Warriors Game 5 Rehash

So a little Game 5 Warriors vs Clippers rehash.

First, you spelled Warriors this way, not Worriors...

Ok, onto the game. I am going to pull up the most popular re-racked post I have ever posted. And it bogs down to simple basics of the game of basketball.

• Make your lay-ups. If you watched the game, Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan were monsters around the hoop. Anything close, they were able to convert, and a few of them were And 1s. David Lee did play well for the Warriors in spurts, but there were a few times he couldn't make his lay-ups. One time he got barely touched by Chris Paul, and he couldn't finish the And 1, and yet he hit just one of two free throws.

• Make your free-throws. Clippers were a little over 75% while the Warriors were a little above 69%. Not the biggest difference but it was key in the game. When the Warriors wanted to do "Hack-a-Jordan," Jordan went to the line and hit 3-out-of-4. So the strategy stopped. I believe Jermaine O'Neal and Maurice Speights both decided to go 0-for-2 from the line in the first half.

• Don't turn the ball over. Only 13 for the Warriors and 12 for the Clippers, but the Warriors turnovers came in bunches and at crucial times. Curry had four of them in the 1st quarter, and the Warriors trailed by 10 points after one. They played catch-up the rest of the way. And then in the 4th quarter, on multiple possessions, Curry was just careless.

So at the end of the day, the Clippers best players played better than the Warriors best players. Paul and Griffin hit enough big shots in the 4th quarter, Curry did not. And also Curry couldn't even get off a shot sometimes.

He needs to be more aggressive and the Warriors need to find ways to get him more shots.

I think the Warriors can win Game 6, in fact, I would pick them to win Game 6. As long as they follow those three keys.

Playoff Picture

As we stand, two out of the three St. Mary's girls teams will have a shot at winning it all this year.

Right now, the 8th grade girls sit in second place in the division and will likely stay there regardless of their final game. But the last thing they want to do is back-pedal into the playoffs so having a good final game is necessary for them stay sharp heading into the biggest game of the season.

Their record right now stands at (6-1).

The 6th/7th grade controls their destiny.

With a win, they will clinch a playoff berth in their first year together as a team.

A lot of people have stepped up their game, but they will need to play their best game of the year this Friday night if they want to guarantee themselves a post-season berth.

If they lose, they will need to hope Holy Name loses their final game.

Otherwise, thanks for participating.

We'll get to the baseball teams and their playoff chances in another post.

And we are tied...

This is a cool video

Maybe you should check it out.

I am giving away a free Warriors t-shirt to the first person to contact me (email or tweet) and tell me who scored the game winning goal for the Sharks in Game 3. If you are reading this, that means the t-shirt is still up for grabs.

UPDATE: Jason Ng has won!

See, it pays off to visit the blog.

 

Lights!!!!!

Highlights Preview

Spot the Noob

We haven't played this game in a while...So let's "Spot the Noob!"

And it's not Logan Couture...

Go Worriors!

In case you missed the Warriors and Clippers from this afternoon, here are the highlights and postgame reaction.

A day in pictures...Go Sharks

A day in my life in pictures. Every now and then I get spoiled and get the privilege to attend sporting events for free. In fact, I even get paid to be there. Perks of being a sports producer which I do not take for granted. I snapped some low quality pictures of my day covering Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs between the Sharks and the Kings.

SELFIE...KINDA...

Ummm...

The walkway for when the Sharks take the ice

The Sharks interview background

The Tank getting ready

The view inside the glass prior to puck drop

More arena before it opens

Spot the Noob

Right outside the Sharks dressing room

Defenseman Jason Demers does an interview with us before warm-ups.

Where the Kings broadcast crew does interviews

Not the best view but why complain right?

Turn your head to the right cause I am too lazy to rotate the picture

It was very loud

5-0 Sharks

A disappointed Kings bunch leaves the ice after a 6-3 loss. 

Sharks Head Coach Todd McClellan at his post-game press conference.

Picture of the Day

Hey, he's shaving...

Playoff Beard Maybe?

It is that time of the year where it gets put to a vote of whether or not Bryan should grow a playoff beard for the San Jose Sharks annual quest for the Stanley Cup.

Please vote early and often. Results will be tallied early Thursday morning before puck drops at 7:30 p.m.

Here is a look at the beard in action:

Thanks...

A big thank you to those who were at the 8th grade girls game who declined to shoot the game even though my camera was there.

Now there will be no highlights from the 8th grade game.

Nevermind I film every game that I go to so everybody can relive the great plays or get a chance to see the game in case you weren't there in person.

