SuperLiga: Tigres UANL at Chicago Fire

I was the first person to my car in the U.S. Cellular Field parking lot and the race was on. Could I get to Toyota Park, buy a ticket and get into the stadium within 20 minutes? Since both U.S. Cellular Field and Toyota Park are relatively close to Chicago’s Interstate-55 it was definitely possible.

Parking and Obtaining Tickets
I was at the Toyota Park parking lot at 6:55 pm (luckily for me there was no Saturday evening Chicago traffic) and used my media parking pass to park quickly. Since Jamie Trecker, Fox Sports’ senior soccer writer, told me he had requested a media credential for me after we attended the Chicago Fire home opener back on April 5, I was hoping a credential would be waiting for me at media gate. The woman at the gate could not find my credential (also snickering and doubting I would have a credential since I was wearing a Cubs shirt and hat), but given the lack of press that had shown up for the game, she handed me a generic media pass with press box access only. I was grateful and in the stadium just a few minutes after the opening kickoff.

The Game
Toyota Park was mainly full of Mexican fans cheering for Tigres UANL. Entering the game, the Fire knew if they lost by less than two goals they would advance to the SuperLiga semifinals on July 15.

Tigres used a team mainly of reserves and youth club players to defeat the Fire 2-1. Tigres midfielder Armando Pulido scored twice to give the Tigres a 2-0 lead at halftime. It was not until Cuauhtemoc Blanco scored a penalty kick goal at the 85th minute that the Fire knew they would advance to the semifinals.

SuperLiga 2009
This was the second SuperLiga tournament I have attended – the first coming in 2007 when I attended the semifinal and final at the Home Depot Center in Carson, CA.

Crosstown Classic on the Southside: Cubs at White Sox

On Saturday I had planned on a doubleheader day. First up was the Crosstown Classic at U.S. Cellular Field. Second was the SuperLiga match between the Chicago Fire and Tigres UANL (a Mexican club team) at Toyota Park.

However, since the first pitch of the Chicago Cubs at Chicago White Sox game was scheduled for 3:10 pm and kickoff for the soccer match was at 7 pm, I could not afford much of a delay in the baseball game. Thus, I had to drive since Interstate-55 basically connected both stadiums.

Parking & Tailgating at U.S. Cellular Field
On Saturday morning, my neighbor told me he was planning to tailgate with a few of his friends before the game. Since I was already planning to drive I told him I would meet him around 2 pm. I wanted to arrive at the ballpark early anyway, since last year, when I attended the Cubs at White Sox game on Friday afternoon I had to park 5 blocks away from the ballpark and still pay $22. This time I arrived at U.S. Cellular Field around 1:45 pm and paid the normal $23 to park in Parking Lot L – much closer.

My friend was tailgating in Parking Lot G which is on the corner of 35 St. and Normal Ave. – a decent walk from where I parked but would allow me to check out the secondary ticket market while I walked over there. I did not see many scalpers with tickets on my walk and the box office had just sold out. Ticket Buying Tip: Even though a game may be sold out ahead of time, sometimes the box office will have tickets available before the game. If ticket prices are too high on the street be sure to check out the box office before purchasing tickets from a scalper.

This was the first time I tailgated at U.S. Cellular Field since last season at the the American League Central one-game tiebreaker. I hardly ever tailgate outside of U.S. Cellular Field since 1) I normally take the train and 2) I do not know anyone who tailgates on the Southside. There is nothing special to tailgating at U.S. Cellular Field.

Obtaining Tickets
Historically, the main scalping area around U.S. Cellular Field is on the corner of 35 St. and Normal Ave. at the 35th Street Red Hot (a hot dog stand). Since we were also tailgating on this corner, I left the tailgate to find an extra ticket (after, of course, asking the fans around our tailgate if they had an extra ticket). Chicago Police were swarming the corner so there were no scalpers in front of the stand. However, I walked another block or two west and found a few scalpers. The first guy wanted $80 each for his upper deck reserved tickets. I said no. A second guy wanted $50 once I told them I wanted to pay face value. We eventually agreed on $40 for a $33 ticket – around the same price I would have paid if buying from Ticketmaster months before the game.

The Game
With Friday afternoon’s Crosstown Classic only lasting 2 hours and 26 minutes, I was hoping today’s game would end by 6 pm – allowing me time to get to Toyota Park for the SuperLiga match. This proved not to be the case though. The game featured six lead changes and six ties in what had to have been one of the most back and forth games I have attended this season.

Bullpen Sports Bar
With the game tied at seven runs apiece after the eighth inning, I decided to walk down to the Bullpen Sports Bar for two reasons. First and foremost, the Bullpen Sports Bar was on the side of the stadium where I had parked my car. It was approaching 6:30 pm and the only way I could make it to the Chicago Fire game was if the game ended in the ninth inning and I could run to my car beating traffic out of the U.S. Cellular Field parking lots.

