That’s Amaury News and Commentary: Sean Murphy, Last of The Mohicans

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Oakland Athletics’ Sean Murphy (12) follows through on a solo home run swing as Texas Rangers catcher Meibrys Viloria looks on in the first inning at Globe Life Park in Arlington on Wed Aug 17, 2022 (AP News photo file)

Sean Murphy, Last of The Mohicans

That’s Amaury News and Commentary

By Amaury Pi-González

OAKLAND–Since they began play in Oakland in 1968, the As’ had some terrific catchers, one of them was Gene Tenace who hit 4 home runs in the 1972 World Series and won the MVP, he was part of the A’s dynasty (1972-73-74). During the glory years of the 1980’s Terry Steinbach, a three-time All Star and the MVP of the 1988 All Star Game, a clutch hitter who drove in seven runs during the A’s 1989 World Series sweep against the San Francisco Giants, was very productive and in my opinion underrated.

Ramón Hernández who was one of six All Star catchers in Oakland A’s history also played the backstop for the A’s. Most recently, and although he only played in Oakland for a brief time, one of the most popular receivers, Stephen Vogt, who started his career with a home run and ended it with a home run in his final at bat this past season., Vogt became the third player in MLB history to have that type of home-run-book-end of a career. Of course, we cannot forget Ray Fosse for the A’s behind the plate, as well as very popular radio and television commentator for the team.

Currently still an Oakland A’s, Sean Murphy, named one of the Top-10 best catchers in MLB. He is the last one of the most recent star players that have left the A’s the last couple of seasons, mostly notably; Chris Bassitt, Frankie Montás, Matt Olson, Matt Chapman, just to mention a few.

While the A’s traded their first baseman (Olson) and third baseman (Chapman) and their shortstop Elvis Andrus was signed by the White Sox, right after he was released by the A’s.Murphy is the only regular A’s on the infield that remains. At least a half-dozen teams are interested in Murphy’s services.

One of the best candidates involving a trade for Murphy are the San Diego Padres, under the direction of ex-A’s manager Bob Melvin (who was also a catcher) is probably the #1 contender for Murphy. Also in the mix are the Chicago White Sox, St Louis Cardinals, and Boston Red Sox.

Murphy was a nominee for the AL 2022 Gold Glove Award, won by Yankee’s José Trevino. He will be missed if he changed jerseys this off-season, but we can say that of most of the players that have left Oakland recently.

Because the A’s are strong and young in the catching position, now with Shea Langeliers, 25 years old, who became a strong #2 catcher behind Murphy this past season, and will probably be their #1 catcher next season, plus 21 year olds in the minors like Daniel Susac and Tyler Soderstrom, it is likely they will depart with Murphy this winter and acquire more prospects and maybe one established veteran.

Why do I say this? Because there is a precedent, this is what the A’s have been famous for, especially when rebuilding. So why are we going to expect anything but… plus like Casey said.

“You have to have a catcher because if you don’t you’re likely to have a lot of passed balls”. – Casey Stengel.

Join Amaury Pi Gonzalez for That’s Amaury News and Commentary podcasts Tuesdays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Huge First Quarter Gives Warriors Road Win Over Timberwolves 137-114; Third straight win for Golden State

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

The Golden State Warriors forward Andrew Wiggins (22) throws down on the Minnesota Timberwolves Rudy Gobert (27) at the Target Center in Minneapolis on Sun Nov 27, 2022 (AP News photo)

Huge First Quarter Gives Warriors Road Win Over Timberwolves 137-114

By Barbara Mason

Sunday afternoon the Golden State Warriors (11-10) took on the Minnesota Timberwolves (10-10) at Target Center. The Warriors have only won one game on the road and of late have been playing some outstanding basketball. They have, of course, been excellent at Chase Center and Sunday’s game will have a lot to say in regards to how this team is playing whether it be on the road or at home. This time on the road where they had a big first quarter to defeat the Timberwolves 137-114.

If the first quarter was any indication, Golden State is back in championship form. They were nothing shot of amazing. They led after the first twelve minutes by twenty points 47-27 shooting at 72%. It could not have been a better start for the Warriors and they would have to keep up the furious pace. through three more quarters.

