Category: Golden State Warriors

Warriors get past Rockets 104-100 in Game 1

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Photo credit: @warriors

By: Ana Kieu

There was no rest for the weary Golden State Warriors, whose second round opponent was the Houston Rockets, who reportedly arrived to San Francisco early. The Warriors, however, were determined to defeat the Rockets — and they did just that in Game 1 at Oracle Arena on Sunday afternoon.

The Warriors’ starting five was Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and Andre Iguodala. Curry (right ankle sprain) and Thompson (right ankle sprain) were available to play Sunday.

The Warriors got their game faces on and headed out onto the hardwood to shoot some hoops. There was a scoreless tie up until 11:47 of the first quarter. Andre Iguodala made a pass to Draymond Green, who made the first bucket of the game.

Kevin Durant made a field goal midway through the first quarter. With the field goal, Durant (1,248 points) passed Wilt Chamberlain (1,246) for fifth place on the Warriors’ all-time postseason scoring list.

Draymond Green drove inside and got the ball into the net to extend the Warriors’ lead to 14-9 with 6:13 left in the first quarter. Kevin Durant joined the three-pointer party by hitting a 3 for a 28-19 lead with just five seconds left in the first. The Warriors led 28-19 at the end of the first.

The Warriors had a slim, four-point lead late in the second quarter. But Steph Curry changed that with a 3 to extend the Warriors’ lead to 43-36 with 5:25 left in the second. Draymond Green and Kevin Durant teamed up to add some buckets into the mix. The Warriors took a 53-53 tie to the locker room at the break.

Kevin Durant displayed his tremendous defensive skills in the third quarter. Durant knocked the ball out of the air as soon as James Harden tried to put it into the net. That was quite a way for Durant to say “no.”

Also, plenty of ball movement led to buckets for the Warriors. The Warriors led 83-76 at the end of the third.

The Warriors were “locked in” in the fourth quarter. Despite being outscored 24-21, Golden State had winning on their minds. Steph Curry made a pass to Kevin Durant, who made a one-footer that was good and put the Warriors up 94-91 with 4:36 left in the fourth. With the point, Durant passed Larry Bird (3,897) for 11th on the NBA Playoffs’ all-time career scoring list.

The Warriors trailed by two late in the fourth quarter. However, Steph Curry made it 103-98 in favor of the Warriors with a three with 24.4 seconds left in the fourth. That was quite a bang that got Curry fired up. The Warriors won Game 1 by a final score of 104-101.

Draymond Green stuffed the Warriors’ stat sheets with 14 points, nine rebounds, nine assists and was 7-9 FG. The Warriors’ Statline of the Game was presented by Zoom.

The Warriors (1-0) and Rockets (0-1) face each other in Game 2 on Tuesday night at 7:30 pm PT.

Warriors eliminate Clippers with 129-110 win in Game 6

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Photo credit: @warriors

By: Ana Kieu

It was a Game 6 showdown in LA on Friday night as the Golden State Warriors looked to close out the first-round series against the Los Angeles Clippers at the Staples Center.

Alfonzo McKinnie has taken a unique route to the NBA. The 26-year-old forward has paid for a G-League tryout, made stops to play 3×3 with international teams and played 14 games with the Toronto Raptors. Now, he has played in 5 playoff games with the Warriors and averaged 4 points and 3 rebounds, including 1 offensive rebound, in just under 10 minutes of action per game.

In case you missed it, Steph Curry became the only player in NBA history to reach 400 career postseason 3-pointers. Check out some of his best postseason 3s in the video below.

The Warriors reportedly talk about resiliency all the time, so they said it should be there Friday.

When asked about his mentality on Game 6, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said: “It’s human nature, as we just talked about. You get threatened, you lose, you don’t sleep that well, you can’t wait for the next game.”

“You win a couple on the road, you get a little happy, a little comfortable, and you lose your edge, and that’s all it takes. So, we’ll have our edge back tonight.”

Turns out, Golden State had resiliency in Game 6.

