November 11, 2005 [LINK]
"No, you go first"
In today's Washington Post, Thomas Boswell laments the "squeeze" being put on Washington by the honchos at MLB, as Commissioner Selig keeps dragging his heels on the sale of the Washington Nationals. Boswell observes that one billion dollars is being offered by the city government and private investors (adding together the franchise bid price and the cost of the new stadium), for a franchise that wasn't even worth one tenth of that before it moved to Washington! The franchise sale process has apparently stalled because of the reluctance of the D.C. Council to approve revised financial terms for the new stadium, which MLB has insisted on as a precondition for the sale. Many on the D.C. Council have serious doubts about whether the new owners will be committed to the local Washington community, and neither side is willing to make the first move to overcome the impasse. Washington area fans were so thrilled just to get baseball back that they could forgive the fact that their new team had to play their inaugural season with one hand tied behind their back (i.e., no owner), but this situation is getting totally outrageous.
Comiskey Park update
At last, the Comiskey Park page (sponsored by Bill Blake, in memory of William V. Altieri) has been revised with several new diagram versions, including one for football. I took pains to match the profile diagram to the one for U.S. Cellular Field, making it easier to compare the two homes of the World Champion!!? Chicago White Sox on the Side-by-side page. Indeed, the last row of the upper deck in the old ballpark is closer to the field than the first row of the upper deck in the new ballpark. I may add a 1980s version diagram later, pending further research. Doing those diagrams was a much more difficult task than I had envisioned, which is why I've fallen behind in e-mail correspondence once again.
Damn Yankees on stage!
Talk about coincidences! Just two days after I posted a review of the movie Damn Yankees, I learn that a new version of the original Broadway play Damn Yankees will be performed at the Arena Stage in Washington, from December 9 through February 5.