Stubhub

SIXERS FEVER has hit the secondary ticket market. As the Eastern Conference semifinal series against the Celtics switches to the Wells Fargo Center, fans appear eager to be in the house for one of the biggest - and most welcomed - surprises this season. As of late Tuesday, over 5,200 tickets were purchased on StubHub, the highest number of tickets sold for a NBA playoff semifinal series thus far. The closest was Sunday's Game 1 between Miami and Indiana, which amassed over 3,500 tickets sold.

THE DRAMA that unfolded on baseball's final day reminded everyone just how riveting the game can be and created a stir among fans eager to see an equally exciting postseason. In a little under 24 hours, the frenzy spilled over to StubHub, the official secondary ticket marketplace of the MLB. According to a Phillies ticket office spokesperson, going through the secondary market is the only way to acquire a postseason ticket - which is perhaps the reason StubHub witnessed a 40 percent spike in page views yesterday.

The New England Patriots have won a bid to get the names of all the fans who bought or sold - or tried to buy or sell - tickets to home games through online ticket reseller StubHub Inc., a move one technology group sees as an invasion of privacy. In a lawsuit against San Francisco-based StubHub, a subsidiary of eBay Inc., claiming that the Web site encourages fans to break state law and violate team policies, the Patriots said they could seek to revoke season tickets of people who use StubHub.

There are more than 5,000 tickets available for tonight's Game 6, and most are back on the upswing in terms of price. In the hours following the Phillies' 8-6 win in Game 5 Monday night, fans were been paying an average price of $905 per ticket on StubHub - a $91 increase from the $814 average that held steady before Game 5. Prices range anywhere from $175 (bleachers) to $10,001 for a seat in the Legends section, according to the latest trends on StubHub. There are 9,638 tickets remaining for tomorrow's potential Game 7, listed at an average price of $788.

Call it frenzy, greed or hysteria, but if you planned to go to Citizens Bank Park to watch the Phillies defend their World Series title, you'd better have good friends or deep pockets. With the Phillies selling the majority of seats in advance to season ticketholders, the estimated 700-900 remaining tickets put up for lottery on the team's Web site last Thursday sold by 2:30 that afternoon, according to a Phillies ticket representative. But many of those coveted strips are finding their way back onto the Web sites of secondary ticket distributors, specifically StubHub, the official fan-to-fan marketplace of Major League Baseball.

Out on the sidewalk, business seemed pathetic. The sold-out Phillies game with the Los Angeles Angels, about to start, caused little obvious ticket buying or selling outside Citizens Bank Park. "I'm Little Joe Moe; if I make $100, I'm happy," said one middle-age guy willing to buy or sell a ticket, but not finding takers. "I'm struggling. " His customers already were inside. The box seats held plenty of newcomers. In the fourth row of Section 116, just behind the Phillies' dugout, Sam Benson of Holland, Bucks County, and three buddies celebrated his ninth birthday.

Ticket prices for the Fall Classic have cooled significantly in the past 24 hours as averages continue to fall - much to the delight of fans hoping to secure a ticket to tonight's Game 5 and beyond. According to the latest trends from StubHub, fans have been paying an average price of $523, a sizable decrease from the $900 average folks shelled out just a few days earlier. Game 5 holds the highest average of the next three possible games, averaging $903, followed by Game 6 ($790) and Game 7 ($710)

AS TICKET prices continue to escalate, demand remains at a premium for tonight's decisive Phillies-Cardinals matchup in Game 5 of the NLDS. With box offices sold out for weeks, the only way to purchase tickets is through secondary markets like StubHub, MLB's official online marketplace. According to StubHub spokesperson Joellen Ferrer, fans flocked to the website yesterday to purchase tickets for tonight's pivotal game at Citizens Bank Park. Ferrer said the event page on the company's website for Game 5 had been viewed over 35,000 times, a clear indication that fans are not only searching for tickets but buying them - despite across-the-board price increases.

PART OF THE Hunt for Red October is already under way in Philly, where StubHub reported that Phillies World Series ticket sales between midday Wednesday and midday yesterday increased 141 percent. Mike Garvie, of TicketNetwork.com, said he saw about 1,400 available tickets listed for Citizens Bank Park for each of the three possible games here. StubHub was showing more than 2,500 tickets for Game 3 next Saturday. A comparatively new platform, ninjatickets.com, featured listings from several different secondary sites that, for Game 3 anyway, totaled 21 pages.

