Record Travel Meets Recent Turbulence: What to Expect this Thanksgiving
Syracuse Airport, not one of the 40 airports required to reduce flights, prepares to greet Thanksgiving passengers after the end of the government shutdown. @2025 Nico Horning
With another record-breaking holiday travel season in store, according to AAA, the roads and airports are set to be busier than ever.
“We are expecting 81.8 million Americans traveling 50 miles or more during the Thanksgiving travel period,” says Valeria Puma, communications specialist for AAA of Western and Central New York. “It’s another record-breaking year.
AAA’s annual Thanksgiving forecast projects continued growth in travel by more than 50 miles. @2025 AAA
AAA notes the Thanksgiving holiday period ranges from Tuesday, Nov. 25 to Monday, Dec. 1. But Puma said it could start even earlier for some remote workers that can be in a secondary location.
“This year’s domestic travel forecast includes an additional 1.6 million travelers compared to last Thanksgiving, setting a new overall record,” according to AAA. “Thanksgiving is the single busiest holiday for travel compared to others like Memorial Day and July 4.
Turbulence After Shutdown
November began with a government shutdown that led to flight reductions across 40 of the busiest airports in the United States. Now that the shutdown is over, flight reductions are ending.
“Things should be back to business as usual pretty soon. We are expecting a little over six million Americans to be flying during that Thanksgiving holiday season,” said Puma.
More Travelers Staying on the Ground
Despite the resumed operations, AAA expects “an additional 1.3 million people on the road compared to last Thanksgiving. That number could end up being higher if some air travelers decide to drive instead of fly following recent flight cancellations.”
Travel by bus, train, and cruise have also seen an uptick this year by 8.5% to nearly 2.5 million people, according to AAA.
For travelers renting a car, Wednesday is expected to be the busiest pick-up day.
What Syracuse Flyers Should Know
For Syracuse residents, Puma highlighted that some frequent flyers have elected to drive if their destination is within a reasonable distance because of the unknown in the skies. She also noted that air travelers need to allow extra time.
“Here at the Syracuse Airport, we’re a little bit of a smaller airport,” said Puma. “We have a lot of layovers coming through our airport. So make sure you’re getting there early, knowing if you’re going to be checking a bag or just doing carry-on, whatever it may be. Be kind and patient to everyone else at the airport.”
AAA recommends passengers to arrive at the airport two hours before their domestic flight and three hours ahead of their international flight.
Haven’t Booked yet?
Some Thanksgiving travelers have also played the waiting game to see how long the flight reductions and air traffic control shortages would linger, but Puma explains why it’s a good time to finally commit.
“If you were waiting because of the flight reductions and all of the news earlier this month and you haven’t booked your flight yet, definitely start looking,” said Puma. “If you haven’t booked that flight, look at early morning flights because if your flight gets delayed due to weather or another reason or cancelled, at least it’s early in the day and you have an opportunity to get on a different flight or that delayed flight the same day and still get to your destination.”
Be early. Be prepared. And maybe most importantly, be kind.
“We [AAA] like to say, pack your patience,” said Puma.
Spring Training Complexes
Salt River Fields, home of the Arizona Diamondbacks and Colorado Rockies, is the largest spring training facility in Arizona. It features an 11,000-seat stadium and 12 practice fields spread across 140 acres.
One place I’ve grown up going to in March is Arizona. The warmth of the desert sun after a chilly start to the morning, mixed with the sounds of gloves and baseballs and the excitement of another season of baseball. It all coincides with the beauty of spring Ttraining.
Some of my favorite ballparks actually reside in the Phoenix metro area. They may not hold the massive capacities as actual MLB parks dispersed throughout the country, but the intimacy and personal flavor that goes with spring training ballparks is unmatched.
West of Phoenix
Let’s start on the west side of Phoenix, many of which I haven’t actually been to. There are five ballparks that are on each side of the city, and they represent different teams and different themes of the desert.
