Dawgs/Vipers Conflict

[JiriHrdina]

Local baseball fans should read this letter from the Calgary Dawgs regarding their status at Foothills:

http://www.calgarydawgs.com/Dawgsback.html

I realize there are two sides to every story and moreover I had personal involvement with the Dawgs this summer so I am biased but I find it a real shame that this organization is being treated like this. The Dawgs are an excellent organization that provide an entertaining brand of baseball and a great place for developing college players to play during the summer months. There is no reason why the Vipers and the city could not find a way to make the situation work at Foothills yet they have chosen not to.

Needless to say I will not offer any of my support to the Vipers going forward.

[Reggie Dunlop]

Yeah, that sounds pretty acrimonious. The Stampeders have a pretty good partnership with the junior Colts, which is basically what the Dawgs are in the baseball realm.

You'd think there'd be some sort of symbotic relationship, seeing how these are mostly area kids who one day down the line might be the sort of players a local Northern League team might recruit.

Peter Young is a carpetbagger. He's latched on like a leech to to every cockamamie minor pro sports scheme out there. He was the pointman with the WHA too.

Hope the Dawgs work something out. Sounds like their hearts are in the right place and it's an altruistic endeavor to grow the sport locally.

The city needs to commit to both baseball and soccer facilities. Of course, though, taxpayer money is always the issue.

[Barnes]

The Vipers are a joke. Other than the promos on the Fan I saw one TV commercial . That was last weekend. You know the last weekend of the season. Why would I buy seasons tickets on the last weekend? They had a good team and a successul first season but they won't get my support. Go Dawgs!
________
Medical Marijuana Patient

[Resolute 14]

I support the Vipers mainly because I want to see pro baseball work in this city. And while Young is a collossally arrogant a-hole, Jeff Gidney is a good guy who deserves success.

Unfortunately, Young is the guy who runs the general day-to-day operations, and he most certantly decided that the Dawgs were the enemy and had to go. I've talked with Will Gardner several times, and I've overheard him having several arguments with his own staff over things that "Peter" would give his organization hell for. Certantly is not a good situation.

Of course, Young has already given himself an excuse to justify pushing the Dawgs out. In Monday's Herald, he mentioned that nobody from the Dawgs has even contacted him about a lease for next year. Of course, as that letter states, Young has spent the entire season making it clear to everyone that they will not be allowed back, so why bother asking?

Hopefully Gardner can get that ballpark built at MRC. He seemed very confident of getting funding for it when I first talked to him about it midseason. Hopefully that is still available, and the details get worked out.

There's no reason why both teams can't exist and thrive in Calgary.