Worst To First

St Louis Cardinals v Atlanta Braves, April 6, 1991

The Diamond, Sec 117 Row J

An exhibition at the Braves AAA ballpark. I had a fraternity brother working for the Braves who hooked me up with tickets. My brother in law watched the Richmond Braves the year before. He bet me a beer a rookie by the name of Ryan Klesko would jack a home run in the game.

He won.

This was the start of the Braves Dynasty (13 division championships and only one World Series championship).

Since They Were the Rangers We Hated Them

Binghamton Rangers v Philadelphia Phantoms, April 2, 1997

The Spectrum, Sec 13 Row 9

Rangers goalie from that year got a cup of coffee in the NHL. Dan Cloutier won 23 games down in Binghamton.

Small Fish Big Pond

Kentucky Thoroughblades v Philadelphia Phantoms, April 2, 1999

First Union Center, Section 13 Row 11

Can't remember why the small club was playing in the Big House. Something always got lost when the Phantoms left their intimidated confines of the old Spectrum and came across the parking lot.

The Phantoms finished 1st in the Mid Atlantic Division in 98-99. These Division Finals of the playoffs went 7 games with Philadelphia winning the series.

Battle of I-64

Hampton Roads v Richmond Renegades, April 1, 2000

Richmond Coliseum, Sec U32, Row J

For me to be in the crappy seats in this crappy building tells me it was a rare sell out.

Born a Rebel

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, March 29, 1983

William and Mary Hall, GA

Already the 3rd time I was seeing Tom Petty. This time in a much smaller, more intimate setting. A small college basketball arena in Williamsburg, Virginia.

A known setlist:

01. One Story Town
02. Listen to Her Heart
03. A Thing About You
04. You Got Lucky
05. I Need to Know
06. Don't Do Me Like That
07. Here Comes my Girl
08. Change of Heart
09. The Waiting
10. Hang on Sloopy
11. Deliver Me
12. Straight into Darkness
13. A Woman in Love
14. King's Road
15. Breakdown
16. Refugee
17. Shout
18. American Girl

First Game Ever

Baltimore Orioles v Washington Nationals, March 29, 2008

Nationals Park, Sec 234U Row U

A preseason game where tickets were given to some season ticket holders. An under capacity amount of tickets were issued. It was said 34,635 were in attendance. The idea was to test the infrastructure and operations before the actual opening night in 2 days. The crowd was spread out equally. We were given tickets way upstairs, in right field. Our regular tickets were in the first level in left field.

The stadium struck me as small having grown up in Veterans Stadium as a kid. It was bigger than Fenway, but very, very intimate.

After some politicians patted themselves on the back for spending $611 million, the game was underway. No President Bush was on hand this evening. He was saving his strike of an opening pitch for Sunday night.

The home team scored 2 in the bottom of the first and held on to a 3-0 win 2 days before the actual opening day.

Happy Birthday

Colorado Avalanche v Philadelphia Flyers, March 27, 1997

Core States Center, (eerrrrr West Jersey Hospital, OB/GYN Unit) Sec 221 Row 3


The game that wasn't for me.

We always met at the same bar in Oaklyn for a quick one or two before heading over to the Spectrum. I had a wife 9 months pregnant, about to pop. But the defending Stanley Cup champs were in town for their only visit of the year. My wife's mother was there so it was all good.

Bellied up to the bar were 3 friends and a stranger. Turns out the stranger was there with a fist full of dollars ready to buy my ticket at a moments notice. I wasn't sweating it, I had a game to go to.

As a precaution I called home before leaving the tap room. Only to find my wife and mother in law were in route to the hospital. What to do? A wad of cash was handed to me, I reluctantly surrendered my ticket and bolted to the hospital.

During the third period I called my sister to announce the news. My brother in law gave me a recap of what was happening to that point in the game before I could even announce the birth of our new daughter.

I was given back the ticket stub as a memento.

Pat Falloon did get the game winning goal that evening in the Flyers 2-0 victory. I'm not sure if it was before of after this game but my wife and I accidentally meet Falloon and his wife at a bar and struck up a conversion for a while. They were new to town and did not know anyone outside of hockey circles.

