San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa: Sharks hope to snap 7 game skid Thursday against Islanders

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Anaheim Ducks left wing Rickard Rakell (67) puts the winning goal on net against San Jose Sharks goaltender James Reimer (47) in the overtime shootout at the Honda Center in Anaheim Tue Feb 22, 2022 (AP News photo)

On the SJ Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa:

#1 The San Jose Sharks lost to the Anaheim Ducks 4-3 in a shoot-out. It was their seventh loss in a row. Derek Grant and Rickard Rakell scored for Anaheim, with two goals from Rakell. Anthony Stolarz made 40 saves for the win.

#2 Brent Burns and Logan Couture scored for San Jose, with two goals from Couture. James Reimer made 26 saves in his seventh start in a row.

#3 The Ducks took the lead at 3:38 of the first period. Derek Grant scored on a two-on-0 after the Ducks picked off a neutral zone pass. Assists went to Sam Carrick and Nicolas Deslauriers.

#4 A scoreless overtime period saw the Sharks get seven shots on goal, three of those on a power play. The Ducks had no shots in overtime. In the shootout, Stolarz stopped Logan Couture and Tomas Hertl missed the net. For the Ducks, Trevor Zegras and Rickard Rakell scored, and Reimer stopped Troy Terry.

#5 The Sharks next play on Thursday night at 7:30 PM in San Jose against the New York Islanders (19-20-7). The Isles are coming off a 5-2 win over the Seattle Kraken on Tuesday night.

Join Mary Lisa for the Sharks podcasts each Wednesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Sharks Fall 4-3 in SO to Ducks, 7th Loss in a Row

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San Jose Sharks left wing Alexander Barabanov (94) loses his balance in front of Anaheim Ducks goaltender Anthony Stolarz (41) and Ducks’ Kevin Shattenkirk (22) at the Honda Center in Anaheim on Tue Feb 22, 2022 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

ANAHEIM- The San Jose Sharks lost to the Anaheim Ducks 4-3 in a shoot-out. It was their seventh loss in a row. Derek Grant and Rickard Rakell scored for Anaheim, with two goals from Rakell. Anthony Stolarz made 40 saves for the win. Brent Burns and Logan Couture scored for San Jose, with two goals from Couture. James Reimer made 26 saves in his eighth start in a row.

After the game, Sharks Head Coach Bob Boughner discussed the Sharks power play in overtime and one of the differences between the two teams:

“We did have a couple good looks. You know, our big guys were tired, at the end of the game, let’s be honest. We took a lot of penalties and they killed a lot of penalties and, you know, Anaheim has got some guys that are fourth line that do some killing for them and I think that makes a big difference for ice time.”

The Ducks took the lead at 3:38 of the first period. Derek Grant scored on a two-on-0 after the Ducks picked off a neutral zone pass. Assists went to Sam Carrick and Nicolas Deslauriers.

Logan Couture tied it up at 7:10. Brent Burns took a shot off of an offensive zone draw. Stolarz stopped it but Couture jumped on the rebound for his 16th of the season.

Matt Nieto found Burns on his way into the zone to give the Sharks a lead at 17:22. Burns dropped to one knee for the one-timer and got the puck past Stolarz for his first goal in 16 games. Assists went to Matt Nieto and Timo Meier.

At 7:00 of the second, Rickard Rakell tied it up when a shot from Trevor Zegras created a rebound. Assists went to Zegras and Cam Fowler.

Logan Couture scored his second of the night on the power play at 13:44. Once again, Brent Burns took the shot and Couture cleaned up the rebound. Assists went to Burns and Meier.

At 16:09, Rickard Rakell tied it up again with a shot from the face-off circle into the short side. An assist went to Adam Henrique.

A scoreless overtime period saw the Sharks get seven shots on goal, three of those on a power play. The Ducks had no shots in overtime. In the shootout, Stolarz stopped Logan Couture and Tomas Hertl missed the net. For the Ducks, Trevor Zegras and Rickard Rakell scored, and Reimer stopped Troy Terry.

The Sharks out-shot the Ducks 43-29, though the teams were very close in the second and third periods (14-14 and 9-8). They had 14 shots on goal in four power plays. Their penalty kill gave up seven shots and had one short-handed shot in three penalties. The Sharks won 61% of the face-offs.

Ryan Dzingel made his debut with the Sharks after being acquired on Monday. He saw time on the power play (2:31) and skated in overtime. He had two shots in the game and drew the overtime penalty on a break away. Jonathan Dahlen was a healthy scratch Tuesday.

Defenseman Erik Karlsson and goaltender Adin Hill have both started skating but there is still no confirmed return date for the injured players.

The Sharks next play on Thursday back in San Jose against the New York Islanders at 7:30 PM PT.

San Jose Barracuda podcast with Marko Ukalovic: Barracuda return home to face Bakersfield; SJ has won two of their last three games

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The San Jose Barracuda right winger Nick Merkley scored his first goal in 13 games against the Texas Stars on Sun Feb 20, 2022 in Cedar Park Tx (file photo from nhl.com)

On the Barracuda podcast with Marko:

#1 The Texas Stars (15-18-5-4) who were down 1-0 to the San Jose Barracuda (15-27-1-0) came back and scored four unanswered goals at the H-E-B Center. How does Barracuda head coach Roy Sommer address the defense at this juncture?

#2 Barracuda goaltender Zach Emond in his fifth AHL game stopped a career high 38 shots out of 40 in Sunday’s game.

#3 The Barracuda’s Nick Merkley who went without scoring a goal in 13 games found the back end of the net with a goal in the second period his seventh of the season to start Sunday’s game.

#4 Marko, one thing you could say for the Barracuda they’re improving on the penalty kill. On Sunday they killed off four Stars power plays making that 19 straight penalty kills.

#5 The Barracuda are back at it again when they host the Bakersfield Condors at SAP Center for a 7 PM face off. The Barracuda have won two of their last three games.

Marko Ukalovic does the Barracuda podcasts each Tuesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary podcast: Angel pitcher Matt Harvey testified that he gave percocet to Skaggs

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Former Los Angeles Angels pitcher Matt Harvey testified that he gave percocet pills to former pitcher Tyler Skaggs in the Angels clubhouse during the 2019 season (photo from insidehook.com)

On That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary podcast:

#1 Former Los Angeles Angels Communications Director Eric Kay who is facing 20 to life for distributing opioids to former Angels pitcher the late Tyler Skaggs which were fentanyl laced and killed the Angels pitcher.

#2 You got to know both Skaggs and Kay while broadcasting Angels game for the Angels TV Network knowing both Skaggs and Kay did this whole story shock you knowing the clean cut characters on the surface of these two the Angel player and employee?

#3 You talked highly of former Angeles vice president of communications Tim Mead who at one time in this case was also being investigated but was found not to be involved with Kay.

#4 Although Kay is up for sentencing on June 28 with a minimum sentence of 20 years former Angels pitchers CJ Cron and Matt Harvey testified in court and that Harvey received the percocet laced pills from Kay. Harvey testified he had given the percocet pills to Skaggs in the clubhouse.

#5 Tim Mead left the Angels and later worked as president of the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown but left the job. Was the reason for his leaving Cooperstown based on the Eric Kay opioids distribution story which blew up and there were questions about if Mead was involved which later Mead was not involved?

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

Golden State Warriors podcast with Barbara Mason: Warrior All Stars shine at mid season classic

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Golden Warriors superstar Stephen Curry (30) stops to talk with fans at the 2022 Annual All Star Game at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland on Sun Feb 20, 2022 (AP News photo)

1.  The All Star comes at just the right time for a struggling Warrior team.

2.  Juan Tuscano-Anderson and Jonathan Kuminga all took part in this weekends All-Star game.

3.  Andrew Wiggins had a bit of a slow start but it was a great honor to be included in this years AllStar game.

4. As often happens when Stephen Curry steps on the court he took over this All-Star game.

5.  Next up for the Warriors this Thursday will be the Portland Trail Blazers.

Barbara Mason does the Warriors podcasts each Monday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

That’s Amaury News and Commentary: Beijing Winter Olympics NBC Ratings “Disaster”

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Eileen Gu picks up gold at the venue award ceremony during the 2022 Olympics for the women’s halfpipe at Zhangjiakou, China on Fri Feb 18, 2022 (AP News photo)

Beijing Winter Olympics NBC Ratings “Disaster”

That’s Amaury News and Commentary

By Amaury Pi-González

The controversial Beijing Winter Olympics are history. NBC who paid $7.75 billion to carry the Olympics until 2032 for the United States, televised an Olympic with great political tone and corruption by the IOC (International Olympics Committee) who should have never awarded the 2022 Winter Olympic to China.

A diplomatic boycott by countries because of the Chinese communist government of human rights abuse on their Uyghurs Muslims minority as well as other allegations.

According to the Associated Press through Tuesday, an average of 12.2 million people watched the Olympics in prime-time on NBC, cable, or the Peacock streaming service, down 42 percent from the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea. The average for NBC alone was 10 million, a 47 percent drop, the Nielsen company said.

Norway, a country of 5.4 million people continued its domination in Winter Olympics. Norway not only broke the record for most gold medals in a single Olympics with 16 Gold medals, but also defeated the ROC – Russian Olympic Committee in the total medal count with 37. Nobody has won more medals in the Winter Olympics competition than Norway.

Top Five countries (Medals)

1-Norway 37

2-ROC 32 (Russia)

3-Germany 27

4-Canada 26

5-United States 25

IOC corruption: Kamila Valieva a Russian skater who was considered the best in the world and the first woman in history to land a quadruple jump (in Beijing last week) but was allowed to skate after she was found positive for enhancing performance drugs in December.

Interesting situation: The very successful American freestyle skater Eileen Gu, born in San Francisco, and competed for China, became the first action sports athlete to win three medals at a Winter Olympic Games. Obviously received much criticism from both countries.

 Olympians must be citizens of the country they represent, and China doesn’t allow for dual citizenship. So how are Americans with U.S. passports competing for Team China in Beijing?

That was the question from lots of US viewers.  Answer: (Rule 40-41) Any competitor in the Olympic games must be a national of the country which is entering such competition.

A competitor who is a national of two or more countries at the same time may represent either one of them, as he/she might elect. In other words, you can have your cake and eat it too.

Congratulations to the great majority of the Olympic athletes that competed and well represented their respective countries.

NBC hoped to get a “bump” from their Superbowl coverage, but obviously that was not the case.

Thankfully the next Winter Olympics will be in Italy. Ciao!

Amaury Pi Gonzalez does News and Commentary podcasts each Tuesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Curry’s 50 Points Propels Team LeBron To All-Star Win 163-160

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Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Curry, right, shoots for three as Memphis Grizzlies’ Ja Morant tries to block the shot at Quick and Loans Arena in Cleveland during the NBA All Star Game on Sun Feb 20, 2022 (AP News photo)

Curry’s 50 Points Propels Team LeBron To All-Star Win 163-160

By Barbara Mason

Sunday evening the NBA All-Star game got underway and as always it was a star-studded event. Team Durant and Team LeBron took on each other in Cleveland in this wonderful charity event. Team LeBron is playing for the I Promise Program and team Durant will be playing for the Cleveland Food Bank. On top of that the NBA and State Farm will donate $1900 for every assist made during the game which will be divided between the two team’s charities.

On Team Durant the starters were Andrew Wiggins, Jayson Tatum, Joel Embiid, Trae Young and Ja Morant. For Team LeBron Giannis Antetokounmpo, LeBron James, Demar Derozan, Nikola Jokic and Stephen Curry. Team LeBron is favored by 5.5 points. With lineups like this it doesn’t get any more star-studded than this

It was a first quarter of long balls and crazy dunks by both teams and with 3:49 left in the first 12 minutes the score was 34 points apiece. It was very obvious that both teams were having a lot of fun playing but the fact remained that $100,000 were on the line for the winner of the first quarter.

Team LeBron won the first quarter 47-45 and the $100K for the Kent I Promise Program. High score for Team LeBron was the man himself with nine points and for Team Durant was Joel Embiid with 11 points the only player in the quarter with double digits.

The second quarter went to Team Durant winning 300K for their charity 49-46. The Warriors Curry had finished the half with 24 points and was eight of 11 from downtown. The all-time 3 point shooter certainly was living up to his reputation. The game score at the half was 94-93 in favor of Team Durant.

Halftime was a celebration of 75 years of the NBA. It was a celebration of family, of love and a celebration of all the players who have stepped foot on the court as an NBA player and all they have contributed to the game.

The show highlighted the legends of the past 75 years and it was amazing. A few of the names included of course the late great Kobe Bryant. Michael Jordan, Jerry West, Isaiah Thomas, Steve Nash, Magic Johnson, Charles Barkley, and Shaq O’Neill and the list goes on and on were present. What an incredible gathering of greats from the world of basketball

Curry took over the third quarter with a flurry of threes. The crowd was going crazy, the commentators were going crazy; it was insane. These shots were long and not just barely outside the arc, they were closer to mid-court than anything else. It was pure magic! His 15 shots were the most scored in an All-Star game in three quarters; seven of them in the third quarter. This guy just continues to break records.

The third quarter ended dead even at 45. The game score was 139-138 in favor of Team Durant. It was the Curry show with 45 points and 15 of 21 from downtown.

The fourth quarter target score was 163 points and the winner would earn an additional $150,000 for their charity. We saw more defense in this final quarter with a number of penalties. This game went down to the wire with Team LeBron winning 163-160. It was James himself who hit the winning shot. Curry would finish with 50 points and 16 from downtown.

The redesigned Kobe Bryant trophy was awarded to Curry this years MVP. There could not have been a more deserving, talented or humble guy to receive this award. This year’s All-Star game was a very special one with the diamond anniversary of the NBA being celebrated. Some very important charities will be on the receiving end of this game as well.

The beautiful Kobe Bryant trophy that went to the MVP was also an incredible highlight. So all in all this years All-Star game was one that we will not see for another 25 years.

Sharks Fall 4-1 to Golden Knights; Sixth consecutive loss suffered by San Jose

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San Jose Sharks center Lane Pederson (18) foreground, and goaltender James Reimer (47) collide inside the net against the Vegas Golden Knights at the SAP Center in San Jose on Sun Feb 20, 2022 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

SAN JOSE– The San Jose Sharks fell 4-1 to the Vegas Golden Knights Sunday. Keegan Kolesar, Jack Eichel, Max Pacioretty, and Chandler Stephenson scored for Vegas. Logan Thompson made 35 saves for the win. Nick Bonino scored for San Jose and James Reimer made 31 saves in the loss.

After the game, Sharks Head Coach Bob Boughner described the game as: “Another first period where we’re chasing and we’re down two-nothing, it’s a couple, I would say, soft kind of goals on us and it’s no recipe for success.”

Sharks Captain Logan Couture talked about how frustration mounts for players as the losses pile up:

“Guys are trying to bear down. Everyone in there wants to score. You don’t come to the rink and say ‘oh, I can’t wait to get a chance tonight and then miss.’ You know, you’re trying the best you can. It’s deflating, obviously, guys get frustrated, disappointed. You know, you go one long streaks without scoring, trying to keep positive.

You know, it’s so easy to say ‘well I’m getting chances, it’s gonna go in, it’s gonna go in.’ Until you actually see the puck go in the net, you don’t feel that relief. I’m sure there’s a lot of guys in there who feel like there’s an extra ten, twenty pounds on their shoulders right now, the puck’s not going in.”

The first goal came at 10:14, shortly after a successful four-minute penalty kill from the Sharks. The penalty was on Rudolfs Balcers, and though the damage was done with the injured players’ own stick, it was aided by a stick lift from Balcers. Then, after the Sharks killed that off, Keegan Kolesar’s shot went in, off of Marc-Edouard Vlasic’s stick. It was Kolesar’s fifth of the season, assists went to Bret Howden and Shea Theodore.

The second Vegas goal came at 14:34, on the power play, off of Jack Eichel’s stick. It was Eichel’s first goal as a Golden Knight. Assists went to Chandler Stephenson and Alex Pietrangelo.

The Sharks were outshot 16-8 in the first period. Their penalty kill allowed six shots and mustered three short-handed shots. The Sharks won just 39% of the face-offs.

The third Vegas goal came early in the second period, a truly strange bouncer that crossed the line then bounced back out and required video review to be confirmed. That goal went ot Max Pacioretty, with assists to Theodore and Eichel.

The Sharks out-shot the Golden Knights 14-9 and improved a little in the face-off circle, wining 45% of the draws. There was only one penalty in the second period, and it went to Vegas. The Sharks power play got two shots on goal.

The Sharks finally got on the board midway through the third period. Nick Bonino scored the goal after Andrew Cogliano centered the puck from below the goal line. Assists went to Cogliano and Jake Middleton.

Chandler Stephenson scored into an empty net with 33 seconds left in the game. Assists went to Pacioretty and Nicolas Roy.

The Sharks next play on Tuesday in Anaheim against the Ducks at 7:00 PM PT.

Stars scored three goals in the third period upend Barracuda 4-1

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San Jose Barracuda can’t defend against the Texas Stars barrage of goals in their three goal loss on Sun Feb 20, 2022 at H-E-B Center at Cedar Park (image by the San Jose Barracuda)

by Marko Ukalovic

CEDAR PARK, Texas — A much tighter game resulted in a different result.

The Texas Stars scored three goals in the third period en route to a 4-1 victory over the San Jose Barracuda on Sunday afternoon at H-E-B Center at Cedar Park.

San Jose have lost eight out its last nine games. Texas have won two of its past three games. San Jose finished 2-2 in the season series against Texas.

It was a much tighter game played between the two teams compared to the wild 13 combined goals the previous night.

The first period featured a scoreless 20 minutes. Both teams had 11 shots a piece as the official scorer added a shot to the Barracuda during the intermission.

San Jose (15-27-1-0) had the only power play opportunity during the opening frame but weren’t able to capitalize on their chance.

Texas (15-18-5-4) had the best scoring chance in the first period when Fredrik Karlstorm had his breakaway attempted stoned away by ‘Cuda goalie Zachary Edmond with 3:18 remaining.

The Barracuda drew first blood in the first minute of the second period. Jayden Halbgewachs set up Nick Merkley in the left slot. The former first round draft pick skated in and sniped home a wrist shot past Stars goalie Matt Jurusik for his seventh goal of the season at the :58 mark.

Merkley snapped a 13-game goal less draught.

Texas answered back late in the middle frame. A shot from the point by Jerad Rosburg was initially stopped by Emond but the rebound was put into an open net by Jeremy Gregoire for his seventh goal of the season at the 16:05 mark.

The Stars dominated the Barracuda in the middle frame as the outshot them 17-3 and controlled the majority of the play.

Texas gained their first lead of the game a second after their power play expired early in the third period. Ben Gleason sent a back pass from the left end boards out to Joel L’Esperance who wired a wrist shot past the five-hole of Emond for his 16th goal at the 3:31 mark.

The Stars iced the game with two empty net goals in the final minute. Ty Dellanrea scored his 11th goal of the season at the 19:14 mark and Rosburg scored his first of the season with nine seconds left.

Jurusik finished the game stopping 26 of the 27 shots he faced to earn the victory. Edmon, who made his first start since mid-December, made 38 saves on 40 shots in the losing effort.

GAME NOTES: San Jose finished the game 0-for-4 on the power play. Texas was 0-for-3.

The Three Stars of the Game were: 1) L’Esperance 2) Gregoire 3) Merkley

UP NEXT: San Jose returns home to host the Bakersfield Condors on Wednesday at 7:00pm at SAP Center.

Headline Sports podcast with Bruce Magowan: Rooney Rules Flores gets LB coach job with Steel Curtain; US skating team still waiting for their silver

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Former Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores in 2021 was hired on Sat Feb 19, 2022 as linebackers coach for the Pittsburgh Steelers (AP News photo)

On Headline Sports podcast with Bruce Magowan:

#1 Bruce, former head coach of the Miami Dolphins Brian Flores was hired over the weekend as a linebackers coach for the Pittsburgh Steelers how ironic is the hiring considering the Steelers were the founders of the Art Rooney rule?

#2 Ice skaters at the 2022 Beijing Olympic are having some tough times first it was Russian skater Kamia Valievea who tested positive for performance enhancers and then fell in competition then the US Skating team did not receive their silver medals and demand to get them before they leave Beijing. They’ve asked attorneys to step in and order the IOC to award them the medals.

#3 Bruce, Golden State Warrior Draymond Green had his house in Oakland ransacked of $1 million in jewelry. Green discovered the theft after returning home from the Super Bowl. The burglaries entered through a window to get access and police have no leads as of Saturday night one week after the break in.

Join Bruce for Headline Sports podcasts every other Sunday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com