Author Archives: Marine Layer

08.28.12
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“Bernie” to throw out first pitch on Saturday

That’s right. The A’s announced today that Terry Kiser, the veteran actor who played the titular dead boss Bernie Lomax in the Weekend at Bernie’s movies, will throw out the first pitch at Saturday’s game as part of “Bernie Weekend“. The versatile Kiser’s film and TV career goes back to the late 60’s, with guest spots on Golden Girls and The Fall Guy among his many credits. Personally, my favorite work of his was his repertory role in Carol Burnett’s short-lived, long-form sketch comedy show, Carol & Company. The rep cast also included Richard Kind (Spin City), Peter Krause (Sports Night, Six Feet Under), and Jeremy Piven (Entourage). Anyway…

If you’ve been under a rock, you may have missed the team’s homage to the Bernie character. The craze was inspired by the song Moving Like Berney by rapper ISA and started on the team by Coco Crisp, Jerry Blevins, and Brandon Inge. Several players can be seen doing the Bernie dance in the dugout after a home run or while celebrating a walkoff win. What is the Bernie, you ask? It originates from the sequel, Weekend at Bernie’s II, and a momentous scene where a reanimated (yes, reanimated) Lomax leads a conga line.

Frankly, I don’t know why the A’s are even doing this. I thought ownership was a bunch of soulless bean counters who only own the team to leverage real estate. Reveling in the team’s winning? Selling tickets to boost attendance? Sharing some fun with fans? Inconceivable. It’s almost as if Lew Wolff enjoys owning a baseball team. Nah, that wouldn’t fit the evil owner narrative. Silly me. /s

Side note – The A’s are pretty good at cashing in these movie tie-in’s.

08.27.12
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“Oakland Loves Its Sports Teams” Pep Rally

Let’s be clear about one thing. This was a pep rally. No more, no less. Rick Tittle set the tone as the emcee, talking about how teams are private entities, yet fans can make their voices heard through rallies like this. True to form, no official representatives from any teams were on hand. Tittle did his best to gin up the 200 or so people in attendance, talking up how Oakland is the only city in California with NFL, MLB, and NBA franchises. He also taunted a little, getting the crowd to respond when asking if certain other cities were “big league” (hint: one of them has the initials S.J.). Tittle finished his opening remarks by rattling off the names of numerous political and community leaders that were at the rally.

Oakland Mayor Jean Quan announces the upcoming “Oakland Loves Its Sports Teams” week of events

The podium was handed off to Oakland Mayor Jean Quan, who started off by giving a non-update on talks between the City and teams/leagues, not that anyone expected an update. She then talked about the “Oakland Loves Its Sports Teams” week, which will start with the Raiders’ home opener against San Diego on 9/10, a Monday Night Football game. The bookend event is the 9/14 A’s game against Baltimore, which is both the Star Wars fireworks night and an A’s blogger night set up by the team’s media relations department. Quan encouraged fans to sell out both events, which given the circumstances, should not be too difficult. During the week will be other events, including a fundraiser. Curiously, the Warriors were only mentioned in passing by Chris Dobbins and perhaps one or two other speakers, and none of the new signage (see pic above) references the W’s. This may have something to do with how the W’s preseason doesn’t start until October. Yesterday’s revelation of the team hiring an architect for their dream SF arena probably doesn’t help. Still, the W’s are the one team whose practice facility is located in downtown Oakland. You’d think there’d be more than a token mention.

A number of others took the podium, including City Council member Rebecca Kaplan and a person from Rep. Barbara Lee’s office. Throughout the 40-minute rally, there were frequent mentions of Coliseum City and how the project can help revitalize Oakland. Strangely, I didn’t hear a peep about Howard Terminal. Now that the Port is onboard, I was surprised that Howard Terminal wasn’t discussed even a little bit. Maybe I missed something while I was tweeting during the event, but “Howard Terminal” is a phrase that would’ve gotten my attention. (Ed. – I did miss Kaplan’s Howard Terminal reference while I was tweeting.) Now that I think about it, no one from the Port was there either. In the grand scheme of things the omission doesn’t matter much, yet it remains notable. It seems as if the two efforts, such as they are, are running in parallel and there’s no effort to unite them. It sends a mixed message.

Since we’re talking about mixed messaging, I got something else from the tone of the event. On one hand, Oakland supporters talk about how devastating losing the sports teams would be, how much of an impact they make economically, civic pride, etc. At the same time the City is treating the W’s somewhat cavalierly and the A’s in a standoffish manner. It’s what a jilted lover sounds like, and it makes little sense. Don’t get me wrong, events like this and the upcoming weeklong affair are important to elevate the topic among civic discussion. There’s a feeling that this is more of the same, wake me up when you have something new.

