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| Friday, October 03, 2008 |
| Phoenix Suns Scrim '08 |
As long as Steve Kerr is the GM of the Phoenix Suns, the team plays a public scrimmage here in Tucson at the U of Arizona (Kerr is an alumni). I live in Tucson. How convenient.
I got there quite early and got a seat in the third row (which is just elevated enough to be a better spot for photos than the front row). I may consider seeing if I can sit in the front on the ends of the court next time - it's not the best place to see the strategy and the game, but it's a great spot for photography.
From a fans' perspective, the most interesting thing was watching the (many) new guys on the squad. Several are there just for training camp, but it served as a good introduction since I haven't been following the various transaction news this summer and hadn't really heard or seen anything about these guys.
 One nice thing about sitting so close to the action is that I got a chance to see a lot of the equipment that they use to play music, to see the announcers, and generally see how the stuff worked. One bit of software I didn't expect to see controlling the music during the game: Winamp. Really.
There is another benefit to being near the press side - there is a mat that players will periodically wipe off their shoes with before coming into a game, so I got to see a lot of the players come up very close and get some decent shots of them. Being on the bench side also allowed me to see a lot of the coaching being done.
Robin Lopez is a  very big dude, but he seemed to be enjoying himself and in particular seemed very interested in learning from coaches and other players.
 Labels: basketball, Suns, University of Arizona |
posted by Steve @ 11:43 PM  |
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| Wednesday, April 30, 2008 |
| A Relationship Complicated by Heartbreak |
The Phoenix Suns have become one of the best first-round exit playoff teams in NBA history, and notched yet another 'great' series (along with many others that were usually lost), and afterwards my wife and I sat down and had a talk about the Suns. In particular, she pointed out that during the playoffs she would constantly ask her co-workers how the Suns were doing on a game day - not because she especially cared about the Suns (she likes 'em fine but not the way we do), but because she knew that when the Suns lost big games, she had to go home after work and do some psychological damage control on her pissed/frustrated husband.
Put it this way: I have drunk alcohol to comfort myself exactly twice: once because I was wrongly fired from a good teaching job out of malice, and once just after Game 1 of this playoff series, which was a thriller, but ultimately was a loss.
This is no way to treat your wife, or yourself, and it needed to change.
I've determined that in order to be a Suns fan, you have to have a bit of emotional distance from this. This is true of anything that one can be emotionally invested in, but can't do much if anything to actually control: politics, pro sports (i.e., not ones that you're actually playing in), the accomplishments of others, etc.
Games can be exciting, but I have to learn to let it just wash away, after every disappointment. I'm 27 and I've been following this franchise since I was seven or so (1987) - and at this pace I'll have ulcers by the time I'm 30.
The truly maddening thing about the Phoenix Suns are always an A-minus team. They're consistently an exciting, playoff-bound team with realistic hopes for a title. In fact, the Suns have the 4th-best all-time winning percentage of all active teams:
- Los Angeles Lakers (.618)
- San Antonio Spurs (.595)
- Boston Celtics (.587)
- Phoenix Suns (.556)
Of course, there are 34 championships between those four teams in 62 years - a little over half - and none of them belong to the Suns. I suspect that the Spurs very recently overtook the Celtics because the Celtics just plain sucked for about the last 10 years until Kevin Garnett's arrival this year. The Suns hold the record for most playoff appearances without a championship (26 of 40 seasons). In fact, they're in the sixth place (of 30+ teams) for how often they're in the playoffs, and the newest team on the list:
- Lakers 54/60 (90%)
- Sixers 44/59 (75%)
- Celtics 45/62 (72%)
- Spurs 28/41 (68%)
- Pistons 40/60 (66%)
- Suns 26/40 (65%)
The lack of an NBA salary cap for a long time is a big reason that the teams from L.A., Philadelphia, Boston, and Detroit have such high percentages. San Antonio and Phoenix were born within a year of each other and went through similar growing pains to post very similar winning records, except of course that San Antonio is a bunch of assholes. (I'm bitter, but I'm not alone.)
