Category: NFL

That’s Amaury’s Podcast, News and Commentary: A’s have a lot to do with Raiders in uncertain stadium issues

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millenialmoola.com photo: Oakland Raiders owner Mark Davis and Las Vegas Sands chairman  Sheldon Adelson in better times until the deal for a new Las Vegas football stadium collapsed this week

The Oakland A’s play a role in the Oakland Raiders stadium issue and after Las Vegas Casino Mogul Sheldon Aldeson removed himself from the plan to build a $1.9 billion domed stadium for the Raiders the Raiders look like they have no where to go but to stay in Oakland. Not to mention the other investor Goldman Sachs withdrew their share of building the stadium money in Las Vegas.

That brings the issue of the Raiders stadium location back in Oakland. Although nothing is official in Oakland yet for the Raiders staying the Stadium money for the Raiders moving to Vegas is about to fall like a house of cards. The Ronnie Lott group you can expect them to step up again with a plan to build a stadium in Oakland and the Coliseum location might be the most likely location.

Amaury talks A’s and Raiders stadium issues plus Oakland A’s pitcher Sonny Gray being named to the WBC US team and the St Louis Cardinals fined $2 million and will have to give up two draft picks to the Houston Astros when then Cardinals executive Christopher Correa hacked into the Astros database. Correa was charged for a cybercrime, is banned for life from MLB, plead guilty to five counts of unauthorized access into a protected computer and is in prison since last summer serving 46 months and was ordered to pay $279,039.

Amaury Pi Gonzalez is the Oakland A’s Spanish radio voice and does News and Commentary each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Francisco 49ers Report: 49ers Front Office Starting to Take Shape

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KPIX CBS 5 San Francisco still: San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch

By: Joe Lami

SANTA CLARA–The San Francisco 49ers hunt for a new general manager is over. On Sunday, it was reported that they will hire John Lynch. The team confirmed the report on Monday, naming him as the new general manger.

Lynch has never held a front office position in the NFL but does has ties to the Bay Area, playing his college football at Stanford University. The 49ers and CEO, Jed York, don’t view his inexperience as a bad thing, however, as they are willing to take a chance.

Prior to the hiring, Lynch spent his time as a TV Analyst for the NFL on Fox. While at Fox, it was reported that he was one of the most prepared guys in the meeting, something that York later said was beneficial to his hiring.

The search for a new general manager was a long one for the Santa Clara, California-based team as their first round of interviews included nine candidates, none of which were Lynch. After the second round of interviews, candidates, from the Green Bay Packers organization backed out of discussions, due to pay raises. After all this wasted time, the 49ers had to go back to the drawing board and wanted to bring in expected head coach, Kyle Shanahan into the discussion.

Shanahan, who has yet to be named the head coach is still in his role as offensive coordinator for the Atlanta Falcons in this weekend’s Super Bowl.

Without Shanahan being named coach, it seems like he had a lot to do with the hiring of Lynch. Adam Schefter reported that Lynch reached out to Shanahan to claim interest in the position. Apparently, Shanahan thought there was enough of a fit to suggest the hiring of Lynch.

The 49ers wanted to ensure that the new GM and coach got along after York said in a press conference that there was a lack of communication between Trent Baalke and Chip Kelly multiple times last season.

Since the hire, Lynch has made his first move as the general manager by bringing on Adam Peters as the Vice President of Player Personnel. The former Denver Broncos college scouting director is a great hire for a team that has been abysmal at previous drafts.

Joe Lami Covers the 49ers for http://www.sportsradioservice.com

NFL Pro Bowl in Orlando: AFC wins Pro Bowl in return to old format

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NFC quarterback Kirk Cousins (8), of the Washington Redskins looks to pass, during the second half of the NFL Pro Bowl football game Sunday, Jan. 29, 2017, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara)

By Daniel Dullum
Sports Radio Service
Sunday, January 29, 2017

Returning to the traditional conference battle, the AFC defeated the NFC 20-13 in the annual NFL Pro Bowl Sunday in Orlando, Fla.

Cincinnati quarterback Andy Dalton completed 10 of 12 passes for 100 yards and engineered two scoring drives. Dalton tossed a 23-yard touchdown pass to Travis Kelce of Kansas City late in the second quarter and led the drive that culminated in Justin Tucker of Baltimore’s 38-yard field goal.

Tucker’s kick gave the AFC a 17-7 lead midway through the third period.

