NorthSideSox72

QUOTE (Hatchetman @ Dec 31, 2008 -> 12:04 PM) OK. let's go back the previous time the sox made the playoffs. after winning the division in 1983, attendance peaked in 84, which was third in the league. two years of suckitude later they had fallen down to 10th. Over the past 43 years, the sox have only had attendance in the upper half of the league 13 times. WE DO NOT DRAW UNLESS WE WIN! if the sox suck for a couple of years, we'll be right back at the bottom with a payroll of about $50 mil. of course we'll draw OK in 2009, most of the tickets are already sold. You are missing some factors here, which will keep the Sox from getting that far down anytime soon... --The stadium renovations have made for a ballpark experience much greater than the Sox have ever had before --The excellent marketing programs, particularly those aimed towards families and kids, have permanently added draw --The World Series factor is still important --The Sox have really raised the amount of solid, young talent in the system the last few years, that will allow the team to be more competitive for less money in 2010 and forward --Lots of expensive contracts drop off after 2009 --The new Metra station, and the dramatically improved neighborhood aspects near the park, make the area much more appealing to casual fans --The relative recent success of the Sox - 3 divisions, 1 WS, and only one really bad season in the last 9 - has bred a new group of fans that won't all just drop off --The kids-specific marketing and park aspects that have been added are breeding many more young fans than before - and this is a huge win for the future Yes, the Sox are a team that draws based greatly on winning. But the floor is now much higher than it was.

QUOTE (Hatchetman @ Dec 31, 2008 -> 11:39 AM) that is just the AL (14 teams). And 17th in all of baseball, mid-pack. Using a period over the strike year for any sort of attendance trend or comparison just doesn't mean anything. Anyway, bottom line is still that the Sox have a floor of somewhere in the low 20's in attendance for 2009. They won't be dropping off into oblivion.

QUOTE (Hatchetman @ Dec 31, 2008 -> 11:17 AM) going from top quartile to bottom half is dramatic to me, but hey, whatever. There are 30 teams in baseball. 3rd to 9th is not dropping to the bottom half.

QUOTE (lostfan @ Dec 31, 2008 -> 10:58 AM) Oh, I guess I never caught that. I think I've only ever directly mentioned what I do one time although I make references to it in the Buster a lot. It's not like a secret or anything, just not something I want to plaster all over a message board for random people to see. To be clear, I WAS a cop. That was 10 years ago now.

QUOTE (lostfan @ Dec 31, 2008 -> 10:15 AM) Yes, thank you, beat me to it. I said the week after Brady got hurt to my boss and another co-worker, both Patriots fans, that Cassel was going to do fine filling in for Brady, for all those reasons. The Patriots are like a machine, take out one cylinder and as long as the other cylinders are firing, a replacement won't be as good, but it'll still work fine. If I'm the Patriots, I'm hoping I can keep Cassel another year or two somehow, since it's starting to look like Brady's setbacks will keep him out for part of '09. I really doubt Cassel will do anything on the Bears, or do much anywhere else for that matter. The Broncos were like this for years with their running backs. Their O-Line was so damn good (and so damn dirty) that Denver could throw just about anyone in at RB and they were putting up huge numbers.

QUOTE (lostfan @ Dec 31, 2008 -> 10:10 AM) You used to be a cop? Yup. I've mentioned in here before I think, or certainly hinted at it.

QUOTE (Hatchetman @ Dec 31, 2008 -> 10:14 AM) A drop from 2.5 to 1.6 isn't terribly dramatic? The point is if you piss off the fans they will stop coming...in a hurry. And raising ticket prices, lowering payroll, and putting a sub-.500 team on the field is a pretty good way to piss of the fans. You cannot look at 93 to 95 attendence numbers in gross fashion like that - its ignoring a huge polluting factor, specifically the strike. ALL of baseball fell off. So, now, that drop (RELATIVE, 3rd to 9th) was not terribly dramatic.

I'd love to see McNabb come to the Bears, but I don't know what his status is this coming offseason.

QUOTE (Hatchetman @ Dec 31, 2008 -> 09:09 AM) Our attendance can fall in a hurry. We went from 3rd in 1993 to 9th in 1995. Not a good example. The Sox won a pennant in 1993, then the strike happened (which effected some teams more than others), plus it was no longer a new stadium honeymoon. And a drop from 3rd to 9th isn't terribly dramatic anyway. The Sox had a waiting list for season tickets going into 2009. From what I am told, they are getting all those seated, but I don't think they will be much under their season ticket ceiling of low 20's average. So, you will automatically end up with an average in the 20k+ range with JUST season ticket holders over the course of the year. Attendance, season-long, will not fall to 16 or 18k as some are saying. At worst, low to mid 20's.

