NHL podcast with Joe Lami: Most consecutive losses this season, Sharks on five-game skid; Flames turn up the heat, now five points up; plus more

Photo credit: @SanJoseSharks

On the NHL podcast with Joe Lami:

#1 The San Jose Sharks dropped their fourth straight game to the Los Angeles Kings 4-2 Thursday night and took another loss to the Anaheim Ducks on Friday night in a one goal loss for their fifth straight loss. The Sharks also dropped five points behind first place the Calgary Flames in the Pacific Division.

#2 Meanwhile, the Flames got a four-goal win over the Ottawa Senators 5-1. For the Flames, Andrew Maniapane, Garnet Hathaway, Matthew Tkachuk all scored a goal.

#3 William Karlsson and Reilly Smith scored two goals each as the Vegas Knights shutout the Winnipeg Jets 5-0. Vegas goalie Malcom Subban stopped 20 shots.

#4 Tampa Bay (58-13) is a beast in Carolina in a three-goal win over the Canes. The Canes’ Ryan Callahan scored a tie-breaking goal in third period.

#5 Oilers get a three-goal win 4-1 over the CBJs. The Oilers’ Connor McDavid got a goal and an assist and Leon Draisaitl had three assists.

Joe does the NHL podcast each Friday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Francisco Giants podcast with Michael Duca: Joey Bart is all the rage, just how soon will he come up to the show?

sfgate.com photo: San Francisco Giants catcher Joey Bart has already established himself for his hitting but needs to polish up on some defensive catching. He could very well get called up during the Giants regular season.

On the San Francisco Giants podcast with Michael Duca:

#1 All the talk has been about young Giants prospect catcher Joey Bart. How soon do you think it will be until he will be in the show on a regular basis?

#2 Once promoted, will he be catcher Buster Posey’s regular back up? There’s so much expected of him, can he live up to the hype?

#3 Bart can swing the bats he had an OBP of .369 and hit .296 in spring training.

#4 Giants announcer Mike Krukow said that Bart has some bad habits. This spring, he has allowed six passed balls and committed six errors, but with some coaching, he can break those habits and with his bat and be a big piece of the Giants future.

#5 Once the National League adopts the Universal Designated Hitter rule, could Bart be a starting as catcher and Posey moving to the DH slot?

Michael Duca covers San Francisco Giants baseball for http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Oakland A’s podcast with Jerry Feitelberg: Olson hurt; A’s swept in Tokyo; Bad start to ’19 season for A’s

nbcsports.com photo: Oakland A’s first baseman Matt Olson injured his right hand fouling off a ball Thursday in Tokyo against the Seattle Mariners. Olson could be out for months.

On the Oakland A’s podcast with Jerry Feitelberg:

#1 Oakland A’s Gold Glover Matt Olson fouled a pitch off his right hand while swinging against the Seattle Mariners. The hand will be further looked at by team doctors once the A’s arrive back in the Bay Area from Tokyo on Thursday night.

#2 Olson couldn’t grip the bat after the foul ball and that sounds like the diagnosis for a hamate bone injury. If so Olson could be lost for months. Jerry explains the hamate bone injury.

#3 What was tough for the Olson injury is Olson didn’t miss a game all last season. He played in all 162 regular season games for the A’s. This was game two and already the talk was he could be out for a few months.

#4 The other big news was that Ichiro played in his very last game for the Seattle Mariners and his baseball career. Ichiro failed to get a hit and has hit .086 in spring training.

#5 The A’s host the Los Angeles Angels for a four-game series at the Oakland Coliseum starting on Thursday afternoon on March 28th. The A’s had a huge media contingent last season opening day when Shohei Ohtani and the Angels came to Oakland. This season Ohtani who had off season Tommy John surgery will not be back until June or July and will only be a DH.

Jerry does the Oakland A’s podcast each Friday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Jose Earthquakes podcast with Ana Kieu: Have the Quakes really improved?

Photo credit: @MLS

On the San Jose Earthquakes podcast with Ana:

1. The Earthquakes dropped back-to-back matches at home to start this season. What went wrong?

2. The Quakes fell to the N.Y. Red Bulls 4-1 last Saturday. Was this a matter of the Quakes’ offense falling apart or the Red Bulls’ offense overwhelming?

