Games 24 & 25

Atlanta Braves (Turner Field) vs. Milwaukee Brewers

The intention of this weekend trip was to get together with a few college buddies.  Thanks to Scott Rowles' hospitality, we had a free place to stay and a chauffeur.  Unfortunately Chris Petersen had to cancel at the last minute due to some emergency at work and Aaron Depew had to rearrange his schedule and miss out on the Braves game.  With all that said, it was still a great weekend.

Rowles and I sold the four tickets and purchased some standing-room only tickets, which in my opinion is the best way to see a Braves' game anyhow....on the terrace of the Chop House in center field.  Of course you have to battle the crowd and stand the entire time, but the view from center field is pretty good and the crowd is more interested in socializing than the actual game.  I have been to Turner Field many times and each time I have watched a game from this location.  It was opening day for the Braves against my home-town Brewers (ironically I was at the Brewers home opener last Friday).  I wore a Brewers shirt and took a little criticism from a few fans, but it wasn't too bad.  In the end, the Braves' fans got the last laugh anyhow.  Photo taken outside the stadium in Monument Grove...I highly recommend checking it out because it offers a lot of history.  The patio area inside the park, but outside of the actual seating area is a good place to grab food and watch the game on the jumbo-tron.

I have been to a lot of sporting events, but this might have been the most insane!  It was clear that people had been tailgating for hours in the hot sun.  The contant chant and tomahawk chop gets a bit annoying after a while.  Adding to the frenzy, it was Tomahawk give-away day, which was a big hit for the kids when I brought them home.  What better weapon than a foam hatchet to beat each other up. 

I was very interested to hear what kind of response Ryan Braun got on the road after his off-season steroid drama....lots of boos.





As mentioned, the Chop House deck is a great way to enjoy the atmosphere and see a little bit of the game.  Scott and I got a good laugh when we saw this sign for maximum capacity on the deck.  We took a walk around the stadium to get some photos and dinner.  When we came back, the Atlanta Fire Marshall was there removing people because they were well over capacity.  I guess that is what you get when you sell more tickets than seats - attendance was listed at 102% of capacity.  Anything to make a few more bucks.

All in all, it was a great night and a very exciting game with the Braves scoring late to win 10-8.


Atlanta Hawks (Philips Arena) vs Toronto Raptors - April, 15th, 2012.

No surprise, I am a huge sports fan; otherwise, why the heck am I doing going to all these games.  However, the NBA is by far my least favorite sports among the top 4 major sports. 

This game was a perfect example of why my interest in the NBA has diminished.  It was by far the sloppiest game I have ever witnessed.  The Hawks appeared that they had no interest in being there, air-balled shot after shot, did not hustle and walked back to the huddle during time-outs...maybe they did too much partying at the Brewers game a few days before. 

This picture about sums up the entire game.  Here the Hawks (in white) attempt to make a pass to nobody in particular, except directly to the Raptors.

The most exciting part of this game was the half-time show.  The mascot (Sky Hawk) and three others took to the air with a rather impressive display of flips, jumps and slam dunks off the trampoline.  In the photo, Sky Hawk can be seen doing a flip right before he dunks the ball.

Our seats were in the 2nd level, near the top, which provided an obstructed view of the overhead scoreboard, but to compensate, there were a number of TVs right in front of us showing the game and providing up to the minute statistics.  The game ended with the Hawks getting blown out - 102-86.  The only bright spot was Josh Smith scoring 26 points, but combined the Hawks shot only 40% and never led in the game.  To quote Hawks coach Larry Drew, "Very flat.  The energy level was very low."  The good news is that it raised $188 for the Jimmy V Foundation.

My current record is now 15-10 (although I will be honest, I was cheering for the visiting Brewers). 

The whole weekend was capped off with a visit to Stone Mountain.  Great fun - good to see you Aaron; thanks for the hospitality Scott and sorry you missed out Petersen!

If you are friends with me on facebook, you can see a lot more pictures of the trip.

Also, please visit my fundraising page. http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/christopher-apel/christopherapel

Game 23

Milwaukee Bucks (Bradley Center) vs. San Antonio Spurs.

The first game of 2012!

The Bradley Center sits right across the street from my office in downtown Milwaukee.  This week I got the opportunity to attend the Bucks game and check off another NBA team from my list.  I attended the game with about 30 co-workers and / or their family members in a suite.

