Fuck Off, Google!

Harassing my profile and shit is a sign that you peasants are on the decline, Google. Cut it out!

More Nutopia Sports shenanigans...

What the bloody hell, guys, I have a dynasty to update, hurry up and fix this shit you fucking idiots!

Nice try, Black Army.

BLACK ARMY PURCHASE ATTEMPT OF CHIVAS USA

ALTAY TASCIOGLU
MARCH 2014

ISSUE

The issue presented is whether the Chivas USA supporter group Black Army (BA) violates any legal or ethical guidelines by their fundraising efforts to purchase the club. As a general ethical rule, attempted purchases of professional sports teams should be void of impropriety and do no damage to the existing reputation of the club or fan base. My analysis will address the process more than the end result because the likelihood of success by the BA is slim. However, especially in the social media age, significant funds can be raised which could lead to allegations of misrepresentation, misappropriation of funds, and possibly fraud. The intentions of the BA are no doubt innocent, but the process leaves much to be desired.

FACTS

The MLS purchased Chivas USA from Jorge Vergara after a dismal club performance both on and off the field over the last four seasons. The BA wrote a letter to MLSCommissioner Don Garber and requested an opportunity to purchase the club at market value while citing a desire to never repeat the ownership mistakes exhibited by Vergara. The letter announced a fundraising initiative with a pledge to donate 100% of the funds to MLS Works (non-profit arm of MLS) in the event the bid is unsuccessful.

PURPOSE

The purpose of this essay is to voice concerns regarding the fundraising efforts. 2014 will mark my sixth season as a Chivas USA season ticket holder. I love the club, city, and its supporters. The BA shares my passion. In a time where Chivas USA fans are few and far between, the BA is one of the few groups that stuck with the club during tough times. They are lead by smart and energetic supporters who truly want the club to prosper. While I understand the BA wants to parlay passion into more control over the club, the group shows no signs of the experience needed to manage millions of dollars and an MLS Franchise. The same holds true for any potential interest in the club. Hopes and dreams aren’t enough without planning, preparation, organization, resources, and qualifications.

MOTIVE / CHARITABLE DONATION

Why is the BA launching the fundraising drive? My first inclination was publicity. The self-proclaimed “Infamous” BA is a group that prides itself on having called for the firing of two coaches before their eventual termination. Yet, this is the same group that rightly criticized former ownership and their commitment to the club. In essence, they requested the firings of coaches who were attempting “mission impossible.” The BA enjoys their fare share of attention.

During an interview with TheGoatParade.com, BA President Angel Mendoza outlined the group’s plan. He said, “The next step [after buying the team] would be to hold a celebration on doing the impossible. Then setting up a structure of the right staff to make sure the club is successful. We would be looking for a location and investor for a stadium.” Therefore, Mendoza admits to not having a staff structure before fundraising begins.

The group recently proclaimed the primary objective is ownership of the club and not publicity. Yet, the BA chose to attach a charitable donation to their bid if/when they fall short of the goal. The question is why? If the group wants to purchase an MLS Team, the public should expect an all out effort to present a comprehensive bid which includes financing, personnel, corporate structure, endorsements by community leaders, potential soccer operations staff, scouting, youth development, media relations, corporate partnerships, leadership structure, accounting, and many other necessities before fundraising begins. This is known as a prospectus. Merriam-Webster defines prospectus as “a printed statement that describes something (such as a new business or investment) and that is sent to people who may want to be involved in it or invest in it.”

According to Investopedia, “a prospectus should contain the facts that an investor needs to make an informed investment decision.” Such a plan is only fair to a potential donor or investor if expected to part with hard earned money. Common sense indicates that if the above elements are missing prior to soliciting funds, the bid can only be considered a ploy to get publicity. The BA most likely attached the MLS Works pledge to acquire some legitimacy in the project.

The group may also choose to fundraise exclusively for MLS Works if they feel passionately about the cause. Why involve Chivas USA? Also, nothing is stopping the BA from soliciting funds and simply making refunds if they fall short. Mendoza added, “Even if we do not reach our goal to purchase the club, we would like to raise enough to invest into it.” So from start, the BA is straddling between ownership, investment, and a charitable donation while still not offering a prospectus for each situation.