Second, if the game was tied after nine innings, I could buy beer from the bar and watch extra innings as I would no longer be attending the Fire game.

I got to the sports bar in time for the bottom of the 9th inning as the Cubs went down 1-2-3 in the top of the 9th. With two outs, Josh Fields on second base, Jayson Nix at the plate and Gordon Beckham on deck, I was convinced I would be settling in for an evening of extra inning baseball. I even told Nicole I would be home earlier than I thought. Even after Nix walked, I still thought I would be watching extra innings.

However, the next thing I knew Gordon Beckham hit a ball that headed towards the sports bar, dropped in for a single and allowed Josh Fields to score the winning run. I looked at the time – 6:40 pm. Could I make it to Toyota Park in 25 minutes (soccer matches usually start a few minutes late)? I decided yes and ran out of the Bullpen Sports Bar and through the parking lot to my car.

Dew Tour Nike 6.0 BMX Open

Even though the Crosstown Classic at U.S. Cellular Field was taking place Friday afternoon, I chose to attend the Dew Tour’s Nike 6.0 BMX Open in Grant Park. The Dew Tour was established in 2005 and is considered the world’s premier action sports tour – whereas ESPN’s X Games is a single event. Also, with the Taste of Chicago taking place right across the street, I figured this was a good day to take in both events.

Obtaining Tickets
I bought a $15 ticket when I arrived at the event. Little did I know I could have entered the event for free. $15 gave me access to the bleachers in order to sit, but I could have stood for free. I stood most of the event anyway since the bleachers were in the sun and I could stand in the shade.

The Event
As with any Action Sport event there are plenty of activities going on besides the actual event and there are tons of giveaways. The main giveaways at this event were Wendy’s free single hamburgers and Ball Park Franks free hot dogs.

Josh Hult won the BMX Dirt Finals which was the only Finals scheduled for Friday. I also attended the Taste of Chicago during the 30 minutes between each event.

Los Angeles Dodgers at Chicago White Sox

Once again, I attended a weekday afternoon Chicago White Sox game. This time the Dodgers were in town and the White Sox were wearing uniforms from the 1959 season to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the World Series team that lost the 1959 World Series to the Dodgers.

Obtaining Tickets
I bought a ticket seven rows from the field for $15. The ticket was a season ticket (meaning the face value printed was cheaper than the seat would have cost at the box office) with a face value of $46 ($52 if I bought the ticket from the box office). The guy I bought the ticket from wanted $20 – up-selling me on the fact that it was an “amazing” seat. He was right, but with the sun beating down, I told him I would probably not even sit in the seat – which I did not, until the 5th inning, when the clouds began to cross the sun’s path.

The Game
Chad Billingsley gave up a 4-0 lead and the White Sox eventually defeated the Dodgers 6-5 in 13 innings. It was my second 13 inning game in six days and the eighth longest game I have ever attended (77 total outs).

U.S. Cellular Field
U.S. Cellular Field offers a pizza meal deal if you are looking to save $1 off the cost of a pizza and souvenir soda. LaRussa’s Pizza sells a pizza meal deal for $11.50 (personal pizza) or $8.25 (slice).
For the first time, I used the shower in left field to cool off. The shower, called Plumbing Council Old Comiskey Park Shower, started at Old Comiskey Park and was moved over to the new Comiskey Park.

Citi Field: Cardinals at Mets

After the U.S. Open it was time to drive to Queens for the New York Mets game versus the St. Louis Cardinals. Last season, I wrote that I went to Nationals Park to attend a game at every existing Major League Baseball ballpark. Once again, MLB opened up two more parks this season – Yankee Stadium and Citi Field. With the Mets playing on Monday night, my decision to day trip to New York City for the doubleheader – Monday regulation play at the U.S. Open and a game at Citi Field – was definitely more justified.

Obtaining Tickets
While driving back from the golf course, I called the ticket broker I had tried to buy my U.S. Open ticket from earlier in the day. I told him the ticket never made it to Will Call and he said he would need to do some research. “For $20 I am not going to worry too much,” he said. I followed up that comment by saying I would be attending the Mets game and if he wanted to get me a Mets ticket we would call it even and he would not need to refund me the $20. After a few phone calls back and forth, he had an electronic ticket for me. Since I did not have a printer I was not able to print it, but I told him to email it to my cousin (who was at work) and he would print it out. That plan worked and we had our first ticket for the evening.

Pre Game Dining
Patrick and I made it back to Queens and he suggested we eat at some of the Irish Pubs in Woodside. Driving to Woodside (57th St.) from Citi Field (126th St.) is not that close, but is on the way to Citi Field from Manhattan on the 7 train.

We found parking on the street and made our way to Donovan’s Pub (located on the corner of 57 St. and Roosevelt Ave.). Donovan’s Pub has a sign on their store front stating they have the #1 burger. However, it does not say the #1 burger of what. New York City, Queens, Woodside, the bar next door?

