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Man, I am dying to see some Suns basketball! The run and gun style, Amare dunking on people, Nash with his no-look assist and Hill blowing by some kid half his age. Preseason starts on October 6th when the Suns go international and face Belegrade, then its the most exciting preseason game of the year. Thats right, playing outdoors again at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden in Palm Springs on October 10th. Hopefully the teams will be better prepared for the cooler temps. I almost forgot, the Suns are headed south of the boarder for a little Tecate and tequila when they play the 76ers in Monterrey Mexico on October 18th. And what about that lineup, what can we expect? According to bleacherreport.com Channing Frye will start at center instead of Robin Lopez. That sucks for Lopez who was hoping to get the starting nod. It looks like Alvin Gentry is looking to keep the paint wide open for Amare to do his work. “Frye’s offensive style suits the Suns much more then Lopez’s. Frye is a guy who prefers the mid-ranger jumper, and is continually improving his game from the outside. This outside game will help free up the lane for Amare Stoudemire, something that was always crowded with the Big Aristotle out there.” I still think Lopez will have a positive impact this season. He has been working hard and can provide a defensive stop when needed.

PAC-10 play starts on Saturday for the Sun Devils when they take on Oregon State 2-2. This is an important game because the PAC-10 is wide open and a win could bring us closer to playing in the post season. And it looks like Danny Sullivan is going to remain the starting quarterback. In fairness there were some dropped passes in the second half that were not Sullivans fault. What ever the case may be, Coach Dennis Erickson still has confidence in him. From fanster.com; ”Sullivan completed just 10 of 32 passes for 116 yards with one touchdown and one interception in ASU’s 20-17 loss. And he, himself didn’t sugarcoat his performance after the game. “I didn’t play my best game and that’s the worst part about it,” Sullivan said. “I feel so bad for this team because the defense played so well. There were some plays that I should’ve made that I didn’t make and it sucks.” I suppose you could say he didn’t lose the game. What ever. Look if he is going to be the starter, lets get behind him and focus on Oregon State, we have a great defense and a great running game and with Sullivan’s game management, that should be enough for a win in our PAC-10 opener.

You know how not to be disappointed? Don’t get your expectations up. This is how I am approaching this upcoming Suns season and I am beginning to believe thats how the Suns players are approaching it as well. The team was practically giddy at media day. From the brightsideofthesun; ”Today was certainly the Bright Side of the Sun. Steve Nash called his mood “joyous,” Amare was singing and pounding a basketball playfully. J-Rich was all smiles. He even talked about playing defense, and Steve Kerr was, Steve Kerr.” This team is under the radar, and its a good team. I think you see more of why Steve Nash liked the situation he was coming back to. No expectations, if we make it to playoffs the season will be considered a success. I think the fans are going to appreciate this new attitude the most. The team is going to play fast and loose, plenty of points plenty of excitement.

You know, when all is said and done, the Devils lost an away game to a Bulldog team that is undefeated in the SEC, by a field goal. That doesn’t make it any easier to stomach but I think it is wise to take a step back and realize what the expectations were at the beginning of the season. The loss by USC really puts this PAC 10 season up for grabs. As for the loss against Georgia. Really only two names stand out. Dimitri Nance and A.J. Green. First the good guy, Dimitri Nance. Nance ran for 92 yards and added another 47 yards in receiving. In fact he was our best receiver. Now the bad guy. watching the game it really seemed like the A.J. Green show. He had 8 receptions for 153 yards and a touchdown. And Green blocked a punt that would have given us the lead. Then there is Danny Sullivan. I believed he would have a decent game because he would be conservative and not try to take over or force passes. He definitely did not try to take over and I think that has more to do with his ability, or lack of. His accuracy was horrible. Brock Osweiler is bigger, stronger, faster and more accurate. I would really like to see him get more playing time. Well its time for PAC-10 play to begin. ASU will face Oregon Sate this Saturday at Sun Devil Stadium and I still believe we have an opportunity for a great season. 

