Being a University of Arizona alumni I try to make as many sports events as I can and yesterday’s Spring Game was no exception.  Expectations in Tucson are high coming off of last season’s 8-5 finish and victory over BYU (YouTube video below) at the Las Vegas Bowl and the quarterback situation for this season remains unresolved. I was hoping to see either Matt Scott or Nick Foles lock their hold on the position but it appears to still be up in the air.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=xUK7vzvyTqs

Las Vegas Bowl 2008 Highlights

The weather was perfect for the scrimmage and several thousand fans showed up to support the Wildcats. I just wished the wife and I had gotten there a bit earlier as we missed the free hats they were giving out. Before the scrimmage there was a meet and greet with the team and fans lined up to get autographs from several Wildcats; I noticed the crowd around Rob “Gronk” Gronkowski was especially large and with good reason, he is probably one of the best TEs in the nation and should provide some offensive fireworks again this season.

The White team prevailed 23-21 over the Blue team and I look forward to the upcoming season, hopefully we can continue last season’s successes and make another bowl game! Below are some photos that I snapped from the stands, enjoy!

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Ritz-Carlton Golf Club, Dove Mountain

The PGA’s Accenture Match Play Championship is right around the corner and will be held at the brand new Ritz-Carlton Golf Club located within the master-planned Dove Mountain community. For those of you who haven’t stopped by yet I recommend that you take a few hours and make a field trip, it truly is a spectacular course/resort (what you would expect from a Jack Nicklaus designed course).

The Accenture Match Play Championship, which brings together the world’s top 64 golfers in a unique head-to-head match-play competition, was founded in 1999 and was held in Arizona for the first time in February 2007 at The Gallery Golf Club in Dove Mountain.  It was announced during that after another year at The Gallery the tournament would move to The Ritz-Carlton Golf Club, Dove Mountain for the February 2009 tournament.

The practice rounds being Monday, February 23rd, and the actual tournament begins on Wednesday the 25th, continuing through Sunday the 1st of March. At the end of this post is a more detailed schedule of play.

The Ritz-Carlton Golf Club, Dove Mountain also features a 50,000-square-foot Clubhouse complex, complete with all of the services one would expect from a top-level private club, including a pool, tennis center, supervised Ritz Kids program, state-of-the-art fitness center, steward-serviced private locker rooms, a double-ended practice facility, and several dining venues with spectacular views.

The resort includes the  just opened 250-room Ritz-Carlton, Dove Mountain resort hotel and spa, and the first phase of The Residences, a 300-home residential community which is currently open in Phase I.  If you would like pricing/floorplan contact me and I’ll pass that right along.

For those of you who missed out on last year’s victory by Tiger Woods here is a brief recap (1:51 long)

www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8AfrrPrxDI

I’m hoping Tiger can make it out for this tournament after having season-ending surgery on his knee late last summer. The Tucson community can definitely use his presence to bolster the estimated $100 million+ economy boost the tournament brings to town. And that $100 million estimate was from 2007! I’m also looking forward to see how the new Nicklaus course treats the pros versus The Gallery course where the tournament was played last year.

Twenty seven holes are currently completed with nine more holes slated for completion in 2010. The first 18 holes, comprising the two tournament nines, are par 72 measuring 7,833 yards, while the third nine measures 3,974 yards at par 36. The routing of the final nine holes is complete but exact yardage has yet to be finalized.

The Arizona Daily Star has published an interactive course map that is pretty neat, check it out here.

Nicklaus designed course at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club, Dove Mountain in Marana, AZ

If you do end up stopping by here are some helpful area links:

Shopping

Tucson Shopping Malls

Oro Valley MarketPlace

Dining

Dining in/around Dove Mountain (Not a whole lot, but there are a few places to eat in the Fry’s Shopping Center)

Other area restaurants and dining options

Hotels

Nearby hotel options

For those of you driving/flying in from out of town be aware of the ongoing I-10 construction.

Parking will also be another obstacle to overcome. There is a huge designated parking lot (I say designated because it’s just dirt) on the southside of Tangerine Road a mile or two east of I-10. Shuttles will be provided from there to the course and back free of charge, and the parking lot will be monitored by TPD.

If anyone has spare tickets let me know!

