Tag: Sports radio

That’s Amaury News and Commentary: Umpires Strikeout Robots Coming

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dodgersnation.com file photo: MLB Umpire Angel Hernandez and the rest of the MLB umpires will be replaced at home plate by an auto ball strike system anytime as part of a five-year deal.

By Amaury Pi-González

There should be little surprise we knew it was coming, it was not “if” but “when”. It was announced Saturday that umpires agreed to cooperate with Major League Baseball on a new system of an automated ball and strike system at the plate, as part of a five-year deal.The computer plate umpires could make an appearance in MLB anytime during the next five years.It will be the independent Atlantic League the first organized professional baseball league to let a computer call balls and strikes at their All-Star Game on July 10. A plate umpire wore an earpiece that is connected to an iPhone in his pocket and relayed the call upon receiving it from a TrackMan computer system that uses Doppler radar. (More on that below)

A Doppler radar is a specialized radar that uses the Doppler effect to produce velocity data about objects at a distance. Most people are familiar when they learned that is the common practice use by TV meteorologist in on-air-weather reports. Decades ago,the umpires only knew Doppler when they were checking the weather for a game, the possibility of a rainout, rain coming or not. Stuff like that.

“This idea has been around for a long time and it’s the first time it’s been brought to life in a comprehensive way,” Morgan Sword, MLB’s senior vice president of economics and operations, said on the night the Atlantic League experiment started. Humans still will determine checked swing and making sure TrackMan doesn’t call a strike on a pitch that bounces and goes through the strike zone. And other crazy stuff that always finds its way to a baseball diamond.

Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt said in October: “We have replay everywhere else in the game. Like it or not, replay gets the call right.” Meanwhile, MLB has discusses installing the system at Class-A Florida State League for 2020 season. If the test is satisfactory,the computer umpires could be used in Triple-A in 2021 as if it works there, then they will come to the Major Leagues. It is not clear whether the Major League Baseball Players Association would need to approve computerized ball and strikes.

Soon, an umpire could ride in a car that drives itself to the park and then another computer that tells him what happened. Yes, we are on the eve of another decade.

This time, it is all about TrackMan!

Best wishes during these holidays! Felíz Navidad!

Despite tragedy, Niners triumph in shoot-out 31-28

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sfgate.com photo: San Francisco 49ers kicker Robbie Gould (9) is congratulated by teammates after kicking the game-winning field goal against the Los Angeles Rams during the second half of an NFL football game in Santa Clara, Calif., Saturday, Dec. 21, 2019.

By Jeremy Harness

SANTA CLARA – George Kittle woke up Saturday morning to find out that the brother of his college, and current 49er, teammate C.J Beathard had been fatally stabbed. He said that for this reason, Saturday night’s game against the Rams “the hardest of my career.”

“(The day) sucked all around,” Kittle said. “Overall, it was a brutal day.”

Facing this, as well as a resilient Los Angeles Rams team that was fighting for a playoff spot, Kittle and the rest of the 49ers were able to band together and rally from an early deficit and some late-game struggles to pull out a 31-28 win at the horn, keeping their hopes for the NFC West division title and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs alive and sinking the Rams’ postseason aspirations altogether.

With the game tied in the final minutes, they faced a pair of third-and-16’s and converted both of them. Garoppolo found receiver Kendrick Bourne – who has developed a real knack for making big catches when they are most needed – and three plays later, he found a streaking Emmanuel Sanders, who had gotten deep behind corner Jalen Ramsey, with just under a minute to go.

That put the ball at LA’s 23-yard line, and from that point, the 49ers just ran a couple of plays in the middle of the field to set up Robbie Gould’s game-winning 33-yard field goal.

“This week, we made sure we knew what was on the line,” said linebacker Fred Warner, whose interception return for a touchdown late in the second quarter gave the 49ers a 24-21 lead at halftime. “We could have been way cleaner, but it’s all about (putting one) in the win column.”

The 49ers will now have eight days to prepare for a matchup in Seattle for the division title. The Seahawks currently hold the tie-breaker over the 49ers, so a victory is a must if they hope to get home-field advantage and a first-round bye. If they lose next Sunday, they will have a wild-card matchup on the road against the eventual NFC East champion.

“We know it’s going to be loud, we know it’s going to be a hostile environment,” quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo said. “I can’t wait for it. It’s going to be awesome.

