Hot August concert and sports events tickets

Joe Ticket of National Ticket Agency is excited as the Jonas Brothers, Neil Diamond, Celine Dion, American Idols Live, Coldplay, Radiohead, Bruce Springsteen, Dave Matthews, John Mayer, Rod Stewart, Nine Inch Nails and Wilco are all on the road in August and he plans to go to as many shows as possible.  Country music acts on tour include Kenny Chesney, Rascal Flatts, Brad Paisley, Carrie Underwood and Alan Jackson.  Music Festivals are in the spotlight with Lollapalooza in Chicago, Outside Lands Festival in San Francisco, Ozzfest in Texas, All Points West Music Festival in New Jersey, and the Virgin Mobile Festival in Maryland.  Touring festivals include the Warped Tour, Linkin Park’s Projekt Revolution, Disturbed headlining the Rockstar Mayhem tour and Motley Crue fronting Crufest. Your summer is not complete unless you let it all hang out at one of these awesome all day affairs.

In the sports arena The Beijing 2008 Olympic Games will draw hundreds of thousands of people from around the globe to China August 8th to the 24th.  Hot Olympic tickets include the Opening Ceremony, Basketball, Swimming, Gymnastics and Soccer. I can get you there,  can you take the time off from work?

And thank heavens it’s NFL football starting August 3rd with the Indianapolis Colts vs. the Washington Redskins in the Hall of Fame Game.  The Buffalo Bills play the Pittsburgh Steelers August 14th in Toronto, Canada.  The Bills also play the Colts at the new Lucas Oil Stadium on August 24th. By then every team will be hitting hard and you will be chomping at the bit to get in on the action. National Ticket Agency has great seats for every single NFL game home or away all season long and onto the Super Bowl. The biggest bash of the year. Maybe this year your team will be there!

 Some other hot tickets this month include the  US Open Tennis Championship in New York which begins August 25th.  NASCAR raceing circuit hits Pocono Raceway, Watkins Glen, Michigan International Speedway, Bristol Motor Speedway and the Fontana Auto Club Speedway. Wow.  UFC 87 Seek and Destroy, the UFC’s 1st event in Minnesota, is scheduled for August 9th at the Target Center in Minneapolis.  Hot Las Vegas shows this month include Cher, Elton John, and Jerry Seinfeld. Of course Broadway is always a great time, this August make it your time.

In baseball defending world champion Boston Red Sox pay their last regular season visit to old Yankees Stadium August 26th-28th.  Other great baseball matchups include the Phillies vs. the Chicago Cubs, Angels vs. the Yankees, the Red Sox vs. the White Sox and the Red Sox vs. the Baltimore Orioles. In the NL don’t miss the Brewers now with ace lefty CC Sabathia aquired from the Indians or the Cubs with hard throwing righty Rich Hardin traded by the A’s. In the AL can the Tampa don’t call me Devil Rays actually hold on to take the East. This season is sure to go down to the very end and be the most exciting in years. Of course NTA has your field box to bleacher seats for less money than anyone else. We always invite you to compare exact same seats on NTA vs Stub Hub, Tickets Now, Razer Gator, Golden Tickets or any other of the supposed big time ticket dealers…..National Ticket Agency beats them all bottomline…buy your home stretch, playoff and World Series tickets from NTA and save big.

Joe Ticket comments on the NBA, MBL, and even life itself.

To all the folks who wrote and called me while I was laid up with a broken collarbone (don’t worry, Lipshitz, Levine and Cohen are making sure I get my just compensation), I thank you..when your hurt (and miss work)it makes you think about how lucky it is to be unhurt , healthy , and normal. Everyone has aches and pains, I guess that’s normal, but when you have a heart attack and die at age 58 like Tim Russertthat really makes you think. So today think about taking a walk and listening to the birds sing. Think about going to a ballgame with you dad. Think about bringing home some fresh cut wildflowers to your wife. Think about how lucky you are to even have your life in this day in time, in this wonderful free country. We are all annoyed at the price of gas, at political boondogles, the lack of healthinsurance for everyone, the decline in our homes values or even the prospects of maybe losing our homes..but keep the faith, hang in there, it could be worse, you could live in a repressed society, you could be very ill.. All too often we take these days we are blessed with for granted and we bitch about traffic and curse about spilled coffee on our new shirt..big deal, get real..start thinking about what really matters. Its your relationships to your friends and family and how you treat people that you don’teven know. Its about your communications in that private space reserved for you and the lord, its about helping others and in that way you help yourself to a much richer life..what does it have to do with tickets, with sports, with music entertainment..that’s the question for you to ponder today. 

I am not going to say I told you so but the Celtics are on the verge of their 17th world championship leading LA 3-1 in the NBA finals. Doc Rivers has established himself as a top flight coach skillfully employing his deep and talented bench to take advantage of matchups and tempo all season long. Danny Ainge managed to assemble a group of players that have bought into the “Celtics “style of selfless team ball playing. One piece brought another as key contributers Eddie House, PJ Brown, Ray Allen all came to Boston at the beheast of Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce who were on a mission for a ring befor the final bell sounded on their brilliant careers. The fact that Rajon Rondo emerged as a fine creative point guard capable of defending and rebounding and knocking down clutch junpers when left alone cannot be ignored. This is what happenns in championship seasons in all sports for the winning teams, things just come together perfectly. This nucleus will be back again next year, Perkins and Davis and Rondo and Tony Allen all a year more mature, so I see the Celtics and the Lakers, if Andrew Bynum regains his mobility, back at it in 09 for one more time. While Kobe Bryant is certainly great he is no Jordan, not now anyway. Obviously I am assuming that the Celtics can win one of three from Lakers and if you want to bet me otherwise please email me , I can use the extra money! Beantown is getting ready for another parade and the hits just keep on comin..Next up The Red Sox, and then The Patriots on this victorious merrygoround., Round and round she goes when it ends nobody knows..

