watchtower41

The new promotional schedule is out... it seems the CQ has not done enough to solidify a bobblehead yet. Just when you think it couldn't get any worse than what they offered up last year as promos.... yeah, not a whole lot to get excited about here. http://chicago.whitesox.mlb.com/schedule/p...ns.jsp?c_id=cws

QUOTE (greg775 @ Jan 20, 2009 -> 02:42 PM) I can't believe people would wait in line all night for autographs. To people who love autographs I am wondering, what do you do with them? Sell or keep? Not flaming, just wondering. I've never been an autograph guy. I love me an autograph or some memorabilia, and for the most part just collect for my own personal sports room/display. I don't like to wait for players after games or stalk them out during BP, so this is the perfect type of platform for the casual collector. Since the WS, I pretty much have every starter on a separate official WS ball. Not that I would ever wait up all night long for an autograph or a picture though. Soxfest does have its fair share of dealers and money-hungry ebay sellers though that use the autos for immediate turn-around and profit. Last year Bobby Jenks was sold-out of wristbands before the doors were even officially open to the public. They had to let people in early because there was too many people waiting in lobbys and started to give out wristbands at 8am. It almost becomes somewhat of a comical and competitive thing at Soxfest though to get these autograph wristbands, they take a life of their own... once a line for a specific signing fills up, they'll just start dishing out wristbands for the next one... so the early birds definitely tend to get more worms.

QUOTE (LosMediasBlancas @ Jan 20, 2009 -> 12:26 PM) The event totally caters to those people staying at the hotel. One HUGE advantage (at least in past) is that you can line up for autographs earlier than those not staying at the hotel. This is true. Guests staying at the hotel in the past have started to line-up for autographs as early as 1:30-2:00am. Kinda makes you wonder what u paid $250 a night for with the room. It would be a lot more organized if they ran this like the Cubs convention (yes, they do one thing better than us) where they give random specific autograph wristbands upon entry. Another great way to handle things, though it would be too easy, is to handle it like the Braves.... $20 DONATION GETS A CHANCE FOR ALL AUTOGRAPHS Don't miss the chance to meet Braves players, coaches and alumni and wish them luck for the upcoming 2009 season. With a $20 donation to the Atlanta Braves Foundation you'll be able to meet your favorite Braves players and get autographs. All proceeds benefit the Atlanta Braves Foundation. Not only would this avoid all the confusion all weekend mostly from White Sox employees, but it might even make a step in the right direction to making the fest a fun atmosphere for fans again instead of people running all over and up and down fire escapes to try and make the capacity for a seminar or autograph line.

Anyone listen to the show so far today? Stuck at work and can't listen yet until the commute home, but have the fellas touched on anything? I konw Bruce Levine and Carmen gave out their collective thank you's and respect during the opening segment of Baseball Weekly.

Wasn't there a story a few years back about Colon treating the entire Angels team to White Castle? The details escape me, but that must have been one helluva feast!

QUOTE (Steff @ Jan 13, 2009 -> 12:11 PM) The reason it's done the way it is now is because of what happened in 06. After winning 25K people showed up for the event. It's not the Sox fault the lines were so long. They tried to accomidate. And now that they took steps not to have lines at 4:30 in the morning people b****. It can't be both ways. 10K controlled is much better than 25K uncontrolled anyday. Don't blame the Sox for making it safe. So basically they cut attendance and doubled prices, yet somehow the fest is at it worst and it's not the Sox fault Was able to get more autos and into more seminars in 2005 and 2006 than I was last year with the VIP pass. The whole weekend has turned into a cash cow joke. The staff is so unorganized they have no idea when to starting handing out wristbands, where to form lines, where anything even is or god forbid what time it starts. Since the move to Palmer House, this is just turned into a big clusterf*ck. Stay up all night in the hotel lobby that you just paid $250 a night for to get mutliple wristbands (for the same times) otherwise show up at 9am when the doors open and they *might* have a wristband for you to meet Brian Anderson or Ron Kittle (if you buy a book)

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jan 12, 2009 -> 12:00 PM) This is the first time in recent memory that hotel packages were even still available this late. It used to sell out quick. I think it would be hilarious, and perhaps a wake-up call if they didn't sell-out all together this year. Soxfest was the one thing that took on a huge negative impact after we won in 2005. If it was organized correctly, it could be a fun experience for the fans again....lining up at 4:30am to get a Bobby Jenks autograph wristband for a session that starts at 11:30....not so much.

