Author: Sports Radio Service

That’s Amaury News and Commentary: MLB Negotiations: Billionaires vs Millionaires, and for the rest, “Let them Eat Cake”

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Not much headway between MLB and the MLB Players Association as both sides remain deadlocked. With arms crossed MLB Players Association executive Tony Clark (file photo New York Times)

MLB Negotiations: Billionaires vs Millionaires, and for the rest, “Let them Eat Cake”

That’s Amaury News and Commentary

By Amaury Pi-Gonzalez

The negotiations between owners and players associations/MLPA in New York City, ended on Friday. Thursday MLB proposed that a Federal Mediator will be appointed, today the players rejected it. Everybody went home, have a nice weekend everybody, see you Monday!

Thousands of people depend on baseball during the season, from regular ushers at the parks, to independent contractors that sell merchandise inside the park, parking attendants, to people that work in the maintenance of the park from ground crew to electricians and just regular laborers, people that clean and many others.

Most people do not realize that most players do not play in their hometown, temporary housing has to be found, housekeepers, babysitters, schools for the kids, and the infrastructure for your temporary home during the season. A lot of logistics.

Team’s staff, personnel that is only hired during the season, not ‘year round’ is affected. Television and radio technicians that are employed also game by game, season by season, broadcasters who do not have necessarily have an ‘iron clad’ contract or get paid regardless if there are games or not are affected.

Not every technician and/or broadcaster is represented by a Union; some teams do not hire union people but free-lancers. Local revenues in television and radio broadcasts in baseball are seriously affected. In some markets some radio stations do not produce the games, but they sell time to the teams, who then hire their own people to broadcast the games or in some other cases, it is not “clear” who the broadcasters really work for.

When Billionaires fight against Millionaires and there is an impasse, there is a perception by the public at large that they do not care about the regular “humans” that have to work eight or more hours for a living.

Not to mention the huge economic impact on each city and most stadiums. Example: the thriving business community around San Francisco Giants Oracle Park, some of those business need the baseball season, they are just blocks and around the park and depend on each season for the foot traffic and customers.

Spring Training (economy) barring a miracle of a very quick agreement, Spring Training in Arizona and Florida will not start on time. It is scheduled for mid-February. I have been traveling to the Phoenix, Arizona area for decades, the 15 teams that train there each year bring tourism from all over the country, thousands of fans go to see their teams, and many take vacations.

I have met many fans throughout the years that are the famous “snowbirds” they travel down from Illinois, Minnesota and those cold States during this time of the year for the sunny and perfect weather of the Arizona desert (just try to buy a ticket for a Cubs game) in February and March.

Same happens in Florida where the other 15 teams trains each year, these cities economies are also affected. Spring Training has become so popular that you must reserve a hotel in December if you want to have a room, and some hotel chains they take your reservation six months in advance.

To what limit are the owners and players willing to go? Do they know they are risking the total destruction of the industry and the amount of damage that will inflict to communities across the country?

This Collective Bargaining Agreement is at a key moment for the health of this sport. This is not 1994 when the last strike took place. In fact social media came about in 1997, recently Facebook has broadcast live games, and You Tube is also coming soon.

It took four years after the 1994 strike for baseball fans to come back. In 1998 the McGwire vs. Sosa home-run race, brought back the interest for many fans, even the most cynical of fans “returned”.

This time baseball might be living right at the precipice and like the old 1965 hit song by Barry McGuire (not related to Mark McGwire) “The Eve of Destruction”. Let’s hope that is not the case.

Join Amaury Pi Gonzalez for That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary podcasts at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Stanford Cardinal podcast with Daniel Dullum: Jones lone Cardinal to score double figures against Cougars on Thursday

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The Stanford Cardinal forward Spencer Jones (14) was the only player to score in double figures against the Washington State Cougars at Maples Pavilion on Thu Feb 3, 2022 ( file photo by Stanford Cardinal)

On the Stanford Cardinal podcast with Daniel:

#1 Despite a game-high 24 points from Spencer Jones, Stanford fell to visiting Washington State 66-60 Thursday in Pac-12 men’s basketball at Maples Pavilion.

#2 The Cougars’ win avenged an earlier loss to Stanford on Jan. 13.

#3 No other player for the Cardinal (13-8 overall, 6-5 Pac-12) scored in double-figures. Jones made 4 of 8 3-pointers while notching his third 20-plus point game of the season.

#4 Washington State (13-7, 6-3) was paced by Michael Flowers, who scored 22 points, followed by Tyrell Roberts with 12. 

