Sacramento Kings podcast with Jeremiah Salmonson: Kings hope to get back on winning track against Jazz Saturday

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The Denver Nuggets DeMarcus Cousins (4) drives the ball against the Sacramento Kings Justin Holiday (left) at the Ball Center in Denver on Wed Mar 9, 2022 (AP News photo)

On the Kings podcast with Jeremiah:

#1 In the first quarter, it was the Nikola Jokic show for Denver and the Trey Lyles show for the Kings. Jokic started the game by scoring 15 points in the first quarter as his counterpart at the center position Trey Lyles scored 12.

#2 In the second quarter, Nikola Jokic coninued to pour it on the Kings scoring nine points to get his total at halftime to 24 points.

#3 The Kings defense struggled to contain the Nuggets at large as they allowed them to score 31 points in the second quarter. On the other hand, the Kings offense didn’t pick up the slack on the offensive end.

#4 In the fourth quarter the Kings weren’t able to get the job done. It was a nail biting finish, but the Kings came up short by the final of 106-100.

#6 The Kings are in Utah on Saturday night to face the Jazz. The Jazz recently made headlines they donated 32,000 nights to Ukrainians at Air B N B. If the Ukrainians are looking for lodging they can check in free of charge.

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

Arizona holds off challenge from Cardinal 84-80

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By Daniel Dullum
Thursday, March 10, 2022

The Arizona Wildcats Christian Koloko is jubilant over the success of the Wildcats in their win over the Stanford Cardinal at the T Mobile Center in Las Vegas on Thu Mar 10, 2022 at the Pac 12 Tournament (AP News photo)

Stanford gave top-seed Arizona all it could handle in Thursday’s quarterfinal round of the Pac-12 men’s basketball tournament in Las Vegas. The No. 2-ranked Wildcats held off an inspired Cardinal team to win 84-80.

Christian Koloko topped the U of A scoring with 24 points to go with nine rebounds and four assists, followed by Bennedict Mathurin with 20 points and seven rebounds, as the Wildcats (29-3) struggled with Stanford for the second time this season before prevailing, Azuolas Tubelis added seven rebounds and five assists, and point guard Kerr Kriisa had 10 points and five assists before leaving with an injury in the final minute.

The nine-seed Cardinal opened the tournament with a last-second win over Arizona State on Wednesday and opened Thursday’s game with a barrage of 3-pointers, going 11 for 20 behind the arc while shooting 54 percent against the league’s top defense.

Spencer Jones bagged a game-high 28 points – 13 in the first half – followed by Harrison Ingram with 16. Jones was 12 of 18 overall from the field, including 4 of 7 3-pointers. Ingram and Michael O’Connell (11 points) each had four assists.

Arizona led 49-37 at halftime and outscored the Cardinal 44-43 in the final 20 minutes. The Cardinal were 6 of 8 behind the arc in the first half and never allowed the Wildcats to build a big lead.

Down the stretch, Arizona took an 82-77 lead on a Koloko dunk, but the Cardinal (16-16) responded with a 3-pointer by Ingram, cutting Stanford’s deficit to 82-80 with 13 seconds remaining, The Cardinal fouled Pelle Larsson, who made a pair of free throws with 8.5 seconds to play, accounting for the final score.

The Wildcats will face Colorado in the semifinals, while Stanford awaits a possible postseason invite to a tournament other than the Big Dance.

Warriors Survive With a High Octane Finish against Nuggets 113-102

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A late second half basket by the Golden State Warriors Jordan Poole gets Stephen Curry (30) excited against the Denver Nuggets at Chase Center in San Francisco on Thu Mar 10, 2022 (AP News photo)

Warriors Survive With a High Octane Finish against Nuggets 113-102

By Barbara Mason

Thursday night the Golden State Warriors (45-22) took on the Denver Nuggets (40-27) in a game that screams deja vu. if you said hey didn’t we just play these guys Monday night the answer would be a resounding yes and the Warriors lost that one. They didn’t lose on Thursday night with a 113-102 win.

So here are the Warriors back in Denver for a second time in less than a week. The Warriors will have to find a way to contain Nikola Jokic. The Nuggets are currently in a tie for fifth place and a single game out of fourth place. They have a lot to play for in tonight’s game as does Golden State. The Warriors would like to get back into second place in the standings.

