CSU Bakersfield, a blue collar team with its eye on the prize, heads to the NCAA tournament and Bakersfield loses a local titan with the passing of Ray Dezember

 * ... CSU BAKERSFIELD: I had the chance to sit down with Coach Rod Barnes to chat about the Roadrunners heading to Oklahoma City to play in the NCAA Tournament. After beating New Mexico State to win the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) tournament, Bakersfield goes into the game again the University of Oklahoma a 14.5 point underdog. The key to Bakersfield's success: Barnes

looks for hungry, blue collar players with something to prove, players who never give up and players believe in themselves and their teammates. Fifteen years ago Barnes took Ole Miss to the Sweet Sixteen, but it is this Bakersfield team that has won his heart. "We (his family) made a commitment to come here, to live and to build this program," he said. "We (the team) never talk about losing. We don't do that." One thing for sure: at 1 p.m. Friday everyone in town will be glued to the TV or radio when Bakersfield squares off against Oklahoma.

* ... RIP RAY: It's almost a cliche to refer to someone as "Mr. Bakersfield," but it was never an exaggeration when the term applied to Ray Dezember, the former banker and philanthropist who died Monday evening. I met Ray when I moved here in 1994 and he was on the Board of Directors of The Bakersfield Californian. He was unfailingly supportive and wise, and I was smart enough to take him up on his offer to have a weekly breakfast where he shared with me his knowledge of business and his love for this community. The philanthropy of Ray and wife Joan was impressive and widespread, but their giving was always done quietly and without fanfare. Deeply religious, Ray epitomized a life of servant leadership.

 * ... BOWLING ALLEY: No fewer than two dozen readers weighed in a reader's question about the name of the old bowling alley that once existed on the east side. And clearly there is still come confusion between two old businesses; the Bakersfield Bowling Academy and the San Joaquin Bowling Alley.  Said Richard Cardiel: "I believe the bowling alley was the Bakersfield Bowling Academy. It was located next to 7-Up Bottling, which was at the corner of 18th and Sonora Street kitty corner from the old Bakersfield Sandstone store yard. Also located in the same area was a pedestrian underpass under (Highway 99) now Union Avenue. The underpass was either on  the south side of 18th or 17th street. It was used by kids who lived on the west side of Highway 99 to get to Fremont School."

 * ... MORE BOWLING:  Others, including Frank Alvarez, remembered the venue as being the  San Joaquin Bowling Alley "and the proprietor was Joe Karam. I can remember that this is where the professional bowler Don Glover used to bowl." And Dave "Doc" Rangel, retired athletic trainer at Stockade High School, agreed: "The bowling alley that Mary Durham was thinking of was San Joaquin Bowl. It was a Brunswick bowling alley. The other bowling alley on 18th, across from the Rice Bowl, was called, The Bakersfield Bowling Academy."

 * ... MORE BOWLING: Lastly, there was this memory from Barbara Kilbreth Pederson: "The bowling alley mentioned in your column today, I believe to be San Joaquin Bowling Alley. My brother (Bill Kilbreth) was the manager there for a while. As an old timer, I have seen many changes in Bakersfield. Been here over 70 years, so lot of water under the bridge. I have always said that Bakersfield has the worst weather ( hot or foggy) but the greatest people in the world live here.  Go East High Blades!"

The Westside Parkway gets ready to open, but what is with the moonscape landscaping? Or is there landscaping at all? And finally we will see an end to the state Senate 16th District race

 * ... PARKWAY: The good news is that the long awaited Westside Parkway will open August 2,  a welcome relief for all those folks who have battle traffic along Rosedale Highway and Truxtun to get

home. The bad news: what is up with the Iraqi-style landscaping, or seeming lack thereof? Let's hope the parkway landscaping doesn't end up looking like the dismal state of affairs along Highways 99 and 58.

 * ... MARK: My earlier posts from a friend who shared his inner most thoughts while battling cancer seem to have touched a lot of people. Barry Rosenfeld, a friend and fellow Rotarian, shared what he said while speaking to a Boys and Girls Club dinner. It is worth hearing. "When I visit clients and friends who are in the final stages of their life, whether in a hospital or at home with Hospice, not once has anyone asked me to bring them a picture of their boat or motor home or ski condo. You know what they say? They tell me they want their family close and they also say they wish that they had given back more. They wish they had given more money to their church or synagogue or to the homeless or to youth groups. But I know those of you in this room will not say those things when your time comes because you have given back. But tonight the one thing I do ask of you is to pay it forward by getting other people involved. Ask another person to volunteer their time or donate money.  I ask you to do this because we want them to know how good it feels to give back."

