Monday, January 11, 2016

Simply blessed

As I clean out my inbox tonight, I ponder how fortunate I've been over 20 years in this business. Some highlights below... I don't want to lose any of these, and want my girls to have someday so I decided to post them here.
On Jan. 6, speaking with U.S. volleyball coach, legend Karch Kiraly in Nebraska.

Having fun with former Giants star Tim Lincecum's return to baseball with the Angels,
at Oakland on June 17, 2016.

Warriors practice, Friday, April 15th
 Walking around Hohokam Stadium with A's third base coach Ron Washington, a longtime friend, on Saturday, Feb. 20, 2016.


The Warriors and World Series are always great fun, but I just love going to college campuses and meeting the amazing kids. Take USF shortstop Nico Giarratano (below). When I lost my footing on the slippery bleachers yesterday (March 2) given the fog and moisture, he said aloud to his teammates, "I know she's an athlete, I watched her hit batting practice last year." Took a pretty strong round of cuts in the cage from his dad and head coach, Nino. Another fun day of work! 
Outfielder Blake Valley in above photo.


Construction zone at USF baseball. Thanks to Eric for the fun pics once again.
 Checking out the Super Bowl field, Jan. 11, and below holding 40 pounds of sod with 
NFL field director Ed Mangan, also with the Atlanta Braves.



New Hall of Famer, Ken Griffey Jr., Sept. 2014, Oakland


Sweet Lou. Spring training.

Stanford at the NCAA regional, Spokane, 2008.
 Below: Stanford women's basketball, 2008 Final Four, Tampa.

Rosalyn Gold-Onwude is now the Warriors sideline reporter.

Cal women's basketball coach Lindsay Gottlieb is a favorite of all of ours.

Campus tour with former Stanford star Chiney Ogwumike, Feb. 2014

UConn coach Geno Auriemma, Dec. 2015 in Stockton to play Pacific.
 AP Male Athlete of the Year 2014, World Series MVP Madison Bumgarner
April 2015 at AT&T Park.

Former Mariners closer Eddie Guardado, one of the best people in the game.
Probably 2005.
 Chatting w/former Giants shortstop Rich Aurilia.
Kobe Bryant's final press conference, Oracle Arena in Oakland, Jan. 14, 2016
 Speaking with Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, Jan. 25, 2016

 Former Padres manager and a favorite of mine, Bud Black.

With the late, great Padres broadcaster and former player, Jerry Coleman.

 Hideki Matsui, spring training 2011.

Vernon Davis at curling, Vancouver, 2010
 Olympic curling, February 2010, Vancouver
 A's six-time AL Gold Glove third baseman Eric Chavez
 In the Univ. San Francisco batting cage with college shortstop Nico Giarratano.

Former White Sox manager Jerry Manuel and his son run an academy for African-American boys
to play baseball on scholarship outside Sacramento.

More from Bumgarner presentation.

Hall of Famer Frank Thomas, 2008, Oakland Coliseum
 Ex-A's outfielder Rajai Davis, also '08 same day.
 Translating for Bartolo Colon's first day with the A's, Feb. 2011
Dugout chat with Joe Torre. I know John Rieke would like this!
 And this ... I was the reporter picked to cover Mariano Rivera saying farewell to A's employees during his last visit before retirement from the Yankees.
 Street car ride and city tour with Felipe Alou, who managed the Giants after playing for them with his two brothers, Matty and Jesus. They made up an all-brothers outfield one game.


Painting with Omar Vizquel, one of greatest people I've covered.
Describing how he painted the woman's breast.
And catching up with Omar last May again when he was in Oakland
with Detroit as Tigers first base coach.
Ichiro Suzuki, first World Baseball Classic, 2009, San Diego.
The banned bat boy, 3-year-old Darren Baker, spring training 2003 after he ran into the World Series the fall before when father Dusty was managing the Giants and had to be scooped up by J.T. Snow at home plate with a player charging toward him.

And all these years later, in July 2013.

 Then, all these years later, gardening with Dusty at his home outside Sacramento 
in his first year out of uniform, spring 2014. Now, he's back, about to manage the Nationals.

