San Francisco Chronicle Sports - Spoken Edition

You might not remember years, weeks or days — but a surreal moment can get inside your head and realign your senses. In the Bay Area and along the Northern California coast, “Dancing with Fog,” as former Chronicle photographer Fred Larson once called it, can create such moments.

LAS VEGAS — Random sights and thoughts from the first few days of NBA Summer League in Vegas: •Warriors fans had to be a bit wistful seeing Jerry West sitting courtside with Clippers owner Steve Ballmer, who stole West from the Dubs. By the way, West’s departure wasn’t a simple matter of Joe Lacob declining to match Balmer’s big-bucks offer to West. It’s much more nuanced. Regardless, West’s place in Warriors’ history is solid.

weather_025_el.JPG Cameron Reid,17, San Anselmo escapes the heat as he goes for swimming hole plunge in the Paper Mill Creek near Samuel P. Taylor State Park in Marin County. Event on 7/11/05 in Marin County Eric Luse / The Chronicle Ran on: 07-12-2005 Cameron Reid of San Anselmo escapes the heat at a swimming hole in Paper Mill Creek near Samuel P. Taylor State Park in Marin. less weather_025_el.

The gnawed-down core of a pine cone that a rogue squirrel dropped from a tree on outdoors writer Tom Stienstra, not the first time for such an incident Golden mantled ground squirrels look like chipmunks, and at Lake Aloha, have perfected art of begging for a peanut Tom Stienstra/The Chronicle Squirrels have more personality than a lot of people I know.

LAS VEGAS — When the NBA free-agent signing period hit last week, DeMarcus Cousins, the most talented center on earth, didn’t get a call. So he made the first move, calling the Warriors. Friday night, prior to the Warriors’ game in the NBA Summer League, I asked Cousins if he was nervous as he sweated out his basketball fate, waiting for his phone to ring. “Have you ever been unemployed?” he asked me. Yes.

The moment hits you all at once. That’s why you go. The “reveal moment” comes when you clear a rise, round a bend or emerge into a clearing and — in that instant — a world-class view is revealed to you. You will not forget how it makes you feel. At 9,025-foot Mount Eddy, it comes on your final steps. You reach the summit and in the span of a few heartbeats, the full expanse of 14,179-foot Mount Shasta opens before you.

Bob Vitrano, who as a teenager started a job hawking food during 49er games at Kezar Stadium in 1961, joins other veteran stadium food and beverage vendors fir a reunion lunch at Bertolucci's Italian restaurant in South San Francisco, Calif. on Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2017. less Bob Vitrano, who as a teenager started a job hawking food during 49er games at Kezar Stadium in 1961, joins other veteran stadium food and beverage vendors fir a reunion lunch at Bertolucci's Italian restaurant .

Cleveland Cavaliers' LeBron James is introduced before NBA All Star practice at LA Convention Center in Los Angeles, Calif., on Saturday, February 17, 2018. Cleveland Cavaliers' LeBron James during NBA All Star Media Day at LA Convention Center in Los Angeles, Calif., on Saturday, February 17, 2018. Team Stephen's Team LeBron's during NBA All Star Game at Staples Center in Los Angeles, Calif., on Sunday, February 18, 2018.

Rooting interest is a strange thing for sportswriters. All members of the media, generally, strive to remain objective. You don’t root for the Giants if you cover the Giants, just like a City Hall reporter would never root for one mayoral candidate over another. The thing about journalists is that we all have strong beliefs and convictions. But we do everything we can to put those feelings aside and tell the story straight.

First-round pick Jacob Evans earned Draymond Green’s seal of approval before the draft, now he will learn from Green. Madison Bumgarner could be traded — the Giants are expected to listen to some attractive offers — but they are more likely to give him a big payday and plan for a future statue. •Trade Madison Bumgarner? I go with the John Shea theory. The Giants will get some tempting offers, and keeping Bumgarner has its downsides, including a whopper next contract.

Rainbow Pool is one of California's most iconic swimming holes, closed by surrounding damage from the Rim Fire last year, and is located east of Groveland on a spur off of Highway 120 on the route to the Big Oak Flat entrance to Yosemite National Park less Rainbow Pool is one of California's most iconic swimming holes, closed by surrounding damage from the Rim Fire last year, and is located east of Groveland on a spur off of Highway 120 on the route to the Big .

Memorial Day weekend and the start of the summer vacation season is less than two weeks away. Snow conditions, the arrival of spring in the high country and campground openings last week have put three primary destinations on the map: Yosemite, Tahoe and Shasta. Yosemite National Park: The opening of Tioga Road to Tuolumne Meadows and over 9,943-foot Tioga Pass is imminent.

Out of respect for the Warriors and their dedication to the concept of mindfulness — intensive focus on the moment — please don’t tell them about this column. The Warriors are like an artist with his nose to the canvas, living in the next stroke. The rest of us can step back a few paces and look at the big picture. Which is: The Warriors are on the brink of history.

Your goal on a bike is euphoria, freedom from every care. There might be no faster way to get there than with a few pedal strokes on a road bike. The endorphins kick in. Your sensory triggers start firing. The feeling of effortless euphoria takes over. That’s why people ride. This week, you could try a ride down the street for the first time. Or train for the Sierra Death Ride in July and its five mountain passes and 15,000 feet in climbs.

My money is on Tiger. Oh, wait — it’s their money? That’s even better. Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson lifted their rivalry into a fresh, entertaining realm this week. They’re playing in the same group Thursday and Friday at the Players Championship, alongside some third wheel named Rickie Fowler, and the occasion prompted Mickelson to float a fantastic, fascinating idea.