Mendoza was also quoted as saying, “We are realists and not dumb, our chances are very low, but it is fun to do the impossible.” Yet earlier in the interview he insisted the BA wanted to “put our money where our mouth is.” To summarize, the BA wants to have fun and celebrate while soliciting other people’s money and re-directing it to charity in the event they fall short. No refunds allowed.

LEGAL ISSUES

Why is this bad you ask? What’s wrong with donating a few bucks to charity? Simple answer—Misrepresentation. The BA has not started to fundraise at a large scale. With the Internet and social media, anything can happen. Donors could make contributions all across the world. The 2014 World Cup may attract new followers to MLS and possibly new donors. Lets say the BA raised $100,000 from 2,000 people. The BA may personally know only a fraction of the donors. That means the majority of donors are banking on assumptions that a somewhat serious and comprehensive prospectus exists and contains the required elements. Or else, they (donors) would have just donated money directly to MLS Works. However, what if no plan currently exists? What if it’s just a few guys on social media trying to raise funds? How do donors know that the $100,000 won’t be mishandled? How about oversight? The questions are endless. If it is proven that no prospectus exists and the internal goal was notoriety, the BA meets all 9 elements of common law fraud.

(1) a representation; 
(2) its falsity; 
(3) its materiality; 
(4) the speaker’s knowledge of its falsity or ignorance of its truth; 
(5) the speaker’s intent that it be acted upon by the recipient in a manner reasonably contemplated; 
(6) the hearer’s ignorance of its falsity; 
(7) the hearer’s reliance on its truth; 
(8) the right to rely on it; 
(9) the plaintiff’s consequent and proximate injury.

It only takes a handful of upset individuals to say, “Hey wait, I thought this was a serious bid. I want my money back.” Allow me to use an analogy. Some politicians run for President of the United States when they know the odds of winning are slim to none. They do so to advance a message and make speeches. However, they typically present some campaign and strategy plans before soliciting funds. The pubic would find it highly inappropriate for the candidate to not offer a comprehensive plan before soliciting funds and simply converting the money to charity knowing they (candidate) could reap the benefits of the public donation and halfhearted campaign. The notice of a possibility of charitable donation and subsequent consent mean nothing if the donor did not make an informed decision. This would be against public policy.

WHY DOES THIS MATTER?

My gut instinct tells me the BA was attempting to raise funds first and worry about the planning later. In my opinion, that course of action is highly unethical. The BA can create an infrastructure to refund donations in the event of an unsuccessful bid. This alleviates the problem. While it may create accounting work, so would managing thousands of dollars and guarding against impropriety. If the BA refuses to refund the donors, one could ask what their true motives are.

I write this essay because I care about Chivas USA and its future. The club has suffered on and off the field over the last four seasons. From discrimination lawsuits, negativeHBO segments, poor marketing, awful attendance, and club futility, Chivas USA was the model of dysfunction in professional sports. All of this changed when the MLSpurchased the club. Garber wrote the following to Chivas USA supporters in an open letter. He said, “In the coming months, the league will work to find a new ownership group that will establish a new vision and plan for the team, and will be committed to building a new stadium in Los Angeles. We have already had initial discussions with a number of very qualified potential owners and it is our intention to transition the team to a new owner sometime this year.”

I trust Garber after seeing the league grow over the last decade. I’m finally excited about the direction of the club. In my opinion, even if one donor is upset with the handling of funds, the botched fundraiser further tarnishes the reputation of the club and its fan base.

CONCLUSION

The BA is smarter than this. The decision to purchase the club and raise funds came approximately one week after the MLS purchased Chivas USA. If they had this plan all along, one would assume some prospectus would be available now to potential donors. Most likely, the plan was concocted shortly after the sale. In that event, the plan lacks considerable thought and several deficiencies are obvious.

Nobody can question the passion of the BA. Nobody can doubt their love for the club. Nobody believes the BA is doing this for money. I admire and respect the BA. However, this is a bad move and I hope the BA will at least consider switching to a refund policy.

FC BARCELONA STATUTES

The following link points to the FC Barcelona statutes. The BA can use the statutes as a guide in preparing a detailed prospectus before soliciting funds.

http://www.uk.coop/sites/storage/public/downloads/barca_statutes.pdf

Oh Russia...

SOCHI, Russia — The Russian men’s hockey players were put forward as the host country’s most important entry in the Sochi Olympics, the only team that really mattered to many here. No one will ever know for sure the pressure they faced, only the humiliating ending they encountered.

