San Jose Sharks podcast with Jeremiah Salmonson: Sharks coming off win in St Louis, Utah have won 3 of last 5, both battle tonight in San Jose

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San Jose Sharks Mikael Granlund (64) goes after a loose puck while the St Louis Blues goaltender Jordan Binginton (50) protects the net at the Enterprise Center in St Louis on Sat Dec 14, 2024 (AP News photo)

San Jose Sharks podcast with Jeremiah Salmonson:

#1 Macklin Celebrini scored two goals and got an assist on Thursday night against the St Louis Blues at the Enterprise Center in St Louis there is little doubt in the Sharks wins this season that Celebrini has been the key to a large number of the Sharks victories.

#2 Tyler Toffoli and Jake Walman both scored for San Jose. So the Sharks also have been getting help from a different set of players on offense each night.

#3 The Sharks were on a three game losing streak before playing the Blues on Thursday. They did have some tough customers on this last road trip losing to Tampa Bay, Florida, and Carolina before snapping the skid against St Louis.

#4 The Sharks got great goaltending on Thursday from Alexandar Georgiev who stopped 17 Blues shots for the win.

#5 It’s back to San Jose tonight and the Utah Hockey Club. Utah is rolling they have won six of their last ten games and defeated the Colorado Avalanche in their last game on Thursday 4-1. Sharks are coming off a win against St Louis and have home ice how do you see this match up tonight at SAP Center?

Jeremiah Salmonson is a sports analyst at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Stojakovic leads way with 31 points, and Bears snap Demons with 84-66 win

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Cal Bears guard Jovan Blacksher Jr drives on a Northwestern State Demons defender at Haas Pavilion in Berkeley on Sat Dec 14, 2024 (Cal Bears MBB X photo)

Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024

Haas Pavilion, Berkeley, California

Northwestern State Demons 66 (4-6)

California Golden Bears 84 (7-4)

By Stephen Ruderman

BERKELEY–Andrej Stojakovic dominated with 31 points, as the Bears snapped their three-game losing streak with an 84-66 win over the Northwestern State Demons.

The Bears came into today’s game after losing their last three. They were not blowouts, and the Bears were competitive in all three games, but three-straight losses following a 6-1 start had to wear on them.

Fortunately for the Bears, they would draw the Northwestern State Demons, and yes, there is a Northwestern, and a Northwestern State The Demons are from the lesser-known Southland Conference, and they are based out of Natchitoches, Louisiana.

Despite an easier matchup, the Bears could not get complacent, but it seemed like they did in the early going. A three by Landyn Jumawan and a layup by Willie Williams staked the Demons out to an early 5-0 lead. The Demons wouldn’t pull away with it, but they remained ahead for much of the first half.

The Demons led 22-16 with 9:05 left in the first half, but that was when the Bears—and really, Andrej Stojakovic—finally came charging. Cal came back to tie it at 26-26 with 5:39 to go. Joshua Ola-Joseph then put the Bears ahead with a three with exactly five minutes remaining.

The Bears would stay ahead for the remainder of the first half, but not by much, as they went into the half up 36-33. Stojakovic carried the way for the Bears, as he scored 16 points in the first half.

Cal then finally pulled away in the second half, as they opened up their lead to 19 points at 61-42 with 10:37 to go. Stojakovic continued to help lead the way, but he also got some help from Jeremiah Wilkinson, who came in off the bench.

The Demons did not give up, as they chipped away at Cal’s lead with a 15-6 run to close it to a 10-point game at 67-57 with 7:57 left. However, the Bears kept their lead at double digits the rest of the way, and won fairly comfortably by a final of 84-66.

Despite his high point totals, Stojakovic has often struggled with field goals in the early going this season, but that was not the case today. Stojakovic was 10-for-14 in field goals, including 4-for-6 from beyond the arc, and 7-for-8 from the line.

Wilkinson has another strong performance with 18 points, 16 of them in the second half. Ola-Joseph scored 13 points, and Jovan Blacksher Jr. scored 12.

