I think it was Boston that first managed to turn my disgust for baseball into a tolerance, however it wasn’t until I met John and his passion for the Cubs that I started to appreciate the game.

Sitting out at Nat Bailey Stadium with Queen Elizabeth Park as the luscious green backdrop on a sunny afternoon, eating and hot dog and having a beer overlooking the city and cheering for the home team has now become a staple of the Bollwitt summer experience.

I happened to get my hands on some Mariners tickets for this evening but despite the fact that we don’t have car and we’re saving up for our trip to Osoyoos in just a few weekends, things just aren’t going to work out for us. So here’s where my faithful readers come in:

- Do you want to go to Seattle tonight @ 7:10pm?
- Are you able to go to Seattle tonight?
- You want to see the Mariners play?
- Would you like two “Terrace Club” seats?

If you answered “yes” to all of these questions leave a comment below and include ONE line (any line) from Take Me Out to the Ballgame…. well except that line - any other line in the song. The first person to successfully do so will have the tickets. No draw, no wait, you want ‘em - you got ‘em.

Update: Christina would be the winner of the tickets but she’s unable to pick them up - yes, they’re actual hard copies, sorry folks! The contest is still on…

What a long weekend and yet I still don’t have much of a voice due to gitis of the larynx that has plagued me over the last week. Since we’re uber tired and I promise to have many quality posts up for the rest of the week, this entry just purely warrants a photo montage.
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After being slightly disconnected yesterday, here’s a news and commentary roundup for your morning reading enjoyment.

Boston slams Colorado 13-1 in the opening game of the World Series. Despite the fact that the Rockies’ pitcher is local boy Jeff Francis from North Delta (and recently UBC), I’m sorry…. I’m still cheering for the Sox. Sure yes, they won it all in 2004 but they waited 86 years to do that, c’mon!

Photo credit: RedSox.com

The annual Remembrance Day Poppy Campaign kicked off yesterday and despite all the political undertones and whether or not it should be a red or white poppy, if I have the chance I’ll still wear one because it does help me remember; my loved ones that I knew, those I didn’t, and the millions that have been affected by wars past and present.

Photo credit: SqueakyMarmot on Flickr

My grandfathers both fought in WWII, on opposing sides. I lost my great grandmother in The Blitz in London and several great uncles in Eastern Europe. This reminds me of a post of Matt’s that I linked to last year, “Lest We Not Profit” - here’s an excerpt:

Despite the humility and reverence that we reserve for [Remembrance Day] each year, the truth is that the two great wars of the last century, three if you include the Cold War, did nothing to promote the peaceful coexistence of nations and peoples. If anything, despite the sacrifices made by those courageous enough to believe something better possible at the outcome of hostilities, the very principles and freedoms that those individuals fought to protect have been either endangered or altogether lost by the sheer magnitude of our perpetual love affair with destruction.

Heck if someone wants to come up with a blue poppy that also means all this, I’ll wear it too, or maybe I should just get a tattoo… hmmm. At this point I don’t think we should be fighting over which colour of plastic (and slightly fuzzy) poppy we should be displaying on our lapels. But if you’d like to get something going in the comments, you’re more than welcome to discuss.

We are so busy this week I think come Saturday I’ll either be sick or my head will fall off. Here’s what’s coming up this week in the land of Miss604.com:

Since it is Monday, it is rainy, and the last time we played these guys on the podcast we got some rave reviews, here’s the song “Rainy Monday” by the Shiny Toy Guns.

Quick site note… I’m currently writing a little mini-story and I’d like readers’ opinions on where I should publish it, if anywhere. Should I keep it in a Word doc on my computer for my eyes only or should I post it somewhere on my blog, on a new sub page? My only fear with posting is that it might get ripped off. Not that it will be that fantastic, but you never know these days, eh. Any thoughts or feedback would be appreciated.

Quick mini weather rant since my umbrella post was so well received. What’s with people not turning on their lights when it’s dark and rainy out?

Man I’m glad I’m not a regular driver out on the roads otherwise this would irk me even more.

Now, the weather outside might be absolutely gross but there certainly isn’t a shortage of entertainment around.

Last night we witnessed a wonderful battle between the Vancouver Giants and the Everette Silvertips. The Giants (with the best PK in the league) and the Tips (who have the best PP) had a very hard-fought showdown. With Vancouver coming out on top, they are now undefeated in five games.

This afternoon on pay per view the Canucks take on the Blue Jackets, however it seems like everyone in Ohio is awaiting the Cleveland/Boston game at 5pm PT cause the stands are pretty empty.

The Red Sox were down 3-1 in the ALCS and have fought back, forcing a game 7. I don’t usually get excited about baseball, unless it’s an outing at Nat Bailey or it involves the Cubbies (for John) or the Red Sox.

Naturally when I lived in Boston they instantly became my team. Mind you I never paid any attention to the MLB before then, but after being in the presence of Fenway how could I resist.

So what’s better than going to a Giants game, then the next day snuggling into the couch and watching hockey with your husband AND watching game 7 of the AL series finals? Not too much at all, really.