The Warriors’ starting five featured Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, Shaun Livingston, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson. Livingston started for the Warriors over Bogut. Livingston started his first career playoff game since 2016.

The Warriors started off slow, but fought back. The Clippers were up 7-2 at 10:26 of the first quarter, but Kevin Durant made a mid-range shot to reduce the deficit to 3. However, LAC went on a 9-0 run to take a 10-point lead over GS with 6:14 left in the first.

GS, however, picked up the pace and reduced the deficit to 4 with 5:18 left in the first. Durant had 8 points and 1 rebound at the time. Also, the Warrior defense converted into offense, which helped the cause. The Warriors used a 12-2 run to regain the lead 24-23 with 3:41 left in the first.

The Warriors stormed back for a 35-31 lead at the end of the first.

Kevin Durant made quite a few buckets, and as a result, put on a scoring clinic in the second quarter. The Warriors led 48-42 with 5:40 left in the second. Aside from Durant, Kevon Looney got a good amount of lobs in the second.

The Warriors’ largest lead was 59-47 with 3:09 left in the second. Kevin Durant made a pair of free throws, Andre Igoudala blocked a Clipper shot and the Warriors led 72-53 at the break.

Tonight, it wasn’t so much about the Splash Brothers, but Kevin Durant and Steph Curry instead. The Warriors maintained a double-digit lead throughout the third quarter. LAC went on a 18-8 run over five minutes, but Klay Thompson ended the Clipper run with a field goal. The Warriors led 84-71 with 4:45 left in the third.

Andre Iguodala threw down a one-handed dunk to extend the Warrior lead to 89-71 with 3:21 left in the third. Moreover, Kevin Durant became No. 9 in NBA Playoffs history for number of 3-pointers and set a new career playoff high with 46 points tonight (14 of 22 FG, 6 of 12 3FG).

Kevin Durant continued to make history with his 50th point with 7:01 left in the fourth quarter. Also, Andre Iguodala picked up the ball from a Clippers defender, spotted Steph Curry wide-open, Curry threw it back to Iguodala, who threw down a dunk that hit the rim. In addition, Green recorded a triple double with 16 points, 14 rebounds and 10 rebounds.

The Warriors won by a final score of 129-110.

Check out the Warriors’ final stats below.

The Warriors play the Houston Rockets in the second round of the 2019 NBA Playoffs.

Headline Sports podcast with Tony Renteria: What went wrong with Golden State? Clippers just a little better in the end; Did LA pick up on Warrior defense?

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Photo credit: @theScoreNBA

On the Headline Sports podcast with Tony Renteria:

#1 The Warriors tried and tried to stay ahead of the Clippers on Wednesday night in Oakland, but fell just a few points short in the end. Was it a matter of the Clippers were the better team or was it a matter of the Warriors just had a close but off night?

#2 In a game when your short some seven or eight points, what lacked from the Warriors’ skill set? Were guys letting up or the Clippers were setting up the shot without the pressure and through these playoffs the Clips were able to learn some weaknesses in the Warrior defense?

#3 It was no doubt a team effort by LA from Lou Williams (33 pts), Danilo Gallinari (26 pits), and Montrezl Harrell (24 pts), who led the Clips in scoring.

#4 The Clips are down 3-2 in the series, but you never know what team is going to show up. They came back and erased a 31-point lead by Golden State in Game 2 and they held on in Oakland to win by eight 129-121 on Wednesday night to win Game 5. Is this a fluke or they can come out and do it again?

#5 On the Warriors side, Kevin Durant came out with 45 points, Stephen Curry with 24 pts and Klay Thompson with 22 points. Some nights you can do all you can, but you just end up short. These guys put it all out there on Wednesday.

#6 Lastly in NBA news, did Magic Johnson’s resignation as Los Angeles Lakers team president take you by surprise? He reportedly left  because he saw a negative email that was blindly Bcc’d to him that was written between team owner Jeannie Buss and team general manager Rob Pelinka that said Magic wasn’t getting the job done. Magic decided it was time to resign and met with the media to make the announcement without first giving notice to Buss or Pelinka.

