Cal falls to Washington State 63-57 but remains optimistic in the season’s final days

Published on by moepeaLeave a comment

By Morris Phillips

BERKELEY, CA–A streak-ending win on Senior Night wasn’t achievable for the Cal Bears.

But that wasn’t the punchline to season-concluding joke. The 3-26 hosts competed hard until seven minutes remained before they ran out of gas in a 63-57 loss to Washington State.

“Obviously, we didn’t get the win, but we made a lot of strides, and going forward we’ve got two games next week,” senior Joel Brown said. “I think there’s a lot of energy and positivity that we can grab from this.”

Cal fell for the 13th consecutive time since January 6 and need a win in their final, three games to avoid setting a new, program-worst season record.

Two regular season games remain at Oregon and Oregon State and an opening round contest in the Pac-12 Tournament in Las Vegas. Optimism within the team remains with hopes they can win at least once more.

“For the whole team it’s a tough situation with the record, but I’ve learned a lot just looking myself in the mirror and just understanding, I’m playing basketball . . . this is what I love doing,” Brown said.

When asked if he had any discussions regarding his future with Cal, coach Mark Fox said he had not, while saying he and Athletic Director Jim Knowlton speak frequently, and Fox considers Knowlton to be an ally.

Fox fell to 38-84 in his four seasons in Berkeley, and it’s widely assumed he won’t be retained.

The Bears trailed 29-26 at halftime and were within 46-44 with 7:24 remaining when they could get no closer. A 7-0 run for the Cougars created separation and put the visitors in position for a fifth straight win.

Mohamed Gueye led WSU with 20 points and 10 rebounds, and TJ Bamba added 19. Brown led Cal with 13 points, nine rebounds, and Kuany Kuany added 11.

Earthquakes drop opening game of regular season against Atlanta 2-1

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Photo courtesy of San Jose Earthquakes Twitter. Cristian Espinoza dribbles the ball upfield.

By Titus Wilkinson (@TitusWisme)

San Jose hoped to open their regular season on the right foot but unfortunately faltered right at the finish losing against Atlanta 2-1.

For the Earthquakes Daniel De Sousa Brito started in net while Brad Guzan started for Atlanta.

An important debut was made as well in tonights game as Carlos Akapo made his first appearance for San Jose.

The Earthquakes in this match got off to as good of a start as a team could ask for as at the 12′ mark of the first half the offense struck gold.

The goal started off with Rodrigues crossing it beautifully to Espinoza who found Jeremy Ebobisse crashing the net who headed it home making it 1-0.

Despite the good start just a minute after the goal Carlos Cruezo was handed a yellow card on a foul.

On the foul Atlanta was awarded a penalty shot which went wide.

At the end of the first half the score remained the same at 1-0.

The second half was closely played with Atlanta pushing to tie the match at one.

At the 85′ mark of the second half the Earthquakes made three substitutions putting in Tanner Beason, Jack Skahan, and Michael Baldisimo. While Miguel Trauco, Cristian Espinoza, and Jamiro Monteiro were taken off.

The 90′ mark had another yellow card given out to San Jose this time Benjamin Kikanovic was given the foul.

In the extra time was when Atlanta did their damage as at the 90′ +3′ mark Thiago Almada scored to tie the match up at one.

On the goal though Almada was also given a yellow card for excessive celebration.

That did not seem to deter Almada who instead scored another goal this time at the 90′ +9′ mark to give Atlanta the lead.

With that goal Almada put the game away as San Jose could not respond.

The Earthquakes next game will be on March 4th against Vancouver at home at 7:30 p.m.

NHL podcast with Troy Ewers: Blues coach Berube stands by no passion comments; Pens put Kapanen on waivers; plus more

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

St Louis Blues head coach Craig Berube stands by his remarks after Thursday’s game against the Vancouver Canucks after the team lost their fourth straight game in overtime (photo from nhl.com)

On the NHL podcast with Troy Ewers:

#1 St Louis Blues head coach Craig Berube says the players are not playing with passion, “don’t play with any passion, no emotion and no inspiration at all.” The Blues took a 3-2 loss to the Vancouver Canucks in overtime after having a 2-0 lead melt down with 29 seconds left in the third period on Thursday when the Canucks tied the game and went onto defeat the Blues in overtime 3-2.

#2 Troy how much did the Vladimir Tarasenko trade and then trading their captain Ryan O’Reilly and Noel Acciari play into the psyche of the Blues who are currently on a four game losing streak and in 11th place in the Western Conference standings.

#3 The Pittsburgh Penguins forward Kasperi Kapanen was placed on waivers. Kapanen did not practice with the team Friday and had gone 14 games without scoring a goal in 15 games. The Penguins lost to the Edmonton Oilers 7-2. Kapanen has 20 goals for the season.

