Years before the first Gay Games (1982), San Francisco's gay community already had a lot going on in organized sports. Several gay softball teams had been organized before the historic Gays vs. Cops games in 1973 and 1974.

San Francisco’s history as a brewing town is well documented. It’s no surprise that there’s also a robust community of beer geeks who are well served by bars with beer programs that go far beyond the standard American mega-brews.

For Castro bar patrons, nearly every venue sponsors a team or hosts fundraisers, where the draft beer and other libations flow generously. Enjoy the "Linsanity" of NBA games through March Madness, or watch a local pool team compete.

It’s an age-old stereotype: gays and sports don’t mix. While I haven’t participated in a proper sports league in well over a decade, my "inner bro" has manifested as an avid football fan, which confuses those who thought they knew me well.

Is your Valentine tired of chocolates and flowers? Does sipping champagne with a strawberry dropped in a fluted glass induce an eye-rolling response?

"Why be a queen, when you can be an empress?" That was the question José Sarria asked after being named Queen of the 1965 Beaux Arts Ball. The man formerly known as the Nightingale of Montgomery Street answered his own question...

We’ve all been caught in that slightly terrifying moment: you, standing with your significant other, introduces you to a new person, who immediately replies, "Nice to meet you! I’ve heard so much about you!"

"Love, love, love," the chorus rings in the famous Beatle’s song. Love is fresh on people’s minds as February - the month of romance - is here, but where to go and what to do to celebrate all things of the heart?

If you are new to the Bay Area, you could be excused for thinking of the area between San Francisco and Mountain View as a nightlife free zone - at least as far as LGBT nightlife goes. But it has not always been this way.

You can’t go to the Olive Garden without your server pushing "specialty cocktails," a euphemism for toxic waste.

Three bands will be singing out loud for the nonprofit that helps gay teens and others at The Trevor Project Benefit Concert, January 22 at Café duNord with Hotels & Highways, Mia Dyson, and out gay singer-composer Eric Himan.

"Don’t worry about not having a date tonight- you’re with your gay friends, and we’re more fun than any date could be! We know what to do!"

The winter holidays are the most obvious time of year when gays, separated from their parents, are forced to decide between biological family and acquired family.

Hotel lounges in Union Square and around San Francisco offer stylish décor, handy access to room reservations, and a bevy of classy venues for an intriguing rendezvous. Whether it’s a date with an old pal or a Grindr homme du jour, hotel bars are a specia