A Brief History of the San Fransisco Bulls

Logo
http://www.rentcafe.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/sfbulls.jpg

The San Francisco Bulls were granted membership into the ECHL as an expansion team on September 20, 2011. They folded on January 27, 2014. That is a life span of about 860 days or two years, four months, and seven days. They had a record 40-58-6-8 (Wins-Losses-OT Losses-Shootout Losses) and lost their only playoff series four games to one. The Bulls were affiliated with the San Jose Sharks.

The Bulls played their first game on October 12, 2012 vs. Bakersfield at home and lost, 4-3, in front of 8,277 fans. Their first win was the next day, a 6-5 victory over Bakersfield Condors. Their last game was on January 19th against the Stockton Thunder. The Bulls won 3-2 in a shootout, with Sebastian Stalberg scoring the game-winning shootout goal. he final home game was four days earlier, where the Bulls defeated the Colorado Eagles in OT, in front of 1246 fans. The first ever goal was scored by Dean Ouellet during the first game. The first ever penalty was earned by Kris Belan, who got five minutes for fighting Erik Burgdoerfer. The last ever goal was scored by Stalberg in the third period to equalize the game. 

The Bulls played their home games at the Cow Palace, which is located about ten miles outside of San Francisco. The Cow Palace was finished in 1941 and was meant to hold cattle in doors. It was most recently updated before the Bulls began play. As the years have gone on, the Palace has held more diverse events, including the San Jose Sharks from 1991-93. During the 2012-13 season, 149,920 fans showed up to a Bulls game for an average of 4,164 per game. That placed 15th of the 23 teams in the ECHL. During the three playoffs games, 8,578 fans attended for an average of 2,853. San Francisco played 18 games at the Cow Palace this year, with 41,263 fans and an average of 2,292 attending. 

The inside of the Cow Palace
http://cdn.cstatic.net/images/gridfs/507728f785216d2e0a006a1b/IMG_3280.JPG

The 2012-13 season was an interesting year for the Bulls. They finished the year 25-38-2-7 which equaled 59 points. They were the third worst team in he ECHL, yet, they made the playoffs. Eight teams from both conferences make the playoffs. The Western Conference has nine teams, and the Bulls were the eight best team in the conference, giving them the final playoff spot.

San Francisco made the playoffs in 2013 and faced the Alaska Aces in the first round. The Aces won the series four games to one. Their first playoff game was a let-down. They gave up five unanswered goals to start the game and lost 5-1. The won the next game, 1-0, on a Kory Falite goal. The first ever home game was a 4-1 loss. Then, in game four, the Bulls lost a nail bitter, 6-5. Game five was a 5-3 loss for the Bulls, which eliminated them from on the playoffs. 

Through 40 games this season, San Francisco were 15-20-4-1 and had 32 games left to play. Even though, they had a losing record, they were still a playoff team. The ECHL plans on re-scheduling games so all teams can play their 36 home games. The road games are not guaranteed so some teams may not play the normal 72 games.

Dean Ouellet
http://sfbay.ca/home/wp-content/uploads/
2013/01/SFBullsvEagles0642_bay104.jpg

Dean Ouellet is the best player in the Bulls history. A lefty forward, he was number 45 and was an alternate captain last season. He had 24 goals, 28 assists, 52 points in the 2012-13 season, with six more points in the playoffs. He was awarded the Bulls' MVP last year and was the only member of the team to make the All-Star Game. This season, Ouellet had 10 goals and 20 assists for 30 points. Peter Sivak led the team in goals with 33 and points with 56 in the inaugural season. Scott Langdon is the team's best defenseman. He was named the team's top defenseman and was the captain to end the 2012-13 season and for the 2013-14 year. He had only 19 points in 107 games, but accumulated 250 penalty minutes in those games. The Bulls have never had a very good goalie. Tyler Beskorowany is the only net minder with a winning record as a Bull. His record was 14-13-2. 

The Bulls were owned by multiple investors. The leader of the investors was Pat and Elouise Curico. Pat Curico was also the team's head coach, general manager, and president. Curico, who played pro hockey in Europe and the ECHL for ten years, was 39 years old when the Bulls played their first game. About a week ago, it was reported that a deal for a new owner could not be found in time, so the Bulls ceased operations on Monday. According to Curico, the Bulls were in the red two million dollars after the 2012-13 season and were on pace for similar losses this year.

The Bulls are not the only team to fail in "The City by the Bay". The California Golden Seals played in the NHL in the San Francisco-Oakland area from 1967-1976. The Seals moved to Cleveland in 1976 and merged with the Minnesota North Stars in 1978. The San Francisco Shamrocks and San Francisco Spiders failed as well in the Cow Palace. The legacy of the Bulls, at the moment, is that it is tough for hockey teams to succeed in the Bay Area when they are not playing in the city. And even then, success is anything but guaranteed.

