Tag: Los Angeles Lakers

Headline Sports podcast with London Marq: World Cup–US Women no match for Thailand in 13-0 blowout; Kings to host Summer League at Golden 1; plus more

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On the Headline Sports podcast with London:

#1 In the World Cup, US Women downed Thailand 13-0, Alex Morgan scored five goals and there was no mercy rule as the US Women kept pouring it on in Reims, France. The US took it to Thailand right from the kickoff.

#2 The win by the US topped the old record when Germany took it to Argentina in an 11-0 win in the 2007 World Cup.

#3 The Sacramento Kings will be hosting a California Classic Summer League at Golden 1 Center from July 1st through 3rd. Fans will get to take a look at the following teams: the Miami Heat, Los Angeles Lakers, Golden State Warriors and Sacramento Kings.

#4 With the Summer League coming up, where does Sacramento Kings head coach Luke Walton stand? He has been accused of sexual assault. His accuser is also holding the Warriors and Lakers legally responsible for the attacks. Is the Luke Walton case going to be a distraction or can Luke guide the Kings and get past it?

#5 The San Jose Earthquakes won a friendly 4-3 over Sacramento Republic FC on Tuesday night at Avaya Stadium. Earthquakes star Chris Wondolowski said that the team is in a zone a winning mental state right now, and even though it was like a preseason game, the Quakes are pushing to win and won’t take any prisoners right now.

#6 Former San Francisco Giants right fielder Hunter Pence hit another one off the fence for the Texas Rangers on Tuesday night against the Red Sox. Pence chalked up his 14th home run for an inside-the-park home run against the Boston Red Sox. Pence has been in the zone this season. He’s also got the Rangers clubhouse pretty loose right now.

London Marq does Headline Sports each Wednesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary podcast with Barbara Mason: Will Irving reunite with LeBron in L.A.?; Leonard’s 4-bouncer rim shot gets Raptors in the semi Finals; plus more

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Barbara Mason is filling in for Amaury on That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary podcast:

#1 What about all the talk from ESPN radio that they can see a LeBron James and Kyrie Irving reunion at the Los Angeles Lakers especially if Jason Kidd had come on board as head coach but Frank Vogel got the job as Lakers head coach? Stephen A Smith says that not going to happen that his sources tell him that Irving is going to the Knicks and Brooklyn is trying to weigh in on Irving, but Irving is focused on going to the Knicks and Madison Square Garden.

#2 The Toronto Raptors’ Kawhi Leonard sunk a four-bouncer on the rim and got the Raptors into the next round defeating the Philadelphia 76ers 92-90 on a buzzer beater. Leonard had himself a game finishing with 41 points in a Game 7 elimination contest to advance to face the Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Conference Finals.

#3 The Portland Trail Blazers’ Damian Lilliard will be all the rage as the Blazers are coming off a narrow 4-3 win past the Denver Nuggets. It took seven games for the Blazers to advance. Do the Blazers have enough to go deep with Golden State? In game one the Warriors rolled past Portland 116-94.

#4 In hockey, the San Jose Sharks and St Louis Blues played Game 2 Monday night in the best of seven in this third round of the NHL Stanley Cup Western Conference Final. The Sharks have been getting help from all around, but the Sharks’ Timo Meier has been on fire with two goals scored in Game 1. The Sharks had home ice in game for the first two games.

#5 The Oakland A’s opened up a two-game series in Seattle on Monday night the A’s got five homers but couldn’t win it in the end. The A’s and M’s are battling for that third place spot in the American League West and are two games out of second place but eight games behind Houston. The A’s and M’s have almost identical records in a short series that could prove to test the A’s on the road and the M’s against an A’s team who’s capable to break out the bats and get good pitching.

Barbara does That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary every Tuesday night and is a freelance writer for Area Grande Spanish papers at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Sexual assault allegations of Luke Walton puts Kings in damage control

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By: Ana Kieu

TMZ Sports first reported female sports reporter Kelli Tennant’s lawsuit against current Sacramento Kings head coach Luke Walton on Monday night. Sure, it may seem like just another headline among the tabloids, but sexual assault isn’t a joke, it’s a serious issue that has to be addressed in the general public. Some accusations may not be true, but about this accusation, we’ll have to wait and see if it turns out to be true.

