That's Amare

First and foremost, I'd like to wish a happy new year to you and yours. Thank you making The Shampoo Effect part of your daily/weekly/monthly browse of the internet. While the rest of the country has slowed down in the last 2 weeks to enjoy the holidays I have been working like a dog for the worldwide leader. It's college football bowl season and outside of Syracuse winning the Pinstripe Bowl (a quick shoutout to my boys who were at the Blarney Stone before going to the game at Yankee Stadium) and Notre Dame restoring order by beating Miami in the Sun Bowl these past two weeks have largely been miserable. One of my few saving graces, though, has been my beloved New York Knicks.

As I've written about previously, the Knicks have been the laughing stock of the league for the past decade. They've failed to make the playoffs since 2001 and have forced fans to suffer through some of the most anemic basketball in the franchise's history. However, after signing All-Star forward Amare Stoudemire in the off season to a 5-year $100 million contract the Knicks have seemingly turned the corner. If the playoffs started today the 19-14 Knicks would be the 6 seed in the Eastern Conference and would square off against the Chicago Bulls, a team they are 2-0 against this season.



Now Amare is not the only reason for this return to competitiveness for the Knicks. Something should also be said about the acquistions of Raymond Felton and Ronny Turiaf, the development of Wilson Chandler and Danilo Gallinari, and the drafting of Landry Fields, but Amare is the main reason. He is a legitimate star. That said, I have continued my streak of ruining classic songs with my own lyrics and have re-written the Italian favorite "That's Amore" and re-named it "That's Amare" (FYI- I can't be the first Knick fan to have tried this). Seriously, I'm like an unfunny, untalented version of Weird Al Yankovic.

First the lyrics to That's Amore:




In Napoli where love is King,
When boy meets girl, here's what they say:

When the moon hits your eye like a big-a pizza pie,
That's amore;
When the world seems to shine like you've had too
much wine,
That's a - more.
Bells will ring ting-a-ling-a-ling, ting-a-ling-a-ling
And you'll sing "Vita bella."
Hearts'll play tippi-tippi-tay, tippi-tippi-tay
Like a gay tarantella.
When the stars make you drool joost-a like pasta fa -zool,
That's amore;
When you dance down the street with a cloud at your feet,
You're in love;
When you walk in a dream but you know you're not dreamin', signore,
'Scusa me, but you see, back in old Napoli, that's amore.


And now my lyrics to "That's Amare"


In NYC where ball is King
When star meets city, here’s what they say:

When you drive through the lane like the number 2 train,
That’s Amare;
When the Garden seems to cheer like fans’ve had too much beer,
That’s A - mare
Your game is rebounds, blocks and dunks, rebounds, blocks, and dunks
And you stand, tall and talented
Fans’ll say he’s the MVP, he’s the MVP
It’s not close I tell ya
When you shoot your free throws with your glasses off your nose
That’s Amare
When you score 30 a night and put the playoffs in sight
You’re an All-Star
When you carry our team even when you’re double teamed, signore
‘Scusa me, but you see, back in new N-Y-C, that’s Amare.

Now I understand that most of you are not Knicks fans, or basketball fans, so I'll quickly explain some of my word choices.

-The number 2 train runs through Penn Station, which is underneath Madison Square Garden
-Amare's self-given (I'm pretty sure) nickname is STAT, which stands for "Standing tall and talented."
-Fans at the Garden chant M-V-P everytime Amare shoots free throws.
-Amare wears rec-specs and when he goes to the free throw line he takes them off of his nose and puts them on the top of his head.
-Amare scored 30 or more points during an 8 game Knicks winning streak earlier this season.

Keeping Tabs

Believe or not, I'm not much of a gambler. Even when comes to sports, I rarely roll the dice.

