Conference 7.286::sports_90

    We had a similar referendum reach the ballot last fall in Phoenix.  It
    was voted down overwhelmingly.  I also voted against it.
    
    I'm all in favor of having baseball locally, but not at my expense
    (they were going to hike property taxes).  Most MLB owners are rich 
    enough to build their own arenas 5 times over.  If they want it, let them 
    pay for it!  I'm tired of the rich getting richer at my expense.
    
    What makes matters worse is they wanted to build a stadium without
    knowing whether they will get a team or not.  I say at least wait until
    you aren't dealing with vapor!
    
    Mike

    Tampa has already built a stadium. They are a very likely candidate
    to get a team. Basically the rest of the cities are after the 1
    remaining team. Other top candidates are Buffalo, D.C., Vancouver
    (I think), and Denver. Regional considerations makes Denver very 
    attractive as a market and let's face it, the entire deal is 
    a marketing/sales job. The large and dedicated fan support of the 
    Broncos also shows that the potential for a large and dedicated 
    baseball following is in place. 
    
    They don't want to raise property taxes here. It's a 1/10 of 1% sales tax
    that goes away when the funds are secured. The stadium is not the 
    property of the owners. It belongs to the municiplities that 
    had it built that's Arapahoe, Boulder, Jefferson, Denver and Adams
    counties. 
    
    As far as rich owners go, that's another issue. The Dikeou(sp) 
    brothers who own the Zephyrs just backed out and they were the
    top runners. No one person or group has steped forward with a 
    strong ownership bid. Coors has suggested that it would like to 
    be a part owner but only in the 10-20% range. Pass the proposal.
    Get the team. Build the stadium. The owner will step forward.
    
    BoB

    
    	The vote will probably be turned down, which will for all intents
    and purposes end any chance that Denver has of landing a baseball 
    team.  This is a city that was the first choice of the IOC to hold the 
    '76 Winter Olympics, but turned it down.  
    
    	If I lived in Denver county, I'd vote for it without question.
    
    						 glen j.  

    
    	I'd vote for it too.  In fact, there *was* a proposal to include
    	Colorado Springs in the 1/10 of 1% sales tax increase to help
    	them out.  I'd like to see the owners (if we get a team) pay
    	the money back to the municipalities once the team is
    	established.
    
    	FYI, Eddie Crowder (former CU Buff AD) is organizing a group
    	of investors to be the owners.  Eddie himself is not contributing
    	monetarily, but he is leading this group of sugar daddies.  You'd
    	think that if Coors is willing to put up 20%, then they could
    	surely get a group of investors to come up with the rest.
    
    	Claybone

    Re: Bronco support
    
    only because they've had a reasonably successful franchise.  In
    relation to landing a baseball franchise, the Bronco support would mean
    a lot more if the team was on par with the Phoenix Cardinals ;-)
    
    Mike

    If they woulda called it a "Levy" den none of da doo-pid cowboy types
    (Like Claybonehaid (tm)) woulda understood it and they would all vote
    "Hail yes". Say "Tax" and they think of revenuers, like Uncle Jed useta
    hate. 
    
    mucho %^).
    
    
    da devil dog

    
    	I know what a levy is!  It's where I drove my Chevy.....
    
    	Claybone
    

The advertisment is "Think what Baseball would do for Denver". Most of the 
people compare that statement to the Bronco's and see the Sunday traffic jams 
at Mile Hi. The only people making money are the ones selling parking places. 

Very few people realize that baseball would have a 80+ games in Denver, 
compared to 8 for the Bronco's. Baseball would add jobs for the Stadium, not
only building it but for the Vendors. 
Baseball needs the City of Denver's support not just a single owner to shell out 
the big bucks to build a Stadium and a few 19 yr old players. Coors wants to 
help out with a 10% ownership in return the Stadium will be called COOR's. 

Jeff 

    Coors says they'll give 7 million towards the stadium if they can
    have the right to name it. They spent something like 135 million 
    in advertising last year so 7 mill here would be a steal for them.
    
