Stanford Cardinal Men’s Basketball Resist Claws of Chico State Wildcats, Win 91-81

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Photo: @StanfordMBB

By Alexandra Evans

PALO ALTO–With eight days remaining until the regular season, the Stanford Cardinal men’s basketball team commenced with an exhibition match against the Chico State Wildcats on Thursday, November 2.

The Cardinal welcomes five new additions to the team this year:

Kezie Okpala of Los Angeles, CA (6’8”, 195 pounds)
Daejon Davis of Seattle, WA (6’3”, 175 pounds)
Isaac White of Adelaide, Australia (6’1”, 185 pounds)
Kodye Pugh of Baltimore, MD (6’8”, 205 pounds)
Oscar Da Silva of Munich, Germany (6’9”, 210 pounds)

The first half started off smoothly for the Cardinal as forward Reid Travis made a shot less than a minute in. Just before the 10 minute mark, the Wildcats trailed the Cardinal by 11 points.

Chico began to step up their game about 15 minutes into the first half; the Wildcats trailed the Cardinal by seven points. Keith Datu, a Chico forward, then made a three-pointer and the Wildcats were only down by four with 3:33 remaining.

The score was tied at 17:00 exactly, when Marcus Sheffield made both free throws after a foul just over 10 seconds later.

Just before the 18:00 mark, two Chico players tried to tip the ball from the rim into the hoop, but Stanford’s Josh Sharma got the defensive rebound, keeping the score tied.

Chico’s Nate Ambrosini shot a three pointer, giving the Wildcats a 33-31 lead.

The score was tied 35-35 at halftime, signifying a decline in Stanford’s defensive plays.

A slam dunk just under 30 seconds into the second half by Travis gave Stanford a 37-36 lead. Minimal, but a step in the right direction. Travis then made one free throw, one basket, and another free throw to give Stanford a 41-36 lead.
The first eight minutes of the second half were a scoring frenzy. Stanford kept the lead, though there were very few moments where Chico trailed by more than five points. Envision a lion (predator) chasing a gazelle (prey). Chico’s score represents the lion’s movement and Stanford’s score represents the gazelle’s. Over the course of these eight minutes, the lion got close enough to nip the gazelle’s tail off. After the eight minute mark, the gazelle uses every single ounce of energy in its system to outrun the lion, which it eventually escapes.

In sports terminology, Stanford kicked things into overdrive after the eight minute “no more than five points ahead” stint and stepped up their game substantially about nine minutes in. They brought the score to 63-48 in the blink of an eye. They eventually exceeded Chico by 23 points (86-63), Travis making a majority of the baskets. Stanford kept the lead, which never dropped below 10 points the entire last half of the second period.

The final score was 91-81.

Travis was, undoubtedly, the stars of the game. He and fellow Marcus Sheffield sat down with the media after the match.

“I like the way we attacked,” Travis said. “I felt that on offense we tried to do the right thing as far as getting to the paint, getting to the buckets. I did not like the way we did not distribute that in the first half. That was a big emphasis on the offseason.”

“I think it just clicked for us,” Sheffield said of the eventual 23-point lead. “We had a few guys step up and play hard, get a few stops, and we were able to run out and get some easy baskets.”

Head Coach Jerod Haase then stepped into the conference room.

“I like the way the guys responded in the variety of times that I challenged them,” Haase remarked. “Competing on the defensive end, sharing the basketball on the offensive end, they responded to the things I said, I liked that. Defensively, there were certainly a lot of teachable moments out there. The energy was not consistent. Chico State has good defense, we weren’t ready for it. It is definitely something we can work on.”

Expected growing pains are present among the team, especially with a number of rookies and with a few absences, such as Cameron Walker who is dealing with injuries off the court. However, if the team continues to work in tandem as they had in the second half, the season should progress smoothly.

Warriors start slowly but comeback in the second half to defeat Spurs 112-92

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Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) celebrates with his team during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the San Antonio Spurs, Thursday, Nov. 2, 2017, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

by Jerry Feitelberg

San Antonio, Texas – The San Antonio Spurs took it the Warriors in the first quarter to earn a 19-point lead. The Spurs were making three-point shots, rebounding, and shooting well as they appeared to be ready to blow out the Warriors. The Spurs were without the services of Kawhi Leonard and Tony Parker, and they wanted to send the message to the Warriors that they could win without those two stars. The Spurs also knew that they usually beat the Warriors at home. That did not happen as the Warriors righted the ship late in the second quarter and shut the Spurs attack down in the second half to win by twenty (112-92).