The Bears improve to 8-4, and following a week off, they will travel down to San Diego to take on the San Diego State Aztecs for a game next Saturday night. Tipoff will be at 7:30 p.m.

FYI, it will be almost four weeks until the Bears are home again. Cal’s next home game will be on Jan. 8 against the Virginia Cavaliers. Tipoff for that game will be at 8 p.m.

Cal Bears podcast with Stephen Ruderman: Cal hoping to end 3 game skid against Northwestern State today in Berkeley

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Cal Bears forward Spencer Mahoney (7) shows some encouragement for his teammates from the Cal bench during their last home game against the Cornell Big Red at Haas Pavilion in Berkeley on Tue Dec 10, 2024 (Cal Bears photo)

On the Cal Bears podcast with Stephen Ruderman:

#1 The Cal Bears (6-4) take on the Northwestern State Demons (4-8) for a 12 noon tip here at Haas Pavilion in Berkeley. Cal is hoping to snap their three game losing streak after playing but losing some competitive games.

#2 They last played Cornell and although they took the lead on Cornell twice in Tuesday’s game they battled them pretty hard but lost by eight points 88-80.

#3 The Bears got scoring help against Cornell with five players who finished in double figures.

#4 Stephen you got to like the performance the Bears are getting from forward Joshua Ola Joseph he lead Cal in scoring on Tuesday with 21 points and eight rebounds.

#5 The Bears take on Northwestern State have won three of their last five games. In their last game they defeated Houston Christian 64-57 in Houston last Saturday. Stephen what’s your feel on these two teams today?

Stephen Ruderman is a Cal Bears podcast contributor at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa: Scrappy Utah comes in to face Sharks tonight; SJ coming off win in St Louis

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San Jose Sharks Jake Walman (96) is congratulated by teammates Cody Ceci (4) and Nico Sturm (7) after scoring a third period goal against the St Louis Blues on Thu Dec 12, 2024 (AP News photo)

On the San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa:

#1 Macklin Celebrini scored two goals and got an assist on Thursday night against the St Louis Blues at the Enterprise Center in St Louis there is little doubt in the Sharks wins this season that Celebrini has been the key to a large number of the Sharks victories.

#2 Tyler Toffoli and Jake Walman both scored for San Jose. So the Sharks also have been getting help from a different set of players on offense each night.

#3 The Sharks were on a three game losing streak before playing the Blues on Thursday. They did have some tough customers on this last road trip losing to Tampa Bay, Florida, and Carolina before snapping the skid against St Louis.

#4 The Sharks got great goaltending on Thursday from Alexandar Georgiev who stopped 17 Blues shots for the win.

#5 It’s back to San Jose tonight and the Utah Hockey Club. Utah is rolling they have won six of their last ten games and defeated the Colorado Avalanche in their last game on Thursday 4-1. Sharks are coming off a win against St Louis and have home ice how do you see this match up tonight at SAP Center?

Join Mary Lisa for all the latest in Sharks hockey podcasts every Saturday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Cal Women Beating Stanford “Means A Lot” And Comes With A 20-Point Margin

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By Morris Phillips

BERKELEY, CA–Telling the whole damn world, this is Bear Territory, isn’t easy. In fact, it’s hard work, and you better mean it when you say it.

Coach Charmin Smith said it Friday night, and it meant something.

After 12 consecutive losses to Stanford and 31 losses in the last 35 meetings spanning more than a decade, something needed to be said, and more importantly, something needed to be done. Again, Smith demanded, and her Bears delivered an 83-63 win, the first for Smith over the school she attended.

“I’d be lying if I tried to downplay it… I don’t care. I’m happy we beat Stanford, and I’m going to act like it,” Smith declared.

Smith, who has been an assistant coach and now head coach at Cal over a period spanning 18 years, hasn’t enjoyed any success competing against Stanford. She was 0-11 against legendary Tara VanDerveer with a number of those defeats by lopsided margins. Friday, coaching against former teammate Kate Paye, Smith, and her team broke through, winning by 20 for the first time since February 1982.

