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"Leg Bones for Baseball Bats" - 1902 San Francisco Chronicle

sfist_richard — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 11:00:07 GMT

Researching San Francisco history means spending way too much time sitting in the dark. In the library, we mean, staring at microfilm of old newspapers. Hours of scanning those scratched and blurry archives makes us a little punchy, so we blinked and rubbed our eyes at this gruesome headline from the February 13, 1902 edition of the San Francisco Chronicle.

We wondered momentarily if it was a prescient comment on the state of contemporary San Francisco baseball, then lapsed into a reverie about the fate of urchin 'Bricky' Sylva.

It was just so weirdly entertaining that we had to share it:

LEG BONES FOR BASEBALL BATS
Boys of Russian Hill Put Their Discovery to Queer Use
When John Doe and Richard Roe laid themselves down to dreamless sleep they little suspected that the urchins of Russian Hill would be using their leg bones as ball bats and their hollow skulls as balls, but that is precisely what occurred last night. Residents of the vicinity of Leavenworth and Broadway going home to dinner were treated to a choice assortment of cold shivers at the sight of the national game being played with the grisly loot from a tomb. Half a dozen boys were making long drives of the ball to center filed with resounding thwacks from the long bones, the femur and fibula radius and ulna humerus. Between times two yellow skulls would be tossed to the batters, and the fun characteristic of the reverence of the North American youth, waxed warm until a policeman swooped down upon the players.

Get a Job

Brock Keeling — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 16:53:29 GMT

Sadly, no open meat-pie maker positions just yet. But until then, check out the following non-cannibalistic gigs such as:

-- Start-Up Looking for Talented Engineers [Discovery Engine]

-- Creative Director [DHAP Digital]

-- Interactive Art Director [Real Branding, LLC]

-- Linux/Unix System Administrator [Peanut Labs]

-- Rails Web Developer [Bleacher Report]

To find more jobs, visit our constantly updated job board.

Giraffe Dies in Vallejo

Deborah — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 15:18:51 GMT

RIP Makonnen

Now this is an RIP we’re real sad to be writing. 2-year old Makonnen, a giraffe at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom in Vallejo died early this morning in a barn fire. Thank goodness two other giraffes were able to escape the blaze that was set off by an electrical short.

Fire crews arrived at the park at 2:15 a.m. and were able to extinguish the fire by 2:35 a.m. But poor Makonnen never made it out of his stall.

Since we can’t bear to write anymore about this awful tragedy (we heart animals so so much), you can read more about how it all went down here or here.

1-5-3 Makonnen. 1-5-3.

Luke Skywalker's Original Lightsaber at Oakland Airport, Ready for Destruction

Brock Keeling — Tue, 28 Aug 2007 16:43:41 GMT

Well, it won't be destroyed so much as it will be sent into space. And then vaporized, or zapped, or something.

Anyway, someone sporting a Chewbacca outfit handed over Luke Skywalker's original lightsaber prop to NASA representatives at the Oakland Airport today. Apparently it's all a part of Star Wars' 30th anniversary celebration -- this kind of fanfare will happen every five years, folks, so get used to it now -- and "NASA has agreed to carry the...weapon into orbit and jettison it in space." Aw.

The valuable item will takeoff with the space shuttle Discovery, when it's scheduled to launch on Oct. 23.

To see video of the handoff, go here.

Cycling: Cirque de Soler on du Galibier

chris — Wed, 18 Jul 2007 04:15:50 GMT

Ahhh, du Galibier. Switchback after switchback of asphalt hell. Hell if you're on a bike, but heaven if you're watching the world's best cyclists do the work. For 18 kilometers, a ribbon of pain and lactic acid wobbles and weaves its way up the grotesque, treeless slopes of the great French kingmaker.

Yesterday in Stage 9, between Val-d'lsere and Briancon, the boys on the bikes rolled themselves up not only les col du Galibier and du telegraphe, but also the Beyond Category (HC)-rated Col de l'Iseran climb. Three rated climbs, 159.5 kilometers, more than 4 hours. Lots and lots of opportunities for General Classification (GC) contenders to attack and try to put time into their rivals.

Judgement day.

The peloton was between a rock and a steep place on du Galibier in Stage 9. Photo from cyclingnews.com.

