San Francisco, CA
Prep roundup: Riordan boys put on a show in rout of San Francisco rival St. Ignatius
Boys basketball
No. 9 Archbishop Riordan 68, No. 7 St. Ignatius 51
In a game featuring an array of dazzling dunks and flashy fastbreaks, Riordan set the tone for the game early on a comparatively mundane first three halfcourt possessions.
Zion Sensley finished through contact with an and-1 layup, Jasir Rencher bullied inside for another pair of free throws, and then John Tofi earned two more free throws.
The message was simple: make an undersized St. Ignatius front line, one missing injured 6-foot-8 senior Theo Lamb, attempt to defend the rim against Riordan’s tall wings.
Riordan (5-3) found very little resistance in the Crusaders’ second straight West Catholic Athletic League rout. Riordan had defeated St. Francis 88-40 on Tuesday.
“I wanted to get in there and make them feel me,” said Rencher, who scored 12. “I felt like they disrespected us on the rankings, so I wanted to show them why we should be on top.”
St. Ignatius (9-2, 0-1) was able to stay in the game for a half because of hot three-point shooting.
Riordan’s San Francisco rivals hit five triples in the first two quarters, and trailed only 30-23 at intermission. Steele Labagh, who made four 3-pointers, led SI with 21 points. However, the Wildcats missed several layups, much to the chagrin of their head coach Jason Greenfield.
“I thought we got to the basket with ease,” Greenfield said. “We just couldn’t score over their length.”
Riordan took control after the break, outscoring St. Ignatius 21-10 in the third quarter. Sensley, who transferred back to Riordan this summer after spending the previous two seasons at Prolific Prep, put in 17 points.
“He’s back home,” Riordan coach Joe Curtin said. “It’s just great to see him in front of a crowd like this, and in front of his classmates. That’s something he’s missed for years in high school.”
Rencher scored 12, and sophomore guard Andrew Hilman thrilled the packed gymnasium with a variety of crafty drives and tomahawk dunks on his way to 16 points.
In what is scary news for the rest of the WCAL, Riordan could get even bigger and athletic this season. The team is still waiting to see if 6-foot-10 Priory transfer Nas Emeneke will be ruled eligible.
“There are teams that peak in December and January, and we’re definitely not one of those teams,” Curtin said. “There’s serious room to grow.”
No. 5 Archbishop Mitty 61, Bellarmine 41
Archbishop Mitty easily handled WCAL and San Jose rival Bellarmine after Nathan d’Abreu Noronha led the team with 18 points. Gavin Ripp pitched in 14 points, and Aaron Biebel joined him in double figures with 10 points. Mitty improved to 7-4, while Bellarmine dropped to 5-6.
No. 6 San Ramon Valley 62, No. 11 Berkeley 47
San Ramon Valley came back from winning the Gold Division at Damien and took down giant-slayers Berkeley on Thursday night. Berkeley had defeated last year’s NorCal Open Division teams Dougherty Valley and Modesto Christian earlier this season.
Luke Isaak, who hit the game-winning shot in the championship game at Damien, scored 12 of his team-high 24 points in the fourth quarter. Seamus Deely scored 11 points, and Jack Moxley had 10 points.
Samir O’Brien scored 15 points, and Ollie Miller scored 19 points to pace the YellowJackets. The Wolves snapped Berkeley’s four-game winning streak.
Girls basketball
No. 1 Archbishop Mitty 79, Presentation 8
Longtime Mitty coach Sue Phillips earned career win No. 800 as the nation’s top team opened WCAL play with a rout of Presentation. Darren Sabedra was in San Jose and has the full story here.
St. Mary’s-Stockton 60, No. 5 Acalanes 49
Acalanes was able to hang tough with one of NorCal’s elite teams in a possible playoff preview, and played great defense on five-star college prospect Jordan Lee, whom the Dons held to eight points.
Acalanes’ backcourt duo of Dulci Vail and KK Lacanlale scored the majority of the Dons’ points, with Vail leading the team with 22 and Lacanlale putting in 18.
The Dons dropped to 11-4. St. Mary’s is 11-4.
