SoFlaFish

"A lot of sweat goes into every bottle. Not literally. . CUT!" "Bud Light. Suck on one!"

For some odd reason, the badgers in the Toyota commercial totally cracked me up. The look on the guy's face and the sheer viciousness of that badger when the cell phone went off was what got me. The Bud Light commercials, as usual, were campy fun. However, of all the "Bud Light Special Powers" commercials, the best one didn't even air. It's the one where Bud Light gives you the ability to talk to the animals. The sight of that dog just endlessly saying, "Sausage. Sausage. Sausage. Sausage. Sausage. Sausage." is comedic GOLD!

Got my VIP passes and both EvenLittler SoFlaFish and I will be there. Just look for the little loud mouth in the oversized #35 Willis jersey (which is going to be taken to an embroider to have the "S" replaced with an "E" so that his jersey will actually have his name on it!). You know, why hasn't anybody ever thought of contacting the Marlins so that a marlinsbaseball.com table could be set up at FanFest? Admin, get on the ball!

http://tampabay.rays.mlb.com/news/article....jsp&c_id=tb Tampa Bay can get 2 stadiums in 15 years and the Marlins cant? I think something needs to be done to secure the Marlins in South Florida and stop all the bickering. Get them a field and worry about the additional development afterwards. That article doesn't say that Tampa Bay GOT a stadium, only that they unveiled plans to build one. Read the article and there are several additional approvals that need to get done: The Rays pledged that the $450 million facility, to be located on the site of the historic Al Lang Field Spring Training facility, will require no new taxes or the reallocation of existing taxes, though the complex financing plan must first clear several hurdles, including the transformation of the 85-acre Tropicana Field site into a retail and residential district. And if that article is to be believed, did you notice who WEREN'T in attendance at this "press conference?" That's right, St. Petersburg city officials. That's a lot of grandstanding for a franchise that has done NOTHING in it's over 10 years of existence. The Rays are where we were in 1998 when it comes to their supposed "new" stadium.

So how did Little and her group do? I really would have liked to watch some of that competition. Her squad finished in 1st place in their division. This is the second year in a row that she's placed in 1st in that competition. It's one of the only ones I attend because I can always just go over to the Fair with my son (who really can't tolerate sitting through all the cheer routines and loud music for extended periods of time). It was a good Fair this year. My son just wants to do the rides, but he also loves NASCAR and was mesmerized by the two Dale Earnhardt, Jr. cars on display.

were there more Cardinals fans or Marlins fans there? On average, I'd say there were more "baseball" fans than anything else. The Cardinals draw well among the retirees who inhabit the area. Plus, many folks were in line buying tickets for family or friends who would be making "trips" down to Jupiter for either the Cardinals, Mets, Red Sox, Nationals, Dodgers. In my opinion, the majority of folks in line were "snowbirds" who flock to Spring Training like the swallows to San Juan Capistrano (uh-oh, am I showing my age again?). The old lady in line in front of my was originally from Indiana and retired to Palm Beach. She was buying tickets for her son who was coming down in late March. The old couple behind me were locals who are frequent attendees to Hammerheads and PBCardinals game. It was the same all around, just baseball fans trying to snatch up the best tickets left for any game (Cardinals or Marlins). Inside, there were more kids wearing Marlins gear than Cardinals gear. But the other team that was well-represented were the Red Sox. Never saw ya SoFla. We did see some friends there, tho. We got there at 8:30 and the line was around the corner and down to the stadium wall. About 2 blocks. Left the ticket window at 11:00. First hour and a half or so they only had 3 windows open. That changed to 4, and then I think 5 after we got ours. But we got the tickets we wanted. BoSox (bleacher) and 11 for the Home Opener vs the Nats. Had to "cheat" on the 11 because the rule is 6 per customer. But as usual the folks at Roger Dean were very accomodating. Checked out the field, shook hands with the two Cards signing autographs and left those ST vouchers in the main office for the Commuinty Foundation. We had some other things to do so we left soon after that. It is always fun to talk baseball and mingle with the other fans. Usually I see and chat with Emily Minor, but I didn't notice her there this year. She's not really a sports writer but at least she is consistently saying good things about the team in her columns. However, I did see a trolley sign right across from the main entrance that looks like it has been there forever. Don't know how I ever missed/noticed it before. Plenty more Cards fans there. And BoSox fans. But there is a large following in that area for the Cards. May as well start calling it CardinalTowne. What did surprise me a little bit was that the BoSox fans I talked to had never made the short trip to Ft Meyers to catch a game. None of em. Oh well. Friends coming up today (Sunday) from Ft Lauderdale for our annual South Florida Fair excursion. Hope the weather is like yesterday. Next taste of baseball is FanFest. We literally just keep missing each other, and our itineraries keep crossing paths. I'm heading out to the Fair today because Little SoFlaFish is competing at the "Florida Match Play Cheerleading Tournament" that is going on at the Sound Advice Amphitheatre today.

