Fun & Games >>

• Best Bike Gang (1 Comment)
  PhoenixPhreaks
  If you've never seen the PhoenixPhreaks in action before, just wait until the next First Friday rolls around. This roving gang of cycling psychos (who serve as the local chapter of the national Freakbike Militia) can typically be found cruising down Roosevelt Street or in the vicinity of Bikini... More >>
• Best Place to See Lowriders
  Cruise on Central
  The annual Cruise on Central has been happening in the Valley since the 1960s, and it embraces a proud tradition of hot rods, custom cars, and pimped-out lowriders. Generally held the first Saturday in April, Cruise on Central features a variety of vintage rides, from '70s model Chevy Impalas to... More >>
• Best Go-Kart Racing
  Speed Street Indoor Racetrack
  Nothing gets the adrenaline pumping like a good old-fashioned auto race. For those of us who don't own a muscle car or have the cash to try the big leagues at Bondurant, there's Speed Street Indoor Racetrack, where you can traverse a third-mile track in a bright yellow speedster with a... More >>
• Best Day of the Dead Merchandise Year-Round
  Purple Lizard
  We've looked high and low, and Purple Lizard — a dear little boutique in west Phoenix packed with cute linen clothes, cuter bags, and spicy-sweet candles — is the only place in town we could find that is currently selling the supplies you need for Dia de los Muertos, a.k.a. Day of... More >>
• Best Indoor Rock Climbing
  The Phoenix Rock Gym
  Want to reach new heights but you're afraid of coming face-to-face with a rattler, scorpion, or hive of Africanized bees? Get inside. The Phoenix Rock Gym offers routes for any level climber. The Beginner's Canyon has straight vertical walls, and those without gear can rent everything they need... More >>
• Best Skateboard Park (2 Comments)
  Goodyear Skate Park
  Part of a 27-acre complex that includes tennis courts, a splash pad, and athletic fields, Goodyear's Skate Park is 1,200 cubic feet of heaven for concrete surfers. There's an awesome peanut bowl for beginners, metal coping for grinders, two snake runs, and a 16-foot-high half-capsule. This being... More >>
• Best Indoor Shooting Gallery
  Caswells
  Don't be skerred that President Barack Obama will be putting a permanent safety lock on Americans' right to bear arms. You're just being paranoid and probably a little on edge. Relieve some of that pent-up anxiety at Caswells, a small-ish, 21-year-old gun range tucked inside a warehouse area... More >>
• Best Outdoor Shooting Range
  Usery Mountain Shooting Range
  Whatever your preference, if you're into firearms, Usery Mountain is the place to go. Whether you're a beginner who wants to get comfy with a new firearm in a safe environment or a seasoned marksman, you will feel welcome at this massive outdoor shooting range. Usery Mountain's versatility is... More >>
• Best Brimstone (and Hellfire) (1 Comment)
  Final Destination
  Beware: Final Destination, in its fourth incarnation at the Door Christian Center in Chandler, is not a traditional haunted house. If you're looking for a fun and scary activity to work in between bouts of recreational drug use, promiscuous sex, and idol worship, this "haunted house-style... More >>
• Best Haunted House (3 Comments)
  Fear Farm
  As Halloween season gears up, you're going to hear a lot of boasting by haunted attractions around town. Last year, we pretty much hit them all, and Fear Farm was truly the best. Sure, it's likely a haul from your own unhaunted house, but this massive indoor/outdoor experience is well worth it.... More >>
• Best Holiday Event for Kids
  Holiday Harmony
  The holidays can be downright depressing in this cactus garden of a city. But one of our absolute gems is this annual seasonal bash, held on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Part of the charm is its location, on Scottsdale Civic Center Mall, which looks the part with its well-groomed greenery.... More >>
• Best Bowling
  Glenfair Lanes
