The wife and I have a temporary agreement. Or maybe it is just a one day agreement. Since traffic is so bad driving from the Northwest suburbs to Wrigley Field on a Friday night, I can now drive to Milwaukee for sporting events at the Bradley Center on most Friday nights. We’ll see how often this actually occurs. For example, even tonight I felt lazy to drive all the way to Milwaukee for a pre-season Milwaukee Bucks game. After seeing how long it would take to drive home, I made …

At the Bears game on Sunday, my friend Mike Holzman invited me to tonight’s Chicago Blackhawks game. He said his Dad wanted face value for the tickets which I said fine. In the past (when Mike brought me for free) the tickets had a face value of $95 or so. He also said he had passes to the Ketel One Club which is an area I have never been to before in the United Center. I have been to the bar upstairs several times (when they still sell beer in …

In a rare occurrence, my friend Mike Holzman had his south lot parking pass. So the Ultimate Sports Wife and I hired a babysitter and Nicole planned her own tailgate feast. On the menu was gorgonzola stuffed burgers, artichoke dip and stuffed mushrooms. On a food-only level, it definitely competes with Tailgate Rob’s menu, but our tailgate looks a lot worse than his does. Our main issue was the lack of a table and only having a small grill. To give you an example of the sad state of our …

It was a rare Saturday afternoon game for the Chicago Fire at Toyota Park – meaning the Ultimate Sports Baby and I were off to the game since Nicole would appreciate her usual nap after teaching skating on Saturday morning.
We arrived late to the game since Dylan napped later than I thought and we hit unexpected traffic on I-55 heading to the park. Arriving late is always nerve-wracking since there will be a lack of tickets on the secondary market (especially free tickets). I would never want to pay full …

In the past we have not done the Chicago Marathon correctly. We wake up, grab some coffee, and head out to the corner of Broadway St. and Addison St. to watch the lead runners’ whiz by and continue south. Then, we walk back home.
Today we remedied that situation. As usual, I headed out to the corner of Broadway and Addison to see the “elite” runners. But, rather than go straight home, the Ultimate Sports Wife met me with the Ultimate Sports Baby and we walked south down Broadway St. to …

For the first time since September 15, 2007 Northwestern was hosting a night game at Ryan Field. Thus, even though the Chicago Blackhawks were raising their championship banner at the United Center and the U.S. Men’s National Soccer team was playing Poland in a friendly at Soldier Field, we went to the Northwestern game – my third choice.
However, it became my first choice for three reasons. First, the Ultimate Sports Wife insisted that we attend the Northwestern football game. This was the first Northwestern football game she would attend since …

I was on my own with the Ultimate Sports Baby on Sunday. Guess I should have figured that after spending Friday night in Minneapolis and flying back to Chicago Saturday evening. Thus, we were off to the Chicago White Sox game on the final day of MLB’s regular season. I arrived at the ballpark early this time, in order to avoid the disaster that occurred on August 29 when the New York Yankees were in town. As soon as we parked there was a scalper selling tickets. I offered him …

Saturday morning started just as any college football Saturday should – tailgating before 7 am. However, the only trick was that the “tailgate” was hosted at my friend’s house nowhere near TCF Bank Stadium. In his defense he did have a three-month old daughter and staying at home is much easier than venturing out. But, I still did not get to hang out with the crowds.
After eating burgers for breakfast we headed to TCF Bank Stadium. I drove my rental car since I was driving straight to the airport after …

Originally, my trip to Minneapolis was supposed to be a family vacation – with the Minnesota Twins (who opened up their new stadium this year) and the University of Minnesota (in the second year of their new venue) actually hosting Northwestern on the same weekend. The Ultimate Sports Wife and Ultimate Sports Baby were supposed to attend. But, that all changed when the Ultimate Sports Wife was asked to be “honorary coach” at the Northwestern football game three weeks ago vs. Illinois St. Since she teaches skating on Saturday mornings …

For the first time in awhile, the Ultimate Sports Wife and I did not tailgate or go out before or after a Bears game at Soldier Field – which actually made for a calm game day.

Green Bay Packers at Chicago Bears
It was Monday Night Football so we arrived at Soldier Field shortly after 7 pm and headed straight into the stadium. The Packers took a late first quarter lead after Greg Jennings caught a 7-yard touchdown pass from Aaron Rodgers. The Packers held onto the lead at halftime 10-7.
However, that …