Oakland Raiders Podcast with Joe Hawkes Beamon: Taking a look at Carr, Crabtree, Cooper, as Raiders set for Cardinals Saturday

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AP File Photo: Oakland Raiders and Arizona Cardinals kick it off tonight in Glendale for the first pre season game of 2017. On the cover, an overall inside view of University of Phoenix Stadium during an NFL football game between the Seattle Seahawks and the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday, Sept. 9, 2012, in Glendale. (Rick Scuteri/AP Images)

On the Raiders podcast with J Hawkes:

Raiders quarterback Derek Carr has very good command of the offense right now he’s working with new Raiders offensive coordinator Tom Downing who was the quarterbacks coach last year and is taking over for Bill Musgrave who wasn’t retained. So far so good Carr has had a couple of practices and has thrown a couple of interceptions and it just takes time to work on a few things.

Carr has been working without Amari Cooper whose been out with a leg injury and he’s being held out as a precaution and of course there’s Marshawn Lynch has acclimated to the team fairly well and offensively a huge plus in the line up. One of Carr’s favorite targets Michael Crabtree is a veteran for the Raiders he’s been a great pick up for the Raiders over the last years. Crabtree has been a great receiver in helping develop Cooper.

Joe has much more on the Oakland Raiders podcast each Friday tune in below at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

 

Z-Bo arrested – Did the Kings plan for veteran leadership just go up in smoke?

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment

by Charlie O. Mallonee

Z-bo Police car damage
Photo from totalprosports.com

NBA veteran and now a member of the Sacramento Kings Zach Randolph was arrested in the Watts area of Los Angeles on Wednesday night on suspicion of marijuana possession and intent to sell. He was one of three men arrested by LAPD. One individual was arrested for being an ex-convict in possession of a gun.

What’s the big deal — isn’t weed about to be legal in California

cali sign

The big deal is the amount of marijuana that was seized in the arrest. According to TMZ Sports, two pounds of marijuana was taken into custody during the bust by Los Angeles Police. You read that amount correctly — two pounds. That is just a “tad” above the amount that is considered to be for personal consumption.

Randolph has earned an estimated $175-180 million in salary alone in his 16-years in the NBA. One would not think he would need to be selling “weed” to in order pay his bills. The problem is being associated with a large amount of marijuana that is considered beyond what would be normal for personal consumption places a person in the potential sales and distribution business. Even if the individual were giving the product away for free, that act could be deemed illegal.

The whole scene got out of control

According to reports, when LAPD rolled up on the scene a pursuit began for three adult males. That pursuit involved the entry into a home in the area. When the three suspects (one of which was Randolph) were brought out of the house, the crowd that gathered in the area turned ugly.

According to the Los Angeles Daily News, a dispersal order was issued by law enforcement. The crowd then began throwing rocks and bottles at police. They also proceeded to damage several police vehicles.

Fortunately no one in the crowd or any officers were injured in what had to be a very tense situation.

Welcome to the LA County Jail

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Randolph was booked into the LA County Jail. He was released on Thursday morning at 8 a.m. on $20,000 bail.

“The charges are false and misleading,” Randolph’s agent and attorney Raymond Brothers told The Associated Press. “We’re looking at all options to resolve this matter.”

He has been arrested not convicted

innocent

It is really important that fans remember that Randolph has been charged with crimes not convicted. Because he is such a high profile person, there is a tendency to assume guilt rather than wait for the trail process to play itself out.

Does the situation look bad? It looks horrible, but that still does not mean Randolph is guilty. He deserves his day in court.

What about his future with the Kings and the NBA?

z-bo headshot
Zach Randolph Photo: bet.com

The Kings have acknowledged that they are aware of the situation but the team is withholding any statement at this time which is not surprising.

If Randolph is found guilty of involvement with marijuana, he would also face sanctions from the NBA for violating the league policy on drug use.

The Kings have to make some big decisions in a short period of time

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Vlade Divac Photo: Wikimedia Commons

The Kings signed Randolph — a 16-year NBA veteran — to be a mentor “on toughness” for their young players. The question the Kings must answer quickly is whether they still want Randolph to mentor their four rookies, three second-year players and other young members of their team.

This not a situation that vice president and general manager Vlade Divac and head coach Dave Joerger were planning on having to deal with as they prepare for the upcoming season.

