San Francisco Sports News

Third-ranked Cal and No. 19 Stanford are on a collision course at the women’s gymnastics NCAA championships, making up half of the Semifinal I field on Thursday in Fort Worth, Texas.

The Bears and Cardinal, along with No 2 LSU and No. 12 Arkansas, are vying for two spots in Saturday’s championship final. Top-seeded Oklahoma, No. 4 Florida, No. 5 Utah and No. 8 Alabama will claim two championship spots from Semifinal II, which also is Thursday in Fort Worth.

Oklahoma is the two-time defending champion and has won five of the past seven national titles, but the Bay Area teams enter the championships posting some of their best scores of the season.

Cal returns to the national semifinals after finishing seventh last season and is seeking its first Four on the Floor appearance. The Bears spent much of this season ranked No. 2 behind the Sooners and won the final Pac-12 title – the program’s first outright regular season crown.

The Bears capped their home regional victory last weekend with a team score of 198.275, the highest postseason mark in school history. It was the fifth time this season Cal scored at least 198 points.

Junior Mya Lauzon led the way in the regional final, becoming Cal’s first regional all-around winner and recording the team’s first postseason 10 with a perfect vault.  All six Bears had a 9.8 or better in the floor routine, led by sophomore All-American eMjae Frazier’s 9.975.

Stanford is competing at the NCAA championships for the first time since 2016 and 17th time overall. The Cardinal was inconsistent early in the season and unseeded entering regionals, but defeated No. 14 Auburn and No. 6 Denver to finish second to Cal in the regional to become the first unseeded team to reach the championship meet since 2011.

The Cardinal punched its ticket to Fort Worth in dramatic fashion. Stanford was down .100 going into the final rotation, the floor routine, and fifth-year Chloe Widner completed the rotation with her first career 10.

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By Beth Harris | Associated Press

LOS ANGELES — Carl Erskine, who pitched two no-hitters as a mainstay on the Brooklyn Dodgers and was a 20-game winner in 1953 when he struck out a then-record 14 in the World Series, died Tuesday. He was 97.

Erksine died at Community Hospital Anderson in his hometown of Anderson, Indiana, according to Michele Hockwalt, the hospital’s marketing and communication manager.

Among the last survivors from the celebrated Brooklyn teams of the 1950s, Erskine spent his entire major league career with the Dodgers from 1948-59, helping them win five National League pennants.

The right-hander had a career record of 122-78 and an ERA of 4.00, with 981 strikeouts.

Erskine had his best season in 1953, when he went 20-6 to lead the National League. He won Game 3 of the World Series, beating the Yankees 3-2 at Ebbets Field. He struck out 14, retiring the side in the ninth, for a record that stood until Dodgers ace Sandy Koufax got 15 in 1963. The Dodgers went on to lose in six games as the Yankees won their fifth consecutive championship.

Erskine was an All-Star in 1954, when he won 18 games.

He appeared in five World Series, with the Dodgers finally beating the Yankees in 1955 for their only championship in Brooklyn. He gave up a home run to Gil McDougald in the first inning of Game 4 and left after 3 2/3 innings. The Dodgers went on to win 8-5.

Erskine, center, celebrates with teammate Duke Snider, left, and manager Charley Dressen after the Brooklyn Dodgers beat the New York Yankees Game 5 of the 1952 World Series. Erskine, Snider, Roy Campanella, Carl Furillo, Gil Hodges and Jackie Robinson were Dodgers teammates known as “the Boys of Summer.” (Associated Press Archives)

Erskine’s death leaves the 88-year-old Koufax as the lone surviving Dodgers player from the 1955 World Series team.

“I’ve often thought Carl deserved more credit than he received for his contributions to the success of the Brooklyn Dodgers,” said Peter O’Malley, whose father, Walter, owned the Dodgers from 1950-1979. “He was a calming influence on a team with many superstars and personalities. But getting credit was not Carl and that is what made him beloved.”

Erskine received the Buck O’Neil lifetime achievement award in July 2023 by the Baseball Hall of Fame’s board of directors to honor an individual whose efforts enhance baseball’s positive impact on society.

“For millions of fans, he was a baseball hero,” Hall of Fame chairman Jane Forbes Clark said in a statement. “For his family and thousands of Special Olympians, Carl was someone who always believed everything was possible. His legacy is one of deep compassion and encouragement of the human spirit.”

Carl Daniel Erskine was born Dec. 13, 1926, in Anderson, Indiana. He began playing baseball at age 9 in a local parks program.

After graduating high school in 1945, he was drafted into the Navy with World War II underway. A year later, Erskine asked the Navy recreation officer where he was stationed if he could play baseball. He was turned away, but a few weeks later, he was scouted by the Dodgers and discharged from military service.

He spent the next 1½ years in the minors before making his major league debut on July 25, 1948. Erskine began as a reliever, going 21-10 during his first two seasons.

In 1951, he transitioned to the starting rotation and joined teammates Roy Campanella, Carl Furillo, Gil Hodges, Jackie Robinson and Duke Snider as one of the revered “Boys of Summer.”

In 1952, Erskine had a career-best 2.70 ERA and won 14 games. The following year, he led the NL with a .769 winning percentage, along with 187 strikeouts and 16 complete games, all career highs.

When teammate Don Newcombe was pitching in the ninth inning of Game 3 of the 1951 NL pennant with the New York Giants, Erskine and Ralph Branca were warming up in the bullpen.

Erskine, left, and former Dodgers teammate Tommy Lasorda visit before a spring training game in Vero Beach, Florida, in 2008. (Doug Benc/Getty Images Archives)

On the recommendation of pitching coach Clyde Sukeforth, Newcombe was relieved by Branca, who then gave up the game-winning home run to Bobby Thomson in the famed “Shot Heard ’Round the World.”

Whenever Erskine was asked what his best pitch was, he replied, “The curveball I bounced in the Polo Grounds bullpen in 1951.”

Nicknamed “Oisk” by fans with their Brooklyn accents, Erskine pitched no-hitters against the Chicago Cubs in 1952 and the New York Giants in 1956.

Bobby Morgan preserved Erskine’s no-hitter against the Cubs with two brilliant fielding plays at third base.

“I made two super plays on swinging bunts where they just dribbled down the line and I fielded them one-handed and threw to Gil Hodges at first,” Morgan told The Oklahoman newspaper in April 2020.

Morgan, who died last year, said Erskine still thanked him years later whenever they spoke.

The Dodgers left Brooklyn for Los Angeles in 1957. Erskine started the first home game in Los Angeles on April 18, 1958, when the Dodgers beat the San Francisco Giants 6-5 in front of more than 78,000 fans.

However, Erskine didn’t enjoy being away from his family and he lasted just 1½ years in Los Angeles. He pitched his final game in June 1959 and retired at 32.

Erskine plays the national anthem on his harmonica before a college basketball game in Anderson, Indiana, in 2017. (Don Knight/The Herald-Bulletin via Associated Press Archives)

Erskine returned to his hometown about 45 miles northeast of Indianapolis and opened an insurance business. He coached baseball at Anderson College for 12 years, and his 1965 team went 20-5 and won the NAIA World Series.

He also became active in the community and served as president and director at Star Financial Bank from 1982-93.

A 6-foot bronze statue of Erskine was erected in front of the Carl D. Erskine Rehabilitation and Sports Medicine Center to honor his accomplishments in baseball and as an Anderson resident. An elementary school built on land he donated is named for him. He was inducted into the Indiana National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1979.

In 2002, Erskine Street in Brooklyn was named for him.

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His youngest son, Jimmy, was born with Down syndrome, which led Erskine to champion the cause of people with developmental disabilities. He wrote a book called “The Parallel,” about the similarities Jimmy and Erskine’s teammate Robinson shared in breaking down social perceptions. He was long involved with Special Olympics in Indiana and the Carl and Betty Erskine Society raises money for the organization.

“Carl Erskine was an exemplary Dodger,” Stan Kasten, Dodgers president and CEO, said in a statement. “He was as much a hero off the field as he was on the field, which given the brilliance of his pitching is saying quite a lot. His support of the Special Olympics and related causes, inspired by his son Jimmy, who led a life beyond all expectations when he was born with Down syndrome, cemented his legacy.”

Jimmy died in November at age 63, outliving his prognosis by decades.

Erskine also authored the books “Tales from the Dodger Dugout” and “What I Learned From Jackie Robinson.”

He is survived by Betty, his wife of 76 years, and sons Danny and Gary and daughter Susan.

SACRAMENTO — Any season can be defined by its moments, the everlasting split-seconds burned into memories.

For the Warriors — the historically expensive club desperate to lay more tracks for its dynastic train — too many of those moments were self-inflicted damage.

Draymond Green saw red too many times — a headlock here, a flail there — costing him a quarter of the season. Game-winning prayers from Nikola Jokic and Malik Monk rattled in instead of out, putting the Warriors on the wrong side of the blown-lead ledger. They stuck with their starting lineup from last year too long, and didn’t add or subtract at the deadline.

And so, their season ended on April 16 in Sacramento. The next morning, they cleaned out their lockers at the Chase Center. Viewed through the prism of wringing out the most of every last great Steph Curry season, this year was squandered. Too many dark moments eclipsed those of promise.

“At the end of the day, I just want to win,” Curry said in Sacramento. “I know that’s fully possible. I know this summer’s going to be a lot of conversations, trying to set up ourselves to win — whatever that means. I hope that’s the outcome.”

Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Curry reacts while speaking to the media after their 118-94 NBA play-in tournament loss against the Sacramento Kings at the Golden One Center in Sacramento, Calif., on Tuesday, April 16, 2024. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group) 

The Warriors went 10-11 in games Green missed due to suspension. At the podium after the Warriors’ season ended in Sacramento, Green said he could count off the top of his head at least six losses off the top of his head the Warriors “gave away.”

Collapsing and letting winnable games slip away was an issue with or without Green. They blew a 24-point lead in the in-season tournament to Sacramento. They choked away an 18-point lead late against Denver. They failed to close out the Thunder twice in overtime.

Steve Kerr constantly tinkered with his starting lineup and rotation, seeking combinations that work. Not enough shooting with this frontcourt, too light on the boards with that one, can’t hold up defensively with the three guards. The Warriors’ roster had depth, but it was flawed. They never had a reliable secondary scorer next to Curry.

A common denominator: The Warriors consistently lost to contending teams. Against the six Western Conference teams to clinch playoff berths before the play-in, Golden State won just four of 23 games.

There were positive signs, of course. Despite finishing 10th in the loaded Western Conference, the Warriors won more games than they did last year. They won 10 of their last 12 games, tearing through a difficult road schedule, and never wavered from their belief that they could beat anyone in any high-leverage situation. With Brandin Podziemski and Trayce Jackson-Davis, Mike Dunleavy Jr. aced his first draft.

Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Curry #30 heads to the locker room after their NBA 118-94 play-in tournament loss to the Sacramento Kings at the Golden One Center in Sacramento, Calif., on Tuesday, April 16, 2024. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group) 

It just wasn’t enough to avoid a premature, unceremonious end to the season. Curry, Green and Klay Thompson were mostly healthy all year, and the Warriors still missed the playoffs.

Ahead of the trade deadline, the Warriors were floundering at 23-25. Curry, in a rare personnel-related admission, said that changes were necessary. “That’s the definition of insanity, right? Keep doing the same thing, expecting a different result.”

To their credit, Golden State made adjustments. The Warriors went small, with Draymond Green starting at center. They brought Thompson off the bench for the first time in his career. Jackson-Davis joined Green in the starting frontcourt, fortifying their defense and solidifying their rotation.

Kerr let Jonathan Kuminga play through more mistakes and trusted the rookies to contribute. Golden State went 22-11 to finish the year and, by virtue of a strong West, became the winningest team to ever finish 10th in a conference.

But the Warriors — winners of four championships in the past decade — don’t hang banners for play-in seasons. And even when they were rolling, there were hints the Warriors were never really in the NBA’s upper class. They went 22-31 against teams with winning records and 24-5 against everyone else. They beat up on the bottom-feeders and got outclassed by the true contenders.

Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr cheers on his team the second quarter of their NBA play-in tournament game against the Sacramento Kings at the Golden One Center in Sacramento, Calif., on Tuesday, April 16, 2024. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group) 

Optimizing every season as long as the 36-year-old Curry remains one of the best players in the games should be the annual goal. This season, despite progress, they failed to squeeze out another postseason run.

“This is life,” Kerr said after his team was eliminated. “This is how it works. You don’t get to stay on top forever.”

They lost in the moments, and the moments became the aggregate. Now they face another crossroads in Klay Thompson’s free agency. Kerr, Curry and Green are under contract through 2026, but could they drop the other pillar of the dynasty? They need to get more athletic, better, and cheaper. Thompson might not check enough of those boxes.

“I could never see myself not with those two guys,” Curry said of Thompson and Green.

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But despite a better record than last year, they slipped from sixth to 10th place, and it won’t get easier. Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs will only improve. Memphis will get a healthy Ja Morant next year. The Nuggets, Timberwolves and Mavericks aren’t going anywhere.

As Green said, you’re either getting better or you’re getting worse.

Everything should be on the table for the Warriors. Curry’s contract and age give them a three-year window to assemble a championship-caliber roster around him — with every succeeding year becoming more difficult than the past. He’s still elite, and the Warriors will never have another player like him.

They can’t afford to waste another of his last great seasons – and that pursuit of another title might cost them their dynastic core.

“I understand this league changes and there’s so many things that go into it, and we’re not going to play forever,” Curry said. “But we’ve experienced so much together. At the end of the day, again, I know they want to win, I want to win — that’s all I’m worried about.”

Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Curry (30) lowers his head as the final minutes wind down in the fourth quarter of their NBA play-in tournament game at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, Calif., on Tuesday, April 16, 2024. The Sacramento Kings defeated the Golden State Warriors 118-94. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group) 

MIAMI — Keaton Winn was in tip-top form, the Giants provided him just enough run support, and they beat the Marlins, 3-1, to clinch their first series win of the season away from Oracle Park.

Now comes the hard part.

“Have we won two games in a row yet?” manager Bob Melvin pondered before first pitch Wednesday morning.

Yes, but just once, and not since their first series of the season, stringing together wins in the second and third games in San Diego.

“To get out of these little funks that we’re in, it usually takes a little bit of a winning streak,” Melvin said. “Confidence rises and you’re able to gain some momentum. We just haven’t had a ton of traction as far as that’s gone yet, so it’s been a little frustrating for everybody.”

No better time than now to start a winning streak.

When the Giants return home Thursday to host the Diamondbacks, they’ll have the top two finishers in last year’s Cy Young voting on the hill the first two games. They should have plenty of motivation to top Winn’s stellar showing that shut down Miami’s lineup on Wednesday.

The lone damage against Winn over six innings came on a sinker down and away that Bryan De La Cruz snuck over the right field wall for a solo shot in his final frame. That was one of only four hits the Marlins mustered against him, and the first and only time a runner advanced past first base.

“Down and away, but he’s been hot the last couple games in that area. Later in the count, it’s something I was trying to go in on and missed down and away,” Winn said of the home run offering to De La Cruz. But overall, “I finally felt great out there. Mechanically, I was more lined up, so it was easier to command the baseball.”

Winn was cruising, using only 63 pitches to complete five scoreless, before the first batter of the sixth, Luis Arraez, lined a ball right back at him. It glanced off the bottom of his cleat, and Thairo Estrada recovered to record an impressive out, but Winn wasn’t quite the same after.

The next batter was De La Cruz, and after him, Winn threw five straight pitches outside the strike zone — one was erroneously called a strike — to put on Jazz Chisolm Jr., only to be erased by Patrick Bailey to end the inning.

Despite a strong pitching line and a low pitch count — 81 after six — Melvin turned to his bullpen to finish the final three frames. Camilo Doval — after a full complement of warm-up pitches — pitched a 1-2-3 ninth inning to record his third save of the season, his second of the road trip.

“He took that ball off the foot (and) it bothered him enough to come out of the game,” Melvin said. “His warm-up pitches were a little high and he ended up giving up a run, but we needed some innings today — we were down several guys (in the bullpen) — and he gave us six innings. Really efficient in how he did it, too.”

Winn held two of his first three opponents to three runs or fewer, but the Giants had lost all of his first three starts. They had scored two total runs while he was on the mound, the least run support for any starter in the National League (min. 16 IP), a title Logan Webb held last season.

The two runs they gave him Wednesday — plus an insurance run on a two-out double from Matt Chapman in the eighth — was all Winn needed.

Estrada doubled home Jorge Soler to open a 1-0 lead in the second inning and scored the go-ahead run in the seventh after beating out an infield single to lead off the inning. It was his third multi-hit effort of the six-game road trip, raising his batting average to .239 and OPS to .680.

Estrada heating up is good news for a lineup that is still struggling to produce consistent results.

“There’s, what, 142? 143 games left?” Estrada said in Spanish. “We can’t think about getting streaks going. We’ve just got to continue playing and competing. That’s baseball. We won today; it’s over. We wake up tomorrow, play again, and try to win. If we lose, then we wake up the next day and play again.”

The Giants managed only three runs in the win and scored more than four only once in six games on this road trip. They seemed to snap out of their offensive funk in the final game of the previous homestand — a 7-1 win — but mustered just one run in their first game in Tampa. Five homers and 11 runs the next game were followed by 14 total runs over the final four games of the trip, including 35 strikeouts over the three-game series in Miami.

In one game, Blake Snell got shelled. In another, their bullpen coughed up four runs in a tied game. At other times, such as Wednesday, both components of the pitching staff have looked as dominant as ever.

Called on to relieve Winn in the seventh inning, rookie Erik Miller filled up the strike zone with 98-99 mph fastballs from his left arm and retired the side in order, the first of three scoreless innings from Giants relievers.

“I think across the board, we need to play better,” Melvin said. “Whether it’s on the pitching end, whether it’s on the offensive end, we just really haven’t hit our stride yet. We have certain games that look good, but we haven’t sustained it.”

The most-telling metric to Melvin, at least at this juncture, is the Giants’ run differential.

They have been outscored by their opponents 91-79, 12 runs in the hole through their first 19 games.

“Run differential kind of tells you where you are,” he said. “We’re a little down in that.”

Notable

The Giants should get a better sense of when their players on the mend could return when they get back to San Francisco on Thursday.

There, they will consult with Alex Cobb (hip/elbow), Sean Hjelle (elbow) and Luke Jackson (back) about their next steps.

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Jackson is “itching to get back,” Melvin said. He threw 20 pitches to hitters in Arizona on Monday and a rehab assignment could be next. He shouldn’t require more than one, unlike Hjelle, who has made three already as the team attempts to stretch him out to cover multiple innings out of the bullpen.

Melvin’s tone changed when asked about Cobb, who threw a bullpen session Monday in Arizona. “He felt OK,” Melvin said. “He’s coming back to San Francisco tomorrow, so we’ll take stock of him tomorrow as well.”

