Jeremy Roenick = Ass?

[Guest Rrrsh]

I hope they are heavily discounted.....

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There has been announcemnets from a coupl4 of teams (Ottawa and Vancouver that I can remember) that will have a 2 year freeze, no discount.

 

But its Canada.

[BruiserKC 0]

It has nothing to do with fickle fans...it's the fact the NHL has pissed away great opportunities in the last 10 years or so to bring aboard new fans. The fickle ones bailed after the '94-95 lockout. They are the same ones who no doubt were willing to give the NHL a chance but on the heels of the cancellation of the '94 World Series said, "Not again! Screw this!" And that was that.

 

For myself, I'm sick of the stories being more about what goes on in the boardroom than on the ice. For two years now they were talking about the day when they would have to come to the point of lockout they did...two years where the owners and players could have gotten a deal done. Both the NHLPA and the owners didn't learn the lesson that people want to see them play, not sit on the sidelines. Unfortunately, the fans didn't seem to make that point clear enough to them or maybe this could have been averted. In 2002, when there was a threat of another baseball strike at the tail end of the season, the fans let the players and owners know if it happened, they were gone. (I know many baseball fans that have yet to return since the '94 strike).

[The Czech Republic 0]

You know, the fact that people still haven't come back to baseball after the strike, given how everybody else has and baseball is huge again and so on so forth, is kinda weird and childish.

[MrRant 0]

I'd say those people are living up to their principles and I have more respect for them then those who said they would never watch again and swore by it and are now back to watching it.

[CanadianGuitarist 0]

I honestly think baseball's as big now as it was in 92 or 93, pre strike.

 

The Homerun Wars of 98, Subway Series, Underdog Marlin WS Wins, Bosox wins, potential Cubbies-Sox series and Bonds Record and Ichiro Records couldnt have come at better times.

 

The exception to this is Canada. Montreal really did seem to lose interest after the strike, and the Jays have been between 15-30000 a game, which is down from a legit 45-50000 in the early 90's. On the whole, though, the last 5 or 10 years have been a pretty sweet time to be a baseball fan, and clearly I'm not the only one who thinks so.

 

And quite frankly, there's more people who are sadly and anxiously awaiting hockey's return in Canada, then there are people who are denonucing it.

 

Why wouldn't it be the same for baseball in the States?

[Dogbert 0]

Fox Sports says that the announcement will come tomorrow.

 

How reliable are they?

[Prophet of Mike Zagurski 0]

Cross your fingers, I guess.

[The Czech Republic 0]

I honestly think baseball's as big now as it was in 92 or 93, pre strike.

 

The Homerun Wars of 98, Subway Series, Underdog Marlin WS Wins, Bosox wins, potential Cubbies-Sox series and Bonds Record and Ichiro Records couldnt have come at better times.

 

Florida winning the World Series didn't do shit. It was the preceding pair of LCSs that mattered. The World Series itself was an afterthought.

 

Oh what it probably did was further the fallacy that smallball is a viable style of play regardless of your lineup, cough cough, Dusty Baker, cough cough.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

The attendance drop in baseball looked worse than it really was because baseball had expanded in 1993. The Colorado Rockies drew 4,000,000 in attendance, an unsustainable spike. Still, baseball suffered a short term drop in attendance. I think baseball lost the casual fan, but the fan who says he'll never watch baseball again is usually not a hardcore fan in the first place.

 

Baseball has suffered in Canada though. I don't know if it is more the strike, or baseball doing everything it can to kill business in Montreal. In any case, Montreal lost the Expos, Vancouver lost their AAA team, and rumors have broken that the AAA Ottawa team could move soon as well.

 

It is odd because this is a golden age for Canadian talent. Jason Bay, Eric Bedard, Rich Harden, Jeff Francis, Justin Morneau, Corey Koskie, Eric Gagne. There's never been a better time for Canadians in MLB.

[BruiserKC 0]

You know, the fact that people still haven't come back to baseball after the strike, given how everybody else has and baseball is huge again and so on so forth, is kinda weird and childish.

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Five work-stoppages in the last 20 years before the '94 players strike. 1973 (strike), '76 (lockout), '81 (strike), '85 (strike), '90 (lockout). They had been talking the potential for a strike going back to the start of the '92 season. Lot of people were pissed off and this was building for some time. That's why I'm sure many fans walked away. I didn't come back to MLB meself for three years...it took the McGwire-Sosa HR duel for me (a huge Cardinals fan) to come back. I don't blame some of them for not returning.

 

The whole ordeal with the NHL may finally usher in the era of labor peace in sports. There are plenty more entertainment options available to people in lieu of the NHL (or other sports for that matter) and pro sports is finally realizing this. I have no complaints with the players and owners getting theirs...just don't screw us over in the process.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

That's a good point. We often forget that labor stoppages were the norm even before the 1994 baseball strike. 2002 was the first time the labor contract came up in MLB without a stoppage, and we just witnessed the NBA close a deal months before the deadline. I can't speak for all of sports, but I am sure it will be a long time before the NHL tries this again.

