The initial proposal wants to bring four restaurants, four bars, an event space, and a team store to the area around the United Center. more ›

Did you know Madonna's halftime show was the most watched EVER with 114 million viewers tuning in? And despite the obvious lip synching we found it to be one of the more entertaining mid-game outings in years. There was no wardrobe malfunction, no crotch slides into the camera, no huge phallic silhouettes; there was plenty of glitz and glam but it was all topped off by a singer in her 50s with more energy (and a younger glow) than most pop singers a third her age. Not bad, huh? more ›

The latest controversy leading up to tomorrow's second-ever UFC on Fox bout at the United Center focuses on the only Chicago-area official slated to ref the three-card event, Rob Madrigal, and whether he has the experience necessary to work a card this size. more ›

A three-fight card of MMA badassery will hit the United Center Jan. 28, marking the Ultimate Fighting Championship's first return to Chicago since UFC 90 in 2008. more ›

The Big Ten announced locations for their conference tournaments and championship games through 2015. Chicago host a number of them. The biggest of prizes -- the Big Ten football championship game. more ›

Word on the street however, is that talk show queen Oprah Winfrey has caused the Bulls to postpone Game 2 because of Winfrey's 'Surprise Oprah! A Farewell Spectacular' at the United Center. But au contraire says the NBA. more ›

With the ghosts of Bulls past observing the game at courtside in Scottie Pippen and Bobcats owner Michael Jordan, the Bulls used tough defense, good bench production and the slashing game of Luol Deng to beat Charlotte 106-94. But the Bobcats showed last night that they're a team on the rise and that their two previous wins over the Bulls weren't flukes. more ›

If you can’t take the heat, stay out of the kitchen. The Miami Heat have beaten the Bulls twice in a row, and have taken seven of the last nine meetings. Does this mean the Bulls will be kicked out of their own ‘kitchen’? more ›

It's kind of hard to believe that the same team that faced the 76ers in Philly Friday night crushed them just a month ago at home, while the Blackhawks recovered in a shootout victory over the Ottawa Senators. more ›

As if the chill in the air over the holiday weekend weren't enough of a reminder that fall is unofficially here, then add the fact that the Chicago Blackhawks are returning to the ice in less than three weeks and we're adding the task of grabbing the box of sweaters out of storage to our to-do list. To get you in the mood for the Blackhawks first preseason game against the Tampa Bay Lightning on September 22, here's a time lapse video of the massive amount of work that goes into getting the United Center ice ready for the season. more ›

Michael Jordan's statue will not hold court alone next season at the United Center. The recently Hall of Fame ensconced Scottie Pippen will join Jordan in being commemorated in statue form with the unveiling happening probably sometime towards the end of next season. Said Pippen, “It’s an unbelievable honor and truly amazing. It’s something you dream of as a kid growing up, but you can never foresee those childhood fantasies becoming reality. You see statues of individuals who have done great things and made their mark on history, but as a basketball player, you never really think about arriving at this point. It’s an amazing honor for the Chicago Bulls to do this for me.” Omri and Julie Rotblatt-Amrany of Highland Park, who created the Jordan statue, will create Pippen's as well. more ›

Say what you will about Wrigley Field's bleachers or people scromping in the bathrooms at The Cell, at least the food vendors at the city's four major sport stadiums (NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB) apparently get a gold star in terms of (lack of) health code violations. Of the four major stadiums - Wrigley Field, U.S. Cellular Field, United Center, and Soldier Field - only Soldier Field reported any critical violations. According to the report put together by ESPN, 12 percent of vendors at Soldier Field were cited but, "Almost all violations were due to a lack of hot water." The Cell, Wrigley, and UC reported zero percent of vendors as having critical violations. Compare these to, say, the violations found at Florida stadiums, like this one at Sun Life Stadium where the Miami Dolphins play: more ›

Happy Birthday, Mom! more ›

If you missed Pearl Jam at the their sweaty, crowd-rousing 2+ hour Lollapalooza closing set in 2007, then you'll want to leave your credit card under your pillow tonight. Almost two decades have passed since Pearl Jams' debut album, Ten, but the public's interest in the grunge godfathers shows no signs of waning. Pearl Jam plays August 23 at United Center. Due to early public demand a second show on August 24 has been added. Tickets for both shows are priced at $66 and go on sale tomorrow morning. more ›

Want to check out the new look Bulls, but the economy's making you think twice about shelling out for tickets? The Bulls just announced a half price ticket promotion for two upcoming games at the United Center. Seats in the 300 level normally running $60 (rows 1-7) and $40 (rows 8-17) are available for $30 and $20 online. The half-price tickets are available for the Bulls vs. Golden State Warriors on Wednesday, March 4 and vs. Milwaukee Bucks on Friday, March 6. Both games tip off at 7:30pm. more ›

