Long Beach State Men's Basketball 2023-24: Love Me Again

#GoBeach #MarchMadness #OnlyTheBold 

THE MONSON STORY: FIRE A COACH AND WATCH HIM REACH THE TOURNAMENT

 

THE MONSON STORY: FIRE A COACH AND WATCH HIM REACH THE TOURNAMENT

There’s no better revenge against a dismissive university than by winning the Big West tournament, which is how Monson and Long Beach State responded to his dismissal as March Madness continues

     Before Dan Monson, none of us could pronounce Gonzaga without blanks, blurs and stutters. He was the original mid-major coach who proved he could reach the Elite Eight at a private Jesuit university in Spokane, Wash. The year was 1999.

     If he stayed, he would be Mark Few today. He left for Minnesota, and for the last quarter-century, America’s elite young coach couldn’t stop crashing. He cleaned up a repulsive academic scandal and resigned under pressure in 2006, escaping to Long Beach State, which decided to call itself “The Beach.” For 17 years, he went 275-272 and entered the season with one NCAA tournament appearance in 2012. Last Monday, Monson was fired by athletic director Bobby Smitheran, who suggested a rampant revision of a program whose best-known recent player is Bryon Russell. You remember him as the Utah guard, pushed slightly by Michael Jordan before a wrist-suspended jumper led to his sixth NBA title.

     “A change in leadership creates an opportunity to re-envision the future of our storied men’s basketball program,” Smitheran said. “We are committed to finding the right person for the job — one that can harness the incredible energy of this community, build meaningful connections and elevate this program to the next level.”

     Little did he know that the right person for the job was … Dan Monson.

     In an industry that doesn’t care how a man once performed, he and his team accepted the news and flung themselves into the Big West tournament near Las Vegas. The Beach, or 49ers, kept playing games and kept winning. Saturday night, they needed a victory over UC Davis. Many of the seats were empty. A dude named Roxy was broadcasting the game on ESPN2. Would a program with a canned coach somehow save the man for more March Madness?

     Call it sex on the Beach. Monson carries on, with resumes floating around the country, when college basketball burns coaches in flames. His advantage is a berth in the big tournament, which should remind lost souls that he can coach a team. At 62, he still wants a gig with another program, and why the hell not after a 74-70 victory? And you think the AD should have waited until after the season was over?

     “God has blessed me with a great career and these kids have been awesome to coach. When Jim Harbaugh says who's got it better than him, somebody needs to tell him Dan Monson,” he said as his players celebrated in the stands.

     Why not simply accept the grace and move on? His celebrated pal, Few, seemed to suggest as much in a text. “I got the '99 run at Gonzaga, but, as Mark Few texted me ‘Why don't we have a run in the first year and a run in the last?’ But I don't think this is my last year,” he said. “I love coaching. I love teams. I need a new challenge. It's life. It's onto the next chapter.”

     Can Long Beach State, which has dealt with leakage in a 20-year-old campus pyramid, do any better with someone else? UCLA, coached by Mick Cronin, didn’t make the tournament. Nor did USC, which lost to Monson this season despite the presence of Bronny James. Stanford fired its coach. California went 13-19. Yet here is Monson, who better make sure he still has insurance, ready to keep winning and making money. A few days earlier, he said it was “time for a new voice.”

     Maybe it’s him. “Being in it is one thing. Winning it is another and we're happy,” Monson said. “We feel like we deserve it, but we're not done. We didn't come here to get to the championship game. We came here to go to the NCAA tournament. These kids have been awesome to coach. They’re great people.”

     His players felt horrible that he’ll lose employment. In hindsight, maybe Smitheran spurred a big rally. “It was a silent moment for everyone when we heard. The guys became motivated,” said Lassina Traore, who scored 25 points. “We know that firing him is not his fault. We lost the games. The leaders agreed, we had to have his back. We weren’t going to let him down.”

     Said Traore’s brother, Aboubacar, who had seven points and 13 rebounds: “The main thing was, we were helping the coach. For us, it would be really bad for him to leave without winning a championship. He has been a great mentor for us. He could have easily said, all right. But he wanted to do his job to the end. He still wants to win. So we’re gonna do the same thing because he’s not giving up.”

     Not once did Monson rip the school. He was filled with class. “What a great week. What a great week,” he said. “What a privilege to have a team that has the kind of character to figure out a way to win three straight days. We said we were in Vegas. We said we were in a heavyweight fight. I am so proud of them and I’m lucky to ride with these guys. I’ve been to the NCAA tournament. My wife says she’s never had drugs in her life, but it’s got to be a similar feeling. It’s a high I’m expecting these guys to enjoy. It’s a team that can win games in this tournament. We’ll find out.”

     Wisely, someone asked Monson how he’d like to be remembered. “He did it the right way on and off the court,” he said. “It’s not just about wins and losses. It’s doing it with principle. It’s a tough business. I’m OK with whatever other people do, but I have to look in that mirror. I tell parents to trust me with your young man. In four to five years, I’ll give you a grown man. I’m proud of all that.”

     Stanford works. Vanderbilt works. Why not Louisville, which needs a cleanser?

     With another victory or two, consider it a massive job promotion for a man who deserves much better.

     ###

     Jay Mariotti, called “without question the most impacting Chicago sportswriter of the past quarter-century,’’ writes general sports columns for Substack while appearing on some of the 1,678,498 podcasts and shows in production today. He is an accomplished columnist, TV panelist and talk/podcast host. Living in Los Angeles, he gravitated by osmosis to film projects.

How Long Beach State prepared for Bronny James' debut and won

ByMyron Medcalf 

Sunday, December 10, 2023 8:14PM

Long Beach State tried to stay cool.

