Section 415

It’s the busiest time of the sports calendar, and nearly every Bay Area team is making news. The 49ers, at 5-3, are navigating injuries to superstars in their quest for a playoff berth. The Warriors, at 4-2, are off to an interesting start thanks to the ascension of young wing Jonathan Kuminga. The Giants, after missing the playoffs again, made one of the boldest managerial hires in MLB history, and introduced former University of Tennessee coach Tony Vitello at Oracle Park on Thursday. How do we make sense of all the news? With The San Francisco Standard’s sports columnist, Tim Kawakami, who joins Section 415 host Kerry Crowley to analyze the state of the Bay Area sports landscape. Read more about the stories discussed in today’s episode: Kawakami: There are no magic fixes left for the 49ers and they know it Kawakami: The edge and feistiness that brought Buster Posey and Tony Vitello together Kawakami: The Kuminga-Kerr relationship is honest, open, and succeeding

Pro golfer Min Woo Lee fell in love with the Golden State Warriors watching Steph Curry and Klay Thompson win titles together. Now, the Australian golfer is playing for "The Bay Golf Club," one of six teams in the TGL indoor league. Curry, Thompson, and Andre Iguodala are among the investors in The Bay Golf Club which hired former Warriors employee Eric Kwait as its team president. On this episode of Section 415, Lee and Kwait chat with host Kerry Crowley about their experience with The Bay Golf Club, what enticed them to join the TGL, and how they're looking to build genuine connections with Bay Area sports fans despite playing matches in an arena more than 3,000 miles away.

When Buster Posey began the process of searching for Bob Melvin’s replacement, The Standard’s John Shea wrote that fans should expect the team to pursue a leader who brings different qualities and strengths to the table than Bob Melvin. Well, Posey did more than that. He hired University of Tennessee coach Tony Vitello in a nearly unprecedented move that rocked the baseball industry. In this episode of Section 415, Shea joins host Kerry Crowley to discuss a bold new era of Giants baseball and how Vitello will adjust to life in the majors.

Aaron Miles, an Antioch native who spent parts of nine seasons in the majors, was inspired to pursue a career in baseball during his childhood when he watched legends such as Rickey Henderson and Dave Stewart at the Coliseum. These days, he's trying to create memories for kids across the East Bay as manager of the Oakland Ballers, an independent league team that played its first game in 2024. Miles joined Section 415 and discussed how the Ballers have engaged the Oakland community, how the team recruited so many local players, and what the next steps in the evolution of the young franchise look like.

Liam Plunkett won a Cricket World Cup with England in 2019 and has spent the last three years working to grow the sport in the United States, including as a player with the San Francisco Unicorns of Major League Cricket. With cricket set to return to the Olympics in Los Angeles for the 2028 games, Plunkett joined Section 415 with Kerry Crowley to discuss how he’s helping develop the infrastructure to support the sport’s expansion in the U.S. This episode was hosted by Kerry Crowley and produced by Dakota London. Sophie Bearman is the Standard’s head of audio. Theme music by Hannis Brown and series art by Jess Hutchison. Support The San Francisco Standard. Become a member at www.sfstandard.com/signup

With one week remaining until the start of the NBA season, the opening night matchup between the Warriors and Lakers has already lost a bit of its luster. LeBron James will miss the matchup with sciatica, leaving the spotlight to Steph Curry and Luka Doncic. It’s fair to wonder how many more times Curry, 37, and James, 40, will share the floor together, and it’s just as fair to start thinking about what the Warriors will look like whenever Curry enters the next chapter of his career. For now, the Warriors’ star and the franchise’s top decision-makers still believe he’s capable of anchoring a title contender. In this episode of Section 415, The Standard’s Danny Emerman analyzes what to expect from Curry in Year 17 with the Warriors, how the Jonathan Kuminga negotiations finally reached a resolution, and how Golden State’s offseason acquisitions can help the team build off of the progress made following the trade for Jimmy Butler. This episode was hosted by Kerry Crowley and produced by Matt Collette. Sophie Bearman is the Standard’s head of audio. Theme music by Hannis Brown and series art by Jess Hutchison. Support The San Francisco Standard. Become a member at ⁠https://sfstandard.com/signup

Brock Purdy, George Kittle, and Ricky Pearsall have all missed time due to injuries, but the 49ers’ offense has still delivered clutch performances to key the team’s 4-1 start. Can Mac Jones keep thriving? Will Christian McCaffrey finally find running lanes? And who will step up to lead a depleted receiver corps? The Standard’s David Lombardi joins Section 415 to analyze the 49ers’ 4-1 start and where they go from here.  This episode was hosted by Kerry Crowley, produced by Dakota London, and edited by Matt Collette. Sophie Bearman is the Standard’s head of audio. Theme music by Hannis Brown and series art by Jess Hutchison. Support The San Francisco Standard. Become a member at https://sfstandard.com/signup

The Giants’ president of baseball operations, Buster Posey, is searching for a new manager and working to end the team’s playoff drought that hit four seasons this year. Posey discusses what he learned during his first 12 months on the job, how he juggles his day-to-day responsibilities, and the balance between acquiring outside talent and building a roster with talent from the Giants’ farm system.  This episode was hosted by Kerry Crowley, produced by Dakota London, and edited by Sophie Bearman. Sophie Bearman is the Standard’s head of audio. Theme music by Hannis Brown and series art by Jess Hutchison. Support the San Francisco Standard. Become a member at https://sfstandard.com/signup

Go behind the scenes, on the road, and inside the locker rooms with the Bay Area’s biggest teams—the 49ers, Giants, Warriors, and Valkyries. Hosted by SF Standard sports editor Kerry Crowley, "Section 415" delivers sharp reporting, fresh insights, and the kind of local coverage fans won’t get anywhere else. The first episode drops October 7. Follow now to stay connected.