#4 The Winnipeg Jets forward Cole Perfetti will miss eight weeks due to a upper body injury he sustained most likely on Sunday. Perfetti played and scored a goal on Sunday in the 4-2 loss to the New Jersey Devils but didn’t play on Monday night against the New York Rangers and on Friday night against the New York Islanders. Perfetti has 30 points this season.

#5 Troy the Boston Bruins get Dimitry Orlov and Garnett Hathaway from the Washington Capitals and the Bruins get forward Craig Smith and Andre Svetlakov “Both Dmitry and Garnet bring some attributes that will complement our group,” Bruins general manager Don Sweeney said.

Troy Ewers filled in for Matt Harrington who does the NHL podcasts Saturdays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Kings Battle Through Double Overtime To Beat Clippers 176-175

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Sacramento Kings guard De’Aaron Fox, left, celebrates after scoring as Los Angeles Clippers forward Marcus Morris Sr. stands in the background during the second half at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on Fri Feb 24, 2023 (AP News photo)

Kings Battle Through Double Overtime To Beat Clippers 176-175

By Barbara Mason

Friday night the Sacramento Kings (34-25) took on the Los Angeles Clippers (33-29) at Crypto. com Arena in Los Angeles. The Kings are coming off a win over the Portland Trail Blazers 133-116. De’Aaron Fox scored 31 points in that game and Domantas Sabonis had his seventh triple-double of the season.

They will need more of the same against the Clippers. This was a huge game for the Kings. Right now they were holding onto third place in the Western Conference 1 1/2 games ahead of Los Angeles.

The addition of Russell Westbrook to the Clippers was just one of the many challenges that the Kings faced in this game and they got through it with NBA All Star game type final score Kings edging the Clippers 176-175.

Game recap: Sacramento had a great start knocking down three straight shots from downtown in the first quarter. With 7:39 left in the first 12 minutes the Kings had only missed two shots and led 21-16. They were shooting 66.7% from the field and 60% from downtown.

The Kings were having great success shooting the three ball but as the quarter wore down, the Clippers Paul George, Kawhi Leonard and Westbrook really began to flex their muscles. After the opening quarter, this game was tied at 40. The second quarter was close for the most part.

At 5:41 the Clippers had a nine point lead 64-55 but the Kings battled back and at the half trailed by four points 80-76. Fox had the high for the Kings with 16 points. Malik Monk had 13 off the bench and starter Domantas Sabonis had 12 points and 7 rebounds.

The Clippers threatened to take control of this game in the third quarter leading at one time by 12 points but the King fought back throughout the quarter. After three quarters the Clippers hung onto a 117-110 lead.

At 7:26 in the fourth quarter the Kings trailed by a single point 130-129. The Clippers were highly favored to win this game but the Kings were stubbornly hanging around throughout this game. Shots from the field were even but the Clippers were having a hay day from downtown shooting at 63.2% to the Kings 44.1% giving the Clippers a huge edge. The Kings would pull to within a single point 149-148 with 33 seconds left in play. As regulation came to an end this game was tied at 153 and the two teams went into overtime.

We would see if the Kings had enough left in the tank after battling from behind throughout much of the game. With 20.4 seconds left in overtime this game was tied at 164. The two teams would take this battle into a second overtime. With 36 seconds left on the clock the Kings had a one point lead.

This was a highly competitive game between the third and fifth place teams in the Western Conference.

Fox would finish the game with 42 points and Monk off the bench had the high for the team with 45 points. Every starter for the Kings finished in double digits.

Sunday the Kings will travel to Oklahoma to take on the Thunder. Tipoff is scheduled for 4:00 PM.

Barracuda defense lets down against the Reign 6-1

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Photo courtesy of San Jose Barracuda. Tristen Robins shoots on goaltender Cal Petersen.

By Titus Wilkinson (@TitusWisme)

San Jose went to battle against Ontario on the road and had a rough game defensively losing by a final of 6-1.

For the Barracuda Strauss Mann got the start while Matthew Villalta started for the Reign.

Goal scoring in this game took a minute to get going but Jordan Spence got the opening goal at the 9:50 mark for the Reign making it 1-0.

Scott Reedy took an interference penalty at the 11:13 mark giving Ontario a chance to expand their lead.

On the power play they did just that as Alan Quine scored netting his sixth goal of the season and extending their lead to two.

At the end of the first the shots favored Ontario at 13-7.

The second period was a lot quieter than the first as there was no scoring between the two teams.

The shots at the end of the second favored San Jose now at 25-20.

