Grading the trip

With apologies to the Olympics and Keith Olbermann,here are some grades of various things/events on the trip.
Most of the time,these will be chosen from the 4 cities that we saw games in,if there is an exception it will be noted.
Please keep in mind these are my personal opinions.
We will catch up on news that I want to comment on my next post and then finally return to the regular format.

Prettiest City
Gold-Asheville: Winner in a runaway,surrounded by mountains and simply beautiful scenery.
Silver-Lynchburg: Nice town that lost points by the "logo" and the non-stop Falwell.
Bronze-Greensboro: Interesting small city scape.

Most Enjoyable Attraction-(That we saw,Non-Baseball)
Gold-Bristol Motor Speedway-Even if not a NASCAR fan,a awesome structure from the outside.
Silver-Valley Hills Mall-Hickory-A mall that hangs right up with bigger cities.
Bronze-Dale Jarrett Museum-Not for its sake,but for the memories from Battlin Bob there!

Oddest person
Gold-Crazy Mel,Bristol,TN-Enough said
Silver-Jim Cornette-Elizabethton,TN-Ditto
Bronze-Jenny McCarthy-Hickory NC-This lady really needs a new role model
Honorable mention-The Crackhead couple-Johnson City TN-These losers made us wait 10 mins for a bleeping Sun Drop while they gave their current medication intake to the ticked off cashier.

Best fans(Into the game,yet non-obnoxious)
Gold-Asheville-By a WIDE margin
Silver-Lynchburg-noses out Hickory
Bronze-Hickory-close for the Silver

Most attractive stadium (field only)
Gold:Asheville-Love the high right field wall
Silver:Lynchburg-Close proximity to the field helps a lot
Bronze:Greensboro-Had all ingredients,but by the time it was all together,not as good as you thought it would be.

Most attractive stadium (All things considered)
Gold:Asheville;Renovations to the outside allows it to hold on.
Silver:Greensboro:Nice outside combines with city skyline allows it to gain ground
Bronze:Lynchburg:Plain outside and dull concourse causes it to fall back.

Best team shop:
Gold:Hickory-wins going away,I could have spent twice the cash that I did.
Silver:Lynchburg-needs more clothing selection,but gains points for having so many hats.
Bronze:Greensboro-nips Asheville by having stuff available in several colors.

Best Autograph Access
Gold:Hickory- in a word-Tremendous
Silver:Lynchburg-a bit overrated reputation,but still good.
Bronze:Asheville-wins due to the ease of the visiting side.

Favorite Stadium-Non game visit
Gold:Calfee Field-Pulaski VA-Cannot deny the gold to anyplace that lets us goof around on a great field!
Silver:Ernie Shore Field-Winston Salem NC-I loved this field,Wish I could give it to Hagerstown since the city is building a new park.
Bronze:Howard Johnson Field-Johnson City TN-Close to the field,although the netting all the way around the spectators hurts a bit,the right field hill looks like a great touch.

Nicest player on the trip-Non Hickory 5
Gold:Matt Swanson-Lynchburg, Always talks to you like he knows and remembers you.
Silver:Brad Corley-Lynchburg,Great signer and takes the time to chat a little
Bronze:Beau Mills-Lake County,Son of a former big leaguer,Beau gets it right dealing with people,
Honorable Mention:Casey Weathers-Asheville

Top items/resturants that I wish would be sold/located in Hagerstown that are not
Gold:Sun Drop soda
Silver:Sonic Drive-in
Bronze:Jack in the Box

Best Mascot
Gold:Southpaw-Lynchburg,Gets the right balance between entertaining and overbearing
Silver:Miss Babe Ruth-Greensboro,Love the gimmick and a lovely dog to boot
Bronze: Ted E.Tourist-Asheville,not great,but better than the Crawdad.

Annoyances of the trip
Gold:Bees at Hickory,Mike Crotta warned me about them and he was right,all over the place until the Sun went down.
Silver:Parking at Asheville,not much of it and a long walk either up or down when you do find it.
Bronze:Security at Greensboro,I am all for security,but seemed a bit excessive.
Honorable Mention-Seating at Lynchburg- Seat sizes are pretty small.

Thanks for reading,if I can think of anything else,I will add them and note new stuff in a later post!.

Back to normal next time!!

Photo Credits
Medals-AP