Post by 50yardfan on May 24, 2011 9:23:45 GMT -5
The Barons' latest soap opera: As the stomach turns
www.rgj.com/article/20110524/COL0301/105240331/Dan-Hinxman-Barons-latest-soap-opera-stomach-turns?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|Local%20News|p
If you thought Comedy Central's "Reno 911!" was a pox on our town's image, you ain't seen nothin' yet.
Somehow, the completely un-professional Barons, Reno's professional indoor football team, have gotten even more amateurish, judging by recent Facebook and Twitter posts.
But that's only because the Reno Silverbacks stuck out their collective tongue at them.
It depends on who you want to believe.
The Barons are in the midst of fighting battles with former employees and the Silverbacks, a semi-pro, 11-man outdoor team that plays in the Pacific Coast Football League.
The war of words with the Silverbacks escalated last week. The Barons were scheduled to play Tucson in Reno last Saturday. When Tucson backed out early last week, the Barons asked the Silverbacks to step in. The Silverbacks declined because they had a game Saturday against the Sacramento Warriors in Herlong, Calif. By week's end, the Warriors had backed out of their game with the Silverbacks so they could play the Barons.
The Silverbacks believe the Barons went after the Warriors after the Silverbacks turned them down. Barons spokesman Steve Matson said they put out a request to teams all over the Sacramento valley and the Warriors were the ones who contacted the Barons.
"The silverbacks (sic) are men of our word and we did the right thing," Silverbacks spokesperson Veronica Ruiz wrote on the Silverbacks' Facebook page. "Unfortunatley (sic) not everyone does the right thing in this world."
The Barons then mocked the Silverbacks on their website.
"Hey Reno Silverbacks get your weight up...wait get your website up...lol we are offering you the money to help you," the post read (and if you've seen the Barons' website you know they have no room to poke fun at someone else's).
The post was followed by a link to a Barons Facebook page that added this grammar-challenged nugget:
"... Reno Silverbacks, You call yourself Reno's Team. How many home games have you play? How much money and time have you put into this community? Your team is a joke. ... We made an open invite to you last night and Reno wants to see it. Let's do this. Put your money where your mouth is. Per GM Tim Pierce and Owner Chez Jennings. We will have a suitcase with 3000.00 in it. The suitcase will sit on the announcers table the whole game. Come play us and if you beat us its yours. If you don't beat us (which you won't) you drop out of existence Reno Silverbacks. Put up or shut up. No one even knows who you are. ..."
Imagine, if you would, the Reno Aces writing such drivel about the Sacramento River Cats. That's difficult to do because no professional would stoop so low.
What makes it even more audacious is the Barons, whose roster is full of former Division I talent, should be paying no attention to the Silverbacks. The Barons challenging the Silverbacks is like the McQueen varsity challenging its freshmen squad.
The Barons have played just one other pro indoor team, the Stockton Wolves, whom they have lost to twice, 63-18 on April 23 and 76-30 on May 7. All of their other games have come against semi-pro teams, all of which were Baron blowouts. On Saturday, the Barons beat the Sacramento Warriors, 113-22.
To bill these games with semi-pro teams as professional indoor football games is ethically questionable and borderline criminal, which might explain why the Barons never give a heads-up to the local media when there's been a change to the schedule.
"When I saw that this morning, I just don't think they realize how ridiculous they're making themselves look," Anthony Bartley, the former Barons coach who was fired last week, said in regard to the Barons' challenge to the Silverbacks. "Three-thousand bucks? Come on. How can you call yourself a professional team?"
Granted, you could say Bartley has an axe to grind. So, too, apparently, does everyone they've let go.
The Barons have cut three players in the past couple of weeks -- lineman Kika Kaalulaau, receiver Scott Witter and kicker Merf Trout. All three of them have since been highly critical of the team's management.
"A lot of the players on the team are really good players as well as athletes and it's not their fault," Witter wrote on the Silverbacks' Facebook page. "It is the so called 'organization' that can't pull their head out of their own a**."
In a phone interview, Kaalulaau added: "If they had any clue on how to run an organization, they could have been successful. They could have been real good."
Trout plans to file a lawsuit against the Barons because he has not been paid.
Matson said the Barons are withholding payment because Trout's room at the Ramada was trashed, causing $4,100 in damage, and the hotel has billed the team.
Last week, the Barons hired a coach, "That Funny Little Con Man", who has a criminal record, and tried to tell the RGJ that his name was Jim Michaels.