#5 The Cardinal continue their stretch of playing eight games in 17 days when they host Washington on Sunday, Feb. 8, at 1 p.m.

Join Daniel for the Stanford Cardinal basketball podcasts each Friday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Sacramento Kings podcast with Jerry Feitelberg: Kings have lost seven of last eight games; Tip off with Thunder Friday night at Golden One

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Sacramento Kings guard Tyrese Haliburton dribbles the ball during the first quarter against the Golden State Warriors on Thu Feb 3, 2022 at Chase Center in San Francisco (AP News photo)

On the Kings podcast with Jerry F:

#1 The Sacramento Kings (19-32) Davion Mitchell replaced De’Aaron Fox in the lineup, and the rookie responded with a career-high 26 points Thursday night. 

#2 The Kings made the first bucket of the game to lead 2-0. It was the last time they would have the advantage.

#3 The Kings offense woke up and started to put points on the board at the half. Three players paced the Sacramento offense. Two of them were former Warriors, Harrison Barnes and Damion Jones. Davian Mitchell was hot, scoring ten points in the early going.

#4 Sacramento beat the Warriors 29-21 to get within 11 points of the lead. The Kings knew that they had a chance to pull off an upset as they started the third quarter.

#5 The Kings play the Oklahoma City Thunder who have lost three of their ten games head to Golden One Center in Sacramento on Sat Feb 5, 2022.

Jerry Feitelberg filled in for podcaster Jeremiah Salmonson for Kings podcasts each Friday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

WSU avenges earlier loss, holds on for 66-60 win over Cardinal

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Washington State Cougars forward (12) Michael Flowers drives up court against the Stanford Cardinal at Maples Pavilion on Thu Feb 3, 2022 (photo by Stanford Cardinal)

By Daniel Dullum
Thursday, February 3, 2022

Despite a game-high 24 points from Spencer Jones, Stanford fell to visiting Washington State 66-60 Thursday in Pac-12 men’s basketball at Maples Pavilion.

The Cougars’ win avenged an earlier loss to Stanford on Jan. 13.

No other player for the Cardinal (13-8 overall, 6-5 Pac-12) scored in double-figures. Jones made 4 of 8 3-pointers while notching his third 20-plus point game of the season. Jaiden Delaire was next on the Stanford scoring list with eight points, and James Keefe finished with 10 rebounds and six points.

The Cougars led 33-21 at halftime and held on to win, even though Stanford outscored them 39-33 in the second half.

Washington State (13-7, 6-3) was paced by Michael Flowers, who scored 22 points, followed by Tyrell Roberts with 12. Flowers’ 3-pointer extended the Cougars’ lead to 63-55 with 4;11 to play in the second half.

Jones sank a 3 and Keefe’s dunk pulled the Cardinal to within 63-60 at 1:18. On Stanford’s final possession, Isa Silva and Harrison Ingram each missed a 3-pointer. Efe Abogidi made 3 of 4 free throws in the final minutes for WSU.

The Cougars made 49 percent of their shots (24 of 49), while Stanford was 23 of 59 (39 percent). The Cardinal outrebounded WSU 36-26.

The Cardinal continue their stretch of playing eight games in 17 days when they host Washington on Sunday, Feb. 8, at 1 p.m.

Warriors Handle Struggling Kings 126-114

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Sacramento Kings forward Maurice Harkless (8) looks to drive around Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) at the Chase Center in San Francisco on Thu Feb 3, 2022 (AP News photo)

Warriors Handle Struggling Kings 126-114

By Barbara Mason

The Golden State Warriors (40-13) were back home for a single game taking on the Sacramento Kings (19-35) Thursday night. Coming off a great win against the San Antonio Spurs the “youngsters” brought this one home while Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Andrew Wiggins, and Nemanja Bjelica watched from the bench.

Sitting out this game, the starters were going crazy in the fourth quarter when the bench put on an incredible display of raw talent. They outscored the Spurs 35 to 16 ultimately winning the game 124-120.

Tonight Curry, Thompson, Wiggins and Kevon Looney started and the fifth man getting the nod was Moses Moody. Head Coach Steve Kerr is really high on Moody after the 20 points he put up against the Spurs Tuesday night.

When these two teams get together regardless of record a competitive game always seems to go down. What will be important for the Warriors is good ball movement and good screening. They will have to take care of the ball and will need solid defense. If they can accomplish this the Warriors should be able to win their 40th game of the season.

The Kings are coming off a win over the Brooklyn Nets. Prior to that win Sacramento had lost seven games in a row. They are having an extremely rough patch right now.

