KCBS Radio did one of their In Depth interviews with Santa Clara County Assessor Larry Stone (MP3 download). Stone has, of course, been a active, constant proponent of bringing MLB to the South Bay, and has used his easily won public office as a bully pulpit. Stone was asked about the history of now 24-year effort to get this done, plus fielded questions about whether his roles as assessor and developer are conflicts of interest. If you’re a South Bay partisan, you’re going to think what he’s saying is gospel. If you’re an Oakland partisan, your ears may bleed profusely. It’s over 27 minutes long and well worth the listen (thanks, I.C.).
Among the morsels from the interview:
- Within the first two minutes, Stone makes the claim that the A’s can’t survive in Oakland.
- Stone is (IIRC) the first public figure to say that the Giants are trying to drive the A’s out of the market. When challenged on this, his response is, “Anybody would try to do this.”
- Apparently the Earthquakes are not considered a major pro sports team, at least according to Stone. He must’ve forgotten them.
- He thinks the Giants could spend $2-3 million to defeat the spring ballot measure.
- Stone dances around the idea that some of the owners might feel threatened by another team invading their respective territories.
- SJRA has the money set aside for the last two parcels (AT&T and Aegis).
- Stone claims that when he talked to Schott some time ago, Schott had 75% of the owners lined up for a vote for a move south.
- Stone speculates that Selig gave the Giants a “10 year head start” for the SC Co. t-rights, in effect protecting the county for a decade.
- Interviewer Jane McMillan characterizes the Diridon area as “suburban” in comparison to what would normally be considered urban areas for other ballparks. Where does urban end and suburban begin?
- McMillan also asks if a deal is done, but unfortunately says that the ballpark will be shared with the Quakes (which it won’t), which got Stone’s response moving in the wrong direction.
It’s a good listen, though if you’re on the SJ bandwagon you’ve already heard many of the talking points.
BTW, on an unrelated note, the Rangers secured a 20 year, $3 billion extension to the current TV rights deal with Fox Sports Southwest. $150 million a year (Maury Brown thinks the numbers could be off). Guess they won’t have that big debt problem that could keep them from re-signing Cliff Lee and extending Josh Hamilton.
newballpark.org 
150 million? How did they get that figure? they ranked just outside the top 15 in terms of overall viewership. that maybe increase in the near future with their recent on the field success but 150 a year? how does the tv money ranked compared to the other big boys aka the nyy and bosox.
a’s if i had to make a guess make only a small miniscule fraction of that from both tv/radio combined.
makes a move to the south bay even more important to cash in on that money down there.
Gospel.
I wonder if Larry Stone is really the best voice for the Silicon Valley crowd. It’s true that he gets all of the issues, he understands them better than most because he was pushing for a team to come to San Jose since I was in elementary school… I have only listened once, while driving in to work, but I seem to recall the Earthquakes shared stadium answer is only one example of him going in the wrong direction with a response.
As a fellow SJ partisan (and SCCo. Employee), I have the utmost respect for Larry Stone.
That said, I really wish he would tone it down a bit or, perhaps, just keep his mouth shut.
Let’s just let the process play itself out now and see what happens. All the harsh rhetoric doesn’t need to be constantly hashed out in the media.
Kind of reminds me of John Kerry and the “if you’re dumb you get sent to Vietnam” crap.
At least he’s got the guts to talk about the Giants’ true intentions. No one else does…
He really sounds like a cheerleader on the internet. This is embarrassing. Could he say “10th largest city” more?
Stone needs to keep saying that because the masses still think San Jose is some inconsequential suburb of Frisco, if they even know where it is at all. Unless the territorial rights thing is changed, San Jose will never get Major League Baseball.
By the way, haven’t had a chance to listen yet, but did someone really state that other owners would feel threatened of having their territories invaded by other teams if the A’s are allowed SJ?
That continues to be the stupidest take on the A’s being allowed to relocate to San Jose.
To repeat 1) the A’s and Giants already exist in the same market, 2) MLB territories have changed/been altered many times in the past and 3) all teams minus the A’s and Rays are set with new/renovated ballparks; no one’s going anywhere anytime soon.
If he keeps saying it, it sounds like the primary goal is to prove self worth rather than just open the city to the business of MLB. His job is not to be a fanboy.