Jeez, what a horrible week for football in the valley. What happened to our team? Where are the real Arizona Cardinals?   I was hoping for a shootout Sunday Night. Instead I watched a blowout. It was embarrassing to watch. This looks like a totally different team then the one I watched last year during the playoffs. the 31-10 loss has put the Cards at 1-2, both loses coming at home. The offensive line looked awful, Kurt Warner was sacked 3 times and hurried another 6. If Warner could have got the protection Manning got it really would have been a shoot out. If I had gotten the protection Manning had I could have thrown for at least two touch downs and about 240 yards!! Vince Marotta at fanster.com thinks there’s more to it. “Nobody on Arizona’s defense got within 2 yards of Manning all night, and that’s only partly because of the Colts’ solid protection up front. Manning is so decisive on his decisions and so razor sharp with his reads and delivery, it’s almost not fair. Sorry Tom Brady, Joe Montana and John Elway. The 62,692 fans in attendance and millions more on national television got to watch the best quarterback ever to play the game in rare form on Sunday night. His name is Peyton Manning.” Yes the defense sucked as well. The Cards allowed 505 total yards, Manning went 24 for 35, 379 yards and 1 interception. And What the hell has happened to DRC?? He was was burned for two touchdowns! So should we all be concerned now? Hell yes! Thank the heavens this team has a bye next week, this team needs to recover mentally and physically. 

I can’t think of anyone more disappointed in the Diamondbacks performance this season than Dan Haren. This guy could have easily been a Cy Young Award winner if the team could actually play defense, fielding percentage is among the worst in the National League. He is definitely over it. From azcentral.com;“Personally, I’ve had a good year, but it’s not a lot of fun right now,” Haren said. “I’ve never been part of a team that has lost this much.” This season can not get over with fast enough. It will go down as one of the most disappointing in team history. The team had to deal with some unfortunate injuries but how it responded to adversity reflects on it’s skipper. I don’t know how much improvement can be expected with A.J. Hinch at the helm.

I love a challenge. And so should this Sun Devil team. Well lets get to the match up. Georgia’s defense is bad, at least on paper. However the Bull Dogs are undefeated in the SEC. From azcentral.com; ”Georgia ranks last in the conference in points allowed, passing yards and total yards but still managed to win the past two weeks largely on the back of the offense.” ASU’s offense is firing on all cylinders. And Danny Sullivan may be the perfect quarterback for this game. What I mean to say is Sullivan is expected to manage the offense. That is exactly what is called for. Manage the offense, do a nice mix of running and passing plays and don’t turn the ball over. Our quarterback does not need to carry us on his shoulders. I think the Sun Devil defense will be the key to the game. If the defense plays to its potential the rest of nation is going to take notice.

The Devils do have some concerns, kicker Thomas Weber is going to miss 5-6 games. Walk on Bobby Wenzig made all 5 extra points and a 24 yard field goal against ULM. Lineback Mike Nixon might also see some kicking duties, he was the kicker at his high school as well as the quarterback and safety, From azcentral.com; ”I’ll get a feel and see what happens,” Erickson said. “To be honest with you, I never lost a kicker during a season. All of the years I’ve done this, you wouldn’t think there would be very many firsts. But this is a first. It’s not like you’re three-deep at kicker. That’s not how you operate. You don’t put that many on scholarship.” And then there is the weather. 60 percent chance of showers on game day. I believe that will be in our favor, it will help our defense and if we establish a running game early it should not hurt our offense.

One last thing. I was reading over at pitchforknation and came across this; “Georgia fans are oblivious to anything about your program.  We know you’re from McCain country and your mascot is the Sun Devil.  Beyond that, you’ll be hard pressed to find 10 people that could name 5 players on your team.  Our fans are pretty up to speed on the SEC and Tech.  But you guys are wildly off our radar.  Most of us have probably only seen ASU play twice in the past 3-5 years. Once against us and once against USC on Thanksgiving Night.  Maybe some folks saw the Holiday Bowl.  You are almost never on TV here, and if you are…it’s the 10:00 Fox game.  By then, we’re getting ready to doze off after a long day of tailgating.  If you’re looking to talk match-ups about the game with our fans….good luck.  We just know we’re going to win because we watched what happens when you guys played those other games.  You got mauled.” What ever pigf*#kers, its payback time, Go Devils!!!

So I was reading about all the fuss over Marcus Fitzgerald and his tweets concerning Kurt Warner. profootballtalk.com

has some examples. “Ok another drive & kurt doesnt throw 2 larry.  YOU OLD ASS MAN, THROW HIM THE DAMN BALL.” and “Bout time kurt!  I almost had to come to jacksonville & strangle his ass lmao.” To be honest I think some of us might have been saying the same thing. There’s no doubt that Larry Fitzgerald was feeling the same way. These players have a lot of pressure on them and it can be diffucult to find the appropriate way to vent that frustration. Larry is taking it in stride and is distancing himself from his brothers tweets. From google.com; ”Fitzgerald said that he told his brother he was disappointed in him for stirring up the controversy. The Arizona all-pro receiver says he knows it’s a team game first, ahead of any individual goals”.

