Warriors Road Woes Continue Losing To Lakers 113-105

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Los Angeles Lakers’ Anthony Davis, bottom, is defended by Golden State Warriors’ Draymond Green during the second half at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on Sun Mar 5, 2023 (AP News photo)

Warriors Road Woes Continue Losing To Lakers 113-105

By Barbara Mason

Coming off a five-game winning streak, the Golden State Warriors (34-30) took on the Los Angeles Lakers (30-34) at crypto.com Arena. The Warriors had a terrific home stand and tested their road legs after struggling defensively all season on the road. Sunday’s performance didn’t enhance their road record dropping the contest to the Lakers 113-105.

Golden State welcomed Stephen Curry back while still awaiting the return of Andrew Wiggins. The Lakers were without LeBron James who suffered a right foot tendon injury February 26 against the Dallas Mavericks and will more than likely be lost to the team for much of this month.

The first quarter was all Lakers and next to nothing for the Warriors. The Lakers Anthony Davis had a terrific start in this game with 19 points. The Warriors offense was struggling with the only points from the starting five coming from Klay Thompson with nine and off the bench Jonathan Kuminga and JaMychal Green with eight points collectively. The Warriors had four turnovers in the quarter, three of them from traveling. The Lakers led 33-18 after the first 12 minutes crushing Golden State. Curry, Draymond Green, Kevon Looney and Donte DiVincenzo all came up empty.

After trailing by as much as 20 points in the first quarter, the Warriors started to come around. They had trimmed the Laker lead to six points in the opening minutes of the second quarter 35-29.

The Warriors kept chipping away, and at 5:34 left in the first half had pulled to within one point 41-40. The Lakers went on a run extending their lead to ten points but the Warriors fought back and trailed 55-54 at the half. Golden State had an exceptional second quarter winning it 36-22.

Curry hit his first shots of the game in the second quarter finishing with eight points. Klay Thompson had 15 points in the first half and Jordan Poole had ten points off the bench. The Warriors had all the momentum going in this game as they headed into the third quarter.

The Warriors fell off a bit losing much of the momentum they had garnered in the second quarter. The Lakers won the quarter 23-18 and led going into the fourth 78-72.

The final quarter of this game was tight and was tied with 5:16 left in regulation 91-91. Golden State had some opportunities but suffered far too many empty possessions which was making a huge difference in this game. With two minutes left in the game two points separated the two teams 103-101. With 48.9 left on the clock Anthony Davis orchestrated the final blow with a 5-foot jump shot to give the Lakers a 109-101.

The slow start in this game for Golden State was one of the deciding factors in this loss. Empty possessions also hurt the team. Despite a quiet first quarter, Curry really picked it up finishing with 27 points. Thompson had 22 points. The crazy road losses continue and this team needs to figure this out with a lot of games coming up away from Chase and time running out on the season.

The terrific game from the Lakers Davis was a huge factor in this Los Angeles win as they fight to even make the playoffs. He had 39 points and was unstoppable helping his team win despite the absence of LeBron and D’Angelo Russell.

Tuesday night the Warriors will take on the Thunder in Oklahoma City. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:00 PM.

MLB podcast with Charlie O: Can MLB get it’s streaming house in order before regular season starts?; plus more news

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Toronto Blue Jays star hitter Vladimir Guerrero Jr will need time off from spring training and the Baseball World Classic Series as he will need to rest his inflamed knee (AP News file photo)

On the MLB podcast with Charlie O:

#1 Charlie, gotta ask the biggest story how baseball has lost it’s regional sports network and they’ve got until the end of this month to get their steaming issues settled.

#2 MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said after the quarterly owners meetings in November that MLB needed to serve cable subscribers and cord cutters. Streaming services such as Apple and Peacock were praised to have such a partnership with MLB but now Regional Sports Networks are about to collapse how close is baseball to losing it’s streaming coverage. You would think with household names like Apple and Peacock those are names you count on?

#3 Charlie, spring training games are averaging 2:37 and are on it’s fastest pace since 1979.

#4 Toronto Blue Jays hitter Vladimir Guerrero Jr is pulling out of the World Baseball Classic due to knee issues. Guerrero was set to represent the Dominican at the Classic but had an MRI on Friday and had some inflammation in his right knee.

