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The Phoenix Suns defeated the Dallas Mavericks at US Airways 112-106. They won this game in the fourth quarter. They buckled down and played defense, something that has been completely absent this month. Clearly our bench is the better defensive team. They have been all season and they came threw again last night. From valleyofthesuns.com; Mavericks guard Jason Kidd said. “They got those guys in the game and got the lead and their starters come back in and go from there. They gave them energy and life.” Kidd wasn’t the only one complimenting the Suns’ bench that contributed 43 points, including 13 from Amundson and 12 from Dragic. Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said the Suns’ “bench was the difference.”  The Suns bench has averaged 41.8 points per game since Channing Frye and Jason Richardson were removed from the starting lineup. “I thought it was probably the best total team effort we had all year from the standpoint of guys stepping in the game and doing something positive for us and just playing good, hard basketball,” Gentry said.” It really becomes clear why Amare Stoudemire was on the bench, Lou Amundson is a better defensive player and better rebounder. Sadly I think Amare has become one dimensional.

From brightsideofthesun.com; “It’s all good. I brung out the pom-poms for the fourth quarter. They did a great job out there on the court so I just had to cheer them on…We got the win which is the most important thing so we’ve just got to live with that.” I think this is the beginning of the end for Stoudemire. This game shows that he is expendable. If we can find a twenty ten guy available we should go for it. We can win without Stoudemire’s presence in the lineup. I am a big fan of Amare. He has comeback from a lot of adversity. However with a nod towards the future and getting into the playoffs, it may be time to say good by. The TNT losing streak is over. The Suns beat another top 5 team. Last night proves the playoffs are still with in our reach. Go Suns.

I was thinking about drinking at a dive tonight. Someplace I haven’t been in awhile. My choice was going to depend on how the basketball games played out. If the Suns and the Devils lost, it was going to be the Tally Ho. Someplace in walking distance if you know what I mean. The night didn’t start out so good. The Sun Devils lost to the Cal Golden Bears 78-70. The Devils tried to comeback but couldn’t take the lead, Cal always had an answer. Eric Boateng had a great game with 19 points and a career high 13 rebounds. It was the defense that came up short. From azcentral.com; For most teams, that’s no cause for alarm. But for ASU – a team that wins with defense – it’s an issue. The Sun Devils aren’t capable of winning shootouts. They haven’t reached 80 points in a game since before Thanksgiving.”

You know its the overall attitude of this team that makes them so likable but also makes them fold under adversity. Their easy going, friendly attitude is fun to watch and experience when they are winning. That same attitude makes them look weak and vulnerable when they are trying to close games. By nature the Suns are not an in your face, mix it up team. There are no enforcers. Their style of play means we have a lot of players that like to score and score from the perimeter. Open Shots or uncontested lay ups. When the defensive pressure steps up, the team seems to back down. In the fourth quarter this team simply lays down defensively. Offensively there doesn’t seem to be a “go to” player. Amare Stoudemire once had that role and flourished in it, but no more. Losing to the Bobcats 114-109 last night was just another chapter in the story of a team with no backbone. We can talk about trades all we want. Greg Esposito goes over a number of trade possibilties. No trade is going to help unless the overall team mentality, team culture changes. This team does not have the heart and soul to win right now. Oh yeah. Jason Richardson is playing horrible basketball right now.

I think most people believe he is going to retire. Last year he did not hold a press conference to announce he was going to stay. From azcentral.com; “The news was first reported by ESPN, and his agent, Mark Bartelstein, confirmed that a news conference “probably” would be held on Friday. Bartelstein declined to say what Warner had decided. “That’s for Kurt to say,” Bartelstein said. “I’d rather let him make the announcement.” I think Warner has been thinking about the long term impact these concussions are going to have on his life after football. His family means a lot to him and he wants to enjoy his years after football in good health. If he does retire Kurt Warner is going to be missed by a lot of fans, but especially missed by his teammates. Antrel Rolle had this to say. “Judging from conversations that I’ve had with him I think he understands that he’s had a great, Hall of Fame career. I think football has taken its course. But he’s the best teammate I’ve ever had. He’s been a leader on and off the field.”

