#this stadium got no retractable roof?

[balloondior]

damn an actual thunderstorm over the stadium

[aestheticvoyage2024]

Day 265c: Saturday September 21, 2024 - "Take Me Out To The Ball Game"

I was motivated to not let this fun baseball season get into the books without updating my Bucket List Boneyard to be back in line with "visit all the MLB Stadiums". - I didnt need to carry the "all but one" moniker into another offseason. It was the Covid Year when this gem was built, and while the old Choctaw Stadium wasnt all that bad when I was there ten years ago, once inside I understood the upgrade - a retractable roof for those hot texas day games and built with a feel of a lot of seats right on top of the field. And the place was full and vibing tonight with the Mariners in town. I bought out the 3rd row in Section 314 for all of Spencer's kids and Grammee and had a grand old time answering a million why questions for this clan whose first sport is futbol. Everyone settled and the game rolling, I cut away for a 5th inning food stroll, and my chance to take in the whole stadium. And I efficiently explored it all while keeping an eye on the scoreboard (a Mariners lost would be helpful to the Tigers playoff chances).

I found the famed Boomstick and stood in the line that led right past a window of the feets long hot dog and piled on toppings. I got intimidated and though I had invested all that time for my big MLB ballpark moment, I thought about how I would feel tomorrow on the plane and bowed out. When William gets bigger and bigger I told myself. I'll definitely need some support for that one.

The place is beautiful and well settled up. It feels like a Texas Stadium. They even had the Six Shooter dancing girls. Whats not to love. Even though the Mariners won, there was plenty to cheer and talk about with over 25 hits and even a leadoff homerun by JRod. We all moseyed our way out, ice cream collectible helmets in tow feeling really good about a fun time at the ballpark. Globe Life is definitely one of the best ballparks in baseball. "How Do you know?" "Because Ive been to them all." Even if I didnt eat a boomstick.

And while I roll back up my own Bucket List Boneyard, William will now have his own headstart with ballgames in 11 Stadiums (Red Sox, Tigers, Brewers, Cardinals, Padres, Diamondbacks, Rangers, Twins, Athletics, Angels, and Dodgers). I really think this one will be memorable though - not just for the ice cream in the helmet, or for the frightful tumble into row 2; but because it was spent with family, a lot of happy family. Having a good time together. Nothing better than baseball for that.

Song: Aaron Watson - Freight Train

Quote: “Andre Dawson has a bruised knee and is listed as day-to-day. (Pause.) Aren’t we all?” ~Vin Scully

[twins2994]

Diamondbacks Edge Twins Late.

Twins 4 Diamondbacks 5 W-Ginkel (6-1) L-Alcala (1-3) SV-Sewald (10)

The Minnesota Twins headed down to the desert to continue their three city road trip this week. They faced off with the Diamondbacks in Phoenix and Arizona was ready from the start. Corbin Caroll led-off the first with a single to right and Ketel Marte blasted a Joe Ryan fastball out to right for a two-run homer. The D-Backs were at it again in the second when Jake McCarthy singled and Eugenio Suarez tripled him home. Tucker Barnhart lined a run-scoring single to center and the Arizona lead grew to four. The Twins started to figure out Brandon Pfaadt in the fifth as Byron Buxton belted a fastball out to left for a solo homer. This pulled the Twins within three and they got back to work in the seventh. Carlos Santana started the rally with a one-out walk and Byron Buxton reached on an infield single. Ryan Jeffers then smacked a Brandon Pfaadt sweeper out to left for a three-run homer to tie the game at four all. The D-Backs would rally in the bottom of the seventh when Geraldo Perdomo drew a two-out walk and Corbin Carroll singled to center. Ketel Marte hit a slow roller to second that plated a run and Arizona had a 5-4 lead. Ryan Thompson threw a 1-2-3 eighth and Paul Sewald put up a zero in the ninth as the Diamondbacks took the series opener at Chase Field.

-Final Thoughts- Joe Ryan had a rough start then got better as the game wore on. He went six innings and allowed four runs on six hits with five strikeouts. Jorge Alcala gave up a run in the seventh and Cole Sands had a perfect eighth. Byron Buxton had three of the team's six hits. The Twins hit 1-for-4 with runners in scoring position and left four men on base. It was my first time at Chase Field and my tenth MLB ballpark. It's a decent park for a retractable roof stadium. Tomorrow, Simeon Woods Richardson faces Ryne Nelson in Game 2.

-Chris Kreibich-

[ofalchemyy]

"were you there in person?" austin's tone betrayed how impressed he was if she had gone to a game in person. football fans were a different breed, especially if the teams were playing in a stadium without a retractable roof. it was part of the game, adapting to the elements and the weather. austin loved a good snow globe game. "we should watch one together sometime." he indicated the televisions above the bar with his chin. "you could ask me questions as the game goes. it's the best way to learn." he wouldn't try explaining the game to her. that would be kind of douchey. but helping her understand the game he loved sounded fun to him. he chuckled when he realized she hadn't been there in person after all and he took a sip from his drink before answering her question. "the blue team, from new york. only metlife is actually in jersey." but nothing good ever happened in new jersey. he tipped his glass towards the passing bartender. "want something? i got nowhere to be if you wanted to talk rules or whatever."

"Oh!" Cassidy blinked, surprised. Then again, maybe she shouldn't have been - she was pretty sure her step-sibling would do the exact same thing, though likely more out of spite than anything else. "I suppose business is business." She shrugged, dismissing that thought to focus on the much more important fact of her recent activity. "Well, I wouldn't go that far. I had no idea what was happening, like, ninety percent of the time and... honestly, it didn't seem like much happened at all and I got totally lost at one point but the atmosphere was fun!" Again, not that she would really know, because she had watched it on a screen but still, the enthusiasm was there. "I bet it's way more fun in person! Which one's are the Giants?" She asked, genuine in her interest.

[nishaapologist]

Proved You Right (Fallout 4, Sarah Lyons/NB!LW - First Sentinel AU)

a small note: this mentions having a basement in Home Plate, but that’s actually because i have a mod that lets me stick basements down to have a bit more space to breathe. for the sake of I Did It In My Game So It Counts, there’s also a basement in this au too! so yeah. anyway have this gay shit.

(sarah’s pronouns are she/her, rookie’s are they/them)

—

“This probably comes as, like, no surprise, but man... I love this city.”

Finding out there was a balcony, of sorts, on the roof of Sarah’s home in Diamond City — home plate, as they call it, which was a name that’d flown right over Sarah’s head until Rookie had gleefully explained the term — had been a pleasant surprise when Sarah had thrown down the two-thousand or so caps to buy the place, clambering up the rickety old ladder to the roof on her first inspection of the house only to find herself in a little sitting area that overlooked the market. She hadn’t made great use of it right away, more interested in the basement underneath that would later become her new base(ment) of operations in the Commonwealth, but then Rookie had shown up to Diamond City on the coattails of a local merchant, and now they spend near every evening sitting in the shell of an old caravan that’s been welded down to the corrugated sheets of the roof, drinking lukewarm beer as they listen to Myrna holler anti-synth slogans, or quietly singing along to songs on the radio until exhaustion makes all the words collapse into mumbles.

It’s a moment of peace, of relaxation, in a time increasingly fraught with battles and tension, and Sarah actually looks forward to tinkering with weapons or armour on her lap at the end of the day, Rookie beside her and resting on an old sunlounger as they hum along to the radio. It helps to put things into perspective, rather than grinding herself down to a sliver as — many years ago — she would have always done.

“I mean, I don’t like the mayor, or his whole ‘no-ghouls’ bullshit or anything,” they quickly add when Sarah glances up from under her eyelashes, head bowed as she turns the extended magazine of a 10-mil pistol about in her hand. Back in the Citadel, over a decade ago, weapon modding was never really a thing Sarah had needed to do, but it turns out that after years of maintaining Power Armor she has quite the knack for it. It’s just a bit more fiddly than she’s used to, is all. “But I really like everything else. The people, mostly. The market. The stands. All that stuff.”

Sarah snorts under her breath, squinting back down as the sunlight slowly dims on the horizon, a cool evening ushering in a breeze and making the hairs on her arms prickle. Spring is approaching the Commonwealth, the months quick to pass, and soon the most hardy of trees will be flush with life again, Ragstag fawns wobbling on unsteady legs, Yao Guai slowly waking from hibernation. It’s a new year, and 2288 is already shaping up to be an exciting one. “You sure that’s not just ‘cause we’re on a baseball field? Pitch?” Sarah screws up her nose. “Stadium?”

