Several years back, Tucsonans lost the Triple-A Sidewinders to the lovely city of Reno, Nev.

However, due to several stadium kerfuffles in Portland, Ore., and Escondido, Calif., baseball-loving Tucsonans got a reprieve, in the form of the Triple-A Tucson Padres, who opened up shop last year at Kino Stadium.

And how did Tucson and the Padres do, attendance-wise? Terribly: Last year, the Padres were dead-last in Pacific Coast League attendance, averaging only 3,410 fans per game. The second-worst team in the 16-team PCL, attendance-wise—the Las Vegas 51s—averaged a thousand fans more per game than the Padres.

But that was year one, and the Padres were a last-minute thing, etc. So this year, attendance should be better. Right?

As of now, the Padres are averaging a horrendous 2,691 fans per game, again dead-last in the PCL by a huge margin.

Folks: If you give a rats' patootie about baseball in this town, make a point to go to at least one game on the Padres' next homestand. Mark your calendars: The Padres will be in town for a four-game series against the aforementioned 51s next Tuesday, May 29, through Friday, June 1.

Go. Support the Padres!

• Jim Nintzel

The Tucson Padres launched a new homestand a big 13-0 win over the Nashville Sounds last night.

The Padres are in town every night through next Thursday, May 23. Why not get out to a game this weekend? Cops and firefighters get in free tonight, the club is giving away camouflage T-shirts tomorrow night and you can bring your dog to the ballpark on Sunday. You'll find ticket info here and a full list of the promotions over the next week here.

Here's a breakdown of last night's game from the Padres' Tim Hagerty:

New bicycle and pedestrian crossing signs went up near the streetcar construction and seem to confuse everyone. Check them out.

The local youth cycling team El Grupo is turning five years old and they are having a party to celebrate. Check out the details to join them.

The city installed a counter to track cyclists at one intersection 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Find out where it is at and how it works.

Your hometown semi-pro soccer club FC Tucson kicks off its home campaign in the Premier Development League this Saturday night with a match against the truly unfortunately named SoCal Seahorses this Saturday night at the Kino Sports Complex. The guys behind the team have really given local sports their all, developing and staging the Desert Diamond Cup this February, making their own renovations to some of Kino's unused baseball fields, and in general, trying to bring high quality soccer to town. The least you can do is buy some tickets and cheer the hometown side, right? Gametime is at 7 pm and there's an after-party at Playground following the match.

• Premises Park founder Ian Abbot is moving the park.

Tucson Police Department received a grant to target bicyclists and pedestrians for two weeks. Find out more about the enforcement.

The new bridge over the Santa Cruz River is opening to bicycles and pedestrians soon. Find out when.

A popular bike route gets a an upgraded crossing, which has frustrated many a cyclist. Check out the upgrade and see if it is working.

UA student? Got an old bike you don't want? For the second year, BICAS is running a donation drive on the UA campus. Get all the details here.

Hundreds of cyclists will be riding up Mt. Lemmon this morning, but it almost didn't happen. Find out why the ride was almost called off.

Not a game, not a game. We talking about practice. Miss you, A.I.

And in remixed form, by Steve Porter:

• Michael McKisson/TucsonVelo.com
• Tom Thivener and his daughter Saskia Shen-Thivener lead a ride highlighting future bicycle boulevards.

It's bloomin' hot out there. Check out the photo essay of flowers and bikes.

The city installed bicycle speed bumps on a popular path. Find out where and why they added them.

There is a new group in town devoted to helping businesses along the streetcar route during construction. Check it out.

With University Boulevard added to the list of streets closed for streetcar construction, bicycling in the area is more of a challenge. Check out the map for some alternate routes.

• Samantha Sais

Yes, we sometimes have Tucson Padres tickets to give away, especially for Thirsty Thursday since we sponsor that beautiful collision of cheap booze and high quality baseball, but somewhat strangely, we have 23 tickets for Thursday's game. It's going to be super simple to win...just head to our Facebook page, find the post about the giveaway and leave a comment. You'll need to come to our office at 3280 E. Hemisphere Loop to pick up the tickets. Good luck!

Despite the presence of the nationally-recognized University of Arizona men's basketball program, Tucson has by no means ever been considered a hotbed of local basketball talent. To this day only three players who attended high school in the region have gone on to play in the NBA.

That could soon be four, with the news Monday that former Santa Rita High School standout Terrell Stoglin has declared for the NBA draft.

But, there's a catch: Stoglin, who was the starting point guard for Maryland and led the Atlantic Coast Conference with 21.6 points per game this past season, announced his intention to forgo his final two years of eligibility one day after apparently being suspended by Maryland for one year for a "violation of the Maryland Student-Athlete Code of Conduct," according to the school.

Stoglin was one of two Maryland players given one-year suspensions; the other had previous announced his intention to transfer to a different college.

At Santa Rita Stoglin was a four-year starter, leading the Eagles to four consecutive state final appearances, including a win in the Class 4A-II championship game as a senior in 2010.

If he gets drafted and/or makes it onto an NBA roster he would join a slim list of locals that includes Sean Elliott (Cholla), Fat Lever (Pueblo) and fellow Santa Rita grad Dave Feitl, who played 275 games with Houston, Washington, Golden State and New Jersey from 1987-1992.

He'd also be only the 20th person to attend high school in Arizona to make the NBA, according to online hoops database Basketball Reference.

View 2011 Bike Count: Top locations in a larger map

Slightly more cyclists were counted in Tucson during the 2011 bike count. Find out how many more were counted and other interesting details about the count.

Tucson lacks a national reputation for bicycle friendliness. See why.

Tour of the Tucson Mountains, the companion ride to the El Tour de Tucson that has been going on for 26 years will cease to exist after this weekend. Find out why the organizers decided to pull the plug on the ride.

More kids are riding their bikes in the Menlo Park neighborhood because of David Walker. Find out what he is doing to get kids on bikes.

Meet Susan who rides her recumbent thousands of miles ever year. See just how many miles she rides. Hint: It's more than 10,000.

The City of Tucson restarted the hiring process for a Transportation Director after the first didn't yield a candidate. This time around they are focusing on alternate transportation. See what the hiring brochure says about bikes and pedestrians.