Sports Road Trips

NHL Overtime Game Conspiracy - Update

2012-01-31T13:16:00.002+09:00

Back in the first month of the NHL season, I noticed that games played between teams from different conferences had a much larger chance of going to overtime. It was still early days though, and the small sample size (94 games) had something to do with those surprising results (50% of non-conference games went to OT compared to only 15% of matches between conference foes). Now that we are at the all-star break and more than half the season is in the books, I thought it would be a good time to update the results.

Out of 735 total games played through January 25th, 164 (22.3%) have gone to extra time. Of the 554 conference tilts, 112 (20.2%) went beyond regulation while games featuring East vs West have an OT rate of 52/181 (28.7%). The numbers have obviously regressed towards the mean, which is what is bound to happen when you move from a small sample size to a larger one, particularly when the initial results are so skewed. Although there is a noticeable difference between the two, it is still not enough to cry foul. More data is required to prove something meaningful.

I looked at the results 2010-11 and found them to be quite similar. Including last season's 1230 games along with games so far this season, a more statistically significant result emerges:

       Total Intra Inter

Games  1965  1514   451
OT      461   334   127
%      23.5  22.1  28.2

The difference between 22.1 and 28.2 may not seem like a lot, but the it is actually 27.6% (that's 28.2/22.1). In other words, inter-conference games are 27.6% more likely to result in 3 points, a statistic worth considering when gambling in Las Vegas, if you could bet on this sort of thing.

Still, a season and a half is not much at all, so I continued to include prior seasons, planning to go back until 2005-06, which is when the shootout was instituted. However, from that season until 2007-08, clubs played only 10 non-conference games compared to 18 in later years. I decided to ignore these seasons as the difference in scheduling might bias the outcome. (As an aside, they didn't change the results much, mainly because there were so few non-conference games).

I was therefore left with 3.5 seasons to analyze. When I add 08-09 and 09-10 to the data, the theory vanishes, as you can see in the following table:

       Total Intra Inter

Games  4425  3434   991
OT     1044   798   246
%      23.6  23.2  24.8

So is the recent increase merely statistical noise or a changing trend? Let's look at the data by year. The following shows the percentage of overtime games by season.

Season  Total Intra Inter

11-12   22.3% 20.2% 28.7%
10-11   24.1% 23.1% 27.8%
09-10   24.5% 24.6% 24.1%
08-09   22.9% 23.8% 20.0%

As you can see, overtime is becoming more likely in non-conference games every season, while the other numbers bounce around a bit with no discernible pattern.

So do we have a conspiracy? Are teams playing to guarantee each the single point when East faces West? Doubtful. If they were, I think we'd see far more overtime games in these cases. As I said before, I think that clubs might change their late-game strategy when playing a close non-conference game, since allowing their opponent an extra point is not harmful in the conference playoff race.

Then again, we saw the opposite in 08-09. Naturally, such a limited data set makes any truly meaningful conclusion difficult; but the trend bears watching. I'll be paying close attention to the end of game action when I am watching the Leafs in Alberta next month, just to see if there is any noticeable change in strategy.

Best,

Sean

Another Asia League Ice Hockey Doubleheader - January 28, 2012

2012-01-29T14:21:00.003+09:00

As I mentioned when I last went to see some Asia League Ice Hockey, the circuit now comprises teams from Japan, Korea, and China. The Chinese entry has managed but a single overtime loss in 24 contests so they are not worth watching, but the two Korean squads are competitive, with Anyang Halla sitting second in the 7-team league, just behind the Oji Eagles. With these two teams facing off in Tokyo in the early game of a doubleheader and the other Korean club, High 1, taking on the Nippon Paper Cranes in the nightcap, I thought it a good time as any to revisit the DyDo Drinco Ice Arena to see just how good Korean hockey is.

DyDo Drinco Ice Arena

Located in western Tokyo, this arena used to be home to the Seibu Prince Rabbits who folded two seasons back. Since then, the arena is mostly used as a local skating rink as well as for games featuring Tokyo universities. It is right next to Higashi Fushimi station (above) on the Seibu Shinjuku line and takes just 2o minutes from Shinjuku, although you have to transfer from the rapid to the local train two stops before. It was originally known as the Higashi Fushimi Ice Arena before DyDo (a soft drinks concern) bought the naming rights in 2006.

With a capacity of 3,500, the rink is quite a bit nicer than the one used in Yokohama, but there is still little else to write about. You can walk around the concourse but it does get crowded near the west side where the path becomes very narrow. When I saw a game here nearly 15 years ago, the boards were partially made of plexiglass so you could see through them onto the ice, a rather unique touch. Since then though, there have been renovations and the rink is much like any other small hockey venue.

There is a limited concession offering noodles, beef buns, and a few other rather tasteless looking morsels. I would recommend buying your food at one of the convenience stores near the station. There is also a McDonalds right across the street from the arena if you are particularly hard up for choices.

Tickets for the doubleheader were 4,000 yen for the reserved seats along the sidelines (the red box seats in the picture above) and 3,000 yen for the unreserved benches next to the glass. There's quite a bit of distance between the bench and the glass, so some people spent the game standing right next to the glass taking pictures, which didn't seem to bother anyone.

The south side corners were reserved for the cheering sections, above is the small group supporting Anyang Halla. Unfortunately, they didn't have much to cheer for.

Game 1 - Anyang Halla 0 vs Oji Eagles 4

This one was over early as Oji's Marc Cavosie (above) scored just a minute in, and he assisted on a Shuhei Kuji goal two minutes after that. A third tally from Sho Sato at the 8-minute mark and the rout was on. Chris Harrington added a 4th in the middle frame to close out the scoring. Halla never really threatened and were outshot 47-23 on the afternoon, despite being gifted with 7 consecutive power plays. With the win, Oji clinched a playoff spot.

Perhaps the highlight of the game was a fight late in the third period. I didn't see what precipitated the brawl, but several players were involved, including Yusuke Kon and Yoon- Hwan Kim trying in vain to pummel each other. Woo-Young Kim (Halla had 8 Kim's in total) then tried a flying arm tackle, only to miss badly and fall to the ice. For his troubles, W.Y. Kim was given 5 minutes for cross-checking and a game misconduct. Kon and the other Kim were given double minors and misconducts, which they were forced to serve out in the penalty box despite there being just 7 minutes left in the game.

One of the names I was suprised to see on the Anyang Halla roster was Ric Jackman (below), who spent parts of 5 seasons in the NHL and won the Stanley Cup as a member of the Anaheim Ducks in 2007. He was on the ice for all 4 Oji goals and seemed to be a bit out of sorts throughout the game, as did most of his team.

After an hour break, in which fans could leave the rink to warm up (there was no heating inside so people ran over to McDonalds or the nearby grocery store to escape the chill), the second game was on tap, with fourth-place Nippon Paper Cranes taking on High 1, who ranked 5th. It was a critical battle for the final playoff spot, and turned out to be a much better game than the one between the top two squads.

Game 2 - High 1 3 vs Nippon Paper Cranes 4 (SO)

The High 1 team is sponsored by a ski resort in Korea and has no nickname. There were 3 Japanese players on the team, including starting goalie Mitsuaki Inoue, shown below making a pad save.

High 1 opened the scoring 9 minutes into the first period when Hyung-Joon Kim (one of 7 Kim's on the team) blasted a shot that Cranes' keeper Hisashi Ishikawa mishandled with his trapper. The Korean club added to their lead five minutes later when Michael Swift sent Oren Eizenman in on a shorthanded breakaway, which he deftly converted with a top shelf shot.

The second period saw another shorthanded goal for High 1, this time Swift scoring on a wicked wrister from the slot, with Eizenman picking up the assist. It looked like another rout, but shortly after, High 1 picked up a delay of game penalty to go down 2 men, and the Cranes converted the 5-on-3 with Hideyuki Osawa scoring from the point (that's the Cranes celebrating below).

Near the midway point of the period, High 1 had a power play when two of their players collided, allowing the Cranes to break out. Shinya Yanadori finished off a nice passing play to make it 3-2. For those counting, that was 3 shorthanded goals in the game.

Momentum had clearly shifted, and the Cranes pressed for the equalizer, finally capitalizing with just 7 seconds left in the period. After a strong and persistent forecheck, the puck came to captain Daisuke Obara open in the slot and he buried a slap shot behind Inoue to send us to the final frame tied at 3.

The third period was back and forth, but neither team scored, so it was on to a 5-minute overtime period, which decided nothing, although the Cranes had the better of the play, only to be stymied by Inoue several times.

Lots of threes on the scoreboard.

This brought on the shootout, or Game Winning Shots (GWS) as it is called in this league. The Cranes went first and missed. Swift shot first for High 1 and beat Ishizaki with a snap shot (below).

John Hecimovic then shot for the Cranes and scored on a great deke, lifting the puck up and over Inoue (below).

You might have noticed that both goalies were defending the same net. Unlike the NHL, the ALIH only uses one of the two goals during the GWS, which is bad news for fans at the other end.

Anyway, the next 3 shooters all failed and so the shootout was tied at 1. This is where things became confusing. The referees didn't seem to really understand the rules and it took a few minutes to get things straightened out. The teams now reversed the order of shooting, with High 1 going first, and the first team to win a round would win the game, just like in the NHL.

Yu-Won Lee missed the fourth attempt for High 1 (Yu-Lost!) and Masahito Nishiwaki had a chance to finally end things. He made no mistake, beating Inoue low to the stick side. Cranes win! Japan's hockey honour is saved! OK, this really wasn't about nationalism as there were Japanese players on the Korean club, but it was a very good game between two determined teams. In fact, it was one of the better sporting events I've seen in my time in Japan, and certainly more entertaining than many of the interminable baseball games I've endured over the years. It'll be interesting to see which of these teams makes it into the playoffs. High 1 has the advantage with 3 games left against the Chinese team with just a month left in the season.

Notes

Both the Korean and Japanese national anthems were played before each game. There was no booing.

The scoreboard displayed "offside" or "icing" whenever either was called on the ice, but the scoreboard operator didn't seem to know the rules that well, making mistakes when there were whistles for other reasons, such as the referee losing sight of the puck.

The teams switched dance partners on Sunday and again High 1 blew a 3-0 lead, losing 4-3 in overtime to the Eagles, while the Cranes thumped Halla 5-2.

For those interested, the Japanese and Korean national teams will play each other on March 31 and April 1 at the same rink. When I find more information, I will add it here.

Next Up

Just over a week until my trip to LA and the Prairies, but before that I'll watch some Top League Rugby, which finishes its regular season next weekend. I won't bother with a recap here, but from February 8th I'll be updating daily, so check back then.

Best,

Sean

Fours Are Wild Road Trip

2012-01-25T18:02:00.001+09:00

I like to post road trip ideas here even when I'm not taking them as it keeps the creative juices flowing. While browsing the NCAA Baseball home page, I noticed that the Final Four and Frozen Four were being held one week after the other, with both taking place in the southeast; New Orleans is hosting the hoops on March 31 and April 2, while Tampa showcases the hockey on April 5 and 7. At the same time, the newly-named Miami Marlins open their ballpark on 4/4. Fours everywhere! A bit of searching to find some other games in between and we have the following:

Sat Mar 31   NCAA Final Four at New Orleans
Sun Apr  1   Arkansas at LSU (NCAA Baseball at Baton Rouge)
Mon Apr  2   NCAA Basketball Championship Game at New Orleans
Tue Apr  3   Winnipeg Jets at Florida Panthers or Florida Gulf Coast at Florida State (NCAA Baseball at Tallahassee)
Wed Apr  4   St. Louis Cardinals at Miami Marlins (Stadium Opener)
Thu Apr  5   NCAA Frozen Four at Tampa
Fri Apr  6   New York Yankees at Tampa Bay Rays (Home Opener)
Sat Apr  7   NCAA Frozen Four Final at Tampa

It would be a long drive (850 miles) from New Orleans to Sunrise to see the Panthers, so Tallahassee might be a more reasonable stop. In reality though, you'd probably want to reserve that day for recovering from the post-game party that is sure to rock Bourbon Street.

Best,

Sean

Akita Northern Happinets 99 at Chiba Jets 78 - January 21, 2012

2012-01-22T22:22:00.002+09:00

The last bj League game I attended was in February 2011 when I watched the Tokyo Apache take on the Osaka Evessa. Two weeks later saw the terrible catastrophe that wreaked death and destruction in the Tohoku area, and which eventually resulted in the Apache folding tents and disappearing for the remainder of the season. The owners chose to sit out this season as well, and when it was announced that they weren't planning to restart operations next year either, I realized that I would need to look elsewhere for basketball.

Fortunately, the bj League had expanded to two nearby locations, with Chiba and Yokohama both starting new franchises for 2011-12. The league is notorious for using multiple arenas for each team during the season, and it took me several weeks to find a game that I could attend on a weekend. It turned out to be in Yachiyo, a small town in Chiba, where the Chiba Jets would host the Akita Northern Happinets. Get it?! Like Happiness but with -nets instead of -ness. 'Cause they play basketball! Turns out this wacky nickname would be the highlight of the day.

Yachiyo Municipal Gymnasium

Tradition dictates that I put a brief review of the venue in this post, but like most bj League arenas, this is just a local gym co-opted for a professional basketball game. Located near Yachiyo-chuo station on the rarely-used (by me at least) Toyo Rapid Railway, the gym is actually fairly easy to get to from central Tokyo, as some trains on the Tozai subway line go straight onto the Toyo Rapid Railway. Leaving the station and embarking on a 10-minute walk through a bit of Japanese suburbia brings you to a dull, grey, featureless building.

There are three types of seats here, with the "upper" level consisting of four rows of benches for 2,000 yen, while floor level seats are 3,000, unless you want to first class treatment, which sets you back 7,500 for a courtside view. As you can see below, the 3,000 seats are pushed well back from the court, so take the 2nd floor seats to get a better angle on the action.

There are a few food options, with coconut curry looking the best. However, I'd recommend stopping by the Mos Burger near the station on the way to or from the game. One of Japan's best fast food restaurants, try the unique Kalbi Yakiniku Burger with strips of sauced beef served between rice patties. Messy but tasty and relatively healthy too.

I sat in the second row of the upper deck and had part of my view blocked by a pole that was used for volleyball nets or some other purpose. It wasn't a significant problem, but shows just how the league is forced to use facilities that aren't well-suited to the game of basketball.

The other thing that was rather annoying was the constant noise throughout the afternoon. They have an emcee who leads the crowd through pre-game cheering practice and then screams out during every possession of the game, either "Go Jets" on offense or "D-Fence!" when Akita had the ball. Coupled with the ridiculously loud horn that signaled every substitution or timeout and this was two hours of auditory overload. Nothing new though, if you have read previous reviews of my bj League trips, you will know that each venue tries very hard to be the loudest in the league.

The Jets have a rather bland nickname, particularly by Japanese standards, but they do go cutesy when it comes to the mascot, Jumbo, a pink elephant. I trust that the club doesn't know the fairly obscure meaning associated with the term.

The Game

The teams were playing the second of their weekend doubleheader, with Akita winning handily the day before to take the lead in the East while Chiba languished down in 8th in the 10-team conference. It didn't take long for the Happinets to pick up where they left off, sinking their first two three-pointers on their way to an 11-1 lead. Although Chiba fought back, they were unable to get close as the Happinets were clearly the better team, carving up the Jets defense as Mychal Kearse demonstrates below.

The Happinets had a 25-17 lead after one and won the second quarter by another 8 points to take a 45-29 stranglehold by the half. It was not a pretty game, and Jets' coach Eric Gardow was clearly upset with his charges (that's him pointing in the bottom right below as Takaki Ishida completes a layup).

Chiba started the second half on a 7-0 run and I thought we might have a game, but the Happinets had different ideas, stifling the Jets' attack and maintaining their double-digit cushion with ease.

Midway through the third quarter, the refs blew a call, nailing a Jet for a foul when the Akita player merely bobbled the ball. Gardow became apoplectic and continued to berate the officials until he was given a technical foul. Normally that would be enough, point taken (literally with the free throw) and all, but Gardow continued to run his mouth, following one ref up and down the court. Finally, with just over a minute left in the frame and the Jets down by 11, the ref sent Gardow packing with his second technical. The Jets promptly collasped, giving up 7 points to end the quarter down 69-51.

Maurice Hargrow topped all scorers with 23 points

I figured Gardow had seen enough of the garbage his team was serving and wanted to get home early, but in all seriousness, he needed to remain in charge because once he left, the team checked out. The fourth quarter was just garbage time, with teams trading baskets back and forth as Akita won 99-78 to sweep the weekend set.

There were two key stats that summarize the Akita advantage. They went 16/27 on three-pointers, while committing only 9 turnovers to Chiba's 23. The Jets were simply outplayed; I felt like the Happinets played basketball within a system while the Chiba players weren't fully committed to each other, often choosing bad shots when a pass was the better option. Their perimeter defense was also rather weak, allowing far too many open looks from beyond the arc. The result was an embarrassing blowout, Chiba's 10th loss in 16 home games. Even then, they are only two games out of the playoffs, so if they can learn to play together and with some intensity on defense, they might still have a shot to sneak in to the postseason tourney. I'll let you all know how that turns out.

Notes

With just over a minute to go, Akita allowed Yu Yushimoto to play. Listed at 5'7", he certainly seemed much shorter, and it was fun to watch him guard the much taller Maurice Hargrow (above). Yushimoto did nail a three from the corner to round out the Akita attack.

Tokyo will have a new team from next season as the bj League continues its relentless expansion plans. If I'm still around, I'll pay them a visit. Until then, my next game in this league will be in Okinawa in March as the Golden Kings host the Evessa in a battle of the top Western teams.

Next up

Before that though, I'll be quite busy. Next week, the Asia League Ice Hockey returns to Tokyo for another weekend doubleheader with two Japanese teams taking on a couple of clubs from Korea and I'll stop by for one day.

The following weekend sees the final games of the 2011-12 Top League Rugby regular season and I'll visit Chichibunomiya for that as well. A few days later, I'm off to North America for a whole bunch of hockey and some basketball and even baseball! It will be a busy start to 2012, so please check back often for updates.

Best,

Sean

Maple Leafs in the Winter Classic?

2012-01-14T22:48:00.004+09:00

It has been rumoured for a couple of days that the 2013 Winter Classic, to happen a mere 352 days from now, will take place in Ann Arbor, Michigan and feature the Toronto Maple Leafs and Detroit Red Wings. The venue will be Michigan Stadium, usually home to the University of Michigan's football team. Still, the stadium was used for an outdoor hockey game between the Wolverines and Michigan State in 2010, a game which set the record for most spectators at a hockey game with over 104,000 fans braving the elements. Naturally, when the NHL comes to town, that record will be shattered; estimates are that they will be able to sell 115,000 tickets. Even then, I'm sure demand will far outstrip supply and I'd guess an average price in excess of $300 for this one. Time to start saving!

Doubtless this game will be the centerpiece of a trip to Canada around Christmas. I'll also catch NHL games in Boston, Carolina, and Buffalo, thus completing all 30 active rinks, and if things work out, a few NBA and NFL games as well. Obviously finalized schedules are months away from being released, but I'm already excited. I expect a number of my sports road tripping brethren will make the journey so it will be good fun for all.

Next Up

I've decided to check out a bj League game in Chiba next week as it has been a month since I last saw a live sporting event. The following weekend sees the Asia Ice Hockey League offer a couple of weekend doubleheaders in Tokyo, and I might try to catch one day of action. One week after that is the final weekend of the Top League Rugby season and 4 of of the top 5 teams will be in action at the Chichibunomiya Stadium in central Tokyo, so I'll pay another visit to one of Tokyo's best sporting venues.

Shortly after that, I'm off to my 2012 Prairie trip which sees over two weeks watching hockey in Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba, with two stops in Los Angeles on either end to keep warm. It's going to be a busy month, so check back often for updates.

Best,

Sean

Prairie Trip Planned - Leafs in Alberta and 2 Jets Games!

2012-01-06T11:36:00.007+09:00

After a rather dull 2011 with only one extended sports roadie, I'm starting off 2012 with a 3-week jaunt back to Canada to catch the Leafs' two-game trip in Alberta as well as two Winnipeg Jet games as part of my effort to see all active NHL rinks. After this, I'll only have Boston and Carolina to take care of, which will be done next season.

Filling out the schedule will be a number of WHL tilts and even one day of Canadian college sport, something I have not seen since I graduated a couple of years ago.

Interestingly, it is cheaper to fly to LA first and then get a separate flight to Calgary, which also allows me to add some other games on both ends of the trip. There's an NBDL and NCAA basketball game on the way over, although I'm waiting until later to decide which NCAA game to see on the 9th, depending on how the teams are doing. Since the Pauley Pavilion is undergoing renovations, UCLA is playing at the LA Sports Arena for most of the season, so I'm leaning toward the USC game as I prefer to see teams in their usual surroundings.

The NCAA baseball season starts in February as well, so I'm hoping to catch a few innings at Pepperdine before moving over to Staples Center to watch the T-Wolves and Clippers. There's also an NCAA golf tournament I'll try to see that morning. I had an indoor soccer league game in Anaheim on the schedule but the available flights were too late arriving so I decided to spend another day in Calgary and watch the WHL's Hitmen.

This trip has taken a while to plan, with many changes as new games were discovered, but the schedule below is absolutely final (unless I find yet more new games, as I did at Cal State Fullerton on the 29th):

Wed Feb 8   Tulsa 66ers at Los Angeles D-Fenders (NBDL) 7:00
Thu Feb 9   NCAA Basketball at UCLA or USC
Sat Feb 11  Prince Albert Raiders at Lethbridge Hurricanes (WHL) 7:00
Sun Feb 12  Brandon Wheat Kings at Medicine Hat Tigers (WHL) 6:00
Tue Feb 14  Toronto Maple Leafs at Calgary Flames 7:00
Wed Feb 15  Toronto Maple Leafs at Edmonton Oilers 8:00
Thu Feb 16  Lloydminster Bobcats at Camrose Kodiaks (AJHL) 7:30
Fri Feb 17  Swift Current Broncos at Saskatoon Blades (WHL) 7:00
Sat Feb 18  Regina Cougars at Saskatchewan Huskies (CIAU Women's Basketball) 6:15
Sat Feb 18  Regina Cougars at Saskatchewan Huskies (CIAU Basketball) 8:00
Mon Feb 20  Moose Jaw Warriors at Swift Current Broncos (WHL) 2:00
Tue Feb 21  Philadelphia Flyers at Winnipeg Jets 6:00
Thu Feb 23  Tampa Bay Lightning at Winnipeg Jets 7:30
Fri Feb 24  Moose Jaw Warriors at Regina Pats (WHL) 7:00
Sat Feb 25  Swift Current Broncos at Moose Jaw Warriors (WHL) 7:00
Sun Feb 26  Kelowna Rockets at Calgary Hitmen (WHL) 4:00
Tue Feb 28  The Del Walker Match Play (NCAA Men's Golf) at Long Beach, CA 9:00
Tue Feb 28  USC Trojans at Pepperdine Waves (NCAA Baseball) 3:00
Tue Feb 28  Minnesota Timberwolves at Los Angeles Clippers 7:00
Wed Feb 29  Loyola Marymount Lions at Cal State Fullerton Titans (NCAA Baseball) 4:00

As usual, I will be updating the blog, so check back regularly during that time.

Best,

Sean

Tour De France

2012-01-03T08:21:00.003+09:00

I like to post on each destination I visit during a sports road trip, adding a bit on tourist attractions I found interesting, or just some general information on the area that might be useful for others. I spent the last two weeks of 2011 driving around France and although it wasn't a sports trip, I did see a few interesting sights that I've decided to list here as well as some info on driving in France that might be worth reading if you are planning your own road trip there.

Driving in France

If you are a visitor doing a road trip in Europe, you will probably need a rental car. Most cars available there come with a manual transmission, so if you don't know how to drive one, you'll need to pay more for an automatic. There are some good rental sites that concentrate on Europe, such as EuropCar, although I ended up using a specific American rental company for which I had a good discount code.

