Below are the 10 most recent journal entries recorded in angelspaul's LiveJournal:

Tuesday, December 26th, 2006
5:36 pm	Major League Baseball – 2006 Attendance Trends II Major League Baseball established a single season attendance record for the third consecutive season, more than 76 million attended MLB games for the first time in Major League Baseball history. The first part of SBN’s look at attendance trends (focusing on the 2006 season, while at the same time looking back at the last five seasons for each respective franchise), looked at the New York Mets, New York Yankees, Los Angeles Dodgers, Los Angeles Angels, San Diego Padres, Milwaukee Brewers, Pittsburgh Pirates, Cincinnati Reds, Texas Rangers, Houston Astros, Florida Marlins and Tampa Bay Devil Rays. This is the second of a three part Insider series. Saturday was a great day to be a Detroit Tigers fans. Long suffering Tigers fans experienced the joy of having their team win their American League Divisional Series against the New York Yankees. For the Tigers, winning on the field in 2006 resulted in a great deal of success at the box office. The Tigers sold 2,595,937 tickets at Comerica Park, an average of 32,048 fans per game or 79.9 percent of capacity this year. The Tigers won 95 games, claiming the AL Wild Card playoff spot. The Tigers winning season was the teams’ first in 13 seasons. Since the 1992 season, the Tigers finished third three times, fourth five times, fifth five times and sixth once. Winning and losing has had a tremendous impact on the Tigers box office – a great example of how important winning is to selling tickets. The Tigers moved from Tiger Stadium to Comerica Park at the start of the 2000 season. The Tigers sold 2,533,753 tickets, an average of 31, 280 fans per game in Comerica’s first season. The Tigers won 79 games that year, won 66 games in 2001. The Tigers experienced a significant drop in attendance in 2001, selling 1,921,305 tickets, an average of 24,016 fans per game or 60.0 percent capacity. The one year drop in attendance – 612, 448. A year later the Pirates won only 55 games in 2002 selling 1,503,623 tickets an average of 18,795 fans per game 47.0 percent capacity. The Tigers on-field performance hit rock bottom in 2003. The once proud franchise won a major league low 43 games, selling 1,368,245 tickets, an average of fans per game of 17,103 or 42.6 percent capacity. In the four years that Comerica Park was open, attendance had fallen by 1,165,508, an astronomical drop by anyone’s standards. The Tigers won 72 games in 2004 an improvement of 29 wins over 2003. Winning 29 paid off at the box office – selling 1,917,004 tickets, averaging 23,962 fans per game or filling 59.7 percent of Comerica’s seats. The Tigers won 71 games last year and had a better year at the box office (compared to 2004) selling 2,024,505 tickets, averaging 25,306 fans per game or 63.1 percent capacity. Bottom line, in Motown the Tigers winning means more tickets will be sold. Billy Ball has driven the Oakland A’s to winning records, and home field advantage as long as the A’s stay alive in their drive to win the 2006 World Series. The A’s have had a winning record since the 1999 season, winning the 2002, 2003 and 2006 American League West titles. Over the last eight seasons the A’s have averaged 93 wins per season. The A’s sold 1,976,625 tickets in 2006, an average of 24,402 fans per game. Over the last eight seasons, the A’s have averaged 1,996,330 fans per season. The A’s announced prior to the start of the 2006 season they would cover McAfee Coliseum’s upper deck for the teams’ entire home schedule, decreasing the stadiums capacity by more than 10,000 seats, to 34,077 seats. The seats have remained covered with huge tarps with the team's logos. For the A’s the rationale was simple, the law of supply and demand. Decrease the capacity, regardless of who the A’s where playing and drive demand. The A’s where steadfast throughout the regular season and have kept the policy in place for the ALDS games against the Minnesota Twins. The A’s could have sold those tickets for Friday’s ALDS clinching game against the Twins but choose to follow their policy, turning away 10,000 potential ticket buyers. A’s managing partner managing partner Lewis Wolff has announced the policy will remain in affect for the American League Championship series. If the A’s win the American League pennant MLB is expected to insist the A’s open the upper deck. World Series revenue is shared and helps determine players’ playoff and World Series shares. Giving away the revenues from 10,000 seats isn’t a good business decision. The A’s 2006 opening day payroll -- $62,243,079 (21st overall). The A’s 2005 payroll -- $ 55,425,762 (25th overall). The A’s 2004 payroll -- $ 59,425,667. The A’s 2003 payroll -- $ 50,260,834 . The A’s 2002 payroll -- $ 40,004,167. The A’s 2001 payroll -- $ 33,810,750. Billy Beane has spent a shade over $301 million on the A’s payroll over the last six seasons, an average annual payroll of $50.2 million. The A’s have averaged 96 wins each of the last six seasons. Compare what Billy Beane has accomplished to what Brian Cashman’s Yankees have done on an off the field. Cashman has spent $975 million over the last six seasons on the Yankees payroll, an average annual payroll of $162 million (and that does not include the tens of millions of dollars in luxury tax the Yankees have paid above and beyond the teams’ payroll). The Yankees have averaged 98 wins each of the last six seasons. The A’s Bay City brothers, the San Francisco Giants have consistently better attendance numbers since they moved into Pac Bell Park at the start of the 2000 season. The Giants ballpark has undergone one other name change, SBC Park before it was rechristened AT&T Park before the start of the 2006 season. In 2006 the Giants sold 3,130,304 tickets, averaging 38,645 fans per game or 93.0 percent capacity. The Giants won the National League pennant in 2002, losing the World Series to the Los Angeles Angels. In the six years the Giants have played at their new ballpark, the team has averaged 3.2 million fans per game, selling close to 95 of their available ticket inventory. Winning and Barry Bonds have been the driving forces. It remains to be seen if the Giants will sign Bonds for what is expected to be his final MLB season. The Giants