San Francisco 49ers podcast with Joe Hawkes: The line will play a critical role against Rams; Shanahan leaning towards Garoppolo at QB Sunday

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San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle (85) runs against Seattle Seahawks cornerback D.J. Reed (2) and defensive back Marquise Blair at Levi Stadium on Sun Oct 3, 2021. Kittle needs 100 more receiving yards to get to 1,000 for the season as the 49ers play the Rams in Los Angeles on Sun Jan 9, 2022 (AP News file photo)

On the 49ers podcast with J Hawkes:

#1 Joe, how crucial will physicality play for the San Francisco 49ers (9-7) line against the Los Angeles Rams (12-4) on Sunday?

#2 Another question Joe that was asked during this week’s zoom pressers with 49ers offensive coordinator Mike McDonald, defensive coordinator Demeco Ryans, and tight end George Kittle why do the 49ers match up so well with the Rams.

#3 Two scenarios for the 49ers to get into post season first scenario they need to beat the Rams Sunday night or they need the New Orleans Saints (8-8) to lose to the Atlanta Falcons (7-9). Still the odds are 50-50 either way for the 49ers for a shot at post season.

#4 Kittle is having quite a year he’s been piling up the receiving yards and need 100 yards receiving to get to 1,000 yards. If achieved Kittle would join the ranks of Jerry Rice, and Terrell Owens as the only three 49ers to have 1,000 yards in a single year.

#5 Joe, Sunday how do you see the 49ers and Rams matching up in this one in Los Angeles on Sunday afternoon. The biggest game of the year for both teams a 1:25 pm kickoff.

Joe Hawkes does the 49ers podcasts weekends at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Jose Sharks podcast with Len Shapiro: Kane out as a Shark will he get picked up by another team?

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San Jose Sharks center Scott Reedy (54) and Buffalo Sabres center Mark Jankowski (17) make an attempt to get possession of the hockey puck in the first period of action at the Key Bank Center in Buffalo on Thu Jan 7, 2022 (AP News photo)

On the San Jose Sharks podcast with Len:

#1 Len, after playing three out of four games and giving up six or more goals and ending a two game losing streak on Thursday night in Buffalo do the San Jose Sharks (18-16-1) have it right after beating the Buffalo Sabers (10-18-6) in a narrow 3-2 contest.

#2 Len, it was a close game on Thursday night as the Sharks goaltender Adin Hill stopped 37 shots allowed two goals but stood on his head long enough to help the Sharks get the one goal win.

#3 Len, in those three games that the Sharks gave up more than six goals they seemed to have settled down on Thursday in Buffalo getting Hill some protection up front and Hill was able to stop a lot of shots that could have got this game going the other way.

#4 In the game Thursday the Sharks got scoring help from Matt Nieto and Timo Meier and strong defense after they gave up 14 goals in two straight games and 28 goals in five games.

#5 Len it’s the Philadelphia Flyers (13-15-6) next up for the Sharks, the Flyers got crushed in their last game by the Pittsburgh Penguins (20-8-5) 6-2 on Thursday night and the Flyers are on a four game losing streak on of those loses came against the Sharks in San Jose on Thu Dec 30 in close game 3-2. How do you see these two clubs matching later on tonight?

Join Len for the Sharks podcasts each Saturday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Silver Knights take advantage of Barracuda giveaways in 5-1 victory

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The Henderson Silver Knights handled the San Jose Barracuda at SAP in San Jose on Fri Jan 7, 2022 (San Jose Barracuda image)

by Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE — The Christmas holiday has been over for the past two weeks but the San Jose Barracuda continued to gift wrap goals to the opposition.

Turnovers and infertility on the power play doomed the ‘Cuda in a 5-1 loss to the Henderson Silver Knights on Friday evening at SAP Center.

San Jose has lost their past two games. Henderson have won four games in a row. They have points in seven straight (6-0-1-0) and are 8-2-1-0 over their last 11 games.