  Remember the good old days, when dads would spend two nights a week bowling with their buddies, clad in Pepto-Bismol-pink bowling shirts embroidered with their names on the front? No, we don't either. But we've seen them on TV, which is why the seriously old-school Glenfair Lanes was a beat-up,... More >>
• Best Bingo
  Reflections Bingo
  We went through a phase in which we were bingo-ing like mad, all over town. But after visiting a certain number of high-tech, 21st-century bingo halls (you know the type — replete with clever cafes, electronic number callers, and kid-pleasing video arcades grafted on), we began to yearn... More >>
• Best Miniature Golf
  Castles N' Coasters
  If you've ever wanted to feel like the giant in Gulliver's Travels, Castles N' Coasters' mini-golf courses will make you feel super-size. That's because the four courses are decorated with small structures and mini-monuments, from mermaid fountains and mysterious caves to a teeny Taj Mahal and... More >>
• Best Arcade
  GameWorks
  Hadouken! Flying fireballs launched from your fists knock your opponent on his ass. Just another button-smashing affair at GameWorks. Whether you're a fighter, driver, or gun-toting maniac, there's a cabinet here to sate your sadistic desires. GameWorks has great taste in games. Street Fighter... More >>
• Best Indoor Playground
  Smaland at Ikea
  Sure, there are places with more stuff, but in our wanderings with offspring, we've run across no place quite as pleasing to both adult and youth palates. Partially, it's the Smaland space itself, which is minimal in the classic Swedish tradition but also exploding with primary colors. Located... More >>
• Best Outdoor Playground
  Playtopia at Tumbleweed Park
  Looking for a unique play experience for your kids? Then head to Playtopia, the newest addition to Tumbleweed Park in Chandler. Based on the region's history, Playtopia is a collection of three themed playgrounds. Your junior 4-Hers will enjoy Farmland, a huge agri-inspired play structure housed... More >>
• Best Dog Park, East Valley
  Chaparral Park's Off Leash Area
  Valley dog parks are a grab bag, but Chaparral Park's four-acre off-leash area is a winner every time. Dogs are separated into two enormous play sections — one for "passive" pups and another for "active" ones. What this really means is that the large pit bulls and Dobermans are on one side... More >>
• Best Dog Park, West Valley
  PetSmart Dog Park at Washington Park
  It may not be the most chichi dog park in town, but we're still stunned at how far people will drive just to get their pooches to this pretty northwest Phoenix park. Regulars tell us they like how well PetSmart keeps the place up, how many dogs are usually on the scene, and how the nice little... More >>
• Best Place to Dance Your Ass Off (1 Comment)
  Express Mie Studio
  Ever hear yourself say, "I can dance and sweat all night but can't jog for 15 seconds. What's up with that?" This new dance fitness studio for women, tucked behind Trader Joe's in the Tempe Square shopping center, makes that question moot. Now you can have your dance party and burn fat, too. The... More >>
• Best Place to Get Your Ass Kicked
  Ken Shamrock's Lion's Den
  There's an art to caving in a human face or blasting someone in the package like those mixed martial arts fighters do. And thanks to the Lion's Den in Scottsdale, anyone can learn no-holds-barred sparring. UFC Hall of Fame inductee and "the world's most dangerous man" Ken Shamrock heads the... More >>
• Best Place to Cross Swords
  SCA's weekly Wednesday battles at La Padera Park
  For Valley members of the Society for Creative Anachronism, there's no better way to beat the midweek blues than to beat the crap out of each other with wooden swords. Every Wednesday, would-be warriors hone their battle skills on the northern and eastern ends of the baseball field at La Padera... More >>
• Best Place to Battle on Your Bike
  Arizona Hardcourt Bike Polo
  If your idea of polo involves a well-heeled crowd engaging in refined combat atop magnificent thoroughbreds, then you've apparently never hung out at the Dorsey Center in Tempe on a Monday night. Every week, the members of Arizona Hardcourt Bike Polo gather for an intense, two-wheeled version of... More >>
