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Stanford squeaks by in a snoozer 26-15

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By Jeremy Harness

AP photo: Stanford quarterback Keller Chryst takes a keeper for 44 yards in the third quarter to the Oregon four against the Oregon State Beavers on Saturday at Stanford Stadium

STANFORD – The game was not pretty by any stretch of the imagination, but at least Stanford is back to their familiar winning ways.

After dropping three in a four-game stretch, the Cardinal got things back on track in a dominant win over a struggling Arizona team last weekend and then kept things moving in the right direction in a 26-15 win over Oregon State Saturday afternoon to make themselves eligible to play in a bowl game.

Now here comes the bad news.

The recent losing skid seemed to have had a significant impact on fan interest. The official attendance at Stanford Stadium on Saturday was 38,813, but the half-empty appearance made that statistic extremely hard to believe.

Meanwhile, this game was marred by bad quarterback play from both schools, which was marked by missed receivers, botched snaps and interceptions

Keller Chryst, the Palo Alto High grad who took over the starting job from an equally-underperforming Ryan Burns, completed 10 of his 17 passes for only 60 yards, and he also botched three snaps – one of which was lost deep in Stanford territory – and made several bad decisions with the ball and simply took too much time to throw.

“Keller continues to grow,” head coach David Shaw said. “(He did) some good things, some not so good things. In a game like this where we score enough to win, win by two scores. You look up, could have had two more touchdown passes. (He’s) just got to connect on those.”

His quarterbacking counterpart, Oregon State’s Marcus McMaryion was not much better, even though he did throw a 75-yard touchdown pass in the first half. He threw for 137 yards on 10-of-24 passing, and he was also intercepted twice and just could not get his offense moving nearly enough.

Oh, and one more thing: When also factoring in questionable play-calling on both sides, it made this contest particularly difficult to watch.

Stanford’s day started with a comedy of errors, but with a combination of tighter defense and the fact that they were playing a bad OSU team, they got away with it.

Despite a lost fumble on a botched snap at their own 33-yard line and a pass-interference penalty on cornerback Quenton Meeks in the end zone, the Cardinal dodged a huge bullet when their defense stiffened up and watched as kicker Garrett Owens missed a 26-yard field goal.

Stanford then marched down the field and got within striking distance, but the drive eventually stalled, thanks in much part to Chryst missing a wide-open J.J Arcega-Whiteside at the Beavers’ 15-yard line that would have given the Cardinal a first down. However, Conrad Ukropina then tied a career-long with a 52-yard field goal to give Stanford a 3-0 lead.

The Cardinal got its run game going late in the first quarter, as Bryce Love found an open lane off the right side of the field and sprinted past the OSU secondary en route to a 56-yard touchdown that gave the Cardinal a 10-0 lead.

Oregon State got itself back into the game in the second quarter when Victor Bolden beat Meeks badly for a 75-yard touchdown catch-and-run, narrowing the lead to 10-7.

Stanford drove deep into Oregon State territory late in the second quarter, thanks to Christian McCaffrey’s 51-yard run that put the ball at OSU’s 9-yard line, but that drive soon stalled and forced the Cardinal to settle for a field goal.

“It went well,” McCaffrey said. “I go where the O-line goes. They did a fantastic job today of opening up holes, allowing our guys to find creases and make a play with the ball in our hands.”

McCaffrey has seemed to get himself back on track very nicely. After an injury limited his play and effectiveness, he broke through at Arizona and showed his teeth again on Saturday, rushing for 199 yards on 32 carries and a touchdown.

The defense came up big in the third quarter, coming up with a big play that was later converted into a touchdown. Midway through the quarter, Harrison Phillips deflected a McMaryion pass and allowed sophomore linebacker Mustafa Branch to make a diving interception at their own 38.

“It’s been a good group,” Shaw said. “The guys are playing hard, they’re playing smart, they’re playing together. They don’t care who gets the play. So for one guy to take up a blocker so somebody else can make a play, they get excited about that because it’s an entire unit that’s playing really well.”

