World game#1-New Zealand Vodafone Warriors

Vodaphone Warriors vs Canberra Raiders
Mt. Smart Stadium, Auckland New Zealand
May 1, 2010

My first out of the country game! No this is not part of my Fantasy Sports goal but this is still great. Keli and I have been traveling around Australia and New Zealand the past two weeks and the last leg of the trip we have been with our Kiwi friends Carey and Nicole Gillies. They are avid Vodaphone New Zealand Warriors fans and have season tickets to the only professional team on the island so of course we are going to our first NRL (National Rules League) rugby game with them. The team is having a tough season so far, their best players are all injured, but hopefully the home team will show up tonight.

As for the game, NZ had a tough first half. After 40 minutes they were down 16 to 0 after several tries and goals by the Raiders. The team was manhandled by the quicker and bigger Raiders who were lead by Brett Kelly (literally looks like Brock Lesner out there). The second half lead to a couple of good tries by the Warriors which included a fantastic kick across field by James Maloney for Patrick Ah Van to score in the corner with an all out dive. The crowd started to really get into the game and I thought the Warriors really had a chance to pull back and win this one. But several unforced errors (passing the ball forward) lead to give aways to the opponenents which inevitably turned into tries by the Raiders. It was a valiant effort but NZ was outplayed throughout the night and lost 23-16.

Besides the fact that this was my first rugby game, and I was watching the game on the other side of the world, one of the best decisions we made about the game was to spend an extra $10 on the tickets to be able to sit under the roof. Out of no where at the start of the second half a torrential downpour came blasting through the stadium for about 10 minutes which drenched the unsuspecting fans in the endzone. Gotta love island weather!

Notes on the stadium: The first thing I noticed when I walked into the Mt. Smart Stadium is that the layout is almost exactly like the Home Depot Center in Carson, CA. Two large grandstands with open end zones (one end zone has a large sloping grassy knoll that will sell out as well when the Warriors are doing well). I also like the fact you can watch the players on the practice field prior to the game, get some great pics of them, and generally get pumped up to watch the action on the field.

Game #32-Minnesota Twins

Minnesota Twins vs. St. Louis Cardinals
Target Field
April 3, 2010

Second game ever at the brand new Target Field for the Minnesota Twins. This new field is so hyped up around the town, billboards on buildings, trains, trolleys, gigantic signs about opening day…the city is really pumped about outdoor baseball. I got a glimpse of the field before the Timberwolves game since the stadium is right behind the Target Center, but walking inside was eye popping. Everyone was enthralled with the look of the field, and the old school sign with the original mascots had that old time touch of flare that everyone enjoys. The day was also beautiful, sunny and some clouds which is much better than the forecast just two days prior to the game when it was 80% chance of rain. When I was ready to roll out Keli’s sister said it was still cold outside but my Southern California brain saw sun and therefore equated 80 degree temps with it. I thought, “I will bring a windbreaker…just in case”. Thank god I brought it, I was freezing. In shorts with flip flops, in the shade, with wind, I think it was about 45-50 degrees. Not smart. But I figured when I couldn’t take it anymore I will walk around and stand in the sun for a bit. A little side story about my seat, I happened to be right behind a bunch of 45 year old drunks with the main culprit being a lady who was celebrating her birthday…and letting everyone know about it. Very annoying because she kept taking pictures of herself with the kissy face and then the “I am a rocker girl, I can prove it by making the devil sign with my hand!!!”. What was even worse was that this muffin top kept getting out of her seat and just blinding me with old lady ass crack. What the f-!, since when did old ladies stop wearing granny panties, cover that crap up! OK, got that out. The game was a lot of fun. The Twins bulked up their team this year by adding two former Dodgers in Jim Thome and Orlando Hudson, and then retaining the leagues MVP Mauer for a couple more years. Mauer blasted a straight away homer in the 5th and then another “round the baser” was knocked out in the 7th. All in all it was a lot of fun, the Twins beat the Cards 8-3. I think the best part of the game honestly was the stadium though, the view from left field looking at the city skyline was amazing. I will just remember next time that MN warm is San Diego freezing.

Notes about the stadium: Target Field, what can I say, it is a fantastic park. I never saw a game at the Metrodome but I now know why the town is going crazy for outdoor baseball. The designers did a great job incorperating the new and the old, for instance the scoreboard has one of the biggest, clearest screens I have ever seen. Then you have the old school scoreboard which features "Minnie" and "Paul", which is a tribute to the original Twins logo and when the home team hits a homer the two players light up and shake hands over the Mississippi river. Some other cool things to look for are the statues of Kirby Puckett, Harmon Killebrew and Rod Carew as well as the huge Golden Glove outside of the center field gate that commemorates all the golden glove winners in the MLB. Then the ultimate view is along the 3rd base line where you get a perfect shot of downtown Minneapolis.

