Josh Oliver was a Jacksonville Jaguars’ third round draft pick

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By: Ana Kieu

For San Jose State University tight end Josh Oliver, a dream came true on the second day of the 2019 NFL Draft as the Jacksonville Jaguars’ first selection in the third round.

Oliver was the 69th overall selection in the Draft. He was the fifth tight end, the second from the 12-team Mountain West, and the second player from one of the three Bay Area schools that included Pac-12 Conference members Stanford and Cal to hear his name announced in the Draft so far.

Video Highlights

“I like to pattern my game after Tony Gonzalez. As a freshman coming in (to San Jose State), my college coach showed me a lot of Tony Gonzalez tape and I’d like to do as much as he can,” Oliver said in his first interview with the Jaguars media. He will be united with new Jags offensive coordinator John DeFilippo, who had the same position at SJSU during the 2010 and 2011 seasons.

Oliver, the 6’5″, 250-lb tight end from Paso Robles, Calif., is the first SJSU player in 10 years to be chosen in the first three rounds of a Draft. In 2009, defensive lineman Jarron Gilbert, the 68th overall selection by the Chicago Bears, and cornerback Christopher Owens, the 90th overall pick by the Atlanta Falcons, were among the top 100 players drafted that year.

Oliver was a first-team All-MW choice as a senior in 2018. He caught a team-high 56 passes for 709 yards and four touchdowns. 38 of his receptions (67.8%) resulted in a first down, one of the top three percentages by a NCAA Division I FBS tight end last season. He concluded his college career playing in the 2019 Senior Bowl.

For SJSU, Oliver is the third tight end drafted by a NFL team since 1996. Brian Roche was a third-round draft choice, 81st overall selection, by the San Diego Chargers in 1996. In 2004, Courtney Anderson was an Oakland Raiders’ seventh round pick, 245th overall.

Sharks Start Round Two With a Win, Beat Avalanche 5-2

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Photo credit: @SanJoseSharks

By Mary Walsh

SAN JOSE — The San Jose Sharks won 5-2 Friday, defeating the Colorado Avalanche in the first game of the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Despite giving up the first goal, the Sharks roared back with three unanswered goals in the second period. The Sharks have scored five goals in four our of five playoff games this season. It has almost become a habit for them. Joe Thornton, Gus Nyquist, Kevin Labanc, Brent Burns and Timo Meier scored for the Sharks. Gabriel Bourque and Colin Wilson scored for the Avalanche. Martin Jones made 26 saves for the win, while Philipp Grubauer made 22 saves in the loss.

The Avs opened the scoring at 2:10 of the first period. Cale Makar put the puck on net with an awkward shot from the blue line. Jones stopped that, but left a rebound. Gabriel Bourque was moving across in front of the net as the rebound came out, so was able to sweep it around Jones near the post. Assists went to Makar and Tyson Jost. It was Bourque’s first of the playoffs.

Gus Nyquist tied the game, scoring his first of the playoffs in a remarkably similar fashion at 14:44. From an offensive zone face-off, Brent Burns got the puck and moved to the high slot for the shot. His shot deflected off of some traffic, but still got to Grubauer, who kicked out a rebound. Gus Nuquist was there to put it around the goalie and in. Assists went to Burns and Logan Couture.

The Avs had a goal called back due to a distinct kicking motion before the end of the period, so the teams went into the first intermission still tied at 1. Colorado outshot San Jose 13-9 in the first and won 47% of the face-offs.

Colorado got their first power play at 2:46 of the second. After a very good chance in the first minute, they scored in the second. Mikko Rantanen sent a hard pass from the boards to the slot, where Colin Wilson deflected it to the net through traffic. The puck touched another skate or stick before going under Jones. The goal went to Wilson with assists to Rantanen and Nathan McKinnon. It was Wilson’s third of the playoffs.

Moments after that goal, Brenden Dillon went to the box for four minutes after a high stick that drew blood from J.T. Compher. The Sharks were able to kill that off with good sticks that helped them get the puck clear a few times.

The Sharks tied it up not long after that kill. Marcus Sorensen blocked a shot in the Sharks zone, then took the puck the other way. Joe Thornton went with him, making it a two-on-one. Sorensen carried the puck well past the blue line and then sent it across to Thornton, who put it it away with a broad swipe of a shot. Sorensen got the assist. That was Thornton’s second of these playoffs.

