Calgary Vipers

[KipperIsGod]

Yep,its that time of year again. Vipers baseball is almost back.

Season opener is on May 18th against the Gary-Shore Railcats.
I get to pick up my season tickets in a couple of weeks *happy*

The Vipers are a pretty good team..lots of power in the bat..They were 3rd for home runs last season. They've also added more good pitchers this off season.
Their record last year in the Innagural season was 51-44 (really good for a first year team) and their looking to improve that record this year.

I still miss the Cannons (those were good days) but the Vipers are slowly taking away that pain since the Cannons left.
Anyone else have Season tickets for the Vipers and getting pumped for this season?

[Calgary Flames]

Who the hell are the Calgary Vipers? Is this some new Roller Hockey team? Speaking of which whatever happened to the Rads? haha

Sorry I know diddly about the Vipers. What level is that?

[KipperIsGod]

The Vipers play in the Northern Baseball League..not as good as the Cannons but still competitive baseball. Independant pro league...there is a couple ex Cannon players playing in the league.

[JiriHrdina]

The Vipers treated the Calgary Dawgs - an organization with a longer history in Calgary like trash and this season left them without a venue to play.

The Dawgs for my dollar were a better brand of baseball. A bunch of college prospects who love the game and have a future ahead of them - rather than a bunch of has been and never will be pros miles away from a sniff at a MLB career.

The Vipers are a bush league team run by bush league management. They will not be getting my support.

[FFR]

I watched the Vipers last season but I'm going to have a hard time going this year becuase of how they treated the Dawgs. I really enjoyed Dawgs baseball and because of Vipers Management they have nowhere to play this season.

Viper's ball isn't bad. It got better throughout the year definately..I might catch a few games but it won't be as many as I wenty to before.

I miss the Cannons....

[Calgary Flames]

You know, I think If Calgary built an indoor statium and got AAA ball back it'd be succesfull. I'll admit I took The Cannons for granted and didn't really care when they left but it'd be awesome to have AAA baseball in Calgary again.

[FFR]

That's the problem. No one will put up the money or the land space for a new stadium. The cannon's left because the stadium was not a great place. But the city isn't interested in helping out and the ball teams aren't making enough money.

[KipperIsGod]

Itd be great to see AAA ball back here in Calgary..I dont think that will happen for a long time though. For now,the Vipers will do.

[Resolute 14]

AAA is dead and gone. The PCL wanted out of Canada, especially in the wake of travel restrictions brought about by 9-11. There is no chance that the PCL comes back to Calgary, even with a new ballpark. Not to mention that the only way it is workable is if Edmonton were to return at the same time. Relocating two teams at once, both to Canada? Not happening.

I went to about 20 Vipers games last year (on top of Dawgs season tickets), and will likely do the same this year. As big an ass as Peter Young is, I love baseball too much to boycott the team, especially since the Northern League is Calgary's last chance at pro ball.

Unfortunately, I doubt that the team will be as good this year as it was last. Hopefully they have their promotions and game-day presentation in order this season.

[Engine09]

I was planning on watching a game last Summer finally went on the last day. For the price, it's not bad. I'll definitely go to a few games this year

[KipperIsGod]

Originally Posted by JiriHrdina

The Vipers treated the Calgary Dawgs - an organization with a longer history in Calgary like trash and this season left them without a venue to play.

The Dawgs for my dollar were a better brand of baseball. A bunch of college prospects who love the game and have a future ahead of them - rather than a bunch of has been and never will be pros miles away from a sniff at a MLB career.

The Vipers are a bush league team run by bush league management. They will not be getting my support.

Its not the Vipers fault. The Dawgs did not come to terms with the Vipers so the Vipers just threw them out...of course it should be the Vipers home stadium, they are in a higher level then the dawgs are,more Professional.
The dawgs will be better off with their own stadium.

[calf]

The dawgs will be better off with their own stadium

which stadium will that be?

[Resolute 14]

Originally Posted by KipperIsGod

Its not the Vipers fault. The Dawgs did not come to terms with the Vipers so the Vipers just threw them out...of course it should be the Vipers home stadium, they are in a higher level then the dawgs are,more Professional.
The dawgs will be better off with their own stadium.

Yeah, It's the Vipers fault. Peter Young was trying to kick the Dawgs out of Foothills from day one, but had to put up with them becuase the City forced them to accept the Dawgs last year. The reasoning was that the Dawgs had always paid their rent on time, while the city already got burned by the Outlaws, and the Calgary Northern League team didn't start off well.

