Tag: Sports radio

Sharks Fall to Capitals 5-4 in OT; Losers of seven of their last nine games

Published on by M WalshLeave a comment

sfgate.com photo: Washington Capitals center Lars Eller (20), of Denmark, celebrates his winning goal in overtime of an NHL hockey game with defenseman John Carlson (74) as San Jose Sharks defenseman Erik Karlsson (65) skates away Sunday, Jan. 5, 2020, in Washington

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks lost to the Washington Capitals 5-4 in overtime on Sunday. The Sharks dominated through most of the game, with a second period hat-trick from Evander Kane, and an empty net goal from Logan Couture in the third. But the Capitals came back with two goals in the final minute of the third to tie the game. Washington goals came from Jakub Vrana (2), Nic Dowd, T.J. Oshie and Lars Eller. Capitals goaltender Braden Holtby made 25 saves in the win, while Sharks goaltender Martin Jones made 24 saves in the loss.

An important bright spot for the Sharks was that they scored two power play goals. With their game going so well, the last-minute collapse was a shock. After the game, Sharks forward Joe Thornton summarized his team’s game as: “It looked good, it looked real good, then all of a sudden just disappeared, real quick.”

Sharks interim head coach Bob Boughner gave the Capitals some credit in the loss:

It’s tough to let that one get away, 4-2 with a minute to go. I mean, you know, third period we didn’t allow a lot five on five. Defensively, we were pretty tight. You could take a million great things out of this game for us but, you know, that’s why they’re leading the league. That’s why they’ve got the most points, because they find ways to win games. As disappointed as I am, I’m pretty content on the way our five-on-five game looks.

The first period was scoreless and penalty free, with the teams very close in shots at 13-10 Sharks. At 1:14 of the second period, Barclay Goodrow tipped a Timo Meier shot into the net. The goal was disallowed, as Goodrow’s stick was too high when he touched the puck.

The Sharks scored their first goal on the power play at 6:25. Joe Thornton picked up a rebound from an Evander Kane shot. He circled around by the boards and then gave the puck back to Kane for a quick shot to the far side of the net. Assists went to Thornton and Timo Meier.

The Capitals got that back at 7:29 when Nic Dowd skated to the net and got a pass from Brendan Leipsic. The Sharks were caught out of position defensively, allowing both Washington skaters to get a step on them. Assists went to Leipsic and Michal Kempny.

Another defensive breakdown by the Sharks left Martin Jones to make a save while Hathaway was tripping over him at 7:56. A slashing penalty to Evander Kane came out of that.

The Sharks killed that off and as soon as the penalty ended, Kane came out of the box and followed Logan Couture into the zone. Couture dropped the puck to him just inside the blue line. As Couture continued to skate to the net, he created a screen for Kane to shoot and score at 10:06. Assists went to Couture and Melker Karlsson.

Kane completed the second period hat trick with a second power play goal at 16:49. Radko Gudas was in the box for slashing Patrick Marleau as they competed for position in front of the net. Erik Karlsson took a shot right up the center and before anyone else could find the puck, Kane caught the rebound and knocked it in. Assists went to Karlsson and Timo Meier.

The Capitals got one back before the period ended, at 18:42. Marc-Edouard Vlasic’s attempt to send the puck around the boards was thwarted by an official’s skate behind the net. T.J Oshie gathered up the puck and sent it to the front of the net where Jakub Vrana was waiting to shoot it in.

The shots were close again in the second period, 12-11 Capitals.

The Sharks held their lead but did not extend it through most of the third period. The Sharks had killed off a Washington power play and failed to score on two of their own. Logan Couture scored into the empty net at 19:00, giving the Sharks the two goal lead.

Washington got one back just 13 seconds later. The Sharks couldn’t get the puck out, under siege from six Washington skaters. When Lars Eller went to center the puck, his pass went off of Mario Ferraro’s skate and to Jakub Vrana in a perfect shooting position. Assists went to Eller and Radko Gudas.

The teams sat for some time then, waiting for an issue to be resolved by officials.

When they got back to play, T.J. Oshie tied the game at 19:45. With their net empty again, and with a clear prevented by a bounce off of an official (again), the puck ended up in the face-off circle, on Oshie’s stick. Assists went to Evgeny Kuznetsov and Nicklas Backstrom.

The shots in the third period were surprisingly low but shocking for the Sharks, who had only three. The Capitals had six.

