Tag: Sports radio

Oakland Roots Shut Out Charleston Battery 1-0 To Secure Three Points In The Table

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The Oakland Roots used their heads in this one as they got by the Charleston Battery at Patriots Point Soccer Complex in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina on Fri Aug 4, 2023 (@oaklandrootssc photo)

Friday, August 4th, 2023

By Troy Ewers

Oakland Roots face the Charleston Battery as the Roots try to hold on to their third place standing in the Western Conference at Mount Pleasant, South Carolina -. This is the first time either team has ever played each other in their team histories and the game started with Charleston playing an aggressive style of defense with hard tackles and pressure on the ball the moment it touches a Roots player.

Oakland goaltender Paul Blanchette had the spotlight on him, because he comes into this game top of the league in saves and second in shutouts heading into the weekend.

In the 40th minute, the scoring chances opened up for Oakland off a set piece that developed into a pass from outside the box to Daniel Barbir for a header that hit the back of the net and put the Roots over 1-0.

As the final minutes of the first half wind down the tempers started flaring and a yellow was given to leading scorer Johnny Rodriguez and the final whistle blew with Oakland up 1-0. The second half of this started off slow with both teams taking their time and picking their spots.

Charleston had attacks that scared the Oakland defense, but no one was able to find the net in that first 20 minutes, because Oakland jumped on every chance they had. Players keep getting knocked down by Charleston defenders. It almost feels like a hockey game with how many times Roots players are getting checked.

The duration of the second half was not only a stalemate amongst both offenses, but a test of endurance where a rush would go the distance, but once challenged would be shut down  and possession would change hands.

With nine minutes of stoppage time Johnny Rodriguez goes down with what looked like an ankle injury, but this injury took a lot of time away from Charleston to try to equalize the score. As the final minutes ran off, you can see frustration on the face of Charleston players and that’s due to never capitalizing on the scoring opportunities they had, but Oakland kept them at bay the whole match and then the final whistle blew and Oakland walked away with the win.

Paul Blanchette awarded another shutout and the Roots can exhale knowing that their third place was secure headed into the weekend. The next game for the Roots will be at home against the Colorado Springs Switchbacks and this game will be the only home game of the month for Oakland.

Giants Lose In Extras To Diamondbacks 4-3 On The Skipper’s Birthday

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San Francisco Giants hitter Wilmer Flores rounds third base after connecting for a home run and gets congratulations from third base coach Mark Hallberg against the Arizona Diamondbacks in the bottom of the third inning at Oracle Park in San Francisco on Mon Jul 31, 2023 (AP News photo)

Monday, July 31st, 2023

By Troy Ewers

San Francisco, CA -The San Francisco Giants began a four game series with the Arizona Diamondbacks it didn’t quite end as planned as the Diamondbacks edged San Francisco 4-3 at Oracle Park on Monday night.

On the mound Jakob Junis for the Giants and Ryne Nelson for the D-Backs. First three batters for starter Jakob Junis went down easily and set the tone for the Giants.

Wilmer Flores then sparked the crowd with a big pop that looked like it was going over the wall for the first run of the game, but Alek Thomas snatched it out of the air. First hit of the game for Arizona comes from Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and is hit straight back at Junis in the leg and shakes him up, but he stays in the game and gets back to back strikeouts to get out the inning.

First hit for the Giants came from Blake Sabol on a chip shot over the head of the third baseman and was followed by a single from Patrick Bailey. Isan Diaz ‘first at bat after being called up from Sacramento results in a walk and bases loaded with Luis Matos coming to the plate.

Matos grounded into a fielder’s choice to stop the rally for San Francisco in its tracks. Flores sparked the crowd again with his second at bat, but this time the homer wasn’t robbed and it’s out of here, 1-0 Giants.

Alex Wood replaced Junis in the fourth inning and continued right where Junis left off. The Giants scored a second run after a rally was started by Sabol who got on from a walk. Bailey moved him over on a double and then a sac fly from Crawford scored Sabol, 2-0 Giants.

