Monday Contributions to SportsBlogs Nation

Today was one of the few days where I had the privilege to post on the front page of both Athletics Nation and Sactown Royalty. With the well-run SportsBlogs Nation growing rapidly, more fans are turning to the network to find the latest in sports news and opinion, at the expense of more established brands, like ESPN and CBS Sportsline.  We have been lucky to find a role with more than one of the sites, supporting the Oakland A's and Sacramento Kings.

With the A's recent news the team would be moving to Fremont and playing at Cisco Field, we took a look on Athletics Nation at how often technology expectations get ahead of reality. As in decades past, it was assumed we would be surrounded by flying cars and teleportation, fans should remember many of the game's tenets are unchanged. (Full story: At Cisco Field, Don't Expect Flying Cars)

Meanwhile, as the A's enjoy vacation, the Kings are themselves acting like they've taken days off, even when they are expected to play. They've taken a downward spiral to the bottom of the Pacific Division, and recently got thumped by the Detroit Pistons, 91-74, in arguably the worst game they played all year. That's how I saw it anyway. After all, it was the team's lowest scoring contest, and they threatened season lows in shooting percentage, point differential and free throw percentage. Yuck. (Full story: So... the Detroit Game? Worst Ever this Year!)

Listening to ''Feels Like Home'', by Basement Jaxx (Play Count: 4)

Saturday's Kings Game: One to Remember (and Forget)

Though I'm an avid Sacramento Kings fan, I haven't had the opportunity to see the team play in person at Arco Arena for the better part of four to five years. With our planned visit to Sacramento to see my parents this weekend, we quickly scrambled to see if we could gain tickets for the Kings game against the Houston Rockets Saturday night. The game was, of course, sold out, but we were able to find a high-priced alternative on StubHub, which gained us four box seat tickets on the first level, unimpeded by other fans. As a result, the four of us, consisting of Kristine, my parents, and me, saw the Kings put on one of the better shows in recent memory, as they battled a superior Rockets team for four quarters, before fading in overtime, on the way to their fifth straight loss.

Despite the game's outcome, we had a fantastic time, as you could likely tell by the game recap I posted to Sactown Royalty near midnight Saturday.

The game was close for almost the entire contest. Two of the Kings players went for more than 30, and though the team was down by five with seconds left in regulation, Ron Artest somehow banked in a last gasp three-pointer to tie it up and send it to an additional period, making all the fans in Arco who were on their way to the parking lot turn right back around and hope for the improbable. But it wasn't to be. The Rockets proved to be too much for the Kings, who have let us down time and again this season, on their way to mediocrity.

I had hoped that by our making the investment in the team and bringing the family, that our support would be rewarded. While the game was a delight with high-paced shooting with an upbeat tempo, offering an entertaining experience, the final score had us wanting more. My hope is that the next time I go to Arco, I spend less money and we can walk away with a win.

Listening to ''staub'', by Ulrich Schnauss (Play Count: 1)

Baseball Hall of Fame Voting is Sadly, Broken

Today should have been an historic day in baseball, with the elections of Cal Ripken and Tony Gwynn to the storied halls of Cooperstown, after both set marks for consistent greatness through the 1980s and 1990s. Yet, issues with steroid allegations against other players, and general snobbishness of untalented sports writer hacks combined to snub a myriad of other elite players who may never make the Hall of Fame.

While most of the pre-vote hype was around whether or not disgraced former Oakland A and St. Louis Cardinal first baseman Mark McGwire would be elected, somewhat forgotten were the stories of decades gone by - the dominant closing from Rich "Goose" Gossage, the batting heroics of Dale Murphy and Jim Rice, and top-notch career of Bert Blyleven, to name a few. Where anywhere from 5-10 players on the ballot warranted election, instead, we got two. Where we should have unanimity, we instead got holdouts who embarrassed the sport by, for who knows what reason, leaving Gwynn and Ripken off the ballot.

I'm not calling for a more democratic fan-based voting system. It's bad enough they have input into the All-Star game itself. But the idea that to gain Hall of Fame entry is anything approaching heroics is gone. Instead, we know that its a crapshoot set off by a myriad of ink-stained, yellowed wretches who couldn't run to first without clutching their left side and pulling up lame.

Were I to have voted, and turned in a ballot, I would have been much more liberal, not just issuing a vote for Ripken and Gwynn, but also Gossage, Rice, Blyleven, McGwire, Murphy, Dave Parker and Lee Smith.

As more storied players approach future ballots, I hope baseball writers come to their senses and recognize elite dominance of a sport. Unanimity should be a certainty with stolen base champ Rickey Henderson, and hurlers Roger Clemens and Greg Maddux, to name a few. But my belief in the system is badly shaken.

Listening to ''Jakata'', by Andrew K. presents Junk Science (Play Count: 4)

Set to See Sacramento Kings on Saturday

Though we've been a contributor to Sactown Royalty all season long, it's rare for us to get the opportunity to see the Kings on TV, let alone get out to Arco Arena to see them live. This weekend, my wife and I will be heading out to see my parents, who live in the capital city, and catching the Kings game against the visiting Houston Rockets, with or without 7' 6" superhuman Yao Ming.

Living in the Bay Area, my yearning for the Kings derives mostly from my misspent youth, where many an evening was wasted, wishing for the moribund team to break through and win a freakin' game.

Now, with the team's recent struggles, the same, idealistic, hope just may be all we can hold on to. All you need to know is that the Kings are playing well under expectations now, and they've even devolved to the point their losing to bad teams at home - never a good sign. That's part of why my recent posts to the site have taken on an occasional bitter or sarcastic tone. Yet, once the game's on, we're rooting for them. That's my role. Should be a very fun Saturday evening.

This weekend's Sactown Royalty posts:

• Ron Artest: ESPN Magazine Cover Boy
  
• New Rumor: Heat Interested in Artest, Bibby
  
• Stats Corner: Suckitude Doesn't Compute
  
• Write In Kenny Thomas, NBA All-Star!
  

Sactown Stats Corner: Kings Drawn and 3rd Quartered

Cross-posted at Sactown Royalty...

Last night, the Kings' 14-game win streak against the LA Clippers came to an end.

While I could simply point to the fact the Clippers had a higher FG% (49.3% to 42.1%), a higher 3PFG% (40% to 20%) and a higher FTM% (86.7% to 78.8%) as factors leading to the Kings' inevitable loss, and jaunt back to my earlier comments that the team which has fewer field goal attempts (tonight it was the Clippers' 73  to the Kings' 76) is actually winning a higher percentage of Kings games (17 wins to 9 losses so far, trust me), tonight's deep data dive looks at the Kings' seeming inability to shut down their opponents in the third quarter. It's a very disturbing trend - one we've all noticed, and the stats actually back it up.

Last night, the Clippers beat the Kings by 9 points, but they actually outscored Sacramento by a full 10 points in the third quarter alone, after a fairly even first half. It was the 7th time this season where the Kings were outscored by 10 or more in the 3rd quarter, more than all other quarters combined.

When the Kings are outscored in the 3rd quarter, they lose big. On the season, the team has been outscored 750 to 692 in the 3rd quarter, for a 58 point deficit. In contrast, the Kings have in aggregate outscored opponents by 39 in the 2nd quarter and 22 in the 4th quarter, and are running a deficit of 15 points in the opening period.

For a team who on the season is fairly well matched on offense and defense, both scoring and giving up 99.9 points a contest, the third quarter meltdowns are alarming. On only one occasion, on December 10th, against the hapless Atlanta Hawks, did the Kings outscore their opponent by 10 or more points in the 3rd quarter.

In the 7 games where the Kings were outscored by more than 10 points in the 3rd quarter, the team lost 5 times, and won twice (at Utah on 12/14 and at Denver on 12/22). In all 5 of those losses, including tonight, the 3rd quarter provided the margin of victory.

Something is wrong with the team's halftime speeches or buffet. If team isn't coming out of the locker room ready to play, they're toast. A five game swing could obviously make the difference between a last-place squad and one challenging for the playoffs. Think about it. These third quarter collapses have occurred in more than one of every four games. We know the drill. Do the coaches and players know this is a problem?

As always, feel free to poke and prod the stats to your heart's content. You can find the fully updated Kings 2006 Stat Database, with new features, including the quarterly breakdown, here: (Download Now)

Cal Bears Football Drubs Texas A&M in Holiday Bowl

Gone are the days when you thought of Cal as a basketball school, with football being seen as an afterthought. The Bears finished the 2006 campaign with a 10-3 record, including a share of the Pac-10 conference championship, and went out in dramatic fashion tonight, after thumping Texas A&M in the Holiday Bowl in San Diego, by a score of 45-10.

The game, broadcast on ESPN, featured a pair of 100-plus yard rushers in Marshawn Lynch and Justin Forsett, and near-flawless passing by Cal quarterback Nate Longshore, who only had a first-half interception to blemish his record.

Though the game was close through halftime, Cal poured on 31 unanswered points in the second half to run up the score, much to our delight. As three-year season ticket holders, my wife and I have grown to know this team and its players. Now, the season is over, and we look to the next year with new faces, new challenges, and ever higher expectations.

A's Pitcher Barry Zito Joins the San Francisco Giants

Oh to be 28, left-handed and with a baseball career sporting more than 100 wins and a Cy Young award. That's the resume one needs to garner a 7 year contract worth $126 million, and not even needing to move. Barry Zito, who has been a San Francisco resident during his time with the Oakland Athletics, now will drive even less each day to make his starts, donning the orange and black to toss at AT&T Park.

Blez at Athletics Nation aptly describes our response - as we go through "The Five Stages of Grief". Sure, I'm disappointed we won't have Barry on our team any more. But I'm glad that he's staying nearby so we can see him pitch, glad he's not pitching in the American League, and especially in the AL West, but also, I'm dreading the nonsensical comments I'm already starting to get from Giants fan coworkers, who apparently think this makes economic sense for their poor excuse for a baseball team.

What to do now? Kristine has an "I (Heart) Zito" t-shirt she won't be wearing much longer. I'll need to delete a ton of Zito pictures I had saved up for future ANtics (though I knew they were done by the end of the year). And as a fan, I get to move on... again. Just like we said goodbye to Frank Thomas, and Tim Hudson and Mark Mulder and Miguel Tejada and Jason Giambi and Mark McGwire, we have to keep hoping the A's know what they are doing, and that we will survive. It's the only way.

As Fans, We Rise And Fall, to the Extreme

Cross-posted at Sactown Royalty...

Tonight's win aside, are the Kings setting the world ablaze with their superior basketball skills, shooting ability and friendly team camaraderie? Are they reminding us just why we chose to support them above all other NBA teams, and why we devote hours of our attention each week to cheer on their success and lament their failures?

Probably not. The Kings' recent struggles in all senses, from their overall weak shooting percentage to three-quarter ballgames (See Thursday), last-minute injuries and inability to shut down run and gun offenses have contributed to a frustrating losing skid, and, were the season to end today, the team's missing out on the playoffs.

As losses mount, and the climb to .500 seems increasingly improbable, the team's weaknesses seem insurmountable, the players, incapable of brilliance, the coaching, daft. Those of us expected to be the Kings' greatest fans grow restless, calling for the jettison of Ron Artest, the trade of Mike Bibby, the disappearance of Kenny Thomas.

As fans, we crave change. We just want something to happen that shows the team management is listening and cares as deeply as we do. Some say "blow 'it' up". TZ says simply, "we're sick of watching a pathetic team".

And guess what? This is all normal. As the most diehard of fans, you could say we start out on the ledge, and it doesn't take much to make us want to jump. But that's why we still play fantasy sports and aren't full time managers. The coaches, GM and owners have to choose data over emotion, to look at a bad streak as just what it is - and not jeopardize the season or the future for a quick fix.

News Flash: The Kings are not going to go 82-0 this season. In fact, I guarantee they won't even win 70 games. Slackers. But as excited as we get about a Ronnie Price slam, a Quincy Douby sighting, and a 40-point outburst by Kevin Martin, we must also recognize as fans that we will dive deep into depression when things don't go our way. The season is still young. We're in a very tough division, and we may not have all the horses, but we're in it for all 82. I would much rather be a Sacramento Kings fan than a fan of any other NBA squad.

We're on a 1-game winning streak now. 11-13 looks a lot better than 10-14, doesn't it? And somehow, we traveled to Denver, in the snow, and defeated a Nuggets team with a fully functional Allen Iverson. That's something to build from. Now back away from the ledge.

Listening to ''Renegade'', by Christopher Lawrence (Play Count: 7)

My Sacramento Kings Holiday Wishlist

Cross-posted at Sactown Royalty...

They say that the NBA season truly doesn't kick off in earnest until Christmas, and given an 82-game schedule, plus month after month of TV-extended playoffs, who can question it? But, here, where we bleed purple and black, we just don't see the wisdom in holding a last-place berth, a full seven games behind the Pacific Division-leading Phoenix Suns, by the time Christmas rolls around. It's one thing to say we're just getting started, and quite another to be that far behind already.

With such Grinch-like cheer to go around, I present my Sacramento Kings Holiday Wishlist - a small smattering of items I'd like to see this holiday season. Please do add your own, for our team could use your charity.

Catch the rest here: My Sacramento Kings Holiday Wishlist

Listening to ''Spikee (1993)'', by Underworld (Play Count: 8)

Sactown Stats Corner: Want to Win Games? Make Shots!

Cross-posted at Sactown Royalty...

The Kings' up and down 2006-07 season is hitting new lows now, after the team's fifth consecutive loss Thursday night, in overtime against the Shaq-less Heat at Arco. The loss was exactly the type of game the Kings need to win if they are to challenge for the postseason this year, and as many of us here on the site have said, the team needs to show some serious discipline when it comes to shooting, or they're flat-out not going to win, period.

Approximately one-fifth of the way through the season, the Kings have amassed enough stats to show some basic trends, and we've crunched the numbers:

Skip The Analysis and Download The Stats

The Kings Are Not A Good Shooting Team

• The Kings' field goal percentage is 25th in the league, ahead of only Houston, Miami, New Orleans, Indiana and Memphis.
  
• In only two contests (vs. Memphis on 11/15 and at Seattle on 11/24) has the team shot above 50%. The Kings won both contests.
  
• In eleven contests, including Thursday night, the Kings have shot below 45% as a team. In those eleven games, it probably comes as no surprise that they have gone 3-8 (.273). By simply raising their shooting percentage above 45%, the team has a 5-2  (.714) record.
  
• It also should not come as a shocker that the team with the higher field goal percentage typically wins the game. When the Kings have a higher FG %, they have gone 6-2 (.750). When they have had a lower FG %, the team has gone 2-8 (.200).
  
• This ratio gets even more crazy when it comes to 3-point field goals. When the Kings make a higher percentage of their 3-point shots, they are 7-2 (.778). When they make a lower percentage, they are a stark 1-8 (.111).
  

Shooting And Missing Is NOT The Answer

• The Kings actually have a BETTER record (4-3) when they take fewer field goal attempts than when they take more field goal attempts (4-6). This speaks to picking the right shot, and making it.
  
• Recognizing when to go for three is critical. When the Kings have attempted more 3-point shots, they are 5-5 (.500). When their opponents have hoisted up more 3-point attempts, the Kings are only 2-5 (.286).
  

Relying On Free Throws Won't Win You Games

• The Kings have taken more free throws than their opponents in 14 of the 18 contests played so far. Yet, in those 14 games, their record is 6-8 (.429). When they have spent less time at the charity stripe, they are 2-1 (.667).
  
• Yet, if you do get to the stripe, you better make your shots. When the Kings make a higher percentage of free throws, they are 6-5 (.545). When they miss a higher percentage of free throws, they are a woeful 2-5 (.286).
  

It Comes Down To Getting the Ball In the Bucket

There's no mystery here. By making a higher percentage of shots, that leads to a higher total number of shots going in, more points and more wins. But let's see what the numbers show...

• When the Kings MAKE more shots than the competition, they are 7-1 (.875). That contrasts to 1-9 (.100) when they make fewer buckets.
  
• From beyond the arc, if the Kings score more 3 point shots, they are 6-1 (.857). When outlaunched, they are 1-8 (.111).
  

Note how much more impact a three point shot has on the eventual outcome of a game when compared to free throws. It's night and day.

Yes, mixing math and sports can be dangerous. Sometimes the sample size is too small. But it's clear to me that the team needs to focus on making high-percentage shots, and taking the opportunistic three-pointer from pure shooters. It may be fundamental, but so far this season, other teams are getting it through their noggins a lot better than we are.

Want to come up with your own Sactown Stats? Download the Excel document I used for this post and let us know what you've found.

The Least Satisfying Cal Big Game Win I've Seen

If I think back to Cal's one-time eight game winning streak, and a lofty top-ten national ranking, I have to only shake my head at how shakily the team, once discussed as a potential candidate for the national championship, finished the end of the season. After blowing out those schools they were supposed to in the first half of the year, Cal struggled to beat Washington in overtime at home, lost in ridiculous fashion to Arizona, and couldn't finish off USC in Los Angeles. Today, though the team came away with a win, 26-17 over Stanford, in the 109th Big Game, it seemed we were more often holding our head in our hands and groaning after Cal plays, than we did cheering, as the team made inexplicable plays, saw too many dropped passes and played ragged against a woeful team they should have demolished.

And look what a college football snob I've become.

The Cal Bears, combined with USC's 13-9 loss at UCLA today, tied for the Pac-10 conference championship (though the first tiebreaker is obviously their loss to the Trojans), sported a 9-3 regular season record, and went undefeated in all 7 home contests this year, six of which we saw. Before tomorrow's polls come out, Cal is currently ranked #21 in the country, a far cry from recent years, where the struggle was to see if they could win more than a handful of games. And now the team has won 5 Big Games in a row versus the hated Stanford Cardinal, and we have been present for the last three.

But all those great things seemed to pale when we saw Cal do battle today at Memorial Stadium. With the wind whipping through the bleachers, Stanford owned the time of possession seemingly from the game's onset, marching down the field the first eight minutes of the quarter. That they stupidly chose to "go for it" and fall short on fourth down meant Cal had dodged a bullet. Yet, even with that gift, Cal went to halftime with only a 13-10 lead, on the back of a fumble recovery for a touchdown by the team's defense. For those scoring at home, at the time it was Cal Defense, 7, Cal Offense, 6. Against Stanford, who came into the contest with a 1-10 record, and left 1-11, we should have been a lot closer to dominant than dormant, and the fans let the team know it, as you could hear scattered boos (including mine) as the team trudged to the locker room at halftime.

As Stanford continued to keep the game close, Cal led 23-17 into the 4th quarter, and we could just sense what always happens in the Big Game - the underdog would somehow sneak ahead. I would have bet even money that in minutes, it would be 24-23, Cardinal. I started getting e-mails on my Blackberry from colleagues, asking if Cal would actually lose this game. From the stands, I typed back, "They suck right now, but I wouldn't trade places with Stanford."

Stanford of course failed to score. Thank goodness. Later, in the 4th quarter, Cal hit a field goal to extend the margin to 9 points, or two possessions, and ran down the clock, until finally, the scoreboard read 0:00, and we had won. Though we had bitten our nails, and cursed out the squad, they had managed to play just well enough not to lose, and they kept the freakin' axe. That's all that really matters.

Now, at least for us, the Cal season is basically over. They play Texas A&M in the Holiday Bowl in San Diego on December 28th, and barring a change of heart and/or miracle, we're not going. So Bears, thanks for a great season. Though you didn't make banner headlines across the nation, you did well, never losing at home, and setting  a school attendance record. We were happy to help.

Listening to ''Eastway'', by Inner & Outer (Play Count: 2)

Tomorrow, Stanford Goes Down Against the Cal Bears

Ahhh.... Big Game week. A fine tradition in sports, where the Cal Bears are set to take on their hated, mediocre rivals, the Stanford Cardinal, from The Farm in Palo Alto, on the gridiron tomorrow. While the Bears are 8-3 on the season, and their national rankings dampened, they have clinched second place in the Pac-10 conference, behind USC, a strong achievement. Meanwhile, the hapless Cardinal has won but one game on their miserable season, making tomorrow's game somewhat of a laugher - were it not for the century-long rivalry.

Cal and Stanford are tied together in a multitude of ways, but are dramatically opposites of one another. Cal is public. Stanford is private. Cal is in an urban setting with stone features. Stanford more closely resembles an open field of neutral tan. Cal's bell tower is straight and pointy, while Stanford's bell tower is shorter and round on its top. Cal has a real mascot. Stanford has a color, but its mascot is a drunken tree. Cal has a marching band. Stanford has a scatter band. But both schools demand tough academic standards and constantly pilfer each others graduates for professorships and leadership positions. Both schools don't like each other much, and those feelings of animosity last well beyond the issuance of a diploma.

Cal still points fingers at Stanford for their lack of periodic elements, while they hold Berkelium, Californium, and others. Stanfordium is nowhere on the map. Cal students say they can study their butts off to get B's and C's, while a Stanford student starts with an A and can drop a class at any time, including after the final, with no penalty. Cal students often work part-time to support their education, while Stanford students are seen brimming with money and Beemers from Daddy Warbucks.

The assessments aren't always fair, but it's fun to have a rival. In a year where Cal has excelled and Stanford has floundered, we will be excited to keep their pain going. After seeing Cal lose to Stanford every year I was at the school (95-99), it's great to know we've turned the corner. My wife and I will be at the game, which kicks off at noon tomorrow, eager to parade the Axe around the stadium for one more year.

Go Bears!

Listening to ''A Little Hazy Morning'', by Progresia presents Sokaya (Play Count: 3)

Artest's World: Back Troubles From the Benz

Cross-posted at Sactown Royalty...

Remember how Artest missed the opening tip-off against the Grizzlies last week, complaining of a sore back, and did his best Terrell Owens impression by riding a stationary bike through the first quarter?