 * ... SPOTTED: A local car is spotted with a bumper sticker reading: "Honk if you love Jesus... Text while driving if you want to meet in person."

 * ... SENATE: Keep your eye on the special election Tuesday in the 16th state Senate District, a particularly nasty runoff between Supervisor Leticia Perez and Hanford cherry farmer Andy Vidak.  Republicans see it as a chance to reestablish themselves in a state where Democrats hold a strong majority, and money and flowed into both campaigns.

 * ... DIRICO'S: More on the old DiRico's eatery, compliments of Glen Stoller: "Thanks to Vickie Burke Shallock, Darlene Stewart and Jerry Beckwith for writing in about DiRico’s Italian Restaurant. It was my favorite spot in Bakersfield. My first experience with pizza was in 1956 when I was at Cal Poly. After a Mustang-Bulldog football game in Fresno, we went to a restaurant called DiChicos. I had my first pizza and fell in love with it. Shortly after that I discovered DiRico's in Bakersfield; oh the joy! Pizza is still my love and making it is a hobby of mine with a wood burning oven in my front yard."

 * ... MEMORIES: Joan Stain is one person in town who remembers the old days of the Bakersfield Bowling Academy. She moved here in 1963 and filled in for a friend who worked the desk, and never left. "I was hired permanently and not only worked the desk but also acted as league coordinator. That occurred in 1979 and I retired from Southwest Lanes in 1996 as the manager. Seeing the names of David Rangel, Mike Hicks, Jack Moore etc. brought back loads of memories for me," she said. "How I loved those days at the old BBA with Sarge at the help. He was truly special in my eyes."

Bako Bits: Bakersfield experiences an open war on bicyclists; when will the madness end? And more readers recall the old Bakersfield Bowling Academy

 * ... BAD FORM: Are we experiencing an open season on local bicyclists? It sure seems that way, and now we have yet another example of a driver deliberately running down a cyclist, once again on Panorama Drive. Said Krisi Heriford: "To whomever hit our friend, Lisa, who was riding her bike on Father's Day up the Panorama bluffs, shame on you for not stopping after you struck her with your vehicle. The impact of being struck by your mirror threw her from her bike, landing on her head and breaking her helmet. Even though she has a huge hematoma from the impact of your mirror against her arm, and cuts and soreness, she will recover.  Her family, as well as all of her friends, are so ever grateful that she was able to return home, after going to the hospital, to celebrate Father's Day with her family, just in case you were wondering after you sped off if she survived."

 * ... BURGERS: Bryan Kelly submits this memory of a special hamburger place. "There are several reasons why I lost my 29 inch waist, but a major contributing factor is the great American institution known as the hamburger. I remember Bob's as Billy Bob's Burgers and Beer... a 'dive' is a superlative form that does not begin to describe that wonderful old place. The restrooms were in a separate building behind the bar and were labeled as 'himpies' and 'herpies.'  I speak fluent hamburger and will always have a special place in my heart and a notch on my belt for Billy Bob's."

 * .. BOWLING: My earlier post about an old bowling alley on Golden State hit a nerve with readers, and my in box was full of memories. Marlia Maples joined others in identifying it was the Bakersfield Bowling Academy. "Before moving to Golden State, Bakersfield Bowling Academy was located at 1106 18th Street. The owners were Jack Moore and Pete Lokey. There were always problems with the roof leaking as the building supported 36 lanes without the use of inside supports in the lane area. The trophy shop was managed many years by Spike Cohn. I worked the front desk on the day shift from approximately 1975 to 1978." Another reader, Nancy Green, still has a cigarette light emblazoned with the name of the bowling alley and its owners, Lokey and Moore. (reader submitted picture of the old bowling alley)

 * ... MORE BOWLING: Another reader, Dave Rangel of Stockdale High, also worked there. "I know because I was a porter there, along with Russ Kinney and Mike Hicks... Russ and myself disassembled the bowling lanes located on the site around the late 1960s." Eugene Wood remembers the area being popular with teens at the time. "It was a hub of activity in the 1950s with a roller rink, Farmer John's Pancake House and a drive in with girls on roller skates bringing orders out to your car. I don't remember the names of the roller rink or drive in, but I seem to recall a large grey elephant neon sign with the drive in."

 * ... BAKERSFIELDISM: John Strand of Lake Isabella says you may be a Bakersfield old timer if you remember when "the only Bank of America in Bakersfield (20th and Chester) had a full-time Bakersfield police officer in the main customer area."