The Sharks had some good moments in overtime. Timo Meier broke up a pass to prevent a three-on-one goal at early, then he sent a pass to Brent Burns for a breakaway. Timo Meier had a shot go off of the goal post, and then Burns and Kane had a two-on-one that Holtby stopped. The Sharks got two shots on goal before it was over.

The Capitals responded with a two-on-one against Erik Karlsson. John Carlson carried the puck in and made a pass across to Lars Eller, who scored as Martin Jones slid across to follow the pass. Assists went to Carlson and Holtby. It was Washington’s only shot of the overtime period.

The teams ended the game with 29 shots each.

The Sharks next play on Tuesday in St. Louis against the Blues at 5:00 PM PT.

NHL Podcast with Daniel Dullum: Big crowd in Big D for Winter Classic, Sharks’ Marleau, Thornton reach rare milestone, ex-Stars coach enters rehab, more…

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

usatoday.com photo: The Nashville Predators Ryan Ellis (4) is laid out after taking an elbow to the head by the Dallas Stars Corey Perry (10) and the Predators Kyle Turris (8) tries to get at Perry with the on ice official standing between them on Wednesday at the NHL Winter Classic in Dallas

On the NHL podcast with Daniel:

1 Big crowd in Big D for Winter Classic

2 Stars’ Perry gets 5-game suspension for hit on Predators’ Ryan Ellis in Winter Classic

3 Golden Knights’ coach Gallant gets mad, leaves postgame presser in a huff

4 Sharks’ Marleau, Thornton reach rare NHL milestone

5 Ex-Stars coach Jim Montgomery enters alcohol rehab

Daniel does the NHL podcasts each Sunday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Kings lose by a bucket 117-115 to New Orleans

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

nbcsports.com photo: New Orleans Pelicans vs. Sacramento Kings Sat Jan 4th at Golden One Center

By Jeremiah Salmonson

SACRAMENTO–The Sacramento Kings finally snapped the losing streak. On Thursday, the Kings managed to beat the Memphis Grizzlies to snap the streak. Saturday night, the task at hand was the New Orleans Pelicans coming off a back to back in Los Angeles. The Kings, fresh off of a day’s rest at home, were looking to make it two in a row at home. The tip-off was set for 7 PM PST.

In the first, the Kings got off to a slow start. The Pelicans got out to a 22-8 lead with 5:18 remaining in the quarter. From there, it was all Kings. The Pelicans only added another three points as the Kings stormed back to take a 26-25 lead at the end of the first. Buddy Hield dropped eight points for the Kings in the quarter while JJ Redick led the way with eight for the Pelicans.

In the second, neither team really went on an extended run. The Kings and Pelicans traded leads and the Pelicans managed to score 27 compared to the Kings 22 in the second quarter. Buddy Hield disappeared in the second and scored no points as Harrison Barnes and De’Aaromn Fox led the way with seven points apiece. J

J Redick finished the half with 16 points and Lonzo Ball was the runner up with seven. The Kings would go into halftime down 48-52 looking to come out with better energy in the second half.

In the third, the Kings would bounce back. The Kings put up 32 points in the third over the Pelicans 24 to take an 80-76 lead into the final quarter. The Kings, who were led by Harrison Barnes and Buddy Hield who finished the third with 21 and 17 points respectively.

The Pelicans were led by Jrue Holiday who had 17 points through the first three-quarters of play. The Kings would look to finish off the Pelicans in the fourth.

In the fourth, the Pelicans started to pull away. They put up good shots in the early minutes and took back the lead from the Kings. The Pelicans had pulled away to a 14 point lead with 4:04 to play. However, the Kings managed to put together good possessions to make it a game late. Aided by Buddy Hield hitting two three-pointers, the Kings were right back in it with the game 112-109 and 31.5 seconds to play.

After a few fouls by the Kings and ensuing free throws, the Kings were down four with 5.6 remaining. Nemanja Bjelica managed to hit a wild and one three-pointer to tie the game. Unfortunately for Kings fans, what happened next was not great. The Kings had a defensive breakdown on the inbound and allowed JJ Redick to get a layup to put the Pelicans up 117-115.

The Kings then just tossed in the inbound without a timeout and time expired. The Kings lost 117-115. Harrison Barnes led the Kings with 30 points as Buddy Hield was right behind him with 24. The Pelicans leading scorer was Lonzo Ball who finished with 24 points. Ultimately the Kings were done in by the 21 turnovers they committed. The Pelicans scored 29 points off of those turnovers which was the difference in the game.

