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Sharks beat Champs in shootout
By: Phillip Torres
SAN JOSE-The San Jose Sharks (35-15-6) defeated the defending Stanley Cup Champion Chicago Blackhawks (33-10-14) 2-1 in a shootout at the SAP Center in San Jose on Saturday night. Another sellout crowd at SAP witnessed a tough physical battle against the defending champions. There was no score until the third period.
The first two period of the contest was a defensive struggle as both teams remained scoreless. The game was a tough physical contest with hard hits coming from both respective teams. Both teams had there chances to score but could not come up with a goal to take an early advantage.
The first score of the game came from the Sharks’ Joe Pavelski, his 29th goal of the season. Scott Hannan assisted on the score. Pavelski’s goal came at 6:10 in the period as he broke away on a short handed goal to take the 1-0 advantage.
It came as no surprise that Chicago didn’t take long to tie up the game as Brandon Saad scored past Antti Niemi 1:03 later to tie the game at one. Kris Versteeg and Marian Hossa assisted on the game tying goal.
After a scoreless five minute overtime period, the game went into a sudden death shootout. The Sharks converted all three shootout opportunities against Chicago’s one to take the 2-1 victory. Pavelski, Patrick Marleau, and Joe Thornton scored in the shootout.
The Sharks will be back on the ice on Monday as they will host the Philadelphia Flyers. The puck will drop at 7:30 PM.
Coyotes rise to the occasion against Pens
NHL Commentary
By DANIEL DULLUM
Sports Radio Service
Saturday, February 1, 2014
GLENDALE, Ariz. – In a season loaded with ups and downs, the Phoenix Coyotes may have reached their ultimate low point this past Thursday, when they blew a lead at home and lost to the Buffalo Sabres – the worst team in the National Hockey League.
Following the game, and a closed-door session with his teammates, Phoenix captain Shane Doan called the performance “unacceptable.” In particular, the way the Coyotes allowed themselves to play to the low level of their opponent.
A standing-room, sellout crowd of 17,362 at Jobing.com Arena watched to see how the Coyotes would respond to the challenge of facing Pittsburgh, the top team overall in the NHL Eastern Conference finishing a two-game Pacific Division road swing.
At least 10,000 of those fans, by the way, were decked out in Penguins gear. Local ownership, however, was likely glad to see the luxury suites filled, even with the black or powder blue jerseys from the Pittsburgh faithful. It’s all part of the major league experience in the Valley of the Sun. Same thing will happen Friday when the Chicago Blackhawks arrive for the final game prior to the Olympics.
Because of a recent funk that bumped Phoenix out of the top eight in the NHL West, the Coyotes needed a big win and got one Saturday – 3-1 over Pittsburgh while shutting down the Pens’ top line of Sidney Crosby, Craig Adams and Trevor Glass. After scoring 15 goals in January, NHL scoring leader Sidney Crosby was held scoreless on two shots on goal.
Marc-Andre Fleury was 13-4 in his previous 17 starts, still searching for win No. 30 on the season. That 30th win could happen for Fleury when the Penguins return home Monday to meet Ottawa.
Evgeni Malkin scored his 16th goal in the second period, but Coyotes netminder Mike Smith slammed the door after that, stopping 23 of 24 shots.
Mike Ribeiro put Phoenix on the board in the first period with his 200th NHL career goal and Radim Vrbata tacked on an important goal early in the third period. In between, Zbynek Michaelek scored his first NHL goal in 83 games to put the Desert Dogs ahead to stay.
The Penguins, like San Jose, are among the teams the Coyotes don’t want to face in an overtime or shootout situation. Vrbata made sure it didn’t come to that.
“Our guys came to play, that’s for sure,” Phoenix Coach Dave Tippett said. “It was a tough game, a fast game, and our guys figured out a way to get on top of it.
“We’ve got three games left before the (Olympic) break and we’d like to carry this levell of play through,” Tippett said.
Penguins Coach Dan Bylsma said, “We ran into a hot goaltender and we had a lot of chances. (Smith) made four really good saves early. I don’t think we tested him nearly enough.”
While the Pens weren’t happy with a loss coming 48 hours after a 4-1 at Los Angeles, the Coyotes were happy to pick up a couple of badly needed points, especially after embarrassing themselves 48 hours earlier in the same building.
Daniel Dullum covers the NHL for SportsTalk
(TAGS: NHL.Pittsburgh,Penguins,Phoenix,Coyotes)
Cardinal bounces back
By Jeremy Harness
Three days after nearly pulling off a monstrous upset, the Stanford men’s basketball team came back to beat a very good Arizona State team, using a dominant second half to come away with a 76-70 win at Maples Pavilion Saturday afternoon.
