Sport

Local cyclists to ride fixies in AIDS Lifecycle

2009-05-01T09:48:16Z

The statistics are staggering.

There are nearly 200,000 people currently living with HIV/AIDS in California.

In the United States, 1.1 million people have HIV.

Throughout the world, 33 million people live with the virus.

These statistics, taken from a number of sources, including the Joint United Nations Program on AIDS and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention also say that the estimated cost of treatment for a person with HIV is $20,000 dollars per year. Funding -- for services and treatment for those who have HIV/AIDS, not to mention prevention for at-risk groups -- is much needed.

A number of Sacramentans, including friends Danny Gutierrez and Douglas Vincent, will be doing their part by participating in the AIDS Lifecycle, an AIDS fundraising bicycle event which takes place May 31 - June 6. Each participant must raise a minimum of $3,000 for the race, which will cover 545 miles and stretches from San Francisco to Los Angeles Proceeds go to the San Francisco AIDS Foundation and the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center.

Gutierrez is normally a production manager for Java City Coffee Company, but he's been volunteering as a cleaner and organizing kids’ programs at the Sacramento Bike Kitchen, which educates people on how to perform their own bicycle maintenance. Vincent is currently an analyst for the state's Department of Corrections and rides 200 miles per week for fun.

Gutierrez and Vincent have known each other since "sometime in high school," are training partners, make up a fundraising team named Lugged Nutz, and are former band mates for the band Amber Inn. They have been riding together every weekend recently, trying to get in shape to complete the nearly 80-mile-per-day ride.

"On the weekends, Doug and I will take about 50-mile rides, so from about Old Town to Folsom and back," Gutierrez said.

They also plan to do a 100-mile day as part of their training. According to their blog, they are called Lugged Nutz because they planned on "doing this ride on vintage steel-lugged, fixed-gear conversions."

"Danny and I both started riding [fixed-gear bikes] because they're fun, Vincent said. "As far as riding around town, riding through the streets, they're a much funner mode of transportation. Danny and I both have this attitude that we would be more proud if we did it on a fixed gear, plus, the route we're taking - there aren't that many hills."

This means that Vincent and Gutierrez will not be able to coast, and must pedal constantly. However, the ride is very well supported with cars assisting riders on the road and booths full of drinks every now and then.

Also, anyone who does not complete the day's ride after 10 hours will be picked up and taken to the next campsite. Team Lugged Nutz does not anticipate the need for this service.

Still a month away from race day, the two have not yet earned the $3,000 that they pledged to raise before the race. "Times are pretty hard, and it's been hard for us to raise money, but we've had a lot of other support other than financial, which is great," Gutierrez said.

"The whole cause has really brought a lot of good out in people," he added.

Asbestos Press hand-printed posters while New Order Ink and Splash Promotion printed T-shirts for sale at a fundraiser the bikers are holding this Saturday, May 2. The $5 cover and all proceeds from T-shirt and poster sales will going to Team Lugged Nutz's race fund.

Saturday, May 2, at 8 p.m. five local bands, including Vincent's band Flounder and Gutierrez's band Exhale, will be rocking Lugged Nutz's fundraising concert at the Kennel Club. Donations will be accepted.

Saturday: Muay Thai "Battle at the Wat"

2009-09-19T05:51:45Z

California's amateur cruiserweight, super-middleweight and super-lightweight Muay Thai champions will be crowned Saturday at the "Battle of the Wat". Sponsored by Andy Kensamphaph, founder of Sacramento's Muay Thai Lao Kickboxing Academy, the "battle" is an International Kickboxing Federation sanctioned fight.

It takes place at Wat Lao Saoputh Buddhist Temple, 8741 Gerber Road in south Sacramento, starting at 7:30 a.m. with a "Young Warriors" youth tournament. Eighteen matches with adult fighters begin at 1 p.m. and conclude at 5 p.m.

Nine of the kick boxers are locals who trained at Kensamphahph's gym. Others competitors will travel from as far as Oregon.

The prize is a 26-inch trophy designed by Kensamphaph (pictured above). Each winner will receive a large trophy that "features the art of the Lao [Buddhist] temple, from the art of the Muay Boran," Kensamphaph said. "Basically, Muay Thai and Muay Lao [both] originally came from the [Buddhist] temple."

Muay Boran, which means "ancient boxing," focuses on speed, strength, technique and posture. It was popularized in the martial arts movie "Ong Bak," starring Tony Jaa.

All competitors receive a trophy, "but they also will gain recognition for how they perform; the public will know how they fight," Kensamphaph added.

Kensamphaph came to the United States from Laos in 1982. He taught Muay Thai for 16 years before fighting in and training others for Mix Martial Arts (MMA) cage battles.