As for baseball, the word is out that instant replay is coming soon to a ballpark near you. I am in favor of it on one condition that it not be used for balls and strikes that it only be used when the umpires have a consensus that maybe the call needs to be reviewed like on a homer down the line or a play at the plate when the ump isn’t in good position. It should not be on demand by the managers, those guys always think the ump blew the call when it goes the other way. Surprise teams The Florida Marlins and The Tampa Bay Rays continue to play exciting ball in front of sparse crowds wilst having the lowest payrolls in the game, proving that you cant buy love and happiness or guarantee victory between the lines. In a sign of the times both clubs developed superior young talent often acquired form other clubs in trades of their emerging stars who would have commanded salaries exceeding their teams capacity to pay for them. They also are signing their young players to longer contracts in essence tying them up for the extra one or two years when they will be hitting their prime..its a winning formula and to the clubs that overspend on aging, questionable talent..smarten up and yes that includes the Yankees, the Red Sox and the Mets and in fact it appears that those clubs are taking the hint. The Red Sox best production on the hill has been from Lester, Buckholz, Papelbon, etc and this kid Masterson looks real good too. On paper the Sox seem to have the best ballclub and manager Tito Francona usually knows how to play his cards by now.  JD Drew is finally comfortable at the plate and playing great all around ball in right. Coco Crisp is the best 4th outfielder in the league, Ellsbury is the real deal if .285, 70 stolen bases and an acrobatic catch a game wets your whistle and Manny is well Manny and even though Ortiz is on the shelf they wont miss a beat. I will not insult my Yankee readers( although my Sox readers want me too, ) with a beat down, lets just say SEE YA…there are a few other good ballclubs in the AL for sure- the Angels are solid as long as Vlad gimps it out and the Ozzie whipped White Sox come to mind..I still want to see the Tigers take batting practice but a theoretically thumping lineup doesn’t translate to wins. Good pitching beats good hitting in the long run. The Phillies, the Cubs and the Diamondbacks are all playing well and even though the slugging stick thin Soriano is out for 6 weeks, I see them going all the way in the National League, setting the stage for what would be a historic Championship Series between the Red Sox and the long overdue Cubbies. I for one will be trying to make it to at least one game in each city and of course with my connections I’ll in the front row as Uke would say. It will be chilly in October in Boston and Chicago but I think everyone should be sufficiently fueled up to stay warm.  But for now you can satisfy your urge to see the best baseball on the planet by going to National Ticket Agencies MBL page and clicking on your team and picking out your game…and psssst take your dad!

Well its time to put down the pen and do my rehab in the pool down here in sunny South Florida. I should mention that the NFL season is right around the corner and tickets to all games for all teams are allready on sale and actually moving quite well. Baseball is the national pastime but football is king..at least in the ticket industry. Get your sports and concert tickets at the lowest priced ticket agency on the internet, National Ticket Agency. Cheers – and I promise to write more often as I feel up to it..

Major League Baseball American League East Preview!

Most of the teams seem to be pretty well set now so I feel comfortable writing this tonight. It’s possible that a few more player transactions will occur such as the Sox dealing Coco Crisp, but it’s safe to analyze the teams and predict their successes or failures now. Incidentally, I believe that the Sox should keep Crisp as he is a late game defensive replacement for Manny and he is also a switch hitting bat off the bench and a speedy pinch runner. The perfect # 4 outfielder in other words. If Crisp yaps his mouth about not starting I would tell him he needs an attitude adjustment, be a good teammate and chances are his time will come. Statistically it is quite conceivable that between injuries and everything else he could get in 100 games. Oh yes he get’s paid pretty well too… Oh ok, your sick of the Red Sox talk well then let’s see who here can knock them off. They are the defending champs. For tickets to all Major League Baseball games go to National Ticket Agency the best source for affordable seats to all the hot sold out games from sea to shining sea. Or if it’s not sold out and you just want to sit in sweet field box seats give NTA a call at 877-222-3940.

East Division

 Since I am going in the order that they will finish,that makes the dynamic Bosox the first team to review. However since I am from Boston and read the sports sections of The Globe , The Herald, The Providence Journal, and The Brockton Enterprise  I am way over informed and thoroughly saturated with Sox Stuff coming out of my ears and I would never lay it all on you at this time. Suffice to say that the pitching staff even without Schilling is extremely strong and deep. If Lester and Buckholz are for real and a guy like Hanson contributes they may even be the leagues overall best. Watch for ex brewer Dan Kolb to win a job and with Beckert and Dice K at the front of the order and Paplebon at the back end of games this team will win 100 games. As for the offense, Ellsbury should be an ideal leadoff man and then with a fired up Manny and and a healthy Ortiz and Drew having a normal year, even if Lowell and Varitek slip a bit they have the pop. Oh let’s not forget about rookie of the year Pedroia and the bald eagle eye on base machine Youkilis. For tickets to Fenway Park to see the Red Sox without spending an arm and a leg, ( well maybe just an arm) click on any Red Sox link.

