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June 22, 2012

Minor League Baseball: the Northwest League (Class A-Short Season).

Filed under: Baseball,Baseball: MiLB Class A — admin @ 8:57 pm

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The Northwest League official site, http://northwest.league.milb.com/index.jsp?sid=l126.

The Northwest League is an 8-team Class A-Short Season minor league baseball league, and is part of Organized Baseball. It has teams in the states of Washington (4 teams), Oregon (2 teams), Idaho (1 team), and in the Canadian province of British Columbia (1 team). Although technically within the fourth level of the Major League/minor league ladder, these days the Class A-Short Season level of the three-tier Single A level is more universally regarded as the 6th level of Organized Baseball (with Class A-Advanced considered the 4th level, and Class-A considered the 5th level). Another way of putting it is that the two Class A-Short Season leagues – the Northwest League and the New York-Penn League – are more akin to the Rookie Leagues than to the other two higher sections of the Class A level.

The seasons really are much shorter in the two Class A-Short Season leagues. The 8-team Northwest League plays a 76-game season, as opposed to the much longer seasons in the two Class-A leagues (the 16-team league the Midwest League has a 138-game season, and the 14-team league the South Atlantic League has a 140-game season). The other league in the Northwest League’s section, the New York-Penn League, has 14 teams and a 74-game season. That means there are 22 teams in the two Short Season leagues. If you are wondering why there are just 22 teams in the Class A-Short Season section, and not the MLB-equivalent 30 teams (like the rest of the baseball ladder), again, this is an example of how much closer the Short Season leagues are to the Rookie Leagues – because those 8 Major League Baseball teams that don’t have a team in the Short Season leagues skip this level and have their short season farm team in one of the two top Rookie Leagues (in the Appalachian League or in the Pioneer League).

From ‘en.wikipedia.org/’Minor league baseball/Current system/Class A-Short Season‘…(excerpt)…
…’As the name implies, these leagues play a shortened season, starting in June and ending in early September with only a few off-days during the season. The late start to the season is designed to allow college players to complete the College World Series before turning professional, give major league teams time to sign their newest draftees, and immediately place them in a competitive league. Players in these leagues are a mixture of newly-signed draftees and second-year pros who weren’t ready to move on, or for whom there was not space at a higher level to move up. Second-year pros tend to be assigned to extended spring training until the short-season leagues begin. For many players, this is the first time they have ever used wooden baseball bats, as aluminum bats are most common in the amateur game. Players are permitted to use certain approved composite bats at this classification to help them make the transition from aluminum to wood bats. This is also often the first time they have played every day for a prolonged basis, as amateur competitions typically regulate the number of games played in a week…’ (end of excerpt).

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In 2011, the Northwest League had a cumulative average attendance of 3,006 per game, which was an increase of +2.9% over the 2010 league average (which was 2,920 per game). [I could only find attendances for the Northwest League back to 2006, and the peak from 2006 to 2011 was been in 2008, at 3,026 per game {see baseball-reference.com/minors/2008 NWL .]
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The roots of the Northwest League are in the second incarnation of the Western International League, which existed from 1937 to 1942 and from 1946 to 1954. It was a Class B league through 1951, then upgraded to a Class A league in 1952. Three years later, in 1955, the Western International League changed its name to the Northwest League. The Western International League had a larger percentage of Canadian teams than the Northwest League has had. Presently [2012], the Northwest League has one Canadian team – the Vancouver Canadians – who are the only Canadian minor league baseball team currently in Organized Baseball, in fact. By way of comparison, in 1954, its last year before changing its name to the Northwest League, the Western International League had 10 teams, four of which were Canadian.

Here were the teams in the last season of the Western International League (1954) -Calgary (Alberta, Canada), Edmonton (Alberta, Canada), Lewiston (Idaho), Salem (Oregon), Spokane (Washington), Kennewick/Pasco/Richland (Washington) [playing as "Tri-City"], Vancouver (BC, Canada), Victoria (BC, Canada), Wenatchee (Washington), and Yakima (Washington).

The original seven teams that formed the newly-named Northwest League the following season of 1955 were the Salem Senators, the Eugene Emeralds, the Yakima Bears (I), the Spokane Indians (I), the Tri-City Braves, the Wenatchee Chiefs, and the Lewiston Broncs. In its 50th anniversary season in 2004, five of the seven original cities were still in the Northwest League, and that is still the case today. Those 5 locations are Eugene, Salem, Spokane, Tri-City, and Yakima.

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The top 3 drawing teams in 2011 in the Northwest League, starting with #3…
The Eugene Emeralds. PK Park, Eugene, Oregon -

Photo credit above – milb.com.
The oldest currently active team in the Northwest League is the Eugene Emeralds, who formed in 1955 as an Independently-affiliated minor league team and were a charter member of the Northwest League that same year. Eugene held on as an Independent minor league ball club for its first 4 seasons (being an Independent team within a predominantly MLB-affiliated minor league was way more common 50 or 60 years ago than it is today…today it is almost unheard of). Eugene’s first MLB-affiliation was in 1959, with the San Francisco Giants. All told, the Eugene Emeralds have been part of 10 MLB farm systems, including 2 separate stints as an independent club. In 1969, while part of the Philadelphia Phillies’ farm system, the Eugene Emeralds made the huge jump from a Class A-level team in the Northwest League to the Triple A-level Pacific Coast League. This only lasted 5 seasons, and in 1974, after the Phillies dropped them, the Eugene Emeralds, as an independent team, re-joined the Northwest League. The next year they became part of the Cincinnati Reds’ farm system (for a 9-year stint), and since then, the Emeralds have been part of the organizations of… the Kansas City Royals (for 11 years from 1984-94), the Atlanta Braves (for 4 years from 1995-98), the Chicago Cubs (for 2 years from 1999-2000), and, currently, with the San Diego Padres (for 12 years now, since 2001).

Eugene drew third best in the Northwest League in 2011, drawing 3,018 per game to their smart 4,000-capacity PK Park, which opened in 2009 and became the home of the Emeralds in 2010. PK Park features an open-air main stand protected by a bold sweeping roof – sensible for the rainy climate of coastal Oregon. In 2011, the Eugene Emeralds’ 75.4 percent-capacity was second-best in the league, and slightly higher than the Boise Hawks’ 75.3 percent-capacity. Only the second-newest Northwest League team – the Vancouver Canadians – had a higher percent-capacity last season (see below).

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The Vancouver Canadians (II). Scotiabank Field at Nat Bailey Stadium, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada -

Photo credit above – friendsofnatbaileystadium.com.
In 2011, the Vancouver Canadians (est. 2000) led the Northwest League in percent-capacity (82.7%-capacity) and had the second-best attendance (4,267 per game). The Vancouver Canadians (II) were originally an Oakland A’s farm team for their first 11 seasons, and since 2011 have been affiliated with the only Major League Baseball team based in Canada, the Toronto Blue Jays. Having a Canadian parent-club helped Vancouver bump up attendance 199 per game from 2010. It must be pointed out that Vancouver, British Columbia is a pretty large city for this level (metro population, 2.1 million {2006 figure}). The city of Vancouver is, for lack of a better word, slumming it, by having their sole professional baseball club be in a minor league that is 5 levels below the Major Leagues. The city of Vancouver is also slumming it by having their baseball team play in a stadium that is 61 years old. On the map page, check out the six decades’ worth of moss growing on the roof of the Canadians’ Nat Bailey Stadium, which opened in 1951 (or see it here [at upper right, click the + sign to zoom in] via satellite view at Bing.com). And remember…this Class A-Short Season team is Organized Baseball’s only minor league team in all of Canada currently {‘List of baseball teams in Canada‘ (en.wikipedia.org)}.

In fact, there are 62 municipalities in Canada with a population of over 50,000, and only one of them, Vancouver, has an affiliated minor league baseball team. {See this, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_the_100_largest_metropolitan_areas_in_Canada.} London, Ontario’s London Tecumsehs were a successful 19th Century baseball club and a charter member of the first minor league, the International Association, which formed in 1877, one year after the National League was established {see this, from baseball-reference.com/Bullpen}. Toronto, Ontario, Canada had a top-level minor league team, The Toronto Maple Leafs (of the International League) from 1911 to 1967. In 1946, in the season before he broke the color barrier in Major League Baseball, Jackie Robinson played in Canada for the Brooklyn Dodgers’ top farm, the Montreal Royals (of the International League, 1928-1960). Baseball-reference.com lists 70 municipalities in Canada that have had minor league baseball teams, and the lion’s share of those teams were within Organized Baseball {Minor League Encyclopedia at baseball-reference.com (Canada is listed 4/5ths of the way down the page).) 20 years ago, in the 1992 season, there were 8 Canadian teams in Organized Baseball – 3 in Triple-A (Calgary, Edmonton, and Vancouver); 1 in Double-A (London, ON); 3 in Short Season-A (Hamiton, ON; St. Catherines, ON,; and Welland, ON); and 1 in the Rookie Leagues (Medicine Hat, Alberta). Canada has had a significant presence throughout the history of minor league baseball. Now the presence Canada has in minor league baseball is reduced to one Short Season Single-A team and 3 Independent league teams – the London Rippers, the Winnipeg Goldeyes, and the Québec Capitales. The London team is new for 2012, and the teams from Winnipeg, Manitoba and from Quebec City, Quebec can be seen on my map of the top 122-drawing minor league baseball teams from 2011 [map of Organized Baseball teams, including Independent league teams, that drew over 3,000 per game in 2011], http://billsportsmaps.com/?p=15779.