He trained champion MMA fighter Urijah Faber, "the California Kid," in Muay Thai and Muay Lao. Muay Lao uses more points of contact than Muay Thai -- most important, fists, Kensamphaph said.

After Faber won the World Extreme Cagefighting featherweight championship, Kensamphaph stopped training him and opened the kickboxing academy about nine months ago.

The Muay Thai Lao Kickboxing Academy is in a 3,500-square-foot gym at 1510 Howe Ave., and has 260 male and female students. All the students learn to treat and respect each other as if they were family members, Kensamphaph said.

"I want people to remember how Muay Thai fighting represents [a person's] own art," he said. "I mix Muay Thai and Muay Lao, and I want to see how other people use it. Two is better than one. [By] mixing them up, it becomes a combination; it's more technical."

Battle of the Wat will be held outside, similar to traditional Sunday fights at temples in Thailand or Laos, said Muay Thai Lao instructor Jeff Baca. Thai and Lao food will be available for purchase.

General admission is $15, ringside is $25 and VIP tickets, which include a covered tent and a table, are $35. Tickets can be purchased at the door all the way up to the final fight, and all proceeds go to the Wat Lao Saoputh Buddhist Temple.

Bike Month rolls into Sacramento

2009-05-03T01:48:45Z

Dozens of bikers braved the pouring rain and biked from West Sacramento through downtown and midtown, ending their soggy ride at the Bicycle Kitchen on 20th and I. Ed Cox, City Bike and Pedestrian Coordinator led this group ride Friday, May 1 to kick off Bike Month, a month-long event which encourages Sacramento-area residents to try bicycling as a mode of transportation.

The ride followed a press conference in which Davis Mayor Pro Tem Don Saylor and Roseville Councilmember Jim Gray, co-chairs of the event, spoke about the importance of cycling. This event, sponsored by Sacramento Area Council of Governments and various transportation management associations and organizations, also encourages people to log their miles at mayisbikemonth.com to reach a goal of one million miles.

In addition to having events and promoting cycling, the Bike Month organizers have created pedal pools, which are described on the website as "a group of two or more cyclists who meet at a designated location and commute together." Another benefit of pedal pools is the safety and fun factors when riding with a partner.

"The Million Mile May challenge is intended to remind us how fun and easy a bike ride is and how many of us could use our bikes as an alternative to our cars," said Gray. Saylor challenged Gray and the Roseville city staff to ride more miles than Davis's city staff, to which Gray replied, "We will kick Don's butt."

However, Saylor had already ridden across the Sacramento-Davis causeway by the time the kickoff event began, while Gray drove his car from Roseville to Sacramento.

Linda Khiev of the bicycle advocacy group Bikeramento was in West Sacramento on her bike, and said of the event, "I love it, and I'm really excited to see lots of bikes on the road." She added that Bikeramento is still waiting for city permits to hold the event Sac Sunday Streets, which is a "monthly fitness-based and family-friendly event revolving around the soft closure of Capitol Avenue from 3rd Street to 28th Street from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the first Sunday from May through October 2009," according to a Sacramento Press article.

At the Bicycle Kitchen, Sacramento Press caught up with local bicycle advocate John Boyer, who works as a mechanic at Carmichael Cycle and Sacramento Bike Kitchen, owns a bicycle delivery service for food called Edible Pedal, and cycles to his job at La Boheme.

"I get excited when I see massive amounts of bikes. [At the Bicycle Kitchen] we want people to not be afraid of their bicycles malfunctioning," he said. Boyer mentioned that he has all the tools in his house to start a bike shop, but he's looking for a place to rent to open it.

Sacramento Press has registered as a team for the race to one million miles. If you work for Sacramento Press (especially the bike riders) please visit mayisbikemonth.com to log your miles under the Sacramento Press team, and if you work for a small office (less than 100) we challenge you to log more miles than we do.

Please see this link for Bike Month events in the downtown area. For more information visit mayisbikemonth.com.

Streets of London bustling for soccer match

2009-05-28T02:45:25Z

"Bar-Sell-Oh-Nuh! Clap, clap, clapclapclap! Where the EFF's United? Clap, clap clapclapclap!" Chants from Streets of London Pub drifted down J Street Wednesday afternoon, as the Champion's League final between Barcelona Football Club and Manchester United dominated every inch of the bar.

Pints, pitchers, and pub fare were ubiquitous throughout a crowd of more than 100 soccer fans packed to watch the game, which ended in a 2-0 victory for Barcelona. Servers squeezed through rowdy fans to refill drinks, but the only standing room available was in the back patio or out front.

Many of the fans were wearing Barcelona's two-toned blue and maroon jersey, and some were also wearing Manchester United's jerseys, but as the superstar-studded game went on, it was Barcelona fans who showed the most pride.