Minnesota made a bit of a move to start the second quarter. The Timberwolves cut their deficit from 20 to 13 which prompted a Warrior time-out with 11:17 left in the half. Golden State needed to keep their foot on the pedal against a very good Minnesota team.

The Warriors pulled it all together as Jordan Poole went into attack mode and extended their lead back out to 57-38. Minnesota was struggling from beyond the arc and the Warriors wanted to go into halftime with the momentum they started the game with. Golden State has started games hot in the first quarter and not in the second and this is something they want to put in the rearview. Golden State had a 76-56 halftime lead.

The Warriors hung onto the lead through the third quarter. They won the first quarter but came away even in the second and third quarters. Going into the fourth quarter Golden State had a 109-89 lead.

The Timberwolves made things a bit tight trailing by ten points with 5:29 left in the game. Golden State pulled it together courtesy of stars, Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Poole with a little icing on the cake thanks to a triple from Donte DiVincenzo.

There were six Warriors in double digits this afternoon. They shot 57% from the field and had 20 from downtown. Draymond Green had his first double double of the season. Curry had the high with 25 points closely followed by Poole with 24. Thompson had 21 points with critical three’s from Thompson and Curry to finish off Minnesota.

Anthony Edwards had the high for the Timberwolves with 26 points but they couldn’t keep pace with the Warriors. When push came to shove they fell short.

The Warriors continue this brief road trip taking on the Dallas Mavericks Tuesday night. Tipoff is scheduled for 4:30 PM.

Stanford falls to Memphis 56-48

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

The Memphis Tigers had control of the ball and pulled away in the second half against the Stanford Cardinal in the ESPN Event Invitational in Orlando on Sun Nov 27, 2022 (photo by Stanford Cardinal)

Stanford Falls to Memphis 56-48

By Barbara Mason

Sunday morning the Stanford Cardinal (3-4) took on the Memphis Tigers (4-2) in a closely matched contest. This wrapped up the tournament for both teams playing for sixth place in this year’s ESPN Events invitational. Stanford came into this game after beating the Florida State Seminoles 70-60. The Tigers rolled Nebraska 73-61 Friday night. Stanford lost a tough one to Memphis Sunday 56-48 to conclude their tour in the invitational.

The Tigers opened the first half with a slim lead in the opening minutes 4-0 but the Cardinal wasted not time in catching up and taking the lead mid-way through the first 20 minutes 14-9. The Tigers fought back tying the game at 14 and the teams traded leads for most of the opening half. The final two minutes of the half saw the Tigers extend their lead, at one time leading 14-21. The Cardinal cut that lead but still trailed at the half 25-20.

At 15:42 in the second half, the Tigers took a double digit lead 21-31. The Cardinal continue to fight back but both Harrison Ingram and Brandon Angel were struggling in this game with three and two point efforts midway through the second. Angel had 22 points in the Florida State game and Ingram had 24 against Ole Miss. It was a let-down that Stanford could not afford.

Stanford showed the will to win in the final minutes but every time they got to within striking distance, Memphis answered and refused to let Stanford back into the game. The Cardinal had pulled to within four points at 2:12 46-50. Stanford just didn’t have enough to pull this game out. The final was 56-48.

Harrison finished the game with ten points but it was just too little too late. Spencer Jones also had ten points in the loss to Memphis.

Stanford will be back home taking on UCLA Thursday December 1. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30.

Stanford Cardinal football report: David Shaw after 12 seasons as coach calls it quits

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Stanford Cardinal head coach David Shaw coaches his final game for the Cardinal against the BYU Cougars at Stanford Stadium in Palo Alto Sat Nov 26, 2022 (AP News photo)

By Jerry Feitelberg and Barbara Mason

Stanford Cardinal head coach David Shaw after 12 seasons at the helm and a total of 16 years including as an assistant coach before has hung it up. After leading the Cardinal to a 3-9 season this year Shaw in all his efforts felt this was the right time to call it a day and will step down. Shaw during his post game press conference Saturday night at Stanford saying, “I just coached my last game at Stanford” adding “it’s been a great 16 years it really has.”

