It appears as if a 103rd consecutive championship-less season has finally exhausted the patience of Chicago Cubs fans.

The Cubs are mired in fifth place in the NL Central with a 30-44 record through Wednesday, June 22, kept out of the basement — both in the division and overall — by the Houston Astros, and their struggles are taking a toll at the box office.

The Chicago Cubs have once again descended into a disappointing, non-playoff season, with fans frustrated and longing for the promised build-up of the team that still seems so far away. And this week, the club’s new chairman, Tom Ricketts, discussed the likelihood that next year’s player payroll will be lower than this season’s $145 million price tag, the third highest in the league this year.

In the same announcement, Ricketts danced around the issue of ticket prices, with conventional wisdom saying that another hike in ticket prices is likely to come as well in 2011.

Despite their popularity and playoff hopes, the Chicago Cubs seem to be having some trouble selling tickets in this unfavorable economic climate.

The baseball team returned to Wrigley Field recently for a six-game home series that began yesterday, August 11, against the Philadelphia Phillies and ends August 16 against the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Phillies came to Chicago August 11 on a eight-game winning streak and the Cubs were riding high on a four-game winning streak—the stuff of a good series. After a 4-3 loss to the Phillies in the 12th inning of the series' opening game, the stakes are high.

Tickets for upcoming Chicago Cubs Spring Training games as well as tickets for upcoming play-off appearances from the New York Giants are on sale throughout the week ending January 10 as compiled by TicketNews.

The onsales are quite favorable to sports fans this week. On sale Tuesday morning are tickets to the New York Giants' upcoming play-off game against the Philadelphia Eagles. Tuesday morning also marks an opportunity for fans of the Chicago Cubs to buy tickets to the lovable losers' Spring Training games held in Mesa, AZ. In other baseball news, the Atlanta Braves have several games on sale Saturday that will be played at Disney's Wide World of Sports in Florida.

By Stacey Willets

TicketNews announces its exclusive weekly Top 10s and analysis for the week of 6/25/07 - 7/01/07.

OVERALL TOP 10 EVENTS
Event                    This Week      Last Week

Wicked                       1              1
Boston Red Sox               2              2
Chicago Cubs                 3              8
New York Yankees             4              6
Jersey Boys                  5              5
The Police                   6              3
Kenny Chesney                7            n/a
Dave Matthews Band           8             10
Detroit Tigers               9            n/a
Soul2Soul: Tim McGraw &
 Faith Hill                 10            n/a