The Blog

This year San Francisco turns the big 2-3-7. To celebrate, we took to the streets to ask folks who love it here so much what gifts they would give to our fair city. Check out their answers in the video below.

And for the city's actual birthday, we're handing over more than a couple presents – we've decided to throw San Francisco the biggest party we could manage. On Friday, June 28 join us at the Old Mint for Big Bay Birthday, our ode to San Francisco. Find more information at biggaybirthday.com.

(Start at :40, go bananas at :50 )

Sports?!?

Yeah, that's right: sports.

Welcome to the first of a new thing for me, and The Bold Italic. Once a week, I'll cover the games you have to watch, the uniforms you need to see, and the names you need to try to pronounce. All are welcome, regardless of whether your regard sports with willful ignorance, seasonal indifference, or full-blown fanaticism. It's going to be really fun, especially if you like homilies to truly hideous tattoos and gratuitous pictures of puppies with Vontaze Burfict.

I think that's enough pandering to my base. Let's get started!

ONE. MORE. GAME. 

After an insane overtime thriller last night—which: see above—the NBA Finals between the Miami Heat and the San Antonio Spurs will be going to a game seven Thursday night. For fans, this is a dream scenario: the wildly-talented, mercurial Heat trading blows with the fundamentally-sound, always dependable Spurs. Both teams have a big three at their cores: the Heat boasts the best player alive (LeBron James), Gabrielle Union's boo (Dwyane Wade), and a freakish lizard man (Chris Bosh); Meanwhile the Spurs depend on a huge nerd (Tim Duncan), a French Lothario (Tony Parker), and an Argentinian science teacher (Manu Ginobili). In non-basketball terms the Spurs versus the Heat is Leonardo versus Raphael, Cyclops versus Wolverine, the geeks in Ski School versus the cool guys in Ski School. Game sevens are rare and amazing thing, so try to watch if you can.

ICE COLD

Speaking of fun things to watch, hockey is also in the middle of a spectacularly captivating championship series. Going into tonight's game 4, the Boston Bruins lead the Chicago Blackhawks 2 to 1, but that brief summary does not come close to explaining what's already happened. Game 1 was a TRIPLE OVERTIME marathon, game 2 went to one overtime, and game three was pretty cool too. An important thing to remember: In the Stanley Cup playoffs, hockey overtimes are sudden death, like World Cup soccer, so the first team to score wins immediately. That triple overtime game involved more than half an hour of holy shit-type hovering over your seat. Also worth noting: Mike "Doc" Emrick, who does the play-by-play on TV, is insane and amazing. Rather than just say "pass" a million times a game, he uses tons of alternates that range from "actual synonym for pass" to "say wha?" Deadspin even made a Daft Punk remix out of them!

BASEBALL: STILL HAPPENING

It's true, professional baseball exists and is occurring on a near-daily basis. Our beloved, defending champion Giants are currently in a three-way race for first place with Arizona and Colorado. Meanwhile, over in the American League, those scrappy Athletics of Oakland are in first place too. For those who think Moneyball was just a movie, I'll just note that the Giants total payroll for the year is $142,180,333, while the A's are getting by on "just" $60,372,500. The lesson, as always: great stuff is cheaper in Oakland.

DOWN GOES HONDURAS!

While the Heat and the Spurs were dominating the airwaves last night, the US Men's National Soccer Team was taking care of business in a World Cup Qualifier. The Yanks beat Honduras' Los Catrachos 1-0 off a goal by the phenomenal striker Jozy Altidore, his fourth in as many games. This means our boys are well on their way to playing in the 2014 World Cup.

Let me know what you think about any of this — or other sports — in the comments. Break!

We all know that stress isn’t good for us. The effects of stress can be debilitating, and for millions of people, stress leads to all sorts of symptoms and ailments, including headaches, muscle tension, difficulty sleeping, irritability, and lowered immunity. Chronic stress suppresses the body’s ability to regulate the inflammatory response, which can promote and advance disease. With demanding, hectic schedules, you may not always be able to control what happens in your daily life, but you can practice healthy habits to manage stress. Here are six stress management tips to cope with stress mindfully, brought to you by top physicians at One Medical Group.

1. Take a Breather

Ever notice yourself responding to a frustrating situation with a deep sigh? A deep breath from your abdomen can stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system, resulting in a sense of relaxation. In stressful situations, take a minute, or a few minutes if you can, to breathe mindfully. Deep, mindful breathing can be a simple but very effective tool to help calm your mind and refresh your perspective. Practice mindful breathing on your commute, at your desk, or while waiting in a long line. Focus all of your attention on your breath while you take slow, deep inhalations and exhalations. Consider this exercise in stress management your natural “reset” button.

2. Go Outside

Go for a walk. Get some fresh air. Gain a new point of view. The point is to stimulate your senses and shift your awareness to something other than the stressor. A little break from your current environment and some fresh air and sunlight might be just what you need to refresh your mindset.

3. Help Others

Volunteering has been proven to relieve stress. It can be an uplifting way to change how you feel about your life, and at the same time positively impact someone else’s life in a profound way. In fact, “people can experience a ‘volunteer’s high,’” says One Medical Group’s Kristen Scarlett, LMHC. “This is also seen with random acts of kindness. Volunteering helps people find a purpose and builds self-esteem too!”

Read on for more ways to manage stress.

In honor of SF Pride and our own fabulous celebration of the city, San Francisco's Big Gay Birthday Party we asked San Franciscans what makes them proud to rep SF. 

Here are the results:

Wanna tell the world why you're proud of SF? Share a pic on Instagram or tweet @thebolditalic and use the hashtag #SFProud!

Learn more about San Francisco's Big Gay Birthday here.