Barracuda score early then hold on for 4-3 win over Eagles, split series

The San Jose Barracuda celebrate Thomas Bordeleau’s first period goal during their 4-3 win over the Colorado Eagles at Tech CU Arena on Sunday JAN 5, 2025. (San Jose Barracuda)

by Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE — The San Jose Barracuda jumped out to an early lead and then held on for dear life as they defeated the Colorado Eagles 4-3 on Sunday afternoon at Tech CU Arena.

San Jose split the weekend series and has won two of its past three games. Colorado has lost for just the second time in their past seven games with the split.

San Jose (19-11-0-2-40 points) drew first blood in a three-goal first period. ‘Cuda captain Andrew Poturalski led a counterattack up the ice. Tristen Robin skated inside the Eagles zone where he found a trailing Justin Bailey in the middle of ice and Bailey beat Eagles goaltender Kevin Mandolese with a one-timer for his sixth goal of the season at the 8:30 mark.

The Barracuda doubled its lead just over three minutes later with an even strength goal. A shot from the point by Jimmy Schuldt was initially saved by Mandolese but Lucas Vanroboys, who crashed the net, cleaned up the rebound for his eighth goal of the season at the 11:37 mark.

70 seconds later, Thomas Bordeleau made a great individual effort to score the Barracuda’s third unanswered goal of the opening frame. Bordeleau pick pocketed the puck off of Jayson Megna at the Eagles blue line. Bordeleau skated down the left wing and blasted a slap shot to the far corner for an unassisted goal, his seventh of the season at the 12:47 mark.

Colorado (17-10-1-2-37 points) cut into San Jose’s lead early in the second period. A shot from the point by John Ludvig pinballed around in front of the crease. Maros Jedlicka poked home the rebound with a backhander past ‘Cuda goalie Georgi Romanov for his second goal of the season at the 3:15 mark.

The Eagles made it 3-2 with a four-on-four goal. Matthew Phillips skated down the right wing and centered a pass from behind the ‘Cuda net out to Jack Ahcan who buried a one-timer past Romanov for his third goal of the season at the 7:26 mark.

San Jose stole one back off a lucky bounce to regain its two-goal lead. Scott Sabourin sent a puck into the Eagles zone. Donovan Houle tried to center a pass out in front from behind the Eagles net. The puck deflected off the skate of Mark Seden and past Mandolese on the far side for Houle’s seventh goal of the season at the 13:21 mark. Jack Thompson was credited with the secondary assist.

“I saw I was actually just kind of trying to pass the puck to Sab (Scott Sabourin). So, I saw him driving to the net, tried to give him a pass, but (when you) gets pucks to the net good things happen. I got lucky there,” Houle said.

Colorado once again made it a one goal game with 22 seconds left in a wild middle frame. The Eagles had pressure inside the ‘Cuda zone when Ahcan fed a cross-ice pass over to Jacob MacDonald who slammed home a one-timer past Romanov for his ninth goal of the season.

San Jose were more focused and more disciplined on this afternoon staying out of the sin bin and limited Colorado’s opportunities both with the man advantage and even strength.

“I thought we did a nice job with the referees and staying off of them and letting them do their job. We also checked pretty well. We checked with our legs, we didn’t get ourselves, our sticks in a lot of feet. I think those two things put together equals, well we had a short penalty kill,” ‘Cuda head coach John McCarthy said.

The Eagles pulled Mandolese with just under three minutes remaining in the game for an extra attacker. However, Romanov and the ‘Cuda defense held down the fort and kept Colorado from scoring the equalizer as they escaped with two points on the afternoon.

Romanov (8-5-1) stopped 33 of the 36 shots he faced to earn his eighth win of the season. Mandolese (9-7-2) made 31 saves on 35 shots in the losing effort.

GAME NOTES: San Jose finished 0-for-4 on the power play. Colorado went 0-for-1.

The Three Stars of the Game: 1) Houle 2) MacDonald 3) Bordeleau.

UP NEXT: San Jose hosts the Bakersfield Condors on Friday 1/10 at 7:30pm at Tech CU Arena.