Photo of Randolph leaving jail taken from TMZ Sports video

San Francisco Giants preview: Giants look to keep fight going all set for series starting in Washington

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AP File Photo May 29, 2017: After being hit by a pitch, Washington Nationals right fielder Bryce Harper (34) approaches San Francisco Giants relief pitcher Hunter Strickland (60) on the mound. San Francisco Giants first baseman Michael Morse (38), second baseman Joe Panik (12) (obscured) and starting pitcher Jeff Samardzija (29) arrive to break up the fight that broke out during the eighth inning in a MLB baseball game between the Washington Nationals and the San Francisco Giants on Memorial Day at AT&T Park in San Francisco, California. Valerie Shoaps/CSM(Credit Image: © Valerie Shoaps/CSM via ZUMA Wire) (Cal Sport Media via AP Images

By Jeremy Harness

 The last time the Giants and the Nationals saw each other, Hunter Strickland drilled Bryce Harper with a fastball, and Harper responded by charging the mound, igniting a benches-clearing incident that saw plenty of tempers flaring.

 It also put one player, Michael Morse, on the disabled list with no real timetable for his return.

 The upcoming series itself, which starts Friday night at Nationals Park in Washington, is not expected to be much of a contest, although the Giants did take two of three from the defending World Series champion Chicago Cubs this week.

 The Nationals have pretty much run away with the National League East at this point, and the only thing they are really competing for right now is the NL’s best record. However, they are fighting an uphill battle there, as the Los Angeles Dodgers have a 12-game lead for that top spot.

 The Giants, meanwhile, are enduring a season that they would rather soon forget, as only the Philadelphia Phillies have a worse record in the National League, as they currently sport a 46-70 record.

 The only real intrigue is whether the bad feelings will rear its ugly head again if a player gets hit by a pitch, or if someone slides into a base too aggressively, etc. In that case, it could very well turn into Strickland v. Harper II.

 As for Friday’s opener, Chris Stratton (0-2, 6.63 ERA) will take the hill for the Giants, to be opposite Washington righty Edwin Jackson (2-2, 4.34 ERA).

 In his last outing, Stratton went five innings and surrendered a pair of earned runs on five hits, walking four and striking out another four in a no-decision last Saturday. In the outing before that, he pitched the final four innings of an 11-3 win over Pittsburgh, getting credited with a save in the process.

 Jackson, on the other hand, got tagged with a loss in his last start, a 7-4 loss to the Cubs that saw him give up four runs on six hits, striking out eight but not walking a single batter.

 

Orioles hit four homers pound A’s 7-2 and take the first game of the four-game series

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by Jerry Feitelberg

Oakland – The visiting Baltimore Orioles started the four-game series with a win as they pounded the A’s starting pitcher Chris Smith and won 7-2. Smith went six innings and gave up five runs and seven hits. All of the Oriole hits were for extra bases. He gave up four solo homers, two doubles, and a triple. The Orioles finished the night with ten hits, nine were four extra bases. They hit just one single in the game. The A’s did not have a good night. Their offense was inept as lefty Wade Miley held them to just three hits in seven innings of work. The A’s first run of the game was unearned. They did score a run in the eighth, but the game was well in hand for Baltimore.

The Orioles shortstop, Tim Beckham who was recently acquired by Baltimore in a trade with the Tampa Bay Rays, led off the first inning with a booming triple that bounced high off the center-field wall. The next hitter, Manny Machado, drove him in when he grounded out. The A’s tied the game in their half of the first. Rajai Davis led off with a single. The O’s pitcher, lefty Wade Miley, appeared to have picked off Rajai. Miley threw to first but the throw to second hit Rajai and went into center-field. Rajai motored to third. Rajai scored on a Jed Lowrie sacrifice fly to right-field. The run was unearned, but it still counted, and the score was 1-1 after one.

The Orioles’ Adam Jones and Trey Mancini hit back-to-back solo homers in the fourth. Jones led with a blast to left-field, and Mancini’s went over the wall in right-field. It was the eighth time this season that O’s hitters have homered back-to-back. The O’s lead 3-1 midway through the fourth.

