So, let’s take a look at how the minor league baseball games finished out the month of July.

THE NORTHERN LEAGUE

The Gary SouthShore Railcats

Gary returned to their winning ways as they faced off for the first game of this series against Winnipeg.  It was another low-scoring affair, but the Railcats managaed to hold the Goldeyes to one run and push three across for themselves.

FINAL SCORE:     Railcats  3        Goldeyes  1

The Schaumburg Flyers

Fargo-Moorehead clamped down and shut out the Flyers during yesterday’s game.  Three runs was all the RedHawks needed to hand the Flyers another defeat.

FINAL SCORE:  Flyers 0        RedHawks  3

The Joliet Jackhammers

The Jackhammers faced off against the Kansas City T-Bones in Kansas City for the first in their match up.  It was not a good night for the Jackhammers, however.  Despite plating 6 it was not enough to beat the T-Bones.

FINAL SCORE:  Jackhammers  6      T-Bones  11

THE FRONTIER LEAGUE

The Windy City Thunderbolts

It was yet another high-scoring game between the Thunderbolts and the Slippery Rock Sliders.  This time, the Sliders also managed to score 7 runs.  Still, they gave up 13 runs to the Thunderbolts.

FINAL SCORE:  Thunderbolts  13         Sliders  7

The Rockford Riverhawks

Rockford came back after a loss from the night before to beat the Washington Wild Things last night.  The Wild Things managed to bring 5 runners across the plate, but the Riverhawks were able to respond with 8 runs.

FINAL SCORE:  Riverhawks  8         Wild Things  5

THE MIDWEST LEAGUE (AFFILIATED TEAMS)

The Kane County Cougars

James Heuser pitched a complete game last night for the Cougars against the Burlington Bees.  It was the pitcher’s 8th victory so far this season and helped the Cougars come back after a defeat the night before.  It was a low crowd in the Bees’ stadium, however, with under 800 fans in attendance.

FINAL SCORE:    Cougars  4        Bees 2

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Download my 2-week Meal Plan form

Here’s what makes this form distinctive:

1. It has 14 spaces. We shop every other week, and I only plan one meal per day (breakfasts and lunches are pretty much the same set of options each day). When there are multiple meals that need to be planned, I just stuff them both in one box. But if you regularly plan two meals a day, you can use it as a 7-day plan.
2. On the fly shopping list: it’s much easier to remember those “looks like we’re out of…” items when they’re written down, and it’s easiest to write them down when there’s a clear place to do it (we post ours on the fridge). I grab the current meal plan to plan the next one and the shopping list, so it’s very handy to have all of the weird, non-meal-specific stuff listed out.

Download my 2-week Meal Plan form

Let me know if you’re able to use this or have any suggestions for improvement!

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THE NORTHERN LEAGUE

It was an off night for the Northern League for all of the teams. The play resumes tonight. Winnipeg comes to Gary tonight. Schaumburg travels to Fargo-Moorehead. Joliet is on the road at Kansas City.

THE FRONTIER LEAGUE

The Windy City Thunderbolts

The ‘Bolts and the Sliders managed to make a good game out of their game last night. The game went ten innings before the ‘Bolts were able to drive in two runs for the win.

FINAL SCORE: Thunderbolts 5 Sliders 3

The Rockford Riverhawks

The Riverhawks teed off on the Washington Wild Things last night and racked up 9 runs. It was a much needed win for a Riverhawks team that still has drastic up and down playing.

FINAL SCORE: Riverhawks 9 Wild Things 2

THE MIDWEST LEAGUE (AFFILIATED TEAMS)

The Kane County Cougars

The Cougars had won three of four going into last night’s game against the Burlington Bees. Things were looking good for the Cougars because they opened the game with an immediate run. However, things fell silent after that for the Cougars.

FINAL SCORE: Cougars 1 Bees 4

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I announced the winners of the Clever Blogging T-shirt Contest last week, so it’s about time I got you some real t-shirts, right? I’ve started with the winners, and will be creating shirts from some of our other favorites, too, so if you’re dying to get a t-shirt with one of the slogans that didn’t place, tell me which one in the comments. I’m also willing to do some limited color/font variations if desired.

All of these shirts are produced by Spreadshirt, and I’ve made all of the designs available for your own use, too (Spreadshirt has an awesome tool that makes it very easy to create your own shirt with other peoples’ designs).

Here are the products available at the moment…

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 Getting around the state park was a little bit confusing, as there are a couple of different entrances to the park and they are a bit spread apart from one another.  Not only that, I hadn’t really planned this leg of the trip too thoroughly because there wasn’t too much info on the Net.