Generally speaking, it's best to avoid the toll roads between the major cities, as they are expensive and rather boring. Instead, try to take the smaller side roads, usually denoted with a D or N along with the road number. These take you through some beautiful country side and old towns that you will not see otherwise, and if you can, stop in at one of these places for a snack or lunch. Below is a restaurant we found in Riec-sur-Belon just east of Pont Aven that turned out to be surprisingly good and devoid of any tourists.

You can use mappy, a French road trip site, to determine how much tolls would be if you are more concerned about time than money, but be aware that French tolls are expensive; a 5-hour trip between Carcassonne and Nice cost nearly 40 euros.

Driving is on the right side, and I found French drivers to be better than I expected, although some tailgate without trying to pass. Speed limits are in km/h and are as high as 130 on the tollways, 110 on the smaller highways, and 90 for the most part otherwise. I saw few cops but there are plenty of speed cameras, so try to maintain a steady pace around the limit.

You'll need a map to plan your trip, but I never had trouble once on the road; signs are plentiful and easy to understand. The only minor problem I had was driving in the cities without a detailed map; these are old towns with small streets, many of them one-way, so it can take a while to get around and find your destination. These cities are where drivers are impatient and quick to honk if you don't know exactly where you are going, but that's no different than any big city in North America.

Street parking can be tough to find in bigger cities, but there are plenty of underground parking garages that are well-signed.

Overall, it was my first driving experience in Europe and very enjoyable, with no major problems to report. I'm looking forward to a return trip, this time with a few more sporting events.

Paris

I spent just two days in Paris before heading out on the road. I finally managed to visit the top of the Eiffel Tower and was fortunate to get a clear afternoon. Other than that I just recovered from the flight and enjoyed a couple of nice meals.

The road trip portion saw us visit a number of tourist towns that are well-known in Japan, where World Heritage sites are much more publicized. We started with a day in Mont St. Michel, then drove southwest to Pont Aven for two nights. After that was a trip to wine country in Bordeaux and St. Emilion, and then a night in Carcassonne, before the final four days in Nice, with side trips to Nimes and Monaco.

Mont St Michel

This is a town built on a rock by the seaside, with a church on top of it all. There are hotels inside the town, but we stayed about 2km away and drove over the causeway. In the summer, you can walk along the road, but when we were there it was cold and wet, so we drove the short distance and paid the 6 euro parking charge, one of the bigger ripoffs on the trip. The church is not particularly impressive in and of itself, but it is amazing that they built it in such an inaccessible place. Lots of tourist stores here make the town a bit kitschy but worth a day.

Pont Aven

Most famous as the home of Paul Gaugin before he moved to Tahiti, this is a sleepy town with few tourists in the off-season. The highlight is the Tremolo Chapel, which contains the Yellow Christ that Gaugin painted back in 1889; the canvas is now in the Albright-Knox Art Gallery in Buffalo. The town has a river running through it which provides a number of picturesque photo opportunities.

Bordeaux

If you like wine, you will like Bordeaux. Surrounded by thousands of wineries, you could spend months here exploring, but we only had two days. The city is a tourist attraction in its own right with many historic buildings, but most of our time was spent learning about (i.e. drinking) wine.

Just 45 minutes east lies St. Emilion, a World Heritage site that also doubles as one of the many wine appellations in this area. The picture above is of a vineyard near St. Emilion on a foggy morning, while below is from the bell tower in the town later that day, with the fog still hanging around.

Canal Du Midi

Between Toulouse and Carcassonne runs the first stage of the Canal du Midi, a 320-year old waterway that is also a World Heritage Site. You can stop at any number of towns along the way to take some pictures.

There is a bike trail alongside much of the route, although it is better to use it in the summer.

Carcassonne

A fortified town originally from the 3rd century, Carcassonne is yet another World Heritage site. Inside the walls lies the Cite, with the rest of the town (Ville Basse) lying down below. Try to stay inside the city and walk down at night for some great views of the Cite lit up.

Nimes

If you've seen the movie Ronin, you've seen the main attraction in Nimes, the 2,000 year old Roman arena which is the best preserved coliseum in the world. It is still in use (bullfights are held there every year) and open for tours daily. A detailed audio guide is available and really adds some colour to the tour; well worth a stop if you have time.

Nice

We finished up with 4 days in Nice along the French Riviera. Not a whole lot to see here but most museums are free, including the Musee Massena above, but some beautiful sunsets and a great old movie theater allowed us to relax to end the vacation.

Monaco

Monaco is the second smallest nation in the world (only the Vatican City is smaller) and just 20 minutes from Nice by train. You don't need a passport to get into the country, but you do need one to get into the casino as locals are not allowed to gamble. The best race of the F1 calendar is held here and you can walk or drive around the course, which is just some city streets. A great place to spend a day and add another country to your list.

Summary

Overall, this was a great two weeks with fantastic food, wonderful weather, and spectacular scenery. Perhaps the biggest problem we encountered is the amount of dog shit on sidewalks in every city. Paris, Bordeaux, Nice - it doesn't matter where you are, you can't get caught admiring the architecture, lest you step into a stinking pile of canine crap. It was the biggest blight in an otherwise beautiful country, but don't let that dissuade you from taking a trip there. It is really a magnificent destination for more than just sports.

Best,

Sean

NFL Playoff Picture - Week 17

2012-01-02T09:30:00.010+09:00

The season has ended and its time for the playoffs. Four teams in the NFC were playoff seeds after week 4 and the final seedings first appeared in week 14. In the AFC, three clubs maintained their playoff position from week 4, with week 13 seeing the final seeding for the first time. Denver took the AFC West based on a better record against common opponents (5-4, while Oakland and San Diego went 4-5).

NFC
   Week 4      Week 10    Week 11     Week 12     Week 13     Week 14     Week 15      Week 16      Week 17
1. GB  (4-0)   GB  (9-0)  GB  (10-0)  GB  (11-0)  GB  (12-0)  GB  (13-0) GB  (13-1) GB  (14-1) GB  (15-1)
2. Was (3-1)   SF  (8-1)  SF  (9-1)   SF  (9-2)   SF  (10-2)  SF  (10-3) SF  (11-3) SF  (12-3) SF  (13-3)
3. SF  (3-1)   NO  (6-3)  NO  (7-3)   NO  (8-3)   NO  (9-3)   NO  (10-3) NO  (11-3) NO  (12-3) NO  (13-3)
4. TB  (3-1)   NYG (6-3)  Dal (6-4)   Dal (7-4)   Dal (7-5)   NYG (7-6)   Dal (8-6)    NYG (8-7)    NYG (9-7)
5. Det (4-0)   Det (6-3)  Det (7-3)   Chi (7-4)   Chi (7-5)   Atl (8-5)   Atl (9-5)    Det (10-5) Atl (10-6)
6. NYG (3-1)   Chi (6-3)  Chi (7-3)   Atl (7-4)   Atl (7-5)   Det (8-5)   Det (9-5)    Atl (9-6)  Det (10-6)

AFC
   Week 4      Week 10    Week 11     Week 12     Week 13     Week 14     Week 15      Week 16      Week 17
1. Hou (3-1)   Hou (6-3)  NE  (7-3)   Hou (8-3)   NE  (9-3)   Hou (10-3) NE  (11-3) NE  (12-3) NE  (13-3)
2. Buf (3-1)   NE  (6-3)  Hou (7-3)   NE  (8-3)   Bal (9-3)   Bal (10-3)  Bal (10-4) Bal (11-4) Bal (12-4)
3. Bal (3-1)   Bal (6-3)  Bal (7-3)   Bal (8-3)   Hou (9-3)   NE  (10-3)  Hou (10-4) Hou (10-5) Hou (10-6)
4. SD  (3-1)   Oak (5-4)  Oak (6-4)   Oak (7-4)   Den (7-5)   Den (8-5)   Den (8-6)    Den (8-7)   Den (8-8)
5. Ten (3-1)   Cin (6-3)  Pit (7-3)   Pit (8-3)   Pit (9-3)   Pit (10-3)  Pit (10-4) Pit (11-4) Pit (12-4)
6. NE  (3-1)   Pit (6-3)  Cin (6-4)   Cin (7-4)   Cin (7-5)   NYJ (8-5)   NYJ (8-6)    Cin (9-6)   Cin (9-7)

Playoff predictions:

Wild Card

Atl and NO, Pit and Hou

Conference

GB and NO, NE and Bal

Update: Did not expect the Giants to make it this far. Home teams going 7-1 is really surprising to me though. Never have the home teams gone 8-0 in the first 8 games in the wild card era. The Giants made sure that stat did not change this year.

Championship

~~GB and Bal~~

Super Bowl

~~Hard to pick against the Packers, looks like a budding dynasty in Green Bay.~~

Baltimore over SF, going with the Harbowl theory rather than the Giants are repeating 2008 theory, which would see them playing the Pats. Regardless, high hopes for conference championship games. Not disappointed in either game, good hard-nosed football.

Picking NE in a hope that my crappy picks continue, don't want to see another Boston championship.

Best,

Sean

2012 Schedule

2012-01-01T03:06:00.028+09:00

Date	Sport	Venue	Result	Attendance/Time
Sat, Jan 21	bj League	Yachiyo City Gymnasium, Yachiyo, Japan	Akita Happinets 99 at Chiba Jets 78	1,111
Sat, Jan 28	Asia Ice Hockey League	DyDo Drinco Ice Arena, Tokyo, Japan	Anyang Halla 0 vs Oji Eagles 4	1,106
Sat, Jan 28	Asia Ice Hockey League	DyDo Drinco Ice Arena, Tokyo, Japan	High 1 3 vs Nippon Paper Cranes 4 (SO)	1,340
Sun, Feb 5	Japan Rugby Top League	Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium, Tokyo, Japan	Kobelco Steelers at Suntory Sungoliath	12:00
Sun, Feb 5	Japan Rugby Top League	Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium, Tokyo, Japan	Panasonic Wild Knights at Toshiba Brave Lupus	2:00
Wed, Feb 8	NBDL	Toyota Sports Center, El Segundo, CA	Tulsa 66ers at Los Angeles D-Fenders	7:00
Thu, Feb 9	NCAA Basketball	Los Angeles Sports Arena, Los Angeles, CA	Stanford Cardinal at UCLA Bruins	7:30
Sat, Feb 11	WHL	ENMAX Centre, Lethbridge, AB	Prince Albert Raiders at Lethbridge Hurricanes	7:00
Sun, Feb 12	WHL	Medicine Hat Arena, Medicine Hat, AB	Brandon Wheat Kings at Medicine Hat Tigers	6:00
Tue, Feb 14	NHL	Scotiabank Saddledome, Calgary, AB	Toronto Maple Leafs at Calgary Flames	7:00
Wed, Feb 15	NHL	Rexall Place, Edmonton, AB	Toronto Maple Leafs at Edmonton Oilers	8:00
Thu, Feb 16	AJHL	Edgeworth Centre, Camrose, AB	Lloydminster Bobcats at Camrose Kodiaks	7:30
Fri, Feb 17	WHL	Credit Union Centre, Saskatoon, SK	Swift Current Broncos at Saskatoon Blades	6:05
Sat, Feb 18	CIS Women's Basketball	Physical Activity Complex, Saskatoon, SK	Regina Cougars at Saskatchewan Huskies	6:15
Sat, Feb 18	CIS Basketball	Physical Activity Complex, Saskatoon, SK	Regina Cougars at Saskatchewan Huskies	8:00
Mon, Feb 20	WHL	Credit Union iPlex, Swift Current, SK	Moose Jaw Warriors at Swift Current Broncos	2:00
Tue, Feb 21	NHL	MTS Centre, Winnipeg, MB	Philadelphia Flyers at Winnipeg Jets	6:00
Thu, Feb 23	NHL	MTS Centre, Winnipeg, MB	Tampa Bay Lightning at Winnipeg Jets	7:30
Fri, Feb 24	WHL	Brandt Centre, Regina, SK	Moose Jaw Warriors at Regina Pats	7:00
Sat, Feb 25	WHL	Mosaic Place, Moose Jaw, SK	Swift Current Broncos at Moose Jaw Warriors	7:00
Sun, Feb 26	WHL	Scotiabank Saddledome, Calgary, AB	Kelowna Rockets at Calgary Hitmen	4:00
Tue, Feb 28	NCAA Golf	Virginia Country Club, Long Beach, CA	The Del Walker Match Play	9:00
Tue, Feb 28	NCAA Baseball	Eddy D. Field Stadium, Malibu, CA	USC Trojans at Pepperdine Waves	3:00
Tue, Feb 28	NBA	Staples Center, Los Angeles, CA	Minnesota Timberwolves at Los Angeles Clippers	7:00
Wed, Feb 29	NCAA Baseball	Goodwin Field, Fullerton, CA	Loyola Marymount Lions at Cal State Fullerton Titans	4:00
Sun, Mar 25	bj League	Naha City Gymnasium, Okinawa, Japan	Osaka Evessa at Ryukyu Golden Kings	1:00
Wed, Mar 28	American League	Tokyo Dome, Tokyo, Japan	Seattle Mariners at Oakland Athletics	7:00
Tue, Apr 17	AFC Champions League	Ajinomoto Stadium, Tokyo, Japan	Beijing Guoan at FC Tokyo	7:30
Wed, Apr 18	AFC Champions League	Mizuho Athletic Stadium, Nagoya, Japan	Tianjin Teda at Nagoya Grampus	7:00
Thu, Apr 19	Central League	Nagoya Dome, Nagoya Japan	Yomiuri Giants at Chunichi Dragons	6:00
Fri, Apr 20	Eastern League	Nagoya Baseball Stadium, Nagoya Japan	Fukuoka Softbank Hawks at Chunichi Dragons	12:30
Thu, May 31	International League	Coolray Field, Lawrenceville, GA	Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs at Gwinnett Braves	7:05
Fri, Jun 1	NCAA Baseball Regionals	Somewhere in FL?	TBD vs Florida Gators	TBD
Sat, Jun 2	NCAA Baseball Regionals	Somewhere in FL?	TBD vs Florida Gators	TBD
Sun, Jun 3	NCAA Baseball Regionals	Somewhere in FL?	TBD vs Florida Gators	TBD
Mon, Jun 4	NCAA Baseball Regionals	Somewhere in FL?	TBD vs Florida Gators	TBD
Tue, Jun 5	South Atlantic League	Grayson Stadium, Savannah, GA	Asheville Tourists at Savannah Sand Gnats	TBD
Wed, Jun 6	South Atlantic League	Lake Olmstead Stadium, Augusta, GA	Greensboro Grasshoppers at Augusta GreenJackets	7:05
Thu, Jun 7	South Atlantic League	State Mutual Stadium, Rome, GA	Greenville Drive at Rome Braves	1:00
Fri, Jun 8	MLB Interleague	Turner Field, Atlanta, GA	Toronto Blue Jays at Atlanta Braves	7:35
Sat, Jun 9	MLB Interleague	Turner Field, Atlanta, GA	Toronto Blue Jays at Atlanta Braves	4:05
Sun, Jun 10	MLB Interleague	Turner Field, Atlanta, GA	Toronto Blue Jays at Atlanta Braves	1:35
Mon, Jun 11	Southern League	Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville, Jacksonville, FL	Jackson Generals at Jacksonville Suns	7:05
Tue, Jun 12	Florida State League	Space Coast Stadium, Viera, FL	Daytona Cubs at Brevard County Manatees	6:35
Wed, Jun 13	Florida State League	Joker Marchant Stadium, Lakeland, FL	Dunedin Blue Jays at Lakeland Flying Tigers	6:30
Thu, Jun 14	Florida State League	Bright House Field, Tampa, FL	Tampa Yankees at Clearwater Threshers	7:00
Fri, Jun 15	MLB Interleague	Tropicana Field, Tampa, FL	Miami Marlins at Tampa Bay Rays	7:10
Sat, Jun 16	Florida State League All-Star Game	Charlotte Sports Park, Charlotte, FL	FSL North All-Stars at FSL South All-Stars	TBD
Sun, Jun 17	MLB Interleague	Tropicana Field, Tampa, FL	Miami Marlins at Tampa Bay Rays	1:40
Mon, Jun 18	Florida State League	McKechnie Field, Bradeton, FL	St. Luice Mets at Bradenton Marauders	6:30
Tue, Jun 19	Florida State League	Charlotte Sports Park, Charlotte, FL	Palm Beach Cardinals at Charlotte Stone Crabs	6:30
Wed, Jun 20	Florida State League	Roger Dean Stadium, Palm Beach, FL	Fort Myers Miracle at Jupiter Hammerheads	6:35
Thu, Jun 21	Florida State League	Roger Dean Stadium, Palm Beach, FL	Jupiter Hammerheads at Palm Beach Cardinals	6:35
Fri, Jun 22	MLB Interleague	Marlins Ballpark, Miami, FL	Toronto Blue Jays at Miami Marlins	7:10
Sat, Jun 23	MLB Interleague	Marlins Ballpark, Miami, FL	Toronto Blue Jays at Miami Marlins	7:10
Sun, Jun 24	MLB Interleague	Marlins Ballpark, Miami, FL	Toronto Blue Jays at Miami Marlins	1:10
Mon, Jun 25	Florida State League	Digital Domain Park, St. Lucie, FL	Daytona Cubs at St. Lucie Mets	6:30
Tue, Jun 26	Florida State League	Digital Domain Park, St. Lucie, FL	Daytona Cubs at St. Lucie Mets	10:30
Tue, Jun 26	Florida State League	Hammond Stadium, Fort Myers, FL	Tampa Yankees at Fort Myers Miracle	7:05
Wed, Jun 27	Florida State League	Florida Auto Exchange Stadium, Tampa, FL	Bradenton Marauders at Dunedin Blue Jays	11:00
Thu, Jun 28	Florida State League	George M. Steinbrenner Field, Tampa, FL	Brevard County Manatees at Tampa Yankees	7:00
Fri, Jun 29	Florida State League	Jackie Robinson Ballpark, Daytona, FL	Dunedin Blue Jays at Daytona Cubs	7:05

NFL Playoff Picture - Week 16

2011-12-27T18:46:00.012+09:00

Only 3 spots left with a week to go:

NFC    Week 4      Week 10    Week 11     Week 12     Week 13     Week 14      Week 15      Week 16
1. GB  (4-0)   GB  (9-0)  GB  (10-0)  GB  (11-0)  GB  (12-0)  GB  (13-0) GB  (13-1) GB  (14-1)
2. Was (3-1)   SF  (8-1)  SF  (9-1)   SF  (9-2)   SF  (10-2)  SF  (10-3) SF  (11-3) SF  (12-3)
3. SF  (3-1)   NO  (6-3)  NO  (7-3)   NO  (8-3)   NO  (9-3)   NO  (10-3) NO  (11-3) NO  (12-3)
4. TB  (3-1)   NYG (6-3)  Dal (6-4)   Dal (7-4)   Dal (7-5)   NYG (7-6)    Dal (8-6)   NYG (8-7)
5. Det (4-0)   Det (6-3)  Det (7-3)   Chi (7-4)   Chi (7-5)   Atl (8-5)    Atl (9-5)   Det  (10-5)
6. NYG (3-1)   Chi (6-3)  Chi (7-3)   Atl (7-4)   Atl (7-5)   Det (8-5)    Det (9-5)   Atl (9-6)

AFC
    Week 4      Week 10    Week 11     Week 12     Week 13     Week 14      Week 15      Week 16
1. Hou (3-1)   Hou (6-3)  NE  (7-3)   Hou (8-3)   NE  (9-3)   Hou (10-3) NE  (11-3) NE  (12-3)
2. Buf (3-1)   NE  (6-3)  Hou (7-3)   NE  (8-3)   Bal (9-3)   Bal (10-3)   Bal (10-4) Bal (11-4) 
3. Bal (3-1)   Bal (6-3)  Bal (7-3)   Bal (8-3)   Hou (9-3)   NE  (10-3)   Hou (10-4) Hou (10-5)
4. SD  (3-1)   Oak (5-4)  Oak (6-4)   Oak (7-4)   Den (7-5)   Den (8-5)    Den (8-6)    Den (8-7)
5. Ten (3-1)   Cin (6-3)  Pit (7-3)   Pit (8-3)   Pit (9-3)   Pit (10-3)   Pit (10-4) Pit (11-4)
6. NE  (3-1)   Pit (6-3)  Cin (6-4)   Cin (7-4)   Cin (7-5)   NYJ (8-5)    NYJ (8-6)    Cin (9-6)

The NFC's final spot will go to the winner of the Cowboys-Giants game.

The AFC sees only 2 spots left. The Raiders and Broncos are vying for the West while the Bengals lead the Jets and Titans by a game.

Best,

Sean

Gazélec Ajaccio 3 at Paris FC 0 - December 17, 2011

2011-12-23T22:15:00.000+09:00

Every year, I take one trip with my girlfriend where sports is not the attraction. However, I can usually find one or two games that happen to be taking place in the city we are visiting. Such was the case when we visited France for the past couple of weeks. We spent most of the time driving around the country during a rather quiet sports time, but for two days we were in Paris and I was able to check out a Championat National game with Paris FC hosting Ajaccio GFCO at Stade Charlety.

Championnat National

The Championnat National is the third division in French soccer and features 20 teams scattered throughout the country. The league has only been around since 1993 and consists of professional and semi-pro clubs. The top 3 teams enjoy promotion to Ligue 2 while relegation sees 4 squads relegated to the Championnat de France amateur league, which includes a number of reserve squads from Ligue 1 teams.

The season sees a typical home-and-away round robin making 38 games per team. I was fortunate to arrive in France just before the last day of action before the Christmas break, which traditionally lasts three weeks.

Stade Charléty

Located in the southern regions of the city, Stade Sébastien Charléty is easily accessible by the RER B line from Cité Universitaire station, or by tramway 3. The stadium is generally used for rugby and has hosted some Rugby League World Cup matches (not the much larger Rugby World Cup, which is the union game).

It holds up to 20,000 fans but for Paris FC games it is far too large as only 326 hardy souls showed up for the game I watched, so that only one half of the seating bowl is open. The stadium is part of a larger complex that also hosts a volleyball/basketball court as well as some other sports facilities.

Tickets are 8 euro and you can sit anywhere you want, as long as it is on the west side of the stadium. There are very limited food options; I ordered a Coke and was served some warm pop out of an open bottle. When halftime came, there were a few sandwiches available, but it seemed like half the stadium was in line, so I decided to wait. Frankly, it's better to eat in any sort of restaurant after the game, this is not to be critical but you can't expect much from a sporting event that draws so few fans.

There are two levels here and you can move around with ease. Most of the seating areas are covered so you are protected from the rain.

It's not fair to rate a stadium when it is not being used for its primary purpose; I am sure this would be a good place to watch rugby when it is filled with fans, but on a cold night with so few supporters in the stands, there are probably better places to be in Paris.

The Game

The visitors were Gazélec Football Club Olympique Ajaccio, usually referred to as Ajaccio GFCO, a team from the island of Corsica, most famously known as the birthplace of Napoleon Bonaparte. They were champions of one of the groups in the amateur league and hence had been promoted for this season, their first return to National since the 1999-2000 campaign. They entered the match on a 5-game winning streak.

Hosts Paris FC were in Ligue 1 back in 1978-79 but have since spent their time in the lesser leagues in France. Despite this, they have seen some talented players and managers begin their careers here before moving on to bigger things. They entered the game with 7 wins and 7 losses from 17 games to lie mid-table.

The game itself was played on a field that was very slippery as it had been raining in Paris for most of the past couple of days. This didn't stop the visitors from starting strong, as Louis Poggi opened the scoring in the 20th minute, heading the ball home while colliding with the keeper. Poggi celebrated briefly before collapsing at the corner stick, although he was fine shortly thereafter.

Nine minutes later, Roderic Fillippi leapt high off a corner and headed home to give Ajaccio a 2-0 cushion. Fillippi was back on the scoresheet ten minutes after that, getting ejected after garnering his second yellow card.

Paris FC were able to use the extra man to their advantage and began to attack, but Ajaccio keeper Clément Maury was the hero of the game, stopping several point-blank shots. The best save the game saw him getting caught going the wrong way and slipping, only to stretches his arm across his body to knock the ball behind the net, stopping what would have been a sure goal. That's him punching away a kick early in the first half.

