***BREAKING NEWS, Epic Video

Don't forget to read the Monday morning quarterback and print out your schedules if you haven't already.

Monday morning quarterback (evening edition), The UUUUUs become boos...

On the field at the end of the Raiders vs Dolphins game yesterday.

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Monday morning quarterback (evening edition)

One who criticizes or passes judgment from a position of hindsight
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Juan Uribe is going to the enemy.

Pending a physical tomorrow, Uribe will become a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers, agreeing to a 3-year, $21 million dollar contract earlier today.

Uribe was a big part of the Giants World Series championship team, as he had many hits throughout the post-season. Game 4 of the NLCS against the Phillies, he hit a sacrifice fly to win the game. In Game 6, he hit the opposite field shot to give the Giants the 3-2 lead, and eventually the series. And he had a massive home run in Game 1 of the World Series that broke the game open. But he's a Dodger now so get the boo birds ready.


Now onto the greatness that is St. Mary's Athletics as we look at the teams.

5th grade
Despite losing their first two games, this team is getting close to getting over the hump. Both of their losses were in single digits and both pretty close games. Their defense is decent but what really hurts them is their offense. Besides Raymond, nobody on the team is a consistent scorer. Other people will need to chip in and have confidence to take the shot for this team to pick up some wins and be in the playoff hunt.

6th grade
Two very difficult losses for the 6th grade over the weekend, and both games mirrored each other. It was the same mistakes that hurt them. But one glaring problem that was evident yesterday and at times Friday was their inability to get back on defense. Once they miss a shot, the other teams always beat them down the court, which is usually a sign that the team is tired. With seven players on the team, and six of them having played soccer, they shouldn't be getting tired this easily.


Most of the points they give up are the easy bucket lay-ups. Another handful come from not boxing out and that's a whole other story.

Offensively, they run too much of the same play, with Justin calling a screen and then eventually firing off a shot. Justin is a good shooter, but what happens when he gets cold like he did on Sunday? Other people need to step up and put some points in the basket. Daniel has been the most consistent of the team, but sometimes he tries and works so hard offensively, he is late getting back on defense.

This team is not working together as a cohesive unit and will need to do so quick as their first game is Friday.

7th Grade
This team got a much needed lift when the St. Mary's six got the benefit of four DeMarillac players. None bigger so far than Pablo, who averaged 9 points in the final two games of the CYO tournament.

Their biggest problem right now is taking care of the ball as many of the players are sloppy either with their dribbling or passing. But their upside is a lot higher than last year after a full season's worth of play. Couple that with the depth that they have, this team could be a sleeper and make a run at the playoffs.


8th Grade White
Turnovers, turnovers and turnovers. And oh yeah, it would help if a full team showed up to practice on Sunday.

Individually, Mark is a pretty solid player. As a team player, the jury is still out on what he can do. The great players make their teammates better and Mark is faced with that challenge this year.

Gavin C. is a good shooter but he has trouble getting open and is afraid of taking the shot. He needs to shoot more. Gavin L. on the other hand lacks explosiveness and energy a lot of times, and he needs to be more alert on the court. He needs to want it more. Same could be said for Calson.

This team is not in a difficult division and anything other than a playoff berth will be a disappointment.

8th Grade Red
After a shaky start to their tournament game, the Red Team pulled it together for another impressive win. Despite one of Justin's worse performances to date, they still managed to win.

Two of the biggest flaws right now come on the defensive end, starting with their poor positioning on rebounds. Michael Ng needs to stay inside on his zone defense and be on the inside to grab boards. Too many times, the other team is planted in front of Michael, leading to an easy put back lay-up. Also, Miles is very prone to picking up fouls (See: Andris Biedrins). When Miles picks up fouls, he tends to just stand there and not move his feet. Miles needs to be able to play defense, where he doesn't foul, but also changes shots. Good teams will exploit a statue in the middle.

That's all folks. Check back later tonight or some time tomorrow for a BRAND NEW video.

6th grade defense lacking in final round

The 6th grade boys dropped their final preseason tournament game 30-23.

Like their game Friday night, today's contest was definitely winnable, but their defense and rebounding were lacking once again.

Up by two after one, the 6th grade was outscored 8-0 in a disastrous second quarter. On several occasions, the other team missed a free throw, but nobody boxed out, leading to easy put-back lay-ups for the other team. 

They cut the lead to four in the fourth quarter, but that was as close as they'd get before eventually falling by seven.

Right now, the team chemistry and execution is not there for a team that will need to compete at a high level in order to be successful in their division.

Offensively, they are forcing up too many shots instead of working the ball around. Defensively, they also aren't playing well, which hurts their transition. This team is at is best when they can play good defense and get out on the fast break. But when they give up points like they did today, it's almost impossible to generate easy scoring chances and the game becomes station to station.

Luckily, these games were all preseason games and it was a good learning experience to see what the team needs to do going forward for the regular season.

Justin hit two threes, and combined with Daniel for 22 of the team's 23 points.

Staff writer Emily contributed to this report.

8th grade erases 10 point lead, takes care of playoff rematch,

The 8th grade takes third place in the CYO Preseason Tournament

The 8th grade Red Team, for whatever, reason doesn't get off to good starts. It happened again today when they dug themselves a 10-0 hole in the first quarter.

They trailed 18-11 at the half, before a quick late third quarter blitz trimmed the lead to 28-23 going to the fourth.

