downgrade. if it happened to you or me and our credit rating fell it would be harder for us to borrow money for a car or house. we're talking trillions of tla s dollars, so it means it will be harder for the u.s. government, i companies and us consumers to borrow for a while. it makes it more likely investors all over the world will lose confidence in our economy. this could hurt stocks further monday. which means more worries even after things got better on wall street today. fairly strong jobs numbers calmed the markets as we closed out a rough week. rough enough that many bay area investors are still worried about portfolios, retirement funds and jobs. ♪ i lost all my money in my 401(k) ♪ ♪ it's time to move out of good old san jose ♪ >> reporter: outside the coffee shop you'll hear the blues. inside a more positive take on what's going on in the stock market because while it's easy

to complain -- ♪ please mr. obama make my blues go away ♪ ♪ i'm tired of these dark clouds ruining my sunny day ♪ >> reporter: you can breathe easier if you have a long-term plan for your money. >> it makes me nervous but it doesn't change my focus. because i'm kind of hoping for a long-term recovery. >> a lot of people don't want to save for the rainy day and we're in a rainy day. and that's what i try to tell my children. >> reporter: which is music to the ears of consumer financial expert brad elman. >> it's important for people to use days like today's as wake-up calls. >> reporter: panic selling after vertigo inducing stock drops is always a bad idea. >> let's say that you're 63 or 64 and you want to retire at 65. you want to make sure that you have enough cash for that 65th year. maybe even that 66th. but you still are likely to live another 25 or 30 years so you

can't invest all of your money as if you needed it in cash today. and by the same token you can't invest at all in the stock market as if you have forever to weather the ups and downs. >> reporter: in the bay area, take heart. we have the strongest job market around. that's why hannah miller moved here 2 1/2 weeks ago. >> i'm someone who lived back to the bay area from living on the east coast. one of the reasons i moved back, the economy here is stronger and the numbers are better here. ♪ i have no job so i sit here and play ♪ >> reporter: better numbers, even for shaky times, giving investors hope for a better future. all right. there's still a big cloud hanging over your portfolio as we head into the weekend, this downgrade is likely to keep the markets unstable for someime and if uncertainty hangs around on wall street it's likely to hang around the shopping mall, the car dealership and other places consumers spend money.

jessica and janelle, it's the consumer not spending money that's gotten us here in the first place. >> is there any way we can reverse this credit rating downgrade with standard & poor? is it likely this could impact other credit ratings for the united states as well? >> in the very short term we can tell you, this is just crossing the wires, as we found out, we just got the downgrade. the white house is contesting it saying the s&p has some of its facts and figures wrong. that's arguing over a lot of money, but it's still arguing over something that already happened. how do you turn around a credit rating? how does anybody do it? you improve your credit. start paying off some of your debt. you start being less of a risk. standard & poor's is looking at the united states right now and saying, yes, you're still the biggest economy, still the strongest, but you're a little riskier than you were before. we have to start making more than we spend and being seen as less of a risk and then, yes, aa sometimes turns back into aaas. >> from a political fallout from this, scott, this is a direct impact with the impasse we had

with the debt ceiling and wrangling going on between democrats and republicans in. >> some comments from the s&p hinted at that and said it took too long to get there. looking ahead, this rating, as far as how things are going to be in the future, looking ahead we may run into sthethese probl again. we have to build up confidence outside agencies have in our economy before we build up our credit rating again. >> scott budman, thanks for s l spelling it out. a hit-and-run in san francisco. a 9-year-old in critical condition. the driver under the influence and under arrest. the boy who was in townse wheef the giants is fighting for his life tonight. it happened just after 10:30 last night at mission and new montgomery streets. monty francis is live with more. we understand the boy suffered serious head injuries. >> reporter: that's right. 9-year-old ryan white is listed in critical condition at san francisco general hospital tonight. and we're here at the intersection of new montgomery and mission streets where the boy was hit by that pickup truck

last night. see new montgomery, it's a one-way street. traffic is flowing in one direction. police say the driver was going the wrong way and the boy was hit in the crosswalk. police arrested 21-year-old andrew vargas in hayward after at least 15 witnesses gave their description of him and his white toyota pickup to police. a few of those witnesses came to hayward to identify vargas in person and were able to recognize him because they say he initially returned to the scene. >> it is clear, though, he did leave the scene, come back to the scene before he fled to go over to the east bay. >> reporter: 9-year-old ryan white in town from philadelphia with his family to see the giants play the phillies was leaving at&t park with his family to return to their hotel at about 10:40 last night. police say after the pickup truck hit the boy, the driver fled the scene. ran over a 58-year-old woman's foot then crashed into several other parked and moving