The Beach were about to play the biggest college basketball game of the weekend, thanks to Bronny James, who was set to make his Division I debut for USC five months after suffering cardiac arrest during a workout in July.

The lines outside Galen Center -- where the school announced a sellout on Friday once the freshman star's debut was announced -- snaked down the street. Tickets on the secondary market had sold for hundreds -- and in some cases, thousands -- of dollars. LeBron James, Bronny's dad, was rumored to be attending. Still, the Beach believed they had settled down by the time tipoff approached.

As the national anthem echoed through the speakers in the arena, however, the Los Angeles Lakers superstar entered the building, and the entire roster turned their heads.

"LeBron is about 6-foot-9, 240 pounds. ... Of course we all noticed him," LBSU junior Jadon Jones, who finished with 18 points and eight rebounds after LBSU upset USC 84-79, told ESPN. "The crowd erupted as soon as his face was on the jumbotron. We saw Rich Paul there."

When Bronny entered Sunday's game early in the first half, the crowd cheered. The USC fans rose to their feet whenever he touched the ball. And they roared after his chase-down block on Jones. He followed the play with an assist to Vincent Iwuchukwu, his USC teammate who had also suffered cardiac arrest in 2022 during a team workout.

And just like that, the Trojans fed off the energy and entered halftime with a double-digit lead.

Facing Bronny & Co. in that building was going to be more difficult than Long Beach State had imagined.

"We just didn't fight early in the game," said longtime LBSU head coach Dan Monson.

Nearly 72 hours earlier, Monson forgot he was in a room full of Gen Z kids. He told his players that they weren't "the Washington Generals."

He was, of course, referring to the old nemesis of the Harlem Globetrotters, the flashy assembly known for its trick shots and dribbling maneuvers in the 1960s and 1970s. The Generals rarely won when the two teams played. Monson's point was that Long Beach State had a chance against the Trojans.

There was just one problem.

"None of them knew what I was talking about," Monson said.

But he also reminded them that Sunday's game could be memorable.

"There are a lot of games that come and go and you're not going to remember them," he said he told his team. "This is one of those games, for good or bad, you're going to remember the rest of your life because of the circumstances. You have to play with emotion, but you can't be emotional."

When he tried to revive the Washington Generals metaphor again at halftime, his team finally seemed to get it, and returned for the second half with renewed energy. Then Bronny made his first shot: a 3-pointer from the wing with 13:10 to go in the game.

All the talk about staying focused and poised seemed to disappear with the crowd on fire.

As the Beach looked around the arena and heard the noise, they realized they had entered an environment unlike anything they had seen in the past.

"I had to call a timeout," Monson said. "I had to settle that down a little bit. When he hit that 3-pointer, the crowd was at a decibel level few arenas will get to this year."

As play continued, though, he also noticed a strange change come over his team's opponent.

In the first half, the Bronny hype had driven the Trojans and fueled an emotional charge. In the second half, however, they began to show signs of fatigue. Maybe the pregame pageantry had been a lot for USC, too, he wondered.

Just like that, the game started swinging in LBSU's favor, and regulation ended with USC -- a 13.5-point favorite entering the game -- heading to overtime with the Beach, a stunning reversal.

"Our first thing was just to stay calm," Jones said about his team's comeback.

The Beach understood the crowd would be large and the atmosphere would reflect the moment. At the same time, they weren't really worried about Bronny, who finished the game with 4 points, 3 rebounds, 2 steals, 2 assists and 1 block in 17 minutes off the bench. The Beach figured it would take time for him to adjust in his first college game. Veteran Boogie Ellis and freshman Isaiah Collier, the projected No. 1 pick in ESPN's latest NBA mock draft, were the bigger threats.

"To be honest, Bronny wasn't our biggest priority in the scout," Jones said. "He's a good young player. But he's still a freshman in his first game."

Ellis and Collier tried to carry their team through overtime, but the game ended with Long Beach State pulling off the upset and winning its first game at USC since 1987.

Monson didn't focus on the result as he went through the handshake line. The game, he said, was a celebration of Bronny's recovery more than anything else.

"I told Bronny after the game, 'Congratulations,'" he said. "What he's been through is way bigger than this game. To see him back out there and his proud dad there and his mom, that's way more important than anything else."

Once they finished celebrating the victory, the Beach showered, got dressed and hopped onto their team bus for the 40-minute ride back to campus, thinking about the way they had played spoiler on Bronny's big night, and how they could use the win to fuel success the rest of the season.

"They got ahead of us quickly," Jones said. "But we were able to calm the storm."

Magic In the Air

 #LBNATION #WeAreLB #GoBeach #NCAAMVB #saimoe #fatekaleidliner #NCAAVB

I don't want anything to do with those fuckers again.

Some quick hits from today...

After nearly a year of relative peace...I get my first deletion notices on deviantART, albeit a couple of random desktop screenshots.

Took you guys a while, didn't it? Bastards.

---

I got the feeling my friend Diane from Cal State Long Beach was a bit nervous about telling me why I did not get into that goddamn Graduate Program in Sport Management. It wasn't about my GPA being lower than the others. It was about the unfortunate incident at the Gold Mine in Men's Volleyball last year against those sons of bitches from Northridge. Aghhh, it just mystifies to have that thing weighed more than the other stuff.

Now don't get me wrong, I don't have any bad feelings for those guys. If I did, everyone at the gymnasium would be in a large pool of blood by now. Seung-Hui Cho's fighting spirit would have left no one alive, including me, today. But to hear this news, and to acknowledge that I would be wasting my time trying to apply for Spring 2009 down there...I will have to consign myself to the fact that I don't own these motherfuckers any more obligations to them beyond my (auxiliary) role as an alumnus.

