White Sox 10 Nationals 9

Major League Baseball

Home Team: Washington Nationals (Cade Cavalli)
Visiting Team: Chicago White Sox (Yoendres Gomez)
Venue: Nationals Park
Game Time: 6:45 p.m.
Fellow Attendees: Brandi, Spencer, Chris

Box Score

When we were planning our trip to DC, it came up that Chris, who grew up in the area, had seen the Nationals play at RFK but had never been to Nationals Park. Well, say no more; I'm always up for a game. Once we had planned our itinerary and figured out which day would work best, I grabbed some tickets for this one.

With the Nationals and White Sox both playing out the string on last-place seasons, I thought the crowd might be fairly sparse, but that was not the case. It was an absolutely beautiful night for a game, and with this being the last series of the year, why not take advantage? Also, there was a postgame concert by Riley Green; we didn't stick around for it, but the preponderance of cowboy hats in the crowd would indicate that a fair number came for that reason.

What a wild game this was. The Sox took a lead early and built from there, and it looked like they would cruise. Then the Nats made a big comeback and took the lead in the bottom of the eighth, only for rookie Colson Montgomery to blast a homer in the ninth to give Chicago the lead and, ultimately, the win. There were eight home runs in the game, six by the Nats, including three (!) by Luis Garcia Jr.

Upon hearing we were visiting DC, a friend (another transplant) recommended Ben's Chili Bowl. The one we wanted to visit, the historic first location on U Street, is currently closed for renovations...but it turns out they offer concessions at Nats Park, so we got to try it after all. I got a hot dog with mustard and onions covered in their chili sauce, and it was hands down the best hot dog I've ever had.

Crew 1 Toronto FC 1

Major League Soccer

Home Team: Columbus Crew
Visiting Team: Toronto FC
Venue: Nationwide Arena (Section C4)

Game Time: 7:00 p.m.

Fellow Attendees: Brandi, Chris, Spencer

Not only was this my first pro soccer match...I'm pretty sure this was the first soccer game I've ever been to at any level. And it was really fun! I've known for a while (at least since the previous owner tried to move the team out of town in 2017) that Crew fans are passionate, and man, this building gets rockin'. Such a cool experience.

The way it came about was kind of funny. Brandi and I were out with friends last week to watch the Ohio State game. The bar we were at (shout out The Pub Out Back, a favorite spot) has a Crew schedule poster displayed. I glanced at it on my way back to our table and thought, "Huh. A Crew game is something we haven't done. We should do that sometime." Literally just a few minutes later, Chris was like, "I have tickets to next week's Crew game if you guys are interested." And here we are.

And of course it had to happen that my first soccer game would end in a tie.

Troy 52 Fairborn 7

High School Football

Home Team: Fairborn Skyhawks
Visiting Team: Troy Trojans
Venue: Troy Memorial Stadium
Game Time: 7:00 p.m.
Fellow Attendees: None

The last time Troy played at Fairborn (a 49-14 win in 2023), it was the last game at Fairborn Memorial Stadium. Being there for that was a pretty cool experience. The new Fairborn Alumni Field opened last year; this obviously wasn't the first game there, but it was the first visit for the Trojans. And tonight the two teams inaugurated the Tom Massie Trophy in honor of a longtime Troy assistant coach and Fairborn teacher who passed this summer.

And that trophy will spend its first year gracing the halls of Troy High School. With both teams coming in at 3-1 and Troy playing (and beating) their biggest rivals last week, I wasn't sure what to expect, but the Trojans left no doubt. They led 21-0 after the first quarter, and Matt Barth kicked a school record-tying 46-yard field goal as the half expired to go up 31-7. A long pass and run made the score 38-7 a little more than two minutes into the second half to start the running clock and more or less end the night.

Troy 28 Piqua 7

High School Football

Home Team: Troy Trojans
Visiting Team: Piqua High School
Venue: Troy Memorial Stadium
Game Time: 7:00 p.m.
Fellow Attendees: None

69-66-6

Blue Jackets 2 Islanders 0

NHL Hockey
Home Team: Columbus Blue Jackets
Visiting Team: New York Islanders
Venue: Nationwide Arena (Section C4)
Game Time: 7:00 p.m.