 What you say The Blue Jays coming in ahead of the Yankees? Absolutely and I realize that this might piss off some of you Yankee fans but oh well..the truth hurts. Look it will be close and probably come down to the last week or so but the Jays really improved themselves this year. Scott Rolen is healthy and happy and that means that the American League has a new best third baseman. Eckstein brings spark to the infield and team, Overbay can hit and Wells and Rios are studs. If AJ Burnett finally matures to match his stuff and Haliday and McGowen do their things and Ryan closes things out this club wins 90 games but alas won’t make the playoffs. You definitely want to secure good seats now though for all the big games at this Blue Jay ticket link.

Don’t underestimate the impact of losing Joe Torre. Don’t minimize the difficulty Joe Giradi will have. That being said this Yankees team is still  deep and talented. They screwed up and should have gotten Santana, the Sox played them perfectly on that. This staff is a little more suspect than usual. It’s hard to imagine that Wang is the #1 but he has earned it, the guy is steady. Petite is simply a great lefty proving it year after year however he may be a little rattled from all the BS he’s endured this off-season and it ain’t over yet. You assume Mussina will give you 13 or 14 wins but he’s hittable now, and then Hughes and Chamberlin have to do it all year sort of like Lester and Buckholz and it may come down to that too. The offense is potent with the amazing Arod and his 45 dingers, Giambi I believe will hit, he always does, Cabrera, Cano,  Damon and Abreu are just plain damn good and don’t forget about Posada and Jeter , like how can you..Ok maybe this team wins 90 also and ties for second..Yankees tickets are hard to get at reasonable prices as there are too many New Yorkers vying for them but if you click this Yankees link you’ll find your seats.

This is the team that everyone hates to play and when and if they spend a few more bucks and pick up the missing pieces they could contend. They dropped the Devil but kept the Rays in an attempt to change their image and luck. The talent that they have aquired over the years of dumping budding stars like the Marlins do, has made for a bountiful farm system and a dearth of young major league talent led by the old timer 28 year old All Star Carl Crawford who is a pleasure to watch. BJ Upton hit 300 and is in center and Roco Baldeli is healthy ( I think) making this one hellofa speedy outfield. Pena at first can rake and Langoria is supposed to be a can’t miss at third. Scott Kazmir can be, no is,  a lights out lefty and then it starts to get funky..They will improve on last years 66 wins and beat you when you can’t afford it and it will hurt..And they are in a success mode now so they figure to hang onto these guys for a while and give it a shot. For tickets to the Rays games click here

Oh Lord what hath you done..this once proud franchise of yesterday decimated and dismantled. And Baltimore has always been a baseball town. This must hurt long time faithful Orioles fans. Where have you gone Cal Ripkin , our city turns it lonely eyes to you…. boo hoo hoo..They traded their two best players. I happen to agree with dumping the slumping Tejada and I do think he was a ” user” but anyways that’s for another day. Bedard was arguably better than Santana last year and they traded him, ouch. By the way The A. Jones in center field isn’t Andruw. Markakis , Scott and Mora are decent enough and Millar is a great dude but this team is physically as in ability challenged. The back end of the staff is young and the front ain’t got enough. They might lose 100 games which balances off against the Red Sox. Camden Yards is still the bomb though so if you are planning a road trip this summer include it on your east coast swing. Hey all you Yankee and Red Sox fans for Orioles tickets click here. 

Check back for the AL Central preview over the weekend and by all means don’t be shy please leave a comment if you feel like it. All comments and opinions, in good taste of course are appreciated.

Baseball’s Spring Training Means, Play Ball!

As I said in yesterdays blog, the baseball season is now upon us. Full sqaud workouts have begun in Florida where the Grapefruit League hosts 18 teams and in Arizona where the Cactus League hosts the other 12 ball-clubs. Generally speaking spring training is open to the public to watch the early workouts before the games begin and even then sometimes you can check out the minor league-rs at the secondary fields and that can be quite entertaining and free. Put it this way, they’re pros. It’s not like watching a high school or college club workout. All these guys have ability and the potential to advance to the Major Leagues or they wouldn’t have been signed in the first place. So pull up a beach chair and watch the drills, take note of the studs and maybe cop an autograph or two and who knows you may have a future stars signature and you can say I told you I knew. And as a bonus generally speaking in the spring the atmosphere is light and casual and your able to easily shoot the breeze with these guys and that’s always fun and in fact can be done even on the main field with the big league ballplayers , even the superstars, before and after their games and workouts.

