Tonight the magic returns and I’ll enjoy every minute of it.

Shortly after the announcement tickets went from around $100 to $400 online. suckers…

Nothing else in Pittsburgh matters now but hockey.

DO IT!

I don’t usually write posts as soon as I hear news but this time I have to. Today MegaBus will begin service in Erie and while yinzers may go “Erie? really?” let me point out a few things for you. If you’re familiar with MegaBus you already know that prices start at $1. I’m not joking, ONE DOLLAR! You can’t even get a city block on that much gas in your car. Honestly if you want a great overview of it check out this story from KDKA’s Jim Lokay.

Here’s where it gets good. The total trip is 2 hours long and the drop off point is Presque Isle Downs. It’s a C-A-S-I-N-O with HORSERACING! If you get tired of the casino or you’re like me and don’t gamble, there is Erie’s mass transit which also picks you up at the casino and takes you downtown and to the Bayfront. I encourage anyone who takes the trip to consider making a weekend out of it and in fact the tourism groups for both cities should plan a trip deal around it. “If you’re coming in from “x” via megabus to our city here is what you can do in 1 day..” I think I missed my calling somewhere as a trip planner.

If you’re traveling Pittsburgh to Erie your day can look like this on July 9th for a 1 day trip.

1. Leave from Pittsburgh at 7:15am, arrive in Erie at Presque Isle Downs around 9:35am
2. Stretch, play some slots and hit up the buffet.
3. 3pm is post time for the horse races
4. Catch the 5:40pm EMTA into town
5. 6pm get off at 13th and State Street and walk 2 blocks to BrewErie for dinner and craft beers brewed on site or ride the bus down to the lake and have dinner on the bay while watching the sunset
6. 8pm catch the EMTA back to the casino and you’ll have 1 hour left to gamble before your 9:35pm bus takes you back to Pittsburgh by midnight. If you’re not exhausted yet you still have time to hit up a couple bars in Pittsburgh.

If you don’t want to hit up the casino the EMTA will take you into downtown Erie where you can either walk around or catch a taxi to Presque Isle and spend the day at the beach.  Honestly with this plan there should be some kinda shuttle to Presque Isle from downtown. If anyone in Erie knows of one, leave it in the comments.

total travel price for 1 person – $6.50 (plus bus fare which is $1.10 one way)

If you’re traveling Erie to Pittsburgh your day can look like this on July 9th for a 1 day trip.

1. Leave Erie at 2pm and arrive at 4:10pm in Pittsburgh at 10th St and Penn Ave (Convention Center)
2. Walk around the Strip District or through downtown checking out the city and grabbing a bite to eat
3. 7:05 Pirates vs Cubs
4. Game should end around 9:30-10pm. Post game you can head back into the city for a beverage or a walk around the cultural district. Maybe catch the T for a trip to Station Square and ride an incline to see the city
5. Return to the convention center for your pick up at 11:30pm to return to Erie at 1:45am Sunday

total travel price for 1 person – $6.50

The trip from Erie to Pittsburgh is more ideal if you want to spend a weekend or come down for an event at night and head back. Pirates and Penguins fans will be able to take advantage of this since both PNC Park and Consol Energy Center are walking distance (CEC is a tad of a hike). If there is a show in town that you want to see, the arrival at 4 is perfect to find a place to eat and relax before the curtain raises. If you want good craft beer check out Sharp Edge Bistro on Penn. Its pricey but you’ll have Belgian beers available you’ll never find in Erie.

By no means should you take my suggested schedule as gospel. Everyone has different tastes but this just shows you what is now available at a VERY LOW price if you want to get away for a day or 2.

By the way craft beer loving yinzers, Beer on the Bay is coming up in Erie. MegaBus may give a whole new meaning to beer run and I think SIDT may have a plan for you.

cheers!

I never thought about it until a few people asked me if I was going to do a recap of 2010 as I did 2009. What the hell why not! Lord knows it was a batshit crazy year!  I’ll break this up into 2 parts so you don’t fall asleep.

