December 15

December 15: Kevin Garnett is not able to stop Chris Bosh as the Raptors win a great game 96-90 over Minnesota. Vince Carter's last game as a Raptor is spent watching from the bench due to injury.

December 12: Shaquille O'Neal visits the Air Canada Centre and drops 20 points as Miami knocks off Toronto 106-98.

November 7: The MLB All-Stars visit Japan and I watch a great game as MLB blasts 4 homers in a 7-3 win to take a 3-0 lead in the series. MLB would eventually win the series 5-3, but history will record a more important fact: Brad Wilkerson becomes the last Montreal Expo as part of the MLB All-Stars.

September 8: Another international trip takes me to Hong Kong to witness a World Cup Qualifier between Hong Kong and Kuwait. A rainstorm doesn't stop the Kuwaitis from scoring once in each half on their way to a 2-0 win.

August 24th: A final trip to see Les Expos in Montreal (don't I say this every year?) is depressing as Adrian Beltre cracks his 40th, a grand slam to lead the Dodgers to a 10-2 romp.

August 23rd: After a great day in Albany (check out the State Museum), Sharpy and I watch the Tri-City Valley Cats knock off the Lowell Spinners 8-4.

August 22nd: A minor-league tripleheader! After watching Rochester lose 5-4 to Pawtucket with Andrew of the USRT, we drive to Auburn to join Peter for game 2. But we are surprised to find the game already in progress. As it turns out, we catch the last 5 innings of a previously suspended game which the Auburn Doubledays (affiliated with Toronto) win handily 12-8, giving manager Dennis Holmberg his 1000th career victory. We stick around for the nightcap and watch Auburn dismantle Batavia 8-1 to clinch their second consecutive division championship.

August 17th: I return to Ottawa for a family wedding, but find enough time to check out the Ottawa Lynx in a doubleheader against Rochester. Sadly, even Bruce Chen can't prevent a Red Wing sweep.

July 16th: I travel to Sydney, Australia and watch a National Rugby League game between the Sydney Roosters and the St. George Dragons. Roosters win a thriller 18-14. Can an NRL Road Trip be far behind?

An unidentified Dragons player chases the ball

Dragons kicker Mathew Head boots a 2-point goal after a try

June 20th: The trip ends with a Petco Park doubleheader. First the Blue Jays ride Miguel Batista's pitching to a 3-0 whitewash of the Padres, followed by the Lake Elsinore Storm beating up the Stockton Ports 5-4.

June 19th: A great day - baseball and driving and nothing else. A 2 hour drive to Dodger Stadium is rewarded as Hideki Matsui and Hideo Nomo both homer in a 6-2 Yankee victory. I then race down I-5 and arrive back in Petco just in time to watch the Padres and Blue Jays begin a fantastic game, won by San Diego 3-2 after an 8th-inning comeback.

Matsui swings at a Nomo forkball

Josh Towers threw a great game, but the bullpen blew it

June 18th: I see Petco Park for the first time and enjoy a great game. David Wells gives up 3 runs and that is enough for the Blue Jays who win 3-2 in the opener of this weekend set. Petco is a great place to watch a game!

June 17th: After a 10 hour flight from Tokyo, I hop in the car and drive to Lake Elsinore, where the Storm thrash the Inland Empire 66ers 12-2. A great park to start this 4-day trip in SoCal.

May 4th: Barry Bonds is scratched with a sinus infection and Kazuo Matsui goes 3-5 as the Mets win a pedestrian affair 6-2 over the slumping Giants.

May 2nd: I leave the Diamondbacks with a 4-0 lead over the Phillies and head over to watch the Leafs and Flyers in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals. The worst day of my sports-watching life then unfolds as the Leafs forget to show up and get hammered 7-2 while the Phillies claw back to tie the game in the 9th and win 6-5 in the 14th.

May 1st: Randy Johnson strikes out 9 in only 5 innings and Carlos Baerga crushes a 3-run home run as the Arizona Diamondbacks win 6-4 in my first game in Citizens Bank Ballpark.

April 29th: Derek Jeter ends an 0-for-32 slump with a first-inning homer and the Yankees sweep Oakland with a 7-5 win to start our week of sports.