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Couture unable to save Sharks

Published on by smallforceLeave a comment

By Pearl Allison Lo

~ Logan Couture returned, but San Jose still hit a season-high four game losing streak, as the Calgary Flames won 4-2.

Playing for the first time since October 13, Couture played 12:38 minutes, had one assist, one shot on goal and was 38% on the face off.

San Jose was still missing defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic though, with his lower-body injury. Vlasic did not fly out for the two-game road trip.

The Sharks will have to hope the season-high losing streak adds that needed edge to get them back in the win column. In the Pacific Division, they have the same number of points as the Vancouver Canucks and are only one point ahead of the Arizona Coyotes and the Anaheim Ducks. Calgary is now only four points behind San Jose.

The Flames have scored at least three goals in each of their current three game win streak.

Calgary’s Mikael Backlund had a goal and assist and Mark Giordano and Dennis Wideman had two assists apiece.

The Flames’ Markus Granlund scored first 1:45 into the game, aided by Jiri Hudler and Wideman, both of whom got their twelfth assists.

The Sharks’ fourth line tied the game at 4:31. Chris Tierney was helped by Joonas Donskoi and Dainius Zubrus, who got his first assist.

The teams then exchanged power play goals.

Sean Monahan made it 2-1, assisted by Giordano and Wideman.  San Jose managed to only give up this special teams goal, amongst the six other opportunities.

The Sharks then got a power play goal for the second straight game when Joe Thornton was aided by Patrick Marleau and Couture. It was Couture’s second assist of the season. Calgary challenged the goal for interference, but was overruled.

In the second, Michael Frolik scored what would be the game winner, helped by Backlund and Dougie Hamilton.

The Flames’ first attempt at making it 4-2, was taken back after a victorious challenge by San Jose after review.

At 8:59, Backlund made it 4-2 for good, assisted by Giordano and TJ Brodie.

The Sharks’ Alex Stalock then came in and stopped 10 shots against the power play during the night.

San Jose’s Melker Karlsson had a shot that was just denied by the left goalpost and Couture had two penalties in the period.

The Sharks had penalties late in the game, similar to the game versus the Ducks. Donskoi was called at 16:15, voiding a power play and Pavelski, who was called with 3:23 left against Anaheim, went in the box for holding at 18:34.

Game notes: Zubrus had a penalty in each period. San Jose had 30+ shots for the second straight game. The Sharks will try to turn the tides when they face their former Coach Todd McLellan and his new team, the Edmonton Oilers for the first time, Wednesday at 6:30pm.

Goodrow Completes Hat Trick in OT, Barracuda Best Condors 7-6

Published on by Matthew HarringtonLeave a comment

By Matthew T.F. Harrington

SAN JOSE, Calif. – The San Jose Sharks woes early in the season were based off their poor starts, allowing the first goal in a majority of games to fall behind early. For their AHL affiliate, the San Jose Barracuda, the problem seems to be in a reverse.

“I don’t think we play well with the lead,” said Barracuda captain Bryan Lerg. “That’s something that needs to be addressed.”

One night after taking a 3-1 lead in the first period then having to guard a one-goal lead down the final minutes of the contest, the Barracuda again found themselves up big early but barely holding on for a 7-6 win against Bakersfield (9-9-1-1) in overtime Saturday afternoon at SAP Center.

“It’s nice to see the team find a way to win,” said Lerg. “We need the points. Yesterday wasn’t very good but we found a way to win. It was the same today.”

Barclay Goodrow scored a hat trick and Petter Emanuelsson netted a pair of goals to move San Jose (9-8-0-3) a game over the .500 win percentage. Mark Cundari and Daniel Doremus each had a goal and assist each, but the Barracuda allowed 3 consecutive goals to the Condors in the 2nd period. The Barracuda scored to take the lead late heading into the 3rd, but twice Bakersfield tied the contest up.

“We had one line that was good tonight,” said Barracuda coach Roy Sommer. “It basically won us the hockey game.”

With the Barracuda’s first period salvo of goals, it was hard to believe the Condors ever led in the contest, but Bakersfield nabbed the first goal of the game short-handed.