Hey guess what? Thats right, we blew a lead and lost a game. 124-113 loss is all we have to show for our trip to Utah. It really sucks because Goran Dragic had another amazing game with a career high 32 points. From azcentral.com; “Last seen scoring 18 in Saturday’s fourth quarter, Dragic remained aggressive to set a career high for the second consecutive game before the first half ended. Dragic’s 24-point first half was a major part of the Suns’ 45-point second quarter, their season’s scoring quarter.” This guy is fearless and is developing a pretty complete game. Man I was watching that fourth quarter and thinking to myself “this Suns team cannot stop the ball.” It was amazing seeing the Jazz come down the court and seemingly score every possession. Fourth quarter defense needs to step up.

I knew it was only a matter of time before the fame and pressure got to him. Kurt Warner made an appearance on some unheard of Disney show. From azcardinals.com; “A yeoman’s effort by Kurt, given that the show (and the writing) are just as cheesy as you remember for any of those pre-teen Saturday morning-type sitcoms.” Isn’t he going backwards? I thought you start out at Disney then move on to an adult career of sex drugs and rehab. What ever. Just don’t get caught wearing that uniform on the westside.

Hey guess who is going to the Pro Bowl for the first time? Antrel Rolle! That’s who. From revengeofthebirds.com; “The trip to Miami will be Rolle’s first career Pro Bowl appearance and it certainly proves that the former first round pick has come a long way since struggling with his original position at cornerback. Antrel ended 2009 with 71 tackles, 1.5 sacks, and 4 interceptions. Congratulations to Antrel Rolle who will be representing the Arizona Cardinals next week and makes watching the game a little bit more worth while.” Have fun buddy.

This is how I was cussing watching the fourth quarter of the Suns game tonight.

That was a butt kicking delivered by Arizona on Saturday. ASU got routed in the second half and lost the game 77-58. Things looked good in the beginning with ASU up by 10 going into the half. Then all hell broke loose. One thing is for certain. If ASU falls behind late they are screwed. They just don’t have the offense to make up a large deficit late. From fanster.com; “With 8:35 to go, and Arizona leading by 12, U of A freshman Kevin Parrom was called for a breakaway foul on Ty Abbott, meaning the Sun Devils would get two shots and the ball. Parrom’s foul was not only his 5th of the game, but it also awakened a groggy Sun Devil crowd. It didn’t have the same effect on the team. Abbott made just one of the two free throws, then missed a jumper on the ensuing possession. Solomon Hill made a layup on the other end, starting another 9-1 run over the next 1:15 that stretched the lead to 16, and basically ended the game.” It was a disappointing loss. We have to pick ourselves up and get ready for California on Thursday.

Hey we have added a few more names to the list of players that have committed to ASU. Azcentral’s Jeff Metcalfe is reporting that Kyle Middlebrooks of Fountain Valley, CA has committed. “He expects to play at running back and wide receiver and rushed for more than 1,900 yards and 29 touchdowns as a high school senior.” Metcalfe is also reporting that Centennial High School in Corona, CA has another one of their athletes joining the Sun Devils. This time it’s Defensive lineman Lee Adams. “Adams, 6-foot-2, 255 pounds, has committed to ASU to join a defense that includes his former high school teammates Vontaze Burfict, Brandon Magee, Shelly Lyons and William Sutton.” And Richard Olbert reports that Phoenix Brophy Prep senior kicker Alex Garoutte has committed to ASU as well. “Garoutte grew to become the state’s best high school kicker this past year. He was 5-4, 115 pounds as a freshman.” Nice I like to see those boys stay in state. No reason to lose talent out of state.

Suns are in a rut right now. Lots of questions on what this team is made out of, and what they are trying to accomplish. Nothing was really answered this weekend with one loss and one win. On Friday the Phoenix Suns went own to the Bulls 115-104. This game is going to be remembered for one thing and that is Derrick Rose’s insane dunk 0ver Goran Dragic. It was filthy. And that’s pretty much it. It was a loss set upon the gamble of denying the Bulls the lane and letting them shoot the ball all night long. From brightsideofthesun.com; “In a classic case of pick your poisen, Alvin Gentry’s game plan going in was to make the Bulls (a relatively poor shooting team) “beat us over the top”. That explains giving up 50% shooting to a Bulls team that’s 26th in the league but what about the #1 Suns offense only hitting on 38% of their attempts.” And that my friends is a recipe for a loss.