• Best Road Bike Ride
  Usery Pass Road
  There are a lot of killer bicycle rides in the Valley, but the one along Usery Pass Road is our absolute favorite, thanks to the backdrop of desert plant life unharmed by the gated communities that swallow up the land to the east and south. Plus, there are super-spacious bike lanes on each side... More >>
• Best Mountain Bike Trail
  Desert Classic
  What goes up must come down — at least, that's what mountain bikers count on. The South Mountain Desert Classic Trail is not the most grueling trail in our neck of the desert, but it's close, it's scenic — and full of ups and downs. Phoenix South Mountain Park is over 16,000 acres of... More >>
• Best Central Phoenix Hike
  Piestewa Peak Trail #304 (1.52-mile Nature Trail)
  Don't just take our word for it — recent research suggests that spending time in nature will improve cognitive function. Scientists say the human brain has two types of attention: directed attention (which we use when we work, drive, Facebook) and involuntary attention (like that triggered... More >>
• Best South Phoenix Hike
  Alta "Alt" Trail
  There are two things you need to know about this hike, and they're both supercool: 1) the Alta Trail is situated on the front range at South Mountain Park, and we're betting that many of you didn't even know there was a front range; 2) the "Alt" section of this trail is not maintained and does... More >>
• Best West Valley Hike
  Quartz Peak Trail
  The Sierra Estrellas are the most maddening mountains in our midst. The southwest Valley chain is within shouting distance of civilization, and its craggy spires scream to be summited, but the formidable range gets more redoubtable the closer you get to it. So much so that there's only one legal... More >>
• Best East Valley Hike
  Pass Mountain Trail
  Like some of the exceptional backcountry hikes at the Phoenix Mountains Preserve that are eclipsed by the gravitational pull of Piestewa Peak, this phenomenal hike is often lost in the glare of Usery's popular Wind Cave Trail. But you don't always have to go up to get to the top; sometimes, as... More >>
• Best Guided Hike
  Elephant Mountain Fortress Hike
  True hikers view guided hikes as literate Parisians view ushered tours of the Louvre: dimly. This excellent seven-miler is the exception. A relatively difficult trek over primitive trails, the ranger-led hybrid hike takes participants into the park's achingly beautiful backcountry for sublime... More >>
• Best Hike for Speed Freaks
  San Tan Trail
  Despite the word "Mountain" in its name, this park is located in the eastern molehills of the San Tans, with the 3,054-foot namesake peak looming far off in the westerly distance. Translation: It's flat and it's fast. There are some mild ups available, but most of the park's trail system, and... More >>
• Best 10-Mile Hike
  Black Mesa Loop, Superstition Mountains
  There aren't a lot of cities in this country where you can throw off your business-casual garb after your workday, zip onto a freeway, and be knee-deep in miles of wild desert. If you're into hiking, Phoenix totally rocks. And when you can really take your time with an all-day hike, we recommend... More >>
• Best Place to Encounter Tenderfeet
  The Big Buttes at Papago Park
  For a hiker, it seems counterintuitive that going up should be easier than getting down. Down is good. Down is always better. Well, not at the Big Buttes, humongous sandcastles of petrified mud that must look tame, even comic, to someone from Indiana who's in town for Cactus League. Here's how... More >>
• Best Night Hike
  Desert Botanical Garden
  There's something magical about the desert at night. Everything looks, sounds, and smells different. And in the hot summer months, it's a great time to go and experience what desert plants and critters are up to after the sun sets. But if the idea of a nighttime desert exploration has you... More >>
• Best Place to Go After Hiking South Mountain
  Los Dos Molinos
  As with so many things, proximity's often a key for hikers looking to arrange a post-trek meet-up. For most, a redneck bar or a convenience store'll do the trick if it's the nearest place to score a frosty brew. So while it doesn't hurt that this historic New Mexican-style restaurant is the... More >>
