Women’s College Basketball: Minnesota at Northwestern

As Nicole and I have done for Northwestern men’s basketball games this season, we drove to campus today. However, the Northwestern women’s basketball team was home rather than the men’s team. I dropped Nicole off at the Sociology department and drove to Welsh-Ryan Arena.

Obtaining Tickets
I had a free ticket for the game since it was included in my men’s basketball season ticket package. With men’s basketball season tickets, I received one free ticket for a women’s game.

The Game
Northwestern squeaked out a victory over Minnesota 61-60 as Brittany Orban missed the first of two free throws but made the second to give Northwestern a one-point lead with four seconds left (this was after missing 1 of 2 free throws to tie the game at 60 apiece). Rather than Minnesota calling a timeout to make a play with four seconds left, they ran the court as Kiara Buford missed the last second shot attempt that would have given Minnesota the win.

Halftime Show
Northwestern hired Red Panda for their halftime show. Red Panda is the Asian woman who flips bowls from her foot onto her head while riding a unicycle (appears to be 10 feet high). I have seen her several times at NBA game (mainly the Chicago Bulls), so I was surprised to see her at the halftime show of the Northwestern women’s basketball game – it does not seem to make financial sense for a women’s basketball game.

In what must have been a first, she missed the four-bowl flip on her first try. She must have been distracted since Willie the Wildcat was tossing her the bowls.

Post Game Dining
After a few hours in the department we ate dinner at Addis Abeba – an Ethiopian restaurant located at 1322 Chicago Ave. in Evanston, IL.

WCBK: Chicago St. at Northwestern

After waiting for an hour between the men’s and women’s games, the Northwestern women’s team took the court. Although expected, it was amazing to see there were only 567 people (according to nusports.com) who stuck around for the women’s game even though it was free. 5,098 attended the men’s game versus Stanford.

The Game
Northwestern jumped out to an 11-0 lead and never looked back defeating Chicago St. 85-64. Amy Jaeschke scored 29 points for the Wildcats, while Brittany Orban scored 20. It was the first time since January 18, 2006 that two Wildcats scored 20 points in the same game.

Two Slow Weeks in Chicago = DePaul Women’s Basketball

The week or two around Super Bowl Sunday is a slow time for professional sporting events in Chicago – mainly due to the fact that Disney on Ice comes to town in late January and early February. This year they performed at Allstate Arena from January 22 through January 25 and moved to the United Center from January 27 through February 8.

With the Chicago Bulls and Chicago Blackhawks out of town for two to three weeks, one must look for other sporting event options in Chicago. Other professional sporting event options include:

1) Chicago Wolves of the American Hockey League - the Wolves are playing two games per week at home during this time.
2) Chicago Storm of the XSL (Xtreme Soccer League) - the Storm was not wise enough to schedule games during the professional sports down period in Chicago.
3) A couple of “professional” basketball teams from the ABA (Chicago Steam) and PBL (Chicago Throwbacks). However, these teams also did not schedule games while Disney On Ice was in town. Note: Chicago also has IBL teams but the league takes place during the summer.

The other sporting event options in Chicago are Men’s and Women’s Division I College Basketball at Northwestern, DePaul, University of Illinois at Chicago, Loyola University Chicago and Chicago St.

Last night, I attended the DePaul Women’s Basketball game versus West Virginia over a few other sporting event options (mainly Northwestern Men’s basketball and the Chicago Wolves). All games started at 7 pm. There were multiple reasons why I chose DePaul. First, McGrath Arena is much closer to my house than Welsh-Ryan Arena or Allstate Arena. Second, and the main reason, the Ultimate Sports Wife was hosting her 32nd birthday party at Hidden Cove starting at 9:30 pm. The DePaul game would end before 9 pm, meaning I could watch the game, make it back to the house to pick up Nicole and still make it on time to the party. The other games would take longer which could be a risk of making the party on time – a no-no for the wife’s birthday party.

Obtaining Tickets
The worst part about attending third tier sporting events is that there is no secondary ticket market. Thus, I had to pay full price ($10) for my ticket, which is normally what I pay to attend any event in the Chicagoland area. However, if I had worn pink my ticket would have cost $5.

The Game
#25 DePaul defeated West Virginia 74-56 to win their fourth straight Big East game. Sam Quigley led DePaul with 17 points and had career-high’s with 6 assists and shooting 8-8 from the free throw line.

Note: No sporting events occur at the Staples Center in Los Angeles around Super Bowl weekend either. The arena is setting up to host the Grammy’s the Sunday following Super Bowl weekend.

Women’s College Basketball at Madison Square Garden

Not many times would I attend a women’s college basketball doubleheader over a New York Jets game. But this is exactly what happened today. Let me explain.

I was visiting my friend, Mike Nadel, the un-fan, in New York City. He did not want to attend a sporting event Sunday afternoon, especially after attending the Devils game Saturday night. However, he was going to the gym Sunday morning at 10 am and would be in Manhattan between 2 and 3 pm. Since the women’s doubleheader would end around 3:30 pm, I figured I could at least watch the first half of Game 2 between Connecticut and Penn St. before he arrived at MSG. A few other reasons played a factor in my decision:

1) The women’s doubleheader was at Madison Square Garden rather than Giants Stadium aka the Meadowlands. This was a much easier venue to get to. In order to get to the Giants Stadium, you need to take a bus to New Jersey rather than stay in Manhattan.
2) I had not attended a game at Madison Square Garden for eight years. My last game at Giants Stadium was six years ago.
3) I knew ticket prices would be cheaper for the women’s doubleheader than the Jets game.

Those four reasons made my decision, but details aside, when going with a un-fan, you need to make accommodations or you may not be attending a sporting event. This main reason made the women’s college basketball doubleheader the obvious choice.

Obtaining Tickets
I arrived at Madison Square Garden with the plan to spend no more than $5 for a ticket.

Ticket Buying Tip at MSG: I was trying to buy tickets outside of the secured area at MSG. However, you have to pass through security in order to reach the box office. I did not realize that most fans with extra tickets (at least for this low demand event), would pass through security before “giving away” their extra tickets.

I realized this trick since I asked a few Rutgers fans if they had extra tickets – before entering security. They said they did but that the tickets were at Will Call. I followed them through security. From there, they decided that I was not a Rutgers fan (since I was wearing a blue jacket – Connecticut blue in their minds) and gave away their three extra tickets to people wearing Rutgers gear.

However, once at the box office, I noticed that many fans had coupons, which you could exchange for one free ticket to the doubleheader. I asked one man if I could have his extras. My friend had mentioned he would like to see the inside of MSG (a tourist attraction for him; more time at the event for me). The man gave me two extra coupons, which I exchanged at the box office

Maggie Dixon Classic:
The Maggie Dixon Classic began in honor of the former Army Women’s Basketball Coach, Maggie Dixon, who died on April 6, 2006, of arrhythmia, most likely caused by an enlarged heart.

Rutgers defeated Army convincingly in the first game 59-38. Connecticut won the second game against Penn St. 77-63. This was the second time this year I watched Connecticut as the #1 team in the country. The first time was March 1, 2008 when Connecticut played at DePaul.

A portion of the proceeds from the games go to C.A.R.E (Cardiac Arrhythmias Research and Education Foundation). C.A.R.E. provided a free EKG at the event and I am still awaiting the results.