There is one thing I love about Chicago in the month of April – doubleheaders with the Chicago Cubs and either the Chicago Blackhawks or Chicago Bulls. Today, I planned to attend both the Cubs game this afternoon and the Blackhawks game this evening. Since, I was planning to bring the Ultimate Sports Baby to the Blackhawks game; I hired a babysitter for the Cubs game.
Pittsburgh Pirates at Chicago Cubs
It could be a long Cubs season if Carlos Marmol keeps this up. The Cubs were down 2-0 and 3-2, but …

Nicole and I decided it was too cold (46 degrees with a strong wind) for Dylan to attend the game, so once Nicole got back from teaching ice skating she took Dylan to the gym.
Beg, Borrow and Deal
I had two tickets for Sunday’s game. But rather than buy a ticket for today and sell a ticket for tomorrow, I traded for today’s ticket. I have done this in the past as well. If you have two tickets for a later date, scalpers will generally trade their tickets that will be …

Technically, yesterday was opening day for Major League Baseball. But, most games were scheduled for today as were the Cubs at Wrigley Field as Ron Santo was honored at the game and Robert Redford threw out the ceremonial first pitch.
Pre Game Dining
Before the game, I headed to Irish Oak to meet up with friends. As I was walking there, I thought there was no way the game would start in this rain – it was not a hard rain but one I thought would delay the game. For some reason, …

I was on my own with the Ultimate Sports Baby today, so I decided to go to the Chicago Wolves game. First, it was the only game in town. Second, the Ultimate Sports Baby has not attended a game at Allstate Arena yet – the only remaining professional sports venue he has not attended a game in Chicagoland.
Beg, Borrow and Deal
Under normal circumstances I would have parked in the Target parking lot across from the arena for free. However, today I did not feel like lugging the stroller from the …

For the past two seasons, I have attended the Chicago Fire home opener. This year was no exception especially since the game was on a Saturday afternoon. Under normal circumstances I would bring the Ultimate Sports Baby with me to an afternoon game, but the temperature was in the 30’s which is too cold for him to attend.

Pre Game Dining
Since I did not have the Ultimate Sports Baby, I decided to go to one of the bars around Toyota Park. I ended up at The Krash Inc. located at 7122 …

Today was upset Sunday at the United Center. After VCU’s dismantling of Purdue there was no way I thought Florida St. would do the same thing to Notre Dame. But, Florida St. did defeating Notre Dame 71-57 to advance to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 1993.
The next game between VCU and Florida St. is the first time a #11 and #10 seed have played each other in the NCAA Tournament.
Post Game Dining
By the time the game was over, Nicole was back at home and getting ready for …

To my surprise the NCAA Tournament Round 3 was not scheduled to begin until 6:10 pm. Most first Sundays for the NCAA Tournament are schedule as afternoon affairs, but today was a change to the norm which definitely worked in my favor as my babysitter could not come over until later Sunday afternoon.
Pre Game Dining
As soon as the babysitter arrived, I left the house as Nicole was still working on her dissertation on Northwestern’s campus. I went to Billy Goat Tavern for a pre-game burger and beer.
Beg, Borrow and Deal
Most …

The last game of the day was definitely the best game. VCU trounced Georgetown 74-56. VCU was the controversial entry to the NCAA Tournament but proved they belong with this blowout. This was the third year in a row that Georgetown lost to a #10 seed or higher in the first round.

As I exited the arena, I began asking for extra tickets from the Purdue fans that were lined up at the gate to enter the arena. As I asked for extra tickets one young man said he had an extra and handed me the ticket. Since he was young, I was 1) surprised he had an extra ticket and 2) that he was giving it away for free. Turns out he worked for somebody at the Chicago Board of Trade who gave him the tickets. So he to giveaway the …

The second game of the session was more exciting than the first as Florida St. defeated Texas A&M 57-50 to advance in the tournament for the first time since 1998.
The last time I attended the NCAA Tournament at the United Center was in 2002. That day, we had at least two hours in between sessions so my friend and I walked over to Cheli’s Chili Bar to hang out. However, for some reason there was no time in between sessions this year. In fact, not only was there no time, …