However, with that sign, I, of course, ordered the burger. The burger was good but I am not sure how good. However, I did discover that Burger of the Month (BOTM) rates Donovan’s burger as #2 in New York City.

Parking
After Donovan’s Pub, we drove back to Citi Field and paid $18 to park the car – relatively cheap compared to paying $23 to park at U.S. Cellular Field.

Obtaining Tickets Part 2
Patrick decided he would attend the Mets game with my cousin and I, so we needed to buy two tickets outside the stadium. We crossed the 7 train tracks through the subway station from the parking lot and found a few scalpers in front of the main entrance of Citi Field. The first guy we saw had a stack of tickets so we offered $10 each for $20 face value tickets. We agreed on $15 each ($5 less than the $20 I paid to the broker for the e-ticket).

Citi Field
Citi Field is a typical “new” ballpark – many amenities and tries to create a local atmosphere. We did not walk around the park as much as I would have liked because my cousin wanted to eat dinner at Shake Shack – a “roadside” burger stand that originated in Madison Square Park. Supposedly people wait in line over an hour and even up to two hours on weekends to have these burgers. We waited in line between 30 and 45 minutes (an eternity at a ballgame) but the burger was well worth it. I thought it was much better than Donovan’s Pub burger, but BOTM rated Shake Shack #29 on their list.

The Game
The Mets defeated the Cardinals 6-4 – not much else to say.

U.S. Open Monday at Bethpage Black

On Thursday afternoon, when play for the U.S. Open was suspended for most of the day, I started to think about attending U.S. Open regulation play on a Monday. However, it was not until Sunday night, when play was scheduled for 9 am ET Monday morning that I decided to put my Monday day trip to New York City into motion.

Travel Plans
I had a free ticket on Southwest Airlines and flights were available to Long Island arriving at 9:05 am and returning Tuesday morning at 7:45 am.

Rather than take the LIRR as I had done in December, I chose to rent a car through Alamo. By renting a car, I would arrive at Bethpage Black much quicker than taking the train and I would have a lot more freedom driving around New York City. My only concern being where would I park the car at the U.S. Open and overnight at my cousin’s apartment where I would be staying.

Obtaining Tickets
My flight landed about 20 minutes early at 8:45 am. I checked craigslist.org as soon as I landed and saw an ad, posted by a broker, for $20 grounds tickets. I figured I would not beat that price once I arrived (also since I would be arriving about an hour after play began I was not sure how many brokers would still be around) so I bought the ticket. I was told the ticket would be at Will Call.

Parking
With my car rented and my ticket purchased, my next concern was where I would park. The “official” U.S. Open parking was at Jones Beach State Park (an approximate 25 minute bus ride to Bethpage Black). Since I was late, I figured I did not have the luxury to take that much time. Thus, I figured there would be some parking around the course at somebody’s house. My assumption was correct and I ended up paying $30 for “easy out” parking.

Obtaining Tickets Part 2
I was not 100% sure if my ticket would be waiting for me at Will Call – and, of course, it was not. Since I did not have my cell phone with me (U.S. Open has metal detectors checking for phones which most tournaments do not have) I could not call the broker to see what happened. Plus, I really did not have time to debate with him. It was 10 am and I needed to get into the course before much more play continued. I ran back to a woman selling a stack of tickets outside the course and paid $15 for my grounds ticket. Luckily she was still around or else I may have been SOL. Even though she was in a much better negotiating position I countered her $25 offer with $10 and we agreed on $15. With my ticket in hand I finally entered Bethpage Black.

Round 4 Continued
I arrived on the course, received a free XM radio head piece to listen to the day’s round and walked most of the course to find Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and the two leaders – Lucas Glover and Rickey Barnes. It was clear it had rained over the weekend – everywhere I tried to walk was muddy as most of the spectators would yield to each other to walk on dry ground.

As usual Woods and Mickelson had huge galleries so I chose to follow Glover and Barnes instead. As I approached the 13th hole I decided to sit in the bleachers – I had been walking around most of the morning in the mud pit also known as Bethpage Black.

In the bleachers I met Patrick Sauer – a freelance writer for the Huffington Post and Inc. Magazine. After chuckling over a man accidentally muddying up the shirt of an elderly man, Patrick offered me his extra Lexus Hospitality Pass. The hospitality pass usually includes all you can eat and drink – definitely not something any fan should turn down when given the opportunity.

We headed to the tent immediately and were convinced there would be a playoff with six golfers all within one stroke and only a few holes to play. However, Glover was able to hold off Mickelson, Barnes and David Duval to win the 109th U.S. Open by two strokes becoming only the 6th qualifier in the last 46 years to win.

Without a playoff to keep us entertained for the next several hours we went back to the hospitality tent before they finally shut it down and we were off to the New York Mets game.