The Spurs held a slight 10-9 lead in the first quarter. They went on a 21-3 run to lead 31-12. The Warriors ended the quarter on a 12-2 run to close the gap to 33-24. Steph Curry and Draymond Green led the charge. The Warriors tried to close the gap, but the Spurs were double-teaming Kevin Durant every time he touched the ball, and at one point, KD missed all of his first eight shots. The Warriors started to play better defense and kept chipping away at the lead. The Warriors offense was led by Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green. The Warriors finished the first half trailing by five (55-50).

The Warriors, as they have done so many times, won the third quarter as they outscored the Spurs 34-23. They took the lead 60-57 for the first time early in the quarter. The Spurs and Warriors exchanged buckets, and the game was tied at 63. The Warriors took over and did not relinquish the lead. Kevin Durant started to make baskets, Steph Curry, who had to leave the game in the second quarter as he tweaked his knee, returned to lead the club to an 84-78 advantage after three periods of play. The Warriors shut down the Spurs offense in the fourth quarter. They outscored them 28-14 to win 112-92.

Game Notes – Spurs’ coach Gregg Popovich left the game in the fourth quarter when he was charged with a double technical.

The Warriors did not allow the Spurs to make a three-point shot in the second half. The Spurs made seven in the first half. The Warriors were led by Klay Thompson’s 27 points. Klay mad five threes. Steph Curry tallied 21, and he had four assists and eight rebounds. Durant, who had just five points in the first half, ended with 24. KD had five assists, eight boards, and three blocks. The Warriors shot 51.8% from the floor, made fourteen threes, had 30 assists, 11 steals, and 11 blocks. They committed nine turnovers in the first half, but just five in the second.

After the game, coach Steve Kerr said the Warriors had a “great response to the early shock we took. We weren’t ready for battle early, that’s why we fell behind. We started competing, running, and passing the ball.” Kerr also remarked this about the Warriors’ defense: “The last two games have been our best defensive efforts.”

Curry was asked how the Warriors rebounded from the big first-quarter deficit and he said that the team was “sticking with the program.” He also said the team was “starting to gel.” Curry left the game with a slight knee injury in the second quarter, but he came back to play in the third quarter. Curry said it was “a little scary, but I got out all right.” The Warriors coaching staff, players, and fans let out a collective sigh of relief when he came back into the game.

The Spurs’ offense was led by LaMarcus Aldridge, Kyle Anderson, Pau Gasol, and Rudy Gay. The Spurs lost their fourth consecutive game in a row and are now 4-4 for the season. The Warriors improved to 6-3 and have won five of the last six games. The Warriors travel to Denver to face the Nuggets Saturday night. Game time is at 5:30.

 

Sports Headlines Podcast with Tony Renteria: Astros set historical record; Papa John says Goodell not cracking down on players enough

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The Houston Astros celebrates after Alex Bregman’s (2) game winning single during Game 5 of baseball’s World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers Monday, Oct. 30, 2017, in Houston. The Astros won 13-12 to take a 3-2 lead in the series. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

On the Sports Headlines with Tony:

1 What a long and strange trip it’s been since 1962 when they were called the Houston Colt 45s and then changed the name in 1968 to Astros the team never saw a World’s Championship until they did in LA on Wednesday night in game seven a first in franchise history

2 The Series was the battle for the ages lots of home runs and a series that went the distance

3 When Papa John said the lack of TV ratings for NFL games are resulting in low sales for pizza as a direct result of the NFL not doing anything to stop the players from taking a knee during the national anthem. Papa John called it poor leadership on behalf of the NFL

4 Also not only are the sponsors and team management upset by the low TV ratings but the sponsors are now blaming NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell for the falling rating and failure to discipline the players

5 The Oakland Raiders head to Miami coming off a loss to the Buffalo Bills Tony talks about the match up this weekend in Miami

Tony talks Headline Sports each Thursday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Stanford Cardinal Podcast with Jerry Feitelberg: Love has discomfort with ankle but could be last minute start Saturday

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Stanford Cardinal running back Bryce Love (20) runs anther one into the end zone in the first half during a PAC 12 football game between the Oregon Ducks and the Stanford Cardinal Saturday October 14. 2017 at the Stanford Stadium Stanford Ca. The Stanford Cardinal defeated the Oregon Ducks 49 – 7. (Bill Nichols Images via AP)

Stanford Cardinal Podcast with Jerry

1 Rain and freezing showers are expected for Saturday’s game at Washington State University at Pullman. Will the weather be a factor in the contest?