• Best Place to Go After Hiking Camelback
  The Vig
  We have a love/hate relationship with Camelback Mountain. There's no better view of home than from the top, and no greater sense of accomplishment than getting there. Yet we loathe the getting-there part — the Camelneck, the Backbone, the etiquette-challenged hikers. Ugh. But when it... More >>
• Best Place to Go After Hiking Piestewa Peak
  Aunt Chilada's
  The Dreamy Draw is a lovely place, but it's not named for its oasis-like beauty. It earned the designation back in Phoenix's Territorial days, when workers from the Rio Mercury Mine near Squaw Peak would wander the area in a daze, high on mercury fumes, after their shifts. You'll see that same... More >>
• Best Competitive Sport Played with a Keg on the Field (1 Comment)
  Kickball
  The concept of adult kickball got its start in our nation's capital, where over-educated and underpaid young professionals used the semi-ironic playing of a children's sport to take out their aggression, hide their shameful post-college binge drinking, and find suitable hookups. Perhaps it's the... More >>
• Best Waterpark
  The Oasis at Arizona Grand Resort
  When it comes to surviving summers here, Phoenicians are ready to pull out all the stops, from breaking out the water hose to sneaking into someone's pool. A whole genre of swim-and-drink nights at local hotels have even blossomed over the past few years to keep us cool. Other options around... More >>
• Best Public Pool
  McDowell Mountain Ranch Aquatic Center
  We're not sure what we like more about this place: the pools, the views, or the architecture (considering we spent more time admiring Phil Weddle's rusted steel and glass aquatic center building than we spent actually swimming). Not only does this place feature myriad aquatic options —... More >>
• Best Public Pool You Didn't Know Was Public
  The Oasis at the Clarendon Hotel
  One of the crown jewels of any local high-end hotel undoubtedly is its sumptuous swimming pool. For instance, the W Scottsdale boasts an opulent oasis of white sandy beaches, glowing fire pits, and relaxing cabanas. Meanwhile, the swank swim tank at the Mondrian Scottsdale is a cerulean-colored... More >>
• Best Mississippi River Experience
  Dolly Steamboat at Canyon Lake
  The Dolly Steamboat markets itself as the "Junior Grand Canyon Tour," and Teddy Roosevelt compared the area favorably to the Alps, but we prefer to think of Canyon Lake as a stand-in for the Mississippi — at least when you're aboard the Dolly Steamboat. This recently restored sightseeing... More >>
• Best Out-of-Town Weekend Getaway (1 Comment)
  The Shady Dell
  As much as we love Phoenix, sometimes we need to get the hell out of Dodge for a day or two to collect our thoughts and find our center. Lately, there is only one place that comes to mind when the urge to disappear strikes us: the Shady Dell. Located in historic Bisbee, the Shady Dell RV park... More >>
• Best In-Town Weekend Getaway
  Sheraton Wild Horse Pass Resort and Spa
  The drive to Wild Horse Pass is 20 minutes from central Phoenix, but as soon as you check in, you'll feel like you flew a thousand miles. The resort's signature restaurant, Kai, got Mobil's five-star rating this year and, thanks to the down economy, it's offering a "Kai Cares" prix fixe menu for... More >>
• Best Spa
  Joya Spa
  If you've ever had fantasies of being Caesar or Cleopatra, a day at the Joya Spa is an absolute must. Joya's "Hammam" bath revives the ancient Roman tradition of the bathhouse. For $45, you get a scrub, herbal steam in rose mist, whirlpool, sauna, and refreshingly brisk shower. And that's just... More >>
• Best Walking Tour
  Taliesin West
  When you hear the words "walking tour," inspirational may not be what comes to mind. But the tour at Taliesin West, former winter home of Frank Lloyd Wright, just may prod the creative genius in you. Regardless of your medium, this place will make you think. Always willing to go against... More >>
• Best Urban Fishing
