That’s Amaury News and Commentary: Yankees could have historic lineup with Stanton

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AP File Photo: Miami Marlins’ Giancarlo Stanton hits a RBI single to score Tyler Moore during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Atlanta Braves, Sunday, Oct. 1, 2017, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Giancarlo Stanton said No, to the San Francisco Giants who according to reports were offering to pay $250 million of what was left of his $295 million record-seting contract to the Miami Marlins, plus starting second baseman Joe Panik and two of their top minor league prospects in return; which is not a bad deal, especially for the Giants who do not have an abundance of great prospects in the minor leagues. The Dodgers were never really in hot pursuit of Giancarlo, they believe they are poised to win a sixth consecutive western division title and defend their National League pennant on their way to the World Series again.

The St Louis Cardinals showed the most interest (aside from the Giants) they were also ready to take a big chunk of the sluggers salary, offer a couple of regular players and top minor league pitching prospects. Stanton said Adios to St Louis, the best city for baseball in America. Then the biggest pitch came from the East. The New York Yankees now have Giancarlo Stanton together with Rookie of the Year Aaron Judge in the middle of what should be a lineup for the ages. Potentially could establish home run records of all kinds. Home Runs and strikeouts are a great, great part of today’s game. More than ever before.

The Winter Meetings begin tomorrow, Monday December 10 in Lake Buena Vista,Orlando, Florida (Disneyworld) and the Yankee fans believe they are living in Fantasyland. Not since the days of Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle would the Yanks had that type of power with a killer lineup. Considering that Giancarlo Stanton is going to the AL East where parks are specifically home run friendly, like in Baltimore, Boston,Toronto and even under the permanent dome of the dreadful Tropicana Field in Tampa, and of course he will be at home at Yankee Stadium where we all know how the ball flies there, this looks like Nirvana for Mr.Stanton.

At the end it was most important for Stanton to play with a winner, a team that had a chance of winning a World Series, than to play in the Los Angeles area (where he is from) or stay on the West Coast. Not since the early 1960’s with the M & M Boys, Maris and Mantle have the Yankees enjoy this situation. Aaron Judge won the Rookie of the Year and even received votes for the MVP, he finished with 52 home runs and 114 RBI, while his new buddy and teammate Giancarlo Stanton with the Marlins finished the season with 59 home runs and 132 RBI and won the MVP playing for a Marlins team that finished 77-85 and 20 games out of first place Washington.

No team will have two bigger (literally) and more powerful hitters in the lineup that the New York Yankees in 2018. Free of any type of prolonged injury, these two guys could turn the world of baseball upside down. Remember the 2001 season for the Giants? Bonds 73 home runs(record single season)and 137 RBI and Rich Aurilia with 37 home runs and 97 RBI. That is really “small” to what the Aaron-Stanton duo could do.

The Bronx Bombers did enjoy great duos of sluggers in their history, like Gehrig and Ruth, Maris and Mantle, now comes Judge and Stanton, make room for these two. Considering how the Yankees look today, with young and established talent they are a serious contender for the pennant and the World Series, although they still could use more pitching…but then when do you have enough pitching?. Answer: Nunca!

This 2017 season established a new Home run record, 6,105, surpassing the previous record 5,693 in 2000.

For the Miami Marlins and their new boss ex-Yankee and Hall of Famer in a few years,Derek Jeter this could be the tip of the iceberg, since he continues to reduce payroll, guys like Marcell Ozuna, Christian Yelich and catcher J.T. Realmuto could all be dealt next week in Orlando. Jeter has a big time SALE in Miami.

For the Yankees, the acquisition of Giancarlo Stanton is the biggest deal this off-season, bar none. Hard to see anything bigger happening in Orlando.

Giancarlo Stanton knows, like in the great Frank Sinatra song: “New York, New York” the lyrics said –If you can make it there, you’ll make it anywhere.

Amaury Pi Gonzalez is the Spanish TV talent for Time/Warner and Angels baseball and Spanish radio talent for the Oakland A’s, and does News and Commentary each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Tables turned: Cal in a zone as the Bears upset San Diego State on the road

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San Diego State’s Trey Kell advances the ball with California’s Don Coleman in pursuit (photos courtesy of Ernie Anderson/SDSU)

By Morris Phillips

Yeah, the youthful Cal Bears are a struggling basketball team, but that doesn’t mean you can overlook them, or take short cuts in your preparation when playing them.