Throughout much of the event, there was a protester on the other side of the still-fenced off Frank Ogawa Plaza who was decrying the event, yelling, “Save Oakland, Not The Raiders!” The undercurrent of protest remains, even as the City announced this event on a Friday and held it at 11 AM the following Monday. What would happen if a rally like this were held on Monday during rush hour, with Occupy protesters ready to go? I can’t imagine it’d be pretty. As much as the City keeps claiming that these new sports investments (that’s what they are) won’t require voter approval, they are kidding themselves if they think the City’s residents won’t put serious pressure to put any stadium project to a vote. That’s why this stage is so easy and positive. There are no details. No costs. No sacrifices to make. Unfortunately, the placards and pom-poms have to be put away at some point. Quan ended her remarks referring to her attendance at the recent 15-inning game saying, “It may take a while, but we’ll win in the end.” If I’m a league commissioner in a New York high-rise, I can’t think of a more confidence-inspiring message.

08.26.12
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Warriors choose Norwegian firm Snøhetta to design SF arena

This one’s out of left field. The Warriors announced today that the firm they’ll have design their waterfront arena is Snøhetta, a Norwegian firm. Snøhetta’s an interesting choice because according to Joe Lacob, they were chosen for their waterfront expertise. Snøhetta doesn’t have extensive sports venue experience, but they are doing one local project of note – the expansion of SF MOMA.

SF MOMA expansion rendering by Snøhetta

As far as waterfront buildings, the two most cited are the Oslo Opera House and the Bibliotheca Alexandrina in Alexandria, Egypt. Both are notable in how they seemingly “slide” into the sea adjacent to the buildings. Both of these  venues are not arenas, obviously. What they are for Joe Lacob and Peter Guber are shining examples of how to make iconic venues on the water. That’s what they’re going for. Most arenas in the U.S. are utlitarian in nature, little more than concrete, steel, and glass boxes. If Lacob and Guber are trying reaching to attain Sydney Opera House (another Scandinavian-designed venue) status, they are to be applauded.

Oslo Opera House along the Oslofjord

Making an arena truly iconic is no small task. Most arenas have façades consisting of repetitive patterns of cladding over concrete or glass and steel. Recent attempts to break up arenas into multiple spaces using additional exterior elements and different types of materials have had mixed results. From a distance, an arena is squat, not tall, and often slab-sided. No new renderings or sketches came with the press release. Nevertheless, I look forward to what Snøhetta has to offer. In particular, I hope that Snøhetta finds a way to accentuate the Bay and the SF skyline, as I suggested in May. In a town where just about anything can become instantly controversial, the Warriors’ arena concept is destined to provoke lots of discussion. I imagine that Lacob and Guber wouldn’t have it any other way.

Snøhetta won’t be alone in this endeavor. They’re partnering with AECOM, a huge design and management company that acquired sports architecture firm Ellerbe Becket in 2009. Ellerbe Becket worked on 14 NBA and NHL arenas over the last 20 years.

08.25.12
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Earthquakes Stadium Groundbreaking on 10/21

Prior to tonight’s Quakes-Rapids game at Buck Shaw, the Earthquakes announced that the long-awaited, oft-delayed groundbreaking will finally occur on October 21, before the home finale against the LA Galaxy.

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Quakes President David Kaval makes the big stadium announcement. San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed (in blue) was also there in support.

Knowing how long the fanbase has suffered waiting for the Quakes’ permanent home to be built, the team is making the groundbreaking a big public event. They’re inviting every fan to come to the ceremony and participate, in hopes of breaking the Guinness record of 4,532 simultaneous “groundbreakers” at a similar ceremony in India. Sounds like fun. Will the Quakes have enough hard hats on hand?

Update 7:00 PM – The San Jose Earthquakes have put up a press release for the event, which will be at noon on October 21. Fans can RSVP for the ceremony here.

08.24.12
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Port gives Howard Terminal thumbs up, warns of hurdles

The Trib’s Matt Artz wrote today that the Port of Oakland is “very interested” in converting Howard Terminal into a ballpark/commercial site. That’s a big step. Having the Port and Matson onboard is a good start. Now Oakland boosters have to get SSA Terminals onboard, which is suing the Port over contract terms. I wrote about that and other challenges two weeks ago. It’s worth a read if you hadn’t seen it it.

Artz also brilliantly sums up Oakland’s broader challenge at the moment.

With A’s owner Lew Wolff determined to move his team to downtown San Jose, Oakland needs to show baseball officials that it too has a viable site for the team that could persuade baseball owners against pursuing the very touchy subject of rescinding the San Francisco Giants’ territorial rights to San Jose.