Kevin Labanc gave the Sharks their first lead of the game at 16:02 with some nifty skating around the defense and a sharp wrister into the top corner. That was Labanc’s third of the playoffs. An assist went to Burns.

Marcus Sorensen provided a screen as he prepared to deflect a Brent Burns shot from the half boards. Cale Makar jostled him so he could not do that, but the shot went off of Makar instead. The puck went in on the far side of the net at 19:00. Assists went to Sorensen and Thornton, who had retrieved the puck from behind the net, sending it up the boards to Burns. It was Burns’ second of the playoffs.

The Sharks outshot Colorado 13-11 in the second, and won 43% of the face-offs.

The game finished with an almost scoreless, penalty-free third period. Colorado pulled their goaltender with a little more than two minutes to go but the Sharks held them off.

Timo Meier scored into the empty net at 19:31 to give the Sharks the fifth goal. A few seconds later, Matt Calvert and Brenden Dillon exchanged slashing penalties. Calvert got a double minor for that and Dillon just 2 minutes.

Game 2 will be Sunday at SAP Center in San Jose at 4:30 PM PT.

Warriors eliminate Clippers with 129-110 win in Game 6

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Photo credit: @warriors

By: Ana Kieu

It was a Game 6 showdown in LA on Friday night as the Golden State Warriors looked to close out the first-round series against the Los Angeles Clippers at the Staples Center.

Alfonzo McKinnie has taken a unique route to the NBA. The 26-year-old forward has paid for a G-League tryout, made stops to play 3×3 with international teams and played 14 games with the Toronto Raptors. Now, he has played in 5 playoff games with the Warriors and averaged 4 points and 3 rebounds, including 1 offensive rebound, in just under 10 minutes of action per game.

In case you missed it, Steph Curry became the only player in NBA history to reach 400 career postseason 3-pointers. Check out some of his best postseason 3s in the video below.

The Warriors reportedly talk about resiliency all the time, so they said it should be there Friday.

When asked about his mentality on Game 6, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said: “It’s human nature, as we just talked about. You get threatened, you lose, you don’t sleep that well, you can’t wait for the next game.”

“You win a couple on the road, you get a little happy, a little comfortable, and you lose your edge, and that’s all it takes. So, we’ll have our edge back tonight.”

Turns out, Golden State had resiliency in Game 6.

The Warriors’ starting five featured Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, Shaun Livingston, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson. Livingston started for the Warriors over Bogut. Livingston started his first career playoff game since 2016.

The Warriors started off slow, but fought back. The Clippers were up 7-2 at 10:26 of the first quarter, but Kevin Durant made a mid-range shot to reduce the deficit to 3. However, LAC went on a 9-0 run to take a 10-point lead over GS with 6:14 left in the first.

GS, however, picked up the pace and reduced the deficit to 4 with 5:18 left in the first. Durant had 8 points and 1 rebound at the time. Also, the Warrior defense converted into offense, which helped the cause. The Warriors used a 12-2 run to regain the lead 24-23 with 3:41 left in the first.

The Warriors stormed back for a 35-31 lead at the end of the first.

Kevin Durant made quite a few buckets, and as a result, put on a scoring clinic in the second quarter. The Warriors led 48-42 with 5:40 left in the second. Aside from Durant, Kevon Looney got a good amount of lobs in the second.

The Warriors’ largest lead was 59-47 with 3:09 left in the second. Kevin Durant made a pair of free throws, Andre Igoudala blocked a Clipper shot and the Warriors led 72-53 at the break.

Tonight, it wasn’t so much about the Splash Brothers, but Kevin Durant and Steph Curry instead. The Warriors maintained a double-digit lead throughout the third quarter. LAC went on a 18-8 run over five minutes, but Klay Thompson ended the Clipper run with a field goal. The Warriors led 84-71 with 4:45 left in the third.

Andre Iguodala threw down a one-handed dunk to extend the Warrior lead to 89-71 with 3:21 left in the third. Moreover, Kevin Durant became No. 9 in NBA Playoffs history for number of 3-pointers and set a new career playoff high with 46 points tonight (14 of 22 FG, 6 of 12 3FG).

Kevin Durant continued to make history with his 50th point with 7:01 left in the fourth quarter. Also, Andre Iguodala picked up the ball from a Clippers defender, spotted Steph Curry wide-open, Curry threw it back to Iguodala, who threw down a dunk that hit the rim. In addition, Green recorded a triple double with 16 points, 14 rebounds and 10 rebounds.

