At halftime of the Xavier and Minnesota game, I realized that fans were leaving the stadium by getting a stamp on their ticket. Technically, you were only supposed to go outside to smoke in the immediate vicinity of the arena. However, security was not monitoring the “smoking area” outside so it was very easy to leave and wander around downtown Milwaukee in between the two games of each session (and halftime if you were really desperate). This is a key perk with attending games in Milwaukee as bars are located …

As I wrote on Friday, I expected tickets to be cheap in Milwaukee for the NCAA Tournament. Of course, my theory was based on my having time to walk around the arena and negotiate with several ticket scalpers. Instead, I woke up late yesterday morning and made it to downtown Milwaukee about 10 minutes before the scheduled first tip between Xavier and Minnesota.
I wanted to find a relatively cheap parking lot quickly and then buy my ticket to session one. However, I got turned around and ended up driving directly …

As you know, this is the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament. With the first and second round being held at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee (our neighbors to the north), I will be attending men’s basketball NCAA tournament games for the first time in five years.
My plan is to meet up with two gentlemen I met at the Indiana Pacers game before racing off to the Indianapolis Colts divisional playoff game versus the Baltimore Ravens. At the time they mentioned I could buy one of their tickets …

Last week I wrote about how the Chicago Blackhawks hosted their earliest game I could ever remember. This week the Blackhawks hosted their most important regular season game I could remember. This was a game between the top teams in each conference and NBC was televising the contest making it the second straight Sunday the Blackhawks would play an 11:30 am game. Besides this fact, I was hoping to watch Alex Ovechkin, arguably the best player in the NHL. The last time I saw Ovechkin in person was on March …

The best part about March Madness is the second game of the session – it makes for a strange secondary ticket market and an even stranger audience in attendance. Most fans seem to just show up for “their” team’s game – even though the Big Ten did charge them for the “other” game. I mean the cheapest tickets for the session were $40.
Another great part is when that game goes into overtime. The last time I attended a conference tournament, the second game of the session also went into overtime. …

My decision to attend the Northwestern men’s basketball game in the Big Ten Tournament rather than the Milwaukee Bucks game meant I needed to leave earlier than expected. I left my house at 2:00 pm in order to make the first tip at 6:30 pm (Eastern Time). The drive from Chicago to Indianapolis normally takes me about 3 hours, so I should have had 30 minutes to park, buy a ticket from scalpers outside of Conseco Fieldhouse and get to my seat – plenty of time, right?
Wrong! About 47 miles …

The wife has plans tonight.  Whenever she has plans (that do not include me), I always pick out a game to attend somewhere within a reasonable distance – meaning I cannot spend the night in another city and come home the next day (a reasonable request I guess).  Most guys might head to the bar or out with some buddies, but I prefer sporting events (for better or worse).  Once her dinner was official, I planned to attend the Milwaukee Bucks game versus the Utah Jazz in Milwaukee.  I have …

I would never say I am opposed to fans “sneaking” liquor into sporting events. With beers in Chicago averaging $7 per beer and wine and mixed drinks priced higher, fans can save themselves a good amount of money brining in their own. In fact, I have used my Bears flask (the Ultimate Sports Wife bought me a few years back) to make myself some rum and cokes or seven and sevens in the upper rows of any ballpark.
Granted I have not “snuck” in any alcohol for awhile (mainly …

As always, in this blog, I write about how I begged, bought, received for free or used my season ticket to gain entry into a game. Some of these experiences are lucky, some are random, some are typical and some plain boring – however, whenever I receive a free ticket or buy a $100 ticket for $20, most people do not believe it.
Last night was one of the random experiences. For this Blackhawks season, I have adopted the general rule that I would rather spend $25 on a …

It was a relatively warm Sunday in Chicago and the Chicago Blackhawks were playing in their earliest game I can ever remember – the puck dropped at 11:30 am. 2.5 hours earlier than their usual 2:00 pm March Sunday afternoon start time.
The early start time must have affected the goalies as the Red Wings gave up four goals and the Blackhawks gave up five goals in the second period alone. Crostobal Huet, who started the game, was replaced by Antti Niemi, after the Red Wings scored their fourth goal within …