In the locker room the Kings were pretty down. It’s been an upsetting last three weeks for the Kings as they look to get back on track. They hope to do that in Mondays matchup against the Warriors.

Up Next: The Kings stay home to face the Golden State Warriors on Monday evening at 7 PM PST.

 

Warriors lose their fourth in a row fall to Pistons 111-104

Published on by rxsluggerLeave a comment

sfgate.com photo: Detroit Pistons’ Bruce Brown, left, looks to shoot against Golden State Warriors’ Jacob Evans (10) during the first half of an NBA basketball game Saturday, Jan. 4, 2020, in San Francisco.

By Jerry Feitelberg

San Francisco- The Warriors returned home to face the Detroit Pistons Saturday evening at the Chase Center. The Warriors, who have had a rough season, were meeting an opponent, the Pistons, that they thought they could beat.

The Pistons had lost three in a row and came into the game with a record of 12-23. The Warriors were with D’Angelo Russell again. Russell suffered a right shoulder contusion against the Dallas Mavericks last week. The W’s are hoping that he will be back in the lineup on Monday when they play the Kings in Sacramento on Monday.

The Pistons arrived in town with players whose names are not well-known here on the West Coast. Sekou Doumbouya is a 19-year old rookie filling in for Blake Griffin. Many fans are seeing Tim Frazier, Tony Snell, and Sviatoslav Mykhailuk for the first time. The only name people might recognize is Detroit’s center, Andre Drummond.

The Warriors had Willie Cauley Stein back in the lineup. Willie missed the last couple of the game with the flu. Ky Bowman started at point guard in place of Russell.

The teams played a very competitive first half. The Pistons won the first quarter 25-23, but the ‘s came back and outscored them by five in the second quarter to finish the first half with a 59-56 advantage.

The second half was a different story. The Pistons’ head coach Dwane Casey inserted the veteran Derrick Rose into the game at guard. Rose was the key to the Pistons surge to win the game. Rose scored 22 points off the bench, and the Pistons outscored the warriors 55-45 to win the game 111-104.

Game Notes and stats- The only starter in double-figures for the W’s was Damion Lee. Lee had 14 points but was -18 when he was on the court. Alec Burks led the Warriors with 27 points. Burks connected on three threes and was plus 10.

Omari Spellman had a big night with 23 points, five rebounds, and four threes. Draymond Green had two points, six boards, and three assists. Draymond was hit with back-to-back technical fouls with 4:57 left in the third quarter.

Draymond had to leave the court. Steve Kerr had this to say about Draymond: “The last couple games he’s looked tired,” “I think you’ve got to remember that he’s the lone the guy, lone holdover from the group that’s been to the finals five years in a row. He looks tired to me. I’ve been trying to give him a night off here and there. We probably need to do that. I think he’s just kind of worn out emotionally and physically.”

The Pistons had five players in double figures. Rose led with 22. Sekou Soumbouya had 16, Mykhailuk 14, Bruce Brown 14. Andre Drummond had a double-double with 14 points and 18 rebounds.

The Pistons made 43 field goals. The Warriors had 33. Each team made 11 threes/ The Warriors had the advantage at the free-throw line. They made 27 free throws, the Pistons 14. The Pistons shot 51.8% from the floor, the Warriors 40.2%

The Warriors’ record dropped to 9-28. The Pistons improved to 13-23. The W’s travel to Sacramento to face the Kings Mondy night.

Golden State Warriors coverage by Jerry Feitelberg home and away at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Halbgewachs OT winner lifts Barracuda in 5-4 victory

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

sjbarracuda.com photo

by Marko Ukalovic

TUCSON, Ariz- A drama filled game that went back and forth ended with a big relief for the San Jose Barracuda as Jayden Halbgewachs scored with 28 seconds left in overtime to propell his team to a 5-4 victory over the Tucson Roadrunners on Saturday evening at Tucson Convention Center Arena.

Halbgewachs’ second goal of the game came when he was able to grab hold of the puck at the near post and lift a backhander from point blank range into the back of net for his 11th goal of the season.