[I chose 50 K as a measuring tool because, while there still are teams within Organized Baseball that come from municipalities smaller than 50,000, this figure still can be seen as a general cut-off point for the city-size necessary to support a farm team of a Major League Baseball team. Examples of affiliated minor league teams from municipalities with less than 50K-metro-area-population in Organized Baseball in 2012 (in leagues which measure attendance [17 leagues])… In the 3 Class AAA leagues (zero). In the 3 Class AA leagues (zero). In the 7 leagues in the 3 Class A levels (4 teams). And in the Rookie Leagues [the 2 Rookie Leagues which measure attendance] (2 teams)… From the Midwest League (Class A): Burlington, IA; and Clinton, IA. From the New-York Penn League (A-Short Season): Batavia, NY; and Jamestown, NY. From the Appalachian League (Rookie): Danville, VA; and Elizabethton, TN.]

In case you are wondering, the smallest municipality with a team in the Northwest League is Kennewick/Pasco/Richland, WA, home of the Tri-City Dust Devils. The Tri-Cities, in south-central Washington state, have a metro population of around 253,000 {2010 figure}. [Note: Yakima, WA and Everett, WA are the smallest cities with a Northwest League teams, but Everett is part of Greater Seattle, and Yakima has a larger metro area than the Tri-Cities.]

So there you have it – Canada, land of the Hockey Puck, to the detriment of every other pro sport with the partial exceptions of the Canadian Football League, and soccer (there are 3 Major League Soccer teams based in Canada).

For 22 seasons, from 1978 to 1999, Vancouver had a Triple A team in the Pacific Coast League (who were also called the Canadians), but that franchise moved to Sacramento, California in 2000, and the Sacramento River Cats are these days one of the highest-drawing minor league teams (usually averaging above 8,000 per game). Soon after that, the other two remaining PCL teams based in Canada – in Calgary and in Edmonton – also moved to American cities (to, respectively, Albuquerque, New Mexico in 2003; and to Greater Austin, Texas in 2005). Both these 2 teams also draw very well now that they are no longer in Canada. Then, a couple years after that, to make the Triple-A totally devoid of a Canadian presence, the Ottawa Lynx of the International League (who drew horribly for Triple-A, like in the 2,000-to-3,000-per-game-range) moved out of Canada to Allentown, Pennsylvania in 2007, making the Vancouver Canadians the sole Canadian minor league team in Organized Baseball [2007-2012]. That Allentown, PA team, called the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, drew best in all of minor league baseball in 2011 {MiLB and Independent leagues’ 2011 attendance data, here (Ballpark Digest.com)}.

The Vancouver Canadians beat the Tri-Citiy Dust Devils in September 2011 to claim their first Northwest League title.

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The Spokane Indians (IV). Avista Stadium, Spokane, Washington -

Photo credit above – milb.com.
The highest-drawing team in the Northwest League is, once again, the Spokane Indians, of Spokane Valley, Greater Spokane. Spokane is in the parched and arid eastern half Washington state, near the Idaho panhandle. The Spokane Indians drew 4,827 per game at their 6,803-capacity Avista Stadium, which opened in 1958. The age of their ballpark makes Spokane’s good attendance even more significant, because the team is pulling in the highest crowds in the league with a stadium that is over half a century old. There was a Spokane team in the first two seasons of the Northwest League (1955-56) that went under. Then there was a different Spokane Indians team in the Triple-A PCL from 1958 to 1971 that was affiliated with the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Dodgers revamped their farm teams and placed the Spokane team a couple rungs lower, so in 1972, Spokane had a team back in the Northwest League, but that version of the Spokane Indians lasted just that one season in ’72, because Spokane then landed a PCL franchise from Portland, Oregon, and the next year, 1973, Spokane had a Triple-A team again. This incarnation of the Spokane Indians lasted from 1973 to 1982, and was initially the top farm team of the new MLB club the Texas Rangers, then were the top farm of the Milwaukee Brewers from 1976-78, then were the top farm team of the nearby Seattle Mariners from 1979-81, then were the top farm team of the California Angels in 1982, then folded. The following year, 1983, the San Diego Padres put a farm team in Spokane, and for the city of Spokane, it was back down a few rungs again to the Northwest League, where this incarnation of the Spokane Indians, the present-day Spokane Indians (IV), have played now for 30 seasons, first as a Padres farm team (1983-94), then as a Kansas City Royals farm team (1995-2002), now back as a Texas Rangers farm team (2002-2012). The present-day Spokane Indians (1983-2012) have won the most Northwest League titles of any of the active teams in the league, with 8 titles, last in 2008.

For the record, with respect to league championships, the second-best showing by active teams, and by far the best percentage of titles-versus-seasons, is by the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes (1997-2012). The Volcanoes have, very impressively, won 5 Northwest League titles in 15 seasons, with the Volcanoes’ last title in 2009. The Salem-Keizer Vocanoes have been a San Francisco Giants farm team ever since they started in 1997, and drew fourth-best in the Northwest League again in 2011, averaging 2,788 per game. The team is from Keizer, Oregon, which is 2 miles north of Salem, OR; and 37 miles south of Portland, OR. Salem, Oregon’s metro area population is around 396,000 {2009 figure}.

‘List of Northwest League champions‘ [1960-present] (en.wikipedia.org).
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Photo and Image credits on map page -
Boise Hawks, idahoairships at panoramio.com.
Spokane Indians, bing.com/maps/bird’s eye satellite view.
Tri-City Dust Devils, bing.com/maps/bird’s eye satellite view.
Yakima Bears, Larry Stone/seattletimes.nwsource.com.

Eugene Emeralds, citadelgroup.org/construction-portfolio.
Everett AquaSox, bing.com/maps/bird’s eye satellite view.
Salem-Keizer Volcanoes, bing.com/maps/bird’s eye satellite view.
Vancouver Canadians, bing.com/maps/bird’s eye satellite view

Thanks to the contributors to the pages at en.wikipedia.com, ‘Northwest League‘.

Thanks to Baseball-refernce.com, for info on the teams and the seasons they were in the Northwest League, ‘Northwest League (Short-Season A) Encyclopedia and History‘ (baseball-reference.com).

Thanks to Chris Creamer’s Sports Logos Page, for some of the logos, ‘Northwest League Logos’.

Attendance figures were culled from web.minorleaguebaseball.com. You won’t be able to find 2011 attendance figures for any of the minor leagues in Organized Baseball if you go to their site now, though…they get rid of all data from the previous season some time around the New Year. But I learned that the hard way last year, so I took screen shots of all 11 minor leagues’ 2011 attendance figures in December 2011, when the figures were still there. Hey MiLB – is it so hard to archive the data? Anyway, here is the BizofBaseball.com’s archive for minor league attendance (2010 is missing, though), bizofbaseball.com/MiLB attenadnce archive (2005-2009; 2011).

Here is NumberTamer’s 2010 Minor League Baseball attendance report [pdf] (60 pages).
Here is NumberTamer’s 2011 Minor League Baseball attendance report [pdf] (66 pages)

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June 13, 2012

Minor League Baseball: the South Atlantic League (a Class-A league).

Filed under: Baseball,Baseball: MiLB Class A — admin @ 8:50 pm

South Atlantic League

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The South Atlantic League (III) is a 14-team Class A minor league baseball league within Organized Baseball. In 2011, the South Atlantic League averaged a solid 3,148 per game. The highest -drawing team in 2011 was one of the newest teams in the “Sally League”, the New Jersey-based Lakewood Blue Claws, who drew 6,558 per game – a very impressive figure for Single-A baseball. That figure was 28th highest in all of minor league baseball in 2011. Second-highest-drawing South Atlantic League team in 2011 was one of the oldest teams in the league, the Greensboro Grasshoppers, who have had a Sally League team since 1980, which was the first season of the modern-day South Atlantic League (III) (more on that further below). Greensboro drew 5,545 per game, which was 45th highest in all of minor league baseball in 2011 {map of top 122 drawing minor league teams in 2011, here}. The Greensboro Grasshoppers were also 2011 South Atlantic League champions {‘South Atlantic League/champions‘ (en.wikipedia.org).

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There have been 3 South Atlantic Leagues throughout the history of minor league baseball in America. The first Sally League existed from 1904 to 1917; and 1919 to 1930, and was a Class C minor league up until 1920, when it became a Class B league. The second South Atlantic League, also a Class B league, existed from 1936 to 1942; then shut down because of World War II, and re-started and played from 1946 to 1962. In 1962, in the last season of the South Atlantic League (II), the league moved up a level to Class A. One year [1963] was then taken off for re-organization. In 1964, South Atlantic League (II) took the place of the disbanded-because-they-refused-to-integrate Southern Association (1901-1961).

South Atlantic League (II) circa 1936 to 1962 is actually the present-day Southern League (1963-present). [The Southern League is a Class AA league.]

