If you don't have tickets for Friday afternoon's match-up between the Arizona Wildcats and the football team from Girls Gone Wild University and Casino, well, you're going to need to find somewhere other than the stadium to watch, since the game has been sold out for awhile.

However, the fine folks at the Loft Cinema have jumped through the necessary hoops to show the game in their main theater (the home of the largest indoor screen in Southern Arizona) and they're airing the game for free. What a deal, plus, in case you've forgotten they sell beer and wine at the Loft (good stuff even!).

The game is at 1:30 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 28. More info on the gridiron showdown at the UA athletic department's page. More info on the Loft (including the news that they're celebrating Godard's filmography in January) at loftcinema.com.

Arizona Wildcat Hockey (they're not the Icecats these days, thank you very much) have their first home games this Friday and Saturday night against the Liberty Flames at the newly-renovated TCC Arena, but first, as a kickoff faceoff to the season, they're hosting a fanfest tonight at 6:30 p.m. It's an opportunity to watch a practice, look around the arena and meet the players, plus it's free.

Plus, they're doing something nice for a kid with cancer:

Coach Berman continues, “One of Fan Fest’s highlights will be the introduction of the newest addition to our team — Chase Lock. Chase is a 6-year-old boy who has been fighting CPC (choroid plexus carcinoma) brain cancer since the age of 2 ½.

Chase is part of “Draft Day,” which is facilitated by Boston-based nonprofit organization, Team IMPACT, whose mission is to improve the quality of life for children facing life-threatening and chronic illnesses through the power of team. Team IMPACT children are drafted on to local college athletic teams and, in effect, become official members of the team from Draft Day through to graduation, attending practices, games and social events while forming unparalleled relationships with the student-athletes and coaching staffs.

“We are thrilled to welcome Chase and his family to the UA Wildcat Hockey family,” said Coach Berman. “He is a very tough kid who has battled through some unfortunate circumstances. I expect that we will learn a lot from Chase and look forward to bonding with him as the newest member of our team.”

You remember how excited you were about the World Cup? Went to a bar in the middle of the day to watch matches, pretended that you understood the offside rules? A bunch of the members of the US National Team (Clint Dempsey, Jermaine Jones, Graham Zusi, Matt Besler, Kyle Beckerman and Nick Rimando) are coming to town as part of the fourth annual Desert Diamond Cup from Wednesday, Feb. 18 to Saturday, Feb. 28. This year, the Colorado Rapids, Montreal Impact, New England Revolution, Real Salt Lake, Seattle Sounders and (at least for awhile) the reigning MLS champions Sporting Kansas City will be playing preseason matches at the fields of Kino North Stadium.

General admission tickets will be $18, allowing the lucky soccer fan to see three matches in one night. More info at fctucson.com.

With the National Football League currently entangled in the Ray Rice scandal, the good people of the internet are fighting back. 

Rice and newlywed wife Janay Palmer grabbed the attention of the media when a video of Rice dragging Palmer's, his then fiancee, limp body out of an elevator at an Atlantic City casino was made public by TMZ. Rice's attorney said the two had a "minor physical altercation." The minor altercation left Palmer unconscious and a seemingly unaffected Rice hovering over her body. Following the release of the video, the NFL felt the appropriate response to the footage and third-degree aggravated assault charge was a slap on the wrist and a two-game suspension. Somehow, the public didn't seem satisfied with that. 

When a second video of Rice punching Palmer in the face rendering her unconscious came to the surface, the NFL was under immense public scrutiny and embarrassment as so many had previously come forward to defend his actions in the earlier video. The NFL announced earlier this month that Rice has been indefinitely suspended from the Ravens. 


Of course, the internet has taken to a sea of victim-blaming and pity for Janay Palmer, but one Twitter user fought back with a photoshopped image of a CoverGirl ad. The latter company paired up with the NFL last year to offer female sports connoisseurs with a "nailgating" option that provides fans with a manicure set of their favorite teams colors and logo. CoverGirl created the partnership to offer women entertainment while the men are partaking fantasy football and binge-drinking. 

The CoverGirl ad features a model decorated with Ravens' colors for her nails and eye shadow. The photoshopped version displays the same thing, but the model's left eye has been altered to appear bruised and swollen with the text reading "Get your game face on."