2009 Accenture Match Play Schedule of Events

Saturday, February 21

Volunteer Appreciation Party
(by invitation only)
Walter Hagen Club
3-5 p.m. MT

Sunday, February 22

Bracket Announcement
5 p.m. MT

U of A/ASU AM-AM
Presented by the Tucson Conquistadores
Location and Time TBD

Monday, February 23

Practice Round for Professionals
The Ritz-Carlton Golf Club, Dove Mountain

Gates Open
7:30 a.m.-6 p.m. MT

Pro-AM
Presented by the Tucson Conquistadores
Location and Time TBD

Tuesday, February 24

2009 Practice Round for Professionals
The Ritz-Carlton Golf Club, Dove Mountain

Gates Open
7:30 a.m.-6 p.m. MT

Accenture Match Play Championship Sponsor Appreciation Party
(by Invitation Only)
Westin La Paloma Ballroom
6:30 p.m.-10 p.m. MT

Wednesday, February 25

Play begins: 32 Matches
(approximate match times: 7:40 a.m.-12:34 p.m. MT)
The Ritz-Carlton Golf Club, Dove Mountain

Gates Open
6:30 a.m.-6 p.m. MT

Television Times
GOLF CHANNEL: 2 -6 p.m. EST

Thursday, February 26

Sixteen Matches
(approximate match times: 9:15 a.m.-12:15 p.m. MT)
The Ritz-Carlton Golf Club, Dove Mountain

Gates Open
8 a.m.-6 p.m. MT

Television Times
GOLF CHANNEL: 2 -6 p.m. EST

Friday, February 27

Eight Matches
(approximate match times: 10:50 a.m.-12:14 p.m. MT)
The Ritz-Carlton Golf Club, Dove Mountain

Gates Open
9 a.m.-6 p.m. MT

Television Times
GOLF CHANNEL: 2 -6 p.m. EST

Saturday, February 28

Four Quarterfinal Matches
(approximate match times: 7:38-8:14 a.m. MT)
The Ritz-Carlton Golf Club, Dove Mountain

Gates Open
6:30 a.m.-6 p.m. MT

Two Semifinal Matches
(approximate match times: 12:05-12:20 p.m. MT)
The Ritz-Carlton Golf Club, Dove Mountain

Television Times
GOLF CHANNEL: 10 a.m.-2 p.m. EST
NBC: 2-6 p.m. EST

Sunday, March 1

36-Hole Championship Match
(First eighteen holes -- Approximate match time: 7:40 a.m. MT)
(Resuming match -- Approximate match time: 12:20 p.m. MT)
The Ritz-Carlton Golf Club, Dove Mountain

Gates Open
6:30 a.m.-6 p.m. MT

18-Hole Consolation Match
(Approximate match time: 12:05 p.m. MT)
The Ritz-Carlton Golf Club, Dove Mountain

Television Times
GOLF CHANNEL: 10 a.m.-1:30 p.m. EST
NBC: 2-6 p.m. EST

Monday, March 2

First Flight: Accenture All-Amateur Team Championship
The Ritz-Carlton Golf Club, Dove Mountain
6:30 a.m. MT -- Registration & Breakfast
Location: Clubhouse
8:00 a.m. MT -- Shotgun Start
Location: Clubhouse
Immediately Following Play -- Lunch & Awards
Location: Clubhouse

Second Flight: Accenture All-Amateur Team Championship
The Ritz-Carlton Golf Club, Dove Mountain
11:30 a.m. MT -- Registration & Lunch
Location: Clubhouse
1 p.m. MT -- Shotgun Start
Location: Clubhouse
Immediately Following Play -- Reception & Awards Location: Clubhouse

Please contact the Accenture Match Play Championship office for further details at: (520) 207-0595

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Courtesy of golf.com

Woe is me.. I was already moping from not having tickets to the Accenture Match Play tournament in Dove Mountain, and to add salt to the wound azcentral.com is reporting that Tiger will indeed be playing.

Maybe I’ll hang out by the nearby Basha’s shopping center with a sandwich board around me that says “Will work for tickets”…

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Being in Tucson and missing out on Sabino Canyon is a tragedy. Sabino Canyon is a natural desert oasis located in the Coronado National forest and is home to numerous eco habitats, rare species of trees, animals and birds. It’s a perfect place for a family picnic or maybe you can quench your thirst of nature photography with the sun playing hide and seek behind overgrown pear cacti. The Canyon also offers the pleasure of walking through miles and miles of wilderness that is teeming with wildlife.

