If you’re traveling to a city for a sporting event, a great game will only get you so far. Watching your team trounce its rival is good for something, but before and after, there has to be a scene that further validates your trip in a way that athletic accomplishment can’t. Where’s the party? If one game falls flat, are there other games going on that can salvage the weekend? If the game doesn’t fall flat, will all hell break loose with revelers after the win? A great sports town shouldn’t just have great teams, but great experiences to offer fans outside the realm of athletics, especially if they’re just in town for a few days. Here are a few of the towns that do it best.

11. St. Louis
While St. Louis doesn’t fit the description of either “college town” or “big city,” it does have perhaps the richest baseball tradition of any city in the US, making Cardinals games one of the best baseball experiences in the country (despite the fact that the stadium is built about 12 feet away from an elevated highway. It may not be the biggest party town, but this is one city that baseball fans treat like Mecca, and the resurgence of downtown St. Louis has helped craft an atmosphere that becomes remarkably party-like even after a regular-season Cards game.

10. Nashville
Nashville is in the enviable position of straddling the line between pro sports town and college town. While Vandy hasn’t exactly been a juggernaut in recent years, a night out in this country-music mecca has a very distinct college vibe in everything from the live music to the cheap food to the thousands of kids bombing around the bars will early morning. If college sports aren’t your thing, get over to a Titans game on Sunday. As bizarre as the combination of Nashville and hockey sounds, the scene at a Predators game actually is something to behold. Falls in Nashville are not to be missed as a sports fan.

9. Athens
The entertainment factor of a college town on game day can’t be overestimated. You’ve got thousands upon thousands of passionate fans, geographic isolation (usually) that directs everyone’s attention to the task at hand (drinking and cheering), and a cultural experience that can’t be duplicated not even in the biggest of cities. So naturally, the home of both the Georgia Bulldogs and R.E.M. will get most anyone’s attention. The college music scene in Athens is historically one of the strongest in the country so after the pilgrimage to a Bulldogs game, don’t be in such a hurry to get to Atlanta.

8. Montreal
The lowly Expos may be gone, but don’t feel too bad for this town. The Canadians have a history in the NHL that cannot be overestimated, while the city itself has the enviable reputation of being a cleaner, nicer, New Orleans, which could be a pro or con, depending on how much you like the grime of the Big Easy. However, with the French influence in Architecture, music and food, a trip to Montreal offers an experience that you’re probably not going to find at a Tampa Bay Lightening game. Finally, the strip clubs are supposed to be killer as well. So there’s that.

7. Ann Arbor
Half the cities on this list are huge cities boasting historic pro teams. The other half are college towns with no pro teams, but a collegiate atmosphere that makes a trip in an October weekend an electric proposition. Ann Arbor certainly isn’t Boston or Philly, but the killer dining options mesh well with tailgating and recovery from a night well spent. Michigan’s focus at the moment lies squarely on football, as the Fab Five have long since come and gone, but the stadium experience is one for the record books and you’re never too far from Detroit if you want to get shot or stabbed because you’re missing the big city.

6. New Orleans
New Orleans has a vibe that clearly lends itself to celebration nicely, so the recent success of the Saints has proven that this party town is also a pretty sweet sports town, especially given the events here in the recent years. Rarely has America seen a city so invested in its team as a source of hope and happiness. Honestly, even if the Saints were losing, NO would get a name check, but with their recent success, the vibe has gone from party town to sports party town, which may sound semantic, but makes a difference.

5. Milwaukee/Green Bay
There isn’t too much going on in Green Bay beyond the stadium experience, but a few miles away lies Milwaukee, one of the most underrated party towns in America, especially in the summer. Once teeming with European immigrants, this was the house that beer and brats built, so your typical Brewers home game in July turns into a tailgating extravaganza. I am comfortable in making the assumption that when a city has bitter cold weather for much of the year, they tend to make the most of the few summer months they get. And Milwaukee fans make the most out of every game. If you’re planning a trip up there, try to make it concurrent with Summer Fest, the largest outdoor music festival in the US.

4. Madison
Yeah, Wisconsin gets two entries on this list. Despite being geographically disparate, Madison and Austin share a lot of similarities, both being big, progressive college towns with both cultural touch-points as well as die-hard fans. Madison also has the reputation for being on of the most drinkin’-est cities in the US, especially while the Badgers are playing. If you’re visiting though, try to make it before the weather changes and the cold sucks out all your enthusiasm for both beer and sports. It could happen.

3. Austin
While Austin may not have a pro team to its name, the entertainment value o the city, coupled with the strength of the athletic program, make this entry a no-brainier. Austin is in the enviable position of offering the best of both worlds to residents and visitors alike. It’s known for being a progressive, alternative city, while at the same time being a kick-ass college town in the traditional sense, with 6th Street, live music, and an abundance of BBQ, Mexican food, and beer.

2. Chicago
Like Boston, there’s almost no way to go wrong on a sports trip to Chicago. The city is fairly compact, so getting around is a breeze, and outside the realm of sports, there are about a million things to do between Millenium Park, Navy Pier, and the museums. Outside of the cultural pursuits, the sports experience in Chicago is an embarrassment of riches, with unique experiences across all four pro sports and histories to match. Heading the list would almost certainly be an afternoon Cubs game in Wrigleyville, which is probably as lose as you can get to a college football experience in a big city in June.

1. Boston
Regardless of where you stand on the rivalry between NY and Boston, or even what you think of Boston fans, there are few greater sports cities in America. All four of their pro teams have a rich history, and, with the exception of the Pats, are very centrally located to downtown. The relatively small size of Boston makes it a sports fan’s paradise when more than one team is playing on the same day, turning your average Sunday into an all-you-can-drink buffet for most of the city. It may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but it’s an experience worth checking out at least once in this historic city.