This time, it wasn’t close, and it wasn’t competitive after halftime.

The Bears survived a cold-shooting first half by both teams with a 33-24 lead. But they caught fire in the third, burying eight 3-pointers to expand their lead to 23. The school record for made threes came crashing down in the fourth quarter as Cal finished with 18.

Lulu Twidale and Ioanna Krimili both scored 20 points, and Marta Suarez was one better with 21. Suarez capped off the third quarter with a buzzer-beating three that extended Cal’s lead to 63-40.

“The rim got real big for them,” Paye said.

“I think they flat-out wanted it more. We were out-coached, I thought we were outplayed. You saw a Cal team that was highly motivated, and they played extremely hard. They rebounded the ball well. They were very aggressive on defense.”

Nunu Agara, Stanford’s leading scorer, missed eight of her 12 shots from the floor and finished with 13. Brooke Demetre led Stanford with 18. The Cardinal were 14 of 43 shooing through the first three quarters.

The first-ever ACC conference game for both teams portended a new reality between the two rivals, now in the absence of VanDerveer, who coached Stanford since 1986. The Bears have improved immensely while Stanford is starting over. Both teams came in just outside the national Top 25 among the highest vote getters. Now Cal, riding an impressive 10-1 start to the season, should enter the polls on Monday if they can continue winning against Austin Peay on Sunday.

G League action: Kings pick up six point win over Rip City 127-116 at Adventist Health Arena

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Stockton Kings guard Dennis Dexter (9) shakes hands with forward Skal Labissiere (8) as they took on Rip City Remix at Adventist Health Arena in Stockton on Fri Dec 13, 2024 (Stockton Kings X photo)

By William Espy

STOCKTON–The Stockton Kings (8-3) hosted the struggling Rip City Remix (3-9) on Friday night. Stockton outlasted Rip City with a 127-119 win at Adventist Health Arena in Stockton.

Stockton got out to a great start, going on a 10-0 run to start the game. After a timeout, Rip City started getting some momentum back on their side with three quick threes, to make it 10-9. James Bouknight had a highlight reel play to give the Remix their first lead of the night. He stole the ball and pulled out a windmill dunk on the breakaway.

Rip City was 7-for-7 from beyond the arc in the first half of the quarter, while Stockton was 5-for-5. Neither team missed a three in the opening minutes, Drew Timme broke the streak with about 5:30 remaining in the first.

At the end of the first, the Kings led 36-33. Bouknight had 11 points at that point, the most of either team. Dexter Dennis led the Kings with 9. Meanwhile the league’s top scorer, Bryce McGowens had 7.

The second quarter was less offensive than the first. Both teams were missing more shots, and were more responsible defensively. Turnovers were plaguing the Kings, as they were into the double digits less than halfway into the second quarter. By the end of the quarter though, Rip City would find themselves in a similar situation with nine turnovers of their own.

At the half, Henri Drell was the Remix’s top scorer with 16, and his efficiency beyond the arc was great as well. He was 4-6 from three. Stockton’s offense was running through Dennis, who had 16 points and four assists. On the scoreboard, it was 61-55 in favor of the home team.

The Kings would continue to extend their lead in the third quarter and after 36 minutes it was 92-83 for Stockton. Starting the final frame, Rip City came right out of the gate with a full-court press trying to force even more turnovers. The Kings had cleaned that aspect of their game up though, only turning over the ball once in the third quarter.

The Remix weren’t going to make the final quarter an easy one for Stockton. They kept it within single digits, and occasionally brought it within a single possession. Stockton obviously wasn’t going to relent either though, they kept fighting and maintained the lead through hard work both offensively and defensively.

They were forcing turnovers and hitting shots, but still couldn’t pull away. Once it got into the final couple of minutes though, Stockton got their lead to double digits for the first time in quite a while. As the clock continued to run down, Rip City was slowly cutting into that lead once again.

It would end up being too little too late though, as they’d have to start fouling allowing the Kings to extend their lead. The Kings walked away with a 127-119 win, extending their winning streak at home to five games.