Two streaks came to an end. San Jose’s four-game losing streak and Tucson’s two-game winning streak. The ‘Cuda are now 2-3 against the Roadrunners, who suffered its first overtime year of the season, this season. It was San Jose’s first win in Tucson since March 21, 2018.

Tucson (25-7-1-0) drew first blood early in the first period. A turnover by Keaton Middleton led to a centering pass from Michael Bunting over to Hudson Fasching who fired a one-timer past ‘Cuda goalie Zachary Sawchenko, who made his first career AHL start, for his 13th goal of the season at the 4:12 mark.

The Roadrunners doubled their lead when Beau Bennent made a back door feed to a wide open Jordan Gross who pounded the puck past Sawchenko for his sixth goal of the season at the 10:51 mark. The Roadrunner defenseman has scored in back-to-back games against the ‘Cuda.

San Jose (11-18-0-2) cut the deficit in half less than 30 second later. Ivan Chekhovich sent a back door feed over to Manny Weiderer and he buried a wrist shot past Roadrunners goalie Ivan Prosvetov for his first goal of the season at the 11:20 mark.

The ‘Cuda scored the equalizder on the power play less than two minutes later. After a faceoff win by Dylan Gambrell led to possession by Maxim Letunov. Letunov made a move to get Prosvetov out of position and he fed a pass over to Jonny Brodzinski who shoveled the puck into an empty net for his seventh goal of the season at the 13:13 mark.

San Jose grabbed their first lead when they scored its third unanswered goal of the period. Halbgewachs sent a wrist shot that took a weird bounce and skitted under the arm of Prosvetov for his first goal and 10th goal of the season at the 17:32 mark. Brodzinski and Nick Meloche received helpers on the goal.

Despite outshooting San Jose 14-9 in the opening frame, Tucson found themselves down by one goal at the first intermission.

The second period didn’t have any goals scored but featured both teams wasting a 5-on-3 power play opportunity. Tucson outshot San Jose 10-5 in the middle frame.

Tucson scored the equalizer when Gross scored his second of the game early in the third period. Gross sent a in a low shot from long distance that sneaked inside the left post for his seventh goal of the season at 3:12 mark.

Prosvetov was pulled before the third period began for an unknown reason. Brandon Halverson replaced Prosvetov to finish off the rest of the game.

San Jose looked to have scored the game winning goal with 1:45 left in the third period when Trevor Carrick sent a pass over to Maxim Letunov at the left faceoff circle and he fired a wrist shot top-shelf out of the reach of Halverson for his eighth goal of the season at the 18:15 mark. Letunov finished the night with a three-point game (1G, 2A).

The Roadrunners pulled Halverson for an extra attacker, a shot from Bunting was saved by Sawchenko. However the rebound was cleaned up by Bennent during a mad scramble as he tapped home the puck past a sprawling Sawchenko with 14 seconds remaining in the period. It was Bennent’s sixth goal of the season.

It was quite the first start in net for Sawchenko as he stopped 37 shots on 41 shots, including a great glove save on Lane Pederson in overtime on a 2-on-1 break, for his first professional win. Halverson made 10 saves on 12 shots in 23:36 minutes of action.

GAME NOTES: San Jose 1-for-4 on the power play. Tucson was 0-for-6.

‘Cuda forward Evan Weinger returned the lineup after being a healthy scratch the last game.

The game’s start was delayed by 28 minutes while the maintainence crew needed to make repairs to the glass along the ice.

UP NEXT: The Barracuda host the Ontario Reign on Wednesday 1/8 at 7:00pm at SAP Center.

 

Sharks Beat Blue Jackets 3-2; SJ puts two straight wins together

Published on by M WalshLeave a comment

mercurynews.com photo: Columbus Blue Jackets’ Gabriel Carlsson, left, of Sweden, and San Jose Sharks’ Timo Meier, of Switzerland, battle for the puck during the first period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, Jan. 4, 2020, in Columbus, Ohio.

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets 3-2 Saturday in Columbus, Ohio. Shark goals came from Barclay Goodrow, Evander Kane and Kevin Labanc. Sharks goalie Aaron Dell made 21 saves in the win. Both Blue Jackets goals came from Zach Werenski and Elvis Merzlikins made 25 saves for Columbus.

After the game, Sharks interim head coach Bob Boughner said:

I just like the way we’re playing as a 20-man unit. We’re all on the same page, and we’re doing some good things, we’re managing our game. It’s a little bit of a more mature game I think lately. And we’re giving ourselves a chance to win every night which is the most important thing.

