Whether or not San Jose State defeats Hawaii, former Spartans to be introduced regardless

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Photo credit: @SJSUSpartanFB

By: Ana Kieu

SAN JOSE, Calif. — The San Jose State Spartans started the season in FCS and Pac-12, but will start their conference slate at CEFCU Stadium versus the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors this Saturday at 4:00 pm PDT on Spectrum Sports. Even if San Jose State won’t get past Hawaii, this conference game will be worth checking out.

Here’s what you need to know about Saturday’s Homecoming:

SJSU’s record
0-3, 0-0 Mountain West. Most recently, the Spartans lost at #20/#23-Oregon, 35-22, on September 15.

Hawaii’s record
4-1, 1-0 Mountain West. The Rainbow Warriors defeated Duquesne, 42-21, on September 22.

The Last Meeting
SJSU 26, Hawaii 37 on October 14, 2017 in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Big Plays, Costly Penalties Factor Into 37-26 Loss To Hawaii
SJSU had a season-high 504 yards of total offense, another long Bryce Crawford field goal and a kickoff return for a touchdown in its 37-26 loss at Hawaii.

Tickets
sjsuspartans.com/tickets

ticketmaster.com

Athletics Ticket Office, 1393 S. 7th Street, San Jose, CA 95112, weekdays, 9:00 am – 5:00 pm.

For home games at CEFCU Stadium
New modern family plan.

Spartan alumni season ticket pricing in a distinct seating section.

Play-by-play radio coverage
KLIV (1590 AM, San José) originates SJSU football broadcasts. Justin Allegri calls the play-by-play. Kevin Richardson provides commentary. The Hawaii broadcast begins at 3:30 pm with a pregame show.

SJSU’s network affiliate is KION (1460 AM/101.1 FM, Salinas).

KSJS (90.5 FM) also will broadcast the game. The pregame show starts at 3:45 pm.

Television
Spectrum Sports will provide play-by-play coverage of the SJSU-Hawaii game. Robert Kekaula calls the play-by-play. Rich Miano provides analysis and commentary.

The game will be available on the Stadium app for those on the mainland.

Residents of Hawaii can watch the game live on a pay-per-view basis.

Series history
Hawaii leads the series, 20-19-1, with one cancellation. The Rainbow Warriors have won the last two meetings between these teams including a 37-26 decision in Honolulu last year. The Spartans’ last win in the series was a 42-23 road victory in 2015. SJSU’s last victory over Hawai’i in San Jose was on October 14, 2011 when SJSU edged Hawaii, 28-27. The one cancellation in the series was the December 16, 1941 game in Honolulu. The game was canceled following the December 7 attack on Pearl Harbor. The Spartans traveling party arrived in Hawaii on December 3.

Mountain West openers
SJSU seeks its first win in a Mountain West opener since joining the conference in 2013. The Spartans lost Mountain west openers to Utah State (2013, 2017), Nevada (2014), at Air Force (2015) and at New Mexico (2016). The last time SJSU won a conference opener was in 2008 when SJSU staged a second-half comeback to win at Hawaii, 20-17, when both teams were Western Athletic Conference members.

Three consecutive home games
For the first time since 2007, SJSU’s playing three consecutive games as a home team starting with Hawaii on September 29. The Spartans host Colorado State on October 6 and Army West Point at Levi’s Stadium on October 13. In 2007, SJSU hosted UC Davis, Idaho and Hawaii on consecutive weeks.

Homecoming: The Hawaii game will be SJSU’s Homecoming Game for the 2018 season. SJSU has a record of 47-32-2 in Homecoming Games. When Hawai’i was in San Jose in 2016, the Rainbow Warriors were the Homecoming opponent and emerged with a 34-17 victory.

SJSU’s 1-2 in Homecoming games when Hawaii’s the opponent. The Spartans defeated the Rainbow Warriors, 28-27, in the 2011 Homecoming contest and lost 45-38 in 2005.

Hall of Fame weekend
The Hawaii football game caps a week of SJSU Sports Hall of Fame activities. The 2018 induction ceremony is Friday, September 28. This year’s Hall of Fame class will be introduced during halftime of the football game. After this year’s class, there will be more than 380 individuals and teams enshrined in the SJSU Sports Hall of Fame.

2018 Inductees
Charlie Clark (deceased), track & field & cross country–NCAA steeplechase champion; cross country All-American.

