Coldwater 28 West Jefferson Roughriders 6

High School Football
Home Team: Coldwater Cavaliers
Visiting Team: West Jefferson Roughriders
Venue: Alexander Stadium (Piqua, OH)
Game Time: 7:30 p.m.
Fellow Attendees: Doug, Pops

OHSAA State Playoffs, Regional Finals - Division V Region 20

My buddy Doug usually goes to a MAC football game each week throughout the season. With Troy out of the playoffs, I was free to join him. It's always an interesting experience to go to a game without any rooting interest--I watch the game in a completely different way. That was doubly true tonight, as we stood along the fence at a corner of one endzone instead of taking seats in the stands, so I had a field-level view. I liked it, especially being able to see how the players line up and how the plays develop. But it's hard to see the depth of the plays, and that's a pretty significant downside.

Anyway, this looked at first like it might be a pretty decent game. West Jefferson got the ball first and drove down to take the early 6-0 lead, missing the extra point attempt in a stiff wind. That was pretty much it for them, though. Their defense held Coldwater mostly in check in the first half, trailing 7-6 at halftime, but that score was a little deceiving as Coldwater turned the ball over twice on the goal line as they were preparing to score.

In the second half, Coldwater started taking advantage of West Jefferson's inability to cover their receivers deep downfield. They went up 21-6 going into the fourth quarter (after giving up the ball again on the goal line), and that's when we headed out. The final score turned out to be 28-6, but if Coldwater hadn't had all those turnovers, it could have easily been 49-6.

And Piqua's stadium: ick. I'm sure it's my bias showing, at least a little bit, but it just looks chintzy. They do have a nice turf field, though.

Bowling Green 63 Howard 48

Men's Basketball
Home Team: BGSU Falcons
Visiting Team: Howard Bison
Venue: Stroh Center (Bowling Green, Ohio)
Game Time: 7:00 p.m.
Fellow Attendees: None

As much as I enjoy BG basketball, tonight the game was secondary. This was the first official game in the brand new Stroh Center, the shiny new state-of-the-art facility built to replace Anderson Arena, the Falcons' nest since 1960. Anderson was one of my favorite places in the universe, but it was time for an upgrade. That being the case, I was anxious to get to the new arena and check it out.

The doors were set to open at 6:00, so I took off from work an hour early to make sure I got there with plenty of time to explore and still find my seat well before tipoff. I had seen the exterior (indeed, during construction I checked the webcam a couple of times per day), and I had seen photos of the interior, but this was my first chance to actually go inside and check it out for myself.

The falcon statue outside the main entrance is incredibly impressive. Again, I had seen photos of this beast, and saw it for myself when driving past, but you really appreciate it when you walk up to it on your way into the building. It's awesome, and the words to the fight song inscribed on the base are a nice touch.

I won't go into detail on all the stuff I checked out or all the features the building offers, but I will note a few things I really liked. One is the availability of restrooms and concessions, which were lacking in Anderson. I also really like how broad the concourses are--there's plenty of room to walk without "high-traffic" areas getting completely crowded, which is another contrast from Anderson. Also, you can actually understand what's being said over the PA system. And there's a big scoreboard/videoboard for replays and in-game stats. And I like that you can see the floor from just about anywhere in the arena, so you aren't going to miss a whole lot even if you get up to get a snack or something.

If I had quibbles, they were in the seating arrangements. I felt a little cramped--not in my actual seat, but whenever I had to stand up to let someone into or out of the row. I kinda miss the bleacher seating, which I think is easier to maneuver. I also think it's more conducive to standing and cheering, which is what Anderson Arena (The House That Roars) was known for. I also wish the students were given a more prime location than behind one basket, and I wish they were right on top of the floor like they were in Anderson.

In all, though, I really dug the place a lot. It's a great place to watch a basketball game. It may not have the charm and soul of Anderson, but hopefully it'll get to roar like the old place did. It's going to be a great home for the Falcons.

Upper Arlington 21 Troy 20 OT

High School Football - Playoffs
Division I Region 3 Quarterfinals
Home Team: Upper Arlington Golden Bears
Visiting Team: Troy Trojans
Venue: Marv Moorehead Memorial Stadium
Game Time: 7:00 p.m.
Fellow Attendees: None

Read my thoughts here.