Saturday Night was a great night, ASU got the win and I got to hang out on Mill with one of my best friends, who happened to be sporting a new mustache. The verdict on the stache, guys thought it was cool, girls thought it was creepy. The verdict is still out on this Sun Devils team. It has nothing to do with their performance but more to do with their competition. We can talk about the numbers put up against ULM, 38-14 win, 4 touchdowns and a field goal. Two of those touch downs came from Dimitri Nance who ran for 89 yards. Danny Sullivan threw for 220 yards, a career high. It’s difficult to put any of these numbers into context until we face better competition. That will come next Saturday against Georgia. one statistic that is in our favor going into Athens is the fact that we have not turned the ball over. From pitchforknation; ”Dennis Erickson said after his team’s win over ULM that he wasn’t “totally happy” with the performance. But when pointing out the positives of the game, a huge smile washed over Erickson’s face when he mentioned that the Sun Devils have yet to commit a turnover in 2009. Guess, what? At +8 in turnovers in two games, the Sun Devils lead the nation in turnover margin. And looking ahead once again, Georgia has coughed up the ball 9 times in their first 3 games. Look for the Sun Devils to attack the football once again on Saturday.” Turnovers could kill us against Georgia. Vince Marotta at Pitchforknation had another great point. The weather was awesome. The evening had nice mild temps perfect for watching a football game at Sun Devil Stadium, or cruising up and down Mill Ave. Man, Its just like Wooderson said. I get older and those girls stay the same age.

Kurt Warner has still got his stuff. Yeah…”Yawn” he only set an NFl record for completion percentage, set a franchise record 15 consecutive passes completed and threw for 243 yards and two touch downs. From azcentral.com; ”He was operating,” Whisenhunt said. “Whenever Kurt is operating like that, it seems our offense just goes.” Does this mean Warner is born again? Not exactly. “Warner, 38, joked that the record “probably means that everybody thinks I’m a little younger than last week. It was nice after the way I played last week to come back and have this kind of game.” The 31-17 win on Sunday was needed. It was an overall good game for the Arizona Cardinals. The defense quieted a comeback attempt and the breaks seemed to go our way all day. Antrel Rolle got a nice surprise when the ball fell into his hands after Calais Campbell blocked a field goal attempt, Rolle returned the ball for 83 yard touch down. It was that kind of day for the Jacksonville Jaguars. You know azscott over at raisingzona.com has a great point. The consistency of our play will get us another NFC championship. Its a long season and we will not be able to dominate every game, there are going to be some dog fights. Consistency from the Card’s offense and defense will get us through those tough games.

Nashy is at it again. Does Nash have ADD? Most people take it easy in the off season, It seems Steve Nash has been on a world tour. Maybe by getting all this traveling out of his system, It will easier for him to buckle down and focus on the Suns regular season. Nash recently accepted an an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree from the University of Victoria. Nice, a law degree might come in handy if anyone tries to steal a business idea like an idea for a TV show or something. From suns.com; “I’m so honored to be receiving this degree from the University of Victoria,” said Nash recently, who was raised in Victoria. “From watching (former Vikes basketball star) Eli Pasquale play, to learning from coaching greats like Kathy and Ken Shields, to shagging soccer balls for my sister and her teammates, UVic has played a big role in who I am as an athlete. More than that though, growing up in a university town gave me access to a whole new realm of experience that enriched and broadened my view.”

And if that isn’t honor enough, Nash will be carrying the Olympic torch for Canada when they host the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. “I’ll run through those mountains if they ask me too,” Nash told the Canadian Press. “To carry the torch is an honor, and to do it here in B.C. is a dream come true.” Awesome, good for you buddy. Read more here.