The same can not be said for many of my friends. A handful of which (from both highschool and college) are full fledged sports gambling afficionados. They spend countless hours looking at point spreads and evaluating over/unders. In fact, one of my friends runs a sports gambling website in his spare time that I occasionally contribute to. Gambling (sports related or not) is such a part of his life that he can't go more than 10 minutes without making a bet of some sort. For example, in late August a bunch of us were in Atlantic City for a little guys weekend (golf, fantasy football draft, and a friend's birthday) and he must have made upwards of 30 bets in the course of 2 days. It got to the point where he wanted to bet someone on the amount of happy birthday Facebook wall posts our friend had received from midnight to the time of the proposed bet (3:30 am- give or take an hour).

Now I am no stranger to the world of sports betting. I briefly dabbled back in my college days. I figured that my knowledge of sports would serve me well and for a while it did. True to my nature I was a very conservative gambler. I usually only bet on 1-2 games a week and about $20 per contest. This all changed, however, when the opportunity to score big presented itself.

The day was Monday, November 28th, 2005. The Fairfield University basketball had started the year 0-2 and were poised for a miserable season. In town that night to take on the Stags were the 2-0 Providence Friars. Providence, led by Kennedy Catholic great Donnie "Be cool. You know me" McGrath, were by no means a powerhouse in the Big East, but they were much more talented than the bottom feeders of the MAAC.

My cousin who will not be named received a call from his dad in the early afternoon hours and he mentioned how Providence was only favored by 5 points. We were stunned by this information. We both agreed that Providence was more likely to win by 55 than Fairfield was to keep the score within 5. Although I had never bet on a college basketball game and I'd be breaking my own rule #1 of gambling (never bet against your own team) I was all set to place a hefty wager on the game. Minutes later that hefty wager soon turned into an all out splurge.

My cousin had played on the Fairfield basketball the year before and was still close with many of the players. He told me that one of Fairfield's star players was walking around on crutches after suffering an injury in practice the night before. I was convinced that the spreadmakers in Vegas had no knowledge of this injury; therefore this bet was truly a sure thing. So much so that I called a few of my friends from highschool and told them to bet the farm on Providence.

To say that Providence's 35-34 halftime lead made me feel uneasy would be an understatement. Not only were my armpits in full on fire hydrant mode, but a cold sweat slowly dripped down by back as I tried to reassure myself and my friends from home (the game obviously wasn't televised) that Providence would pull away in the second half.

Providence maintained a slim lead late into the second half and although they were clearly the inferior team Fairfield just would not quit. Finally Providence extended their lead to 9 with about 3 minutes to play and I quickly updated my friends from home.

As the final minutes counted down the Stags were in desperation mode. They were running a full court press, sending Providence to the free throw line when they didn't get a steal, and jacking up 3's on offense....and for some God forsaken reason they were making them. I've never seen Fairfield get so hot from behind the 3-point line. It was ridiculous.

With 10 seconds to play Providence had pushed their lead back to 5 at 80-75 and Fairfield was down to their final gasp. All I needed to win the bet was for Fairfield to miss a three and to have the Providence rebounder make 1 free throw on the other end. In a cruel twist of fate Alvin Carter, known for his rebounding and defense (aka he wasn't an offensive threat) banked in a three-pointer to cut the Providence lead to 2. Fairfield fouled immediately. The Providence player made 1-2 from the line and Fairfield heaved up a half court shot as time expired. Final score- Providence 81, Fairfield 78.

Rule #1- Never bet against your own team.

Not that I'm still bitter about that game or anything (I am), but I'm pretty sure that Alvin Carter had never even taken a three-pointer in practice, let alone in a game. Also, to illustrate how much better of a team Providence was. They shot 64% from the floor that night whereas Fairfield shot just 43%. For those of you that also bet on the game (I'm looking at you Kyle Korver), here is the boxscore.

After the game I vowed to never gamble on sports (through a bookie, website) etc. again.

I've held true to that vow, but I haven't completely eradicated gambling from my life because 1.) it makes things a lot more exciting and 2.) it's fun to make a little wager with a friend every once in a while.

To the best of my knowledge in the past year I have made six such bets.