@Nam Turk – No, his job IS to be the #1 fanboy. That’s what he’s been doing for two decades. He does it from an office that has little direct effect on the process, but still can garner a good amount of media attention. Unlike some of his counterparts at the various city levels, his job is not threatened by taking a harder edged stance, he doesn’t have to tiptoe diplomatically. So this is what he does.
@TonyD–speaking of Rays. On the yahoo homepage, there’s an article on the TB Rays players bad mouthing the poor attendance. 12k in attendance for them clinching a playoff spot. I think even the A’s would get at least twice that amount if they were winning all year. Their two best players Longoria and Price called the small crowds embarrassing. That’s always a no-no saying that if you’re a player.
http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/blog/big_league_stew/post/Tampa-Bay-Rays-stars-call-low-attendance-at-home?urn=mlb-272868
TB has the same problem as the A’s: Their small-market status and lack of revenues means Big-$$ teams will poach their players at the earliest possible time. Players aren’t loyal to the fans, so why should fans be loyal to the players? Anybody think Longoria won’t be a Yankee as soon as he gets to free agency?
Now if the A’s move to San Jose, much of that small-market, under-financed problem goes away and the A’s move from being an MLB welfare case to an MLB money machine.
I am pretty stunned that Stone said that Schott had 75% of the owners lined up to overturn the Giants TR to Santa Clara County and yet Selig did nothing.
This tells me the other owners do see the potential in Silicon Valley but Selig has some sort of “under the table” agreement with the Giants that I cannot explain.
If Schott had the 75% vote ready back then why is this taking so long? It defeats my original theory that Selig is out getting the votes if what Stone says is true. The other owners in fact know about this and are ready to move forward or have been for a while.
Unless Stone is correct on the 10 year window for the Giants in SCC from when Pac Bell was first built. Therefore that 10 year window is up after this season and perhaps that is why Selig has delayed this for so long.
The Giants reaped the benefits of holding the South Bay hostage from the A’s because of their new “privately financed” ballpark in 2000 with Silicon Valley money. If Stone is correct a owner vote should occur after this season paving the way for the A’s to move to San Jose.
Lets see if Stone is on with his theory….
Last time A’s clinched at home (2003) there were 23,211 there on a Tuesday night (and I was one of them!)
http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/OAK/OAK200309230.shtml
I was there too (I remember starting the only “Let’s Go Angels” chant of my life while watching them beat Seattle on the big screen to clinch it for us).
Ha! I remember that too. It seems so dirty now. Tim Salmon HR to center if I remember correctly.
A’s clinched the division twice on the road. Back in 02 and 06 in SEA.
00 they clinched at home in front of 55K+ against TEX, I was there. As mentioned they drew 23K in 03 at home. Not sure about 01 when and where they clinched the WC.
think the clinched 01 wc at home against sea on a weekend. wasn’t a sellout but back in the early 01, on weekends, the a’s did draw well. probably got anywhere from 25k-30k.
The clincher in ’00 was the best. Huddy shutdown Texas and Ramon Hernandez had a groundball up the middle for the GWRBI. Izzy got the final out with his nasty curve. We all went nuts because that was the first time in quite a while. I loved that the team circled the field giving high fives to the fans. I miss Matt Stairs.
I’ve caught most clinchers over 40 years and do remember being at the 00 one. That 20 game winning steak in 2002 was a blast with MVP Tejada coming up with big hit after big hit. We saw that last home-stand, games 16-20, and they were all crazy, exciting games, especially #20 after blowing the 11 run lead. 55k at that one too. Mt. Davis never looked so good nearly packed
Probably the best thing for Oakland would be to let Larry Stone keep talking. I especially like his brush off of his potential conflict of interest. Does Larry Stone Partners own property near the SJ ballpark site or not? Before SJ partisans jump on me, I am raising this since he uses his elected office of Assessor to promote the A’s to San Jose and thus it is a relevant question.
@Stanley Stanson – FWIW Stone was reelected June. He ran unopposed. He’s practically untouchable at this point.
The 20-game win streak season that ended up with the A’s losing in the first round of the playoffs to the Twins. Blech. Guess that’s better than what we have now, though, a team that hasn’t made the post season in years.
re: Probably the best thing for Oakland
Probably the best thing for Oakland would be to come up with a viable site, find an owner willing to spend $1 billion of his own money on the A’s and organize strong corporate support among companies willing to write 7-figure checks. So far, Oakland has failed on all 3 counts.