One ballpark on the west side of Phoenix includes American Family Field of Phoenix, the home of the Milwaukee Brewers. I’ve never attended a game here, but I’ve heard solid things about the field near Maryvale.
Further west of that ballpark is Camelback Ranch, the home of the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Chicago White Sox. This is one of my favorite complexes in the region. It’s massive and spread out between both clubs, and allows for plenty of up-close access to bullpens and morning workouts. The ballpark itself is also super intimate and allows a good view of rising stars and already solidified stars.
Southwest of Camelback Ranch is Goodyear Ballpark, home of the Cleveland Guardians and Cincinnati Reds. This is another location I have not been to yet. (I promise you I’ll get to all of them at some point.)
The final two ballparks on the west side includes Surprise Stadium, home of the Kansas City Royals and the Texas Rangers. I went here when I was super young as guests of former Rangers manager Ron Washington.
Peoria Sports Complex is also on the west side. It makes up the home of the Seattle Mariners and San Diego Padres. Also a top notch spring training ballpark that is accessible to fans who want an up close and personal access.
East of Phoenix
Tempe Diablo Stadium, the home of the Los Angeles Angels, is a unique space. It’s kind of congested and older, but provides some good views of the surrounding hilltop where the Marriott resort is situated.
Scottsdale Stadium, also on the older side, is the home of the San Francisco Giants. It’s in a good location, but it isn’t my favorite ballpark even though I’m a Giants fan. There is no bad seat, but it’s a bit of a tight stadium in Old Town Scottsdale.
The Chicago Cubs’ Sloan Park is a nice ballpark and represents a mini Wrigley Field. They have pretty good access to morning workouts before afternoon games.
Hohokam Stadium in Mesa is the home of the Athletics. It’s a fine ballpark with nothing too crazy or too shabby.
My Favorite
This leaves the best for last. Salt River Fields at Talking Stick. This is the best spring training site that I’ve attended games at. It has everything you can ask for if you’re a baseball fan. From expansive practice facilities and ballfields to up-close personal access overlooking batting cages, to a ballpark that is a solid size for a spring training site. It’s kept up very well, and sits in North Scottsdale in a great location.
Overall, I’m a few ballparks away from attending all of the Arizona spring training sites, and can’t wait for March.
A World Series For The Ages
Rogers Centre, home of the Toronto Blue Jays, played host of Game 7 in the 2025 World Series.
This World Series reminded me of an instance where a Vin Scully call would’ve woven in perfectly into one of these games. Bob Gibson’s walk-off home run in the 1988 World Series when Scully said, “in a year that has been so improbable, the impossible has happened,” could’ve rang true at some point during the 2025 Fall Classic.
Anxiousness
There were so many nail-biting moments in front of anxious fans in both cities that only became more nervous as the games went on.
How about an underdog Blue Jays team upsetting the favored Dodgers in a blowout Game 1. Then a complete-game masterpiece by Yoshinobu Yamamoto. That was followed up by another Dodgers victory in an 18-inning Game 3 that didn’t end until after 2 A.M. ET. Toronto came back and won two straight in games 4 and 5. Game six featured the Dodgers making it go a seventh.
Game 7
Game 7 was incredible. The amount of game-changing moments, or teams down to their last out and somehow kept things alive. It was the ultimate team game, from either side. It started with a Bo Bichette 3-run home run in the 3rd inning. That boom gave the Blue Jays early confidence at home.
Los Angeles slowly crept back into the game. It was down by two in the 8th inning and Max Muncy delivered a solo blast which made it a one-run ballgame. In the 9th, Dodgers down by one to their final couple outs and Miguel Rojas came up clutch with another solo home run and tied things up going into the bottom of the 9th. And was it ever quite the bottom half of the ninth inning.