Team Discovery Channel set the tone early by sending Yaroslav "Popo" Popovych out ahead of the peloton on the l'Iseran. Popo went boldly over the top alone ahead of the field, grabbing a bit of Alpine glory for himself and forcing team Rabobank to make a heavy tempo in support of Mickael "The Chicken" Rasmussen in the yellow jersey.

Popo's break was just the start of a heavy day of sprinting and bridging. Edgy with anticipation of the unknown and the knowledge of imminent glory, a cluster of GC favorites and their primary domestiques surged off the front of the main peloton on du telegraphe and spent the rest of the stage dueling with each other in wave upon wave of darting attacks and inspired regroups.

One of the boldest moves of the day -- and the most successful -- was Juan Mauricio Soler's breakout at the foot of du Galibier. After resting up in the peloton for the climb over du telegraphe, Soler leapt out of the field just past the village of St.-Michel-de-Maurienne and easily gapped up to Popo's six-man breakaway. Popo's pod nearly got whiplash watching Soler blow by them like their tires were made of bubble gum.

Cycling: Stage 7 Closes out Strong

chris — Mon, 26 Feb 2007 08:00:45 GMT

Despite a few anxious laps during the climactic Stage 7, wire-to-wire overall race leader Levi Leipheimer (Discovery Channel) found just enough energy to fend off a cheeky breakaway from Danny Pate (Slipstream) and win the 2007 Amgen Tour of California (TOC) .

A seven-man group including Pate broke out from the main peloton very early in the race and worked a beautiful pace line to stretch the lead out to 2'50". Pate came into the day 2'35" behind Leipheimer in the overall classification, so for a while he was the virtual tour leader.

In Stage 7, Discovery Channel once again protected their leader Levi Leipheimer, escorting him all the way to the top podium spot in the 2007 Tour of California. Photo from CorVos -- PezCycling News.

The peloton was never really worried, but Pate and his breakaway mates held the virtual tour lead long enough to make the main group edgy, with teams looking to protect their overall team classification standings and of course their sprinters. With the most to protect, Discovery Channel, tired from the heavy pace of Stage 6 and without their big pacemaker Georgie Hincapie, still had the power to stretch the peloton into a long thin strip of pain. Soon others with a horse in the race like CSC, BMC, and Credit Agricole came to the front, and Pate's moment in the sun inevitably turned overcast.

At the finish, it was Ivan Dominguez (Toyota-United) sitting in on the leadouts of the big sprinters and then slipping up through the middle to take yet another photo finish. The Toyota squad is a virtual sprinter's factory. Last year, their man Juan Jose Haedo (CSC) took two TOC stages. Haedo parlayed his Toyota success into a spot on the world's best squad, CSC, for which he has picked up two more skins in this year's Tour. Must be something in that Toyota water.

After eight days and more than 1000 kilometers of racing, Leipheimer topped second place finisher Jens Voigt (CSC) by a scant 21 seconds. The other classifications were equally close. In the King of the Mountains contest, Christophe Laurent (Credit Agricole) shaved Jurgen Van de Walle (Quick Step-Innergetic) by just three points, the same margin by which Haedo clipped Graeme Brown (Rabbobank) for the Sprint championship. Robert Gesink (Rabbobank) took the Best Young Rider classification by 41 seconds over Matthew Lloyd (Predictor Lotto). Only the Team classification was a blowout, with, hmm, guess who? CSC topping Discovery Channel by 2'19".

Cycling: Stage 6 Belongs to CSC

chris — Sun, 25 Feb 2007 08:00:54 GMT

Levi Leipheimer successfully defended his gold leader's jersey yesterday in Stage 6 of the 2007 Amgen Tour of California (TOC), but it was Team CSC that commanded everybody's attention. Refusing to concede a single pedal stroke to Leipheimer or his Discovery Channel team, CSC kept the stage hopping with steady pressure on the front from veteran scrappers like Bobby Julich and Stuey O'Grady. For their efforts, CSC locked up the overall team classification and propelled their TOC sprint man Juan Jose "JJ" Haedo to his second stage victory of the tour.

Running 169.6 kilometers (km) from Santa Barbara to Santa Clarita across challenging terrain that included four King of the Mountain (KOM) category climbs, two points sprints, and three 5.6-km circuits to finish, Saturday's Stage 6 featured nonstop, granular action motivated by visions of personal glory and dedication to team and teammates.

