Archive for the ‘Sports Events’ Category
Red Bull Crashed Ice St. Paul, MN!
January 10th, 2012 by Dave Holden
Have you heard of this new extreme sport yet? If you have, do you know that Red Bull Crashed Ice is coming to St. Paul, MN this weekend?! The extreme sport began about 10 years ago when an Austrian man skated down a bobsled course. It has since turned into a worldwide competition.
On December 13, almost 200 athletes took to the ice at Saint Paul’s Xcel Energy Center to battle it out for a spot in the first Red Bull Crashed Ice World Championship 2012. The competition starts Thursday with the main event on Saturday night, where the crowd is expected to be well into the thousands. The competitors consist of 100 skaters from Europe and 100 from the U.S., many of which are from Minnesota.
Starting Thursday January 12, two hundred or so fearless athletes will take to a quarter-mile downhill ice track that descends 1,400 feet towards the Mississippi River. The St. Paul Cathedral will serve as the start line where four racers will fearlessly plunge down the ice track at speeds up to 40 mph. The bobsled-like track is constructed with hairpin turns, jumps, twists, inclines and steep drops.
Redbull never fails to amaze and this event should be pretty epic and a must see for all you thrill seekers out there!
A Day at Miller Park
August 17th, 2011 by Ben Remington
Recently, I took a trip to Milwaukee to visit my brother. Being the consumate baseball fan I was, I had to get tickets to a baseball game in advance; and also planned on touring the famous Miller Park, site of the infamous ‘Tiegate’ or ‘Seliggate’. After purchasing some very affordable tickets thanks to Miller High Life Mondays($6 a ticket!), I was set.
The tour was great, about an hour and a half with a guide that was typical, but not too overwhelmingly enthusiastic. The most striking part of the park, either from outside on the highway, or standing on the warning track has got to be the roof. It’s a modern marvel of sorts, and a very fascinating piece of architecture. The unfortunate side of the fan shaped 7 panel roof is the lack of air conditioning throughout most of the park, which made for a rough night in early August. If not for the Lake Michigan breeze coming in from the outfield every so often, I may have passed out. Another striking piece of fan pleasing grandiousity is the new hi-def scoreboard in straightaway center. The 4th largest in the MLB, it seems even bigger due to the fact that it nearly hangs over the centerfield fence.
A few other highlights of the tour were the pleasantly air conditioned club level, which was a beautifully decorated haven, espeically the huge northwoodsesque Gehl suite; but unlike Minneapolis’ prized Target Field, you could not see the game unless you were in your seats, due to the suites being on the same level. Another baseball fan dream moment of the tour was spending 3 minutes in Bob Uecker’s radio booth, and although he obviously wasn’t there yet, you could almost hear the witty serenade of the Brewers legend.
A feature that I really enjoyed, but is rarely talked about is Halfaer Field, a little league sized park just beyond the gates of Miller Park, built on the old hallowed grounds of Milwaukee County Stadium. The Guide boasted it as ‘the finest little league park this side of Williamsport, PA’, and from all indictations, he was right. Overlooking the field from the club level of Miller Park, I couldn’t help but envy the thrilled kids who have an opportunity to play at this palace in the shadow of their hometown team’s prized ballpark.
All in all, Miller Park is a great place to catch a game, from the TGI Friday’s in left field(delightfully open all day long), to Bernie Brewer’s slide, to the sliding glass panels behind the outfield keeping out the cold Milwaukee weather in spring and fall. I don’t know that it’s a must-see for baseball nuts, but if you have the opportunity, it’s definitely worth the trip. Especially on Miller High Life Mondays.
DSG Grand Opening in Coon Rapids
July 28th, 2011 by Cale Loken
Dick’s Sporting Goods is opening their new store in Coon Rapids, MN on Friday, July 29th. The store is located at 12661 Riverdale Blvd in Coon Rapids, MN 55448. They will have NHL players available as well as offering giveaways and promotions. Dustin Byfuglien will be there on Friday from 12pm to 2pm and Paul Martin will be making an appearance from 12pm to 2pm on Saturday.