Oh So Close
The Dodgers had bases loaded with one out. A groundball to second sent Isaiah Kiner-Falefa towards home, but he got thrown out by a hair and Dodgers catcher Will Smith held his foot on the plate for the force. The argument now is if Kiner-Falefa should’ve dove head first instead of in a figure four slide. So now there’s two outs with the bases loaded. Here comes Ernie Clement. The youngster golfs it to left-center field, and when you first look at the FOX telecast, you probably would think it’s going to land somewhere in play and the Blue Jays would’ve won their first World Series since going back-to-back in 1992 and 1993. However, the newly entered center fielder Andy Pages jumps over left fielder Kike Hernandez and send the game to extra innings.
Will Smith hit the go-ahead home run for the Dodgers in the 11th inning, and Yamamoto came in to pitch for the win after throwing nearly 100 pitches the day before. It was the luck of the Dodgers that night to win consecutive World Series.
JMA Wireless Dome Gears Up For Basketball Season
Dome Changeover Crew works to change the facility from event to event.
WATCH: JMA Dome transforms to basketball
From basketball to football, and concerts in between, Syracuse University’s JMA Wireless Dome hosts a wide-range of events.
Fans worry about parking and arriving on time, but everything else is already prepared and ready for showtime.
What few patrons realize is that within just a couple of days, the entire interior of the Dome can be completely transformed from one event to the next
Dome Changeover
Meet the Dome Changeover Crew: a group made up of around 30 students with 5-10 full-time staff members responsible for changing the largest college domed stadium in the country from event to event.
“Today is a crazy day,” said Pete Sala, University Vice President and Chief Facilities Officer. “I think I had about 30 students here this morning. We have a wonderful group this year and I’m really excited. I’m upset at the same time because we have a lot of seniors.”
Sala explains the process of o transforming the Dome from a football layout to a basketball game.
“It takes about 5 or five and a half hours to do it really good the first time,” said Sala. “We’re going through all our technical equipment right now. We got a little glitch. We’re having Daktronics come in. The basketball clock is not working.”
Crew members work to lay the floor for the next event at the JMA Wireless Dome.
Sala has spent 15 years tackling the challenges that come with changing one event to another inside the 42,000 seat football stadium or 30,000 capacity for basketball.
“We’re pretty much wrapped up with the bulk of the work,” said Sala. “We’re just putting chairbacks out now.”
Anthony’s Commitment
As far as changes go for this season, Kiyan Anthony’s commitment has led his father and 2003 men’s basketball National Champion, Carmelo Anthony, to buy four seats courtside – a move that’s prompted some adjustments.
“We had to change the official table because Carmelo has four seats now at that table next to the VIP that owns the four seats next to the visiting bench,” said Sala. “So those first eight seats will be occupied by general patrons. It’ll be Carmelo and his guests. So there’s four seats for him,”
Sala also noted there might be some additional security because of Anthony’s presence. “I don’t think anything outrageous. You’ll maybe see a public safety officer or police officer outside of the curtain just so people aren’t bothering the people that are there.”
Aside from noticeable figures courtside, Sala doesn’t expect many evident changes for strictly basketball games this season. Sala confirmed there’s a new apparatus that is holding up the bleachers towards the opposite end zone.
Basketball Changes
The biggest change might be the enhanced club access for women’s basketball courtside fans. Sala describes that there’s a special VIP area in the west halfcourt tunnel of the Dome that courtside fans can use at men’s games, but the need is there for the women’s games.
“There’s nothing for those courtside seat holders at a women’s game,” said Sala. “They have to go up to the concession stand. We’re going to offer it at both. I think it’s going to be very well received at the women’s games. I’m excited about it. It’s going to be a great added value to those folks who are on the court.”
Finally, Sala added that he expects the backcourt area behind the east bleachers to open up a bit earlier this year for fans to enjoy pregame and halftime. The expected games he listed out includes opponents of Tennessee, Hofstra, and Northeastern.
The first exhibition basketball games take place this week with the men's home opener next Monday, Nov. 3 against Binghamton at 7 P.M.