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After 1961, the name “South Atlantic League” went unused for 16 years. Then the name was adopted by the [Class A] Western Carolinas League (which existed from 1960 to 1979). That league was just a 5-team league in its last season before the name-change (see below). So in 1980, South Atlantic League (III) was established, also as a Class A level league within Organized Baseball.

Here are the 5 teams in the last season of the Western Carolinas League (1979) that switched from the Western Carolinas League of 1979 into the newly re-established South Atlantic League (III) of 1980…
-Asheville Tourists (1976 to present) – the Asheville Tourists are still in the South Atlantic League (and an Ashevile minor league baseball has been in nine different minor leagues throughout their 98-year history, from 1915 to 2012).
-Gastonia (NC) Cardinals (1977-82) – the Gastonia South Atlantic League franchise changed its name 3 times as their affiliation changed (Gastonia Expos: 1983-84; Gastonia Jets:1985 [Independent]; Gastonia Tigers: 1986; Gastonia Rangers: 1987-92). In 1993, the Gastonia franchise moved 40 miles north to Hickory, NC and became the Hickory Crawdads (1993 to present [2011]).
-Greensboro (NC) Hornets (1979-1993) – the Greensboro team is still in existence in the South Atlantic League…the Greensboro Hornets changed their name to the Greensboro Bats (in 1994), then changed their name to the Greensboro Grasshoppers (in 2004).
-Greenwood (SC) Braves (1968-79; 1980-93 as the Greenwood Pirates) – defunct.
-Shelby (NC) Pirates (as Shelby Reds, 1977-78; Pirates, 1979-80; Mets, 1981-82) – franchise moved to Columbia, SC (1983-2004); then moved to Greenville, SC as the present-day Sally League team the Greenville Drive.
These 5 teams went directly from the 1979 Western Carolinas League to the 1980 Sally League.

Here is an illustration of the 8 teams in the inaugural 1980 season of the South Atlantic League (III)…

1980 Final standings, South Atlantic League -
North Division
Greenboro Hornets (NYY) (champions)
Gastonia Cardinals (STL)
Asheville Tourists (TEX)
Shelby Pirates (PIT)

South Division
Charleston Royals (KCR)
Spartanburg Phillies (PHI)
Anderson Braves (ATL)
Macon Peaches (Independent)

Three of these teams have remained ever since in the same city – the Asheville Tourists, the Greenboro team (now called the Grasshoppers); and the Charleston, South Carolina team (Charleston Royals, 1980-84; Charleston Rainbows, 1985-93; Charleston RiverDogs, 1994-present).

The following year, 1981, the Macon Peaches became a Detroit affiliate and shed their precarious Independent-status (the only other Independent team in this league would be the aforementioned Gastonia Jets, in 1985). Macon later became the Macon Redbirds, then the Macon Pirates, and then, in 1988 moved 100 miles east to Augusta, GA and became the Augusta Pirates, then the Augusta GreenJackets (1994 to present/in Augusta since 1988). Also in 1981, 2 more teams were added to make the South Atlantic League a 10-team league – the Florence (SC) Blue Jays and the Greenwood Pirates. In 1987, the Sally League became a 12-team league, and spread its reach to West Virginia with the addition of the Charleston (WV) Wheelers, who were the Charleston Alley Cats from 1995-2004, and since 2005 have been known as the Charleston Power. The other new team in 1987 was the Myrtle Beach Blue Jays, which was the transferred Florence NC franchise. By 1988, other Sally League teams included the aforementioned Augusta Pirates, the Columbia (SC) Mets, the Fayetteville Generals, the Savannah Cardinals and the Sumter (SC) Braves.

In 1991, the Sally League expanded once again, with the re-introduction of a Macon, GA team – the Macon Braves; and the inclusion of a former Southern League team – the Columbus (GA) Indians. In 1993, the Sally League spread its range further north with their first Maryland-based team, the Hagerstown Suns (1993-present). Also in 1993, (as mentioned before) a team from Hickory, NC joined the league – the Hickory Crawdads. In 1994, Spartanburg said goodbye to its minor league team, and that team move east to Kannapolis, NC (a town 20 miles north of Charlotte), initially as the Piedmont Boll Weevils, then the Kannapolis Intimidators (since 2001, and named in honor of the late NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt, who had purchased a share of the team in 2000, before his death during a race in February, 2001). In 1996, a second Maryland-based team was added to the Sally League, with the new Delmarva Shorebirds of Salisbury, on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. That same year, the South Atlantic League tried a new format, with 3 divisions, with a 4-team North Division (Delmarva, Hagerstown, Charleston (WV), and Fayetteville); a 6-team Central Division (Asheville, Hickory, Piedmont, Greensboro, Capitol City [Columbia, SC], and Charleston (SC)); and a 4-team South Division, all teams from Georgia, (Macon, Columbus, Augusta, Savannah). The 3-division format lasted from 1996 to 1999.

In 2001, the South Atlantic League expanded yet again, to a 16-team league, with the inclusion of the first team in the Sally League from Kentucky, the Lexington Legends; and the Wilmington (NC) Waves, who lasted one year (with an inadequate ballpark), then moved to Albany, GA as the South Georgia Waves (2002), then moved to the suddenly-vacant Columbus, GA spot (see 2 sentences below) with the same name (South Georgia Waves, 2003), then became the Columbus Catfish (2003-08), then moved again (see 2 sentences below). Also in 2001, the first Sally League team from the Northeast began play – the Lakewood Blue Claws, of Lakewood Township, NJ (located about 45 minutes south of New York City and about 1 hour north-east of Philadelphia). This team was the transplanted Fayetteville franchise. In 2003, the Macon Braves moved 130 miles NW to Rome, GA as the Rome Braves (2003-present). Also in 2003, the Columbus, GA team, the RedStixx, moved north to become the second South Atlantic League team north of the Mason-Dixon line by moving to northeast Ohio in Eastlake, Ohio (16 miles east of Cleveland), as the Lake County Captains (in the South Atlantic League from 2003 to 2009). The Lake County Captains would (logically) end up in the other Class A league , the Midwest League, in 2010. The other team that would leave the Sally League to join the Midwest League in 2010 was the Bowling Green Hot Rods, of Bowling Green, Kentucky, established in 2009 in the South Atlantic League, who were the transplanted Columbus, GA franchise (last called the Catfish, 2004-08).

So since 2010, the other Single-A league in Organized Baseball – the Midwest League – has had 16 teams, and the South Atlantic League has had 14 teams.

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Photo and Image credits –
Delmarva Shorebirds, littleballparks.com.
greensboro Grasshoppers, bing.com/maps/bird’s eye satellite view.
Hagerstown Suns, bing.com/maps/bird’s eye satellite view.
Hickory Crawdads, setzler.net.
Kannapolis Intimidators, intimidators.mlblogs.com.
Lakewood BlueClaws, bing.com/maps/bird’s eye satellite view.
West Virginia Power, littleballparks.com.

Asheville Tourists, photo by Baseball Bugs at en.wikipedia.org.
Augusta GreenJackets, Augusta GreenJackets via web.minorleaguebaseball.com.
Charleston RiverDogs, bing.com/maps/bird’s eye satellite view.
Greenville Drive, bing.com/maps/bird’s eye satellite view.
Lexington Legends, bing.com/maps/bird’s eye satellite view.
Rome Braves, charliesballparks.com.
Savannah Sand Gnats, bing.com/maps/bird’s eye satellite view.

Base map of 1980 SAL map by Júlio Reis at commons.wikimedia.org at: commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Historical_blank_US_map_1865.svg.
Thanks to http://www.littleballparks.com/.
Thanks to Baseball Reference.com, ‘South Atlantic League (A) Encyclopedia and History‘.

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June 2, 2012

UEFA Euro 2012, hosted by Poland and Ukraine – map of qualified national teams and venues / Plus a chart of the statistics of the nations involved (major tournament records, populations, and GDP data) / Plus photos of the host cities and venues.

Filed under: Poland,UEFA Euro 2012,Ukraine — admin @ 9:02 pm

Click on image below to see Euro 2012 map with all 16 teams

UEFA Euro 2012 map

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Click on image below to see Euro 2012 chart with all 16 teams’ data

Chart with teams’ & nations’ data

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From Guardian.co.u/Football, ‘Euro 2012 team guides – Get the lowdown on the 16 teams, all the top players and every manager ahead of Euro 2012‘.

The following link I highly recommend checking out. From Dailymail.co.uk, from 2 December 2011, ‘Euro 2012 venue guide: The eight stadiums in Poland and Ukraine‘.

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Notes on nations’ data…
The GDP numbers and nation-rankings are from the CIA World Factbook, via this page at en.wikipedia.org, ‘List of countries by GDP (PPP) per capita‘. Excerpt from that page’s intro…’GDP dollar estimates here are derived from purchasing power parity (PPP) calculations. Such calculations are prepared by various organizations, including the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. As estimates and assumptions have to be made, the results produced by different organizations for the same country tend to differ, sometimes substantially. PPP figures are estimates rather than hard facts, and should be used with caution.’

Population numbers and nation-rankings are from this list at en.wikipedia.org ‘List of countries by population‘. As paragraph 3 there says, ‘Figures used in this chart are based on the most recent estimate or projection by the national census authority where available and usually rounded off. Where national data is not available, figures are based on the 2010 estimate by the Population Division of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs.’
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The UEFA Euro 2012 Tournament, hosted by Poland and Ukraine

Photos of the 8 host-cities in the illustrations below from http://ukraine2012.gov.ua/en/citys/Kyiv/ [note: there a lots of other photos of the cities in the 8 nice galleries at this link].