    Nashville has now joined the list of cities in search of a team.
    The list stands at 10. 3 of those, Miami, Tampa and Orlando are 
    in Florida. Only 1 of those should get a team and that will 
    probably be Tampa. So 7 cities are after the 1 remaining team. 
    
    Look at Colorado and all of it's bordering states, Kansas, Nebraska,	
    Wyo, Utah, Arizona, Oklahoma and New Mexico. That is the largest
    chunk of real estate in the nation void of major league baseball.
    Denver's location at the center of these states makes it ideal.
    
    BoB

    Ten cities?
    
    I can only think of these, and they might not all be correct. I never
    heard this Nashville rumour until now. Didn't Nashville have trouble
    supporting it's AAA team up until a few years ago, or have I confused
    it with somewhere else?
    
    1 Buffalo            6 Miami
    2 Tampa Bay          7 Washington DC
    3 Denver             8 Phoenix
    4 Orlando            9 Vancouver ???? (purely a guess)
    5 Nashville          10 New Orleans ???   "       "
    
    Tom

>    Look at Colorado and all of it's bordering states, Kansas, Nebraska,	
>    Wyo, Utah, Arizona, Oklahoma and New Mexico. That is the largest
>    chunk of real estate in the nation void of major league baseball.
>    Denver's location at the center of these states makes it ideal.
    
    You forgot California, they don't have major league baseball either ;-)

    Eligible cities
    
    Buffalo   (concerns about population and  marketing the area)
    Denver    (a legit contender if.....)
    Miami           don't know
    Tampa Bay (They're ready to play)
    Orlando         don't know
    D.C.      (former home of the Senators)
    Sacramento(with 5 teams in state is 6 too many?) don't know      
    Vancouver (could spoil Denver's shot by being 3rd Canadian team)    
    Nashville (a surpirse showing)
    Phoenix   (defeated tax propossal for stadium)
    
    BoB

   Eligible cities
    
    Buffalo    Has a owner. 
    Denver     (needs a park for Baseball)
    Miami      
    Tampa Bay (The reason for expansion)
    Orlando        
    D.C.       Has the Orioles 
    Sacramento (Third in line.)     
    Vancouver      
    Nashville (a surpirse showing)
    Phoenix   who wants to play baseball in 100 degree heat. 
  

>    Phoenix   who wants to play baseball in 100 degree heat. 
    
    Ever hear of a dome?  Do you think the NL teams would play in Houston's
    humidity without a dome?
    
    Mike

    How come Newark, NJ didn't make that list.

>    How come Newark, NJ didn't make that list.
    
    'cause they're on the high crime list!

    It's hard to figure why Newark or a lot of other cities didn't
    jump into the action. One would think the list would be much
    longer but so much the better for Colorado.
    
    The election is August 14. That's not far away but I'm sure 
    interest and debate will accellerate as the date nears. 
    I believe that the larger the turnout the better the chances
    of passing. At this point, probably the most organized side
    on the issue are the anti-tax organizations. 
    
    Hell! I'm just as much against higher taxes as anyone. This is
    different. We're talking baseball here. Only one thing is
    going to make me more angry than a defeat. If this thing passes
    and they decide to build a dome with plasto-grass..... Now
    that would be a shame. 
    
    BoB

      As far as the owners footing the bill for the stadium goes they will
    have to come up with around $160 million just to join the league. That
    is quite a chuck. To ask them to finance the entire stadium would rule
    out most prospective owners.
    
      I was also under the impression that St Petersburg and not Tampa was
    the leading candidate in Florida. (Just across the bay).
    
    Wes

    Heard on the radio last night from one of the head guys on the 
    porposed stadium commision. He was talking about how the stadium
    would be alligned to minimize sun blinding batters or pitchers.
    What a relief. It's not a dome at least not yet. They have 
    laready decided on the contractor and it's the same group that is
    building the new White Sox stadium. 
    
