Free Republic

This week starts the NFL’s 100th season, but some teams seem to still be finding a awful lot of empty seats. As the Cleveland Browns took on — and lost 43-13 to — the Tennessee Titans at FirstEnergy Stadium, for instance, fans took to social media to express their shock at the number of empty seats:At EverBank Field, the Jacksonville Jaguars also found a horde of empty seats when the lost big to the Kansas City Chiefs 40-26:Meanwhile, at the Miami Dolphins’ Hard Rock Stadium, the Baltimore Ravens flew into town to skunk the Dolphins 59-10. But fans seemed lacking...

Meanwhile, There's A War On by John HinderakerWe noted here the mysteriously under-covered story of the three would-be terrorists who were arrested in Italy after vowing to launch an attack on America that would dwarf September 11. A reader sent us a link to this article, which has more: The mainstream U.S. media outlets have failed to report a major terrorist plot against the U.S. - because it would tend to support President Bush's use of NSA domestic surveillance, according to media watchdog groups. News of a planned attack masterminded by three Algerians operating out of Italy was widely...

Take-a-knee protests spark conversation on whether public investment in teams pays off for communitiesThe Cincinnati Bengals threatened the unthinkable in 1995. Team owner Mike Brown vowed the team would move to Baltimore unless a new stadium was built. Taxpayers in Hamilton County, Ohio, where Cincinnati is located, feared something greater than wounded civic pride if their football team left. They worried that the Bengals’ departure would spur an economic crisis throughout the region. A University of Cincinnati study released at the time estimated that the Bengals added $77 million to the local economy. Hamilton County residents could avert disaster, however....

While we glorify football players for their accomplishments on the field, they are not heroes. I recently visited with a real hero – a young Army sergeant from my congressional district who still gets body tremors when he stands. Bombs bursting in the air exploded over his unit in Afghanistan, leaving shards of metal stuck in his skull. When I entered his room at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, he proudly stood at full attention, brimming with nervous energy. I had come to thank him on behalf of a grateful nation, and the sergeant was as respectful as he...

I'm calling foul on all the leftists rushing to protect the NFL's protest crusaders from President Donald Trump's criticism of their national anthem antics. Their shabby line of defense? The NFL is a "private enterprise" whose "rights" are being violated by those who dare to challenge the league's political radicalization. The anti-Trump Democratic Coalition has even filed an ethics complaint alleging that the president's comments constitute a criminal violation against using government offices "to influence the employment decisions and practices" of a private entity. Funny. These fair-weather friends of corporate free speech and the First Amendment were nowhere to be...

Multi-Billion Dollar Stadiums: The Seen vs. the Horrid Unseen By Allan Golombek September 27, 2017 In 1995, the Los Angeles Rams moved to St. Louis, extracting hundreds of millions of dollars from taxpayers to help build a new stadium. After 20 years in the Gateway City, the Rams moved right back where they came from – leaving the people of St. Louis and Missouri stuck with a $6 million a year tab to pay for an empty football field. American taxpayers spend billions of dollars a year to lure professional sports teams from one place to another in one of...

This plan was proposed for the Boston South Station area in 1965. It consisted of a retractable dome for football and baseball along an arena for basketball, hockey, and dog racing.

A 22-year-old Chicago man was arrested over the weekend for plotting to carry out a bombing outside a strip of crowded Wrigleyville night spots, according to the FBI. They also alleged that Sami Samir Hassoun, of the 4700 block of North Kedzie Avenue, had previously discussed a number of violent plots in Chicago, including a biological attack on the city, poisoning Lake Michigan, attacking police officers, bombing the Willis Tower and assassinating Mayor Richard Daley. But he is only charged with attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction and attempted use of an explosive device in connection with the...

SNIPPET: "The North African terror group al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb has threatened to attack this summer's World Cup games in South Africa. "How amazing could the match United States vs. Britain be when broadcasted live on air at a stadium packed with spectators when the sound of an explosion rumbles through the stands, the whole stadium is turned upside down and the number of dead bodies are in their dozens and hundreds, Allah willing," reads a statement the group published in a recent issue of the Jihadi online magazine Mushtaqun Lel Jannah (Longing to Paradise)." SNIPPET: "In addition...

The owners of the Detroit Red Wings are looking to building a new $650-million entertainment district for the team in downtown Detroit with the help of state and local taxpayers. The plan is in its early stages and details are scarce, but the overwhelming economic consensus is that subsidized stadiums are huge losers for taxpayers. Amidst all the other excitement in Lansing, a bill to exempt certain businesses from state and local taxes via the Downtown Development Act was signed by Gov. Rick Snyder recently. According to MIRS Capitol Capsule, this “paves the way” for a replacement for Joe Louis...