1.) In May I bet my cousin who will not be named $50 that Syracuse guard Andy Rautins would be drafted in the NBA draft in late June. Rautins was selected in the 2nd round (38th overall) by the New York Knicks. My cousin claims that this was the luckiest bet of my life and that the bet was only $20 (which I have yet to collect on).



I want to say that there was also a bet as to whether or not he'd be on a team's opening day roster, which he was, but I can't remember all the details.

2.) In June I bet my buddy Mark on the Celtics/Lakers NBA Finals. He, from Boston, had the Celtics and I had the Lake Show. The winner of the bet (me) won free drinks for a night (which I have yet to collect on).



That's 5 for Kobe in case you aren't keeping track at home.

3.) In July I bet my friend Jaclyn on who Ali would pick in The Bachelorette Finale. She thought that Ali would pick Chris and I thought Ali would pick Roberto. The winner of the bet (me) won a few drinks (which I have yet to collect on).



4.) During guys weekend in Atlantic City I bet my friend Alex, who runs the sports gambling site, $50 on the win total of the Tampa Bay Bucs. The line was set at 5 1/2 and I took the under. The Bucs are currently 5-2 (3-0 on the road) and would have to lose their last 9 games for me to win the bet.



5.) In an effort to make watching TV more enjoyable, Alex encouraged our friend RJ and me to partake in a fantasy draft of competitors on The Real World/Road Rules Challenge. We each put $20 down and drafted 3 guys, 3 girls, and a team (the draft was done via email). The rules stipulate that whoever has the most players left at the time of the final challenge wins. In the event of a tie, the team that we drafted serves as the tiebreaker. We weren't really sure how the show worked, but it makes sense. RJ's team is still completely intact and Alex and I have each lost a player.



By the way, this is the perfect example of how gambling makes everything more exciting. There is no chance that I would ever have wasted my time watching this show, but now that I'm invested in it I can't get enough.

6.) With the NBA season starting my excitement for the new look New York Knicks has gone through the roof (maybe that's what cause debris to fall from the Garden). After noticing that I was watching a Knicks game instead of a World Series game that I was working on, my boss and I got to talking and eventually a bet was made. For some reason (I'm mildly delusional when it comes to the Knicks) I claimed that the Knicks would finish ahead of the Atlanta Hawks in the Eastern Conference. Things are looking good so far as the Knicks are off to a hot 1-2 start and the Hawks have stumbled out of the gate, going 5-0.



Thankfully there is nothing riding on this bet other than my credibility as an NBA fan around the office.

Happiest New Year?

Now that the new year is upon us (happy new year to you and yours by the way), I have a few questions. First, what are we going to call 2010? Is it going to be 20-10 (twenty-ten)? or 2010 (two-thousand and ten)? Personally, I don't care all that much, but I would appreciate a little consistency as I have heard both numerous times already. I kind of like 20-10 because it's short and has almost a nickname sort of ring to it, but no one called 2009 twenty-nine, so I'm not convinced that it's a legitimate moniker. Also, moving forward the only other year where this will work seems to be 2012 (twenty-twelve), so it's not like this is something that will catch on. Alright, I talked myself into it. I'm going with 2010 (two thousand and ten).

My second and final question is perhaps more important. Which group of Americans is the most excited for it to be 2010? To better answer that question, let's take a look at the candidates.

1.) New York Knick Fans



In 2006, Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James surprised everyone when he chose to sign a 4 year extension instead of the maxmimum deal allowed (a 5 year deal). This move was unprecedented. Young franchise players always sign for the max. Soon after Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade, and Toronto Raptors center Chris Bosh followed suit. These three additions to an already loaded 2010 NBA free agent class literally changed the way that many organizations did business over the next(and now past) four years.

