Hockey Hotbed
The Sportswriter, Burger Week 2026, Norman Blake, Bill Mazeroski, Mushroom Moment
Welcome to my 177th weekly newsletter. This issue includes the Michigan members of both USA gold-medal hockey teams, a novel about a failed novelist turned sportswriter, a flatpicking guitar wizard, the hero of the 1960 World Series, and fleshy fruiting fungus. I hope you like the picks and pics.
I am enjoying the four-part documentary on the ABA—Soul Power: The Legend of the American Basketball Association.
In ‘Soul Power,’ a Fresh Look at the League That Helped Launch Dr. J
Executive produced by Julius Erving, a new docuseries tells the story of the A.B.A., birthplace of the 3-pointer, slam-dunk contest and a lot of style.
I worked for the Spirits of St. Louis in the ABA’s final two seasons, 1974-1976. Here I am keeping track of minutes played in game against Kentucky.
The price of a small scoop of ice cream in Santa Barbara shops is typically $7.50. For half that steep price, you can get a scoop with sprinkles at Mister Softee. Noah and Julian approve.
When our friend Tim Poor was visiting recently, we took him to a favorite place for tri-tip sandwiches. Located in the mountains above Santa Barbara, Cold Spring Tavern attracts so many visitors on the weekends that you have to park far away.
We visited the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History on Sunday, a free admission day. On a previous visit Julian was afraid of the animatronic dinosaurs, but this time, he and Noah loved them.
Today is Noah’s fourth birthday. He seldom lets his stuffed animals, Cuddles the penguin and Goaty the goat, out of his grip.
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Fave Five 177: Hockey Hotbed
Bascombe Book (The Sportswriter), Burger Week 2026 (Yellow Belly, Que, Goat Tree, Brewhouse, Win~Dow, Caya, Crushcakes), Sulphur Springs Songwriter (Norman Blake), Gold Glover (Bill Mazeroski), and a Mushroom Moment.
Fave Five List: USA Olympic Hockey Champions from Michigan
Michigan affirms its hockey hotbed status after Olympic success
Michigan always has been a hotbed for hockey, but rarely has the state’s impact been felt more in the sport than during these Olympics.
Megan Keller (Farmington Hills) scored the game-winning overtime goal for Team USA’s women’s team Thursday, clinching an Olympic gold-medal victory over Canada. Keller and Kirsten Simms (Plymouth) were key factors throughout the tournament for USA.
On the men’s side, which also defeated Canada, 2-1 in overtime to capture gold, Dylan Larkin (Waterford), Zach Werenski (Grosse Pointe), Kyle Connor (Shelby Township), Connor Hellebucyk (Commerce Township) and Jack and Quinn Hughes (Canton Township; family moved to Michigan as teens) were from Michigan. All were also part of the 17 (of 23) players on the USA roster who trained or were part of the Plymouth Township-based US National Team Development Program.
Here are the USA hockey players from Michigan:
Megan Keller - Farmington Hills
Kirsten Simms - Plymouth
Kyle Connor - Shelby Township, attended University of Michigan
Connor Hellebuyck - Commerce
Jack Hughes - Canton
Quinn Hughes - Canton, attended University of Michigan
Dylan Larkin - Waterford, attended University of Michigan
Zach Werenski - Grosse Pointe Woods, attended University of Michigan
Honorable Mention: Matt Boldy, who attended Northville High School for two years
Book Best Bet
The Sportswriter by Richard Ford
From Amazon: In this powerful blockbuster of a novel, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Independence Day introduces his most beloved character, failed novelist turned sportswriter Frank Bascombe, during an Easter weekend, as he moves through the great losses of his life.
As a sportswriter, Frank Bascombe makes his living studying people—men, mostly—who live entirely within themselves. This is a condition that Frank himself aspires to. But at thirty-eight, he suffers from incurable dreaminess, occasional pounding of the heart, and the not-too-distant losses of a career, a son, and a marriage. In the course of the Easter week in which Ford's moving novel transpires, Bascombe will end up losing the remnants of his familiar life, though with his spirits soaring.
Restaurant Recommendations
Last year I made it to six participating places during Burger Week. This year I sampled burgers from eight different spots on all seven days.
Here are the details, including my ranking for each one. I omitted the one that didn’t contain an actual patty, as to me, that was disqualifying.
Yellow Belly: Fold In the Cheeseburger: Rank #7
A delicious burger that’s also a tribute to sadly gone treasure Catherine O’Hara? Sign me up. Schitt’s Creek fans will no doubt recall David and Moira trying to make her family enchilada recipe, baffled by the step “fold in the cheese.”
