Bostons New Curse?

In 2004 the Boston Red Soxs were down 3-0 in the American League Championship Series to the New York Yankees. The Soxs trailed 4-3 in the 9th inning before forcing extra innings and eventually winning the game. Boston went on to win the next three games and become the first team in baseball and only the fourth team in the four major sports to come back from down three games in the best of seven series. The Red Soxs went on to win the '04 World Series.

So, you ask, what does this have to do with a possible curse? Let me explain.

Two weeks ago the Philadelphia Flyers were down 3-0 in their series to the Boston Bruins. In game four, on the brink of elimination, the Flyers forced overtime and won the game. The Flyers won the next three, becoming only the fifth team to come back from 3-0. Philadelphia is now in the Stanley Cup Finals.

On Monday night, the Orlando Magic were on the verge of being swept by no team other than the Boston Celtics. In this game four the Magic forced overtime and won the game!

Do you see the similarities?! The signs are pointing to the Magic to pull this off! Down 0-3, game four goes into overtime, and the team that avoids the sweep wins the series. If the Magic win they would be the first team to do so in the NBA. Don't get me wrong, I don't dislike the Celtics by any means, but I hope to see some more Magic in this series and the playoffs if just for the sake of history and ironic stories. The city of Boston could be paying their dues for their improbable comeback against the Yankees in 2004.

Citizens Bank Park

Citizens Bank Park
Home to the Philadelphia Phillies Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Date Opened: April 12, 2004- Cincinnati Reds 4, Philadelphia Phillies 1
Capacity: 43,647
Game Attended: May 26, 2009 Phillies vs. Florida Marlins 5-3

Location & Accesibility (0-5): 3
Citizens Bank Park is located in the South Philly Sports Complex with the Wachovia Center, (76ers, NBA and Flyers, NHL) and Lincoln Financial Field (Eagles, NFL). The area was also home to Veterans Stadium and The Spectrum. The Phillies wanted to locate their new field closer to the downtown area but faced some roadbacks, so the team settled to rebuild in the complex. All-in-all the field still has a view of the downtown skyscrapers and with all the history in the complex, it's not a bad place to be.

Historic Value (0-5): 3
Originality (0-5): 3
Only in its seventh year the park has already hosted two World Series, included the famous, rain-delayed 2008 Series where the Phillies defeated the Tampa Bay Rays. The park has many original features including statues of Phillies greats such as Mike Schmidt, Robin Roberts, and Steve Carlton. Ashburn Alley in the outfield is a miniature Phillies Hall-of-Fame in the outfield. Many other local features are incorporated into the park which will be discussed in further sections.

Fans (0-5): 5
Another chilly, rainy evening at the ballpark for me, but the atmosphere was still great for the two-time defending National League Champions. The park has been drawing a near capacity crowd game in and game out for some time now. Philly fans definitely have a reputation for being rowdy as well.

Fun Factor (0-5): 5
The Phillie Phanatic, one of sports original mascots, and his crazy antics calls the park home. There is a giant Liberty Bell in right field that dings and sways back and forth after every Phillie home-run. The team store is a whopping two stories that has any Phillie clothing item you could want. There is also a Build-a-Bear shop where one can build their own Phillie Phanatic.

Concessions & Restaurants (0-5): 5
Philly Cheese steaks, yum! Eating any item in the town its named after is heaven on a bun! Harry The K's restaurant that sits in left field is a great place to grab a bite to eat while watching the game. Pizza and Barbecue can also be found with all your other ballpark foods.

My own Subjectivity (0-5): 5
Citizens Bank Park is home to my favorite team so of course I am going to be a little biased towards it. In all honestly though, this ballpark is truly great, it has everything you could want, good food, good fans, and a good team.

Total Score (0-35)= 29

Criteria for "The Ballpark Series" can be found here.

And here is why I love baseball stadiums!

