That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary: Oakland A’s — Alameda County supervisors vote this Tuesday

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Photo credit: @OTBaseballPhoto

By: Amaury Pi-Gonzalez

OAKLAND — Alameda County Supervisors will vote this Tuesday to negotiate a deal that would sell the Oakland Coliseum to the city of Oakland. This is the first time that Alameda County said they want to sell its share.

The Oakland A’s have shown interest in buying the Coliseum in order to build an entertainment center, business park or maybe building a new park for the A’s at that same location,where they have played since 1968.

For years now, I have been a proponent on the idea the A’s build their new park at the same location of the Coliseum. I know it is not downtown, but it makes sense.

The Mayor of Oakland Libby Schaaf and A’s president Dave Kaval said in early March that the city and the team are seeking to enter into exclusive negotiating agreements to explore both the Coliseum complex and the waterfront Howard Terminal as possible sites for a new baseball stadium. Years ago I remember I attended a meeting of supporters for a new A’s park in Fremont (next to Hwy 680). However, a bunch of Fremont residents resisted the idea, and the A’s plans for Fremont went Adios. Fremont today has the fourth largest population in the Bay Area (235,000) only San Jose, San Francisco and Oakland have larger population than Fremont in the nine-county Bay Area, and in a few years, BART would go all the way to San Jose. Obviously, building the new park at Howard Terminal is a little complicated, compared to the whole idea that if the Supervisors of Alameda County vote in favor of selling to Oakland, it will facilitate Oakland and the A’s to come to an agreement, which they already said they want, and the A’s would build their new home at the Coliseum site. In my opinion, this is the best plan. Although, I know very well the times I have spoken to Kaval that he is definitely focused on Howard Terminal as their #1 choice with the “safe” option that #2 is the same area as the Coliseum. At the end of this story it might prove to be the same location they play today, were the A’s will settle down.

For one, BART (Bay Area Rapid Transistor), who carries thousands of A’s fans to the Coliseum from all-over the Bay Area, would be happy to build right there. They have a station within walking distance from the Coliseum, about a 10-15 minute walk from behind left field right into the park. If the A’s and Oakland can reach a deal after Alameda County sells to the city of Oakland, BART will be very happy as they never been really enthusiastic with the Howard Terminal location. Let’s face it, BART is a big deal for the A’s, the traffic in the Bay Area is getting worse by the minute. We are not LA, but we are getting there, especially with the expansion of people working in Silicon Valley.

The path is now clear for the A’s. If it happens next week, the Alameda Board of Supervisors sell to Oakland.

The Warriors will be gone, the Raiders — only God knows where they will be, but the A’s — once and for all — might be able to control their own future as far as a new home is concerned.

Happy Easter!

Happy Passover!

San Francisco Giants podcast with Michael Duca: Giants struggle with Nats; Hope to turn it around in Pittsburgh

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photo from msnsports.com: Washington Nationals Wilmer Difo takes San Francisco Giants pitcher Drew Pomeranz deep in the fourth inning for his first home run of the season at Nationals Park in Washington DC.

On the SF Giants podcast with Miguel:

#1 The Giants dropped two out of three to the Washington Nationals. On Thursday, Nats pitchers Patrick Corbin and Sean Doolittle both gave up just one run apiece for the 4-2 win.

#2 The Giants scored a run in the eighth and ninth innings. It wasn’t a rally, but it seemed like they came on late in games and Wednesday night wasn’t an exception either when they scored four runs in the top of the ninth, but came up short as well.

#3 Giants starter Drew Pomeranz threw for 4.2 innings, six hits, four runs, three walks and seven strikeouts. He pitched well, but dropped his record to 0-2.

#4 On the other hand, the Nats got some pitching from starter Patrick Corbin, who threw a distance 7.2 innings, one run, two hits, and nine strikeouts. Talk about his body of work.

#5 The Giants open up a series next against the Pittsburgh Pirates Friday night at PNC Park. It’ll be Giants starter Madison Bumgarner (1-2 3.12 ERA) against the Bucs’ Jordan Lyles (1-0 0.82 ERA). Can the Giants score off a starter who has an ERA lower than 1.00?

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

Richard Washington signs with San Jose State men’s basketball

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By: Ana Kieu

SAN JOSE, Calif. — San Jose State men’s basketball has signed guard Richard Washington, a transfer from Tallahassee Community College, as part of their 2019-20 class, head coach Jean Prioleau announced on Thursday.