Las Vegas Raiders podcast with Rich Perez: Coach Pierce’s job in question after Sunday’s loss to Chargers 22-10

Las Vegas Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce looks on as the Raiders warm up in preparation of their game against the visiting Los Angeles Chargers at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on Sun Jan 5, 2025 (Las Vegas Review -Journal photo))

On the Las Vegas Raiders podcast with Rich Perez:

#1 Rich in the first half the Raiders had some defense and looked like they were prepared to challenge the visiting Los Angeles Chargers. They took a 7-3lead 45 seconds into the first quarter when Alexander Mattison caught a 31 yard pass from quarterback Gardner Minshew.

#2 The Chargers kicker Cameron Dicker hit a 25 yard field goal 26 seconds into the second quarter to cut the Raiders lead by one 7-6 at the half.

#3 Third quarter at 9:08 Dicker hit another field goal 24 yards as the Chargers took the lead 9-7.

#4 The Raiders defense who played well up until the fourth quarter saw the Chargers open the flood gates with running back JK Robbins who scored at 14:55 for a 16-7 lead. The Chargers up 16-10 at 3:40 scored another touchdown on a ten yard Lloyd McConkey catch and the Chargers came away with a 22-10 win.

#5 As the Chargers are headed to the post season the Raiders are folding it up for the season and the question remains will Raiders coach Antonio Pierce remain with the club? Pierce coached the Raiders to ten straight loses and then recovered winning two in a row before losing today’s game to the Chargers?

Rich Perez did the Raiders podcasts after every home and away game for the 2024-25 Raiders season at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

G League action: Kings make comeback in 4th quarter defeat Rip City 118-111 at the Moda Center and remain undefeated

The Stockton Kings continue to roll staying undefeated beating the Rip City Remix at the Moda Center in Portland on Sun Jan 5, 2025 (Stockton Kings X image)

By William Espy

The Stockton Kings are on the road for the first time of the regular season. They’re in Portland, OR to face off against the Rip City Remix at the Moda Center, a team they played twice during the Tip-Off Tournament. The Kings came out a 118-111 winner over Rip City.

The two teams kept the game close for most of the first quarter, but as it neared its end, Stockton started to pull ahead. After the first, the Kings led 30-22.

The Kings maintained a double-digit lead for the majority of the second quarter, but with a few minutes remaining the Remix fought back and brought it much closer. By the end of the quarter, the Kings’ lead was down to just four points with a score of 56-52.

The Remix momentarily took the lead late in the third quarter, but Stockton quickly recovered and took it back. They wouldn’t be able to pull away though, as heading into the final frame they had a narrow, two-point lead. It was 89-87 and either team could walk away victorious.

Rip City quickly took the lead in the fourth quarter, and started to pull ahead a bit. The Kings kept fighting though, and did their best to keep it close despite momentum being firmly in the hands of their opposition. Eventually that effort would pay off, as Stockton would regain the lead late in the fourth quarter, and it would ultimately be enough for them to walk away with the win, 118-111.

The majority of the Kings’ offense came from two players, Mason Jones and Skal Labissiere. Jones finished with 34 points, while Labissiere had 31 of his own. The only other player in double-digits for Stockton was Terry Taylor with 17.

Meanwhile, Rip City was led by Bryce McGowens who has been phenomenal for them so far this season. He finished with 28 points. Henri Drell finished second in team scoring with 18, but was very efficient shooting 7-11 from the field.

The two teams will face off once again on Monday night, as the Remix will look to get back over .500 and the Kings try to remain undefeated in the regular season.

Athletics Relocation podcast with Daniel Dullum: When will actual construction begin on Vegas ballpark for A’s?

Athletics president Sandy Dean addresses the Las Vegas Stadium Authority regarding the construction finance for the A’s Vegas ballpark. Dean said is working the planning stages for zoning, traffic, parking and designs to name a few. Dean is seeking to get some of the SB1 funding to get the project moving by March 2025 (LV SportsBiz photo)

On the Athletics Relocation podcast with Daniel:

#1 Those who are following the progress of the Athletics new Las Vegas Stadium project ask the ongoing question when will construction get off the ground for the new park on the corner of Las Vegas Blvd and Tropicana Blvd?

