NHL podcast with Daniel Dullum: NHL could be back for Winter Olympics; Bruins’ Lauzon set for hearing over using stick on player’s head; plus more

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yahoo.sports.com file photo: Fans in Beijing cheer the NHL’s Vancouver Canucks at the 2017 NHL China Games, with the NHL saying they hope to return for pre-season games in 2020 and possibly have NHL talent in the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics

NHL podcast with Daniel

1 Report: NHL, IOC nearing possible agreement for league to return to Winter Olympics

2 Bruins’ Jeremy Lauzon to have hearing with NHL over a body check

3 NBC’s Keith Jones expects Sharks to trade Brenden Dillon, and other veterans

4 Carolina tops Vegas in shootout, spoils home coaching debut for Peter DeBoer

4 Blues to retire Chris Pronger’s No. 44

NHL podcasts with Daniel are heard each Sunday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

Cal Shut Down: Utah comes up with season-best defensive effort in 60-45 win over the Bears

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By Morris Phillips

When your best player makes shots winning comes easier. When that best player also shuts down the opponent’s main guy, winning is almost assured.

It was for Utah on Timmy Allen on Saturday at the Huntsman Center.

The Utes leading scorer came up with 14 of his team-best 20 points down the stretch, as well as shutting down Cal’s Matt Bradley in Utah’s 60-45 home win.

“I was just more strong today,” said Allen. “Just played without stress and played stress free, truthfully.”

Bradley led Cal with 13 points, but missed eight of his 13 shots. The Bears shot 32 percent from the field and scored 52 points or fewer for the sixth time this season. Cal’s leading scorer was the only Bear to finish in double-digits, starters Paris Austin and Kareem South combined to miss 15 of their 18 shot attempts.

“They were the aggressors and we didn’t finish enough plays,” said coach Mark Fox. “You have to score when you’re on the road and we didn’t do that tonight.”

The Utes improved to 10-1 at home in a season in which they’ve beaten Kentucky, Washington, Nevada and Minnesota, but have struggled to string wins together. One certainty is their play against Cal and Stanford: the Utes completed the home sweep of the Bay Area schools for the fifth year in a row.

“I thought we had a good game plan for both of the Bay Area schools, and I think we’ve made some good strides in our pick-and-roll coverage,” coach Larry Krystkowiak said. “Our bigs did a really good job. I thought our guards were really solid too.”

The Bears trailed by 11 at the half, and blew an opportunity to climb back in the game when the Utes missed eight of their first nine shots to start the second half. Instead, the Bears went cold, going scoreless for more than three minutes, and Utah seized control.

Cal’s 16 made baskets on just seven assists were both season lows for a Utah opponent.

The Bears return to Haas Pavilion on Thursday for a meeting with Arizona, then they’ll see Arizona State on Saturday. Both Arizona schools were home losers on Saturday with the Wildcats falling to UCLA, and the Sun Devils losing to USC.

 

 

 

 

 

AT&T PEBBLE BEACH PRO-AM: Taylor struggles early but regains footing – and lead

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sfgate.com photo: Phil Mickelson chips the ball out of a bunker up to the seventh green of the Pebble Beach Golf Links during the third round of the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am golf tournament Saturday, Feb. 8, 2020

By Jeremy Harness

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. – After the morning fog burned off, the action around Pebble Beach heated up. And at the end of Saturday’s proceedings, a familiar face emerged near the lead, with another chance to win at this event.

The weather on Saturday was the opposite of the day before. All three courses were covered in fog in the early morning, resulting in cooler temperatures and tougher playing conditions, before the skies cleared up hours later.

Nick Taylor, the leader of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am after each of the first two rounds, had his struggles in the early going while playing at Spyglass Hill. He bogeyed two of his first four holes on Saturday and momentarily lost his lead to a surging Jason Day, who was also at Spyglass.

Taylor got things back on track a few holes later, and then slowly began to make up ground and, in the process, regain the lead while Day backtracked slightly. The Canadian birdied the par-four 17th and finished his first nine one-over, and his round gained momentum as the fog subsided.

