No. 13-Utes ramble past Cardinal 42-7

Stanford safety Jonathan McGill, left, makes an interception as Utah tight end Dalton Kincaid (86) falls during the first half at Salt Lake City on Sat Nov 12, 2022 (AP News photo)

By Daniel Dullum

Saturday, November 12, 2022

Cameron Rising threw three touchdown passes, Taylon Thomas ran for 180 yards and two scores, and No. 13 Utah dominated Stanford in a 42-7 Pac-12 football win for the Utes at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City.

After Stanford (3-7 overall, 1-7 Pac-12) took a 7-0 first quarter lead on a 1-yard quarterback sneak by Tanner McKee, it was all Utah (8-2 overall, 6-1 Pac-12), which used a big third quarter to pull away for good.

A 9-yard touchdown pass from Rising to Devaughn Vele tied the game at 7-7 less than two minutes into the second quarter. At 6:49 of the second quarter, Thomas ran for a 4-yard TD, giving the Utes a 14-7 halftime lead. Thomas’ run was set up by a 28-yard, fourth down catch by Vele.

Utah scored three times within seven minutes in the third quarter to put the game away. Rising connected with Thomas Yassmin for a 14-yard touchdown at 9:21, and threw a 19-yard scoring pass to Micah Bernard at 5:58. Rising has 18 touchdown passes this season.

Nate Johnson, a freshman backup quarterback, completed a 16-yard TD pass to Logan Kendall with 2:20 left in the period. It was Johnson’s first career touchdown pass for Utah.

Thomas finished the scoring with 36-yard touchdown run at 9:28 of the fourth quarter.

Rising completed 20 of 33 passes for 219 yards. He was sacked once and threw an interception. Vele caught six passes for 61 yards, and Dalton Kincaid caught four passes for 35 yards.

McKee, who was sacked seven times, threw 23 passes, completing 11 for 155 yards. Mitch Leigber was the Cardinal’s top rusher, with 40 yards on 12 carries. Elijah Higgins caught seven passes for 105 yards.

Next Saturday, the Cardinal travel to Berkeley for the annual Big Game with California. Kickoff is at 3:30 p.m.

Cal limited to 156 yards in offense in dismal 38-10 loss at Oregon State

By Morris Phillips

The last time the Cal Bears approached the Big Game on a point this low they found the silver lining.

Can a wholely satisfying win over Stanford rescue this season like it did in 2019?

The Bears hope so.

A 38-10 loss at Oregon State on Saturday was the team’s sixth in a row dating back to September 24 when the Bears improved to 3-1 by blowing out Arizona. The five losses that followed were competitive at some point during the four quarters. That wasn’t the case against the Beavers on a cold, misty night in Corvallis.

Cal trailed at the half 21-7 after their offense hit a new low with just 53 yards of total offense before the break. The visitors fell in a deeper hole when Oregon State scored on their first two possessions in the third quarter to lead 31-7.

“We haven’t played up to the standard that we’ve set as a team,” coach Justin Wilcox said. “We haven’t coached well enough, we haven’t played well enough. It is totally unacceptable.”

Cal failed to score an offensive touchdown in the contest. They were limited to a 36-yard field goal by freshman Michael Luckhurst with 12:30 remaining in the game. Cal’s lone touchdown came with 2:33 remaining before halftime when cornerback Jeremiah Earby recovered Ben Gulbranson’s fumble and raced 33 yards for the score.

Gulbranson paced OSU with 15 of 23 passing for 137 yards and two touchdown passes. Cal’s Jack Plummer was limited to 60 yards passing in the first half, and finished with 147 yards through the air on 22 of 35 attempts.

Cal’s one offensive play of note was a 40-yard completion to J. Michael Sturdivant before halftime.

The losing streak ends any hopes the Bears (3-7, 1-6) will gain bowl eligibility. Instead the Bears will end the season with the 125th Big Game this Saturday followed by a Friday after Thanksgiving contest against UCLA. Both games will be at Memorial Stadium in Berkeley.