WPBA: The Great Lakes Classic

On Saturday after the Cubs game, the Ultimate Sports Wife and I drove to New Buffalo, MI to spend Saturday night. It just so happened that on Sunday afternoon, the Women’s Professional Billiards Association’s Great Lakes Classic event was taking place in Michigan City, IN – a short 10 mile drive from the place we were staying.

Obtaining Tickets
The event took place at the Blue Chip Casino in Michigan City. The only issue with attending the event on Sunday was that it cost $55 per ticket – a fairly pricey proposition for an event that does not have many fans in attendance. Of course, with events of this stature there is no secondary ticket market so I had to pay the ticket price. Tickets earlier in the week for the earlier rounds were around half that price so if you just want to see a billiards event and are not concerned with whom you are seeing, I would recommend attending on Friday or Saturday. However, since this was the semi-finals and finals, the WPBA must have thought people would pay. And I did since it was the first billiards event I have ever attended.

Semi-Final #1
The first semi-final started at 1 pm between Karen Corr and Jasmin Ouschan. Ouschan defeated Corr 7 games to 3. This was the second time Ouschan defeated Corr in the tournament. In the 3rd game, Ouschan made the 9-ball on the break in what I believe is a rare event in billiards. The winner of a billiards match is the first player to win 7 games (in other words best-of-13).

What I did not realize was that it would be a much longer day than I first anticipated. The second semi-final match was not scheduled to start until 3 pm (rather than immediately following the first semi-final) and the final would not start until 5 pm.

In between Matches
Since the event took place at the Blue Chip Casino, there is plenty to do in between matches. First you can watch the entertainment at the event – the WPBA auctioned off two signed jerseys and the players in the next match are warming up. Or, better yet, you can head into the casino to grab some food or drinks and gamble. The Blue Chip Casino offers most of the most popular games – Poker, Blackjack, Roulette, Craps, and, of course slot machines.

Even the players wander around the casino in between matches. I saw Ouschan after her first match and asked for a picture. If the match ends in a sweep (7-0) you will probably have over an hour to roam the casino. If the match ends 7-6 you may be limited to only 30 minutes.

Semi-Final #2
The second semi-final pitted Xiaoting Pan vs. Kelly Fisher. Fisher defeated Pan 7-4 in a match where Pan came back to tie 3-3 but then faltered.

Final
In the final Ouschan defeated Fisher 7-2 with the match strongly in Ouschan’s hands the entire time. She took a quick 3-0 lead and never looked back.

Cleveland Indians at Chicago Cubs

For the second day in a row, Kerry Wood blew a one-run lead and this time received the loss as the Cubs defeated the Indians 6-5 in 13 innings – the 9th longest game I have ever attended in terms of number of outs recorded (76).

Pre Game Dining
Before the game the Ultimate Sports Wife and I ate at Salt & Pepper Diner located at 3537 N. Clark St. just south of Wrigley Field on Clark St. Salt & Pepper Diner recently raised the prices on all of their drinks by $1 across the board. Mimosas and Bloody Mary’s that once cost $3 now cost $4, pitchers of beer now cost $8 (used to be $7) and bottles of PBR are now $3 (compared to $2).

Game Milestones
1) The Cubs have won three straight games in walk-off fashion. The last time they achieved that feat was June 5-7, 1946.
2) The last team to lose three straight extra-inning games was the Texas Rangers from September 16-18, 2002. The Indians achieved the feat in their last three games (starting with losing to the Milwaukee Brewers on Wednesday in 11 innings).
3) The last time the Cubs came-from-behind to win a game in which they fell behind in the 13th inning or later was on May 8, 1998.

Another Rain Delay: Indians at Cubs

Once again there was rain at Wrigley Field. And with the Ultimate Sports Wife and I needing to attend a Northwestern Graduation Party later on Friday afternoon, we had no time for a rain delay. The ideal day would have been for the game to start on time, attend the game and drive to Evanston for the party.

However, that plan was not meant to be as the game was delayed for 86 minutes – pushing the start time back to 2:45 pm. Of course, the Ultimate Sports Wife and I managed to get in 5 innings (the minimum amount of time needed for the game to officially count) and then took off for Evanston – needless to say, we were late to the party.

The Game
When we left for Evanston the Cubs were trailing 7-1 and we figured this was just as good as any reason to take off early. There was no way the Cubs would come from behind two days in a row – right? Wrong. For the second time in as many days, the Cubs scored 4 runs in the bottom of the 8th and 1 run in the bottom of the 9th to tie the Cleveland Indians at 7 runs apiece and push the game into extra innings. Kerry Wood, in his first game back to Chicago as a visiting pitcher, blew the save in the 9th inning. The Cubs scored a run in the 10th inning to seal the come-from-behind win for the second consecutive day.

Crosstown Classic Game 2: White Sox at Cubs

Game 2 of the Crosstown Classic had much more drama than the first game on Wednesday – especially for Cubs fans. First, Carlos Zambrano was back pitching after his May 27th meltdown versus the Pittsburgh Pirates. Second, with the Cubs trailing 5-1 heading into the bottom of the 8th all signs pointed to a two-game sweep for the White Sox.