It was a really good time. I did see BroncoBob27 there. The most surprising thing to me was the line for Spring Training tickets. Even LittlerSoFlaFish and I stood in line for 45 minutes to get tickets. By 12:30, the Red Sox game on March 3 was all but sold out. One of the coolest parts was getting a chance to have fun on the actual field. Even LittlerSoFlaFish ran the bases, fielded grounders at third base and first base, and then got to chase a liner off the wall in LF! Another highlight was getting a chance to meet and talk to Josh Johnson. I asked about his arm and he said it felt good and that he is expecting to pitch somewhere this season, but probably not up with the Fish. They went above and beyond the call of duty, however. Initially, it was advertised that the first 1,000 people there would get a voucher from free hot dogs and soda. They actually gave EVERYONE a voucher. At 2:15 when we finally bought our tickets and went up to the Party Deck to get our food, they were just giving the hot dogs away to anybody and there were still alot of "dogs" left. Here are some pics of the occasion: (From left to right): Former Cardinal Ted Savage, Even LittlerSoFlaFish, and Rex Hudler Even LittlerSoFlaFish with Josh Johnson (it's so nice getting an autograph when there was NOBODY in line with us!) . . . it's a deep liner to center, Even LittlerSoFlaFish captures it and throws to Ramirez at the cut-off . . . . He's only four years old, I'll get that leg work down before long. Even LittlerSoFlaFish throwing from the mound at Roger Dean Stadium He was doing a really good job of covering first base while practicing grounders. FunFest was publicized in The Palm Beach Post and the turnout was higher than past Roger Dean Stadium open houses (I remember in 2002 walking around with LittleSoFlaFish and meeting Peter Bergeron of the Expos who was just sitting by the bullpen).

First off, this was reported yesterday in the Miami Herald (Braman sues Miami, county over downtown megaplan). Secondly, unless the Court grants a temporary injunction (which in a case like this will be HIGHLY UNLIKELY), there will be nothing legally stopping the project from going forward. Up here in Palm Beach, a citizens group prevailed in court over the construction of the new West Palm Beach City Hall not being on the ballot. Construction has not been halted and the side will then sort out whatever mess remains. I had a chance to review the complaint, which is in the above referenced Herald article. The two counts for violating the Sunshine Law are (for lack of a better legal term) "crap." It's a stretch to argue that Burgess, as County Manager, is acting as a Board, especially since he has no final authority or voting power (i.e., Burgess alone is not the final policy-maker). Any conclusions or resolution to negotiations that Burgess conducts would need to be ratified by the County Commission, and that ratification is subject to Sunshine Law and would need to be made at a duly notice public hearing. If a judge were to rule in favor of Braman on these two counts, the ramifications to local government law would be huge! It could, in essence, force mediations where by a Division or Department Manager (or even the Chief Administrator) of a local government who is appointed or designated by the County Commission (or any commission, council, board) to represent it at a mediation to be a duly noticed public hearing. I represented Martin County in numerous mediations when the County was sued and the County Administrator was present at those mediations and none of those mediations were subject to Sunshine Law. His other argument is a lawsuit as a bond holder in saying that Miami-Dade County violated the terms of the Bond by reallocating the CDT funds from the Omni to the PAC, and those PAC funds, in turn being allocated to the OB project. My issue with this count is what are Braman's damages. There is no enumeration in the complaint and I'm sure if this ever reaches the discovery stage (highly unlikely), it will be seen that Braman and other similarly situated bondholders have NO damages whatsoever. Without irreperable harm, there is no basis for a court to issue an injunction. The final count on the impropriety of the allocation of the $50M to the Marlins instead of the OB is also (a true legal term) "crap." I do not believe Braman has "standing" to bring this cause of action to the Courts. You need to have an interest in the case to be able to file a lawsuit. I, up here in Palm Beach County, cannot sue Miami-Dade County because of an action of the County Commission. Why? Because I have no stake in the outcome. Braman has not stated in his complaint any "special damages" that would give rise to an interest, aside from being a resident and taxpayer of Miami-Dade County. The only way a taxpayer can bring such a suit would be if he pled that the act of changing the "target" of the $50M bond from the OB to the Marlins is a void or invalid act. The County should have reams of documents to show that the Board of County Commissioners, in this case, was authorized to determine where the monies can go. If the act is valid, then Braman loses his right to sue on this issue, unless he claims "special damagers" in order to survive the standards the Florida Courts have imposed on Plaintiffs. And that, was Local Government Law 101....