Sunday Afternoons in the Spring

Watching the Eastern Conference Finals this afternoon, I realized the NBA just isn't the same as it was when I was a kid growing up. I used to love to come home from church Sunday afternoon and turn on NBC just in time to catch the start of a great, meaningful basketball game. Whether it be the Jazz or the Bulls or a good playoff fight between the Knicks and Heat the games were always exciting with players like MJ, The Mailman, Stockton, Sir Charles, Patrick Ewing, and a young Shaq. The NBA just seemed better then. This video about sums it all up.

Even if we did lose to Micheal and the Bulls in that game six, this was the NBA at its prime. From that opening song, Roundball Rock, to the end of the game, the NBA on NBC and the Jazz and Bulls in the Finals just felt right.

Angel Stadium

Angel Stadium

Home to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

Anaheim, CA

Date Opened: April 19, 1966- Chicago White Sox 3, Los Angeles Angels 1

Capacity: 45,054

Games Attended:

April 21, 2005 Angels vs. Cleveland Indians 6-5

April 25, 2005 Angels vs. Oakland Athletics 1-0

Location & Accesibility (0-5): 3

Located in sunny Orange County where the weather is almost always perfect, Angel Stadium is less than three miles east of the Disneyland Parks. The Honda Center, where hockey's Ducks play, a concert hall, and various restaurants are located just across the parking lot.

Historic Value (0-5): 5

Originality (0-5): 3

Angel Stadium is now the fourth oldest park in Major League Baseball. It has been home to six American League Division Series, six American League Championship Series, and the 2002 World Series, in which the Angels defeated the San Francisco Giants. The park will be hosting its third All-Star Game this summer. Other historic events in Angel Stadium include; two Nolan Ryan no-hitters, Reggie Jackson's 500th home-run, Mickey Mantles last career game winning home-run. In 1997 Disney took a large enough ownership interest in the club to begin renovations on the park, removing seats behind the outfield wall. Along with a more open feel artificial rocks and geysers were added. Many movies have used Angel Stadium as well including Disney's Angels in the Outfield.

Fans (0-5): 4

I find most fans from Los Angeles quite annoying (Lakers and Dodgers) but I really enjoyed the people at Angel Stadium. There were large crowds at both games we went to, including a regular season record, at the time, for the Sunday afternoon game when the Angels faced division rivals the Oakland A's.

Fun Factor (0-5): 4

Though Disney doesn't own the team anymore it seems as if they have left a lasting mark. Not only does water shoot out of the fountains in the outfield but fireworks to do! The team store was quite impressive as well. And you can't forget about the Angel Girls.

Concessions & Restaurants (0-5): 2

It may have been that I was just too poor to afford stadium food at the time of this trip but I can not remember any unique foods or restaurants.

My own Subjectivity (0-5): 4
My first Major League experience took place in this park so I will always remember it, especially going down to field level to watch a walk-off home run in extra innings. This place may be more magical than Disneyland. Oh and did I mention the beautiful weather?

Total Score (0-35)= 25

Criteria for "The Ballpark Series" can be found here.

And here is why I love baseball stadiums!

Coors Field

Coors Field
Home to the Colorado Rockies
Denver, CO
Date Opened: April 26, 1995- Colorado Rockies 11, New York Mets 9
Capacity: 50,381
Game Attended: May 10, 2010 Rockies vs. Philadelphia Phillies 5-9<

Location & Accesibility (0-5): 4
Located in downtown Denver the park is within walking distance from many of the cities hotels, about a ten minute walk from where we stayed at the Marriott City Center. The "LoDo" district where the ballpark is located has a nice feel with many unique shops, restaurants and bars.

Historic Value (0-5): 2

Originality (0-5): 4
A fairly new park but has already had the fortune of hosting a World Series in 2007 when the Rockies took on the Red Sox. The 1998 All-Star Game was also here. In 1999 the park reset the major league single season home-run record with 303. While building the park workers found a 1000-pound triceratops skull and considered naming the field "Jurassic Park." A ring of seats in the upper deck is purple opposed to green to mark a mile above sea level. Evergreens and fountains are in the outfield, giving the stadium truly a park feel.