In an effort to attract LeBron, Wade, Bosh, etc. the Knicks, who were ruined financially because of the missteps of Isiah Thomas, have essentially mailed in the past two seasons. From a front office standpoint, their goal has not been to win. It has been to shed payroll so that they can make a run at this crop of free agents in the summer of 2010. New team president Donnie Walsh has done an admirable job (well admirable if you have no problem with mailing two seasons in just for a chance at LBJ, etc.), but still needs to move one or both of the heinous contracts given to Eddy Curry and Jared Jeffries in order to have full flexibilty this summer (by full flexibility I mean the cap space to sign 2-3 big name players). The Knicks front office did everything but release a statement in 2008 that said, "We don't care what our record is these next two seasons. We are only worried about shedding cap space, but we are still going to charge you the same ludicrous amount to watch our rag tag team because we play in the "world's most famous arena."

It's no secret that the Knicks are going to do everything in their power to convince LeBron into coming to New York in 2010. New York has been the most speculated destination for LBJ ever since his decision to not sign for the maximum in 2006. He admittedly loves New York because of it's celebrity culture, atmosphere, big stage, etc. He's even a Yankee fan. I was in MSG when LeBron came to town earlier this season and the crowd has no qualms about blatantly rooting for him even though at this juncture he plays for the opposing team.

The prevailing thought had Phoenix Suns point guard and two time NBA MVP Steve Nash signing with the Knicks and his former coach Mike D'Antoni in the summer of 2010 to help lure other big name free agents like LeBron to New York. Nash lives and plays in a soccer league in NYC in the summer and is thought to be one of the best teammates in the league; However this plan fell through when Nash signed a two year extension with the Suns in July.

Now virtually all of the Knick's eggs are in LeBron's basket. The hope is that he signs with the Knicks and brings the likes of Chris Bosh/Joe Johnson with him. But will LeBron leave Cleveland and try to revive basketball in the city that never sleeps? No one (including LeBron) knows for sure, but for the first time in almost 10 years Knick fans have something to rest their hopes on.


2.) Republicans



The GOP was dealt a major blow in 2008. Not only did Obama trounce McCain for the presidency, but the Democrats expanded their majority in the House by 21 seats and achieved a super majority in the Senate (58 Democrats and 2 Independents). Ever since that election the Republicans have been on a rampage to regain control of Congress. You've seen coverage of the tea parties, the town hall meetings, etc. 2010 is the first chance for the American public to essentially give an up or down vote on Obama. Aside from every House of Representatives seat being up for re-election (members of the House serve two year terms),36 Senate seats will be up for grabs (18 of which are currently held by Democrats and the other 18 are currently held by Repbulicans), and 37 states will hold gubernatorial elections.

If history has anything to say about the 2010 mid term elections, it's that the Republicans will surely pick up a few seats in Congress. For starters, the president's party almost always loses a few seats in the mid term elections. Also, it's next to impossible to maintin the kind of majority that the Democrats currently have, even in prosperous times.

Picking up a few seats won't suffice for the GOP, though. They want to shift the power of the American political structure back in their favor in 2010. These mid term elections already have shades of the "Republican Revolution" led by former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich in 1994. Back then Republicans were unhappy with a young, democratic president that was trying to push a health care reform bill through Congress. In the mid term elections of 1994, the Republicans took control of the House and looked to make Clinton a lame duck president in 1996; However (as the late, great Doc O explained to me) Clinton essentially became a Republican in the next two years and rolled in his re-election bid in '96.

That being said, here is the case against Obama in 2010. First and foremost, the economy continues to lag. When he was elected, Obama (to much of the American public) had this magical quality about him. They thought that he could come into office and fix any problem with the wave of his hand. Problem was, he couldn't. There's no doubt that he's trying, but the continued stagnation of the economy has at least taken Obama off of the pedestal that many had placed him on. Furthermore, this health care fiasco is splitting the country in two. Although everyone in Congress admits that our current health care system needs to be reformed, a comprehensive overhaul of the system is such an enormous task that it should come as no surprise that there are so many disagreements about the proposed bills. Lastly, even though the 2010 midterm elections are basically like a report card on Obama's first two years in office, his name won't be on the ballot. All of those people that registered and enthusiastically went to the polls to vote for Obama in '08 (yes, I'm talking about black people) aren't going to show up in '10 to vote for Chuck Schumer, Harry Reid, etc.


