All posts by Andrew

American Football

Mansfield High School Tigers v John H. Guyer High School Wildcats

December 5, 2015 Andrew

Texas State High School Play Off Quarter Final

Division 6A, District 2

Saturday 5th December 2015

Kick off 14.00

Mansfield High School Tigers 44 John H. Guyer High School Wildcats 7, attendance 2,500

@ Dragon Stadium

1085, South Kimball Avenue

Southlake, TX 76092

$8 admission

Programme free, 4 pages, produced by Mansfield H.S.

My first taste of High School football, so not sure what to expect. I have to say the whole package was pretty impressive and run as if it was a professional event. It was just a pity the game itself wasn’t more closely run as Mansfield were just too strong.

Dragon Stadium has a capacity of 11,000 and is owned by Carrol Independant School District.

The stadium has also hosted MLS games as Dallas Burn played here for their 2003 season and the bleachers at the East Endzone are a reminder of their days here as they remained when the soccer departed back to The Cotton Bowl.

Basketball

University Texas Arlington Mavericks v University North Texas Mean Green

December 3, 2015 Andrew

National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I

Thursday 3rd December 2015

Tip off 19.00

University Texas Arlington Mavericks 90 University North Texas Mean Green 67, attendance 6,107

@ College Park Center

600, South Center Street

Arlington, TX 76019

$10 admission

Programme free, 16 pages.

Opened in February 2012 at a cost of $78 million, having a seated capacity of 7,000. Tonight’s attendance has only been bettered once for a Mavericks home game, when 6,228 attended the opening match at the arena versus UTSA Roadrunners on 1st February 2012.

One thing you certainly notice here is the fantastic atmosphere the fans generate. Well worth the admission money and nice to park for free in the multi storey car park less than 100 yards walk away.

Following photos of poor quality due to camera malfunction.

Basketball

Los Angeles Clippers v Utah Jazz

November 25, 2015 Andrew

National Basketball League

Wednesday 25th November 2015

Tip off 19.30

Los Angeles Clippers 91 Utah Jazz 102, attendance 19,060

Clippers Starters ;

Blake Griffin, 40 Pts, 12 reb, 3 ast, 2 blk

Chris Paul, 24 Pts, 5 reb, 8 ast, 3 stl

DeAndre Jordan, 8 pts, 11 reb, 3 stl, 4 blk

J.J. Redick, 3 pts, 1 ast, 1 stl

Wesley Johnson, 0 pts, 1 reb

Playing Reserves ;

Jamal Crawford, Austin Rivers, Josh Smith, Lance Stephenson, Paul Pierce, Luc Mbah a Moute

Jazz Starters ;

Gordon Hayward, 33 pts, 7 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl

Rudy Gobert, 10 pts, 11 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl, 2 blk

Derrick Favors, 22 pts, 3 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl

Rodney Hood, 13 pts, 4 reb, 5 ast

Paul Neto, 10 pts, 1 reb, 6 ast, 3 stl

Playing Reserves ;

Alec Burks, Trevor Booker, Trey Burke, Joe Ingles, Chris Johnson, Trey Lyles, Jeff Withey

@ Staples Center

1111, South Figueroa Street

Los Angeles, CA 90015

Admission $35 + $8.50 fees.

Team sheet, free.

The arena was opened in October 1999 at a cost of $375 million. It is shared with fellow NBA team Los Angeles Lakers and is also home to NHL team Los Angeles Kings. Oddly, the capacity for Clippers games is 19,060, whereas it is only 18,997 when the Lakers are playing host.

It is the only arena in the NBA shared by two teams from the same league and one of only two North American professional sports venues hosting two teams from the same league, the other being MetLife Stadium, in East Rutherford, home to New York Giants and New York Jets of the NFL.

Basketball

University Southern California Trojans v California State University Northridge Matadors

November 23, 2015 Andrew

National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I

Monday 23rd November 2015

Tip off 18.00

University Southern California Trojans 96 California State University Northridge Matadors 61, attendance 2,764.

