Photo credit: ninerswire.usatoday.com
By Jeremy Harness
The last time the 49ers saw the Arizona Cardinals, they were embarrassed on their home field by a then-winless team, thus solidifying a lost season that hopes for a brighter future.
Since then, the Cardinals were blown out at home by a 2-4 Denver Broncos team, making the loss even worse.
The 49ers have a chance to gain a bit of redemption Sunday afternoon as they go on the road to face Arizona, a team that is now in complete disarray. To highlight matters, rookie Josh Rosen has struggled as the team’s new starting quarterback, and All Pro corner Patrick Peterson has expressed a strong desire to be traded away.
There are no such issues or drama in Santa Clara, but the injury situation remains the same.
Running back Matt Breida went down with another ankle injury in last Sunday’s blowout loss to the Rams, and he did not practice Wednesday because if it. At press time, he is questionable to play at Arizona this Sunday.
However, coach Kyle Shanahan said Wednesday that Breida’s condition has improved in the days following Sunday’s game, holding out hope that he could see action this weekend.
Meanwhile, receiver Pierre Garcon, who has contributed next to nothing this season, is doubtful to play against the Cardinals as he is dealing with a knee injury.
On the defensive side, there was good news and bad news. Cornerback Jimmie Ward made his way back to the practice field on Wednesday while working his way back from a hamstring ailment, but safety Adrian Colbert was placed on the injured-reserve list this week with a high ankle sprain.
He will be eligible to return for Week 16, per injured-reserve rules, but there is no telling if he will play once he is eligible.
For the Cardinals, the biggest names on the injury report are receiver Larry Fitzgerald, who did not practice Wednesday with a hamstring injury, while safety Tre Boston was held out of practice while he deals with shoulder and rib ailments.
Photo credit: @NBANewsNow247
By: Jeremiah Salmonson
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — It was game number five for the Sacramento Kings. In the previous four they won one game. Tonight they were looking to build off a strong showing against the Denver Nuggets. However, there was one thing in particular, the Kings had to improve their defense. The Kings’ offense has been putting together good displays, but the defense must improve in order to win games. The Kings and Memphis Grizzlies went at it at 7 pm local time inside the Golden 1 Center on Wednesday night.
The game would go back and forth in the opening minutes. Having played all but four minutes in the first the game was tied at 17 apiece. The Kings’ top scorers at the time were Willie Cauley-Stein, Buddy Hield, and De’Aaron Fox–all of which had 8 points. Turnovers would be the story in the final minutes of the first. Harry Giles would turn the ball over in back to back possessions as the Grizzlies added onto the lead. By the end of the first, the score would be 28-19 with the Grizzlies on top.
The second quarter started exactly how the first ended. The Kings turned over the ball multiple times with the Grizzlies taking advantage of their turnovers. With 4 minutes to go in the first half, the game’s score was 48-36 with the Grizzlies on top. At this point, the Kings had allowed 10 turnovers, leading to 14 points. The Kings made a run in the next few minutes, cutting the deficit to 44-52 leading into halftime.
The Kings decided to change the narrative of the game in the third quarter. What could have turned into a blowout loss turned into a comeback. Having not led in the game since the first quarter, the Kings took the lead with 5:20 left in the third quarter. De’Aaron Fox finished a layup to give the Kings the lead, 61-60. Both teams matched basket for basket, bringing the game to a screeching halt after the third tied at 71 apiece.
It was clear going into the fourth that the Kings had momentum on their side. The only question was if they could harness that and sink baskets. The Kings would score followed directly by a Grizzlies’ basket. This until Fox went to the rim with an authoritative dunk–coming from beyond three-point range. he slammed it home one-handed. This was followed by a Buddy Hield dunk after a Memphis time out. The score was 87-80 Kings with 6:30 to play. Fox and Marc Gasol got tangled up on the next play leading to a time out. Gasol was lifted and taken out of the game with an apparent collarbone injury. With 3:44 to play in the game, the Kings were up 89-82. The Kings continued to put the pressure on the Grizzlies and that led to a 95-86 lead with 18 seconds to go. The game ended 97-92 in favor of the Kings for their second win of the year.