“Baseball park?” Rookie offers, though there’s no surety in their voice. “We called it the baseball diamond back in the Vault, since that was pretty much all we had space for.”

“Baseball diamond, then. You sure it’s not ‘cause of that? Isn’t this, like, your wildest dream, or whatever?”

Rookie kicks one leg out at Sarah, too far away for their foot to even hope of landing anywhere near her, but she jerks backwards to dodge it anyway, laughing at their grimace as they retract their foot. “Oh, please! I have bigger dreams than arguing with Moe fuckin’ Cronin about how ass-backwards he got his baseball rules!”

That first argument with Moe had been quite the spectacle, and one Sarah knows Diamond City won’t forget any time soon; Rookie had been checking out his stock with wide eyes, giving each bat a practice swing to feel the weight and heft as it arced around, and when he’d leant down to tell them how crazy Pre-War baseball had been — one team would beat the other team to death with things called Baseball Bats, and the best bats were called Swatters — Rookie had given him a public dressing-down that even Sarah had sidled away from, lest Rookie’s faithful bat, grasped in increasingly irate hands, accidentally found an arc directly into her skull by mistake. It had ended most excitingly with a lot of swears, intervention from the guards, and Rookie’s solemn declaration that they were never gonna buy bats from ‘such a dipshit’, and even now they and Moe glare daggers at each other from across the market, much to Sarah’s ongoing amusement with the whole thing.

As if remembering the same incident, Rookie takes a swig of beer, glowering off at the floodlights that shine down onto the city. “At least Alex agrees with me about him. This shit’s a dying art, apparently.”

Sarah pauses for a moment, and she can’t help the way her gaze tracks towards the far stands, glancing through one of the glassless windows to where ramshackle abodes sit, suspended, above the common rabble. Alex — or the Sole Survivor as some call her now, after her story about the Vault got published for hundreds of eyes to see, and for many more mouths to gossip about — had been granted a house in the upper stands by Mayor McDonough out of the kindness (or manipulation) of his heart, offering her a safe place to adapt to the new and unforgiving world she’d found herself in. Since they’d met, Sarah had struggled to get much more out of her than single-syllable words and pleas for her to find her son, but it was only when Rookie had shown up that her sturdy, Pre-War walls had finally begun to crumble, just a little.

Really, it’s because they’re a Vaultie, too — different experiments be damned — and it helps that they’re someone who was also thrown into the topsy-turvy world of the wastes with nary an idea for the horrors within. They might not quite be out of time, but they do understand being out of place, and when it turned out that Alex is (or, perhaps was) quite the baseball buff herself, they’d forged a connection that made her, initially, a little warmer. Nowadays, Alex is very nearly sociable.

But she still very much keeps to herself, and it’s enough to have Sarah worry. She sees a lot, maybe too much, of Rookie in her — back when they met in Chevy Chase, still new to this world — to be strictly comfortable leaving her to her own devices, but there’s not much else to be done. It’ll take years before she’ll ever really adapt, Rookie had said, years until she can really grapple with the world she doesn’t know. It’s just tough shit.

“Yeah,” Sarah murmurs absently, drawing herself from her rabbithole of thoughts, and Rookie follows her eyeline carefully, knowing exactly where she’s looking. “Well, hey. I guess you have to think of it this way; you and Alex make up two people who know how to play baseball, right? How many more do you need for a full team?”

Rookie laughs at that, sombre face breaking out into a toothy grin, and they slide even further down the lounger as their hat slips over their eyebrows. “Hah! Find me six more Vaulties, and then we’ll really be talking. I’ll be able to hit the first homerun in two-hundred fuckin’ years.”

“Wait,” Sarah says with a frown, doing the maths. Even to her ears, it doesn’t seem to add up right. “Only eight people? You sure?”

Rookie snorts, and then they reach up to take their hat off with a lazy pluck, eyeing Sarah up seconds before her vision goes dark as it’s tossed, haphazardly, onto her head and over her eyes.

“Baby,” Rookie coos fondly as she splutters, nearly dropping the magazine to the ground whilst she scrambles to whip it off her head. “Bold of you to think you can worm your way out of being our pitcher.”

The hat gets launched back at Rookie’s face, the brim making a dull impact on the bridge of their nose, and their shout of pain and laughter echoes right across the city.

[angelofthequeers]

Ladybug and Reine Nuit: Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I don’t own ML.

THERE IS FAN ART. @vitaliciouscreations drew Reine Nuit's head and I LOVE how it's just how I imagined her looking! Go and check it out and support this awesome artist!

Part 3 | Part 5

“So, wait, why exactly is her Lucky Charm so…weird?” Alya says from where she’s sitting cross-legged on her bed and finishing off the last of her homework, while Plagg stuffs himself with Camembert cheese nearby.

“Tikki’s the kwami of creation,” Plagg says. “Creation does weird shit. At least we’re pretty straightforward – wham, bam, take it down.”

“That still doesn’t answer my question.”

“And that’s why you weren’t picked to be Ladybug.” Plagg’s shit-eating grin makes Alya’s eye twitch, but she chooses to ignore it for the sake of her newfound superhero status. Who knows if annoying the tiny god creature will screw with her powers? “Ladybugs have to be quick on their feet and be able to make plans out of the weirdest circumstances. Adapt to the situation.”

“I’m quick on my feet!” Alya protests.

“They also have to be imaginative and creative,” Plagg says loudly. Alya rolls her eyes at him. “You’re impulsive and charge without thinking, even if you’ll get flattened for it. That’s why you got me. We protect the Ladybugs, so they can fix the crap that the akumas cause.”

“So, what, like brains and brawn?” Alya says. “Both equally as important for different reasons?”

“Exactly!” Plagg gulps down more cheese. “And we both know which one you are.”

“Alya?” There’s a knock on Alya’s door before she can strangle Plagg, powers be damned. Plagg dives out of sight just in time; Otis opens the door, then wrinkles his nose. “Phew! Since when d’you like that stuff?”

“…Acquired taste?” Alya says. She picks up a crumb of Camembert and pops it into her mouth, struggling not to gag and grimace at the disgusting taste that explodes across her tongue. “Mmm!”

Otis just blinks. “…Okay. Well, Nora’s plans got cancelled, so she’s staying home with you and the twins. Just thought I’d let you know. Your mother and I will be back later tonight.”

“Thanks, Dad,” Alya says. Otis shoots her one more suspicious look before retreating from her room, and Plagg emerges as soon as it’s safe.

“I expect compensation for that cheese,” he says, diving back into his stink nest as Alya coughs and spits out the gooey bit of cheese in her mouth.

“It was one crumb to cover for you in the future!” Alya says, downing half her water bottle in one go.

“Doesn’t matter. Camembert is sacred.”

Alya rolls her eyes. Then she grabs Plagg, ignoring his squawked protests, and stuffs him in her shirt pocket before scooping up her phone and heading out into the living room.

“I’m going for a walk,” she says. Nora, who’s stretching while Ella and Etta watch TV, just grunts, so Alya makes her escape before she’s roped into doing chores or helping Nora “practice” for her next match, aka fulfil her sisterly duties of being a punching bag. Once outside, she walks around to the next block over and then ducks into the first alley she finds.

“Why would you separate me and my beautiful cheese?” Plagg moans.

“Because I’m gonna take a bit of time to practice without having to fight for my life,” Alya says. “Plus, I don’t have to listen to you if you’re stuck in the ring. Plagg, claws out!”

The transformation once again washes over her with its cold green power. It’s just as thrilling as the first time turning into Reine Nuit, and she can’t help her giggle when she looks down at her black leather suit, the green bits almost glowing in the evening dimness. She spots a nearby building, takes a deep breath to psyche herself up, then takes a running start and tries to leap to the roof without the aid of her baton. No knowing when she’ll be left weaponless, right?

As it turns out, her super abilities also extend to strengthening her leg muscles, because she’s easily able to make half the jump, then bound off the brick to reach the top. She whoops and punches the air and spins on the spot giddily, shrieking, “I’m a superhero!”

A ringing sound suddenly emanates from her baton, and she looks down to see the green cat’s paw on the end of it flashing. With a frown, she presses the paw with her thumb, and she gasps when a small rectangular screen pops out, then flickers to life to reveal Ladybug’s face.

“Ladybug?” she exclaims. Ladybug waves.

“Hi! Uh…I was just testing out my yo-yo. I take it you’re out practicing with your powers as well?”

“You know it!” Reine Nuit says. “Wait, so our weapons are also phones? How cool is this?”