The giveaways that will be offered will be free Adidas T-Shirts on Friday while supplies last. On Saturday(July, 30th), the store will be giving away a free pair of Crocs(limit one per household and must be 18 years or older) to the first 100 shoppers; on Sunday(July 31st), the first 100 shoppers will receive unmarked a mystery gift card with varying denominations from $5 to one lucky $500 gift card (limit one per household and must be 18 years or older).
This store is located across the street from rival Sports Authority and goes along with DSG’s agenda to expand and add several hundred stores over the next few years. The store offers the best in team sports, outdoor, fishing, fitness and golf equipment. They also offer the top brands in apparel, footwear, water sports, winter sports and more.
The 2011 Baseball All Star Game
June 25th, 2011 by Ben RemingtonWe’re still weeks away from baseball’s midsummer classic, and yet I find myself thinking about it. Maybe because it’s my fantasy league’s trade deadline, maybe it’s because I really do enjoy the Home Run Derby, unlike some baseball purists.
Or maybe because the selection process is quite flawed. Right now, if you’re a big fan of the All Star Game, I hope you like the Yankees too, because they will make up over half the AL starting roster. But that is just one of my many gripes. I think that the fans who vote, on the whole, simply vote for name recognition, and obviously have a pretty narrow roster of players from around the league outside of their home town team. This coupled with the heavy, heavy east coast bias is turning a great honor into something that is more or less eyerolled at by knowledgeable baseball fans. Here’s the leading vote getters, as of June 20 & 14, respectively:
NL
Brian McCann C Atl- Can’t argue
Albert Pujols 1st Stl- Going to change with his injury, but I’m not so sure he deserved to make it anyway- hitting .279, granted with 17 homers, Fielder is numerically crushing him.
Brandon Phillips 2B Cin- Not sure how he’s leading it, with Rickie Weeks having another monster season for the Crew.
Placido Polanco 3B Phi – Sure he’s hitting ok in a weak stat position, but I’ve got a soft spot for Chipper.
Troy Tulowitzki SS Col- Toss up with him and Reyes- Power vs. Speed. I love me some Tulo though
Ryan Braun, Lance Berkman & Matt Holliday OF- All 3 are having great years, but Kemp is notably absent. Maybe the baseball world dislikes him as much as I do.
AL
Russell Martin C Nyy- Really? This is one of my biggest complaints. Sure, Martin is having a decent season, but Alex Avila is hitting a full 70 points higher than him, with similar or better power numbers across the board. If you’re asking who Alex Avila is, you’re part of the problem, buddy.
Adrian Gonzalez 1B Bos- Thankfully, A-Gone just passed Teixeira, which is great because Gonzalez deserves the honor more. His numbers are ridiculous.
Robinson Cano 2B Nyy- A Yankee selection I wholeheartedly agree with.
Alex Rodriguez 3B Nyy- Sure, his numbers justify it, but even if he were batting .240, he’d get in.
Derek Jeter SS Nyy- What is this, a lifetime achievement award? .260 with 2 HR. Asdrubal Cabrera or Elvis Andrus, please.
Jose Bautista, Curtis Granderson & Josh Hamilton OF- I love Josh Hamilton. I do. He’s maybe my favorite ballplayer. But Jacoby Ellsbury deserves this spot. I’m thinking fans are voting in Hamilton with the hopes of seeing another Home Run Derby for the ages. So, I’ll let it slide.
So there you have it, a few head scratchers and a few undeserving Yankees, and you have an unfortunate situation in your All Star Starting lineup. I’m not sure that MLB can do anything about it, and I’m also pretty sure I don’t want Bud Selig making any more idiotic changes to the game, but I’d like to see this end happily. I think we as voters need to be more responsible, and maybe votes from New York should count as half votes, something to restore integrity to this process. I’ll watch the game regardless, but I’d like to see more players that are lesser known, but more deserving make the game, to further educate the unknowing masses on this great game and the men who play it.
Top 10 Hottest Products at SIA Trade Show
February 5th, 2011 by sourcedBy Mike Hardaker, Mountain Weekly News
“The 2011 SIA (Snowsports Industries America) trade show has wrapped up with recent sales data indicated more than $1 billion in snow sports goods were sold at retail during December of 2010 setting a new record. The trade show floor was a buzz from Thursday – Sunday with buyers, retailers, media, pros and industry folks all coming together to talk about the best business in the world… Winter Snow Sports!! Our top 10 Hottest Products from SIA are as follows:”
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