Yeah, I'm finally doing a DLD.

Oakland Ballet disbanding (SF Chronicle)

So what does this have to do with the A's?

Simple, remember this? (I don't do those fancy blockquotes)

Also gone with the closure is the All-Star Nutcracker, the one-night gala that kicked off the holiday season from 1986 to 2003 and featured such sports celebrities as Tony La Russa and Dave Stewart.

The esteemed reporters over at the Chronicle forgot Barry Zito.  Yes it's that ballet that Zito danced in as mentioned in this link from ESPN Page2 column.  Here's some photographic proof:

They also forgot the late, great Bill King.  And I know somebody has a photo of him in the ballet.  After his passing I saw a picture of him rehearsing the ballet with Tony LaRussa as one of the soldiers.

So let's take this time to mourn the passing of a Bay Area cultural institution.