Agozzino goal gives Gulls 5-4 overtime win over Barracuda

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The San Jose Barracuda defenceman Ryan Merkely (6) and the San Diego Gulls left winger Jaime Devane (15) battle for the puck at FivePoint Arena in San Diego on Sat Mar 6, 2021 (@sjbarracuda photo)

by Marko Ukalovic

IRVINE, Calif—Andrew Agozzino scored 1:12 into overtime to give the San Diego Gulls a 5-4 victory over the San Jose Barracuda on Saturday evening at FivePoint Arena

Agozzino stripped Ryan Merkley of the puck at the blueline and skated in before sliding the puck past ‘Cuda goalie Alexei Melnichuk for the game winning goal, his fifth of the season.

San Jose has lost two of its last three games. San Diego have won two of their last three games..

San Diego (9-5-0-0) drew first blood in the first period on its second shot of the game. Hunter Drew sneaked a back handed through the five-hole of Melnichuk for his first goal of the season at the 7:19 mark. Benoit-Oliver Groulx and Maxim Golod assisted on the goal.

San Jose (4-3-2-0) answered back under two minutes later. Robbie Russo set up Maxim Letunov in the low slot and he snapped home a wrist shot past Gulls goalie Ollie Eriksson Ek for his first goal of the season at the 8:46 mark. Merkley received the secondary assist.

Letunov had not scored a goal since February 23rd, 2020 when he scored a goal against the Ontario Reign.

San Jose had the ice tilted in its favor as they outshot San Diego 16-5 after the opening 20 minutes.

The Gulls regained the lead early in the second period. Golod skated around the net from left to right and centered a cross ice pass to an open Groulx and he buried a point-blank shot past Melnichuk for his fourth goal of the season at the 1:51 mark.

The Barracuda scored the equalizer on the power play just under four minutes later. Merkley sent a cross ice pass that bounced off the boards to Zachary Gallant who fired a slap shot that landed top-shelf on the far side past Erikkson Ek for his first career AHL goal at the 5:40 mark.

San Jose out shot San Diego 11-9 in the scoreless third period.

Melnichuk made 23 saves on 26 shots in the losing effort. Eriksson Ek finished with 39 saves on 41 shots to earn the win.

GAME NOTES: San Jose was 1-for-3 on the power play. San Diego was 0-for-1

The Three Stars of the Game were: 1) Eriksson Ek 2) Agozzino 3) Groulx

UP NEXT: The Barracuda host the Gulls on Tuesday at 6:00pm at Solar4America Ice to close out the three-game series.

San Jose Sharks podcast with Matt Harrington: Sharks try and bounce back from OT loss face Knights in game 2 tonight at SAP

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The Vegas Knights right winger Reilly Smith (19) gets a stick side goal against the San Jose Sharks. Sharks Center Logan Couture (39) tries to stick block the puck and goalie Devan Dubnyk (1) was away from the shot on Fri Mar 5, 2021 at SAP Center San Jose(AP News photo)

On the SJ Sharks podcast with Matt:

#1 The Sharks (8-10-3) took a tough loss on home ice Friday night against the Vegas Golden Knights (15-4-1) 5-4 at SAP Center last night that ended in a shootout.

#2 The Golden Knights set the tone opening up the first period with two goals and the Sharks with a 2-0 deficit to start the game.

#3 In the second period the Sharks were able to get some daylight scoring two goals to the Knights one and came away just one goal behind at the intermission 3-2.

#4 The Sharks in the overtime loss used two goaltenders Devan Dubnyk started the game facing 19 shots and allowing two goals and Marty Jones didn’t fair much better allowing three goals facing a total of eight shots.

#5 The Sharks face this difficult Knights team tonight once again. The Knights have lost only four times in 20 games. The Sharks need to take advantage of their home ice to fight there way back against a very aggressive Knights offense.

