That’s Amaury News and Commentary: The Hispanic Heritage Baseball Museum Hall of Fame at Giants Fanfest

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The Peanuts gang from left to right Lucy, Snoopy and Charlie Brown are ready for some baseball at the Major League Baseball Hispanic Heritage Hall of Fame Museum as featured at the San Francisco Giants 2023 Fanfest (photo from Amaury Pi Gonzalez)

The Hispanic Heritage Baseball Museum Hall of Fame at Giants Fanfest

That’s Amaury News and Commentary

By Amaury Pi-González

SAN FRANCISCO–Saturday, February the 4th, was a gray and rainy day in San Francisco, but that did not stop over 10,000 fans that showed up to mingle with other fans and players alike. Just over a week and days until Spring Training in Arizona, fans were in a festive mood, ready for another baseball season. The Giants open their 2023 season in New York against the Yankees on Thursday March 30th, but the Fanfest this past Saturday was like a home game for the Black and Orange.

The Hispanic Heritage Baseball Museum Hall of Fame (a veteran of these events) had their table at the Club Level of Oracle Park. Giants fan base is always very inquisitive. The HHBMHOF gave hundreds of brochures as they celebrated their 23rd year since they were founded in San Francisco.

We talked baseball, with many Giants fans always ready to ask for players of the past and present. Some familiar and not-so-familiar faces were in attendance. The Museum President and Founder Gabriel “Tito” Avila Jr. was there with the Vice President as well as museum volunteers. Lisbeth Sánchez of Redwood City stopped in front of our table, there with her nine year old son and husband, as she was holding a brochure said: “about time there is baseball Museum for us the Latinos”.

Many of the people that visited were of Hispanic roots, some born in Nicaragua, México, El Salvador, there were people from Puerto Rico and other countries. Many fans of Hispanic Heritage were smiling and proud to see the colorful brochures. One middle age Hispanic man told us; “hermano los felicito por tan linda labor que estan haciendo” translation- “congratulations brother for the beautiful job you guys are doing”.

The ”número uno” question (always) asked by Giants fans:-“where is the museum?” We have been traveling all over the country for over 20 years, and with the help of the Giants we hope it will be within walking distance of Oracle Park, in the vicinity, of what is has become one of the most popular neighborhoods in the city by the bay.

The Hispanic Heritage Baseball Museum and Hall of Fame is looking forward to its first permanent location, in San Francisco, a city that originally received the non-profit since it birth/foundation in 2000, the first season the Giants moved from Candlestick Park, today Oracle Park.

The San Francisco Giants is leading the way as the first (of many MLB teams) to endorse the museum. As a traveling museum the HHBMHOF has inducted players in at least 15 different major league cities, as well as participating in All Star Game events across the country.

In the early 2000s, the HHBMHOF was part of the national traveling exhibit ‘Baseball As America’ when they exhibited in the City of Oakland. As recent as 2018, the Museum had a big mural inside the Oakland Alameda County Coliseum.

The San Francisco Giants franchise tradition with Hispanic/Latino players is well documented since the days of José Pagan, Orlando Cepeda and Juan Marichal and Rigoberto”Tito 23″ Fuentes, to Pablo Sandoval, to the current team with Wilmer Flores, Luis González, Camilo Doval, Thairo Estrada, Heliot Ramos and others.

It makes all the sense in the world that Latino/Hispanic fans identify with these stars. The City of San Francisco with a population of 815,000 (as of the 2020 US Census) of which 15.2% are Hispanics/Latinos, the nine-county Bay Area is 20 percent Hispanic. The Giants have one of the best and most loyal fan bases in all of baseball.

The Hispanic Heritage Baseball Museum Hall of Fame will share with visitors the true meaning of diversity, while enlightening future generation on the vast Hispanic culture. Today the United States of America is more Hispanic than ever, according to 2020 Census data, there are 62.1 million living in the United States. This is by far the largest minority in the United States. Many believe it is as high as 80 million across the country.

The Hispanic Heritage Baseball Museum Hall of Fame was established on October 24th 1998 in San Francisco as a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit organization, very proud of bringing the community together with the greatest game on earth, Béisbol.

