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© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
1,678 comments Add your comment
Brava
April 29th, 2011
3:00 pm
Gays are not gay. Gay is a term for happiness. They are homosexual and it is a sin.
I personally am not racist, sexist, or any other ist. I’m Christian. I don’t waste my time trying to judge others.
Really, Leumas? Could have fooled me.
JerseyGil
April 29th, 2011
3:00 pm
Please …No religion Or Politic here…let talk Baseball….How about those Gwinnett Braves….
bostonbravo
April 29th, 2011
3:00 pm
Lowe on his way to a gay pride meeting at McDowell’s?
Leumas
April 29th, 2011
3:00 pm
Not true Ray… Cox was there for Chipper’s infidelity, Furcal’s drunk driving incidents, Rocker’s implosion, and Franceour’s ego.
BravesFan in DC
April 29th, 2011
3:00 pm
Easy nolie – what if DOB caught you talking religion on his blog…….
Arkansas Transplant
April 29th, 2011
3:02 pm
Brava, I don’t know if I would call that judging or at least just yet.
Scuba Steve
April 29th, 2011
3:02 pm
Nolie…go to hell you ingnorant moron.
Arkansas Transplant
April 29th, 2011
3:03 pm
CrαZy, I’ll tell you what’s wrong with gun ownership… they are just too dang expensive and I can’t afford the ones I want.
Bat Masterson
April 29th, 2011
3:03 pm
Sure thing , Brava.
SeATLite
April 29th, 2011
3:03 pm
Bat Masterson and Brava 4TW.
Brava
April 29th, 2011
3:04 pm
AT, no surprise there.
Leumas
April 29th, 2011
3:04 pm
Yeah Brava really! I never said I hate homosexuals. Never said anything negative,just a simple fact that in our owners manual, it’s does state homosexuality as a sin. Anyone that can read should know that to be fact,not a malicious act towards homosexuals. Try reading something besides this blog so you can become educated.
Chipper Jones
April 29th, 2011
3:05 pm
Dang right I own 10 guns… I’m Chipper Jones. I do what I want, bitches.
bravofan
April 29th, 2011
3:05 pm
isnt there supposed to be a decision on McDowell today?
CrαZy
April 29th, 2011
3:05 pm
Ark…….Amen brother!!!!
Arkansas Transplant
April 29th, 2011
3:05 pm
no surprise about what? did I miss something?
BravesFan in DC
April 29th, 2011
3:06 pm
The verdict is in… They fired McDowell….
Arkansas Transplant
April 29th, 2011
3:06 pm
CrαZy, I can’t believe he only owns 13. It’s a good thing for the sporting goods store I don’t make the money Chipper does.
BravesFan in DC
April 29th, 2011
3:06 pm
KIDDING………..!!!!!!
ed f
April 29th, 2011
3:06 pm
$15 mil a year and ya can’t call a Cab. Afraid to Leave the Car. CAll a roll-back to take the car home. Thats what the police did. Could have rode with them much cheaper.Stupid Stupid really Dumb!!!
Must have a Drinking issue HUH!!!
Harry Callahan
April 29th, 2011
3:07 pm
I guess I’m in the minority here, but…
Why don’t MLB teams take proactive steps to have hecklers ejected from the stadium? I really don’t understand the notion that buying a ticket allows you to say or do anything you want. If they were heckling McDowell before the game even started, they want down to the field for the express purpose of starting something. Then when something starts, they act all offended and surprised.
People who heckle athletes, knowing the athletes can’t respond or react, are the worst kind of cowards and losers.
Rant over…
BravesFan in DC
April 29th, 2011
3:08 pm
Harry – That may be true, but a lot fans pay money just to heckle… it’s part of the game really…
JerseyGil
April 29th, 2011
3:08 pm
http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/Philadelphia-Phillies-rotation-cannot-carry-the-team-all-season-042811
Good Article about the Phillis Trouble water.
Jeff321
April 29th, 2011
3:08 pm
Administrative leave, eh? Good riddance you dirty man!
ed f
April 29th, 2011
3:10 pm
My bad he was racing another car. Ya Deserve what ya get Here. I night on the Town. Days numbered with the Braves. Trade comin!!!!