January 2010
Still early into my new job and fighting the first of 2 major blizzards I saw RMU pull off one of the biggest upsets in college hockey for last year as they defeated #1 Miami. Even with the storm we had a bigger crowd than previous and I handled the pr/socialmedia for the event. Pho-down, Tweet-up was one of the great times in early 2010. I’m a Pho addict (I get cravings like crack addicts) and this night I went for the kingpin of dishes at my favorite Pho place where I finally had tripe and it was amazingly good. We also started the search for our first house knowing that the incompetence of our landlord was detrimental to our family.

February
Thanks to an article in the Post Gazette I made a $400 craft beer road trip to Boardman to the “#1 Beer Store in the World” Vintage Estate. A trip that would turn into a friendship with owner Phill, the most kickass man in Boardman It is my beer heaven when I need to get away. Snowmageddon brought us Betty White’s Vagina and a certain little Teaspoon turned 1.

March
Holy publicity! First there was the write up in Pittsburgh Magazine and also an interview with the Wench. The highlight though came from an interview I got to do with craft beer icon Lew Bryson about the beer raids in Philly.

April
I ate the Burger King Bacon Cheese Whopper and KFC Double Down without dying, saw the last regular season game at Mellon Arena and had a run-in with some freak ass potential neighbor we called The Sarge.

May
SIDT turned 4, got approved for a house and we had a walk for Teaspoon. Since his bro is a preemie now also the 2011 walk  should be a big one.

June
Highlight of podcasting to date was VIP interview and hanging out backstage with Zane Lamprey. His people came to us Finally became a homeowner when I closed on my first house. Teaspoon whizzed on the floor in a fitting display of how our landlord treated us. Started writing for examiner.com as the Pittsburgh Craft Beer Examiner which couldn’t have came at a more hectic time of my life. I’m not happy with the amount of content that has been posted but that will change in 2011. There is a lot planned for it and I hope yinz check it out.

Tomorrow – July thru December

Winter Classic Game album | Alumni Game album

The Winter Classic is quickly becoming the Super Bowl of the hockey world. I couldn’t make it to Buffalo for the first Classic game and the last couple years I would watch the game but I was never “into” it. This year with Pittsburgh hosting all of that changed. I’ve been to a lot of high profile hockey events in my days and will say that this was the most incredible ever.

I walked over from town on a night filled with a mystifying fog lingering over the rivers. With the lights of the bridges and city glowing it was a scene reminding me of a Crow movie. As I passed PNC Park the tailgating began and what a party these people were having! The amount of hockey love was amazing! Still the vibe didn’t hit me until I reached Heinz Field and walked through Spectator Plaza. Knowing this is a growing event I appreciated what was there but could see how the NHL could have dominated a lot more floor space.

Signature Sandwich Face-off
In a first for the Classic, Aramark pitted the signature sandwiches from the Washington Capitals (The Fury) against the Pittsburgh Penguins (Kielbasa Grinder). Its no secret that I am obsessed with the sandwich but I was severely disappointed with the offering at the Classic. The meat was dry, the cheese was hard and there was barely any sauce. Somehow it won though so kudos for that.

The Game

I went to the game with my nephew Ben. We have started making it a tradition going to important Pens games together and this was another one to chalk up. Our seats were in 147 which if you go there for any other event don’t exist. If you’re watching the Steelers game its the open end section of the south end zone. Seats were incredibly tight (dude next to me was 180lbs and barely fit) but the view was absolutely amazing.

Besides the Caps winning 3-1 the game was hard hitting and amazingly fast given the poor ice conditions. Officiating was mediocre which we’re use to and probably to the disappointment of HBO/NBC you didn’t see much from Crosby or Ovechkin. At the end of the game neither team shook hands, they just left the ice. I have a severe hatred for the Philadelphia Flyers but the joy I see in defeating the Caps grows every game. Pens fans hate Philly because that’s history. Its just what you do. Caps players and their fan base hate anything Pittsburgh and I LOVE it. It makes for a healthy obsession with my team.

In between periods were short sets performed by Hinder, The Clarks and Styx. Styx? yeah I guess they thought it was a Steelers game. The bands sounded great but that happens when everyone does the lip sync.

What I wasn’t crazy about
You take the good, you take the bad and… that song is now in your head. You’re welcome.