Troy 53 Sidney 6

High School Football
Home Team: Sidney Yellowjackets
Visiting Team: Troy Trojans
Venue: Sidney Memorial Stadium
Game Time: 7:30 p.m.
Fellow Attendees: None

Read my thoughts here.

Troy 38 Miamisburg 0

High School Football
Home Team: Troy Trojans
Visiting Team: Miamisburg Vikings
Venue: Troy Memorial Stadium
Game Time: 7:30 p.m.
Fellow Attendees: None

Read my thoughts here.

Trotwood-Madison 33 Troy 13

High School Football
Home Team: Trotwood-Madison Rams
Visiting Team: Troy Trojans
Venue: Good Samaritan SportsPlex
Game Time: 7:30 p.m.
Fellow Attendees: None

Read my thoughts here.

Troy 27 Piqua 7

High School Football
Home Team: Troy Trojans
Visiting Team: Piqua Indians
Venue: Troy Memorial Stadium
Game Time: 7:30 p.m.
Fellow Attendees: Gary B., Nikki G.

Read my thoughts here.

Troy 49 Vandalia Butler 15

High School Football
Home Team: Troy Trojans
Visiting Team: Vandalia Butler Aviators
Venue: Troy Memorial Stadium
Game Time: 7:30 p.m.
Fellow Attendees: Gary B.

Read my thoughts here.

Troy 35 Beavercreek 28

High School Football
Home Team: Beavercreek Beavers
Visiting Team: Troy Trojans
Venue: Frank Zink Field
Game Time: 7:30 p.m.
Fellow Attendees: Gary B.

Read my thoughts here.

Troy 41 Springboro 21

High School Football
Home Team: Troy Trojans
Visiting Team: Springboro Panthers
Venue: Troy Memorial Stadium
Game Time: 7:30 p.m.
Fellow Attendees: None

Read my thoughts here.

Troy 35 Fairborn 11

High School Football
Home Team: Fairborn Skyhawks
Visiting Team: Troy Trojans
Venue: Fairborn Memorial Stadium / Buschmeyer Field
Game Time: 7:30 p.m.
Fellow Attendees: None

Read my thoughts here.

Middletown 29 Troy 21

High School Football
Home Team: Troy Trojans
Visiting Team: Middletown Middies
Venue: Troy Memorial Stadium
Game Time: 7:30 p.m.
Fellow Attendees: None

Read my thoughts here.

Troy 30 Chaminade-Julienne 0

High School Football
Home Team: Chaminade-Julienne Eagles
Visiting Team: Troy Trojans
Venue: West Carrollton Junior High
Game Time: 7:30 p.m.
Fellow Attendees: None

Read my thoughts here.

Reds 11 Pirates 8

Major League Baseball
Home Team: Pittsburgh Pirates (K. Correia)
Visiting Team: Cincinnati Reds (H. Bailey)
Venue: PNC Park
Game Time: 7:05 p.m.
Fellow Attendees: Doug F., his family

Game Story | Box Score

Watching on television, I've always thought that PNC was an absolutely beautiful ballpark, and I've always wanted to see a game there. So when my buddy Doug, a Pirates fan, said he had an extra ticket for this game against the Reds, I jumped on the opportunity.

Needless to say, I wasn't disappointed. PNC really is a beautiful ballpark, even more so in person than on television. The effect really begins when you cross the Allegheny River via the Roberto Clemente Bridge, which is closed to all but pedestrian traffic on game days. From there, you can look directly into the stadium. The stadium area begins immediately on the other side of the bridge, where there are a number of restaurants and bars built into the stadium structure. There was some kind of breast cancer event going on as we got there, so there were plenty of people and activity.

We got there well before game time, so we stopped for a burger at Jerome Bettis 36 Grille, which is a short distance from PNC and very close to Heinz Field, where the Steelers play. We ended up hanging out in there for a while as a pretty vicious storm rolled through, then walked over to check out Heinz Field. Doug was hoping the Steelers sideline shop would be open, but no such luck. So then we headed back over to the ballpark to go in and get ready for the game.

Although the rain had mostly moved on by the time we got there, the game time ended up getting pushed back about 40 minutes to 7:45. By the time it started, the skies were clear and it had turned into an absolutely fantastic night for a ballgame. Our seats were pretty awesome, too--down the right field line, just a bit past first base and eight rows up.