Although he did not make any plays with his arm, Chryst did make one with his legs that helped make the difference in the game. Three plays after the interception, he gashed the Beavers’ defense witth a 44-yard scramble that left the ball at OSU’s 4-yard line.

McCaffrey plunged in from a yard out two plays later to give the Cardinal a 23-7 advantage.

McMaryion ran for a 3-yard touchdown to start the fourth quarter, but the Beavers could not gain any more momentum from that point, and Stanford was able to control the clock in the final period to come away with the victory.

 

Sporting Kansas City playoff-bound while Quakes close out season

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~ Photo credit: USA Today Sports Images

~ By Pearl Allison Lo

~ Benny Feilhaber scored the game winner and had an assist as Kansas City reached the playoffs for the sixth straight year with a 2-0 win over San Jose Sunday.

Feilhaber scored for the first time in over two months.  His goal came off a penalty kick as Cordell Cato was called for a handball.

It was the third time in five games where a penalty kick has occurred in one of the Quakes’ games and second game in three where a penalty has been converted against them.

Sporting was one of six teams hoping to clinch the four playoff spots remaining.

Both teams were coming off scoreless draws as they played for the second time in a month. In terms of shot activity, the number by each team were about half of the shots in San Jose’s last game.

The Quakes’ Chris Wondolowski had a game-high four shots and at least four shots for the third straight game while was Tim Melia was forced to make four saves.

On generating chances, but not being able to capitalize, Wondolowski replied, “Yeah, I think it’s just a microcosm of our season. It’s very frustrating, but credit to Kansas City, they did a good job and they are very hard to break down defensively.”

The first of Wondolowski’s chances came in the 10th minute. Tommy Thompson was in good position but Matt Besler was able to block the attempt.

In the 24th minute, Simon Dawkins’ shot rebounded off Melia. Wondolowksi was able to get the ball but Melia won by recovering in time.

Graham Zusi put the game result pretty much out of doubt when he scored in the 88th minute, as his team came to congratulate him.

Wondolowski had a high header earlier and his last attempt came in the 90th minute.

Game notes: Sporting won the season series 2-1. The first game was won by San Jose by way of penalty kick. Kansas City midfielder Brad Davis announced his retirement before the game. Sporting ended the regular season in fifth place in the Western Conference with a 13-13-8 record and the Quakes finished in ninth place with an 8-12-14 record.

Sharks crumble in third period of Stanley Cup Final rematch

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~ Photo credit: AP/Fred Vuich

~ By Pearl Allison Lo

~ The Pittsburgh Penguins scored three unanswered goals to flip the game versus San Jose in the teams’ first meeting since Game 6 of the 2016 Playoffs Thursday.

The Sharks scored two goals in the second and avoided a Penguins’ power play goal. After review, the goal was turned over as it was ruled that Patric Hornqvist gloved the puck into the net. San Jose also outshot Pittsburgh, 17-4.

The Sharks then had a penalty kill starting at 4:10 of the third. However, 37 seconds later after the kill, Evgeni Malkin scored off a shot through traffic that went off Justin Braun. This was the start of the momentum train that propelled the Penguins.

Hornqvist was vital in the next two goals while San Jose hurt their momentum with penalties.

In the Sharks’ zone, Brenden Dillon gathered the puck and turned his back to the ice. A big hit by Hornqvist led to a loose puck. Teammate Scott Wilson scooped it up and scored to tie the game at 9:01 for his first goal.

After San Jose’s Paul Martin got a delay of game penalty, teammate Marc-Edouard Vlasic got a slashing call at 12:54, trying to stop a speedy Bryan Rust.  During the latter power play, goalie Martin Jones made a save off Phil Kessel’s shot. Hornqvist got the rebound and after hitting Martin’s skate, the puck went to the right goal post and just behind the goal line.

The Sharks’ Joe Pavelski said, “They got a bounce or two, but the position we were in, it shouldn’t matter how many bounces they get. We’ve got to seal that game.”

