Looking to draw attention to (cruel yet succulent) foie gras production and consumption, which will (technically) be banned in California come 2012, animal rights group Animal Legal Defense Fund stirred up a bit of media attention today after offering a rather patronizing gift to TV chef Anthony Bourdain. See, they would like to arrange to have Bourdain tested for hepatic lipidosis—which is, it seems, "the same dangerous liver disease that ducks and geese develop as a result of being force fed massive amounts of food prior to being slaughtered for foie gras." more ›

When the state's foie gras ban goes into effect in July of 2012, California restaurants will have to pull the luxurious (yet allegedly cruel) item from their menus. Although producers claim it doesn't hurt the birds -- producers who make anywhere up to $15 million a year for the savory treat -- foie gras is made by force feeding ducks and geese to fatten their liver. When the ban goes into effect, the item will most likely turn into an underground treat for the artisan set. more ›

The folks at WildRescue.org, the very same ones who have been working to free those seagulls imprisoned in tiny beer can collars, have been training some new volunteers in the use of "capture equipment, proper techniques and successful capture strategies." Becoming a wildlife rescue volunteer is just like Rocky II, apparently. more ›

Last week the Chicago City Council overturned its ban delicious, smooth, and flavorful foie gras. Rejoice, liver lovers! See, the process of making foie gras involves geese-fattening, which, more or less, means one has to shove food down the birds' throats. And some view the process as a bit cruel. more ›

Pollan is ready to serve at 8 p.m. at the Herbst Theatre; 401 Van Ness; $17-19. SOLD OUT

Orange is the new black, apparently. During the off-season, the San Jose Sharks unveiled an updated logo, team colors, and new uniforms. The biggest change is the addition of orange to teal, black, and white, replacing silver as the highlight color. more ›

The Sharks dispatched the Mustard Men in 5 games, which makes the series seem a lot less close than it was. 3 of the games were decided by one goal, with Game 1 in double overtime. Even Game 2, the Predators 5-2 win, was not decided until late in the 3rd period. Nashville's undisciplined play (they led all playoff teams with almost 30 minutes of penalties per game) was their undoing, even though the Sharks power play was more or less ineffective, and often frankly ugly to watch. But it was one more way to wear down the Nashville defenders, and keep their skill players on the bench. Patrick Marleau again scored some big goals, and Joe Thornton took the first step toward erasing his playoff-choker reputation with dominating play and 6 points in the series. Nashville wasn't the only team to distinguish itself with dirty play in this year's playoffs. The Calgary Flames managed to steal the spotlight by having their backup goalie come in to play lumberjack to the Detroit Red Wings Johan Franzen's, umm, old growth redwood late in Game 5 of their series (Franzen, fittingly, scored the series winner in Game 6). Then the Flames' Jarome Iginla and Daymond Langkow got in the act late in the game (cross-checking plus slashing and sucker-punching, respectively). Classy. Brad May of the Anaheim Ducks got a 3 game suspension for sucker-punching the back of Minnesota Wild defenseman Kim Johnsson (who is both emphatically not a pugilist, and happened to be Minnesota's best D man), which then caused a multi-player dust-up between the Ducks and Wild during the *pre-game skate* of Game 5 in their series. more ›

Here's todays sports wrapup more ›

The Pond's horrible ice and Teemu Selanne's illegal stick helped the Sharks avoid being down a man in overtime against the Ducks last night. Selanne was called for unsportsmanlike conduct at the beginning of overtime, negating a Craig Rivet penalty that was carrying over from the end of regulation, and San Jose went on to win the shootout for a 3-2 victory. The Sharks came back to even the score after being down by 2 goals in the first period, and both teams helped their playoff positioning against the Dallas Stars. more ›

Here's todays recap of last night's sports more ›

-Down, down, down go the Warriors ,who lost their fifth straight, losing 106-97 to the Knicks in New York. more ›

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The Warriors' forward/Vice President Of Basketball Operations Chris Mullin is among the finalists for the NBA Hall Of Fame this year. Savor it, Warrior fans... more ›

-It's official, Barry B. is now a Giant as he finally signed a contract. As for Barry's place in baseball, Monte Poole says baseball can go suck it. more ›

There's a whole bunch of golf stuff out there which we are going to skip entirely as we hate golf. more ›

-So much for getting into first place: the Sharks are thrashed by the Ducks, 7-4. more ›

-In the biggest game of the year, the Warriors stepped up and beat on the Indiana Pacers with ex-Pacer Stephen Jackson leading the way. What does it all mean? more ›

-The Warriors lost to the Charlotte Bobcats last night, 98-90. You can't really get too upset about the game as the Warriors are on the longest road trip of the season and played a game in Philly the night before. Most teams in that situation would lose. Not so good is that they are 1-3 on this road trip. more ›

-The Warriors beat up on an Allen Iverson-less 76ers last night, 116-97 as Matt Barnes led the way with seven three-pointers and twenty-five points. Monta Ellis, meanwhile, isn't as injured as everyone thought he was. And the next run of seven games looks pretty good for the Warriors. more ›

-We pick up today's "Morning After" column looking at the aftermath of the 49ers loss to the Cardinals on Sunday. The game knocked the 49ers out of the playoff hunt, probably as it should be as the game proved the Niners just aren't ready for playoff time yet (Niners Nation calls them the "Woulda-Coulda-Shoulda 49ers"). The loss has the team looking at next year even if there's still one game left in the season. more ›

Sharks beat high-scoring Ducks, 4-3, with a tipped pass by Joe Thorton in the late, late third period. The victory snapped the Ducks five game winning streak and was only their fourth regulation loss of the season. Is their still room on the Sharks bandwagon? more ›

-Arnie meets Angelides for a debate and nothing really exciting happens. We wanted to watch it, really, but we watched Friday night's "Battlestar Galactica" instead. more ›

Sampaist is on the scene in São Paulo beginning this week to become the only ist south of the Equator. Editor Leandro M. Pinto leads the paulistanos down there. more ›

It's been so long since the Raiders had a chance to gloat, some thought they might have forgotten how. Well, no worries, they returned to their arrogant selves quickly enough after their 27-24 win over Carolina yesterday. "Not to knock the Panthers, but they're not really a good team," said cornerback Charles Woodson, displaying the self-effacing humility the Raiders are known for. They take a week off to prepare for redemption against the Chargers. more ›

Weekly wrapup of local football action. more ›

Weekly football recap. more ›