Up next: The Kings will stay home to host the Washington Wizards on Friday at 7 pm PST.
Photo credit: bleacherreport.com
By: Ana Kieu
The #24 Stanford Cardinal has a top 25 matchup versus the #14 Washington State Cougars at Stanford Stadium on Saturday night. Not only that, it’ll be a Homecoming game for the home team, so that gives the coaches, players, media members and fans another reason to be excited to be at The Farm on Saturday.
If you haven’t already purchased your tickets for this matchup, you can do so by clicking on the tweet below.
Anyhow, let’s get to the fun stuff regarding Stanford football!
There has been nine clips of nine touchdowns by senior wide receiver JJ Arcega-Whiteside, including the clip in the tweet below.
Whiteside told Stanford football: “You know it’s coming. You can’t stop it.”
Wednesday was a good day for senior running back Bryce Love, who’s a Human Biology major, who was named one of ten finalists for the Senior CLASS Award. Love’s not only a team captain, but also an aspiring pediatrician. Love set the school record with 2,118 rushing yards in 2017 and recently surpassed 4,000 career all-purpose yards. Love’s an unanimous All-American and Pac-12 All-Academic honoree. Moreover, Love’s expected to graduate in December.
Enough about Love. How about senior wide receiver Trenton Irwin? Okay, Irwin may not be the flashiest player on the team nor does he possess blazing speed, but let’s not forget that he has caught at least one pass in 35 consecutive games for the eighth-longest streak in the country.
Last week, Irwin accomplished a few feats at Arizona State. Irwin matched his career-high with seven receptions and was selected Stanford’s Offensive Player of the Game.
Bradford M. Freeman Director of Football David Shaw told Stanford Football: “I think Trent has been phenomenal … He’s been awesome on third downs, he’s made big plays downfield, he’s made game-changing plays, both with the fumble recovery against San Diego State and a key block in this last game. He’s given us everything he’s got.”
Fun Fact
Irwin likes to collect jerseys–mostly football ones–and has at least 120 of them.
Junior quarterback KJ Costello has been blossoming on the field. Costello has been refining his craft in more ways than one.
Shaw commented on Costello’s performance at Arizona State to Stanford Football: “It was one of his most efficient games … He took care of the football, scrambled for positive yards, checked down a couple times, and was seeing the defense very well. This was a big step for him from an efficiency standpoint and he still was able to make those big throws down the field.”
And, of course, we’ll go over this week’s NFL standouts who were Stanford alumni.
Philadelphia Eagles tight end Zach Ertz continued his stellar season with another standout performance in the Eagles’ 21-17 loss against the Carolina Panthers, leading the team in targets (11), receptions (9) and receiving yards (138). Ertz’s 57 catches are the seventh most in NFL history after seven games and, in 2018, lead all other tight ends by 19. He ranks fifth in the NFL in receiving yards (618) and third in targets (78), and is on pace for 130 catches and 1,413 yards, which would pass the previous all-time records set by Jason Witten (110 catches in 2012) and Rob Gronkowski (1,327 yards in 2011), respectively.
Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck continued his excellent season with a four-touchdown performance in the Colts’ 37-7 rout against the Buffalo Bills. Luck completed 17-of-23 passes for 156 yards and zero interceptions, upping his season total to 20, which ranks second in the NFL. Luck’s four-game run of tossing three or more touchdowns is the longest active streak in the NFL, while his 65 percent completion rate is a career-high.
Minnesota Vikings defensive tackle David Parry made three solo tackles on 34 percent of defensive snaps in the Vikings’ 37-17 win at the New York Jets. Parry added two quarterback hurries and two run stops while earning a 74.5 grade from Pro Football Focus, the fifth-highest of any Viking.
Houston Texans safety Justin Reid played all 68 defensive snaps of the Texans’ 20-7 win at the Jacksonville Jaguars, finishing with five solo tackles. Over the course of the Texans’ last three games, Reid has played 186 of 192 possible defensive snaps. On the season, Reid has surrendered just six catches for 74 yards with zero missed tackles.
