In my second Sunday night baseball game of the season, the Chicago Cubs defeated the St. Louis Cardinals 6-2. As with any sporting event, the fan’s day is defined by the game’s start time. For example, since yesterday’s Cubs game started at 7:05 pm, fans in Chicago had the option of enjoying a Sunday afternoon exploring Chicago or partaking in the “Red Line doubleheader” – the Chicago White Sox game started at 1:05 pm earlier Sunday afternoon.
Instead of attending both baseball games in Chicago, the Ultimate Sports …

Act 1: It had all the makings of a peaceful evening at Wrigley Field – an early 6:05 pm start followed by a BBQ at home. However, as the game continued, the skies over Wrigley Field became darker and darker. We knew a thunderstorm was approaching. What we did not know was the wild evening the weather would provide us.
After Alfonso Soriano grounded out to end the 5th inning (making the game official), it started to downpour and the game was immediately postponed at 7:39 pm. We thought we were …

In my 800th Major League Baseball game since 1990 (including Spring Training and Playoff games), the Chicago Cubs beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 8-5. Since I was planning to take the subway to Soldier Field for the Barcelona vs. Chivas game, I was hoping for a quick baseball game. With the game heading to the 8th inning and the Cubs leading the game 5-2, I thought a shortly after 4 pm departure was almost guaranteed – leaving me with enough time to get to Solider Field for the 6 …

Last September, I attended my first Wrigley Field and Soldier Field doubleheader. That day the Cubs played on Sunday afternoon and the Bears played Sunday night football.
Today, I am attending my second Wrigley Field and Soldier Field doubleheader. However, this time the Cubs are playing on Sunday afternoon and Barcelona is playing Chivas Guadalajara Sunday night.
I already have a ticket to today’s Cubs game. My friend, Mike Holzman, called me Friday and said he had an extra ticket.
We do not have tickets yet for the soccer match. Tickets are still …

Our day started off deciding where to eat brunch before the game. We decided to eat at Salt & Pepper Diner (where we ate last Saturday), but when we arrived there was a line. Since we did not have to wait last Saturday, we thought there might be a line because we were trying to eat about 20 minutes earlier. Instead, we decided to order some Irish breakfast at Irish Oak (located at 3511 N. Clark St.).
Irish Oak is similar to any other Irish Pub. The main difference being that …

The Cubs were shut out for the 5th time this season – losing to the Pittsburgh Pirates 3-0 even thought the Pirates traded away Jason Bay yesterday.
Before the game, the Ultimate Sports Wife and I ate lunch at the best brunch place in Wrigleyville – Uncommon Ground. They have strong gourmet coffee, great brunch cocktails and great food.
After the game, we met some friends at Marty’s (1511 W. Balmoral Ave.) – a martini bar in Andersonville. Marty’s was a good pre-dinner drink bar and served 6 ounce ($8) and 10 …

After a busy Saturday around Wrigley Field, Sunday was much calmer. The Cubs came from behind twice, once from 5-0 down, to beat the Florida Marlins 9-6.
In the random records category:1) Dan Uggla tied Joe Gordon (yes, that’s Gordon) for the most home runs hit by a second baseman in his first three seasons.2) The 4-game series against the Marlins drew a record 165,540 fans which broke the attendance record for a 4-game series at Wrigley Field.

In the longest baseball game I have attended this season, the Florida Marlins beat the Chicago Cubs 3-2 in 12 innings. For the third time this season, I witnessed the home plate umpire leaving the game. The first time the umpire left, I wrote that I had not seen an umpire leave a game since Game 1 of the 2003 NLCS. I am not sure why umpires are not getting along with Wrigley Field this year.
Lou Piniella and first base coach Matt Sinatro were ejected from the …

On Thursday night, our friends from London, England were in town, so of course, we needed to “experience” Wrigleyville. Before the game, we decided to eat at the new Harry Caray’s Tavern located at 3551 N. Sheffield Avenue. However, the place was already packed at 5:15 pm. We chose to move on and walk to Clark St. The restaurants on Clark St. were empty. We attributed the emptiness to not being located next to the Addison El stop.
We ate dinner at The Central – www.thecentralchicago.com. The Central had a lot …

In my last baseball game before MLB’s All-Star break, the Cubs beat the Reds 5-1. Carlos Zambrano pitched a gem of a game – giving up only one hit (a HR to Adam Dunn) in 8 innings.
I attended 41 regular season games (43 if you count Spring Training) in the first half of the season this year. Just short of my record 42 regular season games attended before the All-Star Game in 2004.
I bought a standing room only ticket to last night’s Cubs game. Most people refuse to purchase …