The Aggies, 15-9 in the Big West and 26-22 overall under 11th-year head coach Erin Thorpe, dropped the Gauchos, 8-3 and 2-1, on Saturday, before losing Sunday’s series finale, 3-0.

The top six teams in the 10-team league qualify for the double-elimination Big West tournament, with the winner moving on to the NCAA championships through regional play.

Fullerton is running away with the regular-season crown with a 22-2 mark, with one of those losses coming to the Aggies.

Hawaii is second at 18-6, followed by UC Santa Barbara at 17-7, with the Aggies and Long Beach State tied for fourth at 15-9.

UC San Diego is sixth at 9-15.

The Aggies finish the season with three weekend games at Cal Poly, 4-20, with a doubleheader Friday at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. and a single game Saturday at 1 p.m.

Should the Aggies tie with either Santa Barbara or Long Beach in the final standings, they would win the tiebreaker based on head-to-head play with those schools.

UCD swept Long Beach State earlier this month.

Gia Felice, a senior from Hollister, leads the Aggies with a .367 batting average, with Sydney Polli at .366 and Alyssa Dethlefson at .308 with five home runs and 29 RBI. Dethlefson also leads the team with 23 steals on 28 attempts.

Naomi Kalanetra, who starred at Davis High School, leads the Aggies with six home runs.

Ashley Sawai has been lights out in the circle with an 11-4 mark and 3.26 earned run average.

Caroline Grimes is 13-14 with a 3.43 ERA and 106 strikeouts in 157 innings of work.

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These days, of course, that means our home will probably be surrounded by as many ICE agents as we have ballots, so we’ll be sure to keep an extra box of Cheez-Its on hand in case they get hungry.

Democracy in action, Yolo County style.

Did you know that our small county now contains parts of three Congressional districts?

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I realize the need for parking enforcement on a crowded university campus such as UC Davis.

Otherwise, the early birds will get every available spot and park there all day long if they’d like. Maybe all week. Or even many months as they summer in Paris.

I also recognize the need, at times, for paid parking, though as the price rises, it does have the unwanted effect of separating the haves from the have-nots.

I have nothing but respect for the folks who ride around in tiny cars or converted golf carts to put citations under the windshield wipers of those who have intentionally or inadvertently broken the rules.

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Furthermore, the City hinted broadly that if the damage to a sidewalk is caused by a City-mandated front-yard tree, the homeowner will be responsible for that as well. Including liability if the damage causes injury to someone walking - or riding a tricycle - past your home.

Despite howls of protest that could be heard all the way to Klamath Falls, the City has not budged.

Instead, the City is cranking out self-serving (not to mention self-defeating) press releases and “fact” sheets to the vast complaining class, attempting to defend the indefensible.

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While team members and program insiders have known of the decision for several weeks, it was kept under wraps until last Saturday and has been greeted with enthusiasm by Aggie officials.

Porter Connors is a standout linebacker for the Aggies, while brother Rex, a defensive back, has already set the UC Davis career record for tackles with 313.

The two are considered integral pieces of what is expected to be a stellar Aggie defense in 2026 under highly regarded defensive coordinator Matt Coombs.

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I also have no idea about their qualifications for passing out suggestions to complete strangers.

After all, there are no more than a dozen or so problems or awkward situations that folks face in their daily lives, but some of these advice columnists crank out over 200 columns a year.

One of the most widely read and respected advice columnists is Miss Manners, who is a living legend among those seeking free guidance.

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Not surprisingly, they were stunned to learn that the Davis City Council plans to transfer maintenance of Davis sidewalks from the City to individual homeowners.

As such, and perhaps hoping to pound some sense into the heads of our civic leaders, Derrick and Gayna fired off a strongly worded guided missive directed to all five City Council members.

I’ll present their thoughts here within the boundary of quotation marks (“) and interrupt occasionally with my observations as well, sans quotation marks.

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Yesterday we were talking about the astonishing revelation that the City of Davis, the City that Knows Best, is planning to require homeowners to repair the sidewalks in front of their homes to comply with an 85-year-old California law that nobody has ever heard of.

Whether the City will make the order retroactive to 1941 when the law was passed is anyone’s guess, but there may be some 85-year-olds in town who inherited Mom and Dad’s property long ago and are now wondering if they’ll have to reimburse the city for pouring new cement in 1954.

It’s still unclear exactly how it will be determined that residents must repair the sidewalk in front of their homes.

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Yes, the five duly elected members of the Davis City Council put their heads together the other night and decided it was about time that homeowners - not the city - should be responsible for maintaining and repairing the sidewalks attached to the front of their property.

The fact that this was a unanimous decision just proves that old saying about how misery loves company. Or in this case, lunacy.

Whether the new edict includes removing by hand the charming little dandelions that sometimes poke their heads up through the cracks will be debated at the next council meeting.

According to an official communique from the City braintrust sequestered in the basement of the old Davis High School, “The City recently took an initial step to align its municipal code with existing State laws.”

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Curry, you see, was a key part of that 1978 team that won the AIAW (Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women) championship with a 90-74 win over Maryland.

Truth be told, “key” is nowhere near a strong enough word to describe Denise’s reign of terror in Westwood.

In the championship game against Maryland she had 18 points, 7 rebounds, 2 blocks, 2 steals and 2 assists.

In a hard-fought 85-77 semifinal win over Montclair State, Curry finished with 22 points and 14 rebounds while hitting 11 of her 14 field goal attempts.

She ended her four-year UCLA career with 3,198 points and 1,310 rebounds, the most of any Bruin ever. Yes, even including Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (then known as Lew Alcindor).

She was a three-time All-American who averaged 24.6 points a game during her career and was never once, in 130 collegiate games over four seasons, held under double figures.

