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Thousands of people strolled (and some “rolled”) onto a car-free W. Magnolia Avenue on a sunny 80-degree Saturday afternoon for the return of Open Streets.

The event, hosted by local nonprofit Near Southside Inc., returned after the pandemic derailed it five years ago.

One side of the street was lined with vendors and community organizations in tents, food trucks and an array of games ranging from corn hole to tricycle races.

The other side of the street featured two lanes, one for “strollers” dedicated to pedestrians and another to “rollers” on bikes, long boards and skateboards.

The brick-and-mortar businesses that make up Magnolia were packed to the brim, especially those with patios and live music such as Maggie’s RnR, Lockwood Distilling Company and Gustos.

But Gustos’ patio stood out and featured some of the best views of the Open Streets Skate Jam, one of the event’s main attractions.

Ramps set up by Dickies and Magnolia Skate Shop were placed in the middle of the street and could be viewed easily by those indulging in smash burgers and cold beer while skaters showed off their best tricks.

“It really does feel like the best seat in the house, because we have the stage, we have the music, we have the patio,” Gustos owner Jonathan Arguello said. “Man, I don’t know, it’s like a dream. It literally is like a dream out here.”

Adam Moen was one of many skaters who spectators were watching.

Moen, a 24-year-old from Denton has been skating since he was in eighth grade, but this was his first time at Open Streets.

“I’ve been hearing about this for a couple years now, but this is the first time I actually got to try it out,” Moen said.

Moen wasn’t the only skater visiting Fort Worth and coming to Open Streets for the first time.

Savannah Linger of Richardson has been skating for two-and-a-half years and said this was the first event she has skated.

Despite the crowds, she said her nerves wore off quickly.

“I think maybe when I first got here I was a little nervous, but honestly I just started having so much fun I kind of forgot,” Linger said.

Josh Bruda was another skater showing off his tricks, but this wasn’t his first time at the event.

Bruda said he was impressed by how much the event had grown and was glad to be back at Open Streets.

Bruda, 27, who has been skating since he was 11, also added that he was glad to see a range of skaters in both age and experience.

“That’s the next generation. They’re going to be the ones that are relevant in five or 10 years. So you’ve got to encourage the youth, you know?” Bruda said.

Bruda’s joy at the return to the event was echoed on the opposite end of the street where Lindsay Puente and members of the Fort Worth Capoeira, a Brazilian Martial Arts school, performed for festival-goers.

“Open Streets is a really cool initiative to get people outside and have family-friendly activities and just to get all of these businesses to be able to work together with the community as well,” Puente said.

Mike Brennan, president of Near Southside, said that the return of Open Streets has been over a year in the making. after The organizers promised those who came to the opening of Fire Station Skate Plaza last year that the event would return.

Brennan explained that Open Streets began in 2011 and that Near Soutshide had chosen W Magnolia and the Fairmount neighborhood because of it’s walkability and dedicated bike lanes.

Brennan added that the initial event invited skaters but he did not anticipate how big of an attraction Open Street Skate Jam would become.

Brennan said members of the skateboarding community saw flyers for the event and came to the Near Southside office volunteering to set up ramps.

“They started the Open Street Skate Jam, which has evolved into really the biggest showcase activity and attraction at the event,” Brennan said. “When you say ‘Open Streets,’ the vast majority of people are thinking of the Open Street Skate Jam and everything, all the energy and just the spectacle and attraction that is.”

In addition to partnering with Dickies and Magnolia Skate Shop, Near Southside also partnered with Trinity Metro to help present the event.

Trinity Metro offered riders half off their fare to go to the event. They also ran a corn-hole stand at the event and gave out free tote bags.

Glenn Miller, director of marketing for Trinity Metro, said that the partnership with Near Southside was “incredibly valuable” and they were excited to be apart of the return of Open Streets.

“They are incredibly supportive of public transportation, and we’re well-represented in the neighborhood,” Miller said.

But the small business owners, skaters, local non-profits and other stakeholders in the event were not the only people excited to see its return.

Lee Henderson, a Fort Worth native and candidate for the Tarrant Appraisal District board, volunteered his Saturday afternoon to help the event run safely and smoothly.

“It’s nice to see this. I love that we have the lane for bikes and skateboards and all that and people are having a good time out here,” Henderson said.

Despite the heat, Tony Green, also a Fort Worth native, sported a violet colored blazer featuring a plethora of Fort Worth themed patches and those of local businesses to the event.

Green said he was happy to see Open Streets return and that it “feels like home.”

“It’s been a long time, but it feels like it never left,” Green said.

This story was originally published April 13, 2024, 9:53 PM.

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TCU head coach Sonny Dykes discusses his team's defense this spring.

TCU head coach Sonny Dykes hired Andy Avalos this off-season with a task to improve the Frogs' defense from a year ago. Avalos replaces Joe Gillespie, who spent two seasons as the Frogs' defensive coordinator.

If nine practices through spring camp is any indication, the defense looks to be improving at a fast rate.

The Frogs return a bulk of defensive linemen and linebackers that build a solid foundation up front. They've also added in some key additions at those positions in addition to adding key players in the secondary that will help veterans Avey Helm, Bud Clark and Abe Camara.

Avalos's defense has stepped up in the spring, showing that he's not afraid to dial up pressure from all angles and allow his defense to be extremely aggressive. What's resulted has been several practices where the defense has simply confused the offense and generated turnovers. In one practice, the defense collected five interceptions between team and pass skelly portions of practice.

Not to mention, there have been plenty of players getting to the quarterback or getting tackles behind the line of scrimmage. All in all, the defense has learned to adapt to the new system and is making plays.

Dykes spoke about the play of his defense earlier this week and how pleased he's been with the competition. See what Dykes had to say in the video above.