The Bradley center is not only home to the Milwaukee Bucks, but also the Milwaukee Admirals (minor league affiliate of the Nashville Predators), Marquette University basketball and the Milwaukee Mustangs (arena football).  I have a feeling I will be spending a lot of time in this venue over the next few years.  The arena is a bit old (opened in 1986) and the cause of a lot of discussions about whether or not a new one should be built.  Apparently it is the oldest arena in the NBA that has not been renovated....I don't know that to be a fact.  I do know that it does look rather old inside, with very narrow hallways all the way around (at least at the suite level....I can't speak for the rest).  The picture on the left was taken from the entrance to my office the day of the game.

It is early in the season, but the Bucks are a very fickle team.  The are undefeated at home (4-0), but have not won on the road yet (0-7).  As most of you reading this know, I am a huge sports fan; but the NBA is 4th on the list of the 4 profession sports that I prefer to watch.  However, if there is any player I really enjoy seeing play, it is Tim Duncan for the Spurs.  For years, I have been a huge fan of the "big fundamental" (Duncan) because he is old-school, plays the bank-shot to perfection, has won championships and is a class-act guy.  I was glad to get the chance to watch him in person because he is nearing the end of his career and doesn't have too many seasons left.

I would have liked to see Manu Ginobili as well for Spurs, but he was out with an injury.



Well enough about the Spurs, because this was the Bucks game.  The game was very exciting and rather high-scoring.  In the end the Bucks pulled out a 3 point win (106-103).  The good news is that results in $209 more to the Jimmy V Foundation for cancer research.  There were a lot of double-digit statistics for the game, led by Stephen Jackson's 34 points.  Andrew Bogut added 14 points and 11 boards in his first game back from missing a few games.  Brandon Jennings added 15 points and 11 assists.

I'm sure the lock-out has a lot to do with it, but the reported attendance was almost 12,000 people....I would bet that the actual attendance was less than half of that...rather pathetic.

Official Boxscore

My current record is now 14-9.  It is good to be back on track after taking a break from going to some games during the job search and move to Milwaukee.

Please visit my fundraising page. http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/christopher-apel/christopherapel  

Please visit my facebook page for more photos.



In honor of my uncle who passed away in November. I am so thankful for the time I got to spend with him over the last few years - beach, Super Bowl, Charlotte Bobcats game, and every Steeler and Boise State game (via text messaging).  I was also there to witness his hole-in-one.

 

Edwin V. “Win” Apel Jr.
September 10, 1949 – November 28, 2011

Win Apel, 62, of Winston-Salem, NC, and formerly of Berkeley Heights, NJ, Boise, ID and Oil City, PA died Monday, November 28, 2011 at Wake Forest University Baptist Health in ...Winston-Salem, NC after a year-long bout with his brain tumor.

Win was born September 10, 1949 in Oil City, PA, the son of Edwin V. Apel, Sr. and Marian L. Myers Apel. On October 27, 1973 in Kane, PA he married Mary Loretta “Lorrie” Marconi.

In 1967, he graduated valedictorian of Cranberry High School. He then graduated from Yale University with a B.A. in Philosophy in 1972. In 1977, he graduated from the University of Idaho School of Law.

He was an attorney in the U.S. Courts in Boise, ID from 1977 to 1978, then for Hawley Troxell Ennis & Hawley law firm from 1978 to 1990. From 1990 to 2008, he was an attorney for Morrison Knudson & Washington Group International in Boise. He was the General Counsel for Weeks Marine in Cranford, NJ from 2008 until 2011.

Win ran marathons in all 50 states, Washington D.C., and on all seven continents. In total, Win ran 76 marathons. He was an extensive world traveler, having visited over 35 foreign countries. He was also an avid amateur photographer and classic car enthusiast.

He is survived by his wife Lorrie Apel, of Winston-Salem, NC and his father, Edwin V. Apel, Sr. of Sligo, PA. Also surviving are his three sons, Dr. Edwin V. “Trey” (Jessica) Apel III of Concord, CA, Dr. Peter J. (Franny) Apel of Winston-Salem, NC and LTJG Brian T. Apel, USN of Bremerton, WA. He is also survived by his brother, Scott (Linda) Apel of Knox, PA, his sister, Dara (Jeff) Sterling of Warren, PA. He has three grandchildren, Sydney, Edwin V. “Jack” Apel, IV and Cole.

He was preceded in death by his mother earlier this year and a brother Mark David Apel in 1956.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Win Apel Brain Tumor Research Fund through Wake Forest Baptist Health. Access can be gained through www.winapel.com or by calling 800-899-7128.

Game 22

Milwaukee Brewers (Miller Park) vs Florida Marlins - September 24, 2011.

Well, it has been a very long time since my last post (back in May), but I spent most of the summer job hunting, plus the fact that summer is very difficult to get many games in because the only thing in season is baseball.  As part of the job hunting process, the entire family made a trip to Milwaukee, WI to pursue a possibility.  We spent a couple of days in town exploring the sites, Lake Michigan and neighborhoods, plus we had an opportunity to go to the Brewers game.