1. Heinz Field needs upgraded. It was great 10 years ago but I’m still pissing in a trough, your concession stands don’t take credit/debit cards and your Nacho Grande is 2 cups of cheese? Your sound system crackles and the video was 3-5 seconds off of the audio. It was worse than watching TV and listening to the radio. Lame.
2. Alyonka Larionov – who hired this girl? The most basic video segments and she fumbled over all of them. You called the band “The Styx”? Were the cards in Pittsburghese and you couldn’t read them? You’re not that cute. What a joke
3. The Franco Harris/Jerome Bettis shootout – Who’s idea was THAT debacle?
4. rain – mother nature you were a pain in the 3rd.
5. Cell coverage – my phone showed 4 bars and 3G coverage but I couldn’t upload anything and twitter was impossible. Its worse than Consol Energy Center. Verizon should spend more money on coverage than on advertising being a top sponsor.

The weekend was absolutely amazing and I will never forget the hockey love that took over the north shore.

I’ve never been a big Christmas person. In fact the holiday would annoy the shit out of me every year because of how fake everyone was about being good and giving meanwhile the uber obsessed ones would drive me insane with their bat shit craziness like most of Steelernation. It wasn’t until I started having a family that this would change and while I’m still a bit “meh” I’m coming around.

This year was different. This year I was stunned!

Before I started break from work I received some monumental news from a co-worker that I can’t say until its “officially official” but will hint that.. no I won’t. You’ll have to wait. Then I won $20 on a $3 scratchoff card Lushie got me as a stocking stuffer and $35 from a football pool that my mom apparently entered me in at the church I belonged to in Erie. I was feeling pretty good by this point and as a small family we had a great Christmas day.

We celebrated Christmas at my bro’s a little late because my mom was sick. What I opened as my present left me stunned. I will be attending the Winter Classic on Saturday with my nephew/godson Ben. What a lot of people don’t know is that as a Pens ticket holder I was offered tickets in the summer and had to say no because it was too close to Lushie’s due date. I was devastated as a hockey fan but knew this is one of those things I had to do. My freaking kid could be born, I’m not missing it! I was bitter for awhile and refused to even read coverage.

I started to get angry. I told a few people on Facebook/Twitter about it and was actually called “stupid” and “dumbass” for passing up on such an event. The bitterness grew but by taking a step back I realized it wasn’t Pens fans saying it, it was the Steelers fans who jumped on the band wagon. People can be brutal on the interwebz

Back to the ticket. So I sat on the couch stunned. My brother said that the family will make sure that if Lushie goes into labor that a plan was in place to make sure I don’t miss the birth.  I was speechless. Not because I had a ticket but because my family pulled together to make sure this happened and I had no idea. Some may think that a game like this is trivial but unless you’re married to me you have no idea how many things I have had to turn down.

And then…

Lushie went into labor at my brother’s. She didnt say anything just in case it was a false alarm but around 6pm she said we needed to find a sitter. By 4pm the following day my 2nd son was born.

This Christmas I’ll be in hockey nirvana. Friday I’m going to the Alumni Game with my good bud John, Saturday I’ll be at the Winter Classic and I have a new healthy son.

http://www.mariomosaic.com/mosaic/

Earlier this summer Pens fans were offered the unique chance to be a part of Penguins history as it was announced that for a $66 donation to the Lemieux Foundation your picture would be added to a mosaic of Mario Lemieux that will/now hangs in Consol Energy Center. We jumped on the chance and the pic above is what we submitted. If you’re looking for it on the wall we’re right here

or when you’re at the arena just search for “douglas13“

The night was as amazing as expected besides the 3-2 loss to Philadelphia that I’m sure they’ll never let us live down. The arena has been open for about a month and yes there have been hockey games but this was the first official opening.

There are reviews all over the internet and yeah I could gush about how kickass the Kielbasa Grinder is (which it truly is) but nothing I could say would do the place justice. It really is that fantastic. Here are my pro’s and cons of the new barn.