In 2019, Cal defeated Stanford 24-20 for the first time following nine, consecutive losses in the lengthy series between the two schools. The Bears were unlikely winners in that one after they dropped four of their previous five, but got a huge boost from the return of quarterback Chase Garbers for the 122nd Big Game.

Johnson’s overtime winner gives Barracuda 2-1 win over Eagles

The San Jose Barracuda celebrate their win over the Colorado Eagles at Tech CU Arena on Saturday Nov 12, 2022. (San Jose Barracuda

by Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE — Luke Johnson scored the game winning goal 40 seconds into overtime to give the San Jose Barracuda a 2-1 victory over the Colorado Eagles on Saturday at Tech CU Arena.

San Jose has won two games in a row. Colorado had its three-game winning streak snapped.

Colorado (6-5-1-0) drew first blood just past the halfway mark of the first period. Charles Hudon picked up a rolling puck in front of the crease and roofed a shot top shelf past ‘Cuda goalie Aaron Dell for his sixth goal of the season at the 11:04 mark. Jean-Luc Foudy and Alex Galchenyuk received assists.

San Jose (6-4-0-1) answered back almost three minutes later. Ozzy Wiseblatt fed a cross ice pass over to Japser Weatherby who buried a one-timer past Eagles’ goalie Justus Annunen for his first goal of the season at the 13:58 mark.

Both teams played a tight defensive battle for the final 40 minutes of regulation as neither goalie allowed a goal sending the game to overtime.

In overtime, CJ Suess led a three-on-two counterattack up the ice. Derrick Pouliot found Johnson in between the faceoff circles and Johnson blasted a shot past Annunen for the game winner, his third goal of the season.

Dell stopped 35 of the 36 shots he faced to earn the victory. Annunen made 21 saves on 23 shots in the losing cause.

GAME NOTES: San Jose 0-for-2 on the power play. Colorado went 0-for-5.

The Three Stars of the Game were: 1) Johnson 2) Dell 3) Weatherby

UP NEXT: San Jose and Colorado conclude their two-games series on Sunday 11/13 at 3:00pm at Tech CU Arena.

NHL podcast with Matt Harrington: Alfredsson, Luongo, Sedin Twins on the way to the Hall of Fame; Milano’s two goals helps Caps defeat Bolts; plus more news

Daniel Alfredsson former Ottawa Senator, Roberto Luongo, Daniel Sedin and Hendrik Sedin former Vancouver Canucks are all heading for enshrinement into the NHL Hockey Hall of Fame (NHL.com file photo with NHL.com writer Nick Cotsonika insert)

On the NHL podcast with Matt:

#1 Three names came up and are on the way to be in the NHL Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto Daniel Alfredsson, Roberto Luongo, Daniel Sedin and Hendrik Sedin. Alfredsson almost won the Stanley Cup Championship with the 2007 Ottawa Senators, Luongo and the Sedin Twins nearly won a cup when they lost to the Boston Bruins in Vancouver in game 7 in 2011. All are going to the Hall of Fame.

#2 Sonny Milano helped the Washington Capitals get a win on Friday night with two goals over the Tampa Bay Lightning at the Capital One Arena in DC. The Caps got great goaltending from Darcey Kuemper who stopped 28 shots in the 5-1 win.

#3 Zach Werenski of the Columbus Blue Jackets will be out for the rest of the season after attempting to make a check but missed and hit the boards separating his shoulder and tore a labrum at 17:01. Werenski scored a goal and got an assist before leaving the game.

#4 Matt, with the war in Ukraine going and no end in sight the NHL and the NHLPA have canceled the World Cup of Hockey saying it’s not feasible for a return for 2024. It was reported that it is uncertain for Russia to have a team as the NHL has suspended all business with Russia during the war.

