tedders55

Not true, the stadium field was built to accomodate international soccer. How else could CBS have hosted International soccer games in 2010? From the browns website: http://www.clevelandbrowns.com/stadium/about-the-stadium.html Exactly. I remember going to USA v Venezuela in 2006 or so. They have actually only hosted 2 games, that one and USA v Germany in 2010 (Women's) FYI: Here are FIFA's Requirements. While CBS can and has held international soccer matches, the size of the stadium makes it a bad fit. Even internationally there are not that many stadiums that are over 60K. With the proliferation of Soccer Specific stadiums built for MLS teams most future World Cup qualifiers will go to them. Mostly because those stadiums put the fans almost right on the field. However, if the USA were to host another World Cup there would be a better chance for CBS to host a game. Especially since they have real grass (one of the reasons that Seattle, even with their crazy support, wont get a WC qualifier). So now we just need to go to Zurich and bribe all the FIFA officials we can find. ;) And to steer this back on topic, I agree with the sentiment that a few years ago I was completely against a roof but now a retractable roof is something I'd be open to.

So I am in a bit of a pickle. The wife had an interview with IBM earlier this month that she had to cancel as she already made plans to travel for work. IBM was fine with that as they were going be holding another set of interviews later this month. Well low and behold she gets an interview for Friday morning that we are to be in San Francisco :whip: :whip: I will likely still be going out there Thursday and she will be joining me on Friday evening, this just means that I now have Friday basically to myself. So I was wondering what everyone's recommendations may be. We are likely going to be renting bikes on Sunday so I don't necessarily want to do that. I am thinking that a walking tour would be fun, but am open to ideas. Little bit of an updated schedule, Sat - Alcatraz tour, afterward I'm not sure. Probably just hanging down in that area. Sun - Biking to Sausalito and ferry ride back. Mon - Wine Tour, pretty much an all day event.

This. There are beaches, Cedar point beach obviously isn't public though. And the sandbar is out in the bay, but only accessible to boaters. All the other stretches of shoreline in Sandusky have industry or marinas it seems. I think also because the Shoreline of Lake Erie is not as gradual there does not seem to be many good natural beaches. And while industry has declined, there is still a good bit that is done right in many of these cities that are on the water.

Sandusky, while still economically depressed has managed to at least hang onto their downtown nexus of Water St. and Columbus Ave. While it is considerably better than it used to be even 5 years ago (this is according to some of the boaters in our marina that have been there for 15-20 years) there is still a long way to go. The one thing mentioned was the brain drain, and it is all to real there. It is hard to see where a solution will come from, but as cheap as land is there I would imagine getting a fiber backbone into the city would be able to convince some tech companies to be created or move offices there.

Right now there is a definite divide in the Eastern Conference. NY and KC are the real class and Houston (who may have the easiest run in of the top 6 teams, they should go 5-0)is right there with them, despite Chicago's recent form I don't think they can keep it up. Those Three should make it into the playoffs easily. The next three, Chicago, DC, and C-bus all have a real shot but I think it is going to be DC and the Crew who make it. All of this though depends on the Crew winning their cupcake games (Chivas, Philly, and Toronto) and beating Chicago on Saturday. If they lose on Saturday you can almost throw away any hope of making the playoffs. There is actually a little round robin between Columbus, Chicago, and DC. Columbus v. Chicago is Saturday, Columbus v. DC is Oct. 20th, Chicago v. DC is Oct. 27 the penultimate weekend and could be a play in game before the playoffs.

I thought they were saving the facade of the Wolfe Music Building?

That's a strange schedule! I sure hope Frontier has a bunch of flights departing DEN after 8 p.m. to connect with. That is very interesting. I had heard a rumor that Frontier was pulling out of CAK, but didn't really think it was true. This is basically eliminating the early, early 6:15 am flight they had out of CAK. Ski clubs in the area use them a lot to for flights for week long trips in the winter. Mostly because they are cheaper than United or American, etc. Hopefully they can put some downward pressure on United's CLE-DEN flights. Although that 7:20pm arrival time makes trekking out to most ski resorts a late arrival, say 10:00 or 11:00 at night.

