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Cup of Coffee: September 21, 2007

Cup of Coffee Tomorrow, 9:30 AM at Hubert's. I have a couple extra tickets if you are interested in joining the fun. If so, email me at sbg at stickandballguy dot com.

This entry was posted by SBG on Friday, September 21st, 2007 at 6:00 am and is filed under Cup of Coffee. It is one of 3041 entries by the author. We are no longer accepting Letters to the Editor on this post.

42 LTEs so far

  • Andrew
    September 21st, 2007 at 9:40 am

    I assume the Nation won't be too hard to pick out at Hubert's, but just in case, is anyone going to be wearing anything distinctive? I ask because I've never met anyone. I know a few people by picture - Gleeman and Seth pop to mind - but that's about it.

    For my part, I'll have my Lew Ford jersey.

  • brianS
    September 21st, 2007 at 9:44 am

    Batgurl teeshirts, of course Wink

    • Andrew
      September 21st, 2007 at 9:56 am

      I was out drinking with some friends Wednesday night, and Clifton, who is a HUGE ManU fan, wanted to toast to Mourinho getting canned like every 5 minutes. He was pretty sloshed by the end of his celebrating. Being more of a La Liga fan, I had less of a reason to celebrate, though I do find "The Special One's" whining grating. Me and Brian had a helluva time getting Clifton back.

  • brianS
    September 21st, 2007 at 9:52 am

    Twinkie Town's bit about What Your Twins Jersey Says About You (see the sidebar for link) is amusing.

    • Andrew
      September 21st, 2007 at 9:57 am

      Yeah, they pretty much nailed me with my choice of jersey.

    • AMR
      September 21st, 2007 at 4:34 pm

      I don't have one, but if I do get one right now (I won't), I'm debating between Baker 30 and Garza 21. Definitely road alt uniform (Blue "MINNESOTA").

      I am a guy that almost bought a game-used Mulholland or Boone at Twins Fest two winters ago. A Baker 30 with an "Eloise" patch would be awsome, but I think that "Eloise" was 2004 and Baker didn't debut until 2005 ("Twins 40th Season" patch, IIRC).

  • SBG
    September 21st, 2007 at 9:58 am

    File this under Rose Colored Sky. In the Strib today regarding the Gophers football team:

    Minnesota has lost two games by a total of four points, and might be 3-0 if it can converted [sic] on a few key plays in each game.

    Of course, they are in the Big Bertin' Ten and should be beating these teams by six or seven touchdowns. That these teams are even in the games much less beating the Gophers is a huge embarrassment.

    • Andrew
      September 21st, 2007 at 10:17 am

      IU has outscored their non-conference foes 133-58. They are still playing MN, NW, and Ball State still this year. Winning those would make them bowl eligible. GMAC Bowl here I come!

  • Andrew
    September 21st, 2007 at 11:19 am

    Nation, I'm on my way out the door and headed for Chaska. I'll see you at 10ish tomorrow morning.

  • zooomx
    September 21st, 2007 at 2:03 pm

    Forbes Top 400 Richest Americans:

    Top 5 richest in sports include two minnesota sports franchise owners.

    Number 4 = Carl Pohlad
    Number 5 = Glen Taylor

    Nice owners!

    • ubelmann
      September 21st, 2007 at 2:06 pm

      One might assume that they didn't get to those positions by out-spending their revenue streams.

      • SBG
        September 21st, 2007 at 2:10 pm

        It still boggles the mind how Glen Taylor has made any money in his life, based on the way the T-Wolves have been run.

        • Algonad
          September 21st, 2007 at 2:33 pm

          I know your point is somewhat rhetorical but I think of the people that have made insane money, it is usually a combination of hard work, luck, and a very simple innovation. I'd be willing to bet that Glen's decision to use color in wedding invitations was the difference between being a millionaire and a billionaire.

          Very few of the qualities that make a person a quality entrepreneur translate well to running a sports franchise. The rules of sports are way too regimented for someone to really think "outside the box." Mark Cuban is one of the very few that you see even try to do so. Most treat franchise ownership similar to owning a classic car. It's something to show off to their friends and it tends to appreciate over time.

          From the internets:

          Humble Beginnings: 1950s to Mid-1970s

          Glen Taylor, the second of seven children, grew up on a farm outside a small southern Minnesota town and took on adult responsibilities early in life. As a teenager, he worked for his father or for neighboring farmers. He married while still in high school. When his father became a feed distributor, Glen took over operation of the farm and spent his first year out of high school as a full-time farmer as well as new husband and father.

