Kings use fast start to knock off the Suns 122-105 in Phoenix

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Photo credit: @SacramentoKings

By: Ana Kieu

The Sacramento Kings were looking to make it two wins in a row on Tuesday evening against the Phoenix Suns at the Talking Stick Resort Arena. And win they did.

The Kings’ starters featured De’Aaron Fox, Buddy Hield, Iman Shumpert, Nemanja Bjelica and Willie Cauley-Stein. Prior to the game, Shumpert talked about his routine on and off the court. Shumpert told the local media: “I like being able to show that you can do more than one thing and do it at a high level.”

The Kings surprised the crowd and most, if not all, of basketball Twitter as they seriously took an early lead and never looked back. The Kings led the Suns 36-9 at the end of the first quarter.

Then, the Kings put the game out of reach with a whopping 40-9 lead over the Suns with 9:48 left in the second quarter. There were a few plays that were impeccable like Bogdan Bogdanovic’s flashy pass and Kosta Koufos’ signature floater. The Kings brought a 68-40 lead to the locker room at halftime.

The Suns’ Twitter account sent a tweet to the Kings early in the second half. The Suns tweeted: “You’re literally playing your OWN game right now. Focus on that.” Of course, the Kings retweeted it and wrote a comment that said “We are.”

“Can’t stop, won’t stop” was the perfect phrase to describe the Kings in the third and fourth quarters, respectively. Fox showed numerous highlight reel moments like he was some sort of God. There were a lot for us to choose from, but check out this noteworthy moment in the embedded tweet below.

The Kings held a comfortable 99-67 lead over the Suns at the end of three quarters.

Aside from Fox’s dominance, it’s worth noting that Harry Giles III made a 4-point hook shot with less than nine minutes in the fourth. The crowd was amazed and so were we.

The Kings defeated the Suns 122-105. It wasn’t even close. Buddy Hield led the Kings with 20 points, 5 rebounds and 1 assist. Fox finished with 16 points and 7 assists. Bogdanovic had 14 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists.

And, if you’re a Kings fan, you were extremely happy. Oh and don’t forget that if someone asks you a question along the lines of “You’re still a Kings fan after all these years?” just shrug and give him or her a funny look like you don’t want to be bothered right now.

The Kings head to Cleveland to take on the Cavs on Friday, Dec. 7 at 4:30 pm PST.

San Francisco 49ers podcast with David Zizmor: Niners just simply helpless in Seattle last Sunday; Sherman embarrassed by Hawks’ run game on the defense

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mercurynews.com photo: The San Francisco 49ers Richard Sherman (25) shakes hands with Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll who coached Sherman during the years he was with the Seahawks. It was Sherman’s first game back at Century Link since joining San Francisco.

On the 49ers podcast with David:

#1 After watching Sunday’s drubbing at CenturyLink Field 43-16 as the 49ers got mopped with the floor by the Seattle Seahawks. How many of the following factors played into the loss? The CenturyLink crowd loud as usual as the 12th man, the Seahawks defense kept 49ers quarterback Nick Mullens running all day, and even if they don’t admit it did the Reuben Foster case have an impact on this team?

#2 49ers cornerback Richard Sherman, the former Seattle Seahawk, got an earful from the Seattle fans and also gave up an 18-yard touchdown pass to the Hawks’ Jaron Brown. How humiliating was this game for Sherman?

David Zizmor does the 49ers podcasts each Tuesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Jose State preps for Bethune Cookman in hopes of getting back into win column

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Photo credit: sjsuspartans.com

By: Ana Kieu

SAN JOSE, Calif. — The San Jose State Spartans’ men basketball team often practices and plays to the catchy song of “Let’s Go” by Calvin Harris ft. Ne-Yo, but this week gives the song a whole new meaning as San Jose State has to get back in the win column after six straight losses. Like Ne-Yo sings in his verse “Let’s go. Make no excuses now. I’m talking here and now.”

Now, let us tell you what you need to know prior to SJSU’s tipoff vs. Bethune Cookman Thursday night on KLIV 1590 AM with Justin Allegri.

Game No. 8
Bethune Cookman (4-4) vs. San Jose State (1-6)
Thursday, Dec. 6, 7:00 pm PST
Event Center (5,000)
San Jose, Calif.

Pregame with Prioleau
Spartans head coach Jean Prioleau will be the subject of the second “Pregame With Prioleau” held Friday, Dec. 7, at 7:30 am PST in the Spartans Men’s Basketball Team Lounge inside YUH on campus. Fans in attendance will have the opportunity to hear from Prioleau as he recaps the season thus far and looks forward to what is next.