Join Matt for the Sharks podcasts each Saturday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Jose Sharks podcast with Matt Harrington Sat Mar 6, 2021 by Sports Radio Service | Free Listening on SoundCloud

San Jose Barracuda podcast with Marko Ukalovic: Power play working, Cuda get big win in San Diego; play

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The San Jose Barracuda defenceman Nicolas Meloche (53) congratulates goaltender Alexi Melnichuk following the San Jose’s win over the San Diego Gulls at FourPoints Arena in San Diego on Fri Mar 5, 2021 (@sjbarracuda photo)

On the Barracuda podcast with Marko:

#1 Marko, the Barracuda (4-3-1-0) on Friday night got plenty of offense opening the three game series in San Diego with a 5-1 win over the Gulls (8-5-0-0) .

#2 A little team history was set when the Barracuda had three native Californians in the line up Friday night, Sasha Chmelevski (Huntington Beach), Jake McGrew (Orange), and Evan Weinger (El Segundo).

#3 Barracuda Jayden Halbgewachs scored his second and third goals of the season against San Diego it was Halbgewachs’ fourth career multi goal game.

#4  Marko talk about the power play the Barracuda capitalized on it going two for four on the man advantage.

#5 The Barracuda have always had a tough time in San Diego and got a big victory there. The loss was the Gulls first lost on home ice this season (7-1-0-0)

Join Marko for the Barracuda’s podcasts each Saturday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Jose Barracuda podcast with Marko Ukalovic Sat Mar 6, 2021 by Sports Radio Service | Free Listening on SoundCloud

 

Barracuda shoot down Gulls in 5-1 victory

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The San Jose Barracuda celebrate a win over the San Diego Gulls on Friday night Mar 5th at Five Point Arena in San Diego to open up the first of a three game series (photo from @sjbarracuda) 

by Marko Ukalovic

IRVINE, Calif—The San Jose Barracuda were able to do what no other team had been able to do this season. Beat the San Diego Gulls on their home ice.

The ‘Cuda powered their way with a pair of special team goals en route to a 5-1 victory over their Pacific Division rival on Friday evening at FivePoint Arena. San Diego came into the game 7-0-1 on their home away from home.

San Jose (4-3-1-0) dominated for the entire 60 minutes of the game as they had the ice tilted inside the San Diego zone for the majority of the evening.

The ‘Cuda drew first blood when Evan Weinger scored an unassisted goal at the 11:07 mark of the first period. Weinger intercepted a clearing attempt and looked to center a pass from the right wing when it deflected off a Gulls defender and past Gulls goalie Lukas Dostal for his first goal of the season.

San Diego (8-4-0-0) answered back 17 seconds later when on a delayed penalty call to San Jose, Antoine Morand found Andrew Agozzino on the left slot and he snapped home a wrist shot top-shelf past ‘Cuda goalie Alexei Melnichuk for his fourth goal of the season.

Under five minutes later the Barracuda regained the lead on the power play. Jayden Halbgewachs received a pass on the left wing from Robbie Russo and skated in before sniping home a wrist shot past Dostal near post for his first of two goals on the evening at the 15:39 mark.

San Jose closed out the four-goal opening twenty minutes 65 seconds later. Christian Jaros fired a shot from the right point that Karlis Cukste, who made his AHL debut for San Jose, redirected Jaros’s shot past Dostal for his first career goal at the 16:44 mark

Cukste ,whose natural position is a defenseman, was playing forward for the first time.

San Jose out shot San Diego 14-7 at the end of the first period.

In the second period, San Jose once again controlled the play on the ice as they had held San Diego to just one shot on net in the first 15 minutes of the middle frame.

The ‘Cuda scored its second power play goal of the game when Russo blasted a slap shot from the point where Sasha Chmelevski tipped home past Dostal for his first goal of the season at the 10:23 mark. The Long Beach native had just been sent back down to the Barracuda after playing a game with the parent club Sharks two nights ago.

Halbgewachs finished off the scoring with a late goal in the third period. A turnover inside the Gulls zone led to Fredrik Handemark finding Halbgewachs all alone in the left slot, where he snapped home a wrist shot top-shelf far side for his second goal of the game and third of the season at the 14:28 mark.

Melnichuk had a clean game having to only stop 16 of the 17 shots he faced to earn the win. Dostal finished with 27 saves on 32 shots in the losing effort.

GAME NOTES: San Jose was 2-for-4 on the power play. San Diego went 0-for-3.

