From the Desk of the GM - Feb. 24, 2009

"The Stuff in My Office"

When a person works at a certain place for 15 years, it’s only natural they begin to accumulate "stuff". However, by the wide-eyed reaction people often have when entering my office, I am starting to think I may have a little more stuff than the average person.

Some of the items in my office:

29 items hung on the wall – some framed, some autographed. Of these, a few favourites items include:

framed photo of Don Larsen taken during his World Series perfect game that is autographed and personalized

framed photo of my son Donavan and me autographed and personalized by Notre Dame football head coach Charlie Weis. I was wearing a Notre Dame jersey in the photo

framed photo of former Goldeyes manager Hal Lanier, autographed and personalized with a very nice note

23 autographed baseballs
3 autographed footballs
3 autographed bats
10 bobble heads
1 stool made out of four broken bats and a base
1 radar gun
6 “talking mini’s” – figurines of famous people that talk when a button is pushed
1 mini-fridge under my desk (no comment on contents)
47 baseball jerseys and one football jersey – some autographed
6 pairs of running shoes
1 box of Goldeyes toques (for the players during spring training)
1 shoe shine kit
2 marionettes
50 new baseball bats waiting for the players to arrive
7 different Goldeyes caps
10 framed photos of my wife and/or kids
1 “Oscar” trophy – given to me by the staff after appearing in our Goldeyes “Spring Training” commercials
1 copy of every televised Goldeyes game (on VHS or DVD)

Probably my favourite item in my office is the “BALL GAME TODAY” sign that my wife had made for me as a present last Father’s Day. We saw these signs in storefront windows when we were in Boston a couple of years ago. Stores would put these old style signs in their windows to let everyone know when the Red Sox were at home. Last summer, Kevin Arnst and Dennis McLean were charged with the responsibility of putting the sign up in the box office every day of a home game. They may or may not know it yet, but that duty will fall on their shoulders again this summer.

Wouldn’t it be cool if every business in Winnipeg put up a “BALL GAME TODAY” sign in their window? If you are a business owner that has a street-front window and are interested in having a sign, give me a shout at the Goldeyes office and we’ll make that happen.

One parting note… Happy 40th Birthday to my long-time good friend Larry Smith. Without a doubt the biggest Boston Bruins fan in Portage la Prairie, he’s very happy this year that they are actually having a good season. He’s enjoying rubbing it in to all his friends who are Canadiens fans.

Until next time…

-- Andrew