World Series Champs Giants Visit White House; President Obama Admits He Fears The Beard

The San Francisco Giants,  2010 World Series Champions, visited President Obama at the White House yesterday.  The nation's number one baseball fan called the team, "Characters with character,"  then singled out out Giants closer Brian Wilson by asking," Where's the guy with the beard?"  Obama looked at Wilson's Grizzly Adams-type facial hair, shook his head and said, "I do fear it."

Obama, taking a break from his budget battle, met with the Giants yesterday afternoon in the East Room of the White House and wished the team well in it's quest to defend it's World Series Championship unless it was against his beloved Chicago White Sox.  "Which right now isn't a sure thing," he joked about his struggling home team.

The President shook hands with the players and mingled with a gaggle of San Francisco politicians including former mayors and House Minority Leader, Nancy Pelosi.

Besides seeking out the free spirit Wilson, Obama sounded like he feels a kinship with Tim "The Freak" Lincecum and the rest of the team's collection of castoffs and misfits.

"The Giants may be a little different, but know how to win," said Obama, a knowledgeable baseball fan.

Obama congratulated the Giants for their miraculous season, where they won their first World Series Championship since moving to San Francisco from New York 53 years ago.

The President got to hang with one of his idols once again, Willie Mays-- who was once a guest on Air Force One during a trip to the 2009 All-Star Game.  Mays presented the Leader of the Free World with a Giants jersey signed by the team.  Obama joked about his flight with the baseball great, Mays.

"Very rarely, when I'm on Air Force One, am I the second most important guy on there," he said.  "Everyone was passing me by-- 'Can I get you something Mr. Mays?'"

The President lauded the team for efforts to support injured U.S. troops and praised the players for being the first American sports team to make an "It Gets Better" video to help gay and lesbian youths who have been bullied.

Giants manager, Bruce Bochy, summed up the visit by saying," Certainly, we were all honored to be there.  It's quite a privilege."

He was probably more thankful the outlandish Wilson didn't wear a skin-tight Lycra tuxedo.

San Francisco Giants Plan To Use Falcons To Halt Seagull Invasion

The invasion of seagulls swarming down into the stands at AT&T Park during San Francisco Giants games has gotten so bad the team is planning on using falcons to disperse the invading flocks.

The huge Western Gulls begin swooping down right around the seventh inning stretch to grab discarded food and even snag ball park treats from fan's hands.

By the ninth inning, the attacks in the stands sometimes looks like the scene from "The Wizard of Oz" when the flying monkeys dismantle the Tin Man and unstuff the Scarecrow.  To some fans getting pooped on the head is a worse fate.  I don't think seagull look-alike, Tim Lincecum, getting plopped on his cap would consider it good luck either. 

Maybe the birds come late to catch a glimpse of closer Brian Wilson mopping up.  Who knows what's  nesting in his beard.

The nuisance has increased steadily over the past decade since the stadium opened in 2000, but now, the birds have fans literally running for cover.  The giant bird's diet consists of garbage, eggs, other birds, fish and roadkill.  Apparently they eat anything in their paths.

"We've seen an increase in the birds," said Jorge Costa, Giant's operations manager.  "And the behavior seems to be more aggressive.  They've started flying around and trying to go into the stands while the game's in progress.  That's unusual for them."

Experts think the gulls are attracted to AT&T Park from nests on Alcatraz Island and by the activity of the fans.

"They probably see the lights on, or in the afternoon, they probably see the crowd," said Dan Murphy, Golden Gate Audubon volunteer.  "When the crowd starts thinning, they just show up."

To combat the invasion, the Giants are considering hiring a commercial falconer company to ward off the pests.  The cost to the team is estimated to be around $100,000 per year.

In San Francisco--the Ground Zero of politically correctness--  I'm sure the falcons will be used to only scare the invading scavengers.  No dirty birds will be harmed in the process.

Lincecum Donates $25,000 To Beating Victim

San Francisco Giants pitcher Tim Lincecum has donated $25,000 to the Bryan Stow fund. Stow was the victim in a senseless beating by a couple of Los Angeles Dodgers fans on opening day. The Giants have donated $70,000 themselves. The donations were made to cover Stow's medical expenses.

Both teams have taken heightned security since the incident, with the Dodgers cancelling an alcohol related promotion.

“This was a senseless act of violence and I wanted to help out Mr. Stow and his family,” Lincecum said in a statement Thursday. “It’s also close to me because not only is Mr. Stow a Giants fan, but I have family and friends who are firefighters, police officers and paramedics and this honors their service to the community.



“I encourage Giants fans to support Mr. Stow in a positive way and hope there are not any more unfortunate acts between fans in this great rivalry,” Lincecum said.

As a fan let's hope Stow can make a complete recovery and go back to living life as he knew it.

Dodgers Hire Ex-NYC Police Commish To Assess Stadium Security

The Los Angeles Dodgers have hired former NYC Police Commissioner and LAPD Cheif William Bratton to evaluate security policies and procedures at Dodger Stadium after a 41 year-old man was severely beaten in the stadium parking on Opening Day.

Hundreds of people formed a prayer vigil outside County-USC Hospital in Los Angeles in support of the "critically-injured" San Francisco Giants fan while the announcement to hire Bratton was made.

Security at Dodger Stadium was questioned after Bryon Stow was set upon by two men on March 31.  Stow, a paramedic from Santa Clara, is in a medically-induced coma, according to a spokesman from the LAPD.  Stow suffered a fractured skull and trauma to his brain said his neurologist, Dr. Gabriel Zada.