Pro-Oaklanders need to consider the reality that San Jose may be the only hope left to keep the A’s the Bay Area. San Jose losing does not necessarily = Oakland winning.
“$1 billion of his own money.” Huh? Both the purchase of the team and the construction of the stadium will be done using cash and debt. Someone will have to come up w/ a large chunk of change to buy the team and construct the stadium but it’s not $1B. There are enough folks w/ big enough egos to want to do this. No matter how many SJ folks say it can’t work in Oakland and that there is no appetite from a potential new owner. You might be surprised how many rich folks want to own a ball club. The real question is what is the team worth.
re: Someone will have to come up w/ a large chunk of change to buy the team and construct the stadium but it’s not $1B. There are enough folks w/ big enough egos to want to do this. You might be surprised how many rich folks want to own a ball club.
So far, no takers. No one coming forward looking to do this project in Oakland. We know Oakland doesn’t have the money to build the stadium so private interests will have to do it. Buying the team, the land and building the stadium can most certainly be expected to cost $1 billion.
I’d love to read a list of people chomping at the bit to spend $1 bill of their own money to buy the A’s and build an Oakland ballpark. But there is no such list.
PJK: do you understand what leverage is? You don’t put up all of the money in cash. You only put up a portion of it. Yes, it still needs to make economic sense and someone has to lend the $$. Of course there is no list. The team isn’t for sale….yet.
Just give me the names of billionaires ready to do this project in Oakland. FWIW, everything is for sale if the price is right. Why hasn’t some billionaire come forward expressing a willingness to fund this project 100% in Oakland? Perhaps because everyone knows such a project makes no economic sense.
The debt question is relevant… Look at Frank McCourt and how leveraged he is right now. Does anyone know what the MLB “Debt Service” rules are? How leveraged can an owner/team be before they are too leveraged? I remember reading, in this article, that he “ran perilously close” to violating MLB’s Debt Service rules, but no explanation of what those rules are or how they may be enforced.
@ Jeffrey,
MLB Debt service rules are found here. http://mlb.mlb.com/pa/pdf/cba_english.pdf
I’m not smart enough to figure out what it all means.
@Jeffrey/Bay Area A’s – The debt rule is fairly simple. The total amount of debt incurred by a team (borrowing to buy a team, stadium, player contracts) cannot be more than 10x the average EBITDA of a team over the last two years.
Coincidentally, over the weekend I asked Maury Brown if EBITDA referred to revenue pre or post revenue sharing (straight pool). He seemed to think that the number was pre, though he wasn’t absolutely sure. There’s no specific reference to it in the CBA, but after reading it a few times I’m certain that’s the case.
Even if the Rangers’s FSSW deal is only worth $75 mil a year going forward, they won’t be in danger of hitting the limit. The A’s should be able to 100% finance a ballpark and have room under the cap.
stone said sf could spend 2-3 million to defeat the spring ballot measure? why doesn’t he think the a’s and all those other pro sj people/corporations down in the south bay spend twice or three times that to prove what kind of lying scum the sfg and their hacks are in trying to defeat a plan that is so similar to that of the at&t and even niners stadium plan.
@ML–but Wolff said he won’t change much and likes working on the cheap, and that “it’s more fun”.” Not much will change with a new park, and it will be “business as usual.” Just confirms all the polls of him being at the bottom of the owners rankings.
http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/sun_sentinel/access/1281342701.html?FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Jun+3%2C+2007&author=Mike+Berardino&pub=South+Florida+Sun+-+Sentinel&edition=&startpage=C.6&desc=HONEY%2C+I+SHRUNK+THE+BALL+PARK+A%27S+OWNER+DECIDES+LESS+IS+MORE+FOR+HIS+NEW+STADIUM
@jk-usa – And yet, it would be infinitely better than languishing indefinitely.
Dupuy resigns, but…
wolff with glenn/ray. wonder if they talk ballpark.
they’ve done it many times before when wolff was on tv.
