Four Years After The Boston Marathon Bombings Left Him With Severe Leg Injuries, Aaron Hern Is Thriving As Alhambra’s Starting QB • The first thing that jumps out to the visitor in Aaron Hern’s bedroom is simply how immaculate it looks. Bed neatly made. No clothes on the floor. Dust... Read more

On Sept. 8, I went to Concord to see the Lancers from St. Francis play against the prestigious Spartans from De La Salle.  I was looking forward to watching two Tongan football student-athletes from St. Francis #7 Joshua Pakola and #52 Tyler Manoa. Last year’s running back from St. Francis, Cyrus... Read more

2017 NORCAL FOOTBALL PREVIEW: Behind Leadership Of Napoleon Kaufman, Bishop O’Dowd Is Transforming Into A NorCal Power • Story by PHIL JENSEN | Photos by BERRY EVANS III Bishop O’Dowd High School-Oakland football coach Napoleon Kaufman had a premonition when he became the Dragons’ coach. “I looked those kids in... Read more

“Fredo , you’re my older brother and I love you, but don’t ever take sides with anyone against the family again. Ever.” Michael Corleone, The Godfather 95 Years of Biale Food History…and counting      For almost a century the Biale Family has been in the food, spirit and hospitality business... Read more

We begin our 2017 Football coverage by revealing teams #20-11 in our NorCal Preseason Top 20 in a daily countdown to Aug. 24 when #10-1 are revealed in our 2017 Football Preview Special. If you need to catchup, here are links to previous entries: | No. 20 Foothill (Aug. 14)... Read more

University of Washington quarterback Jake Browning and USC linebacker Cameron Smith have more in common than being All-American candidates and coming from high schools in the Sacramento area who were on teams that won CIF state championships. “We played against each other for the first time when I think we... Read more

Welcome to the fifth annual Bay Area 75 — SportStars’ countdown of the top 75 Bay Area athletes from the 2016-17 school year. The only criteria used in generating the list were that the athletes must be from one of the nine Bay Area counties, and they must have played... Read more

You’re at the second of four segments. If you haven’t seen the previous entries, find them at the following links (or skip ahead to end, if you must): Nos. 75-51 / Nos. 25-6  / Nos. 5-1 50. TIERRA ROBINSON-JONES Bishop O’Dowd-Oakland – Track & Field – Junior Among the best long sprinters in... Read more

You’re at the third of four segments. If you haven’t seen the previous entries, find them at the following links (or skip ahead to end, if you must): Nos. 75-51 / Nos. 50-26  / Nos. 5-1 25. NATE LANDMAN Monte Vista-Danville – Football – Senior The SportStars NorCal Defensive Player of the Year... Read more

  Player Of The Year, Iimari Thomas of Sacred Heart Cathedral-S.F., Headlines Our Top 15 Players From 2016-17 • There’s a computer program buried deep in the bowels of the massive MaxPreps’ database of girls high school basketball teams, and it churns through the wins and losses — and margin... Read more

Diamond Rated Settle into your seat to watch the four-star softball program at Alhambra High School in Martinez and prepare to be dazzled.   By the time seven innings elapse, one course of “Did-you-see-that?” after another will be brought to you, each as uniquely sweet as 31 flavors of ice... Read more

   There’s an adage I’ve heard from time to time that claims “Cut Day is harder on the coach than it is the player.”     As a high school athlete who had to make the walk through the locker room before school and glance at the list on the coaches... Read more