Guests: The Athletic columnist and author Marcus Thompson II, Oakland Tech athletic director and former WNBA player Alexis Gray-Lawson, and Oakland Roots co-founder Edreece Arghandiwal. Musical performance by Oakland singer-songwriter Mara Hruby.
Through the decades, sports have both reflected and helped to shape Oakland’s culture and civic identity, with many wins to celebrate together. But the past few years have been tough for fans of Oakland’s major sports franchises. The Raiders picked up and left (again) in 2020. Our beloved Dubs took down their championship banners and hung them back up in shinier digs across the Bay. The A’s? Embroiled in a contentious Howard Terminal stadium debate that could possibly end with them joining the Raiders in Las Vegas.
In short, there’s a lot to unpack and questions to answer: What do sports have to do with the soul of a town? When major professional sports franchises leave a city, what springs up in their place? Can Oakland’s prep sports programs continue living up to their legacy of producing star professional athletes, in an era of cash-strapped school budgets?
The evening will be hosted by Oaklandside's arts and community reporter Azucena Rasilla.
The Oaklandside Culture Makers, a quarterly series of live events launched in March 2022, is generously presented by Xfinity with additional sponsorship support from PG&E, East Bay Community Energy, Tidewater Capital, and The Oakland A’s.
More about our guests:
Marcus Thompson II is a lead columnist at the national online sports news publication The Athletic, known for writing on Bay Area pro sports, especially the Golden State Warriors and the NBA at large. He is the author of the national bestseller Golden: The Miraculous Rise of Steph Curry, KD: Kevin Durant's Relentless Pursuit to Be the Greatest, and DYNASTIES: The Ten G.O.A.T. Teams that Changed the NBA Forever. The Clark Atlanta University product lives with his wife, Dawn, and daughter, Sharon, in Oakland.
Alexis Gray-Lawson was born in Oakland. She went to Oakland Tech where she helped lead Oakland Tech to their second state basketball title. Gray-Lawson earned a scholarship to play basketball at UC Berkeley. She was first on the Golden Bears’ career list for three-pointers made with a total of 148. She signed to play on the Phoenix Mercury WNBA team in 2011. In the WNBA offseason she played professionally in Turkey and Israel. Earlier this year, she received her doctorate in Educational Leadership and Curriculum. She currently is the Community School Manager, teacher, and Athletic Director at Oakland Tech.
At a time when sports teams are leaving Oakland, Edreece Arghandiwal is swimming against the tide. A first-generation Afghan-American born in Oakland, Arghandiwal is a co-founder and the chief marketing officer of the Oakland Roots Sports Club, a community-oriented professional soccer team that made its debut in 2018 and plays its home games at the Laney College Football Stadium to a growing contingent of adoring fans, often drawing capacity crowds. In May, the club announced it would also be fielding a women’s professional soccer club, the Oakland Soul, beginning in 2023. Arghandiwal is a graduate of Babson College and the University of California, Davis.
Mara Hruby (pictured below) doesn’t just play music—she lives it. Since the onset of her career, the Oakland native has poured her soul into her velvet confections, drawing inspiration from lessons that she’s gleaned in her personal life and funneling them into rich, organic compositions. In just a few years, the singer-songwriter—whose musical influences range from Patsy Cline to Curtis Mayfield—has become one of acoustic soul’s fastest-rising up-and-comers, gaining a loyal following. Hruby’s 2014 album Archaic Rapture reached the coveted #1 spot on iTunes Jazz charts within a week. Her work was described as “bridging the gap between cabaret-era jazz-pop and alternative soul” by NBC Bay Area, and the Huffington Post said Hruby’s effortless music “evokes a nostalgia for the sounds of Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald.”
no Coronavirus section! what is the world coming to?
i got my booster last night. was doing fine this morning, even had a strength training session w/ coach. but i have been non-functional all afternoon. mostly a bad headache and decided to take a long nap.
still not too much better, but there is some work that needs tending to ...
Since 2000, Cal football scored the most points in a quarter against which opponent?
Obama wins an Emmy.
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2022/9/4/2120730/-Barack-Obama-just-won-the-Emmy-that-has-forever-eluded-Trump-Cue-social-media-meltdown
Tory Leadership, ladies and gentlemen
https://twitter.com/NoContextBrits/status/1567448734421721090
DBD Cooking Academy
DBD Book Club
What is your current favorite wine grape varietal?
