School-wide game of Knockout

Who did you knock out? Who knocked you out? The 2011 school-wide game of Knockout from All-Star Sunday.

Best of Timmy's Corner Part 2

By Timmy

With all the excitement of graduating, we start to remember our experiences at St. Mary’s, and all the times we got in trouble. What I remember most is the corner I left behind. Bryan was always trying to find something stupid for me to do, like the time I had to rap (what a fail!). But with all the comments I got, it seems that after I left, I also left a part of me.
   
But I’m not gonna get mushy with this article, instead I’ll share a few memories, some that will turn my face red every time I think about it (a few Timmy’s Corner videos will do that), but I know that these moments…well, I’ll never be able to experience them again.

All the people in the Class of 2011, most of them I’ve known since Kindergarten, some of them go way back to preschool. But these guys, they’re special, we’ve had fights, we’ve had times where we’d laugh together, at each other, or at the corner videos. We’ve cried, partied, mocked, and did a lot of stuff together (like get in trouble). It’s sort of wired sometimes, we all hate each other sometimes, and at times never get along, but in the end…we resolve every problem and we’re friends again.

Now my relationships with the others as a friend and classmate were, how shall we say, unstable. I was never the most popular kid, nor was I the strongest, funniest, cutest, most liked, respected, blah blah blah -- you get the idea. I was never popular with anyone(tear tear), I was okay with some. But I was like their encyclopedia, or Bing engine, or dictionary (I got a lot of phone calls for homework!). Eighth grade was different, especially after that historic moment where Bryan interviewed me for my first corner video ever.

After Timmy’s Corner was released, the comments I got were all unique, like “Oh, I like that!”, or “What the heck was that?!”. It seemed like I was finally getting noticed, sort of. I did a lot stupid stuff in those videos, it was almost like I was trying to see how embarrassed I could get with each video. And Bryan…, well, he sort of made it better through editing, but OMG, those videos turned my face red every Wednesday morning. But as time passed by, I found out that some people were actually looking forward to Epic Video. And I started to long for the next time I could get in front of the camera.

Now as I close off this article about my memories, let me offer you a few (more) words about the Class of 2011. I’ve been with most of these guys for nine years, and we’ve seen new faces over the years. We have always anticipated the day we walked that red carpet, and even though we will never see each other again for a long time, we’ll always be friends. Right, guys? (no response)

From my heart, thank you all for those wonderful years at St. Mary’s.
-Timmy



And in case you didn't get to see Part 1...

Thursday Update

Carlos Beltran will wear #15. Manager Bruce Bochy switches to #16.

Happy day if you are a fan of the Giants as they officially added All-Star outfielder Carlos Beltran.

Beltran, as he became a Giant, also became the team leader in runs, hits, home runs, doubles and RBIs...

That's how poor the Giants offense has performed this season.

Beltran could be the missing piece of the puzzle for a possible repeat.

Two other things that need to be touched on is the status of the final Epic Video, and a championship basketball game this Saturday.

We'll start with the CCU Championship Game, featuring Alex and James, although there is a good chance James will not be there because he is traveling around the world these days.

But if you are free and able to go Saturday, go check it out. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. at El Camino High School, not too far from the Costco. And you know how much you people and your families like going to Costco.

The official address is:
1320 Mission Road
South San Francisco

Months of speculation, okay, maybe just a few weeks, about the Epic Video #30, the final episode of the 2010-2011 school year, will be released at latest, next Friday. If it does not come out by then, then that means I have shut it down for the year.

I should be able to get it done, and in order to do so, I do need your help.

I have already gathered quite a few surveys, but what are your favorite 10 Epic Video moments of the year? Not episodes, but moments like a certain Timmy's Corner, a slew of interviews, someone's interview, segments, etc...

If you would like to let your opinion be hard, email me, bcheung@stmaryschinese.org and I will send you the information. Do this ASAP however.

