Tag: Sports Radio Service

Warrior thriller shuts down OKC offense in second half win 136-125

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Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, top left, reaches for the ball against Golden State Warriors forward Kevon Looney (5) and guard Moses Moody, bottom, during the first half at Chase Center in San Francisco on Tue Apr 4, 2023 (AP News photo)

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Golden State Warriors (42-38) played their final home game of the regular season Tuesday night at the Chase Center. Their opponent were the Oklahoma City Thunder (38-42).

OKC beat the Warriors in Oklahoma City the last time the teams played. The young Thunder players love to drive to the rim and get opportunities to make three-point plays.

The Warriors did not have Klay Thompson available Tuesday night. Thompson was a late scratch due to tightness in his lower back. Steve Kerr had Jonathan Kuminga and Anthony Lamb in the starting lineup and that made the difference for the missing Thompson in the Warriors 136-125 win.

The game turned out to be a high-scoring affair. The Thunder shot a blistering 59.6% from the floor in the first half. The Thunder won the first quarter 39-36. The Thunder scored 40 points in the second period. The Warriors scored 33 in the period but found themselves down 79-69 at the end of two periods of play.

Curry led the Warriors with 24. No other Warrior was in double figures. The Thunder had four players in double figures. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder with 21. Jalen Williams had 14, Isaiah Joe 14, and Lu Dort added 11. 

The Warriors have had several comebacks from double-digit deficits this season. The Warriors would need better defense if they hoped to win. The Warriors needed Jordan Poole, Donte DiVincenzo, Draymond Green, and Moses Moody to get going on offense. All those players came through for golden state.

The Warriors won the third quarter 33-27 to cut the deficit to four, 106-102 at the end of the third period. Stephen Curry started the fourth quarter on the bench. Poole met the challenge by making a three to tie the game 108-108. Poole made another bucket to make 110-108.

The Thunder made a three to regain the lead 111-110. Poole made a three and a two-point basket to give the Warriors the advantage 115-113. The Thunder tied the game at 115-115. Curry entered the game and made a three. The Warriors led 118-115. The Thunder didn’t know it then, but they were toast.

The Warriors defense stiffened as they held the Thunder to 19 points in the fourth quarter. The Warriors scored 33. Green, Gary Payton II, and Kevon Looney played well on defense. Curry and Poole led the comeback to give the Warriors the win.

Game Notes: With the win, the Warriors are 42-38. The Warriors are 33-8 at the Chase Center this year. The Warriors are currently in fifth place in the Western Conference. They will drop to sixth as the winner of the Clipper-Laker game will take the fifth spot. The Thunder lost their third in a row and fourth in the last five. The Thunder are now 38-42.

In the second half, the Warrior defense held the Thunder to 39% from the floor. The Warriors won the second half 67-46. 

The Warriors had five players in double figures. Curry paced the offense with 34 points, five rebounds, and six assists, and Curry made six threes. Poole had 30 points, two rebounds, and four assists, and Poole made five threes. Green had quite a night.

Green had 17 points, nine rebounds, and five assists, blocked two shots, and made two steals. DiVincenzo kicked in with 16 points, six boards, and five assists. DiVincezo made four threes. Moody added 13 points. Moody made three threes. Looney recorded 11 boards.

Gilgeous-Alexander paced the Thunder attack with 32 points. Jalen William had 19, Josh Giddey 16, Aaron Wiggins 11, and Isiaah Joe 14.

The Warriors have two games left in the regular season. Both games are on the road. The Warriors meet the Sacramento Kings Friday night in Sacramento for a 7:00 pm PDT tip. 

Kings handle Pelican defense 121-103

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Sacramento Kings forward Harrison Barnes (40) dunks against New Orleans Pelicans guard Trey Murphy III (25) during the first half at Smoothie King Arena in New Orleans on Tue Apr 4, 2023 (AP News photo)

Kings Handle Pelican Defense 121-103

By Barbara Mason

The Sacramento Kings (48-31) took on the New Orleans Pelicans (40-39) Tuesday night at Smoothie King Center in the “Big Easy”. The Kings have already secured their spot in the playoffs so now it’s all about preparing for mid-April and remaining healthy.

