When renting movies at the local video store, which in our electronic based society is surprisingly not yet torn down, the clerk Erik and I engaged in a brief exchange about the owners of the Oakland Athletics having expressed an interest in having an MLS team. This was covered on the AP sports ticker in a brief blurb. During the holidays likely it was read by about seventeen people nationwide. The interest level is probably on par with who won a ping pong match at the local Senior Center.

WHY DOES THIS MATTER?

Perhaps I am a little more keen on the ramifications of this interest by Wolff, Crowley and Beane to purchase a team for a city that could not even support a recent champion fresh off leading the MLS in points. In case you are wondering, Wolff does in fact have a second "f", Crowley is probably not named after an Ozzy Osbourne song and Billy Beane is the only person of the three anyone outside the Bay Area has even heard of. That being said, I will get to my point before I lose anyone gracious enough to be reading this.

The move of the Oakland Athletics has long been rumored. At one time D.C. was a possibility until a certain team from Canada filled that spot. During modifications to the stadium currently referred to as the McAfee Coliseum (I still hear the media call it Network Associates) there were thoughts of taking their act to Las Vegas where I am certain the mascot would have been an Elvis impersonator. That would have been a big stretch at the time although now that the NBA is flirting with the possibility perhaps it is not so far fetched. All signs point to moving because in spite of their talented, winning teams the stadium simply does not draw fans. How does this relate to the ownership group wanting an MLS team?

DO YOU KNOW THE WAY TO SAN JOSE?

Quite simply, the biggest push has been for San Jose. The stumbling block is the rights of the San Francisco Giants not to have another professional baseball team in their area. With the mayor of San Jose being censured and MLS team (Quakes) flying off to Houston things are not going very smoothly there. It would seem to be a good time for a group of savvy businessmen to make a seemingly philanthropic maneuver to bring another professional franchise into San Jose, but with a big string attached.

That string is that after perhaps starting a fresh MLS franchise, running it well and doing a lot of nice things for the community they will have built up some trust. At that time, when the idea of moving the A's to San Jose is brought up there will be considerably more momentum on their side. I do not think I need to draw a picture to those who know a good long term business move when they see one.

RAIDER NATION

It will be interesting to see how this situation plays out and if the city does in fact lose the Athletics could the Raiders be far behind? Well, they might be leading the way out of town if you buy into the rumors This is the final season of the dreaded Personal Seat License (PSL) which has been a sore subject of hard working fans since it was implemented upon the team's return from Los Angeles 11 seasons ago.

The good news for fans is that the Oakland Football Marketing Association (OFMA)  has been abolished. They were rude to fans, disorganized and generally disliked. Making matters worse, the villain that is Al Davis bore the blame for many things that OFMA was actually responsible for. If a new long term ticket solution is reached in the very near future the Raiders might have a long future in Oakland. Should things go sour, the Los Angeles area itch might form again on the back of Al Davis.

EMPTY COLISEUM?

In the event that we have the San Jose Athletics and Los Angeles Raiders where does that leave the city of Oakland? At least the Golden State Warriors are playing better of late, but such defections would cast serious doubt on the ability of Oakland to support professional teams. The East Bay may never regain a foothold and fade into oblivion. Heck, the Warriors might even return to San Francisco.

I suppose one potential solution to saving Oakland's franchises would have to be building a new baseball only facility to draw fans for the winning Athletics, but I sincerely doubt a fancy stadium is the answer. The Coliseum is not a complete dump and we are not talking about a small deficit of fans or a terrible product on the field. This team regularly draws low numbers even in the midst of playoff runs.

Where the Raiders are concerned, sell-outs are few and far between. The recent contest against the Cleveland Browns was posted at over 40,000 in paid attendance but those who did attend found about half of that actually showing up.

CHIME IN ANY TIME

Your solution is as good as mine. As a resident of the East Bay I would hate to see either the Raiders or Athletics leave.