#2 The A’s and Clark County are still working out the details of how funding will go to begin the process of the ground breaking for the Tropicana Park which be build on nine acres on the 35 acre property of the old Tropicana.

#3 The cost overruns since the A’s and the Las Vegas Stadium Authority came to an agreement in 2023 have increased to from $1.5 billion to $1.75 billion and A’s president Sandy Dean said that talks are in the early stages with Clark County on how the money will be spent on construction.

#4 Ground breaking is scheduled around March 2025. The nuts and bolts of getting the construction of the park underway is between April and June 2025 with a target date of completion of March 2028.

#5 Right now Dean says the A’s need to get funding from Clark County to cover land use, zoning, traffic and parking plans, design, occupancy details and needed offsite improvements.

Daniel Dullum does the A’s Relocation podcasts at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Headline Sports podcast with Charlie O: Raiders go for third straight win against Chargers today at Allegiant; 49ers start Dobbs at QB in Arizona today; plus more news

Owner Mark Davis (left) and Head coach Antonio Pierce (right) and the Las Vegas Raiders will try and win their third straight game today at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas against the Los Angeles Chargers in the final regular season game for 2024-25. A win would most likely save Pierce’s job as head coach. (AP News photo)

On Headline Sports with Charlie O:

#1 Season comes to a close for the Las Vegas Raiders today as they close it out against the Los Angeles Chargers at Allegiant. The Raiders since coming off a ten game losing streak have won two straight against the Jacksonville Jaguars and the New Orleans Saints. The Chargers are playoff contenders and have one of the smartest coaches in the NFL on the sidelines with Jim Harbaugh at the helm. How do you see this match up today and the Raiders really want to finish the season with a win.

#2 The San Francisco 49ers have run into all sorts of problems all season long with numerous injuries and having lost six of their last seven games and coach Kyle Shanahan will not be starting quarterback Brock Purdy but Joshua Dobbs will be under center against the Arizona Cardinals for a 1:25pm PST kick off at State Farm Stadium in Glendale to conclude the regular season.

#3 After the truck attack in New Orleans French Quarter on New Years Day on Wednesday that killed 14 victims that suspect Shamsud-Din Jabbar ran over. Jabbar had fire arms and explosives in the truck after it was found by law enforcement authorities. It got worse as Georgia Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart’s father had fallen and broke his hip and died in surgery. Smart’s father Sonny fell in New Orleans and it was reported that complications arose but Sonny was not able to overcome his injuries. The game was played on Thursday even though it was suggested that it should have been canceled the Notre Dame Fighting Irish dominated the Bulldogs 23-10.

#4 Taking a look at the San Francisco Giants inability not being able a headliner free agent either last season with players like Carlos Correa, Aaron Judge, Shohei Ohtani, or this year with Juan Soto, Blake Snell, Corbin Burnes, and most likely high profile pitcher Roki Sasaki will not choose to come to San Francisco either. So after taking a look at last season and this season it can’t be the faults of former Giant president Farhan Zaidi or current president Buster Posey it’s obvious they don’t have a final say on how the money is spent. Baseball players and agents talk amongst themselves and they can’t be fooled. Do you think it’s the way the Giants top brass have either tightened their belts or just some of the behind the scenes politics or the way they operated that involves CEO Larry Baer or owner Charles Johnson that may play into players not signing in San Francisco?

#5 Just a question on the Sacramento Kings after losing six game in row, five of them under former head coach Mike Brown and rebounding winning three in a row under new interim head coach Doug Christie is it too early to say the Kings are back on track or are they back on track?

Join Charlie O for Headline Sports podcasts each Sunday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Eagles, down two, comeback for 4-2 win over Barracuda

San Jose Barracuda forward Scott Sabourin (#49) attempts a shot on goal while being checked by Colorado Eagles defenseman John Ludvig (#10) at Tech CU Arena on Saturday JAN 4, 2024. (San Jose Barracuda)

by Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE — The Colorado Eagles scored four unanswered goals en route to a 4-2 comeback victory over the San Jose Barracuda on Saturday evening at Tech CU Arena.

