Game 2 of the 2019 World Series didn’t exactly start as we would have expected with two All-Star pitchers on the mound. Justin Verlander gave up a pair of runs in the top fo the first and the Astros tied it up with an Alex Bregman homer off Stephen Strausberg in the bottom. By our count, it took Bregman just under 25 seconds to round the bases. Besides the effect the showboating stunt had on the Nationals, did Bregman’s antics piss off the baseball gods resulting in two 7th inning errors (yes, we thought the one ruled a hit was actually an error)?

Talk to fans from every team and someone will give you a karma related story. And you don’t have to go any further than the Nationals. Bryce Harper left at the end of 2018 to join a World Series caliber team. Now he’s watching his former teammates try to sweep their opponents.

The Nationals host a Celebrity Baseball Camp and sources indicate every player that has participated in the event has had a banner game immediately following. Trea Turner attended and went 5 for 5 that afternoon.

We think humility is a necessary part of the game. There’s plenty of time for celebrating – after the game/series is over! And we think Bregman may have put the celebration on display 8 innings to soon.

The question we hear the most from people looking for tickets is often “Where do I start?” We tend to think it’s less about where you start and more about having a comprehensive plan in mind. When it comes to the majority of events, the place to start is the primary market and that usually means Ticketmaster. But face value isn’t always the biggest value which is why we suggest covering several sites in tour search.

In today’s example, we’re looking for interleave MLB tickets between the Red Sox and the Rockies in Colorado. Coors Field is a great venue with a super strong fan base but it’s big which means there are a lot of seats. And empty seats on the primary market are generally only sold at face value. Behind the plate will cost you around $125 per ticket with exception.

Switch over to the secondary market and you will find ticket prices invariably higher than face but often lower. IN today’s example, two seats on Ticketmaster will run you $268.50 for the pair all in about 30 rows behind home plate. We have similar tickets but we’ll put you in Row 26 for $161.17 for the pair.

Why? Well there’s a lot of reasons. Broker owned tickets means they may have been obtained for less than face to begin with. But broker owned can also mean full control over the price.

We also recommend looking at non-broker sites like Stubhub. Stubhub has some broker owned tickets but a lot are owned by individuals. And when the event date is close, people generally will take anything and can dramatically lower the price. In our case, we found similar tickets in the $160 range.

So be sure to check at least three diferrent sites. We recommend the venue, a secondary site like ours and Stubhub. Be diligent and we’re sure you’ll find your perfect ticket.

We had an opportunity to see the Salt Lake Bees take on the Tacoma Rainiers and it was really a terrific experience for everyone. Ticket prices were the cheapest we’ve ever seen (more on that in a second), the seats were fantastic and everyone went home happy.

First let’s start with the ticket prices. Normally around $25, we were able to score 8 tickets for free. Yes you heard that right, FREE! Smith’s market is the stadium’s namesake and you get a free ticket for every $25 spent at the market. We happened to need groceries for the week so our $200+ bill easily covered the tickets. We showed up at the window and walked away with 8 seats in the fourth row just past 3rd base. But the stadium was pretty empty (which is typical before school lets out) so we had an entire section to ourselves on third base. These seats are easily $100+ at just about any major league stadium so much easier on the pocketbook.

Next is the proximity to the players. We were super close – almost too close! Our kids were able to talk to the players and even scored a few baseballs which were later autographed by Buzz. Plus there was plenty to do for the little ones including an outfield train ride, open space in the grass, races, etc.

Finally we got to see a really good game. In this case, the home team hit a walk-off double to win it in the ninth. And while the players weren’t quite as recognizable as the big league names, we saw two home runs and some spectacular play.

We had a chance to also see our local college basketball team play at Golden 1 in Sacramento and had a similar experience. With low prices and fewer crowds, everyone had a great time without breaking the bank. Consider a AAA game or a college game in your future.

The Houston Rockets just needed to win their final game on Tuesday to secure the #2 spot in the west. Unfortunately for the Rockets, OKC had other plans and handed them their 29th loss of the season. But no worries, a Denver loss would still secure the 2 seed; a Portland loss would deliver them the #3 seed but neither of those scenarios happened either. Denver beat the Timberwolves and Portland played 5 bench players and overcame a 23 point deficit to beat the Kings

So James Harden and company will have to face the Utah Jazz in round one and assuming everything goes chalk, they will play the Golden State Warriors in the second round. To get past Utah, the Rockets will have to face a formidable defense and also play at least one game at altitude.

Let’s be clear, this isn’t exactly the classic Rockets-Jazz matchup between Malone and Olajuwon but it should be interesting. The Jazz bring a defensive-minded focus to the court and Harden is, well, pretty much unstoppable. And whichever team wins, it’s gonna be a tough road through Oakland and the Warriors. Should be fun!

When it comes to the NCAA Tournament, it’s generally a good rule to go chalk. The UMBC upset over #1 ranked Virginia in 2018 was absolutely thrilling but it had never happened in the 136 prior attempts and will likely not happen for another 50 years!

But there are certainly matchups where the odds are more favorable. Take the 5-seed vs 12-seed matchup. The actual stats on the matchups puts the odds around 64% for the 5-seed which makes taking the risk pretty good, especially if you’re in a bracket that rewards upsets. And now statistics are showing the 6-11 matchup is another great risk!

So who’s at risk? The pros think despite a great season, Mississippi State could falter against Liberty. And Oregon has been playing great down the stretch which could cause problems for Wisconsin.