Well, it appears he's fairly lucky that Sacramento isn't exactly the aggressive media market you see in places like New York, for he just might have been mocked up and down the Daily News and the Post for the cause of this malady. See... his back hurt because he was forced to drive his wife's Mercedes, and the car isn't exactly built for such a mythical creature as a full-framed 6'7" human.

Sam Amick of The Bee Reports:

The Kings small forward has been driving his wife's Mercedes SL 500 back and forth from their house in Loomis to Arco Arena. The Mercedes had been a gift from Artest to his wife, Kimsha, who decided the car wasn't her style. Thus, her 6-foot-7, 260-pound husband has been cramming his frame into the driver's seat, so much so that his back started giving him fits. The Mercedes is headed for the used-car market.

In fact, it sounds like Artest's back was still hurting during the Kings' contest against the Spurs, which could possibly have contributed to his off shooting night, though he lamented not having more looks in the second half. But the story is this... millionaire NBA player who reveres his ties to the ghetto hurt himself driving a Mercedes - one that his wife thought didn't fit "her style". Oh... to have such issues myself.

The NBA's Struggle With Mid-Market Franchises

Cross-posted at Sactown Royalty...

With David Stern's recent announcement that the Maloofs had reached out for help to keep the Kings in Sacramento, it signalled a realization by the league that the city is a real boon for the NBA, that the Kings' fan base is one best preserved. This moment of clarity comes years after seeing the Hornets leave Charlotte, comes amid the SuperSonics' talk of leaving Seattle, and with examples throughout professional sports of mid-market teams struggling to stay alive.

In one of the more prescient pieces on Stern's intervention I read, by Yahoo! Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski, it was clear that Sacramento was a beacon of hope for cities not named New York, Los Angeles and Chicago. The Kings have proven that a team can both survive and thrive in a city that doesn't yet sport a 7-figure population. And while Arco Arena isn't centrally located, and doesn't have all the amenities of some of the most modern arenas, Kings fans put butts and cowbells in seats game after game, and have turned the facility into one of the most hostile in all of professional sports.

He writes:

Make no mistake: The biggest issue in the NBA isn't about toy store basketballs and bad behavior technical fouls, but the stability of its most successful franchises. Sacramento has a league-best streak of 317 sellouts at Arco Arena, which has been the loudest arena in the league and the most anchored to its franchise. Pound for pound, cowbell for cowbell, there's a good case to be made for Sacramento as the best market in the NBA.

David Stern and the NBA want to squash any talk of the Kings leaving Sacramento right now. Aside from Las Vegas, and potentially San Jose (not really), there are no great markets for the NBA to move to now. The league has expanded to 30 teams, and as baseball has been so roundly criticized for in years past, you've seen a dilution of talent across the board, somewhat masked over by the influx of foreign players.

Those who have been anchored to the NBA as their major league of choice should take a look over the sports page and see what has happened in Major League Baseball to gain an idea of how complete mismanagement of mid-market franchises can drive a wedge between rich and poor. The Kansas City Royals, Milwaukee Brewers, Tampa Bay Devil Rays and Pittsburgh Pirates start every season off knowing they won't be printing playoff tickets. The Florida Marlins have snaked two championships, only to have the owner gut the team the next year following major losses. The Oakland A's, moneyball aside, are now leaving Oakland and getting as close to the San Jose border as they can without having the Giants file a lawsuit over territorial rights.

As Sacramento Kings fans, we are very lucky to have the league, and the Maloofs, understand what a disaster it would be for the team to leave the city, and despite having recently completed one of the worst-managed campaigns ever, having them signal they want to stay. The NBA needs Sacramento. Don't you think Sacramento needs the NBA?

Listening to ''Sincere (Pulser Mix)'', by Firewall (Play Count: 3)

Cal vs. USC Tonight: The Big Game of the Year

Last week, Cal's defeat at the hands of the Arizona Wildcats left us extremely frustrated. Having won eight straight contests prior to last week's game, the Cal Bears were rising in the national rankings, and discussions of them being one of the strongest "one-loss teams" to challenge for the national title were growing strong. But with a single 24-20 loss in Tucson, the Bears returned home completely out of the BCS standings.

With that said, the team still remains tied with USC at 6-1 in the Pac-10 conference standings, and with a win tonight, they would be almost guaranteed a spot in the Rose Bowl, barring an unthinkable collapse against conference doormat Stanford in the official "Big Game". Yet, not many are giving Cal a chance to pull it off. The team, ranked #17 in the nation, is going down to Southern California to face the Trojans, ranked #3 overall in the country, where they have won 22 consecutive contests at home, and 18 straight contests in November. Not even my father-in-law, though usually supportive of our Bears, could pick them in his weekly football pool. "They don't have a chance," he told me yesterday. "I'm sorry."

With that said, we're still going to be watching. My wife and I will head to her father's house tonight and see the big game unfold on TV, hoping that Cal will have shaken off last week's horrible outcome, and can ride the strength of Marshawn Lynch, DeSean Jackson and Ryan Longshore to an unexpected victory. We will be yelling at the TV tonight in support of our Bears, and surely, at least at some points, in frustration. We don't despise USC the way we do Stanford, but there's nothing good to say about that school, the University of Spoiled Children, or as my wife says, the University of Second Choice.

While the rest of the nation takes in the Michigan/Ohio State game (OSU is winning 41-31...), we're still focused on the West Coast, on our Bears, and on what could be the opening for Cal to reach the Rose Bowl for the first time since 1959.

If you're near a computer during the game, follow along at "The Band Is Out On The Field".

Media Says The Big Hurt to Leave A's for Toronto

Cross-posted at Athletics Nation

Fresh off Blez's note this morning that Thomas was rumored to have been wooed by the Texas Rangers, media reports, including ESPN, the Mercury News, and the San Francisco Chronicle, are reporting that the Toronto Blue Jays are on the verge of completing a deal that would see the Big Hurt leave Oakland.

A's GM Billy Beane, in response to inquiries from the Mercury News, said that Frank was likely going to get an offer from Toronto, before calling the A's and asking them to match it. I'm sure a great many of us here on AN, including myself, are hoping this is part of a play for leverage, and not a real desire on Frank's part to either leave town or put on a white and blue jersey to hit bombs in the Rogers Centre...

SportsBlogs Nation Debuts Cal Bears Fan Site

Today, following in the successful footsteps of sites like Athletics Nation and Sactown Royalty, the sports blogs network debuted a site dedicated to the Cal Golden Bears, at www.thebandisoutonthefield.com, a tribute of course to Joe Starkey's famous call of the dramatic end to the 1982 Big Game against Stanford.

If I didn't already have a full-time job, I'd be jealous. Seeing the Cal Bears as an obvious gap in the hugely popular and rapid growing sports blogs family, I had considered contacting the network's owners and throwing my hat into the ring, but I knew I couldn't really devote any more time to fandom than I already do, casually at both AN and Sactown Royalty. But the debut of thebandisoutonthefield.com is a great thing - a one-stop destination to celebrate and mourn every Cal game, be it football, basketball, or anything.

Now, instead of voicing my excitement and frustrations here on this site, I can do so there, with an audience who similarly has bled blue and gold, and knows the difference between a Bruin and a real bear - an audience who understands the benefits of a real band, and an audience who walks the fine line of world class athletics, mixed with elite academics.

With Cal football potentially making it to the Rose Bowl this year, should they defeat USC and Stanford the rest of the way, it's already been a fun year for Cal fans. Now, things are even better.

Listening to ''Largo (Mark Otten Remix)'', by Markus Schulz presents Elevation (Play Count: 1)

Cal Football Falls Apart In Arizona, Killing BCS Hopes

Just when people were starting to talk about the Cal Bears and their potential to challenge for the national championship, the team, coming off eight consecutive wins, sporting an 8-1 record, went to Tucson, Arizona, and simply did not execute. The team couldn't make passes, saw a quiet day from previous Heisman hopeful Marshawn Lynch, and was outplayed in nearly every regard against the now 5-5 Arizona Wildcats. For every Cal fan, who had harbored dreams of a trophy, or at least a Rose Bowl berth, we sit, stunned, frustrated at yet another momentous collapse from an organization that has seemingly always managed to make the least of a great situation.

Every good sports fan knows part of the reason for today's failures - first, the exposure of national television, and second, looking ahead to next week's big game. Cal has never done well on national TV, as seen by the school's week 1 loss to Tennessee, and the debacle against Southern Mississippi in the 2004 campaign. They choke under the bright lights. And while everybody had been talking up next week's game at USC, presumably for the Pac-10 championship and BCS hopes, Arizona was ready to put those talks to rest, outscoring Cal 24-20, effectively ending the game on the third interception of Cal quarterback Nate Longshore, who played one of his worst games of the season.

It's not to say Cal didn't have their chances. In the last offensive drive, DeSean Jackson seemingly put the club ahead 26-24 with a 63-yard touchdown, but he was later ruled to have stepped out of bounds at the Arizona 41. Earlier in the quarter, Lavell Hawkins had stumbled at the 1 yard line, and Cal's offense could get across the goal line, settling for a field goal, where a touchdown was needed. Two interceptions by Cal's vaunted defense were waved off via the penalty. But it didn't matter. One play didn't win or lose today's game. One 60-minute poorly played game kept Cal out of the winner's column, and will put the team on the back pages this year, giving national sports commentators another reason to mock the weakness of the West Coast's elite football schools, and how they could never deign to challenge a Michigan, Ohio State or Notre Dame.

While we can still hold out hope for Cal to go down to USC next week and win, gaining them the front-runner's position on the Pac-10 championship, the team we saw today would be turned into mincemeat by the Trojans. Cal looked weak, sloppy and slow. That's not the team I want to see out there, and as we felt when the A's lost to the Tigers, ending their season, we are full of frustration and emptiness. Our hopes, dashed. There is always next year, but we wanted this year to be "the one".

Listening to ''On Stream'', by Ron Hagen & Pascal M (Play Count: 1)

ESPN Says Ron Artest is "Stinking It Up"

Cross-posted at Sactown Royalty...

Five games into the season should be enough for anyone to do some instant analysis, right? I mean, seriously... with teams having played 6 to 7 percent of the entire 82-game schedule, we can already see what's directly in front of us: that the world powers of the NBA, the LA Clippers and Atlanta Hawks, are going to run away with their respective conference championships, and we might as well polish up the league scoring trophy for Allen Iverson.

With this level of dramatic, thoughtful insight, we get a snarky column from ESPN.com's John Hollinger, who eagerly tells us about ten players who early in the season are a blight on their respective franchises. Among his ten nominees? None other than Ron Artest, Peja Stojakovic, and Chris Webber.

Without abusing copyright rules, here's a snippet of his brilliance:

Re: Artest

Ron Artest, Kings: The Kings are off to a very solid start, so it's really unfortunate that Artest is going to kill it with his selfish play.

This, of course, with Kevin Martin averaging 23.4 points per game, 15th best in the league (and an overachiever, according to Hollinger). Hollinger also piles on by calling Ron-Ron "crazy". Nice investigative reporting there, John. Way to put the brother down.

To misquote "crazy" Ron-Ron:

John Hollinger, up on ESPN. You look like a girl, put down that pen.

Listening to ''Glaze'', by Arctic Quest (Play Count: 1)

Northern California Sports Teams Shuffle

The state of northern California sports teams is in serious flux right now.

Tuesday night, two controversial ballot measures that would have paved the way for the Sacramento Kings to stay in Sacramento, while moving out of Arco Arena, went down to defeat in flames, by approximately 80 percent against compared to 20 percent for. A few weeks ago, when I had joked the Kings had no better than a 25% chance of staying in Sacramento long-term, the editor of Sactown Royalty guessed that I was not in fact too pessimistic, but instead, too optimistic. He felt the Kings ownership was more intent to move the team out of the area to any number of suitors - from Las Vegas, to Anaheim, or even nearby San Jose.

As previously mentioned, with the South Bay's population and influence growing, that region is becoming a big target for potential franchises to set up shop. After many rumors, the Oakland A's are almost certainly preparing to move to Fremont, as close as they can get to San Jose without finding a horse's head in their collective bed, courtesy of the San Francisco Giants. News today states that A's owner Lewis Wolff met with the Fremont City Council and introduced to them the plan to build a $400 million ballpark, tentatively to be named Cisco Field, after the Silicon Valley networking giant.

Just as that news settles, we learn that the San Francisco 49ers are themselves looking to move south, with the team having named Santa Clara as a potential destination. According to the Associated Press, "Owner John York notified Mayor Gavin Newsom of the team's decision earlier (today of plans to leave San Francisco)."

Living in Sunnyvale, we aren't putting up much of a fuss if all these teams are planning to play in our backyard. We aren't the stark traditionalists that some are, and it will significantly cut down on our commuting time, especially to see the A's, if they were to take roost nearby. It should be interesting to see how each of these individual stories unfolds.

Listening to ''Intensify'', by Pete Tong (Play Count: 6)

Cal Football Wins 8th Straight, Defeating UCLA

We've got our Saturday routine fairly well set around our household. Determine which local team is playing, make sure we have tickets, and go. That's it. All spring and summer long, we took a trip up 880 to see the A's, and now as we've turned to fall, and the days are shorter and more crisp, our allegiances have migrated to Cal football, and we are very lucky to be taking in one of the very best football seasons Cal has turned in for the last several decades.

Today, we made the trek to Memorial Stadium to see the 10th ranked Cal Bears do battle with the UCLA Bruins from Los Angeles, in an attempt to win their 8th straight, and to sneak further up the national rankings and all-important BCS chart. It turns out that our plan was quite popular, as more than 72,500 fans made their way to Berkeley, for yet another sellout, and yet another good game.

Cal got on the board first, early in the 1st quarter, tallying a touchdown, and leading 7-0. UCLA struck back with a touchdown of their own to tie, and they hung around through halftime, as the teams headed to the locker room with Cal up only 14-10, in a game where they were expected to win by double digits - quite the change from years past, when Cal would have been the decided underdog to their UC brethren from Southern Cal.

As the teams returned to the field, Cal wanted no part of a close game, scoring twice in the third quarter to extend their lead to 28-10, and despite a pair of late touchdowns by the Bruins, Cal went on to win the game by a final margin of 38-24, marking the first time in more than 50 years that the Bears had won eight straight contests, and keeping the team a full game ahead of USC in the Pac Ten conference standings. With the USC Trojans waxing the hapless, winless, Stanford Cardinal 42-0 in Palo Alto, the scene is set for Cal to do battle in Pasadena in two weeks, after taking on the Arizona Wildcats this upcoming Saturday.

So, now as Saturday has drawn to a close, and the cannon's booming becoming only an echo in our memory, our voices hoarse from shouting, and stomach full from ballpark food, we know we've done our parts as sports fans today - and we're happy to have played this role for such a deserving squad.

Listening to ''Praise You'', by Fatboy Slim (Play Count: 7)

Kings Open 2006-07 Season Flat

Through the scattered static that accompanies every game I hear over AM radio broadcasting from Sacramento, the early score of today's season opener for the Kings against the Timberwolves at the Target Center showed our hoops heroes down early, as they struggled to shoot more than 30%, and couldn't stop Kevin Garnett. As the sound faded in and out, I heard the Kings' chances doing the same thing, while they trailed by 7 in the second quarter, closing the gap to tie it on three occasions during my drive home, but never finding a way to push over the hump and take the lead. An hour later, the T-Wolves had wrapped up the victory, sending the 2006-07 Kings off with a 0-1 record to start the year.

The Kings didn't shock anyone with their brilliance this pre-season, winning some games and losing others, but lacking the consistent teamwork and offense required to compete in today's NBA. With news that starting guard Mike Bibby would possibly miss time with a broken finger, the team's prospects looked even more dire. But we were excited to hear that Bibby felt well enough to play in tonight's game, and he did manage to put up 16 points, tied for second on the team in the eventual 93-82 loss, following a 28-17 4th quarter fade. The team's 4th quarter collapse was exacerbated by none other than Bibby, who hurt the team with his mouth, picking up two costly technical fouls and being removed from the game.

On the road, against a powerful conference foe, the Kings can hardly afford to see their team leader exit early, and they can't expect to win games by missing more than 5 out of every 8 shots. I hope it was just early-season jitters, and not, instead, a sign of things to come.

Listening to ''Love You More'', by Armin van Buuren (Play Count: 7)

SF Bay Area Doesn't Know The Sacramento Kings

Cross-posted at Sactown Royalty...

On Athletics Nation, we have an acronym called "NRAF", which refers to a "Non-Resident A's Fan". I'd hope that by living in the Bay Area, I would be close enough to the Kings that I could follow their every game well and not feel removed from the action (an NRKF if you will), yet I continue to be amazed by how two hours' drive off I-80 and Highway 101 makes it seem like Sacramento is in another state altogether.

Rather than rant in a circular argument about local Kings TV and Radio coverage (slim to none), a scene from Thursday could channel my annoyances...

I'm not one for planning for holidays well in advance. I don't have a Halloween costume. So Thursday afternoon, I zipped over to a local mall and tried to find anything that could meet the minimum criteria - hats, shirts, an all-in-one package... didn't care. After finding none of the stores had anything useful, I stopped at a "Pro Shop" which sold jerseys, caps, and all manner of sports gear. Aha! I could go as a Kings player or fan and keep the jersey for when I made a trip over to Arco!

But it wasn't to be. See... they had plenty of Kings jerseys in purple and black - on the wall, in the racks... but they were all, without exception, for Chris Webber and Peja Stojakovic. Hmm... now would I look like a "with it" Kings fan if I were to show up as Chris Webber or Peja? Didn't think so. The store didn't even have any Cal Bears gear, which made zero sense, so I took off.

Now you might be thinking, of course there's no Kings stuff, you Bay Area living, wheat grass sipping, quasi-hippie! You're in Golden State Warriors country! But that's silly talk. If Sacramento is a big league town and can host an NBA squad, there's no good reason I can't hear 1140 AM on most nights, or have some channel that shows me the Kings, given my proximity.

Yet when they do play, I'm more likely refreshing Yahoo! sports and trying to picture just how Artest made that shot or Shareef pulled down a board. While the Internet is a great source of facts, photos, stats and quotes, it's no replacement for solid local coverage - and no replacement for the locals knowing who is actually on the Kings these days... C-Webb and Peja need not apply.

Listening to ''Revealed (Radio Version)'', by Blank & Jones (Play Count: 6)

It Was a Dull World Series

Even though the A's were swept out of the playoffs by Detroit in the ALCS, I still expected to look forward to the World Series, the Fall Classic, the whole reason that 30 teams start off their seasons every year. Whether the A's are there or not, each fall tends to have memorable stories of excitement and flashes of heroism, with stories you can tell future generations. Yet this year, aside from Kenny Roger's memorable cheating with a foreign substance during his pitching start, this has been a truly forgettable World Series, and as I write, the St. Louis Cardinals are outs away from finishing it up and showing Detroit the door.

Not featuring the largest market teams, or any from California, the series has not seen drama, has not seen big scores, and is more known for its issues with weather and the perceived difference between pine tar and dirt. When dirt is the biggest topic out there, you know that the series itself couldn't have been more exciting than... well... dirt.

Now, you could say this is sour grapes from an unimpressed, jaded, frustrated A's fan, and at some level that's bound to be true. As sad as we are to see baseball no longer matter for the next few dark months, we had hoped for bigger, better things. We had hoped to be sucked in and drawn in to the World Series to celebrate those final outs and to see the players jump into each others arms, full of excitement and tears of joy. Instead, when the celebration is over, we'll just turn off the TV, shrug, and get ready for the NBA season to start. (Go Kings!)

Listening to ''The Nightfly (Short)'', by Blank & Jones (Play Count: 11)

A's Macha Firing Turns Ugly As Words Exchanged

With the A's reaching the second round of the playoffs for the first time in more than a decade, some were surprised as to the speed which the team dispatched their manager of four years, Ken Macha. Initially, his dismissal came just with the saying that their was a "disconnect" between Macha and the front office, namely the team's general manager, Billy Beane. But in the week or so following, the press has been full of players claiming he snubbed them or left them in the dark as to why decisions were made. Now Macha is answering back, tired of seeing his name "dragged in mud."

As fans of the game, we don't expect to know all the nuances of how a team is put on the field, how lineups are decided, and how relations are between the dozens of individuals that comprise a 25-man roster and a team's front office. While on the surface, a team like the A's might be full of smiles and excellent camaraderie, we have seen this crack in the armor grow, revealing ugliness between players and manager, and manager and the front office, that in combination, left no option but to make a change.

A report in the San Francisco Chronicle today said that Macha's firing came from "too much interference". He felt that he couldn't make critical decisions independently, and had to relay orders coming from above while acting as those were his calls. Regulars and backups alike, from Adam Melhuse to Mark Kotsay, Jay Payton and Bobby Kielty are all cited as having confronted Macha about playing time, while it was clear the team was far from unanimity on which starting pitchers should take the mound against the Tigers in the ALCS. That the team was swept 4-0 surely didn't help anybody's cause.

In the wake of Macha's firing, GM Beane was asked if Macha would have been fired had he won the World Series. Beane's answer was quite telling: "We'll never know." This was damning in two ways - one reminding that the A's didn't win the World Series, and the second being that the issues around Macha were more than anything we saw on the field. For a team that should be basking in the memory of a hard-fought season where they took the division title, and swept the Minnesota Twins out of the ALDS, instead the A's are very publicly fighting amongst themselves over who said what when, and it's very petty. It shouldn't be like this, and regardless of who's right, it's time to be done with it. Macha is gone, and the A's have a lot of work to do to make sure 2007 is an even greater success.