Up next

The Giants’ charter flight is scheduled to land back in San Francisco sometime around 9 p.m. Wednesday — midnight in the time zone where they spent the past week — and they’ll be right back at it following the cross-country trek. Set to host the Diamondbacks for four games, followed by a weekend set against the Mets, the team doesn’t have another off day until next Thursday.

Webb gets the ball in the series opener, though he did not fly back ahead of the team. In fact, he exchanged lineup cards at home plate before first pitch Wednesday. Blake Snell is scheduled to follow him Friday, still seeking his first win in a Giants uniform.

“I like to do that with starting pitchers,” Melvin said of Webb’s pregame duties. “It’s the first day that the lights came on when I asked him. Before, he’s been a little hesitant. He’s 1-0 and he gets to take it out on the day that he pitches, too. Nah, I’m just kidding. He thinks right now that he’s going to. Let’s not tell him that.”

SFGATE columnist Alex Siquig believes this erratic Dubs team will pull out the win.

This artificial honorific has traveled with the Kings on the road this season.

Will the Warriors get to enjoy a quieter Sacramento crowd?

Thompson appears to have pulled off quite the heist from his longtime teammate.

SFGATE editor Alex Simon says Tara VanDerveer's sudden retirement is quite fitting.

By NICHOLAS PAPHITIS Associated Press

ANCIENT OLYMPIA, Greece (AP) — A priestess prays to a dead sun god in front of a fallen Greek temple. If the sky is clear, a flame spurts that will burn in Paris throughout the world’s top sporting event. Speeches ensue.

On Tuesday, the flame for this summer’s Paris Olympics was lit at the birthplace of the ancient Olympic Games in southern Greece in a meticulously choreographed ceremony.

It will then be carried through Greece for more than 5,000 kilometers (3,100 miles) before being handed over to French organizers at the Athens venue used for the first modern Olympics in 1896.

Here’s a look at the workings and meaning of the elaborate ceremony held among the ruins of Ancient Olympia ahead of each modern Olympiad.

COULDN’T THE FRENCH JUST LIGHT IT IN PARIS?

Couldn’t the Academy Awards just be announced in a conference call?

The pageantry at Olympia has been an essential part of every Olympics for nearly 90 years since the Games in Berlin. It’s meant to provide an ineluctable link between the modern event and the ancient Greek original on which it was initially modelled.

Once it’s been carried by any means imaginable to the host city — it’s been beamed down by satellite, lugged up Mount Everest and towed underwater — the flame kindles a cauldron that burns in the host Olympic stadium until the end of the games. Then it’s used for the Paralympics.

SO HOW’S IT LIT?

An actor playing an ancient Greek priestess holds a silver torch containing highly combustible materials over a concave mirror. The sun’s rays bounce off every inch of the burnished metal half-globe and come together at one extremely hot point, which ignites the torch.

This happens inside the archaeological site at Olympia, before the ancient temple of Hera — wife of Zeus, king of the Greek gods, whose own ruined temple lies close by.

The flame is eventually used to light the first runner’s torch — champagne-colored this year for France — and a long relay through Greece leads to the April 26 handover at the Panathenaic stadium in Athens.

FILE – Actress Katerina Lehou, right, as high priestess, lights the torch during the lighting ceremony of the Olympic flame in Ancient Olympia, southwestern Greece, Oct. 24, 2017. On Tuesday, April 16, 2024 the flame for this summer’s Paris Olympics will be lit and be carried through Greece for more than 5,000 kilometers (3,100 miles) before being handed over to French organizers at the Athens site of the first modern Olympics. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis, File)  NEED IT BE SO COMPLICATED?

Flames and sandals make for an impressive spectacle, and while the priestess’ largely tongue-in-cheek prayer to Apollo might not be answered, the parabolic mirror works well.

The idea was the result of Greek-German cooperation ahead of the 1936 Olympics in Nazi Germany, which were heavy on fanfare — and swastikas. It was based on a mechanism mentioned by ancient writers in a non-Olympic context, and served the desire to blend the games of antiquity with the modern revival.

The 1936 innovations included a torch relay all the way to Berlin, and have been followed, with modifications, ever since. An initial idea to do the relay flame in hollow plant stalks — a nod to the Greek myth of Prometheus who stole fire from the gods — was ditched as impractical.

DID THIS HAPPEN AT THE ANCIENT GAMES?

No. But then modern athletes don’t compete naked, or, when victorious, receive olive wreaths and the right to a marble statue in their name — and, for three-times winners, in their actual likeness.

Also, there’s no brief cessation of warfare to allow the modern games to go ahead, women not only attend but compete as well, and rich sponsors — or heads of state — don’t reap the glory for their chariot teams’ wins.

According to ancient Greek tradition, the games of antiquity, held every four years in honor of Zeus, started in 776 B.C. They were the most important of the major Greek sporting festivals, where events included running, wrestling and horse racing. Up to 40,000 spectators could attend.

Like in most preindustrial societies, life in ancient Greece was deeply physical and a well-exercised body was seen as the mark of a gentleman.

The games continued, with minor blips, until the new Christian authorities in Greece banned them as part of the reprehensible pagan past, in A.D. 393.

COULD ANYTHING SPOIL THE SHOW?

Rain. Heavy cloud cover. Then the mirror doesn’t work. But ceremony organizers in Olympia hold several rehearsals in the days leading up to the official lighting, which provide a backup flame should the big day prove sunless. That’s what ended up happening on Tuesday, when the skies were cloudy.

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Potential protests are a worse headache. Twice this century — during the lighting ceremonies for the Beijing Summer and Winter Games — human-rights activists disrupted the ceremony inside the fenced and heavily guarded archaeological site. Even after the embarrassment of the first incident in 2008, Greek police were unable to anticipate and prevent the second, 14 years later. There was no incident Tuesday.

The flame-lighting, with its broad TV coverage — although the official stream shies from showing any form of protest — is a magnet for activists who want to grab headlines. And even if ancient Olympia can, in theory at least, be efficiently guarded, the route of the torch relay through Greece is too long to be protest-proof.

The 2008 incidents at Olympia and abroad led to the scrapping of torch relays outside Greece and the host country.

Further along the road, while the torches are designed to stay lit, there have been hitches in the past. During the relay for the 2014 Sochi Games, wind blew out the torch, which was sneakily rekindled with a lighter. The same quick fix was used at Montreal in 1976, when rain extinguished the Olympic cauldron.

Athletic departments at the 10 public universities in the Pac-12 experienced an $81 million shortfall last year, with only five schools reporting an operating surplus.

And that’s the good news on money matters across the conference. The situation gets much worse when university support is removed from the budgets.

That support takes two primary forms in major college athletics: 1) direct transfers from central campus to athletic departments; and 2) money from student fees that’s allocated to athletics.

In each case, the support is booked as revenue in accordance with the NCAA’s financial reporting rules.

The 10 public schools in the Pac-12 closed out the 2022-23 fiscal year — the first without COVID policies for spectators — with $1.22 billion in revenue and $1.3 billion in expenses, according to financial documents obtained by the Hotline. (Statements of revenues and expenses were due to the NCAA earlier this year.)

Washington topped the list with $151.6 million in reported revenue, just $1 million more than Oregon, while Washington State was at the bottom with $79 million.

But the revenue figure includes $138.2 million in campus support through direct transfers and student fees.

Remove that support and the budget shortfall for the 10 public schools soars to $219.5 million.

When Stanford’s data is added — the Cardinal was $33.3 million in the red without campus support — the total shortfall for 11 athletic departments climbs to $252.8 million.

(The conference’s other private school, USC, did not make its athletic department budget for the 2023 fiscal year available.)

What’s more, the $252.8 million shortfall without campus support does not include an internal loan of $31.6 million to Arizona athletics from the university that was booked as indirect, not direct, revenue.

So the real deficit for the 11 athletic departments last year was close to $300 million.

“Schools need to soberly address the role sports is intended to play on campus,” David Carter, an adjunct professor of sports business at USC and founder of the Sports Business Group, wrote in an email.

Carter added that universities must “measure both the return on investment and the return on objective associated with funding athletic departments.”

With any assessment of athletic department finances, context is critical:

— Football and men’s basketball are typically the only sports programs in major college athletics that generate a profit. In the interest of providing broad-based opportunities, each Pac-12 school offers more than a dozen Olympic sports teams that lose money — and some support more than 20 that are not profitable.

— Support for athletics through direct transfers and student fees is common across major college athletics. The Pac-12’s public universities received an average of $13.8 million from central campus in the 2023 fiscal year, an amount roughly comparable to the support provided by many schools in the Power Five conferences.

— Only a handful of athletic departments across the country generate an operating surplus without relying on any support from central campus. In the Pac-12, there is just one: Oregon, which produced a $3.8 million profit in 2023.

Oregon’s situation stands in stark contrast to Arizona State, Cal, Colorado, Stanford and UCLA, which had deficits in excess of $30 million when campus transfers and student fees were removed from their revenue totals.

In fact, only Washington experienced a shortfall of less than $10 million without direct support. The Huskies were just $8.7 million in the red during the 2022-23 fiscal year.

So, how much campus support is too much?

“That’s a complicated question,” said Andrew Zimbalist, a Smith College economics professor and author of the 2017 book Unwinding Madness: What Went Wrong with College Sports and How to Fix It.

“Schools subsidize a lot of activities at universities. The question is whether the size is proportionate to the importance.”

Athletic departments generally, and football teams specifically, are often the most visible arm of the 133 universities that participate in the Football Bowl Subdivision.

There are myriad instances of success leading to increases in brand awareness, philanthropy and applications for admission, especially from out-of-state students required to pay higher tuition fees.

