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“As Bad As It Gets-In Full View of Everyone”

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There is probably an explanation as to why the mistake happened. There can be no excuse accepted. I wonder if somebody in upper level management will lose their job?

And I wonder if the Padres need to review all their corporate policies, about how they act, the way they act.

The Saturday night embarrassment, involving the Gay Men’s Chorus, in centerfield, as the national anthem was to be played, is no longer a San Diego event. It has gone viral, gone global, and become a cause-celebre for the Gay-Lesbian Community.

The 100-member Men’s Chorus was to sing the anthem just before the start of the Friday night game. It was to be a lip-sync version of the Star Spangled Banner, while a taped version of their song was played.

Somehow, a Padres official punched up the wrong anthem, from a woman officer, who sang the anthem on Friday night at home plate.

The full anthem played, as the Men’s Chorus stood in silence. No effort was made to stop the misplaced anthem. No apology was made on the Public Address system at the conclusion.

It was nearly 3-hours later before the Padres issued a 2-sentence release apologizing for the mistake.

Now it is front page news, not just in San Diego, but across the country. The tabloid newspapers have picked up the story with their version of damning headlines. “You sing like girls” screamed the headline in the New York Post, referencing some fans abuse directed at the men’s group.

Now we find out more, the Padres don’t allow any groups to sing the anthem ‘live’.

And details bubbling to the surface, the Padres tried to strong arm the 100-member club to buy tickets to the game, to perform. Smacks of last falls’ sleazy NFL story, that teams honored American servicemen while collecting corporate sponsor dollars from the Army.

The Men’s Gay group wants an MLB probe into how they were treated, the humiliation they suffered, and why the Padres act the way they act towards those asked-invited to perform.

Yes mistakes were made in the control booth. Human error for sure. But yes, it seems a deeper rooted problem in the business philosophies of President Mike Dee and Vice President of Marketing Wayne Partello, and this falls at their front door, not at the door of a control booth operator who makes 15-dollars a night per home game.

You salute Ron Fowler and Peter Seidler for their ownership leadership. This has to cause steam to come out of their ears. This should lead to an evaluation of their leaders, not for the mistake, but the bigger picture issues.

This feels worse than the horrors of the Tom Werner ownership era, when Roseanne Barr blurted out the anthem, while spitting and grabbing her crotch.

We also recall that former Padres President Chub Feeney was fired for giving hometown fans the finger from his owners booth during a Padres loss.

Or the eventual decision for Tom Garfinkel to exit, after he mocked then Dodgers pitcher Zach Greinke for an emotional disorder he was seeking treatment for.

And Mike Dee ran the Miami Dolphins during two year period when the Richie Incognito “Hazing Club” went unchecked.

The Padres have made Petco Park a destination point for good times and families and fans. That should include Gays & Lesbians. I doubt this was a prank. I doubt this how Dee-Partello orchestrated this.
I believe an honest mistake compounded my a more serious leadership mistake.

But they are to be blamed for not responding till 9:37pm, nearly 3-hours after it happened, and how a tersely worded apology was supposed to be acceptable. And they have to explain squeezing every dollar out of every person who crosses the street at Tony Gwynn Way.

Management should not go into hiding. They need to stand infront of home plate and apologize. The Padres leadership is better than that. The Gay & Lesbian community deserves better than that too.

It was as bad as it could get, in full view of everyone, here and now everywhere.

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“Slick-In More Ways than One”

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He smiles, he is adored, he is the fan’s man.

He also now has a stained reputation. He being, Phil Mickelson. What he did was a deal to make a big profit on turnaround stock investments.

Indictments have been handed down for ‘Insiders Trading’ against the CEO of the national biggest milk distributor, and to a known gambler, who he was friends with. Thomas Davis, the executive of Dean Foods has lost his job and is facing major prison time. Golfer-Gambler Billy Walters has been indicted too, and is facing the same sanctions. The duo reportedly made off with 32M in profits, buying and selling stocks just before Dean Foods stock was sold and split.

Mickelson was friends with Walters, on the golf course, and in the gaming rooms in Casinos in Las Vegas. He has not been implicated for being part of the scheme, but for investing, knowing it might be a scam.

Phil is trying to make all things right now, by issuing a press release, that he worked out a deal to repay the 931,000 in profits he made with his quick buy-sell deal with the Dean Food stocks. He was tagged too for 105,000 in penalties and back interests.

Some wonder why he doesn’t desereve a hefty fine from the government, if not jail time.

Mickelson must think there are alot of dumb people out there. Investigators from the SEC and Wall Street are not in that group. The golfer invested 2.4M in one week in the food company, and 7-days later sold it, at a hefty profit.

Guess Bernie Madoff would have been proud. But Phil has only been a small time investor in stock deals, and when you write a check for 2.4M, when your prior investments have been at the 250,000-level, it becomes a red flag, or in Las Vegas terms, a flashing neon light.