Fans (0-5): 3
It was a chilly night when I attended but the fans were still out in pretty good force, just over 30,000. It wasn't near as rowdy of crowd as other ballparks such as Philadelphia or Los Angeles. Originally the park was planned to accommodate 41,000 but after such great turn-outs in the clubs first to season it was expanded to 50,381. That being said attendance must be fairly good on the warmer summer evenings.

Fun Factor (0-5): 3
It was kind of a down night when I attended as the home-team didn't hit any home runs and ended up losing the game. There were plenty of things for fans to take part in such as an interactive broadcast but nothing that stood super out of the ordinary. The mascot is a purple triceratops named Dinger.

Concessions & Restaurants (0-5): 4
One word: Beer. The park is named after a brewing company after all! And I am happy to say I had a Coors at Coors Field, it did taste especially good. The park also has its own micro-brewery/restaurant, the Blue Moon Brewery. To eat I had a pretty good hot dog smothered in onions and peppers called a "Rockie Dog." Rumor has it that they do serve Rocky Mountain Oysters as well but I didn't get the chance to try them.

My own Subjectivity (0-5): 4
It was a great night at the ballpark. Denver has a great atmosphere and I'd really like to return to a game there as its the closest big league field to Idaho/Utah. I definitely recommend that you take in the game there if you have the opportunity.

Total Score (0-35)= 24

Criteria for "The Ballpark Series" can be found here.

And here is why I love baseball stadiums!

Ballpark Series Criteria

For my ballpark series I will use a points scale to evaluate each stadium on the following criteria:

Location & Accessibility (0-5): Where is the ball park located? How easy is it to access the ballpark via car, public transit, or walking?

Historic Value (0-5): How old is the park? How many World Series and other monumental events has the park hosted?
Originality (0-5): Is the park a cookie-cutter or does it have its own uniqueness?

Fans (0-5): How well do the fans support their team, not just in attendance wise but cheering them on?

Fun Factor (0-5): What does the ballpark offer in the way mascots, celebrations, teams stores, interactive games, music, etc?

Concessions & Restaurants (0-5): Does the food taste good? Is it unique?

My own Subjectivity (0-5): Basically, how much I like the ballpark.

Total Score = (0-35)

Day Trip to Denver

Yesterday my dad and I flew to Denver to watch our favorite team, the Philadelphia Phillies, take on the Rockies.

We got into Denver a couple hours prior to game time, so after checking in the hotel, we started to walk around downtown. I knew it was going to be a good day when the first person I saw wearing a baseball hat wasn't wearing a Rockies hat, but a red hat, with a white P on it! He says to me, "I like your hat," as I was wearing a Phills hat too. I respond with a "Go Phillies!"

After exploring the city for a bit, we headed toward the stadium, bought some tickets from a scalper, and got inside the park in time to see the Phillies take some batting practice. To our sup rise there were tons of Phillies fans already there. It felt as if we were all friends in enemy territory. We stood next to a family with two adorable, toothless little girls. The players and grounds crew must have loved them too, as they kept coming over giving them b.p. balls and signing autographs. There is something indescribably cool about being at a major league ballpark with your dad, watching the games best goof off and have fun prior to game time.

To top it all off the game was great! Tied 5-5 in the top of the ninth, Ryan Howard was hit by pitch and subsequently scored before pinch hitter Ross Gload hit a three-run homer to seal the deal. Phillies win 9-5. It was a great game and a great day!

In two days...

.. my dad and I will be here...

...watching these guys...

I can't wait!

Return to the 12th Green

School will be out next week and I will be moving back home to Pocatello, back to the 12th green of Highland Golf Course. The green that this blog was named after. I am way excited for the change, I've been in Logan for 2o straight months. I'm really looking forward to being able to golf every evening and three good meals a day.

