Huskies rout Cardinal 85-65 in Pac-12 hoops

Stanford Cardinal conferenced but just couldn’t figure out how to stop the Washington Huskies offense at Alaskan Airlines Arena in Seattle on Thu Feb 15, 2024 (Stanford Cardinal image)

By Daniel Dullum

Thursday, February 15, 2024

Stanford opened its penultimate Pac-12 men’s basketball road trip Thursday with an 85-65 defeat by Washington at Alaska Airlines Arena in Seattle.

Washington (14-11 overall, 6-8 Pac-12) was led by Deion Brooks Jr. with 30 points on 8 of 14 field goal shooting, and Koren Johnson with another 30 points off the bench, including six 3-pointers. Shaver Wheeler was next for the Huskies with 14 points, eight assists and two steals. Braxton Meah had 13 rebounds.

Maxime Raynaud and Brandon Angel were the Cardinal scoring leaders with 19 points each. Raynaud also had a game-high 16 rebounds to go with two steals. Angel was 7 of 7 at the free throw line, and Raynaud’s double-double was his 10th of the season, Andrej Stojakovic added 10 points off the bench.

There were 13 lead changes and seven ties throughout most of the first half. Raynaud scored 11 of the Cardinal’s first 17 points, and scored seven points in a 10-0 Stanford run that put the visitors up 16-8.

The Huskies responded with an 8-point run and hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to take a 40-38 halftime lead.

Washington opened the second half with a 12-0 run, and while the Cardinal (12-12 overall, 7-7 Pac-12) cut their deficit to single digits with 11:14 left on a Stojskovic 3-pointer, the Huskies methodically pulled away.

The Cardinal resume their Northwest road swing on Saturday, when they visit Washington State. Game time is 3 p.m.

NHL podcast with Len Shapiro: Blackhawks Bedard back in line up tonight; Panthers Reinhart smartest forward in NHL says coach; plus more news

Chicago Blackhawks Connor Bedard will return tonight against the Pittsburgh Penguins at the United Center in Chicago. Bedard who suffered a broken jaw in early January has returned a lot earlier than expected. (AP file photo)

On the NHL podcast with Len Shapiro:

#1 Connor Bedard the number one NHL draft choice is back in the line up tonight from a broken jaw he and the Chicago Blackhawks will be facing off against the Pittsburgh Penguins His return is earlier than expected and Bedard leads the Blackhawks in scoring.

#2 Things are going relatively well for the Florida Panthers forward Sam Reinhart. Reinhart has a career high 39 goals. Panthers head coach Paul Maurice said that Reinhart has the high IQ of a forward.

#3 Len, the Vancouver Canucks Phil Kessel will be working out at the Canucks AHL affiliate Abbotsford Canucks facilities. Kessel played all last season for the Vegas Golden Knights and has not played for Vancouver yet. Kessel is 36 years old and had 36 points, 14 goals, 22 assists in 82 games regular season games for the Knights. Kessel did not play in the Knights post season.

#4 The Philadelphia Flyers who will be in the Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series outdoor game this Saturday against the New Jersey Devils at Met Life Stadium in East Rutherford are still waiting to see how Tyson Forester (lower body injury) and Rasmus Ristolainen (upper body injury) are coming along. Neither played on Monday against the Arizona Coyotes nor practiced on Wednesday.

#5 The Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Morgan Reilly who crossed checked the Ottawa Senators Ridly Grieg in the head was suspended by the NHL Department of Player Safety for five games. Grieg as laid out after the cross check in Saturday’s game. The penalty happened within the last few seconds of the game as the Senators were leading the Leafs 4-3. Grieg scored on a empty netter with six seconds left and that’s when Reilly came up from behind Grieg and crossed checked him. Reilly’s motivation for the crosscheck was that Greig was piling on when the Sens had a one goal lead with six seconds left for a 5-3 Senators win.

#6 Tuesday the Boston Bruins goaltender Linus Ullmark was fined $5,000 for high sticking the the Tampa Bay Lightning’s forward Michael Eyssimont. The penalty was at 5:21 of the third period. Sometimes frustrations happen but apparently the officials ruled that Ullmark’s high stick went too far and Ullmark ended up getting the maximum fine by the NHL’s Department of Player safety.

#7 The San Jose Sharks wing man Tomas Hertl will miss several weeks after having left knee surgery. The surgery was performed to remove cartilage from the knee. Hertl after recovery will rehab and will be evaluated when he could return. Hertl was aware of the knee prior to playing the NHL All Star Game and decided to have the surgery after the All Star break.