However, the Cubs rallied against Scott Linebrink and scored 4 runs in the 8th inning after Derrek Lee hit a three-run home run and Geovany Soto followed that with a solo shot of this own. That enabled to Cubs to tie the game at 5 apiece and allowed Alfonso Soriano to single in the winning run in the bottom of the 9th inning.

Obtaining Tickets
Before the game I had planned to buy a $15 standing room only ticket from the Cubs box office. However, when I got to the box office, the man in the window said that they could not get rid of their tickets and standing room was not available (the Cubs only sell SRO tickets once all of the seats are sold). The cheapest seat at the window was a $25 upper deck outfield.

I figured I could beat that price and started walking towards Wrigley Field’s main entrance on the corner of Clark St. and Addison St. I could not find a ticket for $10, but that’s when a teenager with an extra single offered his ticket for $20. I looked at the ticket and it was $85 face value. I accepted his price and was sitting behind home plate in aisle 124.

For the first few months of the season, the Crosstown Classic was selling for above to two times face value through StubHub. However, even though this is a Crosstown Classic game, it was played on a weekday afternoon, meaning the secondary ticket market prices bottom out towards game day. This is similar to the demand for tickets for weekday afternoon MLB playoff games. Most fans believe they will be able to make money on MLB playoff tickets. However, once the game time is set as a weekday afternoon game, you can generally buy playoff tickets for about 50% of face value. There was no difference with yesterday’s game.

Crosstown Classic Game 1: White Sox at Cubs

After being rained out Tuesday night, the Crosstown Classic finally started Wednesday afternoon. With my tickets already in hand, we walked across the street to enter Wrigley Field.

The Game
In a relatively uneventful game, the White Sox defeated the Cubs 4-1 as John Danks pitched seven shut-out innings.

Crosstown Classic Postponed by Rain

In what I believe was a first – the Chicago Cubs and Chicago White Sox planned to play a weekday night game at Wrigley Field Tuesday night. However, with a heavy rain coming down and no letup in sight, the Cubs postponed the game 10 minutes after the scheduled first pitch.

No makeup date has been announced, but I am hoping they will play a day-night Crosstown doubleheader the weekend of June 26th, 27th or 28th when they could play an afternoon game at Wrigley Field and play a night game at U.S. Cellular Field. Precedence has been set for a Crosstown doubleheader as the New York Mets and New York Yankees have played one three times on:

1) July 8, 2000 – day game at Shea Stadium, night game at Yankee Stadium
2) June 28, 2003 – day game at Yankee Stadium, night game at Shea Stadium
3) June 27, 2008 – day game at Yankee Stadium, night game at Shea Stadium

There has been a lot of rain in Chicago this spring. I have attended two White Sox games that were re-scheduled because of rain, two Cubs rain-shortened games, and this was the third postponed game I have attended this season – tying my postponed game record of 2002 and 2003.

Minnesota Twins at Chicago Cubs Game 3

In the third game of the series, the Cubs defeated the Twins 3-2 after Ryan Theriot singled in the bottom of the 9th inning with the bases loaded.

Pre Game Dining
Before the game, I met some friends at Purgatory Pizza located at 3415 N. Clark St. On Sunday mornings, Purgatory Pizza has a $13 all you can drink and eat pizza brunch (upgrade to Bloody Mary’s or other well drinks for an extra $6). This is a much cheaper option than paying $6 per beer at Murphy’s Bleachers or another one of the bars closer to Wrigley Field.

Obtaining Tickets
Earlier in the week I had bought a bleacher seat for $50 from the Wrigley Field box office. Had I realized that I would be able to buy a ticket fairly easily the day of the game (as I had on Saturday), I may have bought a $15 ticket and sat with the friends I met at Purgatory Pizza.

Bleacher Seats
Many people line up first thing in the morning outside the bleacher entrance in order to sit in the first few rows of the bleachers. However, whenever I have a bleacher ticket, I still enter the ballpark at game time as I am always able to find a seat or two under the scoreboard. There are two other perks to sitting under the scoreboard (the first benefit being that you don’t need to line up outside Wrigley Field two hours before the park opens or 4 hours before game time):

1) You don’t have to sit in the sun even if you have a bleacher seat (I recognize the fact that most people probably want to sit in the sun when sitting in the bleachers).
2) There is a concession stand at the top of the bleachers which usually has no line. Thus, rather than having to walk over to the concession stand in center field or, worse, having to walk to the bottom of the bleachers, you can just stand up and buy food and drinks without having to move very far.

Minnesota Twins at Chicago Cubs Game 2

As I discussed in my post for yesterday’s Twins and Cubs game, the Cubs have implemented a new day of game ticket selling policy. Since I was planning to attend Saturday’s Cubs game on my own, I planned to buy a standing room only (SRO) ticket from the box office before the game started.

