LeBron James, Brandon Ingram lead the way over the Warriors 123-113

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By Jerry Feitelberg

The Los Angeles Lakers were able to hold off the defending NBA Champion Golden State Warriors 123-113 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Wednesday night. It was the Warriors’ third preseason game, and they suffered their second loss in a row. The Warriors were missing All-Star forward Draymond Green with a sore knee, and DeMarcus Cousins was not available as he recovers from an Achilles tendon injury.

The Warriors lost two big men over the off-season. Zaza Pachulia went to the Detroit Pistons, and JaVale McGee became an LA Laker. Head coach Steve Kerr has to hope that Damien Jones and Kevon Looney will be able to do the job until Cousins is ready to play.

With LeBron James on board, the Lakers will no longer be a pushover for the Warriors. LeBron played the first half and was in mid-season form as he scored 15 points and had 10 rebounds and five assists in the first half. The Warriors won the first quarter 34-31, but the Lakers outscored them 30-23 in the second period to finish the first half with a 61-57 lead. Steph Curry and Kevin Durant each scored 18 to pace the Warrior attack.

Curry,  Durant and Klay Thompson saw action in the third quarter, but left the game midway through the period. Kerr used his bench players the rest of the way, but they were not able to catch the Lakers. The Lakers were paced by Ingram in the third quarter, and he finished the night with26 points. The Lakers outscored Golden State 41-35 in the third period, and the Warriors won the fourth quarter 21-20.

Notes: Steph Curry was sharp as he netted 23 points and recorded five assists, but had five turnovers. Klay scored 18. Durant ended the night with 18. Durant also fouled out midway through the third quarter.

Brandon Ingram led the Lakers with 26. Kentavius Caldwell-Pope tallied 20. Kyle Kuzma, who came off the bench, knocked down 22 in 24 minutes. Lonzo Ball saw 23 minutes of action, but scored just seven points. Lance Stephenson helped out the Lakers with 12.

Up Next: The Warriors finish the preseason Friday night when they play the Lakers again. This time, the venue will be the SAP Center in San Jose.

The regular season starts on Tuesday, October 16th at Oracle Arena when the Warriors host the Oklahoma City Thunder. Game time will be at 7:30 pm PT.

 

The Raider preview: Raiders head to London for Week 6 matchup against the Seahawks at Wembley Stadium

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By Joe Hawkes-Beamon
SRS Contributor

OAKLAND — The Raiders are off to London to play in their third-straight international game, this time against the Seattle Seahawks. Sunday’s game from Wembley Stadium will mark the 53rd meeting between the two franchises, with Oakland leading the series 28-24 all-time. This will be Oakland’s fourth game in five weeks on the road.

This is the second time that two teams face each other in 2018, as the Raiders defeated the Seahawks 30-19 in Seattle to close out the preseason schedule.

Kickoff is set for 10:00 a.m. PT. So breakfast with football is always nice.

Last week, the Raiders (1-4) fell to AFC West division-rival, the Los Angeles Chargers, 26-10 at StubHub Center in Carson in what sounded like the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum with many members of Raider Nation making up the  attendance.

Starting quarterback Derek Carr completed 24-of-33 passes for 263 yards with one touchdown and one interception as the Chargers’ defense held Oakland to just 289 yards of total offense. Through five games this season, Carr has thrown a league-leading eight interceptions, three coming inside the red zone and two into the end zone.

Coming into the Week 5 meeting with Los Angeles, the Raiders were averaging 411.8 yards of total offense per game ranking second in the NFL.

Wide receiver Jordy Nelson caught his team-leading third receiving touchdown of the year, a 1-yard score from Carr in the fourth quarter with the Raiders trailing 26-3. Since 2016, Nelson leads the NFL with 19 receiving touchdowns inside the red zone according to ESPN Stats and Information research.

After rushing for 130 yards on 20 carries against the Cleveland Browns in Week 4, Marshawn Lynch was quiet against the Chargers carrying the ball just nine times for 31 yards. Lynch will look to get back on track in London against his former team in Seattle, whose defense ranks 29th against the run surrendering 129 yards on the ground per game.

