1-Man’s Opinion Column-Thursday 11/26 “This & That on Thanksgiving”
This & That on Thanksgiving Day….
Taking a break from grind of covering out teams and the storylines to wish you a Happy Thanksgiving and give you some random thoughts. .
The Padres celebrating a rebirth of baseball interest in the community, though coming off a disappointing season. Owners Ron Fowler and Peter Seidler are special people and will give this new baseball leadership time to fix the franchise. It is doing very well financially off the field, and with the creative non baseball events at Petco Park. Mike Dee and Wayne Partello are not afraid to think outside the box.
The Chargers are in a sad state. Outside of the Spanos family themselves, no one can feel good about the state of the franchise, the product on the field, the business community, and what ownership has done to its relationships. There are some really good guys on that team. I feel sorry for what the team has become around Philip Rivers, and feel bad for Mike McCoy, whom I’d really like to see win. This ‘move to LA’ drive has sullied the family reputation, and soiled the great history of the Lightning Bolt..
The Aztecs are all smiles, in what has become a series of very good seasons. Very good leadership with Jim Sterk, and superb people running teams, led by Rocky Long and Steve Fisher. This is turning into a special time in the Aztecs Athletic Center. On campus knows about it, wish the city and the alums would get the spirit too.
The Gulls have been a business success, averaging 10,000-fans a game, and hope to be a hockey success, if they can get all their young talent back from he Ducks shortly. Impressed with Coach Dallas Eakins leadership, and like being around GM-Bob Ferguson. Interested to see if President Ari Segal can grow the brand and make it feel major league, even if it is minor league hockey. They are sitting on a gold mine here if done right.
USD is in such a strange situation. Good leadership in the AD Ky Snyder, an amazing job done by a football coach you don’t know in Dale Lindsey, but a really down period in the sports they need to grow, hoping Lamont Smith can fix basketball. It is odd though, USD seems only to care about selling its programs to its alums, and not the community.
Holiday Bowl-Poinsettia Bowl…They are still anchors in our community and with leadership changes upon us, you only hope this communities economic cornerstones will step up and help them with the business of putting on these bowls games. The bowl games are our calling card to the nation when those games, and this city are shown on ESPN-TV.
Sockers-once upon a time it was electric to be in that arena with names you could recognize. Times change, and yes they have good players, but it is more semi-pro than major league. Maybe World Cup, MLS, English Premiere League telecasts have blown by them and taken interest away.
The media. I cannot go anywhere in town without crossing paths with some veteran sportswriter or broadcaster, out of a job these days. Disappointing so many of us have been cut loose in the ever-changing landscape of time. All you can do is hope to reinvent if not retire outright. The Union Tribune and 1090 are trying to keep their heads above water, but chopping heads off leaves you with alot of disappointment about how veteran media people have been dealt with.
Pass the Pumpkin Pie please….Happy Thanksgiving.
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