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By Charlie O. Mallonee

The Sacramento Kings have signed forward David Wear to a 10-day contract. Wear was playing for the Kings D-League affiliate in Reno. 

Wear, a 6-10 forward, averaged 16.3 points, 7.4 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 30 minutes per game for the Bighorns.

He is a 47.8-percent field goal shooter who hits the 3-pointer 39.4-percent of the time. Wear has hit seven 3-pointers in a game twice this season. 

Wear played his college ball at UCLA. 

David Wear will be available to play in the Philadelphia 76ers game on Tuesday night. 

By DANIEL DULLUM
Sports Radio Service
Saturday, March 21, 2015

MESA, Arizona – The Oakland Athletics announced that CT scans were nagative on outfielder Sam Fuld, who was injured during the A’s exhibition game Friday against Colorado at Salt River Fields in Scottsdale.

Fuld left the game against the Rockies in the seventh inning after he was hit in the jaw by an errant throw from the shortstop while running to first base.

The tests were performed at Scottsdale Healthcare Osborn Medical Center. Fuld is listed at day-to-day.

This spring, Fuld is hittingh .265 with a .441 slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .316 in 12 games. He has two doubles, two triples and six runs batted in, and was 7-for-21 in his last seven games.

A’s belt Cincinnati

On Saturday, Oakland used a 12-hit attack to defeat Cincinnati 8-1. Third baseman Brett Lawrie belted a two-out three-run homer in the bottom of the first off Reds starter Raisel Iglesias. Catcher Josh Phegley added a two-run shot in the sixth off Cincinnati reliever Aroldis Chapman.

The hit parade didn’t end there for the A’s. Second baseman Eric Sogard, hitting in the No. 9 slot, had a pair of doubles, as did DH Mark Canha. A’s starter Jesse Hahn worked five innings of shutout ball to get the win. Hahn struck out two, walked two and gave up four hits. Aside from one run allowed in the seventh, the Oakland relief crew of Evan Scribner, Fernando Abad and Kevin Whelan scattered four hits. Scribner struck out three.

The A’s head to Goodyear for their next two spring games, facing Cincinnati Sunday and Cleveland on Monday.

CACTUS NEEDLES: An announced crowd of 9,057 watched the A’s and Reds do battle Saturday at Hohokam Stadium. … Going into this weekend, the Athletics have the third-best record in the Cactus League – 12-7-1 – trailing Kansas City (12-6) and the Los Angeles Dodgers (9-4-6). … OF Billy Burns continues to raise eyebrows of Cactus League observers. Burns has five multiple-hit games this spring while hitting .520 (13-for-25) in his last nine games. Burns leads the CL with four stolen bases, and is fifth in batting (.415). … Four of OF Billy Butler’s five hits this spring have been for extra bases (two doubles, two home runs). … OF Coco Crisp is 2-for-8 in his last three games after coming back from a week off to address an elbow injury. … C Josh Phegley is tied for the CL lead in doubles (5). … On Friday, Oakland’s split squads earned wins – one over the Dodgers, the other against Colorad. RHP Sonny Gray threw 5 1/3 innings against LA, but LHP Barry Zito threw the final three innings to earn his first win of the spring. Zito has a 3.09 ERA, has struck out nine with one walk in four games.

By: Joe Lami

STANFORD, Calif.—Hall of Fame coach, Tara VanDerveer earned her 800th victory at Stanford on Saturday night, as her Cardinal defeated Cal State Northridge 73-60 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.  It’s only the tenth time in NCAA history where a coach has accomplished the feat of coaching one team to 800 wins.  The win also marked the 500th at Maples Pavilion. “This was an exciting one, one to remember,” mentioned VanDerveer post game.

The Cardinal came out of the gates on fire, going on an 8-0 run to start the game.  Their lead was as high as 13 with 11:48 to play in the first half, but then Northridge stormed back.  The Matadors were able to string together an 18-2 run to eventually take the lead into halftime 29-28.

However, strong shooting and tenacious defense in the second half helped the Cardinal prevail.  Stanford shot an outstanding 59%, while holding Northridge to only 39%.  Much was in thanks to a Matadors scoreless streak that lasted 7:10, which helped the Cardinal eventually make a comeback and bullhead by 14, their largest of the game. Stanford was then able to cruise to victory, getting help from the foul line, where they finished 19 of 25.