Denise moved to Davis with her family as a teenager when her dad, Les, became the boys head basketball coach at Davis High.

She played two years for the Blue Devils who went 23-1 under Barb Iten and 24-1 under George Fleming as DHS claimed every title available in those days.

And oh, by the way, there was that Olympic Gold Medal that Denise and her American teammates claimed in the 1984 Los Angeles Games with an 85-55 win over South Korea. Curry hit 58.7 percent of her shots during the USA’s 6-0 run through the tournament.

She would have been a two-time gold medalist had the United States not boycotted the 1980 Olympic games in Moscow (Russia, not Idaho).

She ultimately played professionally in France, where she led her team, Stade Francais, to two national championships and later served as head women’s coach at Cal State Fullerton.

In 1990, UCLA decided it would finally, for the first time, retire the jerseys of basketball players.

Four players were selected - Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Bill Walton, Ann Meyers and Denise Curry (#12).

She was also selected for the inaugural class of the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in 1999 and in 1981 was named as USA Basketball’s Female Athlete of the Year.

Not only was Denise’s dad, Les, a hugely successful boys coach at Davis High, but her brother, Mike Curry, produced 12 Wyoming state championships as head boys coach for the Campbell County Camels out of Gillette.

On a side note, I was thrilled to be in attendance when the first class of the Davis High School Hall of Fame was inducted in 2008.

In addition to Denise Curry, the inductees included famed musician Mark Inouye, mathematics superstar Dr. Elaine Kasimatis, six-time Hawaii Ironman champion Dave Scott and longtime football and baseball coach Bud Henle.

The Davis High Hall of Fame has been inactive for the last few years.

It’s time to bring it back.

Reach me at bobdunning@thewaryone.com

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Cleverly named as the Matchbook Mixer, it will take place on the beautiful grounds of the Matchbook Wine Company in Zamora.

The press release actually says “Zamora, California,” but I think we already know what state tiny Zamora is in.

If you don’t know where Zamora is, just take I-5 North out of Woodland and you’ll be there in a matter of minutes. If you hit Weed, you’ve gone too far.

In the 10 seconds it takes to tour this once-bustling burg, be sure to take a picture of the classic white prairie-style church known as St. Agnes, a source of great pride in this charming community.

Now I like alliteration as much as the next guy, but if it were up to me, I’d have gone with Matchbook Madness to up the voltage of this worthy event.

But no matter the name of this extravaganza, the music-minded students at Holmes Junior High School and all of us in the community who enjoy their stellar performances will be the beneficiaries of this afternoon of wine, music and auctioneering to support student music programs.

The Holmes Junior High Band and Choir programs, led by Luiz Coelho and Hannah Miller, will directly benefit from the Matchbook Mixer Madness through the purchase or repair of musical instruments, along with professional sectional instruction, performance opportunities and transformative field trip experiences. Also benefiting from the event will be the DJUSD Junior High Jazz Band.

Sounds like a win-win for everyone. Or perhaps a wind-wind, depending on which musical instrument you prefer.

Guests will enjoy curated wine tastings from Matchbook Wine and live musical performances by world-class artists.

Featured performers include classical superstar Joshua Elmore, who is a former student of Coelho and is now the principal bassoonist of the San Francisco Symphony.

Also performing will be local vocalist Ashley Bean, along with Wealth of Nations, a legendary jam band based in Davis that’s been playing the Sacramento scene for nearly a decade.

According to event organizers, there will also be a “lively” silent auction. Or at least as lively as a “silent” auction can be.

“This event is about more than fundraising,” noted Alpin Hong, who serves as president of the Holmes Band and Choir Boosters.

“It’s about strengthening our community and ensuring our kids learn the confidence, teamwork and power of self-expression that great music education provides.”

Community members and local businesses are invited to participate as sponsors or donate auction items or services to help boost the event’s impact.

For tickets, sponsorship opportunities or to become involved in this project, contact Hong at alpinhonghboosters@gmail.com.

On a sparkling Sunday afternoon in Yolo County, what could be better than a visit to Zamora?

Trust me on this.

Reach Bob Dunning at bobdunning@thewaryone.com

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And never mind that the Strait of Hormuz was actually open and functioning before we killed 175 Iranian schoolgirls with a Tomahawk missile that Donald Trump suggested was actually fired by Iran.

Whether the schoolyard massacre was a tragic mistake or an intentional act is an open question, but since our intelligence was such that we knew exactly what the former Ayatollah had for lunch before he was sent into eternity, it’s hard to believe that the same intelligence would not know that this was a school.

Then again, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said that we would no longer be bound by all those silly rules of engagement, so we can continue to debate whether all those young girls were “collateral damage” or innocent victims of a brutal attack.

SPEAKING OF PISTOL PETE … The biggest loser in all this was indeed Pete Hegseth, who insists that he now heads the Department of War and that those carrying out his commands are no longer “defenders” or “peacekeepers,” but “warfighters.”

No doubt, he was excited about using some of the new toys in his arsenal and releasing the destructive footage on Fox News.

Wiping out an entire civilization and bombing it back to the Stone Age was clearly something he desired to help fatten his resume.

Thank God he was overruled.

Hegseth asked us all to pray for our troops, which I will of course continue to do, but he didn’t ask anyone to pray for the families of the 175 schoolchildren who will no longer be going home to Mom and Dad.

HAPPY EASTER … Never in a million years did I think I’d wake up on Easter morning, the most glorious day on the Christian calendar, to see the President of the United States dropping an F-bomb on his social media site.

Meanwhile, the first American pope in the 2,000-year history of the Catholic Church, Pope Leo, noted, “This is our God: Jesus, King of Peace, who rejects war, whom no one can use to justify war. Jesus does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war, but rejects them, saying: ‘Even though you make many prayers, I will not listen, your hands are full of blood.’ ” (From Isaiah).

