That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary podcast: A’s hoping Blevins can join big club this season; A’s stadium and flagship radio still in limbo

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sfgate.com photo: Jerry Blevins of the Oakland Athletics reacts after giving up a RBI double hit by Nelson Cruz of the Texas Rangers in the bottom of the seventh inning on June 17, 2013

On That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary podcast:

#1 Oakland signed left-handed pitcher Jerry Blevins to a minor league deal. The deal would be worth $1.5 million if Blevins can pitch his way back to the majors.

#2 Blevins was a reliever for Oakland in 2007-2013 with an ERA of 3.30.

#3 Blevins, since leaving the A’s in 2013, has pitched for Washington and the New York Mets.

#4 The A’s said their need for left-handed pitching is that Blevins can stop hitters coming out of the pen.

#5 Lastly Super Bowl ratings at it’s worst ever, did having the Patriots back in it again have viewers tuning out?

Amaury does News and Commentary each Tuesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

Lucky Seven: Kings home win streak continues in wire-to-wire win over the Spurs

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By Morris Phillips

SACRAMENTO — The stoic looks on the faces of Spurs’ head coach Gregg Popovich and his assistants Ettore Messina and Becky Hammon said plenty, if not all.

The methodical Spurs and their experienced coaching staff have found few answers for the youthful and deep Sacramento Kings thus far this season.

Not on Monday night in the Kings’ 127-112 win, and similarly, not on November 12, in the Kings 104-99 win that broke a 14-game losing streak to the five-time world champions.

In winning the season series against San Antonio (which has one game remaining, March 31 at San Antonio), the Kings have delivered a knockout, getting positive minutes from the 11 players who saw action, and piling up the statistics along the way.

In the two games combined, the Kings have received 105 points from their reserves, not far of the 126 points from their starters. Seven Kings hit at least one 3-pointer, combining for 24 in all, a nice, round number that gets even rounder when coupled with the Kings’ 94 points in paint.

Of the eight quarters in the two games, the Spurs won one–Monday’s second quarter–a 34-point bounce back that still left San Antonio trailing at the half, 63-59.

“We just missed a lot of easy shots and didn’t have a rhythm all game,” said DeMar DeRozan, who paced the Spurs with 24 points. “And you can tell their comfort level was all the way on the 10. They had it going and we didn’t.”

DeRozan’s driving layup got the Spurs even in the third quarter, but De’Aaron Fox’s layup nine seconds later put the Kings up 78-76. The Kings would finish that quarter on a 22-10 run, and they never trailed in the game’s final 12 minutes.

Six Kings finished in double digits scoring led by William Bagley’s career-best 24 points. Starting point guard Fox added 20, and his backup Yogi Ferrell had 19. Ferrell finished 4 for 4 from distance.

“Yogi Ferrell was tremendous and that’s why I thought he had a hot hand,” Kings coach Dave Joerger said. “I did sit De’Aaron and Buddy a long time, but I felt like we had a rhythm.”

With 7:47 remaining in the game, Ferrell and Bagley delivered the game’s signature play, an alley oop that turned Bagley 180 degrees after the catch, and brought the house down upon his dunk.

“I made eye contact with Yogi and saw how I was open down there and in my mind I was just trying to go up and finish,” Bagley said. “He just threw it and trusted it, and I just tried to make the play and make my guy Yogi look good.”

The Kings captured the season series from the Spurs for the first time since 2002. The win was the Kings’ seventh straight at home, and it moved them within a half-game of the eighth-place Clippers.

The Kings (28-25) are three games above .500 for the fourth time this season. On the three, previous occasions, they lost the following game.

The Kings continue their homestand with a visit from James Harden and the Houston Rockets, Wednesday at 7:00 pm PT.

Noah Baumann named Student-Athlete of the Month

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Photo credit: 247sports.com

By: Ana Kieu

San Jose State men’s basketball player Noah Baumann was named as a Student-Athlete of the Month for January, presented by O’Connor Hospital.

Baumann opened up Mountain West play with a bang as he averaged 11.0 points per game in the first eight games of conference play. He was the only player on the men’s basketball team to start in every Mountain West game in January. Baumann, who’s known for his lethal 3-pointer, shot 41.3% from beyond the arc in January. The Phoenix, Ariz., product finished the month with back-to-back double digit scoring efforts against Air Force (12) and Utah State (15).

On January 16, Baumann had one of the best games of his career as he tied the school record with seven 3-pointers made and finished with a career-high 29 points, the most points scored by any Spartan this season.

