southsider2k5

QUOTE(Dick Allen @ Oct 18, 2005 -> 08:41 AM) They aren't going to get an additional 10,000 from this offer. Maybe 1000. And remember they did offer this near the end of the regular season with tickets to every playoff game and hardly anyone bit. Now everyone is biting, and its all for WS tickets. Many of these people will wind up eating the deposit, and many more will cancel their tickets after 1 season. They are interested in one thing only, and that's WS tickets. Considering the Sox make the WS very rarely, 99% of the new accounts are so short term, it won't have much effect on the budget if any. Wow that has got to be the worst possible scenario that you are outlining there. -You are basically assuming that NO ONE is in this for next year, dispite the Sox being in the World Series this year. -You are all assuming that NONE of these new ticket purchases are Sox fans, or will be used by Sox fans (even if they are just given away, there would still be someone going to the game, and the ticket is paid for) -You are assuming that people are just going to give there money to the Sox for just the opportunity for World Series tickets, and instead of paying the rest for next years tickets, they will just throw that money away. -I guess you are assuming that the 2005 team was a complete aberration and that they will be so bad that there will be no demand for tickets next year, as it won't be worth these new ticketholders time or money to either go to the games, or sell them to other people, instead just eating their deposit money. -You are also assuming that any of these new revenue must be being wasted, as there is nothing about the impact of new players or retaining current players being factored in, with keeping the Sox competitive the playoffs next year, which would go a long way towards fan retention.

QUOTE(Steff @ Oct 18, 2005 -> 08:14 AM) Some comments from Brooks.. Thanks for posting that. He is dead on right about this being a great problem to have. The big problem is that an incredible amount of people are trying for about 5000 seats to each game and there is no way that a ton of diehards are going to be left out in the cold. Plus at the sametime Boyer and company have jobs to do, and they would be flat out negligent if they didn't use this golden ticket to sell more tickets for 2006 and beyond. Yeah it sucks, I want to be at the World Series as badly as anyone else, but you have to recognize that this is prudent planning and smart insight.

QUOTE(Greg Hibbard @ Oct 18, 2005 -> 08:10 AM) 25,000 people in the park for a Tuesday game vs. the Royals? aren't we being a little naive? Sure, the paid attendance will be 25,000, but.... First of all, like I said that was the goal, not that it was going to happen. Read a little bit closer there. Second even if there ARE 5,000/10,000 no shows, that means those people still PAID for tickets, and the point remains that those are revenues regardless of if those seats are empty or not. You are talking about $100-200K for those no shows. Third and the main point of the post before you nitpicked one line out of it was that this is an excellent idea to sell tickets to games that have historically suffered really low ticket sales

The Simpsons have to be at the top of that list, cartoon or not.

QUOTE(Steff @ Oct 18, 2005 -> 07:54 AM) It's not only a great idea.. it's brilliant. Thinking beyond today... wouldn't it be nice to have the problem of getting playoff tickets EVERY October...? That aint going to happen if the Sox don't have the $$ to pay the players they need to make that happen. The key to that is filling the stadium. Season tickets for next year is guaranteed $. Money that goes straight to the pay Paul (or whomever else they go after to make a difference next year) fund. I realize I'm in a different place then most of this board in terms of tickets, and I feel bad for you diehards.. but in terms of the future.. I'm fine with whatever they can do to make this team a dynasty. You took the words right out of my mouth. This is a genius idea by Brooks and company. The whole key to sustaining the momentum of this franchise isn't making sure we have sellouts for the RedSox/Yankees/Cubs, its making sure we have 25,000 people in the park for Tuesday games against the Royals. They have done an excellent job of trying to tie demand to lesser demand to try to sell more tickets. Yeah it sucks that we might be able to be at the World Series, but would you rather have the Sox in the playoffs more often, or good seats to bad games?

Sweet work Goldy

What a series for Konerko. This was a well deserved MVP for Pauly.

QUOTE(Steff @ Oct 17, 2005 -> 02:59 PM) Anyone know if some pro teams suspend season ticket holders for scalping their tickets... ? I've heard it so many times.. but wonder if it's just urban legend. They could. The one thing they will get you for is if the fans who buy your seats do something stupid, the team will hold YOU responsible. You could lose your season tickets if the people who buy them do something stupid.

QUOTE(SS Gload @ Oct 17, 2005 -> 02:22 PM) Maybe a dumb question, but what is our payroll right now? Right about $75 million

QUOTE(Steff @ Oct 17, 2005 -> 12:47 PM) Put down the pipe.. We got a ten million dollar jump in payroll from 2004 to 2005 with a flat attendance number. This year we drew 400,000 more fans, had a 20% increase in ticket prices, an increase in all concession prices and parking, 3 rounds of the playoffs, a new more profitable TV contract, a big bounce in merchandise sales, not to mention our share of the profits from the sale of the Washington Nationals. Plus you are going to see a HUGE jump in season ticket sales for 2006. I don't think I am that crazy. The top figure is definately predicated on Kenny finding someone who is looking to dump some salaries. The free agent market isn't really there, but there is always a market for salary dumps.

Also a footnote. Balloting will stay open until the first pitch of Game One. At that time the balloting will be closed, and the votes will be added up. The new Hall of Famers will be announced Monday morning.

