TRYING TO LAND THE BIG TICKET

saxo-archive

Tuesday, Jan. 1, 2008 | midnight

Going to the big game used to be the dream of a lifetime. Sports fans were fulfilled when they secured a ducat for the World Series, the Super Bowl or a heavyweight championship fight.

Now it's possible to get tickets to almost any sporting event -- if you have the money and access to the Internet and ticket brokers.

If you want to avoid getting scalped, you need to plan ahead -- way ahead in some cases. Lots of the biggest events release limited seats to the public and use lotteries to dole those out. For example, applications for this year's Kentucky Derby closed before Labor Day, and fans started buying tickets for the National Finals Rodeo the day after the last gold buckle was awarded in December.

International events, such as the Olympics, often require that you buy your tickets through the local organizing committee. Don't forget visas and immunizations.

And forget the Masters. The patrons' list has been closed since 1972, and the last time the club even updated the waiting list was in 2000.

Here's a list of some of this year's big events with Web sites and other information that will help you to plan ahead:

FOOTBALL

Rose Bowl, Pasadena, Calif., Jan. 1, www.tournamentofroses.com

Sugar Bowl, New Orleans, Jan. 1, www.allstatesugarbowl.org

Fiesta Bowl, Glendale, Ariz., Jan. 2, www.tostitosfiestabowl.com

Orange Bowl, Miami, Jan. 3, www.orangebowl.org

BCS National Championship, New Orleans, Jan. 7, www.bcsfootball.org (The championship game site rotates. The game is in Miami next year and Pasadena in 2010.)

Super Bowl XLII, Glendale, Ariz., Feb. 3 (Most tickets are allocated through teams and corporate sponsors. Fans can apply to a lottery for tickets. Next year's Super Bowl will be Feb. 1 in Tampa, Fla. Ticket prices start at $500. www.nfl.com.)

TENNIS

Australian Open, Melbourne, Jan. 14-27, www.australianopen.com

French Open, Paris, May 25-June 8, www.fft.fr/rolandgarros/default_en.asp

Wimbledon, London, June 23-July 6, www.wimbledon.org

U.S. Open, Flushing Meadows, N.Y., Aug. 25-Sept. 7, www.usopen.org

HOCKEY

NHL All-Star Game, Atlanta, Jan. 27, www.nhl.com

Stanley Cup, teams and dates to be determined (regular season scheduled to end April 6, length of playoffs determines date of finals)

RUGBY

Six Nations rugby, various sites, Feb. 2-March 15, www.rbs6nations.com (The biggest tournament of next year pits the national teams from England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, France and Italy. The international championship, the Rugby World Cup, is held every four years. The next will be in 2011 in New Zealand.)

AUTO RACING

Daytona 500, Daytona Beach, Fla., Feb. 17, www.daytonainternationalspeedway.com

Indianapolis 500, Indianapolis, May 25, www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com

Monaco Grand Prix, Monte Carlo, May 25, www.formula1.com

BASKETBALL

NBA All-Star Game, New Orleans, Feb. 17, www.nba.com

NCAA Final Four, Alamodome, San Antonio, April 5-7, sold out, www.ncaasports.com/basketball (The Final Four teams and corporations gobble up many of the tickets and the rest are sold by lottery. Half of the earlier rounds for this year are already sold out. If you are planning ahead, the championship is in Detroit in 2009, Indianapolis in 2010 and Houston in 2011.)

NBA Finals, teams and cities to be determined, June 5-19

GOLF

The Masters, Augusta, Ga., April 7-13, www.masters.org (Talk about a tough ticket. Tourney tickets are sold only to patrons, but practice-round tickets are available each year.)

U.S. Open, Torrey Pines South Course, San Diego, Calif., June 9-15, www.usopen.com, www.torreypines.com

British Open, Royal Birkdale, Southport, Lancashire, England, July 14-20, www.standrewsopen.com

PGA Championship, Oakland Hills, Mich., Aug. 7-10, www.pga.com/pgachampionship/2008

HORSE RACING

Kentucky Derby, Louisville, Ky., May 3, www.churchilldowns.com (Applications for the next year's race are due by Sept. 1.)

Breeder's Cup, Oak Tree at Santa Anita Park, Arcadia, Calif., Oct. 24-25, www.breederscup.com

SOCCER

Euro 2008, Austria and Switzerland, June 7-28, www.uefa.com (With the World Cup in South Africa not until 2010, the European championship is the biggest tourney this year.)

CRICKET

South Africa vs. England cricket, England and Wales, July 10-Sept. 3, www.ecb.co.uk (Cricket isn't everyone's cup of tea. Fans usually hold strong national rooting interests, so it's tough to single out one tour this year. The Ashes, the fierce competition between Australia and England, doesn't resume until 2009 in England. The Cricket World Cup will be held in India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh in 2011; check icc.cricket.org.)

BASEBALL

College World Series, Omaha, Neb., June 14-25, www.cwsomaha.com, www.ncaasports.com/baseball/

MLB All-Star Game; Yankee Stadium, New York; July 15; www.mlb.com

Little League World Series, Williamsport, Pa., Aug. 15-24, www.littleleague.org

World Series, teams and dates to be determined, (regular season scheduled to end Sept. 28) CYCLING

Tour de France, Brest to Paris, July 5 to 27, www.letour.fr/2008/

OLYMPICS

Olympics, Beijing, Aug. 8-24, www.olympic.org (It's important to plan far ahead for international events. Registration for tickets began in March and lotteries began in August. Tickets may still be available through the U.S. Olympic Committee. The next summer Olympics will be in London in 2012. Future Winter Olympics will be in Vancouver, Canada, in 2010 and Sochi, Russia, in 2014.)