Shaw sadly made the tough decision after the loss in the season finale to the BYU Cougars 35-26. In the previous week before Shaw and the Cardinal lost in Berkeley during the Big Game to the Cal Bears in the final minutes of the fourth quarter due to two fumbles by the offense which Cal later turned them into scores in the Stanford loss to Cal 27-20.

Shaw added that he had prayed about this decision and thought about this decision about resigning but as each hour and each game that went by Shaw said the decision was “cemented” in his head. Shaw also added that he has no desire to coach again anytime in the near future.

Shaw said he was not burnt out and that he remains healthy and he feels good but 16 years was just too long of running the Stanford football program and being responsible for everything and it just take a toll on you. Shaw finishes at Stanford with a record of 96-54. It was the last two seasons that have been long drawn on Shaw’s mind with back to back 3-9 seasons this and last year and going 14-28 since the beginning of the 2019 campaign.

Shaw took time out to thank the University president Marc Tessier-Lavigne and Athletic Director Bernard Muir saying they were components of the support he got from the top but also the support he got from many of the people from behind the scenes. Shaw was very well liked by everyone from top to bottom and had the respect on the Stanford Campus it’s tough day for all those who worked and knew him.

Shaw should not be forgotten for some of the great achievements that he accomplished while as head coach at the university in his first four seasons as head coach leading the Cardinal to three Rose Bowls winning two, three Pac 12 titles, and four Pac 12 coach of the year awards. He coach numerous players who went onto the NFL including current San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey.

Shaw started out his career with the Cardinal as a wide receiver from 1991-1994, he joined the Cardinal coaching staff in 1997 as an offensive coordinator and became head coach 2011 after Jim Harbaugh took the head coaching job with the San Francisco 49ers.

Barbara Mason covers Stanford football and basketball road games and Jerry Feitelberg does Stanford Cardinal podcasts at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Francisco 49ers podcast with Joe Hawkes: McGill ready to fill the bill in place of Armstead and Kinlaw

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

TY McGill defensive tackle will be replacing defensive lineman Arik Armstead and defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw on Sun Nov 27, 2022 against the New Orleans Saints who are out with injuries. (photo from 49ers.com)

On the 49ers podcast with J Hawkes:

#1 Joe, the San Francisco 49ers (6-4) in preparation of today’s game against the New Orleans Saints (4-7) made a roster move promoting defensive lineman TY McGill who is now on the active roster. The 49ers made the move to replace Kemoko Turay.

#2 Joe with Arik Armstead and Javon Kinlaw both remain out at defensive tackle and the Niners are looking McGill to fill the bill.

#3 McGill has played for 21 snaps which is the most for this season. The coaching staff are happy with what they’ve seen from him. McGill has two tackles a quarterback hit and eight years experience coming into today’s game against the Saints.

#4 Joe, the last time that quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo was running this good was when he won five straight games back in 2017 so far he’s won five of the last seven games for the 49ers including powerful wins in the last three wins against the Rams, Chargers and Cardnals.

#5 The 49ers kick off at Levi Stadium against the New Orleans Saints today at 1:25 pm. The Saints have lost four of their last six games. The Saints won a close game to the Los Angeles Rams 27-20 last game Joe how do you see today’s match up in Santa Clara today.

Join Joe Hawkes for the 49ers podcasts Sundays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Stanford Mauled by BYU in Season Finale on the Farm, 35-26

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Stanford Cardinal quarterback Tanner McKee (18) throws a pass against the BYU Cougars defense at Stanford Stadium on Sat Nov 26, 2022 (AP News photo)

By Michael Roberson

STANFORD, Calf. — The Stanford Cardinal (3-9/1-8 P12) were the prey to the prolific pouncing of the Brigham Young University Cougars (7-5), on a late night in the final game of the 2022 season. 35-26.