It looked at first like the game was going to pitcher's duel, as neither team scored in the first three innings. Then Joey Votto hit a two-run homer in the top of the fourth for the Reds, and the craziness began. From that point, there wasn't an inning in which at least one team didn't score, and only two scoreless half-innings. The Reds kept building a lead and then letting it slip away. I thought I was going to lose my mind when Nick Masset blew an 8-6 lead in the bottom of the eighth, but two (!) plays at the plate that inning kept the Pirates from going ahead. It was more relief than anything when the Reds scored three in the ninth to finally put it away. Of course, the Pirates fans I was with didn't exactly see it that way.

Anyway, it was a hell of a game, and a great experience overall. It was totally worth the long, late drive home that got me home close to 5:00 a.m. I had an absolute blast.

Dragons 7 Bees 6

Minor League Baseball
Home Team: Dayton Dragons
Visiting Team: Burlington Bees
Venue: Fifth Third Field (Dayton, Ohio)
Game Time: 7:00 p.m.
Fellow Attendees: Doug, Shawn, Lyle

Game Story | Box Score

The score was tied at 5 when we left after the bottom of the fifth inning. Leaving a game early is not my modus operandi, but the tickets came from my buddy Doug, so he was calling the shots. And really, I couldn't object--the temperature was well into the 90s with pretty significant humidity, so we were all bathed in sweat the whole time we were there.

And really, the story of this one wasn't so much in the game. The Dragons were celebrating their streak of 815 consecutive sellouts (now at 821, I think), the longest in pro sports history, so there was quite a bit of stuff going on. Before the game, ceremonial first pitches were caught by former Reds players Bill Doran, George Foster, and Eric Davis; plus they had a couple of skydivers land in the stadium during the National Anthem. During the game they had short speeches from Archie Griffin and Magic Johnson, part of the group that owns the team, and a little bit later they did something similar with former Dragons and current Reds Logan Ondrusek, Chris Heisey, and Drew Stubbs, who were helicoptered to Dayton after the Reds' victory over Atlanta. So all of that was pretty cool.

Of course, as cool as all of that was, I was definitely interested in the game as well. One nice thing about going to Dragons games is that there's usually at least one or two Reds prospects I'm looking forward to checking out. On this night it was shortstop Billy Hamilton, who did not disappoint. He had a walk, a stolen base, a triple, and two runs scored while we were there, and also played some nice defense. It'll be pretty awesome to have him manning shortstop in Cincinnati in a few years--dude makes things happen.

Bowling Green 73 Buffalo 63

Men's Basketball
Home Team: BGSU Falcons
Visiting Team: Buffalo Bulls
Venue: Anderson Arena (Bowling Green, Ohio)
Game Time: 1:00 p.m.
Fellow Attendees: Brandi

BGSU Official Game Coverage

Thoughts being formulated...coming soon!

Bowling Green 65 Ball State 64

Men's Basketball
Home Team: BGSU Falcons
Visiting Team: Ball State Cardinals
Venue: Anderson Arena (Bowling Green, Ohio)
Game Time: 7:00 p.m.
Fellow Attendees: None

Toledo Blade Game Story | Official Box Score

Hard to believe it's been three months since I last attended a sporting event, and nearly a full year since the last time I was at Anderson Arena. A whole slew of extenuating circumstances has contributed to that being the case, which is really unfortunate for me - Anderson is one of my favorite places in the world, and this is the last season it will be hosting BGSU basketball. It happened, though, that this game coincided with my monthly trip to Toledo for work, so I was able to stick around and catch some hoops action before making the drive back to Troy.

I haven't been able to attend any games before this one, but I've watched the Falcons play several times on TV and via streaming video. Still, it was nice to finally see them in person, especially since the core of the team is so young that I didn't see them play last year. I was pretty impressed, especially with A'uston ("The Apostrophe") Calhoun and Cameron Black. They're both raw, but have a lot of potential - Calhoun is already a scoring machine, and Black seemed to have a nice low post game for a true freshman. They definitely need to work on rebounding and getting to loose balls, though, not to mention free throw shooting.

The only thing that bothered me was the complete lack of crowd energy, which is hard to believe for a game like this. Sure, it shouldn't have been as close as it ended up, but still, a close game is a close game. There was very little crowd reaction at all, and that makes me sad for "The House That Roars." It deserves a more raucous final season, but it doesn't look like it's going to get it. I'm hoping for a large, loud crowd for the last game, at least; I'll be there for that one, one way or another.