Your loss will be someone else's gain. I apologize for wasting your time, guys. Do me now a favor you Sport Management turds. Kindly piss off and don't waste my time ever again. Ungrateful assholes.

---

With that said, I am convinced that finding the right business school will be in my crosshairs. The question is: who will I apply to, and what type of program will I choose for my MBA? The upcoming GMAT on my birthday could answer a few of those questions, if faintly.

Vive La P-Grad! Mabuhay Ang Pilipinas!

Students participate in special grad ceremonies - News

I took part in the Pilipino Graduation ceremony (a.k.a. P-Grad) and I have to say that it met my expectations. It is always good to take part in something lik this when it is available because not only do you get to say a speech, but you also see that beyond the hard-working cold-looing student focused on acing his or her exams...there is a person who wants to be the best heor she can be. Not only for his/her parents or friends, or community, but for his or herself. It's more candid, too.

I didn't shed a tear, but I was excited to finally say that "We did it!" Another chance to be the best beckons, another fight begins. Congratulations everyone, as always.

What the bloody hell!?

Curses! As if cyclones in Myanmar, earthquakes in China and Japan, tornadoes doing the slam-dancing wreckage business midwest swing, and wildfires in Florida and on Mount Baldinho were bad enough, here's this!

Marche Taylor ended up in handcuffs after wearing a skimpy dress to her high school prom in Houston.

The fireworks started when a chaperone refused to let the teen into the dance because the gold number she was wearing showed way too much skin. “She shook her head, she was like ‘you are not getting into this prom,’” Taylor tells KHOU-TV.

“We were arguing back and forth because I wanted to know why I can’t get into my prom.”

Eventually, things grew so heated that school officials called in a uniformed police officer, who escorted Taylor out of the building in handcuffs.

“It was revealing in such nature it was not appropriate for the prom,” Madison High School Principal Aubrey Todd tells the station.

In other fashion news, WKMG-TV reports that Bob Hezzelwood is suing the sheriff's department in Lee County, Fla., because deputies gave him a ticket for wearing a Speedo.

Marche...the Bedlam loves you.

Another interesting tidbit on credibility...

CSULB professor's records under scrutiny
By Kevin Butler Staff Writer
Article Launched: 05/13/2008 12:09:53 AM PDT


LONG BEACH -- Cal
State Long Beach is investigating allegations that a professor in its Film and
Electronic Arts Department made misrepresentations of his professional
background and achievements, according to the department chairman.

Craig
Smith, the department chairman, said that the university's Academic Affairs arm
is investigating Associate Professor Michael I. Berlin in connection with some
items of professional experience that were added to his faculty Web page but
were recently removed.

Berlin could not be reached for comment.

Smith noted that two claims on Berlin's faculty Web page - that he got a
master's degree from Columbia University and had worked as a clinical
psychologist - were removed earlier this month.

Smith said that
professors are entitled to due process and a thorough investigation of such
allegations.

The changes to Berlin's Web page were made around the time
that department Professor Brian Alan Lane e-mailed an essay to faculty on May 2
- later published in the campus paper The Union Weekly - alleging that three
faculty members, whom he did not name, had made misrepresentations and
misleading statements regarding their professional backgrounds.

Although
Lane did not mention any faculty members' names in his essay, a complaint from
Lane prompted the university investigation of Berlin, Smith said.

After
a reporter from The Chronicle of Higher Education contacted Berlin for an
article regarding his claimed master's degree, his faculty Web page was changed on May 2 to remove
references to the degree and other items.

The university is currently
investigating the allegations regarding faculty credentials, said CSULB
President F. King Alexander in a statement released to the media.

Alexander did not say how many faculty members are being investigated or
divulge any employee names.

"We do take these claims very seriously and
will respond when all the facts have been gathered and reviewed," he said.

Because it is an ongoing personnel matter, the university cannot comment
further, he said.

If the university finds there have been
misrepresentations, there are various penalties that could result, from letters
of reprimand to dismissal, Smith said.

Until May 2, Berlin - a tenured
associate professor - was described on the department's Web site as a
"screenwriter, playwright and psychologist."

Berlin acknowledged in a
May 6 news article in The Chronicle of Higher Education that he had written his
online bio.

Berlin's department Web page before May 2 also said that he
was a "Phi Delta Kappa graduate from Columbia University's Master's Program," a
member of the American Psychological Association and had worked as a clinical
psychologist in New York for many years.

Neither Columbia University nor
Columbia University Teachers College has a record of a degree for Berlin,
according to university officials.

A master's degree is not listed among
his educational accomplishments in a copy of his curriculum vitae examined by
the Press-Telegram.

But on his CV, Berlin did type the words "Phi Delta
Kappa - Columbia University" immediately underneath his listed Ph.D. from New
York's Yeshiva University in "Educational Administration/Organizational
Development."

His faculty Web site on May 2 was changed to eliminate any
reference to a master's degree. The web bio now states that he "took courses" at
Columbia University "in a shared program with Yeshiva University's Ferkauf
Graduate School."

Before the Web page was changed, Berlin was described
as having "worked as a clinical psychologist in New York for many years" and as
being a member of the American Psychological Association.

The name
Michael Berlin is not among the list of current members of the American
Psychological Association, an official with the organization said.

The
New York State Education Department could not find records showing that Berlin
currently possesses a state license to practice psychology.

The
Press-Telegram was not able to immediately ascertain whether Berlin had a
license previously to practice psychology in New York.

