In my 800th Major League Baseball game since 1990 (including Spring Training and Playoff games), the Chicago Cubs beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 8-5. Since I was planning to take the subway to Soldier Field for the Barcelona vs. Chivas game, I was hoping for a quick baseball game. With the game heading to the 8th inning and the Cubs leading the game 5-2, I thought a shortly after 4 pm departure was almost guaranteed – leaving me with enough time to get to Solider Field for the 6 …

Last September, I attended my first Wrigley Field and Soldier Field doubleheader. That day the Cubs played on Sunday afternoon and the Bears played Sunday night football.
Today, I am attending my second Wrigley Field and Soldier Field doubleheader. However, this time the Cubs are playing on Sunday afternoon and Barcelona is playing Chivas Guadalajara Sunday night.
I already have a ticket to today’s Cubs game. My friend, Mike Holzman, called me Friday and said he had an extra ticket.
We do not have tickets yet for the soccer match. Tickets are still …

Our day started off deciding where to eat brunch before the game. We decided to eat at Salt & Pepper Diner (where we ate last Saturday), but when we arrived there was a line. Since we did not have to wait last Saturday, we thought there might be a line because we were trying to eat about 20 minutes earlier. Instead, we decided to order some Irish breakfast at Irish Oak (located at 3511 N. Clark St.).
Irish Oak is similar to any other Irish Pub. The main difference being that …

The Cubs were shut out for the 5th time this season – losing to the Pittsburgh Pirates 3-0 even thought the Pirates traded away Jason Bay yesterday.
Before the game, the Ultimate Sports Wife and I ate lunch at the best brunch place in Wrigleyville – Uncommon Ground. They have strong gourmet coffee, great brunch cocktails and great food.
After the game, we met some friends at Marty’s (1511 W. Balmoral Ave.) – a martini bar in Andersonville. Marty’s was a good pre-dinner drink bar and served 6 ounce ($8) and 10 …

Even though I did not attend a sporting event last night, the minor league game from Tuesday night ended with the Peoria Chiefs defeating the Kane County Cougars 9-8 in 12 innings. The final 3.5 innings were played in Peoria in front of a crowd of 4,232. Although it was the first suspended baseball game I have attended, it was not the first suspended sporting event.
On December 12, 2004, the Ultimate Sports Wife and I were at Santiago Bernabéu Stadium watching Real Madrid host Real Sociedad. …

Last night was a night of firsts at Wrigley Field.
First, the Peoria Chiefs hosted the Kane County Cougars, which was considered the first minor league baseball game ever played at Wrigley Field.
Second, it was Ryne Sandberg’s (manager of the Peoria Chiefs) first time in uniform at Wrigley Field since September 21, 1997 – a game I also attended.
Third, the game drew 32,103 fans – shattering the previous record for a Midwest League game. The previous record was 14,492 at Kane County last year. Just 10 days …

After traffic in Chicago’s northern suburbs and around Milwaukee’s airport, I finally parked at Miller Park at 6:45 pm – 20 minutes before the first pitch and 2 hours after I left the office. As I approached the Miller Park box office, no ticket scalpers were offering tickets for sale, but mainly asking if anyone had extras. The lines for Will Call were long, but I saw a tickets.com tickets kiosk. I slid my credit card into the machine and out came my ticket. I had not used a ticket …

Normally, I never buy tickets ahead of time, especially for a Milwaukee Brewers game. However, tonight I am attending the Cubs at Brewers game at Miller Park. This morning, I logged onto www.brewers.com to see what tickets were available. Some $60 singles and Standing Room Only (SRO) for $22 was all that was available. When I went to see how many SRO seats were available, my seat number was in the 1300’s. I thought, maybe I can buy a cheaper ticket from a scalper at …

After a busy Saturday around Wrigley Field, Sunday was much calmer. The Cubs came from behind twice, once from 5-0 down, to beat the Florida Marlins 9-6.
In the random records category:1) Dan Uggla tied Joe Gordon (yes, that’s Gordon) for the most home runs hit by a second baseman in his first three seasons.2) The 4-game series against the Marlins drew a record 165,540 fans which broke the attendance record for a 4-game series at Wrigley Field.

In the longest baseball game I have attended this season, the Florida Marlins beat the Chicago Cubs 3-2 in 12 innings. For the third time this season, I witnessed the home plate umpire leaving the game. The first time the umpire left, I wrote that I had not seen an umpire leave a game since Game 1 of the 2003 NLCS. I am not sure why umpires are not getting along with Wrigley Field this year.
Lou Piniella and first base coach Matt Sinatro were ejected from the …