The Three Stars of the Game were: 1) Halbgewachs 2) Russo (who finished with two assists) 3) Weinger

UP NEXT: San Jose takes on San Diego on Saturday 3/6 at 7:30pm at FivePoint Arena.

Sharks Fall 5-4 in OT to Golden Knights

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The Vegas Golden Knights right winger Mark Stone (61), defenseman Alex Pietrangelo (7) celebrate left wing Max Pacioretty (67) overtime goal against the San Jose Sharks on Fri Mar 5, 2021 at SAP Center in San Jose (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks lost 5-4 in overtime to the Vegas Golden Knights Friday in San Jose. Vegas goals came from Max Pacioretty (2), Reilly Smith, Chandler Stephenson and Alex Tuch. Oscar Dansk made 25 saves for the win. Sharks goals came from Brent Burns, Matt Nieto, Logan Couture and Matt Nieto. Devan Dubnyk made 17 saves for the Sharks, after taking over for Martin Jones. Jones made five saves on eight shots in the first 22 minutes.

After the game, Sharks Head Coach Bob Boughner talked about how his team reacted to an altercation between Ryan Reeves and Kurtis Gabriel:

“I thought that worked in our favor. I know they scored right after but we had a sense of togetherness on the bench and we never stopped attacking. It didn’t matter that they got that fourth goal. We had nine minutes or whatever that was at that point that we were determined to find a way to tie the game up and to get a point and to try to get two in overtime.”

Vegas scored first at 5:48. William Karlsson carried the puck around behind the net as if to do a wrap around, drawing Martin Jones to the left side of the net. Karlsson then passed the puck through the blue paint to Reilly Smith for a shot into a wide-open net. Assists went to Karlsson and Jonanthan Marchessault.

Vegas doubled their lead at 7:03. Abouncing puck elluded the Sharks defenders and landed just right for Chandler Stephenson to shoot it between Logan Couture’s skates and into the net. Assists went to Mark Stone and Max Pacioretty.

The Sharks outshot the Golden Knights in the first, 9-6. The teams traded power plays, with two apiece. The Golden Knights had two shots on the power play and the Sharks had just one. Vegas won 63% of the face-offs.

Vegas added to their lead just 2:57 in to the second period. Max Pacioretty’s shot from just below the blue line went right under Martin Jones and in. Assists went to Alec Martinex and Ryan Reaves.

The Sharks pulled Jones out and put Devan Dubnyk in net. Dubnyk warmed up in game with a quick glove stop on Pacioretty.

Brent Burns got the Sharks on the board at 6:01 with a power play goal. His shot went in and out so quickly that play continued until the Situation Room interrupted with a goal horn. It had hit camera just under the crossbar. Assists went to Ryan Donato and Timo Meier.

Matt Nieto brought the Sharks within one at 12:43. After knocking down an arial pass from Erik Karlsson in the neutral zone, Nieto carried the puck in two on one with Joel Kellman. Nieto took the shot instead of passing.

The shots were very closein the second, at 12-11 for Vegas. The teams again had two power plays apiece. The Sharks just had one shot in their power plays and that was Burns’ goal. Vegas had four shots through their second period power plays. The Sharks improved in the face-off circle, winning 52% of their draws.

Alex Tuch added a fourth goal to the Vegas tally, 26 seconds into the third period. A defensive attempt to knock the puck off of William Carrier’s stick merely swept it across to Tuch for a quick shot over Dubnyk’s shoulder. Assists went to Carrier and Keegan Kolesar.

Logan Couture trimmed that Vegas lead back down at 6:23. Moments before the goal, Couture intercepted a pass in the Sharks zone and then carried the puck the other way. A few tidy passes later, Couture took a shot right up the slot and past Oscar Dansk. Assists went to Erik Karlsson and Kevin Labanc.

With 7:56 left in the game, Ryan Reeves sustained a skate cut as he took Kurtis Gabriel into the boards. He had to be helped off the ice.

The Sharks had a late power play in the third period, and got two shots in there but did not tie the game until Kevin Labanc scored at 18:53. A long pass to the neutral zone from Brent Burns made its way all the way down before the Dansk tried to swat it away. Nieto was there to knock it in.