Warsaw –
National Stadium, Warsaw. Opened 2012. Capacity 58,145. 5 matches in UEFA Euros 2012 will be played here: 3 Group A matches, a Quarter-finals match, and a Semi-finals match.

Photo of Warsaw from http://ukraine2012.gov.ua/en/citys/Kyiv/. Photo of National Stadium (Warsaw) by Vincent A. at flickr.com, here; and at the following, stadiumporn.com/national-stadium-warsaw-poland/.

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Gdańsk –
PGE Arena. Opened 2011. Capacity 43,615. 4 matches in UEFA Euros 2012 will be played here: 3 Group C matches, and a Quarter-final match.

Photo of Gdansk from http://ukraine2012.gov.ua/en/citys/Kyiv/. Photo of PGE Arena Gdańsk by Piotr Krajewski at http://www.a-pk.pl/ and at flickr.com, here.

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Poznań -
City Stadium (Poznań). Opened 1980, last renovated in 2010. Capacity 41,609. 3 matches in UEFA Euros 2012 will be played here: 3 Group C matches.

Photo of Poznań from http://ukraine2012.gov.ua/en/citys/Kyiv/. Photo of City Stadium (Poznań) from aerofoto-kaczmarczyk.com via imageshack.us.

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Wrocław -
Stadion Miejski (Wrocław). Opened 2011. Capacity 42,771. 3 matches in UEFA Euros 2012 will be played here: 3 Group A matches.

Photo of Wrocław from http://ukraine2012.gov.ua/en/citys/Kyiv/. Photo of Stadion Miejski by Łukasz Czyżykowski at en.wikipedia.org/Stadion Wroclaw.

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Kyiv –
Olimpiysky National Sports Complex. Opened 1923, expanded in 1966, and 1978; last renovated in 2011. Capacity 70,050. 5 matches in Euros 2012 will be played here: 3 Group D matches, a Quarter-finals match, and the Final (on 1 July, 2012).

Photo of Kyiv from http://ukraine2012.gov.ua/en/citys/Kyiv/.Photo of Olimpiysky National Sports Complex from nsc-olimpiyskiy.com.ua.

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Donetsk -
Donbass Arena. Opened 2009. Capacity 52,598. 5 matches in UEFA Euros 2012 will be played here: 3 Group D matches, a Quarter-finals, and a Semi-finals match.

Photo of Donetsk from http://ukraine2012.gov.ua/en/citys/Kyiv/. Photo of Donbass arena by Elparadiso19 at en.wikipedia.org/Donbass Arena.

…

Kharkiv –
Metalist Stadium. Opened 1926, last renovated in 2009. Capacity 38,500. 3 matches in Euros 2012 will be played here: 3 Group B matches.

Photo of Kharkiv from http://ukraine2012.gov.ua/en/citys/Kyiv/. Photo of Metalist Stadium by Getty Images via uefa.com.

…

Lviv -
Arena Lviv. Opened 2011. Capacity 34,915. 3 matches in UEFA Euros 2012 will be played here: 3 Group B matches.

Photo of Lviv from http://ukraine2012.gov.ua/en/citys/Kyiv/. Photo of Arena Lviv from repetylo.org.ua via skyscrapercity.com/thread, Lviv Arena.

Thanks to the contributors to the pages at en.wikipedia.org, ‘UEFA Euro 2012‘.

Base map of Europe from commons.wikimedia.org/File:BlankMap-Europe-v4.png .
Photos of jerseys from worldsoccershop.com . Photo of Poland jersey from primosoccerjerseys.com
Kit illustrarions from en.wikipedia.org

Thanks to primosoccerjerseys.com/poland-national-team-home-soccer-jersey-shirt-kit-2012-13/ for the photo of the Poland home 2012-13 jersey.

Thanks to worldsoccershop.com/shop-by-league-uefa-euro-2012 for the photo of the most of the jerseys on the map pages.

Thanks to tofocus.info for the flag of Ukraine, which has the correct shade of pale blue for the top band in the Ukrainian flag, unlike many other media sources, which have the top band of the Ukrainian flag royal blue instead of a very light blue.

Comments (8)

May 31, 2012

UEFA Euro 2012, Group D – England, France, Sweden, Ukraine – map of the 8 venues and the 16 teams in UEFA Euro 2012 / plus Group D schedule & venues, and statistics on the 4 nations in Group D & their teams’ all-time competitive records (in FIFA World Cup and in UEFA Euro tournaments).

Filed under: UEFA Euro 2012 — admin @ 8:01 pm

UEFA Euro 2012, Group D – England, France, Sweden, Ukraine: schedule, venues, and national team data

UEFA Euro 2012 Group D matches -

11 June 2012
19:00 UTC+3
Match 7 – France v. England, Donbass Arena, Donetsk, Ukraine.

11 June 2012
21:45 UTC+3
Match 8 – Ukraine v. Sweden, Olympic Stadium, Kyiv, Ukraine.

15 June 2012
19:00 UTC+3
Match 16 – Ukraine v. France, Donbass Arena, Donetsk, Ukraine.
15 June 2012
21:45 UTC+3
Match 15 – Sweden v. England, Olympic Stadium, Kyiv, Ukraine.

19 June 2012
21:45 UTC+3
Match 23 – England v. Ukraine, Donbass Arena, Donetsk, Ukraine.

19 June 2012
21:45 UTC+3
Match 24 – Sweden v. France, Olympic Stadium, Kyiv, Ukraine.

…

Group D venues (in Kyiv, Ukraine and in Donetsk, Ukraine) -

Photos of the host-cities in the illustrations below from http://ukraine2012.gov.ua/en/citys/Kyiv [note: there are lots of other photos of the eight host cities in the tournament, in the 8 galleries at this link].

Kyiv –
Kyiv, Ukraine. Capital of Ukraine.
Founded 5th century (as a commercial center on the trade route from Scandanavia to Constantinople).
Kyiv city population 2,797,000; metro area population 3.6 million {2010 figures}.
Olimpiysky National Sports Complex. Opened 1923, expanded in 1966, and 1978; last renovated in 2011. Capacity 70,050. 5 matches in Euros 2012 will be played here: 3 Group D matches, a Quarter-finals match, and the Final (on 1 July, 2012).

Photo of Kyiv from http://ukraine2012.gov.ua/en/citys/Kyiv/.
Photo of Olimpiysky National Sports Complex from nsc-olimpiyskiy.com.ua.

…

Donetsk -
Donetsk, Ukraine.
Founded 1869 (by Welsh industrialist John Hughes, who constructed a steel plant and several coal mines).
Donetsk city population 979,000; metro area population 2.0 million {2011 figures}.
Donbass Arena. Opened 2009. Capacity 52,598. 5 matches in UEFA Euros 2012 will be played here: 3 Group D matches, a Quarter-finals, and a Semi-finals match.

Photo of Donetsk from http://ukraine2012.gov.ua/en/citys/Kyiv/.
Photo of Donbass arena by Elparadiso19 at en.wikipedia.org/Donbass Arena.
—

Population numbers and nation’s-population-rankings are from this list at en.wikipedia.org ‘List of countries by population‘. As paragraph 2 there says, ‘Figures used in this chart are based on the most recent estimate or projection by the national census authority where available and usually rounded off. Where national data is not available, figures are based on the 2012 estimate by the Population Division of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs.’

___

Thanks to the contributors to the pages at en.wikipedia.org, ‘UEFA Euro 2012‘.

Base map of Europe from commons.wikimedia.org/File:BlankMap-Europe-v4.png .

Photos of jerseys from worldsoccershop.com.
Thanks to worldsoccershop.com/shop-by-league-uefa-euro-2012 for the photos of the jerseys on the map page.
Map of overseas possessions of France by Manchot sanguinaire at en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Outre-mer_eo.png .

Comments (1)

May 25, 2012

UEFA Euro 2012, Group C – Croatia, Ireland, Italy, Spain – map of the 8 venues and the 16 teams in UEFA Euro 2012 / plus Group C schedule & venues, and statistics on the 4 nations in Group C & their teams’ all-time competitive records (in FIFA World Cup and in UEFA Euro tournaments).

Filed under: UEFA Euro 2012 — admin @ 9:45 pm

UEFA Euro 2012, Group B – Denmark, Germany, Netherlands, Portugal: schedule, venues, and national team data

UEFA Euro 2012 Group C matches -

10 June 2012
18:00 UTC+2
Match 5 – Spain v. Italy, PGE Arena, Gdańsk, Poland.

10 June 2012
20:45 UTC+2
Match 6 – Ireland v. Croatia, Municipal Stadium, Poznań, Poland.

14 June 2012
18:00 UTC+2
Match 13 – Italy v. Croatia, Municipal Stadium, Poznań, Poland.

14 June 2012
20:45 UTC+2
Match 14 – Spain v. Ireland, PGE Arena, Gdańsk, Poland.

18 June 2012
20:45 UTC+2
Match 21 – Croatia v. Spain, PGE Arena, Gdańsk, Poland.

18 June 2012
20:45 UTC+2
Match 22 – Italy v. Ireland, Municipal Stadium, Poznań, Poland.

Group C venues (in Gdańsk, Poland and in Poznań, Poland) -

Photos of the host-cities in the illustrations below from http://ukraine2012.gov.ua/en/citys/Gdansk [note: there are lots of other photos of the eight host cities in the tournament, in the 8 galleries at this link].