#5 The San Diego Padres were really counting on pitcher Joe Musgrove to deliver the goods to start out the Padres charge for their dream to be a championship team. Musgrove dropped a kettle bell on his foot fracturing his big left toe. Musgrove will be out of the rotation for the next two weeks.

Join Charlie O for the MLB podcast Sundays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Ducks hand Cardinal 73-68 loss in regular season finale

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Stanford Cardinal forward Spencer Jones (14) takes a shot against the Oregon Ducks at Phil Knight Arena in Eugene Or on Sat Mar 4, 2023 (photo by Stanford Cardinal)

By Daniel Dullum
Saturday, March 4, 2023

Stanford ended its regular season for men’s basketball on a losing note Saturday, as the Cardinal fell to Oregon 73-68 in a nationally-televised game played at Matthew Knight Arena in Eugene, Ore.

N’Faly Dante led the Ducks (18-13 overall, 12-8 Pac-12) with 15 points, 12 rebounds and five blocked shots. Keeshawn Barthelemy scored 14 points off the bench and Will Richardson had 10 points, six assists and four rebounds.

Spencer Jones and Brandon Angel each scored 18 points to lead Stanford (13-18 overall, 7-13 Pac-12), with Jones hitting four 3-pointers and Angel going 3-3 behind the arc. Jones also had seven rebounds, three steals and three assists.

Harrison Ingram and Maxime Reynaud added 11 and 10 points, respectively for Stanford, while Michael O’Connell contributed three assists.

The Cardinal jumped to an 8-0 lead to start the game and led 18-9 with 11:24 left in the first half. Oregon put together a run to tie the game and eventually built a 39-34 halftime lead.

Stanford pulled to within three points with seven minutes remaining in the second half, but Oregon made enough free throws down the stretch to secure the win.

Oregon’s bench outscored Stanford’s 30-6, and the Ducks forced 13 Cardinal turnovers.

The Cardinal will play in Wednesday’s opening round of the Pac-12 tournament in Las Vegas.

Capitals bury Sharks 8-3; SJ drops fifth straight game

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Kappo Kahkonen (36) goaltender of the San Jose Sharks stopped 22 shots faced 30 and allowed eight goals against the Washington Capitals at SAP Center in San Jose on Sat Mar 4, 2023 (photo by SanJoseSharks)

By Daniel Dullum
Saturday, March 4, 2023

Alex Ovechkin and Craig Smith each scored twice on Saturday, leading the Washington Capitals past the San Jose Sharks 8-3 at SAP Center.

Rasmus Sandin had three assists in his first game as a Capital, Garrison Carlsson had two assists in his Washington debut and Vincent Iorio picked up his first point in his first NHL game.

The Capitals pumped in four goals in the second period and four more in the third after trailing 2-0 at the first intermission. Tomas Hertl scored San Jose’s first goal on the power play at 12:03 and Alexander Barabanov made it 2-0 for the home team at 15:30.

In the second period, after the Capitals made a couple of line adjustments, Smith scored from the right circle on an assist from Dylan Strome, cutting the Washington deficit to 2-1 at 8:46. Less than three minutes later, Nicolas Aube-Kubel scored the equalizer, beating Sharks netminder Kaapo Kahkonen at 11:30.

Former Shark Matt Irwin put the Capitals ahead to stay at 15:28 of the second with a slap shot from the left point. Smith scored his second goal of the game with a minute remaining in the period.

T.J. Oshie made it 5-2 at 5;50 of the third period, shortly before Sharks coach David Quinn received a game misconduct penalty for arguing a call. Nico Sturm scored on a one-timer to cut the Washington lead to 5-3 at 9:02, but Ovechkin scored his 34th and 35th goals of the season in response, followed by a tally from Strome.

Kahkonen stopped 22 of 30 shots, while Washington goalie Darcy Kuemper made 38 saves.

The Sharks have a two-game road trip on Monday and Tuesday, visiting Winnipeg and Colorado.

