Sports Authority

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.

Forget funnel cake. For me, the State Fair means horse racing. After losing my bets, I visit the barns where kids in white uniforms pamper hogs, sheep and goats. Then home.

Now there’s no horse racing. And apologies, but once you’ve seen 1,000 hogs tended by intense, apple-cheeked teenagers, there’s no need for 1,001.

Which leaves zero reasons to attend the State Fair.

Don’t blame the State Fair. Cal Expo is collateral damage, trapped in a mess of economic pressure, incompetence and indifference.