The readers were buzzing this week
Caller 1: I don’t have a beef with you guys, I want to give you guys a little bit of praise. I read your story this morning on Coach James Wilkins at Gilroy High School. I just want to tell you guys I thought you guys did a great job. I’ve been hoping to see something on him for a while. I’ve known James for, well, since we both coached in the youth sports here in Gilroy for years and we became closer friends since then. I have a son who’s in the freshman basketball program at Gilroy High and James has been a real motivator, even for him at a younger age. I know he has been busy with his family and the varsity team but he really takes the time out to help out the younger kids in the program. He is just a great guy. Somebody for kids to look up to as a role model as far as attitude and a player. I had the privilege of coaching JV football at Gilroy High and he has just been a real role model, I think not only for me but for all the coaches as far as how coaches should react to their players. I just aspire to some day be more of a coach like James is to his basketball team.
Green Phone: Thanks Caller. We’ve received a great deal of feedback on our article about Coach Wilkins, all of it stressing what an asset to the community the coach is. He’s really touched a lot of lives in Gilroy.
Caller 2: I was responding to a caller who has been talking about the Gilroy Hagen Tournament lately and I would just like to voice that I was on the 2002 team that actually won the Bob Hagen tournament. We had a guy who had a double-double and the tournament MVP was Gabrial Gonzalez, and none of them were mentioned but none of us are really complaining because we recognize that the tournament guys are really good players. So that is in response to the one caller who has been heckling you guys. Because I looked at it and there are some good players on there, so I just want to defend you guys and let you guys know that although they missed some guys, the guys who are actually in that are great. Thank you for your time.
Green Phone: Two positive calls in a row on the Green Phone? This must be some kind of a record! Caller, we appreciate your support for the All-Hagen team we published a few weeks ago. And thanks for understanding that our panel could only select a limited number of names for that team, despite the many worthy players who have competed in the Hagen down the years. We’re pretty impressed that a young fellow such as yourself could grasp that concept, whereas it seems some older folks can’t.
Caller 3: I’m calling about your story about the turf, the artificial turf. The second time I read it, it mentioned that the turf is a part of a $175 million package and then later on it mentions it costs $1.4 million to do the synthetic turf field. So this is, like I said, the second time the same typo appeared that it’s going to cost $175 million. I was just mentioning to my wife that if it is going to cost $175 million we might as well build a stadium and get the Oakland A’s down here in Gilroy and they can become the Gilroy Athletics. Anyway, just mentioning that two times in a row you guys keep repeating the same error that it’s going to cost $175 million, then a paragraph later you correct it and say it costs $1.4 million. Finally, instead of getting a green artificial turf, why don’t we get a Mustang blue artificial turf and become the Boise Idaho of California and have a stadium with blue turf?
Green Phone: Caller, sorry about the confusion – the new turf and track at Mustang Stadium is indeed projected to cost $1.4 million. That figure, though, is just one projected outlay in a $175 million facilities improvement plan for the entire Gilroy Unified School District that was approved by the school district board on Dec. 16. So, no, it wasn’t a typo and we’re not going to be building a major league baseball stadium down here anytime soon … but all of our schools will be getting some much-needed cash for improvements, which we think is a better deal. As for your blue turf idea, not bad, not bad. Of course, being Green ourselves, we’re a little biased.
Caller 4: Hi, the TV Highlights in today’s paper, Wednesday, Tuesday’s paper the 29th, on page 3 you say college football, Houston Bowl, college football, Alamo Bowl, NBA basketball, Warriors and Raptors. At least I know the Warriors and Raptors are playing each other, but college football, Alamo Bowl? Tell us who’s playing! Same thing with the Houston Bowl and same thing with Tuesday. Need to find out who’s playing, that’s actually is more important than college football.
Green Phone: Caller, we found your argument so convincing we fixed today’s TV Highlights to list the teams playing in the college football bowl games listed.
Caller 5: I think it is really sad that Jeff Garcia, with $5 million in his pocket, goes to a team he that must go to because he had to leave where’s he’s at, and then sits here and whines about what’s going on with his life. That is really too bad, so sad … and maybe drinking and driving doesn’t work.
Green Phone: Ah, yes, the spoiled athlete argument. So cliched, so bitter … so eternally appropriate. You know, Caller, we agree that it’s really tough to feel sympathy for somebody making millions when many of us are just trying to scrape by. That said, Jeff Garcia, aside from his phenomenal football talent, is a regular person just like the rest of us. He wants to succeed at what he sets out to do, just like the rest of us. When you consider that he’s essentially complaining about not being given the chance to earn the salary he’s paid, rather than just moaning about not getting enough money like some other athletes, he comes off a lot better in our eyes. And whenever you hear an athlete complain, consider some of the things you might say if a reporter was sticking a microphone in your face after a tough day at work. Our sports stars get that every day, so no wonder they sometimes blurt out silly things. As for the drunk driving incident – that’s something Jeff did and something he’ll have to live with for the rest of his life. Just like all of us have to live with our mistakes.
Caller 6: Hi, just wanted to thank Damon for his column on the tidal wave disaster. It’s just so sad. Hope his family is OK.
Green Phone: Thanks Caller. Damon says so far no bad news has come out of Thailand regarding his friends and family, and he appreciates your concern. We hope and pray that the survivors of the tsunamis will be able to rebuild their lives as soon as possible.
