2008 Games

December 17th:  More soccer, this time in Italy. It's the seemingly unpopular Coppa Italia in Florence as Fiorentina hosts Torino in a round-of-16 match. Unfortunately it takes an hour to buy tickets and I miss the first 30 minutes of the game and the only goal as Torino wins 1-0.

December 7th:  Another new league as I check out the French Ligue 1 while in Paris. The host team is Paris St. Germain and they take on the visiting Le Mans squad in the Parc De Princes. PSG striker Guillaume Hoarau scores twice to lead his team to a 3-1 victory over Le Mans.

November 25th:  I visit Flagstaff, Arizona to watch the Northern Arizona University Lumberjacks take on the North Dakota State Bison in an early-season NCAA Basketball game. Unfortunately, NAU is outclassed early and often, falling behind by 25 points before rallying to make it close, losing 89-82. 

November 23rd: Eli Manning throws for 240 yards and 3 touchdowns to lead the New York Giants to a 37-29 victory over Kurt Warner and the Arizona Cardinals.  

November 22nd: The AFL championship game sees the Phoenix Desert Dogs taking on the Mesa Solar Sox. Sox starter Tommy Hanson continues his strong form with 5 innings giving up only 1 run and notching 8 strikeouts. But his bullpen faltered, giving up 9 runs in the next 2 innings as Phoenix wins 10-4 in front of 1,881 fans. It is the Desert Dogs 5th consecutive championship!

November 21st: It's more hockey in the desert! This time it's the ECHL's Phoenix Roadrunners taking on Bakersfield. The visiting Condors get off to a great start, scoring 4 goals in the first period, but the Roadrunners score 2 power play markers early in the 2nd and Sharks prospect Ashton Rome scored later in the period to cut the lead to 4-3. Bakersfield added a goal midway through the 3rd, but Phoenix fought back and tied the game with just over 2 minutes to play on another goal by Rome. Overtime loomed, but with just under a minute to go, the Roadrunners scored again to take a 6-5 lead. But before the crowd had finished cheering, Bakersfield pulled their goalie and scored to send the game to overtime after all. The OT period saw chances for both sides, but just as a shootout looked inevitable, Roadrunner d-man Dane Crowley pounced on a rebound and put it in the top corner with 1.9 seconds to go to give Phoenix a fantastic 7-6 win!

November 20th: Kobe and Shaq! It had the makings of a great game, but the Phoenix Suns could not shoot the ball and ended up losing 105-92 to the Lakers, who look poised for another run at the NBA title.

November 20th: The final day of the AFL regular season sees a great game in Mesa. The teams combine for 9 home runs, including a monster shot by Tigers prospect Casper Wells, but it is Josh Reddick of the Red Sox who goes deep in the 10th inning to give the Scottsdale Scorpions a 10-9 victory over the Solar Sox.

November 19th: An AFL doubleheader today. In the afternoon, I visit Phoenix Municipal Stadium to watch the Surprise Rafters hammer 4 homers, including 2 by Royals prospect Brian McFall, to beat the Desert Dogs 11-6.  The evening game is in Scottsdale where Yankees one-time phenom Phil Hughes gets the start. If today is any indication, he may be ready to return as he strikes out 10 batters in 5 innings and leads the Peoria Javelinas to a 5-0 whitewash of the Scottsdale Scorpions.

November 18th: It's the one NHL game on the trip as the Chicago Blackhawks make a trip to the desert to take on Wayne Gretzky's Phoenix Coyotes. Phoenix falls behind 2-0 in the first but uses their power play to tie the game in the 3rd period, forcing overtime. Neither team manages to score despite chances on both sides, so the game is decided by a shootout that Chicago wins 2-0 on goals by Jonathan Toews and Patrick Sharp.

November 18th: I return to Peoria, this time to see the Javelinas, who lose 10-4 to the Mesa Solar Sox in a long game marked by lots of walks, hit batsmen, balks, and wild pitches. Mesa maintains a share of the lead in the American Division.