3. The Quakes will be back home on March 30th vs. LAFC. What do the Quakes need to do in order to beat LA?

4. What’s your prediction on the Quakes’ upcoming 2-game homestand vs. LAFC and Portland Timbers?

5. The Quakes have a road match against the Houston Dynamo on April 13th. What are your 3 keys to the match?

Ana does the San Jose Earthquakes podcast each week for SportsRadioService.com

Ichiro says farewell, and Mariners beat A’s in extra innings 5-4

photo from Nogi/Agence France-Presse: Mariners outfielder Ichiro Suzuki left the field in the bottom of eighth inning on Thursday night to an ovation from fans in Tokyo

By Jerry Feitelberg

On an emotional day in Tokyo, Ichiro Suzuki said farewell to baseball. The 45-year old Suzuki went 0-for-4 in his last game and left in the eighth inning as the crowd rose to give a standing ovation for the last time an active player. Ichiro, without question, will be elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame on the first ballot. He will be the first Japanese-born player to reach that lofty level.

There was still a game to play, and the M’s won for the second day in a row as they downed the A’s 5-4 in 12 innings. The M’s sent Yusei Kikuchi to do the pitching honors and he did fairly well in his MLB debut. He went 4 2/3 innings and allowed two runs and 4 hits. Marco Estrada made his A’s debut. His line was five innings of work and he gave up five hits and three runs.

The M’s put two runs on the board when former Oakland Athletic, Ryan Healy, took Estrada deep with a man on board. The M’s increased the lead to 3-0 in the third when Mitch Haniger sent one of Estrada’s pitches into the seats.

The A’s closed the gap when they tallied two in the bottom of the fifth. Marcus Semien singled to drive in Matt Olson with the A’s first run. Jurickson Profar scored the second run on Jay Bruce’s fielding error.

The M’s added a run in the seventh, but the A’s DH Khris Davis singled to drive in Semien and Matt Chapman with the tying runs.

The game remained tied until the top of the 12th inning. The M’s loaded the bases with one out. Domingo Santa, who hit a grand slam on Wednesday, reached on a fielder’s choice. The A’s failed to make the inning-ending double play and the M’s scored the go-ahead run. The M’s bullpen closed out the game for the win. The final score was 5-4 in favor of the M’s.

Game Notes and Stats: Marcus Semien was the hitting start for the A’s with three hits. Ramon Laureano had two knocks.

Up Next: The A’s resume Spring Training with three exhibition games against the San Francisco Giants. The two teams will play in Oakland on Sunday and then play in San Francisco Monday and Tuesday. The A’s are off on Wednesday. The A’s will start the season will a day opener Thursday against the Los Angeles Angels. Game time will be at 1:05 pm. They will have the night opener Friday at 7:05 PM.

San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa Walsh: Sharks try to break losing streak in Southland, starting with Kings Thursday

Photo credit: fearthefin.com

On the Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa:

#1 Is this three-game losing streak a temporary patch or are there issues that need to be addressed soon?

#2 Joe Pavelski is suffering an lower body injury, meaning Pavelski has missed only two games in the last eight years.

#3 Pavelski looked as if he took a right leg injury after taking a hit into the boards against the Nashville Predators in San Jose last Saturday. Head coach Peter DeBoer said the injury might last longer than day to day. He most likely will not be playing against either Los Angeles or Anaheim on Thursday or Friday night.

#4 How much has the injuries of Erik Karlsson and Evander Kane impacted the club?

#5 It’s the first of back to back road games in the Southland for the Sharks as they open things up against the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday night then the Anaheim Ducks on Friday night.

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

Headline Sports with Tony Renteria: SF DA drops domestic charges against Baer; Don’t spend it all in one place, Trout sports richest contract; plus more

mercurynews.com photo file: San Francisco Giants CEO Larry Baer whose out on leave of absence has been the focus of a Women’s group who are asking MLB to discipline Baer after his physical March 1st altercation with his wife Pam.

On Headline Sports podcast with Tony R:

#1 San Francisco Giants CEO Larry Baer will not face charges of domestic abuse according to San Francisco DA spokesman Alex Bastian. Baer who had a March 1st altercation with his wife Pam which was video taped.

#2 Women’s right groups in San Francisco still say Baer should be suspended from baseball and that Major League Baseball still has a responsibility to discipline Baer.

#3 The Los Angeles Angels this week set the all time sports record for highest salary paying the Angels Mike Trout a record $430 million.

#4 The Oakland Raiders newest lineback Vontaze Burfict who at one time as a member of the Cincinnati Bengals went helmet to helmet with then Pittsburgh Steeler Antonio Brown concussing Brown. Burfict says it’s all good and that they have one goal now and that’s win together as a team.

