Portfolio of the week - 2007

[sirtuck]

Potw

Sirtuck sell cbst, buy CAL...

[Karel]

Short that dog NFI, please.

Go, dog, go!

Regards,

Karel (long NFI)

[stenzrob]

Short that dog NFI, please.

Short the DOG ?

[spikefader]

Short that dog NFI, please.

Ouch...ya musta missed the memo!

[peanuts]

Week 15, Day 3

Week 15 - Mr. Market's Softball Team Tryouts
Day 3 - baserunning

There's nothing sticky on the bottom of StkyTreat's cleets. This little guy is super speedy. Look at him go:


Karel can field well, has a cannon arm, and can run as fast as a gazelle, too:


IIC has got some get-up in those feet of his:

***extra participation points will go to anyone that can identify the home team's name that plays in the stadium in the first picture

[Louetta]

Week 15 - Mr. Market's Softball Team Tryouts
Day 3 - baserunning


***extra participation points will go to anyone that can identify the home team's name that plays in the stadium in the first picture

Malone College. How many points do I get?

Oops. Edit. Edit. Might be Point Park. The signs indicate they are in PA but I'll wager that's a Malone guy rounding second.

One final edit. The home team is definitely Point Park.

[peanuts]

Malone College. How many points do I get?

Oops. Edit. Edit. Might be Point Park. The signs indicate they are in PA but I'll wager that's a Malone guy rounding second.

One final edit. The home team is definitely Point Park.

Louetta, you are pretty good with the research. It was a tricky question that takes some background knowledge about mascots, of all things. You correctly ID'd the state. The stadium is in PA. The signage gave all the other information- "washingtonhospital.org" confirms the area of PA, so a Google search of: stadiums +Washington, PA should bring you to Falconi Field, home of the Wild Things. The signage on the far right confirms the field as Falconi because the Wild Thing is shown in it. Ultimately, the answer is, "Wild Things." Sorry you got it wrong, but as a consolation prize, I'll give you and 4 of your friends my summertime premium services for free for 1 day wild whitewater rafting trip down the Youghiogheny River.

Wild Things - http://www.washingtonwildthings.com/mascot.html
Falconi Field - http://www.small-parks.com/Falconi.htm (where else can you watch a ballgame from a hot tub?)

I have been reading many articles about some pretty rich folks buying up these minor league teams. I don't know if it is to make more money, or if these teams are an extention of the rich folk's inner child, and are more of a pet project than anything else. But, the underlying fact is that these teams are gaining in popularity and baseball, to me, will always be America's Sport. I'd like to find a way to get involved on an investor level with some of these minor league teams, but have not found any avenues to pursue.

Any ideas out there?

[Louetta]

Louetta, you are pretty good with the research. It was a tricky question that takes some background knowledge about mascots, of all things. You correctly ID'd the state. The stadium is in PA. The signage gave all the other information- "washingtonhospital.org" confirms the area of PA, so a Google search of: stadiums +Washington, PA should bring you to Falconi Field, home of the Wild Things. The signage on the far right confirms the field as Falconi because the Wild Thing is shown in it. Ultimately, the answer is, "Wild Things." Sorry you got it wrong, but as a consolation prize, I'll give you and 4 of your friends my summertime premium services for free for 1 day wild whitewater rafting trip down the Youghiogheny River.

Wild Things - http://www.washingtonwildthings.com/mascot.html
Falconi Field - http://www.small-parks.com/Falconi.htm (where else can you watch a ballgame from a hot tub?)

I have been reading many articles about some pretty rich folks buying up these minor league teams. I don't know if it is to make more money, or if these teams are an extention of the rich folk's inner child, and are more of a pet project than anything else. But, the underlying fact is that these teams are gaining in popularity and baseball, to me, will always be America's Sport. I'd like to find a way to get involved on an investor level with some of these minor league teams, but have not found any avenues to pursue.

Any ideas out there?

Interesting. That photo can be found at http://www.malone.edu/media/1/4/5/442/aaa100_5085.jpg which is in Malone College's website. The guy has an M on his cap and the school's athletes are called Pioneers. But the ad for the bank doesn't fit because its in PA (Malone is in OH). There is also a sign for Point Park. Looking at their website they just finished a doubleheader against Malone in PA. It actually did seem strange they'd have an ad for their own school if its their own field. After all, everyone there would know the school at least existed. But it would make sense if its a field which they use but which actually belongs to someone else.

