'I can't wait to tell people about this place!' - August 2011 edition

Well, the title of this post may be a tad misleading. But I wanted to once again offer up my thoughts on a new place that has opened downtown (and provide another forum for those that have tried other new joints as well).

Some friends and I made it to The Draft last night. Someone had warned me that the place was "very loud," and they were spot-on. Even sitting at a booth, it was difficult to hear the person right beside you. (Yeah, I know, I know: I sound old writing that.) One friend described it as "sensory overload."

As for the food and drinks ... being that it's a Rocky Top place, they had their fair share of Mash House brews. But The Draft appeared to be out of a lot of beer choices last night. (To be fair, they do promote N.C. beers AND it was $6 mug night, which was a nice touch.)

We were all mainly there for drinks, but one friend got a burger and was pretty satisfied with it, especially since it was a HUGE. (Burgers start around $9 at The Draft.) I ordered a side of tater tots, which cost $3. There were roughly a dozen tots in the small bowl; they appeared to be out of a bag, to be quite honest.

In short, our experience at The Draft was both overwhelming (from the noise) and underwhelming (the food). Will we try again? Hard to say.

Been anywhere lately that you want to pimp or pillage? I'm interested in trying Babylon and Beasley's; have heard mixed reviews of both.

And, finally, be safe out there this weekend, everyone. Here's to hoping Irene heads east. FAR east.

Latest inductees set for Raleigh Hall of Fame

Ten more will be inducted into the Raleigh Hall of Fame on October 17. The event will take place the Convention Center.

The mission of the Raleigh Hall of Fame is to induct and honor individuals and non-profit organizations both past and present, who have made significant contributions to the City of Raleigh.

The class of 2011 will include:

• Jud Ammons - A visionary developer and land planner, provider of affordable housing, champion of Raleigh's greenway system, and pioneer in planned urban development and senior living, notably Greystone Village and Springmoor, Raleigh's first continuing care retirement community;
• Ruffin Bailey - Honored statesman, distinguished civic leader, wise counselor of commissions, state agencies, community organizations and a champion of judicial reform through his role in the establishment of a uniform district court system in North Carolina;
• Tom Bradshaw - Energetic public servant known for his broad impact on public works and transportation systems as Raleigh's mayor and North Carolina's Secretary of Transportation, and continued service to North Carolina and the nation as managing director of the Transportation Group for Citigroup Global Markets;
• George R. Greene - Leading civil rights attorney, effective community activist, church leader, and wise jurist with 20 years of service in the Wake County District and Superior courts, Mr. Green was the first African American to serve on the Wake County Court bench;
• William and Mary Coker Joslin - Pioneering conservationists, key leaders in the establishment of local land conservancies, and stewards of a verdant woodland garden and botanical refuge which, through their gift to the City, will come a jewel of the Raleigh park system;
• Dr. Hubert Ashley Royster (Centennial) - North Carolina's first general surgeon, co-founder of the American Board of Surgery and American College of Surgeons, and mentor to hundreds of Raleigh physicians, Dr. Royster is remembered as the "Father of modern surgery in North Carolina;"
• Harold and Lucille Webb - Trailblazers for civil rights and leaders in education and public health, they are distinguished by public service to many organizations including the nation's Center for Disease Control & Prevention, the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction and educational institutions across North Carolina;
• Charles McKimmon and Florence Barclay Winston - Civic leaders of financial, health and educational institutions; noted philanthropists supporting education, health organizations, and their faith community; and creative entrepreneurs known for the co-founding of the Angus Barn, Darryl's, Pizza Inn and Winston hotels;
• Raleigh Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. - A high-impact chapter of this African American Women's service club transforming lives for more than 70 years through commitment to economic and educational development, international awareness, physical and mental health, and political awareness and involvement; and,
• The Raleigh Cemetery Association - Founded in 1869 to protect and preserve Historic Oakwood Cemetery as an outdoor history museum, a resource for historical research, and a contemplative, sculpture-rich public garden where visitors can commune with nature in the historic heart of Raleigh.

Five Points BBQ?

According to the Twittersphere, Jimmy Stubbs of the award-winning Allen & Sons barbecue in Pittsboro has his eyes on Raleigh.

Says his account: "Soon to be serving out of Five Points Raleigh. Watch for killer tweet specials."

Will do.

Raleigh's Simpson gets first PGA win

Congrats to Raleigh native Webb Simpson, who won his first PGA event in Greensboro on Sunday. (Raleigh resident and former N.C. State golfer Carl Pettersson made a nice run at the title as well.)

Simpson's win moved him from 12th to third in the FedEx Cup standings, writes ESPN.com's Farrell Evans.

Coming into this week he had six top-10s, including a pair of second-place finishes. Simpson is the 12th first time winner in 2011 and the third straight winner on tour to play with a long putter.

"I thought my caddie and I did a really good job of coming in, choosing clubs," Simpson said after his bogey-free 3-under-par 67 earned him a three-shot win over George McNeill. "But I just thank everyone out there who supported me and cheered for me. It was just a fun week and I really couldn't think of a better place to win than here in Greensboro."

