At the age of 10, having failed in his lifelong ambition to become a vigilante vampire werewolf – otherwise known as a vamp-wolf – Ray Hamill finally admitted defeat and turned his attention full-time to daydreaming instead.
A mere few decades later, the world of crime fighting’s loss is now the literary world’s gain.
Born in Dublin, Ireland, Ray moved to the United States after graduating college, spending time in Boston and San Francisco before settling among the redwoods in Northern California, where he has worked as a journalist for the past 20 years.
In that time he has published three books, including his most recent, Help, My Horse is Drowning!, a humorous look at the world of sports and the life of the enthusiastically delusional athlete in us all.
He previously published the outrageously satirical Free the Leprechauns! as well as the semi-autobiographical Help Me, Im Irish! - a book about the non-meaning of life.
Ray is also the host of a weekly sports talk radio show broadcast locally in Northern California on Blue Ox Community Radio, and a sports blog at barstoolfanatics.com.
For a young team, the Crusaders play with a lot of composure. On Tuesday night, the No. 14 seeded St. Bernard’s girls opened the Division-3 state playoffs with a statement win in […]
By Ray Hamill — A dream season continued for the Eureka Loggers on Tuesday night. Three days after clinching the program’s first-ever North Coast Section championship with a road victory over Sonoma […]
The Lumberjacks will play Cal State San Marcos for the second time in five days on the opening day of the CCAA Tournament on Thursday. The Cal Poly Humboldt men secured the […]
By Ray Hamill — Two of the three H-DNL teams to qualify for the state playoffs in basketball will open at home this week. After clinching a first-ever North Coast Section championship […]
It was a long time coming and they had to weather a second-half storm to get there, but on Saturday evening the Eureka Loggers secured a first-ever North Coast Section championship in […]
Two teams that have become very familiar with each other in recent years faced off for a North Coast section championship on Saturday night. The Ferndale Wildcats traveled to Antioch to play […]
It was a memorable few days for H-DNL wrestling even if it ended on a disappointing note on Saturday night. Competing at the CIF state championships in Bakersfield, Del Norte junior Wyatt […]
The Cal Poly Humboldt basketball teams will carry some momentum into next week’s CCAA tournament after Saturday afternoon’s regular-season finales. The Jacks hosted Cal State San Marcos at Lumberjack Arena and both […]
By Ray Hamill — It was a week of big achievements in the H-DNL in multiple sports. And that’s reflected in this week’s awards. It was a particularly impressive week for the […]
It was a good start to 2026 for seventh-grader Jade Lysander, as the Humboldt Composite Mountain Bike Team traveled to Monterey for the opening event of the season last weekend. Lysander led […]
By Ray Hamill — The smallest school in the Big 5 packs quite a punch when it comes to boys basketball. This year, the McKinleyville Panthers claimed a first-ever outright Big 5 […]
By Ray Hamill — On to the state playoffs. On Friday night, the St. Bernard’s girls got back to winning ways to extend their season on the basketball court with a dominating […]
By Ray Hamill — The next generation of Crusaders appear well equipped to continue to keep their boys basketball program on a successful path. With the varsity team set to graduate eight […]
The H-DNL wrestlers continued to make their presence felt at the CIF state championships on the second day of tournament action on Friday. Arcata freshman Taylor Bell and Del Norte brothers Thunder […]
For the second consecutive season, the Cal Poly Humboldt men’s basketball team is headed to the CCAA Tournament. The Jacks secured a spot in next week’s tournament with a 93-82 victory over […]
By Ray Hamill — Less than a week after their season ended, the Del Norte Warriors are already getting excited about their prospects for next year. The Warriors were one of the […]
It was good opening day for the three H-DNL wrestlers competing at the state championships on Thursday. Del Norte brothers Thunder and Wyatt Lewis qualified for the prestigious tournament in Bakersfield, along […]
By Ray Hamill — The dates and times for this weekend’s North Coast Section basketball playoff games involving local teams have been finalized. Heading into the weekend action, two H-DNL teams are […]
Because kindness matters. A group of Fortuna student-athletes recently surprised a rival school to celebrate Random Acts of Kindness Day. Organized by the Huskies’ Student Athletic Advisory Council (SAAC), seven Fortuna student-athletes […]
By Ray Hamill — It was a successful winter on the wrestling mats for Ferndale High School in more ways than one. Not only did the Wildcats feature their biggest roster in […]