More Information:

San Francisco Chronicle: 'Hurt' by players' comments, Macha tells his side of story
Inside Bay Area: Macha Voices Dismay

Listening to ''Gamemaster'', by Lost Tribe (Play Count: 6)

Cal Football Picks Off Huskies 31-24 in OT

We have seen a lot of amazing sports this year - from Milton Bradley's walk-off 3-run home run earlier this summer, to Marco Scutaro's bases-clearing double in the ALDS clincher, but today's overtime thriller between the #11-ranked Cal Bears and Pac 10 foe Washington Huskies has to rank right up there among the very best. Though we have grown accustomed to seeing the Golden Bears dominate their opponents in a hail of touchdowns and pounding defense, today's game started off slowly, with Berkeley down 10-3 at halftime, as the offense could not get off the ground.

As the crowd of 58,000-plus milled around uncomfortably, Cal came out with a new attitude in the second half, outscoring the Huskies 21-7, and taking a 24-17 lead, led by a series of athletic interceptions by the defense and consistent rushing by Marshawn Lynch and his backup, Justin Forsett. But the Huskies were given one more chance with just over a minute left to try and avert the loss. As Memorial Stadium roared, the Huskies quarterback took shot after shot of the end zone, avoiding a turnover on downs, and milking the clock as it ticked down to mere seconds.

Then, amazingly, as time expired, he took one last heave from midfield to a crowd of Cal Bears, one of whom slapped the ball down, where, if it hit turf, the game would be over and the Bears would win. Instead, the ball ended up in the hands of a Husky receiver, who took it in for the game-tying two yard score as regulation ended. Our thunderous cheers died, and those of us who have seen Cal pull defeat from the jaws of victory in our time at the school, shook our heads knowingly and smirked at what had befallen us. Overtime lay in our future, and any team could win. While a win would keep the Bears' momentum, a loss, the team's second on the year, would send them tumbling down the national rankings and out of BCS contention.

In overtime, Cal had the ball first, and Lynch quickly scored his second touchdown of the afternoon, putting Cal up 31-24, as the cannon sounded and the crowd cheered. That set up Washington with yet another chance to deliver heroics and further extend the game, but it was not to be. On the team's second play from scrimmage, the ball fell into the hands of the Cal defense for the fifth interception of the day - effectively ending the contest. Though the lineman gamely rambled 80-plus yards in a quest to pad the final score, he was tackled at the 12 yard line, as fans jumped and shouted, waving their hands in the air, and high-fiving all within reach. Where all had once seemed in jeopardy, all was whole again. The Bears had won. The Bears have moved to 7-1 on the year, the fans have gone home happy, and no doubt sunburned, and yet another great memory has been added to our record books.

Just another "boring" Saturday in the Gray household.

Listening to ''ZeroTonine'', by Junkie XL (Play Count: 6)

The Oakland A's Fire Manager Ken Macha

Well, that certainly didn't take very long. Only two days following the A's elimination from the playoffs at the hands of a four-game sweep by the Detroit Tigers, manager Ken Macha was fired from his post, for the second consecutive season, and this time, it looks like the canning will stick. You might remember that he was similarly let go in 2005, only to resurface a few days later as the A's "new" manager, but this time around it seems that General Manager Billy Beane is ready to move on and give an opportunity for a new face to guide the team, who reached the ALCS for the first time in 14 years.

Ken Macha has never been a flashy, energetic manager.  In his time as the A's leader, he had a complacent, laid back attitude, and this often led fans to think he didn't care or wasn't as involved in the games as he should have been - especially in stark contrast to managers who were as commonly seen on TV as their own players, like the Angels' Mike Scioscia, the Tigers' Jim Leyland or the Yankees' Joe Torre. He also tended to make decisions a lot less quickly than fans wanted - whether it was leaving pitchers in way too long, until a game was out of hand, or sticking with ridiculous lineups that didn't take advantage of the players' skills. Even when those lineups would fail, you could bet your bottom dollar they would be trotted out the following day.

Yet, somehow his teams tended to win, at a 57% clip (4 of every 7 for years), which isn't a bad mark. Every season, his A's were above the break-even .500 mark. Following a disastrous May, Macha helped lead the team to the division title, and there has been talk of his being a candidate for Manager of the Year (behind the favorite, Leyland). I believe that a team's success is more indicative of the players' talent than the manager's slight of hand, but it didn't look as if Macha was all that strategic, and reports have said that Macha rapidly fell out of favor with a number of his players, both backups and regulars, some of whom said they did not want to return to the A's if he were still in charge. When a manager has lost the respect of his players, it is very hard to regain it. Sports history is littered with managers who ran afoul of the players and didn't last long.

Macha's failures have been a longtime running joke at Athletics Nation, where seemingly every poll included an option to "Fire Macha Now", as if that rash decision would fix everything. Now that he has been fired, a new era will start for the team, who in large part will come back to 2007 intact. As the cold winter months move on, and Spring Training looms in the horizon, a new man will be running things in Oakland, and you won't have Macha to kick around any more.

Related Links:

The ANtics, Issue 8: Ken Macha - Kung Fu Master!
The ANtics, Episode 2.27: The Mind of Ken Macha
Athletics Nation: The Internal Candidates
Athletics Nation: FIRED MACHA NOW!!!

Listening to ''The Misterons Mix'', by Underworld (Play Count: 5)

The A's Season Ends With a Bang, and a Sweep

Just as quickly as the A's had dispatched the Minnesota Twins in the ALDS, sweeping them in three games, they were easily handled by the World Series-bound Detroit Tigers, who wrapped up their four game sweep of the A's tonight with a bottom of the ninth, two outs, three run home run by Magglio Ordoñez, making the final tally 6-3 in their favor. Comerica Stadium erupted in celebration and shouting, just as McAfee Coliseum had done just a week and a half ago, when the A's had clinched an ALCS birth for the first time in 14 years. But this time, the A's left the field, some hanging their heads, knowing that tonight's game was the last they will play in 2006, having come so close, but left so far from reaching the goal - a World Series title.

In the months to come, as individual players and plays are dissected and examined, there may be much made of Mark Ellis' injury, Eric Chavez's comments that the Tigers were the better team, Frank Thomas' lack of hitting in the series, and as always, the same platitudes regarding Moneyball and how the A's "stuff" just doesn't work in the playoffs. But even in this loss, we are pleased with how the team forged its way into one of the last four to be playing, as 26 teams had long gone home. Despite a payroll that came in at one-fourth the size of the bloated New York Yankees, and tens of millions less than the division rival Angels, the A's were the ones playing deep into October.

2006 was the first time I've ever owned season tickets for the A's, and though driving up and down Highway 880 twice a week for an entire summer got tedious, I can't think of any time I was disappointed I went. The more than 40 contests (and likely 50, including Spring Training and playoffs) we took in this year were a fantastic way to follow the team up close and root them on to the best of our ability. We know they aren't perfect, and today's loss (as with the previous three) is disheartening, but as fans, we just need to take a deep breath, and move on. We will find other obsessions to focus on through the cold, lifeless, winter months, be they other sports, politics, and as always, there's plenty of work to do at the office. And there's always Athletics Nation. That crowd of A's fans is always ready to talk green and gold, regardless of the date, all year round.

Tonight, we'll feel empty, and all next week, we will have to take sympathy and make excuses for the loss to colleagues who see us representing the team, but we'll pull through. I wanted to say thanks to the A's players, management and ownership for putting together such a great season with such likeable players, and we hope to push even further - in 2007.

Listening to ''Love You More (Extended Vocal Mix)'', by Armin van Buuren (Play Count: 4)

Sacramento Kings (Pre)Season Kicks Off

In the category of "I shouldn't really care, but for some reason I do", the Sacramento Kings held their first preseason game this evening, taking on the Dallas Mavericks. In a game that wasn't supposed to mean anything, and apparently didn't feature the full Mavericks staff, the Kings prevailed 111-90, in a game where they weren't truly challenged.

Being in the Bay Area means that I don't have access to the Kings on TV on a regular basis, so any "watching" took place via Yahoo! Sports, and real-time chat on Sactown Royalty, where you can see my quasi-commentary and always uninsightful comments. Hopefully, as the NBA season nears, we'll find some sort of solution to satiate my seeming need to follow every game.

In the game, the Kings led throughout, and outscored the Mavericks every quarter. Five players notched double figures, including one of my favorites, Shareef Abdur-Rahim. Abdur-Rahim and I both entered Cal Berkeley in the 1995-1996 year, where he gained freshman of the year honors for the Pac-10 conference, and then, vanished, off to the pros, while I was left to toil for UC Berkeley another three years, as he made his millions and I only got a degree.

Shareef's role on the Kings has been questioned of late. While his talent is among the highest on the club, he has been coming off of the bench, and playing more of a backup role. In my fully biased, uneducated opinion, I feel the team would be better off with him in the starting five, and tonight's play showed that. On the flip side, tonight's game didn't count, and they don't count for awhile. Maybe I should keep my focus on baseball until it's "all over" for the A's...

Listening to ''What Was Her Name?'', by Dave Clarke (Play Count: 6)

From Euphoria to Disillusionment

Thanks to scheduling beyond our control, the last few days have been completely out of the ordinary - consisting of our going into the office at a normal hour, and then bailing in the mid-afternoon, to race north to the Oakland Coliseum, take in the game, and then meander our way back home again.

While we've enjoyed the twice-weekly trip all summer long, this was typically a Friday/Saturday jaunt, and games could regularly be seen at 7 p.m. Friday, with a day game Saturday. Now, in the ALCS, we are slaves to the masters of the MLB universe, Fox and ESPN, who have dictated the games start at 5 (so East Coast viewers can chime in) and on Tuesday and Wednesday, messing up our routine.

I'd be beyond jubilant, and happy to tell you the process were all worth it, had our team, the A's, done their jobs. But after two games at home in the league championship series, we've seen the green and gold on the short end of the stick, losing Tuesday by a score of 5-1, and tonight, by a tally of 8-5. The team has been fighting from behind the entire series, and whatever leads we did have tonight were fleeting at best, as the Tigers put runs on the board and we simply couldn't catch up.

Down by 3 tonight, the A's teased us by loading the bases, and bringing to the plate Frank Thomas, who is always a threat to homer. Had he put the ball in the seats, we would have seen history made - a grand slam to win the game in the most dramatic way. But he didn't make it, and we can't rely on one man's heroics to overcome 8 innings of mediocrity.

There's a million ways we could point fingers, but simply said, if you were to say that Nick Swisher and Thomas (and Scutaro) would be a combined .000 through the first two games, there really wouldn't need to be any more discussion. They look lost out there.

Milton Bradley (with two home runs) and Kotsay (two doubles) were a lot of fun to watch, and I love seeing the rare Chavez homer. He's come through twice in the last three playoff games, even if he is swinging and missing way too much. In fact, the whole team just K'd and K'd and K'd today. Yuck.

Now the series goes back to Detroit, and the A's find themselves in a deep hole they might not ever get out of. Tonight just could have been the last time we see them all year, and though I will always hold out hope until the last batter is out in the last inning of the last game, we are unhappy season ticket holders tonight. From Friday's jubilation to today's frustrations, we've run the entire gamut. That's the rough life of being a serious sports fan who expects the world.

Listening to ''neo & farina'', by Blutonium Boy Vs DJ Session One (Play Count: 5)

The Newfound Stardom of Marco Scutaro

Every baseball season starts out with 30 major league teams, which after a full 162-game campaign, are quickly whittled down from eight, to four and finally two, who meet in the World Series to determine the year's champions. Tomorrow, as one of the last four teams alive in the chase, the A's are set to take on the Detroit Tigers in the American League Championship Series (ALCS), in large part due to the heroics of a small-stature one-time backup infielder Marco Scutaro. After connecting for run-scoring doubles in all three games against the Minnesota Twins, Marco came up huge with a bases-clearing double that gave the A's an 8-2 margin in the final contest, amid deafening chants of "Marco! Scutaro!" from the feverishly-adoring crowd.

Though loved by many hard-core A's fans well before the series, Marco's MVP-like show has the baseball world buzzing, and the Internet awash in those searching for all they can about this unknown Venezuelan. How do I know? It just so happens that louisgray.com has seen quite a bit of activity looking for Marco. In March of this year, in a pre-season edition of the ANtics, I profiled Marco in "Scutaro Skills!". This comic has risen in the ranks of Google images, sticking out like a sore thumb from the rest of the standard game photography. Of these visitors to the site, a great number are from Marco's homeland in Venezuela.

So, if you've come to louisgray.com looking for more about the little man who has come up big, you can find your Marco fix here:

ANtics Episode 2.5: "Scutaro Skills"
http://www.louisgray.com/graphics/antics_18.jpg

Marco In a Less-Dignified Pose
http://louisgray.com/graphics/scutaro_crotch.jpg

Athletics Nation: "Venezuelan Man Candy"

Listening to ''Love Is Blind'', by 4 Strings (Play Count: 11)

Cal Bears Roast Ducks 45-24

It would be hard to top the two sports-filled days we enjoyed Friday and Saturday. After seeing the A's sweep the Twins and clinch an ALCS berth Friday, we turned right around and headed up the 880 freeway to see the #16 ranked California Golden Bears take on the #11 ranked Oregon Ducks in a game that had both conference and national rankings implications. When the contest had concluded, and the sellout crowd of nearly 73,000 had made their way out of Memorial Stadium, the Bears emerged victorious by a lopsided score of 45-24, keeping the team unbeaten in conference play, and serving notice that their week one failures at Tennessee were a fluke.

Cal scored early and often against the Ducks, seemingly from the very first snap. The first series Oregon ran on offense turned into an interception for the Bears, who scored a touchdown shortly afterwards. Similarly, the first possession in the second quarter saw an errant pass from the Ducks land in the Bears' hands. On another chance, the Bears returned a punt from well beyond mid-field for a score, as the team rallied ahead their higher-ranked opponents by the tune of 28-3.

Oregon's offense simply could not get on track. Their only touchdown before halftime, making it 28-10, came on a faked field goal try that landed them near the end zone. In the second half, it was more of the same, as Cal added on, scoring 10 in the third quarter, and breaking up the Ducks' rhythm throughout. The only concerns on the game were the occasional sloppy penalty picked up by an overexcited Cal Bear, and the injury suffered by Heisman hopeful Marshawn Lynch, who exited the game for good in the second quarter following an injury. Yet, even in his absence, Cal kept the pressure on, as backup rusher Justin Forsett tallied on more than 100 yards in relief.

With the victory, the Bears are certain to advance in the national polls. How high depends on how many other Top 25 schools went down to defeat, and how the myriad of writers and coaches around the country interpreted the win. After coming into the season with very lofty expectations, only to have them dashed at the hands of the Volunteers, the Bears have an uphill climb to change the hearts and minds of the people. Luckily for them, my wife and I are already converted. 

Listening to ''Marrakech (A and T Remix)'', by ATB (Play Count: 17)

A's Deliver a Day Of Celebration

For the first time since 1992, the A's are on their way to the American League Championship Series (ALCS), following the club's 8-3 victory and series sweep of the favored Minnesota Twins. In front of a sellout crowd nearing 36,000, including my wife and me, the A's pushed out to an early 4-0 lead, and padded on when the Twins tried to answer back. When Huston Street got the Twins to pop out meekly to left field to end the game, the team's players rushed the mound for a frenzied celebration that continued into the clubhouse, their second such celebration in a few weeks, with hopes that two more may be coming soon - through the World Series.

3rd basman Eric Chavez' homer really set the tone of the day. He didn't just hit it hard, he CRUSHED it, putting the A's on the board first. Following an RBI by pesky shortstop Marco Scutaro to make it 2-0, right fielder Milton Bradley CRUSHED a two-run homer to center making it 4-0. Meanwhile, starting pitcher Dan Haren battled through, keeping the lead and stranding guys right and left, leaving after six innings.

And Marco Scutaro wasn't nearly done. Even after seeing him make clutch hit after hit during the season's stretch, his heroics never get tired. With the bases loaded, and the score 5-2, he clubbed a double as the sellout crowd chanted his name. You KNEW he was going to do it, and then he did it. From our seats, we made sure section 114 chanted Marco (boom boom) Scutaro (Boom Boom Boom) until we were all hoarse. Every single A's player running back on the field during the inning change had to pay homage to his hitting prowess, including his new double play partner, D'Angelo Jimenez.

I loved the energy. I loved seeing the celebration in Oakland, the first time I've ever seen a clinching game. I loved our being given towels to wave during the game and seeing a handful of friends from Athletics Nation. I love the fact that Thomas didn't have to hit a home run for us to win. I love the fact we're in the ALCS and can rest up while the Tigers smack around the Yankees. They can go the full five and go extra innings in every game until they should both quit.

THIS TEAM IS GOING PLACES. We are IN IT TO WIN IT and WIN IT we are doing. Go A's!

Game Recaps: Athletics Nation and Yahoo! Sports

A's Aim to Clinch ALCS With Victory Today

Today, my wife and I are not going to work. We stayed home. The reason? Our Oakland Athletics are taking on the Minnesota Twins in game 3 of the American League Division Series at McAfee Coliseum, at 1:05, with the opportunity, if they win, to move on to the American League Championship Series, where the club has not been since 1992, having lost a record 9 straight potential clinchers.

As we've already seen, this year's A's squad is different than those who struggled to finish off Minnesota, Boston and New York in previous years. Frank Thomas, Barry Zito and Mark Kotsay came up big at the Metrodome and have powered the A's to a 2-0 series lead. Today, with Dan Haren taking the mound against veteran Brad Radke, we will be in our usual seats, cheering for the green and gold, camera poised for potential celebratory bedlam.

Going to the game? Find us at section 114, row 28, seats 5 and 6. Go A's!

New Sactown Royalty Profile: Spud Webb

Cross-posted at Sactown Royalty...

Continuing the site's run of profiling the greatest Sacramento Kings in franchise history, Spud Webb holds down the #11 spot, coming up big, despite the fact that at 5' 7", he ranks among the shortest NBA players of all time.

On a personal note, my most fond memory was of Spud Webb leading the Kings to an improbable victory against the much-hated Phoenix Suns and Charles Barkley on April 8, 1994 - which just so happened to be my 17th birthday. Sitting in the top row in the nosebleed section of Arco, at my first Kings game ever, the fans noisily made thunder rain down on the Suns, as Webb scored 18, dished out 13 assists, and the Kings won 104-101. (Boxscore Here) It was an experience I'll never forget, and one where Spud Webb, made a big impression on us all.

More at Sactown Royalty: The Sactown Greatest, #11: Spud Webb

Listening to ''Breathe'', by Telepopmusik (Play Count: 2)

These Are the Times That Try Fans' Souls

The Oakland A's have been "on the verge" of clinching the AL Western Division title for the last several days now - starting with this last Saturday, when they didn't come through. Following a second loss to the Angels on Sunday, the ballclub headed north to Seattle to take on the Mariners, who had lost 15 straight to their green and gold opponents, expecting a cakewalk against a rookie pitcher making his first major league start.

But it was not meant to be.

Though the A's vaulted to a 9-3 lead early in the game, and expected to pace themselves to victory, the Mariners continued to battle back, reducing the margin to 9-6 by the pivotal 9th inning. A's closer Huston Street, usually infallible, was torched, giving up the three runs needed to tie up the ballgame, and send the contest to extra innings, with the score knotted up at 9-9.

With the Angels having won their ballgame, the A's simply faded away, as the last-place Mariners scored the winning tally in the bottom of the tenth to seal the victory, and keeping the A's on the outside looking in, instead of celebrating in champagne and rock music. For the third consecutive night, we had started the day off expecting to relax and look to the playoffs, and instead, saw our hopes dashed.

Tonight, as this is written, the A's are trying to turn the tide. In Anaheim, the Angels are down 5-0, and the A's, looking to reverse the curse, are up 5-0 in their game. If the scores hold, it's celebration time tonight. If not, more doom and gloom. It's what being a fan is all about - living, and dying, with the team.

Listening to ''Deep Love", by Mandalay (Play Count: 5)

New Sactown Royalty Profile: Doug Christie

Cross-posted at Sactown Royalty...

Continuing the site's run of profiling the greatest Sacramento Kings in franchise history, Doug Christie rings in at #12, primarily for his dominant defense, and consistent offense on some very good Kings clubs. During his stay with the Kings, Christie ushered in an era where the team was more aggressive on both sides of the court, and made the playoffs every year during his tenure.

Christie also gained notoriety for what is an increasing rarity among sports stars - being faithful. He and his wife have been praised, mocked, criticized and more for their very public adoration of one another. In fact, the pair will soon be chronicled on a BET reality show called "Committed: The Christies".

More at Sactown Royalty: The Sactown Greatest, #12: Doug Christie

Dear Cal Football, We Apologize

To: The Entire Cal Football Organization
CC: Athletic Director Sandy Barbour, Head Coach Jeff Tedford
From: Louis Gray (and wife thereof)

As 2006 Cal football season ticket holders, we recognize we have an obligation to attend every home football game, regardless of other activities, and recognize that by purchasing full season tickets, we have indicated our strict attendance. We further recognize that you and the organization have funded and prepared for each Saturday to deliver the best possible fan experience, and that for us to not attend the event, without having canceled in advance, is both misleading on our part and lacking in respect that you and the university deserve.

With today marking the first Pac-10 conference game, against the nationally-ranked Arizona State Sun Devils, we expected Cal to be challenged, and were uncertain as to the game's eventual outcome, given the team's occasional shakiness, especially versus top-tier competition. Yet, even as we so rudely did not show our face in Memorial Stadium, it is ever so clear now that you were prepared. After all, winning the game in blowout fashion, 49-21, after a half-time score of 42-14, is more than any fan could have asked for. Upon learning that quarterback Nate Longshore threw for four touchdown passes, the defense scored twice and the special teams once, we know that we missed a tremendous contest worthy of such a prestigious school and tradition.

So, as we see what has transpired, we apologize. We had instead made a decision to attend today's A's game against the Angels, in hope they would clinch the division, and they did not come through, losing 6-2. We had expected more of them, and they let us down. The team we should have counted on was a few BART stops north, in Berkeley. We hope that as the playoffs loom in the near future for the A's, that we do not find ourselves forced to make such a woeful decision as we did today - to choose between one team and another, and engage in such risky uncertainty. We have already proven that we cannot be relied upon.