Behind Miles' new career high of 24 points, the new look 8th grade Red Team was at their best in the fourth quarter and beat Epiphany in a playoff rematch of last year's classic, 35-34.

Miles was pretty much unstoppable all afternoon, beasting down low, and even included an Air Jordan like lay-up in the third quarter.

The 8th grade padded their lead in the fourth quarter to five points, and never gave it back. Epiphany hit a shot inside 30 seconds, but the Red Team killed enough time to hang on for the victory.

Michael Ng had a chance to seal it with a one-in-one, but missed the free-throw with 2.8 seconds left to give the ball back to Epiphany.

Their last ditch effort was unsuccessful when Miles deflected a baseball pass at half court.

With the win, the 8th grade took third place in their pool of the CYO preseason tournament.

Early on they were getting some good shots up, but none of them were falling. And when their offense was stuck in a rut, so was their defense. Too many times the low posts were uncovered and Epiphany was able to take easy lay-ups instead of jump shots.

Offensively, they were also in a funk, turning the ball over with errant passes on pretty much every other possession.

This was the first game the Red Team played an entire game together after splitting time with the White Team in games one and two of the tournament.

Newcomers David and Mark both chipped in, with David scoring 5 points, including a much needed three-pointer in the third. Mark had two points on a bank shot.

7th grade beasts, while 5th grade rests

The 7th grade broke open a tie game at halftime and were on the winning end of a blowout, scoring a historic team high of 28 points in a 28-8 victory.

It was a very promising two days of basketball for the 7th graders who were blown out in their opener Wednesday night. They were resilient and have made great strides in only half a week.

Part of the reason for this improvement is Pablo, who scored 8 points in today's game. He adds another quick ball handler to the team and will be a good tandem with Hartman for this upcoming season.

Hartman matched Pablo for a game high of 8 points as well, with all of the Hart Man's points coming in the fourth quarter.

Stuck in a 4-4 tie going into the half, the 7th grade broke it open with a dominating second half where they held the other team to only 4 points in the last two quarters, and none in the fourth.

Anthony Shem scored two points in the fourth quarter.

Briefly: The 5th grade won via forfeit in their final tournament game, since the other team didn't even participate.

Black Friday for St. Mary's teams

It was truly a black Friday for the St. Mary's boys basketball teams as all three teams tonight found themselves on the losing end of their second round tournament games.

However, all three games were pretty winnable and there were definitely many bright spots in all three games.

We start with the 7th grade boys who were on the wrong end of a blowout Wednesday night. The game was tied 16-16 going into the third quarter, but that's when the scoring stopped, as the other team outscored St. Mary's 10-0 in the final quarter for a 26-16 win.

The star of tonight's game was Pablo, who was playing in only his second game for St. Mary's. He scored 10 points, including a three-pointer in the first quarter that put the 7th graders up 3-0 after one.

But the turnovers and mistakes killed them all night long. It was constant turnover after turnover, and missed defensive assignments which led to easy buckets by the other team. These type of errors are expected of a team that has only had two practices together as a full team. The chemistry is going to take some time to develop.

On at least three separate occasions, the 7th grade threw the ball right to the other team in front of the basket for an easy two points. All three were nice passes, except they were to the wrong team.

Anthony (DeMarillac), Julio and Hartman all had a bucket each in the loss.

The 7th grade concludes the tournament with a 9 a.m. game tomorrow morning at St. John

6th graders hurt in transition
The 6th grad boys wish they could have this game back as they saw their12-8 lead midway through the fourth quarter evaporate into a 18-15 loss.

Down 16-15, Justin and Aaron missed mid-range jumpers that would've given the boys the lead. The other team grabbed the rebound and scored to pad their lead to three.

Justin had a last second effort at a three-pointer, but the ball came well short of the rim.

It was a well played game for the most part by the 6th graders, but it was the little things that were the difference between a win and a loss.

A fumbled pass on the offensive end resulted in a fast break for the other team and two points that could've been prevented.

In the fourth, all the points were scored off a fast break by the other team as the 6th graders were slow to get back. The other team's point guard was great at looking for the open man and he constantly fed passes to his teammates for wide open lay-ups. For whatever reason, whether it be fatigue or a lack of awareness, the players in the fourth quarter didn't get back to defend, and that cost them the victory tonight.

Daniel and Brendan both had great games tonight, recording several blocks and grabbing tough rebounds against a team that had a size advantage.

Aaron played in his first game of the year and scored two points.

5th graders drop second game
The 5th graders lost 13-7 in round two of the CYO preseason tournament. Garrick led the team in scoring with 3 points while Grant and Raymond both had two points each. They conclude their tournament tomorrow morning at Holy Name.

Happy Birthday to...

CYO Boys Regular Season Schedule

Now this will be a good check to see how actually looks at the blog. Print out the schedule and bring it to class Monday so I know who checks the blog. If you don't have a hard copy, I will make you a copy and will also know you are not a loyal blog follower.

These schedules are subject to change. Click on the image to see a full-size schedule.

4th Grade Schedule

5th Grade Schedule

6th Grade Schedule

7th Grade Schedule

8th Grade Red Schedule

8th Grade White Schedule

Happy Birthday Mrs. Mayfield

 

7th grade loses big in round one

The 7th grade boys dropped game one of the tournament, they will play again Friday night at 6 p.m.

5th and 8th grade both on losing ends tonight

The 5th grade trailed 12-4, but made a spirited comeback that just fell short, and they lost their first game of the tournament 14-9.