Paris FC were continually frustrated by Maury's magic, and Ajaccio clinched the game when substitute Paul Maisonneuve slotted home to complete a 2-on-0 break, helped by a Paris FC defender falling on the slippery turf. The final score of 3-0 matched the temperature which was about 30°F by the time the final whistle blew.

After the game as I left the stadium I noticed a volleyball game happening in the gym next door. It appeard to be a French college game between Paris and Cannes; I watched for a few minutes from outside but as volleyball is not a sport I enjoy, I walked around a bit more.

I noticed that the press box for the soccer stadium was open and went in to take the following picture; I love to see stadiums that are lit up but empty inside.

Not a great game, but a memorable evening as I've got another league in the books.

Next Up

It's 2012 and I've begun planning two major trips. One will see me in Western Canada for the Flames and Oilers hosting the Leafs as well as a trip to Winnipeg to see the new Jets, not to mention several WHL games. Later this year I'll be in Florida for a 3-week jaunt that includes 6 Blue Jays games and the new Marlins ballpark. The schedule will be posted here shortly.

Hope that all my readers have a safe and happy 2012!

Best,

Sean

NFL Playoff Picture - Week 15

2011-12-20T18:00:00.002+09:00

What a crazy weekend:

NFC
  Week 4      Week 10    Week 11     Week 12     Week 13     Week 14       Week 15
1. GB  (4-0)   GB  (9-0)  GB  (10-0)  GB  (11-0)  GB  (12-0)  GB  (13-0) GB  (13-1)
2. Was (3-1)   SF  (8-1)  SF  (9-1)   SF  (9-2)   SF  (10-2)  SF  (10-3) SF  (11-3)
3. SF  (3-1)   NO  (6-3)  NO  (7-3)   NO  (8-3)   NO  (9-3)   NO  (10-3) NO  (11-3)
4. TB  (3-1)   NYG (6-3)  Dal (6-4)   Dal (7-4)   Dal (7-5)   NYG (7-6)    Dal (8-6)
5. Det (4-0)   Det (6-3)  Det (7-3)   Chi (7-4)   Chi (7-5)   Atl (8-5)    Atl (9-5)
6. NYG (3-1)   Chi (6-3)  Chi (7-3)   Atl (7-4)   Atl (7-5)   Det (8-5)    Det (9-5)

AFC
  Week 4      Week 10    Week 11     Week 12     Week 13     Week 14       Week 15
1. Hou (3-1)   Hou (6-3)  NE  (7-3)   Hou (8-3)   NE  (9-3)   Hou (10-3) NE  (11-3)
2. Buf (3-1)   NE  (6-3)  Hou (7-3)   NE  (8-3)   Bal (9-3)   Bal (10-3)  Bal (10-4)
3. Bal (3-1)   Bal (6-3)  Bal (7-3)   Bal (8-3)   Hou (9-3)   NE  (10-3)  Hou (10-4)
4. SD  (3-1)   Oak (5-4)  Oak (6-4)   Oak (7-4)   Den (7-5)   Den (8-5)   Den (8-6)
5. Ten (3-1)   Cin (6-3)  Pit (7-3)   Pit (8-3)   Pit (9-3)   Pit (10-3)  Pit (10-4)
6. NE  (3-1)   Pit (6-3)  Cin (6-4)   Cin (7-4)   Cin (7-5)   NYJ (8-5)   NYJ (8-6)

The NFC has 4 teams at 7-7 but only the Giants have a good chance to make it as they are just a game behind Dallas. Both Atlanta and Detroit just need one win to clinch.

The AFC sees only 2 spots left. The Raiders and Chargers are a game behind Denver while the Bengals have the same record as the Jets.

I'm in France now so this page is somewhat delayed and will probably be again so next week, in the meantime, check out the NFL's much fancier page.

Best,

Sean

NHL Standings After 27 Games

2011-12-15T10:12:00.002+09:00

During the season, team schedules can vary considerably with some teams having played several more games than their competition. This can make it difficult to accurately assess just how well one squad is doing relative to their peers, particularly in the NHL where points are the measuring stick rather than win percentage. With some teams having played four more games than others, the standings can be a bit misleading at first glance. To overcome that, I like to look at the standings with all teams having played the same number of games, usually at a benchmark point of the season. This time, I'm choosing 27 games, about 1/3 of a full NHL season. Here is each team's record at that point:


East         GP W  L OT PTS ROW
NY Rangers   27 17 6  4  38  16
Boston       27 17 9  1  35  14
Florida      27 15 8  4  34  13
Philadelphia 27 17 7  3  37  17
Pittsburgh   27 16 7  4  36  13
Toronto      27 15 10 2  32  12
Buffalo      27 14 11 2  30  12
Washington   27 14 12 1  29  13
--------------------------------
Ottawa       27 13 11 3  29  9
New Jersey   27 14 12 1  29  8
Winnipeg     27 12 11 4  28  11
Montreal     27 11 11 5  27  10
Tampa Bay    27 11 14 2  24  10
NY Islanders 27　9 12 6  24  9
Carolina     27  8 15 4  20  8
  
West         GP W  L OT PTS ROW
Minnesota    27 17 7  3  37  13
Detroit      27 17 9  1  35  16
Phoenix      27 15 9  3  33  13
Chicago      27 16 8  3  35  13
Vancouver    27 16 10 1  33  16
St. Louis    27 15 9  3  33  15
San Jose     27 15 10 2  32  12
Dallas       27 15 11 1  31  13
---------------------------------
Los Angeles  27 13 10 4  30  12
Edmonton     27 13 11 3  29  12
Nashville    27 12 11 4  28  12
Colorado     27 13 13 1  27  9
Calgary      27 12 13 2  26  12
Anaheim      27  8 14 5  21  7
Columbus     27  8 16 3  19  6

ROW is regulation/OT wins, the next tiebreaker after total wins.

Surprisingly, the Rangers are the best team in hockey through this point, but it isn't noticed as they have played fewer games. The Leafs are in 6th spot and would face southeast champion Florida in the playoffs.

In the west, Phoenix are the top seed in the Pacific, a point up on San Jose, who are 7th despite a decent 15-10-2 record which illustrates the strength of the conference.

I like to run through the playoffs based on season series, but some matchups have yet to occur, so I'll save that for the second edition in February, during which I'll do this exercise again when each team has completed 54 games.

Next Up

I'm flying to France tonight for my annual non-sports road trip. I do hope to catch one third-tier soccer game in Paris over the weekend but after that I'll be driving around to smaller towns with no sports on the menu. I'll be back in Japan for the new year and should have a trip planned for early 2012 that involves more Leafs games, so check back then.

Happy holidays everyone!

Best,

Sean

NFL Playoff Picture - Week 14

2011-12-12T13:42:00.001+09:00

With three weeks to go, there's still a lot to be decided although 4 teams have now clinched (in bold):

NFC
   Week 4      Week 10    Week 11     Week 12     Week 13     Week 14
1. GB  (4-0)   GB  (9-0)  GB  (10-0)  GB  (11-0)  GB  (12-0)  GB  (13-0)
2. Was (3-1)   SF  (8-1)  SF  (9-1)   SF  (9-2)   SF  (10-2)  SF  (10-3)
3. SF  (3-1)   NO  (6-3)  NO  (7-3)   NO  (8-3)   NO  (9-3)   NO  (10-3)
4. TB  (3-1)   NYG (6-3)  Dal (6-4)   Dal (7-4)   Dal (7-5)   NYG (7-6)
5. Det (4-0)   Det (6-3)  Det (7-3)   Chi (7-4)   Chi (7-5)   Atl (8-5)
6. NYG (3-1)   Chi (6-3)  Chi (7-3)   Atl (7-4)   Atl (7-5)   Det (8-5)

AFC
   Week 4      Week 10    Week 11     Week 12     Week 13     Week 14
1. Hou (3-1)   Hou (6-3)  NE  (7-3)   Hou (8-3)   NE  (9-3)   Hou (10-3)
2. Buf (3-1)   NE  (6-3)  Hou (7-3)   NE  (8-3)   Bal (9-3)   Bal (10-3)
3. Bal (3-1)   Bal (6-3)  Bal (7-3)   Bal (8-3)   Hou (9-3)   NE  (10-3)
4. SD  (3-1)   Oak (5-4)  Oak (6-4)   Oak (7-4)   Den (7-5)   Den (8-5)
5. Ten (3-1)   Cin (6-3)  Pit (7-3)   Pit (8-3)   Pit (9-3)   Pit (10-3)
6. NE  (3-1)   Pit (6-3)  Cin (6-4)   Cin (7-4)   Cin (7-5)   NYJ (8-5)

The NFC saw Chicago drop out after they became the latest victims to Tim Tebow and the Broncos (a 59-yard kick to tie and a 51-yard kick to win in OT!) while Detroit and Atlanta won. The Falcons beat the Lions back in Week 7 so take the 5th seed. The 49ers still have a better conference record than New Orleans, but their loss to Arizona has to be troubling. The Giants take over the East after their stunning comeback win over the hapless Cowboys.

The AFC sees the New York's other team take over the last spot after Cincinnati lost to Houston, who themselves move back to the top as New England's win was over an NFC team, giving the Texans the best conference record. Baltimore grabs the second bye based on the common games tiebreaker, as the Ravens have beaten Pittsburgh twice, the Jets, and Indianapolis, while the Patriots have beaten the Jets twice and Indy, but lost to the Steelers. The common games tiebreaker requires a minimum of 4, so I believe this is correct at this point.

Out of 12 playoff teams, 10 have either 10-3 or 8-5 records.

I'm out of the country for the next two weeks so the playoff picture might be a bit delayed, in the meantime, check out the NFL's much fancier page.

Best,

Sean

The Post-Lockout NBA Road Trip

2011-12-10T13:46:00.001+09:00

The NBA has ended its lockout and released an updated schedule. Fans can't wait for the season to start, but with all those games in such a short time, I expect the quality of basketball to be rather low as players get tired from all that travel and back-to-back games. There is a winner from the compressed schedule though, namely the basketball road tripper. With more games in less time, it is far easier to plan a 30-stadium jaunt. So that's what I did. Starting on Christmas, you can see all 30 stadiums in 53 days, finishing up with a Clippers tilt in mid-February. I suspect with a little extra work, you can find an even shorter trip, but I like this trip as there are no ridiculous drives and some big ticket matchups.

Dec 25 Chicago at LA Lakers
Dec 26 New Orleans at Phoenix
Dec 28 LA Clippers at San Antonio
Dec 29 San Antonio at Houston
Dec 30 Toronto at Dallas
Dec 31 Phoenix at Oklahoma City
Jan 03 Sacramento at Memphis
Jan 06 Cleveland at Minneapolis
Jan 07 Charlotte at Indiana
Jan 09 Detroit at Chicago
Jan 10 Dallas at Detroit
Jan 11 Sacramento at Toronto
Jan 13 Chicago at Boston
Jan 14 Philadelphia at Washington
Jan 16 Orlando at New York
Jan 18 San Antonio at Orlando
Jan 19 LA Lakers at Miami
Jan 21 Cleveland at Atlanta
Jan 23 San Antonio at New Orleans
Jan 24 New York at Charlotte
Jan 25 New Jersey at Philadelphia
Jan 29 Toronto at New Jersey
Jan 31 Boston at Cleveland
Feb 01 Miami at Milwaukee
Feb 03 LA Lakers at Denver
Feb 04 LA Lakers at Utah
Feb 08 Houston at Portland
Feb 11 Phoenix at Sacramento
Feb 12 Houston at Golden State
Feb 15 Washington at LA Clippers

Obviously this is not a journey that I will be taking, but as usual, it was fun to put together.

Best,

Sean

NHL Realignment and Road Trips

2011-12-06T15:08:00.003+09:00

The NHL announced its realignment plan for next year and it is mildly disappointing for road trippers. There will be four conferences aligned geographically, two with eight teams and two with seven. There is no more east/west separation, rather teams will play their interconference rivals 5 or 6 times and each other team twice, once at home and once away. The first two playoff rounds will be contested within each conference, with the semifinals seeded based on regular season records.

The Leafs are in a 7-team conference that includes their current Northeast Division foes plus Florida and Tampa Bay. They will play three home and three road games against these teams (36 games) plus one home and away against the rest of the league (46 games). Compare that to the situation now, where they play 24 divisional, 40 conference, and 18 non-conference games and you can see that the new alignment reduces the variety in opponents.

For road trip planning, this makes things slightly harder since I am more interested in seeing the Leafs against non-divisional teams on the road. This season I had 29 chances; next season this number will be reduced to 23. Essentially half the road games against each of the 10 teams in the Southeast and Atlantic Divisions are being replaced by an additional four games against Florida and Tampa Bay and 6 games against Western teams. The Leafs will visit every rink in the league now, which is an improvement, but overall there is going to be less chance to see them.

Overall, the league will see 45% of the schedule composed of interconference matchups, compared to 78% now, so in one sense there is more variety, but this is somewhat misleading as there are far fewer teams in a conference.

I am disappointed that the playoffs will be conference based as again, there is less variety. I think the top 4 teams in each conference should be seeded 1-16 and play from there, but of course, this could result in a lot more travel, so it will not change. The good news is that Toronto is in a smaller conference so they have a slightly better chance of making the playoffs then under the current system, but that will change when the league expands to Quebec.

The most interesting aspect will be the elimination of the east and west, which will increase the odds that the two best teams will meet in the finals, as long as they don't come from the same conference. Whatever the case, I am looking forward to the schedule being released and planning my next NHL roadtrip.

Best,

Sean

Update: The NHLPA ixnayed the realignment, citing travel concerns and the unfair playoffs. Good on them - they've been pushovers for far too long. Just move Winnipeg and one of Detroit/Columbus/Nashville and be done with it until we get teams in Quebec and Seattle!

NFL Playoff Picture - Week 13

2011-12-05T13:36:00.002+09:00

The stretch run is underway:


NFC
   Week 4      Week 10    Week 11     Week 12     Week 13
1. GB  (4-0)   GB  (9-0)  GB  (10-0)  GB  (11-0)  GB  (12-0)
2. Was (3-1)   SF  (8-1)  SF  (9-1)   SF  (9-2)   SF  (10-2)
3. SF  (3-1)   NO  (6-3)  NO  (7-3)   NO  (8-3)   NO  (9-3)
4. TB  (3-1)   NYG (6-3)  Dal (6-4)   Dal (7-4)   Dal (7-5)
5. Det (4-0)   Det (6-3)  Det (7-3)   Chi (7-4)   Chi (7-5)
6. NYG (3-1)   Chi (6-3)  Chi (7-3)   Atl (7-4)   Atl (7-5)

AFC
   Week 4      Week 10    Week 11     Week 12     Week 13
1. Hou (3-1)   Hou (6-3)  NE  (7-3)   Hou (8-3)   NE  (9-3)
2. Buf (3-1)   NE  (6-3)  Hou (7-3)   NE  (8-3)   Bal (9-3)
3. Bal (3-1)   Bal (6-3)  Bal (7-3)   Bal (8-3)   Hou (9-3)
4. SD  (3-1)   Oak (5-4)  Oak (6-4)   Oak (7-4)   Den (7-5)
5. Ten (3-1)   Cin (6-3)  Pit (7-3)   Pit (8-3)   Pit (9-3)
6. NE  (3-1)   Pit (6-3)  Cin (6-4)   Cin (7-4)   Cin (7-5)

The NFC saw the top 3 teams win while the next 3 all lost, so no changes. The Giants are the only team at 6-6, their game against Dallas next Sunday has huge implications.

In the AFC, Houston's win was over an NFC team, so they dropped back to third as the Pats have the better strength of victory and Baltimore beat the Texans already. Tebow has the Broncos in the playoffs following Oakland's loss. These two split the season series, so Denver gets the nod based on their better divisional record. There are four 7-5 teams vying for that final wild card spot, one per division. Cincy takes it right now based on their 6-4 conference record, but Tennessee is at 5-4 while the Jets and Raiders are at 5-5, so it could go to any of them depending on how the final four weeks play out.

Best,

Sean

Kashiwa Reysol 3 at Urawa Reds 1 - December 3, 2011

2011-12-04T17:06:00.003+09:00

One of the things I enjoy seeing is championships in pro leagues, because they are so rare and memorable, not to mention historic. I've been at a Stanley Cup winning game (Devils in '95), World Series championship (Diamondbacks in '01) and the Yakult Swallows' Japan Series win in '97. I've also seen some minor league championships such as the Memorial Cup Final in 1990, one of the greatest junior hockey games ever played.

These matches are relatively easy to see because they occur in championship series so you just have to show up, pay the exorbitant ticket price, and regardless, one team will eventually take the title. The situation is a bit different in soccer. League titles can be decided before the season is over, or you can have multiple teams in contention on the last day of the season, so you have to be in the right stadium at the right time.

Such was the case in the J League this year, with 3 teams in contention on the final matchday. Kashiwa Reysol had a 1-point lead on defending champions Nagoya Grampus, while Gamba Osaka was just 2 points back. Fortunately for me, Kashiwa was visiting the Urawa Reds in Saitama, close enough for me to venture up on Saturday afternoon to see if they could hold on for the crown.

Saitama Stadium 2002

Opened in 2001 for the 2002 World Cup, Saitama Stadium 2002 is one of the largest football-only venues in Asia. It hosted 4 matches in that World Cup, including England's 1-1 draw with Sweden and Brazil's semifinal win over Turkey.

The stadium is located about a mile north of Urawa-Misono station (which commemorates the World Cup with the mural above), which itself is a 45-minute ride from the center of Tokyo, on trains that get very, very crowded. There are shuttle buses from the station, but I prefer to walk along the footpath as there are concession stands along the way and you can appreciate the size of the stadium as you approach. There are also meter markings along the way so you know how far you have left. I don't think you save much time with bus anyway, as the lineups to board were huge.

Outside the stadium is a large plaza with a number of food trucks serving a wide variety of Japanese and western food. There are also a sizable number of plastic tables on which to eat, so you can relax to enjoy your meal. I highly recommend you arrive early and choose one or two of these culinary choices as it is going to be far better than the food you get inside. My favourite was the yakitori spot below, called Nihonichi, which served a good variety at 100 yen a stick.

Tickets here are reasonably priced for Reds games, with the best seats going for just 4,500 yen and the unreserved seats just 2,000 yen. The stadium is divided into four quadrants (A, B, C, D) that are colour-coded, with A and C along the sides and B and D used for the end zones.

You can enter the lower concourse via any gate and walk around, as long as you are not wearing the visiting kit. I recommend you do this as there are a number of displays that recall those heady days of the World Cup. I worked at this stadium for those games and it was rather nostalgic to see the memorabilia still on show.

In order to reach the upper deck, you have to enter the specific gate on your ticket and walk up several flights of stairs. The ticket also includes which specific aisle to use, which is important as there are limited walkways in the seating bowl, which makes getting out after the game a real hassle.

The home fans occupy the lower deck in the north end of the stadium, while the visitors are confined to a small area on the south side. Even then, fans of both squads were interspersed in the other sections, I was surrounded by yellow-clad Kashiwa supporters on one side, while Red rooters were on the other.

As this is a football-only venue, the seats down below are close to the action and make for a good investment, if you can get them. Even the upper deck seats are good, although I was at one end, which was not the best. There is plenty of leg room here, and no problem seeing the field with the upper deck rather steep.

The stadium is one of the most attractive in Japan, which is used to seeing functional but boring arenas. Here, the upper deck seats taper from the center to the end zones and are covered by curving roofs, while the end zones are open. This allows views of the surrounding countryside from the upper deck, although there isn't much to see.

From a distance, the stadium reminds me of Miller Park in Milwaukee with its roof open, but it is just an illusion, the two roofs do not approach each other at any time.

Overall, Saitama Stadium is a great venue to watch soccer. The proximity of the seats allow the supporters to be part of the game, and the unique architecture and souvenirs from 2002 make it a special place for students of the game. The only problem here is the access - it is far from the city, far from the station, and there are not enough walkways or washrooms. Keep that in mind if you ever decide to pay a visit here.

The Teams

The Urawa Red Diamonds are one of the best-supported teams in Asia, averaging over 40,000 fans per game over the past few seasons. Winners of the League and Emperor's Cup in 2006, the Reds were the fourth Japanese club to achieve Asian glory, taking the AFC Champions League title in 2007. Lately though, they've fallen into disarry, and they lay 15th out of 18 teams this season. They were technically in danger of being relegated if they lost, but they needed the 16th-place team to win by 13 goals if they lost by 1, so it was unlikely. Their fans are famous for their boisterous displays and provide terrific atmosphere in this large stadium.

Kashiwa Reysol were the champions of J2 last season, earning automatic promotion back to the top league. This season they had been near the top of the league since the beginning, along with 3 other clubs. After 23 rounds, Kashiwa lay fourth, behind Gamba, Nagoya, and Yokohama F. Marinos. But an 8-1-1 record from there put Reysol in first with just one match day to go. It is unheard of for a promoted team to challenge for the league title but that was just what Reysol had done; in a season where no squad dominated, they were the most consistent, with 22 wins and 3 draws from their 33 games. Both Nagoya and Gamba had better goal differential, so Reysol needed a win to ensure the crown, a draw would not be enough.

The Game

The morning started with heavy rain, but by game time, it had cleared, though the field was still slippery. As I took my seat, I could feel the tension in the air; the Reysol faithful were nervous being so close to their first league title. Although Urawa were not the powerful side from years gone by, they had their home fans urging them on. I expected a good game and was not disappointed.

It was clear early on that Kashiwa were the better team as they attacked continuously, only to have their shots go wide or over the net. It wasn't until the 29th minute when Jorge Wagner took a corner kick that was first saved by a defender, then booted off the post. The ball bounced out to Wagner who was running in from the corner untouched. He blasted a shot that would have missed but it bounced off the leg of keeper Nobuhiro Kato and through his legs to make it 1-0 Reysol.

Nine minutes later, another Kashiwa corner fell to defender Wataru Hashimoto, who tapped the ball over his head with his back facing the net. Kato was caught well off the line and Hashimoto had his first goal of the season and it looked like Reysol were well on their way, up 2-0.

The second half saw Kashiwa look tentative early on, and Urawa took advantage when an innocent-looking cross found the head of Yosuke Kashiwagi, who put the ball in the upper right corner of the net to cut the Reysol lead in half.

At this point, the stadium found an extra level of tension. Nagoya had scored in their match which meant that if Urawa could manage another tally, Reysol would lose the title. The Reds pressed and had a couple of good chances, but it was their keeper Kato who would be the story yet again. Off yet another Kashiwa corner, the ball bounced out to Akimi Barada, who softly lobbed it towards net from 35 yards. The ball bounced just in front of Kato, who mishandled it and watched it cross the line to give Reysol the insurance they needed. The fans around me erupted knowing that the title was theirs. Highlights of all the goals can be seen here. Interesting that two of them were the direct result of goaltender gaffes.

The rest of the game was mere prelude to the postgame party. There were no chances on either end as the teams played out the last few minutes with Reysol knowing they were about to be crowned 2011 J League Champions.

The Celebration

When the final whistle blew, the Reysol players collapsed in exhaustion on the field while the substitutes raced over to commence the group hug. Manager Nelsinho Baptista was given the traditional do-age (pronounced doh-a-ge), where the coach is tossed in the air three times.

The players then went to their supporters and bowed in appreciation. When it was time for the trophy presentation, they gathered around a small sign declaring them champions, and were presented with the championship plate, which they held up to the crowd (below). I was on the wrong side of the stadium to get a good picture, but you can see it is not a big trophy by any means.

The players returned to the front of their supporters section and a different group of players raised the plate to raucous cheers. Then it was over. The players filed off and that was it. The whole thing took maybe 15 minutes and was rather anti-climatic compared to the championships in North America.

Notes

After Kashiwa cleared the field, the Reds players came out for a final goodbye. Team president Mitsuo Hashimoto spoke and I was shocked at the hatred the fans had for him. The booing was loud and incessant, lasting from the moment he appeared until the stopped speaking. Check out this video for the evidence.