Congratulations on your fabulous win today, on your 3-1 record (1-0 in conference play) and we wish you continued success. We hope to be back at Memorial Stadium, in our rightful places, at the soonest opportunity. Thank you.

Listening to ''Mama Konda'', by Orinoko (Play Count: 4)

A's Scutaro Hits Walk-Off To Doom Angels

Last night was huge. With the A's having an opportunity to eliminate their division rival Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim by simply winning two games in the three-game series, it was crucial they get started on the right foot. With Barry Zito on the mound against rookie phenom Jered Weaver, it was assured to showcase outstanding pitching, with each team's offense challenged to get on the board. The ensuing battle, which went into the twelfth inning, saw the A's come out victorious, thanks to a clutch hit by light-hitting backup infielder Marco Scutaro, who has made this effort one of his trademarks.

The game, which lasted three and a half hours, and was followed by a fireworks spectacular, drew a sellout crowd of more than 35,000 to Oakland, us among them. Zito and Weaver traded zeroes early, until the A's got on the board thanks to Kendall hustling home from first on a double by Mark Kotsay, and later, an Nick Swisher home run to make it 2-0. After the Angels battled back to tie it, Chavez and Bradley each hit home runs to give the A's a 4-3 lead.

It wouldn't last, as due to a ball falling just in front of A's outfielder Jay Payton, the Angels struck to tie the game in the top of the ninth, hushing the crowd, who had been egged on by the antics of Krazy George and "The Banjo Guy", among others. Extra innings saw fireworks from Bradley, who unhappy with a strikeout call from the homeplate umpire, was livid, and looked as if he might want to decapitate the man in blue and ship the results to his next of kin. But the biggest outburst was to await us in the 12th.

Bobby Kielty reached base with a pinch-hit double, and went to third on a ground-out. With Mike Scioscia taking one outfielder into a seldom-used five-man infield, Swisher was intentionally walked, bringing up Scutaro, who ran the count to 0-2 before striking - first foul, and then fair, as his deep fly went untouched, and Kielty trotted home to mass jubilation. Scutaro, after touching first, tried to evade his teammates congratulations, as the "petite" Venezuelan displayed a grin from ear to ear, and the Coliseum erupted with cheers. The A's reduced their magic number to 2 and the Angels, with heads hung, walked off the field.

This afternoon, the A's could wrap it up. We will be there.

Listening to ''Mmm Skyscraper I Love You'', by Underworld (Play Count: 6)

A's Aiming to Clinch Title On Home Field

Although I understand the need for weekday daytime baseball, so that visiting teams can get an early start on their travel plans out of town, for those of us at the office who actually work for a living, there are really only two choices - give up one's fandom for a day and look back wistfully on the game you missed, or surreptitiously sneak glances at the contest throughout, admittedly impacting your productivity. That was the struggle yesterday, as the A's took on the Cleveland Indians in the 4th game of the series, featuring the return of would-be ace pitcher Rich Harden, who has spent the vast majority of the season on the disabled list, unable to play.

With the A's "magic number" at five, Harden took the mound and exhibited an authority unlikely from any veteran who had missed as much times as he had, made even more remarkable by the fact that Harden remains a very young player, who has yet to see his 25th birthday. On a strict pitch count of 60, Harden made his way through three innings, striking out seven, and giving up only a solo home run.

While we continued our work efforts, a quick peek at Athletics Nation showed those with more flexible time were going completely bananas over Harden's return. On an otherwise hum-drum Thursday, the news of his start and its in-game success spawned more than 1,100 comments and four game threads, where other game would most likely see 500 and two respectively.  The excitement was palpable, as baseballgirl started the day off with a "WHEEEEE!" and added on shortly after, HARDEN IS BACK!!!! A million pitches through 2, but he's striking everybody out."

After Harden exited, the A's rallied to take the game from the Indians 7-4, and the series, three games out of four. With the victory, the A's further reduced their magic number to four, with their rival Los Angeles Angels coming to Oakland to start a penultimate series this evening. If the A's take two of the three games on the weekend, they are the champions. We will be there tonight, and though we also have tickets for Cal vs. Arizona State tomorrow, we are hoping to be at the Coliseum Saturday as well, to see the A's players and fans alike erupt in pure joy.

Listening to ''Blue (Da Ba Dee) [Radio Edit]'', by Eiffel 65 (Play Count: 7)

A's Reduce Magic Number to Five

It's looking more and more like the A's will have an opportunity to clinch the American League West division title against their rival Los Angeles Angels this upcoming weekend when they come to Oakland to take on the surging green and gold crew. Tonight, like yesterday, the A's fell behind early 2-0, closed to within a run on a home run (tonight it was Milton Bradley, yesterday Eric Chavez), and opened up the game in the later innings. As with yesterday's ballgame, a starter who has given us scares earlier in the season came up big - as Esteban Loaiza went into the eighth inning and gave the A's the chance for the victory, as Kirk Saarloos did yesterday when he battled through five innings and garnered 11 strikeouts.

With the victory, the A's reduce the "magic number" to claim the division title to five, as any combination of A's wins and Angels losses totaling five will mathematically clinch their first-place position and make our playoff tickets worth something more than the paper they are printed on.

Aside from the strong pitching, team MVP Frank Thomas continues to hit at a torrid pace. With the game tied, the Big Hurt came up with two runners on and clubbed a double to deep center field, giving the A's a 4-2 lead, all they would need in the eventual 4-3 victory. In a year when we thought it would be amazing for him to reach triple digits in games, Frank has realistically thrown his name into the ring as a legitimate league MVP candidate by powering the A's with 38 home runs and well over 100 RBI. Every time he steps to the plate, time stops and waits for him to inflict serious damage. It is a joy to watch him hit.

We're getting oh so close to October. I can almost taste it. Go A's!

Listening to ''Block Rockin' Beats'', by The Chemical Brothers (Play Count: 4)

Kielty Grand Slam Reduces A's Magic Number to Six

It's often said that with every new baseball game, you see something you haven't seen before. Although we experienced tonight's A's game at home on TV instead of at the Coliseum, we rode the lows of an early 2-0 deficit, and the near-euphoria of seeing the red-maned Bobby Kielty turn a 2-1 game where the A's were behind to a 5-2 contest with one swing of the bat, when he cleared the bases with a grand slam on the first pitch he saw. It was his first career grand slam, but not the first time we have seen the A's snatch victory from the jaws of defeat in this incredible season that almost assuredly has them in the playoffs - and potentially going deep.

Yesterday, we received a very special FedEx package, which included a pair of post-season strips for all potential A's games, from the American League Divisional Series through the World Series. The seats, in section 114, row 28, seats 5 and 6, are the same we've held in our partial season-ticket package all year, at field level near the first-base side. With tonight's victory, the A's reduced their magic number to six, meaning that any combination of A's wins and Angels losses adding up to six locks up the American League Western Division, and puts the A's in the post-season for the first time since 2003. That year was significant not just because it was the year my wife and I were married, but also the year where the A's managed to take a 2-0 lead in the divisional series against the Boston Red Sox and throw it away, continuing their unprecedented streak of post-season futility.

With the crack of his bat tonight, following an impressive five-inning, 11-strikeout performance by pitcher Kirk Saarloos, Kielty turned the game around and put the team back on track after a one-game slump Monday night. On Friday and Saturday, with the Angels back in Oakland to do battle, we will be back in our seats, with the potential to see the A's celebrate on our field. To help us get there, the A's have to continue winning, and each day may bring a new hero. Tonight, Kielty's jog around the bases is the whole story - a night he may never forget.

Listening to ''I Feel Love'', by Kluster (Play Count: 7)

A Tale of Two Games In Two Cities

Today was the first time our owning season tickets for both the California Golden Bears and the Oakland A's were in conflict. The A's, battling for a playoff berth, took on the Chicago White Sox at 1:05, and a scant two hours later, the Bears were set to kick off play against the Portland State Vikings, in what was sure to be a laugher of a contest. To give both contests their due, we opted to stay through the first six or so innings of the A's game, through 3 p.m., and then leave to take BART and head north to Berkeley, hopefully before the game got too far out of hand.

I can say we had a great deal of fun, but not having seen 100% of both contests definitely had its drawbacks.

The A's game started off auspiciously, as supposed-ace Barry Zito couldn't find the strike zone, walking a career-high seven, and being hit by a two-run home run off the bat of potential league MVP and former A Jermaine Dye. The White Sox extended their lead to a 4-1 margin, and by the sixth inning, as we made plans to take off, it seemed the A's were not going to be victorious. But in our final frame, Frank Thomas put a "Big Hurt" on his former team, with a 2-run homer himself, which closed the gap to 4-3. After that, we really, truly, had to go, but were feeling better about the team's chances, as we changed allegiances in mid-stride.

We dashed out of the Coliseum, and to the parking lot, where I exchanged my A's hat for a Cal alumni cap, and traded an A's sweatshirt for a Cal sweatshirt. We also tossed our A's ticket stubs and picked up our Cal tickets. The transformation was complete. Then we grabbed our BART tickets and set off North toward Berkeley.

On the BART train, I tried to follow along with the A's game we had just left, and saw them challenging back. With 2 outs in the bottom of the 7th, Mark Ellis tied the contest 4-4 with a single. Then the wheels fell off for the White Sox, as walks started to pile up, giving the A's two free passes with the bases loaded, including one to the aforementioned Thomas, making the game 6-4. Then, as an exultant colleague called from her seat in the Coliseum, Jay Payton made the crowd roar with another single, making the game 7-4, its final margin. As she put it, we "missed all the fun". But we knew the team was in good shape, even if they played better without us. (AN Recap by Baseballgirl)

After arriving at Berkeley and making the traditional uphill walk to Memorial Stadium, we found the Bears up 21-3 against their overmatched foes. As we approached our seats, leading rusher Marshawn Lynch, a supposed Heisman Trophy candidate, busted out a 71-yard scamper, making the game 28-3. By halftime, the Bears had tacked on two more touchdowns, and the Vikings tried to stay close with two scores of their own, making it 42-16.

While we had visions of continued offensive mayhem, and pretty scores in the 80s, it was not to be. Surprisingly, as Cal had put in their second string players and swapped quarterbacks, there was no scoring the rest of the way by either team, making the halftime score the eventual final score. All told, we had seen the Bears only outscore Portland State 14-13 while in our seats, though we stayed for the final three quarters. Tack that on to the 4-3 deficit the A's had when we left the game, and our heroes only matched their opponents 17-all while we watched, while both won handily. Makes me think we weren't exactly a luck charm.

With that said, we enjoyed the two-sport, two-city march to victory, and hope to await similar challenges in the future, as the A's look increasingly likely to challenge in the playoffs, and those tickets should be here any day now. It's a tough life being an East Bay sports family.

Go A's and Go Bears!

Listening to ''Kyru vs. Albert - Velvet Morning'', by Armin Van Buuren (Play Count: 4)

Marco, Marco, Marco

Tonight, a colleague and I saw the A's challenge the Chicago White Sox at the Oakland Coliseum, and come away winners, 4-2, reducing their "magic number" to 11 - effectively representing the combined number of wins from the A's and the number of losses from the Angels required for the team to clinch the AL Western division. On a somewhat brisk evening that saw a steady breeze, more than 26,000 filed in to see Esteban Loaiza shut down the Sox bats - allowing only three hits and two runs, one which came on a home run and the second on a sacrifice fly.

But beyond Loaiza's pitching gem, the A's won largely in part due to the team's perky shortstop fill-in, Marco Scutaro, who chipped in with his first career 4-hit game. Though he came into the game with a .571 lifetime batting average against the White Sox starter, Jon Garland, manager Ken Macha chose to hit him ninth in the batting order. This didn't phase Scutaro, who had singles in his first three at-bats, and finished up his unprecedented evening with a late-inning triple as fans chanted, "Marco!" and others answered back, "Scutaro!"

Though the A's did not humiliate their opponents through an offensive onslaught, they managed to do just enough to win - even though things were made dicey in the 9th inning, when closer Huston Street allowed a walk to big basher Jim Thome, bringing the potential tying run to the plate in the form of Paul Konerko, who himself was a 30 home run, 100-plus RBI guy, and could, with one swing of the bat, force Oakland's standing, cheering fans to shush and spend more quality time on their kiesters. Instead, Street struck him out, winning the game and bring cheers throughout the ballpark, helping the A's maintain their five game lead in the division.

Marco Scutaro is not a notable name for SportsCenter viewers or the mainstream media, but he has played admirably in the absence of 2004 rookie of the year Bobby Crosby, who has missed a significant portion of the 2006 campaign - and virtually every season he's been a part of. Scutaro's 4-4 day this evening makes the missing Crosby even less necessary in Oakland's pennant race plans, and while that can't be good for him, it's a great thing for A's fans, who are eager to get the team back into the playoffs after a two-year hiatus.

Listening to ''Te Quiero [Darren Emerson Mix]'', by 108 Grand (Play Count: 5)

More Court Time for Artest

Cross-posted at Sactown Royalty...

In his forty games as a Sacramento King during the 2005-2006 campaign, Ron Artest led the team in time on the court, averaging 40.1 MPG. Now, a pair of lawsuits have surfaced that ensure Artest will see even more court time this year, regardless of how well he shoots the rock.

The first lawsuit stems from the infamous 2004 brawl between the Pacers and Pistons, where Artest played a starring role and soon became a household name, for all the wrong reasons. A fan in the stands that day, Michael Ryan, claims that Artest and Stephen Jackson assaulted him when they rushed into the stands. His lawsuit also says the Pacers were negligent in signing Artest and allowing him to play given his history of violence, repetitive bad conduct, and unfitness as a professional basketball player. (Source: Click On Detroit)

With that logic, he may as well sue society at large for our enablement, right? And what took him two years to realize he'd been slapped around a little?

In a second, unrelated, case, Artest has himself filed a lawsuit to gain custody of his son, saying that his ex-girlfriend is denying him access to his child. In fact, he's discontinued paying monthly child support due to the dispute. Of course, the lady's lawyer has a completely different opinion on the situation, saying that due to Artest's "history of psychological and anger-management issues, his request borders on frivolous." (Source: New York Daily News)

We know Ron-Ron is a fighter. We've seen that. We know he can juggle a few things at a time. Heck, TZ noted his new album is coming on Halloween night. But it could be scary, not just for the little trick-or-treaters, but for all Kings fans, if one of the team's key cogs on both sides of the ball is spending more time in court wearing a suit than on the court in a Sactown jersey.

An NFL Season Without Real Fantasy Football?

In 2001, my boss and a co-worker asked me to join their fantasy football league, saying they needed two new people to fill out the 12-team roster. I of course declined. After all, baseball's the sport I really follow, and any attempts I would make to follow the NFL would undoubtedly see me out of patience and eventually out of money. But they were persistent, and as the eventual draft day drew nearer, I agreed, knowing the $50 I put in to get into the league would be money I'd never see again.

Surprise of all surprises, the fact that I didn't follow the league and hadn't pledged my allegiance to any specific team actually gave me a leg up on the hardened regulars. Rather than rooting for my favorites, I could subjectively look at the numbers and the matchups to project who would do well, and somehow, after it was all said and done, I had won the league title, as a rookie, winning both the regular season, and the playoff round (by a single point). (See League History)

2002 and 2003 saw me flounder a bit. The team nose-dived in 2002, which I blamed on my being otherwise distracted in courting my eventual fiancée. 2003, similarly, was my first year married. But as with all marriages, you eventually settle in and find your role again, so by 2004, I won the regular season, and finished second in the playoffs. In 2005, I made the playoffs for a third time in five years, and took home the trophy for the second time, giving me bookends in the bookshelf that spoke to my fantasy football prowess.

But the gravy train looks like it has come to an end. At the conclusion of the 2005 year, the commissioner begged off, claiming family time was much more of a priority. In the wake of that announcement, and barring any true leadership from the peanut gallery, the league disbanded. Now, a group of six players from the original league have started what's called a "Next Generation" site on Fox's Fantasy Sports page, but it's just not going to be the same. No money is involved, and the site auto-drafted, eliminating some of the most fun parts of fantasy football - the trash talk and the one-upmanship at draft day - not to mention no trophies.

It's the end of an era. And on the first full day of NFL games, when recliner chairs and couches across the US are getting their full workout, we're not feeling like celebrating.

Listening to ''Moogwai'', by DJ Lithium (Play Count: 8)

Welcome Back, Cal Football

I can safely say we're once again more than a one-sport household. While the A's were battling on the East Coast in an eventual 9-6 defeat at Tampa Bay, the University of California Golden Bears returned home to Berkeley and the Memorial Stadium to take on the Minnesota Golden Gophers, and hopefully find some good news after their week one walloping at the hands of the Tennessee Volunteers. Of course, being the good alumni we are, my wife and I were there as well, ready to cheer on the Blue and Gold, the band, and Oski.

Since my graduation from Cal more than 7 years ago now, many things about Berkeley have changed and a great many more have not. It's always a delight to come see Cal football and wish for the best, even though we've experienced the worst. As Cal fans who suffered through a myriad of one-year coaches on the gridiron, and have seen the basketball team on probation for NCAA violations, not to mention the team's on-field troubles, we're often surprised when things actually work out well. Today, amid the tradition of the Cal band and the cannon - which shoots off with a bang after every Cal score - and the cries of "Take off that red shirt!" from the faithful, we saw a once-tentative team roar back to defeat the Gophers by a final score of 42-17.

After the Cal offense debuted with a "three and out" series, followed by the defense giving up a few big plays and the inevitable touchdown that followed, we found ourselves down early 7-0. And shortly after battling back to take the lead 14-7, the Gophers responded on the ensuing kickoff, running it back for a game-tying touchdown. The more bitter around us (myself included) made rumblings of beating the traffic, or noticing we had the lead for all of 17 seconds. But that would be the peak of our troubles. The team ended the first half with a 28-17 lead, and the Gophers were held scoreless in the second half, as the darkness and East Bay fog settled in to weigh down their hopes.

Approximately three hours after the game had started, the clock ticked down, the cannon sounded one last time, and Cal picked up its first victory on the season, evening their record at 1-1. And the victory was made even more sweet having already known that Stanford, the school's arch-nemesis, had lost a close contest against lowly-regarded San Jose State, 35 to 34. Even in Cal's triumph, the failure of their future foe was a wonderful thing.

Football is back. Gold and blue will rival the green and gold through the baseball playoffs, and we just may have to find a way to support both teams to the best of our ability. Both the next two upcoming Saturdays offer us the first time to conflict with the A's and Golden Bears schedules, where we are needed in two places at once. It's a rough life, but I am sure we can figure it out. Go Bears!

Listening to ''Tribute'', by DJ Shog (Play Count: 20)

Cal Collapses Under Weighty Expectations

If there were anything I learned during my time at UC Berkeley, a.k.a "Cal", it's to not get overly excited about the sports teams every year, for no matter their start, no matter the pre-season hype, they will always, always let you down. Whether it's a fourth-quarter fumble or interception, a missed field goal, or a significant injury to a key part of the team's offense, Cal fans have seen it all. Even in my ten-plus years of being a Cal junkie, I can surely give examples for each. As the 2006 college football season started off this past Saturday, Cal was ranked higher than I can ever recall previous to the season getting under way. Many publications had ranked the Golden Bears in the top ten in the country, and the team was favored in their quest to vanquish the also-Top 25 Tennessee Volunteers.

I could have told you how this was going to end before it started. (And I'm somewhat disappointed I didn't do it already)

As nearly everyone knows now, Cal stumbled to a 35-0 deficit after three quarters of football, and managed to put up some points against the Volunteers' second string, only to lose 35-18 when it was all said and done. In the big, bad world of college football, every game is critical, as teams threaten to go 11-0 or 12-0 every year, and the difference between being 10-1 and 9-2 can mean millions for the school in bowl appearances. But to set what are really an untested group of 20-22 year old kids with expectations that they are a top ten team in the land before they've even strapped on their cleats in competition is just plain silly. Sour grapes aside, it simply doesn't make sense to rank teams before the season is underway, especially as the rankings play such a huge part in the game itself.

Especially disappointing as a result of Cal's malaise is that this once again cements the beliefs of those that say the style of football played on the West coast, in the Pacific 10 conference, is somehow easier and less aggressive than that played on the "superior" East coast. ESPN, typically leading the way in its thick-headedness, claimed as much after the game's cheers faded.

From ESPN the Magazine's Bruce Feldman:

After seeing a Tennessee offense, which ranked 101st in the nation in scoring last season, post 35 points in a little more than two quarters, I doubt anyone will take Cal very seriously again for a very long time. Overreaction? Maybe. But I think if the Bears could knock off USC, they probably still would not get back into the top 15. And of course, this blowout has big-picture meaning. Whenever folks talk about the Pac-10 being soft, this Cal-Tennessee game will always come up first. It will live in infamy out here on the West Coast.

Had Cal somehow pulled off the improbable, and won, I might be singing a different tune, but the whole idea that teams are assigned rankings before a single game is played is as silly as declaring a presidential nominee the victor before a single ballot is cast. This even extends to the post-season award process, as for the first time in my memory, a Cal player is being promoted as a potential Heisman Trophy candidate. Marshawn Lynch, a fantastic running back, even has a site dedicated to his Heisman legitimacy. It's like campaigning for MVP in Spring Training. Silly.

Saturday's game isn't going to make us give up our Cal season tickets. When they take on Minnesota next Saturday, we will be at Memorial Stadium, ready to yell "Go Bears!", if we can somehow shoe-horn it around our Saturday A's game. Life is rough when you're devoted to East Bay sports. If only they were as devoted to us, and could promise victory.

Listening to ''Live @ DI.fm 2005-11-11'', by DJ Irish (Play Count: 2)

Hate the Wave? It Started in Oakland...