Although my wife doesn't agree, I argue that the "A-minus" syndrome is actually much worse than being a Chicago Cubs or Arizona Cardinals fan. With those teams, any foray into the playoffs (if they make it into the playoffs at all) is a huge and great thing. Hope rises for a championship, certainly, but to an extent you can be happy just knowing they got as far as they did. Suns fans can't take much satisfaction in being a playoff team because they're always a playoff team. They've missed the playoffs twice in the last twenty years. Even the years they they were out, they weren't terrible (36-46 and 29-53, the former record being good enough for this year's Eastern playoffs). For fans of perenially mediocre teams, there's also the added bonus of having a community of loser-lovers that has grown up around the team. With the Suns, every year has high expectations. It's emotionally untenable.
That's not to say the Suns haven't done me some good, in the NBA, in the Phoenix community, for basketball in general, and even for me personally.
- I have learned to evaluate my own likes and dislikes through this team. In the mid-nineties, I had a huge falling-out with someone who was a Bulls fan. He liked Chicago because he was from Chicago. I decided that was a stupid reason to like a team: what if everyone on that team was a jerk? I thought about this for years; pondered the nature of how where you were born can influence your behavior and how stupid that is. I decided I like the Suns because they're a class act. Not only the current team, but historically the Suns have valued good people, who care about their communities, and even the rebels - Barkley, Shaq - were only bad boys because of their passion and the game. Barkley was acutely aware of it: "I am not a role model." You'll never find a Dumas or a Bowen on the Suns for long, if at all.
- The Suns inspired me to play basketball once during high school, and now again in my adult life. Steve Nash in particular has inspired my current run, knowing that he has roughly the same body type as I do, but has worked on his body and his skills with maniacal intensity. His work ethic inspires me, in practicing my free throws, and also in my music and work.
- I suspect Suns' Charities is one of the reasons the NBA Cares came about in 2005. I don't know if the Suns organization was the first NBA franchise to make charity an integral part of its existence, but I do know it was a good model for the rest of the league to follow when it wanted to clean up its image. Kevin Johnson and A.C. Green, in particular, come to mind as extraordinarily community-minded people. Both are still doing community work and I heard Johnson is even running for mayor in his hometown.
- The Suns have been a point-guard franchise for about twenty years, now. We've had roughly half of the truly great point guards in the last twenty years on our team at some point or another: Kevin Johnson, Jason Kidd, Stephon Marbury (in his prime), Steve Nash, Joe Johnson, Dennis Johnson, and Sam Cassell have all been Suns. I'm a big believer that the game of basketball is best when it is about movement and flow. I believe in my core that things like hack-a-Shaq, intentional fouls, dominant centers, and 70-point games are antithetical to what Naismith wanted: an athletic, skill-based game.
- As a web guru, I appreciate the absolutely ludicrous amount of work that the Suns put into their media. They post thousands of hours of video on their site, have players and staff blog occasionally, and even created a MySpace-like fan community site called Planet Orange. That willingness to explore technology - and spend money on it - in the name of the fan community is impressive.
Ultimately, I'm glad to be a Suns fan. It's a relationship complicated by heartbreak and disappointment but made healthy by the sense that the organization keeps its head up. It continues to have faith in a pure vision of what basketball is and should be; it has faith in its community and despite the escalating cost of games and inaccessibility of the players, makes real efforts to connect to its community.
They have strength of conviction in their work and in what is right; in small ways, through that, so do I.Labels: basketball, community, heroes, Internet, life, sports, Suns, zen |
| posted by Steve @ 4:09 PM |
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| Saturday, April 19, 2008 |
| Potential Awesome |
The Phoenix Suns' championship run begins in a few hours. Barack Obama has his shot at sewing up the Democratic nomination in the next few weeks. I'll be talking to my landlord about possibly setting up a rent-to-own for my first home. I'll be bringing my car back home and driving my own car for the first time since October, in preparation for the final stages of its restoration.
