New Years Eve Show

Blue Oyster Cult, December 31, 1981

Tower Theatre, General Admission

The Tower is an old classic theatre built in 1928.

1981 is a black year in the history of Blue Oyster Cult. By August, a simmering mixture of internal band resentment, exasperation and frustration exploded with the net result that drummer/singer/songwriter and general creative pile-driver, Albert Bouchard was fired. In the UK, of all places!!

And yet it all started so promisingly. In June, BOC released the fantastic "Fire Of Unknown Origin" and with Cultosaurus already under their belt, BOC fans were beginning to believe that the Cult were on their way. There was nothing going to stop their relentless march towards dominance now... except maybe... submission.

By losing Albert Bouchard, the creative heart was ripped out of the band and, for a lot of people, a major part of what made Blue Oyster Cult the band it was, was now gone.

Lighting man Rick Downey was hastily drafted in to take over the drums and BOC finished off the year with a massive tour with Foghat. (courtesy: http://www.hotrails.co.uk/index.htm)

Local band Big Streets opened for BOC. The drum solo took place towards the end of "Godzilla" after which the band came back on to finish the song. At the end of the song, Joe does a standalone bass solo - featuring various Doors' songs.

Known setlist:

Dr Music

	The Red & The Black
	ETI
	Hot Rails To Hell
	Joan Crawford
	Burnin' For You
	Cities On Flame
	Veteran of Psychic Wars
	Me262
	Godzilla
	Born to be Wild
	(Don't Fear) The Reaper
	Roadhouse Blues

ECHL Action

Charlotte Checkers v Richmond Renegades, December 27, 2002

Richmond Coliseum, Sec 2U Row C

Charlotte, N.C., is recognized as the first southern city to embrace minor-league hockey, but it did so quite by accident. On Jan. 23, 1956, Carlin's Iceland in Balitmore burned down forcing the Eastern Hockey League's Baltimore Clippers to move to Charlotte.^] The team played six games in the Charlotte Coliseum during the balance of the season, drawing 10,363 fans who sang Dixie before the first game against the New Haven Blades. The team decide to officially move to Charlotte for the 1956-57 season, adopting the Checkers nickname in 1960.

The Checkers played in several minor hockey leagues until the late 70's. After a 17 year hiatus, the Checkers resurfaced in the ECHL in 1993.

Charlotte 4 Richmond 2

VIP Seating

Montreal Canadians v Washington Capitals, December 23, 2003

Verizon Center, Section 104, Row V

A friend has a relative who was a former Caps player and we used his seats for this game.

Peter Bondra scored with 53.8 seconds remaining to lift the Washington Capitals to a 3-2 victory Tuesday night over the Montreal Canadiens.

Bondra was camped out behind Montreal goalie Mathiew Garon and knocked in a loose puck in the crease to give Washington its first win on its five-game homestand.

Michael Ryder tied it for Montreal for the second time when he batted a rebound out of the air at 8:24 of the third period.

Former Capitals player Jan Bulis also scored for Montreal, which failed to win two in a row for the 11th time this season. The Canadiens haven't won back-to-back games since beating the Red Wings and Islanders on Oct. 20 and 23.

Joel Kwiatkowski was ejected for checking-from-behind, and Montreal was only able to capitalize for one goal during the five-minute advantage.

Jaromir Jagr and Jeff Halpern scored to give Washington 1-0 and 2-1 leads.

Bulis provided the first tie by snapping a wrist shot past Olaf Kolzig at 3:18 of the third. Ryder answered Halpern's goal on the power play by knocking a floating rebound into the net to make it 2-2.

Montreal's power play has scored in six of seven games.

Jagr scored the first goal on Washington's first power play at 5:37 of the second period, taking the puck from Benoit Gratton and shooting it high past Garon.

Jagr, playing his second straight game after missing two with a thumb injury, has 33 goals in 53 games against Montreal.

Halpern scored 4:56 into the third just before Montreal went on the five-minute power play, which led to Ryder's tying goal.

Game notes
On Montreal's first power play, Washington's Mike Grier knocked the net off its moorings after he broke in short-handed against Garon. Instead of blowing the whistle, referee Kerry Fraser signaled for play to continue at the other end of the ice while he stayed behind the play to replace the net. Minutes later, the Washington net came loose behind the action and again play was allowed to continue. ... Officials had no choice but to stop play with 5:05 remaining in the second after former Capitals player Richard Zednik drove Washington's Trent Whitfield into the glass, knocking the panel loose to the point where it fell forward hitting a ducking Whitfield on top of the head. ... Washington's Colin Forbes was a healthy scratch for the second straight game since his recall from Portland of the AHL.

Mr Hockey

Pittsburgh Penguins v Philadelphia Flyers, December 23, 1992

The Spectrum, Section Y, Row 14

During the steak when the Flyers were not making the playoffs for 5 straight seasons. And the Penguins were winning Cups.

Mario Lemieux scored the game's first goal 41 seconds into the game on the Flyers Tommy Soderstrom. A Kevin Dineen checking from behind penalty and game misconduct set up the game's 2nd goal, Kevin Stevens 28 of the year.

Lemieux netted his 2nd of the game and 36th of the season in the 2nd period.

