"March is a month without mercy for rabid basketball fans. There is no such thing as a "gentleman gambler" when the Big Dance rolls around. All sheep will be fleeced, all fools will be punished severely ... There are no rules when the deal goes down in the final weeks of March. Even your good friends will turn into monsters."

~Hunter S. Thompson

American journalist and author

(1937-2005)

 

It took nearly 20,000 gallons of reclaimed and recycled water to freeze a 2-inch-thick sheet of ice to provide the playing surface at Levi's Stadium as the Kings and Sharks battled outdoors on Saturday night in a game that drew a California hockey record 70,205. Sparked by a tie-breaking goal early in the third period, Los Angeles beat San Jose, 2-1. To view a photo album of the contest, visit our Facebook Page shortly and be sure to LIKE us. Photo by Kenneth Wong.

Sporting eye black to combat glare from stadium lights bouncing off the white ice surface, Sharks defenseman Scott Hannan (27) moves the puck while teammate Matt Irwin looks on and Kings forward Trevor Lewis pursues during Saturday night's outdoor game at Levi's Stadium. Both teams wore newly designed uniforms to celebrate the NHL's Stadium Series event. To view a photo album of the contest, visit our Facebook Page shortly and be sure to LIKE us. Photo by Kenneth Wong.

Giants manager Bruce Bouchy digs his way out of a sand trap in the fifth annual Chevron Shoot-Out competition between the 49ers and the Giants prior to the start of the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am last week. At stake was a $100,000 grant from Chevron to be donated to the Giants Community Fund, the 49ers Foundation and other local charities. (The 49ers would prevail.) To view a photo album, visit our  Facebook Page shortly and be sure to LIKE us. Photo by Kenneth Wong.

Giants right fielder Hunter Pence is shown above batting versus the Dodgers last July. The Giants first spring training game is March 3 versus the Oakland A's in Scottsdale. Photo by Kenny Karst.

Giants pitcher Matt Cain was a crowd favorite at the Giants FanFest, held recently at AT&T Park. To view a photo album of the FanFest, visit our Facebook Page and be sure to LIKE us. Photo by Rich Yee.

Above the Oakland A's are shown lining up for Opening Day festivities in 2014. The A's will open the season on April 6, hosting the Texas Rangers. Photo by Michael Zagaris.

The No. 3 Cal Bears women's swim team upset No. 2 Stanford by a score of 158-142 in the Big Swim at Cal's Spieker Aquatics Complex earlier this month. The competition attracted a record crowd with more than 1,000 fans filling the bleachers and lining the pool at the diving end. To view a photo album of the meet, visit our Facebook Page and be sure to LIKE us. Photo by Rich Yee Photography.

A Stanford gymnast displays exemplary form on the rings. Host No. 4 Stanford scored a season-best 442.000 to 407.550 victory against Arizona State earlier this month in Burnham Pavilion on the Stanford campus. To view a photo album of the meet, visit our Facebook Page shortly and be sure to LIKE us. Photo by Rich Yee Photography.

The No. 13 Stanford Cardinal fell to the No. 10  UCLA Bruins 197.075-196.225, in a dual meet recently at Maples Pavilion. Ivana Hong scored 9.975 on the uneven bars, Stanford's second-highest score overall this season, to win the event. To view a photo album of the meet, visit our Facebook Page shortly and be sure to LIKE us. Photo by Rich Yee Photography.

When you have trucks by the name of Grave Digger, Double Trouble, El Toro Loco, Destroyer and Playin For Keeps, you know excitement is ahead! The racing action unfolded Saturday night at Oracle Arena with back flips, jumps, lost tires and crashes as the Monster Truck Jam kept fans on their feet all night. To view a photo album of the contest, visit our Facebook Page shortly and be sure to LIKE us. Photo by Rich Yee Photography.

The 15th annual Multi-Ethnic Sports Hall of Fame induction ceremony took place recently at the Waterfront Hotel in Oakland, honoring an array of distinguished athletes. Inducted into the Hall of Fame, class of 2015, was Oakland A's infielder Carney Lansford for baseball (second from left). Also present were Michelle Hall, volunteer assistant to Arif Khatib (left); Olympian Dick Fosbury, presenter to Carney Lansford (center); Sharon Chin, mistress of ceremonies (second from right); and Arif Khatib, Hall of Fame founder and president (right). To view a photo album of the induction ceremony, visit our Facebook Page shortly and be sure to LIKE us. Photo by Rich Yee Photography.

Inducted into the Hall of Fame, class of 2015, was San Jose SaberCats coach Darren Arbet for football (second from right). Also present were Olympian Ed Caruthers, presenter to coach Arbet (left); Ricki Stevenson, mistress of ceremonies (second from left); Arif Khatib, Hall of Fame founder and president (center); and Kata Kummer (right). To view a photo album of the induction ceremony, visit our Facebook Page shortly and be sure to LIKE us. Photo by Rich Yee Photography.

