It’s weeks like these past two that keep sports fans coming back
for more.
It’s weeks like these past two that keep sports fans coming back for more.
For me, weeks like these make hearing all the ugly sports news about T.O., steroids and contract disputes worth it.
To start, there was the crazy final two weeks of TCAL football. Two weeks ago, Live Oak beats Hollister. Surprising. Friday, Hollister beats Palma. Shocking. Now after tough-to-swallow early seasons, both Hollister and Live Oak are sitting pretty in the CCS Large School playoffs. I guess that’s why you play the games.
Then there was the last league game between rivals Gilroy and Live Oak Friday. To anyone who thinks that this rivalry will live on as strongly as it has for so long with Live Oak moving to the San Jose-based Blossom Valley Athletic League, think again. I’m sorry, a preseason game which means relatively little cannot hold a candle to a league showdown for a spot in the playoffs. The day after the game, Live Oak faithful posted signs all over Morgan Hill about the Dustin Muhn vs. Justin Sweeney matchup. Unfortunately, this type of fanatical display will probably not take place when the two schools aren’t league rivals next year. It’s sad, losing the power of such a rivalry.
Moving on. There were some amazing displays of athletes and coaches going way above and beyond the call of duty and showing their true dedication to their sports and programs. I know this description has become cliche. Just read on.
– Last Thursday around 1am, I got a call from Gilroy field hockey coach Erin Gemar. I missed the call, but she left a message. She was getting back to me with some names of players from other teams for my preview of the CCS playoffs. Erin ends the message with, “And you probably won’t see (me and husband and co-head coach Adam Gemar) at the game tomorrow because I’m in the hospital. Bye.” I later find out that the very pregnant Erin called me between contractions. She gave birth two hours later to the couple’s first child, a healthy baby boy named Kai.
The story doesn’t stop there. New dad Adam actually did make it to Gilroy’s first-round playoff game the following afternoon against Del Mar. And two days later in the Mustangs’ thrilling win in penalty strokes over Los Gatos, mom Erin was back on the sidelines and 2-day old Kai was in the stands with Erin’s parents.
If that doesn’t show how much the Gemars care about the GHS field hockey program, I don’t know what does.
– You know how hard it is to run a hilly 3-mile cross country course at around a 6-minute mile pace? Just picture it now: Sun beating down, your lungs begging for air, your legs asking, ‘Can we walk now?’ OK, now imagine what it feels like if you’re recovering from strep throat or having an asthma attack. Because that’s what happened to San Benito’s Amanda Boyd and Live Oak’s Cobbie Jones at the CCS Cross Country Championships Saturday at Crystal Springs. Boyd came down with strep Wednesday, three days before the senior’s big race. Not yet fully recovered, she finished second in the Division I girls’ race. Jones, on the other hand, started having asthma problems mid-race. Somehow, she finished despite not really remembering the last two miles. She didn’t even see her own mother alongside the course trying to hand her her inhaler as she ran by. Nevertheless, both Boyd and Jones qualified for the CIF State Championship meet.
By the way, I learned that both girls really want to go to law school and become lawyers. If Boyd and Jones become as tough of lawyers as they are competitors, I want them as my legal team.
Not that I’m in trouble with the law or anything.