Gdańsk –
Gdańsk, Poland.
Founded 997 (when a stronghold was built there, which was connected with Baltic Sea trade routes).
Gdansk city population 455,000; metro area population 1.0 million {2009 figures}.
PGE Arena. Opened 2011. Capacity 43,615. 4 matches in UEFA Euros 2012 will be played here: 3 Group C matches, and a Quarter-final match (note: the Quarterfinal match to be played in Gdańsk does not involve Group C teams – it will be between the winner of Group B and the runner-up of Grouip A).

Photo of Gdansk from http://ukraine2012.gov.ua/en/citys/Kyiv/.
Photo of PGE Arena Gdańsk by Piotr Krajewski at http://www.a-pk.pl/ and at flickr.com, here.

…

Poznań -
Poznan, Poland.
Founded 9th century (as stronghold; then from the 10th to 11th century, it was the capital of Weikopolska, or Old Poland).
Poznan city population 455,000; metro area population 1.0 million {2009 figures}.
City Stadium (Poznań). Opened 1980, last renovated in 2010. Capacity 41,609. 3 matches in UEFA Euros 2012 will be played here: 3 Group C matches.

Photo of Poznań from http://ukraine2012.gov.ua/en/citys/Kyiv/.
Photo of City Stadium (Poznań) from aerofoto-kaczmarczyk.com via imageshack.us.

—

___

Thanks to the contributors to the pages at en.wikipedia.org, ‘UEFA Euro 2012‘.

Base map of Europe from commons.wikimedia.org/File:BlankMap-Europe-v4.png .

Photos of jerseys from worldsoccershop.com.
Thanks to worldsoccershop.com/shop-by-league-uefa-euro-2012 for the photos of the jerseys on the map page.

Comments (2)

May 16, 2012

Brazil: 2012 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A location map, with 2011 average attendances, and titles list / Plus a small chart of the reigning champions, SC Corinthians – crests and kits through the years (1910 to 2012) / Plus 2011 Corinthians scoring and assists leaders.

Filed under: Brazil — admin @ 8:04 pm

2012 Brasileiro map and titles list

The 2012 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A is the 42nd season of Brazil’s Campeonato Brasileiro Série A. Reigning champions are São Paulo-based SC Corinthians Paulista. 2012 will be the ninth season that the 20-team Campeonato Brasileiro Série A is using the standard round-robin format of home-and-away-matches-versus-all-other-clubs (for a 38-game season), as well as a basic relegation format (with the bottom 4 finishers going down to Série B, while the top 4 finishers from Série B win promotion). The season starts on Saturday 19 May.

Campeonato Brasileiro Série A – Fixtures, Results, Table (soccerway.com).

But while the format of top flight Brazilian football has come in line with most of the professional football leagues throughout Europe and the rest of South America, their calendar has not. Starting their season in May really puts Brazilian clubs at a disadvantage. The reason Brazil’s national football league starts in mid-May is the continued existence of the outmoded state championships – an anachronism that is of a time when infrastructure and transportation in Brazil could not accommodate a nation-wide first division league, so the state championships were necessary, and served a role in Brazilian football. ‘Brazilian football state championships‘ (en.wikipedia.org). But since the early 1970s, there has been a national league, so state championships should have become redundant. Yet the poorly-attended and now pretty much pointless state championships persist. Why? Because of entrenched power interests in all of the 26 state football associations. If these now-irrelevant cup-format state championships were phased out, those old white guys in positions of power in every state football association in Brazil would lose their power, prestige and cushy jobs – they would lose their gravy train. And so, like parasites, the guys in power in the football associations in all the states in Brazil conspire to maintain the state championships. And so the state championships continue to take up a significant and pivotal portion of the calendar year (from January to mid-May), which thus sucks time and energy and media attention away from the important thing that all the millions of pro football fans in Brazil care about – the Brasileiro – and keeps Brazil out of the loop, literally. Due to the Brazilian league starting in May, as opposed to August, clubs’ transfer policies, budgets, and roster decisions are thrown out of whack. And Brazilian clubs still alive in the Copa Libertadores each year are also hampered by the domestic season’s opening in May, because they are forced to start the new season while concentrating on their Quarterfinals and Semifinals matches in the Copa Libertadores.

There are 4 Brazilian clubs still alive in the 2012 Copa Libertadores – Fluminense (who square off against Boca Juniors), Corinthians and Vasco da Gama (who face each other), and Cup-holders Santos (who play Vélez Sársfield).
‘2012 Copa Libertadores/ Quarterfinals‘ (en.wikipedia.org).

…

Brazilian Pro Football titles chart

The map page has a different layout from previous maps I’ve done for Brazilian football. On this one, the emphasis is on the titles won by clubs.

At the far left of the map page there is a location-map of the 20 clubs in 2012 Brazilian first division. The center and right-hand side of the map page is taken up by a chart which lists the national, state, Copa do Brasil, and Copa Libertadores titles of 24 clubs. The clubs are listed by 2011 average attendance (from home league matches in either Série A or Série B).

Also listed in the chart, near the center, are consecutive seasons in the Brazilian top flight by club. [Note: there are 5 clubs in Brazil that have spent all 42 seasons in the Brazilian first division - Cruzeiro, Flamengo, Internacional, Santos, and São Paulo.].

The 4 newly-promoted clubs for 2012 are listed at the bottom of the chart. Those 4 newly-promoted clubs are – Náutico, Ponte Preta, Portuguesa, and Sport Recife.

The first note I should make is that the chart has 24 clubs in it because it also includes the 4 clubs relegated out of Série A after last season – América (Minas Gerais), Atlético Paranaense, Avaí, and Ceará. You can tell which clubs are the relegated clubs by their lack of bold-face text in the far left column [2011], and by their lack of inclusion in the green column at the far right [2012].

National titles listed are – Campeonato Brasileiro Série A titles (from 1971 to 2011), plus Taça Brasil titles (1959-68), plus Torneio Roberto Gomes Pedrosa titles (1967–70) [see 3 paragraphs down].

On the chart, national titles are listed in the dark blue column at the center-right-hand side of the chart. Along the entire lower section of the map page are the crests of all clubs with national titles in Brazil, going from left to right in descending order.

I have included, among national titles won, the titles won from the generally accepted precursor to the modern Brazilian national championship competition, which was called the Taça Brasil. The Taça Brasil was founded in 1959 to enable Brazil to provide contenders for the newly-created Copa Libertadores, which had it’s inaugural season in 1960. Here is the Wikipedia page of Taça Brasil. The successor to the Taça Brasil was the Torneo Roberto Gomes Pedrosa (1967–70), which had originally been the Torneo Rio-São Paulo, for clubs only from Rio de Janeiro state and São Paulo state. In 1967, the tournament was opened to include clubs from Minas Gerais, Paraná and Rio Grande do Sul states, and later also from Pernambuco and Bahia states. In 1969 and 1970, the winner and the runners-up in the Torneio Roberto Gomes Pedrosa went to the Copa Liberadores. Palmeiras won it in 1969, and Fluminense won it in 1970. In 1971, the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A was established, and the inaugural season was won by Clube Atlético Mineiro, a Belo Horizonte-based club that has never won the title again. Palmeiras won the Brazilian title in the second and third seasons of the Brasileiro (in 1972 and 1973). Vasco da Gama won the title in 1974, and SC Internacional won the Brasileiro in 1975 and 1976. To round out the first decade in Brazil’s national league, São Paulo won the title for the first time n 1977, current-second-division club Guaraní won the title in 1978, SC International were champions again in 1979, and Flamengo won it for the first time in 1980. As far as the all-time titles leader in Brazil goes, it depends on how you define the title. If you count Taça Brasil titles and Torneo Roberto Gomes Pedrosa titles (1959-1970) along with Campeonato Brasileiro Série A titles (1971-present), both Santos and Palmeiras have won the most Brazilian titles, with 8 titles (Santos won it last in 2004, and Palmeiras won it last in 1994). If you only count Campeonato Brasileiro Série A titles (from 1971 to present), Flamengo and São Paulo are tied with the most titles, with 6 titles each (Flamengo won it last in 2009, and São Paulo won it last in 2008).

‘List of Brazilian football championships‘ (en.wikipedia.org).

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SC Corinthias – 2011 Brazilian champions

Photo credits above -
Liédson, (Rodrigo Coca/ Fotoarena) at veja.abril.com.br.
Danilo, meutimao.com.br.
Willian, globoesporte.globo.com.
Alex [Paranà], Fernando Dantas/Gazeta Press via gazetaesportiva.net.
Tite, Rodrigo Coca/Fotoarena via veja.abril.com.br; Tite smiling, terra.com.br/esportes/infograficos/santos-x-corinthians .
Banner for Socrates, Reuters via dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2069960/Socrates-dead-Corinthians-win-Brazilian-title-fans-paty-tribute

…

From Pitch Invasion.com, from April 9 2010, by Jeremy Rueter, ‘WHAT’S IN A NAME? – SPORT CLUB CORINTHIANS PAULISTA‘.