vehicles. leaving behind a trail of smashed cars. police say vargas was later found to have a blood alcohol level over the legal limit. >> when he was stopped by the police they did give him a preliminary alcohol screening. the p.a.s. he was over the legal limit at that point. but they then turned him over and complete investigation over to the san francisco police apartme department. >> reporter: the boy is recovering at san francisco general hospital where his family has asked the media to respect their privacy. >> that's very tough. you know, especially being that, you know, they were coming from the game, you know, trying to have a good evening and something that unfortunate to happen. >> reporter: vargas is being held at the san francisco jail. he faces charges of felony hit-and-run and also driving under the influence. the giants plan to acknowledge 9-year-old ryan white at tonight's game right before the national anthem. live in san francisco tonight, monty francis, nbc bay area

news. >> thank you, monty. new at 6:00 tonight the phrase justice delayed is justice denied, taking added meaning in the south bay. subject cuts stretched court delays from days to weeks. santa clara county hasn't yet had to close courtrooms the way other counties have. some 100 job openings have gone unfilled in the past couple years and the paperwork is piling up. slowing case load management. >> that results in orders that would normally be filled in a day or two, the processing now takes perhaps weeks. telephone calls don't necessarily get returned right away. some of the lines we have at some of our service stations are much longer. >> i don't believe so because of the cases that are now not being filed because people don't have the money to go forward with the cases in court. so that with the less amount of cases now being filed, the judges should be able to keep up

with the present work that they have. >> the attorney says he had to cut back his office, too, saying clients don't have the money to file many cases during this recession. a night of bingo ended in a trip to the hospital for a man in santa clara. it happened an walsh avenue. santa clara police say the man was walking away from a bingo event at the american legion hall when two men attacked him and tried to rob him. the man fought back and was stabbed once. he's recovering at a local hospital. police are looking for his attackers. s for the second time in two months the feds said no to california's crrequest for dissaster money. we showed you the video that the state compiled to prove to fema 17 california counties were eligible for emergency relief money. $50 million in damage was added up from the march storms. santa cruz county hit the hardest by flash floods, landslides and buried roads. again, though, fema is saying no. in a letter which says the repairs are not beyond the ability of the state when

combined with local governments. police are issuing a warning to parents in gilroy after men have tried to lure children away from their homes. it's happened twice just in the last two weeks. the first incident happened early last week on miller avenue. a man ordered a 10-year-old girl to get into his car. the second incident happened this past wednesday on ortego circle near wren avenue. a man tried to lure three kids away asking them to come to a nearby restaurant with them. police released a sketch of the man from the first incident. he's around 30 years old with short hair and a goatee. he was wearing a white tank top and tan shorts. will he or won't he? decision day around the corner for interim san francisco mayor ed lee to announce whether he'll make a run to keep the office permanently. the head of the city's police union says lee will make his announcement by monday. lee's office isn't confirming that saying the decision will be made sometime next week. lee as you know became mayor last january when gavin newsom became lieutenant governor.

until recently lee said he wouldn't seek re-election. lee has until friday to file his papers. the one place children should be safe is at school, but coming up, how teachers with criminal records are still in the classroom. the mishap that's leaving a backlog of thousands of cases still under investigation. and from the east side to the olympics? how a san jose boxer fought off gangs and violence to make it to the top of his sport. also ahead, too sexy for elementary school? the 10-year-old cover girl causing a stir in the fashion world. i'm in for chief meteorologist jeff ranieri. tonight we're tracking finally what looks to be a summer-like forecast as we edge closed t the weekend. mid 80s inland. coal 60s around san francisco. we'll talk about that weekend forecast plus rare sights in our night sky could be coming to the bay area tonight. details coming up. [ female announcer ] at the jcpenney huge sale,

back to school style is hugely affordable! with unbeatable doorbusters... ...find huge savings... like $14.99 juniors' dresses.... ...$12.99 boys' and girls' arizona jeans.... ....and $4.99 guys' screen tees. save huge on nike and new balance shoes too -- just $38.99! plus, with jcp cash, earn 10, 15 or 20 dollars off on the spot. no exclusions! unlike other stores, we don't make you come back to save! go to jcp.com to see everything on sale. we make back to school style affordable. you make it yours. jcpenney. montrose, california. in here, anarchy meets order. working with at&t, doctors set up a broadband solution to handle data and a mobility app to stay connected with their business. so they can run the office... even when they're not in the office. call at&t and see what we can do for you.

