More on the Lemieux Bid

It has been the talk of the town for the past 24-hours. Ever since Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-gazette broke the news of a meeting that occurred four months ago between Mario Lemieux, Ron Burkle, and Bob Nutting to have the Lemieux Group to buy the Pittsburgh Pirates, fans have been buzzing and demanding that the Buccos be sold.

To their credit, management, sans Nutting, went in front of what could only be described as a hostile crowd, Saturday afternoon at PirateFest and addressed the rumors of selling the franchise, the potential for the lowest payroll for the start of the 2010 season, and of course, Nutting and other management types, pocketing money made by the franchise. As mentioned yesterday, the Pirates are taking the stance that the meeting was nothing more than an opportunity to discuss other things. This morning on WTAE-TV, they said that despite being at the Penguins practice yesterday, Lemieux did not comment on the meeting or the offer to buy the Pirates.

I had a lengthly discussion this morning with a friend of mine who is a die-hard and dedicated Penguins fan. So much so, he nearly cried when they won the Stanley Cup last year. He was also a season ticket holder in the early years of PNC Park, and a dedicated Pirates fan. He made the point that this sell needs to happen, and that not only would it benefit the Pirates, but there would also be benefits for the Penguins.

One of the biggest potential benefits for both teams would be the fact that they could, esentially, leave FSN after their respective contracts expires and create their own sports network, taking in 100% of the profit for each team during their respective seasons, with some obvious overlap during the end of the NHL season and start of the MLB season.

The Pirates benefit with the Lemieux Group heading the franchise and seeing season ticket sales instantly skyrocket. Given his history with the city of Pittsburgh and with a blueprint similar to what happened with the Penguins, fans are going to jump on board. Instantly, the Pirates will have a license to basically print their own money and sign whom ever they feel would bring championships to the team.

But, as it was mentioned at PirateFest and has been said several times over the past few years, the Pittsburgh Pirates are not for sale.

Will all the hype be over nothing though? I highly doubt it. My prediction is that in the near future, you will NOT see the Nuttings sell the Pirates to the Lemieux Group. Instead, I foresee a business deal being struck between the two team owners, creating their own TV network for their respective franchises.

Let's Go Bucs!

Lemieux Mixes Up Crosbys and Offers To Buy Pirates

It was announced this morning in the Post-Gazette that Mario Lemieux and Ron Burkle, co-owners of the Pittsburgh Penguins, made an offer to Bob Nutting in a closed door meeting four month ago, to purchase the Pittsburgh Pirates. If this were to be the case, as both sides have very different stories to tell, it would probably be the biggest Pittsburgh sports news story since Lemieux and investors bought and saved the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1999.

According to the article on the PG's website, the Lemieux and Burkle invited Nutting to their offices in Chatham Center to discuss the possibility of purchasing the team. It even went as far as Burkle making a financial offer to Nutting.

On the flip side, the Pirates claim that the meeting was to discuss other business, was informal, and nothing about selling the team was discussed.

This huge news story should make for an interesting day today at PirateFest. If you are free this afternoon, I'd suggest going down to the Convention Center and seeing if you have the opportunity to bump into Nutting, Frank Coonelly, or Neal Huntington to discuss the matter.

Let's Go Bucs!

Photos: A homo-erotic Sidney Crosby on the right, easily confused with short stop Bobby Crosby, on the left.

PirateFest 2010: Day One

I became a season ticket holder in 2006. I attended my first PirateFest in 2007, and have gone at least twice a year for every year since. It is sort of my kick-off to the new baseball season. Last year, I documented my experience on this very blog. And while I was able to get some cool things such as a Bobby Hill BP jersey and the scorecard from the night my wife and I had a wedding rehearsal party at PNC Park, there really wasn't a lot of excitement in the air or for me personally.

This year was totally different. Maybe it was the appearances of members of the 1960 World Series Championship team. Maybe it was the recent acquisitions and trades of the front office, bringing legitimate talent on to the team. Who knows for sure what it was that electrified and brought out thousands to the David L. Lawrence Convention Center for the kick-off of the 2010 PirateFest.