San Diego’s golden boy has a reputation as a playboy. He likes Las Vegas. Likes games of chance. Likes to bet.

The theory is, he’s not very good at it sometimes, and was into Walters for large gambling debts, and this was a way to pay it off, at least according to published reports.

No problem with rich men enjoying themselves at the shows and at the tables on the Las Vegas strip. But being addicted to gambling, running up big gaming IOU’s, and then getting involved in scam like this makes you ask questions.

Is Mickelson that stupid to think that kind of financial turnaround was legal? He did go to Arizona State so he must have heard the words ‘insider trading’ didn’t he? He’s involved in big money investments, his successful golf course design program, so he knows about big business deals, doesn’t he?

The ever present smile and his continued popularity aside, one wonders why he would stake his sparking reputation by doing something with the seedy side of society?

Granted, this isn’t a Tiger Woods sex scandal. It’s not a John Daly lifestyle of embarrassment decision. But it makes you wonder about his smarts, his values, his decency.

He’s slick on the golf course. Slick some times becomes slimy.

Lefty wasn’t right about this decision. Pretty stupid for someone who has been such a sparkling pro and person.

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“UCSD-What are they thinking?”
by Lee Hamilton-CW6-Sports

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Tomorrow is the final day for all those people up on that campus to vote.

Those people, smart people, enrolled at UC-San Diego, known for its Grade Point Averages, its scholars, its awards, its research, and its beautiful campus.

What are all these smart people thinking?

Friday is the final day for the student body to vote to bill itself higher student fees for the next 3-years, to fund its basketball program, so it can move to Division I.

The Tritons were Division III, and upgraded to Division II. It’s non-scholarship athletics, more participatory than it is overly competitive. They play schools of other academic standards, in a tucked in small college conference known as the CCAA, the California College Athletic Association. Cal State San Marcos was on their basketball schedule this past winter. The regularly play Cal State Monterrey Bay, East Bay, San Francisco State, Sonoma State, Chico State and the likes.

UCSD has 19-varsity sports and basketball went a very respectable (24-8). They are not on the San Diego sports radar at all, and there’s nothing wrong with that. Nothing wrong with high school athletes, who are about to become scientists, researchers, bankers, teachers, continuing their athletic careers a couple of more years in a college setting, where GPA’s are more important than points and rebounds.

But now there is the big debate. And tomorrow the student body, with an enrollment of 31,502, will wrap up voting to tax itself an additional 480-dollars per student, to fund a budget for scholarships to go Division 1-in hoops.

The response has been mixed, from the academic side and the alumni side. Academics wonders what is to be gained by that type of expenditure, rather than pour additional resources into facilities, salaries, field study programs? Where should institutional investment really wind up.

Alumni believe a true Division 1-athletic program givens nationwide recognition to a school, and drives donations. Maybe so, in many places, but this does not seem to be one of them. For some reason the alums believe UCSD can become a bastion of basketball accomplishment to match its academic standing. For some reason they envision the Tritons becoming a Stanford or a Michigan or a Duke.

Basketball stand alone programs are few and far between. Gonzaga may be the exception to the rule. Maybe the University of Dayton another. They excel without football programs and the other heritage around them. Those schools get to March Madness, and do draw attention.

There are 32-Division 1-basketball conferences out there. There were 351-schools playing D-1 basketball last season. There have been 36-small schools that have elevated themselves into Division 1 in the last five years.

Ever hear anything about the University of Seattle, High Point University, Longwood, New Jersey Tech, North Florida, Utah Valley, or Grand Canyon University? Where has that investment gotten them?

UCSD wants to join the Big West Conference. There are names in that conference, but do you think UCSD will be drawing the same caliber of athlete as Long Beach State, UC-Irvine, Cal Santa Barbara, Hawaii, where JUCO transfers and Division 1-transfers are the norm? Do many of those Big West schools have the academic requirements of the greatness demanded by UCSD?

The Tritons need only to look across the highway, at another school on the other hill, to see what ‘being lost’ looks like. That being the University of San Diego, with a Division 1-basketball program in a pretty good West Coast Conference. They struggle to compete and recruit and win. They play before empty seats all the time. Maybe UCSD alums are influenced by the accomplishment of Steve Fisher and San Diego State. Higher profile school, higher profile conference, and now a national name.

Shall be fun when the vote count is taken amongst the student body to see if the students go ahead and bill themselves more for the right to say we are Division 1-even if it means little in terms of recognition and post season play.

Seems like a tremendous leap of faith that this is warranted, this is needed. A great school doesn’t need a college basketball program in the top division to define itself.

A degree from Duke and Stanford is impressive. So is one from UC-San Diego, without having the Tritons try to be something they really can’t be, great in basketball.

r

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Lakers-Era of Errors-Over?”