Byes
Green Bay Packers (Blake Martinez, Ty Montgomery); Pittsburgh Steelers (David DeCastro); Seattle Seahawks (Doug Baldwin)
Photo credit: @sjbarracuda
On the San Jose Barracuda podcast with Marko:
#1 How tough was it to lose to Stockton on home ice last Sunday after winning five of their first seven games in San Jose’s best start?
#2 The previous night before San Jose on Saturday got a three-goal win in Stockton 5-2, but the Heat was hot and wanted a revenge and bounced back on Sunday with a 3-2 win.
#3 In the second period, the Barracuda were in penalty trouble and they got shelled when Spencer Foo hit a goal for his fifth of the season and the Heat took a 3-0 lead.
#4 The Barracuda also struggled to score in the first ten minutes of the second period and that also costed them time and effort, especially when Stockton was converting shots.
#5 The Barracuda get set for San Antonio on Friday, October 26th at 5:30 pm. Marko sets this one up for us.
Marko Ukalovic does the Barracuda podcast each Wednesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com
Photo credit: @SJEarthquakes and kron4.com7
On the San Jose sports podcast with Ana:
1. The San Jose Earthquakes announced their 2018 Club Award winners on Friday night, which included forward Danny Hoesen as Most Valuable Player, defender Nick Lima as Defensive Player of the Year and goalkeeper Matt Bersano for the Andrew Bedard Spirit of the Game Award/Humanitarian of the Year. These awards recognize players that have made a positive impact with the Quakes.
2. The Quakes honored 12 recipients of a Devotion Scarf at halftime of Sunday’s match at Avaya Stadium. Those recipients include Dorene Bolanos, Terry Cotting-Morgan, Curtis Hisao, Jacquie and Jeff Hofmann, Colin McCarthy, Kevin Moore, Raul Peralez, Cezar Popovici, Joe Santos Sr., Susan Silveira and John Wondolowski.
3. San Jose State Spartans cheerleader Anjela Jose died after being ejected from a car in an accident on Sunday, October 14. Jose was from South San Francisco.
4. The Spartans lost a heartbreaker 16-13 to the Aztecs on Saturday, October 20. Brent Brennan hasn’t matched or surpassed the two wins that he earned last year. What do the Spartans need to do in order to win games?
Ana does the San Jose sports podcasts each week for SportsRadioService.com
Photo credit: @NBCSGiants
By Jeremy Kahn
Hank Greenwald, one of the most beloved announcers in the history of the San Francisco Bay Area sports scene, passed away on Monday afternoon at the age of 83.
Greenwald, who was born in Detroit in 1935, graduated from Syracuse University in 1957 and then went on to work for the then Syracuse Nationals (now the Philadelphia 76ers) of the NBA. It was in 1964, that he moved to the San Francisco Bay Area and teamed up with the erstwhile Bill King and the Warriors, who still were known as the San Francisco Warriors.
After flourishing in the minor leagues, Greenwald was hired to work San Francisco Giants games with one of his idols, Lindsay Nelson. Greenwald left the Giants after the 1986 season to work for the New York Yankees for two seasons, but then returned to the Bay Area and the Giants for the 1989 season.
It was during that magical 1989 season that saw the Giants return to the World Series for the first time since 1962, and Greenwald uttered his famous quote. “Twenty-seven years of waiting have come to an end! The Giants have won the pennant!”
Greenwald once again left the Giants after the 1996 season, but returned to the broadcast booth with the Oakland A’s for the 2004 and 2005 seasons before hanging up his mike for good.
He is survived by his beloved wife Carla, their son Doug, who is currently the broadcaster for the Fresno Grizzlies (Triple-A affiliate for the Washington Nationals) and daughter Kellie.
photo from the sacbee.com: Kings forward Marvin Bagley III, right, works against Denver Nuggets forward Trey Lyles on Tuesday at Pepsi Center. Bagley scored 20 points in the Kings’ 126-112 loss
quotes from the sacbee.com
By London Marq
The Sacramento Kings were exhausted after completing their three game road trip in Denver to the tune of 126-112 loss to the Denver Nuggets. The Nuggets are undefeated use the Pepsi Center to their advantage as teams come up to the Mile High City and sometimes struggle with the altitude such as the Kings’ Justin Jackson was referring to as the team got a little tired in the second half of the game, “It’s always hard to come to Denver and play,” Jackson said. “The altitude is pretty nuts out here. Did we get fatigued a little bit? We might have, and it’s pretty understandable. … It’s Denver. The altitude is — you can push for so long, (but) eventually you’re going to get a little tired.”