And that does it for the Thursday update. Your tease for tomorrow...The Best of Timmy's Corner Part II and a farewell note from Timmay...

Huh?

If you haven't seen this already, take a look. It is probably the worst call I have seen, possibly in my entire life. This will be hard to top.

So let me set it up for you.

Bottom of the 19th in Atlanta as the Braves and Pirates have been playing 6 hours and 39 minutes. Runners on 2nd and 3rd, 1 out with the game tied at 3-3.

NLCS Rematch

Giants vs Phillies begin the first of a three game series tonight in the city if brotherly love.

All three games will start at 4:05 p.m. on CSN Bay Area.

Check it out.

Update: The Giants lose game one of the series, thanks to Barry Zito. 

I like soccer

One of the funnier things I have seen in the last 24 hours. The Los Angeles Galaxy, who have stars on their team like David Beckham and Landon Donovan played against a European club soccer team, Manchester City, yesterday in Los Angeles.

At this point in the game, it was 1-0 Manchester City and a Galaxy forward was sent in on a breakaway off of a really nice ball. And this is what happened? What and why do you think this happened? I will answer below the video. Don't spoil yourself, watch the video first.



So the player's excuse was he thought that the play was offsides and therefore decided to fiddle around with the ball instead.

How about trying to score and if it's offsides, deal with it later?

The coach did the right thing and immediately removed him from the game.

If you watch it again, the funniest thing was his teammate's reaction when he put his arms up in the air, signaling, "What are you doing?"

He probably thought something else a lot more harsh than the quote above.

Happy WWE Raw Monday to you.

Happy Birthday to...

Growing up, my favorite baseball player was Barry Bonds.

Steroids or not, he was the best player I have ever seen to dawn a major league baseball uniform. For a pretty decent period of time, Bonds was what you call a five tool player, he had it all.

He hit for average, power, had speed, had a pretty accurate arm and was a gold glove left fielder.

I never had the chance to personally speak to Bonds, or stick a mic in his face. I was around him in the clubhouse once for a high school journalism internship, but like almost all professional reporters, nobody liked to talk to Barry or was scared of him.

And for whatever reason, every time July 24th rolls around, I know it's Happy Birthday to Mr. Bonds.

I could ramble on about all the amazing things I've watched him do, or how it's actually sad to think back about his career, because he never won a World Series, and also all the scrutiny he has attracted because of his persona as well as the steroid allegations.

But nonetheless, today is his 47th birthday.

A few years ago, Bonds made a cameo at AT&T Park, and I happened to work that night.

We sent out this intern to get a quick interview with the home run king.

Saturday Update

Update.

Giants win 4-2.

Thanks.

Locked Out

There is a pretty good chance that there are going to be no NBA games played this upcoming season.

As you may have heard, the NBA is in a lockout, and it's something that I can't even explain very well because it's pretty complicated.

What I can tell you is that the owners and the players need to agree to some sort of contract, and right now, they can't.

In the contact, of course, the dispute is money.

Who gets how much? How much do the players get? How much to the owners get? How long can a contract be? What can be put into a contract? What can't be put into a contract?

Back in 1999 I believe, there was an NBA strike and only about half the season was played. It was a 50 game regular season with the Spurs beating the Knicks in the NBA Finals.

From what I am reading, it is unlikely any games will be played all year, so this could wipe out an entire NBA season. This is not particularly good for any league, especially not the NBA, when it seems like they are more popular than ever.

Their ratings for the playoffs and finals were great, and the buzz surrounding the hatred for the Miami Heat and Lebron, Kobe and the Lakers quest to get back to the top, Dirk winning his first championship, the storylines are all there for them to capitalize.

But with the strike, these plots will be have to be put on hold.

That is why Deron Williams has already agreed to play overseas in Turkey, and look for more NBA players to follow when it becomes more apparent there will be no basketball here in the United States.

Locally, Stephen Curry and Dorrell Wright have shown interest in playing in China.