paid Bonds $18 million for the 2006 season. Bonds is 21 home runs away from setting a new career homerun record, Barry Bonds is worth at least $10 million to the Giants in ticket sales for the 2007 season. The St. Louis Cardinals moved into Busch Stadium III this year, selling 3,407,104 tickets, averaging 42,588 fans per game or 99 percent capacity (does not include standing room). The Cardinals actually sold more tickets last year 3,491,837, averaging 43,647, but less of their ticket inventory 86.7 percent at Busch Stadium II. The key to the Cardinals – the teams’ average ticket price went up 12.1 percent to $29.78, giving it the third highest average price in the majors, behind the Boston Red Sox and Chicago Cubs. The Cardinals increase in their ticket prices was far smaller than the 50 percent average increase seen in the last ten teams to move into new homes since 2000. The Cardinals, another great example of the law of supply and demand. Create the demand by decreasing the capacity. In the Cardinals case Busch Stadium III’s capacity is 43,975 seats/46,861 with standing room. The Cardinals sold of their available seats for the 2006 season. Busch Stadium II’s seating capacity was 49,676. The Cardinals new ballpark has 5,701 fewer seats, but with higher ticket prices the Cardinals are generating more revenue from ticket sales. Major League Baseball’s two New York franchises sold 7.6 million tickets, the two Los Angeles teams’ 7.1 million tickets. The Chicago Cubs sold 3,123,215 tickets, averaging 39,040 at Wrigley Field or 94.9 percent capacity. The Chicago White Sox sold 2,957,414 tickets, averaging 36,511 fans per game or 89.9 percent capacity. Windy City baseball fans sold 6.08 million tickets in 2006, not quite as impressive as the numbers from Los Angeles and New York but the highest Chicago totals in years. In 2005 the Cubs and White Sox sold 5.4 million tickets, 5.1 million tickets in 2004, 4.89 million in 2003, 4.36 million in 2002 and 4.55 million in 2001. The Cubs made the playoffs in 2003 (the year of the Bartman ball) and the White Sox won the World Series in 2005. It will be interesting to follow the Cubs and White Sox attendance numbers in 2007. Wrigley Field, which cost $250,000 to build in 1914, has a capacity of 41,118. That number allows the Cubs to keep their average ticket price second only to the Boston Red Sox in terms of average ticket price. Again, a classic example of the law of supply and demand. U.S. Cellular Field a.k.a. "The Cell" (formerly Comiskey Park II), has a capacity of 40,615. The White Sox moved into their current ballpark before the 1991 season. It was the last stadium to be built before the Baltimore Orioles opened Camden Yards a year later, featuring the ‘back to the future’ retro look. Before the start of the 2004 season, the White Sox removed eight rows and 6,600 seats from the top of ballpark's upper deck. In the coming days SBN will conclude its look at how each MLB team faired at the box office in 2006 and trends for each teams attendance in the last five years. For Sports Business News this is Howard Bloom (Comment on this)
Thursday, November 2nd, 2006
1:12 pm	DO’S AND DON’TS AND BOOTS AND BLOCKS AND THE BIG WEST PARTY COMES ... With all this spare time as a bi-coastal-once-a-month writer, I have taken up XM satellite radio because they do have the best sports package and they don’t have Howard Stern. Anyhow the Bee Gees were on the other day and that song “Words” reminded me that it is words that really lights the fire of sports of fans. The lyric you might recall is “Its only words, and words are all I have, to take your heart away…” Two recent examples of words, all kind words I should note, came last week when the Beach women’s soccer team shutout Fullerton on a national TV soccer feed and then the women’s volleyball team shut out UCSB. The volley contest was sent out live on the inter-net using the play by play of the Gaucho student radio. In both cases the broadcasters were loaded with glowing notes about the home team, Titan soccer at that stadium meant for American football, and the Gauchos, at the so called Thunderdome. Ironically after their pre-game optimism the electronic reporters could only give kind comments about the Beach gals and pointed criticism for their home teams, CSUF and UCSB. It doesn’t happen often but it sounded awfully good for a change. The queens of the spike play Saturday at former patsy Irvine (8-14) but have to be careful after the Eaters went on the road and won at UCSB and SLO. Fast forward to the present, the Niners did win their half of the Big West title and are top seeds for this weekend’s Big West Women's Soccer Tournament with George Allen watching down on his field. Action begins on Friday when No. 2 seed Santa Barbara meets No. 3 seed Fullerton at 11:00 a.m., while fourth seed Cal Poly battles the top-seeded Beach booters 30 minutes after the conclusion of the first match. Sunday's championship is slated for 1:00 p.m. For the volley queens it was the first time since 2001 they have won at UC Santa Barbara and in a three game sweep with a gallant comeback in game one before they just dominated. Down 25-19 and 28-24, LBSU swiped game one from the Gauchos, 33-31 and then ran Queen Kathy off her own court. This weekend the Beach has to visit UC Irvine on Saturday not normally a scary thought except the Anteaters (8-14, 3-5 Big West), are coming off a five-game win in The Thunderdome and a similar win over conference leader Cal Poly. CATCH UP DUST-Niner men’s volleyball is almost done with their exhibition seasons, whipping USC all weekend at the Mid and now roughing it with a trip to Hawaii for matches today (Thursday) and Friday. One newcomer to note is Dan Alexander who is back on the court after medical miracles but Beach trainers Dan Bailey and Josh Stone. Another medical note comes from the PGA tour where LB Alum Paul Goydos, off the tour for a year plus finished in a tie for 2nd Place at the Chrysler and retain his tour card and up his 2006 earnings to over $890,000 and 97th on the money list. Speaking of moneyed folks, the Los Angeles Angels of St. Louis featuring World Series MVP David Eckstein and a bunch of former Halos must have given owner Arte Moreno a trip to the same psychiatrist that George Steinbrenner visits considering the ones that got away. Back to booting, the Beach Sunday loss to Riverside came about mid week when scoring star Hayley Bolt “rolled and ankle” and had to miss the contest. Tied at 0-0 at the half, the Beach coaching staff emptied the Bench and rested the rest of the regulars. Last add exhibitions, the Mid has a improved scoreboard and some other wrinkles when Larry Reynold’s conference favorite 49ers host Chapman at 7 Saturday night, their only warm up before going to CBE Classic at Stanford November 14th. The ladies of hoop have a for fun tilt against Love and Basketball next Tuesday then help USC open their new Galen Center on Friday November 10. –DR. DAN (Comment on this)
