Sunday was a sports day. Hiking in the early morning with SO, golf in the afternoon with the Gardener and floor seats at the Suns basketball game in the evening. It does not get much better than that! The weather was cold in the morning when we went hiking, but it warmed up to about 70 degrees with clear skies by mid-afternoon. Perfect golf weather!
I have got the Gardener into a physical fitness routine. His wife bought him a pull cart for his golf clubs and we have been walking the golf courses. He has become a bit of a pull cart snob. A few weeks ago we played at ASU Karsten Golf Course and the course would not allow him to use his pull carts so the Gardener decided to spite the course and ride in a cart rather than walk and carry his bag. I have absolutely no idea why a golf course would not permit pull carts other than golfers may pull them through the sand bunkers or across the green. I guess you need to make rules for the lowest common denominator. This week we played at Aguila Golf Course in South Phoenix. In the areas within 25 yards or so of the greens there were signs prohibiting golf carts from getting any closer to the greens, which is normal. But there were also signs prohibiting pull carts around the greens. As a pull cart snob, the Gardener was a little miffed about this rule. Of course, he understood not to pull his cart over the green or even the apron around the green, but 25 yards from the green, come on!
Aguila is the newest of the Phoenix municipal courses. It is a really nice track (see photo gallery)that plays to more than 7,000 yards from the black tees. There were three or four holes where the course was adding additional tee boxes to lengthen the course that were not yet open. Thank goodness! The course was designed by Gary Panks, who is one of the most prolific golf course designers in Arizona, with credits for The Golf Club at Chaparral Pines, Firerock Country Club, Whirlwind Golf Club (Cattail Course) and Whirlwind Golf Club (Devils Claw Course), among many others. Aguila is an interesting layout because there are two drivable (not for me) 300 yard par-4 holes and one short par-3 hole, which means that the par-4 holes are monsters. There are 5 par-4 holes that range from 433 yards to 471 yards. The course rating is 72.4 and the slope rating is 129.
The course was closed for a few months recently to redesign the bunkers because the golfers complained about the number and size of the fairway bunkers, the depth of the greenside bunkers and the lack of sand in the greenside bunkers. I never played the course with all of the bunkers but Matt, our playing partner on Sunday, pointed out a number of the bunker locations that are now grass. The only disappointing part of the golf course are the newly-renovated greenside bunkers. Matt said they used to be deep and difficult to escape. Now they are flat and serve no purpose. I actually putted out of three of the greenside bunkers with no difficulty. I would have liked to play the course as originally designed.
I played very consistently. I was generally hitting my driver straight down the middle of the fairway and hitting my hybrids and long irons okay. I only had two double-bogeys, one where I hit the ball into the water and another on a par-3 where I just mishit my tee shot and took a penalty stroke. I made a birdie on a par-5 hole and had 4 pars for an 86. On Saturday, I worked on my flop shot at the practice facility. After hitting about 30 flop shots without mishitting one, I was really comfortable hitting that shot. I hit three flop shots on Sunday from difficult positions out of the desert or over greenside bunkers. One was close enough that I did not need my putter and the other two were in the makeable putt range. The Gardener played really well in long stretches, but had a few erratic holes that killed his round. He shot a 90.
After golf, we washed up and headed to U.S. Airways Arena to see the Suns play the New Orleans Hornets and Chris Paul. Our seats were in the third row on the floor behind one of the baskets. The Suns played really well for 47 minutes and 30 seconds and then almost blew an 8 point lead in the last 30 seconds, but held on to win the game. The floor seats under the basket are really cool because you can see all of the action up close and you can see how big, athletic and physical the players are. If I had a choice of any seat in the house for a full season I would not want to sit in these seats because a small portion of the court is obstructed by the basket stanchion and you are peaking from one side to the other, but for one game it was a lot of fun (and the price was right).
