A Good Time Was Had By All

My kids and I attended the Twins groundbreaking ceremony last night and my fears that it would be a little boring for them were unfounded. I knew that I, personally, would be riveted but my expectations were exceeded. The temperature hovered around 75 degrees, a slight breeze was blowing and there was not a cloud in the sky. Brats, hot-dogs, peanuts and pop were available for $1 (and $5 Budweiser). My sons hit whiffle balls and my daughter jumped in one of those inflatable bouncy things. I finally even met Freealonzo and Shane from The Greet Machine in person for the first time. Martin Zellar played some tunes, and Twins from past and present were on hand for autographs (my kids were able to get Tim Laudner and Scott Leius - the other lines were too long). All on the site of the future ballpark.

You may have read my post a few months back about the experience I had with my oldest son at a Wild playoff game. I think I would have to put this experience with my three kids in the same category. They will be able tell their kids that they attended this event on the site of the ballpark and watched it rise from the ground. Just as I have a hard time remembering the Old Met, my kids will probably have a hard time remembering The Dome. This will be the stadium they grow up going to.

The ceremony itself featured speakers including players Rod Carew, Harmon Killebrew, Joe Mauer, Micheal Cuddyer and Kent Hrbek. Kent Hrbek, by the way, drank his first beer on the site ("one of many to come" to quote Hrbek). Politicians such as Commissioner Mike Opat and Ballpark Authority Chair Steve Cramer spoke, as well as MLB Commissioner Bud Selig. Finally, when ground was actually broke, fireworks were shot into the blue sky. It was very well done. In fact, everyone seemed to have a great time except for a few wing-nuts protesting the happiness and sunshine on the nearest bridge. I'm sure they are back in their caves by now.

After 10 years of struggle to get approval for a new ballpark, I hope that last night's clear blue skies are an indication of good things to come for the Twins and their fans. And, to sum things up, here is an excellent article on the ceremony written by Tom Powers in the St. Paul Pioneer Press:

http://www.twincities.com/sports/ci_6765048?nclick_check=1

Peace,

Jeff

RNC Welcoming Committee (or P.I.T.A.)

For those of you who may not have heard, the 2008 Republican National Convention will be held next September in St. Paul (not Minneapolis), largely at the Xcel Energy Center. I have said from Day One, when St. Paul was named as the convention site, that there will be large protests outside, largely due to the war in Iraq. Now, before I write any further I'd like to go on record as saying that America was founded on the right for people to speak their mind in public, and protest something that they do not agree with. As long as the protests do not turn violent, everything is cool. Americans have protested taxation without representation, wars (mainly Vietnam), for civil rights, etc. Some of the greatest strides in American history have been made because certain individuals or groups have taken it upon themselves to stand up to an injustice and call for change. This right to protest is one reason America is a great country. Can you imagine what would happen if people protested the government in Iran? Not so good.

The reason that I bring this up is because I just finished reading an article in the Star Tribune about a group that calls themselves the RNC Welcoming Committee. This group of self-described "anarchists and anti-authoritarians" (picture Rick from The Young Ones - see below) plans on protesting the Convention in St. Paul, and wants to let you all know a year in advance.

The group held a news conference today in Minneapolis. Spokeswoman Bea Bridges had this to say about the RNC Welcoming Committee:

...the group favors "ending capitalism, imperialism, patriarchy and all other forms of hierarchy" to be replaced with "direct, participatory democracy."

Also...

She said the group would not seek permits to demonstrate, and said efforts to restrict protesters in that way constituted repression and a "violent threat."

Right on sister! Who needs permits? Not the RNC Welcoming Committee! And, hey, that's a lot of stuff to be against. I bet it will take upwards of a month or two to accomplish those lofty goals. Ending capitalism alone could take until the 1st of the year. Plus, I tried ending all forms of hierarchys back in college with absolutely no success. Here's some more words of wisdom from Bridges:

In discussing future tactics, she said, "Some may choose to resist state violence using pacifist tactics, while others use whatever methods they deem necessary and appropriate."

Yep. Ya gotta do what ya gotta do. Some people will sing, some will pray. Some will burn cop cars. All kidding aside, it is this last statement that gives me pause. After all, where is the Convention taking place? The Xcel Energy Center! The Twin Cities finally has what has been called the nicest NHL arena in the country, and it makes me worry that:

A. The protesters will harm the Xcel Energy Center! I am sure they are anti-stadium. After all, they claim to be anti-everything.

