For the second time, I attended a NCAA Division I hockey game. The last time was on January 20, 2007 when I was at the University of Minnesota for a Northwestern basketball game and realized that Minnesota was playing Denver shortly after.
Last night, after Ohio St. beat Iowa in overtime, I decided to attend the Ohio St. men’s hockey game versus Western Michigan. Before the game I went to Hineygate which is an outdoor party in between Thirsty “I” and the Varsity Club.
TicketsTickets for the game cost $11. If you …

Saturday morning started early. Hawkeyes Bryon woke me up at 7:00 am ready for game day. We checked out of the Red Roof Inn, parked our car at the Renaissance downtown, grabbed breakfast and headed over to Ohio Stadium.
Pre Game DiningWe arrived at the Original Varsity Club at 8:45 am. However, the Varsity Club was not opened even though their website stated they were opening at 8:00 am. Instead we walked next door to Thirsty “I”. Thirsty “I” had a patio where we could ask scalpers how much tickets were. …

It was a day of temporary departure times. Hawkeyes Bryon and I were driving to Columbus, Ohio for the Iowa and Ohio St. Saturday afternoon. However, we were debating on when to leave. The drive takes six hours from Chicago and with a one hour time change we would arrive seven hours after we left.
Bryon had to work on Friday and had said he could not leave until 5 pm. He wanted to leave Friday so we would be in Columbus early even though kickoff was at 3:30 pm. With …

For the first time ever, I attended a college football game at Northern Illinois. NIU is the third Division I football team in the Chicago area. The closest is Northwestern University; the most famous the University of Notre Dame and then you have Northern Illinois University.
The only reason I attended was because the game fell on a Thursday night. Northern Illinois had two games scheduled for Thursday nights this season. The first was last Thursday, November 5 vs. Eastern Michigan. However, that game started at 6:30 pm and Nicole and …

There was drama both on and off the ice last night as the Chicago Blackhawks hosted the Colorado Avalanche.
Obtaining TicketsBlackhawks Jim, who buys his tickets from a friend, invited me to the game. His tickets are in Section 120, Row 11 which was the only reason why I could participate in any off ice drama.
On Ice DramaBefore the game Blackhawks Jim mentioned that both games between the Blackhawks and Avalanche this season have gone to a shootout. Thus, he thought this game would be close. I did …

The Bulls game ended in dramatic fashion last night as Brad Miller hit the game winning shot with 0.0 seconds left to give the Bulls the lead 91-90 – only to have it overturned by replay review which gave the Nuggets the win 90-89.
Referees used replay three times in the final 10 seconds of the game. First, with 10 seconds left they determined that the Nuggets in fact had possession of the ball. Second, after Chauncey Billups purposefully missed a free throw with 0.6 seconds left that allowed time to …

There are a slew of college basketball exhibition games tonight in the Chicago and Milwaukee area. I will be attending the Chicago Bulls game at the United Center this evening. Here is the list of games in order of priority to attend:
1) Chicago Bulls vs. Denver Nuggets at the United Center in Chicago, IL. Game starts at 7:00 pm (CT).2) UIC Flames Men’s Basketball vs. Lewis in an exhibition game at the UIC Pavilion in Chicago, IL. Game is the second game of a doubleheader with the women’s basketball team …

Your best bet for attending a sporting event in the Chicago or Milwaukee area tonight is the Chicago Blackhawks vs. Los Angeles Kings at the United Center. Puck drops at 7:00 pm (CT).
If you live in the Indiana area or want to watch women’s basketball, Valparaiso is home vs. Indiana Wesleyan in an exhibition game at the Athletics-Recreation Center in Valparaiso, IN. Game starts at 7:05 pm (CT).

After attending Northwestern at Iowa on Saturday, it was time to turn my attention to the NFL and tailgating on Sunday. As I have written in the past, one of our friends, Bears Tailgater Rob, throws a great tailgate in the South lot of Soldier Field. However, he splits his season tickets with other people in his family and only attends three games per season. Thus, the Ultimate Sports Wife and I are sure to attend his tailgate when he is heading to Soldier Field.
In addition to the Ultimate Sports …

The only game in town today is the Chicago Bears vs. Arizona Cardinals at Soldier Field in Chicago, IL. Kickoff is at noon (CT). We are leaving for a tailgate in the south parking lot in a few minutes.
In addition, you can attend thoroughbred horse racing at Hawthorne Racecourse in Cicero, IL (post time 1:20 pm), harness racing at Balmoral Park in Crete, IL (post time 6:30 pm) or greyhound racing at Dairyland Greyhound Park in Kenosha, WI (post time 1:00 pm).
The Chicago Steam of the ABA was supposed to …