The game marks a return to the old format that started with the 1970 merger and ran through the 2012 season. A concept of having a player draft was used the last three seasons.

The NFC had an opportunity to tie or take the lead in the closing moments, but a pass from Kirk Cousins to Seattle’s Jimmy Graham slipped through the tight end’s hands and was intercepted by Buffalo linebacker Lorenzo Alexander at the AFC 2-yard line.

Alexander then lateraled the ball to Aqib Talib of Denver on the interception return that ended at the NFC 12 to end the scoring threat.

Drew Brees of New Orleans completed 10 of 19 passes for 112 yards and a touchdown pass to Doug Baldwin for the NFC. Alex Smith of Kansas City, the AFC starter, was 6 of 8 passing for 74 yards and a TD pass to Delanie Walker of Tennessee.

An announced crowd of 60,834 came to Camping World Stadium (the refurbished Citrus Bowl) to watch the first Pro Bowl played in Orlando.

Categories NFL

Super Bowl LI podcast with David Zizmor: Yes a Goodell-Brady trophy handoff would be awkward

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General overall view of New England Patriots and Atlanta Falcons helmet. The Patriots will play the Falcons in Super Bowl LI in a record ninth appearance in Houston on Sunday, Feb. 5, 2017. (Kirby Lee/NFL)

In the possible scenario that NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell would have to handoff the Vince Lombardi Trophy to New England head coach Bill Belichick and also to quarterback Tom Brady. Belichick has such a poker face that he would have to play it that way when receiving the trophy from the Commissioner. Belichick didn’t appreciate the fact that his Hall of Fame quarterback Brady had to sit out the first four games for Deflate Gate this season.

Even though most people would agree there wasn’t a whole lot of evidence against Brady that he deflated the football on purpose for whatever reason. Brady clearly is not a fan of Goodell’s he fought Goodell’s ruling as much as he could through the court system and the Patriots got to the point where they felt it wasn’t worth fighting but Brady was really upset with the ruling. It’s safe to assume that if Brady is looking for a measure of revenge he’s looking to win this Super Bowl so the Commissioner has to hand him the Trophy on Super Bowl LI Sunday.

David Zizmor does the Super Bowl podcasts for http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

Categories NFL

Oakland Raiders Report: McKenzie named NFL’s top executive for 2016

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Oakland Raiders general manager Reggie McKenzie looks up from the sideline prior to a NFL football game against the Buffalo Bills, Sunday, December 4, 2016 in Oakland. The Raiders won the game 38-24. (Paul Jasienski via AP)

By Joe Hawkes-Beamon
Sports Radio Service Writer

OAKLAND, Calif — In a season where the Raiders made the playoffs for the first time since 2002, the league recognized the man that helped lead the turn around when Oakland General Manager Reggie McKenzie was named the NFL’s Executive of the Year for 2016 Thursday morning.

The news was first reported by Associated Press.

The award is presented by the Pro Football Writers of America, who vote among themselves to determine the league’s top executive.

McKenzie oversaw a Raiders team that finished 12-4 and clinch a wild card berth. The Raiders lost to the Houston Texans 27-14 on Wild Card Weekend.

McKenzie’s fingerprints are all over this team, adding key free agents in Pro Bowlers safety Reggie Nelson and left guard Kelechi Osemele, to go along with edge rusher Bruce Irvin that spearheaded a 9-2 start for the Silver and Black this season.

Sprinkle in wide receiver Michael Crabtree, left tackle Donald Penn, and right guard Gabe Jackson, McKenzie has brought stability to a franchise that were in an abyss since their last Super Bowl appearance, also in 2002.

But where McKenzie has really flourished for the Raiders has been in the draft room, building Oakland’s strong foundation starting in 2014 and 2015 where McKenzie drafted defensive linchpin Khalil Mack, franchise quarterback Derek Carr, game-breaking wide receiver Amari Cooper, and defensive lineman Mario Edwards Jr.

Carr was named the AFC West Offensive Player of the Year, as voted by four reporters who cover the AFC West for ESPN.com on Friday.

Mack and Osemele were named to the All-NFL team (voted by the AP), while safety Karl Joseph was named to the All-Rookie team.

McKenzie will have his work cut out for him as Mack and Carr will be in line for big extensions once their rookie deals expire. The team has the club option on Mack in 2018, but Carr’s deal ends after the 2017.

And with Oakland having filed for relocation to Las Vegas on Thursday, McKenzie’s will need to work hard to keep the nucleus of the franchise in tact.