There is so much potential for joy in my life in May, it's ridiculous, and I have almost no control over any of it.Labels: basketball, cars, house, Leelu, Obama, playoffs, Suns, Volkswagen |
| posted by Steve @ 9:54 AM |
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| Thursday, April 03, 2008 |
| The NBA is crazy |
I am pretty pessimistic about the Suns' usual treatment by the referees, especially during the playoffs. In general, I gauge exactly how bad calls were by how reporters not named Coro react to the game (although Coro often agrees with his fellow press; we're lucky to have him). TrueHoop is epecially good about this. A few things about the Denver game were mentioned around the press:
TrueHoop on the Nuggets game:
This one was also high-scoring like the game the night before, but it wasn't as fun. Lots of referee intervention including an apparent ejection for laughing, phantom fouls on both teams, missed calls, and some sad missed Shaquille O'Neal free throws On Dan D'Antoni's first-ever technical (from Coro):
When Suns assistant Dan D'Antoni got his first technical foul in three NBA seasons Monday, official Joey Crawford told the scorer, "Technical foul on (Mike) D'Antoni's brother, whatever his name is." He already has more than assistant Phil Weber, who has yet to get one in nine years on the bench. The East Valley Tribune has also noticed:
Complaining about a string of no-calls on Leandro Barbosa drives to the basket with referee Monty McCutchen near the end of the third, Dan D’Antoni tried to continue the conversation with official Zach Zarba when the third quarter ended — only to be hit with a technical foul by McCutchen from about 60 feet away.
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Gordan Giricek said all he was doing was trying to stop a three-point play. Amaré Stoudemire waved his hands in disgust at a call. Raja Bell swears he was just laughing. But it all added up to four more technical fouls for the Suns in Tuesday’s 126-120 loss to the Denver Nuggets, pushing their total to 11 in just the last three games. “It’s been a pretty expensive week,” center Brian Skinner joked. Make that an expensive six weeks. In the 23 games since Shaquille O’Neal joined the team, Phoenix has been “teed up” 26 times. That's averaging more than one a game. You know... it's not like we have Ron Artest (assault) or Bruce Bowen (kicking) or Ginobili (whining) or 'Sheed (sheer intensity) on our team.
Stoudemire is more aware than most of not keeping your cool & staying on the bench means.
Nash is as gentlemanly as you can get.
Giri? Seriously?
Dan D'Antoni? Really?
GRANT FRIGGIN' HILL?
Raja also did point out that the last time an official t'd someone up for laughing, he was suspended. Odds of that?
I don't like the idea of whining about refereeing in general, but it's to the point where I think even the relatively neutral national media is starting to wonder what is going on. I'm ardently anti-conspiracy; I am pretty sure this is a problem of perception that the Suns are a 'soft' team.
Isn't it about time Dwayne Wade got the same leniency that Pat Burke would?
Finally, it should be noted that I'm a bit amazed and pleased that Amare suddenly is in the referee's "OK" book. You don't shoot 20 free throws if the ref hates you. The other shoe should drop around the first round, I bet.
Of course, the Suns aren't the only team getting screwed by uneven or indefensible calls. The Toronto Raptors got screwed in spectacular fashion by the refs:
ESPN replay
They don't really go into the details, but here's what happened: Toronto had the ball with 0.5 seconds left on their side of the court. T.J. Ford got a beautiful alley-oop to win the game, but it was called off.
The reason was because the shot clock started early. Also, 0.5 is plenty of time to do an alley-oop; if you can turn around and do a jump shot legally in 0.3, and an alley-oop in 0.1 (according to the NBA rules), 0.5 should be no big deal. What's worse is that there was .8 of a second left when the ball had finished going through the net on the previous play that tied the game.
The Atlanta board is basically saying that the refs made the decision to waive the shot (not their scorekeepers, the same people who spectacularly botched the Miami-Atlanta game that ended up being replayed). Either way, though, they got screwed pretty badly.
Plus - as a Suns fan, this is extra-painful, because the Suns own Atlanta's draft pick. This game made it all but certain that they'll be in the playoffs, and out of the draft lottery.
Again, I don't like conspiracy theories, but there's a clear pattern here. The NBA desperately needs transparency, the use of challenges (like in the NFL) and to learn that following the letter of the law absolutely is foolhardy at best when it does not serve the game. Obviously, an incorrect rule should only be modified with care and procedure, but on the other hand it should not just be ignored...
Labels: basketball, conspiracy, Suns |
| posted by Steve @ 9:51 AM |
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| Saturday, February 02, 2008 |
| Black Beauty Runs! |
I've spent so much time messing with my computer, and under such stress while doing it, that my biceps are sore. I worried so intensely, I slept about four hours of the 72 between Saturday morning and Monday. I freaked out so bad, I gave myself a cold.
My computer basically forgot where Windows was. After backing up everything onto an external hard drive, I spent three days trying to install Vista. I failed; the RAID setup was impossibly screwed up.