Working to set up the umbrella in the offensive end, Mark Cundari fumbled the puck in his skates which allowed Condors forward Josh Currie to skate the other way on a breakaway. Currie, playing with Bakersfield on a professional try-out contract, beat Barracuda netminder Troy Grosenick for the first of many goals 3:29 into the game.

“For a team that scored first, we shrugged it off and went after them,” said Sommer. “We hung in there.”

Emanuelsson’s first goal of the game and first goal since last October tied the score up 8:14 into the 1st period on a heady play in the offensive end. A Condor forward looking to break the puck out of his own end dropped the puck along the half-wall to what he thought was his defenseman. Instead, the Swedish import plucked the puck off the wall and beat Ben Scrivens for his first goal of the season.

“He’s a good player,” said Goodrow of his linemate. “He’s got a great shot. It wasn’t like he wasn’t getting chances. He’s getting shots, sometimes you just don’t get those bounces. The tide has turned for him. I’m looking forward to him getting on a roll these next few games.”

After Doremus potted a rebound past Scrivens’ toe flick 1:15 later for a 2-1 lead, Emanuelsson would step up again on the forecheck. This time Emanuelsson was able to fight through the Condors defense and work himself behind Scrivens’ net. From Gretzky’s office Emanuelsson skated to the netminders blocker side, jamming the puck home for his first career two-goal game in North America. Linemate Ryan Carpenter picked up the assist on Emanuelsson’s strike 11:25 into the period.

“Our line kept at it again,” Said Goodrow. “Once Petter got that first one, he kept on rolling. I told him after he got that first one that the flood gates are open. Then he got another one. We we’re rolling.”

Emanuelsson missed most of last season with a shoulder injury and now looks more comfortable on the ice.

“Last year was tough,” said Emanuelsson. “I had two big surgeries. So I still have to be patient and go day-to-day at practice and give it time.”

“He’s been out over a year,” said Sommer. “I don’t think he really trusted his shoulders yet to see if they’d hold up. Now that he knows that they do good things are going to happen for him. This is the way he’s capable of playing.”

Cundari atoned for his flub in the first period to cap the 1st period barrage and chase Scrivens from the contest. The offensive defenseman ripped a shot from below the face-off circle that hit just inside the top right corner of the goal before flying back out. After a brief official review, the Barracuda were awarded the 4-1 lead with 3:42 left in the period.

After holding an 11-10 shooting edge in the 1st frame, the Barracuda slipped into an offensive funk in the 2nd. The Condors outshot San Jose 13-6 and scored three-straight goals from Matthew Ford, Bogdan Yakimov and Currie’s 2nd of the game to tie the contest 4-4.

“They kept coming,” said Lerg of Bakersfield, who played last night then bused up to San Jose overnight. “Give them credit. They didn’t let back. When it was 4-1 they could have rolled over.”

Barclay Goodrow mustered a response for the Barracuda, scoring just 2:03 from the 2nd intermission for his 5th point in two days. Cundari was rushing up the ice and dropped the puck to Goodrow. The puck was intercepted on a Condor poke check, but Goodrow was able to chip the puck towards the net and the juggle it before positing it behind new Condor goalie Laurent Brossoit for a 5-4 lead.

Bakersfield tied the game 7:53 into the third after Ford’s rebound redirection found the back of the net, but Goodrow again had the response 3:56 away from the end of regulation. Goodrow took a bounce off Brossoit’s pad on a Carpenter shot from the right side and ripped it under the goalie’s armpit to take the 6-5 lead.

Bakersfield again responded though, with Andrew Miller scoring as Brossoit was skating to the Condor bench for the extra attacker with 1:26 left. Neither team scored in the final seconds to send the game into overtime.

“It’s great to be up in these games, but you can’t sit back,” said Lerg. “Everyone has to keep pushing. Don’t play to hang on, play to win.”

From there, Goodrow stepped up. Just 27 seconds into overtime, the 22 year-old delivered, beating Brossoit for the hat trick goal and the two points.

“It’s nice to contribute, said Goodrow. “It’s good to help the team win and be one of the guys the team looks towards to score some goals and be counted on defensively.”