After the
controversy erupted, the APA membership claim was dropped from Berlin's faculty
Web page.

The words "clinical psychologist" were changed to "therapist
and counselor," job titles that can be used without possessing a state
psychologist license.

Berlin's claim that he produced a television
series, "The Outer Limits," also was changed on the Web site, which now states
that he "worked on" the show.

Berlin is not among the names of producers
of "The Outer Limits" listed on The Internet Movie Database - a Web site that
tracks Hollywood credits and projects - though the site does show him as having
worked as a writer and executive script consultant on the show.

Also
dropped from his faculty Web site was a reference to his work on the television
show "Walker, Texas Ranger."

The show is not listed among his credits on
the Internet Movie Database at www.imdb.com. The show also is not listed among
his on-screen credits kept by the Writers Guild of America, West.

kevin.butler@presstelegram.com, 562-499-1308

Man! A lot of students got screwed today. Old and new. And one more:

NEW YORK (AP) -- Defending America's Cup champion Alinghi of Switzerland came up
a winner off the water on Monday when a New York judge ruled that a showdown
against the United States can't begin until mid-March.

New York State
Supreme Court Justice Herman Cahn settled a dispute between billionaires when he
ruled that the 10-month challenge period for San Francisco's Golden Gate Yacht
Club, which backs BMW Oracle Racing, began on Monday.

That would make
March 12 the earliest possible date for the start of a rare best-of-three
showdown, or Deed of Gift Match.

Ernesto Bertarelli, the biotech tycoon
who owns two-time champion Alinghi and serves as the crew's navigator, was "very
happy," said Lucien Masmejan, the lead lawyer for Alinghi's sponsoring yacht
club, Societe Nautique de Geneve. "It's a key moment in the 33rd America's Cup."

GGYC felt it had the right to sail for the oldest trophy in
international sports in October. Alinghi was holding out for July 2009, saying
it needed the proper amount of time to build its 90-foot multihull boat.

Bertarelli said recently that his syndicate hadn't started building a
boat. BMW Oracle Racing, owned by Silicon Valley maverick Larry Ellison, who's
also a crew member, is building a boat in Anacortes, Wash., but won't say
whether it's a catamaran or trimaran.

Cahn said it would be
"inequitable" to deprive Alinghi of the full 10-month notice of challenge to
prepare its boat.

"By getting 10 months notice, we will be at full
capacity as a sailing team, which we can express on the water," Masmejan said by
phone from his home in Lausanne. "They will be facing a team willing to keep the
Cup and build a boat that's very competitive."

Cahn ordered that the
match be sailed in Valencia, Spain, or any other location selected by the Swiss,
provided they give the Americans six months notice.

However, the Deed of
Gift, the 19th-century document that governs the America's Cup, prohibits racing
in the Northern Hemisphere from Nov. 1-May 1.

Masmejan said it's
unlikely SNG would be willing to move the races to the Southern Hemisphere. He
said the discrepancy might need to be settled by more litigation or perhaps by
the Appellate Division of the state Supreme Court, which on June 5 is scheduled
to hear Alinghi's appeal of Cahn's ruling that GGYC is the Challenger of Record.

BMW Oracle Racing spokesman Tom Ehman said his group's lawyers hadn't
had time to study Cahn's ruling, including the implications of the March dates
in the Northern Hemisphere.

"Overall we're pleased this thing has come
down and that he's moved the process forward," Ehman said by phone from the
syndicate's base in Valencia. "It doesn't look like we got everything we wanted,
but we got a firm date and six months notice on the venue, which is good.

"Obviously we were hoping for October and now that he said March, we'll
have to consider that and see what the implications are," Ehman said.

The dispute began shortly after Alinghi retained the silver trophy with
a 5-2 victory over Team New Zealand in Valencia in July.

Alinghi
announced it had chosen a Spanish yacht club to serve as Challenger of Record
and help the Swiss negotiate the rules for the next multi-challenge regatta.
GGYC issued a challenge, then sued, saying the Spanish club was a sham and that
the Swiss were trying to tilt the rules for the next regatta in their favor.

Cahn ruled in November that GGYC was the valid Challenger of Record.

Since BMW Oracle Racing and Alinghi couldn't agree on terms for a
traditional America's Cup regatta, the Deed of Gift Match was the next option.

Golden Gate's original challenge called for racing this July. After
Cahn's Nov. 27 order, the GGYC proposed the races be sailed in October. The
Swiss argued that the 10-month period should have been suspended during the
legal fight.

Copyright 2008 Associated Press. All rights reserved.

As if we should give a rat's ass. The USA sucks at sailing anyway. And no, the Swiss expatriate on ALinghi does not count.

Oy! Uff! Que paso carnaval...Onward!

On Mini Eggs, a job well done in Gardena and a few Beach teams rising

Once per year, I like to take the Easter weekend to snack on Cadbury Mini Eggs. They are these little pieces of chocolate encased in a sugar shell. I first ate these many years back, after watching a commercial featuring those little crunchy, yet rich, fruits of the bunny. Since then, I have made it an Easter tradition to gorge on one bag of these Mini Eggs. I eat them for breakfast, with some King's Hawaiian rolls, or as a snack that won't hold you down and never give you up. At this time of the year, it is all the rage.

I am elated after knowing my scores on the GRE Verbal and Quantitative sections. I got a 450 on the Verbal and a 610 on the Quantitative. Both scores meet or exceed the expectations set by the program that I am applying for, the Graduate Program in Sport Management. They needed at least a 450 on both sections. What makes this really special is that I didn't have any training on this exam, save for a practice exam and a little GRE review book that I took from Kaplan. When I saw my score, I pumped my fist. The cameras saw me, but they knew that I achieved my target score.

