H. Jackson Brown once said, “Our character is what we do when we think no one is looking.”
The Suns’ locker room was a perfect example of that on Friday night .
After a tough loss to the New Jersey Nets, while most writers and bloggers were trying to do their best impressions of Edward R. Murrow, something truly special that would reveal more about the team than any quote was taking place in the corner. [Read more...]
Doubt can be a huge motivator. (And I’m not talking about the movie starring Meryl Streep and Philip Seymour Hoffman. That was just depressing.)
You have likely had that moment in life where a teacher, boss, loved one or complete stranger has doubted your ability, in one way or another, so much so that it pushed you to achieve something you didn’t quite know was possible. They become the type of person you use as motivation as you continue to push yourself. If you haven’t, don’t worry, you will eventually get to join the club. [Read more...]
“Remember Red, hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies.”
Those are the words Tim Robbins’ character, Andy Dufresne, sends to his friend Red, played by Morgan Freeman, in the movie Shawshank Redemption. They are also words that aptly fit the newest member of the Suns, even if his name has an extra d at the end. [Read more...]
When the NBA started pushing their ‘Big Things Are Coming’ slogan it seemed like nothing more than a very creative marketing message from the new age Mad Men in New York. (Since Don Draper would be well into his 80’s by now I’m guessing he wasn’t involved in the creative on this one. That, and he’s a fictional character.)
That all changed when the Suns took the court for their home opener on Monday night. The slogan took on a whole new meaning as the Suns front court of Robin Lopez, Marcin Gortat and rookie Markieff Morris accounted for 41 of the team’s 84 points and 22 of their 45 rebounds. Despite a one point loss, big things were indeed coming, they just happened to be in the form of big men for the Suns. [Read more...]
When starting this weekly ‘Top 5’ blog I could have decided on a simple subject matter to kick things off. Something like ‘the top 5 players in Suns history’ or ‘the top 5 things Charles Barkley said that shocked people’. You know, things that are easy and obvious. Instead I decided to save those for a week or two that I need to mail it in and not really think. (Memo to my bosses: don’t worry, I’ve never mailed anything in other than bills and the occasional magazine subscription.)
Instead of taking the easy road, I decided on something a little more challenging. As you can guess, thanks to the title, the first edition of ‘Top 5’ tackles why Steve Nash is the greatest point guard in Suns history. [Read more...]
Spending four days in a makeshift room inside of a college student union will do strange things to a person’s brain. Especially when said person is fueling themselves with nothing but cafeteria food and any caffeinated beverage they can get their hands on. Early mornings that turn into late nights surrounded by other media members tapping at their keyboards so furiously that it sounds like some kind of old school factory, leads the mind to strange places. Places where they find comparisons between the oddest things.
Case in point, comparing the newcomers on the Phoenix Suns’ roster and new the shows on television this year. Such is life at Grand Canyon University for Suns Training Camp. [Read more...]
Camping isn’t exactly my idea of a good time, especially when it’s cold and rainy outside. See, I grew up in a family whose idea of roughing it was staying at a local motel rather than a national hotel chain. It’s not that we were hoity-toity, quite the contrary; we just weren’t what you’d describe as the outdoors type (we barely even hung out in our backyard, let alone the woods). Despite my aversion, after 28 years I’ve finally found a type of ‘camping’ that fits my style. Phoenix Suns training camp.
Instead of a tent, I have a curtained off section of Grand Canyon University’s Thunder Alley (which, after some intense investigation, I found out is in fact not named after Dan Majerle). In place of the tall trees of the forest, I’m surrounded by the tall players of the Suns and instead of wild animals lurking, there are wild college students and sleep deprived reporters all around. It’s my kind of ‘roughing it.’ [Read more...]
It’s not all monkey business for the Suns Gorilla. Sometimes he gets to sit back, relax and enjoy a film with one of his many famous friends. Well, most of the time he gets to enjoy it.
On this particular evening he and ESPN anchor John Buccigross didn’t seem to see eye-to-eye about the best way to watch Rise of the Planet of the Apes together and cameras just happened to be there to catch it. [Read more...]
‘Tis the season.
In most years that phrase refers solely to the hustle and bustle that comes along with the holidays. This year is a little different than most. In 2011 the saying also applies quite well to the craziness and excitement that will be the Phoenix Suns’ truncated preseason.
Most of you will spend time over the next three weeks running around like Steve Nash on the fast break. While you’re putting together travel plans, buying gifts, decorating the house and figuring out who’s been naughty and nice in preparation of the big day (or days depending on your beliefs), your favorite NBA franchise will be running through their own gauntlet of planning and execution. [Read more...]
