Chicago Cubs with Brother

My brother flew into Chicago from San Francisco this weekend to attend two Cubs games. Ideally, he would have been able to fly out early on Friday but was unable to because of work. Thus, he took the redeye (flight takes off at 11:30 pm from the west coast and lands in Chicago between 5 and 6 am) in order to be on time for the 12:05 pm start.

Before the game we went to the Full Shilling at 3724 N. Clark St. They have a special one hour before and after each game – one free hot dog with every drink purchase. For $6, you get a 24 ounce Miller or Bud product and a hot dog. Not a bad deal.

The Cubs once again came from behind to win the game. For the second time this season, an umpire needed to leave a game early at Wrigley Field. First base umpire Brian O'Nora had to leave the game in the top of the second after hurting the back of his left leg. It appeared he injured it making a safe call, but apparently he injured it after running to the outfield the previous inning to make a ruling on a catch. Apparently umpires need to stretch too.

After taking the redeye, obviously we needed to take a nap after the game. However, if you are able, you should hit up the many festivals that occur during the summer in Chicago. This weekend is Mayfest and Belmont/Sheffield Music Festival which we will attend tonight after eating some Chicago pizza.

Bank of America Open: Round 2

For the second day in a row, I attended the Bank of America Open in Glenview, IL. Since the morning tee times were postponed about 4 hours due to rain, I decided to go after work. The last tee time was scheduled for 6:30 pm after the rain subsided. In addition, The Glen (the shopping area that surrounds the golf course) was hosting a wine tasting event that started at 5 pm. The ticket I bought for the event ($10 for the week) came with one free drink at the wine tasting event.

Generally, I have strict attendance rules about how much of an event I need to attend in order for the sporting event to be “official.” For example, I need to watch at least 5 innings of a Major League Baseball game and at least the 1st or 2nd half of an NBA or NFL game. While I normally stay for the entire event, these rules were created for extraordinary exceptions.

When it comes to golf attendance rules are especially important. For the fan, one round of golf can take up to 12 hours. The first tee time occurs around 7 am while the last golfer finishes around 7 pm. While I have attended one full day of golf before, I do not recommend it. It is a long and sometimes boring day. Even attending half the event (6 hours) can be too much time.

Thus, I have allowed the golf attendance rules some flexibility – in order for a golf event to count, I must watch at least 9 holes of golf. Since playing 18 holes for a single golfer takes around 4.5 hours, 9 holes of golf should last around 2 and 2.5 hours. Thus, as long as you are at a golf event for over 2 hours you can consider your attendance official.

In addition, one may not leave a sporting event in order to attend another sporting event. Since a golf event does last for 12 hours, I would not attend an afternoon baseball game for example.

The one exception to that rule is to attend a night game after a golf event. Since golf does last until the early evening I do allow myself to leave early in order to attend a night game, which was the case Thursday night.

Event #2: Colorado Rockies at Chicago Cubs

The last time I combined a golf event with another sporting event was back on June 12, 2003 when I attended both the US Open and the Chicago White Sox game on the same day.

In the night cap of my second golf / baseball doubleheader, the Cubs came from behind to win the game for the 2nd night in a row.

Event #1: Bank of America Open

In a cold and rainy afternoon (who said golfers don’t play in rain?), Marc Leishman, hit a ball that bounced off the top of the grandstand surrounding the 18th green. The ball ricocheted behind the grandstand. Since the grandstand was an obstruction in between the lie of the ball and the 18th hole, the rules judge acted under the “temporary immovable obstruction rule.”

Under the rule, Leishman was allowed to take “line of sight relief” from the bleachers. Meaning he could move the ball to the first spot that would allow him a direct line from his ball to the hole (but the ball could be no closer to the hole than where the ball originally landed). Next, he could make a drop in between 1 and 2 club lengths from the new spot without a penalty stroke. Since the first drop landed too close to the cart path, Leishman was allowed to take a second drop which enabled him to hit a nice chip for his 3rd shot.

The Nationwide Tour and Chicago Cubs

Today I am attempting a rather unordinary doubleheader. I am combining the Bank of America Open of the Nationwide Tour (basically Minor League Golf) this afternoon with the Cubs game this evening.

The Glen Club hosts the annual event. The drive is 5-10 minutes from where I am currently working and a ticket for the week is only $10. With the tournament being so cheap and so close, my plan is to attend the first round this afternoon during “lunch.”

Dodgers at Cubs: 1,010 wins each

Attending my 4th game in as many days, the Ultimate Sports Wife and I went to the Cubs game tonight. The Cubs came from behind to win the game in 10 innings. The win evened the all-time series between the Dodgers and Cubs at 1,010 wins apiece.

My friend Mike Holzman texted us halfway through the game stating there were extra seats by him. Since our tickets are in the upper deck and he was sitting in the lower deck behind home plate we hurried up and walked downstairs.