He picked up a couple of shots in the first five holes of his back nine before making eagle at the par-five seventh. He parred out the rest of the way and went into the clubhouse with a three-under round of 69.  He will play the final round with defending champion Phil Mickelson, who shot a five-under round of 67 at Pebble Beach on Saturday and trails Taylor by single shot.

“It’s going to be a new experience,” Taylor said of playing with Mickelson, who he has never played with. “(But I’m) not really trying to pay attention to what he’s doing. Obviously, if he makes a putt or hits a great shot, the crowd’s going to go wild.

“I’ve just got to do my own thing and try to block all that out. (But that’s) easier said than done.”

Mickelson, who has won this event five times, started his third round at Pebble Beach hot and, with the exception of a brief hiccup in the middle, kept the pedal down to ultimately get within an earshot of the top spot. He birdied the first two holes – including a second hole that saw him hit his tee shot into the fairway bunker and then watch as his second shot found the greenside bunker – and added another birdie at the par-five sixth.

He dropped a shot at the par-three 12th but quickly got his momentum back in Mickelson-esque style. He holed out from a greenside bunker at the par-four 13th for a birdie and then chipped in for birdie at the par-five 14th.

He also ended his third round with a roar. After hitting his second shot way right of the green at the par-five 18th, he hit a super-high lob shot that settled four feet from the hole and then nailed the ensuing birdie putt to go into Sunday’s final round trailing Taylor by a single shot with a five-under round of 67.

“I felt like I had a pretty good day with my short game and had some pretty good shots,” said Mickelson, who actually missed the cut in his previous tournament, the Farmers Insurance Open two weeks ago. “So it was a nice score. I scored well today, on a day that wasn’t easy. The greens were firm.

“I thought the wind made it difficult, and I ended up playing really well and making a good score. I did a good job getting the ball in the hole.”

Also in the hunt is Day, although he is now three shots behind the lead after holding the second position the day before. He started out very well, making birdies at two of his first four holes in the third round before dropping a shot at the par-four 17th.

He quickly rallied and picked up two shots in the first four holes of his second nine. However, that momentum was stalled by a bogey at the par-three fifth and was not able to regain it, finishing with a two-under round of 70.

“I gave myself plenty of opportunities out there. I just, unfortunately, didn’t capitalize,” Day said. “But for a day like this, to walk away under par, I think I’m still pretty pleased.

“I think if I just stay within myself and play, I just got to focus on giving every shot 100 percent. If I can do that, hopefully I’m holding the trophy at the end of the day.”

Buddy Can’t Miss From Deep, Kings Down Spurs 122-104

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photo from sacbee.com: Sacramento Kings guard Buddy Hield (24) trots back for defense after scoring a three-pointer against the San Antonio Spurs during the first half of their NBA game Saturday, Feb. 8, 2020, at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento

By Jeremiah Salmonson

SACRAMENTO–The Kings played well just a day prior to Saturday’s game against the San Antonio Spurs. The Kings beat the Miami Heat on Friday night by a final of 105-97. On Saturday, the Kings looked to build on that victory as Greg Popovich and the Spurs came to town. The Tip-off was set for seven PM PST in Sacramento.

In the first, The Kings went toe to toe with the Spurs. The Kings put up 24 points compared to the Spurs 23. The hot hand for the Kings early appeared to be the three-ball. The Kings shot 42% from deep in the first to help lead them to an early lead. Leading the way was Buddy Hield for the Kings with seven points and Derrick White for the Spurs with six points.

In the second, the Kings managed to maintain a slim lead thanks to Nemanja Bjelica and Kent Bazemore who put up a combined 12 points. The King’s lead going into halftime would be three points at 52-49.

The Spurs were getting a great contribution from Dejounte Murray through the first half who had 12 points. For the Kings, Buddy Hield led the Kings with ten points in 15:01 minutes of action. The Kings shot 45.5% in the first half with the Spurs putting up a 46.7% clip.