It was a chilly and rainy evening and the roof of this incredible stadium was closed, thus warm and dry inside.  It was the first baseball game I have ever been to that was completely covered.  Just a few stats about the roof - it spans 600 feet, is 200 feet off the field inside, 330 feet at the peak outside, weighs 12,000 tons, and opens or closes in just 10 minutes - an engineering marvel.

The crowd was extremely pumped up for this particular game because the Brewers had clinched the National League Central Division the night before, but this game was no less exciting or important because they were still playing for home-field advantage in the 1st round of the playoffs.

What I think I will remember most about this game (besides the fact that it was probably the 1st of many Brewer games that we will attend) is listening to Bob Uecker announce the games.  For obvious reasons, all I could think of was the movie Major League.


Of course any trip to the ball park with kids requires exploring all of the fun activities and sites.  Here the kids are shown with Mickey (who represented the Brewers at the 2010 all-star game in Anaheim, CA) and the rally towels they got before the game. 

In addition to Mickey, the kids loved watching Bernie (the Brewer mascot) go down the water slide in the outfield - pretty cool.  The highlight of the day was watching the famous sausage race between 5 meat mascots - Italian Sausage, Bratwurst, Kielbasa, Hot Dog and Chorizo (that night's winner). 

No game with the kids is complete without souvenirs, junk food, posing with various statues and getting their picture taken while pretending to bat.  Additional pictures can be seen on my facebook page.



The Brewers won 6-4 in front of 44,520 people, which I find very odd because that is considered 106% of capacity....hmmm, where did they put the extra people.

This game is somewhat of a milestone as I have reached the 100 games to go mark.  My current record of the home teams I have seen play is 13-9.

Official Box Score.

As for the job....my new employer can be seen in this picture supporting the Brewers....The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Year 1 Recap

Apel Sports Tour Year 1 Recap:

First of all, I want to thank everyone for donating as part of my fund-raising efforts and I encourage anyone else reading this to donate as well.  To date, I have raised $2,074.54, of which $883.00 is from me as part of my pledge of $1 per point in the games I attend.

As many of you know, finding a cure for cancer is something that I am very passionate about and this is my small way in which to raise awareness and funds to someday wipe this disease out.  Since starting this tour in May 2010, I have lost my grandfather to the disease, watched as my uncle begins his battle against brain cancer and have seen numerous other friends go through their own experiences with family members.

I thought I would take this time to update everyone on the progress I have made in one year (May 2010 – May 2011).  The goal of course is to raise as much money as possible, while attempting to watch a home game of all 122 professional sports teams (baseball, basketball, football and hockey).  I hope to complete this goal in 15 years, but as you can see below, so far I am well ahead of pace.

1 Year Recap:

·         21 games completed.  To keep pace, I need to complete 8 / year.  At this rate, I will finish in February 2018 (9 years ahead of schedule), but I’m not sure I can keep going this quickly over the long haul.

·         9 Baseball games, 6 hockey games, 3 football games and 3 basketball games.

·         883 points scored in the games I have seen.

·         Total miles traveled:  17,762.

·         Total attendance at the games I have seen:  631,718.

·         Total teams seen (both home and visitors):  35.  I have seen the Orioles, White Sox, Pirates, St. Louis Cardinals, Hurricanes, Capitals and Steelers twice (each at home and on the road).

·         In the 21 games, 58 people have attended with me.  Only the Colorado Avalanche did I have to go by myself.  For the Pirate game, 14 family members attend with me.  People that have attended the most games with me – Deb (8); the kids (6); Aaron Depew (4) and Chris Petersen (4).

·         Number of hotels stayed at:  Only 7 for 21 games….not bad.

·         Record of the home teams in the games I have attended:  12-9.

·         Largest crowd:  Baltimore Ravens – 71,432.

·         Smallest crowd:  Phoenix Coyotes – 11,172.  Indiana Pacers were a close second with 11,337.

·         Of the 9 baseball games, 3 went into extra innings.  I have not seen a shutout yet.  The White Sox scored the most runs (10) in a game (at Cubs).

·         Of the 6 hockey games, 3 have gone to over-time; 1 to a shoot-out (win by the Penguins).

·         Indiana Pacers scored the most points in a basketball game:  124 vs. the Nets.

·         The Steelers scored the most points in a football game:  35 vs. the Raiders.

·         5 times I combined 2 games into one trip:  Penguins & Steelers; Ravens & Capitals; Bobcats & Hurricanes; Suns & Coyotes; Rockies & Avalanche.