@ Galen Center

3400 South Figueroa Street,

Los Angeles, CA 90089.

Admission $15

Programme $5, covers all home November games, 84 pages.

The arena was opened in 2006 having cost $147 million to build. The capacity is 10,258, which was sold out for the record attendance versus the Arizona Wildcats in January 2008.

On 10th May 2014 the arena staged the World Boxing Council Heavyweight title fight between Chris Arreola and Bermane Stiverne.

American Football

San Diego Chargers v Kansas City Chiefs

November 22, 2015 Andrew

National Football League

Sunday 22nd November 2015

Kick off 13.05

San Diego Chargers 3 Kansas City Chiefs 33, attendance 65,837

@ Qualcomm Stadium

9449 Friars Road

San Diego, CA 92108

Admission $56 + $10.99 fees (resale) print at home ticket.

Programme free, 16 page newspaper.

This was my first ever game in the NFL. KCC were far too strong and could have won by a much greater margin.

The stadium was opened in 1967 as San Diego Stadium, before becoming the Jack Murphy Stadium and in 1997 it took on the sponsors name. The San Diego State University Aztecs also play their home games here and it has staged three Superbowls, the last being in 2003.

The capacity here is 70,561 and being situated very near to the freeway it means a trouble free getaway. At least it was for us, as we parked in the tailgate area of the car park, for $25, and were soon away as most of the others here seemed in no rush to leave and in less than 5 minutes it was back on the freeway heading north back to LA.

Football

Los Angeles Wolves F.C. V Cal F.C.

November 21, 2015 Andrew

U.S. Open Cup 2nd Qualifying Round

Saturday 21st November 2015

Kick off 19.30 actual 19.40

Los Angeles Wolves F.C. 2 Cal F.C. 1. attendance 85.

21′ 1-0

42′ 2-0

75′ 2-1

@ Toyota Sports Complex

555 Maple Avenue,

Torrance, CA 90503

$5 admission

No programme.

The venue here is basic to say the least. Just two artificial pitches running parallel, both with floodlights and tonight’s game was on Pitch 1, which is nearest the entrance and the only building on site, a toilet block. The players change elsewhere and come to the ground kitted out ready for action.

Both sides play in the United Premier Soccer League and the main difference between the sides was LAW player Sam Higgins who scored both their goals and looked a good prospect.

Basketball

Southern Methodist University Mustangs v Sam Houston State University Bearkats

November 14, 2015 Andrew

National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I

Saturday 14th November 2015

Tip off 19.00

Southern Methodist University Mustangs 85 Sam Houston State University Bearkats 50, attendance 6,852.

@ Moody Coliseum

6024 Airline Road

University Park, TX 75205

Admission free, borrowed Season Ticket.

Programme free, 4 pages.

Moody Coliseum has been home to SMU since December 1956. The arena has held as many as 10,276, but after four upgrades over the years capacity is now 7,000.

Excellent seats along the side of the court and even better when they are free as we were offered 2 season tickets by friends who couldn’t make the game.

Surprised to be sat opposite former U.S. President George W. Bush and wife Laura, an SMU graduate, who live locally and are regular visitors to the Moody Coliseum.

American Football

University North Texas Mean Green v University Texas San Antonio Roadrunners

October 31, 2015 Andrew

National Collegiate Athletic Association

Football Bowl Subdivision

Conference USA

Saturday 31st October 2015

19.30 kick off

University North Texas Mean Green 30 University Texas San Antonio Roadrunners 23 attendance 10,292

@ Apogee Stadium

1251, South Bonnie Brae Street

Denton, TX 76207

$12 admission

Programme free, 56 pages.

Apogee Stadium was opened on September 10th 2011, where the record attendance of 28,075 was set versus University Houston Cougars, some way short of the 30,850 capacity. Parking is across the other side of the I-35, next to the old stadium, with access via a footbridge. It certainly makes for a better getaway after the match as there is only one set of traffic lights before hitting the freeway.