Northridge senior, Ashlee Guay, led all scorers with 27 points, finishing 41% from the field.  However, she was really the only one to get things going for the Matadors, as the next closest soccer was Camille Mahlknecht finishing with eight.  All eight of Mahlknecht’s points came in the first half. 

Taylor Greenfield was once again the difference maker for the Cardinal, leading the team with 19 points.  She has been on fire of late, scoring 56 points in the last three games.  This was after she was scoring an average of 4.6 per game.  Part of her great play of late she references to tournament play, “part of it is the excitement of the tournament,” explains Greenfield. She later added, “I don’t think it was the game of my life, but since ASU it’s been repetitive”.  Her reference to the ASU game was where she put up 17 points in the semi-final of the Pac-12 tournament.

CSUN head coach, Jason Flowers commented on Greenfield’s play after saying, “she was a tough matchup offensively.  She became the difference maker on the floor”.

The Cardinal were led by three other players to get into double figures.  Lili Thompson soon followed Greenfield, finishing with 17 points.  Bonnie Samuelson was lights out from three-point territory hitting three of four to finish with 14 points.  She also played all 40 minutes for the first time in her career.  Capping off the double digit scorers was Erica McCall with ten.

The Cardinal advance to take on the Oklahoma Sooners on Monday.  Oklahoma was victorious in an impressive victory 111-84 over Quinnipiac in the first game played at Maples on Saturday afternoon.  VanDerveer commented on the Sooners play, “They’re very well balanced”.  That they are, as six players scored double figures, three of which scored more than 15.

By Tony Renteria

Once again the home town Sacramento Kings (22-44) have lost to a superior visiting team, the Los Angeles Clippers (43-25) came into tonight and simply the cream rose to the top as the won, 116-105.

The Kings were with out All Star DeMarcus Cousins who was with out with a right calf strain.  It was Rudy Gay who put in extra work with an outstanding statistic line game, 23 points, six rebounds, four assists and three steals.

Once the Kings were beaten by a better team that could expose the average defense and lack of inside game with Cousins’s 23.7 points per game that are scored in the paint.

J.J. Redrick led the southern California NBA franchise with 27 points from some great 3 point shooting going 7 for 12 beyond the arch.

Just simply the playoff bound Clippers are better and they showed it this evening.

The Clippers move on to play the Wizard’s in D.C on on Sunday while the Kings head to basketball country in North Carolina to play the Hornet’s

By DANIEL DULLUM
Sports Radio Service
Saturday, March 14, 2015

MESA, Arizona – The road to recovery for San Francisco pitcher Matt Cain may have hit a speedbump in Saturday’s 5-2 win by Oakland over the Giants split squad at Hohokam Stadium, but the Giants’ ace righthander isn’t letting one rough outing define his recovery from last year’s elbow surgery.

“It felt all right,” Cain said of his right elbow, which had bone chips surgically removed last August. His last game on the mound, prior to spring training, was last July 9.

So far, Cain said his range of motion is nearly back to normal.

“I don’t think it’s that big of an adjustment,” Cain said. “You’re just not used to being able to do it, being pretty much off for the whole offseason. Now, it’s just making sure the arm is used to doing it. “I felt fine with what I was throwing. It’s something I just need to keep repeating.”

Cain (0-1) took the loss after the Athletics roughed him up for four earned runs on six hits in 1 2/3 innings, with one strikeout and no walks. Cain left after throwing 44 pitches, but said he didn’t think he was on a strict pitch count.

“The biggest thing is to eventually get to the sixth inning,” Cain said. “That’s always a goal. You just want to get there.”

“I got the pitch count up a little more, got to work pretty much every scenario, I just have to make better pitches in certain situations, and I have to have better location.”

Cain’s first spring start was a two-inning no-decision outing against the Los Angeles Dodgers on March 9. That day, Cain tossed a pair of scoreless, hitless innings. Saturday’s 1 2/3-inning stint didn’t go quite as well, but the veteran right-hander is more concerned with staying on course as his recovery process continues.

“It was good to go out there and try some different things,” Cain said, adding that in the A’s three-run second, “I didn’t make some pitches that I wanted to.”

Asked about how soon he’ll return to the mound, Cain said, “I’m sure it’ll be the normal five days rest, and go from there.”

A’s split-squad downs Giants

Center fielder Billy Burns continued his hot-hitting for the Athletics with a two singles and a triple. Burns leads the Cactus League in base hits with 12, to go with a .419 average, three stolen bases and three triples. He also scored three of Oakland’s five runs on Saturday.