Timberwolves win four point contest 138-134 over Kings; Sac win streak ends at five

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Minnesota Timberwolves forward Taurean Prince (12) is defended by Sacramento Kings guard De’Aaron Fox (5) and forward Keegan Murray (13) as he shoots in the first quarter at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento Sun Mar 5, 2023 (AP News photo)

By Jeremiah Salmonson

SACRAMENTO–The Sacramento Kings (37-26) were back in action on Saturday night in Sacramento. The Kings were set to play the second night of a back-to-back as they welcomed to Golden 1 Center the Minnesota Timberwolves (34-32). The Kings first game of the back-to-back came against the LA Clippers on Friday.

The Kings defeated the Clippers 128-127. On Saturday, the Kings looked to keep the winning streak alive with a win against Anthony Edwards and the Timberwolves.

GAME RESULT: In the first quarter, the Kings offense got off to a slower-than-normal start. Simultaneously, the Kings defense didn’t do much to slow down the Timberwolves offense. The Wolves scored 36 points in the first quarter to put themselves in the driver’s seat. The Kings only managed 30 points in the first quarter. The Kings offense looked a little tired playing another back-to-back game. The Kings would look to the second quarter to spark the comeback.

In the second quarter, the Kings couldn’t get things going on the defensive end. The Kings continued to give up massive numbers to the Timberwolves. The Timberwolves scored 38 points in the second quarter to expand the lead over the Kings. On the other hand, the Kings couldn’t pick up the slack on the offensive end. The Kings scored 34 points in the second quarter, but it wasn’t enough to keep up with the Wolves. The Kings would go into halftime trailing 74-64. The Kings would need to improve on the offensive and defensive end of the floor if they wanted any chance to win the game.

In the third quarter, it looked all downhill for the Kings. The Kings, at one point in the quarter, were down 18 points. The Wolves could do no wrong on the defensive end, and the Kings were not making shots. However, the Kings rallied back in the last minutes of the quarter to bring it to within three points heading into the final quarter. The Kings outscored the Wolves in the third quarter 38-31. The Kings would need to maintain the intensity in the fourth quarter to have a chance at victory.

In the fourth quarter, the Kings and Wolves fought hard for the win. The Kings did all they could to try and muster the energy to win another back-to-back game. However, the Kings weren’t able to get it done. The Timberwolves were too much to match on the offensive end as the Kings lost the game 138-134.

The Kings fought hard in the defeat and were led by Kevin Huerter, who had 29 points. A strong performance was had by the Timberwolves Anthony Edwards, who had 27 points. Ultimately, the Kings need to play some defense if they want to win big games when the offense isn’t on fire the whole game. The Kings enter a crucial stretch of the season against top-tier opponents that will challenge their standing in the western conference.

Up Next: The Kings will welcome in the New Orleans Pelicans on Monday at 7 PM PST.

Akapo’s late goal propels Earthquakes to 2-1 win over Whitecaps in home opener

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The San Jose Earthquakes celebrate their 2-1 win over the Vancouver Whitecaps at Pay Pal Park on Saturday MAR 4, 2022. (San Jose Earthquakes)

by Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE — Carlos Akapo made a sizzling home debut for the Black and Blue.

Akapo scored the game winning goal in the 77th minute to give the San Jose Earthquakes a 2-1 victory over the Vancouver Whitecaps on Saturday evening before a sold-out crowd for at Pay Pal Park.

San Jose has lost two in a row to start the season/evened its record with its first win of the season in its home opener. Vancouver has lost two in a row to start the season/evened its record with its first win of the season.

Christian Espinoza found Akapo inside the box to the right. The 29-year-old Equatoguinean rifled a laser of a shot just inside the right post into the upper corner of the net for his first goal of the season.

Vancouver (0-1) drew first blood in the 17th minute as they took advantage of a lackadaisical pass from Jonathan Mensah which created a counterattack for the Whitecaps. Julian Gressel slid a pass over to Alessandro Schöpf, who got inside position on Paul Marie, and chipped the ball past Quakes goalkeeper Daniel De Sousa Brito for his first goal of the season.

The first 45 minutes for San Jose (0-1) was a half of missed opportunities. They had three shots on target but weren’t able to get the ball past Whitecap’s goalkeeper Yahel Takaoka, including a great individual effort by striker Cade Cowell where he went around three defenders before Takaoka made a save on his left footed attempt. Other opportunities hit the side of the net or sailed wide.

After a lackluster first half on defense as well, the Earthquakes responded with a sounder effort from their line in the second half that allowed the offense to control possession and gain momentum the rest of the match.