Showing posts with label Phoenix Suns. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Phoenix Suns. Show all posts
Monday, January 31, 2011
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
The Hated San Antonio Spurs
On Monday night I went to the first game of the playoff series between the San Antonio Spurs and the Suns. The Spurs are the seventh seed in the Western Division, but they beat the second seeded Dallas Mavericks to advance to the second round of the playoffs. The Suns are the third seed. The Spurs have been injury-riddled all season and are finally healthy.
The Spurs are the Suns' playoff nemesis. They have beaten the Suns the last four times the two teams played in the playoffs! Every year something crazy happens. One year Tim Duncan made a 3-point shot at the buzzer to win a game (his only 3-point shot the entire season). Another year Amare Stoudemire was suspended for a game because he stepped onto the court from the bench during a fracas and Steve Nash was cut with less than a minute to go in a game and the trainers could not stop the bleeding to get him back into the game. Another year Joe Johnson was injured and out for the season when he was undercut and landed on his face.
The US Airways Arena was electric on Monday night! The Suns started the game on a tear and Steve Nash may have had one of the greatest playoff game quarters ever. He scored 17 points on 7 for 10 shooting and had 4 assists and no turnovers in the first quarter. The Suns led by 10 at halftime and increased the lead to 14 in the third quarter. Twice San Antonio rallied from 14 back, with a 12-0 run in the third quarter and a 13-0 run in the fourth quarter that cut Phoenix's lead to 94-93 with 4:26 to go in the game. Oftentimes against San Antonio the Suns could not stop Duncan, Ginobili and Parker down the stretch and lost the close playoff games. This time, San Antonio could not make its shots and Jason Richardson made a big 3-point shot, Grant Hill made a jump shot and the Suns made all of their free throws down the stretch to win 111-102. Although the Suns controlled the game, you can never breath easy playing the Spurs because they never give up, they are well-coached and they have some great clutch players.
The Spurs are the Suns' playoff nemesis. They have beaten the Suns the last four times the two teams played in the playoffs! Every year something crazy happens. One year Tim Duncan made a 3-point shot at the buzzer to win a game (his only 3-point shot the entire season). Another year Amare Stoudemire was suspended for a game because he stepped onto the court from the bench during a fracas and Steve Nash was cut with less than a minute to go in a game and the trainers could not stop the bleeding to get him back into the game. Another year Joe Johnson was injured and out for the season when he was undercut and landed on his face.
The US Airways Arena was electric on Monday night! The Suns started the game on a tear and Steve Nash may have had one of the greatest playoff game quarters ever. He scored 17 points on 7 for 10 shooting and had 4 assists and no turnovers in the first quarter. The Suns led by 10 at halftime and increased the lead to 14 in the third quarter. Twice San Antonio rallied from 14 back, with a 12-0 run in the third quarter and a 13-0 run in the fourth quarter that cut Phoenix's lead to 94-93 with 4:26 to go in the game. Oftentimes against San Antonio the Suns could not stop Duncan, Ginobili and Parker down the stretch and lost the close playoff games. This time, San Antonio could not make its shots and Jason Richardson made a big 3-point shot, Grant Hill made a jump shot and the Suns made all of their free throws down the stretch to win 111-102. Although the Suns controlled the game, you can never breath easy playing the Spurs because they never give up, they are well-coached and they have some great clutch players.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
I Must be in the Front Row!
I actually played golf both days this weekend, but I don't have enough time to blog about golf today. Hopefully, I will get to it later this week. I am working on a large financing transaction that is taking up all of my time. Given the lack of liquidity in the credit markets it is nice to have a deal at all! The pre-closing is scheduled for Thursday and the funding is scheduled for Friday morning so I should be back on the links this weekend.
As a gift for my work on the transaction, the client gave me two tickets to the Suns playoff game against the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday night. The series was tied 2 games each and the 5th game of a seven game series is oftentimes the pivotal game in the series. I am a HUGE Suns fans! When SO and I got to the will-call window the person behind the glass could not find the tickets so she called over the manager and they ultimately found our tickets. The tickets were in row 1 at center court! Row 1 is right behind the three rows of floor seats but the seats are raised so you get a better view. I think that Suge Knight and one of his posse were sitting right beside us (or else it was someone that looked just like him). Lute Olson and his wife were sitting in the floor seats right in front of us.