Friday, September 29th, 2006
7:43 am	Trading Deadline Nears... Time is Running Out on Hendry to Screw ... The deadline is 18 hours away as a type this sentence. So far the Cubs have made one trade.. Scott Williamson to the Padres for two mediocre A-ball pitchers. Not exactly something to be excited about, but its better than nothing. This is a prime time for Hendry to set this team up for the future. We have many players with value now that should be traded, and most of those guys probably won't factor into our next legitimate run at the playoffs. With it being a seller's market and a lot of teams that need to make moves, this is a perfect time to do something. However, Hendry hasn't exactly been Branch Rickey the last couple years. In fact he hasn't made a good trade since 2004. Who should Hendry trade you ask? Well here's my list: Aramis Ramirez(especially if reports that he'll opt out of his contract are true) Juan Pierre Jacque Jones Todd Walker Ronny Cedeno Bob Howry Scott Eyre Ryan Dempster Greg Maddux Neifi Perez and Glendon Rusch should be DFA'd right this second. Angel Pagan probably shouldn't be on the 25 man roster either. I'll go through each player with possible desetinations and one(or maybe two) trades I would make with each. Minor league players have their stat page at firstinning.com linked to. Aramis Ramirez. Possible destinations: Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, San Diego Padres, Houston Astros All 3 of those teams think they have a good chance at the playoffs and need a 3B. The Angels are the most appealing team because of their system and that they seem to have failed on going after Miguel Tejada. The Padres really need a 3B too as they're currently deploying the decaying corpse of Vinny Castilla at 3B, but I don't think they really have enough to offer to get Ramirez without seriously hurting their major league team. The Astros also need offense and would be an intriguing trade candidate, especially if Ramirez is set on opting out of his contract. The two offers I would extend: Aramis Ramirez and Ryan Dempster to the Houston Astros for Morgan Ensberg, Brad Lidge, and Jason Lane Aramis Ramirez and Greg Maddux to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim for Brandon Wood, Ervin Santana, and a PTBNL(some low level high ceiling guy). Juan Pierre. Possible destinations: Boston Red Sox, Chicago White Sox, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Minnesota Twins The Red Sox supposedly inquired about Pierre a few weeks ago... probably as a 4th OF/pinch runner, similar to how they used Dave Roberts in '04. That would make some sense for them, but with Pierre's hot streak his price might be too high. The White Sox like the Pierre type players and could use him in CF, especially if they acquire a better LF. Brian Anderson's defense has been great, but I have a feeling they would perceive Pierre's offense to be a huge addition to them. The Angels also like the type of player Pierre is and they don't really have a CF. Figgins is more useful to them when he can play 6 different positions than he is locked into 1. The Twins might be interested if the Hunter/Stewart injuries aren't healing that well. That team also prefers the toolsy/fast type player, so Pierre might be a good fit for them in either CF or LF. My trade offer: Juan Pierre to the Chicago White Sox for Charlie Haeger. Jacque Jones. Possible destinations: Minnesota Twins, Boston Red Sox, Houston Astros, St. Louis Cardinals, San Francisco Giants Jones was a perfect fit for the Yankees until they took the better route and acquired Bobby Abreu for practically nothing. With Nixon's injury tonight, Jones might be a nice option for the Red Sox OF, and the Red Sox would be smart enough to make sure he never got an at-bat against a left handed pitcher again. The other teams could use a decent OF that can play any 3 OF positions and hit for some power. My trade offer: Jacque Jones to the San Francisco Giants for Eddy Martinez Estevez. Todd Walker. Possible destinations: New York Yankees, New York Mets, Detroit Tigers, Oakland Athletics I kind of like Walker.. his offense is good, especially at 2B. But his defense isn't that good and he seems to not be liked very well by the team. He has value to teams that need a veteran 2B/1B that can hit. With Cano hurt, the Yankees could have Walker start in the short term and he'd be a nice bench player for them after Cano comes back. The other teams are pretty much in the same boat, could use his bat to help strengthen their offense and bench incase of injuries. My trade offer: Todd Walker to the Oakland Athletics for Kevin Melillo Ronny Cedeno. Possible destinations: ???? I don't really know who'd want Ronny because he wouldn't be a playoff run acquisition. However, I think he has some value to teams that overvalue AVG and undervalue OBP/SLG. Unfortunately the Cubs are one of them. I'd try to find a team that'd give me something of value for him. The Royals might be a possibility. A small trade for someone like Gathright or a minor leaguer might work. Only trade offer I can think of: Ronny Cedeno to Kansas City Royals for Jeff Bianchi Bob Howry, Scott Eyre, and Ryan Dempster. Possible destinations: Everyone. Everyone needs relief pitchers. Even if they aren't performing well(hello Ryan Dempster). The Reds gave up two quality players and a minor league reliever for two decent relief pitchers. Howry and Eyre have been very good this year and Dempster has.. well he has a lot of saves, which some GMs really like. I've been pleasantly surprised with Eyre, but with how volatile relief pitchers are, and how much Dusty is overworking both Eyre and Howry, I'd rather get high value now