“Every week is a big game. This time of year, they all are.”

But first, the 49ers needed to win Saturday night, but the Rams gained the upper hand early, frustrating the defense with bootleg action to get down the field and grab a 21-10 second-quarter lead while the offense struggled to find its footing.

Garoppolo himself was not sharp at all in the first quarter. He found Deebo Samuel for a 9-yard hookup to start his night but did not complete another pass for the rest of the quarter. He was also picked off by Jalen Ramsey to kill the team’s third drive and finished the game with two interceptions.

However, Garoppolo got things together to start the second quarter, using the play-action that LA had used on the 49ers defense to march down the field. Samuel capped off the drive with a 19-yard fly-sweep run to narrow the Rams’ lead to 14-10.

The 49ers defense had major issues in the first half, as the vaunted defensive line was unable to get any pressure on Goff, and the secondary was picked apart as a result.

The 49ers got tired of the screen passes and dump-offs, and Warner did something about it with a minute left in the second quarter by jumping a screen route in the flat and returned it 46 yards for a score, giving his team its first lead of the night, 24-21.

Late in the third quarter, the Rams regained the lead on a seven-play 68-yard scoring march that saw right corner Ahkello Witherspoon get victimized by a pair of significant pass plays, including the 22-yard touchdown by Cooper Kupp.

As Goff used his tight ends to get ahead in the first quarter, Garoppolo utilized his in a lead-taking scoring drive late in the fourth quarter. He found Ross Dwelley deep over the middle to put the 49ers in scoring position while George Kittle, who is widely considered as the best tight end in football, broke free for a pair of big plays, including the 7-yard score that gave the 49ers a 31-28 advantage.

Huskies, Petersen beat Boise State in Las Vegas Bowl 38-7

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Petersen-Lake-Gettyt-620x370

Photo credit: Getty Images

By Shawn McCullough

LAS VEGAS–The Washington Huskies sent their head coach out on a good note.

Washington (8-5) beat up the Mountain West champion Boise State Mustangs 38-7 in the Las Vegas Bowl at Sam Boyd Stadium.

Huskies head coach Chris Petersen surprisingly announced his retirement from Washington on December 2nd, but agreed to coach the Huskies for his final game in the Las Vegas Bowl.

“It’s never about one person,” said Petersen about his last game.  “It’s about the team playing really, really well.”

Petersen formerly was the head coach at Boise State and went 92-12 from 2006 to 2013.  He led the Broncos to two undefeated season in 2006 and 2009.

“For us to finish on this note, I just feel really good for the guys that are leaving this program and the guys that are coming back,” said Petersen.

Redshirt junior quarterback Jacob Eason led the Huskies throwing for 210 yards and one touchdown.

“It was awesome just the way this whole team played,” said Eason.  “I play well and this team plays well.  Overall we just played well and efficient and got the result that we wanted.”

The Huskies started the scoring in the first quarter with Eason hitting Andre Baccellia on a slant for a 17 yard touchdown to take a 7-0 lead.

Washington later scored in the second quarter on a pitch sweep to running back Salvon Ahmed, who beat the outside contain and sprinted into the right corner of the end zone to go up 14-0.  The Huskies added a field goal late in the second to go into halftime up 17-0.

“Our guys played hard and they were ready to go out there and play, but as coaches, we didn’t do a good enough job to make the adjustments that we needed to do,” said Boise State head coach Bryan Harsin.  “I am proud of our guys”.

Boise State freshman quarterback Hank Bachmeier struggled in the first half throwing for just 87 yards and two interceptions sparking a quarterback change to redshirt senior Jaylon Henderson.

Henderson led an eleven play, 77 yard drive in the third quarter for the Mustang’s only points of the game on a 10 yard touchdown pass to running back George Holani.

The Mustang loss dropped Boise State to 12-2 on the season, snapping a six game winning streak.

Game Notes:

  • Washington defensive back Elijah Molden was named the game’s MVP with nine tackles and one interception
  • This was the 28th straight and final Las Vegas Bowl played at Sam Boyd Stadium
  • Sam Boyd Stadium seats 36,800
  • The Las Vegas Bowl will move to the currently under construction Allegiant Stadium in 2020, home of the Oakland Raiders and the UNLV Running Rebels

49ers quarterback CJ Beathard’s brother murdered in double stabbing

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photo from Nashville Police: Metro Nashvillle Police released this photo and asked the public for any information that would help identify the person of interest. A Rhodes College student and the brother of a San Francisco 49ers quarterback were fatally stabbed outside of a Nashville bar.