Raymond led the way with a game-high 8 points, including two three-pointers, which only counted as two points (since it's 5th grade). Garrick hit a free-throw in the fourth that gave them their ninth point.

As most first games are, the boys were a bit rusty, but they got better as the game progressed. Their biggest obstacle to overcome will be getting rebounds, because they are a bit undersized for 5th graders. With the twins, Thomas and Joseph playing in their first year, and Jason and Garrick returning after a one year hiatus, the team will need some time to get their chemistry going.

On the defensive end, there were several breakdowns that led to some easy baskets for the other team. With all that said, they still had a chance to pull off an upset, so it was a bright sign for what hopes to be the year this team can get in the playoff hunt.

The 5th grade resumes tournament play Friday night.

As for the 8th grade, it was the same story as the first game, except they played a better team. Trailing 10-7 after the first quarter, the White Team self destructed and were outscored 19-1 in the second quarter. Nobody seemed like they knew how to catch a ball. At least five catchable passes slipped through the hands of members of the White Team. Couple that with lob passes against a pretty good team, and you're bound to get burned.

The final score read 45-23 and it could've been a lot worse.

The Red Team played a somewhat sloppy first quarter as their missed lay-ups and missed box-outs led to some easy buckets from their opposition.

However, both teams regrouped in the second half to put forth a better effort, with the Red Team outscoring the other team 11-4 in the third, and the White Team scoring 7 points in the fourth, including three-pointers from the Gavins. Both hit their first three-pointers of their careers.

Justin led the team with 8 points in the loss.

POST #800 - Monday morning quarterback (evening edition)

The best part of the 49ers game yesterday.

Monday morning quarterback (evening edition)

One who criticizes or passes judgment from a position of hindsight
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What an awful, and I mean awful Bay Area sports weekend if you weren't a fan of the Stanford Cardinal. The Warriors stunk it up Friday and Sunday night, the Sharks were shut out on Saturday night, the Raiders got blown out on the road and the 49ers put up another stinker at home. We'd like to thank them for participating.

Now onto St. Mary's Athletics, and we start with the Achievement Game on Saturday. Good thing this game was played in the afternoon and it got in before the thunder and lightning arrived. Justin and Miles both gave it a good shot, with Miles even getting an assist on a goal, and Justin coming close to putting one in the net, but the game lacked intensity.

I guess that's what happens when you play in a game with no significance. It's a shame that the players didn't go all out in their final game. When the person coming at you is going 100%, you are likely to do the same. There were so many instances in the game where the ball would sit on someone's foot and the player just stood there with it.

It wasn't because the talent level was so great. It was because the game didn't seem to have any energy. A shame, but it is what it is.

TOURNAMENT FALLOUT

Fanta orange soda is great.

As I was drinking this soda can of Fanta, best soda ever I might add, the 6th and 8th graders embarked on the beginning of what hopes to be a memorable journey, as they both played in game one of the CYO preseason tournament (see below).

Both teams, or all three, were identical in their style of play, very rugged and sloppy after being away from basketball for quite a while. The little fundamentals of basketball are very rusty right now, so for both games resulting in a victory is a good thing, because think about what the teams can do when they start getting on the same page.

That's not to say there weren't any glaring mistakes that could've been rectified, so it's our job here at the MMQ to take a look at the errors.


For starters, the turnovers for both teams were just brutal. I was able to see some game footage from both games, and the blatant giveaways caused a lot of stress.

The triple-threat, which is a drill that every player has done at some point in their short careers, is something that should not be overlooked. In a triple-threat, you shouldn't stick the ball right in front of your belly so the other team can rip the ball away.

Some players just don't know how to pivot and are just completely awkward on the court, which is why they lose the ball.

Bounce passes were also very sloppy, with a lot of them aimed at the knees of their teammates. A bounce pass should skip right to a person's waist area. If it doesn't, maybe a bounce pass, or a pass in general, isn't a good idea.

And 3 seconds? When you get called for it once, you better not get called for it again.

One specific play in the 6th grade game needs to be mentioned and it's taking the ball at half court. With less than 10 seconds left in the game, the 6th grade inbounded the ball right on the edge of half court. What happened? Justin took a step back and it resulted in a backcourt.

In that situation, you need to receive the ball in the backcourt to start. If you receive it in the front court, make sure you catch it and have space to move back, so it's not called for an over and back.

Plus, the backcourt had so much room, so catch it there where you have more room to operate. Of course, easier said than done.

Onto the 8th grade game where the White Team dug the 8th grade an early hole, only to come back with a strong third quarter.

The White Team, although in a weaker division than the Red Team, can still make a run for the playoffs, if not more. But for that to happen, Mark and Calson will need to play a lot better than they did Sunday. Mark came away with just two points while Calson was held scoreless.

Both of these players have the potential to do something special in their final year of 8th grade, but sometimes their focus, energy and drive isn't there. When it is, like when Mark put up his 20 point games, or when Calson scored 17 points and dominated the rebounds in a game a few years ago, the White Team is a tough team to beat.


HONORABLE MENTIONS
We take a break from the one week return of 3 stars of the weekend and instead will give out a few honorable mentions.


Gavin C. - Scored 2 points on a nice jumper yesterday. Gavin is a pretty good spot up shooter and he will get many open looks during the season. Keep shooting.

Daniel- Daniel had a great offensive game, scoring 7 points in the 6th grade's win. If he can up his scoring, the team will be much more difficult to face.

