John-Jacks

Rocky Start

2007-11-05T16:22:00.000-08:00

So we are three games into the regular NBA season and the winless Warriors have yet showed the team we want to see, the same "Maverick Playoff" winning team. The season is way to young, I know, but I remember another team in professional sports, which had high expectations this season and haven't performed. On Sunday, the Niners lost their 6th straight game. The team, expected to make the playoffs, haven't won in two months and have some people questioning the coaching staff. Leave Nolan along. During the offseason, Warrior fans created and received target, as the team expected to run all season and make the playoffs. In no means, em I knocking the Warriors and their talent. What I'm saying, is that with the pre-season rankings and off season trash talking over, the Warriors are in a unfamiliar position, living up to high expectations. It concerned me this off-season, with the overwhelming amount of media coverage. King James comes to town tomorrow night. Making the finals last year, put a bulleyes on the Cav's back also. Lets hope the Warriors can avoid the media and pressure, staying under the radar and win.

Congrats Stanford

2007-10-12T11:06:00.000-07:00

Stanford's upset of USC last weekend, was the best thing to happen to college football in Decades. Not only have we seen the level of playing field equal out in D-I football (D-II for Michigan fans), we do not seen the regulars of the past twenty years still dominating. The powerhouses of college football remind me of those kids in elementary school, that were really popular and acted really cool, but twenty years later, they would still made the same jokes about the same people. For instance, USC losing to Stanford, just because you are USC, doesn't mean you can still be in the top ten. USC should be have dropped at least to the twentieth spot. If I were a fan of Juice Williams and Illinois, I would be calling out USC to come play them next year.

Give credit to the up and coming Cardinal, because since 2000, when they played Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl, Stanford has struggled on two levels, winning and getting top athletes to play for them. But now, with a new admissions director, and a little swagger, the Cardinal have a lot to look forward in the years to come. New coach Jim Harbaugh, is just what those quite nerds, down at Stanford need. Someone to come get them excited and prove to them they can play.

Stanford's 2-3 record, shows a lot about this Cardinal team, They started off the season with a 35-17 loss to 13th ranked UCLA, then won their first game of the year to San Jose St. 37-0, which in years past for Cardinal fans has been no walk in the park. Over the next two weeks, Stanford faced 9th ranked Oregon and 14th ranked Arizona St, both losses. Things could be a lot worse right now, and hear they are in the 5th week of the college football season, with already a promising and optimistic team.

Stanford only has four road games this season, but faces probably the hardest home schedule of any D-I school. After facing UCLA, Oregon, ASU and TCU, this weekend, Stanford plays Washington, Notre Dame and Cal, to end their season, which might see a shinning bowl at the end of the road. Cal fans, you routed for Stanford this weekend, probably the first and last time ever. Watch out Cal, you might see yourself hating Stanford all over again, with a new and revived rival on December 1.

Oktoberfest 2007

2007-10-09T22:00:00.000-07:00

Why is San Francisco the greatest city in the world? Many people would say the Giants, some would say it is because Baron Davis call it home (during the season and not Oakland). We throw amazing parties, like Fleet Week or the Bay to Breakers. Every weekend, I find myself always occupied with another important San Francisco event to attend. I'm not complaining, I'm just delighted with the city's persistence for supplying the residents of San Francisco great weekends. So for this weekend, Fort Mason will be hosting Oktoberfest by the Bay. "The biggest and best Oktoberfest outside of Munich" will take place Thursday-Sunday evening, with live entertainment, dancing and of course drinking. I know I will be in attendance and ready to drink with my friends. Holla Maholla

"You can always retake a class, but never the weekend"- a good friend

Goodbye Willie...

2007-10-09T21:30:00.000-07:00

Today, the Giants took their first step to turn things around for '08, by retaining pitching coach Dave "Rag's" Righetti and bench coach Ron Wotus. But with all the good news, their must be sad news if your a Giants fan. The Giants parted ways with one of my favorite coaches of all-time, Willie Upshaw. Mr. Upshaw only had one year as the Giants first base coaches, but will be regarded as one of the great coaches to call San Francisco home. Along with Wendall Kim and Dick Pole, Willie brought great leadership qualities and traditional National League experience. I only wish that the Giants Dugout Store would have produced a Willie Upshaw, number 20 jersey. We are going to miss you Willie.