Russia was holding its collective breath with this team, and was prepared to keep holding it through the gold medal game on Sunday, the grand finale before the closing ceremony. Instead, all the air was let out in the most dispiriting way on Wednesday, in a 3-1 loss to Finland in the quarterfinals. They did not get close.

Russia also struggled in the preliminary round, losing to the United States in a shootout. The Russians then had to play a qualification game, against Norway, to reach the quarterfinals. None of their games inspired much confidence.

It was always gold medal or bust for the Russians, who for the past 22 years, since the breakup of the Soviet Union, have endured teams that looked strong on paper but could not find their way to a gold medal.

MEN’S TOURNAMENT ICE HOCKEY
Quarterfinal 2
Team 1 2 3 Score
 Finland 2 1 0 3
 Russia 1 0 0 1

Between 1956, when it made its ice hockey debut, and the breakup in 1991, the Soviet Union won the Olympic gold in seven of nine appearances. In 1992, a unified team composed of the splintered Soviet republics also won. In the five Winter Games since, Russia has won two medals; a silver in 1998 and a bronze in 2002.

The pressure on the men to win an independent Russia’s first gold medal on home soil was greater than anything faced by the United States in 2002 or Canada in 2010.

“Our fans are a little bit tougher, I think,” Sergei Fedorov, a forward on the 1998 and 2002 Olympic teams, said recently. “They don’t like when the national team loses.”

A few weeks before the Sochi Games, Teemu Selanne conceded that the Finnish team he would be captaining was not the most talented in the tournament. In a best-of-seven series, Selanne said, Finland would be hard-pressed to defeat Russia, Canada or the United States, the pre-Games favorites.

“But in one game,” he said, “I like our chances against anybody.”

At 43, Selanne is the wise old lion of the Finnish team, a six-time Olympian who kept retirement at bay so he could have one more shot at an elusive gold medal. On Wednesday, Selanne was the better, more energetic No. 8 on the ice, outplaying his supremely skilled but strangely silent counterpart, Alex Ovechkin.

Selanne scored the go-ahead goal, fittingly on Finland’s eighth shot, with 2 minutes 22 seconds remaining in the first period, on a pass from the left circle by Mikael Granlund. He picked up the first assist on the third, feeding Granlund on a power play in the sixth minute of the second.

Granlund’s goal came after the Russians’ missed a couple sterling scoring opportunities. The forward Alexander Radulov, who has been in and out of favor with his coach, Zinetula Bilyaletdinov, whiffed on a shot on a breakaway and Ovechkin, who had not scored since his first shift of these Games, fired a close-range shot that the Finnish goaltender, Tuukka Rask, stopped with his right pad.

Ilya Kovalchuk, the former N.H.L. player who returned to Russia to play for the Kontinental Hockey League team in St. Petersburg, opened the scoring with a power-play goal in the eighth minute of the first, his one-timer beating Rask on the stick side.

Less than two minutes later, the Finns’ Juhamatti Aaltonen tied the scored – and quieted the crowd – with an attempt from the left circle, Finland’s favored shooting spot, that beat Sergei Bobrovsky on his stick side.

The Russians, or at least their news media, knew better than to take Finland lightly. The Finns are 4-2 against Russia in Olympic competition, a statistic one reporter alluded to when he asked Bilyaletdinov pointedly the night before the game: “The Finnish team is an inconvenient rival to us. The statistics show that. Have you analyzed what we should do to take advantage of our strong side and their weaknesses?”

Bilyaletdninov’s short answer then was that the Russians’ best scorers, led by Ovechkin, had to keep putting shots on the net. After his first-shift goal in Russia’s opener against Slovakia, Ovechkin was scoreless on his next 23 shots.

Rask, the Boston Bruins goalie, made big save after big save, and the Finnish defense was stout in front of him to keep the Russians, and their fans, from getting back into the game. It all transpired as Selanne had predicted last month when he said, “The Olympics is a bigger ice surface and it’s only 10 days. In that short time it’s going to be who finds the little things or whose system is better.”

New Year's Day 2010 Quick hits

Kobe Bryant knows how to open a new year in dramatic fashion. A buzzer-beater against the Sacramento Kings lifted the Los Angeles Lakers to a 109-108 win. Heh. Old hat for the Black Mamba come playoff time?