Why not add to this: Yup, that's me with Alex Trebek during my appearance on Jeopardy! We taped the show in December of 2000 and it aired in April 2001. 2004 Democratic Party Presidential Candidate, Former Governor of Vermont, and Chair of the Democratic National Committee Howard Dean and me during the 2003 Florida Democratic Party Convention. I had also met and worked with Gov. Dean (or "Governor Ho Ho" as we called him back in the day) while I worked as a Legal Intern with the Vermont Legislature back in 1997. Senator John Kerry and me during the 2003 Florida Democratic Party Convention where I was a delegate. Governor Bill Richardson during a lunch with him in Boynton Beach. I have met and spoken numerous times with Governor Richardson due to my position as Executive Director of the Palm Beach County Democratic Party Caucus. That would be former Virginia Governor (and very likely U.S. Senate candidate) Mark Warner and I during a meeting I had with him in West Palm Beach. He is an amazing man and it is a shame that he pulled his name out of the presidential race so early! Other encounters of which I have no pictures (and I don't count athletes in this mix -- for that, just go read my Spring Training Road Trip Thread from last season), back in college my best friend went to UM and one of his good friends was this guy who was kind of funny and played football. My buddy and I were hanging with him at a party and my buddy says, "Hey, Mike, did you know that _________'s cousin was Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka?" I tell this guy, "No kidding? Really?" Yeah, that "guy" was Duane Johnson ("The Rock"). Also, Gloria Estefan on numerous occasions, only because her mother and my mother were both teachers at the same elementary school in Hialeah. "KC" of KC and the Sunshine Band and my uncle were colleagues together back in the day hanging out at TK Studios. My uncle was the drummer for George McCrae ("Rock Your Baby") and was offered a slot to play drums for KC and the Sunshine Band during their latest tour, but declined due to his age and health. Finally, there is the greatest story of them all, but it doesn't necessarily qualify as a celebrity encounter on my part, though. My great-grandfather was a painter and artist in Spain and Cuba. He was pretty well-reknown and his landscapes and sketches of Santiago de Cuba are still being sold on postcards in Cuba and Spain (with absolutely no royalties going to my family, but that's another story for another time). He studied in Rome and while a student, he and a classmate snuck into the Vatican gardens to paint landscapes. They were captured by the Swiss Guards while the Pope was strolling. The Pope (I don't recall which one now, but you're going to have to calculate this happened between 1890-1910) confronted them and said that he'd let them go if they painted his portrait -- which they did, but this is not the "punchline." One of my great-grandfather's colleagues and friends back in the day was none other than Walt Disney. Walt offered my great-grandfather a job as an animator and collaborator back in the day, to which my great-grandfather graciously replied, "Why in the world would I want to spend the rest of my life drawing a rat?" The rest is history.

I honestly am surprised that they didn't lock him into a multi-year deal. Very Surprising to me. :blink: I don't find it surprising at all. I honestly don't think the Tigers are going to sign him to a long term deal. I find it odd that they locked-up Willis to a deal, but not Cabrera. I think the Tigers won't be able to afford him and are hoping for a make it or break it season from him to get them over the hump. There are really only four to six teams that can afford Cabrera on a long-term deal: Red Sox, Yankees, Cubs, Dodgers, Angels, and Mets. That's it. Call it a hunch, but if they really wanted to tie him up long-term, they would have done it concurrently with Dontrelle.