The game started off miserably. The Trail Blazers came flying out of the gate and made their first 8 shots and 10 of their first 11 shots. The score was 9 -0 and 18 - 4. After 6 minutes in the first quarter, I think the score was about 23 - 9. SO tried to cheer me up, but I may have been a bit testy with her. The rest of the game was a romp for the Suns. The crowd was crazy and the Suns ran the Trail Blazers off of the court. By the end of the first quarter the Suns cut the Portland lead to one point. By halftime, the Suns were leading by 10 and by the end of the third quarter the Suns were winning by 20. At one point in the fourth quarter the Suns had built up a 27 point lead. The final score was 107 - 88. The Suns reserves played really well. Channing Frye had 20 points, including a 4 point play, and Jared Dudley had 19 points. For the first time in a long time, the Suns have a bench that can keep the team in the game when the starters are resting and oftentimes increase the lead or cut the deficit. Steve Nash is 36 and Grant Hill is 37 so being able to rest those players and reduce their minutes during the season and into the playoffs is a huge advantage. Also, this team can actually rebound and play some defense, which have not been trade marks of recent Suns teams. Coming into the playoffs, the Suns were the hottest team in the NBA. If Robin Lopez is able to return for the second round of the playoffs, the Suns may be able to compete for an NBA championship.
The 6th game of the series is this Thursday at the Rose Garden in Portland. It would be nice if the Suns continue to play like they did on Monday and end the series without having to worry about a game 7 back at home. In the other western division series, Oklahoma City's young guns won the last two games against the top-seeded Lakers to tie the series at 2 games each; the Suns' nemesis, San Antonio, is finally healthy and is beating Dallas 3 games to 1 and Utah is leading Denver 3 games to 1. If Los Angeles, Dallas and Denver all lose and the Suns win, the Suns would be the highest remaining seed in the west and would have home court advantage in the next two series. The stars may be aligning perfectly for the Suns (except for those pesky Spurs)!
As a gift for my work on the transaction, the client gave me two tickets to the Suns playoff game against the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday night. The series was tied 2 games each and the 5th game of a seven game series is oftentimes the pivotal game in the series. I am a HUGE Suns fans! When SO and I got to the will-call window the person behind the glass could not find the tickets so she called over the manager and they ultimately found our tickets. The tickets were in row 1 at center court! Row 1 is right behind the three rows of floor seats but the seats are raised so you get a better view. I think that Suge Knight and one of his posse were sitting right beside us (or else it was someone that looked just like him). Lute Olson and his wife were sitting in the floor seats right in front of us.
The game started off miserably. The Trail Blazers came flying out of the gate and made their first 8 shots and 10 of their first 11 shots. The score was 9 -0 and 18 - 4. After 6 minutes in the first quarter, I think the score was about 23 - 9. SO tried to cheer me up, but I may have been a bit testy with her. The rest of the game was a romp for the Suns. The crowd was crazy and the Suns ran the Trail Blazers off of the court. By the end of the first quarter the Suns cut the Portland lead to one point. By halftime, the Suns were leading by 10 and by the end of the third quarter the Suns were winning by 20. At one point in the fourth quarter the Suns had built up a 27 point lead. The final score was 107 - 88. The Suns reserves played really well. Channing Frye had 20 points, including a 4 point play, and Jared Dudley had 19 points. For the first time in a long time, the Suns have a bench that can keep the team in the game when the starters are resting and oftentimes increase the lead or cut the deficit. Steve Nash is 36 and Grant Hill is 37 so being able to rest those players and reduce their minutes during the season and into the playoffs is a huge advantage. Also, this team can actually rebound and play some defense, which have not been trade marks of recent Suns teams. Coming into the playoffs, the Suns were the hottest team in the NBA. If Robin Lopez is able to return for the second round of the playoffs, the Suns may be able to compete for an NBA championship.