So with no NBA, sit back, and enjoy the game of hockey. The puck drops early October.

Thursday Update

Update. I am about to eat a pizza.

Part Two

If you can recall, I posted a Justin Timberlake and Jimmy Fallon rap history video a while ago. Well, they did part two last night. Usually, I try to keep this blog sports related, but this was again, so impressive, I needed to share.

FLASH...BACK...

In a desperate attempt to increase more blog hits, I will provide an update every day, even if it is to tell people what I ate for lunch or dinner, or even what I did today.

Or maybe I will tell you to click like on my status and then I will tell you TRUTH IS for the 10th time.

Today, we flashback to about a year ago when we had S.M.I.L.E. Extravaganza Night. Enjoy.

Girls All-Star Sunday Video

We always strive to give you the most up to date video. So here are two videos from Girls All-Star Sunday in May. We bring to you the Girls Alumni Game as well as the Girls 3 Point Shootout. Enjoy.

Unbelievable

The United States women's soccer team, after their stunning defeat at the hands of Japan.

Unreal.

That is what is great and also heartbreaking about sports.

On one hand, a nation has been united, after such a rough year. On the other hand, one nation who thought they had it in the bag -- twice, loses at the very end.

Congratulations to Japan, who beat the United States in penalty kicks (3-1) after a 2-2 tie.

If anything you can say the US lost this game in the first half when they had opportunity after opportunity to score, giving them some early cushion, but they couldn't get it done.

Even after their first goal, they had a chance to close it out, but they did not. They played a prevent style, and that prevented them from winning the game.

It goes to show how hard it is to win a championship of any kind. So many things need to fall into the right place. I believe to win a championship you need a combination of skill and luck.

What I cannot stand is the penalty kicks at the end.

Let's settle the NBA Finals on a free throw contest, the Super Bowl on who can kick the longer field goal, or the World Series with a home run derby.

Occasionally in tournaments, hockey will have a shootout, and trust me, I hate that just as much. Even the shootout in the regular season bothers me.

Why can't the two teams just play a sudden death overtime until they drop?

Sooner or later, someone's legs will get tired, and someone will take advantage and score. That is what makes overtime hockey in the NHL all so much more epic.

I won't rant long, because I have to go watch WWE Money in the Bank.

But you have to feel for all the players on the United States who were oh so close from winning a world cup. They'll try again four years from now in the year 2015.

Can't wait!

World Cup Women's Final

11:30 a.m. on ESPN.

USA vs Japan

Saturday Update

Update on Saturday.

Per Mr. B:

The Battle Scene is set! The City Championships will feature the two top teams in San Francisco. Please come and cheer on Team Hukilau as they attempt to win The City Championships for the first time ever! This will be a setting to remember as the SF AIDS walk will be taking place at the same time in nearby Sharon Meadow. Parking will not be available for this reason so please park outside the park and walk in. May the best team win!!!

Golden Gate Park Tennis Complex, 12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Golden Gate Park Tennis Courts (415) 753-7001 JFK Dr. & Bowling Green Dr

Marissa's goodbye post (updated)

MY ADVENTURE!!! :D

There are many memories that I’ve made at my years at St. Mary’s during the sports program and during school. The friendships I’ve made will always be kept in a special place in my heart and will stay with me forever.

Before Bryan Cheung became AD, my first impression of him was the crazy guy with yelling issues. I remember how he would yell and throw his board on the ground every time my sister and her team made a mistake. I will never forget how his face turned completely red when he was very upset of the performance of my sister’s team. Little did I know he did the same thing to me. He yelled at me and pushed me to reach up to my full potential not only in basketball but in volleyball and soccer. Bryan was someone that motivated me to do my best in sports and everything in life.