Walton was hired by the Kings on April 14th. That, my friends, was only eight days ago. Before joining the Kings, Walton served as the Los Angeles Lakers head coach from 2016-19, Golden State Warriors assistant coach from 2014-16, Los Angeles D-Fenders player development coach from 2013-14 and Memphis Tigers assistant coach in 2011. Walton played in the NBA from 2003-13 after being a second-round draft pick at the 2003 NBA Draft. Walton played NCAA basketball at Arizona from 1999-2003.

Kelli Tennant is a host for the Ceremony Wellness podcast and a sports reporter who has worked for ESPN, PAC12, E! News, Fox Sports, Spectrum Sportsnet, and SportsNet LA. Tennant is a Temecula, Calif. native whose alma mater is the University of Southern California. Tennant played NCAA volleyball at USC for two seasons.

According to TMZ, Kelli Tennant claimed that before Walton became the Lakers head coach, he asked her to meet him at his Santa Monica hotel to discuss a book she was writing. She says they had a business relationship for several years and she wanted him to write a foreword.

In the suit, Tennant said when she arrived at Walton’s hotel, he convinced her to come up to his room so they could discuss the book. She claims when they got up to his room, Walton suddenly pinned her to the bed, placing his hips and legs over her body.

In the docs, Tennant claimed Walton began forcing kisses on her neck, face and chest. She claimed she screamed for him to stop and tried to free herself, but he held her down, groped her breasts and groin, and rubbed his erection on her leg.

Tennant says he eventually relented and let her get up from the bed, but as she was walking towards the door to leave, he grabbed her from behind and forced his body up against hers.

Tennant claimed when Walton finally released his grasp, she opened the door and left, but could hear him say, “Good to see you.”

Tennant claimed she did not initially report Walton’s conduct, but was forced to continually interact with him because of her job. She saied each time she saw him, he’d impose himself on her with a big hug or a kiss, even though she thought she made it clear his advances were unwanted.

In the suit, Tennant claimed on one occasion, Walton greeted her by uttering, “vulgar, guttural sounds at her” and said, “Mmmm…you’re killing me in that dress.” She says he then forced an aggressive hug on her and rubbed his body against hers.

While it’s unclear what exactly promoted Tennant to come forward, I can reassure you that the Kings are in damage control mode right now. Walton hasn’t released a statement, and it’s unclear if he’ll comment on anything. The Kings haven’t commented on the matter either. Sam Amick of The Athletic tweeted, “The Kings have issued a statement regarding sexual assault allegations against their new coach, Luke Walton, as reported by TMZ. We are aware of the report and are gathering additional information. We have no further comment at this time.”

Headline Sports podcast with Tony Renteria: Will Clippers come up with any more surprises in Game 3?; Giants get 4 runs in 9th, but still lose; plus more

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On the Headline Sports podcast with Tony Renteria:

#1 The Golden State Warriors tip off in Los Angeles Thursday night at Staples Center against the Clippers in a series that’s tied 1-1. The Warriors are coming off a loss in which the Clippers made a 31-point comeback. The Warriors are without an injured DeMarcus Cousins. Will the Warriors regroup, jell and win this one like going through butter or will the Clippers take advantage of the home floor and try to repeat a win like they did in Game 2?

#2 In Game 3 tonight, is there a possibility that the Clippers will take full advantage of the home floor and maybe have some inspiration from the Game 2 comeback? Also, it doesn’t seem like the Clippers’ Patrick Beverley is getting in the Warriors’ Kevin Durant’s head?

#3 The Giants lost a tough one on Wednesday night to the Washington Nationals 9-6 at Nationals Park on Wednesday night. The Giants got home run help from Steven Duggar and Geraldo Parra and tried to rally in ninth inning for four runs, but wound up short losing by three runs.

#4 For the first time in five games, the Oakland A’s finally got a win over the mighty Houston Astros. It was pitching that stopped the Astros’ lineup as A’s starter Frankie Montas went six and third, three hits on one earned run, and six strikeouts in the 2-1 win.