Overtime lasted 1:25 and ended with a goal from Max Pacioretty. A backhand pass from Alex Pietrangelo went through the slot to Pacioretty for a quick shot. Dubnyk could not get across in time to stop that one. Assists went to Pietrangelo and Mark Stone.

The teams were tied in shots in both the third and overtime periods, with eight each in the third and one each in overtime. The face-offs overall went to the Golden Knights at 57%.

The Sharks play the Golden Knights again on Saturday at 7:30 PM PT in San Jose.

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary: Washington Football team Replacing traditional Cheerleaders

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Quinton Peron and Napolean Jinnies became the first male cheerleaders in the NFL with the Los Angeles Rams as the Washington Football Team will be using male cheerleaders as well (NBC4i.com photo)

Washington Football team Replacing traditional Cheerleaders

That’s Amaury News and Commentary

By Amaury Pi-González

The Washington Football team (once the Redskins) continues making changes after their name change last year. This week they announced they would be doing away with the Cheerleading team, the traditional way and will instead make it a coed dance group. Expect some other teams in the future to follow the Washington team.

26 of the 32 NFL teams include cheerleader’s squad in their franchise. How important is this to the average football fan, viewer, and remains to be seen. I expect ex-NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick to have a statue erected on his likeness, because, like him or not, he basically started all these changes in the NFL and other sports with a simple knee he took in protest.

For the record: at the time it happened, I defended his right to free speech under the first amendment, and at the same time I exercise my equal right to free speech when I said I did not like what he did; but I respected it and understood his motivation.

The Washington Football team recently is making news where they do not wanted to make news. After all, they play in the weakest division in the NFL. The NFC East where last season they finished in first place, but with a 7-9 record a .438 winning percentage. They are re-branding this team in, but we all know the overwhelming majority of NFL fans could care less what you name your team, what cheerleaders you have or the color or logos of the uniform.

Even for some Raiders fans, they even travel from Oakland to Las Vegas when they play now, that is important for them, winning and losing is where the passion in football resides, not in these other issues.

In this instance of the Washington Football team and what changes they had made so far, I like to use the iconic quote by the legendary owner of the Oakland Raiders, now Las Vegas Raiders “Just win, baby” by Mr. Al Davis. Sports is part of the “very interesting”, era in history that we are living today.

Today there are arbitrary decisions made in many different places, not only in Sports. Some make sense, others are ridiculous. There was a time when sports were not intertwined with the world of entertainment as much as today.

Social media has facilitated these “changes” in our society. There is a “cancel culture” debate going on for a while now. Recently some of Dr. Seuss, children’s books have been cancelled or eliminated by some.

Like EBay which recently stop selling them, while they still sell Mein Kampf, or books on how to build a nuclear bomb as well as other highly offensive and dangerous books. I also heard in stadiums prior to games many rap songs that literally insult women and call them names. I would never use those names against anyone.

We should never be afraid of information and knowledge; after all, we all die still learning. I believe in more books not less, but as a free society it is very dangerous to be selective in what we “cancel.” I strongly believe in free speech and I can appreciate it passionately, because where I came from, that does not exist.

Some people take it for granted, not me. But I also see a lot of stuff that is silly and stupid. Sports are one of the biggest escapes we have, and still make us feel like kids. No country has a perfect history.

We learned from our mistakes of the past, if we “erase” all of our history, (bad or good) that is not smart for future generations. They are going to have machines making decisions for them, they will be ‘brain dead’ and that is not Kosher. But here is the good news. Most of the cancelling has been done by private companies, not the Government, Thank God.

Stay well and stay tuned.

Amaury Pi Gonzalez does News and Commentary podcasts every Tuesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Sacramento Kings podcast with Jeremiah Salmonson: Game just narrowly slips past Kings in loss to Portland

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The Portland Trailblazers guard Damion Lillard (0) goes for the lay up against the Sacramento Kings forward Nemanja Bjelica (8) on Thu Mar 4, 2021 in Portland (AP News photo)

On the Kings podcast with Jeremiah:

#1 The Kings (14-22) hung all game with the Portland Trailblazers (21-14) but in the end just couldn’t put the final touches on the Blazers in the 123-119 loss.