B. See A.

This is a good time to repeat my original statement. I am not against protesting, or the right to protest. I have quite a few Bob Dylan CD's in my collection so how could I be against protesting? I am not convinced, however, that all people involved with protests have "the issue" as their number one concern - or even know which issue is being protested. Out of 100% of people taking part in a protest, here is my breakdown of "reasons why they are there:"

10% - People protesting because they care deeply about the issue at hand.

15% - People trying to relive the '60's.

25% - People pissed because they missed the '60's.

40% - People who just like to burn things and break shit.

10% - People who "just happened to be in the area."

Now, I have no doubt that there will be some perfectly legitimate groups protesting this convention. Women Against Military Madness is an example. I don't think the RNC Welcoming Committee fits this "legitimate" label, however. Personally, I have no respect for groups that claim "to be against everything," This is a slap in the face to legitimate groups with experience or logical stances on issues. Therefore, I have a new name for them. My new name for the RNC Welcoming Committee is - "P.I.T.A." Or, Pains In The Ass.

Good Luck,

Jeff

Ballpark Groundbreaking Ceremony - 8/30/07

This may shock you, but I am planning on attending the Twins ballpark groundbreaking ceremony next Thursday evening. I'm taking the three kids so they can be part of history whether they like it or not. For some odd reason, my wife does not want to attend, which I simply cannot fathom. Martin Zellar will be playing. Food and beverage will be available. How can you go wrong? I'd like to know if any of you readers will be in attendance. I assume Freealonzo and Shane will be there. How about tony8489? Jase - feel like driving up from Eau Claire? Here are the details:

WHAT:
Twins new ballpark official groundbreaking. The groundbreaking event will be a celebration of the past, present and future of Minnesota Twins baseball, an opportunity to pay tribute to those involved in making the new ballpark a reality and a time for the community to come together.

WHEN:
Thursday, August 30, 4 – 7 p.m.

4 p.m. Event Opens to Public at the New Ballpark Site

4:15 p.m. Concert Begins

5:30 p.m. Concert Ends
6 p.m. Official Ceremony Begins
7 p.m. Official Ceremony Concludes

WHERE:
Twins new ballpark site

WHO:
Twins fans

Civic leaders, government officials

Minnesota Twins and Major League Baseball officials including Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty and Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig

Hennepin County Commissioners

Twins players

Twins alumni

Hope to see you there!

Jeff

Appeals

Nothing is easy when it comes to stadiums in Minnesota. Sure, clearing of the Twins ballpark site has started, and there will be a ballpark in 2010. The price of the land has not yet been determined, however. After Hennepin County announced that they would proceed with the condemnation process, a three person panel was named to determine the price of that land, which has been valued in the past at around $9 million. You may remember (who wouldn't) that Hennepin County offered Land Partners II roughly $14 million for the land and LPII countered by saying the land was worth (please put pinky by mouth and say in Dr. Evil voice) 65 MILLION DOLLARS!

Well, on Monday the three person panel determined that the land is worth $23.8 million dollars, nearly $10 million more that Hennepin County offered, but far less than the $65 million that Dr. Evil - I mean LPII - wanted. Oddly enough, one of the panelists did not sign the document and publicly stated he believes the ditch by the garbage burner is worth $33 million. After hearing what their buddy - er, I mean the third panelist - had to say, LPII decided to APPEAL the ruling, which means there will be a long, drawn-out case brought before a jury to determine the value of the land that could last into 2008. This will certainly cost the taxpayers some money.

Now, I am not surprised at all that LPII appealed this decision. After all, they represent widows and orphans who own this land, and we do not want them to go hungry by only splitting the $23.8 million. Hey, this is America - get what you can, right? But please remember that it was LPII that orginally thought their land would be an outstanding spot for a stadium, and even created a web site to enlighten the public on this. They brought the idea to the Hennepin County politicians. However, somewhere along the line Hines Interests from Houston got involved and whispered to LPII that their ditch was worth considerably more cash money to build something other than a stadium. You know, like condo's or something that you can't possibly find anywhere else downtown. Let's just say the rest is history, the Legislature actually passed the stadium bill, and Hines whispered to LPII that they are in for a shit load of money. Cool and calculated, baby.

