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 for a $140 face value ticket from a fan that had an extra single. The scalpers wanted more than $100 for upper level seats.

Utah Jazz at Chicago Bulls
The Bulls took a 68-41 lead into halftime which was quite fitting since the celebration was coming up next. Halftime, of course, took a lot longer than I thought it would. They originally put 20 minutes on the halftime clock and stopped the clock at 5 minutes for awhile before the ceremony was finally over.

It was a big evening since Scottie Pippen and Michael Jordan were in the building. Even Phil Jackson made a video that was shown on the scoreboard. My question is where was BJ Armstrong? What could possibly be better?

After the celebration, I left my seat to walk to the concourse when I was face-to-face with Chicago Bears’ head coach Lovie Smith. I asked several people if they would take a picture of me but nobody would for some reason. Thus, I snapped a picture with my camera phone quickly.

The Bulls did not relinquish their lead in the second half and cruised to a 118-100 victory of the Jazz.

Post Game Dining
Nicole was asleep by the time the game was over so I headed over to Billy Goat Tavern for a post game beer and burger.

My only savior was my second cousin who was a senior at the University of Tulsa. He was joining me for the game and picking me up and dropping me off at the airport.

Beg, Borrow and Deal
I needed two tickets for the game – one for me and one for my cousin who was meeting me in Oklahoma City. However, rather than buying outside of the arena as I usually do, I bought two singles from Ticketmaster a few days before the event for the following reasons:
1) My plane was scheduled to land two hours before tip-off. Any delays could cost me valuable time on the scalping market and if the flight was really late there may no longer be any tickets available.
2) I had the Ultimate Sports Baby with me – meaning it would be more difficult to buy tickets from scalpers since I would have to wheel him around in his stroller.
3) The same seats I paid $70 each for on Ticketmaster.com were ranging in the low $200’s on StubHub – so even tempting the secondary market may not give me as low a price as I bought on Ticketmaster.

As luck would have it, my flight landed on time, my cousin picked me up and we were off to downtown Oklahoma City. We parked a few blocks from the arena for $5 and were out of the car by 10:30 am – plenty of time before the noon tip-off.

Pre Game Dining
From the parking lot we walked through the Cox Convention Center and found the Blue Line Restaurant within the convention center. We chose to eat there since it was directly across the street from the arena and had a high chair for the Ultimate Sports Baby.

Miami Heat at Oklahoma City Thunder
It was a battle of top teams as the Miami Heat had LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh together on the court for the first time in eight games. Miami’s big three each scored 20 points or more and Eddie House hit the go-ahead three-pointer with 22.2 seconds left.

Kevin Durant missed a seven-foot jumper to tie the game with 14 seconds left. The Heat made three more free throws to win the game 108-103.

We landed in Dallas and my cousin picked us up and took us to her house in Rockwall, TX. She and her mom were planning to watch Dylan for the Mavericks game. I was all set to have a great night out with no wife and no baby.

But, of course, for some unknown reason, I became super sick from something I ate earlier in the day. Some serious food poisoning set in and I could barely get up. Thus, I missed meeting up with cousin’s son before the game and forced myself to attend the Mavericks game – that was the only reason I even flew to Dallas in the first place.

Beg, Borrow and Deal
My cousin’s son bought tickets to the game ahead of time so we were set there – even though I told him we could buy cheaper tickets from street scalpers (especially in Dallas). But since I was so sick having tickets ahead of time was a great thing.

Atlanta Hawks at Dallas Mavericks
As I already wrote, I was planning to have a good time on Saturday night without Dylan or Nicole. However, my sickness took over. Instead, I made it halfway through the third quarter and called it a night and drove back to Rockwall, TX. During the game, I even bought a $7 Slurpee from the arena since I was so thirsty. My cousin’s son made fun of me for doing so as he should have.

In all of this personal drama, the Mavericks defeated the Hawks 102-91 as Jason Terry had 11 assists coming off the bench.

