Godfather Media Inc. has acquired 60-percent control of the indy pro Orange County/Fullerton Flyers (North American League). The team sat out the 2011 season, while the ownership group led by Alan Mintz continued to work on a new ballpark deal with the City of Fullerton (CA). The team is listed as one of four teams in the NAL’s Northern Division and, from what we hear, may be playing as a road team in 2012. Read more here. View press release here.
As you recall, Godfather acquired the rights to the league’s Yuma Scorpions and changed the name of the team to the Yuma Panthers. You may also recall that this professionally-run organization ran into a little trademark and copyright trouble with the branding developed for Godfather and the Panthers. Both logos have since been changed.
Godfather is operated by Michael Cummings, who also created a similar publicly-traded company called Xcellence in Entertainment, Inc. (XnE, Inc.), which was used to acquire the league’s Na Koa Ikaika Maui. The Maui franchise has since changed hands, and XnE is now nowhere to be found. XnE tried to acquire the league’s now-defunct St. George Roadrunners at one point as well.
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Ron, what’s your take on the south coast league…I feel that there are many untapped markets in Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Carolina’s, Virgina, Louisiana, etc that could potentially offer the same…
The South Coast League was a very good concept. I worked with the league co-founders, and was the primary supplier for uniforms and apparel for the league. Funding was their difficulty, but the area is plum for another venture. The cities they were in, foor the most part, were solid baseball towns with good venues. No reason it cannot work again, but with strong financial backing and baseball accumen.
It’s sad, I think the west coast has a great chance at Indy pro ball with the limited affiliated markets, and strong areas like long beach, chula vista, Santa Ana, Portland, Honolulu, etc. but I believe with the strong markets limited minor league competition and a large portion of athletes residing on the west coast, an Atlantic league model league could be created and be very successful. These leagues that charge $500k-$1m a membership for clubs playing in high school/college ballparks in areas of each town that is hard to get to from highways just does not add up. Mix that with the David Kaval/Kevin Outcalt poor management and poor owners like Michael Cummings and Bob Young and it’s been a disaster since the beginning of the GBL. Someone should put this together and do it right!
You hit it right on the head, Nick. This has been my thoughts exactly for some time. Too much talent, and too many good cities in California can make this happen. I have talked to several of my former professional baseball counterparts over the last couple years, and they all agree. It can be done.
Saw the Yuma schedule on the Penn State/Fenway/Yuma site. They end the season with 18 straight home games in August. In Yuma. Arizona. On the other hand, when the weather will be somewhat bearable in May, they are in Maui and San Rafael. Thumbs up to the schedule maker.
Nick is right, great pics of Fenway there too. And if you go under the stadium part you’ll see some nice pictures of the stadium in Grand Prairie, Texas. Says something on the home page (four times) about a video interview with the new manager of the ‘capitals’ – which should be, strangely enough, capitalized. I wonder if the new manager of the ‘capitals’ knows they aren’t playing this year.
Also if you get a chance, read through the staff biographies. Obviously they don’t have a proofreader on staff.
If you’re going to try to reinvent the NAL or Yuma as a professional organization, probably not the best way to present things. Don’t launch your site if your site isn’t ready to be launched.
I would bet I’ve just spent more time thinking about the Yuma Panthers than the population of Yuma will.
Bottom line…this is what happens when non-baseball people and bad businessmen combine to form a baseball league. The Golden League found this out in a hurry. Dave Kaval didn’t leave the league he founded just for greener pastures. He realized his Stanford degree paper idea of a professional baseball league being successful was beginning to crumble. This league is on the same track, but at least Kaval has a job in the end.
Not to mention at yumapanthers.com the already stolen logo of godfather media there are several homepage pics of Fenway park not that shit box they play in. The league is a joke!
NAL Wannabes
The North American League is a joke. Their track record of not doing duediligence on new ownership groups speaks for itself. The list of teams failing after a season or two is staggering. Then they allow a wannabe like Michael Cummings, who left a trail of unpaid bills and salaries in Maui, become the principal owner of not one, but two other franchises in the NAL. When will these idiots running the assylum going to learn? Prediction: the NAL will be gone in a year…or less.
I’m curious – what is the benefit of such a move for the Godfather company? Acquiring a defunct team with no assets and really no potential, in a league clearly going down the toilet. is there some sort of tax benefit or something? From what I read here there’s no cash being exchanged, just worthless stock, but still, what is the business benefit of these guys picking up worthless franchises for worthless stock? Guess I should have gone to business school.
Makes you wonder if the former owners will be the new owners under a new name…
This has trouble written all over it.