Perhaps the best recent example was Colorado’s early season surge under new coach Deion Sanders last fall, which did wonders for the school’s visibility. The Buffaloes experienced a 20 percent increase in applications for enrollment in the 2024-25 school year, according to the Boulder Daily Camera.

Was the increase entirely attributable to Sanders? Definitive conclusions are elusive, but an assistant vice chancellor told the Daily Camera that “the exposure that CU Boulder has received since Coach Prime was hired has been tremendous.”

Because of the visibility it generates, college athletics is often described as the “front porch” for universities. Competitive success on the field and the court creates a more attractive porch.

After all, political science lectures aren’t plastered across network television each week.

“You could make the case that the transfers (from campus) are more of a marketing expense because athletic departments are major ambassadors for the universities,” Carter said.

“Administrations don’t look at $25 million like it’s money specifically for branding, but they inherently believe that it’s important to have strong athletics.”

The level of campus support across the Pac-12 ranges dramatically and skews the bottom lines in the financial data schools must report to the NCAA each winter.

For example, Washington State reported the lowest total revenue, just $79 million, but the Cougars only received $6.8 million in direct campus support in 2023.

Meanwhile, Colorado reported $127 million in revenue, but the figure included $29.4 million in direct transfers and student fees.

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Even schools in the same university system vary in their approach. Cal received $33.8 million in direct support while UCLA reported just $2.1 million.

The situation could take a turn for the worse when financial results for the 2024 fiscal year are reported to the NCAA early next year. The 10 outbound schools in the Pac-12 agreed to have $6.5 million per campus withheld from their conference distributions in order to support Washington State and Oregon State.

What’s more, Comcast is withholding $72 million in payments ($6 million per school) as a result of the Pac-12 Networks overpayment scandal discovered in the fall of 2022. (The bulk of the withholdings occurred during the current fiscal year, according to sources.)

Also, every major college athletic department from Berkeley to Boston will experience additional financial pressures in coming years if, as many expect, college athletes are deemed employees by the court system and entitled to direct compensation.

“It’s not lost on people how rapidly college sports is becoming professionalized,” Carter said.

“The big branded schools will continue to excel, the schools in the middle will have to determine what role they want sports to play, and smaller schools are likely to eliminate a meaningful number of sports.”

And the vast majority of them will continue to rely on campus support, for better or worse.

*** Send suggestions, comments and tips (confidentiality guaranteed) to pac12hotline@bayareanewsgroup.com or call 408-920-5716

*** Follow me on Twitter/X: @WilnerHotline

*** Pac-12 Hotline is not endorsed or sponsored by the Pac-12 Conference, and the views expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the views of the Conference.

Meghan Markle has years of experience doing public appearances, and the TV actor-turned-duchess supposedly can hire the best publicists to help her stage manage important photo ops.

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Yet, Meghan keeps getting caught in awkward public moments that go viral and make headlines, sometimes overshadowing whatever brand or cause she’s trying to promote and giving her critics ammunition to allege that these mishaps are caused by her need to be the center of attention.

The latest awkward moment occurred Friday during what was otherwise a shining opportunity for her and Prince Harry to look glamorous as they promoted his charity polo match and his newly announced Netflix series on professional polo. After Harry’s team won the Sentebale Polo Cup near Miami, named for the Africa-based charity Harry co-founded, Meghan took the stage to present her husband and his team with a trophy and to position herself in the center of a group photo op with team members.

Meghan was then recorded inviting another woman up on stage, according to video shared by the Harry and Meghan Instagram fan account, @sussexroyal_hm. But she told the woman, identified by internet sleuths as Sentebale chair Dr. Sophie Chandauka, to move aside so that she wouldn’t be standing next to her husband, Page Six, The Mirror and the Miami Herald reported.

Meghan seemed determined to position herself next to Harry for the next photo. But that left Chandauka having to awkwardly duck under the trophy to get to where the duchess wanted her to stand, and prompted people on @sussexroyal_hm, to question the duchess’ motives.

Someone commenting on the fan account said it appeared that Meghan seems “insecure” when it comes to her husband. “That’s why she keeps clinging on him and any woman who stands beside him is told to stand beside her,” one person said. Others said that the “self-obsessed,” “controlling” and “not authentic” Meghan “loves the limelight.”

But another person defended the duchess by arguing that she was actually trying to position Chandauka so that she would be in the middle of the group. It only got awkward because Harry kept his hand on the trophy, and Chandauka had to maneuver around that.

Whatever Meghan’s intentions, it’s another situation when the duchess, who also is in the midst of rolling out her American Riviera Orchard luxury brand, didn’t seem to have all the details nailed down for how she would make even a brief appearance in front of the cameras. The Mirror reported that camera crews also were following the Sussexes around Friday, documenting them at the polo match for their upcoming Netflix project.

These gaffes may happen because Meghan isn’t clear on her role, or because organizers haven’t properly briefed her, though it seems that she should have well-paid staff who should get clarity for her. Critics, meanwhile, say that some of these situations arise because Meghan tries to make any event about her. Here are some of those moments:

March 2019: Then-Prince Charles appears to tell Meghan and Harry to stand back

Nearly a year before Meghan and Harry officially stepped away from royal duties, they attended a reception at Buckingham Palace to honor of the 50th anniversary of Prince Charles’ Investiture as the Prince of Wales. Much of the coverage of the reception either focused on the pregnant duchess talking excitedly about the upcoming arrival of her son Archie, or the fact that she and Kate Middleton were seen together for the first time in months, amid reports of tensions between the two sisters-in-law.

LONDON, ENGLAND – MARCH 5: Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Charles, Prince of Wales and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex attend a reception to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the investiture of the Prince of Wales at Buckingham Palace on March 5, 2019 in London, England. (Photo by Dominic Lipinski – WPA Pool/Getty Images) 

But video of the event also showed an awkward moment when she and Harry appeared to be uncertain about the protocol of entering a room behind Queen Elizabeth II. As Meghan smiled and started to enter the room with Charles, the future king appeared to tell her and Harry to stand back so that the queen could enter first, followed by him and his wife, Camilla, and then by Prince William and Kate Middleton. The rest of the video showed Meghan and Harry hanging back in a large drawing room, and waiting for the queen, Charles, Camilla and William and Kate to proceed out of the room first.

Harry appears to admonish Meghan to “turn around” in 2019

It’s easy to see why Meghan began to find royal events tiresome and wanted to get back to America. When she and Harry appeared on the balcony at Buckingham Palace for the annual Trooping the Color, a clip of the two interacting went viral. It also has resurfaced on TikTok in recent months, Newsweek reported.

In the clip, Meghan is seen turning towards Harry, as they stand on the balcony behind other on the royals, including the controversial Prince Andrew. As a smiling Meghan turns and says something to her husband, Harry seems to tell her to turn around and face forward. She turns to him again to say something, and he tells her again to turn around. The smile drops from her face.

2022: First awkward polo trophy moment 

Two years after the couple fled royal life and settled in Montecito, Harry joined his local polo club in nearby Santa Barbara and played a season with his new Los Padres teammates, alongside friend Nacho Figueras, Newsweek reported.

As with last week’s recent polo event, Meghan was invited onstage after Harry’s team won the match. But the celebratory moment at the Santa Barbara Polo and Racquet Club came with a hitch, when the team wasn’t quite sure where Meghan should stand on stage with them, as Newsweek reported. The team ended up “fumbling” the trophy over her head, temporarily obscuring her from the cameras in the process. Meghan seemed to laugh it off and was later photographed kissing Harry.

September 2023: Trying to take the microphone at Kevin Costner’s charity event

Last fall, Meghan and Harry were surprise guests at a star-studded charity event for One805, a nonprofit benefiting Santa Barbara area first responders and hosted by Kevin Costner at his sprawling oceanside estate.

When Meghan and Harry were invited onstage as special guests, Meghan approached the woman emceeing the event and reached out to take the microphone, apparently assuming that she was expected to say a few words, The Sun reported. But the woman wouldn’t hand the microphone over, even as Meghan had already assumed a tight grip.

Meghan appeared to quickly realize her mistake and patted the woman’s arm in a friendly way before moving past her to take a place stage left, near Costner. After recovering from the brief, embarrassing moment, Meghan was given the task of presenting the “Yellowstone” star with an honorary award, but she didn’t try to take another microphone to speak.

November 2023: Meghan urged to keep moving on red carpet 

While walking the red carpet for Variety’s Power of Women gala in Los Angeles, the duchess seemed to spend a little too much time in one particular place posing in front of the cameras, The Mirror reported. In an odd moment, an assistant approached the duchess from behind, tapped her on the shoulder and signaled that it was time to move on.

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – NOVEMBER 16: Meghan, Duchess of Sussex attends the 2023 Variety Power Of Women at Mother Wolf on November 16, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kayla Oaddams/Getty Images) 

Meghan briefly waved off the assistant and kept posing for the cameras, but then turned and acknowledged the assistant with a friendly pat, Sky News also reported. The assistant  appeared to look chastened but finally got Meghan to keep moving, though the duchess still stopped to talk to some reporters who were clearly happy to get a moment with her.

During those interviews, Meghan teased some exciting media projects that she and her husband Harry have in the pipeline as part of their five-year, $100 million Netflix deal.

“We have so many exciting things on the slate,” she gushed to a reporter. “I can’t wait until we can announce them, but I’m just really proud of what we’re creating.”

March 2024: Meghan expects a hug from a SXSW Conference host 

Meghan again found herself in another viral social media moment when she attempted to embrace Errin Haines, who was hosting a panel that the duchess appeared on at the 2024 SXSW Conference and Festival.

Meghan participated in the panel, “Breaking Barriers, Shaping Narratives: How Women Lead On and Off the Screen,” with Katie Couric and Brooke Shields, Marca.com reported.

When Meghan came out on stage, she attempted to give Haines a hug. But her “gesture of warmth was met with a cold shoulder from the host,” Marca.com reported. As Meghan extended her arms for a hug, Haines turned away, leaving the former TV actor awkwardly placing her hand on Haines’ back instead.

Bay Area News Group Baseball Top 20

(Mercury News & East Bay Times)

(Records through Monday)

No. 1 ACALANES (16-0)

Previous ranking: 2

Since last ranking: Beat Northgate 9-3, 9-2

Up next: Tuesday vs. College Park, 4 p.m.

No. 2 GRANADA (17-1)

Previous ranking: 1

Since last ranking: Lost to Amador Valley 5-2, beat Amador Valley 8-2

Up next: Wednesday vs. Foothill, 5 p.m.

No. 3 SERRA (15-3)

Previous ranking: 4

Since last ranking: Lost to Valley Christian 4-1, beat Valley Christian 9-1, Bellarmine 11-3

Up next: Tuesday vs. Bellarmine, 4 p.m.

No. 4 VALLEY CHRISTIAN (17-3)

Previous ranking: 3

Since last ranking: Beat Serra 4-1, lost to Serra 9-1, beat St. Francis 5-2

Up next: Tuesday at St. Francis, 4 p.m.

No. 5 DE LA SALLE (10-3)

Previous ranking: 5

Since last ranking: Beat Foothill 28-2

Up next: Wednesday at San Ramon Valley, 4 p.m.

No. 6 LOS GATOS (14-3)

Previous ranking: 7

Since last ranking: Beat Gunn 10-3, 18-6, Sacred Heart Prep 10-1

Up next: Wednesday vs. Overton, Nashville, Tenn., 6:30 p.m.

No. 7 SAN RAMON VALLEY (12-5)

Previous ranking: 8

Since last ranking: Beat Dougherty Valley 9-1, California 6-1, Dougherty Valley 3-2 

Up next: Wednesday vs. De La Salle, 4 p.m.

No. 8 HERITAGE (13-3-1)

Previous ranking: 9

Since last ranking: Beat Liberty 10-5 (9 innings)

Up next: Tuesday vs. Pittsburg, 4 p.m.

No. 9 JAMES LOGAN (12-3)

Previous ranking: 12

Since last ranking: Beat Washington-Fremont 12-0, 5-3

Up next: Wednesday at Irvington, 4 p.m.

No. 10 ST. IGNATIUS (12-5)

Previous ranking: 6

Since last ranking: Lost to Archbishop Mitty 6-5, 7-5

Up next: Tuesday at Sacred Heart Cathedral, 3:30 p.m.

No. 11 SACRED HEART CATHEDRAL (13-6)

Previous ranking: 13

Since last ranking: Beat Archbishop Riordan 12-0, 2-1 (8 innings) 

Up next: Tuesday vs. St. Ignatius, 3:30 p.m.

No. 12 ARCHBISHOP MITTY (12-7-1)

Previous ranking: 17

Since last ranking: Beat St. Ignatius 6-5, 7-5, Archbishop Riordan 7-3

Up next: Tuesday vs. Riordan, 4 p.m.

No. 13 BURLINGAME (10-4)

Previous ranking: 10

Since last ranking: Lost to Hillsdale 3-2, beat Hillsdale 17-9

Up next: Wednesday vs. Menlo-Atherton, 4 p.m.

No. 14 LEIGH (11-5)

Previous ranking: 18

Since last ranking: Beat Santa Teresa 6-3, 16-6

Up next: Tuesday at Pioneer, 4 p.m.

No. 15 COLLEGE PARK (9-5)

Previous ranking: 20

Since last ranking: Beat Campolindo 5-0, 4-0

Up next: Tuesday at Acalanes, 4 p.m.

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No. 16 WOODSIDE (12-2-1)

Previous ranking: 15

Since last ranking: Did not play

Up next: Tuesday at San Mateo, 4 p.m.

No. 17 PIEDMONT (11-2)

Previous ranking: Not ranked

Since last ranking: Beat Alameda 7-2, Arroyo 8-6

Up next: Wednesday at Castro Valley, 4 p.m.

No. 18 CAPUCHINO (13-6)

Previous ranking: Not ranked

Since last ranking: Lost to The King’s Academy 2-1, beat The King’s Academy 3-0

Up next: Wednesday vs. Sequoia, 4 p.m.

No. 19 PITTSBURG (14-4)

Previous ranking: 11

Since last ranking: Beat Freedom 2-1, lost to American Canyon 5-1

Up next: Tuesday at Heritage, 4 p.m.

No. 20 MENLO-ATHERTON (11-7)

Previous ranking: 19

Since last ranking: Lost to Homestead 2-1

Up next: Wednesday at Burlingame, 4 p.m.

Teams eligible for the Bay Area News Group rankings come from leagues based predominantly in Alameda, Contra Costa, Santa Clara and San Mateo counties.

The matchups for Tuesday’s play-in tournament game between the Warriors and Kings are tantalizing.

Steph Curry against De’Aaron Fox. Draymond Green against Domantas Sabonis. Steve Kerr against Mike Brown.

But there’s one player for whom the other team cannot account.

And he just so happens to play the most important position in the game come the postseason.

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Warriors wing Jonathan Kuminga’s 2023-24 season has been a roller coaster.

There was the pre-report, pre-haircut Kuminga, who was in and out of Kerr’s rotation and averaging 12 points per game, an inauspicious start to the campaign that culminated in a conspicuous absence late in a home loss to the Nuggets and a “loss of faith” in the head coach, as reported by The Athletic on Jan. 5.

Since then, Kuminga has been arguably the Warriors’ third most important player (behind Curry and Green), playing nearly 30 minutes per game and averaging 19 points per contest.

And while the hype around the 21-year-old has risen alongside the minutes and points, it’s still unclear if the Warriors can trust him as the team heads into this postseason — his first with a role.

But it’s not like the Warriors have much of a choice.

For all Curry and Green’s greatness, the Warriors will go as far as Kuminga can take them this postseason. He’s the X-factor, the game-changer, the present and the future.

The NBA playoffs are defined by two-way wings—players who can create for themselves and others at all three levels on offense and deny at all three levels on defense.

There aren’t many players with the size and athleticism to control an NBA playoff game.

Kuminga is certainly one.

And while, ironically, the Warriors have another option for that job — Andrew Wiggins, the leading wing on the 2022 championship team — he is more enigmatic than the kid from the Congo. Guessing if 2022 Wiggins will arrive for this postseason is a fool’s errand.

For what it’s worth, the Warriors have come to accept that Wiggins was a one-hit wonder. It’s better to keep expectations low. They’ll be happily surprised if he reprises the role, though.

In the meantime, they’ll need a wing, and Kuminga is the next-best man for the job.

But while Wiggins commits errors of omission — he floats on the court, and not in a good way — the young and energetic Kuminga commits errors of commission. He’s trying to do too much, which often leaves him failing to do what he needs to do for the Warriors to win.

Many of the issues that limited Kuminga’s role at the beginning of the season persist. They’ve shown themselves in the final weeks of the season.

But Kerr had no choice but to play Kuminga more in January and beyond because the team was in disarray and was lacking anyone who could reasonably be considered a No. 2.

He’s in the same spot heading into the postseason.

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While Wiggins and Klay Thompson have been better, alongside Kuminga they can form a No. 2 by committee, but that will only get the Warriors so far.

If this team is to do something special — like Kerr believes it can — it will be behind a star turn from Kuminga.

Of course, he could torpedo the season with his zeal to become a star. After all, the Warriors are in a single-elimination tournament for the next two games.

How Kuminga plays this postseason won’t just define the Warriors’ 2023-24 season; it’ll also likely define the seasons to come.

If Kuminga takes another step forward starting Tuesday—if he rebounds, plays elite defense, and is smart with the ball on offense (all things he has shown he can do but rarely does concurrently)—the Warriors could parlay that performance into a long-term bet on him.

If he fails to impress — if he spends all game leaking out looking for transition dunks, if he spins on defense, and if he dribbles into collapsed lanes on offense — it’ll make it all the easier to move him this upcoming summer for someone who is more aligned with Curry and Green’s career timelines.

Is it fair to turn what might be a one-game postseason run into a referendum for a player this young?

Of course not.

But such is the Warriors’ challenge and the harsh reality of pro basketball. The Dubs can’t wait to find out what Kuminga might become.

There is no next year for the Warriors as we know them.

There is only the here and now — one game with an entire dynasty on the line.

And by some strange twist of fate, so much of that game rests on the broad shoulders of Kuminga.

How will the kid carry the burden?

MIAMI — As Thairo Estrada rounded third after his first of two home runs this week at Tropicana Field, he gestured to a contingent in Giants orange in the seats behind the visitors’ dugout. There was his wife, Lorena, and his daughter, Arantza, but also a friend, Jhayme, taking advantage of a rare visit from Estrada and his ball club from faraway San Francisco.

Catching up a couple days beforehand, the buddies of four years or so had a prescient conversation, the kind that’s a little tougher — modern technology be damned — on opposite coasts.

“We had very positive conversations — that’s what I like to do — and he mentioned to me that during one of those three games, I was going to go deep,” Estrada said in Spanish through interpreter Erwin Higueros. “So that’s why I pointed. It’s pretty nice to be able to come over here and have your friends see you play and have my wife and my daughter at the stadium, as well, it makes it really special.”