Krazy George, cheerleader (1968-present).

James Jones, football (2003-06)–Super Bowl XLV champion; Most NFL pass receptions by a SJSU football player.

Pat Martinez, softball (1993-96)–Only four-time all-region player.

Juliet Moss, women’s water polo (2006-09)–First Spartan selected to the USA National Team.

Gerardo Padilla, judo (1979-82)–Three-time Olympian representing Mexico.

Lisa Walton, women’s golf (1991-94)–Three-time All-American; 1992 NCAA championship team member.

1971 men’s water polo team–NCAA Championship runner-up with a 20-1 record.

Crawford’s kicks
Senior Bryce Crawford is listed among the top-50 kickers in three categories for the second week in a row. He ranks 33rd in both field goals per game (1.33/game) and field goal accuracy (80.0 percent) and 35th in punting (43.0/punt).

No other FBS kicker is listed in the top-50 in those three categories.

Third in the nation
Senior Dakari Monroe ranks third nationally in passes defended heading into this week’s action. Monroe has a 2.67 per game average with two interceptions, one vs. UC Davis and his second at Oregon, and six pass break ups.

SJSU’s Homecoming is going to be lit, so you should come on down and cheer for the Blue and Gold. The Spartans need more than just luck to snap the three-game losing skid and get their first conference win of the season.

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary: Giants Have Many Decisions to Make This Winter

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Photo credit: @NBCSGiants

By: Amaury Pi-Gonzalez

The Giants could go in a new direction. Would if be towards analytics and be more creative with their player acquisitions and trades? AT&T Park will never be a home run friendly park, even if they acquired Bryce Harper; that alone might not be enough for them to contend on their division. Many decisions now rest with the new person that will take over Baseball Operations, replacing Bobby Evans, who was fired prior to the game Monday against the Padres at AT&T Park.

The Giants have $132.9 million committed in 2019, $129.4 million in 2020 and $94.1 million in 2021–just five players.

The Giants have a lot of money tied up into a handful of players and most of them are bound to return in 2019.

Next year’s Giants will have Evan Longoria, Brandon Crawford, Buster Posey (coming back for surgery), Johnny Cueto $130 million (coming back from surgery), Jeff Samardzija–$90 million, and Mark Melancon–$63 million, These players are veterans who are in their 30’s.

Yes, the Giants need to get younger. Are the Giants going to pick up the 2019 option for Bumgarner? $12 million, that is a bargain, but maybe the new General Manager/Baseball Operations that will take Evans’ place might consider trading him for a few young prospects. I would trade Bumgarner if I was able to find a few young, exciting, promising players. Why not? He is the best bait you’ll have for a nice deal.

The Giants had a good run and won three World Series, but they got melancholic with their established players,  pouring big money on them and hoping for another run, which never happened. It is understandable, as they have a great fan base and want to keep that winning style of baseball happening at AT&T Park. But the last two seasons were not exciting at all. When you do not hit in today’s game, you become a boring team.

Yes, their pitching this year surprisingly was not that bad, but this is not Soccer/Fútbol, there is no tie and you have to win. You have to hit and hit with power in today’s game. The Giants are the only MLB team this year with no player hitting at least 20 home runs. Look across the bay, that A’s team has Khris Davis, Matt Chapman, Matt Olson, Stephen Piscotty, Jed Lowrie, Mark Canha, Marcus Semien and company–they all hit home runs and that is a huge part of the game and they ended up winning.

And by the way, the Coliseum–just like ATT Park–is also not a home run friendly park.

Good luck to the next man or woman who will be running the Giants’ Baseball Operations.

San Francisco Giants podcast with Morris Phillips and Michael Duca: After getting shutout, Giants drop to 13 games below .500

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Photo credit: mccoveychronicles.com

On the Giants podcast with Morris and Michael:

The San Francisco Giants’ long season is about to be put to rest. The Giants are 13 games under .500 after notching another loss on Monday night at AT&T Park in a resounding 5-0 shutout by San Diego pitcher Bryan Mitchell (6.16 ERA). The Giants straddled the .500 line as if the wheels have kind of fallen off.

The Giants had played a series in San Diego and St. Louis before returning back to San Francisco to host the Padres. The Giants mustered only seven hits in the ball game, but couldn’t get a runner to cross the plate. They’ve seen Mitchell before and his fast ball was good, but the Giants got shutout by a pitcher with a 6.16 ERA.

