Goodyear or Bust
The Cincinnati Reds are considering moving their spring training home from Sarasota to Goodyear, Arizona.
Spending a week watching spring training is one of the top remaining unfulfilled dreams on my list. It has never quite worked out, what with kids in school and all, and moving it all another thousand miles away makes it seem a little less likely.
posted by Jim Borgman at 5:42 PM
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Post a Comment*Quite a few spring-training shifts going on, the Dodgers being first and foremost in my mind. Spring training brings in a great deal of revenue (tourists doing what you dream of doing, the week-long thing), and I'm sure Goodyear, AZ has put all sorts of things the Reds' way to encourage them to come.
i miss pete rose and marge schott; it was more fun
Just another case of a professional sports team strong arming the taxpayers for something they feel they 'deserve'.
Waahhh! Give us a new stadium or we'll go somewhere else!!
I say good riddance.. Stay away from Cincinnati as well, give us a chance to build some kind of 'professional' team that can actually win a game.
I am a big fan of yours and just found your blog. I like it, good stuff. Your editorial cartoons are great but I like Zits even better.
When did the Reds get so paunchy?
C'mon Jim, the flight out west is only a little longer than the flight to Florida, and as a guy who's watched spring training in both locales, I can guarantee you that Arizona is preferable. This is more reason for you to take the plunge, not less. BTW, did I mention that I'm a Reds fan living in Phoenix.
hey no fan, I agree
the most important thing is that they catch the ball and hit the ball; I like how the Red Sox do it; the beauty of america is that you can be any team's fan (it's in the constitution)
it's called freedom
teach it to your kids
there are cities (like goodyear, az) that are more than willing to pay for these facilities because of the tourist dollars they generate. so if you're the red's, and you can choose between brand new facilities at no cost or paying $9 million to rebuild an old stadium what would you do?
it seems to me that the red's have gone out of their way to try and make sarasota work - but AZ is taking over spring training.
Thankfuly they have these new inventions called airplanes that allow you to make the trip to Arizona quickly.
Yanks set another payroll record
The Yankees did finish first in something last year -- spending. While their streak of AL East titles ended at nine, the Yankees wound up with a record payroll of $218.3 million. The Red Sox were No. 2 at $155.4 million. (AP, 1/23/08)
January 23, 2008 USA Today
Crash of popular Boeing 777 scrutinized; Engines caused jet to miss London runway
by Alan Levin
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British investigators are sifting through mounds of flight data to find out why a jet's engines suddently refused to increase power, causing a Boeing 777 to crash just short of a runway at London's Heathrow Airport.
Flight 038 from Bejing to London had 152 people aboard, 19 of whom suffered injuries. The jet slammed to the ground just past an airport fence on Thursday, ripping off the plane's landing gear and severely damaging the two engines and wings.
The accident is drawing worldwide attention because the 777 is a popular jet. There are 687 of them in service around the world, 224 of which are operated by US carriers, Boeing said.
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I posted the same thing in Doc's blog a few days ago, but the jist of it applies here (and to that cartoon) as well:
I can see why the Reds would want to leave Sarasota for "greener" pastures in metro Phoenix, but they wouldn't have anywhere near the support other midwestern teams like the Cubs, White Sox and Brewers have (seeing as how the majority of midwestern transplants living in Phoenix are from Illinois and Wisconsin). H*ll, even the Indians make sense because there's a sizeable population of Cleveland transplants living in Phoenix, for whatever reason.
There aren't, however, very many Ohio transplants living in Phoenix from anywhere south and west of Medina County. I'd reckon most people from Columbus and Cincinnati know parts of Florida (Sarasota, for instance) better than they do their own cities.
And while it would be great to go to a spring training game in March to cheer on my beloved Reds in Goodyear, I figure myself, my father, and possibly the five other people from Cincinnati who somehow ended up in Phoenix would be the only Reds fans showing up to support their hometown team. We would be overwhelmed by the Cubbies, Brewers, Indians and AL and NL Western division teams' fans who'd go to the Goodyear park to support their teams because oddly enough, spring training tickets to places like Mesa's HoHoKam Park (where the Cubbies practice) are ridiculously hard to come by.
The Reds would be gone for even "greener" pastures in five years time as there would be absolutely no support for the Reds in Phoenix, should they actually decide to leave Florida for Arizona.
And while its hard to tell what the weather will be like on a day-to-day basis in places of Florida (and Cincinnati) in the late Winter, the temperature in Phoenix in February and March can be anywhere from 75 to 80 degrees with zero humidity and abundant sunshine. Spring Training is long over before the real heat arrives in The Valley (which comes in late May/early June).
Sorry for such a long rant, the concept of the Reds moving Spring Training to Arizona just bugs me, even as a lifelong Reds fan, and I live in Phoenix.
The only thing in Arizona that matters!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Last Updated: 7:39 pm | Wednesday, January 30, 2008
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who's the greatest athlete of all time? tb
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Since her death, the city has regularly called meetings with college and university offcials to urge them to severely punish students caught being unruly, including overturning cars and setting fires on city streets.
The Boston Licensing Board and the Mayor's Office of Consumer Affairs & Licensing has put bars and restaurants on notice about over-serving and overcrowding during games. The city has randomly dispatched inspectors to make sure they are in compliance.
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Tomorrow's Super Bowl between the Patriots and the New York Giants is scheduled to kick off at 6:17 p.m. EST.
Security measures will begin at 9 a.m., with parking restrictions in Brighton and the Fenway, city officials said. Signs have been posted on the affected streets, and cars found in violation will be ordered towed.
Davis said he has asked for help from the State Police and departments in neighboring cities and towns.
Many local colleges and universities are hosting on-campus events to prevent students from flooding the streets and wreaking havoc, including Boston College, Boston University, Emerson College, and Northeastern University.
Suffolk University officials have a form letter they send to students before any big game, letting them know about campus events and warning of disciplinary action, up to and including expulsion, for misbehaving.
"We all get better at this with each celebration," said John Nucci, Suffolk vice president for government and community affairs. "We're keeping this letter on file for the Celtics in June."
Donovan Slack can be reached at dslack@globe.com.
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