On Saturday night the Suns had an opportunity to redeem themselves against the Warriors. They rose to the challenge and won 112-103. It was back to normal with Steve Nash scoring 23 points and the bench chipped in 35 points. But the story of this game was Goran Dragic. It is amazing seeing him mature at such a fast rate. Dragic had a career high 23 points. From valleyofthesuns.com; Now Dragic is capable of winning games like he did tonight by going off for 18 points in the fourth quarter alone, a total he had reached only once in an entire game his whole career. These weren’t garbage points either. The Suns trailed entering the quarter and led by a single point with five minutes left. Dragic needed just six shots to reach that total, sinking four of them, three of which were long balls; he also knocked down seven free throws in eight attempts in the deciding period. In all he scored just five points less than the Warriors and 13 more points than the next closest Sun in the deciding quarter. “Tonight I felt great,” Dragic said. “I wasn’t rushing. … When Leandro is out I have to step up and just play hard.” This team just needs to string some wins together, get back some confidence and move up in the standings. We got plenty of time for all of that to happen.

To the shock of his fans, Berry announced his retirement on his radio show last night. From revengeofthebirds.com; “Berry was a question mark heading into this past season, but was extended to a one year contract. After notching six sacks in a situational role, he made 2009 his final season. The news was announced on his radio show, “Big Red Rage” Thursday evening. Berry finished his career with 40 sacks for the Cardinals, landing him 6th all-time in franchise history. Thanks for being one of the key pieces in turning around the franchise Bertrand.” Thanks indeed.

Well now for some good news. Two Arizona Cardinals have made Pro Football Weekly’s All Rookie Team. The are, Beanie Wells and LaRod Stephens-Howling. From fanster.com; “Wells, the Cardinals’ first round draft pick (31st overall) ranked 24th in the league and 2nd among NFL rookies in rushing with 793 yards on 176 attempts. He also scored 7 touchdowns. Stephens-Howling, who was picked in the 7th round out of Pittsburgh, made 23 tackles and recovered a fumble on special teams in 2009. He won NFC Special Teams Player of the Week honors in week 11 after a loss at Tennessee.” Beanie Wells had a great season, I’m glad he stayed healthy.

Do these pictures mean I want the saints to win the Superbowl?????

Ok. The Pac10 is weak this year. I concede that. Everybody is in the same boat the Devils are, but the Devils are taking full advantage of it. From fanster.com; “There’s simply no precedent for what we’re currently observing during the 2009-10 Pacific-10 men’s basketball season. The pundits have been quick to jump all over The West Coast’s Premier Athletic Conference ™ this season and with due cause. Let’s face it: the 10 teams in this league have combined to lose to or have close shaves with the likes of Lipscomb, Portland, Montana, Idaho State, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Sacramento State, UIC, Seattle, Oral Roberts, James Madison, CS-Fullerton, CS-Bakersfield, Long Beach State, Wright State, Eastern Washington and Nicholls State.” This season has provided the Sun Devils with a perfect opportunity to build on the success they have already had under Herb Sendek. They sit alone on top of the Pac10, a conference without a team in the top 25. ESPN/USA Today Poll gave us 15 votes, not enough to crack the top 25.

Ty Abott is taking advantage as well, he is having a great season after struggling early last year. From azcentral.com; “Abbott found his shot three games later. By the postseason, he was a different player, scoring a season-high 20 points in an NCAA Tournament loss to Syracuse, taking momentum into this, his junior season. After a slow start because of a Knee injury, Abbott enters Saturday’s contest against rival Arizona as perhaps the biggest threat in ASU’s rejuvenated offense. Abbott said overcoming last season’s shooting struggles – he missed 51 of 59 from 3-point range during the Pac-10 season – helped him deal with his knee injury. It also made him a more-rounded player, focusing on defense and rebounding. Overall, he’s averaging 10.1 points for the Sun Devils and shooting a team-best 42.5 percent from 3-point range.” We’ll need that kind of production against Arizona on Saturday.