All three of Pittsburgh’s wins have been won 3-2 and this one ended a two-game losing streak, one in overtime. Goalie Marc-Andre Fleury made 32 saves in his third win. Going back to the preseason for both goalies, Fleury has now faced at least 31 shots in six straight games. For Jones, his 20 shots against has been the fewest shots he has faced.

Three of the five goal scorers in the game, San Jose’s Tomas Hertl and Patrick Marleau and Hornqvist had a game-high five shots apiece.

Hertl scored his second in as many games at 5:04 of the second. Fleury had no stick due to a Brent Burns shot. Pavelski then shot at net and Hertl put in the rebound. Pavelski now has six points through a three-game point streak and Burns has eight points through a four-game assist streak

Marleau scored off a puck he stole before a back-and-forth exchange with Couture at 16:15.

Game notes: On the power play, the Sharks went 0-for-3 and the Penguins went 1-for-5. Pittsburgh was without regular goalie Matt Murray and star Sidney Crosby. San Jose will now take on Detroit Saturday at 4pm.

Oakland Raiders post game analysis: Carr, Raiders take step back with loss to Kansas City

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By Joe Hawkes-Beamon
Sports Radio Service Writer

AP photo: Tamba Hali recovered for the Kansas City Chiefs (left) and defensive back Daniel Sorenson (49) and in the foreground Michael Crabtree of the Oakland Raiders

OAKLAND, Calif — Rookie Jalen Richard opened the game with a 50-yard return and quarterback Derek Carr completed four of five passes, including a 3-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Andre Holmes in the back of the end zone, but that was all the big plays that Oakland would generate, dropping their second home game of the season to the visiting Kansas City Chiefs 26-10 in Week 6.

For an offense that averaged 28.4 points per game coming into the game, Carr and the offense struggled on a rainy and soggy Sunday afternoon in Oakland, being held scoreless in the second half.

Carr completed 22 of 34 passes for 225 yards, one touchdown, and an interception.

It was the 12th straight game that Carr has thrown a touchdown, a career-high, but the third-year quarterback threw a terrible pass intended for wide receiver Michael Crabtree that was intercepted by Oakland native Marcus Peters on Oakland’s second drive of the game.

Peters’ first quarter interception was his league-leading fifth of the season.

Wide receiver Amari Cooper had a huge first half, hauling in nine catches for 117 yards, but only had one catch the rest of the way finishing with 10 catches for 127 yards. Fellow wide receiver Michael Crabtree had just one catch for five yards in the first half, finished with two catches for 10 yards.

Oakland was force-feeding Cooper the ball, targeting the former Alabama wide receiver 13 times, while Crabtree finished with just four targets.

The Raiders, who were without starting running back Latavius Murray, was held to just 65 yards on the ground by Kansas City, the lowest by the Chiefs versus any opponent this year.

Kansas City unleashed defensive end Dee Ford, who wrecked havoc on Carr by recording two sacks, one resulting in a fumble that the Chiefs recovered and killed any chances for an Oakland comeback.

Alex Smith finished 19 of 22 for 224 yards and Spencer Ware rumbled for a career-high 131 yards and one touchdown helping Kansas City (3-2) pick up their third straight win against the Silver and Black, and seventh straight win within the AFC West.

Smith is now 3-1 against the Raiders in Oakland for his career.

Oakland (4-2) will head to Florida for the next two weeks, gearing up for games in Jacksonville and Tampa Bay before returning home for a showdown with the Denver Broncos, the co-leader in the AFC West with Oakland on Nov. 6.

 

 

Quakes miss playoffs

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~ Photo credit: SJ Earthquakes

~ By Pearl Allison Lo

~ The Colorado Rapids’ Kevn Doyle’s brace singlehandedly sent San Jose home for the rest of the season with a 2-1 win Thursday.

Doyle broke a five month drought with a career-high two goals in two different scenarios. He last started on September 3.

If the Quakes were looking for any consolation, it could be that they lost to the team with the best MLS record, who are now at the top of the Western Conference table. The Rapids are now 11-0-5 at home on the season.