Dwight Powell scored 28 points on 8-of-19 shooting to lead the Cardinal, while Chasson Randle added 21 and made eight of his 14 shots from the field.
The Cardinal came within a couple of possessions of knocking off top-ranked Arizona Wednesday night before faltering in the final minute, but there would be no second-half letdown this time around. They trailed by one at halftime on Saturday, but they took charge almost as soon as the second half got under way.
They went on a 12-3 run in the first five minutes of the second stanza and led by as many as 13 points. However, the Sun Devils, who squeaked by Cal Wednesday night, kept hanging around and proceeded to cut the lead down.
Arizona State managed to get the lead trimmed to three with 1:09 to play when Jermaine Marshall hit a 3-pointer, but they could not get any closer, as the 3’s stopped falling.
Meanwhile, Stanford knocked down their free throws when Arizona State was forced to foul in order to keep the game close.
Jahii Carson, the Sun Devils’ dynamic point guard, scored 24 points on Saturday while Marshall chipped in with 22 and made six of his eight 3-point attempts.
Giants return to home field
{Giants} {MLB}
By Jeremy Kahn
SAN FRANCSICO-After sweeping the Detroit Tigers in the 2012 World Series, the San Francisco Giants looked to become the first National League team since the Cincinnati Reds in 1975 and 1976 to win back-to-back World Championships.
Unfortunately, the Giants were plagued by injuries to key players like Angel Pagan, Marco Scutaro and Ryan Vogelsong and ended up the 2013 season with a record of 76-86.
This offseason was a different one for the Giants, as they re-signed key players such as pitchers Ryan Vogelsong and Tim Lincecum, but did not re-sign longtime stalwart Barry Zito, who left the team after seven years wearing the Orange and Black.
To make up for the loss of Zito, General Manager Brian Sabean signed Zito’s former Oakland A’s teammate Tim Hudson, who spent the last nine years pitching for the Atlanta Braves
David Huff, who pitched last season for the New York Yankees was acquired this week and will be competing for a spot as a long reliever.
Huff, who grew up in Orange County is happy to be back on the West Coast, as he is closer to his family and friends, who travel to the Bay Area to see him play and is also reuniting with a former college teammate in Brandon Crawford from their days with the UCLA Bruins.
Sabean was not done signing players, as he went out and signed power hitting outfielder Michael Morse as another outfielder.
After Fanfest on Saturday, the Giants return again together in just two weeks at Scottsdale Stadium in Scottsdale, Arizona for Spring Training.
Bears rally to force OT, but fall to ASU
By Morris Phillips
There’s no mystery to California Coach Mike Montgomery as to why his Bears have followed a six-game win streak with three straight losses, the latest loss in overtime to Arizona State on Wednesday, 89-78. According to Montgomery, it’s simply life in the grueling Pac-12.
“Teams are playing better than we are,” Montgomery admitted. “It’s the game of basketball. You’ve got to make plays. You’ve got to make shots, you’ve got to defend.”
Once again, the Bears started slow, trailing 17-7 to the Sun Devils just seven minutes in, and found themselves fighting uphill the rest of the evening. A spirited rally led by Justin Cobbs and Tyrone Wallace got the Bears a 72-69 lead with 26 seconds remaining, but ASU’s Jermaine Marshall forced overtime with a 3-point basket with 19 seconds left. In overtime, all the energy expended getting even caught up to the Bears as they were outscored 17-6 in overtime.
“Emotionally, we have a hard time when things go wrong,” Montgomery said of the overtime. “We have a hard time adjusting and reacting to that. They made some plays and we got down four. Then our body language kind of goes down.”
The Bears fell to 14-7, 5-3 in conference play with the loss. But now, the only thing standing in between Montgomery’s young team and a four-game skid is No. 1 Arizona who visits Haas Pavilion on Saturday night. Against the top-ranked, undefeated Wildcats the Bears won’t have the luxury of a slow start or a sluggish finish.
Win, and the Bears will have temporarily righted the ship. Lose to Arizona, and the Bears tenuous hold on an upper-division finish in league play and the possibility of an NCAA tournament bid will be lost.
Cal will need to shoot better than they did against Arizona State in order to have any success. The Pac-12’s worst 3-point shooting team missed 9 of 13 attempts from distance and fell behind early when they didn’t get any offense in the paint. David Kravish and Richard Solomon provided quality options, combining to shoot 10 of 17 for 24 points, but the interior duo didn’t see the ball much as the game slipped away in overtime.