The Warriors won by a final score of 129-110.

Check out the Warriors’ final stats below.

The Warriors play the Houston Rockets in the second round of the 2019 NBA Playoffs.

San Francisco Giants podcast with Michael Duca: Most on IL at one time for Yankees; Giants coming off two-game sweep in Toronto

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bleacherreport.com file photo: The New York Yankees’ Giancarlo Stanton, who just recovered from a biceps injury, is now out with a sore left shoulder injury and will not be in the lineup against the San Francisco Giants tonight at Oracle Park in San Francisco.

On the San Francisco Giants podcast with Michael:

#1 The New York Yankees, who are in San Francisco tonight, had 13 players on the IL, which included starters and pitchers the most in April for the Yanks.

#2 The Yankees, who open a three-game series with the Giants tonight at Oracle, have won six of their last seven, which is pretty impressive considering all the injuries that they’ve had.

#3 The Yankees’ Giancarlo Stanton, who suffered from a biceps injury since April 1st has recovered from that injury, but now is suffering from a left shoulder injury and will not be in the lineup tonight.

#4 The Giants are coming off a two-game sweep of the Toronto Blue Jays from Tuesday and Wednesday’s games at Rogers Centre. The Giants got wins 7-6 and 4-0.

#5 The Yankees will start James Paxon (2-2, 3.10 ERA) against the Giants Madison Bumgarner (1-3, 3.66 ERA). Miguel talks about this matchup, which is expected to be a pretty pitching duel to open the series.

Michael Duca does the Giants podcast each Friday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs podcast with Joe Lami: Sharks’ Pavelski out for Game 1 tonight against Avs; Blues edge Stars in Game 1; plus more

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nbcsports.com photo: The San Jose Sharks’ Joe Pavelski (8) was laid out after hitting the ice head first after being cross-checked by the Vegas Golden Knights’ Cody Eakin (21). It was this cross-check that fired up the Sharks to score three third period comeback goals to tie and eventually win the game in overtime to advance to the second round at SAP Center on Tuesday night.

On the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs podcast with Joe:

#1 Joe takes a look at San Jose Sharks Joe Pavelski, who will not play in Game 1 on Friday night, after getting cross-checked and knocked out in Game 7, against the Colorado Avalanche. Pavelski had his teeth knocked out in game one to start the series. How soon do the Sharks expect Pavelski to return?

#2 The Dallas Stars and St. Louis Blues opened up their series on Thursday night. The Blues took the first game 3-2 on home ice with goals from Robby Frabbri, and two goals from Vladimir Tarasenko — one in the second period and one in the third.

#3 The Boston Bruins got a 3-2 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets in Game 1 of the second round. The Bruins’ Noel Acciari, and talk about Charlie Coyle, a goal that help tie the game at 2-2 in the third period and Coyle got the game-winner in overtime.

#4 The Carolina Hurricanes and New York Islanders face off tonight for game one in the second round. The Hurricanes are coming off a 4-3 series win over the Washington Capitals, which is not an easy task knocking out the champs. The Islanders got a 4-0 sweep over the Pittsburgh Penguins in round one.

Joe Lami does the NHL Stanley Cup Playoff podcast each Friday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary: Venezuelan MLB Players Are Moving Families to the US

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Photo credit: @VOANews

By: Amaury Pi-Gonzalez

According to the United Nations’ estimate, more than three million Venezuelans have left Venezuela. Most of them left by foot into neighboring Colombia. Nicolas Maduro, the socialist dictator of Venezuela and disciple of Hugo Chavez and Fidel Castro, has destroyed the economy of what was once the richest country in Latin America. Venezuela was one of the world’s top oil producers. Venezuela’s current exodus is the biggest in the world at this time. No country has lost more people during the last two years than Venezuela.

Since last season, I have spoken to numerous Venezuelan-born MLB players. They are second to Dominican Republic-born players as of today — as far as Latin American-born players playing in the big leagues goes. The majority of them, especially the ones established as stars, could not take the risk of coming to the US to play for their teams and leave their families behind. It is way too risky, especially in the case of MLB players who everybody knows makes millions of dollars. They expose their families to kidnapping for money and violence against women and children of these families. Because of the untenable situation, and the internet, which is read by people all over the world, I did not wanted to disclose the names of these players.

It is a sad state of affairs for the land of Simon Bolivar (El Libertador).