With 47 seconds left in the game, Chaminade found themselves down 28-20 with the ball on the Webster Groves 9-yard line.  They punched it in from there but failed to convert on the two-point conversion, leaving them down by two and needing to recover an onside kick if they were to have any chance at completing the comeback.  Lo and behold they would do just that and have one last crack at winning the game.  With 6.9 seconds remaining on the clock, Matt Hutson‘s 48-yard field goal attempt was good, silencing the home crowd.

But as we all should have already learned, 6 seconds is more than enough time to score.  With one play remaining, Webster Groves quarterback Derrick Dilworth hit wide receiver Demetrius Robinson with a deep ball that would go for 80-yards and the game winning touchdown.  The fans erupted as the top ranked team in St. Louis’ Class 5 division had saved themselves from the brink of elimination.

Here is a look at the final 47 seconds of action.

Hat Tip – [Barstool Sports]

While Sheryl Crow was in attendance to sing the American national anthem, a measly tape recording of the Canadian version, without lyrics, was played over the stadium speakers.  I guess even Major League Baseball and the St. Louis Cardinals are getting hit hard during these tough economic times.  I wonder if President Obama was made aware of this prior to throwing out the first pitch.

Jason Bay, the Red Sox star who was starting in the outfield, is from Canada, but recently got his American citizenship.  That did not stop him from voicing his opinion on the awkward anthem routine:

(T)hey just played a recording of the Canadian National Anthem instead of having somebody come in and sing it. That seemed strange, that they couldn’t find anybody in St. Louis who knew “Oh Canada.” Morneau and I could have done it if they really needed somebody.

If only they would have thought about that before.  After all, Justin Morneau and Jason Bay can’t be any worse at singing than Wade Boggs.  Or can they?

Hat Tip – [WEEI]

President Obama came out to what seemed to be a mixture of cheers and boos.  We are still trying to figure out if the boos were a response to the continued recession or his Chicago White Sox jacket.

A lefty, like Mr. T, Obama hurled in a short-hop to the Cardinals Albert Pujos, who was behind the plate.  Not a bad effort, and one that should save him from embarrassment.  Thankfully he refrained from following in Mr. T’s footsteps and steered clear of singing “Take Me Out To The Ball Game” during the seventh inning stretch.  That could have cost his a second term.

Fielder not only hit the most home runs throughout the competition, but he also hit the longest.  That one soared a total distance of 503 feet, traveling well over the fence in right-center field.  For good measures he also hit the second londest ball of the night a total of 497 feet.  At the end of the night, Fielder launcher 23 homers an average distance of 439 feet, earning himself the championship as well as “The Stat Line Of The Night” for Monday, July 13th, 2009.

Now we will see if Prince Fielder translates last night’s performance into a strong second half of the season.  He currently sits at 22 total home runs, but will hope that the derby jinx does not fall over him.  With the Milwaukee Brewers sitting just 2.5 games back of top spot in the NL Central, a drop in Fielder’s production is not something they can afford to see.

So if Tom Brady does not get hurt, we are probably looking at a 3-1 record to start the season, however he did so we start out 2-2. Here’s a look at my free NFL picks for week 2.

New York Giants (-8.5, O/U 41.5) @ St. Louis Rams

Pick: New York Giants (-8.5) - The Rams are arguably the worse team in the NFL, getting blown out in week one, 38-3 against the Eagles. While the Giants, although not looking like Super bowl champions, but doing enough to beat the ‘Skins 16-7.  The Giants went 7-1 on the road in the regular season, plus another 3 wins in the playoffs to extend their record of 10 straight road wins in a season, and I like them to make it 11. Look for Brandon Jacobs to bowl over the feeble Rams defense.

Oakland Raiders @ Kansas City Chiefs (-3.5, O/U 36)

Pick: Kansas City Chiefs (-3.5) - Although I consider Damon Huard a mediocre Quarterback at best, you still have to like him better than Brodie Croyle.  The Chiefs hung in there for the whole game against the Pats, albeit without reigning league MVP Tom Brady, and were one play away from overtime.  The Raiders spent over 200 million dollars this off-season on “talent” but were embarrassed in their home opener 41-14 by a less than stellar Broncos team.  I expect the Chiefs to get it done at Arrowhead by a touchdown.

Buffalo Bills @ Jacksonville Jaguars (-5.5, O.U 37)

Pick: Jacksonville Jaguars (-5.5) - Buffalo looked great in their season opener, just smashing the Seahawks 34-10, while the Jags could do nothing on offense against a very stingy
Titans D.  So why am I picking the Jaguars?  Well, historically Jacksonville has been a much different team at home as opposed to the road, playing physical, smash-mouth football in their own house, and I look for this trend to continue.  Although the Bills are a young and up and coming team, I am not completely sold on them yet.  The Jags are expected to challenge for the AFC crown and I will be shocked if they start the season 0-2.  Jacksonville is 18-6 at home over the last 3 seasons.

Philadelphia Eagles @ Dallas Cowboys (-6.5, O/U 47)
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Dallas Cowboys (-6.5) - The Cowboys looked mighty impressive in week 1, going on the road and just dismantling what many believe to be a solid Cleveland team. The Eagles also looked good in week 1, but it was at home to the aforementioned worse team in the league Rams.
Philly is banged up at receiver, with their top two pass catchers likely out for this game, Reggie Brown and Kevin Curtis.  While Dallas got some great news as it looks like Marion Barber will be good to go on Monday Night.  I like the Cowboys by at least a touchdown in their last home opener at Texas Stadium.

Be sure to check back next week with my free football picks for week 3.  We love taking money from the bookie I hope you do to.

Last week: 2-2                            Season: 2-2