On Saturday afternoon, the San Diego State Aztecs found that to be the case–in Viejas Arena, one of the college basketball’s most advantageous homecourt environments. After the Aztecs overcame Cal’s second half, double digit-leads with a furious rally, they allowed the Bears to recover and score the last five points of the game, and escape with a 63-62 win.

Afterwards, the disappointment of the SDSU contingent was a profound as Cal’s elation.

“We obviously have work to do, every team in the country does, but I like my team and I like how hard they’re working,” SDSU coach Brian Dutcher explained. “They’re supposed to be disappointed over this game. I’m disappointed, but we have to move on and we have 12 days to get ready for a very good Gonzaga team on the 21st.”

Cal’s win ended a four-game losing streak to San Diego State that stretched back to December 2010 when sophomore Kawhi Leonard had an eye-popping game against the Bears at Haas Pavilion. A year ago, the Aztecs embarrassed the Bears in Sacramento, winning handily at Golden 1 Arena with Ivan Rabb and his two seven-foot teammates unable to stop SDSU’s relentless inside attack. With Cal coming off a 27-point loss to Central Arkansas, things weren’t expected to change in the Aztecs loud, home venue.

But they did, from the start, as coach Wyking Jones hatched a 2-3 zone scheme and a bigger lineup that gave San Diego State fits.

“The guys absolutely followed the game plan, Jones explained. “We wanted to slow things up a little bit. We just said to our guys if we play that 2-3 zone we’re going to make them shoot us out of it. Keep it tight. Try to limit penetration.”

The result? SDSU looked ill-prepared to attack Cal’s zone and missed 22 of a whopping 28 3-point attempts as they failed to get the ball into the paint. Cal took the lead early, led by five at the half, and increased that lead to 53-40 with 13:10 remaining.

To that point, the Bears had bucked many of their trends that labeled their early season a mixed bag with the sweetest treats pilfered. Using both big men together? After scraping lineups with Kingsley Okoroh and Marcus Lee that were too slow in transition and not effective enough offensively, the pair saw considerable time against SDSU, mainly to keep tabs on Aztecs Malik Pope and Kameron Rooks. Defensive intensity? The Bears outrebounded SDSU and benefitted from 19 points off 14 turnovers committed by the Aztecs. Besides Pope (20 points), Jeremy Hemsley and Matt Mitchell (13 points each) Cal held the other seven Aztecs to see action in check. Freshman scoring? Starters Justice Sueing and Darius McNeill combined for 22 points. Sueing scored Cal’s first seven points of the second half as the Bears created a cushion.

But this is Cal, filled with youth and the accompanying mood swings in their play. Over the next 12 minutes, the Bears would add just five points and see SDSU surge.  A brief tussle under the basket between Pope and Coleman that resulted in matching technical fouls would energize the Viejas crowd, and the Bears’ double-digit lead would evaporate.

“I told them in the first timeout, when they spurted on us, that we have to have a level of toughness and grit about us,” Dutcher said. “The crowd will respond if you just play hard. You don’t have to make all the perfect plays, just go out and show them you’re playing hard and competing at a higher level. So we picked up our ball pressure, we got in the ball harder, we doubled some ball screens and it was a case of our defense getting us going offensively a little bit.”

With less than a minute remaining, and Cal trailing 62-58, Coleman scored on a layup and converted a three-point play.  Then with just seven seconds remaining, Juhwan Harris-Dyson would make a pair of free throws. Throw in defensive stops after each, and the Bears escaped with an improbable, and unlikely win.

“It just gives our guys a tremendous boost of confidence,” Jones said. “They should feel like they can compete with pretty much anybody.”

Sharks Score Five Again, Shut Out Slumping Sens 5-0

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Photo credit: San Jose Sharks

by M. Walsh

SAN JOSE — The San Jose Sharks handed the Ottawa Senators a resounding defeat to the tune of 5-0 at SAP Center on Saturday night. The win followed up a surprising 5-4 overtime win over the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday night, when the Sharks led a furious comeback after trailing by three goals. Saturday’s goals came from Logan Couture, Marc-Edouard Vlasic, Melker Karlsson, Joe Pavelski and Tomas Hertl. Couture, Pavelski, Brent Burns and Kevin Labanc all had multi-point games and back-up goaltender Aaron Dell made 25 saves for the Sharks’ shutout win. At the other end of the ice, Craig Anderson made 45 saves on 50 shots in a losing effort for the Senators.