In 5th grade, I practically gave up on trying on getting girls from my class to join basketball. This team would always rely on me to score every basket since they weren’t experienced in basketball. As the team had gotten the hang of the sport basketball, they learned the main aspects of basketball, such as creating your own shot, shooting when you are wide open, and especially being aggressive to the basket.

In 6th grade, Bryan asked me to play volleyball with girls a year older than me, and soccer with all guys. I took that challenge of playing both sports at one time and maintaining good grades. I played without knowing much about my teammates. As one year passed by, my teammates were not only friends but also brothers and sisters. We went from tripping over balls and kicking it everywhere on the field, to trapping, passing, and kicking the soccer ball properly.

Then in 7th grade, we lost one of our girls to play on our basketball team that resulted in having only 4 girls. But just when I was about to lose faith, our hope came back to us. Amanda Li took the challenge to play on our team, and at that time she was a 6th grader. Our team had another fantastic coach that year. His name was James Chiu. He worked on teaching us teamwork and the fundamentals of basketball before we learned plays. James motivated us to do our best and leave everything on the court.


He believed that if we put our minds on something we can always achieve our goal with hard work. One main thing I learned from James to always work hard and believe that anything is possible if you just put your mind to it. Our goal was to win back to back championships. And our team won the championships against a team we had only beaten by 1 in the regular season. The 8th graders that are now sophomores had a scheduled championship game on the same day at the same time. Both teams definitely loss some support from the school because we only had half the support of the school at our game and their game.

The 7th/ 8th grade volleyball team had at least one year of experience that helped us during the season. It may seem that it was a disadvantage for me since I was the only 7th grader on the team, but it really motivated me to try harder and better to keep up with the girls on the team. Heather, our volleyball coach, taught us how to be light on our toes and anticipate where the ball might go. She said, “Since you had 1 year of experience, you shouldn’t be afraid to get hit by the ball.”  We tried hard during practice to achieve a bigger step. Into our second week of practice, we learned how to spike, tip, set (underhand or overhand) and even overhand serve. As my volleyball coach Heather always said, “It takes communication to win games.” As a team, we not only thrived to win games, but to go all the way to the championships. And we did just that. Although we didn’t win that championships game, we made memories, friendships, and adventures that will always be with us forever. We learned the true meaning of teamwork.

The 7th/8th grade soccer team went from not knowing much about one another to practically being brothers and sisters. No one on our team knew how to trap a soccer ball, kick a soccer ball properly, or where to anticipate where the soccer ball will go. In our second year of playing soccer, we knew what to expect from 1 year of experience. We went from not scoring any goals to scoring several goals in a game. We not only scored several goals, but also won our first ever game.

Lastly in 8th grade, we recruited girls and boys from grades 6-8 from the school, De Marillac Academy, to play in our sport teams. The 8th grade volleyball team was mostly full of beginners, Alexa Drapiza, Precious Listana, Gavrielle De Leon Thompson, and Catharine Chiu. Four out of the seven players on the volleyball team didn’t know anything about volleyball. It was a great challenge as a team. Heather, my volleyball coach since 6th grade, taught the fundamentals of volleyball. She told the team that in order for us to win games we have to have teamwork and communication with one another. Our first game as a team played at Cornerstone against Good Shepherd is one of the most memorable moments that has happened. We not only won 1 set as a team but won the whole game. I was out for 2 or 3 games due to a knee injury. The team had me there for support but not physically playing on the court with them. Even though I wasn’t there to play with them, they never gave up one bit. They put all of their hard work at practice into the games.  Even though we weren’t able to go all the way to the championships, we still have made many accomplishments with was we had and also had a (4-4) record. The bonds we’ve made at practice are going to stay with us forever.