    Everybody has their own guess as to the economic impact of a team. 
    One independent group examined Seattle and the Mariners. They 
    found 16% of attenedance was from out of town.  $90 million was
    the total figure put out for wages, travel, tickets, hotels etc..etc.
    
    BoB  
    
    

    Buffalo could be a sleeper MLB city. If the stadium was built in the 
    city or a few miles to the east, then the size of the market would be
    large enough to warrant a team. Buffalo is the second largest city
    in NY and Rochester is 3rd with 750,000 in the county. Rochester is
    only 60 miles from Buffalo and is due east. Hence, if the stadium was
    built to the east then you'd be talking about a market with 2 mill.+
    people. Bob Rich, the owner of the Buffalo Bisons (AAA) is very
    interested in getting a major league franchise and having them play
    in Pilot Field, which was built to be expandable to 35-40,000 seats.
    It is located in downtown Buffalo and is easily accessible from the 
    NY State Thruway. I know I'd head there 10-15 times a yr. for some
    Major League baseball.
    
    				Rich
    

    Election day is tomorrow.  All sample polls still show it as 
    a 50-50 split between voters. By tomorrow evening, we'll have 
    a handle on the future of baseball in Denver. 
    
    BoB

    Well the tax increase was approved by the 6 county region adjacent to
    Denver, including Denver County.  It isn't a large increase, only
    1/10th of 1%, so for every $10.00 it'll cost .01.  It was approved by a
    54-46% margin, and things now look favorable for Colorado to get a
    major league ball team.  That's great!  I applaud those in the affected
    area for voting in favor of this.
    
    There appears to be a strong sentiment toward calling the team the
    "Denver Bears".  The reason for this is that the minor league team in
    Denver has been called the Bears forever, until about 3 years ago, when
    the owners decided to rename the team the Denver Zephyrs.  So as a
    backlash against that, there are those proposing that the new major
    league team be called the Denver Bears.  I frankly would like something
    more statewide..."The Colorado..........."  We'll see!
    
    Glenn

    
    Why not just put 'em in orange and call 'em the Denver Donks.  We
    know the fans would go for that.
    
    Dickster
    

    That was a very helpful reply Dickster.  Keep up the good work.  You're
    obviously a valuable addition to this notesfile.
    
    Glenn

    Several years ago (at the height of Denver's Orange Crush I & Red
    Miller), there was a rumour of the A's moving to Denver. Someone
    suggested calling them the "Orange Sox" What a stupid idea! In doing
    this, the BB team would ALWAYS be second fiddle to the Donks. Each sports
    team in a city needs to have it's own identity. I like the idea of
    keeping the traditional name that belonged to the minor league team.
    They did this with the SD Padres, Milwaukee Brewers and I think the 
    Seattle Pilots (RIP). The Royals would be in Montreal (old Dodger farm
    team), and KC's team would have been named the "Blues" (Yankee farm
    team).  
    
    The Denver Zephers, I dunno about. Think of what they would be
    referred to as, especially considering that it would be a while before 
    any expansion team develops into a good team.
    
    Tom

    The focus now turns to finding an ownership group.  There'll be
    some pressure on the Adolph Coors Company to get into the picture.
    You can be pretty sure that the team won't be called the Zephyrs.
    Since they changed the name from Bears to Zephyrs a few years back
    I've heard quite a few complaints.  But IMO "Bears" doesn't sound that
    appealing either.                           
    
    Joe

    
    .25
    
    Aw, thanks Glenn.   ;-)
    
    Dickster - Live from somewhere.
                           
    

   I  was slightly urinated last night when I went to vote. Douglas County
   (where I live) is one of the `six' counties, but evidently only certain
   portions of the county were eligible to vote on the issue, `cause it
   wan't on the ballot.

   I think we should call `em the Denver Bares.

   Mike JN

   Even though I was willing to support the baseball issue, I have serious
   doubts that a team would receive good support.

   The Donks do. Period.

   Nuggets are fun to watch and usually make the playoffs.
   They're lucky to draw 8 or 9,000 fans.

