Headline Sports with Tony Renteria: Will Murray stay with the A’s and baseball?; New name for Giants park; All of sudden, fans love Levi’s Stadium; plus more

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On Headline Sports with Tony:

#1 The Oklahoma Sooners’ Kyler Murray signed a MLB contract with the Oakland A’s for $4.66 million. Murray is expected to stay with baseball, but could very well end up a number one NFL Draft pick. Will Murray leave baseball for the NFL or keep his commitment with the A’s?

#2 Pac Bell Park, SBC Park, AT&T Park, and now Oracle Park. AT&T and the Giants split and the higher bidder, Oracle, will have naming rights.

#3 At one time, people used to criticize Levi’s Stadium that it was too hot in August through October to sit in the stands. Now after the college playoffs, it’s the toast of the town with its VIP lounges, nice carpeted turf, and nuances. Why the fans’ change of heart?

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

San Jose State podcast with Ana Kieu: Men’s basketball struggles in conference slate; Football offseason going swimmingly well

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Photo credit: @SJSUMBB and sjsuspartans.com

On the San Jose State podcast with Ana:

1. SJSU faced a tough task at No. 10 Nevada Wednesday night.

2. SJSU defensive linemen Bryson Bridges and Boogie Roberts will play for the National team in the Spiral Tropical Bowl All-Star Game.

3. Former SJSU offensive coordinator Dennis Erickson was named to the College Football Hall of Fame.

4.  SJSU congratulated Clemson on their second national championship title in three years. Clemson practiced at CEFCU Stadium in preparation for the College Football Playoff.

Ana Kieu does the San Jose State podcast each week for SportsRadioService.com

Sharks win 1,000th game by cooling off Knights in Vegas 3-2

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Credit: AP Photo/John Locher

By: Pearl Allison Lo

It took until the third stanza for the San Jose Sharks to get a lead, but they came back to stop the Vegas Golden Knights’ 12-game home point streak and seven-game overall point streak with a 3-2 win at T-Mobile Arena Thursday night.

The Sharks became the third fastest team to hit 1,000 wins.

Birthday boy goalie Martin Jones (29) made 36 saves to support his team. “We just stuck with it,” said Jones before his birthday song broke out. “Our game got better each period,” echoed captain Joe Pavelski.

Vegas had early goals to start the first and third and outshot the Sharks heavily to begin the first and second, but San Jose scored the only goal of the second on five shots and grinded it out in the third.

Win-wise, it was a four-game streak versus a seven-game streak and the shorter one won. If the Knights had won, they would have tied their franchise record for eight straight wins. Vegas’ longer streak had last been broken November 16, in terms of regulation wins at home.

In terms of the contest (last year the Knights won 6-0), it was a different story, but in 2019, the beginning was similarly written. San Jose fell behind early again. It started with a turnover and the rebound from Ryan Reaves’ shot from the left faceoff circle went right to Tomas Nosek on the other side at 1:34.

The Sharks also went shotless from 2:35 to 12:26, versus nine shots for the Knights, until Tomas Hertl broke out with two shots in four seconds. During the shotless time though, San Jose kept Vegas shotless on their power play.

Marcus Sorensen had a wide open net for the Sharks, but missed and was then tripped by Brayden McNabb at 15:11.  

The second period started similarly as the Knights had a 7-0 shot advantage (three on the power play) until Evander Kane got San Jose’s first with 12:22 left. Three of those shots though, did come on the power play. The Sharks’ Brent Burns hit the goal post with 10:53 left and Vegas’s shot advantage stretched to 11-1 until Hertl things turned around with San Jose’s second shot of the period at 14:04.

#48 then went far side to make it 1-1 as he used Nate Schmidt to block Marc-Andre Fleury’s point of view.

Jon Merrill moved the Knights back up 2:16 into the third. It was his first goal in 54 games, since two years ago.

The Sharks re-tied the game when Burns blasted the puck before the blue line, and kind of like Vegas’s first goal, Melker Karlsson picked up the puck and potted it in net at 7:24.

Not too long after, Hertl corralled the puck behind the net before shooting and then there was a scramble that went on with the loose puck finding its way back to Hertl. He shot again and the puck went off Joonas Donskoi to give San Jose their first lead. That was Donskoi’s fourth goal in three games.

The Knights hit the goal post with 10:30 left.

With a tight contest, both teams did not help their cause, with Fleury creating a delay of game penalty at 13:54, during which Vegas utilized the empty net and shortly after, Brenden Dillon committing a slashing penalty. 

Logan Couture hit the goal post of the empty net right as time expired. There was some discussion after about clock time, but then the game was confirmed over.  

