That’s Amaury News and Commentary–The Improved Sacramento Park for the Athletics 

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Sutter Health Park Sacramento from behind outfield grass view. The future interim home of the Athletics for 2025-2027. (photo by the Sacramento Rivercats)

The Improved Sacramento Park for the Athletics

That’s Amaury News and Commentary

By Amaury Pi-Gonzalez

1-Although it was said Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento was originally planned to have artificial turf, that didn’t happen because the players and agents raised concerns about the heat and potential for injury. It will be natural grass.

2-A new clubhouse. It will be a two-story clubhouse located beyond the left field wall. There will be a dressing room, gym, training room, dining room.kitchen and, of course, Batting cages.

3-For Fans. The Gilt-Edge Club, an open-air lounge located in the right field, a private bar with complimentary beer and wine, hot dog, and nacho stations.

4-Premium seating. The Tower View tables and Diamond View Dugout offer VIP entrance, complimentary welcome drinks, and in-seat service

5-Television. Camera capabilities were improved to provide major league quality broadcasts.

6-Regular media, baseball writers, radio AND television reporters. TBD.

7-Schedule. Because of the heat in Sacramento, the A’s are expected to play most of their games at night.

Amaury Pi Gonzalez does News and Commentary podcasts Tuesdays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Eagles comeback to defeat Barracuda 3-2 with late 3rd period goals

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San Jose forward Danil Gushchin (#75) shoots a puck on net as Colorado Eagles defenseman Keaton Middleton (#67) tries to block the shot at Tech CU Arena on Saturday NOV 9, 2024. (San Jose Barracuda)

by Marko Ukalovic

The Colorado Eagles scored two goals late in the third period for a 3-2 comeback victory over the San Jose Barracuda on Saturday evening at Tech CU Arena.

San Jose have lost three games in a row for the first time this season. Colorado has won four of its last five games and 12th straight versus San Jose.

“We were in control of the game and then a couple of miscues (that led to the two goals) and that’s how fast it can happen. I would have like for us to have capitalized on our chances we had earlier and put ourselves in better position. But we gotta learn how to close out games,” Barracuda head coach John McCarthy said.

Colorado (6-4) drew first blood late in the first period. A stretch pass from Jayson Megna made its way up the ice to Jere Innala at the Barracuda blueline. Innala set up Mattew Phillips who made a move around Cuda goalie Yaroslav Askarov, and his shot deflected off Ethan Frisch into the back of the net for his fourth goal of the season at the 12:35 mark.

San Jose (6-4) responded just under two minutes later with a power play goal. From the point Danil Gushchin set up Andrew Poturalski with a pass in the left slot. Poturalski made one toward the net before firing a wrist shot past Eagles goalie Kevin Mandolese short side for his team leading sixth goal of the season at the 14:28 mark. Luca Cagnoni picked up the secondary assist.

Gushchin earned his 100th career AHL point with the primary assist on Poturalski’s goal.

There was no scoring during the second period. It was a period where the physicality picked up as both teams were throwing the body around both legally and illegally. Colorado had one full power play opportunity while each team had an abbreviated power play. San Jose had a slight edge in shots in the middle frame 12-11.

San Jose gained its first lead of the game near the midway point of the third period thanks to a nice individual effort by Collin Graf. Poturalski sent a rink wide pass from his own zone up to Graf at the Eagles blueline. Graf skated in, cut to the right as he deked out an Eagles defender and rifled a wrist shot top shelf to the far corner for his fourth goal of the season at the 8:59 mark.

“I just wanted to use my speed and push them back,” Graf reminisced. “Obviously I wanted to shoot some more pucks personally today, so I decided to shoot, and good things happened.”

Colorado scored the equalizer thanks to a turnover by the Cuda in the neutral zone. Innala collected the puck near the right boards and fired a backdoor pass over to an unmarked Megna who buried a one-timer past Askarov for his fourth goal of the season at the 13:01 mark.

The Eagles scored the game winning goal exactly four minutes later. Wyatt Aamodt’s shot from the point hit off of Jack Ahcan. Jake Wise collected the puck just in front of the crease and poked it over to Ty Felhaber who beat Askarov with a backhander for his third goal of the season at the 17:01 mark.

