• The Champions League semifinal at Playground

While it seems sort of quaint now, as a soccer fan, there was a time when it was nearly impossible to watch European matches (generally the pinnacle of the sport) somewhere that served alcohol in this town. Even as recently as the last World Cup, in which the American side was somewhat less than embarrassing for a little while, my friends and I drove around town for awhile trying to find a place to watch the US v. England match.

However, these days, Playground, a spot for attractive people to hang out with each other by night has become a soccer hangout from early mornings on weekends to afternoons for MLS matches and Champions League tilts. A few awesome things about soccer at Playground: the drinks are cheap (1/2 off all drinks when they're open for soccer before 7 pm) and the general enjoyment of watching live sports with other people. Today, I watched the Chelsea/Barcelona match next to a fan of Spanish soccer who disagreed with my general take on the match, but still, it's just fun to cheer along or against other people. Plus, it seems there are a wide array of fans, from the long time fans who seem to know every detail about the game and its history to a few people who are just getting into the sport. While the regular season for European league soccer is rapidly approaching its finish, the European championships are coming this summer and the MLS regular season rolls on, so there's still plenty to catch on Playground's big, fancy screen. Follow the Facebook group dedicated to keeping up with what matches will be shown for details.

A motorist on the east side allegedly swerves into an oncoming lane to spray cyclists with an unknown liquid on Tucson's eastside. Read one of the cyclists account of the attack.

The driver who killed a cyclist last year was sentenced to 33 years in jail. See what the driver said during sentencing.

Feeling let down after the weather rained out Tucson's Cyclovia, a few organizers took a train to check out LA's CicLAvia. See what it looks like to have 100,000 bikes and pedestrians on LA streets.

Check out the sights of the 2012 bike swap.

The Tucson-Pima County Bicycle Advisory Committee announced its annual awards. See who won and why.

Tucson's Mayor kicked off bike to work week by riding his bike to on Monday. See the video of the rideb.

Tucson mountain bikers are pushing to allow riding at night in the many trails in Pima County. See how and why they are doing it.

Now you see it, now you don’t: Find out why your bike lane just ended.

• Jim Nintzel

The Tucson Padres opened the season by getting shut out by the Fresno Grizzlies. A tough first game! The ball clubs meet again tonight at Kino Stadium at 7:05 p.m.

Details from the Padres' Tim Hagerty:

The Tucson Padres were shut out on Opening Night, falling to the Fresno Grizzlies, 3-0 Thursday at Kino Stadium. The Padres had multiple scoring opportunities, with at least one baserunner in seven of their nine innings. The T-Pads left 11 runners on base.

Fresno's Charlie Culberson hit an RBI single in the first inning and the 1-0 lead stayed until the sixth, when Joaquin Arias hit a two-out, two-run single for Fresno. The Padres threatened in the ninth inning, bringing the tying run to the plate, but first basemen Todd Linden made a lunging play on Blake Tekotte's ground ball to end the game.

Tucson starter Joe Wieland struck out seven Grizzlies in his Triple-A debut and allowed three runs on eight hits. The Padres bullpen was strong Thursday, with Cory Burns, Alex Hinshaw and Colt Hynes pitching scoreless outings.

Next Game: Friday, 7:05 pm at Kino Stadium - Fresno LHP Brian Burres (0-0, -.—) vs. Tucson RHP Casey Kelly (0-0, -.—). The first 1,000 kids, ages 16 and under, receive a free Everth Cabrera or Kyle Blanks bobblehead. The game broadcast is live on Tejano 1600 AM at 6:55 pm.

• Photo by Karilyn Roach

Construction on the 3.9-mile streetcar starts this week. Motorists and bicyclists alike are in for traffic headaches. Check the construction update and learn which roads are off limits.

We are going to start covering more pedestrian issues on Tucson Velo. Find out why.

Next week is Bike to Work Week and several businesses are offering up perks for those who bike to work. Check out the list and map to find out how to get the most out of your commute.

