I heard some "untrue" scuttlebutt today.

That word was that the Pirates have paid a player to play for us in 2006. Specifically, the teller of the tale claims that we are paying the player $600.00

Now I don't know who would want to say this OR what their reason for saying it is, but whoever it is...

They may as well work as a John Deer tractor because all they are doing is spreading BULL&%$#!

We are a non-profit organization and as such, NOBODY is paid in our organization. This is my philosophy and I believe that everyone within the organization abides by the same. In my case, I happen to know the financial situation and I know that it is bull.

Having said that, I will say this...

1) I do not consider this stuff Semi-Pro. It is amateur. If it is truly Semi-Pro, then it would be the prerogative of each individual team if they wanted to pay somebody or not.

2) In my humble opinion, anyone that operates as a "FOR PROFIT" organization is opening themselves up a huge can of worms. If you are a for-profit business, and make a profit, the means by which you do this indicates that you have employees that help to create a product that you then USE to provide said product. Such employees then DESERVE some sort of compensation. This situation would open up ALL SORTS of issues.

3) If you pay one player or several players and not others, the PAID players have incentive to "show-up", the others do not. This situation and trying to get players to practice is bad enough without throwing that into the mix.

4) I feel the same way with respects to IF... I were to receive some sort of compensation. I would have incentive while the people that I am "pushing" do not. That is also a bad way to roll and I would not accept anything unless ALL of the people in the organization were compensated as well.

I do not want to hear this again!

Out

If anyone thinks any of the teams in this league are actually paying players...They are smoking something good and need to pass it over. I dont think most teams have $600 to spare given the financial situations of most teams. We all struggle to meet bills and obligations... Most teams go into the hole a few bills to play.

What is one player? Lets say you do pay one. That will really help team moral . You need 30 to 40 guys to make a good team here. One, two, even 10 will not make the difference.

Who ever is accusing you is on the pipe and knows little about this game.....

Late,

The Guru

I want to end this as well. We had a player that came to play for our team that told us that the player you are talking about told him he was getting paid.
I did not know if it was true & i did not care i was ready to move one.
Sorry for this problem and i hope it is a dead issue now.
Good luck this year.
I like the Video on your site, you are working them boys damn good.

Coach Hill if I had known you paid your players I would have come and played for you in 1996.

I always knew you were a big time money team.

(That was a joke, I know Dane got it just so the nay sayers don't pop up).

There have been rumors like these floating around for a very long time. I even work extra overtime in the summers to insure that I can afford all my players.