The Warriors jumped out to a 13-2 lead but mid-way through the opening quarter the Kings began chipping away at the Golden State lead. With under three minutes the score was 25-23 in favor of the Warriors in an amazing turnaround by Sacramento. As the first quarter came to an end, the Warriors had reined it back in and led 34-23 after a 9-0 run.

The Warriors extended their lead early in the second quarter. The Kings shots were not dropping and the Warriors were knocking downs three’s at will. Thompson had 20 points after nine minutes of play bringing back memories of his 37 point quarter against the Kings back in January of 2015.

There was no sloppy for Golden State in this game leading at the half 73-54 as they were piling up the points. The Warriors had open shot after open shot and were taking full advantage of them.

The Kings came out in the third quarter further trimming the Warriors lead. Golden State had led by as much as 26 points. The Kings had pulled to within 12 points and Golden State started committing turnovers that were costly. After three quarters the Dubs led 94-83.

The Kings would pull to within single digits in the fourth quarter but the Warriors starting hitting inside and outside pulling away from Sacramento winning this game 126-114. Jonathan Kuminga finished with 18 points and 7 rebounds. The fans got a real treat watching this guy dunk sending the Chase crowd into a frenzy. The kid is absolutely amazing.

Thompson also had an amazing game playing far better than anyone thought he would be capable of playing. After the long layoff Thompson has been competing at an incredible level finishing with 23 points, five rebounds and seven assists.

He is so far ahead of schedule it’s ridiculous. Curry finished with 20 points. The Warriors have now won eight games in a row and have pulled to within 2 games of the Suns.

The Warriors will be off for a few days before they take on the OKC Thunder Monday night. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:00 PM.

That’s Amaury News and Commentary; Beijing Winter Olympics – US Athletes the Most Watched, by the Chinese Government–

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The Olympic rings as Biathletes skate above the rings in a practice run on Thu Feb 3, 2022 at Zhangjiakou, China (AP News photo)

Beijing Winter Olympics – US Athletes the Most Watched, by the Chinese Government–

That’s Amaury News and Commentary

By Amaury Pi-González

The FBI warned the US Athletes participating in Beijing to take temporary cell phones (burner phones) and leaving their regular phones at home, because of the Chinese government surveillance, possible cyber attacks and other uses of their personal information for malicious intent.

The Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, told the US Athletes against angering the “ruthless” Chinese government and to focus on competing in the games rather than speaking out. In other words “shut up and just compete”.

The US boycotted diplomatically these games, together with other nations. What this means is that no US dignitaries will be in attendance at Beijing for the Opening Ceremonies, no politicians and diplomats.

The United Nations and Amnesty International, as well as other worldwide organization in the free world accuse the communist government of China of human rights violations, especially of forced labor camps across China of Uyghurs, a much persecuted Muslim minority as well as Tibetan populations in that country and other types of abuses including torture and even death.

Recently famous Chinese Tennis star Peng Shuai spoke about being raped by a high Chinese government official. She was “missing” for days after her allegations, to this day many do not really know what is happening with Shuai. Although the Chinese government is expected to use her as propaganda during the games that just began.

Boston Celtics center Enes Kanter has been consistently critical of the human rights abuses in China and even criticized the NBA for doing business with that country. There will be no public allowed for all events. This is basically a televised Olympic with very strict regulatory policies for all the athletes.

These Winter Olympics are called by many around the free world “The Genocide Olympics” as the tensions will be high, as Russian leader Vladimir Putin, threatening an invasion of Ukraine will be attending as a special invite of his friend and ally Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party, the man in charge of China’s over 1.4 billion people.

Chinese laws are very vague on the crimes they can use to prosecute people’s free speech. The free speech in China is allowed speech as long as that speech is favorable to the government. Nothing remotely close to the laws of the United States.

The athletes attending from all over the world will be very much in lock-down inside their quarters, because of strict covid precautions and also because the communist always consider every visitor to their country a “potential spy”. Although that is not right, their system of government, like other communist countries live with that paranoia all the time.

Because the Olympics always have the potential for international conflict, the US delegation must be very discipline. We can only think like the stress of competition was not enough, they have to deal also with these other stressful situations which are more political than anything else.

The US delegation has 225 athletes, 115 men and 109 women plus one (1) non-binary athlete. There are 91 countries participating in these 2022 Winter Olympics.

NBC is the official carrier for the United States and CCTV for China, a country with an estimated 370 million televisions among their population. 200 countries around the world will have some kind of coverage.