Still Believe?

2007-10-02T14:20:00.000-07:00

So now that the Giants season is over and the struggling/injured Niners are taking a few weeks off, its time to get back in the believing mood. The Warriors reported to training camp yesterday in Oahu, after the Media Day frenzy in Oakland.

The active offseason saw Jason Richardson traded to the Bobcats for rookie Brandan Wright. A questionable move on both sides. The Warriors are expected to win now, and trading for a rookie, like Wright, is a long-term project. Wright will need to put on some weight, at 205 pounds. He is not in Durham anymore, he is now playing in the Western Conference.

One rookie that has made a big name for himself this summer is, Marco Belinelli. Taken as the Warriors 2nd pick in the first round of this years draft, Belinelli started summer ball with dropping 35 points. So what if it was summer league, the kid can shoot. A real shooter, something Warriors needed desperately last year.

The Warriors brought in two veterans to fill the back up point guard void, with Troy Hudson and Austin Croshere, who did not impress Dub's fans during the Mavericks series, by getting in numerous altercations with old Crossroads teammate, Boom Dizzle. The two supposedly cleared up all feelings, will see how they get along during the 82 game season. The last thing the Warriors need is more drama, especially high school drama. Maybe Austin got mad Kate Hudson was attending Barons games and not his?

If Croshere is the answer to the Warriors big man problems, we might need to start believing even more. The 6-10, 235 pound Croshere plays smaller then his size and sure does look a lot smaller then that. Croshere can run, which will help is place in the offense. A starting lineup, with many questions and options, can score without a question.

Baron, Stephen Jackson, Monta Ellis, Marco Belinelli (will be getting a lot playing time for a rookie), Matt Barnes and the newly re-signed French men, Mickael Pietrus and Hudson will be running and scoring. The Bigs are still a question. Andris Biendris, Croshere, Al Harrington and softy, Partick O'Bryant, do not come off as the most dominate bigs in the West.

Thank You Gilbert!

2007-10-01T17:40:00.000-07:00

Gilbert Arenas stands by my side. The following is a excerpt from Gilbert's blog, on NBA.com.

Marc Ecko, I Have an Offer for You

I normally don’t get into conversations like this, but this kind of hit a nerve in my body as an athlete. This whole Marc Ecko buying the Barry Bonds ball to put an asterisk over it:

I just think it’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard of.

Who are you as a person to take away somebody’s legacy because you don’t like him as a person? Forget that he is Barry Bonds and forget his records. He was “alleged” of doing steroids. This is America, just because you’re “alleged” of doing something doesn’t mean he actually did it and until he is proven guilty, you shouldn’t have the right to be the judge and jury.

Just because you have the money don’t go buying up people’s history to destroy it. If you’re going to get Barry Bonds’ ball, why don’t you go get Mark McGwire’s homerun balls that got put into the Hall of Fame and Sammy Sosa’s corked bat too?

He was “alleged” of doing steroids. I don’t think as a fan of sports that you have the right to taint this man’s legacy.

This man has a kid. When his kid grows up he’s going to hate you as a person because you decided to be this super, superhero to go put an asterisk sign over his dad’s legacy.

I just felt appalled by it because, what if somebody decides to ban the hyperbaric chambers tomorrow? Everybody knows that I used the hyperbaric tent last year and I scored 60 points against the Lakers during the season I was using the tent. Now, the Hall of Fame has my shoes from that game. What if somebody decides to take my shoes and put an asterisk sign on them now?

I think it’s just drawing graffiti on somebody else’s legacy. Before you go and destroy another man’s career, I’d rather buy the ball back from you and give it to somebody who really, truly wants the ball for what it is.

So, Marc Ecko, I want the ball to give it to a real fan. As a human, you should be ashamed of yourself for outbidding somebody just to do wrong to somebody’s property.

If people don’t understand what I’m talking about, this is the easiest way I can explain it. Anybody out there that has ever taken Creatine, that’s a popular substance, if they all of the sudden consider Creatine to be a steroid that means all you guys that took it are dirty so if you ever do anything in life, you’re tainted. Anything you do in life you’re going to have somebody like Marc Ecko wanting to buy whatever you do in life to put an asterisk sign by it. So if you get a promotion and he decides he wants this guy fired because he did Creatine back in 2001, that’s how you should feel.