Pros

• MUCH better food selection
• Seats are wider and I don’t have to eat my knees when I sit
• Scoreboard is the most unreal display ever built. I found myself watching that more than the ice
• Getting to my seat is very easy. Its 2-3 escalators and BAM I’m there.
• Bathrooms are very clean.
• Incredible view of the city that will take your breath away.
• TV’s everywhere which is great when you’re stuck in line.
• NO bad seats. If you have a ticket you will be amazed
• bright lights means WAY better pictures. I was able to get some incredible pics from around the arena and the overall brightness doesn’t bother me one bit. I’m anxious to see it during a day game.
• Kids section – I can’t wait until Teaspoon and Teaspoon 2 (still working on a name) are old enough to go
• High School hockey – Cathedral Prep is on display. nuff said. ROLL RAMBLERS!
• Plenty of team stores to buy a gross amount of swag.
• There is so much more I need to see!

Cons

• Beer selection is embarrassing. For a place that bragged about how so many local items were used (even the hot dogs are from Erie) they FAILED on the beer. Its still the same lawnmower crap you can get from a redneck. Honestly the Pirates, yes THE PIRATES, have done a better job at PNC Park. I wouldn’t be so bitter but Aramark has not replied to emails about it. The “brewhouse” is a joke.
• Better food but too much together and no way to manage lines. There were food stands without customers and then there were food stands 30 people deep. Its a new place, someone should have been navigating people.
• Seats may be wider but the jagoff in front of me can now also slam his head into my shins.
• Getting out of my seat is a nightmare. Escalators were breaking down and no one was around to tell people how to get out via stairs. Instead employees said, and i quote “Its none of your business whats going on, just wait”.
• Bathrooms are a mess to navigate through. No one knows which is in or out plus they seem smaller room wise.
• Banners are too high. there is too much in the ceiling that obstructs their view from 200 level
• This is more about the games, the 7pm start time SUCKS. Getting home and then down to the arena and having a chance to kick back is near impossible.
• Ushers weren’t stopping people from walking up and down while game was in play. Someone is lucky they didn’t get tossed by fans.

7pm – Pens vs Flyers (Preview)

LETS DO IT!!!

I probably could have worded that better but I won’t. That’s exactly how I feel right now.

I will not being going to the Winter Classic with the ticket I was offered through the Pens by the NHL. If you know me I would go to the ends of the world for my Penguins (I’ve been a ticket holder for 10 years and sat through the no playoff debacle, I can say they’re MY Pens) but here is why I gots to do what I gots to do… n’at.

When the email came out I was getting a ticket because of my season ticket holder status it was like Christmas morning. the details were sketchy but I was happy. Early August came and the invoice showed up. $140 for 1 ticket! Heck it’s the Winter Classic in Pittsburgh I cant miss this! Then I continued to read. I’m in the 500 level at the top. That’s right, the far back corner at the top. Lovely eh? Whatever, I was still happy because I was going. Then the shocker. Money was due August 25th (that would be today). That’s in between pay periods for me. UGH!

I called the Pens to see if there was anything they could do with the due date since I would get paid in a couple days. I thought maybe some Ticketmaster giftcards I had or add it to my ticket package would work. A very snippy ticket rep (she was probably tired of these calls) told me this was an NHL event, not a Penguins one and that if I didn’t pay by the 25th I would lose my seat.

Lushie and I sat down to see if we could make it work. I had sold some school books online so there was extra income but I thought about it and finally stopped. Why am I going through all of this trouble trying to figure out how to get money together for a game? Its not that I don’t want to go bad enough, it comes down to responsibility. I just finished moving, we still have a lot we need for the house plus a kid on the way in January. I could borrow it but since we started saving for the house last year its been a “If I don’t have the cash, I wont do it” mentality. No charging. Yeah I’m missing out on some things but so what, I need to do whats best for the house. (Holy shit, when did I become an adult). Now the NHL thinks they can give me 2-3 weeks to come up with $140 without any prior indication of what we may be paying besides rumors on the internet?  Screw that.

The NHL doesn’t care. They know the seat will get sold and that’s what counts. I’m tired of how half assed the league keeps doing things. It sucks when you get 2-3 weeks notice that you have to make a payment on playoff tickets for the Pens but we know what to expect to spend at least.

So thank you NHL and the decision makers for this. Thank you for having an unrealistic approach for ticket holders of the teams involved.

I’ll find someway to get into the game but it’ll be on my own terms. I’ll still buy the hat and the shirt because I support hockey and am a cheerleader for Pittsburgh. Besides, sitting on my couch with Teaspoon is a great way to watch hockey.

I just hope Lushie doesn’t go into labor…