   The Colorado Rockies were the hockey team. 5,000 fans was a big night.

   Minor League baseball has the Zephyrs, who are lucky to get 3,000 fans
   unless they also bring in the Beachboys or a huge fireworks display.

   We shall see. It'd be nice to drive up the road and see some Major
   League baseball again (or even American League). I hope it works.

   Mike JN

    
    re -1
    
    I have the same doubts about Phoenix, Mike.   Both areas have similar
    demographics, and a metropolitan population of about 2,000,000, which
    looks good on paper.  What people aren't looking at is the fact that
    outside of the metropolitan area there is a _very_ small population
    base.  This is where much of the fan base is drawn from.  In an Eastern
    city (Baltimore or Philly, for example) you have a similar metro area
    population base, but you have several large suburbs an hour or two drive
    away.  You don't have that out here, and I believe that you will get
    poor attendance because of it.
    
    Bruce

The Denver Chokesters...

    I'd be much more in favor of calling it "COLORADO" something
    rather than "DENVER" something.
    
    This would be a regional team (Much like Kansas City) supported by
    the front range cities and neighboring states.
    
    I like the "Colorado Rockies"
    
    Marty

    As it turned out, it was somewhere around a 45-55 split among 
    the voters.  Not everyone in the affected counties were eligible
    to vote on the issue.  They included only those precints that 
    are serviced by RTD, whic is the Denver area's Regional Transportaion
    District. 
    
    This was a major hurddle to clear but is by no means the end of 
    debate or a guarantee of getting a team here.  This positions
    Colorado sightly ahead of Phoenix as the more likely western
    franchise location.  Now potential owners and possible coalition
    members are falling overthemselves to get in on the action.
    Two days ago they were silent.  
    
    Let's think about a name for this team when the time comes.
    
    BoB

    
    >   I like the "Colorado Rockies"
  
    Wasn't that the name of their short-lived hockey franchise?
    
    "Colorado Rockers" has a nice current flair to it. Their emblem
    might be a_electric guitar and they could wear tie-dyed uniforms,
    and the National Anthem would be Hendrix's Woodstock version, and
    they could travel in halugeonically painted VW buses.
    
    Dickster
    

   ALL of Colorado isn't footing the bill for the stadium. So......

   the Denver And Six Other Counties Bears!

   The Dasoc Bears!

   Denver Inspired Six Counties (to) Organize Bears?

   Y E S !!!

   THE DISCO BEARS!!!!!!!!!

   I LOVE IT!

   Yes I DO!
   Mike JN

    
    Six Insipid Counties, Organised

Actually, Mike JN and Dickster both have great ideas.

The Disco Bears...  they could play Village People's Macho Man 
every time a home run is hit...

Colorado Rockers...  perhaps they could draft Kevin Seels, Sporting Fool....

'Saw

    Sounds like someone from Denver needs to stand forward to defend the
    Metro Area's honor!!!!!  
    
    Being a native of the Metro Area, I am partial to the Denver Bears. 
    When I was a little girl, we used to go to Bears Stadium (now called
    Mile High Stadium) to watch the Denver Bears.  When I was a kid, the
    Bears were the farm team for the Yankees and it was great to watch guys
    like Marv Throneberry go to to the big leagues from this little ole cow
    town!!!
    
    As to the vote, it appears that the metro counties were more in favor
    of the stadium than the Denver residents.  Probably, the Denver
    residents were more sensitive to traffic patterns, etc. that would be
    impacted by the stadium.  Plus a lot of them are not overly-thrilled
    with Mayor Pena and would not vote for anything he supports.
    
    

    With the amount of Dead Haids hanging around the greater Denver
    region, Dickster's idea is kinda groovy.   Maybe they could just
    expand red rocks and play there.  Keep them helacious fires burning
    and the good vibes streaming through the rocks.    Just think of
    the promotion nights and giveaways they could have!!!!   
    
    Colorado Rockers Bong Night!!!
    
    Lava Lamp night!!
    