Ben Zobrist, who is hitting .368 this spring, had a double and two runs batted in. A’s shortstop Niuman Romero, a non-roster invitee, was 2-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI.

Jesse Chavez (2-0) went the first 4 1/3 innings to get the win. Chavez struck out four without a walk, and gave up two earned runs on five hits. Brock Huntzinger, another non-roster invitee, struck out one and walked one in a scoreless ninth to earn his first CL save.

San Francisco third baseman Casey McGehee was 2-for-3 and drove in both of the Giants’ runs with a pair of doubles. Five Giants relievers – Braulia Lara, Jake Dunning, Jeremy Affeldt, Sergio Casilla and Brett Bochy – combined to give up one run on six hits over the last 6 1/3 innings.

Meanwhile, in Las Vegas, the Chicago Cubs defeated the other Oakland squad 3-1. Kris Bryant, a Las Vegas native, homered twice for the Cubs. Max Muncy drove in the only A’s run, his sixth Cactus League RBI.

CACTUS NEEDLES: Al Rosen, former president and general manager of the Giants and standout third baseman for the Cleveland Indians, died Friday at 91. Rosen, a four-time All-Star, is the last Cleveland Indian to win the American League MVP award (1953). He also served as an executive with the Yankees and Houston, and, while running the Giants, was Executive of the Year in 1987. … Former Cy Young Award winner Barry Zito is trying to make the A’s as a non-roster invitee. Zito, who sat out last season, has made two appearances with Oakland with no decisions (one start), and a 7.71 ERA in 4 2/3 innings. Zito has struck out three and walked one. … Going into Saturday’s games, San Francisco pitchers have posted a 6.26 ERA and surrendered 17 home runs, most of any team in either the Cactus or Grapefruit Leagues. … Oakland INF Rangel Ravelo underwent successful surgery on a partial ECU tendon tear in his right wrist. He will be recovering for the next six to eight weeks.

By Daniel Dullum
Sports Radio Service
Thursday, March 12, 2015

No last-second drama for the Cardinal this time.

In the first half of Stanford’s Pac-12 men’s basketball Tournament quarterfinal game against Utah, the Cardinal led by as many as eight points early and took a five-point lead into the break. Two and a half minutes into the second half, Stanford still led by two.

Then the No. 3-seeded Utes took over, dominated the second half, and routed Stanford 80-56 at MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas.

Utah (24-7) will meet Oregon in the semifinals, while the Cardinal (19-13) await word on which other postseason tournament they could land in. Stanford could still be selected to the NCAA Tournament, but likely has a better shot at the National Invitation Tournament.

With 16:54 remaining in the second half, Delon Wright drained a 3-pointer that put the Utes ahead to stay at 42-41.

Stanford pulled to within 53-49 at the 11:15 mark on a jumper by Chasson Randle. Utah responded with a 14-point run over the next seven minutes – capped by a Jordan Loveridge 3-pointer – to build a 67-49 lead.

Randle led the Cardinal with a game-high 22 points, Anthony Brown grabbed six rebounds and Robert Cartwright had two assists.

Wright topped the Utes with 20 points, Loveridge contributed 18 points, eight boards and five assists. Jakob Poeltl added 16 points.

Utah held a 39-24 rebounding advantage, and shot 50 percent from the field.

By Daniel Dullum
Sports Radio Service
Wednesday, March 11, 2015

Chasson Randle’s 3-pointer with three seconds remaining in the second half gave Stanford a stunning 71-69 defeat of Washington in opening round play of the Pac-12 men’s basketball Tournament at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas.

Jernard Jarreau hit a 3-pointer to put the Huskies up 69-64 with 3:25 to play, but Washington (16-15) was unable to score for the rest of the second half. Meanwhile, the Cardinal (19-12) finished with a 7-0 run – a tip in and layup by Stefan Nastic and Randle’s game-winning trey.

Dan Kingma was fouled with :29 remaining, but missed the front end of a one-and-one. Rosco Allen rebounded for the Cardinal, who maintained possession with two key offensive rebounds.

Nastic topped the Cardinal with 21 points, with Anthony Brown adding 16 and Reid Travis with 14 off the bench. Randle, Stanford’s top scorer this season, was held to 10 points.