QUOTE (lostfan @ Dec 31, 2008 -> 09:16 AM) It depends on the cop and how you act. Most of the time if you're cooperative and don't give them a hard time, they'll call you sir. It's just a basic respect thing. If I was a cop, I'd do it too. Some cops are just dicks in general though. I always started with "sir", up until they decide to be an asshole. Then the greetings move progressively downhill. Occasionally, they were assholes before I could even get a word in.

QUOTE (SleepyWhiteSox @ Dec 30, 2008 -> 07:32 PM) Where do you shop online? Not many places. Amazon and Peapod are the only ones I use with any regularity. But around Christmas, there were others, I don't remember them off hand. I avoid fly-by-night type sites, anything that isn't a recognizable name.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Dec 30, 2008 -> 07:10 PM) So Obama has time to break from his Hawaiian vacation for talking about Burris, but won't say a word about Israel and Gaza? Interesting priorities. I've found it interesting how little either Obama OR Bush are saying, or doing (in Bush's case) about it. Neither wants to touch that thing.

QUOTE (southsideirish71 @ Dec 30, 2008 -> 04:37 PM) Amazing. Everyone is running away from Blago like he is a bomb. And the minute he decides to appoint a African-American Mr. Black Panther comes out of the woodwork to cross the party unity and defy his party. I wonder if the entire black caucus will rally behind this and force the issue and seat Roland. What a joke this process has become. Race Debate with Blago Pic Does Obama's successor have to be African-American. Even if the entire black caucus supports him, they'd still be up against the rest of the Dems and the entire GOP. No way they get it done. I think this thing will end up stalling and bouncing around for months, and then an election will fill the seat.

The other shoe dropped today. Bad news: someone has been using my credit card number, online, the last few days. Had to cancel it, get new cards, and all that pain in the ass. Good news: its now pretty clear that someone got my info from something on the web - somewhere, where you put in CC# and address and all that. Its good news because this isn't my credit file being messed with. Credit cards can be cancelled, calls can be ignored. Could be a lot worse. I am usually quite careful about shopping online, only using major retailers and trusted names. But apparently, even that is sometimes not safe enough.

QUOTE (lostfan @ Dec 30, 2008 -> 02:45 PM) I don't care about fundraising in and of itself, that's a pretty normal political activity. Yeah, if that's all it is, then its normal and expected.

QUOTE (mr_genius @ Dec 30, 2008 -> 02:04 PM) Blago's crony Pat Quinn should appoint the senator? just as bad IMO. The senate should refuse to accept any appointment that comes from the Blagojevich crimal orgainzation Quinn was blocked out of Blago's work early on, and has been a critic. They are anything but cronies.

Senate Dems still saying they won't seat anyone Blagojevich names:

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Dec 30, 2008 -> 01:16 PM) At least bow out gracefully Blago, you are such an idiot. There is no graceful exit anymore. And remember, this guy still thinks if he'd indicted that he'd have a future political career at the national level. He's narcissistic and delusional.

QUOTE (Rex Kicka** @ Dec 30, 2008 -> 12:44 PM) They may not be able to legally. And frankly, if this guy isnt one of the prospective candidates named in the investigation, they shouldnt stop it. Illinois should have full Senate representation. Well, the impeachment panel is still out. They may be able to impeach the Governor before he formally makes his nomination, depending on how long things take. If he is impeached, its possible that Illinois law makes the governor legally impotent to make the nomination or do anything else. Its like a race.

QUOTE (Steff @ Dec 30, 2008 -> 12:34 PM) At both Cantera and the theater on 95th & 59 the ushers are insane. I know they are doing a much needed service and I appreciate it, but sometimes they are so out of control it's not funny. Removing someone should not involve stopping the movie, turning on all the lights, and making an event out of it. The power trip and the fact that they are usually 16 years old is irritating. Wow, I have never seen that happen.

I am somewhat shocked we haven't gotten a Major Area Paper from Balta on this.

QUOTE (knightni @ Dec 30, 2008 -> 11:43 AM) Facebook? No address or phone number there, plus I keep my profile private to anyone other than my "friends".

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Dec 30, 2008 -> 10:45 AM) Someone sold your info. Companies will do that. You put your info somewhere and they sold it. Put your number on the Do Not call list and anyone who calls tell them you will report them. Which I'd get, if these were cold calls. But who is the buyer here? Who entered my info on car dealer websites, or the University of Phoenix? There is no money in that. Also, why buy that info, when any yahoo with a computer and the internets can go get it, for any of us? If I started getting random solicitor calls, then I'd agree. But that isn't what happened here.

QUOTE (BearSox @ Dec 30, 2008 -> 10:22 AM) how about we try and keep politics out of sports teams? (not directed at anyone here, just the people who run whitesox.com) This is the first White Sox fan President, and he's constantly seen wearing a Sox cap. I think they really have to do it, regardless of who he is or what party he is affiliated with.

QUOTE (Jenks Heat @ Dec 30, 2008 -> 09:37 AM) I think the more impressive list is losing Super Bowl QB's Marino, Kelly, Unitas, Grossman etc. Which one of those is not like the others...