Moose Cross Barracuda Territory, Leave Their Mark 5-2

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Photo: @sjbarracuda

By Alexandra Evans

SAN JOSE—The Barracuda commenced their weekend with the first game of a double header against the Manitoba Moose (affiliate of the Winnipeg Jets), who certainly left their mark after scoring five goals over the first and second periods, during which the Cuda were scoreless. The Moose took a 5-2 victory.

The first 20 minutes started off rather smooth; defense was strong on both ends, both goalies effectively protected their nets. But then, just before the 13-minute mark, the Moose began scoring over a course of five minutes; the scoring frenzy ended just before the 18 minute mark. The Cuda were down 3-0 at the end of the first despite outshooting the Moose 13-9. Jack Roslovic, Mike Sgarbossa, and JP Lipon scored the three goals, respectively.

The Cuda remained quiet throughout the second period, even with two power play opportunities (up from one opportunity in the first). The Moose proceeded to score two more goals, courtesy of Roslovic (one of the Jets’ top prospects) and Jansen Harkins.

San Jose did not score until the third period. Determined as ever since being reassigned to the Cuda from the Sharks last week, Kevin Labanc notched San Jose’s first goal of the game (and his first of the season with the Cuda) just before the six-minute mark. Brandon Bollig chimed in with just about a minute left in the game, scoring his second goal of the season. The momentum picked up substantially in the third period, and both Labanc and Bollig, in a post-game scrum, noted that heavy momentum is what the team needs to play a sound game, amp up their competition, and ultimately play better.

“I don’t think we deserved to give up five goals,” Bollig said. “We played a good game, it just came down to capitalizing on Manitoba’s chances. This was not a lack of effort.”

“I think we were overly confident,” Labanc added. “They’re a good team, you’ve got to tip your hat, but we’ve got to come prepared tomorrow and fix our mistakes… we need to not turn the puck over, and just be a little harder and heavier in the defensive zone. It’s a two-way game, we need to come with a two-way mentality.”

Troy Grosenick, San Jose’s starting goalie, only made 11 saves on 16 shots, while Eric Comrie stopped 36 shots out of 38.

Not to fear, the Cuda have a second chance to claim their territory over the Moose tomorrow. The line pairings are likely to change, especially since Rudolfs Balcers, Alexander True, and Filip Sandberg, as a group, did not meet Coach Roy Sommer’s expectations, he said following the match.

On a happier note, Rourke Chartier returned to the ice this afternoon after a six-month absence due to injury. On a separate note, Grosenick and his wife, Maggie, welcomed their first child, a son named Beckett, on November 7.

Stanford Cardinal Football Podcast with Matt Harrington: Two more home games left Stanford has good shot at getting into the Pac 12 Championship

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Stanford Cardinal players take a knee before the start of a NCAA Football game between the Washington Huskies and the Stanford Cardinal at the Stanford Stadium in Stanford, California. Valerie Shoaps/CSM (Cal Sport Media via AP Images)

By Matt Harrington

PALO ALTO–What a performance what an upset for the Stanford Cardinal in a convincing win over the visiting Washington Huskies Saturday night at Stanford Stadium. There will be people who will tell you that they predicted Stanford to win this game with Washington playing on the road and having a short week and this non sense but that was a huge upset for the Cardinal taking out a number nine team like Washington.

It’s great for the Cardinal not great for the Pac 12 that kind of hurt the strength of their conference in terms of moving forward, in terms of margins of victories, it pretty much ended any hopes that Washington would have of going on to play in the playoffs at the end of the year. It hurts the visibility of the Pac 12 but on the other hand it really raises the visibility of Stanford football.

The Cardinal now definitely have a chance to win the Pac 12 and they could end up playing in the Pac 12 Championship. Teams to the south of that conference are pretty much on the weaker side. Stanford has a good chance to win the Pac 12 this when at one time they were in the middle of the pack. That’s really saying something for Cardinal head coach David Shaw.

Matt Harrington does the Stanford Football podcasts each Saturday at http://www.spoortsradioservice.com

 

UC Riverside gets the jump on Cal in the Bears’ season-opening loss 74-66

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don_colemanBy Morris Phillips

BERKELEY, CA–The Bears found themselves on the ropes from the opening tap in their season opener against UC Riverside at Haas Pavilion.