Up Next: The Sharks now head back home for two games, starting with Erik Karlsson’s former team, the Ottawa Senators, Saturday night at 7:00 pm.

Kings use team effort to down Pistons 112-102

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Photo credit: @SacramentoKings

By: Jeremiah Salmonson

SACRAMENTO — The Sacramento Kings were back home on Thursday night to host the Detroit Pistons. For the Kings, they desperately needed a win to bounce back from the worst loss of the season. On Tuesday, the Kings had a 21-point lead going into halftime. However, those points would not hold up against the worst team in NBA as the Kings would lose the game 115-111. The Pistons came into Thursday nights game also coming off a tough loss to the LA Lakers 113-100. The tip-off was set for 7 PM PST.

In the first quarter, the Kings came out strong. Lead by De’Aaron Fox and Buddy Hield for a combined 15 points the Kings scored 34 to take an early lead. The Pistons, on the other hand, seemed to being the same game that cost them in LA. The Pistons’ sluggish play on the second day of a back to back wasn’t unexpected, but disappointing nonetheless. Blake Griffin, the Pistons’ arguably best player, was out for a rest day which showed early on.

In the second quarter, it was more of the same from both sides. The Kings managed to put up 31 compared to the Pistons’ 27–three of which came at the buzzer to end the first half. Notably good performances for the Pistons in the first half were Stanley Johnson and Langston Galloway, who combined for 17 points. For the Kings, they had five players who had eight or more points for the half. Those five were Iman Shumpert, Willie Cauley-Stein, Buddy Hield, De’Aaron Fox, and Yogi Ferrell. The first half ended with the Kings up 65-48.

Headed into the third, the Kings clearly had the advantage, and they didn’t waste it. The Kings didn’t do enough to further the lead, but they were able to keep the game exactly where it was going to the half. The Kings and Pistons both scored 26 points to keep the Kings 17-point lead intact. Through the third, the leading scorer in the game was Hield with 18 points. Heading into the fourth, the game appeared to be everything but over with the Kings leading 91-74.

In the fourth, that prediction would come true. The Kings managed to score 21 points to put the Pistons in the ground for the second straight night in California. The Kings played well coming off a tough loss to the Suns earlier in the week. Hopefully, this signals a rebound from the poor basketball the Kings have been playing of late as they look to get back on track. The Kings now sit at 21-21 while the Pistons drop to 17-23.

The Kings host the Charlotte Hornets on Saturday night at 7:00 PM PST.

Oracle gets naming rights, but Oracle Park draws mixed emotions

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Photo credit: @957thegame

By: Ana Kieu

All day Wednesday, Giants fans said goodbye and snapped selfies using their smartphones to bid farewell to AT&T Park, which used the name from 2006 to 2018. Previously, it was named SBC Park from 2004 to 2005 and Pacific Bell Park from 2000 to 2003.

Fast forward to Thursday morning when the Giants’ stadium staffers took to the front plaza of the waterfront ballpark and hung up a new banner that read “ORACLE PARK: Home to the San Francisco Giants.” While this shocking move took place, news outlets, fans and passerby were witnessing a change that drew mixed emotions. Some were able to soak in the new name, but many cringed at the name.

“Are we not considered one of the best stadiums in the league?” wrote a tweeter named Drew. “Can we please get something nicer that stands out in the history books like Fenway Park or Yankee Stadium does? #OraclePark”

I, myself, tweeted to ask the masses if I was the only one who wasn’t digging AT&T Park’s new name Oracle Park and got a couple of reactions. Even my friend Manny, who’s not really a sports fan, asked me: “Why would they do that? They just can’t rename history.” And I 100% percent agree with Manny along with anyone else with a similar thought like Manny’s.

Also, I think Oracle Park is a little too corporate sounding. But, you know, Oracle was the highest bidder in the bidding war and got their hands on the latest naming rights, so there’s that. Oracle is a $40 billion business software company that was founded in 1977.

“We really like the fact that Oracle is a local company,” Giants president and CEO Larry Baer told SFGate. “They’re not going anywhere. We’re not going anywhere. Having a Bay Area-based company with the naming rights was a consideration.”

At the end of the day, all Buster Posey, Brandon Crawford and company can do is play ball at Oracle Park this coming season. The same goes for the fans and media who watch the ballgames.

San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa Walsh: Sharks run into hot Vegas Thursday; San Jose finding back of the net and often

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On the San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa:

#1 If you like a lot of offense, then Tuesday night’s game was for you. The Sharks crushed the Edmonton Oilers at SAP Center in San Jose by five goals 7-2.

#2 The Sharks are getting their streak on. They have won four straight.