CoverGirl told USA Today, "We developed our NFL program to celebrate the more than 80 million female football fans. In light of recent events, we have encouraged the NFL to take swift action on their path forward to address the issue of domestic violence.”

Twitter: 1, NFL: 0 

• Courtesy Arizona Athletics

If you have an interesting voice, are fine with plugging Jimmy John's and love U of A basketball, here's your chance to be a part of what should be an exciting season for the men's team.

From the Arizona Athletics website:

The University of Arizona Department of the Intercollegiate Athletics is currently hosting pre-registration for an open casting call for individuals interested in serving as the men’s basketball public address announcer for the 2014-15 season.

This position will contribute to the high-energy atmosphere and excitement of Wildcats basketball in the newly-renovated McKale Center. This position will be compensated on a per-game basis.

All submissions must be received by Friday, Sept. 19, at 5 p.m. MST.

All pre-registrants will be reviewed and scored based off of audio recordings submitted and PA experience listed. The highest-scoring applicants will be considered finalists and will advance to a final round of live auditions at McKale Center. At that time, finalists will be judged based off of their in-person audition at McKale Center.

Work on your pronunciation of Tarczewski and head to the announcement online for the lines you need to record to audition. Good luck.

The video of the Ichiro Suzuki interview with Bob Costas was in 2007, so I think it's time for something from the Japanese baseball superstar ... in Spanish.

Love this Wall Street Journal report on Ichiro's use of Spanish on the baseball field:

Ramon Santiago, the veteran shortstop of the Cincinnati Reds, recalls being startled and amused during his first encounter with Ichiro Suzuki in 2003. Santiago was barely into his first full season with Detroit when Ichiro's Mariners came to town. After a leadoff single to open the game, Ichiro dashed to second on a steal. As he popped up safely from his slide, he looked at Santiago and deadpanned in Spanish, "No corro casi."

Loosely translated, he was telling Santiago, a native of the Dominican Republic, "I don't have my legs today." Before Santiago could stop smiling, Ichiro was stealing third two pitches later on those same heavy legs.

...

Veteran first baseman Carlos Pena remembered one of his frequent encounters with Ichiro. He was defending first for the Tampa Bay Rays, and Ichiro had just arrived on one of his patented infield hits. Ichiro peered over at Pena and asked, "Que coño tu mira?," or, "What the hell are you looking at?" Pena clamped his lips together to prevent the laughter from bursting through.

Ichiro says he cannot carry a conversation in Spanish, which he has gradually picked up during his years in baseball. But, contrary to his stoic image, he feels compelled to engage Latin players.

"I feel a bond with them," he said. "We're all foreigners in a strange land. We've come over here and had to cope with some of the same trials and tribulations. When I throw a little Spanish out at them, they really seem to appreciate it and it seems to strengthen that bond. And besides, we don't really have curse words in Japanese, so I like the fact that the Western languages allow me to say things that I otherwise can't."

FT: FC Tucson 1-0 @Whitecaps U23s. FC Tucson is in the final! pic.twitter.com/6IMWRi7uDh
— FC Tucson (@FCTucson) July 26, 2014

FC Tucson has extended their incredible season at least another night, beating the Vancouver Whitecaps U23 team 1-0 on an incredible last minute stoppage-time goal by Juan De Rada.

No rest for the winners, however, as the final is set for Saturday night at 7:30 against the Kitsap Pumas. More info and tickets available at fctucson.com.

Friday night’s matches will begin at 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. Kitsap Pumas, the No. 1 team from the Northwest Division, will kick off against Ventura County Fusion at 6 p.m. Then, your hometown FC Tucson will take on the Vancouver Whitecaps U23s, the No. 2 team from the Northwest, at 8 p.m. Saturday night’s match, which will be the Western Conference Championship, will be at 7:30 p.m.

General admission tickets for both nights in sections 102, 103, 105 and 106 are just $10 and are on sale now! Click here to buy right now!

“Being the host site for the PDL Western Conference Finals is just another example of Tucson’s vibrant soccer community,” said the FC Tucson ownership group in a joint statement. “It’s a testament to our fans’ tremendous support all season long. Now we’re bringing the excitement of the PDL playoffs home and we expect to have another huge crowd at North Stadium Friday night to support the hometown club.”