Furman ... a tough ticket?

By Joe McAdory

Have trouble finding tickets for the Auburn-Furman game last Saturday? From what I saw, there were plenty more fingers in the air begging for two or three tickets than tickets in the air begging to be purchased. Hundreds of folks scoured the outside area of Jordan-Hare Stadium, mostly with children in-tow, looking for cheap seats to an unheralded game. It was going to be a blowout. Everyone knew that. Everyone knew plenty of tickets would be available outside for dirt cheap.

Except they weren’t.

Inside the stadium, the majority of seats in the corners of the east upper deck, which is most often sold to the visiting schools, were left unfilled. So, if these seats were unfilled, why were tickets so hard to come by? I have two theories.

1. Furman’s unsold tickets—and there were plenty—went back to Auburn’s ticket office to sell back to the general public. Face value of these tickets was $35 a pop. Now, would you rather pay $35 for a ticket to the Furman game, or find one outside the stadium that morning for $15 or less? That seemed to be the game plan. After all, it had worked before. But if these $35 tickets remained unsold inside the confines of the ticket office, then they weren’t available for purchase outside the stadium from folks trying to get rid of them.

2. Through September, Auburn’s season ticket book had not been sold out. This included the Furman game, obviously. It also included the Alabama game. It’s feasible to think Alabama fans would scoop up remaining Auburn season tickets to ensure themselves of these seats for the Iron Bowl.

Changes coming

By Joe McAdory

Thank you for reading this blog over the past few months. In coming days or weeks, this blog’s focus will be re-launched and old entries will more than likely be scrapped away into some technological trash can. The blog isn’t going anywhere, it’s just going to change its focus or genre.

We have good blogs already on politics by Jennifer Foster, high school sports by David Morrison and Auburn University sports by Andrew Gribble. This blog about whatever the heck I feel about blogging about never had a real direction, or perhaps its lack of direction made it interesting. I don’t know. Writing about goofy things is fun, but I’m not sure how appealing it was. Instead, I’d rather attempt to appeal to a target audience. I may right about goofy things every now and then cuz that’s just how I am.

Until then, just know you’re always safe in the fairway when I’m in the tee box.

More baseball changes in Opelika

By Joe McAdory

Received this letter from longtime Opelika Dixie Youth official Guy Rhodes, who has chosen to step down from the Board of Directors. Rhodes sent the letter via mass email to many folks associated with baseball in Opelika. A few weeks ago, league president Mike Thomas announced a similar decision.

Here is the letter:

This is to inform you I plan to step down from the Opelika Dixie Youth Baseball Board of Directors effective with the date of this letter. (September 7, 2009).

Several factors led me to this decision.

It is a decision I have considered for some time and I more or less set a target date of 30 years with the program as a milestone to step aside.

About eight years ago, I had to take a leave of absence for a year when my wife’s parents were involved in a serious wreck, leaving one slightly paralyzed and the second in a situation where he was never able to return home after the wreck before dying a couple of years later.

Elaine and I have several elderly—and younger—relatives we are the primary caregivers for and it takes time.

As of earlier this year, I have been publisher as well as editor of my newspaper, The Tuskegee News. Not only am I responsible for the news operation side, all the financial aspects of the operation are now under my watch, thus a large increase in my responsibilities.

I feel this the proper time to devote more time to my family and business.

As I mentioned, I just completed my 30th year with the program. During that time I coached seven years of Dixie Youth and another six years in Dixie Boys and Dixie Majors. I was fortunate to coach six straight championship teams from Pee Wee through DYB Majors, serving as head all-star coach four times in DYB and another five times in six years of coaching older leagues.

I have not had a child in the DYB program since 1988. My last year of coaching Dixie Majors (15-18) was 1993, so that in 1994 I could serve as State Tournament Committee Chairman when Opelika hosted the Alabama Dixie Youth State Tournament. I was fortunate to grow up in one of the strongest DYB programs, that being Myrtle Grove outside Pensacola where our league won nine straight Florida DYB titles and hosted a DYB World Series. My brother and I were both members of World Series Champion teams from Myrtle Grove in Dixie Boys and Dixie Majors, respectively.

With that said, I believe my perspective as a former player and all-star participant, regular season coach, an all-star coach and a league official gives me insight into all aspects of the program. I hope other board members continue to be a part of Opelika DYB once they do not have a child in the program. To me this is very important.

With too many coaches on the board, I believe—consciously or unconsciously—there is a tendency to attempt to influence team assignments, league alignments and focus on how the all-star teams will be comprised at the end of the season. There is absolutely nothing wrong with fielding a strong tournament team. However, the focus should always be first on the regular season and involving as many children as possible in the program.

I hope the program’s focus will always be in the proper direction.

I will make myself available to whomever will become commissioner of the Minor League as it relates to rosters, draft procedures and the coaching selection process, if that person so desires.

To say I have enjoyed my years with Opelika Dixie Youth Baseball would be major understatement. For 30 years Opelika Dixie Youth Baseball has been a large part of my life and a passion for me—and something I will miss tremendously.

Sincerely,

Guy Rhodes

Ties are hazardous to my health, appearance

By Joe McAdory

I strongly dislike wearing ties. I have some nice ones. Black and grey. Orange and black. Blue. Red. Looney Tunes, etc.

But I can’t stand the feeling of these decorative neck pieces flopping on my chest all day. They serve no real purpose other than some symbol that supposedly cries “hey, I look nice.“ Fine. Look nice with an $8 tie from an inexpensive, giant retailer. Wow. I’m impressed.

But here I am, with my tie, looking what some people believe is nice. I can look dang nice in an $80 golf shirt too. I feel stuffy, impersonal in a tie. Without one in a nice button down shirt I feel much looser and actually feel like I look more attractive not that it really matters at my oppressive age.

Ties bother me. They get in the way. When I put my seat belt on, the belt wraps over the tie and make me feel even more restricted than I was before. If I pull the tie out over the belt, then it eventually gets caught in the seat belt when I put the car in park and take the belt off. Great, I might hang myself in my Ford, trying to untie this cloth contraption decorated with Speedy Gonzalez.

I look ridiculous too. I’m not a professional tie-putter-onner. It takes about 20 minutes of my morning just to finally get the multi-colored handkerchief thing around my neck. Of course it’s not done right. The big side hangs one way, the smaller underside flops the other way and I look like Colonel Sanders. Yeah. But I look nice, right?

Ever get a tie caught in a power vaccuum when trying to clean out your car? Their hazardous too. I believe if I keep wearing ties they will one day kill me. Colonel Sanders wore a tie and he’s dead. See.

Set me free. Please set me free.

Fall Severe Weather Awareness Day today

By Joe McAdory

Today is Fall Severe Weather Awareness Day in Alabama. How do I know? The National Weather Service office in Birmingham says so. Below is a link to a Web site detailing fall severe weather information that can be as interesting as it is useful and historic.

http://www.srh.noaa.gov/bmx/aware/fall_severe_awareness09.php