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Crusher , was unveiled on Sunday, August 23 at a Portland Sea Dogs game! His intro video has been very popular – big thanks to Gum Spirits for producing that and Capt. John Ready from [url http://www.catchapieceofmaine.com ]Catch a Piece of Maine[/url] for helping out. Look for Crusher to make numerous appearances in the community to help in our continued efforts in assisting non-profits throughout Maine. Already in September, he will be making appearances at [url http://www.wcsh6.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=108727&catid=2]Learning Works’ back to school event[/url], the ALS Walk, JRDF Walk to Cure Diabetes, the American Heart Association’s Walk, Maine Children’s Cancer Program Walk, and will be joining the kids at Scarborough’s Public Library for a [url http://www.nba.com/dleague/maine/Community.html]Read to Achieve[/url] event. We’ll try to give him plenty of time to practice his dunking skills for opening night, too.

Last week we were very proud to announce a partnership with [url http://www.mercyhospital.com/]Mercy Hospital[/url] as our official health care provider. In particular I’d like to highlight our joint community venture called the Best Shot for Youth Initiative, which will raise funds for free sports physicals at Mercy’s Primary Care locations in Portland, Westbrook, Windham and Standish, for York and Cumberland County students in grades 6-12 who do not have a primary care physician or who are currently Mercy’s primary care patients. The Red Claws and Mercy both believe strongly in kids participating in sports and having a healthy, active lifestyle. The Best Shot for Youth Initiative will help eliminate barriers that keep kids from getting involved in sports. Our friends at [url http://quirkauto.com/]Quirk Chevrolet[/url], the Red Claws’ presenting sponsor, were the first to commit to supporting the Best Shot for Youth Initiative and we hope many, many more will join the effort.

Last but not least, we had so much fun seeing all of you playing on the parquet floor at our first “Pick A Seat Day” we decided to open the building to everyone one last time before we get ready for training camp this fall. We’ll be hosting an open house [url http://www.nba.com/dleague/maine/events.html]“select-a-seat” event for three days over Labor Day weekend - September 4-6 from 10 a.m to 3 p.m. each day[/url]. The Expo will be set-up for a game with our [url http://www.nba.com/dleague/maine/Parquet-314059-2488.html]new parquet floor[/url] laid out. Once again we’ll be providing fans the opportunity to make a half-court shot attempt and win a season ticket. No one has made it yet, but the last time out several people came close, even [url http://www.cmsbmedia.com/2009/07/chris-sedenkas-half-court-failure.html]Red Claws play-by-play man Chris Sedenka.[/url] We are quickly closing in on the 1,200 mark for season tickets so the best seats are going fast (a season ticket is the only way to guarantee yourself a ticket for the [url http://www.nba.com/dleague/maine/schedule/]home opener December 4[/url]!) Come out to the Expo one day during our select-a-seat weekend, shoot around on the parquet floor and pick your seats.

Less than 100 days to go to opening night…

As some of you may know, the Red Claws held tryouts for our PA Announcer at the Portland Expo on July 25. The turnout and energy was exciting to be around as the [url http://www.wmtw.com/sports/20178734/detail.html]video[/url] shows. Our judges whittled it down to the top three finalists. Then last week the finalists were each on [url http://www.thebigjab.com/]96.3 the Big Jab[/url] with PM Jab Host and Red Claws radio play-by-play man, [url http://www.thebigjab.com/includes/news_items/4/news_items_more.php?id=17§ion_id=4]Chris Sedenka[/url]. The finalists auditioned for the masses on air and then fans voted on the Big Jab’s website for a winner. Well the votes are in and the winner was announced this past Monday on air. The winner is (drum roll please)….. Frank Stetson! Frank will be a first-time PA Announcer.  He has tons of [url http://www.cmsbmedia.com/2009/08/maine-red-claws-new-pa-announcer-is.html]experience[/url] as the first radio broadcaster for the Lewiston Maineiacs and has called local high school football and basketball games over the years. Huge congrats to Frank! And a “thank you” to everyone who tried out.