The Giants may be far from home — further than anywhere they’ll go this year — but for Estrada, of Venezuela, and many of his Latin teammates, the weeklong swing through the Sunshine State has been a revitalizing re-entrance into the culture they cherish and are most familiar.

“I feel like I’m home, like I’m in the Dominican,” closer Camilo Doval said in Spanish. “There’s a big Latin community here, a lot of Latin people. When you go out, you see a lot of people and there’s a lot of places where you can distract yourself.”

From San Francisco to San Diego, there is no shortage of Spanish speakers in the Giants’ home state. But rarely does a team from the Bay Area get such an extended exposure to the Caribbean-influenced streets of Miami and, to a lesser degree, Tampa-St. Petersburg.

While the Giants make annual trips to play the Marlins, it was their first visit to Tampa since 2016. The team had never strung the two series together to get an entire week — with a day off, to boot, albeit a rainy one — to soak up whatever creature comforts a segment of their clubhouse struggles to find in their home from April to October.

Jorge Soler, of Cuba, laughed and shook his head.

“No,” he has not been able to find a plate of arroz con pollo, ropa vieja or even a fried plantain that holds a candle to what he can find here, in Miami, home to the country’s largest Cuban population and where the 6-foot-4 slugger from Habana spent the previous two seasons and calls home in the winter.

Thanks to Jung Hoo Lee and the dedicated press corps relaying his daily goings on to his fans following closely from Korea, scrums of a dozen or more reporters asking questions in a foreign language have been a regular sight this season in the Giants’ clubhouse.

Back in Miami, an hour’s flight from the Cuban capital, it was Soler’s turn to take the baton, cordially answering questions in Spanish for close to 15 minutes before Monday’s game.

Unlike some of the Korean media, in the country on assignment, this is home for the journalists providing updates for the 75% of households in Miami-Dade County that speak a language other than English.

“Obviously it was a lot easier (playing here) because we speak the same language, we understand each other,” Soler said. “So it felt like I was basically in Cuba over there.”

What is most appealing varies from player to player, but Doval summed up his appreciation of the culture here in two words.

“The vibes.”

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Others — Wilmer Flores, for example — don’t revel so much in the locale.

“When we come to Florida, yeah, we see a lot of friends and family,” Flores said. “But, I mean, personally, I just come to play. I don’t really pay attention to where I’m at.”

Flores keeps a home in Miami and spends the majority of his offseason in his native Venezuela, the two communities separated by about three hours of air travel.

On the northern coast of South America, it’s a bit further than the islands from which Doval and Soler hail, but Estrada has still noticed a sizable population. How can he tell?

“They who know who I am. They refer to me as ‘Thairo él de Bejuma,'” he said, referring to his hometown. “They support me. They know what I’ve gone through, so it makes it very special.”

SAN FRANCISCO — The Warriors know the Kings well. The Kings know the Warriors well. And wouldn’t you know it: They both know it.

But for as much familiarity as the two Northern California teams have with one another, both look different as they brace for a do-or-die play-in battle in the Golden 1 Center (7 p.m., TNT). The regional rivals met four times in the regular season — three of which were decided by one point — but much of the film reels from those tilts can be thrown in the compost pile.

The Kings who Steph Curry sent packing with his legendary 50-point Game 7 last year are different. So is the Warriors team that choked away a 24-point lead to Sacramento in the in-season tournament.

Since they last played, the Warriors have a new rotation built around starting rookie Trayce Jackson-Davis alongside Draymond Green. The Kings have lost two of their top seven players — Malik Monk and Kevin Huerter — to injuries, which has drastically changed their identity and cut their rotation down to eight.

One of the two squads will leave their fifth meeting of the year with no more games to play. When Golden State eliminated the Kings last year at the Golden 1 Center, Steve Kerr found Mike Brown for an emotional handshake.

“When you get to these elimination games and you compete against people you’re really close with, there’s a sense of elation when you win, but you know your good friend is struggling,” Kerr said. “And it hurts. Those moments are always really difficult when you coach against a great friend.”

Here are some strategic stress points that could decide which coach is on the elated end of the postgame handshake on Tuesday night.

Can Curry break the paint?

With Domantas Sabonis, the Kings have to build their defense around a center who struggles with protecting the rim. They’ve done so successfully; Sacramento ranks in the middle of the pack in both points allowed in the paint and field goal percentage within six feet.

Especially with players like Curry, they’re aggressive with double-teams and blitzes on ball screens. With aggressive on-ball defenders like Davion Mitchell and Keon Ellis, they try to create chaos on the perimeter and rotate on the back end.

The key for Curry will be to get downhill, where he’d have opportunities to finish through Sabonis at the cup. That’s easier said than done.

“We know they’ll be all over Steph (Curry),” Kerr said. “We’ve got to be ready for everything. They’ve blitzed Steph in the past, they’ll him him in the halfcourt with a double team. We’ve got to have our spacing right and make sure we’re executing.”

Take this play from the in-season tournament game for example. Ellis picks up Curry as he crosses halfcourt, forcing the ball screen to occur well beyond the 3-point line. Even as he’s 30 feet from the basket, Sabonis hedges hard off Gary Payton II’s pick to show Curry a second defender.

https://www.mercurynews.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Curry_trapTOV.mp4

Kevin Huerter tagged Payton in the short roll, and Sacramento’s trap cut off Curry’s passing lane to Klay Thompson on the far wing. Curry may have felt rushed by the ticking game clock, and ended up losing his handle.

Curry’s decision-making in the high pick-and-roll will be key. He had two days off in the final week, so there’s no doubt he’ll be rested. He’s seen every pick-and-roll coverage in the book, so nothing will surprise him. But making the right read, be it splitting the double team, swinging across to the outlet man or hitting the short roller, will keep the Warriors’ turnovers down, create scoring chances in the paint or allow them to play 4-on-3 in the second action.

In Curry’s 50-point Game 7, he did the bulk of his damage inside the arc. Isolations, particularly against Keegan Murray, produced clean looks. That formula should be available to him again in Sacramento.

It’ll be tougher, though, with Monk and Huerter replaced by stronger defenders. Curry and Chris Paul must take care of the ball. They’ve both had occasional issues simply bringing the ball up against full-court pressure this year, and Sacramento has capable pressers in Ellis and Mitchell.

Slowing Sabonis: To help or not to help

The Warriors have historically had Sabonis’ number, as they invite him to take midrange jumpers and affect him at the rim with Green and Kevon Looney.

How Golden State toggles its matchups against Sabonis will be interesting this time around, though, as Jackson-Davis is in the mix for the first time.

The rookie center hasn’t logged meaningful playing time against Sacramento since the first preseason game of the year, which hardly counts.

The Warriors could start Green on Sabonis, which would keep the all-world defender in all actions — handoffs, picks, cross-screens — involving the double-double machine. Or they could give Jackson-Davis the first crack at Sabonis, allowing Green to play free safety on the back line, which has been a common trend in the final stretch of the Warriors’ season.

Green loves having the green light to roam and wreak havoc as a help defender. But the Kings, by design, make that style tricky.

Even without Monk and Huerter’s shooting, the Kings surround Fox and Sabonis with floor-spacers. Ellis has shot 45.7% from 3 since March. Mitchell has shot 41.6% from deep since the All-Star break. Murray broke Sacramento’s franchise record with 12 triples in a game this year and Harrison Barnes lit up the Warriors in late January with 39 points.

Those are the shooters who will be sprayed along the arc around Fox and Sabonis. Crashing down on Sabonis in the post or helping on Fox drives will mean open shots for them.

https://www.mercurynews.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Barnes_corner3.mp4 https://www.mercurynews.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/mitchell_corner3.mp4

 

Sabonis — who registered 77 double-doubles this year, a mark not reached since Moses Malone in 1978-79 — rightfully draws a lot of attention. The Warriors may have to trust Green, Jackson-Davis, or Looney to hold up on an island, or risk a 3-point avalanche.

Defending the DHO without Gary Payton II

The split-action is to the Warriors what the dribble handoff is to Sacramento. When Green described the Kings as a “pattern team,” this action is probably what he had in mind.

Kevin Huerter was a big part of Sacramento’s dribble handoff game, so his absence might decrease the Kings’ ability to go to it, but they also like to run it with Sabonis and Fox.

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Payton II is the Warriors’ best on-ball defender against opposing point guards, which will put more emphasis on Jonathan Kuminga and Andrew Wiggins to stay in front of Fox. On handoffs, they’ll need to stay attached to Fox to prevent clean exchanges and runways to the rim.

If Fox’s defender goes under on the handoff, that gives Fox a lane to the rim. If the defender gets caught on the brush screen during the exchange, that could put a switch defender in a tricky situation trying to stay in front of the shifty Fox.

https://www.mercurynews.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/JK_goesunder.mp4 https://www.mercurynews.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Wiggs_Caught.mp4

 

“I think we’re going to have to rely on Wiggs, rely on JK, use their athleticism, their speed, their length against Fox,” Jackson-Davis said.

The Warriors consider Fox the head of Sacramento’s snake. Cutting him off will be crucial. He’s most dangerous in transition, but one way to slow him down in the halfcourt will be to stay disciplined on the handoff actions he executes with Sabonis.

Bay Area News Group softball Top 20

(Mercury News & East Bay Times)

(Records through Monday)

No. 1 ST. FRANCIS (15-0)

Previous ranking: 1

Since last ranking: Beat Archbishop Mitty 6-0, 10-8

Up next: Tuesday vs. Salinas, 4 p.m. 

No. 2 ARCHBISHOP MITTY (11-3)

Previous ranking: 2

Since last ranking: Lost to St., Francis 6-0, 10-8

Up next: Wednesday at St. Ignatius, 4 p.m. 