Washington comes to the South Bay after two seasons at Wake Forest and one season at TCC in Tallahassee, Fla. A product of Newport News, Va., Washington averaged 16.6 points per game at Tallahassee last season as a sophomore in 29 games and was named First Team All-Panhandle Conference.

“We are excited to welcome Richard to San Jose State,” Prioleau said. “He is a guy that brings a lot of experience, is a really good scorer and we feel he will be a great addition to San Jose State Basketball.”

Last season, Washington shot 46.2% from the field and held a 35.8% clip from 3-point range. He also pulled down 8.1 rebounds and tallied 3.1 assists per game. The 6’6″ guard had his best game against Andrew College on Nov. 28, 2018 as he set school records of 45 points and 10 treys.

Washington is rated the 18th-best junior college prospect of 2019 according to 247 Sports.

“Richard is an exceptionally hard-working student athlete who is destined for great things at San Jose State,” Tallahassee CC head coach Zach Settembre said. “Spartan Nation is getting a mature young man with high character and a very specific vision for his future. Rich is an elite shot maker, excellent passer and knows how to demand the best from both himself and his teammates. He is a proven winner, and Tallahassee Community College is thrilled that he is representing us at the Division I level in the Mountain West Conference.”

Prior to his stint at TCC, Washington spent two seasons playing for head coach Danny Manning at Wake Forest. Washington appeared in eight games off the bench as a freshman in 2016-17, but was sidelined in 2017-18 due to an injury and redshirted the season.

Washington played his high school ball at Walsingham Academy in Williamsburg, Va., where was a consensus three star prospect and rated as one of the top-30 players at his position by ESPN. A two-time all-state selection, he tallied 1,432 points during his junior and senior seasons, and was named MVP at four high school tournaments.

“I’m so grateful Coach Prioleau gave me this opportunity to play the game I love,” Washington said. “I’m really excited about what I feel we can accomplish. This means so much to me and I hope I can make the most out of it.”

Washington is the second signee in 2019-20, joining Omari Moore, who signed in Nov. He’ll have two years to play two at SJSU.

Sharks Avoid Elimination, Beat Knights 5-2 to Force Game 6

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Photo credit: @SanJoseSharks

By Jerry Feitelberg

The San Jose Sharks staved off elimination Thursday night, beating the Vegas Golden Knights 5-2 in Game 5 of the opening round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs to put the series at a 3-2 advantage for Vegas. Martin Jones had arguably his best game of the series after being pulled in two of the previous contests and Tomas Hertl scored a pair of goals. Vegas netted a pair of power play goals on both of their man-advantage attempts.

San Jose looked to keep Vegas off the board in the opening minutes after allowing a goal in the opening seconds in every period of Game 4. They were up to the test, locking Vegas down and even scoring 1:16 into the game. Tomas Hertl beat Marc-Andre Fleury for his third goal of the playoffs, with Erik Karlsson picking up an assist.

The Sharks built on the rare lead in the series after trailing in every game except game one, scoring on Logan Couture’s third goal of the series after tucking in a loose puck when Timo Meier’s original shot sat between Fleury’s pads 11:06 into play.

Vegas picked up a goal after Evander Kane was given the gate for a high-sticking penalty with 1:43 left in the first period. On the ensuing power play the puck bounced off Reilly Smith’s skate with 30 seconds left in the frame to cut the Sharks lead to 2-1.

Barclay Goodrow tipped a Justin Braun shot past Fleury 12:22 into the second period for his first goal of the series, but that’d be it for scoring in the middle stanza. Vegas would score again 11:36 into the third period on Jonathan Marchessault’s second of the series after Erik Karlsson was given a questionable tripping penalty.

First, Jones made an unbelievable cross-crease save to keep out the tying goal, then Hertl allowed the Sharks to breath a little easier when he fired a rebound just outside the crease past Fleury for a 4-2 lead on the power play at the 14:45 mark. Logan Couture drew the penalty after being high-sticked. The centerman lost a couple teeth in the process, but at first glance, seemed to show the referees not calling a penalty while Couture lay on the ice. A conference of the officials ultimately yielded a power play for the Sharks.

Joe Pavelski added the empty-netter with 1:46 to ice the game. Jones made 30 saves to silence any doubters for one night.

