Phillies Owner's Wife Called Anal at Project Home Tribute

Last night was the 25th anniversary gala of Project Home, the charity founded by indomitable Sister Mary Scullion and Joan Dawson-McConnon that endeavors to end all homelessness in Philadelphia. The charity has helped more than 8000 people get off the streets and built more than 600 housing units. Phillies part owner John and Leigh Middleton were honored for their transformative gift of over $15 million to the charity.

Leigh and John Middleton accepting their honor

The Philadelphia society types came out for the dinner, which was attended by 1250 and raised $2.1 million. Rock star Jon Bon Jovi, Comcast CEO Brian Roberts, Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie, Bill Giles of the Phillies as well as the formerly homeless residents of Project Home attended the event. Pennsylvania's First Lady, Susan Corbett, Senator Bob Casey, and Mayor Michael Nutter also attended the event.

Eagles owner Jeffrey and Tina Lurie,  Comcast CEO Brian and Aline Roberts, and World Bank President Jim Yong Kim

NBC's Meet the Press moderator David Gregory, whose show is currently in third place, was the evening's host. I asked him if there was any truth to the Washington Post report that a psychological consultant have been hired to help him. He dismissed the story with "It's just noise." Still I would have liked to be a fly on the wall during Gregory's conversation with his boss, Comcast CEO Brian Roberts. No one was smiling.

Meet the Press moderator talking with his boss Comcast CEO Brian Roberts

Bon Jovi in his short but sweet speech made it clear who was the top dog in his relationship with Project Home co-founder Sister Mary Scullion. The nun is the boss of the rock star. He decided to become involved with the homeless after looking out his Philadelphia hotel room and seeing the homeless freezing on the street. He thought, This is not what our forefathers intended."

Bon Jovi teased Sister Mary Scullion during his speech. 

Binswanger Corp CEO David Binswanger and his wife Dorothy revealed some interesting details about the Middletons in their introduction of the couple. The couple works hard to deflect attention from themselves. They chose a seat at Phillies home game, to the left of the catcher, which is just out of camera range. The Middletons bought John's mother's 107 year old house and are refurbishing it. David Binwanger teased John Middleton about constantly looking at his phone and always being serious. Dorothy described Leigh Middleton as super organized or, in her words, "anal".

The World Bank President Jim Yong Kim gave a moving tribute to the Middletons in which he called them the new face of philanthropy. Kim announced that the World Bank is committed to ending extreme poverty in 15 years. He credited John Middleton with helping him developing a more scientific system for distributing aid.

He said, "I am so excited to be here. I have known John and Leigh Middleton for five years. There are no two people in the world that I admire more. John and Leigh ask simple questions of the people they work with 1. Do you have heart? 2. Do you grit? 3. Are you committed? 4. Do you use scientific evidence to improve the work that you do?"

I left the dinner with a queasy feeling in my stomach. I am not sure how I feel about going to a fancy gala dinner to raise money for the homeless. It was interesting to note two of the biggest supporters of the night made their fortunes from tobacco and sugary drinks, which have decimated poor communities.

Helping the homeless is hard work complicated by obstacles such as mental health and addiction. Yet, I was surprised how few people (8000 people) they had brought in from the streets or homes they had built (600) in a quarter century since the richest people in the city and Bon Jovi fund them. Mega developer Bart Blatstein does that in a year. When you break it down,  Project Home helped 320 people a year and built 24 homes a year.

The North Philly Stompers and the Phillie Phanatic led the crowd to dinner

David Binswanger and Marjorie Honickman are two major donors to Project Home

Phillies Owner Middleton's Grand Palm Beach Mansion

It was announced yesterday that Phillies owner John Middleton and his wife Leigh will be given the prestigious Philadelphia Award this year. The Middleton family sold John Middleton Co, which was founded in 1856 as a center city tobacco store, to Altria for $2.9 billion in 2007. After the sale, John and Leigh Middleton stepped up their philanthropy including major gifts to Project Home and the Philadelphia School District.  John Middleton serves in the board of trustees of Penn Medicine.

John Middleton

The Middletons have been building a mansion on the northern end of the island of Palm Beach, Florida for the last 3 years. Much to the chagrin of neighbors, who including the Duponts, the construction noise at the house might continue into 2015. Progress on the mega mansion is proceeding slowly because Palm Beach enforces strictly, especially during the season, the time each day that the contractors are allowed to work

The oceanfront property boasts a large main house, two guest houses, and servant quarters. As one neighbor noted, "The house is so big that the guest house has a guest house."