Since being demoted from the Sharks almost one month to the game, Goodrow has scored 8 goals and picked up 14 points in 13 games. In the two wins this weekend, he collected 7 total points on 4 goals and 3 assist.

“That’s what they saw in him,” said Sommer on why the Sharks signed the undrafted Goodrow. “That’s why he was so sought after in juniors. It’s taken him a while to get his feet under him with the whole thing of getting sent down. But it’s how you respond.”

The two-win weekend comes at an opportune time for the Barracuda. They have the week off before facing the San Diego Gulls next Saturday afternoon at home.

“We’re a resilient group,” said Goodrow. “We knew how important these last two games were standings wise. We don’t play again till Saturday. You don’t want a sour taste in your mouth for the next 5 or 6 days of practice. You want to go out on a winning note.”

 

Pens Puck Luck Bounces Sharks 5-1

Published on by Matthew HarringtonLeave a comment

By Matthew T.F. Harrington

SAN JOSE, Calif. – Despite a woeful record, the Pittsburgh Penguins are a team that boasts an offense that can hurt you if they get the right bounces. Tuesday night at the SAP Center, San Jose Sharks netminder Martin Jones and company had their share of bad luck in a 5-1 loss to the Pens. The Penguins picked up their first win in NorCal since 1997.

“You earn your puck luck,” said Sharks winger Tommy Wingels. “Sometimes you’re up, sometimes you’re not. It happens. We’ve gotten our fair share of the bounces this year so we’ll look to create more opportunities for ourselves.”

“I thought we played pretty well at some times,” said Jones. “We did some good things. It didn’t feel like a 5-1 hockey game.”

While Patrick Marleau scored a power play goal for the surging Sharks special teams unit, the Penguins (14-8-2) countered with goals from every member of their top line. 2003 first round pick Marc-Andre Fleury made 33 saves to hand the Eastern Conference squad a win over their Western Conference opponents.

“Pittsburgh was hungry tonight,” said Sharks coach Pete DeBoer. “You have to give them credit for coming into here and getting the job done.”

Jones surrendered a trio of goals on the unlucky side to put the Sharks (14-10-0) down 3-0 starting with a quick strike just 2:30 into the game.

Pittsburgh left wing Phil Kessel circled behind the net looking for a centering pass. Instead, the puck bounced off Paul Martin’s skate and changed direction to the near post. Jones moved off the right post, having the puck graze off his right pad and in for Kessel’s 8th goal of the season.

“That first one was tough, off my skate,” said Martin. “No excuses, we made some of our own opportunities for chances to score some goals.”

Matt Cullen netted his second goal of the season and the second goal of the game 4:40 into the second period. Defenseman Brian Dumolin fired a slap shot on Jones that the net minder saved away to his right side. Cullen picked up the loose puck right outside the crease, sneaking it past Jones as he switched off his right leg a little early preparing to push to his left.

“It was a couple tough bounces,” said Jones. “That’s the way it goes. In the games sometimes we’ve had some good bounces sometimes. They tend to even out after a while.”

All-World talent Evgeni Malkin made Jones, as he has many a goalie, pay for his over-commitment just under two minutes later. The Russian rocket came skating down the left side of the ice, forcing Jones wide out of his crease. Malkin then circled back to his right, sneaking a puck into the vacant net for his 12th goal of the year.

“I overplayed the shot a little bit,” said Jones. “And he’s a good player that made a nice play to take it out in front of the net.”

While Jones had his share of struggles at one end of the ice, Marc-Andre Fleury continued his season of dominance with a near-perfect performance at the other end. Despite seeing 34 shots, the man known as “Flower” wilted only once. Fleury yielded his share of rebounds, but the Penguins managed to clear out any loose pucks.

The Sharks beat Fleury with their recently red-hot power play. After not scoring a power play marker in the first 8 home games of the season, San Jose has found the back of the net 4 times  with the man advantage over its last 3 games at SAP. Tuesday night it was Patrick Marleau scoring his 10th goal of the season.