  Tempe Town Lake
  A typical city can't offer its residents a fully stocked lake right in the center of town — more likely, you'll get a polluted river full of mercury-filled carp and hypodermic needles. Lucky for us, this is not your typical city. Tempe Town Lake is filled and refilled with 12 species of... More >>
• Best Tennis Courts
  Phoenix Tennis Center
  No, they don't sell Perrier in the pro shop, some of the courts occasionally are dotted with leaves, and the noise factor from the nearby streets can be a pain. But we'll take this city-run tennis mecca any day, if only because it's cheap, the lights are good, and, if you learn how to play your... More >>
• Best Park for Pickup Basketball
  Encanto Park
  Some may take issue with giving this award to a place that charges for an activity that's typically free, but look at it this way: The hoopin' has gotta be good if it's all pay-to-play (not much, only a few duckets). Encanto is Phoenix's one-and-only spot for finding legendary pickup games that... More >>
• Best Place for Indoor Pickup Basketball
  Lincoln Family Phoenix Downtown YMCA
  When the downtown Y remodeled its facility a few years ago, it upgraded the wooden upstairs b-ball court. The result is a full-on awesome gym — minus the creaky floorboards and dead spots in the paint. Don’t have an indoor-worthy basketball? No problem, because you can rent one free of charge at... More >>
• Best Batting Range
  Casey at the Bat
  We love the egalitarian nature of this friendly north Phoenix "cage." The pitching machine on one end of this clean and spacious outdoor facility flips in strikes slow enough that a determined 8-year-old can feel comfortable going for it. Down on the other end, a burly slow-pitch type can... More >>
• Best Driving Range
  Fiesta Lakes Golf Club
  It might be called a "golf club," but Fiesta Lakes, a down-home par three (tucked behind a Hilton and an abandoned Best Buy across from Fiesta Mall) is anything but fancy. The parking lot is gravel and the clubhouse is a trailer. This is the kind of course you won't feel self-conscious playing... More >>
• Best Golf Carts
  Kierland Golf Club
  Purists everywhere will tell you that to truly play golf you have to walk. They are wrong. The truth is, walking sucks, and in the middle of a hot summer, it sucks hard. That's why someone invented the golf cart, and the Kierland Golf Club offers a nearly perfect version. Over time, the golf... More >>
• Best Public Golf Hole
  Fifth Hole, Encanto Golf Course
  It sets up as a deceptively easy shot, even for duffers like us. About 180 yards dead ahead from tee to pin, maybe uphill a hair. Piece of cake, right? Nope. First, there's that big trap that looms to the immediate left of the green. Damned thing seems to call golf balls like an invisible siren.... More >>
• Best Budget Golf Course in the Winter
  Ken McDonald Golf Course
  With the arrival of the snowbirds comes the most dreaded day in the life of any brave Phoenix summer golfer: September 1, winter-rates day at many Valley courses. It's like having cold water thrown in your face. The course you played for months at $15 a round instantly triples in price. You say... More >>
• Best Budget Golf Course in the Summer
  Troon North Golf Club
  Troon North is one of the premier golf courses in the world; but who's planning a trip to the Valley in the summer? That's when a devoted local golfer needs to pounce on the countless deals available. For July and August, you can double-bogey your way through Troon for about $50 per round. This... More >>
• Best Budget Seat at a Suns Game
  Section 231, Row 6, Seat 15
  The NBA is notorious for outrageous ticket prices. But we have discovered a relatively affordable way to see Steve Nash and the boys in person. The trick: Pick a corner, any corner. Only Shaq could have afforded seats parallel to the court, and end zone seats, while cheap, limit your view of... More >>
• Best Budget Seat at a Cardinals Game
  Section 437
