Viel’s first career hat trick powers Barracuda in 4-0 shutout win over Condors

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San Jose goalie Aaron had an easy night between the pipes in his team’s 4-0 win over the Bakersfield Condors on Friday MAR 10, 2022. (San Jose Barracuda)

by Marko Ukalovic

Jeffery Viel picked a great time to record his first ever career hat trick.

Viel’s three goals, a natural hat trick, helped the San Jose Barracuda dominate the Bakersfield Condors in a 4-0 shutout victory on Friday night at Mechanics Bank Arena.

With the win, San Jose inched closer to Bakersfield for the seventh place and final playoff spot in the Pacific Division to just three points with its third win in four games. Bakersfield had its two-game winning streak snapped.

San Jose (24-27-1-4-53 points) drew first blood early in the first period with an even strength goal. Jacob Peterson sent a cross rink pass over to Artemi Kniazev who buried the puck into an open net for his fourth goal of the season at the 5:49 mark.

The Barracuda doubled its lead on the power play in the second half of the opening frame. Peterson picked up his second assist of the game when he found Viel in front of the crease with another rink wide pass that Viel tapped home into an open net for his 12th goal of the season at the 12:12 mark.

Viel has scored in three consecutive games and has an eight-game scoring streak.

San Jose had the iced tilted in its favor for the majority of the first period as they outshot Bakersfield 14-2.

Bakersfield (26-26-2-2-56 points) went to the sin bin three times, including Dino Kambeitz’s four-minute minor for high sticking, in the opening 20 minutes.

Viel scored his second goal of the game when he finished off a pretty tic-tac-toe play set up by Ozzy Wiesblatt and Patrick Sieloff inside the Condor’s zone. Viel beat Condor’s goalie Olivier Rodrigue with a wrist shot for his 13th goal of the season, a single career best, at the 7:05 mark of the second period.

Viel finished off the hat trick just over four minutes later with the ‘Cuda on the man advantage. Brandon Coe found Viel with a backdoor pass as Viel tapped home the puck into the open net and 14th goal of the season at the 11:15 mark.

‘Cuda goalie Aaron Dell (10-11-2) stopped all 23 shots he faced to earn his second shutout of the season, his 10th of his career, and third straight win. Rodrigue (10-12-1) made 21 saves on 25 shots in the losing effort.

GAME NOTES: San Jose finished 2-for-6 on the power play. Bakersfield was 0-for-3.

San Jose shutout Bakersfield on the road for the first time in franchise history.

The Three Stars of the Game were: 1) Viel 2) Peterson 3) Kniazev

UP NEXT: San Jose and Bakersfield conclude their two-game series on Saturday 3/11 at 7:00pm at Mechanics Bank Arena.

Sacramento Kings podcast with Jeremiah Salmonson: Giannis and the Bucks match up with Kings Monday night at Golden 1

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Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Anteokoumpo (34) will pay the Sacramento Kings a visit this Mon Mar 13, 2023 at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento (AP News file)

On the Kings podcast with Jeremiah:

#1 On Tuesday, the New York Knicks (39-29) traveled to Sacramento to take on the Kings (39-26). In addition, the game was broadcast on TNT for the whole nation to watch. On Thursday, the Kings beat the Knicks 122-117.

#2 The Kings scored 30 points in the first quarter to jump out to a quick seven-point lead. The Knicks scored 23 points in the first quarter. Domantas Sabonis started the game hot, getting whatever shot he wanted in the first quarter with 11 points.

#3 In the second quarter, the Kings went on a run. The Kings put up a massive second quarter scoring 39 points. On the other hand, the Knicks didn’t have an awful quarter, as they scored 30 points. 

#4 The Kings were outscored by the Knicks 33-31 in the final quarter. However, it wasn’t enough to overcome the lead the Kings had built during the game.

#5 Jeremiah the Kings are rolling having won eight of their last ten games. The Kings host the Milwaukee Bucks (48-18) and who occupy first place in the Eastern Conference. The Bucks have won nine of their last ten games. How do you see this match up Monday night in Sacramento.

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

Stanford Cardinal podcast with Daniel Dullum: Head coach Jerod Haase to return for 2023-24 season

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Stanford Cardinal head coach Jerod Haase will return next season after Athletic Director Bernard Muir reupped Haase for another year (AP file photo)

On the Stanford Cardinal podcast:

#1 Second-seed Arizona had its hands full with stubborn Stanford, but in the end, the No.8-ranked Wildcats held on and eliminated the Cardinal 95-84 Thursday in the Pac-12 men’s basketball tournament quarterfinals at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

#2 The win avenged the Cardinal’s 88-79 victory over U of A on Feb. 11.