Join Len Shapiro for the NHL podcasts Thursdays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Golden State Warriors podcast with Jerry Feitelberg: Warriors have trouble stopping Clippers Powell and George; Golden State snaps six game win streak at home

The Golden State Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga (00) takes a shot against the Los Angeles Clippers guard Norman Powell (24) and guard Brandon Boston Jr (right) first half action at the Chase Center in San Francisco on Wed Feb 14, 2024 (AP News photo)

On the Golden State Warriors podcast with Jerry Feitelberg:

#1 The Golden State Warriors were home against the Los Angeles Clippers but that didn’t make much of a difference as the Warriors had a tough time containing the Clippers.

#2 The Clippers got scoring production from James Harden 26 points, Paul George 24, and Norman Powell with 21 points led the way.

#3 Powell got the hot hand scoring four 3 pointers in the last 7:03 of the game. Powell matched up with Warrior guard Stephen Curry in the contest.

#4 Curry wound up leading the Warriors with 41 points but it was too little as the Clippers won it by five points.

#5 The Warriors have to return to the site of the passing of their late coach Dejan Milojevich once again. The Warriors were just in Salt Lake City on Mon Feb 12 and have a make up game with the Utah Jazz Thursday night this is the game that was canceled because coach Milojevich passed away the night before at dinner.

Join Jerry for the Golden State Warriors podcasts Thursdays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Red-Hot Clippers Cool Off Warriors in Fourth Quarter 130-125

The Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) goes to lay one up against the Los Angeles Clippers center Ivica Zubac at the Chase Center in San Francisco on Wed Feb 14, 2024 (AP News photo)

By Barbara Mason

After leading for the majority of Wednesday night’s game against the Los Angeles Clippers (36-17) the Golden State Warriors (26-26) fell short in the fourth quarter losing 130-125. The Warriors controlled the tempo, the pace but fell short in the final four minutes. The sixth win in a row for Golden State was not to be.

Game recap: The Warriors got a lightning start forcing turnovers and handling the Clippers quite well. Los Angeles is without Kawhi Leonard in this game missing it due to a left thigh injury. The first quarter was close throughout until the final minute when the Warriors got a little separation leading 30-23 after the first 12 minutes. 

The Clippers weakest quarter is typically the first quarter but Golden State had gotten this game going in the right direction in the opening quarter. Every Golden State starter had scored in the first twelve minutes. and the Warriors had set a great pace dictating play.

Mid-way through the second quarter the Warriors took a ten-point lead 43-33. The Warriors continued to double team James Harden who was the leading scorer on the court for the Clippers. 

Harden was not getting much help from his team mates and continued to try and carry his team. With 4:32 left in the half, the Warriors continued to hold the lead 47-39 and Golden State had their way throughout the first half. The first two quarters were all Golden State. 

The three’s started flying for the Warriors complimented by some solid defense. The score at halftime was 59-52 in favor of Golden State. The Warriors had held a 59-44 lead during the second quarter but the Clippers went on a 8-0 run to close out the half. They had cut the Warriors lead in half but Golden State still held a seven point lead going into the second half.

The Clippers got going in the third quarter and in a flash Los Angeles had pulled to within three points 59-62. Early in the quarter, Draymond Green got an elbow to the jaw and was taken back to the locker room to rule out concussion, broken jaw or any number of injuries that could have occurred after such a vicious hit. The team had to carry on in the absence of Green awaiting word on his condition. 

The Warriors rallied pushing their lead back to double digits 75-65 at 5:38. Stephen Curry was on fire with 25 points through 2 2/1 quarters and had 6 three’s. At 5:22 the ever tough Green came out of the locker room and rejoined his team mates on the court.

Brandin Podziemski was having a terrific game off the bench with 18 points going 4 of 4 from downtown. The third quarter saw another record for Curry with his fourth straight game hitting at least seven three’s.  As the quarter came to an end the Warriors held onto a 97-86 lead. 

The fourth quarter was an over the top physical game. The Clippers Mason Plumlee got a flagrant one when he showed excessive force guarding Brandin Podziemski and the Warriors Jonathan Kuminga also got a flagrant one for pushing Plumlee in the back in defense of his team mate. 

At 5:35 the Clippers made a push that tied up this game at 108. Los Angeles went on to take the lead; their first lead with a 17-2 run. The two teams began to trade leads as this game was going down to the wire. 

Curry had a real challenge being double-teamed for most of the game and forced to take some very difficult shots. Los Angeles had their largest lead when it really counted; in the last minute of the game 126-120. 