with unlimited voice plus broadband, starting at $70 dollars. it's a network of possibilities -- helping you do what you do... even better.

new at 6:00 we've been reporting to you virtually every week about the rise in violence in san jose. gang-related homicides are up this year, but today an inspirational story of a young man who stayed away from the gangs of east san jose and now is soon to be an olympian. nbc bay area has the story. >> reporter: he's a superfly weight. >> i'm 18 years old and i'm from san jose, california. >> reporter: at 108 pounds, he walks like a giant and he punches even harder. >> he is very physically and mentally strong. >> reporter: candy lopez is a retired san jose cop. he's also been training boxers at the police athletic league for 30 years but he's never had an olympian. now he does. >> this will be the pinnacle. i mean, this is what every amateur boxer, this is what our program is all about, for them to reach their potential. >> reporter: he is at the olympic tryouts in mobile, alabama, this week.

from san jose, coach lopez had tips for his fighter just a few hours before friday's bout. >> keep your hands up. always punch and step around all the time. don't stay in front of this guy. >> reporter: he grew up in east san hjose. he was a proud royal at overfelt high school. >> it's really exciting, really exciting to have a student of overfelt high school to possibly represent the united states at the olympics. >> reporter: growing up, he was often surrounded by gangs and drugs but he stayed away and instead asked for help from his big brother. >> he was like 13 years old when he first started. >> reporter: johnny introduced his brother to his girlfriend's father, himself a retired boxer and that's when it all began in this backyard on tampa way. >> he would stay here from after school which was like 3:00 until probably, like, 8:00 then he'd still go home, do his homework. just an everyday thing. >> reporter: his coach says making the wrong decisions in life might have been easier, but

that's not his style. he chose to put the gloves on and do his talking inside the squared circle. so far his talking has been loud, raising eyebrows at the olympic trials. >> man, what a great -- we're very proud of him. >> corea representing overfelt high school on the international stage is huge. >> reporter: a kid from east san jose, a fighter with a heavy jab and now a proud olympian. >> just so proud of him. we all just support him. >> reporter: nbc bay area news. a court case pending in california could decide whether or not trial lawyers can actually dismiss potential jurors simply because they're gay. the u.s. ninth circuit court of appeals heard arguments thursday in pasadena for a challenge from an l.a. prosecutor's decision to release a lesbian from the jury in an assault case against a gay federal inmate. the defender argued the trial judge was wrong in dismissing the lesbian from the jury.

a prosecutor said she was let two for legitimate reasons. a favorable ruling could extend constitutional discrimination protection to homosexuals. state education officials might have a harder time keeping track of teachers' credentials. california has to return a $6 million federal grant that would have tracked information about teachers. governor jerry brown vetoed the proposal last month. the california association of teacher credentialing is trying to revamp its system for tracking teacher misconduct. they wasted a lot of time on investigations of teachers who weren't even working. >> or they were fingerprint and never got a credential or potentially they got a circuit of clearance at the everywhere beginning which would allow them to get in a classroom but they never decided to pursue that career and got a credential. >> a recent audit blasted the commission for having a backlog of more than 12,000 reports of misconduct over a three-year period. commissioners say that back log

has since been eliminated. don't blame the technology. that's the word from google after one of the company's well known self-driving cars got into a fender bender this week near the mountain view campus and involved two priuses. the computer-controlled w eled driven by an actual person at the time of the crash. google had been working on an automated car project. the safety record of its humanless cars is still in tact. those cars have driven 160,000 miles without any accidents. >> pretty good track record. let's turn things over to rob. he has a pretty good track record with the weather as well. >> hey there. the weather pretty nice. we did warm up a little bit today across east bay inland values. livermore, 88. weather watchers calling in. so things did warm up south of san jose. look what happens as we head into the inner bay. 70 trees in oakland. 66 in san francisco.