Game #31-Minnesota Wild

Minnesota Wild vs. San Jose Sharks
Xcel Center
April 2, 2010

Oh yeah, a hockey town who loves the game as much as I do. First order of business is to get to my seat, second buy a beer, third find a hard ticket for the game. The first two were very easy as they always are, but for some reason it always takes me a while to find a good ticket stub. Well when I sat down I saw a dad and his little boy with a pair in hand…perfect opportunity. The father agreed to give me his stub at the end of the game but led to a great conversation with a man who has worked with the NHL for years. The best part is that he use to scout for the Kings and personally new Ace Baily (unfortunately died in a plane crash a couple years ago) as well as one of the greatest Kings ever…Dave Taylor. This guy was telling me a bunch of cool stories but none as great as when Ace Baily was in an elevator with two drunk guys making fun of Gretzky. Back in the day it was Ace’s job to make sure Wayne Gretzky was all set with whatever he needed. Anyway, while in the elevator these two guys kept ragging on the “Great One” when finally Ace said “what’s your beef with Gretz?” The two guys took it as a challenge, and since they thought Gretzky was a pussy this dude must be as well. Neither of them knew Ace was an enforcer in the NHL for years and had no problem with fisticuffs. Short story long, when the elevator doors opened up the two guys were out cold on the ground. Awesome! Back to the game, the Sharks got out to a quick two goal lead with assists from Rob Blake (man I miss him and hate him at the same time). After a couple of close chances by the wild which included a wide open net miss and a dinger off the right post they finally put one in. It was pandemonium in the arena. The sirens were going off, the arena has a lighthouse with smoke bellowing away…great atmosphere. The Wild put another one away and also gave up a great opportunity with a penalty shot miss in the second. But the Sharks are a really good team this year and got a deflection late in the third to give them the lead and the game. It was an exciting game though, and this was one of the final games of the year so the players stuck around to give the “jersey’s off their backs” to some lucky fans. All in all it was a blast, Sharks won unfortunately 3-2 but the experience was fantastic. I would definitely come again!

Notes on the arena: The Xcel Center was built just a couple years ago allowing the team to move from Minneapolis to the capitol in St. Paul. I like the fact that you can see the Capitol Building up on the hill as you make your way to the game, and downtown is really clean and vibrant. In the arena there is memorabilia everywhere from the Hobey Baker award, local college team jerseys, all the team flags hanging from the ceiling, and Charlie Brown cartoon characters with Wild jerseys on. I also like the lighthouse and smoke for the goals as well as the zamboni camera man area in the corners of the arena. The take away point, if you like hockey come to see a Wild game.

Game #30-Minnesota Timberwolves

Minnesota Timberwolves vs. Sacramento Kings
Target Center
March 31, 2010

This is the most anticipated, exciting game of the season…not really. The Wolves and the Kings are the two worst teams in the league, besides the Nets who have only won ten out of 70 games. I was unsure what Minnesota was going to be like since the lakes literally just unfroze a couple days ago. Before the game I ventured around the city for two hours checking out the skyline, hitting up the Mississippi river (I still love that I have to sing the spelling of that word), making my way to the metrodome, and then ending up at the new Twins stadium. As for the game it was actually fairly exciting toward the end. I got a great deal on the seats but since I went by myself I started seat jumping that eventually got me about 7 rows from the court. I caught up with the Wolves mascot Crunch for a picture and took a shot at the moving basketball man (coming up way short), all in all it was a good time. Now back to the game, like I said the end turned out pretty good. The Timberwolves were up by 17 at one point but a couple bad plays had the game as close as 7 at one point. Darko Milicic had a solid game, same with Kevin Love and Al Jefferson for the Wolves. Honestly I didn’t know any of the players on the Kings, but really is that a bad thing? Timbo’s finally closed down on the defensive end the last two minutes of the game and won 108 to 99. Fun tidbit, Crunch sleds down the aisle toward the end of the game. Not too exciting this time but if he eats it that would be priceless.

Notes on the arena: The Target Center kind of reminds me of Arco Arena a little bit. The place is fairly new but is not very fan friendly when it comes to seats because the higher you go, the farther away from the court you become. What is sad is the lack of banners for the team because unfortunately for these fans they have not had a lot to cheer about. The only banner is from the 2003-2004 season when they won the division and they still have a Minneapolis Lakers banner for the 1948-1960 team. A redeeming quality of Target center is really outside of its walls. The town is vibrant and has a lot of places to eat and see just outside the doors including the newly erected Target Field just steps away.

Game #29-Utah Jazz

Utah Jazz vs Houston Rockets
Energy Solutions Arena
February 27, 2010

What an awesome weekend. I headed out to Salt Lake City with DG and DI to go snowboarding in Park City for the weekend and then end the trip with a Utah Jazz game. The things I learned on this trip, one…always purchase the rental car insurance (DG’s great idea of getting a free upgrade from a normal size car to a Mercury Grand Prix lead to a $2000 claim) and second is the fact that Morman’s somehow know you are not one of them. Everywhere we went in Salt Lake, everyone was looking at me and DI. Kind of creepy, but the city was so clean and everyone was so clean cut we didn’t feel too worried. Anyway to the game. In short, the Jazz crushed the Rockets. Darren Williams had a great game. Lots of clean passes to Mamet Okur who was a three machine, Carlos Boozer looks like a monster even from the nose bleed seats, and the only redeeming player on Houston (Erin Brooks) could not keep up with the Jazz play. The fans went nuts on the three shots and any shot blocks. Some takeaways other than the game. A halftime show of Utah State ballroom dancers to Michael Jackson songs is a little weird, and the SLC residents are too trusting. The girls sitting next to us left their leather jackets and purses in their seats while they went to get food and beer…for 20 minutes. Any other stadium and their stuff would have been jacked. Anyway, like I said the game was a blowout but DI and I had a good time and it was a great way to end the trip. Final score, Utah Jazz 133and the Houston Rockets 110.

Notes on the arena: The Energy Solutions Arena is said to be one of the most difficult places to play in the entire NBA and after going to a game there, I would have to agree. The interesting part about this place is that once you get to the lower bowl there are very few aisle ways and the seats get really close to the action. Most other arena's have a walkway near the court that separates the fans from the players but Energy Solutions puts the fans so close to the court the players are said to feel the chanting. One of the first things you notice are the retired jerseys hanging with HOF's Karl Malone and John Stockton as well as their all time assists and MVP banners. Welcome to Jazztown!