Ladybug grins. “Since we’re both out, maybe we should meet up and talk in person? How about the Eiffel Tower?”

“Sure thing! See you there!” Reine Nuit presses the cat paw to hang up, causing the screen to retract back into her baton, and then she starts to leap and vault her way in the direction of the Eiffel Tower. Just like last time, the wind whistles through her hair, making her ponytail stream out behind her in a brown bush, and she can’t help the laughter that escapes her as she flips off a building, extends her staff as far as it’ll go, then vaults herself through the air and uses her staff to catch in one of the gaps in the Tower’s interlacing metal structure.

“This is like a dream come true!” she whoops, bounding up the Tower with a combination of her enhanced abilities and her staff. When she finally flips herself onto the same platform at the top where she and her partner had fought Stoneheart, she realises that she’s not alone; Ladybug has gotten here first, watching her with a small grin.

“From the sounds of it, you’re having a lot of fun,” Ladybug comments when Reine Nuit stops next to her, panting.

“Are you kidding?” Reine Nuit says. “This is – like – oh my god, all my life I’ve wanted to be a superhero! And now not only do I learn that this stuff is real, but I actually get to be one!”

Ladybug laughs and sits down, crossing her legs neatly. Reine Nuit follows suit, hugging her knees to her chest.

“I’m sorry I was late to Stoneheart the second time,” Ladybug says. “I…well, I nearly gave up. I didn’t purify the akuma, and everything was worse, and…I was convinced that whoever’s behind these earrings made a horrible mistake. I was going to give them to a friend, until I realised that I had to step up and do the right thing.”

“You nearly –?” Reine Nuit shakes her head. “Are you kidding? I’ve only fought with you twice and I can already tell you that I don’t want anyone else as a partner! The way you told Hawkmoth off like that? And how you talked to Paris? Oh my god, you’re, like, my idol.”

“Stop that!” Ladybug nudges Reine Nuit. “Don’t idolise me. We’re partners – we’re equals. I meant it when I said that we did it.”

“Well, that Lucky Charm just proves that you’re Ladybug,” Reine Nuit says. “I asked my kwami why you get weird stuff and he said that part of being Ladybug is being creative and imaginative and adaptable. If you weren’t any good as Ladybug, there’s no way you’d have made that whole plan in the stadium out of a wetsuit! Or up here with the parachute!”

“Really?” Ladybug tilts her head. Her blue eyes are dark in the evening light, and Reine Nuit once again finds herself questioning just how straight she really is. Not that she’s thought of herself as straight since she was ten and first heard of Majestia, to be fair. “My kwami never told me that.”

“Oh, mine was super rude about it,” Reine Nuit says. “He’s a bit of a douche. But apparently, I’m the brawn and you’re the brains. My power’s meant to work with yours to make sure that you pull your Lucky Charm off.”

“So, we balance each other out, then,” Ladybug says with a small smile. “That makes sense.”

They lapse into a comfortable silence, gazing out at the sea of lights that is Paris at night. The sight is nearly as mesmerising as her partner’s Miraculous Ladybug, although she’s not sure anything could come close to that beauty.

“I think we should talk about our identities,” Ladybug says. “It’s bound to come up.”

“I know you said that we have to keep them a secret,” Reine Nuit says. “And as much as I’d love to know who my partner is, I agree. The more people know who you are, the more chance there is of villains finding out, so the more danger your friends and family are in.” God, if anything happened to her parents or her sisters – or her new best friend Marinette…

“Not just that,” Ladybug says. “We’re partners. I get the feeling that we’re gonna become pretty close, since we’ll be working together to take down this Hawkmoth. And if I know who you are, it’ll make it harder for me to put my feelings aside and focus on the job when you’re in danger. At least by seeing you like this, it’s easier to tell myself that you can take care of yourself.”

“That’s…actually a good point,” Reine Nuit admits. “I didn’t even think of that, but you’re totally right.”

“Of course I am,” Ladybug says with a mischievous little smile. She sobers and looks back out at Paris. “I still can’t believe someone thinks I’m the best one for this job. It feels like…”

“A dream?” Reine Nuit says.

“Yeah. A dream. I keep expecting to wake up and find that it’s the first day of school and I was just having a really vivid dream.”

“Mood,” Reine Nuit says. She hums when a thought occurs to her. “Should we – I dunno – patrol the city every so often or something?”

“Patrol?” Judging by the way her forehead creases, the thought probably hadn’t even crossed Ladybug’s mind. “What for? We’ll know when an akuma pops up.”

“Who says we have to fight just akumas?” Reine Nuit says. “We’re superheroes. Our job is to fight crime. We can totally practice our skills on normal bad guys.”

“Huh. That’s not a bad idea. We do need to make sure that we can hold our own against akumas. And it would let us develop a working relationship with the public and the police.”

Reine Nuit snorts. “I still say you shoulda let me go that one for what he said to you. Honestly, like he’s never made a mistake before, especially when he was new!”

“He was scared and facing something totally new,” Ladybug says. “Just let it slide, okay?”

“Fine. Only ‘cause it’s you. So…what nights should we patrol? Obviously not every night, since I’ve got schoolwork and all…”

“Same here,” Ladybug says. “Every second or third night?”

“Should we really be that predictable?”

“Only at first. Just until we find our feet. Then we can organise a more random schedule.”

“True.” Reine Nuit sighs and then jumps to her feet. “I should get going. I told my family I was just taking a walk. The last thing I need is for them to think I’ve been kidnapped or something.”

“Yeah, my mum will probably be up to check on me soon,” Ladybug says. She tosses her yo-yo out into the city until it latches onto something that Reine Nuit can’t see, then smiles and waves at Reine Nuit. “See you next time, partner.”

“Later, angel bug,” Reine Nuit blurts out. She can’t help it; against the blanket of Parisian lights, Ladybug really does look like a softly glowing angel. Ladybug blinks. “Uh – sorry, that was probably inappropriate.”

“I don’t mind it,” Ladybug says. The corner of her mouth turns up, and she says, “Bye, pretty kitty,” and swings off. Reine Nuit stares after her, transfixed, until she shakes her head to snap out of it.

“Right. Home.” She starts to leap down the Tower, praying that she can get home before Nora gets too worried and starts asking questions.

[treeservicesarizona]

Six Cool Things To Do In Phoenix Arizona

Phoenix, Arizona is one of the most well-known cities in America. It's also home to some of the best things to do in all of America. Whether you're a traveler looking for your next vacation destination or a local who wants to get out of town, Phoenix has you covered! Here are some cool places that will make your trip more fun:

Visit the Desert Botanical Garden.

The Desert Botanical Garden is an amazing place to visit in Phoenix. It's a botanical garden, so you can expect to see lots of plants and trees (but not too many flowers). You'll also get to learn about desert ecology outside the beautiful desert scenery.

Location: 1201 N Galvin Parkway, Phoenix AZ 85008

What to Expect: The garden was designed by Fredrick Law Olmsted Jr., who also designed Central Park in NYC and the Biltmore Estate in Asheville NC. It's got over 10 miles worth of trails for you to explore! There are different sections including Sonoran Desert Gardens, Native Plant Display Areas with Southwestern plants from Arizona, California & New Mexico; Native Flora Special Exhibits; Water Sustainability Showcase featuring native tree species that use less water than non-native trees; Best Dressed Lawn Competition showcasing local lawns with native landscaping throughout AZ (with prizes given out every year!), plus there’s even an animal section where you can see animals like lizards or birds if they happen to come by on any given day.

Take a guided ghost tour through Old Town Scottsdale.

Old Town Scottsdale is a historic district that's got it all: eclectic dining, tons of shopping and live music, art galleries, and even haunted sites. If you want to get in on the spooky fun without having to venture far from your hotel room in Paradise Valley or Tempe, book one of these ghost tours through Old Town Scottsdale.

You'll be able to see some of the historic buildings in the area like The Hotel San Carlos and Hotel Valley Ho (formerly The Fairmont Princess), learn about their history as well as stories about paranormal activity that have occurred there. Tours are offered year round but are especially popular during Halloween season so make sure you book early if you'd like to take advantage of this spooky opportunity. It's also perfect for families with kids who enjoy learning about history and getting into character!

Catch a Pro Baseball Game at Chase Field.

Chase Field is home to the Arizona Diamondbacks, one of Major League Baseball's 30 teams. And while you may not be able to catch a game with them, you can still have fun at Chase Field.