But there’s nothing perplexing about Yellow Belly’s quarter-pound juicy patty, American cheese, bacon, homemade pickles, and a piquant, proprietary mix of Thousand Island and mustard, all on a toasty brioche bun. You get every flavor and texture you might want — meaty, juicy, sweet, sour, salty, cheesy, piggy, crunchy — in each bite. Even better, after Burger Week, it’s going to be a weekly Wednesday special.
Anyone who cherishes this neighborhood jewel gets it when co-owner Alex Keithley says, “We are a locally owned and operated business. We love to serve our community and spread our love through food and drinks.”
—George Yatchisin
2611 De la Vina St; yellowbellytap.com
Que by Whiskey ’N Rye: Signature Smokehouse: Rank #1
“If our restaurant was a burger,” says James Glaser of ’Que, “it would be the Smokehouse.”
Enveloped in a pillow-soft toasted potato bun, this can’t-miss creation features a quarter-pound brisket/short rib patty topped with even more hickory-smoked brisket, crispy onion rings, cheddar cheese, and house-made Kansas City BBQ sauce.
The first bite explodes with an array of flavors that, unlike my kids, manage to enthusiastically play together without incident. And although I loved my side of seasoned fries with jalapeño ranch dipping sauce, I couldn’t stay away from the main course for very long.
For those in the 18-to-25 demographic, the brisket low-key spoke to me, bruh. For real. The rich smoky flavor and respect for the low-and-slow cook provided an unforgettable Public Market feast and a delicious introduction to the ’Que team’s commitment to honoring classic BBQ staples.
—Dave Callanan
38 W. Victoria St., #108; quesmokeshack.com
Goat Tree: HC Smashburger: Rank #6
Just a few blocks from the waterfront at the edge of the Funk Zone, the Goat Tree is a prime location to enjoy a top-notch grass-fed burger with a view. Executive Chef Travis Watson’s HC Smashburger — as in Hotel Californian — brings together the best of all burger notes, keeping it simple with the toppings but ensuring each bite is bold, beefy, and cheesy.
It starts with a nice, thin five-ounce patty smashed on the grill until both sides have a perfect color that comes with the magical Maillard reaction. The burger then gets three melted slices of different types of cheeses — sharp cheddar, mild American, and bold Havarti — and is stacked on a toasted brioche bun with caramelized sweet Vidalia onions, house-made roasted garlic aioli, and bread and butter pickles.
The three cheeses come together as the melty star of the show, each adding a different profile that balances well with the simplicity of the pickles, sauce, grilled onions, and brioche bun. It’s burger minimalism at its finest, with none of the frills and extra veggies that end up distracting from the real reason we go to eat a burger: to fill that craving for a bite of melty, cheesy, beefy goodness.
—Ryan P. Cruz
36 State St; goattreecafe.com
The Brewhouse: Pub Burger: Rank #3
Opened on May 26, 1998, on West Montecito Street, The Brewhouse is the oldest active brewery in Santa Barbara with a full bar — and a local favorite for bold, satisfying pub fare.
Their Brewhouse Pub Burger is made with a quarter-pound grilled patty topped with crispy onion, dill pickles, special sauce, and their signature pub cheese. The cheese sauce blends American cheese, the brewery’s Helles lager, cream, and house-made habanero paste for a rich, slightly spicy kick. That touch of heat enhances the flavor of the Helles and perfectly complements the melted cheese.
“We wanted to create something that would stand out,” said owner Grant Danely. And stand out it does. The Pub Burger eats like a burger-nacho combo, messy in the best way and impossible to leave unfinished.
—Erin Lynch
229 W. Montecito St.; sbbrewhouse.com
The Win~Dow: Double Cheeseburger with Fountain Drink: Rank #2
The Win~Dow made a smashing impression from the jump, its midcentury-modern design reminiscent of an old-school diner, with its scattered bar stools, pops of turquoise, and charming order-at-the-window style. Though Burger Week boasts a $10 special combo — their double cheeseburger with a drink — the Win~Dow is already affordable, and equally tasty. The L.A.-based smashburger concept made its way to Santa Barbara last spring and quickly became an Americana staple downtown.
I was greeted by Sara O’Shea, the amiable manager, who gracefully offered me a peek into Win~Dow’s wide menu selection, from burgers and fries to the fried chicken sandwich, kale salad, mint chocolate chip-dip cone, and chocolate s’mores milkshake. Though I came for the burger, I left in awe of the consistency of the menu across the board, along with the friendly disposition of the workers.
The double cheeseburger was satisfyingly tender and cheesy, paired perfectly with its golden, fresh-out-of-the-fryer French fries (purchased separately). The Win~Dow has something for everyone; foodies, bargain-seekers, or anyone looking for an elevated take on a classic burger experience.