Game 6 will be played Sunday at T-Mobile Arena, with the time to be determined. If a Game 7 is necessary, the series will shift back to San Jose Tuesday night.

Kevin Durant was trustworthy in Warriors’ Game 3 win over the Clippers

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Photo credit: @usatodaypost2

By Joe Hawkes-Beamon
SRS Contributor

Can the notion that Kevin Durant can’t be trusted as a Golden State Warrior be buried six feet under?

Ever since the Warriors surrendered a historic 31-point lead on Monday night to the Clippers which allowed Los Angeles to steal Game 2 with a 135-131 victory that tied the first-round series 1-1, all the talk was the amount of shots that Durant took (8), the amount of turnovers he committed (9), and that Clippers defensive point guard Patrick Beverley was in his head.

Well, Durant exploded and was indeed trustworthy in Game 3, scoring a game-high 38 points on 14-of-23 shooting to lead the Golden State Warriors to a commanding 132-105 victory to take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-7 series. Durant finished with seven assists, four rebounds and five turnovers.

Game 4 is Sunday at Staples Center.

Golden State came out firing in the first quarter, jumping all over Los Angeles with a 22-9 run while shooting a blistering 73-percent from the floor. The Warriors took the crowd out of the game early and just dominated the Clippers wire-to-wire.

Durant was a major reason for such an emphatic response by Golden State in Game 3, drilling his first five shots and both his free throws for 12 points in the first quarter. Along with Stephen Curry’s 13 points, Golden State built a 19-point lead before the Clippers blinked. Both Durant and Curry picked up two fouls early.

Curry finished with 21 points, but was whistled for five fouls total.

By halftime with the Warriors holding a commanding 73-52 lead, Durant had 27 points on 10-of-15 field goals, tying a postseason career-high.

Golden State put the game out of reach once Curry drew his fourth foul in the third quarter. The Warriors scored 14 straight points to lead 88-57.

The lead grew up to as much as 35 points for the Warriors, thanks to Alfonzo McKinnie’s 3-pointer late in the quarter.

The real story was Durant, who had to hear that the aforementioned Beverley was in his head for the past three days. Durant torched the Clippers and Beverley for 30 minutes on Thursday night that he didn’t even play in the fourth quarter.

It’s safe to say that had Durant played in the fourth quarter, he would’ve dropped 40 points easily.

Heck, 50 points wouldn’t been out of the question.

Giants back to the skids, lose 4-2 to the Nats

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By Jeremy Harness

After a promising start to this road trip, the Giants are back to a way of losing that has gripped them over the past year.

They surprised the Washington Nationals in the series opener on Tuesday, but were bombed out of Nationals Park on Wednesday and came out flat again on Thursday, losing by a count of 4-2 to drop the three-game series.

The Nationals scored the first four runs, the last one coming in the bottom of the fifth, when starter Drew Pomeranz walked in a run, after which he was pulled from the game in favor of reliever Trevor Gott.

Gott, along with Sam Dyson, Travis Bergen and Mark Melancon, combined to shut out Washington the rest of the way, but the damage was already done and the Giants bats could not bring them back.

Catcher Erik Kratz doubled in a run in the eighth, and Evan Longoria singled in a run in the ninth, But it was not nearly enough.

Frustration appeared to have boiled over in the fourth, as Brandon Belt was called out on strikes, on a pitch that looked like it was more than a few inches off the plate. As a result, Belt slammed his helmet down and flipped his bat to the side, because of which he was thrown out by home plate umpire Ryan Additon.

On the bright side, the once-maligned Melancon pitched a perfect ninth on Thursday while striking out two, keeping his ERA at 0.00 with nine innings pitched this year. Sure, it is a small sample size thus far, but it is a far cry from his 2018 campaign.

The Giants open a three-game series in Pittsburgh against the Pirates. Their series opener has been set for Friday at 4:05 pm PT.

Warriors take 2-1 series lead with 132-105 rout of Clippers in Game 3

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By: Ana Kieu

The Golden State Warriors headed down to the Southland for Game 3 against the Los Angeles Clippers at Staples Center Thursday night. The Warriors had one agenda: Win the game for a 2-1 series lead.

The Warriors sure knew how to celebrate National High Five Day, and guess what else happened? Some French fans flew out to LA to support the Warriors, which was a pleasant sight to see. The French love their pro basketball.