The Cougars got on the scoreboard (7-0) just over three minutes into the contest with a 19-yard scramble by junior quarterback Jaren Hall.  That wasn’t the end of their scoring barrage, as they proceeded to score a touchdown on all of their four possessions (28) in the first half.

Hall also tossed two TD’s to sophomore tight end Isaac Rex, and junior running back Hinckley Ropati rushed for a 43 yard scoring burst.

The Cardinal tallied their points on a 1-yard TD rush by sophomore running back Mitch Leigber and two field goals (34 & 54 yards) by junior kicker Joshua Karty.  Joshua hit the longer field goal with one second to go in the half, but unfortunately missed the extra point on the aforementioned touchdown.  At the half, 28-12 BYU.

The second half started off very blazay, as both teams failed to change the digits on the scoreboard in the third quarter.

However, the final stanza had plenty of excitement, as Stanford tried to close the gap.

BYU added to their total (35) with a 25-yard touchdown run by junior receiver Puka Nacua, putting them up by 23.

Stanford fought back with two consecutive TD’s to get the deficit down by nine points, 35-26, but the time on the clock was not on their side.  

Freshman QB Ashton Daniels sneaked in for a 1-yard TD, and junior quarterback Tanner McKee rifled a 7-yard TD to senior receiver Brycen Tremayne, but it wasn’t enough after 60 minutes of action.

The cold Thanksgiving Weekend evening ended with a 9-point loss by the home team.  Final score from the Farm, BYU 35, Stanford 26.

The Cardinal ended the season with three wins of their twelve games (.250), while the Cougars won 7 of their 12 contests, which all but guarantees they will have postseason play in the not too distant future.

Stanford’s Tanner Mckee threw for 310 yards and a TD.  Brycen Tremayne had 130 receiving yards and a touchdown.

BYU’s Jaren Hall threw two touchdown passes and ran for one.   Chris Brooks rushed for 164 yards and Isaac Rex caught two TD passes.

The Cardinal will have to forget this season and WAIT TILL NEXT YEAR for a better result in 2023.

Late goal propels Barracuda over Condors 2-1

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Photo Courtesy of San Jose Barracuda Twitter. Eetu Makiniemi prepares himself before a game.

By Titus Wilkinson (@TitusWisme)

In a low scoring game on the road the Barracuda found a way to pull off a win over the Condors by a final of 2-1.

Bakersfield got off to a great start at home as just 21 seconds in Luke Esposito scored getting his second goal of the season. Graham Mcphee and Olivier Rodrigue got the assists on the play.

Due to it being teddy bear toss night the goal lead to quite the delay as they had to clean the ice of teddy bears. Not only did they have to clean up the teddy bears but they also had to clean the ice as the fuzz messed up the ice.

Finally after the long delay they got back to play with the Condors already up.

Not long after the break Jeffrey Viel both got a penalty and dropped the gloves with a Condor player. The Barracuda were able to kill off the penalty.

Later in the period San Jose got an extra man opportunity of their own ending up in a five-on-three situation.

With the power play on fire the Barracuda extended their goal streak with Danil Gushchin sniping a shot from the point past the blocker of Rodrigue. The assists on the play went to both Thomas Bordeleau and Artemi Kniazev.

That would be all of the scoring in the period with the shots finishing heavily in favor of the Barracuda at 19-5.

The second period got kicked off with a penalty assessed to Andrew Agozzino for cross-checking giving Bakersfield another power play. San Jose killed this PP off as well keeping there penalty kill perfect on the night.

Overall it was a quiet period with no goals however the Barracuda did have four shots ring off the post.

The shots at the end of the second continued to favor San Jose at 36-17.

The third period was carefully played with each team trying not to make a mistake.

On the second night of back to backs San Jose towards the end of the third period began to look a little tired.

Despite the tiredness that may have begun to set in at the 1:53 mark C.J. Suess caught a wrist shot from the point dropped it in front of him and tucked it in past Rodrigue. On top of Suess snapping a long goal streak Jalen Smereck got an assist on the play in his debut with San Jose along with Kniazev getting an assist as well.

The Condors tried to make a comeback by pulling their goalie but it was not enough as San Jose held on for the win.