San Jose State football announces 2019 schedule

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Photo credit: sjsuspartans.com

By: Ana Kieu

Six home games spread from the last Thursday in August through the Saturday after Thanksgiving, no more than two consecutive weeks on the road, a first-time non-conference opponent in Arkansas and two bye weeks are ahead for San Jose State football in the 2019 season.

San Jose State opens in CEFCU Stadium on August 29, against Northern Colorado of the Big Sky Conference in a non-conference home game.

San Jose State’s other five home games are with Tulsa of the American Athletic Conference on September 7 and Mountain West opponents New Mexico on October 5, San Diego State on October 19, Boise State on November 2 and defending conference champion Fresno State on November 30.

“We have a schedule that will be exciting and challenging for our players and coaches and attractive for our fans. Right now, we’re in our winter conditioning program; spring practice will start in a month; and the season will be upon us quickly. I can’t wait,” said San Jose State head coach Brent Brennan, now in his third season leading the Spartans.

San Jose State’s first road game of the season will be at Arkansas on September 21. San Jose State is playing against its first SEC opponent since Auburn in the 2015 season. The Spartans’ other regular-season non-conference road game is at Army West Point on October 26. The game will be San Jose State’s first trip to play a football game in New York and second of the four game home-and-home series with the Black Knights.

The Mountain West schedule has the Spartans on the road at Air Force on September 28, at Nevada on October 12, at Hawaii on November 9 and at UNLV on November 23.

There are bye weeks on the weekends of September 14 and November 16.

After playing the 11th toughest schedule in 2018, according to the NCAA Statistics Service, San Jose State faces six teams that played in a bowl game a year ago.

The “early bird” season ticket renewal period begins online February 6, and runs through March 6.

Cal Bears basketball podcast with Michael Duca and Morris Phillips: Bears came close, but Okpala and Cardinal turn it up a notch

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californiagoldenblogs.com photo: The Stanford Cardinal and Cal Bears do battle last  Sunday  at Haas Pavilion in Berkeley

On the Cal Bears podcast with Michael and Morris:

#1 Another tough loss for the Cal Bears (5-16) on Sunday afternoon at Haas Pavilion as the Bears lost to the visiting Stanford Cardinal (11-10) 84-81.

#2 The Cardinal’s KZ Okpala led with 30 points and eight rebounds. He was hard to contain for the Bears all afternoon.

#3 Okpala had his 12th game scoring 20 or more points last season. He scored 20 or more points eight times. He’s been a force and had given the Bears fits to contain him.

#4 According to Stanford coach Jerod Haase, Okpala has some more developing to go. He’s working out just fine and provided the nine of the last 19 points of the game that really put a crimp in Cal’s game.

#5 The Bears are in Oregon (13-9) for Wednesday, Feb. 6th. Morris sets up that game.

Morris and Michael do the Cal Bears podcasts each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Will 49ers waive territorial rights to allow Raiders to play in the City?

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San Francisco Demons XFL file photo: AT&T Park football configuration during the 2001 season of the XFL San Francisco Demons. The Oakland Raiders and San Francisco will share the park during the 2019 season.

By Joe Hawkes Beamon

SAN FRANCISCO — Plans by the Oakland Raiders are on the drawing board and sources say it’s very close that an agreement between the Raiders and San Francisco Giants will be hammered out. Matter fact it’s understood there is an agreement on the table as of Monday morning.

If an agreement is made it’s almost assured because of the smaller size of Oracle Park compared to the Oakland Coliseum the Raiders would most likely sell out every home game plus the idea that it’s the Raiders last season in the Bay Area and many Raider and NFL fans will want to take a last look at the team before they leave.

At issue is the San Francisco 49ers who have territorial rights in San Francisco and will they allow the Raiders playing in San Francisco. The 49ers are said to be studying any possible financial loses if the Raiders play in the city. The 49ers who play in Santa Clara a good hour drive from the City may ok the deal as the Raiders will play their last season in the Bay Area at Oracle Park.

The 49ers are looking to see what they would benefit from the deal from having the Raiders playing in San Francisco and that the 49ers may ask for a cut on tickets and TV shares from the Raiders if they waive their territorial rights. The 49ers have not commented on the Raiders playing in San Francisco and negotiations are still on the way.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said last week that he wanted the Raiders to make a decision as to where they will play as soon as possible. The NFL wants to begin making the schedule for the 2019 season without further delay.

The Raiders who chose not to play at the Oakland Coliseum anymore after the city of Oakland filed a lawsuit against the team in December. The Raiders had a tentative deal with the Oakland Coliseum and withdrew after Oakland filed the suit stating that the suit was over the relocation to Las Vegas calling the deal “illegal” the city of Oakland is seeking million of dollars from the Raiders and the NFL.

