49ers’ 2018 NFL Draft: Rounds 2 and 3

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By: Ana Kieu

The 2018 NFL Draft continued Friday night at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, and Rounds 2 and 3 were carried out in red carpet fashion.

Let’s take a closer look at who John Lynch and the San Francisco 49ers selected in Rounds 2 and 3.

Round 2
The 49ers were on the clock. San Francisco traded up to No. 44 to select wide receiver Dante Pettis from the University of Washington. Pettis played college football for four seasons in the Emerald City, where he amassed 163 receptions for 2,256 receiving yards and 24 touchdowns. Pettis also set an NCAA record with nine career punt return touchdowns.

 

 

If used correctly, Pettis will be an offensive weapon for the 49ers.

Round 3
The 49ers were back on the clock. San Francisco selected Fred Warner, a linebacker who was a BYU product, with the No. 70 pick. Warner spent four seasons in Provo, Utah, where he accumulated 262 tackles, 32.5 tackles for loss, 6.5 sacks and seven interceptions. According to Lance Zierlein of NFL.com, Warner’s versatility is one of his best traits.

 

 

 

Warner fits the mold in the San Francisco Bay Area because he has great speed and provides great coverage.

Round 2 of this year’s draft wasn’t quite done yet, but the night was over for the 49ers, who selected defensive back Tarvarius Moore with the No. 95 pick. Moore played college football at the University of Southern Mississippi, where he played for two seasons after transferring from Pearl River Community College in Poplarville, Miss. Moore excelled in his senior year as he became a starter and went on to lead the Lady Eagles in both tackles and interceptions.

 

 

The 49ers remain in contact with ex-safety Eric Reid and hasn’t closed the door on re-signing him yet. However, San Francisco has made the right choice in Moore as he will likely add some depth to their secondary due to his speed, size and versatility.

Notes
The 49ers traded tackle Trent Brown and their 2018 fifth-round (143rd overall) draft choice to the New England Patriots in exchange for the Patriots’ 2018 third-round (95th overall) draft choice.

The 49ers signed safety Jaquiski Tartt to a two-year contract extension through the 2020 season.

LPGA MEDIHEAL Championship: Korda takes lead, Kerr makes cut on miracle chip-in

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By Jeremy Harness

DALY CITY, Calif. – Friday’s second round was full of low scores and breathtaking, edge-of-your-seat shots, to take the overall lead as well to just make the cut in order to stick around for the weekend.

Jessica Korda used a blistering front nine to shoot out to the outright lead after two rounds at the LPGA MEDIHEAL Championship at Lake Merced Golf Club.

Korda, who turned pro eight years ago and whose last win came at the 2015 Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia, recorded four birdies on the front side with no bogeys. Her only setback of the day came at the par-four 11th hole, where she missed the green and could not get up and down to drop a shot.

However, she had two birdies on the back side to minimize the damage, and she made her way to the clubhouse with a one-shot lead after a round of 67.

“I knew I was going to get certain bounces that weren’t going to be favorable as the greens got firmer during the afternoon, (but I) stayed patient and stayed with the process, and here we are,” Korda said. “It’s only Friday. Still two more days to go. Out here, you just never know.”

Annie Park, who fired a six-under 66 on Friday, is one shot behind Korda at eight-under for the tournament, while Lydia Ko is only two shots behind at six-under after shooting a two-under round of 70.

Cristie Kerr is not near the leaderboard, but she did make the cut – set at two-over par – in a quite-spectacular way.

As she approached the 18th green, things appeared to be coming to a frustrating close for Kerr. After reaching the par-5 15th green in two shots, she three-putted the green to settle for a par, and after rallying for a birdie at the 16th, she found the greenside bunker at the next hole and bogeyed after failing to get up and down.

Kerr found herself between two greenside bunkers on the right side of the 18th green after pushing her second shot. Only able to see the top of the flag from where her ball sat, her pitch shot rolled until the ball found itself into the hole for an eagle to make the cut on the number.

She could not see the ball once it landed on the green, but the loud roar of the crowd – as well as her caddie telling her that it went in – prompted Kerr, who is also an accomplished winemaker to lay flat on the ground and throw her hands onto her head in a measure of exhalation of the moment.