A 4-0 win for the visiting Penguins were Tom Barasso earned a shutout and Mario Lemieux registered 2 goals plus an assist.

The ECHL Experiment

Erie Panthers v Richmond Renegades, December 23, 1990

Richmond Coliseum, Section 19L Row A

The Renegades began play in the 1990-1991 season, the third year of the ECHL's existence. The team was owned by local businessman Allan Harvie. The nickname "Renegades" came from a "name the team" contest, and a little girl won it after a tie-breaking draw. The team's colors were orange and black (perhaps in deference to the Richmond Robins of the 1970s, an AHL farm team for the Philadelphia Flyers), and the logo was a black "R" with an orange upside down hockey stick forming the inside of the letter.

Perhaps this was a Christmas visit to the in laws. I caught a few Renegades games in the past few months of their first year in existence. There seemed to be some enthusiasm in Richmond, but that would not last too long.

Richter Peppered

New York Rangers v Philadelphia Flyers, December 21, 1995

The Spectrum, Section 59 Row 4

Darren Langdon of the Rangers scored first with Kevin Lowe and Mark Messier getting credit for the assists. Despite the Flyers peppering New York goaltender Mike Richter with 19 shots in the 1st, John LeClair's was the only Flyer to hit the back of the net with his 21st goal of the season. Fellow Legion of Doom line mate Mikeal Reneberg assisted on the goal.

Blue Shirt Jeff Beukeboom scored what would become the game winning goal in the 2nd.
The Rangers were only able to put 3 shots on net in the 3rd.

The Rangers managed to win while putting only 15 shots on net to the Flyers 32.

17,380 were on hand.

NOT a Super Bowl XXXIX Preview

New England Patriots v Philadelphia Eagles, December 19, 1999

Veterans Stadium, Sec 354 Row 13

I took a client to this afternoon game. It was just over a week from the Millennium celebration.
At this point in time, Drew Bledsoe already underachieved. The Eagles were a team in transition. A short 5 years later, the two teams would meet in the Super Bowl. This was not a precursor.

The Eagles jumped to a 1st quarter 10-0 lead on a 43 yard Norm Johnson field goal and a 50 yard strike from quarterback Koy Detmer to Torrance Small.

The Patriots kicker Adam Vinatieri factored in big in the New England's failed effort. He connected on a 23, 43 and 46 yard field goals in the swirling winds of the circular Vet.

Small and Detmer hooked up again in the 2nd quarter for an 11 yard touchdown. Detmer also found Dierich Jells for a 44 yard touchdown pass.

The Patriots controlled the stats in just about every category except the scoreboard.
The Eagles won this forgettable game 24-9.

It's Only Rock and Roll

The Rolling Stones, December 18, 1981

Hampton Coliseum, General Admission

Festival seating was kind of outlawed in some jurisdictions around this time period as several people were stomped to death at a Who concert in Cincinnati a few months prior. It surprised us this show remained "general admission".

A friend's dad drove us to the show. We had a hotel room within walking distance. We arrived to the hotel in the early afternoon, checked in and wondered aimlessly over to the show. Dumb luck timing had us first in line just as the doors opened. Several people sprinted to the front of the stage. We wondered slowly and still ended up leaning on the front of the stage. The place slowly filled up.

The opening act was George Thorogood and the Delaware Destroyers. I knew of his music as my older brother had albums and he was getting some air time on Philadelphia radio at the time.
He actually rocked the place and ended up putting on a better show then the Stones.

A long time passed between Thorogood's set and The Stones coming on stage. Several things happened during this time. The crowd began pressing us against the stage. We had no control of our bodies. We were picked up and moved in waves of movement. Somehow we worked our way several rows back from the stage.

The Stones came on stage, cameras on cranes swooped down from above us. The legendary Rolling Stones were within spitting distance from us. At one point a little Charles Manson looking guy came up behind me and told me to move. I told him I couldn't move. She leaned in and said "I have a knife and I need to get close to Mick". I found enough room to let him around.

1. Intro
2. Under My Thumb
3. When the Whip Comes Down
4. Let's Spend the Night Together
5. Shattered
6. Neighbors
7. Black Limousine
8. Just My Imagination
9. Twenty Flight Rock
10. Going to a Go Go
11. Let Me Go
12. Time is On My Side
13. Beast of Burden
14. Waiting On a Friend
15. Let Bleed
16. You Can't Always Get What You Want
17. Little T&A
18. Tumbling Dice
19. She's So Cold
20. Hang Fire
21. Miss You
22. Honky Tonk Women
23. Brown Sugar
24. Start Me Up
25. Jumping Jack Flash
26. Satisfaction

Revenge!

Celebration From Our Seats

St Louis Rams v Tampa Bay Buccaneers, December 18, 2000

Raymond James Stadium, Sec 314 Row P

Hooked up with a old fraternity brother who was a season tickets holder. St Louis got a gift call in the previous year's playoffs to knock the Bucs out. Tonight was a night for revenge.

The day of the Marriott was packed outside with autograph hounds. We walked right in to meet someone and mingled with an almost entire lobby of Rams players and their families.

