San Jose State football games named to Mountain West national TV package

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Photo credit: sjsuspartans.com

By: Ana Kieu

Three San Jose State Spartans home football games and one Mountain West conference road game are part of the conference’s 44-game national television package with CBS Sports Network and ESPN Networks.

San Jose State will be playing twice on Friday night starting with their Friday, September 27 conference opener at Air Force on CBSSN starting at 6:00 pm MT/5:00 pm PT. SJSU will be on CBSSN again the following Friday, October 4 for a 7:00 pm PT conference home game vs. New Mexico in CEFCU Stadium.

SJSU’s November 2 home game hosting Boise State now has a 7:30 pm PT game time and carried on CBSSN.

The Spartans’ final game in the conference’s national television package is Saturday, November 30 home game against Fresno State for the Valley Trophy. The game will be assigned to the ESPN Networks, but the game time will be announced at a later date.

With today’s announcement, AT&T SportsNet, Stadium, Spectrum Sports (Hawaii), CBSSN and ESPN will have an opportunity to select additional SJSU games for their respective broadcast packages.

Season tickets, group tickets and mini-plans are available for the entire San Jose State Spartans home football schedule at www.sjsuspartans.com/tickets or by calling (408) 924-7589.

Here’s the 2019 SJSU football schedule:

Oakland A’s podcast with Jerry Feitelberg: A’s head to Pittsburgh, try to snap out of six-game skid

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Photo credit: @Athletics

On the Oakland A’s podcast with Jerry Feiteberg:

#1 The Oakland A’s are getting tired of other teams taking out the broom as the A’s were in another sweep. This time by the Boston Red Sox in a 7-3 loss at Fenway Park.

#2 The loss represents the A’s six straight loss as they’re 0-6 on this current road trip. It has been a tough go as A’s manager Bob Melvin tries to figure all this out.

#3 Amongst those struggling is Oakland A’s starter Mike Fiers, who pitched five innings and gave up three runs on five hits.

#4 Fiers has given up the big fly this time to the Red Sox’s Mitch Moreland, who hit his fifth homer of the season over the Green Monster and it was Fiers’ ninth home run surrendered.

#5 On Friday, the A’s will try it all over again as they’ll open up a three-game series against the Pittsburgh Pirates. The A’s will start Brett Anderson (3-2, 4.35 ERA) and the Pirates will start Joe Musgrove (1-2, 1.54 ERA).

Jerry does the Oakland A’s podcasts each Thursday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs/San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa Walsh: A win by the Sharks in Game 4 almost assures team to advance

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Photo credit: ftw.usatoday.com

On the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs/San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa:

#1 The San Jose Sharks hold a 2-1 series lead on the Colorado Avalanche with Game 4 slated for Thursday night. The Sharks look like they have bead on things after they beat the Avs 4-2 in Game 3 at the Pepsi Center.

#2 The Sharks’ Logan Couture, who scored a hat trick, just couldn’t be contained. Once he got the puck, he never hesitated on throwing it on net.

#3 Sharks goaltender Martin Jones is thankful for the offensive help of Couture, saying his performance was clutch and he was all the difference in a game like that.

#4 To demonstrate how purposeful the Sharks were, they wasted no time in the first period, taking a 2-0 lead and taking the wind out of the Avs’ sails.

#5 Game 4 tonight this is a must win situation for the Avs or their season could end very soon. They have home ice and need a win to tie the series up. A win by the Sharks, taking a 3-1 series lead back to San Jose, could almost assure the Sharks a great chance to advance to the next round.

Join Mary Lisa for the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs/San Jose Sharks podcast each Thursday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Giant Battle: Posey’s ninth inning single wins it, 2-1 over the Dodgers

Published on by moepeaLeave a comment

By Morris Phillips

SAN FRANCISCO — 103 pitches into a terrific outing on Wednesday night, Madison Bumgarner found himself in a race he could not win.