Throughout the year, Young did everything in his power to make life miserable for the Dawgs. He barred them from the clubhouses - they had to go to McMahon. He barred them from practicing at Foothills. He barred them from putting up any advertising and signage anywhere. Barred them from using any of the concession stands. By the end, he tried to bar them from even promoting sponsors over the PA system. Thanks to the Vipers, the Dawgs even had to play one of their playoff "home" games in Lethbridge.

Despite this, and knowing that they werent likely going to get a new park built for 2006, the Dawgs offered to sign another one year lease for 2006 that was the same as the terrible one for 2005, with all of these same restrictions. The Vipers wouldnt even take John Ircandia's calls. In Peter Young's world, if he avoided the Dawgs completely, he could say, with a straight face, that the Dawgs never came to him with an offer for a lease in 2006. The Dawgs were willing to put up with the frustrations, and lose money, in 2006 to give the college kids a place to play. Young would have none of it.

I want the Vipers to succeed, and hope they do well this year, but when it comes to the two ballclubs, the Vipers were very definitely in the wrong with how they treated the Dawgs.

Incidentally, relations between the Edmonton Cracker-Cats and the Big River Prospects were no better. Fortunately for the Prospects, they were able to find a suitable alternate facility in St. Albert to play from this year.

[Resolute 14]

Originally Posted by calf

which stadium will that be?

The Dawgs are proposing to build a 2000 seat, fully amateur ballpark somewhere in the Calgary metro area.

They tried the MRC campus area first, but the deal fell through.

They then tried to build a park on donated land near Aldersyde, however the community has not been receptive to the idea, mainly because of traffic and irrigation concerns.

From what I've been told, there are people willing to fund the project. The Dawgs, in three years, have built an incredibly positive relationship with the buisness community. It is a relationship that the Vipers completely lack, and is a primary reason why Peter Young was so collossally stupid to treat the college team like it did. If he came in looking to be a partner with the Dawgs, he would have had instant access to the same buisness community he needs to survive.

The Vipers owner, Jeff Gidney, seems like a very nice guy. He's just got an unfortunate buisness partner in Calgary.

[JiriHrdina]

Originally Posted by KipperIsGod

Its not the Vipers fault. The Dawgs did not come to terms with the Vipers so the Vipers just threw them out...of course it should be the Vipers home stadium, they are in a higher level then the dawgs are,more Professional.
The dawgs will be better off with their own stadium.

Snakeye did an excellent job of outlining the relationship between the Dawgs and Vipers. But to sum it up - the problem is that the Dawgs were in fact run in a more professional manner than the Vipers.

[Canadian]

Ill go to a few, I love baseball. Its too bad calgary cant support an MLB team..

[snappyk]

Is this the same Peter Young that used to do sports for CTV in Winnipeg?

[Resolute 14]

Not sure. Gidney is a Winnipeg buisnessman, so there has to be a Winnipeg connection there.

On the field itself, the Vipers should have the best heart of the lineup in the league, as both Carlos Duncan and Juan Thomas are returning.

[KipperIsGod]

Originally Posted by Canadian

Ill go to a few, I love baseball. Its too bad calgary cant support an MLB team..

haha...Calgary cant even support the Vipers. I think we had the lowest attendance for the league. I was there every game though since I have season tickets

[Julio]

Originally Posted by snappyk

Is this the same Peter Young that used to do sports for CTV in Winnipeg?

Yes it is...when he left CKY he worked for the Goldeyes for a year or two, then has been bouncing aroudn the murkier nether regions of minor pro sports...he was involved with the ill fated WHA idea a couple years back, and before he was with the Vipers he was the short lived Calgary Drillers basketball team.

Young is the main reason that a lot of people are not fans of the Vipers. All dealings with the Dawgs aside, he's not a sympathetic character at all and doesn't seem to communicate well, shades of a former Calgary Cannons GM who was a sportscaster for years.

As for the Dawgs, I can see why they would be frustrated by the situation, but I can totally understand where the city is coming from. What they want is somebody to come in and run the facility, so that it doesn't cost the city any $. The Dawgs, despite apparently having a sugar daddy to help fund a new facility, didn't have the financial ability to maintain the facility without city help, so they turned to a source who promised to do so, the Vipers.

Now it is unfortunate that the Vipers see the Dawgs as a rival as opposed to a tenant who could make them $, and who could enhanse the facility by having it used to it's full potential and help promote baseball in the city, but by no means is it toally a black and white 'Vipers bad Dawgs good' situation.