The Warriors had a fast start in this game and as expected Jokic was a huge presence throughout the quarter. The Warriors held a slim lead after the first quarter 30-29. The Nuggets came on strong in the second quarter winning it 31-21 and taking a 60-51 halftime lead.

The first two quarters were hotly contested. The Warriors were allowing too many open and uncontested Nugget looks which contributed to the Denver half time lead.

The Nuggets had taken a 14 point lead in the third quarter after the first four minutes of play. Momentum was clearly on their side. As we have seen so many time in the past however, momentum can turn on a dime. The Warriors waged a comeback as the quarter came to an end taking the lead in this game 88-84.

The fourth quarter was a high-octane affair for both teams. The Warriors led through seven minutes of the quarter. The Nuggets made a comeback tying up the game at 98. Denver would go one to take a slim lead before Jordan Poole iced the game.

Poole shot two from downtown with 54 seconds left on the clock and Golden State had survived a very tough challenge. They won this game.

Stephen Curry had a great game with 34 points and was five of 12 from downtown. Off the bench the hero of the game Jordan Poole had 21 points and was four of seven from downtown including the two critical shots in the final minute of the game. Golden State displayed some great defense especially in the fourth quarter.

Jokic was not hitting three’s tonight which made things awfully hard on Denver. The Warriors defense had a lot to do with the missed Jokic shots. He would finish with 23 points and zip from three point range.

This was a gritty, gutsy game that Golden State played, especially down the stretch. They did not fall apart, making critical baskets when desperately needed. The Warriors are now in second play tied with the Memphis Grizzlies in the Western Conference.

This is a second win in a row for the Warriors and they hope to string a third on Saturday against the Milwaukee Bucks at Chase Center. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:30 PM.

Sharks Defeat Kings 4-3 in OT, Karlsson Returns

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San Jose Sharks center Tomas Hertl celebrates scoring an overtime goal against the Los Angeles Kings at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on Thu Mar 10, 2022 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

LOS ANGELES- The San Jose Sharks defeated the Los Angeles Kings 4-3 in overtime Thursday. Brent Burns, Nick Bonino, Alexander Barabanov and Tomas Hertl scored for San Jose. Zach Sawchenko made 33 saves for his first NHL win. Phillip Danault, Andreas Athanasiou and Trevor Moore scored for Los Angeles. Jonathan Quick made 26 saves in the loss.

Thursday saw the return of Erik Karlsson, Jonathan Dahlen and Jaycob Megna. Karlsson had two assists in 25:47 of ice time. After the game, Sharks Head Coach Bob Boughner said:

“Erik was flying tonight. You could tell he was happy to be back and he was full of energy. I think our team looked like that too. You know, you get Megs and Karly back there, settle things down. You know, we’re not running around as much in our own end, and we’re spending more time in the other team’s end. So, it’s nice to sort of get some guys back from injury and look like a real team out there.”

The Sharks power play scored at 2:39 when Erik Karlsson made a pass to Brent Burns in the middle of blue line. Burns’ one-timer sent the puck in and out before you could blink. Karlsson and Couture got the assists.

Phillip Danault tied it up at 5:58. Sawchenko went to catch the puck on the initial shot but it bounced out of his glove. By then, he was out of position and when Danault found the puck, he had an open net to shoot at. Assists went to Trevor Moore and Andreas Athanasiou.

Athanasiou scored to give the Kings a lead eight seconds later. He took the shot from above the circle without seeming to look where he was shooting and it beat Sawchenko on the glove side. Assists went to Moore and Olli Maatta.

Moore made it 3-1 at 10:40 of the second period with a shorthanded goal. Danault and Moore played a little catch in the Sharks zone before Moore took the shot from the slot.

Nick Bonino trimmed the Kings lead at 12:13 with a power play goal. Jonathan Dahlen took a shot from inside the circle. Quick stopped it but it bounced over him and into the blue paint, where Bonino was able to nudge it over the line. Assists went to Dahlen and Jacob Middleton.

Alexander Barabanov tied it up at 1:21 of the third period. Erik Karlsson took a quick shot from up at the blue line and Barabanov managed to deflect it just as he arrived in front of the net. Assists went to Karlsson and Hertl.