Our thanks to Morris and Michael for their work on the Giants podcasts. Join them both for Cal Bears podcasts each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Francisco 49ers podcast with David Zizmor: Garoppolo’s ex-girlfriend Instagrams “Karma” with smiling emoji on Instagram

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Photo credit: nypost.com

On the 49ers podcast with David:

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garappolo’s ex-girlfriend Alexandra King Instagrammed “Karma” with a smiling emoji face after Garoppolo’s injury on Sunday in Kansas City. King had previously posted photos of herself and Garoppolo together on her Instagram account, but took them down after Garappolo was photographed together with porn star Kiara Mia and to say the relationship with King is deep-sixed is an understatement. King also disabled her Instagram comments.

Also, Dave talks about how the Garoppolo injury will impact the 49ers for the rest of the season. Las Vegas had San Francisco with 30% odds to get to the postseason. With Garoppolo out the rest of the season with the torn ACL, those odds were dropped to 1%.

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

Going in Another Direction: Giants relieve GM Evans of his duties, lose quietly to the Padres

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By Morris Phillips

SAN FRANCISCO — If the philosophy employed by GM Bobby Evans to construct the 2018 Giants is horribly out of step with current baseball thinking, we got one more reminder on Monday night at AT&T Park.

After Evans was relieved of his duties earlier on Monday, the Giants’ bats fell silent in a 5-0 loss to the Padres. Padres’ starter Bryan Mitchell completely shutdown the Giants’ offense a week after he allowed the Giants nine hits and four runs in a loss at San Diego in his previous start.

The Giants have lost 16 of 20 to fall a season-worst 13 games under .500. At the root of all the struggles is an offense that frequently can’t even manage a base hit; the Giants are hitting .222 as a team since the All-Star break, the lowest such mark for any team in baseball since 1974.

“We’ve got to get this offense fixed,” manager Bruce Bochy said afterwards.

The move to relieve Evans and retain Brian Sabean while reducing his responsibilities means the club will look outside the organization to find their philosophical leader for the first time in decades. That next GM/executive will have to fortify an offense without the likelihood a free agent hitter would chose San Francisco as his destination given the dramatic dropoff in offensive production recent transplants have experienced.

Against Mitchell on Monday, a Giants’ lineup of underperforming holdovers and prospects Chris Shaw and Aramis Garcia managed just six base hits and one double from Brandon Crawford. Only leadoff hitter Hunter Pence managed multiple hits as Mitchell dominated for 8 2/3 innings. Mitchell struck out seven, and induced numerous ground balls that kept the Giants from mounting a rally.

“A really impressive performance, I would have loved to see him finish it,” manager Andy Green said of Mitchell.

Derek Holland pitched well but was lit up by Jose Pirela’s lind drive homer that increased the Padres’ lead to 3-0 in the fourth.

Kings: Bogdanovic left knee procedure goes well; back in four to six weeks

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Serbia vs Greece
Bogdanovic goes to the hoop versus Greece in the World Cup Qualifier

by Charlie O. Mallonee

Sacramento Kings second-year guard Bogdan Bogdanovic underwent what the team called a “minor” arthroscopic procedure on his left knee Thursday in New York City. The procedure was performed at the Hospital for Special Surgery by Dr. Riley Williams. The reports are the procedure was successful and Bogdanovic should be able to return to game action in four to six weeks.

Based on the four to six weeks estimate, that means Bogdanovic would miss all of the preseason games and the season opener with the Jazz. If he were to need the full six weeks to recover and rehab, the Kings star guard might not be available until November 4th versus the Hawks on the road in Atlanta.

Bogdanovic injured the knee in a game on September 17th while playing for the Serbian National team versus Estonia in a World Cup Qualifying game. Bogdanovic reported experiencing discomfort in his left knee early in the first quarter of that game, which Serbia won 91-65.

A’s clinch playoff spot, then defeat the Mariners 7-3

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Photo credit: @CaseyPrattABC7

By: Ana Kieu

The good things kept coming to the Oakland Athletics, who beat the Seattle Mariners — in the series finale at Safeco Field on Monday night. Prior to the road game, Oakland clinched the final available American League playoff spot when the Tampa Bay Rays lost to the New York Yankees 4-1. Unless if Oakland erases its five-game deficit, they’ll face the Yanks in the AL Wild Card Game on October 3rd.