I've got some pretty cool trips planned as well. My dad and I will head to Denver next week to see the Rockies and Phillies play. We are headed to the U.S. Open in June and will attend a San Fransisco Giants game on our trip. And if I'm lucky I plan on squeezing a trip up to Seattle in too, to watch the Mariners. That will bring the total ballpark count up to seven!

Other things I'm really looking forward to this summer is the return of my friends home from their missions and playing golf with them, playing in the Pressbox golf tournament with my dad for the ninth straight year and watching my sister and her teammates at the high school state golf tournament.

All these things mean that there is going to be alot to blog about! There have been some changes to "The 12th Green" recently. I added a hit counter last week and have had over 180 hits from 43 unique visitors. It makes me happy to have people checking this out, and to keep people interested I've moved some things around, added advertisements, hopefully making the blog a little bit more fun. I'm also planning on recreating the "Ballpark Series" for this blog, not just simply talking about the games but rating the ballparks on categories i.e. family friendliness, location, historic value, overall experience. If you are reading this I really appreciate your time, it means a lot to me that you are reading my BS! I would love input on anything- blog posts, poll questions, topics to debate, layout!

Round 2: Jazz vs. Lakers

In less then an hour my favorite team will tip off against one of my most hated teams for the third straight year in the playoffs.

It will be the sixth time that these two teams will meet in the playoffs, the winner advancing to the NBA Finals each and every previous time. The Jazz twice and the Lakers three times, including the last two years.

After the Jazz lost to Pheonix on the last night of the regular season I honestly didn't think they would make it out of the first round. Something I'm glad to be wrong about! And I don't think the Jazz can win this series but I sure hope I'm wrong again. The Lakers and the Magic are the only two teams that I think really out-talent the Jazz, especially at the center position with Memo missing. Deron Willams will once again have to step up big, hopefully abusing former Jazz-man Derek Fisher.

It's a beautiful Sunday afternoon for basketball, I've got my jersey on, lets go Jazz!

The All "Marcus Morrison" Team

(LaMarcus Aldridge)

The other night I was watching some playoff basketball games with my friends, Jason and Aaron. Aaron always calls Dwayne Wade, "cousin Dwayne" because of their shared last name. So it came to us that we should create basketball teams with players that shared our names.

First names or last names would be acceptable. Variations on spelling would be allowed as well: Jason could use a player named "Jayson" and I could use a "LaMarcus." However, we thought it would be too much of stretch for Aaron to use a "Deron."

My Starting Five:
LaMarcus Aldridge, F, Portland Trailblazers
17.9 ppg, 8.0 rpg in 09-10
Marcus Camby, F, Portland Trailblazers
10.4 ppg, 10.0 rpg in 09-10
Marcus Thorton, G, New Orleans Hornets
14.9 ppg, 1.6 apg in 09-10
Marcus Banks, G, Toronto Raptors
5.0 ppg, 1.2 apg in 09-10
Marcus Willams, G, Memphis Grizzlies
4.3 ppg, 2.6 apg in 09-10

Overall, Aldridge, Camby, and Thorton would really have step up for my team to beat "Team Jason" which would be led my Jason Richardson and Jason Kidd. "Team Aaron" should be an easy oppenent as long as "cousin Dwayne" doesn't go off each and every night.

My Bench:
DeMarcus Cousins, F, University of Kentucky Wildcats
Helped Kentucky to an Elite 8 appearance in this years NCAA Tournament. Should be a top pick in this years NBA Draft.
Adam Morrison, F, Los Angeles Lakers
Hasn't amounted to much in the NBA but had a great career at Gonzaga.
Marcus Morris, F, Kansas University Jayhawks
Will return for at least another year of school. Should be a top pick in the 2011 NBA Draft.
Marcus Morrison, G/F, Middle Tennesse Blue Raiders
Don't know much about him but we have the exact same name.
JaMarcus Russell, F?, Oakland Raiders
Controversial quarterback for the Raiders. Played basketball in high school and with a 6'6" frame will be a valuable addition to the team.
Marcus Jordan, G, Central Florida Knights
Son of Michael Jordan, 'nough said.