So a big whole hearted thank you for the care and concern from those who didn't want to be inconvenienced to shoot a game that lasts about 45 minutes even though you are already at the game.

I'm sure I'll be thinking about this when I work on highlights this week until 2 a.m. just so you can see the student athletes in action.

Thank you.

8th grade wins in a sloppy battle

The 8th grade girls were sloppy, but did just enough to pull out a 16-11 victory in their penultimate game of the year.

They are now (6-1) heading into their final game after the break.

8th graders rusty in latest loss

The 8th grade baseball team lost Saturday at Crocker Amazon Field, their first game in almost a month, due to scheduling and weather issues.

They had many of the usual errors, no pun intended, that a St. Mary's baseball team makes. Base running blunders, looking at the third strike, unable to field grounders, but there were many positives things to take away from Saturday's game.

Ryan, who started for the second straight game, pitched pretty well and had good control, not walking many and Fiona, who came on in relief did just enough to get some balls across the plate. Both worked two full innings.

Allen, who was making a special guest appearance with the 8th graders, caught a pop fly in center field an inning after Jackie made a nice catch in center.

Fiona started at second base and fielded two grounders and Alex played his best game in the field at first base before leaving for a dentist appointment.

At the plate, Auti picked up a infield single that scored Garrick for the first run of the game and the 8th grade actually led 1-0 after half an inning. Allen drove in a run later in the game when he popped one up high towards third base that landed in no man's land.

After stealing second base, Raymond was able to score on the bad throw by the other team's catcher that went into center field to round out the scoring.

In the bottom of the fourth, Ryan was heads up enough to cover second base, as Garrick fielded a grounder cleanly and flipped it to Ryan covering the bag for a force out, which was a nice textbook baseball play.

Sara scores in latest 4th/5th grade game

Sara scored for the first time in her basketball career, but the 4th/5th graders were on the losing end 28-8.

In the final minute of the game, Sara took a pass from Justina, who had 6 points, and banked in a shot from point blank range for the bucket.

The girls were probably more overmatched Saturday than any other game this season, playing against a girl as tall as many 8th graders, and then two girls who had the skill of 8th grade club players. Yet this team was in the same division as our 4th and 5th graders.

Overall, the girls played a decent game and nothing was glaringly terrible. They could've fine tuned some of their little details here and there like being in better positions to rebound, or going off the correct foot on lay-ups, but those are expected with a young team like the 4th and 5th grade.

Avalon had one of her best games of the year, showing a lot of hustle on defense, as well as grabbing a few rebounds that looked like a rebounder's rebound. The ball didn't just fall into her lap, she went up and brought the ball down.

The girls have one game left on the season after the break.

6th/7th grade pulls off huge win

The 6th/7th graders needed a win and they got one.

In a must win game to keep their playoff hopes alive, the girls grinded out a 12-6 win, which puts them on the doorstep of the playoffs.

If you were looking for a fundamentally sound and fun game to watch, this wasn't it. In fact, it was probably the opposite. Both teams were sloppy and looked dysfunctional at times, but it was the 6th/7th grade girls that scored when they needed to, and they came out the victors.

Shots on goal aren't a huge stat in basketball, but definitely note worthy Friday night. The 6th/7th graders were able to get off plenty of shots while their defense forced the other team into plenty of turnovers.

Michaela had a game high 6 points, and hit two free throws on a one-in-one late in the contest to seal the game.

They went into the 2nd quarter down 2-0 and scored four points to take a two point lead at halftime.

Two of those points came from Jacqueline who scored her first basket of the year. Off a Becky fast break, she trailed the play and the ball found her right at the elbow. She swished a jump shot.

At (4-3), the girls can clinch a playoff spot with a win in their final game. For the first this season, they have a modest winning streak at two games. A third win in a row means they will be post-season bound.

Throwback Thursday

Here is a video from about three years ago, definitely worth watching...

My interview with The Immortal Hulk Hogan

"This interviewer has the energy and charisma of a slab of concrete" - Aaron5380

Say it ain't so...

Nothing lasts forever apparently...

The biggest day of the year (besides my birthday)

Christine sets new career high in 6th/7th grade win

The 6th/7th grade girls enjoyed their easiest win of the season, a 24-6 thumping of their opponent Saturday afternoon.

Christine had a phenomenal game and set a new career high with 14 points, despite playing only three quarters. She was in foul trouble and was unable to go the distance.