On the way back to the station, the Kashiwa fans were quiet, talking about their team's chances in the upcoming Club World Cup tournament or next years AFC Champions League. There were no drunken louts screaming, no fights, no riots, just happy fans basking in a hard-fought championship. On the train home, you wouldn't have guessed that their team had just completed a historic season, they all sat quietly and studied their smartphones.

That's one difference between fandom here and there. In Japan, the fans give it all inside the stadium, screaming and yelling for hours, but once the game is over, they revert to their normal, quiet selves. Back home, fans cheer long after the game is over, usually getting smashed in the process, and often smashing other things. I have always complained about the lack of real emotion exhibited here at sporting events, but as sports in the States has become consumed by hype, I find that I now prefer the self-control exhibited by fans here. I'm all for having a good time but too often it comes with a heavy price, with damages to a city's reputation taking far longer to repair than damages to a few shop windows. I'm sure there's a happy medium here, but not sure how it can bee achieved.

Update: Minutes after I posted this, I read about 13 fans being injured rushing the field after Oklahoma State's Big 12 championship win. I hate college football for so many reasons, and this episode just adds to the list. It also illustrates my point - hype drives college football now, so fans think it is actually meaningful to win a championship in a conference that features 3 or 4 competitive teams, so much so that they rush the field and tear down goalposts without regards for the safety of others. Is there no perspective left in American sports?

Next Up

I'm flying to France shortly for a 2-week roadtrip that doesn't involve sports. I'll be back in Japan for the new year and planning all my 2012 trips. Check back then for an exciting announcement about me going to see more Maple Leaf road games.

Best,

Sean

Flying and Fort Worth

2011-12-03T12:36:00.001+09:00

My 4-day trip to Texas has come and gone and not surprisingly, it was rather too short. Still, I managed to see 5 pro games, including a Toronto win, and part of an amateur affair as well, so it was time well spent. But I did a few things other than sports.

Flying to DFW via DTW

First I want to talk about flying, which is a topic I have touched on in the past. Aviation consistently receives a bad rap in the U.S. but all of my flights this trip were completely without incident. I flew via Detroit both times as it was the least expensive option given my late booking and I was concerned about delays causing me to miss the connecting flight. But it was as smooth as could be, the airports were clean and security lines moved quickly despite it being Thanksgiving, and I found the Delta flight attendants friendly and professional. I also found my fellow passengers seemed to be experienced travelers, which makes things a bit easier on everybody. There is nothing more frustrating than watching someone hold up the boarding process as they try to stuff an oversized suitcase into the overhead bin. All in all, a good trip and evidence that the US airlines and airports are not the dinosaurs they are often made out to be.

Fort Worth

The second topic is the less famous city in the DFW area, Fort Worth. It is the 16th-largest city in the US, but is overshadowed by Dallas and Arlington, home of the four major league sports teams. On my previous trip here, I toured only Dallas, seeing the 6th Floor Museum and Reunion Tower. I did catch an independent league ballgame in Fort Worth but no tourist attractions.

So I made sure to stop by Fort Worth this time. The jet lag still had me up early, so I first stopped at the Fort Worth Botanical Garden. It was open early on Black Friday and offers a large garden center that you can wander around for free. Given that it was late fall, there wasn't much in bloom, but it was a quiet getaway with fresh air, something I don't get in Tokyo very often.

There's also a Japanese garden that I did not check out, as well as a small conservatory for $1. I just spent an hour outside enjoying the relative peace (there is a highway that runs just south of the garden and you can hear the drone of traffic as you approach).

A rose garden lies at one end of the garden center, but again there were few fully formed flowers due to the season. Still, a nice way to start the day and well worth a visit if you are in town.

After lunch at In-N-Out (yes, they have expanded to Texas!) I went over to the Kimbell Art Museum to check out the Caravaggio exhibition.

This exhibition was the reason I was visiting this area in the first place. It was initially shown at the National Gallery in Ottawa, and my parents told me about it after they went to see it. I would have liked to have seen it but was unable to make it home during its limited run. When I found out it would also be in Fort Worth, I checked the hockey and football schedules and saw the Leafs would be in town the day after Thanksgiving, and presto, a sports road trip was born.

Woman Addressing the Public: Project for a Monument by Miro

Photography was not allowed in the exhibition itself, but it was fantastic, with paintings arranged by topic over 8 rooms. A free audio guide was distributed and really added to the presentation.

There is also a permanent collection in which you can take pictures, below is an early Monet, "The Cape de la Hève at Low Tide".

The Great Divide

Finally, I think this photo summarizes America in 2011. In a Walmart parking lot, you are encouraged to help keep prices low, while the biggest and most expensive stadium in the land sits just across the street.

Best,

Sean

Austin Toros 101 at Texas Legends 96 - November 26, 2011

2011-12-01T19:39:00.001+09:00

After a 30-minute drive from Dallas, I found myself next to Dr Pepper Ballpark, home of the Frisco RoughRiders of the AA Texas League. Of course, I wasn't there for a baseball game, but the season opener in the NBDL, the minor league of the NBA as the Texas Legends play in Dr Pepper Arena, just next door to the ballpark.

Dr Pepper Arena

The Dr Pepper Arena is a multi-purpose facility located in Frisco, a city in the northern reaches of the DFW Metroplex. The venue was built in 2003 and also hosts the Texas Tornado of the NAHL, a junior A circuit.

Like other stadiums that combine hockey and basketball, the court lies in the middle of the rink area, but the open spaces between the basket and end boards are not filled with seats, rather the Legends put a few attractions, such as a climbing pole (below) and a mini basketball court in what is known as the Kidtastic Fun Zone. It makes a game here much more entertaining for the kids and is a smart marketing move. There are no end zone seats behind the Fun Zone, so it doesn't block anything, not that many would want to sit there anyway.

Tickets were $28 for the sidelines, $18 for the corners, and $10 for the real bad seats near the fun zone. I had no trouble sitting where I wanted with the stadium about half full. It should be noted that the Legends' website listed prices $3 cheaper but this seems to be out of date.

There is one food court hidden behind a wall at the far end of the stadium. Two concession stands are here, one with typical arena fare, the other with baked goods and canned soda. Nothing of interest for me, but I did have an RC Cola (only products from the Dr Pepper Snapple group are sold here) and RC is tough to find in Japan.

The arena also houses the Dallas Stars practice facility, team offices, and a team/equipment store. The rink is also used for local tournaments (more on that below) and there was a tribute to GM Joe Nieuwendyk, who was recently inducted into the Hall of Fame, in front of the team store.

Essentially, the Legends are the arena's secondary tenants, as the place was not designed for basketball. So it isn't a great venue for fans of the game, but it works well anyway, mainly because of the thought put into it by the franchise. Minor leagues are known for instability and I'm hoping that the Legends can lead the way in making the NBDL a more stable league, resulting in many more roadtrips in the years to come.

Texas Legends

This is the second NBDL game I have witnessed with the first being the Colorado 14ers back in 2009. The 14ers won the championship that year and were bought soon after by Dallas Mavericks president Donnie Nelson, who moved the franchise to Frisco and renamed them the Texas Legends. After skipping a season, the Legends began play last year with Nancy Lieberman as their coach. She was the first female to coach a professional men's basketball team, leading them to a 24-26 record and a playoff spot. This year she moved to the front office so the Legends honoured her before the game with the banner below.

The Legends are what I would hope to see from every NBDL franchise. They have ties to the local NBA team, they are run by people with lots of basketball experience, and they reach out to their fans. The ceremony to honour Lieberman featured Donnie Nelson and his father Don, as well as new coach Del Harris and Lieberman, all basketball royalty. The younger Nelson gave a great speech lauding the fans and presenting a blueprint for the season and the future of the franchise. It was very classy and gave me hope that the league will grow to become a true feeder system for the NBA.

The Game

Austin (affiliated with the San Antonio Spurs and wearing white) beat Texas 101-96. I don't remember how this happened because I found myself fighting to stay awake as the jet lag was finally catching up to me. It was a fast-paced game with lots of scoring early on, and there were several lead changes throughout the night.

The 4th quarter began with the Legends up by 3 but Austin started on an 11-0 run to take control. Texas slowly clawed their way back and took a 1-point lead with 4:30 to go. That was their last gasp as the Toros replied with a 12-3 run over the next 2:30 and that was all she wrote for the Legends.

In the end, poor free throw shooting (13-24) hurt the home team, who had outplayed the Toros on the boards and in the turnover department as well. It seemed like a good game, but my brain was in the shutdown mode for most of it, so I can't add much more.

The player I most noticed was 6-11 center Jamal Sampson, who was drafted in 2002 (one slot behind Matt Barnes) and is a cousin of Ralph Sampson. Jamal has a bit of NBA experience but had played in Asia for the past couple of seasons before the Legends drafted him this fall. That's him signing autographs after the game.

Notes

After the game, the fans were allowed out on the floor to get autographs and photos with the players and cheerleaders. I always enjoy this sort of activity and it seemed like everyone was having a good time, including Legends' coach Del Harris.

The NBA and its players reached a tentative agreement that was announced that day, which may make the NBDL more relevant depending on how things develop in terms of player promotion and demotions. I'd like to see this league function more like the AHL, where players are known to their fans and call-ups and send downs are common.

This was the second of three games I had planned to see, but with the jet lag hitting hard and then spending time on the floor afterwards, I decided to hang out in the rink next door and watch some hockey. The Dallas Stars hold a number of youth tournaments and Thanksgiving weekend saw the 10th Annual Fall Round-Up take place. I saw the Bantam Gold final featuring a team from Calgary taking on a team from California, who won by a score of 5-3. Not quite the tripleheader I had envisioned but then again, I don't think I would have lasted through another basketball game.

Next Up

I'm back in Japan and going to a J League game this weekend in which league leaders Kashiwa visit Urawa Reds with a chance to clinch the championship. Later this month, I'm off to France for two weeks at year-end, which will include a single game in the Championnat National but no other sports. December will be a quiet month for this blog, but check back in early 2012 for news on a hockey trip planned for February.

Best,

Sean

Rice Owls 24 at SMU Mustangs 27 - November 26, 2011

2011-11-30T20:40:00.002+09:00

Saturday was a blustery fall day, perfect for football. Or so I thought. With the Leafs' victory from the previous night fresh in my mind, I made my way over to Ford Stadium for the final game of the Conference USA schedule between the SMU Mustangs and the visiting Rice Owls.

Gerald J. Ford Stadium

Located on the southern end of the SMU campus, Gerald J. Ford Stadium opened in 2000, making it the last on-campus stadium in NCAA Division I-A to open in the 20th century. It is not named for President Ford (Gerald R. in that case) but a Texas businessman and SMU grad who donated most of the funding necessary to build the stadium.

Parking is $15 or $20 on campus, but I found a spot on a residential street across from the stadium, at most a three-minute walk away. It always amazes me how people avoid saving money when it can be done so simply. The worst case is to park in the overflow lot on the other side of the expressway and walk 10 minutes to the field.

All seats in the stadium are benches, with those on the sidelines going for $30 while end zone seats cost $15. The game I saw was less than half full and you could pretty much sit anywhere, so take that into account. The stadium has a horseshoe configuration, with the open end to the south featuring a grassy knoll on which kids can play.

The concourse is spacious and has a number of concession stands, with Chick-Fil-A the most notable. The visitors side of the stadium did not have as much variety in this area, it is better to sit on the home side, which is more crowded and has better atmosphere. I tried a normal hot dog and found it to be surprisingly good. Naturally booze is not available here.

There is one large video scoreboard at the south end of the stadium which showed replays, as well as two smaller scoreboards at field level behind each end zone.

Along the concourse you will see small posters of past SMU stars, including Eric Dickerson. There isn't much else, but then again, recent SMU history has not been kind. Many of you may not remember, but the SMU football program was given the death penalty back in 1987, where they had their season cancelled due to a number of violations. Can you imagine the NCAA doing anything similar to a big market school these days? Not when there is so much money involved. Anyway, the penalty nearly destroyed the football program, but it has been rebuilt slowly so that they are at least respectable now (they finished 7-5 this year).

The field is colourful and the two sections of seats are painted red and blue, the SMU colours. It makes for a nice scene, even on a cloudy day.

Doak Walker Plaza, named after SMU's former Heisman Trophy winner and NFL Hall of Famer is located outside the northeast corner of the stadium. The statue here is a replica of the Doak Walker Trophy, given out each year to the nation's top collegiate running back.

Overall, the stadium is well worth a visit. In my mind, this is what college football should be like, without the hype that accompanies the big money programs but a simpler approach where the game is more important. Fans were friendly and there was a real family atmosphere, with kids everywhere and multiple generations of SMU and Rice graduates. There was no animosity between the schools or their fans, everybody just wanted to enjoy a good old fashioned Texas football game.

The Game

Remember I said blustery? By game time, it had turned into downright freezing, at least for Texas. The wind was steady and bone-chilling and it seemed to affect the play.

Both teams were anemic offensively, with no sustained drives in the first half. The only score was on a 45-yd pass and run for SMU, with standout receiver Darius Johnson evading tackles for about 44 of those yards. Out of all the players I saw today, Johnson was clearly the best and I'll look for him to be a late-round draft pick.

In the second quarter, SMU 's Jared Williams broke a couple of tackles at the line and rushed 52 yards to the end zone to give the Mustangs a 14-0 lead. SMU was clearly the better team, but two interceptions from QB J.J. McDermott (taking a snap above) kept Rice in the game. On the first play after the second pick, Rice QB Nick Fanuzzi found Donte Moore for a 13-yard TD to make it 14-7, which is how the first half finished.

Just to illustrate how brutal the offenses were in this half, there were 9 punts, 4 turnovers, and a missed FG out of 17 meaningful possessions.

The second half began poorly for the home team, when Williams fumbled on their first play from scrimmage. Rice's Cameron Nwosu returned the drop 21 yards and the game was suddenly tied at 14.

Rice took the lead on a FG later in the quarter and this seemed to finally get the Mustangs motivated. On their subsequent possession they drove the ball for 10 plays (the only sustained drive in the game) culminating in a 1-yard TD run for FB Rishard Wimbley (below).

After Rice went 3-and-out for the umpteenth time, Wimbley scored on a 39-yard jaunt to make it 27-17 Mustangs with 9:36 to go. At this point I figured the game was in hand and given that I was very, very cold, I decided to head up to Frisco for the second game of the day. I missed Rice's last TD as well as a recovered onside kick that might have made the game interesting, but ultimately SMU prevailed 27-24.

This game might have been more enjoyable if it wasn't so chilly. From the stats, it might appear as if this was a good game, but neither offense generated much consistency, leading to 15 punts. Despite all that, I had fun at my first NCAA football game in 28 years. The atmosphere is unique and as I sat among the Rice supporters, I was impressed with how they all got along based solely on having attended the same university years ago. I'll keep my eyes open for more games like this next season.

Notes

As this was the last game of the regular season, the SMU seniors were honoured during the game by having their names called out during stoppages in play. A nice touch.

Before the game started, there was the invocation, where a prayer is said. They should have prayed for warmer weather.

Best,

Sean

Toronto Maple Leafs 4 at Dallas Stars 3 (SO) - November 25, 2011

2011-11-29T22:39:00.006+09:00

Black Friday was anything but for me. Although I did a bit of early shopping, I spent most of the early part of the day touring a couple of attractions in Fort Worth, including a fantastic Caravaggio exhibition at the Kimbell Art Museum.

After that, I headed back to Dallas to enjoy the evening's entertainment: the Leafs taking on the Stars. It would be the 17th time I would witness the Buds on the road, and with a cumulative 4-11-1 record up till now, I was desperately hoping for a victory. As I walked to the American Airlines Center, I was happy to see plenty of other Leaf fans; there were so many of us that the building was sold out for the first time this season.

American Airlines Center

Located on the edge of downtown Dallas in Victory Park, the AAC is home to the defending champion Dallas Mavericks (no banner yet though, thanks to the just-finished lockout) as well as the Stars. It opened in 2001 and is still a great place to watch a top-notch sporting event.

There is plenty of parking around the stadium for $15. I drove around a bit before the game and didn't find any free parking in the immediate vicinity, but since I was staying in a hotel about a mile away, I didn't look very hard. There is also transit available, with DART's Victory station mere steps away from the stadium.

From the outside, the stadium is very impressive. As I drove north on 35E, the AAC majestically appeared on my right. It could be an old train station or airport terminal, and with the naming rights purchased by American, the locals often refer to it as "The Hangar".

There are entrances on each side of the building, but it is the south side that includes AT&T Plaza, which is where various events are held and a large screen shows highlights and other videos both before and after the game (above).

Tickets for hockey are not cheap but not ridiculously overpriced, particularly for the upper deck. I found a seat in third row at the blueline for $45 which was more than reasonable. Considering that lower bowl seats range from $70 to $300, the upper bowl is the better choice. Sightlines from here were perfectly fine.

The two seating levels are separated by the luxury boxes and club seats. The concourses are spacious enough as you can see below.

There are few bells and whistles once inside. On the lower concourse, one atrium has some small model AA airplanes hanging (above), and there is a cool exhibit illustrating just how high Dirk Nowitzki can jump (138") and testing your vertical leap as well (below). There is also the Jack Daniels Old No. 7 Club which offered appetizers and seemed popular with the locals.

The upper concourse is more limited, with the Dr. Pepper Plant (below), a small eatery with a bit of history about the beverage invented in Waco back in 1885.

Food options are plentiful and there are concessions everywhere. I had an Italian sausage from Sheriff Blaylocks which I would recommend, it was piled high with peppers and onions and made for a full meal for the three hours I was there.

The end zones have scoreboards that show other statistics on a continuous basis, something that I really appreciate.

Overall, AAC is an excellent venue for hockey. There isn't a lot of history yet, but they do have plenty of banners celebrating their success, including that one Stanley Cup banner that Buffalo fans refuse to acknowledge. The place is clean, staff are friendly, and the fans were great, even to a visit team supporter like myself. If you haven't been here, put it on your to-see list.

The Game

The Leafs and Stars had both started strongly but had faded of late, with Toronto lying 5th in the East at 12-8-2 while Dallas was 4th in the West at 13-8. This was the third of a 4-game road trip for Toronto, who had thrashed Tampa Bay 7-1 three days earlier behind a suddenly potent power play. The Stars were finishing up a 4-game homestand in which they had won the last two.

Given that the previous day was Thanksgiving, I expected a lethargic start but Dallas jumped out quickly when Eric Nystrom took a pass from Michael Ryder, deked around Phil Kessel and beat Jonas Gustavsson (above) with a low wrist shot to make it 1-0 after just 4 minutes.

In past seasons, I would have expected the Leafs to fold but this team is different and they fought back quickly. Just after the midway mark of the period, Joey Crabb deflected a Dion Phaneuf (above in the warmup) point shot on a play that looked to be offside and then Phaneuf himself added a power play tally 4 minutes later that just got under Kari Lehtonen (below, also in the warmup). The period finished with the teams level in shots at 7, so it wasn't a barnburner by any means.

The second period was highlighted by a fantastic Dallas goal. The puck began behind the Stars net and was moved forward via just four passes, with each player on the ice touching the puck once. It went Grossman to Daley to Benn to Dvorak to Nystrom who tipped the puck past a helpless Gustavsson. I don't like seeing the Leafs scored upon, but in this case, I had to admire the brilliance of the play. It's worth checking the highlight out here.

There were further problems in the second with two Leafs getting knocked out of the game. Both David Steckel and Carl Gunnarson were hit on the hand by shots and had to leave. Coincidentally, I was taking pictures when Gunnarson got dinged, which you can see below.

The third period was tough for Toronto. Down two men and on the road, I was hoping they could hold out for overtime as Dallas completely controlled the play, outshooting Toronto 6-0 in the early going. Only a couple of miracle stops by Gustavsson kept the Leafs in the game. Then against the flow, Tim Connolly threw what appeared to be a blind pass to the front of the net where a streaking Clarke MacArthur tipped it home with 13 minutes to go. The play was reviewed and emphatically called a "good goal".

However, the Leafs were visibly flagging and couldn't stave off the relentless Dallas attack. Eventually Dvorak tied it after the Stars had maintained possession in the Toronto zone for at least a minute. It was obvious that the Leafs were tired and when they drew a stupid penalty with 3:38 to go, I was sure it would be the end. Again though, this squad is different and they managed to kill the penalty and even get a power play in the process. Although that did not yield any goals, it did bring us to the end of regulation and the Leafs had secured a point.

Overtime was scoreless with the Leafs gaining the only two shots to finish the contest down 29-23 in that category. That brought on the shootout, the third in four games for me at a Leafs game. The Leafs had won the previous two, so I was quite hopeful as Gustavsson had been solid all night.

After the first two shooters for each team missed, Joffrey Lupul beat Kari Lehtonen to the short side to give the Leafs the advantage (below, the puck is in the net already).

The Stars' last shooter was Mike Ribeiro, who has a patented move that was highlighted during one of the intermissions. In that move, he turns sideways and brings the puck from his backhand to the forehand, trying to flip it over the netminder. Gustavsson must have seen the video because he was prepared and although the puck dribbled to the line, it didn't go in.

Leafs win! Leafs win! It was the first time I had seen a Leafs road victory by myself, as in the past other fans had joined me. I was a bit sad to not have anyone to high-five with, but the whole trip to Dallas was worth it just to see the scoreboard below.

Notes

The Stanley Cup was in the house as the Stars had it brought to town for a local tournament. It was at Cowboys Stadium the day before and then here, drawing a line of fans who wanted a picture of themselves with Lord Stanley.

After the game, I paid a visit to the nearby Fan Sports Lounge, where I was offered the grand sum of $40 for my vintage #7 Greg Terrion jersey. Needless to say, I refused the offer. Nothing less than $40,000 for those interested.

I flew back on Sunday, missing the Leafs 5-2 win in Anaheim. Three in a row on the road?! Seriously, this team is good and so much more fun to watch than two years ago. Already planning my trip to Alberta in February.

Best,

Sean

NFL Playoff Picture - Week 12

2011-11-29T13:18:00.002+09:00

Here we are with just 5 weeks left:


NFC
   Week 4      Week 10    Week 11     Week 12
1. GB  (4-0)   GB  (9-0)  GB  (10-0)  GB  (11-0)
2. Was (3-1)   SF  (8-1)  SF  (9-1)   SF  (9-2)
3. SF  (3-1)   NO  (6-3)  NO  (7-3)   NO  (8-3)
4. TB  (3-1)   NYG (6-3)  Dal (6-4)   Dal (7-4)
5. Det (4-0)   Det (6-3)  Det (7-3)   Chi (7-4)
6. NYG (3-1)   Chi (6-3)  Chi (7-3)   Atl (7-4)

AFC
   Week 4      Week 10    Week 11     Week 12
1. Hou (3-1)   Hou (6-3)  NE  (7-3)   Hou (8-3)
2. Buf (3-1)   NE  (6-3)  Hou (7-3)   NE  (8-3)
3. Bal (3-1)   Bal (6-3)  Bal (7-3)   Bal (8-3)
4. SD  (3-1)   Oak (5-4)  Oak (6-4)   Oak (7-4)
5. Ten (3-1)   Cin (6-3)  Pit (7-3)   Pit (8-3)
6. NE  (3-1)   Pit (6-3)  Cin (6-4)   Cin (7-4)

The NFC saw Atlanta sneak in after both Chicago and Detroit lost. The Bears have a better conference record than Detroit and beat the Falcons back in Week 1, while the Falcons beat the Lions in Week 7, so they get the final spot.

In the AFC, Houston won a conference game over Jacksonville while New England beat Philly, so the Texans now have a better conference record than the Pats and hence the top seed. No other changes as all 6 playoff teams won.

Best,

Sean

Miami Dolphins 19 at Dallas Cowboys 20 - November 24, 2011

2011-11-25T12:39:00.010+09:00

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! For me, it was a great day highlighted by a pretty good football game at Dallas Cowboys Stadium. The Miami Dolphins were visiting and with both teams riding 3-game win streaks, I had high hopes of witnessing a good battle, and I wasn't disappointed.

