BasesLoadedWalk

Speaking of American commentators, check out this "masterpiece" from the Chicago Fire:

Saturday's game against FC Tampa Bay was called off due to lightening strikes. An unfortunate development because they were expecting a good-sized crowd against their state rivals. The Strikers tied NSC Minnesota 1-1 on the 7th, then lost 4-2 against the Carolina Railhawks on the 11th.

I think Don Garber wants to see proof that the area can support the Strikers before they can join MLS. At least, that is what the word is. Anyway, the Strikers tied 2-2 away at Puerto Rico during the April 29 game. Strikers goals were made by Coudet and Gordon. http://www.strikers.com/index.php?id=111&newsid=400 Next game is on May 7 at Minnesota.

Hey, I want to know what you think Fox Sports using a new theme for its Fox Soccer telecasts? Check it out: At least the first part of the video, doesn't that remind people of the theme they used when they had the BCS games? :mis2 Anyway, what you think? They're probably going to use that theme before presenting the EPL, if not for the Champions League final.

Strikers got their first victory over the Atlanta Silverbacks. The victory came away at the Silverbacks' stadium in Atlanta. Nuñez and Coudet were the scorers for the Strikers. http://www.strikers.com/index.php?id=31&newsid=373

Strikers tied in the last minute against NSC Minnesota Stars on Friday evening. The game ended up 1-1, earning the Strikers their first point as the new Strikers in this season.

Well, tonight's match has just been played. FC Edmonton has come back from a 1-0 deficit to beat the Strikers by the score of 2-1. The good news is that 6,402 was the announced attendance for this match. The marketing efforts by Traffic to reconnect to the area with reviving the Strikers name has yielded some fruit, so far. Btw, 3,693 was the announced attendance in St. Pete for the FC Tamba Bay vs. Montreal Impact game.

They unveiled the new logo for this upcoming season: Today was also the unveiling of the new uniforms. There will also be a special uniform for the 100th anniversary of Ft. Lauderdale.

Tim Robbie the new president of the Strikers, replacing Aaron Davidson. Interview on The Big O: http://wftlsports.com/bigopodcast/media/2011-03-10_31011bigoshowhr2.mp3 (go to the middle)

The team formerly known as Miami FC. I guess Traffic Sports had to concede to reality and bring back a name associated with the old NASL. Relevant article: http://www.strikers.com/article/strikers-2011 Anyway, I'll use this thread to post scores and whatever else happening with this team. They'll start play in the new NASL (D2) at home against FC Edmonton on April 9.

A few more example of (American) football from all over the world: Brazil Uruguay Mexico Russia Australia

As you might have guessed with the title, the article's tone is more negative than positive. It has quotes from Burgess, Samson and Gimenez, among the people interviewed. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/21/sports/baseball/21marlins.html?ref=sports

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/21/sports/baseball/21loria.html Q. & A. With Jeffrey Loria A Stadium as a Work of Art KEN BELSON Published: September 20, 2009 When Jeffrey Loria says that the Florida Marlins’ new stadium will be a work of art, he means it literally. Loria, the owner of the Marlins, who made his money as an art dealer, is overseeing many of the details of the design of the park, which is expected to open in 2012 on the site of the old Orange Bowl in Miami’s Little Havana neighborhood. In an office in his gallery on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, Loria talked about his vision for the stadium, which will have a retractable roof and 37,000 seats. “The city of Miami is a new, electric city, so it called for something contemporary,� he said. “I wanted the stadium in a place where it would be a piece of sculpture. I wanted people to go to a ballgame to use their eyes and be in a facility that’s not just another retro stadium. Color is very important. The stadium will be bathed by light.� Q. What were your inspirations? A. I went to Barcelona to see the Miró Foundation and I thought his palette would be the most appropriate, which would be a great homage to Spain. There’s nothing wrong with retro, but it’s time to move ahead into the 21st century. I could have chosen an Art Deco design, but that’s looking back. There will be paintings, sculptures and colored lights. Q. Are you deliberately trying to be different? A. It’s not trying to be different, but being special to the city it will sit in. We’ll have colored stone, a plaza in front. I hope it will rejuvenate the area and provide energy for the community. I’m bringing 45 years of architectural experience, a lot of practicalities. Q. Will you have the pools like at Land Shark Stadium? A. There will be a beach area, we’ll have pools. A lot of the art elements will be fun, made to make you smile. The central feature will be in center field. We’ll work with Art in Public Places. There are no big outdoor sculptures yet. It’s a new franchise, so we need to give it time. But I want it to be a landmark. I want the experience to change from time to time, with paintings, photographs. Q. The stadium will be on the site of the old Orange Bowl. Will there be tributes to the football played there? A. We’ll pay homage to the Orange Bowl. We’re sensitive to the history of the site, the Dolphins, Miami. We see ourselves as the Americas Team. Q. Will the team have new uniforms? A. We’re two years away, but we started working on a new look for the uniforms, new colors, something special for the new home. Teal is a color for the ’90s. You have to be cognizant of your time. The seats will be a beautiful shade of blue. Q. What stadium most closely resembles the Marlins’? A. I’m interested in the sculptural experience, glass, marble, colored bricks, stones, wood. There’s no stadium that’s out there that approximates it because it will be so white and with primary colors all around. It sort of looks like a spaceship that just landed, something different, something people can call their own.

