The Eighth One-Game Tiebreaker in MLB History

With the Minnesota Twins sitting ½ games ahead of the Chicago White Sox before last night’s game, a White Sox loss would have sent the Twins to the playoffs and the White Sox home for the winter. However, last night’s White Sox victory over the Detroit Tigers forced the eighth one-game tiebreaker in MLB history.

Tonight will be the second one-game tiebreaker I attend as the White Sox host the Twins in a 6:30 pm start at U.S. Cellular Field. The last one-game tiebreaker I attended was September 28, 1998. The Chicago Cubs hosted the San Francisco Giants that night at Wrigley Field. Knowing that tie-breaker games generally have high demand for tickets, I bought my tickets as soon as they went on sale after last night’s game was officially over.

A Rainy Day for a Rain Delayed Makeup Game: Tigers at White Sox

Normally only one-game tiebreaker games take place on the Monday after MLB’s regular season ends. However, each year there are always some possibilities of a game that was rained out earlier in the season that will need to be made up on Monday if the 1st and 2nd place teams are only ½ games apart in the standings. Yesterday was that exception.

For the first time in 27 years, a team needed to make up a rained out game after the conclusion of the season. In 1981, the Royals and Indians made up a game on October 5. However, this game was to win the “second half championship” after the two month players’ strike. The true parallel to yesterday’s game took place 35 years ago when the Mets, Pirates and Cardinals all reached the end of the 1973 season which a chance for 1st place in the NL East. According to Jason Stark’s column on espn.com yesterday – “The Mets -- who were 1½ games up on the Pirates and a game up on St. Louis -- had just had three straight games rained out in Chicago on the final weekend but had only managed to make up one. Meanwhile, the Pirates still had to make up a rained out game from April against San Diego. So, it was the Pirates who were in roughly the same situation as the White Sox are this year. Pittsburgh needed to win its game at home, and hope the Mets got swept in an emergency makeup doubleheader in Chicago. But the Pirates lost to San Diego 4-3 while the Mets were winning Game 1. And that was that.”

Read the rest of the article here.

Sunday Night Football: Philadelphia Eagles at Chicago Bears

The Chicago Bears held onto their 4th quarter lead to defeat the Philadelphia Eagles last night 24-20. With 5:40 left in the 4th quarter, the Eagles had 1st and goal at the 4 yard line. The Bears stopped the Eagles’ run on four consecutive plays. The Bears took over on downs and ran the clock down 28 seconds before having to punt.

One of the best things about Sunday Night Football, is that you have your entire Sunday to relax, run errands or tailgate. On a normal Sunday, NFL games in the central time zone start at noon (vs. 1 pm for ET, 2 pm for MT and 1:15 pm for PT).

Last night, I took the red line train to Roosevelt and walked to Soldier Field. I sat in the upper deck. Soldier Field Upper Deck Tip: Soldier Field has a standing room area on the North side of the 400 level. If you do not want to hike up the 30+ rows to your seat, consider watching part of the game from this location. Another plus, is that a beer vendor with no lines is in the same area.

Tailgating at Miller Park: Cubs at Brewers

With a possible Wild Card clinching game on hand in Milwaukee I decided to drive to Miller Park yesterday for the game between the Chicago Cubs and Milwaukee Brewers. Some friends of mine recently moved to Milwaukee and were tailgating before the game. I met them in the Miller Park parking lot for my first Milwaukee tailgate. Of course, they served brats. Tailgating at Miller Park has a similar feel to tailgating before an NFL game – it seems everyone in the parking lot is grilling and playing games.

Obtaining Tickets
One strategy for buying tickets outside the ballpark is to ask anyone passing by your tailgate if they have extras. Generally these fans are just looking to recoup their cost or will give the ticket away for free. Yesterday, I asked the first couple I saw if they had extra tickets. They did. I offered $10 for a single but ended up paying the face value price of $15 for a seat in Bernie’s Terrace (upper deck past the left field foul pole).

The Game
Since the Mets beat the Marlins earlier in the day, I knew the Brewers could not clinch with a win against the Cubs. However, the Cubs beat the Brewers 7-3. Ted Lilly took a no-hitter into the seventh inning. Ryan Braun doubled to start the bottom of the 7th inning and the no-hitter was over. It was the second time this season I witnessed a no-hitter reach the 7th inning. The first occurred on April 12 at U.S. Cellular Field.

