Headline Sports with Tony Renteria: Bickerstaff take over coaching reigns in Cleveland; NFL to add more playoff teams; plus more

cavsnation.com photo: New Cleveland Cavaliers head coach JB Bickerstaff will take over the coaching duties after former head coach John Beilein resigned

On Headline Sports with Tony R:

#1 The Cleveland Cavaliers John Beilein resigned as head coach and replaced him with JB Bickerstaff who is the son of former NBA head coach Bernie Bickerstaff who coached around the league for many years.

#2 The NFL are adding more playoff teams will this be a matter of making the post season more competitive or is the NFL just milking that much more

#3 The Kings have won four of their last seven games and host the Memphis Grizzlies on Thursday night at Golden One Center their coming off two tough loses to Milwaukee and Dallas

#4 The players in baseball are ready to riot as MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred is under pressure by the players to take the World Series Trophy back from Houston and officially cross the Astros off as the 2017 World Champions

#5 The sign stealing scandal has dominated baseball so much its all anyone talks about will fights with the Astros turn the average fan off and they’ll go somewhere else?

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

Sacramento Kings podcast with Charlie O: Kings battle but Bucks just too much; Kings in Dallas Thursday

image from: KHTK 1140 Sacramento

On the Kings podcast with Charlie O:

#1 The Milwaukee Bucks (46-7) left little doubt in their win over the Sacramento Kings (21-32) in the 123-111 win on Monday night.

#2 The Kings did give the Bucks a challenge in the second and third periods

#3 The Kings Harrison Barnes led with 23 points part of the reason why the Kings got the offensive help they needed in those second and third quarters

#4 The Bucks Eric Bledsoe was unstoppable with 28 points to lead the Bucks.

#5 It’s off to Dallas and Mark Cuban and the Mavericks how do you see the Kings coming out of this game they have been giving some of their opponents some tough games of late.

Charlie O does the Kings podcasts each Tuesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

The Kings run out of gas in the fourth quarter and lose in Milwaukee 123-111

by Charlie O. Mallonee

The Kings entered the game on Monday night in Milwaukee with high hopes. The Bucks superstar – Giannis Antetokounmpo – was ruled out the game because he wanted to be with his new-born son (who we all expect to be the number one overall draft selection in 2038). Without “the freak” on the floor, the Kings knew they had at least a fighting chance versus the powerful Bucks.

The Kings (21-32) fell behind early, and it looked like it might be a walkover game for Milwaukee (46-7) even without Giannis. At the end of the first quarter, the Bucks held 38-24 lead.

Sacramento rebounded in the second quarter. The Kings outscored the Bucks 34-19 in the second period behind the 13 point barrage by Harrison Barnes. Barnes went 4-for-4 from the floor with all three of his 3-point attempts finding their mark. He also converted both of his free throw attempts. The Kings went to the locker room at halftime with a 58-57 lead.

The two teams went into an epic battle in the third quarter and went toe to toe. The Kings outscored the Bucks 32-31 in the quarter and held a 90-88 advantage at the end of 36 minutes.

The Bucks started the final quarter with a 13-0 run and never looked back. Milwaukee went on to outscore the Kings 35-21 in the fourth quarter as they fell 12 points short when the final buzzer sounded.

Top scorers

• Khris Middleton and Eric Bledsoe were the leading scorers in the game scoring 28 points each
• Harrison Barnes was the Kings top scorer with 23 points

The Glass Cleaners

• Bucks All-Star Khris Middleton made it a double-double game by pulling down 11 rebounds
• De’Aaron Fox and Nemanja Bjelica grabbed eight rebounds each for the Kings

Dropping Dimes

• De’Aaron Fox was the game’s assist leader with 11 which gave him a double-double game
• Khris Middleton and Eric Bledsoe dropped eight dimes each for the Bucks

Up next

The Kings will be back in action on Wednesday night in Dallas.

The Bucks will travel to Indianapolis to play the Pacers on Wednesday night.

Kings can’t pass the Buck get stomped 127-106

nbcsports.com photo: De’Aaron Fox (5) of the Sacramento Kings drives on the Milwaukee Bucks Khris Middleton (22) at Golden One Center on Friday night

By Jeremiah Salmonson

SACRAMENTO–The Kings have been playing better of late. They are 3-1 in the new year and hoping to continue the trend after a brutal month of December. The Milwaukee Bucks were the opponent in store for the Kings. The Bucks have the best record in the NBA while the Kings are just starting to get their footing again. The tip-off was set for 7 PM PST at Golden One Center.