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY LATE SISTER … My sister JoJo, who died of cancer on her brother JJ’s birthday in July of 2024, was born on Holy Thursday in 1944.

She did not go home to Mom and Dad, however, since Dad - Army Major James J. Dunning - was far, far away, in Italy, while serving in World War II on the day she was born.

After spending the early part of the war at Fort Benning, Georgia, training soldiers for battle, he shipped out for Europe on Christmas Eve of 1943.

He never once told a war story after returning home to Portland and he never once mentioned the medals he was awarded for his valor in combat or the injuries he received while serving his country.

Reach Bob Dunning at bobdunning@thewaryone.com

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Especially the ones stocked with 16 varieties of Cheetos.

Nowadays there is so much luscious grab-and-go stuff in the deli case that it’s simply impossible not to indulge.

Forget vanilla, chocolate and strawberry, ice cream flavors are now over the top, with Tillamook Mudslide the runaway winner of which treat you’d like to feel sliding down your throat.

If you want to sprinkle some Blue Diamond Smokehouse Almonds over that mudslide, who’s to stop you?

Of course, it may be difficult to purchase all these wonderful edibles, even if the president is correct that grocery prices are plummeting. (Apparently everywhere except in my favorite grocery store.)

That’s where Brooke Rollins comes in, with an assist from her partner in healthy, affordable food, Dr. Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. He is a medical doctor, isn’t he?

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But please keep that date in mind if you care to take the quick quiz that follows.

I’d straight out say it’s April Fool’s Day, but I’ve never really been clear if the apostrophe on this day lands between the ‘L” and the “S” or should follow only the “S.” And I know how crazy people can get about misplaced or misused apostrophe’s. (See Eats Shoots and Leaves).

If it’s the former (April Fool’s), it seems to suggest there’s only one fool in all the world, while if it’s the latter (April Fools’), then that category is plural. Or maybe it’s not possessive at all, which just means it’s a day full of fools (April Fools).

No matter, for what follows is a true/false questionnaire that deals with facts, not tomfoolery.

To prevent cheating, answers will be printed at the bottom in every language known to man except English. (Okay, that is an April Fool’s statement, designed to throw ICE off the scent.)

I. True or False: Ronald Reagan once ate at Black Bear Diner in Davis and said “You seen one black bear, you seen ‘em all.”

2. True or False: Bernie Sanders once ate at Black Bear Diner in Davis and ordered the $10.99 steak-and-eggs special.

3. True or False: Fred Korematsu was a student in Marguerite Montgomery’s fifth grade class at West Davis Elementary School.

4. True or False: Goodwin J. “Goody” Knight was the only California governor to ever attend Picnic Day.

5. True or False: John McMurdie and Bob Black rolled a single die in the Davis City Council chambers to break an electoral tie and decide who would become mayor.

6. True or False: Kozy Korner was Davis’ first nursery school, complete with pillows and blankets, with Twinkies and chocolate milk at snack time.

7. True or False: East Davis Elementary School was renamed Valley Oak to erase the stigma of students living on the wrong side of the tracks.

8. True or False: Davis High School has more Nobel Prize winners than UC Davis.

9. True or False: Davis namesake Jerome C. Davis is the great, great, great grandfather of longtime Davisite Robert Jerome Dunning.

10. True or False: Sambo’s restaurant in Davis was renamed when the original name was deemed racially insensitive.

11. True or False: While a student at UC Davis, Jerry Brown was a volunteer coach for the Cubs in the Davis Little League.

12. True or False: The author of Project Hail Mary and The Martian was born in Davis.

13. True or False: The city of Dixon was originally named Dicksville after Thomas Dickson.

14. True or False: The town of Monticello is buried under 526 billion gallons of Lake Berryessa water.

15. True or False: Billionaire Charles Schwab once donated half a million dollars to an elementary school in Woodland.

16. True or False: UC Davis quarterback Ken O’Brien was drafted in the first round by the Oakland Raiders.

17. True or False: Philz Coffee now occupies the space once held by Phil’s Grill.

18. True or False: Donald Trump has invited members of the World Baseball Classic champions from Venezuela to eat Big Macs with him at the White House.

19. True or False: The UC Davis campus used to be called the Northern Branch of First Northern Bank.

20. True or False: The very tall palm trees at the Davis Train Station date back to the time when Davis was a major date-producing region, shipping the fruit by train all over the country.

21. True or False: The Lewis and Clark Expedition paddled along Putah Creek on their way to rescue the Donner Party.

22. True or False: Pulitzer Prize-winning political cartoonist Jack Ohman just won the Herblock Prize (and 20,000 smackers) as the top cartoonist in the country.

23. True or False: “The Library” was actually a video games parlor, so named so Davis schoolkids could honestly tell their parents they were “at the library” after school.

24. True or False: Donald Trump recently voted by mail in his home district in Florida.

25. True or False: Mark Twain worked for 55 years at The Davis Enterprise before moving on to fame and fortune at The Territorial Enterprise in Virginia City.

26. True or False: Clara Lane in East Davis is named for Clarabell the Clown of Howdy Doody fame.

27. True or False: Upon learning of former FBI director Robert Mueller’s death, Donald Trump wrote, “Good. I’m glad he kicked the bucket.”

28. True or False: The Pony Express route in Davis was specifically designed along East 8th Street so riders could water their horses at Bros Liquor on the corner of 8th and Pole Line.

29. True or False: State Market on Russell Boulevard was run by the State of California to serve Davis families below the poverty line.

30. True or False: Several years ago a grizzly bear cub that had climbed to the top of a redwood tree in the UC Davis Arboretum was subdued with a tranquilizing dart and eventually released on Main Street in downtown Woodland.