Post Game Dining
While Milwaukee is a great city to eat in before or after the game, another option while driving back to Chicago is to stop at The Brat Stop in Kenosha, WI. The Brat Stop opened in 1961 and is right off the I-94. Yesterday the beer garden was open. I had never been to the beer garden since I am normally driving to Milwaukee when the weather is too cold or it is too late after a night game. I was not missing much. Nobody was in the beer garden and it only served brats and hot dogs. I dined in the main restaurant and did not order a brat.

Grand Slams at U.S. Cellular Field

The Cleveland Indians defeated the Chicago White Sox 11-8 last night. Ryan Garko hit a grand slam in top of the 5th inning to give the Indians the lead which they never gave up.

In the ten White Sox games I have attended at U.S. Cellular Field this season, I have witnessed 6 grand slams in 5 of those games. In addition, a player has had at least four RBI in seven of the games I attended. I’m not sure how many grand slams I have witnessed in total but I am pretty sure this is the most I have seen at one park in one season. Below is the list of players who have had more than 4 RBI at U.S. Cellular Field this season (players who hit a grand slam are in bold):

September 26, 2008: Ryan Garko (5 RBI)
June 30, 2008: Nick Swisher (5 RBI)
June 27, 2008: Nick Swisher (4 RBI)
June 8, 2008: Nick Swisher (4 RBI)
May 7, 2008: Nick Punto (5 RBI), Carlos Gomez hits for the cycle
April 22, 2008: Bobby Abreu (4 RBI)
April 13, 2008: Joe Crede (4 RBI), Paul Konerko (5 RBI)

Obtaining Tickets
I took the “red line” to U.S. Cellular Field. There are always scalpers lining 35th St. as you walk to the park. The scalpers did not have any $10 tickets which was the highest I was willing to pay. I found a fan with a $42 face value ticket and offered him $10. He declined the offer. Next I found a fan with some extras in the upper deck. He handed me a single for free. With some effort, you can find free tickets around the stadium. However, you should be willing to pay something just in case you cannot find the freebies.

Tailgating at Soldier Field

For the past few seasons, I have generally chosen to attend a Cubs game at Wrigley Field over a Bears game at Soldier Field because of two main reasons. First, Wrigley Field is located much closer to my house than Soldier Field. Second, the Cubs are usually out of the playoff hunt late in the season and their tickets are worthless whereas Bears tickets range in the triple digits for early season tickets.

Earlier in the week, I chose to attend the Bears game instead of the Cubs for two reasons. First, the Cubs were playing the Cardinals and are heading to the playoffs which increased the ticket prices to not much less than Bears’ tickets. Second, our friend Rob Wipf had invited us to tailgate with him before the game. Rob has a parking pass in the South Lot where all the hard core Chicago Bears’ tailgaters cook before the game and has perfected the tailgate over the years.

We arrived at the South Lot (the lot North of McCormick Center) at 8:30 am and found Rob. On the menu were wings, jalapeno poppers, brats and burgers. The drink menu included Bloody Marys, Vodka Lemonades, Rolling Rock, Bug Light and Jagermeister. Bears’ season ticket holders must win the parking lottery in order to park in the South Lot. Winning the lottery gives you “the right” to pay $400 for the season parking pass ($40 per game). Lottery losers end up purchasing season parking passes from the winners for $700 to $800 for the season. I have never entered the parking lottery because the Ultimate Sports Wife and I take the train rather than park, but now I may have to enter the lottery for next season.

The Game
For the first time since November 24, 2002, I witnessed an NFL regular season game go to overtime as Brian Griese threw a 1-yard pass to Jerramy Stevens for the game tying touchdown with seven seconds left in the 4th quarter. In fact, it was only the 9th game (out of 133 NFL games) I have attended that went to overtime. The other eight games were:

January 14, 2007 – Seattle Seahawks at Chicago Bears (playoffs)
November 24, 2002 – Detroit Lions at Chicago Bears (in Champaign, IL)
August 4, 2001 – Cincinnati Bengals at Chicago Bears (pre season)
November 14, 1999 – Minnesota Vikings at Chicago Bears
September 6, 1998 – New York Jets at San Francisco 49ers
September 28, 1997 – Seattle Seahawks at Kansas City Chiefs
September 7, 1997 – Tennessee Oilers at Miami Dolphins
October 14, 1996 – San Francisco 49ers at Green Bay Packers

In addition, Brian Griese attempted 67 passes which placed him 5th all time for most pass attempts in one game and was the most passes attempted against the Bears. The NFL record is 70 recorded by Drew Bledsoe on November 13, 1994.