Dennis scored 31, while Terry Taylor and Isaiah Crawford had 26 and 23 respectively. Brian Bowen had a double-double with 13 points and 14 assists in the win. Meanwhile Drell has 32 and McGowens scored 28 in Rip City’s losing effort.

Rip City and the Stockton Kings match up once more on Sun Dec 15th for a 2:00pm PST tip at Adventist Health Arena.

Sacramento Kings podcast with Jeremiah Salmonson: Kings just get past Pelicans 111-109 in the Big Easy

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Sacramento Kings forward Domantas Sabonis (11) passed the ball past the New Orleans Pelicans center Yves Missi, left, and guard CJ McCullum (3) in second half action at Smoothie King Arena in New Orleans (AP News photo)

On the Sacramento Kings podcast with Jeremiah:

#1 The New Orleans Pelicans couldn’t keep the Sacramento Kings Domantas Sabonis down he led the Kings with 32 points and had 20 rebounds in the Kings win 111-109 against the Pelicans at Smoothie King Arena in New Orleans.

#2 DeMar DeRozan scored 29 points and the Kings De’Aaron Fox and Keegan Murray each scored 18 points that help contribute to the offense.

#3 Jeremiah the win give the Kings three in a row and they have now won five of their last six games and have improved over the last two weeks.

#4 The Pelicans CJ McCullom scored six 3 pointers and tallied 36 points. One the remarkable shots that McCullom took was a shot that hit off the glass while he was falling for three points as he got fouled by Fox with 1:20 remaining in the game.

#5 The Kings will return to Golden 1 Center in Sacramento on Monday night against the Denver Nuggets. The Nuggets are seventh in the Western Conference and have been playing .500 ball winning five of their last ten games. Tip off is 7:00pm PST on Mon Dec 16, 2024.

Join Jeremiah for the Kings podcasts each Friday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Rams Beat San Francisco Almost Extinguishing Playoff Hopes 12-6; Rams 4 field goals do in SF

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Los Angeles Rams linebacker Christian Rozeboom front right puts the tackle on San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel center in first half action at Levi Stadium in Santa Clara on Thu Dec 12, 2024 (AP News photo)

By Barbara Mason

The San Francisco 49ers (6-8) lost a critical game to their rival the Los Angeles Rams (8-6) 12-6 as rain soaked Levi’s Stadium. The inclement weather didn’t help the sloppy play that this game revealed. Over 71,-000 fans were present despite the weather hoping the team would keep their playoff hopes alive.

What they got was a stinker of a game. Quarterback Brock Purdy finished the game with 142 passing yards, three sacks, one interception and no touchdowns. San Francisco did hold a 6-3 lead going into the fourth quarter but came up short when the Rams scored three field goals in the final quarter.

Game recap: The first quarter of this game was wet and sloppy, in fact it would rain throughout the entire first half. After the first 15 minutes of play San Francisco came away with a single field goal and a 3-0 lead. Jake Moody connected for a 53 yard field goal. There were seven punts in the opening quarter.

The second quarter was equally sloppy for both teams. Los Angeles did tie up the game with a 48 yard field goal courtesy of kicker Joshua Karty 3-3. That would be the only points scored in the first half. Both quarterbacks struggled in the first half although both teams were able to get within field goal range. It was a bizarre first half, an offensive struggle with some solid defense.

The 49ers would kick their second field goal of the game to take a 6-3 lead in the third quarter. Jake Moody kicked a 47 yard field goal taking the 6-3 lead into the fourth quarter. Going into the half, the rain came to an end which could possibly make for some much improved football.

The Rams saved the best for last kicking three field goals in the final quarter of play. San Francisco could not keep them out of field goal range. Los Angeles’ kicker Joshua Karty kicked a 23 yarder at 13:38, a second kick for 27 yards at 9:28 and a third field goal with 18 second left in the game for 29 yards taking a 12-6 lead which would be the final. The Rams while unable to score any touchdowns but were able to drive deep into San Francisco territory three times to take the lead and win this game.