With California native Beau Bennett sitting for a roughing penalty, Marleau fired a snap shot past Fleury 4:25 from the second intermission to get San Jose on the board. The Sharks nearly struck twice, after Tommy Wingels crashed the net and poked a loose puck past the Penguins keeper. The referee positioned behind the cage gave the “wash-out” gesture signifying no goal.

“That was a big shift there,” said Wingels. “You think you have a goal, then you don’t. These guys make the calls that they think are right.”

DeBoer challenged the play, but after review it was deemed that there was enough contact by Wingels for the call on the ice to stand.

“That was a critical turning point,” said DeBoer. “We could have gotten rolling there 3-2. We’re still unsure how the decision was made based on my views of it but that’s all part of it.”

“It’s tough,” said Jones. “On video replay it looks different than what the refs see in the game. I don’t think it’s been an issue. We’ve had calls go both ways.”

David Perron iced the game in the third period after San Jose was caught with too many men on the ice. The Pittsburgh forward notched the power play strike 8:42 into the final period. Kessel then potted the empty netter with 4:06 left to play. In total Jones made 24 saves on 28 shots.

“We kept working, we kept battling,” said DeBoer. “The feeling on the bench was, right up until they got the empty netter, we could still get back into the game.”

The Sharks will hope for a rebound by Jones and when they travel to the friendly of the road in Anaheim Friday night then welcome Stanley Cup Finalists Tampa Bay on Saturday hoping for more power plays.

 

Warriors Narrowly Keep Streak Alive, Fend Off Jazz In A 106-103 Thriller.

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By Shawn Whelchel

The Golden State Warriors have been so dominant this season that many may have pushed the idea of actually losing a game out of their mind. That scenario nearly came to fruition on Monday night as the Utah Jazz took the Warriors to the brink in a hard-fought contest in Salt Lake City, as Golden State managed to escape with a 106-103 win on the road.

The narrow victory was a star studded affair, as Golden State leaned on its studs, including Steph Curry, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson, to deliver them the road victory to keep their unbeaten streak alive. Curry led the Warriors with 26 points, while scoring some crucial buckets in crunch time late in the fourth quarter. Green added 20 of his own, including a crucial put back bucket to take the lead in the fourth quarter while drawing the foul. Thompson also added 20 of his own.

The score was tied with just under two-minutes to go after a Curry step-back notched things up at 99. Curry couldn’t put through a fastbreak layup on the next Golden State possession, but Green’s hustle put him in a position to clean up the miss and give the Warriors a 101-99 lead.

Golden State would foul on their next possession, sending the Jazz’s Derrick Favors to line, who would sink both free throws as apart of his 23-total points on the night, again notching things up at 101 each. But with the game on the line, the Warriors looked to their MVP to lead them out of danger, and Curry delivered.

The NBA’s best shooter would show off his skills with the game on the line, crossing over a Utah defender and stepping behind the arc to nail a three pointer to put his team up again. The Jazz would look to threaten the Warriors lead yet again, but a loose ball off a miss found its way to Curry’s hands, who would be sent to the line to seal the victory following a pair of free throws.

The three-point victory was the slimmest margin thus far for the Warriors, who remain unbeaten with a 19-0 victory. The 8-8 Jazz aren’t the bottom feeders of the NBA by any means, nor are they the league’s elite. But with the Warriors continuing to chase even more records, it served as a stiff reminder that anything can happen in this unpredictable league. It also showed that the Warriors have not forgotten how to scrap their way to a win, as they continue to find ways to do so no matter the scenario.

The Warriors road trip continues on Wednesday, with the team flying to Charlotte to take on the Hornets in the second game of this seven game road series.

 

Game Notes: Playoff Hopes On Line For Stanford, Notre Dame

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By: Ben Leonard

//

STANFORD, Calif. —

Win and you’re in — with some help.

The situation is the same for both the Stanford Cardinal (9-2) and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish (10-1), who will duke it out for a right to *maybe* make the second-ever College Football Playoff at Stanford Stadium at 4:30 PST on FOX.