The Kings have had an amazingly injury-free season which accounts, in part, to much of their success. All the credit goes to the training staff that is onboard in Sacramento. Case in point the Kings offense lit up the Pelicans for a 121-103, 18 point win.

The Kings got a slow start in the opening quarter and the Pelicans Brandon Ingram tore up the court in the first quarter scoring 14 points. The Kings may have started poorly but they came on strong in the later minutes of the quarter outscoring the Pelicans 25-22.

Sacramento got fully on board in the second quarter outscoring New Orleans 40-32 and led at the half 65-54. The Kings had successfully taken Ingram out of the game after his hot start.

Sacramento maintained a double digit lead throughout the third quarter. Keegan Murray continued his amazing play shooting 7 of 9 from downtown. After three quarters the Kings had extended their lead to 96-80.

With 3:01 left in the fourth quarter the Kings had a 116-95 lead. They had handled one of the best defenses in the NBA. The Kings clinched the Pacific Division title in yet another milestone in this 2022-’23 season.

Every starter in this game had double digits with De’Aaron Fox leading the pack shooting 23 points. Malik Monk was back in action and finished with 17 points.

This season not only Keegan Murray but also Kevin Huerter were on the most 3-Pt field goals in a season list. In 2022-’23 Murray shot 201 and Huerter was right behind him with 200. Just another measure of the success that the Kings have had this season.

Wednesday night the Kings travel to Dallas to take on the Mavericks looking for win #49. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:30 PM.

NCAA Championship podcast with Michael Roberson: UConn fans and students celebration gets out of hand after championship watch party

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There were many property casualties at the University of Connecticut in Storrs CT following the UConn Huskies win over the San Diego State Aztecs in the NCAA Championship game on Mon Apr 3, 2023 here fans rally on the campus (AP News photo)

On the NCAA Championship podcast with Michael:

#1 Michael after the UConn Huskies (31-8) defeated the San Diego State Aztecs (32-7) students and fans at the University of Connecticut rioted tearing down street signs, light poles, smashed windows, flipping cars over, setting fire to dumpsters and destroyed property following the NCAA Championship game.

#2 Michael, 15 people were arrested and 16 people were taken to the hospital in Storrs. A UConn spokeswoman Stephani Reitz said that a majority celebrating at the campus were mostly well behaved but that small group was big enough to do destructive property damage to the university which overshadowed Monday’s victory.

#3 Gampel Pavilion the Huskies home arena at UConn held a watch party that had 10,000 students in attendance who took to the campus and streets after the win and the campus was trashed. Work crews and contractors came in to clean up and patch up the damage. It was miraculous that no one was killed in this wild and out of control post game celebration.

#4 To the game talk about the Huskies high scorers who kept any chance of victory away from the Aztecs, Tristen Newton 19 points, Adama Sanogo 17 points, and and Jordan Hawkins 16 points.

#5 First lady Jill Biden suggested that the Iowa Hawkeyes should be invited to the White House too even though they lost to NCAA women’s champs the LSU Tigers. LSU’s Angel Reese tweeted with the link of the story writing “A JOKE” and three laughing on the floor emojis. Dr. Biden walked back here idea saying she didn’t mean any disrespect to LSU players regarding the idea of inviting Iowa to the White House.

Michael Roberson is a Stanford Cardinal beat writer and covered the Final Four and the Championship game for http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Francisco Giants off day report: Giants take breather after losing three straight; Resume series with Sox Wed night

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San Francisco Giants’ Mike Yastrzemski watches his solo home run during the fifth inning of the Chicago White Sox season home opening baseball game Monday, April 3, 2023. (AP News photo)

By Jerry Feitelberg

The San Francisco Giants have a rare off day Tuesday in the middle of a three-game series with the Chicago White Sox. The Giants had quite a night on Monday. The Giants pounded the White Sox 12-3.

The G-Men hit seven home runs in the game. They blasted four solo home runs in an inning- two back-to-back solo homers. David Villar had two homers, including a grand slam in the ninth. Another highlight was Anthony DiSclafina’s outstanding effort after missing the 2022 season with a leg injury.

The Giants evened their record at 2-2. They lost two out of three to the New York Yankees and were shut out twice. Having the bats come alive Monday night had to please the Giants’ manager Gabe Kapler. The question in Kapler’s mind is this: Can we find a way to beat the White Sox in the next two games?