Translation: The Liberator, who fought against Spain for the independence of Venezuela in the 1800’s. To make it simpler, Simon Bolivar was like the Abraham Lincoln of Venezuela. One of Bolivar’s revolutionary ideas was to make all of South America, one big nation like the United States of America, but the United States of South America. It would have to include Brazil, the largest country of South America and Latin America. Obviously, history has it as a great idea, which would have made South America one of the richest and biggest countries in the world, but it never materialized.

Venezuela is the home country of Hall of Fame player Luis Aparicio and many other players that have played in the US. It is the land of great shortstops: Chico Carrasquel, Luis Aparico, Dave Concepcion, Omar Vizquel, Ozzie Guillen and vice versa. In the future, Venezuelan-born playersmimi like Detroit Tigers first baseman Miguel Cabrera will be inducted into the HOF.

We can all hope that Venezuela’s situation can be resolved soon and the country can make a comeback and be a democracy for their people. Like in most of Latin American countries (and dictatorships), the government does not suffer, it is the common people that today in Caracas, the capital of Venezuela, which was once a thriving metropolis, have to wait hours in line just to get clean water. The hospitals are in shambles and in need of medicine. Food is scarce and when there is a demonstration against Maduro, it is not a few thousand that take to the streets, but hundreds of thousands.

As of today, some 51 countries in the world, including the US, recognize Juan Guaido, the young opposition leader, as the real Venezuelan President. I pray that there will be no civil war in Venezuela because that would be a bloody one for a great country.

Giants gear up for Yankees this weekend

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Photo credit: @SFGiants

By Jeremy Harness

The Giants are riding a bit of a winning streak, and they look to add to the momentum against a New York Yankees team that is struggling to put a lineup together these days.

Left-hander Madison Bumgarner (1-3, 3.66 ERA) will take the hill Friday night at Oracle Park, and he will go up against Yankees lefty James Paxton (2-2, 3.10 ERA) when the two teams kick off a three-game weekend series.

The Giants and Yankees last met at Yankee Stadium in July 2016, when New York took two of the three-game series. New York also holds the all-time regular-season series advantage over the Giants, 5-4, while they have seen each other several times in the postseason, dating back to 1921.

Meanwhile, the Yankees are dealing with all kinds of injuries, and the Giants might be catching them at the right time.

Slugger Giancarlo Stanton has been getting ready to return to the lineup after being down since April 1 with a biceps injury. However, the return has been put on hold for now, as he is now reportedly suffering from a sore left shoulder.

The other big cog in the lineup, Aaron Judge, became sidelined after suffering what has been called a “pretty significant” oblique injury this past weekend. All of this means that neither player will be playing this weekend at Oracle Park for the three-game series.

The Yankees have also been without infielders Aaron Hicks and Troy Tulowitzki as well as right-hander Luis Severino, and they will be out of the lineup until further notice.

Lefty Derek Holland (1-3, 4.33 ERA) will take the ball Saturday afternoon opposite New York righty J.A. Happ (0-2, 5.96 ERA), while Dereck Rodriguez (3-2, 3.54 ERA) goes for the Giants Sunday afternoon against Yankees righty Domingo German (4-1, 1.75 ERA).

A’s Report: Alameda County, A’s reach agreement for possible 50% Coliseum purchase

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Photo credit: @Vince_Cestone

By Daniel Dullum
Sports Radio Service
Thursday, April 25, 2019

On Tuesday, the Athletics announced that the Alameda County Board of Supervisors voted 5-0 to approve the term sheet between the County and the Oakland Athletics providing for the possible purchase by the A’s of the County’s 50 percent interest in the Oakland Alameda County Coliseum Complex for $85 million.

The County Board of Supervisors and the A’s will now work to draft acquisition documents based on the non-binding term sheet. The final acquisition documents will require approval by the Board of Supervisors.

The Coliseum site is currently owned jointly by the City of Oakland and Alameda County. If the transaction is finalized, the A’s will own the County’s 50 percent interest in the site.

In November 2018, the A’s unveiled their vision for the redevelopment of the Coliseum site, seeking to transform the current Coliseum site in ways that will address several specific community needs and opportunities expressed by East Oakland residents.

Working with the city, public agencies, and community residents, the A’s seek to revitalize the Coliseum site by pulling the adjacent neighborhood fabric into the site and creating new economic, cultural, and recreational opportunities.

Preliminary plans include a large park, surrounded by substantial new housing, including affordable housing, a skills center, community gathering space, office and retail developments, and restaurants.

