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Archive for October, 2011

 

Is Baseball in Our Future?

Friday, October 28th, 2011
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The Richmond Flying Squirrels have brought some controversy to baseball fans here in Richmond.  It’s kind of hard to assign blame or name a villain in the story.  They’ve been great for Richmond so far and boast the highest attendance in the league.

Lou DiBella, president of the Squirrels, thought that there would be a new stadium by 2013.  He hasn’t seen any shovels yet.  DiBella isn’t really saying that the Squirrels would leave, but he isn’t saying that they won’t.  He did, apparently, contact the president of Minor League Baseball to discuss the possibility of relocating the team.  After spending the initial money to get the Diamond where he wanted it he said that he plans no further upgrades.  He just wants to maintain until he sees how things will pan out.  “There is a degree to which money you sink into that facility is sort of wasted money.”

The Squirrels and Minor League Baseball want a nice facility. When the Squirrels moved here in 2009 from Connecticut it was with the understanding that Richmond was serious about baseball and they were going to build a new ballpark.  When Dwight Jones ran for Mayor he said that he wanted to bring Major League Baseball to Richmond.  When the Squirrels got here they were moving temporarily into a nifty little fixer-upper that they put about $2.5 million into.  DiBella said, “It’s frustrating to my ownership as we continue to have great success…yet not be able to recoup money we invested.”

Over the years the City of Richmond has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on studies about where and how to build a new stadium.  Financing was coming from private investment, bond referendums, county participation, and partnerships with the teams.  The Richmond Metropolitan Authority, which technically owns the Diamond, approved a debt-refinancing plan that would pay the City of Richmond over $60 million, and the Mayor has said that baseball is in the list of projects to be addressed with that money.  Making the Diamond a more multi-use facility would certainly help to absorb costs.  Perhaps VCU would step to the proverbial plate and help build a true Richmond Stadium?  The Squirrels themselves have offered to partner with the region in financing a new facility.

When the Braves left it was largely because of frustration over the condition of the Diamond and a lack of forward momentum over a new stadium.  An agreement between the City and the R-Braves would have poured $18.5 million in improvements into the Diamond in 2004.  That never happened.  There was a heated debate a couple of years ago about placing a new stadium in Shockoe Bottom.  That deal eventually fell through.  They’ve floated Chesterfield, Henrico, and the Fulton Gas Works just southeast of Downtown, and they’ve talked repeatedly about staying on the Boulevard.

We’ve had some flops when it comes to City projects.  Main Street Station and the 6th Street Marketplace come to mind.  There have, however, been some great successes in the city, from both the public and private sector.  Bowtie Cinemas, VCU’s Siegel Center, The National, Richmond Centerstage, and the potential of the Canal Walk have brought some glimmers of hope.

We’re obviously fans of baseball, and fans of local sports.  Richmond has had baseball in some form for over 150 years.  We’ve had a team to call our own for the better part of the last century.  We’d certainly like to see all of the players in this game come together and hit a home run for our city.

 

 

 

 

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Dreaming Hoops

Friday, October 21st, 2011
Image courtesy VCURamnation.com

Is it March yet?  We’re still waiting out the NBA strike, but we DO have college basketball right around the corner!  There was all of that excitement last year with VCU trying to go Cinderella Story on the Final Four, and we always look forward to the CAA Tournament.  Which teams are you going to be pulling for this year?  Here’s a little breakdown of some regional schools to help you get started:

VCU coach Shaka Smith isn’t getting much sleep these days, what with the baby and all.  He’s also probably up late trying to figure out how he’s going to replace Joey Rodriguez.  Rodriguez was one of the big reasons that VCU made it so far last year.  He kept things exciting, was hard to defend, and was a big team leader.  They did keep Bradford Burgess, who is a good 3-point shooter, and they do have a handful of guys over 6-8.  The challenge for Coach Smart and the Rams is going to be trading in a manic offense for a more conservative and structured attack.

And what of the Spiders?  They have been near the top of their division for the last four years, and have based a great deal of their success on a blistering defense that’s part zone, part mano-y-mano.  They did lose Justin Harper and Kevin Anderson, both All Conference players, but have Francis-Cedric Martel and Darrius Garrett to pick up where last year left off.  They think that many of last year’s bench warmers have seen enough in practice to make an impact on the floor this year.  They also have about the best freshman class in U of R history.  They got 6-8 Alonzo Nelson-Ododa, Kendall Anthony (who was apparently a scoring demon in high school), Trey Davis whose father is a Spider alum from the 80’s and is in the U of R Hall of Fame, and 6-11 Luke Piotrowski whose dad was a 7-1 Blaze in the pan for Portland (’83-’84).  His brother, Mat, is taking his 7-1 self to Boston University.  Wonder what breakfast was like in THAT house? Just to give Luke someone to talk to, the Spiders are hanging on to a 6-11 senior, Josh Dunker.  With a name like “Dunker”, he’d better have some game.