Obtaining Tickets
The Cubs new game ticket selling policy is that they start selling tickets two hours before the game is scheduled to begin. Anybody buying a ticket from the ticket window must immediately enter the ballpark. This is the Cubs way of ensuring the tickets being purchased do not end up on the secondary ticket market.

Even though the game was delayed for 30 minutes, I bought a limited view seat behind home plate for $15 (same price as a standing room only ticket). Of course, rather than sitting behind the pole, I moved to an empty seat where I could see the field.

The Game
The Twins shut out the Cubs 2-0. It was only the second time the Cubs have been shutout in interleague play – the first coming on July 17, 1997 which was also versus the Twins at Wrigley Field. Once again it seemed as though half the crowd at Wrigley Field was Twins fans which must have been the reason tickets on the secondary market were so expensive in the days before the game.

CTA after the game
Shortly after the Cubs game ended, I needed to meet the Ultimate Sports Wife on the corner of Irving Park Rd. and California Ave. so we could drive to Naperville. Rather than drive, I decided to take the bus. Something I also did after the May 5th Cubs game. Since I did not leave immediately after the Cubs game, I walked straight north from the bleacher entrance on Sheffield Ave. to Irving Park Rd. and took the 80 Irving Park bus west. Remember to use ctabustracker.com if you want to know how long you will be waiting for the bus!

Minnesota Twins at Chicago Cubs Game 1

The Ultimate Sports Wife and I had planned to attend Friday afternoon’s game with some friends – meaning we needed to buy four tickets to a game where tickets on the secondary ticket market were two to three times higher than face value.

Obtaining Tickets
Even though tickets were relatively expensive on StubHub, I checked craigslist.org a few days before the game. A few of the advertisements on craigslist mentioned face value so I knew if we waited until the day of the game we would probably get a good deal.

On game day, I walked around Wrigley Field three hours before game time and realized it might be hard to find four tickets together for a reasonable price. Scalpers were aggressively looking for tickets so I needed a new plan.

I went back to my house and checked craigslist.org again. I found an ad listing four seats together for face value ($56 each) in section 425, row 3. I immediately called the number and was the first person to call. Of course, now I needed to drive about 30 blocks over to the corner of Milwaukee Ave. and Pulaski Rd. Far from Wrigley Field, but worth it rather than trying to find four tickets together for face value outside the ballpark.

Pre Game
With tickets already in hand, we entered Wrigley Field about 30 minutes before the game. Since our seats were in the upper deck box we chose to hang out in the patio area behind home plate in the upper deck. The patio is the main area to buy food and drinks in the upper deck.

The Game
In what seemed to be a first (outside of the Crosstown Classic versus the Chicago White Sox), Wrigley Field appeared to be half full of Twins fans – which must have been the reason ticket prices on the secondary market were so high. The crowd erupted in the top of the 3rd inning after Twins’ catcher Joe Mauer hit a two-run homer.

The Twins defeated the Cubs 7-4. The highlight of the day was Milton Bradley’s fielding. In the top of the 7th inning, Bradley lost Jason Kubel’s ball in the sun allowing a single and could not catch Michael Cuddyer’s bloop double. With the fans already on him, he caught Joe Mauer’s fly ball to right field for the second out of the inning. However, Bradley thought it was the third out, posed for the fans and then threw the ball into the crowd – all this while Nick Punto tagged up from 3rd base to score and Brendan Harris advanced to third base on the error.

Post Game Dining
After the game, we headed to Uncommon Ground. Uncommon Ground is a much more peaceful experience to get coffee or drinks after the game than fight the crowds at Wrigleyville’s most famous bars.

After Uncommon Ground we ate dinner at Ethiopian Diamond Restaurant located at 6120 N. Broadway St. If you are looking for Ethiopian food after a Cubs game, head north on Broadway St. as there are three restaurants to choose from – Damera Ethiopian Restaurant (4801 N. Broadway St.) and Ras Dashen Ethiopian Restaurant (5844 N Broadway St.) are the other two and are a few blocks closer to Wrigley Field.

Three Hour Rain Delay: Tigers at White Sox

Once again, I decided to attend a weekday afternoon baseball game. However, this time it rained most of the morning and throughout the afternoon. Since the White Sox were only traveling to Milwaukee for their weekend series and the Tigers were heading to Pittsburgh for their next series, I figured the teams would wait out a lengthy rain delay and play the game in the late afternoon.

Rather than sit in the ballpark for the rain delay, I chose to wait in my house. Usually it takes the grounds crew about 25-30 minutes to prepare the field after a rain delay. Thus, once the tarp was removed from the field, I could leave the house and still make the game on time. I called the White Sox periodically to see when the game would start and each time they had a bad estimate until they said the tarp was being pulled off the field around 3:20 pm.