Cost is $25 and involves a full breakfast. Free street parking is available. To RSVP, email Blake Sasaki at blake.sasaki@sjsu.edu

Live stats
Spartan fans can view live stats of all SJSU men’s basketball games, home and away, by accessing the Live Stats feature at www.sjsuspartans.com. Click on the link on the women’s basketball schedule page to follow the action.

All-access passport
The Mountain West Network is your all-access passport to Spartan Athletics. For live and recorded video/audio of SJSU men’s basketball home and Mountain West road contests, the Mountain West Network is your home. Go to Mountain West Network logo at top of the Spartans Athletics home page or go to www.sjsuspartans.com/video.

Newcomers
SJSU’s top five scorers are all newcomers led by the junior transfer trio of Brae Ivey (13.3), Michael Steadman (13.3) and Craig LeCesne (10.4). Freshmen Seneca Knight (6.1) and Christian Anigwe (6.0) round out the list.

In case you missed it 
SJSU dropped to 1-6 as Indiana State went off for 86 points after shooting 76 percent from the floor in the half and finishing at 64 percent for the game. SJSU found little success on their end of the scoresheet, converting just 30 percent from the field.

Winning the boards
Prioleau preaches the importance of winning the boards, and his team has taken care of business in that department thus far. SJSU currently leads their opponents in rebounding margin at +3.7 and have particularly strong on the offensive boards, ranking second in the conference (12.4 per game).

Steady Steadman
JUCO transfer Michael Steadman is off to a hot start at his new home at SJSU. He currently ranks 5th in the conference in total rebounds per game (8.9) and is riding a five-game streak of double digit scoring. He was named to the Junkanoo Jam All-Tournament team after averaging 11.7 points and 7 rebounds per game. Steadman has two of the team’s three double-doubles this season.

Second season for Prioleau
Prioleau is entering his second season at the helm of SJSU men’s basketball and is coming off his first full offseason with the program. Prioleau was hired on Aug. 4, 2017, and given just three months to prepare for his debut season. Now with a full offseason under his belt to prepare the team, Prioleau and his staff are excited about the team’s potential.

Staff shakeup
Jean Prioleau made some changes to his staff in the offseason as he brought in former NC State All-American Julius Hodge as an assistant coach. He also promoted director of basketball operations, Ryan Cooper, to assistant coach.

First ever meeting between the teams
Bethune Cookman’s stop at the Event Center is the second of a three-game California road trip. The Wildcats will face St. Mary’s on Tuesday and finish at Cal Poly on Saturday, Dec. 8. Entering the road trip, they are 4-4 with wins over Trinity Baptist (104-44), Johnson University (97-47), Stetson (84-74) and Florida Atlantic (72-70). They’re averaging 75 points per game and have limited opponents to just 38.9 percent shooting from the field.

Thursday’s game will be the first meeting between the programs.

Big Game Baumann
SJSU sophomore Noah Baumann is once again displaying his impressive 3-point shooting abilities this season after finishing in the top-40 in the Mountain West in that department as a freshman. He’s currently 12-of-23 from downtown for a 52.2 percent clip that ranks third in the conference.

Warriors do the KD Splash in the ATL: Hawks dispatched, 128-111

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By Morris Phillips

The Warriors had that look again on Monday night in Atlanta, and Stephen Curry ascended to the superstar zone first, soon after he shook the hand of Trae Young, his sharpshooter protege, prior to the opening tip.

Curry put up 18 of his game-best 30 points in the first quarter, single-handedly outscoring the Hawks in the frame, as the Warriors posted a momentum-changing 128-111 win.

“We controlled the tempo in the first quarter, the defense kicked in, and that set the tone,” Curry said.

Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson soon joined Curry as all three hit show-off mode at some juncture of the evening. The Warriors’ stars all had 10 made baskets, with Durant finishing with 28 points, and Thompson 27.

Young didn’t fare well facing Curry for the first time. The rookie from Oklahoma forced some passes and never found his shooting stroke. Young finished with 20 points, but need 20 shot attempts to get there, while committing seven turnovers (all on the first half) and failing to make a 3-pointer (0 for 5).

“It’s hard to stop someone like that,” Young said. “He’s going to score. He’s going to find ways to make plays. You just have to try to make it difficult if you can.”

The Warriors led by 17 after one, and by 14 at the half, before finishing the Hawks with a 67-point second half. The Hawks didn’t do themselves any favors with 18 turnovers juxtaposed against 23 assists. Young finished with just three of those assists.