31. True or False: The Save America Act is actually designed to force Barack Obama to finally reveal his certified birth certificate from Kenya.

32. True or False: The Milk Farm once provided 87 percent of the milk for Tillamook Extra Sharp Cheddar Cheese.

33. True or False: Hickey Gym was named for a former mayor of Davis.

34. True or False: Davis has an intersection of A Street and B Street.

35. True or False: Davis has a 12th Street and a 14th Street, but no 13th Street.

36. True or False: Rancho Yolo was the name of General Vallejo’s massive estate where the Davis Cemetery now stands.

37. True or False: Murder Burger is now serving 15 years to life.

38. True or False: Bob Hope once performed in Davis but waived his $50,000 fee in order to help the Davis Senior Center.

39. True or False: Aggie Villa is where UC Davis students lived in rundown old Army barracks left over from World War II.

40. True or False: Toomey Field was once so muddy that UCD groundskeepers were ordered to paint the field green so it looked like real grass for a nationally televised football game.

41. True or False: George the Barber had no hair.

42. True or False: Sugar beets used to be the leading cash crop in Yolo County.

43. True or False: College Park is named after a city in Maryland.

44. True or False: The $1 admission fee to the Yolo County Fair makes it the cheapest county fair in California.

45. True or False: Mousie’s was a pest extermination business hired to control a serious rodent outbreak in downtown Davis.

46. True or False: UCD Chancellor Emil Mrak told Vanna White he wanted to buy a vowel.

47. True or False: Davis is the hometown of both the men’s and women’s champions in the Hawaii Ironman Triathlon, Dave Scott and Chelsea Sodaro.

48. True or False: Davis Centenarian Herb Bauer wrote hundreds of pithy letters to the editor that became known as “Herb’s Herbs.”

49. True or False: North Davis Elementary is named for Oliver North.

50. True or False: NFL star Jerry Rice was once a basketball standout at UC Davis.

51. True or False: President Harry Truman brought his whistlestop campaign to the Davis train station.

52. True or False: Davis mayor Julie Partansky told Stephen Colbert on national television that she wanted to build a new police station out of straw. (And they huffed and they puffed and they blew the police station down.)

53. True or False: Davis Police arrested a woman for felony snoring while she was still asleep.

54. True or False: Terry Cottle is the only person on earth who was a star quarterback at both Davis High School and St. Mary’s.

55. True or False: Willie Mays once got a speeding ticket in Davis. (Said he was chasing a fly ball.)

56. True or False: Jim Harbaugh, while passing through Davis with his family on the way to Lake Tahoe, picked up a couple of pepperoni pies at Pizza Guys and tipped to the moon while signing a pizza box as a souvenir for the staff.

57. True or False: Sheep used to wander freely on Shepherds Lane in Central Davis.

58. True or False: “Henle’s Horses” refers to the Four Horsemen of Notre Dame.

59. True or False: Beginning today, ICE agents have been assigned to control fights over parking spots outside Trader Joe’s at the revamped shopping center formerly known as University Mall.

60. True or False: Donald Trump refers to one popular Davis grocery store as Traitor Joe’s because it was founded in California, a state that is controlled by radical leftists who hate America.

61. True or False: Chief Justice John Roberts once bought a bag of Cheetos from a vending machine in the basement of the King Hall School of Law at UC Davis.

62. True or False: Ralph Villanueva is the greatest athlete ever to compete for Davis High School.

63. True or False: Donald Trump will not sign your dollar bill if you voted for Sleepy Joe.

64. True or False: Davis High basketball superstar Denise Curry scored more points at UCLA than Lew Alcindor.

65. True or False: Davis resident Bob Warren spent 11 years of his childhood living in the Governor’s Mansion in Sacramento.

66. True or False: The massive water tower on West 8th Street is made of fluoridated steel.

67. True or False: Jimmy Carter, Hillary Clinton, John Denver, Bob Hope, Cyndi Lauper and the Connecticut women’s basketball team have all drawn huge crowds to the UC Davis arena formerly known as Rec Hall.

68. True or False: UCD’s Freeborn Hall was named in recognition of the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution.

69. True or False: UC Davis trailed 51-0 to USC in the 1971 Miracle Game.

70. True or False: UC Davis Young Republicans have invited Vladimir Putin to ride on their float in the Picnic Day Parade later this month.

71. True or False: The hottest temperature ever recorded in Davis is 117 degrees Celsius.

72. True or False: Davis Mayor Julie Partansky once turned to her council colleagues and asked “Exactly where is West Sacramento?”

73. True or False: Putah Creek is named for the smell of tomatoes rotting in the sun.

74. True or False: The Department of Enology at UC Davis has invited a carpenter from Nazareth to teach a course titled “Converting Water to Wine” in Fall Quarter 2026.

75. True or False: Kindergarteners at Central Davis School were the first schoolchildren in America to receive the Salk Vaccine in 1955.

76. True or False: Army Captain John Barovetto was a larger-than-life war hero who grew up on Rice Lane in Davis and died in Vietnam while delivering humanitarian aid to an orphanage.

77. True or False: Davis High School head football coach Marc Hicks was a star running back at both Cal and Ohio State.

78. True or False: The Yolo Causeway has been “Under Construction” since 1934.

79. True or False: Davis schoolteacher Cathy Carr West won two Olympic gold medals in swimming, setting world records in both events.

80. True or False: The nationwide 1957 Asian Flu outbreak was first discovered at the California Girls State convention held at UC Davis when nearly all 300 high school participants and the entire Girls State staff were stricken.

81. True or False: Former Davis Mayor Jerry Adler lost a leg in a military plane crash before becoming a lawyer and teaching law at UC Davis.

82. True or False: Richard Nixon got more votes than John Kennedy in conservative Davis in the 1960 presidential election.