If you're getting the sense that it never ends with these guys, you're right.
www.rgj.com/article/20110524/COL0301/105240331/Dan-Hinxman-Barons-latest-soap-opera-stomach-turns?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|Local%20News|p
If you thought Comedy Central's "Reno 911!" was a pox on our town's image, you ain't seen nothin' yet.
Somehow, the completely un-professional Barons, Reno's professional indoor football team, have gotten even more amateurish, judging by recent Facebook and Twitter posts.
But that's only because the Reno Silverbacks stuck out their collective tongue at them.
It depends on who you want to believe.
The Barons are in the midst of fighting battles with former employees and the Silverbacks, a semi-pro, 11-man outdoor team that plays in the Pacific Coast Football League.
The war of words with the Silverbacks escalated last week. The Barons were scheduled to play Tucson in Reno last Saturday. When Tucson backed out early last week, the Barons asked the Silverbacks to step in. The Silverbacks declined because they had a game Saturday against the Sacramento Warriors in Herlong, Calif. By week's end, the Warriors had backed out of their game with the Silverbacks so they could play the Barons.
The Silverbacks believe the Barons went after the Warriors after the Silverbacks turned them down. Barons spokesman Steve Matson said they put out a request to teams all over the Sacramento valley and the Warriors were the ones who contacted the Barons.
"The silverbacks (sic) are men of our word and we did the right thing," Silverbacks spokesperson Veronica Ruiz wrote on the Silverbacks' Facebook page. "Unfortunatley (sic) not everyone does the right thing in this world."
The Barons then mocked the Silverbacks on their website.
"Hey Reno Silverbacks get your weight up...wait get your website up...lol we are offering you the money to help you," the post read (and if you've seen the Barons' website you know they have no room to poke fun at someone else's).
The post was followed by a link to a Barons Facebook page that added this grammar-challenged nugget:
"... Reno Silverbacks, You call yourself Reno's Team. How many home games have you play? How much money and time have you put into this community? Your team is a joke. ... We made an open invite to you last night and Reno wants to see it. Let's do this. Put your money where your mouth is. Per GM Tim Pierce and Owner Chez Jennings. We will have a suitcase with 3000.00 in it. The suitcase will sit on the announcers table the whole game. Come play us and if you beat us its yours. If you don't beat us (which you won't) you drop out of existence Reno Silverbacks. Put up or shut up. No one even knows who you are. ..."
Imagine, if you would, the Reno Aces writing such drivel about the Sacramento River Cats. That's difficult to do because no professional would stoop so low.
What makes it even more audacious is the Barons, whose roster is full of former Division I talent, should be paying no attention to the Silverbacks. The Barons challenging the Silverbacks is like the McQueen varsity challenging its freshmen squad.
The Barons have played just one other pro indoor team, the Stockton Wolves, whom they have lost to twice, 63-18 on April 23 and 76-30 on May 7. All of their other games have come against semi-pro teams, all of which were Baron blowouts. On Saturday, the Barons beat the Sacramento Warriors, 113-22.
To bill these games with semi-pro teams as professional indoor football games is ethically questionable and borderline criminal, which might explain why the Barons never give a heads-up to the local media when there's been a change to the schedule.
"When I saw that this morning, I just don't think they realize how ridiculous they're making themselves look," Anthony Bartley, the former Barons coach who was fired last week, said in regard to the Barons' challenge to the Silverbacks. "Three-thousand bucks? Come on. How can you call yourself a professional team?"
Granted, you could say Bartley has an axe to grind. So, too, apparently, does everyone they've let go.
The Barons have cut three players in the past couple of weeks -- lineman Kika Kaalulaau, receiver Scott Witter and kicker Merf Trout. All three of them have since been highly critical of the team's management.
"A lot of the players on the team are really good players as well as athletes and it's not their fault," Witter wrote on the Silverbacks' Facebook page. "It is the so called 'organization' that can't pull their head out of their own a**."
In a phone interview, Kaalulaau added: "If they had any clue on how to run an organization, they could have been successful. They could have been real good."
Trout plans to file a lawsuit against the Barons because he has not been paid.
Matson said the Barons are withholding payment because Trout's room at the Ramada was trashed, causing $4,100 in damage, and the hotel has billed the team.
Last week, the Barons hired a coach, "That Funny Little Con Man", who has a criminal record, and tried to tell the RGJ that his name was Jim Michaels.
If you're getting the sense that it never ends with these guys, you're right.