Although shooting appears to have wrapped on the upcoming surf-flick Of Men and Mavericks, Scotsman-turned-Californian-Surfer-Dude Gerard Butler is sticking around Half Moon Bay. Butler, who nearly drowned and then checked himself in to rehab for abusing painkillers, seems to have found a new addiction near the legendary surf spot: the seafood sampler from Half Moon Bay Brewing Company. more ›

Actor Gerard Butler — who stars in the upcoming Of Men and Mavericks, shot near Santa Cruz — is checking out of rehab today, and he blames his recent slip down the rabbit hole of addiction to pain pills he started taking following this December surfing accident on the set in which he almost drowned. There's also a mention of a coke problem, but that wasn't the main reason for needing Betty Ford, you see. more ›

Remember that Mavericks movie that's in production, during the shooting of which actor Gerard Butler kind of almost drowned in December? Well, the crew is back in order to capture more shots of big big waves this week off Steamer Lane and Mavericks, two of the biggest west-northwest swells on the coast. more ›

The local webs are abuzz this a.m. with news that movie star and convincing Greek warrior Gerard Butler got held under water and maybe could have drowned yesterday while filming a scene for the upcoming film Of Men and Mavericks. Butler was paddling out with surfer costars Greg Long, Zach Wormhoudt, and Peter Mel when they got unexpectedly slammed by a big set of waves in the 20+ foot range. All four men "took like four to five pretty big waves on the head," according to Wormhoudt, and Butler had to get pulled out of the water by a jetski rescuer. Butler, shaken up but conscious, was taken to Stanford Medical Center for observation. more ›

Even though the formal Mavericks surf competition got scuttled this year, about a dozen well known big-wave surfers gathered yesterday to surf the break anyway, and one of them drowned. As the Santa Cruz Sentinel reports, 35-year-old Sion Milosky, an accomplished big-wave surfer who lived in Kauai, wiped out on a large wave (think: 60 feet), and then got held underwater by two consecutive waves at around 6:30 p.m.. more ›

The big-wave surf competition known as Mavericks (a.k.a. The Jay at Mavericks) looks like it won't be happening this year because the window of time for the contest closes February 28 and this year's La Niña weather pattern hasn't been good creating the ideal swells and wind necessary for the biggest waves. more ›

A huge wave crashed into a crowd of 200 people this morning at the Mavericks Surf Contest north of Half Moon Bay. Many people were swept off their feet, and thirteen suffered injuries, a few of whom were taken to the hospital. Luckily no one was swept out to sea. more ›

In another case of "mo' money, mo' problems," the dudes over at the Mavericks big wave surf competition are deep in the impact zone. Jeff Clark, the booted co-founder of the Mavericks Surf Ventures, which has produced the Mavericks competition since 2003, is... more ›

After a vote of the 24 competitors, the annual Mavericks surf competition was called off. For now, anyway. more ›

Due to forecasts of rain and wind, Mavericks will not begin tomorrow, as was hoped. But as surfers only get 24 hours notice, there's still a chance for waves this week, if the weather clears. Once the competition is given the green light, 24 surfers will fly in from around the world to compete for the $150,000 prize. We'll update as soon as we hear of a set date. (Amy Crocker) more ›

by Amy Crocker more ›

surfing location just north of Half Moon Bay, will now allow the use of tow-ins. That is to say, it's now legal in the competition for surfers to get comfortably towed into waves by jet skis, Waverunners, and other personal watercraft. more ›

Photos of wipeouts only fron the Maverick's Surf Contest more ›

• Londonist pondered who might be the next sponsors of the London Eye and whether or not readers would be willing to donate £1,000 each for a Londonist Eye.
• Shanghaiist was shocked to find a cameltoe in the city's only English-language paper.
• Gothamist believed that a writer who wanted pre-gentrified gritty New York and ended up getting beaten up during a mugging learned his lesson.

There was no sign of Mark "Cutback" Davis or Bob "Jungle Death" Gerard in the waves off Pillar Point on Saturday, but 24 of the world's ballsiest surfers were there to test their mettle against the huge, angry swell that is the Mavericks break. When the foam cleared and the judges scorecards were tallied, it was 24-year-old Greg Long from San Clemente, SoCal that ended up taking home the title of Mavericks Big Wave champion for 2008.

Twenty-four of the world's most bitchin-ass surfers are on their way to Half Moon bay for a dangerous showdown at this year's 2008 Mavericks Surf Contest. Shore stars like Shawn Rhodes, Greg Long (San Clemente FTW), Brock Little, Randy Cone, Santa Cruz's Tyler Smith, and more will take part in tomorrow's dangerous and exhilarating surf contest. The cold waters of Half Moon Bay combined with the Pacific storm winter weather make some of "the most dangerous waves in the world." This battle of the sea is not to be missed. Dude. more ›

The Mavericks surf contest waiting period will start soon more ›

There is no doubt that coach Don Nelson and his sidekick Chris Mullen have reshaped the Warriors, and the team now has a pretty strong pool of players from which Nellie can choose to implement his failed system of up-tempo small-ball.