Mandolese (3-1) stopped 37 of the 39 shots he faced to earn his third victory on the season. Askarov (5-2) made 24 saves on 27 shots in the losing effort and has lost back-to-back games for the first time this season.

GAME NOTES: San Jose finished 1-for-3 on the power play. Colorado went 0-for-2.

Barracuda forward Tristen Robins made his home debut after missing the past seven games with an upper body injury.

The Three Stars of the Game: 1) Megna 2) Poturalski 3) Felhaber.

UP NEXT: San Jose and Colorado conclude their two-game weekend series on Sunday 11/10 at 3:00pm at Tech CU Arena.

Cal Women Use Physicality, Pace To Wear Down Host San Jose State in 82-53 Win

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By Morris Phillips

SAN JOSE–The depth of talented teams in women’s college basketball is quite noticeable in the season following the Angel Reese/Caitlin Clark supernova that elevated the sport to new levels of visibility.

For Cal’s women, that means the Top 40 is the new Top 25. Most of Cal’s biggest opponents this season currently reside in the Associated Press “vote getting” group just outside the first 25. It’s that group Cal wants to join for the purpose of seizing their first NCAA Tournament berth since 2019.

The quest has begun in earnest as the Bears completed a 3-0 opening week by beating host San Jose State, 82-53, on Saturday afternoon. Coach Charmin Smith wants a physical group defensively that also plays with pace offensively without turning the ball over. Smith admits it’s a dense mix.

“I think this was the lowest in turnovers for us to only have eight,” Smith said. “And they’re a really aggressive team, so we made some strides there. We know we need to be better with taking care of the ball, so we’re just taking steps to keep moving towards who we want to be ultimately.”

Cal’s wins against SJSU, Idaho, and St. Mary’s came with an average margin of victory of 37 points, which immediately catches the attention of the pollsters. But a win on Thursday at Gonzaga, currently in that group following the Top 25, would mean more, a sign that the Bears belong.

In that group are future opponents Miami, Michigan State, Georgia Tech, Syracuse, likely Thanksgiving opponent Vanderbilt and Stanford, who Cal plays twice. In addition, Cal plays No. 24 Alabama of the SEC, and six ACC conference opponents that are ranked as high as No. 6 Notre Dame and as low as No. 19 Florida State with North Carolina State, Louisville, North Carolina, and Duke in between.

Spartans coach April Jackson admitted that Cal went further in approaching their goals than her group did on Saturday. San Jose State trailed 15-3, 23-13 after the first quarter, 40-22 and 51-28 at halftime. The third quarter was even more lopsided as SJSU made just two baskets and scored six points. With Cal emptying their bench in the fourth, the Spartans won that 10-minute stretch, 19-12.

“Cal’s a good basketball team,” Jackson said. “They’re coming off a really good season and obviously returning a lot of key pieces. I don’t want to dismiss that they are a very talented team. But I think it was a good test for us to get an opportunity to see the level of physicality that we can face down the line. So I think it was a really good opportunity for us. We played a full game, we came back in that second half and actually competed. And when you get faced with that type of adversity to finish the last 10 minutes strong and together is always a positive sign.”

Ioanna Krimili led Cal with 18 points, Kayla Williams had 16, and Lulu Twidale added 14. Michelle Onyiah had eight points, 10 rebounds, and graduate transfer Natalia Ackerman was a beehive of activity with eight points, seven rebounds, one assist, one block in only 13 minutes on the floor.

Finau Tonga was the only SJSU player to score in double figures with 12. The Spartans’ defense was largely ineffective as they forced just eight turnovers and committed 23 fouls. That led to Cal converting 21 of 25 from the foul line.

San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa: Sharks embark on five game eastern swing; Open up in New Jersey Sunday

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San Jose Sharks Macklin Celebrini scored two goals against the Minnesota Wild on Thu Nov 7, 2024 at SAP Center in San Jose (San Jose Sharks X photo)

On San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa:

#1 The Minnesota Wild’s Matt Boldy scored two goals. Kirill Kaprizov had three assists as the San Jose Sharks lost 5-2 on home ice on Thursday night.