Sharks head coach Pete DeBoer said that San Jose’s goal was to start fast against Ottawa, avoiding the slow start that marked their previous game: “I liked our game. Compared to the game against Carolina, I thought we were really sharp and really carried over the way we played in the third period against them into tonight.”

The Sharks checked a lot of boxes in Saturday’s game, killing four of four penalties and scoring on two of seven power plays. Tim Heed returned after dealing with an upper body injury, and Paul Martin is scheduled to start a conditioning stint with the Barracuda. So much rosy news begs the question of whether the Sharks have reached a turning point in the season.

DeBoer would not say that it is a turning point, but he did say that the goals are important for more than the score: “It was nice to score some goals, nice to get some power play goals. Guys have been working awful hard, we generate a lot of chances and we haven’t finished enough this year. So it was nice to have a night like that. Whether we can do that again tomorrow night I don’t know. But confidence is a big part of scoring and there was a lot of guys feeling good about themselves tonight.”

Logan Couture opened the scoring near the midpoint of the first period. The Sharks had outshot the Sens 10-0 at the 12-minute mark. Dell had just fought off the Senators’ first couple of shots in a flurry of activity on the edge of his crease. After Hertl won a defensive zone faceoff, the Sharks went the other way fast, with Labanc making a lovely pass so Couture could beat Anderson as he moved across. Assists went to Labanc and Justin Braun.

At the end of the first period, the shot count was 16-6 San Jose.

Early in the second period, the Sharks had just come off of a power play when Vlasic blasted a shot past Anderson. Tim Heed caught a pass from Kevin Labanc from behind the net, and sent the puck across the ice to the waiting Vlasic.

The Senators were keeping pace at least in shots past the midpoint of the period, but the Sharks did not let up. Joe Thornton passed the puck backward behind the net to a trailing Pavelski, who quickly sent it back up above the goal line for Melker Karlsson to pop into the net.

The Sharks’ power play came to life in the third period with two goals, one early and one late. The first third period power play resulted from a fight between Marcus Sorensen and Ryan Dzingel, when Dzingel was given an extra minor for roughing. Pavelski tipped a quick Couture shot from high in the slot. A second assist went to Brent Burns.

The Senators appeared to have scored at 5:12, in a power play that followed soon after the Sharks’ fourth goal. Braun was in the box for slashing. Matt Duchene took a shot from the face off dot and Bobby Ryan pushed it in. The official waved it off and did not even stop play. On later review, the NHL concluded that the puck had not crossed the line before Vlasic swept the puck back out.

The final power play of the game came when Alex Burrows used the butt end of his stick to bloody Dylan DeMelo’s face. Burrows was ejected with a fighting major and a roughing minor. DeMelo received roughing minor as he went to the dressing room to be patched up. Tomas Hertl scored after catching a bouncing puck off of Erik Karlsson’s hand. Assists went to Brent Burns and Logan Couture.

The Sharks next play on Sunday at 6:00 pm PT against the Minnesota Wild.

Stanford Cardinal Podcast with Matt Harrington: Love contending for Heisman Trophy today; Cardinal getting ready for Alamo Bowl

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Heisman Trophy finalist, Stanford running back Bryce Love, poses with the award during a media event Friday, Dec. 8, 2017, in New York. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

By Matt Harrington

Their in the Big Apple for the big decision tonight as the winner of the Heisman Trophy Award will be announced. The Stanford Cardinal’s Bryce Love is a finalist along with Oklahoma Sooners quarterback Baker Mayfield and Louisville quarterback Lamar Jackson. Mayfield is the leading favorite to win the award but it’s Love’s story that shouldn’t be dismissed no matter the decision of tonight’s judges. Love ran for 1973 yards, 8.3 yards per carry, he carried for over 100 yards in 11 games, also has the FBS record with 12 runs for 50 yards.