The 6th game of the series is this Thursday at the Rose Garden in Portland. It would be nice if the Suns continue to play like they did on Monday and end the series without having to worry about a game 7 back at home. In the other western division series, Oklahoma City's young guns won the last two games against the top-seeded Lakers to tie the series at 2 games each; the Suns' nemesis, San Antonio, is finally healthy and is beating Dallas 3 games to 1 and Utah is leading Denver 3 games to 1. If Los Angeles, Dallas and Denver all lose and the Suns win, the Suns would be the highest remaining seed in the west and would have home court advantage in the next two series. The stars may be aligning perfectly for the Suns (except for those pesky Spurs)!
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Phoenix Suns Charities Golf Tournament
Wednesday was client development day on the golf course. It was the annual Phoenix Suns Scramble Golf Tournament on the Raptor course at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale. I invited the general counsel and the chief financial officer of the Phoenix Suns to play in the foursome. Chad Feldheimer was supposed to be our fourth player and ringer, but he actually had a deal to close and could not play. Slim Whiskey filled in admirably.
This is one of the best charity golf events in the Valley. Grayhawk is a great golf venue. The Raptor course was designed by Tom Fazio and is beautiful but also very playable. The door prizes are first rate. This year everyone in the foursome received an Antigua golf shirt with an understated Suns logo, a gift certificate for a Ping putter that can be fitted at the Ping headquarters, a Ping golf towel and a Ping golf glove (I love Ping!). Best of all, the door prizes are handed out by the Suns dancers as you drive up and leave your golf bag at the bag drop area. On the course, there are no mulligans and you have to putt out on every hole. Each foursome has its own independent scorekeeper, who is a senior citizen from a Sun City charitable organization. Not surprisingly, the gross scores are a little higher in this event than at some of the other charity scramble events! The event raises about $100,000 for Phoenix Suns Charities.
I may be a little bit biased, but the Phoenix Suns organization is the best organization in professional sports. It is a travesty that Jerry Colangelo did not win an NBA championship when he was the managing partner of the team. The Suns have put a winning and exciting team on the court for the last 25 years. The players are generally good citizens and involved in the community. I think that the Suns have more former Suns players involved in the organization than any other team in professional sports, including Neal Walk, Alvin Adams, Cedric Ceballos, Tom Chambers, Eddie Johnson, Steve Kerr and Dan Majerle. Also, the business people in the Suns organization are first rate. The Suns have been on the cutting edge of changes in the NBA from signing international players in the 1980s to having training camp in Europe to using social media.
Our foursome played pretty well. We shot a 66 gross and a 60 net and came in 7th place among about 30 teams. Our A player, the Suns chief financial officer, played really well when we needed him and seemed to hit all of his bad shots when we had a ball in the middle of the fairway or within 10-15 of the flagstick on the green. Slim Whiskey was our lead-off hitter and for most of the round he hit his drive right down the middle and took the pressure off of the rest of us. I got my required 3 drives in by the 8th hole but we were sweating the 3 drives for the Suns general counsel until he got on a roll on the back nine and started hitting the ball pretty well. I hit number 3 for the team and drove the ball well (with a few exceptions) and I hit some really good 1-hybrid shots from 210 to 220 yards on the par-5s and one of the par-3s. I started off making all of the mid-range 5 to 12 foot putts for the team but I quickly cooled down and did not make any putts for the team after about the 6th hole. We really only left one shot on the course. After our A player hit a great chip shot to about 3 feet from the hole on a par-4 hole, he stepped up and missed the gimme. Then each of us proceeded to step up confidently only to miss the gimme putt for a bogey. That was ugly!