Sport Club Corinthians Paulista, established 1910, São Paulo, Brazil.

SC Corinthians Paulista were named after the London, England-based Corinthian Football Club, which existed from 1882 to 1939, then had a merger to form Corinthian-Casuals FC (1939 to present). The resolutely amateur Corinthian FC toured Brazil in 1910, and a group of laborers in São Paulo were then inspired to form a football club. As opposed to most other established football clubs then in Brazil, SC Corinthians were to be open to all, not just the elite class of Brazilian society. Corinthians won their first São Paulo State title (Campeonato Paulista title) in their fifth season, in 1914 (see photo on chart below). Corinthians have won the most Campeonato Paulista titles, with 26 (last in 2009). Corinthians have won 5 Brazilian titles, their first in 1990, and their fifth in 2011. Their most prominent nickname is Timão (which translates as the Ship’s wheel). SC Corinthians are São Paulo’s most-supported club and have vast support throughout Brazil – Corinthians are generally regarded as the second-biggest club in Brazil, second only in support to the Rio de Janeiro giants Flamengo {see this poll from 2004 {‘Flamengo and Corinthians [lead the] survey of leading supporters in the country‘ (esporte.uol.com.br)}, and see this poll from 2008 {Ranking of the fans (globoesporte.globo.com)}. In 2011, Corinthians had the highest average attendance in Brazil (from home league matches), at 29,951 per game. They play at the São Paulo municipal stadium Pacaembu (aka Municipal Prefecture Stadium Paulo Machado de Carvalho), which has a 37,000 capacity. Corinthians share the stadium with local rival Palmeiras. Sometimes, when large turn-outs are expected, Corinthians play at local rival FC São Paolo’s Estádio do Morumbi (capacity, 67,000). New Corinthians Stadium, a new municipal stadium to be built for FIFA World Cup 2014 in Brazil, is planned to become the new home of Corinthians after 2014. {See this article from the Corinthians’ official site, with photos of the construction of the New Corinthians Stadium}. In recent years, some supporters of Brazil’s Corinthians make the journey to London, England to visit and support the still-amateur Corinthian-Casuals FC at their ground. Corinthian-Casuals FC are an 8th Level club in the Isthmian League Division One South. Corinthian-Casuals finished in 13th place in 2011-12, averaging 115 per game at their 2,700-capacity St. George’s Field in Tolworth, south-west London.

Click on image below for a small chart of Corinthians crests and kits through the years (1910 to 2012).

Image credits above –
Illustrations of old Corinthians kits (1910, 1920, 1955-51) by Lucas gc at en.wikipedia.org, ‘File:Evolução Uniforme Corinthians.png’.
Photo of 1914 SC Corinthians team from pt.wikipedia.org page on ‘Sport Club Corinthians Paulista‘.
Illustrations of old Corinthians kits (1951-54, ) by Bcav22 at pt.wikipedia.org, ‘Anexo:Evolução dos uniformes do Sport Club Corinthians Paulista‘.
Some of th old crests from seeklogo.com/tag.html?q=football.
2010/2011 Corinthians jerseys from football-shirts.co.uk/fans/corinthians-home-away-shirts-2011.
2010-11 kits from ‘Uniforms of Sport Club Corinthians Paulista‘ (pt.wikipedia.org).
2012 kits from ‘Sport Club Corinthians Paulista‘ (en.wikipedia.org).
2012 kit badge from soccerjerseysprostore.com/home-20112012-corinthians.
Photo of 2012 Corinthians 3rd jersey from football-marketing.com.

Here is an article about Corinthians’ crests and kits through the years, from globoesporte.globo.com, from August 2010, by Carlos Augusto Ferrari and Diego Ribeiro, ‘Do bege ao roxo, Timão conserva história com seu manto alvinegro [translated, 'Beige to purple, Timon keeps history with your mantle alvinegro']‘

Thanks to these sites for attendance figures, Worldfootball.net (Série A figures), Soccerway.com (Série B figures).
Thanks to Demis.nl/Web Map Server, for the base map of South America.

Comments (5)

May 10, 2012

UEFA Euro 2012, Group B – Denmark, Germany, Netherlands, Portugal – map of the 8 venues and the 16 teams in UEFA Euro 2012 / plus Group B schedule & venues, and statistics on the 4 nations in Group B & their teams’ all-time competitive records (in FIFA World Cup and in UEFA Euro tournaments).

Filed under: UEFA Euro 2012 — admin @ 7:16 am

UEFA Euro 2012, Group B – Denmark, Germany, Netherlands, Portugal: schedule, venues, and national team data

UEFA Euro 2012 (en.wikipedia.org).
UEFA Euro 2012 [official website) (uefa.com).

UEFA Euro 2012 Group B matches -

9 June 2012
19:00 UTC+3
Match 3 - Netherlands v. Denmark, Metalist Stadium, Kharkiv.

9 June 2012
21:45 UTC+3
Match 4 - Germany v. Portugal, Arena Lviv, Lviv, Ukraine.

13 June 2012
19:00 UTC+3
Match 11 - Denmark v. Portugal, Arena Lviv, Lviv, Ukraine.

13 June 2012
21:45 UTC+3
Match 12 - Netherlands v. Germany, Metalist Stadium, Kharkiv, Ukraine.

17 June 2012
21:45 UTC+3
Match 19 - Portugal v. Netherlands, Metalist Stadium, Kharkiv, Ukraine.

17 June 2012
21:45 UTC+3
Match 20 - Denmark v. Germany Arena Lviv, Lviv, Ukraine.

...

Group B venues (in Kharkiv, Ukraine and in Lviv, Ukraine) -

Photos of the host-cities in the illustrations below from http://ukraine2012.gov.ua/en/citys/Lviv [note: there are lots of other photos of the eight host cities in the tournament, in the 8 galleries at this link].

Kharkiv, Ukraine.
Founded 1654.
Kharkiv city population 1,449,000; metro area population 1.7 million {2010 figures}.
Metalist Stadium. Opened 1926, last renovated in 2009. Capacity 38,500. 3 matches in UEFA Euro 2012 will be played here: 3 Group B matches.

Photo of Kharkiv from http://ukraine2012.gov.ua/en/citys/Kyiv/.
Photo of Metalist Stadium by Getty Images via uefa.com.

Lviv, Ukraine.
Founded 1256 in Red Ruthernia (medieval name for Eastern Galicia or western Ukraine).
Lviv city population 760,000; metro area population 1.4 million {2010 figures}.
Arena Lviv. Opened 2011. Capacity 34,915. 3 matches in UEFA Euro 2012 will be played here: 3 Group B matches.

Photo of Lviv from http://ukraine2012.gov.ua/en/citys/Kyiv/.
Photo of Arena Lviv from repetylo.org.ua via skyscrapercity.com/thread, Lviv Arena.
…

___
Thanks to the contributors to the pages at en.wikipedia.org, ‘UEFA Euro 2012‘.
Base map of Europe from commons.wikimedia.org/File:BlankMap-Europe-v4.png .
Photos of jerseys from worldsoccershop.com.
Kit illustrarions from the national teams’ pages at en.wikipedia.org, list of qualified teams here.
Thanks to worldsoccershop.com/shop-by-league-uefa-euro-2012 for the photo of the jerseys on the map page.

Comments (3)

May 1, 2012

Conference National, May 2011-12 – the 1 promoted club – Fleetwood Town FC – and the 4 play-off clubs / Plus a map of the 7 Lancashire-based Football League clubs in the 2012-13 season.

Filed under: 2011-12 English Football,Eng-5th level,England's Regions,Football Stadia — admin @ 8:39 pm

2011-12 Conference (aka Blue Square Premier League), Top of the Table map
…

…

bbc.co.uk/Sport/Football//Non-League
Conference National Play Off fixtures.
2011-12 Conference National (aka Blue Square Bet Premier League) Play Offs
all times below are GMT (ie, Britain) / subtract 5 hours for Eastern Time (US & Canada)
Semi Finals,
First Leg,
York City v Mansfield Town 2nd May 2012. Kick Off 19:30.
Luton Town v Wrexham 3rd May 2012. Kick Off 19:30.
Second Leg,
Mansfield Town v York City 7th May 2012. Kick Off 14:00.
Wrexham v Luton 7th May 2012. Kick Off 16:30.
Play Off Promotion Final,
Sunday 20th May 2012- at Wembley Stadium – 3pm Kick Off.
—
2011-12 Promotion / Play-offs Map. Promoted to the Football League: Fleetwood Town FC, with second promotion spot to play offs winner.

From Guardian.co.uk/Football League blog, from 10 April 2012, by Jacob Steinberg, ‘Long-term planning leaves Fleetwood Town on verge of promised land – A win over Wrexham will take Fleetwood into the Football League for the first time in their turbulent history‘.

On the 16 April 2012 broadcast of the BBC London Non-League {Season 5 Episode 37 podcast here}, Fleetwood Town chairman and local businessman Andy Pilley confirmed that the club has actually turned a small profit for the 2011-12 season [interview with Micky Mellon and Andy Pilley at ~16:00 into BBC Non-League Football Show Season 5 Episode 37 (Mon. 16 April 2012)].