It was only four days ago that San Francisco won the highest scoring game of this year’s season. Thursday night they couldn’t get anything going. Of course the weather had a lot to do with the outcome but the Rams also had the same challenge.

Los Angeles did a better job on the ground with 142 yards rushing to San Francisco’s 63 yards. It was a tough night for S.F. quarterback Brock Purdy who finished with 142 yards passing yards, three sacks, one interception and no touchdowns.

San Francisco had driven into field goal range when Purdy was intercepted. This game turned into a punt-athon with neither team scoring a touchdown the entire game. This was the first time since 2019 that San Francisco had failed to score a touchdown.

The Rams were able to get a little more offense than San Francisco did. It was not either teams finest hour although the Rams had more fight than the 49ers did considering the importance that this game carried for both teams.

Los Angeles deserves a lot of credit for being able to find a way to win Thursday night. They are now a 1/2 game behind the division leading Seattle Seahawks after starting off the season 1-4.

Game notes: The 49ers took on the Rams in a prime time Thursday Night Football showdown. This was a crucial game for San Francisco if they were to have any chance for a wild card spot in the playoffs. It was a huge game for the Rams as well who are now two games ahead of San Francisco improve their record to 8-6 record.

San Francisco remains short-handed in the running back position but had the services of Isaac Guerendo. The weather could not have been worse for this all-important game with a drizzle to steady rain. This was just another obstacle for San Francisco to contend with.

San Francisco will not take the field until December 22 in a game with the Miami Dolphins. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:25 PM. With three games left in the season San Francisco’s hopes for a wild card berth are dwindling.

Kings Beat Pelicans 111-109 Extending Win Streak to Three

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The Sacramento Kings forward Domantas Sabonis (11) and guard Malik Monk (0) celebrates Sabonis’ 3 point shot against the New Orleans Pelicans at Smoothie King Arena in New Orleans on Thu Dec 12, 2024 (AP News photo)

By Barbara Mason

Thursday night the Sacramento Kings (13-13) beat the New Orleans Pelicans (5-21) in the final seconds of the fourth quarter. It was not easy by any means but they discouraged two straight Pelican stops closing out the game and sealing the deal.

Domantas Sabonis had a season-high 32 points with 20 rebounds. DeMar DeRozan finished the game with 29 points and De’Aaron Fox and Keegan Murray each had 18 points. Sacramento now has a .500 record at 13-13.

Game recap: After the first 12 minutes of play the Kings held a slim lead 28-26 and as play wore on the Pelicans, despite being short-handed, were going to be a handful. New Orleans outscored the Kings in the second quarter 29-25 and led at the half 55-53. Sacramento would be looking for a dominating second half as they’ve seen in the past.

The Kings were dominant in the third quarter outscoring the Pelicans 38-28 and taking an eight point lead 91-83 going into the fourth quarter. Neither team was able to score in the opening 1 1/2 minutes of play.

New Orleans was able to outscore the Kings in the final quarter 26-20 but came up just short unable to make up the eight point lead Sacramento had established. The Kings took as much as a 14 point lead in the fourth quarter.

With under five minutes left in the game, the Pelicans began to chip away at the Sacramento lead. With under two minutes left in the game the Kings were clinging to a three-point lead 109-106. Sacramento was unable to score at all in the final 1:41 left in the game.

The Pelicans had a huge opportunity with two straight defensive stops with under a minute left on the clock but could not score. Malik Monk blocked a Dejounte Murray shot that was rebounded by Domantas Sabonis and that was the ball game 111-109.

The 111 points scored by the KIngs tied their season low in this very tight contest. Domantas Sabonis really stepped up for this game scoring a season high 32 points and another double double with 20 rebounds. DeMar DeRozan chipped in 29 points.

De’Aaron Fox and Keegan Murray each scored 18 points. Murray also had a great defensive game with 10 rebounds. Sacramento had a great night at the line shooting at 93% a vast improvement. Ball protection was also a part of this win with only 11 turnovers. Sacramento hung on for dear life but came out on top in this game pushing their season record to 13-13.