San Jose has lost two of its past three games. Colorado has won five of its past six games.

San Jose (18-11-0-2-38 points) drew first blood late in the first period with an even strength goal. A shot from the right point by Joey Keane pinballed around the crease. Anthony Vincent’s chance was saved by Eagles goaltender Adam Scheel, but Lucas Vanroboys slammed home the rebound for his seventh goal of the season at the 17:26 mark.

Colorado (17-9-1-2-37 points) was dominated in the opening frame by San Jose as they were outshot 17-6. Jean-Luc Foudy took two minor penalties at the 9:32 mark and 19:57 mark.

Scheel kept the Eagles in the game during the first 10 minutes of the second period. He stopped two ‘Cuda short–handed breakaway attempts, one by Justin Bailey and the other by Ethan Cardwell. San Jose killed off both penalties.

The Barracuda doubled its lead with a power play goal late in the middle frame. Tristen Robbins found ‘Cuda captain Andrew Poturalski down below the left faceoff circle. Poturalski made a move in before wiring a wrist shot that beat Scheel to the short side for his team leading 13th goal of the season at the 14:21 mark.

The Eagles cut the lead in half just under three minutes later. Foudy slid a pass over to Jake Wise between the faceoff circles. Wise’s shot deflected off of Donovan Houle and past ‘Cuda goalie Aaron Dell to the short side for his eight goal of the season at the 17:18 mark.

“We controlled the game in the beginning, then I thought our puck decisions slipped in the second period and started to turn against us. (We) took too many penalties. We were (penalty) killing the whole third period. We can’t win that way,” Barracuda head coach John McCarthy said.

Colorado scored the equalizer with a short-handed goal early in the third period. Wyatt Aamodt cleared the puck out of their own zone up the ice to TJ Tynan who just stepped out of the penalty box. Tynan skated around Anthony Vincent, who also just stepped out of the penalty box, and beat Dell with a shot to the short side for his fourth goal of the season at the 4:57 mark.

The Eagles gained its first lead of the game with a power play goal, and its third unanswered. A shot from the point by Jack Ahcan deflected off of Tynan over to Jacob MacDonald who beat Dell with a backhander to the short side for his eighth goal of the season at the 8:35 mark.

San Jose spent the majority of the final frame killing penalties, but was also the victim of some calls and non-calls by the officiating late in the game that went Colorado’s way that helped prevent a comeback by the Barracuda in the final minutes of the contest.

Wise completed the scoring with an empty net goal as time expired for his second goal of the game and ninth of the season.

Scheel (3-0) finished with stopping 38 of the 40 shots he faced to earn his third win of the season. Dell (1-1-1) made 34 saves on 37 shots in the losing effort.

GAME NOTES: San Jose finished 1-for-5 on the power play. Colorado went 1-for-7.

The Three Stars of the Game: 1) Tynan 2) MacDonald 3) Poturalski.

UP NEXT: San Jose and Colorado complete their two-game weekend series on Sunday 1/5 at 3:00pm at Tech CU Arena.

Sharks Win 3-2 over New Jersey Devils in San Jose

Sharks Celebrate the Win over the New Jersey Devils on Saturday Action at SAP Center in San Jose on Sat Jan 4 (Sharks Media)

By: Fernando Abarca

SAN JOSE–Will they repeat it? That is the question for the Sharks as they host the Devils at SAP. They walked out with 3-2 a win.

The Sharks are back for an early afternoon showdown against the New Jersey Devils. The Devils, coached by former Toronto Maple Leafs Sheldon Keefe, did not have a great time in California as the team suffered defeats by the LA Kings and Anaheim Ducks. Saturday, The Sharks will try to seal the Devils trip with another loss.

Conversely, the Sharks had a great start to 2025 as they hosted the Tampa Bay Lightning on Jan 2nd, where the Teal won for the first time in eight games. It was a needed victory as they sit last in the Western standings, they will try to replicate the same formula.

Throughout the period, the Devils dominated the period with many shots on goal. Again, Askarov has been a star for this team, as he recorded 11 saves and kept the net at zero.

