The Guiding Light of Sports Business

Head on over to check out Jordan’s new column on sports and business.

MLB Free Agency

The Guiding Light of Sports Business

This weeks installment of The Guiding Light of Sports Business.

The Central Maine Sports Blog would like to welcome…..

We would like to welcome the former owner of the Maine Guides, Jordan Kobritz to the Central Maine Sports Blog. We will be the exclusive Maine home of Jordan’s sports business column “The Guiding Light of Sports Business” by the way…that is our title, not his…so blame us. Please visit each week to see Jordan’s take on the ever important world of sports business and its impact on fans.

Here are his 1st contributions to the Blog.

The Yankees and Cowboys Form Concession Company

Rays Fan’s Support Doesn’t Pass School Dress Code

Economic Bailout Benefits NASCAR

Impact of the Economy on Sports

Boras – At It Again (Pedro Alvarez)

Sorry No Links This Morning

I want to apologize for this post being the first of the day, but I do want to let you know why. Jeff and I were doing interviews all day (and by all day I really mean all day). It started at 8:45 am this morning when we talked with Buster Olney from ESPN.com. At 11:30 we spoke with Dr Mike Marshall, the 1974 NL Cy Young Award winner. At 3:30 we spoke with former Montreal Expo and current Toronto Blue Jay Brad Wilkerson, and 15 minutes after that interview we spoke with former Maine Guides and Cleveland Indians manager Doc Edwards. The Doc Edwards interview will be up by Sunday, the other ones will be posted on Tuesday, which is officially “Montreal Expos Appreciation Day”. We will also be having two more Expos guests on early next week, former Expos GM Jim Beattie and former Expos pitcher and Angels GM Bill Stoneman. You are going to like these interviews, they were all fantastic (sorry Christopher Eccleston). Also, pay close attention to Buster Olney’s blog on ESPN.com early next week….

Normal links tomorrow for a CFB weekend. Enjoy the rain everyone!

Interviews Posted

2 interviews have been posted today. 1st we had former Maine Guides Dave Gallager which is not to be missed. 2nd, we had Boston Celtic great Jo Jo White on the TD Banknorth Maine Trophy Tour. Download, listen and you won’t be sorry.

Sports Vortex LIVE! 4PM on WJZF and Talkshoe

Don’t forget to join us live today at 4PM for the latest edition of The Sports Vortex. Today we will be joined by former Maine Guides outfielder Dave Clark, Cmon now I know some of you remember when AAA baseball was played Old Orchard. Dave played the 1986 season with the Guides and was their left handed hitting slugger. Dave played and coached for many organizations over his career and is currently the manager of Houston Astros AAA affiliate, The Round Rock (Texas) Express. The Round Rock Express’ principal owner in none other than Nolan Ryan. Join us at 4PM.

Thursday Morning Quick Hitters

Really….NFL….do we really have this much of a problem with gangs? NFL Officials primary apologist and Tuesday guest on the NFL Network (I didn’t get to see this on TV because of the ongoing Time Warner/NFL Network debate) Mike Pereira talks about Paul Pierce…huh…if the NFL has such a big problem why is he talking Paul Pierce? Wouldn’t he point out a situation from his own league?

Now which Murray is it exactly that is the new head coach of the NHL Kings…Terry, that’s it, Terry Murray.

NHL’s Winter Classic 2 to be played at Wrigley Field on New Year’s 2009

NBA says calls made from Tim Donaghy to Scott Foster is absolutely nothing, yet in doing research it was found that when the betting line moved by two or more points in games Foster officiated, called a “big money move”, the big money went 7-0…..

Since there was NOTHING on the field last night…let me take an editorial bent in a non-editorial forum…Steve Solloway did a piece on the defunct AAA team that used to call Orchard Beach home, The Maine Guides. The Guides brought pro baseball back to Maine for the 1st times since the Portland Pilots in 1949. Owner Jordan Kobritz and now ESPN announcer Gary Thorne brought the excitement of pro baseball to Old Orchard and the entire state. Now comes the editorial…my opinions are not necessarily the opinions of The Central Maine Sports Blog, its sponsors or contributors. A lot of things happened to cause the Maine Guides to leave town…and most of it if not all was not Jordan Kobritz fault. All this time later Kobritz still has been made out to be the fall guy in the debacle. Believe me there are many villains, the bordering neighborhood, OOB town officials, lack of co-operation from Portland…many people are to blame. Kobritz is an easy target..a very unassuming, humble guy who loved baseball. Did Kobritz make mistakes, of course he did, but did he make big enough ones so that to this day have animosity shot his way from baseball fans in this state? No, he didn’t. Take a trip down to Old Orchard and take a look at how the town has allowed a facility, that could generate tax dollars, to fall apart! The concourses where fans once bought hot dogs is all grown up with brush, the outfield fence is all but gone and the former press box lies in ruins where vandals burned it down, pathetic! Town officials and a few neighbors who don’t want their “way of life” changed, ruined a positive thing. Now is the time for this wound to heal. Mr. Kobritz has not commented publicly since he left town and for what reasons? Because people still hold him in such low regard it basicallyhelps them to save face and push blame on the easiest target. Folks face the facts, without The Maine Guides, The Portland Sea Dogs do not happen period! Baseball fever was reignited by Kobritz and the Guides and it is high time the record was set straight and Kobritz welcomed back into his home state. Maybe with the 25th Anniversary of the Guides approaching next spring, someone can turn this thing back to the cool nights by the sea where we saw Doc Edwards do what Doc Edwards did best, manage a group of kids who wanted to make it in the big leagues.

Ok, I’m off my soapbox! Baseball is back tonight in limited form, check your local listings.