#3 Oumar Ballo led the Wildcats (26-6) with 24 points, followed by Cedric Henderson Jr. with 23, Azuolas Tubelis with 20 and Courtney Ramey with 15. 

#4 Spencer Jones topped the Cardinal (14-19) with 22 points and six rebounds, Brandon Angel was next with 19 points and seven rebounds, Michael Jones had 13 points and Harrison Ingram added 12 points and five assists. Michael O’Connell had eight points, two steals and four assists.

#5 Stanford Athletic Director Bernard Muir announced that head coach Jerod Haase will return for next season. Haase lead the team to a overall 14-9 record, 7-13 in the Pac 12, this was the fifth consecutive season the Cardinal failed to finish above .500. Muir said after the 2021-22 season that he would bring Haase back for 2022-23 after the team had finished under .500 and Haase gets the nod for next season from Muir once again.

Join Daniel for the Cardinal podcasts each Friday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

World Baseball Classic: How rule changes impact the WBC

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Part of the new rule changes include the larger base shown with the former smaller base (photo by spectrumnews1.com)

Fri Mar 10, 2023

By Lewis Rubman

If you thought the new MLB rules were hard to digest, you were right, but you’ll still have to process a few more in order to understand what’s happening in this year’s World Baseball Classic.

We’ve already looked at the rules for team grouping and seeding as well as those governing player eligibility, so we can skip them. We also can skip the rules concerning the makeup of roster, MLB vetoes of player participation, and the various types of leaves players can be granted. We should note, however, the importance of team rankings in the determination of home and away teams.

  • The first seed will play three games as the home team and one as the visitors. • The second, third, and fourth seeds will be the home team for two games each. • The fifth seed will be the home team for one game and the visitors to all the others.

Ties in the standings will be broken based on the following criteria, in this order of priority: • The tied teams won-lost record against each other. In case more than two teams are tied and one of them beat all the others, that team will be placed above them. Likewise, a team that lost to all the others would be placed at the bottom of the list. • The teams will be ranked according to the ratio of runs and defensive outs between the tied teams during the round. Needless to say, the team with the lowest ratio goes to the top of the list. • This criterion is the same as the previous one, except that the ratio will be earned runs per defensive out. • Team batting average in the round against the teams that still are tied. • Drawing of lots.

The games will be played according to the 2022 rules–the statement released on MLB.com doesn’t say whose 2022 rules– with a few of what MLB calls “supplements.” They are: • The three batter or to the end of the inning minimum for relief pitchers will be enforced. • Mound visits won’t be limited. • The DH rule will be in effect. • MLB’s replay rule will be followed unless the WBC decides otherwise and gives the teams prior notice of the change. One change, announced a few paragraphs after this declaration, is that two replay challenges per game will be allowed in the championship round and one per game in all the other rounds.

  • The new rules on pitching time limits, the size of bases, and the positioning of infielders will not be applied. • If a pitcher has thrown 50 or more pitches, he won’t be allowed to pitch for at least the next four days. • For 30 or more pitches, he must wait a day before his next appearance on the mound. • A pitcher cannot work for more than two consecutive dalys. • The pitch limit per game in the first round is 65. It goes up to 80 and 95 in the following two rounds. Pitchers will be allowed to exceed those limits if it’s necessary to complete a batter’s plate appearance. • Pitches thrown in “for the purpose of effectuating an intentional walk” don’t count. What ever happened to the 2022 rule on declared intentional walks? • The zombie runner rules for extra innings will be in effect. • The official scorer will determine who is the winning pitcher.

Got that?

Kings Sabonis 24 pts helps defeat Knicks 122-117

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By Jeremiah Salmonson

SACRAMENTO–The Sacramento Kings were back in action on Thursday night in Sacramento. The Kings last played on Monday night when the New Orleans Pelicans came to town. It was an important game for the Kings, who took care of business and beat the Pelicans 123-108. On Tuesday, the New York Knicks traveled to Sacramento to take on the Kings at 7 PM PST. In addition, the game was broadcast on TNT for the whole nation to watch. On Thursday, the Kings beat the Knicks 122-117.

In the first quarter, the Kings came out of the gate strong. The Kings played solid defense in the first as the Knicks were struggling to find the bottom of the net. The Kings scored 30 points in the first quarter to jump out to a quick seven-point lead. The Knicks scored 23 points in the first quarter. Domantas Sabonis started the game hot, getting whatever shot he wanted in the first quarter with 11 points.

In the second quarter, the Kings went on a run. The Kings put up a massive second quarter scoring 39 points. On the other hand, the Knicks didn’t have an awful quarter, as they scored 30 points. However, the power of the Kings offense was too much to handle as they went into halftime with a 69-53 lead over the Knicks. If the Knicks wanted to keep the game within reach, they would need to slow down the Kings offense in the second half.

In the third quarter, the Kings took their foot off the gas. They allowed the Knicks to get right back into the ballgame. The Kings were outscored by the Knicks 31-22 in the quarter as the offense went silent for the Kings. The Knicks did well with a sustained offensive attack in the quarter to close the deficit.

The Kings would go into the fourth quarter with a 91-84 lead over the Knicks. However, the Knicks had all the momentum over the Kings. Another important note was De’Aaron Fox had four fouls, and Sabonis had three going into the final quarter.

In the fourth quarter, it was a typical fourth quarter this year in Sacramento. The fans were absolutely insane, and the game came down to the wire. The Kings were outscored by the Knicks 33-31 in the final quarter. However, it wasn’t enough to overcome the lead the Kings had built during the game. The Kings won the game 122-117 against the New York Knicks.

It was a wild game at Golden One Center, with every fan on their feet in the last minutes. Fox took over the game in the fourth to lead the Kings to victory. The Kings were led in scoring by Sabonis, who had 24 points. In defeat, the Knicks were led by R.J. Barrett, who had 25 points in the game.

Up Next: The Kings stay home to take on the Milwaukee Bucks on Monday at 7 PM PST.

No, 8 Arizona sends Cardinal packing from Pac-12 tournament with 95-84 win

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Arizona Wildcats Cedric Henderson (45) drives on the Stanford Cardinal at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas at the Pac 12 Tournament on Thu Mar 9, 2023 (USA Today photo)

By Daniel Dullum
Thursday, March 9, 2023

Second-seed Arizona had its hands full with stubborn Stanford, but in the end, the No.8-ranked Wildcats held on and eliminated the Cardinal 95-84 Thursday in the Pac-12 men’s basketball tournament quarterfinals at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

The win avenged the Cardinal’s 88-79 victory over U of A on Feb. 11.

Oumar Ballo led the Wildcats (26-6) with 24 points, followed by Cedric Henderson Jr. with 23, Azuolas Tubelis with 20 and Courtney Ramey with 15. Tubelis also had eight rebounds and four assists, Plle Larsson had seven rebounds and five assists, and Ballo grabbed six boards. Henderson added three assists and three steals.

Spencer Jones topped the Cardinal (14-19) with 22 points and six rebounds, Brandon Angel was next with 19 points and seven rebounds, Michael Jones had 13 points and Harrison Ingram added 12 points and five assists. Michael O’Connell had eight points, two steals and four assists.

Stanford connected on 14 of 29 from 3-point range with Spencer Jones, Michael Jones and Angel each hitting three from behind the arc.

The Wildcats led 47-43 at the half. Stanford took a 57-56 lead four minutes into the second half on a O’Connell 3 and extended that lead to 59-56 on an Ingram jumper. Arizona responded with a layup by Ballo and surged ahead 62-61 on a short jumper by Tubelis at 14:26.

Arizona used a six-point run to pull away 68-63. The Wildcats’ biggest lead was 95-81 with 34 seconds to play.

The Wildcats move on the tournament semifinals.

Karlsson Matches Franchise D-man Mark, Sharks Get Swept By Blues in 4-2 Loss

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The St Louis Blues center Robert Thomas (18) is jazzed as the Blues defeated the San Jose Sharks at the Enterprise Center in St Louis on Thu Mar 9, 2023 (@StLouisBlues photo)

By Matthew Harrington

Erik Karlsson matched the San Jose Sharks single-season record for points by a defenseman, but the Sharks still fell to the St. Louis Blues 4-2 Thursday night in the Gateway City, suffering a season sweep at the hands of their Midwest foes. Tomas Hertl scored the Sharks other goal and Alexander Barabanov had a pair of assists in defeat. The Blues (28-31-5) received goals from four different players. The Sharks (19-35-12) had a 26-19 shot edge heading into the third period, but were tied at 2-2 before the Blues cracked the game open late. San Jose had two possible goals called back for not crossing the goal as well.

