March 1, 2008
Ahead of today's show, we asked Rhinos captain Scott Vallow if he wanted to come on the show to talk about where the players' heads are at right now.
Scott declined the invitation, but did issue this statement on the topic:
"On behalf of the 2008 Rhinos team, we are certainly aware of the situation
regarding our Rhinos future as well as the future of this great club. We are in
regular contact with Rhino Management and Coaches and are being kept very aware
of all the possible outcomes. From what we have been told, all parties
are working very long hours to make sure professional soccer stays in Rochester
for 2008 and beyond.
As professional players, we are all staying focused on
the 2008 season and we have been preparing for many months now. And, as a
player that has been here for 6 seasons now, going on #7, and raised 2 trophies,
I think is is very important to point out that the Rhinos could not have gotten
this far if it weren't for the collective vision of Frank Duross, Steve Donner
and Chris Economedies, who have all come under some heat lately. I, personally,
owe a lot to these 3 gentlemen for having a hand in building me not just as a
professional athlete, but also for molding me as a person and as a member of
this community.
Finally, although professional sports is a business, the
Rhinos are here for the community and to make Rochester a better place to live
and raise a family, and to lose the Rhinos for any amount of time would be a
shame and would change all of our lives."
~Scott Vallow #24
www.myspace.com/scottvallow
www.scottvallow.com
Tim Holt denies the March 1st franchise fee "rumor"
We also contacted USL Executive Vice President and COO Tim Holt to come on and talk about the Rhinos situation. Tim is currently out of the country and was unable to join us this week. But, he did say that he would be available for next week's show if we needed him to come on.
Tim also had this to say:
"I am unsure as to what deposit is being referred to or what the pertinence of tomorrow is. Just so there is no confusion, there is no deposit or equivalent requirement connected to the end of the month of February in USL-1."
Devo also has a similiar quote from Tim over at his blog.
For people that want "Off the Record" stuff....................
I had a very interesting lunch on Thursday. Someone who has experience buying residential real estate says that pre-foreclosure deals usually entail paying 50 to 55% of the money owed to the lending institution.
If NBT Bank is looking for that kind of a percentage to write off the PAETEC Park loan, that would be around $6 million.
The person I had lunch with told me several times that the two of us could make money by purchasing PAETEC Park for $6 million.
So, if you have $6 million lying around and you want to make some money and save the Rhinos in the process, e-mail me!
Sorry I've been slacking
I was in NY City for two days this week on a business trip and my day job has been eating up all my time. So, I've been slacking when it comes to putting out links to news items such as Chester, PA (a suburb of Philadelphia) was awarded the 16th MLS franchise, Scott Palguta was one of only two NY Red Bulls non-roster invitees to make the trip to Salzburg, Austria, Oscar De La Hoya becoming a co-owner of the Houston Dynamo, Dusty Hudock re-signed with Charleston, and Landon Donovan is now officially the all-time leading goal scorer in USMNT history.
Hopefully I'll get back in the groove this week!
The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author, and not necessarily those of the Rochester Rhinos or SoccerSam.com. Feel free to send any comments or complaints to news@soccersam.com. James promises to read (but not to respond) to all of them.
