Games 45 & 46 - Cleveland Indians & Cavaliers

I had a free weekend on the schedule before Little League baseball begins so I decided to check off two more games on my quest.  I was able to catch up with a good college buddy of mine, Matt Aiken, to join me in Cleveland.  He was kind enough to even pay for the tickets....much appreciated Matt!  We attended both games on the same day, a first for me.

 

Game 45 - Cleveland Indians vs. Detroit Tigers @ Progressive Field in Cleveland, OH (4/10/2015) 

After a slight delay, I landed at the airport just 40 minutes before game-time.  I grabbed a cab and met up with Matt at the hotel bar.  From there it was a short walk over to the Progressive Field.  It was the Indians home opener, which made for some expensive tickets (once again, thanks Matt!).  For opening day, the crowd was not as rowdy as I anticipated.  It was nothing compared to opening day of the Atlanta Braves I attended in 2012.  Read about that game here.  That game is, by far, the most out of control crowd I have ever witnessed.  Perhaps it had something to do with an evening game and 80 degree temperatures all day in which the fans had plenty of time to tailgate.  The weather in Cleveland for the Indians game was better than expected.  Earlier in the week I thought we would be sitting through cold, wet weather, but it turned out to be sunny and high 40s, which wasn't awful.

The game itself was rather exciting if you like offense.  A total of 28 hits and 12 runs scored.  However, for Indians' fans, it was not so fun as their team was on the losing end of the scoreboard, 8-4.  We spent a good deal of time walking around the stadium and checking out all the sites, which is half of the fun for me.....seriously, who wants to sit there all day and watch the Indians?  Progressive Field is a great ballpark.  I really like the design and the outfield offers a nice view of the Cleveland skyline....although not as nice as PNC Park.  The upper deck of right field (pictured) is a bit odd with a bunch of "small walls."  It is like they are trying to create mini-Green Monster seating (like at Fenway); however, after reading a bit more about the stadium, I understand this was recently done to give a better view of the field and city.  They removed about 5,000 seats to do so, but perhaps additional seats to watch another Cleveland team is not necessary.....stated by a die-hard Pittsburgh fan.  There is also a wind turbine in right field that helps to power the stadium, but I did not see it.  There is a nice monument park (Heritage Park) in the outfield with statues of legendary Indians.

 

I'm not sure what was more exciting for Matt - the fact that he found his favorite beer (PBR me ASAP) or that he was interviewed by a local TV crew.  Those of you that know Matt, know that he is never short of words.  He seemed to be right at home during the interview; although I have no idea what he was saying.  Great weather, great game, great ball park and a great friend as I check off game #45.  We left the game a bit early so that we could get to the Cavaliers game, which is literally right across the street.

Game 46 - Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Boston Celtics @ Quicken Loans Areana (the Q) in Cleveland, OH (4/10/2015)

It is late in the season and the Cavs did not have much to play as they already secured the #2 playoff seed regardless of what happens the rest of the season.  I had a fear that the Cavs may rest all of their stars, but they did play both Lebron James and Kevin Love.  Kyrie Irvin sat out the game.  It was a very important game for the Celtics as they were fighting for their playoff lives.  Ironically, they made the playoffs and will have to play the Cavaliers in the first round. 
Cleveland looked like they were going to roll over and let the Celtics crush them; in fact, they were down 16 points at half-time.  The Cavaliers made a run in the 3rd quarter, even taking a 1 point lead with about 3 minutes to go, but they pretty much threw in the towel and rested LeBron for the remainder of the game.  There were no real outstanding performances in the game as the highest scorers (Kevin Love and Marcus Smart) only put up 19 points.  Combined the teams committed 37 turnovers.  Overall, it was a rather sloppy and poor shooting game, which resulted in a fairly low score, which for some was a good thing....less than 211 total points scored (Some of you know what I am talking about).  The final score was 99-90 - Celtics win.

Nothing special about Quicken Loans Arena.  Like most basketball and/or football arenas, they tend

to all be the same with nothing special.  However, in terms of technology, it ranks up there with one of the best.  The concession stands offer Apple Pay.  The best part is a large, flat screen jumbotron (pictured).  It offers exceptional picture quality.  Reviews suggested that if you sit in the upper deck, fans tend to watch the game on the screen as opposed to on the floor.  We didn't have that problem as we sat low enough that we had to look up to see the scoreboard.  Again, thanks to Matt for the tickets as these were not cheap.  For those that struggle at math, the scoreboard has a small box that calculates how many points the Cavs are ahead or behind.  It was the first time I have seen that.  Another cool features is the fire that shoots out of the scoreboard during announcements.  You can certainly feel the heat, but  it is not quite as cool as the lightning rods at the Tampa Bay Times Forum.  Finally, a new trend at many venues is the digital / 3D scenes projected onto the floor.  This was pretty cool as well.  Overall, a great experience.

For those of you that have been following the Lauren Hill story (a 19-year-old freshman basketball player at Mount St. Joseph University in Cincinnati), the Cavaliers held a moment of silence before the game honoring Lauren, who passed away that morning after her battle with brain cancer.  This is yet another example of why I do what I can to raise money for cancer research.

As for this weekend, another $201 ($1 for each point scored in both games) raised for the Jimmy V Foundation for Cancer Research.  I encourage you to donate. http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/christopher-apel/christopherapel

See more photos on my Facebook page.