Once the exhibition season starts you’ll need to buy tickets to watch the games. The first couple of weeks the games are dominated by mostly a mix of rookies and minor league-rs vying for a roster spot or showcasing their skills for a late season call up or a higher placement on the minor league rung. As spring training progresses the core players , the regulars start to play more innings, pitchers that were at first working out the kinks now start to throw harder and use all of their pitching arsonal. Obtaining tickets to 90% of the pre season games should be no problem and mostly any seat in these small stadiums is a good one and for the most part you can easily move around and see from different vantage points even up to the front rows. I particularly am partial to sitting behind the plate where you will often see the scouts with their radar guns and stop watches, charting pitches, observing swings etc. If you look like you belong and stride confidently to an open seat often you should be safe and able to stay. I have even engaged in conversations with scouts at a fairly high level like damn that catcher takes along time to release the ball, he aint gonna make it huh or that’s his curve ball wow mine is better than that haha …Now why you may need Joe Ticket and National Ticket Agency in the spring is if you want to see one either the Yankees or the Red Sox, clearly the two teams with the most loyal and aggressive fan base. The Yankees and the Red Sox not only sell out at their home fields, Legends Field in Tampa and City Of Palms Field in Fort Meyers, but they are mostly sold out at every other ballpark in Florida too. Allot of folks from up north take their vacations in Florida during spring training so these games and tickets are a big deal. I myself waited online for hours only to be able to get standing room only seats in Jupiter for the Red Sox / Marlins game on March 3rd.But the weather is so pleasant that SRO isnt too bad at all and having a couple of 6.50 beers with the faithful legions all asking each other hey where you from?  Worcester oh ya I’m from Swampscott bla bla….it’s wicked pissa fun. Also good tickets are hard to find for the Mets in Port St Lucie at Tradition Field.  I’ll list the links to tickets for those 3 clubs here now and tomorrow when I give a full capsule preview of the American League I will have a link to tickets for those teams as well both preseason and regular season..Can’t say I have ever been to Arizona so I really cannot comment on the state of spring training there, vis a vis tickets, but a quick search at NTA’s website reveals that plenty of tickets seem to be available for most games. I would doubt you would have to go to a secondary source..but if you did, call me

Just another note: It looks like the Dodgers long standing tenure in Vero Beach is coming to an end this season. It’s likely that either the Indians or the Orioles will be moving up there next season and somehow it just won’t be the same. Dodgertown is what they call it and that stadium Holman Field is a throwback to the days when baseball and life was a lot simpler and less stressful and such things as steroids and HGH didn’t exist. Not that they didn’t have their issues with drinking and carousing etc Anyways if you can fit it in check out Dodgertown, where the players sit on a long bench without a dugout much like your local high school team.

For tickets to the New York Yankees click here – Yankee Tickets

For tickets to the Boston Red Sox click here – Red Sox Tickets

For tickets to the New York Mets click here -  Mets Tickets

How To Write A Sports Blog That Draws Readers In

Now that I have your attention the first rule is that the title has to be compelling…Naw I’m just kidding around, the purpose of my Joe Ticket blog is simply to let off some creative steam, my personal sports juice. Surprisingly even to myself I have some lucid and worthwhile insights to impart occasionally. I have been told in order to gain a following and to have this blog become a useful tool for my business National Ticket Agency, I need to post fresh content much more frequently than I do, perhaps as often as 3 times a week. I have found that when I do post and tag with relevant keywords that I get decent traffic and some of it even swings readers over to NTA and every once in a while converts into a sale of tickets or of products advertised on the site. So I am hereby committed to giving it a shot, not a three pointer but a 12 foot jumper which I know I can hit with regularity. In order to do this and have it be not full of rubbish I will have to type out my thoughts on a variety of issues in the sporting arena. It won’t be hard I read 3 or 4 newspapers a day and go to several other blogs or other sports sites frequently. I also of course get proprietary news and info from my sports and concert ticket networks and they have given me the green light to relay this information to you Joe Public.  From Joe Ticket to Joe Public, nice.

So we begin this journey into sports land with a comment about the upcoming baseball season and what baseball means to me. When I was younger and living in the frigid northlands of New England, ( I can only imagine it being worse in Buffalo, Milwaukee, or Canada) I used to dream about the snow melting away and giving way to puddles of mud which eventually dried into a surface suitable for dry sneaker footing and thus playing catch. Then eventually the grass grows , the jackets come off and just like that it’s baseball season! And no one has to remind anyone that the summer time is endless and that baseball is timeless, from my grand dad to my dad to me. Every day we play catch and hit grounders and this is how I got my strong and it also why my arm now is dangling and shot. Of course I like football, basketball, hockey, and anything sporting but I really love baseball, only baseball. And being from New England I root root root for my home team the Red Sox. Tony C  is forever my favorite, for when he came to the plate in those first couple years before his tragic encounter with fate, you held your breathe, he had a bat speed and hand to eye long before anyone coined those phrases. Back then I used to get tickets for single admission twi night double headers, that was my favorite,  and right from school hop on the bus from the suburbs to Mattapan Square, where I would catch the trolly to Ashmont then get onto the green line to Kenmore.  A kid of 10 could actually safely do that back in the late 60’s, imagine! Then I would maturely step up and buy my Reserved Grandstand el cheapo ticket for maybe 7 bucks and enter the hallowed grounds of Fenway Park, aware that my dad and your dad and his dad did this very thing and felt the very same way, so excited to be in the presence of greatness, the big leauges, my heroes just inside and already on the field loosening up. I go up the ramp behind home plate and am happy that no-one is here yet. In those days they were lucky to draw 15,000 fans and for the first game most of them were still at work so I had my pick of any seat. Naturally I sit in the first row behind the Red Sox dugout and watch the visitors batting practice. Boog Powell, Frank Robinson, Harmen Killabrew, Tony Oliva, Frank Howard…wow…when Robinson connects the bat sounds like a combination of a lihgtening strike and a bell chime. It rings, and he launches line drive after line drive still rising as it clears the net in left. Oh Lord I have never seen to this day a man hit a baseball that way, not even Manny.  So that was my indoctrination and the basis for this life long affair. My own background is Little League catcher and pitcher on alternate days, same in Babe Ruth league, winning 5 championships in 6 years,  then settling on catching in High School, playing some second base and outfield in local semi pro leagues and absolutely going to the wrong colleges and thus not playing any more than fall ball.  Like any good catcher, I am a student of the game.  I can analyze the hell out of a swing, can pick up a tipped off curve ball, pontificate on strategy, and basically spot a good ballplayer from a mile away.. I was Theo Epstein before Theo Epstein was Billy Bean..Now I love to go to Spring Training  games down here in always sunny and warm Florida and scout the rooks and then I go to the Class A games in the broiling summer heat  and pick all these young pros apart..Deep down I know that with the proper coaching and conditioning that it could have been me.. To be continued………..I must eat something soon or pass out…..