I arrived to the Convention Center around 3pm, one hour before doors were to open to season ticket holders. Already there were probably 75-125 people in line. So I waited and had the opportunity to strike up some small talk with the folks around me. As soon as I walked into the main hall of the Convention Center, I got myself in line for the opportunity to meet and get an autograph from the legendary Hall of Famer Bill Mazeroski......and Steve Peacre and Joel Hanranhan??? Not exactly sure why these two were paired with Maz. Why not stick a Garrett Jones, Andrew McCutchen, or Ross Ohlendorf with Maz? Or, even better, how about guys like Dick Groat, Bob Friend, or Elroy Face, all of who were in attendance for the day. I mean, I like Hanrahan and all, but maybe the Pirates assumed he and Pearce, who will be lucky to even make it on the 25 man roster this year, would only draw autographs if paired with Maz. To shake the hand of Bill Mazeroski was great. I can tell, that despite it being 50 years since his historic home run, Maz is still strong like an ox.

Anyhow, after getting those autographs, I headed over to the Lost Treasures booth to look for a Ross Ohlendorf jersey. No such luck. However, I did find a Jason Bay jersey going for about half of his recent contract with the Mets.

After my brief stay in the Lost Treasures booth, I walked around a bit, checking out Collector's Row, and then heading into the MVP Section for season ticket holders. It would be here that I spend a majority of my day. I basically got in line, got my baseball signed by members of the current roster, then looped back around to get in line again for the next set of players. While doing this, I had the opportunity to talk briefly with Paul Maholm, whom my wife and I bowled with last year at Bowling with the Bucs. He autographed a picture the three of us took together, as well as my team ball.

The night would end in some disappointment. As I was sporting my orange Princeton t-shirt, I was hoping to get the opportunity to meet Ross Ohlendorf, get a few pictures signed, and get my ball signed. No such luck. I'm hoping to go up tomorrow or Sunday and to have a little more luck. For now, the countdown is on to Monday, April 5, 2010.

Let's Go Bucs!

The Ohlendorf Blog

I am working on a rather large task right now for the Ross Ohlendorf blog. That means, over the next couple of days, I'm probably going to be neglecting this blog. But, please make sure you check out the Ohlie's Orange Army blog for, what I feel at least, will be an interesting series.

Mazeroski to Get a Statue Outside PNC Park

It was announced earlier today, by the Pirates, that a statue dedicated to Bill Mazeroski will be constructed and placed outside PNC Park. Maz will join the likes of Roberto Clemente, Willie Stargell, and Honus Wagner. There is no doubt in my mind that while Maz may not be considered the top player of all time in the organization by some fans, he surely has the greatest moment of all time. Who can forget the historic walk-off home run in the 1960 World Series, beating the heavely favored Yankees?

Kevin Hart Stole My Pen

Baseball season has officially started for me. I am officially pumped for the start of the 2010 season! I attended the Pirates Caravan stop at the Uniontown Mall this evening. Broadcasters Greg Brown and Bob Walk were on hand, joining Andrew McCutchen, Evan Meek, John Russell, and Kevin Hart to sign autographs for the estimated 250-300 people in line.

I arrived to the mall shortly after 5pm. This was after enjoying a 20 piece chicken McNugget and medium fries from the local McDonald's (one of 3 within a 3 mile trek down 119 South). I was able to enjoy this delicious meal thanks to the buy one get one free offer for the 10 piece McNugget. I also have slowly become more disgusted with the county seat of Fayette County, but that's another story for another day.

So as I'm standing in line, I get to talking with several of the people around me. I got to speak with two younger guys who were from Greene County. Nice guys who where there to basically meet McCutchen and get his autograph. They could really care less about the other players. In front of me were three ladies, two of which were teachers at a local school district. One of the ladies look very familiar, however, I couldn't place a finger on it. We assumed that we've just passed each other several times while at PNC Park. As I mentioned yesterday, I have an official baseball that I'd like to get signed by as many players as possible of the 2010 team. Well this isn't a typical thing for me to do, so I told this one lady in front of me that "I hate being one of tho

se fans." Well, that was all she needed to hear. She turned around and said "I am one of those

fans" and proceeded to not speak with me the rest of the evening. As it turns out, after I offended this lady, I'm about 99% sure she was an admissions counselor or worked within the Admissions Department where I went to college.