With two losses, Stanford needs to win out to have a chance, with help from some chaos in the Big-12. Their job got a lot easier with TCU’s victory over Baylor on Friday, and an Oklahoma State victory over Oklahoma at 5:00 PST on ESPN would give their playoff hopes a huge boost.

If Notre Dame beats the Cardinal, they have a decent chance at sliding in the last playoff spot — but it’s not guaranteed.

2015 marks the fifth straight season both the Irish and the Cardinal have been ranked when they faced off, the second-best such streak in the nation. The home team has won six out of the last seven matchup in this emerging rivalry series, and Notre Dame hasn’t won at Stanford Stadium since 2007.

The Cardinal are lead by Heisman candidate Christian McCaffrey, who has set all kinds of records this season, including the all-time Stanford high-water mark for all-purpose yards in a game Saturday, with 389 in a win against Cal.  With three games left, he is just 443 yards short of breaking Barry Sanders’ once thought untouchable single season NCAA record of 3,250 all-purpose yards.

The Irish are lead by quarterback DeShone Kizer, who was the third-stringer back in January behind Everett Gholson and Malik Zaire. Gholson is now at Florida State, and Zaire is out for the season with a broken ankle. Kizer isn’t your average third-stringer — he’s thrown for 2,362 yards and 18 touchdowns, and posted a quarterback rating of 152.5 in ten games replacing the injured Zaire.

What gets lost in all of the playoff hype is that Saturday marks Senior Night on The Farm. It will be the final game for quarterback Kevin Hogan, whose 33 career wins are the best in the nation, linebackers Blake Martinez and Kevin Anderson, guard Joshua Garnett, wide receiver Devon Cajuste, and running back Remound Wright, among many others.

It will be an emotional night for many reasons in Palo Alto. Buckle up — it’s going to be a fun ride.

 

 

 

Timberwolves defeat Kings 101-91

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment
NBA: Minnesota Timberwolves at Sacramento Kings
Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

By Charlie O. Mallonee

Sacramento – The momentum that the Sacramento Kings brought with them when they returned home from a five-game road was lost on Friday night when they were defeated by the Minnesota Timberwolves 101-91.

If you like uptempo basketball with plenty of 3-point shooting, then this game would have been to your liking. The ball crossed the mid-court line in three to five seconds on each possession and there was a total 47 three-point attempts in the game.

What was missing for the Kings in the game was defense in the first half and offense in the second half.

In the first half, the Kings allowed the T-Wolves to shoot 54.3-percent (19-for-35) from the field. Minnesota shot 53.8-percent (7-for-13) from 3-point range. The Kings generated just enough offense to keep the game close. At the half, the Timberwolves held a 53-47 lead over the Kings.

The Kings defense improved in the second half but their offense went away. Sacramento was unable took take the lead in the second half. The Kings did cut the T-Wolves lead to just two points early in the fourth quarter, but they were unable to capitalize on their effort as Minnesota opened up double-digit leads with less than six minutes left to play.

The Kings desperately needed to put together a run of six to eight points but were unable to do so. As the fourth quarter progressed, Sacramento was relegated to trading baskets with their opponents. In the end, the Kings just ran out of time.

Sacramento (6-11) was without DeMarcus Cousins who dressed for the contest but did not play due to a lower back strain. The Kings are now 1-6 when Cousins is not in the lineup.

The Timberwolves (8-8) have become true road warriors. Minnesota is now 6-2 on the road for the season.

Kings

Rajon Rondo was the workhorse for the Kings again in this game. Rondo recorded a double-double putting up 16 points and distributing 16 assists. He made 7-of-16 field goal attempts and shot 1-for-2 from beyond the 3-point line. Rondo did not commit a turnover in his 36-plus minutes on the floor.

Marco Belinelli was the Kings leading scorer with 17 points off the bench. He shot 7-for-12 from the floor and hit 3-of-5 three-point attempts. Belinelli has scored in double-figures in each of the last five games.

Kosta Koufos had a solid game for the Kings posting a double-double scoring 16 points and pulling down 13 rebounds.

Omri Casspi was strong off the bench for Sacramento once again. Casspi scored 15 points shooting 6-for-10 from the floor including two 3-pointers.

