Quick hit!

The Rogers Centre, home of the Toronto Blue Jays, is converting from FieldTurf to AstroTurf. The FieldTurf was comprised of 1,400 trays. The AstroTurf will be in rolls. Was the consideration the quality of the surface for the sports? No way, as usual the decider was the almighty dollar. Money quote:

With far fewer seams than the old FieldTurf, the new surface is expected to minimize tricky hops on ground balls. But Rogers Centre executives were not focusing on infielders' peace of mind when they made the move to ditch FieldTurf after five years of use.

The FieldTurf surface comprised 1,400 trays of fake grass. It took about 40 hours to remove, stack and store the trays so the stadium could be used for a trade show or rock concert. The new AstroTurf comes in long rolls -- roughly 90 pieces for the baseball field -- allowing crews to finish a stadium conversion in roughly half the time.

With the quicker conversion, more non-sports events can be booked around Jays baseball and Toronto Argonauts football games, generating more revenue for the under-used facility, said Rogers Centre CEO Paul Beeston.

The stadium hosted it's first Blue Jays game on June 5, 1989 so it will be some time before they need a new stadium when we can dream of a real grass field.

Sigh...

Until next time.

Quick hit!

It's still the depths of winter up in Minnesota, but pitchers and catchers for the Twins will report this Sunday. Once they break camp at the end of March they'll be heading to their brand-spanking new stadium: Target Field.

It's built with a terrific view of downtown Minneapolis, a lovely grass playing field (grown in Colorado).

But, how will it look when the players are actually playing? Thanks to the videogame "MLB 10: The Show" we know.

Check it out:

By the way, the stadium will feature "Knotholes" so fans without tickets will be able to watch the game for free. What could possibly go wrong with this?

Until next time.

As Turn 2 Turns....

NASCAR kicked-off their season this past Sunday with the 52nd running of the Daytona 500. The premier event of the season featued 500 miles of 200 m.p.h. side-by-side racing and an exciting finish.....that was interrupted by two red-flag delays totaling over two hours to fix a pothole. Yes, The Great American Race was halted, twice, to fix what we civilians face every day in traffic. Here's a shot of the first attempt to fix the pothole.

See the guy with the blowtorch? He's heating the material used to fill in the hole. It needs to be hot to work. The cold temperatures apparently didn't allow the material to set up and cure properly so 36 laps later we had this

For the second fix, NASCAR called for each of the 43 teams to come to their trailer. There, they asked for the teams to bring over their Bondo body filler. That was then put into the hole and the race continued with cars bottoming out when they went over that spot.

So how does this happen? Well, the track was last paved in 1978, so the asphalt isn't exactly new. There has been a lot of rain in the Daytona area so far this year and combined with the cold temperatures can cause problems with asphalt.

NASCAR takes great care of their tracks but, as someone once said, "stuff happens".

Was the hole there before the race? Money quote:

The morning before every Cup race, each speedway (Daytona included, as officials confirmed) has a team of people who walk every inch of the track. Some will line up across Turn 1, some in Turn 2, some on half the backstretch, etc., looking for any signs of a problem on the pavement.

Unless the hole already had started, there's no way track engineers could foresee it coming, even if they walked right over it, which someone probably did.

What is NASCAR doing about it? Another money quote:

Daytona International Speedway today has begun installing reinforced concrete in Turn 2, according to DIS President Robin Braig.

“This is the correct course of action to repair the track,” Braig said. “Our team of engineers and asphalt specialists with North American Testing Corporation has previous experience with concrete being used on an asphalt track and it is a proven solution.”

The next NASCAR race will be in early July. We'll keep an eye on the track.

Until next time.

A Thousand Words About Pictures

I am not a photographer. I take pictures of my kid and I know when to turn the camera flash on; but I have no pretensions about being the least bit good at it. I don't know anything about lighting or composition or really anything about taking a good picture.

I don't take any of the pictures for this site. I steal them. At least the professional ones anyway. The pros receive some compensation along the way, so I don't feel bad about it. I haven't had any occasion to use an amateur picture. I'm not sure how I'll cross that bridge if/when I come to it.

It's easy. For the still pictures I just right-click and save the image address, then paste that into the field on the photobucket and rip it off. For the shots from television, it's a little tricker. I do a 'targeted' screen grab while the action is happening and hope for the best. Then import them to photobucket and use it over here.

Why do I bring all this up? Because I just found one of the jaw-dropping pictures of a stadium I think I may ever see.

It is an amazing a photograph as you're likely to find, in fact, it won the World Press Photo "Sports Features 2nd Prize Singles" award.

Check it out.