While the Highlanders operated confidently behind point guard Diykembe Martin, building a 10-0 lead, the Bears looked disjointed, going more than six minutes before registering their first points of the season. In front of their home crowd, anticipating a new season, it was immediately unsettling for the team and the reworked Cal coaching staff.

“Now we are playing catch-up, now we are out of our comfort zone, now we’re doing things we normally don’t do and we were just kind of scrambled and disorganized,” Coach Wyking Jones said of the opening moments of his head coaching debut. “Moving forward, I think they get it now that from the jump we have to do a better job of coming out and taking care of business rather than sizing up our opponent and seeing how hard we have to go.”

Cal would fall behind by as many as 23 points in the opening half, and trailed by 19 at the half. Despite a more spirited second half that saw the Bears reduce Riverside’s lead to single digits on two occasions, Cal fell 74-66 to UC Riverside on Friday night.

Offensive execution was Cal’s biggest shortcoming as the Bears shot just 30 percent from the field, and registered only seven assists. With a bushel of newcomers, and only two returning letterwinners–the fewest in the country–the Bears have their work cut out for them building cohesion, and identifying their scorers.

“We need to find people to step up offensively, including myself,” said center Kingsley Okoroh, along with Don Coleman, the Bears’ only significant returners. “I only scored five points and I don’t know how many (Marcus) Lee scored. We need other people to contribute — we can’t just rely on (Coleman) but we will find a way.”

Coleman led Cal with a career-best 32 points but missed 19 of his 28 shots from the field. While the junior guard didn’t need any prodding to pick up his aggressiveness, Coleman did find plenty of resistance when he attacked the basket. Okoroh contributed 18 rebounds, but seemed hesitant with the ball in his hands on the block. Kentucky transfer Marcus Lee added eight points, but was far more effective defensively.

Most disturbingly, the Bears didn’t pass the ball with any acumen, as the meager seven assists illustrated how disjointed the Bears’ attack was. Against the smaller Highlanders–picked to finish eighth in the nine-member Big West–they had some success going to the basket, but that bullish approach would be foolhardy against Pac-12 competition.

Martin, the composed sophomore guard, led UC Riverside with 12 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists. Center Alex Larsson contributed 15 points and 13 rebounds.

Among Cal’s seven first-year players, guard Deschon Winston and forward Justice Sueing were the biggest contributors. Sueing led Cal’s second half resurgence with 14 points, five assists and Winston added five points.

The Bears host Cal Poly on Sunday at 5pm before traveling to Hawaii for the Maui Classic next week.

 

Barracuda Center Danny O’Regan – Profile

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Photo: sjbarracuda.com

By Alexandra Evans

SAN JOSE—Born in Berlin, Germany, Danny O’Regan, his older brother, Tommy, and their parents moved to Boston when O’Regan was four years old. His father, Tom, had played for Boston University and, the BSC Preussen in Berlin, and the Pittsburgh Penguins. Tommy played for Harvard University. O’Regan’s mother was also a figure skating coach, so one could argue that he was destined to end up on the ice; he as been skating for as far back as his memory dates

O’Regan, 23, played hockey for his father’s alma mater while pursuing a degree in advertising. His junior year, the Terriers won the Beanpot, an experience which O’Regan deems his greatest accomplishment to date. He exceeded the Terriers in points as a freshman, was the recipient of the Hockey East Second Team honors as a junior (in which BU also won the Hockey East championship), and served as an assistant captain as a senior. He was also the first BU hockey player to exceed 150 points (O’Regan had 154 comprised of 66 goals and 88 assists) since 1998.

A 90’s baby, one of several players O’Regan followed growing up was Sharks alternate captain Joe Thornton when he played for the Boston Bruins. Since signing a two year deal with San Jose in early 2016, O’Regan has played alongside his childhood idol both in training camp and games. He made his NHL debut on November 21, 2016 and described his overall experience with the Sharks as a dream come true.

O’Regan, a center, and Adam Helewka, a left winger, have played very much in harmony this season thus far. With stellar hand-eye coordination and speedy (but wise) decision making, multiple times have the pair managed to notch goals and assists, respectively, between one another.

Fun and random facts: O’Regan’s favorite movie is Remember the Titans; he has watched the entire series of The Office “over 50 times” (he believes); he is currently on a 400+ day Snapchat streak with his girlfriend, his longest yet! He also remains a loyal Patriots and Red Sox fan, and his next stop in San Francisco will likely (he hopes) be Alcatraz Island.

