I doubt many of you watched the NLCS game last night, but there was some buggery in the game that was very annoying.

Runners on first and second, and the batter hit a double-play ball.  Runner on second advances to third, runner on first is out by basetag at second, but then tackles the Rockies’ second baseman, preventing him from making the throw to first for the obvious double play (side note:  Rockies had the most 2x plays by far in MLB this season).

The ump sees the “tackle”, calls the runner out, and then calls the batter out as well for the obstruction.  And according to the rule, the runner had to be reset from third to second.  It wasn’t even a close call, it was an obvious call, and I’m not just saying that as a fan.  You can see the video here:  click on “Interference call and delay” and watch the video.  It’s pretty obvious even at full speed.

So the fans reacted in Arizona.  For the first time that night, for anything!  They began pelting the field with trash, which ended up delaying the game.  It didn’t end up mattering for Arizona.  What did matter is that it delayed the game and kept me from my chair.  And isn’t that what really matters?  The answer is yes.

The chair got delivered yesterday.  I didn’t sit in it until about 8pm, knowing that once I sat in it, I wouldn’t want to get up.  If Anna didn’t make me get out of the chair to go to bed, I probably would’ve slept in it.  And then probably also not be at work, I’d still be sitting in the chair.

Tonight is the first NLCS game.  Both Anna and I are excited about watching the game.  If I sit in my chair, there isn’t anywhere for Anna to sit to watch the game.  So I can’t sit in my chair.  I really just want to go home right now and sit in the chair, so that later, I won’t mind that I didn’t get much of a chance to sit in it tonight.

Is that so wrong?

The Rockies are going to the NLCS. But you probably knew that. It’s still weird to comprehend.

Further, the VT game was quite a surprise – but I will say our offense lived up to every expectation I had of it. Even with a 23 point halftime lead and a dominating defense – the Hokies find a way to make you squirm.

And this is what Anna got me for Columbus Day:

This is my new study chair, from which I will dispatch death in Halo 3, shank drives in Tiger Woods, or rock out in Guitar Hero X, where X is 1, 2, or 3.

On Saturday, VT plays Clemson at 4pm Mountain Time. This means that we usually go to a bar in Denver, hang out with the alumni, drink some beers, and watch some football. This is how it is – this is how it has been since I have been here, with very little deviation. This weekend will be … interesting.

For starters, check this picture out. That’s the patio of the bar that we usually go to – Jackson’s in downtown Denver. For another idea of proximity, check this out. On Saturday, the first baseball playoff game since 1995 will be played at 7pm MST. VT plays Clemson at 4pm MST. I would try to describe the chaos that will be downtown Denver, with the scalpers, the fans who didn’t get tickets, the parking, traffic, and light rail problems – but really, I’ll let your imaginations run free!

Contrast this with Sunday’s schedule: the Broncos play at 2:15pm MST, and this is first and foremost a Bronco town. Invesco Field @ Mile High Stadium is literally a hop-skip-and-jump from Coors Field. Bronco games on their own cause crippling traffic. There is light-rail transportation, but the same line serves both fields. There’s a chance that there will be a fourth playoff game on Sunday at 8pm MST in Denver. You say to yourself – ah, but there’s hours between the starts of both games, all shall be well!

If you look at this map again you will note a dome-like structure roughly directly between Mile High Stadium and Coors Field. Here in Denver, that dome is known as the Pepsi Center. People in Colorado love their hockey – in fact it’s the number two draw behind the Broncos! Their home opener is at 5pm MST (now, anyway).

So to summarize – at 2:15, Bronco game with traffic and population draw that routinely shuts down the city. At 5, Avs game that does a lot of the same. At 8pm, a possible playoff baseball game that – based on Monday’s game – will completely threaten humanity! All three are within walking distance of each other!

On one hand, great for the city’s bars and businesses. On the other hand – on Sunday Anna and I will be comfortably seated at our or a neighbor’s house sipping cocktails and avoiding the madness that will be Denver. But I have to say – it’s kind of a cool thing to be near and a small part of.

If I could get tickets to all three? I’d go. But I wouldn’t make it to twenty-nine.

Saturday? I don’t know. Usually we have a very large reserved room for the VT folks – but I would think that obscene numbers of money-waving, rabid baseball fans would probably trump their desire to have that relatively small VT/Clemson (we’re co-watching, a brother of a VT head alum heads the Clemson alum group) contingent, even though we consistently provide them with a steady stream of income regardless of what the Rockies do. The bar aside – parking prices have gone to free-market or gouging levels – $40 as opposed to $5 or free in times prior and it’s going to be a giant bitch to get in and out of the city.

The mayor, who is a real-estate broker/mogul for city property – assures me that this is incredibly good for the city and the businesses surrounding each of these parks. This is what they had in mind when they bulldozed this old, run down warehouse district of Denver to build these parks. But maybe they didn’t have it in mind that it could all happen at the same time. Should be fun!

EDIT:  I also forgot to mention the annual Columbus Day Protest where all the indigenous peoples dance and chant at the exact same intersection of the first map and spill fake blood for a few hours.  This literally happens right in front of Jackson’s and Coors Field.  Hooray!

So last night’s game probably ranks in my top five sports experiences of all time.