In the sixth, the O’s continued to pummel the A’s, Chris Smith.  With one out, Trey Mancini hit his second homer of the night. This time he hit it into the seats in left-field. The ball left the bat at 111 miles-per-hour and traveled 438 feet. It was Mancini’s fourth career multi-homer game. Mark Trumbo, on the very pitch from Smith, blasted his 18th of the year to give the Orioles a 5-1 advantage. Trumbo broke a 0-for-24 slump with the hit. The back-to-back homers were the ninth time that happened this season and the second time in Thursday night’s contest.

The O’s scored two unearned runs in the seventh. Tim Beckham doubled with one out. Jonathan Schoop reached on a Marcus Semien throwing error, and both scored when Adam Jones doubled.

The A’s scored a run in the eighth. Marcus Semien led off with a single and scored on Jed Lowrie’s second double of the night. For Lowrie, it was his 35th double of the year, and he leads the American League in that department. O’s ahead 7-2.

The A’s loaded the bases with two out in the ninth. With two out, Orioles manager Buck Showalter brought in his closer to pitch to Jed Lowrie. Lowrie battled, but Britton got him to fly out to right-field to earn his 10th save of the year.

Game Notes- With the win, Baltimore improved to 57-58 and picked up a game on the Seattle Mariners for the second Wild Card spot in the AL. The Orioles had two innings in which they hit back-to-back solo home runs. The homers, in both instances, came on consecutive pitches. The only bright spot for the A’s offense was Jed Lowrie’s two doubles.

The A’s and Orioles go at it again Friday night at the Coliseum. Paul Blackburn (3-1, ERA 2.60) will pitch for the A’s, and the Orioles will have righty Ubaldo Jimenez (5-7, ERA 6.31) on the mound.

That’s Amaury’s Podcast, News and Commentary: Orioles and A’s had some great teams; taking a look at a blast from the past

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AP File Photo: Oakland Athletics manager Bob Melvin, left, talks with broadcaster Jim Palmer, right, before their baseball game against the Baltimore Orioles Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2015, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)

Jerry Feitelberg joins Amaury for the Podcast. Jerry and Amaury discuss the past great Oakland A’s and Baltimore Orioles teams from the past. Amaury was a bat boy for the Orioles in 1966 where he started his baseball career. Amaury got to work with some of those Orioles greats like Frank Robinson, Paul Blair, Don Buford, Boog Powell, Dave Johnson, Mark Belanger, Brooks Robinson, catchers Andy Etchbarren, Elrod Hendricks, pitching greats Jim Palmer, Chuck Dobson, Dave McNally, Mike Cuellar, and managed by Earl Weaver.

Jerry and Amaury also talked about those early great A’s teams as well, catchers Gene Tenace and Ray Fosse, first baseman Mike Epstein, second baseman Dick Green, Mike Andrews, shortstop Bert Campaneris, third baseman Sal Bando, outfielders Reggie Jackson, Billy North, and Joe Rudi, pitchers Catfish Hunter, Ken Holtzman, Paul Lindblad, Vida Blue, John Blue Moon Odom, Rollie Fingers, and yes former Tiger great Denny McClain who once pitched for the A’s.

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

 

Oakland A’s Podcast with Jerry Feitelberg: Cotton having a tough rough last few weeks after early glowing start; Phegley and Smolinski on their way back from the DL

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Oakland Athletics starting pitcher Jharel Cotton (45) eyes the camera in the dugout before the game between the Oakland A’s and Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Angel Stadium in Anaheim, CA, Photographer: Peter Joneleit (Cal Sport Media via AP Images)

On the Podcast with Jerry F:

1  A’s pitcher Jharel Cotton had his mix of pitches which was working for him to start 2017 but afterwards teams started learning about his pitches and Cotton started tailing off and Wednesday night he dropped his record to 5-9 and raised his ERA to 5.72

2 Was Cotton’s success primarily due to the fact that he got called up early in the season and no one knew how to hit him

3 A’s catcher Josh Phegley is back in the batting cage after suffering an oblique injury also outfielder Jake Smolinski had a shoulder injury has rehabbed and now can throw 90 feet

4 A’s catcher Dustin Garneau has worked well behind the plate he has played in three games worth but has impressed so much that manager Bob Melvin is planning to use him this month and considering activating Phegley when the call ups arrive in September

5 The A’s are having a “Player Weekend” using jerseys that instead have the last names on the back of the jerseys they’ll be using nicknames this will happen on the weekend of Aug 25-27

Jerry Feitelberg does the Oakland A’s podcast each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

 

NFL Podcast with London Marq: 49ers GM pushing for more contact in practice; With core of veteran players Raiders should be on top

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San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch during the NFL team’s football training camp Friday, July 28, 2017, in Santa Clara, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

On the NFL Podcast with London Marq:

1 San Francisco 49ers GM John Lynch has ordered more physical contact in practices as the 49ers prepare for their first pre season game in Kansas City this Friday night at Arrowhead Stadium. Lynch says such preparation will get the players ready for full contact football this Friday.