We tailgated with Warren Sapp's family briefly. There were bigger and better things going on in the parking lot. My buddy was a rock musician with a lot of local connections. Any tailgate we walked up to, we were eating and drinking and enjoying the moment.

This was a time when Monday Night Football still meant something.

In a game that featured six lead changes and four touchdowns by Marshall Faulk, Tampa Bay won the game thanks to a number of improbable plays. Torry Holt had given the Rams a 35-31 lead with 5:18 to go on a 72-yard touchdown catch. But Shaun King directed the Bucs on a 13-play, 80-yard drive in the final three minutes.

The key play was a swing lateral to Warrick Dunn. Dunn was trapped far behind the line and, as he was being dragged down, suddenly pitched the ball back to King. King shook loose and streaked down the right sideline for a 15-yard gain, and 15 more yards were tacked on for a late hit called on linebacker Mike Jones. Later, on a fourth-and-4, King scrambled for a first down. He then threw a 22-yard pass to Reidel Anthony, which set up Dunn's 1-yard TD run to clinch the 38-35 win for Tampa.

What sucked about this quick trip to Tampa was I ended up getting a nasty flu. I barely made it home and was laid up for over 3 days.

Tie Ball Game

Chicago Blackhawks v Philadelphia Flyers, December 18, 1993

The Spectrum, Sec S Row 7

Can't remember how I got these tickets. My brother was in town from Chicago so we hooked up for the game.

The Flyers Claude Boivin squared off against Neil Wilkerson in the latter part of the 1st earning both fighting majors. Michel Goulet scored the only 1st period tally with a set up by a young Jeremy Roenick.

The rest of the game's scoring took place in the 2nd. The Flyers Al Conroy netted a feed off of Eric Lindros for the Flyers 1st of the game. Blackhawks Christian Ruuttu put the Hawks up again in the 2nd until Yves Racine tied it up with assists credited to Mark Recchi and Garry Galley.

Jeff Hackett stopped 34 of 36 for the Blackhawks. The Flyers Tommy Soderstrom 23 of 25.

17,312 were on hand.

Dude Looks Like a Lady

Pittsburgh Penguins v Philadelphia Flyers, December 17, 1992

The Spectrum, Sec Y, Row 14

A rushed day of Christmas shopping. Off from work at 4, jetted down to Delaware for some tax-free Christmas shopping, then off to the game.

That's what you do when you want to make a large purchase and live in the Tri State area; you drive down to Delaware and take advantage of there 0% sales tax.

A little fireworks in the 1st when the Flyers Ryan McGill squared up with Kevin Stevens. Both got fighting majors and game misconducts.

Former Flyer Rick Tocchett took no time paying back his former team for trading him. Toccett socred 2 power play goals in the first. Mario Lemieux assisted on both. The Flyers Keith Acton and Gord Hynes also netted goals in the 1st for the Flyers.

Pittsburgh's Jaromir agr scored his 13th of the year at the 3:19 mark of the 2nd.

The game was tied after regulation but was settled at the 2:50 mark of OT with Jagr's 2nd of the night on a set up by Lemieux.

Pens won 5-4 in front of 17,294.

Tom Barasso saved 27 of 31 shots as Tommy Soderstrom for the Flyers stopped 27 of 31 shots on goal.

NFC East Beatdown

Philadelphia Eagles v Washington Redskins, December 16, 2001

FedEx Field Sec 140 Row 21

My least favorite sports venue. Granted I would never step foot in a domed stadium.

Decent seats, if there is such a thing in an oversized NFL stadium.

The Redskins went ahead 6-0 on 2 Brett Conway field goals, one from 47, the other from 25.
Freddie Mitchell caught a Donovan McNabb 4 yard dump for the game's first TD. David Akers hit a 40 yard field goal before the halftime intermission to give the Birds a 10-6 lead.

In the 3rd, McNabb hit Todd Pinkston for a 62 yard TD hookup and Akers capped off the game's scoring with a 50 yard field goal in the final quarter.

McNabb threw for 235 yards in the game. The Redskins had Tony Banks barking signals. He had comparable numbers to McNabb in the game.

Whistle Happy Refs

Montreal Canadians v Carolina Hurricanes, December 15, 2008

RBC Center, Sec 102 Row X

The election of 2008 was over and the flow of money came to a grinding halt in the US. Not only myself, but everyone around was scared to death to spend a dollar because of the uncertainty of a new president with no proven leadership to guide us out of a mild downturn in the economy. If handled in an inexperience manner, everyone knew the recession would be prolonged, which it is.

Turns out I should have enjoyed myself more as it would be the last live sporting event I would attend in some time.




The Carolina Hurricanes have spent much of the season tinkering with a less-than-stellar power play through the first 30 games.

That work-in-progress continued under the bright lights of the RBC Center courtesy of the Montreal Canadians on Tuesday night as the Canes scored three power play goals on a season-high 11 attempts to beat the Canadiens 3-2.

The Canes have picked up at least a point in five of six games under new coach Paul Maurice and got back to .500 at home with the victory. The win also comes on the heels of two disappointing shootout road losses, games in which the Canes could have easily won in regulation as they trailed Southeast Division-leading Washington by eight points entering the game.