2 Jerry talks a little about Stanford running back Bryce Love. The Cardinal will be depending on him to carry if they can get him in the game as he’s been suffering from an ankle injury.

3 Love didn’t practice on Tuesday signaling that his ankle is still giving him discomfort

4 Love was expected to be a Heisman Trophy candidate as the Cardinal have tallied the lowest total yards last game without Love at 222 yards in total offense

5 Without Love in the line up on Saturday how do you see Stanford at WSU this week

Jerry does the Cardinal podcasts each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary: Houston History The Astros have landed!

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By Amaury Pi Gonzalez

The Houston Astros won a terrific World Series beating the favorite Los Angeles Dodgers in seven games. The first ever World Series title for Houston in their 56th year of existence, by beating the Dodgers in Los Angeles 5-1 in game seven. Astros center-fielder George Springer won the MVP. He hit five home runs in this series tying Reggie Jackson (1977) and Chase Utley (2009) for the most home runs in World Series history. It is only fitting that the player with the most home runs this World Series wins the Most Valuable Player. After all this 2017 regular season a new home run record was established with 6,105.

Jim Crane owner of the Astros received the trophy from Commissioner Manfred and said “This is for the city of Houston”. A great story and exactly what that city needed after hurricane Harvey and all the suffering people endured in one of America’s largest cities.

The Astros were the #1 team in runs scored this year in baseball, also they were the team that struck out the least among all 30 clubs. They put the ball in play during this series, and got to the stronger bullpen (among the two teams),the Dodgers bullpen. The Dodger hitters suffered from a lack of contact specially with runners in scoring position, and that was he biggest difference. Baseball is a game of opportunity, the Astros delivered the Dodgers did not.

From 2011 to 2013 the Astros lost 100 or more games each year. In 2014 the Sports Illustrated cover predicted that the Astros were going to win the

World Series in 2017 and they totally hit the jackpot with that prediction. It was even sweeter for the Astros since in 2005, their first ever appearance in a World Series they never won a game, Ozzie Guillen’s Chicago White Sox swept them.

In the year of the home run, a record 104 were hit during this Astros vs Dodgers World Series.

The Astros had to beat the Dodgers with the best record in MLB this season 104-58. For the Dodgers it was their first World Series appearance since 1988, when they scored a huge upset over the Oakland Athletics who ironically also won 104 games during that 1988 season. Both the Astros and Dodgers this season won over 100 games. The first time two teams went over the century mark in wins advancing to a World Series in the past 86 years.

There is little doubt in my mind that these two teams will be favorites to win at least their divisions again next season. The Astros, have one of the youngest and most talented group of players in baseball with the most likely to win the AL MVP second baseman Jose Altuve, lead off and center fielder George Springer, shortstop Carlos Correa, third baseman Alex Bregman and first baseman Yuliesky Gurriel. A very good pitching staff that was headed the second half of the season and into the World Series by Justin Verlander, plus Dallas Keuchel, and some great seasons for guys like Charlie Morton who pitched 4 1/3 innings in relief winning game #7 in front of a sellout crowd at Dodger Stadium.

There is no doubt that one the main reasons the Astros won was because they go to the Dodgers bullpen (superior than the Astros) and Astros hitters exhibited the great patience at the plate,and great individual at bats, something very unusual for a very young group of players.

Brian McCann veteran catcher, on his first year with the young Astros was solid behind the plate during all seven games and deserves a lot of credit for the way he called the games and his leadership overall. Working games in the American League with the A’s and the Angels I have seen this Astros team and I am not surprised at all why they were victorious at the end. They were the best team I saw during the regular season and now they are the Champions.

This is very good for the City of Houston. They needed something positive, something to celebrate after a very rough 2017.

Let the parade in downtown Houston begin!

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

 

 

Categories MLB

Sharks Streak at 3 With 4-1 Win Over Western Conf. Champs Nashville

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Photo credit: San Jose Sharks

By Jerry Feitelberg

SAN JOSE–It wasn’t a perfect night for the San Jose Sharks, but it came pretty close. The Sharks thumped the reigning Western Conference Champions the Nashville Predators 4-1 Wednesday night at the SAP Center, receiving goals from Joonas Donskoi, Joe Pavelski, Mikkel Boedker and Marc-Edouard Vlasic. Joe Thorton collected career point number 1,400 on what else but an assist. Joakim Ryan set a franchise record with nine blocked shots for San Jose.

Pavelski dropped the gloves against Ryan Johansen for the team’s first fighting major of the season after Johnasen boarded Vlasic in the third period. Vlasic would not play the remainder of the game after the hit.