The three stars of the game were 1) Danil Gushchin 2) C.J. Suess 3) Olivier Rodrigue

San Jose’s next game will be at home against the Iowa Wild on Tuesday at 7 p.m.

NHL podcast with Matt Harrington: CBJs-Predators game postponed in Nashville; Leafs extend point streak to seven; plus more

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Toronto Maple Leafs right wing Mitchell Marner (16) and Minnesota Wild left wing Matt Boldy (12) go after the puck during the first period at the Excel Energy Center in St Paul on Fri Nov 25, 2022 (AP News photo)

On NHL podcast with Matt Harrington:

#1 A very unusual NHL occurrence as today’s game between the Columbus Blue Jackets and Nashville Predators has been postponed due to a water main break at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville. The report says the break had significantly impacted the building and can’t service fans or even the players at the Nashville rink. The Jackets, Predators, or the NHL have not announced a make up date yet.

#2 The Toronto Maple Leafs have extended their point streak to seven games with a 4-3 win over the Minnesota Wild at the Excel Energy Center in St Paul. The Leafs Mitchell Marner extended his point streak to 15 games with a goal. The Leafs have now won two straight games and got 25 saves from goaltender Matt Murray.

#3 The Montreal Canadiens Kirby Dach has an eye for the backend of the net during shootouts. Dach scored his second consecutive game winning shootout goal getting the Habs a 3-2 win over the visiting Chicago Blackhawks at the United Center in Chicago.

#4 Can’t hold a good team down as the Boston Bruins won their 12th consecutive game which is a NHL record for home victories getting the win over the Carolina Hurricanes 3-2. The Bruins David Pastrnak scored on a power play goal at 3:19 in the overtime stanza for a one timer after a pass from Brad Marchand.

#5 The Pittsburgh Penguins Ryan Poehling scored scored two goals which help contribute to a 4-1 win over the Philadelphia Flyers at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. The Pens Teddy Blueger had three assists, Josh Archibald got a goal and an assist, good enough for their fifth straight win.

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

Bears lose Emerald Coast Classic consolation game to Clemson, 67-59; fall to 0-7 on the season

Published on by moepeaLeave a comment

By Morris Phillips

The parallels between the head coaching careers of Brad Brownell and Mark Fox are remarkable. The dissimilarities, well, they all come in Fox’s three plus seasons at Cal.

Both coaches have long track records as Division I head coaches, Brownell now in his 21st season, and Fox in his 18th. Brownell has made NCAA Tournament appearances at all three of his stops: UNC-Wilmington, Wright State and now Clemson. Brownell hasn’t had a lot of success winning NCAA Tournament games, winning two in 2018 and getting the Tigers to the Sweet 16. Brownell’s other five tournament appearances all resulted in Round of 64 losses.

Fox’s head coaching career began with immediate success at Nevada where he won the WAC regular season championship in each of his first, four years and punctuated that with noise-making NCAA Tournament upsets over Mike Montgomery’s Stanford team and Mark Few’s Gonzaga team. That success led Fox to Georgia where he posted winning records in six of his nine seasons in the SEC. The richest, athletic conference in the U.S. proved to be a tougher nut to crack for Fox as he posted just four winning, regular season conference records and never won the SEC regular season title or reached the SEC Tournament championship game.

Neither coach has been blessed with top line talent, in fact, the list of NBA players to play for either coach is uneventful headlined by Fox’s Nick Fazekas, Kirk Snyder, Luke Babbitt and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, along with Brownell’s Trevor Booker.

Oh, the final parallel? Parker Fox, Mark’s son just concluded a four-year run as a walk-on under Brownell at Clemson, where he participated in 22 games.

Given all that background, the playing field was hardly even on Saturday afternoon at the Emerald Coast Classic consolation game meeting between Fox’s Bears and Brownell’s Tigers.

Clemson never trailed in bottling up the Bears for a 67-59 win. The Tigers shot 53 percent from the field and rebounded from a narrow 74-71 loss to Iowa on Friday.