#3 The Sharks just opened up on the Oilers on Tuesday night, scoring three in the first period and two in the second period and third.

#4 The red-hot Vegas Golden Knights host the Sharks on Thursday night. The Knights have won seven straight games.

#5 Vegas goalie Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 27 shots and leads the NHL with 25 wins. Mary Lisa tells us how the Sharks will attack the net on Thursday.

Mary Lisa Walsh does the Sharks podcasts each Thursday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Forks Down, Forks Up: ASU starts slow, but finishes fast in 80-66 road win over Cal

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By Morris Phillips

The ASU Sun Devils came to Berkeley Wednesday night trying to forge an upward trajectory, something they could hardly claim two weeks ago when they beat Kansas, then lost to Princeton in an inexplicable eight-day span.

But 14 minutes in, the Bears’ active 2-3 zone was causing Arizona State problems, and they trailed Cal by 14. Yeah, the Bears have struggled, but double-digit leads can help a young ballclub gain wisdom in a hurry.

So how did ASU coach Bobby Hurley respond?

He turned to sophomore guard Remy Martin in hopes of giving his squad a boost. Martin fashioned his contribution in a mere, eight seconds.

The ASU sparkplug–a reserve who routinely plays starter’s minutes–sliced Cal’s lead to 11 with a 3-pointer from the top of the key. Martin would go on to score or assist on every ASU basket in the six minutes leading to the half.

That run got Arizona State within 35-33 at the break. Then the Sun Devils took over in the second half, and they handled the Bears, 80-66, the 10th consecutive loss for the hosts in Pac-12 conference play.

To the Bears’ and coach Wyking Jones’ credit, their strategic wrinkle–playing a packed-in zone to limit penetration and put the onus on ASU’s shooters–worked. ASU opened the game by missing 11 of their first 12 shots. They just couldn’t sustain it once Martin started cooking.

“What changed was Remy Martin started hitting shots,” Jones admitted. “We can’t keep the zone as tight, and now we have to go out there and guard him. We have to guard the guy at the top of the key, and it opens up the high post, and then they started hurting us.”

Martin’s career-best scoring effort had symmetry: 12 points, 4 assists in the Sun Devils’ big run leading up to halftime, and another 12 during the period that ASU extended their 47-44 lead to 77-65 with 2:16 remaining.

As a freshman last season on an ASU team that was senior-dominated, Martin showed out at Haas Pavilion with 13 points, three assists in 18 minutes off the bench in the Sun Devils 81-73 win. This season, Martin still comes off the bench despite being more experienced than his teammates who start. But the speedy playmaker hasn’t complained. Instead he’s embraced the role and perfected it.

With ASU in the midst their first half run, Martin whipped a pass to a cutting Zylan Cheatham for a dunk, a pass thrown with so much force, the point guard came out of his shoe. The video replay shows the unaffected Martin putting his shoe back on at the moment Cheatham finishes the play at the rim.

“I’m here to help the team win whether I’m starting or coming off the bench,” Martin said. “I’m the same guy and I’ll do whatever is best for the team.”

What was best, was also fast and decisive, as the Bears found out Wednesday.  In a rare, statistical seismic shift, the shooting percentages for both teams changed dramatically after halftime. Cal shot 43.3 percent in the first half, 31.8 percent in the second, while ASU skewed more dramatically.  The Sun Devils were 39.4 percent before the break, and 57.7 percent after, and get this.. they went the final eight minutes of the game without being discredited with a missed shot. All that pace and execution to end it, after all the missed shots in the initial minutes of the game.

Matt Bradley was inserted into the starting lineup for second straight game, and scored in double figures for the third straight game. The freshman guard led Cal with 19 points, Darius McNeill added 16. Bradley also summed up the tale of two halves.

“The second half, they started knocking down shots. Once they spread us out, they got the bigs going down low. They played a lot harder and a lot more aggressively,” Bradley said.

The Bears host the Arizona Wildcats Saturday at 7:30 pm.

Stanford falls to Arizona in hard-fought contest 75-70

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Photo credit: @StanfordMBB

By: Eric Epstein

PALO ALTO, Calif. — The Pac-12-leading Arizona Wildcats visited The Farm on Wednesday night, where they bested the Stanford Cardinal with a score of 75-70. Stanford’s conference record drops to 0-3 after this loss, with their previous defeats coming in their recent Southern California road trip to UCLA and USC.

The game was back-and-forth throughout both halves, with the largest margin of victory coming at the beginning of the game when Arizona jumped out to a 7-0 lead. The first lead change of the game occurred over 13 minutes into the first half, when Stanford briefly claimed a 2-point lead with two Daejon Davis free throws. After a short Arizona run led by sophomore forward Ira Lee and senior guard Justin Coleman, Stanford narrowed the Wildcat lead to 2 points when Davis sunk a running layup to beat the halftime buzzer.