The beating has outraged the community-at-large and has fans complaining that attending a Dodger home game has become very dangerous.  L.A. officials have been calling for better security around the park for years.

Bratton, who has headed police forces in Boston, New York City and L.A. was hired to help the beleaguered franchise quiet the outcries and prevent the public relations nightmare from happening again.

Team owner Frank McCourt--who is already embroiled in a messy divorce involving the team with his wife Jamie--said that acquiring the expertise of Bratton is a step in the right direction.  "Bill Bratton is widely credited with spearheading modern community policing in America," said McCourt.  "There is no one better to lead a top-to-bottom review of our current practices and make recommendations to be implemented now and into the future."

Bratton was appointed as NYC Police Commissioner by  Mayor Rudolph Giuliani in 1994.  For two years, Bratton was credited with being a major force in modernizing the force and turning the crime-ridden streets into safe havens.

The reward for the arrest of Stow's two Dodger-clad assailants has increased to over $100,000.

According to the LAPD, Giants fan Stow and his friends were leaving Dodger Stadium when two men taunted then hit Stow from behind.  He was kicked while on the ground.  The suspects are described as male Hispanics between the ages of 18 and 25.

According to L.A. County supervisor Michael Antonovich, the fright factor outside the ballpark is real.  "For anyone to suggest security at Dodger  Stadium is adequate is simply putting their head in the sand," he said.

Excessive Fandom

The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the defending world champion San Francisco Giants in their season opener yesterday. That's all good and dandy. It just wasn't enough for a few Dodgers fans.

Dodger fans and Los Angeles fans in general have a rap about being too laid back. If I'm wrong about this let me no, since I'm not a native in your city. A pair of Dodgers fans laid a critical beatdown on a fan wearing Giants gear in the Dodger Stadium parking lot.

"The man suffered a serious head injury during the assault after the game,'' said Los Angeles Police Department Sgt. Sanford Rosenberg. (LA Times ).

Rosenberg said the victim was one of three Giants fans attacked in the parking lot around the end of the game by two unidentified men wearing Dodgers clothing.

Police are trying to get any witnesses to come forward since there was a pretty large group and the attack happened when everyone was coming out. Hopefully someone will come forward and identify the people that did this crime.

It's fine to talk trash to one another while supporting your team, but keep it non violent. Let's hope the perpetrators of this sad and cowardly act are brought to justice. There's no place for this junk in being a fan of professional sports -- which are supposed to be fun.




  

Brian Wilson Has A New Party Buddy

Brian Wilson of the San Francisco Giants was invited to a private screening of "Major League" by none other than Mr. Wild Thing himself, Charlie Sheen this past weekend. Wilson was at Sheen's house along with former major leaguers Kenny Lofton, Lenny Dykstra, Todd Zeile, and Eddie Murray. It seems Wilson has found some new party buddies. Pete Rose reportedly was invited but didn't attend.

Wilson was flown to Arizona by Sheen to Los Angeles for the party. Wilson and the others had the privilige to try on Babe Ruth's 1927 World Series ring which he purchased at an auction some time ago.

Sheen, who is a big baseball fan said that he is "married...to baseball". He also called his little party the "ultimate VIP baseball excursion".

I'm sure there are many that have a differing opinion but consider the source.    

The Panda Diet

San Francisco Giants third baseman Pablo Sandoval has been spending his offseason getting in shape. A far cry from a typical world champion baller that usually gets a bit lazy.

Before:

Now:

The Giants hope for big things from Sandoval this year. They just hope it's not his weight.

It's The Giants vs.Rangers. But Will Anyone Watch?

I'm glad to see some new blood in the World Series this year. It'll be the San Francisco Giants and the Texas Rangers in the Fall Classic. Even though I thought the Phillies and Yankees would've made it and I did want the Phillies to win it all, I'm not opposed to seeing a first timer and a franchise going after their first world championship since they relocated. The only thing is, will anyone watch?

Baseball  purists and the casual fan probably won't like this matchup. You know what they'll say. No name recognition, they don't know much about the teams, they play outside the glamour markets (Boston, Philadelphia, New York, Los Angeles) so they don't really care. That's what happens when you shove Red Sox vs. Yankees down our throat every year.

That's why the NFL has better viewership. You know you'll have your perennial contenders, but some team will rise up to surprise from year to year. I don't mind parity in sports. I think it makes it better, it keeps the product as a whole from getting stale. I don't like seeing the same teams year after year, even though the networks (ESPN, Fox,etc.) would love to have the same teams every year to improve their ratings. I'm all form just watching a good ballgame. That's how I came up and that's how I like it. I hate seeing teams like the Kansas City Royals and Pittsburgh Pirates on hard times. They were actually good when I was growing up, even though it's hard to believe now.

I"m glad it's the Giants vs. Rangers. It's refreshing to see two teams that are normally second or even not thought of this time of year. Hopefully baseball can get a clue and do something about the large disparity about some of the teams that just flat out suck right now and the one's that continue to stay on top. I don't think it's about what market you play in. If you find committed ownership and the right scouts and management it can be done. I never considered Boston a big market. San Diego has a larger population but is considered small market. I never got that and probably never will.   

Hopefully this will be an entertaining World Series. It probably won't work for the casual fan. They will turn their attention to the NBA season.