#5 The Boston Celtics’ Kyrie Irving scored 37 points to lead the Boston Celtics past the Indiana Pacers 99-91. Irving could end up as a free agent after the NBA Championship. Could Irving end up in Los Angeles and join former teammate LeBron James?

Tony does Headline Sports each Thursday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Reports: Kings hire Luke Walton to be their next coach

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luke walton - le bron

by Charlie O. Mallonee

To no one’s surprise, Sam Amick of theathletic.com reported earlier today that the Sacramento Kings had reached an agreement in principle with Luke Walton to become the next head coach of the team replacing Dave Joerger. Most reporters and analysts were speculating that Vlade Divac wanted Walton even before he parted ways with the Lakers.

There is no reason to doubt Amick’s reports. He has covered the Kings for years and has the respect of the front office. Amick is not a reporter who bites on the first shiny object in the water. If he did not feel there was real credence to the information he received, Amick would not have reported it.

The move also makes sense because the Kings reportedly tried to lure Walton to become their head coach before they hired Dave Joerger. Walton did not become a candidate for the Sacramento job at that time because the Lakers were pursuing him at the same time.

Walton will have Vlade’s trust

Walton and Divac were Lakers teammates in 2004-05 which was Divac’s final year as a player. They know each other well which is important to Divac who seems to very comfortable having an inner circle that is very familiar to him.

That can also be a detriment. One of the roles Walton may be able to play is to urge Divac to open up and expand the Kings front office to bring in more experienced executives to assist him in running the operation.

Because Walton will have an instant credibility factor with Divac, he will probably be included in making personnel decisions where Joerger was never included in that part of the operation. We know that because Joerger made no secret about his lack of involvement in personnel decisions.

Walton also is from the Steve Kerr coaching tree

luke walton

Walton is known for the incredible job he did filling in Steve Kerr when he was out due to medical issues. Walton led Golden State to a 39-4 record until Kerr was able to return to the bench.

Walton got off to a solid start with the Lakers in his first year as head coach, but ran into a firestorm when LeBron James joined the team in his second season the head man. LeBron not only cost Walton his job, but convinced Magic Johnson to bail out as President of Basketball Pperations. James manages to suck the air out of any team that he is a part of as a player, de facto coach, and de facto general manager.

Walton has his work cut out for himself

Walton has some strong returning players in De’Aaron Fox, Buddy Hield, Bogdan Bogdanovic, Marvin Bagley III, and Harry Giles III. Will Harrison Barnes invoke his $25-million option? Should the Kings resign or match offers for Willie Cauley-Stein? Who should the team pursue in free agency?

Sacramento finished nine games out the playoffs this season. It will be no easy task to break into the playoff tournament next season, but Walton will have four years to make this team a success.

Walton will be a different personality

luke

Where Joerger was an introverted, close to the vest personality, Walton will an open, upfront star in front of the cameras. He will be a PR star for the Kings. That will be of help on an on-going basis. It will be something they haven’t had in long. long time. The fans and media will love it.

Warriors avoid letdown game with 108-90 win over Lakers

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By: Ana Kieu

The Golden State Warriors may not be perfect this season, but they’re still sitting comfortably at the top of the Western Conference. So who knew that Warriors star Steph Curry has been playing with blurry vision all this time?
Curry recently learned that he had astigmatism, which blurred his vision, and added contacts to his daily routine.

“I had gotten so used to squinting for so long,” Curry told Marcus Thompson II of The Athletic. “It was just normal.”

“It’s like the whole world has opened up,” Curry continued.

Anyways, let’s get to the Warriors’ game against the Los Angeles Lakers at Staples Center Thursday night.
The recap’s below.

The Warriors’ starters featured Kevin Durant, Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, and DeMarcus Cousins.

Tipoff went underway, but it was the Warriors who got the party started with Thompson’s three-pointer at the 11:45 mark. Just a few minutes later, Green added the bucket and Cousins contributed the bucket. It wasn’t even close as Golden State led 39-12 at the end of the first quarter. After all, LA was missing their top five players and shot only 21.1% at the 3:46 mark.