It will take work. The White Sox will have their ace, Dylan Cease, on the mound for Wednesday’s game. Cease went 14-8 last year and was a candidate for the AL Cy Young Award. Cease will be making his second start of the season. He is 0-0 with an ERA of 1.40. The Giants will counter with their ace, Logan Webb. Webb took the loss in his first start on opening day against the Yankees. Webb was 15-9 last year and had a very impressive 2.90 ERA. Webb is 0-1 with an ERA of 6.0 this year.

The Giants have most of their players back from last year. New names include Michael Conforto, Vlake Sobol, Bryce Johnson, Taylor Rodgers, Roberto Perez, and Mitch Haniger. Haniger is currently on the IL.

The White Sox lost former AL MVP Jose Abreu to the Houston Astros. Their closer, former Oakland A’s reliever Liam Hendriks, is on the IL after he was diagnosed with non-Hodkins lymphoma in January. The White Sox are considered a team that can win the AL Central Division crown in 2023.

The White Sox moved Andrew Vaughn to first base to replace Abreu. They signed Andrew Benintendi to play left field. The Sox signed former Oakland A’s shortstop Elvis Andrus as their second baseman. Tim Anderson returns as the shortstop. Anderson is a potential All-Star every season.

Yoan Moncada is their third baseman. Luis Robert is in center field, and Oscar Colas will patrol right field for Chicago. Eloy Jimenez will be their DH.

The Giants will face the veteran hurler Lance Lynn on Thursday. Lynn is in his 12th year. He has a career record of 123 wins and 84 losses. The Giants will send lefty Alex Wood to the mound to face the Sox, Wood was 8-12 last year, but his lifetime record is 71-60.

The Giants would love to take the next two games and finish the road trip with a winning record. After the series with the White Sox, the Giants return home to face another American League team, the Kansas City Royals, at Oracle Park. It will be the home opener for the Giants.

Jerry Feitelberg covers the San Francisco Giants and Oakland A’s for http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Guardians top A’s 12-11 in back and forth 10 inning game

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Oakland Athletics’ Ramon Laureano hits a two-run home run during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Cleveland Guardians at the Oakland Coliseum on Monday, April 3, 2023 (AP News photo)

Cleveland. 200 302 030 2 – 12 16. 1

Oakland. 150 020 009 1 – 11 14. 1. 10 innings

Time: 3:19

Attendance: 3,035

Mon April 3, 2023

By Lewis Rubman

OAKLAND–Without the magnet of Shohei Ohtani to attrack the paying customers, your Oakland Athletics, whose roots may be in The Town, but whose branches might soon cover Las Vegas, fought the Cleveland Guardians ten innings before succumbing 12-11 on this cool, clear, and very windy Monday night in front of an intimate gathering of 3,035 at the Oakland Coliseum.

The home team chose James Kaprielian as its starting pitcher. The 29 year old right hander, who came to the A’s as part of the deal that sent Sonny Gray to the Yankees in 2017, had a roller coaster of a season last year. He went 3-0, 1,89, with an opponents’ OPS of .612, in May and June.

But, if you count–as you must–the remaining four months of the season, his record was 5-9, 4.23, allowing his opponents an OPS of .735. He had a good spring, going 2-1, 2.81.

He began. the day with a lifetime mark of (0-1, 7.70) against Cleveland. He didn’t do that well tonight he lasted five frames and allowed as many runs, all of them earnbed. He surrendered seven. hits, including a home run, and a walk. He threw 89 pitches, 61 for strikes.

The visitors from Ohio, who arrived on the banks of the Nimitz with a 3-1 record, a half game out of the lead in the nascent AL Central Division season, went with Zach Plesac, like Karpielian making his his first start the mattered in 2023. He lasted 53 pitches, in. which he retired all of three Oakland batters. In his 1+ innnings of hard labor, Plessac surrendered six runs, all earned, on five hits, one of them for the distance, and a walk.

