Check out Scott Groot's new baseball coaching Web site. Anyone who loves the game will appreciate the thought that he has put into launching this business. Good stuff in here for young baseball players, their parents, and their coaches. This site covers baseball fundamentals, skills, the psychology of the game, and much more.
Jeff Simons photos (BlackBerry)
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T (John Maybury)
Sam Arena (79) shows you how it's done at the old Bayshore Speedway (adjacent to the Cow Palace) circa 1946. (Bob Pilgrim photo from his work-in-progress on California motorcycling history)
Carl Kiesow (above) was killed at the Riverside Speedway sometime in 1956; he was about 22 years old. He lived a legendary, short, and extraordinarily active life. Very few people on earth have ever seen this picture; it's been buried since his death. In the picture, we see Kiesow aboard Perkins' TT machine at a Riverside TT race. The shot was taken during either 1955 or '56.
BOB PILGRIM
[Bob is working on a history of California motorcycling.]
This song is sung to the tune of "Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow," from back when, by Vaughn Monroe:
Pacifica Mayor Jim Vreeland and son James (center) enjoyed Pacifica Night at AT&T Park despite a Giants drubbing at the hands of the Chicago Cubs. {Mary Sheppard photo}
Strongside Training Systems mixed martial arts fighter Bobby Stack won his fight against renowned San Jose fighter Jose Palacios. The fight at HP Pavilion in San Jose on Friday, June 27, was won by unanimous decision. Stack, a native of Pacifica, came out firing with quick flurries of punches and kicks to start the first round. The rapid onslaught of strikes from Stack had Palacios backing up in constant retreat. Palacios, considered one of the better stand-up fighters, answered back with accurate and powerful strikes of his own, one of which knocked the mouthpiece out of Stack’s mouth. Unfazed, Stack, returned to action by taking Palacios to the ground with a solid takedown. From there on, Stack dominated by putting on an explosive display of ground and pound. Stack owned Palacios. Stack’s unrelenting drive and pressure on the ground kept Palacios out of his element and on his back, taking punishment. After three rounds of intense action, the judges all agreed on a 29-28 victory for Stack. Bas Ruten, a popular veteran to the sport of mixed martial arts, called Stack strong and explosive while announcing the televised featured fight.
Stack trains his fighting technique at Strongside Training Systems in Pacifica. He also works his strength training and agility and conditioning at the new training facility at 1320 Adobe Drive. This was Stack’s first nationally televised fight. He was given his shot at being a good fighter on a big stage, and he delivered to the fullest extent. This fight was a big stepping stone for the 24-year-old Stack, who is steadily climbing the ranks on his way to his goal of winning the Strikeforce lightweight championship. Video footage of Stack’s fight can be seen online in two parts: BOBBY STACK BEATS JOSE PALACIOS
The Rockies scored six more runs, but they proved to be nothing more than exclamation points highlighting rookie right-hander Greg Reynolds' performance.
Reynolds (2-4) baffled the Indians over six innings by keeping his sinkerball down in the strike zone and mixing in his curveball on fastball counts. He gave up just one run on five hits and didn't surrender a walk for the first time this season.
"He made some improvements tonight, without a doubt," Hurdle said. "He pitched efficient, so there were some positives to work off of with Greg."
Reynolds gave up eight runs on 10 hits in just 3 1/3 innings Thursday against the Giants, but he worked with pitching coach Bob Apodaca over the past week to refine his mechanics, and the results were evident on Tuesday.
"When you get out there and competing and you're able to do the things you've been working on the previous week, it's a big step," Reynolds said. "You've got to do that to be successful."
He even contributed with his bat, hitting a single and a double.
"I've been watching Aaron Cook highlights," cracked Reynolds, who was referencing the pitcher's pinch-hit single on Monday.
Reynolds ran into trouble in the sixth when the first three batters to reach base. But after Apodaca came to the mound to remind him to work efficiently, Reynolds struck out Ryan Garko and forced Shin-Soo Choo to line to Omar Quintanilla, who made a diving catch and threw to second to double off former Rockie Jamey Carroll.
"Omar made a great play," Reynolds said. "That was probably the biggest play of the game for me and the team."
Matt Holliday went 3-for-5 with a double and a pair of singles, and Garrett Atkins roped a single down the left-field line to score two runners in the sixth.
The Rockies are 13 games below .500 (29-42), but Arizona's loss to Oakland on Tuesday has them eight games behind first place in the National League West. It's the closest they've been since May 12.
"Reynolds set the tone and we were able to back it up with some key hits," Baker said. "Hopefully we can continue to build off it."