Obtaining Tickets
I thought I would have to buy tickets from the box office since I was arriving at U.S. Cellular Field three hours after the scheduled first pitch. I had planned to buy a $19.50 upper deck seat since scalpers will not hang around that long. However, as I got off the train, a scalper was standing on 35th St. with three extra tickets. At first I offered him $5 for a $38 ticket, but ended up paying $10 (realizing my other option was to pay $19.50 at the box office).

The Game
With the White Sox taking a 3-1 lead into the 9th inning, it appeared the game would end a long day at the ballpark. However, Curtis Granderson extended the game by hitting a two-run homer in the top of the 9th inning to tie the game 3-3. The White Sox managed to win the game in the bottom of the 9th after Scott Podsednik singled with the bases loaded.

Day Part of Day-Night Doubleheader: Tigers at White Sox

The White Sox scheduled a day-night doubleheader yesterday in order to makeup the Tigers and White Sox that was postponed on Wednesday, May 6.

Obtaining Tickets
I bought a ticket from the May 6 game for $10 outside of U.S. Cellular Field. Since the ticket was a “season ticket,” the face value price was $32 but would have cost me $38 at the ticket window.

Note: If you are planning to buy tickets from a scalper for a makeup game, be sure you know the date of the original game that was supposed to be played. Generally the tickets from the postponed game will be valid for the makeup game and you do not want to end up buying a ticket from the wrong day.

The Game
One thing I rarely do at games (because I normally do not walk by the stand) is sign up for the designated driver program. By doing so, you receive a free soda from any concession stand. If you are looking to save a little money at the park, I recommend signing up (if you can find it).

Even though the White Sox managed to tie the game in the bottom of the 8th at 4 runs apiece, the Tigers scored the winning run in the top of the 9th inning. The game ended around 4 pm. If the game had gone to extra innings, I had considered waiting for the night game of the doubleheader. However, with a three hour wait in between games, I chose to go home for the evening.

World Cup Qualifying: Honduras at USA

Rather than squeeze in the White Sox game (first pitch 3:05 pm) in between the two international contests, we chose to head to the restaurants by Soldier Field. After taking our time leaving Toyota Park, we parked in a lot between S. Wabash Ave. and S. Michigan Ave. on 14th St. for $25 around 4 pm – giving us plenty of time before the 7:15 pm kickoff.

While searching for parking, we saw the American Outlaws partying outside of Weather Mark Tavern – a bar the Ultimate Sports Wife and I have occasionally frequented after Chicago Bears games. By the time we parked and walked over the supporters group had already left for Soldier Field.

Pre Game Dining
Instead of starting at Weather Mark Tavern, we chose to go to the Irish pub Grace O’Malley’s. We sat in the restaurant area and order some drinks and appetizers. After Grace O’Malley’s, we went back to Weather Mark Tavern. As is the case with Bears games, Weather Mark Tavern has cheaper prices and is less crowded than Grace O’Malley’s so unless you have a craving for Irish beer and food, I would recommend going to Weather Mark Tavern – only one block south on Michigan Ave. (1503 S. Michigan Ave. vs. 1416 S. Michigan Ave.).

Walking from Michigan Ave. to Soldier Field
At 6:15 pm, we started the lengthy walk to Soldier Field. From Weather Mark Tavern, you either need to cross the train tracks by walking north 3 blocks to Roosevelt Rd. or south 3 blocks to 18th St. We chose to walk to 18th St. since many ticket scalpers congregate by the tunnel south of Soldier Field. Also, in my opinion it is a much further walk crossing on Roosevelt Rd. since you must walk even further north once you get into Grant Park.

As we were walking to Solder Field we could hear a lot of cheering coming from the stadium as if the game had already started. We were wondering what the heck was going on.

Obtaining Tickets
After we made it across the tracks, the first scalper (also could have been a fan with extra tickets) we talked to had three tickets together (face value $25). I offered him $40 for all three (about ½ price) and he declined my offer. As we walked away, he asked for $50 for all three and I said no. He then accepted the $40 for all three tickets. Our tickets were directly behind the goal on the south end zone. Much better than the $40 tickets U.S. Soccer was selling at the box office at the top of section 429.

The Game
We arrived in our seats about 45 minutes early and realized very quickly we were amongst the minority. The entire stadium (or 80% of the crowd) appeared to be Honduras fans that were all cheering before the game with no action on the field. We now understood why were heard all the noise coming from Soldier Field as we were crossing the train tracks.

The US defeated Honduras 2-1 in the United States first come from behind win in a world cup qualifier since May 15, 1985. Landon Donovan set a U.S. record by scoring his 11th goal in World Cup Qualifying.

International Day Game #1: Wales at USA Eagles

In the first game of the day, Wales pounded the USA Eagles 48-15.

Pre Game Dining
Before the game we stopped at Potbelly’s located at 5709 S. Harlem Ave. There are a few chain restaurants on Harlem Ave. on the way to Toyota Park, including one of the Ultimate Sports Wife’s favorites – Portillo’s, located at 5532 S. Harlem Ave. If looking for a good family restaurant before or after an event at Toyota Park, Portillo’s may be the place for you since they serve a wide selection of food including alcoholic beverages.