3.) Soccer Fans



American soccer fans probably have a hard on knowing that the World Cup kicks off in less than 160 days in South Africa. To them, and the rest of the world, the World Cup is bigger than the Superbowl. I would also like to point out that calling the event the World Cup is actually accurate whereas the World Series is a complete misnomer.

American soccer fans must be even more excited this year after learning last month that the US team received a favorable draw. In case you haven't heard, the United States has been placed in a group with England, Slovenia, and Algeria. I don't know much about Slovenia or Algeria, but I'm pretty sure that we should beat them both and if we do we will most likely advance to the knockout stage.

Before I move on, I have a point of contention with many Americans that like soccer. I don't care if the US Team doesn't have a realistic chance at winning the whole thing or not. They are the only team that you should be rooting for. I can't stand the kids that root for the team of their heritage (unless your parents were born and raised in that country in which case I'm totally OK with it) because they are better than the United States team, especially if the teams play each other. All of those Italian kids that rooted for Italy when they played the US in 2006 can go fuck themselves.


4.) People born in the year 1910


This painting is one of the most famous in American history. It was painted by Grant Wood and is titled, "American Gothic". Information that you should know.

Now hear me out before you write this off as a throwaway choice. Obviously these people must be pumped that it's 2010 so that they can reach triple digits in age. Sure, most of them probably aren't all there mentally and a large percentage of them might die before they reach their birthday (although statistics show that most people die shortly after their birthdays/Christmas), but reaching 100 has to be the light at the end of the tunnel for what they must have gone through in their time on Earth.

People born in 1910 were teenagers during the Roaring '20's. They probably witnessed all sorts of Gatsby style wild parties and rowdy saloons without being able to participate. By the time they were old enough to partake in the decadence of the decade, it was over. The Stock Market crashed and the Great Depression began.

They probably struggled to find work, raise a family, etc. Most of them probably moved west like the Joad family of Steinbeck's "The Grapes of Wrath." By the time they turned 31-32 many of them were probably drafted and forced to serve in World War II.

After the war these men and women lived through the Civil Right Movement of the 50's and 60's. They were 40-50 years old at the time and probably held steadfast to their bigoted ways. As the laws began to change I bet they blamed the government.

In the 60's and 70's they had to endure the JFK assassination, the Vietnam War, and Watergate. I'm sure these three events only made them distrust the government even more.

I'm hoping, for their sake, that they enjoyed the 80's and 90's with the downfall of the Soviet Union and years of American prosperity because just when they, and the rest of us for that matter, thought everything was fine the 00's came along.

As I've already pointed out, Time magazine called the 00's the "Decade from Hell" because of 9/11, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the global financial crisis that we are still battling through.

The lives of those born in 1910 could not have been easy. Here's hoping that they reach 100.

The Curious Case of Stephen Curry's Benching

Despite averaging nearly 30 minutes per game through the first 7 games of the season, Golden State Warriors rookie Stephen Curry only played two minutes and 35 seconds last night against the Knicks. Naturally, he was not too happy about it.



"It sucks. It sucks. You don't want to be sitting and watching, especially how the season has started," he told the San Francisco Chronicle. "Hopefully, I won't get used to it, but we'll see what happens."

Coach Don Nelson said it wasn't that big of a deal, however Curry plans to speak with Nelson just to make sure everything is okay.

"They haven't told me that I'm doing anything wrong," Curry said. "I'll ask some questions, because I hate this feeling. I come in and work every day, try to learn and take practice seriously, so I've just got to keep doing that and be patient. ... "I'll do it in a respectful way. I'll do it in a way that shows I'm willing to work harder if I need to or do something different if I need to."