Now, LPII does not like the decision of the panel, and has decided to appeal and bog this thing down in the courts. As I mentioned, they're looking out for themselves and always have been pretty greedy, so have at it boys. However, the more LPII is awarded for their land, the more the surrounding area around the new stadium is impacted. The ballpark itself will not suffer, but the landscape, bridges, and other amenities will disappear. This will affect the overall quality of the urban ballpark.

This is what makes me wonder about the boys from Hines. From what I hear, Hines is very interested in the development rights around the stadium. Here is what an editorial from the Star Tribune has to say on the subject:

"These details may seem insignificant, but such amenities are vital to the success of urban ballparks, which rely on attractive surroundings to generate adjacent economic activity.

That's what's so perplexing about Hines' posture in this case. The company has extraordinarily creative plans for housing/office/retail development near the new ballpark and may seek city subsidy to pursue its aims. So it seems self-destructive to risk stripping the ballpark of its external amenities and to antagonize local governments by trying to raid the ballpark's public infrastructure fund."

If I was a city or county official, I think I would go tell Hines to screw themselves if they came to me asking for public money for development. This is like a dog biting it's owner's hand and then whimpering for a snack. I'm not sure what Hines is thinking.

Oh well. As I said, nothing is easy when it comes to stadiums in Minnesota.

Peace,

Jeff

Eddie & Mike

It was reported late last night that ex-Timberwolves forward Eddie Griffin was killed last Friday when his sport utility vehicle crashed into a moving train in Houston, Texas. It actually took four days to identify the body because of the severity of the crash. It has also been reported that Griffin disregarded the railroad warning signs before crashing into the train. He also had a long history of drug and alcohol problems, and was a classic underachiever on the court.

Now, this may shock you, but I have been known to needle some professional athletes who do not conduct themselves well from time to time. Griffin was one of those athletes that I threw a few jabs at. At best, he could be described as "troubled," and it is not good to see any man's life end in this fashion. Unfortunately, he was one of those individuals that, when they die, nobody is surprised. This act has all the markings as being "intentional." That is really too bad.

Griffin was described as "gentle" by ex-teammates, and even "a beautiful person" by ex-coach Dwayne Casey. It makes you wonder what goes on in the minds of these athletes (or actors or musicians) that seemingly have the world handed to them and then "blow it all." I have not doubt that the pressure that is put upon them by fans, media management, etc. is immense (along with their compensation). Is this pressure to blame, however? It's hard to understand - which leads us to Micheal Vick.

We all know the story of Micheal Vick. Arguably the #1 star in the NFL is ready to plead guilty to felony dog fighting charges that could land him in prison for 1 to 5 years. Quite a fall for the all-pro Falcons QB. I don't need to rehash Vick's alleged crimes against dogs, but they were sickening. The discussion, like I mentioned above with Griffin, has moved to "how did this happen and who is at fault?"

Before I forge ahead, I have to add the quote from New York Knick and budding philosopher Stephon ("everything is not always going to be peaches and cream") Marbury. Marbury rushed to Vick's defense today with this diddy:

"I think it's tough," Marbury said, according to Albany TV station Capital News 9. "I think, you know, we don't say anything about people who shoot deer or shoot other animals. You know, from what I hear, dogfighting is a sport. It's just behind closed doors."

Yep. Except, Stephon, most people don't electrocute the deer or hang them while they are still alive. I hope Stephon never takes my side on anything. But, enough about him.

The Pioneer Press recently published some commentaries on "who is at fault" for the Michael Vick saga. Most blamed Vick personally. However, I want you all to read the commentary by Shaun Powell of Newsday. Here it is:

BY SHAUN POWELL
Newsday

Michael Vick is not guilty.

No, really, in one sense, despite his plea Monday, this is the wrong guy. For months, investigators circled their wagons around the Atlanta Falcons quarterback with the intensity of blitzing linebackers and implied that Vick masterminded the slaughtering of dozens of dogs who couldn't cut it in the ring. They cut deals with members of Vick's posse, who snitched about those brutal dogfights held on his spread in Virginia. Vick, the feds believe, created this.
But who created Vick? Who gave power and money and influence to someone who has done nothing, other than sling a football, to deserve it?

Those are the real guilty people. If the feds are correct about Vick's role, then those people also helped strangle and shoot and drown animals that in essence were poisoned by a man who was poisoned himself long ago.

