2013 Sports Road Trips Schedule Released

It is almost 2013 and that means it's time for next year's schedule to be released. Obviously it is a work in progress, as I'm always making changes based on flight prices, ticket prices at the events, business trips, and angry girlfriends.

The first thing to note is the Asean Basketball League, a circuit with just six teams including one in Singapore. I'll be checking them out a couple of times and also hoping to get to at least two other venues on the road, including Jakarta, a city I have yet to visit.

The only big journey planned is the Texas Triangle Trip in mid February. It has changed a bit from when it was originally posted. In particular, I will be leaving a few days earlier and seeing the Mavericks hosting the Atlanta Hawks on Feburary 11th before zooming over to Memphis for the Vancouver Grizzlies as well as the NCAA's Tigers. The rest of the trip will be mostly the same until the 24th, when I must fly out of Dallas early thus missing the Lakers visit, but I should be able to catch the Sixers and Knicks at MSG. I plan to knock six NBA venues off of my Quest for 400, leaving San Antonio (who are out of town due to the rodeo) and Indianapolis as the only two cities where I've yet to watch an NBA game.

Here's the final schedule for that trip:

Feb 11 Atlanta Hawks at Dallas Mavericks 7:30
Feb 12 Sacramento Kings at Memphis Grizzlies 7:00
Feb 13 UCF Knights at Memphis Tigers 7:00
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 Sacramento State at Texas (NCAA Baseball) 2:00
Feb 17 UIC at Texas A&M (NCAA Baseball) 1:00
Feb 17 NBA All Star Game at Houston 7:00
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 Wichita Thunder at Allen Americans 7:05
Feb 23 Cal State Fullerton Titans at TCU Horned Frogs (NCAA Baseball) 2:00
Feb 23 Texas Strikers at Dallas Sidekicks (PASL) 7:00
Feb 24 Philadelphia 76ers at New York Knicks 7:00
Feb 27 Golden State Warriors at New York Knicks 7:30
Mar 01 Dallas Mavericks at Brooklyn Nets 8:00

I'll be making a trip to Osaka in August to review the three remaining NPB ballparks for Stadium Journey.  The F1 also provides some exciting trip opportunities. I have already bought my tickets for the Malaysia Grand Prix, but am planning a trip to Abu Dhabi in November as well. Even Shanghai is an option although unlikely so it is not included yet.

Next year probably won't be as prolific as 2012, where I saw 90 games in 9 countries and added 51 new venues to my venue count, which now stands at 395 (all numbers after my upcoming Europe trip). But when last year began, I had no idea I'd be living in Singapore when it ended, so who knows what 2013 will bring. Hope you all enjoy following along!

Best,

Sean