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People on deviantART can't tell me that my gallery is just desktop screenshots now. I took plenty of photos of the Rose Parade for your enjoyment/web design use because those folks special (aside from those ungrateful art-thief-hunting bastards who I choose not to tolerate), nuff said.

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AFC Wimbledon and Melbourne Victory wasted their games to open the new year with defeats, but Long Beach State's men's basketball team took the cake in terms of futility. This team is on a dangerous path, losing in overtime to UC Riverside 68-66.

Dan Monson, how dare you waste the nonconference gauntlet tonight. Epic fail. Again, I say, EPIC FAIL! When you cannot beat the Sisters of Mercy with your team's shooting (and on top of that, not learning your lesson from the LMU disasterfest), the Changi Prison guards need to give your players a caning or two.

One last time: E.P.I.C. F.A.I.L. Make 'em run suicides for the plan backfiring on you.

---

Ohio State was going to win the Rose Bowl. Oregon fell victim to the SI jinx, 26-17.

Burn in hell, Ken Miller.

You ruined my Thanksgiving, and don't you fucking forget it!

Sunday, November 29, 2009

Presented by

Alouettes come all the way back in Grey Cup

Sean Fitz-Gerald,  National Post 

REUTERS/Todd Korol

CALGARY -- It must have seemed safe at the time, with the roar from the stands echoing into the dressing room. Saskatchewan Roughriders linebacker Tad Kornegay ran to the locker room at halftime, located a mobile device and exclaimed to the digital world: "We up Rider nation! Let's put them away now!"

Not only was the team leading, it seemed to add another shovel full on the legacy of the Montreal Alouettes with every series. It was wildly premature, as the Roughriders melted down in the final seconds to lead to a 33-yard field goal from Damon Duval on the final play of the game.

Duval had sent an earlier attempt wide right, only to have the Roughriders get caught for having too many men on the field. The final moments stunned the green-themed crowd at McMahon Stadium, giving the Alouettes a 28-27 win in the 97th Grey Cup.

The Alouettes, who posted a franchise record 15-3 record over the regular season, won their second Grey Cup of the decade. Quarterback Anthony Calvillo improved his record in the big game to 2-5, exorcising the demons that had followed him for the entire week's build-up.

Calvillo had been unsettled in the first half, playing as though he had been visited by the ghost of Grey Cups past at the team hotel on Saturday night. He had spent the week discussing his renewed professional spirit, but looked an awful lot like the man who had been at the helm of five losses in six previous Grey Cup appearances.

His first pass skipped incomplete and to nobody in particular. He misfired on three of his next four passes, and compounded the team's early jitters with a fumble that handed the ball to Saskatchewan eight yards from the end zone.

Roughriders slotback Andy Fantuz made a cut to his right that nearly broke the ankles of the linebacker assigned to coverage, hauling in the short pass for a touchdown and a 10-0 lead a play after Calvillo's fumble. The roar from the stands rumbled across the field like Prairie thunder.

Saskatchewan built a 17-3 lead it carried into halftime, with Durant playing with every ounce of the composure that Calvillo should have been displaying. Montreal's offence tore through the regular season, averaging a league-high 33.3 points per game, powered by a cadre of veterans whose sworn mission was to avenge their Grey Cup loss on home soil last fall.

The Alouettes managed one lonely point in the second half of a 22-14 loss to the Calgary Stampeders last year, but any lessons they might have learned seemed lost as the sun set on Southern Alberta. Montreal's drive chart in the first half could well have belonged to the hapless Toronto Argonauts, featuring six punts, two fumbles and a field goal.

Saskatchewan punted four times, but the offence seemed to be in calmer hands with Durant. The 27-year-old fielded a bad snap, evaded a fierce two-pronged pass rush and made the smart decision to throw the ball out of bounds instead of trying to force the play once the Roughriders took the lead.

Durant was clearly the second-most popular quarterback in the build-up to kickoff. In his first season at the helm, he led the team to a first place finish in the West Division and the team's first home final in three decades, and in the rare instances when he stumbled last night, his defence bailed him out.

He was intercepted late in the third quarter, only to have the Saskatchewan defence force another Montreal two-and-out. The Alouettes had been threatening to rally, with Calvillo having found Jamel Richardson at the end of a nine-play, 74-yard drive, but the defence did its best to keep it from becoming a trend.