Viable, unfortunately, is a term that is prone to subjectivity. Knowing that, let’s try to break it down into what MLB’s goals are in its neverending exploration:

  • Can the site be acquired cheaply and quickly? That’s an unknown as long as the SSA issue remains in litigation. Otherwise, it’s a site that can be configured and prepped fairly quickly, as long as cleanup isn’t too lengthy or expensive.
  • Overall, is it cheaper to pursue this site than to build in San Jose and compensate the Giants? Another unknown. The only thing we have a decent idea about right now is what it will cost to build in San Jose (including remaining land acquisitions). There’s still much to determine regarding Howard Terminal. Will infrastructure costs be borne by the club, the City, or some combination of the two? Will the cost be too expensive for either to bear, as was apparently the case with Victory Court? Plus we have no idea what proper compensation is for the Giants.
  • Will the risk that comes with Howard Terminal be too great or manageable? It’s unfair to Oakland, but when you combine the lackluster attendance history with the poor corporate base compared to San Jose, it has to be asked. How can an individual team such as the A’s pull this off, especially if they are not expected to get significant monetary help from either MLB or the City, County, or other public entity?

In the end, it’s all a big cost-benefit analysis. And if it means Oakland, I’ve gotten accustomed to taking the Capitol Corridor train to day games. It’s no sweat off my back. This is when we find out if and how Oakland can put together a good deal for the A’s and for MLB. This is how we define viable.

08.23.12
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News for 8/23/12

Items are starting to pile up, so it’s time to let loose.

  • Yesterday I went to an A’s game at the Coliseum, followed by a River Cats game at Raley Field. While I paid for a $2 seat in Oakland, I ended up sitting along the covered (upper) part of the plaza level near the A’s bullpen, section 125. A regular-priced ticket there is $24. My ticket at Raley was a front row seat next to the River Cats dugout that cost $27 including Ticketmaster fees.

Major League vs. Minor League

River Cats manager Darren Bush likes to plant himself WAY up the 3rd base line.

Kings fans can save their anger for April, when the window for the Maloofs to apply for a move will officially open

  • A burgeoning effort to overhaul state’s often restrictive CEQA (California Environmental Quality Act) laws was tabled by Senate leader Darrell Steinberg earlier today. Business interests and trades unions rallied together to bring the issue to the floor, which would have pitted moderates against environmentalists within the Democratic party. The push was started by SVLG (Silicon Valley Leadership Group), which provided little more than guidance in how the law should be changed. For now the two sides are far apart: the moderates consider changes to CEQA to be common sense modernization and a reduction of red tape, whereas environmentalists see the changes as a gutting of CEQA. Steinberg pushed the matter out to the 2013 legislative session. We’ll follow it closely, as it could have a huge impact in how cities and developers plan projects. [LA Times/Michael J. Mishak]
  • The Detroit-Wayne County Stadium Authority is refinancing $61 million in outstanding bonds for Comerica Park. Refinancing should drop the interest rate from 5.75% to 3%. The article is a good read because it chronicles how many times the public body failed in previous attempts to refinance the debt, which is important to know in light of the idea that the Oakland Coliseum JPA and the San Francisco Giants are looking to refinance their own respective stadium debt. [Crain’s/Bill Shea]
  • Speaking of the CEQA process, the Warriors’ proposed SF arena now has its own Mayor-appointed citizens advisory committee. [SFGate/John Coté]
  • The Rays will, in fact, see a presentation about a developer’s plan for a new ballpark within St. Petersburg, yet closer to Tampa. It’s a start. [Tampa Bay Times/Mark Puente]
  • The America’s Cup World Series is happening this week along the Marina Green. It’s a good dry run for the bigger 2013 America’s Cup races. There are plenty of places to watch the action for free. Races run through the weekend. [SFGate/Neal J. Riley]
  • Finally, the Earthquakes are announcing something stadium-related before their Saturday game against Columbus. It’ll be in the form of a press conference at 6 at Buck Shaw. Perhaps a groundbreaking date?

More as it comes.

08.22.12
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PSA: No baseball on the Sabbath

That weird scheduling quirk we talked about at the beginning of the year is coming up this weekend, so consider this a heads up. Thanks to some political party’s convention, the A’s-Rays series was pushed up a day, from Thursday to Saturday. Sunday is a most unusual scheduled off day.

Normally, teams going from the West Coast to the East Coast are allowed an off day to cover travel, whether they decide to leave immediately after a game (road teams) or use the off day for the transcontinental flight (often the A’s). The CBA explicitly calls for this, though every team has a number of exceptions it can use that have to be approved by the league. The A’s are one of the more hospitable WC franchises in that they prefer to have 12:15 starts on Wednesdays, the better to get a move on.

With the A’s having to fly out immediately after today’s game, there’s already a little bit of havoc. A’s beat writers Susan Slusser, Joe Stiglich, and Jane Lee had no choice but to take commercial flights before today’s game, having to deal with transfers to get to TPA. I suppose it just adds a little more flavor to a week of upheaval (Weeks’ demotion yesterday, Colon’s PED suspension today).