By Jeremy Harness

SANTA CLARA–San Francisco 49ers quarterback CJ Beathard’s brother Clayton Beathard, 22, and his friend Paul Trapeni III, 21, were both stabbed in their sides and later died after being rushed to a local Nashville hospital. The stabbing apparently was caused over a woman. Beathard and Trapeni were inside a midtown bar and went outside when the confrontation turned physical.

The suspect was identified as a student at Rhodes College, who is still at large. Clayton comes from a football family Clayton’s grandfather was a former NFL executive and Beathard is a current Niner quarterback.

Police said, “The fatal stabbings appear to have resulted from an argument over a woman that began inside Dogwood Bar and then turned physical when the parties went outside.”

No word from Beathard, the 49ers backup quarterback who is with the team playing the Los Angeles Rams at Levi’s Stadium on Saturday. Beathard could be leaving for Nashville right after tonight’s game.

Jeremy Harness is a 49ers analyst for http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Cardinal overcomes slow start, edge San Diego 62-59 in Al Attles Classic

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photo from sfgate.com: San Diego forward Yauhen Massalski (25) defends against Stanford guard Bryce Wills (2) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game on Saturday, Dec. 21, 2019, in San Francisco

By Daniel Dullum
Sports Radio Service
Saturday, December 21, 2019

Tyrell Terry took a while to get going after a one-game absence, but when he did, his big second half sparked a late Stanford run, and the Cardinal held on for a 62-59 non-conference men’s basketball win Saturday over San Diego in the Al Attles Classic at Chase Center.

Terry scored 13 of his 20 points in the second half. Cardinal center Oscar da Silva contributed 19 points, 11 rebounds and five steals, as Stanford (11-1) continued its best start in 11 years.

For San Diego (6-8), the loss snapped a three-game winning streak. Joey Calcaterra led the Toreros with 17 points, followed by Marion Humphrey with 16.

Terry sat out the Cardinal’s win on Tuesday over San Francisco because of what was termed an upper body injury. The freshman was cleared for practice on Friday.

Terry sank three 3-pointers and scored on a reverse layup that capped an 11-0 run to put the Cardinal up 56-44. Da Silva added four points as part of that Stanford surge.

Despite a sloppy start, Stanford led at halftime, eventually finishing with a season-worst 20 turnovers. After the Toreros took a 24-16 lead, Spencer Jones and Terry made back-to-back 3’s to pull the Cardinal back into the game.

Jones hit game-tying 3 and Daejon Davis converted a tip-in in the final second of the first half, putting Stanford up 31-29 at the break.

The Cardinal’s defense was a key to their win, forcing 17 turnovers while holding San Diego to 36.5 percent shooting. So far this season, Stanford has held all 12 of its opponents to 70 points or fewer.

San Diego was trying to get Division I win No. 600.

Stanford’s next game is on Dec. 29, when the Cardinal host No. 1-ranked Kansas.

San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa Walsh: Sharks and Blues face off tonight at SAP; Sharks coming off loss to Arizona

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Photo credit: nbcsports.com

On the Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa:

#1 The San Jose Sharks loss to the Arizona Coyotes is one of the games that Sharks head coach Bob Boughner would soon like to forget a 3-2 loss that saw the Yotes score a goal in each of the first, second and third periods on Tuesday night.

#2 The Sharks blew a 6-3 opportunity with 43 seconds left after the Coyotes committed two penalties and the Sharks pulled their goalie to try to boost the offense, but they couldn’t take advantage and failed to score and lost the game.

#3 The Sharks have failed to take advantage of the man advantage, scoring only once out of 15 times in their last five games.

#4 Tuesday’s game also saw the Sharks’ Tomas Hertl score twice, but the Sharks couldn’t capitalize as the Coyotes edged out three goals. Hertl put it all out there, but the Sharks just couldn’t get over the edge.

#5 The Sharks, who have lost seven of their last eight games and will try and get in the win column Saturday against the St. Louis Blues. Mary Lisa sets this one up for us.

Sharks podcasts with Mary Lisa are heard every Saturday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

NHL podcast with Matt Harrington: Florida’s Acciari picks up second hat trick in 7-4 win; Caps dominate Devils 6-3; plus more

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photo from nhl.nbcsports.com: Nick Acciari (55) of the Florida Panthers crashed the nets on the Dallas Stars Friday night scoring his second hat trick of the 2019-20 season.