As the 7th place team, we had the seventh prize choice. Prizes are awarded for the top 10 teams. The team members go up to the podium and get their picture taken with the Suns players and coaches that attend the event. The first prize winners chose a road trip on the Suns charter plane, the second prize winners chose 4 sets of Ping irons and the third prize winners chose 4 Suns season tickets. By the time we chose our prize, the remaining prizes were 4-foursomes at Grayhawk, 4 Maui Jim polarized sunglasses, 4 Ping golf carry bags and 4 Ping wedges. Based on the vote of my team, I chose the Maui Jim sunglasses. Behind me on the podium, Leandro Barbosa thought the sunglasses were cool, but Earl Clark (a rookie) was dissing me for not taking the Grayhawk foursomes. Rooks, what do they know!
This is one of the best charity golf events in the Valley. Grayhawk is a great golf venue. The Raptor course was designed by Tom Fazio and is beautiful but also very playable. The door prizes are first rate. This year everyone in the foursome received an Antigua golf shirt with an understated Suns logo, a gift certificate for a Ping putter that can be fitted at the Ping headquarters, a Ping golf towel and a Ping golf glove (I love Ping!). Best of all, the door prizes are handed out by the Suns dancers as you drive up and leave your golf bag at the bag drop area. On the course, there are no mulligans and you have to putt out on every hole. Each foursome has its own independent scorekeeper, who is a senior citizen from a Sun City charitable organization. Not surprisingly, the gross scores are a little higher in this event than at some of the other charity scramble events! The event raises about $100,000 for Phoenix Suns Charities.
I may be a little bit biased, but the Phoenix Suns organization is the best organization in professional sports. It is a travesty that Jerry Colangelo did not win an NBA championship when he was the managing partner of the team. The Suns have put a winning and exciting team on the court for the last 25 years. The players are generally good citizens and involved in the community. I think that the Suns have more former Suns players involved in the organization than any other team in professional sports, including Neal Walk, Alvin Adams, Cedric Ceballos, Tom Chambers, Eddie Johnson, Steve Kerr and Dan Majerle. Also, the business people in the Suns organization are first rate. The Suns have been on the cutting edge of changes in the NBA from signing international players in the 1980s to having training camp in Europe to using social media.
Our foursome played pretty well. We shot a 66 gross and a 60 net and came in 7th place among about 30 teams. Our A player, the Suns chief financial officer, played really well when we needed him and seemed to hit all of his bad shots when we had a ball in the middle of the fairway or within 10-15 of the flagstick on the green. Slim Whiskey was our lead-off hitter and for most of the round he hit his drive right down the middle and took the pressure off of the rest of us. I got my required 3 drives in by the 8th hole but we were sweating the 3 drives for the Suns general counsel until he got on a roll on the back nine and started hitting the ball pretty well. I hit number 3 for the team and drove the ball well (with a few exceptions) and I hit some really good 1-hybrid shots from 210 to 220 yards on the par-5s and one of the par-3s. I started off making all of the mid-range 5 to 12 foot putts for the team but I quickly cooled down and did not make any putts for the team after about the 6th hole. We really only left one shot on the course. After our A player hit a great chip shot to about 3 feet from the hole on a par-4 hole, he stepped up and missed the gimme. Then each of us proceeded to step up confidently only to miss the gimme putt for a bogey. That was ugly!
As the 7th place team, we had the seventh prize choice. Prizes are awarded for the top 10 teams. The team members go up to the podium and get their picture taken with the Suns players and coaches that attend the event. The first prize winners chose a road trip on the Suns charter plane, the second prize winners chose 4 sets of Ping irons and the third prize winners chose 4 Suns season tickets. By the time we chose our prize, the remaining prizes were 4-foursomes at Grayhawk, 4 Maui Jim polarized sunglasses, 4 Ping golf carry bags and 4 Ping wedges. Based on the vote of my team, I chose the Maui Jim sunglasses. Behind me on the podium, Leandro Barbosa thought the sunglasses were cool, but Earl Clark (a rookie) was dissing me for not taking the Grayhawk foursomes. Rooks, what do they know!
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