Headline Sports podcast with Charlie O: American Express decides to leave home without Mickelson; Beginning of baseball season looks doomed; plus more

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Phil Mickelson pictured here taking a swing at the fifth hole of the South Course at Torrey Pines during the first round of the Farmers Insurance Open just last month on Sat Jan 22, 2022 has now lost his sponsorship with American Express and the PGA has dropped his charitable event named after him (AP file photo)

On Headlines podcast with Charlie O:

#1 Charlie, American Express has also wished golfer Phil Mickelson best wishes by expressing that they no longer need him as host for the American Express Event in La Quinta. In addition the PGA has announced that the Mickelson Foundation will no longer be part of any PGA charitable events.

#2 From a written statement from Mickelson read sounded like a plea for forgiveness and a second chance. But reviewing from what sponsors, players and those connected to the PGA they all feel betrayed and Mickelson is pretty much persona non grata after he said would consider jumping leagues and join the Saudi Super League.

#3 Charlie, in baseball if a deal isn’t struck today MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said the beginning of the season around the first two weeks will be canceled.

#4 Charlie it’s been six days both sides are far apart on revenue sharing, the MLB minimum salary, and salary arbitration. It sounds like this could go on for the rest of the month as it’s been reported that the owners and players are dug in.

#5 Charlie there were a lot of deals signed before the lockout it looked as if the owners were displaying how generous contracts can be and as if to say “are you sure you guys want to dispute our offer when you could have all this” or are the owners misleading given the concerns the players have?

Join Charlie O for Headline Sports every other Sunday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Sharks Fall 3-1 to Bruins

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Boston Bruins left wing Taylor Hall (71) goes after the puck and San Jose Sharks defenseman Mario Ferraro (38) slides into the dash boards at SAP Center in San Jose on Sat Feb 26, 2022 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

SAN JOSE- The San Jose Sharks fell 3-1 to the visiting Boston Bruins Saturday night. The Bruins got two goals from Brad Marchand and one from Patrice Bergeron. Jeremy Swayman made 15 saves for the win. Timo Meier scored for San Jose and James Reimer made 34 saves in the loss.

The Sharks have not beaten the Bruins since 2016, and this year’s Boston team is clearly a contender. So the loss was not surprising. But it did highlight some ongoing issues for the Sharks. The Sharks had just 16 shots on goal in the game, a low for the season. Their power play, however, continues to produce at a good clip, with nine goals in their last nine games. But their inability to score first is looming large. They have given up the first goal in eight games in a row.

Defenseman Mario Ferraro had to be helped off the ice midway through the second period. The Sharks have used eleven defensemen this season. Nicolas Meloche is also out with injury now, and Erik Karlsson is still recovering from surgery.

Also in the troublesome injury category is the fact that James Reimer played his tenth game in a row Saturday, and may play his eleventh tomorrow. It would not be unreasonable to expect to see Zach Sawchenko in net Sunday, if Adin Hill is still not recovered from his injury. If ever there were a good reason to put an untested goalie in net, ten starts in a row would be it.

Brad Marchand gave the Bruins a lead at 14:24 of the first period. Jake Debrusk carried the puck in with Marchand two-on-one. Debrusk made the pass and Marchand put it past Mario Ferraro and Reimer for his 22nd of the season. Assists went to Debrusk and Erik Haula.

The Sharks tied it up at 12:50 of the second with a power play goal from Timo Meier. Brent Burns, midway up the slot, faked a shot before making a mass to Meier in the face-off circle. Meier’s one-timer beat Swayman on the glove side. Assists went to Burns and Logan Couture.

Early in the third period, Brad Marchand scored his second of the night to make it 2-1 Bruins. Taylor Hall made a backwards pass from the goal line to the left of the net across to the circle on the right side of the net. That is where the pass found Marchand for the game-winning shot. Assists went to Hall and Craig Smith.

Patrice Bergeron added another for the Bruins with just 40 seconds left in the game. David Pastrnak skated in as if to shoot, but then centered the puck for Bergeron. Bergeron put it past Couture and Reimer both for his 14th of the season. Assists went to Pastrnak and Marchand.

The Sharks next play on Sunday at 7:00 PM PT, in San Jose against the Seattle Kraken.

Cal holds Cardinal to season-low point total, winning 53-39

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Jordan Shepherd led the Cal Bears with 21 points against the Stanford Cardinal at Haas Pavilion Sat Feb 26, 2022 (image from Cal Bears Athletics)

By Daniel Dullum
Saturday, February 26, 2022

California earned a split on the season series between the Bay Area rivals, winning 53-39 over visiting Stanford Saturday in Pac-12 men’s basketball at Haas Pavilion

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Stanford (15-13 overall, 8-10 Pac-12) has lost three straight games, and six of its last eight. The 38 points was the Cardinal’s lowest point total of the season; Stanford scored 48 points in a Nov. 20 loss to Baylor and 43 in a Jan. 29 loss to UCLA.