In the sixth, Arizona scored two runs to tie the game up. The first came when Corbin Carroll hit a single and scored Ketel Marte, then Gurriel Jr. hit a double and scored Carroll and now it’s tied at two. Camillo Doval came in the ninth, but not for a save this time around.

Doval gets three strikeouts in a row and Giants head into the bottom of the ninth hoping for another walk off. One, two, three inning in the bottom of the ninth for San Francisco and we then headed into extra innings.

Arizona started extras with McCarthy as the ghost runner and Emmanuel Rivera hit a double that would score McCarthy and take a one run lead. 3-2 Diamondbacks. In the bottom of the tenth a wild pitch brings in the ghost runner Brandon Crawford and the Giants tie it up. 3-3.

Lamonte Jr looked like he had a walk-off home run, but it wasn’t hit deep enough and the tenth continued. In the 11th Marte hits a ground rule double that scores the ghost runner Perdomo, 4-3 D-Backs.

Taylor Rogers gets out of the inning, but now it was on the bats to send the fans home happy. The Giants get sat down one, two three and the game ends with Giants losing 4-3. The win is rewarded to Kevin Ginkel, Taylor Rogers gets the loss, and the save goes to Scott McGough.

The next game is Tuesday August 1st with Zac Gallen (11-5 ERA 3.36) pitching for Arizona and Alex Cobb (6-3 ERA 2.97) on the hill for San Francisco first pitch 6:45pm PT.

Roots Can’t Get Fourth Win In A Row for First Time In History As They Draw 1-1 With Detroit City FC

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The Oakland Roots get tuned up for their match with Detroit FC at Cal State University Hayward on Sat Jul 29, 2023

Saturday, July 29th, 2023

By Troy Ewers

Hayward, CA – The third place in the Western Conference Oakland Roots aimed for their longest streak in team history as they looked to get their fourth win in a row against Detroit City FC. The match immediately started with a spark plug of a goal from Oakland. In the first 40 seconds, the opening attack was successful as Johnny Rodriguez scored a goal from outside the box to find the back of the net.

This is Rodriguez’s ninth League goal and tenth overall goal this season and Roots took the lead 1-0. The equalizer was scored very soon after in the fifth minute a header was scored by Stephen Carroll on a corner piece. 1-1!

The rest of the first half was slowed to a taxing pace as both teams tried to find an advantage over the defense. Oakland relies on more pressure on the offense and Detroit relies more on trying to play a tactical game plan. The first half ended even at 1-1 with four shots on goal for Oakland and five shots on goal for Detroit City, all five shots total for Detroit were on goal.

The second half was a back and forth defensive battle. A defensive mishap from the Roots on was almost capitalized by Detroit, but the ball hit the post and was recovered by Paul Blanchette. Blanchette leads the league in saves and this game was no different, other than the one header in the fifth minute, Blanchette stopped everything that came his way.

On the offensive side of the ball, Oakland couldn’t seem to get past the back line of Detroit and the same seemed to be happening for Detroit with Oakland. The final seconds ran off, the final whistle blew, and the game ended in a draw.

Oakland players looked frustrated when the whistle blew, almost like they were mad at the missed opportunities. The Roots maintained their third place position going into the next game against Charleston in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina on August 4th.

Troy Ewers is Oakland Roots beat writer for http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Oakland Roots Move Into Third Place With Third Win A Row Beat Las Vegas 1-0

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Wednesday, July 26 2023

By Troy Ewers

Hayward, California – The Oakland Roots played the Las Vegas Lights for weekday game as the Roots look to extend their winning streak to three games which would match their current longest winning streak of this season.

The match started and it was a sleepy first half as there were only two shots on goal between both teams and both shots were from Oakland. One of those shots came from Roots leading scorer Johnny Rodriguez when he tried to capitalize on a lackadaisical mistake from the Las Vegas center back Zali, who even though he made the mistake, Zali came back and got the save, preventing Rodriguez from getting his 9th league goal this season.