This win was the second after the team’s abysmal loss to Detroit Tuesday. Asked whether the Sharks know what they need to do here at the midpoint of the season, Sharks forward Barclay Goodrow said:

We know how we have to play to win hockey games. You know, we’ve seen it throughout this year. When we’re not playing the way we should be playing then it’s not a good look for us and then we’re not a successful team. It’s just a matter of bringing that game every night.

The first period was scoreless, though Sharks forward Joel Kellman put the puck in the net. Kellman carried the puck across the line and took a shot past the defenseman, putting the puck over the goalie’s pad and into the net. Unfortunately, the goal was called back for offside.

The Sharks out-shot the Blue Jackets 11-9 in the first and each team killed a penalty.

The second period was much more eventful. The Sharks scored the first goal to count at 7:05 of the period. The Blue Jackets had just completed a power play when Barclay Goodrow came flying out of the box. He picked the puck up in the Blue Jackets’ zone and and had no one between him and the goalie. He used a little backhand shot to slip the puck past Merzlikins. It was Goodrow’s seventh goal of the season and Tomas Hertl got an assist.

The Blue Jackets tied it up at 8:50. They moved the puck around the offensive zone for a long shift before Zach Werenski took a backhand shot from the slot and beat Aaron Dell. Assists went to Boone Jenner and Nick Foligno. It was Werenski’s 12th goal of the season.

The Sharks took the lead back with a goal at 14:40. Timo Meier brought the puck across the line along the wall and made a pass to the center slot where Evander Kane had just arrived. Kane did not hesitate to shoot and he beat Merzlikins on the glove side. Assists went to Meier and Radim Simek. The goal was Kane’s 15th of the season, tying him with Hertl for the team lead in goals.

The Blue Jackets out-shot the Sharks 12-6 in the second period and had one power play.

Kevin Labanc scored the game winner at 16:59 of the third period. Erik Karlsson sent the puck up the ice where Marcus Sorensen chased it into the zone. He was knocked away from the puck around the face-off circle but Joe Thornton was right behind him to pick up it up and send it to the slot where Labanc was ready for the shot. Assists went to Thornton and Karlsson.

Zach Werenski narrowed the lead a few seconds later by shooting in a rebound that Sonny Milano created with a shot from the blue line. Assists went to Milano and Seth Jones.

The Sharks out-shot Columbus 11-2 in the third period. They had a good face-off game, winning 59% of them. Barclay Goodrow (14 draws) and Tomas Hertl (23 draws) both won more than 60% of their face-offs.

Erik Karlsson and Brent Burns led the Sharks in shots with four each, while Werenski led both teams with five. Neither team got any shots on net during the power play.

The Sharks next play on Sunday against the Washington Capitals in Washington DC at 9:30 AM PT.

NHL podcast with Matt Harrington: Kuznetsov and Eller help Caps get past Canes 4-3; Pavelski scores in his 1,000 NHL game for Stars; plus more

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

nbcsports.com photo: The Washington Capitals celebrate their victory on Friday night in Carolina with a one goal win over the Carolina Hurricanes

On the NHL podcast with Matt:

#1 The Washington Capitals Evgeny Kuznetsov and Lars Eller each scored a goal and had an assist that was just good enough to get by the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday night 4-3. The Caps Richard Panik and Jakob Vrana both scored a goal each for Washington in the 4-3 win.

#2 Washington goalie Ilya Samonov stopped 38 out 41 the Hurricanes tried throwing everything at him in the third period as they scored three times to come up one goal short in the Canes loss.

#3 Former San Jose Shark Joe Pavelski scored a goal and had an assist on Friday night as the Dallas Stars defeated the struggling Detroit Red Wings 4-1. Pavelski was honored by the Stars before the game for playing in his 1000th NHL game last month.

#4 The Montreal Canadiens signed Ilya Kovalchuk for $700,000 after he was bought out by the Los Angeles Kings, Kovalchuk scored 36 goals, nine points in 17 games for the Kings.

#5 Former Dallas Stars head coach Jim Montgomery has admitted that the decision to fire him was “appropriate” and that he’s had entered alcohol rehab. He called the firing a “wake up call” and said that the termination on Dec 10th.

Matt Harrington does the NHL podcast each Saturday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa Walsh: Could win against Pens be the start of something big for Sharks?