San Jose (11-15-1-0) played shorthanded with only dressing 11 forwards and six defensemen as there have been changes to the roster with the San Jose Sharks bringing up seven players from the ‘Cuda.

Henderson (15-7-2-1) drew first blood late in the first period on the power play. Pavel Dorofeyev and Ben Jones combined to find Connor Cocoran along the left slot and Cocoran’s one-timer beat ‘Cuda goalie Sam Harvey for a tic-tac-toe of a goal, Cocoran’s second of the season at the 13:22 mark.

The Barracuda had 10 shots in the opening frame, but Silver Knights goalie Jiri Patera was perfect through the first 20 minutes.

Henderson doubled its lead nine seconds into the second period. A turnover by the ‘Cuda inside their own zone led to Dorofeyev roofing a wrist shot from the right wing past Harvey for his 11th goal of the season.

San Jose cut the lead in half under three minutes later with a short-handed goal. John Leonard stripped the puck off of Peter DiLiberatore in the neutral zone. Leonard skated in and from the left slot snapped home a wrist shot top shelf past Patera for his fourth goal of the season at the 2:39 mark.

It was the seventh short-handed goal the Barracuda have scored this season.

The Silver Knights regained its two-goal lead thanks to another Barracuda turnover. Ben Jones pick-pocketed the puck away from Santeri Hatakka. Jones skated backwards toward the crease where his initial shot was stopped by Harvey. However, the native of Waterloo, Ontario poked home his own rebound for his 11th goal of the season at the 7:00 mark.

Henderson scored its second power play of the game halfway through the middle frame. Lucas Elvenes found Cocoran along the left wing and the Silver Knight defenseman scorched a one-timer past Harvey for his second goal of the game and third of the season at the 9:15 mark.

The Silver Knights scored its fourth goal of the middle frame when Dorofeyev sent a puck toward the net from the end line and Jake Leschyshyn redirected past Harvey for his seventh goal of the season 15:21 mark.

‘Cuda head coach Roy Sommer replaced Harvey in goal with Alexei Melnichuk to start the third period. Harvey finished with 17 saves on 22 shots in 40 minutes of action.

San Jose had a five-on-three power play opportunity in the beginning of the third period but weren’t able to generate any quality scoring chances as Henderson was able to kill it off without much difficulty.

Patera finished the evening stopping 27 of the 28 he faced to earn the victory. Melnichuk handled all six shots he had to deal with in mop-up duty.

GAME NOTES: San Jose finished 0-for-6 on the power play. Henderson was 2-for-3.

The Three Stars of the Game were: 1) Dorofeyev 2) Corcoran 3) Patera

Sommer sits just one victory shy of 800 in his career. The Oakland, Calif., native has been behind the bench for 1,700 games in the AHL, going 799-694-48-160 (W-L-T-OTL/SOL) over that span. During the 2015-16 season, the Barracuda’s first in San Jose, Sommer surpassed Fred “Bun” Cook (636 wins) for the most wins in AHL history, notching a 4-2 victory on Feb. 10, 2016, over Ontario. Sommer collected his 700th win on Dec. 3, 2017, at Bakersfield (2-1 W).

Forward Evander Kane did not play as he still on the Covid-19 protocol.

The Sharks recalled goaltender Adin Hill, defensemen Ryan Merkley and Jaycob Megna, and forwards Nick Merkley, Adam Raska, Scott Reedy, Jayden Halbgewachs, and Jasper Weatherby. In a corresponding move, the Barracuda recalled forward Kyle Topping of the Orlando Solar Bears on Thursday.

Artemi Kniazev and Timur Ibragimov have been added to Covid-19 protocol.

UP NEXT: San Jose and Henderson conclude their two-game series on Saturday 1/8 at 7:00pm at SAP Center.