#2 The Trailblazers top scorer Damion Lillard led with 44 points Lillard one of the key factors that the Trailblazers were able to pull this game off against the Kings.

#3 The Kings used only eight players in the contest and had seven of them finish in double figures led by De’Aaron Fox with 32 points. The Kings good enough to win but just couldn’t finish.

#4 The Kings for all four quarters were able to hang with the Blazers they had definitely improved on offense and defense and it show when they beat the Lakers on Wednesday night and in this loss to Portland on Thursday night.

#5 The Kings are in Houston against the Rockets (11-23) on Thursday night the Rockets are certainly a different team since James Harden left.

Join Jeremiah for Kings game coverage after every Kings game at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Sacramento Kings game wrap: Kings played improved ball but can’t hang on with Blazers 123-119

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The Portland Trailblazers forward Robert Covington tried prying the ball out of the hands of the Sacramento Kings forward Nemanja Bjelica during first half action Thu Mar 4, 2021’s contest in Portland (AP News photo)

By Jeremiah Salmonson

The day has finally arrived for Kings players. That day is the end of the first half of the 2021 season. The first half of the season has been very up and down for the Kings. They went on a streak of winning 7-8 games, and also a nine game losing streak. It was really a tale of two teams.

On Thursday night, the Kings would suit up for the last time before the All Star break. It would be the second night of a back to back after playing in Sacramento against the Lakers the night before.

In Wednesday’s game, the King battled. It wasn’t the cleanest game of all time but the Kings did manage to pull out the win against the Lakers. Granted, the Lakers were without their stars Lebron James and Anthony Davis. The Kings managed to win 123-120.

Thursday night, the Kings would be on the road against the Portland Trail Blazers in Portland. Tip-off was set for 7 PM PST. Only to lose it in a close well battled game between the two clubs with the Blazers winning 123-114.

In the first half, the Kings played well. They didn’t allow the Blazers to take a large lead and kept the game close. The Kings were out scored 30-27 in the first quarter as they looked to solidify the defensive end of the floor.

In the second quarter, The Kings and Blazers both scored 29 points to send the game into halftime with a 59-56 lead over the Kings. The Kings would look to continue the decent defense in the second half to keep the game close.

In the second half, the Kings pulled ahead early. After the third quarter, in which the Kings out scored the Blazers 34-30, the Kings offense began to show life. It would be up to the defense in the fourth quarter to contain Damion Lillard and come away with a win.

That wasn’t to happen. The Blazers out scored the Kings 34-29 in the final quarter to beat the Kings. The Kings played sloppy offense in the final minute which ultimately cost them the game.

Lillard finished the game with 44 points and the Kings were led by De’Aaron Fox who had 32. This was the Kings final game before the All Star break and I wouldn’t be surprised if we see some roster moves when the next Kings game takes place.

Up next: The All Star break will last until Thursday March 11th when the Kings welcome in the Houston Rockets at 7 PM PST in Sacramento.

Suns easily handle Warriors 120-98; W’s different team without Curry in the line up

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The Phoenix Suns guard Chris Paul plays keep away from the Golden State Warriors Nico Mannion during the second half on Thu Mar 4, 2021 in Phoenix (AP News photo)

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Golden State Warriors met the Phoenix Suns in Phoenix Thursday night. The Warriors were hoping to rebound from the tough loss to the Portland Trail Blazers Wednesday night. It was not going to be an easy task as the Suns had won 15 of the last 18 games and own a record of 23-11.

There was another problem that the Warriors had to overcome. The team did not play Kelly Oubre, Jr. Thursday night. He missed the game in Portland and was not ready to go Thursday. Warriors’ head coach Steve Kerr gave his two veteran stars, Stephen Curry and Draymond Green, the night off.

The move was controversial as Thursday nights’ game was the last before the All-Star break. The team doesn’t play for a week. Curry is going to Atlanta to play. So, without three starters, the only regular in the starting lineup was Andrew Wiggins.

Damion Lee and Nico Mannion were the starting guard, Juan Toscano-Anderson was the other forward, and James Wiseman replaced Kevon Looney at the center position. Kerr wanted the young players to get more playing time. Phoenix used all their regulars, and they sent the Warriors down to defeat 120-98.

