Last season, I scheduled a few doctor’s appointments to coincide when the Cubs or White Sox were playing on a weekday afternoon. Today was no different as I had a scheduled dental procedure that would keep me home all day. The good thing was that my dental appointment was early in the morning – meaning I could come home, take a nap to recover and still make it to the Cubs game which started at 1:20 pm.
However, of course, since I was in so much pain the game lasted 12 …

After losing 11-5 on Monday night to the Astros, the Cubs put on their own offensive display tonight defeating the Astros 14-7 (after the Astros had a 7-1 lead heading into the bottom of the 5th).
Aramis Ramirez hit three home runs in tonight’s Cubs game for the fourth time in his career. This was also the third time this season I have witnessed a player hit three home runs in one game. The other two were Albert Pujols on May 30 and Drew Stubbs on July 4. …

There are a lot of things I take for granted at Wrigley Field now that I have attended 435 Cubs games, two minor league games and the NHL Winter Classic at the ballpark. One thing I never think of is the ballhawks that sit along Waveland Ave. I pass these guys every game, but have never talked to or inquired about their desire to sit outside Wrigley Field which is equal to my desire to sit inside the ballpark. In fact, I have never once wandered outside to try to …

One of my favorite things about Sunday night baseball is that my Sunday afternoon’s are completely free. I can sleep in, go to brunch, BBQ, nap and still attend the Cubs game. Today was case in point. After a relaxing Sunday, I walked down to my neighbor’s place before the game to BBQ.
Philadelphia Phillies at Chicago Cubs
Tonight Roy Halladay was pitching for the Phillies. However, after pitching 18 consecutive scoreless innings, he gave up four runs in the second inning and the Cubs never looked back cruising to an 11-6 …

Geovany Soto (and, of course, Carlos Marmol) blew my chance to see a four-game sweep of a series. Marmol walked five in route to a four-run ninth inning for the Phillies. However, the Cubs would have won if Soto held onto Tyler Colvin’s solid throw from left field. The throw beat Brian Schneider but Soto’s drop allowed Schneider to score.
The Cubs would have still needed to win tomorrow for the four-game sweep. But this would have only been the second time I witnessed a team win the first three games …

The Cubs continued a successful start to the second half of the season coming from behind against the Phillies. Aramis Ramirez hit a solo home run with two outs in the 8th inning to give the Cubs a 4-3 lead and Carlos Marmol struck out the side in the top of the 9th to secure the victory for the Cubs.
Beg, Borrow and Deal
As I was walking to the main box office to buy a ticket for the game, I walked by the McDonald’s macaroni which was installed outside of Wrigley …

The Cubs were back at home tonight to start the second half of the season. And, they started it out with a bang. On a hot summer night Derrek Lee, Alfonso Soriano and Geovany Soto all hit home runs as the Cubs defeated the Philadelphia Phillies 12-6 giving 47-year-old Jamie Moyer his first loss at Wrigley Field since the 1988 season. Even Ryan Howard got into the act homering twice – once in the 1st inning and once in the 9th inning. This was Howard’s 25th career multi-homer game.
In the …

Last year the Chicago Sky hosted camp day at the UIC Pavilion – a Wednesday afternoon game in July. That day I received a free ticket outside of the arena and my seat was in the row behind the New York Liberty bench.
This year the Sky repeated the camp day event with an afternoon game at Allstate Arena. Since my office is only a 15-20 minute drive from Allstate Arena I decided to take a long lunch and attend the game. And, once again, as I approached the box office …

For the first time in 10 years, I finally made it to the Chicagoland NASCAR race. For each of the last nine years there was always something that was a higher priority. Either I was out of town or wanted to attend another sporting event. This year there were no conflicts and with the Chicago Cubs on the road there was no excuse not to go.
Pre Game Dining
Anybody who has been to a NASCAR race knows tailgating is a must. However, since I was attending the race by myself and …

For the past three seasons, the Chicago Cubs have hosted a minor league game at Wrigley Field. I attended the game two years ago, but missed last year’s game since I was in San Francisco.
Tonight the Peoria Chiefs hosted the Kane County Cougars in a rematch of the game played two years ago at Wrigley. The minor league game is an excellent way to experience Wrigley Field as the crowd is sparse – tonight’s game only drew 8,994 fans. That number is way down from the 32,103 who showed up …