The stadium was built in 2000 and is located in downtown Phoenix. The stadium has 42,000 seats and features an eight-story tall retractable roof that allows for open air baseball during warm days or closed roof for cooler temperatures or rain. You'll also find several restaurants inside including Dierks Bentley’s Whiskey Row, Dirty Little Roddy's BBQ & Rock'n Roll Kitchen (Dirty Little Roddy is a mascot for the team), and two new sections called "The A" and The Porch featuring burgers from 5th Street Burger Co., chicken wings from Wingstop and craft beer from Four Peaks Brewing Company

Go to the Phoenix Art Museum.

The Phoenix Art Museum is a great place to go to learn about art. The museum has a collection of over 17,000 pieces of art and many exhibits that change every few months. The museum is open every day except for Thanksgiving and Christmas.

You can also check out the Phoenix Art Museum’s online database where you can research artists or view their works by genre. You can even see if there are any upcoming events at other museums in Arizona!

Take the kids to Castles N' Coasters for fun and games.

It's not just a theme park, it's an amusement park, too! Kids (and adults) can ride roller coasters, water rides and other rides for kids. Or they can try their hand at one of the many games or play in the arcade.

Stop by the Musical Instrument Museum for a look at an extensive collection of instruments from around the world.

The Musical Instrument Museum is a great place to learn about the history of music, and see some cool instruments. It's also a wonderful place to take your kids, or just explore on your own. The museum has an impressive collection of instruments from around the world, and is located in Tempe, Arizona.

If you're looking for something fun to do in Phoenix with family or friends (or both!), this museum has something for everyone.

There are many things to do in Phoenix Arizona that can be fun for all ages.

Phoenix is a great place to visit, especially if you are looking for some fun things to do. The city has a lot of activities that can be enjoyed by everyone. If you are visiting Phoenix Arizona and looking for things to do with your family or friends, then this article will give you some great ideas about what the city has available for your enjoyment!

The first thing that comes to mind when thinking about things to do in Phoenix Arizona is visiting the Grand Canyon. This is one of the most famous landmarks in all of America and it's also very close by so it makes sense that people would want to go see it while they're there! However, there are many other places as well.

If you’re looking for a place to visit on your next vacation, Phoenix Arizona is a great choice. With everything from museums and gardens to sports games and theme parks, there are plenty of things to do in Phoenix Arizona for everyone in the family. From fun activities that will keep kids busy all day long (like Castles N' Coasters) to places where you can enjoy some peace and quiet (like the Musical Instrument Museum), there really is something for everyone here!

Are you looking for some tree removal or stump grinding services in Phoenix? You’ve come to the right place. USA Tree Removal and Stump Grinding is your number one choice. We are dedicated to getting rid of all the unwanted trees in your yard, on a time schedule that works best for you. Check out our website where we offer competitive pricing and excellent service.

USA Tree Removal and Stump Grinding 2513 N 29th St, Phoenix, AZ 85008, United States 623–469–7674 https://phoenixtreecare.org/ https://www.google.com/maps?cid=12337577927580498513

[hawkvalley]

Denver Broncos Regular Season Game 5

Hawk Valley Regular Season Week 5 October 6, 2022

Denver Broncos vs Colts

Quick Review

The Broncos lost to the Josh McDaniels led Las Vegas Raiders 32-23. The offense looked better in this game, the run defense was terrible.

The media focused a bit on Russell Wilson this week. It was mentioned that he’s an “influencer” on some internet apps and people are beginning to think he’s too focused on that part of his life. Some members of the media have started to count the number of times he blinks during interviews. I think this is a result of his subway commercial, which was awkward.

A longer review

This game took place on Sunday afternoon, October 2, 2022. The game was played inside Allegiant Stadium, a climate-controlled dome. When the retractable roof is closed, the inside temperature is set to 72 degrees.

On the opening kickoff, P.J. Locke #37 was injured.

The Raiders got the ball first and their drive started from the 32 yard line. On first down, Josh Jacobs #28 ran up the middle for five yards. On second down, Derek Carr #4 faked a hand off, then he tossed the ball to Jacobs for an eight yard gain. On first down, Jacobs ran up the middle for five more yards. On second and five, Carr connected with Davante Adams #17 on a go route for twenty yards. The ball was now at the Denver thirty yard line. On first down and under pressure, Carr threw the ball into the turf. He would have been called for intentional grounding had he not been outside the pocket. On second down, Carr went back to Adams for an eight yard gain over the right side. On third down, Carr pitched the ball to Jacobs and he gained nine yards over the left side, cutting up field between the tight end and tackle. On first down, Carr connected with Darren Waller #83 for a six yard gain. On second down, Jacobs tried to run up the middle, but he lost one yard. On third down, Carr threw an incomplete pass. On fourth and five, at 2:36 pm with 9:52 left in the first quarter, Daniel Carlson #2 kicked a 26 yard field goal.

The Broncos first drive of the game started from the twenty-five yard line. On first down, Russell Wilson #3 hit Courtland Sutton #14 on a slant for a fifteen yard gain. On first down, Russell pitched the ball to Javonte Williams #33 for a three yard loss. On second down Russell went back to Sutton for a five yard gain. On third and eight, Russell was sacked for a seven yard loss by Nate Hobbs #39. Corliss Waitman #17 punted on fourth and fifteen with 7:15 left in the quarter.

On the punt, the punt returner Keelan Cole #84 was bumped into, but the Raiders recovered the ball. The second drive of the day for the Raiders started off with Jacobs running up the middle for two yards. On second down, Jermaine Eluemunor #72 was flagged for a false start. On second and 13, Carr thew an incomplete pass. On third down, Carr was sacked by D.J. Jones #97 for an eight yard loss at the Raider two yard line. On fourth and 21, with 5:15 left in the quarter, A.J. Cole #6 punted.

Montrell Washington #12 returned the punt for thirty yards. On their second drive of the day, the Broncos started from the Raider 34 yard line. On first down, Russell connected with Eric Saubert #25 for a twenty-five yard gain. On first and goal from the nine yard line, Williams ran up the middle for a one yard gain. On second down, Williams ran behind the guard for a three yard gain. With 2:50 left in the quarter, Russell connected with Sutton in the back of the end zone for a Denver touchdown on third down.

The Raiders started their third drive of the day from the 25 yard line. On first down, Carr found Jacobs in the right flat for a gain of twelve yards. On first down, Jacobs ran up the middle for three yards. On second down, Carr scrambled over the right side for seven yards. On first down, Jacobs broke through the middle of the line, than ran on a slant towards the left sideline or a nine yard pickup. On second down, Carr called his own number and he gained two yards. On first down, with 44 seconds left in the quarter, Dre’Mont Jones #93 was flagged for a neutral zone infraction and that play ended the quarter.

At 3:00 pm, after one quarter in Vegas, the score was: Denver 7, Vegas 3.

On the first play of the second quarter, Zamir White #35 ran up the middle for two yards. On second down, Jacobs ran up the middle for four yards. On first down, Carr fired a short pass off to Adams for a nine yard gain. On second down, Jacobs ran up the middle for four yards. On first down, Carr connected with Mack Hollins #10 for an eighteen yard touchdown pass, but there was a flag on the play. The pass was ruled incomplete. Baron Browning #56 was flagged for being offside. A referee pulled a hammy on the play and would not return to the game. On first and five, Carr pitched the ball to Jacobs and he gained three yards over the left side. At 3:10 pm, Jacobs ran right up the middle and into the end zone. On the kickoff, Carlson tried an onside kick, but it failed.

The Broncos started their first drive of the second quarter from the Vegas 48. On first down, Williams ran to the left for four yards. On second down, Russell threw an incomplete pass. On third and six, Russell hit Jerry Jeudy #10 for a gain of thirty-two yards as Jeudy stumbled out of bounds. On first down, with 10:39 remaining in the half, Russell faked a hand off before throwing an incomplete pass, but there was a flag on the play. Eric Saubert #82 was flagged for an illegal shift. On first and fifteen from the Vegas seventeen yard line, Russell dumped the ball off to Williams for a one yard loss over the left side. On second and sixteen, Russell completed a pass to Jeudy for no gain. On third down, Russell connected with Sutton for a nine yard gain. With eight minutes left in the quarter, Brandon McManus #8 kicked a 28 yard field goal.

On first down from the Vegas twenty yard line, Carr threw an incomplete pass to start their second drive of the second quarter off with a big thud. On second down, Carr fired off a quick pass to Jacobs on the left sideline for a two yard gain. On third down, Carr found Brandon Bolden #34 on the left side for a loss of one yard. Cole punted with 6:30 left.