The action took force towards the later minutes of the game as Nikolai Kovalenko (15) showed great effort with assistance from William Eklund and Luke Kunin. The Sharks went on intermission with the lead.

2nd Period

The Sharks had lots of chances to score as eight shots hit the post, and none hit the back of the net.

The Devils found ways to score, and so they did, at 15:41, Nico Hischier made it even at SAP Center with an assist by Jack Hughes and Jesper Bratt. When the Devils scored, the pace of the game changed. The Teal showed aggressiveness and back-and-forth hockey.

The stars Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith got penalties during the second period, Celebrini for High-Sticking and Smith for too many men on the Ice.

Despite the goal, Askarov has been showing great skill with lots of saves, adding another amazing performance from the Rookie.

The period ended in a tie at the end.

3rd Period

The Cellies and the goals did not take that long to make an appearance again. Macklin Celebrini scored a beauty to give the sharks the lead to a 2-1 with a little bit of help of Will Smith, again showing how lethal this combination is because whenever they have the put, magic happens.

Soon after, Luke Hughes assisted Paul Cotter to put a second goal for the Devils and make it a tie game.

This did not prevent the Sharks from backing down and slowing down. The Team showed great resiliency and seemed they were on the try to find the formula to win games In the final seconds of the third, Cody Ceci sealed the win with a late goal assisted by Alexander Wennberg. In the last two games, the Sharks proved that the key to winning is to keep the puck in their possession.

With this win, the Sharks have started the second game of 2025 in great and outstanding shape and they will be back at SAP Center on Tuesday Night against Vegas.

San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa: Sharks relieved to snap 8 game skid; Host New Jersey today

San Jose Sharks Tyler Toffoli is mobbed by his teammates after scoring a first period goal against the Tampa Bay Lightning at SAP Center in San Jose on Thu Jan 2, 2024 (AP News photo)

On the SJ Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa:

#1 The San Jose Sharks Tyler Toffoli and Mario Ferraro scored a goal a piece that helped snap the Sharks eight game losing streak at SAP Center on Thursday night defeating the Tampa Bay Lightning 2-1.

#2 Toffoli scored his 15th goal of the season in the middle of the first period and Ferraro’s goal proved to be the game winner. The Sharks picked up their first win since Nov 29th.

#3 The win also says a lot about the goaltending as Yaroslav Askarov stopped 24 Tampa Bay shots which was good enough to hold off the Lightning to just one goal.

#4 The Sharks were 0-7-1 in their last eight games and had not won a game since Nov 29th and started their losing streak against these same Lightning which started on Dec 5th.

#5 The Sharks get after it again Saturday at 1pm against the New Jersey Devils. New Jersey are second in the Metropolitan Division. They have are on a three game losing streak and the Sharks would like to catch them off balanced.

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

Lots of scoring Kings outduel Grizzlies 138-133 for Kings 3rd straight win

Sacramento Kings guard Malik Monk (left) drives past Memphis Grizzlies forward Jaylen Wells (center) and the Kings Domantas Sabonis (11) in first half action at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento on Fri Jan 3, 2025 (AP News photo)

By Jeremiah Salmonson

SACRAMENTO–The Sacramento Kings were back in action on Friday night inside the Golden 1 Center. The Kings have been navigating a very tumultuous time. Over the past few weeks, the Kings endured six straight losses, fired their head coach, and appointed Doug Christie as interim head coach to lead the team on the court.

Both the organization and the fanbase have been facing significant challenges lately. On Friday, they welcomed the Memphis Grizzlies, who entered the game with a 23-11 record, while the Kings stood at 15-19.

Amidst a forgettable stretch, the Kings were determined to turn the page. The game also marked the NBA debut of guard Devin Carter, who had been sidelined since the draft due to shoulder surgery. Tip-off against the Grizzlies was set for 7 PM PST. The Kings defeated the Grizzlies 138-133 on Friday night.

In the first quarter, the Kings’ offense exploded in a performance of epic proportions, scoring an impressive 46 points. Trey Lyles led the charge with 11 points, while Malik Monk added ten. The high-flying offense brought back memories of the 2022-2023 season. Although Memphis also started strong, they managed only 32 points. The Kings took a commanding lead heading into the second quarter.