Brava
April 29th, 2011
3:10 pm
Leumas, based on your comments, I really don’t want to get into a deep discussion with you, but I’ll just say that your “owner’s manual” was written by men and that it is not the “owner’s manual” of all the people that populate this earth. I will also tell you that there are homosexuals on this earth who have never heard of Jesus or the Bible.
And, please, do not admonish me about educating myself, just look at what you’ve written on this blog.
Nacho Daddy
April 29th, 2011
3:10 pm
Bring up Costanza ?? Roger will spit on him like he did Kramer and Newman.
CrαZy
April 29th, 2011
3:10 pm
Personally I own 8 guns but if they weren’t so damn expensive I’d own more!!
Hillbilly
April 29th, 2011
3:11 pm
we learn that Chipper owns 13 guns
That’s all? Whats wrong with owning guns again?
Ha! I’ve got Chipper beat by 1. 14 guns and 5 bows.
Bat Masterson
April 29th, 2011
3:11 pm
SeATLite _
Ha, thanks.
bravofan
April 29th, 2011
3:11 pm
Espn names Craig Kimbrel the reliever of the month here is the blurb
Maybe a month ago, there were still questions about the back end of the Braves’ bullpen. But you can rest that case — because it’s now clear that manager Fredi Gonzalez gets to wave for the most unhittable closer in baseball. So how unhittable is Kimbrel? He has faced 35 hitters this year — and exactly four have gotten a hit, 10 fewer than he’s struck out.
But that’s nothing new. This guy has piled up more than four times as many punchouts in his brief career (54) as he’s allowed hits (13). And the only other closer in history who has even had a two-whiffs-per-hit career ratio is Carlos Marmol (515 K’s, 242 H’s). So this is ridiculous. “He’s the closest thing to a right-handed Billy Wagner that we’ll ever see,” one scout said.
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/columns/story?columnist=stark_jayson&page=rumblings110429
Marc D
April 29th, 2011
3:11 pm
McDowell placed on leave? Didn’t think we would go that serious, but okay
Brava
April 29th, 2011
3:12 pm
Me too, SeATLite _. Thanks.
Arkansas Transplant
April 29th, 2011
3:13 pm
CrαZy, are you counting .22?
LTBF
April 29th, 2011
3:13 pm
No word on either case I guess?
Furman Bitcher
April 29th, 2011
3:13 pm
Dark days?? That is stretch Carol. In two weeks we wont even be talking about the DUI & the joke of a case against McDowell. I cant believe the Braves are caving into pressure from a clown attorney like Alred and a fan that wanted to make something out of nothing.
bravofan
April 29th, 2011
3:13 pm
http://espn.go.com/blog/sweetspot/post/_/id/9807/attendance-in-the-real-world
I posted this on the last blog but thought it was a good article som Im reposting it.
It was snowing Wednesday night in Minneapolis. It was snowing, and we’re supposed to lament that Target Field was only half-filled with hardy Minnesotans?
We’re supposed to lament that Mariners fans are setting record-low attendance numbers for Safeco Field, even though the Mariners are coming off a 100-loss season and the weather has been unseasonably cool and cloudy — even for Seattle — with just one sunny day in April?
We’re supposed to lament that the biggest drop in attendance has come at Dodger Stadium — a place that has been reliably filled for nearly 50 years — even though the team’s ownership situation has turned into a national punchline?
And yet, here we go again. The pictures of empty seats. The grim obituaries. The heartache for a sport that writers have been trying to kill off since the turn of the century — and by that I mean the turn into the 20th century.
Jeff Passan, Yahoo’s excellent national baseball writer, wrote a long examination on baseball’s early-season attendance woes. Currently, through 357 games, attendance is down 589 tickets per game compared to the same time period last year. Passan was quite level-headed, albeit with a few apocalyptic lines thrown in.
Attendance might be down, but that is not necessarily alarming, not with the cold and wet weather that engulfed the Northeast and upper Midwest through much of the month. It was 32 degrees in Wrigley last week; is there any wonder there were plenty of empty seats? And true, attendance in 2010 was 73.1 million, down from the game’s record high of 79.5 million set in 2007.
