Summer Thoughts on Sports Leagues Re-Opening, Hamilton, and Other Interesting Tidbits

Hello readers!

It is Independence Day, and welcome back, or welcome new readers, if you have stumbled upon this blog.

The NBA will resume its regular season play in Orlando on July 30th.
(Photo: Doug Pensinger/Getty Images.)

If you don't know already, baseball is going to start its 2020 MLB season in late July, and they will have a 60 game season.  The NHL and the NBA will reconvene to continue their seasons, and they will quickly accelerate to the playoffs.  The NBA and the MLS both will be in Orlando, Florida, so that will be sort of interesting.

On one hand, it's fun and exciting that sports leagues will resume once again, and we as viewers and fans will get to see live sports once again, whether or not if we are there in person, or if we watch those games from home.  It's been a long time since I've watched a live sports game that has happened in the U.S., so it'll be fun to get to watch new sporting events happen.

On the other hand, the coronavirus has not gone away, and data suggests that cases have not exactly gone down.  With still no vaccine or cure yet for the coronavirus, debates have raged on how to handle this delicate issue, if we should play in despite of this, play in a bubble, or not play at all.  Hopefully, sports leagues will be able to play live games and stay safe, and it is important for people to have fun and also stay healthy.

Watching Hamilton was a very good, fun, and enjoyable viewing experience.  I would highly recommend it.
(Photo: Sara Krulwich/The New York Times.)

I got to watch Hamilton on Disney Plus, and it was very good.  Very entertaining, and really educational.  It was like watching a masterpiece happen in front of my eyes, as I learned how tenacious Alexander Hamilton was and how tough it was for him growing up, the camaraderie with him and his fellow soldiers, how it was for him to work alongside George Washington, and also to see his rivalry with Aaron Burr played out.  Also, I learned that Eliza Schuyler played a big part in helping the U.S. grow, and the music numbers were excellent.  If you can learn any one thing from watching this play, you control your destiny and how you tell your story, and don't waste your shot.

A picture I took of the T-Mobile Arena back in October 2017 to watch the St. Louis Blues play against the Vegas Golden Knights.  It was a really good experience, even though my favorite hockey team the Blues lost in overtime. 
Las Vegas really knows how to put on a show.

I attempted to take a picture of all of the banners at the T-Mobile Arena, as I was hanging out with a couple of my friends.  This was before the game, and a random lady happened to walk in front of me during in which I took the photo, which blocked a couple of the NHL teams' banners.

There have been many solid stadiums I've been to.  The Moda Center in Portland is a state-of-the-art arena, T-Mobile Arena is also another really good one I've been to, Busch Stadium and the Scottrade Center always know how to make a fan comfortable, as it's always fun there.  I look forward to going to the Thomas and Mack Center when I'm in town in Las Vegas, and Safeco is an enjoyable experience, even if it lacks the banners that Busch Stadium has.  However, there is one stadium that I hold in disdain.

Here was a picture I took of where I was at the Washington-UCLA game in February 2017, just shortly before tip-off.

Unfortunately, the most uncomfortable sports arena I've been to is the Alaska Airlines Arena, otherwise known as University of Washington's stadium that hosts sporting events for college basketball.  It's a 10,000 seated stadium, where the upper deck has no backs on the chairs, and they really packed in people so tight.  To put it frankly, it is a super uncomfortable arena, and if you fall asleep, you might fall out of your backless chair or end up sleeping on the person behind you.

It was so cramped in, that I couldn't get my phone out until halftime because people were sitting very close together, and there was barely any leg room to walk, and absolutely nowhere to stretch, and there were no cup holders.  I had attended a game against UCLA several years ago, it cost 60 dollars to basically sit in the nosebleed section, otherwise known as general admission to watch Lonzo Ball and Markelle Fultz play, though I attended the game with some friends.  The basketball game itself was fun, but the experience was not, and I doubt that I would willingly attend another game back there anytime soon.  In case if you wanted to know, UCLA drubbed Washington as they won by 41, and there were plenty of future NBA players that played in that game such as Lonzo Ball, Markelle Fultz, Matisse Thybulle, Aaron Holiday, and T.J. Leaf as the players that come to my mind.  Anyways, enjoy some nice photography from me (couple of these were on my basketball site's now defunct-Google Plus page).

Me at the Washington-UCLA game in 2017. 

Washington played against UCLA, and this happened late in this game.

Anyways, thanks for reading, and that's all for today.  Have a great rest of the weekend!