I'll take one WS MVP over a baker's dozen regular season MVP's.

pass on the pass this year. Last year, even with the exclusive "MVP" hotel package was by far the worst Soxfest ever. Not even fun anymore.

QUOTE (The Critic @ Jan 2, 2009 -> 10:37 AM) A better joke would have been the Swedish National Team. 7 Swedes 6 Canadians 4 Americans 3 Czechs 1 Russian 1 Finn fair enough. They look like the dirty Russians though!

Easily one of the top sporting events I've ever attended.... even with all the surrounding hype, it exceeded expectations. Towards the end when things were looking bleek I decided to change the Dee-troit sucks chants with Let's Go White Sox or Wrigley sucks... which people appreciated while waiting in the horrendous bathroom lines. Awesome event though...everything was perfect except the outcome, looked so jacked up in the 1st period but had to succomb to the USSR All-Star team. Reality check for our young guns for sure. Anybody know where I can find some high-res pictures?

The Braves are treating this acquisition as the 2nd coming of Greg Maddux. I'm on the Braves email list, and it seems I get an email every other day with Q&A with Vasquez, win a Javier Vasquez signed ball, be the first kid on Peachtree Street with a Javier Vasquez jersey ect. It's all bells and whistles when fans see an additional 200+K's coming to the roatation... the tomahawks will quickly find how that momentum will change.

At work.... but I'll be honest I can't wait to get out there and do rip up some sledding tonight

QUOTE (rangercal @ Dec 18, 2008 -> 02:35 AM) Baseball display shelf Wow that is a really nice case and would go perfectly with all the WS balls I've collected over the years at Soxfest. Do you know where these are available? Ohh and I asked for lots of Blu Ray's

I've only voted for one that made the list thus far, but I'd envision we'll have some good underrated titles in the mix. Already I would not have thought"Jingle" would have been that high up, maybe even a top 10, and thats not even the one I voted for so far. Looking forward to the rest. How many people total voted? Average age?

Am I missing something, I could have sworn I heard that Sundin signed with Philly over the weekend.

Just watched the original Home Alone last night for the first time in ages... and I gotta say, the movie still holds up really well almost 20 years later. It brings back some great memories from my childhod and seeing it in the theatre with the p's... hell I think that's the last movie theyve seen in the theatre. I guess I'd be a little biased with this one though, as my office is directly across the street from the church that was in the movie, and basically surrounding the Wilmette/Winnetka areas of the entire rest of the film. That being said, there is only one #1 Christmas movie. Christmas Vacation. period. Griswald will own this list.

Surprised I am the first to mention this 4 pages in... but I have to Danny Richar anyone?

Coop can fix him.

I'm sure that 11% increase will be more than enough to fund the precious new Gate 5 that is under rennovation. Not that there was anything really wrong with the old Gate 5, but hell, can never have enough gift shops and concessions. I'm still waiting to see what the team is doing from all the extra revenue that the Jim Beam Club was supposed to rake in. We have seen increases every year since 2005, but this is by far the most

I thought we got what I about expected out of OCab, and no I didn't want him back by any stretch, but we don't make the playoffs if he doesn't have the second half leading off that he did. The guy raked 2 hits per game without even blinking there for a bit.

Awesome... the Sox just traded away half their farm for an over-hyped more expensive journeyman Willie Harris.

QUOTE (MurcieOne @ Oct 16, 2008 -> 01:27 PM) Savvy should've been fired during the offseason... but maybe it would have ruined the summer of goodwill the team was experiencing. I think you hit the nail squarely on the head here, and I agree with you 100% No way this team sells 15,000 season tickets by firing Savard in the midst of all their good publicity they were experiencing all off-season. The Winter Classic, Blackhawks night @ Wrigley and Cell, signing of Campbell, the first Blackhawks convention, ect. There was plenty of hoopla to go around about the Blackhawks this summer, even during the best baseball season this city has probably ever seen, regular season that is. Some people comparing this to kinda like Doug Collins firing... coming to the conclusion that Savy just couldn't take the team to the next level, a step they are ready to take.

that jersey is pretty damn sweet I must say.

Seems like everyone is still over willingly accepting to give CQ a mulligan for putting himslef before the team. Don't get me wrong, if he doesn't have the year he did/could have, we wouldn't even be close to sniffing the playoffs. However, if he wouldn;t have been so damn selfish you might be STILL playing. He hurt the team when we needed him most in an unexcusable act. That being said, the man is our future, and I won't lose any sleep by White Sox fans giving the man an A for the effort on his unfinished season.