we have the fog sweeping in right now. 79 napa. 88 in fairfield. see the temperatures still some mid 80s inland, areas basically eecht of 680 hanging on. 76 in san jose. we have a strong sea breeze that will push in low clouds tonight. see the winds picking up out of the west at 15 through livermore. fremont festival of the arts continues through the weekend. we'll have the nbc bay area pavilion out there as well. check out christina lauren and mike inowe out there tomorrow. low 80s through the weekend. we've had low clouds creeping over downtown san francisco. see it down the coast following highway 1 and toward the bottom there, highway 17 as you get into santa cruz, the fog punching into gilroy, sweeping up to salinas valley and approaching san jose. we hope the fog holds off. we've been talking about three major solar shows which at this hour are hitting the earth's upper atmosphere.

we're seeing pictures like this across northern europe. a low latitude event for the aurora borealis across northern europe. chances are we might see a little bit of this in the northern u.s. tonight. if you have clearing, look off to the north maybe tonight. maybe just maybe you'll see a little bit of the green and red tint to the sky off to the north. temperatures for tomorrow morning, mid 50s. lots of low clouds. again, drizzle for the morning. by lunchtime 70s to already near 80 inland around livermore. 4:00, like we had today, comfortable blend of temperatures. 70s to mid-80s inland. 82 in san jose. coming up in the next half hour we'll let you know if the temperatures are going to hold up for the rest of your weekend plans in the seven day forecast coming up in a few minutes. >> see you in a bit, rob. what about this? what a novel idea? reaching out to someone without using a computer or a cell phone or texting. sounds old-fashioned, doesn't it? meet the bay area man who wants to help people rediscover the art of letter writing.

also a home invasion/robbery attempt foiled. next, the dramatic story of how aeenager defended his home with a little quick thinking. [ male announcer ] brace yourself for the big, bold taste of a subway® bbq pulled pork sub. tender, succulent slow-cooked pork with sweet and smoky barbecue sauce, all on freshly baked bread. subway. eat fresh®.

he's not a friend but may have been on your facebook page. a man known to the feds as the spam king turned himself into the fbi yesterday. after he was indicted by a federal grand jury in san jose. stanford wallace is accused of sending out enough spam messages to compromise 500,000 facebook accounts during 2008 and 2009. now, he reportedly hacked into facebook users' accounts and posted spam links on people's walls and people would log on to facebook, click on a link because they thought it was sent by a trusted friend. he faces charges of electronic

mail fraud, intentional damage to a computer and criminal contempt. if convicted on all counts he could face a maximum of 40 years in prison and $2 million fine. people rely a lot on facebook, social networking for pictures and to message one another. remember the days when people wrote each other letters? joe rosato jr. shows us an art project bringing back snail mail. >> reporter: there once was a time not that long ago when people communicated through a thing called the letter. ivan cash has nostalgia for the old ways or at least what he's heard of them. >> i feel like it's a really fast paced world where everyone is connected all the time, myself included. >> reporter: cash decided to slow things down. he launched a project called snail mail my e-mail.org. people can send him an e-mail of up to 100 years and a team of volunteers will handwrite an

actual letter and mail it to the recipient. >> i don't think it's an ideal way of having other people write letters for you, but it's a way of easily allowing people to experience that feeling you get when you receive a letter. >> reporter: the volunteers cover the postage, since launching the month-long project in mid-july, cash and his team have mailed 2,500 letters across the globe. >> i think that the success of this project to me shows how receptive people are to going back to a more physical, tangible slowed down alternative. >> dearest love, i am so amazed as we approach our 24th anniversary how much i fall more deeply in love with you year after year. >> reporter: the requests include plenty of love letters. >> you are my best friend, my confida confidant, the best lover. >> reporter: occasional poem. >> the time has come, the walrus said, to talk of many things. >> reporter: even a dear john letter. >> says dear thomas, i don't think it's working out. sorry. i think it's time we ended

things. >> reporter: the simplest message coming to life with the personal touch, whether a doodle or a little lip service. >> it's fun to be able to put your own personal touch on somebody else's personal thoughts i guess. >> reporter: the project's even inspiring some volunteers to dust off the old handwriting skills. >> i think one time i was -- i had a class in college where the assignment was to write a letter and i don't think i even did that. >> we have definitely gotten letters from parents. to their infant children saying, hey, this is probably, like, this might be the only snail mail letter you get which is, like, whoa. >> reporter: cash hopes the project will remind people of the excitement of getting something in the mail that isn't a bill. a physical message that means more than mere words could ever say. joe rosato jr., nbc bay area news. >> i'm old school. i love handwritten letters and handwritten thank you notes. >> means so much more. much more meaningful. still ahead, 6,000 apply,

only a few make it. a change in pace in a time of budget cuts and slashed staff. the bay area city swearing in new firefighters. i'm arianne fabro. i'll talk exclusively with a 15-year-old that fended off an armed gunman with an unloaded bb gun. that story coming up. also, better living through shakespeare? what's behind these prisoners performing the classics at san quentin? cc1:

it was a case of a real gun versus a fake one. a 15-year-old mountain view boy was able to fend off armed attackers with an unloaded bb gun. it's a story you'll only see on nbc bay area news. marion fabro has more on this brave teenager.