Denver Dominates Sacramento 121-111

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Sacramento Kings forward Marvin Bagley III, center, gets between Denver Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon, left, and center Nikola Jokic in an attempt to score at Ball Arena in Denver on Fri Jan 7, 2022 (AP News photo)

Denver Dominates Sacramento 121-111

By Barbara Mason

Struggles for the Sacramento Kings (16-25) continued against the Denver Nuggets (19-18). The team has struggled with the inability to finish games. They have squandered winnable games throughout the season and Friday night in Denver was no different as the Kings took a 121-111 loss to the Nuggets.

The first half was a tough one for the Kings as they took on the Nuggets. The Nuggets played both quarters at a nice pace, with great passing and a lot of patience. The entire team was playing in a near perfect rhythm which was trouble for the Kings. At the half the score was 66-54.

At one point in the half the Nuggets had 32 points in the paint while the Kings had 37 points total. At the half the Nuggets had the Kings number and there was nothing that Sacramento was able to do in the first two quarters to change the course of the first half.

Down by 20 points at one time in the first half, the Kings started to make a move in the third quarter. Sacramento got within four points of Denver but as has happened in the past, they let it slip away.

Every time that the Kings made a move, Denver had the answer. As the third quarter came to an end, the Nuggets led 96-85. Sacramento had far too many missed shots; misses from players that usually have a lot more success.

The Nuggets had a significant lead throughout most of this game. Denver had more fouls than the Kings by a couple, 20-18. The Kings had 46 rebounds to the Nuggets 41. The Kings had close third and fourth quarters winning both of them by a single points. It was the 12 point deficit at the half that determined the outcome of this game.

High score for the Kings was De’Aaron Fox with 30 and for the Nuggets Nicola Jokic had 33 points. Both teams had nice work off the bench, the Kings with 44 and the Nuggets with 42 points. Sacramento’s defensive woes continued in this game as well.

Sacramento will have a travel day tomorrow heading into Portland for a date with the Trail Blazers for Sun Jan 9th tipoff is scheduled for 6:00 PM.

Stanford Cardinal basketball podcast with Daniel Dullum: Stanford coming back after 19 day lay off; Cardinal Wed night at WSU

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Stanford Cardinal leading scorer Spencer Jones drives down the court against the Liberty Flames at the Diamond Head Classic in Honolulu on Thu Dec 23, 2021 the last time Stanford played before the Covid 19 quarantine forced them to stop (AP News photo)

On the Stanford Cardinal podcast with Daniel:

#1 The Stanford Cardinal (8-4) are in their longest lay off of the season due to Coronavirus protocols. The last time Stanford played in a game was at the Diamond Head Classic in Honolulu against the Liberty Flames on Thu Dec 23. Stanford doesn’t play again until Wed Jan 12th at Washington State.

#2 A 19 day lay off is what Stanford is looking when they play the Cougars at Pullman next on the 12th. After such a long layoff like that how does head coach Jerod Haase prepare a team that might be a little rusty.

#3 Talk about how much Stanford will be depending on some of their top scorers Spencer Jones, Brandon Angel, and Harrison Ingram.

#4 Previous to the current layoff the Cardinal had won four of their last five games and proved competitive during that stretch.

#5 Daniel their finally back next Wed Jan 12 at Washington State (8-6) to tip off against the Cougars . The Cougars prove to have no fresher legs than Stanford as the Cougars have been laid off for 20 days off. The Cougars last played on Dec 22 against the Boise State Broncos (10-4) in a losing cause the 58-52 at WSU. How do you see Stanford and WSU matching up this Wednesday night.

Join Daniel for the Stanford basketball podcasts Fridays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Sacramento Kings podcast with Jeremiah Salmonson: Kings need to defend against Jokic and Nuggets tonight

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Sacramento Kings guard De’Aaron Fox (5) gets a pass away as Atlanta Hawks forward Onyeka Okongwu (17) tries to get an arm in to defend the pass at the Golden One Center in Sacramento on Wed Jan 5, 2022 (AP News photo)

On the Kings podcast with Jeremiah:

#1 Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets tip off with the Sacramento Kings (18-17) tonight in Denver. The Kings are coming off a 108-102 loss to the Atlanta Hawks Wednesday night in Sacramento. The Kings have lost seven of their last nine games.

