How is the Cardinals breaking ties with this site not "doing the right thing?" I'm pretty sure no other professional team has ever granted such rights to an individual website. For the Cardinals to allow this as long as they have speaks volumes about the job Skkorp and co. has done in building, maintaining, and promoting ASFN. It also speaks volumes about the Cardinal organization, which has granted their fans an obscene amount of opportunities to allow the community to know their team off the field. This website's media access is a fine example of that.
It's simply a forward move in the right direction. Skkorp's absolutely right, when this team begins to get better, the demand for information will rise and media outlets around town will act accordingly and provide it. For us in the Phoenix area Jurecki will still provide the best info on the Cards and Somers, Urban, and Kohler will do a fine job as well. They have way more resources, experience, and the medium to reach more fans, potential fans, and non-fans.
This example may not sound the same but it is actually very similar. I remember when the California Angels were sold to Disney by the Autry family. Much like the Cardinals, the Autry's ran a franchise that was family-oriented, had a small-town feel, and the players and coaches were easily accessible to fans at the ballpark and throughout the community. When Disney bought the team everything seemed to change. The Angels became a business, and the team and environment resembled such. But while this initially sucked for us fans, the end result of the Disney ownership was a World Series, something the family environment of the Autry ownership could never provide. I see a similar transition in the Autry-Disney change as I do now with the obvious change from the Bill Bidwill Sr. era to the Michael Bidwill era. I know that this probably isn't much of a consolation for everybody (including myself) who loves this site, but it was something I remember and wanted to pass on.