Kings get clobbered by Pelicans in New Orleans 136-104

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New Orleans Pelicans guard CJ McCollum (3) shoots against Sacramento Kings guard Davion Mitchell (15) in the first half at Smoothie King Arena in New Orleans on Sun Feb 5, 2023 (AP News photo)

Pelicans Punish Kings 136-104

By Barbara Mason

Sunday the Sacramento Kings (29-23) traveled to the “Big Easy” to take on the New Orleans Pelicans (28-27). Friday night the Kings lost a close game to the Pacers 107-104.

The Pelicans beat the Lakers Saturday night 131-126. The Kings are currently in third place in the Western Conference while the Pelicans have fallen to ninth place tied with the Jazz. The Kings struggled against the Pelicans and it wasn’t even close losing 136-104 on Sunday.

The Pelicans jumped all over the Kings mid-way through the opening quarter 26-12. The Pelicans held a double digit lead in the remaining minutes of the first quarter and led after the first 12 minutes 34-26. For a second game in a row De’Aaron Fox was out for personal reasons and the team did not discuss it any further. Fox has missed four games this season and the team is 1-3 without him.

The slow start for Sacramento started to turned around in the second quarter. It was the Kings bench that was keeping Sacramento in this game and the team needed Harrison Barnes, Kevin Huerter and Keegan Murray who had not scored a single point in the first quarter.

The Kings had pulled to within four points in the quarter but started to struggle again. The starters were not holding up their end of the deal. At the half the Pelicans led 70-52 and the Kings starting roster had collectively scored 13 points in the half. The bench had scored 37 points, almost three times more than the starters in a horrendous firs half.

In the third quarter the Pelicans continued the beat down leading the Kings 87-58 with 6:50 left in the quarter. After the first three quarters the Pelicans led 104-76. The fourth quarter was more of the same with the Pelicans winning this game 136- 104.

This is certainly a game that the Kings are looking forward to putting in their rearview mirror. Nothing was working offensively or defensively. They were 22.5% from beyond the arc and the Pelicans were hot with 54.2%. This was just one of those games that come along and you just have to get past it.

The bench worked hard in this game and collectively scored 63 points while the starters had 41 points. Malik Monk had 16 points off the bench which was the team high.

Sacramento will travel to Houston to take on the last place in the Western Conference Rockets Monday night. They are in desperate need for a confidence builder which a win would provide, Tipoff is scheduled for 5:00 PM.

NFC edges AFC 35-33 in inaugural flag football edition of Pro Bowl

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AFC middle linebacker C.J. Mosley of the New York Jets, left, grabs a flag off NFC return specialist KaVontae Turpin (9) of the Dallas Cowboys during the Pro Bowl flag football at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on Sun Feb 5, 2023 (AP News photo)

COMMENTARY
By Daniel Dullum
Sunday, February 5, 2023

In the December 1964 issue of Sport magazine, Jim Brown was asked to select what he thought were his five greatest games. One of them was the 1962-63 Pro Bowl, in which he led the Eastern Conference to a 30-20 win over the West while gaining 144 rushing yards on 17 carries and a touchdown.

Moments like that are truly buried in history.

Way back in the day, the winners’ share in the pro football all-star games was sometimes more than some of the participants made for the season. Therefore, they went out and got after it. It wasn’t until the last 30 years or so that the annual all-star game started being compared to touch football, and not in a complimentary way.

This year, the NFL decided to head in that direction anyway.

The NFL came up with a plan to revamp its all-star game for this season. It involved three segments of flag football mixed in with skills competitions. In the end of the festivities at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on Sunday, the NFC prevailed over the AFC 35-33.

In the final flag football segment, Minnesota quarterback Kirk Cousins threw three touchdown passes. That’s the spot NFC coach Eli Manning wanted Cousins in, and the veteran delivered, completing 15 of 19 passes for 150 yards.

The AFC, coached by Peyton Manning, had built a 20-15 lead going into the final flag football session, based on points from the first two flag games and the skills competitions which included rec league-type games for kickers, punters and long-snappers, and the linemen. The games were played on a 50-yard field with no goalposts.

Even with the idea of keeping injuries to a minimum, there was still at least one injury – Cleveland defensive end Myles Garrett suffered a dislocated toe. X-rays were negative.

Cousins said he hopes youngsters watching this year’s Pro Bowl Games will be encouraged to participate in flag football, and there’s a good chance of that, with growing safety concerns about football at the youth level.