83. True or False: UC Davis Athletic Director I.F. “Crip” Toomey was so nicknamed because he walked with a limp.

84. True or False: Der Wienerschnitzel in Davis used to sell 18-inch long hot dogs in a 12-inch bun.

85. True or False: Berryessa Dam was built in 1956 to tame the Mighty Putah.

86. True or False: The Davis City Council originally denied Jack in the Box’s request for a drive-thru lane because the city wanted people to “get out of their cars and socialize.”

87. True or False: Shortly after it opened in Davis, the regular price for a Foster’s Freeze hamburger was 19 cents.

88. True or False: The Hattie Weber Museum in Central Park is actually the old Woodland Public Library building that was dismantled, trucked to Davis and reconstructed at its current site.

89. True or False: The original concrete bathrooms in Central Park were a Works Progress Administration project.

90. True or False: Nugget Market started as a Giant Orange in Knights Landing.

91. True or False: German POWs worked the fields of Yolo County during World War II.

92. True or False: The Glory Hole at Lake Berryessa was arrested for indecent exposure during the severe drought of 2006.

93. True or False: Many of the Braceros who came up from Mexico to work near Davis lived in a farm labor camp at Cactus Corner.

94. True or False: For years, the best Mexican restaurant in Northern California was El Charro in Dixon.

95. True or False: In a 1967 football game against Chico State on Toomey Field, both an Aggie defensive back and a game referee suffered heart attacks within minutes of each other. Both were taken to the campus Student Health Center, treated by Dr. Tom Cooper and trainer Dick Lewis, and both fully recovered.

96. True or False: The Davis A&W featured a Papa Burger, a Mama Burger and a Baby Burger, plus servers on roller skates to deliver your meal.

97. True or False: The UC Davis campus was originally known as University Farm Circle.

98. True or False: The Mondavi Center is named for Robert and Margrit Cabernet.

99. True or False: Former Aggie infielder Daniel Descalso is the proud owner of a World Series ring.

100. True or False: ICE raided Holy Rosary Parish in Woodland after learning that three of the four Sunday Masses were celebrated in Spanish.

101. True or False: When Bernie Sanders held a rally at UC Davis during his 2016 presidential campaign, he was introduced to the large outdoor crowd by Tulsi Gabbard.

102. True or False: The truth always wins out.

Answers

1. False. 2. True. 3. False. 4. True. 5. False - It was John McMurdie and Ernie Hartz who rolled the die. 6. False - Kozy Korner was a burgers and shakes joint across Russell from Davis High School. 7. True. 8. True - Davis High grad Carol Greider takes the honor. 9. False. 10. True. 11. False - Jerry Brown was never a student at UC Davis. 12. True. 13. True. 14. True. 15. True. 16. False - O’Brien was drafted by the New York Jets. 17. False. 18. False - He’s still in denial that the United States lost to Venezuela. 19. False. 20. False.

21. False. 22. True. 23. True. 24. True. 25. False. 26. False. 27. False - Donald Trump said “I’m glad he’s dead.” 28. Perhaps True. 29. False. 30. False. The brown bear cub was released in Colusa County. 31. True. 32. False. 33. True. 34. True. 35. True. 36. False. 37. True. 38. True. 39. True. 40. True.

41. True. 42. True. 43. False. 44. False - Admission to the Yolo County Fair is free. 45. False - Mousie’s was a nightclub in downtown Davis. 46. False. 47. True. 48. True. 49. False. 50. True. 51. True. 52. True. 53. True. 54. True. 55. True. 56. True. 57. True. 58. False - Henle’s Horses were Davis High School football players. 59. Possibly True. 60. False.

61. False - He bought Reese’s Pieces. 62. True. 63. True. 64. True. 65. True. 66. False. 67. True. 68. False. 69. False. 70. Likely True. 71. False. 72. True. 73. False. 74. True. 75. False. 76. True. 77. True. 78. True. 79. True. 80. True.

81. True. 82. True. 83. True. 84. False - Davis never had a Der Wienerschnitzel. 85. False - It’s Monticello Dam that’s taming the Mighty Putah to this day. 86. True. 87. True. 88. False - It’s the old Davis Public Library. 89. True. 90. False. 91. True. 92. False. 93. True. 94. True. 95. True. 96. False - No roller skates. 97. False. 98. Sort of True. 99. True.

100. False - Although three of four Sunday Masses are celebrated in Spanish.

101. True.

102. True.

Reach me at bobdunning@thewaryone.com

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The Tritons dominated Friday night’s opener, 9-4, scored late to steal a 3-2 win Saturday night, then took Sunday afternoon’s finale, 9-5.

UCSD leads the Big West at 8-1, while the Aggies slipped into a tie for sixth at 5-7.

UCD will host USF in a non-conference game Tuesday at 6 p.m. on what is being billed as $2 Tuesday.

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The popular restaurant on the far south end of B Street will go into “permanent hibernation,” as my friend and journalistic colleague so cleverly and accurately described this distressing news.

The final day to order Homemade Meatloaf or Slow-Cooked Pot Roast or Chicken Fried Steak and Eggs is today.

We were given no reason for Black Bear’s closing, but presumably profits did not match expectations.

Decades ago, at the same site, a similar-style restaurant named Sambo’s opened, offering round-the-clock pancakes and free coffee refills.

No restaurants in Davis at the time were open nearly as many hours as Sambo’s.

Sambo’s was part of a chain that started in Santa Barbara and grew to hundreds of locations across the country.

It didn’t take long for the name to become controversial, at least in Davis.

While founders Sam Battistone and Newell Bohnett claimed the title incorporated parts of both their names, the association with the children’s book, The Story of Little Black Sambo was undeniable.