"Olé, olé olé olé, Bar-saahh-Lone-ah!" the crowd began to cheer in the last few minutes of the game. Manchester fans were dejected, some holding their hands up around their faces nervously awaiting a few late goals that never came.

Ricci Hidalgo, who took the day off of his job at California State School of the Arts, came with nine other Barcelona fans, wore a Barcelona jersey and draped a Barcelona flag around himself, wearing it like a cape.

"It's amazing. This is the first Spanish team to get the (European) Treble," he said, referring to Barcelona's feat of being the only Spanish team to ever win three European cups in one year. In addition to being Champion's League winners, Barcelona also won first place in its domestic league and the Copa Del Rey, a Spanish cup tournament.

"(Barcelona player) Lionel Messi is uhh-mazin', (Manchester United player) Wayne Rooney is overrated," Hidalgo added, who also took the time to slander Manchester United superstar Christiano Ronaldo.

"Messi should have been World Player of the Year," said another Barcelona fan of over 10 years who called in sick for his job in West Sacramento and drove to the pub to view the game with Hidalgo.

"It was a good game, and we had our chances," said disappointed Manchester United fan Pat O'Shea, who is also a third cousin to Manchester United defender John O'Shea. "I took the day off work the day I knew that Manchester United would be in the final," he added.

When asked what he would do for the rest of the day, Alex Tamayo a Trader Joe's employee and Manchester United fan said, "Have more beer." Like many other people at the pub, he took the whole day off from his job.

Sacramento to celebrate Vlade Divac

2009-03-31T05:05:25Z

Over 13,000 points, over 9,000 rebounds, over 3,500 assists, over 1,500 blocked shots, the art of flopping — this is what Vlade Divac brought to the table during his fifteen-year career in the NBA. Though he played seven seasons for the Lakers, two for the Hornets, and six with the Kings, "my six years with the Kings were the best," said Divac at teammate Chris Webber's jersey retirement celebration on Feb. 6, "and it's always going to be in my heart."

"It's definitely going to be an emotional thing for me," he said during a recent interview with KCRA 3.

In conjunction with his jersey being retired Tuesday night during halftime at the Kings-Hornets game, the last of three days of charitable events will culminate in a party at Tunel 21, a Divac-owned club in Old Sacramento. Benefits from this party and the previous two days of events (which included a lunch with Divac and a kickoff party at Tre Nightclub on Sunday March 29, and a "Charitabowl" bowling event Monday March 30) go to Divac's foundation, Humanitarian Organization Divac (HOD).

"Vlade and his wife Ana started HOD a little bit over a year ago to tackle the refugee situation there," said HOD spokesperson Angela Hughes in an interview with Sacramento Press. Currently Serbia has the largest refugee population in all of Europe, and Divac's organization hopes to move hundreds of these displaced families into homes.

"Ana's and Vlade's work has provided more than 9 million dollars in humanitarian assistance and educational programs to children in Serbia-Montenegro, Bosnia-Herzegovina, the United States, Indonesia, Ethiopia and China," says the HOD website.

Since moving back to Europe, he has settled with his family in Belgrade. "Vlade is president of the Serbian Olympic Committee and he now has a full time job," said Hughes. "He loves it and is doing very well in the position. He was always committed to going back and helping his country," Hughes said.

At the halftime ceremony, Kings commentator Grant Napier will be the master of ceremonies. Scot Pollard, Doug Christie, Chris Webber, Peja Stojakovic, Geoff Petire, Joe and Gavin Maloof, and Divac himself will speak, said Kings spokesperson Mitch Garmin.

To attend the celebration at Tunel 21, visit www.divac.com, email info@divac.com or call 916-807-4501 to obtain a limited number of tickets. It costs $50 for general admission and $75 for admission and cocktails.

*Photos credit divac.com

Sacramento to be part of 2010 Amgen Tour of California

2009-10-23T05:17:30Z

At about 9 a.m. Thursday, three-time Amgen Tour of California winner Levi Leipheimer announced via a "tweet" that he was going to defend his title in 2010. It was part of a high-profile Twitter conversation started by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger that went something like this:

"@schwarzenegger: Great news for American cycling fans and CA. The 2010 Amgen Tour of California will be better than ever. @lancearmstrong will you join us?

@lancearmstrong: Absolutely! @schwarzenegger, I've decided to ride the #Amgen Tour of California in 2010. Can't wait. What about you @levileipheimer?

@levileipheimer: I'll definitely be racing the 2010 Amgen Tour of California, defending my title."

Then at 4:30 p.m., the defending champion spoke at a press conference for the 2010 race at The Firehouse Restaurant in Old Sacramento.

