Aaron, Chris, Dave and I flew to Phoenix late last week to catch a few games, escape the cold weather and enjoy a few other activities in the Southwest.
Thursday, March 24th:
Click to learn more about Camelback Mountain.
 |
| Me, Chris and Dave about to enter the Coyotes game. |
Evening: It was then off to Glendale to the Jobing.com Arena for the Phoenix Coyotes game vs. the Columbus Blue Jackets. Free parking for the game was a shock to us all. The area outside the arena, Westgate, was very cool and a great place to hang out for dinner or drinks, although we had little time before the start of the game. We had very good seats near center ice in the lower level.
It was a decent game in which the Coyotes won 3-0, but as you can see from the photo, there was hardly anyone there. It could have a lot to do with the fact that Arizona was playing (and beat I might add) Duke in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament at the same time (sorry Aaron - it was a good idea to keep that Duke shirt covered up). It was a very nice arena - the coldest I have ever been to, but rather quiet due to the small number of fans. The thought of hockey in the desert seems strange to begin with. Friday, March 25:
 |
| Dave and Aaron about to tee off. |
Morning: Since we were all still on Eastern time, it was an early morning round of golf at the ASU Karsten course. A beautiful golf course near the Arizona State University campus. The photo shows ASU stadium in the background built right into the mountains.
 |
Afternoon: Now I haven't been on a bike in probably 15 years, but regardless, we rented mountain bikes for the afternoon and took in many of the local sites - including some of the trails you see in the photo to the left, a ride over and along the river and around campus to the stadium, where we stopped to visit the ASU sports musuem. The good news is that I survived without incident (thanks to the hotel hot tub, advil and a few beers), although I am still a bit sore three days later. Dave, Aaron and Chris (in photo) have much better skills than I do, but it was still a lot of fun (the saying is true - "just like riding a bike" - you never forget how). Once gain, perfect weather.
Evening: Game 2 of our mini-vacation. Phoenix Suns vs. New Orleans Hornets. What a great arena, just a few miles from the hotel. This would have been a great game to take the kids as they have an incredible kids zone; although once inside, I'm not sure I would ever be able to get them to leave. The game was very competitive and featured two great point guards - Steve Nash and Chris Paul - they are even more impressive in person. One of the funniest things I have ever seen in basketball took place then Robin Lopez of the Suns picked up 4 fouls in the first 3 1/2 minutes of the game.The Suns seemed to have the game in hand the entire time, but just could not seem to close the door on the Hornets. As a result they let them hang around long enough and were outscored by 11 in the 4th quarter to lose the game 106-100.
Official Boxscore of the game. Another great result ($206) for the Jimmy V Foundation and cancer research.
My record for the home games of the teams I have seen play: 11-7.
Saturday, March 26:
I left the sunny high-70s in Phoenix to find my car covered in snow in Louisville.
Back in December as we where putting this trip together, it started simply as a way to visit a warm city for a few days and check off a couple of games. We obviosly managed to fit in a ton of activities in a small period of time. It should be mentioned, that I flew home on Saturday night, but the rest of the guys drove to Tucson to run either a 10k or half marathon on Sunday morning. We just might have to make this an annual event. We are open to suggestions for next year. The only requirements are that it must be warm and we need to fit in at least one professional sports event.
Thanks Aaron, Chris and Dave for a great time (oh yeah, thanks to each of our wives as well).
