You know, at one time Montreal was one of the best baseball cities....

[Joe Cole]

People forget that. I want to explain why Montreal's seem to have turned their backs on baseball, as it is portrayed in the media.

 

Think back to the '81 all star game, the Expos had 5 starters. As close as '94 we had over 2 million in attendance, and that team would have been a top 2 contender for the championship.

 

Then the strike. Then a parade of owners with no commitment to the team. Then the constant fire sales. Then the constant threat of leaving.

 

And you wonder why the attendabce stinks....

 

Imagine this scenario... you meet a girl, fall in love and get married. She is hot. After 20 years of great times, she says.... "I am gonna sell your car. I need a new pair of shoes to keep me happy in this marriage."

 

You are shocked, but somehow swallow your pride...

 

Next year she says, "your ProTools rig has to go. I am still not happy, but here is a Tascam 4 track cassette recorder." Hmmm....you think....

 

Then she tells you, "If you do not get back into shape and grow all your hair back, I may leave you at the end of the year." You are in a panic!!

 

The year ends, she says "I'll stay a bit longer." You are relieved, but starting to get a bit tired of being emotionally abused.

 

She repeats this for 10 years, every year saying she is going to leave. Every year your skin gets thicker, and somehow you care less and less. You start to get more involved with your hobbies, and fantisize about "that girl from accounting".

 

One day (that day is today), she says, "Ok, my bags are packed, I am moving to Washington." You shout back "It's about time! Get the F outta here, and take your fancy shoes with you!"

 

You are still sad about it, but enough is enough... the world may think you are a failure, but they don't know the half of it......

 

Salut les Expos....

[coyote]

Capitalism from the dawn of time til 1980: Invest time, energy & talent into developing winning ideas. Develop as many geese that lay golden eggs as possible, and nurture those geese.

 

Capitalism since 1980: Kill as many of those geese as neccessary to pump up the quarterly bottom line.

 

Sorry about your Expos. Our local teams regularly extort what they can... I wish we had the fortitude to tell 'em to pack up & leave.

[Joe Cole]

thanks Craig.

 

I just want the world to know that even if ESPN likes to jab at the Montreal, it ain't the whole truth.

 

And remember who gave you Gary Carter, Andre Dawson, Larry Walker, Pedro Martinez, Tim Raines, Denis Martinez, Kevin Johnson, Vladimir Guerrero and many many others.....

[Bbach1]

Here's how to get fan support back in Montreal, and anywhere else that it is lacking:

 

1. Salary cap, salary cap, salary cap. Keep all the markets competitive. I think 10 gazillion per player should be enough. Yes, parity might seem boring to some, but you gotta get over it.

2. Install a pitch clock. I don't mean musical pitch. I mean speed up the game. Make the pitcher throw the damn ball.

3. Made the batters swing the bat. I propose that if they watch two strikes go by, they are out. Speed up the game. In fact, I'm in favor of the one watched strike rule.

4. Allow runners to be tackled. It would be fun to watch.

5. Each team must have no less than five sexy female cheerleaders dressed in skimply outfits working the sidelines.

6. Shorten the season to, say, 25 games. There would be a lot more interest in each game.

7. Re-instate Pete Rose. Why? I don't know.

 

I truly believe if these rules are put into place, baseball will be back in Montreal!

 

[Charlie-brm]

Don't forget the ground breaking start of a legend in Montreal.

 

Jack (Jackie) Roosevelt Robinson (January 31, 1919 - October 24, 1972) was the first black man allowed to play Major League Baseball.

 

Robinson was born in Cairo, Georgia. He starred in baseball, football, basketball, and track when he was a student at UCLA (University of California at Los Angeles). He served in the US Army during World War II (from 1942 to 1945), finishing his term as a lieutenant.

 

Soon after, he played with the Montreal Royals (in the International League) beginning on April 18, 1946 - Robinson was the first black player in that league.

[YourMotherShouldKnow]

I'm sure that Montreal is a first class city. It doesn't need MLB for that.

 

To me, baseball has gone down the tubes since the mid 80s. It's slow, there are too many teams and the players are too often pumped up on steroids. I've hardly watched an inning in the last 5 years. And I once knew practically every player in the league.