Boys soccer
Serra 1, Bellarmine 0
The Bells needed just one goal to open WCAL play with a victory over Bellarmine. Baden Smith banged in the match’s only goal off an assist by Nate Coughlin.
HOW DOES MY TEAM MAKE THE ROUNDUP
The easiest way to appear in the Bay Area News Group high school sports roundup is to email the score and statistical leaders to highschools@bayareanewsgroup.com or put your box score on MaxPreps after the game. If that doesn’t work for you, you can post the score and leading scorers on X (formerly Twitter) and tag our high school team — editor/reporter Darren Sabedra (@DarrenSabedra) and reporter Joseph Dycus (@joseph_dycus).
San Francisco, CA
Flight of fancy: San Francisco moves to build private luxury airport terminal
Sick of the TSA lines? Tired of playing musical chairs at the gate? Rather sit as far from your fellow airplane passengers for as long as possible, in the comfort of your own private, luxury airport terminal?
Soon you may get your wish. And San Francisco international airport wants to be your genie – for a fee.
The airport is hoping to build a brand-new terminal exclusively for passengers who pay a premium, gaining access to a luxurious airport experience complete with private security lines and valet service from terminal to tarmac. It will service commercial flights, not business or corporate jets, and the terminal will have its own Transportation Security Administration (TSA) lines as well as Customs and Border Protection (CBP) lines for international travel.
SFO is seeking bidders to take on the development, construction and operation of the private terminal, which is planned for a 75,000-sq-ft site located across the runway from all current public terminals. The airport will accept proposals between late September and early October, and is looking to award a contract by early December with hopes of opening the terminal in late 2028.
SFO’s interest in a luxury development comes from what airport spokesperson Doug Yakel called a “high level of demand” for “premium experiences” in travel, citing the popularity of existing credit card and premium lounges. A private terminal is essentially the next step up in exclusivity from those lounges – and the best chance at avoiding airport crowds entirely.
“Somebody that uses this product really wouldn’t see the other passengers they’re traveling with until they’re taken up the stairs of the jet bridge and onto the aircraft,” Yakel said.
Spending on “pay-to-play” luxury experiences at large is on the rise, according to a new report by Bain & Company and Altagamma. The airline industry has bought in, revamping lounge and onboard experiences with chef-designed menus and expanded premium seating for the highest-paying passengers.
Many see a market in San Francisco, where an AI-driven wealth boom is already agitating the local housing market, with homes sold at the fastest pace in five years and the single-family median home price clocking in at $2.2m.
Yakel said SFO felt now was the right time to enter the market of luxury travel.
“We see the level of interest that’s being invested onboard aircraft, inside terminals, around airports, and clearly this is something that other airports are rolling out,” Yakel said.
The price to pay for a private airport experience will be decided by whoever wins the bid for operations, and will be offered on a membership or per-use basis. The traffic experienced at public terminals likely won’t change, Yakel said.
Private terminals have become popular worldwide. London Heathrow and Paris-Charles de Gaulle airports in Europe have long operated luxury terminals, and São Paulo/Guarulhos international airport recently opened the first private terminal in Latin America.
If SFO is successful, it would become the next major American airport to open a luxury terminal. Los Angeles, Dallas Fort Worth, Miami and Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta international airports all offer a private terminal through PS (formerly known as the Private Suite), a company owned by security firm Gavin de Becker and Associates. Multiple representatives from PS and Gavin de Becker and Associates attended a June conference hosted by SFO about the private terminal, and PS has said it hopes to open a private terminal at every major US airport by 2030.
Access to existing PS private terminals can cost passengers $1,295 for a one-time experience, or up to $4,850 for a yearly membership. Heathrow’s private terminal costs thousands of pounds per person.
San Francisco, CA
What’s next for San Francisco Giants as MLB trade deadline approaches?
San Francisco Giants pitchers say they don’t feel MLB discriminated
Three San Francisco Giants pitchers say they did not feel discriminated against after the DOJ announced an investigation into Major League Baseball.
The San Francisco Giants have a lot to consider at this juncture of the MLB season.