In the first 26 minutes Vegas earned three fouls and their sloppy play almost led to an early goal from Oakland as they missed a free kick and even claimed there was a hand ball, but a no call from the referee. After that missed call it looked like it was getting chippy out there from both teams, but with all that the first half ended scoreless.

In the second half the chances increased for both teams, one of the best chances for the Lights coming in the 50th minute, but the ball would miss wide. Another big chance for Las Vegas came from Andrew Carlton who took a risky shot from the mid line and it looked on par for a goal, but one of the league leader in saves, Paul Blanchette saved that ball from being the go ahead goal for Vegas.

After a Lights open field shot is missed, Oakland takes advantage of the missed opportunity when a deep pass from Bryan Tamacas finds Anuar Pelaez, who beats the back line and sinks a shot to the net for the advantage goal,1-0 Oakland.

A last minute equalizer opportunity for Vegas saw the back of the goal in a set piece, but an offside was called and no goal. The final whistle blew and Roots won, securing their third straight win and third place in the west.

This game not only saw another strong outing from Blanchette, but also the combo of Cireno and Tamacas on the seemed to lead the attack for Oakland as majority of their offense developed from their side.

Next game for the Roots is July 29th in CSU East Bay in Hayward against Detroit City FC as Oakland looks to continue this streak and with 13 games left, they hope to secure a home playoff game when the postseason arrives.

Oakland A’s game wrap: A’s Lose Game One Of The Battle of The Bay 2-1 In A Nail Biter

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Oakland Athletics’ Seth Brown walks to the dugout after striking out against the San Francisco Giants during the sixth inning at Oracle Park in San Francisco on Tue Jul 25, 2023 (AP News photo)

Tuesday, July 25th, 2023

By Troy Ewers

San Francisco, CA – Tuesday’s game in Oracle Park in front of 40,014 fans, both the San Francisco Giants (55-47) and the Oakland A’s (28-75) fans and it’s the yearly battle of the Bay. On the mound the starters were Alex Cobb and Tayler Scott. 

A’s started off the game where Cobb struck out the whole side, but Oakland’s starting pitcher Scott pitched one inning and recorded two K’s and one hit, but that was the end of his night and in the second inning on the mound for Oakland was Ken Waldichuk who kept the Giants at zero until the fifth when a sac fly from Casey Schmitt scored Wilmer Flores who got on from a walk. 1-0 Giants.

During the top of the fifth, the A’s fans in the park stood up and chanted to sell the team so that it could be heard by every fan in the park it felt like. The chants died out once a manager’s challenge debating a play at first.

A major moment for Oakland came when Tony Kemp stopped a potential hit for extra bases with a big catch at the wall. After two outs in the sixth Oakland took out Waldichuk and put in Austin Pruitt, who got them out of the jam.

After seven innings, the A’s kept it close at 1-0. Aledmys Diaz pinch hits for Nick Allen to leadoff the 8th and gets a base hit. JJ Bleday hits a single that scores Diaz and ties it up at one. Bleday has seven RBIs over his last seven games.

Tyler Rogers strikes out Seth Brown, but it was a close call, because Bleday also stole second. Pruitt gets taken out to put Lucas Erceg on the mound in the eighth. Mike Yastrzemski comes into the game to pinch hit for Joc Pederson and hits an RBI double that scores Luis Matos. 2-1 Giants.

The last chance effort for the A’s came in the top of the ninth, but the best closer in the league right now Camillo Doval came in and struck out the side and recorded his 31st save which leads the league at the moment.

The next game between these two is Wednesday and the starting pitchers are Hogan Harris for Oakland and it hasn’t been announced for San Francisco. The A’s are now 6-13 in July and this is the start to a eight game road trip. For Oakland after tonight’s loss, they go 47 games below .500, which is the most in franchise history since 1979 when they finished the season 54-under. 

Starting pitchers for Wednesday night for Oakland Logan Harris (2-4 ERA 6.11) San Francisco has not announced a starter first pitch is slated at 6:45pm PT.

That’s Amaury News and Commentary: A Relocation Update

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Major League Commissioner Rob Manfred addresses the news media on Thu Jun 15, 2023 at MLB Headquarters in New York. The owners will be taking a vote on the relocation of the Oakland A’s that date has not yet been determined (AP News photo)

By Amaury Pi Gonzalez

Why are the Major League Baseball owners yet to approve the A’s relocation from Oakland, California to Las Vegas, Nevada? Very simple, the A’s are late in this endeavor, and they (A’s) just begun the process to apply for relocation. Almost a month already had passed since Nevada’s Governor Joe Lombardo signed the Senate Bill into law. The owners are waiting for the A’s relocation plan, which would explain why the A’s are leaving one city to move to another. The other 29 owners need to know why they are leaving Oakland to Las Vegas. Have they tried and exhausted all their options in Oakland? Is Las Vegas a brand new untapped market that would benefit Major League Baseball?

It was on June 15, Rob Manfred, Commissioner of Baseball said the following:

“It has always been baseball’s policy and preference to stay put,”  “I think that always colors any conversation about relocation. Having said that, I think the owners as a whole understand that there has been a multiyear, pushing-a-decade effort where for the vast majority of the time, the sole focus was Oakland.

-After the owners get the A’s relocation plan, owners have to review, and then send it to another owners committee for approval. Seventy-five percent of owners have to approve the relocation petition by the A’s. Nobody knows how the owners will vote. Most are probably are anxious to end this long running issue of the A’s new park, others (probably the big markets) might not be very happy with shelling money to A’s and other small market teams via revenue sharing. Ironically the A’s in Las Vegas would be in the smallest baseball media market in the US. For years I have refused  to accept that the A’s in Oakland were a “small market” team, in my opinion, just ridiculous, we have almost 7 million people living in the 9-county Bay Area, around San José, San Francisco and Oakland. However, it is believed, that if the A’s present a coherent petition at least 22 owners would vote Yes to the relocation.

The owners want to get the Oakland A’s situation resolved, as well as the Tampa Bay Rays, so they can move together under the Commissioner on expansion of two more teams. There will be no expansion until Oakland and Tampa are settled. And who knows, Oakland might even get an expansion team after losing the A’s or even a larger bay area city, like San José who already threw their hat in the ring and asked the Commissioner to “free them” from the Giants owning their territory, the same territory the A’s gave the Giants in 1990, as San Francisco was in danger or losing the team to Florida. By the way, I believe San José has an excellent chance to get an expansion team. They presented their request to the Commissioner who did not say No, but, said that MLB is working on the Athletics relocation. Again, there will be no expansion until Oakland and Tampa Bay resolve their stadiums situations.

To be resolved:

-The over $1 Billion to build the proposed new ballpark.  The A’s most prove they can come up with the remaining $1.1 billion in private financing to fund the rest of the $1.5 billion ballpark project. They already got $380 million from the State of Nevada and the city of Las Vegas and then signed by the Nevada governor, at the time, which was believed to be the biggest hurdle.

-There is also another issue at the Nevada Legislation, which was previously on the table.. The A’s agreed in principle to sign a 30-year no-relocation agreement with Las Vegas to another city. This is mostly a “done deal”, since both sides agreed during the Nevada Legislation special sessions, regarding the A’s Bill, but now the A’s owner would have to sign it to make it official.

-The FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) and the Athletics new planned baseball park in Las Vegas. A’s will have to abide by the laws of federal aviation. That seems also to be a done deal. This is more diplomatic than anything else.

