Warriors 125 Grizzlies 117- Jesus, who puts together these NBA schedules? The Warriors played at home on Friday, then went on to Detroit Sunday night and then played Memphis last night. This despite the fact we're pretty sure Detroit is nowhere near Memphis (geography has never been our strong suit). And it gets even crazier-- the Warriors have a day off and then they'll head to Minnesota (which we think is closer to Detroit than Memphis), then New Jersey (which is a little bit farther from Detroit but still not as far as Memphis), and finally Cleveland (which is, we think, in between New Jersey and Detroit). Was the schedule maker sniffing glue when they come up with all this? Anyways, the Warriors train kept-a' rolling with a win against Memphis and snapped a three-game road losing streak.

-Okay, now onto the Haren trade, the one in which Billy Beane sent Danny Haren to the DBacks, thus screwing over both Bay Area teams at the same time. Beane's thinking is that the team is nowhere near to winning and it's better to reload and rebuild than stick with what is clearly not working just for sticking's sake. That's probably a wise decision, especially considering the Angels are further separating themselves from the pack. The trade, actually, is getting some measure of rave reviews.

Truth is that that part of the reason for the deal was because Beane's magic touch hasn’t been quite so magical lately. Beane's moves have been more bad than worse and the farm system ain't what it used to be (maybe they're just not doing enough steroids?) Even worse, one could argue that recent A's teams have been rather bland and non-descript and nobody likes that.

All we can say is that It's going to be a long, slow boring summer next year. And the year after that. And the year after that....

We briefly introduced you to Maldroid earlier this week but this time we wanted to do a full introduction before the big day. Tickets are still available - you can get them here.

Full given name: Ryan Divine

Hometown: Oakland, Ca

Favorite venue to play in: Mezzanine. Hands down.

Favorite place to go in SF: SFMOMA, Cafe Greco for some cannoli, and the presidential suite at the Sir Francis Drake.

Take the jump to find out more...

He's quickly on his way to world domination. He finishes, "See y'all on Friday and put your game faces on y'all. We are stealing this show people!!!" We'll be the judge of that!

Photo courtesy of Live 105

Live 105's team of experts have decided who the top five local bands are: MUD, Element 94, Cast of Thousands, Apside and Maldroid. Do you agree? What do you think of the top five and do you have any predictions?

If MySpace doesn't do it for you and you have to hear them live, then head over to Cafe du Nord, Monday night, for the final judging of all five bands. Five bands for five bucks. Not a bad deal!

SFist will be at "Not So Silent Night" deciding if Live 105 really did pick San Francisco's best.

Photo courtesy of Live 105

Someone put this man out of his misery. This is just...sad.

It seems that NBC 11 caught Bill O'Reilly's film crew taking in the (non)X-rated partying that went on at last Saturday's Erotic Exotic Ball. This week he'll devoted an entire segment to the annual "sexy" Halloween fete, and even have the ball’s founder, Perry Mann, on as a guest.

San Francisco has angered conservatives around nation over the last couple of months. Such antics as giving Communion to the wrong kind, failed Blue Angels banning, The Last Supper parodying, and breathing, have helped O'Reilly set his old-man lasers on SF now more than ever before. Clearly, hate for little old us is ratings gold over at The O'Reilly Factor.

But the Erotic Exotic Ball, Bill? Really? The ball is pretty tame compared to other events here in SF that you can sink your fangs into. With all due respect to its founder, the Erotic Exotic Ball is a mere powder puff of an event. It's a Halloween party where women wear boas and pink furry cowboy hats. It's an event where couples still use the pimp-ho theme as a basis for costumes. For God's sake, it's a bash where people still insist on dressing up as pirates.

But leave it to Bill O'Reilly to be five steps behind the world at large. Go get 'em, tiger.


Image: NBC11

Each Tuesday we will feature new music that should (or whatever) be on your radar.

The rage of fire is completely encapsulated in the first EP with its screaming vocals and huge guitar riffs. The force of nature is felt in the powerful, "Firebreather" - though filled with rage, the listener feels the wrath of a 4-alarm fire without any professional response. You are left with a gaping, simmering hole. With the background keyboards (that sound a bit like a chorus of angels) on "Burn the Fleet," Thrice has created a world of kings who are fighting to victory. Victory that comes with the price of death. "But the fire continues to rise, and it shows not a hint of any fear in our eyes." An anthem of courage and triumph, Thrice continues to create an inferno of fury and immediacy that comes with the very nature of fire.

Volume II changes, completely. The haunting, yet somehow soothing, "Open Water" creates instant imagery with the words, "I am drowning, in a digital sea. I am slipping beneath the sound." The mix of electronicism and Dustin Kensrue's vocals is mesmerizing and intoxicating, something that is new to Thrice. "I'm cold and alone, drifting in the open sea. Caught up in regret, tangled in nets, instead of your arms wrapped around me." Thrice found the power of the sea and set it to music with perfection. Though we don't hear the sea's rage, we do feel the heartache and pulsating rush of the waves and the calm after the storm.
Download: "Burn the Fleet," "Digital Sea" and "Open Water"

To win a free copy of Thrice's album, take the jump...

There's nothing like hearing the roar of fighter jets above-head on a sunny afternoon in downtown San Francisco. Just when we were this close to being cured of our September 11th PTSD, the Blue Angels showed up just in time to give us the shakes. Thanks, America. We will never forget.

-- 8.8-foot-long Smart Fortwo cars in SF. Squash. [Chron]

-- No surprise: Gap Inc. sales suck. (Hint: Burn all billboards promoting horizontal pastels.) [Examiner]

-- Hayward murder-suicide.[Chron]

-- Barry Bonds bash. [Examiner]

-- Wall Street went up and down a lot today, or something. [Chron]

-- Hey! If it ain't the ol' pro-Blue Angels switcheroo. [BeyondChron]

-- Devaughndre Broussard asked to take the fall? [ABC 7, Oakland Tribune]

-- RIAA brings their silly war on music and video piracy into Cal dorms and classrooms. Chortle. [KRON 4]

-- Trouble with tidal power. [SFBG]

-- Peru earthquake-Bay Area earthquake paralleling. (Oh, and are you prepared?) [SJ Merc]

The Blue Angels get to stay. Vroom. Woosh.

Board of Supervisors voted down Chris Daly's measure that would've grounded the Blue Angels from zooming overheard in their annual freedom-ain't-free air extravaganza.

Michela Alioto-Pier was one of the strongest haters on Daly's measure, claiming that it was "a little fly-by-night, 'let's do this because we think it might not be safe,'" Hmm.

Anyway, read more about it here or here.

-- Blue Angels to be banned in SF? [Examiner]

-- Islamic Center of the East Bay's recent blaze decried as an "act of terror" by local Muslim leaders. [Chron]

-- Man who attacked Holocaust survivor/scholar Elie Wiesel at Westin San Francisco Market Street (formerly the Argent Hotel) apologizes. Aw. Warm fuzzies for all. [ABC 7]

-- Benjamin Wachs on crime and Big Brother. No, not Big Brother. (An Aside: Love you Jen, you crazy bitch.) [The Snitch]

-- Peninsula BART stations to offer SFO parking on the cheap. [ABC 7]

-- Marke B. on "Access of Evil" and the viewing party for it at the truly awesome Trax. [SFBG]