Yes we do have some offensive talent on this team but it is the team defense that is winning games. From statepress.com; “ASU defenders have been straight up bullies during the 2009-10 campaign. I’m talking the beat-you-up-and-take-your-lunch-money variety. ASU (14-5, 4-2 Pac-10) leads the nation in scoring defense (54.6 points per game) and has held eight different opponents to their respective season lows in scoring this season. In the team’s last five games (4-1), ASU opponents have shot just 36.5 percent from the floor, and 13 of the 19 squads the Maroon and Gold has faced have converted field goals at a sub-40-percent clip. Boards are being crashed, shots are being contested, screens are being run through and the hardwood is being mopped up by Sun Devil players hustling after every loose ball.” I love Sendek’s commitment to defense, it makes me confident that the Sun Devil basketball program will continue to be competitive during his tenure as head coach. Go Devils!!

I was thinking the other day, we have a lot of interchangeable players, a lot of talent, and Steve Nash to bring it all together. Tweaking the roster is easy on this team because there is such an abundance of talent. That talent just needs to be motivated from time to time. I wouldn’t be surprised if the roster is mixed up a few more times before the end of the season. It keeps the players on their toes it keeps them motivated and away from complacency. Last night the Phoenix Suns got just what the doctor ordered. Having trouble getting in the W column? Are fans calling for players to be traded? Take 48 minutes of the New Jersey Nets and call me in the morning. It turned out to be a special night for a couple of reasons. First it was Jason Richardson’s birthday. Second it was the battle of the Lopez twins. The Lopez twins put on a great show. From valleyofthesuns.com; “this night was really about Lopez, who started against his twin Brook to become the first pair of twins to start an NBA game against each other in three years since their fellow Stanford alums from the Collins family did it in 2007. With their family watching, both players starred. Brook led the hapless Nets with 26 and 13, but he’s been doing that all year. It was really something to see Robin set or tie a career high for a third straight game by going for 20 points on 8-for-10 shooting along with seven boards and just two personal fouls in a team-high 34 minutes of playing time.” Robin Lopez is really taking advantage of being in the starting lineup. How about JRich? He had an impressive game on his birthday and I wish he would play like this more often. From brightsideofthesun.com; “Jason had a very interesting comment about playing off the bench and not with Nash which jives with something I’ve been saying (which of course makes it all the more interesting) , “It’s a little bit more freedom going in there and creating the scores. With Steve he makes the game so easy you don’t really have to do much. Going in with the second unit I’m being a little bit more aggressive doing the things that I am normally doing and just playing hard.” Playing big minutes without Steve, Jason can fill his normal role where he’s been successful in this league. He’s a guy that needs the ball in his hands and tonight, on his birthday, he delivered 26 points on 10 of 14 shooting in just 28 minutes. Jason also had 7 rebounds – can’t forget that.” Nice to get back in the W column boys and girls.

There were a couple of games where Kurt Warner took a beating, like that last one against the Saints. For a man who is like 58, that can leave a bad taste in your mouth. I bet when Brett Favre was deciding on which team to play for, concerning his second comeback, he choose the team that could protect him the best. “Which offensive line is going to keep me off my ass?” It’s got to be hard for an aging quarterback to make that decision, knowing he might not have any better protection then he did last year. There was a lot of pressure on him this season, anything less than 3 touchdowns a game was considered a poor performance. I don’t know that Warner wants to go through that again. From revengeofthebirds.com; “Speaking to ESPN’s Rick Reilly, Warner sounded more like a guy with both feet out the door. “The three hours on Sundays are still fun. But it’s the whole week, the whole commitment, the ability to sustain it to your fullest, day in and day out…….You feel the pressure. You have a game that isn’t that great and people are like, ‘What’s wrong with Warner?’ That wears on you. You don’t have the joy and the fun and satisfaction of having one of those great games because everybody expects you to have one of those games. You never get to exhale…..It’s kind of been: if I didn’t play well, we lost. And that’s a lot of responsibility. It wears you out.” It kinda sounds like Matt Leinart is going to be the future for the Cards. It could be worse I suppose.

Warner might need one of these if he retires.