#2 The Wild Mats Zuccarello scored a second period goal on a no look pass from Kaprizov that had Zuccarello went through numerous defenders to score the go ahead as the Wild took the lead 2-1.

#3 It was also a thrilling night for the Sharks Macklin Celebrini who scored twice for all of the Sharks scoring. Once in the second period at 4:36 and his second goal of the night at 16:08 in the third period. Not a bad night’s work for the NHL first round draft pick?

#4 Despite Celebrini’s two goal effort the Sharks still couldn’t stop the Wild attack. In the third period with the Wild ahead 3-1 the Wild picked up two more goals one from James Brodin at 6:02 and Matt Boldy’s second goal of the night at 18:25 to put the final touches for the win.

#5 The Sharks open with a five game east coast swing starting in New Jersey this Sunday at 4:30pm PST. New Jersey has won four of their last five games. In their last game the Devils defeated the Montreal Canadiens 5-3 and got two goals from Jesper Bratt. Mary Lisa how do you see this one?

Join Mary Lisa for the Sharks podcasts each Saturday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com


Clippers Powell leads with 31 pts and 12 rebounds beat Kings 107-98 at Golden One

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Sacramento Kings guard Malik Monk (0) drives on the Los Angeles Clippers guard Norman Powell (24) and forward Domantas Sabonis (11) on a pick in first half action at the Golden One Center in Sacramento on Fri Nov 8, 2024 (AP News photo)

By Jeremiah Salmonson

SACRAMENTO–The Sacramento Kings were back in action on Friday night. The Kings last played on Wednesday as they defeated the Toronto Raptors. On Friday, they were set to welcome the LA Clippers. The tip-off was set for 7 PM PST on Friday night. The Kings lost the game to the Clippers 107-98.

In the first quarter, the Kings got off to a slow start offensively. At the 6:20 mark of the first, the Kings trailed 19-11. The Kings’ offense couldn’t get into any rhythm to put pressure on the Clippers’ defense. The rest of the quarter, the Kings tried to battle but couldn’t make up much ground.

The quarter ended with the Kings down 34-28. One thing that stood out was the free throw discrepancy: the Kings shot three free throws in the first quarter compared to the Clippers’ 11.

In the second quarter, the Kings continued to play sloppy basketball. The Kings weren’t firing on all cylinders on the defensive end, which led to missed assignments and easy buckets for the Clippers. The Kings’ and the Clippers’ offenses both came to a standstill in the second quarter, with each team scoring 17 points. The Kings trailed the Clippers 51-45 heading into halftime. Norman Powell led the Clippers in the first half with 18 points, while the Kings’ leading scorer was De’Aaron Fox with 12 points.

In the third quarter, it was more of the same uninspiring basketball. The Kings scored 28 points in the third as the Clippers managed 27 points. However, the Kings continued to trail as they couldn’t string together good possessions with any stops. The Kings were shooting an abysmal 2/22 from three through the first three quarters. Could the Kings pick up the offensive end of the floor to come back? They trailed 78-73 going into the fourth.

In the final quarter of action, the Kings failed to mount a comeback. The Kings played hard, but ultimately, some well-timed three-pointers from the LA Clippers sealed the fate of the Kings. The Kings managed to get the game to within four points with a few minutes remaining to show a sign of life.

However, the three-ball started falling for the Clippers as they shut down the run to win 107-98. The Kings’ leading scorer in defeat was Fox, who scored 33 points. Norman Powell led the Clippers in victory as he cooked the Kings with 31 points.

After the game, coach Mike Brown stressed the need to take more three-point shots, regardless of the team’s 3-26 performance. “I would really like our guys to take at least ten more… we left a few shots on the floor we could have taken.”

Up Next: The Kings head on the road to take on the Phoenix Suns on Sunday at 5 PM PST at Footprint Arena in Phoenix.

