A Warriors Special

The Finals

Are the Warriors dreamers?  Or do they just want to feel good still hoping for Thompson to return after getting kneed in the head.  I personally thought he would miss the entire series against Cleveland but Klay attended the Oakland A's baseball game Sunday which was a good sign.  If he was continually having headaches being out in the sun would be the last place he want to be.    

One cannot say that since the Rockets knew they were going to be beaten and that the only chance they had was to injure players.  No that's not the NBA.  But it's playoff basketball.

I wrote on this blog that I thought Ariza should have been thrown out of the game implying that the hit of Thompson was on purpose.  I received an e-mail from a loyal blog reader Clem G of Alamo telling me that he thought it was accidental and that I was being a 'homer'.  Perhaps I was and since receiving his reply I have looked at the replay a number of times.    It takes a very conscious effort to bend a knee when one is flying through the air. One replay shows Ariza looking right at the head of Thompson when he plants his knee chop.  The Warriors and the press have said nothing. The player denies any wrong doing.  What's he going to say,' I did it on purpose.'  We live in a world of lies so why tell the truth.  If leaping to block a shot is common in the NBA then why don't we see more players getting kicked in the head?

Then there is the famous Dwight Howard.  Since Houston was eliminated with the loss in game 5 the NBA decided to suspend Howard for one game next year for almost separating Iguodala's shoulder with a hard block.  Remember the league allowed Howard to play game 5 by not increasing the penalty for a high elbow hit on Bogus.  Do you really think the NBA would have suspended Howard if the Rockets won game 5?  The NBA is gutless!  I guarantee you Howard will not play the next time they meet the Warriors because he will have a fungus on his toe.

I noticed that Bruce Bochy the Giants manager had some good advise for the Warriors. Keep doing what you have been doing!  I also have some advise.  Hit him hard, hit him high and hit him often. If you don't they will.  If the Warriors didn't learn this themselves in the Houston series, I can't help them. This is NBA Playoff basketball.

In the Past

Stunts like the ones the Rockets tried are not new to the NBA.  In the 1975 Championship series the Warriors led the Washington Bullets 3 games to 0.  It was desperation time for the Bullets and early in game 4 Mike Riordan of Washington tackled the Warriors Rick Berry on a drive trying to provoke a fight so Rick would be tossed from the game.  Before that could happen Coach Al Attles rushed on the floor and got in the middle of it saving Rick from being ejected.  Attles was given two technical fouls and had to watch the Warriors win the title from the locker room.

Washington eventually changed their name to the Wizards.  Using Bullets upset too many people even though the name perfectly depicts our nations capital.

1967 Program Cover

The management of the Warriors was so shocked at making the finals in 1975 that they failed to reserve their floor at the Oakland Coliseum and just like 1967 had to play their championship series home games at the Cow Palace.  The 1967 Warriors played their home games at either the Cow Palace or the San Francisco Civic Auditorium

Prices on the secondary market for the upcoming Cleveland series are currently over $2,000 a ticket. Tickets for the 1967 Championship games won by the Philadelphia 76ers 4 games to 2 ranged from $2.00 to $4.50 a ticket.  The 76ers led by the great Wilt Chamberlin had an 8 player squad.

Hiring the Coach

I was not impressed with the hiring of Steve Kerr.  I had observed that when he took over as General Manager of the Phoenix Suns  he changed their philosophy of basketball.  Up to that time they were a very happy go lucky shooting team that was usually a strong factor in the Western Conference.  After Kerr took over they hit bottom and have never really recovered.

After Kerr was hired I kept hearing about the extra pass that the team was going to make.  Up to that point I had bought into the Don Nelson philosophy of basketball.  If you have clear 40 footer take it.  It was better then passing the ball around and losing it without even getting a  shot off.  But Kerr has proven me wrong.  The extra pass has electrified a great offense and with a very strong defense led the Warriors to the finals.  He has done a masterful job and his comments to the press are honest.

In the News

Klay Thompson made news in southern California.  He purchased a $2.2+ million home in Dana Point over looking the Pacific Ocean.  This decision was made before he was hit in the head. He works in Oakland about 9 months of the year.  The commute will be difficult.  Carnival Lines does not stop in Dana Point on the way to the Bay Area.  There are usually a couple of sail boats leaving daily but their time  depends on the wind. The newly planned bullet train is still in the future.  He is about one hour from John Wayne.  Then you have to figure one hour to be stripped searched, another hour in the air and probably another hour renting a car and driving to practice.   If he left at 3 am in the morning he could drive highway 5 in less then 7 hours and easily be at a 10 o'clock practice.  But I understand he had a choice. For the same amount of money he could have purchase a 1/2 bedroom condo in San Francisco just a couple of miles from Kezar Pavilion.  He had heard a rumor around the Warrior offices that if the new Mission Bay Arena is not  ready by 2018 the  team would play some of their home games at Kezar Pavilion with the  possibility of a few outdoor games at the Stadium depending on the fog.    Like in the 1960s other games would be played at the Cow Palace when the cows weren't using the facility.  The rumor is that if the Sacramento arena plans happened to fall through the Kings would move to Oracle Arena in Oakland in 2018 meaning that the Warriors would have to find a place to play.

The Amazing Moe Berg --- Dead 43 Years

Thanks to loyal blog member John L of Sacramento for providing this story.

We pay tribute to Moe Berg who died 43 years ago today May 29, 1972.

Gehrig and the Babe talking Japanese

When baseball greats Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig went on tour in baseball-crazy Japan in 1934, some fans wondered why a third-string catcher named Moe Berg was included.  Although he played with 5 major league teams from 1923 to 1939, he was a very mediocre ballplayer, but was regarded as the brainiest ballplayer of all time.  In fact Casey Stengel once said: "That is the strangest man ever to play baseball."  When all the baseball stars went to Japan, Moe Berg went with them, and many people wondered why he went with the team.

