As of today the San Francisco Bulls are no more. Currently in their second season, the nascent ECHL (East Coast Hockey League) team played only one full season on the ice.

"We had a great opportunity come to us that would’ve kept the Bulls in San Francisco at least through the end of the 2014 season, with potential for future seasons, but we ran out of time to complete all ends of the deal," says a Bulls spokesperson. "At this point, the best thing to do financially is to reluctantly end the season. We will miss playing here, miss our fans, and miss this city."

The following letter was sent to ticket holders on Monday:

"We regret to inform you that the SF Bulls are ceasing operations, effective immediately. The team was hoping to secure new ownership, however the terms of an updated deal were unable to be finalized, cancelling the remainder of the season.

"We want to thank all of our loyal season ticket and mini plan holders over the last two seasons. It’s been such a memorable time here with you in San Francisco, and we’ve especially appreciated all of your positive feedback over the past week. Thank you to those who went above and beyond to make us feel welcomed in the Bay Area, especially the members of the Matadors and Stampede. The entire organization is grateful.

"We had a great opportunity come to us that would’ve kept the Bulls in San Francisco at least through the end of the 2014 season, with potential for future seasons, but we ran out of time to complete all ends of the deal. At this point, the best thing to do financially is to reluctantly end the season. We will miss playing here, miss our fans, and miss this city.

"Bringing hockey to San Francisco was a dream; we have great talent on our team, and had a great vision for what the team could be. Things didn’t pan out the way we had hoped. It’s sad, and disconcerting, but we’re unfortunately left with no other choice at this point.

"For fans that have already purchased tickets to upcoming games, the Bulls Office will take requests for refunds up until February 28. Season ticket holders and single game ticket holders can contact their ticket reps for more information at admin@sfbulls.com."

The hope was to transfer ownership. On January 23, SF Bulls CEO Angela Batinovich posted this message to the official SF Bulls site:

"Thank you for your support during this time, we appreciate all of the encouragement from our fans.

"During the ECHL Mid-Season Meeting, the Commissioner and Board of Governors granted our request for additional time to complete negotiations that would allow for the transfer of the San Francisco Bulls to a new ownership group.

"We are hopeful that these negotiations will be completed within the allotted time, and we currently have no intention to cancel any games."

UPDATE: The SF Bulls finally sent out the official press release. "We want to thank all of our fans for your support and loyalty over the last two seasons," said President and Head Coach of the Bulls, Pat Curcio. "It’s been such a memorable time here with you in San Francisco, and we’ve especially appreciated all of your positive feedback over the past week ... At this point, the best thing to do financially is to reluctantly end the season. We will miss playing here, miss our fans, and miss this city."

[h/t: David Elrod]

Noise Pop is here again! Rainy days working for the man mean nothing knowing you are going to be seeing so many awesome bands. This year’s line up includes Cake, Lyrics Born, Aqueduct, The Ponys, Josh Ritter, Spinto Band, Extra Action Marching Band, and so so so so many others. Load up on Red Bulls, hit craigslist for tickets to sold out shows, and spend the rest of the week happy. Oh, and who do you have to thank for all this great music? Kevin Arnold is the founder of Noise Pop. In addition to launching the festival this week he made time for an SFist interview. Read on for tales of Noise Pop past, present and future.

What led you to start Noise Pop?
It all happened pretty serendipitously. In the early nineties after college, where I had started promoting shows on campus at Cal, I was booking bands and tour managing, and had been talking to the booker at the Kennel club (what is now the Independent) about putting together a show there for a while. So when there was an open date at the end of January I went for it and booked 5 of my favorite local bands for 5 bucks: Overwhelming Colorfast, The Meices, Carlos!, Corduroy, and Bitchcraft, and the Fastbacks who were playing across town came in for a surprise set as well. At the time these bands were all part of a small local scene, and would sometimes play together but never all at the same time, so the goal was to put them on the same bill and make it a bit of a special event to shine some attention on the scene. Noise Pop was just a name I came up with to describe the sound (poppy and noisy, duh) that was catchy, and everyone loves a festival, so there you have it.

It was never designed from the beginning to be what is today; it just sorta evolved organically over the years.

What are the biggest changes to Noisepop over the 15 years?
Oh geez, I don't even know where to start. The size of the festival, the diverse genres we now encompass, the team of people that work on it instead of just myself for starters.

Best Noisepop show of all time?
Not a very easy question to answer, but the first one would have to take that honor as it's where it all started.

Tips for up and coming bands to check out this year?
I'd check out Annuals, The Ponys, Matt & Kim, Autolux, and Willie Mason for the headliners, So Many Dynamos, Malajube, Minmae, Georgie James, and The Submarines for out-of-towners, and Thao Nguyen, The Botticellis, Wooden Shjips, Scrabbel, Howlin Rain, and The Old-Fashioned Way on the local front.

Any hope for getting in to some of the bigger name, sold out shows?
Hmm, well you might be able to still buy a badge...

Advice for aspiring musicians here?
Just the basics: work hard, write great songs, be true to yourself and all that stuff.