SportsPulse

The Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost      Pete Elman

 

Friday night something very special happened out at Oracle. We know the details -- the Warriors manhandled the world champion Spurs, launching their second-half sprint to the (hopefully) finish line. The backstory, of course, is that the student, rookie coach Steve Kerr, defeated his mentor and great friend, the inestimable Greg Popovich, he of the five titles. But there was more, much more, that transpired that night in Oakland.

 

With five minutes remaining in the second quarter of a well-played neck-and-neck game, the Spurs led 42-41. Klay Thompson had just missed a 26-footer, and Warrior nemesis Tony Parker was looking to make something happen, as he has for the past 14 years. As he dribbled across the lane, Steph Curry was called for a "matador" foul as he swiped at and missed Parker.

 

Curry went ballistic, as mad as he has been since I can remember. He jumped up and down, tossed that insufferable mouthpiece on the court, turned to referee Mark Lindsay (no relation to the lead singer of Paul Revere and the Raiders) and screamed, "That's bulls-!," thereby earning the technical, and certainly getting his money's worth. Within seconds a disgruntled and obviously amped-up Kerr, always quick to protect his -- and perhaps the NBA's -- MVP, muttered something that did not sit well with Lindsay, getting a second technical. It looked for a minute like the wheels might be coming off, or at least coming loose.

 

But after Parker sank the free throws, the Warriors turned into the 1964 Boston Celtics. Curry found a new gear, sinking a ridiculous 28-footer, and his teammates responded, smothering the Spurs and running circles around a tired team that was in its second night of a back-to-back, having lost the previous night to the Clippers in a hard-fought battle. The home team went into the half with a 62-55 lead.

 

After intermission the Warriors defense, led by Draymond Green, suffocated the champs, holding them to a paltry 13 points in the third quarter. Leading 78-68 with two minutes left in the period, Kerr called one of his perfectly timed "let's stop this thing before the momentum changes" timeouts. The W's then reeled off a quick 11-0 run, featuring a buzzer-beating third trey of the quarter by Andre Iguodala. This one was over. The final period was garbage time, Popovich having pulled his starters and some of his second team as well. He wasn't going to waste any more playing time for his stars. The final score, 110-99, was not indicative of how bad the Warriors worked the Spurs.

 

This was way more than a win over a great team; this was important stuff, for several reasons. For starters, the team made a statement, a warning to the league -- and TNT blowhard Charles Barkley -- that they are a team to be reckoned with in the playoffs. Second, the victory marked a watershed moment for Kerr, like when Grasshopper (David Carradine) defeats his master in the old TV show Kung Fu. Third, it showed that Curry can summon up the angry passion necessary for a deep playoff run. Do not let that baby face deceive you. Finally, it showed that the Warriors are a deep, multidimensional team that can actually do more than toss up 3's; they can seriously jam you up defensively if they need to. And they have a damn good coach.

 

So why the title of this piece? I see the (sometimes) paternal relationship between Kerr and Curry -- barely six months old -- as the key to the team's success. Although starting just 30 games in 15 years and averaging but six points a game, Kerr, 49, holds the record for highest percentage (.454) shooting 3-pointers. As a rookie head coach, he has managed to get Steph to buy into that part of the modern point guard's role that requires him to be a distributor and a scorer, and in the process his turnovers have diminished substantially.

 

Curry, 26, is an MVP candidate who will possibly break the record for most career 3's. There is huge respect between them -- just watch how they relate. They are the same size (6 foot 3, 180 pounds), they can both shoot the lights out, they are both smart as a whip, and they have shown they are leaders who won't back down. I absolutely loved those technicals. Who wouldn't follow these guys into battle?

 

So, you ask, who the hell is the "Holy Ghost?" It's whoever you want it to be. My money is on three older gentlemen, legends who are still part of the Warriors organization, who between them have been associated with the NBA for 160 years: Al Attles, Jim Barnett and Jerry West. Just writing down those names gives me the chills. So, stay tuned: the W's might be playing in June -- for the first time in 40 years. Wouldn't that be something?

 

 

Memorable Sports Moment 

The Greatest     Jeff Elefante

 

When Cassius Clay first appeared on the scene, I was a confirmed Floyd Patterson fan. I found Clay's bragging and self-promotion unbearable, but when he was vilified for converting to Islam and changing his name to Muhammad Ali, I began to see him in a different light. His opposition to the Vietnam War pushed me further toward his corner. By the time Ali lost his title, boxing licenses and passport and was convicted of a felony for failing to report for the draft, I had become a confirmed Ali fan.