What you may not know is that on the night before this game (Thursday) Curry attended a fundraiser in NYC hosted by former New York Giants running back Tiki Barber. The event was also attended by my cousin, his girlfriend Allison, and our friend Colleen (Allison's roommate). From what I was told it was a rather upscale event with an equally upscale crowd. Due to the older crowd, Curry, who just turned 21 on March 14th (my birthday), and my friends naturally gravitated toward each other. Presumably he and my cousin reminisced about partying together in NYC last June.


My cousin on the left, Curry in the center, and Utah Jazz forward Kyle Korver on the right

Now even though he had a game the following night, Curry went right ahead and joined my friends in making the most of the open bar at the event. As the booze continued to flow Curry did what any other 21-year-old would do: He started making out with our friend Colleen on the dance floor. Keep in mind that he had been talking to my cousin, Allison, and Colleen for some time, so it wasn't like he just randomly started mucking face with some girl on the dance floor. In fact, Allison told me that it felt like the 4 of them were "on a double date".

Later in the evening the foursome had planned on taking a round of shots together, but Curry decided to put the brakes on the drinking, perhaps thinking of his game in the world's most famous arena the following night. While this decision was probably wise, I'm not sure how much good it did him. All day Friday my cousin and Allison complained about how hung over they were at work because of Thursday night's escapades.

Does this story explain why Curry barely saw the floor against the Knicks? I don't know, but it is a bit curious, isn't it? I guess we'll have to wait and see how many minutes he plays against the Bucks tonight.



Fun fact- The picture of my cousin, Curry, and Korver was taken by none other than the aforementioned Colleen.

A Sports Fan's Checklist

This weekend some of my college friends and I will venture to the Mid West and tackle all that the city of Chicago has to offer. Now I won't waste your time and tell you about how wild and crazy my friends get when drinking is involved because I'm pretty sure everyone thinks that way about their friends. Hearing someone say this, especially if you don't know the friends in question, is the worst. The whole time you're thinking, "I bet you and your friends don't get half as rowdy as me and mine do."

I bring up the Chicago trip because half the reason I'm going is to see a Cubs Game on Saturday. I literally can't wait. Wrigley Field is just one of those venues that every sports fan needs to experience at least once. In fact, here's my top 10.

(in no particular order)

1.) Yankee Stadium, New York, NY (Old and New)



Even for a Yankee-hater, seeing a game in Yankee Stadium is a treat. I mean, everyone loves a slugfest and the new stadium is a launching pad. I went to one game earlier this year and saw 8 home runs.

The highlights of seeing a game at Yankee Stadium have to be 1.) the roll call that the fans do in the top of the first and 2.) witnessing Mariano Rivera enter the game in the top of the 9th in a save situation. Although I am staunchly anti-cliche, that place gets electric when Mo enters the game.


2.) Fenway Park, Boston, MA



From the Green Monster to the Pesky pole, Fenway is all about its uniqueness. I've seen 3-4 games in Fenway and it's certainly a sight to see. My favorite intracacy of Fenway Park is the lone red seat in right field. Every other seat is green, but this one seat is painted red to indicate where a Ted Williams homerun ball famously landed back in 1946. The homer is estimated to have traveled anywhere from 520 to 535 feet.


3.) Wrigley Field in Chicago, IL



Wrigley, along with Fenway, remains as one of the few ancient relics of baseball's illustrious past. The stadium is best known for its ivy-covered brick walls, day games, rooftop seats on buildings across the street from the stadium, and the area around the bar (nicknamed Wrigleyville) that is littered with bars and restaurants. Word on the street is that the way to see/experience Wrigley is to get loaded at Wrigleyville before the game and then sit in the outfield bleacher seats with a horde of dumb Polacks with no future.


