Grant High ranked #58 in nation

The Grant High School Pacers, the top area Division II football team, has been ranked #58 in the nation by Yahoo’s Rivals.com, my Yahoo home page tells me. Nifty.

Though a more important number for the Pacers is their #2 ranking by ESPN’s CalHiSports.com. (So they’re D-I in the state, but D-II in Sac-Joaquin? I’m going to need MSN’s Google’s Wikipedia to explain that to me. Obviously different measures are used by CIF and Sac-Joaquin.) Apparently that #2 ranking means they are looking at a berth in the CIF state championship game on December 20, where they would play the top D-2 school from So Cal. It’s a big weekend for local prep football, as Casa Robles are (apparently I’m British) still in play for the D-II CIF championship berth.

The Pacers and Rams should wear FlyJumpers Power Jumping Stilts Friday night in their Sac-Joaquin section championship games, that could put them over the edge…

Local duo cleverly protects their identity

We need teepee for our bungholes!
Don’t you stare at my belly button!

We see stories like this quite often. But, this particular one struck me as unique. Why? Well, there was something about the two dudes that reminded me of something. Something from my college days. What was it though? What was it about these two brainiacs holding up a pizza joint that seemed so familiar?

Then it hit me. That’s it! Answer after the jump…
Continue reading “Local duo cleverly protects their identity”

The Great Sacramento Santa Hunt of 2008

I remember fondly going out to an annual breakfast with my dad, The Game Guy, Sr., one special Saturday in December for pancakes and then to a little mall full of non-chain stores to visit Santa Claus- who was the embodiment of ol’ St. Nick if I ever knew one.  One of the benefits of being at such a mall was the total lack of crowds which allowed our Kris Kingle to be take his time and actually engage in a conversation with me.  After I got done visiting with Santa, my dad and I would then go Christmas shopping for my mom (it wasn’t until many years later that I realized the Saturday alone was probably the greatest gift my Dad and I could have given her).

By the time my sister came along, we kept up this tradition for at least 10 years.  And for 10 years, the same Santa Claus.  No foolin’- it was the same guy every year, and after a few years, he started to remember my dad (something about the Scotch my dad would bring for him probably was the trigger).

So as I looking towards my first Christmas as a dad, I can’t wait to start this tradition with my own son, Game Boy.  Naturally this begs the question: where, dear readers, is the best place in Sacramento for a pancake breakfast (please don’t say Pancake Circus) and an awesome Santa? My first thought was to search out non-chain-based malls to capture the Santa experience of my youth, but then quickly realized that meant Florin Mall which instantly terrified me.  So, any other suggestions?

We need a proposition for this one

News10.net reports that an all-women facility of the California Family Fitness chain of gymnasiums will be forced to open its doors to men due to threat of litigation.

California Family Fitness operates 14 other gyms for both men and women, but kept its Howe Avenue location single-sex because it grew out of a nearby women’s health club known as Living Well Lady purchased by the company in 1997.

The company said it has also modified seven other locations that had separate workout areas for men and women.

I tell you what, these are wacky times we live in. Curves anyone?

Silver lining on RT’s 2009 rate increase

If you’re an RT user I’m sure you know that fares are going up in 2009. An extra two bits for a single fare, and actually also an extra quarter for a transfer, up to 50 cents. So a basic ticket plus transfer is $2.75, almost double the same type of fare on SF Muni, I’m discouraged to learn. However I suppose you could pretend that all of SF would be within the “Central City zone” for Sac RT, in which case a comparable fee will only be $1.60. But that takes some pretending.

However, the silver lining is that RT riders will not experience any service cuts when 2009 comes. In fact, according to the latest “Next Stop News” the only service changes will actually be additional service on several lines.

I like RT’s General Manager Mike Wiley’s moxie; the press release about 2009 fare increases quotes Wiley: “RT could not absorb an $18.3 million raid by the state of California without asking our riders to pay more…”

What do you think though, RT riders? Increased costs or service cuts? Are you going to be happy to pay more knowing that at least for the time being you won’t have to deal with changes to your route?

KVIE’s “On Tap” quenches

Gary Gelfand from "On Tap" on KVIE's "ViewFinder"
Gary is on point this time.

During the holiday break I had the opportunity to catch the latest installment of “ViewFinder” on KVIE. This series is always on the money, but Episode 8 welcomed me with a cold pint of refreshing goodness…beer! And what a treat it was.

Hosted by Gary Gelfand, (I know, right, “The Sports Show” notwithstanding) this episode “chronicles the rich history and science behind brewing and takes a look at how the recent craft-brewing revolution was born right here in our backyard.” Mixed in with a little Sacramento history and “did you know” tidbits and I was hooked! I especially enjoyed the reference to the now-defunct Buffalo Brewing Co.

The episode airs again on Sunday at 6pm. You can view the full episode here as well. Please to check it out. You won’t be sorry.

Roseville Restaurant Report Part I: The Greenhouse

The Greenhouse serves no green beerThe Greenhouse is fine organic dining. The Greenhouse is casual comfort food. The Greenhouse is a brewpub. Somehow, all of these statements are true.

Let’s start with the brewpub aspect of The Greenhouse. Brewmaster Kevin Pratt has put together an absolutely stunning lineup of organic beers. Brewed mostly in the English tradition, each beer a textbook example of its type. The brown ale is a perfect brown ale, the blonde a crisp brew, and the stout a rich, creamy, decadent beer made beautifully in the British vein.

I don’t wish to in any way sound conditional in my praise for these beers. They are absolutely brilliant. In a recent visit, I was joined by a group of self-proclaimed beer snobs and all in attendance were either mightily impressed or simply blown away. Kevin is doing some fine work up in Roseville, and The Greenhouse should be a destination for the beer alone. Bring a growler. Continue reading “Roseville Restaurant Report Part I: The Greenhouse”

Dude, where’s my cart?

The obligatory weekend trip for groceries means for me to hit the Costco. As an Elk Groover, the closest location to me is the South Sacramento store. Yep yep y’all, we’re going to South Sac.

Unfortunately, the only thing this store has going for it is that it’s a Costco that’s closest to those of us in the south side of the county but north of the cattle.

The staff are very friendly, but the store itself is wrought with overcrowding, rude customers and people who line up for free samples of orange juice and bacon, and then loiter in the middle of the aisles like they’re partaking of a United Nations relief mission. When you’ve finally navigated through the Dixie Cup buffet, you get stuck in a horrible feeder line system at the check out that also falls smack in a major thoroughfare in the store, so people with arms full of Christmas ornaments are running crosscurrent through the lines to get through.

The indoor food court is just as overcrowded as it is unsanitary. The time it takes to wait in line for the $1.50 hot dog and soda while you study the story told by the tattoo on the back of the neck in front of you, is worth more than the $1.50 you’ll spend. And, because people have had too much of a good thing back in the store, people also loiter around the soda vending machines refilling their cups of soda after every sip and making the rest of us wait for sweet flavourless bubbly. You also do not want your food to touch the picnic tables (complete with umbrellas) in the indoor sitting area, lest you disturb the flies. Besides, good luck pulling your food off the table once it’s been placed there and permanently affixed by old ketchup.

To top it off, last weekend, as I was browsing in an aisle, someone jacked my half full shopping cart and disappeared into the crowds. My bad. I forgot to padlock my cart to the shelf when I turned to browse.

My recommendation: go to another location. It might take longer to drive but you’ll save that time in the store, with a more pleasant experience.

Costco South Sacramento
7981 East Stockton Boulevard
Sacramento, California 95823
Rating: *