November 17th: Back to the AFL as the Phoenix Desert Dogs visit Peoria to take on the Saguaros in a potential championship game preview. Peoria has a 3-1 lead after 7, but a run in the 8th and another in the 9th on a sac fly ties the game. But the Saguaros get a leadoff walk in the 9th and after an error on a bunt and a bunt single, Cardinals' prospect Shane Robinson drives the first pitch he sees for a  game-winning single. Peoria remains tied for first with Mesa in the American Division with just 3 games left, while Phoenix has already clinched the National Division.

November 16th: Allen Iverson and the Pistons visit Phoenix to take on the Suns in a marquee NBA battle. Shaquille O'Neal is ejected after a flagrant foul but the Suns don't miss him as Amare Stoudamire scores 29 points and grabs 11 boards on his birthday, leading Phoenix to a comprehensive 104-86 victory. Even more impressive, "The Greatest" Muhammad Ali is also in attendance.

November 15th: The evening game is in Mesa, so I drive across Phoenix and watch Derrek Lee be awarded the AFL Distinguished Alumni Award. The Mesa Solar Sox then went on to defeat the Desert Dogs of Phoenix 8-1  to maintain a share of first place in the American Division.

November 15th: After an early morning drive from Vegas, I visit Surprise and meet up with old roadtrip friend Meg Minard to watch the Surprise Rafters defeat the Peoria Javelinas 10-8 in Arizona Fall League action. Fourth overall pick Brian Matusz of the Orioles is impressive but his bullpen makes it close, giving up 6 runs in the 9th to make it close.

November 14th: A long flight to Osaka, San Francisco and finally Las Vegas. Then an ECHL game between defending champion Idaho and the hometown Wranglers. Unfortunately the Wranglers seem even more tired than I am and lose 6-1. Ex NHL-er Steve Gainey leads the Steelheads with two goals, and hard luck goalie Rejean Beauchemin loses the shutout with 30 seconds to go.

July 7th: The final game of the trip is the worst one. The Brooklyn Cyclones manage to walk 7 (seven!) consecutive batters leading to 5 runs on no hits in the inning as the Mahoning Valley Scrappers win 8-1 in a boring afternoon tilt.

July 6th: A crazy day begins with a ride to Philadelphia to watch the Mets and Phillies in an afternoon game. In the bottom of the 8th, with the Mets leading 1-0, the rains came. Unfortunately, they stayed far too long, as we had to head back to New York for the Yankees-Red Sox game. After waiting for about an hour in vain, we get drenched walking to the car and drive to Yankee Stadium. Oh, the Mets blew a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the 9th, but won the game in 12 innings 4-2 on a 2-run homer by Fernando Tatis. By the time that game ended, I was already watching Boston and New York do battle. Joba Chamberlain started for the Yankees and lasted 6 innings, giving up 3 runs. Time Wakefield countered for Boston, and left in the 7th with the lead, but Javier Lopez gave up a game-tying triple to Robinson Cano.  After 2 scoreless innings, we are again headed for extras. Mariano Rivera pitched 2 strong frames for New York, and in the bottom of the 10th , Jonathan Papelbon takes the hill for the Bosox. Cano leads off with a  single and is sacrificed to second. With 2 out, rookie Brett Gardner hits a seeing-eye single to score Cano and the Yankees win, the Yankeeeeeesssss win! A great game to end a tiring day, thanks to Gary for the ride.

July 5th: Back to the NY-Penn League with a game in Hudson Valley. The Renegades use 8 strikeouts from league leader Nick Barnese and capitalize on 3 errors, 2 passed balls, 3 wild pitches and a bunch of walks to beat the Tri-City Valley Cats 7-1 in a rather unexciting affair.