Scoring in the third came a lot quicker as just 2:42 in Jeffrey Viel scored shorthanded on a rebound cutting Ontario’s lead in half.

The Reign dug deep though and found a response as Samuel Fagemo scored his 17th goal of the season to make the lead two again.

Feeling the momentum Jacob Moverare scored his fourth goal of his campaign making the score now 4-1.

San Jose pulled their goalie to try and come back but Tyler Madden scored on the empty net to put it away.

Thomas Bordeleau took a penalty for high-sticking after the goal and once again Ontario punished San Jose with a goal. This time Kim Nousiainen scored his second goal of the season putting their lead up to 6-1.

The three stars of the game were 1st: Matthew Villalta 2nd: Jacob Moverare 3rd: Martin Chromiak

The Barracuda’s next game will be against Coachella Valley on Monday at 7 p.m. on the road.

Thompson’s big night leads Warriors to win over Rockets; Understaffed Golden State defeats Houston 116-101

Published on by rxsluggerLeave a comment

Golden State Warriors guard Jordan Poole (3) celebrates with Klay Thompson, left, after scoring a 3-point basket against the Houston Rockets during the first half at the Chase Center in San Francisco on Fri Feb 24, 2023 (AP News photo)

By Jerry Feitelberg

The understaffed Golden State Warriors faced off against the young Houston Rockets Friday night at the Chase Chase. The Warriors were without Stephen Curry, Andrew Wiggins(for personal reasons), and Draymond Green, out with a knee contusion suffered in the loss to the Lakers Thursday night in Los Angeles. 

Warriors’ head coach Steve Kerr had Jonathan Kuminga fill in for Green. Donte DiVincenzo replaced Andrew Wiggins in the lineup. Poole and Klay Thompson were in the backcourt. The Rockets arrived in town owning a seven-game losing streak. Their coach, Stephen Silas, hoped his young troops could pull off the upset. The Rockets gave the Warriors a tussle in the first quarter, but the defending NBA champions, behind Thompson’s stellar performance, pulled out a win beating Houston 116-101.

The Rockets had an early lead, 12-5. The Warriors regained the lead 17-16, and the fans started thinking that the Warriors would easily beat the Rockets. That didn’t happen as the teams battled to a 26-26 tie at the end of the first quarter.

Things changed in the second quarter. Thompson got into a rhythm and knocked down four threes to lead the Warriors to a 66-49 advantage at the end of the first half. Poole had two threes, and DiVincenzo made four threes. The Warriors outscored the Rockets 40-23 in the second period.

The Warriors did not put the game away in the third quarter. The Warriors started giving the Rockets opportunities to score points. The Warriors committed too many turnovers, allowing the Rockets to shave eight points off the Warriors halftime advantage. The Warriors led by nine heading into the fourth quarter.

The Warriors had an answer. His name is Klay Thompson. Thompson, playing in back-to-back games for just the second time this season, continued to knock down three-point shots. With his 12th three of the night, the Warriors led 116-99. The game was over. The Warriors went on to win.

Game Notes: With the win, the Warriors are now 30-30. The Rockets lost their eighth in a row, and their season record in now 13-46.

The Warriors had four players in double-figures. Thompson led the way with 42 points. His 12 three-pointers were two short of his NBA record of 14. Thompson did not have a two-point bucket all night. His other six points were free throws. Poole and DiVincenzo each had 15. Poole made two threes, while DiVincenzo had five. The other player in double-figure was Patrick Baldwin, Jr. PBJ made three threes.

The Rockets had five players in double figures. Jabari Smith, in his rookie season, had 13. Kenyon Marttin, Jr., 22. Jae’Sean Tate, 14, TyTy Washington, Jr., 15, and Josh Christoper, 13.

The Warriors shot 47% from the floor. They made 26 three in 47 tries. The big negative of the night was the 18 turnovers.

The Warriors meet the Minnesota Timberwolves Sunday night at the Chase Center. The game will start at 5:30m pm.

Stanford Cardinal podcast with Daniel Dullum: It was a fight to the end in double OT win for Stanford

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Colorado guard Jaylyn Sherrod, top, fights for control of the ball with Stanford forward Kiki Iriafen in the first half at CU Events Center in Boulder Col on Thu Feb 23, 2023 (AP News photo)

On the Stanford Cardinal podcast with Daniel:

#1 The No.3 Stanford Cardinal wbb (27-3) defeated the No.21 Colorado Buffaloes (21-7) at CU Events Center in Boulder 73-62 on Thursday night to clinch the Pac 12 title.

#2 The Cardinal have had a lot of success on the floor and when the Buffaloes pushed this one into overtime the Cardinal resisted defeat and got nine point double overtime win. Talk about that hard earned effort in the two overtimes.