But when you have $46.6M in salary cap space, the time to get both Carr and Mack locked up long term should be this offseason.

For now, McKenzie can take a second to enjoy being named executive of the year but there is more work to be done for the Silver and Black.

 

Oakland Raiders podcast with Joe Hawkes Beamon: Raiders-Davis ink deal with Vegas should leave Oakland end of 2018 season

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AP photo: Oakland Raiders owner Mark Davis poses with Las Vegas fans as he and the City of Las Vegas agree to have the team move to Vegas starting in 2019(John Locher/AP)

The Oakland Raiders signed an agreement with Clark County in Las Vegas that they have a letter of intent to move the franchise from Oakland at the end of the 2018 season and the Raiders will play their first season in Vegas in August 2019 in a brand new dome stadium on the Vegas strip. This is just one hurdle to get the team in position to get the team to come to Vegas and build the new stadium.

The question still remains will 22 of the 32 owners will vote to approve such a move for the Raiders and will that take place. It sounds like it’s going to happen, it’s a sad day in Oakland, nothing is official. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and the owners felt like that was probably the best move. Once the vote gets approved by the owners that’s the time to panic.

Joe Hawkes Beamon will be covering the Oakland Raiders move to Las Vegas listen to the podcasts at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

San Francisco 49ersReport: 49ers Find Their Coach in Shanahan

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USA Today photo: Kyle Shannon with headset will roam the San Francisco 49ers sidelines next season as the team’s head coach according to multiple sources

By: Joe Lami

SANTA CLARA–Multiple reports are coming out that the San Francisco 49ers have found their new head coach, Kyle Shanahan. Shanahan is the son of long-time NFL coach, Mike and has been flying up the football ranks in his young career.

The 37-year old will be taking on his fifth job since 2008, but his first head coaching job, as he has been the offensive coordinator for the Houston Texans, Washington Redskins, Clevland Browns, and Atlanta Falcons.

Currently, with Atlanta, Shanahan cannot be named the head coach of the 49ers until they are officially eliminated from playoff contention, which could be as soon as Sunday, where the Falcons host the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Championship. If Atlanta advances to the Super Bowl, San Francisco will need to wait another two weeks to make the announcement.

The decision of Shanahan is a great one, as the young offensive minded coach has enough experience leading to where he has definitely deserved his opportunity. He was the most desired coach available, after Josh McDaniels, who ended up backing out of the 49ers conversation to stay with New England another year.

A lot is going to be expected of Shanahan to turn around this organization that is looking at their fourth coach in four years, but with the right man for the job, the 49ers could finally possibly get something built in Santa Clara, besides their $1 billion stadium.

.Now, while the 49ers have reportedly found their man in Shanahan, they still seek out his boss, the general manager. Once again, York isn’t sticking to his promise of not leading football operations by making this strange move of hiring the coach before the GM, but with the terrible relationship between Trent Baalke and Chip Kelly, he must view this as the only solution.

NFL Championship Playoff podcast with David Zizmor: Pack’s Rodgers the difference maker in Championship; Belichick’s playbook preparation for Steelers

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foxsports.com photo: Green Bay Packers Aaron Rodgers (12) is up in arms in a good way as the Packers head to Atlanta for Sunday’s NFC Championship game at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta

Green Bay @ Atlanta NFC Championship: It’s a good thing for all involved that weather won’t be a factor as the game between the Green Bay Packers and Atlanta Falcons will be indoors at the Georgia Dome. The NFC Championship game will be played in a dome so that weighs a little bit in Atlanta’s favor because of the noise factor but on the flipside Atlanta isn’t known as a particular rowdy crowd.

This will be the first NFC title game in several years for the Falcons and it’s not like the Falcons have never been to the Super Bowl so they’re certainly going to be ready. This is one of those double edged swords if they get home field advantage they get to sleep in your own bed. They get the dome which is good for noise purposes. At the same time the Falcons are one of those fan bases where the crowd will be behind them. The Falcons have not been to the Super Bowl since 1998 it was Super Bowl XXXIII which they lost to the Denver Broncos 34-19.

Pittsburgh @ New England AFC Championship: This is a very good match up to honest looking back at last week the Pittsburgh Steelers won that game and they won it over the Kansas City Chiefs without scoring a touchdown. It was the sixth time in NFL history that a team in post season won without scoring a touchdown. That’s a concern for a team like the Steelers they have a pretty strong offense for them not to get it into the end zone which is concerning.

