Category: Sports

  • B’game Panthers at Oracle Park…Again!

    This year we get some advance notice of the BHS Panther baseball team playing on the Big Field again. A sharp-eyed reader remembered the post from last April and alerted me to this year’s extravaganza at Oracle. Here’s how the deal works. You buy a ticket to any of ten select Giants game listed here and you get a ticket to the high school game. The Panthers got the top of the card slot at 6pm. From the team:

    Our very own Burlingame HS Varsity Baseball is playing at the Giants stadium! Our baseball program has worked hard to prove we deserve the opportunity to play on the big-league field. We need to sell 1,000 tickets and need your help. Buy your tickets NOW… Here are the details:

    BHS v. Capuchino When: April 11, 2026 at 6PM at Oracle Park

    The corresponding Giants games are sprinkled in May, June and July. The team has a headstart since BYBA has bought tickets for each of their players, so the goal is about 600 more. Again, the link is San Francisco Giants (same as above). Play ball!

  • BHS Gym: Saving money on architecture?

    Several people have commented on the almost completed BHS gym.  It has been two years in the making since the last gym bit the dust.  In that 2023 post you can also see the original gym's design (courtesy of the Historical Society archives), which makes the new one even a bit harder on the eyes.  Some people think the new one looks like a Public Storage facility.  I see the similarity.  They certainly didn't splurge on architectural billable hours so I hope they used the rest of the money to outfit the interior well.

    I think the Grand Opening is still scheduled for August 27th which is when we will find out.  Go Panthers.

    BHS gym near completion

  • Top Golf: First impressions

    Six years after we got the preview of the Top Golf plans (as described here), I finally made it out to the Bayfront for some swings and refreshments.  We went with a large group and booked two stations for two hours on a busy Saturday afternoon.  The facility is impressive and expansive.  There are 36 hitting stations on each of three levels.  We were on the middle level, and I got a bit of the agoraphobic feeling I had when I did the special event at Oracle Park hitting golf balls on to the baseball field from stations in the stands.  There are nets in front.

    The sports bar in the lobby is likely to draw a good crowd of all ages with the giant screen shown below, a full bar, pub fare, foosball and shuffleboard.  I could see going out there without hitting any balls.  With the soccer field a short walk away, there were plenty of kids kicking back after games.  For the uninitiated, the gamification of the golf shots is not exactly intuitive.  The idea is to set up teams and rack up points similar to pinball by hitting targets.  If I were Top Golf, I would offer some coaching to newbies on how to set it up and perhaps explain why an additional $5 charge per player for "membership" kicked in above the station rental fee.

    The stations are set up for hitting and socializing.  Some have high-tops and all appeared to have couches.  We had a few tag-alongs who didn't hit a single ball and still had fun.  The food appeared to be pretty average.  There were no complaints about the chicken sandwich and fries, but a local hack I will tip you off to is the Mexican restaurant (Gabriel's & Daniel's) in the old driving range building across the parking lot is still operating albeit on limited hours–they closed at 5pm on Saturday.  The food is excellent–probably the best Mexican between Millbrae and San Mateo.

    Another oddity is the drink menu doesn't have any prices on it!  The Angel's Envy Old Fashioneds are $17.75.  A Hendricks Martini is $19.75 while good ole Grey Goose goes off at $12.25.  You don't find that out until the bill arrives.  Those aren't usurious prices, but why not print them?

    We shall see if the business turns out to be the sales tax gusher the city is hoping for.  Other Top Golf sites that are older and perhaps not as cool were reported to be under plan as we noted here last September.  With 108 stations and a fun bar, I hope they do well so we can do well.

    Top Golf bar

  • Panthers invade Oracle Park

    I wish I had known about this game ahead of time, but thanks to John Horgan I get to regret not being there.  Horgan writes:

    Tyler Jamieson got a dream job last weekend at Oracle Park in San Francisco, at least for a few hours. He was the lead public address announcer for a high school baseball game between San Bruno’s Capuchino and Burlingame. Jamieson is the longtime P.A. voice of the latter prep program at Washington Park in Burlingame. The Mustangs and Panthers played against each other last Saturday at the Major League Baseball venue as part of a Giants’ promotion. Capuchino won, 1-0. Jamieson, as always, was in fine form.

    "Stats" Jamieson is an institution at Washington Park for BHS baseball games doing the introductions, playing the music, and keeping the scorebook.  He must have had a blast at Oracle!

  • Topgolf: Is the cash cow running low on milk?

    We noted the news that Callaway and Topgolf were looking to get a divorce here on the last Topgolf post.  I didn't fully catch that the financial struggles were on the Topgolf side instead of the equipment (Callaway) side, but a WSJ piece lays it all out.  The entertainment center business (i.e. the hi-tech driving range) is good–just not quite as good as it has been.  There are big hopes in City Hall that Topgolf will drive serious tax revenue allowing the city to shoot for the green with a smooth pitch and sink some long putts.  But…..

    Serious golfers are reliably showing up on golf courses, spending money on their equipment and golf balls. But recreational players are no longer as keen on shelling out some $70 an hour on a driving range for fun these days.  Lately, the Topgolf business has been hit hard by slowing consumer spending. Same-venue sales fell 8% in the second quarter from a year earlier, the fourth consecutive quarter of declines. The sales drop was even worse for big-group events because of “corporate belt-tightening,” according to the company.  (Ed:  think Westin, Hyatt, Marriott).

    The company initially thought that visitors to Topgolf would become newbie golfers who might seek out its products after trying them out at those venues, which carry Callaway equipment. As it turns out, hitting a few balls at a recreational driving range isn’t enough to convert people into Callaway faithful.

