F.D. Purcell, Bay Area Sports Reporter

The Antioch Herald

Former Warriors head coach Alvin Attles roamed the hallway leading to the basketball court at ORACLE Arena with a focused look on his face. When I went to say hello and congratulate him he answered in his typical unaffected nature his deep bellowing voice replying “congratulating me for what?” I said for making it to the finals for the first time since the 1974-1975 season.

His reply? “I like that hat, young lady.”

I tried to give him a look of pity, but it only worked for a future quote.

“Call me if you need me, girl.”

This past Monday marked the 40th anniversary that his team won the only championship Golden State has won since moving from Philadelphia. But now a new era has been ushered in, and the Warriors are headed to the NBA Finals after a 104-90 win over the Houston Rockets, and will face the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Much like Attles is unaffected, current head coach Steve Kerr carries the same type of demeanor. It’s not about him, but everyone else.

“I’m happy for everybody, especially our fans,” he said. “Forty years is a long time.”

Kerr was only nine-years old, the last time the Warriors won the championship and he said that he’s relieved now that they’re headed to the NBA Finals.

“I always think of Pat Riley’s great quote: ‘When you’re coaching in the NBA, there’s winning and there’s misery.’ And he’s right,” Kerr added.

Rather than get into the stats of the game, it’s important to talk about the character of Golden State.

I expected to see bottles of champagne and wild partying, following the game, but amidst the sweaty locker room and filled with music, the players sat near their lockers with cell phones in hands, texting and tweeting fans and loved one.

The group was loose, relaxed. Yet, somewhat quiet for a team who’d achieved such a historical feat. Half of their parents probably weren’t even born then.

The player with the most visual and vocal swagger, forward Draymond Green donned his NBA Finals hat and could be held saying “the skies the limit” while a large group of media surrounded him as teammate, center Festus Ezeli played the role of photographer, snapping photos from his own his cell phone.

Everyone was smiling, but there was still a feeling of “we’ve still got work to do.”

“We wanted to appreciate the moment, not take it for granted, because it was something that we’ve been waiting for and wanted to close out tonight,” said MVP Stephen Curry who finished the game with 26-points. “But you kind of take it for what it is. Because you have four more wins and you don’t want to get too ahead of yourself.”

After falling to the L.A. Clippers in the seventh game of the Western Conference Semi-Finals last year, the team went through a coaching overhaul when management fired Mark Jackson and hired Kerr.

Jackson, who was the color commentator for Wednesday‘s game, was a beloved coach among his players. After the game, Curry admitted it was a tough summer and that he didn’t agree with the decision to fire Jackson. But, obviously it was the right decision in hiring Kerr, who Curry called a “humble guy” who exceeded all expectations.

On the court, Golden State is flashy with their precise executed passes and long jumpers. But much like their coach, they’re a humble group of guys. Cause and point: instead of basking in his team‘s monumental victory, Ezeli took the time to personally thank me for what I’ve done for him all season.

There was a time when you could go into a sporting goods store in another city, anywhere and not find a piece of Golden State paraphernalia. Most people didn’t even know where the team played.

Now Curry has the top selling jersey behind LeBron James. He‘s part of a dynamic duo called “The Splash Brothers.” Golden State is the national favorite to win the championship, and with their winning record has given them home court advantage throughout the NBA Finals.

While I won’t pretend to know any about them personally, I can honestly say in all the years associated with the Warriors (1999-current), this by far is the best group of guys I’ve encountered.

The wait is over for the long suffering fans who’ve endured names such as Vonteego Cummings, Chris Mills and Victor Alexander, ownership and coaching changes and even a player who choked his coach.

They started from the bottom and now, they’re here. After three-straight years of making the playoffs the Golden State Warriors have beat all the odds against them and will face the Cleveland Cavaliers in the big dance called the NBA Finals.

Golden State will host the first two games at ORACLE Arena next Thursday, June 4th at 6:00 p.m. All the playoff games can be viewed on ABC.

