Puerto Rico 6, Venezuela 3....... YEAH!!

Just got back from Hiram Bithorn Stadium in San Juan from having attended the Puerto Rico vs Venezuela game. It was electric! The first thing that struck me was the number of Venezuelan fans at the game, all decked out in the Venezuelan team caps and jerseys. Also the large number of Venezuelan flags being waved at the stadium. That's what I love about these international competitions.

Venezuela was favored, as they along with the Dominican Republic were rated the best teams in Group C. Puerto Rico was a close third, with Spain lagging behind. But tonight's win over Venezuela catapults Puerto Rico into the second round, along with Dominican Republic, who had already beaten Venezuela earlier in the round robin first round.

It was cool seeing some of the best Major Leaguers out there, such as Miguel Cabrera and Pablo Sandoval, both from Venezuela. Miguel is coming off winning the Triple Crown this year, the first Major Leaguer to do so in 45 years. And I think Pablo Sandoval was the MVP of this year's World Series. Puerto Rico, of course, counters with the likes of Carlos Beltran and Yadier Molina.

The stadium looked great. About the only thing I would add is a larger screen to show replays and stuff like that. Anyway, the atmosphere was electric, and I shouted myself hoarse. I'll probably be like that for a couple of days. I went with my brother, and we had pretty good seats. But it took us about an hour to get out of the stadium and the parking lot.

Then we went to Lupi's, a late night Mexican food place, and watched some of the USA vs Italy game on ESPN Deportes.

Tomorrow Puerto Rico plays the Dominican Republic, but it's meaningless, because both of them have advanced to Round 2. Venezuela and Spain have been eliminated.