A Different Kind Of Rally Mascot In Oakland

((HT: MLB.com))

A rally possum...???

Apparently...

The HQ did the story on the "Rally Monkey" during the 2003 World Series between the Angels and Giants. The effect of showing a capucin monkey on the video board in Anaheim had a disproportionate amount of success for the team in the year. Troy Percival and John Lackey really didn't have a sense of humor about it. Rex Hudler did...

And the HQ appreciated his taking the story with a grain of salt and running with it...

Now, we may have a suitable mascot for the nasty stadium in Oakland
This happened last night before the A's extra inning win over Tampa


A's starter Jeff Samardzija thinks the possum would be a good mascot:

"We're going to have to give him a name, get him a jersey," Samardzija said after the game. "We've got to keep feeding him."

The Raiders Are Now Teasing With San Antonio...

((HT: The Score/San Antonio Express-News, Baugh and Orsborn))

Let's face it...

The Oakland Raiders are in a crappy stadium (sometimes, literally) at present. The Oakland Coliseum is in dire need of, really, being torn down and being rebuilt as a more state-of-the-art facility. Owner Mark Davis has been trumpeting the notion of a new barn. The NFL agrees with the Raiders. Commissioner Roger Goodell even volunteered the new 49ers stadium as a home for them as a secondary tenant.

Not an idea that the Raiders like...

At...all...

From the Express-News article:

Davis met with city officials, including Henry Cisneros, then-Mayor Julián Castro, City Manager Sheryl Sculley, Mario Hernandez of the San Antonio Economic Development Foundation, and both Richard Perez and David McGee, the president and chairman of the San Antonio Chamber of Commerce, respectively.

Cisneros' son-in-law is in corporate sponsorship sales for the Raiders. And the thought is that the Alamodome could be ready in two seasons for any team that wants to play there.

It's not the first time a team would have inherited San Antonio. The Saints played there ten seasons ago as an alternate site for the New Orleans Saints during Hurricane Katrina recovery. The Gunslingers played at Alamo Stadium for their time in the USFL
((HT: ESPN))


There was also the Riders of the World League in the early 1990's


And the Texans from the American incursion of the CFL


The HQ posts all these flashbacks to act as the video portion of the teasing that the Raiders are doing with this dance and courting of a mid-30's television market.

Could The Athletics Finally Move...???

((HT: KPIX-TV))

When MLB Commissioner Bud Selig jumps in and actually tells the Oakland Athletics that they can get up and move if there's no new deal put together with the Oakland Coliseum board- that's huge news...

And, of course, it's put in the headlines at the same time as the A's made a great deal for starting pitching and are off to one of the best starts in the season for all of Major League Baseball.

If a new 10-year deal isn't put on the table and agreed to, could the A's go to San Antonio or Montreal...???

That's the question posed by SFGate's Matier and Ross quoting City Council President Larry Reid as saying the A's "have options."

Here's the analysis for now as everyone wonders if the City Council are ready to play chicken with a major tenant...


If Oakland moved to Montreal, it would cause upheaval in the American League Division structure. It would make more sense, for preservation sake, if Tampa was the team to go after years of failing (and flailing) support.

Warren Cromartie and the Montreal Baseball Project have been shouting from the rooftops about a downtown, retractable roof stadium that would give the city a more tenable place to watch a sport and team the city could wrap themselves around- as they did with the Expos.

San Antonio is mentioned, but the Alamodome is only 280-feet down the right field line. Optimistically, the right field foul pole at Fenway is listed at one distance, but may be really 297 feet.

Vegas...??? Too hot... and the gambling influence may be too much.
Sacramento and Portland are both top-25 markets, but the stadium sizes may not meet MLB spec.

So, all that does is drop you out of top-35 market sizes for a new barn that is ready for play immediately.

And a 16-14 split if the A's were to move to the National League...

This is an official headache...

A Good Craftsman Never Blames His Tools

((HT: MLB))

Unless, of course, you're a fan in Oakland


Yes, the fan lost the ball to the lower bowl and Stephen Vogt didn't comply with another foul the guy's way...

So there...

The Portland (Oregon) Raiders? Nah....

((ht: cbssports.com))

Wouldn't this be interesting....

What if the Oakland Raiders left Oakland Alameda County Stadium and moved to Portland, Oregon?

A group of NFL fans in Portland have drawn a petition looking for just that. The fans have put together a change.org petition asking the Governor of Oregon to bring an NFL to the state's biggest city.

It should be noted Portland is the largest Metro area in the U.S with only on of the Big 3 Major League Sports organizations.