Buck Showalter, Orioles manager, 2013 
 Annual photo w/Felipe Alou, Feb. 20, '16
 Post-practice chat w/Bruce Bochy, Feb. 20, '16


Spring training 2012.

More Felipe. A gem of a human being. Spring training.
 From Aug. 2002-Aug. 2007 when he broke the all-time home run record I spent much of my time covering Barry Bonds. We got along quite well. Above taken this past summer when I got his first remarks on being cleared legally.
Back in the day. ...
And in pink for breast cancer awareness month, October 2014.

Below: Just this past fall, when he came out of the tunnel at a 49ers game and put me in a headlock for not calling him yet to go cycling.



Former Giants, Mariners outfielder Randy Winn, June 2013

Interviewing Giants OF Marquis Grissom, probably 2004.
Writing about all the Olympic swimmers at Cal. 

A's manager Bob Melvin is a regular at Cal men's basketball.
With U.S. Olympic rowing coach Mike Teti, also a Cal coach, on the Oakland estuary
as he trained the men's 8 boat for a last-ditch regatta to qualify for the London Olympics, spring 2012.

Charlottesville, Virginia, last January to tell the adoption story of women's coach Joanne Boyle bringing home Ngoty at last after 14 trips to Senegal. Most special story yet.

With the great Venezuelan baseball writer Manolo Hernandez Douen, a mentor and friend.

 With Greg at NCAA men's hoops in San Jose.
In Arlington, Texas, during the 2010 World Series. I was just 10 weeks pregnant with Lily.
Former Rockies and Dodgers manager Jim Tracy.
Current 49ers owner John York, during 2015 training camp.

Former 49ers owner Eddie DeBartolo Jr. ran the team when it won all the Super Bowls in the '90s. Taken during his first visit to Levi's Stadium this past season.

 World Series-winning Royals manager Ned Yost.
And the great Royals PR man, Mike Swanson.
 (World Series, 2014, AT&T Park)

Then-Dodgers manager Don Mattingly



 Giants Hall of Famer Gaylord Perry, me looking at Ernie Bowman.
He's a former player still dealing with cancer and my story helped raise awareness for
MLB's program BAT that has been assisting him with medical expenses. I still check in with him
from time to time and we've become friends.
http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/nl/2012-04-13-958765078_x.htm


Former Dodgers GM Ned Colletti
Giants outfielder Gregor Blanco
May 2012: Ozzie Guillen. Entertaining as can be. Always. ...
Longtime Red Sox scout Gary Hughes, then longtime Yankees scout Greg Orr.

Mets scout and good friend Shooty Babitt, playoffs 2013

Giants media "good guy" award goes to shortstop Brandon Crawford, Sept. 2013

 Recently fired 49ers coach Jim Tomsula.
 49ers all-time rushing leader Frank Gore, now with the Colts.

Former 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh saying his goodbyes, late December 2014.

 Harbaugh's last press conference.

 Giants Hall of Famer Willie McCovey, November 2014 after World Series parade
and Hall of Famer Orlando Cepeda below.

Muhammad Ali visits Giants spring training, Scottsdale Stadium, March 2010.


The swarm around Stephen Curry, last month.

 Lily and Hall of Famer Rickey Henderson, June 2011
 She even gave him a slide, not quite his signature base-stealing move but close.

Story with former Giants lefty Noah Lowry, forced out of the game by injuries
and now running his own outdoors store in Santa Rosa.

Ari and Isaac with Dave Roberts, their once-hero with the Red Sox.
 Interviewing Alex Smith in late 2012, and below wishing him good luck on impending fatherhood.



With Tim Flannery, Giants home opener, April 7, 2016

Former Giants third base coach Tim Flannery, an amazing person.
And at his concert at the Sweetwater in Mill Valley, Jan. '15 with neighbor and friend, Denise Ratto.

And at spring training, 2013.

And in the dugout last season once he retired as coach and began TV
Here with Bruce Bochy at 36.5 weeks pregnant with Lily, April 2011.


