Taco Domination!

Just crushed 3 Tacos at California Tacos. If you're in Omaha you have to stop in. Guy did not lie on Tripple D. It's Da Bomb!

The Rental

Just picked up the car for the week. We're rolling in style. It even has XM Radio!

I made it to The Big O!

So who is the lucky person that get's to rank airport's cleanliness? I do have to say that this bathroom is pretty clean, so clean that someone thought this urinal was a wishing well. I hope your wish comes true!

Ok so...Just landed... Headed to get my rental then California Tacos for lunch. After lunch I'm hitting Stadium View Sports Cards on 13th and B for a beer and CWS Merch purchases, back to the airport for a pickup and out to Brewburgers for dinner. I will report back in with deails of my findings.

First Celeb Sighting!

Baseball Tonight's Karl Ravetch at Ohare this morning. Does ESPN not supply you with a cell phone?

Omaha Bar Guide - CWS Edition

Many of our CWS nights in Omaha can be considered...wait for it...LEGEN-DARY! Below are some of the places we've enjoyed "Legendary" nights. Yeah, right!

CWS Bars

Pauli's - This is the ultimate CWS bar where the crew from ESPN made it famous and hang after a long day at The Blatt. They fence off their parking lot and turn it into a huge beer garden. On the weekends you can find half the stadium here after the games.

McFly's - I always hit this place when the line at Pauli's is too long. It's close so it's not that far out of the way when you have to change plans.

Barrett's Barleycorn - Looking for the boys in town from LSU? This is the place. They out number Omaha residents here for the first 5 nights of the series, every year. Be ready for some good 'ol fashion Louisiana characters getting loose in here, things can get crazy!! BEADS!

Sports Bars

DJ's Dugout - 2 locations and thousands of TV screens! Great food for a sports bar. Best place in Omaha to catch a game when you can't be there.

Clancy's - Multiple locations to fill you up. They also own Patrick's, a dance club, that we used to hit up in our younger days.

Downtown

Upstream - The local Brewery and Restaurant. I've never struck out here. It has a cool bar and chill scene.

Billy Frogg's - Fun bar and great staff.

M's Pub - Great Lunch menu while you enjoy a drink.

Dubliner - Omaha's Irish pub in the basement. Always a great time!

Beer Selection

Crescent Moon - The best selecion of beer in Omaha. Trust me. They have it.

That's all for now...as our trip goes on we'll update you on hot sports we might find ourselves at. Stay tuned.

For the best Omaha Bar Guide check out Omaha Nightlife.

Follow us on Twitter.

Omaha Food - Round 2

I've had a few CWS fans write in and tell me their favorites around Omaha and wanted to share them with you. Don't forget to check out ROUND 1 from last week for more food suggestions.

Pizza/Italian - La Casa Legendary Pizza and Pasta on Leavenworth. Thank you @cwelling

Burgers - How could I forget Stella's in Bellevue? I've been there, but that was before I could drive. You can't beat their burgers served on napkins. The place has been renovated, but from what I've been told the burgers are the same. Dig In!

BBQ - McKenna's Blues, Booze and BBQ on 72nd and Pacific. I've been here before and loved it. A cold beer and BBQ with some Blues...awesome! You can't beat it in Omaha.

For the best quick service BBQ hit a local favorite of mine, Harkert's.

Steak - Try Gorat's..it's an Omaha classic. If you're lucky, maybe you'll run into Warren Buffett, he says it's his favorite in Omaha.

Sushi - I'm open to suggestions here...remember you're in Beef Country!

French - The French Cafe in the Old Market. Perfect for that special night on the town with your sweetie.

Salad - Best signature salad in Omaha is the Grilled Chicken Salad at Sgt. Peffer's. I can't get enough of this. So much meat I'm not even sure it can be considered a salad. The dressing is killer! Don't forget to chase the salad with their excellent lasagna!

CWS Brackets

First Pitch is Saturday!!!!

SATURDAY
1PM CST. CSUF vs. Arkansas
6PM CST. LSU vs Virginia

SUNDAY
1PM CST. NC vs. ASU
6PM CST. Texas vs. So. Miss.

Get your full brackets here: NCAA BASEBALL

Scalping CWS Tickets

People always ask me how I get tickets to CWS games. I always tell them that it's not like the Final Four or the BCS Championship, you can always get a ticket. Just show up. This is truly still a hidden gem among sporting events even if it seems to be growing in popularity every year.

TICKETS! TICKETS! most of the time slurred or spoken under the breath by scalpers. You can always find them, they can't be missed. Same scalpers every year...even if they get arrested every year! They come from Kansas City, Austin, Houston and Arizona just to make a buck. Of course you have the Omaha scalpers that regulate the turf on 13th Street between Zesto and King Kong Burgers.