Obtaining Tickets
As had been the case with the women’s professional soccer league two weeks ago, there were no scalpers when we arrived at Toyota Park (we were about 40 minutes early since my second cousin, who plays rugby, wanted to get in the stadium 30 minutes early to watch warm-ups). Thus, we bought the cheapest tickets available from the box office - $20 each. If we had waited, we probably could have bought tickets for cheaper (or received for free) since there were quite a few rugby clubs who had bought groups of tickets. However, since the cost savings would not be that substantial and we wanted six tickets together we bought the tickets from the box office.

The Game
As stated before Wales defeated the US team handily 48-15. It was the most lopsided lost in the eight rugby matches I have attended and definitely the worst played – it is USA Rugby (versus the other more high profile rugby matches I have attended) after all.

International Day in Chicago

Today is International sporting event day in Chicago. At 1 pm, USA Rugby hosts Wales at Toyota Park in a friendly. At 7:15 pm, USA Soccer hosts Honduras in the first World Cup Qualifier hosted at Soldier Field. I am planning to attend both games with Blackhawks Jim and his son Carl. The Ultimate Sports Wife and Blackhawks Jim’s wife and daughter are planning to attend the rugby match.

National Pro Fastpitch: Philadelphia at Chicago

The National Pro Fastpitch season started Wednesday night. I would normally never attend a National Pro Fastpitch game since the Chicago Bandits play over 35 miles from where I live. However, since I had a meeting for work about 1/3 of the way from Elgin, IL (the home of the Chicago Bandits); I decided to attend my first National Pro Fastpitch game.

Obtaining Tickets
Since my meeting and the game started at the same time (7 pm), I decided to purchase a ticket online ahead of time – the team might stop selling tickets by the time I arrived. With these types of events, there are no scalpers so I would have had to purchase a ticket from the box office anyway. Note: When I arrived they were still selling tickets.

I chose to buy a ticket in the outfield for $8. The other ticket options were $10 for a seat down the first base line or $20 for a ticket behind home plate.

The Game
I arrived at the game before the bottom of the 4th inning (softball only plays seven innings), so I was able to see my minimum requirement of half the game. The Chicago Bandits shut out the Philadelphia Force 4-0. The game only lasted one hour and 45 minutes so plan for a short evening if planning to attend. The main highlight was when Jennie Finch warmed up in the 6th inning. It seemed like the entire crowd moved to the bullpen area to watch her pitch.

The atmosphere around the park reminded me of minor league baseball. The most interesting food item for sale was a Blizzard from Dairy Queen for $4. I had never seen a pre-packaged Blizzard before last night. If you can wait to eat until the seventh inning, Papa John’s will sell their remaining pizza and breadsticks for only $1.

Doubleheader Day: Oakland Athletics at Chicago White Sox

Yesterday was an interesting doubleheader day. With a meeting for work scheduled from at 5-7 pm I had time to attend the White Sox game Thursday afternoon.

Parking
Since the game started at 1:05 pm, I figured it would end around 4 pm (the typical three hour baseball game). Thus, in order to get to my 5 pm meeting on time in Rosemont, IL I needed to drive and pay for parking. Parking at U.S. Cellular Field is a steep $23.

Obtaining Tickets
After looking for a free ticket for about 10 minutes, I ended up paying $10 for a lower reserved ticket (face value $34 if bought from the box office).

The Game
The A’s shut out the White Sox 7-0 in a game that only lasted two hours and 15 minutes – so much for my need to rush to my 5 pm meeting.

It was the 5th time the White Sox have been shut out at home this season. Brett Anderson pitched for Oakland – the fourth consecutive rookie pitcher to start the series. This was the first time the A’s have started four consecutive rookies since June of 1996.

The big news of the day was Gordon Beckham making his major league debut. He was drafted by the White Sox last summer and is the fastest White Sox to make the majors (364 days) since Alex Fernandez (58 days) in 1990. He received a standing ovation prior to his first at-bat, but ended up going 0 for 3.

Sunday Night Baseball: Dodgers at Cubs

I have always enjoyed attending Sunday night baseball games. It frees up Sunday afternoon to take care of whatever needs to be done over the weekend while still allowing for attending the game in the evening.

Yesterday was no exception. The Ultimate Sports Wife and I spent the day straightening up the house before heading over to the Cubs game.

Obtaining Tickets
A friend of Nicole’s wanted to come to the game as well so we needed to buy two additional tickets. For the past week, Cubs tickets have been pretty easy to get so I figured Sunday night would be no exception. I bought two tickets for $20 each (face value was $56 each) for Upper Deck Box from the scalpers in front of Murphy’s Bleachers.

The Game
The Dodgers scored 5 quick runs in the top of the 1st inning and breezed to an 8-2 victory over the Cubs.