Post Game
After the game we walked back to the train. On the way we spotted Wabash Tap (on the southeast corner of Wabash Ave. and Roosevelt Rd.) and decided to stop. This bar is most conveniently located if you want to grab a drink before or after the game (or use the restroom) and stay on the main path to Soldier Field from the Roosevelt el stop.

U.S. Women’s Soccer vs. Ireland in Bridgeview, IL

In the third game of the day, the U.S. Women’s National team beat Ireland 2-0. The match set a record for the U.S. women for wins in a calendar year. They won their 29th match of the year moving their 2008 record to 29-1-1. Defender Kate Markgraf scored her first international goal in her 193rd international match (cap).

Getting to the game
We had a ride back from Toyota Park since Jim Cook’s wife and friend were driving to the stadium. From Wrigley Field, we took the Red Line to the Orange Line and got off the train at Midway Airport. At Midway, we connected to the “Toyota Park Express” Pace bus which dropped us off within walking distance of Toyota Park. If you happen to miss the last bus (the last bus leaves when the game starts), grab a taxi from Midway. The stadium is about five miles from the airport.

Obtaining Tickets
The group I was going with had already purchased their tickets in advance. I knew not many people would be attending the match so I waited outside of the Toyota Park box office and asked if anyone had extra tickets. One woman said she did, but thought I needed two tickets. I told her I needed one and she handed me her extra.

Cubs Clinch the NL Central: Cardinals at Cubs

Once again we arrived at the Cubs game right on time from Evanston. We helped out with Nicole’s ice skating student's lemonade stand briefly and walked into Wrigley Field.

With the Cubs magic number to clinch the NL Central division title at one, everyone in the stadium was hoping the Cubs could send Wrigleyville into a frenzy. In 2003, the Cubs swept a double header from the Pittsburgh Pirates at home to clinch the NL Central division title. That year, I went to Cubby Bear with my friends after the game. This year, I was obviously heading to Toyota Park after the game. But since the division title has been expected for the past few months (as opposed to last season and 2003), I was not as concerned with celebrating in Wrigleyville this time.

The Cardinals made the game interesting when they scored 4 runs in the top of the 6th inning to cut the Cubs lead to 5-4. But the Cubs held on to win the game and clinch the NL Central division title. It was the first time the Cubs have reached the playoffs in back-to-back seasons since they played in three straight World Series from 1906-1908.

Since the game only took 2 hours and 21 minutes, we had time to celebrate in the Wrigley Field stands before needing to take the train from the Addison el stop to Chicago’s Midway airport.

Ohio at Northwestern

The day started at 9:15 am as I left the house and walked to the Addison el stop. In one hour, I would arrive at the Northwestern parking lot for the tailgate to begin. My friend Barbara Gorder had offered me two tickets to the game. I invited my cousin Jim Cook to join me. Little did I know Jim was already planning to attend the US Women’s Soccer match later that evening.

The Game
Northwestern beat Ohio to start the season 4-0. It is Northwestern’s first 4-0 start since 1962. During the game Northwestern blocked two field goals - their first blocked field goal in four years.

At halftime of the game, my friend called me stating he would be unable to attend the Cardinals versus Cubs game at Wrigley Field that started at 3 pm. I turned to Jim Cook, who was already thinking about attending the triple header with me, and without having to ask he said he would go.

As I did on August 30, 2008, we headed to the Purple line after the Northwestern game in order to get to the Cubs game in time.