Tomas Hertl scored the game winner at 1:15 of overtime. Hertl carried the puck over the line, across the ice and behind the net. When Hertl went past the net, Quick dove for the puck but missed it and Hertl carried on, around behind the net to score with a backhand. It was his first goal in 13 games. Assists went to Barabanov and Burns.

The shot count for the game was close, 36-30 Kings. In each period, the Sharks were within three shots of their opponent, a significant improvement over recent games. The Sharks won 53% of the face-offs.

The Sharks next play on Saturday at home, at 6:30 PM PT against the Kings again.

That’s Amaury News and Commentary: MLB Peace After 99 Days!

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MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred addresses the news media on Tue Mar 1, 2022 in Jupiter FL. On Thu Mar 10, 2022 MLB and the Players Union agreed on a new CBA which should run through 2027 (AP News file photo)

MLB: Peace After 99 Days!

That’s Amaury News and Commentary

Amaury Pi-González

The lockout by owners of the players on December 2, 2021, concluded at mid-afternoon today in Manhattan, New York City as the MLB and the MLPA agreed to a new Collective Bargaining Agreement. Ending the first work-stoppage since the 1994-95 players strike.

Both sides went back and forth for months (with periods of inactivity) and at the end it concluded today. Last night Commissioner Manfred said the 2022 season will begin on April 14 (if by then everything was agreed upon).

Because of this agreement today the season is now scheduled to begin April 7, instead of the scheduled date, since last year of March 31. However, the regular 162 game schedule is on tap and they all be played, as those games from March 31 to April 6, will be made up through off days and double-headers during the season.

Among some of the issues resolved per this new CBA.

1-Minimum salary: $700,000 and peaks at $780,000 in final year of CBA

2-Pre-arbitration bonus pool: $50 million

3-CBT threshold: $230 million in 2023 and peaks at $244 in final year of CBA

If you are keeping score of which side won? I would not go there. I would honestly say, they both won, you never see any of these two groups of people looking for food in the trash bins behind McDonald’s.

So…Play Ball and good luck to everybody and your favorite teams.

Join Amaury Pi Gonzalez will be back behind the Oakland A’s Spanish radio microphone for the 2022 season and does News and Commentary at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

MLB and Players have tentative agreement; Owners need to ratify new CBA

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From left to right pitcher Andrew Miller, Tony Clark executive director of the baseball players association, Bruce Meyer chief union negotiator, and New York Mets pitcher Max Scherzer were the core union negotiation team as they are seen here in Jupiter FL on Tue Mar 1, 2022 (AP News photo)

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Major League Players Association and Major League Baseball have come to terms and have reached an agreement on a new Collective Bargaining Agreement that will run until 2027. After 99 days of a baseball lockout at 12:37 pm PST on Thu Mar 10th both sides had a handshake and got a deal done. One more step is needed and that’s 23 votes from the owners side to ratify the deal.

The new deal was passed by the union 26-12. 20 votes were the minimum to pass the agreement on the union side. MLB announced that the lockout will be lifted and spring training will commence immediately and opening day is scheduled to start on April 7th once the owners agree to the new deal.

Trades and free agencies will begin and player deals will be in the works according to MLB. Clubs can start calling players from South America, Central America, Japan, Korea and other places to come back and report to camp.

MLB teams will play a 162 game schedule. Spring Training will run from approximately next Tue Mar 15th until April 6th. The work stoppage was baseball’s first since 1994-95 when the baseball strike canceled the 1994 World Series.

The lockout began Dec 2, 2021 and there no talks by the owners and players. Things sprang into action during the last week of February and during negotiations some meetings lasted until 3:00AM it was a good three weeks of negotiations and at some points it looked as talks would stall and it looked like they would get a deal done.

Amongst some of the agreed bullet points:

#1 Collective Bargaining Tax $230 million in 2023 and runs up to $244 million in the final year of the CBA

#2 $700,000 MLB minimum salary and tops out at $780,000 in the final year of the new CBA.

#3 The pre arbitration bonus pool $50 million.

MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said that lost games would be made up as part of a doubleheader during the regular season which was suppose to start on March 31st.

