The video below is what I was talking about here. I took it from the collection I just posted below, editing down so you can see just where TJ spoke.
The funny part of this is that TJ was probably the only speaker that I can remember actually being heckled when they spoke. Seems that the small handful of pro-Baird folks who showed up had the guts to yell at TJ.
Author: Emmett O'Connell (Page 117 of 177)
I was surprised that since the launch of Save the Victory (wrote about it over the weekend) that they hadn’t gotten much attention. Either they weren’t talking about it to anyone outside the online soccer world or no one has thought it was interesting that someone is trying to establish the FIRST fan owned sports franchise in the United States.
But, today there were two items. Salinas Californian:
The Victory came into being in the spring under the auspices of Spanish second-division team Deportivo Alaves. However Chairman Dmitry Piterman recently sold his interest in Alaves, which had racked up $30 million in debt. The sale technically left the Victory ownerless and in limbo.
That’s when the 1906 stepped in. USL started looking for investors, but fans didn’t like leaving their team’s fate in hands of others. The supporters’ do-it-yourself attitude is displayed proudly on the Web site. “Everything with this team has been ‘do it yourself'” Alonso said. “Our shirts and jerseys, raising money – ‘do it yourself.””
Admit it, at some point in your life you thought about owner a profession soccer team, but with the millions it takes to get involved with the MLS and billions it takes to be a player overseas, you never thought it would happen. But wait, if you have an extra $100, your dream can come true.
Last year there was a great deal of excitement when San Francisco was awarded a USL-First Division team. Even better yet, Dmitry Piterman, chairman of Spanish club Deportivo Alavésk, was announced as owner, making the California Victory the ‘first European owned team to compete in any level of the United Soccer Leagues.’
Jim did a really good job live-blogging the town hall in Olympia, and here’s his more personal debrief. He struck a thought in me. Solidarity is over-rated. More on that later.
Randy notes the Olympian’s story. Randy should link to more blogs.
TeacherRefPoet takes a strident point of view on the entire debacle and says “My party has lost the moral upper hand.” Its worth pointing out that TeacherRefPoet and I agree a lot over the past few weeks. Actually, his above post is about the best thing I’ve read on Baird and our reaction to him since beginning of this entire thing in late August.
From his post:
Because I disagree with Baird, I’d look closely at anyone running against him from either party. But I am deeply saddened at how hypocritical my party has become. They want me to love their dogma more than I love evidence, analysis, and legitimate debate. But my dedication to cool, reasoned disagreement and careful consideration of issues has me defending Baird here.
I disagree with Baird. I think he’s wrong. That doesn’t mean its o.k. to heckle him.
And, Arthur Ruger up at Washblog has a roundup of Baird’s visit to Raymond.
Via email:
Hi all,
This is your friendly reminder to join us for lively discussion and political conversation tomorrow night, September 24th, at 7:00 pm at the Tumwater Valley Bar and Grill.
The informal topic tomorrow night will focus on the presidential campaign. If you were running for president, what would your strategy be? What issues would you focus on? How would you distinguish yourself from your competitors? How would you respond to negative campaigning? How would you gain support for your candidacy? How would you market yourself to America?
Please join us tomorrow night at the Tumwater Valley Bar and Grill.
Regards,
Bruce and Barry
Brian Baird got an earful last night in Olympia.
Moveon.org has said they will help out primary challengers against what they see as pro-war Democrats. Krist Novoselic has said no thanks to a possible challenge, but progressives are still looking for someone.
Is TJ their man?
TJ Johnson, former Democratic PCO and soon to be former Olympia council-member said last night (according to my notes): “You no longer deserve to represent this community in the U.S. Congress.”
I half expected him to continue by saying, “And, I’m going to make sure of that by challenging you,” but he didn’t.
The idea of fan owned team has vexed sports fans (me specifically). When I get into a discussion about sports in a meta sense, what’s wrong with them and how they’re set in the U.S. leads fans into a set-up of disappointment someone always points to the Packers.
The Packers are the one really fan-owned team in the United States. That they are fan-owned is the one reason they haven’t moved to Milwaukee. The Mariners wanted to move to Tampa Bay: “man, wouldn’t it be great if we could buy them and they’d never leave?”
That idea is pretty much impossible in the United States, since the four major leagues make any sort of non-profit or corporate ownership impossible through their operating rules.
The one sport in the U.S. (and a possible third or fourth major sport if hockey continues to fall) is soccer and as far as I can tell, there are not limitations in the MLS or the USL to either non-profit, fan owned corporations owning teams. And, the idea of a truly fan owned teams in English soccer can be pointed to with Cambridge United, FC United and now myfootballclub.