On the NHL podcast with Matt:

#1 Noel Acciari had the hats flying as the Florida Panther scored a penalty shot that got him his second hat trick. Acciari also picked up an assist in the Panther five-goal second period in their 7-4 victory over the Dallas Stars on Friday night.

#2 Nicklas Backstrom of the Washington Capitals scored two goals and two assists Backstrom’s teammates Alex Ovechkin and John Carlson scored a goal each in the Caps win over New Jersey 6-3

#3 William Nylander and Mitchell Marner scored two goals for the Toronto Maple Leafs in their win over the New York Rangers 6-3. Nylander and Marner scored their second goals in the early third period.

#4 Chad Ruhwedal and Joseph Blandisi got the Penguins on the board with goals in the first period as the Pittsburgh Penguins defeated the Edmonton Oilers 5-2. The Oilers are now on a four-game skid with Friday’s loss to the Pens.

#5 The San Jose Sharks’ Brent Burns is back on ice tonight at SAP Center to face the St. Louis Blues, . Burns in 36 games has five goals and 22 points. The stats are below Burns’ usual season average.

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

San Jose State Spartans podcast with Ana Kieu: Football head coach Brent Brennan signs contract extension; plus more

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Photo credit: sjsuspartans.com

On the SJSU Spartans podcast with Ana:

1. Football head coach Brent Brennan signed a contract extension on Friday the 13th.

2. Men’s basketball lost to the Stanford Cardinal 78-58 on Saturday, Dec. 14.

3. Men’s basketball fell to the Santa Clara Broncos 89-84 on Wednesday, Dec. 18.

4. Men’s basketball returns home to host the UC Riverside Highlanders on Sunday, Dec. 22.

5. The Women’s Golf Coaches Association created the Juli Inkster Senior Award, a new award to be given out annually starting in the 2019-20 school year.

Ana’s final thoughts…

Listen to Ana on the SJSU Spartans podcast each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Oakland Raiders podcast with Joe Hawkes: Can Raiders break the losing spell as the enter LA with a four-game losing streak?

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Photo credit: foxnews.com

On the Raiders podcast with J. Hawkes:

#1 Coming off the loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars and playing their final game in Oakland in franchise history going forward with just two games left on the road, can the Raiders regroup?

#2 Raiders quarterback Derek Carr was miserably booed after the game against Jacksonville last Sunday. Would you say the main reason being lack of effort or Raiders fans just expected a better effort considering it’s the last game of the season?

#3 Talk about the huge defensive let down by the Raiders in that four quarter allowing the Jaguars to score two touchdowns to clinch the game.

#4  Sunday’s Raiders game was that the Raiders didn’t get any offense going in the fourth quarter and Carr just couldn’t get the Raiders on the scoreboard.

#5 The Raiders will play the Chargers in Los Angeles Sunday at 1 pm. Just for pride’s sake, do the Raiders have a chance to snap this current four-game losing streak?

Joe Hawkes is a Raiders analyst, join Jeremy Kahn for exclusive coverage this Sunday. All on http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Francisco 49ers podcast with Joe Lami: Will loss to the Falcons be something Niners can shake off?

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Photo credit: nbcsports.com

On the 49ers podcast with Joe:

#1 After a close loss to the Atlanta Falcons, will there be much recovery for the 49ers coming off the loss mentally and physically?

#2 Close contest as Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan had himself an afternoon throwing against the 49ers defense throwing 25 for 39 for 210 yards but the key play for Ryan was his five-yard pass to Julio Jones for the gamer.

#3 Injuries are insurmountable against the 49ers, but cornerback Richard Sherman (hamstring) and nickle corner K’Waun Williams (concussion) are both scheduled to return to practice after they sat on the sidelines last Sunday.

#4 With defensive end Dee Ford (hamstring) out for the rest of the season, the 49ers were trying to acquire pass rusher Terrell Suggs, a seven-time Pro Bowler. Suggs was snapped up by the Kansas City Chiefs.

#5 The 49ers have four players going to the Pro Bowl in edge rusher Nick Bosa, Sherman, tight end George Kittle, and fullback Kyle Juszczyk.

Joe Lami does the 49ers podcasts each Friday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com