CONDOLENCES to Frank and Sylvester Stallone on the death of their father, Frank Stallone Sr ., on Monday at age 91. An Italian immigrant, Stallone came to America in 1932 and served in the Army from 1940 to 1945. He was a lifelong polo player, and owned and operated several hair salons in Maryland. "He was a tireless worker, self-motivated," Frank remembered yesterday. He also remembered his father as a "fearless man who didn't back down from anyone. " He shared a story about his father putting one of the Washington Redskins in the hospital after being called an Italian slur in the 1950s.

SIXERS FEVER has hit the secondary ticket market. As the Eastern Conference semifinal series against the Celtics switches to the Wells Fargo Center, fans appear eager to be in the house for one of the biggest - and most welcomed - surprises this season. As of late Tuesday, over 5,200 tickets were purchased on StubHub, the highest number of tickets sold for a NBA playoff semifinal series thus far. The closest was Sunday's Game 1 between Miami and Indiana, which amassed over 3,500 tickets sold.

"A limited number of tickets" were released for tonight's Game 2 of the Stanley Cup series between the Philadelphia Flyers and the New Jersey Devils, the hockey club announced about 9:30 this morning. Call 1-800-298-4200 or visit ComcastTix.com . As of 1 p.m., a check of ComcastTix showed some lower-level tickets were still available. The "best available" seats for two together were $245 each, plus fees. It is possible to pay less, though. Of course, the seats most likely will be farther from the action.

AMID THE chaos that is Penn State right now, tickets for Saturday's home finale against Nebraska were in high demand yesterday on the secondary market. Joe Paterno announced his retirement earlier in the day, sparking a ticket buzz, but late last night the Penn State Board of Trustees announced his firing. According to StubHub spokeswoman Joellen Ferrer, ticket prices spiked by as much as 50 percent and were selling at a high volume, despite the ongoing alleged child-molestation scandal that has rocked the university and its football progam.

AS TICKET prices continue to escalate, demand remains at a premium for tonight's decisive Phillies-Cardinals matchup in Game 5 of the NLDS. With box offices sold out for weeks, the only way to purchase tickets is through secondary markets like StubHub, MLB's official online marketplace. According to StubHub spokesperson Joellen Ferrer, fans flocked to the website yesterday to purchase tickets for tonight's pivotal game at Citizens Bank Park. Ferrer said the event page on the company's website for Game 5 had been viewed over 35,000 times, a clear indication that fans are not only searching for tickets but buying them - despite across-the-board price increases.

THE DRAMA that unfolded on baseball's final day reminded everyone just how riveting the game can be and created a stir among fans eager to see an equally exciting postseason. In a little under 24 hours, the frenzy spilled over to StubHub, the official secondary ticket marketplace of the MLB. According to a Phillies ticket office spokesperson, going through the secondary market is the only way to acquire a postseason ticket - which is perhaps the reason StubHub witnessed a 40 percent spike in page views yesterday.

"He was a tireless worker, self-motivated," Frank remembered yesterday. He also remembered his father as a "fearless man who didn't back down from anyone. " He shared a story about his father putting one of the Washington Redskins in the hospital after being called an Italian slur in the 1950s. Frank wasn't sure of the player's name but swears it is a true story. "He leaped across the table and laid this guy out," Frank said. He said his dad was proud of his and Sly's accomplishments, though his father recently teased Frank about getting a real job. Frank said that he and Sly visited their dad on June 12 at his Florida home and that Frank Sr. said it was the happiest day of his life.

U2 may be one of the world's most beloved bands, but demand has not gone through the roof for tonight's South Philadelphia concert. Even as die-hard fans began gathering at Lincoln Financial Field this morning - some with general admission tickets hoping to be randomly picked to be near the stage - affordable tickets could still be had, for several reasons. Not only are the Irish rockers filling a huge venue, but the 7 p.m. show is a makeup date from a year ago, when leader singer Bono's bad back forced some cancellations.

Shane Victorino, among other Phillies, wants to quell the overflowing excitement over the three-game series with the Red Sox that begins Tuesday night. The hype is more for the fans and the media, he says. The first and third games in the series are fantasy baseball pitching matchups: Cliff Lee vs. Josh Beckett in the opener and, on Thursday, an afternoon matinee starring Cole Hamels and John Lester. Wednesday, it's hot rookie righthander Vance Worley vs. John Lackey. So, you're a fan. And you're excited.

SO THE Phillies are going to win the World Series this year. You know it. Vegas knows it. But will the new Cliff Lee gear be available in time to tuck a pinstriped No. 33 jersey under the Christmas tree? The odds look pretty good. "We definitely are already working with the vendor to try to get some Lee merchandise in as soon as it's printed," said Derrick Morgan, regional marketing manager for Modell's Sporting Goods. "Historically, we have been great with getting stuff in within a few days.