Also, I was relieved to see my baseball, softball, and men's volleyball teams get some big victories this weekend. This is the type of consistency and performance I will be expecting from them the rest of this year.

Some unfinished business?

Unfinished business indeed.

On Rascal’s Teriyaki Grill

I had just finished my IS 380 midterm, which focused on Normalization, basic SQL inputs, and relational fluff. IS 380 is a course I had to retake this semester, mainly because I flunked the semester project in the Spring. My main goal this Fall was to redeem for my shortcoming in the project. That is the product of wasteful time management, to keep a long story short. I had snacked on some chocolate treats: brownies that Tina of Disabled Student Services baked for the folks there, as well as a Palmer chocolate, a Snickers, a Twix, a fudge eyeball or two, a CRUNCH bar, and so on. I went over to the Beach Pride Center to redeem a ticket that saw the women’s volleyball team dismiss Fullerton in a hurry, and then straddled over to the Walter Pyramid to the sounds of Oingo Boingo’s “Little Girls” to fill out an application for the Monson Maniacs, and drop in $5.00 dues. My apologies to whomever I asked for the extra buck. I originally said that I was going to use it for printing, but it went to another cause. At least she can rest assured that it will stay on campus. Call it a serendipital good deed.

All of a sudden, my mind wandered off to a place I had never been before. Before the match with Fullerton, some representative from Rascal’s Teriyaki Grill handed me a coupon for a free chicken bowl or small chicken salad. With plenty of time to spare before the next class, I took the Passport D to Rascal’s, located near the corner of Bellflower and Atherton. Now this Rascal’s was actually a small franchise. The Kiyomine brothers founded Rascal’s about a couple decades ago, give or take, in a small yogurt shop in Gardena. As the waves of time passed, eventually what used to be another establishment on the same spot became Rascal’s Long Beach.

As I passed through the doors, one of the attendants there recognized me. I decided to go for the chicken bowl, because it would fill me up and hold me down a bit longer. As I looked around the restaurant (which I classify as fast-casual, along the lines of Chipotle [owned by McDonald’s, as my friend Ian of my university’s anime club pointed out]), I took photos of recent articles about this Rascal’s branch, and savored their teriyaki chicken bowl dish. I quickly approved of it, as ESPN talked about Joe Torre, and future Pro Football Hall-of-Famer Brett Favre, and the upcoming football game between Arizona State and Oregon, and a meaningless rally down in Denver (I mean, who would want to hold a rally for a team that didn’t stand a chance against the curse-free Red Sox? I’d save the money used for the rally for finding quality talent…somewhere).

By the way, Gardena was where my big sister took me a few months ago. I was able to buy a Galaxy Angel doujinshi collection, along with the usual Pocky boxes, and maybe a daifuku or two. God bless that Marukai.

As I left, I saw a tree riding a bicycle. Actually, it was a guy dressed as a tree with a pie tin for a hat wearing a bicycle. I just had to laugh like the mad scientist I was in my 666^th life. It was Halloween, after all.

Mission and Vision of the Beach

I would like to take this time to go ahead and take a breather from the insanity and bedlam and activity thereof on this blog, and give you a special announcement from my university's president. Enjoy.

Dear CSULB Students:

I am pleased to share with you the result of a year-long collaborative effort to revise our campus statements of mission, vision and values to better reflect our current self-conception of CSULB as a university of rising excellence with a global perspective, as a destination of choice for talented students, and as a source of highly-valued degrees.

This revision is the product of last fall’s Academic Senate retreat that focused on mission, vision and values. That lively event, with terrific student participation, yielded many exciting ideas about how to portray our rising excellence.

An experienced committee representing all four University divisions and including the Senate Chair sifted through those exciting ideas. That committee shared drafts and solicited further ideas from the full Academic Senate twice during the spring 2007 semester. The University Vice Presidents, working with the Senate Chair, Staff Council Chair and myself, put finishing touches on the statements over the summer.

Our prior mission statement, written in the early 1980s, was a lengthy two-page document and contained long lists of generic ideas. With our emerging University excellence and our new comprehensive (fund-raising) campaign, we needed to develop more concise statements of our mission, vision and values. The new statements are included in this email message and can be found on our campus website:

CSULB continues to be a vibrant engine of economic and social mobility for many students. The access and excellence that we provide make essential educational opportunities available to thousands of students each year. Thus, I am particularly excited about highlighting the fact that our University is a place that is “changing lives for a changing world.”

Each and every member of our campus community has contributed to the rising excellence of our University. Any statement of our mission or vision for the future is really a tribute to the hard work and dedication of faculty and staff to make CSULB a center of excellence and a gateway to educational opportunity. I hope you like our new, more concise language to portray the excellence that you have helped create over the years.

Warmly,

F. King Alexander
President

Mission Statement

California State University, Long Beach is a diverse, student-centered, globally-engaged public university committed to providing highly-valued undergraduate and graduate educational opportunities through superior teaching, research, creative activity and service for the people of California and the world.

Vision Statement

California State University, Long Beach envisions changing lives by expanding educational opportunities, championing creativity, and preparing leaders for a changing world.

Values


Educational Opportunity
Excellence
Diversity
Integrity
Service

Academic Purpose

Our academic purpose is to graduate students with highly-valued degrees.

Envisioned Future

CSULB is committed to being an outstanding teaching-intensive, research-driven university that emphasizes student engagement, scholarly and creative achievement, civic participation, and global perspectives.