The Cardinal will be in the Alamo Bowl on Dec 28th in San Antonio they’ll be facing the 10-3 TCU Horned Frogs and for Stanford not making this year’s Fiesta Bowl was just not in the cards after they just came up short against the USC Trojans in the Pac 12 Championship at Stanford. This was a game for the Trojan quarterback Sam Darnold more than anything.

Love had a chance to get in the red zone they ended up going with they’re short yardage back and Love was reinjured so the Cardinal came up a little bit short. You look at Love’s Heisman profile it was a signature moment that he had there and he had a chance to push them into the end zone and push them into a lead in that Pac 12 Championship game.

Matt Harrington does the Stanford Cardinal podcasts each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Z-Bo goes head-to-head with Boogie and leads Kings to a 116-109 OT win in NOLA

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kingspels graphic

by Charlie O. Mallonee with Jordan Chapin

The Sacramento Kings went into the game in New Orleans on Friday night as eight to 10.5-point underdogs. FiveThirtyEight.com gave the Kings just a 15-percent chance of leaving the “Crescent City” with a win. By the end of 53-minutes of playing time in the Smoothie King Arena, everyone who picked the Pelicans to win were 100-percent wrong.

The Kings needed five extra minutes but they defeated DeMarcus Cousins and the New Orleans Pelicans 116-109 to finish their four-game road trip with a record of 2-2. Sacramento won the games in Chicago and New Orleans. They had a realistic chance to win the games they lost in Milwaukee and Cleveland. The Kings played at a higher level on this road trip.

The Kings had to fight and claw their way through the 53-minutes of playing time to stay in this game. There were 12 lead changes and the game was tied 11 times. The Pels biggest lead was 10-points and the Kings largest lead was nine-points. This contest was a “Battle Royale” from start to finish.

Z-Bo was the star of the game for the Kings

Zach Randolph
Randolph and Cousins battled each other all game long Friday night (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

The 36-year old veteran center played like a man half his age on Friday night. Randolph was the Kings leading scorer with 35-points and he made it a double-double game by hauling in 13 rebounds. He shot 14-for-22 from the field and hit 5-of-9 from 3-point range. Randolph did all of that while dealing Cousins on defense during his almost 34-minutes of playing time.

Kings co-stars

kingspels buddy
Buddy Hield drives the lane in NOLA
  • Buddy Hield showed the fans in New Orleans what they lost when he was shipped to SAC for Cousins. Hield posted 18-points and grabbed seven rebounds. He shot 7-for-12 for the game and 4-for-5 from behind the 3-point line. Hield sank the 3-point basket that tied the game and sent it into overtime.
  • De’Aaron Fox played over 36-minutes in the game and scored 14-points. He was teamed up with Frank Mason down the stretch and in overtime to help lead the Kings to the victory.
  • Frank Mason came off the bench to lead the second-unit again on Friday night. The rookie out of Kansas scored 12-points, grabbed five rebounds and added three assists.
  • The Kings other “O.G” – Vince Carter – played a big role for the Kings versus the Pelicans. The 40-year old veteran played 32-plus minutes and scored six-points. He also recorded four rebounds and distributed two assists.  Carter also had two dunks ( three if you count the one at the final buzzer that was waved off that could have been the potential game winner).
  • Georgios “Papa G” Papagiannis played an important nine-plus minutes off the bench. The big man was almost a surprise contributor in this game. He came in and played “Boogie” tough while scoring six-points and hauling in three rebounds. Papa G was a perfect 3-for-3 shooting in the game.

DeMarcus was the star of the game for New Orleans

There are very few observers of the NBA who do not see DeMarcus Cousins as being the premiere center in the league. On Friday night, Boogie reminded everyone in Sacramento what they lost when he was traded to the Pelicans.

Cousins dropped in a game-high 38-points and made it a double-double game by adding 11-rebounds. The big man also had four assists and three steals.

Cousins shot 14-for-30 from the field (4-for-10 from 3-point land). He converted 6-of-7 opportunities from the charity stripe.

Love him or hate him – Cousins is an awesome talent.