That seemed to have residual effect for Ko, her Friday playing partner. Although she fell out of the lead on Friday, she still showed every sign of having fun playing the game – her trademark – and quickly followed up Kerr’s heroics with a chip-in of her own for a birdie.

“Cristie’s obviously the top example of just never giving up until the very end,” Ko said. “I think I was more pumped for Cristie’s eagle that I was like, ‘Man, you need to focus, you have a tough chip here.’”

San Francisco Giants podcast with Michael Duca: Williamson day to day; Samardzija work in progress; Moronta Express

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SFGAuthentics photo: Mac Williamson who hit a tape measure shot last Monday against the Washington Nationals and another homer the next night pictures his bats he used in spring training in March

On the Giants podcast with Michael Duca:

#1 Mac Williamson the Giants outfielder is listed as day to day with a stiff neck caused by crashing into the AT&T Park padding while chasing down a fly. Williamson missed Wednesday’s game and is anxious to get back into the line up

#2 Williamson has impressed manager Bruce Bochy not only for his hustle but those tape measure home runs during the Washington series and his bat speed making solid contact

#3 In his second start on Wednesday pitcher Jeff Samardzija was rocked and early over four innings of work, eight hits, six runs, and we asked Michael is Samardzija really ready after his rehab

#4 Giants pitcher Reyes Moronta has been the talk for his first win on Tuesday night he was able to retire Washington hitters either from the left or right side of the plate. In Moronta’s debut he pitched for a 0.64 ERA.

#5 The Giants open a four game series tonight at AT&T Park against the Los Angeles Dodgers which includes a double dip on Saturday to make up for a rain out earlier this month. Michael goes into the length of time that the players, coaches, managers (from both teams) and stadium employees put into working both ends of a day night doubleheader. The first game starts at 1:00PM and the second game starts at 7:00PM on Saturday night.

Michael Duca does the Giants podcasts each Friday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

NHL Stanley Cup Playoff podcast with Joe Lami: Pens open series with 3-2 win past Caps; Bruins and Bolts open game 1 Saturday; Too much Knights for Sharks; Jets-Preds face off tonite for game 1

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@penguins photo: The Pittsburgh Penguins provided great defense to hold onto their one goal lead for the win 3-2 on Thursday night in Washington in game 1 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs in the best of seven round II

On the NHL Stanley Cup Playoff podcast with Joe:

#1 Pittsburgh took game one 3-2 past the Washington Capitals to take a 1-0 series lead

#2 The Boston Bruins face off in Tampa Bay for a noon time matinee Saturday

#3 The San Jose Sharks were shelled by the Vegas Golden Knights at T-Mobile Center in game one on Thursday night.

#4 The Winnipeg Jets open up their best of seven series in Nashville tonight at 5pm this series has the feeling of a Stanley Cup Final

Joe does the Stanley Cup Playoff podcasts each Friday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

Sharks stymied for first time in NHL playoffs in 7-0 shutout by Golden Knights

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By Pearl Allison Lo

The San Jose Sharks became the one to suffer a 2018 Stanley Cup playoff loss first, as they were shut out 7-0 by the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 1 of the Western Conference second round at the T-Mobile Arena Thursday night.

Both teams were playing for the first time in over a week after they swept their previous opponents. It was a much more lopsided game than in the teams’ previous meetings and the Knights’ first win these playoffs by more than one goal.  

Vegas scored four goals in the first period, the first two just 26 seconds apart to set up the win along with three more goals on three shots.

Golden Knights goalie Marc-Andre Fleury made 33 saves on the defensive end. It was his third shutout this postseason and second straight shutout.

Sharks goalie Martin Jones was removed during the game and Evander Kane received a game misconduct for cross-checking Pierre-Edouard Bellemare in the face while staring at him face-to-face.

11 different Knights had points. Jonathan Marchessault had a goal and two assists, Erik Haula, Alex Tuck and James Neal each had a goal and assist, William Karlsson and Reilly Smith each had three assists and David Perron had two assists.

After San Jose held Vegas on an early power play, the Knights exerted their strength beginning at 4:31 until 6:02.

Cody Eakin and Haula scored their second of the playoffs and Marchessault his first.

The game continued to trend downward for the Sharks when they followed their power play opportunity at 6:49 with a penalty 37 seconds after the end.