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

mercurynews.com photo: San Jose Sharks’ Patrick Marleau (12) defends as Pittsburgh Penguins’ Jared McCann (19) tries to score on goaltender Aaron Dell (30) during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2020, in Pittsburgh.

On the Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa:

#1 The San Jose Sharks (18-21-3) after losing six straight games and beating one of the best teams in the NHL the Pittsburgh Penguins (24-11-5) on Thursday night in Pittsburgh does this indicate that they’re working out of their issues?

#2 The power play was of concern for San Jose but they looked like they worked their through it in Thursday night’s game?

#3 The Sharks Brent Burns came through with a very key overtime goal at 2:02 to get by the Penguins in the 3-2 victory

#4 How much of an impact not having Sydney Crosby not in the line up for the Penguins?

#5 Sharks battling the Columbus Blue Jackets (19-14-8) in Columbus today the Jackets are coming off a 2-1 victory against the Boston Bruins. The Sharks came into Columbus and got a go ahead goal in the third period for a 3-2 win.

Mary Lisa does the Sharks podcasts each Saturday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary: A’s Semien and his future in Oakland

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

nbcsports.com file photo: Oakland A’s Jurickson Profar takes his swings during 2019 season

A’s Marcus Semien and his Future in Oakland

That’s Amaury News and Commentary

Amaury Pi-González.

OAKLAND–It has been a very quiet winter so far for the Athletics. Nobody expected them to make any major deals,and honestly they have a very good team as it is today and going into Spring Training which will begin February 11 at their home in Mesa,Arizona.

They will begin the season (scheduled to open at home on March 26 against the Twins) with basically the same team as last season when they finished second again with a 97-65 record (same as 2018 by the way).

Nobody should expect the A’s to sign their established stars to multi-year multi-million dollar contracts in the near future. The best example is their designated hitter Khris Davis, he had his best season in 2018 when he hit 48 home runs and drove in 123 runs.

Davis was signed that winter to a two (2) year extension and a total of $33.5 million, a contract that will take him through the 2021 season. If they did not signed him then he would have been eligible for free agency after the 2019 season and most likely would have been offered much more money and a longer contract by more than a few teams.

His biggest liability is with the glove, but he doesn’t use it most of the time as a DH, which also limits him to be an American League player.

If you are expecting the A’s to sign their star shortstop Marcus Semien (29) to a four (4) year over $100 million contract you could easily be disappointed. The A’s have another year before they make that decision,although they could make easily make it today. But that is not the way the Athletics operate.

This is still Billy Ball land. Of course Semien is worth upward of $100 million in today’s market, specially since he has become not only one of the best offensive shortstops in the American League but one of the best fielders in that most important position.

He is coming off a breakout 2019 season, finished #3 for Most Valuable Player. This 2020 season will be his final year before he becomes a Free Agent. And many ponder is he really as good as he was last year. He is a hard worker, Bay Area native and a very positive young man.

Leaving Semien aside(no need to rush a decision) we already know the “biggest”story for the A’s going into this 2020 season. Who is going to be playing second base? My bet is on young Franklin Barreto,who was passed last year because the team signed veteran Jurickson Profar.

With Profar signing with San Diego, the door should be wide open for Barreto, and with the power on that infield,all he has to do is field the ball. Something that Profar was not very keen. Others in Spring Training that could be fighting for second-base are Sheldon Neuse maybe, Jorge Mateo and/or a surprise.

In 1998 the injury-prone Eric Chávez finished the season playing only in 16 games and hit .311. He won six consecutive Rawlings Gold Glove Awards (2001 to 2006) and in 2004 the A’s had to make a decision of signing either him (Chávez) or shortstop Miguel Tejada.

They signed Chávez to a $66 million contract extension. Meanwhile, Tejada went to Baltimore where he played for four years(2004-2007). I thought they should have kept Miguel Tejada, then a great shortstop much more durable than Chávez, but it wasn’t meant to be.

The Chávez six year $66 million contract was the largest deal in team history. In one of my visits to Baltimore with the LA Angels in 2007 I did a pre-game interview Tejada and I asked him about his very good years with the A’s, he told me that in retrospect: “I would have loved to stay with the A’s”. But isn’t that what they all say?

I remember Jason Giambi who began his career with the A’s (1995-2001) he always said he enjoyed very much playing in Oakland and that was great. But the Yankees came in and Giambi left the A’s for the Pinstripes and a multi-million dollar contract where he played from 2002 to 2008.