SOCCER CHAMPIONSHIPS
For those wondering and those who care, Waldorf defeated Epiphany in the 8th grade soccer championship, while St. Peter's beat Stuart Hall in the 6th grade final.

6th and 8th grade both hang on, barely

Joey made his St. Mary's debut this afternoon, taking the ball away from the other team.
Photo Courtesy: Eunice Tom

 Two nail biters, two sloppy games, two wins.

The 6th and 8th graders both came away with wins in round one of the CYO preseason tournament.

It was a very sloppy game, but the 6th grade boys somehow managed to win 17-15.
The game got off to an ominous start when they turned the ball over time after time in the first quarter. They threw balls away, traveled, were called for backcourt violations, 3 seconds in the key. They turned the ball over in almost every way possible.



And still they walked away from today’s game on the winning end.

With the game tied 15-15, Justin, who had an off day from the field, scored two of his four points on the afternoon, with only 17 seconds left to put the 6th graders up by a bucket.

St. Mary’s got the ball back with about 8 seconds, but turned the ball over again, this time on another backcourt violation. The other team had the ball and a chance to win, but their last second shot hit the top of the backboard, and the boys hung on for the win.

It was a sloppy game as expected, since both teams were playing their first game of the year. The 6th graders will need to cut down on their sloppiness, which is a byproduct of how they practice.

In their lay-up drill Thursday night, all the boys were joking around while going up for the shot, so it should come as no surprise they weren’t completely prepared to start their season. Hopefully today’s wake-up call will get their minds focused in the right direction.

They will play in round two Friday night at 7 p.m.

It was also a very sluggish start for the 8^th grade White Team, as they gave up 10 points alone in the first quarter.  The ball just wouldn't go in for white team in quarter number one as they missed layups and open shots and dug the team an early 10-0 hole.

However, the red team picked up the pace and only gave up two points in the second quarter, trimming the deficit to only 12-6 at halftime.

The White Team took the court once again in the third and learned from their treacherous first quarter, improving on the defensive end and adding in a couple baskets in the middle, as they yielded only two points in the third.

Trailing 14-10 to start the fourth, the Red Team stormed back to give St. Mary’s the lead for good. Their defense created turnovers which enabled the offense to score some easy points in transition. Both Jeremy and Michael Ng hit three-pointers during the run that aided the 20-18 victory.

The 8^th grade plays again Tuesday night at 7 p.m.

Correspondents Emily Tom and Derek Kwong contributed to this report.

A very rare NBA update

Don't forget to take a look at Justin and Miles in the CYO Achievement Game from yesterday's post.

With that being said, enjoy this rare NBA update. The best part of this is not the dunk itself, but the Asian guy at 0:40...Yea, I guess Blake Griffin is a beast...

Miles has an assist, but Justin wins the game

The Justin vs Miles showdown went to the longer tenured player, as Justin's team beat Miles' team 2-1. All goals came in the first half.

Just a few minutes into the game, Justin's team got on the scoreboard when one of his teammates sent a beautiful cross into the box, which was headed in the for the first goal of the game.

Later in the first, Miles put his head on a ball and directed toward his teammate, setting up his team's only goal of the game. Miles got the primary assist on the play.

The game winning goal came on the exact same play as the first goal of the game, another beautiful cross that found its way to someone's head. Then the ball found the back of the net for final goal of the game.

Justin had a good opportunity to score late in the game, but a defender bumped him off the ball and the scoring chance never transpired.

Gavin C. enjoying some epic soccer action.

In a side game, Gavin C. counted the amount of touches both players had during the game and Miles edged out Justin by one touch, 21-20. Both of them played the game as forwards and mid-fielders.

Jeremy also showed up to support his teammates.

Both St. Mary's players got to play three full quarters, a contrast from last year when Elliot Wong and Derek Kwong only got to play approximately a half. There were a lot less players on the field this year than last year. Rain was in the forecast, which may have sent some players away, but the sun was out for most of the contest.

This year's game also wasn't as intense as the 2009 game, even though today's match actually featured scoring. Last year's contest played to a 0-0 draw.

It is a tad cold

Monta Ellis back at Warriors Media Day in September.

It is Friday night and everything is quiet for the first time since the start of the school year. Volleyball and soccer have wrapped up their seasons and basketball will tip-off Sunday afternoon with tournament games from the 6th and 8th grade. Let's hope they're ready.

Tomorrow, Miles and Justin play in the annual CYO Achievement Game, rain or shine, on an all surface turf field at Silver Terrace. Come by and support the boys. If you show up, I promise to look at you and acknowledge your presence.

Justin and Miles will be playing on opposite teams so it should be a fun battle to see who comes out on top.

Two Saturdays ago, the 8th grade upset one of the top teams in their division, St. Finn Barr with a three set victory. Sometimes a loss to a non-playoff team could be a good thing and sometimes it can be a bad thing. For St. Finn Barr, it turns out it was a good thing.

Although I couldn't tell you for sure that these two events had any connection, BUT, St. Finn Barr won the championship for the 8th grade's division last night. Maybe a loss in their last game of the year motivated them to work harder. So it turns out the 8th grade girls could've possibly had a huge effect on the outcome of the playoffs even though they weren't in it.

For the 6th grade championship, St. John defeated St. Brigid last night to claim first place.

Be sure to check out the schedules posted above for the boys tournament games and practices for the upcoming week or so. And on the girls front, everybody can hibernate for a few months until the start of basketball season.

Have a good weekend.