Follow F.D. Purcell @sportsinthebay_

Face De La Salle for the NCS Championship, tonight

By Luke Johnson

2006.

That number represents the year in which Deer Valley High School boys’ volleyball last lost a match to a Bay Valley Athletic League opponent. The Wolverines would go undefeated 118 matches later, win nine consecutive BVAL Pennants and two North Coast Section Championships.

The team who beat Deer Valley in 2006 is not even in the BVAL anymore, and that’s De La Salle. The Wolverines have not even lost a single set in the past five years; a streak that has expanded to 143 sets.

Head Coach Lou Panzella said the reason behind his great success is because he has been blessed with great players such as Jason Agopian, Noah Lebonte, Marcus Lee and Derrico Kwa. Today the team is led by a quad of seniors: Jordan Ewert, Jared Stark, Jacob Evans and Jacob Brannon; all of which have received All-BVAL honors.

“One of the most different things [about this season] is that this time I’m a senior, and instead of having all these people to look up to, there are a couple people looking up to me, which is kind of a strange feeling,” Stark said. “Playing [on varsity] as a freshman, I always had these really big players on the team to look up to, and now I kinda have to hold my own and show that I am someone to look up to.”

Outside of high school, Ewert is a National and World Champion. He signed his letter of intent to play for Stanford University in November, and is on the verge of becoming the first player with 2,000 career kills at Deer Valley (currently at 1,934).

The Wolverines (38-1) beat East Bay rival De La Salle (25-5), Saturday, May 23 in the NCS Championship match, 3-1 giving Deer Valley its third straight title.

By F.D. Purcell

Antioch Herald

Golden State led by as much as 17 points in Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals, however they would find themselves battling down to the last seconds of Wednesdays game but would scrape a win by the score of 99-98.

After trailing early in the game the Warriors rallied to a 17-point lead, in the first half before heading into halftime tied at 55.

Steph Curry ended the game with a third of the Warriors points at 33, including five three-point shots, out of 11 attempts. Center Andrew Bogut had the next most points for the team, with 14, followed closely by Klay Thompson with 13 and Draymond Green with 12.

Head Coach Steve Kerr talked about Houston losing by a closer margin in the playoffs, as opposed to the regular season.

“This is how the playoffs go. You’re playing great teams,” he said. “You’re playing teams that are generally a lot more in tune with game planning and preparation, and generally speaking healthier.” “Houston is healthier than what we saw in the regular season,” Kerr added.

Rockets center Dwight Howard who banged knees with teammate Josh Smith in Game 1 was listed as questionable for Thursday’s game but showed no signs of injury, finishing with 19 points.

“I just tried to play as hard as I could, tonight,” he stated. “I didn’t think about it at all. See how it feels tomorrow, but I just wanted to play this game for my teammates – all I could give them, despite whatever happened with my knee.”

James Harden’s offense kept Houston in the game, as well as their strong defense.

Although they are up 2-0, Golden State fans best not get comfortable like Clippers’ fans did in the Western Conference Semi-Finals. Houston climbed out of a hole doing what only a few NBA teams have done and rose from a 3-1 deficit to win that series.

“We’re playing a lot better, as well, too,” said Harden about keeping their confidence in spite of trailing the Warriors 0-2 in the series. “We had plenty of opportunities to win both of the games, so we have all the confidence in the world.”

With Golden State’s consecutive 130^th sell-out crowd of 15,596 at ORACLE Houston stayed in the Warriors rear view mirror throughout the second half. With the game winding down the Rockets went on a 6-1 run with a little over 40 seconds left. But Harden would end up coughing up the ball on the final play of the game.

“It is just unfortunate that we didn’t get a shot up but they made a great play at the end of the game to get a stop and get a win,” said Rockets veteran Trevor Ariza.

In the NBA, as with all sports, a win is a win. However, Warriors forward Draymond Green feels the Dubbs haven’t played well.

“We haven’t played well, at all,” he shared. “We haven’t put it all together, yet. But it’s like that sometimes. To be up here sitting 2-0 that’s big.”