“I believe the sense of urgency changed,” said Mensah on the team’s rebound at home. “Of course, we could’ve started better, but being a goal down you need to do anything you can to come back and win the game. We sensed it right away that we needed to change gears and we did.”

The Quakes scored the equalizer in the 68th minute on a set piece. After a foul by Luis Martins on Espinoza, which resulted in a yellow card, Jamiro Monteiro centered a ball from 30 yards out where Jeremy Ebobisee soared high in the air and headed the ball into the upper left corner of the net for his second goal of the season.

“Set pieces are game changers and we know that. Unfortunately, in Atlanta, it didn’t bounce our way in terms of how we defended set pieces. We know the importance of set pieces. We think we have a team that can defend well and respond,” Quakes head coach Luchi Gonzalez said.

Ebobisse has scored in back-to-back games for San Jose.

Vancouver had a chance late in the match when Russell Teibert’s shot in the 86th minute was thwarted away by De Sousa Brito.

De Sousa Brito finished the match with one save on two shots on target for his first win in a Quakes uniform. Takaoka made four saves on six shots on target in the losing effort.

GAME NOTES: San Jose finished with 12 corner kicks. Vancouver had six.

San Jose is now 10-10-12 all-time vs. Vancouver Whitecaps FC, including a 6-1-8 record at home.

San Jose has won or drawn in 15 of the past 16 home matches against Vancouver (7W-8D).

UP NEXT: San Jose hosts the Colorado Rapids on Saturday 3/11 at 7:30pm at Pay Pal Park.

Late collapse by Barracuda gives Coachella Valley the victory 5-4

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Photo courtesy of San Jose Barracuda. Adam Raska battles with a player on Coachella Valley on March 4th 2023.

By Titus Wilkinson (@TitusWisme)

On their second of back-to-backs San Jose dropped the game late in the third against the Firebirds by a final of 5-4.

Similar to their last game the Barracuda found themselves down early as Kyle Criscuolo got a penalty for hooking just 1:47 in. San Jose’s PK unit came up big and killed it off keeping the Firebirds off the scoreboard.

Later in the first Coachella Valley broke the ice as Kole Lind scored his 22nd goal of the season assisted by Max McCormick and Ryker Evans.

San Jose was given a chance to score on the power play and converted as Andrew Agozzino stuffed home his 20th goal of the season. That goal ended up being Agozzino’s 500th career point in the AHL.

The Barracuda wasted no time in extending their lead as just 13 seconds later Ozzy Wiesblatt scored on a rebound to make it 2-1.

Danil Gushchin took a high-sticking penalty 15:32 into the first and the Firebirds converted as Jeremy McKenna got his first goal of the season.

Coachella Valley continued their momentum as Alexander True scored getting his ninth goal of the season and making it 3-2.

At the end of the first the shots favored San Jose 16-13.

The second period saw a lot less offense with Coachella Valley taking two penalties and San Jose taking one.

On the one penalty that San Jose took Jeffrey Viel scored shorthanded on a beautiful play on the rush.

That goal ended up being the only goal of the period with the shots finishing in favor of San Jose at 35-24.

The third period saw a quick strike from San Jose’s offense as only 3:29 in Martin Kaut tipped home a shot from Artemi Kniazev making it 4-3.

The Firebirds found a response after the goal as Jimmy Schuldt scored his eight goal of the season to tie the game back up.

Late in the period the Firebirds pushed for a goal and got one as Tye Kartye scored his 17th goal of the season to break the tie.

San Jose pulled their goalie but could not find a response as the Firebirds held on to win 5-4.

The shots at the end of the game favored San Jose at 41-38.

The three stars of the game were: 1st: Tye Kartye 2nd: Andrew Agozzino 3rd: Ryker Evans

San Jose’s next game will be Wednesday at 7 p.m. against the Ontario Reign on the road.

Cal Competes: Regular season concludes with painful 69-66 loss at Oregon State

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By Morris Phillips

Cal’s 15 consecutive losses haven’t often been competitive or engaging. That wasn’t the case on Saturday in Corvallis, where the Bears built a substantial lead that held up throughout the game’s first 27 minutes.

The Bears led by as many as 16 points and took their final lead with 29 seconds remaining. But the visitors came up empty on their final, two possessions in a 69-66 loss to Oregon State.