Jerry Feitelberg is an Oakland A’s beat writer and podcaster

Cal Bears/Pac 12 Tournament podcast with Morris Phillips: What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas; Cal eliminated by WSU in first game of tournament

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California’s Lars Thiemann (21) tries to get around the Washington State Cougars defense at the T Mobile Center in Las Vegas in the first game of the Pac 12 Tournament on Wed Mar 9, 2022 (AP News photo)

On the Cal Bears/Pac 12 Tournament podcast with Morris:

#1 It’s been a long season Morris and its come down to this a first game loss of the Pac 12 Tournament to the Washington State Cougars (19-13) for the Cal Bears (12-20) a seven point 66-59 loss for the Bears.

#2 We know you’ve said it all season with this loss did it just come down to a lack of talent or the Cougars just had enough offense to make this work on Wednesday night.

#3 How disappointing does this have to be for Cal head coach Mark Fox having finished the season eight games below .500 and being eliminated in the first game of the Pac 12 Tournament.

#4 Once again the ball was going to Jordan Shepherd who led Cal with 19 points Cal also outscored the Cougars in the second half 39-34 but time just ran out for the Bears.

#5 For coach Fox talk about some of the things that he needs to work on, put together to get this team ready for 2022-23 and who do you see coming back for next season?

Morris Phillips filled in for Michael Duca who did the Cal Bears basketball podcasts Fridays during the 2021-22 season with Morris at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Headline Sports podcast with Tony Renteria: Kings Sabonis missed from Wed game against Nuggets for bumping ref on Mon; MLB and players meeting late into the night

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The Sacramento Kings forward Domantas Sabonis (10) is fouled by the New York Knicks forward Julius Randall on Mon Mar 7, 2022 at the Golden One Center in Sacramento (AP News file)

Tony Renteria on Headline Sports podcast:

#1 Tony, the Sacramento Kings (24-43) Domantas Sabonis bumped an official after being called for a technical foul for verbally arguing after being called for a foul against the New York Knicks. Sobonis served the one game suspension on Wednesday night against the Denver Nuggets (39-26).

#2 The Major League Baseball lockout talks went into the early morning hours of Wednesday at 3:00 AM. The one positive side showed that union officials walked to the MLB conference room. MLB said that if a deal was in place by Tuesday there would be a 162 game schedule. No deal was done but it was said that MLB might consider make up games to make up the 162 game schedule.

#3 Tony, MLB has come up with a plan that will finance Florida and Arizona employees for wages lost during spring training at the Grapefruit and Cactus league venues. The fund of $1 million will cover grounds crew, security, concession, engineers and more. There was no word if MLB employees of individual teams would be covered.

#4 Tony, talk about the gain for the Denver Broncos in picking up former Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson on Tuesday night. Will this be a step in the right direction for the Broncos to punch their ticket for making post season. Also does Wilson have two or more years left in the tank?

#5 Former New England Patriot and Tampa Bay quarterback Tom Brady said he would like come out of retirement and take a pay cut and join the San Francisco 49ers to end his career. Ironically his former back up quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo is on the trade block. Could Brady join the 49ers?

Join Tony R for Headlines Sports Thursdays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Short Stay In Vegas: Cal can’t keep up with Washington State in 66-59 Pac-12 Tourney loss

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By Morris Phillips

Several of the elements Cal needed to extend their stay in Las Vegas were present on Wednesday. The key ingredient–made baskets–was completely absent.

The Bears shot a dreadful 31 percent from the floor, missing 16 3-point attempts, in a 66-59 first round loss to Washington State at the Pac-12 Tournament.

“Offensively we seemed to be out of rhythm and didn’t shoot it well in the first half and so we dug ourselves too big of a hole, eventhough in the second half we played a little bit better,” coach Mark Fox said.

Down the stretch Cal stayed within reach, and cut their deficit to six with 23 seconds remaining, but the Cougars–near perfect from the foul line–held them off.

Efe Abogidi led WSU with 19 points, five rebounds and Tyrell Roberts added 14 as the Cougs advanced to a quarterfinal meeting with UCLA on Thursday.

The Bears (12-20) finished their season with losses in five of their last six contests, and took their 20th loss in the finale. They also saw the college careers of Grant Anticevich and Jordan Shepherd, two of their key contributors, come to a close.

