Cal Bears podcast with Morris Phillips: Cal gets touchdown in each quarter to defeat UCLA 28-18

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

photo from sfgate.com: California tight end Gavin Reinwald, right, makes a catch as UCLA defensive back Darnay Holmes defends during the first half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Nov. 30, 2019, in Pasadena, Calif.

On the Cal Bears podcast with Morris:

#1 A huge way to close the 2019 season with a win on the road at UCLA as the Cal Bears defeat the UCLA Bruins 28-18.

#2 Cal quarterback Chase Garbers threw 17 times out of 29 attempts for 230 yards, one touchdown, and one interception.

#3 Cal head coach Justin Wilcox says the defense was a huge factor in keeping the Bruins in check.

#4 Also coach Wilcox said it was a great win for the Bears saying it’s tough to win in the Pac-12 and he’s proud the Bears found a way to win.

#5 What will be some of coach Wilcox’s plans for the Bears in the bowl game?

Morris does the Cal Bears podcasts each Monday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Cardinal bounce back with hoop win over Seahawks 72-54

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

photo from gostanford.com: The Stanford Cardinal Tyrell Terry (3) goes for the throw down in the Cardinal victory over WNC Wilmington at Maple Pavilion on Sunday afternoon

By Daniel Dullum
Sports Radio Service
Sunday, December 1, 2019

Stanford returned to the win column in men’s basketball on Sunday, as the Cardinal defeated UNC-Wilmington 72-54 in non-conference play at Maples Pavilion.

The Cardinal are off to their best start since 2011, when they won 10 of their first 11 contests.

Oscar da Silva netted a career-high 26 points, as the Cardinal bounced back from their only loss of the season. Da Silva was 11 of 14 from the field and grabbed five rebounds despite missing a few minutes early in the second half after taking an errant elbow to the head.

Spencer Jones scored 17 points, including a career-high five f3-pointers for the Cardinal (8-1). Freshman Tyrell Terry was in early foul trouble, but still scored nine points while collecting four rebounds and five assists.

Marten Linssen and Jaylen Sims scored 12 points each to lead the Seahawks, who have not defeated a Pac-12 team since 2006.

Stanford never trailed in the game, leading by as many as 25. It was UNC-Wilmington’s fifth game in 10 days, and, after falling behind 12-0, the Seahawks never caught up. The Cardinal held a 33-30 rebounding edge.

The Cardinal led by 19 in the first half behind the inside-outside games of da Silva and Jones. Jones sank four of his 3-pointers in the first half, as Stanford built a 38-19 lead.

The two head coaches — Jerod Haase of Stanford and C.B. McGrath of Wilmington — were teammates for two years while playing at Kansas, and coached together for 14 seasons at North Carolina.

Stanford has nearly two weeks off before its next game on Dec. 14 at San Jose State.

Warriors come close, but still lose to the Magic 100-96

Published on by rxsluggerLeave a comment

Photo credit: @warriors

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Golden State Warriors met the Orlando Magic at the Amway Center in Orlando Sunday evening. The Warriors, with nine healthy players, gave the Magic a tussle, but still lost 100-96. The game was not decided until the final 10 seconds. The Magic’s Evan Fournier made a layup to clinch the win for Orlando.

The teams played a very competitive first half. The Magic won the first quarter 26-22. The Warriors won the second 29-25. The first half ended with the score tied at 51. Eric Paschall tallied 14, and Glenn Robinson kicked in with 13 to lead the Warriors. Evan Fournier had 15, and Terrence Ross, coming off the bench, had 12 for Orlando.

The teams continued to play nip and tuck basketball. Neither team could gain any separation from the other. The Magic finished the third quarter with a one-point advantage 72-71. It was more of the same in the fourth quarter. The game was in doubt until Fournier put it away with a layup with 9.3 seconds left in the game. The Magic led by four, and that was curtains for Golden State. Orlando won 100-96.

Game Notes and Stats: All five Warrior starters were in double-figures. Draymond had 11, Eric Paschall 17, Glenn Robinson 19, Will Cauley-Stein had 11 points and 12 rebounds for a double-double, and Alec Burks pitched in with 12. Backup point guard Ky Bowman finished with 12. The team shot 39.6% from the floor and connected on six threes in 23 attempts.

