Vipers pitcher goes missing

[Resolute 14]

Just another disaster in what has been a brutal year for the local ball team...

http://www.calgaryvipers.com/

Calgary Vipers pitcher Beau Dannemiller has disappeared. Dannemiller, from Rigby, Idaho went through U.S. Customs and Immigration and then through Security at Calgary International Airport on Monday morning with his teammates. When mechanical problems with the airline forced the team to leave the secured gate area and reclaim their bags, Dannemiller disappeared.

�We've filed a missing persons report with the Calgary Police Department", said Vipers president Peter Young. "His teammates saw him sleeping on a bench at the gate but he didn't check back in with the team when their flight was rescheduled. His cell phone goes directly to a message and he hasn�t responded to numerous messages from the club or his teammates. His car is missing and he hasn't returned to his accommodations in the city".

[Flickered Flame]

Terrible news. Snakeye I do have a question...is the NL going to work long term in Calgary? Has the attendence went up this year?

[Resolute 14]

The NL *can* work in Calgary, but the Vipers are going to fail miserably, and given the Cracker Cats arent doing a whole lot better, I would be surprised if the NL is still in Alberta in 2008.

Basically, the Vipers are the worst run sports organization in North America. The owner has no experience running a pro sports team. Jeff Gidney is more recognizable as one of the guys raking the infield between innings than he is as the team owner. The CEO, Peter Young, is regarded by many as a giant a-hole who was a major player in the WHA, WHA2 and the Calgary Drillers (all massive failures). His ego and attitude drove away the Calgary Dawgs and alienated both the fans and corporate Calgary. The manager, Mike Busch, has an ego the size of Calgary itself, which has cause him to drive away several players, including some of our best. That and he is flat out a brutal manager.

My first thought when I saw this story was that Dannemiller probably had enough of Busch and simply left, though one would figure he would have told someone.

The gameday presentation is much better than it was to start last year, and it is always nice to spend an afternoon at the park, but frankly, unless Gidney sells the team, or at the very least fires Peter Young, this team is dead.

The official average attendance so far this year is right below 1000, which is actually down considerably on last year at this time. The Vipers are doing everything they can to inflate the numbers right now. They are giving away every seat in the house for the August 19 game, and if you buy season tickets or gamepacks for 2007, you pretty much get all of August free this year.

[Resolute 14]

Yup, sure enough, Dannemiller simply left the team. He resurfaced in Idaho. He didnt give a reason for leaving, but anyone who has followed this organization could guess.....

[KootenayFlamesFan]

Any hints for us that don't follow the team?

Kind of a strange situation.

[Resolute 14]

I alluded to it in my post. Busch has run at least four people off this team in the year and a half the team has been here. When it comes to players leaving this team, he's usually the cause.

Dannemiller wasnt here long though. Busch usually doesnt work that fast.

Though it is, of course, quite possible that Dannemiller just couldnt handle going from AAA ball to an empty stadium in the indy leagues.

[troutman]

Herald reports Friday:

Dannemiller has returned home to Ohio. He left the team because he felt the team broke promises with him about salary. He said he was warned about the Calgary franchise, and that he was fed a bunch of BS.

http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/...7-e28fc9a3a51f

[Resolute 14]

How terribly shocking...

Even more shocking that Peter Young would be at the centre of the lies and misinformation.

I was on the right path when guessing at the reasons, just picked the wrong scumbag.

[shoestring]

Originally Posted by Snakeeye

How terribly shocking...

Even more shocking that Peter Young would be at the centre of the lies and misinformation.

I was on the right path when guessing at the reasons, just picked the wrong scumbag.

Is this the same guy that was on the radio and TV expressing concern about the person,not the player?
Smooth.

[Resolute 14]

Yeah. He also spent a lot of time wishing the Dawgs good luck on their playoff run last year even as he was working on kicking them out of Calgary. Young is a remarkably two-faced individual.