For football Oracle Park would seat up to 40,000 fans. Oracle Park hosted football when the XFL’s San Francisco Demons who played there in 2001, The California Mountain Lions in 2009 of the United Football League, Cal in 2011, NCAA bowl games the Shriners, Diamond, Kraft and Foster Bowls in 2002 to 2013.

Stanford’s KZ Okpala leads the Cardinal to a 84-81 win over the Cal Bears

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Photo credit: gostanford.com

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Stanford Cardinal tipped off against the Cal Bears Sunday afternoon at Haas Pavilion. The Bears have been struggling all season long and the Cardinal entered the game with a mediocre record of 10-10. As followers of both schools know, records do not count when the two teams meet in any type of athletic competition. The Bears, 0-8 in Pac-12 play, wanted desperately to beat the Cardinal. Conversely, The Cardinal did not want to be the first Pac-12 team to be beaten by the Bears.

The teams went at it tooth and nail in the first 20 minutes of action. The lead changed hands several times and the game was tied at least three times in the first half. The Bears led 29-24 when Justice Sueing made a bucket and was fouled on the play. He then made the free throw. The Cardinal’s Cormac Ryan hit a three and Lukas Kisunas followed with his first basket of the night to tie the score at 29. The teams tied again at 31 and 35 each. Cal’s Matt Bradley knocked down a three to make it 38-35. Stanford made a basket and the first half finished with the Bears ahead 38-37. Okpala led the Cardinal with 11 points. Oscar da Silva and Daejon Davis each had 5. Sueing led the Bears with 10. Big Connor Vanover, who is 7 feet 3 inches tall contributed 8. Paris Austin had 6.

It was more of the same in the second half. Neither team would give an inch. If one team went on a small run, the other team fought back to either tie the game or take the lead. Stanford led early, but Cal came back to tie. The Bears tied at 58. The Bears led 66-51 but Stanford kept coming back and the Cardinal, led by KZ Okapala’s 30 points, was able to hold off the Bears as the won 84-81.

Here’s how the game ended. he Bears’ Matt Bradley drove the baseline for an apparent tying bucket. The Cardinal’s big Josh Sharma appeared to have fouled Bradley on the play. After a review, the call was reversed and the ball given to the Cardinal. Had Bradley been awarded the free throws, he could have tied the game. The Cardinal had the ball and ran out the clock to win the game 84-81.

Game Notes: The loss was the Bears tenth in a row and matches the longest streak in school history. The Bears are 5-16 for the season and 0-9 in the Pac-12. The Cardinal’s record is now 11-10 and they are 4-5 in the Pac-12.

Okpala had a career-high of 30 points to lead Stanford. Bryce Wills had 16, Daejon Davis 14, Oscar Da Silva 7 Cormac Ryan, 7. Justice Sueing paced the Bears with 23. Paris Austin had 15, Matt Bradley 13, and Connor Vanover 15.

While this is the third year in a row that the Cardinal is having a so-so season, there is a reason to have hope that the future will be brighter for Stanford as 11 of the 15 players on the squad are either freshman or sophomores. That should bode well for Cardinal coach Jerrod Haase.

Up Next: The Cardinal return to action Thursday night when they face the Oregon State Beavers in Corvallis, Ore.

Patriots win sixth Super Bowl, hold off Rams in defensive battle

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Photo credit: @Patriots

By Daniel Dullum
Sports Radio Service
Sunday, February 3, 2019

Down at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, the Los Angeles Rams and New England Patriots combined their offensive efforts to become the first teams to go three quarters in a Super Bowl game without a touchdown.

That changed in the fourth quarter, when New England running back Sony Michel scored the first touchdown of Super Bowl LIII, a 2-yard jaunt that put the Patriots up 10-3.

One field goal later, the New England Patriots made a 13-3 lead hold up despite a late Rams charge and defeated Los Angeles to win their sixth Super Bowl. It was the Patriots’ second NFL championship in three years and their sixth since 2001.

Veteran quarterback Tom Brady did not receive the game’s most valuable player award — that went to Patriots’ wide receiver Julian Edelman, who racked up 141 receiving yards.

Seventeen years ago, the Patriots shut down a high-powered Rams offense in a Super Bowl. New England did the same thing in SB LIII, holding the Rams to an average of 3.4 rushing yards per carry and quarterback Jared Goff to 229 passing yards and no touchdowns. Goff was sacked four times.