It is a shame that Middleton can't use his riches to field a winning team for the Phillies.

The view from the beach

The garage

I can't figure out what it is taking so long. The windows are already in. 

Are the blue rails surrounding a pool or a barbecue pit?

The view from their home, 

The Middleton's have nice neighbors. The Duponts live two houses away.

The beach is mostly private except for pretty ladies doing yoga. 

Hamels, Howard Preview Phillies Opening Day

The Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce sponsored on Friday "Paint the Town Red," a Phillies opening week ritual for 30 years. Phillies Cole Hamels, Ryan Howard, and new Phillie Mike Young took questions. Owner Bill Giles, CEO David Montgomery, general manager Ruben Amaro, Jr, manager Charlie Manuel were also on hand.

The Phillie Phanatic is red for Red Week.

Ryan Howard said he is feeling "pretty good." To get ready for the season, he channeled Cal Ripken. He played for two weeks straight during spring training. While he was candid that he is slower, he thinks he has found a way to be more efficient.

A bearded Cole Hamels acknowledged it was a "tremendous honor to be selected opening day pitcher." At spring training, Cole's fastballs were averaging 92 mph. He is hoping with cheering from the fans that it will get up to 93 mph.

Mike Young, who played in two World Series games as a Texas Ranger, made it clear that he wants to finally score a World Series ring. "Losing the World Series is tough," he said.

Hamels, who was first allowed to pitch at the age of 10, said, "There is nothing better than pitching a no hitter at Citizen's Bank Park.

Howard was candid that it is hard to come back after a losing season.

Both Howard and Young had good things to say about Phillies prospect Cody Asche. Hamels thought highly of pitching prospects Adam Morgan and Jonathan Pettibone.

Hamels and Howard's two favorite players were Ken Griffey Jr, and Tony Gwynn. Howards also added Barry Bonds to the list. Young picked Don Mattingly.

Owner Bill Giles, who said that ticket sales are down 10% this year, defended the price of Phillies tickets.
"They are cheaper than Sixers and Flyers tickets. People don't like the price they don't have to come."

Forbes magazine recently named the Phillies Franchise the 5th most valuable franchise in major league Baseball. Giles does not think it is likely that the Phillies will move up higher in the rankings.

"We were sold out three years in a row. But a lot of the value is determined by television rights. We can't compete with New York and Los Angeles," he explained.

Montgomery, who is a part owner, does not care about the rankings at all.

"I care about winning not the value of the franchise," he said,

He explained how they pick between two players with equal stats.

"If two players look the same on paper, then we choose the one with the better character. If they both have the same numbers and character, we go with the younger one. We bet on the future," Montgomery said.

Amaro assured that Delmon Young isn't an anti-Semite.

'He's a good kid from a good family. He was drunk and did something stupid that got a lot of attention because he was a celebrity. He was trying to protect the pickpocket," he said..

Cole Hamels was booed when he said that he had chosen Wichita State in his NCAA bracket.

Hugh Jackman Wows at the Academy Ball

Tonight was the 156th Philadelphia Orchestra Academy Ball, which benefits the Orchestra and the Academy of Music. Globe Globe winner Hugh Jackman, who will probably win the Oscar for his performance in "Les Miserables". was the special guest star.

He sang a beautiful rendition of  "Oh, What A Beautiful Morning". When Jackman performed a Peter Allen number with the Philadelphia Boys Choir in honor of yesterday's Australia Day, he unfurled the Australian flag on stage. Naturally, he performed a number from "Les Miserables." Last night, it was the first time he sang any of the "Les Miserables" songs with an orchestra. He dedicated "Soliloquy" from "Carousel" to his dad.

"Singers rarely get to sing with an 18 piece orchestra let alone a 75 piece orchestra," said Jackman. "I sang on the set of "Les Miserable with a transistor like device in my ear that had a piano playing nearby."

As a tribute to the orchestra, he recited the first names of all 75 member of the orchestra. (There are 6 Davids.) He called the Philadelphia Orchestra, "the world's greatest orchestra" several times during the night.