"It was a lot of fun being in the announcement today on Twitter, so I feel like I'm really a part of the race," Leipheimer said to a crowd of about 50, which included the mayors of Sacramento, Nevada City and Davis, and local legislators.

"Right from the fall of 2005, when we first announced the Tour of California was going to happen, I felt like this was something that I needed to be involved with, and I think that's been the secret to my success the last three years," he added. Leipheimer has won the last three Tours of California.

Mayor Kevin Johnson also expressed excitement that Sacramento be will be involved in the tour again. In addition to hosting the pre-race team presentation and gala on May 14, downtown Sacramento is where the first stage of the tour will conclude May 16, after a start in Nevada City.

"That allows us to have four or five days of activities and make it a really special weekend event," Johnson said. "We're going to have about 70,000 spectators that will participate over the weekend. This event brings in $8 million dollars, and that is very significant."

He also addressed last year's "hiccup": During the race, Lance Armstrong's time trial bike was stolen in Sacramento. The mayor joked that although the chief of police had promised tighter security, riders should bring their own locks, just in case.

Davis's Mayor Dr. Ruth Uy Asmundson and Nevada City's Mayor Reinette Senum said they were honored that their cities were part of the race as well.

A big change in the 2010 tour is that it will be held in May instead of February.

"We did it to showcase the state of California in a better way," said Andrew Messick, president of Anschutz Entertainment Group and tour director. "There's a lot of terrain you can't get to on a bicycle in the wintertime."

Moving the tour dates also means that it will overlap with the peak of the European cycling season. As a result, it is unclear whether Europe's top racers will choose the Tour of California over the Giro d'Italia (Tour of Italy).

"There are probably some Italians who will end up going to the Giro, but I don't think that we're going to see any impact because of the two races conflicting," Leipheimer said. "(The Tour of California) is better preparation for the Tour de France in July."

Leipheimer, Armstrong, and most of last year's Astana team will ride together, but have moved to the newly-formed Team Radioshack. A 2007 Tour de France doping scandal, near financial collapse and a talent overload (three of the top four 2009 Tour de France riders) sent many former Astana riders elsewhere for 2010.

Stage one of 2010 Amgen tour to end at Capitol

2010-02-10T05:51:19Z

"For us domestic riders, this is our Tour de France," Chris Jones said of the Amgen Tour of California. "It's the biggest race of our year," added the 31-year-old cyclist from Auburn.

Jones and Michael Sayers, a retired professional rider, are Amgen tour veterans. They joined John McCasey, Sacramento Sports Commission director, at a Tuesday press conference at Mason's Restaurant. They introduced the tour's first stage -- from Nevada City to Sacramento -- with Mayor Kevin Johnson and Councilmen Ray Tretheway and Steve Cohn also in attendance.

The event kicked off with a video that provided a glimpse of the scenery cyclists will see when they ride from Nevada City to Sacramento on May 16.

Several months ago, fans learned via Twitter that Lance Armstrong and Levi Leipheimer will race again this year. Starting Monday, preview videos began revealing each stage with aerial shots and and cyclists giving first-person accounts. The videos will continue to be released on YouTube and amgentourofcalifornia.com, two per day, until Friday. Each stage log, with turn-by-turn directions, will also be available on the Amgen tour website.

"Nevada City, the start this year, has a rich history," said Sayers, who is a Sacramento native. "Some of the biggest names in American cycling have competed in the Nevada City (Bicycle Classic), and I think it's a big honor that the race is giving Nevada City a few circuits before the stage starts."

After several miles in Nevada City, the 104.2-mile day will take riders through Grass Valley, Placer County and Meadow Vista before entering Auburn.

"My favorite part is going through Auburn about two blocks from my house," said Jones. "Then we'll head over the (Foresthill) Bridge."

Jones explained in the stage-one preview video that the Foresthill Bridge is the tallest in California. Built in 1973 to accompany the never-built Auburn Dam, the bridge provides breathtaking canyon views 738 feet above the American River.

Aside from a 1,500-foot climb to Cool, cyclists will continue downhill through El Dorado County into East Sacramento, before finishing at L and 11th streets. The stage will favor sprinters, and close to the finish line, cyclists may reach up to 40 mph. Streets will be closed to traffic along the entire stage route, details available here.

Sacramento will host free events May 16, McCasey said, including the mayor's ridealong in the morning and festival sponsor Anschutz Entertainment Group's Lifestyle Festival, from noon to 4:30 p.m. Stage two of the tour will feature a 109.5-mile ride from Davis to Santa Rosa.

The local economic impact of the Amgen tour is considerable.

"You're talking about $8 million," said Mayor Kevin Johnson. "Quality of life, a free family event, 80,000 people downtown, and we'll all look like Chris (Jones) if we cycle enough."

Photos 4 and 5 credit Anthony Bento.