Lately, much of the talk regarding Cal Basketball has centered on Ben Braun’s job security, or lack thereof.  Many have already given up on this season, if they even had hope to begin with, and the dwindling crowds at Haas expect that the Bears will miss the Big Dance for the third time in four seasons.  Realistically, this team is playing to avoid its third losing season in four years and the hope of an NIT bid, hardly the type of goals that Cal faithful have begun to expect from their basketball team.

Is it time for Ben to go?  A new direction for the program?  Remember, we’re not that far removed from when Braun was a golden boy, a guiding hand in the wake of scandal, one who had to publicly deny that he was interested in other (possibly better) jobs (Minnesota, Michigan).  Braun stuck with us then; are we obliged to return the favor?  Why has this program experienced a downturn, and can it be fixed?  Is this the best we can expect from Cal Basketball?  Will it get better?  Should we expect better?

These are all questions I intend to address over the next couple weeks, as the season plays out.  There are lots of opinions all over the internet and throughout the Cal fanbase, and while I have my own, I’ll leave that aside for now.  Instead, I’d like to open up an in-depth discussion of the relative merits of the program Braun has built.  Most people’s opinions are based upon one or two arguments, and I believe there’s a lot more to this issue, including the larger question of what we should expect from the head basketball coach at a major university, and what the grounds for dismissal should be.

Of course, maybe the Bears go on a 12-game winning streak and win the National Championship, rendering all of my arguments moot.  Somehow, I doubt that will happen.

Part I : The Overall Record
Part II : Ben Ball Is Boring
Part III : Defections and Attrition
Part IV : Expectations
Part V : Comparisons and Conclusion 

Time to check in our three heroes at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis.

ESPN.com

"Auburn RB Kenny Irons needed to regain some momentum after struggling through an injury-riddled senior season, and he did just that by clocking a 4.47 in the 40-yard dash. Ohio State’s Antonio Pittman (4.40), Florida State’s Lorenzo Booker, Cal’s Marshawn Lynch (4.46) and Florida’s DeShawn Wynn (4.46) also helped their respective causes by running in the 4.4-second range in the 40."

Go Marshawn.  4.46 isn’t really outstanding, I think, given some of the other eyepopping numbers we’ve seen, but it’s in line with what we wrote earlier and is certainly fast enough given Marshawn’s hard running style.  Still seems like he’ll be the second RB taken, although I’m starting to get the feeling now that he’ll go to Buffalo to replace Willis McGahee if/when he gets dealt.

SI.com

"Desmond Bishop/MLB/California: Bishop did nothing to dispel the belief that he is just a two-down linebacker. After running a pair of slow 40s which averaged almost 4.8-seconds, Bishop looked stiff and struggled to move in anything other than a straight line."

Whoops.  Still looks like a poor man’s Jeremiah Trotter.  Not that there’s anything wrong with that - just don’t expect him to be lighting up anybody but punters on returns. 

NFL.com

 
24 isn’t horrible, I mean, I can probably do, maybe 5.  (Which is still 5 more than you, I’m sure.)  Put another way, Brady Quinn had 24.  Maybe he really is Superman.

More NFL.com 

"The participation throughout has been fantastic; just about everyone who has been capable of running has run. The only players in the first group of defensive backs who failed to run were hurt.

The 40-yard dash times for the first group of defensive backs were phenomenal. Among the highlights were safety LaRon Landry of LSU running a 4.32, Chris Houston of Arkansas (4.35), Leon Hall of Michigan (4.38), Michael Griffin of Texas (4.41), Tarell Brown of Texas (4.48) and Michael Coe of Alabama State (4.49). Overall, it was a very fast group."

So yeah, no Hughes.  I didn’t know if he was going to run, but it looks like he didn’t.  Given that his chief competition (Leon Hall) to be the first CB taken ran a blistering 4.38, it’s not looking good for our hero.  Then again, Hall was projected to have the same question that Hughes does, which is his top-end speed.  Maybe Daymeion will be able to put up the same kind of showing when it’s his turn to shine.

Zach Brown was in court yesterday.  Here is the Chron blurb.

What really is interesting to me is the quote by Ms. Compost (which is a great name if it is actually real).  Ok, so yeah, You Are Gonna Get Yours could mean 1,000 different things.  But how do you interpret "I Am Going To Shoot You (Expletive)." 

Perhaps Runningwolf just wanted to put the cop in a movie.  Little Miss Sunshine II:  Big Mister ClowdsnRain?  UCPD:  The Motion
Picture?

