An Eastern League first

Tomorrow's game between Connecticut and Altoona will feature a first by any Eastern League team, although it is one given little fanfare or publicity.

As part of its promotional events, the Defenders are celebrating Pride Night, welcoming the areas gay and lesbian community. I was a little surprised to learn after calling around to the league's other 11 teams that no one had done this before.

Team GM Charlie Dowd told me tonight that some or all advertising fails to reflect this promotion, hwever, a mistake on his part. But there is also no mention of Pride Night in tonight's in-game announcements.

"We're not social pioneers; we're just trying to market better," Dowd said.

It would have been nice if there had been greater plugging of the event, which oddly enough, is paired with the Army's birthday celebration at Dodd Stadium.