The M’s got on the board first. Robinson Cano homered on a fly ball to center in the bottom of the first inning for an early 1-0 lead. As a result, Cano got his 10th home run of the season.

The A’s took a 2-1 lead in the top of the third inning. Jonathan Lucroy homered on a fly ball to left for the go-ahead play, which was his 22nd home run of the season and 100th career home run.

The A’s made it a 3-1 game in the top of the sixth inning. Khris Davis homered on a fly ball to center for his 46th home run of the season. Davis joined Jimmie Foxx (1932, 1933) as the only players in A’s history to hit 45-plus home runs with 120-plus RBI in a single season.

The M’s Dee Gordon hit a game-tying, two-run shot that bounced off the top of the right wall and over. The score was 3-3 in the bottom of the sixth inning.

But the A’s weren’t ready to back down just yet. Matt Chapman homered on a line drive to center. Jonathan Lucroy scored on Chapman’s play to help the A’s to a 5-3 lead in the top of the seventh inning.

The A’s continued to pour in the runs in the top of the eighth inning. Matt Olson singled on a ground ball to Ben Gamel. Stephen Piscotty scored on Olson’s play, and Matt Joyce went to third. The A’s were up 6-3. Then, Marcus Semien hit a sacrifice fly to Mitch Haniger. Chad Pinder scored on Semien’s sac fly. The A’s extended its lead to 7-3.

The A’s defeated the M’s 7-3. Oakland’s Ryan Buchter (5-0) was the winning pitcher. Seattle’s Shawn Armstrong )(0-1) took the loss.

Notes
A’s fans can bring Stomper home with them. Check out athletics.com/auction to bid on this week’s Stomper in the Town statues.

Up Next 
The A’s and Mariners meet again Tuesday night at 7:10 pm PDT.

Giants fire Bobby Evans after four seasons

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Photo credit: @NBCSGiants

By: Mizuho Takagi

SAN FRANCISCO — The San Francisco Giants announced in a statement Monday that Senior Vice President and General Manager Bobby Evans would be removed from his general manager duties effective immediately. The team said Evans would be reassigned with responsibilities to be determined.

“I want to thank Bobby for his tireless work on behalf of the Giants. He played an important role in our team’s success throughout his tenure, which includes three World Series championships, four NL pennants and eight playoff appearances,” said Giants President and CEO Larry Bear in a statement.

The Giants will immediately begin a search for its next head of baseball operations.

“I take great pride in the long standing continuity of our baseball department. I want to express my thanks to Bobby for all he has given to the Giants over the past 25 years and for his countless contributions,” said Giants Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations Brian Sabean in a statement. “I will be working closely with Larry as the organization finds its next leader of baseball operations.”

Evans first joined the Giants as a minor league administrative assistant in 1994 and later promoted to director of minor league operations in 1998,  and director of player personnel in 2005. He became vice president of baseball operations in 2009 and was named as general manager in April, 2015. Evans is signed through 2019.

The Giants opened their final homestand of 2018 and lost 5-0 to the Padres on Monday. The Giants are in fourth place of National League West Division with a 72-85 record in its second straight losing season.

Brent Brennan talks San Jose State homecoming vs. Hawaii in Monday’s presser

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Photo credit: sjsuspartans.com

By: Ana Kieu

SAN JOSE, Calif. — This week, San Jose State’s goal is to beat Hawaii for the first time since 2015. The Spartans haven’t defeated the Rainbow Warriors since Nick Rolovich was sworn in as Hawaii’s head coach in 2016. But, of course, that’s easier said than done. The Spartans can’t take the 2018 Homecoming game with a grain of salt.

Here’s my Q&A with Spartans head coach Brent Brennan. As always, feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section. Thanks for reading.

1. I saw this past weekend the Spartans’ coaching staff went on the road to find more Spartans from the state of California. How did that search go and were there any players worth noting?
Brennan was unable to talk about the players worth noting, but reassured everybody there were a lot of players worth noting.

Brennan added, “I, and our coaching staff went all over California–Northern California, Sacramento, Southern California, San Diego, Inland Empire and Los Angeles–and we found a lot of talented, hard-working players in the state of California.”