In the third, the Spurs offense came to life but that couldn’t stop the Kings. The Kings had their best quarter of the game putting up 37 points compared to the Spurs 29. Harrison Barnes led the team out of the post putting up 13 points in the third quarter alone. The Kings would take a 89-78 lead into the final session.

In the fourth, the Kings continued to make the Spurs work. To make a long story short, DeMar DeRozan was ejected from the game after frustrations began to mount for the Spurs. Buddy Hield led the Kings as he went 9-10 from deep in the game and scored 31 points in total.

The Kings downed the Spurs 122-104. It was a great win for the Kings sweeping a back to back as they embark on a long stretch on the road. Harrison Barnes followed up the performance from Hield with a 25 point night for himself. Leading the way for the Spurs in defeat was Dejounte Murray with 17 points.

The Kings head on the road to take on Milwaukee on Monday.

Cardinal lose da Silva after collision, also lose to Buffaloes 81-74

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gostanford.com photo: The Stanford Cardinal Spencer Jones (14) takes a shot against the Colorado Buffaloes D’Shawn Schwartz (5) in Boulder Colorado Saturday night in Pac 12 action

By Daniel Dullum
Sports Radio Service
Saturday, February 8, 2020

It was a tough afternoon in Boulder, Colo., for Stanford in more ways than one.

In the second half of the Cardinal’s (16-7) Pac-12 men’s basketball game against Colorado, Oscar da Silva – Stanford’s leading scorer – banged his head on the floor after a collision with the No. 24-ranked Buffaloes’ (19-5) 262-pound center Evan Battey.

After da Silva was helped to his feet, Battey comforted his Stanford teammates, and vice versa. Then, in a joint show of sportsmanship, Colorado coach Tad Boyle asked both teams to join in prayer, and Cardinal coach Jerod Haase asked both teams to ‘keep playing hard.”

Following the scare, da Silva needed several stitches to close a cut above his left eye. He left under his own power, but missed the rest of the game, won by Colorado 81-74. The Buffaloes came back from a 16-point deficit; it was the third-best second-half comeback in Colorado history.

A runner by Battey gave the Buffaloes a 51-49 lead, and his fourth 3-pointer of the season put CU up 56-54. Colorado (19-5 overall, 8-3 Pac-12) went ahead to stay at 58-56 when Tyler Bey sank two free throws with 7:44 left in the second half.

McKinley Wright IV led the Buffs with 21 points, followed by D’Shawn Schwartz with 20 and Bey with 11. Bey snared nine of his 12 rebounds in the second half when Colorado shot 70 percent from the floor – 100 percent behind the arc – and 85 percent from the free throw line.

In the first half, Colorado shot 23 percent from the field, 23 percent on 3’s and 54 percent at the line.

The Buffaloes are off to their best start in program history, topping 18-6 starts in 1954-55 and 1968-69.

The Cardinal (16-7, 5-5) were led by Tyrell Terry with 18 points, Spencer Jones with 14 and Isaac White with 12. Stanford converted a rare five-point play in the closing minutes of the first half when, after Terry was fouled on a 3-point attempt, Boyle was given a technical after Colorado’s Eli Parquet was called for the foul. Terry made all five free throws, and the Cardinal took an 11-point lead into halftime.

Besides da Silva, Stanford was also missing guard Bryce Willis, who sprained his right ankle in the Cardinal’s loss to Utah.

The Cardinal return home this Thursday to host Arizona State.

New-look Warriors give Lakers a tussle, W’s still lose 125-120

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photo from sfgate.com: The Golden State Warriors Andrew Wiggins (22) defends against the Los Angeles Lakers LeBron James (23) on Thursday night at Chase Center

By Jerry Feitelberg

San Francisco- The Warriors, without starter Draymond Green, who was out with back spasms, had another new lineup in the game against the LA Lakers Saturday night.

Eric Paschall started instead of Draymond. Ky Bowman replaced the departed D’Angelo Russell at point guard. Newly acquired Andrew Wiggins started in the other forward slot. Marquese Chriss remained at the center position and Damion Lee was the other guard.