Weather
OUR CRUMBLING DEMOCRACY
DBD AV Club
Elsewhere in college
PRO
CAL
atoms
Oaklandside Culture Makers on 9/22 may be of interest to people here
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-oaklandside-culture-makers-tickets-371726442797?aff=odeimcmailchimp&utm_source=Oaklandside+newsletters&utm_campaign=ba787c7b95-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2021_09_23_08_47_COPY_02&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_8612bcc0f3-ba787c7b95-333577678&mc_cid=ba787c7b95&mc_eid=6929726b0d
About this event
Guests: The Athletic columnist and author Marcus Thompson II, Oakland Tech athletic director and former WNBA player Alexis Gray-Lawson, and Oakland Roots co-founder Edreece Arghandiwal. Musical performance by Oakland singer-songwriter Mara Hruby.
Through the decades, sports have both reflected and helped to shape Oakland’s culture and civic identity, with many wins to celebrate together. But the past few years have been tough for fans of Oakland’s major sports franchises. The Raiders picked up and left (again) in 2020. Our beloved Dubs took down their championship banners and hung them back up in shinier digs across the Bay. The A’s? Embroiled in a contentious Howard Terminal stadium debate that could possibly end with them joining the Raiders in Las Vegas.
In short, there’s a lot to unpack and questions to answer: What do sports have to do with the soul of a town? When major professional sports franchises leave a city, what springs up in their place? Can Oakland’s prep sports programs continue living up to their legacy of producing star professional athletes, in an era of cash-strapped school budgets?
The evening will be hosted by Oaklandside's arts and community reporter Azucena Rasilla.
The Oaklandside Culture Makers, a quarterly series of live events launched in March 2022, is generously presented by Xfinity with additional sponsorship support from PG&E, East Bay Community Energy, Tidewater Capital, and The Oakland A’s.
More about our guests:
Marcus Thompson II is a lead columnist at the national online sports news publication The Athletic, known for writing on Bay Area pro sports, especially the Golden State Warriors and the NBA at large. He is the author of the national bestseller Golden: The Miraculous Rise of Steph Curry, KD: Kevin Durant's Relentless Pursuit to Be the Greatest, and DYNASTIES: The Ten G.O.A.T. Teams that Changed the NBA Forever. The Clark Atlanta University product lives with his wife, Dawn, and daughter, Sharon, in Oakland.
Alexis Gray-Lawson was born in Oakland. She went to Oakland Tech where she helped lead Oakland Tech to their second state basketball title. Gray-Lawson earned a scholarship to play basketball at UC Berkeley. She was first on the Golden Bears’ career list for three-pointers made with a total of 148. She signed to play on the Phoenix Mercury WNBA team in 2011. In the WNBA offseason she played professionally in Turkey and Israel. Earlier this year, she received her doctorate in Educational Leadership and Curriculum. She currently is the Community School Manager, teacher, and Athletic Director at Oakland Tech.
At a time when sports teams are leaving Oakland, Edreece Arghandiwal is swimming against the tide. A first-generation Afghan-American born in Oakland, Arghandiwal is a co-founder and the chief marketing officer of the Oakland Roots Sports Club, a community-oriented professional soccer team that made its debut in 2018 and plays its home games at the Laney College Football Stadium to a growing contingent of adoring fans, often drawing capacity crowds. In May, the club announced it would also be fielding a women’s professional soccer club, the Oakland Soul, beginning in 2023. Arghandiwal is a graduate of Babson College and the University of California, Davis.
Mara Hruby (pictured below) doesn’t just play music—she lives it. Since the onset of her career, the Oakland native has poured her soul into her velvet confections, drawing inspiration from lessons that she’s gleaned in her personal life and funneling them into rich, organic compositions. In just a few years, the singer-songwriter—whose musical influences range from Patsy Cline to Curtis Mayfield—has become one of acoustic soul’s fastest-rising up-and-comers, gaining a loyal following. Hruby’s 2014 album Archaic Rapture reached the coveted #1 spot on iTunes Jazz charts within a week. Her work was described as “bridging the gap between cabaret-era jazz-pop and alternative soul” by NBC Bay Area, and the Huffington Post said Hruby’s effortless music “evokes a nostalgia for the sounds of Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald.”
no Coronavirus section! what is the world coming to?
i got my booster last night. was doing fine this morning, even had a strength training session w/ coach. but i have been non-functional all afternoon. mostly a bad headache and decided to take a long nap.
still not too much better, but there is some work that needs tending to ...
DBD AV Club
Coliseum