The Beginning of My Year End

I guess I am a day late and a dollar short to do a year end wrapup but I can still do a year end review for 2007 in the concert and sports ticketing arena or theatre of operations to use some sad overworn cliche’. As usual your going to get a Bostonian view cause I yam what I yam. Of course this is a total pleasure as ballgames, sports, tickets, concerts and music are not just keywords to boost the  SEO of National Ticket Agency but they are in fact my passion. Likewise since I am still drunk haha with joy over the successes of my Boston sports teams (which continue into 2008) I deam it appropriate to begin this discourse by talking baseball. The Red Sox who broke the curse of the Bambino in 2004 and ended 86 years of anguish by their fanatical fandom and of having to take crap  from the New Yorkers day in and day out. Year after year they reveled in rubbing it in our faces, the effin  Yankees. Well by golly the Sox did it again and brought the championship trophy back to Beantown once more. And I don’t blame the Boston fans for bragging, boasting, and  gloating. 86 years is a long time , eh? It was pretty obvious that the Sox had the best team in the American League this past season with deep pitching bolstered by the additional of 2 Japanese studs one called Dice K with 5 good pitches and the other Okijama a brilliant lefty setup man  and another lights out year from the leagues gutsiest closer Jonathan Papalbon. The emergence of a budding phenom, a legitamate leadoff threat and fearless centerfielder in Jacoby Ellsbury coupled with the usual clutch hitting from David Ortiz and a career year from Mike Lowell balanced off a sub par season from Manny Ramirez. Terry “Tito” Francona did a great job of keeping the team ready to play and GM Theo ” Boy Wonder” Epstein showed why he is a top gun in command of the Sox ship. The guy flat out knows how to build a farm system that is now rewarding the big league team and setting up possible  big trades to keep this club on top year after year. Latest word is the Sox are going to get Johan Santana the leagues best lefty starter! Did I hear myself say dynasty..oh maybe I am mumbling something in reagrds to the Patriots..oh lord I am giddy. Speaking of the Patriots , they finished the regular season 16-0 , broke alot of league and individual offensive records and are poised to go after their 4th championship in 7 years. That my friends is as close to a dyansty in sports as you are going to get. Tom Brady is now considered one of the greatest quartebacks ever by everyone, even you,  and just the whole organization from top to bottom is chalk full of confidence and abilty clearly light years ahead of every other club. The trade of last years # 1 to SF which was the 24th pick for this years SF #1 which is the 7th pick is typical. They also got a 4th last year and that allowed them to trade and get Randy Moss who breaks the TD record of Jerry Rice. Hello!! Then they get Wes Welker, all he does is lead the league in catches…Just brilliant. Guys want to play for them, players take pay cuts and rearrainge contracts to stay with them, it’s remarkable. Now I am not saying that they cannot be beat , they actually should have lost a couple games but hey the great teams find a way to win. Everyone knows though that on any given Sunday..so we shall see. My money is on the Patriots though. Spygate , shmygate Coach Belichek is easily the greatest coach in the game and a sure Hall of Famer. And who has more Hall of Famers than the Boston Celtics, notice how I changed the subject to basketball and the league leading Celtics there. Yes it’s been 21 years since the 16th championship banner rose up to the rafters at “the Gaaden” and the drought and talent gap we expereinced was exceptionally painful for we were spoiled rotten hoop miesters feesting on fade away jumpers from stars gone by like Havlichek and Bird and now I dare say it’s all coming back. The Big Three of Allen, Pierce and KG are surrounded with the most talented supporting cast assembled in the NBA. Danny Ainge you may take a bow. Red must be proud. The team concept of moving the ball around unselfishly and playing great D has always been the Celtics trademark and now they have reclaimed it. My crystal ball sees 60 wins maybe 65 in a my goodness how could this be season that will take them through to the Eastern finals where the Pistons and the Celts will duke it out in a dog fight, apologies to PETA, for the right to play probably the Spurs for the title.

Ok tomorrow I talk a little hockey and some music as I see it’s fast approaching my bed time here on the east coast of Florida where it’s always summer time and the girls are so fine! 

JOE TICKET RIDES AGAIN

Well Happy New Year folks!