The new park would be anchored by the two focal points of Oakland sports history: Oracle Arena, repurposed as a concert and cultural events center; and the original Coliseum baseball diamond, preserved to inspire the next generation of ballplayers.

There was, however, no further statement concerning the possible construction of a new baseball stadium on the current Coliseum site.

OL’ CROOKED HAT TIES CY
Around the Turn of the Century, “Cy” Young pitched in 906 major league games. A’s reliever Fernando Rodney pitched his 906th career game last Saturday against Toronto.

There is, of course, a difference. Hall of Famer Young started 815 of his games, and Rodney has not started a game since his MLB debut in 2002.

Rodney, by the way, is fifth on the all-time list for games without a start. John Franco is first with 1,119, followed by Kent Tekulve with 1,050, Trevor Hoffman (1,035) and Francisco Rodriguez (948).

Rodney is also the last active MLB player who was born in the 1970s.

A’s FACE TORONTO THIS WEEKEND
The A’s will try to avenge a three-game sweep they suffered at the hands of Toronto last week, when they start a three-game weekend home series against the Blue Jays on Friday.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr., the Blue Jays’ top prospect, is expected to be in the Toronto lineup. Guerrero was called up from Triple-A Buffalo on Wednesday. He was hitting .367, with a .424 OBP, three home runs and eight RBIs at Buffalo.

Friday’s probables are righthanders Marcus Stroman (1-3, 1.76) for Toronto and Mike Fiers (2-2, 8.28) for Oakland.

NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs/San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa Walsh: Lucky bounces or rejuvenated? Sharks fired up for second round after Vegas

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Photo credit: @SanJoseSharks

On the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs and Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa:

#1 There is little doubt that after the Sharks’ Joe Pavelski got laid out on a cross check, The Sharks got fired up and rallied in the third period to force a comeback tie with the Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday night.

#2 After being down 3-1, Sharks goals came from Logan Couture (2), Tomas Hertl, Kevin Labanc and Barclay Goodrow to tie up the contest. After the Pavelski cross check, the Sharks did it for their team captain.

#3 Down 3-1 in the series and home ice, the Sharks are a team noted for coming back when the chips are down.

#4 After some inspiration, the team seems rejuvenated and after Tuesday’s game seven, said they’re fired up about moving onto the next round against the Colorado Avalanche on Friday night.

#5 For Sharks head coach Pete DeBoer, how does a coach get a team up for a third period after being down 3-1 in the series? Tell us the kind of job DeBoer had to go through to come back from being down 3-1.

Mary Lisa does the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs podcast each Thursday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Headline Sports podcast with Tony Renteria: What went wrong with Golden State? Clippers just a little better in the end; Did LA pick up on Warrior defense?

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Photo credit: @theScoreNBA

On the Headline Sports podcast with Tony Renteria:

#1 The Warriors tried and tried to stay ahead of the Clippers on Wednesday night in Oakland, but fell just a few points short in the end. Was it a matter of the Clippers were the better team or was it a matter of the Warriors just had a close but off night?

#2 In a game when your short some seven or eight points, what lacked from the Warriors’ skill set? Were guys letting up or the Clippers were setting up the shot without the pressure and through these playoffs the Clips were able to learn some weaknesses in the Warrior defense?

#3 It was no doubt a team effort by LA from Lou Williams (33 pts), Danilo Gallinari (26 pits), and Montrezl Harrell (24 pts), who led the Clips in scoring.

#4 The Clips are down 3-2 in the series, but you never know what team is going to show up. They came back and erased a 31-point lead by Golden State in Game 2 and they held on in Oakland to win by eight 129-121 on Wednesday night to win Game 5. Is this a fluke or they can come out and do it again?

#5 On the Warriors side, Kevin Durant came out with 45 points, Stephen Curry with 24 pts and Klay Thompson with 22 points. Some nights you can do all you can, but you just end up short. These guys put it all out there on Wednesday.

#6 Lastly in NBA news, did Magic Johnson’s resignation as Los Angeles Lakers team president take you by surprise? He reportedly left  because he saw a negative email that was blindly Bcc’d to him that was written between team owner Jeannie Buss and team general manager Rob Pelinka that said Magic wasn’t getting the job done. Magic decided it was time to resign and met with the media to make the announcement without first giving notice to Buss or Pelinka.

Tony Renteria does Headline Sports each Thursday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com