“I thought we played well, then you take the turnovers into the equation and you figure you’re going to have a long night,” said Hawks coach Lloyd Pierce, who served as a Warriors’ assistant during Curry’s rookie season.

Former Warriors Kent Bazemore and Jeremy Lin suffered rougher stat lines than Young, particularly due to being on the floor when Golden State surged. Bazemore missed five of his six shots, and had a team-worst -23 plus/minus.

Lin fared better offensively, with 14 points and 5 assists. But his plus/minus was -17.

Curry offered advice for Young, after missing the rookie’s visit to Oakland last month due to his groin injury that cost him 11 games.

“Don’t worry about comparisons, just play the game, get better,” Curry said of Young.

The Warriors continue their road trip on Wednesday in Cleveland, the site of their most recent World Championship title victory in June.

Barracuda shoot down Gulls with 5-3 win

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Photo credit: @sjbarracuda

By Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE, Calif. — The San Jose Barracuda scored two unanswered goals early and then three unanswered late in the game to take down the San Diego Gulls 5-3 on Monday evening at SAP Center. They have now won three games in a row and sit atop the Pacific Division with 29 points.

Kyle Wood scored the game-winning goal at the 6:45 mark of the third period when Francis Perron led him with a pass into the San Diego zone. With the help of a screen from Alexander True, Wood fired a shot from the point past Gulls goalie Jared Coreau (3-4-2) for his first goal of the season. Wood finished with a two-point night (1G, 1A).

“I’ve been trying to chip in any way possible,” said Wood. “It’s nice to see that one finally go in. (It) only took 18 or 19 games. So it was a big relief.”

San Jose (13-3-1-2) drew first blood early into the first period. Kyle Wood skated in along the right boards, fed a wide open Alex True, who beat Coreau top self into the upper left corner of the goal for his fifth goal of the season at the 3:53 mark. Keaton Middleton received the secondary assist.

Wood made an excellent defensive play to stop a goal from San Diego (8-8-1-1) three minutes after assisting on True’s goal. Troy Terry was able to keep inside the Cuda zone when San Jose failed to clear the puck. He fed a pass to the left slot to Kalle Kossila, who had a wide-open net to shoot at. Wood made a diving save with his body to keep the score 1-0 in favor of San Jose.

San Jose dominated play in the penalty-free opening frame as they outshot San Diego 16-5.

San Diego had a short-handed scoring chance just before the halfway mark of the second period from Joseph Blandisi, but Cuda goalie Josef Korenar (8-1-1) was able to stop Blandisi’s wrist shot without giving up a rebound.

San Jose extended its lead to 2-0 when Nick DeSimone had possession of the puck along the right boards and threaded a pass into the middle of the crease where captain John McCarthy re-directed the puck past Coreau for his fifth goal of the season at the 12:16 mark. Rourke Chartier received the secondary assist.

San Jose closed out the middle frame with the ice tilted in their favor as they outshot San Diego 14-7.

San Diego cut the lead in the half early in the third period when Devin Sideroff won a battle behind the net and fed a pass over to a wide open Alex Dostie, who was all alone on Korenar and snapped a back-hander into the lower right corner of the net for his first goal of the season at the 2:17 mark. Ben Thomson received the secondary assist. Luke Schenn received the secondary assist.

It didn’t take long for the Gulls to get the equalizer 13 seconds later. Blandisi fought his way to win a battle and sent a pass to a crashing Chase Deleo, who corralled the puck and tapped it home past Korenar for his fifth goal of the season at the 2:30 mark.

“They scored those two quick goals and we just kinda stuck with it,” said Cuda head coach Roy Sommer. “We get down, guys buckle in and they get mad. They want to continue the success we’re having.”

Evan Weinger gave the Cuda san insurance goal when he finished off a pretty 2-on-1 chance burying the puck past Coreau into the upper right corner for his fifth goal of the season at the 11:19 mark. Matt Fonteyne skated in along the left boards and sent in a pass right to the tape of Weinger, who made no mistake about it as Coreau never had a chance in making a save. Jeffery Truchon-Viel received the secondary assist.

Steve Olesky immediately went after Weinger in frustration with Truchon-Viel coming to the aid of his teammate. Both Truchon-Viel and Olesky received matching roughing penalties.

True scored his second goal of the night on an empty netter with the Gulls having pulled Coreau with over three minutes remaining in the game. Jon Martin fed the puck over to True who did a spin-o-rama before cashing in with his sixth goal of the season at the 17:11 mark.