Stanford stuns No. 9 Washington in 30-22 win

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Photo credit: @StanfordFball

By: Ana Kieu

PALO ALTO, Calif. — The unranked Stanford Cardinal stunned the No. 9 Washington Huskies in a 30-22 win at Stanford Stadium on Friday night.

The 120th Big Game against the Cal Bears is next week, but the Cardinal’s game against the Huskies was also a pretty big deal. This unbalanced matchup was Stanford’s biggest regular-season Pac-12 game since the Cal game in 2015.

In case you haven’t already heard, a loss would eliminate the Cardinal from the Pac-12 North title race and put the Huskies in the driver’s seat as they look for a second straight conference title. So if Stanford pulls off a win, they’d have to beat Cal, and hope that Washington State has a third conference loss to Utah or Washington. Stanford will then hold a head-to-head tiebreaker over Washington.

This was the only Pac-12 game this evening, and the Huskies won the coin toss at the beginning of the contest. The opening drive stalled near midfield, Jake Bailey had a stunning boot, and Washington started their first drive at their own 12.

Besides the thoughts in the minds of Cardinal fans, it was almost expected that the Huskies would strike first—and they did. Myles Gaskin ran for a two-yard touchdown, and the PAT kick by Tristan Vizcaino was good. The Huskies took a late 7-0 lead with 6:16 left in the opening quarter.

The Huskies held onto the same 7-0 lead over the Cardinal at the end of the first quarter.

The Cardinal got even with the Huskies early in the second quarter. Bryce Love rushed for a one-yard touchdown, the PAT kick by J.J. Parson was good, and Stanford tied the game at seven apiece at the 14:55 mark.

But the Huskies didn’t waste any time in regaining the lead (14-7) as Myles scored his second rushing touchdown of the game, a 15-yarder, just 3:18 later.

The Cardinal pulled within four after Jet Toner kicked a 38-yard field goal with 1:32 left in the second quarter. Though, the Huskies continued to hold onto a 14-10 lead.

Joel Whitford punted 42 yards to the Stanford 25, a fair catch was made by Jay Tyler, and the Cardinal’s drive began on the Washington 42 with 46 seconds left.

The Huskies did what was expected and carried a 14-10 lead to the locker room at end of the first half against the Cardinal.

Both the Cardinal and Huskies were fired up for the second half of the game. Stanford’s defense forced a Washington three-and-out to start the second half. The Washington offense started at their own 35.

The Cardinal took their first lead of the night on Love’s second rushing touchdown of the game, a 13-yarder, to get ahead 17-14 with 9:15 left in the third quarter.

The Cardinal added to their existing lead on a 32-yard field goal by Toner, who gave Stanford a 20-14 lead with just one second left, and that was the score after three quarters.

Toner kicked another field goal, a 31-yarder, to expand the Cardinal’s lead to 23-14 at the 11:45 mark of the fourth quarter.

The Cardinal added to their lead on Love’s third rushing touchdown of the game, a nine-yarder, to make it 30-14 with 8:48 left in the quarter. The PAT kick by Toner was good.

The Huskies didn’t back down just yet. Gaskin scored his third rushing touchdown of the game on a one-yard rush. Washington decided to go for the two-point conversion, which turned out to be successful. However, the Cardinal continued to lead 30-22 with 4:22 left in regulation.

And, finally, the Cardinal (7-3) beat the Huskies (8-2) by a score of 30-22 at home.

Notes
Houston Astros manager, former MLB catcher, and Stanford alumni A.J. Hinch gave the Cardinal team a wonderful message before the game. Hinch said: “Every game is an elimination game. If you could have done more, then you didn’t do enough. Be accountable to yourself, and be accountable to your teammates.”

Tonight’s attendance at Stanford Stadium was 44,589.

Love notched his eighth 100-yard rushing game. He’s tied for most in the FBS.

Up Next
The Cardinal host the Cal Bears on Saturday, November 18.

The Huskies host the Utah Utes on Saturday, November 18.