2. Boogie Roberts and Demanuel Talauati earned spots on the PFF College Team of the Week as the two highest-graded defensive linemen in the Mountain West. What could the younger defensive players learn from these two?
For your information, Demanuel Talauati is a true freshman who is learning every time he steps on the field, whether it’s a practice or a game; but he’s a talented young man.

Brennan spoke of Boogie Roberts, saying, “Boogie has been a great leader for us. He has been playing his tail off and I’m really proud of him. And, that defensive front, that group is playing really hard. Bryson Bridges, Sailosi Latu…there are lots of young guys playing there. Obviously, D-Man (Demanuel Talaluati), but there’s also Cameron Alexander, E.J. Ane and many other guys. … I’m encouraged by their play and I’m really proud of Boogie (Roberts).”

3. Beyond Football partnered with Brenda Tracy for a Set The Expectation game on October 6th. What are a few things the fans should know about this upcoming game?
Brennan said, “So that’s going to be our game versus Colorado State in two weeks or 10 days. … Brenda Tracy came and spoke with our team last spring and it was just a really powerful message for everyone who has ever heard it or was in the room that day. … It’s really important for young men, young women, everybody, including adults. … Her story is incredibly compelling. … Partnering with her and Set The Expectation is going to be a really exciting step for our program. I’m excited for our players to be involved with something this proactive and this healthy. … Society–how men and women interact and get along–needs a better step in the right direction.”

Brennan emphasized, “The most important thing…The coaches’ wives are going to be selling t-shirts at the game with Set The Expectation and all the proceeds will be going to Tracy’s program.”

4. SJSU has to heal after back-to-back games against the Pac-12. How prepared are the Spartans coming into Homecoming and how can they get their first conference win of the season?
Brennan said, “We had a good week of practice last week during the bye and we need to have another good week of practice this week. The only way for us to get better is to put in the work and keep taking the steps in the right direction everyday–whether that’s academically, off-the-field, weight room or in the practice environment. The thing I love about this team is that they come to work everyday and they really enjoy being around each other. We got an awesome day today with the San Jose Police Department and they were totally engaged with the lessons and were into the moments. They just enjoyed being around each other.”

Brennan added, “I honestly believe if we continue to work and continue to do things the right way, it’s going to pay off for us. And, in order to beat Hawaii, we need to do a lot of things right. We gotta start by not turning it over. We need to hold up against their offense. Obviously, our offense needs a tune up. We need to do a great job finding and moving the football on the field.”

SJSU has the rest of the week to gear up to host Hawaii this Saturday at 4:00 pm PDT.

That’s Amaury News and Commentary: Bay Area Radio Hall of Fame–Greg Papa, Class of 2018

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@Greg_Papaa file photo: Greg Papa in photo during his Golden State Warriors days

By: Amaury Pi-Gonzalez

Greg Papa has been the radio voice of the Raiders for the past 20 years. He has also broadcast A’s and Giants baseball along with Warriors basketball. In addition, he has served as an in-studio host for both the Giants and Warriors broadcast on NBC Sports Bay Area.

Papa has attained iconic status as one of the top sportscasters in the United States. He was product of Syracuse University–the cradle of sportscasters. During his Warriors years in the 1990’s, I got to know and travel with Greg, who is a hard-working, accomplished sportscaster with a good sense of humor and has lived in the Bay Area for most of his adult life.

The members of BARHOF Class of 2018 include: Scott Beach known on the air for his work on KCBS. Michael Stavko, one of the legendary characters of the airwaves hosted the KFOG’s morning show. Newscaster Jon Bristow, who’s currently with KCBS and also was a reporter and news anchor at KGO for more than 25 years. Gene Burns arrived in KGO in 1995 after a lengthy career that took him from his native New York into Philadelphia, Boston and Florida.

Others: Fred Krock, Engineering. Gordon Zlot, Management. Floyd Farr, Pioneer. Chris Edwards, Legend; and the Second Annual Sherwood Award went to Brian Sussman.

The BARHOF Class of 2018 Induction Luncheon will take place on Saturday, October 13, 11 am at the Basque Cultural Center in South San Francisco. Terry McGovern will be the Master of Ceremonies. This year’s class was selected in voting conducted among current emembers of BARHOF. For more information on reservations to attend this event visit www.broadcastlegends.com

BARHOF Class of 2010 in Sports: Sports Radio Service’s Amaury Pi-González, alongside Jon Miller and Gary Radnich.