Tripleheader Day in Chicago

Today I am attempting to attend three sporting events at three different stadiums – Northwestern Football kicks off at 11 am, the Chicago Cubs first pitch is at 3 pm and the US Women’s National Soccer team hosts Ireland at 7 pm. I have only attended three sporting events at three different venues once before – June 5, 2004. That day I attended the Chicago Cubs game at noon, the Chicago Fire game at 3 pm (good thing the Cubs game only lasted 2.5 hours) and the Milwaukee Mile 250 at 8 pm.

Other than that day, I have attended 3 sporting events on the same day three other times. However, all of those days included two soccer games held at the same stadium and I only needed to buy one ticket. I combined those three doubleheader soccer events with a baseball game on July 11, 2004, July 17, 2004 and June 9, 2007.

Zambrano’s Follow Up to a No-Hitter: Cardinals at Cubs

Last Sunday night I was in Central Florida. If I had been in Chicago, I probably would have driven to Milwaukee for the Houston Astros neutral site game versus the Chicago Cubs. Not only did I miss the neutral site game, but I also missed Carlos Zambrano’s no-hitter (I have never witnessed a no-hitter in the 780 regular season games I have attended).

Today I attended the Cubs game against the St. Louis Cardinals. Zambrano was pitching. I do not believe I have ever seen a pitcher in his follow up to a no-hitter in which Zambrano must have had one of the worst follow ups to a no-hitter in MLB history. He gave up eight earned runs in 1.2 innings – his shortest start in two years. He also became the fourth pitcher this season to give up 8 or more runs against the same team. The others are Baltimore's Radhames Liz (vs. Boston), St. Louis' Braden Looper (vs. Houston) and San Francisco's Barry Zito (vs. Cincinnati).

On the offensive side, Adam Kenndy hit his first grand slam since April 18, 2000. Kennedy also tied a career high with 4 hits while driving in 5 runs.

Obtaining Tickets
I had traded my tickets for today’s game to a friend for her two tickets to the July 24 Cubs’ game. Today’s game had held a high price on stubhub.com for awhile. However, when I looked for tickets today, people on craigslist.org were offering tickets for face value. Ticket Buying Tip: Generally you will find tickets for less than face value outside the stadium when people are advertising face value tickets on craigslist.

I walked to the front of Wrigley Field (Addison St. and Clark St.) and found a couple who had a $46 face value single. I offered them $20 for the ticket and they accepted immediately. I probably could have bought the ticket for less, but figured I had a good price based on where ticket prices had been a few days before.

Cubs Home Game #52: Brewers at Cubs

The Brewers beat the Cubs last night 6-2 in my 52nd Cubs home game of the year. The most Cubs games I have attended during the regular season were 53 in 2004. Ben Sheets left the game in the top of the third inning with tightness in his right forearm and the Brewers used seven pitchers in relief.

Pre Game Dining
Before the game we met some friends for dinner at Pizza Rustica which is 2.5 blocks north of Wrigley Field. If you are looking for non-Chicago style pizza around Wrigley Field then this is your place. The restaurant is BYOB so be sure to stop by the liquor store under the Sheridan el stop.

Second Consecutive 1st/2nd Place Matchup

For the second time in as many nights, I attended a MLB game between a division’s 1st and 2nd place teams. Monday night was the AL East in St. Petersburg. Tuesday night was the NL Central in Chicago.

The Chicago Cubs defeated the Milwaukee Brewers 5-4 in C.C. Sabathia’s first National League loss. The game marked Dale Sveum’s managerial debut for the Brewers after Ned Yost was fired Monday.

Pre Game Dining
Once again we headed to the Full Schilling for pre game drinks which include a hot dog with every drink purchase.

Post Game Dining
After the game we headed back to our favorite Wrigleyville dive bar on the corner of Byron St. and Sheridan Rd. Last night the owner was working behind the bar. We asked him what the name of his bar was and he told us – Wrigleyville North. The official address is 3900 N. Sheridan Rd. All of this time and we just thought it was the bar with an Old Style sign in front.

Tropicana Field: Red Sox at Rays

This past weekend, Nicole and I traveled to Florida to visit her family. Both the Tampa Bay Rays and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were home while we were there. With Tampa about a 90 minute drive from her family’s home, I chose to attend only one game rather than drive down to Tampa twice. Thus, I had a decision to make. Under my guidelines of prioritizing which game to attend, I would normally choose to attend a NFL game over a MLB game – the main reason being that there are only 8 home games for the Buccaneers vs. 81 home games for the Rays. The Rays will most likely be home the next time we are in Florida.