Late in the 4th quarter, Christine took a vicious elbow to her lower back, a blatant cheap shot by the other team that was trailing by close to 20. It looked more like something that will happen at Wrestlemania on Sunday as opposed to playing defense on the basketball court.

She hit the ground hard, but managed to recover and still came back and scored two more points.

The twin was hitting it from the outside, scoring on fast breaks, and found herself on several occasions weaving through the defense to the basket. Had it not for a few missed lay-ups, she could've had 20 or more points.

From the get go, there was a sense this was going to be a lopsided game. Michaela and Christine, with their ball pressure forced a turnover, and then on the fast break Michaela made a great dish to Christine in front of the basket who laid it in for the first two points of her career high.

Their record sits at (3-3), with their most important game of the year coming up this Friday. With a win, they can pull into the final playoff spot. Lose, and in all likelihood, a post-season spot will be lost.

Cecilia, 2 points, and Michaela and Becky, 4 points, rounded out the scoring.

Short-handed 8th grade girls pick up fifth win

The 8th grade girls played 4-on-5, and then eventually 3-on-5, and still managed to come away with a 30-21 victory Saturday afternoon.

Jamie left the game late in the 1st quarter with a lower body injury and did not return, leaving the team with only five girls in uniform.

They stretched out to a 21-9 lead late in the 2nd quarter, which looked comfortable at the time but Kelly and Lily both were in foul trouble by halftime.

One of their nicest sequences came when they forced a steal, and

The team's center, Lily, fouled out late in the third, and the girls played one player down until three minutes left in the 4th quarter. That's when Kelly joined Lily on the bench as she picked up her fifth foul of the game.

With only Rebecca, Fiona and Victoria on the court, the girls somehow killed enough time and still won by 9 points.

Kelly had a career high 11 points and was on fire in the 2nd quarter, hitting three nice jump shots from the outside. Her shot has progressively improved throughout the year.

For the third time this season, every girl on the team scored, and for the fourth time in five games, one of the 8th grade girls has set a new career high. Each time it has been someone different.

Fiona scored 6 points, while Rebecca and Victoria chipped in with 4 points. Lily had 2 points.

It's going to be crucial come playoff time that they get contributions from everybody, and the way they play, it looks bright.

After the game, you could overhear a parent from the other team complimenting the girls and saying how impressive they played.

With all that being said, the girls still have ways to go if they want to hit that next level. They cannot have that much foul trouble, especially with a little over the bare minimum for players.

Another thing they need to polish up on is their rebounding. Even with Lily in the middle, the girls didn't control the boards, and against a better team, it could come back to haunt them.

As time expired, the St. Mary's crowd was able to chuckle at how the game ended with only three girls in red on the court.

Funny, Imig...Only because they were able to pull out a victory.

It should never ever happen again.

CELEBRITY SIGHTING: Auti, Ryan Kwong and family, and Jason Zhao were all in attendance for the contest.

Samantha scores, but 4th/5th grade falls short

The good news is that the 4th/5th graders are in every single game, with the chance to win. The bad news is they are still having trouble getting the elusive victory.

Their latest game Saturday morning was a 10-6 loss, which dropped them to (1-5) on the season.

A year removed from the playoffs, the girls have had trouble getting over the hump, after losing key players like Sofia and Veronica.

Samantha, in her first year of basketball, scored her first ever basket in the game.

Right now, they are on the brink of winning a game but one or two missed shots, or defensive lapses, ends up hurting them in the win loss column.

They have two games left in their season.

The A's are a joke

Not sure how many people care or get this but it bothered me enough to post this.

The A's were scheduled to play against the Mariners Friday night but the game was postponed because of something that happens on the crappy San Francisco baseball fields.

When it rains, usually it means no practice or games the next day. With the fields that are in San Francisco, you've seen them, it's understandable. Imig as they say.

But we're talking about Major League Baseball, a billion dollar industry.

So the A's were forced to cancel a game Friday night because the infield was too soggy. Where was the tarp? They forgot to put it on the night before.

Goodness gracious.

What a joke.

This would never happen to the Giants.

And it's a shame because the A's are a fun team with a lot of talent and have actually won two straight division titles.

But yet again, these things only happen to the A's.

Throwback Thursday - Happy Birthday

A very happy birthday to one of my favorite people Clarissa. You are looking at her yearbook picture from when she was in 8th grade...

Clarissa was part of the first girls team I ever coached at St. Mary's back in 2004-2005...O M G...that is a long time ago.

And just for some historical context, she won the first ever Girls Basketball MVP award back in 2008.

Happy Birthday.

Rain Song

They seriously don't make songs like these anymore...