Washington returned the punt for 20 yards. On their second drive of the second quarter, from the Denver 48 yard line, Williams gained two yards up the middle on first down. Dalton Risner #66 was flagged for a false start on second down. On second down, Kendall Hinton #9 caught a pass for a four yard gain. On third and nine, Russell scrambled for eight yards. On fourth down, Williams ran up the middle for a two yard gain. On first down with 3:30 left in the quarter, Gordon ran up the middle and fumbled. Amik Robertson #21 recovered the ball and returned it 68 yards for a Raider touchdown. The Raiders pat failed. *ESPN ranked this play number seven on their top ten NFL plays of week four.

The Broncos started their third drive of the quarter from the 25 yard line. On first down, Williams ran to the left for nine yards and was stripped of the ball, but his forward momentum had stopped, so it wasn’t a turnover. On second down, Williams followed the left tackle for a gain of 13 yards. That play brought us to the two minute warning.

When play resumed, Williams was tackled as soon as he received the hand off from Russell for a two yard loss. On second and twelve, Russell connected with Hinton on a post up the left side for a 35 yard gain. On first down, Russell fired off a twenty yard pass to Jeudy for a touchdown. Denver’s pat was blocked.

The Raiders third drive of the second quarter started from the 25, Jacobs ran up the middle for five yards. On second and five, Carr threw a short pass to Jacobs for a gain of five more yards. On first down, Carr’s pass had no takers. On second down, Carr found Hollins for nine yards. On third down, Carr called his own number and he picked up four yards. The Raiders then called a timeout with 27 seconds left. Carr found Adams for seven yards. With 21 seconds left, Carr connected with Jacobs for a four yard gain on second down. On first down, with 17 seconds left, Carr scrambled for twenty yards. The Raiders called another timeout. With 8 seconds left, Carr threw an incomplete pass. With four seconds left, Carlson kicked a 39 yard field goal as the half expired.

At 3:52 pm the game had reached halftime, the score: Raiders 19, Denver 16.

On the first drive of the second half, the Broncos started from the 25 yard line. On first down, Russell pitched the ball to Williams for a one yard loss. Williams was injured on the play. He tore his ACL and is out for the season. On second down, Mike Boone #26 came into the game. From the I-formation Boone ran up the middle for thirteen yards. On the next play. Boone was stuffed for no gain. On second and ten, Boone started to the left and then cut back towards the middle for a gain of seven yards. On third down, Russell was sacked by Maxx Crosby #98 for a seven yard loss. Waitman punted on fourth down, with 11:50 left in the quarter.

The Raiders started off their first second half drive from the Vegas nineteen yard line and Carr threw an incomplete pass. On second down, Jacobs gained five yards running to the left. On third and five, Carr found Hollins over the middle for an eight yard gain. With 10:20 left in the quarter, Carr threw another incomplete pass. Carr had just as much success on second down as he did on first down, but this time, Pat Surtain II #2 almost intercepted the ball. There was a flag on the play. Kolton Miller #74 was flagged for being an ineligible lineman downfield. Denver declined the penalty. On third down, Carr was sacked by K’Waun Williams #21 for a seven yard loss. On fourth and 17, Cole punted.

The second drive of the second half for the Broncos started from the Denver 49 yard line. Gordon gained one yard running to the left. On second down, Russell faked a hand off to Gordon and he was sacked by Crosby for a nine yard loss. On third down, Russell connected with Washington for a four yard gain. On fourth and fourteen, Waitmen punted with 7:20 left in the third quarter.

The Raiders second drive of the half started from the 20 yard line and Jacobs picked up four yards running up the middle. On second down, Carr hit Adams on the left side for a sixteen yard pickup. One first and ten, with six minutes left, Jacobs almost took it to the house. He ran through a worm hole and gained 43 yards running up the middle. Vegas called a timeout. On second down, Carr found Adams for eight yards. On second down, Josey Jewell #47 tackled Jacobs in the backfield for a five yard loss. On third down, with four minutes left, Carr connected with Darren Waller #83 who took the ball down to the one yard line. Jacobs lost two yards on first down. Carr then threw two straight incomplete passes from the Denver three yard line. On fourth down, Carlson kicked a 22 yard field goal.

To start off the Broncos third drive of the half, Russell threw an incomplete pass on first down that was almost intercepted. On second down, Russell rolled to the left, found Jeudy for a nine yard gain, but there was a flag on the play. Garett Bolles #72 was flagged for holding. On second and 20 with 1:57 left, Russell threw an incomplete pass. On third and twenty, Boone caught a pass over the right side for a nine yard gain. With 68 seconds left in the third quarter, Waitmen punted.

On the Raiders last drive of the third quarter, Jacobs ran to the right for six yards on first down. With 20 seconds left, Jacobs tried the right side again, but he only gained one yard. That play ended the third quarter.

At 4:43 pm and after three quarters in Vegas, the score: Vegas 22, Denver 16. The announcers pointed out that the Broncos have trailed in every game this season heading into the fourth quarter.

When play resumed, Carr threw a pass that hit the tackle working on Bradley Chubb #55 in the head. Cole punted from the Vegas 39 yard line.

The Broncos first drive of the fourth quarter started from the Denver one yard line. On first down, Gordon ran up the middle for no gain. His forward progress kept the referees from ruling the play a Raider safety. He was that close to being tackled in the end zone. On second down, Russell’s pass was deflected but Russell caught it for a one yard gain. On third down, Russell threw an incomplete pass. With 13:15 left in the game, Waitmen punted from the back of the end zone. During the return, Tyron Johnson #1 was flagged for an illegal block above the waist.

On the first Raider drive to start in the fourth quarter, Carr dumped the ball off to Adams on first down and he gained 13 yards over the left side. On first down, Carr found Hollins for a sixteen yard gain over the left side. On first down, Jacobs ran to the left for one yard. On second down, Carr fired the ball off to Waller for five yards. Carr found Adams for a three yard gain over the left side on third down. With 9:55 left in the game, Carlson kicked a thirty yard field goal.

The second Bronco drive of the fourth quarter started off with an incomplete pass from Russell. On second down, Russell found Jeudy for a one yard gain over the left side. On third down, Russell scrambled up the middle for thirteen yards. With 8:45 left in the game, Russell threw another incomplete pass as he was being sacked, but there was a flag on the play. Graham Glasgow #61 was flagged for holding. On first and twenty from the Denver 29 yard line, Russell threw the ball into the ground, he was outside of the pocket. There were two flags on this play and Boone was seen limping off the field. Lloyd Cushenberry #79 was flagged for being an ineligible lineman downfield, the Raiders declined this penalty. Bolles was flagged for holding, the Raiders accepted this penalty. On first and 30, from the Denver 19 yard line, Russell threw an incomplete pass that was almost intercepted, but there was a flag on this play. The Raiders were flagged for having too many men on the field… Andrew Billings #97. On first and 25, Russell connected with Sutton over the middle for an eighteen yard gain. One second down, Russell threw a bomb to K.J. Hamler #1 for a gain of 55 yards. At 4:58 pm, on first and goal from the three yard line, Russell called his own number and he ran over the left side for a touchdown. Billings was flagged for an illegal formation, so McManus kicked off from the 40 yard line.

The Raider’s second drive of the fourth quarter started from the 25 yard line. Carr threw and incomplete pass. On second down, Adams ran a jet sweep to the left and picked up four yards. On third and six, with 6:51 left in the game, Carr scrambled to the left for a gain of nine yards. Randy Gregory #5 was injured on the play. He was placed on the short term injured reserve list and should be out for six to eight weeks. On first down, Jacobs tried to run up the middle but lost three yards. On second down, Carr connected with Adams over the middle for a seventeen yard gain. On first and ten, Jacobs ran up the middle for eleven yards. On first down, the Raiders ran a sweep to the left and Jacobs picked up five yards. On second down with three minutes left in the game, Jacobs ran to the left for three yards. Denver called a timeout. On third down, Carr pitched the ball to Zamir White #35 who ran over the left side for twenty-two yards. On first and goal, with 2:02 left in the game, Jacobs ran up the middle for a touchdown.

The Broncos ran one play before the two minute warning. Russell scrambled to the right for five yards. When play resumed, Russell threw three straight incomplete passes to end the drive with 1:44 left on the clock.

When the Raiders got the ball back, they successfully ran out the clock. With 57 seconds left, the Raiders entered victory formation twice to end the game.