then have them flame out next year. Some possible offers: (As mentioned earlier) Aramis Ramirez and Ryan Dempster to the Houston Astros for Morgan Ensberg, Brad Lidge, and Jason Lane Scott Eyre to the Boston Red Sox for Michael Bowden and a PTBNL(Lenny DiNardo perhaps?) Bob Howry and Scott Eyre to the Chicago White Sox for Josh Fields and a PTBNL(low level high ceiling type guy) Scott Eyre and Bob Howry to the New York Yankees for Melky Cabrera and Scott Proctor Scott Eyre to the Detroit Tigers for Wil Ledezma and Clete Thomas Bob Howry and Ryan Dempster to the Atlanta Braves for Joey Devine and Yunel Escobar Greg Maddux. Possible destinations: San Diego Padres and Los Angeles Dodgers. Every few hours it seems like Maddux is either really close to getting dealt or is absolutely not getting dealt. So its hard to say what is really going on, but the Padres and Dodgers are the clear frontrunners and I still think its likely one of them will offer something nice enough to entice Hendry. My offer to each: Greg Maddux to the San Diego Padres for Ben Johnson and Chase Headley Greg Maddux to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Etanislao Abreu and Greg Miller Oh, I forgot about Phil Nevin. Attach him to any deal that might sweeten the pot for the other team. A bench player that can play a few positions(C/1B/3B/LF/RF), albeit poorly, and hit for some power could be useful, plus he won't cost them anything. (Comment on this)
Tuesday, August 29th, 2006
6:35 pm	D-Rays vs. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim Near Disney Land Tidbits The Rays enter this series 41 and friggin' 58, 3.5 games behind the Horioles and 6,242 games behind the Red Hose in the AL East. The Rays are so far behind Boston right now, they should just move the team to Anchorage, Alaska. When the season started, we hoped for a .500 season...Then the goal was to finish ahead of Baltimore in the highly competitive AL East...Now we just want the team to stop embarrasing themselves.The Angelinos are 50-48, in 3rd place in the AL west but only 1 game behind Oakland and a half game behind Texas, both of whom are about as scared as a fastball approaching Vlad Guerrero's thunder stick. After James Shields won his big-league debut against the Angels, on June 5, the Angels have won the last 5 matchups, including a 3-gmae sweep last week. Last time the Devils faced the Angels...no not that time...the last time the Devil RAYS faced the Angels, we got on Halo's Heaven for calling for the promotion of Howie Kendrick, to replace the veteran Adam Kennedy during the penant race. Well, we must eat at least a little crow for that one. Since thenm, Kendrick has been recalled and is platooning at 2B. He has handled himself very well so far, with 3 hits in his first game back and hits in each of his 4 starts and 5 RBI. We still think that Mike Scioscia (one of our all-time favorite players) is too smart and too old-school to give Kendrick very many starts and ABs down the stretch.Speaking Halo's Heaven and platooning. They are now calling for an all-platoon lineup. By all-platoon, they of course mean that Super-Vlad would start against righties and Mega-Vlad would start against southpaws.Vlad, Vlad, Vlad...blah, blah, blah...Juan Rivera has 8 home runs this month and 3 multi-HR games in July.Its good to play at The Pit...The Rays have the 2nd biggest disparity between home and road record in the Majors. They are 24-21 at The Pit and 17-37 on the road. The Twins have a 37-11 record at home and 19-30 on the road. Probable Pitchers Monday, 7:15 et Los Angeles John Lackey, LHP (8-6, 2.93) Devil Rays Jae Seo, RHP (2-8, 5.44) Tuesday, 7:15 et Los Angeles Ervin Santana, RHP (11-3, 4.03) Devil Rays James Shields, RHP (4-4, 5.75) Wednesday, 12:15 et Los Angeles Bartolo Colon, RHP (1-5, 4.55) Devil Rays Casey Fossum, LHP (4-3, 4.84) (Comment on this)
Friday, August 18th, 2006
11:40 am	New Palestinian Craze: US Army Gear Bizarre, for sure. Wearing a green Hamas headband, waving a Hamas flag, swinging a Kalashnikov and chanting for Israel's demise, Bassem Shorah looks to be a prototypical Palestinian militant. His olive green shirt, however, tells a different story. It's a spot-on replica of those worn by soldiers in the United States Army, replete with combat patches and unit designations. Though he's a committed Islamist activist in a movement that denounces the United States for supporting Israel and occupying Iraq, Shorah proudly sports what has become the latest trend in Palestinian street wear: US military apparel. "This is the new fashion in the market," says Shorah. "It's a show of force, because the US army is powerful. It's a symbol of strength and of our refusal to put down arms"... On their television sets these young people see images of US soldiers in Iraq, and they view them as the ultimate symbol of military might... The trend is not limited to clothing. At barber shops across the West Bank and Gaza young Palestinians are demanding what's known as a "Marines," meaning a high and tight crew cut, the kind that is mandatory for US Marines." Similarly, Abu Sim, a rank and file gunman in the Popular Resistance Committees' armed wing, has wrapped the barrel of his Kalashnikov with desert camouflage padding, another nod to US military fashion. "I saw a US Marine sniper on TV doing the same thing," he says. "It's natural to copy the US military because they are powerful and so are we." They even have baby clothes and pink camo with US Army on it for the ladies. Strange. Palestinian militants look up to the US Army moreso than our own Hollyweirdos do, even though it's the Hollyweirdo's freedom that's being guaranteed by the work our brave soldiers do. Most of the Palestinians would gladly kill a US soldier, yet they respect them and revere the job they do. Our Hollywood elitists and ultra-libs like Cindy Sheehan, Susan Sarandon, and Sean Penn hate our soldiers, libel our soldiers, slander our soldiers, and then abuse the rights those soldiers protect every day. All of this proves one thing: Gaza is cooler than LA. I think the next NFL franchise should go to Gaza, instead of Los Angeles. Or, maybe the Los Angeles Angels baseball team could play a few home games in Gaza, like on the Fourth of July, when the crowd in Gaza is certain to be more patriotic than half of LA would be. (Comment on this)