You may recall that we had dance team try outs back in May. Since then the [url http://www.nba.com/dleague/maine/danceteam.html]Red Claws Dance Team[/url] presented by [url http://www.suntancity.com/]Sun Tan City[/url] has been all over Maine making appearances in parades and non-profit events. They are working really hard and practicing three days a week at World Gym. The ladies will be making an appearance this Saturday from 10-2 at the [url http://www.wcsh6.com/life/contests/deal_or_no_deal/default.aspx]“Deal or No Deal” auditions at Quirk Chevrolet[/url] in Westbrook. The dancers will be selling food and drinks with 100% of the proceeds going to our Red Claws charitable foundation. We won’t start picking up players until the fall so the dance team has been the public face of our organization at numerous events so a huge “thank you” to them and their coach and fearless leader, Tina Kelly.

Speaking of picking up players, we’re having an open tryout in Charlotte, North Carolina which will be hosted by one of our two affiliates, the Charlotte Bobcats. The tryout is at their arena, the Time Warner Cable Arena from September 12-13. Myself, Red Claws Head Coach Austin Ainge and the Bobcats assistant coaches will be in the building evaluating the players. As many as three players will be invited to our training camp in November in Portland. For more information about the event, including how to register, please visit the [url http://www.nba.com/bobcats/090722_redclaws_release.html]Bobcats website[/url].  We will be announcing our try-out camp in Portland sometime soon.  Since we first started this team I have received numerous inquiries from agents and players about trying out for our team.  This is your chance! 

Finally, we also had a few qualified people try out for our mascot, Crusher. The role requires acrobatics as Crusher will be dunking off a trampoline all season! Crusher will look to make his debut very soon so stay tuned for that.

Check out our new and improved [url http://www.maineredclaws.com]website[/url]! Have a great week everyone!

On Thursday we unveiled our [url http://www.nba.com/dleague/maine/jerseys081309.html]shooting shirts and jerseys[/url], both home and away! We spent a lot of time working with the NBA and adidas on our uniforms. Both the home and away jerseys and shorts I think capture exactly what we wanted to convey.  A big thank you to adidas and Christopher Arena at the NBA for working with us and capturing exactly what we wanted in our uniforms.  We had a great event with a large turnout for our [url http://www.wcsh6.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=108090&catid=2]unveiling at Bell Buoy Park on the waterfront[/url].  I am constantly amazed how excited people are to have the Red Claws come to town.  We definitely picked the right place for our team!  Another big thanks to Jamaal Caterina and Matt Clement for modeling the jerseys. None of this would have been possible without the boat provided by [url http://www.catchapieceofmaine.com/]Catch a Piece of Maine[/url], a truly amazing company that was named[url http://www.econdevmaine.com/news/Item.aspx?id=154] U.S. Small Business Association’s National Entrepreneurs of the year in 2008[/url]. Please follow [url http://twitter.com/JonPJennings]me[/url], the [url http://twitter.com/maineredclaws]Red Claws[/url] and [url http://twitter.com/CatchaPieceofME]Catch a Piece of Maine[/url] on Twitter.
   
Additionally our [url http://www.nba.com/dleague/maine/schedule/]game schedule[/url] was released at long last! Our first game is on the road against the Sioux Falls SkyForce on November 27. Then our home opener is December 4th against the Springfield Armor. We are very excited about our home opener and are planning some special for that evening.  Additionally, I’d like to highlight a few other home games, including games New Year’s eve, New Year’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day and four Friday night doubleheaders with Portland High School in January.  Overall, we like our schedule from a competitive standpoint.  It is going to be a fun and exciting season!
   