At 5:34 PM the game ended, final score from Las Vegas: Raiders 32, Denver 23. Game time: 3 hours and 9 minutes.

Roster moves

The Broncos placed RB Javonte Williams #33 and WLB Randy Gregory #5 on injured reserve. Gregory is out four to eight weeks. Javonte is out for the season.

The Broncos signed RB Latavius Murray #28 off the New Orleans Saints pratice squad on Tuesday.

The following players are out for the Colt game: SLB Jonathon Cooper #53, FS P.J. Locke #6, RG Quinn Meinerz #77, WLB Arron Patrick #94.

Bronco players that that are listed as questionable include: WR Tyrie Cleveland #16, RCB Darius Phillips #20, RT Billy Turner #57.

Bronco players that were limited this week: QB Russell Wilson #3 (right shoulder), RB Melvin Gordon III (neck), LG Dalton Risner (Ankle), FS Caden Sterns (Hip and Chest), RCB K'Waun Williams (wrist)

Outlook

Strength of schedule favors the Colts so far… their opponents have a winning percentage of 38% compared to the Broncos opponents winning percentage of 31%.

The Colts offense is dead last in the NFL after four games this season. The Broncos are not far behind, they rank 30th out of 32 teams. The Broncos are averaging 17 points for the season and 17 points per game over the last two weeks. There are only two teams below the Broncos offense this season. The Chicago Bears and the Indianapolis Colts. That strength of schedule is 38%. The Colts are averaging 14 points per game for the season, but 19 points per game over the last two weeks. There are 12 teams below the Colts over the last two weeks. That strength of schedule is 42%.

Tonight things will be different for the Broncos. Williams is out and the Broncos will have to use Gordon who ended up in the dog house last week. I’m sure Gordon will be motivated since the Broncos just signed another running back…. Will the Broncos overlook the Colts tonight?

Game Time

Thursday, October 6 @ 6:15 PM MDT

[sameverything]

Seattle Mariners 2022 Season - Post 1 - 6 Games In, 1 More Before Coming Home

While it may be true that the rain falls on both the Mariners and The Other Guys, the Mariners have gotten the windy and soggy end of things early on to begin the season.  Well, not early, early on.  Things started off good with 2 1-run wins in Minnesota against the Twins.  Then losing the next 2 to split the series. Then off to Chicago’s Southside and losing 2 games vs the White Sox.   And damn, the weather has done the M’s no favors.   Sure, you only mention the weather as a factor in a loss, but damn. Game 7 of the season, closing the series in Chicago, hoping to stave off a sweep before the home opener vs the Astros tomorrow -

1st inning, both teams go down in order.

Jared Kelenic put the Mariners on the board in the 2nd inning with a 2 run home run after  Eugenio Suarez got on base with a walk.

In the Sox half of the 5th, the wind wreaked havoc, turning two infield pop ups into an error, and a RBI single; giving the White Sox a run and making the score 2-1.

Cue my cursing White Sox manager Tony La Russa and the ancient weather gods he paid off.  

I’m having flashbacks to last night’s game where the weather gods gifted the White Sox with 4 runs in the 2nd inning.  A Tim Anderson single gives the Sox runners on 1st and 2nd.  Mariners pitcher Logan Gilbert is made of stronger stuff than me, is not phased by weather, weather gods, bad luck, or Luis Robert - Gilbert strikes out Robert to end the inning and the chaos.

Mitch Haniger leads off the 6th, tries his own hand at ancient weather god worship and reaches on an infield pup up that should have been caught BUT NO he gets greedy (isn’t that always the risk with ancient gods?) and gets thrown out going for 2nd base.

The ancient gods mock Haniger’s hubris as J. P. Crawford hits a double that would have put Haniger on 3rd if not scored him.

Alas.

Andres Munoz relieves Logan Gilbert and Munoz strikes out the side of Sox, and nearly breaks the radar gun hitting 103 MPH.

Cal Raleigh homers for the M’s in the 7th, maybe aided by those weather gods.

That makes the score Mariners 3, White Sox 1.

This is not a comfortable lead.

Not against the White Sox.  Not when weather mischief is afoot.

In the top of the 8th inning, Mitch Haniger, realizing he had it in him all along, no need for weather gods, hits a 2 run bomb to make the score 5-1.

Let’s note that after Mitch’s home run, the Mariners loaded the bases but failed to score.  Let’s note it and more on.  2 stranded baserunners in the 9th.  Note it and move on.

The White Sox had apparently used up all of their weather related favors and are unable to add any more offense, resulting in a 5-1 win for the Mariners.

A good win, as a 3-4 record is a lot better than a 2-5 record.  

The M’s ride that 3-4 record and a windy win back home for their home opener against the Houston Astros tomorrow.  In Seattle.  Where a stadium with a retractable roof can keep any weather god mischief away.  A very good thing.  It’s the Astros, after all, and I don’t need to say more than that.

[delalluviadeverano-blog]

First Fanfic - To Be Continued

Someone somewhere was very sad. Messi looked up at the sky. He knew that the weather was not good that day and that the rain just wouldn’t stop falling even at nightfall. The weather report said the rain would stop pouring the next day. Seven, eight, nine days and the rain still did not stop. The weather was odd in Spain that summer, and residents noticed. Tourists noticed. Even with a full day of sunshine rain fell and fell, sometimes lightly and other times very hard.But despite the weather, the Barcelona games continued.

There was a rumor going around that Lady Luck was an unfaithful woman. They say that she still could affect the weather, but no one believed in her anymore. It was common knowledge that Lady Luck had failed to be lucky. And failed to deliver luck to those that deserved it.

So when it started to rain, people thought it was just the regular summer drizzle. Then it gradually became more and more violent. People started to wonder when it would ever stop. People started getting worried that places were flooding. The streets were filled up with water all hours of the day. Sometimes the rain ebbed, but only for a few hours until it started to become vicious. There was a general atmosphere of concern as the farmland became flooded.

Messi was actually in Ibiza with his wife Antonella through most of the heaviest periods of rainfall. One day he checked his iPhone to immediately see a string of news articles on the Internet all relating to Ronaldo’s move away from Spain and to Italy. He knew that Cristiano and he had become close friends over time, even though they were not necessarily best buddies. He decided to call him soon, but not too soon.After saying congratulations, Messi mentioned the weather in Spain. Ronaldo was a bit hesitant to reply. “That’s not the real reason I’m leaving for ———.” He finally said, with a joking tone in his voice. Ronaldo seemed to genuinely appreciate the call.It seemed that the weather was chasing everyone from Spain. Some people in Spain formed a group called ———– . By mid-August ————–was growing. They claimed that they were looking for the person who was responsible for the rain, they said. And that they will eventually find her and make her stop the torrent. ‘THERE IS NO LADY LUCK’ said Ernesto Valverde on social media one morning, visibly irritated about the growing number of picket signs and posters that started to dot the Barcelona streets. That seemed to be the general atmosphere among regular Spaniards. It was established that the rain was heaviest in central Spain, in Madrid but showers were sporadic and yet common in the south near Granada. When will Lady Luck return? People were divided: some said she would not return, others said she would come back and reclaim her post and a growing number like Valverde were soon losing faith that she even existed.In late September, the match between Barcelona and ——— was set. There was a flurry of dizzy anticipation as the game was to be held at Camp Nou. By this time the rain was a mere light drizzle in Barcelona, but still, it persisted. People wore raincoats and held red and blue umbrellas as they filed into the stadium.Messi felt an eager anticipation as he warmed up alongside Suarez. Suarez had been slightly more upbeat than usual about the ———- match. Messi did not tell Suarez about the condition of his right foot. It hurt slightly but ever so slightly when he ran too fast or jumped too high. This was an important match, and the pain was just barely present. There were several times before when his right foot did not feel completely comfortable or ‘right’ but it did not affect his performance significantly. Today was just one of those days.

The match continued after an uneventful first half, with one goal by Paulinho, assisted by Messi. The defense was more difficult to get through than any of them had expected. During the second half, Cristiano scored a goal with a header. The game continued when suddenly Messi felt a twinge in his right foot. He ignored it for a second, not believing that it was happening. He felt angry at the horrible timing of it. Strangely enough, the pain did not feel at all sharp when he started to run. It was only when he stopped that the pain bothered him. During the last ten minutes of the match, Messi approached the bench and revealed his discomfort. A substitute came on, and claps ensued, a show of appreciation from the Barcelona crowd of his performance on the pitch. Of course, his exit drew some attention from the players, including the opposition. Messi returned to the locker room and someone took a look at his foot to locate the pain. It seemed that he needed a break while the pain went away. Messi could not help but feel upset by this remark. How long would it take for it to recover? He didn’t know; it could take days, even weeks. But assuming it wasn’t too serious, he would only miss one or two matches. 