During today's otherwise forgettable Cal vs. Tennessee college football game, the legendary Joe Starkey remarked that the 25th anniversary of "The Wave" was coming up, and that its origin dated back to the 1981 playoffs between the Oakland Athletics and the New York Yankees, when "Krazy George" Henderson first successfully encouraged fans to stand and sit in unison to create a rolling wave effect.

Though I deplore the wave and refuse to partake in it for a variety of reasons, I thought the wave's origin was worth investigating, especially following the allegations it actually started in the Oakland Coliseum!

While some at the University of Washington would like to take claim for The Wave's creation, the events of Oct. 15, 1981 are not in dispute.

Joe Garagiola, former NBC sports commentator who called the game that day in Oakland, recalled the experience in a Nov. 15, 1984, article in The Dallas Morning News:

"I remember during the game that all of a sudden the fans started getting up then sitting down," Garagiola said... "As I remember, it looked the same or better than what they're doing now. Our producer, Don Ohlmeyer, was trying to get the cameraman to catch the wave, but he was always one sections behind. He (Ohlmeyer) kept pounding on him saying, `Get it. Get that thing.'

"I had never seen anything like it before. It was super."

Krazy George, or so he prefers to be called, had quit his teaching profession to become a full-time cheerleader. With the prospects of a full stadium and a national television audience, he seized the opportunity when the Yankees came to Oakland in 1981. Knowing the first attempt would fail, he told fans to boo each time it failed until they had a successful wave.

'I knew the concept because I had done it at high school rallies and hockey games,' he said. 'But [at the baseball game], nobody had seen it, so I had to get everyone organized. I could only yell as far as four to five sections so I told everyone, 'Once it starts, it will die. And when it dies, I want everyone to boo.'

'The first time it went about eight sections down, and I had about four or five sections booing. The second time we started and stopped, and a huge boo went out. By the third time we tried, it went all the way around once, everyone stood up and applauded and then stopped. I had to explain to keep it going. The fourth time, all four decks did it and it kept going.

'It was a great feeling. It's so powerful.'

The wave has expanded beyond its initial roots here in Oakland worlwide, to international soccer matches, and of course, more baseball. One article on the wave says Cuban dictator Fidel Castro tried it but stopped with his hands half-way up, likely because he was wearing a bullet-proof vest. The wave also had been unofficially banned from Chicago's Wrigley Field as the San Diego Padres fans mercilessly repeated the wave throughout the 1984 playoffs. The Padres eventually won that series.

So, go ahead, hate the wave. I know I do. Despise the Southern California mentality of the wave and beachballs on the field. But now you know where it all started.

Related Links :

* Topix.net: 'Wave' goodbye? Hardly
* Oklahoma State: Still 'Krazy' After All These Cheers
* Krazy George - Professional Cheerleader - The Inventor of the Wave!
* Wikipedia: Audience Wave
* Wikipedia: Krazy George Henderson

Listening to ''Refined Intricacy '99'', by Dave Seaman (Play Count: 2)

The "Big Hurt" Blasts the A's to Another Win

In baseball, it's often said that leading the division or the league in April, May or June is meaningless. Historically speaking, seeing your team in first place doesn't amount to a hill of beans until Labor Day, and even then, until your team has mathematically clinched the division and eliminated all challengers, there will always be doubts if you can pull it off. Baseball players, managers, coaches and fans are among the most superstitious and snake-bitten people out there, period.

Today being September 2nd, the Oakland A's now enjoy a comfortable lead in the American League West division, spotting an 8 and a half game margin over the Los Angeles Angels. The A's just wrapped up the best August in the majors, with a 21-6 record, and have been nearly unstoppable since the All-Star break. A significant amount of that credit has to go to the team's designated hitter, Frank Thomas, who led the team to victory again last night in dramatic fashion. Thomas, who was picked up for a song (or a hill of beans) in the off-season, blasted his 29th home run, a two-run shot, which gave the A's the eventual margin of victory, as they charged back from being down 4-3, to win 5-4, on a night when every other AL West foe had already been defeated.

As usual, my wife and I were in our assigned seats for the game, and though down early, we didn't fret. We've seen the A's charge back from early deficits all season, and with a power like Frank Thomas who can put a charge into one at any at bat, we knew we had a fighting chance. After an error allowed Milton Bradley to reach ahead of Thomas, I turned to my wife, and said, "Are you ready to erupt when Thomas hits a bomb here?" She said, "Of course," and not but a few pitches later, the Big Hurt sent a moon shot sailing into the left-field bleachers as the aforementioned Bradley and he trotted home, turning a potential loss into a probable victory.

After a slow start to the season, Frank Thomas has approached his decade-ago MVP days, and has put the team on his 6-foot 7-inch frame as the A's push hard toward making the off-season again after a two-year absence. While the cautious side of me wants to say it's too early to start preparing for post-season matchups, the team has been in the most comfortable position they've seen in a long time, and we have Thomas to thank for much of it, as he has shown a resurgence in getting on base, in picking up speed, and maintaining home run power. Every at bat of his is a real show, as he marches up the rungs of baseball history, passing hall of fame greats with every big swing. It is a pleasure to call ourselves A's fans and we wish to continue seeing Frank's frame in the batter box this year and beyond.

Listening to ''Melodica (Original Mix)'', by Paul Oakenfold (Play Count: 5)

Kendall Leads A's In Statistical Anomalies

Cross-posted at Athletics Nation...

I have to admit that for me, there was some anxiety around Jason Kendall smacking a home run earlier this season. That's not what we really what we expected, for in our mind, he fulfilled the role of "slap hitter with no home runs and many GIDPs", just as the Red Sox once filled the role of "the team who gets to the playoffs only to lose in heart-breaking fashion". As a baseball fan for nearly all my life, once you button-hole a player or a team in a spot, you expect them to stay there, and when they break the mold, you have to check your bearings and make sure all the other things you held true have not changed. But Jason has surprised a lot of us here beyond his solitary dinger, which still looks like a fluke.

As OaklandAthletics.com points out today, nobody has been swinging hotter lumber in these last few weeks than our gritty catcher.

In fact, in yesterday's win against the Rangers, Kendall had three hits, and both drove in and scored a run. And as the leadoff hitter, Kendall has done, all season, what you want a leadoff hitter to do - take pitches, get on base, and threaten to steal. In the leadoff position this year, Kendall is batting .304. But there's more!
Did you know...

* Kendall is batting .329 with runners on base in 2006?
* Kendall is batting .343 on the road in 2006?
* Kendall is fifth in the American league in BB/K at 1.03?
* Kendall is tied for the A's lead in steals?
* Kendall has more doubles (19) than Chavez (18) or Swisher (17)?

And if you somehow got the impression that Kendall hits a lot of ground balls, you wouldn't be alone in that thought. In fact, Kendall is also fifth in the American League in ground ball vs. fly balls, at 2.05. Lest you think that's a statistic for a slap hitter, other leading batters in this stat include Derek Jeter (#1), Pudge Rodriguez (#4), and Miguel Tejada (#6). That's right, Jason Kendall is ahead of Tejada in a number of batting categories!

I'm not saying I think the A's would be world-beaters if they featured Kendall in spots 1-9 in the batting order, but I don't cringe as often as I used to when he comes up to the plate with a mouthful of chaw,  his helmet slumped low on his eyes, and choking up on the bat, because in 2006, Kendall has been a major part of why the A's have forged their Western Division lead, and why after the All-Star break, the team has been practically unstoppable. We hope that this version of Jason Kendall is the one we get to keep.

Listening to ''Enervate (Original Mix)'', by Paul Oakenfold (Play Count: 6)

A Third NorCal NBA Team? San Jose Says Yes

Cross-posted at Sactown Royalty...

A few weeks ago, we talked about "Kings Country", the theoretical make-believe border between where Kings fans ended and Warriors fans began, etc. But now, there are rumblings of some trying to bring an NBA team to San Jose, to share the HP Pavilion with the Sharks, which would make northern California a three-team region - taking it a step further than every other professional sport, including MLB and the NFL, who are comfortable with their Oakland and San Francisco representatives.

In today's San Jose Mercury News, a piece titled, NBA team still on S.J. agenda, says that an investment group recently courted (no pun intended) the Seattle Supersonics in an attempt to bring them to Silicon Valley. Now, arena owners are openly discussing the need to make accomodations, in the event an NBA squad were brought to the South Bay.

"If you're not prepared and if something were to come up, you're really in trouble,'' said Greg Jamison, SVSE's chief executive officer. ``We want to be prepared in the event that possibly an NBA team becomes available.''

As you can expect, even the rumblings of potential sneakers on the hardwood has got San Jose's northern neighbors just a little peeved.

"I am not in the business of telling cities how to do their business,'' Warriors President Robert Rowell said Monday. ``However, I am sure there are better ways they can spend the taxpayers' dollar than on this project.''

Is Northern California strong enough to support the two teams it already has in professional hoops, let alone three? Are these Silicon Valley financial overlords enjoying recreational pharmaceuticals? And would the Kings be as impacted as the Warriors by the San Jose Motherboards? Your thoughts...

Listening to ''The DJ - In the Mix'', by ATB (Play Count: 13)

A's Win 12-10 After Being Down by 8 Runs

A typical 2006 A's game is one where the winning team claims victory by benefit of sharp pitching and defense, so a slugfest like tonight's game in Toronto, where both teams tallied double digits on the scoreboard, is highly atypical. What made the game even more atypical was the way that the A's fell behind early to the tune of 8-0, and rallied back for the win, matching the franchise's biggest comeback of all time, achieved only once before.

Though at the office when the game started, I periodically checked in on the score early, only to find our heros on the short end of an early deficit, first 3-0, and later 8-0. On Athletics Nation, loyal posters were committing faux suicide and claimed the game was over. Usually, it would be, but tonight was one for the record books. In the top of the 3rd, the A's got to starting pitcher Ted Lilly, and banged him up to the tune of 7 runs, knocking him out. In fact, the knockouts didn't end there. In front of the TV cameras, Lilly had words with the manager, and news services are now saying the two exchanged blows, drawing blood. That can't be good for team morale.

But the A's were the ones with punch the rest of the way. On the back of a 4-5 night by Jason Kendall, three hits by Eric Chavez, and home runs by Bobby Kielty, Milton Bradley, and Jay Payton, the team most known for its light offense didn't let up until they had pulled off the unimaginable. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why they play baseball, and why every game goes nine innings. It ain't over until they say it's over. And after it's all done, the A's still have a five game lead in the division, and look like they have a strong chance to make the playoffs. We've already purchased our tickets, and are looking forward to it, especially after this night to remember.

Listening to ''People'', by Paul Van Dyk (Play Count: 4)

A's Win 15th Straight vs. Mariners

Cross-posted At Athletics Nation...

Tonight, the A's extended their streak against the division rival Seattle Mariners to 15 straight victories, tying a major league record for the longest such streak against a division opponent since the introduction of division play almost 40 years ago.

In contrast to the two previous games in this series, which saw an A's blowout on Tuesday and a breath-taking comeback on Monday, tonight's game rested on the back of great starting pitching by Dan Haren (and impressive bullpen work), and a 3-run shot by Mark Ellis that provided all the offense the A's would need.



Haren struck out eight, and didn't walk anybody, in one of his most impressive pitching performances on the season as he made a strong case to be the team's ace in 2007 (Harden permitting). Seattle somehow managed 10 hits on the game (2 more than the A's), but couldn't get anybody past third base, and as anybody would tell you, "4th base is the important one".

With some sadness, we see the Mariners leave Oakland for the final time this season, but by no means is the series over between these two clubs, who resume their mismatch at the end of September at Safeco. The Mariners leave Oakland 12 games out of first, and with the A's sporting a 6 1/2 game lead on the Angels and Rangers, a six-game winning streak, and some serious momentum.

Listening to ''Energize'', by Nick Lunn (Play Count: 5)

Proposed: A Giants Fan Amnesty Program

Cross-posted at Athletics Nation...

As you can see above, it's pretty clear the San Francisco Giants aren't going anywhere this season - except to their vacation spots and retirement homes, come October. In contrast, the Oakland A's are very much a part of playoff contention, having won 9 of 10, pushing the team to a division lead of 4.5 games.

As you can imagine, there are probably a good number of Giants "fans" who are unhappy with their horse, and would give anything to join the bandwagon to follow the hot team on the other side of the bay. Yet, they are tied down to expensive season ticket packages at Phone Booth Park, and can't financially make the move.

I propose that the A's aggressively market to this unhappy group of baseball fan wanna-bes through a one-time amnesty program aimed at converting them and their friends to the A's fold for good.

I propose:

* The A's will grant 2006 playoff ticket rights to those Giants fans who turn in their remaining 2006 season tickets. To gain full playoff rights, the Giants fans will be given the opportunity to purchase an equivalent number of equal or lesser value A's tickets for half price.
* The A's will offer half-price day of game tickets in exchange for any two used 2006 ticket stubs from AT&T Park.
* The A's will offer a 25% discount on 2007 season tickets of equal or lesser value to any holder of 2006 Giants season tickets.
* The A's will offer a 40-50% discount on A's merchandise in exchange for Giants merchandise in very good to excellent condition. We simply want it off the streets, for the betterment of our community.
* Upon trade-in of any active or future Giants season tickets, the A's will gift the Giants ticket holders new A's caps, free of charge.

The questions to you:

* Would the A's be interested in converting Giants fans?
* Do you want to sit next to these bandwagon fans?
* Do they deserve to take playoff seats from true A's fans?
* Would this program be successful?

A's Playing Well, Extend Division Lead

For the better part of the last half-decade, the Oakland A's have been the best second-half team in all of baseball, seemingly putting behind any struggles they had in the initial few months of season, and surging forward to grab the lead in the American League West, or to extend it if they were already out in front. With a 19-9 record thus far following the All-Star Break, 2006 is playing the same tune, and the A's, following tonight's 6-3 defeat of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, now are the proud owners of a 4 1/2 game lead over the second-place Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, who dropped their contest against the mutually hated New York Yankees this morning.

In my first year as an A's season ticket holder, I've gone to a lot of games this year, and I'm not complaining, even though it now seems a considerable amount of my time is now spent driving up and down Interstate 880 to and from the game. Tonight, and yesterday, I was able to see these A's at their best, as Friday night saw them come back from a 2-0 deficit to win 5-2, and today, they won again, but instead capitalized on an early 5-0 lead, to win 6-3. Though the outcome was the same in both games, they certainly followed different formulas. Friday saw a 2-run home run by Bobby Kielty put the team ahead, and Saturday instead saw the patience needed to draw bases loaded walks, and no home runs were put on the board by the green and gold.

The A's have now won 8 of 9, are 12 games over the .500 mark, their high point for the season, and they have clinched their fifth consecutive series win. The team is on a serious roll, so long as we can all ignore the occasional aberration (See Wednesday's 14-0 blowout, for example). But while the team gets more comfortable in the midst of a pennant race, questions remain on injuries to key players, and if the Angels will stop acting like pretenders, and instead turn into contenders the last few months of the year. I know we'll be in our seats, pushing the A's forward in an effort to see them take on the postseason. After all, this week, we just ponied up the dough to watch them all the way through the World Series. Games like tonight and yesterday certainly help to make that dream more of a reality.

Listening to ''Nukleuz Trance Sessions, Vol. 1", by Various Artists (Play Count: 5)

A's Get Pummeled 14-0 As We Watch, Helpless

Given how many Oakland A's games I have had the opportunity to attend this year, it is no surprise that some of them don't turn out the way I had planned. Even the best teams in the league will lose 2 out of every 5, and while the A's had won six consecutive games, and were leading the American League West by 3 games at the beginning of play today, we saw the team completely fall apart in a 14 to 0 pounding at the hands of the Texas Rangers, who avenged the two previous days' losses in dramatic fashion - socking five home runs, and refusing to give the A's any kind of chance to compete.

After finally making it to the city this morning - about 90 minutes behind schedule, we connected for our meeting, and having knocked out the big to-do items, we, as a group, headed to Oakland expecting to give a good demonstration of the Bay Area's best team, but it was not to be today. A's ace Barry Zito started off the proceedings by giving up a home run in the first inning, and continued to struggle through 5 ugly innings. When relieved by a team of relief pitchers, they managed to fare worse, seeing a 4 run inning followed by a 7 run frame, and the rout was definitely on. In fact, I understand that the 14-0 blowout was the most lopsided shutout the Oakland A's have ever suffered. Yay... history. Woo.

It is well documented that the A's offense isn't exactly a barnburner. They simply manage to outscore their opponents more often than not, relying on strong team defense and starting pitching. But today, none of those elements shone through in any way. Not only did the team fail to score, and didn't see a base runner past the second base bag, but they also had three ugly errors, which only made things worse.

That's not to say the day wasn't fun. As they say, the worst day at the ballpark beats the best day at the office. With 80-plus degree temperatures, and an optimistic 30,000+ crowd for a day game that featured one-dollar hotdogs, we had a good time, and shook our head as the A's turned a challenging game into a comedy. Despite giving up the two touchdowns and extra points, the game counts as one in the standings, just like any contest, and the team's most-hated rival, the Angels, also managed to be shut out themselves, so the A's, though stunned, continue in first place by three games, and can press forward to their next opponent, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, who return to Oakland on Friday. We will be there, doing our best to ensure a different outcome.

Listening to ''Technologic'', by Daft Punk (Play Count: 13)

An Evening at Fenway Park

There's something about the exuberance of 36,000 Red Sox fans that has you rooting for the team, even if you know that you secretly should be rooting against them. That's the situation I found myself in this evening, as my wife and I shared a visit to the historic venue for the first time together. I had previously made  a stop at Fenway Park in May of 2005 on a business trip, but this was her first time.

The Red Sox led early, taking a 3-1 margin into the 3rd, when Cleveland struck back with a solo shot. In the fourth, Travis Hafner clubbed a homer around Pesky Pole, and tied it up. That was not to be the end of the scoring, however, as little-heralded Shin Soo Choo stepped up to the plate with the bases loaded in the 5th, and hit a grand slam, clearing the bases, and drawing a hush over the sellout crowd. With a 7-3 lead now, the Indians held on to win, even with David "Big Papi" Ortiz and Manny Ramirez coming up in the bottom half of the ninth. Though both sent soaring shots into the outfield, that's as far as the balls went, staying in the yard and extinguishing the team's hopes.

Being a baseball nut, it's hard to play the role of tourist, but we took a few pictures of the park, adding to the dozen or so I took last May. Below are some from this evening's experience.



 

Click images for larger versions

Listening to ''Mainline'', by Narcotic (Play Count: 4)

Set to See Sox at Fenway Thursday

My wife is a history buff. I am a baseball buff. Our two passions will intersect tomorrow evening when we take a trip a few blocks over from our hotel to see the Boston Red Sox take on the visiting Cleveland Indians at historic Fenway Park, site of back-to-back walkoff wins by the Red Sox in the last two nights. I first made the trip to Fenway Park myself in May of 2005, when on a business trip, I had planned ahead and scored the much-prized tickets. Though I enjoyed the game a great deal, the outcome was not what I had hoped, as the A's, coincidentally visiting Boston that week, managed to cough up the lead against Boston in the 9th inning, capsizing on a Kevin Millar home run over the Green Monster.

It seems that the Red Sox play amazingly well while I'm in town, for some reason. They came back against their rival Yankees in the 2004 ALCS from an unprecedented 3-0 deficit. They had a record of 0-3 prior to my coming to Boston, and were 8-0 the rest of the way, including the 2004 World Series. In 2005, I saw them defeat the A's in brutal fashion, and it was repeated the following day. On this trip, the Sox have wowed fans in the bottom of the ninth both Tuesday and Wednesday. Needless to say, if you're a betting man, it's clear the Indians aren't going to give you any kind of returns tomorrow. You can put it in the bank.

While I'm very much obviously an Oakland A's fan, I am absolutely a baseball fan first and foremost. In the last years, I've capitalized on business travel to see Fenway (now twice), Wrigley Field, Camden Yards, and Bank One Ballpark. My hope is that I can someday catch all 30 teams, and somehow get work to pay for it. That would be grand.

Listening to ''Track 06'', by DJ Lithium (Play Count: 4)

A's Win 2 of 3 From Rival Angels

In a critical latter-season series with the Angels in Anaheim, the A's extended their lead in the division to 1 1/2 games today, following the team's second one-run win in three days against their bitter rival, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Although the A's haven't exactly blown anybody away with their inconsistent offense, they are doing what is needed to win, and are winning with a frequency that has kept them in first place for the better part of the last few months.

Last week, I enjoyed one of the most A's-drenched weeks I've ever had, attending games on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, five games in a seven-day span. The A's won three of the five in that time, again just eking over the .500 mark.

With the team having a day game that started at 1 Pacific and 4 Eastern, it was all I could do to not stay attached to the Blackberry and follow the game pitch by pitch until our show floor activity was complete at 6. But somehow, we stayed focused, only to "see" the last inning and a half from the hotel room. With the calendar having recently turn to August, we're nearing the crunch time of the year, and the playoffs may await, should the team execute as we expect. But it's always that more sweet to accomplish it against a stiff rival like the Angels. The less seen of that team, the better.

Listening to ''Integral'', by Pet Shop Boys (Play Count: 8)

More Sports Graphs Than You Can Shake a Bat At

I've sometimes joked that the reason I like baseball isn't for the sport - it's for the statistics. Nowadays, there are so many varieties and permutations of statistics that can break down every little detail of a player, a team, a ballpark or a manager - sometimes to the point of over-analysis. But that doesn't stop the mathematically-oriented of us from finding new ways to address a simple pleasure through absolute geekdom.

One great site to deliver sports statistics through a mainline drip is called Fangraphs, best represented by the charts which show the Win Expectancy (WinExp) of a team throughout a game. Know that feeling you get when you know your team's going to win, and the inevitable roller coaster downwards when they cough up the lead (see yesterday's game)? FanGraphs has a graph sure to match your anxiety level.