“We need to start stringing together wins,” said Joe Corvo, who now has 13 game winners out of 52 career goals. “We need four, five or six wins in a row now if we want to make any headway.”

The power-play wasn’t pretty at times, but Carolina notched three man-advantage goals for just the second time this season, matching the three it scored in a 6-4 victory against Toronto on Nov. 2.

Corvo and Eric Staal scored power-play goals on that night, too, with Corvo notching the game winner this time, with Staal continuing his recent hot streak with two goals, giving him five in his last four games.

“For an offensive guy you want as many power plays as you can get,” Staal said when asked if too many power plays can at times disrupt the flow of a game. “If the whole game was a power play I would take it.”

It was fitting that associate head coach Ron Francis was on hand to address the media after the game and not Maurice. The Hall of Famer has the task of trying to turn Carolina’s power play into a well-oiled machine, not the squeaky rusted wagon we’ve witnessed for most of the season.

“At the end of the day, it was probably a good performance,” said Francis. “It’s not easy when things haven’t been going well on the power play and you’re constantly hearing about how things aren’t happening for you.

“We didn’t start off as well as we would have liked, but give some credit to our fans, they didn’t jump on the guys right away. They were patient with them and we ended up scoring some goals that weren’t exactly pretty, but at the end of the day we scored three goals on the power play and we won the hockey game. That’s what matters.”

Playing without captain Saku Koivu and starting goalie Carey Price, along with three other regulars, the Canes outworked Montreal for most of the night. But the Canadiens hung around until the bitter end, and with Jaroslav Halak pulled for the extra attacker, Cam Ward had to make a nifty save on sharpshooter Alex Kovalev with 12 seconds left as a good outlet pass and defensive breakdown led to a 3-on-1 attack.

“He’s a gifted player and I was kind of fighting it in the second period, but it’s my job to come up with that big save with 10 seconds left,” said Ward, who improved to 90-61-16 in his career.

The second period had a little bit of everything, including Carolina’s third power-play goal on a blast by Corvo, a successful penalty shot and short-handed goal by Montreal, and a disallowed goal off a high stick by Andrei Markov that would have tied the score at 3-3.

Instead, Montreal continued its parade to the penalty box with six more minors on top of the five first-period infractions, much to the dismay of coach Guy Carbonneau, who gave referees Frederick L’Ecuyer and Brad Meier a 30-second stare-down as he left the ice at the end of the second period.

In a bizarre first period, the Canes went on the power play five times as the Canadiens managed just three shots on Ward. Carolina’s power play was dismal for the most part and the Canes registered a mere four man-advantage shots on Halak. But the Hurricanes were able to get two timely goals from Staal as he parked his big frame to the right of Halak for his 12th and 13th of the season.

“It’s a good feeling,” said Staal, who played in his 285th straight game and didn’t miss a shift after planting his face into the boards due to a cross-check in the second period. “That’s what it is, if you continue to work and not give up in your own end, staying with it on the defensive side of the puck, eventually you’re going to get those opportunities and chances and tonight I did. When you start to feel good things just start going for you and I’ll take them.”

NOTES: The Canes improved to 5-0-1 against the Northeast Division, but have yet to play Eastern Conference leader Boston or Buffalo. … Carolina scored at least two power-play goals for just the fourth time since the first two games of the season. … After going without a point in his first 10 games, Sergei Samsonov has 14 points in 21 games. … Rod Brind’Amour needs one more assist to reach 700 helpers for his career. … Ray Whitney’s five-game point streak came to an end. …. Ward has allowed four goals on nine career penalty shots. … Four of Maurice’s first six games have been decided by one goal.

Bitter Cold 700 Level

Miami Dolphins v Philadelphia Eagles, December 13, 1987

Veterans Stadium, Sec 705 Row 20

In his book If Football's a Religion, Why Don't We Have a Prayer?, Jere Longman described the 700 Level as having a reputation for "hostile taunting, fighting, public urination and general strangeness."

For the record, I did all of my peeing inside the men's room this day as I was with a lady.

Temps in the high 20's, wind getting trapped in the upper environs of the circular Vet. Overcast and gloomy. Ah, winter in Philadelphia.

What better place to take an out of town date along with your dad and brother in law but the 700 level for a football game in December. I needed to see if she could drink and take a punch before I would commit to another date.

A scoreless 1st quarter. Not good sitting on those frozen hard plastic seats (one of which now graces my sports bar) with no energy flowing through the crowd.

Mike Quick took a 44 yard pass from Randall Cunningham into the end zone in the 2nd to put the Eagles up first in the ball game. It wasn't long before Miami's Dan Marino connected with Mark Duper on a 22 yard slant to tie the game up. The Eagles Paul McFadden kicked a 27 yard field goal to put the Eagles up at the half 10-7 until the Fins Ron Davenport poked one in from the one. Dolphins 14-10 at the half.

It was all Miami in the 2nd half. Dan Marino connect twice with Mark Clayton, once on an 11 yard TD and another for a 20 yarder.

Dolphins win 28-10.

