After the Cubs game, I drove to Toyota Park to watch the friendly match between Cracovia Krakow (of Poland’s Ekstraklasa) and CF Rayados de Monterrey (of Mexico’s Primera División de México).
Obtaining TicketsTickets for the match ranged between $25 and $45 at the box office which I considered expensive. I ended up paying $15 for a “comp” ticket with a face value of $0. But I still saved $10 than buying the ticket at the box office.
The GameMonterrey defeated Krakow 2-0 after scoring goals in the 47th and 71st …

On the final day of the holiday weekend, I planned a doubleheader. First up was the final game of the Milwaukee Brewers and Chicago Cubs series. Second, was a friendly soccer match at Toyota Park.
Pre Game DiningBefore the game, the Ultimate Sports Wife and I ate breakfast at Salt & Pepper Diner – one of our usual pre-game brunch sports.
After brunch, we went to the outdoor patio at Vines on Clark (located at 3554 N. Clark St) since the weather was surprisingly nice. Vines on Clark …

Last year on July Fourth, the Ultimate Sports Wife and I were in San Francisco and attended the Dodgers at Giants game. The crowd that day was fairly subdued. The crowd at Wrigley Field today was subdued as well and for good reason.
The GameThe Brewers crushed the Cubs 11-2. They started out the game scoring at least one run in the first four innings taking a 9-2 lead. Cubs’ starter Rich Harden had the shortest outing of his career after pitching only 2 innings and facing 2 batters in the …

One of the benefits of living so close to any stadium is that while other people are traveling to the game, you can be productive around the house if needed. For example, today I decided to paint one of our bathrooms. I started at 9 am, taped and painted until 1 pm, walked to Wrigley Field for the 1:20 pm first pitch, was back in the house at 4:30 pm and finished painting at 6:30 pm.
The GameJake Fox drew a bases loaded walk in the bottom of the …

For the second time (three times if you count the postponed game) this season, I went to see the Kane County Cougars play. Today they hosted the Peoria Chiefs.
One great thing about Minor League Baseball is being able to see Major League players in a small ballpark when they are rehabilitating an injury. For example, three years ago, the Ultimate Sports Wife and I were attending a Lancaster JetHawks (of the California League) game and saw Craig Counsell in a rehab assignment. Today, I was hoping …

I was the first person to my car in the U.S. Cellular Field parking lot and the race was on. Could I get to Toyota Park, buy a ticket and get into the stadium within 20 minutes? Since both U.S. Cellular Field and Toyota Park are relatively close to Chicago’s Interstate-55 it was definitely possible.
Parking and Obtaining TicketsI was at the Toyota Park parking lot at 6:55 pm (luckily for me there was no Saturday evening Chicago traffic) and used my media parking pass to park quickly. Since Jamie Trecker, …

On Saturday I had planned on a doubleheader day. First up was the Crosstown Classic at U.S. Cellular Field. Second was the SuperLiga match between the Chicago Fire and Tigres UANL (a Mexican club team) at Toyota Park.
However, since the first pitch of the Chicago Cubs at Chicago White Sox game was scheduled for 3:10 pm and kickoff for the soccer match was at 7 pm, I could not afford much of a delay in the baseball game. Thus, I had to drive since Interstate-55 basically connected both stadiums.
Parking & …

Even though the Crosstown Classic at U.S. Cellular Field was taking place Friday afternoon, I chose to attend the Dew Tour’s Nike 6.0 BMX Open in Grant Park. The Dew Tour was established in 2005 and is considered the world’s premier action sports tour – whereas ESPN’s X Games is a single event. Also, with the Taste of Chicago taking place right across the street, I figured this was a good day to take in both events.
Obtaining TicketsI bought a $15 ticket when I arrived at the event. Little did …

Once again, I attended a weekday afternoon Chicago White Sox game. This time the Dodgers were in town and the White Sox were wearing uniforms from the 1959 season to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the World Series team that lost the 1959 World Series to the Dodgers.
Obtaining TicketsI bought a ticket seven rows from the field for $15. The ticket was a season ticket (meaning the face value printed was cheaper than the seat would have cost at the box office) with a face value of $46 ($52 if …

After the U.S. Open it was time to drive to Queens for the New York Mets game versus the St. Louis Cardinals. Last season, I wrote that I went to Nationals Park to attend a game at every existing Major League Baseball ballpark. Once again, MLB opened up two more parks this season – Yankee Stadium and Citi Field. With the Mets playing on Monday night, my decision to day trip to New York City for the doubleheader – Monday regulation play at the U.S. Open and a game …