Thomas Gase Guide: Time to honor best local athletes, quickest drivers

It's been about a month since prep athletes competed, which can only mean one thing.

It's time to honor the best ones.

This week, the Times-Herald continues its yearly tradition with the Male and Female Athlete of the Year Project. Five female athletes, five male athletes, multiple sports, and two winners. This year, Vallejo, Jesse Bethel, St. Patrick-St. Vincent, Benicia, and American Canyon high schools are represented. Over the next two weeks, we will tell you stories of just how well these athletes ran for touchdowns, spiked volleyballs, ran quicker than anyone, put soccer balls in the net, hit baseballs and softballs, and hit big jump shots.

Once again, it was extremely difficult to whittle the number of athletes on each side to just five. If you were picked, it's a big deal - you should hold your head up high. However, if you didn't make this year's list, keep your head up high. Just because you weren't selected to this list doesn't mean you aren't well on your way to great things, be it in sports or other walks of life.

I should know. I was once a .200 hitter in high school, but I loved the game enough to learn to write about it. Hopefully, my average is a little higher than the Mendoza line on that front.

The stories will be written once again by yours truly and my colleague Jahson Nahal, while the epic photos will be delivered by Chris Riley. This year, we went without a theme, choosing instead to focus on the athletes themselves.

Each year, this project reminds me I've spent a lot of time watching prep sports. Hundreds and hundreds of games. My first sports feature I ever wrote as a journalist was in 1998. My first for the Times-Herald as a stringer was in 2001, while my first as a full-time employee came 10 years later, after time spent writing in Southern California.

I'm getting old.

So if you have constantly or only occasionally read our sports pages, one thing is certain - this project is for you. We feel we owe our readers one last project this year to close out the 2025-26 school year. So while the new prep sports season is just over two months away, sit back, relax, and chronicle this past year. It all starts on Wednesday in print with our top athletes.

Meanwhile, longtime San Francisco Giants manager and Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Dusty Baker will tell motor racing drivers on Sunday to start their engines to begin the Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway. The venue will have racing enthusiasts smiling all weekend, with activities beginning early on Friday.

There are also plenty more baseball and soccer games this week, so let's get ready to navigate this week with the Thomas Gase Guide.

Tuesday

Get your World Cup fix starting early, with Portugal taking on Uzbekistan at 10 a.m. After an opening tie, Portugal needs to come away with a win. England and Ghana play at 1 p.m.

The A's and Giants renew their Bay Bridge series this week at Oracle Park. The Giants are coming off a road series in Miami in which they were swept, and Rafael Devers looked as childish as Roger Dorn in "Major League II" for refusing to come out of the game for a pinch runner during the ninth inning of Sunday's loss. If you're frustrated with the way the Giants are playing, don't worry. The team will look a lot different after the trade deadline.

Wednesday

There are six World Cup games on Wednesday, with the first two contests starting at noon, with Bosnia-Herzegovina taking on Qatar and Switzerland playing Canada. Scotland and Brazil should be a good one at 3 p.m., while Czechia and Mexico should be enjoyable at 6 p.m.

Make sure to read the Times-Herald story on the first athlete of the year candidate during the commercials.

The A's and Giants continue their three-game series at night, but if you're looking for other good MLB action, check out the Cleveland Guardians at the Chicago White Sox, the Los Angeles Dodgers at the Minnesota Twins, the Houston Astros at the Toronto Blue Jays, or the Atlanta Braves at the San Diego Padres.

Thursday

The 2-0 United States soccer team plays its third World Cup game at 7 p.m. The Americans, having already clinched a spot in the next round, play Turkey.

The A's and Giants' last game against each other this season is a matinee starting at 12:45 p.m. When that game ends, check out the Yankees visiting Fenway Park and the Boston Red Sox in one of baseball's best rivalries, although the two teams are far apart in the standings. Boston will likely be a seller at the deadline, while the Yankees (as always) will be buyers.

The Golden State Valkyries take on Atlanta at home at 7 p.m., but if you plan on driving home to Solano County on Highway 37, just know you'll likely be stuck in traffic. The cars will be going about 200 miles faster than you at Sonoma Raceway for the Toyota/Save Mart 350. The RV lots open on Thursday, so expect a heavy dose of traffic.

Friday

Racing weekend starts at Sonoma Raceway with Gate 3 opening at 10 a.m.

Soon after is the ARCA Menards Series West Qualifying (Timed) at around noon, while the NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series Qualifying (Groups 1 & 2: Multi-Vehicle) is scheduled for 2:10 p.m.

The General Tire 150 ARCA Menards Series West race begins at 3:30 p.m.

If racing isn't your sport, check out a bunch of soccer games the same day. Norway and France are at noon, while Uruguay and Spain are at 5 p.m.

In baseball, the Giants begin a three-game series at home against Atlanta, while the Athletics play the Angels for the second time in two weeks, this time in Anaheim.

The weekend

It's a big day of action at Sonoma Raceway, with NASCAR Cup Series Qualifying (Groups 1 and 2: Multi-Vehicle) starting at noon, while a few hours later at 2 p.m. is the Pit Boss/FoodMaxx 250 NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series race. At 6 p.m. is the THOR Family of Companies Camper Appreciation Party, available to campers only who have purchased camp space.

On Sunday, gates open bright and early at the venue at 7 a.m., while at 11:20 a.m., catch the Patriots Jet Team Air Show. NASCAR Cup Series Driver Introductions are at noon, while the main race begins about a half hour later. Who will win this year? Will it be defending champ Shane van Gisbergen? Will it be 2025 second-place finisher Chase Briscoe? Or maybe Kyle Larson? Someone new or not as well known? Stay tuned.

Soccer continues on Saturday with six games, including Croatia against Ghana, along with Panama and England at 2 p.m., while at 4:30 p.m., Colombia faces Portugal. Algeria plays Austria at 7 p.m., the same time Jordan takes on Argentina.

Besides the Giants and A's series, check out the Dodgers taking on San Diego, the Chicago Cubs at Milwaukee, Arizona at Tampa Bay, and the Yankees at Boston in a full Sunday schedule.

Read

"Summer of '49" by David Halberstam (While you watch the Yankees and Boston Red Sox do battle over the weekend)

Watch

"ESPN 30 for 30: Tim Richmond - To the Limit" (to watch in between NASCAR races in Sonoma this weekend)

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This story was originally published June 22, 2026 at 7:18 PM.