If you believe the numbers from ESPN, the Rangers are 18th in home attendence at this time: http://espn.go.com/mlb/attendance Not great but not horrendous, either. I have to go with ownership finance problems as the chief culprit. Hicks has made some questionable moves during his tenure. The A-Rod signing was one. He probably thought that one mega signing would make the Rangers more nationally recognized. However, the Rangers are and will continue to be a mid-market franchise. They can compete, given the right mix of money and talent. What they can't do is try to outspend the Yankees, same with 26 other teams. Hicks also has problems with his part-ownership of Liverpool FC, where plans to build a stadium there have stalled because of financing issues. This is what happens with being overleveraged. Sooner or later, you run out of cash on hand to pay your debts. The economy also factors in but a good businessperson should have taken that into consideration when running any operation. Not every one can be a Wal-Mart or an IBM and weather any s-storm that comes down the pike. League office has to be majorly embarrassed about this. Having to run the Expos for a few years while in the process of relocation was embarrassing enough.

A nice video giving the latest on the construction: http://www.ballparkauthority.com/index.asp?Type=B_BASIC&SEC=%7b5657CF7A-4E6C-4E0B-A321-77419423F559%7d It's close to ready.

A good website to follow the demolition of Yankee Stadium (and some latest pics): http://www.demolitionofyankeestadium.com/

You know, assuming that construction continues with no major interruptions, we'll be in the center of the stadium construction universe. That is because after next year the Marlins will be the only ones having a construction project ongoing. The only other major stadium projects right now are the new Jets/Giants stadium in the Meadowlands and the Twins stadium, and those two are going to be done by the end of this year or shortly after. And then it's us and I doubt anyone else for the near future. So all eyes will be on us, sooner or later! The "last of the Mohicans"

Another reminder of never counting your chickens before they hatch. :mis2 :blink:

Wall St. endorses ballpark bonds On Tuesday, the answer became clearer: All three Wall Street credit rating agencies announced favorable assessments of the county's plan to sell more than $300 million in bonds -- which will be repaid with tourist taxes -- before groundbreaking on the former Orange Bowl site in July. The bonds received ratings ranging from ''A+'' from Standard & Poor's to an ''A'' grade from Fitch Ratings and ''A2'' from Moody's Investor Services. All of the ratings put the bonds in the middle of the pack for investment-grade bonds. ''That should be enough to get it done,'' said Leo Guzman, president of securities firm Guzman & Co. in Coral Gables. ``The county should be pleased.'' http://www.miamiherald.com/news/miami-dade/story/1066916.html

Think about it. In any normal construction, the foundation has to be done first before stuff can come out of the ground. Now, this is no ordinary construction, like your house. It's a large public works project, with a whole complexity of laws and regulations that come with it. Things like that are purposefully long to finish in order to gain the confidence of the public who would be using the facilities within. Now, let's say that it takes about six months to do the foundation (I don't really know the right answer because it's not my area of expertise). That would be a good amount of time dedicated to digging up the ground, checking the soil, drilling holes through for pipes, water and sewer, etc.. You're already going into December/January before starting the concrete, the pipes, the wires, etc.. I have no idea what the people in charge of the project would be doing but, following recent projects of a similar type, I'm expecting a lot of moving parts to be involved, a lot of workers involved in many different areas of concern, to get stuff going so that the project itself doesn't get pushed back too far. If they believe that they can use the months of July through December to get things started, then they're going to push for those months. Also, a ton of money is involved. So we have to believe that the project managers want to start in July.

Tampa Bay Rays say waterfront stadium is off table, downtown site questionable http://www.tampabay.com/news/localgovernment/article1003372.ece It is going to take a long time for things to shake out there.

http://www.mercurynews.com/politics/ci_12354568 A lot of stuff must happen before the A's are allowed to do business with San Jose. It's still newsworthy because it's confirmation that a process has just begun to campaign for the A's to move there.

It does look alarmist but, on the other hand, there are also videos from self-professed Moslems bragging that Islam will take over the world and that everyone must convert or else. So maybe the video is playing off those videos that boast about an Islamic takeover. Also, it is not so much about terrorism as it is about potentially vast social and cultural changes that come as Moslems become numerous. There have been news stories about pressure groups intimidating public local authorities to doing such thing as segregating public swimming pools according to gender, changes to the lunch menus to force people to eat halal and set-aside prayer rooms in public buildings like airports. A lot of non-Moslems don't like that and are starting to complain about it, that video being proof of that.

It would be interesting to read what Rodman would say about the news. Anyway, I thought he was a decent guy. The players were the ones that got the bad reputation, whether deserved or not. R.I.P.

I think this picture tells you all you need to know about how much more hitter-friendly the new Stadium is compared to the old one. This is LF, mind you, which has been traditionally more harder to hit HRs at than in RF. The 399' sign looks like it is at a shorter distance. That could be perception, of course, but it does not take away from the fact that opposing hitters are a lot more tempted to swing for the 4-bagger than at the old Stadium.