Other Pelicans who contributed

  • Anthony “the Brow” Davis returned to action after missing three games. Davis played 30-minutes and scored 18-points. He went a perfect 8-for-8 from the free throw line.
  • Ian Clark scored 15 points in just under 28-minutes of playing time. He shot 6-for-8 from the field.
  • Jrue Holiday added 14 points. He shot 50-percent for the game hitting 6-of-12 field goal attempts.
  • Rajon Rondo – who has been “hot” for the Pels since returning from injury was held out for rest. That decision may be questioned after this disappointing loss.

Team stats that matter

Kings

  • SAC shot 48.5-percent (47-for-97) for the game and 43.3-percent (13-for-30) from behind the 3-point line.
  • The Kings out-rebounded NOLA 46-35
  • Sacramento dished out 21 assists and turned the ball over 20 times (good for 12 Pels points).
  • The Kings made 12 steals in the game.

Pelicans

  • New Orleans posted a 46.1-field goal percentage (41-for-89). They hit 10-of-28 3-point attempts (35.7-percent).
  • The Pelicans converted 17-of-19 free throw attempts.
  • The Pels booked 19 assists and committed 17 turnovers (became 22 Kings points).

Update from Reno

Skal Labissiere scored 29-points, grabbed 17 rebounds and added seven blocks in his start for the Big Horns this week. Look for him to be in Sacramento on Sunday.

Up next

Kings (8-17)

The Kings will return to action on Sunday versus the very talented Toronto Raptors (16-7). The game has an unusual start time as it will tip-off at 12:30 pm.

Pelicans (13-13)

New Orleans wraps up a four-game homestand on Sunday when they host the 76ers.

 

 

 

 

Barracuda let Roadrunners escape with a 3-1 win

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Photo credit: @sjbarracuda

By Alexandra Evans

SAN JOSE—The San Jose Barracuda put up a solid defensive fight through Friday night’s match against the Tucson Roadrunners, who managed to notch two goals in the final two minutes of the game and earn a 3-1 win.

Both teams played sound defensively in the first period until the final two minutes when Roadrunners’ Michael Bunting approached the net, prompting Cuda goaltender Antoine Bibeau to move out of the net to stop what looked like a play. With Bibeau out of the way, Bunting put the puck right in the net at the 18:08 mark to give Tucson the lead.

In the second period, Rudolfs Balcers scored a power play goal at the 3:08 mark. Despite putting up an additional 16 shots (for 29 total), including some promising attempts from Danny O’Regan on a five-on-three run, the Cuda failed to make it past Hunter Miska, but managed to stop the Roadrunners from scoring again…until the end of third period.

Both teams held one another scoreless for the first 18 minutes of the third, when all of a sudden, Mike Sislo copped a rebound goal with a minute and a half remaining, followed by another from Bunting 23 seconds later to make the final score 3-1.

“It happened so quick,” Bibeau said of Tucson’s final two goals. Despite each “blink of an eye” (so to speak), he saw the puck far better than he had during Wednesday’s 6-0 shutout loss.

Bibeau, who came off of his fifth consecutive win on Sunday evening in Bakersfield, agreed that the team’s defense was very sound throughout the entire match. The team’s inability to score impacted the game, but did not reflect their effort as a whole.

The Roadrunners are ranked #1 in the Pacific Division of the AHL, and some may wonder if it takes even more momentum and strength to stand up to such a team. Not necessarily, according to Bibeau. He explained that there was not much the Cuda needed to change as far as effort, as, coming off of the 6-0 shutout loss, effort was more important to them than whether or not they defeated the Roadrunners (whose sound playing styles he acknowledged, and the fact that they stimulated strong competition that evening).

Edging on their next two matches against Tucson on Tuesday and Wednesday (in the desert), Bibeau said that taking time to relax on the team’s off days will serve them well, and that they will play the next two games with a mindset no different than one which they would have against a lower-ranked team.

Roster update: Danny O’Regan was reassigned to the Barracuda from the Sharks this afternoon, and Bryan Moore was recalled from the Allen Americans. Additionally, the club signed Emerson Clark of the ECHL’s Jacksonville Icemen to a professional tryout agreement.

