Eugene Weekly : Best of Eugene : 2009-2010

 

Best of Eugene 2009-2010: The Kitchen Sink

 

best all-ages hangout

1. WOW Hall 291 W. 8th Ave. 687-2746. www.wowhall.org

2. Cozmic Pizza 199 W. 8th Ave. 338-9333. www.cozmicpizza.com

3. Saturday Market 8th & Oak. www.eugenesaturdaymarket.org

 

best moment in local sports (aug. ’08-aug. ’09)

1. UO football player LeGarrette Blount punches Boise State’s Byron Hout

2. UO football team wins the Civil War

3. UO football team wins the Holiday Bowl

Who needs victory when you’ve got violence? We kid, we kid — but seriously, the number of votes for LeGarrette Blount’s postgame swing were enough for us to let the, er, incident take this category, even though it technically happened outside the eligible dates (just by a few days, though). Plus, by next year you’ll have forgotten all about it. We hope. (We haven’t seen the replay for a while now. That seems like a good sign.)

 

favorite roller derby player

1. Agent Orange

2. tie: Bullet Brains / One-Eyed Jack

3. Lady Lumps

Is it always a bridesmaid, never a bride for Lady Lumps and One-Eyed Jack? Both of those derby ladies made into our top three last year too but still haven’t taken our first place prize. This year’s winner is Agent Orange (which is much easier for us to spell than her “real” name, Kylie Belachaikovsky). Go to a derby bout, and you can’t miss Agent Orange of the Andromedolls: She’s the tall, red-haired tattooed one, smashing her way through her fellow skaters and smiling while she does it.

 

best radio show or radio DJ

1. The Donkey Show (KFLY 101.5 FM)

2. The Sunday Morning Hangover with the Rev. Marc Time (KWVA 88.1 FM)

3. The Morning Show with Justin & Emma (KNRQ 97.9 FM)

Crass behavior and a dubious title help make the Donkey Show Eugene’s favorite again this year. With everything from interviews with Wayne Static of Static-X to shows coming straight to listeners from Vegas, the Donk’s appeal is undeniable. Ironically, we can’t recall a time a literal donkey show has occurred on The Donkey Show. We are now collectively shuddering in horror at the thought.

 

best local TV news personality

1. Brent Prasnikar & Helmsley (KMTR)

2. Tim Chuey timchueyweather4u.com

3. Marc Mullins (KMTR)

A meteorologist who loves dogs, reports the weather and can kick ass? Brent Prasnikar and his bulldog Helmsley are the duo that bring you the weather in style, with Helmsley sporting appropriate fashion choices for upcoming outdoor conditions. Prasnikar is also a practitioner of Jeet Kune Do and Jiu Jitsu and has participated in more extreme sports than can be counted on one hand, including ice climbing and glacial lake swimming.

 

best way to improve eugene

1. Improve/revitalize downtown (fill pits, build a park, more shops)

2. Fix potholes/improve the streets

3. More/better bike routes and lanes

 

best thing about eugene weekly

1. Dan Savage

2. It’s free

3. Calendar and music listings

Savage Love wiggled to the top of the pile this year, but not far down the love list can be found our letters, investigative reporting and “everything,” often with an exclamation point! Thanks for all the compliments on our writers, photographers, cartoons, ads and “your kook.”

 

worst thing about eugene weekly

1. Liberal bias

2. ¡Ask a Mexican!

3. The general smuttiness of the last few pages (Dan Savage, American Apparel and other ads were all listed)

All these terrible things about EW were also popular responses to the “Best Thing about EW,” so it appears our readers are hopelessly divided, or maybe just confused. Kind of like Eugene. It seems our paper has something for everyone to love or hate or both, even on the same page. One complaint was “skanky ads in back when you’re trying to read an innocent horoscope.” Yeah, we know. It’s hard to concentrate on Brezsny’s refined wisdom with a “Spanking Buddies Wanted” ad nearby. The astrologer would probably advise you to practice holding two conflicting ideas in your mind at the same time.

 

best category we should’ve included (and who’d win it)

1. Best Sports League: Playground Sports

2. Funniest Middle-Aged Lesbians: WYMPROV!

3. tie: Best Ads: Sweet Potato Pie / Best Ice: Sy’s

And Playground Sports has it in a moderately sized landslide! We’re not sure how the adult sports league stayed under our radar for so long — and hey, get your head out of the gutter. We don’t mean that kind of adult sports. We mean sports both traditional (basketball, volleyball) and, well, slightly childish — in the best possible way. If you want to play dodgeball or kickball, Playground Sports is the place to do it. The league’s mission is twofold, according to the charmingly designed website: “To provide the Willamette Valley with quality recreational sports activities for adults at all skill levels” and “To have a ball.”  We’re eyeing the dodgeball league. We always liked dodgeball. Even if those little balls look like they could leave some serious bruises.

Categories:

Civic Pride

Sex, Drugs and Rock’n’Roll

Eat Your Heart Out

Dollars & Sense

Creative Endeavors

The Kitchen Sink

Staff Picks

Best of the Ballots