—Madeline Slogoff
701 Chapala St.; thewin-dow.la/santa-barbara
Caya Restaurant at The Leta Hotel: The Sal-apeño Burger: Rank #5
“Do you need anything else?” the waitress asked while dropping my Sal-apeño Burger off on the sunny patio of The Leta Hotel’s Caya Restaurant, steps from both the bar and the pool. “Maybe a box,” I replied, “because I probably won’t finish.”
Then I tore into the beefy heap of Wagyu on a brioche bun, topped with cheddar, lettuce, tomato, and, most consequently, the chipotle aioli, jalapeño, onion strings, and fried egg. It was immediately crunchy and subtly spicy, its satisfying char slaked in the creaminess of the runny yolk.
This is the creation of Salvino Salvador, who’s cooked at this hipsterized Goleta inn for three years. That’s just the latest stint in his three decades of cooking around town, from the Wine Cask and San Ysidro Ranch to Eureka! and Piatti, where he spent 21 years. Hence the “Sal”-apeño. It was his call to add an egg at the last moment, believing that the earlier taste tests “needed something more.”
It did the trick. I did not, after all, require a box for the burger. It was gone.
—Matt Kettmann
5650 Calle Real, Goleta; cayarestaurant.com
Crushcakes & Café: El Diablo Burger: Rank #4
The idea for Crushcakes & Café came to Shannon Gaston during deep mediation at a yoga retreat. Nearly 20 years later, the cupcakes, the coffee, the food, and the cozy restaurant that hums with inclusivity still draws crowds and large catering orders, thanks to a menu that embraces the spice of life. Speaking of spice, Crushcakes’ El Diablo burger — a house-made turkey patty with melted Jack cheese, jalapeños, avocado, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, and spicy house aioli on a grilled brioche bun — brings the perfect amount of heat: enough to tingle those tastebuds without making you sweat. Normally I’m a beef burger person, but I found the turkey flavorful, succulent, and — with fewer calories — a lovely excuse to end lunch with a cool vanilla-bean cupcake.
—Tyler Hayden
5392 Hollister Ave., Goleta; crushcakes.co
Marvelous Musician
I previously included Norman at the top of my list of favorite bluegrass/flatpicking guitar players. He will turn 88 next month. I learned of his music from my friend Nick Robins. I bought Back Home in Sulphur Springs, loved it, and then bought The Fields of November, Old and New, Whiskey Before Breakfast, Live at McCabe’s, and Blackberry Blossom. I have seen him perform twice at Graham Chapel at Washington University in St. Louis.
From Wikipedia: Norman Blake (born March 10, 1938 in Chattanooga, Tennessee) is a traditional American stringed instrument artist and songwriter. Most of the music that Norman Blake plays could be described as neo-traditionalist Americana folk and roots music (folk, bluegrass, country, blues), and many of the songs he plays are traditional, but he plays this acoustic type of music with a style, speed, and quality that has evolved and progressed in the modern age. Though probably best known for his fluid renditions of classic fiddle tunes transcribed for the guitar (”Fiddler’s Dram/Whiskey Before Breakfast”), Blake has also written songs that have become bluegrass and folk standards, such as “Ginseng Sullivan”, “Slow Train through Georgia”, “Billy Gray”, and “Church Street Blues”.
Although known as one of the most prominent steel-string guitar flatpickers, Blake is a multi-instrumentalist and vocalist. Other instruments he plays include the mandolin, 6-string banjo, fiddle, dobro, banjo and viola. He is known for his loose, right-hand guitar technique, which arose out of his mandolin technique. Also well known is his devotion to 12-fret guitars, including Martin 00s, 000s, D18s, D28s, and Gibsons, like his 1929 12-fret Nick Lucas special.
Blake was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and grew up in Sulphur Springs, Alabama. He listened to old-time and country music on the radio by the Carter Family, the Skillet Lickers, Roy Acuff, and the Monroe Brothers (Charlie and Bill Monroe). He learned guitar at age 11 or 12, then mandolin, dobro, and fiddle in his teens. When he was 16, he dropped out of school to play music professionally.
In the 1950s, Blake joined the Dixieland Drifters and performed on radio broadcasts, then joined the Lonesome Travelers. When he was drafted in 1961, he served as an Army radio operator in the Panama Canal Zone. He started a popular band known as the Kobbe Mountaineers. A year later, while he was on leave, he recorded the album Twelve Shades of Bluegrass with the Lonesome Travelers.