The Kings’ Marvin Bagley III enjoyed hitting a Kings’ mark for a rookie not achieved since 1995 with 20 points, nine rebounds, five blocked shots. The last time a Kings player did that was Brian Grant in 1995. Bagley became the third NBA rookie player to hit those totals joining former Detroit Piston John Salley (1987) and Stanley Roberts (1992).
“I’ve got to give it my all every time I step out on the floor no matter what the score is,” Bagley said. “I love playing this game and I think I’d be cheating myself if I didn’t go as hard as I possibly could and still be a great teammate no matter what the circumstances may be.”
The Kings return back to Sacramento for a Wednesday night contest with the Memphis Grizzlies at Golden 1 Center. Jeremiah Salmonson has your game coverage.
London Marq is a Sacramento Kings beat writer at http://www.sportsradioservice.com
Photo credit: sjsharks.com
By Pearl Allison Lo
The San Jose Sharks’ Brenden Dillon, Joe Pavelski and Brent Burns completed the comeback Tuesday to break the Nashville Predators’ five-game winning streak at Bridgestone Arena on Tuesday night.
Things were looking grim with the Sharks down two in the third. as they encountered their second penalty of the period at 9:57. However, Dillon scored San Jose’s fourth short-handed goal as he went from one end of the ice to the other solo, shooting from the left faceoff circle to score from the left faceoff circle under Juuse Saros’s right arm at 11:40. It was a grand goal for Dillon’s first of the season. Burns Tomas Hertl gave the assists.
Sharks head coach Pete DeBoer issued a statement regarding Dillon: “Obviously he got us back in the game. Couldn’t be a more deserving guy. Probably the best teammate we have in there from a do anything for the group (standpoint).”
36 seconds later, Pavelski replied in kind. Evander Kane made a strong move from the other end and when reaching the offensive zone, passed to Logan Couture, who passed to Pavelski. It was a similar goal to Dillon’s that went far side to tie the game again since the first half of the second.
The piece of resistance was then set in play when Viktor Arvidsson was called for a high stick. Seven seconds before the power play expired, Burns one-timed the game-winner. He was helped by fellow defensemen Kane and Erik Karlsson.
It was a long time coming for Burns and the Sharks in Nashville regarding the regular season. Burns had not scored a goal a similar goal since November 16, 2006 and San Jose had not won since October 25, 2011.
The Sharks now have won three straight, their highest win streak of the season.
It was Saros’s first loss of the season as he made 27 saves. Saros finished playing his second full game since starter Pekka Rinne left Friday’s game and was placed on injured reserve Saturday.
The Predators scored consecutive goals twice in the game. Each of their goals featured at least one player from their top line of Arvidsson, Filip Forsberg and Ryan Johansen.
Arvidsson received the second star of the game with a game-high three points, two goals and an assist.
Each team scored in the first period.
San Jose’s Timo Meier started things off with his second goal in as many games at 6:58, aided by Joonas Donskoi and Burns on the power play. Meier’s points streak is now at a career-high six.
Arvidsson tied the game at one apiece at 11:14.
In the second, each team started off trading goals.
Nashville got their first lead just 21 seconds in when Forsberg scored, helped by Johansen and Ryan Ellis. It was Forsberg’s sixth goal and Johansen and Ellis’s sixth assists.
Hertl re-tied the game at 7:51, assisted by Couture and Meier.
Arvidsson struck again at 10:45 though, as the Predators regained the lead. He was aided by his fellow linemates this time, Forsberg and Johansen.
Nashville then built a two-goal lead with 15 seconds left in the period. It was a case of 2-on-1 crossbars having different results with Barclay Goodrow missing off the crossbar and after at the other end, Craig Smith scoring off it to make it 4-2.