Giant Killers

Richmond v Virginia Commonwealth, December 10, 1983

Richmond Coliseum, Sec GA

In the 83-84 season, both Richmond and VCU made it to the NCAA tournament. Usually it is big news when a major basketball city like Philadelphia sends 2 teams to the dance. This was incredible for mid major city like Richmond.

VCU won in the first round on a buzzer beater shot against Northeastern by Rolando Lamb. Richmond went on to upset Charles Barkley and Auburn in Round 1. During this time period, small Richmond upset some other NCAA favorites to earn the name "giant killers".

Richmond had future NBA star Johnny Newman on the roster.

No Searchable Archives of Game

Greensboro Monarchs v Richmond Renegades, December 10, 1994

Richmond Coliseum, Sec 30L Row K

I was living in NJ at the time. I had a fraternity brother employed by the Renegades. So when I came into town I always had tickets. Plus, if I brought my son, he ended up with game pucks, autographs, sticks, etc.

GUUUUUUUUUYYYYYY

New York Rangers v Boston Garden, December 10, 1988

Boston Garden, Sec 80 Row E

My first time in the old Boston Garden. The night before we had a Christmas office party. Too much Tequila made my ticket partner puke in front of our girlfriends the night before. Being this was a 1PM afternoon game, we planned to meet around 10 to catch a train, drink, etc.
When I arrived, he was purple in the fetal position. He was unable to get up so he handed the two tickets to me and my girlfriend, who never has been to an NHL game.

The first thing I noticed when walking into the Garden was how small the ice surface was. The entire place was small. At this time, I have only other NHL arena I have ever been inside was the Spectrum.

Our balcony seats were almost hoovering over the ice surface. The stairs were steep. Each aisle
had a rail to prevent fans from tipping over when standing. The TV "booth" was actually a cat walk extended out over the front row of the balcony. The announcers had to climb out onto a catwalk to call the game. No booth, no protection from the fans.

What was striking was every time the Rangers Guy LeFleur touched the puck, out of respect, the entire Garden yelled "Guuuuuuuuuyyyyyy". LeFleur was a retired rival Montreal Canadian legend. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1988. Then he came out of retirement and was picked up for the season by the Rangers. He went on the next two season to play with the Quebec Nordiques.

Andy Moog minded the net for the B's with John Vanbiesbrouck in the nets for the Rangers. Vanbiesbrouck stopped 32 of 33 shots. The Rangers only managed 17 shots in 65 minutes of hockey. Moog stopped 16.

All star defenseman Ray Bourque banged up a knee and left he game in OT. Craig Jenny was also lost as well.

Battle of the Beltway

Washington Redskins v Baltimore Ravens, December 7, 2008

M&T Stadium, Sec 247 Row 13

Highfalutin DC is only 40 miles to the south of blue collar Baltimore. The stadiums are much closer.

I looked all season for this 1PM tailgate at one of the best atmospheres in the NHL. The network stole that opportunity from me and moved this East Coast game to an 8:30 PM Sunday Night Game. Normally I would sell a ticket for a late night game and not even watch it on TV. But I couldn't miss an opportunity to see the Ravens play at home.

14 degrees at the kick off. And only getting colder. We were in the middle level of the stadium which gave us a climate controlled concourse with fancy food and a toasty environ. That's where the pussies hang out. I stayed in my seat from kick off to the last second, minus half time.

If the Redskins are fortunate, it might be another four years before they have to face the Baltimore Ravens again.

If the Redskins are lucky, maybe Ed Reed will be retired by then.Reed set up a touchdown with an interception and scored on a 22-yard fumble return, part of a stifling effort by the Baltimore defense in a 24-10 victory Sunday night.With their seventh win in eight games, the Ravens (9-4) enhanced their stature in the wild-card race and remained one game behind Pittsburgh in the AFC North. Baltimore hosts the Steelers next Sunday.Washington (7-6) has lost four of five. The Redskins trailed 17-0 before scoring twice in the fourth quarter after Baltimore turnovers, but couldn't complete the comeback.

"We were 6-2 and now we're 7-6 and you find that hard to believe," quarterback Jason Campell said. "You'd thought you'd at least be sitting here 9-2 or maybe 10-3."The Ravens sacked Campbell twice, forced two interceptions (both by Reed) and held Clinton Portis to 32 yards rushing."Ed is going to always be Ed," Baltimore linebacker Ray Lewis said, "but the way our defense came out and set down Clinton Portis, the guys up front did an extremely incredible freaking job."Reed was a force the last time the teams played, a 17-10 Baltimore victory in 2004. In that game, he returned a fumble for a touchdown, made six tackles and had a sack.Reed was even better in the long-awaited rematch, although he's been playing the entire season with a bothersome neck injury.On the Redskins' third play from scrimmage, Campbell was hit by Terrell Suggs while throwing the ball, and Reed picked off the pass at the Baltimore 45."That tipped ball, that first pick, that's just somebody else making the play and me doing my job," Reed said. Rookie Joe Flacco promptly completed a 26-yard pass to Derrick Mason, and a 21-yard run by Ray Rice on a third-and-10 play led to an 8-yard touchdown run by LeRon McClain. Washington's third possession was as disastrous as the first. At the end of an 11-yard run, Portis had the ball stripped by Reed, who picked up the fumble and ran for a touchdown to make it 14-0 with less than 6 minutes elapsed. Redskins coach Jim Zorn insisted Portis was down, but a replay upheld the ruling.

