there are some key candidates running for Mayor. The A’s president David Kaval had expressed that there will be a new mayor and new city council so which way will the new ballpark end up once that election happens?

#6 Your familiar with former Oakland City Councilman Ignacio De La Fuente who is a two time Councilman from 1992-2013. De La Fuente is throwing his hat in the ring for Mayor. De La Fuente lost twice when he ran for mayor to Jerry Brown and Ron Dellums. Mayor Schaff has not endorsed a candidate yet but is a close ally of councilwoman Loren Taylor. Knowing De La Fuente where does he stand on a new A’s ballpark and where does Councilwoman Taylor stand?

Amaury Pi Gonzalez is the lead Spanish play by play announcer for the Oakland A’s on flagship station Le Grande 1010 KIQI San Francisco and does News and Commentary at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Francisco Giants podcast with Marko Ukalovic: Bucs Suwinski was one man show in 4-3 win over Giants; SF opens 3 game series in Hotlanta tonight

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Pittsburgh Pirates Jack Suwinski gets mobbed by teammates after hitting a walk off home run in the bottom of the ninth at PNC Park on Sun Jun 19, 2022

On the Giants podcast with Marko for Morris:

#1 The Pittsburgh Pirates Jack Suwinski teed off on San Francisco Giants pitching on Sunday with three home runs fourth, sixth and ninth innings.

#2 Suwinski hit home runs off Giants pitchers Alex Cobb in the fourth, Sam Long in the sixth, and hit a slider off Tyler Rogers in the bottom of the ninth for the game winner.

#3 Suwinski a Pirate rookie is the first rookie to hit three home runs since former Pirate and former Giant Andrew McCutchen did it on Aug 1, 2009 as a Pirate.

#4 The Giants fell short after Thairo Estrada started off the top of the ninth inning with a home run off Pirates reliever David Bendar.

#5 The Giants are in Atlanta starting tonight in Cobb County. The Giants will go with Logan Webb (6-2, 3.43) for the Braves Max Fried (7-9, ERA 2.90) a 4:20 pm PDT.

Marko was filling in for Morris Phillips who does the Giants podcasts Mondays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Oakland A’s podcast with Barbara Mason: Koenig shows improvement pitches 5 plus innings of shutout ball against KC

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Oakland A’s starter Jared Koenig fires against the Kansas City Royals line up in first inning action at the Oakland Coliseum on Sun Jun 19, 2022 (AP News photo)

On the A’s podcast with Barbara:

#1 Oakland A’s starter Jared Koenig and three relievers shutout the visiting Kansas City Royals 4-0 at the Oakland Coliseum to avoid a sweep.

#2 The three hit shutout was Koenig’s first Major League win of his career after having two rocky starts. Koenig pitched 5.2 innings, two hits, four walks and no strike outs.

#3 On Father’s day Koenig’s father Greg watched his son pitch to his first MLB victory and what made it sweeter Koenig who grew up 75 miles south of the Coliseum.

#4 The A’s bats were alive for Sunday’s game against the Royals, Seth Brown had three hits and a home run. A’s catcher Sean Murphy hit a home run in the cause.

#5 The A’s will take Monday off as they prepare to host the Seattle Mariners on Tuesday night at 6:40 pm PDT starting for Seattle Marco Gonzalez (3-7, 3.41) and for Oakland James Kaprielian (0-4, 6.31) at the Oakland Colisuem.

Join Barbara for the A’s podcasts Mondays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

That’s Amaury News and Commentary: The winds of change no more shift

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The extreme shift by the Los Angeles Dodgers (CBS photo file)

The Winds of Change: No More Shift?

That’s Amaury News and Commentary

By Amaury Pi-González

The Major League Baseball laboratories are not in Transylvania, but in Pennsylvania and other States where minor league teams are currently playing. Looks like beginning in 2023, teams no longer will be allowed the now famous shift. No longer will a team be allowed to have more than two infielders on one side of second base. All the reports from these “laboratories” where they are experimenting create the incentive of hitters to put the ball in play.

1.The Shift: Calling games live in major league baseball I have seen it with my own eyes, how many “ground balls” that used to be hits are easy outs because of the shift. If you wonder does this contributes to lower batting averages? Legendary baseball author, statistician, writer Bill James who has written more two dozen books said the shift erased 22 per cent more hits than it gave away last season (2021), According to James, the shift took away over 4,800 hits that otherwise would have gotten through the infield for at least a single. And it turned out into hit on fewer than 4,000 occasions. So far this MLB season the combined average for hitters in both leagues in around .230. When the Boston Red Sox visited Oakland a couple of weeks ago, Alex Cora’s team had an American League high .260 combined average.

  1. Pitch Clock: It is also on a trial run in the minor leagues. I do not believe in clocks in baseball. One of the best things in baseball is that it is timeless, literally. We are told what time the first pitch is to take place, but I have never found one expert that can predict exactly at what time the last pitch will take place. In the minor leagues reports are showing that the average game is around 2 hours and 30 minutes. Now, I love the game of baseball and have been involved in it for over 45 years, but I also like to go home, we all do, unless you like to live in the park. But, seriously, baseball should not have a clock as a governor; it is not football, basketball or soccer/fútbol. It is an idiosyncratic game where people pay to go and enjoy relax, watch, see strategy and just pass the time with friends and family. Baseball was designed for the fans. They are the ones that pay to see the games. It was not designed for the media. But, (like many things in our lives) it has to do with money=dinero. Games that are short fit perfectly in many radio and television formats. Through the years I have spoken with many radio executives and most of them complain that the games go way too long and that prevents them from selling other programs. Television, which generate the most revenues could be much different, they are not that affected. And social media is the thing today, they are always inventing something new from twitter (where everybody is an expert) to Facebook where everybody is a photographer to those who multi-task until they go to sleep at night.
  2. Appealing Balls and Strikes: According to Baseball America: During this 2022 season, during certain Low-A Southeast games, the home plate umpire will call balls and strikes, but both teams will get three chances to appeal to the automated ball-strike system if they believe the umpire missed the call. The new appeal system is the most significant of the experimental rules changes that are being adopted around the minors in 2022. Is that also coming to the major leagues?

