A big week as basketball began, mark your calendar. Granted it is only college scrimmaging but it is still the hardwood. We’re still a month away from the start of the high school season so we still have awhile to get into full swing but college hoops are getting underway. Of course the NBA has been going on for a bit already but I have never been to an NBA game in my life. Just not worth it for me and it’s not like I’ve had opportunities. I was offered free tickets to see the Wizards when Jordan played for them (didn’t take them) and with the Sixers going through The Process tickets were quite cheap there. Parking probably wasn’t though but then I never attended a game there. Maybe if Baltimore could get an NBA team back but until they get a new arena that isn’t going to happen. I did get tickets to the Charm City Classic so I will get to see Maryland play Loyola of Chicago there in December.
Never been to an NHL game either. I did get tickets to see the Caps and Penguins but the Lockout wiped that out and I have never tried again. Looking at the prices it just isn’t worth it but I do want to see a game in Pittsburgh while Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin are still there. The problem there is that their Sunday games are always in the evening which would make for a late night getting back. The only Sunday game that gets played early is Super Bowl Sunday, but then since I didn’t watch the Super Bowl last year maybe that is now in play. There’s an idea.
In one of those embarrassing moments I locked myself out of my house on Wednesday. Left my keys in my sweatshirt after cutting grass and just put on a jacket to walk downtown. Fortunately my brother was still working within walking distance and I walked to where he was and got him to give me my key from his ring so crisis adverted. He was the only person in town with a key since my parents went out of town. I might have been in deep trouble otherwise, either that or spending the evening downtown at the breweries replacing what I planned to do on the weekend. I seem to do this every year so I may need to hide a key at the new place so that I can protect myself from myself. Have to figure something out there.
York College scrimmaged Haverford Saturday morning. They also scrimmaged Shippensburg Tuesday though I didn’t go. Ship made a deep NCAA Tournament run in Division 2 so I would imagine that this was not terribly competitive though according to a source who talked to a source it was reasonably close. York lost 3 1,000 point scorers so a large drop-off is no surprise. They did give a Division 1 school (Mt. St. Mary’s) a run for their money though last year. But that was last year and Haverford is much more on their level. Scrimmages are always nice, free entry and a more informal atmosphere. Everyone plays and no one takes the final score too seriously, or at least no one lives and dies with it. York won the main game something like 84-70 and won the B game something like 19-18. It was observed that they were playing a lot of Centennial Conference opponents this year. I wonder, with the CAC dissolving before everyone’s eyes is York eying a move to that conference? I wouldn’t doubt it. More local schools in that conference to be sure.
The scrimmage took place at 11 AM so when it was over the day was still young so I headed downtown and did something I have wanted to do for awhile and I visited each of York’s 5 downtown breweries before stumbling home. The first stop was Liquid Hero and then it was a stop at Gift Horse then on to Mudhook before heading around the corner to Crystal Ball before ending at Collusion. I’ll do it again when Old Forge opens, whenever that may be. Actually I made it home alright, even with a bonus free beer at Crystal Ball for checking in on Facebook.
If everything had worked out I would have headed out to Chicago for the Rugby Weekend. 3 matches for the price of 1! Can’t beat that, even if Ireland was not playing their A team and New Zealand sent their official second team. It also didn’t look like the weather was all that good either, not like 2 years ago which was played on an absolutely gorgeous late fall day. That was the most awesome sporting event I ever attended. Of course if I went I would have to drive up to Wisconsin to score some Spotted Cow and I’d want to visit a few breweries as well while I was at it, which can make this an expensive trip. I have skipped Revolution in Chicago a few times now and Indianapolis and Columbus are untapped territory for me. But it’s also an 11 hour drive approximately which is a lot of time to spend in the car by yourself. I’m used to it since I travel by myself but by the time you get past Cleveland or Columbus it gets old. Not really much to see except for Indianapolis on I-70 and a lot of farmland. Sure you can see Toledo off in the distance but that isn’t the same. Last time I saw history, Ireland defeated the All Blacks for the first time ever, this time was not quite the same. I looked to see if the matches were on TV but they weren’t. I am a bit disappointed at that. The funny thing is that I pay pretty much the exact same amount on the PA Turnpike that I do on the Ohio Turnpike and Indiana Toll Road combined to get to Chicago. We won’t throw in a toll on the Skyway or the Illinois Turnpike but that underscores how expensive the PA Turnpike is.
Headed up to the Giant Center on Sunday to watch the Bears against the Hartford Wolf Pack. I am a glutton for punishment after all, I have been a Pirates fan since the early 90s but to my surprise the Bears have been playing well since I saw them in Wilkes-Barre last week. Maybe there is hope after all. There is not quite as many Sunday games all around this year so I do have to take them where I can get them. Stopped at Mellow Mink for a beer beforehand and then to Boneshire since there is a food truck there next to the 717 Armory. I like Boneshire, it’s much more chill than Troegs is and much less crowded. I’ve stopped in to get a pint glass at Mellow Mink and to find where they were so this is my first time with their beer. A lot of sour beers at Mellow Mink but I liked the apple pie one that they did.
With the game, Hartford is not a good team but due to injury Hershey called up Parker Milner to be in net from their ECHL team. Expectations were lowered immediately. After a scoreless first period Hartford put one in in the second. Hershey opened the third netting a goal and the game went to OT. After a scoreless OT we went to a shootout and after the 7th round Hershey finally got one past Marek Manzanek to win it. Hershey wins 2-1, my first Bears win of the season. Last year I had to wait until Christmas for that.