I can just see the sleazy Giants ads now: “San Jose is laying off police officers and firemen while it spends money on a ballpark!” They won’t mention that the money is from redevelopment funds and the sale of parking lots – not general funds – and that redev funds can’t be used for salaries anyway. The Giants will hope enough uninformed people buy their junk because informed people in San Jose know the real story. If Neukom was honest, he would get on the screen himself and declare “As the owner of the San Francisco Giants, I hereby decree that you peasants in San Jose are worthy of nothing more than minor league baseball. We will keep major league baseball from you forever and ever.”
jk-usa says:
September 28, 2010 at 8:06 PM jk-usa(Quote)
@ML–but Wolff said he won’t change much and likes working on the cheap, and that “it’s more fun”.” Not much will change with a new park, and it will be “business as usual.” Just confirms all the polls of him being at the bottom of the owners rankings.
Yeah, if anybody thinks the SJ (or JLS Oakland) A’s are going to become the Yankees with a new stadium is sadly mistaken. Either is going to be inferior in terms of broadcast and stadium revenue to the Giants, and is going to have the debt service for more money (based on construction in 2012’s dollars rather than 1998’s). It may be a mild improvement, but from the outhouse to the back room rather than the penthouse.
@ML–agreed.
There’s a nice little article on TBs lack of fan support, with MLB sharing the blame.
http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news;_ylt=As3coIh9vQos35ahTOWnkG05nYcB?slug=jp-raysfans092810
I don’t think it is unreasonable to expect the A’s to be something like the Chicago White Sox in a new stadium. Not the Yankees, but who else is?
RM or anyone,
Stone claims that Scott has 75% of the owners ready to vote for an A’s move to SJ. Question is twofold: 1) is this true and 2) is this the now or when Schott/Hoffman were owners?
I believe Schott still has a stake in the A’s (correct?).
nobody can come close to what the nyy can do. #1 media market in the country, hell world.
even with a new park and all the revenues, doubt the a’s payroll would double. do think they can be at least middle of the pack in the 80s to maybe low 90s once in a while.
http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/salaries/teams
with a new park and more added revenue in a sj park, maybe instead of keeping only chavez from this previous decade, the a’s can also keep tejada and maybe one of the big three long term. no team other than the nyy could’ve afforded to have kept the early 2000s a’s team intact.
Hey Guys, I just read on the letsgooakland FB site that LW was just on the A’s broadcast about 45 minutes ago (around 8:20p maybe). I missed it and just turned the TV on now and he’s not on. Apparently he was bashing Oakland on not doing anything and feels pretty good about his chances in SJ. Did anyone see it and can shed some more light on it. The FB people are really pissed and are getting a little nasty towards him. I do beat up on him some, but that’s not my style, to hit below the belt.
@jk-usa – Better that than the spam that seemed to overrun the site.
a bit off topic but heard that Cal cut its baseball program today–a PAC-12 school not having a baseball program–suprising…and disappointing
@ML–yeah, the site was getting spammed to death. I hate Spam–the food and the internet kind.
@jk-usa – Here’s me trying to remember the Lew Wolff’s comments on the broadcast about what the new stadium will mean to the team’s ability to sign and keep players:
“We’re probably never going to go after 8 year free agents… But a steady revenue source… will let us get an extra year or two out of our guys beyond arbitration… That will be huge…”
Seems like he can’t possibly be that stupid, and tends to just mispeak a lot I think. Fosse tried to correct him with a “you’ll be able to sign homegrwon players AFTER 6th year free-agency” comment, but Lew just ignored it like he either didn’t understand, or else is serious and doesn’t see ANY significant changes in approach down the road.
townsend is replayed the highlights of wolff’s comments tonight on the telecast.
pitching is there, defense especially up the middle is very good. there’s speed actually on this team but the injuries really hurt.
needs a new venue, all their plans/futures is directed on having a better fan/player experience.
envious of the population, community and unique experience surrounding target field.
sj? the a’s org deserve a decision because everything they do/did on and off the field is dependent on where their future lies.