Dallas Cowboys Stadium

Everything is bigger in Texas, and this stadium is no different. Cowboys' owner Jerry Jones opened this monster of a venue in 2009 amongst much fanfare. It is the largest domed stadium in the world, seating 80,000 with room for an extra 30,000 persons standing. I could write dozens of "largest" or "most" facts about this place, but such a statement becomes too much about the numbers rather than the fan experience. Suffice to say that Cowboys Stadium is very big and very impressive.

The stadium is located in Arlington, next to the Texas Rangers Ballpark, which is visible to the east.

The first thing to note is how outrageously expensive parking is. I didn't see prices next to lots as they are all for season ticket holders, but judging from people selling parking, you would expect to pay around $75. Park at nearby businesses was $30. There may be free parking around, but I was staying close enough that I didn't have to look for it. There is also a shuttle bus from Fort Worth that costs $10 round trip, so not really worth it if you have more than two people.

Once you have taken care of your transport, you will need to get tickets. These are also very expensive, but relative to the parking, not as much of a rip-off. You can buy a Party Pass at $29, which allows for access to the stadium but no seat. There are party decks at both end zones where you can stand, but these were quite crowded.

There are four levels of seating, but if you want to sit between the 20-yard-lines, you will be looking at the 400 level as the other 3 have club seats in the prime locations. The first six rows of this level are the Sideline loge and cost $149. This section is separated from those above by a wall, which means that row 9 of the upper deck is the first row in that section. Seats here range from $75 to $109. There are 27 seats per row up here, but only one listed entrance per section. However, you can walk behind the sideline loge seats to another stairwell which is not visible from the concourse. It takes 4 escalators to get up to the 400 level, but the seats aren't that terrible. Binocular rentals are available for $10 though.

Clubs and suites ticket holders have their own entrance to the stadium which are essentially on the north and south side. Below is shot of field level suites, which would seem to be a poor location for actually watching the game as the sidelines are packed with a lot of people.

The rest of us enter through one of two plazas, depending on your ticket. These areas are filled with promotion, large TV screens, and concessions and are a good place to enjoy the weather before the game. Note that lineups at some gates were huge, perhaps 20-30 minutes to get in, but I found one nearby that had no waiting, so walk around if you have time. Below is the AT&T Plaza, located on the west side of the stadium.

Once you are inside, you will immediately notice the insanely huge HD video screen, which is so compelling that you might forget that you are at the game. The screen is 160 feet long by 72 feet high, and the quality is incredible. The picture above shows it from the corner of the end zone on the lower concourse, while the shot below is from an upper deck seat, where you can see how big it is in relation to the stands.

For a while, I sat close to the action, as you can see below. Ha, fooled you! This picture is taken directly from the screen. Truly amazing.

Concessions are plentiful but not particularly varied. I had a chopped BBQ burger for $8.50 and it was OK. Nachos were the plate of choice judging from the locals. An interesting option is a huge dill pickle for just $3. If you don't plan to drink, then sign up for the Designated Driver program to get a free bottle of water, which is normally $5. There are vendors walking though the stands, including some selling $16 margaritas, which were surprisingly popular.

Restrooms were crowded at halftime and after the game, with long lines at both. Plan to avoid them if at all possible, if not, use one of the many TV timeouts to dash down.

The Ring of Honor is between two suite levels and contains the names of 20 Cowboys who have been honored for their service to the club. Below are a couple of names you might recognize.

The Art Program is a collection of sculptures and paintings scattered throughout the stadium. It is a cool idea and adds some colour where otherwise you would be looking at concrete. I saw a few of them but this is the only one I could snap without other fans blocking the view.

Overall, this is one of the most amazing sports venues I have seen. It is unfortunate that it costs so much, but I cannot argue with supply and demand. The Cowboys are like the Yankees, and fans are paying to be part of the experience. After today's game, I can see the appeal; I hope to come back soon, perhaps to try the party pass and spend more money on food and drink.

Finally a couple of comparison shots, one at sunrise above (thanks jet lag!) and one in the afternoon below.

The Game

The first half was pretty crap as neither team could do much with the ball. Tony Romo (above, practicing his holds) threw two picks in the Cowboys' first three possessions, but Miami couldn't capitalize, getting just a field goal from Shane Graham (below) after the second interception.

Dallas tied the game when Dan Bailey hit a 32-yard FG with 4:42 left in the half. After both teams followed with ugly 3-and-out possessions, Miami took over from their 28 with 1:45 left. On 2nd and 9, QB Matt Moore bobbled the snap and the ball bounced back toward the end zone. Dallas LB DeMarcus Ware reached it first and the Cowboys had possession on the Dolphins' 5-yard line.

Romo wasted no time, hitting a crossing Laurent Robinson on the first play and the Cowboys had the lead 10-3. It was Robinson's 5th consecutive game with a TD. Miami ended the half with a decent drive, helped by a pass interference call, but again they could not find the end zone and settled for a field goal to make the halftime score 10-6 Dallas.

The 3rd quarter was a nightmare for the home team. Miami used nearly 7 minutes on their first possession, moving the ball down to the Dallas 9 before being forced to again kick a field goal. After the Cowboys did nothing on their subsequent possession, the Dolphins scored quickly, when Moore hit Brandon Marshall for a 35-yard touchdown. Marshall was being choked by Terence Newman but still managed to make an outstanding catch and the Dolphins led 16-10.

I'm open Matt! Look at me!

Dallas drove to the Miami 23 as time expired in the 3rd. The first play of the fourth was a pass to Jason Witten who gained 18 yards before being forced out of bounds, where he slammed into a cheerleader. She was unhurt, quickly getting up and smiling to the crowd. On the next play, Romo again found a streaking Robinson in the end zone to tie the game. After the extra point, the Cowboys led 17-16.

The Dolphins then drove another 7 minutes, helped by two Dallas penalties, only to be stopped 5 yards short of the goal line. Graham hit his 4th field goal of the game and Miami was poised to upset Dallas, leading 19-17 with 7 minutes left.

The Cowboys couldn't execute on their following drive, and Miami took over with 4:47 left, needing a couple of first downs to really put the game away. But they went 3 and out and Dallas had one last chance, taking possession at their 36 with 2:59 left.

A 23-yard pass to Witten put the Cowboys into Miami territory and two good runs by DeMarco Murray (#29 above) brought the ball to the 20 with 1:52 left. This was easily close enough for Bailey, but the Cowboys needed to take time off the clock, which they did with Murray running 3 times for 12 yards. After Romo knelt, the Cowboys took their final timeout with 3 seconds left. Bailey calmly walked out and booted a 28-yarder to win the game as time expired. It was his 26th consecutive made FG and sent the fans home happy.

In reality though, this was not a good game. Yes, the finish was exciting, but neither team was effective. Miami outplayed the Cowboys but could not get a TD in the red zone, going 0-4 with a FG to show for every trip. If you are a Cowboys' fan, you should be worried; your team will not do well in the playoffs if they don't improve their offense.

Notes

Kudos to the Cowboys for showing all highlights, not just those that are good for the home team. Fans deserve to see replays of any meaningful action.

Former 1st overall pick Jake Long had a terrible game, getting flagged for three false start penalties as well as an obvious hold. He was beaten a couple of times for sacks as well.

The cheerleaders live up to the hype, performing before the game and at several points during and being very energetic and pretty good as well. The best use of the large screen is when they show close ups of them. You can see the cameraman in the shot below; not a bad job.

The national anthem was sung by a boy band known as Big Time Rush. As a Canadian, I believe no other band should be allowed to use the word Rush in their name.

There was also a halftime concert but I didn't bother watching. It amazed me though how quickly they can disassemble a stage; it took less than 2 minutes from the concert ending until the field was ready for play.

The last time an NFC East team defeated an AFC East team by a 20-19 score? The Giants Super Bowl victory over the Bills back in 1991. Ugh.

Next Up

Leafs at Stars tomorrow night! Hoping for a visitor victory in this one.

Best,

Sean

Arizona Sundogs 4 at Texas Brahmas 3 (OT) - November 23, 2011

2011-11-24T20:36:00.003+09:00

I'm in Texas! After an 18-hour trip from Tokyo to Dallas via Detroit, I had just over an hour to get to the NYTEX Sports Center for a CHL game between the Texas Brahmas and Arizona Sundogs. The flight landed 30 minutes early, around 5:15 pm. The car rental center at DFW is offsite, about 10 minutes from the airport, and with the lineup at the counter, I wasn't in the car until 6:15. The rink is just 20 minutes away from the airport, and amazingly I made it without getting lost, arriving in plenty of time for the puck drop.

CHL

The Central Hockey League is a 14-team league based in nine states across the midwest and southern US. The league began with six teams in 1992 and like all minor leagues, has seen its membership vary widely. Last season they took on 5 teams from the International Hockey League, but this year they lost 5 teams, including the defending champion Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs.

Each team plays 66 games over the course of the season with 8 squads making the playoffs. Three rounds of playoffs culminate in the awarding of the Ray Miron President's Cup, named after the league's founder.

Dallas and Fort Worth each had teams in the original league but both folded. When the CHL merged with the Western Professional Hockey League in 2001, the Fort Worth Brahmas were one of the WPHL franchises that came onboard. In 2006, the team was unable to negotiate a lease with their home arena, which caused them to miss a season. They rejoined the league in 2007, moving to their current location and renaming themselves the Texas Brahmas. Since then they've been quite successful, winning a league championship in 2009. The picture above shows two banners, one for the Fort Worth Fire and then the 2009 Division Championship for Texas.

NYTEX Sports Centre

Located in North Richland Hills, a suburb of Fort Worth, the NYTEX Sports Centre (spelled the Canadian way!) is one of many suburban sports complexes that have sprung up recently. The Brahamas are the main tenant, but the rink is also used for community skating and other activities, including volleyball.

Parking is widely available on the street here, although there is also a lot that was charging $5. There are five ticket selections, with seats on the glass going for $35, rows 2-5 (Club) at $23, rows 6-9 (Plaza) at $19, rows 10-11 (Mezzanine) at $16 and then the end zone seats at $13. The Plaza seats might be your best bet as those in the Mezzanine are partially blocked by the section separators. When sitting in the last row, I could not see the action in one corner. Also note that the Club and Plaza seats are actually seats, while the others are simply benches with the seat number written on the bench itself in marker.

The venue is quite small and is divided into two levels. The main concourse is where all of the promotions are advertised and has the main concession stand, which sells the usual suspects and always seemed to be crowded. There is a stairway here that leads to the upper concourse, which might be better to use if you are sitting in the top few rows or the end zone. There is also a smaller concession here which was had far fewer patrons.

ZuRoma is an Italian restaurant on the premises which purports to have great pizza but was rather empty during the game. It might be worth checking out if you get there well before faceoff.

There is also an air hockey table that garnered much attention during the intermissions, which were a bit longer than I am used to at 18 minutes.

NYTEX is a simple venue that serves its purpose as a community centre but also houses a pro hockey team. The fans here were great, very supportive of their squad; most had some form of Brahma attire on and were very loud with cowbells the most common accessory. Other than the design flaw that prevents the top row of seats from seeing the whole ice surface, this is an enjoyable rink to catch some CHL action.

The Game

The season is early and neither team has sparkled yet, with the Brahmas lying 5th and Arizona 6th in the 7-team Berry Conference.

The first period was sloppy. It might be the ice, or simply a lack of talent, but there were few chances for either team. The only goal was scored by the Sundogs when Jeff Hazelwood slipped a weak backhander behind rookie netminder Mark Guggenberger.

The second period saw 3 power play goals - the first by Arizona on a slapper from the point. Texas scored a similar tally on their first PP of the period, and then knotted the game with a great wrist shot from Chad Woollard.

Early on in the third period, Calin Wild made a strong effort in front as the puck rolled away from Arizona keeper Levente Szuper (pictured above, he once sat on the bench for nine games for the Flames but never saw any NHL action). Wild lunged and managed to nudge the puck into the empty net to give the home team their first lead of the game (below).

The Brahmas couldn't hold on though as Hazelwood snuck an easy one past Guggenberger midway through the frame. From where I sat and judging from the Brahmas' reactions, it looked like a shot he should have stopped.

The rest of the period saw a few chances, but no more goals, so we went to overtime. Again Hazelwood was again the hero, notching his hat-trick goal exactly 3 minutes into the extra stanza to give the visitors the win.

The level here is clearly not as good as the ECHL, and perhaps slightly worse than the Asian League I saw last week. There were few good plays, and rarely would more than two passes connect consecutively. Usually players were falling over each other in a seemingly random pattern as the puck bounced around. There was one good fight though, and the play here was physical. Still, it is safe to say that there aren't a lot of NHL scouts hoping to find a diamond in the rough in this league. The fans had a great time though and the game was quite enjoyable, and that is all that matters.

Notes

One promotion the Brahmas have is the Brahama Bull throw. Before the game, $2 gets you a small plastic bull with a number on it. When the Brahmas score, you throw your bull on the ice. At the end of the game, one lucky winner gets a Brahmas' hat, worth about $2.50. So after each home team goal, there is a slight delay as the ice kids gather up the tossed toros while the Texas goalie watches.

It was Military Appreciation Night and the main concourse had some interesting displays on military history. As well, the Brahmas wore special third jerseys that were very patriotic, with the Statue of Liberty on them.

After the game, there is a free public skate. The arena lends fans a pair of skates and you can circle the ice a few times with some Brahma players. I was far too tired to participate in this, but it is a great idea.

Next Up

It is Thanksgiving today and I am going to the Cowboys Dolphins game. Tomorrow it will be the Leafs and Stars before a tripleheader of college and minor-league action Saturday. Check back for updates as usual.

Best,

Sean

NFL Playoff Picture - Week 11

2011-11-22T12:58:00.002+09:00

This year I am posting a new playoff picture post every week for the rest of the season. The NFL has a real fancy page for this but this page will keep the history week-to-week, which I hope will make it slightly more interesting.


NFC
  Week 4       Week 10    Week 11
1. GB  (4-0)   GB  (9-0)  GB  (10-0)
2. Was (3-1)   SF  (8-1)  SF  (9-1)
3. SF  (3-1)   NO  (6-3)  NO  (7-3)
4. TB  (3-1)   NYG (6-3)  Dal (6-4)
5. Det (4-0)   Det (6-3)  Det (7-3)
6. NYG (3-1)   Chi (6-3)  Chi (7-3)

AFC
  Week 4       Week 10    Week 11
1. Hou (3-1)   Hou (6-3)  NE  (7-3)
2. Buf (3-1)   NE  (6-3)  Hou (7-3)
3. Bal (3-1)   Bal (6-3)  Bal (7-3)
4. SD  (3-1)   Oak (5-4)  Oak (6-4)
5. Ten (3-1)   Cin (6-3)  Pit (7-3)
6. NE  (3-1)   Pit (6-3)  Cin (6-4)

The NFC saw only one change as Dallas moved atop the East after the Giants lost at home to Philly. I am really looking forward to seeing the game at Cowboys Stadium later this week; the Dolphins and Matt Moore look like they might put up a fight.

In the AFC, the Pats are the first-seed after a victory over the Chiefs. You might wonder how New England leapfrogged Houston with both winning. The answer is that the Texans' 7th victory was non-conference, which meant that both teams now had 6-2 conference records. The Pats have a better strength of victory, so take top spot. Four teams are at 5-5 and still have a chance, including the slumping Bills.

Best,

Sean

Beware those Gaudy Japanese Pitching Stats

2011-11-21T00:22:00.007+09:00

The Japanese baseball season ended yesterday with the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks taking game 7 of the Japan Series, 3-0 over the Chunichi Dragons. This was the fifth game in the series with just 3 runs; four games finished 2-1, while the other two were 4-2 and 5-0. That's a total of just 26 runs over seven games, a ridiculously low amount. By comparison there were 68 runs scored in the seven games of the World Series, including 23 in game 3 alone.

So is pitching in the NPB that much better relative to hitting than it is in the MLB? Probably not. It turns out that the NPB changed the baseballs they use for this season, going with one ball rather than four different balls as they used to. The new ball is much less springy and has larger seams among other modifications. The result was a massive drop in offense and very happy pitchers.

Here are some numbers from 2010 and 2011 and the percentage change.


Stat       2010   2011   %Chg
Average    .269   .247   - 8.1
Runs       7582   5663   -25.3
Hits      15746  13891   -11.8
HR         1605    939   -41.5
Slugging   .407   .344   -15.5

ERA        4.03   3.00   -25.5
BB         5108   4264   -16.5
K         11904  11518   - 3.2
SV          381    441   +15.7
SHO         126    196   +55.6

Wow, a 41% drop in dingers and a 56% rise in team shutouts. If you like runs, you will not enjoy the NPB very much. I generally prefer pitchers duels to offensive explosions, but when low-scoring games are so common, they lose their impact.

There are a few other points I want to make here. First, be careful stating any statistics from the 2011 NPB season without noting the overall lack of offense. Six pitchers finished with ERAs under 2, while only nine batters were above .300. This winter will see Yu Darvish's named bandied about as he considers moving to the majors. His line this year was amazing (18-6, 1.44, 36/276 K/BB ratio) and I suspect that you will see it often. Don't get me wrong, Darvish is a great hurler, but be aware that his stats this year were definitely affected by the new baseballs. You'll need the more advanced sabermetrics such as ERA+ to really understand how good he was. (As an aside, Masahiro Tanaka had an even better year.)

The low-scoring games also contributed to the increase in ties this season. It's simply easier to tie a game 2-2 than 8-8, and so we saw far more draws this year (56 compared to just 16 in 2010), much to my chagrin. There were even three 0-0 tilts in what can only be described as an abomination of the natural laws of baseball.

Amazingly, despite the reduction in offense, game times hardly changed. Regular readers will know that the main reason I stopped going to NPB games was that they were often interminable, taking well over 3 hours for a rather mundane result, such as 6-2. Last season the average 9-inning game was 3:13, this year 3:06, a mere 3.6% reduction. If you take the total runs scored this year and divide by the total minutes played, you get an average of 2.09 runs per hour, soccer-like numbers. Sorry, but that's just not entertaining baseball.

When I moved here, the NPB was interesting and compelling, with a single championship series. The addition of the Climax Series made the season meaningless, and these latest modifications to the baseball make the games dull and plodding affairs. Most fans don't notice this because baseball isn't covered in the same manner as it is in the States; it seems that there are few writers that cover the big picture here. So I believe the average fan is not able to appreciate the changes that the sport has undergone.

The NPB will investigate the results of this new baseball during the offseason, but it is not clear if changes will be made. For the sake of fans who enjoy a balance between offense and defense, I hope they do something.

Best,

Sean

Asia League Ice Hockey Doubleheader - November 6, 2011

2011-11-19T12:35:00.001+09:00

The Asia League Ice Hockey (ALH) is a relatively new circuit that formed in 2003 after the Korean Ice Hockey League folded. At that time, the Japan Ice Hockey League (JIHL) was suffering a decline in popularity, so they brought in a single Korean team along with four Japanese teams. Over the years, the league has seen teams come and go; this season there are four squads in Japan, two in Korea, and one in China. Each team plays the other six times over a 6-month span (a schedule that NHL players no doubt envy) and then there is a playoff, with the winner being awarded the aptly-named Championship Trophy.

None of the four Japanese teams play in the Tokyo area, but a few times a season they have weekend doubleheaders at one of two rinks where the JIHL was once based. I had never had occasion to go as my lone JIHL experience was rather forgettable, but at a recent street hockey tournament in which I was "officiating", I met a guy who told me he was refereeing in ALH (his photo above). I was immediately intrigued and when I discovered that he would be reffing games on November 5 and 6th in Yokohama, I decided to check it out.

Shin-Yokohama Skate Center

Located about 5 minutes from Shin-Yokohama station, the arena is used more for figure skating than ice hockey judging from the name as well as the display in the cafeteria, which shows some of the more famous skaters who have practiced there.

The seating bowl is tiny, with four rows of plastic seats (reserved) and three rows of wooden benches closer to the glass. If you want a reserved seat (4,000 yen), you can only get it for one of the two games, then you must move to the benches, which are 3,000 yen for both games. If you sit behind the players' bench, you will have trouble seeing the game as the players stand throughout. A lot of fans choose to stand at the top of the seating area, which offers the best view but is hard on your legs.

There are a few items in the cafeteria (above), but you are best advised to purchase your food from the convenience store located on the ground floor, which has much more selection and is a bit cheaper. As usual, you can bring anything you want in.

You cannot walk around the entire arena on the concourse as one end is limited by the small size of the building. There is a small shop selling hockey equipment and other sporting goods, but otherwise nothing else. I don't expect too many people to go out of their way to visit here, but if you do, now you know what to expect.

Game 1 - Tohoku Free Blades 2 vs Oji Eagles 3

The Free Blades (in blue above) come from the area that was devastated by the tsunami back in March, while the Eagles, a team that has been around since 1925, play out of Hokkaido. Tohoku had only won 3 of 13 to lie 6th of 7 teams, while Oji (in white below) was a more respectable 4-5, but only 5th as they had played fewer games. (The league breaks down the standings into regulation wins (3 points), OT wins (2) SO wins (2), SO losses (1), OT losses (1) and regulation losses (0). This is stupid, so I'm just listing their W-L record.)

This was the game that my acquaintance was refereeing so I spent more time focused on the officials rather than the play. I did notice that Oji was the stronger team as they outshot Tohoku 15-4 over the first 20 minutes, but they were down 1-0 on a goal from Paul Albers. Early in the second, Aaron McKenzie blasted a shot from the point that beat Masahito Haruna (below) to make it 2-0.

That seemed to wake up the Eagles, who responded with a lot of pressure that resulted in a goal just a few minutes later when Marc Cavosie pounced on a loose puck and put it home. The third period was when Oji really showed their class as they scored twice in a minute, including a great slapshot from Aaron Keller, who had come off the bench and was spotted by Cavosie. A deft cross-ice pass and one-timer left Tohoku keeper Michio Hashimoto with no chance and the Eagles were up 3-2. They held on to that lead and although the Free Blades had a few chances as time wound down, nothing else beat Haruna.

After the game, the Eagles bowed to their happy fans as is customary here.

This was a decent game with good flow, helped out by some solid officiating. There were 11 minors called, but none of the post-whistle pushing and shoving that can make minor league hockey so frustrating.

After an hour or so break during which you could leave the arena to find some more food, it was time for the second match of the day.

Game 2 - Nikko Icebucks 6 vs Nippon Paper Cranes 5

The Icebucks play out of Nikko, which is just a couple of hours from Tokyo. They are the class of the league so far at 11-5, while the Cranes, another Hokkaido-based squad, were in the middle of the pack at 6-6. That's backup goalie Kazuhito Kiyokawa below, sporting the brightest pads I've ever seen.

This game was marred by penalties: 20 in all, evenly split between the teams, both of whom scored 3 power-play goals. There was even a penalty shot. The game never had any real flow because of the overzealous refs, and took nearly 3 hours to complete, helped along by some difficulties with the glass at one point.

The Cranes opened the scoring just 2 minutes in when Tyler Mosienko (above) made a great individual move to beat Yutaka Fukufuji (below). NHL observers will recognize both names; Mosienko is the grandson of Hall-of-Famer Bill Mosienko who is best remembered for scoring 3 goals in 21 seconds, while Fukufuji was the first Japanese to play in the NHL, where he appeared in four games with the LA Kings back in 2006-07.

When the Cranes added a power-play tally midway through the period, it looked like an upset was brewing, but the Icebucks dominated the next 40 minutes, scoring 6 unanswered goals, including a hat trick from captain Takahito Suzuki (below).

Nippon Paper refused to fold (sorry!) though and scored three times in 6 minutes, the last coming with 2:02 to go. But they couldn't muster the tying marker and Nikko won by the 6-5 count. I didn't stay to watch the post-game as I had a train to catch, but I am sure there was more bowing involved.

Worth It?

Overall, the hockey isn't particularly good but it can be entertaining. There were certainly some nice plays and quality saves, but generally the play was a bit choppy. The most obvious difference is the lack of physicality compared to the NHL and even junior hockey. It seemed like there were more collisions between teammates than actual bodychecks. I'd say it's similar to the ECHL without all the fighting and well worth checking out if you are in Japan in the winter.