Well, just to follow up on yesterday's day of violence, we can't find anything about the late-afternoon incident on Ellis Street that a couple of you guys saw, but there was another shooting around 11:50 p.m. in Visitacion Valley. That one was fatal. (The Examiner also has a list of other recent daytime shootings in SF, if you're interested.) more ›

The increasingly nasty little rivalry brewing between the Mavs & Dubs took on a whole new dimension as Mark Cuban sued Don Nelson for using some sort of super-double secret confidential information against the Mavs in this year's playoffs. As the old adage says, if you can't beat 'em, sue 'em. more ›

Improbably, almost impossibly, the Golden State Warriors' dream season continues tonight with game 1 of their Western Conference semifinal matchup with the Utah Jazz. The Warriors are into the semis by virtue of their historic six-game stunner over the top-seeded Dallas Mavericks; the Jazz eeked out a game 7 road win over the Houston Rockets.

The Jazz are the fourth seed in the Western Conference, but in our minds, its the Dubs that enter this series as the favorites. The Jazz are undoubtedly mentally and physically drained after their game 7 thriller on Saturday, while the Warriors are riding a wave of emotion that shows no sign of dissipating.

There's so much going on across the Ist-a-Verse that it's almost impossible to keep track these days. Fortunately, we do it so you don't have to! more ›

Go ahead Bay Area, whoop it the hell up. Call in sick to work, pick up a twelver at the corner store, order some team gear online, call your boys over, and replay game 6 again and again and again on your DVR. It's time to cel-eh-brate, come on! Last night in the O-rena, before 20,677 fanatics-in-arms, your Golden State Warriors rose up and crushed the Dallas Mavericks, 111-86, to close out their first-round, best-of-seven series, four games to two.

Sunday night, the SF International screened the world premiere of the film at the Castro Theater. There were shades of Sundance as many of the films featured filmmakers and actors, including George Lucas and Robin Williams, casually red carpeted-their way to the theater, complete with flashbulbs and film cameras documenting the night. more ›

"Ain't nothin' but a ballgame fellas, ain't nothin' but a thing."

That's probably what Baron Davis and Stephen Jackson were telling their teammates Tuesday night on the flight home to Oaktown after letting the Dallas Mavericks slip the hangman's knot in game 5, 118-112.

With the series now a little tighter at 3-2 in favor of the Warriors, the C word (choke) hangs over Tuesday's bobble like Adonal Foyle's contract against the Warriors salary cap. We're still seeing all this as a win-win though. Game 5 was an incredible game for playoff-starved Warriorphiles. Both teams played spirited ball. The Mavericks faced down elimination from the very brink of defeat. The Warriors had a chance to close out their opening round best-of-seven playoff series with the Mavs, but couldn't quite pull it off. The game featured great defense, clutch shots, a little intrigue (again), last-second heroics, and playoff drama -- everything a hoops fan expects from the postseason.

Warrior Nation, can it get any better? Seriously. After Golden State's tenacious, gutty, and spirited come-from-behind 103-99 victory over the Dallas Mavericks Sunday night in the O-rena, the Warriors have taken a 3-1 lead in their best-of-seven series. After 13 years of waiting, nobody in the NBA is more jacked up than the Warriors and their long-suffering fans.

The season has gone from just another shit sandwich to a gravy train with biscuit wheels in little more than a month. From nine games below .500 to .500. Not just a .500 record, but playoffs. Not just playoffs, but most favorable matchup. Not just favorable matchup, but a game one victory to take home court advantage in the series and set the basketball world abuzz.

It is not often that an event we attend simply blows away its billing. Friday night, however, we managed to procure tickets to the single greatest game in the last 13 years of Warriors home game history. We watched the Warriors fearlessly and recklessly dismantle the Dallas Mavericks as the Warriors guards absolutely abused the Mavericks back court and the front line compensated their (relatively) small dimensions with oversized heart, hustle, desire and effort. While we have watched many Warriors games this year we can't help but say that something has clicked recently, because this team just doesn't care. They don't care about how they "should" play the game, hoisting 3's even when they have numbers on fast breaks and switching on screams so that 6 foot guards are defending 7 foot centers. They don't care that they "should" be losing. And they definitely don't care that Dallas "should" be the anointed ones this season and that Nellie's X's and O's "should" not work in the long run. more ›

That huge farting noise you heard last night wasn't Mark Cuban sitting on a whoopee cushion, it was the sound of the air going out of the Warriors playoff fantasy balloon.

In a game that featured sloppy ballhandling, poor shooting, and bad behavior by our beloved hometown cagers, the Dallas Mavericks regained their basketball footing and reclaimed the psychological advantage in their opening-round playoff series with the Warriors.

Here's todays sports news more ›

Here's todays sports news more ›