Calvillo was sacked in back-to-back passing situations early in the third quarter, and the second knocked the Alouettes back eight yards and out of field goal range. The offence looked lost, nothing like the unit that mauled the B.C. Lions 56-18 in the East Division final, when it pounced on every mistake the Lions made.

With help from running back Wes Cates, Durant led a backbreaking drive early in the fourth quarter, marching the Roughriders 75 yards and into the end zone. The last play was the kind of run they will replay for years in Regina, with Durant running 16 yards into the end zone, bouncing off a tackler just as he crossed the line for a 27-11 lead.

Another rare Calvillo flourish led the Alouettes right back, capped with a scoring run by Avon Cobourne and a successful two-point conversion. Suddenly, it was 27-19, and the tension build when Durant made an ill-advised pass intercepted by Jerald Brown, which led to an 11-yard scoring pass to Ben Cahoon. Montreal missed the two-point conversion.

National Post
sfitzgerald@nationalpost.com 

© 2009 The National Post Company. All rights reserved.

Quick hits, November 23, 2009

This day had to be one of the most harrowing. I get a negrep from some prick on MaXXed Football Forums. Glad I was to get back at the jackass. One of the moderators on BigSoccer gave me my first infraction in over two fucking years.
That's a long time. It was labeled "Trolling - Severe." That's not even the harshest mud I could sling. The Senate in my head is considering to negrep the bastard back, but I am going to mull it over, because the power of debating is a wonderful thing.


And my laptop is starting to annoy me with its suckitude when running Windows 7. I had to reduce it to something close to what it was circa WIndows 98. It was starting to be a pain.


Of course, I dealt with the usual suspects at Topix and on MiniTokyo, as well as on deviantART. So I did the usual rounds.


But I have to be pissed at the Los Angeles Galaxy. Especially Landon Donovan, Edson Buddle and Jovan Kirovski for fucking up the penalties. Oh yes, and Robbie Russell would not be welcomed into my house, even if he were to wear the Galaxy strip.


Fuck him, and fuck the fact that he scored the decisive penalty that shut Los Angeles out of a title in the pro soccer world. And no, Pali Blues does not count.


More coffee, I say.

Censor this, you Communist hacks!

China stifles Obama charisma


By Stephen Collinson (AFP) – 1 hour ago


BEIJING — Something got lost in transit in US President Barack Obama's visit to China -- the charismatic rhetoric and dominance of mass communication that took him from nowhere to the White House.


Obama built his political persona with soaring speeches on a grand stage and by reaching out to a vast grassroots network on the Internet.


But in China, Obama's hosts successfully stifled those prodigious public talents, keeping his message from the people with media censorship and smothering it in staid diplo-speak.


On previous foreign trips in his taxing first year in office, the president sent inspiring words winging to millions of satellite dishes in the Muslim world and sparked Obama mania in Europe.


But in China, it has been tougher to reach out to ordinary citizens. His best attempt, a town hall meeting streamed on the White House website, suffered from what was largely a nationwide media blackout.


And Obama's talks on Tuesday with President Hu Jintao were followed by a dull public appearance, with both leaders reading out statements to the media stuffed with diplomatic code words.


The US president shuffled his papers on the lectern, scratched an eyebrow and looked across at Hu, as his host read out a long speech. The arid diplomatic translations made the occasion seem even more sterile.


Chinese officials several times warned the hundreds of reporters present, whom they referred to as "dear friends," that questions were banned. There was no chance for Obama to deploy his persuasive political personality.


Clearly, the raucous political dialogue seen in American elections and politics is alien to communist-ruled China where sites such as Facebook, YouTube and Twitter are heavily censored.


But it seems Obama is ready to play a "long game" on China policy, and is willing to take domestic media hits over a lack of progress now, in the hope of results later on.


Equally, the White House did not expect opportunities for Obama's populist politics offered elsewhere in the world, or that the US president could transform the political environment alone.


"I did not expect, I can speak authoritatively for the president on this, that we thought the waters would part and everything would change over the course of our two-and-a-half-day trip to China," said Obama spokesman Robert Gibbs.


Obama aides report that while his public persona may be out of view, the first-year president has emerged as a forceful negotiator with Chinese leaders, and is firing off questions about life here.


US Ambassador to China Jon Huntsman said Obama was "extremely effective" in private and a strong advocate for the country as a president "who talks about our traditions and is able to explain it to all those who are listening."