Tip #1 to sneaking into better seats: When one of your friends calls or texts you saying seats are available in his section, be sure your friend brings you his ticket stubs. By bring you the ticket stubs you will be able to pass the ushers with ease and enjoy the rest of the game from a much better section.

Three Ballparks in Three Days

Last night, we arrived at Miller Park about 90 minutes before the Milwaukee Brewers hosted the Atlanta Braves. Since we were early, there were not as many scalpers as usual. We also needed 5 tickets – normally a hard number to find. We did find one scalper who had more than five tickets ($45 face value). We decided those were too expensive and went to the ticket window.

The Brewers cheapest seat is $8 but that is in the Upper Deck in left field – passed the foul poll. Ultimate Dodger Fan Will wanted to sit behind home plate so we “sprung” for the $14 Upper Deck seats within the baselines.

Since we were in the stadium 60 minutes early, the Ultimate Sports Wife and I decided to hang out in TGI Friday’s in the ballpark (we had not brought our tailgating gear). My last trip to Milwaukee I discovered that the restaurant was the one area of the ballpark you could still buy alcoholic beverages after the 7th inning.

At some point between the last time I watched the Brewers (Thu, 5/1 at Wrigley Field) play, manager Ned Yost decided to bat his pitcher 9th rather than 8th. I guess he determined what other managers have known for decades – you bat your worst hitter last.

After the game we stopped at the Brat Stop in Kenosha, WI (about a 30 minute drive south of Milwaukee). The Brat Stop is a great stopping point for a late night snack after the ballgame. It also helps break up the drive. Even Hillary Clinton made an election stop back in February at the Brat Stop.

Chicago Cubs on Memorial Day

For the first time in 4 years, I attended a sporting event on Memorial Day (and saw the Dodgers play a road game). The Cubs beat the Dodgers 3-1 at Wrigley Field as Derrek Lee hit his 250th career home run. The game included The National Moment of Remembrance at 3 PM local time on Memorial Day after Alfonso Soriano walked to lead off the 6th inning.

Tonight, for the 4th time, I am attempting to complete the Chicago / Milwaukee sweep – attending a game at all 3 ballparks in 3 days (August 2002, July 2004 and April 2008 being my prior times). However, 3 days could be considered a long time to complete the sweep – 5 weeks ago I attended a game at all three ballparks in just two days:

Mon, April 21, 2008: Cardinals at Brewers
Tue, April 22, 2008: Mets at Cubs
Tue, April 22, 2008: Yankees at White Sox

Chicago White Sox Sunday Night Baseball

Last night, I went to the Chicago White Sox Sunday night baseball game – the first event of nine sporting events in the next eight days. The Chicago White Sox hosted Sunday night baseball for the first time since April 2, 2006 (I went to Wrestlemania 22 that night).

We arrived at US Cellular Field about 2 ½ hours early since Ultimate Dodger Fan Will was going to the ballpark for the 1st time. First, we checked out home plate from the old Comiskey Park which is in the parking lot outside of Gate 5.

Next, we went to look at the one bar I knew about in the neighborhood – Jimbo’s. Jimbo’s is similar to the dive bar that I like to go to before Cubs games. However, this is the only bar in the area surrounding US Cellular Field. Wrigley, of course, has about 30 other bars and restaurants to choose from.

Rather than eat there we ate at 35th Street Red Hots – a Chicago hot dog joint. The menu is very short. You can order 1) hot dog, 2) double hot dog, 3) polish sausage or 4) a bucket of fried shrimp. The hot dog and a drink is only $4 so a good deal compared to buying the same items in the ballpark.

Another plus of eating at 35th Street Red Hots is that most of the scalpers congregate there to buy and sell tickets. Yesterday, however, we only found one scalper who had a pair of tickets. We thought the price was too high at the time.

Instead we went to find our own extra tickets. However, there were a limited amount of extra tickets due to one main factor – we were really early. Also, the game was going to be pretty full. We started looking for tickets about an hour and 40 minutes before the game started. We did find a few extras but the scalpers were holding out for fans who wanted to pay more.

Ticket Buying Tip #6: Ticket scalpers will try to hold out to see if other fans will pay more money. There is no reason for them to sell at a low price early. Thus, if you want to save money buying tickets from a scalper you should arrive at the ballpark no earlier than 20-30 minutes before the first pitch.

We ended up buying Upper Deck tickets from the ticket window for $25 each. Since Will only had one chance to see US Cellular Field, he wanted to ensure his seat location and get into the park at least an hour early.

Chicago Sky Home Opener

In continuing my support of women’s basketball this year (I attended nine NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball games this winter), the Ultimate Sports Wife and I attended the Chicago Sky 2008 home opener last night at the UIC Pavilion. In the past, I have had to buy tickets at the ticket window for Sky games (cheapest seat is $15), since scalpers tend not to show up where tickets are cheap and the volume is low. I had planned to buy two $15 tickets last night while hoping I could find a scalper or a fan with a couple of extras.