We continue to set the pace for the rest of the league with season ticket sales.  We have sold over 1,100 full season tickets since February.  We are beyond thrilled with the response we have received from basketball fans from the surrounding area.  Season ticket sales have not even slowed down during the dog days of summer.  We’ll be having more select-a-seat days on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, September 4-6 of Labor Day weekend. We are giving fans one more attempt to hit a half court shot to win a free season ticket. At our event in July we did not have any winners.  The [url http://www.nba.com/dleague/maine/Parquet-314059-2488.html]parquet floor[/url] will be out so please come and check out the Portland Expo!
   
After months of selling tickets and sponsorships we now get to turn a little of our attention to basketball!  We have two tryout camps planned in Charlotte, NC (home of our affiliate, the Charlotte Bobcats) on September 12-13 and the other in Boston, MA at the beautiful UMass-Boston campus on October 3rd.  As a new franchise, we have ten roster spots to fill.  For more information about the tryouts, including how to register, please visit our new and improved [url http://www.maineredclaws.com]website[/url].  As I’ve mentioned previously, since we first started this team I have received numerous inquiries from agents and players about trying out for our team.  This is your chance! 

Finally the long-awaited arrival of our mascot, Crusher is almost here. Sunday, August 23rd is Maine Red Claws Day at the Portland Sea Dogs and our mascot will be unveiled for the first time. Please join us for a day of fun at the ball park on this historic day in franchise history! Until next time…

Many people have asked why we are the Maine Red Claws, as opposed to Portland? It’s because we want to be Maine’s team and along those lines, we want to give back to communities state-wide. This is a fundamental piece of our ownership group’s mission in bringing this team here. This isn't just about basketball; this is an opportunity to make a difference in the lives of children and a lot of other people. There have been two events over the past week, which highlight the types of things the Maine Red Claws can do to help. These community events were the Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA Camp and the 3 Points for STRIVE program, presented by Hammond Lumber.

The Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA Camp was held at the Portland Expo on Tuesday, July 28 for 250 children in southern Maine. As the video shows, it was a great day for all involved! Portland was one of eight cities nationwide to host one of these camps this summer. We were so blessed to have it here! It was great to see Red Claws head coach Austin Ainge, NBA Hall-of-Famer Bob Lanier, and 3-time WNBA All-Star Andrea Stinson, teaching the game of basketball and the game of life to children. Let me add that it was an absolute honor to be around Bob Lanier and Andrea Stinson; they are true ambassadors of the game. The Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA camp emphasized being a S.T.A.R. (Sportsmanship Teamwork Attitude Respect) through basketball drills and interactive discussions about good health, nutrition, and sportsmanship. These are the same values I strive to pass on to my daughter, speaking of strive.....

On Thursday, July 30 we announced the [url http://www.nba.com/dleague/maine/STRIVE072709.html]3 Points for STRIVE program[/url], presented by [url http://www.hammondlumber.com/]Hammond Lumber Company[/url]. For those who don’t know, [url http://pslstrive.org/]STRIVE[/url] is a non-profit located in South Portland that assists young adults (ages 15-24) with developmental disabilities. The highlight of the announcement today was when one of the STRIVE young adults spoke. His name is Eric and he’s be going to STRIVE U for five years. He really enjoys the Friday night socials. In addition he’s a HUGE Celtics fan and even wore a Paul Pierce jersey at the press conference. Hopefully with a little work we can soon get him in a Red Claws shirt!

Anyway here’s how the program works: during our inaugural season Hammond Lumber will make a donation to STRIVE for every made three pointer the Red Claws make during a home game this season. It is estimated that the program will raise ,500 for STRIVE; though I have decided to exclusively select players for this season that can shoot 3-pointers so this number can only go up!  In all seriousness, we’d like Red Claws fans to make their own donation for every three-point field goal made by Red Claws players during home games this year. A nickel or dime for every trey will go a long, long way!

We have already raised close to ,000 for non-profits and we haven't even thrown the ball up yet. We take just as much pride in that as we do in the 1,100 season tickets we've already sold, because that's making a tangible difference in the lives of people who live here in Maine. For more information about our community programs please visit the [url http://www.nba.com/dleague/maine/Community.html]community page[/url] of our website.