Chippy Budding Rivalry

New Jersey Devils v Philadelphia Flyers, March 21, 1993

The Spectrum, Sec Y, Row 14

Decent seats down low. The struggling Flyers fired the first shot of the contest with a Mark Recchi goal on Devils netminder Chris Terrari late in the 1st at the 17:52 mark of the 1st. Rod Brind'Amour and Pelle Eklund were credited with the assists. Doug McLean for Jersey knotted up the score in the last minute of the opening period taking the wind out of the Flyers sails.

Peter Stasney scored in the 2nd for the Devils with Viacheslav Fetisov and Scott Pellerin assisting. The 2nd also saw a few good tussles. Ben Hankinson for the Devils squared off against Shawn Cronin first. While they were repenting in their respective boxes, Flyers muscle Dave Brown singled out Hugh McKay for a beating.

Tensions boiled over from the 2nd, and previous games. Dave Barr tried to settle the score with Dave Brown which assembled a whole crowd of beaters and beatees. Hankinson, McKay, Niedermayer and Stevens were assessed roughing penelties for the Devils with Terry Carkner and Ryan McGill going to the Philadelphia box for the same.

Stephen Richer added an insurance run in the 3rd. Less than a minute later Eric Lindros brought the Flyers back within one.

A 0-5 power play conversion did the Flyers in.

Lindros Hat Trick

Montreal Canadiens v Philadelphia Flyers, March 20, 1995

The Spectrum, Sec 59 Row 10

The ticket location confuses me. I don't think there were 10 rows in the Crow's Nest at the old Spectrum. Our season tix were in the 3rd to 4th row of the third level in those days.

This was one of my all time favorite games I attended live.

The two teams meet a month earlier which tuned into a brawl-fest. Couple that with the fact the Flyers now had 3 former Habs who were part of their 93 Cup winning team.

The 1st period was pretty much event-free with only a Kevin Dineen goal to put the Flyers up 1-0.

The 2nd saw see saw goals. The first two of the periods by former Hab John LeClair and Eric Lindros. Mike Keene netted Montreal's first goal of the game at the 11:23 mark of the period.
Lindros scored his 2nd of the game in the 2nd period before Brian Savage scored for the Canadiens.

A pretty decent donneybrook broke out in the period with Shawn Antoski squaring off against the hated Lyle Odelein.

The Habs pulled within one in the 3rd before LeClair scored his 2nd of the game followed by Dineen's 2nd of the game. Bellows netted his 2nd of the game, followed byRod Brind'Amour's 1st.

At the 18:52 mark of the period with Patrick Roy still between the pipes Eric Lindros scored his 3rd goal to an erupting house and a rainfall of hats to the ice.

Hextall outplayed Roy this night.

Brophy's Admirals

Richmond Renegades v Hampton Roads Admirals

March 18, 2000 Richmond Coliseum, Sec 26U Row B

Once a decent rivalry. The Coliseum rarely sold out events but sometimes when Hampton Roads came in it was a packed and energetic atmosphere.

This time, the archrival Hampton Roads Admirals and Richmond Renegades stuck to hockey and kept the gloves on.

The Admirals were fortunate to get a point in the standings before a crowd of 11,088 at Richmond Coliseum, but they couldn't gain a victory.

Outplayed for the first two periods and outshot 39-27 for the night, Hampton Roads got a goal from Ryan Mulhern with 7:46 left in regulation and some crucial saves by Darryl Paquette to reach an overtime shootout. But the Renegades emerged with a 5-4 victory by winning the shootout 2-0.

The Renegades had an ECHL first: three brothers (Pete, Joe and and Dan Vandermeer) playing for the team simultaneously

British Invasion

The Kinks, March 18, 1983

The Spectrum, Sec 106 Row 3

I think these were floor seats. I was into British rock bands at the time. I already saw The Who and The Stones. The Kinks were not in the same league but they were a pretty formidable British band in the 60's.

In 1983 the band's Come Dancing was the band's biggest American hit since Tired of Waiting thanks to their MTV video.

Ray Davies liked playing in Philadelphia so often the set lists were longer here then on other stops.

Philadelphia Flyers v Boston Bruins, March 18, 1989

Boston Garden, Sec 43 Row R

Seats underneath the overhang which obstructs the view of the scoreboard and banners in the rafters at the old Garden. Being a huge Flyers fan I think this was the first time I've seen them play outside of the Spectrum. Saw a goalie by the name of Marc D'amour warming up and wondered who the hell he was.