The Lakers picked up the pace and outscored the Warriors 30-12 in the second quarter, but Golden State maintained a 60-42 lead at the end of the first half. Alex Caruso’s monster put-back was LA’s Budweiser Moment of the Week. Female stand-up comedian Sarah Silverman was sitting courtside and wasn’t happy with LA’s first-half performance.

Anyhow, there was more good news for the Warriors in the third quarter. Warriors PR tweeted that Cousins has back-to-back 20-point, 10-rebound games for four such games this season.

The Warriors outscored the Lakers 34-24 at the end of the third quarter. LA, however, kept the faith and tweeted that the final frame was coming up. Still, the deficit was a little too steep for LA to tie the game to force overtime.

Meanwhile, the Lakers continued their remembrance of the late rapper Nipsey Hussle with signed No. 1 Hussle jerseys. Hussle was fatally shot in the parking lot of his clothing store Marathon Clothing in South LA on March 31st. Hussle’s alleged shooter was Eric Holder, who pleaded not guilty. Holder’s defense attorney is Chris Darden, a former prosecutor for disgraced NFL player OJ Simpson.

The Warriors remained focused on the game. Quinn Cook made a two-point bucket to help Golden State to a 101-73 lead with 7:15 left in the fourth quarter.

Sure, the Lakers outscored the Warriors 24-14 at the end of the fourth quarter, but Golden State had the game in the bag. GS won 108-90.

The Warriors’ record increased to 54-24, while the Lakers’ record decreased to 35-44.

DeMarcus Cousins led the Warriors with 21 points, 10 rebounds, and two steals. Quinn Cook had 18 points and one steal. Kevin Durant had 15 points, eight assists, and six rebounds. Draymond Green had 12 points, six assists, four rebounds, two blocks, and one steal. Klay Thompson had 11 points, four rebounds, three assists, and one block. Steph Curry had 10 rebounds, seven points, seven assists, and one steal. Damion Lee had eight points, three rebounds, and two steals. Kevon Looney had six points, three rebounds, and one steal. Alfonzo McKinnie had five points and four rebounds. Jonas Jerebko had three points, three rebounds, two assists, two steals, and one block. Jordan Bell added two points, two rebounds, and one block.

The Warriors return home to host the Cleveland Cavaliers Friday night at 7:30 pm PT.

Headline Sports podcast with Tony Renteria: Lechler to go into Hall as Raiders punter for 13 seasons; Raiders sign Grant at wide receiver; plus more

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On the Headline Sports podcast with Tony Renteria:

#1 Former Oakland Raider Shane Lechler can look forward to be inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame after the five year wait . He played in 206 games for the Raiders and missed only two games in 13 seasons. In those 13 seasons, Lechler called Oakland his home. A seven-time Pro Bowler, he was one of the best punters in NFL history.

#2 Wide receiver Ryan Grant has signed with the Oakland Raiders. Grant formerly with the Indianapolis Colts signed with Oakland on Wednesday Grant’s deal is worth one year, $2.5 million.

#3 You can’t win them all the A’s, who won the first two games against the visiting Boston Red Sox on great pitching, and delivered two shutouts, but they dropped game three of the four-game series to the Red Sox. However, the A’s have been delivering excitement each night.

#4 The Giants had some troubles on this road trip, but still, they have gone 2-5 thus far. They have concluded their road series with the Dodgers with a 5-3 loss. They have their home opener on Friday, can they get back on track with some home cooking?

#5 The Sacramento Kings might be making changes again and knowing how much Kings owner Vivek Ranadive and general manager Vlade Divak like Los Angeles Lakers head coach Luke Walton. Do you see Walton getting fired by the Lakers as rumored and going to the Kings, which means Kings head coach Dave Joerger will get the boot at season’s end?

Headline Sports with Tony R is heard each Thursday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

Headline Sports podcast with London Marq: Avenatti says that Nike paid college athletes; Kings may not make playoffs, but still not giving up games; plus more

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On Headline Sports with London:

#1 Michael Avenantti, former attorney for Stormy Daniels, has said this week that Nike had paid student-athletes at various colleges. Avenatti has been charged for extortion as he is accused of trying to extort up to $25 million from Nike.

#2 After the feds have made charges against Avenatti for the extortion charge, Avenatti–some 24 hours later–made the claim that Nike was paying its Nike Elite Basketball Youth Program bribes in college basketball.

