Draft Day Suit

Denver is a great city to visit and Coors Field is a must see for any sports fan. Coors Field opened in 1995 with more than 7,000 seats than it’s original design, due to the high number of fans attending the Rockies’ first two seasons. (The Rockies played their first 2 seasons at Mile High Stadium, the home of the Denver Broncos, and had 21 games that drew over 70,000 fans.)

True to Denver’s nickname, a portion of the stadium is at a mile above sea level. You have to hike a little, (the 20th row of the upper deck) but the views are spectacular. And yes I mean the views of the field and the mountains.

Like most stadiums these days, the food and drink choices are seemingly endless, as long as your wallet is. All kinds of beers, (not just Coors products,) cocktails, margaritas, xtreme dogs, tornadough, pizza, and grilled foods are available, and that’s just on the upper deck.

Tip: The kind people at Coors field allow you to bring in your own water bottles and snacks so if you’re on a budget, take advantage. We didn’t and ended up spending a small fortune on water. (What college tuition? Sorry Headless Girl; we were thirsty.) Some of the folks around us brought everything from sandwiches, to nuts, to fruit and didn’t spend a penny inside the park. Forgot to bring your water? That’s ok, independent vendors walking outside the stadium will sell you a bottle for a dollar. That’s less than a third of what you’ll pay inside the park, and well worth it in Denver, where the humidity levels are usually extremely low.

One of the coolest things about Coors Field is the close access to the players and the field. Before many of the games they schedule players (usually four) to sign autographs for fans. We spent time in the gift shop and I was worried that we wouldn’t get down to get one, but I shouldn’t have worried. The aisles are wide and the staff are well-trained to move people through the line efficiently.

Tip: Go early if you want all four players’ autographs. Game time was at 1:10 on this day, and we got in line at about 11:45. They cut the line off right after we got our autographs, around 12:00. (Rogers actually got in the game the day we were there, which was super cool for my boys.)

A Note About the Weather: The weather in Denver can be unpredictable. (Understatement. Really.) We left for the stadium in freezing cold conditions, for July anyway, and by the time we got to the stadium it was blazing hot. (Relatively, anyway, for what we were wearing.) Later, as you can see, the weather turned a little dicey. Tornado watch, lightning, rain.

Tip: Be sure to wear/carry layers for the quickly changing weather conditions.

Don’t forget to watch for these great architectural details, too:

And if you’re lucky, you’ll get to see this at the end of your visit to Coors Field:

Kendra would like to attend more sports events in Denver. Problem is, she lives in LA.

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All pictures are courtesy of The Adventures of the Headless Family.

It’s that time of the baseball season when crappy teams trade away their closers to playoff-bound teams. Bullpens get shaken up like dirty martinis, and fantasy leagues get verrrrrrrry interesting as managers jump to pick up set-up guys from said crappy teams who will move into the closer position should the current closer be traded away. If you’re a fantasy owner, here are four scenarios to keep an eye on to give your pitching staff a potential boost.

• Pittsburgh closer Octavio Dotel has 19 saves on the season, and could possibly head to either Colorado or the Mets. If he goes, look to pick up Evan Meek, who, while still relatively inexperienced, is a damn good reliever and has a low ERA (1.05). Meek was the only Pirate named to the All-Star team, although he didn’t see action.
• The Nationals don’t want to get rid of Matt Capps, but they might have to use him after he picked up a win at the All-Star game as he is garnering serious interest. Risk-taking fantasy managers could pick up his replacement in (more likely) Drew Storen (2-1, 2.21 ERA) or (less likely) Tyler Clippard (8-6, 59 Ks) and see a big payoff if they go on to pick up several saves.
• Despite sending him to the DL with a finger blister, Cleveland is trying to make Kerry Wood (1-4,  8 saves) look attractive to clubs since he is slated to return to the active roster before the trade deadline. Wood may not be throwing like he used to, but he’s still got a wealth of experience and talent to offer a club given the right opportunity. In Wood’s current absence, Chris Perez has stepped into the closer role and is totally worth picking up if he’s available in your league.
• Toronto’s Kevin Gregg (39 K’s, 21 saves) has garnered interest from the Dodgers, and the Rockies, and the Blue Jays have made him available. However, LHP Scott Downs has drawn trade interest of his own, but could step in as the closer if Gregg is the one traded. Jason Frasor or Shawn Camp both have an outside chance of getting the closer nod.

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I bring you sad news this morning. According to ESPN, George Steinbrenner died in his Tampa home this morning after suffering a massive heart attack.