In the first, the Kings were flat outplayed. The Kings weren’t able to hit any of their nine three-pointers and only shot 38.1% overall from the field. The Kings mustered only 18 points in the first quarter. It was a different story for the Bucks. They shot 56% from the floor in the first and were able to put up 34 points. Leading the way for the Bucks was Eric Bledsoe who had 11 points. The Kings had four players with four points.

In the second, the Kings continued to miss shots. Thankfully for Kings fans, the Bucks couldn’t hit a three-pointer to save their lives either. The Kings shot 18% from deep in the first half while the Bucks shot a whopping 19%. Each team struggled mightily to hit from deep.

However, the Kings did manage to pull closer. The Kings scored 26 points compared to the Bucks 19 to pull within nine points. The score would be 53-44 as the teams paused for intermission. Leading the way through the first half for the Kings was De’Aaron Fox with 10 points as Eric Bledsoe dropped 17 first-half points.

In the third, The Kings rallied early. They even came all the way back and took the lead for a short minute. However, the success was short-lived. The Bucks rallied back to retake the lead and coast into the fourth quarter. The Bucks put up 37 points compared to the Kings 31 to make it a 90-75 headed to the final session.

In the fourth, there wasn’t much good for the Kings. Both teams traded buckets with each other to keep the game around a 15 point bucks lead. Unfortunately for the Kings, Harrison Barnes came up hobbling with a few minutes left in the game. It wasn’t apparently known the severity of Barnes’s right leg injury but it didn’t appear good.

Barnes hobbled off the court and the Kings couldn’t muster anything from the reserves as came in. The Kings ultimately fell to the Bucks 127-106. Leading the way for the victorious Bucks was Kris Middleton with 27 points followed by Eric Bledsoe who had 24. The Kings received good appearances form De’Aaron Fox and the aforementioned Harrison Barnes who both had 19 points.

Up Next: The Kings stay home to face the Orlando Magic on Monday at 7 PM PST.

Bucks struggled to subdue Warriors 107-98; Sixth straight loss for Golden State

jsonline.com photo: Bucks guard Eric Bledsoe (6) drives around the Warriors’ Willie Cauley-Stein (2) with the help of a pick by Giannis Antetokounmpo

By Jerry Feitelberg

San Francisco- The Milwaukee Bucks landed in town Wednesday night to face the short-handed Golden State Warriors. The Bucks, behind the leagues’ MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, entered the game with the best record, 32-6, in the NBA.

They lost their last game to the San Antonio Spurs, and they were looking forward to a comfortable win over the team with the second-worst record, the Warriors. They managed to accomplish what they came for with a 107-98 victory over Golden State at Chase Center on Wednesday night.

The Warriors were still without D’Angelo Russell and Kevon Looney. Most people thought the Warriors would be a pushover for the Bucks. However, things happen in sports that defy conventional wisdom. The young Warriors fought the Bucks tooth and nail for the entire 48 minutes.

They did it with great defense. They just did not have enough offensive firepower to pull off the upset. They played hard and never quit. They continued to show improvement, especially on defense. They held the highest-scoring team in the league, the Bucks, to 40% from the floor.

The Warriors defense held the Bucks to 9-for 41 from beyond the three-point arc. They had trouble stopping Giannis Antetokounmpo. Everybody in the league has trouble stopping Giannis.

Both teams got off to a slow start in the first quarter. The quarter ended with the score 19-19. The Warriors played great defense, but they could not get the offense going.

It was more of the same in the second quarter. The Bucks did outscore the W’s 28-20, but the Warriors were still close. The half ended with Milwaukee leading 47-39.

Giannis and Khris Middleton led the Bucks with 11 and 13. The Warriors did not have a single player in double-figures. Alen Smailagic, the 19-year old rookie from Serbia, led the W’s with eight. Alec Burks had seven. The Bucks shot 34% from the floor. The Warriors were worse as they finished with just 30%.

In the second half, The Bucks offense perked up. The Warriors did not fold, and they kept pace with the Bucks. Milwaukee must have felt that the upstart Warriors could actually beat them. The Warriors cut the deficit to three 59-56.