Cardinal rout Cal Poly 78-62, Reid leads the way with 26, White Shines with 17

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gostanford.com photo: Travis Reid (22) provided some muscle for the Stanford Cardinal with 26 points Friday night at Maples Pavilion against Cal Poly in the season opening win

By London Marq

PALO ALTO–The stampeding Cal Poly Mustangs traveled to be hosted by the Stanford Cardinal at Maples Pavilion. In their home and season opener Stanford, enters play having won their most recent exhibition game against Chico State by a score of 91-81. With a rough schedule ahead including games against North Carolina and Kansas, Stanford will look to capitalize on the opening stretch of home games in November.

Players to watch:

Isaac White – After scoring an efficient 14 points off the bench in that first game, the Australian-born freshman Isaac White would get his first start in front of the home fans.

Reid Travis – The star forward from last season returns with elevated expectations, he scored 24 points vs. Chico State, and looks to keep the ball rolling.

Stanford looked dominant early, boasting a 11-point lead with nine minutes left in first half. Offensively, both teams were dynamic, finding ways to score from all areas of the floor. Despite the early lead, a number suspect defensive positions allowed Cal Poly to stay in the game throughout the half. It wasn’t until Robert Cartwright hit a 3 as time expired in the first half that the lead was stretched to 14 points. The teams would go into the locker room with the score of 38-24.

To start the second half, it was the Stanford who came out stampeding, stretching the lead to 18, forcing a Cal Poly time out less than 3 minutes into the second period. Stanford Star Reid Travis, who was heating up in the in first half came out on fire, scoring nine points in the first five minutes including one from deep. The mustangs would respond, finding rhythm, hitting seven shots in a row. Bringing the deficit back to 11, they were determined to keep this one within reach. Donovan Fields of Cal Poly was the leading scorer for the Mustangs, and put 15 of his 21 points in the second half. In the end it was fickle effort for Cal Poly, who could never close the gap and landed themselves in foul trouble early.

After the game, second year head coach Jerod Haase was very complimentary of Isaac White. “He’s a confident kid, and he’s confident because he’s worked his tail off for so long.” Haase elaborated, “He’s the kind of player my gut tells me there’s not going to be a moment that’s too big for him.” High praise for a freshman playing in the PAC-12. A freshman who did go five for five from beyond the arc and was the second leading scorer on the team.  Stanford may have found a gem in Isaac White. With any luck at all, he’ll be extremely complimentary to Reid Travis, who with 26 points, 12 rebounds and a dominant second period was being triple teamed for much of the game.

The FINAL: Stanford def. Cal Poly 78-62.

 

 

Sports Headlines with London Marq: Posey’s .320 clip got him 4th silver slugger; Mattingly survives Jeter’s house cleaning in Miami; How James Harden held off the Cavs

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LOS ANGELES, CA – SEPTEMBER 23: San Francisco Giants Catcher Buster Posey (28) at bat during an MLB game between the San Francisco Giants and the Los Angeles Dodgers on September 23, 2017 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, CA. (Photo by Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire) (Icon Sportswire via AP Images)

On the Sports Headlines with London Marq:

No one really knows how things are going to end up with Miami Marlins outfielder Giancarlo Stanton next season but one things for sure manager Don Mattingly got a contract extension from the Marlins from team president of operations Michael Hill. Stanton no matter where he winds up will get more than his current $25 million salary from the Derek Jeter ownership group.

San Francisco Giant catcher Buster Posey got his fourth silver bat with a high performance at the plate despite the Giants nearly losing 100 game last season. Posey hit .320 with a .462 slugging percentage, 34 doubles, but hit a low for homers with 12.

Houston Rockets James Harden can do it all as he took it to the Cleveland Cavaliers Thursday night it was “Fear the Beard Night” for the Cavaliers. Harden triple doubled and hit 35 points. The Rockets Clint Capela came away with 19 points and Rockets head coach Mike D’Antoni said he was excited about what Capela can do. The Rockets won the it 117-113. LeBron James tallied 33 points with Jeff Green behind with 27 for Cleveland.