However, since I had attended the Buccaneers home playoff game vs. the Giants last January and had not attended a Rays game since June 1, 2000 (not to mention the Rays were playing the Red Sox in a 1st / 2nd place AL East matchup), I chose to attend the Rays game last night.

I arrived in St. Petersburg a few minutes before 7 pm. The Tropicana Field parking lots were full so I parked in a strip mall parking lot for $15.

Obtaining Tickets
There were quite a few scalpers and fans that had extra tickets. One fan approached me and wanted $20 for his ticket. I only wanted to pay $10 which he accepted (face value was $19). If I had been more aggressive, I may have been able to find a free ticket. There were more and more fans with extra tickets as I got closer to the box office. I broke my first ticket buying rule - never buy from the first person with extra tickets.

The Game
The Red Sox started the game by hitting two home runs in the 1st inning and never looked back. They beat the Rays 13-5. There were quite a few milestones in last night’s game:

1) For the first time since August 3, 2003, the Red Sox hit six home runs in a game.
2) The home run hit by Jason Bay never actually made it over the fence. It hit the third catwalk and never came down, which by Tropicana Field ground rules is considered a home run. According to Wikipedia, it is speculated that this was the first time a ball in play has struck the C ring catwalk.
3) Daisuke Matsuzaka set the record for most wins by a Japanese pitcher in one season with his 17th win.
4) Matsuzaka also joined Roger Clemens and Boo Ferriss as the only Red Sox pitchers to start a season 17-2.
5) David Ortiz passed Edgar Martinez for 2nd place of all time home runs hit as a designated hitter.
6) Mike Timlin set the all-time record for relief appearances for a right handed pitcher. Last night was his 1,051st relief appearance.
7) Jason Varitek passed Carlton Fisk with his 158th home run as a Red Sox – most all-time for a Red Sox catcher.

Tropicana Field
About halfway through the game, and with the Red Sox leading 12-1, I wandered around the center field area of Tropicana Field. The Rays have almost turned center field into an amusement park with carnival and baseball games for fans to play. In addition, there are two sit-down restaurants; the Center Field Brewhouse and the Batter's Eye Restaurant. The Rays also have the Cuesta-Rey Cigar Bar which offers a large selection of cigars to purchase. Next to the Batter's Eye Restaurant is the Sting Ray Touch Tank where fans can pet sting rays.

College Football on a Rainy Day

With the weather forecast showing rain in Chicago all day, the only sporting event option was to attend the Northwestern football game. Although the White Sox were scheduled to play a double header (after their Friday night game was postponed because of rain), it was pretty clear both White Sox games would be rained out.

Today I drove up to Evanston to watch Northwestern host Southern Illinois. It was the first game I have attended where one of the teams was from Division I-AA (or the Football Championship Subdivision). Two weeks ago I received free tickets to the Northwestern game versus Syracuse. Thus, I figured I would find free tickets to today’s game since the weather was so poor. However, I bought a single ticket for $10 from an older woman who was with her son. I made the obligatory $10 offer so I would not have to stand out in the rain looking for a free ticket.

I entered the stadium and realized why I could not find a free ticket. There was hardly anyone in the stadium. With a consistent rain and Northwestern playing a team from Division I-AA, it appeared people decided to stay home. Northwestern beat Southern Illinois 33-7 as Tyrell Sutton ran for 101 yards and 3 touchdowns.

World Cup Qualifying: T&T at USA

If you are looking for an international soccer match where the tickets are available and affordable, you do not have to travel far and the match has meaning, then check out the World Cup qualifying schedules. World Cup qualifying begins about two years before the next World Cup – meaning most countries are already participating in qualifying matches for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

Last night, in the first World Cup qualifier I have attended, the US Men’s National Team defeated the national team of Trinidad & Tobago 3-0. The victory set 3 records for the U.S.

1) It was the first time the U.S. has earned six consecutive shutouts.
2) It was the sixth straight victory in World Cup qualifying dating back to 2006.
3) It tied the team record for five consecutive victories during a single World Cup qualifying campaign.

