1. I was probably 10 years old when I went for the first time to The Astrodome in Houston. Like everyone, I was absolutely dazzled by watching a sporting event indoors. I wasn’t so much a fan of the Astros as I was the Astrodome. Maybe it was the Astroturf, the first artificial turf ever created, because the natural grass they tried to grow died indoors. Maybe it was the scoreboard, which had these graphics of cowboys shooting guns every time the Astros hit a home run.

Now it seems every few years, a new stadium or dome pops up that puts the rest to shame. On Saturday, the latest palace opened in the Phoenix suburb of Glendale. It doesn’t seem right that a $450 million stadium is home to a two-cent team, but the new 63,000 Cardinals Stadium is already sold out for all eight home games this year.
The most striking feature about the stadium is that the natural grass field is set on top of a tray outside in the sun, then rolled in and locked into place for the games.

Wow! Growing grass and then rolling it? Sounds like the next NFL stop for the league’s honorary Doobie Brother, Ricky Wiliams.
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