Sports

The City of Oakland has been through this before—the owner of a local professional sports franchise announces they’re moving the team out of town, leaving the Coliseum for a state-of-the-art facility somewhere else.

More than 130 fifth and sixth graders at Lincoln Elementary School in Richmond studied science on Tuesday. Okay, so what? This time their teachers didn’t wear white lab coats and talk about strange things underneath a microscope. Instead, Oakland A’s outfielder Josh Reddick and team mascot Stomper used a Louisville Slugger and chopped up baseballs to talk about the “Science of the Game.”

There’s a “culture shift” about bikes happening in the East Bay, Renee Rivera, the executive director of the advocacy group East Bay Bicycle Coalition (EBBC), told a crowd gathered in Frank Ogawa Plaza in front of City Hall on Thursday to celebrate Bike to Work Day.

After canceling its spring dance program amid financial troubles, the Oakland Ballet Company plans to host its annual gala fundraiser on May 5 in the Kaiser Center Auditorium.

The Oakland Tech baseball team completed its OAL season on Wednesday with a win over Oakland High at Tech’s pristine field, which is maintained by parents of players.

Members of the U.S. Men’s National Rowing Team have been practicing in Oakland for months, gliding up and down the Estuary as they prepare for this summer’s Olympic Games in London.

The Clipper fleet is on display this weekend as part of the Strictly Sail Pacific Boat Show at Jack London Square, which began Thursday morning. The show has 65 booth exhibitors selling sailing equipment, gear and accessories on both floors of the Market Hall. Outside, about 65 boats are on display and for sale in the marina. “Any part, gear or accessory for your boat, you’ll find here,” said Sail America executive director Jonathan Banks.

On the first Friday of every month, the Oakland Metro Operahouse becomes the rendezvous of some of the wildest wrestlers in Northern California. They call it Hoodslam. It’s not exactly a wrestling tournament, it’s their version of a Friday night out, where humans become demons, furry mascots are referees and videogame characters come to life. It’s a party with rock music, drama and a wrestling ring. Nothing makes much sense to first-time goers. All they can do is enjoy the show and watch out for flying objects. Or people.

Keith Salminen is passionate about his favorite team, the Oakland A’s. He’s the host of an Internet radio talk show called “A’s Fan Radio,” has been going to games since he was 2 years old, and says he regularly goes to 50 or 60 games a year. (The exception was the four years when he was in the Marines, stationed at Camp Pendleton in Southern California, when he only made it to handful of road games.) Last weekend, Salminen had the finishing touches put on his arm tattoo: the A’s logo with the Oaklandish tree behind it.

“Basically, for the last decade I’ve been planning on getting an A’s tattoo because of avid of an A’s fan I am,” Salminen said. He’s such a big fan, he recently became part of a group of committed fans who are working to keep Oakland’s three professional sports teams—the A’s of Major League Baseball, the NFL’s Oakland Raiders and the NBA’s Golden State Warriors—from leaving town.