The game was played at Toyota Park in Bridgeview, IL so we had to drive and pay $15 to park. We thought about dining at Grand Duke’s Restaurant before the game, but settled for buying McDonald’s and eating in the parking lot with the other U.S. fans.

The attendance for the match was only 11,452, which was just above half full – a poor showing for the U.S. Men’s soccer team.

After the game, we drove north along Archer Rd. rather than Harlem Ave. If you are looking for a dive bar before or after the game, Archer Rd. has a handful to choose from (such as the Brown Jug Inn, Corner Joynt, and Uncle John’s Place) as you drive back to I-55. We did not stop in this time around, but may the next time.

Don’t Touch the Rail! Broncos at Raiders

For the fifth time, I attended an NFL game on a Sunday afternoon and then followed that up by attending Monday Night Football. Last night the Denver Broncos beat the Oakland Raiders 41-14 in the most lopsided NFL game I have witnessed since October 29, 2006.

Parking
We arrived at McAfee Coliseum about an hour before game time. The stadium lots were already full so we had to park in the overflow lots on the other side of I-880. Parking Tip: Do not exit at Hegenberger Ave. if you know the stadium parking lots are full. Exit at 66th Ave. or better yet take the exit north of 66th Ave., turn around and take the south bound 66th Ave exit.

Obtaining Tickets
Since we only needed two tickets, we did not buy tickets ahead of time. As we walked across the freeway we negotiated with a couple of scalpers. I offered face value for tickets, but the scalpers would not accept the offer. During the negotiation, one scalper asked for $50 each for tickets that were $36 face value. My Dad thought that price was good so we accepted the offer. The last time I bought tickets at a Raiders game there were no scalpers in the coliseum parking lots. However, as we walked into the parking lot, there were quite a few scalpers who had extra tickets.

The Game
Jay Cutler threw for 299 yards, just missing the QB list of those who threw for 300 yards this week. Since we bought tickets in “Mount Davis” we were far away from the half-time show. However, during half-time two Raider fans were “talking” in a “non-friend” way. Next thing we knew one guy kicked the other in the chest and a 6-8 person brawl broke out. With a lack of security guards in the area, the only reason the fight stopped was that one guy gashed the top of his head and started bleeding all over the seats and the hand rail in between our section.

As the second half started, all the fans in our section chanted “Don’t touch the rail!” to every fan that walked up or down the aisle. I’m not sure if Roger Goodell’s fan policy will have an impact but this is the reason it became policy.

Tailgating in San Francisco

For the first time since 1999, I attended an NFL game on the regular season’s opening Sunday. We arrived at Candlestick Park early in order to tailgate. Parking cost $25, which seemed low for an NFL game.

Tailgating Tip at Candlestick Park: Try to arrive at Candlestick Park before 10 am if you are planning to tailgate. We arrived at 9:45 am and were able to park close to the stadium while ample parking was available. However, within an hour the lot was filling up and people had to “squeeze” into spots surrounded by tailgaters.

Ticket Scalping Advice: Plenty of ticket scalpers walked by our car as we ate. If you have 4 or less people, I would recommend waiting for the scalpers to walk by your car and see what you have. Another tip is to give the scalpers your price point. If they realize demand for tickets is low, they will come back to find you and sell you tickets for your price. It is much easier than walking around the parking lot looking for your own tickets.

If you just want to get into the game (meaning sitting in the upper rows of the upper deck) and cannot find tickets for less than $35 each, then buy tickets from the 49ers box office. We learned this tip from a season ticket holder tailgating next to us. Since the 49ers game was not sold out yesterday, the 49ers sell day of game tickets for $35 from the box office.

The Game
The Cardinals beat the 49ers 23-13. The 49ers turned the ball over 5 times (losing 4 fumbles and throwing one interception). While watching the game, Banjo Man made a trip around the upper deck as did 49ers Elvis.

Have Seven People Attending a Game? Buy tickets in advance.

Two weeks ago, the Ultimate Sports Wife and I planned to fly to San Francisco to attend the 49ers game with my grandparents, parents and brother. There were two requirements that made buying tickets in advance a requirement.

1) We needed seven tickets. It is next to impossible to find seven tickets together from scalpers outside the stadium.
2) We needed to buy tickets in a low row of the upper deck. My grandfather is 86 years old and not able to walk up very many steps.