Since that high in ’07, the big decrease in attendance happened, but not now, and not even last year. It happened in 2009, which coincided with two big phenomena: the downturn in the economy, and the introduction of new, smaller stadiums in New York, because the Yankees and Mets alone accounted for 30 percent of the attendance drop from 2008 to 2009.
Yet the hand-wringing continues, usually without mention of facts such as the following:
NFL attendance has fallen each season since 2007 as well.
The NFL had 22 blackouts in 2009, more than 2007 and 2008 combined, and in 2010, that total was surpassed in Week 15 of the season.
Movie ticket sales were 1.32 billion in 2010, down from 1.4 billion in 2007, which was down from 1.58 billion in 2002.
DVD sales shrunk 13 percent in 2009 from 2008 and another 16 percent in 2010.
Ticket sales for the top 50 North American concert tours fell 15 percent in 2010 from 2009.
NBA attendance was actually up about 160 fans per game this season, yet the sport has so many economically troubled franchises that a labor war appears imminent this offseason.
In other words, it’s the economy, stupid. Families everywhere have cut their entertainment spending. It’s a tough market, whether you’re selling baseball tickets or U2 tickets. And it’s especially tough selling baseball tickets in April.
But baseball is always the sport that is dying, the sport kids no longer care about, the sport that needs help. This is an argument I never understand, considering I always see many more kids at major league games than NFL or NBA games.
It’s easy to bash baseball, because that’s our real national pastime. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell even took veiled shots in a Wall Street Journal editorial this week about the NFL labor situation. (For a good rebuttal to Goodell’s column, check out ESPN.com contributor Patrick Hruby’s piece at The Atlantic.) Goodell’s central premise is that the NFL’s salary cap and limits on player movement have fostered league competitiveness and popularity — you know, unlike baseball.
This premise ignores one simple fact: In the past 10 years, MLB has seen nine different World Series champions and 14 different World Series participants. Four of those champions came from outside the top 10 in payroll. In contrast, during the past 10 years, the NFL, under its carefully constructed system, has seen seven different Super Bowl champions and 14 different Super Bowl participants.
In fact, it’s exactly that kind competitive balance that has kept baseball so popular and allowed it to reach record revenues in 2010. And many of the teams that are currently struggling at the gate have been proven supporters in the recent past. Baltimore, Seattle and Cleveland, for example, currently rank 10th, 11th and 14th in the American League in average attendance, but all three franchises have led the AL in attendance at some point since 1998.
The “baseball is dying” attendance stories usually ignore the positive stories going on. Passan points out that the Padres cut their ticket prices and attendance is up, while the Brewers, playing in the majors’ smallest market, have drawn at least 2.7 million fans each of the past four seasons. The Phillies were 14th in the National League in attendance as recently as 2002, but they are currently packing it in at more than 45,000 per game, while the Giants have drawn at least 3 million fans nine of the previous 11 seasons (including 2010) and are on a record pace this year.
Then again, those stories of attendance success aren’t as much fun to show compared to a bunch of empty seats.
Soph
April 29th, 2011
3:13 pm
Oh boy.
Snotboogie
April 29th, 2011
3:14 pm
Administrative leave, eh? Good riddance you dirty man!
Good riddance is when you leave the blog.
flange1
April 29th, 2011
3:15 pm
The AJC story on McDowell
http://www.ajc.com/sports/atlanta-braves/mcdowell-placed-on-administrative-929835.html?cxntlid=brkng_nws_bnr
Soph
April 29th, 2011
3:15 pm
LTBF -
http://www.ajc.com/sports/atlanta-braves/mcdowell-placed-on-administrative-929835.html
nolie
April 29th, 2011
3:15 pm
so I see I’ve got an imitator. greatest form of flattery I guess, but i don’t even know who Kate whatshername is…
Furman Bitcher
April 29th, 2011
3:15 pm
No you are correct sir. You dont come back from a leave. He is out.
flange1
April 29th, 2011
3:15 pm
How true Snot!