Simpson hired veteran caddie Paul Tesori at the beginning of this year -- a move that he admitted has paid major dividends. Simpson now has to be considered among that growing list of promising young American players that includes Keegan Bradley, Dustin Johnson, Rickie Fowler, Scott Stallings and Anthony Kim. Now in his third year, Simpson is the 13th different player in his 20s to win on tour this season.

"You're seeing a generational change," said Simpson, who was 16th in the Presidents Cup standings coming into the week. "It's really cool because I think for a while there you had the big hitters winning almost every week. They're still playing well but [a] couple guys win that are in their 20s, it encourages other guys [to say] 'Hey, if he can do it, I think I can do it.'"

Image from Getty Images

Transit news: Bike lanes at State, and light rail still on the table

N.C. State trying out bike lanes

The city of Raleigh is evaluating the usage of bicycle lanes near North Carolina State University for the next several months to see if they should become permanent.

Last year, the City Council approved the temporary installation of two 11-foot-wide travel lanes for vehicles, two 5-foot lanes for bicycle and two 7-foot lanes for parking along the two-lane Hillsborough Street from Enterprise Street to Gardner Street.

Eric Lamb, Raleigh's manager of transportation services and planning, says it's part of an effort between the city and the North Carolina Department of Transportation to determine the best way to handle bicycle traffic near campus.

It's the first time the design – squeezing bicycles between vehicles and on-street parking – has been used in the state. ...

Raleigh moves ahead with LRT plan

Downtown light rail service in North Carolina’s state capital is getting political traction, with the Raleigh City Council approving a plan for LRT, named the D6 route, through the west side of downtown along Harrington Avenue.

The route is a portion of an earlier proposal backed by the Triangle Transit Authority that would eventually run from Chapel Hill to Garner, N.C. The authority serves Durham, Orange, and Wake counties.

If built, the LRT system would be the second LRT operation established in the Tar Heel State, following the successful LYNX LRT service in Charlotte, N.C., which began revenue operations on Feb. 26, 2005. ...

WakeMed has an app for that sick person

According to the TBJ, WakeMed Health & Hospitals now has an app for sick people.

The app uses GPS technology to find the closest WakeMed facilities and can search more than 1,000 physicians through its “Doctor Finder” feature. Patients also can input personal health and insurance information and stay up to date with hospital news.

Emergency Department wait times for the system’s five – soon to be six – emergency departments across Wake County will be added in the future. The app is compatible with iPhone and Android devices and available at the Android Market, iTunes Store or wakemed.org.

RailHawks' Rennie moving to MLS, Vancouver

We've all had bosses that have said things like, "I'm glad when my employees get lured away by better offers. It means they were doing good work for us."

Well, in the case of the Carolina RailHawks, Coach Martin Rennie has definitely been doing good work. So good, in fact, that one of the worst-kept secrets in North American professional soccer was announced today when Rennie was introduced as the Vancouver Whitecaps' coach. (He'll begin there next year and finish out the season in Carolina.)

“It’s an exciting opportunity to coach in Major League Soccer,” said RailHawks Head Coach Martin Rennie. “It is difficult to leave after three great years in Carolina. I have had the opportunity to work with excellent people and enjoyed my time becoming part of the community. Great strides have been made and there is a strong foundation in place for the next coach to come in and be successful.”

With the RailHawks, Rennie has 52 wins, 26 ties and 22 losses in all competitions since taking over the team in 2009. His RailHawks teams have been marked by prolific offenses and air-tight defenses. The RailHawks have scored 127 goals in 79 matches under Rennie, while posting 31 shutouts and a cumulative 0.85 goals against average. This season, the team’s 40 goals scored are tied for the most in all of U.S. professional soccer. Last year, their 44 goals were tied for the third most in the nation.

The RailHawks are in the midst of their best season under Rennie. They’ve compiled a 14-2-3 record and lead the NASL by 12 points with nine games remaining in the regular season. They have already qualified for the playoffs. After falling in their season opener, the RailHawks went unbeaten over their next 13 matches (12-0-1), which also included a 10-match winning streak.

Former Pack soccer player may land spot on USMNT staff

Jurgen Klinsmann, the new head coach of the U.S. Men's National Soccer Team, is still putting together his staff -- even though the Americans have a friendly against Mexico tomorrow. But two names that are on Klinsmann's radar are both ACC alums: former UVa player Claudio Reyna and former NC State star Tab Ramos.

The former VfB Stuttgart and Bayern Munich star will accomplish this task by trying out different assistant coaches ahead of World Cup qualifying in June [according to Soccer By Ives]. Then he will pick a permanent staff based off his experience with these assistants. However, Klinsmann did make individual reference to two current figures in the U.S. system.

"I want Claudio [Reyna] very close to me in terms of helping in his new role as Technical Director of Youth Development," said Klinsmann, whose previous coaching stints were with the German national team and Bayern Munich. "He will always be part of the staff. He will sit with us coaches on the table, so I can tell him how I look at the game. As well as Tab Ramos, who is the U-20s coach for right now. I want his perspective and information on what's going through at training at the 20s and the U-17 level."

The youth system and staff will be a huge emphasis for Klinsmann. He was nearly hired two different times in the past five years, most recently after last year's World Cup. But, the sticking point between Klinsmann and U.S. Soccer was the amount of control over that very youth system. This time around, Sunil Gulati and Klinsmann have seemingly put that conversation to rest.