Steinbrenner is well known for being the temperamental owner of the New York Yankees. He is also famous for making the Yankees one of the most lucrative and successful teams of the last 40 years.

Steinbrenner used free agency to make the Yankees a dynasty. George Steinbrenner showed major league baseball you get what you pay for by awarding huge salaries to great players. This formula had massive success. “The Boss” led The New York Yankees to 11 pennants and helped them win seven World’s Series. That is a lot of World Series wins. They are few other sports franchise owners that are so well known to the general public. “Steinbrenner” was even a recurring character on “Seinfeld”.

He will be missed and mourned by millions of New York Yankee fans and friends all over the globe. I think even Yankee haters will be saddened by the death of a MLB icon.

Our thoughts are with the Steinbrenners today.

Cross-posted on BlogHer.com

I have been getting a lot of pitches lately about books for women. These books were written to help women better understand sports or sports terminology. During the hockey playoffs, these books wanted to teach me about icing and maybe make me aware of some famous NHL players. This month, they want to help me out with tricky baseball terms and advising me how to dress for a game.

Now, I don’t know how well you know me, but I can tell you this right now: I know what a triple double is, I know where LeBron James will be playing next year, I know who the coach of the Denver Broncos is, and I can speak intelligently about the problems with the BCS. Even if I couldn’t, even if I didn’t know what DH stood for in baseball, I would still be able to dress appropriately for an outdoor game.

Contrary to popular opinion, mothers and bloggers do leave the house every once in a while.

You know what else? Just because I have a vagina doesn’t mean that I only want to know where Ovechkin plays to impress my boyfriend. I watch ESPN when I am the only one home. My husband is the one that changes the channel to the Food Network because he can only stand to watch SportsCenter one time through, while I am content to watch it on a continual loop all day long.

When I open up the newspaper, I go to the sports section first, and it isn’t so the guys at work don’t think I’m a silly girl. The reality is that I need to know who is injured so I know who to start on my fantasy team.

These pitches (and yeah, they are pitches, just like in baseball) from the PR people, who think my readers need me to tell them to read this book so that they can figure out when the line will be shortest for the bathroom, don’t understand that my readers aren’t stupid. Sure, you might not all be able to explain the wild cat offense, but if I tried to pander and tell you not to wear a leather jacket to a baseball game in Florida in August, you would probably Google my address, come to my house, and beat the crap out of me with the hockey stick that you own because GIRLS LIKE SPORTS TOO!

I don’t mean to be a jerk or a know it all, but can somebody please explain to me why dressing for a baseball game is any different from dressing for a soccer match or a football game? Outside is outside. You know where you live. I assume we have all been outside before. Summer = hot, winter = cold. Unless you are in Florida, and then outside = hot.

My only thought for the focus on baseball is that weather plays a big factor. Day games in the middle of the summer can be brutal. So flip flops, shorts and tank top will be everywhere. But night games in northern climates can get chilly, so jeans and a light sweater may be necessary.

This latest PR pitch also contains this:

[author] interviewed fashion editors from across the country to see what
people will be wearing in your city.

Okay, so let’s say, for the sake of argument that I need fashion advice to go out in public. Let’s give them the benefit of the doubt and say that I am completely clueless about what people wear where I live. IF YOU ARE TALKING TO FASHION EDITORS THIS ADVICE IS ONLY GOOD FOR ONE SEASON. Fashion is constantly changing. A book is static.

I’ve got some baseball fashion advice — wear something to support your team. The players like that. It makes them feel loved.

Other advice my latest pitch offers:

• When to leave seats. Most people will leave to go get food, drinks or use the restroom when their team is in the field so that they won’t miss the action. For the shortest lines, leave when your team is at bat. You may miss a great home run but you will be back in a jiffy.
• Hard-to-pronounce names are spelled out phonetically.
• Conversation starters and commonly overheard terms.

Ahem. Yes, let’s miss the most exciting part of a baseball game so that we don’t have to stand in line to get a beer. Don’t worry, ladies, you will be home in time to iron your husband’s shirts. I can’t speak for all stadiums, but the six major league ball parks I have been to all have people walking around in the stands selling popcorn and cotton candy and beer and water. I’m not sure what it is like for Yankee or Red Sox fans, but where I live, unless Strasburg is pitching, there aren’t very long lines for anything. (No offense, Nats, you know I love you.)

I am just so tired of society thinking that people with ovaries are ignorant when it comes to sports. Maybe June Cleaver needs this book, but I am Sarah and I live in 2010 and I am offended.

Except for that pronunciation of tricky names part. That would actually be helpful.

This was originally written for and posted on BlogHer.com by Sarah.