The question is why do we suck so bad right now? Could it be our schedule earlier this season? From azcentral.com; “Only Portland and Minnesota among Western Conference teams had played as many games – 42 – as had the Suns through the holiday weekend. And only Houston had equaled the Suns’ road-game total of 23. Already Phoenix has played the league-leading Lakers three times and Eastern Conference leader Boston twice. The Suns also have played the Cleveland Cavaliers, who have the league’s third-best record and the Orlando Magic, with the fourth-best mark, twice each.” Or maybe it’s a lack of confidence. Confidence effects shooting. From fanster.com; “The scary thing is that the Suns seem to be losing a bit of confidence in what they’re doing as Grant Hill stated following the horrible loss in Charlotte:  ”We’ve got to figure out who we are, who we want to be.” How about the uninspired play of one Mr. Jason Richardson? This guys game has dropped off the radar screen. From valleyofthesuns.com; “If the Suns are to make a move it would make the most sense for them to ship out Jason Richardson. The question is, will they find an amenable deal? The biggest sticking point to trading J-Rich is the $14.4 million he’s owed next year. No team in their right mind would want to pay that for a guy averaging an inconsistent 15.1 points per game playing next to Steve Nash in Phoenix’s system, especially when that guy doesn’t exactly make a name for himself on defense to put it kindly. I ultimately think the combination of bad contracts Phoenix would need to eat and lack of talent available in such a trade will preclude such a deal.” I think it would be difficult to make a trade at this point in the season. Depending on who we trade what kind of message are we giving the rest of the team and the fans? Do we want to throw in the towel and start the rebuilding process? One thing is perfectly clear. The style of offense we are running is dependent on the three ball. If we shoot poorly from three point range this team is going to continue to struggle.

Over at azcentral.com; they are talking about possible off season moves the Cards might take. Should Ken Whisenhunt get a new contract? Absolutley. Should we keep Anquan Boldin? Nope. Keep Matt Leinart or go shopping in the draft? Undecided. I’m leaning towards keeping the guy. The other decisions are no-brainers, make Beanie Wells our feature back and rework Darnell Dockett’s contract and lock him up. No need for anything drastic. I think we have enough talent to make the playoffs again next year. Its a change talking about the success of the Cards. I don’t know about you guys but I had a lot of fun this season. From revengeofthebirds.com; “That’s not to say that we have nothing to be proud of. That marks three straight non-losing seasons that we as Cardinals have experienced under the Ken Whisenhunt era. During that time we saw one of the most explosive offenses in the league that won the division twice, won four playoff games and one NFC Championship game. We’ve also seen countless records broken and more national recognition that we’ve ever been accustomed to before. The Cardinals have the pieces set in place to be a competitive team for a long time. With some tweaking to both sides of the ball, the Cardinals may be ready to make another Super Bowl run in 2010.” Yeah, I had a blast watching the Cardinals this season. We’ll get’em next year!

Well lets talk about the positives. 6 Suns scored in double figures, we out rebounded them 46-42, and Robin Lopez had a great game playing in the starting lineup. From valleyofthesuns.com; “And the biggest positive to take away from it all was the play of Robin Lopez. Lopez notched a career-high 19 points to go with 7 rebounds in his first start of the season. Beyond the numbers though, Lopez showed that he can be effective rebounding, scoring in the paint and providing solid interior defense. The Suns outscored the Grizzlies in the paint 70-52. Lopez even managed to not foul out until the final 11 seconds! Whether or not this improved Lopez will get more starts will be an interesting story line to watch.” He was playing great, he added 3 blocked shots. I don’t know if Alvin Gentry is going to keep this lineup but it’s nice to have some interior defense for a change. So now the bad news. We have lost four in a row, all on the road. I don’t know what the solution is. Our success shooting the three ball seems critical if we are to win games. I am not worried just yet. I think this team is in a slump and will soon pull out of it. We just need some wins to give us confidence and a little momentum. From brightsideofthesun.com; ” But the sky is not falling, not yet. People will come up with trade scenarios, they will go after Gentry’s head, and they will even suggest that the Suns need to trade Nash. If you are one of those fans I respect your opinion and I understand where you are coming from but teams go through slumps and just as quick they can ride a winning streak and make us forget about all this. I won’t get into details of who sucked and who didn’t. You can look at the box score. Basketball is a team game. The issues that the Suns have need to be fixed as a team. If Richardson or Barbosa or Frye are not playing well, others have to step up. Just like Robin did today. He was the only bright spot in this game.” Lets hope we can get a W against the Nets on Wednesday.

Lopez In The House!!!