#2 More from Wednesday’s game the Hawks Kevin Huerter led with 25 points and in the last 38 seconds of the game Huerter scored five points the Hawks grabbed a six point win over the Kings.

#3 Huerter had 11 rebounds getting his first double double this year for the Kings. Huerter was a tough customer to shut down all Wednesday night.

#4 The Hawks were short players due to them being on the Covid 19 protocols list and the Kings were on back to back games. The Hawks executed enough on offense just to get over the top for the win.

#5 The Kings are in Denver tonight. The Nuggets lost their last game on Wednesday night to the Utah Jazz 115-109. The Nuggets have played .500 ball having won six out their last six games.

Join Jeremiah Salmonson for the Kings podcasts each Friday morning at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Las Vegas Raiders podcast with Rich Perez: Raiders and Chargers don’t bet the house on either one

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Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Derek Carr prepares to throw a pass against the Denver Broncos on Sun Dec 26, 2021 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas (AP News file photo)

On the Las Vegas Raiders podcast with Rich Perez:

#1 Rich, It’s going to be razer close but the Las Vegas Raiders (9-7) who are on a three game win streak have worked hard enough to be one win away from making the post season as they host the Los Angeles Chargers (9-7) on Sunday Night Football.

#2 The Raiders have three close games to win games like that take a lot of breaks and and come backs how much do you attribute that to the offense of defense.

#3 Raiders kicker Daniel Carlson wins the AFC Special Teams player of the week award. Carlson who booted a winning kick against the Indianapolis Colts last Sun Jan 2 for a 23-20 win in the closing seconds. Carlson was key in wins against the Cleveland Browns and the Denver Broncos in the two previous weeks. Without him they don’t get this far.

#4 Rich, Raiders quarterback Derek Carr had to find daylight and get help from his running back but was intercepted twice. Josh Jacobs who carried for a touchdown. Carr was 24 for 31 for 255 yards, one touchdown. It all counted in the close game against the Colts how much has Carr meant under center in a game like that.

#5 The Chargers have been .500 ball winning five of their last five, they handled the Denver Broncos in their last game with a 34-13 win. Broncos quarterback started again as starter Teddy Bridgewater is not likely to return any time soon after put on concussion protocols. Broncos back up quarterback Drew Lock started against the Chargers and couldn’t do anything against the Chargers defense. Rich how do you see this match up at Allegiant Stadium between the Chargers and Raiders on Sunday Night Football.

Join Rich Perez each Friday for the Raiders podcasts at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Trojans Brought Their Horse: Undefeated USC stops Cal’s streak at Haas, wins 77-63

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By Morris Phillips

BERKELEY, CA–That rust enveloping the USC Trojans–built up over nearly three weeks following their last game on December 18–dissipated rather quickly.

The Cal Bears, hoping to catch USC out of sync, soon found themselves being dismantled by the visitors, with each, successive possession and after timeouts. Conceding too many opportunities on the glass, and bleeding points in the paint, the Bears were worn down in their first home defeat, losing 77-63.

“They’re good, and we have to play better to beat a great team,” coach Mark Fox admitted.

Cal started fast, holding their own in an uptempo start that saw the lead exchanged nine times in the first ten minutes. But it soon became apparent that the surprisingly disciplined Trojans were stout as advertised. First, USC showed unexpected proficiency at the foul line, converting 11 of their 13 attempts. Then the visitors controlled the glass (39-24 rebounding edge) and attacked the basket relentlessly (50-14 edge in points in the paint). Cal aided USC by shooting just 41 percent from the floor for the game, and sprinkling in some glaring, empty possessions.

“We felt like we gave the game away,” said Grant Anticevich, who led Cal with 19 points. “Credit to USC. They are a top-10 team for a reason. But we just made too many mistakes.”

