Miranda Lambert Wins in Durham!

Five thousand Miranda Lambert fans took possession of the the Durham Bulls infield Thursday evening...

...and they were possessed by the rising star from east Texas. Her avid admirers seemed to know each and every word of every one of her songs!

It was a BIG night at the DBAP - our first country concert in a town better known for the blues - but the ballpark was rockin' to Josh Kelly, Eric Church and Miranda Lambert as the CMT Tour stopped in Durham.

Miranda Lambert's web site

CMT-on-Tour web site

Eric Church rocks the DBAP

My Miranda Lambert autograph

Bulls' GM Mike Birling, last in line for the meet & greet

The concert encore...in Bulls' jerseys:

Cover Your Grass

10/14 @ noon: This just in...
Time lapse video of field/stage set-up from Bulls' media guru John Blotzer:

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Preparation has begun for Thursday night's Miranda Lambert Concert. You can watch the transformation on our web cam. CLICK HERE...frequently...over the next day. You will be amazed at the conversion from baseball diamond to outdoor concert venue. Nashville comes to downtown Durham!

Step One: Cover the field. The NC State Turfgrass Student Club is helping us install a protective flooring system...sort of a giant Legoland. This is good experience for the students. They learn how to grow grass at State while we offer a serious, real-world lesson in "turf abuse."


We will see you at the concert Thursday. Click here for tickets.

Making Connections for the Homeless

Project Homeless Connect made some serious connections at the DBAP on October 7th. The ballpark was transformed into a service center for the community’s homeless…and connections were made for housing, healthcare, jobs, food, clothing and counseling.

PHC was a big success, but that’s a double edge sword. Yes, copious aid was dispensed…but lots of assistance is needed due to the weak economy. Additionally, there are more vets on the street due to war in Iran and Afghanistan.

Dawn Baumgartner Vaughn tells the story in the Herald-Sun. Click here.

Durham Mayor Pro Tem Cora Cole-McFadden welcomes the 480 volunteers on Thursday morning. The objective was to have a volunteer for each client. Mission accomplished thanks to twenty-five organizations from state and local government, non-profits and businesses. When the event ended 481 people had checked in for help.

Our pizza stand was replaced by the state’s JobLink Career Center. Used clothing was distributed in our MVP Club.

For the first time vets were specifically included in PHC as a “Stand Down” for homeless veterans - just over one hundred former soldiers are thought to be living on Bull City streets.

Bulls’ concessionaire Centerplate provided a spaghetti lunch for one thousand people. The Interfaith Food Shuttle contributed 300 pounds of ground beef for pasta sauce.

Wool E. Bull gets a blood pressure check from Duke nurses.

We needed a little levity, because the stats around homelessness are sobering:

• 1,992 Durham homes entered foreclosure in the past year – a 27% increase over the previous year
• 40,000 Durham households are “at risk” according to the US Census Bureau
• 535 Durham County children experienced periods of homelessness during the last school year

Say it ain’t so, but I’m pretty sure the Bulls will be hosting PHC again next fall.

Ducks Race in Durham

It was a gorgeous fall afternoon in Durham for the Fox50 Family Fest.

The highlight of the Saturday event was the Great American Tobacco Duck Race on the Old Bull River.

Our Explorer Post 50 has raised just over $10,000 for its college scholarship program selling rubber ducks for the race. [updated 10/5/10...as pledges & cash trickle in]

This was a major money raiser for Post 50 as we have recently established the scholarship fund at the Triangle Community Foundation. We're off to a good start!


Thanks to the Post members for selling all those ducks. Schlepping tiny, yellow, rubber duckies was a challenging assignment for high school students. (No one died of embarrassment, though.) Post 50 advisor Ken Bland (volunteer extraordinaire) and Bulls media relations manager Matt DeMargel deserve high fives, too.


...and THANK YOU to our business partners who purchased the high-end, top-notch corporate ducks:

Design Hammer - Bulls' web site
SportsMedia - TV broadcast scoring system
USA Baseball - HQ at the DBAP
Ticket Return - Bulls' ticket system
AMI Graphics - digital sign printer for the DBAP
Worldwide Ticketcraft - Bulls' ticket stock provider

We appreciate your support of Explorer Post 50. Thanks!

A tsunami of rubber ducks in the Old Bull River at American Tobacco.

Farewell to the 2010 Season

Great season. Another Division Championship. Another Governors’ Cup run. Well, it didn’t end quite the way we had hoped, but we can’t be greedy. Bulls’ Manager Charlie Montoyo provided perspective to the News & Observer:

"It's always disappointing to get to this point and not win, but when you think about it, since 1967 only four teams [including the current Bulls] have made it to the finals four straight times…so I'm not going to be mad because it's tough to get to this point."