Perhaps Runningwolf was offering him a circus job where he would get shot out of a cannon.  Perhaps Runningwolf was inviting the cop to a local paintball tournament.  I mean who wouldn’t want to be on ESPN2 at 2:30 in the morning on a weekday night????

Yeah, right. 

So, now the hippies are liars AND hopeful cop killers.  This just keeps getting better and better. 

We need to save the oaks from Runningwolf.  He might shoot them!

And, btw, more great reporting from Carolyn Johnson and the Chron.  Did she even ask Mizz Compost about the other parts of the threat?  Ugh.  He makes a clear threat against the police (caught on tape, btw) and the Chron focuses on the one part of it that is wishy washy and could be talking about St. Francis of Assissi coming back to kick the UCPD in their collective shin.  This is why Cal needs to run a stronger PR campaign.

Got my Cal Football Season Ticket Renewal Notice in the mail on Saturday.  Yup, it’s only February, but it’s already time to shell out a couple hundred bucks for next year’s season.  Blah blah blah great season last year, blah blah couldn’t have done it without the season ticket holders, blah blah blah we want your continued support, etc., etc.  Yawn.  The only thing I wanted to know was how much these tickets were gonna cost me, and that wasn’t included in the letter.  I had to go here (the letter did tell me where) to find out.  Ok, ok, nothing too shocking; I’d have to go back and check my credit card statements, but it seems like about the same price I paid last year (although last year, that included a $50 ’stadium renovation’ fee).

However, I went back yesterday evening and reread the letter, and I noticed something funny:

With fewer seats in the new Stanford Stadium, we will not be able to include that game ticket in the season ticket package. We are still working with Stanford to develop the best policy to allow as many Cal fans as possible to attend the game.

Whaaa?  I know, I know, Stanford greatly reduced their stadium capacity, so I should have seen this coming, but I honestly didn’t.  I hadn’t realized our season ticket base had grown past our Stanford ticket allotment.  Crazy.  Suddenly, this might be a hard ticket to get.  Now, I’m sure there are more than a few season ticket holders that will take the opportunity to skip the game on the Farm, a.k.a. ‘Consecutive Whupping No. 6′, so I don’t anticipate too much trouble getting in myself.  Still, I’m greatly disappointed in this development, not the least of which because it means I’m going to plunk down a bunch of money for season tickets and I’m still going to have to shell out another $60 to get into the Big Game.

So yeah, ticket prices have gone up again (no big surprise), but I don’t mind too much.  If you think about it, reserved tickets for the Tennessee/USC games may end up selling for a lot more than their $66 face value, so I don’t blame the University for getting what they can for them.  It’s this Stanford thing that really has me irked.  I know there’s little Cal can do about it, but between this and the awful USC ticket-buying experience last year, it seems like Cal should be able to better leverage its ticket demand, especially against opponents that are going to return the game the next year.  Maybe I’m spoiled from years of sparsely-attended Cal games with lots of cheap tickets available, but I don’t think so.

Just watched it on NFL Network. Marshawn at the Combine.  Running the 40.  First time, unofficial, 4.52.  Second time, unofficial, 4.49.  About 6th or 7th best.  Peterson ran faster.  Fastest time, 3.32 (IIRC) was Chris Henry of Arizona.  Slower than expected, I think, but Marshawn is not a pure speedster. 

His running style was crazy.  Most people pump their legs as fast as humanly possible during the sprint.  He galloped down the 40 meters with this huge stride.  The announcer (Rich Eisen) made an odd sound when Marshawn started running.  It sounded like an involuntary laugh combined with an attempt to stifle the laugh.  An odd sounding grunt, really.  I think it was because a)Marshawn looked to be running super slow, b)he had a crazy looking style, and c)he personally hates Cal and wants us to fail.  Or mostly just B.  But then Marshawn busts out with a 4.49, unofficial.  So, that’s good.

We’ll have to wait for the official times later, I think.

Marshall Faulk was an announcer and said that Marshawn looks to be a natural back.  He runs with a wide base, which is what you want for a back.  They talked about the differences between manufactured speed and functional football speed.  Marshawn clearly has the latter.

It was good to see Marshawn run.  I hadn’t see him do anything in months.  And to see his legs pump like that brings back great memories.  Especially of the Cal-UDub game when he would juke his legs to make people miss. while maintaing amazing balance and forward speed.  