It was at this point the Milwaukee went on a 13-3 run. The W’s Omari Spellman made two three-point shots to help close the gap to nine. The Bucks outscored the W’s 34-33 in the period and led 81-72 after three periods of action.

In the fourth quarter, the Warriors held their own. Each team scored 26 points. The Warriors made several threes, and Ky Bowman lit up the arena with a steal and layup to bring the Warriors to within five 93-88.

There were about six minutes left to play. The Warriors then made three trips up the court and were stopped all three times. The Bucks increased the lead to 11, but the W’s kept coming back. They trailed 101-96 when Omari Spellman knocked down a three with about 1:45 left to play. The Warriors fouled Giannis in the hopes that he wouldn’t make the free throws. Giannis made enough to secure the win for the Bucks 107-98.

Game Notes and Stats- With the loss, the Warriors drop to 9-30. The Bucks improved to 33-6.

The Warriors had six players in double figures. Alec Burks led the club with 19 points. Alec made three threes. Glenn Robinson had 15, Damion Lee 15 and four threes, Omari Spellman 11. Spellman knocked down three threes. Willie Cauley-Stein had a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds.

Alen Smailagic, in just 11 minutes of play, scored a career-high 10 points. Draymond Green finished with five points, eight rebounds, and eight assists. The Warriors shot 38% from the floor.

The Bucks were led by Giannis Antetokounmpo. Giannis finished the night with 30 points. Khris Middleton had 21. Brook Lopez 12, and Eric Bledsoe had 16.

In other news, the Warriors announced that they put Marquese Chriss on waivers. Chriss did not have a guaranteed contract. The Warriors needed to make room on the roster to sign Damion Lee to a full-season contract. Lee was a two-way player with the Warriors and the G-League team in Santa Cruz.

The Warriors meet the Los Angeles Clippers Friday night in LA at the Staples Center. The game will start at 7:30 pm.

 

Headline Sports podcast with Tony Renteria: Bucks now find themselves tied with mighty Raptors; Blues-Bruins to battle in final; plus more

Photo credit: @BleacherReport

On Headline Sports podcast with Tony:

#1 The tables have turned on the Milwaukee Bucks. After winning the first two games, the Toronto Raptors have won Games 3 and 4 to tie up the series 2-2.

#2 The Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo led all Bucks scorers with 25 points, but it wasn’t enough in Game 4 as the Raptors took care of business 120-102. It’s a brand new series.

#3 The San Jose Sharks, who won Game 3 on a glove-handled puck 5-4, set the St. Louis Blues on fire. The Blues came back to win three straight and win the series to move on against the Boston Bruins for the NHL Final.

#4 The New York Yankees had nearly 17 starters or key players out with injuries so the Yanks called up the reserves and they came through. The one player to admire is the Yankees’ Gleyber Torres, who has hit 10 homers in 11 games against the Baltimore Orioles.

#5 The Oakland A’s are one of the big league’s hottest teams, winning their sixth straight game and a four-game sweep over Cleveland as they head back to Oakland for a Friday night contest with the Seattle Mariners.

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

NBA Finals podcast with David Zizmor: Warriors look like they could go all the way; Toronto or Milwaukee on deck

Photo credit: sports.yahoo.com

On the NBA Finals podcast with David Zizmor:

#1 From all the looks of it, the Golden State Warriors look like they can go all the way at this point. Talk about their possible opponents for the next round in Toronto or Milwaukee.

#2 The Warriors did it without Kevin Durant. What does that show as either the Raptors or Bucks are going into the NBA Finals?

David Zizmor does the Warriors podcasts each Tuesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Headline Sports podcast with Tony Renteria: How much of a force are the Bucks?; Warriors look to take second game against Blazers; plus more

Photo credit: @BleacherReport

On the Headline Sports podcast with Tony:

#1 The Milwaukee Bucks are truly a force to reckon with. The Bucks opened their series with the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday night with a game one 108-100 victory in Milwaukee.

#2 The Bucks’ Brook Lopez led the Bucks in scoring with 29 points and Giannis Antetokounmpo had 24 points. The Bucks have this great punch at the top of the offensive lineups.

#3 Kevin Durant not expected to be back for game two of Golden State’s playoff game against the Portland Trailblazers. We ask Tony if the Warriors will rest Durant for the rest of the series.