32nd Syracuse Crunch Season Nears With Upgrades and Ice Delays
After recent lighting upgrades, Upstate Medical University Arena continues to improve other areas of the facility. (Credit: Nico Horning)
The 32nd season of Syracuse Crunch hockey opens next week. The AHL affiliate of the Tampa Bay Lightning, now under head coach and general manager Joel Bouchard, hits game ice Oct. 18 after last year’s North Division Semifinals exit to the Rochester Americans.
New Season
“We’re really excited about the start of the season,” said Megan Cahill, the Crunch Vice President of Communications & Digital Media. “This is our favorite time of year. It’s what we look forward to all summer.”
Despite unseasonably warm temperatures in Central New York for the month of October, the cold ice is in the process of coming together inside Upstate Medical University Arena in downtown Syracuse.
Ice Delays
Ice installation has been delayed because of recent events that have taken place inside the Onondaga County-owned War Memorial. Adam Sandler: You’re My Best Friend, for example, took place on Sept. 17, and delayed the start of the ice building inside the arena.
“It’s a little kink when we’re trying to work around other shows and other events and getting the ice built and getting all of our sponsors in ice and all of that,” said Cahill. “So it’s nice that we have Tennity and SU in that partnership so that we’re able to come here and skate and get training camp underway.”
Tennity Ice Pavilion hosted Crunch training camp two years ago, too. (Credit: Nico Horning)
The road bump forced the Crunch to begin their training camp at Tennity Ice Pavilion, the home of Syracuse University’s women’s ice hockey team, along with its club men’s and women’s teams. During the last week of September, the team bused between the SU campus and its gym and workout facilities at Upstate Medical University Arena.
Syracuse played its pair of preseason games on the road in Binghamton and Utica. The Crunch open the season on the road in Hershey, PA against the Bears.
The extra time should be enough for the Crunch to complete the ice installation before the nearly 6,000 hockey fans fill the arena for opening night.
Home Arena Upgrades
Speaking of ushering in fans for a new year, Upstate Medical University Arena has made upgrades ahead of this AHL season.
Padded lower bowl seats with cupholders
Improved accessibility
New seating locations on the stage
New speakers in arena, concourses, and arena entrances
“We have two really exciting upgrades this summer,” said Cahill. “One being the seating project. All of the lower bowl seating is all brand new this year. So we have cupholders, everyone has a little bit more of a comfortable seat, we kind of shifted where the seats were so we think people are really going to enjoy that.”
An audible upgrade will be the sound system from when you approach the venue outside to what fans will hear above the ice.
“We put a brand new sound system in that’s in-arena, through the hallways, that’s even outside the arena,” said Cahill. “So wherever you are during an event, you’re going to hear what’s going on.”
The Syracuse Crunch host the Rochester Americans in their home opener on Saturday, Oct.18 at 7 p.m.
Cooperstown Is The CNY Baseball Connection
The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum was established in 1936 in Cooperstown, New York. It’s operated by a private foundation and collects baseball-related artifacts and displays exhibits.
Although Central New York and anywhere north of New York City within state limits doesn’t have a baseball team, Major League Baseball still plays a large role in the popularity of America’s pastime because of a certain town: Cooperstown, New York.
A town that sits on Otsego Lake, built by baseball history and character, proudly represents the National Baseball Hall of Fame Museum. It also holds the Hall of Fame Ceremony every summer where the new inductees get recognized and become enshrined in the Plaque Gallery.
The cool thing is how the Hall of Fame aspect of Cooperstown makes up everything else that’s presented in the town.
There are plenty of restaurants, trading card shops, memorabilia shops, and all things baseball that you can imagine. It is literally a baseball town.
When I visited for the first and only time thus far with my father before we moved into my new room ahead of my sophomore year at Syracuse University, I was shocked at how the entire theme of the town was built around baseball. I didn’t exactly know what to expect the first time I showed up, but I had the Hall of Fame museum integrated into this extremely small town in the middle of nowhere for some odd reason and some ball fields for kids to play at from all over the country.
In no imagination, did I believe that every square inch of Cooperstown had something to do with baseball and that it was far more than just the Hall of Fame Museum.