I didn't see a whole lot of support for the stadium in the readers comments after the article. Makes me nervous. Seriously, never take seriously what anonymous posters on a newspaper web site post on message boards. It's just not worth it.

Any of you guys going to Spring Training? CLICK HERE

No trek to Fort Lawdy Dawdy? Have fun in the prettier ballparks in the inferior parts of the state though. Go search the boards to find last season's First Annual SoFlaFish and EvenLittlerSoFlaFish Spring Training Tour, when I hit Fort Lauderdale for a Marlins-O's game. This year I tried to hit the parks I didn't do last season, so that's why the "tour" is laid out the way it is. For a quick re-cap, the First Annual SoFlaFish and EvenLittlerSoFlaFish Spring Training Tour consisted of eight (8) games in eight (8) days to these parks, in this order: (1) Roger Dean Stadium - Jupiter; (2) Ft. Lauderdale Stadium - Ft. Lauderdale; (3) Space Coast Stadium - Viera; (4) Holman Stadium - Vero Beach; (5) Hammond Stadium - Ft. Myers; (6) Ed Smith Stadium - Sarasota; (7) Al Lang Stadium [i will not call it Progress Energy Park!] - St. Petersburg; and (8) City of Palms Park - Ft. Myers.

It's getting closer folks! Pitchers and catchers report to Jupiter on my birthday this year (Feb. 17). And because I am sick and tired of the same endless and useless posts about Norman Braman, the stadium negotiations, who is going to start at 3B, why are we the laughing stock, etc., etc., etc., it's time to get some optimism back into this here hizzouse!! Something to get the spring back in your step, something to get your toes tingling. That's right, the four best words in all of sports: PITCHERS AND CATCHERS REPORT With the release of the Spring Training schedules (thank goodness I picked up a USA Today yesterday while waiting for my flight at Tampa International Airport), the Second Annual SoFlaFish & EvenLittlerSoFlaFish Spring Training Tour is finalized. As is my desire for 2008, I plan on hitting sites that I missed last season. Here is the confirmed schedule: SAT, March 1, 2008: Marlins vs. Cardinals, Roger Dean Stadium, Jupiter, FL SUN, March 2, 2008: Mets vs. Dodgers, Holman Stadium, Vero Beach, FL MON, March 3, 2008: Braves vs. Mets, Tradition Field, Port St. Lucie, FL TUE, March 4, 2008: Yankees vs. Blue Jays, Knology Park, Dunedin, FL WED, March 5, 2008: Braves vs. Indians, Chain of Lakes Park, Winter Haven, FL THU, March 6, 2008: Rays vs. Phillies, Bright House Networks Stadium, Clearwater, FL FRI, March 7, 2008: Tigers vs. Braves, Champion Stadium, Walt Disney World, FL SAT, March 8, 2008: Nationals vs. Astros, Osceola County Stadium, Kissimmee, FL And of course, the annual tradition of Spring Training pictures begins on February 17 when pitchers and catchers report. Perhaps, Mods, it's time to create a "Spring Training" subforum, or a "sticky topic." Stay tuned for pictures . . . .

Individual game tickets go on sale Saturday, Jan 26th. We always make that day. It's always a great time talking bsaeball with other real fans of the game. I suppose we should be recieving our vouchers for ST any day now. If anyone else paid for their season tickets in full and are supposed to recieve the voucerhs for ST games please let us know when you recieve them. We are on our 3rd sales rep in 3 years and seem to be slipping through the cracks on certain things. This time we were able to choose who we wanted by emailing him, his boss, and Tin Man. Actually, it was Tin Man that stepped up to the plate and appointed the guy for us. BTW I don't remember ever seeing a trolley in that area. Is it something new or have I been blind to it? I think age has gotten to you old man They always have had the trolley going around to the two complexes (at least since 2003 when I first started going out there with my kids). I'm getting the camera ready for another round of Spring Training pictures this season. LittleSoFlaFish, EvenLittlerSoFlaFish, and myself will be there on the weekend of the 16th like we are every year (Feb. 17 is my birthday!) splitting time between the Cardinals and Marlins facilities. Unfortunately, though, I still haven't broken the news of the "trade" to EvenLittlerSoFlaFish yet. I'm sure he'll be okay eventually. LittleSoFlaFish eventually accepted the trade of her favorite player (Josh Beckett). He'll find another favorite player soon. I think his "finalists" will be Josh Willingham (because Hammer's last name rhymes with EvenLittlerSoFlaFish's first name) and Robert Andino (ever since he got his Andino baseball card signed by Robert last year he always asks for him). I'm trying to decide whether to do another Spring Training Road Trip this year -- hitting the places we didn't hit last year (Port St. Lucie, Lake Buena Vista, Kissimmee, Winter Haven, Lakeland, Clearwater, Dunedin, Tampa, and Bradenton). I'm definitely, though, going back to Dodgertown. That was the BEST!