Friday, August 11th, 2006
10:59 am	Tuesday, break of day The proxy fight between Axciom and ValueAct is over. Jeff Ubben, chairman of the San Francisco based investment company, will get a seat on the Axciom board of directors, and another ValueAct nominee will run for an open seat this fall. Axciom’s shares were up 27 cents to $24.76 Monday in trading on the Nasdaq exchange. Twice the average volume of shares was traded. The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences has named Dr. Debra Fiser to be its next dean of the College of Medicine. Longtime Cabot residents have argued that impact fees on new real estate development are the only fair way to ensure that new development helps shoulder the burden that growth places on streets, parks and other city services. A hearing last night, attended by a crowd packed into the council chambers, was designed to allow residents to speak their mind on the proposed fees under consideration by the council at its next meeting Aug. 21. The Russellville Courier reports lawsuits and courtroom maneuvers dominate a dispute about river water. This particular battle has positioned City Corp., Russellville's nonprofit water utility, and the city of Russellville against what has become a county -- not just a city -- issue in Dardanelle and Yell County. At issue is City Corp’s plan to move its’ outflow discharge to the center of the Arkansas River. Hot Springs has hedged its bet with Mid-Arkansas Water Alliance, securing more water from Lake Hamilton’s owner, Entergy, while the alliance seeks a long-term solution to the region’s water woes. At the rate Charleston residents are using water, the Franklin County town’s supply will run dry in less than two months. As a last resort, the city could turn to Engineer Lake on Fort Chaffee, four miles west of Charleston. Irrigation pipes and a series of pumps could transport water to the city. Former Bono Police Chief Rick Duhon is facing six years in prison after he entered a negotiated guilty plea to first-degree sexual assault Monday Duhon was charged with the offense Jan. 12 after Arkansas State Police investigators acted on a tip from the agency’s child abuse telephone hot line. The tip alleged sexual misconduct between Duhon and a 14-year-old Bono girl. He could have received a 30 year sentence. Pulaski County Circuit Judge John Langston set aside jurors’ recommendation that 34-year old Raymond Dwight Powell serve 40 years in prison and instead levied a 70-year term that requires the divorced father of two to serve almost 35 years. The jury found him guilty of raping a 9 year old girl, computer exploitation of a child and distributing, possessing or viewing matter depicting sexually explicit conduct involving a child - convictions that could have put him away for life. A Lonoke County man is behind bars for allegedly sexually assaulting and raping his five year old step-grandaughter. 52 year old Tony Harp is charged with twenty counts of second degree sexual assault and five counts of rape. Harp orally and digitally penetrated her," according to the sheriff’s department. A lawyer for the National Wildlife Federation has accused the U.S. Corps. of Engineers of trying to "short-circuit environmental review" of construction plan for the $319 million Grand Prairie irrigation project halted by a judge's order last month. On Friday, the Corps filed a motion asking U.S. District Judge Bill Wilson to clarify his ruling, and to allow work to continue on a pumping station along the White River at DeValls Bluff. Wilson granted a temporary injunction to stop construction pending more study of the project's effect on the newly rediscovered ivory-billed woodpecker. Parents, students, and the Paron community met at a local church last night to figure out what's next for the school. Two weeks until school starts, and students in Paron still don't know where they're classes will be. Paron High School is closed right now, but a judge could still decide to re-open it before the first day of school. A hearing is scheduled later this week. A computer at the Department of Finance and Administration is sending car tag renewal notices to outdated addresses, and it may have been doing it for several months now. Officials are working to fix the problem. The National Center for Toxicological Research plans its 35th anniversary celebration beginning at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday. U.S. Sens. Blanche L. Lincoln and Mark Pryor and U.S. Rep. Mike Ross will each briefly speak on the role of the NCTR in science and the Arkansas community. Wal-Mart is raising starting pay at a third of its nearly 4,000 U.S. stores by an average of 6 percent and introducing wage caps for the first time on each type of job in all stores. The nation’s largest private employer says the changes would help it remain competitive with other retailers and meet a need for workers and managers as it continues to expand. The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim have announced a two-year extension of their affiliation with the AA-minor-league Arkansas Travelers. The Travs are scheduled to begin play in a new stadium in North Little Rock in 2007. (Comment on this)
Thursday, August 3rd, 2006
6:00 pm	AL Trade Grades! In what will likely be the longest post yet on this thing, I intend to recap the trading season for each team and assign arbitrary letter grades based on a non-existent rubric. Sounds awfully like AP Government, doesn't it? AL East Boston Red Sox Staying put: Coco Crisp, Jon Lester, Craig Hansen, Manny Delcarmen, Wily Mo Pena (On a side note, how high up on the awesome scale would it be if we started calling Manny Ramirez Captain Crunch? We'd need a cereal name for Trot Nixon and Wily Mo Pena, too, but it'd be the greatest outfield ever. Or you could go a different direction and add Milton Bradley. Of course you'd need another novelty-named outfielder as well. Nominations?) The Red Sox failed to answer the Yankees' big move and it may cost them dearly. GM Theo Epstein is one of the most inventive minds in the game and as the deadline neared, names such as Miguel Tejada, Andruw Jones, and even Roger Clemens were thrown around. In the end, however, the Red Sox refused to give up more than one of their young flamethrowers. It should be noted that they are in first place and therefore are