AL West

Insecurity: The Boston Bombings Create a Revival of Security Theater in S.F.

DJ Delgado on the Evolution of Oakland's DJ Scene and Celebrating Five Years of Fresh Jamz

Attending middle school with artists such as Opio, Casual, and Touré of the Hieroglyphics crew in the early '90s, Oakland-born DJ Delgado sought to find his own creative outlet amid the beats and rhymes of hip-hop. He was attracted to "the constant positivity and push for social change" in reggae m ... More >>

Top 12 Moments of The Year of the Bay Area Sports Renaissance

With the New Year just hours away, we can finally say it without fear of a buzzer-beating jinx: 2012 marks The Year of the Bay Area Sports Renaissance. These things tend to come in cycles. The Bay's Age of Terrible Sports was a long, cold winter. Game Six in '02 was the first snow, and the blizzar ... More >>

Top Five Things Oakland Spokesman MC Hammer Could Do To Improve His Hometown

Oakland, meet your new tourism ambassador: MC Hammer, famous rapper, man of Christ, former A's exec, and purveyor of some very goofy pantaloons. The man born Stanley Burrell was born and raised in East Oakland, so it's only natural that he'd by tapped by the city for a new campaign to counter its ra ... More >>

Detroit Tigers Fans' Thoughts on the Giants

Fandom is, naturally, a partisan affair. No team has more heart than the Giants! Marco Scutaro is the hottest hitter in baseball! Defense, base running, and timely hitting are the keys to victory in October! Angel Pagan should be on the cover of a romance novel! Most of us have been following the G ... More >>

Oakland's Ballpark Is More Veggie-Friendly Than San Francisco's

Some vegetarian baseball fans out there might have been surprised to read the news in the Chronicle today that noted San Francisco's AT&T Park is no longer the most veggie-friendly baseball stadium in the country. In fact, we're not even on the top 10. And to add insult to injury, Oakland outdid ... More >>

Live Review, 6/23/12: New Edition Reunites With Bobby Brown at Oracle Arena

New Edition Tony! Toni! Toné! Saturday, June 23, 2012 Oracle Arena Better than: Smacking it up, flipping it, or rubbing it down. New Edition's "Road to 30" tour celebrates 29 years since the band found international recording success. But its origins actually stretch back to 1978, when producer M ... More >>

Lost Boys of Summer: Some Ex-Ballplayers Seek Help From MLB

Bragging Rights

Manny Ramirez in Oakland: Savor the Possibilities

The half-million dollar man...​Back in the days of yore, Jon Lovitz had a Saturday Night Live bit in which he pitched himself to "single women in their 30s" with the plea "Lower your standards!" Fast-forwarding several decades, the Oakland A's signed erratic, potential fortysomething, busted stero ... More >>

Baseball by the Numbers

MC Hammer, Brian Wilson, Other Non-San Francisco Voters Shill for Ed Lee

By now you may already be recovering from watching the Ed Lee music video featuring MC Hammer, Brian Wilson, Ashkon, Willie Brown and others. The video was funded in large part by Hammer's good pal and right-wing piñata du jour Ron Conway, as well as Sean Parker (who you may recall having paranoid ... More >>

Sorry, Simba Moneyball is King of the Jungle

Jackpot​Back in 1994, The Lion King's Simba gave his competitors fair warning via song -- "I'm gonna be a mighty king, so enemies beware" -- but that didn't stop Moneyball from dominating San Francisco's box office this weekend. In fact, you could say it was a home run for the Oakland A's baseball ... More >>

"Moneyball": Formula Works for Sabermetrics Sports Flick

Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie Stop in Oakland Tonight

​Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, the Hollywood power couple better know as "Brangelina," will be in downtown Oakland tonight for Pitt's premiere of Moneyball, a flim based on the Oakland A's 2002 season.

Get Hungry: Pictures from the Bay Area BBQ Championship

Luis Chong​The Bay Area BBQ Championship went down Saturday, with 32 competitors throwing down their best 'cue in the parking lot at the Oakland Coliseum before an A's-Angels doubleheader. The big winners? Big B's Down N Dirty of Pacifica was named Grand Champion, while Slap Yo Daddy of Diam ... More >>

Barbecue Championship Haiku Contest Winners

​San Francisco knows haiku. We had 41 entries in our haiku contest to win tickets to the Bay Area BBQ Championship on Saturday, and many of them were great. No wonder, with a great prize: three $48 tickets, which include five food/drink tickets for each person at the BBQ championship, and thr ... More >>

Win Barbecue and Baseball Tickets in Our Haiku Contest

​We've got three $48 tickets to the Bay Area BBQ Championship on Saturday, July 16, and we're going to give them away! The 'cue will be cookin' at the Oakland Coliseum before a doubleheader between the Oakland Athletics and the Los Angeles Angels of Disneyland. The lucky winner gets three pas ... More >>

Madison Bumgarner -- It Gets Better!