Sean, who recently inherited my mantle as "friend who knows a lot about computers," came down to Tucson on Thursday for the SuperBowl to hang out with his friend Andy. He came down early to help me out. That day, the Spurs played the Suns, Obama debated Hillary, and I was praying to turn my $2000 paperweight into my means of doing my job again. I was pretty nervous on Thursday afternoon.
We completely disassembled the machine, used some isopropyl alcohol to clean every connector. We then put it all back together - Sean did a dynamite job with the wire cleanup - and fired it up. After a few hours' work, it was running.
The Suns lost a close but terrible game to the Spurs, Obama did very well in the debat, and my computer is running. Two out of three ain't bad.
It turns out that a particular Windows update killed Windows. Now everything is back, backed up several ways, and my only complaint is that working on this until 6 AM has messed up my sleep schedule. January, a hard month, is over. Super Tuesday is coming up in a few days. I feel like I hit the reset button on my own health and mental state.Labels: computers, jobs, Obama, Sean, sick, Suns |
| posted by Steve @ 6:11 AM |
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| Saturday, October 06, 2007 |
| Suns Scrimmage |
The Phoenix Suns played an intra-squad scrimmage at McKale Center here in Tucson tonight; six bucks and a 10-minute drive and I was watching a Suns game.
Awesome.
I actually went early in the morning after dropping off Rachel at work, and saw the whole squad come in. I didn't have anything for them to sign, and didn't want a big deal. I asked them if they knew when the box office opened; they shrugged, and I said I'd see them tonight and wished them luck. They looked a bit tired - it was early on the last day of camp.
Hoping to get an autograph, I went by a terrible sports store (Big 5) and bought an overpriced, regulation-sized basketball. I was hoping to get it signed after the game.
I got there about 40 minutes early and was sad to find that the whole bottom row of the stadium had already been filled. While I'm always happy to see that my team is getting some love, I rather would've liked better seats!
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One nice thing about seeing this kind of game is that I got a chance to see how the rookies and deep bench played.
Sean Marks played in all of three games last year. And yet, Marks rocked tonight. There were a few places where he was mis-matched with a smaller guy who dusted him, but otherwise was aggressive, and actually made a lot of plays happen - plus like four or five dunks. One sequence had him making an impressive block, then sprinting back to the other end for a slam dunk. For a 7' guy who played in 3 games last year - wow.
Earlier in the off-season, GM Steve Kerr (a UA alumni) said Marks was going to surprise some people and I took that with a bit of a laugh, but I guess he was right. Whether or not he can play versus other NBA teams .
Marcus Banks had an OK game - an OK beginning, a fairly crap middle, and a strong finish. Basically, the more he was the SG and less he was the PG, the better he was. The more he tried to take it on his own, the worse things ended up. But when he rotated correctly, used screens, and generally used the Suns' system, he did a good job.
There was a guy named Doug Thomas, who had great hops but no contract. He's mostly known for his athleticism, not for his actual game, but he was great at those highlight dunks. I actually think we should sign him, luxury tax be damned. He had a few rookie moments where he looked a bit lost, but he was aggressive, made some awesome dunks, and played well on defense, too. I don't remember a lot of outside shooting, though.
Eric Piatkowski, the 37-year-old guard, actually did a good job - there were a few weird moments where people didn't communicate as well as they should've, but he was solid in his duties. Not bad for an old man - you couldn't really tell. Plus you could tell he can shoot.
The rookies Strawberry and Tucker seemed a bit frustrated on defense at times, but hey they were playing some very good players. Alando took Marion on in the lane and succeeded - that was cool - and Strawberry was all over the place on defense. They did not look like a pair of rookies.
Overall, the whole team seemed very relaxed. I don't think the team was playing at 110% - or even 95% - but there was a lot of good play regardless. There was some sloppy points, too, but overall I'm happy to say that our bench doesn't suck half as much as it used to.
There was one funny moment when Nash drove baseline while saying something to Marion, who was laughing too hard to properly defend him as Nash went for the reverse layup. Marion was still laughing too hard to run back on the offense...
Oh yeah - and #33? He is quick. Very quick. And he shot almost nothing but the 3 before the game. I think he's trying - probably because of his new coach - to integrate that into his game. As if we didn't have enough people who can shoot the three!
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After the game, I stayed around hoping to get those autographs. The only Sun to come out to do so was Doug Thomas, who wanted to meet someone in the crowd who had made a huge sign that said, "Sign Doug Thomas." He signed some stuff and talked for a while.
