Month: February 2019

US sports fans set for plenty of excitement in March

Posted on by Tamara Rodriguez

February was a huge month for sport in the United States and March certainly promises to continue in the same vein.

New England Patriots did what many sports news and predictions experts had tipped against at the start of February by defeating Los Angeles Rams to win their sixth Super Bowl in the last 18 years.

Golf took centre stage the following week, with Phil Mickelson claiming his 44th PGA Tour victory with a comfortable success in the Pebble Beach Pro-Am.

It was Mickelson’s second win in nearly a year and he will undoubtedly be hoping to repeat his success by claiming the 119th US Open at the same course during the summer.

The Daytona 500 rarely fails to deliver excitement and this year’s event in the middle of the month was certainly no different.

A spectacular 18-car pile-up with just 10 laps remaining left the Florida track littered with debris, although thankfully no drivers were injured.

When the race resumed, Denny Hamlin clinched a 33rd career top-level US stock car series victory, and his second at Daytona after also winning in 2016.

As February comes to a close and March heads into view, most of the focus in sporting circles will be on the NHL, NBA and the upcoming MLB season.

The NHL is entering the final quarter of the regular season, with numerous teams jostling for a place in the play-offs.

Tampa Bay Lightning are strong favourites to win the Stanley Cup, but the likes of Toronto Maple Leafs, San Jose Sharks, Nashville Predators and Washington Capitals can all be expected to put up a strong challenge.

In the NBA, it is impossible to look beyond the star-studded Golden State Warriors to claim their fourth title in the last five seasons.

MLB gets underway on March 20 with four sides vying for favouritism to win the World Series. Boston Red Sox claimed the trophy in 2018 and they are sure to put up a strong defence this time around.

Best MLB Hot Dogs

Posted on by Tamara Rodriguez

Hot dogs remain one of the most enjoyed American fast foods. These are not only great during movies as a quick meal or quick bite to eat during shopping, but also a major favourite at the sports stadiums.

The History of Hot Dogs

Hot Dogs’ history goes back all the way to the 15th century to Austria and Germany, although it is mostly known as a meal made famous in the 1800s by German immigrants. The first cart to sell hot dogs in New York was owned by Charles Feltman in 1871. It became massively popular and the first cart to sell hotdogs at baseball park was in 1893. It is here where the bond between hot dogs and baseball started.

Hot Dog Consumption

According to 2012 statistics, Americans spend over $1.7 billion on their favourite food, which is hot dogs, although this amount spent in supermarkets and no statistics are available for sales at ballparks.

SunTrust Park – Atlanta Braves

In 2017 in Atlanta the SunTrust Park was opened by the Braves, this hotdog shack offers a great variety of hotdogs to the fans. The most popular of all is the Dixie Dog offering a healthy helping of creamy slaw, pulled pork, pickles, and a mustard-based sauce. This is served on a footlong roll containing a half pound all beef dog.

New Hot Dog Versions Recently Added to Sports Stadium Menus

The sports stadium where the newest version of hot dogs was added recently is at Wrigley Field. The most popular is the Vienna Beef Chicago Dog, while sports fans can also look forward to plenty of local flavours in the Hot Doug’s and Hot Dog Pizza Combo added in 2017. The Chicago Dog consists of a grilled Vienna hot dog served with neon relish, yellow mustard, sports peppers, diced onions, celery salt and tomato wedges stacked into a poppy seed bun.

Pilsen Dogs to The Bao Wao Dog

The Pilsen Dog is topped with roasted corn and offers a charred Vienna, seasoned with Tajin and lime-cilantro aioli seasoning. The Kimchi Dog offers a fresh new taste and consist of kimchi, pickled ginger aioli and crispy braised pork.

The Bao Wao Dog also offers a charred Vienna seasoned with mint, Sriracha aioli, carrot and pickled daikon. The Wrigley Dog offers a Vienna seasoned via relish consisting of pickle, diced onions and tomato, and sports pepper, completed by celery salt and mustard.

Beachcomber Dog to New York Dog

Visiting the Coors Field offers all sports fans the opportunity to enjoy the New Colorado Rockies Dog, which is a foot-long hot dog with sauerkraut, onions and peppers. In 2018 the Coors Field menu was extended via several new hot dog flavours including the Triple Play Dog consisting of pulled pork, purple slaw and crumbled bacon bits. Other new Dogs added includes the Beachcomber Dog, Diablo Dog, Elk Brat, New York Dog and the Denver Dog. Then there is also the Sante Fe Dog, featuring an extreme dog topped with shredded jack cheese, red chilli, sliced jalapenos and diced red onion.