Defensively, Bruce Irvin recorded his team-leading third sack of the season, while linebacker Tahir Whitehead paced the Raiders with nine tackles for the second-straight game. It was the fourth time this season that Whitehead has led the team in tackles in a game.

Whitehead leads the Raiders with 37 combined tackles (26 solo and 11 assisted) this season.

The Seahawks (2-3) lost a close game to NFC West division-rival the Los Angeles Rams, 33-31 last week at CenturyLink Field in Seattle.

Seahawks starting quarterback Russell Wilson threw for 198 yards and three touchdowns on 13-of-21 passing. In five games this season, the former Super Bowl MVP has thrown for 1,086 yards, with 10 touchdowns to just three interceptions.

Running back Chris Carson tallied his second 100-yard rushing game in the last three weeks, carrying the ball 19 times for 116 yards against a talented Rams defensive front highlighted by reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year in defensive tackle Aaron Donald and Ndamukong Suh.

With veteran wide receiver Doug Baldwin slowed by a knee injury this season, Tyler Lockett has become Wilson’s top target in Seattle’s areal attack. Lockett had just three catches against the Rams, but finished with a team-high 98 yards receiving and one touchdown, a 39-yard strike from Wilson in the second quarter.

On the season, the fourth-year wideout from Kansas State leads the Seahawks in catches (20), targets (28), receiving yards (347), and touchdowns (4). His 17.4 yards per catch is second on the team behind rookie tight end Will Dissly, who is on injured reserve with a knee injury.

Oakland’s much maligned secondary must account for Lockett, who can blow by defenses in the open field with his speed.

With longtime safety Earl Thomas on injured reserve after breaking his leg two weeks ago in a Seahawks’ win at Arizona, the vaunted Seahawks defense that we’ve all come to know over the last few seasons is unrecognizable. Before the injury, Thomas was playing at a high-level, leading the Seahawks with three interceptions.

In the offseason, the team parted ways with lockdown cornerback Richard Sherman and terrorizing defensive end Michael Bennett. They saw the enforcer of the defense, strong safety Kam Chancellor and defensive end Cliff Avril retire due to neck injuries just to name a few.

Seattle still has middle linebacker Bobby Wagner, who is smart football player that can cover field, sideline-to-sideline, but strong safety Bradley McDougald has quickly become Seattle’s top defender.

Now in his sixth season in the NFL and second season in the Emerald City after spending the previous four seasons between Kansas City and Tampa Bay, the 6’1″, 215-pound McDougald isn’t the menacing presence that the 6’3, 225-pound Chancellor is, but he packs quite a punch. McDougald leads the Seahawks with 32 combined tackles (29 solo and 3 assisted) to go with two interceptions.

After Sunday’s game, both teams will be head on their bye weeks for Week 7. When the teams return in Week 8, the Raiders will host the Indianapolis Colts at 1:05 pm PT, while Seattle heads out on the road to take on the Detroit Lions at 10:00 am PT.

Condors end Barracuda’s win streak with 3-2 shootout win

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By Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE, Calif. — The Bakersfield Condors (2-1-0-0) received goals from Cooper Marody and Tyler Benson as well as good goaltending from Al Montoya in the shootout to snap the San Jose Barracuda’s (2-0-0-1) two-game winning streak with a 3-2 shootout victory at SAP Center on Wednesday evening.

San Jose would draw first blood early in the first period. Manny Wiederer won a battle just to the right of the goal line. He then fed a pass back up to the point to Keaton Middleton, who fired a shot into a traffic jam in front of the net. Alexander True was in the middle of the scrum where the puck glanced off his stick that rolled past Montoya into the back of the net for a 1-0 lead. True’s second goal of the season came at the 4:21 mark.

Evan Polei, who made his season debut for the Condors, evened up the score when he was able to redirect a pass from Josh Currie past Cuda goalie Antoine Bibeau. Polei had two point-blank chances stopped by Bibeau a short time earlier, but the third time was a charm, as it led to Polei’s first goal of the season at the 12:36 mark of the first period.

Bakersfield enjoyed a 16-5 shot advantage as San Jose came out flat in the first period, but Bibeau held down the fort and kept the game even at 1-1 heading into the first intermission.