Teaching-Intensive, Research-Driven University


CSULB students have many opportunities in their studies to gain a love of ideas; an appreciation of artistic expression, science, and technology; and an understanding of varied cultures.
CSULB faculty members fully integrate the results of their research and creative activities into their teaching, invigorating and enhancing student learning.
Students receive the advising and mentoring they need to realize their dreams because of the student-centered philosophy of CSULB's faculty and staff.
CSULB faculty members are widely recognized for their outstanding teaching, research, and creative activities.
The University has the highest average graduation rate and the lowest average time to graduation among the public master's-degree-granting universities in the West.
The University continues to enhance the highly collegial climate that enables broad and deep collaboration in research, creative activities, and teaching.
CSULB graduates have the necessary skills for successful careers in various fields and disciplines.
CSULB is recognized for the rich diversity of its student body and the accomplishments of its students will demonstrate that it is both possible and essential to offer broad access to high quality education.

Student Engagement


CSULB is widely recognized for its high quality of services, activities and programs for students.
CSULB has strong partnerships with faculty, staff, student and community groups so that we may serve as primary advocates to meet the needs of our diverse student population.
CSULB embraces a culture of evidence that strives for continued quality improvement in our programs and services.
CSULB invests in our human and technological resources so that we may optimally respond in a dynamic environment.
CSULB makes a positive contribution to the greater society by developing responsible citizens, with highly valued degrees, for the 21st century.
CSULB students graduate as skilled problem-solvers and practitioners of their disciplines through participation in research projects, creative endeavors, community service learning, and internships.
"Beach pride" is pervasive not just among current faculty, staff, and students, but among graduates and friends of the campus, and most alumni will retain significant ties to campus programs, return to campus often, and support the campus financially.
Other universities look to CSULB as the source of best practices in student engagement, instructional innovations, academic technologies, and student services.
Each CSULB student has the opportunity to enhance his or her educational experience through co-curricular activities that include student-to-student relationship-building in clubs, cultural activities sponsored by departments and colleges, and international programs and events.
CSULB faculty receive adequate and appropriate recognition and reward for engaging in pedagogical practices such as community service learning that prepare students for responsible civic participation.
CSULB is recognized as an "engaged campus," where students, faculty, and staff are actively involved in campus life and activities.

Scholarly and Creative Achievement


The expertise and research interests of CSULB faculty are recognized and valued nationally and internationally for their advancement of knowledge.
CSULB faculty members receive both internal and external support for their research and creative activities.
CSULB faculty researchers make significant contributions to resolving community and regional problems and planning for future needs of our region and the nation.
Research/technology parks in the Greater Long Beach area include a high proportion of small companies spun off from campus-originated faculty-staff-student research projects.

Community Engagement


CSULB faculty, staff, and students are intensely involved in community service and partnerships with community agencies and non-profits, schools, and local government agencies.
One of the fastest growing areas of campus activity is the business and technology "incubator" program, whereby faculty-staff-student research teams work together to bring ideas developed through external funding into the marketplace.
All students have the opportunity and necessary financial support to earn credit toward degree through internships with area companies and community organizations.

Global Perspectives


The variety and scope of the University's international curricular offerings are continuously broadened and deepened.
Through a wide variety of curricular and extracurricular stratagems, all CSULB students are significantly exposed to a global perspective and many will develop multi-lingual abilities.
Faculty and staff are significantly supported in internationally-related teaching and research.
The international strengths of the University are promoted and communicated, both internally and externally.

Services and Support


CSULB is widely recognized as providing the best services in the CSU System.
CSULB provides facilitative, quality, customer-oriented services.
CSULB provides the campus community with a flexible physical environment and user friendly services.
CSULB provides logistical, financial, and technological support to the campus community.
CSULB maintains and enhances the University’s infrastructure.
CSULB provides an inviting environment that promotes respect and collaboration.

-Dr. F. King Alexander
President, California State University Long Beach

Impressions...

So my Business Law 320 instructor is a person by name of Dr. Lynn Dymally. A savvy, smart, straight-to-the-point person, Dr. Dymally is the daughter of Congressman Melvyn Dymally, and her son is a talented drummer attending CAMS. (Hopefully, he will do the right thing and come to The Beach when he graduates from the California Academy of Math and Sciences.)

In her opening lecture, after debriefing on how to write a killer case brief, she talks about commerce, and how we are affected by it. We come into contact with it every day. Speaking of commerce, Michael Vick is dinged today by the cops for illegal commerce. That is, the Falcons QB is being questioned for his dog-fighting activities. Uh oh; this can’t be good. Stay tuned for more developments.

My second Management instructor is a guy by the name of Dr. Philip Chong. No, he’s related to Tommy. He is full Chinese, while Dr. Thomas Chong from the University of Alberta is half. He is one of the assistant deans at the CBA, along with Dr. Nelson Horn. Actually, he is an interim associate dean (so it says on his syllabus), so this means the CBA is in transition. And he has a strong accent, so I guess it makes me feel a bit easy.

Anyway, I can’t drop this one. I had a bad experience with Sal Kukalis, and I am not keen to have that happen again. The hell I will, with 425 coming in the Fall! With everything crammed up, I’m due to get my portfolio started after this session is over.

And it starts all over again.

It's a drag, really. Here I am, posting on BoBA, and I am a few minutes away from starting my next class. Yes, I am doing Summer Session III at the Beach again. But this time, I am taking two classes in the same semester. Two of them! One in the morning (Business Law 320) and one in the evening (Management 300).

The summer was cut short for me, but for a reason. It's all part of the final push towards my degree. Here come the case briefs and Phoenix Wright-style accusations.