Last year our kids from Whalley Little League were off to Williamsport, PA for the Little League World Series (Aug. 17-26). While our North Surrey team didn’t make the cut this time around but lucky for locals, South Surrey/White Rock stepped up to the plate.

White Rock-Surrey Little League from White Rock, British Columbia needed only four innings to defeat Calgary West Little League, 14-4, claim the Canada Region championship, and secure the final international berth in the 61st Little League Baseball World Series. [Little League Online]

Photo credit: uncleweed on Flickr
Last year’s Canadian Champs at Whalley ball park

Unfortunately DaveO’s favrourite team south of the border did not qualify, but they put up a valiant effort nonetheless. To catch the action they’re televising every game, between ABC, ESPN and ESPN2.

The World Series championship game can be seen live on ABC television at 3:30 p.m., on Sunday, Aug. 26. ABC also will televise the International championship game on Saturday, Aug. 25 at 12:30 p.m., followed by the United States championship at 3:30 p.m. [Little League Online]

We’re super proud of the local team’s success and wish them luck at the world series.

We had a great time last night even though our team lost 10-4. The Canadians organization went all out to make this event a big splash and I believe they were successful.

To start, the national anthem was sung by none other than Mark Donnelly - he’s who John and I call “Opera Man” and usually sings the anthem for Canucks games. He was also accompanied by 5 of his 7 children in a beautiful version of O Canada despite the crackling microphones and sound system.

The opening pitch was a pretty big deal as well as the announcer proclaimed that it was the first time in professional baseball that it has been thrown by a quadriplegic. The man in question was Vancouver Mayor Sam Sullivan who was able to crank the ball back in some sort of super bionic contraption, wind up and let it sail over home plate.

The game was underway and was pretty close until the 6th inning when the Tri-City Dust Devils went up by 4 runs, and we just never recovered. All the inter-inning hoopla was alive and well this season again including the tricycle races, the giant sandwich making, and goofy dancing with Mr. Peanut (with “It’s Peanut Butter Jelly time” blasting on over the PA).

Down in the concourse the food line ups were pretty atrocious but there is more selection than previous years. Hot dogs, hamburgers, pretzels, popcorn, and even a sushi stand AND you have about 10 flat panel HD TVs mounted on the walls showing major league games.

As today’s game was the first of many “Fireworks Nights”, once things wrapped up a couple firefighters headed to the midfield with an ATV pulling a little trailer. We all sort of scoffed, certain it would be an unimpressive spectacle. Little did we know the amount of explosive that can indeed be towed behind a four-wheel. The show lasted about 20 minutes and sent all varieties of fireworks soaring into the air, into the parking lot, over the stadium walls and let off bangs and booms that could have been heard for miles.

The Canadians play the Dust Devils for their first nooner again today, so hopefully they can bounce back from that first loss. At one point an announcement was made that if you trade in your ticket stub they will give you free tickets to an upcoming game of your choice. So it looks like we’ll be back August 4th… for Mexico night.

We have a forthcoming podcast of the audio from the entire evening ans my camera phone pics are all up on Flickr - in the Canadians Baseball Set.

Last summer I took in my first game *ever* at Nat Bailey Stadium. Being a born and raised local that might come as a surprise although our little ballpark, neatly tucked away just south of downtown near Queen Elizabeth Park is lesser-known that I realized.

It all starts with White Spot, really. Home of the Triple O burger and carhop combos, the first drive in restaurants in Canada were opened up by Nat Bailey in Vancouver, in 1928 [wiki]. He then became part owner of the Vancouver Mounties baseball club who were in the Pacific Coast League until 1970. In 1978 the Vancouver Canadians came alive as a Northwest League expansion [wiki] and today at 7:05pm we have their 22nd Opening Day.

Photo credit: uncleweed on Flickr

I was never into baseball as a kid, around here it’s all hockey. Actually, I never even went to a hockey game until my late teens either. I think my dad enjoyed taking us on the kinds of outings where we all could get lost in the woods for hours, and learn about local history, rather than dole out hundreds of bucks to take 3 kids to a local sporting event. Not that I’m complaining at all.

The fact that our boys play single A ball could be a factor when it comes to popularity, but when you have a sporting event outdoors, a sunny nooner or evening game, views of the city, hot dogs and beer, classification doesn’t really matter. The team is affiliated with the Oakland A’s and we even made a point of going to their game against Boise last summer, as the Hawks are a part of the Chicago Cubs food chain.

Tonight we’re heading out to the Nat for the Home Opener, complete with hat giveaways and fireworks following the game. Honestly, for the price you cannot beat these tickets. $8 will get you general admission and to have prime festival seats you can upgrade by paying a whopping… $12. You can buy tickets on the website and pick them up at the box office, and you have to check out their “theme nights” this summer including: Mullet Madness, Prom Night, Christmas in June, Canada Day at the Nat Fireworks, Vegas Night, Ladies Night, Mexico Night, Hawaii Day and many many more.