White House aides prefer not to dwell on the differences, and instead talk about how he is developing a relationship with China that will be invaluable for working on the world's most pressing problems.


Obama used his town hall meeting in Shanghai to issue a call for the unshackling of the Internet.


But Chinese authorities appeared to make attempts to stack the audience with students willing to follow the government line.


At least two of the four youths Obama picked to ask their own questions were later identified as Communist Youth League members.


The event did air on local television, but appears not to have had national exposure. Hopes that the official Xinhua news agency would stream it live did not materialise.


The state mouthpiece instead posted a running transcript of the meeting, erecting a barrier between Obama's personality and everyday Chinese.


Several Chinese bloggers praised Obama's efforts, and said his call to pull down the "Great Firewall of China" would provide valuable ammunition for Chinese web users.


"Obama's answer... is very interesting, because he is the first president who talks about this, and it will move and urge the Chinese government to think," said one blogger, known as Beifeng.


Another blogger, Zuola, also welcomed Obama's intervention -- which was sparked by a question submitted by email read out by Huntsman.


But he said the town hall meeting was simply a "game" played out under strict Chinese supervision.


"The Chinese government surely does not like those who are not in their control," he said.


Obama's trip to Shanghai only got covered in passing on the main evening news on state-run nationwide broadcaster CCTV on Monday, which devoted most of its time to Hu's trip to the Asia-Pacific summit.




The town hall meeting was not mentioned at all.

Quick hits, September 13, 2009

58 percent of you fuckers on the Anizone Saimoe are bloody idiots. IDIOTS, I say. You just had to let Yuki Nagato through. AGAIN. The second season of Haruhi isn't gaining as much steam as before, and you just confirmed your idiocy. Goddamn you all!!!

More on this on the next edition of the Lunch Hour (via transcript). I am not too happy about this. Any of you turds who thought that Haruhiism was dead...apparently there are some voters in need of being persecuted.

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Good riddance, Ohio State. You sucked last night. And so did you, Lane Kiffin. You should have just kept your ass in Oakland, you traitor!

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The Galaxy need a lesson in consistency. A 6-3 defeat to FC Dallas is fucking unforgivable.

It's official...

California sucks as a state.

And so the war goes on. Nice going, you six old shagbags on the California Supreme Court. Out of money and out of tolerance. Hence my first sentence.

Good riddance, indeed!

T-minus 5 days till the homeboy checks in...

===

Analysis: Americans happy 'failed marriage' with Bush is ending

By Bill Schneider
CNN Senior Political Analyst


WASHINGTON (CNN) -- For most Americans, the Bush era is ending not a moment too soon.

As President Bush prepares to leave office, three quarters of Americans have a parting thought: "Good riddance."

Asked their view of President Bush at the end of his presidency, 75 percent said they are glad he is leaving, according to a CNN-Opinion Research Corporation poll taken in December. Only 23 percent said they will miss him.

It's been like a failed marriage. Things started out well. When President Bush first took office, more than 60 percent saw him as strong and decisive.

That impression was re-enforced after the September 11, 2001,attacks when the president stood at Ground Zero and declared, "The people who knocked these buildings down will hear from all of us soon.'' View iconic images from the Bush presidency »

Bush's image of resolve got him re-elected in 2004, when terrorism was the dominant concern. More than 60 percent of Americans continued to see Bush as strong and decisive when he started his second term in 2005.

No more. There is a fine line between resolve and stubbornness, and Bush seems to have crossed it.

Now only 45 percent consider Bush a strong leader.

Bush did once have a reputation as a good manager (61 percent in 2001). Then came Hurricane Katrina in 2005. And Bush's reputation as a manager got blown away. Last month, only 25 percent said he has managed government effectively. View a timeline of key moments in Bush's presidency »

Bush got elected on a promise. "I think that people look for someone who is a uniter, not a divider,'' he said when he first ran for president.

But the vast majority of Americans now think he betrayed that promise. Only 17 percent now believe Bush united the country.

"I think one of the big disappointments of the presidency has been the fact that the tone in Washington got worse, not better,'' Bush told ABC News. "The tone was rough," Bush said, "and I was obviously partially responsible because I was the president."

Even some conservatives feel betrayed. Evangelical leader Pat Robertson said, "I think we've had some serious goofs along the way. The Katrina matter was terrible. The rebuilding of Iraq has been terrible. The handling of the economy right now has been terrible."