  Let us not forget, the Arizona Cardinals are the improbable NFC champs. They took us all the way to the Super Bowl last year. If you don't go to a game this year to show your support and at least say, "Thank you," you deserve to live in Tucson. Tickets, however, are pricey; some cost as much as... More >>
• Best Budget Seat at a Coyotes Game
  Section 205, Row M, Seat 8
  In case you've forgotten — and judging by Phoenix Coyotes attendance records, you have — Phoenix has a hockey team. For how long is anyone's guess; they did just file for bankruptcy and almost moved to Canada (where people might actually go watch them). Well, while they're still... More >>
• Best Budget Seat at a Diamondbacks Game
  Section 108
  After the Diamondbacks' atrocious season, it's hard to believe that anyone would still want to go to a game, no matter how cheap the seats are. It's a good thing they're in the same division as the Dodgers or they might not ever fill that place again. Chase Field is one of the best stadiums in... More >>
• Best Softball Stadium
  Big League Dreams Sports Park
  For the softballer who gets drunk in the parking lot before the game, and doesn't hold twice-weekly practice, any dusty old field will do. For the serious athlete, Big League Dreams Sports Park has the only fields worthy of such talent. The park has eight replicas of iconic professional... More >>
• Best Place to See a Spring Training Game, Old School
  Phoenix Municipal Stadium
  The "ballpark village" known as Goodyear Ballpark, Cactus League home of the Cleveland Indians and Cincinnati Reds, cost $100 million to build. Camelback Ranch Stadium, the spring digs of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago White Sox, features a fish-filled lake, a sunken playing field, and... More >>
• Best Place to See a Spring Training Game, New School
  Camelback Ranch
  Picking your favorite spring training ballpark is like picking your favorite Beatle: Even if you're comfortable with your choice, you have to concede there are certain merits to the options you've passed up. Still, having been to every park in Arizona, we give the nod to Glendale's $100 million... More >>
• Best Place to Watch a Game Without Jocks
  Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication
  Sports are cool and all, but we like cheering for our favorite team sans the beer swilling, chicken-wing flatulence, and bro-dude'ing. For something more our non-jock speed, we like to watch the big game at the First Amendment Forum at the Walter Cronkite School in downtown Phoenix. The school... More >>
• Best Superfan
  Clayton Jacobson
  We talked to a great many Phoenix sports fans in the lead-up to the Super Bowl, but only one really sticks out: Clayton Jacobson of Parker, Arizona. Jacobson is a California native, the son of the man who invented the Jet Ski, but has adopted the Cards with a fervor we'd love to see in all local... More >>
• Best Local Sports Radio Show
  Bickley & MJ
  We're Gambo & Ash evacuees. Ironically, we've gravitated to the time slot formerly held by the Valley's No. 1 sports-gab team, who remain at the top by being abrasive, controversial for its own sake, and downright mean to their yahoo callers. (Representative call from last March. Ash to a... More >>
• Best Syndicated Sports Radio Show
  The Herd with Colin Cowherd
  Colin Cowherd is that know-it-all kid on the playground who all the big, stupid kids wanna slug. But while the meatheads grew up to be janitors and solid-waste technicians, Cowherd parlayed his wit and wiles into this big-time gig with "The Mothership" — ESPN Radio. And don't he know... More >>
• Best Speed Racer
  Danica Patrick
  Not only is IndyCar driver Danica Patrick super-hot — she landed in Sports Illustrated's swimsuit issue twice — but she's super-fast, too. The Scottsdale resident was named Rookie of the Year for the 2005 Indianapolis 500, finished fourth at the Indy 500 that same year (the highest... More >>
• Best College Team (1 Comment)
  Phoenix College women's softball team
  It may seem odd to select the Phoenix College Bears fast-pitch softball squad as the Valley's best team in a year when they didn't win the national championship. After all, the school had won five previous nationals in a row, a remarkable feat by any measure. But, heck, they finished second (to... More >>