At any rate, we decided to just drive around the park and see what would strike our fancy.  There were quite a few visitors to the park and you have to pay for parking ($5), so be sure to bring some cash.  There are two lines for entering the park.  One line was supposed to be for people that already have passes, but we noticed that quite a few people were purchasing their passes from that line too (which was moving much faster than our line, I might add). 

The lake is absolutely beautiful.  The water is quite blue and the lake is surrounded by large, grassy hills.  There are also several trails at the park.  We took the trail to Devil’s Door, which is a huge rock formation.  The entire trip was up a hill with stone steps naturally placed throughout the hill.  Finding the right rocks could be a little confusing at times and the walk up the hill is pretty physical, but everyone managed it (including the 5 year old twins).

After seeing the rock formation and some other sites along the way, we had to walk back down the hill through another path.  This one was also straight down and quite similar to the trail we took on the way  up.  Some of the rocks were a bit slippery, too, so if you take this path, be sure to watch out for the rocks and use a bit of caution.

Visiting Devil’s Lake State Park was definitely worth adding to our agenda.  It only took about 15 minutes to get there from Wisconsin Dells, too, so it was pretty convenient as well.

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The All-State Arena

The All-State Arena is located in suburban Rosemont Illinois.  It began its life as the Rosemont Horizon.  In its very early days it was notorious for the accident that killed several workers when the building was being constructed.  However, since that time, the stadium has withstood storms and the many airplanes that fly seemingly inches from the roof of this place.

It is, in my opinion, in one of the best places to watch a sporting event in the Chicago area.  I have been to many games, from soccer to basketball, at the All-State Arena and I have never been disappointed no matter where I have sat.  I have never found myself without a good view of the field and never been disappointed.

The stadium is very large.  It will cost you to park, but the parking fees will depend on if you are at a Chicago Rush game or a Chicago Wolves game and right now neither of them are playing so the parking fees are not listed.  More than likely it will be more than any of the baseball teams. 

When you get out of your car, try not to let the airplanes startle you.  Trust me, they are low because the runway is just on the other side of the tollway, which runs right past the arena.  Having a conversation between the car and the arena is very difficult because the planes come fast and furious. 

The stadium is located just off of I-94.  It’s actual address is 6920 N. Mannheim Road.  It has lots and lots of parking and the people who control the traffic, I feel, do a very good job of keeping the lines moving in and out.  You may not get in and out as fast as at one of the baseball games, but it won’t be like attending a game downtown either.

Inside, it’s your typical indoor arena.  The hallways can get a bit clogged at times, but it’s not too bad.  There are souvenir and concession stands scattered about the upper and lower level halls throughout the arena.

At a Wolves game, the scoreboard itself is part of the show.  At the beginning of the game, just after the team is announced, the scoreboard explodes in fireworks and confetti.  Trust me, it’s cooler than it seems just from reading it.

There are upper and lower levels.  While the lower levels at a Wolves or Rush game will cost you more, they are nothing compared to a ticket in a similar location at a Blackhawks or Bears game.  I have sat only a few feet from the ice at a Wolves game and, trust me, it’s worth the investment. 

The Metro Centre

The home of the Rockford Icehogs ice hockey team and the Rock River Raptors indoor football team is located right in the middle of downtown Rockford.  It is a beautiful red brick building.  There is also plenty of parking and it is an easy walk to and from the stadium to all of the parking areas in and around the arena.

The stadium seats about 10,000 people and is a very quality arena for watching a hockey game.  There is an upper and a lower level.  Again, there are many similarities between this arena and the All-State Arena.   You can walk around the outside of the arena and find plenty of concessions and souvenirs.  Plus you can purchase the orange pucks for the “Chuck- A – Puck” game which happens between periods during the hockey games.

The Metro Centre is scheduled to undergo a major renovation during the summer of 2007. Exactly what the renovation will do to the place is not entirely clear.  Already the stadium is very nice and a great place to take a family to watch a game.  

There are no planes to deal with when you go to a Metro Centre event, like there are at the All-State Arena.  I have to confess, I have only been into the arena once and that was for work purposes, but I have a kind of fondness for this arena.  I had a great time, found the entire experience pleasant and found the arena a great place to hang out and watch a game.

So, that’s it.  There’s your tour of the various arenas and stadiums where you can view the stellar minor league teams in and around the Chicago area.

Whether the sport you want to watch is baseball or one of the others, you will find the experience vastly different from the big-league games.  The crowds are lighter.  The parking is cheaper.  The stadiums tend to get you closer to the action regardless of the sport.  In short, it’s a great place to see a sporting event and will not break the bank even for someone with an entire family.