Parking in Milwaukee
Parking is free on city streets in Milwaukee for night games but the walk is pretty far and not necessarily worth while even though I continue to do it. This time I parked on the corner of Kilbourn Ave. and Broadway St.

Beg, Borrow and Deal
One thing about Milwaukee is that it is much cheaper to attend Bucks games instead of Bulls games. So if you are from the northern Chicago suburbs and have your favorite team coming to town consider going to the Bradley Center rather than the United Center.

Tonight was no different with the Lakers in town. As I approached the arena, I bought a ticket for $15 – although it was a tough negotiation to buy a ticket for that price. But it would be a minor miracle to find that same deal to see the Lakers in Chicago.

Los Angeles Lakers at Milwaukee Bucks
Going to Milwaukee to see the Lakers was actually pretty cool. It is one of those random games the Lakers play that most people don’t hear too much about too. Kobe Bryant scored 31 points to lead the Lakers to a 118-107 victory. The game was not missed by several members of the Green Bay Packers including quarterback Aaron Rodgers.

Beg, Borrow and Deal
I had to pay for a $25 standing room only ticket from the box office since none of the scalpers would take $20 for a ticket and I was not going to pay more than $25. I knew I would be able to sit anywhere in the upper deck – especially versus the Washington Wizards.

Washington Wizards at Chicago Bulls
Kirk Hinrich returned to the United Center with the Wizards but the battle of the night was Derrick Rose and John Wall – both recent #1 draft picks. Gilbert Arenas came off the bench to score 30 points but it was not enough as the Bulls cruised to a 103-96 victory.

Post Game Dining
After the game I met Nicole in Roscoe Village – 4.5 miles directly north of the United Center. As I have written in the past, there are several neighborhoods you can go out in driving north along Damen Ave. after an event at the United Center. We met in Roscoe Village since it is relatively close to Wrigleyville and ate at Turquoise Café Restaurant for Turkish food.

Evening parking is free on city streets in Milwaukee. I parked on Jackson St. in between Kilbourn Ave. and Wells St. next to Cathedral Square. After parking, I walked towards the Bradley Center along State St. There are a lot of bars and restaurants on Old World 3rd St. in between State St. and Highland Ave.

Pre Game Dining
I walked by Hofbrauhaus (aka Old German Beer Hall) and they had a sign stating that it was free beer Friday starting at 6 pm. It was 6:03 pm so there was no way I was going to pass this up. I walked in and grabbed a beer from the bar. Then I started asking what the rules were. One guy said they give away a keg of beer at 6 pm on Fridays. The person who drinks the last cup gets to drink the rest of the night for free. Not a bad deal! The free beer was gone around 6:30 pm so I left to find a place to eat.

I walked to Mader’s Restaurant located at 1037 N. Old World 3rd St. They had a great German meal with two sausages and cheese and crackers on the same plate. Yet, this place was dead compared to Old German Beer Hall so I made the wrong decision by leaving. However, the guy I sat next to at the bar at Mader’s had an extra ticket in the lower level for the game. He gave it to me for free. Face value on the ticket was $64.35.

Minnesota Timberwolves at Milwaukee Bucks
NBA pre-season games are generally not that exciting but a great seat for free is always entertaining. That was my thought until the referees got involved. They called 63 personal fouls and 6 technical fouls and the game lasted 2 hours and 49 minutes – a long NBA game even if it was a playoff game. For example, the Bucks playoff game I attended on April 30 only lasted 2:30 but the game did not go to overtime as it did tonight.

The Timberwolves hit seven free throws to end the game in OT and defeat the Bucks 119-118.

I parked for free on the same corner (Juneau Ave. and Jackson St.) I did on Sunday of the NCAA Tournament. The walk is far from the Bradley Center but saved me time searching for parking closer to the stadium.