Towards the end of his career “The Giambino” would return one more time in 2009 to play with the A’s, and as I recall I called his 400th home-run of his career in 2009,a thrill at the Oakland Coliseum he then played briefly for a couple of teams and retired.

The Oakland A’s have one of the best most exciting and talented infield in all of baseball a young pitching staff with unlimited potential.Their infield: Matt Olson at first base (I don’t know at second base) Marcus Semien at shortstop and their leader Matt Chapman at third base.

Not to mention an outfield with the talented Ramón Laureano,.Stephen Piscotty and company. The biggest issue for the Athletics remains building their new ballpark. A new ballpark usually draws well for the first few years,(the perennial Honeymoon).

The A’s pipe-dream is to have all these stars at their peak in 2021 when they are planning to open the season at the new Howard Terminal Park. There is an old saying in Spanish “soñar no cuesta nada” translation- “it doesn’t cost anything to dream”. And I honestly hope the dream becomes a reality.

At this time the Athletics have the 25th payroll in Major League Baseball among all 30 teams. Their total payroll is approximately $84 million,there are now five teams below the A’s: White Sox, Pirates, Orioles, Mariners, and the team who eliminated the A’s in the Wild Card game last year, the Tampa Bay Rays.

Amaury Pi Gonzalez is the Oakland A’s Spanish radio play by play talent and does News and Commentary each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Roadrunners 3rd period outburst bury Barracuda 5-1

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

sjbarracuda.com photo

by Marko Ukalovic

The Tucson Roadrunners are a team where if you give them an inch they will take a mile. This was the case as the Pacific Division leader scored five unaswered goals in a 5-1 victory over the San Jose Barracuda on Friday evening at Tucson Convention Center Arena.

San Jose has lost four games in a row. Tucson has won back to back to games and have won 10 out of their last 12 games to lead the division by seven points over Stockton. They are now 3-1 against the ‘Cuda.

San Jose (10-17-0-2) drew first blood on the back end of a 5-on-3 power play midway through the first period. Lukas Radil fed a pass over to Nick DeSimone who set up Alex True. The Finnish forward blasted a one-timer past Roadrunners goalie Ivan Prosvetov on the shortside for his ninth goal of the season at the 11:30 mark.

The Barracuda had the iced tilted in their favor in the opening 20 minutes as they dominated for three-quarters of the period as they outshot the Roadrunners 18-5.

Tucson (24-7-0-0) had two power play opportunites in the first period but they weren’t able to get the puck past ‘Cuda goalie Josef Korenar.

The second period featured multiple trips to the sinbin. San Jose had two power play chances to extend their lead but Prosvetov made some key saves to keep the deficit at one goal.

Tucson, with the 11th ranked power play in the AHL, finally cashed in on their fourth power play opportunity right near the end of the middle frame. Andy Miele sent a cross ice pass over to Jordan Gross who slammed home the puck past Korenar from atop the near faceoff circle for his fifth goal of the season at the 19:05 mark.

The Roadrunners didn’t take long to get their first lead of the game to start the third period. Miele, the former Hobey Baker Award winner, set up a pass out to Aaron Ness. The defenseman fired a shot from the left point past Korenar for his first goal with the Roadrunners since being reassigned from the Arizona Coyotes at the :56 mark.

Tucson scored an insurance goal when Lane Pederson set a cross ice pass over to a wide open Hudson Fasching. The right winger skated in and snapped a wrist shot past Korenar over the left arm for his 12th goal of the season at the 10:42 mark.

The Roadunners scored two empty nets goals at the end of the game to seal the deal. Bradyen Burke netted his 16th goal of the season at the 17:33 mark. Then Michael Chaput scored his 11th goal of the season at the 18:28 mark.

Prosvetov was the number one star of the night stopping 38 out of the 39 saves he faced to earn his 11th victory over the season. Korenar 14 saves on 17 shots in suffering his seventh straight loss.

GAME NOTES: San Jose was 1-for-5 on the power play. Tucson was 1-for-4.

‘Cuda forward Manny Weiderer returned back to the lineup after he missed the past three games dealing with a lower body injury.

The announced attendance was 3,372.

UP NEXT: The same two teams battle again on Saturday 1/4 at 6:05pm at Tucson Convention Center Arena.