Catcher Moe Berg

The answer was simple:  Moe Berg was a United States spy working undercover with the OSS forerunner to the CIA.  Moe spoke 15 languages - including Japanese - Moe Berg had two loves: baseball and spying.  In Tokyo, garbed in kimono, Berg took flowers to the daughter of an American diplomat being treated in St. Luke's Hospital - the tallest building in the Japanese capital.  He never delivered the flowers.  The ball player ascended to the hospital roof and filmed key features: the harbor, military installations, railway yards, etc.  Eight years later, General Jimmy Doolittle studied Berg's films in planning his spectacular raid on Tokyo.

Berg's father, Bernard Berg, a pharmacist in Newark, New Jersey, taught his son Hebrew and Yiddish. Moe, against his wishes, began playing baseball on the street at aged four. His father disapproved and never once watched his son play.  In Barringer High School, Moe learned Latin, Greek and French.  Moe read at least 10 newspaper every day.  He graduated  magna cum laude from Princeton - having added Spanish, Italian, German and Sanskrit to his linguistic quiver.  During further studies at the Sorbonne, in Paris, and Columbia Law School, he picked up Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Indian, Arabic, Portuguese and Hungarian - 15 languages in all, plus some regional dialects.  While playing baseball for Princeton University, Moe Berg would describe plays in Latin and Sanskrit.

During World War II, he was parachuted into Yugoslavia to assess the value to the war effort of the two groups of partisans there.  He reported back that Marshall Tito's forces were widely supported by the people and Winston Churchill ordered all-out support for the Yugoslav underground fighters, rather than Mihajlovic's Serbians. 

Water Plant Destroyed

The parachute jump at age 41 undoubtedly was a challenge.  But there was more to come in that same year.  Berg penetrated German-held Norway, met with members of the underground and located a secret heavy water plant - part of the Nazis' effort to build an atomic bomb.  His information guided the Royal Air Force in a bombing raid to destroy the plant.

There still remained the question of how far had the Nazis progressed in the race to build the first Atomic bomb.  If the Nazis were successful, they would win the war.  Berg (under the code name Remus) was sent to Switzerland to hear leading German physicist Werner Heisenberg, a Nobel Laureate, lecture and determine if the Nazis were close to building an A-bomb.  Moe managed to slip past the SS guards at the auditorium, posing as a Swiss graduate student.  The spy carried in his pocket a pistol and a cyanide pill.  If the German indicated the Nazis were close to building a weapon, Berg was to shoot him - and then swallow the cyanide pill. Moe, sitting in the front row, determined that the Germans were nowhere near their goal, so he complimented Heisenberg on his speech and walked him back to his hotel.

Moe Berg's report was distributed to Britain's Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, President Franklin D. Roosevelt and key figures in the team developing the Atomic Bomb.  Roosevelt responded" "Give my regards to the catcher."

Most of Germanys leading physicists had been Jewish and had fled the Nazis mainly to Britain and the United States.  After the war, Moe Berg was awarded the Medal of Freedom --- America's highest honor for civilian in wartime.  But Berg refused to accept, as he couldn't tell people about his exploits. 

After his death, his sister accepted the Medal and it hangs in the Baseball Hall of Fame, in Cooperstown.  Moe Berg's baseball card is the only card on display at the CIA Headquarters in Washington, D.C.

A Good Road Trip

Giants Win Five

Playing two last place teams the Rockies and the Brewers the Giants needed to win at least five of the seven games for it to be a successful trip.  All four games against the Rockies were rain delayed which  made it very stressful and caused the bullpen to be even further overworked.

The week was highlighted by the return of Hunter Strickland from Sacramento who pitched very well in three relief efforts.   He has added two new pitches, throws strikes and seems to be in control.  A big addition to the staff.

I was going to comment how Pence in his return from the DL list has looked much more patient at the plate until the last two games in Milwaukee when he reverted to some old habits of swinging at pitches a mile outside.

Our Texas blog members will  remember when Nolan Ryan was running the Rangers he started a program for his minor league pitcher so that they could learn to pitch nine innings when they reached the majors. The Giants would love to have starters that could go at least 7 innings.  The relief staff is over worked leading the majors in appearances and on a path to disaster such as happened to the Brewers staff last year. The combination of starters going only six innings, the managing philosophy of Bochy to keep changing pitchers and almost always having a new pitcher start the ninth and many close games contributes to the problem.

Strickland mentioned that there are at least three or four very good arms in Sacramento just waiting their turn.  Andrew Baggarly wrote this week that the Giants are well aware of the problem.  Will they be able to do anything to solve it?

The Giants have also proven in this past month that they can hit with the best of them with many of the starters hitting near or over.300.  They seemed to enjoy playing in Houston, Cincinnati, Denver and Milwaukee ball parks which are noted as hitters parks.  AT&T has proven to a different challenge  however the Giants have been saved over the years in the fact that the opponents can't hit their either.  I might add it is not just the ball park but the weather.  The heavier air near the water always makes hitting more  difficult.

The Atlanta Series at AT&T

Heston will open against Atlanta.  He has had some very good outings but also has hit pretty hard on more then one occasion.  This is a big start for him depending on how well Peavey does in his start for Sacramento.  It looked like on video that Peavy was able to throw all of his pitches when he started for San Jose last week.

Bochy has announced a big change in the line up starting with the home series.  Pence and Pagan will bat second and third depending on who is pitching. Why?  Panik will most likely be dropped to 7th in the batting order.  I am sure the future Hall of Fame manager knows what he is doing but I would take Panik in a clutch situation over both Pagan and Pence because he has a more controlled swing.


Stupid Plays of the Week

Posey had a 16 game hitting streak going into the game Tuesday night.  In the 9th inning Aoki leads off  with a hit.  With a 6-3 lead Panik does the unusual by bunting.  He wanted to stay out of the        double play so that Posey would get another at bat.  Then with Pence at the plate Aoki starts running from second base for no reason at all and is out at third.  What was he doing?  It was a very stupid play and not the first one he has committed on the base paths this year.  Pence then made the third out and Posey was left standing in the on deck circle saying good-bye to his hitting streak.