July 4th: Happy Independence Day! I celebrate by watching baseball, checking out an Eastern League game in Binghamton, NY. The visitors are the league-leading Akron Aeros, who I saw comeback from a 10-4 deficit to win 11-10 a couple of weeks ago. Akron starts hot, plating 4 in the top of the first, but the game settles down until the 7th, when they add 4 more to take an 8-2 lead.  The hometown Mets score 3 in the 8th to make it close and then add 3 more in the 9th to tie the game and send us to extra innings.  Will the B-Mets duplicate Akron's amazing comeback?  Unfortunately not, as Bronson Sardinha blasts a homer in the 11th and the Aeros add 2 more to win 11-8 in 4:02 in the most exciting game I have seen in a long time.

July 3rd: After a few days in Ottawa to recharge, I start another short trip by driving to Oneonta to catch the NY Penn League's old time ballpark, Damaschke Field. The Auburn Doubledays (Toronto Blue Jays' affiliate) are the visitors and each starter reaches base in a 14-hit attack as Auburn beats the Tigers 8-5 in a good game that is witnessed by only 407 people. 

July 3rd: Oneonta is also the home of the National Soccer Hall of Fame, so I stop in for a quick visit. Not as memorable as Canton, but it's good to see the history of the sport in the USA. 

June 28th: The last game of the trip is great. John Parrish makes a spot start for the Blue Jays and the bats give him the support he needs, as Toronto beats Atlanta 9-5 . Rod Barajas and Vernon Wells hit solo shots for the Jays. 

June 27th: It's moustache night in Erie, to honour their manager Tom Brookens. The Seawolves do him proud, winning a great game 2-1 on the strength of starter Luke French's 8 strong innings and a timely hit by Will Rhymes in the 3rd inning.

June 26th: It's Buck Night in Mahoning Valley! Dollar seats, dollar beers and dollar hot dogs make for a good crowd, but many of them are chased home by an early thunderstorm. The metal bleachers are evacuated due to lightning, but the game continues through a pouring rain, leading to several walks and misplays. Those fans who wait out the weather are rewarded with a close game. The visiting Batavia Muckdogs hit 3 solo home runs and hold on to beat the hometown Scrappers 7-6.

June 25th: The Indians' woes continue. MLB loss leader Barry Zito enters the game with 11 losses, but throws 6 2/3 strong innings yielding only 4 hits and one run. The Giants smack two homers on their way to an easy 4-1 victory. Giants' closer Brian Wilson earns his league-leading 21st save.

June 24th: Omar Vizquel returns to Cleveland to a standing ovation but ruins the Tribe's night with a suicide squeeze bunt that proves to be the winning run in a 3-2 Giants victory. Jonathan Sanchez pitched 7 2/3 strong innings to get the win. 

June 23rd: The Akron Aeros fall behind 9-3 to the Bowie Baysox, but chip away and tie the game with two out in the 9th. They win it 11-10 on a sacrifice fly in the 10th inning in a 4:17 marathon.

June 23rd: I stop into the NFL Hall of Fame on my way to Akron. Excellent displays on the past and present of football make for an intriguing afternoon, and it's even more interesting today as the San Francisco 49ers and Minnesota Vikings rookies are touring the Hall.

June 22nd: Finally the Jays bats break out of their slump. Adam Lind celebrates his call-up with a classic at-bat, fouling off 6 pitches before crushing a home run to center field. Lyle Overbay adds a 2-run double and Scott Rolen provides some insurance with a 2-run homer and the Blue Jays salvage the final game of the series 8-5.

June 21st: Jays' starter Jesse Litsch surrenders 3 2-run homers and the Pirates win a boring game 6-3. 

June 20th: I return to Pittsburgh to revisit my favourite park, PNC Park. And great news - Cito also returns! The Blue Jays fire John Gibbons and replace him with Cito Gaston, who managed the Jays to back-to-back World Series in 1992-93. The Blue Jays batters, though, fail to impress Cito, scoring 0 runs in 12 innings and losing to Pittsburgh 1-0 in 12 innings. Roy Halladay is unlucky, pitching 7 scoreless innings and getting knocked on the head by a line drive.