[baseball news clip courtesy of Larry DeMartini]
"Matt Ambrose is a local boy. He has a business in town shaping surfboards. He's also a champion big-wave surfer and is pretty famous. This article is from the January 2009 National Geographic magazine." (Jim Wagner)
CLICK PHOTO TO ENLARGE
Rockies win fourth straight game
By PAT GRAHAM,
AP Sports
Posted: 2008-06-08 00:46:07
DENVER (AP) -Brad Hawpe refuses to read too much into his home run binge since returning from the disabled list. Whatever the cause, it sure helped out Greg Reynolds.
Hawpe's grand slam in the fist inning helped Greg Reynolds get his first major league win as the streaking Colorado Rockies beat Milwaukee 7-2 on Saturday night.
The right fielder is definitely locked in these days, hitting two big homers since coming off the disabled list on Friday. His grand slam was the second of his career, the other was June 16 against Tampa Bay.
He also hit a two-run homer in the eighth Friday to propel the Rockies to a 6-4 win. Hawpe had been out for the last two weeks with a strained right hamstring.
"It's just two games," Hawpe said.
Still, Hawpe's return is a sign the defending NL champions are on the mend. Colorado has now won four in a row, matching the team's longest streak of the season.
Matt Holliday (strained left hamstring) is on a rehab assignment and could be back early next week while shortstop Troy Tulowitzki (quadriceps tear) may soon head out for a rehab stint.
Reynolds (1-3) baffled hitters all evening, limiting Milwaukee to two runs and four hits over six innings.
"I think it was a little overdue for me," said Reynolds, who had his sinker working, breaking four bats as he picked up his first win in six starts. "It feels great."
Brewers Logo MIL (32-30) 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 5 0 (24-38) 5 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 - 7 9 0
* W:G. Reynolds (1-3) (2-6)
7 Rockies Logo COL
* L:D. Bush
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors created a Recreation Alternatives at S.F. Golf Courses Task Force, consisting of golfers from each of the city's golf courses, plus a couple of token non-golfers. June 5 was the last in a series of public meetings with the task force.
The San Francisco-owned golf course at Sharp Park in Pacifica is managed by San Francisco's parks and recreation department. Click on the link below for an opinion from a proponent of converting the course to other uses. This controversial plan has riled golfers and others who want to keep the golf course open as is. Here is the plan to CLOSE SHARP PARK GOLF COURSE
Jake Sigg of the Native Plant Society reports in his Nature News: "Sharp Park Golf Course represents one of the last great restoration opportunities anywhere along the coast of California. Environmentalists from around the state see the potential for restoring two endangered species—the California red-legged frog and the San Francisco garter snake—to historic populations there, and then removing at least a portion of an illegally built berm that impedes coastal access, exacerbates flooding, and prevents the area from becoming global warming-compliant."
Golfers vehemently oppose conversion of Sharp Park into a nature preserve, but the two sides have been meeting to discuss possible alternatives and compromises. Stay tuned for further developments in this long-running battle.
On a recent Sierra Club camping trip, a fellow camper and I discovered that the canister for our beloved Gerry stove is no longer manufactured (ours are empty). Do you know of a place that might have some canisters left? I appreciate your help,
INGE INFANTE
Reply to editor@pacificariptide.com
Feedback received: Hank Roberts (Boulder) deceased. If you Google "hank roberts lp fuel," you get a number of links among folks also looking for fuel. Here's one from BACKPACKER.COM. Doesn't seem an adaptor is available, although a techie at REI might know better. Probably best to get a more modern stove. A jerry-rigged adapter can cause serious problems and probably isn't worth the risk of failure (no warm food) or flare and fire.
Thanks to the Pacifica community, the Grand Opening of Ocean Yoga was a great success. I’d like to thank all the people who showed up and those who couldn’t make and sent their dear sweet wishes and thoughts our way.
The teachers taught great classes all day, and they were full to capacity. Lots of people received massages from our talented massage therapists. Then, magically, wonderful and amazing food arrived from friends and family.
The band, Rob Wullenjohn and “Blue on Green,” was a smash hit. They played jazz to get us started and then rocked the house. Those guys are the best in town. The Arabesque Belly Dancers led by “Asia” filled the house, not only inside but outside; the sidewalk was full of onlookers, too. Whoa! It was a party!
Everything went off without a hitch. That’s exactly how it’s been for us here at Ocean Yoga. This has been a vision coming to fruition for a long time. Since the doors of our beloved Downward Dog studio closed, the yoga community has been longing for a clean, refreshing place to gather and join together. That is exactly what we wanted to accomplish. There were many new faces, and a lot of old friends. Really good to see everyone out having such a good time.
So I’d like to say thank you to everyone who came out. Your support is greatly appreciated and we welcome you to join us in yoga classes, get a great massage, and enjoy the cool clothing and gear from our retail store.
Many Blessings to all. Namaste.