#5 Timo Meier scored a goal in five straight games doing it again against the Dallas Stars and helping the San Jose Sharks defeat Dallas 5-4. The Sharks got a goal each from Alex Barabanov, Logan Couture, and Tomas Hertl and goaltender James Reimer stopped 24 shots.

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

Warriors win nail-biter beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 106-101

Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) gestures after shooting a 3-point basket during the first half against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Chase Center in San Francisco on Fri Nov 11, 2022 (AP News photo)

By Jerry Feitelberg

Somehow, the Warriors found a way to come back from a seven-point deficit late in the fourth quarter as they down the Cleveland Cavaliers 106-101. The game was a definite nail-biter. There was no question about that whatsoever. Both teams played great defense.

The Cavaliers did their best to keep Golden State guard Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Andrew Wiggins, and Jordan Poole bottled up for most of the game. The Warriors had to find a way to stop the bigger Cavs’ team from scoring inside the paint. It was a tough task. Yet, the Warriors went on a 17-4 run late in the fourth quarter to win.

The game was nip and tuck for the first 45 minutes. The teams were tied at 25 at the end of the first period. The Cavaliers outscored the Warriors by four in the second stanza to finish the first half leading 52-48.

Curry led the Warriors with 15. Wiggins had nine, Poole 12, Thompson three, and Anthony Lamb seven. Draymond Green did not score, but he had seven rebounds and eight assists. In his first season with the Cavaliers, Donovan Mitchell led his team with 14. Evan Mobley, Darius Garland, and Kevon Love each added eight.

The Warriors went up by three, 55-52, early in the third quarter. The Cavaliers went on a 13-0 run to lead 66-55. The Warriors were ice cold. The Warriors started to connect on three-point shots. Wiggins, Curry (2), Poole, and Lamb made threes. The Warriors trailed came with one 75-74. Cleveland answered with a bucket to finish the third quarter leading 77-74.

Both teams knew the fourth quarter would be a fight to the finish. Could the Cavaliers stave off the Warriors? Could the Warriors stop the Cavalier offense? Would Cleveland find a way to keep Curry from beating them? Neither team would give an inch. The Warriors took the lead 82-81 as they rallied from an 81-76 deficit. Poole connected on a three, and Wiggins made a two-point shot to tie the game.

Kevon Looney put the Warriors ahead 83-81. The Cavaliers rallied to lead 89-85. Curry made it 89-87. The Cavs scored the next six points to lead 93-87. The Warriors were unhappy as the Cavaliers Caris LeVert made a three-point shot in that sequence. The referees called Poole for a flagrant foul.

LeVert was awarded two free throws, and Cleveland retained possession of the ball. It could have been a six-point play. LeVert made one free throw. The Cavaliers scored the next basket to lead 95-97. There were less than four minutes left to play. Many of the fans were getting the feeling that the game was slipping away. Keep in mind the Warriors have the greatest shooter in the history of the NBA.

Curry worked his magic against the Sacramento Kings last Monday night. Could he do it again? Could Cleveland find a way to stop him? The Answer to the first question was yes. Curry did it again. No, Cleveland could not stop him. Curry and the Warriors went on a 16-3 run to win the game 106-101.

Game Notes and Stats- With the win, the Warriors are 5-7. The Cavaliers dropped to 8-4.

Curry finished the night with 40 points, four rebounds, and five assists. Curry made six threes. Curry scored over 30 or more points in nine of the 12 games. Wiggins added 20, Green had a double-double with ten rebounds and 13 assists. Poole added five points. Poole knocked down four threes.

Lamb will be getting more playing time in the second unit. Lamb finished with ten points and made two big three-point shots. Thompson had nine. Thompson contributed with a three in the fourth quarter, and his defense on Mitchell helped the Warriors secure the win.

