SAT 6/12
You there — and your pickup team buddies too — are you ready to take your game to the next level, and hobnob with the big leaguers while you’re at it? Saturday brings Major League Soccer’s Futbolito! 4-v-4 Tournament to San Jose’s Spartan Stadium. Draft your team of seven players max (four field players, three substitutes) and sign up to play a little fútbol in the Premier Adult, Adult Open (Men, Women, and Coed), or Youth divisions. In the Premier division, $3,000 in prizes will be awarded — that’s $2,000 to the champions and $1,000 to the second placers. Each player will also get a ticket to a ‘Quakes game and a ¡Futbolito! T-shirt. In between matches, you might rub elbows with some friendly neighborhood ‘Quakes such as Ramiro Corrales, or even Carlos “El Pibe” Valderrama, late of the Colorado Rapids. A Colombian native, recently retired, “The Kid” holds an MLS record for most assists per season — that’s 26, in 2000. And since this is his first stop on a twelve-city tour, we’re hoping his hairdo will be in top form, so don’t miss the chance to meet the most famous mane in soccer. Register by Thursday; Premier Adult division $150 per team, Adult Open and Youth divisions $120 per team. Check-in is at 8 a.m. on June 12, and play starts at 9 a.m. Registration and information at MLSFutbolito.com or 866-965-7484. — Nora Sohnen
THU 6/10
Get Teed Off
You, too, can become a golfer
There are lots of benefit golf tournaments this time of year, but what about would-be golfers, those links-curious latent duffers who never have been exposed to the game — or who tried once and were hooted off the course? The Emeryville Chamber of Commerce Golf Classic has made a place for them. Thursday, June 10, while the tournament players are teeing off at Tilden Park Golf Course, there’s a special beginners’ session: New golfers can take a two-hour lesson from one of Tilden’s Nike Pros, then join the other players for lunch, a raffle, and a silent auction — $90 per person. Meanwhile, foursomes and prematched singles play the course (Grizzly Peak Boulevard and Shasta Road) to benefit the Anna Yates Elementary School Library. Entry fee is $165 per player, or $525 per foursome. Registration at 7 a.m., shotgun start at 8. 510-652-5223. — Kelly Vance