RON KINO
SACRAMENTO - In what started as one horse race bettor in San Mateo, California, noticing a statistical irregularity has now triggered a national investigation and scandal for an already volatile industry. On May 3, 2008, a thoroughbred owner placed 1,300 $1 "quick pick" bets at Bay Meadows Racecourse for the Kentucky Derby superfecta, in which the first four finishers must match the exact order of an individual ticket. But the "20" horse was not included in any of the possible 5,200 spots on the bettor's tickets. The "20" horse, ironically, was the race favorite and eventual winner, Big Brown. A winning $1 bet would have paid $29,368.90.
Scientific Games, the company that processes such bets at California tracks as well as many other venues across the country, including the California State lottery scratch tickets, said the error was the result of a computer glitch in the program that indefinitely excluded the highest-numbered horse in every race from being part of the quick pick pool.
Despite a directive from the California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) to Scientific Games to cease accepting quick pick wagers, such tickets are apparently still being sold at California tracks. In addition, Scientific Games' "computer glitch" excuse is also now in question, as a number of recently purchased quick pick tickets include the highest numbered horse in the field. "Scientific Games has a history of scamming consumers," said Senator Leland Yee (D-San Francisco/San Mateo), who earlier this week called on the State Auditor to investigate the latest scandal. "Californians deserve better and at the very least, the public deserves answers."
In 2002, employees of Autotote, a Scientific Games subsidiary, rigged bets on the Breeders' Cup worth $3.2 million. The employees later pleaded guilty to fraud. According to correspondence between Scientific Games and the CHRB on May 15, the company was aware of software malfunctions as early as October 30, 2007. CHRB officials say they were never made aware of the problem, resulting in thousands of California consumers being defrauded for months.
"I can't understand how the State of California, either thorough horse racing or the lottery, can contract with a company that has such a history of deceiving the public," said Yee. "I find it equally troubling that the CHRB has failed to administer an independent monitoring system of these machines. As someone who wants to see horse racing thrive again in California and be the economic engine and job creator it once was, these types of incidents make such a goal unattainable."
###
Adam J. Keigwin
Office of Senator Leland Y. Yee, Ph.D.
Assistant President pro Tem
The true story of Terra Nova baseball coach Mike "Rambo" Diaz's brief stint as a catcher for a Japanese team. (Thanks to Steve Sinai for "catching" this one on the Internet.)
Pacifican Greg Reynolds, the Colorado Rockies' first-round draft choice and second selection overall in the 2006 draft, worked six scoreless innings today against the Minnesota Twins, allowing three hits. He walked two and struck out two. (Thanks to Larry DeMartini for the baseball report.)
Abbott and Costello would have loved the Los Angeles Dodgers' new Taiwanese second-baseman Chin-lung Hu. It's another case of life imitating art.
Sam Arena (#79) ran hot on the Oakland mile track on this November day in 1941. On the 32nd lap of the 200-mile race, National Champion Tommy Hayes (running in front of Arena and out of this picture) lost control of his machine, fell to the track surface, and died instantly. His racing teammate June McCall also fell and died within minutes (from Bob Pilgrim's work-in-progress on California motorcycling history).
Notorious Hill 57 south of Brisbane was where most of the premier hill-climbers of the pre-1930 era learned their technique. The rare photo is from Bob Pilgrim's work-in-progress on California motorcycling history.
Reynolds (0-1) and Chris Young (3-3) had been locked in a scoreless duel until Hairston hit Reynolds' first pitch of the sixth inning just a few feet inside the foul pole on the side of the Western Metal Supply Co. brick warehouse in the left-field corner at Petco Park. It was Hairston's fifth.
Greene's two-run shot into the seats in left-center made it 4-0 with two outs in the sixth. It was just the second homer for Greene, who came into the game hitting .207. Adrian Gonzalez was aboard on an RBI double.
Reynolds was the second pick overall in the 2006 draft. The Rockies purchased his contract before the game, but he'd known since earlier in the week that he was coming up. Reynolds was removed after two innings of his start for Colorado Springs on Wednesday and his teammates congratulated him on his impending callup.
Reynolds is from Pacifica, just south of San Francisco. He left about 25 tickets for family members, and said he heard friends calling out to him from the stands when he was warming up.
``The first two innings I stayed on top of the ball well and kept the ball down,'' he said. ``The last couple of innings, I got a little bit lackadaisical mentally and left some balls up. The one to Greene is definitely an example of that.''
He allowed four runs and six hits in 5 2-3 innings, struck out one and walked two.
``It was pretty much the way I had imagined it,'' Reynolds said of his debut.
``I think he just got some balls in some bad locations,'' manager Clint Hurdle said. ``I thought it was a pretty good first effort. I thought he handled it very professional. I saw some good things.''