Houston looks to make up for the two losses at ORACLE in their next two games at home Saturday and Monday.

Follow F.D. Purcell @sportsinthebay_

F.D. Purcell

The Antioch Herald

The Babyface Assassin strikes again. It was the MVP vs. his runner-up in Stephen Curry and James Harden. ROARACLE was loud as usual, but Golden State started off slow with Game 1 jitters. Then, when they found their rhythm all systems were go. Curry would finish with 34-points and Harden with 28-points.

“I think we finally realized it was the Western Conference Finals” said Warriors head coach Steve Kerr. “Honestly, sometimes with Game 1 in a series, there’s kind of a feeling-out process.”

“You play against a team that has a certain style, that first 24 minutes in this series is going to be a little bit different, and it took us a while to kind of figure out the pace,” Curry told The Antioch Herald.

The leagues MVP tallied his league-leading sixth 30-point game of the playoffs and his 11th career postseason 30-point game to add to his game-high 34-points, six assists, five rebounds and two steals. On Monday he also added a 2015 BET Awards nomination for Sportsman of the Year.

Houston center Dwight Howard would leave the game in the first half after banging knees with teammate Josh Smith preventing him from running or jumping, he would not return. It is unsure whether he’ll be a go for Thursdays game.

“I hope not. We get a day to rest and we will look at it in the morning. We will see how it feels tomorrow,” Howard said afterwards.

The small lineup Kerr implemented worked for Golden State and Shaun Livingston scored 18 from the bench. Forward Klay Thompson who finished the game with 15 points talked about what the smaller lineup provided for the team who they swept 4-0 in the regular season.

“The ability to push the ball in transition and switch up on defense, and we play with great length.” “They’ve obviously gotten better,” Thompson said of the team they swept in the regular season who came back from a 3-1 deficit over the L.A. Clippers in the Western Conference Semifinals becoming the ninth team in NBA history to do so.

With a 1-0 lead in the series Curry brought his other leading lady to the press conference, his adorable two-year old daughter Riley who kept reporters laughing with her outspoken nature, telling her father he needed to lower his voice while speaking.

Clearly it was past her bedtime and as most two-year old’s would do she became bored and bolted from the risers heading for the exit as her exasperated father finished up his press conference mumbling, “I gotta go chase behind a two-year old,” as he walked up the aisles.

As Riley came into the press conference with energy it is no doubt the Rockets will come in with the confidence and defense they displayed in Game 1 in Thursdays Game 2.

Tip-off is set for 6:00 p.m. on Thursday at ORACLE Arena.

Game Mentionables:

Shaun Livingston scored a playoff-career high 19-points, the most by a Warriors reserve this postseason scoring a half career-high 16-points in the first half.

Draymond Green secured his eight double-double of the playoffs (12th career in the postseason) with 13-points and 12 rebounds to go with eight assists in a postseason career-high 43 minutes.

Festus Ezeli rolled in with playoff season-highs of six points and four rebounds in 11 minutes.

James Harden finished with a team-high 28 points to go with a playoff-career high 11 rebounds and in assists, missing what could have been his second career postseason triple-double by one assist.

Follow F.D. Purchell on Twitter: @sportsinthebay_

By F.D. Purcell

Antioch Herald

The last time the Golden State Warriors were headed to the Western Conference Finals, Jimmy Carter was in the White House and disco was king.

For the first time in 39 years, the number one team in the NBA will be one series away from the NBA Finals winning 4-2 games over the Memphis Grizzlies 108-95.

“Their length at the win gave us trouble all series,” said Memphis Head Coach Dave Joerger, who lost three straight to Golden State after leading the series 2-1.

The Splash Brothers were making buckets out the gate and Memphis would make a come back but would never take the lead.

Steph Curry finished the game with 32-points, scoring 8 out of 14 3-point field goals and 10 assists. Klay Thompson scored 20-points and had 8 rebounds.