ONE MONTH UNTIL...(FILL IN THE BLANK IN THE COMMENTS SECTION)

You've got coaches

We usher in another year of basketball, the one sport that everyone always seems to be excited about. With the preseason tournaments lurking around the corner, we take a look at who will be the masterminds guiding our six teams to the promise land.

We start with two individuals who have been promoted for their hard work over the last two years, as both of these coaches will be head coaches for the very first time.

After spending three years as an assistant, Tiffanie Vuong will be the head coach for the 7th grade boys. John Wang, who has been an assistant for two years, heads the 8th grade White Team.

We also welcome a plethora of new head coaches. Megan Yuen, class of 2006 and Constance Wong, class of 2001 are coming back to their alma mater for the first time. Megan is the head coach for the 5th grade while Constance serves the 4th grade, the youngest boys team at St. Mary's. Calvin To, friend of Andrew Chack, takes over as head coach for the 6th grade.

Several new assistants are also in the mix. Those who graduated from St. Mary's include, Dennison Fong, Stephanie Lu and Calvin Ng. Jamie Zhao will be assisting the 7th grade, as it is her first year helping out with a boys team. Last season, Jamie was a co-head coach for the then 3rd grade girls.

One of our new assistant coaches is Patty Fung, who will replace John Wang on the 8th grade Red Team. Patty went to school and played basketball with current Warriors guard Jeremy Lin.

Chris Yee, who was the 5th/6th grade soccer coach will be an assistant for the 6th grade.

Our lone class of 2010 graduate who is returning as an assistant coach is Derek Kwong. Derek and Roger Shek, also a friend of Andrew Chack, will serve as assistants for the 8th grade White Team.

Clarissa Lee, Vinette Ly and Justin Khuu also return in an assistant coaching capacity.


FULL LIST OF COACHES

4^th Grade

Head Coach: Constance Wong

Assistant Coaches: Dennison Fong

5^th Grade

Head Coach: Megan Yuen

Assistant Coaches: Stephanie Lu and Justin Khuu

6^th Grade

Head Coach: Calvin To

Assistant Coach: Clarissa Lee and Chris Yee

7^th Grade

Head Coach:  Tiffanie Vuong

Assistant Coach: Jamie Zhao and Calvin Ng

8^th grade (Red)

Head Coach: James Chiu

Assistant Coaches: Vinette Ly and Patty Fung

8^th Grade (White)

Head Coach: John Wang

Assistant Coaches: Roger Shek and Derek Kwong

Soccer match postponed, Achievement Game players named

Due to an injuries and scheduling conflicts, the soccer match between the 8th grade and class of 2010 has been postponed to a later date.

On Saturday, two 8th grade boys will be participating in the annual CYO Soccer Achievement Game. Coach Christopher Woltering has named Justin and Miles as the two representatives from St. Mary.s

The game will be played at Silver Terrace starting at 12:45 p.m.

Last year, Derek Kwong and Elliot Wong represented St. Mary's.

8th grade vs Alumni highlights

Shot by: John Wang

3 Stars of the Weekend/Cross Country Video

Friday night was great on so many levels because it featured the best our volleyball program has had to offer in our short three years of existence. Players from past and present were on hand for what hopes to be an annual tradition. It was a fitting way to wrap up the volleyball season.

I know people want to see the video, and it will be up here on the blog tomorrow night, so set your clocks.

One student asked me why don't I do 3 Stars of the Weekend anymore and I honestly didn't have any answer, so we're going to do it right now. However, the following three stars are all equal so we're not ranking these three individuals from three to one.


3 STARS ***
Justin
It's year of Justin for the soccer teams as the younger Justin scored the first goal for the 5th/6th graders in Saturday's season finale. It was an unknown whether Justin would even play soccer at the start of the school year, and it's a good thing he did. Justin gives it his 100% and you could see how hard he runs after the balls game after game.

His hard work and perseverance paid off with his goal Saturday.

Hartman
Hartman is the only 7th grader to play soccer, and he gives it his all every second he is on the field. He is going up against players who are twice his size and he is fearless. He hustles all the time and his feats should be recognized. This is the first year he has played soccer and he has come a long way in these short two months. Let's hope we have enough boys next year so the Hart Man can continue his growth on the pitch.

Catharine
There isn't a more tricky person to read than Catharine. At the beginning of the year, Catharine couldn't serve, couldn't return, and was the one person singled out by the players and coaching staff that needed to improve the most. She stuck with it and at the end of the year, she is a pretty darn good volleyball player.

She served eight in a row a little more than 10 days ago to close out a dominating victory for the 8th grade girls, and then followed that with another solid performance in their final game of the season, which also resulted in a win.

It was also Catharine's tip at the net that gave the 8th graders the first set win against the alumni in Friday night's game.

When focused, Catharine can be a really solid contributor to any team, but sometimes, Catharine is, well, just Catharine, which isn't always a bad thing. But the improvement in her game in such a short time is truly a feat that deserves some recognition.

So congratulations to the three stars of the weekend.

Thanks to the Great Eunice Tom who provided the camera for Cross Country 2010.

BREAKING NEWS: Buster Posey wins Rookie of the Year

Buster Posey hit .305, 18 HR and 67 RBI on his way to Rookie of the Year.

Add 2010 National League Rookie of the Year to Buster Posey's accolades in his first year of major league baseball. Earlier today, Posey was named Rookie of the Year.

