Paved Paradise?

Tweet Fittingly, an article in The LA Times appeared on Pearl Harbor Day, discussing the possible demise of Hollywood Park after the summer 2009 meet as "the owners plan to demolish the park, once known as the "Track of the Lakes and Flowers" because of its six lakes, a waterfall and sprawling greens. In its place, a mixed-use commercial development is envisioned, said Inglewood Councilman Daniel Tabor. The proposal includes 600,000 square feet of commercial space, up to 27 acres of parkland, a refurbished casino and about 4,000 homes."

The article also references a group called Save Hollywood Park a site that "has been created to promote the preservation and continued operation" of the famed race track. I'd be interested to hear what our West Coast bloggers are hearing out there. Consolidation is something being bandied around the industry, but I don't think this would be one of the tracks they had in mind to help the cause. I regret I've never had the chance to visit any of the West Coast tracks to date (they're on the list), I just hope it doesn't close before I have the opportunity.

I'd be remiss if I didn't comment on the farce that was billed as a home Buffalo Bills game in Toronto yesterday. We arrived around 1pm and found a nice parking spot about 5 blocks from the Rogers Centre and immediately found a bar/restaurant to have a little lunch and adult refreshments at, while catching the early games (place that rhymes with Scooters). Unfortunately it was the highlight of our day (other than the crowd bailing out the young female singing the Canadian National Anthem by drowning out her weak attempt) as the game was as boring and quiet as I've ever seen or heard in 23 years of attending pro football games. The place was a morgue, had 7,000 empty seats, and was attended by as many Miami fans as Buffalo fans. A game we desparately needed and one I always look forward to (a Florida team playing in frigid Buffalo). I felt like I was at a corporate event, like a rock concert. I am not planning on riding up again, I will be selling my seats for the next six games in the series. It's all about the money in the NFL, it just makes me appreciate horse racing even more so. I drank the kool-aid about how it was good to regionalize the franchise. All I did was buy overpriced tickets (the guy sitting next to me scalped his for $50) to a game that was basically a neutral site with fans who sat on their hands and didn't know how to support the home team. Steve Simmons of The Toronto Sun has a pretty good handle on what transpired in today's column. Ok, I promise not to discuss the Bills again until next August, when I say as I always do "this could be the year." At least I made it home in less than two hours.