According to CBSSports.com, the Raiders and owner Mark Davis are prepared to move if they don't get a new stadium. And as we all know, the one they currently play in is a relic to a bygone era.

Read the CBSSports.com story RIGHT HERE

The petition, which apparently has over 1,600 signatures, is available to be signed, you can add your support RIGHT HERE

This is kind of amusing.

While we think the idea of NFL Football in Portland, an area that is ardent in its support of the Trail Blazers of the NBA and the Timbers in soccer, would be quite the change in culture, it ain't happening.

Now, the idea the Raiders relocate isn't out of the question. And, we are of those who believe the team will eventually return to L.A. The city of Oakland is hardly in a position to help fund a new stadium and we are guessing neither is the Davis family.

That makes L.A the leader in the clubhouse should the Raiders move.

And while it may not happen this year...or possibly even next. We think it will happen. It's only a matter of time.

To get a team...they might need to work on their tailgating--

2 Injured As Woman Jumps From Top Section In Oakland

((HT: KGO-TV))

What motivated a woman to jump from the 300 section of the Oakland Coliseum is still a mystery. But, what is certain, is that the Marine that tried to catch her- and injured himself seriously in the process- saved her life...

The woman's injuries are said to be far more serious still- even critical.
Authorities do admit she would have died immediately had it not been for the man who broke her fall of 30 feet.

Here's the look from O.co

Sewage Backs Up In Oakland Coliseum Again

((HT: KGO-TV))

Remember, this happened back in June of this year and caused some creative dressing situations for the Oakland A's and their opponents...


For the second time this summer, raw sewage has backed up into the team's facilities inside the Coliseum. The first time, it required clean-up and new carpeting. It happened again in the dugout during the team's 2-1 win over the Angels yesterday.

Stadium maintenance is looking for the cause.
Of course, they are...

And if this doesn't reinforce the A's and the Raiders wanting to look for a new home- in locations the teams already have scouted and are ready to build in- the HQ won't know what will...

Wednesday morning, two plumbers were in the guilty bathroom, taking out water that had overflowed from a toilet because automatic sensors were not functioning- according to VP of Stadium Operations Dave Rinetti.

It was, apparently, an easy clean up. But someone has started a new Twitter account - @ColiseumSewage

The tag line being "overflowing with love for the Oakland A's."

Amen...

DEVELOPING: San Jose Suing MLB Over A's Move

Or, to be more accurate, a lack of a move...

The San Jose city council is suing Major League Baseball and taking them to court over the perception that MLB is dragging their feet over the team's proposed move to San Jose- and this weekend's sewer issue at the Oakland Coliseum can't be sitting well with the A's or MLB at present, either...

San Jose is maintaining that MLB is "conspiring to limit competition" by not allowing the team to move...

From KGO-TV:

Peninsula attorney Joe Cotchett to file a lawsuit. "This is all about economics. And, you have a city like San Jose, the tenth largest city in the United States, cannot get a baseball club. I can name you other cities that are pulling for San Jose for the same reason. They want the right and the chance to bring a baseball team to their city, their county, whatever it might be," he said.

The city has always wanted a team, knows that having a team will pump in nine figures of income, and will build a new ballpark to suit the A's. But San Jose has always deferred to A's owner Lew Wolff- a frat brother of MLB Commissioner Bud Selig.

The only other issue is that San Jose is considered part of the geographic footprint of the San Francisco Giants...

Here's what the A's have been up to recently... when the sewage pipes worked...
((HT: MLB/YES))

A's And M's Play Through The Stink In Oakland

((HT: CSN California/KGO-TV))

A sewage problem with the 47-year-old Oakland Coliseum caused a backup that made the A's and Mariners dress in the same clubhouse, made Mariners manager Eric Wedge hold his presser in the hall instead of a foot of water in his office, and this apparently happens even when the team is on the road.

Too many people made trips to the bathroom during the six-game homestand...

The San Francisco Chronicle and Susan Slusser reported that leaking pipes and backed up drains occur often, even on days when the Coliseum is empty. The field is 22 feet below sea level, and the clubhouse level is 3 feet below sea level.

The lease for the A's ends after this season, just so you know...

Team president Michael Crowley, when asked about this, said “It’s clear, right? This isn’t the first time this has happened.” And the Angels even filed a grievance a few years ago when there was a concern over e.coli

Oh, Bartolo Colon pitched the A's to the 10-2 win before the sewage got out of hand...
Manager Bob Melvin says Colon should be a part of the All-Star conversation...
((HT: CSN California))