San Jose’s Chris Wondolowski had a game-high and tied a season-high with six shots and three shots on goal for the second time in last three games. However, the Quakes’ playoff drought now extends to four years. They finish 8-11-13.

Doyle had his first score in the 38th minute. Dominique Badji passed to a free Marc Burch who set the ball up for a diving Doyle.

Badji almost became the star of a play as he got past goalie David Bingham. However, that was not enough as Bernardez took two touches, one with each foot, for a goal line clearance in the 45th minute..

In the 49th minute, San Jose had an ample opportunity to tie the game. Wondolowski had a free kick as he sent the ball along the grass through the wall. Howard stopped the attempt then fumbled. The rebound then went to Henok Goitom nearby, who skied the ball.

Wondolowski broke through on the penalty kick in the 57th minute. This came after after he missed a penalty kick September 28, as he broke through goalie Tim Howard.

After Bingham made a stop against Doyle, he was not nearly as close with Doyle’s second attempt. The Rapids were awarded a penalty kick and Doyle went straightaway as Bingham went to his right to give Doyle a brace in the 73rd minute.

Later, another Quakes player acted as goalie again. Bingham boldly went straight to Caleb Calvert, who had the ball and stopped his first touch. On Calvert’s ensuing second touch, Marvell Wynne was in net to head the ball away.

Game notes: This loss marked an end to a 14-game win streak over Colorado as Bingham experienced his first loss versus them. It was just the second time in over 30 meetings San Jose gave up more than one goal to them. Next up for the Quakes is their home finale against the Vancouver Whitecaps. It will be Fan Appreciation Day and starts Sunday at 2pm.

Ducks comeback to win in feisty finale

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~ Photo credit: (AP Photo/Alex Gallardo)

~ By Pearl Allison Lo

~ ANAHEIM– Corey Perry scored 1:13 in overtime to seal a 3-2 win over the San Jose Sharks in both teams’  preseason finale Sunday.

It was not the overtime win the Sharks wanted. With San Jose’s David Schlemko behind him and Chris Tierney charging, Perry made a move from the circle to the slot to slide the puck past Mikkel Boedker and goalie Aaron Dell. For Perry, it was his first goal of the preseason, as he was aided by Andrew Cogliano and Cam Fowler.

The lone wins for the Ducks this preseason (2-4-1) have come versus San Jose, as the Sharks ended with a 3-2-1 record.

Versus last game against Anaheim, San Jose rested all of its veterans. Patrick Marleau, Paul Martin and Joel Ward did not play.

Both teams took the intensity up a notch as the game featured 21 penalties, 13 in the first period. The Sharks killed six power plays during the game and ended with a perfect preseason on the penalty kill (24-24). Boedker replied, “I think that’s a big credit obviously to the system we have, and the coaches that put it into place, but also the players. They’re grinding out there and we’re doing a good job keeping the shots away and making sure that the goalies can see them. Overall, it’s been really good and hopefully we can continue that into the regular season.” San Jose Coach Peter DeBoer added, “It’s an area we’ve flagged for big improvement this year.”

Dell, in goal for the second time this preseason, had 20 saves and opposing goalie Jonathan Bernier had 30 saves.

Absent from the last game played were Pavelski, Marleau, Thornton, Martin, Vlasic and Burns

The Ducks had all four power plays in the opening period but the Sharks drew first blood.

13 seconds after San Jose killed off their first penalty, Joonas Donskoi withstood two defenders, got the puck to Bernier and then as Bernier went down to cover the puck, Donskoi put in his own rebound at 9:05. It was Donskoi’s second goal in as many games, as he was aided by Justin Braun and Tomas Hertl. The assist marked number three for Braun.

Dell robbed Cam Fowler with a high left glove save during Anaheim’s second power play which started at 13:54.

There was certainly no love lost between the teams.

The first of three official brawls in the period began when Cogliano knocked down Dylan DeMelo. Tommy Wingels attacked Cogliano in retaliation, Kesler came in and that brought in the rest of the two teams. Wingels received a double minor and Kesler roughing.