Karlsson will certainly smash the franchise record, set by Brent Burns in the 2018-19 season. Burns set the mark over 82 games with 16 goals and 67 assists for a Sharks team that picked up 101 points for a second place finish in the regular season standings for the Western Conference. What makes Karlsson’s feat all the more impressive is that this iteration of the Sharks will finish somewhere…. much lower in the standings.

For Karlsson, the team feat matches an individual achievement. The Swedish defenseman’s previous career high in points was 82, coming in a rare full season for the injury-riddle d-man for the 2015-16 Ottawa Senators. He sits one goal off his career high of 21 in 2014-15 and three back of matching his career high in assists of 66 in his previous career-best year. He also now has the second best point total by a defenseman 32 years or older since Ray Bourque had 91 points(1993-94) per Curtis Pashelka of the San Jose Mercury News. Brent Burns was also 34 when he had his 83 point season.

Karlsson scored his 20th goal of the year much like he scored many of his others 10:23 into the first period , beating Jordan Binnington on a snap shot through traffic that had eyes. He’s mastered the dying art of goal scoring by a defenseman this season even as goals have been hard to come by for San Jose.

The Blues Torey Krug tied the game up at the 12:31 mark of the period after he was sprung on a two-on-one with Robert Thomas carrying the puck. Thomas passed the puck to Krug while Nico Sturm backchecked Alexei Toropchenko into Kaapo Kahkonen in the Shark’s net for a 1-1 tie.

The Blues’ Sammy Blais skated in on the breakway before going fore-hand back-hand on Kahkonen at the 10:06 mark of the second period to score his third of the year, but Tomas Hertl answered back with his 18th of the year with 5:29 left in the period. Alexander Barabanov forced a turnover on the forecheck, passed the puck to Hertl streaking down the center lane and picked up the assist when Hertl beat Binnington clean for a 2-2 tie.

Just 2:53 into the third period the Blues took the 3-2 lead on Jakub Vrana’s first goal with the Blues after a shot went wide on the Sharks net. Pavel Buchnevich tried to bank the rebound off Kahkonen’s back side but didn’t convert. The rebound was there for Vrana to bat home though.

Robert Thomas sealed the game for the Blues on a power play goal with 4:58 left in regulation. The Sharks offense sputtered in the final frame, putting only eight shots on the Blues net while surrendering 12. Despite the late power play strike, the Blues were only 1 for 4 on the power play while the Sharks failed to convert on any of their four opportunities.

San Jose returns home to face the Minnesota Wild Saturday night. It kicks off a four-game home stand with tilts with the Blue Jackets, Kraken and Islanders looming at the SAP Center.

Grizzlies Pound Golden State 131-110

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Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) handles the ball against Memphis Grizzlies forward Dillon Brooks (24) in the first half in Memphis on Thu Mar 9, 2023 (AP News photo)

Grizzlies Pound Golden State 131-110

By Barbara Mason

Thursday night the Golden State Warriors (34-33) took on the Memphis Grizzlies (39-26) in Game three of their most recent road trip in a continuing effort to figure out how to win on the road. It has been an ongoing nightmare and they have not been able to figure out jut what is going so terribly wrong. The just couldn’t figure it out again dropping their

The Grizzlies were without Ja Morant, out for at least six games. This could prove to be a golden opportunity for the Warriors to win a third game over the Grizzlies this season

The first quarter of this game was more of the same with Memphis all over the Warriors scoring 48 points their highest opening quarter of this season. They won the quarter 48-28. Again the Warriors trailed by double digits as they have done in every game on this road trip.

The Warriors made a move in the second quarter pulling to within four points 57-53 with just over four minutes left in the first half. The Grizzles swallowed up the Warriors bid thanks in part to some horrific defense from Golden State. Numerous sloppy turnovers did nothing for the Warrior’s cause. They had four in a row in the final minutes of the half giving Memphis a 20-6 run. Memphis led at the half 77-59.

Memphis had more rebounds, more shots from downtown and shot at 56% from the field compared to the Warriors 44.4%. The Grizzlies had outplayed the Warriors at every turn. Head Coach Steve Kerr was visibly upset with what he saw on the court from the Warriors defensively.

Golden State continued to hang around and with 4:19 left in the third quarter had pulled to within five points 89-84. Every time the Warriors challenged, Memphis answered continuing to extend their lead. With 4:15 left in the third the Grizzlies led 92-84. Despite winning the third quarter 33-22 the Warriors continued to trail 99-92 going into the fourth quarter.