Posey was called up in May and didn't even play a full season, but still put up enough numbers to earn his first of what could be many trophies in his promising career.

Posey got 20 out of 32 possible first place votes.

Cross Country 2010 Results

The 8th grade Cross Country team -- first place possibly?

Thank you to all the runners who came out to Cross Country on this gorgeous sunny day. Official results will be posted as soon as they become available.

We'd like to thank the following students for participating:

4th grade - Ryan
5th grade - Garrick, Jason Z., Joseph, Thomas, Raymond, Willard, Victoria, Fiona



6th grade - Brandon K., Daniel, Justin, Cynthia, Brendan, Brandon T.
7th grade - Lili, Aaron, Jason, Raymond, Hartman, Garrick, Anthony
8th grade - Gavin C., Jeremy, Justin, Michael N., Michael F., Miles, Robert, Mark, Timothy, Gavin L.,Calson, Catharine, Serina

8th grade season comes to a close

Gavin C. looks on as he played his final CYO soccer game.

The 8th grade soccer season came to a close with today's 5-0 shutout this afternoon.

Going up against a championship game bound team was no easy task as one of their forwards basically exploded toward the goal less than a minute into the game.

There were a handful of mistakes by the defense and Miles, who started in goal, was buried too deep in the goalie's box on a few of the goals.



Today was the first game since the second of the year that Sebastian and Miguel played with the squad. They provided a spark in offensive chances but the team was unable to score a goal in their season finale.

They had several chances as Miguel and Sebastian almost hooked up a few times with crosses. Mark had a few opportunities to get his first career goal but he misfired wide of the net.

Their season concludes next Saturday with a game against the class of 2010.

Justin nets team's first goal to close out season

The 5th/6th grade soccer team after their best game of the year.

It took seven games and three quarters, but finally, the 5th/6th graders broke through.

A little into the fourth quarter, Justin capitalized on the team's many opportunities today, intercepted a goalie's throw, and scored the team's first goal of the season.

The team finished the year, losing 4-1, but did it with only ten players in uniform. Without Aaron, one of their top offensive threats, they were unable to cash in on the many chances they had throughout the game.

The 5th/6th graders had control of the ball in the offensive zone for the better part of the game, but missed shot after shot from quarters one through three.

After a scoreless first quarter, they gave up two goals that shouldn't have been. One caromed of a defender past Daniel, and another one was a result of an erroneous clearing pass that found the foot of the other team right in front of Daniel. They trailed at halftime 2-0.

For a team that has gone through a lot of lows, there was no quit in the ten boys who showed up today. Jason, who just completed his first season, played the best game of this young career and was solid on defense, stealing the ball away from attackers and pushing the ball up field on several plays.

Raymond and Garrick, who were upgraded all of a sudden with Aaron's absence, had several shots inside the box that just went wide of the net.

It was a very positive way to end the season for a team that has had its ups and mainly downs. This morning, they had their focus, they played with courage, grit and determination, something that was inconsistent all season.

But for one game, they showed everyone what could be in the future. That one goal could change the fortunes of a team for years to come.

8th grade prevails over class of 2010

After splitting the first two sets, the 8th grade took control of the third and deciding set when Marissa served the class of 2011 out to a 7-0 lead. The alumni, made up of Emily, Melinda, Tiffany Ye, Sally, Patricia and assistant coach Vanessa, who was an honorary St. Mary's alum for the night, made a valiant comeback but their early deficit proved too much to overcome. The 8th graders won the final set 25-15 and also won the match. They won a close first set 26-24 and lost the second 23-25.

It was a great night of volleyball that would've made anybody who has been in the volleyball program within the last three years very proud. The graduates didn't look rusty at all and they were playing as if they had been playing all year. The problem was that the current 8th grade has been playing all year. There were numerous volleys that went back and forth and the three set match lasted for nearly 90 minutes.

With the score 25-24 in favor of the 8th grade, Catharine made a beautiful tip at the net to seal the victory in the first set. Sally served one that zipped right over the net on set point to give the class of 2010 set number two.

Both teams played with everything they had despite this being an exhibition match. Girls were diving for balls and many of them were visibly upset when they made mistakes. The intensity and passion for the game made for a very well played game.

Thank you to everybody who took the time to come out tonight, especially the graduates who even practiced yesterday for tonight's contest.

Look for highlights in the next day or so.

Happy Birthday Edwena and a welcome back

And perhaps the most anticipated bus arrival in San Francisco since the Giants came back from their World Series win in Texas, the 6th graders returned earlier today from Walden West. Exclusive video...

Briefly...

Happy Birthday to Freddy.

8th grade vs c/o 2010 showdowns in soccer and volleyball

So it is set.

This Friday night, the 8th grade volleyball team will play against the alumni, graduates of 2010, 7 p.m. at NDV.

Also just signed, the current 8th grade soccer team will play last year's graduating class in soccer next Saturday, November 20th at 1:15 p.m. The game will be played at the beautiful San Francisco Soccer facility by the Embarcadero.

These are going to be two epic events. Hope to see everyone out there.

Highlights from the Achievement Game

Marissa serves her team to victory

Marissa started off the CYO Achievement Game where she left off in the regular season, and served her team out to an early lead in the first set, which ended 25-6. It was a surprise that a game of some of the best 8th graders in volleyball would be so lopsided.

Her serving clearly gave her team the momentum early on and it carried on through the entire first set.

After suffering a slight setback in the second set, Marissa stepped up to serve in the third set and again, gave her team a 5-0 lead to start off the first to 15 decisive set.