Jayden Halbgewachs would give the Cuda the lead eight seconds into a power play in the second period. Jeremy Roy fired a shot in from the top of the point that was initially saved by Montoya. After whacking at the puck, Halbgewachs was able to collect the rebound and back hand the puck past Montoya for his second goal of the season at the 7:51 mark. Vincent Praplan was credited with the secondary assist.

“We got a young team and we want to play with speed every game,” said Halbgewachs. “That’s a big part of my game, creating offense. If I use my speed, opportunities are going to be there.”

Joe Gambradella gave the Condors the equalizer just seconds after a penalty to Nolan Vesey expired. Gambradella won a battle along the boards near center ice and escaped with the puck skating in all alone against Bibeau and snapped home a wrist shot to the right corner of the goal that beat Bibeau for his first goal of the season at the 7:28 of the third period. Patrick Russel and William Lagesson were both credited with assists.

Halbgewachs had the best chance to end it in overtime. After breaking up a 2-on-1 break by Bakerfield, he skated out of the defensive zone and received a pass that sent him on a breakaway attempt, only to have Montoya out wait him and make the save on his back hand attempt.

“He’s not the biggest guy but he plays on the inside,” said captain John McCarthy about what Halbgewachs brings to the team. “That’s huge especially when you don’t have the size to muscle people around. Like you saw tonight he gets a lot of chances that way.”

The Cuda earned a late power play late in overtime, but weren’t able to capitalize on the abbreviated man advantage.

“We were lucky to get a point tonight,” said head coach Roy Sommer. “A lot of turnovers, (we played) kind of sloppy. They had more jump than we did tonight.”

Montoya (2-0) earned the victory with 23 saves on 25 shots. Bibeau (1-0-1), despite playing a strong game, suffered the loss after making 33 saves on 35 shots.

GAME NOTES: San Jose went 1-for-5 on what was an uninspiring power play. Bakersfield went 0-for3.

Fisticuffs! Cuda forward Jeffery Viel exchanged pleasantries with Polei just inside the Condors’ zone at the 15:58 mark of the first period.

The announced attendance was 2,527.

UP NEXT: San Jose will travel up Highway 5 to take on their NorCal rival Stockton Heat on Saturday, October 13 at Stockton Arena at 6:00 pm PT.

Headline Sports with London Marq: Sox move onto ALCS; Does LeBron have a supporting cast?; Steelers’ latest distraction; What’s up with Carr?

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On the Headline Sports podcast with London:

#1 The Boston Red Sox took three out of four from the New York Yankees in the ALDS to move onto the ALCS to face the Houston Astros.

#2 How effective do you think LeBron James will be for the Los Angeles Lakers and does he have the support around him?

#3 At 10:08 AM on April 24th, the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Antonio Brown threw large items including two vases and furniture from 14 floors above nearly hitting a grandfather and his two-year grandson. Brown was upset that he was accused of stealing $80,000 and a gun. Brown said he has been followed by the fans and media since the incident as he currently faces two lawsuits for “‘damages in excess of $15,000,’ exclusive of’ attorney fees and interest.”

#4 The Oakland Raiders fell to 1-4 after a 26-10 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers. Chargers quarterback Phillip Rivers threw for 339 yards along with 22-27 completed passes.

#5 Raiders quarterback Derek Carr got sacked three times and turned the ball over twice.

London Marq does the Headline Sports podcasts each Wednesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Jose Barracuda podcast with Marko Ukalovic: Cuda has spotless opening weekend with Reign and Condors as opponents

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On the San Jose Barracuda podcast with Marko:

#1 Last Saturday, the San Jose Barracuda started goalie Josef Korenar, who made his first AHL start. Korenar stopped some good shots that the Bakersfield Condors were putting on goal.

#2 After 70 minutes of play, the Condors and Cuda were in a 0-0 tie. The Condors outshot the Cuda 14-9.

#3 The Cuda got on the scoreboard when Jayden Halbgewach scored the first goal at 4:03.

#4 In the second period, San Jose added two more goals with Maxim Letunov, who scored an unassisted goal, and Cavan Fitzgerald, who scored his first goal of the season.