Just because he is one of the most hated guys in the world because of “allegedly” doing steroids, I don’t think you should take away his legacy.

The day he broke the record, he wasn’t on steroids. That’s how I look at it. People say that he’s dirty, but the last time I checked anything out I saw that corked bats, spitting on balls, Vaseline on balls and stealing signals, that’s all cheating too.

If they’re doing steroids, I mean there have been plenty of players who I thought have done steroids, but I’m not going to buy their stuff up just to put an asterisk on it. I think it’s giving the wrong idea to people. The fans that voted for the asterisk, I think they’re representing sports wrong because at the time that he broke these records, he wasn’t on steroids.

If you want to buy some records that were broken by somebody who was accused of steroids and admitted to using steroids, go buy Arnold Schwarzenegger’s. Go buy back his trophies and medals and put asterisks on them. That’s a man who actually admitted to using steroids.

I just think it’s wrong. In sports, what people don’t realize is, you’re trying to do everything you can to get that extra advantage. By me using the hyperbaric chamber, I’m using it as an advantage. If they ban it tomorrow, will people be looking at me as a dirty player?

I’m not saying steroids are good or bad here. I mean, I think it’s a cowardly way to enhance your performance don’t get me wrong, but my issue is that if the guy hasn’t been proven guilty, you shouldn’t taint him.

You’re not Superman. You can’t go around trying to save the world from this ball. Give me a break. What if I buy your company and throw it in the trash because I say it's tainted? How stupid would you feel?

And for people who still aren’t feeling me; What if a kid comes and graffiti’s your house. How would you feel?

You worked your butt off to live in the place you live in and some not-so-smart people come and graffiti your house. How would you feel? That’s what I feel about that ball. You’re just tagging it up.

Let a fan, somebody who appreciates the game still, no matter what, accept that ball.

I’ll buy the ball from you Ecko for $800,000. If Barry Bonds is found guilty, I’ll give it back to you. I’m not going to let you go around like some little superhero.

I’ll put it in my hall of fame. The Gilbert Hall of Fame for Athletes no matter what you did.

I know I got off on a little tangent, but Marc, who are you to discredit Barry Bonds' legacy? He is a man first before being a seven-time MVP. Marc, what if someone tried to take away what you did in this world as a fashion pioneer? How would that make you feel as a man?

I would love to buy the ball away from you before you destroy history. I'm a collector of basketball jerseys and I would be honored to have the 756 ball in my personal hall of fame and I know there are real fans out there who both are and aren't Barry Bonds supporters who don't want to see history getting marked up.

I'm not defending steroids users by any means. I defending sports in history.