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But, here’s  a look as yesterday afternoon’s minor league action

THE NORTHERN LEAGUE

The Gary SouthShore Railcats

The Railcats continued to struggle against the Fargo-Moorehead RedHawks.  It was an offensive explosion for the RedHawks yesterday afternoon while the Railcats’ bats continued to struggle at the plate.

FINAL SCORE:   Railcats  2      RedHawks  9

Schaumburg Flyers and Joliet Jackhammers

This seems to be a rather interesting cross-town match up, with the teams exchanging wins and losses.  As far as baseball games go, yesterday’s match up was a high-scoring affair between these two teams.  It just ended up in Joliet’s favor once the game ran out.

FINAL SCORE:   Flyers  7         Jackhammers 10

THE FRONTIER LEAGUE

The Windy City Thunderbolts

The Thunderbolts and the Washington Wild Things had another tight and close game.  Their match up so far has been rife with these kinds of performances.  This time, it was a 1-run affair with the Thunderbolts turning in another pitching and defensive performance on the part of the ‘Bolts.

FINAL SCORE:    Thunderbolts  1        Wild Things   0

The Rockford Riverhawks

Like most teams in the Frontier League, it is probably a good bet that the Riverhawks wish they could just play the Slippery Rock Sliders for the rest of the year.  Every game has been an offensive onslaught on the part of the Rivehawks.  The day before they dominated the Sliders in the second game.  They had another solid outing yesterday.

FINAL SCORE:   Riverhawks  6          Sliders    1

THE MIDWEST LEAGUE (AFFLIATED TEAMS)

The Kane County Cougars

It was the Cougar’s fifth win in six games yesterday afternoon as they played the Fort Wayne Wizards in front of over 5,000 fans at Elfstrom Stadium.  Trevor Cahill got his sixth win of the season with this game.

FINAL SCORE:   Cougars  2         Wizards  1

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THE NORTHERN LEAGUE

Gary SouthShore Railcats

Not a particularly good game for the Railcats last night and the RedHawks were able to not only edge them out but shut them out.

FINAL SCORE:   Railcats  0        RedHawks    2

Schaumburg Flyers and Joliet Jackhammers

A very close game between the cross-tow rivals.  This time it was the Flyers who managed to edge out the Jackhammers

FINAL SCORE:  Flyers  3        Jackhammers  1

THE FRONTIER LEAGUE

The Windy City Thunderbolts

A close game and a heartbreaker for Thunderbolts fans.  Not only was the game close, but the Wild Things shut out the division-leading ‘Bolts.

FINAL SCORE:    Thunderbolts  0        Wild Things  1

The Rockford Riverhawks

Two games were played yesterday to make up for the suspended game from the previous day.  Sadly, for the Slippery Rock Sliders, this was just a chance to get the snot pounded out of them by the Riverhawks twice.

Game 1

FINAL SCORE:   Riverhawks  4    Sliders  0

Game 2

FINAL SCORE:   Riverhawks  17     Sliders 3

THE MIDWEST LEAGUE (AFFILIATED TEAMS)

The Kane County Cougars

It was an offensive explosion for the Fort Wayne Wizards last night.  The Cougars were rocked for 10 runs.

FINAL SCORE:  Cougars  1      Wizards  10

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Here is one of the exhibits inside the Exploratory.  This is an example of an exhibit that plays tricks on the mind - with the help of some carefully placed mirrors, my husband looks like he as no body!

When you visit the Tommy Bartlett Show, you will walk up a path to where the seating area is located.  There are a couple of photo opps along the way, including this one…

 And this one…

Believe it or not, a nine year old boy is inside this giant contraption (on the left).  As the boy and the man on the right side walk through the loops, the entire contraption rotates.  Later, the man performs some pretty amazing feats on this one!

This lady did some pretty amazing things up there!  This is just one example.

This lady was quite amazing too!

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The theme of the Tommy Bartlett Show during our visit was “pirates,” and they were obviously trying to piggy-back off of the popularity of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies by choosing this theme.  My husband and I both thought that they really stretched the theme during their waterski show that comprised the first half of the show.  While the stunts were certainly impressive, the attempt to make it a pirate show really came off a bit lame.  Even the kids were a bit disappointed.

 My boys didn’t seem to be very thrilled by the first half of the show, which was all waterskiing stunts.  The second half, however, seemed to get them going a bit more.  There were definitely some heart-stopping moments as the performers performed amazing acrobatic feats, including dangling by their heads from several feet in the air and running like hamsters in rotating devices towering in the sky.

The Tommy Bartlett Show is worth a visit to on your family vacation, but prepared for the little ones to possibly be a bit bored by the first half of the show.

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