Leaving aside the fact that the Niners will not be playing in it, Super Bowl 2012 is shaping up to be a helluva game. For one, you'll be able to get your play-by-play commentary from polar bears, corporate trickery though it may be. Two, the Bay Area will not be subjected to dead fetus ads at half-time. Three, Madonna's probably bringing M.I.A. and Nikki Minaj to whatever color of glitter explosion halftime will be. Four, you will undoubtedly have the opportunity to gorge yourself on salty snacks, cold beers, and hearty stew, all of the above because we live in Amurrca and that's how it works. 

Yes vegans, even you! John Schlimm, author of the Tipsy Vegan (Da Capo, 176pp, $17)-- which we reviewed in this winter's Guardian Books Issue -- was good enough to share with us some recipes for a nice little lineup of vegan Big Game treats, including whiskey-specked hot-to-trot peanuts, aforementioned hearty veggie-and-beer stew, and a prescription for guacamole that necessitates tequila. See that? Each of Sclimm's dishes are not only animal product-free, but also embued with that lifeblood of all vegans, alcohol. Read more »

It was the crying jag seen round the world. With seconds left in last Saturday's divisional playoff game 49ers tight end (and Guardian cover model) Vernon Davis caught the game-winning touchdown, kept the Niners' Super Bowl hopes alive, and ran headlong into the arms of coach Jim Harbaugh while bawling his eyes out.

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Going balls out for Berlin-style ping-pong with American Tripps

The only thing lacking is a haze of cigarette smoke curling over the lone ping-pong table bogarting the cosy dance floor of Project One. A polite jostle of players, perhaps 25 strong, rings the table, shoulder to shoulder. Each one clutches a paddle in one hand, and, more than a few, a drink in the other. The game is “Berlin-style” ping-pong (also known as rundlauf)—a participatory style of play in which every participant gets a turn serving or receiving as the circle shuffles one spot at a time, counter-clockwise around the crowded table.

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Bullfighting Cali-style

If you want to go to a bullfight in California, you have to do a little preliminary sleuthing. Just why you would decide to go in the first place can’t be easily explained. But it helps to note that unlike more traditional forms of bullfighting, California bullfighting is billed as “bloodless.” That is to say, no bulls are killed in the ring.Read more »

So struck were we by the spectacle that is the first weekend of the Grand National Rodeo (read our print coverage of the event here), your Guardian news team lost a couple hundred dollars worth of camera equipment, by a conservative (uneducated in the ways of photography) estimate (your writer's). Luckily, we still brought back photo documentation. They never should have let us stand by the bronc pit.Read more »

When head coach Geraldine Poon and assistant coach Kris Thomas got involved with Mission High School’s volleyball program two years ago, their goal was to significantly improve the team’s attitude on the court and in the classroom. They did. 

The young women on the team made such strides on and off the court, in fact, that Thomas got in touch with the Guardian to ask if we could show them some love. We would love to! Read more »

“They’re taking torture to a new level.”

Such were the words of Giants manager Bruce Bochy after his team's exhilarating 10th inning 2-1 walkoff win versus the visiting Houston Astros on Saturday night. Although it might not have been the best fielded game or the offensive show of force the Giants have been longing for, the team escaped with a win thanks to the bat of trade deadline acquisition Jeff Keppinger. 

But before the night’s climactic finish on the field, a different kind of celebration took place, just off it. It was Tim Lincecum Bobblehead Day at AT&T Park. Read more »

On yesterday’s clear and sunny Wednesday afternoon, the San Francisco Giants played in front of a sold-out crowd for their sixtieth straight home game in a row. 

But even the 42,000-plus fans in the bleachers couldn’t ignite the recently gone-limp bats of the 2010 world champs. The Giants lost the matinee by a lopsided score of 9-2 to the Pittsburgh Pirates, a team who before arriving in the Bay had lost 10 games in a row. 

There was no joy for Giants fans -- until the evening’s post-game special event, that is. Read more »