San Diego Tijuana Olympics

San Diego Tijuana Olympics bid would bring interesting logistics strategy to the busiest border crossing in the world.   There are several articles about the early proposal.  Much of the entertainment comes from the reader commentary.  Here are a few samples…

~ chickletts $10.50, Mexican sodas $ 7.70., churros $ 5.50. I can’t wait!

~ Or think of this scenario. Olympian athlete who trained for years ends up forfeiting due to four hour wait at the border and then was detained by Fatherland Security.

~ As a San Diegan, I hate this idea. The nightmare of the crowds far outweighs any phantom economic benefit. Yes, SD/TJ is one metro area. (It’s the world’s busiest border crossing because of the people who work/live on both sides, TJ’s sewer system empties on the SD side, etc.) But crossing the border for the games would be even more of a disaster than it already is. SD has more problems building a stadium than LA. The issues are endless.

~ While we’re considering idiotic ideas, why not make bull fighting and coqk fighting Olympic events.

~ are school shootings going to be added too?

~ Why would a country that performs so terribly in the Olympics want to host it?  Everyone knows that every Mexican who can run, jump, or swim is already over here in the U.S…

~ funny thing is that at their three main sports (Boxing, Soccer and Baseball) Mexico beats the US all the time.

~ Oh, and I’m certain police corruption would instantly be curbed with the prospect of all that foreign money showing up at the same time.

~ I heard that Taco Bell is going to sponsor the Run For The Border Marathon that goes from TJ to San Diego.  The problem is that the Mexico team has a few million team members.

~ How about some water sports in the Brown Trout Canal they call the TJ River?

~ Popotla to Oceanside boat racing

#TijuanaOlympicEvents

Ensenada Marineros Baseball Chicas

Ensenada Marineros Baseball cheerleaders are a treat for your entertainment value.  See baseball calendar for schedule.

Ensenada Marineros Baseball

Ensenada Marineros Baseball Calendar.  click to go to website.  7:15 PM start times for Monday-Saturday home(blue) games.  7PM start for Sunday home games.

Map to Stadium, located at 9th and Guadalupe, 3 block west of Av Reforma.  Click on map to get to live version of Ensenada Interactive Map.

Baltimore Browns Super Bowl 2013

  

Editor’s note: Having been born in Cleveland, I grew up as a big Cleveland Browns fan.  I adopted the Baltimore “Browns” when Art Modell moved them from Cleveland in 1996.  I’m also picking them to beat the 4 point favored SFO 49ers in Super Bowl 2013.  Ravens are plentiful in Baja!

Ravens in Bajadock’s neighborhood. Can you spot all 3 of them?

by Tom Scocca, Deadspin

Now Art Modell is dead. Good. He didn’t die friendless and in pain, like Robert Irsay did, but at least he’s just as dead. I hope Irsay gave him a friendly wave, one thief to another, as Modell plunged past him to an even deeper level of Hell.

Deeper? Oh, yes. Bob Irsay, the man who stole the Baltimore Colts, was a vicious, incompetent drunk. But he wore the nastiness right up on his shiny, booze-reddened surface. He didn’t try to make anybody like or respect him.

For the second year in a row, Slate and Deadspin are teaming up for a season-long NFL roundtable. Check back here each week as a rotating cast of football watchers discusses the weekend’s key plays, coaching decisions, and traumatic brain injuries. And click here to play the latest episode of Slate’s sports podcast Hang Up and Listen.

Art Modell wanted respect. “I had no choice,” he said, when he stole the Cleveland Browns and shipped them off to Baltimore, to cash in on the damage left there by Irsay. Every day of your life, you have a choice. Art Modell’s choice was to be a traitor and a con man—and, on top of that, to be a whiner.

Here he is in 1999, humbly summing up his life’s work to the AP’s David Ginsburg.

“I have a great legacy, tarnished somewhat by the move. The politicians and the bureaucrats saw fit to cover their own rear ends by blaming it on me,” Modell said. “They built a new ballpark, a new arena, a science museum and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but I couldn’t get running water in the upper deck.”

Next paragraph:

The Ravens now play in a lavish new stadium—as do the expansion Cleveland Browns.

How you feel about that punchline—and the $550 million of public money smoldering beneath it—is a pretty good test of how much of a schmuck you are. Today’s obituaries mostly assume schmuckhood. The AP assures us that Modell was “beloved in Baltimore.” Do tell.

Here is what Arthur B. Modell did for the city of Baltimore and its faithful football fans: In 1991, when the NFL was signing up prospective owners for its 1993 expansion vote*, Maryland governor William Donald Schaefer recruited Robert Tisch, the co-CEO of Loews, to lead Baltimore’s effort. “I had it all set … and I’m 99 percent sure that I would have been the owner,” Tisch told reporters later.

And then Art Modell called Tisch up and talked him out of it, steering his friend into buying a share of the Giants instead. When it came time to vote on expansion, Modell cast his vote for Jacksonville—against Baltimore, and against his own best friend, Alfred Lerner, who was trying to get a team there.

So Baltimore remained without an NFL franchise—and its stadium offer stayed on the table, for Modell himself to scoop up when he needed it. Because he had no choice.

