Here

Here

Game

Game Downloads

You Knew the Day Would Come....

...but not THIS fast. Not a week after Albany's disgusting performance vs. Virginia, Will Brown has been given the OK to interview at St. Bonaventure. And why wouldn't he be? He's young, successful and an excellent coach. He turned Albany from a 5-win team to a back-to-back America East champ and NCAA tournament appearances. SO, like I said, we all knew this day was coming, but not this fast.

Times Union

Now I love the job that he has done at Albany, I really have. He's made a few mistakes, primarily in the media, but for the most part, hes been nothing but a godsend for the program. But, perhaps he knows that his stock will never be higher than it is right now? Look at Jeff Ruland from Iona...a few years there he was the sexy pick for a big-time coaching job. Fresh off a terrible year, we dont hear much about him. Same for Will...no Jamar Wilson next year, no Jason Siggers next year, and a whole lot of question marks. Maybe he wants to get while the getting is good? Who knows....I can be delusional and say that I thought he'd stay for awhile, but we all knew this day was coming.

Guess Who's Back...

Ive decided to jump back into this blogging stuff. Im not going to try and be funny, cute, etc...I am just going to write. Sports, movies, local stuff...whatever I feel like talking about.

So, that's that....something later, perhaps.

Trip Report (Conclusion?)

Ok, back to it....a bit quicker this time....

Wednesday - morning, we woke up....got packed, ready to leave "Charm City", as they call it. Charming? Perhaps...parts of it are less than charming, however.....Pimlico, etc. Anyway, back to the Blue Moon Cafe, where KB and I swapped.....I had the Eggs Benedict, she went with the "Vegetarian" Potato Pancakes......both great again. Back to Whole Foods Market for some stuff....then on the road again! Getting out of Baltimore was easy, as was the drive to Philadelphia (back through Delaware, which AFAIK, is all power lines and credit card buildings.....seriously, lots of power lines/transformers/etc.). Into Philly, no problem.....got off 95 near the stadiums (not even close to our hotel, or the closer exit.....stupid MapQuest). Instead of heading up on Broad Street, we headed west, by accident (poor signage), and back the way we came....uggh. Eventually, the ship was redirected and we headed up the famous Broad Street, which isn't so broad.....Anyway, the largest street in Philly has a great way of running right into City Hall, which makes everyone do a little series of turns around it. Seriously, this could be one of the dumber things I have ever seen......until I tried to follow the streets. At least in NYC, if you're on 5th, 7th is 2 blocks over....not here. Here, you go 11th, 12th, then Broad (which should be 13th), then 13th....uggh. Then there's 17th, which we need....which stops, picks up again, etc. Yeah...horrible. Back to it....to the Wyndham (pretty nice, a step below the Marriott) where we relaxed a bit, then went walking before the Phillies game. We stumbled upon a Trader Joe's, which if you haven't been, go. Its a discount/gourmet grocery store, full of neat little groceries and such. Didn't buy anything there, either.....but neat to go. Ok, grabbed a bite at a local Au Bon Pain...then back to relax before the game.

Boarded the SEPTA Line, which brought us all the way to the game....and what a stadium! Nice, out of the way (sometimes good...), and still shiny and new. Then, i heard something that I thought I was making up.........

"DOLLAR HOT DOG NIGHT"

Yep. Hot Dogs, $1.00. Amazing. And these were good hot dogs. Hatfield's. Nice, fresh......good mustard, ketchup, relish, and a neat onion dispenser. People were buying 10 at a time, despite signs that supposedly limited them to 6 at a time. Children, men, women, nuns, etc....all linked by the same constant.....cheap hot dogs. I have to admit, I had 4. I started with 2, then staggered the next 2. They were fabulous.....and considering they're usually $4.75 at Shea for a dirty water dog, this was the most remarkable thing I have ever heard.

Back to the stadium......nice place, friendly, passionate fans. Good sightlines....which is something I see of the norm with the new stadiums (all the seats seem pretty good). Again, we had good seats (and saved $7.00 per ticket....college ID night), even with the first base bag, 15 rows back. Take a look:

Thats Nick Johnson, body double for TR

Again, great game....good ending (walk off hit by Ryan Howard), and the home fans went home happy. We went back to the hotel and fell asleep.