Final Score: 507,261 Final Level: 11 Traveler IQ: 126

When do those start and is there a schedule for those with times and dates? I imagine all of those are open to the public... Pitchers and catchers report Sunday February 17. Workouts start usually at 9:00 and go until around 12:00. Yes, they are open to the public and take place on the back fields of Roger Dean Stadium. There is a trolley that takes you to the Marlins practice fields and the Cardinals practice fields, with a stop at Roger Dean Stadium. The first weekend of Spring Training is usually a bit of a "pain" because Arti-Gras is taking place at the same time, which causes some logistic headaches. Every year this question is asked, and every year this question is answered the same way!

Anyone have the full Marlins ST schedule? Would like to start picking differnt ball parks to go watch them in. Dodgertown is definetly on the list even if we have to take a day off for it. Not going to miss the Marlins probable last visit there. Go to each team's websites for a ST schedule. That's what I did when planning my ST roadtrip with my son last year. Usually, most teams have the schedules all done by mid-January. You'll see many teams have "incomplete" schedules, though.

Its coming along great. The ballpark will be named Vic Darensburg Stadium and it will open in April of 2008. :o Dan Miceli got shafted! That's what he gets for throwing Boles under the bus. TRUE STORY: During Spring Training this season, most of you know that my son and I toured the state hitting different facilities. While in St. Petersburg, I wanted my son to walk up to Miceli while he was sitting in the Rays bullpen to ask for his autograph. The catch was that I was going to send my son up there with nothing so that if Miceli turned around and asked, "What do you want me to sign?" I could have responded, "Oh, damn it, Dan. I left the dagger with which you stabbed Boles in the back at home. Sorry!" I'm evil like that!

And that's an AP story, too. Someone needs to correct them. I cannot believe some people would publish a story without checking all their facts and making sure they made no mistakes. That's such a blatant mistake, too, it's not even about the details. I've already notified CNN of their error.

By the way, home plate at Dolphin Stadium faces EAST not NE, so the same will probably hold true at a new park, with windows looking out east/southeast to downtown Miami.

Agreed. By placing the stadium in a section of the city that will have bars, restaurants, and public transportation. The Wrigley "experience" isn't the ballpark. The ballpark is a dump. Just like Fenway. You couldn't get 35,000 fans per game just to see a nice ballpark, you get used to seeing the same thing every time. The experience is the packed subways with Cubs and Red Sox hats everywhere, the packed bars with Cubs and Red Sox hats everywhere, and the busy side streets with Cubs and Red Sox hats everywhere. NONE of this will be possible at OB. And what a darned shame that is. You'd think $500 million could still buy something useful. The Marlins are spending half their net worth on this? Please. Have you been to Citizen's Bank Park recently? That stadium isn't located in a place with "bars," "restaurants," or adequate public transportation (one line in and from what I saw, most people drove to the stadium). Yet, put the Phillies in a pennant race and you can't get tickets to a game. Same holds true for Turner Field (except for the tickets in a pennant race, those Braves fans are worse than Marlins fans). That park is located in roughly the same type of proximity to downtown Atlanta as the OB is to downtown Miami. Plus, the area around Shea Stadium (and the new Chase Field) is just so full of bars and restaurants at night, that it's a happening place . . . NOT! Same holds true for parks in Washington, Los Angeles, Anaheim, and to a lesser degree Pittsburgh. A park is built where you have the land available to make it feasible. What? South Florida is so "special" that you need to have it in an exact location or no one will show up? The product drives the attendance, not the location. If "location" were key, then the Panthers would be sold out every night because they're located "in the center of the South Florida population" - beloved Broward County . . . and most of their fans live in Broward County . . . yada, yada, yada. But they're not and they have one of the worst attendance marks in the NHL (25 out of 30 teams!). As I said before, have the Marlins in a playoff race for three years straight and watch attendance increase. Do you think that there will be 15,000 people there for an NLCS game at a new park at the OB? C'mon, give me a break! But on the flip side, show me a Marlins team that is 50-73 and you'll have the same amount of people at the park if the stadium were at the Orange Bowl, Government Center, or next door to the Bank Atlantic Center. You seem to have this "crush" on the Gov't Center site (a site that a senior Miami-Dade County Zoning Official told me was next to impossible to fit a ballpark on . . . but then again, what would he know!). Finally, where are the "bars" and "restaurants" of Gov't Center? They're not there NOW, so you wouldn't be building a park where the bars and restaurants are! Puhlease!