Not only did Marissa serve really well, but she made several plays at the net, with tips, including a play that resulted in the team's 14th point.

Marissa to represent St. Mary's in Achievement Game

Marissa will represent St. Mary's in the annual CYO Achievement Game, which recognizes an 8th grader from each volleyball team.

Marissa was chosen by her coaches and will play tomorrow night at St. Emydius starting at 5:30 p.m.

Olivia Chan was selected in 2008 and Sally Li was the representative in 2009.

Please be there to see Marissa in her final game in a St. Mary's volleyball uniform.

BREAKING NEWS: Cross Country postponed

Due to current weather conditions, Cross Country for today has been canceled. It will be rescheduled at a later date. Take the extra time to catch up on the blog. Please let others know in case they haven't heard the news.

Also, a full basketball schedule will be released later tonight on the blog.

Volleyball Wrap: 8th grade girls go out with a bang, Michelle's big day

**HIGHLIGHTS BELOW**

The 8th grade girls made their final volleyball game at St. Mary's a memorable, upsetting a second place, playoff-bound team, in a three set thriller.

After losing the first set 25-20, the girls came back and pulled out a nail biter 25-23 in set two, and then won the third and deciding set 15-10.

Marissa set the tone for the entire game as she served the 8th graders out to a 5-0 lead in the first set. They even held an 18-13 advantage before the other team started to kick their game into gear.

They played a team that was (6-1) coming into this final game of the year, and were no slouch. Their opponents were good at the bump, set and spike. A few players served overhand and some of their girls served balls right on a line, which made it very difficult for the 8th graders to return. But they were up to the challenge.

Facing an early deficit in set two, Catharine served the girls right back into the game and the score was tied 15-15. Each point was so precious in a game like this, no pun intended, that one point could swing the momentum the other way. Luckily, when the game was tied at 20-20, St. Mary's took control and Marissa finished it off with a nice tip at the net to force a third set.

Getting to the third set with the second place team was already a pretty good accomplishment, but in their final game as 8th graders, they wanted great. The final set went back and forth, and at one point, the girls trailed 10-8. The girls gained a point on serve receive, and from that point on, they never looked back as they rallied for 7 straight points to close out the match.

Kristine was once again in her familiar spot, serving for the match and she did not disappoint. Although she serves underhand, the trajectory of her ball is very difficult to return and it showed. She anchored six straight points and the 8th grade girls jumped for joy in their final game as Saints.

Every year, there are great stories to tell with the teams at St. Mary's and this team will be added to that growing list. Coming into the season, there was a distinct possibility that there wouldn't even be a team. With only six girls in the class, they needed all of them to join. Sadly, only half of them did.

The four girls from DeMarillac, Gavrielle, Precious, Alexa and Kristine, all decided to take on something they had never tried before. This team of seven won their first and last games of the season, a pretty remarkable accomplishment considering all the girls, sans Marissa, were pretty much foreign to competitive volleyball.

And it's been said so man times, but what if this team had played together for one full year, or for that matter, since 3rd grade? How good could this team be right now?

But in the end, the entire team, coaching staff and parents should savor these last two games, and cherish them, as the girls go out as winners.

Michelle serves nine straight: In her first year of volleyball, Michelle served nine straight balls over in the second set in 5th/6th grade's final game of the year. She put the girls in control of the set, giving them an 9-0 advantage to start off the set. However, the girls couldn't hold the lead and fell 25-16. They lost their first set 25-9 and finish the season with a (2-6) record.

8th grade scores on penalty kick, 5th/6th graders blanked again

Miguel scored on a penalty kick for the 8th grade, but with only nine players on the field, they were handed their second straight loss.

They started with 10 players, but Calson, who is battling a headache could only make it to halftime.

Miguel was awarded a penalty kick when he was fouled inside the box. Mark had a great pass, and placed it perfectly for Miguel to make a run towards the goal.

The 8th graders finish their season next week.

5th/6th grade shutout: The 5th/6th grade team put forth a valiant effort and played two games in three hours, but both ended in the same result. They were held scoreless in both games. They also conclude their season next Saturday.

Long awaited win comes for the 8th grade

**HIGHLIGHTS BELOW**

The 8th grade girls snapped a five game losing streak and won for the first time since their season opener in a straight set laugher. They were neck and neck in the first set and pulled away to win set one 25-20 and then followed that by slaughtering the other team 25-5.

The second set win is by far the biggest margin of victory for any St. Mary's volleyball team in the modern era. It might've been even more lopsided if it weren't for the ten serves in a row rule which Kristine hit for the second straight game.

Catharine might've hit the ten serve limit as she closed out the match, serving eight straight balls over en route to the win.

It was a complete all-around effort by the team. Each girl was strong on the serve, and they had very few faults. They were able to serve receive and set up several bump, set and spike plays. They also played their best by the net and scored several points on tips, most notably coming from Serina and Catharine.

Their confidence is a lot higher than it was after their thud two weeks ago, and they'll look to take that into the season finale tomorrow afternoon.

Busy, busy, busy

The best week ever for San Francisco Giants baseball fans and if you haven't checked it out yet below, you get to see how I looked when I was 5 years old as well as an abbreviated memoir of my love for baseball and the World Series champion San Francisco Giants.

Lots of stuff going on this weekend starting tomorrow afternoon, so here's a little more on all the events.