Tony Renteria does Headline Sports each Thursday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

Warriors lose to Clippers 129-121 in Game 5

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Photo credit: @warriors

By: Ana Kieu

The Golden State Warriors held a 3-1 series lead over the Los Angeles Clippers in the first round of the 2019 NBA playoffs. It was clear the Warriors didn’t want to blow a 3-1 lead like they did to the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016.

Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid recently joked about the Warriors blowing a 3-1 lead in a postgame press conference. Warriors big man Andrew Bogut, who was part of the Warrior squad who lost to the Cavs in 2016, responded to Embiid’s joke in his column for Yahoo Sports Australia.

“Joel Embiid saying the 76ers don’t want to do what we did in the 2016 Finals is just Joel being Joel — he’s a bit of a larrikin,” Bogut wrote. “But they have to get to a Finals series first before they can even think about doing that.”

“It’s been a funny talking point for a lot of people in the league. But we haven’t taken any notice of it and it’s not something that’s been mentioned in the locker room.”

Sure, Philadelphia eliminated the Brooklyn Nets 3-1, but the Sixers are a long ways away from the Larry O’Brien NBA Championship trophy. We’ll see how things go in the City of Brotherly Love.

In the meantime, Golden State was more than ready to go for Game 5 at Oracle Arena on Wednesday night. Before the game, Draymond Green said: “We just got to come out with the mindset that it’s 48 minutes. Stay the course, no matter what.”

The Warriors’ starting five featured Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and Andrew Bogut. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, Bogut is open to another Australia-NBA season. Bogut has a verbal agreement to play for the 2019-20 Sydney Kings, and if given the opportunity to return to the NBA, he’d do so after honoring his commitment.

The first quarter remained in close scores, but the Warriors had something to smile about. Kevin Durant poured in the points, recorded his 3,776th career playoff point and passed John Havlicek for 12th on the NBA Playoffs’ all-time career scoring list.

Kevin Durant had back-to-back buckets along with 12 points in the first quarter. But Durant’s performance wasn’t the only highlight in the first quarter. Steph Curry found Andre Iguodala, who passed the ball to Alfonzo McKinnie, who hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer beater to extend the Warriors’ lead to 41-37 to wrap up the first quarter.

Patrick Beverley led the Clippers in points, rebounds and assists in the first. Beverley, Danilo Gallinari, Lou Williams and Montrezl Harrell kept things up in the second quarter to give the Warriors fits. The Warriors trailed 71-63 at the end of the first half.

Kevin Durant continued to hammer it home in the third quarter. Also, Steph Curry hit a 3 to cut the deficit to 87-78 with 6:25 left in the third quarter. But the Clippers built up a 10-point lead and wrapped up the third quarter with a 104-94 lead, so the Warriors had some work to do in the fourth quarter.

The Warriors were off to a good start to open the fourth quarter.

Check out the Warriors’ 4-point play:

The Warriors were down by 6 with 5:58 left in the fourth quarter. However, Steph Curry helped the Warriors out of the flop with a 2-point bucket to cut the deficit to 114-110 with 5:55 left in the fourth quarter.

Kevin Durant knocked down a few jumpers. The Warriors tied the game 116-116 with 3:03 left in the fourth quarter. But the Clippers weren’t ready to back down just yet. Golden State got their first lead of the game since the first half, but LA regained the lead 125-118 with 1:29 left in the fourth quarter.

Steph Curry hit a 3 to cut the deficit to 125-121 with 20.6 seconds, but Danilo Gallinari made a pair of free throws to cap off the scoring. The Warriors (3-2) lost to the Clippers (2-3) by a final score of 129-121.

Despite the Warriors’ loss, Steph Curry became the only player in NBA history knock down 400 career playoff 3s.

Check out the Warriors’ final stats:

Game 6 will be played at the Staples Center on Friday, April 26. The time has yet to be determined. The game will be broadcast on ESPN, NSBA and FSPT.