>> we heard a loud boom. three black males were assaulting my father. trying to take his money. >> reporter: 15-year-old victor is still shaken after a gunman and two other men attacked and tried to rob his father on the doorstep of their mountain view apartment. >> took out a gun at us and pointed at me and my friend. >> reporter: with a gun pointed at his head, victor had one thought. >> i'm dead. >> reporter: fortunately, his quick-thinking friend, jesus romero, had his back. he grabbed this. a broken unloaded bb gun and did this. >> just like that. >> reporter: that single sound was enough to scare the suspects. >> they all just left running. they just ran away. >> reporter: police are still trying to track them down. victor says his brave friend saved his family. >> i thank my friend already for doing that. or else if they would have stayed here longer they would have harmed us. >> reporter:victor shares a

birthday with jesus and now share a story of survival. while the police to admit this boy was very brave, they want to warn the public it's not a good idea to confront somebody with a handgun. in mountain view, nbc bay area news. >> thank you. san jose police arrested a 48-year-old man for stabbing his girlfriend to death. it's the 27th homicide date in san jose. it happened north of stevens creek boulevard near saratoga avenue. an unidentified was stabbed to death at the 4200 block of albany drive. police arrested the suspect still there. they found the woman's body in the apartment. she had been stabbed multiple times. san jose had seven more homicides this year than all of last year. at a time when cities are cutting back on fire protection, today's graduates from san francisco's fire training academy feel not just pride but

gratitude. >> congratulations to the 113th recruit class. >> the 35 recruits worked hard to win their badges today spending 14 weeks at the academy in the classroom and performing tough physical exercises. they also know their timing is good. this is the department's first graduating class is in nearly six years. >> i have to thank the city and the support of the city in having public safety be important to it. this is pretty rare a fire department is hiring right now. i mentioned it before, again, it's a testament to the city of san francisco. it's a beautiful city. it's an iconic city. and i know that our class could not be more proud to be here. >> this class is the cream of the crop. there were more than 5,000 applicants for these 35 positions. tonight we know a bit more about the california woman who was the first and only person so far to die as a result of the

latest sal monella outbreak. cargill recalled 36 million pounds of ground turkey. health officials say the one person who died was a 65-year-old woman in sacramento. the recall came five months after the first reported illness. >> we got a lot of work to do to look at that, but we're committed to finding out what caused this problem and how we're going to address it. until we have those answers, we'll keep the production of ground turkey down. we won't be producing ground turkeys. >> there have been more than 70 cases reported of people getting sick around the country. the state is going to need more time to find a way to reduce its prison population, according to a new report issued today by the nonpartisan legislative office. it folk focuses on the needs t a supreme court ruling requiring california to cut the number of inmates by 34,000 over the next two years. governor jerry brown's

realignment plan involves moving nonviolent inmates to county jails. the report says that won't be enough and the state needs more time to comply. >> the supreme court did suggest that the state could ask for a five-year extension from the lower court that issued the ruling and seemed to think it was reasonable, so that's another reason why we're recommending the state ask the lower court for the extension. >> state prisons are currently at 180% of capacity with about 144,000 inmates housed in the state's 33 prisons. the quality of mercy is apparently not strained at san quentin. 13 prison inmates will perform shakespeare's 12th night for their fellow prisoners. the director is a pro from the outside. from the marin shake shakespear company. photojournalist shows us how even in prison life can really be a stage.