Take a look at yesterday's game with the A's against the Blue Jays. Once cruising along with an 80% chance of victory, the A's gave away the lead, and reversed the odds, against them, only to storm back with one Milton Bradley swing. The chart does justice that words cannot. Check out the rest of the site for more goodness.

Bradley Makes AN Day 3 One to Never Forget

Cross-posted on Athletics Nation...

If any A's fans were on the fence regarding Milton Bradley before today, they've made sure to jump on The Gamer's back now, after he struck the final blow, a three-run shot with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, to bring the A's back from the jaws of defeat, sending them off the homestand victorious, having taken 3 of 4 from the Blue Jays. Since the All-Star Break, Bradley has been a giant among men for the A's, and his walkoff, the first of his career, was as dramatic as you'll see.

But beyond the final swing (what  a swing!) some elements cannot be overlooked.

* Mark Kotsay was ridiculously great in forcing a 12-pitch walk from vaunted Blue Jay closer B.J. Ryan, extending the game. He fouled off seven pitches, and took ball four, bringing Bradley to the plate as the potential winning run.

* Huston Street picked up the victory, but also proved many ANers right by folding in the 9th after sitting on the bench after having closed out the 8th. As we've seen a number of times this season, Huston hasn't had the tenacity to save a game when called upon to get more than three outs. To reach the status of a Mariano Rivera or other storied closers, he will need to develop this skill.

* Eric Chavez! The guy's hurting. We all know it, but he hasn't asked to take a day off. Even as his hitting is returning (he was in the 5 spot today, going 1 for 4), his defense is still top-notch. He was a defensive machine today, getting everything that went his way.

* And lastly, Shane Komine. Though he didn't pick up the victory in his major league debut, he left the game after six full with the A's on top. After the first pitch, he took the ball and threw it into the dugout for a keepsake, but the next pitch was a home run by the Jays' leadoff batter, giving the fan a keepsake themselves. After that, he was nearly lights-out, finishing with only four hits and four walks to go with the one run. He could be a great alternative to Saarloos if the league doesn't figure him out.

AN Day 3 could not have ended better. There was much more about AN Day 3 to discuss, and it will be discussed, with photos, but for now, we can rest in the glow we all felt when Bradley mashed that final pitch over the wall. For yet another day, the A's will go to bed in first place... alone.

Some sneak peek photos from AN Day 3... which saw A's GM Billy Beane and radio broadcaster Ken Korach entertain us with their stories and answering Q&A before the game, which also saw the first 15,000 receive Dan Haren bobbleheads at the gate. Billy Beane said he didn't expect any big moves to happen at the trading deadline, so barring a near-term apocalypse, we can all rest easy regarding Zito. I'll let others recap those discussions, but to whet your appetites, here are three images from AN Day 3. Others more adept at photography will no doubt follow with pictures that include more of the AN crew!

Click for a larger version of each...


Dan Haren strikes a pose with the Coliseum in the background.


Ken Korach talking to Blez prior to the game, with Beane listening.


Billy Beane answering questions from AN with Korach and Blez listening.

For a group photo of the AN crew listening to Billy Beane and Ken Korach, you could click here. I warn you... Nico and I are too closely featured. You've been warned.

A's Refusing to Leave First Place Spot

For all the weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth one has seen from A's fans of late, you would think the team was a cellar dweller, approaching only the Kansas City Royals and Pittsburgh Pirates for prolonged futility. But, following a two-game winning streak, the team has opened up a minute 1/2 game lead over the charging Los Angeles Angels, and continues to be atop of the American League Western Division.

The A's, who had a horrible May and an outstanding June, have treaded water in July, but somehow managed to never let go of first place, holding it solely or tied for the spot for the entire month, if memory serves. And this has happened despite not having the team's best pitcher practically all year, and despite lingering injuries to key players including Eric Chavez, Bobby Crosby, Milton Bradley and Frank Thomas. The team's offense hasn't really wowed anybody of late, but for some odd reason, they are still managing to outscore the other team more times than not.

I've seen this phenomenon in person - most recently on Wednesday, when I played hooky from the office to see the A's beat the Red Sox 5-1, in a mixed partisan crowd, of whom approximately 40 percent were Boston fans. I also attended Monday night's game, which the A's lost, and am set to be at the Oakland Coliseum through the weekend before traveling to Boston myself (for work, not baseball).

In a screed on Athletics Nation, I wrote Tuesday that fans' need to be negative derives from their need to be first to make a claim, but if we could all exercise patience, one will see the A's don't intend to go quietly, and they'll be in a race for the playoffs all season long.

Listening to ''Another Woman'', by Moby (Play Count: 7)

Late Night Sports Notes: July 18, 2006

Heck... if I can devote a whole entry just to technology notes, then why leave out sports?

The A's, despite a good start by rookie pitcher Jason Windsor, who was making his major league debut, fell at the hands of the Baltimore Orioles by a score of 5-3 this evening. Meanwhile, hot on the A's heels are the Anaheim (err... Los Angeles) Angels, who have won seven straight and crept to within a half of game of the division lead. However, at this point, the A's continue to hold first place, though every loss makes things just that much more dicey. Amazing how all the good feelings from taking 3 of 4 against Boston can be erased with one down game.

Switching gears, and sports, my latest entry to Sactown Royalty, which marked Kenny Smith's entry into #14 on the all-time Sacramento Kings roster, was posted shortly after midnight tonight. Kenny only lasted 2+ seasons at Arco Arena, and made more of a name for himself with the Houston Rockets, gaining two championships, and later as a TV analyst for TNT, taking potshots from Charles Barkley on a nightly basis.

Listening to ''Do You Feel the Same'', by Ian Van Dahl (Play Count: 11)

A's Struggles Likely My Fault

Cross-posted at Athletics Nation

As the A's went down to defeat again tonight, following yesterday's disappointing one-hit shutout against the division rival Angels, it has become time I address the fact we may have a very serious problem about how I have impacted the team, and not in a good way.

I submit to you...

* The A's in 2006 have a record of 45-42 (.517)
* The A's in 2006 have a home record of 24-21 (.533)

Yet, in the 19 games I've attended, they are 8-11 (.421). Only three teams in all of baseball (Royals, Cubs & Pirates) have worse numbers.

* April 14, 15 vs. Texas  (Loss, Win)
* April 18 vs. Detroit (Win)
* April 21, 22 vs. LAA (Win, Loss)
* May 5,6 vs. Tampa Bay (Loss, Win)
* May 19, 20, 21 vs. San Francisco (Win, Loss, Loss)
* June 2 vs. Minnesota (Loss)
* June 16, 17 vs. LA Dodgers (Win, Win)
* June 30, July 1 vs. Arizona (Loss, Loss)
* July 3,5 vs. Detroit (Win, Loss)
* July 7,8 vs. LAA (Loss, Loss)

This means...

* The A's record without me in attendance is 37-31 (.544)
* The A's home record in 2006 without me is 16-10 (.615)

If you apply the .615 winning percentage to the 19 games I attended, assuming I were not there, and that they played to their potential, with my attendance being the sole factor, then the A's should have won 11.7 contests (rounded up to 12) so far of those 19, not 8. Thus, I personally may have already cost the team 4 games in the standings. I am very concerned about the remainder of the season, for I am only about halfway through my season tickets!

Listening to ''X & Y'', by Coldplay (Play Count: 10)

A's Marathon Continues - But Today They Lose

I was lucky enough to be granted an extra day to extend the four-day weekend, and I spent it just where I belonged, at the Oakland Coliseum, watching the A's take on the Central Division leading Detroit Tigers, after having taken the first two games of the series. 

Better yet, I met up with Blez and Nico from Athletics Nation, and the three of us took in today's game, under sunny weather, and in great seats. The game was my fourth in six days, after catching Friday and Saturday versus Arizona, and Monday, with my wife and parents, where we saw the A's beat the Tigers in the first game of the series, followed by the customary fireworks. And we're set to see the Friday and Saturday games against the division rival Angels, which would mean we were in the Coliseum for six games in the space of nine days - a practical windfall!

Seeing the game with Blez and Nico is a challenge. One is the founder of Athletics Nation, while the other used to run the sports desk at KALX in Berkeley. Both know their baseball, and while I can hold my own, it's a lot of fun to project what the A's will do next, or who they should sit or trade. Both are key assets for the Athletics Nation site, without which I probably wouldn't have ben motivated to get season tickets or even attend Spring Training, as we did earlier this year. In fact, I tried to outline my appreciation for the site on AN earlier today, in a "Public AN Appreciation Thread".

Somehow, despite today's 10-4 loss, the A's are still in first place. Though they've got a well-respected pitching staff, their offense continues to drag. We'll see if changes are made, or if they'll stand pat. My guess is no changes.

Listening to ''Space Manoeuvres'', by Sasha (Play Count: 8)

A's Baseball Season Halfway Complete

A 162-game baseball season is full of peaks and valleys, winning streaks and losing skids, as even the best teams lose between 60 and 70 games a year. And as fans, we rise and fall with every one. Just as we were exultant when the A's had won ten straight, we are now despondent with them just being swept by the Diamondbacks. And the strain is wearing thin for many of us who expected the A's to not just challenge to make the playoffs, but to go deep in the playoffs, potentially for a world title.

Having reached the 81-game mark, the season is officially half done, and the stats side of me would love to look at all the data there and just double it to indicate what we'll look like at the end of the year. If only it were that simple... we could start printing playoff tickets right now.

Blez from Athletics Nation has done the hard work for us, examining every position player and pitcher, and assigning first half grades. For a first-place ball club, the A's players and pitchers don't fare all that well, with some notable exceptions. Overall, you will see a ton of C's and D's, as the offense continues to be a challenge, against good pitchers and bad.

We'll be back at the Coliseum tonight, for our 3rd game in 4 days, and are set to enjoy the festivities.

Listening to ''Head'', by Röyksopp (Play Count: 4)

A's Series Sweep Lies at the Feet of Macha

Cross-posted at Athletics Nation

When you can't rely on a team's offense to score more than 1 or 2 runs a game, whether against good pitchers like Brandon Webb, or "less good" pitchers like Miguel Batista, and Claudio Vargas, it intensifies the need for every other piece of the game to fall into place - defense, relief pitching, and game management.

Today, with the A's only offense being "YAFTS" (Yet Another Frank Thomas Solo", and Zito pitching his heart out into another 120+ pitch outing, every other piece contributed to today's failure, as could be seen by those watching at home, and from AN spies sitting behind home plate today, namely:

• Dan Johnson's 9th inning error allowed the Diamondback's offense to get started at a critical juncture. As Ron Washington has publicly stated that Swisher is the better defensive first baseman, and we have seen Payton and Kielty hot at the plate, it may be time to consider moving Swisher to 1st, and having an outfield that includes Payton, Kotsay and Kielty or Bradley, when Kielty or Bradley return.
  
• Frank Thomas - what a pickup! He homers yesterday to break up the shut out. He homers today to start off the scoring. But why is he still batting 4th, as it continues to have him leading off innings with nobody on base? Yes, the A's other hitters have to do something, but in this humble fan's opinion, Thomas is our best hitter right now, and should be in the third spot.
  
• Zito should not have been out there as long as he was. While he's the team's ace, he should not have been allowed to pitch the 9th, especially as hitters reached base. With fans yelling, "Macha, Wake Up!", the game slipped away, while Huston Street was ready to come in, both to start the inning, and later, with one out. For comparative purposes, the Yankees frequently put Mariano Rivera in to start the 9th at home in a tie game situation. Street never had a chance.
  

And when Macha finally did take Zito out of the game, he was "straight-up booed", according to those who were there, while Zito received a standing ovation.

Yes, the offense is tired. Yes, the offense didn't do squat in a three-day series at home against a lousy team from a lousy division from an inferior league. But adjustments have to be made that utilize common sense. And with the team starting off July 0-2, the heat should be on the manager and the pitching coach, and the hitting coach - as each of them could and should have done something in today's game to avert this calamity.
Listening to ''Siyncho'', by DJ Kimball Collins (Play Count: 4)

Stomper Loves Athletics Nation

Cross-posted at Athletics Nation

At today's game, we arrived in our usual seats in section 114, row 28, only to find the sun extended only to row 27, and that we were in the shade. It's July! Give us some sun, even if you're not going to give us any offense, A's!

So, my wife and I, both sporting our Athletics Nation t-shirts, made our way to section 212, and tried to get slightly darker than Elmer's Glue. And we found sun! But guess who else we found? That's right, America's favorite non-political elephant, Stomper!

Stomper came by us, waving and high fiving the fans, the pair of us included. Now, if I haven't mentioned it before, it should be noted that my wife has a somewhat unhealthy crush on mascots, and Stomper specifically, so I was somewhat surprised she didn't take off with him and leave.

But before that could happen, Stomper reached across the row, and tap-tapped my shirt on the Athletics Nation script, did a thumbs up sign, hit his own chest repeatedly and nodded, again flashing the thumbs up sign. Stomper lives among us.

But he didn't tell me his log-on. Damn elephant didn't talk.

Listening to ''Live 4 Music (Megara vs. DJ Lee Remix Edit)'', by DJ Shog (Play Count: 4)

Public Funding for Sports Stadiums Is Ridiculous

There are countless examples of professional sports teams who, in an effort to develop new playing facilities for their franchises, have turned to the public for funding, through additional taxes. The suggestion is that improved facilities deliver increased revenues and additional business to the surrounding areas, therefore offering the potential to invigorate an entire community's economy.

Yet if one examines the underlying issues, it simply doesn't hold water. The fans who would vote in favor of public funding are the very folks who would be asked to pay the resulting increase in ticket prices that is inevitable, and the owners themselves would be raking in the profits from expanded turnstiles. Yet, not even that level of support can guarantee loyalty. Though funded publicly, the owners are under no obligation to put a good team on the field or on the court, to spend a minimum amount on salaries, and they are not required to keep a team in a city, but have the opportunity to uproot the franchise if they think they've found a better deal.

Locally, the San Francisco Giants repeatedly set up ballot initiatives to gain public financial support, and continually failed. Instead, the team's owners turned to private funding, and with a little help from sponsors and naming rights, AT&T (nee PacBell and SBC) Park was developed.

Now, we see the Sacramento Kings trying the same thing - begging for a quarter-cent sales tax to be inflicted on the public to gain them a replacement for Arco Arena, even though only 27% of those asked in a survey thought the team needed a new court as it is. This evening, according to the Sacramento Bee, KCRA and others, talks with city and county governments have stalled, and it will be at least another two years before they can put the proposed measure in front of voters again. I for one think it's time the billionaire owners took a serious risk and found the good business sense to invest in the community themselves.

Listening to ''Microclimate'', by Stereolab (Play Count: 4)

A's Fans Don't Hate the Giants

Cross-posted at McCovey Chronicles

Disclosure: I'm an A's fan, and have been since I was young enough to distinguish between teams. I also am fairly active on Athletics Nation, McCovey's sister site. Residing on the peninsula, I of course have friends, neighbors and coworkers who are Giants fans, and my Dad has always been a Giants fan, growing up in the Mays/McCovey era, not that he could tell me anybody besides Bonds on the current Giants roster...

In reading yesterday's game thread on this site, there was a lot of discussion on why the A's hate the Giants, or why the A's fans should hate the Giants or their fans, or any of that nonsense.

Here are my thoughts - it's not really there. Of course it is fun to root for your favorite team against another in close proximity, and of course it is fun to grandstand and argue superiority of A's vs. Giants, but the truth is that we don't really think much about the Giants when we're not playing them. We would much rather HATE the Angels or HATE the Yankees than HATE the Giants.

What have the Giants done to hurt the A's ever? Nothing, really. In the only series that counted, 17 years ago, you guys rolled over. In interleague play, the games have been very even, with the exception of a random 16-0 blowout at our place, or an Eric Byrnes cycle at your place every once in a while. When Barry Bonds came to our place and hit 714, we cheered. We stood and applauded. And then we booed his ass when he got back in the box the next time up. That's part of being a fan.

Is it part of being a fan to talk trash? Absolutely. One of the lines I most commonly use is, "AT&T Park is a great stadium. It's too bad they couldn't find a major league team to play there." Not very nice, I guess... but in good fun. And when I went to AT&T Park for a recent Colorado Rockies series, I wore my A's cap down in the recessed bullpen seating area. That got me a lot of attention, some amusing, and some not so good, but I deserved it for being so blatant. One Giants fan in her fury, said, "What are you doing? That's like wearing a Yankees cap to Fenway Park!?"

But I didn't think it was the same. The Giants fans tend to try to look down on the A's fans, and the A's fans have somewhat annoyed ambivalence about the Giants and their fans. It's not hatred the way I hate Derek Jeter or Mike Scioscia. They can rot in hell. (And they will!)

I would say that part of the quasi-smug ambivalence comes from knowing the Giants occupy a certain role here in the Bay Area. They are to compete and play hard, but not ever go all the way. The Giants, seemingly every year in the last few decades, has challenged for the division and in many cases, made the playoffs, but even in 2002, we didn't really think you were going to win it all. Now, if you had, things might be different around here. The Giants fans could hold that over our head, and say 1989 is a distant memory, one played by confessed juiced superstars and rendered irrelevant due to the Loma Prieta issue.

So what's left? Mostly issues off the field. Everybody knows KNBR occupies a special place in the radio dial. They are a force to be reckoned with. It would be great to dream that KNBR could have a Giants/49ers station on 680, and the A's/Raiders station on 1050, but until I hear otherwise, that's pure fantasy on our part. The A's have played the lesser step-children on the radio dial, and major media like the San Francisco Chronicle for some time, and we should have to just eat that. As for the stadium, I happen to really like McAfee Coliseum. But that's probably due to memories and nostalgia, as it's clearly not due to modern amenities. It was a beautiful park before Mount Davis, and now it's just a great place to see a great team play a great game.

The A's don't hate the Giants. It would be giving your team too much respect to say that we do. Even coming at the issue from a neutral standpoint, it's hard to see how the Giants team is even worth getting gussied up about. Bonds is a force of nature (and chemistry), and is to be respected. But the rest of the team (Finley, Alou, etc.) doesn't overwhelm anybody on paper or on the field. Why get frustrated or noisy about this current squad? It's not even worth it. Jason Schmidt? A great pitcher. Matt Cain? A good pitcher with streaks of great. Even Ishikawa is fun to see hit. But that's just about where it begins and ends. I don't see the Giants contending in the future the way the A's are prepared to do unless Giants owners pony up the cash once Barry leaves. Otherwise, we might see one good team and one bad team here in the Bay Area for awhile. And we won't really hate that either.
Listening to ''Matter Of Fact'', by Roni Size/Reprazent (Play Count: 6)

Confessions of a Longtime Kings Fan

(Via Sactown Royalty...)

Growing up in what some called "Extreme Northern California", being a Sacramento Kings and Oakland A's fan came naturally. My first Walkman piped in Tim Roye on KFBK 1530 on most nights through the winter and spring months, as I heard the highlights and lowlights of a team, who frankly, wasn't very good. The Kings were perennial basement dwellers, featuring players like Wayman Tisdale, Vinny Del Negro, Lionel Simmons, Danny Ainge and Duane Causwell, and scarcely threatening to win more than 29 games in a full season.

Yet, for some reason, I started every tipoff to every game expecting them to win. Although my father and I both knew the best thing to do was to turn off the Kings game after the end of the third quarter, just to avoid listening to the guaranteed heartbreak that was to come, through legendary fourth quarter collapses, he was the only one strong enough to leave, while I would stay glued to the radio speakers for every last shot until the final horn would sound.

Though the players would change, the Kings' momentum didn't, for any number of reasons. I remember waiting excitedly when the Kings had the #1 overall pick, only to see them pick up "Never Nervous" Pervis Ellison, over other more heralded prospects. I remember when the team set the NBA record for consecutive road losses, with 37, and I remember when I learned that Bobby Hurley, once seen as the future of the franchise, had forever damaged his promising career in a near-fatal car accident. For the Kings, to lose was their role, and when they unexpectedly won, it only made it that much more exciting.

After years of listening in, I finally attended a game, on my birthday as a teenager, where we sat in the nosebleed section of Arco, and saw the home team take down the much-favored Phoenix Suns and Charles Barkley in a close game. The crowd was loud, and we all went nuts, first when Charles got a technical, as we had hoped, and then when it was clear we were going to take home the W. The playoff atmosphere was there, even if the playoffs weren't. On a separate occasion, the Kings made NBA history through two highly improbable blowouts in back to back games. I remember running excitedly to the front of the house, Walkman in hand, to tell my parents that for the second time in three nights, the Kings (yes, our last place Kings) were up by forty. It was incredible. But for some reason, it seemed I was the only one who cared. On other nights, while allegedly doing homework, I would scrawl down the point differentials in the margins of my paper or count them up and down through the game's peaks and valleys (-3, -1, +1, -1, +1, +3, +1, etc.). I would know before the announcers said it if the Kings had reached the highest lead of the game and bark at the unresponsive radio if they weren't keeping their listeners posted.

It wasn't until I got to college that the Kings made their way to the playoffs, on the back of team leader Mitch Richmond, and through this, the team launched a new era in Sacramento Kings history, one that, as you know, now sees them challenging for the playoffs year in and year out, even as the roster shifts - from Richmond and Williamson to Webber and Divac, to Stojakovic and Bibby, and today. I rooted just as hard for our Kings in the playoffs as I did as a kid when the postseason was for other teams, and watched as those wearing the purple and gold would come out of the woodwork, claiming allegiance. We all know what has happened every year, as the Kings haven't made it to the promised land, falling short, since 1951. But as I always expected them to win during their down times, I start every year expecting this will be the one.

Though the dust hasn't yet settled on Miami's title over the Mavericks, we should start preparing today, as Kings fans, for how we can help push this squad forward to a title, one that no other team deserves more. The Kings are your team, and Sactown Royalty is your home. Welcome home. Thanks for inviting me.