That was the con. But he was a better grifter than he was a businessman. Cleveland had made it impossible for him to do business, imprisoned as he was in its terrible old stadium. So he cadged a $200 million stadium out of the citizens of Maryland—only to eventually mismanage his money and be forced to sell the team anyway.

Still, he won a Super Bowl before he had to cash out. And now he slides off to the flames of eternity, celebrated as a model NFL owner. Grant him that. In his greed and dishonesty, he embodied a timeless truth for fans everywhere: The NFL hates you, and all it wants is to steal your money.

Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 2012

Tecate Score Baja 1000 2012

http://dirtnewz.com/live-event-coverage/live-2012-tecate-score-baja-1000/

 

 

College Football Picks 2012

VaTech Hokies

Utah Redskins Hoyo Mascot

Editor’s note:  Although I scheduled this post for 3am, 4 Sep, I wrote it just before kickoff of GaTech v VaTech 3 Sep 5PM PDT.  Wow, what an ending it was to a struggling, defensive game.  Georgia Tech likely should have won, but, games like these are why I prefer NCAA over NFL football.  Virginia Tech 20  – Georgia Tech 17 in Overtime!

We always adopt one underdog team from east of the Mississippi River and one team from the west.  Underdog is defined as not being ranked in the top 10 in the major polls in preseason.

Bajadock’s 2011 pix: VaTech and Arizona State

The Virginia Tech Hokies have always been one of  my favorites and this year’s schedule has them favored to win the Atlantic Coast Basketball Conference.  They are playing tonight in 20 minutes, so we’re sneaking this pick in justintime.

My west pick is usually a team from the Pac12, as I need some rooting interest to pester my Trojan buddy, “PF”.  The Utah Utes get a narrow nod over Stanford as my pick.  Stanford may have a better team than Utah, but, I give Utah the better chance to upset USC in the altitude of Salt Lake City.

SCHEDULES:

Oro México

A little event happened in London Saturday.   There was also a mostly unnoticed uniform malfunction a the Olympic opening ceremony…

Baja Country Club

My golf game is dusting itself off at Baja Country Club after years of neglect.  That is a warning to the homeowners whose windows  may be in the danger zone.

This 18 hole course is palm tree lined and 6,850 yards long from the back tees.  When the wind is up, this course can be a very tough challenge.  But, it is very playable for the average golf hacker at a length of 6,100 yards from the white tees.

Cheerful Staff at Baja Country Club

Putting green, practice range, full bar and delicious food are provided along with the friendly staff.  New head pro, Patrick Shaw, PGA, has over 30 years of experience running a golf club.   Director General, Carlos Mijes, is new to Baja Country Club and is working hard on improving the property and overall experience for daily players, tournament play and residential development.

Just completed our 5th annual Golf4Ninos Tournament with 60 players and nearly 200 guests at the afternoon Fiesta.  We raised over $8,000 this year for Agua Viva Shelter , helping the families and kids on the south side of Ensenada.

BCC will allow you to walk on weekdays when golf traffic is low.  I love having my clubs on my back and playing a round in late afternoon when few other golfers are present.

Only 3 holes have forced carries from the forward tees.  The other 15 holes have wide fairways and easy approaches to greens.  Too many of the 80′s and 90′s golf architects(Dye) forced weekend hackers to execute accurate 100+ yard shots across canyons and over water.  For the casual player, these forced carries ruin the game.  Baja Country Club’s 4 sets of tees allow you to choose the levels of fun and challenge suitable for your game and attitude.

My favorite holes are the 3rd, 15th and 18th.  Third hole asks for something other than driver to find a strategic spot to get to the small, tree and water-protected green.  Fifteen is a brute at 602 yards.  The back tee requires a 240 yard carry, but, usually includes a helping wind.  The double green(shared with 11) has 2 tiers that will challenge your wedge and putter.

Eighteen rises 50 feet from tee to green and teases your driver to get close or simply hit a layup club.  The problem with laying up is that the green is blind at less than 100 yds for a great challenge to finish off your round.

Baja Country Club Scorecard

The Baja Country Club greens are in terrific condition.  The fairways are firm and fast, but, do not expect them to be lush and manicured.  In reviving this course, the new ownership has focused its rehab efforts on the greens.  The firm fairways provide added roll to well struck tee shots, so enjoy that aspect.

At $40 including cart($57 weekends), you get a very good golf value and fun outing.   Women and seniors play at approx 66% of those prices.

Looking forward to seeing you out there during our best weather this autumn in Ensenada.

MEX: 646-177-5523        USA: 1 866 599 0631         BajaCountryClub.COM

Golf4Ninos Cheerleaders

     

Introducing our special guests…The Golf4Ninos Cheerleaders.  They are excited to see YOU on Sunday, July 15.

Imagine having a direct impact on a child’s life.  Our organization supports Agua Viva children’s shelter in Ensenada, Mexico.

Our July 15th  2012 Golf Tournament and Fiesta, you will help clothe, feed, shoe and shelter impoverished children.  Business or personal sponsors, gift donations for auction or raffle, golfers or anyone who would like to join us for a weekend full of fun in Ensenada are welcome.

