Your weekend fun-time planner free of charge

Dude, I’m tellin’ ya………

Well, my weekend is shaping up to be pretty good despite concerns for my dear, old dad not feeling so well out in Nevada. Other than those worries, there are tons of things happening this weekend to help a man (or woman) get their mind off of stressful things.

As I’ve excitedly mentioned already, my weekend starts tonite when my brother and I hit the Chicago Blackhawks game together at the United Center. It’s their last home game until February 3. We have some sweet tix right behind the glass (OK….three rows back). But it’s the closest I’ll have ever been to the ice and I’m totally jacked. Bro and I are going to hit the cozy sports bar Moretti’s on West Jackson beforehand and have a couple of cocktails before taking their shuttle over to the game. It’s a little thing we do to save money. They will valet park your car for about $10 versus paying your first-born son to the greedy folks at the United Center. Then afterwards, we hightail it back to the bar on foot while the traffic jam ensues in the UC parking lot and have a couple of nightcaps before easily jumping back on the highway and heading home.

And absolutely do not forget to join all of us at Rolling Lanes on Joliet Road in Countryside on Friday night for the big  West 34  gig in the bar. This will be the last reminder I can throw you before they hit the stage. Between the band’s website, this little blog, Facebook, and the guys’ own loyal following, the place looks like it’s going to be packed. So get there by 9:30pm if you have any desire to land a table. Band leader Dave Johnson says they plan to pull out all the stops since this is their first time at this particular venue. It’s a “can’t miss”.

But if for any reason you can’t make it out to “the Lanes” for the  West 34  gig, then you can try and hit bluesman Buddy Guy’s Legends downtown on South Wabash. This one could be a longshot, though. Buddy started his annual string of January dates last Thursday when Chicago got hit with that six inches of snow. It was a cold, miserable day, but according to the Chicago Tribune’s review in the Sunday edition, Buddy was sizzling hot. These are the last gigs he’ll be playing before the current location moves a block or two down the street later this year. Tickets are mostly sold out, but the paper indicated that there are still tickets available for at least 1 or 2 shows before the month runs out. So if this weekend proves impossible to get in, keep it in mind for another night before January ends.

According to the paper, ol’ Buddy mentioned how he recently had a battle with gout, but that he was feeling much better and totally recharged. He did his usual bantering with the crowd and was even up near the front of the bar greeting fans and signing autographs before the show—which is something he usually waits to do until after his set. But apparently he wants to thank his loyal fans and make sure he’s more accessible with this being the last go-round at the old spot.

Let me tell you something, you’re hard pressed to find a better plate of jambolaya and corn bread than Legends. And the catfish bites and okra are out of this world too.

My Cub fan friends would be upset if I didn’t mention the Cubs Convention that runs this weekend. Newly elected Hall of Famer Andre Dawson is going to be there signing autographs and all the rest of the big names will be making their appearances. This is the 25th Convention and I’m sure they’ll be pulling out all the stops too. Ernie Banks, Fergie Jenkins, Ron Santo, Ryne Sandberg, and a long list of other notables will be on-hand.

Not enough excitement for you yet?

Well, the Chicago Boat, RV and Outdoors Show is already running at McCormick Place. It started yesterday and runs thru Sunday the 17th. Last week was the fishing (muskie) show at Harper College. So now this week, you can go and pick out a boat to hit the water in to catch ’em. If you’ve never been to this show, they have a little bit of everything there. They even have a contest scheduled this year with those dogs that leap as far as they can across a 40 foot pool of water. It’s called DockDogs and they show these competitions on ESPN sometimes. Pretty cool.

Friday night, the Bulls host the Washington Wizards at the United Center. I’m afraid the league suspended Gilbert Arenas for that crazy locker room incident, so there won’t be any gun play involved. But that just means you can feel safe bringing the kids now !!

Still nothing that catches your fancy yet? Jesus Christ !

OK…..if you just want to lay around the couch all weekend and veg out, there’s another full slate of NFL playoff games going on. Two games on Saturday and two more on Sunday. Just like last weekend. And if any of the four games come close to the Arizona–Green Bay game from last Sunday, it should be an awesome weekend of pigskin play.

We’ll see if my Indianapolis Colts can keep my prophecy / prediction alive that they’ll win the Super Bowl this year. 

So I don’t know what more I can offer you to drum up a good time this weekend. I did my best here. It also goes to show what a happening, cool place Chicago is just about every weekend. If you don’t think any of these things is worth your precious time……….

….then go back to Russia.