>> would you have a love song or a song of -- >> are you a comedian? >> shakespeare is timeless. from love to loss, to finding yourself again. i've never done acting before. i'm a musician and i play in three different bands and the best part is playing a guitar and singing. >> going to make the audience laugh. we're going to do a little tears. you know, it's going to be good. >> i will. >> i'm having a ball. i'm having a good time. this character allows me to actually be somebody else just for a short time. for a short time. ♪ i can't get no -- >> i have 12 years now and i have to do another 17 years.

i'm a three striker. i did a first degree burglary in 1999 in mill valley, california, under the influence of drugs. >> let my eyes not see. >> it will be great if other shakespeare programs can venture to other prisons. i think it would help out with transforming the men and women and the young adults in juvenile hall to become better people. well, still to come at 6:00, they may be small, but they're making a big splash in pop culture. we're talking about bobble heads. next why the giants can take the title of home team of this oddly irresistible keepsake. a bay area teen playing the role he's been waiting for. behind the scenes of the broadway smash, "billy elliot." we're watching the fog race across the bay. see from oakland looking back to

san francisco. 64 degrees, right now in san francisco, which by the way is the place we're going to be watching the giants and phillies coming up tonight. cool evening at the ballpark. take your sweatshirt. find out what you'll need for the weekend in the forecast coming up.

preteen fashion models are not a new thing. remember brooke shields? a recent photo from a cover of a french magazine is setting the internet abuzz. this is the french model, tilan blondo. she's 10 years old. she's wearing a lot of makeup, stiletto high heels and is posed to look sexy. critics say it's disturbing. >> wildly inappropriate. child pornography. just way out there. >> inappropriate. i don't like the outfit.

the hairdo, the shoes, too much for a young lady. >> supporters say while the practice of dressing young girls too provocatively may be looked down on in the united states, in europe it's much more common and not controversial. boxing or ballet? it's not a choice that most boys have to make. hollywood told the story of billy elliot, a young man wanting to be a dancer in a rough and rugged mining town. the musical is in san francisco. the local teen who learned his dance moves in bay area has the lead role and is finding out that art really imitates his real life. ♪ and one and two and three and four ♪ >> reporter: billy elliot the musical tells a story of one boy's life changing journey from boxer to dancer. for bay area native, j.p., who spent the half year and a half in toronto and chicago with the national tour, pieroting his way into audience's hearts it's

reaffirming. >> in the show, billy, he fights really, really hard to do ballet. it's like me. i do what i love to do. >> make sure your shoulders are over your hips, right over your knees. >> reporter: the 15-year-old is loving his part as one of five alternating billys headlining the show at san francisco's grand theater. now a second home to the 21-kid cast players. like the character he plays, j.p. was smitten at 7 when he slipped on his first ballet shoes with the shelley pack dancers in half moon bay. like billy, he had to go to solo at the ballet bar while proving on the playground tap is for tough guys, too. >> when my friends found out i was a dancer, at first they were like, that's kind of weird. then, but, i'd like show them, sometimes i'd dance for them and show them the splits or something and they'd be like, whoa, you're really flexible. >> reporter: unlike billy, j.p. has always had the support of mom who's traveled the country

with him and he's had mentors like resident choreographer, kurt, who says billy's story is every male dancer's feeling. >> all of our billys feel the same way. they were the outcast. people knew they dance. it wasn't until now most of them felt there's no need to explain. >> reporter: these days j.p. is doing all his talking with these happy feet. and while he admits to sometimes missing regular school, his various school pals can now see him on stage and learn the lesson of billy, too. >> strive for what you want to do and just do it. >> just do it. billy elliot leaves town at the end of august, last performance august 21st. super high energy show. 21 kids in the cast. they need seven wranglers to get all the kids on stage. >> super talented. >> super weather forecast, right ? >> for the weekend it's going to

look good. san francisco and oakland, we have the fog racing in. look at that crossing over downtown san francisco. we'll talk more about a forecast that's actually starting to live up to summer-like standards coming up. and the giants are ready for revenge against the philliephil. we'll tell you why it's the underrated starting pitchers for both squads that provide big story lines. sports is coming up next.

giants fans packed at&t park all season and oftentimes arrive really early to get their hands on very prized possessions handed out at the gate. one of those being the beloved bobble head. nbc bay area's lauren scott takes us through the evolution of these tiny collectibles. >> reporter: detailed, unique and highly sought after. bobble heads are a true must-have for fans who love baseball collectibles. and this modern day bobble head revival began over a decade ago in san francisco, when the giants were looking for a fun way to wrap up their final season at candlestick park. >> we wanted to come up promotions and special events that were nostalgic. bobble heads, i remember as a kid going to candlestick park as a small boy, you can always buy a bobble head at the merchandise stands. we didn't have giveaways back then, once in a while a bat day.

