With the Cubs game lasting 10 innings, I did not have any time at home before needing to meet Blackhawks Jim for dinner before the Blackhawks game. After the Cubs game, I went back home to meet the Ultimate Sports Wife and we were off.
Pre Game Dining
The Ultimate Sports Wife chose Carnivale for dinner before the game. Located at 702 W. Fulton Market, Carnivale is less than two miles from the United Center – meaning you will need to drive to the arena after dinner. The dinner was great although …

For the second time in three days, I was planning to attend both the Chicago Cubs and Chicago Blackhawks game in the same day. However, after seeing the New York Mets and St. Louis Cardinals play 20 innings on Saturday night, I was slightly concerned that a long extra innings game would keep me from attending the Chicago Blackhawks playoff game. I have a strict rule that I cannot leave one sporting event early to attend another sporting event. In the end, I was not that concerned as the Cubs …

For the second day in a row, the Cubs tried to stage an eighth inning comeback. However, today they came up short losing to the Astros 4-3. Roy Oswalt shut down the Cubs, pitching shutout baseball over seven innings.
Sun vs. Shade
The game time temperature was 50 degrees, which is actually a good temperature for April baseball in Chicago. However, at Wrigley Field whether you are sitting in the sun or the shade can make a world of difference. If you are sitting in the shade be sure to bring layers …

As soon as we were done eating at El Mariachi, I left to meet Blackhawks Jim before the Chicago Blackhawks opening playoff game.
Pre Game Dining
We were supposed to meet at Crossroads Bar & Grill, but with a long wait, we met at Plush instead.  Plush is next door to Crossroads at 1104 W. Madison St.  This was not the best decision.  The Ultimate Sports Wife and I went to Plush a few years ago after a Chicago Bulls game and we vowed not to go back before or after an …

One of the best parts of the Cubs playing afternoon games is that your nights are free. While most MLB teams play at night, the Cubs are required to play mostly during the day which is usually a blessing. For example, today the Cubs played their usual Friday afternoon home game (the only team in baseball to play on Friday afternoons). Their early game time allowed Chicago sports fans the option of also attending the Chicago Blackhawks opening playoff game at the United Center tonight. Of course, my plan was …

On Jackie Robinson day, where every player was wearing the number 42, Derreck Lee was ejected from the game for arguing balls and strikes. This was the first time Lee had been ejected from a game since June 16, 2007.

Déjà vu occurs when you consider that the two games were eerily similar. First, Carlos Zambrano was the starting pitcher in both games. Second, the double-play combination was the same in both games. Ryan Theriot was at short-stop and Mike Fontenot was at second base …

Buying tickets from Ticketmaster.com is insane – as most fans already know. So why do it? You should never do it. In my ticket buying guide, I write that fans should never buy tickets through Ticketmaster unless absolutely necessary. First, Ticketmaster adds so many fees to their tickets they are essentially scalping tickets. Second, the odds you will pay higher than what Ticketmaster ends up charging is very rare.
This morning Chicago Bulls playoff tickets went on sale at 10 am since they clinched a playoff …

For the second time in as many Chicago Cubs games I saw fans using a fist beer koozie (officially named Tuff Glove).  You know the one: it looks like a gigantic hulk-sized fist that holds your beer.  The perfect beer koozie, right?  Huh, wrong.  For the second straight game, the Tuff Glove has been implicated in two major beer spills causing the users to not only look like a moron but also lose their beer.
On Monday, a woman at Mullen’s on Clark was carrying her beer in the koozie and …

Some argue that the Chicago Cubs home opener at Wrigley Field is an event not to be missed. I would argue that you should save your money for another event – the weather is usually miserable, tickets are expensive and all the bars in the neighborhood are overcrowded. The games later in the week are the much better bargain and experience.
However, as was the case with the Chicago White Sox home opener last Monday, today’s game between the Cubs and the Milwaukee Brewers was abnormal – it was …

A few weeks ago, I wrote about attending the Chicago Bulls game with students from my Masters program at Northwestern University. That night, I wrote that I had to pay more than I normally would since we were attending the game as a group.
Last night, the “group” experience benefited me greatly. This time around we were attending the Chicago Fire’s home opener at Toyota Park versus the San Jose Earthquakes. However, we had a luxury box with unlimited food, drinks and parking included for only $5 – essentially free when …