When we arrived outside the arena, there were a fair amount of people mingling around. That gave me hope there may be some extra tickets outside. I walked by one woman and asked if she had two extras. She did. However, she wanted to be paid. I asked if she really wanted anything, she said no and handed me her extra two tickets ($35 face value and a few rows from the court).

Ticket Buying Tip #5: Always re-question whether the average fan “really” wants to be paid. Most fans do not want to deal with the hassle of negotiating and may be apprehensive to accept any payment.

With an extra $30 in my pocket, Nicole and I headed into the arena. A few minutes after we sat down, Dwyane Wade of the Miami Heat and Quentin Richardson of the New York Knicks walked in front of us and took their seats two rows from the court. Wade was in town this past week buying a church for his mom.

After the game, we went to dinner at Tufano’s Vernon Park Tap Restaurant. Although there are many restaurants to choose from in Little Italy (most just a few blocks from the UIC Pavilion) Tufano’s is the only restaurant within walking distance (just on the opposite side of the main parking lot) so you can leave your car in the parking lot while dining.

The Winner: Chicago Sky and Little Italy

The Ultimate Sports Wife and I are attending the Chicago Sky’s home opener tonight. One might ask – why would you attend a WNBA game when the Chicago White Sox are playing tonight as well. The answer to that is easy – the neighborhood the Chicago Sky plays by (Little Italy) is much better than the area around US Cellular Field.

Which got me thinking – if one was to attend only one game to attend with their significant other during the week – how would you choose? Remember, if you are planning a “date” for the evening there needs to be activities for both parties.

This week a few of Chicago’s teams were home – the Chicago Rush Monday night, the White Sox all week, and the Chicago Fire vs. a Polish club team (Wisla Krawkow) last night.

If I was attending the game alone or with friends, I would rank the priority of attending the events as follows:
1) Chicago White Sox
2) Chicago Fire
3) Chicago Sky
4) Chicago Rush

However, since I am attending with Nicole, I would rank the venues (based on their proximity to where I work / live and the neighborhood that surrounds that venue) as follows:
1) UIC Pavilion
2) Allstate Arena
3) Toyota Park
4) US Cellular Field

By adding the totals, I determined the best fit is to attend the Chicago Sky game with a post game Italian dinner:
4: Chicago Sky and UIC Pavilion
5: Chicago Fire and Toyota Park
5: Chicago White Sox and US Cellular Field
6: Chicago Rush and Allstate Arena

UEFA Champions League Final

The UEFA Champions League Final is being played right now. The event, similar in stature to the Super Bowl, is played at a neutral site stadium between the best two soccer clubs in Europe.

The Ultimate Sports Wife and I considered attending the event in Moscow since a Russian visa was included with your ticket to the match. However, at the time, ticket prices to the match were competing with Super Bowl ticket prices (approximately 1500 euro or $2,300 each). Although traveling to Moscow is cool, I would rather attend the Super Bowl for that price.

But over the past few weeks, the secondary market price to the match has declined greatly (500 euro or $750 each) since England fans decided it was too pricey to travel to the world’s most expensive city. The Champions League Final is a bargain at that price. Good luck finding a ticket that cheap next year when the game is held in Rome, Italy.

Another notable of the event is the 10:45 pm local start time. I believe that is one of the latest start times for any event which would add to the excitement.

You now must choose: NBA or NHL Playoffs in Detroit

Last night the Detroit Red Wings beat the Dallas Stars to win the Eastern Conference Finals and advance to the NHL Finals. Also, last night, the San Antonio Spurs defeated the New Orleans Hornets to advance to the NBA’s Western Conference Finals.

I was considering the double dip for this weekend. The drive from Chicago to Detroit is about 4.5 hours (290 miles) and the flights are under $200 round trip.

The Pistons were scheduled to host the Celtics in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals this Sunday, May 25. Knowing that last year’s NHL Finals Game 1 in Anaheim was scheduled for Memorial Day, I figured the NHL would schedule something similar.

Since both NHL Conference Finals ended earlier than expected, Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals is now scheduled for Saturday, May 24 and Game 2 is scheduled for Memorial Day which does not make a difference for my plans. It would have still worked out to attend the Pistons game Sunday night and the Red Wings game Monday night.