The Warriors’ head coach Steve Kerr had to wonder how his team would perform. They traded six players in the last two weeks. They received just one player, Andrew Wiggins in return. They also received several draft picks as they are in the process of building the team for a successful season next year when Steph Curry and Klay Thompson return.

The Lakers entered the game with the best record in the Western Conference 38-12. The Warriors owned the worst 12-40. The Lakers are led by LeBron James, Anthony, Davis, Dwight Howard, JaVale McGee, and Avery Bradley. The game, on paper, looked to be an easy win for LA.

The Warriors gave the Lakers all they could handle. In the first half, The Dubs’ Marquese Chriss knocked down 20 points to lead his team. Wiggins had 13. The Lakers outscored the W’s 33-25 in the first period. The Warriors won the second quarter 34-33 to finish the first half trailing by seven 66-59

The Lakers did not relinquish the lead the rest of the way. The outscored Golden State by five in the third period to lead 96-84. It looked like the lakers were going to cruise to an easy victory.

The Warriors fell behind by fifteen 102-87. It was at this point that Kordan Poole, coming off the bench, showed the Lakers and the rest of the NBA the reason the Warriors picked him in the first round of the draft. The young man from Milwaukee, who played his college ball at Michigan, started making shots. He knocked 16 points in the fourth period to close the deficit it just five points.

The Lakers led 116-111 and they could not afford to remove their starters from the game. The Lakers had to hang on for dear life as Poole and Chriss continued to make baskets to keep the Warriors close. The Warriors ran out of time as the fell to LA 125-120.

Game Notes and stats- There were a lot of bright spots for the Warriors Saturday night. Marquese Chriss played well on both ends of the court. He scored a career-high 26 points to go along with 9 rebounds. Andrew Wiggins, in his first game as a Warrior, put 24 points on the board.

Jordan Poole had 19. Ky Bowman recorded 11 assists and seven points. Alen Smailagic recalled from the G-League scored ten points. Damion Lee had 8, Eric Paschall six.

Warriors’ head coach Steve Kerr had this to say bout the play of Andrew Wiggins: “I told him, `No matter what happens we need you to sprint the floor, both ways,” Kerr said after Wiggins scored 24 points in his impressive Warriors debut Saturday night.

The Warriors defense caused the Lakers to commit 24 turnovers. The one negative was that the Lakers outrebounded Golden State 47-33. The Warriors could not stop the Lakers’ big men LeBron James, Anthony Davis, JaVale McGee, and Dwight Howard from controlling the boards.

Anthony Davis led the Lakers with 27 points and 10 rebounds. LeBron scored 22 points, eight boards, 11 assists, and he connected on three threes. Avery Bradley finished with 21.

 

 

Eagles edge Barracuda 4-3 in overtime

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by Marko Ukalovic

LOVELAND, Colo- Lately the Colorado Eagles have had a different hero win during their winning streak. It was Sheldon Dries’ turn as his second goal of the game was the game winning goal with 1:06 left in overtime to beat the San Jose Barracuda 4-3 on Saturday evening at Budwiser Events Center.

With Anti Suomela in the penalty box for holding, Jacob MacDonald sent a hard shot into traffic that ‘Cuda goalie Josef Korenar stopped but the rebound trickled out to the left where Dries tapped home the puck for a power play goal, his 18th of the season.

Despite earning a point, San Jose has lost a season high seven games in a row. Colorado has won four games in a row and moved into tie with Stockton for second place in the Pacific Divison with 56 points.

San Jose (14-25-2-2) got off to the start it wanted in the first period. Jayden Halbgewachs led a 2-on-2 rush at center ice. He fed a pass over to Joachim Blichfeld and from the right slot he fired a wrist shot past Eagles goalie Hunter Miska to the shortside for his team leading 15th goal of the season at the 7:00 mark.