How do you keep a 37 year old injury plagued center, a 36 year old injury plagued forward and a 35 year old point guard healthy for an entire season? It’s easy. All you need is Suns head athletic trainer Aaron Nelson. Aaron Nelson was named the 2008-2009 Joe O’Toole NBA Athletic Trainer of the Year. The honor was bestowed upon him by the The National Basketball Athletic Trainers Association (NBATA). Every Suns fan knows Aaron Nelson is the best trainer in the world. Nelson has given a second career to Grant Hill and Shaq and has kept Steve Nash healthy and still putting up great numbers. Aaron Nelson has been at the forefront of sports medicine. From brightsideofthesun; “The training techniques used by Nelson and his team are part of the National Academy of Sports Medicine’s (NASM) Corrective Exercise and Optimum Performance Training (OPT) models. Designed to not only look at what’s wrong with an athlete, these models ask “why is it injured?” The OPT-based training program is safe, progressive and personalized to meet each player’s needs and specific goals”. So he’s not just telling players to “put some ice on it”. Thats good to know. Aaron Nelson has been with the Suns for 10 years man! He took over for the legendary and Ring Of Honor member Joe Proski. Magic Fingers was a legend but I believe it’s only a matter of time before Aaron Nelson joins him in the Ring Of Honor. Nelson will be formally recognized when the Suns play the Hawks on February 19th 2010.

So Kurt Warner is only 38. Hey, I know what its like being older. You don’t recover as quickly from things like drinking, or hip-replacement, or having a 300 pound lineman fall on you. On the flip side, hopefully, you have acquired a fair amount of wisdom. You can quickly recognize when a situation is changing for the better or worse. You know what to expect, its not your first rodeo. If Kurt Warner can get some protection, just a few seconds longer, he can take advantage of all that wisdom and put this Arizona Cardinals offense back on track. From azcardinals.com; ”Warner didn’t have a great game in the opener but it was a far cry from a debacle, after he completed 26-of-44 passes for 288 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions in the opener. Coach Ken Whisenhunt acknowledged Warner “made some bad passes,” but also mentioned the protection breakdowns and some dropped passes. That’s all part of the game,” Whisenhunt said. “I don’t think anyone has lost any confidence in anybody.” Warner has seen and heard it all before. He believes in himself and in his abilities. “Last year I found the fountain of youth and until I find it again and we start winning and all those things happen, that’s how this business works,” Warner said with a smile. “They will always look at your shortcomings when you’re not having success and overlook them when you are having success.” Winning cures everything and a win against Jacksonville would be nice.  Lets hope the practices were really good this week and we can see that Cards team that went to the Super Bowl.

I’m going to the game this Saturday. Its been cooling down at night so I hope not to be sweating my ass off. However massive perspiration coupled with heavy alcohol intake makes for a nice buzz. So we are coming of a blow out of a much lesser opponent. What kind of fight is Louisiana-Monroe going to put up. Well for one thing they are coming off a blow out as well. Defeating a lower division Texas Southern team 58-0. We should get a better idea about the Sun Devil secondary. From pitchforknation; ”Redshirt junior Trey Revell calls the signals for ULM and is coming off a 2008 in which he set school records in several categories including completion percentage. Revell boasts an accurate and strong arm and comes into Saturday’s game already having completed over 63% of his passes for 435 yards and 3 touchdowns. Even more impressive, to me at least, is the fact that Revell went down to Texas, possibly the most hostile environment he’s ever played in, and only threw one pick against the daunting Longhorn secondary. Revell’s top targets are senior Darrell McNeal and sophomore Luther Ambrose. McNeal has caught a pass in 24 consecutive games and comes into this game as the Warhawks’ early leader in receiving. Ambrose is a deep threat who scored on a 75-yard touchdown pass from Revell against Texas. He’s speedy and rangy considering his size and boasts a world-class set of hands. LaGregory Sapp and JJ McCoy, who scored six touchdowns as a freshman last year, should also be watched.” The Devils are really fortunate to have a bye after their home opener. The offense and defense can be tweaked a little and everyone is rested and ready to play. This game should be a little more competitive and give us fans a better idea of what kind of team we have.

Hells Bells, this is the feel good story of the week. sportsillustrated.com has picked Arizona State’s Lisa Charisse Blanco as their cheerleader of the week. And this girl is a knockout. Not that we would expect anything less from ASU. Your head is on a swivel when you walk thru that campus. She’s a sophomore and loves the Suns, wants to have dinner with Charles Barkley, and….Loves her small feet? Sounds like the perfect girl. Looks like the perfect girl. I am going to the game on Saturday and will be on the look out for this beauty. Check out some more pictures here, they’ll bring a tear to your eye.