June 19th: A perfect day. After a 5-hour drive through the back roads of Western New York and Northern Pennsylvania, I arrive in Altoona, home of the Curve, the AA affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. It's an amazing ballpark and the game is great as well. Reading Phillies' starter Tyson Brummett throws 8 2/3 innings of shutout ball but can't close it out, leaving with the bases loaded and a 4-0 lead in the bottom of the ninth. The Curve then plate all 3 runs on a wild pitch and a single, but cannot tie the game, losing 4-3. Even better, I catch a foul ball, my first in the minor leagues!

June 18th: Opening day in June? Yes, when it's the short-season New York-Penn League. The Batavia Muckdogs have their home opener against the Auburn Doubledays, who include Toronto's 1st-round pick David Cooper on their roster. After a 42-minute rain delay, the Muckdogs make 3 errors in the 3rd inning which leads to 6 Auburn runs. Batavia can't come back, and lose the game 6-1. Cooper goes 2-4 with a a run scored in his 2nd professional game.

June 17th: I drive down to Buffalo and meet up with old friends Andrew and Peter from the Ultimate Sports Road Trip. The Bisons are hosting the Durham Bulls and I am treated to some bonus baseball as the teams are forced to play a doubleheader after Monday's game had been suspended. Durham wins the first game 6-3 with some timely hitting, but Matt Ginter takes the hill for the Buffalo in game 2 and hurls 6 strong innings, giving up only 3 hits and 1 run as the Bisons romp to an 8-1 victory. Thanks to Bisons PR director Brad for the media pass!

June 16th: Happy Fathers' Day! I pay a visit to the newest professional team in Canada, the Ottawa Rapidz, members of the independent Can-Am League. I am not disappointed as ex-Blue Jay farmhand Orlando Trias scatters 7 hits over 9 strong innings and the Rapidz defeat the Quebec Capitales 6-2.

May 11th: Happy Mothers' Day! The pink bats of Carlos Beltran and Ryan Church lead the Mets to an 8-3 victory over Cincinnati. The last game of the trip is made more memorable for a very rare event as the Reds' Corey Patterson misses his turn at bat in the 9th inning, causing a 10-minute delay while the umpires try to figure out what should happen.

May 10th: A rainout on Friday allows me to catch the Reds and Mets in the second game of a day-night DH. Cincinnati starter Bronson Arroyo is superb for 8 innings and the Reds win easily 7-1.

May 1st: The surprising Tampa Bay Rays get 6 strong innings from Matt Garza and a resurgent Troy Percival pitches a perfect 9th to earn his 6th save as the Rays defeat the Baltimore Orioles 4-2 in an afternoon affair.

April 30th: The Nationals continue their strong play, scoring two in the bottom of the 12th to defeat the Braves 3-2 in a great game. Felipe Lopez makes up for a double play groundout in the 10th with the winning hit in the 12th and the Nats go 3-3 while I am in Washington.

April 29th: Ryan Zimmerman and Nick Johnson hit back-to-back jacks off Tom Glavine and the Nationals score 4 in the 7th on their way to a 6-3 victory over the visiting Atlanta Braves.

April 27th: I enter Nationals Park for the first time and enjoy the suddenly streaking Nats shutout the Cubs 2-0 in a Sunday matinee. Nats starter John Lannan throws 7 shutout innings and 2 early runs hold up for the Nationals. The new stadium offers some of the best bargains and a friendly staff make it a great experience. 

April 26th: I visit Allentown to confirm the Ottawa Lynx have moved and become the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs. Sadly it is true. Fortuntely, the Iron Pigs get shutout by Rochester 10-0 in a great game from my point of view. The Iron Pigs are 3-21 now, clearly the baseball gods are angry at them for taking AAA baseball out of Canada and for having the longest lineup for parking in minor league baseball.

April 26th: Playoff hockey in Philadelphia! But it's not the Flyers, instead the AHL Phantoms take on the Albany River Rats in Game 6 of their first round series. After 3 scoreless periods, Albany's Kirk MacDonald scored in the first overtime to send the series to game 7.