Thursday - Time to get up and see the historical sites, which I am going to skimp on, since they pretty much were a disappointment. The Liberty Bell was a mess....with more security than the White House. The Mint was 1000 degrees, and filled with little kids.......plus, no cameras allowed, so we went in one at a time. The new Constitution Hall was very nice, and very new....and something like 12.00 each to get in. The Betsy Ross House was small, and that cost 7.00 each, so we passed......considering it was a 2-room tour. Meanwhile, all of these neat old buildings are not separated in any way, and are surrounded by nail salons, dollar stores, bootleg CD places, pawn shops, bodegas, etc....and tons of panhandlers. If they wanted to be taken seriously, they should take the 8 block area and turn it into a historical area, keeping all that crap out. Perhaps since I have seen it all before, or the surroundings.....but very disappointed. Anyway, we stopped at the Reading Terminal Market (VERY cool), which reminded me of what I would think the Pike Place Market in Seattle to look like. The place was bustling, full of people and commotion all trying to have lunch and get out as quickly as possible. The market is full of little stands and shops, selling food, fresh fish, jams, spices, butters, meats, chocolate, pastries, etc....hard to describe. Definitely no atention paid to the facade as it looks like a place that gets hosed out at night. Well, we got what we needed (peach, apple and root beer twizzlers, as well as sweet potato butter from the Amish stand; some pastries from another), and headed back.....time to go home! A quick walk to the Wyndham, back in the car......and northbound we were......Great trip!!

Trip Report (Part 2)

Ok, back at it here.....

Tuesday - We woke up to a bright, wonderful day, much more relaxed than the full stomachs and discomfort from the night before......so, time to eat again! There was a great place that KB found online called the Blue Moon Cafe, located down the road a bit on Aliceanna Street (still a nice walk, considering it was nearly 65 degrees at 9:00. So, we went walking, and found our breakfast spot. Inside we discovered a small, wooden-floored nook that would have fit well on Lark Street, complete with the "artsy" looking help, adorned with tattoos and unusual piercings. However, the place was great...neat, trendy breakfast menu, eclectic decor...good place to start the day. I endulged with the "traditional" potato pancakes, made with chopped bacon and other nice touches.......KB started the day with vegetarian eggs benedict adorned with a side of hash browns, smothered in hollandaise sauce. Yum. We ate our meal and waddled out the door, already deciding to come back the next day before we left town. We walked to an area of town called Fell's Point, a nice little are filled with art shops, restaurants, coffee shops, etc. We had no itinerary, so it was nice to wander aimlessly. We did that for a bit, down by the water, etc. Did I mention the perfect weather? 75-80 degrees, slight breeze, not a cloud to be found. Anyway, we walked back towards our hotel.....but not before KB hawk-eyed a Whole Foods Market around the corner. Now, I thought she had died and gone to culinary heaven. Not only is she a vegetarian, but she also loves to check out other people's supermarkets.....so, this was a golden opportunity. And, it didn't disappoint. Aisles upon aisles of organic/vegetarian/earth-friendly/gourmet food choices that was among the best any of us have ever seen. From the bakery (featuring some of the nicest goods I have ever seen) to the sushi and hot bar (ditto), this place had it all. We were overwhelmed so much that we only bought a few things to drink and some cookies, and went back.
Back at the beautiful Mariott, we rested a bit....then went to explore the harbor area (featuring a large collection of shops called Harborplace). Nothing too impressive, past the scenery.....filled with great shops and restaurants (including a Tir na nOg). We did that for a bit, walking around....not realizing it was almost 4:30, andwe had 7:00 dinner reservations at La Tavola. Our way home found us walking by the Little Italy area , so we decided to check out the menu for our restaurant choice (Big thing all over Baltimore....the menus outside. Nice move.) As we were perusing the choices, a local walked by and told us, "You don't want to go there.....go check out Chiaparella's instead...." Well, we took the advice of the local (moron) and went to his suggestion......bad move. Upon arrival, we waited 10 minutes for anyone to even approach us to seat us (plenty of "we'll be right with you", though). We sat....2 minutes later, we were asked what we wanted to eat. (Should have realized something was wrong....way too quick....felt rushed). Not ready yet, the waitress told us, "well, you get salad with the meal, so Ill get that for you". Runners take your mark.....and they're off! The salads came, or whatever they were (iceberg soaked in a bleu cheese-parmesan bath....uggh)....we ordered, and 5 minutes later, our dinners arrived. No joke. They were rather good, but digestion wasnt an option......we passed on dessert and coffee (the waitress ever recommended another place, Vaccaro's, for cannolis and such). We were out in less than 45 minutes, including the wait. Uggh. We hit Vaccaro's, went home, had some cannolis, and went to bed....