TCU transfer Micah Peavy has committed to Georgetown

TCU forward Micah Peavy will transfer to Georgetown as a grad transfer.

Brandon JenkinsApr 13th, 6:00 PM

TCU transfer Micah Peavy has committed to Georgetown as a grad transfer, a source tells 247Sports.

A 6-foot-8, 215-pound forward out of Cibolo (Texas) Peavy appeared in 34 games for the Horned Frogs this season and averaged 10.9 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 2.6 assists per game on 45.8 percent shooting from the field.

A two-time transfer, Peavy originally began his college career at Texas Tech and transferred to TCU after Chris Beard was hired at Texas.

He chose the Hoyas after reportedly hearing from Arizona, California, Creighton, Houston, Kansas, Kansas State, UCLA, USC, and others.

With his commitment, Peavy is the first portal player Ed Cooley has landed this spring.

He is ranked the No. 16 small forward in the 247Sports Transfer Portal Rankings and will have a season of eligibility remaining once he arrives on campus.

The transfer portal opened on March 18th and will remain open until Wednesday, May 1st.

Anytime during that window, a player can submit paperwork to their current school to request a transfer and within 48-hours of receiving the paperwork, a player must be submitted into the NCAA Portal database.

Before the window opens on March 18th and after the window closes on May 1st, players who have earned enough credits to graduate are able to enter the portal at any time, listed as a "Grad Transfer".

Simultaneously, with any coaching movement - whether a head coach is fired or gets another job - players of that team are also given a 30-day window in which they can enter the portal which is not bound to the March 18th-May 1st window.

When a player has officially entered the portal, other schools are permitted to contact the player and begin the recruiting process.

There is also a new rule this off-season that will have major ramifications on the transfer market.

In recent years, players were given a one-time transfer waiver and if transferring for a second time, a waiver had to be granted to be immediately eligible by the NCAA.

For the transfers this spring, transfers are expected to be immediately eligible for the 2024-25 season according to a recent memo by the NCAA.

This article originates on ScoutHoops.com.

Preston Paine stepped into large shoes when he agreed to take over the kitchens at the Crescent Hotel in Fort Worth. The job was initially given to Dean Fearing. Fans of Fearing’s kitchens will recognize the layout as having his touch — lots of chrome accents, an open kitchen with a minimalistic vibe that gives diners an X-ray view in, and a beige palette that gives timeless quiet luxury.

Paine, previously the chef at one of Dallas’s most Instagrammed restaurants, Paradiso, in the popular Bishop Arts district, describes Blue Room as “a jewel box” inside the hotel’s restaurant, Emilia’s. In fact, diners have to go through the Circle Bar, into Emilia’s, and only if they notice the sliding doors to the left will they find themselves guided into the Blue Room. It’s not a speakeasy, although it has that hidden mentality to it — something Fort Worth has loved going back to its cattle trail days.

The idea of the Blue Room is that it is a more bespoke, limited, and longer dining experience than the average. The menu is short, focused on coastal Mediterranean fare, and features rotating daily specials based on availability. The idea, Paine says, is to serve the highest quality ingredients and food slowly with tableside presentations for the Dover sole and roasted rack of lamb for two. “We wanted to slow things down and get back to dinners that are based on the experience around it, the service, and the people you share the table with,” Paine says. “A lot of diners have gotten away from the reason they came to the restaurant. We want to give people an old-school dining experience.”

The room seats 48 people, and dinners run, on average, around two hours or longer served in a multi-course meal. Paine says that is about all the staff can handle during this detail-oriented service. In the kitchen, Paine’s method is what he terms “low-intervention” cooking in which classic techniques are employed and food isn’t gussied up — the scallop special may have a special set-up where they are shucked to order for service, but it’ll be recognizable as scallops on the plate. Paine explains that the only cooking was warming the scallop shell on a wood-fired grill, a meek cook to warm the scallop through in grape seed oil, and placed it in the other half of its shell to serve with a Japanese citrus oil, beurre blanc, and compressed green apple in yuzu vinegar, verjus, and tarragon. Food that is simple, but not home cook-simple.

“We wanted to do a dish that, when you break it down, is really just a few ingredients: apple, tarragon, scallops, and butter,” Paine says. “We let the beautiful live Boston scallop shine through. We want to do things that are elevated and closely associated to fine dining but still welcoming. This space isn’t unattainable.”

It’s not exactly the kind of fine dining Fort Worth is used to, and yet it is. As heavy as the menu is on seafood, there are also cuts of wagyu from West Texas and venison — a menu isn’t a menu without wild game in Cowtown. There’s the classic and way over-the-top seafood tower or caviar service and enhancements including caviar, black truffles, and uni. And lobster pasta — in this case, lobster fra diavolo, loaded with spicy Calabrian chili.

The collaborative dinners are a key part of introducing Fort Worth to this kind of restaurant, Paine says. In March, the Blue Room did one with Oklahoma City restaurant Nonesuch, an artistic, tasting menu restaurant with a mneu inspired by its home state that seats 22. “There are a lot of ideals we share with Nonesuch,” Paine says. “They care about where and who they’re getting their products from, they don’t have a set menu, and they’re a talented group of people.”

And that will be followed by chef Dean Fearing and his crew, who will swoop in to give the Blue Room a look into the elegance of Southwestern cuisine for a collaborative dinner on Tuesday, April 30. Paine notes there is a ton of history and tradition to the city that he and his staff want to honor, and the Blue Room is conscious of the wealthy, traveled denizens who’ve seen and eaten it all. “When chef Graham Elliot came out here and opened Le Margot, classical French dining wasn’t something you could find here. Having people like that start to call Fort Worth home and push the envelope of what’s expected here is super encouraging,” Paine says.

The Crescent Hotel Fort Worth

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