He wasn't a spoiled, immature and misguided animal abuser from birth. Actually, he was exactly like your child: an innocent sponge, ready to absorb the world around him. Except his world was probably a lot different from the one you exposed to your child. He was born to a mother who was still in high school, and by the time Brenda Vick was 21, she had four kids. She was a baby with babies, not unusual in poor black America today. How could she teach them about life when she hadn't experienced life herself? How could she watch her kids when she had to work enough jobs to feed them? Plus, she raised them in the projects, where too many influences are bad.

Born to a teenage mother, raised in the projects, consumed by a negative culture, back-slapped by vulture "friends" and elevated by a sports-mad society, who's the real Vick-tim here?

Interesting. Personally, I agree with the points Powell makes about being raised by a teen-ager in the ghetto. One side of me has no doubt that individuals raised in this setting start life "with two strikes." The other side of me, however, thinks that these statements are a "slap in the face" to people who were raised in this same setting and do not engage in such things. Vick was not stealing food from a grocery store to feed his family. He was allegedly the ring-leader of a heinous dog-fighting ring.

Lastly - a "sports mad society" is to blame? That's me, I guess. It's my fault Vick did this. And the owners who gave him tens of millions of dollars to play a game. And the kids who bought his jersey. All to blame. Right? I guess we're to blame for what happened to Eddie Griffin too.

I'd like to know what YOU think about this. Who is to blame for these acts? Who is to blame for this "pressure?" Please feel free to chime in.

Peace,

Jeff

Very Funny (and quite possibly accurate) Onion Column on Minnesota

I was checking in on The Greet Machine for my daily stadium update, and came across a link to a 2005 article from The Onion that Shane had added to his site. It's a story on "Minnesota being too polite to ask for federal funding." Here is the link:

http://www.theonion.com/content/node/30916

Now, I am not sure if that is comedy, or something The Onion just copied word for word from a Pioneer Press article. Anyway, give it a read. It explains a lot about our culture, especially in light of the 35W bridge tragedy.

Peace,

Jeff

The High-Flyin' NFC North

I had a vision last night of the 2007 NFC North. Some people might refer to this as a nightmare. Since I am going into THE CHECK a little later today, I thought I would reveal the details of my vision on this blog. So, here are my prognostications for the NFC North standings in 2007:

1. Chicago Bears (12-4)
The Bears are still the best team in this division and will win 12 games largely because they get to play the other three teams in the North twice apiece. Great defense and special teams, but Rex is still the quarterback as far as we know. Will they win the Super Bowl this year? No. I see failure in the playoffs and much anger in the Windy City. By the way, just looking at the Chicago Bears jersey elicits anger within me. I hate them. But, enough negativity until we get to the Vikings.

2. Green Bay Packers (8-8)
Brett Favre is still a great quarterback, and the Pack has a good young defense. A.J. Hawk is going to have a great career. I see may questions surrounding the running game, however, which will put added pressure on Favre and the passing game. With that added pressure, he has been known to get rid of the ball a little too quickly to a member of the opposing team. I am still perplexed at the Pack's off season in which they did virtually nothing to upgrade the squad. My buddy Jase is still reeling from the draft.

3. Detroit Lions (7-9)
Let's not mince words here. Just the fact that they are the Detroit Lions is worth 6 losses before the season ever starts. It's like a hitter in baseball starting with two strikes before he even steps up to bat. Great receivers, good defense. Jon Kitna at QB. Enough said.

4. Minnesota Vikings (4-12)
Where do I begin? How about quarterback. Tarvarius Jackson and Brooks Bollinger. This makes me pine for the days of Sean Sailsbury. This was a very ugly part of my vision in which I found myself tossing and turning and running from Defensive linemen. Wide receivers? Average at best, even with Troy Williamson's new found eyesight. I like the running game if Adrienne Peterson can stay healthy. With the Vikes luck, however, Peterson just fell down a flight of stairs and broke his collar bone as I typed those last words.

The Vikes defense should be above average, but if they give up more than 13 points they are going to lose. No if's, and's or but's about it. Brad Childress's future was very cloudy in my vision. I also had a terrifying image of a structure collapsing! But is was not the 35W bridge, it was the Vikings future stadium! Horrifying. My vision ended, however, with the Vikes having a top-5 draft pick in 2008. The NFL Commissioner was at the podium, and he said "And with the 4th pick in the 2008 NFL draft, the Minnesota Vikings select PUNTER................

Peace,

Jeff