No. 3 ALAMEDA (11-1)

Previous ranking: 3

Since last ranking: Did not play

Up next: Wednesday vs. Bishop O’Dowd, 4:30 p.m. 

No. 4 LIVERMORE (13-3)

Previous ranking: 4

Since last ranking: Beat San Ramon Valley 6-4, Dougherty Valley 5-0

Up next: Tuesday at Carondelet, 4 p.m.

No. 5 CALIFORNIA (8-3) 

Previous ranking: 5

Since last ranking: Lost to Amador Valley 5-1, beat Dublin 4-1, Foothill 8-7

Up next: Tuesday vs. Granada, 4 p.m. 

No. 6 FOOTHILL (10-4)

Previous ranking: 6

Since last ranking: Beat Monte Vista 11-0, Carondelet 12-2, lost to California 8-7

Up next: Tuesday at Dougherty Valley, 4 p.m. 

No. 7 WILLOW GLEN (10-4) 

Previous ranking: 7

Since last ranking: Beat Westmont 5-0, Gilroy 4-1

Up next: Wednesday vs. Sobrato, 4 p.m.

No. 8 HILLSDALE (16-1)

Previous ranking: 8

Since last ranking: Beat Capuchino 1-0, Mills 1-0

Up next: Tuesday at Aragon, 4 p.m.  

No. 9 AMADOR VALLEY (8-5)

Previous ranking: 11

Since last ranking: Beat California 5-1, San Ramon Valley 9-1

Up next: Tuesday at Monte Vista, 4 p.m. 

No. 10 BENICIA (8-1)

Previous ranking: 9

Since last ranking: Beat Sheldon 10-0, lost to College Park 10-7

Up next: Tuesday vs. Clayton Valley Charter, 4:30 p.m. 

No. 11 LIBERTY (10-2)

Previous ranking: 12

Since last ranking: Beat Antioch 8-5, 13-0

Up next: Tuesdayat Deer Valley, 4 p.m. 

No. 12 GILROY (12-5)

Previous ranking: 14

Since last ranking: Beat North Salinas 6-1, Santa Teresa 12-0, lost to Willow Glen 4-1

Up next: Wednesday at Leigh, 4 p.m. 

No. 13 BRANHAM (13-7) 

Previous ranking: 13

Since last ranking: Lost to Sobrato 4-1, beat Santa Teresa 4-2

Up next: Wednesday vs. Leland, 4 p.m. 

No. 14 DUBLIN (9-5-1)

Previous ranking: 15

Since last ranking: Beat Carondelet 7-0, lost to California 4-1

Up next: Tuesday at San Ramon Valley, 4 p.m. 

No. 15 COLLEGE PARK (6-3)

Previous ranking: 19

Since last ranking: Beat Arroyo 4-1, Benicia 10-7

Up next: Tuesday vs. Alhambra, 4:30 p.m.  

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No. 16 LOS GATOS (12-3) 

Previous ranking: 16

Since last ranking: Did not play

Up next:Wednesday at Los Altos, 4 p.m. 

No. 17 FREEDOM (7-4)

Previous ranking: 17

Since last ranking: Beat Pittsburg 24-0, 15-1

Up next: Tuesday vs. Antioch, 4 p.m. 

No. 18 JAMES LOGAN (13-1) 

Previous ranking: 18

Since last ranking: Beat Mission San Jose 19-0, American 10-0

Up next: Tuesday at Kennedy-Fremont, 4 p.m. 

No. 19 GUNN (15-1)

Previous ranking: 20

Since last ranking: Beat Lynbrook 21-4, South San Francisco 16-1, Santa Clara 14-3

Up next: Tuesday at Palo Alto, 4 p.m. 

No. 20 SOBRATO (11-4) 

Previous ranking: Not ranked

Since last ranking: Beat Leigh 3-1, Branham 4-1, Westmont 9-1

Up next: Tuesday vs. Lincoln-San Jose, 4 p.m. 

Editor’s note: Teams eligible for the Bay Area News Group rankings come from leagues based predominantly in Alameda, Contra Costa, San Mateo and Santa Clara counties. The rankings were compiled by BANG’s Joseph Dycus, Darren Sabedra and Nathan Canilao.

 

By JEROME PUGMIRE (AP Sports Writer)

PARIS (AP) — The talk before the opening ceremony of the Paris Games ideally should be about its grandiose backdrop: a summer sun setting on the Seine River as athletes drift by in boats and wave to cheering crowds.

But behind the romantic veneer that Paris has long curated, mounting security concerns already have had an impact on the unprecedented open-air event. In January, the number of spectators allowed to attend the ceremony was slashed from around 600,000 to around 320,000.

Tourists were told they won’t be allowed to watch it for free from riverbanks because the French government scaled back ambitions amid ongoing security threats. Then, on March 24, France raised its security readiness to the highest level after a deadly attack at a Russian concert hall and the Islamic State’s claim of responsibility.

French President Emmanuel Macron says the ceremony could be shifted instead to the national stadium at Stade de France if the security threat is deemed too high.

Security and transportation are the biggest concerns heading into the Paris Games, which run from July 26-Aug. 11.

Here is an overview of preparations:

VENUES

The Olympic Village and the bio-based Aquatics Centre are in proximity to Stade de France. The 5,000-seat aquatics venue made predominantly of wood connects to the national stadium via a footbridge.

While the village and the aquatics center in the poor, run-down area both leave a legacy for the future, the Games are steeped in history across the 35 venues.

Equestrian riders will gallop on the grounds of the royal Palace of Versailles, where Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette once held lavish banquets.

B-boys and B-girls cutting improbable shapes, BMX freestylers launching into gravity-defying moves, skaters flipping boards and 3-on-3 basketball players facing off will provide a youthful vibe at an urban park at Place de la Concorde, a prominent location in France’s gory past.

It is where Louis XVI died by guillotine in 1793 and where French revolutionary Maximilien Robespierre met the same fate a year later. It’s also been home to the Luxor Obelisk for nearly 200 years.

The Grand Palais, built for the Paris Universal Exhibition in 1900, hosts fencing and taekwondo, while the Yves-du-Manoir Stadium in the northwest suburb of Colombes is another link to the past: It was the main venue for the 1924 Paris Games. This time it holds field hockey matches.

The Parc des Princes soccer stadium, home to Paris Saint-Germain star Kylian Mbappé, is one of seven stadiums around the country hosting matches. France fans hope Mbappé will play for Les Bleus.

Beach volleyball takes place near the foot of the Eiffel Tower, while tennis, naturally, is at Roland Garros, home of the French Open. Roland Garros, where Rafael Nadal has made history with his record 14 Grand Slam titles at one tournament, also packs a punch as the venue for boxing.

Surfers won’t be in Paris, however, but rather nearly 10,000 miles away in Teahupo’o, a coastal village in Tahiti, and they will sleep on a cruise ship docked at the French Polynesian island.

Breezy Marseille hosts the sailing events.

TICKET SALES

Around 9 million of the 10 million available tickets have been sold, organizers said, with 63% of buyers from France. The top 10-selling sports in order: soccer, track and field, basketball, rugby sevens, volleyball, handball, beach volleyball, field hockey, tennis and water polo.

The Paris Games’ organizing committee will put an additional 250,000 tickets up for sale on April 17 to mark the 100 days to go.

Tickets are on sale via the official platform, with a sliding barometer allowing buyers to choose a price ranging from 24 euros ($26) to 2,700 euros ($2,900) — the highest price for watching the opening ceremony, the first to be held outside of a usual stadium setting.

Remaining hospitality packages for soccer matches and the women’s basketball quarterfinals begin at 250 euros ($269), and they start at 375 euros ($404) for the men’s basketball game between the United States and South Sudan in Lille — one hour from Paris by train — on July 31.

Regular tickets for the U.S. women’s gold medal-game rematch against Japan on July 29 range from 50 euros ($54) to 200 euros ($216).

Want to watch the BMX freestyle finals? Regular tickets are sold out.

But fans can still get tickets for the men’s 200 meters and women’s 400 meter hurdles finals on Aug. 8 at Stade de France with tickets that day priced at 295 euros, 525 euros and 980 euros.

SECURITY

Around 30,000 police officers are expected to be deployed each day, with 45,000 working the opening ceremony.

With its own resources stretched thin, France has asked 46 countries to help provide about 2,200 extra officers, many of whom will be armed. The French Defense Ministry also has asked foreign nations for a small number of military personnel, including sniffer dogs.

Tony Estanguet, the head of the Paris Games’ organizing committee, said there will be unprecedented security measures.

“France has never deployed so many means for security,” he said. “I have faith that the security services in our country will make the Games safe.”

Cameras will be increased around the city, but facial recognition will not be used.

So far, 120 chiefs of state have confirmed they will attend the opening ceremony. Holding it outside a stadium means greater exposure for athletes paraded on 84 boats on the Seine along a 6-kilometer (3.7-mile) route toward the Eiffel Tower, with 20,000 people living in apartments having views of the ceremony. Behind multiple security cordons, paying spectators will watch from the lower embankments while upper embankments are free for those with invitations.

An area around the Seine is expected to be closed to traffic a week before the parade and airspace will be closed on the night of the ceremony, France’s Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin said.

Swedish swimmer Victor Johansson will not attend the ceremony because it’s the day before the 400-meter freestyle, but is confident it is safe.

“I don’t have any worries at all,” Johansson said. “I think they’ve taken all the precautionary actions to make it safe and fun for everyone involved.”

TRANSPORTATION

Driving in congested Paris can be hellish at the best of times, let alone during a major international event.

