Texsox

I'd be interested to know what fans in KC think.

All the same arguments fit for college athletes. The baseball, swimming, tennis, golf, lacrosse, wrestling, etc teams are losing money. College athletes should also be there for an education. High School football is becoming a year round sport with spring practices, conditioning, football "class" each day. etc. What do you teach?

QUOTE (kev211 @ Apr 6, 2014 -> 08:36 AM) Because then they stop being STUDENT athletes which just isn't right in high school What are college players? Aren't they student athletes? Or are we just going to allow colleges to hire employees to play for their team and not attend classes?

I was at the UT Pan American v. Grand Canyon game last night. Both are small D1 schools playing in the WAC. Total attendance on a drizzly night was a couple hundred, maybe. The attendance was swelled by a couple dozen GEAR-UP high school students and their chaperons. It was open admission, sit anywhere you like, and with so few fans in attendance, you could have your pick of site lines. The early drizzle played in favor of the hitters, it was 5-2 GCU after 2 innings. Then the drizzle stopped and the UTPA pitchers came around. The game ended 7-6 for UTPA. I was thinking how much I just love to watch baseball. The teams are evenly matched. Friday's game ended in 10 with UTPA winning 2-1. There were some great plays in the outfield that major league players would have made look simple. But they still looked spectacular last night. There was a runner thrown out at second trying to steal. The ball and the runner arrived at about the same time. Yeah, MLB the runner would have been faster, the throw thrown with more velocity, but the result, bam-bam at second would have been the same. No traffic jams. No lines at concessions. No lines at restrooms. No lines getting in. No lines. A few local kids on the squad (wait, it that Juan and Jasmine's son?), more players from around Texas, along with guys from Australia and the Bronx. Now if they would just get rid of the "ping" of the bat and add beer when it gets warmer, I'd be content.

QUOTE (kev211 @ Apr 6, 2014 -> 02:59 AM) No to HS, that's just absurd. Yes to college. If the argument is that some athletes generate profits for their school and deserve a cut, why should it stop in college?

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Apr 4, 2014 -> 10:53 AM) At least one distinction is that these mega-programs are rare edge cases in HS sports, and we're still mainly talking about public high schools that all kids are free to attend and don't need scholarships. The opposite is true for college. Which is an interesting point. It seems you are suggesting that if the athlete, who is generating profits for his school, receives something (scholarship) for his efforts, he should also receive additional money in the form of a stipend or salary. But an athlete who receives nothing, should continue to receive nothing. It would be interesting to think about a college sports model without scholarships. You play who can afford to attend and who meets your institution's rules for entrance.

Most of our really big stadiums service multiple high schools and are used for regional games, etc. And of course in some cases for soccer. Gym class??? The horrors!

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Apr 4, 2014 -> 10:29 AM) That's such an insane amount of money to watch mediocre football. It is, but this is Texas football and far from a mediocre entertainment experience. For example it takes well over 250 students to put on a varsity football game. We have a total school enrollment around 2,000. There will be 80 players on the varsity roster. The band will have 80 to 100 members. There will be 20-25 cheerleaders, the pep squads will have another 30 or so. Then all the various extra acts and stuff. Teams will arrive in 6 or more buses being led by police from their town with sirens and lights blazing. The band will typically have a semi-trailer of stuff to be unloaded. There are large inflatable helmets or other device to be run through, smoke, fireworks, music. I am not exaggerating when I tell you I was in a coaches meeting where they unveiled the plans for a new $2,000,000+ scoreboard. They asked if anyone had seen anything as cool. I of course said YES! The White Sox have an exploding scoreboard that fireworks go off whenever the good guys hit a home run. I swear he took notes and I have no doubt he looked into having fireworks for the new scoreboard. The local radio station has reporters at every area game, typically 25 on a Friday night. The TV stations will lead with HS football and fans know the rosters of the opposing teams as well as their own. It's crazy.

That email distribution list sends out some cool stuff most days.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Apr 3, 2014 -> 09:33 AM) Does the cost vary if they come direct from the school? In Indiana the cost of a basketball or football game is $6, no matter what, if the ticket comes from the school. That doesn't change until the post season, but it still has a set cost structure that is the same at all venues which are hosting the same round of the tournament (ie all Regional games cost the same ticket cost, no matter where you go to a Regional game). Each school is able to set their prices as I understand it. They even charge opposing coaches in some arenas. We offer a special student section that is student only for reduced cost I believe $3 until the playoffs.

So pay high school athletes in places where it generates profits, like Indiana basketball and Texas football? Isn't that the same argument for college, some of the colleges aren't making money. Outside of D1 schools, I doubt many of those programs are barely breaking even.

http://nowiknow.com/take-me-out-to-the-mayhem/ This is today's offering from a regular email list I am on and usually filled with some very interesting items from around the world. Rarely do I know much about the event, person, item, etc. I was a huge Steve Dahl fan, I wanted to go to the game but it was sold out when I decided to buy tickets, something that had never happened to me before in all my years as a Sox fan. This is a rarity in that the Veecks seem to share some of the responsibility. Usually uit is the Stever who takes the hit.

QUOTE (flavum @ Apr 3, 2014 -> 03:17 PM) Flowers is hitting .444. Maybe we let this season breathe a little, huh? Trade 'em while his value is the highest

QUOTE (Alpha Dog @ Apr 2, 2014 -> 11:32 PM) So the people that shelled out $32,500 to be at a fundraiser for Obama tonight, that is a bad thing? Or the $10,000 each 55 people paid to meet with him at a wealthy donor's house afterwards? just want to make sure. What do you think? Good or bad?

High schoolers in Indiana sell out 40,000 seat arena, football players in Texas are playing in $50,000,000 stadiums. Advertising revenue will be financing a $2,000,000 scoreboard for the stadium where I teach. With all that money being made, shouldn't the athletes get a cut?

QUOTE (IlliniKrush @ Apr 2, 2014 -> 08:18 PM) How much are tickets at these Texas HS games? Season tickets or single game? Through a scalper or direct from the school? I've paid anywhere from $10 to $25 per seat. BTW, the stadium in Allen isn't just for football the golf team has a locker room there and it can host wrestling meets in a different area.

QUOTE (Alpha Dog @ Apr 2, 2014 -> 11:32 PM) So the people that shelled out $32,500 to be at a fundraiser for Obama tonight, that is a bad thing? Or the $10,000 each 55 people paid to meet with him at a wealthy donor's house afterwards? just want to make sure. Yes it is. Especially because a sitting president is a party's best fundraiser.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Apr 2, 2014 -> 03:20 PM) Just another way of saying the same thing or am I missing something? It goes beyond just social. But, yeah, I agree with you.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Apr 2, 2014 -> 02:53 PM) Or to push their personal social ideology Or to push their personal social ideology agenda.

It was rejected by the voters, but, there are several $50,000,000 stadiums around the state. My district is looking at a multimillion dollar scoreboard paid for by ad revenue. $60,000,000 stadium closed for repairs 18 months after being built. http://espn.go.com/dallas/story/_/id/10528...ium-allen-texas This is why your state's sport's programs are so lame Can you imagine selling out a 18,000 seat stadium for a high school game?

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Apr 2, 2014 -> 11:52 AM) Other than "hey the other side might spend more money than mine," what's the argument in favor of those limits? About 100,000 Americans contribute 90% of the money spent in elections. I worry about their influence.

Mark and AJ, yeah, I hope they do well. Most of the others, not as much.

Our district tournament was Saturday. My girls won by 4 strokes. Beating nine other teams. We also took 1st and 6th place individual. My boys choked. Beyond the worst I thought they could have done. My top boy player, who I expected to shoot between a 43-48 shot a 69. They finished 7th out of the 10 teams.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Apr 1, 2014 -> 12:13 PM) This is where I don't care whether or not I'm a Sox fan. Putting any large amount of money into new stadiums for sports teams is inevitably a giant waste of taxpayer money for states and municipalities. I don't want them doing it for the Sox or anyone else again. The lessons have been learned. Now, I'm fine with little things, or them doing the things only government can do - helping alter traffic/street patterns, zoning permits, help with licensing and other permints, making those processes work for them. No problems there, even though it costs some money (just not very much) to do the little things. Even some creative restructuring of tax and other obligations for a few years to make the transition work OK. Beyond that? Go do it yourself. Well said.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Mar 31, 2014 -> 08:54 AM) Derek Jeter is a first ballot HOFer who has multiple WS rings and was the captain of the Yankees for years. He has conducted himself with nothing but class. The hatred he gets is beyond confusing to me. He is exactly what you would want your sports heroes to be. yep. Perhaps because they have so many dicks on the team people get confused? And I say that with only a small teaspoon of sarcasm.