>> reporter: the giants called in a specialist to craft the next generation of possible heads. >> we actually met with a supplier and said, we have this idea, it's a bobble head and we tried to explain to him what a bobble head was. he said, it's kind of a short, pudgy little ceramic doll and the head has to bobble. i still remember the first prototype we got back from the supplier was a really thin bobble head with a real tiny head on it. i said, no, that's the act opposite. it has to be heavy. anyway, this was the first bobble head, a willie mays bobble head. 1999. it's interesting. i still remember the day we gave it away. it came in a box. fans felt like, wow, this is really -- there's substance to it. it's heavy and we knew immediately we had a winner. >> reporter: and the trend started to blossom just about everywhere, in the visiting clubhouse manager's office at at&t park, harvey has a huge collection including a version of himself, one of several hundred bobble heads that have become a popular hidden gem at

the park for select visitors. when folks tour the ballpark his office is one of the stops for those who ask to see this in person. >> i had a fellow come in the last home stand. he did the tour because he was hoping i would be here because it was on a game day. he came in and brought me a bobble head, a willie mays one. they were just interesting. they were interesting. i thought it would be something neat. >> every bobble head that's been made, i don't mean jigiants, al sports, all works of life, he seems to have them all. it's a collection. >> reporter: it started with retro inspired thinking now given modern twists. >> i think we're all trying to be creative. remember last year or the year before we did tim lincecum with the real hair. maybe we'll do one with a brian wilson beard. maybe we've got an idea there. >> reporter: which no doubt will have fans nodding with approval. >> i like that. i love going to a game and getting a bobble head. >> they're so cute. >> exactly. exactly. the brian wilson one would be

hilarious. people would be going early for that one for sure. >> we need a rob bobble head. we could have that whole thing around you. >> bobble hand with the weather clicker, move my head around. august 27th, another tim lincecum bobble head coming up later this month. add to your collection. head out to the ball park. 76 in san jose. nor northwest winds at 12 miles an hour. cloud free in san jose. tomorrow morning, low clouds spilling inland. filling inland from the west side of the bay, oakland looking to san francisco. 64 degrees. in san francisco it's chilly. we have 64, very likely we'll find mist and drizzle for your evening plans around the embarcadero. bundle up. it's gusty. northwest winds at 20 miles per hour. warm inland. livermore, pleasanton, dublin, still warm. far inland. see the cooling. as the sea breeze takes hold, temperatures drop off. fan tastastic weather for the

fremont festival of the arts. we have mike inowe out there and christina lauren at the nbc bay area booth saturday. as the sun starts to set we're starting to see clouds not looking hot on the satellite view as the sun sets. we lose the cloud top brightness. they're moving inland through gilroy. speaking of clouds let's hope they hold off because this is one of the few nights we're watching what's happening in outer space. the northern lights are normally up in the arctic circle. when we get a strong series of solar flares, there's a chance if you look northward tonight, especially in inland valleys, we may see this. areas in the northern half of the united states have a better chance than the bay area. look for maybe pink in the sky late night looking on the horizon to the north. crimson colors. the green from oxygen atoms in the upper atmosphere. gets that really unique color.

maybe just maybe we see that later on tonight. we've been watching this. 11:00 we'll update you. it's sweeping across canada. wisconsin, minnesota and washington will see a chance of northern lights tonight. maybe here in the bay area. let's hope the fog holds off to prevent any problems of viewing. see our temperatures tonight. mostly in the 50s. tomorrow, 70s and 80s. we are back in our comfortable spread of summer microclimates. not too hot, not too chilly. everybody stuck in low clouds and mist for san francisco and the coast especially for the morning. 65 san francisco. near 70 in oakland. once again as you head out to 680 and tri valley locations, mid-to upper 80s. those are the warmest spots tomorrow. the seven-day forecast looks really comfortable this time of year. air quality this fine. temperatures in a good range for the weekend. >> okay, rob, looks good. >> professor, that was a good explanation on the northern lights. >> i talked it up. i hope it happens finally under.