As a young sportswriter at the time, I regularly attended gatherings of the Monday Morning Quarterbacks Club that met at Sambo’s to discuss the previous weekend’s football exploits of both UC Davis and Davis High School.

UC Davis’ Joe Singleton, one of the first Black athletic directors at a major American university, took a bit of grief about holding these meetings at a restaurant bearing such a name, but over time this same spot became Seasons and then Baker’s Square and now Black Bear Diner.

What will happen to this choice site now is anyone’s guess.

My family and I once ate at the original Black Bear Diner in the beautiful city of Mt. Shasta with that magnificent 14,162-foot mountain in full view while we spread maple syrup all over our tall stack of pancakes.

While there are now 169 such restaurants - make that 168 - in 14 states, Davis is the only other one we have visited.

Black Bear, headquartered just up I-5 in Redding, was founded by buddies Bruce Dean and Bob Manley.

Oddly, Dean is a graduate of UC Davis, just a block or two from the restaurant that is now serving its last slice of banana cream pie.

Manley is a Chico State grad.

So an Aggie and a Wildcat are the big bosses of this operation, and, without a doubt, when you visit one of their restaurants, you get more than your money’s worth.

The decor is fun, the menu large and varied, the portions huge, the quality excellent and the prices reasonable.

In short, it is a fun and happy place to be, especially for families with young children.

I also like the fact that Black Bear Diner is likely the only restaurant in the world that sells handy expandable backscratchers right at the cash register for those sleepless nights when you just can’t reach that irritating itch halfway down your spine.

The functional part of this sturdy and attractive tool is shaped and sharpened just like a bear claw, which seems appropriate. Or maybe they’re just trying to subliminally remind you to order a Fresh Baked Bear Claw with Blackberry Filling to take with you for the ride home.

While you still can, in the few moments you have remaining, try the Bread Pudding French Toast and send me the bill.

It’s to die for.

So long, Black Bear. Sleep tight.

We’ll be sure to find you up the road.

Someday.

Somewhere.

Reach me at bobdunning@thewaryone.com

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I don’t think, however, this is one of those issues that breaks down along predictable political lines. You know, if the Republicans say it’s Monday, the Democrats will automatically say it’s Tuesday, even if the rest of the country knows it’s actually Wednesday. If your opponent supports one thing, you must immediately declare your support for the exact opposite, no matter the issue.

One of my main concerns with AI is that when it’s written with initials only, it looks exactly like the first name “Al.” Like Al Pacino, Al Capone, Al Sharpton, Al Hirt and long-ago Detroit Tigers all-star rightfielder Al Kaline.

I suspect the fault lines on AI break down primarily on age. Those in college and younger see it as a great way to get an “A” on an overdue term paper, while the rest of us raise a doubtful eyebrow when we’re told AI is smarter than we are and will one day put us all in the soup line.

The other day I was researching for a friend the State of California’s rules for overtime pay. Instantly a precise and detailed explanation popped up on my computer screen that made perfect sense and seemed entirely reasonable, even though there was a disclaimer that the answer had been “AI generated.”

So, just to double check, I went to the website of the California Labor Commission and quickly learned that while AI was mostly correct, it had one key overtime provision completely wrong. As it turns out, that was the very provision I wanted to know about in the first place.

So my next question for AI was “Is AI ever wrong?”

AI had no answer for that one.

Just for fun, I decided to put AI to the test on a topic I know well, UC Davis football’s dramatic “Miracle Game” win over Cal State Hayward in 1971.

I know the details of this game right down to every player’s shoe size because I was there, covering it for both The Sacramento Bee and The Davis Enterprise. And, I am proud to say, I was the one who dubbed it the “Miracle Game” for all the world to see.

Armed with such intimate knowledge, I decided I’d give ChatGPT a chance to prove its mettle.

“The ‘Miracle Game’ - A Storied Comeback,” came the bold-face reply.

“On November 6, 1971, UC Davis pulled off one of the most dramatic wins in their football history against Cal State Hayward (now Cal State East Bay).”

Oh my.

They got the date right and everything. Impressive. And, showing off a bit, they even reminded me that long after the Miracle Game, Cal State Hayward had become Cal State East Bay. Accurate again.

I may have to adjust my thinking a bit, even if I’m not entirely ready to jump on the AI bandwagon.

“Trailing late, the Aggies scored 16 points in the final 44 seconds.”

Oopsie Doopsie. Close, but no cigar. And just when I was about to concede defeat.

The Aggies were indeed trailing late, but they scored those 16 points in 20 seconds - the final 20 seconds, no less - not 44.

I’ve never heard of another team, ever, at any level, from the NFL to Pop Warner, pulling off such a last-second feat.

Not long after the game, UC Davis Sports Information Director Jim Doan put together a sweet booklet about the 1971 season titled “16 in 22” and team members received a belt buckle with an engraved “16 in 22” as well.

Not wishing to rain on anyone’s parade, but being a complete stickler for accuracy, I pointed out to my friend Jim Doan that it was actually “16 in 20,” so we all sat down to watch the grainy game film that clearly showed the Aggies trailing, 29-14, with just 20 seconds remaining.

Jim Doan’s sparkling booklet received a new and accurate title, but as far as I know, those “16 in 22” belt buckles remain a cherished collector’s item to this very day.

But back to ChatGPT, which added, “With 20 seconds remaining, they completed a quick five-play drive, including a two-point conversion to keep them alive.”

It was actually a one-play drive, a short blast up the middle by bowling-ball fullback George Mock that took all of three seconds. Since the Aggies had no timeouts remaining, had Mock been stopped short of the goal line, they were unlikely to have run another play and the final score would have been 29-14.

