NBA Playoffs: The Warriors Come Back With Their Shield or On It
The hottest (and costliest) ticket in town — if you can get one — will be the defending champion Golden State Warriors. Fresh off a new NBA record for regular-season wins, and with the league’s first-ever unanimous Most Valuable Player back in the lineup, they’ve made it into the Western Conference finals… in which the Oklahoma City Thunder have dealt them their only consecutive losses of the season.
Now we find out how the Warriors fight with their backs to the wall as they return home for a do-or-die Game 5 the evening of Thursday, May 26 at Oracle Arena. If you’re staying through the Memorial Day weekend, Warriors fans may hope for a Game 7 at home on Monday, May 30.
Expect to pay nosebleed prices in the “secondary market” for tickets to see them in person, but taverns and even theaters are organizing “watch parties.”
San Jose Sharks: The Bay Area’s Other Postseason Elite
Meanwhile, at the south end of the Bay Area, hockey’s San Jose Sharks are deep into the semifinals against the St. Louis Blues and fighting for their first-ever chance to play for Lord Stanley’s Cup. It’s said to be a surprisingly easy-to-get ticket. The puck drops at 6 p.m. Wednesday the 25th.
Major League Baseball
The San Francisco Giants have a home game every day May 20 through 25. This is an even-numbered year, and after the 2010, 2012, and 2014 World Series they have established a bit of a pattern, so this may be your chance to say you saw their latest championship season almost from the beginning!
On this side of the Bay, the Oakland A’s, celebrated in the book and movie Moneyball for using statistical analysis in selecting overachieving, undervalued players and analyzing the risk-benefit ratio of plays, are at home May 20-22 and again May 27-31.
Getting There
We suggest taking public transit instead of driving. For the A’s and W’s, taking BART’s Fremont or Livermore/Dublin/Pleasanton lines to the Coliseum station is easy and very popular. BART can also get you to within walking distance or a brief taxi or bus ride of AT&T Park, where the Giants play. Or, for a scenic option, you can take a ferry directly to AT&T Park after making your way to Oakland’s Jack London Waterfront by BART or bus.
For hockey fans, alas, the “Shark Tank” is rental-car distance from SORMA and there are no easy public-transit links; allow at least two hours for the trip, as you will be in commute traffic. But at least it isn’t snowing — playing hockey this far south (and this far into May) does have its advantages!
UC-Berkeley Athletics
Most Golden Bears teams are on the road during the timeframe of SORMA, but baseball is hosting the University of Utah for night games Saturday through Monday, May 21-23.