Fewer than a third of Americans believe George W. Bush will go down in history as a good president. Forty percent said Bush leaves a poor legacy and 28 percent said Bush is the worst president in American history.

"I think historians will look back and they'll be able to have a better look at mistakes after some time has passed,'' Bush said at his final news conference on Monday. "I don't think you can possibly get the full breadth of an administration until time has passed.'' Watch Bush's final press conference »

Bush's two signature policies were the war in Iraq and tax cuts. As he leaves office, neither is regarded as a success.

The president argued at his news conference, "When the history of Iraq is written, historians will analyze . . . the decision on the surge."

Americans do acknowledge the security situation in Iraq has improved since Bush sent 30,000 additional U.S. troops.

But public opposition to the war has not budged. More than 60 percent of Americans continue to think the war was a mistake.

Bush also defends his tax policies. "I helped implement tax cuts when I was president," he said, "and I will defend them after my presidency as the right course of action.''

But the outgoing administration's economic record is the weakest of any president since World War II. The country's job growth under Bush: just 2 percent. Bill Clinton's eight years in office saw more than 20 percent job growth. Job growth for the previous nine postwar presidents averaged 12 percent.

"It's sad to say, but we really went nowhere for almost 10 years after you extract the boost provided by the housing and mortgage boom,'' Mark Zandi, chief economist and cofounder of Moody's Economy.com, told The Washington Post. "It's almost a lost economic decade."

President Bush's response: "I inherited a recession. I'm ending on a recession. In the meantime, there were 52 months of uninterrupted job growth."

Bush is proudest of his steadfast leadership after the attacks of September 11, 2001. Indeed, the trauma of the attacks did bring the country together -- for a while. Exactly one year, to be precise. From September 2001 to September 2002, Democrats, Independents and Republicans all supported Bush.

It came to an end in September 2002, when the Iraq rollout and the midterm election campaign began, and the country's bitter divisions re-emerged.


Bush says he has no regrets. "In terms of the decisions that I had made to protect the homeland, I wouldn't worry about popularity," he advised his successor. "All these debates will matter naught if there's another attack on the homeland. ... The question's going to be, 'Why didn't you do something?' "

That's how President Bush wants to be remembered -- as the president who kept the country safe.

===

Mauricio Ingrassia has got to go. Seriously.

I am in a very sour mood today. Long Bech State's women soccer team had one of the biggest opportunities to win a postseason trophy...and they wasted it. They lost to UC Santa Barbara on penalties, 6-5, after drawing even 1-1 through 110 minutes.

After the Gauchos converted the match-winning penalty, I couldn't stay. I saw enough and I disgracefully stormed out. I invested $8.00 to watch these guys get it done...only to see our status as bridesmaids continue for another year.

Because of this, I sent an e-mail shortly after to Vic Cegles, the school's athletic director, to consider not extending Mauriocio Ingrassia's contract, and even sack him. Fire him. Do anything we can to get a new head coach who can get us the hardware as well as the wins, like Ali Khosroshahin of USC (formerly of Cal State Fullerton).

I have lost faith in Mauricio, as well as exhausted my patience. He should be gone if we don't get an at-large bid.

Hey Jared Weaver...

Jared Weaver:

Thank you for ruining what was once a day where my teams were on a roll. I knew someone was going to be the goat. I could not believe that it was you, of all people. Maybe we should change your name to Judas for your betrayal of all things Angelic pitching.

....................../´¯/)
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If someone is going to be pitching for the Angels next year in a game held on my birthday, pray to God that it will NOT BE you.

J-R

Add these guys to your list of idiots...

I put a damnatio memoriae on these guys. Take note, all of you who read the Bedlam.

To these old scrooges:

Mike Slive

Kevin White

Mike Tranghese

Jim Delany

Tom Hansen

Dan Beebe

John Swofford

The BoBA declares that the seven of you all suck.

UC Davis men's basketball sux...

Not for the fact that they didn't bother to show up against our guys, but for the fact that I didn't get to see them NOT show up (due to the people who make the schedule changing the time to 4:00 p.m. instead of originally planned 7:00). Get your sorry asses back to Division II where you rightfully belong, you have no business playing in our league. And by the way, your men's water polo team owe us one.

Do it. Do it naoughw. You fucking cunts.

No hope for USA Volleyball.