Since this was a “chat” I was having with a human-like entity most likely living in an overheated, energy-gobbling warehouse on the high desert of Eastern Oregon, I figured it was best to give my new friend a name so we could communicate on more familiar terms. I considered “Buddy,” but decided instead on “Goober.”

I responded to Goober’s first attempt by saying kindly, “Several errors in the Miracle Game story, but nice try.”

To which Goober humbly responded, “Thanks for your patience! It’s clear I misremembered some details - let’s get them right this time.”

I’m not sure that “misremembered” is even a word on this side of the Rockies, but heck, if Goober is willing to admit the errors of his research, I’ll give him another chance.

“Here’s the accurate, well-documented summary of the famous ‘Miracle Game’ between UC Davis and Cal State Hayward on November 6, 1971,” Goober replied, presumably having incorporated my corrections.

This time the report was titled “What Truly Happened in the Miracle Game.”

For my money, Goober should have put a question mark after that sentence, but maybe he was showing his confidence that he finally had all his facts in order. If so, no question mark is necessary.

While still stubbornly sticking to “44 seconds,” Goober did accurately recount the correct names of such Miracle Game heroes as Bob Biggs, Mike Everly, Mike Bellotti, George Mock, Rick Fortner, John Miller and Tay Thompson, not to mention head coach Jim Sochor.

However, backsliding once again, Goober stated for a fact that with the Aggies trailing, 29-22, “On the final play of regulation, Biggs passed to Tay Thompson, who gained 15 yards for a first down at the 29-yard line.”

Biggs, indeed, hit Thompson with a 15-yard pass that set up a first down on the Hayward 29-yard line, but if that was truly the “final play of regulation,” the final score would have been 29-22. The rules of football and the rules of common sense clearly state that after the final play of regulation, no more plays will be allowed.

But maybe Goober has never attended a college football game and is unclear about the rules.

I again notified Goober of his goobers and again he politely apologized.

Goober, however, was not about to throw in the towel.

On his next attempt to right his sinking Miracle Game ship, under the heading “Apologies and Gratitude,” Goober replied, “I appreciate your patience - I definitely misremembered who caught the two-point conversion pass (he was actually right on that one) and the flow of plays.”

Fine and dandy, but I think your misremembering malady could be a career-ending problem for you, Goober.

Still, his replies were so kind and humble, without a hint of defensiveness, that I considered inviting him out for coffee.

“Your correction was spot on,” Goober noted, suddenly remembering what he had just misremembered. “You’re absolutely right. I made mistakes again. If you’d like, I can dig up player profiles.”

I’d rather you dig up earthworms in your backyard, Goober.

Attempt No. 3 cleaned up a number of things, but still left some dust in the corners. Goober clearly has trouble with time management. Mock scored with 17 seconds left, not 20. Goober also stated that John Miller recovered an onside kick “at the Pioneers’ 44-yard line with roughly 15 seconds left.”

Roughly? There were either 15 seconds left or there weren’t 15 seconds left. There’s no “roughly” on the scoreboard clock.

Pleaded Goober after his final, fatal stab at this historic moment, “Could you point out which errors remain in that corrected version? That way, I can address them precisely. I’m committed to getting this legendary moment exactly right.”

I appreciate your sincerity, Goober. I hope the folks at ChatGPT are feeding you well, with fully paid medical and dental and a nice 401K.

Call me in the morning and I’ll fill you in on every detail of “16 in 20,” the Miracle Game of Aggie lore.

Go Ags.

Reach me at bobdunning@thewaryone.com

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The loss, before a gathering of 438 at the Firestone Fieldhouse on the Pepperdine campus, ended the UC Davis season at 23-11. Pepperdine is now 20-12 and moves on to a second-round matchup with Utah Tech Sunday afternoon in Malibu. Had the Aggies won, they would have hosted Utah Tech.

This was a back-and-forth battle for the ages.

“I couldn’t be more proud of this team,” said Aggie head coach Jen Gross, who has been directing UCD hoop fortunes for the last 15 years.

With a nod to departing seniors Megan Norris, Nya Epps and Victoria Baker, Gross noted each of their contributions and said she will miss this talented trio.

“That’s what you hope for as a coach, that you’re sad to see your seniors leave and you know you’re going to miss them, but they’ll always be a part of your life.”

Pepperdine coach Katie Faulkner was ecstatic with the last-second turn of events.

“March is fun,” Faulkner noted. “I am really proud of our togetherness. This is a team that thrives on growth and is dedicated to getting better.”

The Aggies led early at 18-11, but an 8-0 run gave Pepperdine its first lead of the night, a lead that changed hands eight times before the Waves emerged with a 39-36 lead at the half.

UCD regained the lead at 41-39 early in the third quarter on a 3-pointer from Epps and UCD enjoyed its biggest lead of the fourth quarter at 56-52 on a layup by Ryann Bennett.

At that point, however, Pepperdine went on a devastating 14-3 run and appeared to be in firm control with a 68-60 lead entering the final 90 seconds.

The Aggies had other ideas.

Noted Gross, “One of my mentors, Jim Sochor (former Aggie head football coach), always said to find joy in everything you do, so it was a great opportunity to get back into the game.”

Avery Sussex was fouled attempting a 3-pointer and sank all three free throws to cut the deficit to 68-63 with 1:28 remaining. Then, after a shot-clock violation on Pepperdine, it was Sussex again with a successful trey to trim the advantage to 68-66 with 39.3 seconds left, and suddenly it was game on.

Pepperdine tried to work the clock, but Epps swiped a Pepperdine pass and Gross called a timeout with 12.0 remaining to set up either a tying field goal or a game-winning trey.

The ball went quickly to Bennett, who hit a short bank shot to tie things at 68, leaving Pepperdine 6.8 seconds to respond.

And respond the Waves did, finding Taija Santa Maria for a step-back, 3-point dagger that left her hands just before the final buzzer sounded and the backboard turned red.