Facing the planet’s hottest hitter, Clay Bellinger, in a 1-2 count with Kike Hernandez at second as the potential tying run, Bumgarner was either a pitch from departing with a shutout and a lead, or something a whole lot worse given he was facing a guy with a franchise-record 14 home runs in the Dodgers’ first 32 games of the season. A hot grounder down the first base line somehow didn’t elude Brandon Belt giving the first baseman a chance to record an out if he could connect with his pitcher running from the mound to the bag before Bellinger barreled down the line.

But again, Bumgarner was in a race he couldn’t win with a deceptively speedy runner determined to give his team a chance. The former World Series MVP pulled up short, conceding the hit, and taking Belt’s throw 20 feet from first, only to turn toward home and see Hernandez racing home with the tying run.

Giants’ best player in a favorable spot with a chance to win?

Not always going to work out for these punchless Giants. But this game provided a reprieve for Bum and the Giants as Buster Posey came up with a tie-breaking, ninth inning single in the team’s 2-1 win over the Dodgers.

“Just an all-around great game,” manager Bruce Bochy said. “Both sides pitched so well. It was a hard-fought game. Great win for us.”

The Giants’ biggest win to date also captured the series, a nice follow-up for the last-place club after being swept by the Yankees over the weekend. The Giants have won five of nine, but it’s never easy. Four of those five wins have been by one run.

The walkoff win against the defending National League champs was the story, but so was Bumgarner. In six innings of work, he was near perfect, allowing one run on four hits, striking out eight. The fourth and sixth frames were marathons for the pitcher, but he escaped in a tie game, despite little support, a first inning, run scoring sacrifice fly from Belt.

Not the first time Bumgarner’s dealt against the hated blue, or faced some adversity courtesy of Hernandez (23 of 45 lifetime against Bumgarner with six doubles and four homers). But rarely has he looked this good, long awaited news for Giants’ fans, who still haven’t seen the pitcher defeat the Dodgers since 2016.

“Been studying stuff and trying to try different things to get to where I want to be which in my mind is a perfect delivery,” Bumgarner said. “I don’t think it’s there but it’s definitely better than it has been. Everything felt much better today than it has in a while.”

Just like Bum’s outing, the game-winning rally was tense. Steven Duggar and Gerardo Parra singled with one out, and Belt struck out with a chance to end it. Manager Dave Roberts then summoned Pedro Baez, who surrendered the searing base hit to Posey that scored Duggar despite a close play at the plate.

The Giants travel to Cincinnati Thursday in preparation for a four-game set with the Reds that starts Friday night. Tyler Beede will make his season debut in a matchup with Sonny Gray, who is 0-4 thus far for the Reds.

Headline Sports podcast with London Marq: Raiders’ Crowell injured in team practice, out for season; Kentucky Derby coming up, will dying horses spell an end for industry?; plus more

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

photo bleacherreport.com: 2018 Triple Crown winner Justify. The Kentucky Derby kicks off this Saturday.

On the Headlines Sports podcast with London Marq:

#1 The Oakland Raiders’ running back Isaiah Crowell, during a team workout, suffered a season-ending injury, tearing his Achilles. Crowell is a five-year NFL veteran and played with the New York Jets last season. He was signed on with the Raiders for this season for $2.5 million.

#2 With the Kentucky Derby coming up this Saturday, all the talk has been about horses dying at Santa Anita in just seven months. Looking at the year between 2017-18, a reported 37 deaths have been reported, and the New York Times reported since 2018 to the present, the deaths have not subsided. The questions raised were why? Was it that the horses are physically driven to exhaustion on race days, was it the medications the injury-masking painkillers? Is the sport due to die out because of these horse deaths?

#3 If it wasn’t for the red-hot Tampa Bay Rays, the New York Yankees could very well be the top team in the AL East. The Yankees are just 2.5 games behind first place Tampa have won eight of their last 10 and also swept the San Francisco Giants and beat the Arizona Diamondbacks behind CC Sabathia’s 3,000 career strikeout. The Yanks lost the game, but Sabathia went down in the record books.

#4 The Oakland A’s are really off track. The club has lost six straight games. They’re coming off getting swept by the Toronto Blue Jays and the Boston Red Sox and have three more road games with the Pittsburgh Pirates starting on Friday night at PNC Park.