On NFL Network’s RB big board, they have him listed 2nd behind Peterson.  To be expected.  I think Marshawn will have a better career, though.  Or at least I hope so!   

Part II

Part III 

"There’s a time when the operation of the machine becomes so odious, makes you so sick at heart, that you can’t take part, you can’t even passively take part, and you’ve got to put your bodies upon the gears and upon the wheels, upon the levers, upon all the apparatus, and you’ve got to make it stop! And you’ve got to indicate to the people who run it, to the people who own it, that unless you’re free, the machine will be prevented from working at all!"

            -Mario Savio

This is easily Mario Savio’s most famous quote.  Anytime people talk about Berkeley and the 60s, it usually pops up.  They even have a gaunt Ryan Gosling playing the video of Savio saying it in the depressing movie “Half Nelson.”  And I am sure that the protestors sitting in the trees right now (unless the removal of their encampment has caused them to finally depart) know it backwards and forwards.  They might even think that their actions are on the same level as Mario’s.  It wouldn’t be the first time.  In my 4 years at Cal, I saw legions and legions of “activists” seemingly more interested in stroking their own ego as the “next Mario Savio” than say, actually causing some real change in the world.  After all, if RunningWolf and his cadre of merry tree-sitters wanted to really stop the progress of the stadium upgrade, don’t you think there would be better ways than sitting in a tree and lying about anything and everything? 

Perhaps a letter writing campaign or going door to door to explain their personal views to Berkeley citizens might work better.  But no, the professional protesting class seems more fit to wage a guerrilla PR campaign of smoke and mirrors.  Some oak trees planted next to the stadium?  Well, they just HAVE to be ancient old grove oaks.  Court order goes against my enemy even though it in no way involved our arguments and in fact weakened our ability to stay in the trees?  DECLARE TOTAL VICTORY!  A skeleton found with a Mexican coin discovered 80 years ago?  Sacred Indian Burial Ground!  Let’s bring in some local Native Americans for a PR opportunity. 

No, the machine that I see here isn’t the UC, which has been on the defensive pretty much since Day 1.  The machine I see here is the professional protesting class still holding on to the last shreds of the 60s.  But that was a different time, a different place.  The “People” came together there, because of direct pressure upon every single Cal student placed by the administration.  It wasn’t Israel-Palestine.  It wasn’t South African Apartheid or Darfur.  It wasn’t Tibet, hanging chads, or Affirmative Action.  It was direct restrictions placed on every single student, keeping them from setting up tables on Sproul Plaza.

To us, today, that seems INSANE.  We’ve seen thousands and thousands of people tabling on Sproul Plaza.  We might have tabled ourselves.  I know I was out there every semester with my fraternity promoting a blood drive.  And if Berdahl had come down and forced us to take off that giant blood drop suit, I’d sure as hell be protesting.  I’m sure you all would be, too. 

But nothing exists like that anymore.  Not only does the Memorial Upgrade plan not restrict the free speech of 30,000 people, it actually has a stunningly large amount of positives.  Not that you’d hear any of them, thanks to the poor PR campaign run by Cal.  Upgrading the facilities will keep Tedford.  Keeping Tedford will (hopefully) keep the team good.  And keeping the team good has a host of positive side effects. 

National prominence for Cal.  People think Cal and Berkeley are two different things.  For some reason, the Berkeley establishment wants to continue this.  Why not be stellar at academics AND athletics?  Why not create a tradition of excellence in academics AND athletics?  Only myopic resistance against growing past the 60s could disagree.  I ask, why not have it all!  In my humble estimation, Cal is the greatest university America has.  If it takes being good at sports to promote that view, then so be it.

Increased civic pride.  When you say I went to Berkeley, how many people have a positive reaction to that and how many have a negative?  How many people wonder why you’re hair isn’t that long?  Or if you have long hair, how many people think that plays right into stereotypes?  People in the rest of the world seem to LOVE Berkeley, but for some reason that isn’t reflected as much in America.  Having a successful football team can change that.

Memories.  I have an amazing set of football-related memories from my 4 years at Cal.  But I was in the marching band.  I practiced hours a week in preparation for the games.  I could not leave and had to go to every game.  But we were alone in that, mostly.  I remember the half empty Memorial stadium.  I remember people leaving by halftime after the band performance.  I remember epic apathy about the football.  I remember the picture in the Daily Cal of that dude holding up the Fire Holmoe sign in a nearly empty student section (he was my roommate, after all……).  Sure, it was great that people focused so greatly on the band when the team was terrible.  But that’s not really the overarching point here. 