However, with the Spurs advancing to the Western Conference Finals to play the Lakers, the NBA chose to have the Spurs host the Lakers in Game 3 on Sunday night and moved the Celtics / Pistons Game 3 to Saturday night – competing directly with Game 1 of the NHL Finals. The current conflicting playoff schedule is now:

NHL Finals:
Game 1: Penguins at Red Wings: Sat, May 24 at 8:00 pm ET
Game 2: Penguins at Red Wings: Mon, May 26 at 8:00 pm ET

NBA Eastern Conference Finals:
Game 3: Celtics at Pistons: Sat, May 24 at 8:30 pm ET
Game 4: Celtics at Pistons: Mon, May 26 at 8:30 pm ET

Notice something wrong with this schedule – especially if you are a Detroit fan? I understand why the NBA and NHL scheduled the games, but couldn't someone (TV, leagues, anybody) have planned it better. In fact, tickets are still available for all four games. So much for Detroit fans planning a great day of double header playoff sporting events.

Based on my importance of sporting events, I would attend the NHL Finals over the NBA’s Eastern Conference Finals. However, instead of making the drive for one game, I will probably stick with my distant 3rd place option of attending Sunday night baseball at US Cellular Field and the Cubs game on Memorial Day – so much for a holiday weekend road trip.

The Wrigley Rooftop Experience

For the first time since June 1978, the Chicago Cubs completed an 8-2 home stand. I “only” attended six of the games during the home stand in which the Cubs went 4-2. Yesterday, the Ultimate Sports Wife and I took in the game from one of Wrigley’s famous rooftop. It was the second game I spent on the rooftop this season.

We were allowed access to the VIP room for the first time meaning we did not claim our seats before the rest of the rooftop crowd arrives. Remember, we generally get to cut the line of fans waiting to get their name checked off of the guest list. Thus, we find seats before everyone else. This time, we came up to the rooftop in the first inning, but happened to find two seats within a four-seat row at the very front of the rooftop. This added a level of entertainment not normally experienced from inside the park or even further back on the rooftop.

First, we saw a fan run out of Gate C (Addison and Sheffield) only to have about five security guards chase after him and a Chicago cop on a dune buggy (from outside the stadium) grab him and throw him to the ground. We continued to watch as his three friends scuffled with security and all 4 of them were escorted “back” into Wrigley Field to go sit in “Wrigley Field jail.”

Second, Connie’s Pizza (the official pizza of Wrigley Field) delivered about 20-30 pies during the 5th inning – obviously suggesting there was a pizza shortage within the friendly confines.

Third, a fan from a neighboring rooftop was so drunk that he was escorted to the sidewalk and left until two of his buddies came to pick him up.

Fourth, we randomly saw one of our friends on Sheffield Ave. as he walked with his wife and kid around the park.

So although sitting in the 4 seats at the front of the rooftop came with some drawbacks – having to push through drunken roof toppers standing all around us – it also came with another form of entertainment we did not expect. It is quite amazing to think about all the random events that occur during a sporting event.

Pittsburgh Pirates at Chicago Cubs

In a rare event, Alfonso Soriano became just the 6th player since 1960 to hit safely in each of at least five at-bats, hit two home runs and still have his team lose. Leave it to the Cubs to earn this dubious achievement. Joe Morgan, the only other leadoff hitter to do so went 6-6 in 1965.

We had friends from out of town who wanted to go to the game today. I suggested they pay $15 for Standing Room Only seats and sit in our section (it normally has empty seats). Instead, they bought tickets through a broker and we sat in empty seats by them since their seats were a little closer.

AHL Playoffs: Western Conference Finals Game 1

I arrived at the Allstate Arena about 45 minutes early. That gave me enough time to walk around the Target Shopping area adjacent to the arena. The shopping center has a couple of sit down restaurant – Chili’s and a Steakhouse (not sure of the name). I walked into Chili’s and it was packed. Many people were Chicago Wolves fans and there were a few Cubs fans coming back from the afternoon’s Cubs game.

I ended up eating at Subway and then tried to find a ticket outside the arena. With no scalpers and no fans having extra tickets, I bought a $12 ticket at the window. There were a few fans that were pulling off the “Chicago Cubs / Chicago Wolves” doubleheader. For some reason the game did not start until 7:55 pm. I though it might be because the smoke was lingering to long from the introductions.

Horse Racing at Arlington Park

Recently, I started thinking – why do I never consider watching Horse Racing? Although I check for events at each arena and stadium within the Chicagoland area it never occurs to me to check the racing schedules at Chicago’s two main horse tracks: Arlington Park in Arlington Heights, IL and Hawthorne Race Course in Cicero, IL. You could also go to Balmoral Park in Crete, IL to see live harness racing.

This morning as I was driving to work, I noticed a sign that read "Arlington Park This Exit" at my exit. That got me thinking. Could I take in a few races over my lunch (2) hour(s)? Could I leave work a little early and check out a few races while waiting for the evening rush hour to disperse?

Thus, I checked out the distance between my new office and Arlington Park. 8.31 miles, about a 10-15 minute drive. I shoot straight down Willow Rd; turn left on Wilke Rd; drive a little further and bam; Arlington Park. This could be a definite possibility – especially on Friday evening’s during the summer when the Chicago construction crews replace the winter’s foot of snow causing traffic to slow to a crawl.