I think that is because they just started this summer. It may take some time for that service to become more widespread. Plus another district besides WHD and E4th, I don't think Playhouse outside of theater nights is really there yet. The distance between WHD and E4th isn't a terrible walk, not the greatest and if a girl were in heels I'm sure it would be rather uncomfortable. Hopefully with the Apts coming to the Hanna this service may expand.

^ what you mention about people clamoring for it has only really been beginning to take shape in the past year. Bike Cleveland has only be around for a year, and I still think they are getting their feet wet. Before that I am not aware of a single group that was a mouth piece for urban bikers. There are a couple of groups (Ohio City Bike Co-op, Century Cycles, etc) but their main focus was never entirely on advocacy. So hopefully they can push the issue more directly.

^^This pretty much sums up what happened: I am guessing that the Franchisee was trying to make the best of losing the Cadillac Ranch name and slightly adjusted the theme, allowing him to stay in business and not worry about any legal action. Unfortunately for him part of the reason that Cadillac Ranch was sold was that it was a bad business. Putting lipstick on a pig... Will be intersting to see what happens with this space and the May Co. building over all. Once J Gumbos and Chipotle open (whenever Chipotle opens as there has been no work and no updates) that will be the only vancant spot on that side of the street between PS and E4th.

There are some really good quotes on there. Especially the ones from the players and about how Crew Stadium gives them a real home field advantage. 2 of my favorites though: Danny Williams: "I have played before emotional fans in Germany but never anything like this. The 24,000 felt like 50 or 60,000 in here" — roger bennett (@rogbennett) September 12, 2012 Tim Howard: "We were talking inside and there’s no bigger homefield advantage for us in America than here." #USMNT — Adam Jardy (@AdamJardy) September 12, 2012

Great win by the USMNT!! An announced crowd of 23,881 and they were rocking the place. They had a good reason to as the USMNT were an absolute beast for the fist 60 mins or so. I don't think I have ever seen such a fluid performance from a US team, this was Spain tiki-taka, short quick passes, style and it was beautiful. The amazing thing is that the never scored. They managed to hit all three posts of the goal, and one by Danny Williams was an absolute cracker. 35-40 yards from goal he launched a rocket that had to leave the goal shaking for a full min. They did all of this while Jamaica had pretty much all 11 players behind the ball, amazing that they were able to find the space they did. After half they finally broke through on a beautiful free kick by Herculez Gomes (best name on the team btw). Wonderful curling kick that in all honesty should have been saved by the Jamaica keeper, especially with the stand on his head performance he had in the fist half. After the goal Jamaica opened up and started playing for the tie/win moreso. The US stopped playing their possession game and you could just feel how nervous it was, and this was on TV I don't think I could have been in the stadium watching it. Despite the sudden change of the game though the back 4 were resolute in their defending. Tim Howard didn't really ever have much to do either (which can be a bad thing as then he has no rhythm for the game), except in the last 10 minutes Jamaica unleashed a long shot the he had to push out. Could have been an easy one to get caught on. This was definitely a big win as it puts the US back in control of their own destiny. Their remaining games for the Group Stage are at Antigua and Barbados on Oct 12th, which they should win easy but nothing is every that easy on the crappy away field in CONCACAF, and they are home at KC for a match against Guatemala on Oct 16th. The last game against Guatemala could be for tops in the group. Should be an exciting game in KC.

I wanted to give everyone a little update. Booked Alcatraz on Friday with a 10 AM departure time. Wondering if anyone who has been has an estimate of how long one should expect to spend there. The ferry website recommends 2.5 hours. Also, I choose this time as the Blue Angels are going to be practicing, and having watched them from the water in Cleveland, it is a very unique way to see the performance. Also, we booked a wine tour, Edge of the World Tours rather than renting a car and driving out to wine country (DUIs and whatnot). That pretty much takes up all of Monday. If anyone has ever used their services I would like to hear your experiences, but they have gotten really good reviews on TripAdvisor. One thing I am wondering is recommendations for transit passes. Seen as there are apparently 8 different transit systems in SF. I know that we will likely be taking BART to and from the airport, and maybe to Oakland to meet up with our friend who lives out there. Once again thanks to everyone for their recommendations.