Bumgarner was on second with one out and Panik hit a drive over the center fielders head.  Instead of going half way Bumgarner went back and tagged up.  The result being that he was nearly tagged out at home but he made it with a traditional feet first slide.  Since he doesn't run the bases that often he can be excused but he himself said it was a stupid play.

Kaepernick the Forty Niners star quarterback tweeted some stupid "humorous" statement about the tragic Houston floods.  One of the leading PB's of sports had to apologize.  Veteran Forty Niner fans can only remember when the team had leaders like Albert, Brodie, Montana, Young and Benjamin.

Ex- Giants Stars in the News

Juan Urbie has been traded by the Dodgers to the Atlanta Braves.  I remember well when Juan signed with the Dodgers after the Giants 2010 world championship season.  I knew at that moment there was no way the Giants could repeat as world champions in 2011. It is almost impossible to replace a short stop who hit 24 home runs and produced many run scoring hits especially after the seventh inning. Last year he hit over. 300 for the Dodgers and was a runner up for a gold glove at third base.  Could the Giants use him this year?

Mike Morse who is barely hitting over the Mendoza line was placed on the disabled list by the Marlins.  One of the heroes of the 2014 Giants championship series has discovered that's it a little different playing for classless organization like Miami then the Giants.  It is obvious that he misses the great support that he received from the Giant fans and the continued encouragement from Bochy and Pence.

With all the rain delays in  Denver earlier this week I caught a few pitches of the Angels - Red Sox game. While I was watching Pablo Sandoval came up to pinch hit.  Immediately the Angels brought in a left hander to pitch so that the switch hitting Sandoval would hit right handed.  Seems Pablo has had only two hits right handed this year.  To the surprise of Giant fans Pablo batted left handed and got a single.  It was thought in the Giants organization that the MVP of 2012 World Series would never hit left handed against a left handed pitcher.

The Warriors

After 40 years the Warriors are back in the NBA finals.  Congratulations!  The team had a great regular season and have rolled through the playoffs as we predicted on this blog about 6 weeks ago.  with a 12 -3 record.  It hasn't been easy.  Playoff basketball is different.  In fact if the teams played during the season like they do in the playoffs there wouldn't be any players left for the playoffs.

Lets hope that the week off will help Curry get back to 100% and allow Thompson to play.  I believe it was Ariza of the Rockets who kneed Thompson right in the ear finishing him for the game and maybe the playoffs.  The Rocket should have been kicked out on the spot.  I was disappointed in the fact that the Warriors didn't have a chance to wish Howard a happy vacation by sending one to his chops.

Cleveland rolled to an easy 4-0 win over Atlanta completing a sweep of a  group of very weak teams.

Soccer Corruption

It is hard to believe that there is corruption in soccer the sport that almost every kid in American participates starting at the age of 3.  What's harder to believe that its going to take a group of crooks to prove it unless of course they are bribed and drop the charges.  Nike a major sponsor of soccer has lots of connections in Washington and money to burn.

Giants After 41 Games

What A Surprise!

If I was asked at the start of the season to vote if the Giants record would be above or below .500  after the first 41 games I would have voted below.  The loss of key players during the off season, the injury to Pence and the many questions about the pitching staff were real obstacles the team had to face.  The Giants record of 23-18  during the first quarter of the season has shown that they have overcome most of these obstacles and are now legitimate contenders in the NLWest.  I can't say enough about the play of Crawford at short and at the bat and combined with  Panik at second they are terrific up the middle.  Bumgarner is still among the best and Lincecum has been a real surprise and we take Posey for granted.

Questions

The Giants  still have some questions to be answered just like every team in the majors.

Third base is still a big concern.  Can the Giants do anything about it? Not sure Duffy is the answer.

Can Peavy make a comeback?  Whose place would he take?

Will it be Ishikawa or Maxwell?  Ishikawa time is running out at Sacramento and in a few days he will be a free agent unless the Giants find room on the roster.  It would be sad to see another hero from 2014 leave.  Maxwell has been a great right fielder and he looks like he should hit .280.  But he can't layoff that pitch in the dirt and will hit around .230.  Who would you keep?  Perhaps whoever they let go can pass waivers and then spend some time with the River Cats.

Cain is at least six weeks away and can he  be the Cain of old?  Don't bet on it.

Look for Evans to use the DL to help solve some of these immediate roster problems.

The Oakland A's

Oakland is currently 14-29 and 13 1/2 games behind the Houston Astros in the AL West.  What happen to the A's?  The Cepedes trade will haunt them for years.  Yes, Cepedes did strike out too often but he was a constant threat in the lineup which allowed hitters like Moss and Donaldson to get better pitches to hit.  Once Cepedes was traded Donaldson and Moss slumped.  'Money Ball' Bean got upset and traded them and many others.  Now you see the results.
 

The golf course of the future

Golf News and Stories

Tiger Wood is at it again and Lidsey Vonn found out!  What else is new?

The popularity of golf has started to decline.  People have discovered it is expensive and  not an easy sport to play.  When I play I always wondered why they didn't make the last hole the easiest so players would want to comeback.  The industry is now in the process of designing new golf courses (shown at the right) which will also include instant replay at every hole that will help bring back the games popularity.

Good-bye Grandpa  Thanks Tony G

A father put his three-year old daughter to bed, told her a story and listened to her prayers  which ended by saying,"God bless Mommy, God bless Daddy, God bless Grandma and good-bye Grandpa."  The father asked, "Why did you say good-bye Grandpa"... The little girl said, "I don't know daddy, it just seemed like the thing to do."

The next day grandpa died.  The father thought it was a strange coincidence.

A few months later the father put the girl to bed and listened to her prayers which went like this, "God bless Mommy, God bless Daddy and good-bye Grandma."

The next day the grandmother died.

"Holy cow!"  thought the father, "this kid is in contact with the other side."

Several weeks later when the girl was going to bed, the dad heard her say, "God bless Mommy and good-bye Daddy."