Next, I checked out the post times for Friday afternoon races. The first post time is at 2:30 pm CT – a little early. But there are 10 races and about 30 minutes in between each race. Race #6’s post time is 5 pm CT and race #10 posts at 7:03 pm CT. Thus, I could see 4-5 races after work and still make it home at a reasonable hour.

I want horse racing to hit my radar of sporting events to attend more often. It has not in the past because:

1) The tracks are normally not in a close proximity to where I live or work.
2) The races begin in the afternoon on weekdays.
3) Weekend post times have too much competition with other sporting events.
4) Regular racing days are generally not that prestigious of events.

As you can tell, I have attended horse racing sparsely throughout the years – mainly attending the more prestigious horse racing events. But when you consider I look up events at the smaller venues, like the Sears Centre, and drive to the suburbs to see Minor League Golf, Basketball and/or Hockey, Horse Racing should definitely be added to my repertoire.

Chicago Wolves: Free Meal?

Last week, Nicole said she was invited to see Jersey Boys tonight. She asked if there was a sporting event I was planning to attend but at the time, there were none. I checked the regular websites – ticketmaster.com for Chicago and Milwaukee, allstatearena.com and searscentre.com – nothing, no events for tonight. The Cubs are home this afternoon so that was out. Thus, I thought I would relax this evening at the house.

Then on Tuesday, the Chicago Wolves won Game 7 of their 2nd Round AHL playoff series vs. the Rockford Ice Hogs. Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals was then scheduled for tonight at the Allstate Arena for 7:30 pm. Since the Allstate Arena is on my way home from work I am planning to attend.

The Chicago Wolves are running a promotion for their playoff run. For every non-discounted ticket priced at $20 or more (cheapest ticket above $20 is $25 for an individual), the fan receives a free pre-game meal. This offer is only valid for the first 500 people who purchase the pre-game meal ticket. I debated whether to buy the pre-game meal ticket since I will probably get off work around 5:30 pm and be able to arrive when the meal starts at 6 pm.

However, I checked ticketmaster.com this morning and the pre-game meal tickets are sold out. After thinking about it, that probably works out better for me. First, beer is not included with the dinner. Second, without the meal I would plan to buy a $10 ticket. Thus, this whole package deal sounds enticing for the average fan but in reality this game is not worth much overall. At most, I will pay $10 from the box office and I will still have $15 to buy whatever I want. Plus, I may be able to find a free ticket from a fan outside the arena giving me even more money for food.

Now my plan is to buy a $10 ticket at the box office (and hope for a freebie), once I arrive at the arena.

Jim Edmonds Returns to Wrigley Field

After an uneventful Wednesday night, yesterday had many more interesting stories.

1) Jim Edmonds made his return to Wrigley Field as a Chicago Cub. In his first at-bat he received cheers after he singled but was booed after not producing in subsequent at-bats. I was at the game on July 19, 2004 when Carlos Zambrano was ejected for throwing at Edmonds after a Scott Rolen home run. That was after Zambrano yelled at Edmonds to run the bases after Edmonds hit a home run off Zambrano onto Sheffield Ave. From a fan’s perspective that was one of the more entertaining sequences of events I have witnessed.

2) Greg Maddux pitched for probably his last time at Wrigley Field. He received a standing ovation when he left the game in the bottom of the 5th.

3) Ryan Dempster almost threw the first shutout I have seen since Rich Hill shut out the Cincinnati Reds on September 16, 2006.

San Diego Padres at Chicago Cubs: Game 3

The Cubs won tonight 8-5. Alfonso Soriano led off tonight’s game with a home run for the 2nd consecutive night. Last night he passed Brady Anderson for the third most leadoff home runs in major league history. Craig Biggio is #2 with 53 leadoff home runs and Rickey Henderson is #1 with 81 leadoff home runs.

For hopefully the 6th time, I will attend every game of a 4-game series. Since the Padres and Cubs both won a game already I will not see a 4-game sweep. The only series that had the possibility of a sweep was when the San Francisco Giants won the first three games against the San Diego Padres in June 2001 but lost game 4. Below are the results of my prior 4-game series:

July 1994: Red Sox (3) at Athletics (1)
June 2001: Padres (1) at Giants (3) – only series at 3-0
August 2003: Astros (1) at Cubs (3)
September 2003: Cardinals (1) at Cubs (3) – attended the first 4 games of the 5-game series
July 2004: Brewers (2) at Cubs (2)
September 2004: Reds (3) at Cubs (1)

5 Innings of Horizontal Rain: Padres at Cubs

In one of the rainiest games I have attended, the Padres beat the Cubs 4-3. There are a lot of arguments out there that say baseball is not the same as football because baseball players will not play in “the weather.” Well, I am here to tell you that is not the case. They may not play in absolute downpours (except for tonight), snow, sleet, or sub 30-degree temperatures but they will play in rain.

