Author: sign_arenas

Ray was born and raised in the Bay Area, and has been addicted to the local sports scene since Luis Polonia was roaming left field for the A's. You can always pick him out of a crowd by looking for the guy in Warriors gear. Ray is the Oakland Sports Examiner at Examiner.com, and his work can be found at:

http://www.examiner.com/x-12984-Oakland-Sports-Examiner

MLB General

Residential Debate

Sometimes the smallest events in life can have the most unexpected consequences. I had to take my car into the shop today, which meant I had to take BART into San Francisco for work. After racing to catch my train, I took the first available seat I could find, which happened to be behind two baseball fans seated across from one another. As I passed them to get to my seat, I saw that one fan was wearing a Giants hat, and the other was wearing an A’s hat. They began to converse shortly after I sat down on the train, and by the time they finished, I couldn’t get them out of my head. They were quick, witty, and ruthless when it came to the other’s baseball allegiance. Here’s what little I remember of their exchange:

General Sports

Catching Up With Old Friends

Post author By sign_arenas
Post date May 13, 2005
3 Comments on Catching Up With Old Friends

One thing you learn as time goes on is that things change. For instance, when I was in college, the term “single malt” meant having only one forty instead of two. But just as tastes change, so do people. Take Jason Giambi, for example. At one time, he was a king, treated as a hero wherever he went in the Bay Area. When he played for Oakland, Giambi was free to grow his hair long, sport a goatee, ride his motorcycle, take steroids, and drink heavily, and people loved him for it. A’s fans started “MVP!” chants every time he came to the plate after August 1st, and his own teammates carried him off the field on their shoulders. He was the leader of a young, cocky team that looked up to him like a big brother.

NFL General

On The Clock

There’s been a little something missing in my life recently. I don’t know if I’m the only one who’s felt this way, but sports have left me feeling a little empty the past few months. Sure, the three Yankees-Red Sox games each day are great, and the smooth, dulcid tones of Stephen A. Smith can relax even the most tightly wound sports fan, but watching ESPN just hasn’t provided the same enjoyment for me recently. It wasn’t until this week that the origin of my problem dawned on me: I’ve been going through Michael Irvin Withdrawl.

Golden State Warriors

B. Diddy & The Family

The Golden State Warriors are the best sports team in the Bay Area. There, I said it. The 49ers are ready to make Aaron Rodgers the least celebrated #1 pick in NFL history, the Raiders are apparently only too happy to field a defense a Pee Wee League team would be ashamed of, and both the A’s and Giants are suddenly looking very ordinary. For the first time in longer than anyone can remember, the Golden State Warriors are the toast of the Bay. At least, they will be, once word reaches the masses that B. Diddy now runs the city.

Golden State Warriors

Reversal of Fortune

Now that the champagne bottles are all empty, and all the guests have gone home, the Golden State Warriors and their fans can now go back to living their normal lives. As is the case every year, Warriors fans worked themselves into a frenzy over which player their team might acquire before the trade deadline, all based on some hot rumor they received from their mailman who knows someone who knows someone’s cousin. But today is different from every other post-deadline Friday: there’s no hangover. Warriors fans woke up Friday morning and the hottie was still in their bed. This wasn’t just some dream we had about a 6-foot bowling ball of a point guard who would dunk over his own mother if she was guarding the lane. No, this really happened. The Warriors made a franchise-altering trade in February, and for once, we’re not the ones who took it on the chin.

MLB General

Wins and Needles

Let me just get this out of the way right now: I’m a big juice fan. Always have been. It started with apple juice when I was younger, then I later moved on to orange juice, and finally to cranberry. So when I found out that my favorite baseball player of all-time was writing a book titled “Juiced”, I was thrilled. I innocently assumed that Jose Canseco was joining the juice/health/low-carb/tofu/styrofoam craze that’s been sweeping the nation, coming at it from the creepy Jack LaLanne juice-and-smoothie angle. Jose had always been careful about what he put in his body, so this book idea only made sense. At least that’s what passed for my defense of him until recently.

NFL General

Title Belts and Sweat Pants

Post author By sign_arenas
Post date February 4, 2005
No Comments on Title Belts and Sweat Pants

In a few short days, the Patriots and Eagles will face off in the most dramatic embarrassment of riches this young century has seen, otherwise known as this year’s Super Bowl. The NFL certainly didn’t need this. Unlike professional baseball or basketball, the NFL knows that its championship game will be a ratings colossus each and every year.

Golden State Warriors

The One That Didn’t Get Away

Post author By sign_arenas
Post date January 21, 2005
1 Comment on The One That Didn’t Get Away

Ever since Chris Cohan took over as owner of the Golden State Warriors, the team has strictly adhered to a kindly old fisherman’s rule: you can catch stars, but always be sure to throw ’em back. If you happen to be a fan of the team, you can probably recite the list of ex-Warrior stars faster than you can recall your own address. Precious few players are given long-term contracts around these parts, and even fewer live up to the expectations that come with their deals. This summer, Adonal Foyle and Derek Fisher each signed 6-year deals worth the equivalent of Master P’s bicuspids, which is no small chunk of change. Apparently the names Danny Fortson and Bimbo Coles mean nothing to the people running this franchise.

San Francisco Giants

Fountain of Youth

Brian Sabean is a busy man these days. This week alone, he’s managed to add All-Star Moises Alou to the San Francisco outfield, and is on the verge of signing a deal with the Rolling Stones that would allow the Giants to coordinate their road trips with the Stones’ U.S. summer tour. Rumors are swirling that the Giants are also prepared to offer a bullpen spot to Pat Summerall, but neither side has confirmed the talks. The San Francisco Giants have been an old team for years and continue to get older, made to look downright geriatric when compared to the daycare center now being housed in the Oakland Coliseum. But the Giants also represent the Bay Area’s best hope for a playoff team in 2005, in any sport. This is crucial for me, because I’m running out of creative ways to say that my teams suck (there’s a limit to the number of times you can write things like, “for the 11th consecutive year, the Western Conference playoffs will narrowly elude the grasp of the Golden State Warriors”).

Oakland A's

Hudson the Brave

The A’s traded ace Tim Hudson last week. You can either read “Moneyball” again, or just read this column. That’s what I thought.

Every once in a while, being a sports fan comes back to punch you in the gut. There are a few times in your life when your team makes a move you hate so strongly, you realize how hopeless you are as a fan. Your team will sign and trade players, select players in the draft, win or lose games, with or without you. You have no control over anything that happens with your team. And 99% of the time, you go along with that without even noticing. But there are those rare instances when the goings-on in the sports world become something more than white noise, and your body tries to reject it. You can’t help but sit back with a look on your face like Matt Damon, after losing his entire bankroll to Teddy KGB in “Rounders”. I went through one of these moments a few months ago, when the Warriors signed Derek Fisher. And then came today’s bombshell: Tim Hudson has pitched his last game for the Oakland A’s.