There could be more curve balls thrown at this, but this is the ‘bread and butter’ of the relocation of the Oakland A’s, as we approach the 2023 All Star Break. The Oakland A’s already announced they will play the 2024 season at the Oakland Coliseum. After that, nobody seems to know, and if they do know, they have not said a word. The A’s AAA affiliate Las Vegas Aviators to date have 11 sellouts and lead the Pacific Coast League in attendance, even with temperatures consistently over 100 degrees (no dome), as reported by the Independent in Las Vegas. This park could be the leading contender to host the A’s for a few years (after 2024) until they inaugurate their new MLB park in 2028. The players union will have a say on this also; of course, there is no hidden agenda here. Like they say in Vegas “all cards are on the table”.

Is the relocation to Las Vegas a sure thing?  On the words of the great Benjamin Franklin after signing the US Constitution (quote) “Nothing can be said is certain, except Death and Taxes.

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

NHL Stanley Cup Playoff podcast with Matt Harrington: Pressure on Stars need win or go back to Dallas down two games

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Vegas Golden Knights center Brett Howden (21) celebrates after scoring against Dallas Stars goaltender Jake Oettinger (29) in overtime during Game 1 at the T-Mobile Center in Las Vegas on Fri May 19, 2023 (AP News photo)

On the NHL Stanley Cup Playoff podcast:

#1 The Vegas Golden Knights took game 1 of the NHL Western Conference Finals at the T-Mobile Center in Las Vegas on Friday night in overtime 4-3. The Knights Brett Howden scored on the Dallas Stars goaltender Jake Oettinger at 1:35.

#2 The Stars Jamie Benn forced overtime with a third period goal at 1:59 to tie the game 3-3. These two teams really know how to come out and battle as this was the third time in four meetings that they have gone into overtime.

#3 The Knights William Karlsson scored twice, Karlsson now has seven goals for the post season and has a three game point streak going.

#4 The Knights Teddy Blueger scored and Zach Whitecloud had two assists and goaltender Adam Hill saved 33 shots. The Knights were getting some offense and some defense in game 1.

#5 Stars and Knights face off on Sunday afternoon at 12 noon. The Stars need this one or else go back to Dallas down 0-2. The Knights are hoping to make the best of home ice advantage.

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

San Jose Barracuda podcast with Marko Ukalovic: Barracuda look to rebound Tuesday against Firebirds

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The San Jose Barracuda and the Coachhella Valley Firebirds battled for the puck Sat Jan 7, 2023 (San Jose Barracuda photo)

On the Barracuda podcast with Marko:

#1 San Jose on the road faced off against the Coachella Valley Firebirds who has had their number all year and Saturday night was no different as the Firebirds won 4-0.

#2 Coachella Valley did not take long to find the back of the net as just 4:28 into the game Brogan Rafferty scored his fourth goal of the season. Both Ryker Evans and Max McCormick assisted on the goal.

# 3 Just a little under five minutes after the goal Adam Raska and Max McCormick dropped the gloves looking to give a spark to their respective teams.

#4 In the third the Barracuda pushed for an answer but none was found as the Firebirds gaoltender Joey Daccord ended up shutting out San Jose making 39 saves on the night.

#5 San Jose will look to bounce back Tuesday on the road against these same Firebirds at 7 p.m.

Join Marko for the Barracuda podcasts each Monday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

13th-ranked Ducks rout Stanford 45-27

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The looks on the Stanford Cardinal sideline says it all as the Oregon Ducks quarterback Bo Nix takes a keeper for long yardage. Nix wound up with four touchdowns on the day to defeat Stanford at Autzen Stadium in Eugene on Sat Oct 1, 2022 (AP News photo)

Sun Oct 2, 2022 

By Daniel Dullum

No. 13-Oregon built a four-touchdown lead in the first half and proceeded to rout Stanford 45-27 in Pac-12 football at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Ore.

The Ducks (3-1) were led by quarterback Bo Nix, who completed 16 of 29 passes for 161 yards and two touchdowns without an interception. Nix also ran six times for 145 yards and two touchdowns. Bucky Irving ran 10 times for 97 yards.