·         Best seats:  Row 3 behind home plate at Reds game (great time with the Huots); Suite at center ice for Predators (fun weekend with the family); Suite at Ravens (thanks Jeremy and Karen); floor seats at Pacers (kids loved the view).

·         Newest venue:  Consol Energy Center (opened in 2010) – Home of the Pittsburgh Penguins.

·         Oldest venue:  Fenway Park (opened in 1912) – Home of the Boston Red Sox.

·         Ironically the two venues listed above (newest and oldest) are two of my favorite that I have been to so far.

·         Other highlights:

o        Camden Yards (Baltimore Orioles) - love the warehouse in the outfield.

o        Wrigley Field (Chicago Cubs) is a classic, much like Fenway.

o        Busch Stadium (St. Louis Cardinals) – many great views of the Arch.

o        Florida Marlins – glad they are getting a new stadium….I will leave it at that.  A great opportunity to get together with a long lost friend (Anthony Jardina).  Thanks for the tickets Heidi.

o        PNC Park (Pittsburgh Pirates) – great views of downtown, rivers and bridges.

o        M&T Bank Stadium (Baltimore Ravens) – too much purple, but thanks to Jeremy Kahn for the opportunity to hang out in the suite.

o        Heinz Field (Pittsburgh Steelers) – great museum under the stadium.  Fun weekend with fraternity brothers, Aaron Depew, Matt Boyle and Chris Petersen.

o        Conseco Fieldhouse (Indiana Pacers) – the quietest crowd ever.

o        Coors Field (Colorado Rockies) – love the water fountain in the outfield and the “mile-high” row of seats.  Thanks for the hospitality Raleigh and Laura.

o        US Cellular Field (Chicago White Sox) – great monument park in the outfield.

o        Phoenix – great trip with the guys – Chris Petersen and Aaron Depew.

o        Multiple trips with the family – St. Louis, Chicago, Baltimore, Nashville, Boston, Pittsburgh and North Carolina.             

To donate, please visit:  http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/christopher-apel/christopherapel

To read my blog, please visit:  http://apeltour.blogspot.com/

Game 21

This post is two weeks late, but Derby activities seemed to get in the way and I am just now getting around to writing about a recent trip, nonetheless, here it is.  The weekend of April 30th, Deb went to Virginia for her grandmother's 98th birthday party.  Sure I could have hung out at the house all weekend with the kids, but I decided to brave a road trip with them to Chicago for some "kid-friendly activities" and a White Sox game.

Out of bed early on Saturday morning, we drove the 4 1/2 hours and arrived at the Chicago Children's Museum for the afternoon.  I highly recommend the museum if you get the chance as there were tons of fun activities for them to participate in.  After the museum, we went to our hotel - a little hidden gem I found online - called the The Hotel at the Buckingham Athletic Club.  The entire hotel has only 22 rooms located on the 40th floor of an office building a few blocks from the Willis Tower (formerly the Sears Tower).  An hour or so of swimming at the hotel pool and then it was time to get ready for the baseball game.



View from our seats.


We took the subway to US Cellular field to watch the White Sox take on the Baltimore Orioles.  Despite lower level seats and feeding the kids hot dogs and cotton candy, they were still a bit restless.  We took a great deal of time to explore the entire ballpark. 

In the outfield, there is a monument park of many former White Sox greats.  The kids loved posing for pictures with each and every statue.  There is also a very nice standing-room only area in the outfield in which to watch the game.  More pictures are available on Facebook.  We also spent some time visiting all of the team stores for the perfect gift for Uncle Jeremy. 

I've now been to both the Cubs and White Sox games and when comparing the two, it felt as if the Cubs fans were a bit more passionate about their team.  Of course a lot of that could be the fact that we went to a Friday afternoon game at Wrigley and perhaps the fans were just so excited that they were drinking beer and watching a game as opposed to being in the office.

Unfortunately the Whitesox lost to the Orioles 6-2, but it was a great night at the ballpark. 

Official Boxscore.

My current record of the home teams I have seen play is 12-9.  Nothing scheduled for the near future.  I may be taking the summer off because I am significantly ahead of schedule for baseball games (9 completed so far in less than a year).  I'm working on some plans for the fall to catch a football game and double-up with another game (NBA, MLB or NHL) on the same trip.  I am always open to suggestions.

Our trip to Chicago was not yet complete.  We woke up early on Sunday morning to get breakfast and walk over to the Willis Tower.  The weather was perfect and the views from the top of the city and lake were incredible.  The kids even braved the little glass box that hangs over the edge at 103 floors above the street.  Once again, more photos of this are available on Facebook.