Randy Burridge would end up a neighbor of friends of ours and we got to rub elbows at a few cookouts a few years later. One this day he scored the first goal for the Bruins in the opening minute of the game. Former Flyer Ken Linseman was credited with an assist along with Cam Neely. The Flyers Craig Berube responded with a flying elbow, sending him to the sin bin and setting up the game's 2nd goal. Greg Hawgood tallied the Bruins second goal on the power play.

Another Flyers penalty set up the period's 3rd goal on a Cam Neely feed from Linseman and Hawgood. Marc D'amour was pulled and Ken Wregget was put in as a replacement.

The 2nd period was much more chippy with a desperate Flyers team trying to create some momentum. But Greg Johnston added another for the B's. Then came a barrage of roughing, hooking, fighting, elbows, cross checks. Mostly penalties on Flyers. The few moments the Flyers were skating at full strenght they were able to score 2 goals. One by Brian Propp the other by Pelle Eklund. Linseman added another before the close of the period.

Rick Tocchet scored for the Flyers in the 3rd, too little too late. Johnston added an empty netter for a final score of Bruins 6 Flyers 3.

The Bruins peppered Philadelphia with 43 shots to the Flyers 23. Reggie Lemelin registered the win for B's. 14,448 were on hand above the train station that day.

Yip Yip Hooray

Hockey East Finals, March 18, 2006

Boston College v Boston University

TD Bank Garden Sec LOGE 20 Row 18



BC students chant "Let's Go Eagles" with BU student section responding "We Can't Hear You".

David Van der Gulik may have been the tournament’s Most Valuable Player, but freshman Brandon Yip was the hero.

The Hockey East Rookie of the Year had been mired in an 11-game goal-scoring drought, having not lit the lamp since Feb. 3, but he beat Cory Schneider – who looked invincible during both nights at the Garden – 14:22 into overtime to crown Boston University as 2-1 winners over Boston College and the 2006 Hockey East Champions.

“It’s nice to savor this,” BU coach Jack Parker said. “We haven’t won this tournament since 1997. We’ve been in the finals a couple times and the semifinals a lot, but we haven’t been able to get the championship trophy. That has been a goal of ours all year long. Last year was a good year, but we got beat in the semifinals. This year, we’ve got to win a championship at the end of the season, and we finally got one.”

Jason Lawrence carried the puck into the zone on the left side and fired a pass across the ice to Chris Higgins at the right point. Higgins then found Yip at the back door, and Yip was able to knock the puck past the left post and Schneider’s right skate to cause a wild celebration at the TD Banknorth Garden.

“Jay [Lawrence] made a great play coming across the blue line going wide, and he gave it to Higgins,” Yip said. “I just went to the net hard, and he was able to find my stick. Fortunately, it went in.”

Yip, Higgins and Lawrence – BU’s Orange Line – capped off yet another stellar performance at the Garden, as the freshman trio was also instrumental in the Terriers’ Beanpot championship in early February.

“If you can’t get excited in front of 18,000 people, there is something wrong with you,” Yip said. “Just coming to the Garden and seeing all the jerseys up top is just amazing.”

“They have stepped up all year long,” BU goalie John Curry said. “They play with so much confidence. That third line is unbelievable . They have been getting it done for us, and we’re going to need them to continue to do that. The winning goal was pretty fitting for the Hockey East championship.”

MARQUEE MATCHUP

With the way that John Curry and Cory Schneider had been playing in net throughout the night, it appeared that it may have taken a Herculean effort to end the game before sunrise on Sunday morning.

Schneider stopped 37 Terrier shots on the evening and four in overtime while Curry made 10 huge saves in the extra frame and 29 total. The BC netminder stole the show in regulation, but it was Curry’s backstopping efforts in the 14-plus minutes of bonus hockey that caused a majority of the championship highlights.

“John contributed a lot in this game,” Brandon Yip said. “He made some big saves in overtime. He basically got it done for us.”

With 15:44 to play in overtime, Curry was able to get his right leg in the way of a tough wrister off the stick of Benn Ferriero from the left point, and he used his glove to bat away a high wrister from Brett Motherwell three minutes later.

“At that point, it was pure adrenaline reactions,” Curry said. “You’re not thinking about much. You’re just trying to remain as high in the crease as you can and just react. You’re just going on pure instinct. I made some plays, but my defense really helped me out as well.”