The Bears were led by Cobbs and Wallace with 21 points and 20 respectively. Cal lost the battle of the glass, 38-32 and missed 8 of their 20 free throw attempts, which was significant in such a close game.
ASU got 29 points from Jahii Carson and 22 from Marshall as the Sun Devils’ backcourt got the best of Cal with its’ quickness in transition and early offense. The Sun Devils were picked to finish ahead of Cal in most pre-season polls, but ASU started conference play with losses in three of their first five games.
The Arizona-Cal game is slated for a 7:30pm tip on Saturday but the game is officially sold out.
Marshawn Lynch: Enough Said
Photo courtesy of Seattle Times
By Joe Hawkes
Marshawn Lynch, who has carried Seattle to its second Super Bowl appearance with his ferocious running this season, has been getting some flack by members of the press for abruptly ending his press conference after six minutes on Tuesday and Wednesday during Super Bowl media access.
My advice is this: deal with it.
Lynch is a running back that is like no other and doesn’t need to speak or brag that he is a top-ten running back in the NFL. Nor does he need to grant every reporter access into his inner-circle and ask questions if he is uncomfortable.
Lynch is a man of few words that flat out lets his game do the bulk of his talking.
Case in point by Lynch’s spectacular 2013 season in which he finished in the top-ten among running backs in rushing yards (1,257), touchdowns (12), and carries (301) while playing all 16 games, a rarity for running backs in the hard-hitting NFL.
Then Lynch really turned it on in the playoffs.
Against New Orleans in the NFC Divisional round, Lynch steamrolled the Saints rushing for 140 yards (a playoff career-high and Seahawks record) and two touchdowns on 28 carries in Seattle’s 23-15 victory.
Then against the hated NFC West division rival the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship Game, Lynch thumped San Francisco with 109 rushing yards, one thunderous 40-yard touchdown run, on 22 carries leading Seattle to a 23-17 victory and the NFC crown.
The 109 rushing yards Lynch racked up was the first time that a running back gained over 100 yards against San Francisco all season.
Lynch’s dominance in the regular season and postseason (with the help of a punishing and hard-nosed defense), were clearly the talk of the NFC and football world when Seattle touched down in New York Sunday.
For Seattle to hoist the Vince Lombardi trophy Sunday night after what should be an excellent game against the AFC Champions, Denver Broncos, Lynch will have to turn in a career performance on the biggest of stages. The Super Bowl has a way of humbling you in a New York minute and if you aren’t focused and prepared, the Super Bowl can be unforgiving.
We know that Lynch oozes confidence, but what Lynch must continue to run with that “Beast Mode” mentality that make opposing defensive backs cringe when linebackers miss tackling the 5’11, 215-pound bulldozer from Oakland, CA.
It’s no secret that Lynch will have all eleven members of Denver’s defense (along with millions of fans on Super Bowl XLVIII Sunday) watching his every move. If you are a defense, you will be ok with allowing two to three yards a carry by Lynch, its the10 to 15-yard runs that you need to concern yourself with.
If Lynch gets through Denver’s front seven on a consistent basis Sunday, it’s almost certain that Seattle will have a fighting chance at delivering the Pacific Northwest its first major world championship since the Seattle SuperSonics took home the NBA title in 1979.
Sixty minutes in the Big Game with Lynch carrying a city and a region on his back toward a championship: enough said.
Bulls End Season Early
By: Phillip Torres and Kahlil Najar
SAN FRANCISCO-The San Francisco Bulls, ECHL affiliate of the NHL San Jose Sharks, ended their season early after just 40 games. The franchise called it quits after a season and a half in San Francisco, playing their home games at the legendary Cow Palace.
The San Francisco Bulls sent out an email to its season ticket holders and loyal fans about the unfortunate news that the Bulls are ceasing operations. In the email, President and Head Coach of the Bulls Pat Curcio stated the following:
“We want to thank all of our fans for your support and loyalty over the last two seasons, It’s been such a memorable time here with you in San Francisco, and we’ve especially appreciated all of your positive feedback over the past week.”
Th Bulls were hoping to gain new ownership that would either keep them in San Francisco, or either move the team to Fresno or even Oakland. Once the deal could not be worked out, the Bulls had to cease operations on January 27, 2014.
With the season ending after just 40 games for the Bulls, the Sharks affiliate finished the season with a 15-20-5 record. The Bulls had made the playoffs in their inaugural season last season, and were on pace to doing so again this season. But, the team simply did not have the financial stability to keep things going.