Speaking of the ballfields for kids, that’s how I first learned about Cooperstown. I knew it held the National Baseball Hall of Fame, but I had plenty of friends that played several games in that town during a summer when we were in late elementary school or early middle school. I didn’t end up going on the trip with my team, but what a cool aspect for the youngsters to learn more about how their game originated.
I particularly enjoyed eating lunch at a restaurant (I forget the name of it) that was filled with signed baseball bats and memorabilia all over the place, along with walking into different baseball card shops, including Topps. I have collected, and still do, baseball cards since I was a kid and so for me to see these expansive shops was fun. I walked away with a Topps shirt, a couple boxes of baseball cards, and a Baseballism (one of my new favorite baseball brands) shirt.
Cooperstown is a must-see for any baseball fan. I look forward to my next visit.
2025 MLB Wild Card Stadium Preview
Dodger Stadium, the home of the Los Angeles Dodgers, opened in 1962.
Progressive Field
One of seven ballparks I have not personally attended. However, a capacity of over 34,000 make up Progressive Field in Cleveland, Ohio, home of the Guardians. From what I’ve seen on television, it looks like an extremely solid ballpark and easy-going venue to watch a baseball game.
The Guardians are hosting the Detroit Tigers. Speaking of Comerica Park (home of the Tigers), that’s another ballpark I have not been to. I expect this to be a tightly contested series in Cleveland. However, if Tarik Skubal does what he’s been doing all year long, Detroit will be an extremely tough out. But, we all know that the Cleveland bats can get going at any time.
Wrigley Field
One of the oldest ballparks in the United States is one of my favorite stadiums that I’ve attended. Wrigley Field, home of the Chicago Cubs, opened in 1914. Two years behind the Boston Red Sox’s Fenway Park which opened in 1912.
This is an amazing ballpark, not only because of the history that makes it up, but because of the upgrades that have kept this ballpark relevant in today’s day and age. It is truly built in a neighborhood on the northwest side of Chicago. The Wrigleyville neighborhood is built with restaurants, bars, shops, and homes and then a beautifully located 41,000 seat ballpark.
Yankee Stadium
The new Yankee Stadium is not as good as the old. Although I never got to experience the old stadium, I think the general Yankee fan would agree.
It’s a modern ballpark with all the necessities, but it feels extremely corporate and caters to the upper class baseball fans. But with that being said, the ballpark is very nice and it’s a great spot to watch a ballgame, especially with the ease of the subway from Manhattan.
Dodger Stadium
Good ole Southern California. One of those ballparks that gives you that nice, warm, and sunny feeling every time you walk in. No worries about the weather. Situated above downtown Los Angeles, Dodger Stadium is one-of-a-kind and holds the most fans of any MLB stadium. 56,000 seats are around 10,000 more than the second place spot of Coors Field, the home of the Colorado Rockies.
What makes up Dodger Stadium is the atmosphere. And that’s coming from a San Francisco Giants fan, which Oracle Park also holds its own incredible and laid-back vibe. Whether it’s the organist at Dodger Stadium piping in between pitches, or the loud and energized Dodger fans, it’s a hard place to beat.
The organist by the way is incredible. The way he can mix in songs into a “Let’s go Dodgers” chant all within the few seconds you get now with the pitch clock is unbelievable. Dodger Stadium is a tough place to play in for any opposing team, so good luck to the Cincinnati Reds.
Social Media Affects Journalism
It all begins with an idea.
What are the positives and negatives of an age that allows nearly anyone to create and publish content?
The positives is that it’s easier than ever to get noticed and have something go viral to make a name for yourself, especially if you’re looking for a job or want to create your own brand. Anyone can be a journalist or a content creator just by clicking a few times on your phone or computer. The downside to this is that there’s a multitude of false information out there in the world that people rely on too much to make their own opinion on different topics or ideas. One example of this could be politics or news. If the mainstream media has the same facts about something, but one extremist twitter account has a post that is false but has thousands and thousands of followers, then people will still skew towards that. There needs to be a new system of limiting the media sites available to us. There’s definitely a lot more competition than there used to be for both news and publishing content.