He practically became apoplectic. He couldn't sleep all night and got up at the crack of dawn to go to his office. He was nervous as a cat all day, had lunch and watched the clock.

He figured if he could get by until midnight he would be  okay.  He felt safe in the office, so instead of going home at the end of the day he stayed there, drinking coffee, looking at his watch and jumping at every sound.

Finally midnight arrived; he breathed a sigh of relief and went home.

When he got home his wife said, "I've never seen you work so late.  What's the matter?"

He said, "I don't want to talk about it.  I've just spent the worst day of my life."

She said, "You think you had a bad day, you'll never believe what happened to me.  This morning my golf pro dropped dead in the middle of my lesson!"


The Warriors

The Warriors after beating Houston last night still need six more wins to be crowned champions of the NBA.  If they play like they did last night they are lucky to win one more game.  The players keep saying its the playoffs but on the court its like the regular season with sloppy play, ridiculous stupid passes and a cockiness that can't be hidden.  Will they rebound  and play like champions on
Saturday?  

The Drought

Those of you who live in California know we are facing a serious draught situation.  I am sure your own water district has come up with many ideas on how to conserve.  We have a couple of ideas that we thought you might want to add to your list that will conserve water.  Eliminate ice from all soft and hard drinks.  If you like scotch and water or bourbon and water drop the water.  For those who love manhattans over ice drink them straight up.

Other Comments

The 49ers offered Santa Clara County $3 million to upgrade soccer fields.  The Niners' would like to turn a soccer field into a VIP parking location for Levi Stadium.  The County turned down the offer implying that they can't trust the NFL team.  One councilman was overheard saying that if the money could have been used to enlarge the County Jail he would have voted in favor.

It has been reported that Robert Kraft owner of the Patriots has decided not to challenge the NFL about the punishment the team received for Deflate Gate.  The rumor is that the Patriots owner received a 'deal' from the NFL to drop his appeal or he read my recent blog that outlined how easy the Lombardi Trophy winners got off.  The Union will free Brady.

The New England fans are real patriots.  They have taken up a collection to pay the $1 million fine for the team.  Can't beat that loyalty but they should realized that they are going to pay the fine anyway through increases in ticket prices.

I assume many of you saw Curry of the Warriors make a 62 foot shot against the Grizzlies.  He mentioned in a follow up interview that he practices that shot regularly. It reminded me of my days at USF when once in awhile a few of us took off to play basketball at the Sunset Gym.  It was early afternoon and the kids were in school so we had the entire gym to ourselves for two hours.  I always started practice by taking shots from mid court because it made other shots around the key look a lot easier.  This routine didn't work at Rossi Playground because the wind took the ball all over the place.

The All Star Baseball game is already in the news.  On the field at Great American Ball Park is the message Vote Reds.  The Detroit Tigers have a similar promotion for their heroes.  I  thought baseball discouraged home team voting.  The game is bad enough and this type of voting makes it even a greater farce.  This could be stopped by implementing a electoral college voting system which I have written about in previous years.

In honor of Armed Force Day the Cincinnati Reds wore armed service type jerseys similar to those the San Diego Padres wear at home each Sunday.  Across the front was the word 'Reds'.  Did I miss something?

It made everybody feel good!  The March 7 edition of  this blog reported that on March 5th Pence had broken a bone in his forearm and the team announced he would be out 4 - 6 weeks. We wrote that the Giants press release was to make you feel good.  We said at the time Pence would return around the middle of May.  He came back after being out 10 weeks on May 16.


R.I.P. Rev John LoSchiavo (1925 - 2015)

Baseball coach 1950

"To save the integrity and its reputation" were the words used by Fr. LoSchavio in 1982 when he announced that the University of San Francisco was dropping collegiate basketball for an indefinite period of time.  The school returned to the game 30 years ago in 1985 with many restrictions imposed upon the coach regarding recruiting and except for a few seasons the teams have been mediocre.  This has been very disheartening for the many Don supporters who still dream of returning to the glory days of NCAA and NIT tournaments and championships especially when they see the success of similar small schools like Gonzaga and St. Mary's.

Fr. LoSchavio was President of the University for 14 years died last week at the age of 90.  He was a friend, neighbor and coach.  The family lived just three houses from us at 105 10th avenue near Lake St. and he was my baseball coach at St. Ignatius High School in 1950.  I will not be able to make the Vigil Service Monday night but will say a Rosary for the repose of his soul.  May God have mercy on his soul!

The Cheaters Win

Patriots Punishment

The media loves the Patroits by headlining how tough the NFL was in the punishments for deflate gate.  What complete idiotic B.S.  These minor penalties against New England only goes to show that cheating pays off and the media loves the best owner in the NFL George Kraft.  Can't tell me he doesn't have  power!

Lets compare the NFL with the NCAA case against USC which now looks like most of the evidence against USC was based on lies.

Did the Patriots lose a Super Bowl title?  No.
The Trojans lost a National Championship title.

Are the Patriots eligible for the playoffs next year? Yes 
For two years the Trojans were ineligible for bowl games

The Patriots lost two draft choices. 
The Trojans lost 30 scholarships.  Pete Carroll use to call all recruits a first round draft choice

The Patroits were fined $1 million. The commissioner makes between $30 and $44.2 million a year
The University lost over $10 million in revenue because of drop in attendance.

Brady has to sit out four games.
The Trojans lost at least seven star players a total of 96 games who were allowed to transfer schools.

The Patriots have to ask permission of the NFL to rehire the inflate boys who are part time.
The Trojans can hire anyone they want to inflate footballs.

Other Sports

In the big match up Sunday Hamilton got a single and then Zito struck him out twice

Congratulations to the Warriors for a great win Monday.  That's more like it!