Whatever you decide, the tournament never lets us down. We like Michigan State a lot and think that despite the great record, Gonzaga is vulnerable. Truth be told we’re not that great at selections but will be watching it all.

The Golden State Warriors dropped their 11th game of the year falling to the Utah Jazz 108-105…AND IT’S ALL OVER! Of course we jest but it’s hard not to feel like something is fundamentally wrong when the Dubs aren’t steamrolling every team in the league on a nightly basis. But here are some things to consider:

1) In the 2015-2016 season, the Warriors lost nine games during the regular season. Nine games. NINE GAMES! No NBA team has ever held their losses to single digits and there’s a good chance no team will ever do it again (especially after GS handed the championship to LeBron). Think about this for a second – the San Francisco 49ers lost more games that year and only played 16! So when the Warriors lose 11 before the mid-way point, it definitely feels like the sky is falling.

2) The bench is just not the same. Over the course of the Warriors championships in 2015, 2017 and 2018, the only constant coming off the bench has been Andre Iquadala. And Shaun Livingston. Harrison Barnes? Gone. JaVale McGee? Gone. Ian Clark? Gone. Now, the Warriors are relying on a very young bench with guys like Quinn Cook, Jordan Bell and Alfonzo McKinnie. The bench used to build on the starter’s lead. Now they are giving up a few making the jobs of the starters a bit harder when they return in the 4th. Look for that to change as the Dubs solidify their bench work.

3) No Swaggy. Let’s face it, despite the efforts of Curry and Green and Play and Durant, Nick Young was the glue that held the Warriors together. Without Swaggy P, the Dubs are just another team fighting in the West 🙂

All kidding aside, the Warriors will do what we’ve seen them do every year and that’s win when it counts. It will definitely be a tough playoff path in the West but we think they’ll be just fine come spring.

Both the American League and National League wild card games are still up in the air. It’s looking like the Yankees and the As will face off but it’s unclear where that game will happen. The Yankees hold a 1.5 game lead over the As but a lot can change with 9 games to go. The National League is looking like a Brewers-Cardinals matchup in Milwaukee but there’s a lot of uncertainty in the west. So what does it all mean?

Right now, ticket prices for the Wild Card game in New York are soaring. But prices are relatively low in Oakland. We are looking at really nice lower-level infield seats at the Coliseum for around $150 per ticket. Those same seats in New York are four times the price. And the best part is if you buy today on Cheapseatstickest.com in Oakland and New York ends up hosting, you get your money back…all of it! Same deal is true for any venue where the game doesn’t happen.

So we recommend really looking today and taking the plunge. Worst case, you get your money back. Best case, you get to see your team at a really good price! Call any of our agents for help finding the best seats.

Springsteen is back on tour but this time, it’s not Madison Square Garden or the Meadowlands. Springsteen is on Broadway in a resident concert series at the Walter Kerr theater. The 975 seat venue proves to be a lot more than just a small venue: Springsteen is raw and emotional as Springsteen shares aspects of his life story between a serious of songs.

But getting a ticket to this event isn’t for those light on cash. With all dates sold out through August and question as to how long the show might go on, expect to pay close to $1000 a ticket just to get into the venue. By our metric, the average ticket price has exceeded the $1400 mark making it the top event by ticket price on the exchange.

Why so high you might ask? The average Springsteen fan has been rocking with the Boss for more than 40 years putting most fans in that sweet spot of retirement with kids out of the nest. With extra cash, the demand for tickets has exploded. For many, it’s just a bucket list show that must be seen. And the reviews don’t disappoint. Expect a personal show with stories you’ll never forget.

Despite the doubts of many across the nation, LeBron James did what Lebron James does; take his team on his back and lead them to another Eastern Conference Championship. The Toronto Raptors looked like they might be the team to dethrone King James but in the end, it was just another series ending game where Lebron would score 29 points along with 11 assists and 8 rebounds.

Cleveland looks to be picking up steam as it will face either the Boston Celtics or the Philadelphia 76ers. But don’t count out this Cavs team from making another NBA Finals.

The Indiana Pacers made an epic comeback against Lebron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers only to see it end in a loss due to a bad call in the final seconds and a brilliant 3 by Lebron. For those of you that missed it, it was all tied up with just 10 seconds left on the clock. Victor Oladipo made his move with 8 seconds and got Lebron to bite right; Oladipo then drove to the hoop where Lebron recovered and swatted the shot. Clearly a goal tend on review as the ball hit the glass before Lebron made contact, it all didn’t matter because the officials failed to make the call.

The NBA review rules are definitely nuanced but are clear on a goal tend: a goal tending call can be reviewed and overturned but a non-call on a goal tend cannot. In other words, you can’t go to the replay if the officials failed to make a call. Which is strange because the general theme of the replay is to get the call right. If the shot clock expires and the officials miss the call, go to review. If the official calls a fail and misses the clear-path, they can correct on review. But in this case, the NBA is satisfied that the clear violation on review is unreviewable.

All would have been fine if it hadn’t been for LeBron’s heroics in the final seconds. LeBron hit a fadeaway 3 and drained it. We’re pretty sure the call is not responsible for the Pacers woes; in fact, even with the correct call, the Pacers still would have lost as 3 still beats 2 every time. But it sure would be nice if they got all the call correct. And that starts with the ability to review a missed call by the refs. See you in game 6!