#3 This is a Sacramento Kings basketball team that never gives up. They lost a close five-point game on Sunday to the Los Angeles Lakers, but turned around on Tuesday night and beat the Dallas Mavericks in Dallas 125-121. They’ve got a little something in the tank.

#4. The Los Angeles Kings’ Drew Doughty has questioned whether the San Jose Sharks Brent Burns should have won the Norris Trophy, saying Burns gets beat three times a game and that the Calgary Flames’ Mark Giordano should get the award. Burns leads the NHL defensemen with 77 points to Giordano, who’s in second with 72.

#5 Baseball season opens on Thursday. The Oakland A’s already opened their season in Tokyo last week and are playing their first regular game stateside against the Los Angeles Angels. How much does this take out of a team with the jet lag playing two exhibitions and two regular games then playing in Oakland just one week later?

London Marq does Headline Sports each Wednesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Kings fall to Lakers 111-106 in LA

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By: Jeremiah Salmonson

LOS ANGELES–The Sacramento Kings came into LA coming off a 3-1 homestand. They beat the Phoenix Suns, Dallas Mavericks, and Chicago Bulls while only dropping one game. A heartbreaker in which they were up 25 going into the fourth quarter and lost by two points. All in all, the Kings were happy with what they were able to accomplish during the homestand. They were looking forward to attempting revenge on the Lakers as they have had the Kings’ number this year. The tip-off was set for 6:30 PM PST.

In the first quarter, the Kings were off to another slow start. Remembering back to a day earlier on Saturday where the Kings were only able to score 20 in the first quarter. Sunday was not much different. The Kings continued to struggle through the early minutes of the game. They were only able to put 20 points on the board on Sunday while allowing 22. The Lakers weren’t playing great either as both teams were struggling to put the ball in the bottom of the hoop. The leading scorer in the game was Marvin Bagley, who had seven points through the first.

In the second quarter, it looked like more of the same for the Kings. They were struggling to find their shot and looked to be falling further behind. However, the Kings were able to battle and put up 29 points to outscore the Lakers. The Lakers managed to score 26 in the second. The leading scorer in the second quarter was Lance Stephenson, who put up eight points in the second. If the Kings wanted to keep pace, they had to start knocking down some shots in the third.

In the third quarter, it didn’t look pretty as the Lakers started off the quarter with a 14-0 run to start the second half. Kyle Kuzma led the Lakers’ charge with 21 points in the third. Lebron James also made an impact in the third, scoring eight points to help rack up a 39-point third for the Lakers. On the other hand, the Kings scored 28, but it wasn’t enough to keep pace. Nemanja Bjelica and Marvin Bagley led the Kings with six and five points, respectively. The third ended with the Lakers leading 87-77. The Kings needed a big late-game push to have a chance.

In the fourth quarter, the Kings kept with tradition and made things interesting. To give the credit where credit is due, the Kings battled in the final minutes; however, the deficit they created in the previous minutes proved too large to overcome. The Kings fell to the Lakers in LA 111-106.

Up Next: The Kings travel to Dallas to take on the Mavericks at 5:30 PM PST on Tuesday.

NBA podcast with Jerry Feitelberg: Pacers handle Clips 119-92; Magic’s Ross get 32 points in win; Raptors’ Siakam gets career-high point total

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On the NBA podcast with Jerry Feitelberg:

#1 The Indiana Pacers (36-19) got a 119-92 win past the LA Clippers (30-26). Bojan Bogdanovic led the Pacers with 29 points.

#2 The Orlando Magic (23-32) got a win over the Minnesota Timberwolves (25-29) 122-112. The Magic’s Terrence Ross got 32 points.

#3 The Toronto Raptors (40-16) over the Atlanta Hawks (18-36). The Raptors Pascal Siakam got 33 points to lead all scorers.

#4 The LA Lakers (28-27) got a 129-128 win over the Boston Celtics (35-20). It was just like an old rivalry between these two NBA teams. The Lakers’ LeBron James led with 28 points and the Celtics’ Kyrie Irving had 24.

Jerry does the NBA podcast each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com