How is it pointless? The more extra things there are, the more reasons for the casual fan to come out to the park. Because the question was "what would 'you' (or in this case 'I') like to see at the new ballpark," and since I'm not a casual fan but a REAL BASEBALL FAN, I want to see "BASEBALL" which would require a diamond, an outfield, and seat for me to sit in. Now do you guys get it? I'm old school, what can I say. I derive the same amount of enjoyment watching baseball in an old spring training ballpark with wooden benches (I'm looking right at you old McKechnie Field) as I do from watching it inside a mammoth new ballpark (like Citizens Bank Park which I did this past summer). Honestly, the most enjoyable place I've ever watched a game at was from the narrow bleacher seats at Fenway Park back in 1996.

I dunno, I think numbers on the armrests like at Turner Field are pretty frou-frou myself. :mischief You missed my point. I want to see a "baseball field" and "seats" in a new stadium, that's it. All the other stuff (fish tanks, fountain, etc.) is all just pointless.

....as the only negative to downtown was that it supposedly cost more. Well, it costs less. Why can't we switch to downtown where the team will actually be successful? It doesn't necessarily cost less. While the two sites have a different "final price" ($495M vs. $525M), you're not looking at why there is a difference and why the City/County are looking at the OB instead of GC (Government Center). The price differential is based on (1) the fact that the OB site allows for a 29 month construction schedule, the GC site required a 34 month schedule. Then there is the fact that there is a funding source available at the OB site that is unavailable at the GC site - approved bond money that was slated for OB repairs that can re-allocated to a park there, but cannot be re-allocated to a GC site. And if you seriously think that access for Broward and Palm Beach people is easier at a GC site than it is for an OB site, then you really never drive in Miami-Dade County. For starters, the GC site would have been about 9 acres, the OB site is 40 acres. I can already hear Earl from Cooper City and Biff from Boca already complaining about having to park at Bayside or in a parking garage about 1.5 miles from a GC park because there was no on-site parking (I can also already hear Earl from Cooper City or Biff from Boca complaining over probably having to walk that distance and shudder the thought over having to see people that "didn't look" like them!). A Palm Beach/Broward person (and I'm one of them, I live in Central Palm Beach County) would still have to drive down the same stretch of I-95 to get to either a GC or an OB site. The difference would be going west on 836 for a total of ONE FREAKIN' EXIT (NW 17 ST), or going south ONE MORE FREAKIN' EXIT to the NW 8 ST exit and then having to drive all over downtown to find an "off-site" parking space. But I won't care about that, because I'll be riding in on the train from the west like I used to do when I went to Dolphins games at the OB (back in the day when the Dolphins really mattered!) The OB site can provide 6,000 spaces in a garage and the rest within 5/8 of a mile. Do you want to know what 5/8 of a mile is in familiar terms? That the distance from the westernmost parking at Dolphin Stadium to the easternmost parking at Dolphin Stadium. The park is not happening downtown, so why don't you just quit crying about something that is not going to happen and just accept it that the park may ACTUALLY get built somewhere that isn't San Antonio, Portland, East Rutherford, Charlotte, Oklahoma City, or Monterrey! If you don't like it, then don't go. That will mean more room for me there....