I logged onto ticketmaster.com to look for tickets. The 49ers had seven tickets together but they were in a high row in the upper deck and cost $58 each (plus ticketmaster fees). Instead, I logged onto stubhub.com and found 4 seats in row 5 for $40 each and 3 tickets in row 22 in the same section for $34 each. After all the fees, it cost us $46 per ticket and we had satisfied both requirements and we sat relatively close together.

Another Friday Afternoon at Arlington Park

In 1993, at the start of my senior year of high school, I attended 4 race days at Bay Meadows. This summer, I have attended 5 race days at Arlington Park. With a slow work day and an evening flight to catch at Chicago’s Midway Airport, a couple of work friends and I headed to Arlington Park for a Friday afternoon of horse racing.

We paid the $7 admission and decided to watch the races from the picnic tables in the Miller Lite Party in the Park – Libido Funk Circus was the band on stage.

Since it rained all day on Thursday, the races scheduled for turf were transferred to dirt. Race 6 was the main race impacted as 5 horses were scratched. We spent about 10 minutes debating what the best bet would be with only a 4 horse race. However, when I went to place a bet, I noticed show bets were not available (there were probably other, more complicated bets eliminated as well).

I finally signed up for the Twin Spires Club – a points program for betting on horse racing. A woman working for Arlington Park approached us just as the sun came out. She said, “If you sign up you will receive a free hat and $2 off all future admissions.” How could we say no to that!

The 40-mile drive from Arlington Park to Midway took about an hour with minimal traffic.

8 Year Wedding Anniversary

Last night marked Nicole’s and my 8th wedding anniversary. For the past few years, Nicole and I have coincidentally alternated years attending a sporting event on our anniversary. Since a wedding anniversary is an equal opportunity day to celebrate the past year and look forward to the year ahead, we have found this to be a good way to celebrate from time to time.

In 2004, Nicole's gift to me was to attend the Pro Beach Volleyball competition at North Beach during the day in Chicago. The daytime event left plenty of time for a romantic dinner at night. In 2006, we attended the NASCAR race at California Speedway. Nothing says romance like NASCAR! Last night, we attended the Chicago Cubs game at Wrigley Field. The Cubs charge $40 (which goes to charity) to put a Happy Birthday, Happy Anniversary or Cubs Welcome message on the center field scoreboard. Since we attended last night, I put up a message that said, “Happy Anniversary Nicole. (with a romantic line here that was under the remaining 33 characters).”

Before the game, Nicole and I ate at our favorite Pizzeria in Wrigleyville – Pizza Rustica. As a BYOB restaurant, you bring your favorite bottle of wine and eat delicious Sicilian pizza. Be sure to order the Rustica Salad to start and the Tutta Pizza if you like all of the ingredients.

Our anniversary could not change the Cubs fortunes. In my 50th Cubs home game this season, the Cubs lost to the Houston Astros 4-0. The loss was the Cubs fifth consecutive – their longest losing streak of the season (all game I attended). Randy Wolf threw his first shutout in more the 4 years.

Note: Before I was married, I only attended one sporting event on September 3. That was in 1988 when I saw the Oakland Athletics host the New York Yankees.

Four Straight Losses and Zero Demand for Tickets: Astros at Cubs

In a hot and muggy night at Wrigley Field, the Houston Astros beat the Chicago Cubs 9-7 in 11 innings. The Cubs lost four straight games for the first time since June 26-29.

Before the game, I helped a friend sell four limited view seats (face value $28) he had bought on August 2. This was the same friend that let me sneak down to $300 seats that same day. We took a lap around Wrigley and could not find any buyers. Next, we stood on the corner of Sheffield Ave. and Waveland Ave. and could not find any buyers. I was concerned we would not even be able to give away the tickets since no fans even asked us how much. Scalpers would only offer us $5 per ticket. The market for Cubs tickets was officially dead. Finally, a scalper offered us $10 each ($40 total), so we took it.

The lack of demand for tickets was confirmed when the Cubs posted that 39,846 people attended last night’s game. It was the first time the Cubs have drawn less than 40,000 since Friday, May 30 vs. the Colorado Rockies when they drew 39,686. Generally, when ticket prices are high people will opt to buy Standing Room Only (SRO) seats – driving up the attendance at Wrigley Field. However, since there were no buyers last night and tickets were cheap, fans could buy tickets for less than face value rather than buying SRO from the box office.