The Warriors’ starting five featured Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and Andrew Bogut. The Warriors were locked in during practice, the game went underway in LA and the dominance continued.

The game’s first bucket went to Kevin Durant. Durant scored the clutch basket at 11:16 of the first quarter. With the point, Durant (3,706) passed Magic Johnson (3,701) for 14th place on the NBA’s all-time postseason scoring list. The Warriors then old a classic tale as Draymond Green blocked and Stephen Curry tripled for a 9-3 lead with 9:26 left in the first.

However, all eyes were on Kevin Durant, who scored 10 points –5 of 5 from the field–with 6:03 left in the first. Durant made a 2-point bucket to justify his fiery performance. The Warriors made nine straight field goals along with a 3-pointer by Stephen Curry to close out the first with a 41-24 lead.

The second quarter wasn’t as high-scoring, but it was exciting nonetheless. Klay Thompson joined in on the Warriors’ Splash Party with a 3. Thompson added a bucket. Thompson threw down a dunk, too.

The Warriors continued to maintain their double-digit lead, thanks to Kevin Durant. Durant expanded the Warriors’ halftime lead to 73-52 at the break. Durant helped turn the Warriors’ defense into offense with his sweet plays such as knocking down jumpers to pull his defenders out of the paint and making buckets to add to his point total.

You could say the game was in favor of the Warriors. Why’s that? The Warriors went on a 14-0 run to open the third quarter. Andre Iguodala put the exclamation mark to the run.

Kevin Durant’s crossovers in slow-motion were amazing sights to see. Durant was definitely a top-5 player with his scoring plays from the get-go tonight.

But let’s not forget about Andre Iguodala. Iguodala threw down a couple of dunks and almost broke the rim at some of those moments. Moreover, the score wasn’t even close as the Warriors led 109-76 at the end of the third.

The almost rim-breaking type of moments transpired into the fourth quarter. The Warriors were so good at those moments that you could sing to yourself, “Meet me at the rim” instead of “Meet me in the middle” (Yes, I had to throw in a song reference from “The Middle” by Zedd, Maren Morris and Grey).

The Clippers have a young core of players and they prevented the 2018 NBA Champions from winning by 30-plus points tonight. Still, the Warriors defeated the Clippers 132-105. The Warriors achieved their agenda to improve to 2-1, while the Clippers fall to 1-2.

Kevin Durant led the Warriors with 38 points, 7 assists and 4 rebounds. Steph Curry had 21 points, 5 rebounds and 1 assist. Andre Iguodala had 15 points, 3 assists and 2 rebounds. Klay Thompson had 12 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists. Kevon Looney had 10 points and 1 rebound. Draymond Green had 8 points, 10 assists and 6 rebounds. Andrew Bogut had 8 points, 14 rebounds and 5 assists. Alfonzo McKinnie had 6 points and 8 rebounds. Quinn Cook had 5 points, 2 assists and 1 rebound. Jacob Evans had 5 points. Shaun Livingston had 2 points, 2 assists and 4 rebounds. Jordan Bell had 2 points, 1 rebound and 1 assist. Jonas Jerebko added 2 rebounds and 2 assists.

The Warriors and Clippers meet again for Game 4 at Staples Center Sunday at 12:30 pm PT on ABC.

Barracuda take down Gulls 5-3, even series at 1-1

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By Marko Ukalovic

The San Jose Barracuda were determined and played like a desperate team after a heartbreaking loss 24 hours earlier. They were rewarded for their effort in a 5-3 victory over the San Diego Gulls in Game 2 to even up their best of five series at one game apiece on Thursday night at Pachenga Arena in San Diego, Calif.

San Jose (0-1) drew first blood with Evan Weinger skated in and made a great deke forehand to backhand and slid the puck past Gulls goalie Jeff Glass as he literally crashed into the net for his first goal of the playoffs at the 12:19 mark. Jayden Halbgewachs and Cuda captain John McCarthy were credited with assists.

The Cuda doubled their lead on a five-on-three power play early on the power play. Gambrell put a shot on net and TJ Hensick was able to tap it past a sprawling Glass as he reached back for the puck to no avail. Hensick’s second goal of the playoffs came at the 5:44 mark. Ivan Chekhovich received the secondary assist.