Fellow Attendees: Brandi, Chris, Spencer

Official Recap

Ten years later and I finally made it to a second Blue Jackets game. We should do this more often, because it's really fun. I don't love hockey the way I do football and baseball, or even basketball (I haven't made it to an OSU hoops game since we've been in Columbus), but I went to a ton of local games when I was a kid, and being in the arena is great.

And this was the way to do it. Our friend Chris works for one of the Blue Jackets' major sponsors, and he was able to get tickets in the new Diamond Cellar Club area. My friends...this is the way to go. Besides the price of admission, a drawback of actually going to sporting events is the price of concessions—but not tonight! In the Diamond Cellar Club, food is included (and it was quite a spread—I've never gone to a game and eaten spaghetti and meatballs before, but I did tonight), and a selection of beer and wine is included as well. And the seats were great, too, just off of center ice, pretty much at one of the blue lines.

It was a good game. The season is young (this was just the ninth game), and after a poor season last year and a tumultuous offseason that included a tragic accident that killed one of their star players, Johnny Gaudreau, it's hard to know what to expect from them this year. I'm not going to pretend that I know much about hockey and have anything insightful to say, but they definitely played hard. I can say that I was really impressed with the goalie, Elvis Merzlikins, who made some truly incredible saves on his way to a shutout.

I'm guessing it won't be ten years again before we make it to our next game.

Troy 49 Greenville 0

High School Football

Home Team: Troy Trojans
Visiting Team: Greenville Green Wave
Venue: Troy Memorial Stadium
Game Time: 8:00 p.m.
Fellow Attendees: None

It was a hot one tonight. Kickoff was actually bumped back an hour, to 8 p.m., to play in at least somewhat cooler conditions. It was still in the upper 80s when the game started, and I imagine it was quite a bit warmer than that down on the turf. From my spot about 2/3 of the way up the stands, it was fairly comfortable once the sun dipped below the trees, which happened right before the game started. Still, I'm glad the crowd was a little bit spread out—if it was as crowded as it was last week, when the new field debuted, I might have felt differently.

Obviously, the Trojans looked a lot better this week than they did last week. After they scored on the opening kickoff, Greenville then gave the ball back deep in their own territory on two straight possessions, leading to a 21-0 score after the first quarter. Troy cruised from there; the 35-0 score at the break meant the entire second half was played under a running clock, and the starters took the rest of the night off.

It's good to start league play with a big win, but next week will be a much more interesting test. Troy will go on the road for the first time this season, traveling south to take on an improved Butler squad that sits at 2-0 and is fresh off a win over Piqua.

Middletown 28 Troy 18

High School Football

Home Team: Troy Trojans
Visiting Team: Middletown Middies
Venue: Troy Memorial Stadium
Game Time: 7:00 p.m.
Fellow Attendees: None

I have great reverence for the Wing-T offense. That's what Troy was running when I was in high school 30+ years ago, and they had been running it for a long time then. But in the year of our lord 2024, brother...I don't think this is it. It's a different coach running it and a different era in football, and watching Troy's running backs and quarterback plow into the line for a two-yard gain over and over and over and over again was a chore. Without at least one beast on the line or in the backfield (preferably both), this offense just isn't the advantage it used to be.

Now, I have no doubt that Troy will right the ship and be more or less fine this year. Not world-beaters, maybe, but they'll be in the hunt for a league title. Probably. We'll see. Middletown is a team that has been up and down in football, and it seems like they only end up on Troy's schedule on their upswings. Troy lost to them in 2010 and 2011; Middletown's head coach then is Troy's head coach now. The Middies have a new coach this year, and the team he came from (Withrow) ended Troy's season in the playoffs last year. So they're probably going to turn out to be pretty decent.

And at any rate, this particular game wasn't so much about the game itself. This was all about Troy Memorial Stadium, which at long last has been converted from a natural grass field to an artificial surface, and also now features an upgraded video scoreboard. I'm pretty sure the scoreboard it replaced was installed for the 1994 season (although it's possible it happened after that season and debuted in 1995), and its best days were long behind it. As for the turf, I have mixed feelings. The evidence seems to suggest that natural grass is better to play on in terms of injuries, and I wouldn't be surprised if the pendulum swings back in that direction sooner rather than later; Troy may have been better served to wait it out with the grass field. But in the meantime, it looks fantastic, and it's great that the stadium will be able to serve as a neutral site in the playoffs again.