New York City Sports Bars – Beer Soaked House of Sports Worshipping

Posted on by Tamara Rodriguez

New York City is as much appreciated for its range of super sports bars as it is for its impressive billboards. It simply never gets better than this, whether you’re a soccer, hockey, baseball or football fan, the big city offers plenty of places where you can cheer for your team!

Standings

Should you wish to rate the sports bars in New York City, Standings will get gold, and visually it instantly impresses with the Minnesota wrestling pennants that hang on the wall, next to that is the jets jerseys display. Plus, there is plenty of other sports memorabilia that adds to the atmosphere and makes it the perfect place to take a seat and watch the game on one of eight big screen TVs. Should you require a refreshment, there are the 12 rotating beers on tap, that goes really well with pizza and you are allowed to bring your own food if you wish.

Standings is what any sports enthusiastic would call a serious sports bar and well worth getting excited about, it focusses on the game and keeping everyone happy. It’s been voted the best bar in the city a couple of times and even though it is not a huge bar it has no problem in turning up the volume, once the game starts.

Finnerty’s

Ready to watch the Giants or the 49ers? Finnerty’s is the place you need. It is a great sports bar located in the best spot possible for take-out food lovers. Many of the fast foods around the pub remain open till late to offer pub-goers a variety of food since Finnerty’s have no kitchen and only focusses on sports.

Tons of TV’s ensures that everyone can watch the game, which is most of your visit, apart from having a few beers. If you’re a pizza lover, both Joe’s Pizza and Han Dynasty is right there, while Finnerty’s features on every list of top NYC sports bar’s.

Hair of the Dog

Located in Orchard-street, it is often the bars title that first gets the attention of the crowd, but once you’ve been, you’ll know why it’s packed during games and weekends. It’s a fun place with TV screens all around, and sports devotees can be assured of special prices on beers during the game and afterwards.

Hair of the Dog also serves pub food, and the favourites are the French Toast Sticks and Pizzadilla. If you not a keen sports fan you might want to give this one a miss as the crowd don’t hold back when it comes to cheering on their team. The barmen love playing tricks and often encourage customers to order coffee, so they get to spike it a bit. Monday’s all beers are half the price, and on Sunday’s you get half-priced Bloody Marys to recover from the match, or if you up to it, you can also have a few beers at half the price. 

Eat Wings & Watch Your Favourite Sport at Buffalo Wings

Posted on by Tamara Rodriguez

The ultimate place to watch sports and enjoy the company of great friends in America is Buffalo Wild Wings. The sports bar and casual restaurant are franchised all across America, India, Canada, the Philippines, United Arab Emirates, Vietnam, Mexico, Saudi Arabia and Panama. It is almost impossible to list all the locations as in mid-June 2017 there were Buffalo Wild Wings sports bars in over 1,300 locations.

Sports Wagers & Wings

A special gameday menu is available which includes themed items such as the craft or import talls offering sports fans a choice of flavours such as the Angry Orchard Crisp Apple Cider, Lagunitas IPA and the Samuel Adams Boston Lager. For those ready to order a Gameplay Pitcher, the options include Coors Light or Bud Light. Yet all the focus is normally on the big screens showing football or other sports. TV screens showing matches is placed on all the walls, and the place can get loud as fans cheers on their favourite team.

Yet, Buffalo Wild Wings was ready in August 2018 to take the current experience it offers sports fans to the next level. CNN reported that the DraftKings felt that legal sports betting could bring innovation and started exploring the opportunity to offer its sports fans wagering since the Supreme Court finally agreed to legalise sports betting in the states.

Sports Betting Legalized in Three States

Sports betting was legalized at the time in three states which includes Mississippi, Delaware and New Jersey since the ruling that took place in May, while previously sports betting was only legal in Nevada. At the same time, many of the other states were keen on the idea of legalizing sports with the hope of gaining funds from the multi-billion sports betting industry.

 Buffalo Wild Wings feels, as the largest sports bar in the USA they are in a unique position to enhance their restaurant experience for all guests. This is also the reason why they are seriously exploring the options of adding sports betting services to their already extended menu.

Online Sports Betting Boom

Much of the sports betting boom following the legalization in some states are expected to take place online, especially since most individuals make use of mobile services. This means most of the visitors to Buffalo Wild Wings will watch the sports event on the big screens and make bets in any case via their mobile devices.

The restaurant chain is exploring options, should they be able to add sports betting services for individuals to add money to their account at any one of the restaurants and to use it for betting purposes at any of the Buffalo Wild Wing restaurants. The main purpose is to increase foot traffic and provide guests with all the services they’d expect to find at a top sports bar. Buffalo Wild Wings now belongs to the privately held Arby’s after it was purchased for $2.9 billion in 2018.