Listening to ''City Too City (S.H.O.K.K. Mix)'', by Sound Of Overdose (Play Count: 9)

Sactown Royalty: The Kings of NBA Blogging

SportsBlogs Nation is growing rapidly, having expanded the sites' reach beyond all 30 major league baseball teams to the NBA, and is making inroads in the NFL and college realms. As mentioned here before, I've followed the Sacramento Kings for a very long time, back before they were perennial playoff contenders, and when every won game was a luxury. Though not as passionate about the Kings as I am the A's, I always look to see when the team is on television and follow in-game scores via Yahoo! or ESPN. Now, with Sactown Royalty, I'll have the chance to get as absorbed into the team as I have our friends in green and gold.

In April, Sactown Royalty featured a playoff predictions thread, where we could pick the winner of each round, and in how many games. Shockingly, I got every single winner of every playoff round correct - except for the first round Kings vs. Spurs matchup, which I attribute solely to blatant homerism on my part. This of course outpaced all other predictions on the site, and makes me wish I'd gone to Vegas with my hunches, which had Miami over Dallas in six games, just as the final round ended up.

My fandom on Sactown Royalty has been noticed, as I've just been contacted by the site editor to become a part-time writer on the site, as I've done with Athletics Nation for the last year or so. I'm not guaranteeing that all of a sudden you'll see black and purple ANtics-like comics, but I definitely will be dusting off the hardwood encyclopedia and getting my hoops brain back in gear if I'm going to make any kind of positive input. Definitely watch this space.

Listening to ''Nukleuz Trance Sessions, Vol. 1 (Live DJ Mix)'', by Various Artists (Play Count: 4)

A's Defeat Dodgers To Win Eighth Straight

For some reason, the Oakland A's always seem to find a higher gear when the weather starts to get hot. After a break-even April and difficult May, the A's have found themselves in a big way this June, and have rattled off eight consecutive victories, gaining themselves sole possession of first place in the AL West, currently one-half game ahead of the Texas Rangers.

Last night, my wife and I returned to our seats with our season tickets and saw pitcher Barry Zito look unhittable, as he shut down the Dodgers with a career-high eleven strikeouts. On the offensive side, the A's led the way with seven doubles and a two-run home run by Eric Chavez which hit the right field foul pole, as the team won 7-3.

About the only frustration we had with the evening were the sophomoric, drunken, ridiculously loud bleatings from the fans directly behind us, who crowned their belligerence through spilling beer on the 65-plus year old patron to my right. Somehow, he managed not to teach the little whippersnappers a lesson, but took it in stride, though it was clear he was seething.

As season ticket holders who paid good money for good seats, one would hope we would be isolated from such "exceptional" fans, who traditionally stay in the cheap seats. But on multiple occasions this year, it has not been the case, and definitely has an impact on the fan experience. Good thing the A's are winning again.

Listening to ''Love Is Gonna Save Us'', by Benny Benassi & The Biz (Play Count: 3)

A's Closer Comes Up Clutch to Stymie Seattle

Part of being an Oakland A's fan is perpetually hoping for the best, while expecting the worst, and when things don't turn out to quite be the calamity you had anticipated, you are in a serious state of shock. Surprisingly, after a swath of injuries threatened to tear the team's early season asunder, the club has rattled off a series of big wins, and none more impressive than today's 2-0 thriller in Oakland against division rival Seattle, as the team walked on the precipice of danger before roping in the victory.

After seeing starter Joe Blanton hold the Mariner hitters at bay for a strong eight innings pitched, the A's held a 2-0 lead going into the top of the 9th, but things threatened to fall apart when Blanton allowed the first two batters to reach base, the second of whom had nailed a double, pushing the lead runner to third, all with nobody out. What had once been a promising lead was on the verge of disaster, and Blanton's night was done, as closer Huston Street was summoned to work miracles and wrap up the game.

Yet Huston didn't make it to easy when he plunked the first batter with a pitch, loading the bases, still all with nobody out, and set himself up to face the heart of the Mariners' order. After striking out the next batter, the one following did the same, and Huston convinced the final batter, Carl Everett to pop up to left field, extinguishing the threat, and putting a cap on the A's win, which had only seconds before seemed like all was lost and would be yet another point we could look back on at the end of the season and wonder what might have been. Instead, the team moves on with its fourth straight victory, Blanton gets the win, Street looks like he communes with deity, and the A's find themselves only a half game out of first place, behind Texas, who lost earlier.

As a fan, I loved the outcome, and wonder why the team continues  to keep my stress level at a constant high point. Of course, it could be worse. I could have been a Seattle fan. And thanks to SportsBlogs Nation, we can see just how both sides took it.

Lookout Landing: 6/13 Open Thread, Part 2 | Athletics Nation: Short and Street

Listening to ''Just One Fix'', by Ministry (Play Count: 9)

Aaron "Bleeping" Boone

I don't know if any of you have ever tried to "watch" an A's game by using your Blackberry or wireless phone, refreshing the game page through ESPN or any other providers, but I was doing just that this afternoon when Joe Blanton's putting runners on caught up with him - in the form of Aaron Boone. If you have ever followed a game this way, you know any kind of significant delay in updates, despite refreshes, means something very good, or in this case, very bad, has happened. Boone's 0-0 in-game record quickly filled my screen with the wrong kind of numbers... 1-1, 1R, 1HR, 3RBI.

By the next refresh, the game score read 4-0, and the line below followed with 1-1, 1R, 1HR, 1RBI. For those scoring at home, that was when Grady Sizemore sized up Blanton's pitch as home run worthy and took him back to back... and made me much more interested in finding out if I'd missed any e-mail on said Crackberry instead of seeing if Joe could pull out of it.

Being a good A's fan, I didn't stay away long, but it looks like Joe's 2006 roller coaster continues, even as we get Rich Harden and Esteban Loaiza back to resume their roles in the rotation. Fresh off his complete game shutout (albeit against the Royals), Joe didn't fool many in Cleveland today, and his successors didn't fare too much better.

In my mind, the best play by Cleveland may not have been one of the four home runs the team hit, but instead the unintentional intentional walk handed to Frank Thomas in the sixth inning with the bases loaded. Rather than risking a 6-0 game turning to a 6-4 contest, the Indians would much rather face Bobby Kielty with the bases juiced and the opportunity to turn an inning-ending double play.

Ronnie Mac did his part too, although TV replays clearly showed Peralta didn't come anywhere near second base to get the lead runner. With Frank Thomas hitting well in May and June, raising his average 46 points (from .188 to .234) and slugging 9 home runs, the Indians took the A's biggest threat and snuffed it out. That's what good teams do, and the Indians are a contending team in what will be an intriguing AL Central race this year with Detroit and Chicago.

Tomorrow's game will see Loaiza take on Jason Johnson at 9:05 a.m. PDT. Yes. In the morning.

Listening to ''Signs of Love'', by Moby (Play Count: 7)

Baseball's Drug Issue to Get A Lot More Messy

Since the word BALCO became a household term, the idea of baseball's sluggers being juiced, and jacking out ridiculous amounts of home runs has been part of the public mindset, with hitters like Barry Bonds, Rafael Palmeiro, Jose Canseco and Jason Giambi being some of the leading examples. Yet approximately half of the positive drug tests in baseball so far have belonged to guys who don't hold bats at all - the pitchers, including some very mediocre pitchers who apparently were looking for a little more zip on their fastball, or accelerated recovery from injury. And in the last few days, one of those mediocre pitchers, Jason Grimsley of the Arizona Diamondbacks, has become the center of the latest developments that threaten to break the steroid case wide open.

Following major league baseball's adoption of rigorous drug testing for players, chiefly aimed at eliminating steroids and amphetamines, players who were on the dope had to change their drug of choice to one that is both undetectable and effective - the human growth hormone (HGH). According to an affidavit released today, Grimsley ordered HGH to be sent to his home, and as the package was tracked, federal agents arrived on the scene demanding he cooperate or be arrested. According to numerous reports, Grimsley not only openly discussed his own drug use - from HGH to steroids and amphetamines, but also named names, and given that he's played for a host of teams in the last decade, he named a significant number of abusers, whose activities are no doubt now being investigated as part of the broad federal case against illicit drug use in sports.

Subsequently, Grimsley requested his release from the Diamondbacks and left the team today, as to not draw further attention to the team. His agent says the move effectively ends his mediocre career.

As chronicled here previously, as an avid baseball fan, I always had hoped, naively, that the steroid allegations against boyhood heros Jose Canseco, Mark McGwire and others were not true, yet the evidence is overwhelming, and Grimsley may serve to extend the case from a known few to a much larger list that could dwarf the famed Black Sox scandal of 1919 with its reach. We'll have to wait and see who these folks are as the names are uncovered over time, but I assume we'll see the rapid installment of some very high priced lawyers to keep their high paid clients out of court.

Listening to ''Knuddelmaus'', by Ulrich Schnauss (Play Count: 14)

Very Frustrating Evening As A's Fans

We had a very frustrating evening trying to be good A's fans. For a 7:05 game, we didn't leave the office until 7 p.m. (long story), and tried to listen to the game up North 880 only to come back late from commercial and have missed Frank Thomas' home run... the only run the A's would score in the game. We eventually made it to the park just as the bottom of the 5th was ending in time to see Jason Kendall popping up. An hour later, we were all done, and the A's lost 2-1, on a two-run bomb, despite starter Kirk Saarloos pitching well. I spent more time in the car than at the game.

What made it worse? We were surrounded by people who didn't pay attention to the game and thought they were paid by the word. One woman was so adept at making noise that a guy bought her an ice cream cone and said maybe that would shut her up. It didn't work.

Grrrrrrrr...
Listening to ''Ping Pong'', by Stereolab (Play Count: 7)

For A's, Fireworks Somehow Avoid Team

This being the Memorial Day holiday, the Oakland A's did what was right and proper - holding an evening game at the Coliseum, with proper respect paid to the armed services, and finishing with a full fireworks display to honor the holiday. This being the second ballpark fireworks show for me in four days, I was pretty comfortable with what I could expect post-game, but the team manages to make each game just a little unexpected, and of late, those surprises haven't been positive. Today was no different, as the team managed to fall 6-4 against the lowly Royals, the ball club's 9th loss in its last 10 contests, pushing their record five games below the .500 mark, the lowest point they have been all year. It is May after all. (See Blez's column on the toughest job in sports for fans - being an A's supporter in April or May)

Tonight was one of those nights where, on paper, it seemed the A's were destined to win. The Kansas City Royals have been perennial doormats in the American League Central, and had won only three games on the road all year. Going to the mound was A's reject pitcher Seth Etherton, who couldn't find a spot on the A's starting rotation in 2005. Yet somehow the team never led in the game, falling behind 2-0 early, and not getting much closer, as the Royals tacked on runs later in the game to pull away, rendering a ninth-inning home run by Nick Swisher meaningless. Insult to injury was made complete when supposed team leader Eric Chavez grounded into a double play to end the game, instead of blasting a tying home run in the seats, as I'm sure his contract stipulates.

Unlike others, we're not in full panic mode, ready to call for Ken Macha's head on a stick, or demand wild-eyed trades, demotions and benchings. The A's struggles on a general level still track back to the fact that many key players, especially in their pitching rotation have spent more time on the trainer's table than they have on the field in recent weeks, and the team has had to compete with players who expected to be spending more time in Sacramento in AAA than in the big time. We have to remain optimistic that if the club ever has its full squad in gear, that they can execute solidly on their potential and take charge in an otherwise lukewarm American League West division, which has the Rangers in sole possession of first place, four games up. Then, we can see real fireworks on the field.

Listening to ''Chapel Of Rest'', by Last Prayer (Play Count: 6)

Roaming In the Land of Barry Bonds

As mentioned previously, we had a rare opportunity to attend a Giants game in San Francisco tonight. With my A's in the midst of losing the team's seventh straight contest in Texas, at least one Bay Area team could try and make headway in the win-loss column, even if they were wearing black and orange, not green and gold. A vendor from the office had offered a free game with all the amenities possible, and we agreed to go, even if we still demanded to wear our A's cap and A's sweatshirt - both essential elements at every good ballgame.

The seats, in a depressed area alongside first base and the visitors bullpen, were very interesting. Though closer to the players than any other seats I've ever attended a game in, they didn't offer the clearest view, surprisingly, as the angle meant some pitches or plays were obscured by a thick, padded bar running along the top of the fence. Despite that annoyance, we were close enough to the action to fear the occasional foul ball, and we could see Barry Bonds grin as he trotted to first base on a walk, and we could judge how ballplayers' uniforms looked - from the old-school approach preferred by Rockies first baseman Todd Helton, sporting knee-high socks, or the baggy jeans look preferred by Rockies relievers.

In fact, at one point, a sky-high popup made its way toward us, and I had my glove in the air, only to see the ball drift further back and out of reach. A minute later, my phone rang, and a colleague, seeing the game on TV, said, "Why didn't you catch that?", having spotted my A's cap when the overhead camera traversed our area. She was teasing, but it was fun to see we had made it on the big screen, even if only briefly.

In great contrast to the A's struggles, the Giants never trailed in the game, and finished it up strong, pulling away en route to a 9-0 victory that saw great hitting, not only from Bonds, but from a rookie first baseman, Travis Ishikawa, who after limited plate appearances, is now sporting a .667 average, and is slugging 1.000, sporting 2 doubles and 2 singles in 6 at bats. Meanwhile, Jason Schmidt continued his hot pitching, following last week's 130+ pitch effort against the A's with seven shutout innings. Barry didn't hit 715, but there were fireworks after the game of the real variety, as to celebrate Memorial Day, San Francisco's night sky lit up with bursts of color, previewing what will very likely be quite a similar show in Oakland this next Monday.

Though I had a good time, no amount of free food and excellent seats can obscure the fact that this wasn't my team on the field. The A's weren't there, and as a real fan I should not have enjoyed the Giants game any more than if I had stayed at home to see the A's fail on television, and surprisingly, in some ways, that's true. But I'm glad we went.

Listening to ''Perfect Silence (Album Mix)'', by Blank & Jones (Play Count: 4)

Watching the A's Offense - Not So Fun

The A's went down to defeat at the hands of the Chicago White Sox again today, falling 3-2, and found themselves swept in the series. Watching the team bat now, especially during this five-game losing streak, is frustrating to say the least. They don't really have legitimate power, and the two guys who were carrying the team in April have inevitably slowed down, so much so that the homerless Jason Kendall has now risen to the top of the list as an offensive power, a point ludicrous only months ago.

As a diehard fan, I start every game knowing that the A's have the advantage, and that they will emerge victorious against the undeserving opposition. But as the definition of insanity goes, how many times do we watch them perform so badly in the same fashion and expect a different result? When does a five-game losing streak look less like an aberration and more like an accurate portrayal of the team's skills? It certainly gets frustrating.

As I told a friend last week, getting depressed over social issues or personal despair isn't entirely logical to many men, but to live and die based on the local sports team's ability to win games makes perfect sense. I know my days are better when the A's win, and I know I start the next day in a funk if they didn't come out on top. It's time to find the "offensive" pill the A's are looking for to eradicate depression from my life.

Listening to ''Dirty Epic'', by Underworld (Play Count: 6)

Wet and Cold In Oakland As A's Falter

We had looked forward to this three-game series against the Giants with great optimism. Not only would we have a chance to see Barry take on the Babe's statistics, but more importantly, our favorite team could obtain bragging rights in what's often a hostile rivalry, one that the Giants seem to have favor in the media race, even when the A's have accomplished much more during their tenure than have the Giants, amassing four World Series titles to the Giants zero, and continually making a run at the playoffs year after year. However, following today's 6-0 defeat, in which the A's could only manage a single hit, and never threatened, we find them losers of two out of three, yet still tied with Texas for first place in the division, who similarly fell against their rival Astros.

What made the day even more difficult was a steady rain that began in the first inning and continued throughout the nine-inning affair. While never truly threatening to stop the contest, we were first dampened, then cooled, then soaked, after hours of getting a wide-scale version of Chinese water torture - even as we watched our team get tortured in their own way, pitch after pitch from Giants hurler Matt Cain.

As we've noted a number of times on Athletics Nation, the A's offense has a special knack for making the opposing team's pitcher rival the memory of Cy Young. It seems even more likely that it's not the opponent's skills, but the A's weaknesses that are showing through. Even as we've seen some regulars shake off early-season doldrums that saw many below the Mendoza line, we're still not confident that they can go toe to toe with the best teams in the game after seeing what we did through this three-game series that had them outscored 10-3, and lucky to pull off the 1-0 victory Friday night.

Listening to ''March 2001'', by DJ Dawn (Play Count: 3)

Barry and the Giants Break Through

The Giants and A's were back at it in the second game of three at the Oakland Coliseum this afternoon, and unlike yesterday's contest, which saw the A's prevail 1-0 and hold Barry Bonds hitless, the Giants prevailed 4-2 in extra innings, sparked by Bonds' 714th career home run that tied him for second place overall with the legendary Babe Ruth.

Although all of us A's fans love to boo Barry, and did through each of his at bats, we also respect history, so when he took a pitch from Brad Halsey and deposited a rocket into the right field bleachers, we stood and applauded, even through two separate curtain calls for the man who has been posting stellar statistics for the better part of two decades, even through scandal.

The A's had their opportunities to win this afternoon's game, which would have presented the ultimate story, coming home with both a victory and to witness something special, but it was not meant to be. Despite leading 1-0 early, the team fell behind 2-1, unable to break through stellar pitching by Giants ace Jason Schmidt, who labored through 130 pitches in a solid effort.

A one-run 9th inning rally to tie the ballgame was stopped cold when Giants third baseman Pedro Feliz speared a lineout double play from the bat of Jason Kendall, which caught Bobby Crosby for the final out in regulation. Had the ball gone through, it'd be a whole different story, but instead, we saw A's reliever Kiko Calero load the bases to the Giants in the top of the 10th, and the team came around to score two unanswered runs. Though Eric Chavez came up in the bottom half with a chance to win the ballgame, his outfield fly didn't have enough to clear the fence, and we returned home losers.

I'm really on the fence, if that's possible, about Barry. I yearned and hoped that he hadn't taken steroids, for the cleanliness of the game. I read the stories about his brusqueness with reporters and teammates, but have also seen tenderness and dogged determination. Today, we cheered his accomplishments, and understand its significance. But let's hope the A's can emerge victorious overall in the series by posting a victory tomorrow. We'll be there watching.

Listening to ''Secrets & Lies (Activa Remix)'', by Blank & Jones (Play Count: 1)

Baseball History Thwarted for Another Day

The side benefits of having partial Oakland A's season tickets never cease. At the beginning of the season, I looked at the three-game home series against the Giants as only another option to see the green and gold defeat their Bay Area rival up close and personal. In fact, when a friend and Giants fan called at the beginning of the year to offer to attend all three of this weekend's games, I didn't hesitate. Sure! What could possibly make the game more interesting? It turns out, a lot more. Barry Bonds has managed to have such a slow start that his inevitable passing of Babe Ruth into second place on the all-time home run list has brought him to Oakland sitting on 713.

Tonight, we saw him thwarted by the A's, who kept him 0 for 3 with a walk, including a 2 outs in the 9th strike out against Huston Street to win the game by the final score of 1-0. In front a sellout crowd at the Coliseum of 35,000+, filled with partisan A's and Giants fans alike, the substory of Barry taking on the world was definitely there. Flashbulbs popped at every pitch with him at the plate, whether he swung or not, and everybody stood for the duration of his at bats, hoping to be there and see something for the record books, even if it was aligned with a man who has tainted his own story and the game as a whole, through evading the rules, lying and being a generally sultry character with occasional flashes of camaraderie.

As an A's fan, the story is the A's taking sole possession of first place, albeit a slight lead, over the Texas Rangers. But seeing a very well pitched game with stellar defense against the hated Giants and seeing Barry turn unhappily toward the visitors' dugout once again was a fantastic turn of events. One couldn't ask for much more - unless I really want to see him hit the home run... and I don't. Let's hope the guy goes 0 for 12 on the series and limps around the bases in someone else's park in the coming weeks instead.

It all begins anew Saturday at 1:05, and we'll be back there in our assigned seats.

Listening to ''Desire (Short Cut)'', by Blank & Jones (Play Count: 1)

At Home on the Road, Thanks to MLB.com

Our three-plus day stint in Chicago wraps up tomorrow. The trade show ended this evening, and we fly back to the West coast, where we belong, tomorrow afternoon. But even though we're a few thousand miles away from home, there are some things I just don't like leaving behind, and Oakland A's baseball is one of them. It's one thing to have the Athletics Nation community for live game threads, and Yahoo! or ESPN for near real-time box scores, but far surpassing them in convenience is MLB.com's live streaming radio. Now, here in my hotel room in Chicago, I am listening to the A's taking on the Seattle Mariners as if I were listening to the radio at home or in the car.

MLB.com has a plan set up that for $14.95, you can listen to any major league game live through the Web - for any team - all season long. So, when I'm traveling, whether I'm in Los Angeles, Phoenix, Orlando, Chicago, Boston, New York or Seattle, I can take one of the home comforts with me.

On the flip side, we don't have TV access. MLB TV simply doesn't cater well to fans who live near their team. Foolishly, MLB TV will let me watch every team except for those near me, assuming it's probably on somewhere I can see it. Wrong. Stupidly wrong. So, instead of paying $79.95 a year, I get better service for $14.95, and don't ask for video. But that's a different issue. Baseball is one of the few games that really lends itself well for radio, and MLB.com does it very well and at a good price.

Listening to ''Heaven Scent'', by Sasha (Play Count: 4)

It's All About the Ballparks

The world knows I'm an A's fan, first and foremost, but I'm a huge baseball nut, and so I view the major league ballparks around the country (and Toronto) in the same way that history devotees view landmarks and ancient finds. So, with my travel picking up over the last few years, I've made it a point to try and find time to see the major league baseball parks around the country wherever I land for business.

