Story #28, 29, 30, 31 -- Yeah. Believe it.

OK, now that it's not the wee hours of the morning, and I'm not in a hotel in Stockton, Calif., but back at the apartment in Sac Town, I can bust out this post proper to wrap of my couple of days on the road covering the 2007 California/Carolina League All-Star Game. Here's my blow-by-blow recap of the past 48 hours:

Monday: I made the 40-minute drive to Stockton and got there just in time to check into my Best Western suite. Now by suite I mean one-room 'heck hole' that was poorly planned to the point that I was moving furniture so I could work at a table AND watch some TV (the typical routine for the working man in the virtual office). I'm glad I did because the CWS game I had watched all day was...well, still on. I am talking of course about the Cal-State Fullerton and Irvine game, which ended the longest CWS game ever. I sure can pick 'em.

I also experienced the worst pizza-ordering debacle in my life. I was all about another Mountain Mike's Pizza when I saw them in the phone book, but the hotel was out of their delivery area. The next SIX places I called rattled of the same response. Finally I called the front desk and had them suggest a place, only to find out (after the ordering process) that they only accept cash when they deliver to hotels. I was looking to charge, so that was out. I settled on Domino's, which tried to tell me it was $17 for a medium, one-topping pizza. I'm not kidding. They was $17 for a medium, one-topping Domino's pizza in Stockton. I settled on a medium pizza, cheesy break and a 2-liter FOR $12, one of there specials. Explain to me how that all makes sense if you can. Finally, with a less-than-stellar meal in my belly, I caught some shuteye.

Tuesday: Woke up, touched base with my editors and headed to Banner Island Ball Park. Let me make this clear, Stockton is a pretty trashy-looking place (places with incredibly high crime rates often are), but the area around the ball park is GORGEOUS.

After speaking with a columnist for the Stockton Record, I came to find out that when the city was looking to rejuvenate the riverside, they spoke with a lot of city planners...including Toledo's. I guess Stockton and Toledo are basically the same city (on a river, run-down industrial area downtown, same population and demographic), and so it comes as no surprise that Stockton is a lot like Toledo in the post-moving-the-Mud Hens-to-downtown era. There's tons of street parking, trendy restaurants and, of course, the sports arenas right on the river and it's amazing. It'd almost warrant a visit back, if it wasn't all Stockton seems to have to offer. Maybe worth a stop if you're in the area sometime.

I got to 'meet' Bridget Marquardt, who was an honorary coach and threw out the All-Star Game's first pitch (a Playboy bunny, two-time cover girl, dates Hef etc.). By meet I mean I was Johnny on the spot with gum when she needed some, and I had her sign my roster. I never got into E!'s "Girl's Next Door," though I've seen snippets while channel surfing or hanging out with Mary. The cheap thrills that come with this job, huh? ESPN Radio's Mike and the Mouth was also broadcasting from the press box before the game, so that was neat to see (and hear).

As for the actual event, the Home Run Derby was a good time, and the game was UGLY! There were six errors in the contest, which was pretty much over after the Cal League went up 3-0 in the bottom of the second. But for more on all this stuff, let me direct you to a MiLB.com link here:

Click here to go the MiLB.com's home page for the 2007 California/Carolina League All-Star Game. Every story on this page is mine-- from the main, to the Home Run Derby recap, to the notebook and the pitching preview (though that went up a day late). All of the stories were complete between the hours of 4 p.m. and midnight, two in an hour after the game concluded around 10:15 p.m. All in all, I pulled the intense deadline writing off, and I'm pretty happy about it.

I will get pictures up as soon as I can. I'm exploring another way to post the pictures online instead of making a huge list of them in my next post. After checking out Molly's blog (located on the left) I may steal her picture-posting thunder since it seems easier and more pleasant to look at.

Case and point, check back soon for more on my All-Star adventure!