"I was trying to rip it loose," Reed said. "I was going for it a little bit and it came out."Reed not only put the Ravens in control, he ended any chance the Redskins had of coming back with an interception with 1:53 left and Baltimore up 24-10."He's an outstanding player. He's probably the best safety, him and Troy Polamalu, that I've played against and I've seen," Campbell said of Reed. "Those guys are relentless."Baltimore and Washington play home games only 32 miles apart, but this was only the fourth meeting between the teams -- the first in Baltimore. The Ravens hold a 3-1 lead in the series, and probably won't get another crack at Washington until 2012.Reed will be 34 then, and the Redskins would be delighted to buy him a retirement gift if he decides to walk away from the game before their next matchup."Ed is a great player, an elite safety," Washington safety LaRon Landry said. "You just admire what he does and try to play like him. "Matt Stover kicked a 32-yard field goal in the third quarter to end a 14-play drive and make it 17-0, and it appeared the Ravens would coast to victory.But Washington got a field goal after an interception by Landry, and DeAngelo Hall returned a fumble by Willis McGahee 13 yards to the Baltimore 30 to set up a fourth-down touchdown pass from Campbell to Antwaan Randle El with 10:17 left.It was the first TD against the Ravens in 13 quarters and 46 possessions.Baltimore then launched an 83-yard drive in which McClain ran 10 times for 43 yards before Flacco threw a 28-yard touchdown pass to Mason.Game over."I think you look at everybody on our football team and see frustration," Redskins coach Jim Zorn said. "There's no faking it. We have three games left now, and it's sudden death."Game notes
Olympic star Michael Phelps was part of the record crowd of 71,438. ... Portis moved in 2nd place on the Redskins career rushing list with 5,876 yards. ... Suggs got a sack to move into 2nd place on the Ravens' career list. He has 51 1/2, trailing only Pete Boulware (70). ... Redskins LT Chris Samuels left with a triceps injury, and RT Jon Jansen has a sprained ligament in his knee.

Purple People Eaters

Minnesota Vikings v Philadelphia Eagles, December 6, 1992

Veterans Stadium, Sec 272 Row 23

I suspect this was a cold weather game being the seat location is a buddy's father's tickets. He would not go to night games or cold games. And I was often the recipient of the extra ticket.

Eagles Randall Cunningham ran one in from the 1 yard line in the 1st after Minnesota's Faud Reviez kicked a 32 yard field goal. Minnesota upped the score to 10-7 on a Terry Allen rush from the 3 yard line. Health Sherman, for the Eagles, poked in a 1 yarder before the half allowing the home team to take 14-10 lead into the intermission.

The 2nd half gave us more of the same. 1 yard pokes from both Minnesota's Allen and Philly's Cunningham. Seth Joyner picked a Sean Salisbury pass in the 4th and ran it back 24 yards for a touchdown, and the back breaker for the Vikings.

I AM (REPLACEMENT) IRONMAN

Black Sabbath, December 6, 1981

Richmond Coliseum, GA 2

The Mob Rules Tour. The Alvin Lee Band opened. I really had no idea who Alvin Lee was but the band's guitarist was Mick Taylor, formerly of The Rolling Stones.

Putting this blog together you learn a few tidbits when there is a record of the invent on the internet. I thought Ozzy was still with the band for this tour. I just found out today he already left the band and Ronnie Jame Dio was the lead singer. I did see Ozzy during this period while he was on his own. (future posting).

Richmond was not what many would consider a major market. At the time the ticket takers would tear a ticket and hand back to the patron the smaller portion which had no relevant information (Event, Date). I hand wrote the info on my ticket stub.....nub.

Known Setlist:

1. E5150
2. Neon Knights
3. NIB
4. Children of the sea
5. Turn up the night
6. Black Sabbath
7. War Pigs
8. Slipping Away
9. Drum Solo
10. Slipping Away
    
11. Iron Man
12. The Mob Rules
13. Heaven and Hell
14. Guitar solo
15. Heaven and Hell
    
16. Paranoid
17. Heaven and Hell
    
18. Children of the Grave
19. Fluff
    

Auburn Visits Richmond

Auburn v Virginia, December 3, 2004

Stuart Siegel Center, Sec 9 Row L

Correction: The University of Virginia did come back to play in Richmond after the embarrassment on national TV at the cancellation of a game due to a slippery court. Michigan State came to town in 2001 as part of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, a made for TV faux-rivalry. But Virginia stiffed the outdated and poorly run Richmond Coliseum in favor of a newer, much smaller venue.

