BB: Midwest Region

[CrashDavisD3]

What it comes down to in the MetroDome is that local high schools and colleges have been spoiled by the ability to play in the Dome in the early spring. As a current high school head coach in the Twin Cities, it will affect me a bit but I would not expect an NFL stadium to accomodate my baseball team in its plans. Sadly, local amatuer teams have grown accustomed to having the dome as a fall back... U of M included.

What do you think of the people who say it is the "people's stadium" and it only was approved because it was going to be a multi-use facility?

Hard to say, I don't really recall it being touted as a multi-use facility but many took it be that way as that is what the Dome had been. They forget that the Dome was built with BOTH the Twins and Vikings in mind. This stadium is being built with only the Vikings in mind. No one is saying that baseball cannot be played there, but the dimensions of the field would be a bit small. Still, I would not mind if it were a football only facility... I find it mind-boggling that baseball coaches are insisting on a baseball facility as well. Would I like it to be available for us? YES!, but do I EXPECT them to do it for us??? No.

I believe the best use of taxpayer's money is to make some minor changes to accommodate multiple uses. If not then the Vikiigs should pick up the whole tab for building the stadiuml. I am tired of taxpayers footing bills for professional teams.

[OshDude]

What it comes down to in the MetroDome is that local high schools and colleges have been spoiled by the ability to play in the Dome in the early spring. As a current high school head coach in the Twin Cities, it will affect me a bit but I would not expect an NFL stadium to accomodate my baseball team in its plans. Sadly, local amatuer teams have grown accustomed to having the dome as a fall back... U of M included.

What do you think of the people who say it is the "people's stadium" and it only was approved because it was going to be a multi-use facility?

Hard to say, I don't really recall it being touted as a multi-use facility but many took it be that way as that is what the Dome had been. They forget that the Dome was built with BOTH the Twins and Vikings in mind. This stadium is being built with only the Vikings in mind. No one is saying that baseball cannot be played there, but the dimensions of the field would be a bit small. Still, I would not mind if it were a football only facility... I find it mind-boggling that baseball coaches are insisting on a baseball facility as well. Would I like it to be available for us? YES!, but do I EXPECT them to do it for us??? No.

I think many people do expect it to be multipurpose because it was proposed that way. Vikings brass had asked for a new football stadium for years and been denied. Gov. Dayton pitched this as the "people's stadium," and those "people" have pledged much more than the Vikings have. Now it's a matter of the degree all sides are willing to bend. Of course all sides want their best-case scenario. Fans sitting 44 feet from the football field appears to result in a design that creates a 319-foot power alley in right and 285 feet down the line. That's not bending in many "people's" eyes.

There are ways around it – retractable seating like the Metrodome, a concession from the Vikings that still has fans closer to the field than at most stadiums, etc. – but it's a negotiation. It'll work out, for better or worse. However, it does seem like the Vikings' current position is a bait and switch from the campaign rhetoric.

Vikings reps know they must make concessions. A paraphrased saying goes, a good compromise is one in which no one ends up happy. So far one faction seems to be unhappy. From the article:

Lester Bagley, the Vikings vice president for stadium development, said the Vikings "fully support" the mission of delivering a multipurpose stadium that accommodates college and amateur baseball.

But, he added, "Fundamentally, this is a football stadium, and what the Vikings invested in was a first-class fan experience. ... We're in a dogfight with HDTV. We've got to get our fans off the couch and away from the TVs and get them to the stadium. That's more important to us."

[CrashDavisD3]

What it comes down to in the MetroDome is that local high schools and colleges have been spoiled by the ability to play in the Dome in the early spring. As a current high school head coach in the Twin Cities, it will affect me a bit but I would not expect an NFL stadium to accomodate my baseball team in its plans. Sadly, local amatuer teams have grown accustomed to having the dome as a fall back... U of M included.

What do you think of the people who say it is the "people's stadium" and it only was approved because it was going to be a multi-use facility?

Hard to say, I don't really recall it being touted as a multi-use facility but many took it be that way as that is what the Dome had been. They forget that the Dome was built with BOTH the Twins and Vikings in mind. This stadium is being built with only the Vikings in mind. No one is saying that baseball cannot be played there, but the dimensions of the field would be a bit small. Still, I would not mind if it were a football only facility... I find it mind-boggling that baseball coaches are insisting on a baseball facility as well. Would I like it to be available for us? YES!, but do I EXPECT them to do it for us??? No.

I think many people do expect it to be multipurpose because it was proposed that way. Vikings brass had asked for a new football stadium for years and been denied. Gov. Dayton pitched this as the "people's stadium," and those "people" have pledged much more than the Vikings have. Now it's a matter of the degree all sides are willing to bend. Of course all sides want their best-case scenario. Fans sitting 44 feet from the football field appears to result in a design that creates a 319-foot power alley in right and 285 feet down the line. That's not bending in many "people's" eyes.

There are ways around it – retractable seating like the Metrodome, a concession from the Vikings that still has fans closer to the field than at most stadiums, etc. – but it's a negotiation. It'll work out, for better or worse. However, it does seem like the Vikings' current position is a bait and switch from the campaign rhetoric.

Vikings reps know they must make concessions. A paraphrased saying goes, a good compromise is one in which no one ends up happy. So far one faction seems to be unhappy. From the article:

Lester Bagley, the Vikings vice president for stadium development, said the Vikings "fully support" the mission of delivering a multipurpose stadium that accommodates college and amateur baseball.

But, he added, "Fundamentally, this is a football stadium, and what the Vikings invested in was a first-class fan experience. ... We're in a dogfight with HDTV. We've got to get our fans off the couch and away from the TVs and get them to the stadium. That's more important to us."