[thanks to Larry DeMartini for forwarding this from the sports page about local boy Reynolds]
Carl Kiesow demonstrates how to ride a BIG "rock crusher." (Bob Pilgrim photo from his work in progress on California motorcycling history)
Jim Belland was a Planning Commissioner here in Pacifica. He's all the way to the right of the picture. He was the "tuner" of Mert Lawwill's Daytona machine. The picture was taken at the Daytona 200-mile race of 1965. Roger Reiman (#1) was the AMA National Champion for that year (carries the #1), and he won the Daytona 200 that day. Dudley Perkins can be seen with his hand on Mert's shoulder. He has the dark glasses and baseball cap. This is a rare photograph that I intend to include in my book when I begin to explain the sequence of events that led to the end of "legitimate" AMA Class C racing. Roger Reiman was killed while participating in an "old timers" race at Daytona some years ago. Mert Lawwill lives in the North Bay and Jim Belland (now 70) lives between Sacramento and Placerville in some burg I've never heard of.
BOB PILGRIM
(work in progress on the history of California motorcycle racing)
TOURIST CLUB
COMMENTARY ON THE TOURIST CLUB
Pacificans Wayne Jiang and Patricia Delich recently went hiking on Mount Tamalpais and stumbled upon what Herb Caen once called the Bay Area's "best-kept secret," the Nature Friends Tourist Club in Muir Woods. Click the links above for more information about this hiking and social club.
The great Sam Arena wins the Championship Modesto Hillclimb (1948) with his final attempt on the hill. Sam was aboard Tom Sifton's 80" rocket hillclimber, but as fast as it was and as skillful as Sam was, the end result was what the reader can see in the picture above.
DISTRICT 36: Racers and Remembrances; © Bob and Stella Pilgrim; 2006
===========
Bob Pilgrim says: "I only saw Sam at one hillclimb; it was at the Pacifica bike club's 'playground' & it was in the early 1950s. He won the hillclimb (surprise), but the way he won it was a thing of beauty. Sam was born during 1913 so I guess he must have been past 40 when he was still active in competition. His entry into the world of motorcycle competition began (formally) with his sponsored ride from Tom Sifton during 1933. Sam's riding of the unsurpassed Sifton machinery caused his motorcycle racing competitors to consider him one of the two best racers in the country."
Hi, this is #3 Brett Kilburg inviting you to attend a Cañada College
baseball game.
College baseball in the California Coast North Conference is exciting,
and every game is hard fought. We're currently 15-6 overall and 4-4 in
conference with a whole lot of baseball left to play in the season.
Visit our web site at...
CANADA COLLEGE COLTS BASEBALL TEAM
You can download our schedule, our roster, and learn about the Colts
baseball program. You'll also be treated to player bios and action
shots - as well as beautiful shots of our yard - Colt Field, one of
the nicest ballparks in all of California. Every seat is great!
Hope you come out and support Cañada Colts baseball.
#3 Brett Kilburg
News from Barbara Arietta
In a continuing effort to determine the long range future of San Francisco's golf courses, Sharp Park Golf Course being one of them, a contingent of the San Francisco's Recreation and Park Dept's newly established San Francisco Golf Task Force journeyed to Pacifica on Thursday evening April 3, to inspect and evaluate the Sharp Park Golf Course for possible alternate uses.
{please read the full text of Barbara's report in the Pacifica Tribune, April 9}
I am sitting here watching CNN's coverage of the Beijing Olympics-related protests taking place in San Francisco. Whatever side you take on this issue, it's hard to ignore the Olympic Games-like quality of the events shown on TV lately. For example, you have:
- 5-meter protester drag. Police drag anti-China protesters 5 meters to waiting paddywagons.
- Golden Gate Bridge cable climb. Protesters scale the famous bridge to hang pro-Tibet banners.
- 50-meter hot-pursuit dash. Police chase protesters down city streets.
- Torch extinguishing. Protesters make every attempt to put out the Olympic flame.
- Janjaweed bash. Mounted police club Darfur protesters into submission.
- Speech wrestling. Police and protesters tussle during solemn Greek ceremony, all caught on tape.
- Sudan stalemate. Diplomats at the UN run in circles while Darfurians suffer.
- Tibet or not Tibet. Gambling match to decide the fate of a province.
- Five-ring circus. What the Olympic Games in Beijing may be remembered for.
I know, I know, Tibet and Darfur are serious issues. I am sympathetic to both of those causes, but I am also a proponent of keeping politics out of sports (and out of religion, for that matter). Let the Games begin? I think they already have.
N. D. NIALL
Like any good, conscientious author worth his compulsions, Bob Pilgrim not only is writing and rewriting his history of California motorcycling, he also is endlessly tweaking his 200+ rare photos from the golden age of Golden State cycling. Here is one such result: a duotone rendering of a motorcycle cop riding his Indian Scout bike in 1932.
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