Currently, I believe they play in the rain because the money is too good. First, a cancelled game for the Cubs means they lose 40,000 tickets worth of revenue. Of course, teams only seem to schedule day-night doubleheaders now (the Pirates did just play an “old-fashioned” doubleheader yesterday) in order to make up a portion of that lost revenue. Second, the television stations do not care if it is raining – they just care that they can sell ads against the game they are showing.

Tonight’s game was absurd. Our season tickets are under the overhang in the upper deck. We enjoy it because it keeps us dry when it is raining, cool when the sun is out and even colder when it is less than 40 degrees. However, tonight it was raining “horizontally.” The wind was blowing 17 mph to left field. Since we sit on the first base side, my back was completely wet since the rain was falling horizontal through the screen above our section.

I have been to other games where it has rained less hard and been delayed. In fact, 5 years ago, the Ultimate Sports Wife and I attended a game that rained equally as hard but was delayed just in time for postponement (before the 5th inning). Please tell me why today we had to press on so early in the season, passed the 5th, while the Padres are still in Chicago for two more days? It made no sense. In the 9th inning, the rain calmed to a sprinkle and lasted for the next hour or so. The game could have been completed in normal weather, rather than the Cubs and Padres combining for 0 runs after the Padres took the lead in the top of the 4th. I’m not how the ultimate decision is made on whether or not to delay, suspend or postpone games but tonight’s game did not follow the normal standards.

The main beneficiary of tonight’s game was Shawn Estes. He won his 100th game pitching. Normally, I try to comment on all milestones that I witness. Sure this is not too consequential but for Estes…it was a banner night.

San Diego Padres at Chicago Cubs: Game 1

The Chicago Cubs opened a 4-game series against the San Diego Padres tonight at Wrigley Field. The game time temperature was 41 degrees so I brought my winter gear to the game to stay warm. The Cubs batted around in both the 5th and 6th inning and beat the Padres 12-3.

Mark Prior, who now plays for the Padres, is once again on the DL. He was placed on the 60-day DL after having shoulder surgery on March 26. It was almost 6 years ago when Prior pitched in "one of the most anticipated debuts in the history of the Chicago Cubs" on May 22, 2002. Now we’re just waiting for when he can debut a healthy season.

Polo at The Villages

We went to see Polo at The Villages yesterday. I need to do some more research on the sport to understand what level of competition we were watching.

A day at THE PLAYERS Championship

My day started on Friday at 7 am when the alarm sounded. My parents picked me up at 7:30 am and we were off for the 2.5 hour drive to Ponte Vedra Beach, FL (a suburb of Jacksonville) – a journey that took 4 hours once you included picking up our tickets, parking and taking the shuttle to the course in traffic.

We picked up the tickets I bought from eBay with no problems and continued to the free parking lot at University of North Florida. The other options to park would have been to buy a parking pass ahead of time or buy a parking pass from a scalper on the way to the parking lots. We chose the free lot. I have used shuttle twice before for the Arnold Palmer Invitational in Orlando and the Kraft Nabisco Championship in Palm Springs, CA and both seemed to work out well.

This tournament has you go through security before you board the bus. They do so because they do not have a place for you to check your cell phone, camera, etc once you get to the entrance. Also, the bus ride takes over 30 minutes from the free parking lot to the golf course.

Once inside we sat in a spot where we could see the 16th and 17th greens (and sit in shade – the top priority). Since I was with my parents we relaxed at the 16th hole. However, the area around the 17th hole is the place to be if you are looking to meet other people or hang out with friends. Towards the afternoon, it seemed like people were coming to the tournament after work for their Friday night out.

Once the morning groups were complete with hole #17, we decided it was time to follow Sergio Garcia and Phil Mickelson, who were playing in back to back groups. We caught up with them on hole #4. One of the coolest parts of attending a golf event is the proximity in which you are to the players. After Mickelson completed his hole, he walked to walk to Tee #5 through the galley and handed a young girl his birdie putt ball. Although ropes are up, fans are easily within 2-4 feet of some of the world’s most famous athletes. Imagine being 3 feet from Michael Jordan at an NBA game? It would never happen unless you are paying hundreds or thousands of dollars for court side seats. At golf, you can pay for the cheapest ticket and still be that close.

It took us about an hour to get back to our car once we decided to leave the course enhancing the debate of whether we should have bought a parking pass or parked for free. I feel we should have paid for parking but it might have taken a similar amount of time to drive through traffic ourselves.

