There are so many different sports that I cover throughout the course of a year, but I seem to spend the most time on football.

It’s more than a fall sport. It’s year-round for me and something I thoroughly enjoy.

A few months ago I was putting together a piece on all the improvements that Vintage High School had made to its weight room. Around the same time, I was talking to Rich Cotruvo, Justin-Siena’s head coach, about the awarding of championship rings in recognition of the Braves’ 2008 CIF North Coast Section Division IV title season.

My guests in March on my Napa Community Public Access TV show (Channel 28) were Santa Rosa Junior College head coach Keith Simons and Bear Cubs defensive coordinator Lenny Wagner. They can’t say enough good things about Napa Valley players.

Over the summer, I checked in with Kevin Harrell, a Vintage grad, entering his senior season as a linebacker at Southern Oregon University, and Jason Lehman, a Justin-Siena product, who is entering his final year as a wide receiver at Occidental College.

During the spring, I spent part of an afternoon with Don Evans, the director of school planning and construction for the Napa Valley Unified School District, going over all the plans for the rebuilding of Napa Memorial Stadium.

In June and July, I was reporting on Napa Valley players in the East-West Charity All-Star Football Classic. I really enjoyed working with the West team’s co-coaches, Jeff Turner of Bethel and Craig Holden of Benicia, during those three weeks.

I phoned Mike Gibson, a second-year guard with the Philadelphia Eagles, before training camp began last month. Gibson, who played football at Napa High, Solano Community College and UC Berkeley, said he was ready to go after off-season surgery for a torn labrum.

Since late July, I’ve been on the Oakland Raiders beat, covering the Silver and Black in their Napa Valley training camp. With the San Francisco 49ers in town for two days of joint practices with the Raiders, camp took on a different look and feel Tuesday morning, as the two teams scrimmaged and took part in padded, full-contact drills for two hours at Redwood Middle School.

There were 7-on-7, 9-on-7, 11-on-11 drills, with different downs and distances as well as a variety of specific situations in place for players to deal with.

“The idea of matching up with somebody else, instead of beating up on each other, breaks up the monotony a little bit,” Niners linebacker Takeo Spikes said after returning to the Embassy Suites in Napa, where the team is staying. “I think we got a lot of good stuff done today.

“Back home, Coach (Mike) Singletary always preaches that if you’re going to be a family, we have to take care of each other. So when you’re going up against another opponent, you respect everything and anything.”

Gore excels for 49ers

Wearing red jerseys and gold pants, the 49ers were on the west side of the complex, warming up and getting ready for the 8:30 a.m. start. The Raiders, in their white jerseys and silver pants, were on the adjacent field.

As one of the first writers to arrive at camp, I immediately noticed Singletary walking around the perimeter of the facility. A Pro Football Hall of Fame member, he had an all-business look as he walked past me.

“There’s a lot of talented teams, but talent can only take you so far,” Singletary said after practice. “The thing that I want us to strive for is being the best team in the league, and that takes a lot of work, because there are a lot of great teams out there.

“But we want to be the best team in the league, and that takes a lot of detail, a lot of getting the small things right. As you can see, we’ve got a lot of work to do.”

Singletary doesn’t have to worry about Frank Gore, who has become one of the top running backs in the NFL, a breakaway threat and strong inside runner who is in his fifth year. Blocking is just as important as rushing and receiving, said Gore, who excelled in 1-on-1 blitz pick-up drills against Raider linebackers, knocking Ricky Brown to the ground.

“Frank was outstanding, exceptional,” said Singletary. “Frank is guy that gets excited about what he is doing, and to me, his heart and his emotion and his enthusiasm is what this game is all about. I wanted him to know that I thought he did a great job and that he’s a running back — ‘OK now, I don’t want you out here getting hurt. Watch yourself, don’t over-do it here.’ He gets into it.”

Gore has learned first-hand about the importance of blocking and being aggressive from Rathman. It was Rathman who told Gore to calm down and be a professional during yesterday’s high-speed contact drill, in which you could hear the pads popping across the field.

“(Rathman) likes tough guys,” said Gore. “He really talks about blocking a lot. He really helped me a lot when he came in with the small things, taking the angles. I try to do my best with whatever he tells me to do. I see that it’s helping my game a whole lot.”

Gore, who became the first 49er in team history to record three straight 1,000-yard rushing seasons, takes as much pride in a good run as he does a good block.

“One of the tough things is blocking,” he said. “A lot of the backs don’t like doing it because it’s tough. I just love going out and doing it. I just love the game. I’m having fun out there.”

Gore was held out of the Niners’ preseason opener last week against Denver and is hopeful of playing in Saturday’s game against the Raiders at Candlestick Park. He said Rathman has played a big part in developing his overall game.

“I just want to show my coach that I’ve been trying to do everything he’s telling me to do. I’m trying my best to get better.

“I want to be a guy that can stay out on the field — I don’t have to come off the field. I listen to my coach, he’s helped my game so much by just teaching me the small things. I’m trying my best to do everything he tells me to do.”

Looking on from the sidelines, former 49er and Raider offensive lineman Jeremy Newberry said he’s been impressed with Gore since he got to the NFL.

“He’s a tough, tough kid,” said Newberry, who played nine years for San Francisco and one year for Oakland. “He’s a hard worker. He’s what you want to block for.”

Practices continue today

The two teams will be back at it again today, with practices at 8:30 a.m. and 4:20 p.m. The teams have meetings and film sessions with their coaches, too.

The Raiders, who are in Napa for five weeks, showed good tempo in the morning session, said coach Tom Cable.

“That’s what we’re here for,” he said. “We’re kind of staying in our pattern, working on situations, staying the course in terms of what we have planned.”

Last year, the two Bay Area teams had joint practices for just one day. Because they both got so much out of it in terms of competition and evaluation, it was extended to a second day.

“You kind of get away from each other and knowing each other’s calls and routes and all those kinds of things. It gives you a chance to really dial in fundamentally on who you are as a football player, and that’s really what we’ve stressed,” said Cable. “Let’s not worry about them. How good can you get — where you put your hands and your feet and your leverage and coverage and your routes and all those kinds of things.

“I look at this like the preseason games, because you’ve got a different opponent there and it’s a great period of just being able to look at them and evaluate everybody.”

Yesterday’s practices were big, indeed. On hand were Raiders owner Al Davis and 49ers owner John York. Also watching was John Madden.

Writers and TV crews from all over the Bay Area were here as well.

Yes, this is football country.

E-mail Executive Sports Editor Marty James at mjames@napanews.com or call 256-2223.