48 seconds later, San Jose went down to three men with another infraction. Tuck capitalized, as he weaved his way through four defenders to make it 4-0 at 11:43.

The Sharks got their own 5-on-3 chance later, but were unable to find the net.

San Jose ended the period with a flurry of shots versus Fleury (17 during the period) and Vegas had 15 blocked shots.   

Jones made two saves in the second, 14 seconds apart. However, Shea Theodore took Jones out of the game 40 seconds later, with the Knights’ fifth goal. Smith started the play by intercepting a pass at the other end. Theodore’s goal came at 3:28.  

Neal nearly had Vegas’ sixth goal and second on the power play at the end of the period, but it was negated.

While there were already a number of penalties in the game, the atmosphere was not chippy until the penalties at 3:25 of the third. First, Sharks captain Joe Pavelski received a slashing call after he just came out of the box 17 seconds earlier for interference. The bigger concurrent penalty came to Kane for cross-checking Bellemare in the face twice, which was a game misconduct.

This resulted in the Knights’ second 5-on-3 advantage and Colin Miller made San Jose pay with his first career playoff goal at 4:32.

Neal then got his goal with Vegas’ second straight on the power play, a quick wraparound.

The Sharks’ shots were few at first in the closing period, the first coming with 17:13 (shorthanded), 10:50 and 8:24 left.

Game Notes: It was San Jose goalie Aaron Dell’s playoff debut. He made 19 saves off 21 shots and his counterpart Jones made eight saves off 13 shots. The Knights’ William Carrier had a game-high eight hits. The Sharks’ Logan Couture had a game-high six shots on goal. Bellemare had a game-high five blocked shots.

Up Next: Game 2 will reconvene in Vegas at 5 pm PT Saturday.

Raiders draft Miller and trade for Bryant in Round 1 of NFL Draft

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By Jeremy Kahn

When the Oakland Raiders and the San Francisco 49ers flipped coins to see who would draft nine or 10 at the upcoming draft, the Raiders lost the coin toss and were scheduled to pick 10th.

That all changed on Draft Night, as the Raiders traded their pick to the Arizona Cardinals for their pick in the first round at 15, a third and fifth round over the next two days.

With the pick at 15, the Raiders went Kolton Miller, a 6 foot 9 inch, 308-pound offensive lineman out of UCLA.

Miller, who grew up in Roseville, north of Sacramento; however, he was born in Redwood City and graduated from Roseville before heading down south to play for the Bruins.

While at the Combine in Indianapolis, Miller set the broad jump record for offensive lineman, as he jumped 10 feet one inch.

Miller is the second Bruins player in a row to be drafted by the Raiders, as last year, the Raiders drafted defensive lineman Eddie Vanderdoes.

“He was super stoked,” Miller said. “To be drafted on the same team as Eddie… Him being from Placer, too, just down the road from Roseville, that’s something pretty neat.”

During the draft, the Raiders made a trade with the Pittsburgh Steelers, as the Raiders received wide receiver Martavis Bryant, who caught 50 passes for 603 yards and three touchdowns during the 2017 season.

In exchange for Bryant, the Steelers will receive the third round (79thpick), the pick that the Raiders received in the trade with the Cardinals earlier in the draft.

“It’s like drafting a player,” said Reggie McKenzie. “I feel like we drafted Martavis Bryant.”

Bryant missed the 2016 season because of a suspension for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy.

When it got to the third round, we felt it was something very interesting to us,” said Steelers General Manager Kevin Colbert. “We wish Martavis nothing but the best.”

The 26-year old Bryant will enter his last year of his contract, as he joins Amari Cooper and recently signed Jordy Nelson to make a great trio of wide receivers for quarterback Derek Carr.

49ers’ 2018 NFL Draft: Round 1

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By: Ana Kieu

The 2018 NFL Draft was held in the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, which made the annual event the first ever in franchise history to be held in an NFL stadium and in the state of Texas.

So this year’s draft was held in the home stadium of the Dallas Cowboys, also known as America’s Team, and the red carpet was rolled out for the top prospects in the nation.

John Lynch and the San Francisco 49ers entered the draft with a total of nine selections, but let’s just focus on Round 1 Thursday night. The 49ers selected offensive lineman Mike McGlinchey, who stands at 6-foot-8 and weighs 309 lbs, with the ninth overall pick. McGlinchey’s stock has risen over the last 48 hours after he emerged as the consensus top tackle in this year’s draft class. McGlinchey played college football at Notre Dame.