doing something right. But when the elephant in the room sharpens its tusks, it's wise to invest in better armor. Grade: C- New York Yankees Coming in: Bobby Abreu, Cory Lidle, Craig Wilson Going out: Shawn Chacon, prospects Staying put: Alex Rodriguez, Melky Cabrera, Scott Proctor The Yankees were very clearly winners. Chacon was a below average pitcher who will not help the Pirates now or over the next few seasons. The prospects they surrendered for Abreu and Lidle were not among their very shallow pool of elite youngsters. What it really came down to for the Yankees is their willingness to take on the bad contract of Abreu. They got away with underpaying for Abreu in prospects because the Phillies knew that no other team would assume the millions owed Abreu over the next two seasons. One of the unique things about Abreu is his willingness to take pitches. He averages 4.47 pitches per at bat, which leads the majors. Assuming Sheffield and Matsui return, opposing pitchers would need to throw (on average) 34.79 pitches to get through the lineup once. Come September, when arms are tired to begin with, the Yankees will have a tremendous advantage in getting deep into other teams' bullpens. All of this and Lidle might end up being the most important player the Yankees acquired. Grade: A Toronto Blue Jays Coming in: Jeremy Accardo Going out: Shea Hillenbrand, Vinnie Chulk The Blue Jays did a good job with the Hillenbrand situation, unloading him on the Giants while upgrading a right-handed arm out of the bullpen. However, they're not going to catch the White Sox or Twins in the wild card chase and did not make any moves to significantly improve their quest for the division title. Grade: C+ Baltimore Orioles Staying put: Miguel Tejada, Jeff Conine, Rodrigo Lopez, Mediocrity They didn't move Tejada, even though a sweet deal was on the table from the Angels (Ervin Santana and Erick Aybar). One of the most consistently frustrating motifs in the big leagues is a team saying it wants to rebuild and not committing to the effort. It's a process that you really need to buy into for three or four seasons and requires patience. Here's a great example of a team doing the exact opposite. By all accounts, Santana and Aybar are going to be very good major leaguers for a long time and are young and inexpensive. Tejada's a great player; one of the very best there is. But he's not going to help resurrect the franchise overnight. Why can't teams buy into the Twins and A's philosophy? The O's could have saved a lot of cash and infused their core with some young talent. Instead, they're stuck in the mud. They didn't even deal off spare parts (Conine, Lopez, etc.) to give their system some depth. Grade: F+ (Only avoided an F because Tejada is so good and it's not a terrible thing to have him in your lineup and in the clubhouse) Tampa Bay Devil Rays Coming in: Prospects, JP Howell Going out: Aubrey Huff, Julio Lugo, Joey Gathright Great trade season for the Rays. If it's August, it means they're mathematically eliminated and playing for nothing. It makes spinning off veterans with some value the right choice, which is exactly what they did. They acquired five solid prospects in these deals, and if one turns out to be an above-average major leaguer, July 2006 was a rousing success for the unnoticed but improving D-Rays. Grade: B+ AL Central Detroit Tigers Coming in: Sean Casey Going out: Prospects, and Chris Shelton by virtue of adding Casey I've already hit on the Casey deal, which I think is mediocre. But when you're the best team in baseball, you can afford to stand pat and hold on to your top prospects. They are going to make the playoffs regardless of adding Soriano or Lee, and if nothing else, Casey is one of the most universally respected and well-liked guys in the game; great for the clubhouse. Grade: B Chicago White Sox Coming in: Mike MacDougal Going out: Prospects Staying put: Brandon McCarthy The White Sox intend to win it all again this year, so Kenny Williams overpaid for the fragile fireballer by giving up top LHP prospect Tyler Lumsden and another farmhand. The White Sox failed to address their need for anything resembling offense out of center field. That automatic out could really burn them in the playoffs. Reference every single Houston Astro not named Biggio, Berkman, or Burke. However, they were wise not to trade stud RHP Brandon McCarthy. Grade: B- (would be much worse if the Twins would have done ANYTHING important) Minnesota Twins Coming in: Prospect Going out: Kyle Lohse Staying put: Torii Hunter The Twins swindled the Reds out of Zach Ward, giving them only a well-below average pitcher in return. However, Ward will not help this year. Though they have a formidable rotation (which only stands to get better when super prospect Matt Garza comes up) and a trio of dangerous hitters, adding a big bat would have made them the favorite to win the wild card and a serious World Series contender. Grade: B Cleveland Indians Coming in: Hector Luna, Shin Soo-Choo, prospect Going out: Ronnie Belliard, Ben Broussard, Bob Wickman Staying put: Aaron Boone, Jake Westbrook This year has been a big disappointment for Cleveland. Their deals should provide a little optimism, especially the acquisition of Luna. Luna does everything Belliard does and is younger and cheaper. Soo-Choo has a chance to be decent and Wickman was a spare part. It's never fun to be a team that should have contended, but you gotta play the cards you're dealt. Grade: B+ Kansas City Royals Coming in: Ryan Shealy, Jorge De La Rosa, Odalis Perez, Joey Gathright, Scott Dohmann, and a Whitlock-sized portion of prospects. Going out: Matt Stairs, JP Howell, Elmer Dessens, Tony Graffanino, Jeremy Affeldt, Mike MacDougal, Denny Bautista Staying put (for now): Reggie Sanders, Mark Grudzielanek, Mark Redman The Dayton Moore era has begun with a bang, and this is first time the city has reason to be truly excited about the Royals in two decades. In a matter of months, the Royals have rid themselves of dead weight and managed to win every single deal they've made. They have finally given their farm system enough depth to develop its players without rushing them and are positioned to actually improve systemwide for the first time in a generation. Fantastic job thus far by Moore, and if they can stick to the course, avoid