The Rock the Cheaters and the Giants

Mission Rock Development

I read with the interest the Mission Rock Development project of the Giants across from McCovey Cove.  The Giants felt it more important to keep their good name in front of the public even though it will cost them millions.  After many community meetings the Giants cut back their original plans regarding height of buildings and type of housing.  The Giants haven't learned once you give in on something the opposition is never satisfied.  Since no one really lives near the project they must have been appeasing the people of San Francisco who will vote on the project in November..

Affordable housing will make up 1/3 of the housing portion of the project.  No figures were given but we are assuming that rents per month will be kept around $3500 and units can't be sold for over $3,500,000.  You think I am kidding, don't you?  A 291 square foot condo, smallest in SF in the south of  Market area at 7th and Howard, just sold for $415,000 after a bidding war which the price started at $299,000.  Is San Francisco an image of Germany in early 1920s?

Horace C. Stoneham

It is ironic that the Giants are closing down Parking Lot A to develop the land.  Back in 1957 Horace Stoneham owner of Giants moved the team from the Polo Grounds in New York to San Francisco  because he reasoned that attendance was low since there was very little parking although the subways cars pulled right up into the stadium.  Lack of parking was the reason that Seals Stadium was never enlarged and the reason Candlestick with all kinds of parking and weather was built.

Parking in Lot A was $30. a few years ago.  I assume it is higher now.  Unless one is bringing  a large family to the game or needs a car later it is best to take the light rail.  If you need to drive park out in the neighborhoods and take the light rail to the stadium.

49er Draft Follow Up

One of our regular readers Leo O of Moraga gave the 49ers a D- grade with their draft picks. He is seldom wrong but lets hope he forgot the extra credit work the Niners' did that might bring their grade up to a C.  It was reported that the 49ers did not consider and passed on players that had any kind of blemish on their record. While the Giants make every attempt to keep their good name the 49er are trying to regain some respect in the community which is a challenge when you consider that a portion of the Santa Clara County Jail is called the 49er Wing.

Rewarding Cheaters

Can you honestly remember the last time you saw a New England Patriots game on television that the cameras didn't catch Robert Kraft owner of the New England team in his box and the announcers spitting out all kinds of wonderful superlatives about him being the best owner in the NFL.  The media loves liars and cheaters as long as they agree with them. Do they love Kraft because his team cheats and has for years?

First there was 'Film Gate'  It was 2002 when the Patriots allegedly filmed the Rams walk through practice the day before the Super Bowl  game.  It was swept under the rug by the NFL league office and all the evidence destroyed.

Then there was Spy Gate.  The Patriots against league rules filmed  the signals of all the opposing coaches and got a slap on the wrist with a loss of a top draft choice.

This past season there was Receiver Gate.  Against the Ravens the Patriots used a strange formation that made a back ineligible to catch a pass but a lineman eligible.  It was legal but since has been banned.

The current crisis is called 'Deflate Gate'  Did Tom Brady know the footballs were deflated for the championship game against the Colts.  Of course he knew since he has been throwing football for decades he would know immediately if it was different.  The irony of this situation is the Colts also knew.  They sent their information to the NFL league office before the game.  They didn't realized that the NFL also cheats.  There is a rumor that Brady will be suspended for four pre season games and two league games.  That might be difficult to do because the report only said he 'most likely' knew about the footballs.  The  real question is how guilty are the Patriots?

The Patriots mentality to cheat and deceive has been proven over the years.  How many times have they done illegal actions  that haven't been reported or discovered?  There out to get Brady and save the owner's reputation.  Will Brady cooperate?

Thank You Mr. Mayor 

The City of San Francisco banned chewing tobacco from AT&T.  Thanks goodness we have leadrs looking out for our youth. There motto is 'If we don't like it you can't do it' and is based primarily on another phony research project by UCSF in order to get more of our tax money to fight tobacco use.

I read Matt Cain Giants pitcher was worried on how the law would be enforced.  He  forgets that in order to protect the players  all the fans are searched before they enter the stadium so I am sure they will be looking for tobacco as well as explosives and guns. 

Bruce Bochy put his sign of approval on the ordinance.  What else can he do?  But he is not in charge of signing ball players.  I noticed Evans the GM didn't say anything.  He has to try and sign player to play in a state with high income  taxes, in a ballpark unfriendly and really unfair to hitters and now  they can't chew tobacco either.  I have heard from a very unreliable source that Bumgarner and five other players so far as we know will asked to be  traded.

If there is no chewing tobacco in 2016 will hot dogs be the next to go if there is a 2017 season? Will it be all meat products by 2019  under the guidance that 'we know what's best for you'. Once you give in the other party is never satisfied. The Giants buckled on their Mission Rock project. Will they do the same to the city on products to be sold at the games?  The leaders of this country state and city don't have a clue of what is coming because they believed who they wanted to for years to promote their own careers rejecting the truth on too many occasions.

 Now Its Round Rock

No the Giants didn't change the name of their Mission Rock project but what didn't happen in 2010 will be happening this weekend.  It was reported again by an unreliable source that Josh Hamilton had one regret about playing in the 2010 World Series is that he did not get to hit off of Barry Zito.  Remember Zito one of the big heroes of the 2012 team, was not on the active roster for the 2010 series.  This weekend  Zito making a comeback pitching for Nashville Sounds and will face Josh Hamilton playing for the Texas farm team Round Rock Express.  A dream come true! Russ J of Texas contributed parts of this story 

The Warriors --- Shocking

The Giants and the Marlins

Thanks to Duffy's two out single in the bottom of the 9th inning Sunday the Giants were able to split four games with the Marlins.  McGehee grand slam was the difference in their win on Friday.  He went hitless the rest of series and is currently batting .179.  Are the Giants dreaming?

It was pointed out on the Yahoo talk show that the Giants have a #1 pitcher Bumgarner and all the rest are #4 and #5s.  I could not have said it better.  When I looked at my pre season prediction I wrote that Cain had to be a #2 starter. He is still out and sorely missed.  Lincecum and Vogelsong were the star pitchers of the Marlin series.  They have been pitching very well lately  however we know from the past it usually doesn't last.  