Until next time.

I'm Back

Sorry for the interruption!

• The East-West Shrine game was played at the Florida Citrus Bowl on January 23, and I didn't hear anything about bad turf for the game. If you recall, there were major problems at that venue for the two bowl games played there.
• Super Bowl XLIV was played in Miami this past weekend and the field looked terrific (as usual). I didn't get any captured shots of the field but I did hear that Stadium Associates is selling chunks of the turf. I checked out their site and noticed a little bit of a typo: The picture of the box says it's from Super Bowl XLVI (46) instead of XLIV (44).

Until next time!

A Little Bit About Torrey Pines

The PGA Tour returned to the mainland last week and this week The Farmers Insurance Open tees off at Torrey Pines (South and North Courses) in San Diego. The South Course is something of a rarity in two respects. Along with Bethpage Black, it is a course open to the public that has hosted U.S. Open. Even rarer, they've had a female superintendent. Sports Illustrated had a nice piece three years ago about Candice Combs, her rise to become super of the South Course, and other female superintendents. Money quote part one:

"She's probably the most prestigious woman in the industry right now," says Carmen Magro, a former course superintendent who is head of the turfgrass program at Penn State, one of the foremost training grounds for supers in the U.S. "If she has a successful Open," he says, "that will be huge for women in this industry. It will absolutely open doors." And that--breaking golf's grass ceiling--makes Combs proud. "That means something to me," she says. "Hopefully, I'm going to give one for the team."

Of the roughly 10,500 superintendents and 5,500 assistants who belong to the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America, only 79 supers and 72 assistants are women. Of the 2,000 members who have reached the association's highest level of certification, women--Combs among them--make up barely 1%.

"We're few and far between," says 27-year-old Patty Reedy, who was recently elevated from assistant to head super on the South course at Los Angeles Country Club, making her one of only 16 women supers at private clubs. The lack of numbers isn't surprising. The job entails exhausting physical labor and grueling hours and is complicated by nature's whims and golfers' demands. "This is no place for suits and high heels," says Andrea Bakalyar, 34, super at the Wee course at Williams Creek in Knoxville, Tenn. "It's not for everybody. It's not an easy career."

Money quote part two:

"I love this job," says Nancy Dickens, 47, superintendent and head agronomist of Westin Kierland Resort in Scottsdale, Ariz. "Every day provides me with an interesting challenge that tests what I know." When she was in her early 30s, Dickens jumped off the corporate ladder at Hallmark Cards after realizing that she didn't want to be chained to a desk. An avid golfer, she began researching jobs in the industry. "Back then I never thought that a woman could do this," she says.

The profession has changed dramatically in recent years. The old greenkeeper was a manual laborer with a green thumb. Says Bruce Williams (a third-generation super who as head of the grounds at L.A. Country Club hired Reedy), "The key to the old days was, you had to withstand the physical part of the job to move yourself through the ranks. Back then, unloading a fertilizer truck was backbreaking. Today we do it with a forklift. The physical aspect is still there, but it isn't make or break anymore."

The path to running a course now runs through university programs like Penn State's, where one or two women (out of a total enrollment of 45) matriculate annually, up from one every few years a decade ago. Reedy was in one of those programs, at Texas A&M. Initially, though, she had no interest in golf or golf courses. "Growing up, I liked doing yard work," she says. "It's as simple as that." In 2001 when a friend took a summer internship in Boston, she went along and found one too, in Brookline under Spence. "The rest is pretty much history," says Reedy, who went on to work at Skokie (Ill.) Country Club for three years before moving to L.A.

What does it take to get a course ready to host a PGA Tour? Well, quite a lot. It starts off eight to ten weeks in advance when a PGA Tour agronomist visits the course for a review and it goes from there. If you've read this far, you'll want to go to the PGA Tour Agronomy Course Conditioning Guidelines and check it out.

Until next time.

Red Turf Confirmed!!

Today, Eastern Washington confirmed their plan to install red FieldTurf in Woodward Field. Tennessee Titans All-Pro and Eastern Washington grad Michael Roos and his wife donated $500,000 towards the project. From the press release, here's a large money quote:

Eastern Athletic Director Bill Chaves, who is working with associate athletic director for development Marc Hughes on the project, said EWU needs to secure additional funding through private contributions before actual replacement can be started. It is hoped that the project can be funded and completed in time for the 2010 season.

"There is no doubt that one of Boise State's claim to fame has been their blue turf and like it or dislike it, it has certainly brought them a tremendous amount of notoriety," said Chaves. "In a similar vein we have a tremendous opportunity at Eastern to do the same by differentiating ourselves with the red turf while providing a superior playing surface."