The first half contained enough Cal errors to create the hole Fox eluded to as the visitors shot a chilly 23 percent while allowing the Cougars to expand their lead in the last two minutes. Joel Brown attempted to give the Bears a defensive leader, but he only lasted nine minutes before it became apparent that he should not play any further with his knee that foced him to miss the regular season finale an issue.

Meanwhile, Abogidi with his lengthy arms and quickness seemed to slither around Lars Thiemann for a memorable layup, and leading scorer Michael Flowers put Jalen Celestine on skates with some playground moves.

But WSU wouldn’t pull away as Cal’s edge in rebounding, as well as their deliberate pace kept the high-scoring Cougs from gaining any offensive consistency. With 7:35 remaining Celestine’s layup kept the Bears within range, down 49-41.

“They bothered us with their physicality and they got on the glass, but our zone defense was pretty good and we hit our free throws,” WSU coach Kyle Smith said.

Facing WSU’s zone look, the Bears couldn’t find their offense or get any closer. Anticevich (2 for 12) and Shepherd (6 for 17) finished with subpar numbers and no one else stepped up. Defensively, Abogidi’s quickness put Cal in a predicament as Theimann wasn’t quick enough to defend the 6’8″ forward which necessitated Fox to commit Anticevich to cover him. That ultimately kept the Cal senior from having an impactful evening with his scoring.

The Bears will have a new look in the upcoming season without Shepherd and Anticevich, and with the return of the injured Andre Kelly in question as well. Fox has vowed to extract an offensive leader from the graduate transfer market to lead the Bears in 2022-23.

Kings make run at Nuggets in third quarter but can’t catch Denver 106-100

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Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic makes for the hoop against Sacramento Kings center Alex Len (right) at the Golden One Center in Sacramento on Wed Mar 9, 2022 (AP News photo)  

By Jeremiah Salmonson

SACRAMENTO–The Sacramento Kings (24-44) were back in action on Wednesday night in Sacramento. The Kings welcomed the Denver Nuggets (40-26) into town. The Kings last played on Monday night which turned into an ugly blowout to the New York Knicks. The Kings played a solid first half against the Knicks, but fell apart in the second half to lose the game 131-115.

On Wednesday, the Kings were hoping for a different outcome against the formidable Denver Nuggets. The Nuggets beat the Kings 106-100 on Wednesday night. Lets take a look on what led to this result.

In the first quarter, it was the Nikola Jokic show for Denver and the Trey Lyles show for the Kings. Jokic started the game by scoring 15 points in the first quarter as his counterpart at the center position Trey Lyles scored 12. The Kings were outscored 31-29 in what was a competitive first quarter. The second quarter got ugly for the Kings.

In the second quarter, Nikola Jokic coninued to pour it on the Kings scoring nine points to get his total at halftime to 24 points. The Kings defense struggled to contain the Nuggets at large as they allowed them to score 31 points in the second quarter. On the other hand, the Kings offense didn’t pick up the slack on the offensive end.

The Kings scored 21 points in the second quarter to take a 63-51 deficit into halftime. Trey Lyles had a quiet second quarter but led the Kings in the first half with 14 points. The Kings were within striking distance if they could get back on track on the defensive end.

In the third quarter, De’Aaron Fox had his best quarter of the game. De’Aaron scored nine points in the third to lead all scorers. Nikola Jokic was hot on his heels but only managed seven points, Overall the Kings outpaced the Nuggets by the toon of 26-17 to get the game into toss up territory for either team to win. Could the Kings win the fourth and beat the favored Nuggets?

In the fourth quarter the Kings weren’t able to get the job done. It was a nail biting finish, but the Kings came up short by the final of 106-100. The Kings fought hard in the final quarter, but Nikola Jokic proved too much to overcome.

The Kings were outscored 26-24 in the final quarter as they just couldn’t edge the Nuggets. Nikola Jokic showed why he was the MVP of the league last year and is the leading candidate this season. Jokic finished with an impressive 38 points and 18 rebounds. For the Kings, De’Aaron Fox led the way scoring 32 points and adding ten assists.

Up Next: The Kings will look to rebound in their next games on Saturday against the Utah Jazz in Utah.