San Jose scored the first goal on a tic-tac-toe goal after Donskoi battled along the boards to hang onto the puck. He then fed the puck to Boedker who got the puck to defenseman Tim Heed just outside the faceoff dot to Nashville goalie Pekka Rinne’s left. Heed went cross-crease to give Donskoi the tap-in for his fourth goal of the year with 4:11 left in the first.

Pavelski scored in typical fashion to double the lead in the second period. Pavelski stood in the lane while defenseman Brenden Dillon blasted a point shot on Rinne off a Thornton feed. Pavelski tipped the puck past Rinne for his fourth goal of the season after a slow start. The Thornton pass wound up Jumbo Joe’s 1,400 NHL point.

Nashville’s star defender Roman Josi tied the score just 4 seconds past the halfway mark of the second period, working the puck into an opening using two Sharks as a screen before roofing a backhand over Martin Jones’ shoulder. Vlasic would answer later in the period, scoring the Sharks lone power play goal despite seven man-up opportunities, for a 3-1 lead with 26:10 left in play. Donskoi assisted on the goal for a multi-point night.

Boedker’s goal in the third period broke open a game that was already turning very physical. Both teams combined for 14 penalties in the third, including Pavelski’s fight with Johansen and Johansen’s boarding penalty on Vlasic. Jones finished the night with 19 saves in total while Rinne made 19.

The Sharks look to continue their now four-game win streak when they Welcome the Anaheim Ducks to SAP Center for the first meeting of the season between Pacific Division Foes. The contest will be just the second in-division contest for the Sharks on the year to continue a 5-game homestand with three games remaining at SAP.

Ontario Reign Crowned Winners Over Barracuda 4-2

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Photo: @sjbarracuda

By Alexandra Evans

ONTARIO, CA—After a cross-country road trip, the Barracuda traveled to sunny Southern California to face the Ontario Reign, the AHL affiliate of the LA Kings (the Sharks’ cross-state rival). Unfortunately, the Cuda were not able to reign over them (pun intended), falling 4-2.

The loss could have been way worse, as the Cuda managed to come back despite the Reign’s three goals in the first period alone. A sibling rivalry also occurred in Ontario tonight; brothers Johnny (elder) and Michael Brodzinski (younger) were drafted by Los Angeles and San Jose, respectively, in 2013, and faced one another this evening.

The first 20 minutes were very quiet on San Jose’s end. Ontario rookie Matt Luff sniped the first goal of the game (and the first of Ontario’s three in this period) at 8:08. Johnny Brodzinski notched two at 17:03 and 19:13. The night had something big in store for him, which he would not discover (or, rather, earn) until the third period.

Alexander True provided the Cuda with some relief when he scored on the power play 8:41 into the second period; Cavan Fitzgerald and Danny O’Regan assisted the goal.

Brandon Mashinter returned to the ice tonight after sustaining an upper body injury during the team’s road trip. He brought the lead down to one when he scored at the 11:06 mark, giving San Jose even more hope and relief. However, Johnny Brodzinski led the Reign to their 4-2 victory with an empty-netted hat trick goal at the 19:08 mark. San Jose’s starting goalie Antoine Bibeau was pulled from the net and subbed with a skater. Brodzinski’s hat trick was the fourth in Ontario Reign history.

Bibeau failed to stop three shots out of 33, taking the loss, while Jack Campbell, Ontario’s starting net minder, stopped 22 shots out of 24.

The Cuda are back at the tank this Sunday, November 5. They will take on the Texas Stars, to whom they lost 3-2 in a shootout on Saturday, October 28.

Fantasy Football Emergency Podcast Episode #2: Help for NFL Week 9

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment

Studio

podcast hosts Charlie O. Mallonee and Vasu Vaddiparty

Need help at QB?

McCown
Josh McCown is available in more than 50% of Fantasy Football Leagues. He has a tough game Thursday vs the Bills

 

Jimmy Garoppolo
Now that Jimmy Garappolo is a 49er – should you add him to your roster? How soon can he help your team?

Need help at RB?

alfred-morris
Alfred Morris is expected to see some serious playing time with Elliott headed to the suspension list.
Darren McFadden
Veteran Darren McFadden will try to help fill the gap left open by Elliott’s absence for Dallas.
Damien Williams
Damien Williams is in line to take over some of the load at running back for the Miami Dolphins.

The Party-Man and Charlie O will be happy to answer your fantasy football questions. Email them at raydeoman@gmail.com. Good luck this week!

