[xultaif]

Cal's Football Stadium Gamble

That is a BRUTAL piece. As bad a piece as Cal Athletics could have hoped for. Every possible bad thing is there.

- Barsky gets prominent feature. Check
- Sandy get de-positioned and not represented well. Check
- Funding called into question. Check
- ESP program looks bad. Check
- Presents Cal fanbase in a bad way. Check.

This is an absolute debacle of an article. Should have never happened or it could have come out differently. Typically awful job by Herb Benenson at the helm of PR for Cal. This guy is an absolute incompetent moron who should have been fired long ago.

[okaydo]

Our side really needs a Barsky.

[manus]

The WSJ is owned and operated by Fox New's owner, Murdoch; so, consider the source and the political slant.

Reich-winged Amerika would love to see the stadium fail, period; they would like the University of California, Berkeley to evaporate; they would like the State of California....

Just mentally use "the paper" to wrap that salmon you just caught in your mind's eye.

[slobear]

On the brighter side, the photo of the team looked good, and this passage suggests that Tedford, et al. will be even more motivated to produce a winning program:

"Cal officials acknowledge that making debt payments without help from outside the athletic department will likely require success on the field. Last year, the football team went 7-6. In January, an assistant coach defected to Washington and three prized recruits changed their minds. 'We recognize fully that football success is a key driver in our financial success,' Barbour said."

[xultaif]

I think you're sort of missing the point. WSJ is the business newspaper of record in the country. It, along with the NYT, sets the tones for many conversation and subsequent coverage.

Originally Posted by manus

The WSJ is owned and operated by Fox New's owner, Murdoch; so, consider the source and the political slant.

Reich-winged Amerika would love to see the stadium fail, period; they would like the University of California, Berkeley to evaporate; they would like the State of California....

Just mentally use "the paper" to wrap that salmon you just caught in your mind's eye.

[FremontBear]

Originally Posted by manus

The WSJ is owned and operated by Fox New's owner, Murdoch; so, consider the source and the political slant.

Reich-winged Amerika would love to see the stadium fail, period; they would like the University of California, Berkeley to evaporate; they would like the State of California....

Just mentally use "the paper" to wrap that salmon you just caught in your mind's eye.

Not sure what "Amerika" you're talking about, but I don't think the WSJ piece is politically motivated. The article presented CSM project in a questionable way and I take exception to some of their arguments, but linking the publication's ownership to some kind of right-wing cabal against the CSM project is laughable.

[BearyWhite]

The WSJ's editorial page is notoriously right-leaning but the rest of the paper isn't. This was in the sports section and can't be dismissed simply on the basis of anti-Berkeley bias.

[Agureghian]

im looking at you, teddy.

highest paid state employee in a budget crisis producing a average team.

[hanky1]

The concerns raised by the article are all legit. Brutal? Yes. Fair? Yes.

[okaydo]

[socaltownie]

Originally Posted by hanky1

The concerns raised by the article are all legit. Brutal? Yes. Fair? Yes.

It misses the bigger picture that the arms race in college sports is creating horrid economics all over the country. I also hope that the ESP program works but I think it fair to point out that it might not

I also find it "funny" that there is not a disclosure that that a NewsCorp entity, FoxSports, is driving the effort for Friday night football. That is just rotten journalism.

But take solace in this - 5 star recruits do NOT read the journal. ;-)

[slobear]

Originally Posted by hanky1

The concerns raised by the article are all legit. Brutal? Yes. Fair? Yes.

I agree, although I'd probably not go so far as "brutal."

[xultaif]

While she doesn't get anything wrong, she certainly gives the biggest critic, Barsky, the lions share of attention.

She also gives Sandy short shrift. Her previous quote is taken completely out of context (you don't usually pull out an old quote for a new story).

The part on not selling out Memorial Stadium, while "accurate" isn't representative of attendance the last 7 years, which at Memorial has averaged 60K+.

The last part about midterms makes it sound like we didn't want them scheduled, when all it was saying was not to schedule them on that friday. Not an outrageous accommodation.

I'd say it's on the very minimum side of fair.

Originally Posted by hanky1

The concerns raised by the article are all legit. Brutal? Yes. Fair? Yes.

[Unit2Sucks]

Originally Posted by hanky1

The concerns raised by the article are all legit. Brutal? Yes. Fair? Yes.

The concerns are legit, but the portrayal is not. Perhaps they gave Sandy a chance to respond to all the facts presented by Barsky (who appears to be much better at criticizing Cal football than doing his actual job) in which case this is a disappointing showing from her. Nowhere does the article state that the football program is self-sufficient, but not generating enough cash to prop up the non-revenue sports, or that "similar to most D1 institutions (including rival Stanford)" Cal's AD loses money, instead they say "unlike athletic powerhouses" they aren't self-sufficient. The article is quite obviously intended to be sensationalist. Maybe it'll cause high-finance Cal guys who weren't previously giving to Cal to start donating to help offset the lack of support from our government and help with the AD's deficit. One can dream.

[okaydo]

Originally Posted by socaltownie

It misses the bigger picture that the arms race in college sports is creating horrid economics all over the country. I also hope that the ESP program works but I think it fair to point out that it might not

I also find it "funny" that there is not a disclosure that that a NewsCorp entity, FoxSports, is driving the effort for Friday night football. That is just rotten journalism.

But take solace in this - 5 star recruits do NOT read the journal. ;-)

And the stadium was crumbling. Something had to be done.