#5 The Oakland A’s opened their first two games of the season with the Seattle Mariners in Tokyo on Wednesday and Thursday. MLB is doing all it can to promote the game in Japan. Tony tells us if he sees it as a success.

Tony does Headline Sports each Thursday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Giants sign ex-A’s OF Joyce; blank Indians in Cactus League

photo from sfgate.com file: The Giants are looking over Matt Joyce, who was released by the Indians Tuesday but clocked 25 homers for the A’s in 2017.
Photo: Michael Macor / The Chronicle 2017

By Daniel Dullum
Sports Radio Service
Wednesday, March 20, 2019

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Former Athletics outfielder Matt Joyce agreed to a minor league contract with the Giants, following his release by Cleveland.

Joyce, 34, spent the last two seasons with Oakland. Last season was an injury-plagued one for Joyce, who played in 83 games while battling a lingering back injury. He hit .208 for the A’s with seven home runs and 15 runs batted in.

The left-handed batting Joyce had a more productive year for the Athletics in 2017, belting 25 home runs and driving in 68 while hitting .243 in 141 games. Adding Joyce figures to add depth to the Giants’ outfield.

Steven Duggar, Gerardo Parra and Mac Williamson are expected to be the regular San Francisco outfield, while Cameron Maybin earlier signed a minor league contract with the Giants.

The Indians signed veteran Carlos Gonzalez to a minor league deal on Tuesday, making Joyce expendable. Cleveland released Joyce from his minor league contract, which made him a free agent.

THE GAME
Giants took a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the second. Key hits were Brandon Belt’s third home run of the spring, a double by Yangervis Solarte and an RBI single by Drew Pomeranz.

San Francisco added five more runs in the fourth; Steven Duggar, Buster Posey and Evan Longoria each had run-scoring doubles.

Pablo Sandoval gave the 8,296 in attendance something to get excited about in the sixth when he legged out a bases-loaded, three-RBI double. Alen Hanson followed with a triple to score the Panda.

Pomerantz (2-1) threw five hitless innings, walked four and struck out one. Tony Watson, Will Smith, Nick Vincent and Steven Okert each threw a scoreless relief inning.

The Giants are 11-12 in Cactus League play. They host Colorado on Friday and Arizona on Saturday in Scottsdale before facing Oakland in the Bay Bridge Series on March 24 at the Coliseum.

San Jose Barracuda podcast with Marko Ukalovic: After record-setting game against Eagles, Cuda start three-game road trip

Photo credit: sjbarracuda.com

On the San Jose Barracuda podcast with Marko Ukalovic:

#1 The San Jose Barracuda, in their record-setting 9-0 victory, got off quick with two goals to start the first period.

#2 The Colorado Eagles came in with a nine-game win streak and it was kind of amazing their streak got snapped with that kind of definition by the Barracuda.

#3 The Cuda are a in a three-way tie with the Eagles and the San Diego Gulls for second place with 70 points and 11 games left.

#4 The Eagles are 11 games over .500. How surprising after winning nine straight that they would have such a poor defensive game? Was it a matter that they were due for a bad game like this or were they tired and flat?

#5 The Cuda open a three-game road trip with the Tucson Roadrunners this Saturday and Sunday and San Diego next Thursday.

Marko does the Barracuda podcasts each Wednesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary podcast with Barbara Mason: How Sharks lost three straight at home; Ichiro is just the ticket for opener in Japan; St. Mary’s continues to deliver the thrills

Photo credit: @NHL

Barbara Mason filling in for Amaury Pi Gonzalez:

#1 The San Jose Sharks, after winning six straight have all of a sudden hit a brick wall with three straight loses to Florida, Nashville and Vegas. Should there be some concern from head coach Peter DeBoer?

#2 Ichiro can still throw from the outfield to the plate. He’s over 40, but can still start as a designated hitter and will be in the starting line up for the Seattle Mariners against the Oakland A’s on Wednesday in Tokyo for opening day.

#3 Ichiro becomes the second oldest position player in MLB history to start a game.

#4 This is a big deal for the Oakland A’s to host and open the season in Japan and there has been a huge contingent of press and fans, who will pack the Tokyo Dome Wednesday night.

#5 St. Mary’s win over Gonzaga last week is something that basketball analysts are still talking about. You have to go back to the 2010 St. Mary’s team, who beat top-10 Villanova in the 2010 NCAA Tournament in the second round.

Barbara Mason does Amaury’s News and Commentary each Tuesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com