It may not be this year, but the day is coming when the US will have a female president. Which will no doubt really tick off the authors of this 1943 primer in Transportation Magazine (assuming they’re still alive). Click on the image for the full version.
Two posts on this topic in, and already I’m running out of Philadelphia headlines. This doesn’t bode well.
Anyway, the league that’s never going to survive will have grown 60% from 2004 to 2010, thanks to today’s announcement that Philadelphia will be Major League Soccer’s 16th club.
They didn’t announce the name, colors or anything else today, and when they do, I doubt very seriously that “Atoms” will get any consideration at all. That’s a shame, in a way, because the Atoms are an interesting part of American soccer history (a part that’s chronicled extremely well on my man Steve Holroyd‘s site, philadelphiaatoms.com).
The latest addition to my collection of American soccer bobbleheads is Antonio Sutton of the California Cougars, courtesy of my man Greg Young, Jr. This is actually my second Sutton bobblehead – they made one of him when he was with the Cleveland Force.
Anyway, speaking of adding to one’s collection, I hear rumors that New Jersey Ironmen coach Omid Namazi is close to adding another one of his former players to his roster for the stretch run of the MISL season. After a great start, Jersey is 11-10, fifth in the league, but not in a very secure position with 9 games to go. (more…)
It’s commercials like this that sometimes make me wish I was still working in advertising, just for the laughs.
The reports that inappropriate douchebag maverick owner Sam Zell would have no problem selling naming rights to Wrigley Field have caused, let’s say, plenty of consternation in Chicago and the baseball world. (First off, let’s be honest here: is this really a surprise? Any guy who will tell an employee “F*** you” – now with video goodness – and have that not be the most inappropriate thing that’s come out of his mouth would likely sell Personal Seat Licenses around Buckingham Fountain.)
But as for this notion that the people of Chicago “would never let this happen” or that they’d “rise up in anger against it,” let’s get real. (more…)
Things that have caught my eye today while wondering if the founding fathers really saw this one coming:
One of the highlights of the time I spent working for a club in the United Soccer Leagues system was getting to work with Tim Holt, who’s now the Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer of the whole shebang. Even back in 1999, it was obvious he was a sharp guy going places – I didn’t honestly expect him to stay at USL for ten years. But whatever measure of growth and stability USL has achieved over the last decade has been due in no small part to his vision, his intelligence and his passion for the game and for seeing things done the right way.
Tim has an honest and interesting Q and A on USL’s site. Give it a tumble.
I mentioned that I didn’t expect him to stay at USL as long as he has. This week they’re going to announce the new MLS team in Philadelphia, which is Tim’s hometown. The folks running the show in Chester would be well-advised to consider Tim for a prominent spot in their new world order.
I said the United Football League would never play a game.
It looks more and more likely that that’s the case, now that their kickoff has been pushed back to 2009 and their big announcement to “late March” after it was originally supposed to be in the first week of February.
They’re supposed to announce a national TV deal? Unless it’s with Mark Cuban‘s HDNet, I’m skeptical. Networks are no longer in the habit of taking flyers on these alternative leagues (at least not in a way that makes any type of financial windfall for the league itself possible).
The woods are littered with the bones of people who’ve tried to start competing or alternative sports leagues, especially in football. Add these people’s bones to the pile.
Attendance Geek here again…with numbers from the 2007 Cactus League season from this morning’s Arizona Republic:
| Team | G | Total | Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago Cubs (Mesa) | 16 | 175,891 | 10,993 |
| San Francisco (Scottsdale) | 14 | 148,988 | 10,642 |
| Seattle (Peoria) | 16 | 126,137 | 7,884 |
| San Diego (Peoria) | 14 | 100,061 | 7,147 |
| Los Angeles Angels (Tempe) | 15 | 105,869 | 7,058 |
| Oakland (Phoenix) | 14 | 95,058 | 6,790 |
| Arizona (Tucson) | 14 | 94,291 | 6,735 |
| Texas (Surprise) | 14 | 86,864 | 6,205 |
| Chicago White Sox (Tucson) | 15 | 86,397 | 5,760 |
| Kansas City (Surprise) | 14 | 78,747 | 5,625 |
| Milwaukee (Maryvale) | 14 | 61,888 | 4,421 |
| Colorado (Tucson) | 15 | 57,359 | 3,824 |
| CACTUS LEAGUE | 175 | 1,217,550 | 6,957 |
My friends and I used to go to games at Al Lopez Field (right) in Tampa back in the day and it was nothing like it is today. Al Lopez was one of those old-time, utilitarian ballparks (it had been built in the mid-1950s, so it was already old by the time we started going there), but it was the site of a lot of memories. I hopped over the railing from a first-row seat next to the dugout to wrestle a foul ball away from a ballboy (I still have the ball, which came off the bat of Dave Concepcion) in 1983. My best friend and I saw the Ft. Lauderdale Yankees beat the Tampa Tarpons in the 1982 Florida State League championship there (I snagged George Steinbrenner‘s autograph that night, and still have that).
I’d be amazed if Spring Training games back in dinosaur days drew more than a few thousand folks, on average.