It’s the height of holiday season and time for me to crow. It is concievable that Boston could have a hat trick. No hissing. No kidding. Three championship teams in one year, actually 9 months should the Patriots sweep through underfeated and the Celtics continue to be the winningest team in the NBA. How is this possible that those maniacal fans from that liberal hippie bastion called New England are on a championship role that is unparalleled in modern day American sports history. And frankly I feel they think they deserve it! Certainly the Red Sox fans paid thier dues for years, perenial patsys they then took a risk going with a kid GM Theo Epstein who’s made a few mistakes, but overall has transformed the farm system, created a winning atmosphere throughout the organization, signed the players that he knew they needed. His efforts have directly impacted the 2 Series banners they now fly as much as the guys he put on the field. The Patriots similarly have created a winning atmosphere where the players redo contracts, the coach is, well a great coach, and they keep running in top free agents and draft picks to restock. The stuff that makes you think dynasty. It’s getting dare I say boring. The talent gap , the coaching gap and the attitudes are way ahead of any other NFL team.   So now we have a basketball team in Boston that is getting the forever spoiled, basketball snobby, Bird lovers back on thier feet at TD BankNorthGarden , still called “the gaaaden” by me. (Hey they still have a parquet floor. ) KG , Allen and Pierce complimented by a Rondo, a real point gard that can hit a J, and 5 other good role players. It’s a recipe for success. The way these guys whip the ball around unselfishly and defend unrelentingly is so Celtics, so Red Auerbach light one up, Johnny Most lose your voice, Paul Silas, Cedric Maxwell, Bailey Howell, Satch Sanders , Larry Sigfried, Bill Walton, Dave Cowens, yes Tiny Archibald and every other Celts vet from all time even Sidney Wicks, Curtis Rowe and Hank Garfinkle lol be proud again. NOTE: A special thanks goes out to Kevin McHale for playing cards with Danny Ainge and losing and having to deal us KG in order to pay up. It had to be something like that as KG is ridiculously talented and just the player in the post we have longed for since the chief Robert Parish hung them up.

So I am happy as sht and if BC beats Michigan State friday at 5 as a warm up to the Patriots trouncing the Giants sat night. I am popping the cork early! Don’t you just love how when push came to shove the NFL buckled and allowed the nation to witness this historic game.

You want mid season NBA and NHL revues. You want the NFL pre playoff analysis. You want updated concert information. Well you’ll have to wait. Joe Ticket is back in the house but he needs a day or two to warm up! Meantime go to National Ticket Agency and score nice seats to the game you want.

WEEKEND CONCERT TICKETING

What I am about to do may be considered unconventional in that Joe Ticket is a blog that is associated with an after market ticket agency, National Ticket Agency. I am going to list the tickets and the dates and times that they will be going onsale at Ticketmaster! And I am going to do it every Friday or Saturday. Why would I do that? Well frankly I know that you are not going to get any anyways, well maybe a few, but very few and very lousy seats as well  due to some very good reasons. First off you may or may not be in a position to access the Ticketmaster ( or Live Nation) website at precisely the time the tickets are going on sale. Secondly even if you were the chances that you would get through to actually select and purchase tickets is slim and none as you are competing against tens of thousands of online buyers all trying to access the site at the same time. Most of them are hopeful fans but many are professional ticket brokers with perhaps 10 or 20 computers in the office all open to the Ticketmaster browser. Thirdly the major ticket agencys have the system rigged with sophisticated dialing software and programs to bypass the type in security code which was designed to prevent this very action but believe me programmers are well paid to stay ahead of it. They are literally able to make it appear as if the computers are individually at diferent IP addresses and all sorts of other tricks. Fourth there still is corruption at the venue level and maybe even at Ticketmaster ha ha where large blocks of tickets are funnelled out and don’t even appear in the system. Back in the day I had a girl at the local outlet pull 8 for me on every big show before the door was even openned. Fifth a goodly number of seats are also blocked out to be given to the bands, radio stations for promotions, other media and what not. Sixth many bands have already distributed large lots of tickets for pre sale for fan club members or other type subscribers. So you see it’s probably futile to try but by all means if you have the time and patience go for it. You might get lucky. If you you get tickets and can’t go you can always sell them to a broker like National Ticket Agency for at least face value and probably more. The system is rigged, it’s not fair you say? Well not fair is the American way. And I don’t mean that in a bad way. It’s called supply and demand , a tenant of our capitolistic system. All is fair in the marketplace as long as it’s legal and if you can justify it morally theres really no problem.  Nowadays the reselling of tickets at over the face value which used to be and is still sometimes called scalping is legal and the secondary ticket market is a robust industry and completely legal in almost all 50 states. It’s so good in fact that Ticketmaster themselves have set up an “after market shop”.  Many sports teams do it and with Ebay and Stub Hub there’s ways for the average fan to act as a broker and sell there own tickets too. That being said I am not worried about it as National Ticket Agency is busier than ever. That’s because I take the stress, the hassle, and the guess work out of the ticket buying equation. I give you  personal service and will search myself for you to get you the best tickets at the best price. In other words I give you added value. You do what you do for work and I bet your good at it and I’m good at what I do, that’s finding you the tickets that you really want at a price that you can afford. Will you pay more than face value , of course , I have to eat too you know, but I spare you the frustration of spending time online and on the phone in vain. The pain of combing through impersonal cookie cutter websites and the potential disaster of buying counterfit tickets from unscrupulous dealers and individuals listing seats in classifieds like craigslist or on Ebay. You can call me or shop at my website at your leisure 24 hrs a day , 7 days a week, even holidays and you have my expertise and advice that I am always willing to share as to what games , what venues , what shows are worth it. I can even arrainge travel and transportation to big events like the Kentucky Derby and the Daytona 500 or even the Super Bowl.

 

First the Boss, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band continue to assemble their US spring jaunt, one date at a time. On-sales get underway Saturday (11/17) for planned shows in Rochester, NY; Anaheim, CA; and Atlanta. Monday (11/19) on-sales are set for Hartford, CT; and Buffalo, NY.

