Thomas Gase Guide: A sports week to rival all others
May 11-Some of the best rivalries of all time include the Montagues and Capulets, the Corleone and Tattaglia families, Coke and Pepsi, and of course, Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner.
Sports is no different. If you're a San Francisco Giants fan, this week is just for you.
Starting Monday night, the Giants travel to Los Angeles to take on the hated Dodgers, while over the weekend, they'll play their former Bay Area rivals, the Athletics. The A's may now play in Sacramento, but you still need to cross a bridge to face them.
The Dodgers/Giants rivalry is a top-five rivalry in sports history. The other four are Duke/North Carolina for men's basketball, Army vs. Navy for college football, the Lakers vs. the Celtics in the NBA, and the Red Sox and Yankees in baseball. Ali vs. Frazier in boxing, Roger Federer vs. Rafael Nadal in tennis, the Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals for baseball, Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears in the NFL, and Ohio State vs. Michigan in college football are some other top ones.
If you're a Giants fan, you're really hoping the team improves. The Giants have lost nine of their last 12 games and enter Monday night eight games behind the first-place Dodgers and San Diego Padres. If the Giants want to get back into the playoff race, it starts right now.
Along with these rivalries, the NHL and NBA playoffs continue this week, while the playoffs continue for some local prep sports. We'll show you where to go with this edition of the Thomas Gase Guide.
Tuesday
If you want to see some stellar prep action, head to Benicia High School on Tuesday night for a boys volleyball semifinal match. The Panthers play Emerald High, and although Benicia is the No. 3 seed and Emerald the No. 2 seed, Benicia will host. Why? Like Nate Bargatze says, "Nobody knows."
The Panthers have been led by players such as outside hitter Duncan Seeley and setter Jacob Santos. They'll be needed if the Panthers want to make the coveted championship match.
Meanwhile, the school's baseball team is at Campolindo the same afternoon, while the softball team is at College Park.
Before you head to Benicia for the volleyball match, sit back and watch a few hours of some crucial NHL playoff hockey with Montreal hosting Buffalo in Game 4. The Canadiens will look to take a commanding 3-1 series lead. Montreal is the last team from Canada left in the playoffs, and no team from the country has won a Stanley Cup title since the Canadiens captured the title back in 1993. How long ago was that? "Jurassic Park" was about to release its first film in the franchise.
If you skip the volleyball game, watch the fifth game of the Las Vegas Golden Knights and Anaheim Ducks in hockey action. Either that, or the fifth game of the NBA playoffs between the San Antonio Spurs and Minnesota Timeberwolves.
However, if it's rivalries you want, then watch the Dodgers and Giants. The A's begin a home series with the St. Louis Cardinals at the same time on Tuesday.
Wednesday
Locally, you will want to head to nearby Richmond to see the St. Patrick-St. Vincent High baseball team play rival Salesian. That one has a 4 p.m. scheduled first pitch. Or stay closer to home and watch the St. Pat's softball team host Swett at the same time.
After those games, watch Game 3 of the Giants-Dodgers series. Robbie Ray against Shohei Ohtani promises to be a good pitching duel.
In the NBA, there is a good chance the Lakers get swept by Oklahoma City on Monday, so I wouldn't hold out much hope for a Game 5 on Wednesday night. However, we are promised a Game 5 in the Pistons' series against Cleveland, so tune into that one.
In the WNBA, the Golden State Valkyries' only game this week is this night, with a home matchup against Chicago.
If it's hockey you enjoy, then sit back and watch Game 5 of the Colorado Avalanche-Minnesota Wild series. In three games, the two teams are averaging just over nine combined goals a contest, so expect a lot of scoring in this one.
Thursday
If Benicia can get past Emerald in the semifinals on Tuesday, then the Panthers would play in the North Coast Section Division III championship on Thursday. No matter what, the winner of the Tuesday Benicia game is the top seed in the championship, but whether the match is played against Albany or Analy is still to be decided as well on Tuesday.
Before watching the volleyball team play at night, if the Panthers survive Tuesday, head to see the school's softball team play College Park at home at 4 p.m.
The A's play the Cardinals in a Thursday matinee, while the finale of the Dodgers/Giants series is at night.
There are no NBA games scheduled for Thursday. Woof, not a good week for Philly fans as both the Flyers and 76ers had brooms taken to them.
In hockey, both the Montreal-Buffalo and Anaheim-Las Vegas series will continue with their Game 5 and Game 6, respectively, on Thursday afternoon.
In other baseball action, the Chicago Cubs and Atlanta Braves meet in the Peach State for the finale of a series featuring two of the best squads in the game.
Friday
There isn't really any local to watch on this day as of this moment, so instead, watch the first game of the A's-Giants series in Sacramento. I know the series isn't the same since the Athletics moved from Oakland, and a quick BART trip isn't in the cards anymore, but it's better than nothing. In a few years, the A's will be in Las Vegas, and the rivalry will likely be like doubling down on 11 and getting a two of spades.
This is kind of a designated interleague rivalry weekend, with matchups like the Mets-Yankees, Cubs-White Sox, Dodgers-Angels, Reds-Guardians, Padres-Mariners (play some Pearl Jam for Eddie Vedder, who actually doesn't root for either team over the Cubs), Royals-Cardinals, and Phillies-Pirates going on.
We know for sure that the Spurs and Timberwolves will play Friday night in Game 6, but which team will be looking to close out the series and which one will be trying to survive for a Game 7 will be decided on Tuesday. The Pistons and Cavaliers will also play earlier in the day in the Motor City. Whether or not the Pistons will be looking to close out the series or just get a 3-2 advantage will also be decided on Tuesday.
If necessary, the Wild will play the Avalanche in Game 6 of their hockey series on Friday night.
The weekend
If headed to watch the A's and Giants, know that the Saturday game is at night and the Sunday game is a matinee.
If prep sports is your thing instead, head out to watch the North Coast Bayshore Area Championships at Hayward High. This will be going on all day.
We don't know for sure if it will happen yet, but we may hear the two best words in sports - Game Seven- twice this weekend in hockey. The Ducks and Knights would play their series' decider on Saturday night, while the Wild and Avalanche game would be on Sunday.
The same may hold in the NBA with two possible Game Seven matchups, with the Spurs and Detroit both scheduled to host if it gets that far.
If you just want to surf the net, make sure to check out the North Coast section website to see if your favorite softball or baseball teams made the playoffs. Brackets are released on Sunday.
Read
"The Echoing Green" by Joshua Prager (to watch during the Giants-Dodgers series)
"Battle of the Bay - the Earthquake World Series" by Gary Peterson (to watch during the Giants-A's series)
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