Went up 3-0, down 3-5 on a grand slam plus one (thanks, Josh Fogg) came back to 6-5. In the eighth, they tied it 6-6. In the thirteenth they were down 6-8, and then ended up winning 9-8. Lordy. Here’s some pictures – there’s a dust spot on my camera that I’m trying to figure out how to get repaired or cleaned. Just ignore that spot for now.

I guess there’s some controversy over whether or not Holliday actually touched home plate on his game winning slide. To all of those: shut up. We had a home run taken from us by bad officiating that would’ve had the game over in nine. The replays are conclusive about that. Coincidentally, that’s the fifth home run that the Rockies have had overturned this season – I thought Hurdle (the manager) was going to asplode out there.

The replays on the home plate touch are inconclusive at best. San Diego blew it. They put their ace out and they shelled him. They put a hall-of-famer closer out, and they went 3/4 against him to win the game in the thirteenth inning.

So, freaking wow. It was an awesome experience. But everything sucks right now – the game did not end until about 10:30pm. Due to it being extremely crowded, it was nigh on impossible to get hot dogs/beer/any kind of food – so we didn’t eat until after the game and post-game celebration. We went to the Celtic Tavern, which is what it sounds like. Downtown was rockin’ on a Monday night, so our food/drink orders took about a half hour or so to get through. We got home around 12:30, in bed by 1. Right now I’m hoarse, tired, have a bit of a headache, and very dehydrated.

All worth it, though!

So my neighbor, the Mayor – the one who always gives us tickets to things and such – scored tickets.  So we’re going to the game now – must hurry as it’s in an hour!

The Hokies suck.  I am probably not the only one who thinks that our team isn’t good enough to even be in the top 25.  The offense seemed to have things going, but I guess the OC didn’t like running the ball consistently – instead opting to do time stopping plays and high-risk plays.  It was an ugly game against a team that isn’t as good as we made them look.  I think we’re going to get killed at Clemson next weekend – but then again, who knows!

About baseball:  the Rox lost Friday night, ending the streak of consecutive wins at eleven.  It was kind of disappointing because it meant that any chances at the postseason lay in other teams’ hands.  Saturday night they won 11-1, and today when Anna, my father-in-law, and I were at the game, they won 4-3.  We needed the Padres to lose two games, and then a funny thing happened – they did.  Saturday night they lost in extra innings, and today they got killed.  So now there’s a 163rd game – a playoff at Coors Field, and the winner will go off to play Philadelphia in the divisional series.

After the game, I tried to get tickets to the tiebreaker game.  As you can see in the pictures, King Soopers was a place advertised to get tickets.  I went to the nearest King Soopers to the ballpark, and waited in line for an hour (with ~150 others) for them to tell us that their system had crashed, and they wouldn’t be able to sell any tickets.  And by the time everyone in that store had scrambled to find other tickets – they were all gone.  So we’re not going.  I’m not terribly sad because that means we don’t have to go downtown for the fourth consecutive day!

So it’s been fun.  Even if they don’t win tomorrow – it was a fun thing to follow.  I’m more excited about the baseball team than the prospects of VT football – I just don’t see good things happening for the rest of the season as the competition gets harder.  The ACC is weird though – Duke kept a game with Miami close – so maybe VT can limp through the season and eventually get killed by a good football team in a bowl.  I’m just not that excited about them – and you can thank the offensive line for that.

It was a good weekend!

Tonight’s game is sold out!  Or very near it anyway.  They have “Rock Pile” tickets, which are upper level center field tickets they sell for $2 apiece.  Those? They suck!

But downtown should be pretty rockin’!

This post should finish them off, though.

About two weeks ago, I “officially” gave up on postseason chances for the Rockies.  They were five games out of the wild card and eight games out of the running for the National League West pennant.  To have a chance, they basically had to win the rest of their games.  They started out by nearly getting swept by the Marlins, a last place team.

Since then, they’ve won every single game.  Ten games in a row, to be exact, over NL West opponents who are (or were) very much alive in the playoff chase.  They’ve eliminated the Dodgers, they swept the Padres in San Diego, and they’re currently working on sweeping the Dodgers, who have entered “insert minor leaguers” mode because they’re done for the season.

So they’re very much alive for the wild card.  But screw the wild card – they’re still alive for the West pennant!  The last three games of the season are against the Diamondbacks, in Denver.  Even if the Rox lose tonight – I believe that the winner of the Rockies/Diamondbacks series will be the NL West champ.  I figure the wild card will go to the Mets, because they have to close the season against a team that’s good.  The Phillies have to close the season at home against… the Nationals.

I never would’ve expected to be excited about baseball like this.  We went to games primarily to get out, do something, and drink some beers.  And then they started winning and playing well, and it was actually fun to watch!

I didn’t expect to get as involved with hockey as I did when I was rooting the Capitals on during their run to the Cup Finals in 1998.  It’s obvious I failed at that, as I’m sitting here wearing a throwback Caps jersey, one of three that I own, as I speak.  Even if the Rockies don’t make it, and the math is against them (winning ten in a row is tough – sixteen in a row is even tougher) they’ve been very entertaining to watch.

Of course, now that I’ve written this, I’ve officially screwed them.  Now I think they have a chance again – and usually when they do that, they collapse.

In other news, I also stupidly believe that the Caps have a chance this year.  So I’ll go ahead and screw them out of a good season early!

In something that is completely shocking to nobody – performance enhancing drugs… increase performance!