Cardinal quarterback Tanner McKee completed 19 of 33 passes for 166 yards and two touchdowns and no interceptions, but was also sacked three times. Casey Filkins ran 19 times for 80 yards and caught three passes for 59 yards and a TD. Elijah Higgins caught six passes for 44 yards and a touchdown for Stanford (1-2).

Oregon opened the scoring at 10:43 of the first quarter with a 38-yard field goal by Camden Lewis. With 16 seconds left in the opening period, Chase Cota snared a 49-yard touchdown pass from Nix to build the Ducks’ lead to 10-0.

A 23-yard field goal by Joshua Karty put the Cardinal on the board with 8:23 remaining in the second quarter. Oregon responded with three touchdowns in a four-minute span to close out the first half.

At 4:34 of the second quarter, Nix found Troy Franklin for a 10-yard TD pass, then, after a Cardinal turnover, Nix ran in from four yards out 11 seconds later. Benjamin Yurosek caught a pass for no gain and fumbled at the Cardinal 25. Noah Sewell recovered the fumble and returned it 21 yards to set up Nix’s score.

Thirteen seconds before halftime, Jordan James scored on a 1-yard plunge, giving the Ducks a 31-3 lead at the intermission.

The Cardinal tried to battle back in the second half. A 42-yard scoring pass from McKee to Filkins cut the Stanford deficit to 31-10. Forty-seven seconds later, Nix ran for an 80-yard touchdown, increasing the Ducks’ lead to 38-10. McKee connected with Elijah Higgins for a 28-yard touchdown pass with 2:52 left in the third quarter, cutting Oregon’s lead to 38-17 after three periods.

Oregon opened the fourth quarter with a 2-yard touchdown run by Sean Dollars. At 5:12 of the fourth, Karty booted a 53-yard field goal, and Stanford scored on an 18-yard touchdown pass from Ari Patu to Mudia Reuben with 1:17 left to close out the scoring.

Next week, the Cardinal host Oregon State at Stanford Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 8 p.m.

Oakland A’s podcast with Jeremiah Salmonson: Since Elvis left the building with Piscotty and Lowrie rookies and top drafts left to pick up the pieces

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Former Oakland Athletic right fielder Stephen Piscotty makes a dive in vain for a ball that was hit by the Los Angeles Phil Gosselin knocked in a run but was thrown out by Piscotty at second trying to stretch the hit for a double on Aug 2, 2022. Piscotty was not picked up after being released on Tue Aug 16, 2022. (AP News photo)

On the A’s podcast with Jeremiah:

#1 The A’s releasing Stephen Piscotty, Jed Lowrie, and Andrus was a cost saving move that saved the team $20 million. Is the move more of a benefit for the A’s or they wanted to get on with saving the money and seeing what the prospects can do?

#2 Jeremiah, Piscotty came to the A’s in 2018 and had a banner year with 78 runs, 27 home runs, 88 RBIs for a .267 clip. This year he was hitting .190, 12 runs, 24 hits, and 15 RBIs. Piscotty was not putting up the numbers and the A’s wanted to get out of paying him.

#3 Lowrie who also was released this week and finished his third stint with the A’s just dreaded leaving the club and organization that he loved but again his numbers were not enough to keep him with the club hitting 14 runs, 30 hits, 3 home runs, and batted .180.

#4 Andrus said that he is glad to be with the Chicago White Sox (61-58) third in the AL Central and just 2.5 games behind first place. Elvis could help the Sox at shortstop and is hitting .237, with 84 hits, 8 home runs, and 30 RBIs.

#5 The A’s will continue their current three game series with the Seattle Mariners at the Oakland Coliseum. Starting for the M’s on Saturday night Logan Garrett (10-5, 3.51) and for the A’s James Kaprielian (3-7, 4.33) a 4:15 pm PDT first pitch.

Join Jeremiah for the Oakland A’s podcasts each Friday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com