Virginia freshman Sean Singletary gave coach Pete Gillen the aggressive performance he was looking for.Singletary scored 15 of his 25 points in the second half, including eight in a 10-5 run when Virginia (No. 25 ESPN/USA Today, No. 24 AP) went ahead to stay with just over seven minutes left, helping the Cavaliers to an 89-87 victory over Auburn on Friday night.His solid performance comes one game after a Virginia slipped past Northwestern 48-44 in the ACC-Big Ten challenge Wednesday night."You've got the take what the defense gives you," the freshman from Philadelphia said. "They were keying on J.R. (Reynolds) and Devin (Smith). I had a lot of open opportunities, so I just took advantage of it."Singletary hit 9 of 16 shots, including a 3-pointer in the go-ahead spurt, and grabbed seven rebounds for the Cavaliers. Smith added 23 points and eight rebounds, Elton Brown scored 17 and Reynolds scored 12.The Cavaliers needed all of it to overcome a huge game by Tigers freshman Toney Douglas, who had 33 points, and a strange ending.Leading 89-84, Singletary committed a foul in the backcourt with three seconds left. Ian Young made his first free throw, missed the second and Quinnel Brown rebounded, scored and was fouled by Smith with 1.7 seconds remaining. Brown tried to bang a miss off the rim to allow for a tying tip, but the ball was slapped out to halfcourt and Virginia held on.Douglas, who had 38 points in a victory against Nicholls State, was 11-for-18 from the field and hit five of Auburn's 13 3-pointers."I love it when teams think that because we're small, they can blow us out," Douglas said after the Tigers lineup included no starter taller than 6-foot-6. "They're wrong. We use speed and shooting to keep us in games."Nathan Watson and Ronny LeMelle added 15 points each and Young had 11 as the Tigers shot 52.6 percent and the Cavaliers shot 53.2 percent."We were fortunate that we were able to score because we couldn't stop them," Gillen said. "That freshman is unbelievable."Douglas pulled the Tigers to 79-78 on a 3-pointer with 3:10 left, but after Brown hit two free throws for Virginia, Gary Forbes knocked the ball away from Douglas a moment later and Smith's 3-pointer made it 84-78.Another 3-pointer by Watson with 1:34 left pulled the Tigers to 85-82, a margin that ed better after Jason Clark missed two free throws for the Cavaliers, but two straight scoreless trips down the floor for the Tigers and the first two of Reynolds' late free throws eased the suspense.The loss was the first for the Tigers (5-1) under coach Jeff Lebo.

74 Cup Rematch

Boston Bruins v Philadelphia Flyers, December 3, 1989

The Spectrum, Sec B Row 19

Just moved from Boston back to Philadelphia. The Bruins grew on me while in Boston. The Garden particular. But this was the Flyers at the Spectrum and I have my loyalties.

It was a scoreless 1st Period but the refs had their whistles out calling every hold and high stick, much like the new NHL.

Dave Poulin took a feed from Gord Murphy at the 3:15 mark of the 2nd to put the Flyers up. The Bruins Randy Burridge scored to tie the game up with Ray Bourque and Greg Hawgood assisting on the goal. Robbie Gould scored the game winning goal for the B's in the 3rd.

The Bruins out shot the Bruins in the first with 13 shots to 3. The Flyers only managed 25 shots for the entire game. 17,423 were on hand for the home team loss.

9/11/01 Postponed Makeup Game

Penn State v Virginia, December 1, 2001

Scott Stadium, Sec 524 Row R

A makeup game as the original game was scheduled as a Thursday night game on September 13, 2 days after 9/11. All football was postponed that weekend.

Had my son at this one. We started out in our seats but he wanted to work our way down to the open ended end zone and sit on the hill.
Zack Mills' voice was barely audible as he blamed himself for Penn State's season-ending loss.
Mills threw three interceptions and was stripped for a fumble that Art Thomas returned 92 yards for a game-changing touchdown Saturday as Virginia rallied to win 20-14, ending Penn State's bowl aspirations.
"The guy made a great play, and I didn't protect the ball," Mills said, speaking of John Duckett's strip in the third quarter, when the Nittany Lions (5-6) seemed on the brink of taking a commanding lead.
"Football is a lot about momentum. It kind of put the pressure on us to throw the ball more, and I didn't make the plays."
Thomas' return did change the momentum in a huge way, pulling the Cavaliers (5-7) to 14-13, but late interceptions by Chris Williams and then Angelo Crowell with 1:12 left put the Nittany Lions away for good.
"They gave themselves something to remember about this year's team," first-year coach Al Groh said. "They showed tremendous will to win."
Penn State, which started with four losses and had rallied to win five of six, all by coming from behind, turned the ball over five times, with Matt Senneca throwing the interception to Williams with 2:09 to play.
"It's real disappointing, especially for the seniors who have been through so much," Senneca said. "We were one game away from turning this whole thing around, and it just slips away from us like that."
Mills finished 12-for-24 for 136 yards. Senneca was 0-for-4.
Coach Joe Paterno, who earlier this season broke coach Bear Bryant's Division I record of 323 victories, finished the year with 327.
The tide turned midway through the third quarter with Mills rolling left and looking to run on a third-and-6 play from Virginia's 8.
Instead, Duckett sliced through and knocked the ball away, where it landed near Thomas' feet and the cornerback had no one in front of him.
"I didn't know anybody was chasing me, but I was thinking in the back of my head, `I can't get caught if somebody is, so keep running,"' he said.
It was the longest fumble return in Virginia history.
"That's one of the biggest plays of our entire year, if not the biggest play," tailback Alvin Pearman said. "After that, we got fired up and once we got that going, we just sucked the will out of them."
It was the first time Penn State had lost a fumble in seven games, and the play brought the crowd back to life, and the Cavaliers, too.
Virginia forced Penn State to go three-and-out and, with Bryson Spinner taking over at quarterback, drove 57 yards in eight plays. Pearman capped the march with a 16-yard touchdown run that produced the final.
The score came with 3:20 left in the third quarter, leaving the Nittany Lions plenty of time to come back, but Virginia's defense didn't allow it. Mills was intercepted twice, Senneca once the rest of the way.
The final quarter also included the second and third missed field goals of the game by Virginia's David Greene, who also made two earlier, and a miss by Penn State's Robbie Gould with 10:21 remaining.
Antwoine Womack, who helped create a spat between Paterno and former Virginia coach George Welsh when he committed to Penn State and then attended Virginia, gained 153 yards on 31 carries in his final game.
After missing most of the season with injuries, Womack was exhausted after being the workhorse, but ecstatic to be leaving a winner.
"It was just amazing, just to get this win, just everything," he said. "We knew we could win the game. The whole objective was to pound them, to suck the will out of them. Coach was saying that all week."
The Nittany Lions led 14-6 at halftime after two 80-yard drives. Eric McCoo ran 3 yards for a touchdown midway through the first quarter, and Mills hit Mick Blosser with a 4-yard pass midway through the second.
It was Blosser's first career touchdown reception.
The second drive was kept alive by a running into the kicker flag against Virginia after Penn State was forced to punt from its own 35.
Greene kicked field goals of 32 and 37 yards for the Cavaliers, the latter on the final play of the half after Jerton Evans' interception of Mills at the Nittany Lions 12. Greene missed from 27, 25 and 33 yards.