Evan Fournier tied a career-high with 32 points. He made six threes in 10 attempts. Terrence Ross had 19, Markell Fultz 14, and Jonathan Isaac added 14. The Magic shot 42.5% from the floor and made 11 threes in 33 attempts.

The Warriors lost for the fifth time in the last six games and are now 4-17 for the year. The Magic improved to 8-11.

Up Next: The Warriors play a back-to-back game Monday night in Atlanta against the Hawks. The game will start at 5 pm PST.

UCLA downs SJSU 93-64 in Los Angeles

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Photo credit: @SanJoseStateMBB

By Ana Kieu

The San Jose State men’s basketball team wrapped up a 2-game road trip with a non-conference contest against the UCLA Bruins at Pauley Pavilion on Sunday. SJSU had hopes to snap a 2-game losing skid.

SJSU had time for a shootaround around Pauley Pavilion. Then, Spartans head coach Jean Prioleau confirmed the starters for Sunday’s game in Brae Ivey, Christian Anigwe, Seneca Knight, Sam Japhet-Mathias, and Craig LeCesne.

UCLA got on the board first, but SJSU responded as Christian Anigwe finished a 3-point play to cut the deficit to 7-5 early in the first quarter.

UCLA led 16-7 when SJSU called a timeout at 15:28. Also, Richard Washington called bank on a shot at 14:18. In addition, there was great ball movement by Omari Moore and company and that led to a Zach Chappell corner 3. However, SJSU trailed 20-12 midway through the first.

Richard Washington doubled up for his second 3 of the night at 10:20. Yet, SJSU trailed 26-17. UCLA then took a 34-22 lead at the under-8 timeout with 7:13 left.

The Spartans went cold, but continued to shoot free throws following the final media timeout of the first. Omari Moore made a great play–a steal that he laid in on the other end–to snap the Spartans’ scoring drought. But SJSU trailed 46-26 at the halftime break, so they had their work cut out for them.

SJSU, however, saw little improvement in the second half. The Spartans trailed 58-35 at the first media timeout of the second at 15:58. The Bruins took a commanding 66-44 lead at the second media timeout at 11:51. The Spartans’ Omari Moore recorded a season-best 11 points and was 4-for-5 from the field at 11:51, too. Then, UCLA went on a 13-0 run, which prompted head coach Jean Prioleau to call a timeout, and extended its lead to 79-46 with 9:01 left in the second. UCLA went on to win 93-64.

With the win, UCLA improved to 6-3. With the loss, SJSU fell to 3-5.

The Spartans return home to host the #15 Utah State Aggies on Wednesday, Dec. 4 at 8:15 pm PST.

NCAA podcast with Michelle Richardson: Clemson rocks the Gamecocks, Tigers stay perfect at 12-0; Harbaugh having tough time Wolves lose to Ohio State; plus more

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

photo from usatoday.com file photo: Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence calls out the audibles against Notre Dame in the Cotton Bowl in 2018.

On the NCAA podcast with Michelle Richardson:

#1 The Clemson Tigers (12-0) didn’t hold back in this one on Saturday taking out the South Carolina Gamecocks and early with a 38-3 win. Tigers quarterback Trevor Lawrence threw 26 for 36 for 295 yards and three touchdowns.

#2 What will become of the Michigan Wolverines (9-3) head coach Jim Harbaugh? The Wolves took a tough loss in a landslide 56-27 getting knocked by the Ohio State Buckeyes. The Buckeyes scored two touchdowns in each of their four quarters.

#3 Georgia Bulldogs (11-1) Jake Fromm went 14-29 and threw for 254 yards and four touchdowns in the Bulldogs laugher over the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets 52-7. The Yellow Jackets avoided getting shutout when Brian Herrien rushed for a touchdown in the second quarter.

Michelle’s Final Thoughts

Join Michelle each Sunday for the NCAA podcast at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

That’s Amaury News and Commentary: Minority participation in 2020 MLB season?

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Photo credit: theringer.com

By Amaury Pi-González

According to the LA Times, a recently published article about the last MLB season in 2019 said: “For the first time since 1946, the season before Robinson debuted and altered the course of American history, an African American did not appear in a game for the Dodgers for an entire campaign.”

An irony for the franchise that headed by a courageous Branch Rickey, who signed Jackie Robinson, who broke the color barrier..