Cal’s efforts were poisoned by a miserable 3 for 20 shooting effort from distance that negated their stellar 18 of 20 effort from the free throw line. The Bears trailed 31-28 at the half and closed to within one after Joel Brown’s first made basket of the second half. But that triggered Clemson to 15-0 run that culminated with Brevin Galloway’s 3-pointer with 14:15 remaining.

The closest the Bears came after that was a 63-57 deficit with 28 seconds remaining, but the Tigers closed it out with a 4 for 4 performance from the line in the final seconds.

Sound familiar? Well, that’s because it is.

The Bears fell to 0-7 on the season with the loss, easily the most disappointing start to a season in the history of California basketball. Mark Fox has now coached 100 games at Cal and won just 35 of them, easily the least successful stretch of his 18 years as a Division I head coach.

The Bears host USC on Wednesday at Haas Pavilion in their Pac-12 conference opener, before they visit conference favorite Arizona on Sunday.

A Point A Minute Won’t Keep You In It: Plodding Bears lose in Florida to TCU, 59-48

Published on by moepeaLeave a comment

By Morris Phillips

If you’re 0-5, throw caution to the North Florida coast breeze and let it rip! What do you have to lose?

Well, if you’re the Cal Bears, it’s complicated.

Coach Mark Fox is without two experienced guards from a roster that lacks athleticism and quickness. Ballhandling and turnovers have been a major part of their winless start, as has defensive rebounding with smaller, quicker opponents extending possessions on the offensive glass.

Given all that, let it rip–given a Haas Pavilion type translation–really means dial it back. So take Fox at his word, when he says, “we created the style of game we wanted to create” after the Bears got up just 39 shot attempts and scored 48 points in a double-digit loss to TCU on Friday.

Know this: Fox has a real dilemma. His Bears are a work in progress, emphasis on “in progress” and the losses are mounting.

The quest for victory number one brought the Bears to Niceville, FL for Thanksgiving as part of the Emerald Coast Classic, a meeting of Power 5 teams looking to spread their wings. Being matched against the Horned Frogs, picked to finish fourth in the Big-12, undeniably the nation’s best conference this season, wasn’t ideal.

But TCU was without Damion Baugh, suspended through the remainder of November due to his decision to sign with an agent after last season in thinking that he was in the mix for the 2022 NBA draft. Not only that, Mike Miles Jr., the Frogs’ other high-scoring guard missed the previous two games with ankle and knee issues, which coincided with TCU’s one-point loss to Northwestern State.

No Baugh, no Miles? Cal might have hope.

Not the case.

Miles returned on Friday, scoring 23 points to led TCU to a 59-48 win. More concerning than Miles, who needed 22 shots to reach his point total, was Cal’s 19 turnovers and 14 offensive rebounds allowed, which Fox pointed to as the biggest factor in the loss.

Those two areas created a huge deficit for the Bears in possessions and shots taken. It also allowed TCU to cruise despite a horrible shooting night (19 for 39 from two, 3 for 17 from three, and 12 of 23 from the foul stripe).

The Bears kept pace early, trailing 17-16 after Joel Brown’s layup. But over the final 8:16 of the first half, Cal scored just five more points, placing an uphill climb in their way.

The Bears got consecutive 3-pointers from Kuany Kuany and Grant Newell to slice TCU’s biggest lead to eight at 46-38. But after a TCU timeout, Miles scored consecutive baskets to extend the lead to 12, and the Frogs weren’t threatened after that.

Newell, Monty Bowser and ND Okafor–Cal’s top three reserves–found the TCU defense especially limiting, likely due in part to the trio’s inexperience. They combined to miss eight of 11 shots in 51 minutes of floor time.

With Miles coming off the bench, TCU’s reserves outscored Cal’s 35-11.

“We got to get some more guys that can finish plays,” Fox admitted.

The Bears now face Clemson under daunting circumstances. After finishing their game near midnight, they’ll be back on the floor with the Tigers at 4:00 pm EST.

“We’re not absorbing the preparation quite like we want to right now anyway, so maybe a quick turnaround won’t impact us as much as it would if we were playing a little smarter,” Fox said.