The ‘Cuda doubled their lead toward the end of the opening frame. Suomela showed off his speed skating into the Eagles zone before sending a wrist shot on net initially stopped by Miska. Keaton Middleton pinched in fom the point and cleaned up the rebound for his third goal of the season at the 16:03 mark.

San Jose dominated play in the first period and their penalty kill stopped two Colorado power play opportunities.

Colorado cut the deficit in half early in the second period on the power play. Connor Timmons made a drop pass back up to the point where Martin Kaut lasered in a slap shot through a sea of traffic beating Korenar for his fifth goal of the season at the 1:35 mark.

The Barracuda regained its two-goal lead on the power play under six minutes later. Suomela intercepted a pass behind the net and flipped it behind them where he skated around the Miska before despositing the puck into the back of the net for his fifth goal of the season at the 7:17 mark. Ivan Chekhovich received the only assist on the power play tally.

Colorado scored the next two goals in a 1:42 span near the end of the middle frame. Erik Condra skated in along the right boards and fed a pass over to Mark alt in the high slot. Alt snapped home a wrist shot past Korenar for his fourth goal of the season at the 15:05 mark.

Before San Jose could gather themselves, Conor Timmins shot from the left point was redirected by Dries into the back of the net for his first of two goals, his 17th of the season at the 16:47 mark.

The sequence shell-shocked the ‘Cuda as they headed into the second intermission tied at 3-3.

Tempers flared once again in a scoreless third period. Jeffery Viel got into a battle with Dries as the two exchanged fisticuffs at the 13:25 mark. Viel has fights in back to back games.

Miska finished the night making 29 saves on 32 shots to earn his 11th win of the season. Korenar, playing in his first game since suffering an injury back on January 22, made 31 saves on 35 shots in suffering the defeat.

GAME NOTES: San Jose was 1-for-4 on the power play. Colorado was 3-for-8.

Suomela collected a pair of points (one goal, one assist) in just his second game back from the Sharks after a two and a half month stint in the NHL.

Dries is now fourth in the AHL in power play goals with 10.

Trevor Carrick collected a pair of assists, his third multi-assist effort of the season.

UP NEXT: The Barracuda return home to host the Stockton Heat on Wednesday 2/12 at 7:00pm at SAP Center.

 

 

San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa Walsh: Can Sharks stay consistent after huge win in Edmonton?

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photo from mercurynews.com: Big night for the San Jose Sharks Timo Meier (28) scoring two goals gets congratulations from teammates Patrick Marleau (12) and Barclay Goodrow (23) in Edmonton on Thursday night

On the Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa:

#1 The San Jose Sharks got lots of help in their 6-3 victory on Thursday night against the Edmonton Oilers the offense look spruced up and they attacked the Edmonton zone without much hesitation

#2 The Sharks got two goals from Timo Meier, Meier which help pave for the win inspite of some of the troubles that the Sharks have gone through Meier has stayed consistent

#3 The Oilers Conner McDavid said that the team was flat and emotionless after the Sharks scored twice in the second and third periods to pull away

#4 The Oilers did open up the game with two goals and it looked like the Sharks were back to their old ways again but got inspired when they cashed in for two goals to come away in the first period with a 2-2 tie.

#5 The Sharks face Calgary again as they both met last Tuesday night, the Flames are coming off a tough 3-2 loss to the Florida Panthers Mary tells us how she sees the match up for the Flames and Sharks on Monday night

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

NHL podcast with Matt Harrington: Elvis stops 16 shots as CBJ’s shutout Wings; Leafs Tavares’ goals crucial in 5-4 win; plus more

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photo from the startribune.com: The Minnesota Wild’s Joel Eriksson Ek gets a wrap around goal against the Dallas Stars on Friday night at 27 seconds left in the game

NHL podcast with Matt:

#1 Elvis Merzlikins is in the building the Columbus Blue Jackets goaltender stopped 16 shots for his fifth shutout of the season blanking the Detroit Red Wings 2-0

#2 The Toronto Maple Leafs got scoring help from John Tavares who scored twice. The second coming in the overtime stanza at 4:53. The Leafs Austin Matthews picked up a goal his 40th goal of the season in the Leafs 5-4 win over the Anaheim Ducks.

