All-Star play set to resume Saturday

The District 52 11s champs, Alpine, get to stay home as it is the host league. Alpine will kick off the Section 3 bracket with the first game of the day Saturday morning, hosting the District 45 champion at 10 a.m. Fremont-Centerville, the District 14 champ, will take on District 57 winner San Ramon Valley at 1 p.m.

Both games, and the entire tournament, will be played at Ford Field in Portola Valley. Game 1 of the possible two-game championship series begins at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, July 21, with an if-necessary game Wednesday.

The road to South Williamsport, Pennsylvania, the home of the Little League World Series, makes its next stop for District 52 champ Pacifica at Five Canyons Park in Castro Valley, just off Interstate 580, with District 45 serving as host.

Pacifica will play in the 10 a.m game Saturday, taking on District 14 champion, Niles-Centerville-Fremont. District 57 champ, San Ramon Valley, takes on District 45 in the other opening game of the four-team bracket at 1 p.m.

The championship series is scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m. July 21.

The 10s All-Star Section 3 tournament is hosted by Fremont-Centerville of District 14 at Marshall Park in Fremont, just off the Stevenson Boulevard exit off Interstate 880. Again, the District 52 champ, San Mateo American, will kick off Section 3 play, taking on District 14 champ and host, Fremont-Centerville, at 10 a.m. Saturday.

District 45 and District 57 champ, Danville, are on the other side of the bracket. The 10s championship series is also scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, July 21.

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While the 10s, 11s and 12s sectional tournaments are just getting underway, the older divisions have already completed second-round play.

The Intermediate Division Section 3 tournament, hosted by District 14 in Fremont, saw District 52 champ, Pacifica, eliminated after two games. It was drilled 18-0 by a loaded Granda-Livermore squad before bowing out following a 5-0 loss to Newark.

Granada-Livermore would go to win the Section 3 title.

Palo Alto represented District 52 in the 15s Section 3 tournament that was completed a week ago at Half Moon Bay High School.

Paly won the opener, beating Mission Peak-Fremont, 14-0. But Palo Alto got a taste of its own medicine in the next round, getting routed by the District 57 champ comprised of players from Danville, Bollinger Canyon and San Ramon Valley, 10-0.

Palo Alto saw its season end in its next game, dropping an 11-10 decision to San Lorenzo. San Lorenzo would lose to the Tri-Valley team in the championship game.

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You’ve probably seen the T-shirt with a graphic, usually a surf or car motif, “Old Guys Rule,” usually worn by guys in their 50s and 60s.

Cute on a T-shirt. Not so much on an NBA basketball court. And yet, that is the direction the Golden State Warriors continue to go. When Steph Curry, among others, helped the Golden State Warriors to three NBA titles over a four-year span, he was seen as a savior.

Not that he anointed himself.

But now, Curry is holding the franchise hostage. Again, not by his own doing. No, this falls squarely on the Lacob clan — co-owner Joe Lacob and his sons, Kirk and Kent, and by extension, general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. — who are reticent to move on from the aging veteran who helped deliver four championships to the Bay Area.

The Warriors ownership group still seems to believe that Curry, even in his age-39 season, still has enough in the tank to make one more run — with some fairly significant help.

There has been a lot of talk of 41-year-old Lebron James coming to Golden State to team up with Curry. But in order for that happen, the Warriors would need to, reportedly, trade for one of the most enigmatic players in history — the perpetually injured Anthony Davis, who will be 34 in March.

The scenario also sees a nearly 37-year-old Draymond Green back for one more run, as well, re-signing with the team after opting out of his contract earlier this summer.

If all of this comes to fruition, half of the Warriors’ roster would consist of guys 35 years old or older — accounting for soon-to-be 37-year-old Jimmy Butler, who is working his way back from a torn knee ligament.

While certainly entertaining, would this team be much better than the 36 wins the Warriors put up last year? Do they win enough to stay out of the play-in tournament for the fifth time in seven years?

The Warriors can still build around Curry, but should do so by getting younger. Drafting Yaxel Lendeborg was a good first step and maybe last year’s No. 1 draft pick, Will Richards, can take another step forward. Forward Gui Santos played his way into a multi-year contract last season and he brings energy. And no matter what you think about Brandin Podziemski, whether you think he was talking out of turn claiming to want “the keys” to the Warriors, he’s only 23 and has proven, at the very least, to be a solid NBA player.

We have witnessed the dying embers of a once great dynasty and like everything else in the world of sports, all good things come to an end. But what separates the good organizations from the great is being able to put together another championship team after the previous generation of stars age out.

That remains to be seen with Golden State.

Nathan Mollat has been covering high school sports in San Mateo County for the San Mateo Daily Journal since 2001. He can be reached by email: nathan@smdailyjournal.com.