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You could see a sigh of relief on the face of LA Lakers General Manager Mitch Kupchack when the NBA draft lottery was over.

Maybe it was because the drama-and-pressure was finished. The drama of waiting to see if they could win the lottery, retain a top thee pick. or face the catastrophe of having to ship the pick to the Philadelphia 76ers, as part of the final payment for the awful Steve Nash trade years prior.

Maybe it was the removal of pressure of having one of the worst rosters in the league, as they finshed with the worst record in Lakers franchise history.

They will draft 2nd after the hapless 76eers make their first pick for the third year in a row. The Lakers are guaranteed of getting a great young talent, but like so many other have learned, it takes young talent time to grow into NBA players.

Witness the ups and doens, the funks and the fatigue that Julius Randle and D”Angelo Russell went thru last year.

Many think the 76ers will take LSU jumping jack Ben Simmons, and the Lakers will get Duke’s Brandon Ingram. I think the opposite.

The new leadership of the 76ers is Jerry Colangelo and son Bryan. One of their closes allies in college basketball is Mike Krzyzewski of Duke. I think they go for the 6’9 Ingram, a more complete player, than the 6’10-Simmons from LSU, who is a load, but not polished nor mature..

The Lakers draft history is not good. Showtime, and that was decades ago, brought them picks like Magic Johnson and James Worthy. Draft day trades brought them Kobe Bryant.

Free agents brought them rings to continue the tradition. but it also meant alot of late first round draft picks. And then the Lakers got into the business of dealing those picks away.

The LA drafts have been pitiful of late. 1st round picks like George Lynch, Mark Madsen, Devean George, Eddie Jones and Sasha Vujacic.

A draft that included a bust like Early Jones, a 7-footer from the District of Columbia, and then the pick that was Javaris Crittenton, who became a gang member and a convicted murderer.

The most recent best pick was 7′-C-Marc Gasol, who wound up being trade bait for his brother Pao Gasol of Memphis.;

The draft brought the Lakers short term big men help from Andrew Bynum and Elden Campbell, but injuries and age limited their long term contributions.

Think about this. The last established Lakers star to come on draft night was Derek Fisher, and that was in 1996, some 20-years ago.

An awful lot of bad choices, and some questionable ones, have put the Lakers in the position they find themselves this morning. There will be no Kobe Bryant next season. There will be a young coach everyone likes in Luke Walton.

The sigh of relief from Kupchack means the suffering is almost over. The Lakers will have 3-cornerstone players by opening night, and between now and then, they will have 66M in salary cap space to consider spending.

It’s been dreadful, what we have seen the last two winters, (36-128), but it’s going to get better.

The body language of the GM pretty much told the story when the draft lottery TV show was completed.

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“NBA Playoffs-Fireworks-Firepower”

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Now the real games have begun in the NBA postseason.

Last night’s Golden State-Oklahoma City game was a sneak preview of what the entire series will be like, back and forth, 4-quarter sprint, firing shots, driving to the basket, little care about the other end of the floor. The Thunder pulled off a suprise win with their own brand of helter-skelter ball. Golden State wakes up this morning feeling they let one get away with careless clock management and wild-wild shots.

It’s like playing a video game. These two offenses, up an down the floor, no fear with the ball, no conscience either.

Golden State is so explosive, and it is not just Steph Curry, maybe the best outside shooter the NBA has ever seen, and that says allot when we watched Kobe Bryant, and before that Michael Jordan.

But the Warriors are more than just the 402-three point bombs that Curry hit this year, an NBA record in an NBA record (73-9) season.

It’s the streak shooting of the other big guard Klay Thompson. It’s the toughness of Draymond Green, willing to play so many roles.

It’s the firepower you get off the bench from Andre Iguodala. Its’ the toughness on the glass from Andrew Bogut, and wave after wave of guys coming in as substitutes.

One night it’s Harrison Barnes providing defense. Another it belongs to floor leader Shaun Livingston. A Leandro Barbosa sighting is followed by points.

Golden State has every base covered.

Oklahoma City, was, and still is just Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. That’s fun to watch, but that’s not enough.

Serge Ibaka is their defensive specialist, and the Thunder gets toughness from Enes Kanter and journeyman Steven Adams.

But they don’t have the depth and numbers, nor the athletic breed that is spread across that entire Golden State bench. And I think OKC ownership and basketball leadership has let Durant-Westbrook down.

This is a third year together in a playoff run, and it will likely end here, because the front office failed to give their stars additional firepower and personality help.

Oh this will be fun. The Splash Brothers are combining to average 54-points a game for the Warriors. Thunder and Lightning are scoring at 52-a game for Oke City. Those Warriors will shoot lots of threes and run the floor. The Thunder will try to make it a track meet.

Anybody for a bunch of 131-121 games? Defense optional? . That’s what we’re in for, and it’s going to be great for the Warriors. Just not good however for the Thunder.

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