Its time for everyone's favorite Fall topic, well at least it's MTS favorite. I had to wait until he was back and posting before starting this. Anyway the wife and I are taking a trip to the west coast and need some suggestions about what to do while there. I already have a few things on the agenda but there is still a ton of time that needs activities so looking forward to what all you wonderful people come up with. As a primer, we are staying in Westin Market St. It is located basically Downtown at the corner of Market and 3rd St. (Yes MTS I followed one of your very early suggestions, see I can learn good). We are leaving CLE at 5:00 and getting into downtown SF probably around 8:00 local time. The only things that are basically planned are Alcatraz Friday morning and a tour out to Napa/Sanoma on Monday (this should be an all day thing). Also, we are going to be visiting her Aunt who lives in Haight Ashbury area, most likely for brunch Sat or Sun. We fly out around noon on Tuesday, so not really any time to do much besides breakfast and hop the BART back to SFO. Also something to keep in mind is that it is Fleet Week(end) while we are there. Having never experienced it I really have no idea how that could affect planning, but should make for a more exciting time(I get to see the Blue Angels twice in a month!!) Ok everyone have fun planing a bit of my trip.

Then how does Pittsburgh deal with their fare free zone? Seems like the service area would be similar. because the corridor that the WL covers is empty. while the corridor for the bus is filled with places to get on and get off, i.e. destinations. the L line hits the casino, the convention center and lakefront, all would be door to door service, not an additional 2-5 minute walk from the station like the WL would be. this point out the advantage of being on the street. hopefully this can lead to a Real streetcar system for this area. While this is true in the current iteration of the flats, the FEB should be coming online soon. When that happens there will be destinations right along the line. You could say the same thing about the L-Line right now, both end points have attractions and nothing in between. Convention Center - not open Westin Cleveland - not open The Marriott is on the L-Line route, but the Renaissance and Ritz are attached to TC. If we are building routes based on door to door service then just create a DT taxi cab network. Although if this is the first step towards a true streetcar then I will take all this back. Right now though it seems superfluous. We have the Waterfront Line vastly underused, I believe that making better use of the service would be of more use to visitors and Clevelanders alike. I'm sure the trolly service will be used, however it is my belief that it is not the highest and best use for those funds. A connection to Ohio City would provide more opportunities.

The L-Line does not make sense to me. Why not just make the Waterfront Line service from TC to the Muni lots free? Seems like a duplication of service.

Pretty sure that Chipotle is expected to go next door to this space, in the old Bang and Clatter theater. As a note, the downtown yoga which had been using this space had signs that they would be in HOB. So that may mean that there is actual work going on in this space now. At least that is my hope, I really want that Chipotle DT

Crazy, Crazy game last night but it ended how we all wanted it to. Union 1 - Crew 2. I did not watch the game, but the Union's goal was a real bit luck. With a free kick about 30 yds out the Union defender hit a ball that deflected off the wall in front of the kick and wrong footed rookie goalkeeper Lampson. Truely an unlucky goal for the Crew to give up. They did strike back right before half, once again new arrival Frederico Higuain provided an assist with a beautiful cross into the box. Josh Williams was basically unmarked and sent a powerful header into the low post for his first career goal, nothing for Philly's keeper to do but watch the ball go into the back of the net. After Halftime things got a little testy. In the 70th minute Josh Williams ,who equalized earlier, started jawing with one of the Philly players which lead to him shoving him to the ground; completely away from the play and right in front of the line ref. A dumb move that guaranteed a card, but as it wasn't malicious a Yellow seemed appropriate. Well the head ref, after consulting with the line ref, gave him a straight red!! Crew were going to be playing down a man for the rest of the match. The Union took this opportunity to pour forward looking for the winner. Off a corner the Union had the ball bouncing around the box and sent a great low shot in from just out of the 18 the Lampson was able to knock away, eventually into the path of a Union player who put the ball in the back of the net but the play was ruled offsides. Close but the Crew held firm, especially Lampson. The Crew really have some keeper depth. They probably would have been happy to leave with 1 point after going down a man, but opportunity presented itself a couple of times. In the 90th minute Higuain made a beautiful run into empty space to collect the ball in front of goal, only to launch his shot skyward. Then in the dying minutes of stoppage time Higuain, the goal producing machine, played Justin Meram into the box 1v1 on the keeper. Meram's shot was blocked by the keeper, but blocked right to Eddie Gave who hit a clean one timer into goal. It was a fantastic finish to the game and pulled the Crew even on points with Montreal. The game on Saturday is going to have so much on the line. Whoever wins is in the driver seat for challenging for the last playoff spot. Crew steal 3 points off Union with late Gaven goal Down a man for the final 20 minutes of Wednesday’s Eastern Conference game at PPL Park, the Columbus Crew not only stopped the Philadelphia Union from scoring – they also got an improbable goal of their own.