[CanadianChris 0]

In any case, Montreal lost the Expos, Vancouver lost their AAA team, and rumors have broken that the AAA Ottawa team could move soon as well.

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That rumour's been going around for years, but it's never amounted to anything more than an owner spouting off hot air. Much like the Expos, I'm sure it'll happen eventually (especially now that they're Baltimore's AAA team, and the O's probably wouldn't mind moving them closer to Baltimore), but there's no point putting any stock in the rumour in any given year.

 

Oh, and Vancouver now has a single-A team in the Northwest League.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

In any case, Montreal lost the Expos, Vancouver lost their AAA team, and rumors have broken that the AAA Ottawa team could move soon as well.

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That rumour's been going around for years, but it's never amounted to anything more than an owner spouting off hot air. Much like the Expos, I'm sure it'll happen eventually (especially now that they're Baltimore's AAA team, and the O's probably wouldn't mind moving them closer to Baltimore), but there's no point putting any stock in the rumour in any given year.

 

Oh, and Vancouver now has a single-A team in the Northwest League.

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Certainly, it is too soon to draw any conclusions. I could not help but notice the Ottawa rumors this time because if they moved to Allentown, they would be within an hour's drive. Still, the attendance figures of the Lynx draw a dismal picture. An average of 2,331 fans a game, for a total of 76,950 so far this season. Charlotte is the only team in the International League that draws less than double of what Ottawa takes in.

[Prophet of Mike Zagurski 0]

In the LA Times today, the LA Kings' Sean Avery appologized to all the fans. He said, "We were brainwashed and we're sorry." "We burned a year for nothing. We didn't win anything. We didn't prove anything. We wasted an entire season."

 

He also said Goodenow manipulated the players.

 

 

Pot.Kettle.Black

[Vern Gagne 0]

I don't think Blue Jay fans aren't showing up because of the lockout. I just think the team hasn't worth going to see most of the time.

[RepoMan 0]

In any case, Montreal lost the Expos, Vancouver lost their AAA team, and rumors have broken that the AAA Ottawa team could move soon as well.

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That rumour's been going around for years, but it's never amounted to anything more than an owner spouting off hot air. Much like the Expos, I'm sure it'll happen eventually (especially now that they're Baltimore's AAA team, and the O's probably wouldn't mind moving them closer to Baltimore), but there's no point putting any stock in the rumour in any given year.

 

Oh, and Vancouver now has a single-A team in the Northwest League.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Certainly, it is too soon to draw any conclusions. I could not help but notice the Ottawa rumors this time because if they moved to Allentown, they would be within an hour's drive. Still, the attendance figures of the Lynx draw a dismal picture. An average of 2,331 fans a game, for a total of 76,950 so far this season. Charlotte is the only team in the International League that draws less than double of what Ottawa takes in.

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I've heard the move to Allentown is pretty much a done deal. They passed some sort of stadium financing deal down there. The move makes too much sense. It's a lot closer to Balitmore, who has there lower minor league clubs in Maryland so proxmity seems like a big deal to the organization. Plus it's save a lot of visa hassels and ect to have your farm team in the US.

[CanadianChris 0]

In any case, Montreal lost the Expos, Vancouver lost their AAA team, and rumors have broken that the AAA Ottawa team could move soon as well.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

That rumour's been going around for years, but it's never amounted to anything more than an owner spouting off hot air. Much like the Expos, I'm sure it'll happen eventually (especially now that they're Baltimore's AAA team, and the O's probably wouldn't mind moving them closer to Baltimore), but there's no point putting any stock in the rumour in any given year.

 

Oh, and Vancouver now has a single-A team in the Northwest League.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Certainly, it is too soon to draw any conclusions. I could not help but notice the Ottawa rumors this time because if they moved to Allentown, they would be within an hour's drive. Still, the attendance figures of the Lynx draw a dismal picture. An average of 2,331 fans a game, for a total of 76,950 so far this season. Charlotte is the only team in the International League that draws less than double of what Ottawa takes in.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

I've heard the move to Allentown is pretty much a done deal. They passed some sort of stadium financing deal down there. The move makes too much sense. It's a lot closer to Balitmore, who has there lower minor league clubs in Maryland so proxmity seems like a big deal to the organization. Plus it's save a lot of visa hassels and ect to have your farm team in the US.

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All very true. I've actually been expecting a move since the Expos left, since Ottawa used to be the Expos' farm team (up until 2 seasons ago).

 

It's a shame, though, since they've actually built a terrific ballpark for the Lynx. No idea what will happen to it when they move.