With 48.3 ticks left on the clock the Warriors were in danger of losing. Golden State was unable to guard the Clippers in the fourth quarter when it really counted. The final was 130-125 in favor of Los Angeles. This was an impressive win for the Clippers having to play without Leonard but they fought throughout the contest for the eventual victory.

The Warriors had a terrific game doing just about everything needed to win. Curry finished with 41 points hitting nine shots from downtown. Podziemski was terrific off the bench with 25 points going 5 for 5 from beyond the arc. Golden State protected the ball well with only 9 turnovers. It was a disappointing loss for the Warriors after leading for the majority of the game and playing so well throughout.   

Game notes: Wednesday night the Warriors took on one of the best in the west the Clippers at Chase Center. The Clippers are currently in third place in the Western Conference. The Clippers have the third ranked offense and they are first in three’s. Despite a crazy schedule, the Warriors are playing their best basketball of the season. They defeated the Warriors at Chase by five points and hop on a plane to play the Utah Jazz on Thursday leading into the All-Star game. Golden State failed to get their sixth win in a row Wednesday night. They couldn’t win the final two games before the break.

In a quick turnaround, the Warriors will hop on a plane and fly back out to Utah to make up the suspended game from January 17. It has been a crazy week for the Warriors but they are really rising to the occasion playing what is probably their best basketball all season. Tipoff for the Jazz game Thursday night is scheduled for 6:00 PM.  

   

Barracuda get dominant victory over Gulls 6-2

Photo courtesy of San Jose Barracuda. Thomas Bordeleau warms up before a game.

By Titus Wilkinson (@TitusWisme)

After beating the Condors at home San Jose looked to continue their winning ways against the San Diego Gulls.

In net for the Barracuda was Georgi Romanov while for the Gulls Calle Clang was in between the pipes.

Good starts are always important and for the Barracuda they did not do that. Instead just 1:46 into the game on the power play Olen Zellweger scored his 10th goal of the season giving them the early lead.

While the start may have been rough later in the period San Jose would tie the game as Ethan Cardwell scored his 14th of the campaign.

Then in the dying moments Nathan Todd snuck one home to give San Jose a late period lead.

The second ended up starting out the opposite of the first as Shakir Mukhamadullin scored his sixth to extend their lead to 3-1.

Later in the period Kyle Rau tacked on with his fourth to make it a commanding three goal lead.

The dominance continued in the final frame as Jacob Peterson made it 5-1 though the Gulls would cut into the lead at 10:55 as Ben King scored.

San Diego pulled their goalie but it did not end up mattering as Peterson got his second of the night putting the game away at 6-2.

While the Gulls are one of the bottom feeders in the league seeing San Jose’s offense explode for six goals was great to see. This is also the second game in a row were the offense has showed up as they scored four goals against the Condors last game. What is more impressive is that they have given up only four goals in their past two games.

If there was any negative San Jose took a lot of penalties though they weren’t punished for it as the Gulls only went 1/6 on the man advantage.

As far as stats Thomas Bordeleau had a great night with three assists and two shots on goal. The shots also favored San Jose in this one at 26-21.

The three stars of the game were: 1st: Kyle Rau 2nd: Thomas Bordeleau 3rd: Shakir Mukhamadullin

After this victory San Jose improves to 16-22-8 while the Gulls fall to 18-19-7.

The Barracuda will continue their road trip against one of the best in the league Coachella Valley tomorrow at 7 p.m.

NHL Navy Federal Credit Union Stadium Series podcast with Jessica Kwong: Outdoor Stadium Series continues with Flyers vs. Devils; Rangers vs. Islanders this weekend at Met Life Stadium

NHL Navy Federal Credit Union Stadium Series at Met Life Stadium East Rutherford New Jersey begins Sat Feb 17, 2024 with Philadelphia vs. New Jersey and Sun Feb 18, 2024 NY Rangers vs. NY Islanders (ESPN image)

On Headline Sports podcast with Jessica:

#1 Jessica lots of anticipated excitement regarding the 2024 NHL Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series at Met Life Stadium in East Rutherford New Jersey.

#2 The first game features the Philadelphia Flyers and New Jersey Devils on Sat Feb 17th. The outdoor game between these two teams has the Flyers who are in third place in the Metropolitan Division at 29-19-6. The Flyers have won four straight games. New Jersey is just behind the Flyers with a 27-21-4 in fourth place. This could be a pretty evenly match game. A 5:00pm PT/8:00pm ET face off.

#3 In the second game Sun Feb 18 at Met Life it’s the battle of the crosstown rivals the New York Rangers and New York Islanders. The Rangers who are first place in the Metropolitan Division they have won five straight games 34-16-3 with a whopping 71 points. The Islanders are in fifth place 22-18-13 they have lost their last two games. No matter where these two teams are in the standings it’s a rivalry and expect neither to give in especially on a big stage like the Stadium Outdoor series. Face off on Sunday 12:00pm PT/ET 3:00pm.