thanks. >> let's get to sports. okay. let's check in with dave at the comcast sports net newsroom to find out what's happening in the world of sports. >> here's the brian wilson bobble head. this is from a couple years ago. you notice he's lacking the beard. >> you need a sharpy. you need a sharpy. >> yeah. i don't know. yeah. i don't want to deface that one. it doesn't belong to me. we'll see. speaking of the giants, last night's game at at&t, phillies players openly admitted the giants were starting to get into their heads. did last night's 3-0 philly win change that? we'll find out shortly in game two of the four-game set. jonathan sanchez will look to reclaim in his first start since june 24th. a game we'll have on comcast sports net bay area and jamie syer is at at&t park and joins us to set the scene. hello, jamie. >> reporter: hi, dave. all eyes will be on jonathan sanchez tonight, but don't

forget at the sacramento native vance worley, gone 5-0 in his last eight starts including the first career complete game against the giants last week. >> i would imagine they went back and looked at film and are going to try to pick apart, you know, what i threw against them last time. it's up to me to go out there and make adjustments to their adjustment es they're going to make. >> try to get pitchers to hit and pitch up to the sun and try to get line drive and see what happens. >> threw the ball well over there in philly. i think just his command was, you know, what kept us off balance a little bit in and out with the fast ball and just pinpoint command. throwing strikes. so maybe be a little more aggressive tonight and see what happens. >> reporter: and a buster posey sighting in the clubhouse today. he's still using that walking boot and the crutch.

as early as sunday or monday he can begin walking without that crutch. reporting live from at&t park, jamie syer for nbc bay area. a's looking to snap a three game losing streak in tampa. pick this one up in the fifth. 3-0 rays. matt joyce to score casey kotchman. rays leading the a's 7-2 in the eighth inning. santa clara, the 49ers have yet to officially fill their training camp roster. dante whitner not on hand for today's session. the niners' first preseason game is one week from today at new orleans. williams and carlos rogers were on hand friday, both players hoping to make a big impact in 2011. the secondary was considered the weak link for the 9ers defense for 2011. we welcome in mindy from santa

clara. are the 49ers feeling good about this new blood? >> reporter: they still have questions about the defensive secondary. as far as dante whitner and carlos rogers, they're feeling good. they pick up two very good starters. carlos rogers the ninth overall pick in the 2005 draft and developed into one of washington's top cover corners. he's more than forthright about why he wants to be here in san francisco. >> just the team and the attitude of the coach, and, you know, i needed change out of washington. i wanted something new. an environment that's not around superstars, you know, who's the next player coming to a team. i just want a group of guys, you know, that's willing to work and trying to get better. this team is hungry. they haven't won a season in a while and just talki inin ining the attitude of the team. i want to be a part of that. >> reporter: and one of the other reasons that rogers wanted to come to san francisco is he

noticed that the 49ers play his former team the redskins in week nine. actually the 49ers play the entire nfc east and teams roger is familiar with as he competed with them over the past six seasons. in santa clara, nbc bay area. dave? all right. thank you very much, mindy. that will do it from the comcast sports net studio. let's get it back to the nbc bay area studios. >> we're counting on you to get that sharpy and make that into a full beard brian wilson bobble head. >> i don't know how i'm going to get it long. i'll see what i can come up with. >> you'll come up with something. for a full half hour of bay area sports coverage, watch comcast sports net central and see the guys and that possible head again at 10:30. >> we'll be right back. [ female announcer ] what's so great about jcp cash?

no exclusions! with jcp cash, earn 10, 15 or 20 dollars off on the spot storewide! and, unlike other stores, we don't make you come back to save. get up to $20 off with no exclusions! we make style affordable, you make it yours! jcpenney.

no exclusions! with jcp cash, earn 10, 15 or 20 dollars off on the spot storewide! and, unlike other stores, we don't make you come back to save. get up to $20 off with no exclusions! we make style affordable, you make it yours! jcpenney. brett cannon talks about what's coming up at 7:00. >> big news tonight. you touched on it already. the u.s. credit rating has been downgraded. caps a rough week on wall street with financial implications. nasa launched a rocket to jupiter. we're going to hear the san francisco woman who rode twitter all the way to cape canaveral. a man pulling kids off the street and into the ring. a program he says is reshaping the lives of bay area teenagers. tune into comcast digital 186 in just a few. >> we'll be watching. see you tonight at 11:00. bye. [ man ] i got this new citi thankyou card

and started earning loads of points. you got a weather balloon with points? yes i did. [ man ] points i could use for just about anything. ♪ ♪ there it is. [ man ] so i used mine to get a whole new perspective. ♪ [ male announcer ] the new citi thankyou premier card gives you more ways to earn points. what's your story? citi can help you write it.

♪ [ cheering, fireworks popping ] ♪ great save, kid. ♪ [ man ] pepsi max. the official soft drink of major league baseball.