The fact today is that just like with the regular population of the United States, where Latinos are now the largest minority and not African-American, the same has happened in the most historic sport in this country, baseball. The Census will be taken in 2020, and before that Census, Hispanics/Latinos are 18 percent of the population with around 60 million people, while African-Americans are 12 percent of the population with approximately 42 million people.

Baseball is also headed in the same direction as the total populations of the country. In baseball, Hispanics/Latinos make up about 30% of all players, while African-Americans are just around 8%. The MLB has been trying with the RBI program and many others to attract young African-Americans to the game of baseball, but as of today with little success. The other two major professional leagues, the NBA and the NFL are miles ahead of the MLB when it comes to African-American players. I do not want to speculate what is the reason, but there are many. Some point to baseball as a slow game, while other sports generate more instant gratification. Baseball requires patience, and in a time like this with social media, anybody–at any given time–can access anything in five seconds.

Facebook and You Tube have carried live MLB games. The fluid world of social media looks like the #1 vehicle to deliver baseball to the masses, especially of the younger generation. There is no secret that baseball audiences are typically older that most other sports according to data released by media-polling organizations. It is said that the average age of a baseball viewer is 57 (this has been increasing year by year), and if you wonder about some kind of a youth movement, only 7% of the baseball audience is under age 18.

These baseball demographic statistics will likely not change much. In Latin America, where some baseball countries play ball 12 months of the year, and most MLB clubs scout those countries. In some of those baseball countries, baseball is still king and there is no competition by basketball, and of course, American football as neither sport is not really played by kids. Soccer still the most popular sport in Latin America. However, in Cuba, Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, Panamá, Puerto Rico, and Venezuela, soccer is not as popular as baseball. In México and Colombia, baseball is popular, but soccer is still número uno, but those two countries continue to develop a lot of baseball talent, and have a presence in the Major Leagues.

This could be getting much more interesting as MLB is proposing to eliminate many minor league teams. MLB says the reorganization is in order to make the minor leagues more efficient (i.e.conditions where they play, dated facilities, etc.). Common sense tells us less teams is not going to help the development of younger players aspiring to make it to the show. Unlike the NBA and NFL, who get most of their talent from drafts, the minor leagues are the gateway to Major League Baseball.

Major and Minor League Baseball’s current Professional Baseball Agreement is set to expire after the 2020 season. One thing for sure is that more Latino talent will continue to arrive and the trend will continue.

Chiefs destroy Raiders at Arrowhead 40-9

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Photo credit: chiefswire.usatoday.com

By Jeremy Kahn

Time and time again, the Oakland Raiders take a couple of steps and lately they have taken a couple of steps backwards.

Reigning NFL MVP Patrick Mahomes went 15-for-29 for 175 yards and two touchdowns, as the Kansas City throttled the Raiders 40-9 at Arrowhead Stadium.

Things did not start well for the Raiders and it only got worse, and it did not get any better for the visitors.

Derek Carr threw an interception on the Raiders first series of the game, as Tyron Mathieu returned the errant Carr pass into Raiders territory.

Mahomes immediately drove the Chiefs and it ended, when he ended Darrel Williams for a three-yard touchdown pass to give them a quick 7-0 lead.

If you thought, the first series of the game did not end well, just wait and see what happened on the Raiders second series. Trevor Davis took the Harrison Butker kick and immediately fumbled the ball that was recovered by Dorian O’Daniel at the Raiders’ 24-yard line.

Luckily for the Raiders, the Chiefs were not able to cash in, as they were forced to turn the ball over on downs.

Over the next two series, the Raiders were forced to punt and then turned the ball over on downs.

Mahomes decided that enough was enough, as he took the ball over on downs and ended up calling his own number, when he took the ball 13 yards for a touchdown to extend the Chiefs lead.

Jalen Richard tried to get the Raiders going, as he returned the Butker kick to the 26-yard line; however, Carr and the Raiders saw the drive come to a crashing halt, when Juan Thornhill intercepted a Carr pass and returned the pass 46 yards to the end zone to give the Chiefs a commanding 21-0 lead.

Daniel Carlson did not make things any better, as he missed a 44-yard field goal with just over a minute to go in the second quarter.

The Chiefs added to their lead on the first series in the third quarter, as Butker nailed a 50-yard field goal.