A cycle of cycles…and scalpers

The last time Gavin Floyd almost threw a no-hitter this season, the White Sox hit two grand slams in the same game the next day. Tonight, the day after Gavin Floyd almost through another no-hitter, it was Carlos Gomez of the Twins, not someone from the White Sox, who set a milestone hitting. He is only the second player to hit for a reverse cycle (hitting a HR, triple, double and single in that order) since MLB expanded to divisions in 1969. It is also:

1) The Twins’ first cycle in 22 years. Kirby Puckett hit for the last cycle in 1986.
2) The first player to hit a cycle versus the White Sox since Mike Blowers hit one 10 years ago on May 18, 1998 – a game the Ultimate Sports Wife and I witnessed.
3) The 3rd cycle I have seen. The 2nd occurring last spring on June 4, 2007

Tonight’s game was delayed by rain for over 90 minutes. I arrived “on time” for the game and paid $5 to a kid I actually recognized as a US Cellular Field scalper. He tried to sell me a fake ticket 4 years ago to the Cubs at White Sox series. He is probably 17 or 18 years old now. You know you are getting old when you can see scalpers “grow up.”

Tickets for The PLAYERS Championship

Last night I bought 3 tickets to the Players Championship for this Friday off eBay for $40 each (face value is $75). As usual, I checked the prices on StubHub, TicketsNow and craigslist to determine the market price for grounds tickets. It seemed most people were looking for $55-65 per ticket.

Since I am going with my parents I decided to buy tickets ahead of time rather than on site. Now I need to pick up the tickets on the day of the event.

Because Bad Things Happen to Good People - Rio Grande Valley Dorados

Give me a city and I will find you an event “worth” going to. I cannot promise an event that is significant in sports stature or history, but I can promise you some novel promotions, a night’s worth of entertainment and some tall tale beer stories to tell your friends when you are buying a $7 brew at your next NFL game.

Nicole and I were in South Texas in the Rio Grande Valley – a rural area near the border of Mexico. The best sporting event option in the area was the Rio Grande Valley Dorados AF2 game on Saturday night – only a 20 minute drive from where we were staying.

We drove past the Dodge Arena Saturday afternoon after our site-seeing excursion so I bought a ticket at that time. The reason to do so was not because I thought the game would sell out, but I thought I would arrive so late that the team would stop selling tickets. Generally, a team will close the box office an hour or so after the game starts.

The cheapest ticket they sold was $16 – a little pricey I thought for an AF2 game but I had no better options since minor league games generally do not have scalpers.

I arrived at the game on time – parking was free so that made up for the $16 face value. I took a quick trip around the arena to see if there were any scalpers. There weren’t, so my decision to buy a ticket ahead of time did not make a difference since I was on time.

The Dodge Arena only sits 5,500 people. The arena only has a first level and it is about half the size of the first level of any major arena. During the first quarter, Wide Receiver Anthony Chambers caught a touchdown pass, jumped over the wall and ran halfway up the stands giving the football to a random fan – an unprecedented site in professional sports (and I use professional very loosely in this context). Apparently, the AF2 allows fans to keep the football when it ends up in to stands during play and after a touchdown is scored. It seems that Chambers just took this to the next level.

In the 2nd half, Chambers scored another touchdown, ran over to the Corpus Christi bench and taunted the Sharks. Obviously he immediately received a taunting penalty. I began to wonder whether this guy realized the league he was playing in. I understand being immersed in your own world, but doesn’t this guy realize he is in the 2nd division of the AFL not the NFL.

The Dorados have one of the best promotions I have ever seen. About halfway through the second quarter, the Dorados sacked the Sharks’ quarterback for a safety. As that happened, many of the guys in the stands began marching down the aisles back into the concession areas. I was wondering, “Where is everyone going?” Next, the scoreboard flashed – “Dorado Safety! $1 beer for the next 10 minutes.” I sprinted along with Dorado my friends because I could not pass up the offer. I stood inline and watched the frenzy that ensued. The concessionaires brought out 8-10 ounce plastic cups and began filling up plastic pitchers in order to keep things moving. It was a beer assembly line.

As I brought my two beers back to my seat I noticed I had not seen a mascot at the game. As I continued watching the game, I realized the public address announcer was more of a “vocal” mascot – yelling loud, egging on the fans and even taunting the opposing team. You have to give this guy credit. It is hard to rally a Southern Texas, roughneck type of crowd. If you don’t believe me just consider their kickoff sponsor – Anzaldua Bail Bonds whose tag line is “because bad things happen to good people.”

Minor League Baseball at Wrigley Field

While searching for Minor League Baseball in South Texas, I read a headline that reported the Cubs’ Midwest League Class A affiliate Peoria Chiefs will be hosting Chicago’s only affiliated minor league team Kane County Cougars at Wrigley Field on Tue, July 29. It is believed to be the first minor league game in Wrigley Field’s 94 year history.