Jeff321
April 29th, 2011
3:16 pm
Snot – Yeah, because I’m so much worse than a guy yelling gay slurs and performing simulated sex acts in front of children! Let me guess, you’d have no problem bringing your kids over to uncle McDowell’s house?
nolie
April 29th, 2011
3:16 pm
only 13 guns? I’m gonna hafta sell him a half dozen more or so. I wouldn’t even notice that few were gone…
Eric from MO
April 29th, 2011
3:17 pm
Whats the big deal with 13 guns? We know he likes to hunt. 13 is about average for most hunters. You cant use the same gun for all game. Plus you usually want two or three guns for just one specie depending on if you are hunting off a pasture or in woods or brush or off water.
Billreef
April 29th, 2011
3:17 pm
this thread has turned into “I have more GUNS than you’. Next thing they’ll be whipping it out and measuring em.
Arkansas Transplant
April 29th, 2011
3:18 pm
Hillbilly, I’ve only got 9.
JerseyGil
April 29th, 2011
3:18 pm
Harry Callahan …no…you are not in the minority…Agree that MLB has to do something about it , not only those kind of Fan agains athlete but also to Other team Fans, The incident in LA with the SF fan is one of the example,… last year here in Philadelphia i saw a couple of Moron Phillis Fan try to bash this little Kid that was wearing Braves Hat, the little Kid was in tears, her mother has to call the Usher to be involve with this Fan and my wife has to hold me because i was so angry almost get in trouble with this two morons.
Mike S
April 29th, 2011
3:18 pm
And I thought the last blog was unpleasant, sheesh…
N8
April 29th, 2011
3:19 pm
“Next thing they’ll be whipping it out and measuring em.”
Who really cares about how long a gun is. It’s not like if a gun is longer it’s more accurate due to the shorter distan………………….
… oh wait. I get it.
Never mind.
LTBF
April 29th, 2011
3:19 pm
Thank you Soph
Furman Bitcher
April 29th, 2011
3:20 pm
There is no proof other than that joke of an attorney Gloria Alred slide that bat back and forth in a press conference. she really liked doing that because no one has done to her in 25 yrs.
Mike S
April 29th, 2011
3:20 pm
But I did enjoy seeing Brava coming correct to Leum-ass…
Jeff
April 29th, 2011
3:20 pm
To Will, Ward, and everybody else who thinks that Lowe driving drunk is “funny” or “no big deal”…. I hope your wife or mother or child or best friend dies a horrible, agonizing, painful death at the hands of a drunk driver.
There. Kinda sobering when you think about it that way, right? Some innocent person could have been going home from work and turned onto Peachtree, right in front of two drunk morons playing racing games on a public road, and there could have been dozens of families changed tragically within moments.
Still think it’s “funny” or “no big deal?”
There is NO EXCUSE in America in 2011 for ANYONE to drive drunk, much less a wealthy athlete who can afford to pay for a limo ride home. The fact that nobody was hurt or killed only shows the grace of God. Lowe got VERY lucky, but he should still face the MAXIMUM consequences possible from the Braves, MLB, and the city of Atlanta.
I hope the Braves cut him. Personally, I don’t give a dam if he’s one of our best pitchers or not. Winning baseball games is no excuse to put with with and condone illegal, irresponsible, dangerous behavior. Besides, the Braves aren’t going to win the World Series this year WITH Lowe, so we can do just as well without him.
Poor decision by Lowe, and poor taste for those of you defending him. Ask the mom of that Georgia State Capitol intern last year who was killed by a drunk driver and see if she thinks that driving under the influence is “funny” or “no big deal.”
JerseyGil
April 29th, 2011
3:20 pm
Forgot that Wallace still in ours Organization…
CrαZy
April 29th, 2011
3:20 pm
Ark… I figured 8 was good considering I dont hunt!
Snotboogie
April 29th, 2011
3:21 pm
Jeff321
Who said anything about Roger or what he did? I just said that a lot of us would truly enjoy it when a complete numbletard like you leaves the blog. Now that is really “good riddance”.
LTBF
April 29th, 2011
3:22 pm
Leave with pay at least I hope. Wonder who will serve a pitching coach in the intrium?
tiger297
April 29th, 2011
3:22 pm
nolie – I can store some for you if you would like…heck I won’t even charge you a storage fee
Furman Bitcher
April 29th, 2011
3:23 pm
Braves cut Lowe. Um not gonna happen there buddy. they have something called guaranteed contracts in baseball. I can think of 30 million reasons he says right here and makes all his starts.