Cleveland almost fell victim to the Curse of the Lead Off Double Steven Kwan smacked the first pitch of the game into leftt for a two bagger. Kaprielian reovered to stroike strike out Amed Rosario and Josh Bell, but sandwiched betweenm them was a walk to José Ramírez. Josh Naylor singled to center, and Andrés Giménez gave the Guardians an early 2-0 advantage.

The A’s got one of those runs back in their half of the first on two out wind blown Texas League double by Seth Brown that would have plated Jace Peterson if he had been running full speed on what looked like the third out. Peterson scored on an infield single by the next batter, Conner Capper.

Oakland took the lead in the next frame.Ryan Noda led off with his first major league hit, a single to right. He moved on to third on Shea Langeliers’ line drive that rollled off short stop Rosario’s glove into left for a single. Moments later, Noda scored his first MLB run.

It came on a double to left by Estiuru Ruíz. After Kemp singled to right, Jace Peterson then rolled his first hit and first round tripper. in the show. It carried 401 feet into the right center field seats and put Oakland up 6-2. It also put Pleassc in the showers. He was replaced by Xzaviion Curry.

Naylor closed the gap a bit in the top of the fourth with a first pitch homer that took an 82 mph change up 406 feet into the right field seats, halving the A’s lead to 6-3. Then they almost closed the gap entirely. Jiménez lined one down the right field line that would have been a double if it hadn’t hit first base umpire Doug Eddings.

Will Brenman’s single to left moved Jiménez to second, and both came hone on a Myles Straw two bagger to left. All of a sudden, it was 6-5, with Oakland hanging on by the skin of its teeth.

The green and gold widened their lead to 8-5 in the home fifth thanks to a bunt singleo by Capel and a 408 foot homer to left center off Curry’s 85 mph slider.

Jeurys Familia took over mound duties for Oakland to start the sixth and was greeted by Zunino with a single to left. Brennan then sent a bouncing double play ball bouncing to second. A double play ball that Kemp bobbled. It was scored as a fielder’s choice and an error and opened the door for Straw’s sacrifice bunt to the mound, putting both runners in scoring posiition.

Both score; Zunino on Kwan’s sac fly to left and Brennan on Rosario’s single to center. When Ramírez followed those disaster with a singe to center, the A’s lead stood a 8-7. None of the runs scored on Familia was earned. He gave way to Sam Moll at the start of the seventh frame, and Tim Herrin replaced Curry for Cleveland in the bottom of the inning.

He almost gave up an unearned run on a two base error by his second baseman, but Brown, the beneficiary of Giménez’s misplay, was cut down at the plate trying to score on Laureano’s single to right, Brennan to Zunino.

Then it was the turn of Domingo Acevedo to try to hold off the Guardians in the top of the eighth. Straw led off with a single to left. With Kwan at bat, he stole second. The A’s challenged the call, but it was confirmed on video review.

Kwan then singled to right, driving in Straw with the tying tally; Rosario’s sac fly put Cleveland ahead, 9-8 Ramírez tripled to right in a play that had originally been scored as a single and. a two base error; and Bell’s sac fly to left brought Ramírez home with the Guardians’ tenth run.

After James Karnachak set Oakland down in order in the bottom of the eighth, Acevedo kept Cleveland off the board in spite of having plunked Straw, who then stole second.

Emmanuel Clase walked to the mound in the bottom of the ninth, looking for his second save of the season. Kemp greeted him with a single to second but was eliminated by a pitcher’s best friend, 4-6-3. Díaz wrangled a walk, took second on defensive indifference, and then trotted home on Brown’s majestic 432 foot improbable game tying home run to center, his first round tripper and RBI of the season. The hit it off a 97 mph cutter.

Trevor May pitched the tenth with Kwan as the zombie runner and Rosario at bat. His single to left brought Kwan 90 feet closer to home. He scored on a Ramírez single to center that allowed Rosario to make it to third.

Bell grounded out to second. Naylor was granted an intentional pass; Gabriel Arías pinch ran for him. May unleashed a wild pitch that allowed Rosario to score and the other runners to advance a base each. Giménez struck out and Zounino fouled out to Langiers to end the inning.

Eli Morgan took over pitching duties for Cleveland when the A’s came up for their last chance to stay alive. The speedy Laureano was the ghost runner; he went to third on Noda’s ground out to second and scored when. Ruíz doubled to right. But Kemp flew out to left, and the A’s had lost their third straight game, a game they could have won.