          In 1959, the Taylors moved to Mankato, Minnesota, where Glen attended college and worked part-time at Carlson Wedding Service. Established after World War II by Bill Carlson, the 18-person operation started out as a mimeograph service and then moved to custom printed wedding invitations and specialty products.

          Taylor's first job, the least desirable position in the company, was napkin stamping. When another student took some time off, Carlson placed Taylor in the stockroom. Taylor promptly overhauled the inventory system. Carlson rewarded his young employee's initiative by making what had been a fill-in position permanent. A go-getter in college as well, Taylor graduated a year earlier than his peers. He applied for and was offered teaching positions but decided to stay instead with Carlson, who wanted him to help manage the growing business.

          Carlson's firm grew rapidly during the 1960s thanks in part to innovations in the printing industry. Furthermore, UPS broadened Midwest service and opened the door to a larger marketplace for small rural businesses. Carlson would build a new plant in North Mankato and expand the operation three times.

          Taylor played a pivotal role in the growth as well. He encouraged Carlson to deviate from tradition and add colored paper and inks, updated texts, and new designs, a move which proved fruitful for the company. With an eye toward his own future as well as the company's, Taylor negotiated for a cut of the profits when he devised a way to improve efficiency of the napkin stamping operation.

          Preparing for retirement, Carlson sold shares of the business to three employees, including Taylor, in 1967. Seven years later, Taylor, who had been in charge of inventories, purchasing, and marketing, bought majority interest from Carlson and part of the holdings of the other two managers. The printing business was producing $6 million in revenues at the time.

          Taylor Taking Over: 1970s--80s

          In January 1975, Taylor formed a holding company with Carlson Craft as its first subsidiary. He then purchased an Indiana-based wedding stationery company in August of that year. After turning the struggling operation around, Taylor proceeded to purchase other businesses and effectively establish printing companies from the ground up. As he added subsidiaries during the late 1970s, Taylor groomed future managers from the ranks of younger employees, many of them starting out as part-time student workers, just as he had done.

        • brianS
          September 21st, 2007 at 2:38 pm

          Some aspects of the high profile sports/entertainment concern fell outside his realm of experience, such as the astronomical salaries demanded by star players and negotiated by agents, but as in his primary business of printing, Taylor strove to satisfy the customer.

      • SDfan
        September 21st, 2007 at 2:56 pm

        One might assume that they didn’t get to those positions by out-spending their revenue streams.

        I believe that is one of the most profound things ever uttered here at the World's Greatest On-Line Magazine.

        • ubelmann
          September 21st, 2007 at 4:27 pm

          I guess I just tire of the suggestions that Carl Pohlad is somehow holding the team back more than an average owner would. As revenue streams have grown for the Twins, the payroll has grown. In fact, in that respect, it sure looks like they've actually spent the revenue sharing money, as opposed to situations in Tampa, Miami, and Kansas City (until the last year or so).

          So to me, the problem isn't Pohlad--the problem is that the Twins under the current system aren't ever going to have the same kind of revenue stream that the Yankees or Red Sox will have. (Or the Angels, or the White Sox, or...) The new stadium will be another test of that--if the Twins can get up into the payroll range that the Tigers and Mariners are in, then it would seem even more that the Twins have been restrained by their revenues rather than their owner's stinginess.

          • Algonad
            September 21st, 2007 at 4:43 pm

            I agree for the most part about Carl but I don't like the way teams are grouped by revenue instead of by market size. Failing to capture more revenue doesn't make this a "small market" and St Louis a "big market."

            The Twins estimate that a new stadium will result in $40 million per year revenue increase. If Carl would have built a new ballpark himself in 1995, he would have had another 15 years of additional revenue and it would have cost much less to build it then than it does now.

            This area has proven that they will support quality baseball (#1 in attendance in 1992). I'm pretty sure that Detroit spent more on their payroll than their revenues would support a few years ago and look at the turnaround that franchise has experienced.

            I'm not saying the Twins should be big players in the free agent market. I'm just saying that when there is a glaring hole in a team that could contend for the title, they need to step up and fill that hole. And by holes, I'm saying 3B and/or DH. With a good one, this team would be in a pennant race.