“Each step you have to sit back and reflect a bit, we have a couple of days to do so,” said Warriors Head Coach Steve Kerr, who has championship rings with Chicago and San Antonio.

Golden State has several days to rest before facing the winner of Game 7 in the Rockets versus Clippers series on Sunday.

Follow F.D. Purcell on Twitter: @sportsinthebay_

Take lead 3-2 in playoff series

By F.D. Purcell

Antioch Herald

Sounds of the chant “Warriors” permeated ORACLE Arena for the 128th consecutive sellout crowd of 15,596 during Wednesday night’s victory in their game against the Memphis Grizzlies. A completely different energy than the Tuesday before when the league’s MVP, Steph Curry was honored in a pregame ceremony. That night Golden State received their third loss in three months, but Wednesday night was different.

After struggling in Game 3 and snagging a win in Game 4 in Memphis, Golden State got their regular season playing mojo back upon returning to ORACLE for Game 5 versus breaking their 2-2 tie with a 98-78 win.

“This win is significant to win the series, we would love to win on the road,” said Warriors coach Steve Kerr following the game. “You have to try to get it done when you can, you can’t mess around. We have to play the defense we played the last few games.”

Golden State also ended an18-year Game 5 losing streak dating back to May 3, 1987 against the Utah Jazz in their victory.

“This is the kind of defense that is going to be what it takes to close the series out,” Kerr added.

The Grizzlies started out the gate making it their game, leading by as much as 13 points in the first quarter, until Golden State found their rhythm capitalizing on rebounds and a jump start of offense by Curry in the second quarter.

Forward Klay Thompson led all scorers with 21-points, Curry was second with 18 but it would be the Warriors bench that would be the spark finishing with 32-points versus Memphis‘ 17.

“I don’t think Shaun Livingston gets the credit he deserves, as a low-length defender and he gives them stability,” said Grizzlies head coach Dave Joerger. “Their bench has been tremendous.”

For Memphis, they’re just looking forward to getting back to the drawing board and Game 6, Friday at FedEx Forum.

“We are going to execute a litle better,” said Memphis Center Marc Gasol.

Playing without one of their key players, Tony Allen, Memphis certainly missed the “juice” that he brings, as well as the defensive threat, according to Joerger.

“We really missed that from Tony tonight, let alone what he does as a defender, which I could go on and on for that,” Joerger added.

The Warriors capitalized on the loss, executing effectively, and Kerr feels his team has yet to reach their playing potential.

“I don’t think we’ve hit our stride, yet with the way they’re playing us offensively,” Kerr stated.

Golden State looks to close out the series Friday in Memphis at FedEx Forum. Should they tie the series they will play Game 7 at ORACLE on Sunday.

Read more by following @sportsinthebay_

By F.D. Purcell

Antioch Herald

“Still on a high,” were the words of Regina Jackson the day after receiving a new vehicle for her community center. The President, CEO and Executive Director of the East Oakland Youth Development Center in Oakland for the past 13 years, she and her staff have been using an older, beat-up van to carry students to various programs.

On Tuesday, after he was presented with the 2014-2015 Kia NBA Most Valuable Player, Golden State Warriors Guard Stephen Curry walked over to the black 2016 Kia Sorento LX CUV and handed over the keys to Jackson and her excited staff.

“I got a message around 10:30 pm last night and told that I had been chosen to receive the car,” said Jackson.

“I called up a couple of parents and told them that I needed to borrow their kids for a couple of hours the next day,” she said with a laugh.

As part of its support of the Kia NBA MVP Award, Kia Motors America donated the vehicle on behalf of Curry who finished balloting with 100 first place votes.

“It’s very important to give back. Four wheels can do a lot of good,” said Curry. “It’s important for athletes to explore outside of their bubble and impact the life of others.”

The face of the league, Curry has made it his mission to give back not only nationally, but globally as an ambassador for Nothing But Nets, a grassroots program that raises awareness about malaria. Earlier this year, he spoke at the White House about the number one killer in Africa and how it can be prevented.