Golden State Warriors podcast with David Zizmor: Warriors can move onto next round with win over Clippers Wednesday night

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Photo credit: @SNYtv

On the Golden State Warriors podcast with David:

#1 Since that 31-point erasing by the Clippers in Game 2, the Warriors have been on track with some consistent basketball and flawless play in games 3 and 4.

#2 Warriors star Kevin Durant led Golden State in Game 4 with 38 points. Durant might be the round one MVP at this rate.

David does the Warriors podcasts each Tuesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

Warriors defeat Clippers 113-105 for back-to-back road wins

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Photo credit: @warriors

By: Ana Kieu

The Golden State Warriors had hoped to take a 3-1 series lead over the Los Angeles Clippers at Staples Center Sunday. The Warriors didn’t want to repeat their blowing of a 31-point lead in Game 2 at Oracle Arena last Monday.

The Warriors were ready for the game. Golden State’s starting five featured Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, and Andrew Bogut.

Klay Thompson got the party started with a pump fake at the 10:55 mark of the first quarter. Thompson made seven straight buckets, too. Kevin Durant continued making his buckets, which gave him the nickname “Buckets” — but most, if not all, of us would mind if he went by that nickname. Durant and Draymond Green played a major role in the Warrior defense. The Warriors led 33-22 at the end of the first.

Steph Curry rang in the second quarter with a three-pointer off a pass from Kevon Looney. Kevin Durant and Danilo Gallinari had a conversation, and although it was unclear what the two were discussing, Gallinari made a pair of free throws, so I doubt it had anything to do with the Warriors. However, Durant did pass Hakeem Olajuwon for 13th place on the NBA’s all-time playoff scoring list with 3,756 points.

The shot clock expired with 1:05 left in the second, and the Clippers reduced their deficit by six, trailing 58-52 with one minute left. Los Angeles added two points to make it 58-54, but Golden State added four points for a 62-54 lead to close out the first half.

The Clippers not only reduced their deficit in the third quarter, they also got past the Warriors 82-77 for their largest lead of the game with 3:57 left in the third. But the Warriors tied the game 82-82 at the two-minute warning. Steph Curry hit a three to make it 85-82 with less than two minutes remaining. LA made it a one-point game, but that was short-lived as Golden State added two points for a 87-84 lead at the end of the third.

After a short break, Golden State returned to the court ready to take over. Andrew Bogut made a pass to Andre Iguodala, who threw the shot down the rim for a 94-88 lead with 9:012 left in the fourth quarter. Klay Thompson proved to be money, and as expected, Draymond Green and Kevin Durant teamed up to create assists and points, respectively. The Warriors (3-1) won the game 113-105 for back-to-back road wins over the Clippers (1-3).

Check out the Warriors’ final stats below:

The series shifts to Oracle Arena for Game 5 Wednesday. Game time to be announced later on.

Kevin Durant was trustworthy in Warriors’ Game 3 win over the Clippers

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Photo credit: @usatodaypost2

By Joe Hawkes-Beamon
SRS Contributor

Can the notion that Kevin Durant can’t be trusted as a Golden State Warrior be buried six feet under?

Ever since the Warriors surrendered a historic 31-point lead on Monday night to the Clippers which allowed Los Angeles to steal Game 2 with a 135-131 victory that tied the first-round series 1-1, all the talk was the amount of shots that Durant took (8), the amount of turnovers he committed (9), and that Clippers defensive point guard Patrick Beverley was in his head.

Well, Durant exploded and was indeed trustworthy in Game 3, scoring a game-high 38 points on 14-of-23 shooting to lead the Golden State Warriors to a commanding 132-105 victory to take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-7 series. Durant finished with seven assists, four rebounds and five turnovers.

Game 4 is Sunday at Staples Center.

Golden State came out firing in the first quarter, jumping all over Los Angeles with a 22-9 run while shooting a blistering 73-percent from the floor. The Warriors took the crowd out of the game early and just dominated the Clippers wire-to-wire.

Durant was a major reason for such an emphatic response by Golden State in Game 3, drilling his first five shots and both his free throws for 12 points in the first quarter. Along with Stephen Curry’s 13 points, Golden State built a 19-point lead before the Clippers blinked. Both Durant and Curry picked up two fouls early.