Retractable seating seems to solve the problem in my eyes but may increase the cost. VIKINGS got to remember who is footing the large amount of the bill for the new stadium. A stadium of this cost which can only host pro football games is not a very wise investment by the taxpayers.

The new Vikings stadium is projected to have a $975 million price tag, with the Vikings covering $477 million, the state covering $348 million, and $150 million covered by a hospitality tax in Minneapolis. The city of Minneapolis must pay a total of $678 million over the thirty year life of the deal, including interest, operations and construction costs.

Link to article

[BaseballFan]

How's the region stacking up this year?

St Thomas is on top obviously but how does everyone else fall in.
CSS has a deep pitching staff and a good freshman class but did not look good offensively in first DH but it's early.

How's Uww Usp laxlooking? I would think those three on top

[BaseballFan]

St. Thomas and Scholastica split today. CSS took game 1 3-2, Thomas game 2 6-3

[cubs]

St. Thomas and Scholastica split today. CSS took game 1 3-2, Thomas game 2 6-3

Who did CSS beat?  Dylan Thomas?

[OshDude]

St. Thomas and Scholastica split today. CSS took game 1 3-2, Thomas game 2 6-3

Who did CSS beat?  Dylan Thomas?

Not technically, but Thomas started Game 1. UST gets Whitewater on Thursday and La Crosse Sunday. Interested to see how Olean divvies the starts. Maher went in relief today.

[MIACLUV]

Okay so the Tommies will not go undefeated, and yes Thomas started but did not take the loss. He pitched well enough to to win so tip your cap to St. Scholastica that is a solid team. Maher will be fine for the start against the Tommies he didn't throw many pitches so I look to him to start against the Warhawks. The other start should go to the transfer Joey Toedt who looked real sharp in his first outing. Offense is still to click on all cylinders, but its early so it should only get better.

[biggio34]

St. Thomas and Scholastica split today. CSS took game 1 3-2, Thomas game 2 6-3

Who did CSS beat?  Dylan Thomas?

Not technically, but Thomas started Game 1. UST gets Whitewater on Thursday and La Crosse Sunday. Interested to see how Olean divvies the starts. Maher went in relief today.

I like the way Coach Olean set up his schedule... he knows he has one of the best teams in the country and he went out and scheduled the best he could early in the year to challenge his players.  St. Thomas is not one of the best teams come regional time simply because they have great players, but year after year they find ways to get better as the season progresses.  WIAC schools challenge the depths of their pitching staff and improve through their tough conference weekends, the MIACs do not have as many games or as tough of opponents during conference play, so kudos to the Tommies for preparing against the best and taking advantage of the non conference games to get better.


MIACLuv, what makes you say Scholastica is a solid team?  I saw the MAC DH and it looked anything but solid.  I didn't see the games vs UST, but offensively it appears like they struggled again.  I guess I expected this team to hit more than they have after 4 games. 

[MIACLUV]

MIACLuv, what makes you say Scholastica is a solid team?  I saw the MAC DH and it looked anything but solid.  I didn't see the games vs UST, but offensively it appears like they struggled again.  I guess I expected this team to hit more than they have after 4 games. 
[/quote]
Overall they played well, expected the Game 2 starter Nystrom to be better based on past performances but the Tommies lineup seem to be a little slow on the get go because the bats really came alive in the second game versus Coes as well. Overall CSS has a good amount of speed and a lot of offense that returned from last years team so I don't expect the offense to struggle for to long. Defensively they actually played solid and when you get into games with good opponents it comes down to pitching and defense and I thought Game 1 was very well played on both sides. I look for CSS to be a better team come Regional time. Questions I have for the CSS guys is where is Davis? Is he not healthy? Really surprised to see that he hasn't pitched this season.

[BaseballFan]

MIACLuv, what makes you say Scholastica is a solid team?  I saw the MAC DH and it looked anything but solid.  I didn't see the games vs UST, but offensively it appears like they struggled again.  I guess I expected this team to hit more than they have after 4 games. 

Overall they played well, expected the Game 2 starter Nystrom to be better based on past performances but the Tommies lineup seem to be a little slow on the get go because the bats really came alive in the second game versus Coes as well. Overall CSS has a good amount of speed and a lot of offense that returned from last years team so I don't expect the offense to struggle for to long. Defensively they actually played solid and when you get into games with good opponents it comes down to pitching and defense and I thought Game 1 was very well played on both sides. I look for CSS to be a better team come Regional time. Questions I have for the CSS guys is where is Davis? Is he not healthy? Really surprised to see that he hasn't pitched this season.
[/quote]

CSS will be fine because of pitching and defense. Offense will come around. A lot of teams struggle early offensively.

Expect Andy Davis to pitch in Florida. No sense trotting him out there against the number 2 team and gives him more time. Remember he pitched one game and was lost for the season

[therocket21]

I think CSS is a solid team with Jensen on the mound. That kid seems to throw well in all the big games. They really need to have Nystrom and Davis step up and be big game pitchers like Jensen. If not I don't think CSS will have a chance to win the regional. The offense will definately come around. They have lots of speed at the top and they have a pretty good mix of lefties in there too!

[BaseballFan]

CSS beats LAX 3-2 in game 1 of DH

[badgerwarhawk]

UW-WHITEWATER will host the MidWest Regional tournament again this year.

[Captain_Joe08]

Mother Nature can be cruel....We start the season with snow still on the ground that postponed a slew of games....Now it won't stop raining here in SE Wisconsin (Snowing in the NW part of the state). It's going to be a mad scramble to fit all the conference games that have been postponed (in some cases twice) before the end of the regular season.