The Minnesota House passed the conference committee version of the Vikings stadium bill early Thursday, May 10, leaving Senate approval as the last obstacle before the bill would head to Gov. Mark Dayton's desk. The bill passed 71-60 after about two hours of debate on the floor. The conference committee bill raises the amount the team would pay by $50 million. The team's contribution is now $477 million, up from $427 million. That drops the state's contribution from $398 million to $348 million. Minneapolis' contribution remains unchanged at $150 million.

The Detroit Tigers were a few wins short of going to the World Series last year. Team ownership signed All Star first baseman Prince Fielder to a 9-year, $214 million deal in the hopes that he will help push the team over the top as well as continue strong attendance at Comerica Park. Since the club has all that extra revenue available and expect more from higher attendance, will they consider repaying Michigan taxpayers for the hundreds of millions of dollars that were used to subsidize the team's stadium? Comerica Park opened in 2000 after three years of construction and...

Imagine what would happen if America barged its way into a developing country, buttered up its homicidal dictator and agreed a back-of-the-envelope deal in which he signed over his nation’s mineral wealth in return for roads, railways and sports stadiums. Everyone would benefit, no? No. The problem is that the infrastructure turns out to be worth a hell of a lot less than the minerals. Fortunately, Washington has had the foresight to top up the dictator’s Swiss bank account. Problem solved! As for the mining operation, the Americans really don’t want to be bothered by minimum wages or trade unions....

Gov. Mark Dayton says he will call a special legislative session for a vote on a Vikings stadium bill even if there is not a specific proposal tied to one of several proposed sites. The Democratic governor met Monday with legislative leaders to discuss the team's bid for a new, partially-taxpayer funded stadium. Dayton set a deadline of Wednesday, Nov. 23 for a special session, and says his only requirement to call it is the Legislature's four caucus leaders must agree to limit the agenda to the stadium issue. Dayton says he'll work in the coming weeks toward a specific...

If you can somehow sneak into the Astrodome, first hold your nose, then look up. You won't see a lot of world championship banners. The Astrodome isn't known worldwide as "The House That Don Nottebart Built." The Astros played in the Dome from Day One in 1965 through 1999. No pennants. No World Series titles. No nothing. The Houston Oilers played in the Dome from 1968 to good riddance 1997. No championships. No Super Bowls. Close a few years, but no nothing. The Astrodome hosted a lot of great moments and wonderful memories: UCLA vs. UH basketball, Billie Jean King...

<p>Al Qeada's terror plot in World Cup, S. Africa - 2010 & Somali Jihadists attacking, murdering football fans for watching game.</p> <p>Palestinian gunmen kill Israeli athletes In the early 1970s the PLO is widely condemned for a series of hijackings bombings and killings most notably the kidnapping and killing of 11 Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympics. Arafats involvement in these events is unclear he refused to discuss such attacks though he denounced terrorism as a tactic.</p>

ReasonTV looks at whether taxpayers should help provide wealthy team owners with a place to play.

Legislators released their playbook on a $791 million Minnesota Vikings stadium Monday morning, saying only those who benefit from the new complex would pay. The Vikings are asked to pay $222 million for construction, with another $527 million to be financed over 40 years with $31.9 million in annual proceeds from sports lottery tickets and taxes on hotels, jerseys and rental cars.

Obama amputates our nuclear arms By: Charles Krauthammer ...snippet...Under President Obama’s new policy, however, if the state that has just attacked us with biological or chemical weapons is “in compliance with the Non-Proliferation Treaty,” explained Gates, then “the U.S. pledges not to use or threaten to use nuclear weapons against it.” Imagine the scenario: Hundreds of thousands are lying dead in the streets of Boston after a massive anthrax or nerve gas attack. The president immediately calls in the lawyers to determine whether the attacking state is in compliance with the NPT. If it turns out that the attacker...

SNIPPET: "BANGALORE: A day after two low-intensity blasts in the city, an explosive device weighing 2kgs was found wrapped in a yellow bag near Mahatma Gandhi statue on MG road." SNIPPET: "As stands filled on Saturday for the Mumbai Indians vs Royal Challengers IPL match, two bombs went off at the Chinnaswamy Stadium wounding 12 people and triggering panic. Roughly 20,000 people had packed into the stadium and hundreds more were streaming in when a loud explosion at Gate 12 rocked the arena and rattled nearby buildings. Six policemen were injured when the grill near the wall collapsed on them....