Brilliant teamwork like this from Discovery Channel helped their man Levi Leipheimer fend off attacks from CSC in Stage 6 and keep the overall race lead. Check out the CSC team catching a free ride at the end of the Blue Train. Photo from Mark Shimahara -- BikeZen.com.

The peloton barely had time to wipe that silly Santa Barbara grin off their collective face before getting peppered with attacks by the likes of Tom Zirbel (Priority Health), Shawn Milne (Health Net), Mauricio Alberto Ardila Cano (Rabbobank), and others less than 20 km into the race. These riders were hoping to catch the peloton napping and build a huge breakaway lead early, gambling that teams like CSC and Discovery Channel might concede the stage and let them go in favor of protecting their General Classification (GC) men.

Reports from the field indicated that Leipheimer was not pleased about the early breaks. It's hard to believe he was expecting everybody else to lay down for him, but maybe he read our story yesterday and figured the final two stages of the TOC were just a formality.

Despite his consternation, Levi apparently was relaxed enough to stop and take a whiz at the 20-km mark. Yes, it does happen, especially with all that hydrating that bicycle racers do. Make it quick Levi, anything more than a shake constitutes pleasure.

In fact, Discovery was perfectly content to let the early breakaways ebb and flow. After the first KOM line, taken by Ardila Cano, a large pack of KOM riders, including Christophe Laurent (Credit Agricole), Thomas Peterson (Slipstream), Jurgen Van de Walle (Quick Step-Innergetic), Adam Hansen (T-Mobile), and Mario Aerts (Predictor), broke off the front of the peloton and gapped up to Ardila Cano and Milne.

The field sprint finishes might get all the headlines, but for our money, the KOM competition is the heart and soul of any stage race. From the official Amgen Tour of California media guide, "For many cyclists, this jersey [KOM jersey] displays the badge of suffering through the most pain." Pain and suffering, now that's what we're talking about!

Just call him Mr. February, because JJ Haedo owns the Tour of California. Photo from Graham Watson -- VeloNews.

Cycling: Stage 5 Separates the Field

chris — Sat, 24 Feb 2007 08:00:12 GMT

It's one thing to sit in a team's slipstream or ride the momentum of the peloton, but the truest measure of a cyclist is how he (or she) performs in an individual time trial (TT). On Friday, in Stage 5 of the 2007 Amgen Tour of California (TOC), 127 bicycle riders looked into the face of destiny to see who would crack and who would emerge triumphant. When the dust settled, it had become clear to all that Levi Leipheimer (Discovery Channel) is the best bicycle rider in the TOC.

In an individual TT, it's just the bicycle rider against the clock. No drafting, no group tactics, no jockeying for a sprint finish, no using other riders for motivation. Finishing position is irrelevant, it's all about the time. It is cycling distilled down to its most primal essence: how fast can you go?.

Time trials also provide an effective means for thinning out a tightly packed leader board. As with mountain stages, racers can lose huge chunks of time to their rivals in a time trial. Friday's Stage 5 was no exception.

Coming to the finish line in yesterday's Stage 5 time trial, Levi's face said it all: this year, he is not going to be denied. Photo from Pez Cycling News.

Beginning at 11:00 a.m. under beautiful blue skies, rider after rider blasted down the start ramp at one-minute intervals for the 23.4-km TT circuit through the quaint Danish town of Solvang. Sporting solid disc wheels and aerodynamic helmets, each racer also wore a grim look of determination borne from the knowledge that they alone would be responsible for their performance. No place to hide in a TT.

The most determined of the group was Leipheimer, who lost the leader's gold jersey and ultimately the tour last year when he cracked on the Stage 3 individual TT, losing 1'15" to Floyd Landis on the streets of San Jose. After winning the Stage 3 TT, Landis never relinquished the lead en route to his TOC victory, so before he ever turned a pedal in anger yesterday, Leipheimer knew that if he wanted to win the Tour, he needed to win Stage 5.

