There are two universal truths about you, South Valley sports
reader. One, you’ve got a lot of great local sporting events to
attend before the New Year hits. And two, you’re nowhere near
finished with your holiday shopping.
There are two universal truths about you, South Valley sports reader. One, you’ve got a lot of great local sporting events to attend before the New Year hits. And two, you’re nowhere near finished with your holiday shopping.
I don’t want to hear any denials. It’s better just to tackle this issue head on. And because even sports writers aren’t exempt from shopping’s mad season, I’ve devised a three-day plan that will enable you to see your team break the competition’s ankles on the hardwood and overzealous shoppers break their own ankles while running for the last iPod Nano on the shelf all in one day if you wish.
It all begins today, Wednesday. At 4:45pm, the undefeated Gilroy girls basketball team takes on Kennedy High in the first round of the Burlingame Invite. The red-hot ‘Stangs are gunning for their third tournament title this season. And I mean gunning.
In last Saturday’s Breaker Classic championship, senior guards Kristen Campos and Katherine Hussey combined for nine threes. It’s a road trip with two big rewards: Great basketball big city shopping. You’ll especially want to hit the new multi-level H&M store – the single-greatest thing to make its way from the East to the West Coast. Ever.
The fun continues at at 3:30pm Thursday in Gilroy when San Benito faces off against Monterey in the first game of the Bob Hagan Memorial, one of the longest-running high school basketball tournaments in Santa Clara County. That action is immediately followed by Live Oak taking on Aptos and the night ends with host team Gilroy meeting up against St. Francis.
Also on the Gilroy campus at 5:30pm the Mustang girls soccer team hosts rival Live Oak in a game Gilroy coach Jose Hernandez has had circled on his calendar for months. Gilroy has never beaten the Acorns in TCAL play. Another reason this could be an especially electrified meeting is the lingering bitterness over Gilroy being seeded higher in the Central Coast Section playoffs last year despite finishing second to Live Oak in the TCAL. You should be fired up enough afterward to knock some more items off that shopping list at the Gilroy Outlets for a few hours.
The third and final day: Friday. You’re gonna have to dig deep, but it will be worth it with the second round of Gilroy’s Bob Hagen Memorial. No matter what happens in the first round Thursday, the Gilroy, Live Oak and San Benito teams will all definitely have games Friday afternoon or evening.
Most likely Gilroy will play at 8pm. Should Live Oak and San Benito both lose or win their first round games, they will play each other Friday. And because there is NO way you can get through 145 stores in one day, you should have no trouble fitting in a return trip to the outlets based on what time the team you’re rooting for plays.
With all your shopping done, you deserve a break. How about a nice weekend in Tahoe followed by two days of some of the finest high school wrestling in the country in Reno? Gilroy will be at the Reno Tournament of Champions, dubbed the “toughest” tournament in the country, and has a chance to place several wrestlers in the nationally-acclaimed event.
After Christmas, you probably need another break. And if you’re a die-hard basketball fan, a trip out to Phoenix to watch Gilroy and some of the best high school girls basketball teams in the country at the Nike Tournament of Champions II from Dec. 27-30 could be just the break you need before the New Year.
If this master plan doesn’t work, you can blame me personally when you show up to Aunt Mildred’s house with no gifts.
Or you can just forget the malls, go to the games and do your shopping online.