And now, if it all works out, we might have our own fan-owned soccer team here on the west coast. The owners of the first year California Victory of the USL 1st Division have been pretty flaky. They’ve been kicked out of the ownership of their Spanish team, and there is a lot of speculation that they’re going to give up on their American side as well.
So, this is where Save the Victory comes in. They aren’t trying to necessarily find “local” ownership for the club, like some dot-com millionaire angel that will operate the team at a loss just to keep them in town. Rather, they’re looking for up to 20,000 owners who will invest $100 to buy the team. You can buy up to 1,000 shares.
I think this is an exciting idea. I’m a bit disappointed that this effort has been going on for a few weeks and there has been no coverage of it yet of this effort. It would be interesting to see if something like this could ever happen over here.
Even though I’m not much for watching Mariners lately (too many MLS, EPL, World Cup and Eufa Champions League games recorded), I did watch the few innings that Jorge pitched a couple of days ago. So, I was watching when he flattened Vlad the Destroyer with an inside pitch which resulted in his four game suspension. Crap.
I’m just noting the suspension and that this guy has very little luck when called up to the big team. Two years ago he suffered a near career ending injury while pitching his first major league start and now this. I also agree with John Hickey of the PI that the punishment was too severe.
Its easier to suspend a long reliever with no track record than one of the top five hitters in the league on a play off team, I guess.
Although, there is something to be said about the LaRussa rule that may have been in effect during the game. Johjima had been hit earlier in the game, so it might have been up to Campillo to hit back.
These aren’t your daddy’s Cardinals
Tony LaRussa’s World Series Ethics
Hearn is a good fit for council
Jason Hearn is good for Lacey.
Unlike our neighboring city councils, we in Lacey are blessed with men and women who are making righteous decisions for us every day.
Running for the vacant seat on our city council, Hearn will complement and enhance the family values that our city council already espouses.
Hearn is a good man with a wonderful wife and three young children.
His slogan says it all: “It’s all about Lacey.” He’s got my vote!
Dick Sittler, Lacey
The letter itself doesn’t say anything specific. Lacey is great, Olympia and Tumwater not so great. Hearn would fit in with Lacey, but no specific reason why.
What is specific is the language that Sittler used: blessed… righteous decisions… enhance the family values…
So, Sittler is saying that Hearn is a Christian and that his opponent Russ Olson isn’t. Well, if that’s how they’re choosing city councilmen in Lacey, I don’t know what else to say.
Following the (hopefully temporary) closure of the Puerto Rican winter league, MLB is fighting back claims in a shocked shocked way that there will be a shortage of players for the other Latin American winter leagues this year.
While there might not be a shortage of players per-se for the winter leagues, there will likely be a shortage of quality, veteran all-stars for the leagues to use. Most MLB teams will hold back their Ivan Rodriquez types, who had been able to play for their home nation clubs in years past.
If the winter leagues in Latin America essentially become player development leagues, in the same way that their summer leagues and practically every single minor league in the U.S. and Canada, you’re going to see more winter leagues go the same way at the Puerto Rican league.
That already seems to be happening. In addition to a change in the draft status of the island, PR baseball is requesting even more involvement by MLB:
Bernier also proposes the establishment of four specialized baseball schools in different regions of the island. Ceiba, Caguas, Salinas and Manati are the proposed sites for academies. According to Bernier, Mets outfielder Carlos Beltran, who is from Manati, has offered his support to the school in his hometown.
Baseball Griddle framed the failure of the league (founded in 1938) as a financial one. While that may technically be true, sinking attendances probably have a lot to do with the lack of a product on the field. If all of the really good PR players are being held back by their MLB clubs, what’s the point of the league and of being a fan?
What you’re likely to see with the PR winter league (and eventually every other Latin winter league) will be the same thing that happened to the Venezuelan Summer League recently and the Mexican Summer league back in the 1950s. MLB will, in some way, step in and take over the league as a player development system. Local owners may stay in place, but player contracts and the product on the field will be controlled by MLB clubs.
This will be good for MLB. Player development throughout Latin American will be streamlined. The problem of not having a non-USA/Canadian draft will be settled by simply controlling all other baseball outlets. Heck, they might even implement a hemisphere wide draft eventually.
This will not be good for baseball. The indigenous fanbase throughout Latin American will be destroyed. As we’ve seen in PR, and throughout the minor leagues (before the advent of silly promotion, family entertainment minor league baseball) people will not turn out for an inferior on field product that is not designed to win on the field, but rather to develop players for the next level.
Emmett O'Connell
@emmettoconnell@olympiatime.com
1,768 posts
23 followers