On the road to El Dorado, La Palma, and back again

Today, Lakewood’s baseball and softball teams hit the road. The ladies face what could be their execution at Kennedy High in La Palma, while the baseball team is on the road to El Dorado. High, that is. You would think I would cue that Elton John song? Ah, maybe not. Both teams are playing far out there, and I hope that both of them can pull it off.

El Dorado High school is located in Placentia, CA. Both of them are located in the northern part of Orange County. I can’t go OCTA, though, since I have to reserve a meeting with my counselor at the CBA to plan the next steps. I just hope I didn’t get non-passing grades this semester.

Oddly enough, Carah Faye Charnow was born a day after me, on August 3, 1984. Could you believe that?

Finals are over for me. I am now enjoying a nice layoff. I have yet to do that video compilation.

I am really looking forward to Anime Expo and the third summer session. No, really, I am. As well as women’s soccer and women’s volleyball.

Why hello there, Mr. Koulax…

On a day where the Dirtbags claimed another series after being in a funk the last three goes, the Long Beach State softball team fail in predictable fashion against Cal Poly, while the women’s water polo team are given a refresher course in Water Polo 101 by Stanford.

Congrats to the Michigan State Spartans for winning the Frozen Four on the eve of Christ’s supposed resurrection. Ironically, the Spartan Fight Song is based on a Christian revival hymn called “Stand Up, Stand Up For Jesus.” Divine Intervention? (They did score three goals…one for the father, son, and holy ghost.) Timing of the best case? King Leonidas getting his revenge with the Green and White fighting in the shade? I leave it to you schmucks to figure it out.

And as for our men’s volleyball team…it’s over, unless they get help fast. Cue the long beep sound you hear on those medical drama’s like Gray’s Anatomy, E.R., and whatever garbage the big three network decide to place on as a Blue Plate special on the boob tube.

I hope the Galaxy wins on Sunday. And I personally welcome Dan Monson as the next coach for the 49er hoopster guys. But now he has to prove to us why he was the right decision....starting with the recruiting trail.
lbsu,

You don’t have to be rich to make a mean-ass burger!

No. Seriously. Just ask a humble guy by the name of Tommy Koulax. It was decades ago that he decided to make a commitment to make the finest burgers and hot dogs and fries in the Los Angeles area. His idea became a reality with The Original Tommy’s hamburger and hot dog chain. Before the baseball game with Oral Roberts on Thursday, I decided to make my annual ritual to the Tommy’s in Long Beach to savor a Tommyburger, which was laced with their special chili. I do this once per year, in the middle of my university’s baseball season, preferably in the first week of April, when the cherry blossoms flow down.

I should have taken a photo of the sketch of Mr. Koulax. This guy knew how to run a fast food chain. No franchising. Word-of-mouth advertising. Not spreading too far in the hopes of finding stability and not close part of the chain. He had savvy. And a famous slogan to go with it: “If You Don’t See The Shack…Take It Back!”

In a city where competing chains like McDonald’s, Burger King, and (my home base) Carl’s Jr. (only because they have one on campus) lock heads with other chains to find the right customers, there are some local chains that don’t believe in trying to spread worldwide. The Original Tommy’s is an example of this. It’s akin to the City of Lakewood government: Times Change. Values Don’t.

As I watched the game, I was not disappointed. Oral Roberts just disposed of Wichita State, a team who we lost two out of three to. Dr. Dan, a local supporter of the Dirtbags, as well as the author of the Diamond Dust blog and baseball insert, called for Mike Weathers’ crew to go back to the fundamentals. In spite of giving up an error, the Beach was able to play a solid game through Andrew Liebl, an ace from Livermore up in the Bay Area, and the Bags won 4-0. I think it was a good move not to risk Bryan Shaw choking like he did in the third game against Fullerton. By doing so, he avoided getting his closer risking some more scathing remarks, should he do it two home games in a row. In the pros, I think he would called down, and reassigned.

Speaking of which, the minors got going. While the Los Angeles Angels dropped their first match of the year to those loathsome scum from that cesspool of the Bay known as Oakland, their Triple-A affiliate, the Salt Lake Bees, edged the Las Vegas 51s, 4-3. Ironically, the Angels lost by that same score.

One more thing: the 51s are affiliated with the Dodgers, and they are not starting in the right auspices. Still early, though. And I will bet you that Matsuzaka-mania will die quicker than it started. Maybe not now, but somewhere later this season.

Dirty deeds, done with sheep.

I can't believe that Duke fell in the first round tonight to Virginia Commonwealth. George Mason's mojo didn't really die; it just turned into VCU.

Now we really don't have anything to lose from this tournament.

Going to the candidates' debate...part 3

Rounds 1-5: Oh god. I can’t believe the responses. Boring, empty rhetoric. Predictable clichés. Monotonous tones. Quite a change from the presidential debates, which had some semblance of flavorful dialogue. The treasurer debates feature Virindiana Sanchez, Shelena McClinton, and another candidate by the name of Swann, whose first name I cannot find from the Daily 49er. You fail me again, you rats.
Round 6: Hironao Okahana, current VP, is grinning across the room from me like the smug bastard he is. Bloody oath. Okahana is finishing his limited term, as is outgoing treasurer Zaira Tinoco, a childhood friend of mine who, like me, isn’t looking for love yet (but would love the seize the opportunity when the time is right!). And the predictable rhetoric from the three candidates continues. I’m starting to get disinterested in this debate, because it is B-O-R-I-N-G. This looks like an interview more than a debate. Simon Cowell, you are a fool. Even though I did agree with a few of your statements, especially with Jordan, speaking in that clichéd British accent, praising her efforts, you are still a fool.

