‘Classified’ information well worth it
Before we even get into this week’s sports-related fare, let me just say this about the paper you currently are holding in your hand:
Rumors of the demise of the American newspaper are very, very premature. Because, at least from where this friendly neighborhood sports columnist is sitting, things are alive and well.
Case in point: Wednesday morning, yours truly placed a classified ad in the rotation, to begin running on Friday morning. As of this writing at 5 p.m. Friday afternoon, I have received over 20 phone calls. That’s the power of the media, ladies and gentlemen. And I’ll tell anybody who asks that the small ad I placed was well worth what I paid for it.
‘ Now, with that little bit of commercialism out of the way, let’s move on to our regularly scheduled column.
You expect a lot of thrills in college basketball when March rolls around. What you don’t expect, however, is actual roof-rattling excitement.
That was the case at the Georgia Dome Friday night, however, when tornadoes roared through downtown Atlanta, sending waves of panic through the players and fans gathered for the SEC tournament.
According to reports from the site, no warning was announced to the 18,000 fans gathered for the Mississippi State-Alabama game, even though a tornado warning had been issued by the weather service. In fact, most of the crowd’s first knowledge of the storm came when the ceiling of the 29-story high dome began to sway and debris began falling onto the court.
Players were hustled into their respective locker rooms, and many fans fled for the exits. Alabama coach Mark Gottfried was shown pulling his wife and kids out of the crowd and taking them with him out of the gym.
I know, you can’t control the weather. And the idea of a tornado stopping a basketball game is rather unprecedented. But don’t be surprised to see some sort of new NCAA regulation regarding giving fans notice of potentially dangerous storms. It just makes good sense.
Fortunately, however, some fans had a bit of last-minute warning Friday, thanks to those pesky little electronic devices we all carry these days.
‘Ironically, the guy behind me got a phone call saying there was a tornado warning,’ fan Lisa Lynn told reporters. ‘And in two seconds, we heard the noise and things started to shake. It was creepy.’
You know, most of the time if I’m at a public event, I’m a little annoyed if someone near me is using their cell phone. But from now on, I’m not going to worry about that. Because you never know, Mother Nature could be on the other end of the line.
‘ Want to go to a big-league ballgame? Well you’d better stop by the bank first. And I don’t mean the ATM, I mean the loan department.
Ticket prices for major league games have swelled like Barry Bonds’ head, but fans aren’t turning away. In fact, attendance last year was the highest it has ever been, with a league-wide average of over 32,000 people per game. And keep in mind, that average includes people watching Devil Rays games.
The hottest ticket of the season this year is a historic event on Sept. 21, when the Yankees play host to Baltimore in the final game ever played at Yankee Stadium. This week, seats for that game were listed as high as $16,199 on StubHub.com.
Now I love a good baseball game, and being in the house that Ruth built for the final nine innings ever played there would really be memorable. But 16 grand is a little steep.
But wait. They’re playing Baltimore? I wonder if there’s anyone I know who might be able to score some tickets for that game…