            • davidwatts
              September 21st, 2007 at 4:51 pm

              I just want to add a thought to Owners wealth
              I imagine that Carl Pohlad does not have $1.2 billion dollars stored somewhere (think DuckTales and Scrooge McDuck and his MoneyBin), but total up all his assets like a business and home and such and one gets $1.2 billion.
              Im not excusing him for not spending money on the team because for many many years year has done that. But if his wealth is tied into real things like businesses its probably harder for him to get extra money to spend on something like the Twins

              but I could be way off base on this. Im no Econ expert

            • ubelmann
              September 21st, 2007 at 5:11 pm

              Now, don't get me wrong--Pohlad's not an ideal owner. Ideally, he would've decided to invest in a privately funded new stadium that would have brought him better revenue streams and put the Twins ahead of the curve in that respect. But I think that would make Pohlad an exceptional owner rather than a typical one.

              I just think that Pohlad has been more or less a non-factor for the organization. He could've taken a huge risk with a new stadium or a smaller risk by bumping up the payroll short-term to see if it would turn out long-term, and while you'll see a few owners doing that, they are the exception rather than the rule. So while Pohlad hasn't helped significantly, he hasn't hurt significantly either.

              I'm not really sympathetic towards the man, and I appreciate your point about market size versus revenue, but there are real difficulties for a baseball team in Minnesota to try to match a New York/Boston/LA revenue stream.

              • brianS
                September 21st, 2007 at 6:30 pm

                "Current estimates put the stadium cost at $390 million, infrastructure and financing costs would bring the total to $522 million."

                that's a lot of scratch and undoubtedly too low, as these things always seem to have cost overruns. I saw a figure for Miller Park in excess of $600 million.

                My understanding is that single-use stadiums are almost never money makers in the full sense of the term. For example.

                The Hump, which is a multi-use facility that has been scheduled to the hilt, is a rarity in that it apparently has maintained a positive net revenue stream over the years.

                That is, without a substantial public subsidy, Pohlad didn't have much incentive to build one himself. And why would he, with other communities begging for a major league franchise to move to their towns?

                as an aside, did you know that prior to 1950, only ONE major sports franchise in the US played in a publicly-financed and owned facility (the Indians in Cleveland)? Me neither. By 1970, some 70 pct of US pro sports franchises played in public stadia; 84.5 pct by 1980.

              • ubelmann
                September 21st, 2007 at 7:20 pm

                Pohlad would because he stood to gain more than a typical owner because his deal with the Metrodome prevents him from getting some important revenue that most other teams get.

                Off the top of my head, I believe that the Giants privately financed their stadium, and that the Mets and Yankees are privately financing their stadia (for the most part.) So some owners out there think it's worthwhile enough to go ahead and do it themselves. I would guess that they aren't doing it because they are super charitable folks and just want a better fan experience.

              • Moss
                September 21st, 2007 at 8:49 pm

                Moss believes that New Yankee Stadium definitely has a public component to the financing. In fact, Moss' recollection is that it is massive (although it could be in the form of bonding to be repaid by the org).

              • ubelmann
                September 21st, 2007 at 9:29 pm

                Alright, that's more public funding than I thought the Yankees were getting. I imagine the Mets are getting essentially the same deal.

  • AMR
    September 21st, 2007 at 2:52 pm

    I will not be able to attend the convention tomorrow. In lieu of that, I took My 4yo daughter to last Friday's game. Here's my report, with Pics.

  • Jeff A
    September 21st, 2007 at 5:30 pm

    Have a good weekend, everybody. It's high school homecoming tonight, and then I'm off to my niece's wedding for the weekend. Have fun at the convention.

  • brianS
    September 22nd, 2007 at 12:28 am

    Whatever you do, do NOT get in Gardy's doghouse.

    "I just like Barty where he's at," Gardenhire said. "Casilla -- maybe he can bunt [Bartlett] over when he gets on. See if he can execute."

    • ubelmann
      September 22nd, 2007 at 2:08 am

      For Fan Appreciation Weekend, Hunter taped a brief statement that ran on the video board before the eighth inning. In it, he thanked the fans for their support and told them to come back in 2008 because it'll be "exciting."

      What the fans didn't know is that similar notes from Hunter were distributed throughout the league.

  • New Britain Bo
    September 22nd, 2007 at 6:40 am

    brianS - nothing in the scrolls about blogging during Rosh H?