Cubs Ticket Buying Tip for April, May and September: Tickets during those months are much cheaper than in June, July and August. If you look at the Cubs attendance during April and May of this season, they mainly drew over 40,000 in weekend games and under 40,000 during weekday games. The same thing generally occurs in September. As I wrote late last week, the market for Cubs games declines over Labor Day weekend (and especially in September). However, this year will be different since the only remaining games in September after tonight are versus the Milwaukee Brewers and St. Louis Cardinals. Both teams the Cubs need to beat in order to make the playoffs.

Uncommon Ground: Good luck for brunch, bad luck for the Cubs

For the second day in a row, I helped friends purchase tickets to the Cubs game. Probably fearing a last minute phone call for the third time in four days, the Ultimate Sports Wife planned ahead of time to attend today’s game. However, I could not find free tickets today, although I did find tickets for under face value. A fan on Sheffield Ave. had four bleacher seats that we ended up paying $30 each ($45 face value).

Ticket Buying Tip: Check ticketing websites before heading to the ballpark to get the pulse of the ticket market. Cubs’ games are a hard ticket, but every day is different. I knew tickets would be around face value today since I had checked craigslist.org earlier in the day and most notices were asking for face value.

Pre Game Dining
Before we bought the tickets, we ate brunch at Uncommon Ground. We have now tried most of the brunch restaurants within a couple of blocks of Wrigley Field and Uncommon Ground is the best. It is not the cheapest but the food is creative, the drinks are strong and the atmosphere is upscale.

After brunch we went to Bernie’s Tavern on the corner of Clark St. and Waveland Ave. Bernie’s has a large beer garden in the back and a patio on the side.

The Game
The Astros shutout the Cubs today 3-0. It was the first time the Cubs were shut out in a 9-inning game since August 1 - a game they also lost 3-0. Note: The Ultimate Sports Wife and I ate brunch at Uncommon Ground on August 1. We may not be able to eat at Uncommon Ground before Cubs games in fear of a 3-0 loss.

Monday also marked the first time all season the Cubs lost 3 consecutive games at home (all games I attended).

Free Tickets Again: Phillies at Cubs

On Friday, I wrote about the strategy to get free tickets to a Cubs game. Yesterday, my friend and I were planning to use my season tickets to attend the Cubs game. Nicole’s friend Erin was also planning to go to the game and needed two tickets. Erin had wanted to buy tickets (for $65 each) from Stubhub.com on Thursday, but I told her we could probably get a better price outside of Wrigley Field. Everyone arrived in Wrigleyville around 12:45 pm for the 1:20 pm start.

Before they arrived, I talked with a couple of ticket brokers who wanted $50 for upper deck reserved (Face value = $22) or $80 each for upper deck box. I mentioned to Erin that their best option may be to pay $15 for Standing Room Only. SRO was still available since the Cubs changed their day of game ticket selling ruling. But we decided to walk along ticket broker row on Addison St. to see what was available. We talked to one broker who wanted $110 per ticket for upper deck box.

As we were talking to the broker, we found a fan that had three extra tickets in section 116, row 10 – right behind home plate. I asked him what he wanted for the tickets and he said nothing. We took all three tickets knowing Nicole would probably come to the game. Once again, the Ultimate Sports Wife who had decided she would not go to the game – especially since she had gone on Friday when she had planned to work – was called to come to the park. She was at Wrigley before the end of the 1st inning.

Now that we had five tickets, we needed to decide where everyone would sit. Erin made the right call when she stated, “You guys should sit downstairs and we’ll take your tickets.” I agreed and gave her my two season tickets in the upper deck. Erin and her friend received free tickets to the game, while we sat in lower level seats. Thanks Erin!

The Game
Carlos Zambrano was scratched from Sunday’s game because of a tired arm. The Phillies beat the Cubs 5-3. It was the 7th time I have attended every game of a 4-game series (second time this season). I had hoped I would see a 4-game sweep, but that goal was denied on Saturday when the Cubs lost game 3 of the series.