HEAV
04-16-2005, 10:24 AM
What will happen to the old Montreal Expos mascot Youppi!?
The rumors have been flying: First Youppi! was going to be sold to a Canadian pharmacy chain, then to a hospital. Now the latest reports have the Montreal Canadiens deep in negotiations to acquire him.
"We do confirm that we have a serious interest in adopting Youppi!" Canadiens Vice President Donald Beauchamp said.
Of course in the big money world of professional sports, adopt is a relative term. Make no mistake, the Canadiens will pay for the rights to Youppi! and this, too, is the subject of much debate around Quebec with estimates of a final sales price ranging anywhere from $100,000 to $1 million.
The Canadiens will say nothing about a price. And Claude Delorme, the former Expos vice president who is assigned the task of divesting the team of everything Montreal, cites a confidentiality agreement when discussing Youppi's sale. All he will say is that the Canadiens are one of many bidders for Youppi!
Either way, the money goes to the Nationals. The situation is a bit awkward for the team, which on Sunday will unveil a new mascot, providing a face to an organization still searching for an identity. But this also leaves the team in the precarious position of being a club without an owner yet with mascots in two different countries.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A57552-2005Apr15.html
Wonder how long it will take for someone to use the pic as a sig/avaie?
The rumors have been flying: First Youppi! was going to be sold to a Canadian pharmacy chain, then to a hospital. Now the latest reports have the Montreal Canadiens deep in negotiations to acquire him.
"We do confirm that we have a serious interest in adopting Youppi!" Canadiens Vice President Donald Beauchamp said.
Of course in the big money world of professional sports, adopt is a relative term. Make no mistake, the Canadiens will pay for the rights to Youppi! and this, too, is the subject of much debate around Quebec with estimates of a final sales price ranging anywhere from $100,000 to $1 million.
The Canadiens will say nothing about a price. And Claude Delorme, the former Expos vice president who is assigned the task of divesting the team of everything Montreal, cites a confidentiality agreement when discussing Youppi's sale. All he will say is that the Canadiens are one of many bidders for Youppi!
Either way, the money goes to the Nationals. The situation is a bit awkward for the team, which on Sunday will unveil a new mascot, providing a face to an organization still searching for an identity. But this also leaves the team in the precarious position of being a club without an owner yet with mascots in two different countries.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A57552-2005Apr15.html
Wonder how long it will take for someone to use the pic as a sig/avaie?