• Best College Coach
  Herb Sendek
  The former coach of the North Carolina State Wolfpack and 2004 Atlantic Coach Conference Coach of the Year has done the impossible, if not unthinkable, by putting ASU's beleaguered program back on the rails in recent years. Still, some contend he's not even the best skipper on his own campus,... More >>
• Best College Coaching Legend
  Pat Murphy
  The following adjectives aptly describe the controversial longtime ASU coach: bullheaded, mercurial, self-absorbed. Also: witty, loyal, sensitive. We like our high-profile coaches complicated, and none is more so than Murphy, who won his 1,000th game during this year's College World Series,... More >>
• Best Reason to Believe the Cardinals Will Be Better than Last Year
  Beanie Wells
  All the sports pontificators like to predict that the Arizona Cardinals won't make it to the Super Bowl again next season. They like to say that losing teams in recent Super Bowls have tended to tank, some failing to boast even a winning record the next year. All true. But, despite that... More >>
• Best Owners of a Local Sports Franchise
  Bill and Michael Bidwill, Arizona Cardinals
  We've had our issues with the owners of the Arizona Cardinals. Mostly because Bill and Michael Bidwill fielded such lousy teams over the years. They ran the Los Angeles Clippers of the National Football League, a team that hadn't won a championship since they were the Chicago Cardinals in 1947,... More >>
• Best Local Sports Executive Who Should Go Back to Broadcasting
  Steve Kerr, Phoenix Suns
  We had such high hopes for Steve Kerr, even though he seemed to have lackluster interest in leaving the broadcast booth and serving as an NBA general manager from the start. The guy was almost always a winner when he wore NBA short pants, but we're not so sure he's got the stuff to be a... More >>
• Best Hardballer
  Dan Haren, Arizona Diamondbacks
  We attended a game not long after the All-Star break that proved Dan Haren is human. He gave up more than three runs for only the second time all season. On an Arizona Diamondbacks pitching staff that has been mostly dismal this year, Haren's been simply the best pitcher in the National... More >>
• Best Whiffer
  Mark Reynolds, Arizona Diamondbacks
  Mark Reynolds is a slugger, and with that comes strikeouts. But the Diamondbacks' third baseman, who has 42 home runs to lead the team at presstime, also has 200 strikeouts, on pace to lead the majors in whiffs again. Oh, he's also on pace to almost lead the majors in homers. Only the incredible... More >>
• Best Gimp
  Brandon Webb, Arizona Diamondbacks
  It's hard to remember now, but Brandon Webb was an even better pitcher than the phenomenal Dan Haren. He won the National League Cy Young Award in 2006 and was the ace of the Arizona pitching staff. Though he couldn't have saved the Diamondbacks from this season's weak hitting, Webb would've... More >>
• Best Whiner
  Anquan Boldin, Arizona Cardinals
  We're not saying Anquan Boldin isn't a stud. He's about as tough a National Football League player as they come. He's a great receiver. Who knows how great he would be if he hadn't gotten his face broken trying to catch a Kurt Warner pass in the Arizona Cardinals 56-35 regular-season loss to the... More >>
• Best Sports Flop (1 Comment)
  Eric Byrnes, Arizona Diamondbacks
  We love Eric Byrnes, with his crazy hair and hip clothing line. His Eric Byrnes Show on Fox Sports is a hoot, especially the one where he donned a safari outfit and cleaned up elephant shit for a day at the Phoenix Zoo. We loved him as a player, too, when he was in the middle of the lineup a... More >>
• Best Neverland
  Men's Senior Baseball League World Series
  Long after spring training is over, even after the Diamondbacks have ended their season, baseball fantasies are fed here in Phoenix. Every fall, the Valley becomes a Neverland for men who want to live out their childhood dreams of playing hardball. The Men's Senior Baseball League hosts its... More >>
• Best Excuse to Get (Nearly) Naked
  ASU's Undie Run