#5 The Cuda got the 5-1 win as the Condors outshot San Jose 38-31.

Marko does the Barracuda podcast each Wednesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa Walsh: Sharks back in the win column; Sharks head to NYC to face Rangers next

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On the San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa:

#1 After the San Jose Sharks got shutout 4-0 on Monday in Brooklyn to the New York Islanders, they quickly turned things around with a whopping 8-2 win over the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday night.

#2 The Sharks spoiled the Flyers home openers with the six-goal win. The Sharks got a short-handed goal and had 48 shots on goal–the highest total for the season.

#3 Aaron Dell was in goal for San Jose and stopped 31 of 33 shots from Philadelphia.

#4 Sharks captain Joe Pavelski scored the Sharks’ first two goals.

#5 The Sharks move onto New York to face the Rangers in Madison Square Garden. Can they repeat the same performance like in Philadelphia?

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

San Jose Earthquakes podcast with Ana Kieu: Not much left for San Jose to salvage

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On the San Jose Earthquakes podcast with Ana:

1. The Quakes lost to the Red Bulls 3-1 at Avaya Stadium this past Saturday. What are your three takeaways from San Jose’s loss to New York?

2. The #WondoWatch continues as Chris Wondolowski scored his 144th MLS goal in the Quakes’ loss to the Red Bulls. Wondo’s just two goals away from matching Landon Donovan’s career-scoring mark of 146 goals.

3. The Quakes host the Colorado Rapids this Saturday and wrap up the season on the road against the Seattle Sounders FC. What are your three keys to a Quakes win for the final two matches?

4. Time to flip the script to San Jose State football. The Spartans lost to the Colorado State Rams 42-30, despite putting up 30 unanswered points in the second half. With the loss, San Jose State lost its fifth straight game. What’s the bottom line for the Spartans?

5. The Spartans head to Levi’s Stadium to face off against the Army Black Knights this Saturday. What does going into a well-known stadium with five consecutive losses mean for San Jose State?

Ana does the San Jose Earthquakes podcasts each week for SportsRadioService.com

Sharks fly above the Flyers with 8-2 victory

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By Pearl Allison Lo

After a 4-0 shutout loss Monday, the San Jose Sharks replied strongly with eight goals the very next day, spoiling the Philadelphia Flyers’ home opener this time around. 

The Sharks broke through with their first two power plays, scored shorthanded and made a season-high 48 shots.

The Sharks’ last win came Friday when they defeated the Kings in their home opener in Los Angeles.

Sharks’ goalie Aaron Dell was stellar in his first start of the season Tuesday, making 31 saves. Sharks’ captain Joe Pavelski scored his first two goals of 2018-19, Evander Kane kept rolling with his own two and Kevin Labanc got on the assist train with four assists.

A lot of power play chances abounded again for both sides with each team having at least one penalty in each period. The Flyers went 2-for-6 and the Sharks went 2-for-5.

Philadelphia has given up at least five goals in each of their last two games

The Sharks took back the four goals they gave up Monday quickly with a 4-0 first period.

San Jose started early as Logan Couture and Pavelski got their first goals of the season 11 seconds apart starting at 3:17.  

The Sharks got the puck after a failed shot on the other end as Couture and Tomas Hertl went on an odd-man rush. Couture went five-hole from the faceoff circle to make it 1-0.

Soon after, Labanc shot at goalie Brian Elliott who made a foot save and sent the puck right to Pavelski, who buried the puck in the net.

Pavelski scored a second one at 12:21. Labanc had the primary assist again, this time from the boards, as Pavelski reacted to the pass speedily.

Kane decided he wanted in on the action and scored on the power play at 16:42. It was San Jose’s first of the season. Justin Braun shot and Kane redirected the puck with his right skate. Kane has scored in each game except when the Sharks were shut out.

The Flyers got on the board in the second but by the end of the period, they were back where they started scorewise.

Three seconds after Wayne Simmonds had a shot on goal, Shayne Gostisbehere scored on the man advantage at 4:56.

Kane followed Pavelski’s lead and regained their four-goal lead with his second of the night too as he shot from the slot to score at 14:46. The goal came six seconds after San Jose’s power play expired.