How will baseball look 20 years from today? If you have any futuristic ideas, please let me know you could be the next Commissioner.

Amaury Pi Gonzalez is the lead Spanish play by play announcer for the Oakland A’s heard on flagship station Le Grande 1010 KIQI San Francisco and does News and Commentary at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Ace squeak past Lynx in a marathon 96-95

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Las Vegas Aces forward A’ja Wilson (22) is all smiles as the Aces get a one point win over the Minnesota Lynx on Sun Jun 19, 2022 (@LVAces photo)

Aces Squeak Past Lynx In a Marathon 96-95.

By Barbara Mason

Sunday afternoon the Las Vegas Aces (13-2) took on the Minnesota Lynx (3-13) at Michelob ULTRA Arena. The Lynx have been struggling and on the opposite end of the spectrum the Aces have been playing lights out basketball led by Kelsey Plum and A’ja Wilson. The Aces continued their winning ways picking up their 13th win against the Lynx 96-95.

A real offensive and defensive battle between the two teams resulted in a tie after the first quarter of play. The two teams were knotted at 22. Moriah Jefferson led the Lynx with seven points and Chelsea Gray led the Aces with 6 points.

The Lynx outscored the Aces in the second quarter 28-17 and led at the half 50-39. It was a stunning first half for Las Vegas struggling against Minnesota. They were having a tough time offensively in this game.

Las Vegas turned this game around in the third quarter tying it up at 56 with 2:37 left in the quarter. With 54.0 ticks left in the quarter the tie persisted at 69. As the quarter came to an end the Lynx had taken a slim lead 74-73.

Minnesota refused to back off and continued to lead the Aces by the slimmest of margins in this roller coaster of a game. It wasn’t until the final three minutes of the game that Las Vegas locked in the win. The Aces fought through this game from the tipoff. The final was 96-95.

A’Ja Wilson finished with 25 points and Kelsey Plum turned in 21 points in this marathon.

The Aces will be taking on the Sky Tuesday night with tipoff 7:00 PM.

Three Suwinski Home Runs Beat Giants 4-3

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Three Suwinski Home Runs Beat Giants 4-3

The Pittsburgh Pirates Jack Suwinski hits his third home run of the day in the bottom of the ninth a walk off to defeat the San Francisco Giants at PNC Park on Sun Jun 19, 2022 (AP News photo)

By Barbara Mason

Sunday afternoon the San Francisco Giants (37-28) took on the Pittsburg Pirates (26-39) in the final game of their three-game series looking for a sweep. The Giants won a close game Saturday 7-5 turning in ten hits. They were looking for another big offensive day in Sunday’s game but the Pirates got enough pitching and hitting to edge the Giants 4-3 at PNC Park in Pittsburgh.

The Giants got a nice start in the first inning scoring two runs and taking the early 2-0 lead. Joc Pederson hit a single that drove Luis Gonzalez and Mike Yastrzemski home.

The Pirates got up on the board in the third and fourth innings with solo home runs. Hoy Park hit one to right in the third inning and Jack Suwinski had another in the fourth inning to knot the game 2-2.

Pittsburg would break the tie in the sixth inning when Suwinski hit his second solo home run of the game to give the Pirates the lead 3-2.

San Francisco would tie up the game in the ninth inning off a Thairo Estrada solo home run. Going into the bottom of the inning the score was 3-3. It was a monster day for Pittsburg’s Suwinski hitting his third homer of the day and giving the Pirates the walk off 4-3 and avoiding the sweep.

Monday evening the Giants start a four game series with the Atlanta Braves in Cobb County. Logan Webb (6-2, 3.43 ERA) will be on the mound in game one for San Francisco. The Braves will start Max Fried (7-2, 2.90 ERA). First pitch is scheduled for 4:20.

Oakland A’s podcast with Charlie O: A’s can’t get it together drop two straight against Royals; A’s need a win Sunday to avoid sweep

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Oakland A’s left fielder Seth Brown literally leaves it all on the field and can’t catch the Kansas City Royals Michael A Taylor’s drive which turned into a triple in the top of the seventh inning at the Oakland Coliseum on Sat Jun 18, 2022 (AP News photo)

On the A’s podcast with Charlie O:

#1 The Kansas City Royals starter Brad Keller who had not won in two months came out Saturday against the Oakland A’s pitching no hit ball through six inning and was lifted in the seventh and was the winning pitcher in a 2-0 pitcher duel at the Oakland Coliseum.

#2 A’s starter Cole Irvin pitched 6.1 innings, giving up just three hits and an earned run it would have been good enough to win if the A’s just got some hitting.

#3 In relief for the Royals Jose Cuas got two batters out and gave up a double in the bottom of the eighth inning. Then Royal reliever Scott Barlow followed up facing four hitters and setting them down and the Royals came away with a two hit shutout.

#4 The win was Keller’s first win since May 3 and he kept the A’s line up off balance all game long retiring 17 of his first 18 batters and he looked like he might have a shot at no hitter going into the seven inning.

#5 The A’s have one more chance at the Royals and to avoid a sweep. The Royals will start right hander Brady Singer (3-1, 4.24) and for the A’s left hander Jared Koenig (0-2, 11.25) a 1:07 pm PDT first pitch at the Coliseum.

Join Charlie O every other Sunday for the A’s podcasts at http://www.sportsradioservice.com