#4 Met Life Stadium capacity is 82,500 and is expected to be a sell out. This attendance for this game could rival one of the NFL games that is played at the stadium on a regular basis that’s how popular these outdoor games are.

#5 One of the featured attractions of the Stadium Series this will be the 40th and 41st outdoor games this will be the first time that four teams will play at the same venue for the New York/New Jersey fans. This will be the fifth outdoor game for the Flyers (1-3-1), the Rangers have a perfect record in the outdoor games (4-0-0), the Devils and Islanders have played in just one outdoor game and share the same outdoor record (0-1-0).

Jessica Kwong hosts Headline Sports every other Wednesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Kansas City Chiefs parade shooting 1 dead 22 injured; three suspects detained (podcast edition) with Rich Perez

Kansas City law enforcement head to the direction of the shooting near the Union Station Railway in downtown Kansas City near the parade route of the Super Bowl Champion Kansas City Chiefs on Wed Feb 14, 2024 (AP Photo/Reed Hoffmann)

KC Chiefs parade shooting podcast with Rich Perez:

#1 Rich, one person dead, 22 injured at today’s Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl parade outside of Union Station Railway near the parade route. According to Kansas City Police Chief Stacy Graves. A Omaha man reportedly tackled one of the shooters and three shooters are in custody.

#2 This is the 48th mass shooting in the United States and it’s only the second month of 2024. Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas said that all Kansas City Chiefs players, coaches and staff are safe and accounted for.

#3 Police arrived immediately after getting 911 calls and took the three shooters in custody, Police and emergency responders were assisting the injured. It was reported that authorities on the ground are still trying to establish what took place.

#4 The shooting took place near the end of the parade route and again a mass shooting with 22 injured and eight of those with life threatening injuries.

#5 Statements from the Chiefs, quarterback Pat Mahomes says he’s praying for Kansas City, guard Trey Smith said “thoughts and prayers for everyone”, defensive tackle Mike Pennel and offensive lineman Donavon Smith on social media said they were praying after learning about the shooting.

Rich Perez is an NFL analyst for http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Kevin and Devin show has Kings fall to Suns 130-125; Durant 28 pts, Booker 25 pts offense gets Phoenix win

The Phoenix Suns Kevin Durant (35) is stoked after after hitting a three point first half shot against the Sacramento Kings at Footprint Arena in Phoenix on Tue Feb 13, 2024 (AP News photo)

By Jeremiah Salmonson

PHOENIX–The Sacramento Kings were back in action on Tuesday night in Phoenix, Arizona. The Kings last played on Sunday when they took on Oklahoma City Thunder. The Kings, who had played the Thunder well so far into the season, had high hopes for that game.

Unfortunately, the Kings lost a relatively uncompetitive game by the final of 127-113 on Sunday. The Kings have been a woefully inconsistent team in the 2023-2024 season. They are desperately looking for consistency on the defensive side of the ball and from the urgency department. The Kings would take on the Suns on Tuesday at 8 PM MST. The Kings fell to the Suns 130-125.

In the first quarter, the offense was the name of the game. The Kings and the Suns started hot from the scoring end of the floor. The Kings outscored the Suns 39-38 in the first quarter of action. Domantas Sobonis and De’Aaron Fox got going early, with 13 and 12 points, respectively. It seemed the entire Suns team got in on the scoring in the first quarter, as seven players had scored for them. Obviously, both these teams are offensively gifted. Could either team tighten things up on the defensive side of the ball?

In the second quarter, the intensity level from both teams went to max. The Kings and Suns were caught in a heavy-weight battle in the Valley. As both teams increased the intensity, the offensive output took a dip. The Kings outscored the Suns again in the second quarter by two points, 28-26. It was a thriller of a first half on TNT as both teams were looking to move to the sixth seed in the Western Conference. It would also be the deciding game for the season head-to-head record for the two teams. The Kings would be leading heading into halftime, 67-64.

In the third quarter, the Suns finally broke through and would take the lead on the Kings. Granted, the lead would only be two points as the Suns led 94-92 heading into the fourth quarter. The Kings were outscored by the Suns 30-25 in the third. Fox had 27 points, and Sabonis 25 through three quarters. Eric Gordon was leading the way for the Suns with 20 points. You could feel the energy building as the Suns fans were gearing up for a fourth-quarter run.