The Warriors held the Cavaliers’ offense to 40% from the floor: the Cavaliers made eight threes, the Warriors 15. The Warriors were 49% from the floor. The one negative was the number of fouls committed. The Cavaliers had 26 free throws and made 19. The Warriors made 11 in 14 tries.

The Cavaliers had five players in double figures. Mitchell led his team with 29 points, ten rebounds, and nine assists. Mitchell made three threes. Big Evan Mobley had a double-double with 20 points and 12 boards. LeVert had 11, Jarrett Allen 13, and Darius Garland 15. Kevin Love, coming off the bench, had nine.

The Warriors travel to Sacramento to face the Kings Sunday night at the Golden 1 center. The game will start at 5:30 pm. After Sunday’s game, the Warriors return home to face the San Antonio Spurs Monday night at the Chase Center. Tip off at 7 pm.

Kings Finish Off Lakers in Final Seconds 120-114

Los Angeles Lakers guard Lonnie Walker IV, left, dunks as Sacramento Kings guard Kevin Huerter defends at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on Fri Nov 11, 2022 (AP News photo)

Kings Finish Off Lakers in Final Seconds 120-114

By Barbara Mason

Friday night the Sacramento Kings (5-6) took on the Los Angeles Lakers (2-10) at crypto.com Arena. The Kings were coming off a 127-120 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers while the struggling Lakers lost to the Clippers 114-101 on Wednesday.

LeBron James had to leave the game against the Clippers with a groin injury and was unable to play Wednesday. The Kings picked up their third win in their last five games defeating the Lakers at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles 120-114. It was the Lakers fifth straight loss.

Game recap: The game was all tied after the first 12 minutes 23-23. The Kings took the lead for much of the first quarter but could never distance themselves from the Lakers.

The second quarter remained close until the five minute mark. The Lakers began to chip away and built a 12 point lead. With three minutes left in the half, the Kings began to make a push and after two quarters Sacramento had rallied and only trailed 60-56.

DeAaron Fox had been quiet through the first quarter and most of the second. The final two minutes of the half saw Fox turn things around heating up and finishing the half with 11 points. The slow start Kevin Huerter had also turned around in the second quarter.

The Kings took the lead mid-way through the third quarter but this game remained close. With 4:56 left the Kings were clinging to a one point lead 75-74. Domantas Sabonis had really stepped up from the start of this game. As the third quarter wound down the teams were trading the lead. The Lakers led after three quarters 88-87.

The early minutes of the fourth quarter were as tight as a game could be between these two teams. With 1:06 left in the game the score was tied 114-114. Sacramento dug in and took a 118-114 lead with 32 seconds on the clock. The high for the Lakers was Anthony Davis with 24 points and Russell Westbrook finished with 21 points off the bench.

This game was a dogfight with the Kings coming out on top. Fox finished with 32 points followed by Sabonis with 21 points. Terence Davis finished with 12 off the bench. Sacramento fought hard from start to finish and it paid off.

Sunday night the Kings will be back home taking on the Golden State Warriors. The Kings got close last Monday losing to the Warriors 116- 113. Tipoff is scheduled for 6:00 PM.

Cal Caught in the K Zone: K-State, Keyontae knock the Bears for a loop in 63-54 loss

BERKELEY, CA–Keyontae Johnson’s rebirth rolled through Haas Pavilion Friday afternoon, and it was nothing less than inspiring regardless of the architect’s humility.

“I just thank the team for having confidence in me to let me showcase what I’m capable of,” Johnson said after his double-double led Kansas State past Cal, 63-54. “Without them, those plays would have never happened.”

Johnson is the highly-regarded NBA prospect who saw his career at Florida end nearly two years ago when he collapsed during a game at Florida State. A medically-induced coma lasting three days spoke to the anxious moments Johnson and his family endured.

Johnson recovered, but his basketball career was put on hiatus until this week. Now at rebuilding Kansas State, Johnson is back on the court and the focal point of his new team. Nine of Johnson’s team-best 16 points came in the first half as the Wildcats gave Cal fits, while building a 36-21 lead at the break.