Next Up

Texas! I'm flying to Dallas for a 6-game, 4-night Thanksgiving trip highlighted by the Leafs at the Stars. Check back next week for updates.

Best,

Sean

NFL Playoff Picture - Week 10

2011-11-16T22:00:00.000+09:00

The NFL fooled me this season, and postponed their final bye week until week 11. So 4 teams have played ten games, which makes a true playoff picture a bit tricky. What I've done is revert those 4 clubs to their week 9 records so that every team has played nine games. I'm comparing these to the standings after 4 weeks; let's see what has changed.


NFC
 Week 4        Week 10
1. GB  (4-0)   GB  (9-0)
2. Was (3-1)   SF  (8-1)
3. SF  (3-1)   NO  (6-3)
4. TB  (3-1)   NYG (6-3)
5. Det (4-0)   Det (6-3)
6. NYG (3-1)   Chi (6-3)

AFC
 Week 4        Week 10
1. Hou (3-1)   Hou (6-3)
2. Buf (3-1)   NE  (6-3)
3. Bal (3-1)   Bal (6-3)
4. SD  (3-1)   Oak (5-4)
5. Ten (3-1)   Cin (6-3)
6. NE  (3-1)   Pit (6-3)

Parity rules. This should be an exciting finish to the season. Note that Pittsburgh beat Cincinnati this past weekend but are below them because of a worse conference record after 9 games played. After next week, they will be on top of Cincinnati because of the victory. This also means Baltimore is the division leader after 9 games by virtue of their season sweep of the Steelers.

The questions I asked back in October:

1. Are the Texans going to end their playoff drought? A: Looked good until Schaub went down for the season.

2. Can the Bills begin another glorious decade? A: No, still a ways to go for consistency.

3. Will anyone beat Green Bay? A: No.

Best,

Sean

Tripleheader Tops Texas Thanksgiving Trip

2011-11-15T21:52:00.001+09:00

I had planned my Texas Thanksgiving Trip about three weeks ago and had been spending the intervening days waiting for SMU to announce the game time for their tilt with Rice on Saturday. Today I was rewarded with the best news possible: an 11 am start! Why is this good news? Because it means I can see two more games that day! The National Basketball Development League opens that weekend and they are proceeding with their season despite the NBA players being locked out. The Texas Legends play out of Frisco, just 30 minutes north of Dallas and start with a match against cross-state rival Austin at 3 pm. College football games are interminable, so I might have to leave SMU-Rice early to get to Frisco for tip-off. After that it is a relaxing drive to Arlington to watch the UT Arlington Mavericks playing their final season at Texas Hall as they host Samford in a low-key clash. The full schedule:

Wed Nov 23  Arizona Sundogs at Texas Brahmas 7:00 (CHL)
Thu Nov 24  Miami Dolphins at Dallas Cowboys 3:15
Fri Nov 25  Toronto Maple Leafs at Dallas Stars 7:30
Sat Nov 26  Rice Owls at SMU Mustangs 11:00 (NCAA Football)
Sat Nov 26  Austin Toros at Texas Legends 3:00 (NBDL)
Sat Nov 26  Samford Bulldogs at UT Arlington Mavericks 7:00 (NCAA Basketball)

That's six games in four days. I've been looking for a game on Friday afternoon, but the best I can find is a college football game in Tulsa at 11 am. It could be done (about four hours each way) but would make the Leafs' game a tight squeeze. I don't want to drive a total of eight hours to leave a game early, so I'll spend Friday morning checking out the Caravaggio exhibition in Fort Worth. Hey, there's more to life than just sports!

Best,

Sean

Flying on the 787!

2011-11-05T16:56:00.001+09:00

For those of you who don't follow aviation, the past few years have been a struggle for Boeing as they tried to bring their newest airliner, the 787, into service. Originally scheduled to be delivered in late 2008, the program suffered a number of setbacks in both production and testing that caused a total of three years in delays. The 787 is the first composite jet aircraft (with the fuselage mostly composed of carbon fiber reinforced plastic rather than aluminum) and it is also the first aircraft to use an extremely modular manufacturing process, in which engineering firms around the world built the parts and shipped them to Seattle for final assembly. Given how completely different it is in both product and production, it is not entirely surprising that it took so long to get it right.

The first test flight was in late 2009 and from then, things have progressed relatively smoothly. Last month saw launch customer ANA, a Japanese carrier, receive their first plane with a special livery. They had already set their schedule this past summer, with the first flight taking place on October 25th. That was a charter from Narita to Hong Kong with many media members and aviation enthusiasts aboard. Regular service commenced on November 1st with daily flights to Okayama and Hiroshima. Unfortunately I had to work that day, but November 3rd was a holiday in Japan, so I decided to book a ticket that day for a one-night excursion to Okayama, returning on Friday, again on the 787.

When I booked the ticket, I was surprised that seats were still available on the holiday as I expected a great number of airplane geeks to snap them up. The price for the 787 flight was the same as for other flights, but it was an early departure, leaving Haneda at 7:30.

One of the great things about flying in Japan is that you can avoid the check-in desk entirely if you have a certain type of ticket. I arrived just before 7 for the flight, went through security in a minute (the TSA could learn a few things from the Japanese system) and finally got a glimpse of JA801A, the first 787 in revenue service. The gate area was filled, not only with passengers for the flight but also with those from other flights who had come to take a few pictures of the new bird.

When boarding began, there was a distinct buzz among the passengers, with most taking pictures from the jetbridge. Once on the plane, people took their seats quickly (only 10 minutes to board 264 passengers!) and then took the time to look around.

The 787 has a number of features that make flying much nicer. The most obvious is the lack of a window shade; instead passengers can darken the window through five levels of shading using a button just beneath. Even at the darkest setting, you can still see outside, which is a great benefit for those of us who enjoy the view while in the air. The windows themselves are about 1.3 times bigger than those found on older aircraft.

As we were boarding, the ceiling was lit with the colours of the rainbow, but once the flight was ready to leave, this was switched to a light blue.

ANA has configured the economy cabin in a 2-4-2 setup, with personal entertainment systems in each seat. The middle two seats are separated by a small space and each has its own armrest, so it is a bit more spacious than a typical middle seat.

One of the interesting features is the wing, which has a raked end and flexes during flight. Below is a picture of a wing with the sun rising beyond.

The 787 is noticeably less noisy than other planes, although I think the upper deck of the A380 is even quieter. There were times when you forgot you were flying, it was such a smooth and quiet ride. Pressurization on the aircraft is also much better, so much so that on landing I didn't have feel my ears pop as they normally do. Of course, the flight itself was only an hour long, so it wasn't enough time to really appreciate the differences between the 787 and its predecessors, and a lot of things I missed, such as the fancy new lavatories with washlets.

After we landed in Okayama and taxied to the terminal, I noticed a couple of hundred people lined up on the other side of a fence who were taking pictures. This is a big news event in Japan and aviation enthusiasts from around the country were happy to be able to see it firsthand.

The Okayama airport has an observation deck which costs 100 yen to enter, but allows for some good clear shots such as the one below.

If you are planning to visit Japan and looking to fly on this aircraft, ANA does have an English website. Okayama and Hiroshima are the only cities served at the moment, but more will be added as more planes are delivered. It's definitely a very cool plane and worth checking out when you get the chance. As for me, the ride was so comfortable though that I'm hoping to catch a long-haul flight on one of these in the near future.

Best,

Sean

Texas Thanksgiving Trip!

2011-10-25T00:12:00.001+09:00

It's been a long, boring summer for me, as work has prevented me from traveling as much as I'd like. However, the project I'm working on is finishing up in late November, so I thought I could swing a short west coast trip before Christmas. I checked out the Leafs' schedule and sure enough, they are in Anaheim on November 27th. I also noticed that they are visiting Dallas two nights before, and the American Airlines Center is one of the few NHL rinks that I have yet to visit. That Friday is part of the American Thanksgiving weekend and the Dallas Cowboys have a holiday home game the day before against the winless Miami Dolphins, who are battling Indianapolis and St. Louis for the right to draft Andrew Luck.

That Wednesday is a holiday here, which usually means air tickets are outrageously expensive. After some searching though, I found a reasonably-priced flight departing on Wednesday and returning Sunday. This opened up Saturday as a possible sports day and a quick check of college schedules showed an SMU football game would be played in Dallas. Suddenly we had the makings of a whirlwind sports road trip.

I checked the AHL schedule but there isn't a team close enough (the Texas Stars are about 3 hours south in Cedar Park). Fortunately, the Central Hockey League has four Texas-based teams and one of them is the Texas Brahmas who play just a few minutes from the airport. Amazingly they have a game that starts about an hour after my flight lands. It will be a tight squeeze, but I hope to make it. The full schedule is as follows:

Wed Nov 23  Arizona Sundogs at Texas Brahmas 7:00 (CHL)
Thu Nov 24  Miami Dolphins at Dallas Cowboys 3:15
Fri Nov 25  Toronto Maple Leafs at Dallas Stars 7:30
Sat Nov 26  Rice Owls at SMU Mustangs TBD (NCAA Football)
Sat Nov 26  Samford Bulldogs at UT Arlington Mavericks 7:00

That's it. Since the NBA is locked out, there won't be any Mavericks' games to see. Update: I might be seeing a Mavericks' game after all, just not the NBA variety. The University of Texas at Arlington Mavericks have a game on Saturday night - whether I can make it depends on what time the SMU game starts.

It's going to be a quick trip, but a lot of fun. Check back then for reports on all those games plus more. I can hardly wait!

Best,

Sean

2012 Florida Road Trip Planned!

2011-10-23T14:06:00.000+09:00

The Majors released the 2012 schedule about a month ago and I knew that I would be visiting Miami to see the Marlins' new stadium. When I saw that the Blue Jays would be playing there over a weekend in June, I knew that would be the linchpin of a great Florida trip, where I hoped to also see games in the 12 Florida State League parks as well as the Southern League's Jacksonville Suns and the Tampa Rays. I initially thought I would fly to Miami, but then I saw the Jays would be in Atlanta two weeks before their Marlins visit, so I added those 3 games onto the list and will fly straight there.

Next up was to find out if I could easily add the 13 other games plus some Rays' action. I don't think I've ever had a roadtrip schedule work out so perfectly - as I went from ballpark to ballpark in more or less the same order you would drive, each team had a home game on that day. Of course, the FSL is geographically concentrated, so you can choose from 2 or 3 locations but still, it was a lot of fun to have it work out so well.

Game times are mostly TBD, but there are no difficult drives on this jaunt, so it shouldn't be a problem. Without further ado, here's the schedule:

Fri Jun 8   Toronto Blue Jays at Atlanta Braves
Sat Jun 9   Toronto Blue Jays at Atlanta Braves
Sun Jun 10  Toronto Blue Jays at Atlanta Braves
Mon Jun 11  Jackson Generals at Jacksonville Suns 7:05
Tue Jun 12  Daytona Cubs at Brevard County Manatees 6:35
Wed Jun 13  Dunedin Blue Jays at Lakeland Flying Tigers
Thu Jun 14  Tampa Yankees at Clearwater Threshers
Fri Jun 15  Florida Marlins at Tampa Rays
Sat Jun 16  FSL All-Star Game at Port Charlotte
Sun Jun 17  Florida Marlins at Tampa Rays
Mon Jun 18  St. Lucie Mets at Bradenton Marauders
Tue Jun 19  Palm Beach Cardinals at Charlotte Stone Crabs
Wed Jun 20  Fort Myers Miracle at Jupiter Hammerheads
Thu Jun 21  Jupiter Hammerheads at Palm Beach Cardinals
Fri Jun 22  Toronto Blue Jays at Florida Marlins
Sat Jun 23  Toronto Blue Jays at Florida Marlins
Sun Jun 24  Toronto Blue Jays at Florida Marlins
Mon Jun 25  Daytona Cubs at St. Lucie Mets
Tue Jun 26  Tampa Yankees at Fort Myers Miracle
Wed Jun 27  Bradenton Marauders at Dunedin Blue Jays
Thu Jun 28  Brevard County Manatees at Tampa Yankees
Fri Jun 29  Dunedin Blue Jays at Daytona Cubs

June is still a very long time away, and I am planning a Prairie hockey trip for February to see the Leafs in Alberta as well as a couple of Jets games and a number of WHL contests. When that trip is set and booked, I'll post the schedule here. I'm also going to be seeing a few more events in Japan in the next month, so check back for reports on those.

Best,

Sean

Interconference Overtime Games - Conspiracy?

2011-10-22T11:16:00.003+09:00

I've been watching quite a bit of the NHL early in the sesaon, using the GameCenter Live package. I like to focus on interconference games when the Leafs aren't playing because those games are quite a bit rarer. Teams play only 18 out of 82 (22%) games against foes from the other conference which makes a Pittsburgh-Vancouver matchup more intriguing than another Penguins-Islanders tilt, for example.

This season, I've noticed a distinct pattern in these interconference battles - a large number of them go to overtime. Just today, the Sharks edged the Devils in a shootout while St. Louis dispatched Carolina in the extra frame. I decided to check the numbers and lo and behold, it is true. Through October 21, there have been 94 games played with 28 of those being between teams from different conferences. Of those 28 games, 14 have gone to extra time, while of the 66 intraconference matches, only 10 have seen bonus hockey. That's 50% compared to just 15%, or over 3 times as many interconference games that result in 3 points being awarded.

Obviously this is a small sample size so the significance of this is questionable. Nonetheless, it bears watching because there is a major difference between an overtime contest in which your opponent is out of conference: there is no penalty for allowing them that extra point as it won't impact you in the playoff race. When you are facing an in-conference team, an overtime game means that you only gain a point on them in the standings even if you win, so there is additional incentive to ensure that you take care of matters in regulation. However, when playing one of those 18 interconference affairs, why not allow both teams to get to overtime and then play for the extra point? There is no reason not to; the extra point given to your opponent won't haunt you come April.

Now, I am not seriously saying that this is a conspiracy, or that there is a new unwritten rule in the NHL. What I do think though is that in these games, teams are content to play for overtime as regulation time draws to a close, or perhaps teams with a 1-goal lead aren't as desperate to preserve it. When playing conference rivals though, the game is probably more intense and teams work harder to maintain the lead.

For now, as the season progresses, see if you notice any difference between your team's play when the opponent is from the opposite conference. I'll revisit this topic when the season ends and we have more statistics to either confirm or refute my theory.

Best,

Sean

Why Ties Suck in Baseball - Third Annual Edition

2011-10-21T16:57:00.003+09:00

The Japanese baseball season is coming to a close and yet again I am forced to write a post about how ties are used stupidly in the NPB. Of course, ties should never be employed in baseball. A long extra-inning game is fun to watch as a fan, but it also hurts those teams with poor bullpen depth, forcing them to manage subsequent games differently. Having no set time is another aspect that makes baseball so intriguing and unique - the possibility that a game may last forever. Sadly, that possibility is not even on the table in Japan. I know when I reach the park, I won't be seeing any more than 10 or 12 or whatever innings limit is set that season. There are obviously some good reasons for that, particularly related to fans needing to get home on trains which stop around midnight, so I won't belabor this point any longer.

The point that I will belabor though is that ties should not be ignored in the standings. Check out the battle for 3rd place in the Pacific League:

Seibu 68-67-9 0.503703

Orix 69-68-7 0.503649

According to Yomiuri (yes, the owners of the hated Giants) "Orix had 69 wins, but its .5036 winning percentage was one-thousandth of a point behind Seibu's." Actually, the difference was 1/18,495. Note that in Japan, the winning percentage is calculated by excluding ties. Those games simply don't count in the standings. So Seibu won 68 out of 135 games, while Orix won 69 of 137. When you multiply 135x137, you get 18,495.

So Seibu are rewarded with a playoff berth despite winning fewer games than Orix. Interestingly, Seibu won more games than Softbank last year but finished second because of this same silly rule. In these cases, a 1-game playoff would be the fair and fan-friendly thing to do.

I should point out that after the earthquake, some tie games were called after 9 innings to save electricity. This resulted in a large number of ties (56 compared to 16 last year) and only two teams managed to win more than half their games. Those two squads (Chunichi and Softbank) should be facing off in the Nippon Series, instead we get two extra weeks of pedestrian teams playing. The only bright spot is that Yakult (the team I cheer for, who choked away the pennant with a dreadful finish) will be hosting those hated Giants in the first round of the playoffs and it would be wonderful if they could knock them out. (11/1 Update: Swallows won 2-1! Now they move on to face the Dragons. In the PL, Seibu swept Nippon Ham and Darvish-mania may hit MLB next year.)

Regardless of that outcome though, the fact remains that ties are ignored in the standings. This is just plain stupid and I hope the NPB finds a better way to deal with them in the future.

Best,

Sean

Honozumo at Yasukuni Shrine

2011-10-09T15:06:00.003+09:00

I've mentioned here a few times that I've pretty much given up on sumo for a number of reasons. But once in a while, I get dragged back into it by a friend who has yet to see it live and asks me for help in getting tickets or other advice. Most recently, a co-worker inquired about the January tournament so I went online (using lmgtfy.com) to see what was available. As I perused the options, I noticed that there was Honozumo at Yasukuni Shrine the very next day.

The Dohyo

As it was a work day, I asked for an extended lunch and a few co-workers and I took a cab over to the shrine. Yasukuni (ironically it means peaceful country) is famous throughout Asia as the place where 14 class-A war criminals are enshrined and hence is a sensitive topic among Koreans, Chinese, and others whose forebears were victims of Japan's relentless empire. There seems to be annual stories where a leading Japanese politician pays a visit to the shrine, ostensibly to honour all of Japan's war dead, but naturally the focus falls on those few whose actions brought shame to the nation and an international incident results.

Takamisakari preparing for battle

Interestingly, sumo has been through its own shameful period lately, but is slowly recovering after a particularly damning match-fixing scandal. As Honozumo is a one-day ceremonial tournament held outdoors as a gift to the gods, it felt to me like the sumo world was asking for forgiveness through this event. The gods seemed to accept this offering, as the weather couldn't have been better for this outdoor ceremony.

Tamanoshima during the dohyo-iri

Much like a jungyo tournament (these are the tours that take place between the main tournaments and offer those outside the big cities a chance to see their heroes), Honozumo has more than just sumo bouts. There are performances of jinku (sumo song), taiko drumming, and the like. All the big names are there and it attracts a good crowd despite being held on a Friday afternoon. It is free to enter and you can sit pretty much anywhere. Even arriving at noon, we had no trouble moving within a few feet of the dohyo.

Tachi-ai

We spent two hours there, catching the final bouts of Makushita, as well as those from Juryo, the Makunouchi dohyo-iri (below, with Takanoyama from the Czech Republic in the foreground), and finally Hakuho doing his own yokozuna entrance ceremony.

Bento and small bowls of chanko nabe were available as were beer and soft drinks. The event began at 9 am and finished sometime after 3 pm, making for a full day for those without the distractions of the office. Unfortunately for us, work beckoned and we missed the Makunouchi battles, but it was still an incredible afternoon. Below are three more foreign-born rikishi.

Juryo Aoiyama from Bulgaria

Ozeki Kotooshu from Bulgaria

Ozeki Baruto from Estonia

All four of my co-workers had never seen sumo live before (amazing considering three of them are Japanese) and they found it to be quite intriguing. It is definitely a great experience and if you ever have a chance, take the time to check this out. This event is held only once or twice a year so you'll have to check the sumo events page regularly to make sure you don't miss it, but if you see it listed, make a note of it and take a day off to enjoy a free display of Japan's traditional sport.

Best,

Sean

NFL Playoff Picture - Week 4

2011-10-04T13:46:00.002+09:00

For the last couple of seasons, I've done a NFL playoff picture update for the final 6 weeks of the season. It is a good way to remember what happens from week-to-week and see which teams are moving up in time for the Super Bowl run. This year, I'm posting the playoff teams after week 4, using the NFL's tiebreaker system. Then after all the bye weeks are completed, we'll see how important the first 4 weeks really are. Without further ado, here are your 12 playoff teams as of October 4th, 2011.

NFC

 Week 4
1. GB  (4-0)
2. Was (3-1)
3. SF  (3-1)
4. TB  (3-1)
5. Det (4-0)
6. NYG (3-1)

AFC
 Week 4
1. Hou (3-1)
2. Buf (3-1)
3. Bal (3-1)
4. SD  (3-1)
5. Ten (3-1)
6. NE  (3-1)

Are the Texans going to end their playoff drought? Can the Bills begin another glorious decade? Will anyone beat Green Bay? All these questions will be answered in November, so check back then for an update.

Best,

Sean

F1 in Singapore

2011-10-01T21:36:00.000+09:00

Last year I saw my first F1 race in Malaysia and found it to be a great experience. So when my girlfriend told me she had a business trip to Singapore the week before the F1 was to be held there, I decided to accompany her and spend some time watching cars go really fast.

Singapore is the only night race on the F1 calendar and for that reason alone, it is very popular. Most tickets were good for all 3 days of the weekend (practice is held on Friday night, practice and qualifying on Saturday, and the race on Sunday night). I only wanted to see the race, but the Sunday-only tickets were sold out in advance. Fortunately, the organizers made some walkabout tickets available on Sunday morning and I was able to pick one up after queuing for an hour at the main ticket center in the Raffles Place Convention Center.

The walkabout ticket allows you into one of four "zones" but it includes the Padang, a large park area surrounded by concessions and a stage where concerts are held, as well as the Esplanade bridge, one of the faster areas on the circuit. At S$148 (about $110), it is the cheapest option. If you want to sit, you can expect to pay twice that at a minimum, but you do get all three days for that. The pictures here are from various points in the walkabout area, where you can see plenty of great skyline views.

The track is a city circuit, which means that the cars race on normal roads. The track is set up a week in advance, which is a nightmare for local drivers, but provides chances for fans to walk around the area and figure out where the best place to watch might be.

Two views of the skyline, the above from the Padang, the below from Esplanade Bridge.

The Practice

On Friday evening, I was fortunate to find myself next to One Raffles Link, which hosts an Irish bar called Durty Nelly's. From here you can watch the cars race along Raffles Blvd until they hit turn 7, a sharp left turn that requires sudden braking and immediate acceleration off the turn. It was amazing to watch the differences in the driver skills as those at the top of the sport and with better cars were able to brake much closer to the turn, while the bottom feeders slowed down well in advance.

This is a great place to watch the practice from and it is free, and you can enjoy a real beer as well. Even better, there are some areas where there is no fence as you can see in the pictures above and below. Just don't forget your earplugs!

The Race

The race was scheduled to begin at 8:00, but you can enter the track from 3:00 and enjoy the food and entertainment on offer. There are two other races involving lesser cars and younger drivers which can be mildly interesting. Most fans ignore these though, and wander about, looking for the best place to stand or sit. There are raised viewing platforms but these become extremely crowded as the race approaches and you are forced to stay there the whole time to save your spot.

About an hour before the race, the drivers are paraded about in classic cars, waving to their fans. That's Timo Glock below, checking his twitter feed instead of basking in the cheering throng.

I stood along the Esplanade Bridge for the race, as it was a spot where there was some space. Unfortunately, it is where the cars are zooming by at around 250 kph, so good pictures with my crappy camera are difficult to get. But it is a rush to be there and just watch these machines go by for nearly 2 hours.

I had my radio earphones I had bought last year in Malaysia, and I was able to listen to the race commentary and stave off deafness. The race itself wasn't very good as Sebastian Vettel led from start to finish. Jenson Button finished only 1.7 seconds behind, but this is only because Vettel had to fight through traffic near the end. Upon completion of the race, fireworks were set off which made for an interesting sight with the Singapore Flyer in the distance.

During the race, many fans didn't bother to watch the action live, but chose to follow on the large screens scattered about (below). The atmosphere at an F1 race is unique and I can see why these fans spend the money just to be a part of it.

Overall, F1 is something that any sports fan should experience. There are races all around the world, including one in Montreal. This season has been a bit boring with Vettel's domination, but the sport itself is one of the most thrilling out there. If you've yet to visit an F1 track, put it on your to-do list.

Best,

Sean

Stop the Hype!

