Oakland Raiders finally show timed passing game

This blog post was written in the head of this blogger before it was obvious the Oakland Raiders were going to win their first 2010 NFL Preseason game, 17 to 9, against the Dallas Cowboys under the Hue Jackson / Jason Campbell offensive regime. Because, even with dropped and tipped passes, what was most interesting and pleasing about the Oakland Raiders, was the real, timed, precision passing attack.

What was impressive was that from the snap of the football, to the quarterback's footwork, to the quarterback's hitch step, to the throw, to the receiver's routes, the Oakland Raiders quarterbacks are obviously drilled in the classic Bill Walsh fashion, with the objective of getting the ball out of the quarterback's hands and to the receiver as quickly as possible as part of a timed set of movements between passer and catcher.

Yes, Jason Campbell completed 7 of 13 passes. Yes, Darrius Heyward-Bey didn't have a catch. But the passes got out of the quarterback's hands with remarkable quickness, and little wasted movement.

It didn't matter if it was Campbell or Carrie Prejean's husband Kyle Boller at the helm, the passing personality was the same. Once the little things like the kind of pass thrown and how high it's delivered are worked out, the Raiders will be ready for what's going to be a good year.

Jamarcus Russell's not the issue

But the entire difference in the Oakland Raiders offense is that it's the most efficient in the passing game it's been since the John Gruden / Bill Callahan era. It's not that Jamarcus Russell isn't there, because if Russell's head was in the game, as some claim it was not, he too would have been part of this new approach for the Oakland Raiders' offense.

What you will pay attention to is what happens when the ball gets to the receiver; what I'm paying attention to is what happens to cause the ball to get to the receiver; that's the big difference in this 2010 team.

Oakland Raiders fans should be excited for what's to come, because with more practice and a clear offensive game plan (it was preseason) the Raiders' passing game will be so hard to defense, it will be lethal.

Indeed, it already is.

The Wizard of OZ, San Francisco Sunday Event: Help Is On The Way

Image via Wikipedia

For some reason, these events go together: today's the 71st Anniversary of The Wizard of OZ and on Sunday, August 15th, at 7:30 PM PDT at The Herbst Theater in San Francisco, REAF, The Richmond Ermet AIDS Foundation holds its 16th annual presentation of "Help Is On The Way" called Help Is On The Way XVI.

Melissa Manchester

It's hard to believe The Wizard of OZ is a full 71 years young.  In fact, it seems timeless.  Music and songs from The Wizard of OZ are etched into my brain, in part because one of my favorite songs to sing at The Alley in Oakland, is If I Only Had A Brain.

 But it is 71 years yound, so it's important to stop
and consider the impact this awesome musical movie has had on American Culture. It has been translated in 40 languages, and been the basis for scores of reinterpretations, including the popular musical, The Wiz.

Which reminds this blogger why the link with Help Is On The Way XVI was made in my pea brain!

Over it history, REAF's Help Is On The Way has featured performers from plays, movies, and musicals like The Wiz.

Here's a video from 2008's pre-event, which includes an auction. But the real story is of the performers and character that are part of Help Is On The Way:



This year Leanne Borghesi, Carol Channing, Davis Gaines, La Toya London, Carole Cook, James Darren, Paula West, Bruce Vilanch, Kimberley Locke, and Melissa Manchester headline the performers as of this writing. And that list expands as we get closer to Sunday.

You can get tickets for Help Is On The Way XVI at 415-273-1620.

Oakland Downtown to pipe-in Muzac at 13th and Broadway?

Image via Wikipedia

Downtown Oakland, CA 

Apparently, the City of Oakland's going to great lengths, almost neurotic, to alter the street culture of Downtown Oakland, but this bit of news is really disturbing. It rests in a Facebook message I just received, and part of which is posted here:

have you heard about some of the ambitious plans of the Downtown and Lake Merritt Business Improvements District boards? Take a look, they want to pipe in shitty soft country musak 24 hours a day at all the corners of 13th and Broadway to drive away "undesireables"

So a visit to this link reveals a Wikepedia page which reads:

In July 2008, landlords in the district voted a parcel tax upon themselves to fund the "Downtown Oakland and Lake Merritt/Uptown Community Benefit Districts" to provide "special security services, cleaning of sidewalks, beautification, marketing and improvement of district identity and organizational services for businesses in the downtown Oakland and Lake Merritt/Uptown neighborhoods." Since early 2009, the districts have provided roving private security “ambassadors” to sweep up litter, help visitors with directions, and provide security support in Oakland’s downtown.[49]
The districts are governed by advisory boards which have discussed plans and desires to displace political demonstrations following the BART Police shooting of Oscar Grant away from Oakland's downtown center of civic life, and an actual change of venue for the murder trial of former BART police officer Johannes Meserle.[50] The board has also discussed plans to spend district treasury funds to erect a permanent memorial for four slain Oakland police officers at 14th and Broadway, and $10,000 dollars per year for a subscription to "round the clock" Muzak to "immediately drive away undesirable people from" three street corners at 13th and Broadway.
The district boards have public relations committees to "feed stories to the press." The committees have recommended "pitching stories to entertainment, business, and real estate journalist (sic), that way crime would not even be part of the scope." The committee also recommended "inviting select reporters to cover the story" of the "Uptown Unveiled" street festival.[50]
[edit]

OK. "$10,000 dollars per year for a subscription to "round the clock" Muzak to "immediately drive away undesirable people from" three street corners at 13th and Broadway."

What?

That's the idea of a racist. That point of view is that, the "undesirables" are the black teenagers who hang out down there, who, because they're black teenagers can't possible enjoy Muzak, so they would not hang out there.

Stupid.

Some of the Downtown Oakland kids are so creative, they'd sample the Muzak with their iPhones, fuse it with E-40 or Eminem, and create a new Oakland music sound. After a time, that part of Downtown Oakland would be a hip place to hang.

Whoever allowed that idea to get out into the open should be fired. Well, on second thought, they should be made to hang out on the corner overnight. It's not as bad as people think; I catch cabs there frequently.

Rather than "chasing away" so-called undesirables, Oakland should spend time getting to know its talented youth culture.

SF Transbay Terminal Ground Breaking marks new beginning

If you follow this space, you recall the long process of working to get a final design for the new San Francisco Transbay Terminal.

The old terminal, slated for demolition, was the hub of trains into San Francisco from the East Bay and using the San Francisco / Oakland Bay Bridge. Then, after trains gave way to cars and buses, it was the terminus of AC Transit Bus Service and San Mateo Transit Service for the East Bay and the North Bay. But with all of that, it had still fallen into a state of deterioration such that it became a blight in the South of Market area of downtown San Francisco.

After the establishment of the Redevelopment Plan in 2005 and a competition, a design created by Pelli Clarke Pelli emerged as the unanimous winner. Here's this blogger's video from the competition and the presentation in San Francisco City Hall in 2007:



Ground breaking marks new beginning

The plan is to take shape over the next seven years and be complete in 2017. I'm certain the vast majority of San Franciscans, let alone people in the Bay Area, have no idea what dramatic change is about to take place in what was once the place that was known as the unofficial parking and transit hub for SOMA's nightlife.

It will consist of a large, 1,000 ft skyscraper, 2,600 housing units, and a giant, elevated urban park unlike anything experienced in America. Indeed, the six-acre park is so large given where it's located, it's more like a much smaller version of Golden Gate Park, but for Downtown San Francisco.

The structure that supports the park will also serve to connect various forms of transit, including the planned extension of CalTrain from next to AT&T Park, and become - this space' prediction - the new place for Bay Area teenagers to hang out. (Try taking a cyber walk around to see what I mean.)

Grand Central Station

"Today, in breaking ground on the Transbay Transit Center, we are opening a new chapter in that history of progress," Speaker Nancy Pelosi said. "We are coming together to create jobs and revitalize our economy, and we are laying the first building blocks of a new 'Grand Central Station of the West.'"

Speaker Pelosi's right. The SF Transbay Terminal project will create 48,000 new jobs during its construction phase, but once finished, will transform Downtown San Francisco in a way that perhaps has not been fully considered.

"This is one of the most important and transformational public transportation projects in America. Once the dust has settled, San Francisco’s skyline will be transformed - as will transportation, housing, and employment choices for people across the Bay area and beyond," said United States Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood. The U.S. Department of Transportation and the Federal Railroad Administration are proud to contribute to the first phase of this effort."

"This is a historic day for San Francisco and for the entire State," said San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom. "History will write that High-Speed Rail and a new engine for job creation and economic growth in California began today, with the groundbreaking of this project. It is a culmination of decades of planning to fulfill our City's vision of leading the nation as a transit - first City and a hub of a modern High - Speed Rail system."