Starting with Big Game 2002, the atmosphere at Memorial Stadium has been wholly different.  It has started getting MORE and MORE packed, culminating in record attendance levels this past season.  When you get so many dozens of thousands of people together, the energy level is amazing.  When you rush the field after a hard fought victory (U$C 2003 comes to mind), you never forget.  When you see Marshawn driving the injury cart, you will never forget.  When we finally beat Stanford for the 7^th straight time, you will never forget.  DeCoud’s hit.  That Oregon’s TEs dropped 4^th down pass.  The trick play for a touchdown against Baylor on Tedford’s first ever play.  Marshawn stiff-arming Patrick Chung.  How many of us will ever forget these memories?

I see so many families making the trek up to the stadium.  How many children have been raised at the altar of Pappy Waldorf and Andrew Smith?  How many will be?  How many families bond on a warm fall day cheering on their beloved Golden Bears?  I can only hope that this Memorial Upgrade happens not only so that I can continue to enjoy Cal football in a world class setting, but so that my children and my children’s children can do so.  This isn’t just about you or I, it’s about future generations of California fans who deserve to have the same special memories we have had since 2002. 

Part I

Part III 

Financial windfalls.  This is probably the most important positive side effect of the Memorial upgrade.  I remember the U$C 2005 game.  Well, to be fair, I try to forget the game.  But here I’m talking more about before the game.  I BARTed in early and went from tailgate to fraternity to Bear’s Lair to stadium.  Just all over the place.  And I wasn’t the only one.  There were thousands and thousands and thousands of people (many dressed in red L!) roaming the streets of Berkeley for hours before the game (speaking of just plain crazy energy).  A more successful football team will bring thousands upon thousands of customers to Berkeley businesses on fall Saturdays.  This is especially true since the BART drops you off so far away from the stadium and you have to walk so much.  Who knows?  Perhaps Cody’s woulda stayed in business if Tedford had come a few years earlier. Really, for us fans this is the least important point, unless you happen to own a downtown eatery.  But it is the most important arrow in our quiver of arguments, because the City of Berkeley probably doesn’t particularly care if you have great memories or feel some slight embarrassment if people think Berkeley is crazy.  But they sure do care about the growth of business in the city. 

And remember, this is a city that would rather have major employers such as Cody’s go out of business rather than make a good faith effort to clean up Telegraph.  This is a city that would rather keep fast food employers out of Telegraph Ave than have those jobs and business growth.  It is that whole 60s-obsessed ethos again.  They want it to remain exactly as it was back then even as it gets more and more run down.  Remember, this is a city that would rather keep a patch of drug and homeless infested “park” because 4 decades ago, people had a great week and a half planting long since dead plants.  Yeah, they are really STICKING it to Ronny Regan by keeping the ever so dangerous People’s Park smack dab in the middle of the student ghetto.

I’m not advocating for razing the whole thing and putting up a giant parking structure or some such thing.  Far from it.  Nonetheless, I’m sure there is a middle ground to turn that land into something productive, while still retaining its garden-esque atmosphere and being true to the spirit of the 60s. 

The professional protesting class supports the city in all these anti-growth endeavors.  And, unlike the vast majority of Cal students, they are local, registered, and VOTE.  So, the city ignores the majority to kow tow to a vocal and powerful minority.

And yes, I know exactly what the professional protesting class would say.  In a perfect world, this stunning importance of football wouldn’t exist.  In a perfect world, people would flock to Berkeley to see avant-garde jazz music and Brechtian plays.  I cannot disagree!  Except for the Brecht thing, I hate that guy.  Suck it, Bertold!

Unfortunately, we do not live in a perfect world.  We do not have thousands upon thousands of people flooding Berkeley businesses and bringing their families to bond over a Turtle Island String Quartet performance.  We won’t have people from the Midwest, Northeast, and South respecting Cal, because of its all student-run student government.  The success of a football or basketball team can have many positive effects on a school and local region. 

I don’t understand why the City has such a negative view of the UC.  Is it this imperial arrogance they claim?  Is it this snobbish intellectualism against its athletic pursuits?  Or is it just that it plays better to their constituencies to appear strong to Cal?  I can’t answer that.  What I do know is that without Cal, Berkeley would be a MUCH different place.  It’d be more El Cerrito or Albany than San Francisco East.  Yo Yo Ma and Wynton Marsalis probably wouldn’t come to play each year.  Much fewer Nobel prize winners would probably work here.  And Berkeley’s most well known trait (Land of the Free Speech Movement) wouldn’t exist.  The City cannot keep treating Cal like an unwanted 30,000 person transgression into its hallowed land.  The City has one of the most advanced, forward-thinking, technologically and culturally vibrant organisms smack dab in the middle of itself.  Yet it seems to fight it at every turn. 

