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BYOWB 2009 (Bring Your Own Big Wheels) took place on Easter Sunday and Steve, Davy, Jeff, Amy, Chrissy & I were there to watch and race down one of the curviest streets in San Francisco, Vermont Street, against other big wheel racers!

ULAX (University Lacrosse LLC) is designed for college students and post collegiate providing them an opportunity to play competitive & recreational lacrosse without the high prices or commitment. Players of all abilities are welcome. 2009 season starts Tuesday March 31st, so sign up now!

Check out some video of the ULAX championship game at Ann Arbor in 2008...

You can organize your own team, play with friends, or sign up solo and they'll place you on a team.

It's pretty standard...

• Games played at: Crocker-Amazon Park. A newly remodeled park with turf field. Approx 12-15 mins south of Downtown SF.
• The Cost: $125/ Player Includes:
  • 5-6 Game regular season
  • ULAX reversible jersey
  • Championship tournament played under the lights!
  • Weekly stats and photos
  • Championship shirts
• Games will be held on Tuesday nights from 7-10pm, Under the Lights!
• Each player needs to provide their own equipment: gloves, pads, helmet, and stick.
• Registration deadline: 3/15
• Late fee: $25.00

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Their website lists out the following schedule for 2009...

SAN FRANCISCO 2009 SPRING LEAGUE
Game 1- Tuesday March 31st
Game 2 - Tuesday April 7th
Game 3 - Tuesday April 14th
Game 4 - Tuesday April 21st
Game 5 - Tuesday April 28th
Game 6 - Tuesday May 5th
Semi-finals and Championship for the top teams will be held on Tuesday May 12th

Welcome ULAX to San Francisco and sign up now at ULAX.org to secure your spot for the upcoming season. Visit the website for additional information as well or to contact the SF ULAX Manager with any questions. See you on the field!

Article by By Trevor Jensen | Tribune reporter, January 27, 2009

Duane C. Rice took a shine to art and circuses as a boy, and he pursued those interests through adulthood with a career in advertising and a sideline as a clown known as "Hot Stuff."

Mr. Rice, 83, died of complications form Parkinson's disease Sunday, Jan. 18, in the Presbyterian Home in Evanston, where he had lived for the last three years, said his son Lindsay.

Mr. Rice came to Chicago from Battle Creek, Mich., after high school to study at the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts under Ruth Van Sickle Ford.

He then worked for a couple of local ad agencies before starting his own firm, Duane Rice Advertising, in the early 1960s. Among his clients was the Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co., for which he did a weekly "Fun Facts" feature that appeared in Sunday comics sections, his son said.

A resident of Wilmette for many years, Mr. Rice also worked on the successful 1966 U.S. Senate bid of fellow North Shore resident Charles Percy.

While advertising provided his living, Mr. Rice also practiced art as a hobby. He was a watercolorist and proficient in pen and ink sketches. He traveled widely through Europe, always with his art supplies, and would set up his easel on streets and public squares.

Among his traveling companions was Clarence Schawk, chairman of Schawk Inc., where Mr. Rice freelanced after closing his own shop in the late 1970s.

"He'd sit on the dock when we got off the boat and start sketching right away," Schawk said, recalling trips down the Danube and other European waterways. "Then he'd use them on Christmas cards."

As a boy, Mr. Rice was fascinated by the circus, recalling years later how he would sit on his grandmother's porch to watch the parade of acts when the Big Top came to Battle Creek, his son said. With other boys from town, he found work at the circus, cleaning up and doing other odd jobs.

In 1969, he joined Shriners International and became part of the organization's clown unit. His persona was "Hot Stuff," a chef who wore an oversized toque on his head and a large heart outside his chest. He would walk up to children, press a button and the heart would beat rapidly, much to the children's glee.

"At our company picnics, he'd put on his clown outfit and give the kids a treat," Schawk said.

"Hot Stuff" was voted Clown of the Year for the Chicago area Shriner's clown unit in 1973, said Norm Maske, who performed with Mr. Rice under the name "Stormy."

The clowns would perform at up to 30 parades a year and make numerous visits to Shriner's hospitals, Maske said. They also entertained the crowds at the Shriner's annual circus at the old Medinah Temple.

"He was a natural," his son said. "As long as he could remember, he had two goals: to be an artist and a clown."

Mr. Rice's wife, Margaret, and two of his children, Gregory and Claudia, preceded him in death.

In addition to his son, he is survived by three grandchildren.

A memorial service will be held at 3 p.m. Feb. 7 in Elliott Chapel at the Presbyterian Home, 3131 Simpson St., Evanston.

As seen at 3rd and Market on 1/19/2009, the day before Obama's inauguration.