Clase got the win; he’s 1-0. May took the loss; he’s 1-1. Morgan got the save.

The two teams will square off tonight at 6:40 pm, with JP Sears scheduled to toe the rubber for the Athletics and Shane Bieber on the mound for the Guardians .That Tuesday contest will be the second of a three game series before the A’s hit the road for a seven games in seven days trip that will take them to Tampa Bay and Baltimore before they return to face the Mets on the 14th without even a day’s break for travel.

That’s Amaury News and Commentary podcast: Do these A’s have enough to compete this season?

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Oakland A’s first baseman Jesus Aguilar takes a cut at the baseball is expected to be the regular first baseman this season (file photo by the San Francisco Chronicle)

On That’s Amaury News and Commentary podcast:

#1 Amaury, taking a look at the three game series the Oakland A’s completed with the Los Angeles Angels the A’s losing two of the three but winning that 2-1 Thursday opener has to be important last Thursday especially against Shohei Ohtani.

#2 Amaury, talk about Jesus Aguilar he went two for four Sunday and is hitting .300 the A’s are depending him to deliver at the plate and hold runners at first base.

#3 The Angels got plenty of help from the usual suspects Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani who both hit a homer in Sunday’s 6-0 win.

#4 Taking a look at the San Francisco Giants Monday they made up for the lack of hitting they had in New York after getting shutout twice by the New York Yankees. They came out bats exploding with four runs in the top of the fifth and five run in the top of the ninth against the Chicago White Sox.

#5 The White Sox are coming off a tough series against the Houston Astros losing two out of three and today they used five pitchers including former A’s pitcher Jake Diekman who actually pitched well in relief two innings no runs or hits.

Amaury Pi Gonzalez is the lead play by play voice for the Oakland A’s Spanish radio network on 1010 KIQI San Francisco

Golden State Warriors podcast with Barbara Mason: Wiggins back in Bay girlfriend instagrams he’ll be back soon

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Golden State Warriors Andrew Wiggins girlfriend Mychal Johnson instagrammed that Wiggins will be back soon. Head coach Steve Kerr has shutdown all rumors that Wiggins will be out for the rest of the season. There has been talk Wiggins could be back for the post season. (photo from clutchpoints.com)

On the Golden State Warriors podcast with Barbara Mason:

#1 Barbara, the Golden State Warriors came out of the gates in the first quarter with a ten point lead 36-26 and held the Denver Nuggets in check to start off the game.

#2 The Warriors continued on the same path in the second quarter and two minutes into the quarter led 44-31. The Warriors led by as much as 15 points in the quarter but at 2:44 the Nuggets had trimmed the Golden State lead to five 56-51. 

#3 The best two-point shooting team in the league started to show their muscle in the fourth quarter. The Nuggets took a 105-96 lead with 5:40 left in the game and came out a two point winner in the end.

#4 Andrew Wiggins whose been out of action is reportedly back in the Bay Area and his girlfriend Mychal Johnson says Wiggins will be back soon. Wiggins has been out due to a mysterious and undisclosed reason. Rumors had Wiggins not returning for the rest of the season but Mychal’s communique sounds like Wiggins is about to make an appearance.

#5 Tuesday night the Warriors will be back home at Chase taking on the OKC Thunder. Tipoff is scheduled 7:00 PM. How do you see this match up?

Join Barbara Mason each Monday for the Warriors podcast at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Jose Barracuda podcast with Marko Ukalovic: Cuda battle one of AHL’s toughest Firebirds tonight in Coachella

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The San Jose Barracuda’s Will Riedell (90) reaches in the net with his stick against the Texas Stars at H-E-B Center at Cedar Park on Sat Apr 1, 2023 (AP News photo)

On San Jose Barracuda podcast:

#1 The Texas Stars (36-18-9) scored four special team goals in the first period as they cruised to a 7-2 route of the San Jose Barracuda on Saturday evening at H-E-B Center at Cedar Park.

#2 San Jose’s playoff hopes suffered a big blow as they sit six points behind the Tucson Roadrunners for the seventh and final playoff spot in the Pacific Division with just six games left in the regular season.

