The San Francisco 49ers annouce they're going to move -- or try to move -- to Santa Clara (and to a parking lot and an area rife with environmental impact issues).
SF Mayor Gavin Newsom says he will fight to keep the 49ers in San Francisco, and to that end, he's already dispatched SF City Attorney Dennis Herrera to build a case that will do so.
Meanwhile, Lew Wolff annouces a deal to move the Oakland A's to Fremont, and Oakland Mayor-Elect Ron Dellums (yep, I'm calling him out since Jerry's now Attorney General) and Oakland City Council President Ignacio De La Fuente do nothing. In fact, De La Fuente thinks there's nothing that can be done.
Boy is he wrong.
At about this point, I'd give the free advice that Alameda County Supervisor Scott Haggerty told me I was giving and Ignacio told the SF Chronicle he doesn't listen too, but I'm not gonna do that. Instead, I'm going to rag on both Dellums and De La Fuente for a lack of pride and a poor attitude.
Look, your first job is to protect Oakland. That means saving the A"s and in a way that benefits the city. Don't tell me all of the options have been explored because I've got all the paper work and know that's not true. I'm not solely blaming the two of you, I'm also getting after Lew Wolff for being less than honest in his commitment to Oakland. He basically didn't try, but I've got to tell ya, it didn't help that you, Ignacio, were constantly making terrible comments in the press, like the one where you said you didn't have time for the A's.
Think Lew didn't see that one? Ha!
Oakland's got to get it together. It's almost as if you all don't want to do any real roll-up-your-sleeves work. I know that's a harsh comment, but I'm trying to light a fire under you all. We can craft a viable alternative deal.
Or if not, at least keep the image of the Oakland A's for ourselves.
And here's one free suggestion: make sure the organization's name remains "The Oakland A's" otherwise you will lose about $30 million in free marketing Oakland's enjoyed from the Oakland A's. Think about it, every time you hear "Oakland A's" on TV or Radio or see it online, that's free marketing for Oakland worth $30 milllion each year.
Keep it.
Comments