“Once we started defending at a higher level, we took the lead,” USC coach Andy Enfield said. “Our defense in the second half was outstanding.”

Isaiah Mobley led the Trojans with 19 points, and Drew Peterson added 17. Boogie Ellis, the transfer guard from Memphis, had 14.

Jordan Shepherd scored 17 points, and Andre Kelly came up with 13 points, 11 rebounds, but the Bears got almost no secondary help. Starters Kuany Kuany and Joel Brown were factors defensively, but failed to make a shot from the floor, far less than what was needed to aid Cal’s upset bid. Jalen Celestine scored 10 points off the bench but could have played a bigger factor were it not a couple of questionable decisions with the ball in his hands.

Cal trimmed their deficit to 54-50 with 9:20 remaining only to see the Trojans surge again and regain their double-digit advantage. What started on the defensive end incorporated high percentage shooting as USC shot 64 percent after halftime.

“We made some positive plays,” Fox said. “We just didn’t threaten enough in the second half.”

MISSING MATT?: In an interesting comparison, the Cal transfer that has many saying “what if?” Matt Bradley has already seen USC this season. Bradley opted to forgo his stature as Cal’s go-to guy, transferred to San Diego State, and his Aztecs faced the Trojans in the Paycom Wooden Legacy Championship Game in Anaheim on November 26.

It didn’t go well for Bradley.

The Trojans’ length and singular focus on getting Bradley stopped, paid off as the 6’3″ guard was limited to three points in 25 minutes on the floor. Bradley shot 1 for 7, including 0 for 4 from three.

Warriors Drop Second Game In a Row to Pelicans 101-96

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Golden State Warriors guard Jordan Poole lends a hand to guard Damion Lee in the first half of action against the New Orleans Pelicans in New Orleans on Thu Jan 6, 2022 (AP News photo)

Warriors Drop Second Game In a Row to Pelicans 101-96

By Barbara Mason

The Golden State Warriors (29-9) are coming off of what is probably their worst game of the 2021-22 season. The entire roster struggled from the start of this game until the finish. It was just horrendous and it’s a game that was forgettable from the get go as the New Orleans Pelicans (14-25) defeated the Warriors 101-96.

Thursday night the team took on the Pelicans without Stephen Curry and Draymond Green. The Warriors are more than capable of winning this game without Curry and Green. Curry was resting a left quad injury and Green his sore hip.

The starting lineup for the game is notable with Otto Porter, Andrew Wiggins, Kevon Looney, Gary Payton II and Jordan Poole. On top of that the Warriors have an amazing bench with Andre Iguodala, Jonathan Kuminga, Damian Lee and Nemanja Bjelica.

Tonight’s roster is more than enough to get past the Pelicans after the fluke of a game we saw last night. Here’s hoping that the disaster we saw in Dallas was the last of it’s kind this season.

The Warriors got on track as the first quarter reached the mid-way point and Golden State had a 22-16 lead at quarters end. In the second quarter, it looked like Golden State was working well together and having a lot of fun and a lot of success until the final four minutes of the half.

The Pelicans really turned on their offense with Brandon Ingram unable to miss finishing with 19 points. New Orleans was getting the ball to Ingram every chance they got. The Pelicans took the lead as the second quarter came to an end 47-46.

The Warriors were having a very good defensive game with Porter, Looney, Moody and Kuminga accounting for 18 of their 23 rebounds. Both teams were shooting 44% in the first half. Wiggins had 11 points in the first half with the remainder of the starters only hitting seven points combined. The Warriors needed a lot more offense from a lot more players in the second half and they needed to shut Ingram down.

Five minutes into the third quarter Golden State took back the lead after trailing by six points 57-56. They got back in front from the free throw line. The lead was short-lived by the Warriors and the Pelicans led by 75-72 after three quarters. In the third quarter it was Andrew Wiggins and Damien Lee who were keeping Golden State in this game.