After the Willis Tower we went over to Navy Pier to visit the Shedd Aquarium.  We briefly stopped in the Field Museum as well, but did not have enough time to complete both.  The kids chose the aquarium and we had a great time there.  I will be back in the area at some point because Soldier Field (home of the Chicago Bears) is located near Navy Pier as well.

A great trip...sorry Deb missed out on all the fun, but when your grandmother turns 98, you've got to be there to celebrate.

Please visit my fundraising page.  http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/christopher-apel/christopherapel

Games 19 & 20 - Denver

It was Spring Break in Louisville and Deb decided to take the kids to Rochester, NY for the week to visit her parents.  I know - Rochester, NY and Spring Break - I did just use those two phrases in the same sentence.  Nonetheless, I figured that since I was already driving them to the airport and would be alone for the weekend, I should find somewhere to go for a few games.  After carefully studying the schedules, I decided on Denver, CO.  A college buddy of mine (Raleigh Peters) lived in Denver so I sent him a note saying that I would be in town, but had yet to book a hotel or get tickets for any games.  As it turns out, he was kind enough to allow me to stay at his house and he already had tickets to a Rockies game on Saturday night.  Perfect!

 After watching Deb and the kids board their plane, I headed off to Denver a few minutes later.  I was shocked at the weather in Colorado - 84 degrees and sunny.  Coors Field (yes, we did have some Coors Light beer - I figured it was a must) is a very nice venue and if you sit on the 1st base side, you can actually see the real Rockies.  If you are wondering why I am wearing a Kentucky shirt in this picture, they were playing in the Final Four that night, but lost to UConn by 1....long story, but I blamed Raleigh.

Mile-high seats (purple row)

Obviously in the mile high thin air, the ball travels further; therefore, the dimensions of the ball park are very large.  There is a row of purple seats in the upper deck that mark exactly 5,280 (one mile) above sea level.  It truly is a beautiful ball park.  One of the unique features is a water fountain in the outfield.  Unfortunately I did not get any pictures of it because they turn it off for the games....I imagine it is a rather significant distraction to the batter.

The weather was perfect and we attended the game in short-sleeve shirts, not bad for a early April game in Colorado.  Raleigh provided the seats....12th row down the 3rd base line.  One thing I don't understand is why a ballpark designed for baseball only still does not angle the seats to face home plate.  Don't get me wrong, the seats were great, but you had to turn your head to the right to watch each pitch.  As Raleigh noted, it is kind of like stepping up to a tee-box that aligns you out of bounds.  Of course it is the beginning of the season so fans are extremely excited about a new season and a lot of experts predict the Rockies could win the division.  There was one incredible diving catch just in front of us that did make ESPN Top 10 plays of the day.  The Rockies beat the Diamondbacks 3-1.

Official box score of the game.

What a dramatic change in weather Sunday turned out to be.  From 80s and sunny to 30s and snowy....it was a good thing that we went to the baseball game on Saturday night because the Sunday game was actually snowed out.  Sunday afternoon we traveled just outside Denver to Red Rocks Amphitheatre, which I highly recommend seeing in person.  My pictures do not do it justice.  What an incredible setting for a concert. 


Sunday night, Raleigh was kind enough to lend me his car so that I could attend the Colorado Avalanche game.  This was the first game I have attended by myself, but with 122 games on the schedule, it was sure to happen at some point.  Personally, I'm shocked I made it through 19 games without going by myself.  I still had a great time at the Pepsi Center (home of both the Avalanche and Nuggets, who I will have to see at a later date).  I was impressed with the facility, especially the large concourses in the lower level so that there is a lot of room to move around without feeling crowded.  The technology, especially for the overhead and side scoreboards does seem a bit outdated, but other than that, a great venue for a hockey game.

I spent a good portion of my time in the 2nd period checking out the views from other seats.  Although the Avalanche are well out of the playoff hunt, the turnout for the game was very good, but I did manage to find an empty seat in the upper deck just to see what it was like.  I also had a little fun getting my picture taken (as you can see above).  It was a very intense game with a lot of action, but little scoring.  The Calgary Flames ended up winning 2-1, but not without some drama as the Avalanche scored with 5 minutes to go, but couldn't tie it up late in the game with an empty net.

Official box score of the game.

Record of home games of the teams I have seen play:  12-8.  As of now, I do not have anything on the schedule.  If anyone is interested in a game, please let me know.  I am particularly looking for NBA games because although I am ahead of my 15 year schedule, I could use a few more basketball games.

 

Thanks Raleigh (and Laura).

http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/christopher-apel/christopherapel