With this pick, the 49ers have now acquired the obvious heir to offensive tackle Joe Staley. Staley is reportedly more eager than ever in Year 12. Not only that, Staley was named to the Pro Bowl six times in 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2017. That being said, San Francisco completed a flawless touchdown when they drafted Staley with the 28th overall pick in the 2007 NFL Draft after they traded their first round with the New England Patriots.

After that, the 49ers were certainly ready to make Jet McKinnon and company, which includes McGlinchey.

NFL Network draft analyst and former New York Giants safety Mike Mayock commented on McGlinchey, saying, “He is a pile driver in the run game.”

 

LPGA MEDIHEAL Championship: Ko gets re-acquainted with Lake Merced, shares lead

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By Jeremy Harness

DALY CITY, Calif. – Lydia Ko really likes this course, apparently.

Ko, who won the Swinging Skirts LPGA Classic in each of the first two years that it was held here–2014 and 2015-prior to the event being relocated to Taiwan, got out to a strong start on Thursday, posting a four-under round of 68 to open the MEDIHEAL Championship at Lake Merced Golf Club.

That was good enough to get her into a five-way tie for the lead with players such as Jessica Korda and Caroline Hedwall.

“It’s a golf course where nobody goes super low, so you just have to (continue) to play solid and be patient out there, and sometimes par’s not a bad score,” said Ko, who celebrated her 21st birthday on Tuesday. “I think I hit a lot of greens, so I think I’m giving myself as many opportunities for birdies (as possible).

“I don’t think I feel a huge difference, but I know turning 21 is a huge thing in the U.S.,” she said. “So I’m legal, and I can do some fun things now.”

To be exact, Ko hit 16 of the possible 18 greens on Thursday–including each of the first nine that saw her go four-under on the front side–to go along with 11 of 14 fairways.

Jessica Korda also got out to a hot start to shoot four-under, which included an eagle at the par-5 fifth hole. Her only blemish came at the 10th, where she missed the green and ended up with a bogey.

She rebounded quickly, however, parring the ensuing four holes before birdieing two of the last three.

“I didn’t hit a ton of great shots, but I always left myself in a good position,” said Korda, whose younger sister, Nelly, played in one of the late groups along with So Yeon Ryu and Lexi Thompson. “It was really cold out there, so it was good that I stuck to my process.

“Obviously the score says one thing, and my hands say another.”

Speaking of Thompson, she birdied two of the last four holes to finish with a three-under round of 69, which has her tied for second with three others. To make her round more impressive, she was one of the last ones to play on Thursday, meaning that she had to endure the cold, consistent wind that this area is well known for late in the day.

“This course is very challenging, especially when the wind picks up,” said Thompson, who had two LPGA Tour wins last year. “It’s chilly out (there), so it’s a little longer of a course.

“Some of the par-5’s are reachable, so you try to take advantage of that, but pars were good, and just take the birdie chances as you can get them.”

Preview: Weekend series in Houston between A’s and Astros

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Photo credit: @OddsShark

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Oakland A’s, following the blueprint developed by the Houston Astros, will meet the Astros for the first time this season for three games starting Friday night. The Astros, who were terrible and lost over 100 games for three straight years, are now the defending World Champion Astros who are at top of the baseball world. The Astros did not get to the top by signing expensive free agents. They did a fantastic job of scouting young players and mixing in a few veterans in order to become successful.

The Astros built the club around Jose Altuve. Altuve is 5-foot-6 and plays as if he was 6-foot-6. Altuve is a terrific hitter, and he became the American League’s Most Valuable Player last season. The Astros signed shortstop Carlo Correa, a Puerto Rico native, and he was Rookie of the Year in his first season. Other standouts on the Astros roster are center fielder George Springer, who played baseball at the University of Connecticut, second-year third baseman Alex Bregman, and Cuban refugee Yulieski Gurriel. Marwyn Gonzalez is a super-sub as he can play in the infield as well as the outfield. Derek Fisher plays in left field and former Athletic, Josh Reddick, plays in right. The catching chores are handled by Brian McCann. Evan Gattis, who can also catch, is the designated hitter.