It’s seems like New England who are a much better team than the Chiefs are, the Steelers have to worry about that a little bit. Pat’s coach Bill Bilichick has designed a better offensive plan on defense. Generally speaking looking at both of these teams the Steelers are going to focus a little bit on their running game the Steelers have one of the top three running backs in the NFL.

David has your complete NFL post season podcast coverage and through the Super Bowl at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

 

Categories NFL

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary: Will the Raiders be like the Chargers?

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Oakland Raiders head coach Jack Del Rio, right, stands with Raiders owner Mark Davis, left, before an NFL football game against the Denver Broncos, Sunday, Jan. 1, 2017, in Denver. (AP Photo/Joe Mahoney)

By Amaury Pi Gonzalez

OAKLAND–The San Diego Chargers are moving to Los Angeles after playing in San Diego for 56 seasons. Now the City of San Diego will only have one professional team (of the main pro-leagues in the US, MLB,NFL,NBA, NHL) left in that city, the San Diego Padres of the National League. From 1967 to 1971 San Diego hosted the San Diego Rockets (now the Houston Rockets), and then from 1978 to 1984 the San Diego Clippers(now the Los Angeles Clippers). San Diego never had an National Hockey League franchise.

The history of picturesque San Diego, considered among cities over 1 million in population with the best weather in the country has become a place where teams go to play and then move up north to Los Angeles. Even the Chargers who are leaving San Diego for Los Angeles also played their first season in Los Angeles in 1961. As of the year 2015, San Diego has a population around 1.4 million people. Meanwhile Los Angeles metropolitan area is closing in 20 million people, truly the largest in the State of California with a total population of 39 million people. Now in La La Land, they have two of each. MLB: Dodgers and Angels, NBA: Lakers and Clippers, NFL Rams and Chargers and NHL Kings and Ducks.

After the Los Angeles area, the San Francisco/Oakland/San Jose Bay Area is the largest in population with close to 8 million inhabitants. There are a total of five teams(A’s, Giants, Raiders, Sharks and Warriors) among the four top professional leagues here in the Bay Area, and three of those still play in Oakland. Athletics, Raiders and Warriors. The Oakland teams together have won nine titles in the city of Oakland. But how long will Oakland be able to enjoy these three heralded franchises?

Warriors: Back in November 2016, a California court of appeals ruled in the franchise’s favor, upholding their environmental impact report, which allows the team to move ahead with construction of their new arena in San Francisco. So the Warriors have one leg in San Francisco, and the other leg is not far behind. They are Adios.

Raiders: Owner Mark Davis is close to making a decision about a possible move of the franchise, from Oakland to Las Vegas, Nevada. Davis has avoided much discussion with the City of Oakland, but he has yet heard from Oakland mayor Libby Schaff and Ronnie Lott’s group the Fortress Group with their land and plans for a new Raiders stadium in Oakland. I feel like Davis really wants to take his team to Sin City, they will be all alone there with no marketing competition from anybody else, plus what happens in Vegas stays there. A decision should come soon, but I will not be surprised if they also leave Oakland. They’re almost Adios.

That means the party is getting smaller at Oakland, and mayor Libby Schaff will have one to dance with, the Oakland Athletics.

Ironically for so many years we have heard about the Athletics leaving Oakland, but when all is said-and-done, at this time the Oakland Athletics might be the only professional franchise among the four big ones to stay put. The Athletics recently announced their new President, Mr. David Kaval, who is the point man for a new stadium. He has expertise in this topic since he lead the way for the construction of Avaya Stadium in San Jose, for the Earthquakes of Major League Soccer. So, if I was a betting man, -which I am not- the Oakland Athletics are the favorite franchise to stay in Oakland. Looks like their staying.

So, yes. In conclusion Oakland and San Diego may have something in common soon, only one franchise and both are in baseball.

Note: No disrespect to soccer/futbol the most popular sport in the world, but you might notice I did not included the San Jose Earthquakes among the top professional franchises in the Bay Area, because(in my opinion)the MLS doesn’t rival the other four in attendance or popularity or player talent. in the United States.Why? Simple, the best players in the world in their respective sports play in MLB, NFL, NBA and NHL. While the MLS is still an excellent league, the best soccer players in the world usually play in the European professional leagues.

Amaury Pi Gonzalez is the Spanish TV voice for the Angels and is the Spanish radio voice for the A’s and does News and Commentary at http://www.sportsradioservice.com