The shock of the night was the play of Rudy Gay. He shot 1-for-13 and scored just two points in 26-plus minutes of playing time. Much of the credit for Gay’s subpar performance can be credited to Andrew Wiggins who played tough defense against the Kings star forward all night long.

As a team the Kings shot 43.0-percent (37-for-86) for the game. They made 8-of-22 three-point attempts. The glaring statistic of the night was the Kings free throw shooting or rather the lack there of. Sacramento averages 23 free throw attempts per game. The had just 15 attempts on Friday night converting just nine of those attempts.

In order to close the scoring gap in the second half, the Kings needed to drive the lane, pick up fouls and score with the clock stopped. They were unable to make that happen.

The Kings were out-rebounded by the T-Wolves. Minnesota pulled down 46 rebounds to just 36 for Sacramento.

The Kings dished out 21 assists while turning the ball over 15 times. The 15 turnovers resulted in 16 points for Minnesota.

Timberwolves

The T-Wolves leading scorer was second-year forward Andrew Wiggins. Wiggins scored 22 points hitting on 8-of-17 shots. He went 5-for-6 from the free throw while grabbing six rebounds. Wiggins also showed off his defensive prowess by helping to hold Rudy Gay to just two points.

Zach LaVine started at point guard for the injured Ricky Rubio. LaVine scored 19 points, hauled in eight rebounds and had four assists for the T-Wolves.

The NBA’s number one overall draft pick Karl-Anthony Towns had a relatively quiet night. He scored just seven points but he did record eight rebounds.

Shabazz Muhammad put up 15 points off the bench and the ageless Andre Miller scored 12 points playing as the backup point guard.

The Timberwolves shot 48.1-percent (33-for-77) from the floor and made 9-of-25 (36.0-percent) 3-point shots. The T-Wolves converted 18-of-19 (94.7-percent) free throw attempts.

Minnesota posted 20 assists and 18 turnovers. Their turnovers resulted in 19 points for the Kings.

What they said after the game

“Tonight was a struggle. A struggle offensively in the second half, defensively in the first half,” said Kings head coach George Karl. “First half, I had all sorts of trouble with our defense. We just don’t have a luxury with Cuz (DeMarcus Cousins) not playing to not give an effort defensively. I thought the second half effort was there defensively, but offensively we were just frustrated and confused.”

“We need to give them (Minnesota) credit. They played hard tonight. They are a talented team, but that was a very winnable game for us. At the same time, we have to turn the page and move on and learn from our mistakes,” said Kings center Kosta Koufos.

When asked about how it felt to reach .500 (8-8) Timberwolves forward Andrew Wiggins said, “It feels good. Especially, when we were three games out of it then we won the last three games, so we’re picking it up. We’re getting better every game so it feels good.”

Up next

The Kings will have no time to sit and ponder their next moves to improve their play. Sacramento travels to Oakland to take on the 17-0 Golden State Warriors Saturday night. Playing DeMarcus Cousins against the Warriors will probably be game-time decision.

The Timberwolves travel to Los Angeles to face the Clippers on Sunday in the finale of their two-game road trip.

Three straight losses for Raiders

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By Jeremy Kahn

It seems that the Oakland Raiders have gone back to playing like they do not want to advance to the playoffs for the first time since the 2002 season.

Matthew Stafford scored on a five-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter, as the Detroit Lions defeated the Raiders 18-13 at Ford Field.

The Stafford touchdown run was the first rushing touchdown since Week 3, as they won for the second consecutive game and improved to 3-7 on the season.

Donald Penn was called for holding in the end zone that gave the Lions the final margin of victory.

Ameer Abdullah, Joique Bell and Theo Riddick combined for 89 yards rushing on 24 carries in the five-point victory.

It was a huge day for Stafford, as the number one pick in the 2009 draft went 22-for-35 for 282 yards passing.

As for the Raiders, they are going in a different direction, as they have now lost three games in a row. Over the last two weeks, the Raiders gave scored just 27 points and are now 4-6 on the season.

Derek Carr went 13-for-25 for 169 yards, while Latavius Murray gained a season-low 28 yards on 13 carries.

