Author: CoolDMZ

"X-ray vision to see in between / Where's my kimono and my time machine?"

Maloofs trying to sink the deal?

The big news yesterday was the latest snag in the arena deal, which came when the Maloofs suddenly read the non-binding term sheet we all had already stopped talking about weeks ago, and realized they were on the hook for some development funds. Today Tony Bizjak and Dale Kasler report that David Stern is planning to pick up part of the tab to make sure initial work can get done.

A pessimistic person would say that this is just the first line in the sand drawn by the Maloofs, and that if they resolve this issue it’ll just be something else down the road. I am trying not to be that guy. For instance, who says that one of the tenants of a building that will be owned by someone else should have to pay for infrastructure? Maybe there is a better deal that takes away some of those costs and puts a corresponding amount in profits back into the city’s bank account.

Continue reading “Maloofs trying to sink the deal?”

River Cat called up to majors

from MiLB.com

But it’s not a player. Announcer Johnny Doskow will be announcing some Oakland A’s games in place of Ken Korach, who is recovering from surgery, reports Sac Biz Journal.

Doskow is excited about the opportunity to announce games for a major league team. He said he “lost it” when he found out he might be asked to announce games for the A’s in Boston.

Go Johnny. Speaking of which, who’s up for some River Cats baseball?! I know I am. The season gets underway next week of course, with the home opener coming Friday the 13th against Reno. But before all that, the Cats will host the A’s on Saturday, after Oakland returns from the MLB exhibition series in Japan. It’s the first time in 5 years Raley Field has hosted major league baseball.

Sactown Royalty on Evans trade rumors

Want to kill public support for a big arena project? Start rumor you’re going to trade the team’s best player. Tom Ziller of Sactown Royalty posted an impassioned plea for sanity last night in the face of rumors to that effect being published by Sports Illustrated and former Bee writer Sam Amick.

Ziller takes apart the situation and calls for patience with Evans adjustment to his new role on the team. It’s a great read, as per usual with TZ, and it does make one frustrated with the Kings management. I know next to nothing about these things but it seems to me that a great way to show thanks to folks who put a lot on the line to craft an amazing deal for these owners would be to invest in the team’s future by signing a big free agent at the end of the season.

City has big plans for Power Balance site

Space Port Natomas: You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy.

Today’s reporting in the Bee by Bizjak and Lillis has some dissection of the City’s stance on what to do about the current Power Balance Pavilion location once a proposed new downtown arena gets built.

Council member Ashby assures her constituents that reuse of the arena site after 2015 is “part of the deal.” But there is the little problem of the land being unsuitable for development due to flood risk. Gee, I wonder when City officials and landowners expect that moratorium to be lifted? Continue reading “City has big plans for Power Balance site”

Go bald Monday at de Vere’s and help cure cancer!


Going bald at an event in Monrovia, CA

St. Baldrick’s Foundation is a volunteer-driven charity dedicated to funding research on children’s cancer and providing support to families going through it. Groups across the country get together to raise money for this cause that’s near and dear to lots of people.

Monday, De Vere’s Pub is holding one such event. At 5:00 PM at the downtown bar, join other supporters by going bald in solidarity with someone you know who’s affected by cancer. Or sponsor someone else who’s shaving it off!

Continue reading “Go bald Monday at de Vere’s and help cure cancer!”

Final thoughts before tonight’s arena vote

Day 101
This was me all weekend
Creative Commons License photo credit: Alejandra Gamgeek from Gallifrey

I had the whole weekend to stew on the arena terms sheet, fueled by Cosmo Garvin’s great piece on the math of the thing on the SNOG Blog, and bolstered by Isaac Gonzalez’s excellent takedown of the “good, bad and the ugly” aspects of the proposal. I wanted to get my final thoughts out there before the proposal passes at tonight’s meeting.

I still can’t get over the inclusion of a provision giving the City a suite at the arena. Continue reading “Final thoughts before tonight’s arena vote”

Midtown Monthly ceasing publication

Tim “Old Man” Foster blogs today on MidownMonthly.net that the March issue of Midtown Monthly will be the last issue.

I’m sad, but I’m also proud. I’m proud of the work that our contributors have done. I’m proud of the contribution that Midtown Monthly has made to the public narrative of Sacramento. I’m proud that we spotlighted a side of Sacramento that is often ignored, or even maligned. I’m proud that in over five years I’ve never published anything I didn’t stand behind.

DEFINITELY not something I can say about this here web log. (Speaking only for things I have written, of course.)

Though I’m not a Midtown resident I’ve definitely always been a reader. Here’s hoping the Internet and possibly other alternative publications can take up the charge of spotlighting Midtown’s culture.

What’s with Fox40 wanting to “Get It Done”?

I'll start using another photo when a deal is reached. from thinkbigsacramento.com

If you visit Fox 40 you’ll see banner advertising and a prominently featured page on the topic “Get It Done.” A visit to the web page tells you that the “It” is a new downtown arena, and that we citizens should get an arena done by contacting our local representatives and exhorting them to do an arena deal. The page indicates that, agree or disagree, now is the time to “be heard,” but it also touts an arena as “about Sacramento being a world class city” and that without a deal, there will be no Kings.

Is this all appropriate? Continue reading “What’s with Fox40 wanting to “Get It Done”?”

Blitzen Trapper @ Harlow’s, Monday 3/5

Awesome alt-country group Blitzen Trapper come to Harlow’s Monday night, in support of their recent Sub Pop release “American Goldwing.” Trapper use the tools of classic country, like pedal steel guitar and the imagery of Americana, with a flair for the poetic/psychedelic. A running theme, for example, seems to be man becoming animal, best expressed on their classic 2008 album “Furr.” Plus, apparently the lead singer is Richard Alpert. Should be a great time out!

I have only been to Harlow’s once, to see Grandaddy, so I make that more than 10 years ago. I remember some frat boy type hopped up on stage to sing along with the band.

(And why do the good shows always have to be on Monday? By the time I’m at the stage where Monday is not a school night, what bands will I even go out and see? Won’t you be able to consume the entirety of Western music via digital input right into your brain, making the creation of new music pretty much useless by then?)