Located in southern foothills of the Catalina Mountain Range, Sabino Canyon is easily accessible by taking Sunrise Drive east until you run into Sabino Canyon Drive. Sabino Canyon is a very popular hiking destination and offers several trails of varying skill levels.

Blackett’s Ridge Trail

An adventurer’s prescription of the day will be the Blackett’s Ridge Trail. It is called the classic hike of Sabino Canyon and you can wander through the thick vegetation and over the ridge that lies between the Sabino Canyon and Bear Canyon. It begins where the phoneline trail ends and is an upward climb through a forest of ocotillo and saguaro but once you reach Blackett’s Ridge you will find spectacular views of Tucson and Mt. Lemmon.

Facts

Length of the trail: 1.7 miles

Highest elevation change in the trail: 4410 feet

Best Season: Anytime

Hutch’s Pool Trail

Who can turn down an inviting pool of water in the middle of the desert? Nestled in the Catalina Mountains and surrounded by bare rock faces, Hutch’s Pool Trail is one of the top attractions of Sabino Canyon. A word of caution for those of you eager to Beat the Arizona Heat: the depth of the pool is nearly 45 feet in the center.

Facts

Length of the trail: 4.1 miles

Best Season: Anytime

Seven Falls Trail

This natural wonder is also situated in the Sabino Park recreational area. It is an easy hike to the waterfall which has been formed due to rainwater flowing down from high above in the Catalina Mountains. This hike is great for beginner’s because of it’s length and the serenity of the water feature caps off a scenic trek up the trail. This is personally one of my favorite hikes and I’ve been three times just in the past few months.

Facts

Length of the trail: 2.2 miles from Bear Canyon

Entry Fees
Day Pass: $5: valid only for one day
Weekly Pass: $10
Annual Pass: $20

Rules
No pets
No glass containers
Alcohol, weapons, cars and nudity is prohibited (haha)
You can’t remove any plants or flowers
If you are looking for a quick day trip than consider taking a jaunt up to Sabino Canyon. Be sure to bring a camera!

Links of Reference
Tucson Parks & Recreation

Accommodations

Sabino Canyon Information

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Colossal Cave Mountain Park  is just the place to go if you want to enjoy some of Southern Arizona’s natural beauty or if you want to spend quality time with your family! Abundant in wildlife, Colossal Cave Mountain Park is a natural sanctuary to hundreds of species of birds, reptiles, mammals and infinite butterflies, beetles, moths and numerous other invertebrates! Some of the mammals that can be spotted in the park include Pack Rats, Spotted Skunks, Ringtails, Foxes, Bobcats, Raccoons, and Mountain Lions and of course, bats, hundreds of bats!

One of the reasons Colossal Cave Mountain Park is so popular with everyone is because of its remarkable diversity in such a small area. The reason for such variety in flora-fauna and wildlife can be attributed to the Park’s location. Situated in the Sonoran-Chihuahuan transition zone, the park has a large number of desert species that can’t be found anywhere else in the entire Tucson valley.

Fortunately for us, the Park is riding high along a path that has been witness to transitions of time from ancient to contemporary with respect to plants and wildlife. Over the centuries, flora and fauna population have migrated in response to the multi-layered changes in the climate, further enriching the flora of the Park.

According to the official website of the Colossal Cave Mountain Park, today the park’s plant list accounts for almost one thousand species of wildflowers, trees, shrubs, cacti and the famous desert spring blooms!

Exploring the Colossal Cave Mountain Park

The Cave Tour – The Park authorities organize a tour of Colossal Cave for all visitors. The details regarding the time and the entry fee are mentioned at the end of this entry. This tour is about half a mile long and takes almost an hour to complete. A guide relates the history, geology, and legends of the Cave as visitors walk through this six and a half storied high cave. The beautiful natural formations of stalagmites, stalactites, helictities, flowstone, and boxwork are visually stunning and photograph great. The temperature inside the Cave is always around 70 degrees and the air is dry. (Note: Visitors are allowed to take pictures inside the cave)

The Discovery Tour - Due to the enormous scope of the Park it’s virtually impossible to see it within a single visit. Keeping this in mind, the Park authorities have designed a Discovery Tour “game” for the visitors. While on this game-tour, visitors to this Park will be able to not only see almost the entire Park, but upon completion of this game, end up winning a Treasure! All that needs to be done is take the Discovery Tour Park map and find the many stations in the park. There are a total of 18 stations that need to be found and punched; after having done this the visitors can take the map to the Gift Shops or the Toll Booth to claim their treasure. Certainly a simple, easy, yet adventurous way to win some exciting prizes. The maps can be collected from the Toll Booth, the Bat Pot Gift Shop, the Trail Rides office and the Doubletree Gift Shop at the Ranch.