#5 Could the Golden State Warriors put the Houston Rockets away? It even looks a lot easier for Golden State than it did last postseason last year when they played the Rockets. Kevin Durant (29), Klay Thompson (20), and Stephen Curry (19) were the top three scorers for Golden State in Game 3. The Warriors lead the series 2-0.

London Marq does the Headlines Sports podcasts each Wednesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Red Sox sweep series to extend A’s losing streak to six games

Published on by rxsluggerLeave a comment

Photo credit: @Athletics

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Oakland A’s lost to the Boston Red Sox Wednesday afternoon at Fenway Park again to extend their losing streak to six games. The Red Sox won the game 7-3 and swept the series from the A’s and won the season series 4-3. The A’s offense slumbered through eight innings before waking up in the ninth when they put two runs on the board. It was too little, too late.

Mike Fiers started for Oakland and took the loss. Fiers pitched five innings and allowed three runs on five hits. Fiers allowed his ninth round-tripper of the year when Mitch Moreland hit a solo homer into the seats of the Green Monster in the fourth inning.

The A’s grabbed the early lead in the top of the second. The Red Sox tied the game in their half of the second. The Sox added one run in the fourth on Moreland’s blast and one in the fifth to take the lead 3-1 and end Fiers’ day.

The Red Sox added three in the bottom of the sixth. A’s manager Bob Melvin brought in J.B.Wendelken to pitch. Boston had the bases loaded with two out when Tzu-Wei Lin reached on an infield single. Andrew Benintendi singled to left center to drive in two more, and Boston was in the driver’s seat 6-1.

Red Sox catcher Christian Vasquez homered to lead off the seventh and extended Boston’s advantage 7-1.

The A’s offense came to life in the top of the ninth. Matt Chapman led off the frame with a double to center field off Red Sox reliever Tyler Thornburg. Khris Davis followed with a double down the left field line to drive in Davis. Thornburg retired the next two A’s hitters, but Chad Pinder was able to beat him with a double to drive in Davis. The A’s could do no more, and the game was over.

Game Notes: With the loss, the A’s fall to 14-19. Mike Fiers saw his record drop to 2-3. The Red Sox improve to 14-17. The winning pitcher was Marcus Walden, who pitched three innings to see his record improve to 4-0.

The A’s used five pitchers while Boston primarily played a bullpen game. Hector Velasquez started and went just two innings. Marcus Walden pitched the next three. The Red Sox used four more pitchers to finish the game.

The A’s are 0-6 on the nine-game road trip. They are 4-11 so far this year on the road. The line score for Oakland was three runs, seven hits, and no errors. They had just four hits through eight innings, and the offense looked inept. The Red Sox line was seven runs, nine hits, and no errors. Mitch Moreland and Christian Vasquez homered for Boston.

Time of game was two hours and 55 minutes. 33,708 people watched the game in chilly 50-degree weather under overcast skies.

Up Next: The A’s are off on Thursday. They travel to Pittsburgh to play the Pirates in interleague play. The A’s will not be able to use the DH as the game will be performed using National League rules. The A’s return home and start a three-game series against the Cincinnati Reds next Tuesday.

San Francisco 49ers Draft Grades Report

Published on by joelamiLeave a comment

latimes.com photo: San Francisco 49ers first round second overall draft choice from Ohio State dawning the Buckeye liner inside his sportscoat — defensive end Nick Bosa.

By Joe Lami

SANTA CLARA — The 2019 NFL Draft has come and gone for the San Francisco 49ers and it can’t be more crucial for the Niners to hit a grand slam on most of their picks if they hope to turn it around. Finishing with the second-worst record in the league has given them the opportunity to strike gold.

Round 1, 2nd Overall Nick Bosa (EDGE, Ohio State)

Grade: B

With Kyler Murray selected first overall by the Cardinals, the Niners had their choice of the top defensive prospect in the draft. Unsurprisingly, they take Nick Bosa, who’s considered the top player in the draft.