    Elephant Bell Bottom and Granny Glasses Giveaway Night!
    
    Great Dead Rockers of Rock Impersonator night!
    
    Jerry Garcia Day!
    
    Peace, Love, and Tie-Dye night....
    
    JD

There's something happening here, 
what it is ain't exactly clear.
There's a man with a bat over there,
tellin' me the last hit was fair.

Time we stop, hey what's that sound,
everybody look, baseball's in town,
Stop, hey, what's that sound,
just another home run gone down...

What a field day, what a treat,
Baseball fans in the street,
Counting GONGS and stealing signs,
everybody yells Hurray for our side...

Time we stop, hey what's that sound,
everybody look, baseball's in town,
Stop, hey, what's that sound,
another home run gone down...

Baseball phobia runs deep,
Into your life it must creep,
It starts when the first pitch is made,
and goes till the lights start to fade....

Time we stop, hey what's that sound,
everybody look, baseball's in town,
Stop, hey, what's that sound,
another home run gone down...

Time we stop, hey what's that sound,
everybody look, baseball's in town,
Stop, hey, what's that sound,
another home run gone down...

    
    Groovy, man.  Far out.  Looks like it's time we had a ::SPORTSONGS
    Hall of Fame to preserve these treasures.
    
    Dickster
    

   Good tune, dewd!
   Excellent lyric enhancement!

   Mike JN

Like Groovy man....yesterday was the 21st anniversary man, and like
I had to do something, like ya know.

Pretty soon, man, I'm gonna, like, buy me some new bell bottoms, like,
groovy...

Peace.

Forget the bears, Forget the Dead ? (didn't the drummer just o.d. ?)

I'm glad we have a chance at getting a Major league team without the (Gimmick)

Jeff

                          Or.... Colorado Cougars!

                             G O   C A T S !!!!

   MIKE JN

    I like that....the Colorado Cougars!  Yea! That's it!
    
    

    Did I miss something here?  Does this mean Colrado has a lock
    on securing a ml team?  I don't believe so. Suppose for whatever
    reason the deal falls thru as deals sometimes have a tendency 
    to do.  The next round is for all the cities involved to meet
    with the league Expansion Committee to show what they have.
    The committe chairman stated that this will be about a 1/2
    hour per city and they did not want a 'dog and pony'
    type presentation.  The stadium vote goes in our favor, but
    the effort still has a sizeable sales job ahead.
    
    BoB

   True... but it's still fun to speculate.

   If it doesn't go through, I'll watch on TV, as per usual (until they go
   Pay Per View), and catch the Zephyrs once in awhile.

   Mike JN

The Zephyrs...what a spritely name for a baseball team.

I can just see them now, prancing lightly throught the outfield,
breezy breezes blowing through their hair.  Manly fingers
caressingly performing a cup check....

ahhhh....

    Cougars doesn't work for me for baseball.  Neither does Bears.  Those
    are football-type names.  Yeah, I know there's the Tigers, but that's a
    tradition you have to respect.  For some reason, baseball names are
    seemingly a little more thoughtful than your "Name a ferocious beast"
    contest.
    
    Pioneers has a nice ring to at, and captures something of the grace of
    the state.
    
    Dan

    The Denver Silverados ???
    
    At least you'd have a ready-made excuse if the team goes belly up ...
    
    Bob Hunt

   Denver Desperados?
   PhartPhaces?
   Anteloops?
   Miners?
   Carbuncles?
   Chipmunks?
   Mastodons?
   Mushrooms?
   Programmers?
   Probers?
   Drag Kings (or Queens)?
   Cowpersons?
   D E N T I S T S !!!!   YES... YES

   IT'S 'L;KSuono[p <sj n"L|?;
                              vbn
                                 fb
                                   mf
                                     m,cgh
                                          .jk/
                                              ip

   aughhh! (cough).... sorry
   Mike JN

    Siverados would be nice. If the team folds then we could count
    on federal funds to reimburse the expense of the stadium. 
    
    The baseball commision did a terrible job selling this issue 
    to the voting public. They basically did nothing leading into
    the election.  If that's their approach to selling this to the
    expansion comittee, you can forget about baseball here.
    
    If the vote had been overwhelming in favor of the stadium,
    that would stand out as regional endorsement of support. 
    It squeeked by. It was a tax issue not a baseball issue
    but can the commish be convinced?
    
    Baseball owners are and eliteist organization that votes on 
    prospective club members.  The current group of potential
    major and minor owners collectively appears akin to a 3 ring
    circus. This is not good. 
    
    2 of the main candidates for ownership are giants in the cable
    TV industry.  I think certain owners in baseball are resentfull
    of Ted Turner and his TV connections. This resntment has a 
    possible spill over effect here.
    
    Colorado cannot sit back and await annointing by the powers 
    that be. The other serious contenders for these sites will
    no sit by and watch.
    
    BoB

    Colorado Collies!

    The "Ferocious Animal" name isn't bad, but anything is better than one 
    of these S-T-O-O-P-I-D singular nicknakmes that were popular while
    back, such as:
    Utah Jazz
    Miami Heat
    Orlando Magic
    Southern California Sun (WFL)
    Shreeveport Steamer (WFL)
    Philadelphia Bell (WFL)
    The Hawiians (WFL)
    Portland Storm (WFL)
    Portland Thunder (WFL)
    Chicago Fire (WFL)
    Chicago Wind (WFL)
    Chicago Blitz (USFL)
    Denver Gold (USFL)
    Etc., Etc. The list goes on, and on, and on....

    Either 
    
    Rocky Mountain Oysters
    
    or 
    
    Denver Omlettes

    It was reported in this morning's paper that 2 main owner groups
    in the DC area are hopelessly divided over stadium location. 
    They will both attempt to lure an expansion team on their own.
    The split along with previous teams moving from the area will 
    probably hurt their chances beyond repair.  
    
    BoB 

    Thursday and friday seemed to be big movement days localy on the
    baseball front.  A legitimate majority ownership group steped
    forward with 40 million front money and a pledge to organize an
    owner coalition among potential candidates. Meanwhile, a fairly
    firm location has been agreed on for a stadium site. It looks
    like it is right across Interstate 25 from the McNicols/Mile-Hi 
    complex area.   
    
    
    Woody Paige's 10 reasons why baseball should come to Colorado;
    
    1.  Current baseball void in the region.
    2.  Baseball owes it to Denver. He mentions soemthing about a 
        competitive league that disbanded in 1960 and Denver was 
        promised a team by the Bigs???
    3.  Climate, except for possible spring snows, it is ideal.
    4.  Commitment to building a baseball only stadium.
    5.  Competition. He sees only Buffalo and Tampa/St. Pete as 
        legit contenders.  
    6.  Scheduling.  Denver is an ideal stoping off point for teams
        making the East coast to West and visa versa road trips. 
    7.  New airport and convention center construction along with a
        new team and stadium would be an economic boost to a lethargic
        region. 
    
    BoB

    Denver delivered their first big pitch to the NL tuesday. Perspective
    owners and city organizations have been presenting their cases to the	
    NL expansion committee this week.  I have not seen any details of
    what transpired there, but everybody thinks they are the best bet.
    
    Colorado gov Roy Romer and Denver mayor Federico Pena were part of
    the presenstation on behalf of Denver. Cuomo was on hand to assist
    the Buffalo NY cause. Buffalo, soemwhere in Florida and Denver 
    still seem to be the favorites.  With only 2 teams at stake, somebody
    will be left behind.   
    
    The final decision will be announced sometime before Sep 30,1991.
    That's a year from now not next week.
    
    BoB

    Stadium designers may settle on the largest field in the league
    if Denver is awarded one of the expansion teams.  In an attempt 
    to compensate for the altitude they move center fild to 440'.
    Construction will begin in Oct 1992 with Mile-Hi serving as the
    home field in the mean time.
    
    BoB

    If Denver gets an expansion team, will "BIFF" moonlight and try to play
    baseball, too???
    
    I can see it now, "Biff" pitching, first pitch, short of the plate,
    second pitch to the backstop at the 6' high level all the way.
    
    After the game, Biff complains that the catcher wasn't where he should
    have been for the pitches.
    
    
    
    JaKe
    

    There were some recent developments around the league involving team
    moves. The Giants had a bill before Santa Clara county voters for 
    a tax bill to build a new stadium. This would allow the Giants
    to escape from Candlestick and yet stay in the bay area. The bill
    was defeated. Giants' owners are not happy and they mentioned 
    Denver a potential site to relocate. Denver's past experiences with 
    colapsed deals of existing teams didn't exactly thrill baseball 
    organizers here.
     
    The Brewers have been in some kind of financial straits lately and the
    Pabst brewing company pledged a % of game sales as an incentive to 
    make their owners happy and not get the relocation fever.
     
    I have heard 2 target dates for NL expansion deadline decisions. Both
    June 30th and September 30th are mentioned.  
    
    BoB
      

    The NL narrowed their list of cities for expansion down to 6.  They
    are: Denver, Buffalo, Washington, Orlando, Tampa-St. Pete, and Miami.
    The most notable city that has been eliminated is Phoenix.  I heard
    that the NL would consider putting 2 teams in Florida, but I have a
    hard time believing that.  Being the only city in the West, Denver
    appears to be in good shape for getting one of the 2 new teams.
    
    Joe

    Re-1
         Geographically speaking, Denver stands an excellent chance. West
    coast teams on the way to play East coast teams could stop and play a
    series in Denver and vice versu. That was one significant point brought
    to light on last night's news.
    
    

    I was disappointed Phoenix didn't make the short list.  The MLK
    decision is still haunting us.  The league officially said we lacked
    strong local ownership.
    
    I think Denver has a good chance since the NL would be crazy to put
    both in Florida.
    
    Word here is look for Phoenix to grab a franchise currently up for
    sale.  This includes Houston, Montreal, Seattle, and San Francisco (not
    for sale but owner may move; Phoenix is their AAA site).  AL expansion 
    is also a possibility down the road.
    
    Mike

    Phoenix getting droped didn't really surprise me. Their fate was
    basically sealed when they voted down the stadium tax proposal. 
    The short list was basically a manuever to take some heat off the 
    expansion committee. They are being hounded by many of the extremely
    curious.  This will give them some breathing room.  
    
    Somebody was circulating false rumors about Denver's ownership group
    in the recent big league owners meetings.  Somehow they spawned out
    of Chicago in an attempt to plant seeds of doubt about Denver's
    shot at a team.  The rumors were quickly discredited and forgotten.
    I hope. 
    
    BoB

    Re: tax proposal
    
    Maybe so, but the funding has been in place for some time.
    
    Mike

    I don't know if geography has much to do wiht anything. Sure,it makes
    logical sense to have a halfway point between St.Louis/Chicago/Houston
    and the west coast, but that alone isn't reason enough for a team.
    Speaking of Geography, does this mean they are actually going to make
    some sense with this, by putting Chicago & St. Louis in the west and
    Atlanta and Cincinnati in the east? 

    Other possible reasons for the demise of Phoenix. 
    
    1. Arizona is the home of spring's cactus league. Although they
    don't have their own team, major league baseball is felt there
    in a big way already.
    
    2. Extreme heat. Weather as a factor can be used to argue any 
    location though. Many games though would be required to be 
    played in 100 degree temps including some night games.
    
    3. The recent big broo ha-ha the NFL made of Arizona's decision to
    reject MLK day. Very weak reasoning in my opinion but the committee
    is looking at each city in a complete picture. It is a shame but
    this could have actually hurt them.
    
    ref -.1 
    Geography is probably one of the top considerations. I keep hearing
    that Buffalo's main weak point is it's location and population base.
    The team may be rejected due soley to it's geography.
    
    BoB