#fc tucson

Fri 5/17 - Sun 5/19

You’re not reading this until later today because a 56-mile round-trip bike ride is your idea of fun, right?  Today is the GABA Mt. Lemmon Hill Climb featuring a 6000-foot elevation!  The best part is the 21 mile downhill coast afterward of course.  If you participated, congratulations.  Now it's time to replenish those carbs, so I expect your dinner menu will be pizza and beer!

This Saturday The Arizona Symphonic Winds presents a free concert at Udall Park.  Guest clarinet soloist, Jackie Glazer of The UofA School of Music, will be performing the music of von Weber.  If you’re at the park walking the puppies, bring them too.  But no howling allowed!  

 Sunday night at Reed Park listen to the Balalaika Orchestra playing Russian Folk Music and featuring guest conductor Tucson native and former UofA Marching Bank director Enrique "Hank" Feldman.  Presented by the Tucson Pops, these free outdoor concerts are a great way to end the weekend on a harmonious note2!  

Scorpions, bats and snakes; oh my!  As the weather heats up, we appreciate the nights that much more.  And so begins another summer of 'Cool Summer Nights at the Desert Museum'.  And what better way to start than with 'Creatures of the Night'.

I’ll see you on the pitch!  Hey soccer fans, tomorrow FC Tucson takes on The Chattanooga Red Wolves SC at Kino Stadium starting at 7:30pm. 

In other sports news, at my old Ala Matter Penn State Nittany Lions baseball hosts our UofA Wildcats for the final series of the baseball season.  Ah spring in Happy Valley with cool days and chilly evenings and the backdrop of Mt. Nittany brilliantly lit up by the setting sun! It does bring back wonderful memories, but…GO CATS!  Stream the audio to the game here.

Happy Friday everyone! I'm getting used to these wonderfully cool temperatures, aren't you?  We know they are only here for a short time so do make sure to get outdoors and enjoy them while you can.  

Fri 6/8 - Sun 6/10

As American as ?  

No, not apple pie!  Recipes for apple pie have been found from the year 1381, in England no less!  Jazz, on the other hand, is as American as, well Jazz!  Morphing from West African and European musical and cultural expressions, it took shape in the African American communities of New Orleans at the turn of the century.  It is uniquely American.  

After 60 years of creating music with 80 albums, 7 gold records, and 3 Grammys it’s safe to call Ramsey Lewis an American Jazz legend.  See Ramsey Lewis tonight at the Fox.  Others might say as American as Bluegrass music!  That would also be correct.  Tomorrow enjoy Bluegrass music all day at Desert Diamond Casino’s Bluegrass Music Showcase.  And getting back to England, see the British band that launched the careers of Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page when The Yardbirds perform tomorrow night at The Realto Theatre.  

Do you need to get ready for this warm weekend weather?  Start tonight at Reid Park Zoo’s Summer Safari Nights or Movies in the Park.  After you acclimate yourself to the heat get ready for tomorrow’s Second Saturdays Downtown which offers live music, entertainment, food, and fun.  What time does everything start?  Why at the hottest part of the day of course!  Hydrate (with water) and put on sunscreen like there’s no tomorrow!  Don’t want to face the sun?  Then celebrate World Ocean’s Night tomorrow at the Desert Museum with music, food and presentations starting after dark.  

Might it be toasty watching the FC Tucson take on Colorado today and tomorrow? Of course it will!  And same goes for the women’s club playing Phoenix today at 5:30PM.  Imagine how the players must feel!  Normally we fans will don our team jerseys while we cheer on our teams during friendly competition.  

Will fans tomorrow be wearing aprons and chef hats as they head to Fresco Pizzeria & Pastaria for the 4th Annual Pizza Throwdown?  This could be very exciting and may the best dough win!  Yes there will be pizza and beer. No you may not bring your vuvuzela’s to the competition!  

If you’re already tired of summer (which hasn’t even officially started yet) there’s always the Pima County Home and Garden Show at the TCC.  Enjoy that huge air-conditioned showroom while you make your best deal right now on an outdoor kitchen that you really don’t want to use for another 6 months. 

One time FC Tucson player Monahan to BSF

Former NAU and FC Tucson striker Sam Monahan touched ground last week in Denmark to ply her trade for Ballerup-Skovlunde Fodbold, a club that plays its home matches northwest of Copenhagen. Monahan was a All-Big Sky first teamer at NAU in 2010 and 2011. Unfortunately, her professional career got underway just in time for WPS to collapse in the US. She went to Finland, where she played two seasons…

Schantz to the Valley of the Yakes

I’m sure you read my article in the Sentinel (and if not, here’s your chance). Rick Schantz is leaving FC Tucson for the glitz and glam of Phoenix Rising FC. Schantz is leaving a club he helped found back in late 2010 having also put his mark on the local scene with Ft. Lowell Soccer club as well as with the old Tucson Amigos. His record with FC Tucson is 71-22-17, and includes three runs in the…

FC Tucson notes: Some folks returning

The big news from the home office on Sam Lena Drive was that Borja Angotia is leaving the squad to pursue other opportunities. He didn’t play last night, but the team was already planning to rotate in Thomas Olsen before they got the news. Word is that Angoitia has been picked up by a second division team in his native Spain. Which one? Like I have an inside source. Sheesh. Angoitia is gone, but…

Why I get frustrated with WPSL

Last week, Phoenix Del Sol was scheduled to come to Tucson and play. Well, they didn’t make it. The team claims that they couldn’t field a eleven players. That one is rather hard to believe given that their team page lists fifty-five players on their squad. I know that it can be hard to get unpaid players motivated to come out to a match when your team has only won one out of eight matches, and…

Monday Morning Centerback – Monday Evening Edition

A few notes from this weekend, as usual. That’s so England: I know that pages of commentary have been written about the England match. I happen to think that the team played well relative to the listlessness most teams approached the match. Some think without Wayne Rooney’s leadership on the pitch, the team played a defensive line so far back that it gave Russia room to organize an attack. Since…