 

I was thrilled when the city of Atlanta's athletic commission granted Ali a boxing license in August 1970, allowing him to start a comeback. Shortly thereafter, a federal court in New York ruled that the state's revocation of Ali's boxing license was inappropriate, forcing the state to reissue it. Finally, in 1971, a unanimous Supreme Court overturned his conviction.

 

Over the next three years Ali made his comeback, highlighted by a pair of memorable fights with Joe Frazier and his almost unbelievable defeat of George Forman in the Rumble in the Jungle. On Oct. 1, 1975, I attended the closed-circuit broadcast of Ali's third and final fight with Frazier at Boston Garden. That fight, known as the Thrilla in Manila, was extraordinary. All 14 rounds were packed with action. Ali dominated the first five rounds, bouncing and hitting Frazier at will with dazzling combinations. Between rounds 6 and 11, however, Frazier took command, hitting Ali with countless vicious left hooks. The Ali fans in the crowd groaned with each terrifying shot. Somehow, after absorbing horrific punishment for six rounds, in round 12 Ali got back on his toes. He dominated rounds 13 and 14, delivering damaging combinations that closed Frazier's left eye, opened a cut above his right and nearly knocked him out. Between rounds 14 and 15, Ali told his trainer, Angelo Dundee, he was too tired to go on, but before Dundee could respond, Frazier's trainer Eddie Futch threw in the towel.

 

After that, I was determined to see Ali fight in person. A remarkable opportunity to do so came my way in 1976 when Marty, a friend from law school, announced that he was going to get tickets for the Ali-Norton fight scheduled for late September at Yankee Stadium. My friend Tom and I were amazed when Marty scored seventh-row seats for us.

 

Staging the fight at Yankee Stadium was a tip of the cap to the stadium's past glory as a fight venue, but in 1976 it was a risky endeavor. The neighborhood was dangerous and depressed. To make matters worse, the police were on strike, picketing the stadium and deliberately disrupting traffic. As a result, there were only eight walk-up tickets sold that night. Neighborhood toughs had a field day with patrons, mugging and robbing almost at will as the police turned a blind eye. Tom and I could see and hear that things were not normal, but we were able to park and get into the stadium without trouble.

 

We made our way inside and found the ring located at second base, with a large press section set up at ringside. That meant our seventh-row seats weren't quite as close to the action as we'd hoped, but they were still within about 40 feet of the ring. We watched the preliminary fights as the crowd straggled in. Those fights were well worth watching. The last and best of the undercard featured Ernie Shavers against Henry Clark. Shavers won the fight when he knocked Clark nearly out of the ring in the second round.

 

Between fights I wandered around the infield and over by the third base dugout, where the fighters entered their dressing rooms. Standing by the dugout was a stunningly beautiful woman who appeared to be waiting for one of the fighters to appear. She had a heart-stopping figure and platinum blond hair. Her gold lame dress was tight with a low-cut buttoned front. Between those buttons the straining fabric created a series of scalloped openings to her skin from her bust to well below her navel. The back of the dress, if you could call it that, was open from her shoulder straps all the way down to - well, you get the picture. She sported an ermine stole with little paws and beady black eyes. To complete the outfit, she wore fishnet stockings, an ankle bracelet and 6-inch clear plastic platform shoes with goldfish swimming in them.

 

The crowd at ringside for the main event was memorable. Joe DiMaggio sat a couple of rows in front of us, as did Mick Jagger, Dustin Hoffman, Barry White and a long list of other celebrities. Many of those seated in the front rows brought their "nieces" to the fight; one guy brought two.

  

In an evenly match fight that see-sawed back and forth, Ali was able to pull out a close victory, helped in part by the decision of Norton's corner to play defensive in the final found.

 

After the long card of preliminary fights, it was time for the main event. Ali dominated the first round, but after that the fight was close. By round 9, with Norton landing tremendous body shots, it wasn't clear who was ahead. As he'd done in the Thrilla in Manila, Ali rallied in the late rounds by getting back on his toes and dancing, landing damaging combinations. Still, as the bell for round 15 sounded, the outcome was in doubt. Apparently, Norton's camp thought he had the fight won, so he played defense for all but the last few seconds of the round. Norton ended the fight on the offensive, but it was to no avail as Ali won the round and a close unanimous decision. Many people booed the result, but Tom and I saw it as a clear win, scoring the fight 9-6 for Ali.

 

Jeff Elefante is a retired lawyer, lifelong sports fan and Tom Boswell wannabe 

living in Washington, D.C.

 

There are 10 days left until the San Francisco Giants meet the Oakland Athletics in a Cactus League game on March 3.   

 

 

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11th annual Fred Biletnikoff Hall of Fame Invitational on April 20  Ruby Hill Golf Club   Hall of Famers, Oakland Raiders, actors, musicians and comedians support a great cause   Visit Biletnikoff.org to reserve your spot or call (925) 556-2525

  

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