#3 San Jose (28-33-1-4-61 points) scored a power play goal of their own late in the opening frame. Martin Kaut set up Tristen Robins who beat Stars goalie Remi Poirier top shelf with a wrist shot for his 17th goal of the season at the 16:29 mark. Robins has scored in a back-to-back games for the ‘Cuda.

#4 Adam Raska closed out the scoring in the third period with his fourth goal of the season at the 8:41 mark. Will Riedell and Anthony Vincent, who picked up his first point in a ‘Cuda uniform, recorded assists on Raska’s goal.

#5 San Jose continues their four-game road trip when they take on the Coachella Valley Firebirds (45-14-4) on Monday 4/3 at 7:00pm at Acrisure Arena.

Join Marko Ukalovic for San Jose Barracuda podcasts Mondays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

That’s Amaury News and Commentary: A’s is it Oakland or Las Vegas? The case for both sides

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Las Vegas Aviators Stadium at dusk, the Oakland A’s possibly could end up playing here while they wait for their new ballpark to be built if they come to an agreement with Vegas officials and if they don’t get an agreement in Oakland (file photo by the Las Vegas Review Journal)

A’s is it Oakland or Las Vegas? – The case for both cities

That’s Amaury News and Commentary

By Amaury Pi-González

OAKLAND–The 2023 season just began and the clock is doing the job the Commissioner expected. Most games are way less than three hours. Last Sunday in Seattle the Guardians and the Mariners played a game in 2 hours and 3 minutes. 2023 is also the year to fish or cut bait for the Oakland A’s franchise. Do they leave Oakland after over half a century and four World Series titles in this city (that is one more than the Giants) or like the Sinatra standard “Come Fly With Me” they leave for Las Vegas?

The case for Oakland: The City of Oakland is not a huge metropolis with just over 400,000 residents inside their city limits, but it is the third largest city in the nine-county Bay Area, only San José and San Francisco have a larger population. It doesn’t matter because we have between 6 to 7 million people in this area and two major league teams. One (Giants) have played in San Francisco since 1958 and the A’s since 1968.

Yes, the A’s are rooted in Oakland, and common sense tells us this is where they should stay. They already have a planned ballpark, Howard Terminal. Oakland is not famous for keeping their pro teams; they lost the Raiders to Las Vegas and the Warriors to San Francisco.

The track record of keeping their teams in Oakland is not that good. Yet, it makes sense since they are already ahead with the plan with a designed new park ready to go. But then there are the problems with the funding for affordable housing at the Howard Terminal area a plan that would change Oakland forever, a $12 billion project.

As of today, the Mayor of Oakland Sheng Thao says it is all fine and that they are optimistic, but they do not even have a binding agreement and it might never happen because not everybody in the city council is in favor of Howard Terminal and some will say they want the team to stay in Oakland and build a new place at the same location. But the Commissioner says that is a “no go”.

The case for Las Vegas: Nevada is a desert, sometime in the future they could run out of water, the chance of running out of water, that is their biggest problem, but they have the room and they could have the will and the money if the State decide to use funds to help the construction of the A’s park.

Joe Lombardo, Governor of Nevada did not rule out public funding for the A’s. Team management has been traveling to Vegas and has looked at three different sites; with the Rio Casino Hotel might be the one preferred location. Sooner or later, Las Vegas is going to get a major league baseball franchise, maybe by expansion, but it is not that easy.

Expansion might take more than two or even three or more years to happen. The A’s seem to be hanging on a tree like a ripe mango to take. There are other cities like Portland and Nashville (ex-A’s great Dave Stewart is involved with Nashville trying to get an expansion team).

However, and very important is that the A’s know Nevada legislation will not meet in 2024, they have to get a deal done this year, 2023. If not, then what? Oakland/Bay Area is the 5th media market in the US, Las Vegas is 40th. Even Sacramento is a larger media market than Las Vegas, as the State Capital comes in as the 19th media market.

These three famous ex-players, the first two in the Hall of Fame, had said publicly that Las Vegas would be the place to the A’s to relocate, George Brett, Greg Maddux and Jason Giambi. This is what they said:

George Brett “They should come here,” he said. “I was talking to some guys earlier, and I said if I was in the Oakland organization, I’d rather play Triple A than in the big leagues.