Later, when he saw a professional doctor, it appeared that there was some injury to his foot, but that the full recovery would take about ten days and then he could start playing again. He would miss two full games. The public’s reaction was one of anger. Many people did not care since it would only be two games but some fans and Barcelona supporters cried out that Lady Luck had struck again. Then it became apparent that even people outside of the Barcelona fanbase were angry. She was not to be trusted. She brings bad luck to the team. She brought Messi down. And Messi wasn’t injury-prone. 

The timing of the event sparked outrage, and the rain had perhaps put everyone in a testy mood. All the blame was directed at Lady Luck, but there was no answer. She cannot defend herself, was the general statement on the streets. The rain continued to patter down on roofs and windowsills until the Saturday before the ——- game when it suddenly stopped. People thought it would resume after a few minutes and gave it no thought but the sky cleared and there was silence for hours. After the fifth or sixth-hour people realized what was going on and started to celebrate. Kids and teenagers went out into the streets to play football and people finally tore down the posters in their neighborhoods as shops handed out free wine and cervaza outside their doors. 

Messi stared outside of the window on a cloudless Barcelona morning.  Barcelona had signed a new player. The player who would join them had played in --------- before being signed to Barcelona for ninety million euros. Despite the large figure, Messi had not heard of him before. Neither had the other teammates. They would greet this mysterious newcomer, but that was not till Tuesday. “Hello,” Messi realized that his hands were a bit sweaty, after running into the building in the unusually scorching heat. “It’s finally good to meet you, Leo Messi,” Lucas said. He was a towering man, but not as tall as Pique. He had a small face for his unusually broad shoulders and his features were sharp and square. His Spanish was weird and his accent was difficult to place. Although he was from Uruguay like Suarez, he didn’t seem comfortable speaking Spanish. After training, it was evident that Lucas was a huge fan of Messi. Like the others, he was excited to play alongside the greatest of all time. But Messi could not help but feel annoyed at Lucas for tagging around. Of course Messi was a friendly, brotherly figure. But a few days after Lucas was introduced to everyone and had donned his Barcelona jersey, his quirkiness was exposed. Lucas was a master of interrupting and his awkwardness made the others slowly back out of conversations. He was either unusually chipper or suddenly deathly quiet, standing about staring at faces blankly. Lucas also had shockingly pale watermark blue eyes, and when you caught him staring at you, the look was an unsettling experience. Suarez found this quite funny and tried to get his fellow Uruguayan to ‘quit that face’ while playfully punching his shoulder but Messi, who was always calm and quiet, found Lucas’ mannerisms slightly off-putting. But interactions with Lucas were minimal. Everyone got along well, and the new players that were signed grew accustomed to the ways of Club Barcelona quickly. It was the Barcelona-Sevilla game. Messi was contemplating some things on his mind while the stadium awaited the entrance of the players. Lucas was in one of his happy, talkative moods. Messi many times did not catch what Lucas was saying as his mind wandered off naturally as it does when someone is blabbering, and when Lucas asked him a question, he was caught off guard. “I was saying Messi did not catch the remark entirely, and leaned forward politely. But Lucas became silent and stiffly looked past Messi into the distance, as if to retract what he had said. It became increasingly clear that sometimes Lucas didn’t respond right away as a way of punishment, almost. Messi ignored it, but then he realized that Lucas irked him in ways he did not understand.It was the game with Real Sociedad when he confronted Lucas in the hall leading up to the stadium. It was an away game and the stadium hallways was narrow and dimly lit. Lucas glanced at Messi walking towards him and then continued down the hall. Messi grabbed his arm. Lucas pulled away. “Hey, I’m talking to you.” Messi was surprised by his own tone 

[travelingchicks4]

Milwaukee, Wisconsin

We are in Milwaukee .. the name means “gathering place by the water”. It is only about an hour and ½ from Chicago and also has frontage on Lake Michigan. Like so many fortunate lake front cities, they have a popular and well developed Lakefront area. Milwaukee was first inhabited by Germans way back in the mid 1800’s, and the German element is still strongly present today. They have an annual German fest, a large number of German restaurants , traditional German beer Halls as well as a German language immersion school. Milwaukee is known for its beer brewing traditions, which also began with German immigrants. In fact, it used to be the worlds leading beer producing city. On that note, we decided to do the Lakefront Brewery Tour, which was led by a very energetic and animated guide who was more interested in getting laughs, making inappropriate jokes and drinking beer than in explaining the process! I was hoping for a much more comprehensive explanation; I think we got the jist of it but the tour could use a little improvement. Following the tour, we went over to Miller Park, home of the Milwaukee Brewers baseball team. The stadium is enormous, complete with several restaurants and a retractable roof. Miller Park is one of the largest construction projects in Wisconsin history. Three construction workers were killed during the building of this ballpark. We tried the cheese curds, frozen custard and of course the BEER 🍺!

[coasttickets]

Dodgers Win First World Series Title in 32 years

No dogpile, no champagne and a mask on nearly every face — the Los Angeles Dodgers celebrated their first World Series title since 1988 in a manner no one could have imagined prior to the coronavirus pandemic.

They started the party without Justin Turner, too, after their red-headed star received a positive COVID-19 test in the middle of their clinching victory.

Turner was removed from Los Angeles’ 3-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays in Game 6 on Tuesday night after registering Major League Baseball’s first positive test in 59 days and wasn’t initially on the field as the Dodgers enjoyed the spoils of a title earned during a most unusual season.

The 35-year-old Turner has been a staple in the Dodgers’ lineup for seven of their eight consecutive NL West titles. A late-blooming slugger who helped reshape the game by succeeding with an upper-cut swing, Turner is LA’s career leader with 12 postseason home runs, including a pair in this Series, in which he hit .364 and also played stellar defense.

“It’s gut-wrenching,” World Series MVP Corey Seager said. “If I could switch places with him right now, I would. That’s just not right.”

Commissioner Rob Manfred confirmed Turner’s positive test moments after presenting the World Series trophy to Los Angeles — a jarring reminder of all that’s been different in this season where the perennially favored Dodgers finally broke through.

Mookie Betts, who came to the Dodgers to make a World Series difference, had a mad dash to home plate in the sixth inning to put Los Angeles over the top.

“I just came to be a part of it. I’m just happy I could contribute,” Betts said

The end of a frustrating championship drought for LA — and perhaps just the start for Betts and the Dodgers, whose seventh World Series title was their sixth since leaving Brooklyn to the West Coast in 1958.

“I had a crazy feeling that came to fruition,” Roberts said. “It’s just a special group of players, organization, all that we’ve kind of overcome.”

Betts bolted from third for the go-ahead run on Seager’s infield grounder, then led off the eighth with a punctuating homer.

“It was absolutely phenomenal. This team was incredible,” said Seager, also the NLCS MVP who had franchise records with his eight homers and 20 RBIs this postseason. “We never stopped. We were ready to go as soon as the bell was called. Once it did, we kept rolling. You can’t say enough about what we did this season.”

Kershaw was warming in the bullpen when Julio Urías struck out Willy Adames to end it and ran alongside teammates to celebrate in the infield, later joined by family who had been in the bubble with them in North Texas.

Players were handed face masks as they gathered, although many of their embraces came mask-free even after Turner’s positive test.

The Dodgers had played 5,014 regular season games and were in their 114th postseason game since Orel Hershiser struck out Oakland’s Tony Phillips for the final out of the World Series in 1988, the same year Kershaw — the three-time NL Cy Young Award winner who won Games 1 and 5 of this Series — was born in nearby Dallas.

About 2½ weeks after the Lakers won the NBA title while finishing their season in the NBA bubble in Orlando, Florida, the Dodgers gave Los Angeles another championship in this year when the  coronavirus pandemic delayed, shortened and moved around sports seasons.

The MLB season didn’t start until late July and was abbreviated to 60 games for the shortest regular season since 1878. And the expanded postseason, with 16 teams making it instead of 10, almost went the full distance.

Both League Championship Series went to seven games, with Los Angeles beating Atlanta in the National League, and Tampa Bay needing all seven games in the American League after blowing a 3-0 series lead against Houston.

Betts made sure the Dodgers didn’t need another game.

