David Sanders / Arizona Daily Star 2008

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Four months before the $8 million WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship (Feb. 23-March 1) moves to Jack Nicklaus' new Ritz-Carlton Golf Course, three fan-related issues have been improved.

Ticket prices have been reduced. There will be more on-site parking. Access to the golfers has been improved.

Even better, for the first time, a weekly grounds ticket, Monday through Sunday, is available to the non-suites, non-skybox patrons. Cost: $175.

Single-day tickets from Tuesday through Friday have also been reduced. Tuesday's practice round ($25) and Friday's two-session round ($45) have both dropped $15.

"We want to reach out to the average person more than in the past,'' said Wade Dunagan, in his first year as the event's executive director. "We want Tucson to embrace this event, and we think that reducing ticket prices is a good way to do it.''

The Ritz-Carlton course is scheduled to open in January. While planning the infrastructure for a tournament, Dunagan says it will be a significant improvement in terms of spectator access.

"The new course has more of a 'hub' effect,'' he said. "Spectators will see more golf and do less walking. There is a looping effect. For example, hole Nos. 1, 9, 10 and 18 will be in a loop easily walked. The same principle holds for the entire course.

"There is more vacant real estate by the new course, which improves our parking situation.''

The big suspense is the availability of defending champion Tiger Woods, whose early 2009 schedule is complicated by his knee injury and by the expected birth of his second child.

Woods said last week he ideally would like to play "one or two tournaments'' before going to the Masters in early April.

● Tickets: worldgolfchampionships.com

Former Sahuaro High School and UA wide receiver Jay Dobyns has written a book about his provocative life as a special agent for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. "No Angel: My Harrowing Undercover Journey to the Inner Circle of The Hells Angels" will be published in January.

"It is not a 'hero' book," said Dobyns, who was at this month's Tucson banquet honoring ex-UA teammate Ricky Hunley. "As I was writing, I constantly reminded myself that I wanted this story to remain true, whether that be good or bad. I refused to write about some fake 'knight in shining armor who rides in to save the day.'

"At the core, 'No Angel' is really about my de-evolution as a man and a husband and a father and a friend during some very difficult times. The story has lots of ups and downs — some happy sections, some harrowing, some disturbing and some sad ones. I hope and believe I've written a good story that will entertain but, you can be the judge of that."

UA assistant swimming coach Rick DeMont, whose life story is chronicled in the new movie "Negative Split" will be honored during homecoming weekend Oct. 24-25. The movie is to be shown at the UA's on-campus Gallagher Theater at 8 p.m. on Oct. 24. It is first-come seating; about 350 seats are available. It's uncertain if the movie will be distributed in Tucson later. … Mike Candrea's high standards led him to hire Texas Tech head coach Theresa Wilson as the UA's new softball pitching coach. Wilson was being paid $100,000 at Texas Tech; she accepted $60,000 from Arizona but should be able to make well into six figures by getting involved in Candrea's off-season ventures and training camps. Two seasons ago, the UA paid pitching coach Nancy Evans $38,201. … Arizona's 2007 College World Series championship pitcher Taryne Mowatt is in the beginning stages of what she hopes could be a broadcasting career. She is working as an intern for Vinnie Vinzetta and Brandon Nash on Fox Channel 11. … Former UA basketball standout Ricky Anderson, who played briefly in Europe and then toyed with the idea of following his father and becoming a junior college coach, is in the final stages of training to become a firefighter in the Los Angeles area.

In his first three NBA preseason games, Jerryd Bayless has been productive and, in fact, started games Wednesday and Friday for the Portland Trail Blazers. He averaged 32 minutes and 10 points in those starts, although he is likely to open the season as the first or second Blazer off the bench. … Marcus Williams' chance to stick with the Charlotte Bobcats appears dim. In Charlotte's first two preseason games, Williams played nine total minutes, scored two points and, worse, was the 17th player inserted into Charlotte's opener. … When Channing Frye returns to the Portland roster in November (bone spurs in his left ankle), he will battle former ASU rival Ike Diogu for minutes at power forward. The most compelling part of the Frye vs. Diogu rivalry is that both are in the final year of their first NBA contracts and need to produce this season to move to the middle level of NBA salaries. Frye will earn $3.2 million this year; Diogu, $2.9 million. … Former Salpointe Catholic quarterback Tyler Graunke, who was the WAC offensive player of the week in a recent Hawaii win over Weber State, earned a starting job two weeks ago at Oregon State, but was replaced by Inoke Funaki when he injured his right thumb. Funaki rallied Hawaii for an upset win over Fresno State, putting Graunke lower on the depth chart.

When coach Gary Minor's Ironwood Ridge High School football team won eight games last year, it was a defensive monster, allowing just 9.8 points per game over the entire season. Minor was concerned that he lost most of his skill position talent to graduation, but suddenly I-Ridge is 5-1 and playing defense the same way it did in '07. IRHS has allowed just 45 points in six games and has a defensive core that includes UA recruit Jake Fischer, Ray Cottman, Alex Banales, Zach Booker, Chad Dietrich and Logan Bailey that could have them at 7-1 entering a much-anticipated Halloween night game at Sunnyside. … UA basketball men's media day is expected to be held this week. Here's my preseason Pac-10 media poll as sent to league headquarters last week: 1, UCLA; 2, USC; 3, Arizona State; 4, Washington; 5, Arizona; 6, Cal; 7, Oregon; 8, Washington State; 9, Stanford; and 10, Oregon State. The bottom five could be as bad, as a group, as any second division group over the last 15 years of Pac-10 hoops. … Tucson golfer Michael Thompson earned $6,503 two weeks ago for a seventh-place finish at the Hooters Tour Hilton Gardens Inn Classic in Alabama. He then received one of four sponsor's exemptions in the ongoing PGA Tour Texas Open, where he carded 11 birdies in the first two rounds (68-65) to move into a tie for third place. The Rincon/University grad is scheduled to begin play in the second stage of the PGA Tour Qualifying School next month.

Sometimes you wonder what the goals are for the ASU basketball team.

As announced last week, the Sun Devils are staging a doubleheader on Dec. 14 at the US Airways Center — yet the marquee game is being played by Arizona. The Cats will play potential top-10 power Gonzaga following, ugh, ASU vs. IUPUI.

For the first time in a quarter-century, the Sun Devils are good enough to get the top billing, especially on their home turf. Instead, the perception continues that they aren't good enough to draw a big crowd.