Curry finished with 21 points, but was whistled for five fouls total.

By halftime with the Warriors holding a commanding 73-52 lead, Durant had 27 points on 10-of-15 field goals, tying a postseason career-high.

Golden State put the game out of reach once Curry drew his fourth foul in the third quarter. The Warriors scored 14 straight points to lead 88-57.

The lead grew up to as much as 35 points for the Warriors, thanks to Alfonzo McKinnie’s 3-pointer late in the quarter.

The real story was Durant, who had to hear that the aforementioned Beverley was in his head for the past three days. Durant torched the Clippers and Beverley for 30 minutes on Thursday night that he didn’t even play in the fourth quarter.

It’s safe to say that had Durant played in the fourth quarter, he would’ve dropped 40 points easily.

Heck, 50 points wouldn’t been out of the question.

Warriors take 2-1 series lead with 132-105 rout of Clippers in Game 3

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Photo credit: @warriors

By: Ana Kieu

The Golden State Warriors headed down to the Southland for Game 3 against the Los Angeles Clippers at Staples Center Thursday night. The Warriors had one agenda: Win the game for a 2-1 series lead.

The Warriors sure knew how to celebrate National High Five Day, and guess what else happened? Some French fans flew out to LA to support the Warriors, which was a pleasant sight to see. The French love their pro basketball.

The Warriors’ starting five featured Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and Andrew Bogut. The Warriors were locked in during practice, the game went underway in LA and the dominance continued.

The game’s first bucket went to Kevin Durant. Durant scored the clutch basket at 11:16 of the first quarter. With the point, Durant (3,706) passed Magic Johnson (3,701) for 14th place on the NBA’s all-time postseason scoring list. The Warriors then old a classic tale as Draymond Green blocked and Stephen Curry tripled for a 9-3 lead with 9:26 left in the first.

However, all eyes were on Kevin Durant, who scored 10 points –5 of 5 from the field–with 6:03 left in the first. Durant made a 2-point bucket to justify his fiery performance. The Warriors made nine straight field goals along with a 3-pointer by Stephen Curry to close out the first with a 41-24 lead.

The second quarter wasn’t as high-scoring, but it was exciting nonetheless. Klay Thompson joined in on the Warriors’ Splash Party with a 3. Thompson added a bucket. Thompson threw down a dunk, too.

The Warriors continued to maintain their double-digit lead, thanks to Kevin Durant. Durant expanded the Warriors’ halftime lead to 73-52 at the break. Durant helped turn the Warriors’ defense into offense with his sweet plays such as knocking down jumpers to pull his defenders out of the paint and making buckets to add to his point total.

You could say the game was in favor of the Warriors. Why’s that? The Warriors went on a 14-0 run to open the third quarter. Andre Iguodala put the exclamation mark to the run.

Kevin Durant’s crossovers in slow-motion were amazing sights to see. Durant was definitely a top-5 player with his scoring plays from the get-go tonight.

But let’s not forget about Andre Iguodala. Iguodala threw down a couple of dunks and almost broke the rim at some of those moments. Moreover, the score wasn’t even close as the Warriors led 109-76 at the end of the third.

The almost rim-breaking type of moments transpired into the fourth quarter. The Warriors were so good at those moments that you could sing to yourself, “Meet me at the rim” instead of “Meet me in the middle” (Yes, I had to throw in a song reference from “The Middle” by Zedd, Maren Morris and Grey).

The Clippers have a young core of players and they prevented the 2018 NBA Champions from winning by 30-plus points tonight. Still, the Warriors defeated the Clippers 132-105. The Warriors achieved their agenda to improve to 2-1, while the Clippers fall to 1-2.