Barry Bonds #756

2007-09-27T13:09:00.001-07:00

Tainting History

2007-09-26T16:29:00.000-07:00

Recently, Marc Ecko, urban clothing designer, purchased the record breaking home run ball, 756, hit by Barry Bonds. Ecko gave fans the choice to vote for the future of the ball. The choices were sending it into space, send it to Cooperstown unblemished or marking the ball with an asterisk, then sending it to Cooperstown. According to Ecko, the fans voted for the ball to be branded with an asterisk. First off, why the hell did baseball not immediately purchase the baseball from the fan who caught it. As a baseball community, we are in a bad position with society. A day does not pass without a negative story coming out of baseball. Fans can not enjoy the "American" game anymore. Whether it be the steroid allegations, umpires taunting "hot headed" Milton Bradley or questioning Alex Rodriguez's talent, in front of the New York stage. There is always some controversy in baseball. Turn on Baseball Tonight, they never begin the show with scores/highlights. It seems that the media and fans want this bad publicity. Barry was right, "Clean out your own close, before you clean out mine." Now we have Marc Ecko, branding the ball and putting it into the Hall of Fame. I have been to the Hall of Fame and have been fortunate enough to enjoy all the wonderful exhibits it has to offer. Not one item in the Hall of Fame has an asterisk, let alone a mark which implies any record being tainted. According to the recent article from ESPN.com, "Hall of Fame president Dale Petroskey said accepting the ball did not mean the Hall in Cooperstown, N.Y., endorses the viewpoint that Barry Bonds used drugs". Petroskey said the ball is apart of baseball history and the Hall is happy to accept it. Actually, the ball the Hall of Fame is accepting is tainted. It is tainted with an asterisk. In the ESPN.com article, Tigers Manager, Jim Leyland said, "I disagree with that totally, because I don't think there should be an asterisk on it". The Baseball Hall of Fame was established to honor the players who played the game, not what fans do and don't want to see. The Board of Directors of the Hall of Fame, consists of Frank Robinson, Brooks Robinson, Robin Roberts, Tom Seaver and Joe Morgan, a Barry Bonds supporter. Allowing them to accept the ball is also tainting their legacies. When I went to the Hall of Fame, I did not see a mark on any Ty Cobb memorabilia, saying that he beat his wife. Rafael Palmerio's 3,000 hit is celebrated in the Hall of Fame, shouldn't we acknowledge or distinguish his use of performance enhancing drugs, which he has actually tested positive for? The asterisk suggests or implies that Barry Bonds used performance enhancing drugs. The asterisk on the baseball will imply that fans want to believe that he cheated. I thought in the United States, we believed anyone is innocent until prove guilty. Guess not? As a society, we are all hoping for the steroid cloud or era to end. The Hall of Fame is a place where we look to remember and honor baseball in all aspects of the game. By putting this asterisk on the ball, we will forever place a cloud on the game. The Hall of Fame should refuse to expect the ball if they want to preserve their purity. When George Bush ends his presidency, the World will not burn an asterisk on the White House lawn or on his Wikipedia page, because he was less then a stellar president. But the world will always associate him with a war, which much of society does not agree with. Much of the baseball community disagrees with Barry Bonds career, but what about the other half of the community? The Hall of Fame will no longer be a place for great memories or outstanding accomplishments, but a place of controversy with a dark cloud which will cover the building, even on the sunniest of days. When Barry Bonds is inducted into the Hall of Fame, there will be no asterisk on his plaque.

Goodbye Barry...

2007-09-21T17:25:00.000-07:00

Today, the San Francisco Giants front office announced, that Barry Bonds will not be returning next season. Management said they will not re-sign Mr. Bonds, ending his 15 year tenure with the San Francisco Giants. As a life-long Giants fan, Mr. Bonds has and will always be my favorite baseball player of all-time. Every memory I have of the San Francisco Giants, includes Mr. Bonds. Through the records, playoffs, World Series and controversy, Mr. Bonds has given the fans of San Francisco, the greatest home run show ever. Baseball fans from across the world came to San Francisco, hoping to catch "The Home Run King" hit a home run. Lucky for me, I had season tickets to the Giants, from 2000-2005, in section 139, row 15, seats 4-7. During that time when I was in high school (holla SHP), I attended roughly 45-60 Giants games a year. The autographs, batting practice balls and ticket stubs, are all things I cherish from those years, but nothing will compare to the home runs. In attendance for number (in order) 500, 71, 72, 73, 600, 660, 661 and 756. Not because I'm San Francisco bias, but when Mr. Bonds was at the yard, the stadium carried a un-describable feel. Image playoff baseball on a Tuesday night, in early May, against the Expos! (We won that game 9-1) Giants fans weren't selling out Pac Bell, because they wanted to see 2001 Montreal Expos. Mr. Bonds will probably go to a American League team next year, but he will always be a San Francisco Giant. If Mr. Bonds wanted to make it easy on Giants Fans, so we don't have to root against him, he could always be a Devil Ray (Remember 1992).

As baseball fans, how did we let Marc Ecko, buy the historic 756 baseball?

Baron Davis "The Dunk"

2007-09-21T17:21:00.001-07:00

Baron Davis, always here to cheer up a bad day.

Flying High in San Francisco

2007-09-20T11:32:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite events in San Francisco, is Fleet Week. The annual air show, comes to the city by the Bay, from October 4-9. A must see for any Northern Californian, it is not hard to find a good view for the show. Whether you go down to Pier 39 or take out the family to Angel Island on the sail boat, a clear sky will do just fine for a front row seat. This year, their are many veterans of the air show, starting with the Blue Angels, Team Oracle and numerous Navy Ships. Make SURE, you see both Sean Tucker (Team Oracle) and the Blue Angels, the best show in the sky, on earth.