These scalpers normally buy tickets under face or for face and you can normally buy them for just above face from Scalpers on the street. If you want to play the game and don't want the front row you can always wait for the first pitch because the scalpers start scrambling to unload the extras at game time.

This year the NCAA and CWS has signed on with Ticket Exchange to be the official reseller of tickets. Looks like the scalpers have some new competition out there, besides from Stub Hub, Ebay and Craigslist.

Be aware of General Admission tickets. They don't guarantee you a seat or admittance to any game you choose to go to. There has to be room for you in the bleachers. If you have GA tickets get there early to claim a seat.

Good luck to everyone looking for tickets. Don't worry, be patient. There is always a good deal to be had.

TWITTER!

Come follow us on our trip to The Big O! We will be Tweeting from Omaha June 11-17.

http://twitter.com/EXPtheCWS

Our Blog will also be updated on a continuous basis.

Come along for the ride!

New CWS Stadium has a name.

I've been reluctant to discuss the new stadium because of my love for The Blatt and it's surroundings. I know change is usually good, but it will never be the same. Check out this article below about TD Ameritrade signing a 20 year pact to be the name on the New Omaha Baseball Stadium.

FROM THE SPORTS BUSINESS JOURNAL TODAY

TD Ameritrade titles new home of College WS
By TERRY LEFTONStaff writer
Published June 08, 2009

Online broker TD Ameritrade has signed a deal that will put its name on the new 24,000-seat stadium in Omaha, Neb., that will house the College World Series. Sources put the 20-year deal at about $750,000 a year, with annual escalators, for the $128 million downtown ballpark set to open in 2011.
What will be known as TD Ameritrade Park is being financed by the city, with some private funding. The venue hopes to attract as many as 70 events a year, with roughly half of them being the NCAA Division I baseball championship. The event will move from Rosenblatt Stadium to the new field in two years. The plan to build the stadium convinced the NCAA to keep the College World Series in Omaha, where it has been played since 1950.
The TD Ameritrade deal includes signs, suite and club seats, additional tickets and hospitality, and the use of the facility for corporate events. At one point there was some thought the deal would be packaged with an NCAA corporate partner package, but TD balked at the accompanying $10 million annual rights fee. Media on ESPN’s College World Series telecasts is not included.
The TD Ameritrade deal is significant since it represents a naming-rights deal at a time when the market has soured, and one being done by a financial services company, most of which are under pressure to shed any marketing expenditures, especially sports marketing.
With its headquarters in Omaha and thousands of local employees, the deal was largely done to demonstrate hometown support.

The plan to build the stadium, set to open in 2011,kept the College World Series in Omaha.
“The College World Series is big already and has great potential to grow,” said Bill Gerber, TD Ameritrade executive vice president and CFO. “Hopefully those collegiate ties link us to customers, and as they graduate and start making money, they have to invest. I would still tell you this isn’t about generating a lot of new accounts, as much as it is recognition of our headquarters community, and because it is the right thing to do as a local corporate citizen.”
Rob Yowell’s Gemini Sports negotiated the deal and will plan activation with agency of record status for TD Ameritrade. “Ideally, the College World Series will turn into a larger and longer event, a celebration of baseball and America, and TD will be a big part of that,” Yowell said.
Rob Prazmark at 21 Marketing, Greenwich, Conn., said his company’s research shows that more than 80 percent of naming-rights deals are done by companies headquartered in the same municipality as the venue. “The genesis of these relationships are almost always local,” said Prazmark, whose firm is representing LandShark Stadium in Miami for naming rights after the current deal expires in January.
The TD Ameritrade ad campaign with actor Sam Waterston is a fixture on NFL and college sports telecasts, but this is the company’s first sizable sports sponsorship. TD Banknorth, which once owned TD Waterhouse, has naming rights to the home of the NHL Boston Bruins and NBA Boston Celtics as TD Banknorth Garden, although that name is changing to TD Garden next month in deference to a merger and subsequent renaming of the bank.
TD Waterhouse itself held naming rights to the home of the Orlando Magic, paying $1.6 million a year for the TD Waterhouse Centre 1999-2006. During the original Internet bubble, rival online brokerage house E-Trade was a heavy spender on sports, including a three-year run as sponsor of the Super Bowl halftime show broadcast from 2000 though the 2002 NFL championship.

Two Newbies Make the CWS!

Congratulations to So. Miss. and Virginia advancing to the CWS. So. Miss overcame a 6-1 deficit to sweep the #8 seeded Florida.

A special congratulations goes out to local product, Brian O'Connor. The University of Virginia Coach grew up in Council Bluffs, IA and pitched for Creighton University.

TCU plays Texas tonight for the last spot in Omaha. The game is on ESPN2 at 7Est.

Time to start packing, wheels up in 3 days.