 

The NFL is much more entertaining for me as is the NHL. I miss hockey but fans don't seen particularly concerned about that loss either. All this stuff is a circus nowadays.

 

Here's to the good times in Montreal. Say hello to Warren Cromartie for me.

[not coaster MODERATOR]

Originally posted by Joe Cole:

thanks Craig.

 

I just want the world to know that even if ESPN likes to jab at the Montreal, it ain't the whole truth.

 

And remember who gave you Gary Carter, Andre Dawson, Larry Walker, Pedro Martinez, Tim Raines, Denis Martinez, Kevin Johnson, Vladimir Guerrero and many many others.....

andres galaraga.....

[Chris Lambrechts]

yea yea yea ... laugh all you want .... this is RED SOX year.

[ihategarybettman]

quote:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Originally posted by LanceMo:

 

I miss hockey but fans don't seen particularly concerned about that loss either.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Lance, I don't know the "fans" you know, but if they aren't concerned about the loss of hockey, the strike, and its long-term effect on the game, it seems to me they aren't really fans. As you can probably guess by my name, I love hockey (and hate the NHL's commissioner) and I'm more disappointed and pissed off by this situation than I can describe, and I know alot of other people who feel the same way. Maybe its a northern, border town kind of thing.

 

Joe, I feel your pain. On top of the disrespect on the Espos, you and your fellow Montrealers (Montrealites? Montrealos? I'm sorry, I don't know the propoer term) probably won't see the Canadiens lace up any time soon, which is a real shame considering the post-season run they had last season and the great World Cup Koivu had. (The Canadiens are my second-favorite team.)

[YourMotherShouldKnow]

Originally posted by ihategarybettman:

Lance, I don't know the "fans" you know, but if they aren't concerned about the loss of hockey, the strike, and its long-term effect on the game, it seems to me they aren't really fans.

What I mean is there doesn't seem to be an uproar about it. Lots of people miss it and dislike Bettman and Goodenow, etc. My sense is that fans have had enough of being puppets and they don't care like they used to. Maybe I'm the only that feels that way and I'm projecting it onto others.

 

The NHL has changed alot but baseball has changed to the point of no return. It'll survive but I don't think the masses of people will care about baseball again as they did up into the 70s. As a major movement it's dead just like classic rock it dead.

[Joe Cole]

What I mean is there doesn't seem to be an uproar about it. [/QB]

I would have to say that the uproar is pretty loud regarding hockey. They had a commuinty forum style debate on the strike two days in a row on NATIONAL TV, during prime time!

 

You would think that hockey was on strike for 2 years, not 2 weeks.

 

All of pro sports are ridiculous now. It seems that the commentators take more about money/salaries then the actual game.

 

Is that supposed to be an escape from our daily lives?

[ihategarybettman]

quote:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I would have to say that the uproar is pretty loud regarding hockey. They had a commuinty forum style debate on the strike two days in a row on NATIONAL TV, during prime time!

 

You would think that hockey was on strike for 2 years, not 2 weeks. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Joe, like I said before, maybe its a northern, border town kind of thing.

[coyote]

You'd also think nhl.com would have the lockout as front-page news. After all, it's what's happening in the league... Any news of the most important thing happening in the sport right now is buried in a link called "CBAnews".

[ihategarybettman]

I believe that NHL.com is supported by the League, so it downplays stories that cast a negative light on the NHL.

[fantasticsound]

Here in Nashville, fan support of The Nashville Predators has been pretty good, all things considered. But as a non-fan, frankly, if I didn't work for an event management company that produces the Pred's parties and annual benefit I wouldn't have even known there was a lockout. It just isn't news here.

 

When you say there's a debate about it on national TV, I take it you mean in Canada.

[Joe Cole]

When you say there's a debate about it on national TV, I take it you mean in Canada. [/QB]

Yep. Sorry, I should have specified.

 

As for not making a dent in Nashville, I am not surprised. When was the last time you saw some kids playing on a forozen pond? That should be the criteria for selling franchises.

 

That said, the Preds are a good organization.