I’ve got a great highlight reel in my memory bank for 2010:

• The Easter weekend Exhibition Game with the Tampa Bay Rays
• The Duke National Basketball Champs joining us for Opening Night
• 2009 National Championship Ring ceremony
• The May retro game at the venerable Durham Athletic Park
• Bulls' games televised nationally on the MLB Network
• Tobacco Road Sports Café opens atop the Blue Monster outfield wall
• Our own beer, Bullpen Pale Ale, on tap at the DBAP
• Canine mascot Lucky Jr. premiers
• Charlie Montoyo chosen Manager of the Year
• Scott Strickland receives Turf Manager of the Year award
• A record number of wins - 92
  
• South Division Championship
• Paid attendance rebounds above the half million mark

There was yet another record…the heat! Our players and staff accomplished much of the above during the hottest summer on record in North Carolina. Time to chill…

Cover Shots

Do you remember "Cover of the Rollin' Stone" by Dr. Hook?

...the thrill that'll getcha
when you get your picture
on the cover of the Rollin' Stone.

That's how I feel about the cover of Baseball America, our sport's most authoritative publication (with its offices right here in Durham.)

BA's current cover features former Bulls' pitcher Jeremy Hellickson, promoted back in August to the Tampa Bay Rays. He's in a Bulls' uniform...playing at the DBAP...with Bull City fans in the background.

Yet another tribute to Jeremy, to the Rays' organization and the Bulls bask in the glow of it all.

Just a few of Hellickson's accolades:

2009 Triple-A National Championship MVP

2010 International League Most Valuable Pitcher

2010 USA Today Player of the Year

2010 Baseball America Player of the Year

The cover of Baseball America has been good to the Bulls...

Player of the Year covers:
Delmon Young - 2005
Rocco Baldelli - 2002
Andruw Jones - 1996

Other covers:
Evan Longoria - 2007
David Price - 2009
Durham Bulls staff - 2002

Seven covers....always a thrill!

The Governors' Cup w/a side of Scholarship Awards

What did you do this weekend? I watched 27 innings of play-off baseball at the DBAP, and I’ve eaten enough popcorn to impact the price of corn futures. It’s a tough job, but someone has to do it.

Bottom line: The Bulls are headed to the International League Governors' Cup Championship after defeating Louisville in the first round. Game one of the finals is in Columbus Tuesday, but we return home for game three on Thursday…and into the weekend if necessary. More baseball. More popcorn.

The Bulls - already the dominant IL team in this decade - may wrap up 2010 with a bang...and more championship bling!?!

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Speaking of champions, we recognize the talented teenagers who bring you Bulls TV...as the season winds down.

We dipped into our brand new scholarship fund at the Triangle Community Foundation last week and awarded five, one thousand dollar grants for college expenses to veterans of Post 50, the Explorer Post that produces our in-house video and television broadcasts.

THANK YOU...to our major contributors: Bulls' parent company, Capitol Broadcasting and our television sponsors: NC GreenPower, Chick-fil-A and 1-800-PACK-RAT.

The envelope please...ta-da...

Melissa Chamberlain - This is Melissa’s second season with the Post. She graduated Agape Corner Boarding School and is currently attending Durham Technical Community College with a 4.0 GPA, studying Arts and Communications.

James Trasatto - This is James’s third season with the Post. He is a graduate of Apex High School with a 4.1 GPA and attends North Carolina State University studying in the College of Management.

Roy “Bart” Nixon - Roy is finishing his third season with the Post. He is a graduate of the Sonshine Academy Homeschool with a 3.6 GPA and is attending Western Carolina University; studying Communication with a concentration in Sports Broadcasting.

Alex Revelle - This is season #3 for Alex. He is a graduate of the Durham School of the Arts with a 3.4 GPA and is attending NC A&T State University; studying Journalism & Mass Communications.

David Cordoze - David has completed his fourth season with the Post. He is a graduate of Jordan High School with a 3.9 GPA and is attending Elon University studying Communications.

Left to Right: George Habel, Eric Spencer (advisor), Alex Revelle, Bart Nixon, James Trasatto, Melissa Chamberlain, Mike Birling (Bulls GM), Charlotte Claypoole (advisor), Ken Bland (advisor)

You can support the Post 50 Scholarship Fund. Is it sublime or ridiculous? Buy a rubber duck for ten bucks. Find out more; click here.

Explorer Post 50 is a youth-based television broadcasting program that provides students, ages 14-20, with a unique and invaluable opportunity to gain exceptional experience in the field of television broadcasting. This program is supported and sponsored by the Durham Bulls, Fox 50 and Capitol Broadcasting Company.

The Mission - Explorer Post 50 is committed to making a positive difference in the lives of youth by providing personal growth through education, hands-on training, and career development opportunities within the communications industry. Capitol Broadcasting Company is dedicated to assisting members of Post 50 in achieving their potential, increasing their self-confidence, and developing interpersonal communication skills, while becoming socially responsible and caring community leaders.

Now in its 12th season of broadcasting, Post 50 provides the live broadcast of Durham Bulls and USA Baseball games on FOX 50’s RTN station, MiLB.com as well as the in-house video feed within the ballpark. Also, Post 50 provides Bulls highlights for TV5 newscasts.