The Bears committed 15 turnovers, made just seven baskets on four assists in a nightmare-like, first 20 minutes. The hosts recovery was dramatic as they drew within 47-46 on Sam Alajiki’s lay-in with 5:37 remaining. But K-State’s Jay Nowell scored the next six points and the Wildcats survived to move to 2-0 on the season.

“We dug too big of a hole in the first half,” coach Mark Fox said. “We’re playing a lot of young guys and they made some errors – and they’re going to make some errors – but I was proud of how we competed. I’m disappointed that we didn’t find that competitive nature earlier.”

Squandering a 42-22 lead they held with 15:31 remaining caused the visitors some anxious moments. But the defensive effort they displayed in the first half returned down the stretch.

“We (tried) to get as many stops as possible within five minutes,” Nowell said of the final minutes. “We just came together and talked it out and figured out the way that we needed to do to win.”

The Bears fell to 0-2 with the loss and diversifying their offense likely will be their focus heading into Tuesday’s trip to UC San Diego for their meeting with the Tritons of the Big West Conference. Cal has averaged just 59 points in their first two contests.

The Bears are currently without the trio of Jalen Celestine, Jarred Hyder and DeJuan Clayton due to injuries and none appear ready to return as soon as next week.

“We found a little grit to us in the second half, and that’s important for us because until we get healthy we’re going to have to win some gritty games,” Fox said.

Sharks Survive Dallas 5-4 to Snap Five-Game Skid, Meier Scores in Fifth-Straight

San Jose Sharks right wing Timo Meier celebrates after scoring against the Dallas Stars in the second period in Dallas on Fri Nov 11, 2022 (AP News photo)

By Matthew Harrington

The San Jose Sharks avenged a loss to the last place St. Louis Blues the night before by holding on to defeat former Sharks coach Peter DeBoer and the Dallas Stars 5-4 Friday and snap a five-game losing streak. Timo Meier scored in his fifth-straight contest, Alexander Barabanov, Tomas Hertl and Logan Couture each had a goal and an assist and Evgeny Svechnikov scored his 3rd goal of the season for San Jose.

Dallas captain Jamie Benn scored a pair of goals and the top line for Dallas (8-5-1) of Joe Pavelski, Roope Hintz and Jason Robertson combined for 5 points in a losing effort. Stars netminder Jake Oettinger, a former tutee of Sharks coach David Quinn when Quinn coached Boston University, made 13 saves on 18 shots in his first game action after missing the previous four games. San Jose’s James Reimer earned the win over last year’s playoff phenom though, making 25 saves on 29 shots.

After finishing the first period tied 2-2 the Sharks (4-9-3) pulled away in a bizarre second period. Team Teal only put four shots on goal over the 20 minutes, but Timo Meier beat Oettinger clean on a wrist shot over the netminder’s right shoulder 29 seconds into the period.

Kevin Labanc got the assist on Meier’s 7th goal of the year after picking up a turnover created by Meier. 36 seconds later, the Sharks captain Couture scored after another Shark, Alexander Barabanov, picked off a turnover and fed for a one-timer. Couture now has goals in back-to-back games after scoring to put the Sharks period shooting percentage at 50% while giving the Sharks a 4-2 lead.

Tomas Hertl put the Sharks up by 3 after deking Oettinger in close on a backhand 29 seconds into the third period, taking a pass from Meier to slink in alone. Jaycob Megna also assited on the goal. Roope Hintz scored 6:18 into the period and Joe Pavelski netted his 7th goal of the campaign at the 12:06 mark but despite out shooting the Sharks 11-3 in the last frame they couldn’t find the equalizer to force overtime.

Jamie Benn opened the scoring 4:42 into play, but Alexander Barabanov scored at the 6:13 mark to tie the game. The Sharks took the first lead of the night at the 12:18 mark when Svechnikov beat Oettinger, but Benn scored his second with just 21 seconds left in the first to tie the game after 20 minutes.