The personal movie star acted like a native. Being a big soccer fan, he wiped Yanick's brow with a Philadelphia Union T shirt. He danced with Pennsylvania's First Lady, Susan Corbett during "Mack the Knife"and kissed Academy of Music president, Joanna Lewis.

Of course, there were the obligatory Philly cheesesteak jokes. His young daughter Ava brought him one on stage."

Cole Hamel of the Phillies and his wife Heidi also briefly graced the stage. They attended the Young Friend's Ball. Heidi said, 'It was their first ball."

The Hamels thanked the Philadelphia Orchestra and Academy of Music for preserving the cultural heritage for their children

Phillies owner Bill Giles: Phillies will start winning after June 15

I had a chance to talk to Phillies owner Bill Giles and his lovely wife Nancy at the World Affairs Council event for former British Prime Minister Tony Blair. Giles, unlike many pro sports teams owners, is always understated. He and his wife were sitting in the cheap seats at this event.

Giles said, "The Phillies will start winning after June 15." Not following sports, I do not know the significance of that date.

He continued, "We have a lot of players hurt now."

response to Phillies fans about Madson's I hate the fans comment

America is known as the land of second chances. I ask that I be given a second chance like everyone else. My writing should be judged on its merits not the events of 8 years ago.

Martha Stewart and Larry Mendte are still on television after their convictions. Eliot Spitzer won a tv show after consorting with a prostitute.

President Obama praised the Eagles for hiring Michael Vick fresh from prison. Now the fans, who have obviously forgiven him his dog fighting charges, have voted him a finalist in the Madden competition.

Milton Street, an ex-con, is running for Mayor of Philadelphia with endorsements from major unions.

David Carr writes for the New York Times even though he published a memoir about his crack addiction.

Phillies' Madson Response

The Phillies on behalf of Ryan and Sarah Madson have issued a response to my blog post. They did not refute that Sarah Madson said the comments that I reported.

They falsely allege that I did not identify myself as a reporter. That is just not true. I identified myself as a reporter several times and even Ryan and Sarah Madson for a joint interview after my conversation with Sarah.

As far as the false allegation that I took things out of context, Sarah was pretty clear on her hate for the fans. It was not possible to misconstrue.

I hope that this clears up any questions about my credibility.


Here is the Phillies statement.

Thursday, April 14, 2011


The Phillies issue the following statement on behalf of Ryan and Sarah Madson:

Sarah did not consent to an interview, but rather was approached by Ms. Goldman who did not identify herself as a reporter. She began to ask many personal questions about the life of a wife of a professional baseball player. The comments reported by Ms. Goldman were taken completely out of context, and as a result, Sarah is extremely upset and feels violated by the situation.

Sarah says, “For every one fan that may upset us, there are 99 Phillies fans that we love. We have lived here for years, have many friends, neighbors and acquaintances -- who also happen to be Phillies fans -- for whom we have the utmost respect.”

The Madsons would like to dispel this misleading information which indicates that they have anything but admiration for the fans in Philadelphia.

Phillies' Pitcher Madson's Wife Cries Foul

Recently, pitcher Ryan Madson and his wife Sarah hosted a fundraiser for Manna, the organization that provides meals to aids and cancer patients. Eagles offensive tackle Winston Justice and his wife Dania were the other hosts.

Madson humbly called himself “the entertainment.” But he was much more. He raised $750 for Manna by auctioning off an autographed Manna T shirt with his number on it. Both Madsons said they do not have their own foundation but like to “lend their support to a variety of charities.”

Sarah Madson, festooned with a necklace made from the top of a World Series ring that the Phillies gave all the players wives, is five months pregnant with her fourth child. The Madsons are hoping for a girl because their daughter wants a little sister.

Just back from spring training, she complaining that “her house (a mansion on the mainline) looked like a bomb had hit it.” Maybe that is why she decided to unload on the fans.

Sarah Madson declared, “I hate the fans. It is bad enough that they bother us during the season, but they will not leave us alone in December when we go out to eat. We stayed here during the off season last year, but we will be going to California this year. There must be something particularly bad about Phillies fans because all the players leave in the off season.”

She had particular snappish words for the female fans of her husband. “Can you believe that they have the gall to give my husband their number in front of me?”

The Justices were busy that week. The next night, they were hosting a benefit the next night at their coffee shop Elixr for the Japanese Red Cross.