Long story short - nobody stayed to sign or say hello, and I admit I'm disappointed. The rationale is easy to see: they wanted to go home and get to sleep before 2:00 AM back in Phoenix, but the fan mind isn't rational. At least I have a new basketball.
Afterwards, Rachel and I were going to go to Club Crawl - for our first time ever - and decided we were too tired. We're getting old.
Labels: Suns |
| posted by Steve @ 11:12 PM |
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| Tuesday, May 16, 2006 |
| This & That |
Finally have a mic, so can record vocals. Yay.
Also, I'm holding my former student Michelle personally responsible for the outcome of tonight's Suns game.
Gnarls Barkley's St. Elsewhere is excellent.
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First times and last chances
Watching cause and reactions
Play the cards you're given
I recoil to advances
Spend the time washing glasses
Come again some other day
Today, tomorrow,
It's all one the same
To beg and to borrow
Take shots to win games
The first time and last chances
Rolling over the day
The first time and last chances
Kicking things in my way
 Currently listening :
St Elsewhere
By Gnarls BarkleyLabels: Ignition, lyrics, music, Suns |
| posted by Steve @ 12:34 PM |
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| Sunday, May 07, 2006 |
| Random thought no. 22: I love this team |
I've been a fan of the Suns since I was a kid. I sort of dropped off midway through college, though, and have picked up in the last 3 years.
And I'm happy to say that it seems that when I'm paying attention, they do really well.
Now, I'm pretty ecstatic about their Game 7 Ass-Whoopin' of the Lakers. I admit I would probably have preferred a 4-0 sweep, boy, the Suns are sure aware that they're in Playoff ball. And what a series, too! Anyway.
I just have to keep in mind that, well, it would be pretty miraculous for the Suns to get to the Finals (much less win them). They don't really have a center. At all. They're always playing against people who are like 6" taller than them. It's amazing they've managed to keep their opponents below 200 points, if you ask me. So while my enthusiasm and hopes are not in any way diminished, I have to mentally prepare myself...
So the fever has hit me so bad that ... well ...
So Rachel asks me to make Mac and Cheese for dinner.
And I think, I ought to make some juice, too, because I'm a good little husband. And I decide on grape juice purely on the merits that I made a meal that reflects my Suns' colors.
I ... I think I've lost my mind. But it's all in good fun. Mostly.
 Currently listening:
Music for Our Mother Ocean: Mom 3
By Various Artists
Release date: 17 August, 1999  Labels: basketball, food, obsession, Suns |
| posted by Steve @ 11:58 PM |
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| Friday, January 13, 2006 |
| Random Thought no. 17: Baseball v Basketball work ethics |
I was thinking about how I'm vaguely disappointed that the Suns aren't playing a game today (I've become a bone fide fan over the last 3 years or so). But then I thought, well, it's ok because basketball is a really tough game when you have back-to-back games, especially when playing the frenetic pace they do.
So I started thinking about how it must be nice that baseball teams play all the time - sometimes twice a day. But does that make them lesser athletes? Not really - I mean, they train to the highest physical level that they can. That's why they're professionals. There isn't a ton of exercise involved in baseball - it's sitting on the bench or waiting for a pitch. Then I came to a weird conclusion: I bet that baseball players have harder, more exhaustive days on the days that they train - their 'days off' - than days with an actual game. Weird. "Oh, man thank God we have a game today - I could use the break."
Oh yeah and I lost my job. I hated it passionately, so how bad this news is depends on how long it takes to replace said job. EDIT: I talked to the father of a White Sox player, and he says that because they do a lot of drills and warmups before the game on a game day, it ends up being about the same amount of exercise.
 | Currently listening :
Cowboy Bebop
By Yoko Kanno |
Labels: exercise, jobs, Maloney's, sports, Suns |
| posted by Steve @ 4:04 PM |
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| About Me |
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Name: Steve
Home: Tucson, Arizona, United States
About Me: I like to think about things, and I occasionally like to write what I think.
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I know what's going to happen tomorrow and it is this:
After work I will go to the bar, order a beer and a cheeseburger, and watch the Mariners game, because I'm so fucking bored of this primary fight and I'm saving my energy and attention for talking shit about McCain once we eventually get a nominee.