#4 Even with Durant out, the Warriors managed to get a 22-point win in game one. The Blazers are predicted to be overmatched in this series.

#5 The Oakland A’s went 1-8 on their last road trip, The A’s are on a nine-game trip this time and have already lost the first two games by just a run in each game. What’s lacking — hitting or pitching not closing the deal in the end of games?

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

Headline Sports podcast with London Marq: Warriors make easy work of Blazers; Raptors-Bucks series feels almost like NBA Finals itself; plus more

nba.com photo: Golden State Warriors Stephen Curry (30) drives the lane against the Portland Trail Blazers defense in Game 1 of the NBA Western Conference Finals last Tuesday night at Oracle Arena in Oakland.

On the Headline Sports podcast with London:

#1 The Golden State Warriors head into Game 2 Thursday night at Oracle Arena after coming away with a 116-94 win over the Portland Trailblazers. Is the 22-point win an indication of where the Warriors are in this series?

#2 You talk about the best versus the best. The Toronto Raptors with Kawhi Leonard and the Milwaukee Bucks with Giannis Antetokounmpo. It’s a series that very well could go seven games.

#3 The San Jose Sharks and the St. Louis Blues, who were a tough pick on who wins this series, are all tied up. The Sharks, who opened with home ice, set the tone with a three-goal 6-3 win in Game 1, lost Game 2 in a 3-2 squeaker that had the Sharks trying to figure out the Blues all night. Game 3 Wednesday night in St. Louis will prove no different as these teams are expected to provide a close contest and an unpredictable game.

#4 The San Jose Earthquakes host the Chicago Fire at Avaya Stadium this Saturday. The Quakes are coming off a 3-1 loss last Saturday in New England to the Revolution, but were undefeated previous to that in four games with two wins and two ties. The Quakes are ninth in the West with three wins, six loses and two draws. For the Fire, they are eighth in the East with four wins, four loses, and four draws.

#5 In baseball, Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Julio Urias was arrested and put on administrative leave for domestic abuse. Urias was arrested at a Los Angeles parking lot at a shopping mall. Details of what happened were not forthcoming, but Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said no matter this is not the ideal situation.

London Marq does Headline Sports each Wednesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary podcast with Barbara Mason: Will Irving reunite with LeBron in L.A.?; Leonard’s 4-bouncer rim shot gets Raptors in the semi Finals; plus more

Photo credit: @AFordTaurus

Barbara Mason is filling in for Amaury on That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary podcast:

#1 What about all the talk from ESPN radio that they can see a LeBron James and Kyrie Irving reunion at the Los Angeles Lakers especially if Jason Kidd had come on board as head coach but Frank Vogel got the job as Lakers head coach? Stephen A Smith says that not going to happen that his sources tell him that Irving is going to the Knicks and Brooklyn is trying to weigh in on Irving, but Irving is focused on going to the Knicks and Madison Square Garden.

#2 The Toronto Raptors’ Kawhi Leonard sunk a four-bouncer on the rim and got the Raptors into the next round defeating the Philadelphia 76ers 92-90 on a buzzer beater. Leonard had himself a game finishing with 41 points in a Game 7 elimination contest to advance to face the Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Conference Finals.

#3 The Portland Trail Blazers’ Damian Lilliard will be all the rage as the Blazers are coming off a narrow 4-3 win past the Denver Nuggets. It took seven games for the Blazers to advance. Do the Blazers have enough to go deep with Golden State? In game one the Warriors rolled past Portland 116-94.

#4 In hockey, the San Jose Sharks and St Louis Blues played Game 2 Monday night in the best of seven in this third round of the NHL Stanley Cup Western Conference Final. The Sharks have been getting help from all around, but the Sharks’ Timo Meier has been on fire with two goals scored in Game 1. The Sharks had home ice in game for the first two games.

#5 The Oakland A’s opened up a two-game series in Seattle on Monday night the A’s got five homers but couldn’t win it in the end. The A’s and M’s are battling for that third place spot in the American League West and are two games out of second place but eight games behind Houston. The A’s and M’s have almost identical records in a short series that could prove to test the A’s on the road and the M’s against an A’s team who’s capable to break out the bats and get good pitching.

Barbara does That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary every Tuesday night and is a freelance writer for Area Grande Spanish papers at http://www.sportsradioservice.com