“A heartbreaking loss,” Cal coach Mark Fox said. “I feel awful for everybody because they did everything we asked them to do.”

Oregon State snapped a four-game losing streak but had to dig deep to prevail. The Beavers trailed 32-16 late in the first half.

“It was all Cal,” coach Wayne Tinkle said. “They were focused, and I think they knocked us back and caused a little cloudiness early.”

The loss mattered little in regards to Cal’s seeding for the conference tournament that begins Wednesday in Las Vegas. The Bears will open the tournament against Arizona State or red-hot Washington State as the 12th seed.

The game was physical throughout and whistle-filled. That allowed the hosts to recover with 24 of 29 shooting from the foul line that brought them even with 13 minutes remaining. The game became a see-saw affair at that point, with both teams afforded opportunities to seize control. Oregon State’s biggest lead of 64-61 with 2:03 remaining was immediately wiped out as Cal scored five of the next six points, capped by Grant Newell’s jumper with 29 seconds left.

Michael Rataj scored to put OSU in front with 15 seconds left, and Cal saw the same game lost as Sam Alajiki stepped out of bounds with nine seconds remaining and Joel Brown, who led Cal with 22 points, missed a wild 3-pointer at the final buzzer.

Glenn Taylor Jr. paced OSU with 28 points, and Jordan Pope added 17.

Stanford Cardinal podcast with Michael Roberson: Cardinal just couldn’t come up with ball in second half against UCLA

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Stanford guard Haley Jones, center, moves the ball around UCLA forward Gabriela Jaquez (23) during the first half at the womens Pac 12 Tournament at Michelob Ultra Arena in Las Vegas on Fri Mar 3, 2023 (AP News photo)

On the Stanford Cardinal podcast with Michael:

#1 The 19th ranked UCLA Bruins pulled off an upset defeating the Stanford Cardinal on Friday night at Michelob Ultra Arena in Las Vegas 69-65 getting eliminated in from the tournament.

#3 The Bruins made a comeback on the Cardinal in second half play scoring 18 points in the third quarter and 29 in the fourth quarter to over come a 35-22 first half deficit.

#4 Kiki Rice led the way for the Bruins with 22 points, five rebounds, five assists, and made 12 of 13 free throws. Emily Bessoir was next with 14 points and six rebounds, Charisma Osborne had 12 points.

#5 The Cardinal had faced a number of upsets against USC, Washington, Utah, and UCLA in Pac 12 conference play. How surprising were these loses to coach Tara VanDerveer and the UCLA loss in particular?

Join Michael Roberson for Stanford Cardinal basketball podcasts at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Jose Sharks podcast with Charanbir Mahal: Sharks dealing; Taking a look at departures of Meier and Bonino

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San Jose Sharks right wing Timo Meier (28) moves the puck while defended by Pittsburgh Penguins center Teddy Blueger, right, during the first period of an NHL hockey game in San Jose, Calif., Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2023 (AP News photo)

San Jose Sharks podcast with Charanbir:

#1 Charanbir, has the Timo Meier to the New Jersey Devils impacted this team the Sharks have suffered heavy loses since his departure losing to the Montreal Canadiens 3-1 and their last game to the St Louis Blues 6-3.

#2 The Sharks who acquired Vladislav Namestnikov, from the Tampa Bay Lightning for Mikey Eyssimont who was sent to the Winnipeg Jets for a 2025 fourth rounder.

#3 The Sharks continued dealing sending Nick Bonino to the Pittsburgh Penguins in a three way trade, the Sharks said they received three draft picks and Arvid Henrikson from Montreal, the Canadiens picked up defenceman Tony Sund and a 2024 fifth round draft pick, and the Penguins picked up Bonino from the Canadiens.

#4 Bonino got wind of the deal after Thursday’s game against the Blues Bonino and Sharks goaltender James Reimer embraced by the locker room after Bonino learned of the news.

#5 Charanbir, talk about the Sharks Scott Reedy being dealt to the Dallas Stars from Jacob Peterson. Reedy came to the Sharks as a fourth round draft choice in 2017 and had five goals and eight assists for the San Jose Barracuda for 2022-23.

Join Charanbir for the Sharks podcast during San Jose Sharks home games at http://www.sportsradioservice.com