Some of the 2.1 million people living within the city limits plan to flee Paris for two-plus weeks while motorists are angered by a proposal that would require them to apply online for a QR code to access traffic-restricted zones.

There’s also the threat of train strikes to take into account.

The CGT public servants union has announced plans to strike during the Olympics, which could mean many transport workers walking out.

Transport operators are gearing up to carry between 600,000 to 800,000 Olympic visitors per day. An ad campaign on billboards called “Anticipate the Games” directs people to a website instructing them how to lessen the impact.

National rail giant SNCF has blocked sales of tickets for July 26 to and from three major stations all very near the Seine: Gare de Lyon — France’s biggest station for main line trains — Paris-Bercy and Austerlitz. Some other smaller stations will also close.

Subway tickets will rise from €2.10 ($2.30) to €4 ($4.30) for a single ticket and a book of 10 tickets from €16.90 ($18.30) to €32 ($34.60).

Tourists opting for a Paris 2024 pass pay 16 euros ($17) per day or 70 euros ($76) weekly, a far cry from the free public transport once envisaged. And an express train running from Paris’ main international airport, Charles de Gaulle, to the center of the city in 20 minutes has been shelved until 2027.

But a newly extended Metro service on Line 14 is expected to be ready in June, carrying people from Paris’ second airport, Orly, to an Olympic hub that includes the village, national stadium and aquatics center.

ACCOMMODATIONS

The Olympic Village will house more than 14,000 athletes and officials, with apartments holding a maximum of eight people.

Fans and tourists, however, have been subjected to an increase in hotel and Airbnb prices.

The Paris region has France’s greatest concentration of hotel accommodation, with 160,000 rooms. Adding rental accommodations, campsites and other options, the region has around 260,000 rooms for the Olympics.

Although some hotels tripled prices, competition from Airbnbs forced them to backpedal. Average prices for a one-night stay dropped from about 760 euros ($825) to 520 euros ($565) — still far higher than the average price last July of 200 euros ($220).

___

AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games

The deck was stacked against the San Jose Sharks before Monday’s game with the Edmonton Oilers even began.

Some Sharks’ veterans were too banged up to make the team’s trip to Alberta, the team said, leaving some inexperienced players to take on the world’s most dangerous forward in Connor McDavid and an Oilers offense that ranks as one of the most potent in the NHL.

The result was not pretty, but also rather predictable for anyone who has spent time watching the Sharks try to play defense this season.

The Sharks allowed four goals on 10 shots in the first period and five more on 17 shots in the second as they were flattened 9-2 by the Oilers, who handed San Jose one of its most lopsided losses of this dismal season.

Sharks starting goalie Devin Cooley was hung out to dry on several occasions as the skaters in front of him looked completely helpless about how to defend McDavid and the Oilers.

“We maybe looked at the lineup on the other end, and we played scared in the first period,” Sharks defenseman Mario Ferraro, “and obviously there was a snowball effect.”

“We never looked like we really thought we had a chance. That’s kind of what it felt like,” Sharks coach David Quinn. “We were slow, very slow in everything we were doing and we were losing a lot of battles and there was a lot of hesitation in our game.”

After he allowed his eighth goal of the game, with Oilers defenseman Evan Bouchard scoring his 18th of the season at the 13:49 mark of the second period, Cooley momentarily laid flat on the ice – face down — as the music blared at Rogers Place.

“Right now, if I were in his shoes, I wouldn’t want to hear anything right now,” Ferraro said when asked what he or other Sharks skaters would say to Cooley after the game.

Cooley allowed eight goals on 22 shots before he was mercifully pulled.

Georgi Romanov came on in relief of Cooley, making his NHL debut, and allowed the Oilers’ ninth goal at the 15:35 mark of the second, as McDavid recorded his 100th assist of the season, setting up Zach Hyman for his 54th goal.

“I wanted to avoid putting Georgi in as much as I could,” Quinn said, “but at some point in time, you’ve got to call off the dogs and take out (Cooley) and put Georgi in.”

San Jose Sharks’ Marc-Edouard Vlasic (44) looks on as the Edmonton Oilers celebrate a goal during the first period of an NHL hockey game in Edmonton, Alberta, on Monday, April 15, 2024. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP) 

McDavid joins Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, and Bobby Orr as the only players in NHL history to record 100 assists in a season. His production has helped the Oilers have the fourth-most prolific offense in the NHL this year.

Danil Gushchin and William Eklund both scored for the Sharks (19-53-9), who have now allowed 326 goals this season, the highest total since they gave up 357 in 1995-96. Romanov finished with 14 saves on 15 shots, as the Oilers took their foot off the gas pedal to some degree in the third period.

Adam Henrique, Darnell Nurse, and Dylan Holloway had three points each for the Oilers. McDavid had a goal and an assist, with his goal, his 32nd of the season, coming just 53 seconds into the first period.

“He did a good job,” Quinn said of Romanov. “That’s as good a team as there is offensively in the league and he did a good job under tough circumstances.”

Several Sharks players did not join the team for their final road trip of the year, ending their respective seasons and for a few of them, likely their tenures with the organization.

Forwards Kevin Labanc, Mike Hoffman, Filip Zadina, and Alexander Barabanov, forward/defenseman Jacob MacDonald, defenseman Jan Rutta, and goalie Mackenzie Blackwood all did not travel with the Sharks.

Blackwood started Saturday’s game and stopped 32 of 38 shots in the Sharks’ 6-2 loss to Minnesota. Quinn, though, said Blackwood “is battling something. He has for a while, actually,” leading the team to recall Romanov from the AHL.

The Sharks have now lost by six or more goals seven times this season. Their most lopsided losses came in November, when they were trounced 10-1 and 10-2 by the Vancouver Canucks and Pittsburgh Penguins, respectively, in successive games.

How do the rebuilding Sharks ensure they don’t have many more nights like Monday, or seasons like this?

“We all know where we’re at as an organization,” Quinn said. “When we got here two years ago, everybody knew we were going to have to get worse before we got better. That’s just the reality. So I think we all know the answer to that question, right?”

The Sharks by trading Brent Burns, Timo Meier, Erik Karlson, and Tomas Hertl have no doubt created a ton of salary cap space — $35 million for next season, per CapFriendly — and have built up one of the better prospect bases in the NHL.

“We’re in the middle of something that is going well, despite the results we’re getting right now,” Quinn said. “I’ve said this repeatedly, we’re in a much better position to get better, quicker than we were two years ago. You just look at all the players that we’ve traded and gotten rid of over the last two years, so we can get better and be consistently good, competing for Stanley Cups.”

“Unfortunately, this is what you have to suffer though. So that’s the answer.”

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Including the two goalies, the Sharks had 15 players in Monday’s game who were age 26 or younger. That’s the most the team put on the ice in exactly 31 years, as they had 16 players fall into that category on April 15, 1993, when they played the Flames.

“It’s on us as players to remember this feeling to know why this happened,” Sharks forward Luke Kunin said. “It’s happened a few times this year, too many times, and learn from it. You’ve got to be better, you’ve got to learn, you’ve got to adapt you’ve got to grow.

“Hopefully our young guys that are going through this, they don’t like this taste either. I know they don’t like the feeling or the taste and hopefully, we can get out of it together.”

OAKLAND — Curious about seeing Brandon Crawford in a uniform other than the Giants?

The best chance will be Monday through Wednesday at the Coliseum when Crawford comes back to the Bay Area as a reserve shortstop for the St. Louis Cardinals, who play a three-game series against the Athletics.

“It will be a strange for sure,” said A’s pitcher Alex Wood, a former teammate. “In this day and age not many guys play the length of time he played with an organization. He’s an icon in the Bay. It will be strange but it will be nice to catch up with him and see how things are going in St. Louis.”

A return to Oracle Park and the scene of some of Crawford’s greatest triumphs wont happen until the season is almost over. The Cardinals don’t visit San Francisco until the final series of the regular season, Sept. 27 -29.

Plenty of time to get that statue ready.

Although Crawford grew up in Pleasanton and starred at Foothill High, his heart as a young fan was across the bay with the Giants. It was the place he spent the first 13 years of his major league career, winning a pair of World Series rings and four Gold Gloves before the Giants said farewell after hitting .194 in 93 games in 2023.

Whether it’s Oakland or San Francisco, former teammate Kevin Frandsen thinks it will be a startling sight.

LIke Crawford, Frandsen was a Bay Area product (Los Gatos, San Jose State) who came to the Giants. He befriended Crawford on that basis.

“He was drafted (by the Giants) when I was there. I remember having a conversation with him about being a Bay Area guy, coming up through the system, and the expectations that are put upon you,” said Frandsen, who was in town with the Washington Nationals as part of the broadcast team. “It’s hard to make everything seem right and at ease.”

Whether Crawford actually gets into a game is an open question. He is hitting .091 (1-for-13) in four games backing up Masyn Wynn, who is hitting .349 in 14 games. Crawford started Sunday in a 5-1 loss to Arizona, going 0-for-3 with a strikeout.

While playing in Oakland isn’t as significant as playing in San Francisco, Frandsen contends “it’s still going to matter. He’s still a huge part of the Bay Area. He came to the Coliseum and played, and whether you’re an A’s fan or a Giants fan, if you live here you know each team.”

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Frandsen, who played with the Angels, Phillies and Nationals before coming back to the Giants in 2015, said not much changed about Crawford while Frandsen was with other teams.

“He was the same,” Frandsen said. “First spring training he was with us, his locker was next to mine. I love him. All the mistakes I made as a rookie I didn’t want him to make because I really care about Bay Area guys. He’s a phenomenal human. Doesn’t matter the millions he’s made, the World Series rings he has, the Gold Gloves. He’s the same guy.”