What is meant by an “active” audience? How have news consumers’ habits changed?
An “active” audience is those that view content and engage with it or respond or comment on certain posts. This is all about engagement. News consumers’ habits have changed by mostly watching short videos or reading a quick article from a push notification on a phone rather than sitting down and watching a full newscast. Most people want snappy, correct info and get on with their day. Attention spans have shortened.
Describe the relationship between journalists and the audience today.
There is now a two-way relationship or conversation between journalists and the audience. There used to be just a one-way conversation when all people did was read the newspaper or watch TV news, because they couldn’t directly respond to what the journalists were saying. Although my grandpa actually used to email his favorite sports writer in the SF Chronicle quite a bit. Nowadays, the audience can engage with what journalists are publishing and they can choose to have a conversation if they’d like.
What are the skills journalists need in our mobile and social media world?
Journalists need to be quick and witty, but not forgetting that the truth must come first before publishing. Don’t just be first to be first. Always be accurate. Also, journalists need to be able to snap videos with their phones and know how to create content for audiences on different platforms and adjusting accordingly.
This chapter highlighted how mobile devices and social media are impacting journalists’ work in three ways: newsgathering, distribution of news, and audience engagement. For each category, find your own examples and discuss them as a class.
Newsgathering is done on mobile platforms with phones and social media. The distribution of news is often found a lot now on social media along with online articles on news websites. Many of those websites are now requiring that people pay to read the articles and pay for a subscription, just like they would if they were to receive a newspaper at their house. The audience is once again engaging with this content on social media.
The Connection of Sports + Travel
It all begins with an idea.
Where It All Started:
Some things just correlate better than others in life. For me, that would be sports and travel. Since I was a younger kid in grade school that grew up playing baseball as my main sport, my father and I have put a goal towards visiting every Major League Baseball stadium together and checking them off. I sit at 22 ballparks out of the active 30. And 23 if you want to count the old Texas Rangers ballpark, but we’ll keep it active. Yes, I’ve been to both the Oakland Coliseum and Sutter Health Park for the Athletics since I’m from the Sacramento region.
More Than A Game:
This goal or bucket list has led me to many different travel experiences, sights, sounds, and meeting new people. It’s something that I can take into other aspects of my life everyday that I learned just by jumping on an airplane and going somewhere. It’s also taught me how to get out of my comfort zone and be comfortable with being in an uncomfortable area, and make me really appreciate where I’ve grown up and the environment I’ve been fortunate enough to be raised in.
Beyond Baseball:
My most recent example of this doesn’t even have anything to do with baseball. I worked with NBC Sports this past summer at three different golf tournaments. The first one was the U.S. Open in Oakmont, PA. I flew out by myself and showed up to meet and work with people I had never met before. I learned a lot about myself for the nine days that I was there about how to treat different people and be okay with everyone having different interests or how they want to go about their daily tasks. Plus, we had to work long hours so that’s a whole other story. One of the days was 3am-10pm. Brutal. But for a college student, it was nice making some cash.
Breaking Stereotypes:
Where I was getting at was my third trip to Memphis, Tennessee. The bad rap that Memphis gets is unbelievable. And I definitely saw some rough parts of the area, but all things considered it had some of the most friendly people I’d ever met whether I was eating at a restaurant or simply walking around.
Hometown Reputation:
I’m used to people calling where I’m from not the best place in the country. Both Oakland and San Francisco are about two hours from me, and I can’t begin to tell you the amount of times they get a bad rap. Oakland more so than San Francisco, but still. I have family that lives in the city by the bay, and I spend multiple nights there every few months, and it is not as bad as people make it out to be, especially the media. Sure, there are rough areas, but you’re not going to visit those areas. In fact the nice areas are extremely nice.
What’s Next:
In future posts, I’ll break down various trips that my dad and I have gone on together— we’ll usually combine a few ballparks into one trip in a certain region.