This was the first time since arriving in the States that I had to wear more than a t-shirt as a cold wind was blowing. Suppose it’s not bad to get this far into the year before the cold sets in !

Halftime entertainment followed the Halloween theme, where around 100 members of the College Band performed ‘Thriller’ in full fancy dress costume. Better than the match !

Other Sports

2015 Formula 1 United States Grand Prix

October 25, 2015 Andrew

Formula 1 United States Grand Prix

Sunday 25th October 2015

Race start time 14.00

@ Circuit of the Americas

9201 Circuit of the Americas Boulevard

Austin, TX 78617

$99 admission

Programme, yes, but didn’t bother at rip off price !

Car park had been booked, right next to our chosen corner for viewing the race, at an astronomical $75. However, a text message was received the evening before saying that the car park would not be open due to the rain of the last 2 days and we were to exchange our voucher for a shuttle bus journey from Austin city centre to the track, which was adding a couple of hours on the journey at each end. If that wasn’t bad enough, this option was a lot cheaper than we had paid, so a very expensive alternative. Despite e-mail correspondence this matter has never been resolved and just to really rub salt into the wounds, we arrived to find them using the car park we had booked as a $25 cash option on the day !

I had been brought up as a Rally fan, during the great days of the Audi Quattro, Peugeot 205 T16, Lancia Delta S4 et al so it seemed strange to be watching so called super cars driving past at speeds of 200 mph and thinking I could hear the next door neighbour mowing his lawn or my wife drying her hair !

This is certainly a sport far better viewed from the comfort of your own home and without the feel of being ripped off at every opportunity they can.

The F1 race was preceded by the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup race and the Masters Historic Race, both of which featured proper sounding engines, but as the rain only stopped 5 minutes ahead of the F1 sadly this meant the drivers in these races weren’t able to push their cars to the limits.

As for the race……..a win for Lewis Hamilton saw him crowned as World Champion.

1. Lewis Hamilton….Mercedes

2. Nico Rosberg………Mercedes

3. Sebastien Vettel……Ferrari

4. Max Verstappen….Toro Rosso

5. Sergio Perez……Force India

6. Jenson Button…..McLaren

7. Carlos Sainz…….Toro Rosso

8. Pastor Maldonado…..Lotus

9. Felipe Nasr……Sauber

10. Daniel Ricciardo…….Red Bull Racing

The entertainment after the race was a concert by Elton John. Now, I am a fan of Elton and know a fair bit of his stuff, but when he started off with 6 of the first 7 songs unknown to me, then it was time to call it a day. Unfortunately everyone else seemed to have the same idea which meant a huge queue to get a bus back to Austin and pick up the car. We reached the car 3 hours later……..the same time as we could have driven the 200 miles back home from the car park we had originally booked !

Safe to say F1, this first time attendee at one of your events will not be returning for more.

American Football

University Texas Longhorns v Kansas State University Cowboys

October 24, 2015 Andrew

National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I

Big 12 Conference

Saturday 24th October 2015

Kick off 11.00

University Texas Longhorns 23 Kansas State University Cowboys 9 attendance 88,283

@ Darrell K. Royal – Texas Memorial Stadium

405 East 23rd Street,

Austin, TX 78712

$55 admission (resale) print at home ticket.

Programme free, 68 pages.

The stadium has been home to the Longhorns since 1924 and has a seating capacity of 100,119 making it the second largest stadium in Texas and the eighth largest in USA. There are plans to enclose the south end zone which will take capacity up to around the 115,000 mark.

Heavy rain had fallen all day Friday, the first rain we had encountered in our 7 weeks in Texas, and continued until around half an hour before kick off. Sadly, a matter of minutes into the game it returned and rained steadily for the next 3 hours. Not fun when you are in a stadium that has no roof. Despite the huge attendance, obviously based on ticket sales, rather than bums on seats, the true mark was more likely around 50,000. Had we not been down in Austin for the Formula 1 US Grand Prix the next day, then this would have been given a wide berth.