Hospitality Jim invited me to last night’s Blackhawks game. With the wife out of town and now babysitters available, the Ultimate Sports Baby had to attend his first NHL game at the United Center. I was slightly concerned since I knew I would have to put Dylan into the baby bjorn and sit in my seat with him for the entire game. Remember, I avoided this hassle when I chose to attend the DePaul Men’s Basketball game rather than the Blackhawks game on November 14.
Getting to the United Center with …

When deciding where we wanted to go this weekend there was two main reasons to go to Detroit. First, the Bears were playing the Lions. Second, skaters from Nicole’s ice rink were participating in a synchronized skating competition in Dearborn, MI on Saturday night. Thus, with two good reasons, we chose Detroit.
As I wrote yesterday, we were staying at the Westin Book Cadillac Detroit which was a short walk to Ford Field. After eating brunch in the hotel, the Ultimate Sports Wife and Ultimate Sports Baby took a nap while …

The Ultimate Sports Wife, Ultimate Sports Baby and I decided to take a weekend trip to Detroit. Our original plan was to fly to New York City, but chose Detroit since driving with an infant is easier than flying – plus the Detroit Lions were hosting the Chicago Bears on Sunday afternoon.
Nicole and I debated where we would stay in Detroit. One thought was to stay in Auburn Hills and be close to the Palace of Auburn Hills for the Detroit Pistons game Friday night. However, Nicole preferred to stay …

With the Chicago Bears and Philadelphia Eagles both sitting at 6-3 in the standings, FOX changed the game time from a noon start to 3:15 pm. Since my friend, Mike Holzman (who I guess we now need to start referring to as Parking Pass Mike), had his parking pass for the South Lot we were planning to tailgate. The game time change meant we got out to the parking lot at noon rather than 9 am – a much needed delay.
But, once again, without the Ultimate Sports Wife attending, our …

This game has been on my radar for a long time. I want to attend a game at each Big Ten football stadium but my preference is to attend a Northwestern road game. Since Nicole and I were not going anywhere this year for Thanksgiving, this was a perfect opportunity to attend a game at Camp Randall since Wisconsin was hosting Northwestern on the Saturday of Thanksgiving weekend.
My original plan was to drive to Madison on Saturday morning, attend the game and drive home after the game. However, on Friday …

With the wife out of town the Ultimate Sports Baby and I decided to take in the only game in town – Loyola Men’s Basketball vs. Alabama St. Two seasons ago, I took in a men’s and women’s game at Loyola University – my first visits to the Gentile Center at the time.
I had to pay to park since I was with the Ultimate Sports Baby, but paying for parking is better than taking the train. It only cost $7 to park in the parking structure closest to the arena. …

It was a game we had looked forward to since it was announced in March – Northwestern football hosting Illinois at Wrigley Field. This would be the first college football game at Wrigley Field since 1938 and the first football game since 1970 when the Chicago Bears moved to Soldier Field.
Even my parents, who are also Northwestern alumni, flew in from San Francisco to attend the game. At first, we hoped this game would repeat annually, but with the announcement that both teams would score in the west end zone, …

It was a Friday night and my parents were in town. Thus, we all decided to pack into the car and head to Northwestern’s Evanston campus. Nicole needed to prepare for her job interview on Monday and my parents, Dylan and I wanted to attend Northwestern’s first regular season game of the year.
Rather than park for free on city streets, we decided to pay for parking in the parking lot east of Ryan Field. As we approached the arena, there was a ticket scalper with a lot of extra tickets. …

With my mom in town to watch Dylan, I chose to drive to Milwaukee for the Lakers and Bucks game since it is easier to drive to Milwaukee after work than back to Chicago.
Parking in Milwaukee
Parking is free on city streets in Milwaukee for night games but the walk is pretty far and not necessarily worth while even though I continue to do it. This time I parked on the corner of Kilbourn Ave. and Broadway St.
Beg, Borrow and Deal
One thing about Milwaukee is that it is much cheaper to …

I normally would never choose to attend a DePaul men’s basketball game over a Chicago Blackhawks game, but there were several reasons why it made sense tonight. First, my mom was planning to attend the game I did. Second, we were bringing the Ultimate Sports Baby. Third, I was not sure how much we would have to pay for tickets outside of the United Center. Fourth, Nicole could meet us for dinner after the event. Fifth, and the main reason, I always wanted to attend a DePaul Men’s Basketball game …