Beg, Borrow and Deal
As I approached the Bradley Center, there weren’t as many extra tickets as there had been for the NCAA Tournament. The hype of the Bucks possibly advancing to the second round tonight had increased demand for tickets. I first offered a scalper $40 for a $27 face value ticket in the upper deck. He rejected my offer so I moved on. Other scalpers wanted at least $80 for similar upper level seats so I knew the scalpers thought they could hold out even though the game was about to start.

Another scalper had a ticket in Section 215 Row G. The face value on the ticket was $131 and he wanted $200 for the ticket. Instead I offered $150 (calculating what the ticket would have cost me had I purchased it through Ticketmaster). He accepted and I was in the arena just after tip off.

Even though I paid a lot more than I had planned to for the game, I would rather pay a higher price closer to face value then save money while paying twice face value. In my opinion the higher priced ticket closer to face value is a much better value since I am paying closer to what the Bucks priced the original ticket.

Atlanta Hawks at Milwaukee Bucks
My seat for the game was amazing. I was seven rows from the court sitting at the free-throw line. With the series on the line, the Bucks played terribly losing to Atlanta 83-69. The series now shifts to Atlanta on Sunday for Game 7.

Post Game Dining
After the game I drove back to Chicago. However, instead of driving straight through I stopped in Kenosha, WI at the Brat Stop. The Brat Stop is a great place to stop if you have time.

Tonight was the last game of the $10 tickets I bought at the beginning of the season. The Bulls allowed the second team in as many Tuesdays to clinch a playoff berth on their home court. Last week, the Phoenix Suns defeated the Bulls to clinch a playoff berth in the Western Conference. Tonight, the Bulls had a 13-point lead at the end of the first quarter which they squandered to the Milwaukee Bucks (even though the Bucks also squandered a 12-point 3rd quarter lead). The Bucks clinched an Eastern Conference playoff berth. It appears that any team other than the Bulls will be clinching a playoff berth at the United Center.

They play of the night for the Bulls occurred when Brad Miller, instead of passing the ball outside for a three-pointer with the Bulls behind by three-points, traveled while driving towards the basket with seven seconds left in the game – terrible! The highlight of the night for Bulls fans was the video montage of Scottie Pippen during the first quarter. Pippen was elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame on Monday.

At halftime, Quick Change performed.  The last time I saw Quick Change perform was this winter at a Northwestern men’s basketball game.  As usual, I could not tell how Dania (or David) changed clothes so quickly.  So tonight, I was sitting in the upper deck and thought I would be able to see into their “tricks.”  I moved to the last rows of the upper deck at center court to see if I could tell how they changed their clothes.  To my disappointment, I still have no idea how they change clothes so fast.

After halftime, the Bulls kept their three-point lead through the third quarter.  However, the Bulls let the lead go as Steve Nash took control late in the fourth quarter to lead the Suns to a 111-105 victory.

Tips at the United Center
1) Once again I had already bought my ticket to the game for $10.  Buying a ticket outside of the United Center for $10 can be difficult since face value for the next price point for tickets is $40.  Plus, you can sit anywhere in the upper deck so there is no reason to pay higher than $10 unless you want to sit in the lower level.
2) Once again I parked for free on Hoyne Ave. between Washington Blvd. and Warren Blvd.

I landed in Oakland around noon and posted on my facebook page “just landed in San Francisco.” Thirty minutes later a friend of mine, who has Golden State Warriors season tickets, commented “Want some warriors tix for tonight?” Since I was already planning to attend the game with another friend of mine, I, of course, said yes. But, there was a catch. He was in Palo Alto with the tickets and I would not be in that area and nowhere near a printer all day.

But, technology these days has changed everything – as you know. He emailed me two tickets, I found a Kinko’s (in this case a knockoff version) and printed out the tickets. In fact, he ended up emailing me all eight tickets so I could sell them outside of Oracle Arena if necessary. In the end, it cost $3.38 to print out all eight tickets.