Though he came into the day as the race leader, Leipheimer faced a formidable field of TT competitors, including three-time former World Time-Trial Champion Michael Rogers (T-Mobile), current World Time-Trial Champion Fabian Cancellara (CSC) and of course, German strong man and Stage 3 winner Jens Voigt (CSC), who came into the day lurking just three seconds off Levi's wheel in second place overall.

Cycling: Stage 4 Drags Down the Pace

chris — Fri, 23 Feb 2007 09:30:05 GMT

Snoo-zer. Aside from the final five seconds of the race, the most exciting part of Thursday's Stage 4 in the 2007 Amgen Tour of California was the scenery. Relatively undistinguished topography and the desire of most riders to save themselves for tomorrow's critical individual time trial turned yesterday's stage into little more than a placeholder in the week-long tour.

It was a day of defensive rest, with everybody working extra hard to do the least amount necessary to maintain the status quo and playing it as safe as possible while doing so.

There was some nominal bad weather to keep the racers on their toes, a lukewarm breakaway led by Hilton Clarke of the Navigators Insurance team, a minimal response from Discovery Channel and the peloton, and a rather pedestrian, if not historic, sprint finish capped by Paolo "the Cricket" Bettini's (Quick Step-Innergetic) technically brilliant track throw to nip Gerald Coilek (T-Mobile) at the tape. Other than that, we loved it, thanks for asking.

Pretty much a ho-hum day at the office for the peloton in Stage 4. Hey, is that Slipstream rider in the second row checking out SFist on his Blackberry?. Photo by Mark Shimahara.

No doubt that the star of the day was California. Following Highway 1 south for 213 kilometers from Seaside to San Luis Obispo (SLO), Stage 4 passed by quintessential California icons Bixby Creek Bridge, Hearst Castle, and Morro Rock. After the brief squall north of Big Sur about 25 to 30 kilometers into the stage, racers were treated to intermittent sunshine and blue skies for the rest of the day. Kolley-phone-ya!

Other than Clarke's seven-man breakaway and the final 500 meters of the sprint finish, the entire 127-man peloton rode en masse for nearly every kilometer of the race. It was exactly the kind of stage that non-fans think of when they think of cycling: a bunch of guys riding in a huge group that doesn't ever seem to do anything except pedal at the same speed for five hours. Gripping, gripping stuff for the uninitiated.

One bright spot on the day was the jousting between King of the Mountain (KOM) aspirant Christophe Laurent (Credit Agricole) and Slipstream's Lucas Euser for the day's KOM points. Like teammate William Frischkorn before him, Euser's job today was to take as many points away from Laurent as possible to help teammate Thomas Peterson's KOM chances. In their two-man battle, Laurent nabbed two of the KOM sprints, while SLO-boy Euser picked up one. Peterson was MIA again today, while Laurent picked up enough points to don the "sunshine" jersey as the overall KOM points leader.

Cycling: Elevation Profile like an EKG in Stage 3

chris — Thu, 22 Feb 2007 09:00:41 GMT

It was poetry in motion out there in Stage 3 of the Amgen Tour of California, like a ragged stream of consciousness.

Hills, . . . hills-hills mark the stage most crucial to date, elevation profile like an EKG.

Under the merciless stare of giant windmills stoic, 17 riders breaking away BEWARE! the false summit of Patterson Pass, Van de Walle caught out as Peterson's debt to William Frischkorn grows. Over the top jersey stuffing newspapers, protection against the windy descent.

Riders approach the Patterson Pass summit. Photo by Mark Shimahara, BikeZen.com.

Three minutes, four minutes, five minutes, the lead grows. Where art thou Discovery? Jens Voight is far too strong for such ambivalent pacemaking, intentional or incapable, maybe a tactical error? Thus restless are the shoulders that wear the jersey golden.

On Calaveras turns the race smoothly like a Zipp, the Blue Train main line shredding remnants of the breakaway up the first slopes of the great beast, the destroyer of legs, the lactic acid bitch master, the Cat 1 crusher, hammer please don't hurt 'em -- Sierra Road.

Tony Cruz becomes Tommy Danielson becomes Georgie Hincapie becomes Ivan Basso and then, there is just Levi Leipheimer and his foes, and his demons gapping ahead, gunning for the race leaders.

He knows, this is his year this is his time this is his hill. It's in his eyes his legs his heart his leadership in damage done to the front end of the race.