Once again, the Raiders were not able to get on the board and then the Chiefs took advantage, when they scored on a LeSean McCoy three-yard touchdown run that came just after it looked like the Raiders were going to get the ball back on a turnover.

Travyon Mullen intercepted a Mahomes pass; however, Chiefs coach Andy Reid challenged the call for possible pass interference and after review it was reserved.

Carlson finally got the Raiders on the board, as he kicked a 34-yard field goal on the first play of the fourth quarter.

Unfortunately, Mahomes went on a methodical nearly 10-minute drive that went 14 plays and 75 yards and culminated when rookie Darwin Thompson scored on a three-yard run.

Carr finally got the Raiders into the end zone for the first time since the fourth quarter of the November 7 victory over the Los Angeles Chargers, as he found Derek Carrier for a four-yard touchdown pass.

The Carlson point after was blocked, and returned to the Chiefs end zone for two points, when Charvarius Ward scooped it up and scampered into the end zone for the final points of the game.

NOTES: When the Raiders connected on the Carlson field goal, it stopped a streak of 59 consecutive points, a record for futility in the 122-game series that dates back to 1960, when the Raiders and the then Dallas Texans first faced each other in the AFL in 1960. The field goal also ended a streak of 15 consecutive drives without a point against the Chiefs.

UP NEXT: The Raiders return home for a two-game homestand that begins against the Tennessee Titans on December 8 at 1:25 pm PST.

Niners Fall to Ravens 20-17 on Last Play

Published on by joelamiLeave a comment

Photo credit: sfgate.com

By: Joe Lami

Sunday’s game with the Raven’s was being billed a potential Super Bowl preview, and we can only hope that the Super Bowl is as good as this one was. Although San Francisco ended up losing to the Baltimore Ravens 20-17 on a buzzer-beating 49-yard kick by Justin Tucker, this team can swing with the best of them, and even left something on the field. The Niners now fall to 10-2, with both losses coming on last-play field goals.

Ravens’ back, Mark Ingram said before the game, “this one is going to be a slugfest.” And boy, was he right. Both offenses and defenses shined at times throughout the game, but it came down to who got the final possession. Unfortunately for the Niners, the answer was the Ravens, who finished with a 32:26 time of possession, with each team eight possessions apiece.

The Niners neutralized Lamar Jackson the best they could, but it’s challenging to slow down the run-away MVP candidate who rushed for 100 yards in his fourth-straight game and passed for 105 yards. Showing his dual-threat capabilities, he scored a touchdown both ways.

Raheem Mostert has his best game as a pro. At times, he looked nearly unstoppable, running outside zone rushes for 146 yards on 19 attempts, including a magnificent 40-yard TD run.

The Niners looked dominant from the get-go, marching down the field on the opening possession for the scored. Garoppolo threw a strike to Deebo Samuel on fourth and two from 33-yards out. Deebo’s beginning to show his dawg mentality, powering through Marcus Peters to go up for the catch.

Unfortunately, it was short-lived; on San Francisco’s next drive Chuck Clark punched the ball out of Jimmy Garoppolo’s hands at his 23. It would only take two plays for Jackson to find the end zone for the first time of the day, as he tossed a TD to Mark Andrews.

The fireworks continued with both teams scoring TDs on their next drives. Lamar Jackson got his second of the day, but first on the ground, running in from a yard out to cap an 84-yard, 13-play drive. The Niners answered thanks to some terrific blocking that set off a 40-yard Raheem Mostert touchdown run, equalizing the game at 14.

Justin Tucker knocked in his first field goal of the game from 30 yards to give the Ravens a 17-14 lead. At the time, it was a pretty big win for the Niners, slowing down Baltimore’s offense.

The Niners couldn’t answer with two minutes to work with until halftime. Mostert was able to string together a few runs to set-up a 51-yard attempt from Gould. But he fell short in his first attempt in three weeks to end the half. The missed field goal would come back to haunt the Niners.

The second half played way slower, as the Niners only got three possessions. They were lengthy, though, as Kyle Shanahan was doing his best to keep the ball out of Lamar’s hands. Lamar opened the second half with the ball and was driving until Marcell Harris made a play and punched the ball out at the Niners’ 34.