Pre Game Dining
The friend and I had some time before the start of the Warriors game – we were at Oracle Arena around 4 pm. Thus, since nobody tailgates before a basketball game we thought we would try to find a bar or restaurant around the Oakland Coliseum Complex. One may think this is an easy task. Think again. First, we drove down International Blvd. on the east side of the complex – an area you would not wish your enemy to drive through.

Next, we drove across I-880, down Hegenberger Rd. towards Alameda. We found a strip mall with an In-N-Out Burger, a Wing Stop and Red Brick Pizza. We continued on until we passed a Carrow’s and Yoshino Sushi – an Asian restaurant with a $2 draft Sapporo special from 3:30 pm to 7 pm. We continued until we got close to the Oakland Airport and figured the Asian restaurant was our best bet. And it was.

Yoshino Sushi was a great pre-game restaurant with their drink special. Although we did not eat any food we were impressed with their bar area – both inside and out. We left there to check out a couple restaurants we saw closer to the sports complex Charlie Chan’s Café and Denny’s. Not the best restaurants but our only options. I was hoping the Denny’s would have a cocktail lounge like the Denny’s near the Home Depot Center in Carson, CA. And, yes, I said a cocktail lounge. It is sleazy, but awesome since it is in a Denny’s.

We never ended up getting to Denny’s because Charlie Chan’s Café also had $2 beer specials and we stopped there first. I would not recommend eating a Charlie Chan’s Café – as my friend, who is a cook, said “those grills have not been used for awhile.” But, for $2 beers before a Warriors, Athletics or Raiders game it is definitely worth it.

Beg, Borrow and Deal – the Sell Side
My friend who emailed us the tickets ended up selling two. So we had four $10 tickets to sell outside of Oracle Arena. We spent about 25 minutes trying to sell the tickets and did not have one person approach us stating they needed tickets. In this type of market, you either 1) take any offer somebody gives you or 2) give away the tickets to a broker – consider it a donation to the ticket cause. You should never, never hold on to your tickets as you enter the stadium or arena. We gave our four extra tickets away to a broker who basically begged us for them.

The Warriors Win One: Grizzlies at Warriors
Somehow the Warriors managed to score 78 points in the first half – the most points I have ever seen in the first half. Their first half score led the Warriors to a 128-110 win over the Memphis Grizzlies.

The second most points I saw in the first half was also at a Warriors game. The Warriors scored 77 points in the first half on April 1, 1994 versus the Minnesota Timberwolves.

First, during the first timeout of the first quarter, hypnotist Tom Silver, ran onto the court and announced he was looking for volunteers for the halftime show. He selected 40+ people randomly and they went into a back room to be further “evaluated.” It seemed that anyone who was within the first couple of rows could have been a volunteer as there was no reason or verification of who he selected.

Second, a flash mob broke out in the club level during the second quarter. The dance was much cooler than I thought it would be and should be considered by more teams as a way of in-game entertainment.

Third, the hypnotist came back out at halftime with seven selected participants. It appeared that the fans were actually hypnotized throughout the performance, but the dancing the volunteers performed was pretty intricate. For example, I did not even know some of the songs they had to dance to, but maybe that’s why the number of volunteers shrunk from 40+ to seven.

Fourth, Zach Randolph led the Grizzlies back from a 17-point deficit to defeat the Bulls 105-96. He scored 31 points, had 18 rebounds and was dunked on by Derrick Rose – the highlight of the night for the Bulls.

Obtaining Tickets
As I wrote on Monday night, your best option for tickets to Chicago Bulls games is to buy $10 tickets ahead of time. You will be able to sit wherever you want in the upper deck – especially when the opponents are not great. Tonight the Bulls hosted the Memphis Grizzlies and seats in the upper deck were plentiful. With my pre-bought, $10 ticket, I sat in the first few rows of the upper deck.

