World Series starts tomorrow!!

The World Series starts tomorrow!! Pictured here is the infield of Yankee Stadium during the ALCS against the Angels.

It looks fantastic!! Here's a nice shot of the outfield, and here's another shot of the infield and the ALCS logo.

Wouldn't you like to have that great Yankee Stadium grass on your lawn? Sure! We all would!

A tuft for the windowsill? A pallet for the backyard? Officially licensed grass is about to be sold, in the form of sod or seeds, to fans who want a patch to call their own.

Yankees sod is now available!!

Before we go...would you like a sneak peek of the World Series logo painted on the grass?

Sure you would!!

Let's try something

Let's see if we can do something....

If this worked, there is an embeded YouTube video about AstroTurf

I need to get this pictures/video thing worked out...

okay...getting better

Forget Denver, it's all about San Diego!!!

I'm back!

Monday night in San Diego was a Legacy game against the Denver Broncos. I've previously covered the Mile High staff doing up their field as part of the festivities. I hadn't heard a thing about the staff in San Diego was doing for the 50th anniversary of the AFL.

Turns out, they've been pretty busy! The Chargers last home game was September 27 against the Dolphins. A road game and a bye week gave the stadium crew three weeks to get ready for the Monday night showcase and they made the most of it. The before shots: midfield features the Chargers 50th logo and the end zone is their standard.

Monday night: let's start at midfield. They've put down the AFL Legacy logo at midfield. Here's a better shot of the outstanding detail work on the logo. Take note of the detail on the eagle!

The midfield logo is great but the end zones looked breathtaking! Here's our first shot. I love end zones like this! Here's a shot from the end zone camera. It's tough to tell but the white diamonds are trimmed in yellow. Here's a second shot. You can just see the yellow in that one.

Here's a third shot. Note that there are eight 'diamonds' in the end zone. There are eight letters in San Diego. Dare I hope that they spell San Diego in the diamonds?!?!? The next Charger home game is November 1 against the hated Raiders. We'll just have to wait!

P.S. The Charger cheerleaders were in 'throwbacks' as well....nice!

See you next time!!

Sods and Ends...

• The Yankees are in the American League Championship Series! If you like the grass at Yankee Stadium, good news! You can buy the exact same sod used there.
• Speaking of Yankee Stadium, it'll be hosting a new bowl game starting December, 2010. I'll be interested to see the field for that.
• U2 played in Tampa.
• The Minnesota Twins move into a new outdoor stadium next spring. Some people are miffed the turf is coming from Colorado.
• Idiots...'nuff said.

Broncos Legacy Turf, and other NFL notes!!!

Would you look at that!!!

Gorgeous!!!!

As mentioned previously, the Broncos are really getting behind the Legacy/AFL 50th big time!

Last Sunday featured simple crossed lines. This week the Mile High staff took things a little further by filling in every other 'diamond' with white paint. That really takes you back to the late 60's.

Mile High also has a midfield commemerative logo. Looks and understated and classy.

The Broncos have two road games and a bye week before their next home game November 9 against the Pittsburgh Steelers. That should give them time to work up something choice!

The Chiefs have taken a different approach. They have a nice midfield commemorative logo (looking a little rough at this point, it's their third home game in four weeks) but have their regular end zone.

The Eagles midfield logo is still in pretty good shape. (Donovan McNabb is still in pretty good shape as well).

The 49ers midfield logo looks terrific, but I find their end zone rather ugly. It looks in pretty good shape, maybe it's cause only one team was scoring in that game.

Want to see another shot of the Broncos end zone? Here you go!!

Happy Hockey Season!!!

The NHL season got underway October 1 with some games here in North America. But, the NHL, like the NFL, eyes Europe as a market they'd like to sell more jerseys in, scheduled some games there. The St. Louis Blues and the Detroit (Hockeytown) Red Wings played a pair in Stockholm, Sweden. The Chicago Blackhawks and the Florida Panthers had two games in Helsinki, Finland. Because if there is one thing that comes to mind when you say "Florida Panthers" it's "Helsinki, Finland".

As befitting such a special occasion, the center ice in Helsinki was adorned with a commemerative logo. Something else from those games. The dasher boards appear to be covered with plexiglass, giving photos a certain reflectivity. I'm not sure if there are ads on rolls behind the plexiglass, or if they have them just for general appearance. Chances are I'll never know because I don't live in Finland, and I'm not quite interested enough to investigate further.

Back here in the States, the opening of the season was noted with 'Face Off' logo just inside each blue line. Here's the one from Flames/Stars game last night.

Here's a great center ice, overhead shot from the October 3 Oilers/Flames game at Rexall Place.

Now we all know that dasher boards have ads on them. But, when do they get put on? This shot from the September 19 Buffalo Sabres preseason game shows a section of the dasher without an ad. Did they not get the ad space sold in time?