A new sub shop on Campbell gets built without bike parking, but one advocate tries to change that. Find out how he is going about the change.

• Samantha Sais

It's opening night for the Tucson Padres! Why not get out to the ballpark to start the season off right?

We've got a Q&A with Padres general manager Mike Feder that will fill you in on all the details in this week's print edition, but the first pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. at Kino Stadium. And it's a Thirsty Thursday, so beers will cost you just $1.50.

More details here.

In case you didn't see a flood of Facebook and Twitter comments early last night (ex. "Didn't anyone see The Fray rehearse that version of the anthem and go, "Uhh, guys? Maybe not a good idea?"), Denver Christian-rock-adjacent band The Fray performed an "interesting" take on the National Anthem. It's not a huge deal that they screwed up "The Star Spangled Banner," after all that happens relatively frequently. However, the real problem is that this happened at the Superdome in New Orleans.

We need to decide as a nation that when sporting events are held in New Orleans, which they are quite often, that we're only going to accept music from the city and state as part of the event. The Fray are pasty white dudes who were leading worship at a suburban Denver church just a few years ago. New Orleans is a city where American music essentially began. It's a bizarre slap in the face to a city that has music everywhere to showcase guys that had to fly in, instead of an act from around the block. I don't suspect Big Freedia is going to get a call the next time the Super Bowl rolls into town, but this year's NFL championship featured Madonna, a Detroit native who lives in London to do the halftime show. Wouldn't Louisiana native Tim McGraw have been a better, more authentic choice? Last night, I understand The Fray were there to promote their new album, but Dr. John has a new album too and at least if he did something weird, you'd see it coming. Kermit Ruffins, Galactic, the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, one of the Marsalises, a zydeco act...heck, I'm pretty sure Better Than Ezra were available, and they would have done a better job.

It seems so simple, but yet, it'll take a nation banding together to demand a change that shouldn't need to be made. New Orleans events deserve New Orleans music.

• A mother and son participate in the San Luis Obispo Kidical Mass. Photo by SLO County Bicycle Coalition

Cyclovia Tucson organizers hoped to put together a second event in April after the first was rained out. That's not going to happen. Now the group is focusing on a Cyclovia in October.

A cyclist who uses his bike to get around Tucson decides to take the bus instead. He found a tool that makes it a lot easier to use the bus. Check it out.

How does religion and bicycling work together? Read the guest post to find out.

Several biking families showed off their family bike setups and offered tips to get started in biking with kids. Check out the photos to see the funky looking bikes.

With opening day just a week away, we talked with Tucson Padres General Manager Mike Feder about the upcoming AAA Baseball club's season. He's excited about a lot of things, but he made a point of mentioned that this year's Thirsty Thursdays (co-sponsored by your friends here at Tucson Weekly) will feature this astounding technology of Bottoms Up beer.

"The beer pours from the bottom and it pours a virtually perfect 16-oz. beer," Feder says. "The beauty of it is, you can do 40 or 50 beers a minute."

Here's the upside: The cups are 16 ounces, so you're getting more beer per cup. Minor downside: Thirsty Thursday beers will be $1.50 instead of a buck, but with the larger serving, you won't need to go back as often and lines will be shorter, so quit your complaining.

Opening night is Thursday, April 5. Details here!

You might not have actually realized that the Major League Baseball regular season actually kicked off in Japan last night (especially since Spring Training is still going on here in the States), but the Mariners' 3-1 extra-inning victory over the Oakland A's was also a nice win for Tucsonan/former bartender at The Hut Tom Wilhelmsen, who put in two innings of no-hit work in relief of starter Felix Hernandez. For more on Wilhelmsen's improbable story, check out a great ESPN feature from last year which includes a mention of the Magic Carpet tiki statue in the lede.

Brilliantly, Major League Baseball prohibits the embedding of game highlights, but if you'd like to see Wilhelmsen in action, head to the Mariners' website, which has a story on his enjoyment of Tokyo and a brief clip of his relief work.