Speaking of Norris, Epps and Baker, Gross noted, “They are just amazing human beings, amazing players and great teammates. They are everything we look for when we recruit players to our program.”

That trio will certainly be missed, but the cupboard is by no means bare as UCD takes a bold step into the Mountain West Conference next season.

“It’s been such an incredible journey in the Big West and the thing I’ll miss most are the friendships with so many great coaches,” Gross said.

“But at the same time I’m excited about this opportunity and the new challenges and the future of UC Davis.”

Reach Bob Dunning at bobdunning@thewaryone.com

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One of those few was Cesar Chavez.

I have said publicly, on a number of occasions, that I regarded him as a true American hero.

The seemingly unbelievable news of his sexual abuse of young girls, some not even yet teenagers, hit hard.

The story broke in The New York Times after nearly five years of painstaking research by reporters Manny Fernandez and Sarah Hurtes.

Yes, Cesar Chavez, who died in 1993, is not here to defend himself, but it’s impossible to ignore what The Times has reported.

Describing their exhaustive study, Fernandez and Hurtes wrote: “The abuse allegations appear to be part of a larger pattern of sexual misconduct by Mr. Chavez, much of which has never been publicly revealed. The Times investigation found that Mr. Chavez also used many of the women who worked and volunteered in his movement for his own sexual gratification. His most prominent female ally in the movement, Dolores Huerta, said in an interview that he sexually assaulted her, a disclosure she has never before made publicly.

“Many of the women stayed silent for decades, both out of shame and for fear of tarnishing the image of a man who has become the face of the Latino civil rights movement, his image on school murals and his birthday a state holiday in California.

“The findings are based on interviews with more than 60 people, including his top aides at the time, his relatives and former members of the U.F.W., which he co-founded with Ms. Huerta and Gilbert Padilla. The Times reviewed hundreds of pages of union records, confidential emails and photographs, as well as hours of audio recordings from U.F.W. board meetings.”

They also wrote of the Cesar Chavez so many of us had come to know and admire.

“More than 30 years after his death, Mr. Chavez has become only more revered in the Latino community, as President Trump’s efforts to limit immigration and scale back rights threaten to destroy many of the gains secured by decades of his work.

“Through a series of grueling fasts, grape boycotts and marches that captured the world’s imagination, Mr. Chavez drew a spotlight to the plight of the American farmworker. He not only improved wages, living conditions and health care for generations of farmworkers and their families but also strengthened the political power of Latinos, giving their voice and concerns an urgency and moral authority on the national stage.”

I would only add to that description that he was revered far beyond the Latino community.

While those accomplishments still stand, they are completely overwhelmed by the incredible harm he brought to these young girls and women with regularity throughout his celebrated life.

So yes, California should cancel the Cesar Chavez holiday.

The Davis School Board should remove his name from Cesar Chavez Elementary, which was originally named West Davis Elementary when it opened in 1954.

Good luck explaining such a name change to all those proud kids who consider that school their second home.

We can save the debate over what new name we’ll choose for another day, but his name should come down immediately.

In our divided world, there are many people who will try to discredit the entire farmworkers movement and those who have worked tirelessly to improve their quality of life.

We can’t let that happen because of the horrific crimes of one man.

The cause remains just.

As Dolores Huerta, still a force at age 95, would say, “Sí, se puede.”

Reach me at bobdunning@thewaryone.com

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However, shortly after the game concluded, Aggie head coach Jen Gross hinted that the Aggies hoped to get a bid to the postseason Women’s National Invitation Tournament, a hope that turned into reality when the WNIT revealed its 48-team field Sunday evening.

The Aggies will open play in the single-elimination WNIT Thursday at 6 p.m. at Pepperdine University in Malibu.

The game will be telecast live on ESPN+ and broadcast live on radio station KDVS (90.3 FM).

The game will be held in the 3,104-seat Firestone Fieldhouse on the Pepperdine campus.

The Waves finished sixth in the West Coast Conference and were defeated by the University of San Francisco, 86-69, in their opening game of the WCC tournament.

Pepperdine finished the regular season 19-12 overall and 10-8 in the WCC and had a 2-0 mark in nonconference games against Big West opponents, with wins of 69-63 over Cal State Northridge and 84-70 over Cal State Fullerton.

The Aggies are 23-10 overall and finished third in the Big West at 15-5.

If the Aggies get past Pepperdine, they will host Southern Utah on Monday night. SUU has a first-round bye. UCD officials say the Monday game will offer free admission to everyone.

Ryann Bennett leads the Aggies in scoring with 15.1 points a game and is also the team leader in assists with 133 and in steals with 52.

Nya Epps adds 13.0 points a game, while Megan Norris, UCD’s all-time career rebounding leader, averages 12.3 points and 12.7 rebounds a game, along with 47 of the team’s 81 blocks.

Avery Sussex, who made the Big West’s all-tournament team after exploding for 50 points in two games, contributes 12.2 points per game, 107 assists and 45 steals for the Aggies.

For the uninitiated, the WNIT is not the NCAA tournament, which announced its 68-team field earlier on Sunday. It’s also not to be confused with the Women’s Basketball Invitation Tournament, the WBIT, which is owned and operated by the NCAA and also announced its 32-team field before the WNIT made its selections from the schools remaining.

Between the three tournaments, 148 of the NCAA’s 355 women’s basketball teams will be playing in the postseason.

The Aggies may want to take a map of California with them to explain to their hosts exactly where the UC Davis campus is located.

According to an official press release from Pepperdine, “The Waves will host UC Davis out of the Bay Area.”

Which is like saying Malibu is located in the Mojave Desert.

Live and learn.

Reach Bob Dunning at bobdunning@thewaryone.com

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