Ho Sit Down - Wow

No explanation needed - thanks Greg

Cal Tree Huggers/Campers

As you saw on ESPN during the coverage of the UT - Cal game, people live in trees in Berkeley. Below is a piece of literature their friends on the ground passed out to explain why they live in trees that should not be cut down.



SEVEN REASONS WHY THE OAK GROVE SHOULD NOT BE DESTROYED

1. It is a Native American burial ground. Native American remains were found at the site in 1923 when the stadium was being built. UC Berkley tried to hide this from the public but documentation was leaked by a conscious UCB employee.

2. It is a World War I Memorial site. The stadium and the Oak Grove are named in honor of Californians who died in World War I.

3. Berkeley City Law prohibits removing mature Coast Live Oaks. Coast Live Oaks are Protected Heritage Trees in the City of Berkeley. If UCB, the largest landowner in Berkeley, doesn't have to follow city ordinances, why should anyone else have to?

4. The new proposed development is adjacent to the (recently active) Hayward Fault. Since the tree-sit started on Dec. 2 there have been seven earthquakes (ranging from 2.0-4.2 on the Richter scale) on the Hayward fault which runs directly under Memorial Stadium.

5. There are four lawsuits against UC Berkeley. A diverse group of institutions and organizations; the City of Berkeley, California Oaks Foundation, Panoramic Hill Association and Save Tightwad Hill are challenging the proposed development as being in violation of various regulations including CEQA (California Envoironmental Quality Air Act), the Alquist-Priolo Act (earthquake fault proximity), and laws regarding emergency access and response requirements.

6. Global Warming is the biggest problem we face today. Cutting down old Oak (and other trees accellerates warming and climate change. Replacing these trees with saplings does not come close to replacing the bio-mass lost.

7. There are other viable alternative sites for the facility. The athletic training facility can be built at Maxwell Field, with the playing surface maintained above. The parking lot at Bancroft/Fulton is another option. A third option is the building at 2223 Fulton St., which is in need of demolition. A further option is expansion at the Edwards Field site. These are only some of the many alternatives to building at Oak Grove.

WE CAN HAVE NEW GYMS AND OLD GROWTH



Damn Commies.

Bradshaw Takes On Sunspehere

Dane Bradshaw was the underdog once again in Knoxville on the Fourth of July when he went toe to toe with the Sunsphere on America's Birthday. Dane went down a zip wire from the top of the 1982 World's Fair structure to the ground 266 feet below and survived. The Sunsphere reopened July 5 for the first time in years to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the World's Fair coming to Knoxville. Proceeds from the entrance fees to the Sunsphere will go to restoration of the amphitheater and upkeep of the park. Dane's high wire act kicked off the celebration while also promoting his book, "Vertical Leap."

For the purposes of full disclosure I am told that I hit the Sunsphere with a potato on Good Friday in 2003 from the Clinch Street bridge. That's a potato cannon of an arm...

Women's Volleyball a Second Tier Sport? Naaaw

This is the first time we have been thrilled with Comcast in some time as with all cable companies they suck. But they did come out against Title IV declaring that women's volleyball is a second tier sport and that they can't be bullied into showing it on their regular packages. The network will show games that are not picked up by one of the main broadcast networks or ESPN as well as offering classic footage.

The disagreement is one that is reminiscent of the dispute that the NFL Network had with cable companies where the cable companies did not want to put the channel into base packages arguing it was a niche market. It is very similar here, but the main difference is that the Big Ten Network is only trying to be a basic channel in Big Ten states. Comcast eventually caved in due to consumers demanding the NFL Network and will be showing it on basic packages beginning in July. One would have to assume there is much less demand for college sports, especially in the North, and the Big Ten might have more trouble than the heavy handed NFL did.

Its great that someone is finally telling television networks that no one wants to see women's college volleyball on television, especially women's volleyball from Iowa. If Comcast had blatantly said women's volleyball holds no purpose they would be dead wrong. It allows the football team to offer more scholarships while keeping in compliance with Title IV rules.

We could see this causing MTV to do an Ashton Kutcher spinoff reality show from his alma mater. If Three 6 Mafia can get a Kutcher show then there is no reason that Iowa can't get one.

The Wild, Wild West

Jimmy Wilson (second team All Big Sky, not pictured) has been suspended by the University of Montana indefinitely after he turned himself in on murder charges Tuesday. The craziest thing about this is that Wilson was not suspended from the Grizzlies until Friday. He has a pretty good alibi if the coach is angry as to why he wasn't in the weight room or participating in seven on sevens between Tuesday and Friday. When he says he was in a bind and couldn't make practice he wasn't lying, he was in prison awaiting to be arraigned on first degree murder charges.

In Montana this isn't a case of Virginia Tech being bad and the University of Virginia being a school that's athletes behave either. Montana has no team with discipline. Montana State has kicked a player off of their team for murder charges (as well as a basketball player) and fired their coach due to the problems their program has had in the last couple years.

With all the incidents the state has had recently I'm amazed my old man was pushing me to apply to Montana State out of high school. I mean hell I could have had all the fun the Montana or State football team has down in Newport News and Hampton Roads at the homes of Hokies without driving 2,000 miles to school a semester. On a postive note I hear Shane Beamer is out there looking for a head coaching gig. Maybe he can right the ship for the Grizz.

At Least It Wasn't Coke Coach Meyer

Tailback Brandon James and basketball player Brandon Powell were arrested by Gainesville Police in an undercover police sting. Both athletes were suspended indefinitely by the athletic department.

Given Urban Meyer's recent history with suspending players James will probably be miss the first two games against Western Kentucky and Troy State , play against Tennessee and be suspended again against Ole Miss. Urban Legend needs to make sure his players are there to play the big boys. Powell is expected to have a larger role on this year's basketball team as the Gators are about to be dismantled by the NBA lottery. Powell is ofcourse from Memphis and continuing to expand the great reputation of the city that I live in. Way to keep it dope boi fresh.

Could they have been picking up something for Joakim Noah? With his dancing after winning the SEC Championship we couldn't rule it out.

Vols' Mears Passes Away

Ray Mears, the winningest coach in Tennessee basketball history, died Monday in Knoxville at 80 years old. Mears is the most beloved men's coach UT ever had. He won three SEC Championships and endeared himself to fans with his humorous personality coaching the Vols from 1963-1977. His teams included such legends Ernie Grunfeld and Bernard King. Mears also coined the term 'Big Orange Country' and donned an orange sport coat at games. Bruce Pearl has paid tribute to Mears the past two seasons wearing the orange sport coat at big games with Mears' permission.

Many of you reading this might be astounded that Tennessee had decent men's basketball teams before Bruce Pearl arrived but this is true, the Vols had some ballas. UT has the biggest basketball arena in the south, can't fill it up but its the biggest, ballin'.

Gillespie Rattles Woman

Florida A&M University head basketball coach Mike Gillespie Jr. has been arrested on stalking charges per ESPN. According to Tallahassee police have investigated Gillespie 'several times' since 2005 with the same issue. I guess that when the coach told his players to 'guard your opponent like you are stalking him,' he really meant it. I mean stalking, come on. Its one thing to get a DUI but stalking!??!?!?

On top of all the probation that the Rattlers have for cheating in NCAA sports this is not going to be good for recruiting. The historically black school has been plagued by over 200 recruiting violations that have put all programs on probation through the year 2010.

FAMU!