2011-09-16T23:16:00.000+09:00

It used to be that September was a sporting month to look forward to. The MLB pennant races, the NFL getting started, NHL training camps getting underway, and the US Open all contributed to an exciting and full sports calendar that could be greeted with quiet anticipation.

Alas, those quiet days are a thing of the past. The world of sports has, over the past few years, become a hype machine that runs 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. As a fan, you are simply unable to escape the constant overstatement that accompanies every game, play, or even simple news item. It's loud and in your face, much like a typical drunk spectator.

The absolute worst in this regard is ESPN (at least their television crews), who have gone from being a reasonably impartial broadcaster to a bunch of obnoxious, loudmouth announcers, each trying to upstage the other in an ongoing battle of hyperbole. Of course, when you want people to watch, you have to make every event more compelling than the last, and the only way to do that is by exaggeration.

The most egregious example is now college football, a sport that has seen gains in popularity due to brilliant marketing foisted upon a gullible public starved for entertainment, regardless of how corrupt it may be. The 2004-05 USC Trojans recently lost (fine, had vacated) their national championship (a joke in itself without a playoff) because of violations committed by Reggie Bush. This season, several high profile college football programs are undergoing suspensions or other punishments for similar infractions. Does anybody care? Nope, the opening week game between TCU and Baylor was hyped beyond belief despite most fans not even knowing what TCU stands for, never mind being able to name a single player on either team. Helped by a ridiculous 50-48 final score, ESPN and its announcers breathlessly tweeted just how exciting the game was, and why aren't we all watching!? I guess that is the best way to get ratings now, shameless embellishment.

The NFL is the king of hype when it comes to pro sports. By eliminating defense, it has turned the league into a high-scoring free-for-all that attracts more casual fans at the expense of those who enjoy the game the way it should be played. Naturally, it's far easier to extol the excitement of a 42-34 game rather than a 17-14 affair, so don't expect this to change any time soon.

Doubtless, all of this hype is helped along by the explosion of social media. Whether it be on Facebook, Twitter, or foursquare, fans, players, and even leagues are telling us just how wonderful they are. The NFL recently exited the realm of believability by describing a game as a "pre-season thriller". Pre-season games are a joke in any sport, used by top players to get ready for a grueling season and by the lesser lights to fight for a roster spot. The results are meaningless and to call a game a thriller when the second stringers are playing is insulting to most fans. Or it should be. But fans themselves are now part of the act, sharing each part of their game experience like it was the most incredible thing in the world. Watching a live sporting event is secondary to telling all your friends and followers about it, not to mention each home run, goal or touchdown. I'm not immune to this disease; when on a roadtrip I'll post an update from each game I see. I like to think that these are more factual tidbits rather than hype, but I might be mistaken.

America is not the only country that relentlessly hypes sporting events. The Rugby World Cup is being held in New Zealand right now and the early games are being treated by fans and media as if they were actually meaningful. Rugby is a sport with 8 quality squads and 12 "minnows", and blowouts are common in the first round. The All Blacks hammered Japan 83-7 today but the hype before the game suggested it would be worth watching. Don't get me wrong, the playoff rounds in this tournament are some of the best sporting action you will see, but these early games are not deserving of the hype they receive.

It is becoming increasingly difficult to watch sports for the spectacle of the game, to see the best athletes in the world competing. Now the spectacle is in the stands, the broadcast booth, or on the internet. I realize I'm a dinosaur when it comes to sports fandom; for me the game is what matters, everything else is secondary. I hope that the hype machine eventually runs out of batteries and we can start to focus on the games again, but I doubt that will be happening anytime soon. In the meantime, I'M GOING TO SINGAPORE TO WATCH THE F1 NEXT WEEKEND!!!!!! YEAH!!!!!!

Best,

Sean

An Old Statistic Revisited

2011-09-10T23:17:00.001+09:00

Sabermetrics is the study of baseball statistics. Over the past few years, it has developed into an industry all its own, with increasingly complicated algorithms designed to measure performance on the baseball field. To their credit, the sabermetricians, once ridiculed by big league teams for their "lack of understanding" of the game, have forced clubs to realize that there is more to a player than the typical five tools. Billy Beane's Oakland A's clubs of the early 2000s, immortalized in the book "Moneyball", were the first high-profile users of advanced statistics, and since then many more clubs have adopted sabermetrics as another tool towards winning ballgames. OPS, (OBP+SLG) has now entered the vernacular of even the most casual fan, a sign that sabermetrics is no fad.

I'm not going to go into the different statistics such as BABIP or WAR, or discuss their advantages and disadvantages. I will say that any statistic that relies on a multiplier (i.e. a number that is not derived from on-field performance) is not something I like as it introduces an arbitrary element. I will also state I am not a fan of OPS because it double-counts certain things (a single is worth twice as much as a walk for example).

What I want to do here is revisit a statistic that has been published previously but doesn't get a lot of recognition, namely Bases/Outs or BOP. The point of baseball is to score runs, which you do by getting bases and avoiding outs. So a truly effective player is one who acquires bases while making less outs.

The formula I came up with is the same as was used by Barry Codell back in 1979 and described in this article from The Hardball Times:

BOP = (Total Bases + BB + HBP + SB + SH + SF)/(AB – H + SH + SF + CS + GDP)

Simply put, the total number of bases you for which you are individually responsible are divided by the total number of outs you made. It's not an immediately obvious stat as there are a number of variables, but it is easy enough to calculate with a spreadsheet. Which is what I did.

In the majors this year, there are 151 players who qualify for the batting title. I took their statistics and calculated the BOP for each one. No surprise who the MLB leader is: Jose Bautista with a remarkable 1.246 BOP. That means for every out Bautista makes, he gets nearly a base and a quarter. Wow. To put this in perspective, Ryan Braun of the Brewers is second at 1.090 - Bautista is performing 14% better than the second best player in BOP. Within the AL, the Tigers' Miguel Cabrera is BOPing 1.040, giving JoeyBats a nearly 20% advantage. Truly a dominant season, but the MVP will likely go elsewhere.

Bautista also leads the majors in OPS, so I thought I'd compare how the other players rank in comparing their OPS and BOP. Interestingly, the rankings are very similar. The biggest movers were Brett Gardner (NYY) who jumped from 99th in OPS to 55th in BOP, and Emilio Bonafacio (FLA) moving from 86th to 53rd. Both of these players have high stolen base totals, which are ignored in OPS, so this makes perfect sense.

The biggest drop was seen by Vladimir Guerrero, going from 96th in OPS to 129th in BOP, mostly because faster players hopped over him, but he was also hurt by his 17 GIDP.

Coming in last in both categories: Orlando Cabrera of the Giants, whose BOP of 0.467 is atrocious. An interesting stat for Blue Jay fans: Vernon Wells, Alex Rios, and Alex Gonzalez are all in the bottom 12 of BOP, with the latter two also below 0.500.

Here are the top 20 batters by BOP:

Player        Tm   Bases  Outs   BOP
Bautista, J   TOR   421   338   1.246
Braun, R      MIL   388   356   1.090
Kemp, M       LAD   416   390   1.067
Votto, J      CIN   408   385   1.060
Cabrera, M    DET   391   376   1.040
Berkman, L    STL   326   318   1.025
Granderson, C NYY   422   415   1.017
Ortiz, D      BOS   345   344   1.003
Fielder, P    MIL   389   391   0.995
Upton, J      ARI   394   397   0.992
Konerko, P    CWS   357   365   0.978
Ellsbury, J   BOS   412   425   0.969
Gonzalez, A   BOS   392   408   0.961
Avila, A      DET   298   311   0.958
Tulowitzki, T COL   369   391   0.944
Victorino, S  PHI   309   328   0.942
Gonzalez, C   COL   327   350   0.934
Morse, M      WSH   308   330   0.933
Holliday, M   STL   297   319   0.931
Reyes, J      NYM   310   336   0.923

Shane Victorino is the only player who is not in the top 20 in OPS that makes it here, knocking out Mike Stanton of the Marlins.

So what have we learned? Not much that we didn't already know. I prefer BOP to OPS as there is no double counting and stolen bases are included. But at the top of the league, power and walks are more important than steals. Hence OPS and BOP are similar for the best players.

However, like all offensive-only stats, BOP only tells half the story. Defensive stats are gaining prominence and are now used by most teams to evaluate players. I wonder if we will soon have a single number that will summarize a players contribution through all facets of the game.

As a final aside, I'd like to look into BOP for pitchers as well, but MLB doesn't provide all the stats I need right now. I'll look for those at season's end and write a follow-up post at that time.

Best,

Sean

USA 14 at Japan 20 - Rugby Friendly

2011-08-22T21:54:00.003+09:00

For those of you who don't follow the more "obscure" sports, the Rugby World Cup begins in New Zealand on September 9th. I say obscure with not a small amount of sarcasm because rugby is far more popular worldwide than it's most obvious counterpart, American football. There are 20 national squads contesting the upcoming tournament, although only three or four have a reasonable chance at winning the whole thing, chief among these being the hosts, the All Blacks.

Before the tournament kicks off though, there are a few friendlies that are held in various venues around the world. Fortunately for me, one of those venues was Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium in Tokyo, where the Japanese national team hosted the Americans on a wet Sunday evening.

I've talked about the stadium before so won't go into detail here. Despite the wet weather and few covered seats, over 12,000 fans came out to cheer on their Brave Blossoms (yeah, the Japanese really need to rethink their team nicknames) take on the Eagles.

The game was barely five minutes old when Japanese centre Alisi Tupuailei (a Samoan by birth) took a beautiful switch pass at the American 10 metre line and rambled nearly 40 meters (study your rugby field if you think this is a typo) before passing to Taihei Ueda who completed the attack with an easy try. The kick was botched leaving the Japanese with an early 5-0 lead.

In rugby, the team that has been scored upon kicks off to restart the game, and the Americans did just that. The Japanese were still in awe of their quick score though, and nobody thought to field the ball. Kevin Swiryn waltzed on in, picked up the ball without being touched and raced for one of the easiest tries you will ever see. The kick was converted and the US had quickly taken the lead, 7-5 before 10 minutes had even elapsed.

Japan quickly pressed when they regained possession and were rewarded with a penalty goal just a minute later to make it 8-7. It looked like a high-scoring game was in store, but then the rain started to fall, as did the players (above).

With the conditions slick, ball handling was an issue and knock-ons became a far too regular happening. Neither team could develop any flow and the last 30 minutes of the first half were destined to be scoreless, until the Japanese fumbled the ball straight to Swiryn who picked it up and again found himself with an open path to the try line. It seemed an instant replay of the Americans' first score, right down to the conversion, and the half ended with the US up 14-8.

The rain had tapered off when the two sides emerged for the second stanza, and Japan showed far better defense for these 40 minutes, rarely allowing the US within a few metres of the goal. Of course, I happened to be sitting on this side, so most of the action was at the other end of the field. The Japanese finally broke through in the 14th minute when Takashi Kikutani took an pass and brushed off Swiryn's weak tackle to score a well-deserved try. The kick was good and the Japanese had the lead for the third time, 15-14.

Just over ten minutes later, the Japanese took advantage of some very sloppy tackling to add on another try from Takehisa Usuzuki to extend their lead to 20-14. But the kick was missed and the US had ten minutes left in which they had to get a converted try to win. There would be no draw here, an unconverted try would leave the Japanese with a 1-point victory, while a converted on would give the visitors the win, again by a point.

The Americans certainly gave it their all, getting within 10 metres with just a minute to go (below). It was actually pretty exciting, but just after the horn sounded, they fumbled the ball, resulting in a game-ending knock-on, a suitable way to finish for the Yanks, who made it close by scoring two gimme tries but were otherwise outclassed, particularly in the second half. For those interested, here are the highlights.

Despite the conditions, this was an entertaining event. The home fans were overjoyed as the victory provides a good boost for the Brave Blossoms before they head to the southern hemisphere for the World Cup. Unfortunately they play 2 very strong teams in New Zealand and France, with Tonga and Canada filling out group A and perhaps giving the Japanese a chance at a win or two. It will be fun to watch, so I encourage you who have yet to watch a rugby game to try to follow the tournament starting next month.

Next Up

The next month will see me take in two more NPB games for Stadium Journey, but not much else. I've pretty much exhausted new venues in Tokyo, but hope to be traveling elsewhere in Japan shortly to report on a number of different events around the country. Stay tuned!

Best,

Sean

Mediocrity in Japanese Baseball

2011-08-14T11:54:00.011+09:00

I've been quiet for a while for a couple of reasons. One is that I wanted to leave the Japanese women winning the World Cup post on top for a few weeks, the other is that the good feelings from that event left me happy about sports for nearly a month. But as time passed, those happy memories have slowly faded and I've returned to my grumpy sports fan self.

As usual, the target of my rancor is the NPB. Check out these standings below (lifted directly from the NPB's website):

Central League
Team	G	W	L	T	PCT	GB
Yakult	88	43	33	12	.566	--
Hanshin	88	43	43	2	.500	5.0
Yomiuri	91	42	43	6	.494	5.5
Chunichi	88	41	44	3	.482	6.5
Hiroshima	88	40	43	5	.482	6.5
Yokohama	91	30	54	7	.357	17.0

Pacific League
Team	G	W	L	T	PCT	GB
Softbank	92	57	28	7	.671	--
Nippon-Ham	89	54	32	3	.628	3.5
ORIX	92	42	45	5	.483	16.0
Lotte	91	40	45	6	.471	17.0
Rakuten	93	40	49	4	.449	19.0
Seibu	91	37	50	4	.425	21.0

Some things to note:
Out of 12 teams, only three are above .500.
Yakult has 12 ties out of just 88 games, so they are leading the league despite winning less than half of their contests.
The third place team in both leagues would make the playoffs despite being below .500.
Only Yokohama is out of the playoff race.

So what is my point? First, this is probably the most parity I have seen in the Japanese leagues since I moved here in 1996. But more importantly, it is how all but two teams are mediocre and how this is actually bad for the game.

Many will argue that it is great that 11 squads have playoff aspirations with a third of the season left, but I can't agree with that. Maybe more fans are more into the end of season games, but I believe that in baseball, it is a division or league pennant that matters. It is a sport that takes a long time to decide the best teams, who should then meet in a playoff. In the Pacific League, instead of a compelling race between two clubs playing great ball, we get a snoozer between 4 crappy teams that can't win half of their games. The Central League is somewhat closer, but this is because all the teams are pretty average. It would be much more interesting to see if one of those trailing teams could catch Yakult, rather than have 4 of them battle for two spots.

The situation is similar to the Wild Card in MLB, where the Red Sox and Yankees are both going to make the playoffs, rendering their AL East pennant race meaningless. But at least those two teams are among the best in baseball and will have their excellence rewarded; in Japan, mediocrity will be rewarded with a playoff spot and a chance at an undeserved title.

As MLB debates realignment and an extra playoff team, they should cast a glance over the Pacific to see how watering down the playoffs might make the regular season less meaningful rather than more.

Best,

Sean

Update: This post serves as an example of what can happen in a short time in baseball. First, Boston collapsed and didn't make the playoffs. In Japan, Seibu went from last to third to secure a playoff spot at the expense of Orix, while Chunichi went wild and took top spot in the CL, knocking out Hanshin.

Japan wins the Women's World Cup

2011-07-18T21:48:00.001+09:00

Back in 2007, I went to see the Japanese women's national soccer team host Mexico in the first of a 2-game playoff for the final spot in that year's World Cup. There were just over 10,000 fans at National Stadium on that March afternoon, and they witnessed a solid performance as Japan shutout the Mexicans 2-0 behind goals from Homare Sawa and Aya Miyama. Though the Nadeshiko (the team's nickname comes from a pink carnation that symbolizes the mental strength of women) lost the second leg by a goal, they advanced to the main tournament on the 3-2 aggregate score.

At the time, I was surprised how little press the team received and how few fans showed up for such an important game. Japan certainly is not lacking when it comes to supporting their national sports heroes, but the ladies just didn't seem to court respect from the nation's broadcasters, despite having the makings of a team that could challenge the world leaders (they lost 2-0 to eventual champions Germany in the tournament, finishing a strong third in their group).

Well, that's all going to change now. In the unlikely event that you missed it, the Nadeshiko won a penalty kick shootout over the USA to claim the 2011 Women's World Cup! Miyama and Sawa were again the goal scorers in a 2-2 game that Japan took with a 3-1 advantage in the shootout, claiming the first ever World Cup title for an Asian nation. I cannot begin to describe how unexpectedly happy this has made me on so many levels. Wait. Actually I can.

First, I had been following the tournament on ESPN.com and Twitter and found the vast majority of Americans were simply bandwagon fans. Of course, ESPN had to promote the event since they were showing it daily, and kudos to them for getting it to the forefront of the American sports consciousness. But most fans are in it just for the reward; they don't follow women's soccer regularly but when there's a chance for some good old U-S-A chanting to be done, suddenly they are all there, decked out in the red, white, and blue.

Look, I understand the appeal behind being a bandwagon fan. Once the hard work is over (watching the ups and downs of several regular seasons for example, or perhaps a year of qualifying), you can show up at the final post, watch a few games, and maybe even celebrate a championship! And to be fair, these events, much like the Olympics, are ideal for bandwagon jumping, when everyone can easily fit in by cheering for their country. But still, reading online comments from these new fans about America's destiny or the incredible victory over Brazil made me yearn for them to fall short. When it turned out to be Japan in the final, this yearning became even stronger. It was gratifying to read the comments of those fans, who stated that America "choked" among other outrageous observations. Make no mistake, Japan won that game with grit and determination. Real fans recognized this and made appropriate comments. For those of you who think otherwise, remember that the US already has two championships, so you just have to respect a team that has beaten you.

Beyond that bit of schadenfreude though, was the joy of witnessing a truly magnificent athletic competition. After last year's shameful performance by the Dutch in the World Cup final it was invigorating to see two teams challenge each other within the rules, playing hard, and then harder, but always respecting their opponents. A last-minute sending off was not the result of a dirty foul, and didn't change the fact that both teams gave it their all within the bounds of fair play. Japan even won the Fair Play award!

The quality of soccer was spectacular at times with some beautiful passing and sublime strikes, as well as an amazing save by Japan's keeper Ayumi Kaihori in the shootout. To compare, the Brazil/Paraguay Copa America quarter-final was being played at the same time. I would occasionally flip over to that, only to see players cursing the referee or rolling around in pain. There was none of that in the women's final, it was pure sport.

Ultimately, the most satisfying aspect of this win was to see the Japanese team come together, work hard, play smart, beat three favoured opponents, and take a completely unexpected title without worrying about payrolls, labour stoppages, or any of the other issues that mar professional sports these days. Sure, FIFA is an old-boys organization and I cringed when they handed out the medals and some officials went in for an awkward hug. But their behaviour bears not a whit on the players themselves, who could not have been more humble. During the post-game interviews, I don't think they really understood what they had accomplished. They smiled and thanked the fans, but the concept of being World Champions had yet to fully sink in. It was charming to watch.

When Sawa finally lifted the trophy, I felt an emotion that surprised me - intense pride. This is what sports is all about. I'm not Japanese but after 15 years here, I'm as close as I'm ever going to get and I like to think that I was an infinitesimal part of their success by going to that single game 4 years ago. I also like to think that attending that game precludes me from being a bandwagon fan. Both these points are open for debate however.

A National Victory?

I've seen articles talking about how this was "more than a game" for Japan, and certainly this country could use a bit of good cheer. However, I feel that news items such as this are rather selective in their reporting. The team had little media coverage during the first round, partly because games were on overnight, but also because the team just didn't rate that highly. Even after playoff upsets over Germany and Sweden, news was relatively scarce, given the level of accomplishment. An American friend commented on the tournament while we were out on Saturday night, saying she couldn't find much about it on TV - among my friends, only foreigners seemed to be talking about it. The night before the final, the lead sports story on several stations was baseball rookie Yuki Saitoh, who had pitched that day.

Even when Saki Kumagai slotted home the winning penalty, the area where I live was quiet. It was around 6:30 am on a holiday Monday and I only heard one other individual cheering (or it might have been a dog barking). I jumped around a lot but quietly, so as to not disturb my girlfriend, who was sleeping through the biggest moment in Japanese sports history.

Other areas of town with sports bars no doubt experienced a surge of happy fans on the street, but regardless, this was not the all-encompassing national win that is being portrayed in the western media. The game was on from 3:45, and perhaps people expected them to lose so they didn't bother to stay up (see the above-mentioned girlfriend). It seems like the younger generation was more supportive, but that is merely an anecdotal observation.

I don't want to take anything away from what was accomplished, but it's not going to solve the problems that affect this country. Yes, people are happy for a while, but there's still a lot of work to be done . Still, seeing those 21 ladies work for their dreams over a month should be strong motivation for the people of Japan to recognize their abilities and again become a world champion in more than just athletics.

Best,

Sean

Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame

2011-07-16T12:58:00.001+09:00

While at the Tokyo Dome last week to write a review for Stadium Journey, I made a quick stop at the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame, which is located next to gate 21. It is only 500 yen to enter, with a 100 yen discount if you show a ticket to that day's game.

Inside you get a great collection of memorabilia, and not just for the Japanese pro game. There are plenty of interesting tidbits from MLB, college, and high school ball. There's even a section on women's baseball.

The museum is not large and can be seen inside an hour, although if you read Japanese, you might spend a bit longer taking in the explanations at each display. There are English translations beneath the plaque of each enshrined player, but the other displays come with only Japanese descriptions.

The HOF is really well maintained and although not as complete as Cooperstown, it doesn't treat baseball with the tiresome reverence that you see in America. If you are a baseball fan and in Tokyo, make sure to check this place out.

Below are a few pictures:

The two WBC championship trophies - if America ever won, would the trophy be in Cooperstown?

The Japan Series trophy

Some Central League teams

Rickey Henderson signed base to Japanese base-stealing king Yutaka Fukumoto. Henderson broke Fukumoto's record in 1993 just before being traded to Toronto, where he scored on Joe Carter's World Series home run, the last truly happy moment for Toronto sports fans.

A bat used by Jackie Robinson

Poster from a barnstorming tour. The Japanese is read right to left, that is Babe Ruth and not Suulu Buube.

Medals from the 2010 World University Baseball Championship, won by Cuba

National team uniforms

Plaque for Victor Starffin, the first foreigner inducted

College ball magazine with Tadahito Iguchi, who would win the World Series with the White Sox a mere 9 years later.

Home Advantage in the Big 4 Sports

2011-07-09T00:35:00.000+09:00

During the recent NHL and NBA playoffs, I kept track of the scores each game. This enabled me to find a few meaningless stats that made for good Twitter fodder. The one that I found most interesting though was one of the simplest: the number of times the home team won. In the NBA playoffs, the home team win-loss record was 54-27 (.667) while in the NHL it was just 48-41 (.539).

That got me to thinking. It's usually obvious that the NBA has the largest home advantage, but just how different is it compared to the other leagues? So I took the regular season standings from the most recently completed seasons in all big 4 sports and calculated the home records across all teams, which are shown below:

NBA  743-487   .6041
MLB 1359-1071  .5592
NFL  143-113   .5586
NHL  638-592   .5187

First a note on the NHL numbers. The actual home records are 638-434-158 (.5829) but I've combined the regulation losses with overtime losses because that's what I'm concerned about - how often the home team wins. An overtime loss may net you a point in the standings but it is still a loss and the fans go home unhappy. (As an aside, home teams won only 139 of extra-time tilts, a surprisingly low 46.8%).

As expected, the NBA has the most obvious home advantage at just over 60%. Only six clubs had losing home records; naturally those were the six worst teams in the league. I wonder if this helps explain the NBA's popularity - home teams winning more often keeps fans coming back.

What surprised me was that baseball and football have similar winning percentages when playing in friendly confines; I would have expected NFL teams to enjoy playing at home much more with loud crowds hampering the opposition offense. NHL squads have the least advantage playing at home (again only looking at wins and losses), which is not surprising as it is the sport with the most parity at the moment.

So why is there such a discrepancy in basketball? Sixteen squads had winning records at home and losing records on the road. What is it that makes it so tough for these teams to win in visiting arenas?