Warriors beat Pistons 102-98 to finish perfect road trip

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Golden State Warriors forward Kevin Durant (35) takes a shot against Detroit Pistons forward Anthony Tolliver (43) during the second quarter of an NBA basketball game Friday, Dec. 8, 2017, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson)

by Jerry Feitelberg

For the first time in team history, the Golden State Warriors won all six road games after defeating the Detroit Pistons 102-98. The Warriors were without the services of Steph Curry, Zaza Pachulia, and Patrick McCaw. Head coach Steve Kerr inserted JaVale McGee in for Pachulia, and Shaun Livingston started in place of Curry.

Quinn Cook, who had started at point guard, was relegated to the bench, but he played well when Kerr put him into the game.

The Warriors were trying to avenge a loss to the Pistons when the two teams met in Oakland earlier this season. The last time they met, the Dubs committed 26 turnovers, and they were not in sync that night. The Dubs were determined to not let that happen. They were also committed to shutting down the Pistons’ offense. The Dubs did just that as the had a season-high 15 blocks. Both teams played defense Friday night at the Little Caesars Arena in Motown, but the Dubs were just a little better.

The Warriors lead in the first quarter 30-24. They held the Pistons to just 31% from the floor. The Pistons were making three-point shots, and the Dubs were shooting bricks from a three-point range. The Pistons held the Dubs to 16 points in the second quarter and scored 24 to lead 50-46 at the end of the first half.

The Dubs shot 48.6% from the floor but made just one three-pointer in 13 attempts. The Pistons shot 38.8% from the floor but connected on seven three-point shots in 14 attempts. The Dubs committed just five turnovers in the first half and knew they would have to make adjustments if they were to beat the Pistons. Kevin Durant was the only Warrior in double figures with 14. Thompson and West were next with six each.

Whatever Kerr and the coaches told the Warriors at the halftime break must have worked as the team outscored the Pistons 31-17 and finished the period with a 10 point lead (77-67).

The Dubs, behind Thompson and Durant, continued to keep the Pistons at bay. They increased the lead to 12 (81-69), but Detroit would not fold.

The Pistons closed the gap to three (87-84), but Thompson and Durant made two key buckets to up the lead to seven.

The Dubs were ahead 100-93 when Detroit cut the lead to two (100-98) with 22.7 seconds left in the game. The Pistons went for the tie, but they missed a layup and Thompson got the rebound and was fouled. He nailed both free throws with just 5.3 seconds left. Detroit failed to score, and the Warriors picked up the win.

Game notes and stats — Kevin Durant had a double-double Friday night. He knocked down 36 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists, and blocked five shots. Klay Thompson added 22, David West 11 and Shaun Livingstone 10. Draymond Green tallied just two points on offense, recorded 13 assists, and was basically a monster on defense. Green had six rebounds and led the club with six blocked shots.

Quinn Cook, coming off the bench, scored seven and he made a three-point shot as the buzzer sounded to end the third quarter.

Leading scorers for the Pistons were former Boston Celtic, Avery Bradley, with 25, Reggie Jackson 16, Tobias Harris 11, Anthony Tolliver 10, and the seven-foot-three big man Boban Marjanovic from Serbia also had 10. Pistons star center, Andre Drummond, was held to eight points, but he recorded 17 rebounds in a losing effort.

The Warriors improve to 21-6 and Detroit falls to 14-11.

The Warriors return home to face the Portand Trailblazers Monday night at Oracle Arena. Game time is at 7:30 pm PT.

San Francisco 49ers Podcast with Joe Lami: 49ers rally around Garoppolo shows lots of confidence going into week 12

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San Francisco 49ers Jimmy Garoppolo (10) drops back for a pass during an NFL football game against the Chicago Bears Sunday, December 3, 2017, in Chicago, IL (Terrell Lloyd via AP Images)

San Francisco Podcast with Joe Lami:

1 Jimmy Garoppolo San Francisco 49ers quarterback showed what he was made of last Sunday at Chicago’s Soldier Field without even throwing a touchdown and he was able to drive the offense down field to get former Chicago Bear now 49er Robbie Gould to kick the winning field goal

2 This team’s has been building on positive vibes since Garoppolo was able to throw a touchdown pass after coming into the final moments of their loss to the Seattle Seahawks on Nov 26th

3 Although it was a close game 15-14 in Chicago last Sunday what didn’t show up on the score was the confidence the offense had for Garoppolo