In the first half, all six of the Rams’ drives ended with a punt.

Los Angeles tried to answer, but with 4:17 left in the fourth quarter, Goff was picked off by the Patriots’ Stephen Gilmore deep in New England territory. That play led to Stephen Gotkowski’s second field goal of the game, a 41-yard effort that gave the Patriots a 10-point advantage with 1:12 left.

The Rams’ offense, which was essentially shut down for most of the night by the Patriots’ defense, briefly came to life. With 5 seconds left, the Rams’ Greg Zuerlein missed a 48-yard field goal attempt, as Los Angeles hoped to make it a one-possession game.

New England opened the scoring on Stephen Gotkowski’s 42-yard field goal with 10:29 left in the second quarter. That accounted for the lowest halftime score in Super Bowl history since SB IX in 1975, when Pittsburgh led Minnesota 2-0 at the break.

The Rams tied the game at 3-3 in the third quarter on Zueriein’s 53-yard field goal.

In the record books, Rams punter Johnny Hekker launched the longest-ever punt in a Super Bowl – 65 yards, even if it took a 27-yard roll to do it. Elias Sports Bureau reports that Los Angeles also set a Super Bowl mark for consecutive punts to begin a game — eight. Zuerlein’s 53-yard field goal was the first from beyond 50 yards in 15 years.

Patriots Coach Bill Belichick became the oldest coach to win a Super Bowl at age 66. Brady, at age 41, is the oldest starting quarterback to win a Super Bowl, passing Peyton Manning, who won the title with Denver at age 39.

Brady is also the all-time leader in individual Super Bowl wins with six, passing Charles Haley.

At halftime, Maroon 5 paid tribute to SpongeBob SquarePants. Adam Levine removed his shirt to display his tattoos, providing more excitement than the first half offered. Rapper Big Boi made an appearance, and rapper Scott concluded the halftime show by performing “Sicko Mode” before falling backwards into the crowd of unpaid volunteers.

On social media, fans expressed their displeasure with the halftime show, many calling it “the all-time worst ever halftime show.” No memory, apparently, of the days of marching bands.

What Now?: Late game, reversed call prevents Cal from ending losing skid

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By Morris Phillips

BERKELEY, Calif. — The made shots, assists, team effort and the coaching staff’s approval all leaned heavily toward the Cal Bears on Sunday afternoon.

The critical, late game calls made by the officials did not.

The Bears appeared to gain an 83-83 tie on Matt Bradley’s physical drive for a bucket and a foul, but a video replay compelled the referees to reverse the call, wipe out the basket, and put Stanford in the driver’s seat with 13 seconds remaining.

Both coaches weighed in on the critical call, and both admitted the situation left them powerless and in hope that the whistle simply went their way.

“First of all, I didn’t know that you would overturn a call,” coach Wyking Jones said. “Mike Reed is a great official and he went to the monitor and saw something different, so I have to respect the call.”

“It was some kind of a dire situation so I felt very excited when they went to the monitor that there was still hope,” Stanford coach Jerod Haase admitted.

Instead of Cal tying the game and getting an opportunity at the foul stripe to establish a one-point lead, Stanford’s KZ Okpala made one of two free throw attempts to increase Stanford’s lead to three. Seconds later, Paris Austin’s 3-point attempt fell woefully short and the Cardinal escaped.

The Bears fell to 0-9 in Pac-12 conference play, and lost for a school-record tying tenth, consecutive time. The Bears last lost 10 straight in 1962.

Stanford won for the third time in their last four outings, and stayed above .500 at 11-10.

Okpala, Stanford’s emerging sophomore who is gaining interest from the NBA, led the Cardinal with 19 of his career-best 30 points after halftime.

Justice Sueing paced Cal with 23 points. Paris Austin and 7’2″ Connor Vanover contributed 15 points each.

Jones vowed that his Bears would respond with a better effort following a full week of preparation, and they did give Stanford fits with pressure defenses that forced the majority of the Cardinal’s 18 turnovers. The Bears led by one at the half, and extended their lead to 56-49 with 12:44 remaining.

But Stanford–which countered their issues holding on to the basketball with 57 percent shooting from the floor–responded with a run at that point and forced the Bears to beat them with late game execution.

The result was a devastating loss decided in the final seconds, but the effort was laudable, far more than in the nine losses that preceded Sunday.

“They emptied the tank today,” Jones said. “I felt they gave us everything they had. They played together. They looked like a cohesive group. I’m very proud of the effort and the fight that they showed today, but we came up short.”

Cal heads to Oregon for a Wednesday night game at 6:30 pm PT.