Flew into Pittsburgh for a three game set between the
Chicago White Sox & the Pittsburgh Pirates and a nine
game APBA series pitting the Chicago Champions against
the Three Rivers Gamblers. Before leaving the Chicago
Airport I called the Hilton to make sure there’d be no
problem with a LATE checkin. I paid for my stay via
Priceline and was assured everything was okay no
matter how late I got there. After the game was when
I expected to get there, but that turned into after a
few drinks, which turned into after Club Royale
closed. Felt like I was in a Seinfeld episode when I
got to the hotel at 2:00 AM, they had my reservation,
but no room. They cabbed me over to the Greentree
Radisson, where I slept like a baby, till I had to
rush down to the Hilton to make sure I had a room for
my 2nd night.
A cabbie pulled up, asked if I was Cho, I told him no,
the bellman told him Cho was a no go, and asked if he
could drive me to the Hilton. He asked, “How are you
gonna pay for the ride?” I told him I had a voucher.
He asked what’s it for? I told him a cabride to the
Hilton. He asked, “No, what company’s it for?” I
told him Yellow, which was the name on his cab. He
tells me, “Get in!” I say, “I need to sit in the
front cuz I wear longleg braces, can’t fit in the
back, and need help getting in”. He says I’ll mess up
his wires. I tell him to get the hell out of here and
I’ll report cab 504 didn’t wanna drive me. Turns out
his manager knows he’s a jerk and was glad I took the
time to report him.
I got to the Hilton at 11:00 AM, but my room wasn’t
ready yet. My room, how nice that sounds. She even
gave me a room number, 1910. I decided to head out to
grab a bite near the ballpark, have a few cold ones,
before heading in to see the 2nd game. After the
game, rather than going straight to the Hilton,
decided to have a couple post game beers, got to the
hotel at midnite. Voila, they put me in room 1910.
Getting back to the games…
6/27/06: Wore my Buehrle shirt to PNC, as Mark was
taking the hill versus Ian Snell. The White Sox
scored three times in the 1st two innings, but the
Buccos almost came all the way back in the 5th when
pinch hitter Joe Randa ripped a ball to left, with the
sacks drunk, Scotty Po reached over the wall to turn a
salami into a sac fly, 3-1 after five. Craig Wilson’s
320 foot bloop to right made it a one run game. Jim
Thome plated Alex Cintron with an insurance run in the
9th, Bobby Jenks nailed it down for a White Sox
winner, 4-2. After the game went to Firewater for
some drinks, found out the bathroom was down some
stairs, waitress said I could use hers, I asked hers
at home, then jokingly said, “I don’t have a place to
stay. Could I stay with you?” She said, “My Dad
wouldn’t like that!” OUCH! How true my having no
place to stay comment would prove to be, watch what
you say, even in jest. Left Firewater on my way to
Club Royale, used my ticket stub for free entry, paid
some girls some money, one dollar at a time. They
were so happy, they danced, they had very little
clothes, might’ve been firefighters as they danced
around poles.
6/28/06: Ate a chopped salad, a creamy pasta dish,
and a blueberry crunch dessert all washed down with
many ice teas at Atrias, which is over the Clemente
Bridge from my hotel, right at PNC. Even after a
three hour brunch it was still too early to enter the
ballpark, so I went to Hi Tops (better than Hooters),
drank some beer, and watched the Cubbies vs the
Brewers and the Yankees vs the Braves on TV. Wrigley
went nuts as Chicago came back against Milwaukee, then
ARod provided a walkoff homer for the Bronx Bombers
against the Bravos, illustrating comebacks would be
the theme of the day. Ran into Dan Uggla’s squeeze
working at Hi Tops, turns out a night of drinking
might have contributed to Uggla pulling his hammy.
The Pirates scored single runs in the 1st, 3rd, & 6th,
before Juan Uribe stepped up in the 7th and plated
three Sox teammates who’d each singled to fill the
bases, and then Scott Podsednik singled home Uribe
with the go ahead run. Bobby Jenks closed it out for
Freddy Garcia over Paul Maholm 4-3, Buccos 13th loss
in a row. Met up with a paranoid/schizophrenic friend
I’d met on a cruise ship a couple of years ago. It
was really cool as he picked me out in a crowd, he was
sitting five rows in front of me, it was great to see
him again. Then I met a cutie named Barbie. Barbie
was a Sox fan from Lombard who stopped by for a high
five, with her brother Zeke. We started talking about
Ozzie using the F-word, she told me she was upset by
the use of the word retard by sports talk show hosts
in Chicago, as both her brothers are retarded, one is
severely so & it really doesn’t bother him, but Zeke
is mildly retarded and knows that being called a
retard is hurtful. I got Barbie’s phone number and
will call her to hookup for the Minnesota series. She
knows the security guard Bob who stands by us behind
the plate at the Cell. Barbie wanted me to join her
and her brother at their hotel to hang with the
players, but I was too dead & really wanted to get a
room! Also got a phone call during the game from
former Pitt stripper Coco, turns out she’s now in
sales, and was tops for this past month, GO COCO, GO
COCO, GO COCO! We couldn’t meetup, DARN, but she
plans to come see me in the Windy City.
6/29/06: Had my comped breakfast, a result of
Hilton’s 1st night mixup, before heading to PNC for
the finale of this three game set. The Sox tied it on
a Jim Thome pinch two run river bomb out of the park
over the rightfield wall in the top of the 8th.
Pittsburgh broke its 13 game losing streak on a
walkoff Freddy Sanchez homer in the bottom of the 9th
off Cliff Politte. Final score 7-6 Bad Guys. And
those Tigers & Twins just keep on winning, sheeesh!
Had a drink at Firewater before my nine game APBA
series. Check out Hot Dice on Three Rivers for
details of the APBA series between the Chicago
Champions and the Three Rivers Gamblers.