Spring training fun!
With Giants manager Bruce Bochy when Rona visited, spring training 2012
Scottsdale Stadium.
 Among my first games back from maternity leave after having Lily.
With then-Phillies manager Charlie Manuel
Press box focus, photo by Eric Risberg.
And after-game relaxing. Eric photos again.



Waiting to interview Brad Pitt before the Moneyball movie, downtown Oakland.
Moneyball, Sept. 2011.
Below: Interviewing Hall of Famer Jerry Rice at the Super Bowl, Jan. 31, 2013, New Orleans


Pregame chat with Rice, Candlestick Park

IndyCar at 49ers practice, Aug. 2012

 NFC championship game 49ers-Seahawks, January 2014. Was sick all night before this game, still throwing up at 9:30 a.m. at Pinky's house - barely made it.
Final tour of Candlestick Park before farewell season 2013.

Giants equipment manager Mike Murphy has worked for the club since he was 18, and the team's first year in San Francisco in 1958.

Pablo Sandoval's Bay Area return to Oakland, with Red Sox. 2015.

Five-time All Pro linebacker Patrick Willis retires from the 49ers
at age 30 in March 2015.
His last press conference below.

Knicks scout and former Michigan star Mark Hughes, last season.
 Jonny Gomes and his son after the A's clinched a playoff spot, 2012.

And Josh Reddick in a similiar 2012 scene, same clubhouse.
Talking to the son of Giants GM Brian Sabean.

 Hearing from Phillies pitcher Roy Halladay.


World Cup, Sao Paulo Brazil, June 2014.
My tweet shown on Sports Center.

 World Cup soccer, Sao Paulo, Brazil, June 2014.

 Visa secured, San Francisco.

May 2014 World Cup training, Stanford, with colleague Elliott Almond.

 Women's World Cup, Vancouver, June 2015.
Covering Olympic beach volleyball in the rain, London, 2012.
With colleagues below: Bernie Wilson, Tom Withers, Jim Litke.

 And this friendly face - Nicole! - in London!

June 2015 with Eireann Dolan, a do-gooder of all sorts and girlfriend of A's closer Sean Doolittle.
Link here: http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/wire?section=mlb&id=12652454

Special day! Miami-based AP colleague Steven Wine and me at Wimbledon,
2012 London Olympics. He's my favorite tennis writer of all time,
and made a point to take me on a tour of the grounds before we began our work day.

Nice of Omar Vizquel to loan me a bat.
Batting practice, spring training 2007, Scottsdale Stadium



Former WSU pitching coach, now at Univ. of Portland, Gregg Swenson, taken this past season.

 Italy Olympics, Feb. 2006

Levi's Stadium construction.
WSU coach June Daugherty. Have known and covered her for years since she was
at Washington, where she coached Megan Franza.

MC Hammer following me on Twitter ... yes, a very cool moment.

Lunch at Chop Shop in Scottsdale on our last day of spring training with ace scout and dear friend
Sean Johnson, the West Coast scouting supervisor for the Minnesota Twins.
Another good friend, Elliott Strankman also works for the Twins and his high school girlfriend was a soccer star at Hanford who scored a goal against me in a 1-0 loss. He played baseball at L-C State the same time I was there but we never met, then he played in Northwest League for Class-A Salem-Keizer in 2000 when I was covering the Spokane Indians.
 Taken at Menlo College, Feb. 26, 2016

 Post Super Bowl, Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, Feb. 2013
New friends, the O'Hoppe family of Long Island, N.Y., I met in the Courtyard Marriott parking lot Feb. 2013 on my last day before leaving spring training and Bruce Bochy comes to say hello. Angela has many McCauley cousins on the East Coast, just by chance we met, so we might have some shared relatives. My Dad would have loved this, though I think he might have been there in spirit on this special day.
Quick reunion hug and hello with Nate "The Great" McMillan
Jan. 22, 2016, Oracle Arena
 Pacers-Warriors

AND, the photogs I cherish working with so much! Eric Risberg and I below were at
the Swinging Skirts golf tournament, April 2014. Then Marcio Sanchez below that.
Indy-based Darron Cummings, my regular spring training pal.

49ers day with Marcio.
 Spring training clowning on A's picture day, 2013.

No comments: