Atlantic League News & Bridgeport Pot Pourri
Published on January 27, 2004 under Atlantic League (AtL)
Bridgeport Bluefish News Release
Atlantic League News: Spring Training is now firmly set for April 24 to May 2 in Homestead, FL. Interestingly, some Florida Spring Training sites of Major League ball clubs have now approached our league about getting us to come to their sites beginning in 2005. The date for the Seventh Annual Atlantic League All-Star Game has been set for Bastille Day, July 14, 2004 at Campbell Field in Camden, NJ. Festivities are planned for the players and front office staff for the evening before on either the USS New Jersey, or at the Aquarium next door to the ballpark. The MVP Award for the All-Star game will be named in memory of the founding owner of the Camden Riversharks, Steven R. Shilling. The league will once again play a 126-game schedule with the same teams it had last season. One team will be a road team, thus giving the remaining seven teams 72 home games, and 54 away games. The season will open up on May 6, but the first home date for the Bluefish will not be until May 18 against the Newark Bears since our first nine games are on the road. We will thus have our latest opening date since our inaugural season when we opened on May 21, 1998 with an abbreviated 100-game schedule that first season.
The First Annual Independent Baseball Convention and Trade Show, held last week at the Tropicana Resort and Casino in Atlantic City is now history. There were 61 vendors at the convention, a very respectable showing for a first-of-its-kind event such as this one. Nine different independent leagues were represented with most of the attendees coming from the five most established leagues. At the Opening Session, it was noted that 41 players from independent leagues played in the Major Leagues last season, and that $400 million has been expended in public monies in recent years to build new independent league ballparks. Attendance for independent baseball soared over the 6 million mark to 6.4 million fans.
OK, so both Fairfield University Men's and Women's basketball teams have struggled of late. But not on Sunday. The Men's team came roaring back from a six-point halftime deficit to rout Loyola of Maryland by a 75-56 score that featured a 22-0 spurt to start the second half. The Stags (10-8 overall, 3-4 in the MAAC) now have two more home games this week, starting Thursday night, January 29 against St. Peter's at 7:30 PM at the Arena at Harbor Yard, then back to the Arena again on Saturday, January 31 for a 4:00 PM start against Siena. Meanwhile, the Lady Stags also defeated Loyola of Maryland yesterday by a 66-58 score to improve their record to 5-13 overall, and 3-5 in the MAAC. Picked to finish first in the MAAC, the Women's team still figures it has a chance to do just that. The Women return to the Arena at Harbor Yard for its next home game on Thursday, February 5, a 7:30 PM game against St. Peter's. Lots of exciting basketball at the Arena at Harbor Yard over the next several weeks, including, of course, that First and Second Rounds Women's NCAA Basketball Tournament Action hosted By Fairfield University on March 21 and March 23 at the Arena at Harbor Yard. It's no secret that everyone is hoping and fully expecting the University of Connecticut's defending national Championship team should be in the house that weekend. You can bet your life those games will be sold out.
If you grew up a major league baseball fan in the fifties and sixties, you'll appreciate a terrific book called "Elston and Me, The Story of the First Black Yankee". The book is written by Arlene Howard, with Ralph Wimbish. Arlene, of course, is the wife of Yankee great Elston Howard. The book jacket says "No Yankee carried himself with more dignity. No Yankee had greater respect for his teammates or love for his wife and family. And no one loved being a Yankee more than Elston Howard." Based on those brief sentences alone, you'd think this book would have a big love fest about Howard's life and career with the New York Yankees. Hardly. Rather, the book is a heartfelt critique of what it was like being a black athlete at a time when professional baseball, and especially the Yankees had a hard time accepting blacks into the sport. Though Howard played fourteen years in the bigs, he was not brought up to the Yankees until he was 26. He became the first black coach in the American League, but he never did get the major league managerial job he so desperately coveted. He died at the very young age of 51 of a heart virus. But here's what Arlene Howard had to say at the end of the book: "It was hard just thinking about the years he sacrificed for the New York Yankees; he could have played for another team and been a star. Maybe if he had not put up with the racism, maybe if they had made him a manager, he would still be alive today. Don't get me wrong. I consider myself blessed; we had great times together. Still, one thought has become increasingly clear to me: Baseball killed my husband." A riveting page-turner. If Elston had not been black, he most surely would be in the Hall of Fame today.
Wanna put your kids (ages 7-15) on stage during their winter and/or spring breaks? Just sign them up for ArtSport's "Vacation Camps" for the weeks of February 16-20 and April 19-23. The winter break vacation camp is "Dance Medicine with Chris Yon and Justin Jones" and the spring break vacation camp is "Behind the Scenes with Playhouse Professionals. These camps will take place at the Playhouse on the Green with tuition set at $250 for each five-day camp. If you enroll in both, the total tuition is $450. Contact ArtSport's Director of Education Kate Katcher at 203-333-6211 or e-mail her at kkatcher@artsport.org. No experience required for either camp.
Here's a heads up for a great production just before the start of our Bluefish baseball season. It's a May 1 performance of the Alvin Ailey II Dance Company at the 1478-seat Klein Auditorium in Bridgeport. The Company, which emphasizes a balance of repertoire, technique and performance, has become one of the most popular and critically acclaimed dance companies in the United States. The evening is a benefit for the Music and Arts Center for Humanity (MACH). Tickets are $150, $75 and $35. And here's a very innovative idea we like a lot: If you pay $195, you not only get one of the best seats in the house, but you also get an extraordinary steak dinner that evening from 5:30 PM to 7:30 PM at Joseph's Steak House. A tip of the hat to MACH, ArtSport and Joseph's permittee, Josef Kustra, for this creative concept of combining the finest in Bridgeport dining with an extraordinary performance at The Klein. Bravo!
Duh! Do I ever need a fact checker?! In last week's newsletter, I spoke of the 8:00 PM performance slated for February 27 at The Klein as "Saturday Night Live" when I really meant "Saturday Night Fever". Geesh. Here's the correct info right from The Klein's web page: Saturday Night Fever is the smash hit musical inspired by the phenomenally successful 1977 film and featuring songs from the legendary film soundtrack by the Bee Gees. Saturday Night Fever, adapted for the stage by Nan Knighton (Tony Award nomination for "The Scarlet Pimpernel"), tells the streetwise New York City story of an ambitious, talented Brooklyn kid with a burning desire to make it big in Manhattan. It is filled with an unprecedented 12 Top-10 hit songs that helped launch the 1970's disco-dancing craze, including: "Stayin' Alive," "Night Fever," "How Deep is Your Love?," "You Should Be Dancing," "If I Can't Have You," and "Jive Talkin'." Featuring a cast of the most talented singers and dancers, Saturday Night Fever's cast and live orchestra bring this story to life. The hit disco songs and exciting choreography make this show the perfect pick for families and audiences of all generations. Be there or be square. Tickets range from $25 to $60 and you can buy them at our Bluefish box office (203-345-4800, ext. 150).
Peter F. Hurst, Jr., our newest Ringmaster of the Barnum Festival, has announced that the famed Barnum Festival Parade, the biggest parade in all of Connecticut, will be moving from its customary Sunday morning time to a Saturday morning this year, to allow more people who otherwise might be in church to march or watch the parade. A great idea, especially since the Bluefish never play Saturday day games, so our fans can easily take in the parade in the morning, and a Bluefish game the evening before and the evening after the parade.
The Governor was in Bridgeport last week to announce the funding of a Feeder Barge service for Bridgeport, designed to remove 18-wheeelers from New York City to Bridgeport off of Interstate 95. In his speech, Governor Rowland reiterated his long-standing support of the City of Bridgeport, and made a point of emphasizing that Bridgeport is "not only back, but it is also safe". He was referring to the fact that many suburbanites still fear coming to Bridgeport. The next day at the Governor's Council Meeting, this editor was not only able to thank the Governor for his ongoing support of our city, but also to support his point about our safe city by noting that we have not had a safety incident at our ballpark in six seasons during which time nearly 1.5 millions fans have come to our ballpark! The Governor agreed wholeheartedly noting that he would be perfectly comfortable having his daughters live and work in Bridgeport.
Atlantic League Stories from January 27, 2004
- Atlantic League News & Bridgeport Pot Pourri - Bridgeport Bluefish
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