As for the event kicking our elephants out of Tropicana Field for another set of elephants, it’s not specifically part of the convention, which will take place at Tampa’s St. Petersburg Times Forum starting on Monday. Instead it’s a welcome party for delegates at the Trop. Whoop-dee-freaking-doo. The Rays are in the middle of a homestand, so no pain on their part.

Apologies in advance to those who observe the Sabbath on Saturday, or who don’t celebrate any Sabbath at all. Oh who am I kidding? Even Sabbath celebrates baseball!

08.21.12
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The Game reshuffles the deck, are W’s next?

95.7 The Game had another of its “blockbuster” announcements today during The Wheelhouse, and for once there was actual news. The lineup is changing from 4 shows spanning 6 AM – 10 PM to 4 shows from 6 AM to 7 PM, starting after Labor Day.

  • The Rise Guys (unchanged): 6 AM – 10 AM
  • Townsend & Steinmetz: 10 AM – 12 PM
  • The Wheelhouse (Lund & Papa, no rotating co-host): 12 PM – 3 PM
  • The Drive (Tierney & TBA co-host): 3 PM – 7 PM

Listeners are asking what happened to The Chris Townsend Show from 7-10. I think the answer is simple. The Warriors have been rumored to be talking to Entercom about switching from KNBR to The Game, so to properly accommodate W’s games and pre/post-game programming they had to move things around. Using the old schedule with Townsend from 6 to 10, he’d be preempted several times a week by the W’s during the fall/winter and then daily with the A’s. The 7 PM slot is plum when it isn’t being preempted, when it is you get Damon Bruce moving to 1050 after years of frustration.

Making Steinmetz a permanent host would seem to be clincher. He’s a good basketball analyst, though unfortunately he’s pretty bad or inattentive to other sports. Having Steinmetz on is good from a “morning after” analysis standpoint, and Townsend can deftly handle the other sports. The curious thing about the change is that the slot is only two hours, which is not unheard of in other markets but in the Bay Area is unusual. Seems like it would make more sense to shorten the morning show to 9 and give Townsend-Steinmetz 9-noon.

The 7 PM slot is a bit of a mystery. I could see rotating shows for the football teams and maybe a college football show, unless the station wanted to go cheap and use Yahoo! Sports programming. It’s also possible that Townsend could do double-duty with the 10-12 slot and night slot since he’s done it in the past. You’d think that if that were the case The Game would’ve announced it. Warriors broadcasts plus postgame will preempt regular programming for at least an hour 50-60 times throughout the season, and if the W’s go to the playoffs that number is sure to grow.

Ratings for the San Francisco market dating back to November 2011

Change is afoot, and Entercom clearly needs to ink deals to lift the station. The Warriors haven’t announced a radio partner yet and we’re only six weeks away from the first preseason game. The next move seems obvious.

08.21.12
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What is this?

Sometimes, when I’ve arrived early at the Coliseum, I’ll walk over to the Pak ‘n Save on Hegenberger to grab some beers for tailgating, or a water/soda and some snacks to take into the game. Inevitably, the walk usually involves walking past the portable football seats used for Raiders games. This area next to the B Lot is even more of a mess these days due to the construction of the Oakland Airport Connector, which runs parallel to Hegenberger as it terminates adjacent to the Coliseum/Airport BART station.

When I was walking back to the Coliseum, I noticed this thing that looks like a lifeguard stand or tennis umpire’s chair. It has male and female markings and arrows pointing is if to separate the sexes into two lines. What is this for, and what if anything does it have to do with Raiders games?

I don’t get it.

Update 1:20 PM – The stand is for ensuring that security lines are properly separated between men and women. Sounds like fun. Thanks to all who answered.

08.21.12
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“Oakland Loves Its Sports Teams” Press Conference on 8/27

Post to the Save Oakland Sports Facebook page earlier tonight – The City of Oakland is putting on a press conference/rally in Frank Ogawa Plaza on Monday, August 27 at 11:00 AM. Here’s the description of the event:

Mayor Quan – joined by regional elected officials, business leaders and sports fans – will share details on the “Oakland Loves Its Sports Teams” Week.

The “Oakland Loves Its Sports Teams” Week will salute the Oakland A’s and Oakland Raiders for being irreplaceable civic treasures that add significantly to the economy, identity, pride and culture of Oakland, Alameda County and the entire East Bay region.

Gotta show the teams some love, especially when both have leases that run out after their respective 2013 seasons. The blurb is right about one thing: the teams are irreplaceable.

Note – It appears that I have been taken off the S.O.S. email chain. Perhaps they chose to close ranks.