“Oh well,” I thought as Gabe Kapler connected with Mark Buehrle’s pitch in the top of the 9th inning for an apparent home run – another possible no-hitter (this time a perfect game) lost in a late inning. The main baseball feat I have never witnessed in person.
But out of nowhere came DeWayne Wise. A defensive replacement for the start of the inning, Wise sprinted, in what appeared to be about a dozen strides, to the wall, jumped against the eight foot wall and extended his …

As I wrote yesterday, one of my favorite sporting event start times are weekday afternoon games. Today I am planning to combine a weekday afternoon baseball game with a Gold Cup soccer doubleheader at Soldier Field. The Chicago White Sox are scheduled to play the Tampa Bay Rays at 1:05 pm. This is the first time I will have seen the Rays play at U.S. Cellular Field since April 23, 2004.
At 6 pm the United States plays Honduras in the first game of the doubleheader followed by …

My favorite sporting events to attend are ones that start on weekday afternoons. Generally these events include MLB games. However, with the Chicago Sky and New York Liberty scheduled for an 11:00 am tip off, I was sure to be there.
ParkingI did not feel like paying to park, so I drove around the area surrounding the UIC Pavilion. I figured I should be able to park for free on a weekday afternoon. However, to my disappointment all the streets around the arena needed a permit in …

With the wife heading to book club on a Friday night, I went to watch the White Sox host the Baltimore Orioles.
Obtaining TicketsEven though the game was more crowded than usual (it was Mullet Night and Fireworks), I had hoped to find a free ticket. As I got off the train, a scalper had an upper deck ticket (face value $20). I offered him $10, to make my life easier, but he wanted $15 and did not accept my offer.
Next, I went on my “usual” walk past Gate …

I have attended two other day-night doubleheaders at Wrigley Field – all versus the St. Louis Cardinals. The first occurred on August 31, 2002 and the second on September 2, 2003. One problem with the day-night doubleheader is that there is a lot of time in between the two games. Yesterday Game 1 ended at 3 pm and Game 2 did not start until 7 pm.
The GameThe Cardinals avoided the doubleheader sweep by defeating the Cubs 4-2 in the second game. The most interesting move of …

The day began with a plan to attend both games of a day-night doubleheader. The first game of the day was the makeup game from the April 19th rain out between the Cubs and Cardinals. The second game was the regularly scheduled Sunday Night Baseball game on ESPN.
Pre Game DiningBefore the game we went to the Full Schilling. Full Schilling sells 24 ounce beers for $6 (and you get a free hot dog if you order one order before or after the Cubs game).
The GameCarlos Zambrano hit …

The Ultimate Sports Wife and my original plan for today was to attend NASCAR’s LifeLock.com 400 in Joliet, IL. Since the race started at 7 pm and the Cubs game started at 3 pm there was really no way to make it to both events. If the Cubs game had started at noon then the doubleheader would have been possible. However, when my cousin from New York City said he was coming to town and wanted to attend the Cubs game we changed our plans – even …

Once again there was a rain delay on a Friday afternoon at Wrigley Field. However, this time the delay was only 25 minutes.
Obtaining TicketsAfter the All-Star break last year, the Cubs changed their day of game ticket selling rules – no longer could you buy tickets when the box office opened at 9 am. Instead, the box office opens 2 hours before the game and fans must enter Wrigley Field immediately after purchasing their ticket. At the time, I did not like the new rule. …

I arrived at the White Sox game Thursday afternoon early and with the only restaurant within a reasonable walk I knew of (Jimbo’s) now closed I had to choose another place to eat before the game.
Pre Game DiningI decided to eat at 35th Street Red Hot – located on the corner of 35 St. and Normal Ave. Most hot dog stands in Chicago sell other items besides hot dogs so I was surprised to discover that 35th Street Red Hot only sells hot dogs. I ordered the double hot dog …

For the first time ever, I went to a Chicago White Sox game over a Chicago Cubs game. My friend, Jamie Trecker, invited the Ultimate Sports Wife and me over to his house for a BBQ and wanted to attend the White Sox game last night. For the only day this season, the Cubs and White Sox were playing a home game at the same time.
Obtaining TicketsSince the Cubs were playing at the same time as the White Sox, my usual scalpers were not at U.S. Cellular Field but outside …