high-priced veterans, and pay the right guys when they're ready to be paid, they will contend some time in the next five years. Grade: A+ AL West Oakand Athletics Staying put: Barry Zito In my opinion, holding on to Barry Zito was a bad idea. Yes, they're in first place and could make the playoffs. And no, they wouldn't have a shot without Barry Zito. However, ace or not, the A's are dead meat in October and can't match up with any of the contenders from the other AL divisions. Billy Beane had a chance to add great young talent and failed to do so. Grade: C- Anaheim Angels (Note: It is the policy of the author of this blog to refer to this organization by the name of the city in which it plays and from which it draws its income. The title 'Los Angeles Angels' is incorrect in every possible fashion. California Angels, America Angels, World Angels--all would contain much more truth than this travesty of a name. Furthermore, it is utterly ridiculous that A) The franchise banks on another city's name but does not financially compensate the city and/or county of Los Angeles for any benefits it receives due to the club's fraudulent actions and B) The franchise's 'fans' are not outraged that the team itself pays a great disrespect to its clientele, implying that Anaheim is not a good enough city to support Major League Baseball.) Staying put: Howie Kendrick, Ervin Santana, Erick Aybar The Angels did their best to put together a package to land what would have been the biggest catch of the market, Miguel Tejada. In the end, the Angels decided that trading away the farm for a player that did not want to play third base (where he would be needed) was not a good move. This was the smart decision in the long run, but it greatly damages the Angels' chances of contending this season, especially given the flurry of activity by the Texas Rangers. Grade: B Texas Rangers Coming in: Carlos Lee, Matt Stairs, Kip Wells, Nelson Cruz Going out: Kevin Mench, Francisco Cordero, Laynce Nix, prospects Staying put: Hank Blalock A good trade season for the Rangers. They essentially turned two B- outfielders into a B+ and a C by throwing out-of-favor closer Francisco Cordero into the mix. Lee is a one-trick pony (power) but the one trick is pretty damn good and figures to show even better in Arlington. Stairs is a great left-handed bat off the bench (as well as a fantastic clubhouse guy) and Wells should at least eat some innings. In a division that's there for the taking, the Rangers ponied up without sacrificing the future. Grade: B+/A- (Would be a clear A- if they hadn't proposed trading Blalock for Brad "Lunchmeat" Lidge) Seattle Mariners Coming in: Ben Broussard, Travis Chick Going out: Shin Soo-Choo, Eddie Guardado Staying put: Adrian Beltre Treading water. The Mariners aren't going to do anything this season. Average, blah, nothing to write home about. Easy to score this one. Broussard and Chick are both going to be fringe players, and Choo-Choo Train and Everyday Eddie are nothing too notable in a lost season. Grade: C There you have it, the AL. This took way longer than I expected and might be the most thoroughly researched piece I've done. I'm going to do the NL. I'll start today, but I'm not going to post it incomplete, so it probably won't be done until tomorrow. Sometime after that comes out, I'll do a game-wide recap and look at how the trades impacted the game as a whole and we'll try to identify some trends based on the activity. Have fun in the sun! (Comment on this)
Monday, July 31st, 2006
9:58 pm	Angeles Los Restaurant Angeles Los Restaurant Restaurant Los Angeles, Mexican Restaurant Los Angeles, Italian Restaurant Los Angeles, Chinese Restaurant Los Angeles, Japanese Restaurant Los Angeles restaurant los angeles Our online restaurant reservations can secure your table and confirm yourreservation 24 hours a day! Los Angeles Real Estate View the entire Los Angeles Los Angeles Attractions and Tours A guide to the city of Los Angeles , its arts and culture, entertainment, restaurants,music, Restaurant Reservations · Los Angeles Maps and Brochures Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim : Ballpark : Angel Stadium of Anaheim The Los Angeles Angels played at Wrigley Field in 1961 and Chavez Ravine from The Diamond Club (an upscale restaurant with outdoor seating on the field Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim : Ballpark : Angel Stadium of The Knothole Club restaurant is located on the Club Level by the Right Field foul If you don't want to miss a single game at the ballpark, then Angels mexican restaurant los angeles The film, shot in Los Angeles , was significant for being one of the first to of Barranca") - the restaurant that he also owns is a combination saloon, Los Angeles Map - Los Angeles Maps and Visitor Information Los Angeles maps and visitor information: Visit TripAdvisor, your source for theweb's If you own a restaurant in this location, you can list it here. [PDF] PANDA RESTAURANT GROUP RAISES $300000 FOR LA COUNTY NON-PROFITS AT File Format: PDF/Adobe Acrobat - View as HTML Los Angeles Hotels: Read Hotel Reviews, Compare Hotel Prices, and Get information and find the best deals on Los Angeles Hotels, Resorts, Motels, Le Meridien at Beverly Hills is centrally situated on Restaurant Row, italian restaurant los angeles Hop Li Seafood Restaurant 10974 West Pico Boulevard Los Angeles CA 90064 Islands Restaurant . Fine Burgers and Drinks. West Los Angeles Today's Top Breaking News Headlines for San Francisco and the bomber killed more than a dozen people at a restaurant in downtown Baghdad. Cain's 1-Hitter Brightens Bonds Quest · Dodgers Sweep Angels As Lowe Western Knight Center for Specialized Journalism Walt Disney Concert Hall, Patina Restaurant , 111 S. Grand Ave Tour of Walt DisneyConcert Hall; Leticia Buckley and Josephine Ramirez of the Los Angeles Osetra Restaurant OpenTable: Restaurant Reservations. Right this way. Guests will enjoy watchingas "Wine Angels " fly through the air to retrieve bottles from the wine Chef Joachim Splichal's Restaurant Pinot Hollywood and The Martini Named "Star Among Newcomers" in Gourmet magazine's restaurant issue and one ofthe "Best New Restaurants" by Los Angels Magazines, Pinot Hollywood chinese restaurant los angeles The Club Tropical is the new home for The Los Angeles Tango Trio, where they'llbe playing each week. Neal La Grange cross-street behind the restaurant . 