Hey all -

I am contemplating getting an 11- or 22-game ticket package this season, even though I give plenty of my money to Junior as it is with my Rangers tix.  I would only be able to go to about 5-10 games, though, so I would appreciate any input on how easy or difficult it is to sell tickets for games that I don't go to. Not looking to make a profit or anything, just wondering whether you can break even or come close.  These would a single in either center/corner 300s, or 400s. 

Thanks...

P.S.  If you're wondering why I'd want to buy a 22-game plan if I'm only going to 5-10, it's because I'd like to hit some WC games (e.g., Lakers, Hornets), as well as some divisional games, and none of the 11-game plans mix it up like that.

Just curious what people are finding anecdotally about the renewal rates for season tickets around the league. 

I've been a Rangers season ticket holder for four years now, and tried to upgrade my seats today.  Not sure what I was expecting, but I figured that with the economy the way it is, the price hike, and how tough it was to sell tickets for games last year, there would be a weaker renewal rate than in previous years, and that I would have a chance at a good upgrade.  I was able to move from the goal line at the end the Rangers defend twice to the goal line where they shoot twice, so that was good.  Maybe, given my relatively low seniority level, that's all I should have expected, but I was hoping to move closer to the center.

Of course, with the way the Rangers' offense has been the last few seasons, you could also consider it a downgrade, since all the action is in the defensive end.

1.  The Royals still have the sweetest uniforms in the majors, hands down.  Royal Blue is, like, the best color ever.

2.  As I've mentioned in the comments of some of the other posts, I think this team is more entertaining when they suck, though I obviously don't have anything in my adult life to compare this to.  At least the fans are, anyway.  As a lifelong New Yorker, I can tell you that we don't want to be Yankee fans.  Ever.

3.  I bought one of those customized t-shirts on MLB.com a few weeks ago, with Amos Otis' name and number on it.  I'm a grown man who spent $30 on a customized t-shirt, and the lettering is really cheap and tacky, and will probably come off the first time I wash it, but the point is that the shirt is the aforementioned and totally awesome Royal Blue.

4.  ....

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=283329

If this is true, then Glen Sather is a f***ing Jedi. I was hoping that Gomez just had an off year, but he really seemed to be unhappy for most of the season, and never found a groove.  Coming back, native son Higgins, two good prospects, and $4M+ in cap space?  I'll take it.  Can any Habs fans weigh in on McDonagh and Valetenko?

Come on, Slats...now bring us the Heater....

The clip:

Rule 69.1:

Goals should be disallowed only if: (1) an attacking player, either by his positioning or by contact, impairs the goalkeeper’s ability to move freely within his crease or defend his goal; or (2) an attacking player initiates intentional or deliberate contact with a goalkeeper, inside or outside of his goal crease.

Rule 69.3:

If an attacking player initiates contact with a goalkeeper, incidental or otherwise, while the goalkeeper is in his goal crease, and a goal is scored, the goal will be disallowed.

I initially thought that Holmstrom got hosed here, but after thinking about it some more, I'm not so sure.  I don't think Daley pushed him, at least not intentionally, and you could just as easily say that by trying to jump over Daley's back and get back into position, Holmstrom caused some contact that interfered with Turco's ability to move.  Since Turco never left the crease, the first scenario from 69.1 above would apply.

What do you guys think?  These rules are so subjective, and while I love the way Holmstrom plays, I think you take the chance that these calls are going to go against you when you play around in that area of the ice.

Hello...tap tap...is this thing on?

Hey all, first time long time, yada yada.  Since this is my first post on this site, a little background:  I am almost unquestionably the only Royal fan in Westchester County, NY (NYRoyal, maybe?), and have been since September 2, 1979, when my dad took me to my first game at Yankee Stadium. The first thing I saw live was Brett depositing a Ken Clay pitch into the 3rd deck in right field, and what can I say, I was an impressionable youth.  As for the handle...well, no Royal fan needs an explanation on that one.

Anyway, the Pats loss in the Super Bowl got me thinking about all-time "gut punch" losses, specifically those involving the Royals.  And it occurred to me, the Royals probably haven't had one in about 15 years.  

By "gut punch," I mean a loss where there was a lot at stake, usually the playoffs, or a sudden and horrific reversal of fortune, or when expectations were high and the team fell dramatically short, or when some incredibly flukey series of events lifted almost certain victory from their grasp.  Or some combination of all of those.  Game 6 of the 1986 World Series, for example, as Bill Simmons would say, is the definitive gut punch game.  

So what about the Royals?  The last one I can remember was a game in Chicago in 1993, when the Royals were making a pretty good run at the West title.  They were only a few games out of first, and were looking good.  I vaguely remember them taking a lead into the ninth in a critical series in August, when Frank Thomas hit a homer off Jeff Montgomery that probably still hasn't landed.  The Royals subsequently collapsed, and finished a distant 3rd, 10 games out.  Does anyone else remember this?  Am I remembering it right?

Does the 9-run comeback by the Indians in '06 count as a gut punch loss?  Can it, when a team is in the middle of a 100-loss season?  Some of the games in the 19-game losing streak from '05 were pretty brutal, though I'd describe those as more of a steady stream of nausea than gut punches.  

If you guys have any thoughts or other candidates, I'd be interested in hearing them.

And BTW, this is a great site, I love the features.  I have a feeling I know who will be the top Royal of all-time, but I'm holding out hope for Chico Lind.