04/23/24
May 31, 2015
SportsFilter: The Sunday Huddle:
A place to discuss the sports stories that aren't making news, share links that aren't quite front-page material, and diagram plays on your hand. Remember to count to five Mississippi before commenting in anger.
It was a bid process - I was involved in the evaluation of the case for the Halifax potential bid. There was a $25k fee just to be considered for games (and those games could be irrelevant group games) which drove quite a number of bids out. Plus - Halifax had to build a stadium as they have none remotely appropriate.
Moncton has a long history of paying exorbitant to be placed on the world stage (see the Magnetic Hill concert fiasco as an example.)
posted by dfleming at 09:17 AM on May 31, 2015
Messi back on cheat mode again.
posted by Mr Bismarck at 09:58 AM on May 31, 2015
Thank you dfleming for the enlightening details. Given the general topography on the Halifax side of the harbor, I can understand how it would be tough to find suitable land space and engineer a stadium. (Heading east on the highway from the south shore, I remember it being continually downhill all the way to the waterfront once you hit Quinpool Rd.)
But over on the Dartmouth side, it seems like a stadium could be more workable. No realistic prospects there? Is Dartmouth a completely separate municipality and as such would have to form their own bid?
posted by beaverboard at 11:15 AM on May 31, 2015
Mr Bismarck's link doesn't work for me, but I assume it is this outstanding effort. Incredible stuff right there!
posted by bender at 12:49 PM on May 31, 2015
But over on the Dartmouth side, it seems like a stadium could be more workable. No realistic prospects there? Is Dartmouth a completely separate municipality and as such would have to form their own bid?
The cities of Dartmouth and Halifax amalgamated in 1996 into one municipality - like the GTA. There are a number of locations (Shannon Park in Dartmouth being one) that are suitable, but that's not the problem.
Halifax is a very lukewarm sports town with only 410,000 residents in the city with another 400,000 within a two hour drive. They would be building it for one use with no guaranteed other reasons to have it - which, for a $50m venture, is pretty specious.
There are a number of well-to-dos who believe a city of Halifax's size and stature needs to have a CFL team and want to build the stadium to that eventual end (with this tournament as the proposed catalyst), but there's been no evidence to date that the CFL wants to expand to Halifax, and a dismal record with major sports and music concert attendance.
Halifax likes stuff like junior hockey, university football, and small concerts, but that doesn't necessarily scale well. Regina's a smaller city, but there's a fervour around the CFL team that Halifax doesn't have for just about anything.
posted by dfleming at 01:15 PM on May 31, 2015
You want to make fans for life? This is how you make fans for life.
posted by grum@work at 02:23 PM on May 31, 2015
Sobering generational and historical perspective:
The last Chicago Cub to have played in a World Series has died.
posted by beaverboard at 02:45 PM on May 31, 2015
One of the more vividly disturbing boxing pics I have seen for a while.
posted by rumple at 03:10 PM on May 31, 2015
"Mr Bismarck's link doesn't work for me,"
I fixed it. It should work now. I had originally embedded the html5, but it was large, (in screen size).
I presume rcade edited it by changing the height and width parameters, but this meant that half the time only the top half was showing, which consisted of a few players standing around watching an off-screen Messi do his thing.
I like watching Rakitic fill in behind to give Messi an outlet pass and then realise "oh... right... it's Messi" and just stop to watch..
posted by Mr Bismarck at 03:28 PM on May 31, 2015
Easily one of the best goals I have ever seen. Maybe the best in terms of individual wizardry. Better than his famous "dribble through the other team from the half" goal anyway.
posted by rumple at 05:32 PM on May 31, 2015
This just in from the "Send In the Clowns/Isn't It Rich" department:
Deposed FIFA executive Jack Warner cites an article from The Onion in his own defense.
The article is cited beginning at around the 5:00 mark.
posted by beaverboard at 06:39 PM on May 31, 2015
After a somewhat calamitous second race on Saturday afternoon, the drivers were gathered at an emergency evening meeting and warned about the way they were driving. They were told that any accident on Sunday caused by driving standards would bring out a Safety Car to run to 75% distance, when full points could be issued.
When Sunday's race featured two safety cars in the first nine laps, it meant that the race could not get to 75% distance inside the 35 minute time limit. So the race officials decided to just bring out the red flag and go home.
I'd quite like to see this idea extend to other sports. Have the refs come out halfway through the second quarter of a Jacksonville-Oakland game and tell everyone to just stop and go home because no one knows how to football.
posted by Mr Bismarck at 10:30 PM on May 31, 2015
There was a $25k fee just to be considered for games
$25K ...
No Sepp Blatter involvement here.
posted by cixelsyd at 01:34 PM on June 01, 2015
Just looking through all the upcoming match venues for the Women's WC. How were the sites chosen?
No Regina, Calgary, Toronto, Quebec, or Halifax, but Moncton is in the mix.