In the fourth quarter, the Suns couldn’t miss early. The Suns went on a 9-2 run to open the quarter and force Mike Brown to take a timeout with 10:13 left in the game. An animated Brown, Kevin Huerter, and Harrison Barnes could be seen on the sidelines, obviously frustrated with defensive miscues.

After the timeout, the Kings did their best to withstand the Suns onslaught. The Suns were shooting out of their minds. The Kings would be down 108-100 with 7:00 to go in the game. Could the Kings make a run to win the game? The Kings went on a run to bring the game within a shot.

The game would go back and forth up until the final whistle, but the Kings would fall to the Suns 130-25. The Kings best performance in the loss was from Sabonis, who had 35 points, 18 rebounds, and 12 assists. Fox recorded a 40-piece in the loss. Kevin Durant led the Suns to victory with a 28-point and 10-rebound game.

Sabonis is the first player since Larry Bird to have at least 30 points, 15 rebounds, 12 assists, and five blocks in a game.

Up Next: The Kings travel to Denver to take on the Nuggets on Wednesday.

Spartans end losing skid against Air Force 73-66

Photo taken by Titus Wilkinson.

By Titus Wilkinson (@TitusWisme)

SAN JOSE- The Spartans returned home to take on Air Force after losing to Colorado last game.

Things in this one got off to a solid start for the Spartans as they would take an early 11-9 lead over Air Force.

After that early lead the score swung back-and-forth between both teams as they both looked to fully pull away.

Towards the end of the half Air Force got up to a 32-27 lead thanks in large part to Rytis Petratis who was cooking in the first.

The half ended at 34-31 with the Spartans looking to come back in the second.

Only four minutes until the second half San Jose State was able to take the lead as the score was now 42-39.

The teams then went on to exchange baskets but a big run by the home team had them pull away to a comfortable 61-47 lead.

That lead ended up being the killing blow as Air Force never was able to overcome the deficit.

The game ended at 73-66 with the home crowd celebrating the victory.

Tonight as per usual was the Myron Amey Jr. and Alvaro Cardenas show as they combined for 47 points total against Air Force.

On the other side Petratis was dominant for Air Force despite a quieter second half as he dropped 26 points.

Overall the Spartans shot a stellar 64.1% from the field with most of their points coming from the paint.

Air Force struggled to sink much of anything shooting a measly 43% from the field and 36% from three.

The Spartans will look to continue their good momentum as they’ll take on Wyoming on Saturday at home at 7 p.m.

That’s Amaury News and Commentary: The Coliseum to the Rescue? A’s wouldn’t have to shut down operations

Oakland Alameda County Coliseum at night (photo file by Ticketmaster.com)

The Coliseum to the Rescue? A’s wouldn’t have to shut down operations

That’s Amaury News and Commentary

By Amaury Pi-González

In the never-ending saga of the only baseball franchise in Bay Area history to have won four World Series, the Oakland A’s are now to meet with the City of Oakland and County of Alameda to renew a new lease past this 2024 season (last year for the current lease).

As Spring Training in Arizona is getting underway, the Oakland A’s, who are scheduled to inaugurate a new ballpark in the Las Vegas strip by 2028, have obstacles still on the horizon, the most important being the financing for the $1.5 billion stadium in Sin City as well are the renderings of the proposed new 30,000 seat facility.

If you call the Tropicana Hotel-Casino in Las Vegas today hoping to get a reservation for a stay, you can do so until April. The iconic Tropicana has already officially announced that they will not take any reservations after April 2 because they are making way for the demolition, which is also scheduled for this year.

While the A’s build their new park in Las Vegas, the one city that makes the most sense for the team to keep playing is Oakland, which is common sense, but as we all know, in this current story, ” common sense is not common anymore.”

If the Oakland A’s were to extend their lease with the City of Oakland and Alameda County for 2025 and beyond, that would ensure the team keeps playing in a major league facility. As dated as the Coliseum is today, granted, it is not the most attractive baseball park.

However, it is still a major league facility, and the Players Union will probably never approve of the A’s playing in a smaller setting, barnstorming in minor league cities outside the Bay Area.

So get ready. More discussions are underway. This makes sense, there is money for everybody, if they extend it, plus the A’s will still keep the millions they get in television broadcasting revenue, and the city and county also will benefit financially. This is not amateur sports; this is the Big Leagues, and when there is money to be made, everybody likes to talk about it.

Let’s see what happens now.

Amaury Pi Gonzalez is the lead play by play voice on the Oakland A’s Spanish radio network at 1010 KIQI San Francisco and 990 KATD Pittsburg and does News and Commentary at http://www.sportsradioservice.com