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[ Originally published on: Saturday, November 08, 2008 ]

Keeping Score

By Chip Ainsworth

Good morning!

What's next now that the voters have wiped out the state's two dog tracks, no more pig racing at the fair? Chew on that over your bacon and eggs this morning.

''Not been a good day,'' said Tim Horan of the National Greyhound Association in Abilene, Ks., the day after the ballot initiative to end dog racing in Massachusetts was passed by a 56-44 percent margin. ''It's a devastating blow. The public just doesn't care about greyhound racing anymore. They're doing other things. They're not playing the dogs.''

Wonderland Park was due to die a natural death anyway, since it already owed the city of Revere more than $789,000 in unpaid taxes, but Raynham Park's closure will cost that town about $440,000 annually in lost tax revenue.

Although greyhound racing still does well in places like Florida and abroad in England, Ireland and Australia, during the last decade, greyhound tracks have already closed in Oregon, Kansas and Colorado. ''It's value for your dollar right now,'' said Horan, the assistant director of the NGA. ''A lot of people can spend all afternoon playing cards for $50. It's a better deal if you're a gambler.''

The seismic industry shift created by Tuesday's vote wasn't felt at Hinsdale Race Track, where greyhound racing is conducted 50 days a year, and that only by statutory requirement. Hinsdale has survived by successfully evolving into an OTB and simulcast business, and running daily card games and poker tournaments. ''Even the casinos are seeing a drop in play,'' added Horan. ''Las Vegas has all these fancy hotels and can't fill 'em. But it's temporary for them, once you're closed, you're closed.''

Horan then chuckled and added, ''The world's going to end on 12/21/12 anyway, so why get upset?''

Google that bit of prophecy on your computer if you haven't had your daily dose of paranoia.

Todd McDonald's night at the Mullins Center began in earnest last Friday when Deerfield's Bill Wardwell groused that he couldn't find a hockey program. McDonald has climbed the proverbial ladder from lower-tiered jobs with the Red Sox and Connecticut Sun of the WNBA to being the assistant athletic director in charge of corporate sales and marketing at UMass. In this case, that long title meant getting on his cell phone and rustling up some scorecards to keep Wardwell happy, a search that was simply part of his larger responsibility to get local fans into the seats this season. It was Halloween and the arena resembled the bar scene from Star Wars, with Smurfs, Aquaman and Santa Claus scampering about the concourse before the home opener. Down on the rink, 20 students from Providence College came dressed as hockey players.

It's still early, but Hockey East's pecking order is already taking shape and Providence figures to be at or near the bottom of the standings this season, a premonition gauged by last weekend's double dip to the Minutemen.

As for UMass, the Minutemen need to stay consistent from start to finish. In eight seasons under coach Don Cahoon, they've gone 47-45-11 the first two months, 37-52-10 the second two months, and 31-54-7 the last two.

Over the next two weeks the Minutemen will host BC, BU, UVM and UMass Lowell, good entertainment at a cheap price, but beware of Legal Seafood's $5.50 cup of chowder. Be sure to tell them to put some clams in it.

Trivia: From the first pitch by Tampa Bay's Matt Garza to the last out by Boston's Jed Lowrie in the final game of the ALCS, how many television commercials did FOX TV broadcast?

GHS hoops coach Scott Thayer wasn't talking politics while he and his father John were waiting to vote in Northfield on Tuesday. Instead he spoke of his wife Erin's success coaching the Green Wave field hockey team. Noting she's the daughter of High School Hall of Fame baseball coach Tom Suchanek, Thayer said, ''The apple didn't fall far from the tree, it just rolled a little.''

Time change got you down? The light at the end of winter's long tunnel shines a bit brighter knowing the Red Sox are offering spring training packages that include airfare, hotel accommodations for three nights, car rental and tickets for two games for about $1,500 per person, depending on your choice of hotels.

Another baseball option this spring would be to fly to Miami and watch the second round of the World Baseball Classic at Dolphins Stadium from March 14-19. Four teams will have been culled from the eight who survived the first rounds, and here's guessing those four will be the USA, Venezuela, the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico.

After the University of Texas took a one-point lead against Texas Tech with 1:38 left last Saturday night, Raiders coach Mike Leach turned to quarterback Graham Harrell and said, ''That's more time than most of our drives.'' Indeed, more time than it took for the Raiders to score three touchdowns against UMass during their 56-14 win last September, and two other TDs took less than three minutes.

By the way, if Texas Tech wins the NCAA title it'll be the first time UMass has ever played an eventual national football champion in the same season.

Shelburne Falls native Skip Smith sent a memo via The Recorder Web site to former staffer Kyle Belanger. We may as well tell everybody what Smith's up to, so here's an edited version of his e-mail: ''Please let Kyle know that I worked the World Series after working the ALDS and ALCS. I was in the Rays' dugout during the games and think I'm probably the first and only person from Shelburne Falls to run camera at the World Series. It's been a thrill. Thanks, I think Kyle will get a charge out of knowing.''

Despite Bud Selig's best efforts, more than half (16 of 30) of the major league teams had attendance drops this season. The Rangers suffered the greatest crises in confidence, lagging 408,165 behind their 2007 attendance. Seattle, San Diego, Oakland, Baltimore and Houston also incurred drops of over 200,000 from the previous year.

Not surprisingly, Tampa Bay had the biggest boost in attendance with a 391,470 increase, followed by the Nationals (358,821) and Phillies (314,252).

The Red Sox always find a few new places to squeeze some seats into Fenway Park, and as a result drew more fans (77,495) again for the 11th straight year.

Trivia answer: FOX aired 90 commercials over 8 1/2 innings, 88 thirty-second spots and two 15-second messages.

Squibbers: Barack Obama's election win reminds me of how Jackie Robinson broke baseball's color barrier in 1947. Robinson wore No. 42 for the Brooklyn Dodgers, and Obama will be the 44th president. Here's hoping he plays the game as well as Robinson. … In its baseball preview last March, Sports Illustrated picked the Tigers to beat the Cubs. … If Manny Rameriz gets a six-year deal and averages 40 home runs a season, he'll finish his career with 767 home runs, and if Alex Rodriguez plays out the remaining nine years of his contract and averages 40 homers, he'll finish with 913. … Only 149 days left until opening day, Josh Beckett versus Matt Garza at Fenway Park.

Chip Ainsworth has penned his observations about sports for four decades in the Pioneer Valley.