San Diego (1-0) cut the lead in half 31 seconds later, thanks to a turnover by Cavan Fitzgerald led to a two-on-one odd man rush led by Sam Steel. Steel fed a pass over to Chase De Leo, who buried the puck past Cuda goalie Josef Korenar for a short-handed goal at the 6:15 mark.

San Jose regained their two-goal lead when Maxim Letunov made a pass to Jon Marin below the goal line. Martin then made a heads-up play by banking the puck off of Glass that rattled between his pads into the back of the net for Martin’s first goal of the playoffs at the 9:27 mark. Chekhovich recorded his second assist on the evening.

San Diego didn’t go quietly in the third period. Andy Welinski sent in a shot towards the goal that Justin Kloos was able to redirect past Korenar for his first goal of the playoffs at the 15:46 mark.

Halbgewachs iced the game after taking a pass from Weinger and buried the puck into an empty net with Glass pulled for an extra attacker at the 18:03 mark.

Korenar stopped 27 of the 30 shots he faced to earn his first career playoff victory. Glass made 22 saves on 25 shots in the tough luck loss.

Steel scored with 27 seconds left, but it too little, too late for San Diego as Weinger scored an empty-net goal with 22 second remaining.

GAME NOTES: San Jose was 1/5 on the power play. San Diego was 0/2.

Things got chippy at the end as seven combined players received roughing minors at the end of the game.

The announced attendance was 6,010.

UP NEXT: The series shifts back up to San Jose on Monday, April 21 at 7:00 pm at SAP Center.

NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs/San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa Walsh: Sharks have home ice; They’ll need to key in on Knights tonight

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

#1 Down 3-1 in the series, the Sharks are in a must-win situation or face elimination in tonight’s game at SAP Center against the Vegas Golden Knights. The Sharks’ only major advantage now is having home ice tonight.

#2 In the last three games, the Sharks’ defense has not been a mystery, getting beat by scores of 5-3, 6-3, and in the last game, 5-0.

#3 The Sharks would have been swept if it had not been for their Game 1 win at home 5-2. If the Sharks can make it a 3-2 series, they still have a mountain climb with another trip back to Vegas on Sunday night for a possible Game 6 if they get that far.

#4 Has Sharks head coach Peter DeBoer’s theme been keying in on some of the Knights scorers from Game 4 — Max  Pacioretty scoring twice, Shea Theodore, Alex Tuch, and Jonathan Marchessault?

#5 Game 5 tonight at SAP Center. It really all boils down to this game for the Sharks tonight. They have to almost play perfect hockey to come away from this to keep the series alive.

Mary Lisa is a San Jose Sharks beat writer and does the Sharks podcast each Thursday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Headline Sports podcast with Tony Renteria: Will Clippers come up with any more surprises in Game 3?; Giants get 4 runs in 9th, but still lose; plus more

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On the Headline Sports podcast with Tony Renteria:

#1 The Golden State Warriors tip off in Los Angeles Thursday night at Staples Center against the Clippers in a series that’s tied 1-1. The Warriors are coming off a loss in which the Clippers made a 31-point comeback. The Warriors are without an injured DeMarcus Cousins. Will the Warriors regroup, jell and win this one like going through butter or will the Clippers take advantage of the home floor and try to repeat a win like they did in Game 2?

#2 In Game 3 tonight, is there a possibility that the Clippers will take full advantage of the home floor and maybe have some inspiration from the Game 2 comeback? Also, it doesn’t seem like the Clippers’ Patrick Beverley is getting in the Warriors’ Kevin Durant’s head?

#3 The Giants lost a tough one on Wednesday night to the Washington Nationals 9-6 at Nationals Park on Wednesday night. The Giants got home run help from Steven Duggar and Geraldo Parra and tried to rally in ninth inning for four runs, but wound up short losing by three runs.

#4 For the first time in five games, the Oakland A’s finally got a win over the mighty Houston Astros. It was pitching that stopped the Astros’ lineup as A’s starter Frankie Montas went six and third, three hits on one earned run, and six strikeouts in the 2-1 win.

#5 The Boston Celtics’ Kyrie Irving scored 37 points to lead the Boston Celtics past the Indiana Pacers 99-91. Irving could end up as a free agent after the NBA Championship. Could Irving end up in Los Angeles and join former teammate LeBron James?

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