The skills competitions seemed like a reach, they’re not as good as the NHL skills competition, but it’s something that can be reevaluated. Frankly, if the league had, say, a $2 million pot for a winner-take-all situation, you could go back and play real football and forego the gimmicks. That is unlikely to happen, as the players seemed to enjoy an afternoon in the park playing schoolyard ball and the fans didn’t seem to mind watching.

It will be interesting to see what the ratings were for this experiment. As bad as the Pro Bowl usually is, the ratings were usually solid. And attendance was good in Vegas – the announced crowd of 58,331 was 2,000 more than last year’s attendance, also in Las Vegas.

Ticket prices for this year’s Pro Bowl Games ranged from $37 to $1,335. There’s no word yet on where next year’s event will be held, since the league doesn’t like to have the Pro Bowl and Super Bowl in the same venue. Allegiant Stadium is the host of next year’s Super Bowl.

Atlantic team defeats Central 7-5 to win NHL All-Star 3-on-3 tourney

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, Metropolitan Division’s goaltender Igor Shesterkin, of the New York Rangers (31) blocks a shot from Atlantic Division’s Brady Tkachuk, of the Ottawa Senators (7) during the NHL All Star hockey game, Saturday, Feb. 4, 2023, in Sunrise, Fl (AP News photo)

By Daniel Dullum
Saturday, February 4, 2023

Detroit’s Dylan Larkin had a hat trick in the 3-on-3 NHL All-Star Game final, and Toronto’s Mitch Marner picked up three assists for the Atlantic Division squad in its 7-5 win over the Central Division Saturday at FLA Live Arena in Miami.

Larkin wound up with five goals in the Atlantic’s two 20-minute games. Matthew Tkachuk of Florida had a five-point effort, including a hat trick, in the semifinal win over the Metropolitan Division to secure most valuable player honors for the day.

It was the first time the Atlantic Division won the All-Star Game in the seven years the NHL has used the divisional format. The 11 players on the Atlantic roster will split $1 million for the win.

In the second semifinal, the Atlantic squad defeated the Metropolitan Division 10-6 behind the efforts of the Tkachuk brothers. Matthew’s brother Brady Tkachuk of Ottawa had a goal and three assists, while Panthers’ Aleksander Barkov had three assists. Other goals for the Atlantic team were scored by Nick Suzuki of Montreal with two, and single tallies by Nikita Kucherov of Tampa Bay and David Pastrnak of Boston. Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevsky faced 13 shots on goal, stopping 10.

Sidney Crosby of Pittsburgh and Alex Ovechkin of Washington combined for three goals while collecting three points each, and Johnny Gaudreau of Columbus had a hat trick.

Earlier, the Central Division knocked off the Pacific Division 6-4. St. Louis forward Vladimir Tarasenko picked up a goal and three assists, and Nathan MacKinnon of Colorado had two goals.

Central goalies Connor Hellebuyck of Winnipeg and Juuse Saros of Nashville surrendered four goals on 22 shots. For the Pacific, Stuart Skinner of Edmonton and Logan Thompson of Vegas each allowed three goals on seven shots,

Other goals for the Pacific were scored by San Jose defenseman Erik Karlsson and Oilers star Connor McDavid. Seth Jones of Chicago and Clayton Keller of Arizona each scored for the Central team. Karlsson also assisted on McDavid’s goal.

The Warriors hold on to beat the Dallas Mavericks 119-113

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Dallas Mavericks guard Spencer Dinwiddie (26) drives to the basket against Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) during the first half at the Chase Center on Sat Feb 4, 2023 (AP News photo)

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Golden State Warriors hosted the Dallas Mavericks Saturday night at the Chase Center. The Mavs came into town without the services of their All-World star Luka Doncic. Doncic suffered a heel contusion in his last game and could not play.

On the other hand, the Warriors had all their All-Star players back in the lineup. Draymond Green and Klay Thompson were back in the lineup with Stephen Curry. However, Curry suffered a knee injury late in the third quarter. X-rays were negative, but Curry will undergo an MRI to see if there was any damage.

At this point in the game, the Warriors led by 16. As in Minnesota last Wednesday night, the Warriors played poorly in the fourth quarter but held on to win 119-113.