There much more on the Sports Headlines podcast with London tune in below and each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

 

Oakland Raiders Podcast with Joe Hawkes Beamon: Raiders GM McKenzie expecting a lot more for the rest of this season

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FILE – In this Oct. 19, 2017, file photo, Oakland Raiders general manager Reggie McKenzie stands on the field before the team’s NFL football game against the Kansas City Chiefs in Oakland, Calif. Smart draft picks by McKenzie were the key for the Raiders’ transformation from a team that failed to produce a winning record for 13 years to one that won 12 games a year ago and was considered a top contender in the AFC this season. A lack of contributions from the past two draft classes are a major reason why the Raiders (4-5) have been a major disappointment this season and head into their bye week barely holding on to playoff hopes. (AP Photo/Ben Margot, File)

By Joe Hawkes Beamon

ALAMEDA–The Oakland Raiders in the middle of a bye week the Raiders have won two of their last three games. The Raiders had a hic up when they lost in Buffalo on Oct 29th but beat Kansas City and Miami. The difference on this is that the Bills have the Raiders number it didn’t look too good in the Buffalo game. Then last week the Raiders played in Miami where the weather was warmer and the game was a lot closer in the 27-24 contest.

The game in Miami last week was a real nail biter for Raiders quarterback Derek Carr and company the Dolphins came into the game 4-3 they were fighting with the Raiders for one of those playoff spots in the AFC and they just got back quarterback Jay Cutler who was out with cracked ribs. The Dolphins came out pretty tough. The Raiders have Carr who threw for a touchdown in a game that was of inches and running back Marshawn Lynch is making a comeback after sitting out the game in Buffalo. Raiders general manager Reggie McKenzie said during the week said, “obviously we’d like to be more in the win column for sure. But our record is what it is (4-5). And our play is what it is.”

Catch the Oakland Raiders podcasts each week with J Hawkes at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Barracuda Defenseman Michael Brodzinski – Profile

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Photo: sjbarracuda.com

SAN JOSE—“Those first few steps [on the ice] are huge in moving on to different levels [of hockey], and just seeing yourself getting better every day is a huge accomplishment,” defenseman Michael Brodzinski said of his earliest days on skates.

Born in Ham Lake, Minnesota to a family of hockey stars, Brodzinski, 22, was placed on the ice as soon as he could walk. His father, a lifelong hockey player, played for both the University of Minnesota and St. Cloud State University, the latter for which all three of his brothers previously played or have committed to.

Originally selected by the Sharks in 2013 (141st overall), Brodzinski first played for the Muskegon Lumberjacks of the USHL and then took the college route, playing for Minnesota while studying Business Marketing. In 2015-2016, he made his AHL debut with the Barracuda, appearing in six games total that season. The following season, he played in nine games with the Cuda and 37 with the Allen Americans of the ECHL.

Brodzinski scored his first AHL goal this season, and it was the most impressive of any player thus far. During their second away game against the Cleveland Monsters (who had beat them the day before), the match remained entirely scoreless. With one second left in the overtime interval, Brodzinski got the monkey off his back (as he described the moment) and scored on Matiss Kivlenieks, Cleveland’s goalie.

Since relocating to San Jose, in addition to the weather, Brodzinski has been enjoying the Northern California beaches, a far cry from Lake Superior, the closest landmark Minnesota has to a beach.

Fun fact: Brodzinski’s older brother, Jonny, 24, plays for the Ontario Reign and notched the hat trick in their 4-2 win over the Cuda on November 1 (one of the goals went off of Michael himself). Jonny was selected 148th overall by the LA Kings in 2013. The two brothers last played alongside one another at Blaine High School in their home state.

San Francisco 49ers Podcast with Joe Lami: NY Giants best chance for 49ers to avoid an 0-16 season this Sunday

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San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo (10) stands on the sideline during the second half of an NFL football game against the Arizona Cardinals in Santa Clara, Calif., Sunday, Nov. 5, 2017. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

By Joe Lami

SANTA CLARA–This weekend Sunday is the most important of the 49ers season they got against the 1-7 New York Giants. This San Francisco team looks like they’ve been struggling this whole season and they’ve had the loss against the Arizona Cardinals last Sunday 20-10. It really comes down to the fact that they’re not able to put up points the defense can’t get off the field at the moment and they need a win now more than ever because the way things are going this could be an 0-16 team.

Head coach Kyle Shanahan is taking the quarterback situation one game at a time and not rushing back up quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo to get into a game. Everyone is pretty excited to see what a Garoppolo can do for San Francisco under center. Starter CJ Beathard knows the pressure is on coming off that tough loss against Arizona last Sunday he wants to keep his job but he’ll have to lead the 49ers out of the winless desert first.

Joe Lami does the 49ers podcasts each Friday and the game day recap each Sunday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com