QUOTE(Greg Hibbard @ Oct 17, 2005 -> 12:11 PM) Anyone have an idea of how much extra revenue the White Sox will generate with this Postseason windfall, in terms of ticket sales, concessions, and especially merch sales? I read a ballpark figure in the trib last week that said that they stand to make an additional 15-20 million if they make the World Series, but I think there's SO MUCH MERCH being bought right now that the figure MUST be higher. How high could the payroll be next year? Is the 100 million mark a possibility, or is it something more along the lines of 80-90 million? I have been the high estimate all along, so why stop now. $90 million minimum. I really think $100 million is possible if KW can find the right trading partners. I really get the feeling that Konerko will be resigned, and we will go out and find a high OBP #3 hitter to get on in front of him. We are in an excellent position for the offseason because we can take on salaries, which means we should be able to give up less in players and prospects too. I hate to look past the World Series, but I am really excited about this off season.

QUOTE(Kid Gleason @ Oct 17, 2005 -> 12:09 PM) I used mine on prom night. Problem is it was used to make a balloon animal. Wouldn't have been so bad if it wasn't one of those "spermicidal" ones. Yuck.

QUOTE(Rowand44 @ Oct 17, 2005 -> 12:03 PM) Um..yes you can, you get tickets and give them to me...DUH. *AHEM!!!*

QUOTE(Texsox @ Oct 17, 2005 -> 09:34 AM) SS, where is the first place to go when you read a story like this? http://www.snopes.com/critters/crusader/sharkbait.asp Bah, I usually check that too.

QUOTE(greasywheels121 @ Oct 17, 2005 -> 10:45 AM) There needs to be a Rally Crede crest, or something. Rally Crede has GOT to go into the HOF. Can you grab hold of a rainbow and put it into your pocket? NO, Such is the Rally Crede!

Hello and welcome to the Soxtalk 2005 Hall of Fame balloting. First off as a group we decided that the voting should center more on our posters. So instead of having admins on the ballot, we decided that they should all be Hall of Famers for the work and effort that they put into Soxtalk on a daily basis. So my first item of business is to welcome the following people into the Hall of Fame, class of 2005. Aboz56 joined September 2, 2002 DBAH0 joined July 18, 2003 Kapkomet joined December 18, 2003 Spiff joined August 31, 2002 Congratulations to them. Now onto the rest of the 2005 class. When we were trying to decide on who to put on the ballot many of us had long discussions over what should qualify someone and what should not. In the end we decided that peer nominations from the Hall of Fame members was the best route to decide who should have the chance to be recognized. We also decided that it should be long term posters who should be recognized, much like pro sports who will look back over the long careers of players in order to decide whether to honor them or not. So we decided that only posters who had joined and been solid contributing members for two seasons should have the chance to be elected. So for the 2005 class, only those who joined Soxtalk on or before December 31, 2003 are eligible to be on the Hall of Fame ballot. Every year that goes by will move up that date by a year. One more change for this year will deal with how people are elected. Last year we had two polls and the results were added up to decide who had the most votes. This year we are going to elect 3 posters (instead of two last year), and instead of the votes being done publically, we are going to have you all send PMs to Administrator, and one of us will add up the votes in private. That way everyone who is involved gets the honor of being on the ballot, without the vote totals potentially taking away from that. So without further ado, here is the 2005 Soxtalk Hall of Fame ballot. The Cheat aka GeneHondaCivic Texsox YASNY Flasoxxjim Rex_Hudler Greasywheels121 Steff Sideshowapu aka lowercaserepublician Soxnbears aka SnB If you would like to vote, click on this user http://www.soxtalk.com/forums/index.php?showuser=1913 And send a PM to him with a maximum of 3 picks. You can only vote for one person, one time, so three votes for one person, will only be counted once. If you have any questions you can post them here or PM me. Thanks all, and congratulations to everyone involved, you are truely standouts amongst an incredible site.

QUOTE(thatballhitdeep @ Oct 17, 2005 -> 08:51 AM) Thats great for those of you in Illinois....but what about me here in Oklahoma??? Anyone know where I can get that hoodie online??? Grandstand does have a website, or you can take your chances on whitesox.com

QUOTE(greasywheels121 @ Oct 17, 2005 -> 08:44 AM) Ya, if you watch the final out on the Sox site, Buck is like more pissed than anything. f*** him, we're going to the World Series. I didn't even think he was biased one way or another necesarily, but he just basically b****ed the whole series. It really took away from the quality of the broadcast. For some reason I like McCarver and thought Pinella did a solid job, but Buck singlehandedly poisoned the booth.

Buck was the most negative announcer I ever remember on a national stage. Usually those guys are the most glowing I hear about the teams that are playing, Buck instead portrayed everything in the worst possible light, and harped on the negatives the whole series. It was pretty discusting IMO.

QUOTE(RibbieRubarb @ Oct 17, 2005 -> 08:21 AM) I wanted to call you about that... I won't be available for stripping on Saturday now. Thank for the opportunity! Thank God I am hungover and food doesn't sound good right now... Or else my lunch would be ruined!

Happy Birthday

You know what else makes good sharkbait? Asshole fisherman beaten to a bloody bulp and thrown into shark infested waters.

QUOTE(Queen Prawn @ Oct 17, 2005 -> 08:02 AM) Adobe acrobat is a b****. Every now and then the program hangs up and screws up opening additional browsers on my home and work 'puter. At least I figured out what it is so I can go into processes and shut it off instead of doing a reboot. I have the same problem at work. I don't even bother with PDF files if I don't have to because of it.

One more thing I can't resist... Vinny Castilla