And then they were one -- Levi and Jason McCartney the American Flyers working, pacing, stretching, stressing, Theo Eltink, Jakob Piil, Chris Horner, and Voight, controlling the race.

It was good to see Gavin Newsom out at the race today. Photo by Mark Shimahara, BikeZen.com.

Breaths come hard like pedal strokes at 15 degrees up a wall of pavement, cowbells, names in chalk and slobbery semiconsciousness, suffering is a badge of honor and, and, . . . is that Elvis?

Over the top and now it gets good. Ball-shriveling speeds on skinny, skinny tires thrill like Six Flags but the power of the peloton is never far, behind.

Five clicks out Leipheimer, Horner, and Voight joust for cycling supremacy, their motives mixed but their intentions pure.

Surreal like Vince Neil, Lance appears, riding shotgun in a team car, weird, and, obvious, he still wants it -- the attention.

The peloton rushes forward with power and purpose but there is no frenzied circuitry today, Jens wins without a struggle, masterful is his riding.

Levi puts down the hammer on the field. He wants it. Photo by Tom Clifton.

Sweet, sweet agony rewards LL with another day in the lead, such humility marks the man, "My guys deserve all the credit because they suffered."

And there's more in store for Stage 4.

Cycling: The Prologue Sets the Stage

chris — Sat, 17 Feb 2007 08:11:30 GMT

Clip in sports fans, between the weather and the Amgen Tour of California (TOC), it's going to be a great weekend for cycling in the Bay Area.

Whether you're tackling Mt.Tam on your Saturday morning club ride or comparing yourselves to the pros with a summit of Stage 3's infamous Sierra Hill climb, pack the sunscreen today and leave the rain shell behind.

On Sunday at 1:00 p.m., the TOC starts with the prologue, a 3.0 kilometer time trial from the Ferry building to Coit Tower.

Holy wingspan Batman! The Specialized Angel will be waiting atop Telegraph Hill again this year to lift the spirits of racers and spectators alike. Photo from Pez Cycling News.

The prologue is the only part of the eight-day stage race that takes place in the City, but Stage 1 starts Monday morning in Sausalito and concludes in Santa Rosa, the home of race favorite Levi Leipheimer. Stage 2 tours the Napa Valley en route to the state capitol and Stage 3 rolls through the central valley before concluding in San Jose Wednesday afternoon. From there, the Tour continues downstate for three more days before the penultimate stage on Sunday in Long Beach.

Make no doubt about it: the Tour of California is BIG-time bicycle racing -- even the Europeans agree! Eighteen teams, 144 riders from 28 countries, and 650 miles of California roadway -- you do the math.

All the big hitters are going to be here, including last year's prologue winner Leipheimer; 2006 TOC two-stage winner Georgie Hincappie; defending Tour de France King of the Mountain champ Michael Rasmussen; 2006 Tour de France stage winners Thor Hushovd, Jens Voight, Matteo Tosatto, and Michael Rogers; World Road Race Champion Paolo Bettini, World Time Trial Champion Fabian Cancellara; and defending TOC team champions Team CSC. That's some serious lumber.

Just to add a little flavor, cycling's Barry Bonds, Floyd Landis, will be on hand signing autographs, making endorsements, and avoiding questions, but not racing. His doping scandal sidekick, 2006 Giro d'Italia winner and newest member of Team Discovery Channel Ivan Basso, won't be answering doping questions either, but he will be racing.

Sunday is your best chance to see the world's greatest cyclists and soak up the aroma of a world class sporting event. Check out Dave Zabriskie's new climbing technique, which he hopes will make him a legitimate GC contender this July in France, peep the Specialized angel, or hang out in the "rolling festival".

If you do come to watch on Sunday, don't forget your cowbells, but leave your paint at home.

Can't line the prologue ropes in person? No sweat. Check out the TV coverage on the Versus network or watch it live over the Internet. You can even ride the course from the aerodynamic comfort of your recliner.

Cycling: Papa! Papa! The Italians, They are Coming!

chris — Tue, 13 Feb 2007 12:13:19 GMT

That's right Cutters, the Italians are coming, along with the French, the Spaniards, the Americans, the Germans, the Dutch-- yeah, even the Dutch. They're all going to be in the City this weekend to compete in this year's Amgen Tour of California.