Six teams are One Win from Omaha

Texas, North Carolina, Arizona St., Southern Miss., Virginia and Mississippi are one win from Omaha. But, only five of these teams will make it to the Heartland of America.

TODAYS LINEUP

Noon
North Carolina (1-0) vs. East Carolina (0-1)

3PM
Virginia (1-1) vs. Mississippi (1-1)
Texas (1-0) vs. TCU (0-1)

7PM
Southern Mississippi (1-0) vs. Florida (0-1)

10PM
Arizona St (1-0) vs Clemson (0-1)


TODAYS SCOREBOARD

THREE ARE IN!

Three teams punched their ticket to Omaha Today.

Cal. St. Fullerton, LSU and Arkansas each swept their best of three series.

Southern Miss. (1-0) is looking to upset Florida(8) (0-1) to make the trip to Omaha.
Texas beat TCU 10-4 to lead the series 1-0
NC beat East Carolina 10-1 to lead the series 1-0
Virginia ties Mississippi 4-3 (1-1)


Bang it here for the SCOREBOARD

Zesto!

Just ran into a ZESTO in Clarksville, IN

Saturday June 6th Schedule

We might have our first tickets to Omaha punched today as the Road to Omaha continues with all regions in action.

For the next two days TV Coverage is going Regional on ESPN. Check out the coverage maps.

If you can't watch your team on TV you can catch all the action on ESPN360.com.

(all times Est.)
Noon

Florida St (0-1) vs. Arkansas (1-0)
Mississippi (1-0) vs. Virginia (0-1)
East Carolina (0-0) vs. North Carolina (0-0)

3pm
Southern Miss (0-0) vs. Florida (0-0)

5pm
Cal St. Fullerton (1-0) vs. Louisville (0-1)
LSU (1-0) vs. Rice (0-1)

6pm
TCU (0-0) vs. Texas (0-0)

9pm
Clemson (0-0) vs. Arizona St (0-0)

Today's Super Regional TV Schedule

Who else is skipping work today to watch the Super Regionals? Here's today's schedule!
(all times Eastern)

Noon, ESPN - Arkansas Vs. Florida St.

2pm, ESPN2 - Virginia Vs. Mississippi

7pm, ESPN - LSU Vs. Rice

10:30pm, ESPN2 - Louisville Vs. Cal. St. Fullerton

Get breakdowns on all the match ups this weekend here.

No Game?

Everyone asks me what we do on a day with no games. Well, there's plenty in the Omaha area to keep you busy.

Animal Lovers
The easy place to kill a day is The Henry Doorly Zoo right next to The Blatt. It is widely considered one of the best zoo's in the nation, consistently ranking in the top 5. Kids wil love the petting zoo.

Downtown
Another fun day can be spent wandering around The Old Market downtown. It consists of about 5 blocks that are flush with bars, restaurants, antiques and unique stores. We've spent many days and nights here enjoying every aspect of The Old Market. Check it out!

Riverboat Casino
If you are a gambler and know when to hold 'em and fold 'em hit the Casinos across the Missouri River in Council Bluffs, IA

Harrah's

Horseshoe

NCAA Football

Football fans should make the hour drive to Lincoln and visit historic Memorial Stadium where the Huskers play. Don't forget to check out the Bowling Alley where the 2009 NCAA National Champion Bowlers practice and compete.

Kids

It's a great time for adults too! Check out Fun Plex at 70th and Q Dude! Water Slides, Bumper Boats, Wave Pool, Putt Putt Golf, Go Carts, Sand Volleyball and Video Games. Your kids will have a blast here! PS - They also serve beer!

I will continue to add more fun activities as the CWS get closer.

Super Regional TV Schedule

Get your grill started, burgers seasoned and beverages chilled. We're in for a great weekend of Super Regional Action. ESPN is televising all the games on their family of networks. Check out the schedule here. First pitch is at Noon Est. on ESPN. Arkansas at Florida State.

CWS COUNTDOWN TO FIRST PITCH


8 days 15 hrs and 27 Mins to First Pitch!

Omaha Info - Get the lowdown before you go

If you are new to visiting Omaha or returning for your 11th year in a row it is important to have as much info as possible when you arrive. It's best to have a game plan going into the week. Map out your seats, hotel, restaurants and bars with these great resources. Check out my favorite all around CWS info site. It tells you everything you need to know about Omaha and the CWS. It has ticket info, seating charts, maps, and hotel info. Everything you need for your Omaha adventure.

Other sites worth checking out:
Omaha News
Omaha Nightlife Happenings
Omaha Weekly - Highlighting Local Events
Omaha Convention & Visitors Bureau
The Reader


See you in the Big O!

Super Regionals Set

With three of the top eight national seeds eliminated in Regional Play last weekend, this weekends Super Regionals are sure to be full of surprises.

BRACKETS/TIMES