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

Silver Knights comeback from two-goal deficit beat Barracuda 6-3

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The San Jose Barracuda Jayden Halbgewachs (89) scored on a four on four in the Henderson Silver Knights zone scoring a short sided wrist shot for the Barracuda’s first goal of the game (file photo by the San Jose Barracuda)

by Marko Ukalovic

LAS VEGAS — In Sin City, the house always wins.

For the Henderson Silver Knights (20-12-2), they stayed true to that motto as they came back from a two-goal deficit to defeat the San Jose Barracuda 6-3 on Thursday evening at Orleans Arena.

San Jose heads into the All-Star break on a season worst five-game losing streak. Henderson has won four of their past five games.

San Jose (14-24-1-0) drew first blood with a four-on-four goal. Jayden Halbgewachs circled around inside the Silver Knights zone down to the left slot as he rifled home a wrist shot to the short side past Silver Knights goalie Logan Thompson at the 4:54 mark.

Santeri Hatakka and Jasper Weatherby received assists on Halbgewachs’ goal.

The Barracuda doubled its lead toward the end of the opening frame. Evan Weinger sent a shot on net that caromed off the skate of Adam Raska into the net for his third goal of the season at the 15:34 mark.

Raska played in his second game for San Jose since being reassigned by the Sharks as the parent club is off for the NHL All-Star break.

‘Cuda goalie Zachary Sawchenko made life difficult for Henderson in the opening 20 minutes as he stopped all 12 shots he faced.

Henderson (20-12-2-1) cut the Barracuda lead in half early in the second period. Jonas Rondbjerg sent a seeing eye shot from the point that snuck past Sawchenko for his 10th goal of the season at the 2:33 mark.

The Silver Knights evened the game just past the halfway point of the middle frame. Paul Cotter was a one man show. He picked up the puck inside the ‘Cuda zone. He skated in from right to left before beating Sawchenko with a wrist shot for his ninth goal of the season at the 10:41 mark.

Cotter has four goals in the past two games against San Jose.

Henderson scored its third unanswered goal on the power play late in the middle frame. Gage Quinney sent in a shot from a sharp angle along the left boards that beat Sawchenko for his second goal of the season at the 16:10 mark.

The Silver Knights gave themselves some breathing room with their second power play goal at the near the halfway mark of the third period. Gage Quinney sent a shot on net from the left slot and Jake Leschyshyn tipped in the puck past Sawchenko for his 11th goal of the season at the 8:53 mark.

Quinney iced the game for Henderson when he scored his second goal of the game (and his fourth point of the night) when he finished off an odd man rush with a wrist shot that beat Sawchenko for his third goal of the season at the 14:57 mark.

Thomspon finished the night stopping 28 of the 31 shots he faced to earn the victory. Sawchenko made 23 saves on 28 shots in the losing effort.

Ben Jones scored an empty net goal with 2:48 remaining in the third period for his 14th goal of the season. He snapped a six-game goal less draught.

Sasha Chmelevski scored a power play goal, his ninth of the season, with seven seconds left in the game to complete the scoring.

GAME NOTES: San Jose finished 1-for-6 on the power play. Henderson was 2-for-4.

The Three Stars of the Game were: 1) Quinney 2) Rondbjerg 3) Alan Quine

Goalie Sam Harvey PTO contract has ended. He was reassigned to the Orlando Solar Bears of the ECHL.

San Jose has never won in Las Vegas (0-8, 0-2 in the postseason) against Henderson.

UP NEXT: San Jose takes on San Diego on Friday 2/11 at 7:00pm at Pachenga Arena.

Super Bowl LVI podcast with Tony Renteria: Joe Burrow gets some lift off as Bengals prepare against Rams

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Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow (9) gets some lift off from teammate Tyler Shelvin after the AFC Championship game on Sun Jan 30, 2022 at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City (AP News photo)

On the Super Bowl LVI podcast with Tony Renteria:

#1 Tony the Cincinnati Bengals lots of hard work to get here winning six of their last seven games and Joe Burrow under center talk about the hard work ethic of Burrow and the Bengals to get this far.

#2 The Bengals in that last game against the Kansas City Chiefs a nail biter and Chiefs quarterback Pat Mahomes is no easy customer but once again the Bengals and Burrow persevered.

#3 Tony, talk about the job that Bengals wide receivers Ja’Marr Chase and Samaje Perine have done. Each player caught a touchdown pass against the Chiefs last Sunday.

#4 The Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matt Stafford has come a long way 12 years with the Detroit Lions long and suffering and gets a shot at the Super Bowl in his first year under center with the Rams.

#5 Tony how much is it an advantage for the Rams playing in their own stadium SoFi in the Southland it really seems like a custom made situation for the Rams?

