First, let’s take a look at the World Cup ratings.  You may recall watching the World Cup at 10am Eastern and 2pm Eastern, maybe even 8am eastern…..and you may have been one of the many who watched the final on Sunday morning.

Argentina’s shootout victory over France averaged 25.78 million viewers Sunday morning, the most ever for a men’s match in the U.S. Fox Sports drew 16.78 million viewers, and Telemundo’s Spanish-language telecast, which also streamed on Peacock, had 9 million cross-platform viewers. (Via the Hollywoood Reporter)

As a comparison:

The games of the 2022 World Series, in which the Houston Astros defeated the Philadelphia Phillies in a six-game series, had an average rating of 6.1. The average TV viewership for the 2022 World Series stood at 11.8 million viewers. (via Statista)

Anyway, everyone is all hopped up about soccer, so it’s a great time to announce the MLS TV Deal.

I got a text from a friend complaining the New England Revolution don’t have a single day game.

Then I saw the NYCFC’s (coming soon to near a casino near you!) released their schedule and yep, not a single day game.

 

Similarly, the Red Bulls have all their home games at 7:30

 

So a few thoughts here….

I get that Apple and the league want to have a consistent MLS window.   Hey that works pretty well for the National Football League, and in soccer-land The Premier League.  So I get it.

However – I also get that it’s cold in March.  Want to sit in Yankee Stadium on March 11th at night?  I don’t.

Anyone out there have kids?  So this is always a tough call – the kids most likely to be interested in attending a soccer game are PLAYING soccer on Saturday.  I know that was a challenge in my household.

But from the dad standpoint – and I am the one with the car – I don’t want to go to an event that starts at 7:30.  It just sounds late to this Old Man.  I am sure the Astoria Hipsters won’t mind taking the 7 train over to 126th in a  few years (or half the time this year), and they can even hang at the Casino afterward….but do I want to deal with Harrison NJ at the end of the day?  Nope.

From a TV standpoint, this league needs to lean on stars and build stars. If Messi comes to Miami then the hype every single week should be Messi vs. Other Team’s star.  Like the NFL does.  It’s “Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs.”

Anyway – I think in the heat of summer these Saturday night games are fine, but March and April?   Insane for attendance – but hey maybe not for TV.  It’s not like I am going to watch baseball….but would a day game or two kill you?  Even THE METS schedule one Saturday day game in April, and they are not the sharpest tools in the shed.

To conclude my rant I will point out that the 7am Pacific soccer game did well on Sunday.  The Super Bowl also does well at 3:30 Pacific.   Baseball?  They want you to stay up past midnight.  I choose not to.

My friends the Mets picked a good time of the year to announce this as it’s traditionally a slow week and I will post anything. Unlike the other blogs, I’m not just going to post a fluff piece with some sass.

I hate to tell him that there’s no way I am taking mass transit from NJ to Citi Field unless someone extends the 7 train to at least Sacacus and preferably Giants Stadium.  Hopefully LJ also knows that this was a horrible idea which will be mocked from now until the Mets win a World Series while nicely dressed.

METS NAME LJ NASSIVERA VICE PRESIDENT,

TRANSPORTATION STRATEGIES

FLUSHING, N.Y., December 19, 2022 – The New York Mets announced today that Lawrence J. (LJ) Nassivera has been named Vice President of Transportation Strategies. Nassivera will oversee the development of transportation solutions designed to improve mobility, efficiency and safety at Citi Field. He will collaborate with internal and external groups to identify and implement new programs for an improved fan experience with a focus on increasing mass transit usage.

“LJ’s connection to New York extends well beyond his knowledge of the city’s transportation systems,” Mets President Sandy Alderson said. “He also understands the Mets and our fans. LJ and his team will work to make a trip to Citi Field much more seamless.”