Sunday, July 15, 2012:

1. 7:30 Continental breakfast/registration for golfers, putting contest

2. 9AM Shotgun Start, Prizes for First 3 Teams and last place team. $40,000 hole-in-one prize, 2 long drive and 2 closest to pin prizes, our attractive blood pressure check team,

3. 1PM Grand Fiesta.  If you don’t golf, please join us for this fun party.  Taco bar, reasonably priced cash bar, music, raffle, silent auction, $50,000 shootout for winning golf team, Golf Awards Ceremony, prizes for best male and female golf outfit(non-golfers highly encouraged on this) CHEERLEADERS for photo opportunities and loads of FUN.  All of this with a few more surprises for only $12USD/160 pesos.  Every penny of profit goes to the kids at Agua Viva Shelter on the south side of Ensenada.   Fiesta photo album: G4NKodakSlideshow

Visit the registration page on this site.  Paypal/CreditCard button for ez payment and donation.  Updates will be posted regularly.

bajadock@gmail.com or (619)618-0508 for sponsors, gifts, golfers, questions, details, volunteers, other. Mexico cell phone: 044(646)121-9883.   USA 619-618-0508  

Thank YOU for your SUPPORT, Doc Dougherty and our dedicated team of volunteers

Newport Ensenada Yacht Crash

The Aegean with crew members at the start of the race Friday in Newport Beach. Credit Susan Hoffman

A Torrance man and a sailor from Florida were among the victims of the deadly Newport to Ensenada Yacht crash, according to the San Diego County Coroner.

• By Nisha Gutierrez-Jaime and Nicole Mooradian , Newport Beach Patch

  23 Comments

  U.S. Coast Guard officials have suspended the search for a missing sailor who was part of a four man crew aboard a yacht sailing in the Newport to Ensenada Yacht Race. Authorities believe the ill-fated Aegean may have collided with a larger vessel off the shore of northern Mexico in an international shipping lane.

Search crews combed more than 600 square miles over the weekend looking for the missing sailor before halting their efforts about 4:15 p.m. Sunday, the Coast Guard reported. William Reed Johnson Jr., 57, of Torrance, and Joseph Lester Stewart, 64, of Bradenton, Fla. perished in the deadly crash, the San Diego County Coroner reported. Friends told Patch that the third crewman was Kevin Rudolph, a Los Angeles area resident. The bodies were recovered by civilian and helicopter crews at 9:56 a.m. Saturday in a debris field in the Pacific Ocean, officials said.

“It’s never easy to make the decision to suspend a search and rescue case,” said Capt. Sean Mahoney, Commander Sector San Diego. “The Coast Guard extends its sympathies to the families and friends of the Aegean crew. They will be in our thoughts and prayers.”

The 37-foot Redondo Beach-based Aegean was skippered by its owner, Theo Mavromatis, and had its regular crew, according to Ray Pollock of Marina Sailing, which rents out the boat for Mavromatis. This was the seventh time Mavromatis had entered the race, according to results from the race’s official website. He won the race in 2011 and 2009.

Mike Patton, who was supposed to have sailed on the Aegean in the Lexus Newport Beach to Ensenada Yacht Race, speculated late Sunday that Mavromatis probably went down with the sailboat, which apparently collided with a larger vessel.

“Everyone’s been saying I’m the luckiest guy in the world,” Patton said. “I don’t feel that way.”

Related: Registered Crewman Not Aboard Aegean

The deadly accident, the first in the 65-year history of the yacht race, occurred Saturday near the Coronado Islands.

“We don’t have any details of what happened to the boat,” Pollock said. “The boat was very seaworthy and had all the instruments you need to avoid collisions.”

Pollock said the Aegean had a brand-new engine and experienced crew.

“I’d probably rule out operator error,” he said.

The Aegean “vanished” from the online race tracking system at about 1:30 a.m. Saturday, according to the Newport Ocean Sailing Association.

“An investigation (is) continuing, but it appeared the damage was not inflicted by an explosion but by a collision with a ship much larger than the 37-foot vessel,” Rich Roberts, the race’s press officer, wrote in a news release.

The U.S. Coast Guard says vessels in the area of the Coronado Islands saw debris at about 10 a.m. Saturday. The Coast Guard launched an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter, and a 33-foot response boat to search the area. The rear transom with the boat’s name on it was found floating in the wreckage several miles off the California coast near the Mexican border, race officials said.

A statement issued on the NOSA’s web site states, “NOSA is working with the U.S. Coast Guard, Vessel Assist and the Mexican Navy to find survivors and to determine details of the accident. NOSA and all of our racers send our condolences to the families of the sailors of the Aegean.”

The cause of the fatal incident remains under investigation. The NOSA says weather conditions were lighter than normal at the time and place of the deadly incident, with boats reporting winds of only 1 or 2 knots.

The race’s 213 participating boats set sail early Friday from the Balboa Pier. Since 1983, 675 boats have competed in the famed race.

Mavromatis is president and chief executive of Aegean Consulting, Inc. which specializes in the telecommunications and aerospace industries.