Well, back in Erie safe and sound. LONG trip home (26 hours!) and a bit jet-lagged — but all good. As you’ve probably seen from my posts, this was a successful and memorable trip. The main events were: 1. Visiting the Chornomorets Soccer Stadium in Odesa 2. Helping...

All, We went from the girls soccer training school to the Mayor's office to give him the key to the city. Erie and Chornomorsk are both ports and earlier this year became Sister Cities. The Mayor even put on a sport coat for the event 😉 It was an easy meeting. I told...

All, On Sunday, we drove the hour from Odesa to Chornomorsk. As I've mentioned, these are 2 of the 3 Black Sea ports remaining under Ukrainian control. So, vital to Ukraine's success and its future. We have gotten to meet with many of the folks who run them. They...

All, One of the main goals of our visit was to see the progress our good friends from Allrise Capital have made on the stadium and the women's soccer team they own here in Odesa. They acquired this stadium, built 15 years ago, about 5 years ago, just before Covid hit,...

All, Arrived here in the afternoon. Mikhail took us to a very nice Greek restaurant for lunch. DELICIOUS! Jet lag (plus yesterday's bike ride from hell) finally caught up to us, so both Gordie and I caught quick naps before heading out for a wonderful and memorable...

We took the 4-hour drive from Moldova to Odesa. Uneventful. Easy drive. What strikes you is the beauty of the land. Fertile farmland dotted by small villages (some more modern than others). Border crossing was easy, and we look forward to our time here. Now I'm gonna...

All, Had a very nice and full day in Chisinau, the capital of Moldova. Got in at midnight. Gordie and I both got up early and walked around the town. Pretty quiet, clean, and safe, with some cool sites. Had a nice breakfast. We signed up for a bike ride to a very cool...

All, On my way back to Odesa. Flew from NYC to Istanbul and then to Chisinau, Moldova (cool, historical place. Look it up 😉) The blue dot is on the flight. The pics are out of the plane window.  Looks very green and fertile. And we left JFK airport at midnight last...

All, It's pretty interesting—and exciting—that the new Pope is the first American Pope after 275 predecessors. I also read this morning (though not yet confirmed) that his grandparents and great-grandparents were from the Dominican Republic and have French/African...

I just had breakfast with Brandon Beane at the stadium. Thanks to M&T Bank for the invite, and to our good friend Bill Hanes for the private introduction. I’ve met Beane before—thoughtful guy. Smart. Grounded. You can see why players want to be here. He talked...