#3 Carter Hutton of the Buffalo Sabers got in from of 37 shots and faced 21 shots in the third period as the Sabers edged the New York Rangers 3-2

#4 The Minnesota Wild Joel Eriksson Ek got a wrap around goal with just 27 seconds left in the game it was Ek’s second goal of the game in the Wild’s 3-2 win over the Dallas Stars

#5 Will the San Jose Sharks be able to move Brenden Dillion. NHL teams are measuring his trade value how valuable is he to a team and what will the Sharks expect for him?

Matt Harrington does the NHL podcasts each Saturday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

AT&T PEBBLE BEACH PRO-AM: Mickelson, Day make huge runs but Taylor maintains slim lead

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photo from sfgate.com: After making a birdie on the 18th green Nick Taylor holds first place on the leader board at Pebble Beach in the second round on Friday

By Jeremy Harness

PEBBLE BEACH – As Nick Taylor has found out through the first two days of this tournament, in order to get on top and stay there, you have to go low. Very low.

That’s precisely what the Canadian has done, but in doing so, he still doesn’t have much breathing room. He held a two-shot lead after the first round of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am with a 63, which is tied for the lowest opening-round score in four years, and after a 66 on Friday, goes into the weekend with the same two-shot advantage.

Taylor, whose lone victory on the PGA Tour came in his rookie season of 2014-15 at the Sanderson Farms Championship, finished his second round at Pebble Beach in grand fashion, making birdies in four of his last five holes, capping off his round by rolling in a 16-footer at the iconic par-5 18th.

Taylor has, in large part, done it with his putter. He is currently second in the field in strokes gained in the putting department, as he made 101 feet of putts on Friday

“I hit some really good shots coming in and made all the putts,” Taylor said. “So obviously, it was all coming together there.

“I really love coming to this stop, so I was happy to come here, and it’s been nice to make some putts. I feel like from here, and next few months, are probably my favorite stretch of golf tournaments.”

There were a number of players who made big charges on Friday and wound up hot on Taylor’s tail, including Phil Mickelson, the left-handed crowd favorite who is known for his exquisite short game and sometimes-erratic play off the tee.

He, in his words, “drove it like a stallion” on Thursday to get himself in the hunt and more than holding his own at Spyglass Hill, and he did the same the next day to inch closer, blistering Monterey Peninsula in the process.

He started out his day with back-to-back birdies and made another birdie three holes later. After dropping a shot at the par-4 15th, he rallied to make eagle at the par-5 16th. He started his second nine with four straight birdies and was eight-under through his first 14 holes.

However, the fog rolled in at that point, and that seemed to affect his scoring. His birdie rampage stalled, as following the four consecutive, he parred the ensuing four holes and even dropped a shot at the par-3 ninth to end his round in third place.

Jason Day finished his round about an hour before Mickelson, so he just missed the fog and played all 18 of his holes in picture-perfect conditions with relatively-light wind and responded with a seven-under round of 64 at Pebble Beach that put him in second place, two shots behind Taylor.

Day did not have to go through foggy weather, but he did have to battle through injuries, particularly with his back – a very common issue in the game of golf – throughout most of last season, and he spoke Friday of the return of his health.

“I’ve been working very (hard), and I’ve been very disciplined about the rehab,” Day said. “I had six, seven weeks of rehab before Torrey Pines (two weeks ago), and I’m trying to stay on top of that right now, and for the most part, I feel pretty good.

He also spoke of a change in focus, not only in his practice routine but also his overall approach to the game. In years past, he would spend at least two hours putting in a day, but due to his back issues, he has cut that time in half and has, in turn, turned up the concentration in those sessions.

In getting ready for this tournament, Day said that he did not play standard practice rounds but rather would play different nine-hole rounds at the different courses with a number of friends.

“Sometimes working hard is not the solution,” he said. “Don’t get me wrong, you still have to work hard, but don’t be so involved in it, and don’t make it your whole world.”