Join Tony Renteria for the Super Bowl podcasts each Thursday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Kings shock Nets 121-101; Barnes leads with 19 points in victory; Win snaps Sac’s seven game losing streak

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Sacramento Kings guard Davion Mitchell (15) defends against Brooklyn Nets guard James Harden at Golden One Center in Sacramento on Wed Feb 2, 2022 (AP News photo)

By Jeremiah Salmonson

SACRAMENTO–The Sacramento Kings (19-34) were back in action on Wednesday night at Golden One Center. The Kings had last played on Monday in New York to face the Knicks. The Kings hadn’t won a game since January 14th against the Houston Rockets.

The Kings had lost seven straight games going into Wednesday night. The Kings would hope to change the tide on Wednesday as they welcomed the Brooklyn Nets (29-22) to town. The Kings played an up and down game but ultimately defeated the Nets 112-101.

The Kings were set to take on the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday night at 7 PM PST.

In the first quarter, the Kings did not play very well. They came out sloppy and appeared very lethargic on the defensive end of the floor. The Nets came out in the first and scored 32 points in the first quarter as the offense got off to a quick start.

The Kings only managed to put up 23 points for the Kings as they fell into an early hole in the first quarter. The Kings turned the ball over four times in the first quarter, which would not be a recipe for success the rest of the way.

In the second quarter, the Kings continued not to play very well. The Kings defense didn’t have an answer for the Nets offense. The Nets scored another 30 points in the second to hold onto their lead. The Kings managed to outscore the Nets by scoring 31 points of their own, but it wasn’t enough to mount a comeback.

The Kings would go into halftime down 62-54 and needed to turn the tide in the second half. The Kings were led in the first half by Harrison Barnes, who had 12 points. Nic Claxton scored 17 for the Nets to guide them in the first quarter.

In the third quarter, the Kings mounted a bit of a comeback on the Nets. The Kings entered the quarter down eight points and managed to cut that to three points after the thrid. The Kings scored 29 points in the quarter compared to the Nets 24.

It was the first quarter in the game that the Kings managed to outscore the Nets. The Kings would go into the final quarter of the game trailing the Nets 86-83. Could the Kings finish the comeback in the final 12 minutes?

In the fourth quarter, it was all Kings! The Kings blew out the Nets in the final quarter of the game by outscoring them 29-15. The Kings won the game and beat the mighty Brooklyn Nets 112-101. Granted, the Nets were without star Kevin Durant but they did have a healthy Kyrie Irving and James Harden.

The Kings held James Harden to only four points in 37 minutes of action. Nic Claxton led the way for the Nets in defeat scoring 23 points. The Kings best performance came from Harrison Barnes who had 19 points. The Kings had seven players in double figures. The Kings snapped their seven game losing streak improving to 19-34 on the season.

Up Next: The Kings travel to San Francisco to take on the Warriors on Thursday at 7 PM PST.

Silver Knights defeat Barracuda 5-3

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San Jose Barracuda Jake McGrew (left) scored an unassisted goal in the first period against the Henderson Silver Knights at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas on Thu Feb 2, 2022 (file photo by San Jose Barracuda)

by Marko Ukalovic

LAS VEGAS—The Henderson Silver Knights scored three goals in the third period to defeat the San Jose Barracuda 5-3 on Wednesday evening at Orleans Arena.

San Jose has lost four games in a row. Henderson has won four games in a row as both teams head in opposite directions.

San Jose would draw first blood in every period.

Jake McGrew scored an unassisted goal, his eight of the season, at the 4:10 mark of the first period.

Henderson answered back when Peter Liberatore scored his second of the season at the 17:10 mark.

Evan Weinger gave the Cuda a 2-1 lead early in the second period when he scored his seventh goal of the season at the 4:14 mark.

The Silver Knights responded when Paul Cotter scored his sixth of the season with one second left in the middle frame.

Once again San Jose scored an early goal to start the third period. John Leonard recorded his 10th goal of the season 54 seconds in.

Henderson took control of the game by scoring the final three goals of the period. Pavel Dorofeyev evened the game with his 15th goal of the season at the 5:20 mark.

Cotter scored the game winner, his second of the game at the 7:57 mark. He completed his hat trick with an empty net goal with eight seconds left to seal the deal.

Silver Knights goalie Logan Thompson made 29 saves on 32 shots for the win. Cuda goalie Alexei Melnichuk has 27 saves on 31 shots as he suffered the loss.

GAME NOTES: San Jose was 1 for 6 on the power play. Henderson was 0 for 3.

UP NEXT: Both teams conclude their two game series on Thursday 2/3 at 7:00pm at Orleans Arena.