Last, but by no means, least! The NHL Winter Classic will take place January 1 at Fenway Park. This year the Bruins will take on the Flyers in the great outdoors.

And it will look a little something like this....

Pretty neat, isn't it?

Want another shot? Okay, here you go!

Coming Soon:

English Grass!!

U2 Sod...the conclusion!

In its wake, the U2 tour is leaving sod at stadiums across the nation

Soldier Field, Chicago Bears

The entire grass field at the stadium is being replaced this week, as is usually done before the Bears home opener. But this year, officials decided to wait until after the U2 concerts over the weekend. "This has been planned all along," team spokesman Scott Hagel said. "And it isn't unusual. Prior to every regular season opener, portions of the field are re-sodded. So this is something we have done annually."

FedEx Field, Washington Redskins

After U2 played at FedEx Field Tuesday night, the sod was not replaced before Sunday's Bucs-Redskins game.

But the Redskins have announced that the sod will be replaced after the game.

Which explains why the field looked awful.

Scott Stadium, Virginia Cavaliers

UVa doesn't expect to be that fortunate this time. U2's stage, located in the stadium's south end, is massive. Aluminum panels stretching about 75 yards, from the south end zone to the opposite 35-yard line, will cover much of the field for more than a week.

"It's likely the grass will die and not be safe and playable," Bauman said.

Still, a final decision won't come until Oct. 4, when all the concert equipment has been removed. UVa's football team has five home games left, starting Oct. 10, and the Virginia High School League will play two state finals at Scott Stadium on Dec. 12.

Live Nation, which is promoting the concert, will bear the financial responsibility if the field must be replaced.

"This has been a partnership with Live Nation," Bauman said. "They understand we have football games to play. They want that to go well for us, and they want the concert to go well, too."

If the field has to be replaced, a Charlotte-based company, Carolina Green, will begin removing the playing surface Oct. 4. A day later, the installation of thick cut sod, grown for UVa in Maryland, will begin.

Carter-Finley Stadium, NC State Wolfpack

According to athletic director Lee Fowler, concert organizers have put money in the six-figure range in escrow to build a new field after the concert. Of that money, some will be spent on resodding immediately after the concert, with the rest left for work after the season if necessary.

School officials have consulted with experts who have completed similar turf rebuilding efforts after shows in other stadiums, but they are anxious to see the results.

Coming Soon:

• Hockey season is here!
• More on the Broncos season-long Legacy project!

Two Issues

Okay, we have two matters on today's agenda:

• The 'mystery stadium' that had the simple end zones
• The 'U2 replaces-sod' deal happening around the country

ISSUE NUMBER ONE!!

First, the mystery stadium. Those of you who can read an address bar know that the stadium in question is Camp Randall Stadium, home of the Wisconsin Badgers. The picture I linked to the other day is from the Life Magazine archives and did not note the stadium, only that the photo was taken in 1954.

Later I found this photo, which was identified as Camp Randall. The letters on the vestibules were the tipoff.

ISSUE NUMBER TWO!!

U2 is on tour throughout our fair country, and their stage is enormous. When the show is set up, the road crew put down an aluminum 'floor' for the show patrons. In stadium with artificial surfaces, this is no big deal.

But...when the show is in a stadium with natrual grass, this can be problematic because the aluminum floor is down for nearly a week.

As a result, the tour is replacing the sod in stadiums that have natural grass.

Tuesday September 29, U2 played FedEx Field, home of the Redskins. Five days later the 'Skins beat the Buccaneers on a field that looked terrible.

More later...

Day off!!

I'm taking the day off!

Broncos 'Legacy' field more info!!

Found this through Uniwatch Blog!!

Throwback Turf Adds to the Atmosphere - nice article from the Denver Broncos magazine on how the grounds crew is adding something from the past.

That's it for today, look for info on the whole "U2/360 tour replacing sod" deal tomorrow!

Simple End Zones

As mentioned previously, the Broncos have 'retro' end zones for the AFL 50th anniversary.

I located a nice picture of an end zone from 1954 to compare.....

No giant school or conference logos, just some paint.

More on that stadium soon.

The Broncos and the AFL 50th.

This year is the 50th anniversary of the American Football League. The Broncos are apparently helping commemorate this milestone with....retro end zones!!!

I love these!! The simplicity appeals to me a great deal. It really is reminiscent of the early days of the league. I recall end zones being painted like this but with colors in the 'diamonds'. I'll try to locate a picture of one

Here's a link to a picture of the Broncos end zone

They've also got a commemorative logo at midfield. I couldn't get a good screen grab of it, but here's what I've got so far.

Post #1

This is post number one!

I'm going to do this until I don't feel like doing it anymore.

When I watch a game I find that I also look at the field/court/pitch/ice and venue as well.

That's what this blog will be dedicated to.

and here's a picture