A travel agent I am not, and other observations from the Suns intrasquad scrimmage

My brother and I headed down to Tucson yesterday afternoon for the Suns intrasquad scrimmage at McKale Center, despite our shared dislike for all things UofA (sorry, Matt.) Even though we left a half an hour late, almost ran out of gas on the way down there, and forgot a camera (all my fault,) it was an enjoyable night.

-the crowd was much larger than I expected. This was my first visit to McKale Center but I’d guess it was about 60% full. Pretty solid arena, that McKale Center. Not a bad seat in the house. It’s a shame the University of Arizona Wildcats play there.

-the effort put forth by Shaq was similar to how full McKale Center was. I’m not so sure he broke a sweat. This probably means he isn’t nearly in shape, but I’ll give credit where credit is due. He isn’t at tubby as I thought he’d be.

-Steve Nash didn’t shoot the ball. I don’t think he looked for his shot once.

-how do I put this? Dragic…he needs some work. The few moments he had were overshadowed by sloppy turnovers and poor decision-making. He’s a big, long-armed kid and the potential is there, but patience will definitely be the operative word for this first year.

-Matt Barnes, Alando Tucker and Grant Hill got theirs. Not sure if Tucker has really put on 15 pounds, but he looked strong taking the ball to the hoop. His outside shot looks to be improved, as he buried a few threes. It’s a shame there’s nowhere for him to play.

-total bummer that we didn’t get to see Amare and especially LB. Amare made the most of his absence by wearing some rather gaudy shades, but I would really have loved to see the guys chase LB up and down the court in a game that seemed at times like it was played in slow-motion. The only guy on the squad who has a chance of staying with him is Singletary.

-Coro wasn’t kidding last week when he let us know Lopez has a sweet left hand. His performance wasn’t jaw-dropping by any means, but he really is a big, big dude, and he’s active on both ends.

-with Lopez and Amundson, I like the Suns chances in some sort of hair contest, and with Nash, LB and now Dragic, I love their chances in a soccer match against other NBA teams.

-my brother and I wondered where the officials came from. They did an admirable job of only calling fouls that were either blatant, or needed so a sub could come in (the game was played with a running clock.)

The only player who gave them a hard time was Raja. He seemed to really dress down one of the officials during a break in the action. Dan Majerle was either not pleased with him or laying the sarcasm on really thick when he told him to get back to the bench.

-this being a Suns scrimmage didn’t keep Sprewell, Jordan, Bird, and two Kobe Bryant jerseys away. I own a Bird jersey, so fine. Michael Jordan is the greatest player ever and even though I loathe him, fine. Latrell Sprewell though? I can’t imagine owning, let alone wearing the jersey of the bankrupt yacht skipper. As for the Kobe Bryant jerseys, I’ll follow my UofA’s friends advice in regards to Tucson…if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.

Believe me, I have nothing nice to say.

-the craziest the crowd went was when free t-shirts were launched into the crowd. In this sense, the scrimmage wasn’t any different than any other sporting event I’ve ever been to.

They’re $2 t-shirts, people. Stop it. Just stop it.

-the best mascot in sports today is still the Phoenix Suns Gorilla. It isn’t even close.

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