Bosa only played three games this year for Ohio State before sitting the rest of the season with a core muscle injury. However, he was incredible his Junior season as a Buckeye, getting eight sacks in 14 games despite just starting in four.

This has the chance of being a home-run pick for the Niners, but there are a few red flags with Bosa. Aside from his troubling tweets, he comes from a football family that tends to look at it more as a business. His biggest comparable his is older brother Joey, who has been elite while on the field but has also had a lengthy injury history.

The injury trouble could just be the beginning and while it was a business decision to sit out his last year of school, what’s going to change now that he’s pro?

Round 2, 36th Overall Deebo Samuel (WR, South Carolina)

Grade: C

With their second selection, the Niners brought help to Jimmy Garoppolo with Samuel. Samuel comes from a very bad SEC team and was the only offense the Gamecocks really had. He scored a combined 12 TDs his senior season playing both as a wideout and returner. He was All-SEC as a returner and second-team as a receiver.

The slot receiver’s biggest knock is that he might need scheme to open him up but no one can do that better than Kyle Shanahan. He also has an injury past, dealing with hamstrings.

While the Niners needed a slot receiver, I would’ve preferred they take sure-hand receiver Hunter Renfroe (5th round to Oakland) in a later round. I think the need to shore up the offensive line or take a defensive back would have been more valuable at this position.

There were two offensive linemen that had first-round value available at this spot in Cody Ford (Guard, Oklahoma) and Greg Little (Tackle, Ole Miss) that I would have much higher on my draft board.

Greedy Williams was also available here, who is an electric DB from LSU. He can go up and catch any ball but he had issues with tackling. I think the tackling knock on him would’ve gone away with some mentorship from Richard Sherman.

Round 3, 67th Overall Jalen Hurd (WR, Baylor)

Grade: C

Tennessee five-star recruit running back out of high school was incredible for the Vols until he suffered a concussion. The concussion made him want to move position to receiver. Tennessee said no, so he transferred to Baylor.

At Baylor, he was named Big 12 Newcomer of the Year catching 69 balls for 946 yards and four touchdowns.

This dude is athletic and fun to watch but he’s coming off a knee procedure and lacks experience at the position. He’s a boom or bust style player that will be a project for Shanahan.

Round 4, 110 Overall Mitch Wishnowsky (Punter, Utah)

Grade: D

Drafting purely for need after the departure of Pinion, taking a punter in the fourth round while still having great secondary pieces on the board makes zero sense. Wishnowsky, a converted Aussie Rules player, should be good though. The Niners took the best punter available, who won the Ray Guy Award in 2016 and was nominated in 2017 and 2018.

Oh yeah? Should I mention they traded up for this pick?

Round 5, 148th Overall Dre Greenlaw (Linebacker, Arkansas)

Grade D+

Dre Greenlaw is a small linebacker that started all four years for the Razorbacks. He was fairly good against the pass with two interceptions in nine games his senior season. He lost games due to injury battling an injured foot and high ankle sprain.

According to NFL.com he looks small and plays small and is valued as a low seventh-rounder to free agent pick-up. One NFC scout said, “Good athlete. Former safety. He runs well, but I don’t think he’s tough enough to trust him in a game. He better be really good on special teams unless he finds more dog inside him”.

Hunter Renfroe was selected with the next pick.

Round 6, 176th Overall Kaden Smith (Tight End, Stanford)

Grade: B

The Niners add Kaden Smith to George Kittle at Tight End. The Stanford connection and John Lynch strike again with this pick, but you can’t argue against Tight Ends out of Stanford.

This guy has great hands and can catch balls over the top, especially with inaccurate. He’s a one-hit wonder, but he does that one thing pretty well. Don’t expect great blocking out of him or even route running. He’s a vertical threat at the intermediate level.

Round 6, 183rd Overall Justin Skule (Tackle, Vanderbilt)

Grade: C+

Niners finally pick up the need they have at the O-Line. This guy is a bit of a gamble due to lack of athleticism and failing to play low enough. But the guy is a grinder that was always looking for extra work as a left tackle for 40 games in the SEC. If he can handle that conference well, he’s worth the risk at this part of the draft.