First ACC Win For Cal: Bears Survive A Shootout At Wake Forest, Win 46-36

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By Morris Phillips

Fernando Mendoza’s late fourth quarter dash for 24 yards came with a pair of Cal companions that were poised to escort their quarterback the remaining 16 yards to paydirt.

Then Mendoza tackled himself.

If you know Cal’s recent history regarding late game collapses, it made complete sense. Mendoza popped up and signaled the next play to his teammates, a couple of whom looked stunned. Mendoza’s reasoning was a narrow 3-point lead, and ball possession was far more comforting than a 10-point lead without the ball, even as just 1:49 remained in the game.

That’s Cal football, and the residual fear created by four, agonizing ACC losses by a combined total of nine points.

Did we mention that streak of conference defeats has ended?

It has, as Cal enjoyed a cool, comfortable Friday evening in North Carolina by outlasting Wake Forest, 46-36. Mendoza continued his hot run with 385 yards passing, two touchdown passes, and one touchdown run that could have been two.

“We found a way to win,” coach Justin Wilcox said. “It’s hard to win. We have a ton of respect for Wake Forest. I’m proud of our players.”

The Bears’ (5-4, 1-4) special teams set the tone early when Hunter Barth ripped the ball loose from kick returner Demond Claiborne, Miles Williams scooped the football and dashed nine yards to give Cal a 10-0 lead five minutes in.

Cal built leads of 20-7, 29-14, and 39-29 with 6:38 remaining only to see Wake Forest respond each time. With Cal clinging to a 39-36 advantage after the two-minute warning, Mendoza broke free, but his calculated move forced the Demon Deacons to burn a pair of timeouts.

Jaivian Thomas then ran 11 yards with 1:10 remaining for Cal’s final score, which re-established a two-score lead.

Ryan Coe, demoted from his position due to missed field goals, re-emerged with a pair of 54-yard field goals. Freshman Derek Morris, the new starting kicker but lacking Coe’s leg strength, also converted from 38 and 29 yards, along with nailing all four of Cal’s extra points.

“I’m just proud of that guy for continuing to stick with it through some tough times,” Wilcox said of Coe. “For Ryan to come in and hit two 54-yarders, that’s big time. We knew he could do it. We’ve seen it. It’s not surprising. It’s really a testament to him.”

Hank Bachmeier was 19 of 36 passing for 274 yards for the Deacons, but he was picked off three times. Nohl Williams was the recipient of one of Bachmeier’s errant throws, his seventh interception of the season, a total that leads the nation.

“They were the more physical team on both sides of the line of scrimmage,” Deacons coach Dave Clawson said. “Their defensive line really kind of got the best of our offensive line. We did not take care of the football. The sequence of the blocked field goal that led to the touchdown was really costly.” 

Allegacy Federal Credit Union Stadium didn’t exactly benefit from the first gridiron meeting of the two universities, despite the near perfect fall weather. The actual in-stadium attendance appeared to be fewer than 5,000 people in a facility that seats 30,000.

Sacramento Kings podcast with Jeremiah Salmonson: Kings host Clippers tonight at Golden One Center

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The Toronto Raptors guard Ochai Abaji (left) defends against the Sacramento Kings forward Keegan Murray in first half action at Golden One Center in Sacramento on Wed Nov 6, 2024 (AP News photo)

Sacramento Kings podcast with Jeremiah Salmonson:

#1 The Sacramento Kings DeMar DeRozan scored 27 points fired up the Kings with a record setting job in defeating the Toronto Raptors 122-107 on Wednesday night at Golden One Center.

#2 Domantas Sabonis had his third triple double of the season going with 17 points, 13 assists, 11 rebounds. Sabonis was six for six from the field and shot a perfect five for five from the free throw line.

#3 Keegan Murray chipped in with 22 points and 12 rebounds and De’Aaron Fox shot for 21 points. DeRozan has scored already 20 points in his first eight games in Sacramento.

#4 Fox played a tough defensive game for the Kings on Wednesday. Fox has been suffering a finger injury going 5 for 17 and was only 2 for 8 on three pointers.