If the Cubs’ sell more than 10,000 tickets, the game will count as one of their 30 night games, so that could have impact on the scheduling of a future Cubs’ game.

Many teams may include this ticket in a season ticket package as a “bonus” game. However, I called the Cubs this morning and they stated season ticket holders will need to purchase tickets to this game if they wish to attend.

Hidalgo, TX - Dodge Arena

This afternoon, Nicole and I are flying to Harlingen, TX to visit her grandfather (who lives in Mission, TX). Of course, I wanted to see if any sporting events were planned for the weekend in South Texas or Northern Mexico.

San Antonio: At first, I thought to check San Antonio. However, San Antonio is a 252 mile, 4.5 hour drive north. There is not enough time for that kind of drive.

South South Texas: My first step in searching for sporting events in an area is to logon to Ticketmaster.com and search for the city I am traveling to, select “All Sports”, then select the time frame of my trip. The only sporting event that popped up was the Rio Grande Valley Dorados of Arena Football 2. They play in Hidalgo, TX at the Dodge Arena – about a 15-20 minute drive.

Next, I went to http://www.dodgearena.com/ to see if any other events were taking place at the arena. No other events are taking place this weekend, but a few other minor league teams play at the arena during the winter:

1) Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees of the CHL (Minor League Hockey)
2) Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the NBDL (NBA Development League)

Minor League Baseball: I also logged on to http://www.minorleaguebaseball.com/ – searching for games in South Texas or the Mexican League. There are games 2 hours away in Corpus Christi, TX and Nuevo Laredo, Mexico.

Mexico: The Tigres de Reynosa play across the border in the Primera División 'A' Mexicana but it appears their season ended last weekend. The closest Primera División team is Monterrey who is not home this weekend and another 2 hour drive.

Other Events: There may be some other “crazy” events going on in the area. We’ll find out about those tonight or Saturday when we read the local paper.

So the plan, for now, is to attend the AF2 game on Saturday night. Of course, since Saturday is our main night to visit, the game may not come to fruition, but there is always the possibility of attending a sporting event – even in the most remote location.

Kerry Wood as a Pitcher?

The point of this blog is not to analyze player’s performance on the field, but Kerry Wood’s performance in yesterday’s Brewers / Cubs game was so poor (giving up 3 runs in the top of the 9th to lose the game 4-3) it has to be recognized. We have been through many incarnations of Kerry:

1998: Rookie Sensation – it’s amazing how a 20 strikeout performance in your 5th career start can carry you through a career.
1999: Out for season with Tommy John surgery
2000-2002: Averaged 28 starts per season, but nothing spectacular
2003: Supposedly “led” the Cubs to the NLCS, but pitched inconsistently throughout the regular season going 14-11.
2004-2007: Injuries plagued him
2008: He has blown 3 out of 7 save opportunities. The other two blown saves resulted in the Cubs eventually winning in extra innings.

Kerry’s career has been pretty average with the Cubs. Although he should not be removed from the closer role yet, he does need to prove he can close games without the suspense.

Because of Kerry’s performance, the Cubs are now 2-4 against the Milwaukee Brewers this season. I have been to all 6 games - 4 of which were weekday day games. A lot of work is involved in getting to weekday afternoon games. I wake up at 5 am, get to work around 6:30 am and leave around 12:30 pm. I finish up the day by working a couple of hours after the game. Some may say the effort is not worth it, but my favorite sporting event is the weekday afternoon event.

Cubs score 19 runs

April is in the books. The Cubs set a club record with 17 wins in April and I set a personal best by attending 17 games by April 30 (technically 16 in April).

The Cubs scored 19 runs last night (a feat they have achieved only 10 times in the last 50 years). The last time the Cubs scored that many was May 5, 2001 when they beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 20-1. Last night was only the 5th time I have seen a game where a team scored 19 or more runs.

19: Indians (at Twins): July 13, 1996 (30 total runs scored)
19: Expos (at Giants): May 7, 1997
20: Cubs (vs. Dodgers): May 5: 2001
20: Twins (at White Sox): July 6, 2007 (34 total runs scored)
19: Cubs (vs. Brewers): April 30, 2008

Geovany Soto became the 4th Cubs catcher (and the first since 1980) to hit two home runs and drive in six or more RBI in the same game.

Wrigley Field Tip #1: If looking for a good value on beer within Wrigley Field try to find the import beer vendor. For about the same price you can buy an imported beer vs. a domestic. The following is a list of 2008 beer prices at Wrigley Field:

$5.75: Old Style or Budweiser keg beer (16 oz) only portable concession stands - generally by the bathrooms (16 oz)
$6.00: Imported canned beer (Heineken, Amstel Light, etc - 16 oz) from portable concession stands
$6.25: Old Style or Budweiser canned beer (20 oz) at food concession stands
$6.25: Old Style or Budweiser keg beer (16 oz) from beer man