Kevin Durant led the Warriors with 38 points, 7 assists and 4 rebounds. Steph Curry had 21 points, 5 rebounds and 1 assist. Andre Iguodala had 15 points, 3 assists and 2 rebounds. Klay Thompson had 12 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists. Kevon Looney had 10 points and 1 rebound. Draymond Green had 8 points, 10 assists and 6 rebounds. Andrew Bogut had 8 points, 14 rebounds and 5 assists. Alfonzo McKinnie had 6 points and 8 rebounds. Quinn Cook had 5 points, 2 assists and 1 rebound. Jacob Evans had 5 points. Shaun Livingston had 2 points, 2 assists and 4 rebounds. Jordan Bell had 2 points, 1 rebound and 1 assist. Jonas Jerebko added 2 rebounds and 2 assists.

The Warriors and Clippers meet again for Game 4 at Staples Center Sunday at 12:30 pm PT on ABC.

Headline Sports podcast with Tony Renteria: Will Clippers come up with any more surprises in Game 3?; Giants get 4 runs in 9th, but still lose; plus more

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Photo credit: @ESPNStatsInfo

On the Headline Sports podcast with Tony Renteria:

#1 The Golden State Warriors tip off in Los Angeles Thursday night at Staples Center against the Clippers in a series that’s tied 1-1. The Warriors are coming off a loss in which the Clippers made a 31-point comeback. The Warriors are without an injured DeMarcus Cousins. Will the Warriors regroup, jell and win this one like going through butter or will the Clippers take advantage of the home floor and try to repeat a win like they did in Game 2?

#2 In Game 3 tonight, is there a possibility that the Clippers will take full advantage of the home floor and maybe have some inspiration from the Game 2 comeback? Also, it doesn’t seem like the Clippers’ Patrick Beverley is getting in the Warriors’ Kevin Durant’s head?

#3 The Giants lost a tough one on Wednesday night to the Washington Nationals 9-6 at Nationals Park on Wednesday night. The Giants got home run help from Steven Duggar and Geraldo Parra and tried to rally in ninth inning for four runs, but wound up short losing by three runs.

#4 For the first time in five games, the Oakland A’s finally got a win over the mighty Houston Astros. It was pitching that stopped the Astros’ lineup as A’s starter Frankie Montas went six and third, three hits on one earned run, and six strikeouts in the 2-1 win.

#5 The Boston Celtics’ Kyrie Irving scored 37 points to lead the Boston Celtics past the Indiana Pacers 99-91. Irving could end up as a free agent after the NBA Championship. Could Irving end up in Los Angeles and join former teammate LeBron James?

Tony does Headline Sports each Thursday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Headline Sports with London Marq: Can the A’s work things out with the port to get new stadium underway?; Was Game 2 win by Clippers just a fluke? plus more

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sfchronicle.com photo file: The Oakland Maritime Industry says that a new Oakland A’s stadium at the port would impact shipping, cause safety concerns, and will be a economic hit to the region’s import and exports.

On Headline Sports with London:

#1 Oakland’s Maritime Industry is saying that building a new stadium for the Oakland A’s at Jack London Square’s Howard Terminal would be a economic hazard for the port. It would disrupt ships that provide import and export that impact Oakland’s economics and would be a safety risk for ships trying to port. Does this sound like a legitimate argument from the Maritime to stop any construction of a new park for the A’s?

#2 This is obviously number one on A’s team president David Kaval’s bucket list of things to get moving. How much opposition will the A’s face in their attempts to build at Howard Terminal and can they work things out with the port?

#3 Is the 31-point comeback by the Los Angeles Clippers to win by four in Game 2 on Monday night a fluke or is it this Clippers team up for the challenge of making this a series against Golden State?

#4 How much of a factor has the Clippers’ Patrick Beverley been in this series trying to intimidate or at least get under the skin of the Warriors’ Kevin Durant? It might be working Durant was fouled out in Game 2 and thrown out in Game 1.

#5 The San Jose Sharks are in a hole after getting shutout in Las Vegas on Tuesday night at T-Mobile Center in Vegas in Game 4. The 5-0 loss puts the Sharks down 3-1 in the series with an elimination game on Thursday night at SAP Center in San Jose.

London Marq joins Sportstalk each Wednesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com