Baseball. Blogging. Whenever.

Monday, February 02, 2009

Sticking to his gut?

Barack Obama impressed me yesterday by sticking to his gut and picking Pittsburg to win the Super Bowl.

Many elected officials waffle when it comes to sports, like Hillary wearing Cubs and Yankees caps.

Obama picked the Steelers because team ownership supported his presidential bid. Forget the underdog story. It was all about politics.

Mr. President, of course, is way off base with his baseball prognostications. He cheers for the Chicago White Sox, even though The Cubs are the toast of the town. It's wrongheaded. And he'll certainly miss out when America's team finally win the World Series.

$17.5 million

Comment of the Day

I have to question the fact that this actually happened. I used to work security for the Mariners, and the chances of this happening are slim to none.

I had a badge, a uniform, and was licensed by the state, and there were still places I couldn’t go to without an escort or prior approval. Like the locker room, for one. There is security at every door, and someone checking badges. There is a pass list and someone from the club (known to all) who escorts and accounts for all personnel going in and out of anywhere. And the players are all well aware of who belongs and who doesn’t.

As well as security roaming looking for anyone who doesn’t belong. And it’s easy to spot them.

And no one just walks through a gate into the dugout. Have you ever seen the amount of police and security that ring the field for important games? Ain’t gonna happen.

I’m calling bulls**t on this story.

Don’t look back

Don’t disrespect the dog

What got me started on this rant was a banner that I keep seeing, featuring a hot dog. I suppose it's intended to attract foodie tourists to the website. But where did that hot dog come from? It's clearly not the slender, natural-skin weenie for which New York is famous, from its cart-vended "dirty water dogs," to the esteemed products of Nathan's and Katz's.

No, the picture on the banner is clearly a bulbous, fake-skinned ballpark-type frank, the kind that is eaten in the rest of the country. Moreover, the frank is smeared with mustard and ketchup. No sauerkraut. No sauteed onions. It's as if the artist had never seen a New York frank. I won't even go into the artistic qualities of the banner. Actually--yes, I will. This thing is an eyesore, with jarring colors and annoying graphics. And was a ballpark frank the most iconic New York food image they could come up with?

Vicious cycle

The risk for the sports industry and those who follow it is that a collapse in sports sponsorships could cause a downward spiral similar to the housing and credit bubbles. For example, television broadcasters who rely heavily on advertising may be forced to stop bidding so aggressively for the rights to broadcast sporting events. These broadcast fees, together with sponsorships, make up a significant source of revenue for sports teams and leagues, so a substantial decline in these amounts would adversely affect the industry. Team owners are also feeling the squeeze personally, as the financial crisis has put a dent in their portfolios, and in the case of the owner of the New York Mets, Fred Wilpon, who invested a large portion of his wealth with his childhood friend, Bernard Madoff, such investments have been lost. In addition, media groups such as the Tribune Company, owner of the Chicago Cubs, have recently filed for bankruptcy. Teams that are unable to offer the highest salaries will be unable to attract the best players and without the best players, teams will have difficulty winning. Losing teams will have a more difficult time attracting sponsors. It is a vicious cycle that is bound to have a lasting effect on how the sports industry has been operating during this sports bubble, which could be the next bubble to burst.

The Red Sox’ Youth Movement

Red Sox owner John Henry is engaged to girlfriend Linda Pizzuti . . .

. . . It will be the first marriage for Pizzuti, who has been dating the millionaire businessman since she was introduced to him last summer at Alibi, the bar at the Liberty Hotel. Henry, the 59-year-old founder of the Boca Raton-based investment firm John W. Henry & Co., has one daughter from his 14-year marriage to Peggy. He was also married once before.

Pizzuti, 30, is from Lynnfield, and she and her family are in the real estate development business. She's been a near-constant companion of the Sox owner in recent months, traveling with him to Europe and hosting parties on his 164-foot yacht.

No one wants the Big Donkey?

The Pirates are third

The Pittsburgh Pirates made a candid and surprising admission: Not only are they perennially in last place in the NL Central, they've dropped into last in their own city.

The Pirates rank third among the Steel City's three major sports franchises from a marketing and business perspective, team president Frank Coonelly said.

There's no shame in being less popular than the beloved Pittsburgh Steelers, who are seeking an unprecedented sixth Super Bowl title on Sunday. But for a major league baseball team to acknowledge it has slipped behind an NHL team in its marketplace is nearly unprecedented, except perhaps in Canada.

Today at THT