April 25th: It's Cap Day in Wilmington and the Blue Rocks celebrate with a 6-2 over the Winston-Salem Warthogs. Starter Blake Wood throws over 6 strong innings and Chris McConnell smacks 3 doubles to lead Wilmington.

March 25-26th: The MLB season opens in Tokyo and I am there to watch both games between the World Champion Boston Red Sox and the Oakland A's.

Boston wins the first game 6-5 in 10 innings after Huston Street gives up a game-tying homer to Sox rookie Brandon Moss in the 9th. A great comeback to start the season. 

Game 2 sees Canadian Rich Harden strike out 9 and get some support from Emil Brown in the form of a 3-run dinger as Oakland gains a split with a 5-1 victory. 

Thanks to my generous friends Eda and Hiroshi and Ty Van Burkleo for the tickets! 

March 22nd:The Kelowna Rockets score 3 times on the power play to defeat the hometown Seattle Thunderbirds 3-1 in game 2 of their first round WHL playoff series. 

March 21st: The Portland Trailblazers hold off the LA Clippers 107-102 in a battle of also-rans in the NBA Western Conference. The game is entertaining, but even better is that I got a free Taco Bell chalupa since the Blazers scored 100 points! 

March 20th: My first National Lacrosse League game is superb. The Portland Lumberjax come from behind to defeat the Colorado Mammoth 16-15 in an exciting battle. Mammoth forward Brian Langtry scored a season-record 9 goals but it wasn't enough to stop the Lumberjax, who won with a last-minute tally from Pete Jacobs. Lacrosse should get more respect in the world of sports - NLL Roadtrip planning is underway!

March 19th: A four-day trip to the Pacific Northwest starts with the Phoenix Suns knocking off the Seattle Sonics 110-98. It's still not clear if the Sonics will be back for another year, but here's hoping that this wasn't my last NBA game in Seattle.

February 22nd: A trip to Singapore and I catch an S-League game between the defending champion Singapore Armed Forces and Albirex Niigata, a team composed entirely of players from Japan. SAF wins easily 3-1 in drizzly conditions.

January 19th- 20th:3 NHL games in 24 hours! We start with a Saturday evening drive to Long Island for my first visit of Nassau Coliseum, a great old barn with no bad seats. The Flyers and Islanders have a spirited affair, won by Philadelphia 5-3 thanks to Scott Hartnell's hat trick. 

Sunday morning is a return to Manhattan to watch the Bruins and Rangers in a matinee. The B's win 3-1, with New York spoiling Tim Thomas' shutout in the last minute.

Then it's the train to Newark where we visit the sparkling new Prudential Center. The Maple Leafs are visiting and although they play well, a fluke goal gives the Devils a 3-2 win, completing my 0-4 record for the Leafs on this trip.

January 16th:The Rangers beat the Sabres 2-1 in an unexciting game.

January12th:After a nice coastal drive, I watch the Sharks score 3 goals in the 3rd period to complete the California sweep, 3-2 over the hapless Leafs. 

January 10th:Things get worse in Los Angeles. The last place Kings humiliate Andrew Raycroft with 4 1st period tallies and hold on to win 5-2. 

January 9th:The NHL portion of the trip begins with the Toronto Maple Leafs, the team of my childhood, visiting the Stanley Cup champion Anaheim Ducks. A good first period is ruined by a last second goal for the Ducks, and the Leafs can't solve J.S. Giguere, losing 5-0.   

January 4th:After flying into the biggest California storm in over a decade, I get to drive through it as well. A wet and slippery 5 hour drive to Bakersfield starts the 2008 trip. The Idaho Steelheads defeat the host Condors 2-1 in an ECHL shootout before a surprisingly large and raucous crowd. Yutaka Fukufuji, the first Japanese to play in an NHL game back in 2007, is the Bakersfield goalie, but he is outplayed by the Steelheads' keeper, Kellen Briggs.