Amari Cooper caught just one pass for four yards.

Sebastian Janikowski kicked two field goals, including a 48-yard field goal and a season-long 56-yard field that gave the Raiders a four-point lead in the waning moments of the third quarter.

Hawks Trump Kings Despite Rondo Triple-Double

Published on by Matthew HarringtonLeave a comment

By Matthew T.F. Harrington

Rajon Rondo notched a triple-double, but the Sacramento Kings couldn’t complete a fourth quarter comeback in Atlanta Wednesday night to snap a three-game win streak. Rondo scored 12 points and DeMarcus Cousins netted a game-high 24 points but the Hawks (9-5) came away with the 103-97 victory at Phillips Arena to put coach George Karl even further under the microscope amidst talk of his disma.

The Hawks led by 11 points with 2:49 left in the game, but the Kings (4-8) went on a 9-0 run capped by Darren Collison’s three to bring the visitors down 99-97. The Hawks closed the game out with the final four points and the W in the win-loss column.

The Kings led 30-27 after the first quarter, but were manhandled by a Hawks offense led by Paul Millsap (23 points, 16 rebounds) and Al Horford (17 points) in the second quarter. At half-time, the Kings trailed 62-52. A strong third period (27 points for, 19 against) helped the Kings pull within two points 81-79 heading into the final 12 minutes.

As a team, the Kings went 38-for-86 from the floor, in line with their season average of 44.2 percent shooting. Led by point guard Rondo’s 12 rebounds and another 12 from Cousins, the Kings out rebounded their hosts 52-45. Sacramento turned the ball over 20 times, while Atlanta coughed the rock up only 11 times.

Rondo went 6 of 9 from the field for his 12 points, dropping 10 times to complete the triple-double. Kostos Koufos pitched in 13 points off the bench and starter Rudy Gay added 14 points of his own.

Sacramento travels further south for game two of a back-to-back to face the Miami Heat Thursday night in South Beach.

Is Blaine Gabbert the 49ers Future Quarterback

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By: Joe Lami

With the benching of quarterback Colin Kaepernick, the 49ers finally have a breath of fresh air in the locker room.  It seemed to work two weeks ago in the 17-16 win over the Atlanta Falcons. Blaine Gabbert was able to move the ball down the field with efficiency and ended up with 185 yards on 15 completions and most importantly two touchdowns, something that Kaep only did six times before the benching.

Granted that the opposition was the Falcons defense, Gabbert is proving himself that he is a solution for right now. He faces a mountain ahead of him this week by having to go into Seattle and face the Seahawks, something that Kaepernick was never able to conquer.

It’s well known that the 49ers season is over and at this point they are playing for pride, which makes one have to look towards the draft next year in 2016. They are still predicted to have a high pick and have many positions that need to be filled with it, especially at the offensive line.

With it seeming more and more likely that California quarterback Jarred Goff will be staying for his senior season at Berkeley, the 49ers won’t be able to take the quarterback that everyone is predicting they want. With this in mind, do the 49ers waste a pick on the best quarterback available or do they go ahead and fill in some of the holes in some much-needed areas.

If Gabbert can continue as a winning quarterback, he should stay at quarterback for San Francisco in 2016.  It can give the option to us pick to bolster the terrible offensive line in Santa Clara while waiting for a chance at their eventual savior in Goff.  The 49ers just need a QB that can deliver their receivers the ball. San Francisco has one of the best wide receiving cores in the NFL that just need someone that can get the ball in their hands to win ball games and it appears that Gabbert is enough to get that done.

Stanford Pulls Past Green Bay to Open Season

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By: Ben Leonard

Coming into the season, Stanford knew it was going to have some growing pains, having to replace stars like Chasson Randle and Anthony Brown with young talent.

It took a lot of aches and pains (even more than expected), but fueled by 23 points from point guard Christian Sanders, the Stanford Cardinal (1-0) finally pulled away from the Horizon League’s Green Bay Phoenix (0-1) to open their season in a 93-89 overtime win, part of the NIT Season Tipoff. Fittingly, the Cardinal ended last season with an NIT Championship  — it picked up right where they left off.