Philadelphia flurried the net at the end of the period. Jakub Voracek’s puck slid under Dell and hit the far post four seconds before the buzzer sounded.

The Sharks scored their second on the power play eight seconds into it. Erik Karlsson passed to Brent Burns on the right, who passed the puck behind him back to Karlsson. Karlsson then shot at net and Hertl got the tip. When it did not go through, Hertl made it on his second attempt.

The Flyers’ Oskar Lindblom scored, but had the goal taken back as it was achieved via a high stick.

San Jose’s Timo Meier, who celebrated a birthday Monday, found joy when he moved his stick with the puck left, right and in between Elliott’s legs to make it a 7-1 game at 15:21.

Philadelphia, while on a power play, missed a stick-to-stick connection. Marcus Sorensen took advantage and sped to the puck finished, while Barclay Goodrow finished the shorthanded play with the Sharks’ eighth goal. Shorthanded pass missed, Sorensen sped and Goodrow

28 seconds later, Simmonds got that goal back quickly on the power play, displeasure clearly etched on his face.

Game Notes: Perhaps the only negative of this game for the Sharks was that they have yet to go a period without committing a penalty.

Up Next: The Sharks will see if they can do that when they head back to New York to take on the Rangers for the fourth game of their five-game road trip Thursday at 4:00 pm PT. 

Get to know the Earthquakes’ new head coach Matias Almeyda

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By: Ana Kieu

There is a new man in charge of the San Jose Earthquakes’ head coaching duties. That new man is Matias Almeyda, a Azul, Argentina native, who was welcomed as a member of the Black and Blue in San Jose, Calif. on Monday.

You can get to know the Quakes’ new head coach before the start of the 2019 MLS season. Here are five things that you should know about Almeyda.

1. Almeyda was one of the most shocking signings in the head coaching department for the Quakes, who shocked the domestic and foreign soccer worlds with the Monday signing.

2. Almeyda most recently served as the head coach of Chivas de Guadalajara from 2015-18. Almeyda led Chivas to five major trophies in three seasons, including the 2018 CONCACAF Champions League.

3. Prior to his Chivas’ tenure, Almeyda served as the head coach of two clubs in his native Argentina (River Plate and Banfield) and led both clubs to promotion from the second tier in his first season.

4. Almeyda was a successful player in Argentina and Europe. Almeyda made nearly 300 appearances for clubs around the world. The majority of Almeyda’s playing career was spent in Italy for Inter, Lazio and Parma. Almeyda also earned 35 caps for the Argentina National Team and represented his birth country at two FIFA World Cups in 1998 and 2002, respectively.

5. Almeyda was linked to a few high-profile jobs before the Quakes’ announcement, including several in MLS and Europe. Almeyda was also linked to the Mexico, Costa Rica and Argentina National Team openings.

Again, best of luck to Almeyda!

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary podcast: Sox crush any chance of Babe’s curse 16-1 over Yanks; Astros advance to ALCS; Dodgers take series 3-1 over Braves

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

#1 The Milwaukee Brewers made work of the Colorado Rockies, sweeping the Rox in three games and two of those contests were shutouts to advance the Brew Crew to the NLCS.

#2 The Braves in game four clung onto one last hope after being down 3-0 to the Los Angeles Dodgers, but like in all shorts series that goes a max of five games, the Dodgers snuffed out any hope for the Braves’ chances to knot the series up at two games apiece with a convincing 7-2 win to take a 3-1 series and advance to the NLCS.

#3 In the ALDS, the Houston Astros–just like Amaury predicted–dominated with a convincing three-game sweep and there was no mercy rule in game three as the Astros took batting practice off Cleveland in a 11-3 victory.

#4 The Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees were all knotted up at one game apiece going into game three of the ALDS on Monday night at Yankee Stadium. The Sox wasted no time meeting the ball off Yankees starter Luis Servrino and plastered the Bronx Bombers 16-1 in a laugher to take a 2-1 series lead.

Amaury Pi Gonzalez is the vice president of the Major League Baseball Hispanic Heritage Hall of Fame Museum and does News and Commentary each week at http://www.sportsrsadioservice.com