San Francisco then began a 14-play, 53-yard drive that took 8:26 off the clock that finished with a 30-yard Robbie Gould field goal to tie at 17.

The Niners defense stood tall for two more drives, forcing a punt and a turnover on downs. Fred Warner was the defensive MVP for the Niners. The middle linebacker was all over the place, getting two PBUs on third downs, and 11 tackles.

Unfortunately, the Niners offense also stagnated due to the Ravens’ league-leading defense that held Jimmy Garoppolo to 165 yards on 15/21 and a TD. John Harbaugh also did his best to keep the ball away from the 49ers and ended with the last possession.

The Niners have proved they’re one of the best teams in the league and were able to keep up with Baltimore despite a few things not going their way. They’ll now keep their eyes on Monday night’s Seahawks’ game to see if they’ll still have the division lead at 10-2 when they travel to New Orleans next week.

NHL podcast with Daniel Dullum: Ex-players coming out to testify against Peters; Sharks have won back-to-back road games; plus more

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

file photo from the latimes.com: Bill Peters, ex-head coach of the Calgary Flames, was resigned on Friday, and has a number of his ex-players coming out to testify that he was abusive physically and racially.

On the NHL podcast with Daniel Dullum:

1 Flames coach Bill Peters out amidst racism, abuse allegations

2 Sharks win back-to-back Pacific Division road games in LA and Arizona

3 Tavares gets 400th NHL assist, scores overtime winner for Leafs over Buffalo… Toronto 4-1-0 since coaching change

4 Caps’ Ovechkin gets three-goal game with two empty-netters

Catch Daniel for all NHL podcasts each Sunday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com; Daniel is also a Stanford Cardinal beat writer

Cal Dumps UCLA 28-18, awaits their bowl destination with a seventh win

Published on by moepeaLeave a comment

By Morris Phillips

With a record-number of bowl eligible teams populating the FBS, Cal needed to go one step further to insure they will have one of the coveted 78 spots.

So beating UCLA in their regular season finale wasn’t icing on the cake, it was essential.

After spotting the Bruins a 7-0, first quarter lead, the Bears shut the door, methodically wearing down UCLA in a 28-18 victory. The Bears finish with a 7-5 regular-season record for the second, consecutive winning season, an achievement they haven’t had since 2009.

“Getting seven wins–be in position to win a bowl game–and have a chance to play somebody really good at a great location is really exciting,” said coach Justin Wilcox.

The Bears once again dealt with the scheduling oddity of finishing their season against someone other than Stanford. After winning the Big Game in dramatic fashion last Saturday–breaking a nine-game losing streak to the Cardinal–the Bears looked focused, and ready to play, no easy feat given the circumstances playing on the road on the holiday weekend.

The game time temperature was decidedly un-Southern California like 49 degrees, and drizzle was present throughout. With UCLA suffering through a fourth, consecutive losing season, the attendance suffered with fewer than 40,000 fans in the cavernous Rose Bowl.

“I think we came out and imposed our will on them. We had that mindset during practice all week,” said Chase Garbers, who made a second straight start after missing the previous four games with a shoulder injury. Garbers overcame a slow start, completing 17 of 29 passes for 230 yards and one touchdown. His one-yard run in the second quarter gave the Bears a 14-7 lead they would not relinquish.

Christopher Brown Jr. ran for 111 yards and two scores, putting the starting back over 100 yards for the first time since the season opener against UC Davis. Brown’s second score, a 10-yard run, put the game away with 2:33 remaining and Cal clinging to a 3-point lead at that juncture.

Record-setting linebacker Evan Weaver lead a Cal defense that shut down the Bruins, registering six sacks, and limiting UCLA to 58 yards rushing on 35 attempts. Weaver had nine solo tackles, allowing him to pass Cal great Hardy Nickerson as the all-time, season-leader in tackles with 173.

UCLA’s Dorian Thompson-Robinson kept his team in it by completing 23 of 39 passes for 271 yards, but five sacks took their toll. Thompson-Robinson failed to finish the game, getting knocked out in the fourth quarter, one week after he was unable to finish the game against USC.

The Bears (7-5, 4-5) will wait until December 8, after the completion of the conference championship games, to find out their bowl destination. Their likely landing spots are the Cheez-It Bowl at Chase Field in Phoenix, or the Redbox Bowl at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara.