Second Half Stampede: Colorado bests Cal, 70-62, ends Bears modest win streak

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By Morris Phillips

BERKELEY, CA–Five consecutive halves of competitive basketball from the Golden Bears delivered the expected: two wins and a loss.

The loss came Thursday night at Haas Pavilion, 70-62 to Colorado as the Buffs seized control of a close game with a 14-1 run to start the second half. Cal’s 25 percent shooting after the break put an end to what had been a promising start, and a continuation of the club’s strong play during their sweep of the Oregon schools.

“We were pleased with our play on both ends in the first half, and then really disappointed with how we started the second half,” coach Mark Fox said. “We didn’t play well enough in the second half and I thought Colorado took advantage of our defensive play.”

The Bears shot 15 of 29 in the first half and led by seven at the break. But an opportunity was missed in the final minutes when they missed four 3’s and failed to go to halftime with a double-digit lead. The second half started with a string of empty possessions contrasting the Buffs’ aggressiveness that saw them take the ball to the basket repeatedly with success.

“I’m really pleased with the toughness we showed,” Colorado coach Tad Boyle said. “Cal’s a physical team. We had to be tougher and stronger and we played that way.”

Cal’s close of the first half, and their drought to start the second saw them miss 22 of 25 shots. That took the home crowd out of the mix, and left the Bears in a tough spot, entirely of their making according to Fox.

“As soon as adversity hit, we didn’t respond the right way and I was certainly very disappointed in all of us tonight.”

What specifically changed? The Buffs defensive pressure. Cal enjoyed a string of open looks in the first half. That stopped after the break as Colorado gained intensity. And the Bears’ response wasn’t to match the visitors’ energy. That difference was reflected in a 43-28 edge in the rebounding for the visitors, and in Colorado’s 21 made free throws, a benefit of them taking the ball to the basket.

“We clawed our way back in by getting stops,” Boyle said. “We adjusted in the second half and turned it around.”

CU got 19 points each from Jabari Walker and freshman KJ Simpson. Evan Battey added 18.

Jalen Celestine and Grant Anticevich led Cal with just 11 points each, and Kuany Kuany added a season-best 10 in just 18 minutes off the bench.

The Bears continue their home stretch with a 3:00pm meeting with the Utah Utes on Saturday.

Sharks Lose 5-4 in OT to Canucks, 5th Loss in a Row

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Vancouver Canucks right wing Brock Boeser (6), Matthew Highmore (15), center J.T. Miller (9) and Conor Garland (8) celebrate Miller’s goal in overtime at the SAP Center in San Jose on Thu Feb 17, 2022 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

SAN JOSE– The San Jose Sharks lost 5-4 in OT to the Vancouver Canucks Thursday. Juho Lammikko, Brock Boeser, Quinn Hughes, Connor Garland, and J.T. Miller scored for Vancouver. Thatcher Demko made 24 saves for the win. Logan Couture, Timo Meier ad Alexander Barabanov scored for San Jose, with two goals from Meier. James Reimer, making his sixth start in a row, made 22 saves in the loss.

In the first period, the Sharks were badly outshot, 15-4. In the second, the Sharks pushed back and had 15 shots to the Canucks’ 5, and in the third the Sharks had 9 shots to the Canucks’ 5. The Sharks had no shots in overtime. After the game, Sharks Head Coach Bob Boughner said:

“I think the shots were something like 24,25-10 in the last two periods. I thought we had a lot of good looks. So, yeah, that’s our identity, that’s how we gotta play. I think if we could play the way we played in the last two periods, we’re going to get our fair share of points down the stretch but we’ve got to start on time.”

Sharks forward Tomas Hertl summed it up as: “We need effort for 60 minutes otherwise we will not win games here.”

Brock Boeser scored the first goal for Vancouver at 14:54 of the first. Skating to the net, with traffic in front of Reimer, Boeser shifted around the traffic and found an opening. He put the puck in the to top corner on Reimer’s glove side. Assists went to J.T. Miller and Oliver Ekman-Larsson.

Quinn Hughes scored at 17:40 to make it 2-0. Hughes took a shot from the point that bounced under Michael Highmore, back into the air and past Reimer.

Logan Couture got the Sharks on the board 3:35 into the second period. Couture seemed to be making a pass to Gregor but the puck hit the stick of Tyler Meyers and went into the Vancouver net. Assists went to Matt Nieto and Noah Gregor.

Juho Lammikko restored the Canucks’ two-goal lead at 10:49. Kyle Burroughs took a shot from high in the slot and the puck went off of Lammikko and into the net. An assist went to Burroughs.

Timo Meier scored on the power play to cut the lead back down to one at 14:03. Tomas Hertl passed it to him from below the goal line. Meier found a small gap to put the puck between Demko and the post. Assists went to Hertl and Alexander Barabanov.

Meier scored a second power play goal to tie it just 45 seconds into the third. This time he took the shot from above the right face-off circle. Demko had lost track of the puck and Meier had an open net to shoot at. Assists again went to Hertl and Barabanov.

Vancouver grabbed the lead back at 14:23 with a goal from Connor Garland. During a scramble in front of the net, Garland found the puck and put it in.

In the final second of the third, with the Sharks net empty, Alexander Barabanov tied the game with a shot from just above the goal line. Assists went to Meier and Brent Burns.

J.T. Miller scored the game winner during a delayed penalty with a shot into the top corner over Reimer’s stick. Assists went to Elias Pettersson and Quinn Hughes.

The Sharks were dominant in the face-off circle through all three periods, winning 33 of 55 draws. The Sharks power play had seven shots, and their penalty kill gave up 3.

The Sharks next play on Sunday at 5:00 PM PT against the Vegas Golden Knights in San Jose.

That’s Amaury News and Commentary: MLB Commissioner– If no deal by the 28th -The regular season is in Jeopardy

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Yankee Stadium under lock and key as the MLB Lockout continues since Dec 2, 2021 (image from the New York Post)

MLB Commissioner: If no deal by the 28th -The regular season is in Jeopardy

That’s Amaury News and Commentary

By Amaury Pi-González

It was on December 2, 2021, that Mr.Rob Manfred, Commissioner of Baseball ordered a lockout on behalf of the owners. Until today’s announcement in New York by Mr.Manfred, two months and 18 days have passed-by and MLB (owners) and the MLBPA (players association) are not very close to a new Collective Bargaining Agreement.

According to reports, today’s meeting lasted 15 innings, sorry, 15 minutes I meant to say. Ironically, when they meet they are fast meetings; exactly what baseball is trying to do, make the games shorter!

Spring Training was to begin this week, and the first Spring Training games are scheduled in eight days. Obviously, that is not going to happen. One thing both sides agree (and it has never been an issue) players need four weeks of Spring Training.

The Office of the Commissioner did not give us the official delay of Spring Training if there is any, and now Manfred is ringing the alarm that if nothing happens by the 28th of this month, the regular season is in jeopardy.

Meantime, the economies of Arizona and Florida, which do very well during Spring Training with fans spending money in hotels, restaurants, baseball games, and all type of entertainment in these two states is suffering and will continue to suffer if they ever do anything in Spring Training.

For Arizona, it might be a bigger deal than Florida. After all, Florida announced recently they set a new record for tourism last year with 117 million domestic visitors.

Analysts say the new record was a combination of Florida’s successful less strict mandates for Covid and the weather which is always the biggest attraction in what today is the fourth most populous state in the country, only California, Texas, and New York have larger populations than the Sunshine State.

On Thursday MLB arrived to hear the Players Union latest proposal and this is what happened:

The MLBPA backed off its request for arbitration for all players within two plus years of service and requested that 80% of players go into the system. Also, the union requested an increase in its per-arbitration bonus pool asks from $100 million to $115 million. This was reported all happened inside those furious 15 minutes and, Adiós, Hasta la Vista!

By the time you are reading this on Friday morning, more than likely, Commissioner Manfred will make another announcement. It is truly a game they’re playing, by posturing and making statements to look good in the eyes of the most important people in this negotiation, the fans.

Although they are not at the table in the middle of these two groups the fans are the most powerful, just like a voter has a vote come to Election Day, the fans have the most powerful power of the purse, for nobody will force you to attend watch or listen to a game. Some fans have become more than frustrated; they are cynical like never before.

Keep in mind, that although we should always respect serious negotiations between Management and Labor, this is not your typical negotiation between boss and employee for minimum wages, this is at another level, it is basically by two very “well to do” sides on how to slice the pie.

Stay tuned for more because I am sure there are many acts to follow in this Circus.

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

Sacramento Kings podcast with Tony Renteria: Kings return home next week vs. Denver after tough loss Wed night in Chicago

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Chicago Bulls’ Nikola Vucevic (9) dunks between Sacramento Kings’ Harrison Barnes, left, and Richaun Holmes at the United Center in Chicago on Wed Feb 16, 2022 (AP News photo)

On the Kings podcast with Tony R:

#1 DeMar DeRozan, Coby White and Nikola Vucevic combined for 80 points Wednesday, as the Chicago Bulls (38-21) defeated the visiting Sacramento Kings (22-38) 125-118 in front of 19,166 at United Center.

#2 DeRozan scored a game-high 38 points, White – starting in place of Zach LaVine – had 31 points.

#3 Javonte Green and Ayo Dosunmu added 15 and 12 points, respectively, for the Bulls. Dosunmu also had six rebounds, six assists and two steals.

#4 DeRozan also broke an obscure NBA record with his seventh straight game of 35 or more points on 50 percent or better shooting. Wilt Chamberlain set the previous mark in 1960-61 and 1962-63 with the Warriors.

#5 The Denver Nuggets (33-25) who just defeated the Golden State Warriors (42-17) 117-116 are headed to Sacramento on Thu Feb 24. The Nuggets are rolling winning five of their last six games. How do you see this match up next week between the Nuggets and Kings?

Join Tony R for the Kings podcasts each Thursday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Buzzer Beater For Nuggets Defeats Warriors 117-116

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Denver Nuggets guard Bryn Forbes (6) expands to take a shot against the Golden State Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga (00) at the Chase Center in San Francisco on Wed Feb 16, 2022 (AP News photo)

Buzzer Beater For Nuggets Defeats Warriors 117-116

By Barbara Mason

Monday night the Warriors were on the losing end of a beat down by the Los Angeles Clippers. Tonight the Warriors (42-17) were back at Chase Center to take on the Denver Nuggets (33-15) in their last game before the All-Star break. This is their second meeting this year.

The Warriors have struggled on the defensive side of the ball. They have fallen to a shocking 23rd in the league and are capable of so much more.

They are missing Draymond Green but they are looking forward to the return of James Wiseman which is scheduled soon after the All-Star game. He has taken part in five on five drills and with the vast improvement of rookie Jonathan Kuminga there is a bright spot on the horizon for Golden State.

Draymond has begun light activity on the court so good news there. With the return of Wiseman and the play of Kuminga the Warriors will hopefully have some big defensive players on the court next week.

The Warriors got a fast start leading mid-way through the first quarter 17-8. The Nuggets who got a slow start began to heat up as the quarter began to wind down, After the first 12 minutes the Warriors led 33-25 in an impressive defensive quarter forcing four Nugget turnovers.

The Warriors kept up a fast pace in the second quarter shooting an efficient 56 %. The one sore spot in this game were the missed open shots attempted by the Warriors. With under two minutes left in the half Golden State wanted to finish strong. Kuminga and Stephen Curry each had 12 points in the half with Golden State leading 63-54.

The turnovers were 16-3 in favor of the Warriors so they were doing a great job protecting the ball. Golden State had led for the entire half in this game. The team had 17 assists with 20 rebounds. The Warriors had 30 points in the paint so they were getting inside successfully.

The Warriors started the third quarter shooting 55% and taking a 74-61 lead in the opening minutes. After three quarters the Warriors led 86-78.

The fourth quarter saw the Nuggets back in this game trailing by four points in the early minutes of the final quarter. The Warriors did not want to go into the break losing four out of five and so this game was an important one. With three minutes left in the game seven players for Golden State had double digits trying to finish this game strong.

With 45 seconds left in this game the Warriors held a one possession lead 113-110 and the Nuggets had the ball. Denver had never led in this game and with 14.9 left in the game the Nuggets took their first lead 114-113. In a shocker the Nuggets won this game at the buzzer 117-116. After leading the entire game the Warriors just could not close it out.

This had one of the toughest losses for the Warriors this season. The Warriors were great defending the three point line and had seven players shooting double digits. Gary Payton II had six steals in the game. Curry finished with 25 points and the bench was amazing with Jordan Poole the high shooting 15 points.

The Warriors next game will be next Thursday at Portland taking on the Trail Blazers. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:00.

Gulls second period blitz take down Barracuda 5-1

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It wasn’t even close as the San Diego Gulls get a four goal game win over the San Jose Barracuda at the SAP Center in San Jose on Wed Feb 16, 2022 (photo from the San Jose Barracuda)

by Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE — Never underestimate the fourth line.

All three forwards on the San Diego Gulls fourth line scored a goal en route to a 5-1 victory over the San Jose Barracuda on Wednesday evening at SAP Center.

San Jose has lost a season worst seven games. San Diego has won three out of its last four games and snapped a four-game losing streak on the road.

San Diego (16-20-2-0) drew first blood early in the first period. Brayden Tracey sent a rink wide pass over to Brent Gates Jr and he blistered a one-timer past ‘Cuda goalie Alexei Melnichuk for his fifth goal of the season at the 3:17 mark.

Gates Jr. has three goals in his past two games versus San Jose.

San Jose (14-26-1-0) answered back on the power play late in the opening 20 minutes. Joachim Blichfeld received the puck just outside the right faceoff circle from Artemi Kniazev. Blichfeld fired a wrist shot past a screened Gulls goalie Lukas Dostal for his 15th goal of the season at the 14:37 mark.

Blichfeld snapped a six-game goal less draught.

San Diego regained the lead in the first five minutes of the second period. A turnover inside the ‘Cuda zone led to Vinni Letteri centered a pass to Lucas Elvenes all alone in front of the crease. Elvenes, who was shaken up earlier on the play, cashed in on his own rebound for his fifth goal of the season, and third in a Gulls uniform, at the 4:43 mark.

The Gulls went up 3-1 at the halfway mark of the middle frame. Hunter Drew gathered the puck from behind the net and his shot attempt went off the skate of ‘Cuda defenseman Cole Moberg into the back of the net for Drew’s eighth goal of the season at the 10:16 mark.

San Diego scored its third unanswered goal in the period moments after their power play opportunity ended. Nikolas Brouillard’s shot from the left point was tipped in by Greg Printz for his sixth goal of the season at the 13:29 mark.

San Jose had a five-on-three power play opportunity late in the period when Brendan Guhle went off for boarding at the 17:45 mark. However, San Diego was able to kill off both penalties and almost scored a short-handed goal if it weren’t for a timely save by Melnichuk on Letteri’s breakaway attempt after just exiting the sinbin.

The Gulls scored early in the third period to ice the game. Elvenes sent a shot from the point that deflected in past Melnichuk for his second goal of the game and sixth of the season at the 3:30 mark.

Dostal finished the game stopping 24 of the 25 shots he faced to earn the victory. Melnichuk made 18 saves on 23 shots in the losing effort.

GAME NOTES: San Jose finished 1-for-5 on the power play. San Diego was 0-for-6.

The Three Stars of the Game were: 1) Elvenes 2) Dostal 3) Blichfeld

San Jose finished 1-7 against San Diego in the season series.

San Diego is 7-11-1-0 on the road this season.

‘Cuda forward Evan Weinger had his career best five-game point streak snapped as he was suffered an upper body injury in the third period.

UP NEXT: San Jose travels out to the Lone Star state to begin a two-games series with the Texas Stars on Saturday 2/19 at 5:00pm at H-E-B Center at Cedar Park.

DeRozan breaks record set by Wilt, Bulls hold off Kings 125-118

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Chicago Bulls’ Javonte Green (24) throws down against the Sacramento Kings’ Harrison Barnes (right) at the United Center in Chicago on Wed Feb 16, 2022 (AP News photo)

By Daniel Dullum
Wednesday, February 16, 2022

DeMar DeRozan, Coby White and Nikola Vucevic combined for 80 points Wednesday, as the Chicago Bulls defeated the visiting Sacramento Kings 125-118 in front of 19,166 at United Center.

DeRozan scored a game-high 38 points, White – starting in place of Zach LaVine – had 31 points, including six 3-pointers, and Vucevic was next with 21 points and 10 rebounds for his 34th double-double of the season.

Javonte Green and Ayo Dosunmu added 15 and 12 points, respectively, for the Bulls. Dosunmu also had six rebounds, six assists and two steals.

DeRozan also broke an obscure NBA record with his seventh straight game of 35 or more points on 50 percent or better shooting. Wilt Chamberlain set the previous mark in 1960-61 and 1962-63 with the Warriors.

Chicago shot 50 percent on field goals for a league-leading 23rd time this season, while committing only eight turnovers. The Kings kept it close by shooting 51 percent, including 12 of 30 from behind the arc.

But DeRozan was up to the task, scoring 12 of his points in the fourth quarter, finishing with a 15-for-27 shooting night for the Bulls (38-21), who are first in the Eastern Conference standings.
DeAaron Fox led the Kings with 33 points, nine assists and six rebounds.

Recently acquired Domantas Sabonis scored 22 points while pulling down 12 rebounds to go with eight assists. Justin Holiday scored 18 points, followed by Harrison Barnes with 17 points, and Chimezie Metu added 11 points off the Kings’ bench.

The Kings return to action after the All-Star break when they host Denver on Feb. 24.

Cal Bears podcast with Michael Duca: After two game sweep on road trip Cal ready to take on Colorado Thursday in Berkeley

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The Cal Bears Jordan Shepherd (31) led with a career high 33 points throws down against the Oregon Ducks at Matthew Knight Arena in Eugene on Sat Feb 12, 2022 (photo by Cal Bears Athletics Dept)

On the Cal Bears podcast with Michael:

On the Cal Bears basketball podcast with Michael:

#1 When you just sit back and look at that score the Cal Bears (11-15) 78 and the Oregon Ducks (16-8) 64 a game that was played at Matthew Knight Arena in Eugene on Saturday night it’s shocking but yes it’s real.

#2 The win on Saturday in Eugene was Cal’s second win in this two game Oregon trip taking two games at Oregon State and Oregon. Previous to the win on Thursday at Oregon State Cal had lost ten straight games. What changed?

#3 The Bears guard Jordan Shepherd on Saturday was the only Cal player to score in double figures with 33 points which quite remarkable if you consider Cal winning by 14 points so it looks like all Shepherd all the time.

#4 What also was remarkable was the first half Sunday where the Bears scored a 38-22 lead going into half time and you could see the shock on the faces on Ducks fans and Ducks bench.

#5 The Bears next take on the Colorado Buffaloes (15-9) on Thursday night at Haas Pavilion. The Buffaloes have won their last two games and have won four of their last ten games. Colorado defeated the Utah Utes (9-16) 81-76 in their last game on Saturday night.

Join Michael for the Cal Bears podcasts each Thursday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Golden State Warriors podcast with David Zizmor: Warriors hope to get back on winning track host Nuggets tonight at Chase Center

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Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr seen here coaching against the Los Angeles Clippers on Mon Feb 14, 2022 at the Chase Center in San Francisco hopes to point the Warriors in a winning direction on Wed Feb 16, 2022 versus the Denver Nuggets (AP News photo)

On the Warriors podcast with David:

#1 David, the Golden State Warriors (42-16) suffered a tough loss to the Los Angeles Clippers (29-30) 119-104. The second and third quarters the Clippers dominated the Warriors.

#2 One of the key factors in the game the Clippers were able to shut down the Warriors Klay Thompson who had been in mid to high double figures but only scored seven on Monday night.

#3 The Warriors have lost three of their last four very unusual for them they come back to the Chase Center to host the Denver Nuggets. The Nuggets have won three of their last four games and defeated the Orlando Magic on Monday night 121-111. Talk about tonight’s match up with the Nuggets and Warriors.

Join David for the Warriors podcasts each Wednesday morning at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa: After 3-0 shutout Sharks looking to rebound against Canucks Thursday night

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San Jose Sharks center Noah Gregor (73) takes the puck down ice against the visiting Edmonton Oilers on Mon Feb 14, 2022 at the SAP Center in San Jose. The Sharks host the Vancouver Canucks Thu Feb 16, 2022 at SAP (AP News photo)

On the Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa:

#1 The 3-0 shutout loss to the Edmonton Oilers (25-18-3) by the San Jose Sharks (22-21-4) had to be one of the more frustrating loses this season.

#2 The Sharks spent more time in their own end of the ice trying to rebound the puck and trying to protect goaltender James Reimer who faced 39 shots and allowed three.

#3 Oilers goaltender Stuart Skinner faced 20 shots and stopped all of them for the shutout it was Stuarts first shutout of the season.

#4 Was this a game that it was all Oilers all the time dominating or was it a game where the Sharks offense just simply failed to execute putting the puck on net all night and keeping Skinner under pressure?

#5 The Sharks host the Vancouver Canucks (22-21-6) Thursday night at SAP Center. The Canucks have won four of their last five games. They won their last game defeating the Toronto Maple Leafs (30-12-3) in a close game 3-2 on Saturday. Mary Lisa tell us how you see Thursday night’s game between the Canucks and Sharks?

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