With less than 30 seconds left in the first period, two more fights made it to the stat sheet. It started with the Sharks’ Micheal Haley and Josh Manson fighting. Haley got an additional slashing penalty. The next fight almost concurrently along the boards involved recently recalled Dan Kelly and Kesler again. Both received a game misconduct.

Anaheim’s Kevin Bieska led the first period with three shots and San Jose was outhit 16-6.

Right before the first fight of the second period, the Sharks’ Melker Karlsson received a delay of game penalty. The fight came between San Jose’s Brenden Dillon and Nick Ritchie.

The Sharks’ second power play of the night came at 9:53. That then turned into a 5-on-3 when Ryan Garbutt kneed Schlemko. Schlemko capitalized on the opportunity. He passed down the left faceoff circle to Donskoi, who came back up ice to the middle of the circle and passed back to Schlemko, who then shot the puck under Bernier’s left arm. DeMelo got the second assist as San Jose scored their second power play goal of the preseason.

With 1:50 left in the middle frame, Jakob Silfverberg broke the shutout. The assist went to Antoine Vermette who won the faceoff right before the shot.

The Ducks’ Mason Raymond led with three shots in the second period.

Haley had his second fight, making it at least one fight each period for the teams, when he went against Jared Boll at 5:52 of the third.

The Sharks started with an 8-0 shot advantage, but Anaheim tied the game on their second shot of the period. Silfverberg stole the puck from Schlemko and with DeMelo to his left, scored five hole unassisted for his second straight goal of the night at 10:18.

Silfverberg led with three shots in the period.

Hertl had the first shot in overtime with a breakaway, but was stymied by Bernier. Bernier commented, “That’s three-on-three, so you’re going to get those two-on-ones and breakaways. You’re going to have to make those saves if you want to win. What a play by Perry, that’s for sure.”

Preseason at its end, DeBoer made reference to the final roster, “We’e got, in my mind, four or five forwards, two or three defensemen who aren’t going to make the team, but I’m going to have confidence bringing them up and putting them on the ice, which is a great luxury.”

Game notes: San Jose’s Ryan Carpenter who also played was recently recalled. The Sharks host their other California rival, the Los Angeles Kings, Wednesday at 7:30 for the teams’ 2016 season opener.

Sorenson Breaks Out in Barracuda’s 4-2 Win

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By Matthew T.F. Harrington

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Following his hat trick in the San Jose Barracuda’s 4-2 win over the Tucson Roadrunners Marcus Sorensen was nowhere to be found in the Sharks Ice locker room. When a teammate saw the throng of press awaking the Swedish forward, her quipped that Sorenson was already in the San Jose Sharks locker room. With a performance like Thursday night’s it’s only a matter of time.

“I think we really saw what he’s capable of tonight,” said Barracuda coach Roy Sommer.

While teammate Matt Willows scored the first goal of the contest, after that the game was all Sorensen. The free agent signee out of the Swedish Hockey League scored his first strike to give San Jose a 2-1, beating the Tucson netminder gloveside on a snipe 6:40 into the second period. 3:39 into the third period, Sorenson converted a pass from linemate Nikita Jevpalovs for a power play strike for a 3-1. The Roadrunners would add a goal midway through the third but Sorenson would take a Danny O’Reagan pass following a block for a shorthanded goal with 6:46 left in regulation for the trifecta.

“Every guy I played with today was really good,” said Sorenson. “That gave me confidence. I hope I gave them confidence.”

Not bad for a player who was just hours removed from being cut from his first National Hockey League team. Earlier in the morning, Sorenson was returned to the Barracuda from Sharks camp, a minor disappointment after fans expected the Champions Hockey League MVP would be a breakout star.

“When he came down I looked at him and said ‘How you doing,” recalls Sommer. “He said ‘I’m good, no problem’. He wasn’t one of those guys that you have to pull aside into your office and pump his tires up. He’s an older, mature guy. He’s won championships over there. He knows what’s going on.”