Predicted winner: Toss-up, but I’m leaning toward McClinton. Enough said.

Going to the candidates' debate...part 2

Next up is the presidential candidates, and this one should be a doozy. Mark Andrews, incumbent Shefali Mistry and Joel Barber. The other candidate was feeling ill from the step show. This should have plenty of fireworks.
Round 1: Mistry starts this one. Her savvy that got her as the incumbent in the first place sets the pace. Natural, and effortless. Andrews follows through, keeping the pace, and turning it up. Interesting fact: Andrews is in a similar position I was with Long Beach City College's ASB Executive Board in 2004-05. Barber is running a bit off. Ever heard of Fat Albert? Mistry is slowing down a bit, though.
Round 2: Andrews anticipated this one, no question. It's as if he read a football or basketball play and capitalized off the turnover he forced. Barber is concurring with Andrews. Not good for him, and he stopped short. Mistry fires right back with prioritizing students. Her point seems to hit a fallacy, and Andrews is making her pay for that. It seems that the fourth candidate came, Ashley Marie Stanton. She is suffering from laryngitis, like me. That's what this weather has done to a lot of people who saw Long Beach go to the big dance last Saturday.
Round 3; Stanton makes her move, and makes things interesting. Barber goes in, but he is speaking too monotone. Mistry now makes her move, but is speaking a bit too quickly. Not all the people here are from New York, Madame President...Andrews is blasting the other three with his move. Moss-Stanton's laryngitis isn't being an issue with her rebuttal, but not too compelling.
Round 4: Barber still being monotonous. I've observed that from him, Stanton, and Mistry, while Andrews is using his poise, and everything other than monotonousness to state his case. Mistry is concurring, but she's trying to rebound from the heavy competition, and doing it well. In turn, Andrews concurs to an extent, and adds his point. Pure effortless delivery, emphasizing advocacy. Everyone's agreeing with one another. Boring. Now it's all about how they deliver, rather than what they deliver.
Round 5: Textbook question (no pun intended, unless you ask for it (pun intended)). Mistry starts this one, and uses her experience working with the 49er Shops. Andrews, unlike Mistry, does not accept the high prices of textbooks at the University Bookstore, and delivers his point with authority. A slam dunk. Stanton concurs with Andrews' point, while Barber does the same. Adding scholarships to ease the high prices, as long as a cap, might be problematic. Perfect-world scenarios. Mistry is a bit realistic.
Round 6: AB286 question. Land mine alert. Andrews dismisses this question, adding the importance of AB540 and the inferiority of AB286. Risky move. Stanton does not approve of this bill, either. Okay, guess it wasn't so risky. And so are Barber and Mistry.
Land mine =====> Consensus. No clear winner of this round. Andrews would be the virtual one, adding the importance of AB540.
Round 7: Parking question. Stanton approaches with parking off-campus. Already done, at Vets Stadium, but she wants to increase the amount of spots. Barber is trying to salvage his sinking ship, with a "focus group," and other dubious options. Smoke and mirrors. Mistry makes her move with faculty and staff permits for students., as well as financial aid, as well as concurring with the other two candidates. Flashbacks of ECON 333. Meanwhile, Andrews suggests reduced costs, paying for specific numbers of days. I think that's a sign of weakness, as other students may want to be on campus during days that they don't have class. Stanton makes a rebuttal, with a half-arsed effort.
Round 8: Barber prioritizes checks and balances, and asking for ASI to follow the US federal system. Mistry concurs, but to an extent, stating that corporate and government do not mesh. She is not finding a way to solve this though, beating around the bush. Andrews, goes on the attack, with a bit of a joke on the side, emphasizing local government as the way to model ASI's Executive Branch at. Playing it safe, Mikey boy? Stanton dismisses echoing state, local, or federal forms, emphasizing serving the students. Now Barber is swaying away from his point, concurring with Stanton. Big mistake. His ship already sunk.

Projected winner: Andrews. He made his point across, reduced tired cliches, and fought off most rebuttals, although he seems to be a bit tired from going through the rounds.

Whew! What a mouthful. Next up: part 3!

Going to the candidates' debate...part 1

So says a lyric from Simon & Garfunkel's "Mrs. Robinson." I went to the debates today at USU-224. First were the Vice-Presidential candidates: Chris Chavez vs. Lucy Montano.
Round 1: Montano seems to concede the first round, concurring with Chavez. Nothing too compelling from Chavez...the usual cliches.
Round 2: Montano seems to be reading from a script at times. It doesn't seem very natural. Chavez is speaking naturally, and is even like a professor at times. Not staged. He emphasizes Students First. Montano is cornered.
Round 3: The usual explanations for not being active in ASI. Good attacks from Chavez. Textbook. At last, Montano is actually doing something to prove her case. But again, it's merely adding to Chavez's case. Yawn. Chavez knocks on the table, and goes in for the kill.
Round 4: Montano is still reading from the script. Again, not compelling. I can't believe she's on the podium. Was she even ready for this one? Chavez, meanwhile, rolls along...but also gets a little hiccup from reading the script. Great recovery from Christopher, though.
Round 5: CSSA question. Chavez plays it safe, quoting "middle of the road." Monthly basis and see how it goes. Montano, however, does not believe in a vote, but how the students feel...which is a vote. Oxymoron. Chavez, however, is weakening a bit.
Round 6: Reading from the script. I suppose this is Senator Montano's comfort zone. Academic Senate and ASI is a priority for Chavez. Montano is conceding this one.

My projected winner of the debate: Chris Chavez. He did his homework, and also was sportsmanlike.

Stay tuned for part 2...