NBA News

Milwaukee Bucks

Larry Sanders
http://www2.pictures.zimbio.com/gi/Larry%2BSanders
%2BMilwaukee%2BBucks%2Bv%2BBrooklyn%
2BNets%2BGOSPTBxi7tmx.jpg

After making the playoffs as an eight seed last year, the Bucks have the worst record in the league at 7-33. Last year's team and this year's team are vastly different. Four of last year's five leading scorers no longer play in Milwaukee. One of the holdovers, the Center Larry Sanders, has been a major disappointment. During the 2012-13 season, Sanders averaged 9.8 points per game, 9.5 rebounds per game, 2.8 blocks per game (lead the league), and was a leading candidate for NBA Defensive Player of the Year. This year, he has only played in 15 games, an averaged 6.7 rebounds per game and 1.8 blocks per game. However, John Henson has done well in his place. He averages 12.3 points a game, 8.3 bounds a game, and 2.2 block a game, as well as a 20.8 PER. No other player on Milwaukee is having a good season. The Bucks problem is scoring. They are last in the league in points per game with 91.4, field goal percentage with 42%, and points per shot with 1.1. While their defense is not outstanding either, the offense is atrocious and there is not much to improve it. OJ Mayo and Brandon Knight, their bester scorers, are way too inconsistent to be number one spot. I doubt they will go out and pick-up a high-profile shooter. They will be sellers if they make any moves. The good thing about being awful this year is the possibility to pick number one in the draft.

Anthony Davis

The number one pick in the 2012 Draft is having a terrific sophomore season. While his team is 8 games under .500, the Power Forward is averaging a double-double with 20.3 and 10.4, while leading the league with 3.0 blocks. His PER (26.8) is in the league's top five.
Against Golden State on the 18th of this month, Davis put together an incredible performance, albeit in a loss. He scored 31 points and had 17 rebounds  while going 11-17 from the field, and 9-12 for the charity stripe. Davis is truly developing into a All-Star Power Forward for the next ten years.

Trades involving the Nets

The Nets made two trades Monday. In a deal with Chicago, they would have sent Tornike Shengelia to the Windy City in exchange for Marquis Teague. In another deal, Tyshawn Taylor went to the Pelicans, while Brooklyn got the rights to Edin Bavcic. Bavcic was drafted by Toronto in 2006 in the second round and has never played the NBA. He is currently playing for KOAD in the Greek A1 Basketball League. While these deals were made to free up room under the salary cap, the pick up of Teague is an interesting move. Under the tutelage of Jason Kidd and Deron Williams at point guard, Teague may become a serviceable bench player. It is surprising that these moves have come during a strong stretch. 

All-Star Game Uniforms

The NBA All-Star Game Jerseys
http://nbcprobasketballtalk.files.wordpress.com/2014/01/
adidas-nba-all-star-jersey-east-west-clipped.jpg

The 2014 NBA All-Star Game is being played at New Orleans Arena on February 16. The uniforms were released last week and they are ugly. The jerseys look nothing like a basketball uniform. It looks like a cheap t-shirt you can buy at a kiosk. The jersey looks unfinished with just a crest on the front. They need something more. The back of the uniforms looks normal and fine, there are no complaints here. And let's not forget those sleeves. Sleeves are fine when players want to wear sleeves under their uniforms, and they should make custom sleeved uniforms for those players. However, sleeves are being forced upon jerseys and they do not work. They were ugly last year, they ugly during March Madness, they were ugly on Christmas, and they will be ugly on February 16.

The Chicago Cubs New Mascot

Clark
chi_e_cubs_mascot_b1_400x600.jpg

The Chicago Cubs were one of the four teams in Major League Baseball without a mascot. Now, there are only three. The Chicago Cubs introduced a new mascot Monday. His name is Clark. He is a cub who wears a backwards hat and a Chicago Cubs home jersey. While his name seems to be random, there is actually a reason for it. Clark is named after the intersection where Wrigley Field is located. The intersection is at Clark Street and Addison Street. 

When the gates open on April 4th at Wrigley Field for the Cubs season opener, there will be a new part of the stadium. Clark will have his own clubhouse, fittingly named Clark's Clubhouse, where he will be during a lot of the game. Also, Clark will not be a distraction to the game, which means no dancing or going on to the field. 

Clark is a true Cubs fan. His favorite vacation spot is Mesa, Arizona, the location of the Cubs spring training facility. His number will be 1. One has not be worn by many stars in the Cubs history. Hall of Famers Jimmie Foxx and Richie Ashburn wore the number at the end of their careers. The last person to where the number was Cody Ransom, who wore the number in 2013.

From the June 20th, 1916 edition of Chicago Daily Tribune 

The Cubs last had a mascot in 1916. The mascot that year was a live bear named Joa. The man who presented the Cubs with Joa, J. Ogden Armour, is who he was named after. After the season, Joa was sent to the Lincoln Park Zoo, the local zoo. The Cubs say that Joa is Clark's great-grandfather. There has been a unofficial mascot, Billy Cub, since 2007. Billy Cub was started by a Cubs fan and has never been a affiliated with the franchise. He has been filled with controversy as he is not wanted by the Cubs and many fans. However, Billy Cub still plans to attend the games at Wrigley this year.

I was surprised that the Cubs decided they needed a mascot because I did not think that there was a need for a mascot. However, I understand their reasoning. It makes Wrigley Field more kid/family-friendly. They also hope that it will end of getting rid of Billy Cub, who they openly dislike. When first hearing about it, I was indifferent to the decision. While I am a fan of mascot, there was no need for a mascot. As time goes on, I fill become a fan of Clark, even if I will never like his name.

Some final tidbits about Clark:

• His birthday is in August
• His favorite color is Cubbie Blue
• He throws and hits righty