Terry completed the scoring when he beat Korenar with a point-blank shot that went top-shelf after taking a feed from Blandisi from behind the net. Terry’s eighth goal of the season came at the 18:42 mark.

Korenar finished the game, making 19 saves on 22 shots for the victory. Coreau made 32 saves on 36 shots in suffering the defeat.

GAME NOTES: San Jose was 0/2 on the power play. San Diego never received a power play opportunity. 

This was the first of 10 meetings between the two teams, including twice more in December. San Jose was 4-3-1-0 against San Diego last season and are now 14-12-3-2 all time against them.

San Jose have allowed a league-low 44 goals this season and are now currently first in the AHL in goal-differential with +25. The Iowa Wild are second with +23.

The announced attendance was 3,092.

UP NEXT: The Barracuda head south to Bakersfield to take on the Condors on Saturday, Dec. 8 at Rabobank Arena at 7:00 pm.

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary podcast: Cora will hold his nose and honor White House invitation; Cano heads back to N.Y. as a Met; plus more

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photo from bostonherald.com: The Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora poses with the Puerto Rican flag during last October’s celebration after the Sox won the World Series. Cora says he will take the White House up on their offer and celebrate with the Sox their Championship

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

#1 The Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora said that he and the Sox would appear at the White House in spite of his political difference with Trump. Cora from Puerto Rico disagreed on the amount of people that were left dead from Hurricane Maria in 2017. Cora called Trump’s comment’s disrespectful, but regardless plans to put his differences aside and take the team to the White House to honor their World’s Championship in 2018.

#2 Robinson Cano and closer Edwin Diaz were traded from Seattle to the New York Mets. Cano is a former New York Yankee from 2005-2013 and comes back to the Big Apple this time as a Met. Cano hit .304, with 10 HRs and 50 RBIs. Diaz’s pitch was 0-4 but had an ERA 1.96, 73.1 innings pitched struck out 124, 41 hits and 17 runs.

#3 On ESPN’s show Pardon the Interruption, the subject of the San Francisco Giants trading Madison Bumgarner came up. Bum has been getting hung up and also lost some games that was not Bumgarner fashion last season. Bumgarner was 6-7 and had a 3.26 ERA.

#4. Kyler Murray will not choose football, despite having a Heisman contending year for Oklahoma University. Had Murray stayed with football, it is very likely he would have been a first round draft pick. Instead, Murray will report to Spring Training with the Oakland A’s. Murray hit .296, 13 doubles, with 10 home runs last season for the Sooners. Did Murray make the right choice to play baseball?

#5 Finally, can you see Bryce Harper signing with the Chicago Cubs? The money is there and all the benefits that go with it, can it happen?

Amaury does That’s Amaury each Tuesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Jose State football is on the right path

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Photo credit: @SJSUSpartanFB

By: Ana Kieu

It’s Monday, and while there aren’t a lot of things going on at San Jose State, I’m still going to give you a rundown of what has happened this past weekend.

First off, we’d like to wish our Jewish followers a Happy Hanukkah. Chag Sameach!

Second, the Spartans managed a comeback at Fresno State against the Bulldogs, but their hopes of tying the Valley Trophy game to force overtime fell short as they lost 31-13 in enemy territory. But, if you take a look at the positives, you can see that Spartans head coach Brent Brennan and his team have made progress on and off the field. Yes, I know my initial prediction of five wins before the start of the 2018 season was far-fetched, but it’s possible for the Spartans to pick up five wins in the 2019 season. The Spartans just have to watch the tape and learn from their mistakes that cost them quite a few wins they could’ve gotten this past season.

Third, the Spartans lost to the visiting Wolf Pack 21-12 on Senior Day on Nov. 17. But that was another productive game for the Spartans, who welcomed a special guest that warm, sunny Saturday afternoon. The kickoff was originally scheduled for 3:00 pm, but it was pushed back to 12:00 pm due to the poor air quality from the Camp Fire in Butte County. However, the loss and the smoke never affected Robert, a 14-year-old Stage 4 Hodgkins Lymphoma patient since June. Robert has been fighting since his diagnosis of the difficult disease this summer. Robert enjoyed the game and got the chance to meet the Spartans players and cheerleaders–both of whom made his day.

Last but not least, Riverside City College quarterback Stoney Waters had a great meeting with San Jose State quarterbacks coach Ryan Gunderson and offensive coordinator Kevin McGiven. Waters took to Twitter on Monday to let the Twitterverse know that he was blessed to announce that he received an offer from the Spartans. We’ll see what happens next, but Waters would be an excellent addition to the quarterback position at SJSU.