#5 The Kings have won five of their last six games and host the Los Angeles Clippers (4-4) tonight at Golden One in Sacramento. The Clippers defeated the Philadelphia 76ers Wednesday night 110-98. The Clippers after losing three straight loses have won two games in row going into tonight’s game.

Jeremiah Salmonson does the Kings podcast each Friday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

NHL podcast with Len Shapiro: Bruins Marchand scores gamer in OT to beat Flames; Panthers win 6th straight game with 6-2 win over Preds; plus more NHL news

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Boston Bruins left wing Brad Marchand right celebrates his goal with teammate defensemen Charlie McAvoy (left) in overtime at the Boston Garden on Thu Nov 7, 2024 (AP News photo)

On NHL podcast with Len Shapiro:

#1 The Boston Bruins Brad Marchand with 20 seconds left in the overtime stanza to help the Bruins with a 4-3 win over the Calgary Flames at Scotiabank Arena in Calgary. The Flames battled earlier scoring two goals in the third period forcing a tie.

# 2 The Florida Panthers are hot they have now won six in a row defeating the Nashville Predators on Thursday night 6-2. The Predators have won five of their last six games. The Panthers Carter Verhaeghe had three points scoring a goal and with two assists.

#3 The New York Islanders Bo Horvat scored a goal and had two assists and stopped the Ottawa Senators from coming back in the Isles 4- 2 win at Canadian Centre in Ottawa. The Isles Anders Lee scored a goal and an assist, Jean-Gabriel Pageu and Oliver Wahlstrom added goals.

#4 The Utah Hockey Club’s Dylan Guenther scored what later be the game winning goal with 3:21 left in the game as Utah defeated the St Louis Blues 4-2 at Enterprise Center in St Louis on Thursday. Guenther had an assist at 16:39 intercepting a pass by the Blues Jordan Kyrou when his centering pass deflected off of the Blues defensemen Colton Parayko.

#5 Winnipeg Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck stopped all 35 of the Colorado Avalanche’s shots for a 1-0 shutout at the Canada Life Centre. The Jets set a record with the win becoming the second NHL team to win 13 of their first 14 games ironically joining the 2007-08 Senators. The win was the Jets fifth straight.

Len Shapiro does the NHL podcasts each Friday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Early Start Served Fast: Cal blitzes Idaho State 88-36 to start 2-0

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By Morris Phillips

BERKELEY, CA–Crazy kids wanting to yell and scream half-filled Haas Pavilion Thursday morning. They were obliged by the Cal Bears, who provided three-point shooting, blocked shots, nifty steals, and rebounds that led to fastbreaks… a lot of fastbreaks.

A howling success was realized as Cal posted a lopsided 88-36 win to move to 2-0 on the season. Ioanna Krimili paced Cal’s balanced scoring with 18 points.

“It’s amazing to see all those kids, and I had the opportunity to also work with some of them in some of the schools, so it was great,” Krimili said. “The energy was very high, and it’s always amazing to play in front of them.”

A 14-1 start to the game immediately pushed the visiting Bengals to the brink, and their tepid shooting wasn’t anything near what was needed to recover. Idaho State shot 22 percent from the floor, which was the biggest reason Cal posted a 52-point margin of victory, the first time they’ve dominated to that extent since December 2015 against Cal State Northridge.

Idaho State was limited to single-digit scoring in three of the quarters. They outscored Cal 12-11 in the second and trailed by 16 at the half, by 39 after three.

The pace, in the half court and transition, was fast throughout. Coach Charmin Smith wants her team to hustle for quality shots in transition, and they achieved that with 22 fastbreak points, augmented by 13 offensive rebounds and 14 second-chance points. 

“We’re really trying to emphasize good shot selection and getting easy baskets, and I think we have weapons all over the floor, so it’s really hard to stop us when we’re sharing the basketball,” Smith said. “Our defense fuels our offense when we’re getting stops, and we get to play fast. I think we’re a really hard team to guard.”

Kayla Williams and freshman Zahra King were blurs attacking the basket. The graduate/freshman duo at the point combined for 20 points, seven rebounds, including the first nine points of King’s career. Michelle Onyiah added 10 points, eight rebounds.