I don’t see him stacking up well at tackle, but he may be able to become a steady interior guy.

Round 6, 198th Overall Tim Harris (Cornerback, Virginia)

Grade: C-

The Niners traded up to take a stretch on an athletic corner from Virginia. Tim Harris is a double red-shirt due to injury-ridden seasons but still dominated his pro day; running, a 4.45 40, jumping a 39-vertical, and 11-7 broad jump.

According to NFL.com, there are concerns on his tape that he will most likely struggle in the show, not having enough football IQ to keep up. But the kid is athletic as hell and Shanahan and Lynch must see enough to think they can teach it. Another gamble pick.

Overall, the Niners did just okay. The main connection and problem between all of these players is they have an injury past. As Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle pointed out this being the theme of the off-season. If all these players stay healthy, this could be a very good draft for the Niners, but that’s a risk they’re willing to take.

Warriors defeat the Rockets 115-109 to lead the series 2-0

Published on by rxsluggerLeave a comment

Photo credit: @warriors

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Golden State Warriors, using the Hampton’s Five lineup for the second game in a row, held on to beat the Houston Rockets 115-109.

The Warriors led from start to finish. They caused the Rockets to commit 13 turnovers in the first half, and they put 20 points on the board as a result. The Rockets, to their credit, stayed close as they made 10 three-pointers in the first half. The Warriors made just four.

Steph Curry had to leave the game in the second quarter when he injured his left hand trying to swat a shot attempt by Clint Capela. Curry went to the locker room for an x-ray and treatment. Nothing was broken, but he dislocated his middle finger on his left hand. Curry returned to action but appeared to be having trouble shooting the basketball as two fingers on his left hand were taped. James Harden also went to the locker room for treatment. Harden was struck in his left eye by Draymond Green. There was no foul on the play, and Draymond talked to Harden telling him that it was not intentional. Harden returned later after having some difficulty with his vision.

The Warriors won the first quarter 29-20. They were playing defense, and the offense was percolating. The Rockets played the Warriors even in the second quarter. Austin Rivers, filling in for Harden, kept the Rockets in the game as he knocked down three threes and finished the first half with 11. Clint Capela played much better Tuesday night. He ended the first half with seven points and seven rebounds.

The Warriors led by nine 58-49 at the end of the first half. The Rockets made 10 threes good for 30 points and kept themselves in the game.

Klay Thompson led the Warriors with 13 points. Kevin Durant had 12 points, Draymond Green had seven points and seven boards, Steph Curry had 10 points, and Andre Iguodala had 10 points.

James Harden led the Rockets with 12 points. Chris Paul had eight points, P.J. Tucker had six points, and Eric Gordon, who scored 27 on Sunday, was held to two points.

In the third quarter, the Rockets outscored the Warriorss 26-24 to finish the quarter trailing by seven 82-75. The Rockets trailed by 15 until they went on an 8-0 run at the end of the period. The Rockets cut the lead to four 84-80, but Shaun Livingston came through with two clutch baskets and the Warriors led 88-80.

The Rockets kept coming back. They trailed 93-90, but Steph Curry hit a three and Andre Iguodala followed with a bucket. Klay Thompson also hit a deuce, and the Warriors led 100-90 with 4:45 left to play. The Warriorss increased the lead to 12 104-92 as they went on an 11-2 run. James Harden refused to quit. Harden’s eye was bothering him all night long, but he kept attacking. He continued to drive the lane, and when he was bottled up, he tried to make a three-point shot. The Warriors were able to hang on to beat the Rockets by a final of 115-109.

Game Notes: All five Warrior starters were in double figures. Draymond Green had a double-double with 15 points, 13 rebounds, and seven assists. Kevin Durant led the team with 29. Durant made three threes in seven tries. Klay Thompson had 21. Thompson also made three threes. Thompson made two threes in a row in the third quarter that helped the Warriors maintain their lead. Steph Curry finished with 20. Curry also made three threes and was 3 for 13 in that department. Andre Iguodala tallied 16 and helped out with two threes.