Nassivera joins the Mets from Arup, a leading global planning and engineering firm, where he delivered and led multi-disciplinary planning & engineering projects with partner agencies, including the New York City Department of Transportation (NYCDOT), the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and the New York City Council. He spent nearly 20 years in Arup’s New York office, including the last five as an Associate and leader of the Transportation, Logistics, and Urban Planning team.

“I’m grateful for the opportunity to support the most passionate fans in baseball,” Nassivera said. “Using my deep knowledge of New York City transportation, I will help develop a streamlined process to ease congestion, improve access to all transportation modes and minimize frustration so fans can spend more time at Citi Field cheering on the Mets.”

Nassivera earned his M.S. in Transportation Planning and Engineering from Polytechnic University Brooklyn and his B.A. in Geography with a cognate in Urban Planning from the University of South Carolina.

From QNS.com, sounds like Steve Cohen will hold some meetings to make you feel all invested in the development process, and then I imagine the powers that be will decide the best possible use of this land will be a casino, thanks for the input!!  (And bad job by all the other sites just printing the release and not asking Qs.)

IMO they are laying the groundwork to get everyone used to the idea of a casino.  Casino casino casino.  You’re used to hearing about it now.  Casino.  It seems inevitable. Casino.   Elite New York plays in ways you don’t get to.   But hey, there’s a meeting. Casino.

Have you ever been to one of these meetings?  Someone will suggest a bird sanctuary.  The people behind the table will write it down.  Casino.  How about a skateboard park?  Sure, great idea we will write that down. Casino. Someone will get the mic and start asking Steve about relief pitching,  It’s all a big waste of time.

(Steve) Cohen announced the first of a series of public “visioning sessions” will be held at Citi Field on Saturday, Jan. 7, to get community feedback on how to re-imagine the 50 acres of parking around the stadium as an entertainment complex that could potentially house a casino.

“For months, we have been listening to the local community who keeps telling us there is more they want from the area,” Cohen said. “Everyone agrees that the status quo is unacceptable.” (via QNS.com)

Look at this graphic Queens Future provided…

Nice graphic You know what else it is, and thanks for using green….

50 ACRES OF PARKLAND.

In Matter of Avella v. City of New York, 2017 N.Y. Slip Op. 04383 (N.Y. June 6, 2017), the Court upheld a decision by the Appellate Division, First Department, blocking construction of the so-called “Willets West” project on Citi Field’s parking lot, where Shea Stadium once stood. The Court, relying on the public trust doctrine – a fixture of New York law for well more than a century – found that the proposed development had not been authorized by the New York State legislature and, therefore, could not move forward. The Court’s narrow reading of what the legislature had authorized – over the dissent of Chief Judge Janet DiFiore – suggests that in the future it might construe other legislative directives as narrowly when the public trust doctrine at issue.  (via FarrelFritz.com)

also read this

The claim alleged that because the Willets West development was to be located on parkland, the public trust doctrine required direct legislative authorization, which had not been granted.[5]

The public trust doctrine holds that New York State parkland is dedicated to public use and is held, “in trust for that purpose”[6]; it can only be alienated and used for non-park purposes if expressly authorized by the State legislature.[7]  (via GT Law)

You guys likely hated the idea of building on parkland when it was the Wilpons doing it.  Don’t lose your convictions just because a baseball team signed some free agents.  It’s parkland.

This nice fellow stopped by the Mets store today.  If MLB marketed their stars I could tell you who he is!  Maybe he’s @mediagoon?

 

This is a big loss.  Wayne was the second best baseball play by play announcer in New York, behind only Howie Rose who is currently the best baseball announcer in all of baseball (following the death of Vin Scully).

Wayne is rumored to be taking the Angels TV job.

The guy who filled in last summer took the Royals job.

As radio is dead to me thanks to the malfeasance of WOR during their tenure (the loud metallic headache-inducing wah-wah noise) and the MLB App during that same time (LOUD COMMERCIALS) I no longer listen to games on the radio, so this does not affect me at all.