So, Boise State and the University of New Haven have blue turf, and now EWU has red. Is this going to be a trend? If we see UNH and EWU playing in BCS bowls anytime in the near future, it just might.

Until next time.

UPDATE: Here's a link to a rendering of the new field.

Until next time, or update.

Red Turf?!?!?!?!?

????

Is this what the future holds for Eastern Wasthington University? There are numerous rumors on the internet. One person said that the announcers on the East-West Shrine game talked about it and said it was a done deal. I'm still chasing this rumor down.

Until next time.

Winston-Salem Will Be Getting Sod

The Winston-Salem Dash are the 'Class A-Advanced' affiliate of the Chicago White Sox, and they'll be opening a new stadium this spring. That means sod. Around 2 or 3 acres of the stuff. They'll be installing Tifway 419 (from Sandhill Turf) in March to be ready for their April 13 home opener. The Winston-Salem Journal has our money quote:

Charles "Chuck" Hutchings, a senior project manager for Samet Corp., the general contractor building the ballpark, said that crews are hoping to have the sod installed at the Dash ballpark by the middle of March.

"We're waiting to get it as close to the growing season for sod to implant, which is warmer temperatures, where the sod will actually take root," Hutchings said.

Here is a nice 'sidebar' from the W-SJ with details about the sod.

Until next time!

Late Post

I can't believe I didn't include this in the post I just finished!

The Bob Hope Classic is being held on four courses over five days this weekend. If the rain lets up, that is. Palm Springs has been doused by torrential rains the past few days and it has really thrown a wrench in the works of the tournament. The tournament normally be wrapping up the third round this afternoon, but because of the rain, the second round hasn't even been completed yet. Money quote from The Desert Sun:

“I've never seen this much water on the golf course before,” said Tim Putnam, who has served as La Quinta Country Club's course superintendent for eight years.

The La Quinta course is back in the tournament this year and is widely regarded as one of the best conditioned courses on the PGA Tour. The forecast for Saturday and Sunday is clear and sunny. I hope they get things worked out!

Until next time.

Quick hit!

Not a lot today. I just wanted to put some old items out there.

• The NHL isn't the only one with an outdoor hockey game. The Detroit News has a gallery from the Catholic Central vs. Cranbrook game held outdoors at Clark Park in Detroit.
• As I mentioned in October, Yankees sod is available. Now, Scotts has a sponsorship deal with Major League Baseball. They'll sell grass seed and products used in Fenway Park and Wrigley Field among others.
• Once you get your grass growing in your ballpark, how do you get those neat patterns in the grass? This interview with Johnathan Knight, the Groundskeeper at Peoria Sports Complex, give you the low-down on how he does it for the Padres and Mariners at their spring training home.
• Do you watch English soccer? You should! The beautiful game is often found on one of the ESPN channels on Saturday or Sunday morning. While you watch, notice the advertising boards around the pitch.

Until next time!

The Great Metrodome End Zone End Line Mystery...solved!

Welcome to all who have found their way over from Uni Watch. I've been reading it regularly for several months and have become a fan, and even a contributor on occasion.

In the January 18 post, reader Andrew Bartsch noted that the Metrodome end zones had "a separate, distinct end line". I took a long look at the photos that were linked and studied the tapes of Vikings games on NFL Videos and determined that they were actually the same end zone. It's the one on the right when watching on television. The picture of Tony Romo is simply from the reverse angle.

But that doesn't answer the question: Why is there a green stripe in the end line at the Metrodome?

As we see above, the green stripe is clearly visible. I decided to go straight to the source and emailed Al Kuehner the Supervisor of Field and Grounds for the Metrodome. His answer is actually fairly straightforward:

We have a 15’ wide rubber warning track for baseball which surrounds the stadium. The back of the end zone is 6” from the track.

Regulation lines on a field are four inches wide. That leaves a two inch strip of green turf.

Why don't they paint that? I don't know, I didn't ask. I felt grateful to him for just responding, after all, this is just some blog, not ESPN.

This issue got me digging into my Metrodome stuff and wanted to bring up some other things as well.

The Metrodome had the Twins and Vikings time-sharing the facility and it leads to some interesting things:

The six foot end line isn't painted in at all during baseball season.

The Twins had a concentric ring pattern in the turf emanating from the pitchers mound. It's still there even in the playoffs.

It's pretty easy to tell where first base was.

I'm not sure if this Vike was catching a pass at the 30 or sliding into third base.

In the course of my research I found a great site about baseball stadiums past and present: Clem's Baseball Blog. Check out the Metrodome page.

Until next time!