Game notes: The Kings had a great start to the 2024-25 season. Through the first seven games the Kings were holding down sixth place in net rating. This was a significant improvement over last season when they finished in 17th in the net rating.

The Kings went on to finish with a 46-36 record exiting in the Play-In Tournament. Back in early November, they were fifth in offensive rating and 12th in defensive rating both an improvement over last season.

Things got a bit spotty going into the second week of November. They really fell on hard times around mid-November dropping four games in a row. They have seemed to have pulled it all together recently beating the highly rated Houston Rockets and winning three of four games.

Thursday night they played the struggling Pelicans and got their third win in a row and getting back to a decent .500. The Pelicans Brandon Ingram is out until Jan. 3rd and of course they will also be without Zion WIlliamson.

The days of beating Sacramento every time they met up is over for New Orleans with the loss tonight for the Pelicans. Last season the Kings lost all six games in their matchups. The Kings are now getting back to good health after a tough time dealing with injuries.

With only Trey Lyles listed as out, the Kings have everyone on board. There is also Devin Carter, the Kings first round draft pick who has not seen any action due to an offseason shoulder injury. The win tonight was ideal but going forward how do the King’s bounce back after losses: that is equally important. Right now the win Thursday night was big for Sacramento and taking it one game at a time.

The Pelicans are reeling from the second most players lost to injury this season. Only the Memphis Grizzlies have more. They were without Karlo Matkovic, Jordan Hawkins, Brandon Ingram, Jose Alvarado, and Javonte Green who is listed as questionable. Zion Williamson missed his 17th game.

The Kings will now have another three days off before taking on the Denver Nuggets at Golden 1 Center next Monday evening. Tipoff for that game is scheduled for 7:00 PM as Sacramento seeks their fourth win in a row.

Andrew Poturalski scores in shootout win in his and Jimmy Schuldt’s return to Coachella Valley

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COACHELLA VALLEY, CA – DEC 12, 2024: The Coachella Valley Firebirds vs. San Jose Barracuda at Acrisure Arena. (Photo by Mike Zitek/Coachella Valley Firebirds)

By Madison Montez

SAN JOSE- The San Jose Barracuda faced off against the Coachella Valley Firebirds for the 4th time this season and for the third game in a row.

After a score-less 1st period, the Barracuda outshot the Firebirds by a close 9 to 8. Both teams took 3 penalties and both teams went 0 for 3 on the powerplay. At 19:15 of the 1st period, Luke Henman of Coachella took a 2 minute penalty for hooking which will give the Barracuda a 1:16 powerplay to start the 2nd period. As of now, San Jose is third in the division on the powerplay with a 20.5%.

At 1:03 of the second, Danil Guschin netted his 2nd PPG of the season assisted by Luca Cagnoni to open up the scoring. A minute and 32 seconds later, Lucas Carlsson netted his 1st of the season assisted by Ethan Cardwell and Scott Sabourin.

Coachella cut into San Jose’s lead at 10:48 with Jani Nyman scoring his 6th of the season, Brandon Biro and Max Lajoie registering the assists. A minute and 5 seconds later, Jagger Firkus tied the game at 2, scoring his 6th of the season assisted by Brandon Biro and John Hayden.

At 14:41, Coachella took their first lead of the game at 14:41 of the third period on a Brandon Biro goal, his first of the season, after assisting on both of Coachella’s 2nd period goals. Logan Morrisson registering the only assist. In his return to Coachella Valley, Andrew Poturalski tied the game at 18:37 scoring his 9th goal of the season assisted by Thomas Bordeleau and Danil Guschin. This goal came after John McCarthy pulled Yaroslav Askarov to get the man advantage.

Regulation wasn’t enough for the two teams with the game going into overtime and eventually a shootout. First to shoot was Danil Guschin who scored and next was Andrew Poturalski who scored to win it. The Barracuda are now 4-0 against the Coachella Valley Firebirds this season.

The Barracuda will be back in action on Saturday December 14th against the San Diego Gulls for the 3rd matchup this season.