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.
Eight local teams were in action in the NCS soccer playoffs on Saturday, including a doubleheader of games at both McKinleyville and Fortuna. In girls Division-I action, Arcata defeated St. Helena 8-0 […]
The Eureka girls moved within one win of an NCS soccer championship appearance on Saturday with a 3-0 victory at Fortuna in their Division-I playoff opener. Many of the Eureka players were […]
By Ray Hamill — Are you ready for some playoff football? The Crusaders are. St. Bernard’s closed out the regular season with another dominating performance on Saturday, rolling over Fortuna 57-0 and […]
It may have ended a little earlier than hoped for, but it’s a season the McKinleyville Panthers won’t easily forget. On Saturday, the Mack girls lost 2-0 to Credo in the North […]
By Ray Hamill — The dream of a first-ever section title for Arcata girls soccer is alive and well. On Saturday, the Tigers comfortably took care of business in the quarterfinal round […]
The McKinleyville Panthers defense posted a shutout for the second time in four days on Saturday afternoon, and this time their offense did enough to win the game. Just days after falling […]
By Ray Hamill — Emma Wilson scored twice in the dying minutes to lift the St. Bernard’s girls to a dramatic 2-1 win over Little 3 rival Ferndale in the NCS Division-III […]
The Del Norte Warriors capped a dominating Big 4 campaign with another rout on Friday night, as they rolled to an easy 42-0 win over Eureka in Crescent City. With the win, […]
By Ray Hamill — The St. Bernard’s girls are headed back to the NCS championship game after barely getting the better of Ferndale in a highly-entertaining soccer semifinal showdown in Eureka on […]
Both College of the Redwoods basketball teams posted lopsided wins on the road on Friday. The CR men defeated Gavilan 72-54, while the women opened the Mission College tournament with an 81-32 […]
By Ray Hamill — Time changes have been announced for two of this weekend’s North Coast Section soccer playoff games, which have been moved forward an hour. The Arcata and McKinleyville girls will […]
This weekend, six local racing legends will become the first class to be inducted into the newly created Redwood Acres Raceway Hall of Fame. The local raceway will honor the new inductees […]
By Ray Hamill — Fasten your seat belts, it’s going to be a wild weekend in local sports. In addition to 10 H-DNL teams still involved in NCS playoff soccer, a packed […]
By Ray Hamill — With the opening round of action in the books, 10 H-DNL teams remain alive in the North Coast Section soccer playoffs, with two all-local showdowns set for this […]
The Humboldt State men fell just short in their bid for a first-ever CCAA Tournament berth in soccer on Thursday, losing 1-0 at Chico State. The Jacks went into the regular-season finale […]
By Ray Hamill — The Del Norte Warriors have left little doubt as to who has the best team on the North Coast this season. And as the schedule begins to wind […]
The Crusaders bowed out of the North Coast Section Division-6 volleyball playoffs on Wednesday night, falling at No. 2 seed Mendocino. The No. 3 St. Bernard’s girls lost 25-17, 16-25, 25-16, 25-21. […]
By Ray Hamill — The Del Norte Warriors feature prominently in this week’s athletes and team of the week, sponsored by College of the Redwoods Athletics. Last weekend, Del Norte shut out […]
By Ray Hamill — In the words of Arcata head coach John Davidson, it was a “North Coast Classic.” On Wednesday night, the Arcata Tigers got the better of the Eureka Loggers […]
By Ray Hamill — The Arcata Tigers are moving on in the North Coast Section boys soccer playoffs after barely getting the better of Big 5 rival Eureka in a thrilling showdown […]
