Sports Authority

Max Baer loved to cruise Broadway in his convertible wearing nothing but swim trunks. The car was a yellow Pontiac Chieftain, a gift from his pal Larry Cameron.

Cameron was a North Sacramento auto dealer and scratch golfer. In the 1960s, he subdivided his ranch near Highway 50 and named it Cameron Park.

Max Baer was famous long before he met Larry Cameron. Baer was the world heavyweight boxing champ and a movie star. He could live anywhere. He chose Eighth Avenue, behind McClatchy High School.

Baer, wife Mary and children Maxie Jr., Jim and Maudie settled into a 4,270-square-foot, four-bedroom home with a balcony along the second floor.

What a pathetic year in local sports. The Cal Expo Board of Directors and California Horse Racing Board destroyed horse racing and set the stage for Sacramento State University to embarrass itself.

Two sleepy state bureaucracies blew opportunities to expand thoroughbred and harness racing in Sacramento. Instead, they set aside a slice of Cal Expo for Sac State’s football fantasies.

The biggest off-season Kings news happened in July and had nothing to do with the Kings. This was rare for an NBA team that controls its destiny by driving off cliffs.

The news concerned Mike Brown, the coach fired by the Kings at Christmas. The dismissal was a gift for Brown, whose poorest career decision came in 2022 when he agreed to coach the Kings.

There was no doubt Brown would quickly resurface after he was shoved out by Kings lead owner Vivek Ranadive. The question was where Brown would land.

I went to a minor league soccer game this summer and had the best time ever. Better than a thousand big league games I watched as a sportswriter freeloading on a press pass.

The game was in Albuquerque at a place called—deep breath—Rio Grande Credit Union Field at Isotopes Park. A minor league baseball yard. Newer, upscale cousin of Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento.

The home team, strutting in black and gold flecked jerseys, was New Mexico United of the United Soccer League Championship level. Rival to Sac Republic.

I forget the score. Had to look up names for the stadium and league. Nobody at the game mentioned formal names. Names didn’t matter.

Joe Gedeon was a bartender with a sense of humor. He would love the gambling ads that bombard Sacramento sports fans today.

You can’t watch an A’s or Kings game without getting hustled to make a bet. The irony would make Gedeon laugh.

Joe Gedeon poured drinks at Riverside Clubhouse two iterations ago. He predates the Clubhouse’s predecessor, Hereford House. He oversaw the bar when it was a Depression era speakeasy called the White House.

I can’t say for sure when the experiment failed, but it was early in the baseball season. Around the time San Diego Padres fans outnumbered A’s supporters at Sutter Health Park.

Now the goal is to reduce the embarrassment, limit the damage and decide how the community endures another a year or two of A’s baseball without looking ridiculous.

This is what happens when a couple of rich guys pump their egos and advance their business plans by introducing a mediocre product nobody needs.