After being discharged from the Army, Blake moved to Nashville and became a studio musician. For 10 years, he toured and recorded with country singer Johnny Cash and continued to play with Cash intermittently over the next 30. He met Nancy Short, a cellist with a classical music background who was playing in a folk group. He was asked by Bob Dylan to play on the country-folk album Nashville Skyline, then became a member of the house band on Johnny Cash’s TV show. Kris Kristofferson, one of the guests, hired Blake to tour with him. Blake recorded with folk singer Joan Baez and appeared on her hit song “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down”. In 1971, he became a member of the bluegrass group Aero-plain, led by multi-instrumentalist John Hartford with fiddler Vassar Clements, a short-lived project.
Blake also played dobro on the 1972 album Will the Circle Be Unbroken by the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band.
In 1972, Blake recorded his first solo album, Home in Sulphur Springs (Rounder, 1972).[4] Soon after his debut, he and Nancy recorded their first album, The Fields of November (Flying Fish, 1974), with Nancy on hillbilly cello. They married in 1975 and performed together for twenty years.
Randall Collins/Done Gone
Nashville Blues
Cuckoo's Nest/Over the Waterfall/Whiskey Before Breakfast/Cherokee Shuffle/Opera Reel/Ramblin’
Comin’ Down From Rising Fawn
New River Train (with Tony Rice)
My Playlist
Sports Star
Bill died on February 20, 2026. My first real baseball memory is from Game 7 of the 1960 World Series. I was in the second grade at Dundee Elementary School in Omaha, Nebraska. One of my classmates offered to bring in her portable TV so we could watch the game, but our teacher, Mrs. Leist, said she had already promised another student that he could bring in a radio, so we had to settle for listening to the game. Bill hit a walk-off homer in the bottom of the 9th inning, and my love of baseball has continued ever since.
Bill Mazeroski, 89, Whose 9th-Inning Blast Made Pirates Champs, Is Dead
It was Game 7 of the 1960 World Series, when an infielder known for his glove, not his bat, crushed the powerful Yankees with one swing, bringing joy to Pittsburgh.
From Wikipedia: William Stanley Mazeroski (born September 5, 1936 in Wheeling, West Virginia; died February 20, 2026 in Lansdale, Pennsylvania), nicknamed “Maz” and “the Glove”, was an American second baseman in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played his entire career for the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1956 to 1972. A seven-time All-Star known during his career primarily for his spectacular defensive play, he came to be known best for one of the most memorable home runs in baseball history, a dramatic ninth-inning drive in Game 7 of the 1960 World Series that beat the favored New York Yankees. It was the first time that the major league season ended with a home run, and remains the only walk-off home run to clinch a World Series championship in Game 7. ESPN ranked the World Series winner at the top of its list of the 100 Greatest Home Runs of All Time, while Sports Illustrated had it eighth in its compilation of the 100 Greatest Moments in Sports History. Mazeroski received the Babe Ruth Award for his play in the Series, during which he batted .320.
An eight-time Gold Glove Award winner, Mazeroski was particularly noted for his ability to make the pivot in turning double plays. His 1,706 career double plays remain a major league record for a second baseman, and were the most by any non-first baseman in history until shortstop Omar Vizquel passed him in 2009. Mazeroski led the National League (NL) in double plays for eight consecutive years, and recorded over 100 double plays eleven times, both also major league records. His 161 double plays in 1966 remain the major league record for second basemen; when he retired, he held the top three marks in NL history. He led the major leagues in assists a record nine times, and led the NL in putouts five times and in fielding percentage three times. Mazeroski set NL records for career games (2,094), putouts (4,974), assists (6,685), and total chances (11,863) by a second baseman, all of which were later broken by Joe Morgan; his career fielding percentage of .983 ranked second in NL history when he retired, less than a quarter of a point behind Red Schoendienst.Mazeroski also provided contributions on offense which were not typical for his position; his 138 career home runs and 853 runs batted in (RBI) were the most by any second baseman during the period between 1944 and 1974, with his home run total putting him behind only Rogers Hornsby among NL second basemen when his career ended.[citation needed] His home run production was particularly notable due to Pittsburgh’s cavernous home stadium, where the distant reaches in left and center field made it typically the league’s most difficult home run stadium until the mid-1960s.
Mazeroski closed out his career by helping the Pirates to three consecutive division titles; he and Roberto Clemente were the only members of the 1960 champions who were on the team when they picked up another title in 1971, beating the favored Baltimore Orioles in seven games. Mazeroski later became a coach for the Pirates and the Seattle Mariners. The Pirates organization retired his uniform number in 1987. Mazeroski was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2001.
Remembering Pirates legend Bill Mazeroski
A Tribute to Pirates Legend Bill Mazeroski
Picture Pun
Finding these on our walk was a morel victory.