Keep smiling, champ​With Thursday's loss to the Cincinnati Reds, Giants starter Madison Bumgarner entered into the running for a most undesirable laurel. Is he the greatest 2-8 pitcher in Major League history? Despite the 21-year-old's lopsided record, his earned-run average just keeps getting low ... More >>

U2's Giant Spider Show Pops a Noisy, Well-Attended Squat in Oakland

Christopher VictorioU2 in Oakland last night.​ U2 Lenny Kravitz Moonalice June 7, 2011 @ O.co Coliseum [The venue formerly known as the Oakland Coliseum] Better than: Watching a U2 concert DVD with the volume really high while standing outside with 70,000 other people. (But actually, that's e ... More >>

The Franchise Recap: The Boys Are Back

AuntJuli/Flickr​Last night, Showtime aired the first installment of The Franchise: A Season with the San Francisco Giants, a look inside the lives and clubhouse of our defending World Series champions. The 30-minute premiere acted as preview for the series, which doesn't technically start until Ju ... More >>

Call It Love

It Takes a Lot of Balls

Sunday: Oakland Rapper Too $hort Makes His Fillmore District Debut at Yoshi's

Tamara PalmerMartin Luther and Too $hort.​Too $hort March 6, 2011 @ Yoshi's SFBetter than: Listening to a studio gangster who's behind closed doors getting his booty all spanked up.He staked a permanent place for Oakland on the international rap map over a more than 25-year career, but T ... More >>

Brian Wilson Challenged to Brawl by Local Idiot

Brian Wilson knows what's best in life: To crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentation of their women​The ascendancy of the San Francisco Giants has created an unexpected quandary. How much Brian Wilson is too much Brian Wilson? For one local dim bulb, that question ... More >>

Giants To Be Honored -- By Congress?

Sadly, the Congressional bill congratulating the Giants does not make mention of 'The Machine'​Congressional Bill: "Whereas the rest of the country learned to 'fear the beard'" Rep. Nancy Pelosi -- you've heard of her -- yesterday introduced a Congressional bill "Congratulating the San Francisco G ... More >>

Will Hideki Matsui Bring Porn Collection to Oakland?

Here's a Hideki Matsui-related image we can show you...​The imminent possibility of the Oakland A's signing Hideki "Godzilla" Matsui could certainly fill some holes in the Athletics' lineup. We'll refrain from recycling the above phrase to make the obvious pun regarding Matsui's other claim to fam ... More >>

Jean Quan: 'Plum Purple Is My Color'

Jean Quan loves the color purple...​Last week we noticed that Oakland Mayor-to-be Jean Quan seemed to be wearing the same purple suit in just about every photograph. Is this her lucky suit? Or is purple just her thing? The answer: Yes. Quan confirmed to SF Weekly that "plum purple is my color." Bu ... More >>

BART Hits Record Numbers, Thanks to Giants World Series Parade

Joe EskenaziPublic transit-riders, unite! ​As SF Weekly wrote during the throes of the World Series, Arlington, Texas, the home of the Rangers, is the largest city in America without public transportation. So if you ever wanted to find yet another contrast between the Bay Area and the Metroplex, h ... More >>

Please Don't Hurt 'Em: Hammer Beefs With Jay-Z

Now that we've made short work of Texas, it's apparently time to revive that age-old rap rivalry between the East and the West. So who's bringing the vitriol for the Left Coast? The Game? Ice Cube? Lil B? 2Pac's stepbrother Mopreme? Nope! It's Oakland rapper, dancer, entrepreneur, reality TV star, ... More >>

World Series: Make Your Best 'Walker, Texas Ranger' Jokes. But Make 'Em Fast.

After the Rangers bullpen issued four consecutive free passes to the Giants in a 7-run eighth, this phrase has taken on a whole new meaning​The San Francisco Giants are not running on all cylinders. They are running on cylinders we didn't even know they had. If you're even a marginal fan, you know ... More >>

World Series: The Look-Alikes Edition

This may explain the misplays in right field...​Everything that could be said about the World Series has pretty much been said. The Giants have done no wrong, they're in a commanding spot, but things can change quickly. So we feel entitled to bring up that, yes, Vlad Guerrero is a dead ringer for ... More >>

World Series: Game 1 Leaves Fans Thrilled -- and Nervous

Eric GolubGame 1 viewed from the Willie McCovey statue on the far side of McCovey Cove​A Giants fan is always waiting for the other shoe to drop. Because, with this team, the other shoe always drops. I can't speak for the hordes of orange-clad people inundating our city -- though, as a long-suffer ... More >>

World Series: Let's Hope Fans Give Bengie Molina Ovation He Deserves

​Bengie Molina is a winner. And he's got the hardware to prove it. Whether the Rangers or Giants capture the World Series, Molina is walking away with a World Series ring. And then he'll retire. Hopefully, the home fans will give him the recognition he deserves today. Molina was a great Giant -- a ... More >>

World Series: Actual Odds For Amazingly Stupid Bets

​Those who squander their hard-earned cash on food and heat rather than gambling it away may not know what a prop bet is. It's not a wager on, say, Yorick's skull or the gun Chekhov saw fit to hang on the wall.  Rather, it's a proposition bet -- or side bet -- on something seemingly chancy an ... More >>

Will President Bush Dare Come To the San Francisco World Series Games?

