Posted by Rob on October 18, 2010 – 6:03 pm
Filed under My Personal Life
Tagged as 360, ahl, albany, albany devils, big bad bob, bigbadbob, brooklyn, carnitas, chowder fest, emack & bolios, fallout: new vegas, fever, hartford wolfpack, hockey, new super mario bros. wii, new york rangers, panera, Salsa Latina, stan lee's superhuman, tecate, times union center, tmnt, troy
This weekend had tons of potential, since my sister was coming up to visit from Brooklyn. I picked her up from the train station on Friday, and after meeting our parents for lunch at the Eveready Diner we headed back up to Albany. After doing some grocery shopping, we came back to the apartment and played through TMNT: The Arcade Game on the 360. Afterwards, we started cooking dinner, and had it ready for when Shell got home from work. Once dinner was cleaned up, we headed over to the Times Union Center to see the Albany Devils take on the Hartford Wolfpack. Of course we rooted for the Wolfpack, since they are the New York Rangers AHL team. The game was a good one, and after a 2-2 first period, the Albany Devils finally won 3-2 in the shoot out. After the game we went downtown to Emack & Bolios for an ice cream break, and then headed back to the apartment.
Saturday started out pretty great. After a lazy morning (which included some Super Mario Bros. Wii) we all piled in the car and headed up to Troy for the annual Chowder Fest. This was much different from the Chowder Fest we went to in Boston, as there were tons of different varieties at the Troy one, not just New England. The winning chowder was an Autumn Pear one, and other interesting ones were a rueben one and a Thanksgiving dinner one. While admission was free, you had to pay $1 per chowder sample, so between the three of us we were able to sample most of the chowders for a decent price. Read More »
Posted by Rob on September 1, 2010 – 5:23 pm
Filed under Sports
Tagged as ahl, albany, big bad bob, bigbadbob, carolina, devils, farm, hockey, minor league, nhl, rangers, river rats, Sports, times union center
I had mentioned a few months ago that the local AHL team, the Albany River Rats, had been sold and moved to Carolina. I was extremely upset about this, since I loved being able to go to the Times Union Center, an easy twelve-minute drive from my apartment, to watch a cheap hockey game. Sure, they weren’t the Rangers minor league team, but I rooted for them anyway, because to me they were an Albany team.
Well the good news is that the people who own the Times Union Center have purchased a new AHL team…the Albany Devils! The Devils farm team is no stranger to Albany, as they were based here prior to the Hurricanes’ team coming in a few years back. So I will be able to continue seeing cheap hockey games this season. While I dislike the Devils, being a Rangers fan, I will be cheering on the Albany Devils as my home Albany game.
Posted by Rob on September 1, 2010 – 3:17 pm
Filed under TV Shows
Tagged as 2011, ahl, albany, kane, mma, nxt, smackdown, smackdown vs raw 2010, superstars, svr, times union center, ufc, undertaker, wrestling, wwe
I went to a taping of WWE’s Smackdown show last night (Tuesday, August 31) at the Times Union Center in Albany (home of AHL hockey!!!), and enjoyed myself quite a bit. The arena about a twelve minute drive from my apartment, tickets were only $25, and the Undertaker was going to be there…all aspects which made me want to go, despite the fact that I haven’t sat down and watched wrestling since the very early 2000′s. I must say that it is a heck of a lot more fun when you’re there as opposed to watching from home.
Note: I did not bring my camera, since I assumed they would be searching and Shell was not around to hide it in her pocketbook. Turns out that cameras are encouraged, just no video cams, so I could have brought it, and if I had known, there would have been a lot more pics. Instead all I have are a few crappy ones I took with my cell phone.