Greg Maddux – Hall of Fame pitcher Greg Maddux said he’s all for bringing an MLB team to Las Vegas, be it the Oakland Athletics or an expansion team. “Any team would be great as a fan,” said Maddux, a longtime Las Vegas resident.

Jason Giambi played for the A’s from1995 to 2001, then came back to play for the A’s in 2009 and on the 23rd of May hit a home run in Oakland against the Arizona Diamondbacks, it was the 400 home run of this career.

I called it in Spanish for A’s radio and remember giving him a disc with the recording which he appreciated. This is what Giambi said “the affordability of living in this area compared with California will be a big draw for free agents”.

In conclusion: I want the A’s to stay in Oakland. I have been a resident of the Bay Area since 1969 and I have worked for both the A’s and Giants calling many of their games, with the Giants doing all 162 games home and away traveling with the team.

I am afraid Oakland is playing with fire as they might take it for granted (that they will stay), but I am not sure. The city of Oakland has big problems; crime, they’re short of cops, all you have to do is watch the news every day, homelessness is a tough problem to resolve.

They need to build more affordable housing and projections now show a growing potential current year deficit of $72M. This is one of the most serious financial challenges the City of Oakland has ever faced. Also, Oakland never got the $182 million grant they needed from the Federal Transportation Department’s Mega projects.

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

Warriors Unable to Finish Against Western Conference Leader Denver 112-110 

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The Denver Nuggets Jeff Green (32) and the Golden State Warriors Jonathan Kuminga (00) jump for the basketball at Ball Arena in Denver on Sun Apr 2, 2023 (@warriors photo)

     By Barbara Mason

Sunday evening the Golden State Warriors (41-38) took on the Denver Nuggets (52-26) at Ball Arena. The Nuggets sit on top of the Western Conference and the Warriors could not bring their A-game against the Nuggets in a road game in Denver losing 112-110.

The Warriors have struggled mightily on the road this season and couldn’t find a way to handle this game. Nikola Jokic did not play in this game out with a calf issue missing a third game.

The Warriors handled the first quarter very well leading after the first twelve minutes 36-26. Golden State had a solid start, they were attacking the basket and put out some very good defense. The Warriors have won their last two road games and were looking to make it three. If the first 12 minutes were any indication, the Warriors play in this game was very promising.

The Warriors continued on the same path in the second quarter and two minutes into the quarter led 44-31. The Warriors led by as much as fifteen points in the quarter but at 2:44 the Nuggets had trimmed the Golden State lead to five 56-51. Denver had been cold from beyond the arc but started to heat up as the first half came to an end. The Warriors had the lead at the half 61-58 but the Nuggets owned the later part of the second quarter.

Golden State started adding to their lead in the third quarter 71-63 only to see it dissolve at 7:21. Denver tied up the game 71-71. For the first time since the start of the game the Nuggets took the lead 73-71. Both teams were having a miserable night shooting three’s. Denver was seven of 27 and the Warriors were 7 of 30. After the first three quarters the Nuggets ha a 89-87 lead. This game was still up for grabs.

The best two-point shooting team in the league started to show their muscle in the fourth quarter. The Nuggets took a 105-96 lead with 5:40 left in the game. Denver was in control outplaying the Warriors in the second half and leading 109-98 with under four minutes left in the game. This was the Nuggets largest lead of the game and they showed no signs of slowing down. The Nuggets got a two point win.

The bottom line is that the Warriors just didn’t shoot well enough to win this game. Stephen Curry finished with 21 points but was two of 13 from downtown. Off the bench Jordan Poole had 17 points. The Warriors were able to hang in this game for three quarters but fell short in the fourth quarter unable to finish. The promise that the Warriors showed in the first half vanished in the fourth quarter when the game was on the line.

The Warriors did make a valiant effort in the final two minutes of this game. The Nuggets had an 11 point lead 112-101 but Golden State pulled to within two points. Klay Thompson had a great look with 4.1 left on the clock to win the game. He missed and the Warriors came up a bucket short. It was a wild finish and Golden State fought hard to the very end.

Tuesday night the Warriors will be back home at Chase taking on the OKC Thunder. Tipoff is scheduled 7:00 PM.