The Astros bolstered their starting rotation when they acquired Justin Verlander from the Detroit Tigers last season. Verlander was instrumental in Houston win over the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 2017 World Series. Over the winter the Astros made another move as they made a trade with the Pittsburgh Pirates for the services of right-handed pitcher Gerrit Cole. The rest of the rotation includes former Cy Young award winner Lance McCullers Jr., and the veteran hurler Charlie Morton.  Their long reliever is the former starter, Collin McHugh. Joe Smith, Will Harris, and Brad Peacock are the setup guys, and the Astros will use Ken Giles and Chris Devenski as their closers.

The A’s come into the series having won eight of the last 10 games played. They swept the White Sox and took two out three from the Red Sox and Texas Rangers. The A’s lineup can be and is formidable. They have guys with a lot of pop in their bats up and down the lineup. Marcus Semien, Chad Pinder, Mark Canha, Matt Chapman, and Khris Davis are all threats to hit the ball out of the park at any time during the game. Jonathan Lucroy and Stephen Piscotty are also making contributions to the A’s offense. Matt Olson and Matt Joyce are the A’s power hitters from the left side of the plate. The hottest hitter of all the A’s players is the switch-hitter Jed Lowrie. Lowrie is hitting about .360 and has six homers and 24 RBIs. He has been very consistent and has come through with several clutch hits.

Sean Manaea is the ace of the A’s staff. He has gone over seven innings in all five of his starts, and he pitched a no-hitter last Saturday night against the Boston Red Sox. Manaea has been very consistent and is now brimming with confidence. He will have his work cut out for him as he faces the very formidable Houston Astro lineup. He will be opposed by Dallas Keuchel. Keuchel is 1-3 with an ERA of 3.10. He won his first game of the season last week defeating the Chicago White Sox.

On Saturday, Daniel Mengden (2-2, 3.86 ERA) will go for Oakland, and he will be opposed by Lance McCullers Jr. Mengden beat the Red Sox last Sunday and gave up just one run and six hits in 6 1/3 innings of work. McCullers is 3-1 with an ERA of 4.67. McCullers won his last two starts against Seattle and Chicago.

Sunday’s game will feature Trevor Cahill (1-0, 2.25 ERA) going against Gerrit Cole (2-1, 1.29 ERA). Cahill will be making his third start of the season. In his last start against Texas, Cahill went five innings and allowed three runs and four hits including a home run. Cole is the second pitcher in Astro history to throw at least seven innings while allowing two runs or less in his first five starts of the season.

The series should be a good one as the Astros want to show the A’s that they are the top dogs and the A’s want to show the Astros that they are on the way up and can not be taken lightly any longer.

Giants and Dodgers will meet once again

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Photo credit: @Laurel_Inn_SF

By Jeremy Kahn

Coming off of back-to-back series wins for the first two times this season, the San Francisco Giants return to play in the National League West and an old rival comes to town.

The reigning National League Champion Los Angeles Dodgers make their second of three trips to the Bay Area this season for a four-game series at AT&T Park.

This will be the last time that the Dodgers come to AT&T Park until the last weekend of the season, as they will face the Giants from September 28-30.

Derek Holland will take the AT&T Park mound, as the left-hander looks for his first win as a member of the Giants, while the Dodgers will send Hyun-Jin Ryu, who looks to improve to 4-0 on the season.

The Giants are coming off a 15-2 loss to the Washington Nationals, as Jeff Samardzija made his second start of the season, but he did get out of the fourth inning.

Samardzija went 3.2 innings, allowing six runs on eight runs, walking three and striking out three in his first AT&T Park start of the season.

Ryu is coming off a seven inning performance against the Nationals on Saturday night, as he went seven innings, allowing no runs on just two hits, walking three and striking out eight.

This is the third consecutive start that Ryu won, as he did not fare in his first start of the season, as the Arizona Diamondbacks defeated the Dodgers 8-7 at Chase Field.

Brandon Belt continues to hit the ball well, as he went 2-for-4 in Wednesday’s loss to the Nationals and is now batting .304 on the season.

Mac Williamson was a late scratch to Wednesday’s game, as he suffered a neck strain from the attempt at a foul ball in Tuesday night victory over the Nationals, where he hit the game-winning home run in the bottom of the sixth inning.