BASKETBALL SHOOTAROUND
Tomorrow at Cameron House, we will get everybody back into the swing of basketball with this 90 minute shootaround from 1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. Touch a basketball for the first time in a while, do some drills, nothing major. Also get a chance to meet your coach, if he or she will be there.

TRUE SOCCER DOUBLE-HEADER
The 5th/6th graders play two games in three hours. This is where boys become men. 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. kickoffs while the 8th graders play at 10 a.m. as well.

Originally, the 5th/6th graders were scheduled to play at 1 p.m. but that would've been at another field. Might as well finish the two games early in the morning.


VOLLEYBALL FINALES
The 8th grade finishes their volleyball season with a back-to-back Friday night and Saturday, while the 5th/6th graders close out their season Saturday.


CROSS COUNTRY
Just come out and run, plain and simple. It's a free event and let's hope for a nice day. Simply come to the Polo Fields in Golden Gate Park and give it your best shot. Remember in high school, they grade you on runs. This will be a good practice. A full schedule was passed out earlier today.

That's all for now folks. I'm sure there will be some more Giants reaction coming up in the next few weeks.

Life of a Giants fan

Not many people have two birthdays. Well, I do. My second birthday was Sunday, July 29, 1990. That’s when my mom took me to my first baseball game.

I still remember seeing the field at  Candlestick Park for the very first time. There’s absolutely nothing like seeing a baseball field. The clean cut green grass, the nice infield, the warning track, fences, the music beaming from the stadium speakers. I could go on and on about its beauty.

The Giants played the Cincinnati Reds that afternoon. The Reds were a good team, a great team. In fact, they were so great they won the World Series in 1990 over the A’s. But for that one day, the Giants were better.

Scott Garrelts was the starting pitcher and he was as good as, if not better than Tim Lincecum was last night. Through 8 innings, he had a no-hitter. My first baseball game ever, and I was three outs away from seeing a no-hitter. In the 9^th inning, he got the first two outs, and then stepped to the plate Paul O’Neill. I will never forget Paul O’Neill.

O’Neill took a swing and lined a solid single up the middle into centerfield for a base hit. Just like that, the no-hitter was no more.

Garrelts got the next batter and the Giants went on to win that game 4-0. But from that point on, I was hooked into Giants baseball.

Giants baseball was always on the brink of something special. But in the end, you’d always suspect something would go wrong.

Take the first game I ever went to as an example. Garrelts would’ve thrown the first no-hitter in Giants history since 1976 and came up one out short. In 1993, they won 103 games and still came up one win short of the playoffs. In 1997, they won their division only to get swept out of the playoffs in three games. 1998, they had a lead in their final game of the year and gave up a home run in the bottom of the ninth to lose that game, setting up a one game playoff the next day in Chicago, which they lost.

In 2000, their first day in the new ballpark, then called Pacific Bell Park, was ruined when the Dodgers beat them behind three home runs from a guy named Kevin Elster. Who is Kevin Elster?

They made the playoffs in 2000, led 1-0 against the Mets and J.T. Snow hit one of the most memorable home runs in the bottom of the ninth inning to tie the game, only to see the bullpen blow it the next inning. The Giants lost the next three games to end their season.

2001, Barry Bonds broke the single season home run record on the same night they were eliminated from the playoffs, and eliminated by the Dodgers.

2002, up 5-0 in Game 6 of the World Series, only to see a collapse of epic proportion. They lose Game 6 by a score of 6-5 to the Angels and lost Game 7.

2003, they have the best record in the Major Leagues, and yet again, lose to the Florida Marlins in four games.

See a pattern here?

It’s heartbreak after heartbreak and a heart can only take so much break. Seven years after their last playoff appearance in 2003, they clinched the National League West title on the final day of the year against the Padres. They beat the Braves in round one, took care of the Phillies in Round 2 when nobody thought they could, and then they find themselves up 3-1 in the World Series going into last night’s Game 5.

When Edgar Renteria’s ball just went over the left-center field wall in Arlington, I was ecstatic. But as a Giants fan, you feared the worse.

Tim Lincecum gave up a home run to Nelson Cruz the next inning and I couldn’t help but panic. Would this game be added to the list of catastrophes?

Timmy settled down and breezed through the rest of the seventh, easily took care of the eighth and handed the ball over to Brian Wilson. The Giants were three outs away from something that I almost didn’t think I’d ever see.

And when Nelson Cruz swung through Wilson’s fastball to end the game, all the heart ache, all the suffering, all the torture was gone. For that one moment, nothing mattered. It’s an indescribable feeling that I have never felt before. The phrase, “San Francisco Giants, World Series Champions,” was no longer something that was attainable through only my dreams or a video game. It actually happened. My Giants are World Champions.

Words still cannot describe the joy I am still feeling 24 hours after one of the best moments of my life. Every time I think about it, I get goose bumps. In my lifetime, this moment will be hard to top.

Yesterday morning, a radio host, read this excerpt from a book that I will definitely read, called “Fever Pitch.” The book is about a fan of European soccer, who followed the team Arsenal like how I, like many others, followed the Giants. So I found this so fitting.

“There is then, literally, nothing to describe it. I have exhausted all the available options. I can recall nothing else that I coveted for two decades (what else is there that can be reasonably coveted for that long?), nor can I recall anything else that I have desired as both man and boy. So please, be tolerant of those who describe a sporting moment as their best ever. We do not lack imagination, nor have we had sad and barren lives; it is just that real life is paler, duller, and contains less potential for unexpected delirium.”