Next Eric Clapton reunites with Steve Winwood  for three concerts in New York City, set for Feb. 25, 26 and 28 at Madison Square Garden. Tickets for all three shows go on sale to the general public Monday (11/19) at 9 a.m. EST.

 

Matchbox 20 will greet 2008 with its first North American outing in more than four years, hitting the road with Alanis Morissette. On-sales begin Saturday (11/17) for the tour’s stops in Hollywood, FL; Tampa; Atlanta; Charlotte, NC; Auburn Hills, MI; Milwaukee; Fairfax, VA; Verona, NY; New York City; Niagara Falls, NY; Reading, PA; Kansas City, MO; Omaha, NE; Grand Prairie, TX; Oklahoma City, OK; Broomfield, CO; Seattle; Reno, NV; Los Angeles and Las Vegas. Sunday (11/18) on-sales are set for San Jose, CA.

Avril Levigne is finally is hitting the road next spring to support for her April release, “Best Damn Thing.” Tickets hit the market Friday (11/16) for Lavigne’s upcoming show in San Diego. On-sales begin Saturday (11/17) for her planned appearances in Rosemont, IL; Auburn Hills, MI; Pittsburgh, PA; Cleveland, OH; Uncasville, CT; Manchester, NH; Fairfax, VA; Hidalgo, TX; Dallas; Selma, TX; Las Vegas; Phoenix; Anaheim, CA; Universal City, CA; and Santa Barbara, CA

 

Celine Dion will to hit the road in a big way, embarking on a nearly year-long international outing to support her new album.  Tickets hit the market Friday (11/16) for Canadian stops in Vancouver, Edmonton and Winnipeg. On-sales begin Saturday (11/17) in Sacramento, CA; Tacoma, WA; Salt Lake City; Birmingham, AL; Montreal and Toronto. Monday (11/19) on-sales are set in Boston; Washington, DC; Newark, NJ; Uniondale, NY; New York City; Atlantic City, NJ; Columbus, OH; Cleveland, OH; Auburn Hills, MI; Minneapolis; Chicago; Indianapolis; St. Louis; Kansas City, MO; Omaha, NE; Denver; San Jose, CA; Anaheim, CA; Los Angeles; Glendale, AZ; San Antonio, TX; Nashville, TN; Atlanta; Raleigh, NC; Miami; Tampa; and Sunrise, FL.

Coming up will be a bigger list of hot concerts to warm the fall nights. Plenty of bands are touring as frankly that is the major source of their revenues today. That and merchandise sales outstrip the revenue from the sales of recorded music.

Turning to sports, the Celtics and the Patriots remain undefeated..who will lose first? Great tickets to both Boston teams are available. Believe it or not I see that Red Sox 2008 tickets are now showing up on the ticket network big board. Hey makes a great Christmas present. In fact for a stocking stuffer tickets can’t be beat!   JT

It’s tip off time in the NBA today

Ok,  I have recovered from the Sox parade! Hail to Big Papi, Paps, Manny, Mike, Yuke, Coco, Julio, JD, Tek, Dustin, Jacoby, Schill, Dice K, Manny D, Tims, Tito, Okie, Wake, Becks and all the rest…What a season it was in Major League Baseball and the Red Sox took the crown!

Now it’s time to snuggle up to the fire and turn on the plasma tv cause baby it’s cold outside! But it’s hot on the hard court as super heroes bounce, twirl and dunk, rebound and defend. It’s time for the National Basketball Association to display the worlds tallest greatest athletes in shorts. The season starts tonight. Last week I scouted out the NBA Eastern Conference Atlantic and Central Division. Tonight we look at the competitive Southeast Division. The league sure is balanced this year as it seems like just about everyone has improved so that translates into a higher level of play. I mean if everyone is better doesn’t someone have to be worse? These guys just seem to get bigger, better, faster, and  more skilled all the time. Is the court too small? Should I stop asking stupid questions and tell you how its going to shake out?

EASTERN CONFERENCE SOUTHEAST DIVISION

The Miami Heat go as far as Shaq and Dwayne Wade stay healthy and take them. Shaq is still a monster force when he is feeling strong. You have to double team him and Wade is lethal taking it to the hoop. Jason Williams and Ricky davis are fine players but the depth on this club is suspect and they will be in a dog fight with Orlando and Washington for top honors. > Get your Miami Heat tickets here.

The Washington Wizards feature perhaps the most unconcious scorer in the game in Gilbert Arenas, he’s better than Bernard King well maybe and Caron Butler and Antawn Jamison are excellent too but they are weak in the post and need to rely almost totaly on a perimeter game but hey it works so they win over 40 and maybe take the Division if Shaq breaks down. >  Get your Washington Wizards tickets here.

The Orlando Magic have a man in the middle in Dwight Howard like a younger Garnet, he’s hitting jumpers now too. Rashard Lewis and Jameer Nelson compliment him well and who knows if the bench comes through they could make a move and conted. Howard is worth the ticket alone. > Get your Orlando Magic tickets here.

The Atlanta Hawks aren’t a good team. I can say that, but then when will they be? Well soon perhaps as Al Horford could be a rookie of the year candite and Joe Johnson can light it up. With a year to season and another top pick and a free agent or so they might be up with the rest of the pack. >  Get your Atlanta Hawks tickets here.