I just wish that Cal would run a stronger PR campaign to get the truth out.  Instead you see article after article in the Chronicle, East Bay Express, Berkeley Daily Planet that seem to spread disinformation about the project.  This could be one of the best things to happen to Berkeley, both environmentally, culturally, financially, and nationally.  But because of the limited interests of a vocal minority, we are dangerously close to not seeing it to fruition.      

Part I

Part II 

Finally, before you think I’m some crazy right wing nutjob, here are photos of my parents back in the 60s. 

            My mom was at Woodstock.  My dad owned and operated a healthfood store from the late 60s to mid 70s at the corner of Ashby and Shattuck.  You don’t much more dirty hippy than owning a health food store on a main intersection in Berkeley in the 60s.  My in laws both came to Berkeley in the 70s.  My mother in law even owned and operated a flower shop over in North Berkeley back then, while being a crazy Marxist, too.  Dirty hippies abound in my ancestry. 

            And as far as trees are concerned, both my mom and my mother-in-law are botanists.  I grew up surrounded by a series of botany-oriented home businesses, each one less successful than the last.  After long days at school, I would come home to pruning or weeding or planting or soil distribution.  My mom had 2 greenhouses in our backyard growing up.  Further, as previously noted, my mother-in-law owned a flower shop in Berkeley in the 70s.  Later, my in-laws would own and operate a plant installation business in Miami.  My connection to botany is strong.

            So, I come from a long line of dirty Berkeley plant hippies.  Well, dirty Berkeley plant hippies and Jews.  But until Jon Stewart climbs an oak tree, let’s just focus on the more important aspects here, ok?  I gots me the street cred.  I care deeply about the growth of Berkeley as a local, state, and national city.  I want sustainable growth for our fair city.  One aspect of that growth is maintaining its stark physical beauty.  We get to live, work, and watch Cal football in one of the most amazing settings in the world.  Certainly, none among us want to jeopardize that.  Nonetheless, the positive benefits of this Memorial Upgrade plan FAR outweigh the negative benefits.

            I just hope one Alameda County Judge realizes that. 

            GO BEARS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Big night in Pac-10 basketball last night, as the postseason implications for both the men and the women got a bit clearer.  First, the men:

Crushing second half last night at UCLA, especially after the inspired first half.  Caught the first half on the radio before I had to leave, which was apparently about the same time the Bears decided to take off for the night.  I know the team has been prone to fading in the second half (there’s that lack of depth again), but I was still shocked at how far (and how fast) they fell behind after intermission.

Anyway, this loss was expected.  The real Pac-10 shockers took place in the state of Oregon, where Oregon righted its floundering season by taking down Wazzu, while Washington killed its NCAA dreams once and for all by falling at Oregon State.  Besides solidifying their standing regarding the tourney (Oregon: in. UDub: not so much), Pac-10 tournament seeding starts coming into focus.  UCLA has now all but wrapped up the top spot, while Wazzu has given USC hope of grabbing the second seed.  On the other end of the spectrum, Washington’s loss leaves it in a 7th-place tie with Cal but with a tougher road ahead (@ Oregon, USC, UCLA).  If they can’t win any of those games (and I’m not sure that they can), all Cal has to do to avoid the dreaded 8th spot in the tournament is beat Arizona State.  If the Bears hope to make a tournament run for a last-ditch NCAA bid, avoiding running into UCLA will be key (not that Wazzu or USC would be any picnic as the second seed).

The women, on the other hand, came up with a gutty overtime win over USC last night to clinch the third spot in the Pac-10s and, more importantly, all but punch their NCAA dance card.  I’m proud of these girls:  we could talking about how injuries ruined a promising season (as we are with the men’s team), but instead, we’re talking about a 20-win season and a second straight NCAA tournament appearance.  Good stuff.

The Pac-10 tournament could still be interesting, however.  ASU in a potential second-round matchup is a tough cookie, as Cal hasn’t managed much against them in either meeting this year, but if the Bears can reach the finals, just imagine this scenario:  Cal v. Stanford in San Jose for the tournament title.  How much fun would that be?

