Friday links

Suns/Mavs tonight.  I’m not feeling it just yet but I’m sure once Jason Terry hits his first 15-footer that will change.  Dirk was sick last night as the Mavs eeked out a victory over the Knicks at home.  Sick Dirk and a tired Mavs team: advantage Suns.

It’ll be nice having the Suns play at least two games this week.  Much like Coach Porter’s insistence on switching on everything late in games, the schedule these last couple of weeks was to say the least, strange.  Pretty slow week.

Onto the links:

-the powers that be here at Fanster.com were good enough to include me in their voting for 2008 Phoenix Athlete of the Year.  This year’s winner was Kurt Warner, praise be the Lord.  In case you’re wondering, I had him first on my ballot, so unlike my vote in popular elections (3rd party, all the time, every time,) my vote wasn’t thrown away.  Boldin was next, followed by the Unit, with Shaq n’ Nash rounding out my top five.

-I always enjoy reading Paul Forrester of SI.com.  This week he states what I think a great number of fans believe:

“If each team could make one New Year’s resolution for its fans, please let it be to cut down on the barrage of fluff during a game. From the videos to the fan cams to the music to the T-shirt tosses, fans’ senses are assaulted as soon as they take their seat and aren’t eased until they leave the building. When a nose-bleed seat can cost $75, we understand teams’ desire to entertain, but with so little time to digest what’s happening on the floor, the game often feels like just another distraction.”

I would LOVE to attend a game where the only noise heard is the squeaking of shoes and fans hooting and hollering.  Nothing else.  No music, no cheerleaders, and absolutely, positively, no t-shirt cannons.  The Gorilla can stay though.  I still love you, Gorilla.

-the Suns will not be signing Stephon Marbury but that doesn’t stop BSotS’s Mike Lisboa from finding a Suns/Heat similarity and running with it.  Sure Mike, I’ll sign your petition.  And then I’ll tear it up.  The very thought of Marbury in a Suns uniform again makes me nauseous.

-if you haven’t seen Nash hit 21 free throws in a minute without missing, please have a look.  An Aussie has already stepped up to the challenge, something I wouldn’t stand a chance of doing.  I’m a decent shooter, but these guys are otherworldly.

Every year my friends and I do a Manolympics.  Free throw shooting is the fourth event of our mandecathlon.  Last year I drained 8 of 10 (hit the first 7 in a row) but this year?  A miserable, pathetic, disgusting 2 for 10.  I’m ashamed to admit the peanut gallery moved into my head, rearranged the furniture, broke it, and set it on fire.

-What goes around comes around, what comes around goes around.  It’s a belief Ben’s Suns Blog subscribes to, particularly when it comes to the Suns.  I agree with Ben right up until he quotes Match Point, one of the single worst films I have ever seen.  It’s pretty rare for a movie to be so excruciatingly awful it makes you angry, but Woody Allen was able to put together two solid hours of rage-inducing junk.

-20 Second Timeout is always really good, and his discussion on the NBA/NCAA announcer swap this week is no different, but beware.  Site layout isn’t a strong suit.

-taking Kobe apologists head-on, Basketbawful comes out of his shell a bit and does a lot more than point out the worst of the night, and it’s fantastic:

Look, every NBA defense tightens up in the fourth quarter. Every superstar receives the bulk of the defensive attention. It’s called clutch time. That’s when one (or more) of three things has to happen: The player must find a way to score, create shots for his teammates, or force his way to the basket to draw fouls. Yes, Kobe passed to teammates for open shots they didn’t hit, but he himself was blanked, scoring only two points. And as for driving to the rim, he attempted one layup (which he hit) and five jumpers (which he missed). Frankly, since he and his teammates weren’t hitting from the outside, he should have gone hard to the hole and forced the refs to make a call. That’s what Jordan used to do, and, more often than not, it’s what Dwyane Wade does now.

See, here’s the thing: Great players, MVPs, they have to step it up when their teammates cannot. When go-to guys can’t be gone to, that’s a problem.

Is Shaq our go to guy down the stretch?  Is it Amare?  Is it Nash?

-free League Pass next week.

-I don’t own a cell (you can’t make me do it, I won’t do it,) twitter is a foreign concept to me, and tweep sounds like some sort of toy my kids want, but you’ll see me there with Fanster.

-Saturday Night Live had a sports special Sunday night, with a Shaq/Tracy Morgan skit included.  Morgan is Shaq’s dad, Shaq comes home late, and he gets a spanking.  Pretty funny stuff.  I’d link to the video for you, but you see, NBC is woefully behind the times.  They’re the worst.  Instead, Shaq on MADtv will have to do.

-hearing Suns fans boo in the third quarter of the Pacers game I couldn’t help but think of Henry Abbott discussing the affect that sort of thing has.

-I was fortunate enough to attend a number of Arizona Cardinals games this year, their playoff win included.  The atmosphere was electric, like nothing else I’d ever been a part of.  As my friend said afterward, let’s do that again real soon.

My podcast partner Michael Schwartz of Valley of the Suns was there as well and came away thinking despite the Cardinals’ recent success, this is, and will always be a Suns town.  Michael is correct of course, but what struck me about the Cardinals crowd was their joy in being there.

Everyone was having fun.  Suns fans haven’t had fun since probably Coach D’s second year at the helm.

-Paul Coro’s first slice of orange this morning:  “Robin Lopez has more fouls (42) than rebounds (40) this season.”  Off to the D-League you go!

-speaking of the D-League, my main man Phoenix Stan had a chat with Courtney Sims.  Stan is turning in to a regular Baba Wawa.

-the grass isn’t always greener.  Shawn Marion is learning that valuable lesson the hard way.  (SLAM)

2009’s first full week is just about wrapped up.  Here’s to hoping the Suns bounce back tonight against the hated Mavericks.  Remember, if you’re drinking, don’t drive, and if you’re driving, don’t drink.  Have a great weekend everyone.

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