Cal Bears basketball podcast with Morris Phillips and Michael Duca: Cal looks to rebound from St. Mary’s loss, host USF Wednesday night

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photo from calbears.com: The Cal Bears Justice Sueing (10) drives to the net against the St Mary’s Gales on Saturday night. The Gales snapped their four game losing streak beating Cal.

Join Michael Duca and Morris Phillips on this edition of Sportstalk as they host the Cal Bears basketball podcast. They discuss Cal’s loss to St Mary’s last Saturday night in Moraga ending St Mary’s four game losing streak. Malik Fitts scored 19 points–one of four St. Mary’s double-digit scorers–in the Gaels’ comfortable 83-71 win over Cal. St. Mary’s shot 55 percent before halftime, and led by 15 at the break.

Justice Sueing paced the Bears with 16 points. Matt Bradley had 15, and Paris Austin had 12. The Bears again struggled with ball movement and offensive cohesion with their absurdly low assist total of six jumping off the stat sheet. As the Golden Bears drop a tough one 83-71.

The Bears host the USF Dons Wednesday night at Haas Pavilion for an 8:00PM tip

Cal Bears podcast with Morris Phillips: Surprise for Cal to be bowl eligible as they head to the Cheez-It Bowl

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photo from azbigmedia.com: The Cal Bears will take on the Horned Frogs from TCU Wednesday December 26th for the Cheez It Bowl at Chase Field in downtown Phoenix

On the Cal Bears football podcast with Morris:

#1 Cal Bears head coach Justin Wilcox call Cal’s invitation to the Cheez-It Bowl a reward for the players.

#2 After losing nine straight Big Games and taking the loss last Saturday to Stanford, the Bears certainly welcome the chance to be in this bowl game.

#3 The Cheez-It Bowl will be on Wednesday, December 26th, which will be played on artificial turf at Chase Field in downtown Phoenix.

#4 Speaking for the school, Wilcox said it was important for the students, faculty, a reward for players what does this do for the university.

#5 Cal (7-5) and the TCU Horned Frogs (6-6) almost have identical records and season. Morris tells us how he sees this matchup.

Morris does the Cal Bears podcasts each Monday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Ducks and Spartans to meet in the Redbox Bowl at Levi’s Stadium

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Photo credit: youtube.com

By Jeremy Kahn

With the College Football Season turning into bowl season, there will be a great matchup between teams from the Big Ten and Pac-12 Conferences, respectively.

This is the first playing of what is now called the Redbox Bowl, but it is 17th overall bowl game in the Bay Area and it will feature the Michigan State Spartans of the Big 10 Conference versus the Oregon Ducks of the Pac-12 Conference.

In the previous six meetings between the Spartans and Ducks, the series is tied at three wins apiece. This past August, the two perennial powerhouses of their respective conferences agreed to a home-and-home series that will take place in 2029 and 2030.

“The Redbox Bowl is thrilled to welcome two storied college football brands with shared history like Oregon and Michigan State to play in front of a primetime national audience at Levi’s Stadium,” said Ryan Oppelt, executive director of the Redbox Bowl. “The Ducks and Spartans have large alumni contingents in the Bay Area so we couldn’t ask for a better way to kick off an incredible week of post-season football in the Bay Area that will culminate with the CFP National Championship on January 7th.”

The Spartans won the last meeting between the teams, as they defeated the Ducks 31-28 at Spartan Stadium on September 12, 2015.

This will be the 28th bowl game appearance for the Spartans, and the 11th under current head coach Mark Dantonio, the most by any coach in school history. The Spartans set a school record by playing in nine consecutive bowl games from 2009-2017.

During the streak, the Spartans won a school record four consecutive bowl games, including a win over the Georgia Bulldogs in the 2011 Outback Bowl, the 2012 Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl over the Texas Christian Horned Frogs, the 2014 Rose Bowl over the Stanford Cardinal and the 2015 Cotton Bowl over the Baylor Bears.

All-time, the Spartans are 12-15 entering the Redbox Bowl and 5-5 under Dantonio, including a win over the Washington State Cougars in the 2017 Holiday Bowl.

This is the first full season in Eugene for current Head Coach Mario Cristobal, but bowl games are nothing new for the Ducks, as this is the 13th bowl game for the Ducks in the past 14 seasons. Cristobal was the interim coach for the Ducks in the 2017 Las Vegas Bowl after the firing of former Head Coach Mark Helfrich.

Overall, this is the 32nd appearance for the Ducks and 13-18 overall and this is the 12th appearance for the Ducks in bowl games played in the State of California.