San Jose continues its tour of Central Division foes with a trip to the State of Hockey Sunday afternoon. After the stop in Minnesota, they face Pacific Division rivals the Vegas Golden Knights on The Strip Tuesday to wrap up a four-game road trip.

Stanford Strikes Out in the Brew City Battle against Wisconsin 60-50

Wisconsin’s Jahcobi Neath shoots past Stanford’s Spencer Jones during first half action at American Family Park in Milwaukee Friday, Nov. 11, 2022 (AP News photo)

By Michael Roberson

MILWAUKEE, Wisc.– The Stanford Cardinal (1-1) lost a basketball game to the Wisconsin Badgers (2-0) 60-50 on a baseball field on a cold night in the Midwest.

“I do think at the end of the day, we’re going to have a fantastic 3-point shooting team and we’ll be a very efficient offensive team,” Stanford coach Jerod Haase said. “Obviously that wasn’t the case tonight. Certainly Wisconsin gets some credit for how they defended us.”

Both teams were in an unusual position, playing basketball on a Major League Baseball (Milwaukee Brewers) park and on an infield.

The Badgers hail from Wisconsin’s state capital, Madison, nearly an hour West of Milwaukee, so the crowd was mostly in their favor. Standard’s locale in the Bay Area of California doesn’t preclude its alumni and fans from traveling thousands of miles to support their alma mater or team.

The first 20 minutes was indeed a battle, although the Badgers did get out to an advantage as large as 13 points late in the half.

The Cardinal shot an abysmal 0-8 from beyond the arc, while the Badgers converted three out 11 attempts. At the midway point, the nocturnal mammal is peeling the bark off of the tree from Palo Alto, and led by 12, 32-20.

The Badgers managed to hang on to the lead, although the Cardinal attempted to chip away their opponents advantage by cutting the lead to as low as five, However, the adjacent home team held on to be ahead by 10 at the final buzzer.

Wisconsin Badgers 60, Stanford Cardinal 50

The Cardinal was led in scoring by junior forward Brandon Angel with 14 points, and senior guard Michael Jones contributed nine points, four rebound and two blocks.

Jones also spoke about the ambiance, “It’s different playing in an arena like this, it feels like a tournament atmosphere.”

The Badgers were topped by senior forward Tyler Wahl’s 17 points and five rebounds, in addition to junior guard Jordan Davis chipping in 13 points.

Stanford will fly back west and host San Diego State at Maples Pavilion Tuesday, November 15, while Wisconsin hosts state rival Green Bay at the Kohl Center on the same date.

Stanford Cardinal football podcast with Daniel Dullum: Cardinal face Utes in Utah Saturday; Utah have won three straight

Washington State running back Nakia Watson (25) takes off down field for a 41 yard touchdown against the Stanford Cardinal in first half action at Stanford Stadium on Sat Nov 5, 2022

On the Cardinal football podcast with Daniel:

#1 Daniel, last Saturday for the Stanford Cardinal (3-6) wasn’t even a contest as the Cardinal absolutely got landslided by the Washington State Cougars (5-4) on their home field at Stanford Stadium 52-14.

#2 The Cardinal quarterback Tanner McKee was running for daylight for most of the game as offensively he just couldn’t get anything going to come back in the second half of the game.

#3 Defensively the Cardinal couldn’t stop the Cougars who scored on all three of their first three possessions.

#4 The loss was Stanford’s sixth in eight games. For Cardinal head coach David Shaw this marks their losing record of 14-25 since 2018 their last winning season.

#5 Daniel, the Cardinal are on the way to face the mighty Utah Utes (7-2) the Utes have won three straight games and won their last game rather handedly 45-20 over the Arizona Wildcats. Stanford face Utah this Sat Nov 12th.

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