Technology in sports going too far? Maybe — but bring on the robots - San Francisco Chronicle

Deep thoughts, cheap shots & bon mots ...

Flyers mascot Gritty proved a big hit in San Jose at the NHL All-Star festivities. I don’t know if mascots can procreate, but let’s keep Gritty away from Sourdough Sam. And Yosemite Sam.

A lot of athletes do a lot of charitable stuff, but extra credit to the ones who build schools and learning centers for needy kids. LeBron James, David Robinson, Andre Agassi — those are three I’m aware of — and now Kevin Durant.

Jon Gruden, please have a heart-to-heart with your quarterback, talk him down off that ledge. Derek Carr is watching way too much TV when he should be studying your playbook and taking chill pills. While you’re at it, Gruden, give Carr an honest vote of confidence, or trade him. Is he your guy or not?

The Warriors are not out of the woods with DeMarcus Cousins. He’s happy now, but what happens when “Boogie” is in tip-top shape and Steve Kerr doesn’t put him in the game at the end, with the Deal-Closer Five?

Separated at birth: Pete Rose and Rudy Giuliani.

Sanctimonious is a tough word, now being hurled at Baseball Hall of Fame voters who snubbed Barry Bonds. Sanctimonious means making a show of being morally superior to other people. In a world where we are increasingly exposed to cheaters, liars and greedy con men, is it possible that some of us simply no longer find joy in honoring and immortalizing those folks?

Richmond’s Alysa Liu, 13, on her way to a national figure skating title, nails a triple axel. Hello, that’s three and a half rotations. In basketball they think a 360 dunk is a big deal. Fellas, this young woman just did a twelve-sixty.

General manager Mike Mayock says the Raiders will have a “completely open and transparent building.” Goodbye, fortress of sinister secrecy, hello sausage factory! Somewhere, Al Davis just landed a triple axel.

Breaking news: Stephen Curry has been invited to compete in the All-Star three-point shootout, in his hometown. In other news: Superman has been invited to compete in the bad-guy-throwing-his-pistol-at-you-and-bouncing-it-off-your-chest competition.

That 10-year challenge, where you post a current selfie next to a photo of you from 10 years ago? Let me save you the trouble. You are older and uglier.

Don’t blame the A’s architect, creative genius Bjarke Ingels. He’s a Dane, not an Oaklander, so he doesn’t know how the A’s, for decades, have been all talk and no rock.

Blame the A’s for not telling their guy to dial back the grandiose descriptions of not only a new stadium at Howard Terminal, but a makeover of the Coliseum acreage, including an open baseball field in the spot where the baseball/football stadium now stands.

Grand plans, even though the A’s aren’t close to owning either property.

“We want to preserve the field of the A’s,” Ingels said, “like when you visit Rome and come across urban ruins.”

Comparing ancient Roman ruins to the Oakland Coliseum is like comparing the Trevi Fountain to a fountain of raw sewage burbling up the drain in the A’s clubhouse.

Scott Ostler is a San Francisco Chronicle columnist. Email: sostler@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @scottostler

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