Trail Rides – These rides allow visitors to explore the park at a more leisurely pace. These ride start from la Posta Quemada Ranch (the oldest ranch) in the Park and follow the National Mail Stagecoach route taking one along spectacular and the almost surreally perfect Sonoran desert. You can also catch the Official State Bird of Arizona – Cactus Wren – while taking this ride.

Park Timing

Summer (March 16 – September 15)

• Mondays through Saturdays: 8am-6pm
• Sundays and Holidays: 8am-7pm

Winter (September 16 – March 15)

• Mondays through Saturdays: 9am-5pm
• Sundays and Holidays: 9am-6pm

Guided Cave Tour Rates (No reservations required)

Adults: $8.50

Children (6 to 12 years): $5.00

Children (5 & under): Free

Credit to saguarostrength for the great photos!

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This topic has been on my mind the past several months. When the housing market exploded a few years ago and homebuyers squeezed into homes with [tag]Adjustable Rate Mortgages[/tag] ([tag]ARMs[/tag]) with seductive initial interest rates, I said to myself, “In 2 or 3 years when those ARMs come due, there are going to be a lot of unhappy people.”

The recent follies in the [tag]sub-prime mortgage[/tag] market were an omen of trouble on the horizon and in a few more months that trouble will burst onto the mortgage scene with reckless abandon. According to this latest article from CNN.com more than 600,000 homeowners will be affected by the resetting mortgage rates.

“Delinquency rates will probably peak by the end of the year,” said Doug Duncan, chief economist for the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), “and foreclosures in 2008.”

Lenders approved many borrowers who had little chance of being able to afford the payments two and three years out. They approved applications without any proof of income or assets (“liar loans”) and others that barely could make the low teaser-rate payments. Some borrowers chose interest-only ARMs, which left the principal of the loan untouched.

The epitome of the “[tag]liar loan[/tag]” fiasco is probably best displayed by [tag]Casey Serin[/tag] of IAmFacingForeclosure.com, a self-proclaimed real estate entrepreneur who acquired 8 properties and $2.2 million in debt in a whirlwind of bad decisions fueled by “liar loans.” His story and on-going road to recovery (albeit laced with self-promotion) is an interesting read.

The most troubling part of the article is when Mark Zandi, chief economist and co-founder of Moody’s Economy.com, says that 75% of sub-prime ARMS loans were made in California, Nevada, Arizona, Florida and Massachusetts.

In the Tucson market housing inventory has risen to almost ten thousand active listings, three times as many as there were two years ago. I’ve seen listings where I’ve walked in and wondered how the sellers think they can get away with asking as much as they were. After a bit of homework, I find they either refinanced their home recently, pulling out all of their equity, or bought at the height of the market. Now they can’t fetch the same prices that were existent a few years ago and may very likely fall into a short-sale situation.

For those homeowners who currently have an Adjustable Rate Mortgage and/or those of you looking to refinance, there is a great post over at BlownMortage.com entitled “Blown Mortgage’s 8 Step Program Will Save You $2,500 on Your Mortgage Refinance.” Stop by and take a look if you get a chance.

The big question is how large of an impact these ARMs will have not only on the housing market, but on the US economy in general. With some housing markets already depressed, an influx of homes on the market will send prices even further downward.

Has anyone seen a rise of [tag]short-sales[/tag] in their housing market?

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For a neat piece of [tag]Tucson history[/tag] and a nostalgic fieldtrip of the mind, stop by the Fox Tucson Theatre in downtown Tucson. Located on Congress Street just west of Stone Avenue (17 West Congress), the [tag]Fox Tucson Theatre[/tag] sports a glittering “FOX” marquee that takes us back to the 1930s when it was the hoppin’ place in town. A brief excerpt from the Fox Tucson Theatre website:

“For 44 years the theatre showed films primarily, but also offered occasional live entertainment until it closed in 1974. The Fox Tucson Theatre is one of a dwindling number of historic theatres still in existence in the United States and is the finest example of its kind in Arizona. In light of this exceptional status, is has been designated as a Nationally significant building on the National Register of Historic Places.”