The men, at least.

After sweeping the Brazilians, Puerto Rico defeats them in four games. Our Olympic run is over, god willing.

Way to have a letdown, you pricks. I'll be bloody surprised if you turds are still able to qualify after an uninspiring performance.

Donating blood = a waste of time?

Well, that will be the last time I donate blood at a church for a while.

Up until this point, I didn’t have a problem with the delivery of my blood. But today, at St. Pancratius Church in Lakewood, some rather unqualified staff from the American Red Cross messed up my donation. The needle got clogged, and I started to feel like how my mom felt when the washer started to grate loudly a few weeks ago.

I probably have an idea why not a lot of people donate blood out here. The people at the Red Cross can’t even do the process right themselves. They apologized to me, but I said, “Oh, like hell I’m gonna hear it. Apologize to the people who need the donations. You screwed up, and you’re gonna have to deal with it.”

Thanks a lot, Red Cross. You wasted my time with your uncompelling incompetence. Let that clot be on your head until you can your shit together. Fuckers.

April 17: A pure day from hell.

I'm...not dead yet.

I still ask myself, “Why am I not gone yet?” Yesterday was a day that I would love to forget. In fact, I have to forget this day, because I sacrificed a number of things, part of a baseball game that would see my home team drop, and barely missing a bus. On top of that, my hockey team, the Anaheim Ducks, squandered a sweep that night, and the Angels continued their evil losing ways once again.

The biggest one that had to hurt was the fact that I had a second unexcused tutoring absence. It was not something I wanted to sacrifice, but given that my laptop was going through an important software upgrade, I had to give that up.

On top of that, I was a no-show at the ISSA meeting because my laptop was still going through the upgrade. The people at the labs could not let my laptop go unattended, and if I pulled the plug, I would still be stuck with Vista Home Premium, instead of Vista Ultimate, which was finally finished over an hour after the meeting concluded.

I had enough time to get the baseball game, but the Dirtbags were awful against LMU. Inept pitching. Horrible fielding. And extra innings after squandering the opportunity to win the game with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth.

To make matters worse, I missed my bus heading to Downtown Long Beach. And for an exclamation point, my sister goes far as to call me an idiot. I’m not sure I can accept her apology afterwards, unless she pays for my bloody tuition. She’s 10 times the schumck I will ever be, that older sister of mine.

I am still stunned and in disbelief that I could survive such a nightmarish day. Maybe the man upstairs is telling me to wait a long while before he puts me in the know. Guess life will have to go on for me...for now.

San Berdoo...why do you fail? <_<#

I have heard of Cal State San Bernardino at least once or twice in my life. And that was when I was looking for the right place for me to get a college education after I was done with Long Beach City College. At San Bernardino, their athletic teams are called the Coyotes. They were established only recently, and they are younger than the beach by a few decades, so their enrollment is small, Division-II quality. As of this writing, they have never won a national championship in anything, but their men’s basketball team was poised to be the first from San Bernardino to bring home their first piece of real hardware.

Their head coach was Jeff Oliver, a Cal Poly grad who worked with then-head coach Larry Reynolds as an assistant before ascending to his current role. They had some good payback, defeating Humboldt State to get to the Elite Eight in Springfield, Massachusetts. Springfield is home to the YMCA that welcomed basketball to the world via one James Naismith. Yesterday, they thumped Wingate by nearly 30 points, also scoring 100 in the process. Today they face the Bulldogs of Barton College. This school is small, with an enrollment of barely over 1,000. How this team is even Division II is beyond me. My high school has higher enrollment than this.

The kicker is that they are Division II’s “Beasts from the East,” having been seeded first in the East Regional, and winning it as well. If San Bernardino wins this game, they take on either Central Missouri or Winona State for all the marbles.

Unfortunately, they didn’t. They lost 80-79 to the Bulldogs. Which means: they fail basketball. Which also means: Who fucking cares?

Nice way to fail, Coyotes. Enjoy not getting a national championship in any sport for the next 100 years.

Twilight Zone time for Tennessee

Tennessee was in ther Twilight Zone, playing perhaps their best basketball even this season. High-flying offense with opportunistic defense resulting in one of those old-school 70's and 80's style overs, a 121-86 win over Long Beach State.

Wonder if this makes the decision for Vic Cegles to be a bit easier, or harder. I don't what's going through his mind. I don't even want to know.