Tara Hamilton and Naomi Hendrix of Whole Farms Market visit Baker: In the City

Tara Hamilton and Naomi Hendrix, two of the founders of Whole Farms Market in Fresno, CA, visited Baker: In the City (http://www.centralvalleytalk.com/BakerIntheCity.html) Dec. 21 to discuss their approach to healthy eating and the importance of farm fresh and local organic produce and offer recipes for viewers of the popular Internet television station.

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"We want to provide people with healthier food options."

                                                           Tara Hamilton, Owner, Whole Farms Market
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Hamilton demonstrated how to make snow balls, a sweet dish made of raisins, almonds, lemon juice and coconut. Hendrix offered her version of a kale salad.

Tara Hamilton of Whole Farms Market (r) prepares snow balls with Sheldon Baker during a live segment of Baker: In the City on www.CentralValleyTalk.com. (Photo provided by Naomi Hendrix)

Whole Farms Market also offers Fresno's only organic raw food café, called Revive, providing organic raw food entrées and fresh pressed juices and desserts that are changed daily. The café serves only vegan raw food. All ingredients are organically grown and all-natural.

"We want to provide people with healthier food options," said Hamilton, whose store carries many products that are organically grown on her farm at the nearby town of Kerman. Other products are sourced and provided from local growers and producers.

Naomi Hendrix (r) makes kale salad with Sheldon Baker on the set of Baker: In the City. (Photo provided by Tara Hamilton) 

Located at 1807 Broadway St. in downtown Fresno, Whole Farms Market and Revive are open Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m. to Noon.

Baker: In the City hosted by Sheldon Baker, NutraInk.com publisher, editor and vegetarian, airs every Tuesday from 1-2 p.m. on www.CentralValleyTalk.com.

Swede Johnson Basks in the Glory of 1950s Baseball

The Fresno Athletic Hall of Fame held its 52nd annual dinner Thursday, November 4 at the Fresno Convention Center.

Inductees this year included Dennis Janzen, coach of Fresno Pacific's five-time national champion volleyball program; his former player Tracy Ainger-Schulte, coach of Fresno City's powerhouse team in the Central Valley League; and snippets on ex-Fresno State track and field coach Red Estes; former Roosevelt High and USC hurdling star Jerry Wilson; and Bill Woodward, the long-time voice of Fresno State sports who's retired and living with wife Sheila in Lakeland Village, Wash. Other inductees were four-time NHRA drag-racing champion Gary Scelzi; and the 1950 Sanger Valley championship baseball team led by Swede Johnson, plus the 1955 Fresno City state champion basketball team.

According to published online reports, nearly 100 fans from Sanger were among the crowd. Several Sanger baseball team members were in attendance, including Johnson.

As I have read, the 1950 Sanger baseball team, a school of 600 and with a roster of only 15 players, won the 1950 Central Valley championship. The Apaches rallied to win the County championship against Roosevelt 11-9, then came back from an early 5-run deficit early to beat Visalia High 9-8 for the Valley title on Swede’s winning RBI single in the bottom of the ninth before a crowd of 1,200 on their home field. That’s a lot of people for a high school baseball game then and now.

I recently had the chance to chat with Swede at a recent Christmas function where he and I talked about the team's big night, his high school days and sports in general in today’s world.

NutraInk.com publisher and editor Sheldon Baker (r) with Swede Johnson, former Sanger High School baseball star and recent Fresno Athletic Hall of Fame inductee. (Photo by Karena K. Dillon)

Johnson credited the entry of Japanese players into the baseball program after WW II as a key element of that championship season. He also that mentioned four members of the ‘50 baseball team signed pro contracts including Gene Green, who played seven seasons in the major leagues.

"Of course Green's contract was a lot different than it is today for professional athletes," said Johnson as he watched the Christmas Day Los Angeles Lakers and Miami Heat game on ABC-TV that featured all those highly paid players. Incidentally, the game also marked the introduction of a new line of basketball shoes by Lakers' start Kobe Bryant. The Laker players and many fan notables in attendance were wearing them. You can't beat co-branding on national television.

NutraInk.com learned that during the dinner, commemorative medallions were awarded to each player and survivor’s representative. The team received praise from California and U.S. legislators in the form of a framed proclamation from the U.S. House of Representatives signed by Congressman Devin Nunes, and a California Assembly Resolution commending the accomplishments of the team, signed by Assemblymen Michael Villines and Dave Cogdill.

11th Annual KNBR Radio Sports Auction

KNBR radio’s Murph & Mac, Gary Radnich and Tony Bruno, Fitz & Brooks, Damon Bruce, and Ralph & Tom broadcasted live from the Public House at AT&T Park in San Francisco for the 11th Annual KNBR Sports Auction on Friday, December 10 from 5 a.m. to 7:15 p.m.

From l to r: Ray Woodson, producer, KNBR, Ralph Barbieri, Tom Tolbert, and F.P. Santangelo, KNBR air personalities chat on-the-air during the sports auction held at the Public House in San Francisco.

The KNBR Sports Auction raises several hundreds of thousand dollars for the Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame, which allocates the funds to over 90 Bay Area youth sports programs each year. The day included a free breakfast buffet from courtesy of the Public House, live auction on once in a lifetime sports experience packages, silent auction with autographed sports memorabilia and gifts and special guests all day.