In Chicago, Rex Huppke reports the Cubs are "sending a message of support to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth," joining the MLB Giants as the only two pro sports teams in the U.S. to support the anti-bullying "It Gets Better" campaign with videos. Cubs P Ryan Dempster and manager Mike Quade appear in the new video the team put together. The club's "participation in the project was spearheaded by team co-owner Laura Ricketts, who in 2009 became the first openly lesbian owner of a major U.S. men's professional sports team." Huppke notes several other MLB teams "have signed up to produce similar videos" (
CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 6/23).
FACING DEFEAT IN ST. PETE? ESPN.com's Steve Berthiaume wrote the Rays "must be moved" because their "barely tenable existence in St. Petersburg, Fla., is getting worse." Attendance at Tropicana Field and local TV ratings "are in decline" this season, despite the team's 41-34 record. Through 36 home games, the Rays "have drawn more than 20,000 fans just 16 times and only on either weekends or when the Red Sox or Yankees are in town." The team's average attendance of 18,485 is "less than half what the Red Sox draw every time Fenway Park’s gates open and more than 25,000 fewer than the Yankees average every home game." Adding in the Rays' "lack of a cash cow regional sports network, such as NESN in Boston or YES in New York, you wonder how the franchise can ever hope to sustain any long-term success while in such direct competition." Berthiaume: "Baseball needs to lower its rope and let the Rays climb out of their sinkhole" (ESPN.com, 6/22).
JERSEY SCORE: A new poll from Qunnipiac Univ. reveals that 48% of baseball fans living in New Jersey "root for the Yankees," compared to 22% for the Phillies and 16% for the Mets. Three percent root for the Red Sox, while other teams make up 1%. The survey was conducted among 56% of New Jersey adults polled, 1,789 in total, who are either "very interested" or "somewhat interested" in MLB. Quinnipiac conducted the study from June 14-19 (Newark STAR-LEDGER, 6/23).