Boston College kept pushing the envelope, and after the Eagles ripped off three quick shots around the eight-minute mark of OT, Jack Parker was forced to call a timeout to settle his troops down. Two minutes later, Curry got some extra help from his two best friends – the left and right posts.

“John Curry made some big saves,” BC coach Jerry York said. “He got a little lucky on some of them.”

His teammates, particularly those on the freshman line who said they wanted to win this game for the veterans, were just happy they could come through for Curry after he was able to come through for them for 74 minutes.

“He kept us in the game,” Chris Higgins said. “They were really taking it to us in overtime. He is just a great goalie. He is unbelievable, and he can steal games like that for us when the pressure is totally on our side. He was a big backbone for us, and luckily we got that quick break and could get that goal for him.”

23,000th Point for Jordan

Chicago Bulls v Philadelphia 76ers, March 18, 1996

The Spectrum, Sec 31 Row 11

Normally I'm not going to NBA games. But earlier in the day a client informed me he was going to see Shawnee High School (Medford, NJ) play a basketball game. They were one of the top ranked schools in NJ at the time. He wasn't going to use his Sixer tickets and offered them to me.
I did know Michael Jordan and the Bulls were in town, so I took them off his hands.

I took my 6 year old with me. The place was packed. In un-Jordan like fashion, he was dogging it for 3 quarters of the game. But with a record breaking season for wins on the line, Jordan came out and dominated the 4th quarter ending the night with 48 points.

More St Patrick's Day in Boston

Hockey East Finals, March 17, 2007

Boston College v UNH

TD Bank Garden, Sec LOGE 5 RW 19

This time it was a Saturday night St Patrick's Day, which meant a whole day of festivities prior to the game. After seeing drunk girls throwing up on sidewalks near Fanueil Hall, we made it to Sullivan's Tap for some crappy beer they found in the basement. I got so tied up watch a VCU v Pitt NCAA tourney game, I forgot to go across the street to the hockey game.

We walked in close to the end of the first period when BC already jumped out to a commanding 2-0 lead.

Jerry York's Eagles went on to win his 5th HE Championship with a 5-2 win over the Wildcats.

St Patrick's Day in Boston.

Hockey East Semi Finals, March 17, 2006

UNH v Boston U BC v Maine

TD Bank Garden, Sec BAL 311 Row 9

Cheap seats. We usually get freebies for the Friday game and pay to sit lower for the championships. I get up early Friday AM to catch a morning flight to Boston. I get picked up at Logan where we headed to an Irish Pub first in Salem. Then off to the Garden.

The first game was my 2 favorite teams in college hockey, so I wanted to be there for the entire game. UNH was taking on BU.

It wasn't much of a game with BU pouncing on the Wildcats 9-2.

In the night cap it was another game with not much mystery. BC handled Maine 4-1.

This set up a BU v BC finals, another Battle of Commonwealth Ave.

Ticket Punch For NCAA Tourney

Colonial Athletic Conference Championships Old Dominion v UNC-Wilmington

Richmond Coliseum, Sec 20L Row K

Pissed VCU didn't make the finals. ODU won the championship game to earn a spot in the NCAA tourney.
The Monarchs met Michigan State in the NCAA tourney where they lost in the first round.

Bullies Bullied

Philadelphia Flyers v Boston Bruins, March 17, 1991

The Spectrum Sec 3 Row 13

The Bruins Dave Christian scored the game's first goal at the 9:35 mark of the 1st with a feed from the recently traded Dave Poulin. Poulin's old line mate, Tim Kerr, tied the game up for the Flyers less than a minute later. Pelle Eklund and recently draft Mike Ricci assisted. Mike Ricci was chosen #4 in the draft ahead of the Penguins #5 pick Jamomir Jagr.

Petri Skriko took a feed off Bob Sweeney for the B's 2nd goal of the period.

The 2nd period saw no scoring but more typical Bruins/Flyers rough play. In the 3rd Ken Hodge, Jr, son of Ken Hodge who played in the 1974 Cup Finals against the Flyers, scored the insurance goal for the B's to seal the victory for the home team.

Two old timers were in nets. The Flyers with Pete Peeters and the Bruins with Reggie Lemelin
17,382 were on hand for the afternoon matinee.