Up Next: The Sharks will play the middle game of their three-game road trip Friday at 4:30 pm PT versus the Carolina Hurricanes.
Photo credit: sjsuspartans.com
By: Ana Kieu
San Jose State is gearing up for their Saturday game versus UNLV. This Mountain West match-up will count as the Spartans’ eighth game of the season. The Spartans are hoping for a win, and in case you missed it, you can watch head coach Brent Brennan’s press conference below.
Now, let’s get to the fun stuff. Here’s what you need to know about Saturday’s home game.
Saturday Funday
SJSU vs. UNLV
Saturday, October 27, 2018
CEFCU Stadium, San Jose, Calif.
3:30 pm PT
AT&T SportsNet
SJSU’s record
0-7, 0-3 Mountain West. Most recently, SJSU lost at San Diego State, 16-13, on October 20. The Spartans’ last win was a 20-17 victory over MW member Wyoming on November 25, 2017.
UNLV’s record
2-5, 0-3 Mountain West. The Rebels lost their fourth in a row to Air Force, 41-35, on October 19.
Series history
SJSU leads the series, 15-6-1. The Rebels won for the first time in eight meetings last year in a 41-13 triumph in Las Vegas. The Spartans posted a 30-24 MW victory in 2016 when the teams last met in CEFCU Stadium.
Television
AT&T SportsNet will provide play-by-play coverage of the SJSU-UNLV game. The live telecast is scheduled for 3:30 pm PT.
AT&T SportsNet is available on: DirecTV Channel 684, DISH Network Channel 414 and UVerse Channel 757.
Radio
KLIV (1590 AM, San Jose) originates SJSU football broadcasts. Justin Allegri calls the play-by-play. Kevin Richardson provides commentary. The UNLV broadcast begins at 3:00 pm PT with a pregame show.
SJSU’s network affiliate is KION (1460 AM/101.1 FM, Salinas).
KSJS (90.5 FM, San Jose) also will broadcast the UNLV game. The pre-game show begins at 3:15 pm PT.
Family affair
UNLV fullback Daniel Godfrey is the son of former SJSU linebacker Dan Godfrey, a two-time All-Big West Conference linebacker during the 1993 and 1994 seasons, respectively.
UNLV defensive backs coach Al Simmons was a graduate assistant on the 2005 SJSU staff led by Dick Tomey.
UNLV director of athletics Desiree Reed-Francois was SJSU’s director of compliance from 1999 through 2002.
SJSU’s defense turns in strong performance at SDSU
SDSU scored only one touchdown in its 16-13 victory over SJSU. The last time the Spartans limited an opponent to a single six-pointer in a game was a 13-0 loss to Hawaii on November 15, 2014 at CEFCU Stadium.
SJSU kept the SDSU offense in check yielding a season-low 293 yards–the first time since the November 26, 2016 win at Fresno State that the defense kept an opponent under 300 yards of total offense.
Improvements in pass defense
In SJSU’s last three games, opponents are completing just over 50% of their passing attempts (23-of-45) for five touchdowns. In the team’s first four games of the season, the Spartans gave up 13 passing touchdowns and no less than 309 passing yards per game.
Spartans end touchdown drought
SJSU’s third-quarter TD with 0:50 remaining on a Malike Roberson 1-yard run was the Spartans’ first TD since Thai Cottrell caught a 1-yard pass from quarterback Josh Love in the Colorado State game. SJSU was 13 seconds short of two complete games (1:59:47) of not scoring a TD.
Crawford’s field goals
Placekicker Bryce Crawford has made his last three field goal tries in the Army West Point and SDSU games. He’s 9-of-14 for the season with a season-long 49-yard FG against Army.
Papazian’s short punts
Punter Brian Papazian specializes in short punts. Of his seven punts in the three games he played, six landed inside the opponent’s 20-yard line. Fresno State punter Blake Cusick is the only MW punter in games played through October 20th to have at least 50% of his punts land inside the 20-yard line (18-of-30).
If you’re also a San Jose State basketball fan, you should make plans for the upcoming season by checking out the tweet below.