Chants of “M-V-P!, M-V-P!” broke out when he hit his double in the sixth off reliever Nick Anderson. Snell, the 2018 AL Cy Young Award winner had already struck out Betts twice, plus the Dodgers leadoff hitter had a .531 OPS against lefties this season, compared to 1.061 versus right-handers.

Those chants got even louder — even with the a limited crowd of 11,437 — when Betts went deep on an 0-2 pitch by hard-throwing right-hander Pete Fairbanks.

There were plenty of fans in Dodgers blue at the new $1.2 billion home of the Texas Rangers, the stadium with the retractable roof where they played 16 games over three weeks. And the roof was closed for the final one, with misty conditions and a game-time temperature of 39 degrees outside.

The Dodgers, who had a majors-best 43-17 record in the regular season, swept San Diego in three games during their NL Division Series there before the NLCS.

Los Angeles was home team for the final game of the season, like in the 2017 World Series when the Houston Astros won Game 7 at Dodger Stadium, and two years ago against the Red Sox.

Congrats to the Los Angeles Dodgers on their well-deserved Championship Win.

[banqchairs-blog]

Studio East

By night this summer in London a glowing structure could be seen on the skyline of east London, its walls revealing shadows and silhouettes of the events within.

Not an Olympic building ready before time, but architects Carmody Groarke’s striking pop-up pavilion hosting Studio East Dining, a restaurant run by Bistrotheque, the popular East End dining establishment.

Built 35 metres above the ground on the live construction site of Westfield, the Stratford City retail development, the pavilion offered rare views across London’s Olympic Stadium, and Zaha Hadid’s 2012 Aquatics Centre.

2000 diners got to sample the 800m2 structure during June for a three week period, relieved that they were not sitting in a standard, wedding marquee tent.  

With just A$207,000 to play with, the architects opted for a fast build made of 70 tonnes of hired materials borrowed from the existing construction site – scaffolding boards and poles assembled by the site scaffolders, and reclaimed timber used to create the walls and floors. Combine with elegant banquet chairs from B Seated Global is a commercial furniture manufacturer for the Hospitality Industry.

The cladding material encasing the roof was a semi-translucent membrane using fully recyclable, heat retractable polyethylene. Like all the other materials, it was returned to the site afterwards

‘We instinctively felt that the structure should be built from everyday materials found around the site, be very design-led and live up to the stunning views’, said Pablo Flack, co-owner of Bistrotheque. ‘This is the Rolls Royce of pop-ups!’.

He discovered Kevin Carmody and Andy Groarke last year when he visited Carsten Höller’s The Double Club on which they collaborated.

The Anglo-Australian duo (Carmody trained in Melbourne), who established their practice in London in 2006, and won UK Young Architects of the Year in 2007, were also responsible for The Skywalk, a three day events pavilion outside The British Museum for the 2008 London Festival of Architecture.

They were recently awarded a RIBA London Award for their 7 July Memorial in Hyde Park.

A structure visible from all sides, Studio East had no front or back, like a solitaire, and its external balconies framed the views.

The flying roofs tilted towards the scenery, creating interlocking ceilings above seven spaces radiating from the central dining area towards each transparent section in the building’s envelope. This room pattern was in turn reflected in the herringbone lines of floorboard.

Up to 120 diners in one sitting could be catered for in the space lined simply in scaffolding planks proportioned to the scale of each of the communal dining tables.

Studio East is over now, but when the Westfield Stratford City project – the largest shopping centre in Europe – opens next year, there will be 50 restaurants, bars and cafes.

More experimental ‘pop-ups’ you can eat in look set appear elsewhere in the city soon. Watch this space.

[sportsheroics-blog]

NFL fans can't stop comparing the Raiders' new Allegiant Stadium to a Roomba

Like most other stadiums, the new Las Vegas home for the Raiders is made to look like it's sleek and futuristic with a rather minimalist design. But also like some other stadiums, that very same design made Allegiant Stadium a target for a constant stream of jokes from NFL fans. As many were quick to point out, the stadium resembles a Roomba, an automatic robotic vacuum. Once that connection clicked in people's heads, the puns began flying. Some thought the stadium was designed to look that way because of the way the team inherently is. Others thought it was an appropriate design for how they expected the team to do this season. Heck, the stadium's resemblance to an overpriced piece of technology even transcends languages. Anyways, here are other folks who noticed that this stadium looked like a Roomba. Naturally, this isn't the first time a new stadium became the butt of jokes on the NFL side of social media because of its weird design. Early designs of the Atlanta Falcons new stadium that was finished in 2017 had some dubbing the retractable roof as the butt of a Transformer. When you consider that, Raiders fans most certainly got Read the full article

[benjaminsblog]

2.10.19

I got a better look at the stadium today - it’s pretty swish, and is similarly modern to its cousin in Toyota. Another similarity they share is they both have a retractable roof - though this one was fully functioning!

I went for a wonder around the stadium, and before returning to camp I had a go at something I’d seen at another venue and really wanted to try - ‘Dive for a Try’ - you have a video/photo taken of you plunging into a foam pit clutching a rugby ball, the idea being that you fling yourself at it as if powering over the line for a try; the fans hadn’t been allowed in yet so I had an exclusive shoot - I think I got some good air on mine (see below), but my exit from the pit was less impressive! I don’t wish to sound ungrateful but the chap offering me a hand out actually made it harder - I would have made it out faster without assistance but I was too polite to turn him down!

New Zealand v Canada kicked off that evening, and it was as expected, the final score being 63-0. There were some silky moves from the All Blacks interlaced with a couple of utter ‘doy’ moments, and while they dominated from the get-go, Canada were up for the fight and didn’t roll over at any point. This was evidenced by two lightning-fast breaks that brought them within feet of the goal line, the second occurring in the final minute of the match before NZ poster boy Beauden Barrett ran back up the length of the field, only to spill the ball when clean through on goal! Doy.

Two days off now! First stop, laundromat...

[jakestravels]

Europe 2019: Day 10 - Amsterdam to Bristol/Cardiff

Netherlands, I’ll miss you.

But it’s on to the next one. After a drop off at the Schiopol airport (they have a whole thing called “Kiss & Ride” by the way… it’s kind of adorable) by Lara, it was time to get to Bristol, UK. The check-in and security check were BANANAS easy, and I was to the gate within 15 minutes of being dropped off. If only every airport was this easy…

After getting into Bristol I had to wait a bit for a bus to Cardiff, so I went exploring.

Bristol is home to many markets and arcades, and by “arcades” I don’t mean like the video game type as we call them in the US (not that many are left – it more of a call to the heyday of 1980s video games arcades), but rather, covered markets with stalls. In the case of this one, it was in a building that was likely 150 years old.

I finally bought myself something: I got a few vinyl singles. I’d been to a bunch of record stores here so far, but the rememerged vinyl trend has really made a lot of stores kind of boring. Everything has been picked through; everything is almost too well culled. And many record stores sell only new stuff, which sucks for record hunters. Also after a massive thesis last year that dealt with record stores, I got a bit burned out. Luckily I found a couple of really cool record stores in Wanted Records in Bristol and later, in Kelly’s Records in Cardiff.

I made it back to the stop to catch the bus about ten minutes early, but the bus was late. As I looked around I noticed there were an awful lot of people wearing Manchester United jerseys. Manchester is a popular team, for sure, but they are a few hours north of there and there are plenty of teams closer (and Welsh) to Cardiff. Finally the bus arrived, and I hopped on to see even more folks wearing the same team gear.

Shortly after, we crossed into Wales over the Severn bridge. And right into massive traffic. It turns out that Manchester United was playing AC Milan in a big match at Millennium Stadium (oops, as of 2016 known as Principality Stadium, but I bet no local calls it that). Built for rugby, it holds around 70,000+ depending on the event, and is also the second-largest stadium in the world with a fully retractable roof and was the second stadium in Europe to have this feature. (Thanks Wikipedia!)

So we were stuck on the M4 for a solid hour in bad traffic. Apparently there’s a train that also goes from Bristol to Cardiff, but when I asked information they suggested against it because as the gentleman put it, “The trains are rarely on time.” That may be true, but at least they have their own track.

Finally I arrived in Cardiff. It was sheer madness as everybody was getting ready for match day. I ducked around many people until I finally got out of city center to make it to my host Francesca’s house.

After getting settled, Francesca and I went out, and another former Couchsurfing guest, Jarrad, came down from up north to visit me as well! I’d heard stories about Cardiff Saturday nights, and I was not disappointed. I only managed to get a single picture for the evening, but here it is:

Take a close look at that background.

Yeah. So… yeah.