I was not sure if I would get on the rooftop today. I had texted the rooftop owner yesterday asking if I could go but received no response. As Nicole wrote in her article the other day, the process to get on the rooftop for us can be difficult. However, last year, I learned who was “on the ground” that I needed to talk to. I saw him fairly quickly which allowed me to skip rooftop access steps 2-9.After the start of the game I saw Ronnie Woo-Woo walking down …

The NBA Playoffs have arrived. There is not a better time to plan spontaneous sports trips only a few days to a week ahead of time. With the amount of teams involved in the playoffs there are many travel options.
The last couple of years I was commuting between Los Angeles and Chicago, so there were multiple playoff games to attend with the Lakers, Clippers and Bulls making the playoffs during that time. But this year, I am living and working in Chicago. Thus, the Lakers resurgence …

For the first time in awhile I almost caught a game ball. It all started when my friend, Kelly McMahon, texted me that she was sitting in Section 112 of Wrigley Field and that she had the mitt I lent her on Opening Day. My buddy, Mike Holzman, and I decided that her seats were better than ours so we headed down in her direction. Her friend had been using my mitt, but once I arrived she gave the mitt back to me.
A few innings later, a towering …

The Cubs started the game off quickly and never looked back defeating the Reds 12-3. Derrek Lee equaled his first half home run total of last year with a home run in the 3rd inning. Carlos Zambrano pitched well and added 3 hits.
The bleacher bums were at it again. After Adam Dunn’s home run in the top of the 8th inning, the fans decided throw his home run ball back in addition to 15 more baseballs.
Josh Fogg tied his career high giving up 9 runs. It was the 3rd time …

When the NFL Schedule was release I reviewed it for 3 main agendas:
1) The Chicago Bears home schedule.2) The schedules for the stadiums I have not attended NFL games at.3) The international schedule – now that the NFL is consistently playing games in London and Toronto.
The Chicago Bears Home ScheduleAs a Bears’ season ticket holder, I first look at the Bears’ home games and look out for any conflicts. For example, September home games sometimes conflict with Cubs’ home games. However, the Cubs are only home on one …

The Cincinnati Reds featured some infamous names from the Cubs’ 2003 playoff run – Paul Bako, Corey Patterson and new manager Dusty Baker. Baker was returning to Wrigley Field for the first time since the Cubs decided not to renew his contract after the 2006 season. I have always thought that Dusty just won too early in his tenure with the Cubs. If he had one or two losing seasons before guiding the Cubs to the NLCS, he would still be managing the team.
Alfonso Soriano injured himself in the top …

Get your fall calendars out. The NFL Schedule has been released so start planning your road trips. As for me, we are Bears Season Ticket holder so fall weekend (and holiday) plans are determined based on today.
In addition, I have been to every NFL stadium except:
1) Atlanta2) Philadelphia3) Pittsburgh4) Indianapolis
While I can plan Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Indianapolis immediately, I need to wait until late July once the NBA and NHL 2008-09 schedules are released in order to plan an Atlanta trip.

The Belmont Breeze is the official drink of the Belmont Stakes. However, planning the trip there is not so easy. As you may know, I am an avid Southwest Airlines customer for multiple reasons. The main one being – they do not charge change fees. No change fees is key for any sports fan trying to rank and file hundreds of possible sporting events to attend.
However, Southwest does not fly to three key sports cities – Minneapolis, Atlanta and New York City. Today I was trying to plan a trip …

A day after the pitchers tried to make history; the batters took center stage. Paul Konerko and Joe Crede each hit a grand slam – only the third time the White Sox had hit two grand slams in the same game. Also, according to baseball-reference.com, only 6 games in 2007 and only 3 games in 2006 had two grand slams hit in the same game. In addition, Paul Konerko’s grand slam catapulted Kenny Rogers into the “I’ve given up 10 career grand slams” club. He joined Nolan Ryan and Mike …

While Gavin Floyd was concentrating on pitching, I was concentrating on staying dry and warm in dismal, rainy baseball conditions. Floyd found out about his no-hitter in the 5th inning when some fan yelled it to him. What’s the #1 rule about a no-hitter – you never talk about the no-hitter.
I failed to realize Floyd was throwing a no-hitter until the seventh inning stretch. So in the bottom of the 7th, I started to get nervous. Did the fact I had not noticed the no-hitter cause Floyd to pitch one …