I remember driving back and forth past this place for several years wondering when (and if) they were ever going to finish the restoration project everyone kept chattering about. In June 2002 they mounted the current marquee (a replica of the original that was destroyed as it was being taken down in 1986, 12 years after the Theatre closed) and had a re-lighting ceremony that was pretty neat to signal the beginning of the restoration project. Work continued for the next 3 1/2 years until New Year’s Eve 2005 when the offical Grand Re-Opening took place.

Currently the theatre is used for a variety of performances including such as screening old Hollywood movies, ballet performances, and various musical performances.
A few recent events of note include:

• [tag]Bollywood at the Fox[/tag]
• World Aid’s Today 2006
• [tag]Puro Mexicano Film Festival[/tag]
• [tag]Stephen King[/tag]‘s Desperation World Premiere

I stopped by the Theatre last weekend to catch 7:30pm showing of “[tag]Casablanca[/tag]“, the first time I had watched it, and the Theatre was stunning. Walking under the marquee and into the lobby the [tag]Southwestern Art Deco[/tag] theme is immediately evident with the funky edged ceiling accents and polished steel chandeliers and sconces. The auditorium seats over eleven hundred people on two tiers and has a beautiful mosaic-like painting on it’s ceiling that I found fascinating to look at. After the movie was over and people were shuffling out I was definitely thankful I had decided to visit.

The Fox Tucson Theatre is a great piece of Tucson history and everyone should try to stop by for an event. Like I noted above, the Theatre is used in a multitude of ways and is also available for weddings and receptions! For more neat history, a performance schedule, and reservation inquiries, visit the Fox Tucson Theatre website.

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Now that summer is in full swing and ninety degree weather would be welcomed with open arms (compared to what we’ve been getting) I thought it would be a good idea to talk about some ways to deal with the heat. Most of this is probably common knowledge to those of us living here but for visitors and potential Tucsonans it might be useful information.

Use sunshades in your car and crack your windows. With temperatures reaching more than one hundred degrees regularly the interior or your car can easily reach upwards of one hundred sixty degrees! Put up some sunshades to keep the heat down a little bit and leave a window slightly cracked to allow your air to breathe a bit. Unfortunately some people fail to understand just how dangerous that kind of heat can be and go and do something dumb like leave their animals in the car while shopping at the supermarket. Worse yet are the stories we hear every year about children being left in a hot, parked cars. Jay over at his PhoenixRealEstateGuy blog just wrote about 3-month old Amberlee Elizabeth Brown whose father left her in a car for nearly two hours; her core temp was 109 degrees when paramedics arrived and unfortunately she passed away Friday morning. Sad stuff.

Exercise early or late. The city is alive with with running, power-walking, child-strolling Tucsonans in the summertime between 5-7am; after that it starts it starts to heat up pretty quick and exercising outside isn’t exactly pleasant. The exercising brigade starts up again in the evening hours as the sun is starting to go down because of the cooling weather. As someone who carries a gym membership (I’m guilty of rarely using it) I can tell you that gyms tend to fill up pretty quickly before work, at lunchtime, and just after work.

Drink plenty of water. This one is mostly common sense but even I sometimes get behind on the water-drinking curve. The normal convention says that you should drink 2 liters a day and more when exercising.

“By the time one becomes thirsty, it is possible to already be slightly dehydrated. Further, be aware that as you get older your body is less able to sense dehydration and send your brain signals of thirst.”

For visitors and new Tucsonans it is probably a good idea to use lotion and lip balm your first few days here because the dry weather hits some people harder than others. Best to play it safe and stay moisturized until you’ve become acclimated, humidifiers might also be a good idea.

Take a drive up to Mount Lemmon!

Located about 30 miles north of Tucson on the Catalina Highway, Mount Lemmon is a great summer weekend getaway jaunt with temperatures twenty to thirty degrees cooler than Tucson. Be sure to stop by the mountaintop town of Summerhaven and have a slice of their renowned homemade pie.

Just a couple quick tips to beat the Arizona heat, if anyone else has suggestions feel free to leave a comment and I’ll add it to the list!

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