@thisplanet–thanks. Gee, LW is such a gem. MLB needs to control these outrageous salaries somehow, but it will be considered collusion.. It’s nice to see low payroll teams in the playoff hunt like Texas, Cinci, SD and TB, but that’s not the norm most years. The Yankees average player makes over 8 mill. Cisco naming rights are at 4 mill, or 1/2 a Yankee player. Insane.
there needs to be a cap limit AND floor cap so teams just can’t pocket the money they’re getting from these big revenue teams.
more from townsend’s replay of wolff’s tv appearance.
said the a’s eliminated all of oakland’s site that were presented years back and hasn’t had anybody step up to show alternative sites.
brc was looking at sites in oakland/fremont, recommended by probably both bay area major league teams, don’t know what their findings were, thinks he knows where they’ll decision will go, but we’ll have to sit and wait.
commish has a lot of power and once decisions is made, most if not all will go along with the decision.
pitching is there on the team, but hitting is more rare to find now.
regarding the new park’s design. gonna be fan friendly, intimate, and fans will be closest to the field out of any park in mlb.
wolff on the fremont deal? city council supported it but neighbors who were on the other side of the freeway basically killed the deal with their delay tactics.
@all – Oops, I should’ve reread the beginning of the section again. EBITDA is defined as net of revenue sharing payments or receipts, thus making it post, not pre. Get ready for a post on the debt rule and how it affects the offseason Wednesday after the game.
a’s have locked up the lowest attendance in the majors for 2010.
1.40 million with the marlins with 4 games left against pit have 1.42 million.
correction a’s are under 1.42 while the marlins have 1.42 right now.
I just listened to Larry Stone, wow he doesn’t mince words at all. I hope this isn’t a topic any longer by the time the home opener comes around.
I just listened to the LS interview. He sounds just like Sid on here. Had all the pro-San Jose/anti-Oakland talking points down pat. How many times do we have to hear that SJ is the 10th largest city in the US? Sheesh.
And not to nitpick, but I will: all the companies he mentioned that are in SJ are not located in SJ, just Cisco is. Last time I checked, HP was in Palo Alto, Intel was in Santa Clara, Google was in Mt. View and Lockheed was in Sunnyvale. Where’s all these big companies that are actually in SJ. Meg’s old ebay is; Adobe is. Knight Ridder use to be, but their big sign will live downtown forever!! Now Media News owns every major paper in the bay area except the SF Chronicle and the Santa Rosa Press-Democrat. So much for competition.
Intel is about 10 minutes from the San Jose ballpark site. HP, Google and Lockheed no more than 20, 25. I know it’s tough to face up to the fact that Oakland is not in the same, well, ballpark as San Jose economically, but the situation is what it is.
Cisco has signed on to spend $4 mill a year on the ballpark, but probably only if it is in San Jose.
If Oakland was so gung-ho about the A’s, it wouldn’t have been so dismissive of them for all these years. Oakland’s current lame A’s efforts remind me of that old Shel Silverstein song, “Put Another Log on the FIre,” where this guy treats his woman like trash throughout the whole song, and then ends with, “Now come and tell my why you’re leaving me?”
So the only companies of note are those which have headquarters (not just employees) in San Jose and which mass produce consumer goods that necessitate TV commercials for the lay person to even know they exist? The tech industry is much deeper than a few companies that make PCs or maintain websites.
Out of all the big companies mentioned in the San Jose and Oakland areas, most of my money goes to Oakland based Kaiser, to the tune of $14k a year!!! 2nd place: Dreyer’s Ice Cream at $2k a year..lol
Can you show us the press clippings about Kaiser’s and Dreyer’s willingness to fund an Oakland ballpark? URLs at once, please. We already know 75 companies want to help with a San Jose park, one of which has already signed on for $4 mill a year.
I don’t have any press clippings to show you, but wish one would step up. Kaiser would be the best I’d say now. Clorox kind of pissed me off. Kaiser spends so much on those Thrive ads, just use that money for a ballpark naming rights. I want to see renderings for VC, but LetsgoOakland doesn’t have the money and is not backed by billionaires like Wolf/Fisher for Cisco.
It’s one thing to name companies in a region, but what good is it if they have expressed no interest in sports sponsorship? For example, Microsoft is a major multi-billion-dollar corporation in the Seattle area, but to my knowledge they have never expressed any interest in sports sponsorship. No Microsoft Field or Microsoft Arena anywhere. But in San Jose, we have 75 companies ready to climb aboard for the A’s in San Jose.
@jk-usa, LGO is backed by Signature Properties. They have plenty of money.