Let me talk about the overall feel in the arena first. It was hot, sweaty, and stinky…I have to say that the stench was far worse than anything I had to endure at PAX East. But the slight discomforts made up for actually being there, surrounding by raving fans who probably believe that the WWE is the same as UFC and other MMAs, in that the fights are real. There were kids, teens, and full-grown adults walking around sporting various WWE shirts, signs, and even belts (professional and makeshift.) To hear the crowd react to the wrestlers in the ring was also pretty cool, from everyone shouting for a fan-fave to kick out of a pin or submission to the crowd booing at the heel when he flaunted to the stands. You could hear everyone say “oooh!” with each chest chop and dropkick that was received. The other mind-blowing reaction was when a wrestler’s theme music hit, indicating they were on their way to the ring. The people got so worked up to see their fan favorites, and it really did make the experience a fun and memorable one. Read More »
Posted by Rob on August 31, 2010 – 4:50 pm
As I previously mentioned, I snagged tickets to go to my first WWE match for Smackdown tonight. However, I assumed it was going to be a shortened, un-televised match, so I didn’t expect much to happen. As big a fan of the Undertaker as I am, I doubted that he would win the title from Kane simply because the show was going to be un-televised.
However, as I was doing some random searches on the internet, I discovered an interesting fact…Smackdown, when televised on Friday nights, is not a live show. I have always known that Raw was, so I always assumed that Smackdown was also live. Much to my surprise, I discovered that Smackdown is generally filmed on Tuesday nights, but airs on Fridays. That means that the show I see tonight is the show that will air on Friday, meaning that it is possible for the Undertaker to win the title tonight.
The fact that I’m going to a show that will eventually be aired, and am able to watch it three days before the vast majority of the WWE fans, is pretty cool. So if you happen to be a WWE fan and want some nice spoilers, tune in to my blog tomorrow and I’ll give you the juiciest news of what went down.
Posted by Rob on August 27, 2010 – 1:05 pm
Filed under Randomness
Tagged as amazon, big bad bob, bigbadbob, kane, smackdown, svr 2011, times union center, undertaker, wrestling, wwe, wwf
I first got hooked on WWF wrestling back in the late 90s, after I was introduced to it by “The Legend”, who was obsessed with wresting so much that he would draw wrestlers all the time in art class. After I was hooked on the show, I really got hooked on the games. Despite the fact that I haven’t sat down and watched wrestling in close to ten years, I still continue to love the games, and buy the newest edition each year (side note: I have $62 in Amazon credit from traded in games, and I will be ordering SvR 2011.) So despite my love of wrestling when I was in high school, I never got to see a live match.
Yesterday I was driving to Middletown to visit my dad and some friends, and I had the radio on. Eventually one of the commercials was advertising that Smackdown was coming to the Times Union Center on Tuesday. I said to myself “that would be cool.” Then the commercial went on to say that tickets were available for $15. I said to myself, “wow, that’s pretty cheap, and the Times Union Center is pretty small, so there really isn’t a bad seat in the house.” Then the commercial delivered the killing blow to me…it announced that the main event would be the Undertaker, challenging Kane for the Championship. This was what made me say “ZOMG I AM GOING TO THIS SHOW!” The Undertaker has forever been my wrestling hero, and to be able to see him live in a championship match sealed the deal, and I decided to go.
Thus on Tuesday, at 7:30pm, I will be attending my first wrestling match ever, either with a local friend or Shell. I have no idea who half the current wrestlers are, I have no clue as to what the current story lines are, but all I know is that I will sit through it all for a chance to see the Phenom challenge his brother for the Championship. I’m extremely psyched for this!
Posted by Rob on February 10, 2010 – 6:14 pm
The Albany River Rats, which are an AHL team representing the Carolina Hurricanes, will be leaving after this season. The team was sold, and will be moved down to North Carolina. I am upset over this. I liked the idea of having an AHL team so close, especially since the Rangers are hours away in NYC.
While looking at the website, I saw that the current owner issued a statement saying that while this team was sold, they were looking into future AHL opportunities that could be brought in to Albany. Im hoping they find something, because I would love to have hockey continue to be played at the Times Union Center.