Although there were only 3 lead changes in the second half, the lead for either team never rose above 6 points. Sophomore KZ Okpala showcased his offensive firepower as he scored 16 second half points on 6-9 shooting and going 4-5 from the free throw line. Although Arizona did not shoot efficiently in the second half with a 36.7% field goal percentage, their consistent free throw shooting and ball security gave them just enough to pull away with a five-point win.

Senior Josh Sharma started the game at center for the Cardinal, but when he committed two fouls in the first two minutes of play, Head Coach Jerod Haase gave freshman Lukas Kisunas a chance at the five off the bench. Although Kisunas contributed nicely in the first half with 5 rebounds, he did not see much time on the court in the second half, where Sharma played a larger role for Haase.

The Arizona frontcourt dealt with foul trouble of their own, with Lee as well as senior forward Ryan Luther picking up 3 first-half fouls. Junior center and the team’s second-leading scorer Chase Jeter fouled out with 2-and-a-half minutes left in the contest.

Although Stanford attempted 8 more free throws than Arizona, the Wildcats shot 89% from the charity stripe, a much more efficient clip than Stanford’s 58%. Arizona also had more team assists, bench points, offensive rebounds, and points off turnovers. The Cardinal only made 1 three-point shot out of the 8 that they attempted, whereas the Wildcats made 7 of 12 of their threes.

KZ Okpala led the game in scoring with 29 points on 11-16 shooting and 7-12 from the foul line, although he did not make either of his three-point attempts. Daejon Davis pitched in 15 points of his own, but he had a subpar assist-to-turnover ratio with 3 assists and 6 turnovers. The Cardinal as a team were not too careful with the ball, as they coughed the ball up 19 times over the course of the game.

Stanford will have a few days of rest and practice before hosting the Arizona State Sun Devils in a Pac-12 matchup on January 12 at 3:00 pm.

Barracuda outlast Reign 3-1

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Photo credit: @sjbarracuda

By: Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE, Calif. — The San Jose Barracuda didn’t make it look pretty, but they continued to stay undefeated against the Ontario Reign in a 3-1 victory on Monday evening at SAP Center.

For San Jose, it was their second win in a row and are currently 4-0 against Ontario this season. Ontario continued their downward spiral losing their sixth game in a row.

“They’ve had our number for years,” said head coach Roy Sommer regarding his team turning the tables against their Pacific Division rival. “From Manchester (Mass) into Ontario, it’s been a while since we’ve had a winning record against them. So finally the tide turns.”

San Jose (21-7-1-3) drew first blood five minutes into the opening period. Jon Martin found Jayden Halbgewachs at the right faceoff circle and he skated around over to the left-wing and he snapped a wrist shot that beat Reign goalie Cal Petersen (2-6-3) low to the stick side at 5:41 mark. The puck looked to have deflected off Reign defenseman Austin Strand’s skate for Halbgewachs’ eight goal of the season. Kyle Wood received the secondary assist.

I went through a dry spell for a bit,” said Halbgewachs. “I had to get back to finding my game, building up that confidence. (The goals) are a huge confidence booster and every player needs that when they’re in a slump.”

Ontario (10-17-3-2) outshot San Jose 11-8 in the first period, but Cuda goalie Antoine Bibeau (8-5-3) held down the fort stonewalling the Reign from lighting the red lamp.

In the second period, both netminders put on a clinic out on the ice. Bibeau was aggressive on two penalty kills where he came out beyond the crease to cut off angles and did not give up any rebounds.

“I think in December I wasn’t playing as aggressive and as good as I could (have been),” said Bibeau. “When the guys had to block a shot, they blocked a shot. They boxed out and I saw the puck really well.”

Petersen was sharp late in the middle frame. Keaton Middleton fed a short-handed breakaway chance to Dylan Gambrell, but Petersen came out to challenge Gambrell and his shot sailed over the net with under four minutes left. Then with under a minute left, Vincent Praplan’s point-blank shot and captain John McCarthy’s follow-up rebound chance were turned away by Petersen.

Jon Martin single-handedly gave San Jose a big insurance goal to open up the third period. Coming in on a three-on-three rush he was able to muscle his way past Kurtis MacDermid, regain the puck and buried it under the left pad of Petersen on the short side for his sixth goal of the season at the 1:28 mark. Martin now has five points in his last three games.