FYI -Signature Properties is a real estate company in Pleasantin, CA.
http://www.sigprop.com/
Signature Properties is a real estate company that owns most of the land around Victory Court and stands to benefit a great deal if a baseball stadium was built there. It is the primary reason Victory Court is being pushed by Oakland, follow the money.
.
Mike Ghelmetti paid for the Economic Impact Analysis—> Mike Ghelmetti is the President of Signature Properties—> The biggest economic benefit is found to be property values increasing—> Report points out that Oak 2 9th will only be built to 100% of plan if a baseball stadium is nearby—> Mike Ghelmetti makes the most money from Oak 2 9th being built out 100% and owns most of the property that will increase in value—> Mike Ghelmetti paid for a report that basically says “Mike Ghelmetti will be way richer if Oakland buys $150M worth of property and Lew Wolff spends $500M to build a park on top of it.”
.
At least the planning process in San Jose have been conducted in an open way. Wonder why the same can’t be said in Oakland?
.
Question Larry Stone’s holdings all you want. I am fairly certain he won’t make out nearly as well as Ghelmetti in this equation.
@pjk–true about MS, but Paul Allen, who used to me with MS, owns a a bunch of teams, like the Seahawks, Trailblazers and Seattle Sounders of soccer.
@jeffro–Signature Park at Victory Ct? Works for me.
jk- you missed it… Ghelmetti doesn’t want to help pay for the park. He wants to make a shit ton of money from it.
@jeffrey: I am guessing that you have talked Ghielmetti b/c you seem to know a lot about his intentions. Have you?
Stanley, why don’t you talk to some folks in Oakland and get their take?
@letsgoas — Indians attendance was at 1.379M going in to their last home game (doubleheader) today.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/current_attendance.shtml
Jeffrey, I live and work in Oakland. I talk to “folks” in Oakland every day. And I know that “Mike Ghielmetti” didn’t pay for the economic study. Let’s Go Oakland paid for it and Let’s Go Oakland raised $$ from many, many people.
Oh and by the way, if you live in Oakland and you want to see a new mixed use development on Oakland’s waterfront w/ 30 acres of new parks, then maybe it’s a good thing that Signature wants to see a waterfront ballpark. The way i see it, if the ballpark is built, the Oak to Ninth project will be built faster, which is a good thing. It will also mean tax revenues will be generated for the City much faster.
Hey Stewart, what’s Doug bringing to next family potluck?
baycommuter says:
September 29, 2010 at 2:10 PM baycommuter(Quote)
@letsgoas — Indians attendance was at 1.379M going in to their last home game (doubleheader) today.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/current_attendance.shtml
.
Guess they need a new stadium too.
Brian, are you insinuating that the Coliseum is somehow comparable to Jacob’s Field? That Coliseum is great as it is? That Cleveland didn’t see a huge spike in attendance for a sustained period of time after Jacob’s Field opened? Or what, exactly?
It’s interesting that Cleveland’s attendance has fallen below Pittsburgh’s and Kansas City’s , even though the Indians haven’t been bad for nearly as long. Don’t think it’s the stadiums (all are pretty good) so much as the fact that Cleveland’s economy, based on heavy industry, is is in really bad shape while the other cities are more diversified. What does it say for the A’s? San Jose is likely to sustain attendance longer than Oakland, but we knew that already.
No, we didn’t know that actually. You can believe what you think would happen in the long run.
Higher personal income = increased consumption of almost all goods and services (except cheap substitutes). One of the few things in economics that Keynesians and free-market folks agree on.
stanley – “And I know that “Mike Ghielmetti” didn’t pay for the economic study. Let’s Go Oakland paid for it and Let’s Go Oakland raised $$ from many, many people.” Since you’re in the “know” and the kool-oakland-kids-club, can you tell me who raised what money and what amount?
pretty startling revelations (if true) about from larry stone about the sunset agreement with the giants and sj territory as well as schott’s assertion that he has 3/4 votes of the owners. wonder if that is the answer to everything we’ve been asking about why the process delay. hmm…
Ya know, I’m thinking about sending Bill Newcomb and the Giants a letter thanking them for holding strong on the territorial rights. Its good for all A’s fans!!!
@ Moe–as Jeffrey has advised—“Confucious say to ignore trolls…..”