2 The Oakland Raiders who play in Glendale against the Arizona Cardinals this Saturday night at the University of Phoenix have enough veteran on the roster to do some damage and probably go deep in post season

3 Jay Cutler who will start for the Miami Dolphins signed with the team for $10 million for this season after posting a 33.7 quarterback rating, Cutler played for Chicago last season

4 Quarterback Mike Glennon signed a huge deal with Chicago for three years at $4.5 million, $18 million. Glennon has thrown only 11 passes since 2015. Glennon is 5-13 career and was a back up in Tampa Bay last season.

5 Quarterbaack Mark Sanchez also signed with the Bears for this season for $2 million London takes a look how Sanchez can help Chicago

London Marq does the NFL Podcasts each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Francisco 49ers preview: Young 49ers expect to get a lot of action

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San Francisco 49ers defensive lineman Solomon Thomas during the NFL team’s football training camp Friday, July 28, 2017, in Santa Clara, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

By Jeremy Harness

 The 49ers are not expected to compete for a playoff spot this year, but this could be a very exciting year for the team, particularly to see what the young guys can do.

 If you can recall, the last time they were in this kind of situation was in 2000, when they were coming off a debilitating 4-12 season and badly needed to retool their defense. After selecting a pair of cornerbacks in the draft that year, the 49ers rebounded with a 6-10 campaign before advancing to the postseason the following season.

 This could very well be a year of growth for the team as a whole, and it will certainly be that for the rookies, particularly defensive tackle Solomon Thomas and linebacker Reuben Foster, both of whom the team selected in the first round of this year’s draft.

 Thomas has been getting reps with the first and second teams, but has been getting most of his work with the second unit, ad according to reports, he has started to make his mark.

 Foster, meanwhile, will likely be counted on a little sooner than anticipated. Last Saturday, it was determined that newly-signed linebacker Malcolm Smith will miss the rest of the season with a torn pectoral muscle that he suffered days before.

 What that means is that Foster got himself a lot more playing time. In the meantime, Foster has been getting reps with the second team as well as the first unit and has frequently been making big plays.

 After not having a single interception in his time at Alabama, he already has two picks in the two weeks of training camp with the 49ers, and now that the shoulder issues that plagued him prior to the draft appears to be a thing of the past, great things are being expected of him.

 They will both get their first chance to show what they can do against another NFL team, as the 49ers travel to Kansas City to take on the Chiefs on Friday.

 

Open Cup: Quakes fall in Sudden Death; Penalty Kick shootout Sporting KC tops SJ 1-1

Published on by smallforceLeave a comment

~ Photo: ESPN

~ By Pearl Allison Lo

~ Sporting Kansas City’s Tim Melia became the hero after he stopped San Jose’s sixth penalty attempt facing Victor Bernardez in a 1(5)-1(4) win Wednesday.

It was an Open Cup semifinal midweek matchup and a rematch of the 2004 semifinals with the same results. Kansas City continued their Open Cup and penalty success.

Both coaches started off with different strategies. Most of the Quakes’ regulars were on the bench, including David Bingham, Chris Wondolowski and Bernardez.

San Jose struck early when Danny Hoesen gave a 1-0 lead in the 4th minute, his third of Open Cup play. He was able to get around Ike Opara and made a diagonal shot from outside the box. That also broke Sporting’s shutout streak in the Open Cup. Vako, making his first start, made the assist.

Shots and saves intermingled with shots from Kansas City’s Gerso Fernandes, Jimmy Medranda, Latiaf Blessing, and Graham Zusi.

Then the entire Sporting side, chipped in, literally. After in the attacking half for a while, 18 passes in all, Diego Rubio took pass from Medranda on the left and shot the ball past a late to react Andrew Tarbell, the game tied up in the 32nd minute.