James Harden led the Rockets with 29 points. Chris Paul had 18 points, Eric Gordon had 15 points, Clint Capela had 14 points and P.J.Tucker had 13 points. The Rockets committed four turnovers in the second half.

The team stats looked like this: The Rockets were 36 for 77 from the floor. The Warriors took 14 more shots and were 42 for 91. The Rockets made 17 threes. The Warriors made 11. The Warriors outrebounded the Rockets 46-41 and had 18 offensive boards while Houston’s total was 10. The Warriors had 10 steals and five blocked shots.

The referees did an outstanding job Tuesday night, and neither team appeared to criticize the crew that worked Game 2 of the series.

Up Next: Game 3 of the best of seven series will be played in Houston on Saturday. Game time will be at 5:30 pm. The three-day layoff will give the players a chance to get some rest after the grueling first two games of the series.

A’s road woes continue as they lose their fifth in a row

Published on by rxsluggerLeave a comment

Photo credit: @Athletics

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Boston Red Sox, behind a terrific performance by Rick Porcello, sent the Oakland A’s down to their fifth consecutive loss Tuesday night 5-1 at Fenway Park. Porcello was in command as he went eight innings and allowed just two hits and no runs. He threw a season-high 114 pitches.

A’s starter Aaron Brooks lasted only 4 1/3 innings and absorbed his third loss of the season. Brooks continued to give up gopher balls. The Red Sox hit two and Brooks has now surrendered eight long shots so far this year.

In the bottom of the first, with one out, Mookie Betts, the reigning AL MVP, homered to center field to give the Red Sox an early 1-0 advantage. Boston added another run in the second. With one out, rookie second baseman Michael Chavis singled to center. Brooks walked Mitch Moreland to put runners at first and second. Chavis advanced to third on a fielder’s choice and scored on Sandy Leon’s single. Boston led 2-0 after two.

The Red Sox made it 4-0 in the fourth. Michael Chavis singled, and that was followed by Mitch Moreland’s eighth home run of the 2019 season. The Red Sox added an unearned run in their half of the fifth. Ramon Laureano dropped J.D. Martinez’ fly on the warning track in center field for a two-base error. Xander Bogaerts walked, and that was followed by a double to right field by Rafael Devers. A’s manager Bob Melvin walked to the mound and removed Brooks from the game. Brooks pitched 4 1/ innings and allowed six hits, five runs (four earned), walked three and struck out two. The A’s bullpen held the Red Sox scoreless the rest of the way.

The A’s only run came in the top of the ninth when left fielder Robbie Grossman hit his third homer of the year. Red Sox reliever Tyler Thornburg then retired the side to record the 5-1 win for Boston.

Game Notes: The A’s are now 14-18 for the year and are 0-5 on the nine-game road trip. The A’s play the final game of the three-game series Wednesday. at 10:05 am.

The Red Sox improve to 13-17. Both Rick Porcello and Aaron Brooks, are now 2-3.

Mike Fiers will pitch for the A’s on Wednesday. The Red Sox have not yet announced their starter.

Time of game was two hours and 35 minutes. 31,754 fans watched the game on a very chilly night in Boston. The temperature at the start of the game was just 50 degrees.

Sharks Take Game 3, Beat Avs 4-2 with Couture Hat Trick

Published on by M WalshLeave a comment

Photo credit:

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks took a 2-1 series lead over the Colorado Avalanche, winning 4-2 in Denver Tuesday. Three of the Sharks’ goals came from Logan Couture, and one from Timo Meier. Nathan MacKinnon and Matt Nieto scored for Colorado. Martin Jones made 25 saves for the win, and Philipp Grubauer made 27 saves in the loss.

After the game, Martin Jones said of Logan Couture: “He’s clutch, I mean big games, big moments in games, he’s the guy that, every time, you can rely on. So, he was huge again tonight.”