The Warriors did everything right in the first half. They ran the court, making three-point shots as they sent a message to Dallas that the Mavericks were in for a rough night. The Warriors led by 15 at the end of the first half, 73-58.

The Mavs fought back in the third period but could not make any headway in closing the deficit as the Warriors won the quarter 29-28. Curry left the game with about two minutes to play in the third period.

Then came the fateful fourth quarter. Knowing the Warriors blew large leads in several games this year, the Mavericks came out firing. Dallas was making stops on defense. The Warriors were committing turnovers, fouling, and their shot selection left much to be desired. The fans were getting nervous as Dallas kept creeping closer.

With just 1;28 left to play, Tim Hardaway, Jr. connected on a three-pointer to bring Dallas within five points, 116-111. Fortunately, the Warriors defense prevailed, and the Warriors were able to pick up the win.

Game Notes: With the win, the Warriors are 27-26 for the year. The Mavs are now 28-26. The Mavs are 0-7 in games without Doncic.

Curry led the team with 21 points. Green had a fantastic performance for the Warriors. Green knocked down 17 points and nine rebounds, and nine assists. Green made a terrific defensive play near the end of the fourth quarter that took the wind out of the Mavs’ sails.

The other Green on the Warriors, JaMychal Green, knocked down 14, and Thompson also had 15. Jonathan Kuniga and Donte DiVincenzz each had 13. Kevon Looney was solid again and added ten more for the Warriors.

Spencer Dinwiddie led the Maverick’s attack with 25. Hardaway, Jr. had 22, and Dorian Finney-Smith added 18.

After the game, Warriors coach Steve Kerr had this to say about the team’s performance “I think when we get down the stretch, we stop doing the things that worked,” Draymond said. “When you have something that works all game long, you don’t go away from it.”

The Warriors meet the Oklahoma City Thunder Monday night at the Chase Center. The game will start at 7 pm.

Pro Bowl podcast with Rich Perez: NFL All Star featuring flag football format on Sunday at Allegiant Stadium

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Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas site of the Pro Bowl as seen here on Sun Feb 6, 2022 is the site of the Pro Bowl game on Sun Feb 5, 2023. (AP News file)

On the Pro Bowl podcast with Rich Perez:

#1 The Pro Bowl is in Las Vegas for the second consecutive year and once again they’re expecting large crowds for the game on Sunday at Allegiant Stadium.

#2 Rich talk about Derrick Carr ex-Raider quarterback coming back as an AFC quarterback and what it will mean to Raiders fans to see the former Raider appear in Vegas for the Pro Bowl?

#3 Carr participated in the passing skill competition and lead all quarterbacks with 31 points.

#4 This year’s Pro Bowl will have former NFL quarterbacks Eli Manning and Peyton Manning as NFC and AFC coaches.

#5 Rich this year’s Pro Bowl saw different skills competition and flag football games. Talk a little about the different format of this year’s Pro Bowl.

Rich Perez is a Las Vegas Raiders beat writer for http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Canucks three goal second period edge Barracuda 3-2, sweep series

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The Abbottsford Canucks celebrate a goal against the San Jose Barracuda at Tech CU Arena on Saturday FEB 4, 2022. (San Jose Barracuda)

by Marko Ukalovic

The Abbotsford Canucks scored three goals in the second period as the defeated the San Jose Barracuda 3-2 to sweep the weekend series on Saturday afternoon at Tech CU Arena.

San Jose heads into the All-Star break with having lost three of its past four games. Abbotsford has won three games in a row.

San Jose (18-24-0-3) drew first blood on the power play early in the first period. Danil Gushchin fed a pass back to the point over to Derrick Pouliot who skated in a wired a wrist shot past Canucks goalie Arturs Silovs for his second goal of the season at the 7:23 mark.

Abbotsford (25-15-2-2) evened the score 30 seconds into the second period. A shot from the point pinballed off traffic in the middle over to Tristen Nielsen who deposited the puck into an open net for his ninth goal of the season.

The Barracuda regained the lead exactly five minutes later with an even strength goal. Kyle Criscuolo cleaned up the rebound on a shot by Max Veronneau, who earned his first point in a ‘Cuda uniform, for his ninth goal of the season at the 5:30 mark.

The Canucks scored the equalizer less than three minutes later. Chase Wouters made a wraparound move from behind the net and a trailing Linus Karlsson banged home the puck past ‘Cuda goalie Strauss Mann for his 15th goal of the season at the 8:05 mark.