JerseyGil
April 29th, 2011
3:23 pm
He’s Toast…..After the Braves finish there Investigation Roger will Pack his Bag…sorry for him.
Ralph
April 29th, 2011
3:23 pm
I don’t see what the advantage is having played in 96 ML games if he sucked in all 96 of them, well almost.
Snotboogie
April 29th, 2011
3:23 pm
Leave with pay at least I hope.
Yeah man, because that’s the real important matter on hand here.
Jeff321
April 29th, 2011
3:23 pm
Snot – best advice I can give ya is: Tell your boys to stop getting in trouble.. then I only show up on games televised via ESPN, FSN Florida, Sun Sports, WGN. Got it?
tiger297
April 29th, 2011
3:23 pm
LTBF – read the story it tells you
Hillbilly
April 29th, 2011
3:24 pm
AT, all you need is one at a time anyway. Only reason I have so many is because I bought a couple of extras for the wife and daughter to hunt with.
Braves Country
April 29th, 2011
3:24 pm
As I said… Welcome to Braves Country!
Heeeee Haaaw!
nolie
April 29th, 2011
3:24 pm
ok folks, I see that someone who obviously is extremely jealous of all my superior assets has run rampant this afternoon using my name to say all kinds of stoopid things, all of which are totally obnoxious to me.
so anything B4 3:15 is not mine and I wish the moderator would oust whoever has been using my name. Not gonna hold my breath though
Doc Holiday
April 29th, 2011
3:24 pm
Phillies are going to DL.
Braves are going to jail.
Fish …………… the flag is yours.
bravesfan90
April 29th, 2011
3:24 pm
Dave Wallace, minor league pitching coordinator, will serve as the interim pitching coach
Harry Callahan
April 29th, 2011
3:24 pm
Braves are in serious jeopardy of losing my business at the stadium if they bow to the political correctness police and fire McDowell…
A suspension and/or fine may be appropriate, but if they fire a great pitching coach over this, I’m done with the Braves.
McFann O O
April 29th, 2011
3:24 pm
nolie so I see I’ve got an imitator.
You don’t know how badly I was hoping to “hear” you say that…knew that could not possibly have been you…
UGH! What the [heck] has happened around here, anyway??
Eric from MO
April 29th, 2011
3:25 pm
Harry completely agreed. Why is it athletes are not allowed to say a thing offensive to fans but fans are allowed to say/do anything they want? It is ridiculous. Fans say the players are adults and should know better, but the fans 99% of the time are adults too. Guess thats why I will usually defend players/coaches anytime their is an altercation with a fan in the stands. Players dont walk around and think there is a 35 year old in the stands that looks goofy. Lets offend him today.
Furman Bitcher
April 29th, 2011
3:25 pm
The McDowell issue is BS. I dont see the fans he was allegedly slurring coming forward. I would say prove it to the lame ass sissy dad.
nashvillewill
April 29th, 2011
3:25 pm
Lowe’s actions are much more serious than McDowell’s and by a player, no less, a veteran player and number one starter. Anyone who has ever lost a loved one to a drunk driver knows how serious dui is. If he would 1) drive while impaired; 2) race another driver down Peachtree; 3) not admit there is a problem here—there is a problem here. Over 50% of people who get caught DUI have done it multiple times and are, at best, problem drinkers in need of intervention.
Lowe’s health and his recovery are much more important than his next start or how the Braves do without him.
Braves Country
April 29th, 2011
3:25 pm
LTBF – “intrium?”
Yep…. Welcome to Braves Country!
Soph
April 29th, 2011
3:26 pm
Had a feeling that wasn’t the real nolie polie.
Hillbilly
April 29th, 2011
3:27 pm
“Next thing they’ll be whipping it out and measuring em.”
Who really cares about how long a gun is. It’s not like if a gun is longer it’s more accurate due to the shorter distan………………….
… oh wait. I get it.
Never mind. N8
McFann O O
April 29th, 2011
3:27 pm
Soph—
Definitely. There was no way.
