The Vig

As you’ve no doubt noticed by now, I’ve decided to begin advertising here.  I’ve no idea where it will take me nor do I have any idea who would want to reach you wonderful readers.  But there it is.  I have one Google strip and one Blogads strip, which will hopefully get some local play.  We shall see.

Anyway, it’s been pointed out to me that there’s a big ugly John McCain ad in my Google strip.  It’s led some to wonder whether I’m with Barry or with The Decider 2.  Clearly I’m with Barry and have been for two years now.  I don’t choose who Google places in the ad strip.  I simply give them space, they give me a few pennies.  That’s really about the extent of our relationship.

If you’ve spent any time on other lefty blogs around the country, you’ll find a great many of them also carry advertising for politicians and books and such that they don’t agree with.  Heck, sometimes they blast those very products.  But they take the money.  As do any number of TV and radio programs.  Its just how it works.

So if you see an ad on my blog, thanks for noticing.  If it interests you, do click on it and find out more.  Please, however, remember that just because someone advertises here doesn’t mean I endorse them.

Thanks.

This picture just showed up in my inbox.  Looks like there’s a new member of the Big Three.  It’s difficult to believe Oden wasn’t originally supposed to be in here.  Maybe I’m wrong.

Fantastic.

The new Hawks ownership sure know how to make an impression.  If you were at Buffalo Wild Wings this afternoon, you know what I’m talking about.  There were jerseys and video screens everywhere.  Even the wait staff had Hawks jerseys on.  And the spread…wow.  When/if we relaunch the Monday night coach’s shows, can we please have them there?

What J³ had in huckstership, the new guys have in gravitas.  These guys are serious about both business and winning.  No one was running around in hockey helmets or pajamas.  It was jacket and tie for everyone.  There’s a difference to this.  I remember Goldsmith’s catch word was “winner”.  These guys are champions.  They may not have rings, but they carry themselves professionally and expect those around them to do the same.  This will eventually permeate the entire organization.  And when you carry yourself like that, you win.  You just do.

New coach/GM Mike Johnston also impressed me with his focus on speed, intelligence, and skill. He promised his team would compete. That’s all you can ask. And when you break down the game to essential elements like that, it becomes much easier.  Everything gets filed into one of those slots, and when they’re brought together, it’s something special.  This team is going to be fun to watch.

One fun fact I picked up before I went over this morning.  Have you checked Travis Green’s Wikipedia page?

Green also has won over $345,000 in poker tournaments, including events at the World Series of Poker.

I asked him about it while stuffing my face with wings.  While he didn’t want to get into specific dollar amounts, he did confirm he’s had some success at the poker table.  Talking with him, you quickly discover it’s not the gambling aspect of it that does it for him. It’s the math and the probabilities.  He quickly sizes up the situation and acts on it.  A cerebral dude.  A cerebral dude who’s never heard of Wikipedia, by the way.  So take that for what it’s worth.

The other news was the front office.  I assumed there would be further reductions and reorganizations there.  I figured ticketing and promotions would go next door to the Blazers.  Turns out I was wrong.  According to Vondersmith, they’re planning to beef up the staff by 2 or 3x.  I would assume this includes ticket and sales agents.  Very interesting.

The Blazers and Vulcan don’t seem to have nearly as big of a role, at least initially, as I would have thought.  They’re going to be on the “advisory board”, the sound of which reminds me of the Patterson-era Blazers.  No one seems concerned about the lease.  It’s all about putting fannies in the seats.  And I think that’s about right.  Had J³ lifted a finger to help themselves, Global Spectrum and the Blazers would have been happy to help out.  So while nothing will get done immediately, I think it will.

The video screens don’t seem to be a priority at the moment.  I do wonder if Gallacher has seen them yet in their full glory.  Champions don’t allow things like that to stick around for long.  They might do well to just turn them off.

It was good to see Mucha, Ross, and Ehrhardt there.  The players have been through a lot this season.  While I haven’t talked to any of them, it does seem they’re looking forward to the change.  And did I hear Tayler Jordan is back in town?  I’m not sure if that’s the bigger shock or the fact Francis and Brock Cornish are here too.  Funny what a change at the top can produce.  I hope they’re ready to go to work.

Oh come on, like a part of you didn’t expect this.

I left the Republican party five years ago on the day I was told I was no longer wanted.  No one from the party came over to my house with excommunication papers or anything, but there was a moment when I knew I was no longer one of them.  And as time has gone on, more people have left, and as they’ve left both the blogosphere and the talk show hosts have said “good riddance”.

After five years of this, the “conservative” pool has shrunk greatly from what it was at the turn of the century.  Eventually there’s going to be a critical mass of these center-right conservatives who’ll storm the Republican party castle and take back the party.  This won’t happen for at least another four years, as the conventional wisdom among the talk radio intelligentsia is that McCain was never really one of theirs’.  They’re going to get behind either Palin or Romney in 2012 and go down Goldwater-style.  You think this one is going to be bad.  Just wait.

And it will be due in large part to the fact they’ve so narrowly defined who can be a true American and who can’t, that most voters don’t meet their definition.  For whatever reason they don’t see it.

I was reminded of this while reading Kari Chisholm’s post this morning entitled You can’t be a progressive unless you’re pro-labor.  Is this how he wants to start expanding on this coalition he’s worked so hard to help build?  By already casting out those with whom he disagrees?  Boy oh boy.

The good folks of organized labor are the only people putting substantial and sustained resources into fighting for progressive policies.

If we didn’t have organized labor fighting for progressive policies and Democratic candidates, we’d have lost the battle long, long ago.

So the netroots are actually organized labor? The millions of Obama contributors and those who’ve worked tirelessly to defeat Measure 8 in California or those who’ve flooded El Tinklenberg with money in the last few weeks are all organized labor?  That has nothing to do with regular folks who are tired of what they’re seeing on the TV screen every night?  C’mon, Kari.

I’m not saying organized labor hasn’t played an important role in progressive politics.  It’s obvious they have.  It’s also obvious they’re not going anywhere within the movement.  By siding with the Democrats in this election, you’re siding with labor.  That makes a lot of people queasy, and they’re holding their noses as they vote.  By telling those people they’re not welcome to stick around unless they subscribe to every last tenet of the party, you’re inviting them to defect at the first sign of trouble.  That’s no way to run a majority.

I know I’ve mentioned it in the past, and Dylan reinforced it tonight: the Brian Shaw/family era of the Portland Winter Hawks is now officially over.  It’s time to get ready for some serious changes within the organization from top-to-bottom.  Innes is just the beginning.  Some, I’m sure, believe this is a sad day.  Me?  I don’t know.  Part of me still has fondness for the stability of the old guard, but I also know it couldn’t last forever.  Today was going to arrive eventually.

The new guys certainly know how to make a splash.  Renting out freaking Buffalo Wild Wings during the lunch hour, for example, does not come cheap.  Nor does buying out contracts and moving new people in.  This is all stuff the previous regime would never have been able to handle.

An added bonus is the fact these guys are hockey people.  They understand the sport, and they understand organizations.  This is going to work.  It may still be a long season, although someone I respect believes this could be a playoff team this year.  A lot depends on how bad the rest of the bottom dwellers are.  Think about it.  It’s been bad here this season.  Could a breath of fresh air be enough to fire the boys up?  Dunno, but my curiosity is piqued.

I’m anxious to see how the new guys handle the GOAL club and the boosters and that crowd.  Will they be allowed the same access to the team that they’ve become accustomed to?  And if not, what will happen?

Now Team USA captain Landon Donovan wants to go play in Europe too.

Tell me again how major MLS is if they can’t keep North America’s best player.