Tarbell deflected Diego Rubio’s shot in the 60th minute. Hoesen had at least a third attempt against Tim Melia in the 66th minute.  

During the second half, the Quakes’ Fatai Alashe subbed in for Tommy Thompson and Wondolowski for Hoesen.

San Jose’s Darwin Ceren got the game’s first yellow card in the 74th minute.

Wondolowski got his first shot in the 82nd minute.

At the end of full-time, significant stats were for Kansas City, 22-11 shots, 11-3 shots on goal, 67%-33% possession, 11-1 corners and Tarbell making 10 saves to Melia’s two.

The first half of extra time saw Quakes’ Francois Affolter booked in the 92nd minute, Tarbell deny Diego Rubio again and Tarbell out of goal while Blessing went above the net.  

The second half saw more Rubio attempts, the second an almost straightaway free kick and Andres Imperiale issued a yellow card against Blessing.

During penalties, Sporting’s Benny Feilhaber had his first ever team penalty miss while Wondolowski’s shot bounced off Melia safely. After that, kickers prevailed, with Diego Rubio, Ilie Sanchez, Medranda, and Daniel Salloi connecting for Kansas City. For San Jose, Imperiale, Ceren, Vako and Florian Jungwirth got past Melia. In Sudden Death for Sporting, it was Matt Besler.

Game notes: It was also Affolter’s first start for the Quakes. San Jose now head over to Texas to play the Houston Dynamo Saturday at 6pm.

As it was envisioned: Giants play their game in 3-1 win over the Cubs

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San Francisco Giants third baseman Pablo Sandoval dives to stop a ground ball hit by the Chicago Cubs’ Ben Zobrist in the fifth inning of a baseball game Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2017, in San Francisco. Sandoval stopped the ball and threw Zobrist out at first base. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)

By Morris Phillips

SAN FRANCISCO–Think back to spring training–before the 70 losses with almost two months remaining. A healthy, capable Giants club was supposed to look like this, especially on a heavy-aired afternoon at AT&T.

Pitch, play defense and get the big outs late. Offense? Scratch together a couple of runs, nothing spectacular. Just steady.

On Wednesday, it worked just like they envisioned, right down to Mad Bum actually winning one for a change.

In the other dugout, Joe Maddon was concerned, but not overly so. His Cubs were 16-8 post All-Star break and prior to Wednesday’s 3-1 loss to the Giants. But when he expressed what was missing from his team’s effort, it sounded a lot like what suddenly crawled into the Giants’ dugout.

“We haven’t played well. We haven’t played with the same kind of efficiency,” Maddon said.

“Pitching, great. Again, defense we still have to make plays. And overall, offensively we need more consistency out of more people to get this whole thing done.”

Each Giants’ position starter had one hit. The resurgent Hunter Pence had two. “Wawindaji” homered off Pedro Strop in the eighth inning for a nice piece of insurance in a 2-1 game. “Wawindaji” is Pence’s nickname (Hunter in Swahili) that will appear on his Players Weekend uniform in the upcoming series at Washington.

The placement of the way-out nickname on an actual game jersey is also a sure sign that Pence’s play has picked up. The right fielder hit over .300 on the completed home stand, and including the two games in Oakland.

Pablo Sandoval looked nifty ranging to his left. Denard Span and Ryder Jones contributed “small ball” hits in the seventh that allowed the Giants to break the 1-1 tie. And Bumgarner was tough on a lineup that’s been more than capable against ordinary lefties this season (19-9 after Wednesday’s loss).

Coming off that serious biking accident, Bumgarner had a long road, not just to get healthy, but to regain his status among the National League’s best starters. Bochy’s cast a discerning eye in the process. Here’s how he saw Bumgarner’s effort.

“His stuff’s the same. His command, everything is right there. He pitched very well today. He made the one mistake there, but he hasn’t changed a bit,” Bochy said.

The one mistake–a third inning home run surrendered to Albert Almora Jr.–would mark the only time a Cub crossed the plate all afternoon. Bumgarner threw seven innings, allowed four singles and the Almora homer while striking out seven.

Hunter Strickland pitched a scoreless eighth, and Sam Dyson, the reliever rescued from the scrap heap after a rough first half with the Rangers picked up save number eight.

The Giants resume play in Washington on Friday night, the first of a six-game road trip. The team will also visit the Marlins in Miami.