ShopPosts Tagged ‘Sioux Falls Fighting Pheasants’
Baseball, Corn Dogs and Classic Covers
Monday, August 30th, 2010
Sign up to receive Pheasants Forever's 2010 Pheasant Hunting Forecast and you may also win a new Beretta
- Congrats to the Sioux Falls Fighting Pheasants on winning both the first and second half division races. The Pheasants first playoff game is Tuesday versus the Lincoln Saltdogs. Go Pheasants!
- Be sure to visit Pheasants Forever’s booth at the Minnesota State Fair in the Dairy Building. Thanks to the 100+ new members who have joined the first four days of the fair. I’ll be back out there on Tuesday afternoon with fellow PF blogger Anthony Hauck. Please stop by and say hello!
- Be sure to sign up to receive Pheasants Forever’s 2010 Pheasant Hunting Forecast. It’s coming next week!
- From the files of WHAT DID YOU DO WITH YOUR SUMMER VACATION? Check out what PF Intern Chad Hildebrand has been doing: scanning every cover from the Pheasants Forever Journal 28 year history.
Orange Hockey Sticks and Blaze Baseball Bats: Promotions for the Birds in 2011?
Tuesday, April 20th, 2010
The Green Bay Packers sold more than 21,000 of these blaze orange hats.
Kudos to the Green Bay Packers for raising $105,000 for 27 Wisconsin hunger relief charities through the sale of blaze orange and camouflage Packers hats during the last year. All told, “The Pack” sold more than 21,000 of the special hats last season through their “Hunting Down Hunger” program.
For the last five years or so, Major League Baseball has also created a great Mother’s Day promotion by using pink bats as a fundraiser for the Susan G. Komen For The Cure effort to stop breast cancer. The partners also have a slick new Honorary Bat Girl promotion for the 2010 event.
A few years back, I made an inquiry into the NHL; “Would the NHL ever use blaze orange hockey sticks for a game to highlight Pheasants Forever’s efforts to create wildlife habitat?” My plan: Pheasants Forever would auction off all the sticks and use the money to create wildlife habitat. No response. Same inquiry was sent to MLB with orange bats. No response. No doubt my calls and emails were not getting to the ears and eyes of the right folks.
I even pitched blaze orange uniforms & hats for OPENING DAY (think South Dakota pheasant hunting opener) of the new Sioux Falls Fighting Pheasants this May. Unfortunately, the Fighting Pheasants already had a paying sponsor lined up for a magnetic schedule giveaway & fireworks . . . sigh . . .
Certainly, someone within the major sports leagues understands the crossover between hunters, habitat and their fan base. And, they undoubtedly will be able to see the extensive network of grassroots volunteers and the great habitat work being accomplished for the benefit of all species of wildlife, water quality, and society at large. But alas, I’ve not yet found “that someone” in the four major sports leagues.
The Packers orange hat press release has got me following that same line of thinking again today. I’d buy a blaze orange Detroit Tigers or Detroit Red Wings hat. Would you buy a blaze orange Minnesota Twins, Chicago Cubs, or Pittsburg Penguins hat? How about a blaze orange Dallas Cowboys, Cincinnati Reds, Minnesota Vikings or Los Angeles Lakers hat?
Do you know someone at MLB, NFL, NHL or NBA that could turn the idea of “Hunting Down Habitat” a reality? Forward this blog to them and send them my email address (stpete@pheasantsforever.org).
Thanks!
And while you’re at it, post a comment below about which team’s blaze orange logo you’d like to have on your head for the pheasant opener this autumn.
Baseball, Pheasants & Friday Night Fish Fry
Friday, February 19th, 2010
- Two guys with Saints connections, Jack Morris (left) and the author, also share a love for pheasant hunting.
Baseball, Hot Dogs, and Pheasants
On Wednesday, the Sioux Falls Canaries of the independent American Association baseball league changed their name to the Sioux Falls Fighting Pheasants. Prior to joining Pheasants Forever’s national headquarters staff in January 2003, I’d spent seven seasons with the Saint Paul Saints Professional Baseball Club working my way up to Assistant General Manager. During my time with the Saints, we’d play the Sioux Falls Canaries regularly. The Canaries name never really made sense to me for a team in Sioux Falls. Of course I’m pretty jacked to hear of their new switch to a much more popular South Dakota bird and I can’t wait to get my hands on one of their new baseball lids. I hope to attend a game there this summer . . . maybe it’ll be “take your bird dog to the park night!”
Since this is a eulogy – so to speak – to the Canaries, I’d like to offer up a few of my memories about their franchise.
1) I’ll never forget watching ex-Major Leaguer Pedro Guerrero smoking cigarettes on the bench during the game. No lie.
2) I remember meeting a former Canaries intern one off-season. He’d taken a full-time job in the Twin Cities at an advertising agency. As his story goes . . . on the last game of the season, he had been assigned to wear the Canaries mascot costume. Well, a pitcher in the bullpen talked him into swapping uniforms for the last two innings of the game – player in the Canary costume and intern in the player’s uniform. During the last inning, a bench clearing brawl broke out on the field. Fearful that the intern with the player’s last name on the back of his jersey wouldn’t stand up for his teammates, the player in the Canary costume pushed the intern into the fight. Luckily, there was no blood spilled.
3) Also a bit of trivia, Pheasants Forever’s Bill Fisher (Warehouse Manager) was the Sioux Falls Canaries Assistant General Manager during the 1999 season. Fisher also spent 10 seasons working in the Saint Paul Saints front office.
Friday Night Fish Fry
Tonight, I’m looking forward to kicking off Lent with a Friday night fish fry. My wife, Meredith, and I are in search of a new favorite fish fry restaurant. Something that serves perch or bluegills would be preferred, but walleye would suffice. I’m for sure going to avoid cod. Cod is not a favorite for this guy when I’m looking for fish & chips. If you have any Twin Cities fish fry recommendations, drop me a comment below. Heck, drop a comment for great fish fry restaurants anywhere in the country . . . I’ll get there eventually I’m sure.
National Pheasant Fest is a Week Away
A final thought for the week . . . Pheasants Forever’s National Pheasant Fest 2010 in Des Moines kicks off one week from today! Yee Haw! Hope to see you there!
Pheasants Playing Hardball in South Dakota
Thursday, February 18th, 2010
Don't throw inside on this guy.
Hope springs eternal for pheasants (spring nesting) and baseball fans (spring training). In this instance, they’re one and the same.
The Sioux Falls, South Dakota, professional baseball team formerly known as the Canaries have changed their name to the Sioux Falls Fighting Pheasants (the team plays in the independent American Association). While the ring-necked pheasant has a storied history in South Dakota, so does Pheasants baseball – they were a minor-league team in Aberdeen at various times from 1922 to 1997.
This pheasant hunter, Pheasants Forever member and hardcore seamhead, for one, is amped up to see SoDak’s signature bird finally represented on the diamond. No word on when Fighting Pheasants pitchers and catchers report, though roosters will be crowing in a few weeks.
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