The two-time All-Star has also been vocal about his faith, which he credits for all that he does on the court. While most may think he’s beating on his chest out of passion for the game when he makes a great play, that’s just part of it. It’s actually because of his faith.

“I do a little sign on the court every time I make a shot or good pass, and I pound my chest and point to the sky, and that symbolizes that I have a heart for God,” Curry said.

He also said he and his mom Sonya came up with the signal while he was in college.

While strolling the streets of New York with good friend and college roommate, Bryant Barr during the All-Star Weekend in February, Curry came upon a large group of young African-American men. According to Barr he then took the group into a nearby store and bought them all a pair of his signature Curry Ones – Charged by Belief basketball shoes, just because.

“That’s just the type of guy he is,” said Barr.

During a time when claiming faith is a sensitive issue and an athlete’s arrest record is more common than the score of the game, it’s refreshing to see a man of faith like Curry. Driven by his faith, passion, drive and will, Curry’s profile is listed as a believer, husband, father and son to his two million Twitter followers.

“I am just blessed and thankful to be where I am,” Curry said during his MVP press conference.

The Bay Area is blessed and thankful that you’re a representation of a class act on and off the court.

For more on Nothing But Nets visit: www.nothingbutnets.net.

Follow F.D. Purcell @sportsinthebay_

By Don Martin II

Four divisions will be competing Saturday night at Antioch Speedway.  The racing facility, located at the Contra Costa County Fairgrounds in Antioch, will host the popular IMCA Modifieds, Limited Late Models, Hobby Stocks and Dwarf Cars.

In the five races held so far, four different drivers have won the IMCA Modified Main Events.  Four time champion Troy Foulger of Martinez is the only two time winner while Kellen Chadwick of Oakley, Scott Busby of Martinez and Bobby Motts Jr. of San Pablo are the other winners.

The last time the Modifieds were on the fast three-eighths mile clay oval, Motts collected the win and moved into a four point lead over four time champion Busby.  With nearly 60 wins wins to his credit in his career, nobody has won more features in this division than Busby.

Nick DeCarlo of Martinez is currently 28 points out of the lead as Tracy’s Chris Elby and defending champion Carl Berendsen II of Antioch round out the Top 5 in points going into this race.

Two-time feature winner and three-time division champion Larry Damitz of Vallejo has a ten point lead over Mike Hynes of Susuin in the Limited Late Model division.  Just 18 points back is the division’s all time win leader, Mike Gustafson of Concord, while Antioch’s Mark Garner is 20 points back.  Garner and Gustafson each have a win.

A Concord based father-son team is trying to provide the competition for two time defending champion Danny Wagner of Bay Point in the Dwarf Car division.  Teenager Adam Teves and his father David Teves have each won a Main Event so far this season.

David made just his second start in a new car a winning effort last week, but Wagner finished second.  Wagner now has three wins and two seconds to lead David by 18 points in the championship battle. 

Tracy’s Mike Corsaro, Adam Teves and Kevin Miraglio of Pleasanton round out the Top 5 in the standings.  San Jose’s Jack Haverty is the other feature winner this year, but he missed the last race to repair a damaged front end.

Hobby Stocks return after a week off, and two time defending champion Kimo Oreta of Vacaville holds a nice 54 point lead over two time champion Melissa Myers of Brentwood.  Myers is a three time winner, while Oreta has one feature win and three seconds this season.
Michael Cooper of Bay Point, one time winner Nick Baldwin of Oakley and Danny Jones of Castro Valley round out the Top five in points going into this race.  Pittsburg’s Jason Jennings is the other feature winner this season.

Antioch Speedway is located within the Contra Costa County Fairgrounds, 1201 W. 10th Street in Antioch. Admission is $15 for adults, $12 for senior citizens, and $10 for children 6-12. Children under six years old are admitted free. A family four pack of tickets is $40. Secured parking is offered by the Fairgrounds for $5. Racing begins at 6:30 p.m.