This despite the fact that Fleetwood Town had the highest wage bill in the league, and drew just 2,264 per game to their home league matches (9th-highest in the league). So Crawley Town they are not – unlike last season’s Conference champions Crawley Town, Fleetwood Town does not have undisclosed ownership which has plowed far more money into a promotion campaign than any other club in the league could ever hope to invest. FTFC’s money comes from a local source. From the fleetwoodtown.com site, ‘Andy Pilley is…the founder and managing director of Business Energy Solutions (BES). He founded the company in 2002 from a spare bedroom following the deregulation of the energy market.’ And sure they spent to get promoted – FW Jamie Vardy cost six figures to buy from Conference North club FC Halifax Town. But Fleetwood Town have still managed to live within their means, and thanks to their great FA Cup run, and broadcast revenue from their Third Round match versus Blackpool, they even managed to make a profit. Congratulations to Fleetwood Town FC, its chairman Andy Pilley and the board, its manager Micky Mellon, it’s players, its supporters, and all the folks who pitch in at the Highbury Stadium up there on the Fylde in coastal Lancashire…the Cod Army will now take their deserved place in the 2012-13 Football League’s League Two.

Below is a little chart I put together that shows the recent league history and average attendances of Fleetwood Town in the past 8 seasons. In that space of time, Fleetwood Town have been promoted 5 times and have seen their average attendance increase from 206 per game to 2,264 per game – a jump from the 9th Level to the 4th Level and a numerical increase at the gate of over two thousand a game. Also shown is Fleetwood Town’s Highbury Stadium before and after the Parkside Stand was opened in April 2011…

Image and photo credits above – bing.com/maps/Bird’s Eye satellite view. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fleetwood_Town_F.C.. fwpgroup.co.uk/projects.
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Below – Fleetwood Town, 2011-12 Conference National champions -
Seen below are Fleetwood Town’s manager, Micky Mellon and the team’s top 2 leading scorers from the 2011-12 season, Sheffield-born Jamie Vardy (age 24), and Liverpool-born Andy Mangan (age 25).

Photo credits above – Mickey Mellon, photo by Ian Hodgson at dailymail.co.uk .
Jamie Vardy, photo by Derick Thomas at fleetwoodtoday.co.uk.
Andy Mangan, photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images Europe via zimbio.com.

…

Map of the 7 Lancashire-based clubs in the Premier League/Football League

Fleetwood Town’s first-ever promotion to the Football League means there are now 7 clubs from Lancashire that are in the top 4 levels of English football (that is, of course, the Premier League (1st Level), Football League Championship (2nd Level), Football League One (3rd Level), and Football League Two (4th Level) -
Blackburn Rovers (Premier League or League Championship {TBD} for 2012-13),
Blackpool (League Championship for 2012-13,
Burnley (League Championship for 2012-13,
Preston North End (League One for 2012-13),
Accrington Stanley (League Two for 2012-13),
Fleetwood Town (League Two for 2012-13),
Morecambe (League Two for 2012-13).
Click on image below for map of 7 Lancashire-based clubs in the Football League/Premier League -

Photo credits above -
Morecambe, Tony Scholes at http:clarets-mad.co.uk/feature, league_two_[stadiums].
Fleetwood, fwpgroup.co.uk.
Blackpool, Terry Robinson at geograph.org via en.wikipedia.org’.
Preston, skyscrapercity.com/thread, PRESTON | Deepdale Redevelopment.
Blackburn, Blackburn Rovers/fussballtempel.net
Accrington, bing.com/maps/Bird’s Eye satellite view.
Burnley, Simon Kirwan at lightboxuk.photoshelter.com.

Photo credits on the map page –
Fleetwood Town/Highbury Stadium – placenorthwest.co.uk. fleetwoodtownfc.com. fwpgroup.co.uk.

Wrexham/Racecourse Ground – redpassion.co.uk

Mansfield Town/Field Mill – findaproperty.com. 100groundsclub.blogspot.com/2010/02/field-mill. bing.com/maps/Bird’s Eye satellite view.

York City/Bootham Crescent – bluesqfootball.com. campdavemorecambe at flickr.com. cqout.com/shop/Footy Postcards.

Luton Town/Kenilworth Road – SoccerWord.com. Stadiums.Football.co.uk. lutontoday.co.uk/’Grand designs for Kenilworth Road’. bing.com/maps/Bird’s Eye satellite view.

Thanks to the contributors to the pages at en.wikipedia.org, ‘2011–12 Football Conference‘.
Thankls to soccerway.com, for attendance figures.
Attendance data from 2005-06 to 2008-09 from: http://www.tonykempster.co.uk/gridsindex.htm.
Thanks to fleetwoodtown-mad.co.uk at League History for Fleetwood Town league history.
Thanks to FWP Group fgor the aerial photo of Highbury Stadium, http://www.fwpgroup.co.uk/projects/default_item.php?id=101.

Comments (4)

April 30, 2012

England, Non-League Football/6th Level, 2011-12 – Conference South: the 1 promoted club – Woking FC – and the 4 play-off clubs.

Filed under: 2011-12 English Football,Eng-6th level — admin @ 7:29 am

2011-12 Conference South, Top of the Table

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Conference South (aka Blue Square South) site, bluesqsouth.com.
From bluesqsouth.com, from 28 April 2012, ‘Saturday’s Blue Square Bet South Wrap – Chelmsford missed out on the play-offs with a 3-2 defeat to champions Woking on Saturday, while Maidenhead were relegated despite claiming a three-point haul‘.

Conference South and Conference South play-offs begin Wednesday 2 May, 2012 – footballconference.co.uk/play-offs fixtures.
Conference South Play Offs:
Dartford FC v. Basingstoke Town FC.
Welling United FC v. Sutton United FC.

Semi Finals,
First Leg – 2nd May 2012
Sutton United v Welling United. Kick Off 19:45
Basingstoke Town v Dartford. Kick Off 19:45

Second Leg – 6th May 2012
Welling United v Sutton United. Kick Off 15:00
Dartford v Basingstoke Town. Kick Off 1500

Play Off Promotion Final,
Sunday 13th May 2012 at the the highest placed Club.

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The map page shows the top 5 finishers in the 2011-12 Conference South – the one automatically promoted club (Woking FC) and the four play off clubs (Dartford FC, Welling United FC, Sutton United FC, and Basingstoke Town FC). Photos of each club’s ground are shown at the far left, next to each club’s profile box. The profile box includes the basic club info plus highest league placement by the club, 2011-12 kits, and 2011-12 home kit badge. At the center of the map page is a location-map of the 5 clubs. At the upper right is attendance data (from home league matches) from the last 2 seasons for the 5 clubs (2011-12 average attendance, 2010-11 average attendance, and numerical change from 11/12 gates versus 10/11 gates).

After 3 seasons in the Conference South, Woking FC won promotion back to the Conference National, on 14 April 2012, with a 1-0 victory at Maidenhead United. 7 days later, in their next home match, in front of a crowd of 4,064 at the Kingfield Stadium, Woking and their supporters celebrated their 2011-12 Blue Square South title (see link to video below).

From getsurrey.co.uk, ‘VIDEO: Party time for Woking FC’s title triumph‘.

In the photo below, Woking teammates congratulate forward Giuseppe ‘Gez’ Sole, after scoring (on 21 April 2012). Sole is a 24-year-old former Woking youth academy player, who went on to lead Woking FC in scoring in 2007-08 (as a 19/20-year old) with 14 league goals [in the Conference], and then led Woking in scoring again in 2009-10 [in the Conference South]. Sole had loan spells at Newport County and Dorchester Town, before signing with Conference South side Havant and Waterlooville in 2010. Sole was brought back to Woking in the summer of 2011 by recently-hired manager Garry Hill. Gez Sole started the 2011-12 season out on loan to Basingstoke Town, and after coming back to Woking in January 2012, scored 19 goals in 20 league games, and set a club recored with goals scored in 9 strraight games.

Photo credit above – David Holmes at wokingfc.co.uk.

Woking FC are from Woking, Surrey, which is 37 km. (23 miles) SW of London, and has a population of around 62,000 {2010 figure}. Woking, nicknamed the Cards (or Cardinals), have a 17-season history in the 5th Level/Conference National (from 1992-93 to 2008-09). Around fifteen years ago Woking had a big push for promotion that fell short – Woking finished in 2nd place for two consecutive seasons (1994-95 and 1995-96), back in the era when there was only one promotion-spot in the Conference (the 2nd promotion-spot, via the 4-team play-offs, was instituted for the Conference in 2002-03). In 1994-95, Woking finished 5 points behind Macclesfield Town. And in 1995-96, Woking finished 8 points behind Stevenage Borough (but Stevenage Borough were denied a promotion to the Football League because they did not meet Football League ground requirements, so nobody went up to the Football League that season).

Woking were relegated from the Conference National following the 2008-09 season, after finishing in 21st place. The next season, their first in the Conference South, Woking saw their gates dwindle from 1.7K to 1.3 K, and finished in 5th, then lost in the play offs final to Bath City in May 2010. Midway through the next season [2010-11], manager Gaham Baker was sacked after claiming the fans were expecting too much of the team. In January, 2011, former Rushden & Diamonds manager Gary Hill stepped in. For 2010-11, the Cards saw their attendance fall again, to 1,167 per game, and again they finished in 5th, and again they lost in the play offs, this time to Farnborough in the 1st round.