It’s an unfair expectation, but one that has become a welcome reality for Sharks fans. For the past two seasons, the parent club’s international scouting team has found impact player from overseas in Melker Karlsson and Joonas Donskoi.

“He’s like a Karlsson or a Donskoi in that he just goes,” said Sommer. “I think he was trying to do too much, here he just went out and played.”

Fans expected Sorenson to compete a spot currently up for grabs between Barracuda teammates Barclay Goodrow, Nikolay Goldobin and Micheal Haley. It won’t be there spot for long if Sorenson continues to show the speed and knack for scoring he displayed Thursday night.

“He was the best player out there,” said Sommer after the game. “The big guys (Sharks executives) were out here watching tonight. That’s the best I’ve seen him play since he’s been here (in North America). He made plays. Up there (with the Sharks) he was trying to do too much.”

Another Barracuda who didn’t quite turn heads at Sharks camp also played a pivotal role Thursday. Mantas Armalis rebounded from a rough road game against the Colorado Avalanche to hold Tucson to two goals while showing good lateral movement. Armalis is still trying to get a feel for the smaller ice surface of North America and the extra effort goalies are called upon to perform with the closer corner boards.

“I’m not used to playing the puck,” said Armalis. “Goalies aren’t used as much. Probably because the corners are a bit farther away. That’s one adaptation.”

The Barracuda will continue the preseason with a Sunday afternoon contest at Sharks Ice. They’ll most likely be closer to full strength as training camp continues on and more regulars are inserted into the lineup.

Nieto seals the Sharks’ third straight overtime win

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~ Photo credit: Canadian Press

~ By Pearl Allison Lo

~ Matt Nieto sealed the deal, in what seems to be typical preseason so far, with 39.6 seconds left, in the second 3-2 win over the Vancouver Canucks Sunday.

From the blue line, Brenden Dillon passed to Nieto and Vancouver made a line change. Nieto then made a quick pass up ice to Nikolay Goldobin and was able to take advantage and beat the two new players rushing in, setting up a 2-on-1. Goldobin passed back to Nieto as he sped in and did not miss the net. It was Goldobin’s second assist in as many games.

Nieto not only notched his first two goals of the preseason in the game, but he got San Jose its first power play goal.

The Sharks were outshot for the first time this season. They remain perfect on the penalty kill (11-11).

In San Jose goalie Martin Jones’ preseason debut he made key saves during his 26 of 28. The Sharks were outshot 12-3 in the third period as they committed two penalties.

Multiple players continued their success from the last time the teams met. For San Jose, Kevin Labanc had his second goal and second assist, Chris Tierney got his second assist and David Schlemko got his third assist. For the Canucks, it was Anton Rodin’s second goal.

There were a number of penalties during the game, the most coming during the second. The Sharks went 2 for 6 on the power play, while Vancouver went 0 for 5. .

San Jose had mixed results with their first two power play opportunities.

During the first, with the Canucks shorthanded, but the 3-2 man advantage on the play, Joseph Labate crossed the blue line with the puck. He then sent it across ice to Tuomo Ruutu, who scored from the left faceoff circle off the goalpost at 3:44.

The Sharks capitalized on their second power play though. Labanc passed the puck between two defenders to Julius Bergman, who shot at net. The puck ended up hitting Tierney and went straight to Nieto, who powered the puck past goalie Ryan Miller at 10:25.

Vancouver went back up at 16:22. Olli Juolevi fought past his defenders to send the puck along the boards to Bo Horvat. Horvat then sent the puck behind him Rodin right in front of net.

In the second, Jones saved four consecutive shots from 3:51 to 4:27.

The Canucks had a big shot advantage early in the period, but by the time it ended, were outshot 9-8.

San Jose did not get their first shot until 5:11 (Tomas Hertl) and had their second shot at 8:47 (Bergman).

The Sharks then scored their second power play goal, Labanc scoring just before the final minute of the period. He sent the puck along the boards to Tierney behind the net, who shot it back to Labanc behind him. Labanc got his own rebound as he went around Miller and put the puck into the net. Schlemko got the second assist.