Cal isn’t pre-ordained to be an effective shooting team from distance, but they certainly can trust shot artists Krimili and Lulu Twidale, who undoubtedly have the green light from the 3-point arc. Krimili has the most made threes of any returning player in Division 1 and Twidale is in Krimili’s class with her fast, confident release as soon as daylight breaks. The duo have combined for 16 of Cal’s 24 3-point makes to start the season.

“I think the nice thing about our team is that we have so many people that can score the ball, and I knew I can score the ball. I know my teammates are going find me.”

Idaho State, picked to finish eighth in the 10-team Big Sky conference, got seven points each from Halle Wright and Maria Dias. Piper Carlson was the Bengals’ leading rebounder with seven.

Cal visits San Jose State on Saturday to meet the Spartans at the Events Center at 1pm.

Bears storm back from early deficit and power themselves to 91-73 win over Cal Poly for first 2-0 start in five years

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Cal Bears guard Andrej Stojakovic (2) takes the ball down court against the Cal Poly Mustangs on Thu Nov 7, 2024 (Cal Bears X photo)

Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024

Haas Pavilion, Berkeley, California

Cal Poly Mustangs 73 (0-2)

California Golden Bears 91 (2-0)

By Stephen Ruderman

After falling behind early, the Bears came back to take the lead in the first half, and they pulled away in the second half on their way to a 91-73 win over Cal Poly.

After an 86-73 win over CSU Bakersfield to open the season on Monday night, the Bears welcomed the Cal Poly Mustangs to Haas Pavilion tonight. The Mustangs opened their season across the bay with an 86-78 loss to the University of San Francisco Tuesday night.

The Mustangs wasted no time getting to work tonight. Mike Riniker made a layup, and Isaac Jessup hit a three ball to stake Cal Poly to an early 5-0 lead.

DJ Campbell made a layup to put the Bears on the board, but Jessup hit another three, and Ethan Menzias hit a three of his own to make it 11-2. Cal Poly would make it 17-5 a few minutes later with 14:01 to go, and the Bears needed to get things under control before this game got out of hand.

As the game approached the halfway mark of the first half, the Bears started to chip away at Cal Poly’s lead. Jovan Blacksher Jr. hit a three to make it 17-8, and that would start an 11-2 run for the Bears that would close the Mustangs’ lead to 19-16.

The game would remain steady over the next few minutes. Rytis Petraitis was fouled and hit both from the line to close the gap to 24-22, and two minutes later, he hit a three to give the Bears their first lead of the night.

The Bears then went on another 11-2 run to jump out to a 35-26 lead with 2:27 to go. However, the Mustangs suddenly regained the momentum and went on an 8-2 run to close Cal’s lead to 37-34. The Bears would go into the half up 39-35.

Come the second half, the Bears put the game away. Andrej Stojakovic hit a three 36 seconds in, and Cal scored 12 unanswered points to blow the game open, as they now led 51-35. The rest of the game was smooth sailing, and the Bears won it 91-73.

Blacksher once again led the Bears in scoring tonight with 18 points, as he was 6-for-13 in field goals, and 4-for-7 from beyond the arc. Stojakovic scored 15 points, though he struggled and missed a lot of shots, as he was 5-for-17 in field goals, and just 2-for-9 from beyond the arc.

Petraitis scored 13 points going 3-for-4 in field goals and hitting his only three. The bulk of Petraitis’ scoring came on free throws, as he was 6-for-8 from the line. B.J. Omot scored 10; Christian Tucker and Lee Dort scored eight; and Joshua Ola-Joseph and Jeremiah Wilkinson scored six.

The Bears are off to a 2-0 start for the first time in five years, and they will have the next five days off as a nice reward. Then, they will hit the road for the first time this season, as they will travel to Nashville, Tennessee to play the Vanderbilt Commodores on Wednesday, and then they will return to California to play the USC Trojans down in Los Angeles next Saturday.

Tipoff next Wednesday will be at 7 p.m. CST/5 p.m. PST.