“It’s been a long way for me these last three years,” said Martin. “So it’s nice to come in here and finally feel like I’m contributing a little bit on the board. I’m just trying to keep it going, helping out my linemates, they’ve been supporting me and it’s going well.”

Brett Sutter cut the lead in half on the penalty kill, thanks to a gift from Calvan Fitzgerald. He was pressured by Sam Herr in front of the Cuda net and turned over the puck right onto the stick of Sutter, who one-timed it from the slot into the upper right corner of the net. The unassisted short-handed goal was Sutter’s eight of the season and came at the 7:39 mark.

Halbgewachs sealed the game for the Cuda with his second goal of the evening with an empty-netter with exactly one minute left in the game for his ninth goal of the season.

Bibeau shined bright with a 32 save on 33 shot performance to earn his eight victory of the season. Petersen suffered his second straight loss, making 27 saves on 29 shots.

GAME NOTES: San Jose was 0/4 on the power play. Ontario was 0/2.

On Tuesday, the Cuda recalled defensemen Cody Donaghey and Mike Brodzinki from the Orlando Solar Bears of the ECHL.

Coming into the game, San Jose were tied for first in the Western Conference with a home winning percentage of .750 (10-3-0-1). Their +20 point differential is the best in the Pacific Division.

Reign defenseman Daniel Brickley suffered a lower body injury in the second period when he was in a battle with Anti Suomela. His leg ended up being tied up and he fell awkwardly to the ice laying there for a while before being helped off the ice. He did not return to the game.

The announced attendance was 2,530.

UP NEXT: The Barracuda take on the Reign for a third consecutive time on Friday, January 11 at 7:00 pm at SAP Center.

San Jose State falls to No. 10 Nevada 92-53

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Photo credit: @SJSUMBB

By: Ana Kieu

The San Jose State men’s basketball team arrived at Lawlor Events Center to take on the No. 10 Nevada Wolf Pack in a road tilt Wednesday night. Sure, SJSU had hoped to snap a 3-game losing skid, but Nevada stored a tough task for the night ahead.

In an attempt to suppress the hungry Wolf Pack, Spartans head coach Jean Prioleau went with a starting lineup of Brae Ivey, Noah Baumann, Craig LeCesne, Michael Steadman, and Oumar Barry.

The Wolf Pack jumped out to an early 9-2 lead at the first media timeout at the 15:45 mark of the first half. Nevada Basketball had some fun on Twitter as they asked: “So, it’s already 9-2 us just four minutes in. Is that good?” The Spartans’ unofficial answer might’ve been: “Not quite.”

The Spartans played catch up midway through the first. The first comeback kid was Baumann, who scored a triple for the 12th game in a row. SJSU trailed Nevada 14-5. Shortly after, Ivey scored 5 unanswered points and SJSU cut Nevada’s lead in half 20-10. Soon, SJSU began making it rain with 3-pointers. Baumann and Ivey double dipped on 3-point baskets and the Spartans pulled within 4, 20-16.

The Spartans played with a lot of heart and hung tight against the 10th ranked Wolf Pack. SJSU trailed Nevada 26-18 late in the first.

The Wolf Pack missed a layup on the last possession in the first. The ball went to the Spartans, but Baumann missed a shot from a distance. Nevada’s shooting slump sort of carried over from Albuquerque, N.M. Nevada got blown out by New Mexico 85-58 last Saturday. Yet, SJSU headed to the locker room, trailing Nevada 32-23 at halftime.

The Spartans opened the second half with an unexpected surge that surprised the home crowd in Reno, Nev. LeCesne scored 7 early points to pull SJSU within 9, 41-32, at the 15:35 mark of the second.

SJSU trailed Nevada 49-34 at the 11:52 mark of the second. But if there was a silver lining (or two) for the Spartans, Steadman had 6 points and 10 rebounds, while Ivey added 10 points.

The Wolf Pack unleashed their fury, which likely stemmed from their most recent loss, on the Spartans. Nevada poured in the points as Caleb Martin hit quite a few 3s and Miles Morales drove to the basket for a 1-handed layup, which was a SportsCenter Top 10-worthy moment. And, of course, the Nevada DJ played “Sweet Caroline” by Neil Diamond, while the local media made plenty of references on the 1969 hit because of the one and only Jordan Caroline.

The Wolf Pack continued to pour in the points, and Jazz Johnson hit some 3s to close out the game. Nevada was in the driver’s seat 92-53 with 30 seconds left in the second. The Spartans fell to the Wolf Pack 92-53.

SJSU dropped to 3-11 (0-2 Mountain West), while Nevada rose to 15-1 (2-1 Mountain West)

SJSU returns home to host the Boise State Broncos on Saturday, January 12 at 12:00 pm PT.