Kanye West - Good Life

2007-09-20T11:22:00.001-07:00

Whitman Mix Tapes and Baron Davis

2007-09-17T17:35:00.001-07:00

Since 2003, when Whitman Mix Tapes hit the street, we did it for the kids and so does B. Diddy.

de Young

2007-09-17T16:33:00.000-07:00

My recent trip to the de Young Museum, with the Diesel (Wacker or Whacker), we viewed the Hiroshi Sugimoto Exhibition, which will be on display for one more week. Mr. Sugimoto, a Japanese contemporary artist, has taken many fascinating black-and-white photographs. Wack and I also made the best purchase of our college careers. A satellite photo of San Francisco ( A must for all Northern Californians).

Mr. Drastick x Baron Davis in SlamminKicks

2007-09-13T12:25:00.001-07:00

Boom Dizzle

2007-09-13T12:09:00.000-07:00

This summer, Baron Davis went to the South of France, to attend Tony Parkers Wedding. While their, he hooked up with Teri Hatcher. But the best thing Baron did this summer, was rap. Holla.

Changing the face of the franchise

2007-06-06T10:47:00.001-07:00

Initially, the blog was supposed to be for educational purposes only (aka. journalism class), but now it will cover more sports related (Bay Area) issues. Holla Maholla

Note: Evan O'Dorney, of Danville, recently won the 2007 Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington DC. Evans father, Michael, a BART train operator, was sporting his company shirt with pride. Way to support, the less then spectacular public transportation system. http://youtube.com/watch?v=mTolIgmVn04

Father Privett Interview

2007-03-28T14:13:00.000-07:00

Earlier today, my reporting class and I had the chance to interview Father Privett. We met Father Privett in the Rossi building on the top of Lone Mountain. The conference room had a perfect view of the Bay. The sky was clear and you could see for miles (I guess those are some of the perks you get when you run the school). Father Privett came in wearing his green polo and a gold sweater, showing his Don pride. The class and I got to ask him a plentiful array of questions. Topics ranged from student housing, financial aid, preparation for the next earthquake, student athletes and his Gold Gyms membership. The most interesting topic he brought up, was of his trips around the world. Towards the end of the interview, he mentioned he had traveled to Kibera, in January. The Kibera discussion was in response to a question about the insufficient amount of housing for students. He said that every time he hears of a student unhappy with there living situation, he flashes back to Kibera. Kibera is located in Nairobi, Kenya. It is considered on of the largest slums in all of Africa. Privett began to paint a devastating image of Kibera's surroundings. He compared it's size to San Francisco, a city of 44 miles and around 750,000 people to Kibera, roughly the size of Central Park, in New York with over a million people. He mentioned how he visited a school in the middle of the slum, which taught children who have lost both of their parents to AIDS. Roughly 260 children attend this school everyday. Privett then began to share the characteristics of the class room. There were two kids to a desk, where they shared one pencil. The walls were made of mud and the floor was dirt. The one teacher used chalk to write on a piece of wood, which was fading, because the chalk was tough to erase from previous chalk markings. The classroom had no windows and one light bulb hung from the ceiling, which was probably tapped from their neighbors electricity. What amazed Privett was the students excitement to be in class and learning. Privett described the children as grateful and smart students, just happy to be learning. This story really amazed me and put my educational experience into perspective. As we were about to leave, Privett left us with one final though. That in life, you could lose you money, car, home and nice ring, but no one can ever take your education away from you. 1% percent of the world graduates from college, a percentage number I'm hoping to represent. After the interview, I went grocery shopping at the local market. Still thinking of Kibera, I stopped to read the New York Times. On the front page, was a this picture, that I though was Kibera. It was the exact image that Privett had given on the classroom in Kibera. Yet, it wasn't Kibera. It was near Kindu on the Congo river. It was a very surreal moment, that I will never forget. Africa continues to suffer and Privett said over 30,000 children die in Africa a day, from hunger. America can do more and I'm sure we will. Offering education for these children should be a major concern for the world, because it can never be taken away from them.

Hicks, Tyler. (2007, March 28) New York Times, pg. A1.