End of a Streak

Vancouver Canucks v Philadelphia Flyers
December 2, 1996

Core States Center, Sec 221 Row 3

First year in the new Core States Center. It was still a novelty. The vantage point to the ice is much further then the old Spectrum. But it is still too new and early to wax poetic for the legendary Spectrum.

Most notable take away from this game was an injury to Vancouver's Trevor Linden. He played from October 4, 1990 in 482 consecutive games, the longest in the league at the time. He left this game with an injury which would put an end to his streak.

Nothing like a 1st minute penalty to start a game. The Flyers Eric Lindros was flagged for a high sticking at the 0:27 mark of the first. Dan Kordic and Vancouver's Gino Odjick squared off in the first with the Flyers Donald Brascher getting involved in the tussle. Dispite 11 shots on goal, the Flyers were unable to light the lamp in the opening period.

The Canucks Martin Gelinas scored the game's first goal. The Flyers Rod Brind'Amour tied it up 2 minutes later

The floodgates opened in the 3rd. Eric Desjardins scored a power play goal with feeds off of Eric Lindros and John LeClair in the opening minute of the final period. Russ Courtnall responded for Vancouver quickly to knot the game up at 2-2. John LeClair scored his 14th of the year at the 4:39 mark. In a see saw fashion, Vancouver scored next to tie the game up again.

The Flyers Scott Daniel got the game winning goal with a feed off of Kevin Haller and Rod Brind'Amour. Ron Hextall got the win in this 4-3 win with Vancouver's net minder Cory Hirsch suffering the loss.

19,068 were on hand.

The Flyers did reach the Finals this season even with star Eric Lindos missing 30 games. John LeClair scored 50 goals in the 96-97 season.

Catherdral of Basketball

Virginia v Penn, December 1, 1992

The Palestra, Sec 104 Row 6

A planned basketball game when it was announced that UVA would be playing near us. What wasn't planned was the immediate family member's death that happened 2 days prior. On game day many out of town guests were in town for a funeral. So I got to take someone from out of state to see a basketball game at the legendary Palestra.

Penn went 22-5 this season.

Army Navy Classic

Army v Navy, December 1, 1984

Veterans Stadium, Sec 719, Row 14

A year after the game took a trip out west to be played in the Rose Bowl, it moved back to Philadelphia.
The classic was played in the old JFK Stadium (named Municipal Stadium prior to 1964) across the street from 1945-1979, moving to the newer Veterans Stadium in 1980. My dad was a big fan of the game and attended many games at Municipal Stadium in the 60's in the Roger Staubach years.
In fact, my grandfather collapsed and died after attending the 1962 classic.

We had tickets in hand but were under the stadium outside where we saw tons of people with either Go Army or Go Navy tshirts that were given away by a beer company. We asked a security guard at a non-ticket entrance underneath where all those people go their shirts. He pointed inside the stadium and said the people (giving away shirts) just walked by. He motioned us inside sans tickets. My ticket stub was never ripped.


Army 28 Navy 11

Alma Mater

Johns Hopkins v Virginia Commonwealth University, December 1, 1983

Richmond Coliseum, GA

The 83-84 season, VCU made it to the 2nd Round of the NCAA tourney. The team went 23-7. The team beat Northeastern in the 1st Round on a buzzer beater by Rolando Lamb. They lost in the 2nd Round to #3 Syracuse.

Shortly after this game, Sports Illustrated did a feature on VCU's Calvin Duncan. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1121556/index.htm