  A few thousand college kids high on wrapping up their semester and an endorsement to take their clothes off — what could go wrong? Turns out it's a lot less than you may think. In the past two years, ASU has celebrated the semester's end with a massive on-campus party during which students... More >>
• Best Superhero Brawl
  Epic Superhero Battle 2009
  Improv AZ and the AZ Cacophony Society had already thrown time-stop and pillow-fight flash mobs when they decided to take it up a notch. The mission: create original superhero or villain identities, make those creations manifest through costume, and do battle with each other at Scottsdale... More >>
• Best Wheels (8 Comments)
  Roller Derby
  Word to the wise: You don't wanna to piss off Ann Thrash or any of the other fierce-looking females who populate the Valley's roller-derby scene. Like many in the roller-girl sisterhood, the punky 36-year-old has become skilled in hand-to-hand combat as captain of the Arizona Derby Dames'... More >>
• Best Imagination
  Todd McFarlane
  For many comic book artists, it would have been enough to be the guy who breathed new life into Spider-Man. Not Todd McFarlane, a Canadian we're happy to say now calls the Valley home. He didn't rest 'til he'd built an empire — complete with a wildly successful series that spawned an... More >>
• Best Beach
  Big Surf
  Long ago, Big Surf meant school was out and the beach — such as it was — was open. We wee Gidgets and mini Moondoggies pulled on our snorkels and grabbed our boogie boards and headed to Tempe to enjoy America's original water park, which was a fake "ocean" with a giant wave machine... More >>
• Best Hidden Treasure
  Pueblo Grande Museum and Archaeological Park
  Tucked away behind State Route 143, near Sky Harbor airport, Pueblo Grande isn't easy to find — but it sure is worth the search. This half-museum, half-archeological park transports visitors back nearly 1,500 years to the crumbling capital of the ancient Hohokam civilization. We suggest... More >>
• Best Male Pro Athlete
  Larry Fitzgerald, Arizona Cardinals
  Forget about T.O. (that would be Terrell Owens), Randy Moss, Chad Ochocinco, Steve Smith. Andre Johnson, okay?! Larry Fitzgerald, he of our very own NFC Champion Arizona Cardinals, is the best wide receiver in the professional game today. He's big, he's sure-handed, he's money. Everybody liked... More >>
• Best Breakables
  "Chihuly: The Nature of Glass"
  Tourists and locals alike are still ranting and raving about DBG's spectacular exhibition featuring the gigantic glass sculptures of Seattle-based artist Dale Chihuly. Though the exhibit had traveled internationally before it came to the Valley (we had seen it at the Missouri Botanical Garden in... More >>
• Best Athlete and Prizefighter of All Time
  Muhammad Ali
  Muhammad Ali was the greatest athlete, much less the greatest prizefighter, ever. Beyond legendary. The Scottsdale resident moved to the Valley after he was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease and is seen at a plethora of charity and sporting events around town, including at the NBA All-Star Game... More >>
• Best Superstar
  Steve Nash
  Steve Nash is a good guy. And he's all we've got in this basketball-crazy town. He's the only superstar left on the Phoenix Suns. He's a two-time NBA Most Valuable Player and the anchor of our professional basketball club. Sure, he's getting some miles on him. Point guards probably run 20 miles... More >>
• Best Hope for the Diamondbacks
  Justin Upton
  There have been a few great Arizona Diamondbacks during the team's short existence: pitchers Curt Schilling, Randy Johnson, Brandon Webb, and Dan Haren; hitter Luis Gonzalez. But "The Kid" may turn out to be the best of them all. That's our prediction, anyway, and a growing number of baseball... More >>
• Best Valley Pastime
  Spring Training
  In the 1989 Kevin Costner film Field of Dreams, the confused ghost of a 1910s-era baseball player walks around a baseball diamond in the middle of a cornfield, and asks, "Is this Heaven?" Costner's character, Ray Kinsella, responds, "No, it's Iowa." Well, walk around Phoenix in mid-March and... More >>