The University of Maryland is starting their season with only 8 scholarship players.  Between graduations and players leaving for the NBA (oops) he’s had to fill his bench with 6 walk-ons.  A reporters poll picked them to be bottom of the pile when the ACC dust settles.  Between a lack of bench depth and a new coach in Mark Turgeon what do you expect?  Maybe they’re afraid that the team will be making the same fashion statement as the football Terps?

Virginia Tech seems to always be oh-so-close to a March Madness bid, but basketball is not horseshoes and the Hokies need to rock out some conference games to get a nod this year.  That same poll has them just above the Terps.  They have a handful of promising freshmen to help get them out of the basement.  Dorian Finney-Smith from Portsmouth, and three from Hargrave Academy out by Lynchburg:  Marquis Rankin, Robert Brown, and CJ. Barksdale.  Hopefully, Dorenzo Hudson can stay healthy this year and Erick Green will repeat his performance from last year.

Old Dominion ranked third in the NCAA last season for defense, but will struggle coming out of the gate.  Last year’s CAA defensive player of the year Kent Bazemore is out right now with a broken foot.  They play the Spiders right before Christmas and face VCU twice, in January and February.  Keep in mind, the CAA isn’t an easy conference.  They’ll have to deal with George Mason, too.  Last year VCU, Mason, and ODU all made it to Tournament Time.

Speaking of George Mason, they capped a 27-win season by getting a new coach, Paul Hewitt from Georgia Tech.  A CAA poll has them finishing right behind front-runner Drexel, with VCU third, ODU fourth, and then James Madison and William & Mary.  Mason does have returning stars Ryan Pearson, Mike Morrison, and Sherrod Wright, but Hewitt will be missing Andre Cornelius due to some off-the-court shenanigans.

Tune in next week and we’ll take a look at some other schools that sometimes play Naismith’s game.  Like, gee whiz, Virginia?  And be sure to visit us for some brand new VCU Rams Gear!

 

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Have You Gotten In The Game?

Friday, October 14th, 2011
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The Brewers are giving it to the Cards, and the Tigers are trying to hold off Texas.  Will Vick make things easy for the Redskins and is Romo going to be a No-Show at the Patriots?  The Hokies face Wake without their starting linebacker and more tough ones are on the horizon.  There’s a whole lot going on in sports right now!

We’ve told you about your favorite teams.  We’ve broken down the history of your biggest rivalries.  We’ve thrown our two cents about the fashion sense of some of your teams (although some of those uniforms were worth tossing a dollar bill!).

Now, are YOU in the Game?

The best way to represent your favorite team is by wearing their colors, and we’ve got them!  If you need a Redskins Jersey, we’ve got it.  Prepping for the World Series but you’re a Nationals fan?  Come in an grab a ball cap.  Hokie?  Grab a hoodie. Missing Charlottesville?  Curl up and fall asleep in some Cavalier jammies.

Jerseys, Tees, Hats, and Hoodies.  Coolers, Coozies, Caps, and Coasters.  We can cover you in your team from head to toe!

Heck, we’ve even got Yo-Yo’s.

It doesn’t matter who your team is, we’ve got your gear.  From head to toe!

Stop by and see us, grab some stuff, and get in the Game!  You’d better hurry up, though;  basketball season is right around the corner!

 

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Go Rams…..Football?

Tuesday, October 11th, 2011
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There is finally some serious talk about Virginia Commonwealth University getting a football team.  Well, an officially sanctioned football team.  They do have a club team that plays intramural games with other schools in the region.  Some of those schools actually have conference-level teams, like George Mason and the University of North Carolina.  They’ve been playing home games at Thomas Jefferson High School but there is talk that if VCU gets in the big football game they could use The Diamond or City Stadium.  You would think that with the success of VCU’s basketball team that they’d be quick to jump on the bandwagon, but time will tell.  Former President Eugene Trani was historically opposed to fielding a team but Michael Rao seems more open to the idea.

Given the history of Richmond and the history of sports in our town, and in Virginia as a whole, don’t you think that VCU should field a team?  Look at some of the legacies that VCU would be joining up with!