Travel probably has something to do with it as road teams are often playing back-to-back games and arriving early in the morning before a game that night. Familiarity with the actual playing area might also contribute, in that it's simply easier to make baskets in an environment that you are used to. The crowd should also be a factor; basketball is a game that thrives on momentum and having your fans behind you helps you during a run. But overall, I don't think anybody has a convincing explanation to explain the home advantage in the NBA. I found a few studies on-line but none of them made any meaningful conclusions. Suffice to say that home teams win far more often in the NBA than they do elsewhere.

This distinct home advantage in the NBA is one reason that I find the league to be the least interesting. For me, it is the randomness and unpredictability of sports I find most intriguing. The Giants winning the World Series was foreseen by few, even during the playoffs. How many had Pittsburgh and Green Bay in the Super Bowl at the start of the season? But the NBA is somewhat more predictable (this year's playoffs being an enjoyable exception). Essentially, strong teams win at home and on the road, weak teams lose everywhere, and if the teams are evenly matched, the home team wins most of the time. I wonder if the new CBA will lead to more parity and a change in these statistics. We'll see in 2013!

Best,

Sean

The Perfect NHL Road Trip

2011-07-03T18:36:00.002+09:00

The NHL came out with their schedule last week and I quickly put together the usual roadtrip spreadsheet that shows each team's home games in roughly the same order that one would make a roundtrip journey. This way, you can quickly see when nearby teams play back-to-back and which teams are away for extended periods (the bane of the roadtrip planner), making it much easier to put together a plan.

There are countless possibilities for league-wide trips that take in all 30 arenas, it just depends on where and when you want to start. Rather than bore you with a randomly generated trip, I decided to see if I could create the "perfect" NHL roadtrip. A perfect roadtrip is one where not only each arena is seen, but each team is seen exactly twice - once at home and once on the road. This is trivial to do if you are flying, but if you want to stick to the road, it becomes quite difficult to find a sensible route. There are only 41 home games per season and finding a string of nearby games with different visiting teams is much harder than it sounds. But after a few hours of playing around, I came up with the following, starting with the new Jets visiting the old Jets in Phoenix:

Oct 15 Winnipeg Jets at Phoenix Coyotes 5:00
Oct 16 St. Louis Blues at Anaheim Ducks 5:00
Oct 17 Anaheim Ducks at San Jose Sharks 7:30
Oct 18 New York Rangers at Vancouver Canucks 7:00
Oct 20 Minnesota Wild at Edmonton Oilers 7:30
Oct 22 Carolina Hurricanes at Winnipeg Jets 6:00
Oct 28 San Jose Sharks at Detroit Red Wings 7:30
Oct 29 Detroit Red Wings at Minnesota Wild 7:00
Nov 10 Chicago Blackhawks at Columbus Blue Jackets 7:00
Nov 12 Buffalo Sabres at Boston Bruins 7:00
Nov 15 Colorado Avalanche at Pittsburgh Penguins 7:00
Nov 16 New Jersey Devils at Buffalo Sabres 7:30
Nov 23 Vancouver Canucks at Colorado Avalanche 7:00
Nov 29 Nashville Predators at Calgary Flames 7:00
Dec  2 New York Islanders at Chicago Blackhawks 7:30
Dec  5 Tampa Bay Lightning at Ottawa Senators 7:30
Dec  6 Columbus Blue Jackets at Montreal Canadiens 7:30
Dec 10 Pittsburgh Penguins at New York Islanders 7:00
Dec 11 Florida Panthers at New York Rangers 7:00
Dec 13 Philadelphia Flyers at Washington Capitals 7:00
Dec 16 Dallas Stars at New Jersey Devils 7:00
Dec 17 Boston Bruins at Philadelphia Flyers 1:00
Dec 19 Los Angeles Kings at Toronto Maple Leafs 7:00
Dec 23 Ottawa Senators at Carolina Hurricanes 7:00
Dec 27 Toronto Maple Leafs at Florida Panthers 7:30
Dec 29 Montreal Canadiens at Tampa Bay Lightning 7:30
Jan  1 Calgary Flames at Nashville Predators 5:00
Jan  3 Phoenix Coyotes at St. Louis Blues 7:00
Jan  7 Edmonton Oilers at Dallas Stars 1:00
Jan  9 Washington Capitals at Los Angeles Kings 7:30

The trip starts with a lot of driving, going from Phoenix to Winnipeg in just a week before a break. There are a few back-to-back games with drives exceeding 10 hours with San Jose to Vancouver being the longest at 16 hours. That would be extremely tough to make by oneself when you factor it time at the border, but it can be done if you get a few hours on the road after the game.

There are some interesting games as well. The Flames at Nashville is the only New Year's contest on the schedule and would be a rematch of the Predators visit to Calgary just over a month earlier. The Sharks/Red Wings and Bruins/Flyers are good rivalries stoked by the just-completed playoffs. Five of the last seven games would see Canadian teams on the road around the holidays, so there should be a lot of fellow roadtrippers at those tilts. You'd spend Christmas in Miami and watch the Leafs two days later.

There is a lot of backtracking on this trip, particularly those two trips from Alberta to the east coast. Overall, you'd be looking at about 20,000 miles of highway driving compared to around 12,500 for a trip that goes in one direction. The trip is 87 days long so you'd be averaging 225 miles per day, with a number of very long drives. You'd miss most of the bad weather by starting early in the season, but there'd be a few chilly days in December. There's also the general issue of snowstorms, this sort of trip has little room for weather problems.

I think you can play with the schedule a bit to make it more efficient but it would result in more days on the road. Whatever the case, it is always fun to think about these trips, even if they are pretty much impossible. When the AHL releases their schedule, I'll try the same for them.

Best,

Sean

Baseball Realignment?

2011-06-24T14:05:00.002+09:00

As you may have read, MLB is toying with the idea of realignment, moving Houston to the AL West and eliminating divisions, so that we would have two 15-team leagues with 5 teams making the playoffs in each league. I cannot describe how much I find this idea to be foolish and poorly considered. As I’ve argued before, the excitement over a long baseball season is the pennant race. Of course, players chasing milestones and batting titles is interesting, but it is a team game and having two or three teams battle it out down to the wire is the essence of a baseball season.

With this new idea, there will be a race for 4th, 5th, and 6th in each league. Oooh, the thrills of watching a team strive for that 84th win to sneak into the final wild card spot! Some argue that this new system will help teams like Toronto who are always frozen out by playing in the same division as the Yankees and Red Sox. That might be true, but it will be at the expense of a meaningful season. Instead of six potential pennant races, we'll have two races for the final spot.

Look at the standings now. We have four divisions with the top two teams within a game and the biggest lead is Philly's 4 game advantage on Atlanta. This season could have races in each division right down to the wire.

On the other hand, if we combine the AL into a 14-team league, we have one race with Detroit and Texas fighting it out for 5th. That would doubtless capture the attention of the nation. Certainly Toronto is in a better position, lying only 4 games out of 5th instead of 8.5 games out of first, but they are 36-39. They are not good! They should not be in a race until they are a solid and consistent team! I really, really want the Jays to make the playoffs in the AL East, not in some watered-down 15-team system.

For evidence of just how bad this idea is, one only need to look at Japanese baseball over the past few years. Where once there were two pennant races every season, with two or three teams fighting for a cherished spot in the Nippon Series, now a full 50% of teams make the playoffs every year, rendering the regular season essentially meaningless. The battle is for 3rd place between two mediocre teams. First and second place are still important as they come with advantages in the playoffs, but there’s little point paying attention until then. Last year was a perfect example where a middling Marines team finished 3rd in the Pacific League, just a half-game in front of the Fighters. They then got hot at the right time, taking advantage of a silly playoff system that had them play 15 games over 30 days. The 144-game regular season was simply not meaningful.

So take it from me MLB, keep the divisions and keep the pennant races. It's one baseball tradition that should be saved.

Best,

Sean

Comparing the NHL and NBA Playoffs

2011-06-19T13:15:00.000+09:00

I haven't posted anything for a while, since I've been doing little other than a game at Jingu for Stadium Journey. But I did follow the NHL playoffs quite closely and caught a lot of the NBA finals as well. During the past two months, I noticed a number of commentators on Twitter and elsewhere trying to argue for one of these events being "better" than the other. So I'd thought I'd share my take.

As I mentioned last month, the two tournaments are quite different. The NHL is a league where parity reigns: 15 out of 16 playoff teams had win totals between 43 and 49. The NBA, on the other hand, has a few great teams that dominate during the regular season. The result is that the first round of the NHL is filled with upsets and close games, while the first round in the NBA usually follows form. This year, the NHL saw four 7-game series in the first round while the NBA had none. Two of those 7th games finished in overtime, and there is nothing more exciting than a 7th game going to sudden death. Interestingly, both winners went on to meet in the final.

The NHL reseeds for the second round while the NBA follows the bracket formula. This can lead to some odd matchups, such as in the NBA Western Conference this year, where the #2 Lakers took on #3 Dallas while the 4th-seeded Thunder got to battle the #8 Grizzlies in the West. Despite the reseeding which matches the top team against the worst, upsets happen in this round about twice as often in the NHL as in the NBA, and that was true this time around, with Boston and Tampa Bay knocking off higher seeds while only Dallas could do so in the NBA. Both leagues had just one 7-game series.

It isn't until the conference championships that the NBA becomes truly compelling and it is around this time that the NHL loses a lot of its luster. There are a couple of reasons for this in my mind. The first is that the NBA's top teams are composed of star players. It wasn't Dallas vs. Oklahoma City and Miami against Chicago; it was Dirk vs Durant and LeBron and D-Wade against Derrick Rose. Although the NHL semi-finals had some top talent such as Stamkos, Chara, the Sedins, and Thornton, those players are not on the ice nearly as much as in the NBA and they often have little impact in a game where defense is stressed. In the NBA, you are going to see these future Hall of Famers going head-to-head for 40 minutes or more and reputations are made or destroyed in the late rounds of the NBA playoffs.

The other thing that starts to hurt the NHL is the grind. The playoffs are physically punishing and after 82 regular season games and up to 14 playoff games, players are starting to get tired. The NBA stretches their playoffs out a bit more and with fewer games being played in the early rounds during that time, the quality is higher as the tourney winds down.

The finals this year were interesting in both leagues with similar storylines - the star player fading during criticial situations. I am not a hater but LeBron's 4th quarter disappearing act was fascinating to watch. Of course, being a Vancouver fan, seeing Luongo give up easy goals was painful, but even then, not as interesting as watching Miami lose. Each of those 6 NBA games was close and could have gone either way. It was also great to see Mark Cuban and the Mavericks get their reward after being ripped off by the referees in 2006. The Stanley Cup Final went to 7 games but seeing the Canucks fold was not a good way to end the season (unless you are a Bruins' fan).

So there you have it. The NHL is far better in the first two rounds, while the NBA playoffs take over at the end. Take your pick which one is better overall, I'll stick with hockey simply because of sudden-death overtime.

Meaningless Stats

Overall, there were 81 games in the NBA playoffs with 54 being won by the home team, and 6 overtime tilts. There were 188 points scored in the average game, with the average point difference at 9.5.

The NHL saw 89 games with 48 won by the home team (thanks to the Stanley Cup Final) and 22 going extra periods. The average saw 5.6 goals with a difference of 1.88. There were 16 shutouts and ten games where a team scored 6 or more. Home teams averaged 2.86 goals per game to 2.76 for visitors.

Both championships were won by 3rd seeds on the road.

Next Up

Not much. I'll be watching a few NPB games here to do the Stadium Journey reviews, but no trips back home until October, when the NHL season starts. I'm planning a Winnipeg, Calgary, Edmonton jaunt and will have that planned once the schedule is released in the next couple of weeks.

In the meantime, I'll be writing on some of the issues that arise in the world of sports, so check back on occasion to see what's up.

Best,

Sean

NHL Finals Prediction

2011-05-28T11:45:00.005+09:00

On May 24, 1994, the Vancouver Canucks beat Toronto 4-3 in double overtime of game 5 to reach the Stanley Cup final, where they faced an original 6 team with a long championship drought that had won a 7-game conference final. It was Toronto's second consecutive loss in the conference final. The Canucks lost in game 7.

On May 24, 2011, the Vancouver Canucks beat San Jose 3-2 in double overtime of game 5 to reach the Stanley Cup final, where they face an original 6 team with a long championship drought that won a 7-game conference final. It was San Jose's second consecutive loss in the conference final.

I predicted Boston to win the Cup back when the playoffs started and I'm not changing that stance despite Vancouver appearing to be far superior. Using the above coincidence, I'll say Boston in 7. Hope I'm wrong though. It should be a great series either way.

Best,

Sean

Update: Well, it's going 7. So I got that right. I've been watching some of the series and most of the highlights and am stunned at how terrible Vancouver is on the road. I'm guessing the first goal in game 7 wins, and I'm sticking with my original prediction of Boston - think they'll get a flukey on Luongo and destroy the Canucks confidence. But I really really hope I am wrong. Regardless, another game 7 for the Stanley Cup will be unforgettable. Sports is the best.

Final Update: Sadly, I was right. Boston won. The only benefit for me is that I predicted the Bruins to win at the beginning of the playoffs. Of course, I didn't bet on it when I was in Vegas, so it's worth nothing more than pride. Four Canadian teams have now lost in the finals in the last 8 seasons.

Stadium Journey Reviews

2011-05-24T22:40:00.001+09:00

As I mentioned a few months ago, I'll be writing reviews for the Stadium Journey website. I've already posted a couple of minor league reviews and finally got around to adding a review of Yokohama Stadium. I plan to add one review per month plus an extra review of Hiroshima's new park, which I visited last year. I'll move this post to a page in a couple of days and update it whenever a new Stadium Journey review is up.

Best,

Sean

The Vancouver/San Jose Road Trip

2011-05-15T23:12:00.001+09:00

One of my favourite sports roadtrips was driving from Vancouver to San Jose in 1994 to see the Sharks' first ever home playoff games, which they split with top seed Detroit. It was a blast; the fans were still new to the game and excited to see their team succeeding in just their third season, long before the Sharks became the poster boys for playoff failure. When San Jose went on to upset the Red Wings in 7 games, it helped the Canucks reach the final.

Now these two west coast rivals meet in the playoffs for the first time, and although I wish I could be there, I'm stuck across the ocean. So I can only plan a roadtrip that takes you to all 7 games as well as plenty of other action in between.

Sun May 15 San Jose at Vancouver 5:00
Mon May 16 Pacific Tigers at Washington Huskies 2:00 (NCAA Baseball)
Tue May 17 Lewis-Clark State Warriors at Seattle Redhawks 3:00 (NCAA Baseball)
Wed May 18 San Jose at Vancouver 6:00
Thu May 19 Oklahoma City Redhawks at Sacramento River Cats 7:05 (PCL)
Fri May 20 Vancouver at San Jose 6:00
Sat May 21 New England Revolution at San Jose Earthquakes 7:30 (MLS)
Sun May 22 Vancouver at San Jose 12:00
Mon May 23 San Jose Giants at Stockton Ports 11:05 (Cal League)
Tue May 24 Nashville Sounds at Tacoma Rainiers 11:35 (PCL)
Tue May 24 San Jose at Vancouver 6:00
Wed May 25 FC Dallas at Seattle Sounders 7:00 (MLS)
Thu May 26 Vancouver at San Jose 6:00
Fri May 27 Stanford Cardinal at Cal Bears 2:30 (NCAA Baseball)
Sat May 28 San Jose at Vancouver 5:00 (or, if series is over)
Sat May 28 New York Red Bulls at Vancouver Whitecaps 4:00

One good thing about this roadtrip is the early start times, which give you more time to drive in the evening, or perhaps find some local establishments in which to relax. I am sure a number of Canucks fans will be doing the hockey portion of this trip, so I hope that some of them see this and check out a couple of more games on the way.

Times Have Changed

Looking back on that 1994 playoff season, it is amazing how much things have changed since then. At that time, I had lived in Vancouver for 4 years and had seen dozens of Canucks' games at the old Pacific Coliseum. Tickets were cheap and easy to get in those days, particularly before Pavel Bure arrived. When San Jose knocked off Detroit and Vancouver completed a 3-1 comeback over Calgary, I realized that the Canucks had a good shot of making the final, since they matched up well with Dallas and Toronto, the other remaining squads (yep, Toronto used to be in the West).

That year, the Canucks put all remaining rounds on sale on the same day, so I headed down to TicketMaster (no Internet at home, remember?) and bought a pair of tickets to each of the 3 finals games, in the top row for $50 each. I recall the gentleman behind me laughing at my optimism, but it turned out to be the one year I actually predicted something correctly. Vancouver beat Dallas easily, and then knocked out Toronto in a double OT Game 5 that I also attended. It was a bittersweet moment, for although I was still hoping for the Leafs to win, I knew that if they lost I would get some Stanley Cup finals action for the first time in my life (no need to point out that the Leafs have not made the finals in 44 years).

That championship series was unbelievable, especially game 6 when Vancouver won 4-1 to send everyone back to New York. I'll never forget Nathan Lafayette hitting the crossbar in game 7, all the bandwagon fans, and the riot afterwards marked by the smell of tear gas as I walked home.

Unfortunately, I lost a lot of respect for Vancouver hockey fans that year, mainly because there were so few fans that believed in their team at the beginning of the playoffs. As an example, the sports bar where I watched the games showed Toronto/Chicago tilts over Vancouver/Calgary in round 1, since there were no Canucks' fans in the house. By the time the finals rolled around though, all the fake fans had come out of the woodwork and I finally saw what a bandwagon town was like.

Things are obviously different now. Vancouver has had a top team for several seasons and the fans are truly passionate, as I saw at a road playoff game in LA last year. I still cheer for the Canucks, but from the position of a faraway observer rather than a true fan. For me though, there will be nothing like that 1994 playoff run, and I can only hope to be living in Toronto when the Leafs finally do the same.

Best,

Sean

Playoff Predictability in the NHL and NBA

2011-05-09T22:39:00.002+09:00

With the Lakers losing yesterday, the NBA's Western Conference will not have the #1 or #2 seed in their championship series. Quite a surprise, as the NBA playoffs are usually pretty predictable, at least when compared to the Stanley Cup tournament. Or so I thought.

I decided to check if my theory was correct. I took the results from past playoffs, going back eight seasons until 2003, which was when the NBA moved to a 7-game format for the first round. In the 16 conference finals during that time, only once before were both top 2 seeds not represented, that being in the West in 2007 when Dallas was upset by Golden State in the first round and Phoenix lost to the San Antonio in round 2. Overall, 23 out of the 32 top 2 seeds made it to the third round. So at first glance, the NBA playoffs have been reasonably predictable.

To compare, I then took the eight most recent NHL playoff seasons, going back to 2002, as 2005 was skipped due to the lockout. On five occasions a conference championship was contested by two teams that didn't finish in the top 2, most recently last year when #7 Philly beat #8 Montreal in the East. Overall, only 15 out of the 32 top 2 seeds made it to the conference final, which illustrates just how unpredictable the Stanley Cup playoffs have been. Think about it: less than half of the top two teams were able to win two playoff rounds.

For stats geeks, I also did a round-by-round breakdown, counting how many upsets there were for each sport in each round. An upset is simply defined as a lower seed winning the series. Overall, there were 43 upsets out of 120 series (36%) in the NHL compared to just 31 (26%) in the NBA. There was even a bigger disparity in the early rounds. Out of 64 first-round series, 22 were upsets in the NHL (34%) compared to just 12 in the NBA (19%), while in the second round, the upsets were 13/32 (41%) in hockey and just 7/32 (22%) in basketball.

But things changed in the conference finals and championship series. In the NHL, upsets still happened frequently with 7/16 (44%) but in the NBA it was a surprising 10/16 (63%), meaning that it is the third round where the NBA becomes more prone to an upset. In the finals though, the favourite usually wins in both leagues, with only two underdogs taking the NBA title and just one in the NHL.

So generally, the NBA playoffs have been more predictable over the past eight years, which I realize is a very small sample size. But I thought that the predictability meant that the finals were always battles between the top seed in each conference. In fact, out of 16 number 1 seeds since 2003, only 5 made it to the final and only in 2008 (Boston/LA) did both do so. The NHL only saw 3 top seeds win their conference in that time and never had it happen in the same season. So although the NBA follows form early on, it doesn't finish that way.

So what does all this mean and how can it help you? Avoid picking the top seeds to make the Stanley Cup Final for one. Even betting against the top NBA teams wouldn't be as unwise as you might think. But in reality, this just showed me how I let a few results lead me to underestimate the NBA playoffs. It is true that they are not as upset-filled as the NHL, but they are not nearly as predictable as I used to think.

You can argue that the NHL season is meaningless because home advantage is insignificant in the playoffs. Why play 82 games just to gain a 1-game edge? That is true to a point, but generally I think this post demonstrates how the two games differ. First, there is far more parity in the NHL; the NBA usually has 3 or 4 excellent teams which is why the early rounds are more pedestrian. Secondly, a hot goalie (or weak one) can make or break a short series but basketball players rarely play above their capabilities for extended periods. Finally, hockey is a game where hard work can be rewarded, but basketball usually sees talent win out over grit. Simply put, they are completely different sports and you can see this in the way the playoffs develop over two months every year.

Ultimately, doing this simple research led me to appreciate the NBA tournament more than I did. It will never be as interesting to me as the race for Lord Stanley's mug but it is still worth following, because the mantra that makes sports so exciting turns out to be true here as well: You Never Know.

Best,

Sean

NFL Road Trip 2011 - Almost perfect

2011-05-08T10:12:00.002+09:00

While I traveling last month, the NFL released their 2011 schedule. Of course, there's a good chance many of the games won't be played, but that didn't stop me from planning a potential road trip. Without further ado, here is a route that gets you to all 32 home stadiums without too many unreasonable drives.

Thu Sep 8   New Orleans at Green Bay 7:30
Sun Sep 11  Atlanta at Chicago 12:00
Mon Sep 12  Oakland at Denver 8:15
Sun Sep 18  Oakland at Buffalo 1:00
Mon Sep 19  St. Louis at NY Giants 8:30
Sun Sep 25  Baltimore at St. Louis 3:05
Mon Sep 26  Washington at Dallas 7:30
Sun Oct 2   Pittsburgh at Houston 12:00
Mon Oct 3   Indianapolis at Tampa Bay 8:30
Sun Oct 9   Arizona at Minnesota 12:00
Mon Oct 10  Chicago at Detroit 8:30
Sun Oct 16  Philadelphia at Washington 1:00
Mon Oct 17  Miami at NY Jets 8:30
Sun Oct 23  Denver at Miami 1:00
Mon Oct 24  Baltimore at Jacksonville 8:30
Sun Oct 30  Cincinnati at Tennessee 3:05
Mon Oct 31  San Diego at Kansas City 7:30
Sun Nov 6   Baltimore at Pittsburgh 8:20
Mon Nov 7   Chicago at Philadelphia 8:30
Sun Nov 13  Pittsburgh at Cincinnati 1:00
Sun Nov 20  Jacksonville at Cleveland 1:00
Mon Nov 21  Kansas City at New England 8:30
Thu Nov 24  San Francisco at Baltimore 8:20
Sun Nov 27  Carolina at Indianapolis 12:00
Mon Nov 28  NY Giants at New Orleans 7:30
Sun Dec 4   Dallas at Arizona 1:15
Sun Dec 11  Buffalo at San Diego 1:15
Mon Dec 12  St. Louis at Seattle 5:30
Sun Dec 18  Detroit at Oakland 1:05
Mon Dec 19  Pittsburgh at San Francisco 5:30
Sat Dec 24  Tampa Bay at Carolina 1:00
Sun Jan 1   Tampa Bay at Atlanta 1:00

The longest drive would be from San Diego to Seattle, a 20-hour journey that would need to be done in 25 hours between the Sunday afternoon and Monday night games. Overall, you'd be looking at 28,000 miles over four months, assuming Toronto as your start and end points. With the Super Bowl in Indianapolis, you could spend an extra month trying to catch playoff games in the south before moving back north to finish the season.

With the work stoppage currently ongoing though, the schedule is probably going to change, so this trip is not going to happen. I'll be going through the whole exercise next year with the hope that I might actually get around to finally doing it.

Best,

Sean