After seeing any number of games at the Oakland Coliseum, and a smaller number at the Giants' stadiums, Candlestick/3Com Park, and PacBell/SBC/AT&T Park, the tour kicked off last year, when we saw games at Bank One Ballpark in Phoenix, Arizona, Camden Yards in Baltimore, Maryland, and the two most historic parks, Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts, and Wrigley Field in Chicago, Illinois.

Others were way too close to my grasp and evaded me - Yankee Stadium and Shea Stadium in New York, as well as Safeco Field in Seattle. In those cases, either it was during the baseball off-season, or the hectic show schedule wouldn't make time. But they're definitely on the radar for my next opportunities.

This upcoming first week of June, we're headed back down to Los Angeles, and lucky for us, it looks like the Dodgers are taking on the Mets, so we're already scrambling for tickets. While we're definitely working on making sure the event is a profitable success, looking forward to singing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" in a new crowd in a new city is very exciting. Maybe some day we'll hit them all.

Listening to ''Energize'', by Nick Lunn (Play Count: 2)

A's Split Weekend Pair... In a Weird Way

The A's so far this season have been consistently inconsistent as the saying goes, trudging along to a 16 and 14 record after 30 games, lingering in the mix of the indecisive AL West, which as of this moment sees Texas in front by one half a game, while both the Angels and Mariners are slumping below the .500 mark. In an odd twist, the A's actually are playing better on the road than at the "friendly confines" of McAfee Coliseum, with records of 9-5 on the road, and 7-9 at home. For those of us season ticket holders, we have been forced to see the on again off again offense, and I'm fairly sure we've seen an even number of wins and losses on the early campaign.

This trend continued yesterday and today, as the A's offense never got going on a cold night Friday, seeing them defeated at the hands of the lowly Devil Rays, 3-1, erasing the benefits of a well pitched game by sophomore hurler Joe Blanton. Well... it was a good game pitched after the first, when Blanton stumbled to a 2-0 deficit, the eventual margin of victory. Today's contest, only slightly warmer despite the 1:05 start time, saw the A's prevail in quasi-heroic fashion in the bottom of the 9th to take the game 3-2. I wish I could say that there were real heroics and fireworks with bang-bang plays and a walk-off home run, but there was none of that. Instead, we were treated to an A's hitter trotting to first on a 3-1 count, thinking he'd earned a free walk, we suffered through a baserunning double play gaffe in the bottom of the 9th, and only came away victorious after the opposing third baseman channeled Bill Buckner from the 1986 World Series, and booted the ball, allowing the winning run to score and avoiding extra innings.

So - again - a loss and a win. And the offense didn't manage to score more than 4 runs in the two combined games, seeing good pitching on both sides. But if the team is matching pound for pound with the likes of Tampa Bay, they won't live up to their potential and be expected to challenge the Red Sox, Yankees, White Sox or others for the pennant this year. It's time to warm up. We appreciate today's win, but you can't sit around and wait for the other team to hand it to you every game.

Listening to ''Marrakech (Revolution Mix)'', by ATB (Play Count: 7)

A's Rained Out: What a Wet Mess!

It's as if the game never happened. But we were there. We saw some things that were out of the ordinary. Yet we also witnessed things that were all too ordinary, in a game the A's were trailing 6-1, but will never count.

According to "The Little Green Book", the last time the A's had a game postponed was against the Philadelphia Phillies in June of 2003. That also led to the last time the A's played a doubleheader, against the same Phillies the following day. Unfortunately, we ended up losing both games, 7-1 and 8-3. Now, our calendar says August 18th we will play two against the Royals and hope for a different outcome.

Today's outcome really never looked like an A's win was in the cards, rain or shine. After a top of the first that saw two A's go down on strikeouts, Esteban Loaiza continued his struggles, loading the bases for Reggie Sanders who cleared them with a grand slam. Amidst two outs, Loaiza loaded the bases a second time in the inning, before giving up a fifth run on an infield hit. In all, adding two walks to start the bottom of the second, Loaiza had faced 13 batters. 10 of those batters reached base, six by way of the walk.

The 2006 debut of Ron Flores, like the slam by Reggie Sanders, will be washed away. But he closed out the second, and teased us with what real pitchers do - get outs, something Loaiza has been baffled by so far in his early starts with the A's. Having seen him pitch in person at the Coliseum, his outings have baffled the imagination. The velocity is missing, the control is off, and those that make it over the plate have been hit. The A's, while good on paper, cannot withstand injuries to key players like Harden, Crosby, Street and Loaiza and be expected to excel.

We were given a gift with today's rainout. The division thus far is giving the A's a gift in that nobody is pulling away. With Texas' win today, the A's fall 1/2 game behind, into 3rd, but remain only a game out of first, pending the Angels game. It's early, but today's shortened outing leaves us all lacking for confidence. We cannot expect the rain to bail us out all season long.

Listening to ''Personal Jesus (Pump Mix)'', by Depeche Mode (Play Count: 6)

Help From a Little Green Book

As a young Oakland A's fan growing up in the era of Canseco, McGwire, Rickey, Stewart, Hendu, and Eckersley, I simply couldn't get enough news and insight into my favorite team. At the age of 12, I had set my watch to beep at 5:45 PM every day so I could run in and turn on the local news and get the sports report (this is pre-ESPN for me, mind you), and I must have read Bill Mazeroski's 1989 season preview cover to cover a million times.

To this day, I could tell you Jose Canseco had a .569 slugging percentage and 187 hits to go with his .307 average in 1988, alongside 42 home runs, 24 doubles, 40 steals and 16 caught stealing. Those numbers are hard-coded, and if I ever forget them, it's because I've gotten too old to recognize my own grandkids (should there ever be any).

In fact, one Christmas, I successfully begged my parents to get me the ultimate in baseball stats - Total Baseball. Filled with more than 2,000 pages, including all major league statistics for all players - ever, the book was incredible, including stories about every era of the sport, award winners, streaks, and odd circumstance. And yes, I probably skimmed through every page of statistics too. See - I was young, and baseball was my life. Though I grew up shorter and scrawnier than everyone else, and managed a .000 average in my one injury-shortened Little League season (kid you not, I walked or struck out every AB), I knew baseball, and I knew my A's.

Which brings us to today. At Spring Training in Arizona, I picked up the 2006 Oakland Athletics Media Guide, which aims to fill this particular niche in my psyche, with pinpoint focus on this year's squad - full of player profiles with the entire 40 man roster, and even non-roster invitees, and most importantly, all the stats, awards, and streaks a good fan should know. Now, when Ken Korach, Ray Fosse and Vince Cotroneo say that "The last time the A's hit 3 consecutive home runs was in 2000, when Randy Velarde, Jason Giambi and Ben Grieve accomplished the task," I'll know it's not solely because they have encyclopaedic knowledge of the sport, but through the help of a little green book - one that I too have at my disposal.

For instance, the A's have won 2 consecutive road games so far on this trip... but did you know that in 1971, the team won 12 consecutive games on the road from July 31st to August 15th? You probably already knew that during the team's AL-record 20 game streak, they won 10 consecutive on the road, from August 19th to 28th. Right?

Meanwhile, after 23 games, the A's have a record of 11-12. At this point in 1981, the A's had 20 wins and only 3 losses! Of course, in 1994, they had regressed, showing a record of 7 and 16 at this juncture, the worst ever in team history...

In 2005, we saw two pitchers, Dan Haren and Barry Zito, lead the team with 14 wins apiece. But did you know that in 1999, Gil Heredia led the team with only 13 wins? And did you know that current Yankee Aaron Small led the A's with all of 9 wins in 1997?

And did you know that the 2005 squad's tally of only 155 home runs was the least for an Oakland A's team since 1998 (149), and that this number falls 88 short of the team record of 243, set in 1996? Did you know that Eric Chavez has four of the top five home run seasons for an A's third baseman since 1901? Or that Nick Swisher had the fourth-most doubles by an Oakland A's rookie with 32?

I hope you'll excuse me... I've got some reading to do.
Listening to ''Mindcrasher'', by Blank & Jones (Play Count: 8)

A's Go Back to Back to Back In the Drizzle

It's said that every time you go to a ballgame, you will see something you have never seen before. While some elements may be formulaic - from sluggers striking out to light-hitting catchers grounding into double plays every time there's a runner on first and less than two outs, the element of surprise makes the difference between a win and a loss for the home team. Today, in a game that at times alternated between needing to cover with umbrellas and that of partly cloudy skies, the A's charged back from a 4-2 deficit against the Rangers on the backs of three consecutive home runs on consecutive pitches in the sixth inning. The first lowered the deficit to one, the second tied it up, and one pitch later, the third put the A's ahead by one - to stay.

For the 16,000 of us who had chosen to brave the elements, the feeling in the stadium was electric - as we saw one veteran A's player followed by two of the A's off-season acquisitions put the nails in the coffin for the visiting team. I had never seen anything like it. The A's, though known for home runs in past years, haven't wowed anyone with the long ball the last few seasons, but 2006 looks like things are a-changing. It's amazing what three swings of the bat can do for an otherwise gray day.

Listening to ''Alpha Male'', by Röyksopp (Play Count: 1)

A's Lose 4th Straight While We Watch On

In what was a "Not so Good Friday" for the A's, my wife and I attended our first regular season game of 2006 as season ticket holders, and saw Barry Zito lead the A's to a 6-3 defeat at the hands of the basement-dwelling Texas Rangers, who somehow posted an early lead and held on, despite solo home runs from off-season additions Frank Thomas and Milton Bradley. Zito fell behind 5-0 early, and despite fans' desperate calls for manager Ken Macha to show a quick hook and get him out of the game, Zito stuck it out a full seven innings, pitching well beyond the 100 pitch count mark.

The game, a Friday night event competing with the Golden State Warriors next door, drew only 14,000 to the newly miniaturized Coliseum, and the wind whipped through, coldly, though we somehow avoided the April showers that have plagued us with seeming perpetuity this last month. We have great seats and enjoyed seeing the team, but obviously weren't too excited about the final outcome. The good news is that division rivals Anaheim and Seattle also lost, leaving the A's only 1/2 game out, and the same two teams go back at it at 1:05 Saturday. We'll be there.

Listening to ''Superfabulous'', by BT (Play Count: 5)

A's Send Yankees Packing

Garfield the cat famously said "I hate Mondays." The A's started their season off on the wrong foot Monday with a 15-2 pasting at the hands of the perennial superpower New York Yankees. It seemed all was lost, as the team's vaunted starting pitching and hopeful offense couldn't compete with the Bronx superstars. But as the World Champion Pittsburgh Pirates showed in 1960, it's not how many total runs you may score in a series, but when those runs are scored. A one-run victory is just as useful in the long run as an embarrassing blowout. Monday's debacle was followed up by a thrilling 4-3 victory Tuesday night, which saw Marco Scutaro come through in the clutch with a 9th-inning tie-breaking hit to close out the game before the rains came, and Wednesday's less close contest, a 9-4 victory for the home team. All in all, while the A's were outscored by a tally of 22-15 in the series, the final standings read as Oakland 2, New York 1, much more than we could have expected after being thoroughly maligned on national television to kick off the 2006 campaign.

Now, only two-plus days after thinking we were nearing Armageddon, the spirits are much happier in the Athletics Nation. For those of us who live and die by our team, we have not only been given life support, but have an air exuberance - an eagerness to vanquish our next foe, for we are tied for the division lead, and feel we've seen the best the league has to offer. On to more successes! 3 down, 159 to go.

Listening to ''Zocalo'', by DJ Armin van Buuren & Gabriel & Dresden (Play Count: 8)

Opening Day A's Disaster: Small Sample, Big Stats

The Oakland A's opening day game against the New York Yankees yesterday was an unmitigated car wreck - down 7-0 by the top of the second inning, the team collapsed to a 15-2 finish, starting out of the gate in the worst way. Given that posters on Athletics Nation and other places tend to over-react to one game's ebb and flow, I posted a diary called "Small Sample Size: Large Stats", which extrapolated how the season numbers would look if that game were to happen every day for a full 162-game season.

With one game on the books for all teams, it's time to revisit the stat-o-meter and use that sample size to suggest end of the year statistics (with a heavy focus on our Oakland A's - after all, this is an A's site).
The A's pitchers are on pace to:
• Give up 2,430 runs
• Give up 2,268 earned runs
• Issue 1,458 free passes
• Hit 486 opposing batsmen

The A's offense is on pace to:
• Score a measly 324 runs on the season
• Draw ZERO walks on the season
• Sport a .228 OBP as a team

The A's defense is on pace to:
• Make 162 errors
• Give up 162 unearned runs
• Throw out 100% of base runners! (Go Kendall!)

Some other notable stats:

• Johnny Damon is set for a monster year, as he's on pace to have a record-shattering 486 hits in an incredible 1,134 at bats, and will surpass Ted Williams with a .429 batting average, making him worth every penny the Yankees paid for him.
• However, Hideki Matsui will claim the batting title with a perfect 1.000 average, and will dominate the league with 162 home runs, 648 total hits and 1,134 total bases. There's your MVP, folks.
• Frank Thomas will also show the A's he's worth every penny paid in free agency and more, with his 162 home runs per year contribution, and a slugging percentage of 1.333 - not too shabby.
• Best of all, the A's will draw a sellout crowd for every ball game this season, with the team's 35,077 capacity showing up at all 81 games, delivering a full year attendance of 2,841,237 - well ahead of expectations. This will provide Wolff and Beane with the money needed to trade Zito for Hideki Matsui in mid-season.
• Speaking of Zito, he will reach 216 innings pitched this year, according to early projections, which is fine, but his 47.25 ERA will leave much to be desired, and will likely set the team to continue on a 162-game slide unseen in baseball history. On the positive side, at least the bullpen will get in a lot of work.

Baseball: Opening Day 2006

While the first official game of the season actually kicked off yesterday between the Cleveland Indians and Chicago White Sox, the rest of the major leagues get into action today across the country, including our Oakland A's - who are scheduled to match up in the first of a three-game set against the New York Yankees. While I've been exiled down here to San Diego for work purposes, we passed along our season tickets to a friend from church, and he will be in Oakland for Opening Day, representing us.

As chronicled here time and again, the Oakland Athletics of 2006 are a very intriguing club. Coming off a strong 2005 campaign, they are achieving national accolades, and are widely expected to return to the playoffs. While it's way too early to talk about that, with so many variables, we are excited about this year unlike any year I can ever recall, and I think our obsession with Athletics Nation has definitely contributed. Why turn off my thoughts of baseball for the cold winter months, when I can think and strategize about the team year round and take it up a notch in April?

To me, baseball's opening day is one of reverence, the way others see Easter, Christmas, or any of the holiest holidays. It is a day with traditions and passion - with stories you can tell your grandkids for generations to come. I am eagerly looking forward to the 2006 season and hoping the A's will bring us many stories to be told with win after win all the way through October.

Listening to ''Back to Cali (Push Remix)'', by Mauro Picotto (Play Count: 3)

A's Club Giants 14-3 In First Oakland Game of 2006

In the next to last Spring Training game before the 2006 season opens up with a series against the Yankees that kicks off Monday, the A's played an exhibition contest against the local rival San Francisco Giants at the Coliseum, and positively blew them away, starting off with a four-run first inning featuring two home runs, and continuing the pressure through a 14-3 victory.

As part of our season ticket package, my wife and I enjoyed our first Bay Area baseball of the season at McAfee Coliseum. The A's featured a pair of two-run home runs in the first inning by Nick Swisher and Eric Chavez, another home run by the newly acquired Frank Thomas, and strong pitching by free agent signee Esteban Loaiza. It was great to be back in the Coliseum again, and to try out the seats where we will be every Friday and Saturday through the summer (so long as the A's are in town). Our seats are between home plate and the visitors' dugout, and just far enough forward that we're not wholly covered by the cement overhang. This means we won't be cold during the sunny July and August afternoons when everybody else is worried about getting sunburned.

Another side benefit of the game was booing Barry "steroids" Bonds. He was a miserable failure at the plate, never reaching base, and heard lusty disapproval from the home crowd, who didn't always impress me with their not so creative epithets. In fact, at one point, when the Left Field bleachers chanted, "Bar-roid, Bar-roid", Barry could be seen swaying to the rhythm with his hips, in a mock dance. All in all, the good guys won, bad guys lost, and we enjoyed the trip.

Listening to ''A New Culture Is Born'', by Blank & Jones (Play Count: 7)

A's Picked as Preseason Favorites by ESPN

As an A's fan, I'm used to the team being underestimated before the start of the baseball season, and the team surprising all the doubters with a tremendous run. Last year, the team was compared to the lowly Kansas City Royals, and widely anticipated to finish in last place in the American League West. Instead, despite a rash of injuries to key players, the A's youngsters far outperformed expectations and the team finished with an 88-74 record, good enough for second place in the division, and at one point in August, owned the division's best mark.

Now, only a few days away from Opening Day against the Yankees, the A's off-season changes and player experience has vaulted them into the favorites category by a lot of sports experts - not the least of which is ESPN, the sports media monolith. While this week's issue of Sports Illustrated picks the A's to win their division, and defeat the Yankees in the first round of the playoffs, only to lose to the White Sox, who they have pegged to repeat as World Series champions, ESPN offers no limits on their expectations for the men in green and gold. In their cover story for the magazine's April 10th issue, titled, "The Hot Pick: In 2006, the A's are Money".

In fact, ESPN's love for the A's goes beyond a single cover story. In the media site's "expert predictions", three selected the A's to win the World Series, and only a pair said the A's wouldn't reach the playoffs at all. Every other writer had them pegged as the division champs or wild card winner, and most were leaning to the former. Additionally, four of the writers said that ace pitcher Rich Harden would capture the Cy Young award, while another said Eric Chavez would garner the Most Valuable Player trophy.

All of this positive media coverage is confusing to us diehard fans, accustomed to rooting for an underdog. Now, as an avid Athletics Nation member and partial season ticket holder, I've already received a number of inquiries for potential unused tickets and games are already being booked months in advance. I expect to watch our team fulfill its destiny and win it all for the first time since 1989.

Listening to ''Back to Basics'', by 4 Strings (Play Count: 17)

SportsBlogs Phenomenon Profiled in Sports Illustrated

Ten days ago, in an article titled "Sports + Blogs = Goodness", I discussed a rising star in the blogosphere: SportsBlogs Nation, particularly focused on one of our favorite and most-visited sites, Athletics Nation, run by its founder Tyler Bleszinski. The rapidly-expanding network is rivaling even the largest sports franchises for breaking news and team coverage - so much so that even the mainstream media can't ignore its momentum.

In this week's Sports Illustrated, a feature titled "Writing up a Storm" says "The Internet is changing sports coverage. Columnists who seldom leave their couches hold forth." Profiling a litany of blogs - some from fans, some from journalists and others from the athletes themselves, the article features Tyler's work, and includes a photo (staged) of him reclining in the McAfee Coliseum parking lot, laptop en tow, hat turned backwards, and barefoot. I've yet to see him without shoes myself, so the photographers took liberties in their idea.

The SportsBlogs Nation train is chugging along, and you're welcome aboard. Find your favorite team's site, register and go.

For the full story, click here. For a photo of Tyler used in the story, click here.

A's Season Tickets Arrived (With Photos)

I hadn't yet seen anybody on Athletics Nation announce the receipt of their 2006 Oakland A's season tickets, but in our house, they have been eagerly awaited. Today, we were pleased to have a visit from FedEx, and the friendly FedEx crew offered us forty chances at happiness - eighty if you count that I purchased two partial season ticket plans.

For your voyeuristic pleasure, I posted a gallery of the season ticket book, including front and back covers, full page shots, and individual ticket close-ups. Is it perfect? No. But that's because I can't make the big bucks as a photographer. I'm an amateur in everything I do, or so I'm told.


Click to Start Your Tour

More Samples:



Now, we're the humble church-goin' types, so for us to get a Friday/Saturday/Sunday package means there are 2 Field Level tickets available in section 114, row 28 for virtually every Sunday game at the Coliseum this year!

Sound interesting to you? Let's strike up a conversation...

Cal Eliminated In NCAA Tournament

And that was that. One and done. As I had mentioned last week, I had the ominous suspicion that Cal's involvement with the NCAA Tournament would be fleeting. The team hadn't exactly coasted through the Pac Ten season and tournament, and hadn't exactly played the most dominant of non-conference schedules, while not exactly featuring a full five-man squad and a deep bench. As the team was single player centric, it was not out of realm to expect they would lose to North Carolina State. Sports Illustrated and Yahoo! Sports had picked Cal to lose as well, even though they had the higher seed. While I may be a true Cal fan and wish the team well, it wasn't a big surprise to see them go down so fast, and fall they did, 58-52. Though the team led at halftime, and kept it close, even to the last final minutes, it wasn't enough to advance to the round of 32.

US Baseball Team Eliminated by Mexico

It was one thing for a "Dream Team" US squad to lose to Puerto Rico in the 2004 Olympics, but today, the United States fell to Mexico in the "World Baseball Classic" and found itself eliminated from competition, while Japan, Korea and others continue forward, further embarrassing the country credited with bringing both sports to life. Despite having sure first-ballot hall of famer Roger Clemens on the mound, and a line-up loaded with All-Stars, the U.S. team couldn't muster more than a single run in a 2-1 defeat.

The World Baseball Classic seemed like a foolish endeavor to begin with, with players opting out of the event, the New York Yankees protesting its existence, and hapless commissioner Bud Selig trying to tell everyone what a wonderful opportunity it was, all while ignoring the rising tumult around Barry Bonds and the steroids issue. Now, with the United States out, the players can return to their spring training squads, and all five people who cared about the final results can go back to watching re-runs of Law and Order or The View.