Parking at United Center
To my surprise, parking was available on Washington Blvd., even though I arrived there shortly before 7:00 pm. Take advantage of free parking on Washington Blvd if you can – directly across the street from one of the United Center’s official parking lots.

Case in point, I bought a “group” ticket for $23 for Friday night’s Bulls game. Part of my evening on Friday night included chatting with the Bulls ticket manager. With the understanding that all teams have $10 seats, I asked Mr. Ticket Manager, “Why do the Bulls charge $40 for their cheapest seats?” – knowing even the Los Angeles Lakers only charge $35 for similar seats. The ticket manager, whose name will be withheld in order to protect his innocence and nonsense, responded that the Bulls almost always sell out. This is a kind way of saying the Bulls (and any other sports team) will charge as much as people are willing to pay. Fine, as a business principle, the strategy makes sense. But as an individual sports fan, this is why you can never depend on the team to set the market value for your tickets. This is why the secondary ticket market exists. The team’s business model depends on uninformed fans to pay whatever the box office charges.

Tonight, on my cheap, pre-bought $10 ticket, I was able to sit in $60 seats in the lower rows of the upper deck. More proof, as most of you know that you can almost always get more than what you paid for.

The Bulls were already missing Joakim Noah and Luol Deng due to injury when Derrick Rose fell to the court holding his right knee in pain. Rose ended up returning to the game but could not contain the Atlanta Hawks who won convincingly 116-92.

Tips & Tricks at the United Center
1) Once again I parked for free a few blocks from the United Center. This time I had to park on N. Hoyne Ave. between Washington Blvd. and Warren Blvd.
2) As I wrote earlier, I bought several $10 tickets for Bulls games at the start of the season. I do this because it takes a lot of work to buy a ticket for less than $10 (read get one for free or $5). Plus you can sit anywhere you want in the lower rows of the upper deck – face value for those seats is $60 for tonight’s game (or $70 for premium games).

Tonight, the current students (and some alumni), were taking a “field trip,” of sorts to watch the Chicago Bulls host the Portland Trail Blazers. I figured that is a learning experience I can tolerate.

But tolerating it means I also need to play nice in the sandbox. Against my better judgment, I had to buy a $23 ticket in order to sit with them in the upper deck. Even though this is half-price (the group rate) of face value, this is still a bad price to pay for a Bulls game (in the upper deck). For example, last Tuesday I paid $40 for a $120 lower level seat and this past Saturday I paid $30 for a $120 lower level seat – much less than half face value. You would think the Masters students could figure this out, but sometimes when you are going with a large group and you all have to sit together you just have to suck it up.

In fact the “group rate” was not that good. They had about 10 extra tickets, but decided to buy 25 tickets since $575 ($23 x 25 tickets) is cheaper than $690 ($46 x 15 tickets). The school picked up the extra $230 but in all they actually spent about $38.50 per ticket ($575 divided by 15 tickets) and only charged the students $23.

Overall, the game was exciting as the Bulls defeated the Trail Blazers in OT 115-111. The Bulls remembered Norm Van Lier and Johnny “Red” Kerr who died exactly one year ago today.

Parking Tips at United Center
Once again I parked on Washington Blvd. two blocks north of the United Center for free. That one block has no parking regulations and is across the street from an official United Center lot.

I did not have a ticket ahead of time so I planned to buy one outside of the United Center.  I was hoping to buy a ticket similar to the one I did on Tuesday night but for a cheaper price.

Parking
Once again I was able to park on Washington Blvd. in between Wood St. and Wolcott Ave. for free.  It is only a short two block walk to the arena from that area.

Obtaining Tickets
At first I talked to a few scalpers who wanted close to face value for their tickets – meaning $60 for the upper level and $100 for lower level seats.  I knew this was too much to pay so I checked at the box office to see what the lowest priced seat was – a $25 SRO.  In a pinch, I could always pay $25 and find a seat in the upper deck.

