College World Series 2014

 For the first time ever I went to see some of the NCAA College World Series in Omaha, NE. Traveled with a group of friends, pictured above. I think it was everyone's first time going to the CWS.

It was also my first time in Omaha and Nebraska, so add a new state to my list. Our hotel was in the center of the city, where there are tons of bars and restaurants within a short walking distance, such as the Upstream Brewery.

 We had tickets for a total of three games, but saw only parts of all three, as we showed up later and left early the first day, partly because of how hot it was, and our seats were in the sun. I forget what teams we saw, but I really don't care about teams unless my college team was playing, and there weren't.

The second game we had tickets to was canceled due to thunderstorms near by as soon as we walked in. So we went to the bar across the and had some beers before it started pouring rain. Being from Southern California, I had never seen so much rain. People were probably wondering why I was taking so many photos of the rain. There was also lots of lightening, and we probably should not have been outside under a tent, but it was dry and everyone was having a good time waiting out the storm, which only got stronger, so we ran to another bar and got soaking wet.

Nearby the hotel was a  park next to the Missouri River. On the second morning I took a walk by myself for 90 minutes and explored the area. It is so green there and they had lakes and fountains like the one in the picture above.

I wandered around until I reached the pedestrian bridge that crosses the river, so I was in both states at once. It was also my first time in Iowa, where we went to a casino the previous day.

This was the big storm, luckily no tornadoes. We arrived Thursday evening and left Sunday morning. Both flights had a stop with a aircraft change, and all the flights were delayed for various reasons, making it lucky we made our connections. We all brought carry-ons so no one lost their luggage. I had a great time and may even go back some day.

2014 NCAA Tournament

Back in 2006 I attended the NCAA tournament games at what was then called Cox Arena on the San Diego State campus. We had fun, so when it was announced that they would be having the tournament again at what is not called Vejas Arena on the San Diego State campus I was all in. There were to be four games on Friday for the round 2 of the top 64, and then four games on Sunday for the top 32.

 On Friday the first game was at 11:30, so we had to to meet up and have breakfast at the same restaurant as we did in 2006 - The Original Pancake House. Funny thing is, it was the people who did not go with us in 2006 that made that decision. So the tradition was kept alive, except now that we are older we did pound a few beer before going out to breakfast.

The person driving worked at SDSU so he had a free parking pass and knew where to park that was close and not crowded. We got parked quickly and set up our tailgating. We weren't sure if tailgating was allowed, but no on stopped. Since there is no alcohol sales at these NCAA events, we had a few drinks before heading in.

 The day had two session of two games each. Between each session everyone had to leave the arena and then re-enter, at least for those who had tickets to both sessions, which we did. Our seats were way better than last time when we were stuck in bench seating. Also, ticket prices had at least doubled. The first game was Arizona at Weber St. I had never heard of Weber St. It is somewhere in Utah. Arizona was expected to win, and they did, but it took them five minutes into the game to score their first points.

 The second game was Gonzaga at Oklahoma State. This was probably the most boring of the games, mostly because the officials called so many fouls in the second half. Gonzaga ended up winning.

After we cleared out, we gathered up two more friends who were there for the second session and went back to the car for some more drinks.

The third game was VCU and Stephen F.Austin, another unknown college, and this ended up being the best game of the day. VCU was winning most of the game, but SFA somehow made some big shots at the end of the game, and with four seconds remaining and down by four points, they made a three point basket AND were fouled. The player made the free throw and the game was tied! The crowd, not really caring about either team, suddenly became SFA fans and were cheering them on. They ended up winning and got a standing ovation. Also, sitting near us, was a young man who was the biggest SFA fan there. Near the end of the game he ran down the stairs, and sure enough he tried to run onto the court, where he was bear hugged and stopped by a large man. We all thought he was going to get kicked out, but somehow he, and his friend, got back to their seats. Later during the last game this kid was able to get the team to sign his shirt, so he was happy.

 The final game of the night, and it had already been a long day, was Tulsa at UCLA. I had my UCLA shirt on since I go to their football games. There was a lot of blue in the arena and UCLA defiantly had a home field court advantage. They won, but the game wasn't too exciting. By the time we left we had been there for almost 12 hours. It was so late we opted to skip dinner and just go home.

So I had Saturday to rest - except I didn't I had a BBQ to attend, where I had more beer and lots of good food with friends. After getting home I stayed up until past midnight and slept in to almost noon. Luckily our meeting time was 1:30 since the first game on Sunday was 4:00 PM. My friend and I rode down with another friend had his daughter. We directed them to the same parking garage, but had to pay  to park this time.

We walked to the 4.0 Deli on campus and got some food and beer before heading into the arena. The deli was packed, as there only a few places near the campus that sell beer and food.

My friend and his daughter were Arizona fans, and this time I wore my Aztecs shirt and was happy that they had won on Saturday. The first game was Stephen F. Austin at UCLA, and SFA didn't do so good this time, and UCLA won, but the crowd still have the player of SFA a loud cheer as they walked off the court.

Finally it was the sixth and last game, Gonzaga and Arizona. Arizona dominated the game and the fans started to leave before the game ended, including us, as we all had to work the next day.

I have to say, I and my fill of college basketball for a few years. Six games in one weekend is a lot, but I had fun and would do it again.

Spring Training Trip 2014

 Almost every year for 20 years I've been going to watch Spring training baseball in Arizona (once in Florida) and once again I made it this year. At first my friend who organizes the trip said he wasn't going to plan  a group trip, just one for this family. But then he ended up buying 20 tickets for two games and so I bought my airline ticket to fly out.

I got there late Friday  night. Usually we all fly together, but this year everyone drove except me. I got to the hotel in time to get some food and beer at the bar. I was soon joined by a few more from the group and we ended up talking until  past closing time. They were nice enough to not kick us out.

 

The first game was at the new Cubs park in Mesa. We had a little trouble finding it because the GPS took us to the old location. Well, we still had time to get to the correct park, do some tailgating and get in before first pitch. It wasn't hot, but it was nice that we had seats in the shade the whole game. For food and drink I had an Old Style and a bratwurst.

Above is my lunch and a view of the outside of the park. Right after the game was over a freak storm hit with a little rain and strong wind blowing more dust than rain.

 On Friday night after eating pizza in the hotel banquet room, we went to the bowling alley across the street where after two games of just breaking 100 I was done. My yearly bowling.

On Saturday we went to see the Giants in Scotsdale. These tickets are hard to get as the games always sell out. We thought we had good seats in the shade, but they ended up being in the sun on bleachers. It wasn't too hot and the bleachers weren't too crowded or uncomfortable. The Giants lost to the A's so the fans weren't happy.

Then on Saturday night after happy hour at the hotel bar we went out for our usual dress-up dinner. Instead of a nice steak place we went to a popular Mexican restaurant that we had never been to before. We sat outside, where it was also very windy, and had a nice meal with some beer and Patron.

Sunday morning I had time to sleep in, get my free breakfast and get to the hotel in plenty of time for my flight home. Even though I was there for just two full days instead of the usual four, I felt like I was there for a week. Guess I'm getting old(er). Can't wait until next year, or actually this June in Omaha for the College World Series!