European Tabloids

2007-03-11T12:18:00.000-07:00

During my spring break I traveled to Europe, to visit my friend James H. Greene III. Through my experience and frolicsome adventures, I have noticed that the culture is fascinated by pop culture idols. You cannot travel one block without finding a different news stand with tabloids. The tabloids are soaked with pictures, taken by the paparazzi, showing the personal lives of societies icon. Most of the time, the pictures reflect the secrets which the public does not know of. It could be there favorite pop singer, smoking marijuana backstage at a concert, or a favorite football (soccer) players wife nude. Melanie Horsford, majoring in Communications at the University of London, says, "London is where people can go crazy, culturally, politically and sexually, which comes off in this society as being a new trend or the new style". British people read the tabloids everyday. Articles are written about anything a young writer could might find to be provocative. Personally, this kind of reporting (if you could call it that) seems to have crossed the lines. When does it become right to exploit these people. This form of journalism should not be a trend or something call popular. Overall my riveting experience with reading the foreign press could only last a week. Although I continue to read The Economist, which I do not believe they will have the latest pictures of Britney Spears.

Apples Video Chat

2007-03-05T18:04:00.000-08:00

Apple has taken communication to another level, with ichat. The ability to see and talk to your friends through a computer still amazes me. The other day, while studying in the library, my friend, Charles V. Greene (A Mac Superstar, check out Charles in the wild, with the link below) at UPenn, video chatted me, to show me his dorm room set up. It was not my first time using the video chat, but the simple idea fascinated me. To watch and listen, while I was studying in the library at USF, he was playing video games in Philadelphia, crazy! We discussed recent events and I even met some of his new friends, all through my computer, with a basic, pre-installed program. The strangest thing occurred to me after the actual conversation and packing my computer back into my bag: No wires, the internet connection was wireless. To me, technology continues to blow my mind. Whats next, being able to smell the other person? Could we possibly have a program, that could recreate the distinct smell, which that person is smelling?

Charles Link: http://blog.wired.com/cultofmac/2007/03/spotted_in_the_.html

Pre-Game Predictions

2007-02-08T10:56:00.000-08:00

This past weekend, Super Bowl was the third highest watched TV program ever. Only the 1996 Super Bowl and the last episode of M.A.S.H had a larger viewing audience. The game was competitive and did it's part to entertain the millions who watched. With the rain pouring down, the players were at risk for turning the ball over. When the game ended, both Quarterbacks did not have the best performances of their careers. But for Bears Quarterback, Rex Grossman, it was a different story. The Bears, by far, were the best team in the NFC, which is their conference. They went 13-3 and made it to the Super Bowl. All season long, the media has been criticizing Grossman for his mediocre play. The Bears defense is amazing and for the most of the season people have been saying that, "Grossman is lucky he has that defense on his side". Two weeks before the Super Bowl, the media was already calling Grossman the worst quarterback ever to compete in a Super Bowl. This was Grossman's first Super Bowl, so there was no prior evidence or history to make this assumption. In football, there is a saying, "Any given Sunday". Anything can happen on the field and thats why people watch sports. Sports is suppose to entertain people. If people knew ahead of time, that Rex Grossman was the worst Super Bowl Quarterback ever, then no one would have watched. But people did watch and they saw the two best teams in the NFL play. The media places thoughts of how we should picture these events, before they happen. These ideas do not allow the fans to come to their own conclusion. As fans, we hope for the best game and most amount of effort out of both teams. It was completely not acceptable for the media to label Grossman as the worst Super Bowl Quarterback ever, before the game. Allow the players to play the game and let the outcome be decided on the field, not by the media.

New School

2007-01-29T17:52:00.000-08:00

I'm a transfer student from the University of Arizona. The first week at USF was interesting to say the least. It's difficult getting used to a whole new system. Signing up for classes, setting up my living situation and finding my way around were all things that made the last week a crazy one. Being from the peninsula, I thought I knew my way around the city. I was wrong. The city seems so much bigger when you live in it. While taking the Muni to Union Square, I went through so much of the city I had never seen before. The one thing that has not been a problem, is meeting new people. I think that is due to me being lost or confused and asking everyone. The past week went well and I can't imagine what is going to develop in next couple of weeks.