National League statistics indicate that the Giants are the second lowest scoring team in the League.  This is not unexpected with the loss of Morse and Pablo during the winter and the injury to Pence.  This can be devastating over the season because it puts more pressure on the pitchers. Considering everything being in third place 4.5 games out of the lead it not so bad.  The goal for the first eight weeks is to hang in there and hopefully improvements can be made to keep the Giants in the race. It was pointed out by the Marlins television announcers that one has to go back to the 1914 to find a Giants team that did not score more then 6 runs in one of their first 30 games.

Sacramento Question

Russ J from Texas submitted the following question:  Does any one know why the A's got out of Sacramento?  Did the Giants want out of Fresno that bad they got Oakland kicked out of Sacramento?

I really don't know but perhaps are readers from the Sacramento area can shine some light on the  situation.  I remember is was announced at the very end of 2014 season and the move was done very quietly during the winter.  I can only speculate.

The A's might have gotten upset with Sacramento because they spent all their time and effort to save the Kings of the NBA from moving to Seattle.

The A's couldn't stand Jerry Brown and wanted out.  Remember Jerry was mayor of Oakland when the A's were looking very hard for a location to build a new stadium.  As I remember Brown was not too enthusiastic or helpful

The gasoline cost of shuffling the Giant rookies between Fresno and AT&T Park was way over budget and cutting into the investors profits.

Many of the Oakland rookies love music and they wanted to be nearer the action in Nashville.

Sacramento had hopes that the A's would move their major league team to the state capital.  Once that dream was diminished they told the A's to take a hike.

The Astros wanted a city like Fresno that's out in space for their minor league team.  So they paid off the Giants to move who paid off the A 's etc.

The Padres Series

Monday May 4, 2015 Giants 2 Padres 0

The Giants are at .500 for the first time since April 11.  Bumgarner pitched a great game.  Watching the game it didn't feel like a no hitter so I wasn't surprised when the Padres got a hit in the 7th inning.  The Giants left all kinds of runners on base early in the game and were careless and just plain sloppy in the field committing four errors. Pagan who continues to surprise me with his hitting, got the only rbi hit.  Translating  Bochy's comments after the game McGehee will be 'rested' because he is horrible at the bat and in the field. 

Tuesday May 5, 2015  Giants 6 Padres 0

Vogelsong started the season with a new beard that made him look 55 years of age and he pitched like he was that age.  Last night with his job on the line he came clean shaven looked 30 again and pitched a beautiful seven innings to save his roster spot.  Crawford batted fifth last night and got three hits as he makes his case not to be the number 8 hitter.  Panik hit a home run and the double play combo of Crawford and Panik continue to shine and lead the Giants who are now in 2nd place.

Wednesday May 6, 2015  Padres 9 Giants 1

The Giants are back to .500 and 1/2 game behind the Padres in third place.  Heston was up with his pitches and the Padres made up for the previous two games scoring at will.  For the Giants Duffy had two hits and Belt a double and triple which in most ball parks would have been two homers.  Belt providing power is a must if the team is going to be successful.

Other Comments

Michele Wei  40-1

Tiger Woods since his breakup with Lindsey Vonn is having trouble sleeping.  Seems to me it would be the other way around.  Vegas listed the odds of who would be the next female companion of Tiger.  LPGA star and fellow Stanford supporter Michelle Wei  is a 40-1 shot.   The complete list is  longer then the number of horses in the Derby and includes Cameron Diaz 16-1, Lindsay Lohan 25-1, Paris Hilton 50-1, Pamela Anderson 50-1 to name a few.

Don't know if they felt sorry for her, but Lindsay Vonn was appointed an honorary ambassador to the 2018 Winter Olympics scheduled to be held in South Korea.  If your planning on attending don't waste your time, the games will never be played.

Tiger is not the only athlete with woman problems.  Floyd Mayweather who just  picked up nearly $200 million for his Las Vegas fight is being sued  by the mother of his children for $20 million in a defamation suit regarding drugs. If he loses this suit and with the taxes he owes Uncle Sam he may have to fight again to make ends meet.

The NFL volunentarily dropped it's Tax Exempt status. Getting harassed continuially by the US Government wasn't worth the hassle.

An offer  from our Texas blog contact is that the Rangers would love to trade eight of their starters including Hamilton for the Giant starters.  If the offer came a few weeks ago it might have been considered but since the Orange and Black has gotten their act together there is no chance.

Since we have Naval Academy supporters as part of our group I just discovered that Navy is now part of the American Athletic Conference which grew out of the old Big East and the league includes the three T's - Temple, Tulane and Tulsa.  Its easy to see why it is not called the Big East.

Warriors Stunned  -- Warrior fans and the team are in state of shock after getting beat by Memphis to even their series at one game apiece.  Many were picking the Oakland team to sweep the
Grizzlies.  I have discovered over the years that when a player misses a period of time and returns the key game is the second one, not the first.  Might also be true for teams.  The Warriors were worried how they would play after their long layoff.  The first game was okay but last night they were horrible.  After three more days off they play again Saturday night in what may turn out to be their most important game.  If they don't bounce back it will prove again what many NBA experts continually say that the regular season is a waste of time.

Best Ball Park - A blue ribbon select committee of baseball writers voted Fenway Park and AT&T Park the best baseball stadiums in their respective leagues. The game of the week last Sunday was from Fenway and they happened to show the man operating the  scoreboard behind the left field fence.  He was crawling and walking within concrete walls.  Compare that with the manual scoreboard operated in right field at AT&T.  Behind is the Gotham Club Bar named after the New York Gotham's before the team became the Giants.  It is private, expensive and beautifully decorated and includes a great view of the San Francisco Bay, a bowling alley and billiards.

Scissors need sharpening?  Cut sand paper.

The Angels and Devil Egg

Breaking

Are the Giants about to trade Panik?   Sabean has been in New York for a few days and a deal between the Mets and Giants may be in the works.  The Giants need a third baseman and Panik is a New Yorker.  Stay tuned.

Giants Sweep Angels

The Giants swept the Angels over the weekend.  Heston, Hudson and Lincecum all pitched extremely well making the Angels look listless.  The series was marked with some horrible calls by the umpires on the bases that were replayed and even one that was obviously wrong was not over turned.  Why have instant replay if they can't get it right.  Angels are still waiting for an explanation.

When Aioki and Panik led off Sunday's game with home runs it was the first time in the history of the Angel franchise the opponents have led off with a pair of home runs. The franchise has had many names  - Los Angeles - California - Anaheim - and currently the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Except for an occasional day off Panik should play second base everyday.  He makes the team much better. . .  On Sunday Crawford was moved to # 6 spot in the lineup and contributed a 2 run double in a two out situation in the 5th inning. . . McGehee went hitless Sunday after getting 3 hits Saturday.  I still hold my breathe every time a ball is hit to third.

Saturday will be black jersey day for the Giants at home following Orange Friday.  I guess just as long as it isn't Black Monday.  The game Saturday featured the Angels with red jerseys and red numbers and Giants with their black jerseys with black numbers.  Whatever happen to grey and white or cream in the Giants case?  And the new black 49er jerseys have red numbers.

 Kentucky Derby

I honestly could not believe it.  My selection for the Derby wasn't even mentioned on the broadcast.  I was waiting for his name to appear on the screen that showed the order of the leading horses and I thought there had to be a mistake.  Maybe they didn't know how to spell Mubtaaihij.  Thought he came last but he was sixth. My wife's horse Carpe Diem came 8th breaking her winning streak at one.  Sue the blue bagger mentioned to me that she was picking American Pharoah but was really concerned because he drew the #18 startling gate.  Regardless he still won and congratulations to Sue for picking the winner.

The Last Derby?

I know of at least one blog member that has been to the Derby and perhaps there are others.  If you are planning on attending sometime in your life I would recommend that you go next year without delay.  The US Senate has a bill to clean up the sport by eliminating among other things betting over state lines.  In other words putting off track betting out of business where the vast majority of the money for racing comes from these days.  The authors of the bill are big supporters of  PETA. The same approach was used over 100 years ago and since my family was involved I know it almost killed racing for ever.  Only Kentucky with the creation of Para-mutual betting saved the sport.  What can save it this time?

There is always the possibilities that these hearing are all for show; in other words phony so that the racing industry will pony up millions into the coffers of Washington.  It happens all the time.  The life insurance industry is always attacked for its tax free growth.  To keep it for your policy the industry coughs up millions to our elected representatives.  Its how are system works.  Don't estimate the power of U.S. government.  It can destroy!  Just look at its record.

The Football Draft

No more Mock Drafts.  I didn't read one of the thousands that appeared on the internet.  Waste of time.  Then this morning what do I see --- a 2016 Mock Draft.   I can't believe it.

There are many 'experts' that are now evaluating each teams picks.  I never understood if they were so talented why they didn't work for an NFL team.  I evaluate drafts two ways.  One is the immediate help where a player or two steps in and starts right away.   The 49ers have all but admitted that there won't be any of their draft choices starting in September.  The other evaluation is during the third year 2017 in this case, when you see how many of the draft choices are contributing to the team. 

NBA Complaints

The Clippers and Spurs just finished a hard fought seven game series.  They want to know why they played each other instead of an easy team early.   The question is why do so many weak teams make the playoffs to begin with.  As Mr. Wonderful on the "Shark Tank" says, it's money!

Golf News

The big news in the world of golf came with the announcement that Lidsey Vonn and Tiger Woods were breaking up.  They both put out statements like they were getting a divorce.  Lindsay indicated that she was very sad and a little devil told Tiger there's plenty of fish in the sea. Tiger will be playing in the Players Championship this weekend in Florida.  If television shows the 18th green it will be interesting to see how many blondes are waiting around.

The Egg  Thanks to Tony G

In memory of Lindsay and Tiger are you planning on making devil egg and want to check to see if the eggs are fresh? Immerse them in water.  Fresh eggs will lie on the bottom while stale eggs will float to the surface.   Add a half a teaspoon of baking soda to the water when hard boiling eggs to make the shells incredibly easy to  peel off.  Believe me it works.

The First Month

The Giants After One Month

The bad news is that the Giants ended April in last place in their division.  Considering they lost 10 of their first 14 games the good news is that they are only 4 1/2 games behind the leading Dodgers.  The return of Pence sometime in May and the play of Maxwell are positives.  Third base is still a  problem but starting pitching is the real headache.  If I was the new general manager Evans I would be on the phone to the managers of Sacramento, Richmond and yes even San Jose begging for help.  Is there anyone you think might help us?

On February 10, 2015 before spring training began, I wrote on this blog that in order for the Giants to have an effective starting staff they needed the following:

1)  Bumgarner to continue his dominance.  No problem this is happening.

2)  Cain would recover from surgery and be an effective #2 starter.  Cain was re-injured and he is now back to December just picking up a baseball.  The Giants can't count on Cain returning.  If he  does its a bonus.

3)  A rookie pitcher would wow them in Arizona.  Heston did not wow them in spring training but showed enough to be brought up the first week of  the season and looks as if he could be a reliable starter.

4)  The remaining two starters would come from Petit, Vogelsong, Peavy, Lincecum or Hudson. We were hoping for the law of averages would work.  Peavy has a bad arm and can't be counted on coming back. Vogelsong is getting belted and Lincecum is hot and cold.  Hudson has pitched better then I expected but the question how long will his 40 year old arm hold up.  For some reason they won't give Petit a start.

Is a starting staff of Bumgarner, Heston, Hudson, Lincecum and Petit good enough to keep the Giants in the race?  Our blog member Toby C from Monterey seems to think its going be a long year.

The pre and post game shows on Comcast Sports with Tim Flannery as a guest are a must for Giant fans.  You really don't need my blog with his analysis which can also be found on the stations website.

Will They Ever Give Up?

