Texas Triangle Trip Planned

Now that I live in Singapore, getting back to North America is a long and painful process. There are two direct flights (one to LA, one to Newark) but those are not affordable and won't be around into 2014 anyway. Instead, I am forced to transit via my old stomping grounds in Tokyo, which adds at least 8 hours to what used to be a half-day trip, depending on my destination. So it takes a fairly big event to get me back across the Pacific. Next year sees my parents celebrating a milestone anniversary, so I'll be heading home for that. But with no sports left to see in that area of the world, I'll be stopping off in Texas to knock a few venues off the Quest for 400 list. The centerpiece is the NBA All-Star Weekend in Houston, which is probably the second most difficult ticket behind the Super Bowl. Fortunately, there are backup events should I not find my way inside the Toyota Center on February 17th.

I'm also hoping for a trip to New York during that time, which would allow me to see the resurgent Knicks and Brooklyn Nets. All this is still to be confirmed, but who knows, maybe this schedule will inspire some other roadtrippers.

Feb 14 Miami Heat at Oklahoma City Thunder 7:00 (NBA finals rematch)
Feb 15 Oklahoma City Barons at Texas Stars (AHL) 7:30
Feb 16 NBA All Star Saturday at Houston or Sacramento State at Texas (NCAA Baseball)
Feb 17 NBA All Star Game at Houston or UIC at Texas A&M (NCAA Baseball)
Feb 18 Central Baptist Mustangs at New Orleans Privateers (NCAA Basketball) 7:00
Feb 19 Chicago Bulls at New Orleans Hornets 7:00
Feb 20 Oklahoma City Thunder at Houston Rockets 7:00
Feb 21 Florida Atlantic Owls at North Texas Mean Green (NCAA Basketball) 7:00
Feb 22 Houston Aeros at Oklahoma City Barons 7:00
Feb 23 Texas Strikers at Dallas Sidekicks (PASL) 7:00
Feb 24 LA Lakers at Dallas Mavericks 12:00
Feb 27 Golden State Warriors at New York Knicks 7:30
Mar 01 Dallas Mavericks at Brooklyn Nets 8:00

Note

This year, the Central Hockey League went from 16 teams to 10, knocking the 400 venues on the quest down to 394. I added the Appalachian League to bring the total up to 404, but will be playing with other leagues over the next little while to see if I can get it back to exactly 400.

Best,

Sean