The University of Virginia started playing football around 1886.  One of the first organized teams of Mr. Jefferson’s University, they got their familiar colors from an unlikely source.  After starting out in an Ohio State-like silver and red, the students had a meeting to try and come up with something more appealing.  A star of the 1888 team was Allen Potts, who had just returned from a trip to Oxford.  He had come home with an orange and blue scarf (“Oxford” Blue, anyone?) and it was tossed into the crowd.  They got their first real home in 1901 with the construction of Lambeth Field and now play for over 60,000 fans at home in Scott Stadium. .  They’ve challenged North Carolina in the “South’s Oldest Rivalry” each year since 1919.

The UVA vs. North Carolina game isn’t the only rivalry in Virginia.  An even better game is held annually and is simply known as “The Game.”  Every year since 1893 Randolph-Macon has challenged Hampden-Sydney.  Perhaps it’s a hyphen thing.  “The Game” demanded presidential intervention in 1910.  Faculty had given the Randolph-Macon boys a half-day off to watch the contest and it turned into a full day of hooky.  The president of the college cancelled all leave for boys to go see the next contest with Richmond College.  The R-MC team manager heard that President William H. Taft was visiting Virginia’s Governor and decided to pay him a visit.  After barging into the Governor’s Mansion and pleading his case, Taft agreed to address the R-MC faculty if the train could be stopped in Ashland.  Turns out that the president of the railroad was in attendance, and was himself a former Yellow Jacket.  The Presidential Train was stopped, and Taft stepped out onto the platform.  He began to orate, “Now, about this football problem…”.  The faculty realized the error of their ways and the students got to see their game.

Virginia Tech had its first official football practice in 1892.  Back in those days it was Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College.  They became the “Hokies” in 1896 and were the “Fighting Gobblers” for many of their early contests.  A far cry from the successful Hokies of today.

Virginia Commonwealth does not yet have a conference team.  As the second largest public university in the state does it not warrant one?  Old Dominion spent about $30 million to kick off their football team and they’ve been selling out games like crazy.  There is no doubt that VCU’s rowdy fans would cover the cost of a team in no time.  Or maybe it’s just time to start a new history for the Rams.

 

 

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And You Thought Golfers Dressed Badly?

Tuesday, October 4th, 2011
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Have you seen the new University of Maryland uniforms?  There has been a great deal of discussion about where the Terps are going with this fashion statement.

When U of M was known as Maryland Agricultural College back around 1900 the seniors picked their own colors and it wasn’t until Maryland adopted its coat of arms flag in 1904 that the Terrapins decided on black and gold.  In 1942 the Terps got head coach Clark Shaughnessy from Stanford and he brought his obvious taste for red and white.

If you’ve not seen them yet, the University of Maryland has gone with a State Flag theme for the uni’s this year, and they want the WHOLE state flag as part of the motif.  They have about 30 different combinations to go through and it’s been a much bigger conversation starter than the performance of the team (2-2).  One sports analyst said that it reminded them of circus performers, and Jim Rome of “Rome is Burning” Tweeted, “Whatever the NCAA does to Miami, it should double for Maryland.  Those helmets truly demonstrate a lack of institutional control.”

Is Maryland’s fashion “don’t” the worst uniform ever?  Hardly.

Does anyone remember the White Sox in the 70’s?  Bermuda shorts and pullover shirts that were a plumbing supply logo away from a rec-league softball team.

The 70’s weren’t very kind to fashion and baseball players certainly got hit hard with the ugly bat.  Who can forget the chocolate and orange of the San Diego Padres, the “Mork From Ork” challenge of the Houston Astros, or the amazing lids of the Pittsburg Pirates (I’m a pitcher…no a train conductor…no a pitcher).

Hoopsters were never immune to a case of the uglies.  When the Celtics were still in New York they looked ready for a dip in the ocean with cleantastic shorts over bloomer-like socks and knee thingies.  The Golden Eagles of Marquette were so loud that after the 71-72 season the NCAA made them take them off.  The stripes and “bumblebee” look apparently disoriented opposing players when the Golden Eagles would jump up and down.

Apparently taking a note from Mork, the Denver Nuggets of the late 80’s rocked out rainbows and mountain peaks in a kaleidoscope of color.

The Cleveland Browns of the NFL haven’t won any red carpet awards over the years, but that’s kind of in keeping with their working-class image.  Ohioans shouldn’t give up fashion hope, though; because down the road in Cincinnati the Bengals have been keeping fans awake with oranges and blacks and funky tiger-stripe combos since 1968.

Sleepless in Seattle?  Perhaps it’s the electric neon lime green the Seahawks have been toying with.

And the award for best optical illusion on a playing field?  Boise State.  Electric blue uniforms on an electric blue field.  “I swear, Coach!   He was right there and then he disappeared!”

At least with a uniform as loud as the University of Maryland you’ll always hear them coming.

 

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