Two seasons ago, Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban was hoisting an NBA championship trophy over his head. Today the brazen billionaire’s Mavs are hobbling their way out of playoff contention for the first time in more than a decade. Despite some questionable moves and a failed off-season bid for marquee…
It’s not the bushy hair and the over-sized eyeglasses that engulf his face. His unmistakable voice is what makes Ira Glass instantly recognizable. The deliberate, thoughtful inflection of the 53-year-old producer and host of one of the nation’s most beloved radio programs, This American Life, has captivated millions week in…
If your New Year’s resolutions involve dodging crass jokes and averting your eyes from obscene gestures, then you may want to take a raincheck on Bob Saget’s performances at comedy joint Stand Up Live, 50 West Jefferson Street. Had you not already guessed it, the 56-year-old comedian, who’s best known…
When the Mayan apocalypse drifted insipidly past, it certainly didn’t feel as though a new era had been ushered in. If anything it felt like Friday. But Tomas Moniz, editor and founder of the acclaimed San Francisco-based zine Rad Dad, has been doing more than his fair share of ushering…
Even if the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl has been shrouded in controversy over the last couple of years, there’s been nothing fishy about the games themselves, and this year should be no exception. 2013’s match-up features the number-four Oregon Ducks versus the fifth-ranked Kansas State Wildcats, in what will likely be…
If there’s anything positive for the Phoenix Suns to take away from closing out 2012 on the road against the Western Conference’s most formidable team, the Oklahoma City Thunder, it’s that their first matchup of the new year is bound to be against a less daunting opponent. Turns out it…
For as long as most hoops junkies can remember, the Phoenix Suns and the Lakers have jointly dominated the NBA’s Pacific Division. Inversely, the Clippers and the Warriors routinely have been division punching bags. Oh what a year or two can do. With the mighty Lakers reeling and the Suns…
In what’s become a Jekyll-and-Hyde season of epic proportions, the 2012 Arizona Cardinals hold the dubious distinction of being the only team in NFL history to rattle off four wins at the season’s onset only to follow up with nine consecutive losses. With Cardinals fans left wondering if Hyde will…
The Orlando Magic and the Phoenix Suns have more in common than the fact that they’re both sub-par teams: They’re also both in a season of new eras. In other words, they’re hobbling through the season and eking out an occasional win, while their bygone saviors, Steve Nash and Dwight…
Whiskey consumption generally isn’t considered healthful, if anything it’s detrimental, but for one brisk night this Movember it may prove beneficial for the health of men all over America. On Friday, November 30, Old Town Scottsdale’s most mustache-friendly haunt, Mabel’s on Main, 7018 East Main Street, will host Whiskey And…
If, like many Americans, your knowledge of Indonesia is only slightly greater than your knowledge of advanced quantum mechanics, and if your vague perceptions of the country with the world’s largest Muslim population are in need of shattering, a trip to Scottsdale Center For The Performing Arts, 7380 East Second…
Phoenix Suns fans hoping to get a look at Eric Gordon (the dynamic shooting guard who would be wearing orange this season were it not for contractual obligations down in the Big Easy) are as sorely disappointed as the knee that has kept Gordon sidelined all season. Instead, planet orange…
Beer pong, cornhole, hillbilly golf, and yackle ball; familiarity with any or all of these delightfully ignoble time-killers could suggest plenty about someone’s recreational preferences. But it ultimately suggests one thing, one modern and oft-besmirched compound word: tailgating. Not the pesky action that happens on the road, but the verb…
If Phoenicians felt a cold wind a-blowin’ shortly after Sir Steve skipped town, imagine how Clevelanders felt when King James jettisoned maximum hometown dinero and took his talents to South Beach. Two years removed from the notorious “announcement,” the Cavaliers are still reeling. Much like Gentry’s fledgling Phoenix Suns squad,…
Ten minutes into Waka Flocka Flame’s second album, 2012’s Triple F Life: Friends, Fans & Family, you’ll either want to shower or shoot somebody. Such is Flame’s ability to make listeners suddenly feel like they’ve been violated via eardrum. Just as horror films are more akin to visual sadomasochism than…
The heart and the soul of the Phoenix Suns each bought one way tickets out of town this summer, and both wound up in Los Angeles. As it turns out, the heart bled red, while the soul turned purple and gold. Despite the off-season makeover, don’t be surprised if the…
When contestants line up on Saturday, October 20, for the Devil Dash 5K, they won’t just be running for the complimentary headgear — though who could blame them? Instead, they’ll run for the pride of knowing that they’ve conquered a 3.1-mile allegorical recreation of hell, even if pride is sinful…
Whether it’s because the name conjures images of jovial Indians polishing their Schwinn cruisers or because it abbreviates snugly into an acronym shared by the most powerful media outlet on earth, London rockers Bombay Bicycle Club have pinned down the most elusive of name traits, bizarre and somehow unforgettable. Even…
On Friday, Sticky Fingers, one of Phoenix’s most notorious weekly dance parties, will feature Liverpudlian renaissance man Reuben Wu on the turntables. Valley residents may be wondering, “Reuben who?” Reuben Wu, that’s who. Seussian nonsense aside, Mr. Wu might be best known for his role as founding member and keyboardist…
Way back when, in the days leading up to the NFL’s 2011 season, the Philadelphia Eagles were touted as a dream team of sorts. Even casual birdwatchers may recall that our beloved Arizona Cardinals contributed to the early Eagle hype by giving Philly cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie in exchange for a…
With the window all but closed on their postseason hopes, the Arizona Diamondbacks are holding what little is left of their fate in their own mitts. The boys of summer close out the regular season with a September full of NL West showdowns, including several against the division leading San…
When Cult Classics, one of the Valley’s finest film showcases, went kaput last month due to a rickety AC unit and a very sweaty showing of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, curator Victor Moreno went scrambling to find his patrons a new locale in which to get their big screen fix…