Kings get blown out by Celtics in 113-86 loss

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Boston Celtics’ Kyrie Irving (11) shoots over Sacramento Kings’ George Hill (3) during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Boston, Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2017. (AP Photo/Mary Schwalm)

By: Ana Kieu

BOSTON — The Sacramento Kings lost their sixth straight game in a 113-86 blowout loss to the Boston Celtics at TD Garden Wednesday night.

Both teams had a goal in mind. The Kings hoped to snap a five-game losing skid while the Celtics wanted to extend its winning streak to six games. Turns out, Boston got exactly what they wished for—a win over a hapless Sacramento squad.

As usual, the starting lineups were released prior to the game. The Kings went with George Hill, Garrett Temple, Willie Cauley-Stein, Bogdan Bogdanovic and Zach Randolph, whereas the Celtics selected Kyrie Irving, Jaylen Brown, Aron Baynes, Jayson Tatum and Al Horford.

Kosta Koufos hit what would’ve been his first career three-pointer, but the referee didn’t recognize it to count as three points.

The Kings trailed the Celtics by just three points (27-24) in the first quarter. Randolph had nine points while Hill scored seven points.

The Kings were losing miserably as they trailed the Celtics 58-45 at the half, but that didn’t stop the Kings’ Twitter from cracking some jokes for the fans in the third quarter.

As you can see, the Kings were down by 29 after three quarters. The Celtics’ offense kept on getting better. Brown and Irving got 22 points apiece. Irving also collected five assists. Tatum and Terry Rozier had nine points apiece.

The Kings’ Twitter displayed sportsmanship at the end of the game even though the Garden got loud after the Celtics extended their record to 6-2 with a 113-86 win over the Kings.

Kings shooting guard Buddy Hield scored 16 points off the bench at the Garden.

Notes
De’Aaron Fox notched a strong performance against the Indiana Pacers Tuesday night. Fox recorded 18 points (12 in the fourth quarter), five assists, four rebounds and one steal. He also marked the third time in seven games where he’s scored 18 or more points.

“Just coming out with more energy,” Fox told the Sacramento Kings. “We talk about trying to do that in the first half and it’s harder to be done than said but it’s something that we’re going to have to do if we’re going to compete in these games.”

Up Next
The Kings (1-7) visit the Detroit Pistons (5-3) Saturday at 7 p.m. EST on NSCA and FSDT.

Niners get new QB, but don’t expect to see him very soon

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Photo credit: @NESN

By Jeremy Harness

The 0-8 49ers got a major shot in the arm Monday night, as they acquired quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo from the New England Patriots in exchange for a second-round pick next season, a move that is expected to go a long way to resolve a long-standing issue at the quarterback position.

But don’t expect him to see him on the field for at least the next few weeks.

Not the he is injured, but the second-year signal-caller will need time to learn the 49ers’ playbook, which is completely different from that of the Patriots.

In the meantime, to make room for Garoppolo on the roster, the 49ers on Tuesday released Brian Hoyer, who began the season as the team’s starting quarterback but was benched in the second quarter in favor of rookie C.J Beathard two games ago and has not seen the field since.

In addition to having to learn the playbook, the 49ers will also need time to get their situation at left tackle – the quarterback’s blind side – taken care of. Joe Staley was injured in Sunday’s loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, and he is not expected to be back in the lineup for another three weeks.

Right tackle Trent Brown, who has been going through concussion protocol since being knocked out of Week 7’s loss to the Dallas Cowboys, returned to practice Wednesday and is expected to assume the left tackle position until Staley returns to the field.

Meanwhile, the team has other injury issues, as safety Jimmie Ward was placed on season-ending injured reserve due to the broken forearm that he suffered against the Eagles, which will prompt Eric Reid, who had played the past two weeks at linebacker, to go back to safety for this Sunday.

The 49ers made another move at defensive back on Tuesday, as the team dealt cornerback Rashard Robinson, who has had more than his fair share of on-field troubles this season, to the New York Jets for a fifth-round pick.

This Sunday, the 49ers will face the Arizona Cardinals, another team that has had to deal with unfavorable quarterback issues this year. Their regular starter, Carson Palmer, suffered a broken arm two weeks ago and is expected to miss the remainder of the season.

After the Arizona game, the 49ers will play the disappointing New York Giants, and they will have their bye week following that. At that point, the 49ers can expect to put Garoppolo on the field for the first time, given that he is comfortable with the new playbook at that point, and that no major injuries occur at the quarterback position between now and then.