^ I understand that, but the point was more so that painting a sharrow doesn't really accomplish anything. Also, just having a painted lane doesn't accomplish as much as having solo cups duct taped to the street.

Case and point. http://www.theatlanticcities.com/commute/2012/08/case-separated-bike-lanes/3015/ The other day, Doug Gordon decided to try a little bike lane experiment. Gordon, author of the Brooklyn Spoke blog, placed red plastic Solo cups (yes, the ones you use when drinking from a keg) along the edge of a painted bike lane that is often blocked by parked livery cars and other drivers. The conditions were hardly scientific, but these small plastic delineators, stuck to the roadway with duct tape, seemed to be pretty effective in preventing vehicles from entering the bike lane.

Just be glad you don't own a boat. Add $.50 to $1.00 to the cost you see at the pump on the street and that is what you will pay generally when filling up. It also hurts when you put in $300 and only get half a tank. May be time to start looking at sailing.

Hopefully they can keep up the luck, heart attack wins don't usually land teams in the playoffs. However as long as they can take care of business against Philly there is a potential six pointer on the schedule against Montreal. Win that and we take a huge step into overtaking them and staring at the back of DC's head for the last playoff spot. 5 pts separate 7th (Crew) and 4th (Chicago). It's going to be a crazy run in for these teams.

Right. And have you been to Hodge's recently? I think they are hurting. Not sure about that, their patio is pretty full for most lunch's. Obviously doesn't mean that they are doing exceptional by any means. I may be going over there before going to tailgate, so I'll ask if I go.

^ Off to a good start. 2-1 win v. TFC, however their habit of giving up second half goals (caused the last two ties, and made this game much closer) is disturbing. The need to salt these games that they get leads in away. I predict that this flaw is what will keep them out of the playoffs this year. Their new Designated Player (Higuain) though looks like the real deal though. He's played 1 1/2 games and has 1 goal and 2 assists. http://www.thecrew.com/news/2012/08/match-recap-crew-vs-toronto-fc Match Recap: Crew vs. Toronto FC Gaven, Higuain lead Crew to 2-1 win over Toronto COLUMBUS, Ohio – Federico Higuaín continued to give Columbus a charge, this time in his home debut, as the Crew defeated Toronto FC 2-1 on Wednesday evening. Higuaín, the Argentine attacker who tallied an assist off the bench in his first match with the Crew on Sunday at Houston, set up Eddie Gaven in the fourth minute and scored in the 58th for a 2-0 lead before Luis Silva netted for Toronto in the 71st. The Crew (9-8-6, 33 points) ended a three-game winless streak while TFC (5-15-5, 20 points) fell to 0-4-1 in the past five games.

Given everything that has happened to the club in the past two weeks, 2 pts from these two games is a fairly decent showing. Could it have been better? Sure, but not having those would have been worse. The next two games, Toronto and NE, are must wins though. Toronto is playing terrible, and have all season, while NE has been playing much better as of late it is a must for the Crew to take the full 3 pts. Actually, they really need to take 3 pts from all of the matches you mention. Only Montreal is a decent side. The Crew's schedule toward the end is a rough one, so they need a cushion now.