The 8th grade basketball team had a big challenge ahead of them. We had the pressure of trying to have a 3peat while jumping up 2 divisions. But unfortunately we weren’t able to fulfill that dream. The playoff game we played against St. Brigid was obviously a winnable game, but many of us had the butterflies in our stomach and weren’t ready from the start. Even though we didn’t win, I am extremely proud of the girls this year. We came together from 4 different schools and not all of us can make it to every practice. That led to many confusions and miscommunications when it was time for game time. After the playoff game James told us, “The friendships and bonds you’ve made as a team will stick with you guys forever. Don’t let your heads down. Basketball is just a game and it is made for you guys to have fun. If you put your mind to something you can always succeed in life.” I will miss James Chiu and Bryan Cheung because they’ve taught me what no other coach can teach me, which was that if I put my mind to things I can always succeed in life. I will miss the famous “DAAAAHHH” from James when he gets upset. I am truly thankful for all that James Chiu, Bryan Cheung, and Tiffanie Yu. They voluntarily gave up their precious time to coach our team. I will never forget the laughs, the smiles, and especially the lessons. James, Bryan and Tiffanie will always have a special place in my heart. 

Bryan has obviously been a big motivation on my sports career. He taught me how to keep my head up no matter what happens. Bryan encouraged me to always do better. At the end of practice in a huddle, he would always say, “There is always room for improvement. You can win games is you convert what you learned from practice into the games.” I will always take that lesson with me in life, and everywhere I go.
 

This year has been the craziest year with moving to the new school. I still remember the first game I’ve ever played in my sports career. Time has flown by so fast. St. Mary’s Athletics gives the opportunity for all of us to reach many dreams and goals in life. St. Mary’s Athletics makes fantasy goals and dreams to reality achieved goals. It continuously becomes a big impact on my life and an individual. St. Mary’s Athletics gives a chance for the impossible to be possible for every single person. I will truly miss the smiles, laughs, and memories I made at St. Mary’s. I hope to come back and coach a volleyball, basketball or soccer team next season!

US Women's Soccer makes history

You probably missed it. Or maybe you didn't - go vote on the sidebar.

I DVR'd it and watched it later in the afternoon and my DVR cut off just after the US women tied it at the end.

This goal as well as last year's goal by Landon Donovan will go down as two of the biggest goals in US soccer history, men or women. The biggest I think still until this day is still not really a goal, but a shootout goal by Brandi Chastain in 1999 when it helped the women win the World Cup against China.

The biggest goal is still out there to be scored, and it could come in the next week as the women are into the semifinals of the World Cup.

They play again Wednesday morning on ESPN. I'll probably have it on DVR, but those who can, should definitely get up and watch it.

Because they won't let me embed the highlights from yesterday, you will have to click on it once again.

Terrible officiating, down to the last minute, literally, and the US came through with a win of epic proportion. Hopefully moments like these can help grow the wonderful sport of soccer.

USA Women's Soccer Epic Win vs Brazil

But you'd probably rather watch a Mike Bibby 10 foot jumper...

Saturday Update, Oh Derek Jeter

The front page of the San Jose Mercury News online sports website earlier this week. What do you notice?

Hello everybody. Thank you to the five people...wait, six people, who still look at the blog over the summer. So today I am just going to miscellaneously give my random thoughts on a random myriad of subjects. And I will make sure you spend more than five minutes just reading and going through what I have to get through.

I'll touch on the status of Epic Video, some possible new things for the upcoming school year, as well as some stories making headlines in the sporting world.

• Epic Video. I still have one more in me for the summer, but haven't gotten around to planning it. Part laziness, part lack of creative material. Maybe I should've just ended with the Disneyland video. For now, we look back at a Part 2 of Epic Video that didn't get as many hits as I would have liked, so maybe you have never seen this one.

• I still have a few more 8th grade reflection pieces to post, three more to be exact. One from Timmy, another from Miles, and then Marissa. In what order, I do not know, but one of them will go up before Monday.

• It is not too early to start thinking about next year. We will have some new faces in each class, which means that there will hopefully be more players on teams next year, starting with girls volleyball and boys soccer. For volleyball, I hope that we can have at least two teams, but a lot of that will be dependent on how many new girls join. As for soccer, we could always use more. We are losing one team for sure, but hopefully we can see what we can do with other schools and still have two soccer teams.

MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL NOTES

•  Let's start with the Giants. As I type this, they are a game up in the National League West, but man oh man, can this team pitch, and man oh man, this cannot hit. Their offense is absolutely dreadful. Every game they win is 3-1, 2-0, 3-2. Very rarely do they win by more than a few runs. And when they score 4 runs, I would say there is a 90% chance they win the game because of how good their pitching is. Hopefully a trade is in the works and they can add a bat for the stretch run.

• On the other side of the Bay, I met one of the nicest athletes in the game, A's All-Star Gio Gonzalez. If you watched GameDay last week, I was mentioned in his interview. Gio was courteous, genuine and just a guy that you want to root for. Without me even asking, his father told Gio to have him sign a picture for me. Very nice family and such a skilled pitcher at 25 years old.By the way, the All-Star Game is Tuesday night, 5 p.m. on FOX. Good luck to Gio and the Giants All-Stars, Tim Lincecum, Brian Wilson, Matt Cain and Ryan Vogelsong.

•  I am smitten. Oh Derek Jeter. Jeter became the 28th member of the 3,000 hit club, an incredible feat for Major Leaguers and he got #3,000 on a home run. What a special moment, take a look at the highlight. Click the link since MLB will not allow me to embded videos. 

• Derek Jeter's 3,000th Hit

BYE BYE DANY HEATLEY AND DEVIN SETOGUCHI

Devin Setoguchi (front) and Dany Heatley (back) are now both former Sharks.

•  How cruel the world of professional sports can be? Devin Setoguchi signed a 3-year contract with the Sharks, only to be shipped off in a trade the next day. Dany Heatley, who probably enjoyed San Jose the most out of any of his teams, had to pack his bags to join former teammate Setoguchi in Minnesota last Sunday when he was traded as well.  So Seto and Heater go from a team that has made the final four in two consecutive years, to a team that hasn't made the playoffs in three years.

In a related story, a friend of mine who also works with me at Ch. 5 went to the Sharks locker   room cleanup and overheard Setoguchi and Heatley giving their phone number to a reporter. I actually have both of their phone numbers and they both got traded. Isn't that ironic?

FINAL NOTE
That is a lot of blogging for today, enough to make up for the missed days, I don't know. I do get to see how many page views I get per day and they have slipped since the summer started, understandably so. I'll look at the trend and if I can get more page views, I will update it more on a consistent basis. Otherwise, we'll stick to the handful of updates per week.

Epic Video, the season finale, within the next two weeks. Maybe as early as possibly this Thursday...No promises though. If I have enough good material, it will happen.

Thanks for participating folks. Be sure to scroll down and catch up on anything you have missed and hopefully some of you will come out to Mr. B's big match tomorrow at Golden Gate Park.

And please, don't forget to LMS...

Friday Update

This is your Friday update...




In all seriousness, I will have a bigger update tomorrow.

For now, if you have time Sunday morning, go check out Mr. B in his tennis match at Golden Gate Park.

From Mr. B:

Come support Team Hukilau Men's Tennis, as they play the first round of Playoffs on a quest for the city championships. Beer and pupus will be available for all guests after the match. This playoff run has been 3 years in the making. Team Hukilau is currently ranked number 2 and will be battling against the number 3 team in the city. 

10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. @ Golden Gate Park Tennis Complex.

Happy Birthday to The Wang

I don't like to rerack (re-show) birthday videos unless your birthday falls in January, but we will do so for John Wang, better known as John Prachayawaraku.

Here is his birthday post from last year, which detailed a lot from The Wang's life:

Last Year's Wang Birthday Post

And also, a new video in addition to last year's birthday video. Happy Birthday to The Wang.

Tuesday Update

Update

Happy Birthday Catharine

Happy Birthday Victoria