2000 Program Allison Varzally, University of California, Los Angeles The 'Typical' CommunityCollege Student" Barbara Stites, Los Angeles City College Anaheim Orange County California Autry National Center in Los Angeles 4700 Western Heritage Way 21 Oceanfront Restaurant 2100 West Oceanfront Newport Beach, CA 92663 949/673-2100 Mayor Sam's Sister City - Home of Los Angeles Politics: 07/01/2005 Los Angeles is a magnet for people from all over the world. We've all beento a restaurant and seen the plaques and certificates on the wall. japanese restaurant los angeles Japanese restaurant , angeles japanese los restaura. [PDF] CFSC newsltr r2 File Format: PDF/Adobe Acrobat - View as HTML ChefMoz Dining Guide -- Belgium/Luxembourg/Bastenaken/ Los Angeles Find direct links to restaurant reviews all over the web, or write your own reviewof a Los Angeles . 6 Route d'Arlon 6600 Bastenaken 0032-61216084 LA Observed: Los Angeles media, news and sense of place Kevin Roderick's newsblog primarily about Los Angeles , blogging, and newsreporting. Los Angeles Restaurants - A Tell them you found their Restaurant listing on The Zami Los Angeles Yellow Pages A & W Family Restaurant 8522 Beverly Blvd Floor 8 - Los Angeles , CA (Comment on this)
Saturday, July 29th, 2006
4:51 pm	Anaheim to Appeal Angels Loss In a not unexpected decision, the City Council of Anaheim decided to appeal the verdict in favor of the Angels in the trial of the city's lawsuit against the baseball team over the team's stadium lease. Anaheim contends the trial judge made numerous errors, the most damaging of which include not allowing several city witnesses to testify, not mandating jurors to consider the intent of the parties negotiating the lease and not rejecting the testimony of a former Disney executive who said he envisioned the addition of a second city to the team name but could not recall telling that to city negotiators. In addition, the judge has allowed the Angels, in a post-trial ruling, to market themselves as the Los Angeles Angels with no mention of Anaheim, something the city contends is far beyond what the jury allowed. Anaheim may have a shot on appeal of at least getting an appellate court to narrow the scope of the trial court's rulings. I think the post-trial ruling dropping Anaheim completely from marketing materials seems far in excess of what is permitted under the lease. The city may well have demonstrated at trial sufficient ambiguity to warrant the jury considering the intent of the parties. If the appellate court is convinced that the trial court abused its discretion with respect to that issue, the city may get a new trial out of it. That would be the most it could hope for and that type of home run doesn't happen very often. (Comment on this)
Thursday, July 27th, 2006
10:47 am	Hidden Base Trick Inflames A's-Angels Rivalry Thursday night Frank Thomas socked a walk-off home run to lead the Oakland Athletics to a 7-5 victory over the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. This type of drama has been typical in recent years for these American League West adversaries. However, the Big Hurt’s blast was not the only development to infuriate the Angels on Thursday. The Halos were livid when Oakland pulled the hidden base trick during Orlando Cabrera’s at-bats. The Angels shortstop singled in the 5th and 7th innings to extend his streak of reaching base to 63 consecutive games. The streak is the longest in major league baseball since 1960, passing a 58-game stretch by Barry Bonds in 2003. Statistics on such streaks are incomplete before 1960, but the Elias Sports Bureau has Boston’s Ted Williams with the major league record at 84 straight games in 1949. Some may wonder how a record can be affirmed when statistics from that era are acknowledged to be incomplete. An Elias representative admitted, “Look, we’re praying that we don’t find some nobody who had more than 84. If we throw the name ‘Ted Williams’ out there, no one really questions it.” Since Cabrera doubled off Detroit’s Jeremy Bonderman on April 25, no opponent has managed to keep him off the bases for an entire game. However, the A’s devised a strategy to do just that. They put their plan into practice Thursday night whenever first base was unoccupied during a Cabrera at-bat. Oakland removed first base from the ground and hid it from Cabrera’s view, reasoning that he can’t reach base if he can’t find it. The strategy seemed to work. Cabrera’s two hits came when first base was occupied, so the A’s could not remove it without the runner noticing. He was retired on the other three occasions. In the first inning, Angels manager Mike Scioscia screamed to the umpires that A’s first baseman Dan Johnson had stashed first base under his uniform. When questioned by the crew, the ridiculously bulging Johnson responded, “Noooo... I’m not hiding first base. I’m just… on steroids! Better test me after the game!” The A’s gamesmanship was particularly brazen during Cabrera’s third inning at-bat. Oakland legend Rickey Henderson slid head-first into first base before pulling it out of the ground. Henderson held the base aloft while proclaiming, “I am the greatest base-stealer of all time!” Henderson then dashed off the field while announcing, “Rickey’s gonna take this bag to Cooperstown!” Amazingly, none of the umpires saw any of this. The Angels had suspected that their division rivals might use devious tactics to halt Cabrera’s streak. The Halos kept a watchful eye on Oakland catcher Jason Kendall, who had charged the mound against Los Angeles pitcher John Lackey in an earlier matchup this season. A crafty old catcher himself, Scioscia warned Cabrera that Kendall might try to tie his shoes together while he stood in the batter’s box. With the Angels distracted by Kendall, the A’s apparently felt that they could easily pull off the shenanigans at first base. Tonight the angry Angels will be particularly aware of the activities at first base. First base coach Alfredo Griffin will be on high alert, so the hidden base trick may not be available to the A’s. All-Star Oakland pitcher Barry Zito will have his hands full as he tries to stop Orlando Cabrera’s streak. Unlike the show on Fox, this version of “The O.C.” is not ready for a summer hiatus. (Comment on this)