C172 NEARLY FLIES INTO TFR AT YANKEE STADIUM BEFORE BEING ADVISED THAT; ALTHOUGH THE FIRST GAME OF A DOUBLEHEADER WAS COMPLETED; THE SECOND GAME WAS NOW UNDERWAY.

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ON A BEAUTIFUL; CLR AFTERNOON/EVENING; I WAS PLANNING TO FLY WITH 2 PAX ON A SIGHTSEEING TRIP THAT INCLUDED THE HUDSON RIVER CORRIDOR. THERE WERE SOME TFR'S INDICATED FOR THE AREA. AT ABOUT XA15 I CHKED WITH A BRIEFER BY CALLING 1-800-WXBRIEF AND; AS I HAD DETERMINED FROM MY FLT PLANNING; THE BRIEFER CONFIRMED THAT THE TFR HAD CANCELED AT XA00 AND THE OTHER TFR DID NOT BECOME ACTIVE UNTIL THE NEXT DAY. HE MENTIONED THE STADIUM TFR AND ASKED IF I HAD CHKED FOR THE GAME SCHEDULE. I HAD; BUT NOT CAREFULLY ENOUGH; AND THAT'S WHERE I MADE MY MISTAKE. GIVEN ITS START TIME; I KNEW THE GAME WOULD BE OVER UNLESS IT HAD GONE INTO EXTRA INNINGS. SO ON THE WAY TO THE ARPT I TUNED TO THE YANKEE BROADCAST RADIO STATION AT ABOUT XA20 AND VERIFIED THE GAME WAS OVER. I EVEN LISTENED TO THE TFC RPT OF THE FANS LEAVING THE STADIUM. SINCE I STILL DID NOT HAVE THE PRECISE TIME THE GAME ENDED; AND KNOWING THE TFR REMAINS ACTIVE 1 HR AFTER THE GAME ENDED; WE TOOK OUR TIME PREFLTING AND DEPARTED SO AS TO ARRIVE IN THE AREA MORE THAN 1 HR AFTER MY CHK WITH THE RADIO STATION. I STARTED DOWN THE CORRIDOR; SELF ANNOUNCING ON THE UNICOM. AS THE STADIUM CAME INTO VIEW I NOTICED THE STADIUM LIGHTS WERE STILL ON. LOOKING BACK; THAT WAS ANOTHER CLUE SOMETHING WAS WRONG. BUT HERE I AGAIN MADE A MISTAKE BY CONVINCING MYSELF THAT THE LIGHTS WERE JUST STILL ON FROM THE EARLIER GAME; AND I CONTINUED. NO SOONER HAD I ARRIVED IN THE LOWER HUDSON AREA WHEN ONE OF THE HELIS IN THE AREA CONTACTED ME ON THE UNICOM FREQ TO SAY THE TFR WAS ACTIVE. I QUESTIONED HIM INDICATING THE LENGTH OF TIME SINCE THE GAME HAD ENDED; WHEN HE STARTLED ME BY SAYING IT WAS A DOUBLEHEADER. A DOUBLEHEADER. THAT HAD SOMEHOW NEVER ENTERED MY MIND. I HAD NOT ANTICIPATED ALL THE POSSIBILITIES. I HAD TRIED TO BE SO CAREFUL BUT HERE WE WERE ON THE OTHER SIDE OF PENETRATING AN ACTIVE TFR. THE FLT CONTINUED -- THE LONG WAY AROUND NOW THAT I WAS ON THE FAR SIDE OF AN ACTIVE TFR -- AND WE RETURNED UNHAPPY BUT UNEVENTFULLY. FLT PLANNING IS CRITICAL TO EVERY FLT NO MATTER HOW SHORT OR FOR WHATEVER PURPOSE. BUT I CLRLY HAD MISSED SOMETHING IMPORTANT BY NOT BEING MORE THOROUGH IN MY PLANNING. NEW YORK CITY; GND ZERO; AND THE STATUE OF LIBERTY ARE A STRONG DRAW AND A WONDERFUL SIGHT FROM THE AIR OVER THE HUDSON RIVER; EVEN PATRIOTIC; BUT NOT WHEN THE PIC DOES NOT PLAN PROPERLY. GOING FORWARD; I WILL BE REVIEWING AND REVIEWING EVERY ASPECT OF EVERY FLT; ESPECIALLY THAT PORTION BEFORE WHEELS UP.