[Louetta]

I have been reading many articles about some pretty rich folks buying up these minor league teams. I don't know if it is to make more money, or if these teams are an extention of the rich folk's inner child, and are more of a pet project than anything else. But, the underlying fact is that these teams are gaining in popularity and baseball, to me, will always be America's Sport. I'd like to find a way to get involved on an investor level with some of these minor league teams, but have not found any avenues to pursue.

Any ideas out there?

That kind of thing has happened here in Lowell MA and Manchester NH and maybe Providence RI I believe. Its been said the owners have altruistic motives, at least to some extent. Boston Red Sox tickets are hard to get and very expensive as are all the souvenirs and refreshments. Also, crowds get rowdy and people can't afford to take their families and don't like the drinking and swearing around the kids. So people have bought up the minor league teams, cleaned up the stadiums, priced tickets at low prices ($10 or so I guess), ditched the booze and the parks are full or nearly so. The NH Fishercats have a website at http://www.nhfishercats.com/?id=105 There is a link there to a Partnership Info package but it turns out its aimed at companies who want to advertise, sponsor days, etc. There is an email contact. I know that's not what you want but if you identified enough team websites and sent out letters maybe you'd get a bite at buying into a part of a team somewhere. This of course is fairly obvious and you might well have already tried. Worth mentioning anyway.

[New-born baby]

Ouch...ya musta missed the memo!

No, Spike; I caught the memo. I was just trying to prove that the "fuzzy C" system NEVER works! lol

[riverbabe]

Potw

Please Short SLP. Riverbabe

[peanuts]

That kind of thing has happened here in Lowell MA and Manchester NH and maybe Providence RI I believe. Its been said the owners have altruistic motives, at least to some extent. Boston Red Sox tickets are hard to get and very expensive as are all the souvenirs and refreshments. Also, crowds get rowdy and people can't afford to take their families and don't like the drinking and swearing around the kids. So people have bought up the minor league teams, cleaned up the stadiums, priced tickets at low prices ($10 or so I guess), ditched the booze and the parks are full or nearly so. The NH Fishercats have a website at http://www.nhfishercats.com/?id=105 There is a link there to a Partnership Info package but it turns out its aimed at companies who want to advertise, sponsor days, etc. There is an email contact. I know that's not what you want but if you identified enough team websites and sent out letters maybe you'd get a bite at buying into a part of a team somewhere. This of course is fairly obvious and you might well have already tried. Worth mentioning anyway.

Thank you very much, Louetta. I'd like to get involved with a team that I can actually go to a game and watch them play. There are a few around this area, and your idea of sending an email may just get my foot in the door. I haven't tried that, yet- it's a simple and possibly effective solution, however. I was thinking along the lines of investing in the institutions which have major stakes in these teams/stadiums. My problem is that I currently do not have a way of finding out that information, but your suggestion may be the first step to the solution.

PNC Bank has their hands in many cookie jars in Western PA- maybe a few phone calls to a few old buddies of mine can lead me in the right direction.

[Louetta]

Thank you very much, Louetta. I'd like to get involved with a team that I can actually go to a game and watch them play. There are a few around this area, and your idea of sending an email may just get my foot in the door. I haven't tried that, yet- it's a simple and possibly effective solution, however. I was thinking along the lines of investing in the institutions which have major stakes in these teams/stadiums. My problem is that I currently do not have a way of finding out that information, but your suggestion may be the first step to the solution.

PNC Bank has their hands in many cookie jars in Western PA- maybe a few phone calls to a few old buddies of mine can lead me in the right direction.

One more along those lines. The Fishercats site has a tab About The Fishercats which has a tab Front Office Staff which gives the names of the men who own the team. It may be a local thing but around here I believe the teams are often owned by individuals not institutions. In any case writing directly to the owners of several teams, names obtained off their web sites, might bear fruit. Some of them may blow you off but one or more might take an interest and help you. The Fishercats have a principal owner and a minority owner. Maybe some teams allow others to take a minority stake. Some might be publicly traded. I know the Celtics were when the Gaston family owned the team. Anyway, there are actual names of owners on the Fishercats site and probably on other team sites.

[peanuts]

Week 15, Day 4

Week 15 - Mr. Market's Softball Team Tryouts
Day 4 - batting

IIC is quick on his feet and is a home run hitter. Check out this shot of one of his blasts over the fence:


Sticky slugs a few over the fence too:


Karel is a well-rounded player. He can field, throw, run, and also proves he can hit the ball well, too:

[scifos]

This is what I get for going against one of my Deeply Discounted picks, even though it was a dud forever after I first picked it. Now it starts rising as soon as I pick it as a POTW short.