Andrew Andrews scored a game-high 22 points to lead the Huskies.

The Cardinal dominated inside with a 36-10 edge in points in the paint, and a 35-26 rebounding edge.

The No. 7-seed Cardinal will face No. 3-seed Utah in the quarterfinals. Game time is set for 8:30 p.m.

By: Joe Lami

For the first time in franchise history the Golden State Warriors have won 50 games in back-to-back seasons, as the Warriors improved to 50-12 with a 98-80 victory over the Phoenix Suns on Monday night.  With the victory, the Warriors are riding a four game winning streak and now own the best record in the NBA.

Once again, it was Steph Curry that led the Warriors in another impressive win.  As the member of the splash brothers notched 36 points, with 25 of them coming in the second half. Monday night marked the 13th time in which Curry has hit 30 or more points.  The second half was one to remember as well, as he hit six of eight three-pointers.  Curry also added five assists and four steals to cap off his amazing performance.

Warriors coach, Steve Kerr, commented on Curry’s play “Steph was spectacular and hit so many shots. I got on him a little bit at half time, and he came out in the second half just on fire and locked in.  He was incredible”.

The other splash brother, Klay Thompson, didn’t do too shabby either.  Thompson finished second in scoring with 25 points and 50% from beyond the arc.

The Suns were able to keep it close in the first half, as the teams went into the half tied at 46.  The Warriors came out of the break absolutely sensational going on a 23-5 run to blow the doors wide open.

Monday marks the ninth loss in 13 games for the Suns, as they are battling for the final spot in the Western conference.  They now sit three games back of the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Point guard, Eric Bledsoe led the Suns with 19 points, going 6 of 11 from the field, and finishing 5 of 6 from the charity strike.  Center, Alex Len finished the night with a double double for Phoenix with 11 rebounds and ten points.

The Warriors continue to cruise with just 20 games remaining, they still sit on top of the West 5.5 games ahead of Memphis.

By: Joe Lami

The Stanford Cardinal won their 11th Pac-12 title on Sunday evening with a victory over their rival, Cal, by the score of 61-60. 

Add another page to the Stanford and Cal rivalry, as the two duked it out for the Pac-12 Championship in Seattle on Sunday evening.  It was the Stanford Cardinal that cut down the nets, as they defeated the Bears 61-60 in a nail bitter. The victory marks the 11th conference title for the Cardinal, as they clinch the automatic bid into the NCAA tournament, where they are expected to be given the fourth seed in the Oklahoma City region and host the first two rounds of the tournament.  The Cal Bears have never won the Pac-12 Championship, and will have to try next year without star players Brittany Boyd and Rashanda Grey, who will be graduating.

The Cardinal did a great job holding the All-American finalist, as they scored a combined 13 points, way down from the 30 they average every night.  Unfortunately for the Bears, Grey was injured just minutes in.  She had to leave the court and ended up getting four stitches just underneath her right eye.  The injury occurred going for a rebound against Stanford freshman, Brittany McPhee.  As both players went up for the rebound, McPhee’s elbow came down and struck Boyd accidentally causing a small gash.

The Bears weren’t having any trouble without Grey early on, expanding their lead to nine, as Stanford went ice cold from the field.  Senior, Amber Orrange, ended the run with two free throws to pull the game to a seven point lead for the Bears.  Stanford’s drought would continue, allowing the Bears to grow the lead, as they went five minutes without a field goal.  However, they would push strong in the second part of the first half to make the deficit just two going into the break.

The second half would be just as close, as Stanford had the upper hand of just three points to give them the one point victory.  The difference maker was once again, senior, Taylor Greenfield, who finished the night with a career high 20 points.  Greenfield was also the difference maker in the semi-final victory over ASU, as she scored 17 on Saturday night.  Her amazing play over the two nights was good enough to be named tournament MVP.

Lili Thompson was second on the Cardinal in scoring, as she finished the night off with 13 points.  Orrange closely followed with 12.

Mercedes Jefflo continued to play extremely well, as the sophomore led the Bears with 16, keeping her team in the ball game.  She finished the night off nailing a three-pointer from the top of the key as the buzzard sounded to cut the loss to one.

Even with the loss, Cal is still expected to make the NCAA tournament, and are also expected to be a fourth seed in the tournament.  Like Stanford, the Berkley is also a host site for the first two rounds of the tournament, but in the Albany region.  Cal is expected to be a home team for the first two rounds.