The Charlotte Bobcats had a bad break with both Adam Morrison and Sean May having season ending knee surgery befor the seson even started. Bummer. They can still give you a run with Emeka Okafor in the paint and Jason Richardson firing away but it looks like a lottery pick awaits for the Bobcats this year meaning it’s wait till next year if your a fan. > Get your Charlotte Bobcats tickets here.

Tomorrow we start on the NBA Western Conference. Remember to get your tickets now from National Ticket Agency for the hot games on your clubs schedule. Don’t miss out when superstars like Kobe Bryant, Allan Iverson, LeBron James, Tracy McGrady, Dwayne Wade, Dwight Howard, Paul Pierce, Zach Randolph,  etc perform their high flying feats.

Beantown Rundown

WARNING! Do not read if you are anti Boston (or from NY. ) By now most of you know that I grew up in the burbs, South Shore, and have a bias for Beantown and even though this blog is national in scope as the official blog of National Ticket Agency, I’m going to allow myself to bask in the glory of our time for no one knows what tomorrow may bring, right now I feel like a king.

I must admit that I have been so caught up in the Beantown mania that it’s effecting my work , my marriage , my lawn etc. It’s the greatest of times for all who hail from New England. The Sox, Pats, Celts , Bruins and BC Eagles are all riding high at once. I have incredible satsfaction in the Boston College Eagles success, being currently solidly entrenched (well at least till next saturday, lol) in the number 2 slot in all the national rankings for NCAA Division 1A football. They have always been good and do indeed  produce great offensive lineman like Penn State produces linebackers but now they are great. We all remember the magic of Flutie and it looks more and more especially after Thursday’s  come from behind win at VT that Matt Ryan has an inside shot now at the Heisman trophy and that if the Eagles run the ACC table they could be in line for a National Championship. WOW! My next source of elation is the Boston Red Sox, who after drubbing the Colorado Rockies last night in Colorado are but one game away from sweeping their way to a  second World Championship in 4 years. As a longtime sufferer, someone who took the green line to Kenmore on those days of twi-night doubleheaders to be able to sit behind the Sox dugout for 5 or 6 innings, hoping to get a glance from Hawk Harrelson or Yaz or Rico,  I am so proud to be a member of Red Sox Nation. See baseball is special to New England kids who stare out the window at the snow and dreamed of the green grass of early spring and first days we could play catch without a heavy jacket on. Praise and glory to Theo Epstein the boy wonder from Brookline who learned his math well and knows that to work a count deep gives you the chance to see a good fat pitch to hit and also runs up the pitch count getting you into the opponents bullpen earlier in the game. Theo couldn’t hit a lick but he knows his sh_ t and he  took the heat when Pedroia didn’t hit and Lugo didn’t hit and Drew looked like a bust and Manny a clown and Lowell past his prime. He rolled the dice with Matsuzaka effectionatly know as Dice K and stay chill with Schill who pitches now on guts alone , had faith in Lester who battled cancer, and Ellsbury who injected speed. And my thanks to Coco for being cool, Big Papi for raking the yaaad with creaky knees and to Varitek the captain who steers the ship. Lest we forget the Okie from Muskogee , Japan Okijima who was practically perfect and to Papilbon for putting out the lights and putting the opposition to sleep. This isn’t quite the impossible dream but this is truly a great team. Ok so get out the brooms it looks like a sweep and if not then it will be a street paarty when they wrap it up in Kenmore square.

Let’s give some credit here to the Boston Bruins whom I have lambasted with regularity for many years I mean how to you bring a kid ( Joe Thornton) up at 17, wait for him to mature into an AllStar center and then just trade him and about 10 other screwups but heck Tim Thomas has been lights out in the net and Phil Kessel is a snifty as it gets. Keep up the good job boy’s and maybe someday another flag will fly from the rafters. i should live to see the day!

Not to forget the New England Patriots, I mean how could we that’s all anyone anywhere is talking about. Today the try and mow down the Washington Redskins. The Pats have firepower the Redskins have toy bow and arrows Patriots 28- Skins 10, they beat the spread yet again.

Finally we get to the Celtics, the new and improved Boston Celtics that is with the big 3,  of Allen, Pierce and KG. Garnet is showing why he is a perenial all star of the finest magnitude, he’s a monster on the boards and a natural shot blocker and possibly the finest passing big man in the game with 20 foot jumper range. Last week I said they would win 60 and I was scoffed at but I stick to that as I see now that Glen Davis aka Big Baby is a valuable board banging inside scorer and Posey looks goods and Rondo is kicking it around. This team has depth and plays team ball like the Celtics we all remember. The season starts this week and I need to give you the rest of the league briefs but thats on hold till tomorrow as I must run to ABC’s and grab a bottle of champaign glee to pop the top on that baby when Paps sets them down tonight 1, 2, 3.

Don’t forget to support your favorite ticket supplier Joe Ticket the man behind the goalie mask at National Ticket Agency who promises you personal service and vows to get you the best seats at the best price. Let me do all the dirty work of sorting the seats and compairing the prices as I am an All Pro at this. (Or is that Old Pro.) Call me at 877-222-3940 and I’ll hook you up with good seats and hot tickets to every concert and sporting event in the country. And folks if your not from New England, don’t sweat it, your day will come too – I don’t know when but heck we’re all friends and we all love live music and watching sporting events in person because that’s the best! Remember , National Ticket Agency has you covered!