The Warriors played well until late in the first quarter. The Warriors trailed 24-23 when Phoenix went on a 10-nothing run to finish the first 12 minutes leading 34-23. Phoenix continued to punish the Warriors in the early going of the second period.

They outscored the Warriors 10-4 to lead 44-27. The Suns were on their way to a win. From this point until late in the fourth quarter, the Warrior youngsters held their own with the Suns. Jordan Poole, who had gone down to the G-League to get playing time, lit up the court when he entered the game.

Jordan knocked down 13 points and made two threes in 16 minutes of action. The Warriors finished the first half trailing 62-51. Andrew Wiggins helped out with 11 points. Devin Booker led the Suns with ten.

The Suns outscored the Warriors 58-47 in the second half to easily win 120-98. The Warriors had to be pleased with Jordan Poole’s performance. The second-year guard from the University of Michigan had a career-high 26 points. He was ten-for sixteen from the floor, and he knocked down five threes. 

Game Notes and Stats: With the loss, the Warriors are 19-18 for the year. Phoenix improved to 24-11.

Andrew Wiggins was second on the team with 16. James Wiseman had 11 points and ten rebounds. He was on the court for 34 minutes. Rookie guard Nico Mannion had nine points as he connected on three threes. Juan Toscano-Anderson had nine. The Warriors shot 43.7% from the floor, and they made 12 threes in 35 tries. The Suns outrebounded them 59-46. The Suns’ defense forced 17 turnovers.

The Suns had seven players in double-figures. Booker had 16, Cameron Payne 17, Abdel Nader, Jae Crowder 14, Dario Saric 13, Deandre Ayton 11, and ten boards. Chris Paul had ten.

James Wiseman and Mychal Mulder were named to the NBA’s Rising Stars team.  Curry will be playing in his seventh All-Star game. He has been a starter every time he has appeared in the NBA Classic. Curry will also compete in the three-point shootout. 

The Warriors resume play next Thursday night in Los Angeles when they face the Clippers. They return home to face the Utah Jazz and the Los Angeles Lakers. 

Headlines podcast with Jessica Kwong: Is LA Sheriffs reaching for Tiger’s black box?; Kings Walton hot seat cooled a little bit; plus more

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LA County Sheriffs look over the front end of Tiger Woods SUV as they seek the black box from the vehicle in search of any misdemeanor evidence of reckless driving from the box (photo from news.yahoo.com)

Headline Sports podcast with Jessica Kwong:

#1 Jessica, the Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department has executed a warrant for the black box from golfer Tiger Woods SUV. The Sheriff is trying to see if there is any evidence of reckless driving on the part of Woods. The maximum charge in the accident would most likely be misdemeanor.

#2 Jessica, would it appear to you that the Sheriff is reaching for some criminal charges of any kind or specific to saying Tiger was reckless and to some extent was responsible for his accident. The Sheriff department told USA today that they are downplaying it as a crime and want to do their due diligence.

#3 In NBA basketball the Sacramento Kings who have lost 10 out of their last 13 games shocked the basketball world on Wednesday night beating the Los Angeles Lakers 123-120 without LeBron in the line up on Wednesday night at Golden One Center in Sacramento. The Kings Buddy Hield led the way in scoring with 29 points. Kings head coach Luke Walton’s seat has cooled a little bit.

#4 Former Montreal Expos and Miami Marlins (2012-2017) executive David Samson says that Los Angeles Angels first baseman and designated hitter Albert Pujols is a lot younger than 41 years old which he claims he is. Samson said on the Dan Le Batard show that not one executive in baseball believes Pujols is the age he claims he is and that players from the Dominican claimed to be younger than what they said they were back in the day.

#5 San Francisco Giants catcher Buster Posey said that the Giants allowing fans into the ballpark this season to be a welcome sight. Though the amount of fans will be limited and social distancing, wearing a mask, and contact between players and fans will not be allowed.

Join Jessica every other Thursday Headline Sports at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Headline Sports podcast with Jessica Kwong Thu Mar 4, 2021 by Sports Radio Service | Free Listening on SoundCloud