#3 Daniel to the leaderboard the Cardinal got offensive scoring help from Haley Jones who led with 23 points she was crucial on offense to help the Cardinal get the overtime victory.

#4 The Buffalo defense double teamed and kept Cameron Brink off her game Brink scored only eight points but she enjoyed the victory.

#5 The Cardinal close out the regular season Saturday night in Utah against the Utah Utes (25-3) the Utes have a similar record and this could be one of Stanford toughest conference games this season.

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

Sacramento Kings podcast with Jeremiah Salmonson: Kings on back to back nights battle Clippers tonight in Southland

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Portland Trail Blazers guard Keon Johnson drives to the basket past Sacramento Kings forward Domantas Sabonis (10) during the first quarter at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento (AP News photo)

On the Kings podcast with Jeremiah:

#1 The Sacramento Kings (33-25) were sloppy with the ball on offense, and the defense was nonexistent. It makes it even worse that Portland Trailblazers (28-31) didn’t have a single starter in the game. They were all resting due to the plane ride delays and injuries in spite of all of that the Kings mastered a pretty sizable win 133-116 at Golden 1 Center Thursday night.

#2 In the second quarter, the Kings played much more competitively. They sharpened up the defensive side of the ball a little bit.

#3 In the third quarter, the Kings and Blazers both scored 34 points. It was an uneventful quarter in which neither team played any defense. The Kings offense stayed hot after a sizzling second quarter.

#4 In the fourth quarter, the Kings efficiently handled the Blazers. The Kings outscored the Blazers 33-25 in the final quarter to defeat them. It was a solid win for the Kings. 

#5 The Sacramento Kings take on the Los Angeles Clippers tonight at 730 PM PST at Crypto.com Arena in the Southland.

Join Jeremiah for the Sacramento Kings podcasts Fridays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Golden State Warriors podcast with David Zizmor: Warriors really feeling the absence of Curry and Wiggins

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

The Los Angeles Lakers LeBron James wasn’t blowing smoke as he and the Lakers defeated the Golden State Warriors at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on Thu Feb 23, 2023 (AP News photo)

On the Warriors podcast with David:

#1 Golden State needed to turn their defense around, protect the ball and make the most of every possession tried as they may the Lakers came away with a 124-111 win against Golden State at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.

#2 The team will still be without Stephen Curry and Andrew Wiggins will also be out for personal reasons with no return date right now.

#3 After the first 12 minutes, the Warriors were trailing 31-23. While Golden State did not get the hot start that they were looking for, they did get a decent start. They needed to be better in transition and protect the ball.

Join David Zizmor for the Golden State Warrior podcasts each Wednesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

No. 3 Cardinal women clinch Pac-12 title with 73-62 double OT win over Buffs

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Stanford guard Haley Jones, right, drives to the basket as Colorado guard Tayanna Jones, center, and center Aaronette Vonleh defend in the first half at CU Events Center in Boulder Col on Thu Feb 23, 2023 (AP News photo)

By Daniel Dullum
Thursday, February 23, 2023

It took two overtimes in the high altitude to do it, but No. 3 Stanford held off No. 21 Colorado 73-62 Thursday to claim the Pac-12 women’s basketball regular season championship.

Haley Jones scored 13 of her 23 points in the two overtime periods while pulling down 11 rebounds and dishing out seven assists for the Cardinal (27-3 overall, 15-2 Pac-12). Lauren Betts hit 1 of 2 free throws with 3.5 seconds remaining in the second half and finished with 14 points. Hannah Jump also scored 14 points, and Cameron Brink fouled out in OT after being held to eight points, six boards and four blocks.

Stanford outscored the Buffaloes 13-2 in the second overtime period, It was the first double-overtime game for the Cardinal since 2017.

Jaylyn Sherrod led Colorado (21-7 overall, 12-5 Pac-12) with 19 points; she hit the game-tying basket with 30 seconds left in regulation, Sherrod left the game briefly in the fourth quarter, but returned. Buffaloes center Quay Miller added 17 points. Stanford held a 53-42 rebounding edge,

The Buffaloes trailed by as many as eight points in the fourth quarter while getting by without their third leading scorer, Frida Formann, who was out of the lineup due to illness.

Stanford missed its first 15 shots and trailed by as many as 14 points early. Brooke Demetre hit a 3-pointer for the Cardinal’s first basket at 12 seconds of the first quarter. Colorado held a 13-5 lead after one period, but the Cardinal outscored CU 20-8 in the third quarter.

The Cardinal close out the regular season Saturday at No. 8 Utah.