Well I did get the autographs I was seeking. McCutchen, Meek, Russell, and Hart all signed my ball. Hart was the last one in line to sign. I had a blue Bic ballpoint pen that I was using to have the players sign because I read online that blue ink doesn't fade like black ink.

So I get to Kevin Hart, and he keeps my pen! I thought he was going to give it back, but he never did. I suppose I could have said something to him there, but I was too gracious for him and the others on the panel to take a week of their free time to sign autographs and travel around for slobs like me. Plus, I respect Kevin Hart for coming out to the old Hart Foundation/Bret Hart theme, even though he probably didn't pick it.

Let's Go Bucs!

Ohlie's Orange Army Campaign

I told you earlier that this week was going to be a busy week. Tonight begins yet another campaign to start the 2010 baseball season. I've decided to begin the Ohlie's Orange Army campaign.

Why orange, when Pittsburgh's colors are black and gold? Well, the color orange, one of the official colors of Princeton, was chosen as a way to recognize Ohlendorf's intelligence and hard work that has allowed him to be where he is today. Unlike the Vote for Romulo campaign of last year, I will not be tracking this campaign on this blog. Instead, I'd like to reveal the OFFICIAL Ohlie's Orange Army blog. This blog will track Ohlendorf throughout the 2010 season, as well as the success, or failure, of the campaign. The goal of my campaign is simple. I want to see PNC Park filled with fans in orange shirts every time Ross Ohlendorf pitches in 2010, especially on Opening Day, when Ohlendorf will be the pitcher that day.

So, with as much fanfare as 2009's Vote for Romulo campaign, this is the beginning of the Ohlie's Orange Army campaign. A Facebook group will soon follow.

Let's Go Bucs!

Firing Up the Ol' Blog

As we come to a close on the first month of 2010 already, I am coming off of my winter break and ready to begin posting again.

A few things happening this week in this blog's world:

I will be attending the Pirates Caravan stop at the Uniontown Mall on Monday evening. I am planning on taking my game used-Adam LaRoche-ground rule double ball with me and get it signed by the players that will be appearing there (Andrew "Clutch" McCutchen, Kevin "Hitman" Hart, Evan "Rule 5" Meek, and John "Monotone" Russell). For those of you out there who know more about this autograph thing more than I do, is it better to be on a new ball, a game used ball, or does it really matter that much?

In addition to the Caravan, I'll be going to PiratesFest this upcoming weekend. Last year's PiratesFest was a success in that I was able to acquire the dugout scorecard from the night of my wife and I had our wedding rehearsal party there AND I found a nice "Amazing Jesus" Bobby Hill BP jersey. This year, I'm just looking to collect some decent autographs and maybe find a jersey.

If you haven't done so, check out the Pirates WFC Blog. Last week they did a live blog of Game 1 from the 1979 World Series. Game 2 should be posted sometime this week.

And lastly, if you recall, the Pirates had a Fan Vote Bobblehead contest on

their website. Paul Maholm ended up winning the contest. In January, I started the Vote for Romulo

campaign on this blog, urging you people, my readers, to stuff the ballot box, partially as a joke, for relief pitcher Romulo Sanchez. Sidenote: it's interesting to me how this year, there is only one bobblehead on the promotion schedule. Anyways, I have a new campaign idea, and this one will hopefully bring some solidarity to Pirate Nation and PNC Park. Details on the new campaign will be coming up this week as well.

Let's Go Bucs!

Photo courtesy of Pittsburgh Pirates

New Bucco Blog

For the few of you out there that read my minimally updated blog, I'd like to direct you towards a new, and probably more entertaining, Pittsburgh Pirates blog. My friend and big baseball fan, Schwartz has created a new blog entitled Pirates WFC.

He has already posted on numerous topics including how nice PNC Park will look in World Series highlights, Bert Blyleven, Lastings Milledge, and Kevin Elster.

Check it out and enjoy. I'll probably be back to update sometime later this month.

Let's Go Bucs!