Monday night quarterback

At Warriors Media Day earlier today

Today was Golden State Warriors media day, an annual event where all the players are available for interviews, from Stephen Curry and Jeremy Lin all the way down the roster to Ekpe Udoh and Aaron Miles. I janked a picture from someone's Twitter picture and found myself lurking in the background. Nothing too special happened today, but we got a first hand look at the new Warriors jerseys.

MONDAY NIGHT QUARTERBACK
If you are new to the Monday morning or now night quarterback, it's where we take a look at the weekend that was, the good and the not so good. And this weekend would fall into the not so good category.

5TH/6TH GRADE VOLLEYBALL
We'll start with the game that started the weekend and the 5th/6th grade girls volleyball game, their first of the year. This was a game that they should've and could've won. It's been written already about the numerous match points and their inability to serve the ball over. And let's keep in mind, half of the team is in 5th grade, and in a 5th grade league, they can serve from where they served last year. Unfortunately, we do not have enough players and are forced to be in a 6th grade league.

So there will be balls that just won't go over. People develop at different stages and get stronger at different times. No matter how hard someone tries, it just might not happen. I could lift weights for the rest of my life and I'll never be able to lift something that's 200 pounds. Maybe serving is the case.

However, their coach Heather said practice Sunday was a lot better and every girl was able to serve it over. So it all boils down to consistency.

One thing the girls do need to do better is to be more energetic and talkative on the court. Everyone seems kind of shy and a little hesitant when they are playing. If one person goes balls to the walls and just has tons of energy, maybe it translates to the next person. There's still ways to go and let's hope the girls get things ironed out, starting with their game Friday.

5TH/6TH GRADE SOCCER
Just so this post won't go on forever, we will focus on the 5th/6th grade soccer team today and touch on the 8th graders tomorrow.

Following their best game of the year, albeit they've played only two games, the 5th/6th grade followed that up with a stinker of a practice.

After watching today's 5th/6th grade practice, I was disappointed with what I saw. We've tried several coaches, yelling and screaming, just being nice so they can have fun, and until this point, nothing has seemed to work and it will continue to not work unless the players can find it in themselves to make a change.

I still cannot believe that some of the players are in 5th and 6th grade. We have players who are still pulling and throwing grass, lying down in the middle of practice for no reason and just a simple lack of concentration.

One simple drill took about 15 minutes before it started clicking.

This team has the athletic talent, maybe not the physical strength and size, but they have some decent speed. Some are gifted with strong legs, some with quickness, but it never translates to a game.

Why not? Because they simply do not work hard enough in practice.

I've gotten some heat about trying to keep this soccer team on the field. I hear the criticism, the jokes on the sidelines during games, the negativity and everything else about how the team always loses and it's not fun.

Well sadly, it will continue to be this way until the players change their habits.

I don't blame the coaches, because we've went through five of them and everything remains the same. I hope that at the 5th and 6th grade level they can mature and get it together.

Bottom line is that they have what it takes in them. I still firmly believe they are capable of doing good things on a soccer field. But that effort needs to be there at practice. Games are decided on how you practice, because the way you practice translates to the way you play. If you watch how they practice at times, maybe the results shouldn't be so surprising.


49ERS, RAIDERS AND GIANTS
The 49ers are not a good team. They will not make the playoffs. They were embarrassed again on the road and then Mike Singletary decides to fire Jimmy Raye after defending him not too long ago. The organization is in turmoil and it will not get any better any time soon. They could be 0-5 in a matter of two weeks.

Raiders, how do you miss that field goal? Just brutal and unreal. It only happens to the Raiders.

And one week from today, we should be talking about post-season baseball in the Bay Area for the first time since the A's did it in 2006. The Giants are in the driver's seat right now and they should be able to get into the playoffs, whether it's a division title or a wild-card spot.

And oh yeah, hockey season is right around the corner...Go Sharks...