In the second quarter, the Kings continued to press the Grizzlies, but Memphis responded with an offensive eruption of their own, scoring 40 points. The Kings contributed 32 points in the second quarter, maintaining a slim lead of 78-72 at halftime.

Malik Monk led the Kings with 17 points in the first half, followed by Trey Lyles with 14. Jaylen Wells paced the Grizzlies with 16 points. Defense was nearly nonexistent, as both teams combined for a staggering 150 points in the first half. It was clear that whichever team stepped up defensively in the second half would likely secure the victory.

In the third quarter, the game slowed as both teams tightened up defensively. The Kings were outscored 28-24 by the Grizzlies. De’Aaron Fox led the Kings with five points in the quarter, while Sacramento native Jaylen Wells guided Memphis with 11 points. The Kings’ lead was trimmed to just two points, 102-100, setting the stage for a nail-biting final quarter.

In the fourth quarter, the Kings did just enough on defense to secure the win. Outscoring the Grizzlies 36-33, Sacramento held on for a hard-fought 138-133 victory. While the defensive effort wasn’t stellar, the Kings managed to find a way to win—a quality that has often eluded them this season. Christie echoed this sentiment postgame, stating: “We are gonna do some learning defensively. We still have to keep growing, but it’s always good to win while you’re learning. Tonight, we were able to do that.”

The Kings were led by Malik Monk, who finished with 31 points. Jaylen Wells was the top scorer for Memphis, contributing 30 points in the contest. The Kings improved to 16-19 on the year as the Grizzlies fell to 23-12.

Up Next: The Kings will travel an hour west to face the Golden State Warriors at Chase Center in San Francisco on Sunday at 5:30 PM PST.

That’s Amaury News and Commentary: Artificial Intelligence in Sports Broadcasting

Genius Sports Broadcasting could be a new voice taking over humans doing voice overs and use a robot for AI in voice over broadcasting situations which could put tens of thousands out of work that work in broadcasting (image from Linkedin)

Artificial Intelligence in Sports Broadcasting

That’s Amaury News and Commentary

Today, AI helps coaches and players make strategic decisions and adjustments during games. Team executives, referees, and judges are using AI to their advantage. But how about in the media world, especially broadcasting?

The NFL is currently working with data specialists Genius Sports, working directly with a consumer streaming service. Data-driven to tell new stories to viewers so they can understand more about what they are watching. In other words, AI will tell you what you are watching if you cannot figure it out.

AI is more intelligent than you, everybody else, or so they believe. The NFL and Stats stream adds player name, location, speed and box score player stats to a live video feed. All in real-time. WOW!

Can Artificial Intelligence replace sports announcers? Not yet. However, jobs that are most likely to go the Dodo way are as follows (all by 2030) will be automated: cashiers, telemarketers, data entry clerks, and customer service agents.

Some human analysts believe that advances in AI’s data analysis and decision-making capabilities could affect some white-collar jobs, such as legal assistants and financial advisors.

AI can now effectively imitate or duplicate your voice, using just a short audio sample to learn your speech patterns and create a synthetic voice that sounds remarkably like you; this is often referred to as “voice cloning” and can be done with increasingly sophisticated AI tools, allowing anyone to generate speech seemingly spoken by you, even if they are not you.

AI will likely bring a lot of litigation. As they replicate your voice without your consent, you can file a lawsuit because using it without permission can violate your right to public and privacy laws or if the generated voice is used commercially or in a way that harms your reputation.

A simple example of Artificial Intelligence. Let’s say you search the internet for simple medical advice; you will see Medical organizations, hospitals, doctors, clinics, and so on give you their opinions. In that same article, you will also see the AI opinion on your topic of interest.

Artificial Intelligence is here to stay. The future will dictate whether it will help or hinder regular humans, but it poses an interesting situation. If you are not confused, here is the official definition. Humans are not considered artificial, which means man-made or created by humans.

Humans are a naturally occurring species on Earth, meaning they are not considered artificial by definition. In simpler terms, we created AI, and maybe they will destroy us in the end. Happy New Year!

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