We're talking the real deal. This isn't some club-level Saturday morning crit for free tubes at the local bike shop (no offense), this it the best road cyclists in the world, competing for top-tier elite international cycling teams like Discovery Channel, CSC, T-Mobile, Rabobank, and more, in serious competition.

This is also the Bay Area's first look at pro cycling since the Floyd Landis and Operacion Puerto hoo-haws rocked the pro tour last summer.

The eight-stage road race starts with a prologue time trial in the City on Sunday. Each subsequent stage features a different course as the riders make their way around the Bay Area for three more days before heading south towards the ultimate finish line in Long Beach on Sunday, February 25.

2006 prologue winner Levi Leipheimer looks to conquer Telegraph Hill again this year on his way to becoming the 2007 Tour of California GC winner. Photo from Chainreaction.com.

In just its second year, the Tour of California is already arguably the most important road race in the western hemisphere. In addition to drawing top international competition, the tour is a great showcase for the state and a great spectator event for local residents and cycling fans. Now we too can live out our Tour de France dreams of getting really, really drunk, stripping down to our red, white, and blue bicycle shorts, and running alongside David Zabriskie for 100 yards shouting unintelligibly at the top of our lungs before getting taken out by a camera motorbike. Good times.

SFist Checks Out the 510: The Space-Faring Edition

Eve Batey — Thu, 26 Jan 2006 17:13:00 GMT

Out in Sacramento -- classified as "Bay Area" for KQED's fund-raising purposes, anyway -- the Discovery Museum will be holding a memorial for the astronauts, then turning the focus toward continued space exploration with hands-on activities for museumgoers. Hours are from 10:00 a.m.-4:30 p.m. It's $5 for adults, while children cost $3-4, depending on their age.

Both museums are part of the Challenger Learning Center Network. The Challenger Learning Center's a nationwide initiative founded by the families of the astronauts from Challenger Space Shuttle mission 51-L, and devoted to educating children about science and space exploration through hands-on activities.

Image of the Challenger crew courtesy of NASA. (from left to right) Ellison S. Onizuka, Michael J. Smith, S. Christa McAuliffe, Francis R. (Dick) Scobee, Commander, Gregory B. Jarvis, Judy A. Resnik, Ronald E. McNair.

SFist Lisa, contributing

SFist Tech Roundup: Tomorrow Dies Forever Today

SFist Chuck — Tue, 25 Oct 2005 16:36:00 GMT

You'd think that for a city on a fault line, situated right next to the world's biggest proving ground for new technology, the Bay Area could come up with a better class of super villains and evil geniuses. Giant robots tromping down Market Street, mind control rays broadcast from Sutro Tower, sheesh, even some sea lions with frickin' laser beams on their heads terrorizing tourists at Pier 39.

But no, all we get are "Web pioneers" and Sheryl Crow-hugging guys in turtlenecks trying to sell us MP3 players. So with a dejected sigh, let's go over some of the delays and missed opportunities in evil tech news over the past couple of the days:

Danger! Death Ray
Last Saturday, students from MIT came to San Francisco in an attempt to recreate Archimedes' Death Ray in an experiment for the Discovery Channel's series "Myth Busters." Any Roman fleets thinking about invading the city will be happy to hear that the experiment failed. The students' fatal flaw was that they didn't just fire the ray immediately, but instead stopped to explain exactly how the death ray works, giving the show's producers a chance to escape and foil their plans.

Stephen Robinson: Rockin' Rocketman

jackson — Mon, 08 Aug 2005 16:19:24 GMT

Chris Lopez over at the Contra Costa Times pointed out that NASA Astronaut Stephen Robinson is from nearby Moraga, and is currently on the Discovery waiting for the weather to clear so that they can land the ship. As a Mission Specialist, it was his job to make any repairs to the ship in space before attempting reentry. But he also has a side gig: Space DJ.

That's right, Stephen was an early morning radio host in Sacramento in the early seventies, and earlier in his NASA career would wake up shuttle crews by beaming music from Mission Control. The guy even plays lead guitar in an all-astronaut 'easy rock' band, Max Q (click here if you don't get the joke). And now he's recorded a message on board that NASA is serving up as 'the first podcast from space.' We have to admit, that's pretty cool.