I had waited for this weekend for awhile. I had two days where I could get out of the house, without Dylan, for the NCAA Tournament. The first game on Friday was scheduled for 12:40 pm so I left the house as soon as I could to get down for the first game.
Beg, Borrow and Deal
I walked in front of Gate 3 and found a family who had an extra ticket. I offered $20 for the $80 face value ticket and held firm on my price point. I told them …

My friend, and FoxSoccer.com writer, Jamie Trecker wanted to attend the Blackhawks game tonight. So Nicole worked on her dissertation at home, which allowed me to attend the game.
Beg, Borrow and Deal
Once again I went directly to the box office to see what seats were available. I thought I could beat the $27 SRO price point, but that finding three seats together would be difficult. Rather than try to find seats from scalpers, I decided to buy the SRO tickets. As soon as did there were supposedly no tickets left …

I had planned to attend the Chicago Bulls game on Friday night. However, Nicole was unable to get back from campus in time so I planned to attend tonight’s game. I would not have attended both games anyway. However, I had no idea Chicago was celebrating the 20th anniversary of their first championship tonight, so I was definitely happy with the switch.
Beg, Borrow and Deal
Of course, the magnitude of the evening made ticket prices much higher than I thought. The game was sold out so I ended up paying $80 …

After a week of spending most of her time on campus working on her dissertation, Nicole came home early so I could attend the Sunday night Blackhawks game.
Beg, Borrow and Deal
As was the case last week, I decided not to attempt the scalping market and bought a SRO ticket for $27. Once again, I did not feel I could beat the $27 price point on the secondary market and I knew I would find a seat inside the United Center since it was a Sunday night game against the Coyotes.
Phoenix …

Dylan was healthy and released from the hospital Saturday morning so it was business as usual over the weekend. Since Sunday afternoons are my favorite time to attend a Chicago Blackhawks game, I was not about to miss the Penguins coming to town in a 2:30 pm start time.
Beg, Borrow and Deal
Realizing that it would be nearly impossible to find a ticket from a scalper that matched the $27 standing room only price point, I purchased an SRO ticket once I realized they were available at the box office. This …

I drove straight to the United Center from work since Hospitality Jim invited me to the game the night before. Miraculously traffic was not that bad, so I had time to go out before the game. I drove down Ogden Ave. and chose Mahoney’s Pub & Grille located at 551 N. Ogden Ave. since they had street parking nearby.
Minnesota Wild at Chicago Blackhawks
The Blackhawks, back at the United Center for the first time since January 25, defeated the Wild 3-1. Troy Brouwer broke the 1-1 tie with 12:27 left in …

I have written about this before and I will write about it again. Getting home from the northwest suburbs to my house by Wrigley Field on a Friday evening is nearly impossible to do in a reasonable amount of time. So whenever there is an event scheduled for the Allstate Arena on a Friday night, I plan to attend since I pass the arena on my way home from work.
Beg, Borrow and Deal
Tonight the Chicago Wolves were playing in a rare Friday night game. As usual I had to buy …

It was the NFC Championship Game at Soldier Field! Since I became a Bears season ticket holder in 1999 the Bears have advanced to the playoffs four times. Once as the #1 seed and three times as the #2 seed (including this year). The first two times the Bears were the second seed they lost. However, the Bears won last week while the Green Bay Packers defeated the #1 seed Atlanta Falcons which sent the NFC Championship game to Soldier Field.
My original plan for today was to attend the Flyers …

It was the Bears first playoff game since the 2007 NFC Championship game. As I had done throughout the regular season, I tailgated with the friend Mike Holzman and the Ultimate Sports Wife before the game.
Beg, Borrow and Deal
I already had my season tickets for the game today. However, I have noticed that the secondary market in Chicago for the divisional playoff weekend is soft in the days leading up to the game. I am not sure why it is soft, but wait to buy tickets to a wild card …

After work I drove to the United Center for my second hockey game of the day. Corey Crawford had his third career shutout as the Blackhawks defeated the Avalanche 4-0.
The second period ended with 2:07 left, when the glass above the boards shattered. At that point both teams headed to the locker room for the second intermission. After the intermission, the teams played the end of the second period, the goalies switched ends and the third period started. I know I have seen this before but …