    The steeper price tag might be one contributor: In its location in Edison, N.J., for example, it costs about $155 to reserve one bay for a two-hour session during peak hours. And that doesn’t include food or drinks. Topgolf is trying out different ways to lure customers, including variable pricing, tweaks to its promotions and adding concerts and live DJ nights.

    Here's the bottom line

    Topgolf itself isn’t a lousy business—it is profitable and generated a 15.5% margin on the basis of earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization last year. Its top line grew at a healthy 27% compound annual growth rate between 2021 and 2023 before the recent slowdown, and it still has a long runway of new locations. (Ed: especially our little B'game location).  It will, however, first need to prove that it can bring customers back after the first handful of visits.

    Now, let's chat about those "DJ nights".  I never went to the movie nights at the old driving range during Covid, but I recall they did draw a bit of a crowd to Boringame.  What's the curfew policy these days on the Bayfront?

  • Top Golf: Rounding the turn?

    I stopped by the Golf Center (aka the old city dump) to check on the progress of the Top Golf project.  My completely uneducated guess is they are about to round the turn.  In golf "the turn" is an expression used to denote the part of the golf course where the front nine turns into the back nine. When you've reached "the turn," you've reached the halfway point of an 18-hole golf course. So "making the turn" means leaving the front nine and moving on to the back nine.  It's been more than five years in the works as noted here.

    It's an impressive build and the number of poles surprised me.  One can only hope it generates as much B'game revenue as some city elders are predicting.  The sooner the better!  Here's the view as of now.

    Top Golf 072424

  • BHS Baseball cracks the Top 15

    Let's keep the school post rally going by highlighting today's SF Comicle Top 15 high school baseball rankings.  BHS made the #15 slot–the only team not ranked preseason!  There are not a lot of public schools on the list–Los Gatos being one that has a rich baseball history–as does B'game.  Keep it up, team.

    BHS Baseball T15

    Update May 18:  Things did not go well for the Panthers today against Mitty at Washington Park.  It was a beautiful day for baseball, until it wasn't.  I arrived mid-game when BHS was down 6-1 and it went downhill from there.  I think it was 12-1 at the end due to strong hitting by Mitty and some very sloppy defense by the home team.  That's the way the ball bounces.  Making the CCS D-I playoffs is quite an accomplishment, and my guess is that is what the coaches are telling the players here after the game.

    Panthers last team meeting_2024

  • Volunteer Profile: BCE President Jen Faber

    I recently had a chance meeting with the current BCE president, Jen Faber, and after a pleasant conversation she agreed to do more of an in-depth "interview" for the Voice.  Afterall, why let "Mark at the Mic" Lucchesi have all the fun profiling people in town?  We talked for about an hour about her background (molecular biology and history), why she passed up a chance at med school, and worked in a medical lab and for J&J.  But BCE was the topic du jour and you can find more details here.

    Once your kids are out of BIS and especially after they are out of BHS, you tend to lose touch with the organization.  I have.  I still believe it is a critical contributor not just to the school system, but to the overall quality of life and our shared investment in B'game.

    As the mother of three boys, Jen started as a BCE donor, then volunteer and eventually became a board member.  She was a site director at Hoover which is often a jumping off point to further BCE involvement.  As Covid hit and some people moved out of B'game, BCE experienced some turnover which may have contributed to Jen taking on the presidency after only four years in town.  See what can happen when you raise your hand?

    The main function of BCE– raising money and granting it back to the schools–is pretty stable.  With a fiscal year starting July 1, the funds granted have been between $2.6M and $2.7M for the last three years –the Covid years.  There are expenses and the endowment needs to be maintained in case there are more economic disruptions.  The grants have funded 19 additional teachers which is why multi-year stability (or better yet growth) is important.  The additional staff are teaching music (7), PE (5), language (2) and five other assignments.

    Jen revealed that she has a "challenger" mentality–probably why we got along right off.  She sees the BCE board and presidency as a political position in the sense that one needs to know how to influence other bodies like the District, the Trustees and the City while understanding where to pick one's fights.  We didn't get into that too much, but if and when one arises, I will know who to ask about it.  Here's our selfie taken during the interview in case you want to say hi when you see her around town.

    Jen and Joe

  • Netflix comes to B’game: BALCO

    B'gamers who have been here for twenty years or more will remember Burlingame was the center of the doping scandal that rocked many professional sports back in 2003.  After getting its start in Millbrae and then San Carlos, BALCO moved to 1520 Gilbreth Rd.– about a block from the It's It shop across the freeway.  The company principal, Victor Conte, and personal trainer/distributor Greg Anderson were fixtures around town.  They especially loved breakfast at Alana's.  Now Netflix has revived interest in the story with a just-released documentary film "Untold: Hall of Shame".

    The film's good guy is Jeff Novitzky, the IRS agent who led the investigation into BALCO.  He grew up in B'game, graduated from Mills High School and played sports at Skyline.  His Wikipedia page is a fun read and he comes across as a tenacious investigator in the film.  This USA Today article describes the on-going social media fight between Novitsky and Conte.

    If you watch closely, you will see images of the Gilbreth office building and the Burlingame police report that got things rolling.  All in all, it's a fun trip down a local memory lane.

  • BHS Gym bites the dust

    Having been removed from the BHS community for more than a decade, big changes that the community is alerted to early can be news to me when they actually happen.  So it goes for the BHS gym–and I am not alone.  Several people pinged me to say how they were caught by surprise at the demolition of the old gym.  Not saying it wasn't time, just that it was a surprise.  If anyone knows where the gym-based sporting events are to be played, please weigh in.

    This is the scene were the gym once stood.  Compared to other developments, a gym should go up pretty quickly.

    BHS gym gone

    Courtesy of the B'game Historical Society here is a photo of the first BHS gym designed by Ernest Norberg from the early 1930s

    BHS gym Little Big game 1932-33

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