Now in Hill’s first full season with the club, he has ably guided Woking to a successful promotion campaign.

Woking’s Kingfield Stadium is unusual in that one of the goal-end stands – the Leslie Gosden Stand – is a modern roofed stand that completely towers over the other stands. So three quarters of the ground look definitely like a Non-League ground, while the Leslie Gosden Stand would not look out of place in League One. Woking draw very decent-sized crowds for a club with no League history. In their last season in the Conference National, in 2008-09, they had the 9th-best attendance in the 5th Level at 1,727 per game. This season, the Cards’ for-real-this-time promotion-run drew back many disaffected fans there in west Surrey, and the club pulled an average of 1,833 per game through the turnstiles. This figure was best in both Conference South and in Conference North by a considerable margin of over 400 per game (the second highest drawing club in the 6th Level in 2011-12 were FC Halifax Town at 1,422 per game).

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Photo credits for the map page -
Woking/Kingfield Stadium – Salmonboy at panoramio.com.

Dartford/Princes Park – bing.com/maps/Bird’s Eye satellite view. alexandersedgley.co.uk. groundtastic.co.uk/Ground Awards 2007.

Welling United/Park View Road – bing.com/maps/Bird’s Eye satellite view.footygrounds.blogspot.com/2011/06/welling-united-park-view-road. StephenHarris at panoramio.com.

Sutton United/Borough Sports Ground, Gander Green Lane – bing.com/maps/Bird’s Eye satellite view. Chris Hayes Photography at flickr.com.

Basingstoke Town/The Camrose – bromleyfc.tv. dubsteps.blogspot.com/2009/04/basingstoke-town-2-havant-waterlooville.
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Thanks to the contributors to the pages at en.wikipedia.org, ‘2011–12 Football Conference‘.

Thanks to soccerway.com, for Conference South attendances.
Thanks to mikeavery.co.uk, for 2010-11 Sutton United attendance (in Isthmian League, here).

Thanks to David Holmes at wokingfc.co.uk for the photo from 21 April.
Thanks to Salmonboy at panoramio.com for the nice panorama image of Kingfield Stadium, http://www.panoramio.com/photo/33893030.

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April 28, 2012

England, Non-League Football/6th Level, 2011-12 – Conference North: the 1 promoted club – Hyde FC – and the 4 play off clubs.

Filed under: 2011-12 English Football,Eng-6th level — admin @ 12:23 pm

2011-12 Conference North, Top of the Table map

Conference North (aka Blue Square Bet North) site bluesqnorth.com.
From bluesqnorth.com, from 28 April 2012, ‘Saturday’s Blue Square Bet North Wrap – Nuneaton Town grabbed the final play-off spot while Hinckley United’s relegation was confirmed after the final round of Blue Square Bet North fixtures‘.

Conference North and Conference South play offs begin 2 May 2012 – footballconference.co.uk/play-offs fixtures.
Conference North Play Offs:
2nd place, Guiseley AFC v. 5th place, Nuneaton Town FC.
3rd place, FC Halifax Town v. 4th place, Gainsborough Trinity FC.
Semi-Finals,
First Leg – 2nd May 2012
Gainsborough Trinity v FC Halifax Town
Nuneaton Town v Guiseley

Second Leg – 6th May 2012
FC Halifax Town v Gainsborough Trinity
Guiseley v Nuneaton Town

Conference North Play Off Promotion Final,
Final – Sunday 13th May 2012 at the the highest placed Club.

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Conference South (aka Blue Square Bet South) site, bluesqsouth.com.
Conference South Play Offs:
2nd place, Dartford FC v. 5th place, Basingstoke Town FC.
3rd place, Welling United FC v. 4th place, Sutton United FC.

Semi Finals,
First Leg – 2nd May 2012
Sutton United v Welling United
Basingstoke Town v Dartford

Second Leg – 6th May 2012
Welling United v Sutton United
Dartford v Basingstoke Town

Conference South Play Off Promotion Final,
Sunday 13th May 2012 at the the highest placed Club.

[ Note: post of 2011-12 Conference South/Top of the Table map incl. champions Woking FC will be posted on Monday 30 April at 12:30 pm GMT/7:30 am ET.]

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The map page shows the top 5 finishers in the 2011-12 Conference North – the one automatically promoted club (Hyde FC) and the four play off clubs (Guiseley AFC, FC Halifax Town, Gainsborough Trinity FC, and Nuneaton Town FC). Photos of each club’s ground are shown at the far left, next to each club’s profile box. The profile box includes the basic club info plus highest league placement by the club, 2011-12 kits, and 2011-12 home kit badge. At the center of the map page is a location-map of the 5 clubs. At the upper right is attendance data (from home league matches) from the last 2 seasons for the 5 clubs (2011-12 average attendance, 2010-11 average attendance, and numerical change from 11/12 gates versus 10/11 gates).

Champions and the sole automatic promotion winner are Hyde FC, nicknamed the Tigers, who are from Hyde, which is in the eastern end of Greater Manchester, 11 km. (7 miles) east of Manchester city center. This is the second season (of a current 3-season agreement) in which Hyde FC have had a sponsorship deal with nearby Premier League club Manchester City, and the blue half of Manchester’s financial support of Hyde has done the trick, helping Hyde win their first-ever promotion to the 5th Level and the Conference National, one year after escaping relegation on the last day (of the 2010-11 season). The turn-around is especially striking, as Hyde have now gone from near-liquidation (circa 2009) to promotion in the space of three years.

Manchester City FC now uses Hyde FC’s Ewen Fields ground as the home of their reserves team. There were some raised eyebrows when Man City got Hyde to expunge all the red-half-of-Manchester references. So out went the red-painted stands of Ewen Fields (they are dark blue now), out went the red in the club badge and the kit of Hyde FC (for 2010-11 only, though, as Hyde are back in red now, but the badge still has sky blue, and not red, in it), and out went the name ‘Hyde United’. A big part of why it rankled many is that the club pretended that their sponsorship deal with Manchester City had nothing to do with the elimination of red, or ‘United’, from Hyde’s name and colors {see this article from twohundredpercent.net, by Ian King, from 17 July 2010, specifically the 3rd paragraph, ‘Manchester City Prepare To Turn Hyde Blue‘}.

In the summer of 2011, Hyde appointed Gary Lowe to lead the Tigers for 2011-12. Lowe spent 11 years as manager of western-Greater-Manchester-based Northern Premier League club Curzon Ashton [a 7th Level club].

On Saturday, 21 April, in front of a crowd of 1,036 at Ewen Fields, Hyde FC clinched promotion to the Conference National with a 4-1 win over Boston United. From thehydetiger.blogspot.com, by Paul Prole, ‘Champions!‘.

Hyde FC drew 7th-best in Conference North in 2011-12, at 645 per game, up an impressive +298 per game compared to 2010-11. And while that 645 per game is pretty low for a club going up to the 5th Level, with their working agreement with City, Hyde FC should probably be OK for survival in the 2012-13 Conference National.

Below, second-highest scorer in the league, Hyde FC forward Scott Spencer, who netted 32 goals in 33 league games for Hyde this season. The Oldham, Greater Manchester-born Spencer is 23 years old, and an England-C international, and among his travels he scored 4 goals in 17 games for League Two’s Southend United in 2010. Spencer is seen below in action from 8 October 2011, in a 1-1 draw at Ewen Fields versus Nuneaton Town.

Photo credit above – Media Image Ltd. via eyeofthehydetiger.wordpress.com.
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Photo and Image credits on map page –
Hyde FC/Ewen Fields, bing.com/maps/Bird’s Eye satellite view.
tiny.url.com via http://www.twohundredpercent.net.
northernfootball.blogspot.com/2011/10/hyde-fc-1-nuneaton-town-1.
Paul Prole at thehydetiger.blogspot.com.

Guiseley AFC/Nethermoor Park – bing.com/maps/Bird’s Eye satellite view. Matthew Wilkinson at flickr.com. [ Matthew Wilkinson's photostream ] .guisleyafc.com.

FC Halifax Town/The Shay – facupgroundhopper.blogspot.com/2010/10/fc-halifax-town-0-harrogate-town. wikistadiums.org/the-shay. Halifaxafc.co.uk.

Gainesborough Trinity/The Northolme, thedribblingcode.wordpress.com/2011/10/19/sat-15-oct-2011-gainsborough-trinity-v-frickley-ath. the66pow.blogspot.com/2011/08/gainsborough-trinity-0-v-worksop-town-1.

Nuneaton Town/Liberty Way (aka Triton Showers Community Arena) – nuneatontownfc.com. LeamDavid at Flickr.com.
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Thanks to the contributors to the pages at en.wikipedia.org, ‘2011–12 Football Conference/Conference North‘.
Thanks to soccerway.com, for Conference North attendances.
Thanks to mikeavery.co.uk, for 2010-11 FC Halifax Town attendance (in Northern League, here).
Thanks to Paul Prole for the nice photo of Hyde FC’s Danny Broadbent heading in a goal in their title-clinching win over Boston United (seen at the top of the map page, and here).

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