My friend Sue who is an active member of the North Lake Blue Baggers here in Irvine stopped me on my walk and asked what I thought of the Federal prosecutors in the Barry Bonds case asking the U.S. Supreme Court to reinstate  Bonds' obstruction of justice conviction in the famous decade old BALCO drug case. Before I could answer she said to me, "Do they really hate blacks that much?"  "Don't they have anything better to do?"  I replied by saying that I really think it is the fact they have nothing else to do and they still can't believe they lost their case and are trying to save their careers and they know the Supreme Court justices are unpredictable.  "If prosecutors have any prejudices its more then likely against Americans who do things they don't agree with such as going to Church, driving cars to work, having a cocktail before dinner, getting married to a member of the opposite sex, eating at McDonald's, supporting the 2nd amendment, going to the circus, listening to Rush Limbaugh and watching Fox News to name a few."

Memories of Candlestick

The big headline in baseball this week is the fact the Orioles played the White Sox before an empty stadium.  Baseball must be careful before they report that this is the smallest crowd in history.  Remember baseball counts tickets sold for the game as part of crowd attendance.  I have not seen that number but I am sure some of those Giants freezing cold night games at Candlestick in the late 70's could come pretty close to the record low attendance for modern major league baseball.

50,000?

George L. one of our Los Angeles area blog members attended the Kershaw - Bumgarner classic at Dodgers Stadium on Tuesday night.  He felt that the play by Arias at short to throw a runner out at third early in the game and Belt's overall play at first were the keys to the Giants 2 -1 victory.  Perhaps the Baltimore riots had an effect because George observed that there were many empty seats in the crowd announced at 50,000 on a beautiful Los Angeles night.  There was also an alert from police intelligence sources in California reporting that radical Muslims were planning to kill every U.S. Citizen in Los Angeles.  Police officials feared the death toll could be as high as nine.

The Kentucky Derby

I mentioned recently on this blog that I took calculus as a third grader and therefore never learned to count.  So it is with my Kentucky Derby picks.  I have no idea when I last picked a Derby winner. 
Looking at my family history it should be the opposite.  My grandfather and his sons besides operating the saloon at 4th and Mission in San Francisco starting in 1895 were very active in the 'Sport of Kings' for some 75 years.  You have been warned.  My pick to win the 2015 Kentucky Derby is Mubtaahij because like my grandfather he is Irish bred.  My wife Barbara is picking Carpe Dei.  I mention this because she picked the winner last year California Chrome.

Are the 49ers Desperate? 

Did the 49ers blow their pick in the draft?  Certainly sounds like it. Anik Armistead needs lots of development according to the teams GM.  Is that the best the team could do with the 15th pick?  I just wonder when the USC great and likely future All Pro Williams was not taken # 4 by the Raiders were the Niners ready to trade up?  No!  Oh how we miss Bill Walsh.



Now the 49ers are going to wear black. Thank goodness they can only wear those horrible looking alternate uniforms twice. Black went out two years ago.  Don't they see how ugly Stanford looks when they wear black instead of their classic cardinal and white.    How far down can Ned York take the team?  At least the numbers on the uniforms are blocked football style instead of like U of Oregon whose style numbers looked like they belong on a European soccer jersey.  Thank goodness Nike makes about 500% on each shoe they sell or otherwise they would be out business
.
The 49ers have almost always worn either red or white jersey.  But the new black ones are not a first.  The picture on the right shows 49er great Frankie Albert with a navy blue jersey (take my word for it I was at the game) running against the LA Rams in a October 1, 1950 game at Kezar.  When games started to be televised in black and white it was required that one team have a dark jersey and the other wear white.  In 1950 before massive television the 49ers alternate jersey was not white but navy blue.  We know they wore them at least twice once against the Rams and the other time against the Cardinals who had the same red color jerseys as the Niners.  Even when the Redskins played with dark maroon jerseys the 49ers wore red. 

Father Nicholas Gruner R.I.P. 1942 - 2015. 

I was sadden this morning by learning of the death of the "Fatima Priest".  If it wasn't for Father Gruner and the Fatima Center I would have never been able to study Fatima which I have for the past thirteen years.  I had an opportunity to talk to Father on more than a couple occasions and he was very gracious to me. He was loved by relatively few and despised by the leaders of the Church including popes, cardinals, bishops and many who write about Church activities because they reject the message of the Virgin Mary.  I have begun to write a book, "Fatima- 49 Years of Deceit" because about ten years ago it was discovered by comparing pictures that there were really two sister Lucy's that changes the official story of Fatima dramatically.  Our research indicate that the real Sister Lucy was most likely killed in late 1958 by Free Masons or by the Holy Office who was ordered  to "take care of everything." 'May his soul and souls of all the faithful departed to the mercy of God rest in peace.  Amen' .

Google 'two Sister Lucy's Fatima' for pictures of the two Sister Lucy's

Ron Muckenthaler R.I.P. 1930 - 2015

I first met Ron around 1960 when he was President of the National Association of Catholic Alumni Clubs and I was President-elect and chairman of the convention to be held at Jackson Hole, Wyoming. After many years we finally lost contact but then renewed our friendship when we moved to southern California in 1997.  Ron was big USC alumni and since my daughters were also Trojans it really meshed.  The Cardinal Gold parties before the football games at the Coliseum, the Rose Bowls, the trip to Boulder for the Colorado game and to Hawaii were all great.  You met everybody that was anyone in LA at the Notre Dame-USC Friday luncheons.  I remember talking Notre Dame with Regis Philbin my wife's favorite entertainer and baseball with Tommy Lasorta.  Thanks to Ron this was all possible.   Ron made us part of the Muckenthaler family and we have become friends with many of his brothers and sisters.  The Muckenther family settled in Anaheim in 1879 and a few decades ago established the Muckenthaler Culture Center in Fullerton.  In 2008 Ron compiled a 600 page book "Muckenthaler Family" which is a tremendous resource for those studying the history of Orange County.  Thank you again Ron for all the great times!  May God have mercy on his soul.