Turkeys, Pizzas At Stake In World Series
DETROIT (CBS Detroit) And the stakes continue to rise ... As the Detroit Tigers struggle to come back from a 2-0 World Series deficit to put a gleam back in the eyes of Detroit baseball fans, friendly wagers are happening between Michigan and California communities.
But this one is new.
Steve Page, the president of a raceway in Sonoma, Calif., and Bud Denker, chairman of the Chevrolet Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix, are wagering turkeys and pizzas. This comes in the wake of Late Night host David Letterman joking Detroit should send a Ford Mustang to California if the Giants win, and San Francisco should offer up a Barbra Streisand album.
On the race front, if the Tigers win the World Series, Page has promised a generous assortment of world famous Ghirardelli chocolate, as well as 12 turkeys, just in time for Thanksgiving Day. Both will be delivered to Gleaners Community Food Bank, which fights hunger in southeast Michigan by providing millions of pounds of donated and purchased food to people in need.
If the Giants capture the title, Denker has vowed to ship a variety of pizzas from Detroit-based Little Caesars, a chain founded by Tigers owner Mike Ilitch, as well as 12 turkeys, to the raceway in Sonoma. Page will deliver the turkeys to Glide Memorial Church in San Francisco just in time for use at the church's Thanksgiving Day celebration. Glide Memorial Church will serve 5,000 meals on Thanksgiving Day to those in need.
It's the largest Thanksgiving Day celebration for those less fortunate in San Francisco.
So, wh7 12 turkeys? They're meant to be symbolic of the 2012 World Series.
"As much as we'd love the folks in Detroit to enjoy some of our fine Ghirardelli chocolate, we know that Marco Scutaro, Barry Zito and the rest of the Giants will bring the World Series back home to Northern California," Page said. "So I'll thank Bud in advance for his generosity and we'll look forward to making the delivery of turkeys to Glide's wonderful Thanksgiving celebration."
As part of the wager, the staff from the losing race event will also wear the baseball cap of the winning World Series team during the Friday on-track activities during race weekend of their event.
"We believe in our Tigers and we know that they will continue to do the city of Detroit proud as they try to win the team's first World Series since 1984," said Denker. "Despite Wednesday night's result, we're looking forward to a good series and we know that everyone at the Gleaners Community Food Bank will enjoy the turkeys for Thanksgiving and the Ghirardelli chocolate, courtesy of the raceway in Sonoma."