With 6:39 left in the game the Grizzlies continued to surge leading 115-100. The final was 131-103 in favor of the Grizzlies. WIth the Western Conference so bunched up in second all the way through tenth place, every game is critical and Golden State is just not playing like it’s critical.

What does a coach do? This brand of defense is totally deserving of ranting and raving but to what end? It just seems that this lack of defense on the road is so deeply imbedded in the players heads that nothing short of surgery is going to fix it.

Stephen Curry finished with the high shooting for 29 points. Jordan Poole had 22 points with Draymond Green and Klay Thompson both in double digits. It was just the lack of defense that decided this game.

Saturday night the Warriors will take on the Milwaukee Bucks at Chase Center. They will be looking to get back on the winning track. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:30 PM.

NHL podcast with Len Shapiro: Flyers DeAngelo suspended two games for spearing; Oilers Kane back tonight in Boston; plus more news

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Edmonton Oilers Evander Kane returned to the Oilers line up tonight against the Boston Bruins at TD Garden in Boston. Kane is made his first appearance after missing nine games. (file photo from nhl.com

On the NHL podcast with Len Shapiro:

#1 Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Tony DeAngelo was hit with a two game suspension for spearing Tampa Bay Lightning Corey Perry in Tampa Bay on Tue Mar 7. The penalty was assessed at 17:20 of the third period a major penalty and a misconduct for spearing.

#2 Edmonton Oilers star Evander Kane has finally returned to the line up after missing nine games he played in tonight’s game against the Boston Bruins at TD Garden. Kane had got his wrist cut by a skate on Feb 17th returned on line changes with Connor McDavid and Zach Hyman.

#3 Len, the Carolina Hurricanes recalled goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov AHL affiliate Chicago on Wednesday. Kochetkov will replace Antti Raanta who suffered a groin injury on Tuesday in a Hurricanes 4-3 overtime shootout win against the Montreal Canadiens. Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour said that Raanta tweeted his groin and hoped that it’s not too serious.

#4 The Oilers and Bruins game was nationally televised in order to highlight Oilers superstar Connor McDavid and the Boston Bruins David Pastrnak. The Oilers and Bruins are favorites to represent in the NHL Finals for the post season.

#5 San Jose Sharks head coach David Quinn has been fined $25,000 for demeaning officials on Sat Mar 4th at SAP Center in San Jose in a game against the Washington Capitals. Quinn blew his top after on ice official Gord Dwyer had called Kevin LaBanc for hooking in the third period. Quinn was seen using colorful language and got the boot for a game misconduct abuse on an official.

Join Len Shapiro for the NHL podcasts Thursday nights on http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Cal Bears report: Fox out as head coach; It was matter of time after team went 3-29

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Cal Bears head coach Mark Fox has some comments to make after a call during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Oregon State in Corvallis, Ore., Sat Mar 4, 2023 (AP News file photo)

By Morris Phillips and Michael Duca

Cal Bears head coach Mark Fox was the butt end of memes during Cal home games that showed the swirling Fire Fox logo during this season. The inevitable happened on Thursday afternoon when Cal Athletic Director Jim Knowlton announced that indeed Fox was fired from the flagging basketball team who went 3-29.

“This was a difficult decision and one that I do not take lightly,” Knowlton said. “After deliberately and holistically evaluating all aspects of our program, I felt a change was needed at this time.” Fox took over the reigns of head coach in 2019. Fox gave the Golden Bears some hope when he took the club to a 14-18 season, the Bears that season went 7-11 in non conference games.

It was the last three years that Fox just couldn’t recover Cal basketball with losing seasons that landed him and the Cal MBB program in last place in 2021 and 2023. Cal had a 10-50 overall record in those last three seasons. Previous to Fox coming to Cal head coach Wyking Jones coached the Bears for two seasons going 8-24 in 2017-18 and 8-23 in 2018-19.

Fox leaves Cal with a 38-87 overall record and going 17-61 in four regular seasons. When Fox first took over in 2019-20 he was able to win seven conference games. Fox was unable to win over five games in each of the following three seasons as Cal head coach. Also the Cal program had lost over 20 games in three consecutive seasons with Cal finishing in last place in two seasons under Fox.

Before coaching at Cal Fox coached at the Georgia Bulldogs for nine seasons and led Georgia to two NCAA Tournament appearances. Fox at Georgia finished above .500 in his last five years. As head coach in Reno for the Nevada Wolfpack Fox won three NCAA Tournaments and won at least 21 games in his five seasons in Nevada.