The Pelicans continued to dominate in the fourth quarter and led 90-82 with three minutes left in the game. Much as in the last game, the Warriors offense was killing them. Another subpar team was beating Golden State. The Warriors were 5 of 30 from downtown, not a winning formula. The only way to describe this game by the Warriors was an offensive power outage two games in a row.

The Warriors got something going but it was too little too late with less than a minute left in the game. New Orleans came away with the win 101-96 in another shocker. This is the first time this season that the lost Warriors two games in a row.

Mama said there’d be days like this and for the Warriors two days in a row like this. They now have two days off in a row to watch film and relax before they get back to work on Sunday.

The game that everyone has been anticipating for weeks now will be played on Sunday against the Cleveland Cavaliers. There will be a lengthy practice on Saturday and supposedly it will be after that practice that the starting roster will be determined. The Warriors will just have to wait and see how that roster looks on Sunday. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:30 PM

Sharks Win in Buffalo, Beat Sabres 3-2

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San Jose Sharks goaltender Adin Hill stops one of the 37 shots he saved against the Buffalo Sabers this one in the first period in Buffalo on Thu Jan 6, 2022 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks defeated the Buffalo Sabres 3-2 Thursday. It was just the Sharks’ fourth win in Buffalo in franchise history. Matt Nieto, Timo Meier, and Tomas Hertl scored for the Sharks. Adin Hill made 36 saves for the win. Jeff Skinner and Zemgus Girgensons scored for the Sabres. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 18 saves in the loss.

The Sharks were again without Logan Couture and Jonathan Dahlen but defenseman Mario Ferraro returned to the lineup from the COVID-19 list. Goaltender James Reimer was also unavailable due to a lower body injury of unspecified severity. This puts some pressure on Adin Hill to return to form as the starter.

Sharks Head Coach Bob Boughner mentioned that Adin Hill had his swagger back in Thursday’s game, and the team fed off of that confidence. He summed up the team’s performance as: “We weren’t perfect but we were a lot better and it’s a good sign.”

Sharks forward Matt Nieto talked about scoring a goal with his line-mates Andrew Cogliano and Nick Bonino: “We haven’t really created offense the way we would like to. We think we’ve gotten a lot of chances so it’s nice to get one tonight. Hopefully more start coming.”

Nieto started a brief first-period flurry of scoring for the Sharks at 12:27. Andrew Cogliano sent the puck up from the goal line to Nieto inside the face-off dot. Nieto took the shot from an awkward angle but got it by Luukkonen on the blocker side. Assists went to Cogliano and Nick Bonino.

Timo Meier made it 2-0 at 13:44. Tomas Hertl got the puck across the line and then dropped it to Meier. Meier took a quick shot from the point and rang it off the post and in. Assists went to Hertl and Mario Ferraro.

Tomas Hertl made it 3-0 at 17:24. Alexander Barabanov cleared the puck out of the Sharks zone and then chased it down to carry it into the Sabres zone. He dropped it to a trailing Hertl who took the shot from the slot for his 17th of the season.

Jeff Skinner scored for Buffalo at 7:56 of the second. Skinner pulled the puck out of a board battle and carried it to the slot before taking the shot. The puck went over Hill’s stick, off the post and in. Victor Olofsson got the assist.

Zemgus Girgensons made it 3-2 with a power play goal at 18:14 of the third. Tage Thompson took a shot from the point that went off of the bar and came back out to bounce down Hill’s shoulder before landing behind him. Before Hill could find it, Girgensons swept it in. Assists went to Thompson and Rasmus Dahlin.

The Sabres pulled their goaltender with 92 seconds left and made a good push but the Sharks held on.

The Sabres out-shot the Sharks in every period for a shot total of 39-21, and in the third period they out-shot the Sharks 22-5. The Sabres also beat the Sharks in the face-off circle, winning 60% of the draws. The Sharks only had one power play but had no shots on that one. The Sabres had three power plays in which they had seven shots and a goal.

The Sharks’ next game is on Saturday in Philadelphia against the Flyers at 4:00 PM PT.