The Cardinal was picked to finish ninth in the Pac-12 media poll a year after tying for fifth last season, and have gotten their fair share of bad injury luck — they lost point guard Robert Cartwright for the season (broken arm), and had to play without Marcus Allen (wrist), and Grant Verhoeven (foot).

They certainly looked like a team short on players and experience in the early going. Even though they took a quick 17-13 lead, Green Bay turned it on, going on a 25-11 run in the last eleven minutes of the first half to take a 38-28 halftime lead, leading by as many as 14 points.

Head coach Johnny Dawkins tried to help his young team out as best as he could, calling timeouts to try to stop the Phoenix’s momentum, but it was to no avail. Green Bay’s full-court press simply forced Stanford to turn the ball over too much (11 TO), giving Green Bay too many easy opportunities to score (16 points off TO).

A self-described tweener, point guard/off guard Christian Sanders broke down how the press affected them: “Early on it was effective. Instead of attacking the basket to score, we seemed hesitant. When they came to trap, they left space (unlike most teams). We had to overcome that awkwardness — it’s just a growing-up kind of thing.”

Stanford had a lot of growing up to do, and fast. Sanders mentioned that the team was still “searching for [them]selves and learning about each other” in the first half. It was painfully obvious: the Cardinal also struggled mightily at the line in the first half, making just 6 of 11 from the charity stripe, and failed to make a three-point attempt on seven tries. Guards Carrington Love (10 points) and 6’7″ Turner Botz (8 pts) led the way for Green Bay, making Stanford’s defense look bad.

After all those turnovers in the first half,  Dawkins preached to his team to “value the ball.” Okay, they only kind of listened (10 TO the rest of the way), but it sure lit a fire under them. They slowly but surely started to pull back, cutting the Phoenix’s lead to six points with 11:20 left to play.

Stanford made some clear adjustments, becoming “more aggressive” according to forward Rosco Allen, who picked up his first career double-double, one of six Cardinal in double figures. They limited Green Bay to shoot just 34.4% from the field, while they found their shooting touch, making five of nine three-pointers and shooting 59.3% fro the field.

After getting the crowd back in it with their rally, the Cardinal finally pulled ahead 69-68 with just under three minutes to play on guard Dorian Pickens’ lay-up, their first lead since the early stages of the first half. Pickens combined with Sanders (filling in for Cartwright) to score 20 points in the second half, fueling the Cardinal’s resurgence.

Dawkins expressed total confidence in Sanders as his point guard: “It’s his time…. he needs to make the most of it for the team. He told me he was ready with such confidence.”

It looked like Pickens’ and Sanders’ efforts had the game on ice, up two points with two Sanders’ free-throws with just ten seconds left. But Pickens clanked his first free-throw off the iron before making the second, allowing for Green Bay’s Charles Cooper to hit an “and-one” layup to send the game into overtime.

Sanders carried the team in overtime, scoring eight points while making four clutch free-throws to help the Cardinal walk away victorious. Not bad for a guy who had only started in nine games coming into the season. Rosco Allen’s three gave Stanford a five-point lead with 28 seconds left, enough to ground the Phoenix.

Overall, Dawkins was pleased with his team’s effort against a program with a “really good tradition.” Before you doubt his honesty, Green did make their conference championship game and finish 24-9 last year.

It was a “big test” for his team, one that “still has a lot to learn…from the good and bad.” Stanford is still searching for an “identity” after losing so many players.

One thing’s for certain: Stanford won’t be able to get away with committing 21 turnovers in the coming games. After a matchup against Charleston Southern, Stanford will go on to play a great team in SMU, Saint Mary’s, and eleventh-ranked Villanova. Not too shabby of a non-conference schedule. SEC football teams, take notes.

Notes: 

Malcom Allen made a surprise return to action on Friday, after we had been told he would miss some games…Allen has been practicing for a little over a week and was ‘completely ready’ to return to action…There still is no exact date for Marcus Allen’s return, but as for Verhoeven, their returns are “getting closer”….Stanford announced plans to play Harvard in 2016 in China….Dawkins: “It’s great for our team and for our conference”…..