2005 News

November 6th: The A-1 Grand Prix in Sydney! France wins easily while the Japanese car crashes spectacularly. 

October 1st: World #1 Roger Federer beats British teen Andy Murray in straight sets to take the 2005 Thailand open.

The Swiss star - Federer serves

June 19th: More Confederations Cup soccer! Japan shocks European champion Greece 1-0 in Frankfurt. An exciting game that was closer than it should have been as Japan missed many opportunities.

June 18th: MLB Road Trip’s first sporting event in Europe! The Confederations Cup is being held in Germany, so I take advantage of some time in London and hop over to Cologne to watch the host Germans defeat African champion Tunisia 3-0.

May 4th: The final day of the trip sees the Orioles explode for 5 runs in the 8^th to beat the Blue Jays 5-1.

May 3rd: A perfect day as the trip nears its end. First, Hagerstown holds Education Day, a 10:35 start time so local kids can attend the game. But it is the Kannapolis Intimidators who were schooled today, losing 11-4 to a dominant Suns�Eteam.

Then it was down to Baltimore, where the Blue Jays and O’s held a pitching clinic. Orioles�Estarter Daniel Cabrera threw 8 strong innings, but gave up a run in the 8^th on a fluke single by Russ Adams. This run is enough for Josh Towers, who 3-hit the powerful O’s lineup for 8 innings before giving way to Miguel Batista who retired the side in order for the save. A superb game that shows the AL East may no longer be just the Red Sox and Yankees.

May 2nd: The cold weather returns as we watch Hagerstown defeat Kannapolis 6-5 in a South Atlantic League encounter that felt like it was played in the North Atlantic. Six more errors in this one kept the game going far longer than it should have.

May 1st: My friend Zia provides fantastic tickets to the Diamond Club in Philadelphia and the Phillies co-operate, besting the Marlins 8-6 under sunny skies. Josh Beckett is chased after two innings and 5 runs, and the Marlins can’t catch up.

After that, back down I-95 to Washington to catch the Sunday night game with dad and my friends Gary and Mike from New York. The Mets defeat the Nationals 6-3 on a 9^th inning rally and Gary and Mike drive home happy.

April 30th: A break from baseball as the NBA playoffs are in Washington. The Wizards dominate the second half and win 117-99 to cut the Bulls lead to 2 games to 1. 67 fouls are called, making the game slow, but a boisterous crowd goes home happy.

April 29th: Livan Hernandez scatters nine hits over eight innings and hits a solo home run for good measure as the Nationals defeat the New York Mets 5-1.

April 27th: Another Nationals game, but not in Washington. Instead, I visit their Carolina League affiliate, the Potomac Nationals, and witness a great game. Mike O’Connor strikes out 15 in 6 1/3 but the Wilmington Blue Rocks tie it up in the 8^th. In the bottom half, Ender Chavez singles in the go-ahead run and scores the insurance run as Wilmington makes 2 errors. Two more strikeouts in the 9^th for reliever Alex Morales and the Nats win 4-2!

April 26th: The Nationals get revenge, sending the Phillies Jon Lieber to his first defeat of the season 3-1. Brad Wilkerson hits a 2-run homer in the 5^th and the Washington bullpen holds on for a great victory.

April 25th: MLB Road Trip once again completes all 30 parks with a visit to RFK Stadium in Washington. Perfect weather but the Nationals disappoint, losing 5-4 to Philadelphia.

April 24th: Adam Loewen gets the start for the Frederick Keys and is strong through 6 innings, giving up 1 unearned run. His offense doesn’t help much and the game goes to extra innings tied at 1. In the bottom half of the 10^th, Ryan Hubele drives in the winning run with a single to left. Frederick wins 2-1 in a great game!

April 23rd: MLB Road Trip 2005 gets underway with a return trip to Lynchburg, VA. A very cold night sees the Hillcats win 4-3 over Salem in the 2^nd game of a doubleheader.

April 6th: Google Satellite Maps added for 28 major league parks. Click here for a list of parks. Minor league parks on the way too.

February 6th:  Another trip to Australia and another first sporting event for MLB Road Trip - Cricket! I watch Australia and Pakistan in the VB Series Final #2. Australia wins the match and the series, scoring 9/239 with Pakistan replying 206 all out.