Abbotsford gained its first lead, a lead they wouldn’t relinquish, late in the middle frame. Matt Alfaro centered a pass through the crease where Vincent Arseneau scored his fourth goal of the season from point blank range.

There was no scoring in the final frame despite the ‘Cuda pulling Mann for an extra attacker late in the game.

Silovs stopped 28 of the 30 shots he faced to earn the victory. Mann made 30 saves on 33 shots in the losing effort.

GAME NOTES: San Jose finished 1-for-6 on the power play. Abbotsford went 0-for-5.

The Three Stars of the Game were: 1) Arseneau 2) Pouliot 3) Karlsson

Abbotsford is 5-1 against San Jose this season.

UP NEXT: San Jose hosts the Calgary Wranglers for a two-game series starting on Friday 2/10 at 7:00pm at Tech CU Arena.

NHL All Star Game podcast with Matt Harrington: Bruins Pastrnak not worried about becoming a free agent; NHL Skills contests reviewed; plus more

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The Boston Bruins forward David Pastrnak addresses the media at the 2023 All Star Game in Sunrise Florida on Fri Feb 3, 2023 (NHL.com photo)

On NHL All Star Game podcast with Matt Harrington:

#1 Matt, will David Pastrnak will become a free agent at the end of the season. Pastrnak said that he’s not concerned and is still pushing hard on the Boston Bruins and says he not worried about his contract status.

#2 Matt, the NHL All Star skills contests were presented  The Enterprise NHL Splash Shot,  Chipotle NHL Pitch ‘n Puck, Sunshine State golf hole, Discover NHL Tendy Tandem.

#3 The next set of NHL All Star skills are Upper Deck NHL Fastest Skater, GEICO NHL Hardest Shot, Great Clips NHL Breakaway Challenge, and Honda NHL Accuracy Shooting.

#4 The Washington Capitals Dylan Strome came to an agreement with the Capitals signing a five year $25 million deal which starts next season at $5 million a year. Strome is third on the Capitals with 36 points with 11 goals and 25 assists.

#5 Matt, today is the NHL All Star game in Sunrise Florida this is the first time the Atlantic Division won the three on three format defeating the Central Division 7-5.

Join Matt Harrington for the NHL podcasts Saturdays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Kings Fall Short Against Pacers 107-104

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Sacramento Kings’ Kevin Huerter (9) goes to the basket against Indiana Pacers’ Buddy Hield (24) during the first half in Indianapolis on Fri Feb 3, 2023 (AP News photo)

Kings Fall Short Against Pacers 107-104

By Barbara Mason

Friday evening the Sacramento Kings (29-22) took on the Indiana Pacers (25-29) at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. The Pacers narrowly lost to the Los Angeles Lakers 112-111 Thursday night while the Kings are coming off a 119-109 win Wednesday against the San Antonio Spurs. De’Aaron Fox was ruled out in this game for personal reasons. The Kings fell short on Friday night 107-104 to the Pacers.

Game recap: The first quarter was a tight one with the Pacers coming out on top 28-27. Indiana continued to pile on the points and won the second quarter 32-21 and led at the half 60-48. The Kings just could not get this game rolling in their favor.

Sacramento had a better second half winning the third quarter 32-27 and after three quarters trailed 87-80. The Kings pulled to within four points in the early minutes of the fourth quarter. The Kings bench was heating up with Chimezie Metu, Terence Davis and Malik Monk all shooting in double digits through three quarters.

When it looked as if the Kings were rolling the Pacers began to push taking a nine point lead with nine minutes left in the game. There was still plenty of time for Sacramento but they had to contain the Pacers offense.

The Kings got to within one point 94-95 with six minutes left put just could not push it over the top. Every time the Kings made a push, the Pacers answered and Sacramento was running out of time with 2:09 left on the clock.

The Kings won the third and fourth quarters but just came up short. They missed Fox in this game but got some great shooting from their bench and starter Harrison Barnes who finished with 23 points. Domantas Sabonis had 16 rebounds and 15 points. Kevin Huerter also had double digits shooting for 16 points.

Sunday the Kings will travel to New Orleans to take on the Pelicans at Smoothie King Center. Tipoff is scheduled for 4:00 PM.