4 The defense has to get some credit too holding the Bears to just two touchdowns to get by with that win

5 The 49ers match up with Houston Texans this Sunday Joe tells us who he likes in this one

Joe Lami does the 49ers podcast each Friday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

That’s Amaury News and Commentary: Surprise! Shohei Othani to the LA Angels

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AP File Photo: Japan’s starter Shohei Otani pitches against South Korea during the first inning of their semifinal game at the Premier12 world baseball tournament at Tokyo Dome in Tokyo. A person familiar with the decision says Major League Baseball owners on Friday, Dec. 1, 2017, have approved a new posting agreement with their Japanese counterparts in a move that allows bidding to start for coveted pitcher and outfielder Shohei Ohtani. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because no announcement had been made. (AP Photo/Toru Takahashi

By Amaury Pi Gonzalez

The 23 year old Japanese phenom, a right handed pitcher with over 100 imp velocity as well as a left handed hitter with legitimate home run power has signed with the Los Angeles Angels. He was the most coveted Free Agent this off-season and right after he was posted all 30 Major League teams showed interest His agent Nez Balelo send the following statement. “He sees this as the best environment to develop and reach the next level and attain his career goals. More than ever, I believe this is not only a special talent but a man of special character, and like everyone else I’m excited to see him in Major League Baseball.”

The Angels statement: “We are honored Shohei Ohtani has decided to join the Angels organization. We felt a unique connectivity with him throughout the process and are excited he will become an Angel. This is a special time for Angels fans, the Ohtani family, and Nez Balelo and the team at Creative Artists Agency.”

By going to the Los Angeles Angels Othani is on a big market team that shares the Southern California baseball landscape with the Los Angeles Dodgers (teams play 35 miles apart). The seven (7) teams that were finalist for the young 2-way player: Angels, Dodgers, Rangers, Giants, Padres, Cubs and Mariners. The Angels are expected to use the remaining $3.135 million of their International bonus pool to sign Othani, and then the Angels will pay an additional $20 million posting fee, to the Nippon-Ham Fighters.

Ohtani will join Garrett Richards at the top of the Angels’ starting rotation, which will now be anchored by the two hard-throwing right-handers. The Angels are also expected to insert Ohtani into their lineup as a part-time designated hitter, giving the Halos a left-handed power bat to complement Mike Trout and Justin Upton. Albert Pujols is spending the off-season improving his conditioning, is now expected to play more first base in 2018, this will create more at bats for the young Japanese star.

Most “experts”expected the Mariners or the Padres or maybe the Rangers to land Ohtani but obviously Othani (who made the final decision)believes the Angels was the organization for him.

Othani who is slated to be a starter has the rare talent that he can hit for himself, with power, in a league where pitchers usually do not have that opportunity. We can say the LA Angels staged a coup and they have now a player that is bascially “two for the price of one”

Amaury Pi Gonzalez is the Spanish TV voice for the Angels and does News and Commentary each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Categories MLB

Oakland Raiders Podcast with Joe Hawkes Beamon: Raiders need every game to make post season; Chiefs stand in the way of Raiders playoff hopes

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Oakland Raiders running back Marshawn Lynch (24) runs the football for a touchdown during an NFL football game against the New York Giants, Sunday, Dec. 3, 2017, in Oakland, Calif. The Raiders defeated the Giants, 24-17. (Ryan Kang via AP)

By Joe Hawkes Beamon

ALAMEDA– Raiders coming off back to back to wins it’s big as they get prepared for the Kansas City. The Raiders just so happened to have faced two football clubs in the Denver Broncos and the New York Giants who are having tough seasons and the Raiders caught them at a time when they are struggling. The Chiefs the Raiders next opponent have lost four straight they started the season at 5-0 now the Chiefs are 6-6 angry, desperate and are at home this Sunday to try and get back in the win column.

The Raiders want to keep it going they have won two straight against Denver and NY Giants before that they were on a three game losing streak so there’s so much riding on getting this game for the Raiders. Quarterback Derek Carr will be happy the team is full strength after missing Michael Crabtree for the last two games on a suspension, then Marshawn Lynch had served a one game suspension for contact with an official, and Amari Cooper was out with an injury last week is scheduled to return this Sunday.

Joe has much more on this week’s Raiders podcast at http://www.sporrtsradioservice.com