Vancouver got their first shot in the third at 6:33. They had another sequence of four shots against Jones, though one was missed, from 6:33-7:06.

San Jose’s last clean shot in the frame came at 8:10.

The Canucks’ only clean shot in overtime came 57 seconds into the period.

Game notes: The Sharks next host the Anaheim Ducks October 5 at 7:30pm.

Athletics end Mariners’ playoff hopes with 10-inning win

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By Daniel Dullum
Sports Radio Service
Saturday, October 1, 2016

With nowhere to go themselves, the Oakland Athletics played the spoiler role to the hilt on Saturday, edging Seattle 9-8 in 10 innings at Safeco Field, and eliminated the Mariners from the AL Wild Card race.

The loss also extends Seattle’s streak of missing the postseason to 15 seasons. The last time the Mariners reached the AL playoffs was 2001, when they won 116 games.

Joey Wendle had the game-winning hit for Oakland, a one-out double into the right-center field gap off Mariners’ reliever Edwin Diaz (0-4).

Bruce Maxwell opened the Athletics 10th with a double off Diaz, who entered the game in the eighth inning. Chad Pinder replaced Maxwell as a pinch-runner and, after Matt Olson struck out, scored on Wendle’s double.

A’s closer Ryan Madson (6-7) shut down the Mariners in the 10th to get the win,

Khris Davis cracked a one-out homer – his 42nd – that gave Oakland a 7-4 lead in the seventh.

Earlier, the Mariners tied the game at 7-7 on a two-run homer by Nelson Cruz that capped a three-run rally. Oakland took an 8-7 lead in the eighth on an RBI single by Marcus Semien – his fourth hit of the game.

Ben Gamel’s two-out RBI single in the bottom of the ninth off A’s reliever Ryan Dull.

Jharel Cotton started for Oakland but left after giving up Robinson Cano’s 39th home run of the season, a two-run shot. Liam Hendriks replaced Cotton and held the Mariners at bay for the moment.

The Athletics and Mariners end their seasons Sunday afternoon.

The Warriors lose the first pre-season game of the year to the Toronto Raptors

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by Jerry Feitelberg

Vancouver, British Columbia- The Golden State Warriors lost to the Toronto Raptors 97-93 in the first practice game of the 2016-2017 season. The Warriors added superstar Kevin Durant to the team in the hopes of reclaiming the NBA championship. However, they lost six key players due to salary constraints. Andrew Bogut and Harrison Barnes are now with the Dallas Mavericks. Backup centers Festus Ezeli and Mo Speights with the Portland Trail Blazers and Los Angeles Clippers. Leandro Barbosa went to Phoenix, and Brandon Rush signed with Minnesota. The big question facing the Warriors is how well will the new pieces fit in with the club. The new acquisitions Zaza Pachulia, David West, along with holdovers Ian Clark, Anderson Varajeo, James Michael McAdoo, must find a way to blend in with the Warriors big guns. Those guns are Steph Curry, Draymond Green, Klay Thompson, Kevin Durant, Andre Iguodala, and Shaun Livingston.

The Warriors play looked ragged at times. Kevin Durant was just two-for-nine from the floor, and he scored just nine points in the game. Steph Curry had eight points and was one-for-five from three-point range. Klay Thompson led the team in scoring with sixteen and Draymond Green had two. The starters played in the first half only and the second unit and players trying to make the club played the entire second half. The Raptors, on the other hand, used their regulars for the full game.

After the game Warriors coach, Steve Kerr had this to say about his team’s effort “we looked like a team that had four days of practice.” Talking about Kevin Durant, Kerr remarked ‘he’s going to fit right into what we do.

The Warriors next game will be at the Oracle Arena Tuesday night October 4th and will feature a Steph Curry Back-to-back MVP Bobblehead. The Warriors will travel to the SAP Center October 6th to play the LA Clippers and the giveaway that night will be a Klay Thompson San Jose Sharks Bobblehead.