Athletics Nation

It's Chez Nico season, and time to identify dates for this year's BYODA (Bring Your Own Dead Animal, in which you are more than welcome to bring slaughtered tofu or murdered veggie patties), this year's Thaiapalooza-slash-pot-luck-slash-"forget the luck, just bring the pot," and anything in between (e.g., "Bring Your Own Dead Thai Person").

We need to identify Chez Nico dates for 2006, but first and fivemost, for those unfamiliar with the concept of a Chez Nico, here are the answers to some FAQs:

"What is a Chez Nico?"
A Chez Nico is a get-together, a "shindig" if you will, hosted by Nico and revolving, if vaguely, around a televised A's away game. Located in the quaint and sanguine Berkeley hills, Nico's house is located just below a crack house, directly across the street from the orange and blue gang graffiti.

"What happens at a Chez Nico?"
Eating, socializing, and watching the A's game are three of the many activities often found at a Chez Nico. Generally, a virgin is sacrificed, and not surprisingly that is usually the only sacrifice the entire day.

Who can attend a Chez Nico
Basically, A's fans I have no reason to believe will be violent towards me, and who are not overly flatulent in general. Apricot is welcome to reapply this year.

Do I need to bring anything?
If you could bring the house, that would be great as I am in fact homeless. Other than that, we will work out all the details, by email, about 1-2 weeks before the Chez Nico date.

How long has the Chez Nico been around?
The Chez Nico is a long-standing AN tradition that dates back all the way to 2005.

Are people of all ages eligible to attend a Chez Nico?
No. If you are 57 years, 5 months, and anywhere between 123-240 days old, you cannot come. Otherwise, it's fine even if you are a minor, as long as I can chat with your parent/guardian in person, on the phone, or by email.

Do I have to sign a "waiver of liability" to enter a Chez Nico?
The waiver is not as bad as it sounds. After the first 16 pages, it goes really fast.

Where is the bathroom?
Down the hall to your left. Oh--if you're going that way, it's to your right.

OK...Looking at the calendar, thanks to the A's "maybe we'll televise the first and third game of the series, but not the middle one" TV schedule, and thanks to FOX's "I'm here, so nobody else can be in the sandbox!!!" policy, Chez Nico options do not exactly abound. From the limited choices of televised weekend away games, here are some possible dates. Use the poll to vote on a "preferred choice," but please only vote if there is some possibility you might attend, so that I can make choices that will actually be useful to people. You can use the comments in this thread to give info beyond just "first choice for a Chez Nico date," which is all the poll allows. Good dates to choose from appear to be:

Sunday, June 25th, 1:05pm at San Francisco

Saturday, July 15th, 4:05pm at Boston

Saturday, August 5th, 1:05pm at Seattle

Sunday, August 6th, 1:05pm at Seattle

Saturday, August 26th, 5:05pm at Texas

Sunday, August 27th, 5:05pm at Texas

You are also welcome to use this thread to discuss today's 5-4 loss to the Angels. Yeah, I didn't think so.