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05-20-2004, 09:17 AM
Story @ News24Houston by Angela Black (http://www.news24houston.com/content/headlines/?ArID=29323&SecID=2)
Link above to an article about Houston hosting the 75th Annual ASG this summer (July 13th) ... Was trying to find one from a couple of weeks ago in which Texas state comptroller Carol Keeton Rylander Abernathy Wilson Alias Smith & Jones was debating with some other politico about just how much moolah the game would bring into Houston and the state ... Neither side really wants to make a good guess at that figure, as it turns out, just make the right guess so that the state's contributions are either minimized or maximized, depending what side of the government you're on.
Since I don't trust any group or any individual within any level of government or big business, and have this view that the biggest chunks of the money from an event like this simply wind up in just a few pockets, it really pisses me off that for an event that will bring in millions, they need 2,000 volunteers to work for free ... And some of these volunteers are going to be the very first people visitors from out of state see and meet, Houston's and Texas' only shot to make a first impression, and the goombah's in charge want that to be someone with no financial interest in the gig ... Now doing simple math, and assuming the game's organizers are correct in their projection that they need these 2,000 volunteers to each work 4 hours, then all it would cost to pay these people is a little more than $40,000 if you just extend a pay scale around minimum wage ... I'm guessing a lot of the volunteers will be retirees and high school kids, maybe that's a bad guess ... Earmark $50K to pay the volunteers, at least give them some gas money or bus tokens, an amount that should be chump change in the grand scheme of some mega-million dollar event.
Chump is the key word here since I fully suspect some rich and greedy fat-ass chump is indeed going to wind up with that money on top of whatever else they're making.
As for the game itself, I've really lost total interest in the even since the infamous tie a couple of years back ... I will probably watch it and grill hot dogs and all that usual stuff ... I used to tape the game and save it to watch again on a rainy day in the fall and winter when baseball fans really begin to ache for a game or a boxscore ... I also used to sit and keep score while I was watching the game, and that exercise can be a real nightmare since there is a ton of substitution in the contest ... I didn't keep the AL-NL lineups, but rather how the teams split up according to our fantasy league, did it that way since about 1987, the year after the last time it was in Houston ... But I didn't keep score at all last year, didn't even watch each and every pitch of the darn thing from what I recall.
Despite the game supposedly meaning more now with World Series home field advantage the prize, something that really makes no sense to me, I've simply lost interest in the thing ... And one of the main reasons is the way it's broadcast ... If the game really does mean something, as MLB and FOX would have us believe, then why not treat the actual game part with respect and deliver what's happening in the game (i.e., have Ernie Harwell do the play-by-play since it's obvious Buck & McCarver have so many other things to talk about) instead of interviewing all the folks with a new TV series on FOX and all the players who worked up a sweat for an inning or two and can't wait to shower and get the heck outta' Dodge?
Anyway, that's my rant about the upcoming event.
Link above to an article about Houston hosting the 75th Annual ASG this summer (July 13th) ... Was trying to find one from a couple of weeks ago in which Texas state comptroller Carol Keeton Rylander Abernathy Wilson Alias Smith & Jones was debating with some other politico about just how much moolah the game would bring into Houston and the state ... Neither side really wants to make a good guess at that figure, as it turns out, just make the right guess so that the state's contributions are either minimized or maximized, depending what side of the government you're on.
Since I don't trust any group or any individual within any level of government or big business, and have this view that the biggest chunks of the money from an event like this simply wind up in just a few pockets, it really pisses me off that for an event that will bring in millions, they need 2,000 volunteers to work for free ... And some of these volunteers are going to be the very first people visitors from out of state see and meet, Houston's and Texas' only shot to make a first impression, and the goombah's in charge want that to be someone with no financial interest in the gig ... Now doing simple math, and assuming the game's organizers are correct in their projection that they need these 2,000 volunteers to each work 4 hours, then all it would cost to pay these people is a little more than $40,000 if you just extend a pay scale around minimum wage ... I'm guessing a lot of the volunteers will be retirees and high school kids, maybe that's a bad guess ... Earmark $50K to pay the volunteers, at least give them some gas money or bus tokens, an amount that should be chump change in the grand scheme of some mega-million dollar event.
Chump is the key word here since I fully suspect some rich and greedy fat-ass chump is indeed going to wind up with that money on top of whatever else they're making.
As for the game itself, I've really lost total interest in the even since the infamous tie a couple of years back ... I will probably watch it and grill hot dogs and all that usual stuff ... I used to tape the game and save it to watch again on a rainy day in the fall and winter when baseball fans really begin to ache for a game or a boxscore ... I also used to sit and keep score while I was watching the game, and that exercise can be a real nightmare since there is a ton of substitution in the contest ... I didn't keep the AL-NL lineups, but rather how the teams split up according to our fantasy league, did it that way since about 1987, the year after the last time it was in Houston ... But I didn't keep score at all last year, didn't even watch each and every pitch of the darn thing from what I recall.
Despite the game supposedly meaning more now with World Series home field advantage the prize, something that really makes no sense to me, I've simply lost interest in the thing ... And one of the main reasons is the way it's broadcast ... If the game really does mean something, as MLB and FOX would have us believe, then why not treat the actual game part with respect and deliver what's happening in the game (i.e., have Ernie Harwell do the play-by-play since it's obvious Buck & McCarver have so many other things to talk about) instead of interviewing all the folks with a new TV series on FOX and all the players who worked up a sweat for an inning or two and can't wait to shower and get the heck outta' Dodge?
Anyway, that's my rant about the upcoming event.