Pat Curcio also said in the email, “At this point, the best thing to do financially is to reluctantly end the season. We will miss playing here, miss our fans, and miss this city.”
Curcio was the person responsible for bringing hockey back to the city of San Francisco, unfortunately, it only lasted for a season and a half.
Cal’s big rally not enough in loss at UCLA
By Morris Phillips
Cal and UCLA couldn’t point to this game as being their finest moment, but no doubt the Bruins’ moments lasted a little bit longer than those of the Bears on Sunday afternoon at Pauley Pavilion.
UCLA hung on to beat the Bears, 76-64 as Cal’s big, second half rally from down 19 points early in the second half fell short.
The Bears saw their unblemished Pac-12 record take a hit in Los Angeles with losses at USC and UCLA over the weekend. In 80 minutes of basketball, the Bears never led and poor shooting stood out at the biggest culprit. But with the Arizona schools coming to Berkeley this week, the Bears can point to their six-minute rally as a building block to recapturing their stature within the conference.
“After digging a hole, we finally started getting some stops,” Coach Mike Montgomery said of his Bears. “We started getting out on the break and all of a sudden we came to life. We have to have more people involved. The ball has to move.”
The Bears shot 34 percent in the first half against UCLA, then committed three turnovers and missed their first four shots after the break. Down 11 at the half, then down 51-32 with 15:25 remaining, the Bears finally showed some life.
A 20-4 surge brought Cal within three with 9:17 remaining, but that was as close as they would get. UCLA responded with a basket from Bryce Alford and regained a double-digit lead on Jordan Adams’ bucket with 3:38 remaining. The Bruins made 10 of 12 free throw attempts after that to hold on down the stretch.
“Our transition defense stepped up and we have to credit that for the win,” UCLA Coach Steve Alford said. “When Cal got it down to only a three-point deficit, we made key plays to get back into a groove and give us some momentum.”
Freshman Jordan Mathews led Cal with 18 points. Justin Cobbs added 14 points, and Richard Solomon had nine points and 14 rebounds.
David Wear led UCLA with a career-best 18 points and seven rebounds. Kyle Anderson had 17 points and 12 rebounds for the Bruins.
Jabari Bird keyed the Cal surge with all of his 12 points in the rally. Bird hadn’t done much since returning from his ankle injury but this outing might lead to better performances for the highly-touted freshman, but only if he can reconcile his three-point shooting. Bird and sophomore forward Tyrone Wallace combined to miss 11 of their 12 3-point attempts as the Bears found no comfort from long distance.
The Bears (16-4, 5-2) return to Haas Pavilion on Wednesday night when they face the Arizona State Sun Devils at 8pm.
Big OT by Randle sparks Cardinal past USC
By Daniel Dullum
Sports Radio Service
Sunday, January 26, 2014
Chasson Randle got it done in overtime Sunday, scoring seven of his 17 points in the extra period as Stanford slipped past Southern California 79-71 in Pac-12 men’s basketball at Galen Center in Los Angeles.
Road victories have been hard to come by for Stanford when it makes its annual LA road swing. This win was just the second in the Cardinal’s last 18 road games against UCLA and USC (0-9 against the Bruins and 2-7 against the Trojans since 2006). Last season, Southern California swept the series against the Cardinal by a total of three points.
Josh Huestis and Dwight Powell added 16 and 14 points, respectively, for Stanford (13-6 overall, 4-3 Pac-12). Anthony Brown pulled down eight of the Cardinal’s 38 rebounds while accumulating six assists and scoring 11 points.
Byron Wesley topped USC (10-10 overall, 1-6 Pac-12) with 18 points, followed by J.T. Terrell and Pe’Shon Howard with 13 points each and Strahinja Gavrilovic with a career-high 12.
The game was tied at 61-61 at the end of regulation. Stanford took a 61-56 lead when Huestis canned a 3-pointer with 1:30 left in the second half. USC responded with a five-point run on a 3-pointer by Howard and two foul shots by Wesley in a 12-second span in the last 33 seconds.
Stanford had one more possession, but an unforced turnover by Brown forced overtime.
Stanford surged ahead for good by scoring the first four points of overtime – a free throw by Brown and a Randle 3-pointer. Cardinal reserve John Gage scored the next four points, making it 71-64 with 2:26, effectively putting the game out of reach.
This week, Stanford hosts Arizona on Wednesday and Arizona State on Saturday.
(TAGS: Stanford,Cardinal,USC,basketball)
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