Spencer Jones was the Cardinal’s top scorer with 10 points, followed by Jaiden Delaire with seven points and Harrison Ingram with six. Maxime Raynaud, Brandon Angel and Max Murrell each grabbed five of Stanford’s 34 rebounds, six fewer than Cal (12-17 overall, 5-13 Pac-12).

Jordan Shepard paced the Bears with 21 points, as Stanford held Cal to 18 points in the second half, and the Bears’ 53 points was their third-lowest total of the season.

Stanford didn’t help itself by missing 16 of its first 17 field goal attempts to start the game, eventually trailing by 23 at halftime. On the night, the Cardinal hit 12 of 51 field goal attempts for 24 percent, including 4 of 18 on 3-pointers.

The Cardinal were held to 14 points in the paint, five second-chance points and two points off turnovers.

The Cardinal wrap up their regular season on the road, visiting No. 2-ranked Arizona Thursday in Tucson, and heading to Tempe to face Arizona State next Saturday.

East Bay Cold Snap: Cal greets Stanford with a chilly reception in 53-39 win

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By Morris Phillips

BERKELEY, CA–Cold? Yes, Stanford’s offense at Haas Pavilion on Saturday evening was quite chilly, almost as if the visitors from Palo Alto were stranded outside the building and forced to watch the sunset on a winter night wearing just their uniforms and warm-ups.

That description best mirrors the Cardinal’s evening as they were frozen in place during Cal’s 19-0 run, and limited to 12 points before halftime. Bolstered by a 23-point lead at the break, Cal cruised, winning 53-39 to extinguish their seven-game home losing streak, while gaining a measure of satisfaction against their biggest rival.

Winning after a lengthy streak of rough results didn’t deter the Golden Bears. Instead it strengthened them, according to coach Mark Fox.

“They really haven’t had their confidence shaken,” Fox said. “For the most part they’ve been resilient and regrouped.”

“We just performed at the level we know we’re capable of and moving forward if we can do that consistently we won’t have any problems,” Grant Anticevich said. “I don’t think we played out of character at all.”

The Bears’ 53 percent shooting in the first half carried them as did Jordan Shepherd, who put up 28 points on 11 for 16 shooting. In a game that ultimately will be remembered for missed shots from both teams, Cal’s first half and Shepherd’s bounce back performance were all it took. Shepherd suffered with his injured hand in Cal’s previous contests against Colorado and Utah, failing to score in double-digits both times. But a week without games, and rest, got the graduate transfer back on point.

“Offensively, I thought we got the shots we were looking for,” Fox said. “It’s a terrific win (with a) great environment, terrific fans and a super energy in the building. It was really good for our seniors to finish their home careers this way.”

No other Bears scored more than six points, but the team tallied 12 assists on 22 made baskets, proof that the ball was moving and the offense was executed. An eight minute scoreless drought in the second half didn’t short circuit Cal as their defensive effort maintained consistency. As a result Stanford never mounted a credible response on a night they shot 23.5 percent while losing for the fifth time in six games.

Logan Alters was honored with a starting lineup nod on Senior Night for Cal, and several familiar faces dotted the crowd of more than 8,000.

Jason Kidd, Jerome Randle, Sean Lampley, Theo Robertson and Markhuri Sanders-Frison were among the basketball alumni in attendance. Kidd was in town in advance of his NBA Mavericks playing the Warriors on Sunday, and Randle came to the Bay Area directly from war-consumed Ukraine where he plays professionally.

The Bears conclude their regular season in Arizona with the rematch with ASU up first in Tempe on Thursday at 5:00pm.

Kings Falls Short Losing To Denver 115-110

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Sacramento Kings forward Justin Holiday (9) is fouled by Denver Nuggets forward Will Barton, right, at Ball Arena in Denver on Sat Feb 26, 2022 (AP News photo)

Kings Falls Short Losing To Denver 115-110

By Barbara Mason

Saturday night the Sacramento Kings (22-40) took on the Denver Nuggets (35-25). The Nuggets are sixth in the Western Conference while the struggling Kings are 13th in the Conference. Denver is heavily favored in this home game at Ball Arena.

The Kings will be without Richaun Holmes and will rely heavily on De’Aaron Fox. They will have the unenviable task of containing Denver’s Nikola Jokic.

After one quarter the Nuggets had taken a 38-30 lead over the Kings. The Nuggets were able to maintain the lead until the final minutes of the second quarter when the Kings really began to heat up. With a little over two minutes left in the half, the Nuggets led by nine points.

The Kings would chip away at the Denver lead and with one minute left in the second quarter trailed by a single point. At halftime the Kings had tied the game at 59.

This was a real turn of momentum for the Kings, momentum that they needed to take into the third quarter. De’Aaron Fox led Sacramento with 13 points followed by Harrison Barnes with nine points. Aaron Gordon led the Nuggets with 16 points and Monte Morris finished the half with 14 points.

With under three minutes left in he third quarter the Kings had kept up the pressure on the Nuggets leading 84-77. Big man Domantas Sabonis had eight rebounds and seven assists through three quarters and it was the defensive play of Sacramento that was keeping them in this game. After three quarters the game was dead even at 85 points apiece.

The Nuggets would start the fourth quarter with a 9-0 run taking a 94-85 lead in the early minutes of the final quarter. The Kings would start to chip away at Denver’s lead cutting the Nuggets advantage to 94-92. With under two minutes left in the game it was again tied at 107. At 39.8 this game remained tied at 110.

The game would turn out to be the last team with the ball coming a with the win. The Kings had every chance to win this game but just could not hang with the Nuggets at the very end. The final was 115-110 in favor of Denver.

Fox had the high score for the Kings with 26 points and Barnes finished with 24. Jeremy Lamb had 12 off the bench and Sabonis had a great game with 16 rebounds.

Next up for the Kings will be a meeting with the Thunder Monday night in Oklahoma. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:00 PM.

San Jose Sharks podcast with Marko Ukalovic: Sharks look for second win face Boston and Seattle in back to back games

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San Jose Sharks defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic, left, looks for the puck as a shot by New York Islanders left wing Anders Lee (27) is blocked by Sharks goaltender James Reimer (47) at the SAP Center in San Jose on Thu Feb 24, 2022 (AP News photo)

On the San Jose Sharks podcast with Marko:

#1 Seven loses in a row came to an end on Thursday night against the New York Islanders in a shootout how relieved are the San Jose Sharks?

#2  James Reimer made 44 saves for the win in his ninth start in a row.

#3 Logan Couture, Jasper Weatherby and Alexander Barabanov scored for the Sharks. Brock Nelson, Zach Parise and Adam Pelech scored for New York. Ilya Sorokin made 25 saves in the loss.

#4 James Reimer stopped all three shots in the shootout and Logan Couture scored. Ilya Sorokin stopped a shot from Tomas Hertl.

#5 The Sharks now play back to back games this weekend against the Boston Bruins and the Seattle Kraken at SAP Center how do you see the Sharks coming off snapping a seven game loss streak going into these games on back to back nights.

Marko was filling in for Len Shapiro for the Sharks podcast at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Earthquakes open 2022 season with 3-1 loss to Red Bulls

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San Jose Earthquakes opened up their regular season against the New York Red Bulls at Pay Pal Park in San Jose on Sat Feb 26, 2022 (logos from MLS)

by Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE —It was not the start the San Jose Earthquakes were looking for to begin the 2022 campaign.

The New York Red Bulls scored two second half goals en route to a 3-1 victory on Saturday afternoon over San Jose on Opening Day at Pay Pal Park.

Quakes head coach Matias Almeyda entered his fourth (and possibly his final) season with a roster, for the first time in 13 years, that didn’t feature Chris Wondoloski (retired). However, three new additions in Dutch midfielder Jamiro Monteiro (trade with Philadelphia Union), Costa Rican defenseman Francisco Calvo (free agent signing) and Slovakian midfielder Jan Gregus started for Almeyda in a revamped lineup that also featured Chofis and Cade Cowell.

New York has won the past four matches against San Jose.

San Jose (0-1-0) had a scoring chance in the 15th minute when Cristian Espinoza shot from outside the box was deflected away by Red Bulls goalkeeper Carlos Coronel, but Monteiro’s rebound attempt was blocked.

The Quakes lost their best defender Nathan to an injury in the 22nd minute and was replaced by Tanner Beason.

New York (1-0-0) had a point-blank attempt from Sean Nealis in the 21st minute but Quakes goalkeeper JT Marcinkowski made a diving save without giving up a rebound. Then in the 35th, Marcinkowski made a one-handed leaping save over the net on a shot by Patryk Klimala.

The Red Bulls drew first blood at the end of the first half in the first minute of stoppage time. Lewis Morgan serviced a ball into the middle where Klimala chipped it over Marcinkowski just inside the right post for his first goal of the season.

“It’s going to take some time,” said Almeyda regarding the three new faces in his lineup to make an impact. “Some teammates are able to do it faster than others. I think the three new guys looked good today. Surely, as time goes on, they will get better, and our team will play better.”

San Jose answered back in the 69th minute off of a free kick. Espinoza sent a low line drive into the middle where Chofis headed the ball into the far corner of the net for his first goal of the season.

New York responded three minutes later in the 72nd minute. A turnover near midfield led to Omir Fernandez dribbling in from the left side of the box and shooting the ball through the legs of Marcinkowski for his first goal of the season.

The Red Bulls sealed the deal with a goal in the second minute of stoppage time. Tom Barlow got inside the box and his shot got past Marcinkowski for his first goal of the season.

Coronel just one save on two shots on target to earn the victory. Marcinkowski made four saves on seven shots on target in the losing effort.

GAME NOTES: San Jose finished with four corner kicks. New York had six.

New York’s John Tolkin, Dru Yearwood and Cristian Cásseres Jr were issued yellow cards during the match. San Jose were issued none.

San Jose is 18-16-9 overall against the Red Bulls franchise.

UP NEXT: San Jose hosts the Columbus Crew on Saturday 3/5 at 2:30pm at Pay Pal Park.

NHL podcast with Matt Harrington: Ovechkin addresses the war in Ukraine; Kyrou is the difference in the Blues win; plus more

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The Washington Capitals Alexander Ovechkin addresses the media over questions regarding the Russian invasion into the Ukraine on Fri Feb 25, 2022 (photo from Russian Machine Never Breaks)

NHL podcast with Matt Harrington:

#1 Washington Capitals Alexander Ovechkin said that the war in Ukraine is hard for both countries and that Ovechkin said he has friends in both Russia and the Ukraine and said that he hopes for peace soon.

#2 The St Louis Blues were able to continue their six game win streak with a 5-3 win over the Buffalo Sabers on Friday night. The Blues Jordan Kyrou scored twice to help St Louis get a two goal win.

#3 The Montreal Canadiens Andrew Hammond made 30 saves Sunday in his Habs debut against the New York Islanders in a 3-2 shootout win. Hammond gets the nod to start tonight against the Ottawa Senators. How big of a difference do you see Hammond making for the Canadiens?

#4 Montreal goaltender Carey Price whose been going through knee rehab since January is said to be making improvements but is not ready to hit the ice just yet. He had knee surgery back in July and his recovery was expected to be 10-12 weeks but is still in rehab.

#5 The New York Islanders Zdeno Charo broke the NHL record for games played by a defenseman he set the record at 1652 games surpassing Chris Chelios by one game.

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

Stanford Cardinal podcast with Daniel Dullum: Cardinal close out regular season with Cal in Berkeley on Saturday night

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Stanford forward James Keefe (22) puts the defensive pressure on Colorado forward Evan Battey (21) at Maples Pavilion in Palo Alto on Sat Feb 19, 2022. The Cardinal travel to UC Berkeley to face the Cal Bears on Sat Feb 26, 2022 (AP News photo)

On the Stanford Cardinal podcast with Daniel Dullum:

#1 The Stanford Cardinal (15-12) have lost five of their last seven games and lost their last game by a landslide last Saturday 70-53 at home against the Colorado Buffaloes (18-9).

#2 For the Buffaloes Evan Battey led with 15 points to help win their fifth consecutive game.

#3  Battey was followed by Nique Clifford with 14 points and seven rebounds. Keeshawn Bartelemy, Jabari Walker and K.J. Simpson each added 10 points for Colorado.

#4 Jaiden Delaire led the Cardinal scoring on Senior Night, netting 12 points on 5 of 7 field goals, including 1 of 2 from 3-point range.

#5 The Cardinal head to Haas Pavilion for their Big Game match up with the Cal Bears (11-17) the Bears who had lost ten straight games then won at Oregon and Oregon State then dropped games to the Buffaloes and the Utah Utes will to close the regular season with the Cardinal this Saturday night at Cal for a 5:30 tip.

Join Daniel for coverage during the Pac 12 Tournament at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Sacramento Kings podcast with Jeremiah Salmonson: Ukrainian Kings player Alex Len condemns Russian attack on Ukraine; plus more

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Sacramento Kings Alex Len is most concern

On the Kings podcast with Jeremiah:

#1 Jeremiah with the Russian attack on Ukraine this week the Sacramento Kings (22-38) Alex Len and Toronto Raptors player Svi Mykhailiuk both from the Ukraine condemn the attack on their country and said “A great tragedy has befell our homeland Ukraine.”

#2 For Len this has to be weighing heavily on his mind each time he goes out on the basketball court?

#3 Jeremiah, after the Kings acquired Domantas Sabonis what will that mean for Richaun Holmes who was rumored to be on the trade block?

#4  Sobonis didn’t hold back landing second on the Kings leaderboard behind Fox on Wednesday fending of the Bulls defense and scoring 22 points.

#5 Jeremiah, after a week off or seven days how important is that for the Kings to have had that rest?

Join Jeremiah who covers Kings basketball on http://www.sportsradioservice.com