Late February is a busy time for Cal sports, as the Winter sports wind down just as the Spring sports being ramping up.  A quick rundown of where some of the bigger teams stand:

 – Gotta start by giving some love to the ruggers.  Big, big win over UBC yesterday.  I would have loved to attend, but the match, just as in previous years, was scheduled for early afternoon on a weekday.  I can’t understand why they wouldn’t schedule this game, always one of the most competitive of the year, for a weekend.  Maybe someone will enlighten me.  Anyway, Cal answered a rare halftime deficit by running off 22 straight points to take the match 32-17, giving them a big advantage in trying to win the World Cup, a trophy most of the rugby team values more than the Scrum Axe.  Huge, huge stuff.

 – Men’s basketball is down in La-La Land to take on UCLA tonight, with ‘SC to follow on Saturday.  No one expects Cal to win either game, which means anything they can grab is a bonus.  Can they build off last week’s momentum?  Can they win in Pauley Pavilion for the third straight year?  Would a marquee win like this catapult them into the NCAA tournament discussion?  I fear the answer to all three questions is ‘no’, though I hope I’m wrong.

 – Women’s basketball is finishing the season at home this week against the LA schools, with the tournament to follow next week in San Jose.  The Bears can lock up the tournement’s No. 3 seed with a win tonight over USC, but I’m not sure how much that helps them.  Yes, they would avoid No. 1 seed Stanford until the finals, but running into No. 2 seeded Arizona State doesn’t seem like much of a bonus, as ASU has soundly defeated Cal in both meetings this season.

Yes, these Bears at least should be in the NCAA tournament, having won 20 games already for the first time in 15 years, but if they don’t pick things up soon, they won’t last long.  They’ve dropped 2 of their last 4, including a 62-42 stinker at Oregon last Thursday, to fall out of the rankings for the first time this year, and they needed 2 overtimes to overcome lowly Oregon State on Saturday.  Time to pick it up, ladies.

 – Baseball season is just underway, and the early returns are mixed.  After running out to a 5-2 start, the Bears have dropped 3 in a row, all by a single run.  In fact, of Cal’s losses, only the 15-6 beatdown at the hands of USF has been by more than a run.  However, the road gets more difficult from here on out.  Tuesday’s game at SJSU began a nearly month-long roadtrip, with games upcoming against Long Beach State, UCSB, Stanford, Kent State, Louisville, Indiana State, and UC Davis.  If the Bears can take a game from nationally-ranked Long Beach State, that’d be a good start.  See you next month.

 – Fortunately, Cal does have some teams with national rankings of its own.  Besides the No. 1 ranked rugby team, women’s swimming checks in at No. 3, men’s swimming at No. 4, women’s water polo at No. 5, men’s gymnastics and women’s tennis at No. 9, and softball at No. 10.  Pretty damn impressive, I’d say.  Go Bears!

is available here.

Just saw it pop up.  Hot off the presses.  It is a good overall summary of his abilities.  I like this line the best:

"Theres no questioning the fact that Lynch is tough, and his running style can best be described as angry."

Angry!  They also think that he might become a NY Giant.  Given my lifelong hatred of the Packers, let it be.  LET IT BE!

GO BEARS! 

I just can’t take it anymore.  I mean, wow.  The latest news in the stadium saga has just gotten weirder, as new claims have surfaced alleging that the stadium and adjacent oak grove are built upon an ancient indian burial ground.  Really?  Seriously?  It’s like I’m watching an episode of ‘The X-Files,’ or maybe ‘Scooby-Doo.’

Apparently, some unnamed sympathizer to the cause alerted Zachary RunningWolf, one of the protesters, of a 1925 survey document which states that human remains were excavated during the original stadium construction.  No ethnic identification of the remains was ever made, and no other artifacts were ever found nearby, and no one ever knew or complained about thie before, but since American Indians did at one time live in the surrounding area, well, RunningWolf can certainly put 1 and 1 together and make 13.  It’s a stretch, it’s a leap, heck, it might even be true (however unlikely).  Still, it’s awfully convenient, don’t you think?

I seriously doubt that this new claim will be the difference in whether this stadium project goes forward.  It’s even more specious and circumstantial than the ‘old growth oak’ claim, with less evidence to back it up.  Still, it’s one more bit of trouble brought to you by hippies with nothing better to do than make trouble for you.  Remember this the next time you think of giving them the rest of your pizza, or toss them a quarter so they can buy some pot.