The view from our room (thats Camden Yards all lit up)

Trip Report (A little late)

Ok, I'll give you the Reader's Digest version: Baltimore rocked, Philadelphia sucked.

Now for the blow by blow:

Monday- We left bright and early, on the road by nearly 6:30. We had to make a pit stop at KB's parent's house, to pick up her sister (went back to college at New Paltz....figure we'd drop her off, since it was on the way). Got driving, stopped at Ulster rest area to get coffee and stuff. Well, I really wanted some juice, but the little gift store was open, so I guess my juice craving as well as my "I Love NY" tee shirt would both have to wait. Back on the road (lots of traffic for a Monday morning) and stopped at Exit 18-New Paltz. It was nice and convenient, since SUNY New Paltz in only 3 minutes off the Thruway. Said the goodbyes, and back on the road we were. Got onto 287 South, and.....hello New Jersey! Time to fire up the cell phone and exit to the left! No, seriously, we were through Jersey, through Delaware (Hi....we're in Delaware), and into Maryland. Found the exit off I-95 for us (things were going abnormally well.....our exit was the one before all the traffic started really piling up....), and got to Eastern Avenue, which we would take for 4 miles or so. Well, this wasn't the scenery I was imagining. Went through a large urban center (urban, AKA......) and into Greek town, where I could have had souvlaki at 19 different places each called Stavros' or Dmitri's.....and adorned with a Greek flag. But it was clean...a few turns (for the better) later, we were at out hotel......the beautiful Mariott Waterfront. Wow. Much too nice for us. Got to our room, room 2005 (20th floor), and lo and behold, a harbor view. Don't believe me? See for yourself.

Yep...that was it. And that was our worst weather day of the trip. If you look closely at the middle of the picture, toward the top, you can see the B&O Warehouse, which closely guards beautiful Oriole Park at Camden Yards (more on that later). Well, we got in, took a rest, then decided to peruse the harbor area a little bit. What a nice city.....the "Inner Harbor" area (what you see above, plus more) is a gorgeous, pedestrian-friendly area filled with shops, restaurants and other Baltimore regalia. We had a little lunch/dinner at the Cheesecake Factory (chains be damned, but this is a pretty good place).....then off to the game! Got to the park early....for pictures, of course! Take a look...

Me outside Camden Yards (Thats the warehouse!!)

Me and the Bambino

The first pitch (view from our seats)

I don't really remember much of the game.....If I remember correctly, Baltimore won, 4-2. Tejada homered, but I didn't care much about the game. Ten years from now, I'll remember being at the nicest ballpark ever created, on a night that couldn't have been scripted better for baseball (69 degrees and clear), and with KB, who seemingly enjoyed the game (or maybe the company I provide). It was a shame that there was only 15,000 people at the game....like I said, it was a gorgeous night, and with all the people milling around the harbor area, I would have expected a decent walk-up. But, perhaps this thing of beauty is taken for granted....a shame too. During the 6th inning, we took a walk around the stadium and took in more of the atmosphere. We explored Eutaw Street (the warehouse seems MUCH closer to the outfield wall on TV....thats quite a poke. No wonder Griffey's HR Derby blast is the only one so far). BTW, another cool thing about Camden Yards......the field is dug out, so that the middle of the stadium is street level. They have the big scoreboard in right that is SRO (and if tall enough, can look over)....well, that is street level. Neat idea.....just another thing that makes in cozier. Anyway, I had a delectable BBQ Beef sandwich from Boog's BBQ (no Boog today).......good stuff, with extra sauce, onions and a little horseradish. Yum. Before we knew it, game was over.....we walked back to the hotel room, but not before stopping again at the Cheesecake Factory for a couple of slices for the room. Got back, ate some cheesecake, then both passed out from exhaustion/food coma. Tuesday-Thursday I will write tomorrow...more pictures here though!Neat view from the Right Field Wall

Scot Shields signing an autograph for KB (she was thrilled)


Boog's BBQ (a must-visit....they have Pulled Pork and Beef, but I was told by locals that the Beef is best.....it lived up to their word)

Mets Update (1:08)

Carlos Beltran just hit another 450+ ft. HR...... 1-0 Mets.

Ouch.....just before I was going to hit "Publish Post", Wright hit a 2-0 changeup over the left field wall.....3-0 Mets.