As I walked back to where most of the scalpers were congregating, I found a group of three people standing around.  I asked them if they had an extra ticket which they did.  It was a $120 face value seat – the same priced seat I bought on Tuesday night.  I offered them $20 for the ticket.  They countered with $30 and said they would store their coats on the seat rather than sell the ticket for $20.  I accepted the $30 price.

For the second straight game, I bought a $120 ticket for far less than the face value.

The Game
Also for the second straight home game, the Bulls crushed their opponent.  This time they defeated the 76ers by 32 points – 122-90.  Kirk Hinrich broke the Bulls club record for most three pointers with 773 by the end of the game.

The highlight (or lowlight) of the night came when Joakim Noah missed a wide open dunk in his first game back after a seven-game layoff due to an injured foot.

Vince Vaughn was in attendance tonight sitting courtside.  There did not appear to be any drama at this game as there was the last time I saw Vince at the United Center.

Pre Game Dining and Parking
I parked on Washington Blvd. in between Wood St. and Wolcott Ave. for free and walked a few blocks to Billy Goat’s Tavern before the game. This one block on Washington Blvd. (two blocks directly north of the United Center) is the only block north of the arena where you can see the United Center with no parking restrictions.

Obtaining Tickets
I did not have a $10 ticket for this game as I have for the other Bulls games I have attended this season. Thus, I needed to buy one from the secondary market. I checked the box office first to see if they had a $10 ticket available but the $10 tickets were sold out. The next price point was $40 so I had a dollar amount to negotiate against.

I ran into a ticket scalper I know, Mimi, and asked if she had a single. She had a three-pack. Since she knows I do not like to pay that much she initially offered me a $120 face value ticket for $50. I said I only wanted to pay $30 (upping my price since I know her) and we eventually agreed on $40.

The Game
The Chicago Bulls walked all over the New York Knicks winning by 33 points (118-85) as Derrick Rose led the Bulls with 29 points. The Bulls matched their largest margin of victory for the season. They defeated the Detroit Pistons 120-87 on January 11 – the last Bulls game I attended at the United Center.

Understanding the Secondary Ticket Market
Ever wondered how the secondary ticket market works outside the arena? Tonight was a perfect example of why tickets from scalpers are so much cheaper than buying from the team directly.

As soon as I sat in my seat, two guys in their 20’s asked me how much I paid for my ticket since they had sold it to the scalper. I told them $40 for the single. They said they sold all three of their tickets for $40 (or $13.33 each). Thus, the scalper bought three $120 face value tickets for a total of $40 – quite the deal.

When I was negotiating with Mimi, she already knew I would not pay a high price, but she held out until I paid $40. I now knew the reason why – she made her money back with one sale and now had two more tickets which she could sell for all profit.

I thought she got stuck with the tickets. But late in the second quarter a family showed up having bought the other two tickets. The two guys wanted to know how much they paid – they said $25 each ($50 total). They had planned to buy tickets from the box office but ran into Mimi before they got there.

Thus, for someone who does not understand why tickets are cheaper on the outside of the arena here is the process of why you can buy tickets for so cheap on the secondary ticket market:

1) The original buyers of the tickets paid full price, but lost $600 (5 tickets x $120 each) by not attending the game.
2) The young guys did not care what they sold the tickets for since they received them for free. $40 is better than nothing but they could have done much better if they sold the tickets on their own rather than through a scalper.
3) I saved $80 off the face value ($40 vs. $120) buying a single from the scalper rather than the Bulls directly.
4) The family who arrived at halftime saved at least $30 and had much better seats since they bought two tickets for $50 rather than two upper level seats for $80 ($40 each).

These ticket transactions are the reasons buying tickets outside the arena is always the best option. Tickets on craigslist.org and StubHub were more expensive for similar seats (but cheaper than buying directly from the Bulls). Even if you do a poor job negotiating you will still save money outside of the arena than buying ahead of time.