4.) Madison Square Garden in New York, NY



Nicknamed the "World's Most Famous Arena", the Garden, which sits atop Penn Station, has played host to countless major sporting events in its storied history. For example, MSG was the venue for the first Ali/Frazier bout, Game 7 of the 1970 NBA Finals, Game 7 of the 1994 Stanley Cup Finals, Wrestlemania XX, etc. Aside from being the home of the New York Knickerbockers (and the Knicks City Dancers),the Garden also hosts the Big East Tournament, NIT, and NBA Draft every year. MSG is not only a sports sanctuary. As a premier concert venue, it is the Mecca for for performers of all sorts. I have seen a handful of Knicks games as well as a Billy Joel concert in the "World's Most Famous Arena". Granted I'm a Knicks fan, but I don't think there's any doubt that most, if not all, people feel a sense of awe when they enter the building for the first time.


5.) Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, IN



There's no denying the rich history and tradition of Notre Dame football. Granted I'm biased, but it doesn't get much better than seeing the Irish play in "The House that Rockne Built" on a cold, crisp day in the Fall. From the non-descript striped endzones to the no-names on the back of the jerseys, you get the feeling like you're in the presence of greatness even if the team isn't very good. Highlights of seeing a game in South Bend include:

The Golden Dome



Touchdown Jesus


From left to right: My cousin, me, Glancy, and the Ice Cat

Pushups in the student section after touchdowns/field goals




6.)The Big House in Ann Arbor, Michigan or Beaver Stadium in Happy Valley, PA



Both stadiums seat well over 100,000 fans and are the home to Big Ten schools. I clump the two together because I assume the experience at each is relatively similar. I will say that no sports team/arena pulls off the "insert color here" out quite like Beaver Stadium and their white outs.

I could probably add more college football venues to the list (The Colliseum, The Rose Bowl, etc.), but I think these three should cover it, although I've heard SEC stadiums are where it's at.


7.) Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, NC



Cameron Indoor is the home to college basketball's most hated/loved team in the land; the Duke Blue Devils. The Duke student section, nicknamed the "Cameron Crazies", is notorious for camping out in tents for days leading up to big games, chanting and heckling for the entirity of games, and for looking like the United Nations General Assembly. Honestly, look at that picture. How many kids do you think you'd hang out with? Well either way, apparently seeing a game in Cameron, especially a game against North Carolina, is unparalleled in the college basketball world.


8.) The Carrier Dome in Syracuse, NY



Over the years, the Dome has been nicknamed "The Loud House" for the earth shattering decibel levels that the Orange faithful provide. And let me be the first to tell you that nobody, and I mean nobody, comes into the Loud House and pushes the Orange around. For basketball games, the Carrier Dome is the largest on campus facility in the nation and routinely leads the country in attendance. It is also one of the two on campus arenas (Notre Dame Stadium being the other) that serve alcohol. If you haven't seen a game in the Loud House than you aren't a sports fan.

Also, it should be noted that the whole standing and clapping before a made basket at the start of the game and the second half originated in this building. I've seen other fan bases attempt to steal this staple of the Orange faithful, but I see right through them. For example, UCONN fans also stand and clap at the beginning of the game and the start of the second half and wait to sit down until a basket is made; However UCONN fans consider a made free throw acceptable terms for sitting whereas 'Cuse fans wait for the first made field goal before they sit.


9.) Cowboy Stadium in Dallas, TX



Jerry Jones' baby is the new high water mark for stadiums in the world. I hate the Cowboys with almost every impulse of my body, but this new structure is beyond impressive. It is the largest domed building in the world, it has a retractable roof, and it doubles as an inside or outside concert venue. The versatility is simply incredible. In fact the 2010 NBA All Star Game will be played there.

Give it a look

10.) Augusta National Golf Course in Augusta, GA



The most revered golf couse in the world. Augusta National hosts the Masters, one of golf's four major championships, every year. Seeing the Masters or playing Augusta should be near the top of every sports fans "to do" list. From Magnolia Lane to Amen Corner to Hogan's Bridge, the course is just filled with tradition and mystique. I particularly enjoy how they only sell Masters apparel at the pro shop, which means people who make the trip usually have a list of things to bring back for their friends.