The Sharks took a 2-0 lead into the first intermission, but then saw the game tied 2-2 in the third period. Of the team’s response to this situation, Sharks head coach Peter DeBoer said:

I loved our response, it was even-keeled, there was no panic, you know, it was just ‘get out there and let’s get back at this.’ I think we knew, at that point it was 2-2, but, you know, we deserved to be in a different spot than that. We knew what was working for us and we just needed to get back to that.

Power plays were remarkably unproductive in the game. None scored and only one power play in the game generated more than one shot, Colorado’s in the second period. That one only got two shots.

Sharks defenseman Justin Braun said, of his team’s defensive success in the game: “I think it came down to the pk. You know, we did a really good job, they had a lot of good chances but we kept it out of the net.”

The Sharks had two power plays by the time the middle of the first period had gone by. They had few shots on those power plays that looked dangerous, but hit a lot of metal. The Avs had their first power play abbreviated as it overlapped with the Sharks’ second one. The power plays and the four-on-four added to the speed of the period, which didn’t generate any scoring until the last five minutes.

Logan Couture was able to score after a prolonged attack on the Colorado net, at 15:24. Grubauer made several saves before Couture put the puck past him with a reaching swipe at his own rebound. Assists went to Gus Nyquist and Timo Meier.

Timo Meier added another in the final minute of the period. Rushing in after intercepting the puck in the neutral zone, Meier blew past the unsuspecting defense and took the shot without slowing down. The puck rang the bar on its way in.

The shot count for the first period was 13-7 Sharks. The Sharks jumped right into the second with four shots in the first 90 seconds of the period. The Avs had two in those 90.

The Sharks had a great shift from the Couture-Meier-Kane line around the 3:20 mark. While the forwards kept the Avs locked in the defensive zone, defensemen Vlasic and Burns got some shots in to stir things up. A shot from Vlasic bounced up and over Grubauer, but managed to stay out. Before the 10-minute mark, the Sharks were on the power play and already had eleven shots to Colorado’s three.

The power play came from a high stick to Micheal Haley’s face. The Sharks did not score but the power play time kept the Avs on their heels. The teams traded penalties again as the period wore on but penalty killers were perfect in the second, technically.

Less than a second after the second Sharks power play expired, Ian Cole intercepted a stretch pass from Brent Burns. He got the puck right to Nathan MacKinnon as he flew off the bench and through the neutral zone. Burns was caught flat-footed as MacKinnon went around him and beat Jones with a quick shot. It was MacKinnon’s fifth of the playoffs. Cole got the lone assist.

The Sharks again outshot the Avs, 13-9 in the second. The Avs came out energized for the third, and got six shots in to the Sharks’ two in the first half of the period. The Sharks also took a too many men penalty at 6:02. Colorado got one shot in that power play, but there were signs of fatigue from the Sharks.

Erik Karlsson’s attempt to move the puck up the boards from behind the net was blocked by Tyson Jost and bounced harmlessly to the corner. That led to an extended attack from Colorado against Sharks, who had already been on the ice for too long. Samuel Girard’s shot came down from the blue line into traffic and went off of Matt Nieto, into the net at 11:45. It was Nieto’s fourth of the playoffs. Assists went to Girard and Cale Makar.

Despite appearances, the Sharks were not completely gassed yet, and they made their first significant push of the third into the offensive zone. After Gus Nyquist forced a turnover just inside the Colorado blue line, Logan Couture, who had been dawdling before leaving the zone, got the puck and had a clear lane to the net. With a couple of little moves, he avoided a defender’s stick and got Grubauer moving just enough to let the puck get by on the short side. It was Couture’s eighth of the playoffs. Nyquist got the assist.

Colorado finished the game on a power play, but they pulled their goaltender to add a sixth skater. Colorado could not really hold the zone and, after a few tries, the Sharks got an empty net goal. It was Couture’s for the hat trick.

Gus Nyquist was able to make it to the game even though he did not travel with the team. He stayed behind with his wife while she delivered their first child, a daughter named Charlotte.

After the game, Nyquist said: “It’ll be nice to lay down in bed tonight and think about a few good days.”

Game 4 will be Thursday at the Pepsi Center in Denver at 7:00 PM PT.