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.
The wet conditions didn’t prevent the H-DNL teams form competing at the annual early-season Panther Relays in track and field at McKinleyville High School on Saturday. And the rain didn’t dampen the […]
By Ray Hamill — 2024 is expected to be a big year for the Humboldt Swim Club and two of the club’s swimmers are already living up to those expectations. Huck Russell […]
A change in roles hasn’t slowed Nick Dugan down much. On Sunday, the former St. Bernard’s standout, who is a sophomore with the Stanford Cardinal, recorded his first save of the season […]
St. Bernard’s Jack Kramer took over sole possession of the league lead in H-DNL boys golf with a four-stroke victory in round three of league play on Monday. Competing at Del Norte, […]
By Ray Hamill — There was no shortage of excitement on the local basketball courts this year, with lots of twists and turns along the way. And it was a memorable season […]
By Ray Hamill — An H-DNL girls team won a state championship in basketball for the first time in league history this season, but it was the quality of teams from top […]
By Ray Hamill — Remarkably, all nine H-DNL varsity girls basketball teams qualified for the North Coast Section playoffs this year, and even more remarkably none of them lost to an out-of-area […]
By Ray Hamill — As usual, one of the most fascinating rivalries of the season was the Arcata and McKinleyville boys, with little to separate them for much of the season. They […]
By Ray Hamill — A very competitive boys basketball season on the local courts has resulted in a competitive race for the 2023/24 Humboldt Sports Boys Coach of the Year. The quality […]
By Ray Hamill — The quality of girls basketball teams in the H-DNL was exceptional this year and a big reason for that was the quality of coaching in the league. In […]
By Ray Hamill — Despite the questionable weather here on the North Coast, the local baseball and softball seasons are building momentum, with several players and teams stepping up their games. No […]
The defending Big 5 champions look like they’ll be the team to beat in conference again this spring, and a strong start to the season hasn’t changed that perspective. With a new […]
Pitching was the story of the day as the Fortuna Huskies traveled to play St. Helena in a non-tournament softball showdown on Thursday. Fortuna’s Isabel Sanchez and St. Helena’s Tahlia Smith served […]
South Fork’s Justin Freitas has been one of the most impressive players in H-DNL baseball early in the new season, but he suffered a bizarre loss in the Cubs’ Little 4 opener […]
Game one of Thursday’s Little 4 doubleheader between the Wildcats and Hoopa Warriors at Ferndale was a pitchers’ duel, with Austin Michel and Lyle McKinnon allowing just three hits between them. Michel […]
By Ray Hamill — The St. Bernard’s bats got the Little 4 off to a flying start in softball at Samoa on Thursday, as the Crusaders swept a conference-opening doubleheader against a […]
Maeghan Hampton remained red-hot at the plate for the College of the Redwoods softball team, as the Corsairs split a conference-opening doubleheader at Siskiyous on Wednesday. The CR women lost game one […]
Despite missing some key athletes, the College of the Redwoods track and field team continued to impress at the Cody Beaumont Invitational meet hosted by Shasta College over the weekend. And once […]
By Ray Hamill — The McKinleyville bats came ready to play on Wednesday, as the Panthers comfortably got the better of St. Bernard’s in an early-season softball matchup at Mack High. The […]
The Franklin brothers are enjoying a good start to the new baseball for the Fortuna Huskies. On Wednesday, senior Drew and freshman Tanner combined on the mound to lead their team to […]