JerseyGil
April 29th, 2011
3:27 pm
bravesfan90 ……Wallace is the one responsible that Chipper Hit so well in Shea Stadium in Ny, when he was the Pitching coach of the Mets.
Arkansas Transplant
April 29th, 2011
3:27 pm
CrαZy, I don’t hunt either except for those clay pigeons.
LTBF
April 29th, 2011
3:27 pm
Hey Snot
Of course he should be paid, he did nothing wrong, all he did was retaliate to heckling from some queers.
CrαZy
April 29th, 2011
3:27 pm
Rogers not a bad guy he just said out loud what most of us would only think!!
Furman Bitcher
April 29th, 2011
3:28 pm
Who says Lowe’s health is in danger or if he needs recovery. Not everyone who drinks is an alcoholic. Maybe he had 3 beers with dinner and wanted to drive fast. Its wrong but it no way means he is sick and needs help.
BILLMAIER
April 29th, 2011
3:28 pm
Carroll sorry but have to ask is in the company line or excuse why gomez will not be brought up- defensive problem? worse than conrad? i paid for milbtv and watched and admit i only have watched last two games, i didnt see any problems for gomez at first–in fact made some nice plays– especially on a squibbler off the bat with a marek pitching ( no one in iternational legue is putting any good swings on him- what’s the excuse on him being in the minors?)- that was a difficult play– and he played it well. I thought maybe the guy is slow but ran down the line well on a ground out last night– and also scored easily wed night on a grounder to left from second- but looks like he has average or better speed. Is there a reason they are not trying to kid in the oufield? is he that bad? Worse than hinske?
nolie
April 29th, 2011
3:29 pm
as a mental health worker I can assure you that the ones with the phallic symbol problems Billreef, are the gun haters not the hunters.
BTW, this one is mine..;)
Harry Callahan
April 29th, 2011
3:29 pm
The self-righteous dude with his wife and daughters who now wants to sue McDowell, and his drama-queen lawyer…were they offended by anything said by the hecklers? Or just by McDowell…
What a joke…
CrαZy
April 29th, 2011
3:29 pm
Ark,
Yeah.. it’s normally to cold for me and I don’t do 5:00 AM
Bat Masterson
April 29th, 2011
3:29 pm
then I only show up on games televised via ESPN, FSN Florida, Sun Sports, WGN. Got it? _ Jeff321
I think you are missing SB’s point, Jeff. Regardless of when or why you are here, you express a depth of understanding, on every topic, that on your best day would not reach an inch.
Jeff321
April 29th, 2011
3:30 pm
Rogers not a bad guy he just said out loud what most of us would only think!!
Sorry, most of us don’t think about simulating a sexual act in front of children, calling people gay slurs, or threatening others. Thanks!
Snotboogie
April 29th, 2011
3:30 pm
LTBF
You are a troll right?
TennesseePaul
April 29th, 2011
3:30 pm
Ugh. This thing is getting ridiculous. But I will hand out props…
Props to Christopher Boone for this line: “According to Allred, the former New York Mets pitcher…“
Soph
April 29th, 2011
3:30 pm
LTBF – usually, you’re alright but you’ve had some real brick-wall worthy posts recently.
CB
April 29th, 2011
3:31 pm
The blog is on a downhill road today.
Arkansas Transplant
April 29th, 2011
3:31 pm
Nolie, have to say.. it makes sense now.
Ward
April 29th, 2011
3:31 pm
Carroll: Once again, some has used my name at 2:02pm, and I don’t appreciate it. I would like you to to something about it.I have a good idea wh it is, and i would like them to be banned ……I don’t use their name.I’m making a complaint, and it needs to stop……Thanks. Peace……
Matt
April 29th, 2011
3:32 pm
D-Lowe, dumb dumb decision man.
The Roger situation, while troubling, seems crazy though. Why did more fans not complain? Why did this family feel the need to hire Gloria Allred? Just lots of things that seem weird to me. Maybe Roger did say something, but I feel like there is a lot of exaggeration going on.
Jeff321
April 29th, 2011
3:32 pm
I think you are missing SB’s point, Jeff. Regardless of when or why you are here, you express a depth of understanding, on every topic, that on your best day would not reach an inch.
Don’t suppose you’d have any problem citing an example?