I heart Texas Rangers.​Is Dubya coming to the World Series? Today's Examiner said it's "rumored" that George W. Bush is headed to either Games 1 or 2 in San Francisco to root for the Texas Rangers, the team which he used to partly own. (There's a good little bit of trivia to get you sports-apathet ... More >>

World Series Specials? Most Places Near the Ballpark Just Want to Survive

chuck l./YelpPublic House is the rare place offering World Series food specials ― some of them geared toward Rangers fans.​With AT&T Park in the national spotlight Wednesday for Game One of the World Series, you'd think South Beach restaurants would be busting out specials oozing with Fear t ... More >>

KTVU Goes Low-Tech to Solve 'Clockgate'

What time is it? ​Back when Charlie Finley owned the Oakland A's, an underling was often tasked with keeping the legendarily unpleasant executive abreast of the team's progress. This was accomplished via the low-tech, but effective, method of attaching a telephone to a radio with a rubber band so ... More >>

U2 Reschedules Oakland Concert to 2011

"See you in 2011, Oakland"​You may resume breathing, disappointed Bay Area U2 fans: Bono and company are coming back. But not until next year. As you no doubt remember, U2 had to cancel last month's Oakland show due to the sunglassed singer's emergency back surgery. Tour promoter Live Nation annou ... More >>

Wanna Star in 'Moneyball' Alongside Brad Pitt? Here's Your Chance.

That's Brad on the right...​You know what? The Curious Case of Benjamin Button kinda sucked. Here's your chance to potentially relay just this information to Brad Pitt while appearing in a movie that may well not suck. The makers of the forthcoming Moneyball, the big-screen adaptation of Michael L ... More >>

Clumsy Attempts to Smuggle Booze Into A's Games Actually Benefit Needy Kids

​The other day, we queried the San Francisco Giants about the fate of the cans and bottles of libations seized by stadium employees from hapless fans entering the stadium. It turns out the answer is about as thrilling as the team's play of late: They pour them out and recycle them. Across the bay ... More >>

What Do Giants Do With Booze You Tried To Sneak In?

​A New Yorker cartoon from the days of yore depicted a burglar, large bag of swag over his shoulder, jauntily tipping his cap at a startled woman sitting up in bed. In the caption, he nonchalantly explained that today's economic conditions had forced many a small businessman into alternative means ... More >>

Friday Night: How Could Erykah Badu Possibly Seem Exciting After Janelle Monae?

Tom FergusonErykah Badu​Erykah Badu Janelle Monae @The Paramount Theatre, Oakland June 17, 2010 Better than: Watching old Michael Jackson videos on repeat. (Well, maybe not.) There were seats all the way up to the front of the stage at the Paramount last night, and at first they seemed silly: A ... More >>

Perfect Games -- Even Imperfect Ones -- Occurring Eerily Often

But for an umpire's imperfect call with two outs in the ninth, Detroit's Armando Galarraga would have had a perfect game today. Roy Halladay of Philadelphia tossed one just last month, as did the Oakland Athletics' Dallas Braden. Two in a month! Mark Buehrle hurled one last year, and, tragically, if ... More >>

If You Didn't Get Tix to Giants Brewfest, There's Always Next Week in Oakland

francobobfred II/FlickrSummer essential: Chugging beer in some stadium parking lot.​The only thing more exciting than the prospect of a series the Giants can actually sweep (vs. the cellar-dwelling D'backs) is great, free-ish beer beforehand in the form of Saturday's first annual Giants Brewfe ... More >>

Former Oakland A's Fan Fave Eric Byrnes Earning $11M to Play Beer-League Softball

Now batting for the Dutch Goose softball squad...​You could say Eric Byrnes was demoted -- but that's a very un-dude way of looking at things. The former Oakland Athletic-turned journeyman left his pro baseball career with both a bang and a whimper this week. After, for lack of better words, fucki ... More >>

Pretzels and Cheddar Goldfish: The cosmos' quarry

Stealing bases and talking balls at Thieves Tavern

Say-It-Ain't-So Joe

Why does Joe Morgan -- the best second baseman in history and a prominent TV broadcaster -- hate Moneyball? And Billy Beane and his Oakland A's? And you, too, if you think the statistical revolution that's overwhelmed Major League Baseball has any

The Sporting Life

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