Hockey's been pretty much off our sports radar for the past few years. Between the sour taste left by the lockout a few years back and our general hatred of how Bill Wirtz ran his team, we passed our time during the cold Chicago winters exclusively with the Bulls. Given the anemic attendance numbers at the UC for Hawks games, we clearly weren't the only ones -- it's not like the fans were instead watching on TV at home. But with the end of the Bill Wirtz era and an exciting young roster, we've thought about giving hockey another chance. more ›

If there's one upcoming event we here at Chicagoist unanimously want to nerd-out to, it's Walking With The Dinosaurs: The Live Experience, which opens tonight at the United Center. Based on a BBC Television show, this live 90-minute theatrical show with a $20 million dollar budget features life-sized dinosaurs (the tallest, a Brachiosaurus, being 36 feet tall and 56 feet long) in a simulated natural habitat. Realistic roars of dinosaurs, earthquakes, volcanoes, and comet crashes add to the spectacle, along with both live and recorded video. more ›

With their fourth studio album firmly entrenched on the charts, Coldplay easily filled the United Center with fans for their two-night concert stand this week, a far cry from their last relatively intimate appearance at The Metro. The enthusiasm we saw from the Chicago stop on their worldwide Viva la Vida tour is arguably a testament to Coldplay’s longevity: ponder all you want about the quality of the music, but a whole lot of people still like the band. more ›

Oh, Coldplay. Look, we're not buying that whole "Coldplay is the last chance at a savior for EMI" conversation that's been ricocheting around the interwebs for, oh, the past six months. But if we were buying that argument, we'd probably tell EMI that they're in safe hands with the groups latest, the Brian Eno produced and cumbersomely titled Viva La Vida or Death And All His Friends. We hear more than a smidgen of U2 grandness peeking through the tracks, and Chris Martin has learned how to use his voice in ways that no longer directly parrot Jeff Buckley. Or Thom Yorke. Actually, Coldplay should be a critical punching bag by now, but face it, they've actually put together their best album yet. Maybe this little band has legs after all! more ›

Friday, April 25: more ›

More fascinated by Kelis' milkshake than Daniel Plainview's? Is the only Oscar you'll watch living in a garbage can? Then this Sunday probably means nothing to you. You're burnt out on the "glitz" and "glamor" of the night, not to mention the drama surrounding that writers strike. more ›

The Spice Girls are in town tonight at the United Center for the Chicago stop of their reunion tour. Originally Chicago tour dates were scheduled for both the February 15 and the 16, but management moved Saturday’s show over to Detroit. Tickets are still available for tonight’s show. more ›

It seems like it was just a few weeks ago we informed you Radiohead was coming to town. Now another alt-rock behemoth has announced they'll be making their way to our little hamlet this summer. Just today, R.E.M. announced dates for their upcoming tour in support of their new record, Accelerate, due out on Warner Bros. Records on April 1. more ›

The Tribune's "Clout Street" blog is reporting that Governor Blagojevich, whose probably still feeling like the most badass father on the planet after scoring free Hannah Montana tickets for his daughters, will not call lawmakers back to Springfield until January 2nd, effectively putting to rest any speculation that a transit funding deal will get hammered out by year's end. more ›

Mark Cuban was in town on Monday when his Dallas Mavericks faced off against the Bulls at the United Center. Of course the local media's questions directed at him regarded another pro sport team. When asked about his pursuit of the Cubs, he reiterated his interest in buying the team and that he wasn't interested in owning any other baseball team. He has not filed his official paperwork, however — Cuban said he was "waiting... more ›

The Blackhawks benefited from the return of Martin Havlat on Wednesday night. Havlat, who had missed 22 games due to a shoulder injury, scored Jjust 43 seconds into his return to action on a backhander to the upper-left corner of the net to give the Hawks a 1-0 edge on the Tampa Bay Lightning. He would go on to score again in just 12 seconds into the second period, scoring off a shot from the... more ›

An armed suspect ran into an elementary school this afternoon in an attempt to evade the police. It didn't work. The police caught him, and luckily no one was injured. more ›

Here's hoping everyone's having a happy Thanksgiving. And here's some more things we're giving thanks for today: I am thankful for Chicago sports fans, that they sell out the United Center even when the Bulls suck, that they were still wearing Grossman's jersey when Griese was starting. -- Elizabeth Hyde Park in the snow when it's silent outside at night, Seminary Co-Op bookstore, Margarita special night[s] at Tecalitlan, the elimination of the Blue Line... more ›

In a surprising move, John McDonough resigned as Cubs president on Tuesday to become president for the Blackhawks. Isn't that like if Da Mere were to resign so that he could fill a vacancy on the water reclamation district board of trustees? McDonough had spent nearly 25 years with the Cubs organization, working his way up the marketing org chart before landing atop the front office when Andy MacPhail resigned following the 2006 season. McDonough's... more ›

For the first time in a long while, Chicago is seeing success from both the Chicago Blackhawks (NHL) and the Chicago Wolves (AHL). The Wolves are off to a 13-1-1 start, giving them the best winning percentage in the league--which should come as no surprise to their faithful fans. On the other hand, it is a surprise that after a quarter of the season, the Blackhawks aren't breaking their fans' hearts. The Hawks have skated... more ›