There were mid-level expectations for the Giants at the start of the season. On paper, it seemed like the Giants could battle for a wild card berth.
The Giants won’t meet those expectations.
A week before the All-Star break, San Francisco has the third-worst record in baseball at 38-54. The Giants lost 10-0 to the Toronto Blue Jays on July 8, held hitless through eight innings.
It’s becoming increasingly obvious that this team won’t be competitive down the stretch, which has many of the Giants faithful singing a NxWorries tune, wondering what to do and where to go from here.
It’s evident that a shake-up is needed. It’s simply a matter of where they start and what they can realistically do to change things in the dugout. But one thing’s for sure: the Giants are sellers heading into the trade deadline.
What should the Giants do now?
The Giants have to accept their fate. Entering the season, they looked like a team that could compete with anybody, but then the baseball games were played and that proved to not be the case. So now San Francisco has to look itself in the mirror and figure out what went wrong and how to make things right – well, better than they have been going, anyways.
Here are a few ideas:
Get aggressive in the trade market, sell high
It’s easier said than done, but the Giants have to get off the expensive contracts eating up their salary. Reason being, you won’t be able to get any talent, let alone invest in your prospects, if there isn’t enough dollars to go around by the time negotiations occur.
It’s also a matter of how aggressive they plan to be and who will be prioritized. Who is untouchable? ESPN’s Jeff Passan has Giants outfielder Jung Hoo Lee as a top-ranked trade candidate. He plays all throughout the outfield. Offensively, Lee ranks top 10 in MLB in batting average and strikeout rate.
Lee, 27, makes $22.83 million this season and next, before going down to $21.33 million in both 2028 and 2029. Although not a star, the Giants can sell teams on Lee being a promising, solid all-around player.
Move on from veteran players
With a record like San Francisco’s, the best thing you can do for the fans is give them something to be hopeful for. That’s not aging veterans.
Examine the market for your guys who are age 30 and up, or are occupying a ton of salary space.
Rafael Devers turns 30 in October. His age isn’t so much a problem, but his contract … combined with the lack of expected production. Devers has had a down year so far, batting .244, registering 86 hits and 18 homers. He’s under contract through 2033 at a hefty price tag.
Others to consider moving on from are Willy Adames and Matt Chapman. They’re fan favorites, but based on age and dollars it all makes sense. Adames is under contract through 2031 at over $31 million per season. Chapman is locked up through 2030 at over $25 million per year.
It’s hard to say goodbye, but in the best interest of the Giants, they have to find new homes for these guys. And honestly, it wouldn’t be surprising if Devers, Chapman and Adames wanted to find a new home if it meant playing for a contender and a chance at a World Series title.
Retain young talent, bring in fresh faces
There’s promise for the future in this squad with guys like Bryce Eldridge, Blade Tidwell and Drew Gilbert. It’s a start.
“The San Francisco Giants, who would love to trade two of their infielders at the trade deadline, need to clear space for power-hitter Bryce Eldridge. They realize it’s stunting his growth as an infielder to keep using him as a DH at the age of 21,” USA TODAY Sports’ Bob Nightengale wrote.
Eldridge has had plenty moments as a designated hitter but none bigger than his walk-off grand slam against the Washington Nationals on June 10.
Another intitiative San Francisco needs to focus on is hanging on to guys like Logan Webb, Heliot Ramos, Casey Schmitt and Landon Roupp. The best bet is to hang on to them to help usher in a new era. Years from now, when the team has a new look, you can decide whether to leverage them for additional assets.
However, in the interim, hold on to those guys for dear life because teams will come knocking as MLB gets closer to the trade deadline.
San Francisco, CA
Bay Area Teen Waymo Riders Nabbed For Allegedly Shooting Projectiles From Robotaxi
San Mateo Police said they were contacted by Waymo about the two 15-year-old riders after they were seen drinking and shooting from the vehicle. The vehicle was stopped as police responded and officers were able to safely remove the teens.
An investigation determined the teens were shooting Orbeez water beads and drinking while being chauffeured around the city.
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